This review was made by I.R. Shokew & Glasscake
So, here we are at the end of this rough-around-the-edges series... Let's critique/praise/diss on some stuff:
Part 1:
Warts and All (Low Tier) - Our first act of return for this series soon-to-end... And it's a real drag to sit through. At the very least, we know why Witchy Simone is so bad at what she does most of the time: abusing substitutes are NOT the answer to everything - taking the cheap way out is almost as wasteful as being hasty on things, after all. Not helping, Prohyas comes off dumber than usual, alongside Witchy Simone, making it all the more a chore to sit through. It's time like this where Vambre should've punched some faces in at the end - out of disciplinary love.
Manlier Fish the Fishlier Man (High Tier) - It's always FUN to see a jerk like Man-Fish get himself beat up for being just that - plus, I admire his efforts for trying, if not much else beyond that. I don't need any other reason to enjoy this effort. Although his next effort where he's involved (Forever A Fish-stick!), is a much better episode (albeit even if not perfect.), IMHO. I've been waiting for this episode and I wasn't disappointed. I really liked how they showd Man Fish's efforts into facing off the Warriors. Also, it did make a good use for a holiday episode, even if it needed work. Also, Billy West was amazing and I LOVED the whole Hanna Barbera schtick to it. Great Mad Jack or MooBeard reunion for all the actors.
Forever a Fish-stick (High Tier) - I swear, if Man-Fish wasn't such a racist trash-heap, he and Prohyas could be the best of friends. That was some actually good character development for that jerk, what with helping Prohyas get over himself and stop all that stupid crying to help kick some pirate butt at the end. Simple as that! That ending alone was the icing on this delicious-as-all-get-out cake of an episode, too. Not a perfect effort, but a nice, positive sendoff for such an otherwise jerky character like Man-Fish, IMHO.
Train on a Snake (High Tier) - While nothing else here beats my vote for BEST EPISODE, this wasn't a bad effort, either. Plus, there's just something legit hilarious about seeing a Lv. 1 monster getting smacked around while trying to get stronger, thanks to how endearing it actually is handled here - and with my absolute favorite of Grup's M8s (which Lady Hiss is.), no less. Seriously, while I do feel bad for her not being all that strong, there's something truly endearing about seeing Lady Hiss wanting to be something better than she is. I respect that. This episode reminds me so much of the Bubbles Hardcore episode of Powerpuff Girls, but without the consistant violence. It was great seeing Lady Hiss trying to rise up the ranks from her cute status. I was always disappointed that she didn't get to face Hoppus.
Hangry Hangry Hoppus (Low Tier) - I so definitely didn't care too much for this, especially since instead of actually making an effort to resolve whatever should have been done with Hoppus & Danelda by now (knowing that these are - AGAIN, the very last episodes of MMswords!) just ends with some rather lame Hulk parody. Plus, Hoppus in jail. Look, I never cared to much for him as a character, but Hoppus (and by extension, Danelda) have become wasted potential of the highest order after this waste of my time. If it's not that this episode was a weak way for these characters to go out, it's the fact that these writers didn't care enough to do something about it. And they more than had the opportunity to do so, instead of this time-sink. I'm afraid I must stand by THIS as FACT. Another waste of potential. i really wanted to see Hoppus' backstory get exploited. But obviously that won't happen. But I do have a feeling that the Bugs Bunny short with Marvin the Martian was an influence on this ep.
Part 2:
Too Commercial (Mid Tier) - Yet another case of making the Warriors' too dumb to make things work, ala What's My Name? (Starring Vambre & Prohyas Warrior) [S02E07, I believe - another middle-of-the-road effort that has the Warriors acting a little too dumb for my liking, as well, IMHO.]. Kinda annoying as well. And Princess Zange was really out of character being mean to the Warriors, but who wouldn't if her clothes were ruined. They did the same thing with "What's My Name"?
Bottom line: When Grup and his m8s are the ones saving the day from accidents you caused, you know you're dealing with a scenario where the MCs are made too stupid just to make things work. In reality, it's just bad writing. I did get some laughs out of this, but that's the only reason I don't rank this as Garbage Tier, honestly. At least Bimm & Familiar got some screen-time. Took them long enough; both characters are so under-utilized, honestly.
The Lanolion Sleeps Tonight (Mid High Tier) - I can rank this high enough, simply because being judged on every little thing can be quite annoying and off-putting to deal with for anyone. Just not high enough to say I love it, however. Simply because it's obvious Vambre & Prohyas should have told Bimm & Familiar to stop that note-taking crap & just starting helping out proper in two places: 1) As ground rules at the START of the episode, 2) At the very FIRST sign of feeling uncomfortable. Once again, we're avoiding taking the smart way out for what simply amounts to bad writing, and I treat that as FACT. Simply because seeing Vambre & Prohyas cry like that was more dumb than funny for me to get Bimm & Familiar to stop acting like they're in school for one fire-trucking moment! Still not as bad as what we started out with, however - we are slowly starting to see this show get competent at being entertaining again... Albeit not by much. It was an okay episode; just the Warriors pestering and meddling with other adventurers. Nothing special. But I do wish that Familiar would shine on his own too one day.
Sorry for Party Oching (Mid High Tier) - Princess Zange invites her true closest friends (Vambre & Prohyas) to crash a boring, stuffy rich-people party. Pretty predictable. Also, kinda slow to get to the point, even if not too badly done, once we finally reach that point in the last 3-4 minutes. At least this the Zange I know and respect as a character. Another disappointment, thinking that the King and Queen of Rhyboflavin would show. Also, Reginald was being very annnoying. I can understand his frustrations but if he was this uptight about their behavior, he should've used ways of persuading Zange from inviting them. But I do love Officer Fordor's antics here. Also, it did disbunk my theory because I always thought that Reginald's species would always be played by Kyle Carrozza but Arin and Eric got to have a role too.
If I can have another minute to state my feelings on Zange and how she's being handled in this very last batch of episodes, however: seriously, the way she (Zange) was written in Too Commercial didn't really work for me and just seems like something to do with a character like hers in any other show you see how a character like Zange is portrayed (another reason I don't rank Too Commercial very high, either - and excuse me for neglecting to mention that as another reason I didn't like that episode as much as I wanted to, as well...).
King of the Zombeez (High Tier) - I feel making bees into zombies (i.e.: zombees) is quite an oxymoron, IMHO - at least until you realize they practically are, once you educate yourself on how bees act IRL. That out of the way, it's about time the Warriors' got an actual villain to fight again. Too bad like Terra-byte, she's a one-and-done thing, which keeps this from being perfect. Same case as the episode Terra-byte was a thing to be weary of in, too. Such a good effort - but so much wasted potential for something that could have been bigger than it turns out - again, like Terra-byte. *SIGH* Also, it's hard to ignore how remarkably cheap the bees swarm looks in this particular episode - chalk it up as the crew running out of their animation/art-style budget, which is really sad to see in an otherwise much above average episode for me. Finally, a new villain that the Warriors faced. Despite the Warriors say, I didn't really see Queen Bumblia as much of a threat unless you call using zombee slaves as a threat. But it did leave a sour taste in my mouth as to how Neddy became hypnotized and they just left him hanging with no answer if he was freed from the curse after her wand broke. I was also surprised that Bumble was not voiced by Deedee Magno-Hall but by Haley Mancini, they kinda sounded similar. Also, the Warriors' mocking Frostferatu was a bit funny.
Pachydermus Packard and the Camp of Fantasy (Mid Tier) - Eh... I can take or leave Pachydermus. I would have loved if that deer our MCs left stranded in a hole very early on in the series had thrashed him JUST A LITTLE to make this effort a little more interesting and engaged in itself, thank you very much. His giraffe wife is nice, though. I wish this wasn't the ONLY time we'll ever see her, however! I read on FB at Ken Mitchroney (producer; voice of Pachydermus) had to study a lot of Laurel and Hardy movies to get the tone to work for the episodes his characters in. And it somehow worked. And I was surprised that the deer from the "Flirty Phantom" episode returns, which coincidentally appeared with the first appearance of Pachydermus himself. It was kinda interesting. Also love Mike Quinn as the voice of his wife, and a stunning note is that her design was done by PPG artist Bobby London.
To be continued...