Mark's Reviews

     "The Storm" is probably the best episode so far and especially comes as a breath of fresh air after the dreadful last episode.  Love it!      It's great storytelling where the back story of Zuko and Aang is revealed through interesting flashbacks and is a great example of the old "show, don't tell" adage.       Zuko's back story is particularly interesting to me and explains quite a lot why capturing the Avatar is so important to him. He is presented as a nuanced and complex character who is a lot more than an antagonist. He is probably my favorite character.       Aang's back story is also interesting and he wrestles with past regrets. I love the tender relationship with his friend Katara who sweetly encourages him.      It's a great character-focused episode and I love it a lot! It's S+ Tier and a 10 out of 10.

I did this blog for fun but now want to have a break from it. The blogs I already wrote--up to some time in November--will still be published but I am done for awhile okay.

     Lunar Silver Star Story Remastered is a great updated version of a classic originally released on the Sega Cd in the early 90s.       It's a very charming game and the characters are definitely the highlight of the game. They are so lovable, funny, quirky,  and likable.      The main character is Alex. He is a good-natured teenager who lives in Burg with his friends Luna and Remus and Alex's flying cat-like creature Nall.      I don't talk about plot points much to have spoiler-free review but suffice it to say what starts as a simple adventure gradually escalates into an epic quest to save the world.      Besides the great characters I also like the witty well-written dialogue.  NPCs often have interesting or funny things to say so it is worth talking to them.     The music is unforgettable and there are even a few songs with lyrics and I think they are nice songs myself. Such a cha...

    Ugh, "The Great Divide" is a terrible episode and probably the only bad one in this entire amazing series.     What I hate most is that the main characters all act unlike themselves and their established characters.      Sokka was already established in the previous episode "Jet" as intelligent with sharp instincts and great leadership skills. Now he is reduced to a comic relief character only who is stupid and petty. And Katara gets similar treatment. The usually thoughtful and kind girl is portrayed in similar ways to her brother as petty and bickering with Sokka for stupid reasons. This contradicts their established strong sibling bonds. They normally tease each other, this is true. But they are engaged in a senseless rivalry through this episode.      Aang is also misrepresented. Throughout the episode, he is mostly okay but at the end, he resolves a petty dispute between 2 equally unlikable tribes through an outright fabrication...

     "Jet" is a wonderful episode and I especially love Sokka, whose intelligence and leadership make him shine and show that he is more than a comic relief character.      Besides this, it also introduces a very charismatic, complex,  and dangerous antagonist in the character Jet and the charming and fun characters in his gang.     If the show has a flaw, it is that it somewhat hurts Katara's character as she seems blindly smitten by Jet's charms. I think the show might go a bit too far, but it's much less offensive to me than the frankly bad treatment she got in the previous episode, "The Waterbending Scroll," which actively made her act uncharacteristically selfish and reckless. After all, it's believable that a young teen like Katara might easily develop a crush as opposed to arbitrarily becoming immature and foolish for the sake of the plot.   Overall, it's a very solid S-tier episode in my opinion, and another 10 out of 10.   ...

     "Tourist Trapped" is a great first episode and I love it.       The visuals are great, especially the opening sequence, which is amazing, and the soundtrack is also great. Love the music in this one.     But it's the characters and humor in this show that shine even more and are so likable and funny. I especially love the twins, Dipper and Mabel, and their sweet sibling relationship, and Grunkle Stan is hilarious and oddly charming despite his rough-around-the-edges conman shtick.      The antagonists of this episode are the gnomes. On the surface, they seem more silly and comedic than truly scary but they are actually super sus and creepy little guys.     As far as family-friendly, I feel that it's more geared to a pre-teen audience, as it's largely an innocent series, as I recall, but it is pretty frightening in bits for a kids' show. Usually not too scary though.     I love this show and this first e...