The King's Avatar: For the Glory

I thought this movie worked fine as an origin story. It's a pretty generic origin (tragic loss ignites motivation in the main character), but a basic premise is fine. The problem is the execution. They tried to fit what probably should 2-3 movies worth of content into just 1 and the pacing suffers because of it. Ye Xiu and his friend get decent development, but then it shifts into overdrive when they start forming/training their esports team. Many of the problems I had with original are present as well, one of them the lack of explanation of the game itself. A bunch of moves, tactics,transformations, apm metrics, etc., are displayed throughout the fights, but I have minimal context for what any of them mean. I kinda just have to turn off my brain and try to enjoy the clashing weapons and explosions. This issue compounded with Ye Xiu overwhelming talent compared to everyone else. All the tension is removed when you know he's going to win, and there's nothing else to pull your interest outside of visuals. Ye Xiu is also the only character who gets extensive development, making the majority of the side characters forgettable by comparision. The visuals are still pretty good. I might not understand what's going on, but at least the fights look intense. Music was cheesy at times, but it fit well with what was going on. Voice acting was serviceable as well. Overall, I enjoyed it about as much as I enjoyed the main series; not very much. Seeing what initially pushed Ye Xiu into esports was my only takeaway, the movie is still plagued with the issues that made the main series hard to sit through.

全职高手之巅峰荣耀 is set about nine years before the first season and adapts several prequel chapters. With great graphics, action-packed and emotionally charged, the anime tells the beginnings of "Glory" in the professional league. Even though it is a prequel that tells part of the backstory, it would be good to have previous knowledge. Story: Describes the backstory to Xiu's professional career (6/10) A request in advance, if you have not yet seen the first season, watch it first. The story and the plot are decisive for the recommendation in two ways. On the one hand, the plot starts right away and not much is explained,so prior knowledge from the first season is helpful. On the other hand, there is a basic story and various plot points run alongside. Unfortunately, none of these subplots are fully integrated into the main story line, leaving one wondering where the journey is going? With the length of a feature film, it would have been easy to portray the family background of Xiu and his younger twin brother Qiu, whose name Xiu uses as a pseudonym for his professional career, or to give Muqin's actions a more present influence on further events. Regrettably, very little of this potential was used, which is why my rating for the story is rather low. However, content from the first season is explained as the plot progresses, as references are made to every aspect of season one, be it friendship, camaraderie or simply the fun of playing online. These references, while not elementary, are emotionally moving, suggesting that the movie was created as a bonus for the fan base. However, watching the prequel first would, in my opinion, spoil the excitement of the first series, while the movie is still just as fun to watch after the first season. Characters: Unfortunately, not all characters are shown in detail (7/10) The portrayal of the characters is quite well done, for those who get enough screen time. Although it is a prequel, the viewer can empathise well with the personalities of the characters depicted in detail. The cast has some new or former characters, in addition to those familiar from the first season. I think that many characters are given short shrift, so in addition to Xiu, Muqiu, Mucheng and Mingkai, whose descriptions in the film are good, I would like to at least describe the other members of Excellent Era a little. Ye Xiu (One Autumn Leaf): He has a pale face and a fair complexion. His appearance has been changed compared to the first season, he has become more handsome but still does not pay much attention to his appearance. He cares for his close friends and treats teammates like family. He doesn't get angry or frustrated and has tremendous patience, but because he's also straightforward and sometimes sarcastic, he comes across as arrogant, which he isn't at all. On the contrary, he plays and chats with everyone in Glory and cares little about awards or money. As a result, he could not pay the penalty fee for leaving the club as he had given all his wealth, gained in the years of professional gaming, to some of his friends who were in financial need when Glory started. His younger self still has doubts, but it already shows how his personality will develop. Su Muqiu (Autumn Tree): He is revealed as the older brother of Mucheng and best friend of Xiu. He is quite a likeable character and a well-known player in Glory before the game went pro. As a best buddy and friendly rival, Muqui is indispensable to Xiu's character development and playing skills. The weapon "Evil Annihilation" that One Autumn Leaf uses was invented by him and the game character "Dancing Rain" is also his creation. Han Wenqing: Is a true rival and also has the skills to stand up to Xiu. The fights between the two have a prominent place in the series and watching them, it's clear why. Su Mucheng: She also appears in a younger self, of course, and she's just cute. A little sister who teases her elder brother a little from time to time. The other players of Team Excellent Era are: Wu Xuefeng (Qi Breaker): He is the former Excellent Era Vice-Captain and has used the Qi Breaker account. He did very well because he is low-key but also very determined. As his personality is also characterised by a strong bond with the team members and their well-being, he fits well into the position of vice-captain. Since he was older than the other players at this point, he retired relatively early. Xue Mingkai (Total Darkness): He was part of the Excellent Era team in the first championships (Inaugural Championships). He was a former member of the Royal Style team but was expelled due to his incompatibility and individualism towards the other team members. He is deterministic, quick-tempered and hates to lose. He tends to jump to conclusions, which among other things leads to him excluding himself from Team Excellent Era. Although he is not the smartest, he has the heart and skills of a gamer, but needs someone to steer his ambitions in the right direction. Qin Tianran (Emotionless Magic): He is also part of the Excellent Era team in the first championship. His personality is open and straightforward. However, since he has reached an advanced age to start a professional gamer career, he is concerned about the team's future. He is talkative and sometimes speaks without thinking, which on the one hand makes him somehow likeable and on the other hand also provides some comedy, as the recipient of his inconsiderations literally steps on his toes when the opportunity arises. Xia Ming (Heaven): She is the only female player so far in the Excellent Era ranks and enriches the team not only in the game. She is warm-hearted and calm. Her loving nature is particularly evident when she accompanies Mucheng home and comforts her when she starts to cry. She is also fully involved in the Excellent Era team, and although she gets a little nervous when the going gets tough, she shows full commitment to give the team a chance of victory. There is a great young woman hiding behind the cute glasses and I can understand why one of the members has a crush on her. Yin Xiong (Woven Shadow): He is also a member of the team at the first championships. His personality is marked by the fact that he tends to shy away from social interactions in real life. He generally does not have much confidence in himself and others, but his teammates are very important to him. He even tends to act selflessly in the game, but he is also smart and acts thoughtfully, which makes him a good and reliable teammate. Visuals: Art and animation have been upgraded compared to season one and are excellent (8/10) The art is superb, although CG is still fundamentally not my cup of tea. The 2D-3D rendering of the buildings, streets, flats, the inventory and the people who live in them, the city as a whole, can only be described as photorealistic. For example, Muqui, Mucheng and Xiu's house in Hangzhou city is on Wu Shan Road, the internet café and the place where Xiu and Mucheng go shopping is on Hefang Street, the flower market of Wu Shan. The same goes for the backgrounds in the game Glory, these are also impressive. A magnificent example is the gorgeous library, which is well thought out not only for the game but also in its construction. The colour palette appears natural and yet so rich that the moods, whether sad or happy, sunshine or cold, are brought to life. Moreover, the play of light and shadow effects is so well balanced that the overall picture is breathtaking. Amusingly, the few not-so-impressive scenes are mainly representations of game characters seen on a screen in the real world or plush figures in a skill crane. I don't see this as a negative, because on the one hand there are very few scenes in an otherwise overwhelming graphic and on the other hand it seems to be intentional, because it could easily have been done better if one had wanted to. In terms of animation, the anime is a feast for the eyes, especially the fight scenes are impressive. The choreography of the fight sequences as well as the magic and game skills used are great and make the fights so eye-catching. As mentioned above, the film is more aimed at fans or those familiar with the first season, so almost nothing is explained in terms of the techniques or terminology used. Sounds: Very good BGM and sound effects, pleasant to listen to, as is the VA (8/10) The background music in the film has been well chosen to heighten the emotions. But not only that, the music is also very pleasant, the Mandarin of the insert songs, such as Walk with you (陪 你 走过) by Li Xinyi [Rex] or Miss you (想念你) by ZJ Hsu (许莉洁) have beautiful melodies and touching lyrics. So the film also has a beautiful musical score and is emotionally moving. The theme song Top Glory (巅峰 荣耀), sung by Ayanga and Yunlong Zheng is a little more energetic. The musical arrangement sounds good, the voices contrast a little because the pitch and intonation are different. Ayanga-san is originally from Mongolia and Yunlong is a native Chinese, so the sound is different, but that makes it appealing. The sound effects, or better sound designs, are very good. I have nothing to criticise about the sounds for cars, footsteps or the sounds of combat. They have the right texture, reverb and frequency shift to create the appropriate sound for the scenario. The effects sound really good to me. Among the voice actors, for me, Bian Jiang stood out as the voice of Muqiu. In my season one review, Zhang, Jie was my favourite as the voice of Xiu. But here, Bian, Jiang has come out on top. Maybe it's because I have a lot of sympathy for the role of Muqiu, but the voice is clear, even a little softer, and embodies the role perfectly. The anime has enough depth to please and the gameplay comes across well with very impressive graphics and good sound. Those looking for more than that will probably be disappointed, so I would recommend this anime to anyone who is or wants to become a fan of the series. Action seekers will certainly get their money's worth too. As always, thanks for reading and have fun watching.

A few things to note before watching this movie. While I do believe it is canon, the original novel never had a prequel. Key plot points that were mentioned in passing in the novel were basically adapted to this movie. Honestly, what popped out to me the most was the art. The art is stellar, even in movie standards. It really beats out on other typical anime movies. For Chinese animation, it's top of the line, and is even better than most JP movie animation. Backgrounds look really nice, and there's a bunch of shots of the scenery. Battle sequences are frequent, and the fights...they'requite good. Lots of movement, attention to background, fight choreography, and eye candy in the form of flashy abilities. Perspective of characters are good. I'm not going to say it beats The Garden of Words or anything, or it's the best animation I've ever seen, but there's a lot of good stuff when it comes to the animation of the movie. Facial expressions, hair, and their movements are realistic and well made. Su Mucheng is animated so well in a lot of scenes. Of course, there's crappy CGI when it comes to passerbys. I expected that much in the anime, but the movie too? It really takes away from the otherwise amazing animation. Story wise, it's nothing special, but it does tell the events that Ye Qiu went through before becoming a pro player, and who his friend, Su Muqiu really was. It's Ye Qiu's origin story. It's nothing special but it makes sense, it's paced well, and it puts together a good narrative of Ye Qiu's beginning journey. As for characters, there's not much to say. While there are technically other characters on the team, it's mainly Ye Qiu, Su Muqiu, Su Mucheng, and Total Darkness that really matter. I think the first three characters each got a good enough time to be characterized, as much as a movie allows for anyway, and I like their interactions. Total Darkness is basically just there for suspense and an obstacle for Ye Qiu and his team to muscle through. Look, I'm not going to say that the fights make a whole lot of sense. The movie does a real bad job of explaining any of the in-game mechanics. 1 on 3? And Ye Qiu manages to win? That's impossible, even for a god. Getting 120 strike battle spirit and still barely winning against Liang Lu 1v1? Also impossible. However, I don't think the movie really cares about the mechanics. It's really all about the flashy fights, and they sure as hell capture that well. All in all, admire the fight choreography and put strategy and abilities to the back of your mind. You've GOT TO read the novel or watch the anime at the very least before going to this movie, or nothing is going to make any sense at all. I'm not going to say that this movie is a masterpiece, but the story and characters manage to not drag the great fights and even add to the atmosphere of the movie, and most of all, it's depicting Ye Qiu's origin story. What's not to like?

Goosebumps, Emotional, Excited, the mix of feeling when watching this was one of the best feeling of my life. The story itself is very enjoyable. It's contain a plot twist that you will never expect to happend. The art/animation itself is MASTERPIECE. It got alot of fight scene that every action enthusiast would enjoy. But the character visual hard to understand. There is no introduction which one is the one on the game. I don't seem to understand it when watching it. I don't if it's just me. The soundtrack is the best. They really put a good work on this anime because the sound what makes it better.The mix of sound and the fight scene making me not regreting watching this.