Happy New Year!

From all of us at Silent Divergence, we would like to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year. 2010 has been good to us at Silent Divergence and we would like to thank all of you for your support. We look forward to your continued support in 2011.

The Silent Divergence Team

Blue Dragon

So having gone into Christmas break, I decided I would try and be brave and take on a larger anime series. In the hopes that I would be able to finish 51 episodes in 7 days it turned out that I bit off a little more than I could chew. All my wishful thinking was not a complete loss though. Blue Dragon turned out to be a worthwhile anime to watch.

So far I have managed to make it through 32 of the 51 episodes as of this post. The premise behind the whole story is that Shu and his friends are trying to recover the extra 7 pages from the Book of the Beginning that was stolen by General Logi, a member of Lord Nene's army. Shu and his companions turn out to be shadow wielders who are descendants of the legendary Heroes of Light. They possess real shadows, where the members of Lord Nene's army use synthetic shadows created by Lord Nene. The entire story is a quest to recover and decipher these extra 7 pages to understand how to maximize the potential of their shadows.

On the surface, the story doesn't seem too robust. After getting into the story though, there is a great deal of intertwining between many of the story elements, making it more complex and entertaining. Each episode is tied into the next much like many of the Bleach or Naruto episodes are. I did like the fact that there was little to no filler in this series. Although you do need to watch all of the episodes to make sense of what is happening, each episode tended to have an ending. Very rarely did a sequence such as a battle extend beyond two episodes tops. I found that this allowed the story to progress a little quicker and not lose my attention. Although the first couple of episodes were a little dry, it was worth sticking them out because the series really picks up after that point.

  

The animation in the show is phenomenal. It is very clear that the character designer has influence from Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Quest, and Chrono Trigger. Not only the physical design of the characters represents characters from these other series but also their mannerisms and personality traits. Two striking examples are General Logi and his resemblance to Vegeta in terms of appearance; the second is Kluke and character likeness to Bulma.

The music in the show is fairly repetitive. There is the same motivational battle music right when things are looking tough and the heroes have to dig deep and pull through. This is also one series where I can say I was not crazy about the intro theme or the ending theme either. The background tracks were decent but the intro and ending lost it for me.

As a whole Blue Dragon is a good show and definitely worth taking the time to watch. Be patient with the first couple of episodes because the story does need them to get itself started. After watching this series, I will be pulling the game off my shelf for XBox 360 and giving it a run through. Stay tuned for the review on the original Blue Dragon game as well.

Rival Schools: United By Fate

This game brings me back. Rival Schools was a classic fighter on the Sony Playstation. The game was released during the same time period as other Capcom fighting classics such as Dark Stalkers 3, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Star Gladiator. It was certainly one of the better fighting games on the Playstation console and has had some of its characters ported over to other Capcom fighting releases such as Capcom vs. SNK and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom.

Rival Schools employed the same 3D sequences as Street Fighter EX@ and Street Fighter EX2. The levels and characters are all polygon based, which by todays standards are pretty jagged looking. During the height of this games time though, the graphics were very good.

There are a number of characters to choose from in the game and a lot of extra unlockable features. Rival Schools certainly does boast a larger character roster then we typically saw on many PSX games. An interesting feature of this series was the use of two separate game discs. There was an Arcade Disc which allowed players to unlock extra levels and characters. The second disk was called the Evolution Disc, allowing players to participate in mini games, view artwork, listen to soundtracks, and providing additional characters not found in the Arcade Disc. Another unique feature was the ability to swap the data back and forth between the two game discs from the save file on the memory card.

One of my favorite aspects from Rival Schools was the soundtrack. This game has an awesome music collection. As many of the Capcom fighters to tend to have pretty good music, the soundtrack from Rival Schools tends to stick out in my mind above many of the others.

The gameplay is a little different than the other Capcom vs. games in that it uses a 4-button instead of 6-button system. Hard and weak punch and hard and weak kick are the four main sets of buttons. The special attack system is very easy to utilize, often requiring the use of just one button. The tag team mode is also a very familiar feature to players of the other Capcom vs. games. With such a large roster to choose from, the team combinations are endless.

This game performs on a high level as a whole and was certainly at the top of its class back in the day. Even now, 10 years later, I still find myself popping this title into my original Sony Playstation and throwing down a few rounds with some of my favorite characters. For those who enjoy Capcom fighters, this game is definitely a must if you haven't already tried it.

Zone of the Enders: Idolo

Having gone into the Christmas season watching mostly series, I was finding myself a little pressured to get through a lot of anime in a short time. I decided today that I was going to take it easy and back off of trying to get through some of the series that I had started. After about 30 minutes of looking up titles that I thought might be easy to get through, I finally decided on Zone of the Enders: Idolo.

At first I was a little wary about starting this OVA because I haven't played the games on PS2. After sitting through this show for the last 55 minutes though I can say that I am glad I decided to pick it up.

The story is based around a war that is being waged between Earth and Mars, where the inhabitants of Mars have inferior physical strength to humans. The protagonist in the story, Radium, ends up being placed on a special mission to test the Idolo weapon. Radium builds a bond with Idolo and finds himself being altered mentally causing him to act very violent and erratic. The focal point of the story lies around the fact that a weak martian has the ability to control such a strong power in Idolo that could change the course of the war for Mars.

A huge  bonus for me when watching this was the fact that there are tonnes of mechs in it. Being a huge mecha fan, I am usually happy with anything that has robots in it. On this front, ZOE: Idolo delivered. The animation and music elements were utilized effectively as well. I tended to find the music used in the background fit the scene and mood very well. The animation style had enough color to not make me feel depressed as I was watching, but also not so much that I couldn't take the show seriously. The detail in the art was very well done with the mechs. The design of characters was nothing ground breaking but still good enough that it didn't detract from the show.

After reading up a little more on Zone of the Enders: Idolo and how it ties into the sequel series and games, I can honestly say that I do feel there was enough presented in the story that I don't feel lost if I move into the games or series. While I won't spoil the story for those who haven't played the game or seen this OVA, ZOE: Idolo sets the ground work to explain the story of Viola, who is the protagonist in the game and series.

To find out how Radium fits into all of this, you will have to watch the OVA. A review of the series will be posted as soon as we have had a chance to check it out. I do recommend watching the OVA and stay tuned for the follow up review on the series.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas to all of our supporters! Hope everyone will have a safe and an enjoyable holidays! Stay safe and connected with us here.

From everyone on the Silent Divergence Team.

Kenshin - Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal

It started snowing here in Toronto just a couple weeks ago. I was of course indoor but one of the first things that came to mind was the snowy winter scenes from the latter part of the Trust & Betrayal OVA. So I re-watched it.

Many reviewers/ critics have suggested watching Kenshin the anime series before watching both Trust & Betrayal and Reflection but I didn’t actually read any of that prior so I watched both OVAs first. Both OVAs were produced after and were additions to the series because the manga presented the story quite differently integrating these stories as part of the bigger plot. I only read some of the manga so I can’t comment and write a full review on the manga series. So chronologically, the whole story should be Trust & Betrayal then the anime series follow by Reflection.

As I have mentioned in the past, OAV is a great way to find out if a series will be suitable for you before you commit hours and hours to a long series such as Kenshin with 95 episodes. However, OAVs can be quite different from the series in terms of the style visually and the overall tone, so never judge a series solely just by the OVA. Kenshin is one long series, therefore we’ll need a little more time to watch it again and a review will appear in a future posting.

So I first watch Trust & Betrayal gosh… may be 10 years ago… got a copy of it from Silent. I then ended up getting a copy of my own later.

Trust & Betrayal is actually what got me interested in watching the whole series 6 years ago when a friend lent me a copy of it that he owns in Cantonese. This OVA is Himura Kenshin’s origin story revealing his complex past, leading up to how he is in the series. It is a very compelling story. I found the style and mood in Trust & Betrayal were very serious, much darker and mature comparing to the series which is much lighter with more humour. This tone I found to be essential and appropriate not only to the whole warring environment but to contrast Sinta aka Kenshin from his past leading to his character in the series – more light hearted, less serious, more importantly, more human; generally a likeable character.


The OVA explains pretty much everything about Kenshin’s past, ethics and how he is in the series. It of course explains how he got the “X” scars. Trust & Betrayal also speaks to some of the politics and history of Japan during the warring period very loosely. It’s interesting and it is the same in the series as well. From this series, I learnt that Kyoto used to be the capital, quite similar to how Nanjing was the capital before Beijing in China.

Kenshin has everything you need in an anime – awesome fights, cool female and male characters, great story, romance, and friendship, really “good” and interesting villains. The anime series and the OVAs are definitely one of my top favourite animes in my personal list. So I would suggest any one who likes anime to watch it that is if you haven’t already. If you don’t have time for the whole series, like I’ve recommended, watch the OVAs first. I’m sure you will be hooked and check out the series afterwards.

A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation

Its been a number of years now since I last watched A Chinese Ghost Story. I actually got a copy of this movie when I started getting into heavily collecting anime. After watching Spirited Away, I was looking for a film that was somewhat similar. Although I wasn't overly impressed when I first started watching this, it began growing on me as I let go of my expectations of a Spirited Away like film and started watching this film on its own.

The story follows Ning, a man who travels with his pet dog Solid Gold grieving over Siu Lan after being dumped by her. On his travels he runs into two monks, White Cloud and Ten Miles, who are on a quest to purify unholy spirits. The two monks are in competition with Red Beard, who is also a purifier of spirits. While on his journey, Ning also meets a ghost named Shine, who Red Beard tries to purify. Shine admits her love for Ning and the two travel through the portal of rebirth. Shine and Ning manage to pass through without losing their memories, while Red Beard, Ten Miles, and White Cloud are all reborn as infants. The film ends off with Ning being reunited with Shine.

Now my synopsis of the story here is heavily abridged. For a full plot overview check out the link HERE. The film is an hour and a half and touches on a number of themes. The story is also fairly full in that there is not a whole lot of filler in it. This is definitely an anime that you would have to watch a couple of times to get everything out of it.

The film is not overly complicated in its story. The animation style used suggests that the film is designed for a younger kid audience. The characters look very lighthearted and there is a lot of bright color used. The expressions for the most part on characters faces are fairly comical and easy going. There isn't a great deal of seriousness or heavy emotion as you might find in many Studio Ghibli films such as Spirited Away.

With all that being said, A Chinese Ghost Story is worth taking the time to watch. Its not a top ranking anime film but still above average. I probably wouldn't pick this one up more than twice myself, but I also went into this movie with some high expectations. My only advice when watching this is don't compare apples and oranges. This film is designed for a younger audience, and  don't make the mistake I did by expecting it to be a Studio Ghibli style film when it clearly isn't.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0079

Well I have to begin by saying that Mobile Suit Gundam was one of the anime that changed me from enthusiast to hardcore fan. There has always been something about this franchise that has always kept me intrigued. To tell you the truth, when I first got my hands on a copy of the original series a number of years ago now, I was almost intimidated to watch it. Gundam has had such a rich history, and when I thought about how little I knew about anime at the time, it felt like I was taking on a huge task to watch this. When I look back on it, I am glad that I didn't let this deter me from watching because Mobile Suit Gundam has ended up becoming one of my favorite series to date.

The story is predicated around two factions in a war, The EFSF (Earth Federation Space Forces) and Zeon. The war takes place during a time period known as Universal Century (U.C.) 0079. Humanity has moved into space during this time into colonies known as Sides. The Zeon forces inhabit Side 3 and have declared war on the Earth Federation. The conflict ensues because The Prinicipality of Zeon believes that the Earth's gravity weighs down the potential of people. By being in space, humanity is able to develop enhanced skills and form a superior race known as New Types. The Earth Federation does not believe in the same ideals as Zeon and as a result they are at war.

After an 8 month stalemate, Amuro Ray accidentally begins piloting the RX-78 Gundam during an attack on the Side 7 colony. Ironically, Amuro hates the war and his father is the creator of the RX-78 Gundam. This theme is common across many of the Gundam series such as Z Gundam and Gundam F91. The protagonist's parent(s) are often responsible for the development of their mobile suits.

Amuro is able to naturally begin controlling the Gundam with ease. His rival in the show is the main antagonist, Char Aznable. The two pilots possess New Type abilities and as such end up in many fights that no other pilots sand a chance in. Through the course of the show, Amuro and Char engage in numerous battles, with Char acquiring increasingly better and more advanced mobile suits (upgrading from the Zaku II -->Z'Gok-->Gelgoog-->Zeong). The final battle ends up being an indecisive one. Both pilots fight to the point where they are completely incapacitated with no clear indication of which side really won the war.

The answer to the final battle is answered in the sequel, Z Gundam. The Gundam franchise is huge, but a strong aspect of the original branch of the series is the ability for the writers to keep the story timeline together and allow elements from previous series to be explained and reintroduced. Anther excellent aspect of this series is the way that the sides are presented in the story. There is no clear indication of who the good and bad guys ares. The story is presented on such a way that both sides feel justified in their actions. This aspect made is very easy to get behind characters on both sides because neither side was portrayed as being the villain.

The cast of characters is great and the writers are not afraid to kill of characters either. This helps to keep a sense of mortality in the series so that the cast is not overwhelmed with powerhouses. The animation style of this segment of the series is fairly primitive, but considering that the show was animated in 1979, it is phenomenal in relation to other shows produced at that time. The music of Gundam has always been a favorite of mine. The soundtrack to this series is decent and if you are a fan of the PS2 games, many of the background tracks will be familiar to you.

As a whole, I have to stand behind this series and recommend it to anime fans, whether they are hardcore or not. There are a number of elements in this show that make it worthwhile to watch. On the surface it appears to be a mecha based war series, but under the surface there is a great deal more going on. You won't be disappointed with this one.

Grave of the Fireflies

Grave of the Fireflies is one of the more depressing films that I have watched. After the release of Spirited Away, I was on a big Studio Ghibli kick. This was the third Ghibli film that I watched and by far the saddest in terms of the actual story. 

Grave of the Fireflies takes place during the firebombings in Japan during the end of the Second World War. Two young children, Setsuko and Seita flee from their home when their village is being bombed. Their mother, who is already suffering from an illness, is caught in the bombings and becomes very badly burnt. While in a shelter, Setsuko and Seita's mother dies from her injuries. The two are left alone as their father is off fighting in the war. 

Both Setsuko and Seita move in to live with an aunt, who becomes progressive cruel and cold to the two of them as food supplies run low. She reminds the two that they have worn out their welcome and urges them to leave. The two find an abandoned bomb shelter, which they turn into their new home. Having very little in the way of food, Setsuko gives Seita a fruit drop tin, which begins making a number of appearances through the film. 

The fruit drop tin often becomes synonymous with Setsuko and Seita's youth. As their supplies run low, Setsuko begins resorting to stealing from others during firebombings. As he returns home one day, Setsuko finds a malnourished Seita eating mud balls after thinking that they are fruit drops while hallucinating.

Seita never recovers from her malnourishment and in the end dies. Setsuko cremates her and keeps some of her ashes in the fruit drop tin with a picture of their father. The film ends at the end of the war with Setsuko passing away at a train station while holding the tin and looking at the picture of their father. The final scene in the film shows both Setsuko and Seita standing in a field of fireflies (which they used to light the abandoned shelter they were living in) with no damage to their clothes or bodies. This scene is one of the few times that the two appear to be genuinely happy in the film.

Now normally I wouldn't go into this much detail with the story of an anime. The truth is through that this is the strongest element that makes this film a success. This is one of the only films I can think of where Studio Ghibli has based the story off of something so real and not left off with the traditional happy ending.

For a film with such strong depressing emotions, it is amazing. Although many would watch this and say that it is nothing but sadness, I chose to look at the ending scene in the field of fireflies as the happy ending. It showed that after all the pain and suffering these two kids went through they were able to still reach peace in death.

If you haven't already put together from this review, the film is deep emotionally and is certainly worth taking a couple of hours out to watch. The animation style and music is phenomenal as always with Studio Ghibli films, but this story has to be one of the better ones that he has produced, primarily because of the realism and pain that can sometimes be forgotten when thinking about the impacts on Japan during the Second World War.

Initial D Fourth Stage - Project D

After waiting a few years for the English dub of Initial D Fourth Stage to come out, I can finally say that I have completed the series. I've had a subbed copy in my possession for a number of years now, but having started the series in English, I wanted to continue it. You can call me OCD as much as you like, its just how I am with my anime. Of all the seasons, Fourth Stage has to be my favorite. There were a lot of high action and fast paced battles, as well as a pretty diverse lineup of vehicles.

The segment of the story follows the newly formed Project D, made up of the Takahashi brothers (Ryosuke and Keisuke), also known as the Rotary Brothers in earlier seasons, Takumi, and the remainder of the Red Suns. Project D travels through some of the surrounding prefectures to find the most skilled drivers and beat them on their home courses. Takumi and Keisuke are the two aces of the team while Ryosuke fills the role as the teams leader. Project D is outfitted with mechanics and supply vans that allow them to operate essentially as a professional racing team.

The story shows the rivalry between Takumi and Keisuke and how neither of them wants to be surpassed by the other. The two push each other to the limit in order to become the best. As Takumi and Keisuke spend their time traveling with Project D, they are combatting a lot of inner confusion as they grow. Takumi is finding himself questioning both his and the 86's abilities after being passed on Mount Akina by his father in a new Subaru Impreza WRX. While trying to learn how to drive a 4WD, Takumi begins realizing the limitations of the 86 and begins losing faith in both himself and the car. Keisuke finds his own set of troubles when he meets Kyoko from the Saitama prefecture. She is a racer with one of the first teams they battle in Saitama and also happens to drive and FD. She instantly falls in love with Keisuke and he is finding himself constantly feeling that himself being reminded of a past relationship that didn't work. Both drivers ultimately find their own strategies for working through these issues and as a result both seem to become better drivers.

The soundtrack for the show as always is great. I do find that the original Japanese soundtrack is much better, but this tends to be the case across the entire franchise. The music used is a mix between J-Rock and Eurobeat. One thing I can say is that when watching the show and hearing the soundtrack, you want to drive.

Being a car lover and an anime lover, naturally Initial D is at the top of my list of great anime. I think that the greatest strength for the franchise as a whole is that it allows people viewing it to have a little more pride in their own ride. After watching many of the Hollywood movies out there, everyone has cars beyond realistic expectations. Initial D uses cars that most of us have or can get our hands on like Civics, Corollas, RX7s, Altezzas (Lexus IS 250), you get my point. After watching this, I didn't have the feeling that I should hate my car and get a new one thats faster or more expensive. When the viewer can walk away and not feel inadequate about what they do or do not, in my opinion, this is the sign of a great anime.

I have to recommend this anime to everyone, not just car lovers. There are a lot of deep messages in this show. It is a well done series with a number of strong key elements. I can say that this is one that truly will not disappoint.

Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaea

Escaflowne was one of those shows that came out in North America about 12 years ago on FOX Kids every Saturday morning. It was one of the few anime shows that were aired during that time period which really catered to older audiences. After watching one episode I was immediately sold. A year or so after it stopped airing on FOX Kids TV I found out that there was an Escaflowne movie. Of course with Christmas coming up at the time, I had to beg my parents for it. Much to my surprise I ended up getting the 3-disc box set, which is still one of the finer points of my anime collection to date.

The movie is in essence a retelling of the 26 episode series. The story is focused around Hitomi, who is transported from her own world after an encounter with Van and the Dragon Armor to Gaea. Hitomi turns out to be the deciding factor in a decisive battle between Prince Van and his brother Lord Falken.

There are some notable differences between the movie and the series. Most have to do with character development and tone. Since the movie is trying to capture the characters from a 26 episode series in an hour and a half, there isn't a great deal of time to explain the complexity behind each characters story. Because of this, much of the development is focused around Hitomi and Van and their relationships with the other characters. In the movie, Van is portrayed as a much more lone and aggressive individual. Hitomi is very depressed and lone as well. Much of the tone set by this movie is one of seriousness and to a degree sadness. There is a fair bit of action, but not the heart pumping action that you would see in a show like Dragon Ball Z or Naruto. The overall effect is a feeling of violence and hatred.

The animation style appears to be geared towards an older audience as well. There is a lot of use of dark colors. The characters also look older and have a greater degree of seriousness in their design. Escaflowne has always been known for its use of orchestral soundtracks through the series. The movie is no exception. Having listened to both soundtracks, I would have to say that the soundtrack used for the movie is much more depressing in the emotions it evokes. The songs have a very sad sound to them and express emotions of pain.

Although this review may sound as though this movie is a buzz kill, let me assure you that it is not. I loved the movie myself. It is always nice to see when series can be given a different look and feel through their movie counterparts, without going to the extent of being the same in name and name alone. Escaflowne The Movie is certainly worth adding to your collection, and at the very least watching. The language in the film is mild and as is the violence, but I would still recommend this title to older audiences, more so due to the complexity of some of the themes and messages being conveyed.

Plastic Little

I remember trying to find this anime about 6 or 7 years back now. I saw a commercial for it somewhere and was instantly sold. Back then, I was really into shows like Slayers and since the animation style in this was very similar, I didn't pay much attention to what the story was about. Now I find myself a number of years later finally getting the time to watch Plastic Little and seeing if it met my expectations.

The story begins with a 17 year old captain of a pet shop ship named Tita. She has inherited the ship from her father who is eluded to in the story as being either dead or missing (neither of these is said for sure though). Tita makes friends with a girl who is the same age named Ellyse after saving her from a rogue military faction. Through the story Ellyse explains how her father has invented a new type of gravity belt that helps the cities float in the sky. Ellyse's father wouldn't give up the gravity belt to the military because he wanted his invention to benefit people not harm them. Subsequently, the leader of the rogue military faction kills Ellyse's father and they begin pursuing her. The remainder of the story is spent with Tita and her crew fighting the rogue military faction with their pet trapping ship and trying to protect Ellyse from the military.

The 1 episode OVA is 45 minutes so there is not much that can be done with a story in this time frame. I tend to find this is the case with many 1 hour or less OVAs. There weren't too many elements and themes being addressed through the story which always helps to keep the story easy to develop and understand. The story did not have a great deal of depth, but enough to be satisfactory for a short OVA.

The animation was one of the stronger aspects for me when watching this. I enjoyed the style of animation used because it is in line with the same mid-90s type of animation used on shows like Slayers. I did tend to find that the topless aspect on the girls in the film was a little overdone. It seemed that this was used at times to draw attention away from weaker aspects of the story. A lot of emphasis in the animation is placed on the sex appeal of the female characters as well.

The music in this film was almost non-existent. I don't find myself remembering anything in the soundtrack that really stood out. The voices chosen for the characters were reflective of Eastern European and Russian accents. It was a little difficult to understand how the characters fit together because the accents were similar enough but all over the map at the same time. This caused me to ask the question of where exactly this film was taking place geographically.

When weighing out all of the elements in this film, Plastic Little was not a bad watch. It was short enough to pass the time without having to make a significant investment, but not so long that I needed to get comfortable for hours. I did have higher expectations of the film, mostly because I was aware of it at a younger age and my ability to be objective when watching anime was not present. Having looked at this film now and understanding that there are good and bad anime, I can respect much of the work that has gone into this film without saying it is the most amazing thing ever made. I would recommend it for someone looking for a lighter story to digest.

DanDoh!

About 2 years ago I got a copy of DanDoh!. I'll be honest, I thought the show was completely different than what it actually was. After trying to get English dubs of Gear Fighter Dendoh, I thought DanDoh! might have been an English translation on the name. While you all sit and laugh at my ignorance to taking 10 seconds out of my day to look the show up before watching it, I can say in my defense that all wasn't lost with the mix up.

DanDoh! is a show about a schoolboy who gets introduced to golf after having a small accident at school while playing baseball with his two best friends. The principal of the middle school sees potential in Dandoh's baseball swing and decides to get him involved in golf. This is what allows Dandoh to stay out of trouble after breaking the Principal's potted plants in the baseball accident. As Dandoh and his two best friends begin to learn the game of golf, they are introduced to an ex-professional golfer who decides to teach them how to be champions.

On the surface, the story makes the show sound very competitive. As I watched DanDoh! I tended to notice that the age range that the show was designed for is geared towards a younger audience. It is very much in line with Ganbare Goemon in terms of the demographic. There is enough competition in the show to illustrate the lesson of healthy competition, but not so much that the emphasis is placed on winning and winning alone.

The show has a lot of lighthearted humor and a very upbeat and positive focus. The characters rarely remain in a state of self pity when they make a mistake for very long and the emphasis on Dandoh's character development revolves around being happy with what you do. Often through the show you will hear Dandoh say "Smile Shot" which is what he has dubbed as his golf swing. He even goes so far as to draw a smiley face on his golf ball to remind him that he is playing golf because it makes him happy, and not to win.

As a whole the show was not too bad. I did end up giving it a lower rating than I would a similar sports show such as Hoop Days. This is primarily due to the fact that I am in an older demographic and the younger shows like DanDoh! can cause my mind to wander. For younger audiences, I believe they would be entertained. The show has music fitting the setting and very nice animation and graphics.