Marvel Disk Wars Avengers Full Series Review and Final Thoughts (Minor Spoliers)

Hi everyone! I have been very busy lately so I don't have time to review shows like Dog Days Season 3, Cinderella Girls and even Marvel Disk Wars Avengers due to my personal work life. I don't even have time to go through all the Spring shows that are out already. (Hopefully I can go through them eventually)

Anyway, here is my final review and thoughts of Marvel Disk Wars Avengers that ended last March.

If you are still living under a rock all these while, here is a short summary of the show-Tony Stark/Iron Man has created a new device named DISK that is able to hold any objects including humans for an indefinite period of time. He worked with Professor Akatsuki Nozomu from Japan and he invited his two sons, Akira and Hikaru to America to witness the unraveling of DISK. However Loki has send a lackey, Tim to steal the device and released many of the Super Villans from their prison.

In the chaos, the Avengers and many of the Marvel Super Heroes were captured into the DISK. But thanks to Spiderman, he managed to recover five of the disks and Akira, Hikaru and three more kids-Chris, Ed and Jessica were given the power to use the DISK. So the search begin to find the missing heroes and villains all over the world...

I love both Marvel and DC comics in general and I always look forward to how different interpretation of both heroes and villains will be from a different writer and artist will do. So when Toei animation and Marvel Comics team up to do this show, I was thinking will it have the same feel from the Madhouse's Marvel series?

But after reading the plot, it is clearly a show for kids and some might claimed it is ripping off Digimon and Pokemon. However instead of just focusing on the five main Avengers-Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Wasp (Not Black Widow) Toei was allowed to use any characters from the Marvel Universe (Except for the Fantastic Four which is odd) and they really brought on some B-list and even C-list characters into the series.

The show also doesn't take itself too seriously and the kids are not stupid to know what is right and wrong (Except for Akira) which I really dislike him despite being the series leading kid. But there is a reason why it was done this way. Iron Man is the smart ass show off like his movie counterpart and a bit of hot head which played with Akira's curious nature and playfulness. On many occasions, they couldn't get along but once they do, their partnership was great. Furthermore, Tony actually felt responsible for causing Akira and Hikaru to loss their father not once but twice! So in a way, he is making up to the two brothers like a surrogate father.

Hikaru is the overprotective older brother which mirror Thor's issues with Loki for having an irresponsible sibling. Chris and Captain America couldn't get along at first due to Cap fearing of losing another partner like Bucky but in the end, they came to a compromise and several occasions, Chris actually save Cap's life. Ed and Hulk are the odd couple however Hulk see a bit of his alter ego on Ed since he is such a weakling but in the end, they came out to be the best partners among the five kids. Jessica and Wasp are two peas of a kind so not much to say about them.

The best part of the show are the episodes when Akira and Iron Man are not the focus of the episodes. Seriously, Akira was annoying at hell and keep shouting Tony's name every time he is in trouble. Iron Man himself is arrogant, cocky and sometime get ahead of himself. The only time he is good is when he is quietly building some device in his lab and Pepper keeping a lash on him.

Only in this universe where the Mandrain and Silver Samurai actually come and bail Iron Man's ass!

I am seeing that Marvel and Toei also agreed on some terms when doing the episodes. Like when Guardians of the Galaxy the movie was aired in Japan, the show actually introduced them in a two parter and together with the Avengers, they battled Ronan the Accuser and Fin Fang Foom. People complained that the Avengers never worked with the X-Men in the America series but here they did and Magneto was a bad ass smashing Sentinels Robots like paper. They even did their version of Age of Ultron with Hank Pym saving the day. (Yes, it is Hank Pym not Tony who created Ultron for all you newbies!)

Rocket looked cute!

Spidey and Blade working together? Make that a Movie!

Even Blade and Deadpool who are considered Anti heroes appeared and they were a lot of fun. Blade was killing vampires like a bad ass and Deadpool bring in his signature Fourth Wall jokes into the episode. Spidey was also awesome for the first arc of the series which he helped the kids in getting the Avengers together and we even had a Venom episode (Although it is actually Hulk who got possessed by the Symboite) Even future Marvel movie characters like Dr Strange, Black Partner, Iron Fist and Luke Cage were promoted in the show and they were a lot of fun.

The main villains were Loki and his cronies-The Celebrity Five who are a group of people who can called out villains to do their biding. Of course, we had villains like MODOK, Green Goblin, Baron Zemo and they even have Destroyers (which I find them to be pretty weak compared to the movies) Even Red Skull and Crossbones also appeared in the second arc and they make up to pretty good villains and the team up of all the heroes battling them was epic!

But the show also suffered some flaws especially the graphic department. Toei is not really the best in doing long term shows and you can tell some of the characters actually look horrible and action scenes was kept to a minimum for some episodes. Some of the characters also looked funny like Captain America looked like Mega Man Star Force, Iron Fist is a Red Indian Chief, Black Widow looked like a Barbie doll. The weblines in Spidey's costume were circular instead of curves and the Lizard looked like Lizard man from Soul Caliber.

The final arc which is Loki mind controlling Nozomu into becoming Ronin and in cahoots with Dormammu was pretty typical Super Villains plot. Loki double cross Dormammu to gain his powers which you can see it a mile away and he went totally insane on the heroes. But of course thanks to the power of Friendship, Teamwork and the usual Anime yelling, the heroes saved the day with Loki trapped in a DISK for the rest of his life. (Hahaha!)

Overall, the show is a pretty good one if you get over the usual anime moments and accept it as a retelling of the Marvel Universe in anime form, you will enjoy it. Especially when the characters don't behave like idiots like those from Avengers Assemble which I really dislike it. The whole show is full of Fanservice and if Toei wanted to make a sequel (provided the sales of the DISK toys are good which I doubt it) make more heroes and villains and please don't make Loki as the Big Bad since he is really overrated at this point.

The Power of Friendship, Teamwork and Anime Cliques!

Final Verdict: Good for your collection. Just watch the best episodes and you will be fine!
 

Quick Picks: Dog Days S3 Ep 6, Marvel Disk Wars Avengers Ep 45

Hi everyone! Because it is the eve of Chinese New Year, I don't really have time to do a full review of these two episodes so I just gave my thought of what I think in general!

Dog Days S3 Ep 6: The short version is Leon held a competition for her marriage at hand. The catch is anyone is allowed to challenge her and if the winner beat Leon, she will marry him. However Leon is too strong for the suitors until a masked person challenge her.

It is then revealed that the masked person is Prince Leaf and Verf's relative. Leaf also lose and Leon just lost her clothes in front of everyone! Later Leaf learned what the competition really mean from Verf and got all blushed up...

This is an okay episode since I do love Leon and knowing she will win everyone is already a give away. Leaf is just having some puppy love for Leon since she met him several years back and even taught him some fighting skills. Leaf is voiced by Oriksa Fumiko (Bleach's Rukia and Suite Precure's Kanade/Cure Rhythm) and it has been a while since we last heard her.

Yeah, give me more, Leon Sama!!!

Ah..Youth!

The fighting was pretty intense and seeing Leaf damaged her armor before it break which could mean his powers are quite on par with Leon. Overall, I give this episode a C plus as the plus point was seeing Leon in her birthday suit! But we are not over with Leaf yet since he will be interacting with Shinku and the others in the next episode!

Marvel Disk Wars Avengers Ep 45: Ed and Jessica tried to stop the Celebrity 5 from stealing an artifact but Ed fainted due to a fever and the Celebrity 5 got away. Tony cross referenced Ronin's voice pattern with Nozomu and it was a match.

Don't you wish this happen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Later, the Avengers tried to stop the Celebrity 5 again and face the Wrecking Crew. Ed and Hulk saved the day but Ronin appeared and fought with Iron Man. During the fight, Ronin's mask came off, revealed to be indeed Nozomu. Akira and Hikaru was shocked by it and Akira claimed that Iron Man knew it was his father all along. Iron Man lose conscious due to the effects of the Dimensional Sphere in his body and was unable to return back to the disk...

The short version is finding out that Nozomu was Ronin which if you saw the previous episode, it is already a give away. The only thing is Tony kept it from everyone which earlier in the episode, Akira claimed that partners shouldn't keep secrets and now the trust has been broken. My guess of why Nozomu is working with Loki is probably mind control which is obvious.

But with Iron Man out, what will happen now as in the next episode, Diablo returned with some Destroyers robots but wait! The Sorcerer Supreme, Dr Strange returned to aid the Avengers! Until then, see you in the next post!

Marvel Disk Wars Avengers Ep 43 and Ep 44 Review

I finally get to see the two latest episodes and it is the conclusion of the Baron Blood arc and the arrival of an underrated Marvel character!

Baron Blood sent his vampires army to attack Akira and the others. Blade and Iron Man hold off the first wave but the mind controlled kids tried to force them to surrender. They even called out the other Avengers but Blade told them to play along.

Akira told the Avengers to transfer their energy to Hikaru and the others which broke the mind control. Hikaru called out Nova and together with Blade, defeated Baron Blood. After the battle, Blade claimed the dark dimension where Akira's father is trapped is filled with unknown evil creatures and Iron Man decided to abandon the idea of making the dimensional portal.

Akira was upset about it however later that night, he heard his father's voice coming from the machine and he accidentally released a masked man into the lab. The masked man was Ronin and he stole the dimensional sphere. Iron Man accidentally touched the sphere during the fight but didn't feel anything.

Ronin escaped and went to the Celebrity Five and Loki claimed he send Ronin to fight the Avengers. They went on a robbery spree, stealing ancient artifacts belonging to former rulers. Iron Man could sense where they are and they arrived at Loki's old lair. Ronin battled Iron Man and his speech pattern sounds familiar. Before he could probe more, Ronin and the Celebrity Five escaped and Iron Man suspected Ronin could be Akira and Hikaru's father Nozomu...

I really enjoyed the Blade story arc and he is a bad ass, taking on waves of vampires and even hold on his own against the Avengers. The battle with Baron Blood was quick and swift and Blade sealed him quickly after he was defeated. But the show stopper was Ronin which I was actually surprised to see him in the series.

For what I remembered, Ronin appeared in the early issues of the New Avengers comics and was worn first by a deaf female named Echo then Hawkeye wore it too and Blade even wore the suit once. For this series, Ronin is a male and the moment he open his mouth, I already know who he was behind the mask. For fans of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive will knew that Ryu Hayabusa was voiced by Hideyuki Hori and he also voiced Nozomu and Ronin. (It is not really a spoiler if you played the games before hand)

Expect Ronin to talk, move and talk like Ryu Hayabusa in future episodes. But how did Loki turn Nozomu into Ronin and what is this evil force in the dark dimension that Blade mentioned about? Which Marvel Supernatural characters do you think is residing in the dark dimension?  My guess, Mephisto or Dormammu. Until then, see you in the next episode!

Quick Picks: Kantai Collection Ep 3, Marvel Disk Wars Avengers Ep 42, Idolmaster Cinderella Girls Ep 3, Dog Days S3 Ep 3

 

Kantai Collection Ep 3: Fubuki and her team arrived at the briefing room for Nagato to brief on the operation. Mutsuki met her fellow senior, Kisaragi who is in the fourth squadron and they were excited to see each other.

After Nagato explained the operation, Fubuki was nervous of the operation and everyone tried to give her words of encouragement. Later Fubuki learned from Mutsuki that she was once like her however Kisaragi gave her encouragement and which she hope to pay back some day.

The next day, Fubuki went to train herself in the docks when she met Akagi. She claimed Mutsuki came looking for her hoping to advise Fubuki on what to do. She told Fubuki to be confident and live every day the fullest as they will never know when it will be their last day.

Soon the operation begin and Fubuki and her team observed the Abyssal from afar. However they were spotted by a scout plane and they were forced to pull back. They were suddenly boxed in from both sides and they tried their best to defend themselves with Kisaragi's team racing to aid them.

RIP Kisargi... (Sunk on 22.01.2015)

Mutsuki nearby got hit by a bomber when Fubuki rushed in to take it out. Suddenly Kongo and her team has arrived as reinforcements and chase the Abyssal away. Kisaragi was about to retreat when she was hit by a stray bomber and sunk into the ocean.

Later, Fubuki's team were welcomed by the other girls and Mutsuki was wondering where is Kisaragi. She and Fubuki went to see if she is returning back however Nagato has already reported to the Admiral that Kisaragi has been KIA and her body could not be recovered...

So if you think this show is all fun and games, think again. Already the third episode and we have our first casualty-Kisaragi and Mutsuki was about to tell her feelings to her after the operation. But now all the team have is her memories. I did some research about the actual Kisaragi battleship and apparently it really got sunk by a bomber and the operations they had was based on the battle of Wake Island which in the show is called W Island. (I know there are some Kisaragi fans which are probably are in rage mode now that she died.)

Akagi's words to the two girls also meant something serious which the Kan Musume need the will to resolve. They are girls who are forced to become soldiers and every battle they sortie could be their last. Akagi told the two girls that they should tell their feelings to the people they love and care before it is too late but now Mutsuki is probably moaning for Kisaragi who had taken care of her for so long and is regretful that she can't tell her feelings to her anymore. Overall, a good episode with a dark tone at the end but next week, Kongo and her sisters are coming in to give Fubuki and company into shape!

Marvel Disk Wars Avengers Ep 42: Blade is hunting down Baron Blood and his vampires in the city. Meanwhile, the kids arrived at a museum after closing hours which Iron Man claimed he created the first automatic security system for the museum.

After admiring a rare jewel known as the Rainbow's tears, they heard a scream and split up to investigate. Akira could hear his friends' screams after that and went to search for them. He was confronted by vampires and Ed started attacking him for no reason. Jubei also appeared and he had the Rainbow's tears together with Baron Blood.

Akira then saw his brother and his friends turning against him when suddenly Blade arrived. He told him that his friends are already vampires and there is no way to revert back to normal. Blade tried to attack them but Akira stopped him. Blade proved his point by activating the sprinklers which released holy water. The vampires and the kids were affected by it which Akira was angry that he called out Iron Man.

Iron Man destroyed the sprinklers and Baron Blood, Jubei and the affected kids retreated. The rest of the vampires started attacking the two heroes and Blade told Iron Man to attack them with "Silver." Iron Man nearby got bitten but thanks to his armor, the vampire broke his own fangs while trying to bit him. Akira threw a silver sword to him and took down the vampires together with Blade.

Later at the mansion, Blade explained to Akira that his mother was bitten by a vampire and died after giving birth to him. He swore to kill every last vampire on Earth for causing the death of his mother. Iron Man checked the security cameras from the museum and discovered that Hikaru and the rest are not bitten by vampires but were mind controlled by Baron Blood into thinking they are vampires. Akira realised they have a chance in saving the others if they can defeat Baron Blood first...

Blade is pretty cool in this episode since Toei is not afraid to show him slicing off vampires which they completely turned into ashes after killing them. Baron Blood is more of a Captain America's villain then Blade's rogues gallery. Maybe they couldn't get the right to use Deacon Frost who is Blade's adversary or Deacon is too matured for a kid's show like this. I was laughing myself when a vampire tried to bite Iron Man's neck and had his fangs destroyed and guess a normal 14th century silver sword is deadly to vampires or rather silver objects which is their weakness. So how is Akira, Iron Man and Blade going to save the other kids but instead the mind controlled kids are right in front of their door step! Can they defeat Baron Blood before it is too late? Find out in the next episode!

Idolmaster Cinderella Girls Ep 3: Uzuki, Rin and Mio prepare themselves to train with Mika but were confronted by Miku who challenged Mio to a game of Jenga. Soon their instructor and Mika arrived and they began their practices.

However the three girls were tired out and Takeuchi was worried if the girls could pull off as Mika's backup dancers. As the days goes by, the girls got better and the rest of the members were envious that the trio will be performing live. (Miku challenge Mio on a regular basics and Anya spoke in Japanese while giving them mineral water to drink)

Finally the day of the concert arrived and the girls went with Takeuchi to the venue. They met the more senior idols who are performing with Mika and they welcome them. During the rehearsal, they had a stage fright when they were evaluate up from the trap door which affected the rehearsal. They all had cold feet especially Mio who became very quiet all of a sudden.

But Takeuchi spoke to two senior idols and they gave words of encouragement just in time for them to perform with Mika. The performances went well and Mika introduced the trio to the audiences and they busted in joy on how fun it was to be on stage. After the concert, Takeuchi and the rest of the members congrats the trio and they were glad they became an idol...

Our three main girls finally got their debut to appear on stage as idols and I was thinking that they might screw up the performances but thanks to the senior idols' advices (which they suggest the girls shouted out their favourite foods before appearing on stage) and Takeuchi's keen observation, the performance was a success. I think Mio was affected the most before they went out.

Despite Mio being the most lively one, her mind went blank and was out of character before the performance. Rin actually pulled herself together and dragged the other two backstage. I had to mention that Rin has good vocal cords when she sang Mika's song which it is obvious she is a Chihaya lookalike. Uzuki is like Haruka with her positive attitude and Mio is like Miki with her energetic personality.

We also see that Miku is pretty childish since she keep challenging Mio on different games-Jenga and Rubik cube. Kanako is the nice girl who offered them snacks to eat but their trainer remind her of her waistline. Anya is sweet despite having a language barrier. She usually spurt out Russian words which confused the others but she tried her best to speak in Japanese and they were happy for her that she can communicate proper Japanese. This show also introduce the trainer's sister who look alike and Mio gave her a nickname-Rookie Trainer which I think it is a pretty dumb nickname. Overall, a good episode as Uzuki, Rin and Mio as they took their first step into becoming idols...

Dog Days S3 Ep 3: The three kingdoms assembled their troops near the dragon forest and Rico and Noir briefed everyone on the situation. Their forces are to set a defensive line to protect the three guardian dragons while the heroes and Sharu are to locate the Dragon Eater which is the source of the demons.

Everyone began to fight to protect the guardian dragons and Yukikaze has just arrived to pass something important to the heroes. After much struggle, Shinku and the others located the Dragon Eater but it's defences are too tight to pass through. Suddenly the Hero Crystal which Yukikaze is carrying reacted to Shinku's feelings and granted him his True Hero form. Yukikaze was happy to see him and she gave two new jewels for Becky and Nanami to activate True Hero form.

With their new powers, they finally break through the defences and Sharu fired her holy arrow into the exposed core. The Dragon Eater is finally destroyed and the animals were freed from the demons' controls. The sky was filled with the positive energy that the Dragon Eater absorbed before and it cause everyone's enchanted armor and equipments to be destroyed, leaving everyone naked.

Soon, everyone returned to their countries and Sharu thanked Shinku for protecting the forest. He asked if he could come again but she said it is forbidden for them to return again. However she will come to see him once everything has settled in the forest...

This is what I want to see in the previous season-a no nonsense action adventure as everyone joined forces to defeat a common enemy. Becky and Nanami also received their True Hero crystals and they turned into lovely ladies. The Dragon Eater is oddly enough looked like a giant bug with a mushroom on it's back but it was completely defeated once Shinku and company defeated it with ease. Of course being a light hearted show, everyone's clothes got destroyed which was hilarious. So now with this short arc ended, what will happen now? Sharu will probably get to see Shinku again since she is infatuated with him. (Shinku, you honry dog!) but is the dangers truly over which I am guessing this is just the beginning for our heroes!