Car JoeMeZ Ep. 335 “Fun With Friends”

It’s new episode day and the boys are wrapping up the week that was! We talk some Super Bowl and the commercials that filled the gaps, “Koala Man” & “Chainsaw Man” (both on Hulu), Bollywood classic EEGA (Netflix) and more! Subscribe wherever you get podcasts or watch the video version on YouTube!

Transformers: War for Cybertron “Chapter 1: Siege, Ep. 5”

Welcome back to another cartoon episode recap where we’ll be looking at the penultimate episode of Chapter 1 of Netflix’s Transformers: War for Cybertron series! If you’ve been following along each day with these blogs, you know I’ve been high on this series, but really want to know how you’re feeling about it so get into the comments or hit me up on Twitter to let me know your thoughts on this series.

When we left off, the Autobots received a surprise visitor at the Ark: Jetfire, the now exiled Deception general who found himself questioning Megatron’s advanced plans to commit a full genocide against the Autobots and even killed fellow Seeker, Skywarp, to temporarily keep the location of the Autobots’ base a secret. He’s now shown up on the Autobots’ doorstep, badly injured, but wanting to join their cause.

Something big is brewing as Bumblebee – now equipped with the Alpha Trion Protocols – thinks he knows the location of the All Spark which is being sought after by both sides and could be a game-changer for the squad getting to it first.

No sense in waiting longer, let’s transform and roll out.

Transformers: War for Cybertron “Chapter 1: Siege, Ep. 4”

Welcome to part four of the Transformers: War for Cybertron saga! It’s good to be back and checking out another episode of something I’m really into so let’s not waste a lot of time messing around.

Yesterday’s episode was…a lot. A lot of a lot of things. Grit, hope, despair, darkness, action. It’s actually amazing that they were able to fit so much into a singular episode and still make it digestible, but somehow they did it and I applaud the writing staff for that.

When we left off, Jetfire – a Decepticon and leader of the Seekers as well as Megatron’s right hand – had turned on Skywarp, another of the Seekers, for wanting to start an Autobot genocide that Jetfire simply was not about. He’s questioning his motivations as this war continues and while Megatron has thrown honor and the code of war to wayside for any chance to finally defeat Optimus Prime, Jetfire still refuses to break from his beliefs. Skywarp did survive long enough to fly back to Decepticon base, but his spark ran out shortly after ratting out Jetfire to Starscream who you can only imagine is too happy to hear of Jetfire’s treasonous ways.

And that is how we’ll start today. Another exciting look into the war for Cybertron. Transform and roll out.

Transformers: War for Cybertron, “Chapter 1: Siege, Ep. 3”

Welcome to another recap of Netflix’s Transformers: War for Cybertron series! I’ve been digging the previous two episodes big time and, if you’re here for the ride on episode 3, I assume you are as well.

With only six episodes in Chapter 1 of this show, today represents the halfway point and I’m sure a lot of you have already skipped ahead and completed your binge viewing. I get it, trust me, as I’ve been hyped to get to the next episode as soon as I finished each of these, but I enjoy letting it settle a bit and being able to focus and remember what has already happened before jumping into the next one. Different strokes for different folks, as they say on the streets.

In yesterday’s episode the Autobots were led into a trap after Soundwave detected Ultra Magnus sending communications to Optimus Prime while in a Decepticon holding cell, but – most pertinent to Megatron – Prime still lives which has altered his internal code about honor in warfare leading him to want a full annihilation of the Autobots.

The search for the All Spark continues by both factions which is looked as a game-changer and could swing the war to the side which gets it in their possession. The Autobots, historically the underdogs in all iterations, now seem to be in more dire straits than ever with limited resources and an ever-shrinking roster of manpower from suffering casualties in all battles. There’s even a shot of a medic bay with dead and destroyed Autobots lining the room from past battles giving a glimpse into the severity of war and also causing some within the ranks, most notably Elita One, to question Optimus Prime’s decision-making which has never been a storypoint in any telling of Transformers that I can remember.

All of which sets us up for another interesting day on Cybertron as the next battle awaits. Transform and roll out.

Transformers: War for Cybertron, Chapter 1: Siege, Episode 2

Welcome to another cartoon episode recap! Following up on yesterday’s premiere for Netflix’s new Transformers: War for Cybertron we’ll be humming right along into the second episode today. With this series being available for nearly a week already, there’s plenty of full recaps and spoiler-based reviews out there and I’m pretty surprised with the mixed feedback. I’m already all-in on this show after one episode and yet, I’m seeing plenty of people say that the series is “too dark” which really doesn’t make sense to me. Yeah, it’s not exactly the goofy, kid-friendly fare you’d normally expect, but the battle of Autobots versus Decepticons has always revolved around one thing: war. It’s a war for survival of their race and yeah, that can get pretty dark.

So we gather today for the next installment of this war. When we left off, Megatron was getting a surprise guest who was cloaked to keep their identity secret, but even then, it was pretty obvious who it was. The episode cut off before the reveal so I’m sure we’ll be picking right back up with that today. Time to transform and roll out.

Daily Cartoon: Transformers: War For Cybertron, Chapter 1: Siege, Episode 1

We’re starting the week with a brand new iteration of a long-beloved 80s staple: the Transformers are back, baby! A brand new telling of the Cybertronian warriors’ story has just released on Netflix and after seeing some of the promo shots around the internet in recent weeks, I’ve been all hopped up for this like I’ve been guzzling Mountain Dew!

I’ve been a Transformers fan for as long as I can remember and, with how Netflix has delivered in huge ways with Voltron and She-Ra in recent years, I’m fully expecting this series to be another home run. Those Netflix people are taking very good care of the things I grew up loving so I will support until they give me reason not to.

Interesting concept with this series as this is being promoted as a “trilogy”. What is now available is filed under “Chapter 1: Siege” with two more chapters to come at a later date. There are only six episodes currently available so this has the feeling of something we’ll speed through and be begging for more with the quickness.

It’s the nostalgia that bit with this, obviously. All the promo stuff I had seen depicted all the Autobots and Decepticons in a fashion true to their classic 80s selves and – real talk – that grabbed me and I’m prepared to love this show even if it’s terrible.

But that decision can’t be made for another 22 minutes so fire up your Netflix-enabled device, transform and roll out!

Daily Cartoon: BAKI Ep. 26 “The Centennial Tournament”

Well…we made it. After five weeks, we’ve come to the end of our journey with Baki Hanma who was more some guy that we happened to drive by and wave to rather than an active participant on our trek.

As much as it’s seems as if I’ve been hate-watching this for the past couple of weeks, things weren’t all bad. The first half of the series was awesome and exciting, but just seemed to completely lose its way and become oatmeal. Total mush with nothing of substance.

I’m really not expecting a lot out of this finale. Which sucks because I’d like to see this go out with a bang, but I just don’t believe that to even be an option at this point in the series.

When we left off, Baki was mortally wounded, but was being healed by noted shaman Andre Stallone (not his real name, but may as well be) when Kaioh Retsu comes back from the dead after digging himself out of the earthquake crater to become Baki’s new guardian and…I dunno…what do you do with kids? Take them to the zoo? Sure. Retsu’s going to take this dying teenager and his girlfriend to the fucking zoo.

Oh, and did I mention the Chinese are here in a goddamn helicopter? Because that’s a thing. Let’s find out what any of this has to do with Muhammad Ali.

Daily Cartoon: BAKI Ep. 25 “God and the Devil”

Welcome to the penultimate Baki episode recap! Five weeks is a long time to stay consistent and I give you all a lot of credit for coming back each day to keep up with the happenings in Tokyo.

For half of that time, this show has been a jumbled mess with no real direction or apparent endgame and that certainly continued in yesterday’s episode where it was revealed that there’s some kind of history between Yujiro Hanma and – I still can’t believe this is a thing – Muhammad Ali.

Yep. THAT Muhammad Ali.

They can’t possibly have the rights to use the character of Muhammad Ali, can they? I mean, it’s on Netflix; someone must have noticed. But…really?

Look: there’s two episodes left. I shouldn’t let this drive me crazy, but here we are. Going crazy. I just…ya know what? I’m not going to do this. I’m just going to hit play and see where this takes me. You do the same.

Daily Cartoon: BAKI Ep. 24 “Defeat”

Welcome back to another Baki episode recap! Just a few days remain before we can put this show to rest and move on to something that hopefully remembers what it’s actually about.

In yesterday’s episode, we got more new bad guy vs. old bad guy stuff with one of the newbies cutting off one of the oldie’s hands. His dangerous hand. His poisonous hand. The hand that rocks the cradle. Hands across America. Hands up, baby, hands up, give me your heart, gimme, gimme your heart.

Sorry, got lost for a second

Yanagi is now worthless since he had his hand cut clean off by the newly-arriving Izuo Motobe. Whatever, man. These writers are going to do whatever they’re going to do and they don’t care about what some guy with a cartoon blog thinks about it.

Either way, it seems like curtains for Yanagi as Yujiro Hanma is on the scene and is encouraging Yanagi to pack it up, pack it in.

As with all episodes, we shall pick up where yesterday’s left off. Let’s go.

Daily Cartoon: BAKI Ep. 23 “The Real Attack”

It’s time for your Wednesday cartoon watchalong and we keep rolling with Netflix’s Baki. Just four episode remain and honestly, this has become a hate watch for me. Part 1 was fine. It was something that was new to me with intense action sequences and a pretty easy to follow story: a bunch of guys are brought to Tokyo and are competing in a no rules, no holds barred, anything or anywhere goes fight to be the best in the world.

Since getting to Part 2 (Episode 14), everything has gone out the window and it’s become just a bunch of bullshit thrown on screen to take up time and go nowhere. I don’t even know where some of these grudges causing new fights are coming from as characters are just thrown together and then given full episodes (or longer!) to fight or tussle, but not advance any part of the story whatsoever.

Each character pairing at this point feels like some kind of independent happening that has no consequence for anything else occurring within this universe anymore. It’s rough. But at least it’s almost over. That’s all I have to motivate me to continue this: it’s almost over. Maybe you think I’m nuts and that this show is legit. Please hit me up and tell me why. Not even being sarcastic. I want to know what you like about this show. Open my eyes to something I’m not seeing. For now, it’s Episode 23 on a Hump Day watch.