Where in the World is Dazz? A Long Awaited Update: The Trilogy

Where in the World is Dazz Jack? A Long Awaited Update: The Trilogy

Warning: The following post may contain spoilers of various anime series I've talked about before or not at all. If you don't want to know what happens in any of the shows I'm talking about in here, it's best if you join me once you've watched the first few episodes of each. But than again, if you want to take that warning with a grain of salt, feel free to stay put.

With that said:

"OMG! I wonder where Dazz has been for like...hmm...I don't know, eons?"

We did this last time, but whatever. Don't worry, for it is I, not Dazz today, but Jack, who has risen from the ashes and come back to Blogger.

I have a lot of things to explain since I haven't posted on this blog until the Chronicle Mysteries trilogy review. Prior to that review, my last one was on Aria the Scarlet Ammo, where I forgot to explain my anime review game was going to dry up because school came first (college is super important). I didn't watch too much anime outside of a few episode of shows at my school's anime club or what I mentioned in the review I just posted (although I was purposely vague about one show, which I'll talk about later) and most of my free time was spent doing homework, organizing my s**t, or browsing the internet. I wasn't in the right mindset to watch so many shows at once, and it's been that way for a couple years. I'm not sure if my brain can take so much stimulus from watching two episodes of three anime on my own in the same time period anymore.

It's why coming back to this blog has been very challenging. I loved how in 2017, in my first post of the year, I mentioned I hoped I wouldn't leave this blog vacant for an extended period of time again. I tried setting up a review for the first season of Shakugan no Shana, but I was worried that as time passed, I would remember less of it, and forcing myself to watch an anime series with twenty-four episodes all over again just so I could review it seemed like a waste of time. Outside of that, the follow-up season and another second season were put on the back-burner for so long, I didn't even have time to actually watch them once classes started back up and I got involved with my school's production of Next to Normal as an assistant stage manager. There was summer for that. I had other priorities, and anime wasn't one of them.

So, in today's post, I'm going to stop with the empty promises and tell you straight up that reviews will come whenever they come now. If I have time on my hands and there is a show I'm willing to do a review on, I will write that review ASAP. You may see occasional Hallmark movie reviews as well, because there have been a few movies out of the ones I've watched I've really enjoyed (I hinted at one for the next Chronicle Mystery in my recent review), but this will still be an anime blog. That won't change.

My next "special post" won't come out until my 100th review. I have done 91 anime reviews on this blog for shows I've completed and those I haven't. Incomplete reviews are pretty much done for unless I watch a show that's so disappointing or underwhelming I feel like there's no choice but to do one. Yearly rankings are on an indefinite hiatus for now unless I watch enough anime in a year to justify doing them. This goes for season updates as well. Not for Yaoi Corners, though. They may return if I watch more OVAs.

I have also revealed my actual name on a few of my social media pages. Dazz was adapted from my YouTube channel because I wanted to have some anonymity in an online account and had a sibling in the group I was in. Since I was worried people would think we were favoring each other when it came to our shows, the name stuck, and it's followed me for the last few years. However, I realized earlier this summer that I wanted to make some of the sites I use more personal, hence the name change. Since Dazz has been an integral part of my blog, it's not being dropped from the title. However, I will be referring to myself as Jack from now on in any of my reviews or other posts. It only seems fair, even if I'm not changing the actual name of this blog.

With that said, today I'm going to go over all of the shows I've watched and completed that haven't gotten any reviews, talk about my thoughts on them, and if I'm not planning on writing reviews for shows, I will give them scores and move on. If I'm still thinking on giving shows the reviews they deserve, I will hold off my score, and you'll have to wait until I re-watch it to see where my thoughts on the show still stand. I'll also be highlighting some Hallmark mysteries I'm thinking of reviewing in the future but could change my mind on. 

Okay. Time to get this show on the road.

11eyes.

This is probably the only horror series I've seen, and I haven't technically watched the whole thing (like with Jormungand's first season, sorry to admit). Based off of an eroge released in early 2008, Luke and I found the DVD for this show at our local library when we were thirteen and were curious about where it would go. I saw most of it and liked what I saw. It's not too gory, the characters aren't horrible, the animation's pretty decent, and there were a few surprises here and there. I would like a chance to re-watch this show some day down the road to see how it holds up, but I'm not planning on reviewing it.

7.5/10

Ai Tenchi Muyo.

I remember being really excited when the news of this series getting green lit broke. Sure, the production started primarily to promote the city of Takahashi in Okayama, but it was new Tenchi content. Not only were the original characters going to come back, but we were getting new female characters as Tenchi went undercover at an all-girls school thanks to Washu.

This wasn't (and still isn't) well-received by Tenchi fans back when it aired and now, but I thought it was fine. I liked returning to the Tenchi world and seeing the hijinks the characters got up to, and the story once I got the first ten or so episodes became clearer after a muddled beginning. However, five minute episodes isn't a lot of time to truly go into the background of this show, and the development of the new characters wasn't very good either. I also felt the music of the show sounded cheap, and whether that was Yoshihisa Hirano's fault or whoever edited the music's fault (because I don't remember there being a lot of tracks) is lost on me. I wouldn't mind getting the set to see more of the English dub (with our lord and savior, Petrea Burchard, back as Ryoko), but this isn't a show I would review.

7.5/10 

Angel Beats.

This is the only series that's made me cry. Back when Sentai Filmworks had this show on Netflix (it's back thanks to Aniplex), I remember seeing the final episode and bawling afterwards, even though I knew what was coming. My college does have the out of print DVD in their library, and Luke says this show still holds up from when we watched it, so I'm curious to give this another try and write a review for it. From what I remember, the story's good, the animation's beautiful, and the score kicks ass, but some of the characters don't get enough development for the show's thirteen episode run time, since the writers clearly define who are lead characters and who aren't.

Azumanga Daioh.

Another slice-of-life comedy I adore with every fiber of my being. Yukari Tanizaki is a queen, I love how the main five characters bounce off each other, the English dub is great, and this anime is so funny. There were so many moments that had me rolling, but my favorite scene is Osaka with the knife. Forever remember. I won't review this show, unfortunately, but just know it has a special place in my heart.

10/10

B-Project: Kodo Ambitious.

If you don't think I'm going to review this show...

I've already talked about B-Project and how it was a big disappointment to the point where not reviewing it will be absolutely shameful. I'm planning on re-watching it sometime during the school year and making sure I take notes while doing so because I'm ready to give my full thoughts. Don't you just love shows that seem promising but then completely disappoint you? Yeah, me too.

I'm still proud of making those collages, BTW. Here's the edited one because most of the viewers who come onto this blog haven't seen it yet:

Bungo Stray Dogs' second season.

I would review this, but considering it's been a while since I've seen this cour and don't think I have the energy to put my full thoughts in a review, I'll just quickly sum up what I mentioned in the first update post and might comment on it once I get a chance to re-watch it (if that happens before or after I see the third season is TBD). The past arc to this season is amazing, and binging all four episodes is an experience. However, the reintroduction into the present was a bit sloppy for the next four until getting back in place for the last four. There were also minor improvements in the tonal shifts and Atsushi's growth, even though the latter didn't really click with me until I saw Dead Apple (which is amazing BTW. You'll get a review of that down the line).

9/10

Clockwork Planet.

I'd still like to review this series even though it's also not well-liked. I thought it was fine a couple of years ago despite the second half getting rushed toward the end, the tonal shifts having bad timing, and some weak characters. The bad is balanced by our savage goddess RyuZU, a great OST, and some fine animation despite dips. Whenever I get a chance to re-watch this by buying the set or streaming it online, I'm going with the English dub because I prefer it over the Japanese for better voice acting and jokes.

Code Geass' first season.

I remember watching this in bits on YouTube when I was twelve before copyright. Ah, the good times. This was another series I checked out from the library back before FUNimation rescued this series. It's set a high standard for original anime properties, especially in sci-fi, and looking back on it, it's easy to see why. The story was well-structured, the characters were well-developed, C.C. is an icon, the animation was really good, the score was really nice, and the English dub was very good. I don't remember the parts of this show that didn't work as well for me (since I watched this at thirteen), but that's something a re-watch down the road could fix. I would love to talk about this show in the future.

Gakusen Toshi Asterisk's second season.

This is another case of me saying, "I wouldn't mind doing this review, but it's been SO long and I don't have the energy." I had this prepped with an introduction finished, but I knew I was never going to get around to actually finishing the dang thing.

Asterisk surprised me by being one of the highlights from the genre of light novels it comes from. You know, the sci-fi magic school guy gets a quasi/actual harem type of thing that's now dead and being replaced by little sister and isekai adaptations? The first season was pretty good, and the three light novels that started off the series mostly captured that magic. While the second season got more into the show's world and was still fairly interesting, there were more animation inconsistencies (thanks, A-1) and the Phoenix Festa stretched out a little too long for my liking. Aside from that, it was fine.

7.5/10

Haikyuu's third season.

Those of you who've read my previous two reviews on Haikyuu know what score I'm giving this. I'm still not revealing it anyway because this review has been long overdue and I'm rewatching this show once Sentai Filmworks releases the third season stateside. I have caught up with the manga and am now going past what the anime has adapted, though. This franchise still slaps, and I'm pumped for Season 4 and all of the new characters we're getting introduced to and the arcs.

Hitorijime My Hero.

Despite having consent issues and reinforcing that an uke in a relationship is, in a sense, the "woman," this was still a pretty cute show. Both relationships are decent once the dubious stuff is out of the picture (even though the teacher and student romantic relationship will always be dubious), the animation's pretty good from a studio who hadn't helped produce a lot of shows prior to this one, and the OST and voice acting was solid. I would love to rewatch this show in the future, but reviewing it just isn't in the cards anymore. I'm okay with that.

8/10

IDOLiSH7 Vibrato.

I actually finished this very recently. It did take a while before Bandai Visual released the last seven episodes after releasing the first one while the anime was still airing, but I'd say it was worth the wait. I loved seeing the boys back in action, and the drama was JUICY. From more of TRIGGER's background to what happened to Nagi, Tamaki, and Yamato before the TRIGGER concert in Episode 4, IDOLiSH7 having a rare day off, and a summer festival where the Stolen Song steps on shaky ground, a lot of ground was covered and we got to see new sides to characters I wasn't expecting. Who knew Sosuke had a heart?

I also thrived from Re:vale actually TALKING in the second episode even though I barely know anything about them. Momo and Yuki are both incredibly cool and incredibly attractive, though I've always had a slight leaning towards the former.

*sighs* Why are you so charming, Momo? Is it the hair?

Since these episodes were about half length a pop, I'm not planning on doing a review, but just know this is getting a 10/10 and I'm ready for the second season.

King of Prism: Shiny Seven Stars.

Look at me, watching yet another performer franchise. No one's shocked or surprised. I wouldn't call the boys idols, but they do sing and ice skate and perform tricks, so technically they are?

King of Prism is an offshoot of the Pretty Rhythm franchise, which follows women Prism Stars and is targeted towards young girls. This franchise follows male Prism Stars and is targeted towards teen to adult women. It's obvious once you wade through all the queerbaiting (with some romantic backing), fanservice, and the fact that there's what feels like twenty bath scenes in the first eight episodes alone.

Don't forget Alexander Yamato. We must never forget Alexander Yamato. He's the reason I wanted to watch this in the first place.

As a nineteen year old queer man, I understand the show's appeal. I don't understand why Crunchyroll simulcasted this series when it follows two movies that haven't officially been streamed or licensed in the US. If you don't watch the movies, you're missing background context of conversations that take place in the series and context of some flashbacks. Thankfully, Wikipedia has the summaries of both movies and the series explains Prism Stars better than the movies did, but you're still missing seeing it as opposed to reading about it, if that makes sense. Some viewers recommend watching Pretty Rhythm too, but that's a fifty episode commitment, and it also isn't available for legal streaming.

Speaking of the show, it's actually not terrible. The way the main episodes are structured is confusing at first, but they get smoother as the show continues. The characters are pretty good, though some get developed more than others (Yukinojo, Joji, Minato, Leo, and Alexander get the best arcs). The animation is fine with some great CG and boys of all different types. The score stands out with some great insert songs. But part of my secret enjoyment for this show comes from the fact that the developers know what demographic this is for. It's evident from the clothes the Prism Stars wear, the romantic tension between a lot of the boys, the manservice, and Shin and Louis being reincarnations of Rinne and Shine, two powerful beings created to help spread the joy of Prism Shows throughout the world until things went awry, and Louis having feelings for Shin to the point where he internally confesses his love. I've never seen an anime blatantly do this before, and I loved every minute of it.

It wasn't perfect due to the timeline being a little messy, a viewer needing more context than what the show gives you at first, and some characters who I wanted more out of (Mr. Trash Lord Kakeru and Yu stick out), but other than that, it was fine. I made it without a lot of context, so you could too (but I wouldn't risk it). If I wrote a review, I'm not sure I would do it justice, so I'm just going to lay my thoughts out now and move on.

Alexander is sixteen/seventeen but is so tall and so beefy. How does that happen? Whoever came up with his character design is smart and evil because there's a reason why he has a lot of fans based on how he looks alone.

7.5/10

Magic-Kyun! Renaissance.

This was a comfort reverse harem show for me. This brought me back to the good old days of Uta Pri Season 1 before the show took a turn for the worse and all of STARISH had the same personality. Ah, good times. It's so ironic the lead writer from Uta Pri worked on this show.

I felt the story was very engaging, Kohana was an awesome main character who wasn't a wet washcloth, the boys were great (the first years I will protect until the end of time), and the score composed by Go Sakabe brought a smile to my face with its sweetness. While the broadcast animation faltered at points and a few of the centered episodes on the guys fell a bit flat, I can count on this show for bringing a smile to my face and giving the best amount of cheese, no matter what underclassmen from my high school's anime club claim. I doubt I'll have time to write a review for this show, but I will always be a defender of it.

8.5/10

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya's first season.

Here's another show my library used to have when I started exploring what anime had to offer. At thirteen, this show was pretty fun. I watched the episodes how they were organized on the Bandai release, and I think that ended up working for me as opposed to the broadcast order. The arcs were good, Kyo was a legend, Haruhi was a problematic fave, I liked seeing behind the curtain of the club members in terms of their development, the animation was nice, and the score was okay. It's a series some find comforting, and I can totally see why. The question is if I'll continue on to Endless Eight? Maybe one day.

9/10

The Morose Mononokean's first season.

Re-watching the first few episodes of this season made me grow to this show even more. Out of the 2016 summer season, this was the one that managed to grow on me as opposed to B-Project and Servamp flopping and Qualidea Code's animation detracting from some of my enjoyment towards the show. It's the definition of comfort food. The story is sweet, the characters serve their role, the animation strengthens as the story moves forward, and Yasuharu Takanashi proves yet again why he's one of my favorite composers. I'm interested to see where the second season goes, but I might need to re-watch this before I jump in.

8.5/10

Nanatsu no Taizai's second season (also called Imashime no Fukkatsu or Revival of the Ten Commandments).

Here's the other show I hinted at in my Chronicle Mysteries review. I mean, what else could I watch that's over twelve/thirteen episodes, right?

There seems to be a lot of hate towards this season because several viewers felt the focus of characters' power levels impacted the unique charm the show had amidst its shonen counterparts, several characters didn't get enough development, having multiple arcs at one time made the series too messy, and the battles started to get too generic. In my eyes, I think this season is stronger than the first. Let me explain why.

I felt the story was much stronger and more interesting to follow, I liked the new characters and felt the continued development of the main characters worked wonders (though Meliodas needs to stop groping Elizabeth as much as he pleases and Gowther is a MESS), Jericho got more screen time and some of the previously introduced characters reappeared, which lead to me finding out more about them over time (which shifted away from Gilthunder, which was great because since his "my character was all a lie" reveal in Season 1, he's been nothing but a bore) the animation had more of a budget, the score got slightly better even though I still think it rips off from other composers, and the voice acting was still impeccable.

The biggest surprise was seeing Hendrickson completely redeem himself after his character was only a cliche villain in the first season. We see what happened when Dreyfus was possessed by the demon, Fraudrin, and wanting to make sure his friend was safe, Hendrickson also succumbed to being possessed as well. Their bond becomes more homoerotic as the franchise continues, and it's great. Hendrickson isn't a character that's only redeemed by his looks. I like how he eventually gains the trust of the heroes again and seems to be a better man now. You go, Hendrickson!

I also really liked the villains. I liked how they didn't have the same personality and weren't just OP for the hell of it. They were formidable opponents, and Escanor beating Galand was one of the greatest moments of this season. The final battle was anticlimactic, but the rest of the episode's content made up for it, and I'm excited to see where the movie and the third season will go. Hopefully I can watch the latter once it gets onto Netflix and not drag it out for six months.

I still have problems with a few of the subplots and reveals being too cheesy or predictable, Slader's character existing of nothing but devotion to Merlin now, and Suzuki getting a little carried away with the amount of new characters that are introduced over time. Since the writers changed once again for this adaptation, there's one continuity error with the Roars of Dawn minus one member being dead when the writers spared them in the first season (I call it the Black Butler Effect, where continuity gets muddled because of changes made from manga to anime and when the developers have to finish the story with filler arcs). But the good points of this season make up for it. Since time is not on my side, I'm not giving this a review, but hopefully this dump of emotions is enough.

P.S. Ban and Hawk are still amazing and iconic.

P.P.S. Two of the writers for this series primarily work on fanservice shows. It was interesting seeing them work on a shounen property that's sleazy, but also a title that will reach a wider audience.

9/10

Both cours of Nanbaka.

Nanbaka isn't just a prison comedy. It had its serious moments, and the second season's tonal shift was brilliantly executed as we went from LOL to OH NO. From plenty of charming characters to laugh out loud hilarity (minus one joke, but it's fixed in the dub) to stellar animation and a fun OST, I love coming back to this show over and over again because it never fails to make me laugh every single time.

Also, the English dub for this show is stellar. Truly one-of-a-kind. Art. The muse. Pure poetry. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Not that the Japanese is bad, but over time, the dub has grown on me so much to the point where I just watch this anime in English now. While the ending in Cour 2 is a cliffhanger and we're probably not getting another season, it doesn't matter in the end because this show is amazing and reviewing both seasons together is going to be so worth it.

New Game's first season.

This was an anime I actually thought I wouldn't get the chance to see. Luke got the first season for Christmas, and after getting done with a re-watch of America's Next Top Model's fourteenth cycle, we decided to follow with this show. What I expected was what I got. It was cute, pretty funny at times, the fanservice wasn't too bad (although I'm aware it's probably the main reason why some people watch this show), and I got relaxed fairly quickly when watching this at night. I also watched this in English, and the dub was great with a couple stand-out performances.

It wasn't perfect, but I wasn't expecting it to blow me out of the water. I got to learn more about gaming companies, see lush animation, and watch one of the greatest ending scenes of all time. I'm not sure if I'm interested in watching the second season, but I might change my mind.

8/10

Rosario + Vampire's first season.

It's weird comparing this anime to its source material. Both are sexual, but the anime cranks it up a few notches and makes the fanservice Rosario + Vampire's biggest selling point. The adaptation team also moved some of the events and fights in the story around and even introduced all of the girls before hitting its climax, which happens at the beginning of Volume 3 in the manga and isn't anywhere as dramatic as in the first season. All of that happens later, and though it's been years since I last picked up a volume of it, I'm still curious about where the story will go. I just don't know when I'm going to read it again.

Anyways, this series knows it's trash and kind of embraces it, which is one of its selling points. The dub pokes fun at the premise and makes it all the more engaging. This was the first FUNimation English dub I saw back in the day, actually, and it still held up when I re-watched this season over winter break a couple of years ago. I like the directions the story goes, the characters are mostly tolerable and do get some development, the animation's fine for 2008 standards (but Episode 10 is legendarily bad), and the score's fairly cute.

My complaints come from how Yukari's handled and the fanservice being incredibly distracting. Other than that, this series is good in my eyes, and I wouldn't mind going back to see how dated it is and laugh at its expense. I'm staying away from Season 2 minus the episode with all the shorts because that has stereotypical harem written all over it and it's funny as hell.

8.5/10

The Royal Tutor.

Here is another show that's incredibly cute and never fails to put me in a good mood. I really liked learning about the princes, Heine was great, the story's shift to episodic in the middle didn't detract too much from the overall arc of the series, and the ending combined with the last anime exclusive arc was great. The only things I didn't like were how Licht's front was dropped without a word, Bruno's episode, and the score. Outside of that, I liked getting to see this show play out in either Japanese or English, and since the movie's on Crunchyroll, I need to watch it at some point. It may wait until after the series, though, which is fine by me.

KAI IS SOFT

8.5/10

Sengoku Night Blood.

This is a reverse harem adaptation most people had issues with when it aired in the fall 2017 season. I didn't think it was too bad, but I can see where viewers found problems. There were way too many boys, Yuzuki was too much of a wet paper bag, some romantic development wasn't necessary, the animation faltered at points, you get the drift. I felt the story wasn't too bad, the characters that got some development were actually interesting, when the animation didn't drop, it looked great, and the score was pretty solid. This show has one of my favorite OST tracks, actually, and it's a shame it wasn't played throughout the entire thing. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but at the end of the day, I preferred this over Dance with Devils (which I'm not sure proves how good my taste is). I wouldn't mind re-watching and reviewing this anime down the line to see what I think of it now.

Servamp.

This was another review draft that didn't survive the cut. I had a sentence prepared but realized countless reviews exist already about why this adaptation was a disappointment. I still liked parts of it, but towards the end, it did become what I said above: a disappointment. The anime started off incredibly promising, and I LOVED Kuro. However, it's around the halfway point where the series becomes incredibly rushed and the characters aren't developed consistently whatsoever. It also has one of the worst anime original endings I have EVER seen and shouldn't have been as sloppy and anticlimactic as it was.

Outside of those problems, though, we get some good moments, fun scraps of our characters, great animation, and an awesome OST. While it was fun, the problems are probably going to stick out more when I get the chance to watch it again, and I don't like that.

7/10

Shakugan no Shana's first two seasons and the S OVAs.

This was a franchise I was introduced to way back in 2009 when Anime's Next Top Model shows were just taking off. Shana won krazygames' competition and made a name for herself in that community for a time. I always kept my eye on it but didn't take the chance to watch it until I found out the local library system near my college had the first season on hand. I watched the first season during a month of my first semester, and I haven't looked back since.

I have a hunch this show was one of the reasons why light novel adaptations have grown in the past decade. It's got a great story with some good characters, solid animation, and an amazing OST. Some of its elements have traveled to other series and haven't been done as well, but here, most of them are treated well, and I liked following it every step of the way. While I think the love triangle is trite, elements of this franchise have aged, and the second season focused too much on school life in its first half, the show always keeps me on my toes. The OVAs were fun one-off stories and a mini arc of the job Shana took on right before she met Yuji. They were engrossing and made for the perfect filler to watch between the second and third seasons. I'm hoping this series ends with a bang and the third season is just as good, or potentially better, when I watch it in the months to come.

Wilhelmina Carmel is an icon and an inspiration to all.

8/10 for the first two seasons and an 8.5/10 for the OVAs.

Soul Buster.

Like with Sengoku Night Blood, this anime served as an outlier in the fall season a year prior, but I didn't think it was a bad as others thought. I liked it less than Sengoku, but there were still parts I liked in the show's story, characters, animation (without the sparkles) and score. If this series didn't have half-length episodes and the events didn't take place in about a few days, it could have been great for some of its audience. It may not ever see the light of day in the states (or in Japan) in disc form, but it will live on as what it is.

7/10

Tenchi in Tokyo.

This series was a solid return to the Tenchi Muyo world that wasn't five minute episodes. I liked seeing all of the characters I loved once again and seeing what the new characters had to offer. The story developed in unexpected ways post the halfway point, and Ryoko was always a treasure with her moody self this time around. I'm glad we got to see some genuine sparks for the Tenchi x Ryoko ship as well, even if there won't be any payoff in this timeline.

Unfortunately, the comedy got stale once we hit the halfway mark, the animation was a little too limited for my taste, the story doesn't make an impact in the first half, and Sayaka's character is nothing more than a catalyst for jealousy and tension. She does play a slight role in the overall story, but I don't think it was enough to make up for how her character was written. I'll stick with Tenchi Universe for my series fix, though I wouldn't mind revisiting episodes of this show once I own it in the future.

7/10

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku.

This is the relatable comedy I didn't realize I needed until I started watching it. The premise stuck out to me once details surrounding the adaptation came out, but I wasn't sure when I would be able to watch it since I don't have an active Amazon Prime membership. Fortunately, my parents hooked up their account to my Xbox gaming systems, and they have Prime after my mom accidentally kept it going past its trial run. It was a win for me.

I loved the story, I loved the characters, most of the humor is genius (although a couple jokes aren't the most tasteful), and the score fit perfectly. I see parts of myself in Narumi, Hirotaka, Kabakura, and Koyanagi, Naoya is a precious cinnamon roll, and Ko is a precious cinnamon roll. Everything clicks minus the broadcast animation. A-1 put most of their effort into the start and end of the show, and it showed. Other than that, though, this was a great time.

9/10

Yuri on Ice.

The importance of this anime's existence has been stated to the moon and back, but it can't be pushed enough. Seeing a gay relationship in a series that isn't in the boys' love genre is groundbreaking. I also loved following the story and the characters, even though some of them didn't get as much development as I would have liked (poor Otabek sticks out like a sore thumb. I said it). While the broadcast animation was a little patchy, MAPPA still put in as much effort as they could into the moments that mattered. I also enjoyed the score in and out of the skating competitions. There was so much care put into this show, and it had an impact on a lot of people in late 2016. That impact still exists today, and I'm excited for what's going to happen with the Victor prequel movie. I'm sure it'll be great.

Since I haven't done this yet, I'm doing it now. Christophe

Giacometti.

Boom. Comedy.

9/10

The Hallmark series I'm interested in reviewing potentially is:

The Mystery 101 franchise.

Out of all the Hallmark movies I've seen, the two in this series that have come out so far have been very enjoyable. I've liked both mysteries, Amy is a beautiful main character who doesn't mind putting her life at risk in order to solve whatever she's working and has amazing banter with Travis, and while there have been reoccurring warnings of the men in her life telling her not to get into danger, there isn't any angst regarding her growing interest in Travis. There are a lot of surprising reveals, plenty of arrests, and engrossing confrontations. Can I also admit I'm happy the one in Playing Dead didn't end with someone almost dying? I know it's common in a mystery, but not having it for once was appreciated.

Two more movies are airing in a month at the time of this review, and I can't wait to watch them. Hopefully they're just as strong as these past two have been, because this is a Hallmark movie series I can see myself recommending to multiple friends in the future regardless if they like Hallmark or not. The mysteries are great and will keep many viewers entertained.

With that, you're all up to date. Thanks for sticking through this long post to those of you interested enough in reading it. I don't know when my next review will come out, but in the meantime, hang tight and read some of my greatest hits and misses. They'll still be here.

Farewell until I post again.

The Chronicle Mysteries Trilogy Review

The Chronicle Mysteries Trilogy Review (Special Review)

Warning: The following review may/will contain spoilers for The Chronicle Mysteries trilogy. If you wish to stay clear of what happens in each of the movie's stories, please exit the tab, and join me once you've watched them. Or, you know, you can take that warning with a grain of salt, and still read on anyway. Whatever floats your boat.

Anyways, with that said, thank you, and onto the review:

All right. I know what you're all thinking at this point.

"What the hell, Dazz? You've been quiet for almost a whole year and when you do post something new, you post a review for a set of Hallmark movies? What are you even doing?"

It's not like I haven't stopped watching anime. Aside from rewatching Haikyuu and falling in love with it all over again, I've squeezed in Shakugan no Shana's first season and have also seen the second. Plus, there's another follow-up season I watched from December to June and a lot of series I need to cover for a catch-up post this blog has lacked for the last nearly ten months. This is amidst a variety of other things I've done over and have planned for the summer. There have also been Hallmark movies. Plenty of Hallmark movies.

You probably wouldn't consider me the ideal person to get into Hallmark movies, but I was a fan of Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mystery series for a time. When I first heard about the adaptation of Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, the first book in the series and one I haven't read to this day, being made into a Hallmark movie, I found myself semi-curious about it but didn't make watching it a priority until I stumbled upon the DVD at one of the libraries near my college's campus.

Surprisingly enough, I actually found myself enjoying it. Yeah, it was WAY too campy, some of the acting was pretty terrible, and it had that made-for-TV movie feel, but it was a solid adaptation and made me appreciate what I remembered and liked of Fluke's titular character and her world when I started reading that series at twelve and didn't get annoyed with when 2015 rolled around. Since this movie wasn't a total train-wreck, I decided to watch another movie in the series before deciding to watch others.

I think I'm addicted now. There have been a couple movies out of what I've seen that were mediocre, but the rest have been pretty solid to OH MY GOD I'M LIVING FOR THIS ANGST. They're just the right amount of cheese and squeaky clean I sometimes need in my life. From love stories to mysteries with love stories (don't forget a Christmas movie with Emily Osment in it), snarky commentary abounds, and I am invested in what will happen next. Even if it's incredibly predictable.

So we've got reverse harems:

Underappreciated bishie men:

The entire Karneval franchise:

OG Top Model of the late 2000's and early 2010's:

And finally, good ol' Hallmark movies of the mid 2010's and beyond:

Wow. Talk about a variety of guilty pleasures.

So why watch this movie series? Well, Alison Sweeney was set to play the main character, and since she played Swensen in the Hannah Swensen movies, I felt it was a perfect fit. True crime has always been something I've liked to here about in small doses, and considering Hallmark's chaste AF, there was no way anything crime-wise would get too intense. Add in the fact my college's TV service has the Movies and Mysteries channel, and I was pretty much set. I told myself, "You're just going to check this out to see where it goes, and then you'll do something more productive for a Sunday night," as I went to a concert the previous night before the first movie aired and wasn't in the mood to stay up a little late since I had stayed up past when I typically go the bed thanks to Exhibit A.

Of course, that was complete and utter bulls**t, because here we are. The trilogy has aired, and I watched all three of them. The best part: I actually kind of dug them.

Yeah, yeah. They're not cinematic masterpieces, but for made-for-TV mystery movies, they got their job done. Each made me want to keep watching, not all of the acting was complete trash, the writing was pretty good, and despite some of the subplot elements in each flying over my head because I'm still in college and don't know a lot about certain things, it was fun to figure out whodunit and where the stories would go next.

Since this review isn't standard for me, I'm going to be formatting it differently. Each of the movies will be talked about individually in detail before I jump back to the collective whole and give the trilogy a score. To prepare for this review, I re-watched all the movies and took notes on plot progression, characters, direction and writing, acting and sound, and any costuming I liked. Dazz isn't playing any games today. Everything was tracked to the best of my ability.

Because how did Sweeney talk about it in a behind the scenes video? Oh, yeah. Watching the movie as the characters piece the puzzle together makes it feel like you're doing it, too. Wow. How revolutionary.

First up to bat is the story that starts it all:

Recovered

Alex McPherson returns to the fake town of Harrington, Pennsylvania after twenty years away from it. She is there to investigate the nearly two decade disappearance of Gina DeSavio, a childhood friend of hers when she visited the town during the summers as she was growing up. Feeling guilty she wasn't able to help out when DeSavio went missing, McPherson believes she can help out now, especially with her new podcast, Recovered. She decided to take on this project after she left her job to travel with her mother, who eventually died a few months prior to the start of the movies. Her first case was Amy Montoya, who was able to be relocated. But what about Gina? Did she die that fateful night nearly two decades ago, or is there a chance she's still alive?

Arriving at the Harrington Chronicle, a local newspaper, Alex meets some of the staff but mainly works with Drew Godfrey, one of the paper's top employees and the man in charge when their boss, Miles Lewiston, isn't able to come into work, to crack the case. Things get dicey when McPherson interviews Courtney Jeffers, a lawyer and tax accountant who was one of the key witnesses of the case, who turns up dead the following night. While the evidence points to an accidental house fire, Alex and a local firefighter think there was more to it. As outside information comes pouring in, pointing the gang in a variety of directions, it turns out two questions have to be answered. What made Gina leave the Harrington Country Club (where she worked) in a hurry the night she vanished without a trace? Did Jeffers die due to greed over her business decisions, or did she die because of an ex-partner being jealous of a new relationship?

If there is a story element I like in all of these movies, it's the clear defining of multiple suspects. The writers (primarily Melissa Salmons, as she wrote the scripts for the first two movies and co-wrote the third move with Kraig Wenman) do a good job at constructing probable reasons for motives and don't make anything too obvious for viewers to guess right away. The cases are more complicated than they look, and in here, we're not just dealing with a disappearance. We've got a murder on our hands as well.

From a mystery standpoint, this started off pretty slow, and it's only after the first twenty minutes when the pace starts picking up. Killing off Courtney's character was a great choice for the story because she remembers something vital that happened the night Gina vanished without a trace during her interview with Alex. After this, she quickly shoos the latter out the door, and this event doesn't come back up again until McPherson and Drew actually locate Gina (because guess what, she's alive) on a horse farm out of state, where she can finally tell her story. It's something I kept in the back of my mind as other information kept coming in because it was the central question to the case.

The information our heroes find out along the way is juicy. I won't be going into the extent of it here, but people weren't as squeaky clean as we thought they were, and this information might have gotten them killed. With how much info there was with the suspects, it was easy to get distracted from what was going on in the main case because of that over-stimulus. Due to that, and another aspect I will discuss in a couple of paragraphs down the line, this was my least favorite out of the three films, despite my liking it a fair bit.

Salmons was also able to construct good main characters to follow as the search continues. They may not have been fully developed, but I was able to get a sense of their personalities throughout each case; their introductions here were pretty solid as a result. Alex is a solid lead character with ample motivation to solve the cases she works on, even if she gets herself into trouble. Drew may be a bit of a twit to Alex at the start of this movie (then again, most male Hallmark love interests seem to be this way), but he eventually learns to care and respect her. His side investigations in the next two movies are semi-interesting, and we get to see him in his element since he helps lead the Harrington Chronicle when Miles is gone.

My personal favorite was Chuck Matthews, though. Despite being a comic relief character, he has a few moments where he gets to shine. It's a joy to see. Whether it's from a funny line or staking out two suspects in a car surrounded by all the snack cakes in the world, the crew can always trust him for help, and I like that. I also liked Eileen Bruce, the paper's gossip columnist, and Drew's daughter, Kendall, for insight and also lending a hand in elements of the cases. It was a shame to see them gone for the second movie.

I was a little disappointed in the culprit reveal. Bradley Williford was the logical choice, but compared to other mysteries, the characters didn't interact with him enough for me to really consider him a culprit. Alex and Drew only talk to him once on screen before he's revealed to be guilty. I highkey forgot he was even a suspect more than halfway in. Sometimes writers of mysteries do this so you can focus on other suspects that seem more plausible, but it occasionally backfires because while you get surprised (which was the intention), there's also the feeling of being let down. I get why Williford was the culprit, but Melissa Salmons missed an opportunity to zero in on what made him guilty outside of his relationship with his father. I still didn't put the pieces together on a re-watch outside of realizing who the man who stepped on the wine glass was in Courtney and Gina's flashback sequences.

There was also a surprise culprit, who ended up being Detective Chris Patterson, working alongside Bradley. While I typically love this type of twist, I felt more foreshadowing would have been more effective to allude to it. As I mentioned with Williford, the same exact thing happened. It made sense, but I was also let down because we didn't get enough content to make me convinced he was involved outside of not wanting to officially declare how Jeffers died and not wanting to be interviewed for Alex's podcast. Thankfully, the next two movies have more evidence to consider why the writers chose the culprits they did, because I was left a little cold by this.

For this movie, direction was handled by Jason Bourque. There were quite a few great shots in this movie, such as the slight focus on one of the suspects, Trey Hines, in two scenes, foreshadowing at multiple points, and framing on Alex and Drew with a lot of shadow after they confronted Hines about threatening the former to stop poking her nose around Courtney's untimely death. I also loved that the film crew rented out a Sky Zone that was under construction in Canada to film the final confrontation scene. It made for some fun moments because this has been something I've always felt like I wanted, and Hallmark, of all things, makes it into being? Just...no words.

The only issue set-wise was the lighting in the building used for the Harrington Chronicle. Depending on where you watch it, the actors get a bit washed out because the lighting at the time or how it was edited looks a bit over-saturated. In the next two movies, this changes due to different directors, so the scenes look better, but I figured that should be something I pointed out.

Acting-wise, I got what I expected. There was some good (Benjamin Ayres, Dave Collette, Rebecca Staab, Michael Kopsa (who was in the dub for Death Note), and Lisa Durupt (who is probably my favorite actor from Hallmark)) and some bad (Matt Bellefleur sticks out like a sore thumb). Choices were made (Alison Sweeney's shocked gasps after she triggers a trap also stick out, which you can see here if you're curious), reaction shots were iconic, and there was slang that made me laugh. It was pretty standard for someone who has seen many Hallmark movies at this point.

So all in all, this movie was a nice start for the series. Though I wish the mystery progressed faster and the culprits had more content to back up why they were evil, I was still curious to see what would happen, and there were a few reveals that had me clutching my figurative pearls. In my book, that would grant this movie a 7.5/10.

The Wrong Man

After a month, Mike Thurman approaches Alex McPherson to talk to her about the mysterious circumstances surrounding his wife's death, whose body was just found. Tara Thurman went missing three years prior, and her husband was charged with her murder after the police found her car abandoned in a junkyard a year following. He may have been acquitted, but in the public eye, he is still a criminal. Wanting to clear his name, Thurman asks McPherson to make this case the next subject of her podcast due to the success of her prior season. While Alex can't promise outright she'll be able to find answers, she decides to take it on.

Of course, everything isn't cut and dry. Tara's fraternal twin brother, Tim, believes Mike is guilty and has plenty of credible evidence to prove it. Marriage troubles abounded, especially with rumors of Mike having an affair, which Tara was not happy about. And as Drew investigates a shipping company that's starting to expand their business, he notices someone out of place walking free among the employees: Frank Cipirani, someone he interviewed from the Philadelphia mob years prior. Can they be connected to Tara's death, or is something else at hand here?

The Wrong Man starts off in the best possible way with a random hiker stumbling onto Tara's dead body off a trail. From there, the plot proceeds; we return to the Harrington Chronicle, where Alex and Drew go over what happened when Mike was charged and eventually found not guilty. Compared to Recovered, I got sucked right in. It was a lot of fun to see where the pieces of the case led the paper, but the one I zeroed in on the most happened to be the victim's personality. Was Tara the nice woman her twin brother claims she was? Or was a more sinister side seeping under the surface, especially with her husband's supposed affair?

Drew's case made me a little lost because, again, I'm not an adult yet (shipping business and illegal sunflower oil being made? I'm sorry, don't know them well enough), but this case was also easier to follow. There was still plenty of information to keep viewers guessing, but it didn't feel like there was as much as the previous case. Alex's motivation was pretty understandable due to the bad blood between Mike and Tim. Tim is convinced that he is in the right about his dead sister's killer due to the evidence he has taped around his kitchen, which includes newspaper clippings, photographs he took of Mike (he points out one in particular where he is putting a $15,000 TV into his trunk, something he couldn't have bought unless...), and text messages. Post-its lay out the important information. It's a chaotic set, but the creepiness of it all comes across well.

The Wrong Man is also where Salmons tries to lay down a potential love triangle. Sean Mullin, a local firefighter, was introduced in the first movie and served as a source of some information in regards to the DeSavio case. I noticed the slight sparks flying between him and Alex, though, so it felt right that he'd come back and create more awkward interactions. Here, Sean helps provide some background information on Tim Reynolds since the former trained him as an EMT, and he even comes to Reynolds' house where his elaborate proof for Mike Thurman's guilt is revealed. Since he's not on the key visuals, however, he isn't going to be endgame, because while Alex and Drew don't have a lot of romantic chemistry, they work well together, and I can see something building between the two if Salmons wants to dive into that.

There's also the fact that Sean only shows up once in Vines That Bind, where Drew asks Chuck if he and Alex are dating before disappearing, and someone at Hallmark has to be aware that the actor who plays Sean (Toby Levins) was also in the Murder, She Baked franchise, where he played Bill Todd, Andrea Swensen's husband, who happens to be Hannah's sister. I think you can see why that would be awkward.

I also was pleasantly surprised by the culprit this time around. Betsy Grey, the woman Thurman accused her husband of having an affair with (and she was correct), was the one found guilty. The two met because Betsy worked at the same company Mike did. Salmons does a great job at trying to lead you into thinking Mike was the one responsible, and near the end, both lead characters think he was the killer. However, when Betsy arrives at the Chronicle office to tell Alex about information she previously withheld (the affair), the signs are there in her body language. Her motivation isn't the most original (she was jealous of Mike's relationship with his wife and thought Tara didn't appreciate him enough). Her tactics, though, were sneaky. In the months after she killed Tara, Betsy got her phone number and sent threatening text messages posing as the woman in order to bring her closer to Mike. Once Mike got arrested in connection with the murder, she was dumped, which pissed her off. May I also mention she switched clothes with Tara and hid all the evidence against her? 

Terry Ingram was the director for this movie. An easy to notice difference is the lighting in the Harrington Chronicle set. The lights have now been toned down, and it compliments the actors better. In terms of props, the evidence board that seems to be a staple of detective dramas (or at least some of the Hallmark mysteries I've seen) is now a glass board rather than a dry erase/white board. I honestly thought it was plastic until it's used to distract Betsy. Then it broke and I thought, "Okay, guess I was wrong." There aren't as many good shots in this movie as in the last one, and the editors in post picked an odd segment where Alex and Drew are blocked by something when Alex goes over a follow-up meeting with one of the suspects (though I would consider her a low-tier one). There were also a few shots when Betsy revealed herself as the culprit where you can see daylight through the window behind Alex's head, and the writing suggests it's day as well, but the other shots in the ten minutes before the last commercial break and this unveiling cover point toward the opposite. Ingram has directed other Hallmark movies I've seen, and while this isn't terrible, the editing team could have made a few tweaks in order to make it look better. As it is now, it's the weakest out of the three, but not terrible.

My favorite part of the movie is the on screen combat between Sweeney and Kaylah Zander, who plays Betsy Grey (or should I say the stunt doubles). When Alex runs into the newspaper's paper room in order to escape Grey and find a way to defend herself, the two engage in a quick fight that's all kinds of amazing. I got into Mortal Kombat at the start of second semester, and that's exactly what the fight looked like without the blood. Tackling, throwing people into things, hitting heads, elbowing someone in the gut. It was very point and click, and the grunt sounds were so obviously mixed in that it gets a good laugh out of me whenever I think back on it.

More fun tidbits come from some of the actors in this movie. The "new blood" to this franchise played their parts well and worked with their characters enough to make them compelling. Jesse Moss, who plays Mike Reynolds, was in Trollz in the mid aughts. Marco Soriano, who plays Frank Cipriani, was in the English dub of Beyblade Burst. And finally, Brittney Wilson, who plays Charlene Franklin, was in a few seasons of Johnny Test. There weren't really any complaints outside of me noticing Sweeney's podcast delivery was too dramatic and Benjamin Ayres holding binoculars in a way I wouldn't. This was actually pretty good for a Hallmark movie. Normally we get a few duds and some choices made, but not with this one. 

To wrap things up, this mystery moved at a better pace, and the culprit had enough to back up their motivation. I still did get a little lost, and the editing could have been stronger, but the overall package was still investing, and I loved seeing where the case ended up going. I give this movie an 8/10.

Vines That Bind

Since we don't know exactly how long this movie takes place after the Thurman case, I'm going to assume it's another month because a week in real life equals a month in canon, I guess? IDK

Anyway, Colton Saunier was the founder of Chaberton Estate, a vineyard and winery in Macklin, Pennsylvania. He was found dead a year prior to the start of the movie in the vat room from carbon monoxide poisoning. While his death was ruled an accident at the time, Alex McPherson wants to know if it could have possibly been murder. She meets up with Eileen Bruce (who was absent from the previous movie) who knows the family due to touring the vineyards on the East Coast fairly frequently, who feels like something's off with Jackson's second wife, Mary. Tensions are also high between Jackson and his older brother, Gil, who now both co-own the business, but it allegedly was supposed to go to the latter when he shows McPherson a secret will. Of course, hours after this happens, he is found dead. Oops.

As other suspects begin to pile up and the case goes in a variety of directions, the Harrington Chronicle begin to realize someone from the Sauniers doesn't want the paper muddling in their business. Did Jackson kill his father and his brother out of revenge? Did Jackson's adopted daughter, Caitlin, want her own share of the company? Will Drew Godfrey's investigation into Macklin's growth fit into the main case? Also, can someone please stop watching over the good guys, thank you very much?

Surprise, surprise: This was my favorite out of the three. Clearly, Hallmark saved the best one for last, right?

Yeah, yeah, I know. That joke was predictable.

Part of why that is has to do with the writing. Melissa Salmons actually had a co-writer for this movie, who also developed the story with her. She and Kraig Wenman wrote the script for this, and the humor comes through the screen about five minutes into the main plot. Wenman also co-wrote the fourth Murder, She Baked movie, and after seeing other movies his co-writer, Teena Booth, wrote on her own, I think I have Wenman to thank for his comedic influence. Salmons and Wenman's humor blend pretty well, and there were more moments where I laughed out loud compared to the first two movies. I'll be waiting to see what Hallmark movies Wenman will write for next. I'm really enjoying what he's done so far.

The two also don't shy away from making this mystery the most interesting. Both Alex and Drew's work is introduced fairly quickly, and both cases end up tying together fairly well as the movie goes on (Alex is looking at Colton's murder; Drew is looking at Macklin's growth, where the winery is located). Eileen Bruce gives Alex "the skinny" about the Saunier family because she knows them from a wine tour she goes on every year and how Jackson, the second son, shook up family dynamics when he married Mary, a woman Colton and Gil find fishy and only after the Saunier family's money. Caitlin Saunier, Jackson's adopted daughter from his first marriage, briefly brings up the farm next door, owned by Dana Kelleher, as the source of a bad smell Eileen catches wind of during the vineyard tour. There is foreshadowing towards ammonia being set off in the vat room, and Gil and Jackson's tension. Gil shows Alex a will Colton dated to be filed, which just so happens to be the day Colton died. After getting uneasy vibes from the family and meeting up with Drew and Chuck (who is tagging along for Drew's investigation), Gil gets killed right before the movie breaks for its first commercial. The stage is set, and Salmons and Wenman have set their cards right. I got sucked right into this movie and didn't want to do anything else.

Chuck was a particular highlight of this movie. He's had amazing lines throughout each movie, but he volunteers to stake out Andy Woods' house here, who is one of the prime suspects because he used to work at the Saunier winery and was fired after being accused of forging checks. The entire time, he has his binoculars up, phone at the ready, and snack cakes to eat so he doesn't get hungry. It's quite beautiful to go from serious investigation to Chuck having eaten all his snack cakes and seeing drama play out in front of him while slight comedic music plays in the background. It could fit a standard sidekick narrative, but at least it gives something Dave Collette can do on screen with his character in regards to a mystery. Besides, he gets good information that has an impact on the movie's plot.

I managed to call the culprit about halfway through the movie this time. Not because the writers made it too obvious, but because I felt their motive was strong enough, and they seemed antsy about being on the podcast when Alex offered (much like the detective in the first movie). Victor Lustig, a long time Saunier family friend (and their lawyer) was behind more than just killing Colton and Gil. He's the actual owner of the Benton Holdings real estate company Drew was investigating and was paying Dana Kelleher to pollute the Saunier's land with leachate so the value of it would decrease. He also cheated Colton out of shares by having him open a private bank account to the point where if (and that if became certain) Jackson was at a loss for what to do with the winery, he would sell the property to Lustig. Salmons and Wenman do a great job at making you look toward other suspects and giving convincing reasons as to why they could have committed the crimes. Heck, Betsy and Victor aren't really considered suspects until near or during their reveals.

Along with one shocking reveal of Victor being related to a woman related to the founding family of Macklin, all of this comes to a head in an amazing confrontation scene that may be shorter than the others but will still leave you wondering how the heroes will escape. The answer is in the most humorous way possible. It's a gem.

It was David Weaver's turn behind the camera with Vines That Bind, and I think he did an excellent job for made-for-TV movie standards. The lighting in the Harrington Chronicle set is at its most cinematic, the chalk board to map evidence on worked perfectly for the remote location, and the dreary atmosphere around the vineyard and the suspect Andy Woods' house was captured beautifully. It's fun to look at the preview clips and trailers for this film/film series and compare it to the actual movie, because stuff was unsaturated. My favorite shots in particular happened when all of the main suspects were highlighted once Gil was murdered and two separate phone calls between Eileen and Mary happening at the same time. The first sequence had amazing tone, and it was great to see so many possibilities set in stone, while the other juxtaposed two different outcomes through how both actors were framed and their body language. Sometimes the little things settle in the back of your mind, and it makes viewing mass media all the worthwhile.

I do wish one conversation between Alex and Drew didn't have scenery as the two were talking and rather focused on them, but that, again, lies in editing. I feel like there were good shots of the two talking, but maybe the editors didn't think they worked enough. We'll never know.

There were also some sound Easter eggs I caught. There's one scene where Alex is taking a shortcut through the vat room in order to meet up with Drew who is just getting back to the Saunier's property to tell his fellow employees about the injunction placed on the entire crew. While she's in there, someone sets off ammonia and locks the doors so Alex can't escape. Since Drew was able to have a look around the property thanks to Caitlin, he is able to hear the alarms go off and also gets a frantic text from Alex stating she needs help.

That alarm? The editors used the exact same sound effect the Qualidea Code sound effect team used whenever the Unknown were spotted. I shrieked internally when I first heard this because despite how that series wasn't perfect and the broadcast animation was terrible, the OST still holds a deep place in my heart. Looks like the sound effect cues did, too.

Before the last commercial break, Alex is recording her podcast in the bed & breakfast inn the Harrington Chronicle staff is staying in. While she's working, she hears noise coming from outside. She takes off her headphones and looks behind her, but she just sees wind rattling tree branches and hitting the window. Little does she know that once she turns her back, feet in black shoes walk past the window as a dramatic sound effect plays.

That dramatic sound effect is recognizable to many YouTube users. For those of you who follow CinemaSins or another channel that emulates its style (CinemareSins, AniSins, there's probably a Sins channel for anything these days), it's the sound effect that's used at the beginning and end of a video when the text displays. I'm pretty sure it's a sound effect you can find on iMovie or another editing system, but it's still pretty cool to see it sneak into a movie that's airing on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. While this scene is in the preview special, the Vines that Bind clips are the only ones that aren't finalized, so I won't be linking anything this time.

We also manage to get another good crop of actors. My favorite was Pippa Mackie, who played Caitlin. I really liked her emotional range, and she played the character's earnest and secretive sides pretty well. She was in another Hallmark mystery movie a few months afterwards, and while her character wasn't as open, she was able to adapt to the role and had some great sassy one-liners in the beginning of the film. Rochelle Greenwood tapped into depths that I think other actors wouldn't ("GO FIND THOSE HUNTERS!" still sits in the back of my mind), Primo Allon flips the switch from even-tempered to kind of douchey in a great way as Ryan, the horticulturist who becomes a prime suspect when it's discovered he was arrested the night of Colton's murder for trespassing onto the Saunier's property, and Roman Podhora made a convincing Gil even though he was onscreen for twenty minutes. Soap opera fans may recognize Linda Dano, who is back on screen after years away from it, and those who've watched the Black Lagoon OVAs may recognize the man who plays the sheriff here, Dean Redman. Outside of a couple minor nitpicks, this was pretty great acting-wise, and that made me interested to see where the movie would go.

Overall, this movie was perfect for what it was trying to do. There was a stellar mystery with reasonable suspects, a couple shocking reveals, along with some stellar family tension. Even though it's the third in the series, and other viewers might benefit from the context of the first two in regards to the soft love triangle and the main characters involved in cracking the cases, this is the movie I would recommend to friends who like mysteries, even if they aren't into Hallmark. It's written extremely well and kept me intrigued. I'd give it a 9/10.

That's it. We're at the end, folks. The scores average out to a 8.2 or 8/10 for this series so far. I say so far because this review has been months in the making, and at the time I'm writing this, we're a month away from getting a brand new one.

Yup. That's right. The Deep End is almost here, and I'm SO excited. I'm ready to see where this franchise will go next because the movies have been good so far and this one looks good. Chuck won't be there (most likely because Dave Collette wasn't available), but we're getting Tegan Moss of My Scene fame, and that's enough for me. Your regular anime programming will be back shortly, but just expect a review of this bad boy to come up as well.

See you guys soon. This is Dazz signing out.