RJ Writing Ink

Ducktales, “Raiders of the Doomsday Vault” Review

You know what I really love about the modern reboot of Ducktales? Aside from the fact that David Tennant’s voicing Scrooge McDuck and the retro look to the show, it’s how the writers are constantly making references to other Disney properties. The first season saw nods to classic Disney Shows like Gummibears, TaleSpin, Darkwing Duck, and more! Plus, look me in the eye and tell me that the dog reporter from the pilot doesn’t look like Roxanne from A Goofy Movie

I think one secret to a long and successful show is world building and adding to the series lore, and Ducktales has done a great job with that since it came on in 2017. And Tuesday’s episode of Ducktales kept building on that lore while giving us new opportunities for story telling.

With Della Duck now back in the game, she’s spending every minute trying to make for lost time, starting with Dewey in “Raiders of the Doomsday Vault!” While Huey, Dewey, and Louie got traits from Della, Dewey’s arguably the one who’s most like her. So when Scrooge goes to the island of Boarway to secure a contract to repair the Doomsday Seed Vault, they tag along for the ride.

One of those seeds just happens to be for the Aurumoros, a literal golden tree that grows money. Soon as they hear about it, Dewey and Della take the Sunchaser (it’s real name is the cooler Cloudslayer, though) and run off to the vault. And they sing this song from A Goofy Movie while doing so!

I may not have seen Ducktales as a kid, but I did see A Goofy Movie. It was one of my favorites as a little kid, so hearing them sing the song from the film made me grin! The fact that the two are able to sing it in perfect sync is a testament to how strong their bond already is.

Unfortunately, the fact that they took the Cloudslayer means Scrooge’s stranded and has to chase them all the way to the vault. And Glomgold comes because he wants to steal the money tree seed. He even said he was going to do so when he tried to win the contract. And Scrooge gets very frustrated dealing with Glomgold’s stupidity and how reckless Della seems to be.

Meanwhile, Dewey’s desperate to prove to his mom that he’s great at adventuring, and puts a lot of pressure on him. And in the end, the combination of that pressure, and Della being Della, leads to the Money Tree seed being released and growing exponentially. That finally makes Della’s maternal instincts kick in and realize that “oh my gosh, I never should have done this”.

In the end, Dewey and Della manage to get everyone out, Dewey realizes he doesn’t have to prove anything to his mom, and Della uses the Money Tree to repair the vault. I think.

So, this episode followed the basic Ducktales formula for an adventure, but with a new spin on it thanks to Della being a part. She does bring about some interesting adventures, and I think it’s a nice change of pace from seeing Donald complaining all the time. But now I want to hear more Powerline!

I Give “Raiders of the Doomsday Vault” 4/5

Stray Observations

• I’m surprised that Owlson hasn’t just quit working for that idiot Glomgold by now. He’s infuriating!
• Loved the appearance of Ludwig Von Drake. I remember watching him as the host of the Disney Sing-Alongs on VHS!
• No seriously, I really want a cover song of “Stand Out”.
• Loved the reference to Indiana Jones in the title
• There is a real seed vault in Norway meant to preserve our planet’s plants in the event of a catastrophe. It’s only been used once as of now.

Ducktales- Nothing Can Stop Della Duck! Review

If you have read my blog in the past, then you may have read my past posts on the reboot of Ducktales. I never got to see the original until I was an adult, but I knew how popular it was in its heyday. So when the reboot came along two years ago, I was one of the first to watch it, and it was awesome.

The new Ducktales not only meets the standards set by the original show, but even surpasses them with incredible voice acting (they got the former Doctor Who to voice Scrooge), animation that’s both retro and modern, and above all, good storytelling. And one of the longest running plot threads has been the story of Della Duck.

Earlier this year, we saw a special episode that showed what Della did while stranded on the Moon (which I reviewed). Last week, the show returned from its hiatus with a new episode every day. I was going to review each episode, but I never found the time. Then I saw the episode last week where Della finally repaired her ship and got back to Earth. Again, didn’t have time.

Since this week’s first episode picks up right where we left off, I think this is the perfect time to start reviewing. After all, this is the most important moment in the show.

And it was as emotional a moment as we could possibly get. Scrooge was on the verge of tears when he saw Della. They hug, argue about how hard it was for Della to get back, then hug again all within a minute. Considering how Scrooge almost spent everything he had to get her back, this was the most important moment of his life.

And meeting her boys for the first time was just as emotional. And instead of just explaining it, let’s let Webby sum up what viewers were feeling:

It’s a truly heartfelt reunion that makes fans want to cry. I got a little misty-eyed at the start. Once the excitement dies down, though, the episode deals with a bigger problem: having Della readjust to life on Earth. While her love for her kids is undeniable, we’ve seen how Della’s not the most responsible person ever. And she drops the mom ball a lot in this episode:

• She overloads the boys with sugar and we saw Dewey throw up
• She ends up scaring the boys with a bedtime story
• She let Huey skateboard using a shield around the house

The main problem Della’s having is that she’s trying too hard to be a normal mom, but she’s never going to be. And the Duck family’s never going to be a normal family, either. They’re adventurers and daredevils through and through, so they should just accept that.

I’m saying this because that’s exactly what happens. A giant stone monster shows up, Della helps kick its butt, and she manages to connect with her sons without messing it up. It’ll take awhile for Della to truly adjust to being a mom, but as symbolized by sacrificing her robot leg to save her son, she’s adaptable. Nothing can Stop Della Duck!

Meanwhile, Donald has now taken Della’s place as the family member lost in space after getting stuck in The Spear of Selene and crashing on the Moon. And the Moonlanders end up taking him prisoner because their leader’s a warmonger who wants to invade Earth, and fooled everyone into thinking Della was the enemy. So, hopefully, that will be a plot line later in the season, so we can see the Duck family fully reunited.

I Give “Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!” A 4.5/5

Stray Observations/Favorite Quote

• Della planned on naming Huey, Dewey, and Louie Jet, Turbo, and Rebel, but Donald changed their names.
  • Dewey’s reaction is awesome: “I coulda been Turbo?!”
  • Turbo Duck sounds like the coolest name ever
• So, are we ever going to learn who the boy’s Dad is
• Scroogian Alliteration. I’m using that term.
• I loved Della trying to practice her introduction to the boys
• They will need to update the title sequence soon

Sword Art Online: Alicization Episode 15 Review/Recap

When we last left off, Eugeo and Kirito had just gotten back their swords and had a mission: to get to the top of the Central Cathedral, rescue Alice, and beat the stuffing out of Quinella. But they have a hundred floors to climb before they can do that. Then they ran into these two little girls.

LINK. START!

Recap

Those two little girls say that they are Linel and Fizel, two sisters-in-training in the Axiom Church. They were supposed to stay inside their rooms while the Integrity Knights fought, but they snuck out. Also, they stab and paralyze Kirito and Eugeo because they’re actually Integrity Knights.

Several years ago, Quinella was experimenting with bringing the dead back. So she had a bunch of kids kill each other and then brought them back. Yeah. In the end, Linel and Fizel were the only ones who survived that experiment, so Quinella pulled the plug and let the girls become Integrity Knights in training. They captured Kirito and Eugeo to prove they could become full-fledged Knights and bring them all the way up to Floor 50.

That’s when Kirito reveals he was just faking being paralyzed. He pulled a Jotaro and realized right away that the girls were the enemy, so he cast a spell nullifying their blades.

While Eugeo waits for the paralysis to wear off, Kirito engages in an epic clash with the Vice Commander of the Integrity, Fanatio. There’s a lot of epic effects and sword fighting. Fanatio proves to be a dangerous opponent, wielding a sword forged from a thousand mirrors that can reflect energy. Through a bit of trickery, Kirito manages to knock Fanatio’s helmet off, revealing that she’s actually a woman.

Fanatio keeps her gender a secret because she’s insecure about her gender. No swordsman will take her seriously because she’s a woman, which she despises. Yet, as Kirito points out, she makes an effort to look after her appearance because she’s in love with the Commander of the Integrity Knights.

Having fought against and alongside tough girls like Asuna, Leafa, and Sinon for years, Kirito knows that gender has nothing to do with one’s skill, and refuses to hold back, actually earning Fanatio’s. Just when Fanatio has Kirito on the ropes, though, Eugeo’s able to move again and uses the Blue Rose Sword to freeze Fanatio in place. Even after all that, Fanatio stubbornly refuses to go down. It all comes down to a clash of wills: Fanatio’s will to fulfill her duty, and Kirito and Eugeo’s will to to protect Underworld. As the final clash begins, the episode fades to white and the credits play.

Review

This episode had one of the better fights of the season. While short, I could tell that Kirito and Fanatio were fighting with everything they had. They even started grinning in the middle of their fight. When I see that happen in anime, that means that a characters enjoying the challenge.

I have to give props to Kirito for being the first person Fanatio’s ever met who didn’t hold back because of her gender. Given how half his friends are women who can kick ass, that’s not surprising. Heck, Asuna’s as good a swordsmen as Kirito!

As for the two little girls, while I knew that they were going to end up being small fry, I found their backstory to be interesting. The fact that Quinella was willing to resort to using kids for her twisted experiments only cements her spot on my “Anime Women I Loathe”. I’m looking forward to seeing how this ends next week.

I Give “The Relentless Knight” a 4/5

Click here to see more animanga stuff.