#Are You Serious Mutoh?

[dpisupply]

Discover the Future of Printing: TrueVis Ink, DTF Ink, Mutoh Printers, and DTF Supplies

The printing industry is continuously evolving, with new technologies emerging that transform how professionals and enthusiasts create vibrant, high-quality prints. Among these innovations, TrueVis ink, DTF ink, Mutoh printers, and DTF supplies stand out, offering unparalleled quality, durability, and versatility. Let's dive into how these cutting-edge solutions are shaping the future of printing and why they're essential for anyone looking to elevate their printing projects.

TrueVis Ink: A New Era of Color and Quality

TrueVis ink represents the pinnacle of printing innovation, designed for use in Roland's state-of-the-art TrueVis printers. This eco-solvent ink is not just about producing a wide spectrum of vivid colors; it's about doing so sustainably and efficiently. TrueVis ink is formulated to offer outstanding outdoor durability, scratch resistance, and cost-effectiveness, making it a top choice for professionals in signage, banners, and vehicle wraps.

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DTF Ink: Revolutionizing Textile Printing

Direct to Film (DTF) printing has emerged as a game-changer in the textile industry. DTF ink allows for the creation of detailed, vibrant designs on a variety of fabrics, including those difficult to print on with traditional methods. This technology enables small businesses and hobbyists to produce custom apparel and accessories with ease and efficiency.

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Mutoh Printers: Precision Meets Performance

Mutoh printers are renowned for their reliability, precision, and versatility. Catering to a wide range of printing needs, from signage and graphics to industrial applications, Mutoh printers ensure that every project is executed with the highest quality. Combined with Mutoh's advanced engineering and commitment to innovation, these printers are a must-have for anyone serious about professional-grade printing.

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DTF Supplies: Everything You Need for Quality Prints

For those utilizing DTF technology, having the right supplies is crucial for achieving optimal results. DPI Supply offers a comprehensive range of DTF supplies, including transfer films, powders, and maintenance tools. These supplies are designed to work seamlessly with DTF inks and printers, ensuring that every step of the printing process is smooth and efficient.

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Conclusion

The future of printing is bright with innovations like TrueVis ink, DTF ink, Mutoh printers, and DTF supplies leading the way. Whether you're a professional printer, a small business owner, or a printing enthusiast, embracing these technologies can dramatically enhance the quality, efficiency, and impact of your projects. DPI Supply is proud to offer these cutting-edge solutions, providing everything you need to bring your creative visions to life. Explore our selection today and discover how you can transform your printing capabilities.

#Mutoh printers #DTF supplies #TrueVis ink

[ikritique]

Japan Sinks 2020: An Anime Review

I’ve watched a lot of natural disaster movies. Some kind of pseudo-scientific explanation is given to explain a singular or series of natural disasters. High stakes and equally high tension are involved, especially when the movie stars a host of characters you find yourself rooting for at least one of them. In the end, our group finds themselves on tentative safety, with hopes of a future awaiting them. This 10-episode anime hit all of these checkpoints, oft considered formulaic. Yet, why am I still reeling from this roller coaster with no brakes? Today, we will be discussing the July 2020 Netflix release of the anime “Japan Sinks 2020”.

Due to a shift in the tectonic plates, the entire archipelago of Japan begins to break down and sink into the Pacific Ocean. The anime follows on a half Filipino-half Japanese family along with a group of other individuals as they try to stay alive, in the process finding out more about the phenomenon occurring. Overall, it’s nothing too out of the box. It had an interesting beginning, a little too fast paced. The arc in the middle fell flat, building up expectations of something sinister going on but there’s no pay off for it. The ending arc was the most rewarding, complete with emotional highs and lows and the viewer can finally fully invest themselves into these characters survival.

Its target audience seems to be at the Japanese masses and foreigners combined. Considering how it was made to be released around the time the Tokyo Olympics 2020 would’ve occurred, it would’ve been a fantastic release in conjunction to the worldwide hype of the Olympics. Another facet that makes more sense when the Tokyo Olympics come into play is its exploration on the concept of nationalism. I wasn’t aware of this particular detail before watching the show. As such, the focus on the nationalistic spirit was certainly an interesting and unique angle I never quite considered before when watching natural disaster media. A good majority of the exploration of this theme was really well done. The mix of characters had the proper set of diverse opinions that truly allowed the anime to explore any angle of nationalism: a bi-national family, a patriotic Japanese old man, and even complete foreigners. However, there were some moments throughout the episodes where it felt a little too “in your face”, as if the show needed to remind you that nationalistic spirit is appropriate at any given time.

The animation style is very reminiscent of “Devilman: Crybaby”. I recognize that both have the same animation studios responsible behind them. However, while the style certainly suited Devilman’s chaotic nature, it doesn’t necessarily do the same with “Japan Sinks 2020”. The animation is mediocre at best, and sloppy at worse. At the beginning, the characters had very neat, “friendly” character designs. Simple but expressive. But as the anime progressed, the art grew sloppier. With the nature of the anime, there is no expectation for pretty animation. However, at least the animation style could’ve stayed a bit more consistent.

However, the silver lining here are the natural disaster shots. The earthquake in the beginning was so chaotically devastating, and the equally chaotic art style suited those scenes perfectly well. Thanks to the R rating, they weren’t hesitant to show blood and gore when necessary. That kind of willingness is severely lacking when it comes to other shows and movies that explore this trope. Of course there’s going to be gore involved when entire populations are dying. It’s during these shots where I gasped out loud, at how fast yet deadly these kinds of events can be.

The music fit the ambience of the show well enough. It was clever to have the opening represent a serene depiction of everyday life of the family when the show is anything but that. The endings used were not much to speak of, but musically it was tense and dramatic. The endings were more fitting, but personally more enjoyable, than the opening. There is a special mention to the one rap scene in the entire anime that came in so out of place with the grim tones of the end coming near. The rap in itself was okay, but I couldn’t help but wish it came at a better time in the anime.

There is a mixed bag of reactions and observations when it comes the characters we follow through this journey. Some characters died unfairly too fast, and some deaths were easy to predict. Throughout the course of the series, there’s really only one death I truly mourned for. With death introduced so early on in the series, it was difficult to try to root for the characters survival because the circumstances proved to be unpredictable. Only after reaching Episode 8 did I finally begin rooting for our characters, hoping they survived through this hellish nightmare they were going through.

Mutoh Mari, the mother of the family, was the best character of the anime. She had so many aspects to her than simply “the mom of the group”. She is a Filipino who faces trouble from Japanese purists. She is a mother of the group, and takes over as the leader when it falls on her with grace. She is the moral support upon which anyone can lean upon, as the realistic optimist who understands that there is no means of survival when a person is emotionally defeated. The rest of the Mutoh family are all well done as well, all very realistic and relatable when put in that kind of situation.

KITE is another interesting character. Initially I didn’t think he’d prove to be too important, but he’s certainly one of the more important people you need to have in a group. He’s light-hearted, intelligent and his intentions aren’t too clear. There’s no room to have faith in him because he holds up his appearance quite well as a shallow guy who’s really only looking for something thrilling. But that leaves room for surprise for when he does get serious.

Overall, the anime was actually pretty enjoyable. It has its up and down moments, but when it’s up, it’s very engaging. The finale was excellent, and is a touching tribute to Japan as a nation. The diversity in the cast of characters is to be applauded. The anime only starts to show cracks when you look at it too closely. It’s a wonderful story of destruction, rebirth and growth. I’d rate this a 3.5 out of 5.

Go: “Where are we going now?” Mari: “Wherever we go, it won’t be the afterlife.”

#anime #review #anime review #tokyo olympics #tokyo olympics 2020 #japan sinks 2020 #nihon chinbotsu 2020 #japan sinks #japan sinks: 2020 #nihon chinbotsu #mutoh mari #kite #japan sinks KITE #KITE japan sinks #netflix #show: Nihon Chinbotsu 2020 #rating: 3.5

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: 7 Times Anime Busted Out Pro-Wrestling Moves

  If you watch enough anime, you’ll begin to see that a lot of shows like to reference professional wrestling by having characters utilize various moves on one another. Sometimes, that will make sense within the context of the show, but other times, it might seem a little random. Regardless, it’s always a fun time when an anime decides to add in a touch of pro-wrestling into an episode. Two years ago, I wrote about six wild suplexes that were featured in a variety of anime, so let’s take a look at seven other instances where anime decided it needed a flair of pro-wrestling.

  Naruto Shippuden - Liger Bomb

    There’s something amazing about the Raikage using pro-wrestling moves as a way to fight against people using wild and ridiculous jutsu. There’s the intense double lariat he does with Bee against the clone of Kisame, and then him pulling out a Liger Bomb against Sasuke. This utilization is somewhat strange because it’s technically not the same Liger Bomb that Jushin Thunder Liger uses in real life (it’s more in line with a Batista Bomb/sit-out powerbomb in terms of powerbomb variations), but also creates a reference within a reference.

  Does the Raikage using this maneuver mean that Jushin Liger the wrestler also exists in some form in Naruto or is it Jushin Liger the manga by Go Nagai? Maybe it’s both, similar to how things happened in our reality? Now that’s a non-canon arc I’d be interested in seeing! Either way, the Raikage’s Liger Bomb is incredibly effective since not only does he cover himself in lightning, it’s a move that no one else had survived until Sasuke had to pull out one of his big techniques just to make sure it didn’t kill him.

  The God of High School - Stunner

    Seeing the most popular move from the US boom period of wrestling being done in an anime is still a wild sight. You know it’s a great move when it’s utilized in the opening as well. Mah Miseon utilizes pro-wrestling as her martial art in the confines of the tournament, which is the best. Perhaps my favorite bit about her character is when she goes up against Yoo Mira and tells Mira that using a weapon on her would be ineffective because she’s used to being hit by those kinds of items thanks to being a pro-wrestler and taking bumps regularly. That’s just brilliant!

  Mah Miseon’s version of the stunner is exactly what you’d picture if you ever saw Stone Cold Steve Austin do the move. She sets it up with a kick to the gut and grabs her opponent's head and sits down, jamming their jaw into her shoulder. It was effective enough to help her move onto the preliminaries, but maybe she should’ve pulled it off in her fight with Yoo Mira. Who knows, maybe that could’ve been the path to victory instead of defeat.

  Love Live! Sunshine!! - Crossface Chicken Wing

    Yoshiko at various points throughout Love Live! Sunshine!! will put other members of Aqours into an abdominal stretch which she’s effectively dubbed “Fallen Dragon Phoenix Hold.” In Season 2, Riko begins an unlikely friendship with Yoshiko, which sees some of Yoshiko’s fallen angel schtick rub off on her. We see this when Riko applies a crossface chicken wing on Yoshiko and calls it, “Silent Cherry Blossom Nightmare.” 

  The crossface chicken wing has been a staple in pro-wrestling for many years and became popular in 1994 when Bob Backlund utilized it as his finishing move in his heel run to capture the WWF Championship ten years after his last reign as champion. The move is also utilized today by multiple-time WWE Women’s Champion, Asuka, who redubbed it the Asuka Lock. What makes this utilization in Love Live! Sunshine!! humorous is there really isn’t any other indication that pro-wrestling exists in this universe. This makes me want to see a school idol group that acts like pro-wrestlers, or does pro-wrestling on the side, similarly to the idol wrestlers in Tiger Mask W. However, idols and wrestling being combined isn’t something that’s too surprising since back in the early '90s, companies like All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling were trying to do something similar by having certain wrestlers also do singing performances at shows as well. 

  Naruto - Canadian Destroyer

    Earlier we discussed when Sasuke was on the receiving end of a pro-wrestling move, but over 200 episodes before that, he was giving one out. In the midst of the Chunin Exams, Sasuke is able to grab a disguised Orochimaru, flip in midair, and then hit a devastating piledriver. Given that the episode this was featured in aired in 2003, this was just about when Petey Williams was beginning to popularize his front-flip piledriver known as a Canadian Destroyer. It’s certainly not like nowadays where it’s become a much more common move in pro-wrestling, so seeing it this early in Naruto is a bit shocking.

  Now, some people might say this is supposed to be just a regular piledriver, but Sasuke clearly is able to turn Orochimaru’s body 180 degrees to land in a piledriver position, so it totally counts. There was probably some old-timer ninja that got in a huff about Sasuke using it, but he shouldn’t listen to them. I still find it wildly entertaining that in the midst of this big fight early in Naruto, one of Sasuke’s key moves is a piledriver. Given the danger associated with that move, it’s smart since he’s able to smash Orochimaru’s head from quite a big drop. That should be an incredibly devastating maneuver. Too bad Orochimaru is a slithery one and won’t be put down that easily. 

  Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- - Dragon Suplex

    Hey, wait a minute. I was told this was a dragon suplex! Okay, yes, that is a dragon, and it is getting suplexed. I think we’ve been bamboozled here. In all seriousness, seeing a dragon get suplexed is such a bizarre sight, but a great one. I don’t even think you could utilize an actual dragon suplex — a move invented by Tatsumi Fujinami and currently utilized by Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenny Omega — because how are you going to lock up a dragon to perform the move? They’d just slip out easily, and then you’d be in some serious trouble! Plus, even being able to use a normal vertical suplex on a dragon would be difficult since they’re so bottom-heavy, meaning you’d really have to use some strength to lift them up and slam them. So, while this is just a regular suplex, it’s still pretty impressive, and maybe one day we’ll get to see an actual dragon take a dragon suplex.

  Ahiru no Sora - Shining Wizard

    Guys in a sports club performing pro-wrestling moves on each other just makes the most sense, especially when you have a group of dudes like the basketball club in Ahiru no Sora. A group of mostly former delinquents who are used to having some knockdown, drag-out fights. Although, I don’t know if I would consider utilizing a Shining Wizard — a strike where you step off an opponent’s knee and slam your knee into their face — in an actual fight.

  The move created by Keiji Mutoh/The Great Muta that’s now used by basically everyone in pro-wrestling is fun to see used in a scuffle between brothers Chiaki and Momoharu early on in the series. Everyone that sees it gets really excited when Chiaki pulls it off as well, and he does so quite effectively. Since we see later on that those two would constantly get into fights growing up, this means the two of them throwing out pro-wrestling moves at one another is probably a common occurrence. The one downside to this is that using a Shining Wizard in an actual basketball game would be a very terrible idea and not something you’d want to try.

  JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure - Argentine Backbreaker

    Apparently Rubber Soul was really into pro-wrestling when he disguised himself as Kakyoin to try and take down a thief. That poor thief didn’t know what was about to happen when he got put into an Argentine Backbreaker Rack — otherwise known as the Torture Rack — to, well, torture the thief. It’s kind of surprising there’s not more random pro-wrestling moves in JoJo given the ridiculous nature of the series and that fact that everyone looks like pro-wrestlers from the 1980s.

  In the world of JoJo though, this move looks absolutely devastating because it looks like Rubber Soul is about to snap this thief’s spine in two just by the amount of torque and pressure he’s putting on his body. That’s probably what would’ve happened if it weren’t for Jotaro coming over to be like, “Hey dude what are you doing?!” Since this is the episode where this imposter Kakyoin does some very weird stuff, it’s safe to say that pro-wrestling is responsible for the famous meme of Kakyoin getting very into licking a cherry.

  This is but a small sample size of various instances where an anime has thrown in some pro-wrestling to shake things up, and I’m sure this will be by no means the last time it happens. As long as pro-wrestling remains popular in Japan and around the world, you’re certain to see at least one of your favorite characters pull off some wild and ridiculous wrestling move. The more that happens, the happier I’ll be, so let’s hope we get to see more pro-wrestling integrated into anime in each upcoming season.

  What are some other instances of pro-wrestling in anime that you believe deserve a shout out? Let us know down in the comments below!

      Jared Clemons is a writer and podcaster for Seasonal Anime Checkup where he can be found always wanting to talk about Love Live! Sunshine!! or whatever else he's into at the moment. He can be found on Twitter @ragbag.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

[beneaththetangles]

Rising and Falling with Japan Sinks: 2020

TWWK: With the possibly exception of DECA-DENCE and its story with a story structure, the most surprising series this anime season may be Japan Sinks: 2020. I tuned in because I’ve become a fan of the director, Masaaki Yuasa, with his other work from this year, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, locked in as one of 2020’s best anime. Japan Sinks is a different animal, a violent disaster series originally created to coincide with this year’s Summer Olympic games. Netflix premiered the show, and I blew through it quickly, as did a couple of other staff members, Samuru and @thathilomgirl​. But as much as I found the show addicting, I had a challenging time writing about it, and so besides a first impressions post, have avoided doing so. But we three decided to unpack the series together—a good decision, I think, because it perhaps takes three people to really discuss the ups and downs of this series, starting with the why each person tuned in and what they thought of regarding that visceral opening episode.

SPOILERS from throughout the series ahead!

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thathilomgirl: Honestly, I watched it because someone in a Discord group I’m in mentioned that the mom was from my home province (XD). The show wasn’t really on my radar early on because I thought it was a movie with a theatrical release, but seeing other word-of-mouth posts eventually made me try it out on a whim. The fact that it was all on Netflix made it easier for me to finish it off so quickly, too. As for my reaction after episode one, well, it really didn’t hold back at all. It seemed fitting for the catastrophic scenario it was supposed to portray.

Samuru: I saw the trailer on Netflix since they constantly preview new anime (I watch a lot of it on that platform.) It looked interesting, and like thathilomgirl, I thought it was a movie! But I was interested more when I discovered it was a series. My first reaction was that the show was not going to be a relaxing one; it seemed to be very serious from the start and it was not afraid to be very realistic and dangerous. The animation was very good (in episode one, at least—more on that later) and it hooked me.

TWWK: For sure! It definitely tried to convey a sense of realism and danger. It felt like 1970s disaster movies, where everything goes wrong and lot of crazy stuff happens, like the bodies falling from the sky—all the death, really—and the disastrous time at the cult sanctuary.

Samuru: I thought the middle section with the cult was out of place. I get that it changed things around and gave the viewer a break from all the destruction, but I didn’t understand why that was even in the anime. Also, the random sexual encounter that was only a few seconds was also unnecessary, but maybe they were just experimenting with ideas?

thathilomgirl: I just thought the psychic cult was just plain weird. Like, even going into how and why it managed to start up at all was kinda strange, even with how well-intentioned the woman was at first. Part of me just wanted to go through the screen and tell her, “This is all well and good, ma’am, but I think you may have gone way off course the moment gold entered the picture.” I thought the best part of that arc was when the old man managed to just nonchalantly broke into the temple to kidnap the woman’s child, just for how tonally different it was from everything else.

TWWK: You know, I actually really liked that section. I think when it comes the narrative, it was the best part of the series. A lot of foreboding and discomfort was building, especially centered around Daniel (Is he really as sweet natured as he seems? Is it like a horror movie, where he was actually just baiting the travelers? Or was he going to be another sad victim?). I think besides giving us a little break from the destruction, and leading to some character development, the section also helped emphasize a theme of the series, which is acceptance of those different from you and the importance of the Japanese coming together despite having different values and being in different generations. Cults have a bad wrap in Japan as they do elsewhere in the world, so this cult not being pure evil in the sense we expected, and their leader truly trying to help, was to me as big a surprise as any in the series.

thathilomgirl: Similar to what you touched upon a bit, I saw a lot of diversity among the characters in the show, whether in race, age, or even the difference in opinion regarding nationalism. It wasn’t that surprising to me, considering the anime was made by Science Saru, who also takes value in diversity as seen from the Eizouken anime. Putting aside any possible bias on my end, having the main characters comprise a Filipino-Japanese family was a good foundation to allow certain issues be addressed in the anime. On the other hand, sometimes it did feel like some non-Japanese characters such as KITE were kind of put on a pedestal because almost every action taken upon by them turned out to be the right decision in the end.

TWWK: Oh man, now I suddenly wonder if this “KITE! Best character of the season!” feeling I have is just feeding into a sense of faux diversity…

Samuru: Good points on the diversity of the characters. I noticed it then but am now really thinking about; I’m glad to have seen it. The anime gave perspectives that some Japanese have with foreigners and just as a people that aren’t often seen in anime. God made us all different, all with varying features, languages, etc. I enjoyed seeing some acceptance of that, especially from Ayumu who just wanted to help others regardless of who they were (as well as her mom and brother, Gō). Gō also expressed how he did not feel very Japanese, and he just wanted to move to Estonia instead. This created friction a few times with other characters, as they thought he either wasn’t Japanese or trying to act like a foreigner. It showed how proud, to a fault, the Japanese are (in the anime) to their culture. I myself am proud of being Hispanic, so I get where they were coming from, but it seemed to be too much on how they were pressuring him, instead of just letting him enjoy other countries and their differences.

TWWK: That’s an interesting thought, though the overall quality of the writing leads me to believe that the writers just didn’t achieve the subtlety in such remarks that may have made for a more intriguing series. But more than that, I don’t think they wanted subtlety; that strong pro-Japanese / anti-everyone else feel from the old man was certainly intentional.

thathilomgirl: There was also that ultra-nationalistic group that refused the Mutohs on their megafloat because the kids weren’t Japanese enough. It was too on-the-nose for me, but if a country did end up getting destroyed one way or another, it wouldn’t surprise me if a group like that started to surface. On another note, the more cynical side of me was wondering if all the non-Japanese characters were inputted in just so the series was able to check off diversity points to get more views and traction from international watchers. It did work on me a bit (and I also saw a lot of that from other anime fans in my country), but I’ve learned not to get too hung up on or cling hard to how certain areas of my identity are represented in the media over the years.

TWWK: Playing on your point, I wonder if Kite, among others, was lifted so highly because Yuasa was looking to strike a sort of balance, one critical of those who would be too nationalistic, to the point of being xenophobic, with an ultimate view that Japan is generally good, and has the potential of being marvelous. We seem to be a little skeptical of their inclusion, but it’s hard not to be when the themes about what Japan is and should be were usually quite bombastic—kind of like all the deaths.

Samuru: Speaking of deaths, I think there were too many. After a while it felt like one of those horror movies where you know who is going to die, except for the main characters (of course!). I knew around the last few episodes who was going to die, but it was still impactful when they did because of the way it happened. I actually felt sad for the loss of those characters.

thathilomgirl: It’s really hard to say for me to judge whether there were “too many deaths” for this show. On one hand, I did at least wish some characters like the Mutoh dad lived for a few more episodes so that we’d be more attached to him. However, realistically speaking, it made a lot more sense considering the aftereffects of what goes on if Japan really did start sinking to the ground and the possible consequences it has for the survivors on the land. By far, the only death I thought was the most out-of-place was for the cult leader’s son. It just came so suddenly like the debris that fell on him, laughter was the only thing that escaped my mouth during that scene.

TWWK: You laughed at that? Oh my gosh haha. I don’t think you were alone, though.

Samuru: I knew that kid was not going to make it, as he barely had any dialogue or interaction so he seemed “expendable” and I noticed that this anime liked to get rid of those minor characters. So yeah, he was on the anime’s “hit list” for sure.

thathilomgirl: There was another thing I noticed regarding death. Among the Mutoh family, Ayumu seems to be the only one who actually visibly struggles throughout the anime, but that’s because she was the only one who actually came face-to-face with watching her entire track team die in front of her eyes as soon as she came to from the initial earthquake. The other family members, meanwhile, were either in a relatively safer area from the ground and/or alone when it occurred. Every other death afterwards just goes on to make the survivor’s guilt she’s experiencing worsen as the story goes on. I also figured out right away that Mari’s seeming indifference to her husband’s death was just her being strong for her kids, because I’ve seen that a lot from the other people in my life. There was never really a good time for her to properly grieve as well, until they arrived at the cult in Shan City.

TWWK: You know, I don’t know…Like you, I noticed the seeming lack of empathy throughout the series, and I think Mari’s final episode or two was definitely meant to show that she hid her emotions on purpose (I think an idea many Asian kids can understand that westerners may not), but I felt like it was too little, too late. It was just so awkward that after the dad’s death, most everyone was kind of okay—even and especially Go. it was just too unrealistic, even with Go kind of in his own world and trying to make sense of it with his dad’s death. It was too disingenuous. Ultimately, I think it was poor writing, confirmed by the fact that Go’s emotional age seemed to drift anywhere between 7 years old and 14.

And I also struggled with the sheer number of character deaths shown. The shock value was important to the series, yes, but it got to be too much for me by the end. The old man getting eaten by the shark was my almost-laughable moment, for instance. And all the self-sacrifice already demonstrated by so many may have taken away some of the emotion of Mari’s death, which affected me, but not terribly deeply. I will say that Haruo’s death got to me, however; I thought that the themes of the show, particularly the idea of the older generation passing their love onto the younger, meant that he and the Mutoh kids would all survive. That was rough.

Samuru: I agree also about the deaths. I think it was somewhat laughable because it just kept happening. I would think, “Uh oh, it’s a new character, he probably won’t last long”. Also, I have new found respect for seagulls, those birds can’t be that ravenous…right? Haruo and Ayumu’s father dying were the most shocking for me. I really thought they would both make it, so once the dad died, I knew all bets were off with this anime and nobody was safe. I thought even Ayumu wouldn’t make it, even though she lost a part of herself in the ordeal. It made it seem very real, unlike a lot of TV shows where the main cast, and only the main cast, escapes just fine.

thathilomgirl: Mari’s death got to me a bit because I was hoping that she would at least last long enough to make it to relative safety before her heart got to her, and because of that storybook she used to read to her kids. But the latter’s just me being really sentimental in general.

TWWK: The show was unusual in the sense that it tried to balance that sentimentality you’re talking about with hard, sudden violence. That’s not an easy thing to do. Comparisons will be made to Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 or other disaster anime and films, like I did earlier, but I also immediately think of American movies regarding 9/11—United 93 and World Trade Center. The earlier had violence and shock on par with Japan Sinks, and it was draining and emotional in a successful way. The latter didn’t feel as overwhelming, nor was it as good a film. I think Japan Sinks found itself somewhere in between those both in how it tried to animate its disaster and in how meaningful the end product is. What did you both ultimately think of the series?

Samuru: I thought the show was excellent and very different than most anime I have seen. I liked the intensity of it, the diversity of the cast, and the originality of the story, even though it’s based on a book from the 70s. A lot of anime try to copy another one, and just add something else to make it standout. This series stands on its own.

However, the animation was off and on for me. There were some scenes in the last episodes that were terrible. I wanted to take pictures of it to share in case I was the only one that was noticing that. I don’t know what was going on with the animators at the end. But how the story concludes in a satisfying way, as I got to see what happened to the survivors and how they were living their lives. It gave hope when there seemed none, which reminded me of this verse: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

thathilomgirl: I thought it was a good show overall. Not the best one I’ve ever seen, but it did what it set out to do with its story. Yeah, the animation was a bit off at times, but I thought that was just how Science Saru anime was sometimes (keep in mind that I’ve only seen Eizouken and Ride Your Wave from them so far). I’m glad it ended on a hopeful note with Japan slowly rising back up, and seeing how every Japanese person that survived fared through the eight years since.

TWWK: My thoughts on the series are ultimately not as positive as they were for both of you. After one episode, and based on the studio and director, I commented that this might be the best anime of the year; I was so off that it’s not even funny. What was funny, though, was some of the scenes in the show that were supposed to be serious, as we referred to earlier. And that’s troublesome. Its high moments were extremely high, and could have lifted the show up to a 9 or 10 in my book, while the low moments—like the unintentionally funny ones—were very low, awful even. I gave the series a “7” rating, which is average to mildly good in my book, because it was a balance between those extremes.

Ultimately, though, it’s a major disappointment. Hot on the heels of Eizouken, I thought we could potentially have another classic, which this series is assuredly not. But its mileage will vary, and I very much emphasize that—all of us judged the series differently and felt strongly, one way or another, about many different moments. And there are so many vivid and memorable scenes in this show! Most viewers’ experience will likely be powerful, too, and in that way, I think we can all suggest Japan Sinks: 2020 is well worth the watch.

=====

The entire Japan Sinks: 2020 series can be streamed now on Netflix. All images courtesy of Netflix.

#Anime #Japan Sinks: 2020 #Nihon Chinbotsu 2020 #Japan Sinks #Japan Sinks 2020 #Nihon Chinbotsu #Articles #Author: TWWK #Author: thathilomgirl #Author: Samuru

[perfect-corroscience]

Chapter 37: In Devil’s Grip

“An abyss which in our language is called shin’en.”

37-1 Raining down like a hailstorm.

This chapter throws Graviton enemies at you. Luckily, I was able to roll Iskar, an A-class Photon unit, when the Wild Beast adventurers got introduced. I know people at the time were pissed that there were lower class units (which would dilute the pool) but… look, not everyone would whale for the higher units nor has the patience to max SB/Luck everyone.

In lieu of not having A’misandra nor Amina, I maxed out the Whitewyrm Wand and stuck it on Zafitte^ to make her something of a healer. The otomo casts Tera Heal, chain; so with that and Giga Regen, my party won’t be hurting for healing.

Someone asked me if I’ll tackle the two Animata bosses. I did fight them, but I dunno if I’ll post up any updates about them. Probably not.

It starts with a small number of these new enemies.

Pretty self-explanatory, I think.

I do like how you can see the two black Animatas in this stage’s background.

37-2 Scorching barrier stretched across the sky.

Nothing good, evidently. Anyway, in this stage twisters will spawn as you progress through it, starting with this one, adding one more as you move on,

and ending with four on the field.

37-3 A sharp gaze drilling into his back.

The whispering leader sensed a sharp gaze

drilling into his back. It was Pa'keppar.

 “Chief! How long do you plan to go on hiding here?!”

We’re introduced to some new enemies.

The Incapacitators, who only attack rows

...and Fragmentors, whose Powered Point Jammer skill will make the bar charge slower than normal for three turns.

37-4 Want us to stand back and do nothing?

A fallen Spirit with burned wings and

molten Negas lay in front of you.

 They sacrificed themselves to destroy

the barrier generator.

 “Why have you done this... for us?”

 No one could have known the answer.

All that remained was the path these

unexpected benefactors had given

their lives to clear for you.

 ---Audience room

 "While we're talking here, much blood may be

getting spilled, all for our sake! Chief, how can

you be so insensitive to their suffering?"

 "Thanks to their sacrifice, peace will be

brought to our lands, and we will be protected.

There is no better solution."

"You really think that?! You trust the word of

a devil who leaves death in her wake, and

want us to stand back and do nothing?"

 "Would you rather send our people to certain

death? I don't understand you, Pa'keppar!"

 "And these strangers who throw away their

lives for us, do they not matter to you?!"

Four of the five fights here are against the level 79 Incapacitators.

Finally, for the last floor, there is a stronger Incapacitator. Three rows! Golly!

37-5 Became tears that fell from his eyes.

It’s noble of them, but certainly foolhardy. Still, it’s good to know there are people who are behind the crew’s backs.

The fights here are against Incapacitators and Fragmentors.

37-6 Filled with the remnants of unconscious feelings…

And we meet, and get a name for, the second riftworlder.

There are only three battles, but there are a decent number of enemies. The twisters are more of an annoyance, but it’s still something to look out for.

Especially in cases like this.

Poor Bahl was on the verge of death when I cleared this part of the stage.

I guess if you’re not aware of the other floor positions or you like to clump your units together, the twisters could make moving them around a little annoying.

37-7 Come forth into this world!

“What did you create using the Animata?”

“Create?”

“Heheh... You don't know? I will show you.”

 The man cut off a cube of space and blew into it.

Smoke began to fill it, turning from grey

to purple, and then to green.

 “The life breeder hatched something interesting...”

 An awful sound, like scraping metal,

sounded. It echoed through the ground,

vibrating everything.

 “Come forth into this world!”

 The smoke-filled cube burst open, flesh

and mechanical parts combining into

some kind of bio-machine weapon.

Despite the story, we won’t see anything new in terms of enemies. Maybe it’s just to demonstrate that all the enemies the party’s been fighting were all Shin’en’s creations. Anyway, have a screenshot of Zafitte^’s Heigh-Ho attacks.

37-8 Horrified by how frozen solid she was.

Yeah, Mutoh is not a good person. This is of course meant to be tragic, but I feel it’d have a bit more of an oomph if we got to see what poor To’toa looked like.

The party, of course, has no idea that this is all happening. They’re still fighting off Incapacitators and Fragmentors.

37-9 I have a bad feeling about this.

---Battlefield

 "Now I must go. I want to get good

seats for the wonderful show!"

 The man disappeared. As if pulled by

a string, the remaining feathers flew

up and drifted back to the ground.

 "Where the hell did he go?"

 The battle ended suddenly.

“No! Don't do that!”

 The lizard chief never noticed that all his

actions played right into the demons' hands.

 Now, the planet's power which had long been

dormant would be unleashed.

 It came dancing down from the sky,

penetrated the ground and spread far and

wide, just as the demons wanted.

---Battlefield

 The ground shook with a rumble.

"What is it this time? This noise is horrific..."

 The ground split, and mystical light spilled

out from the chasm.

The light resonated with the two Animatas

sailing the skies in the distance.

 "I have a bad feeling about this."

So, 37-9 has only three battles, but the light mentioned in the pre-battle text isn’t just for fluff.

This line from, presumably, Mutoh, leads into a gimmick that this stage has. Every turn, the light mentioned earlier will blind the party and do 500 damage to them. It’s not too serious and can be healed off easily, but it’s something to be aware of, nonetheless.

Here’s a nice screenshot of what Graviton attacks look like, as well as the stage gimmick. Anyway, for the first two fights, it’s against the usual enemies.

And here is the boss of this part, Energos. Supergravity Breath is a 3x multiplier attack that also displaces your units, while Gravitonball is a 2x Graviton and weapon (staff) attack.

From my notes, Energos seems to consistently follow a pattern as such:

1. Supergravity Breath, Area (1) > Move

2. Supergravity Breath, Ring > summon reinforcements (2x Fragmentor lv 77) > Move

3. Supergravity Breath, Area 1 > Move

4. Repeat

Definitely make sure you clear out the adds as they come in, so you don’t get overwhelmed.

I believe that once you knock Energos’ health down to around 50ish%, it will start using Gravitonball, which will hit two of your units – for my run here, it started doing so at 99665/205790 HP. The wiki notes its skillset has stuff like Gravitonball (2), (3), etc. that seem to imply that as it gets weaker, Gravitonball will begin hitting more of your party until it’s attacking everyone.

Energos will continue to do its thing, by the way. But if you managed to wear it down to this point, you can finish it off. Of course, if you so wished (and had the units), you could use tap skills to one-shot it from full health.

37-10 Before you could answer, you were hit by an infernal heat wave.

So. Going into this, I have to admit I was a little worried because Iskar was my only Photon unit. But then RNGesus smiled upon me:

And I rolled her! So, not only is Sayu a great mage, but I think her character design is pretty great! (On the other hand, I don’t care for her recode’s art. It is obviously fanservice-y design, but I felt that it came at the cost of being creative.) When she was released, Sayu was actually one of my white whales for Terra Battle and I’m stoked that I managed to roll her.

I also managed to roll Kir’ue, an SS class unit who debuted same time as Iskar. The more the merrier, really! I won’t complain about having another person to cover Photon.

Some had wounds so grievous they were

unable to move at all.

 The harbinger of death shook the world,

settling down right in front of the you.

Its dark aura filled those who witnessed

it with fear.

 As you stopped to catch your breath,

you were just about to be assaulted by

yet another vicious heat wave when

someone called out...

 “Everyone, get back!”

 Hearing the voice, you jumped back and

dodged the heat beam by the smallest

of margins.

 “Pa'keppar, why are you here?!”

“I will explain later. For now, we must

stop that!”

For 37-10, you get a pretty interesting little mechanic here. This message pops up – in a display of unity for their fellows on this planet, any Lizardfolk units you have will have their attacking stats buffed by 1.3x, and their defensives buffed by 1.5x.

Compare S’naip^’s normal stats at level 90: 434 Attk, 245 MAttk, 291 Def, 254 MDef. It’s a pretty nifty buff, and it’s worth packing a Lizardfolk party, though as you can see I only brought S’naip along. This is partly because I didn’t really have a lot of good Lizardfolk units, and I felt Ma’curi might still be a bit fragile even with the buffs.

There are three battles; the first two are against the usual enemies. They aren’t too bad, but the twisters can be annoying if your units get knocked into them.

For the third battle, the boss is faced – Relic.

Relic follows a pattern, as well:

1. Supergravity Breath (SGB), 1 column > Move

2. Synergy Wave, 1 row > Move

3. Axionball > Move > Summons a Fragmentor

4. Repeat?

5. SGB, 1 column

6. Synergy Wave

While Relic won’t summon back the other adds, the Fragmentor’s Powered Point Jammer is annoying, so definitely kill them.

As you weaken Relic, it will add moves to its pattern.

7. SGB, Border - did this @ 205471/308420 HP

8. SGB, column

9. Synergy Wave

10. Energy Emission, All + Fragmentor summoned

Just keep at it and you’ll make it through.

  Their only consolation lay in the fact

that even after being toyed with by

malicious beings, Pa'keppar's group's

spirit wasn't broken.

 Although the two devils plaguing their

planet are not gone for good, for now

at least the Lizardfolk can enjoy a brief

respite from terror and strife.

 Pa'keppar spoke in a voice strong and

filled with resolve.

 “We will pull through. We will never

give in! And one day we will reclaim

our skies!”

 So what was the meaning of that encounter?

The lizard planet has a long and sordid history

of sacrificing lives and grudge-bearing, and

history likes to repeat itself.

 What was it all for?

 “If you find others in the same predicament

as ours, please help them like you helped us.”

 The only thing that can be said with any

certainty is that in this endless universe,

there are many other tribes and Animatas

that you have not yet come across.

So I had the feeling this is an in-story nod to the recoding mechanics. It’s just a little strange that it pops up now instead of earlier, given you get access to recoding as soon as you clear chapter 20. And prior to lambdas getting removed from the pool, you could roll them from the Pact of Truth... Oh well. With the threat to the Lizardfolk world beat back, so ends chapter 37. 

Next time: grief.

#casually terra battling #an occupied ornidl means queued posts #terra battle

[iambenjiijackson]

NZPWI - An Olympian In Japan

Yomiuri Sports, a newspaper in Japan, broke the news to the public; that the "super-important-foreigner" New Japan promised after the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show would be none other than TNA competitor Kurt Angle. Angle was meant to appear on the 1/4 show, however scheduling conflicts meant he couldn't attend - it's been many years since the first rumour of Angle arriving on Japanese soil, and of course such an accolade is no doubt to sell many tickets for their 2/18 Sumo Hall show.

But in a wrestling scene many of us enjoy due to the homegrown talent that they have on offer, why are more and more Puroresu companies looking across the waters for talent? Surely the amount of talent from the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, Hiroshi Tanahashi, KENTA and many, many more, would mean a lack of 'gaijin' (a term used to coin foreigners) talent surfacing in Japan?

"They looked big, they were American, they cheated... and Rikidozan would chop them down to the delight of the fans", Showa-era purist Adam Randlis informed me. He would go on to tell me that throughout the JWA, a company formed before All Japan and New Japan, the two household names of Japanese wrestling, that this would be the standard; Western threat, destroying homegrown talent until one of the big stars came and saved the day, and definitively beat the 'evil' American monster. These roles were typically played by Terry and Dory Funk (who broke the norm and become babyfaces for a period of their tenure in All Japan), Steve Williams, Terry Gordy, Abdullah the Butcher, the legendary "Bruiser" Brody and the most famous monster, who made a name for himself in Japan, Stan Hansen. "Many of these athletes wouldn't outstay their welcome, wondering around promotion to promotion to stay fresh. They also, in the case of Stan Hansen, would use their Japanese prominence to make a name for themselves back in the United States."

New Japan has had a string of problems in the past concerning 'big name foreigners' appearing for their company. Now, there is a difference between 'big name' and those ardent gaijin who tour with the company, and funnily enough, those athletes who were at times misused by America promotions have gone on to be successful due to their diligent work-rate and training in a foreign environment - Matt Bloom, who you will remember as 'Prince Albert', has had some incredible matches since moving to Japanese soil; Giant Bernard vs. Yuji Nagata was heralded as a fantastic match involved a big man. D'Lo Brown, Jamal (who was so successful as a monster heel, the WWE signed him back), hell, even Travis Tomko - gaijin athletes who may of not reached a pinnacle of excellence in the United States have normally turned around and made somewhat of a name for themselves. 

However, there has been on occasions problems. At times it's not the fault of the individual athlete, but the circumstances surrounding them. Confused? Well here's a prime example for you:

In 2003, K-1 (a kickboxing/mixed martial arts promotion in Japan) had on their hands a monster superstar named Bob Sapp. Sapp had the look of a monster - a giant, bulky-yet-muscular physique who had some success in the combat code he took part in. He was a commercial success in Japan, with people in awe of him, his charisma, his persona, he was highly regarded in the general media, not just Pro Wrestling. So New Japan decides he would be perfect to place their most prestigious belt on, the International Wrestling  Grand-Prix Heavyweight Senshuken (commonly abbreviated to IWGP). From Hulk Hogan to Keiji Mutoh and recently Shinsuke Nakamura, they've all held such a prestigious title. What could possibly go wrong? The media interest would be incredible!

Unfortunately, a lot went wrong. This was during the era the booking of the company became erratic; the days when Antonio Inoki. who is still regarded as the face of the company, still wanted to cross wrestling over with MMA, when  New Japan wrestlers went to MMA events to risk success in the eyes of many as a crossover athlete, only to lose and destroy any momentum in the pro-wrestling circuit. Sapp, due to his popularity, wins the title and goes over one of the most promising talents New Japan has, at that point a younger Shinsuke Nakamura in a title defence, only to lose an MMA match and refuse to fight his next opponent. The  IWGP loses prestige and you have an unnecessary tournament instead of putting younger talent over.

Fast forward to late 2005, where the booking committee has changed, and you have the president of New Japan Pro Wrestling, Simon Inoki, score a coup d'etat by announcing Brock Lesnar as a worker for the company. A million Puroresu marks cry out, wondering after the previous stint of a foreigner holding the IWGP Heavyweight Title, it is such a wise idea.  Brock Lesnar goes over Masahiro Chono (a hero on New Japan soil) and Kazuya Fujita (one of Inoki's pet projects - an MMA fighter.... noticing a pattern?).

The match is conducted in a three-way dance format, something quite uncommon in a New Japan ring, and Lesnar picks up a decisive victory pinning Chono with the Verdict (F-5), and makes three defences of the title - pinning Nakamura in little under nine minutes, then Akebono in a shocking match, and finally Giant Bernard in his longest defense to date - fourteen and a half minutes. He beats Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi (two amateur wrestling alumni, and popular figures in New Japan) in non-title matches, and is touted to drop the title to young generation superstar Hiroshi Tanahashi. This is where the fun started.

You see, Lesnar was only contracted to a certain date. The match was scheduled one, maybe two days before his contract ran up. Due to, what his representatives cited as "work visa issues", Lesnar never showed up, and to this date still has the IWGP Heavyweight Title. New Japan issued a formal apology on its website and included details of how to get ticket refunds. After a year of rebuilding, all the hard work was lost due to someone not wanting to do the job and Simon Inoki instantly lost all his credibility; Lesnar was indeed a pet project of his as part of his "global strategy" with New Japan, and against the calls from most New Japan management, Inoki still stuck with him. An unnecessary tournament took place, and New Japan had to start from scratch again in building a positive reputation - Pro Wrestling NOAH was closing in very, very fast as a reputable organization. 

"Lesnar was a risk from the beginning..." Stuart Max, owner and webmaster of the respected English language New Japan resource site, Strong Style Spirit, remarked "... because his jump from WWE to American Football made it appear like he had lost his passion for pro wrestling. So one could have been forgiven for thinking his only purpose for appearing in New Japan was the big payday (upward of US$30,000 per match) he was getting. Lesnar's reign started well, as he looked powerful and a fresh monster figure, but went downhill quickly. It became obvious that he was almost sleepwalking through matches, giving very little effort, and doing little to make opponents look good. Fans became bored of him, but President Simon, whose main downfall seems to be an obsession with big brand American wrestlers, wouldn't pull the plug. When the time came for Lesnar to drop the belt to Tanahashi in July, Lesnar pulled his double-cross and disgraced the company again. Lesnar cited visa problems as the reason, but that was most likely a cover story."

When asked what the fascination is with the Japanese wrestling community and "big name" American athletes, Stuart informed me that "The company (New Japan) was in a rush to build a new superstars, and had the idea that they could use American celebrities to roll over natives, then drop the belt to a selected figure. However, both Sapp and Lesnar turned their back when that time was near and New Japan was left with serious messes to clean up that damaged the image of the IWGP Heavyweight Title."

Kurt Angle's name has always been bantered around as a possible 'dream' candidate for any Japanese company to have at their disposal. The problem is who would he face? The main candidates at this stage look to be Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi, as they both as mentioned before have amateur wrestling experience and are very popular characters in New Japan; Nagata having somewhat of a renaissance and his work rate being through the roof already this year.

One person Angle won't be facing, to the relief of New Japan fans, is Hiroshi Tanahashi. It's not that the match wouldn't be good, in fact, it could be as exciting as any other combination thrown together (Angle against Nagata, Nakanishi, Yammamoto et. al), but given that Tanahashi is currently the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, it wouldn't bode well politics wise; Angle is far to a precious commodity for TNA to have to job to an athlete it's new turnover of fans wouldn't recognize, while losing a non-title match would damage the credibility of the title Tanahashi, and in fact New Japan as a whole, have sought to garner some prestige back.

Keep your eyes peeled - Angle's invasion may herald a larger contingent of Puroresu stars in TNA.

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[lastthingyouforget]

G1 Climax 27 Night 6: Duct tape!? Are you serious?

We’re live from the brilliantly named Big Palette Fukushima. Very different setup from the previous events which makes a nice change from the homogenous look of all WWE shows.

Match 1: Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe vs. Syota Umino, Kota Ibushi

Having to watch Yano wrestle five times in a week really makes you crave some new faces and we’ve got two debuts for this run of shows in the shape of Umino and the much more experienced Taguchi.

Bum-based offence from Taguchi. Big cheer as Ibushi tags in and clashes with Makabe. More bum-based offence from Taguchi who then channels Nakamura with an attempted Boma Ye. Taguchi gets submission with with an ankle lock on Umino. Ibushi and Makabe brawl but Ibushi retreats when Makabe gets his metal chains.

Match 2: Katsuya Kitamura, Tomoyuki Oka vs. Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI

Kitamura is back and teaming with fellow Young Lion Oka against Ishii/YOSHI-HASHI who compete against each other in the next round which makes a nice change of pace from the usual build of facing off in an opening tag.

Hard hitting action between Oka/Ishii. Oka is isolated for most of the match and Ishii is repeatedly stopped from murdering him by YOSHI-HASHI. Kitamura gets the hot tag and runs wild with chops and a big spear before tapping to a Butterfly lock by YOSHI-HASHI. Fine tag, Kitamura continues to have a strange charisma.

Match 3: Hirai Kawato, Yuji Nagata vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito

Nagata and Naito have consistently had some of the best reactions during these shows and they compete against each other here. Hiromu still looking dejected after losing Daryl.

Kawato spends most of the match getting beat up. We get to see an exchange between Nagata and Naito before Hiromu taps out Kawato with a boston crab. After the bell Naito spits at Nagata before taunting him.

Match 4: El Desperado, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale

Taichi ripping his stripper trousers off is the only spot I can remember. Yujiro wins for Bullet Club after a DDT on Taichi. Blah.

Match 5: David Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jado, Hirooki Goto

CHAOS double team Finlay for a bit. Slingblade by Tanahashi on Goto before he takes him out with a vaulting body press. Finlay gets the pin after a bad looking Stunner on Jado. Blah.

Match 6: Satoshi Kojima (0 pts) vs. Michael Elgin (0 pts)

Lots of chops and forearms thrown at the start including Elgin performing some of Kojima’s signature corner chops. Both men take it in turns to deliver big moves outside the ring as Kojima hits an apron DDT before Elgin powerbombs him onto the apron after he misses with a dive.  

Lariat exchange in the ring including Kojima taking Elgin out with one as he jumps off the turnbuckle. Elgin gets to show off his range of power moves and gets the win after a sitdown powerbomb. Fine match with some impressive spots throughout.

Match 7: Tama Tonga (2 pts) vs. EVIL (2 pts)

First half of the match takes place outside the ring as they brawl into the crowd. Tonga isn’t usually afraid to drop an F bomb which makes him grabbing the camera operator to tell everyone that Los Ingobernables de Japon suck a curiosity.

Tonga takes EVIL out with a metal post whilst in the crowd but the LIJ man manages to beat the count. EVIL’s turn to make use of foreign objects as he hits a con-chair-to whilst Tonga has a chair around his neck. Lots of reversals during the ending sequence before EVIL wins with an STO. Fun brawl but nothing too memorable.

Match 8: Juice Robinson (2 pts) vs. Minoru Suzuki (2 pts)

Juice does a great job of selling how gruelling the G1 is as he makes his entrance by hobbling to the ring. It was pretty obvious going in that match would be structured around Suzuki working the leg and that’s exactly what happens as he ruthlessly targets it from the off.

Suzuki applies a rope-assisted leg lock before working over the leg with a chair and metal barrier out in the crowd. Juice attempts to rally and make a comeback but Suzuki goes straight back to the leg with a knee bar transitioned into an ankle lock.

Suzuki wins after a stalling Gotch-style piledriver. Suzuki-gun get a few final shots in on Robinson before terrorizing the Young Lions. Both men have the perfect characters for this style of match with Suzuki looking ruthless as he consistently snuffed out any chance of a comeback by Juice.

Match 9: Toru Yano (2 pts) vs. Kenny Omega (4 pts)

Not one for the wrestling purists. Yano offers Omega a CHAOS DVD as a peace offering but it’s all a ruse as Yano throws the powder it contains into his face and gets a nearfall off a rollup. A blinded Omega then attempts to hit a One-winged onto the ref and again Yano nearly capitalizes with a rollup.

A wrestling match threatens to break out as Yano narrowly avoids a V-Trigger before escaping under the ring and hitting Kenny with a bucket. Yano then ties together Kenny’s legs with duct tape from under the ring before he returns the favour. Impressively Omega is able to run the ropes and hit a double foot stomp and dragon suplex with his legs still tied.

Chase Owens passes a pair of scissors to Omega so he can free himself. Yano is hit with a V-Trigger and rolled out the ring whilst still taped up and Omega gets the count out victory. The most enjoyable Yano has been so far by a distance and shows what a versatile worker Kenny is.

10. Kazuchika Okada (4 pts) vs. SANADA (2 pts)

Fairly gentle pace to start. Good old-fashioned cheating by SANADA as he pretends to injure his leg so he can blindside Okada before choking him with his shirt whilst the ref is distracted. Pace pickens up as Okada gets more offence in including a really impressive dive over the barrier into SANADA in the crowd.

Back half of the match is full of back and forth action and reversals. Okada reverses a Skull End into a Tombstone piledriver before SANADA reverses an attempted Rainmaker into a Tombstone of his own. After successfully landing a Mutoh-style moonsault another Skull End is escaped into a series of Rainmakers by Okada. Both men then attempt Rainmakers before Okada hits a rolling German suplex into a final Rainmaker for the win.

The slower pace at the start made me think they might have gone to a 30 minute draw with this. Match still ended up being over 20 mins but didn’t felt like it dragged at any point. Great chemistry at the end as the two traded big moves.

tldr;

The main event, Elgin/Kojima and Juice/Suzuki were all good but Omega/Yano will end up being talked about the most. Quality of the shows is still pretty good overall. Looking forward to the field separating a bit in both blocks so we can get a better idea of what is being built towards.

#new japan pro wrestling #g1 climax #njpw #wrestling

[ask-viscen-and-ayaka]

"It seems the giant chunk of rock above us hasn't caught your eye!"

#captain viscen #Mayor's office #Argumant #Are You Serious Mutoh?