FightingSeraph's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Valley of the Arkhams]

That was pretty badass!

Jonathan, I have to admit, you have never disappointed me one bit. Plus, it also helps that I happen to be a fan of your website for years. For something that was made over two years ago, you did a great job. Now, here's my review...

When it comes to art and animation, I like how you chose a late twenties cartoon style and mixed it with your crazy monster designs, along with selective coloring. (A trait shared with Madness Combat, Kong, and Blanco y Negro.) In addition, for a first attempt at doing something much more intense than your Fear Hole cartoons; you did a great job on the animation. It may not be up to par with Adam Phillips, but still got the point across. Musicwise, it was pretty nice of the Arkhams to let you use one of their songs for this, and they did a great job with it. Nothing else to say there. Last, but not least, the content, which I loved. Your direction for this fit the excellent mold quite well with careful angle selections, great pacing, and top-notch planning with your collaborators. Kudos for the Ghostbusters reference near the end. I bet if you keep practicing and studied the right animation material; you'll have a masterpiece someday.

What I did like:
-Clever direction
-Great music
-Nice mix of aesthetics
-Above-average animation
-Underused subject

What I didn't like:
-No replay button or preloader, but I won't knock you down this time.

Overall: How would you and the Arkhams like a ten from me?

[Derpcraft]

Great animation, but not that good.

Look, I know you and Master Sam will get bent out of shape upon reading this, and your fans will hate me for it too; but this needs to be said.

When it comes to the art and animation, I really like how you drew and animated this in both your conventional style and the cubic look of Minecraft. Plus, the color selection is great. (I think more people on Newgrounds should study color theory.)
The sound, however, is a mixed bag. On one hand, you have music from Xenogenocide, which is great. However, the voice acting has forced emotions and the pitch of said voices makes it a little bit annoying. Unfortunately, the content of this, quite frankly, isn't funny. I'm all for using underused subjects on here, and Minecraft fits the description of that, but only if it's good. The humor felt contrived and not funny. If you want to see a Minecraft spoof done right, try watching those by Johnny Utah and Jim Schwertfeger.

What's good:
-Underused subject
-Great art and animation
-Nice use of an audio portal song.

What's bad:
-Not funny
-Bad voice acting

Overall: I know that I have no right to give you a zero, but that doesn't excuse that this was disappointing. Here's your six out of ten.

[A Lovely Dream]

Touching

I gotta agree with the other users on this; it's exceptionally well made. It's nice to see somebody with this ammount of talent and creativity who doesn't attack others just for making a flash out of old video game graphics. Enough of the ass-kissing, on with the review...

In terms of art and animation, this is beyond magnificent when it comes to frame-by-frame flash. I really loved the color selection and the use of colored outlines for something like this. Plus, great job on the perspective, which is another thing that most people on here overlook. However, due to how smooth the animation was, many are going to accuse you of rotoscoping; yet have no evidence to back their presumption. When it came to the music, Dave did a great job with that and helped set this flash's mood. (Nothing to complain about.) Of course, there's the content, which made it worth the high scores it's getting. The story, while simple, was a bit touching about loss; and the direction and angle choices are also praiseworthy.

What I do like:
-Excellent art and animation
-Nice tone and story
-Clever direction
-Original
-Good music

What I don't like:
-Some people will accuse you of rotoscoping, but they have no proof to back it up.

Overall: Here's a ten for you, Jake.

[CastleVania: S.A.D.]

How can I explain this?

Eric, as much as I liked your Castlevania III website--I thought it was mildly amusing, although I didn't really laugh--and your Parovadius series; it just wasn't funny. On the other hand, I'd rather take this over Nin10doh to the 64th Power.

Graphics: You did a great job on importing the sprites, and I really liked the use of scale tweening to simulate squash and stretch. In addition, you were smart enough NOT to save sprites as jpegs and put some thought when it came to resizing them. Plus, great job on that desolate background at the end.
Sound: This is a mixed bag here. On one hand, you did a great job when it came to the sound effects and voices. I think more people should turn to lesser-known games for sound effects. On the other, the music may be catchy; but it didn't really fit the situation. You should consider using the Audio Portal for music next time.
Content: I have to agree with Neophyte Ronin on the fact that there hasn't been any Castlevania-themed flash in years aside from one Symphony/Nocturne themed flash. (Or any Konami game outside of Metal Gear.) However, while mildly amusing, the jokes were forced and as a result; killed whatever merit this had. Then again, I can appreciate the small filesize.

The Good:
-It's been years since there was a old Castlevania flash.
-Great job on the sprites
-Nice background at the end
-Clever sound selection

The Bad:
-Forced humor
-Unfitting music

Overall: You may get upset at this, but I am going to be fair and give you a seven. Plus, I would like you to finish up Parovadius when the time comes.

[Primal War 20 vol 2]

Definitely worth it!

For my 200th review, this is going to encompass both parts.

Animation: A lot of people in animation are usually against using a style akin to a superhero comic because the results usually look like shit, but when done right; it's a blast to watch. (Just like good rotoscoping, segment tweening, and sprites.) Throughout both parts, it was mostly well done with correct anatomy and proportions. However, in the first part; the archery animations, along with the White Gorilla's running slash combo lacked secondary motion. I think that you should get some references for future projects. On the other hand, clever usage of flash gradients.
Music and sound: Great job on the behalf of Bosa on the music, which suited the large scale battle through out the episode. I think more people on the audio portal should consider doing some orchestra music that aren't David Orr and Zack Striefel. Plus, the sound effects fit quite well, but considering the volume that they were playing at; there were times when they were popping and cracking. I think that it's imperative that you watch your sound levels regardless if you're recording your own or using stock sounds from various free sound sites.
Content: I have to say, this is one of those few things that is worthy of being called epic. You had a lot going on here, and it was excellently directed and timed. Plus, seeing that you did something with your own characters; that makes it even better. (I don't have a beef with derivatives/parodies, but half the time they usually turn out to be uninspired or downright shit.) On the other hand, I think you should proofread your text because those spacing mistakes in the outro text are like a small chip on a windshield.

What I like:
-Almost perfect art and animation
-Great direction
-Excellent music and sound
-Top-notch choreography

What I don't like:
-Some of the character animations lack secondary motion, which makes them look stilted and awkward.
-The sound could have been mixed better.
-Spacing mistakes.

Overall: For an overall satisfying experience, here's a ten to one ConceptArt.org member from another.

[Captain Ig'nant]

Top-notch ghetto parody!

What makes this even funnier is that the man who made this happens to be black. Chakra-X, it's been years since NG has had a ghetto parody, and a fucking hilarious one at that! What's next, a satire of Al Sharpton?

In terms of visuals, you did a great job at drawing and animating this; especially considering that the art style is much harder to animate than lets say, Woody Woodpecker. And the character expressions are excellent! It shows that you've come a long way since Darfur Satire Shorts (which I have in my favorite flash), and your Sonic the Hedgehog flash (that I haven't seen). When it comes to the music, clever use of Audio Portal rap/hip hop music, which almost always gets ignored aside from Shadowfox2. In addition, the voicework is excellent in every degree, but it could have used subtitles. Last, but not least, the content. As I said before, It's been years since there has been a ghetto flash, and this was comedy gold. The pacing and direction helped make every single stereotype joke, from racial slurs to teen pregnancy, into the laugh riot that it is.

What's Good:
-Really funny
-Great art and animation
-Fresh and original
-Excellent voice acting
-Magnificent music selection

What's bad:
-Could have used subtitles

Overall: Here's a ten from me, and maybe you ought to consider teaming up with JazLyte sometime.

[Boy Battle Destiny]

Has potential for something more!

Whoa, I never expected one of the guys behind Skittlez 'n Shitz to make a new cartoon since you've been churning out games for the past two years. Daniel, I personally think that you, Blordow, and Yoshi-1up are really talented and would like for you to team up again someday. With that being said...

When it comes to animation, it may not have the best motion, but the dynamic poses in this partially compensate for this. On the other hand, your games are excellently animated even though the poses take a backseat. The line work may be a bit on the messy side, but that wasn't a setback to the nice color selection and character design.
Sound: I appreciate you using music from the Audio Portal, but the song you chose isn't suited for fighting. Recommendation: try Show No Tears by Nemesis Theory or any Xenogenocide song. Plus, some sound effects would have helped.
Content: You have a one-on-one fight that has nice choreography, but it was a bit too short. It may have a small filesize, but having it that fast and short hurt the readability. Plus, the whole fate =/= destiny thing is rather aimless and shows that you could have planned it better.

What I like:
-Original to a fault
-Nice characters with cool poses
-Clever use of a texture background
-Small filesize

What I didn't like:
-The fight was too fast for its own good.
-Too short
-Thoughtless plot
-Out-of-place music and could have used sound effects
-Could have been better animated.

Overall: Here's your eight Daniel, and I hope you work out the flaws if you do continue this.

[Dr. Shroud: Horseleech]

Dr. Shroud still kicks major ass!

I just started watching this two years ago, and I have to say; you have made notable improvements in your drawing, animation, direction, timing, and storytelling, Rob. Plus, it's nice to see you submitting again, along with many other NG 'old timers.' What's next, the return of Keegan's Truck, Combat Instinct, Joe Zombie, or The Lloyds?

Art & Animation: It may have the same Feldman style, but it looks a lot cleaner and more dynamic than Alley of the Dolls and La Maudite. In addition, you did a good job on the tweening, unlike most segment-tweening-based animators on here (example: Legendary Frog). Also worth noting is your clever use of gradients for light and color theory, something most people on here need to study as much as proportions, anatomy, perspective, form, and lighting.
Sound: Good job on the behalf of Science Friction for the music, and the only problem is with the voice acting. While it's not laughably bad; it could have been done better. However, I am thankful for the fact that you're not using people who are stale from overexposure.
Content: While I haven't seen the other episodes that were made after the La Maudite story arc; that didn't stop me from enjoying this one bit. Your direction and pace are excellent although that resulted in this being short. However, I'd rather have something that's short, but well-directed and written over something that's needlessly long due to bad direction and timing. However, I think that you could have included subtitles because the voice recordings are a little soft. That and the credits went by rather fast: not even fast readers could read all that in such short notice.

The Good:
-Excellent Direction and pace
-Compelling plot and dialog.
-Nice animation
-Clever color selection
-Fitting music

The Bad:
-The voice acting, while not bad, could have been done better and with a higher volume.
-Could have used subtitles
-Credits went by too fast

Overall: Mr. Feldman, will a nine out of ten suffice?

[Warriors of the Portal]

This is fucking beyond magnificent!!!

Osuka, I did not expect to see something of this scale from you, and also never expected Hadouken Dude to do something other than sprite movies. (I don't have a problem with them as long as the movie is good.) When it comes to people importing digital video to flash, there's always a couple of Flash Zealots who rate it low due to the medium used rather than the overall product; that pisses me off. But let's not get sidetracked here...

Animation: I love how you mixed both cartoony and realistic 3D models together, which created a nice juxtaposition throughout the entire movie. The textures are up to par with industry standards, and bonus to Newgrounds Legend Mindchamber for helping with P-Bot. Of course, the animation has outdone NGE: Con Gran Dolore, Gunchest, Combat Instinct: Unregulated, and most other 3D animation on NG.
Sound: Excellent job on behalf of Jorma, Jazza, Jeff, Chris, and Victor. The music fit perfectly, and the voice acting was great. Kudos on not using the same voice artists we've seen tens, if not hundreds, of times in other flash.
Content: For something that took a borderline-outlandish ten months, I say that the effort and the result are worth such time. (It took even longer to make Fallen Angel Ep.1 and Keegan's Truck Chronicles Ep.1) The choreography, angles, pacing, etc. are worthy of being compared with The Stick Slayer, the first heroic flash series on here. (Too bad Ben died, he would have added this to his favorites.) And your subject variety is also worth noting: Aside from Pico and friends, you have the following:
-Tankmen
-The Mindchamber
-Gigantor from Facebook Twitter
-Larry and Paladin (even though I'm not a fan of either one)
-Time Fcuk
-Hank and the zombies from Madness
-Sera from Fallen Angel
-Gooseman from Greasy Moose
-Castle Crashers
-Battleblock Theater
-Red Baron
-Chainsaw the Children
-Alien Hominid
An excellent choice, but having to quickly click in certain scenes without any indication aside from medal descriptions is grating. It's not just when, but where.
Plus, I would have thrown in some lesser-known characters such as Keegan (Keegan's Truck), the Combat Instinct heroes, the Stick Slayer, and the white gorilla from Primal War. On the other hand, that would have added to the production time, so I'm not going to bitch. In addition, I noticed that SCTE3 brought up Battle For The Portal, and while this and that series have the same premise; this was better directed and animated.

[+]
-Great modeling, texturing, and animation
-Excellent music
-A-level voice acting
-Nice subject variety
-Exceptional direction

[-]
-Having to click blindly to get certain scenes isn't very intuitive. It's more of a matter of where to click than when.

Overall: Osuka, Mindchamber, and everyone else; how would you like a ten from me?

[The Devil's Bones 1]

Not bad at all...

I usually hate these flash/motion comics because aside from being static; most of them have digitally painted slides that are slowly tweened and are badly written in the dialogue department. On the other hand, you were smart and chose to let people read at their own pace, which is a bonus for various reading speeds. As for the art: still top notch from one of ConceptArt.org's best. You have a knack for great setting selections, and I think people on NG should consider making their own Steampunk/Fantasy flash (although it has happened already). Of course, that takes a backseat to the content: So far, so good. I read the whole thing through, and kudos for not taking the G/PG route. Truth is, if violence is ok in animation, so are sex and swearing as long as it's done right. (And in your case, it was.) You must know a thing or two about story writing, in addition to your already-magnificent. The only problems I have with this are that it could have used some ambient sounds in the background, some small bits of animation to accentuate the panels, and could have been a bit longer.

[+]
-Great drawings
-Underused setting
-Original
-Great story and dialogue
-The fact that people can read at their own pace

[-]
-The fact that this is a flash comic
-Could have used some bits of animation for the individual panels, along with ambient sounds.
-Plus, it was a bit short.

Overall: From one CA member to another, here's a seven out of ten.

Hyptosis responds:

Thanks, CA unites! :D

*Go team venture!*