The 'Shroom:Issue 164/Critic Corner

Director's Notes
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Happy November! For us here in the United States this is the time to be celebrating all kinds of things! Halloween Part 2 🎃, Thanksgiving 🦃, The Awakening of Mariah Carey 🎄, Daylight Saving Time beginning 🌃, The Second Wave 🦠, The Collapse of our Country in Real Time 🗳️, all kinds of things! For those NOT in the United States you all still get to celebrate all of those thanks to our monopolization of culture due to us being the proverbial car crash you just can't look away from! While things quickly spiral out of control think of us as the commercial break to your binge watching and just grab a plate, pull up a chair, and chill out with some of our reviews.

It's not all doom and gloom here, we've got some news! I snuck over into Strategy Wing in the middle of the night and kidnapped and his Pokédex Power section while everyone was sleeping!

Thank you for voting Half-Baked Reviews as October's Critic Corner Section of the Month!! Be sure to give your love to all of our sections here, and give a shout out to our writers whether in chat or in their forum threads dedicated to their sections. Be sure to vote vote vote!

And now for my regular announcements: We've decided to implement in Critic Corner something similar to News Flush over in Fake News, where no formal sign-up application process is required for one-time or limited sections. From now on if you just want to send in a single review for something you just read, watched played, tried, whatever, you just have to send me your review privately either to me directly in chat, or in a message to me on the forum at least one week before each 'Shroom is to be released! There's no commitment or obligation to provide a full monthly section (although you absolutely can shift it into one if you so choose), just send us your thoughts on a thing and we'll feature it here! If you have any questions or curiosities about this, please feel free to ask!

As always, if you would like to help Critic Corner, we always have openings for more writers! You are free to write for sections such as Character Review and Movie Review, or really anything you'd like to do! There's no pressure to have a huge section; they can be shorter and concise! The application process is very simple, starting with reading the Sign Up page, and sending your application to Ninja Squid, our Stats Manager on the forum. Any idea you have is welcome, and if you have any questions or need help signing up, please feel free to reach out to myself or other 'Shroom peeps!

Section of the Month

'Shroom FM
Written by:

Welcome to 'Shroom FM. We're already very far from October, which is good because I only managed to review one horror-themed album anyway so if I did try to make this a Halloween special it would've been very disappointing. It's nearly the end of the year, too - I do have a few ideas for how to round off 2020, which I'll talk about in next month's issue. I'm not making an album of the year thing before the year is over though. That's cheating.

Graphic Novel Review
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Greetings, readers! Welcome back to Graphic Novel Reviews!

Today we’re going to take another dive into the world of manga with a look at Way of the Househusband!

Recently, Netflix announced that we’re getting an anime for this manga, and it has already been turned into a live show in Japan, so I thought it would be fun to tell you all to read the manga before you watch the anime, because everything about this manga is fantastic.

Way of the Househusband follows Tatsu, who is a former Yakuza leader, nicknamed “The Immortal Dragon.” He has now become a house husband after marrying his wife, Miku, who works as a designer. The manga is basically slice-of-life adventures but with the twist that Tatsu’s Yakuza past can and will catch up to him at any moment, from rivals challenging him to a throwdown where they cook food to employing a Roomba to help clean the house. There’s not really a “plot” but the status quo changes as you meet new characters. Each volume is a set of small stories that might not all be related to each other, but they all contribute to the story as a whole and the universe that they occupy.

This series is really a funny one. I’m looking forward to the Netflix anime because the manga makes me laugh so often. For example, Tatsu encounters a member of a rival gang one day while he is out doing some shopping. The two of them decide to fight, and their fight involves each of them making an elaborate dessert (the rival gang member is the owner of a crepe truck.) To decide the winner, they post their desserts on this universe’s version of Instagram and whoever gets the most likes after an hour is the winner. Tatsu ends up winning because he got one like, from his wife. Besides the silly premise for stories, the art style supports the humor. A lot of the time, Tatsu is portrayed with a very serious expression, to the point where a lot of the encounters are basically someone who is meeting Tatsu for the first time is slightly unnerved by how serious he is, or how scary he looks. Tatsu makes a face that you would expect from a mobster while he is making cute, animal-shaped lunches for his wife to take to work. Whether it's the challenges of daily life with a yakuza twist or watching Tatsu interact with his otaku wife, this series is always charming and guaranteed to make you laugh.

Another thing I like about this series is how Tatsu throws himself into his quest to become the best house husband he can be. He never looks down on being a house husband, he never complains or demands his wife stay home and let him go to work and make the money. He wears the pink frilly apron because he wants to, and he learns new things and tries his best to support his wife in whatever way he can, even if some of his habits intimidate her at times. It’s really wholesome, and I can’t wait to see where the series goes. Currently, the first four volumes are available on Amazon in English, and the anime is scheduled to debut on Netflix next year, although I’m sure you could probably find some resources to watch the live action adaptation from Japan as well. Really, this is one manga that you don’t want to miss out on. I highly recommend it.

That’s all for me this month, readers! I’ll see you next time with a fresh Book Review after Christmas!

Pokédex Power
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Hello everyone, it's me, Yoshi876 again with a new edition of Pokédex Power, the section written by the person who has moved teams. Pokédex Power is now a part of Critic Corner as we review whether the Pokédex entry for each month's Pokémon is actually interesting, or whether the writer decided to just give us the same fact for eight generations in a row.

It's been a while since I've written for Critic Corner, but it's great to be back. And this month's Pokémon might be able to tell how truthful I am with that statement, as Lucario is able to read your aura. I am hardly an expert on aura, but from what I understand Lucario, who has even starred in one of the Pokémon movies, is able to sense whether you are a good person or not by reading your aura. And hopefully Yoshi876 has a good aura, otherwise we might be in some trouble here…

I have some experience with using Lucario in Pokémon Black 2, and although it starts out with a lot of weaker moves, it did become one of my most powerful Pokémon, and I certainly have no regrets about training it, and I'd happily train it again in future games. But just because I liked using it, does that mean it has good Pokédex entries? Let's find out…

Generation IV

Diamond really gives me the vibes of a Generation I entry with the way its written, two simple sentences, but it does really set out the main thing about Lucario, that being its ability to sense the auras, as well understanding human speech. It is just a little bit annoying that the writers couldn't decide whether 'aura' was a proper noun, and managed to change their minds twice while writing the entries, with Diamond and Pearl deciding it is, Platinum changing its mind, and then HeartGold and SoulSilver going back to having it as a proper noun. The entries also give you a little crash course in what auras are within the Pokémon universe, as it explains what exactly Lucario is able to sense, that being thoughts, movements and even its location, which is something we will come onto later in this section. This is quite a good set of introductory entries, and I leave pretty satisfied with my knowledge of Lucario.

Generation V

Generation V isn't a generation that brings a whole lot to its entries, and on this occasion it hasn't, just giving slightly rewritten versions of the Platinum entry.

Generation VI

Like Lucario can sense an aura from half a mile away, you can tell from half a mile that Generation VI isn't really going to be introducing much.

Generation VII

Pokémon fans should've known for a while that Lucario commands aura in its attacks, given its moves like Aura Sphere, but we do get confirmation that Lucario does so in this generation, and what it uses it for in the wild, namely hunting prey. It's not surprising that Lucario hunts prey, given its wolflike appearance, though I do have to wonder what sort of thing it hunts, I can't really imagine a pack of Lucario teaming up to take down a Bidoof. We also learn just how powerful its aura waves are, being able to crush boulders, so who knows, maybe Lucario actively hunts Rock-type Pokémon like Geodude. However, with Lucario being a pack Pokémon, I do have to wonder how exactly it's determined who the pack leader is. Perhaps it has something to do with the spikes on its hands and chest, whoever has the longest one leads the pack, although a duel would also be likely. I do have to feel sorry about the final entry though, I imagine Lucario has quite a few mental scars from hearing things from the wrong people. Remember Trainers, if your Lucario is staring with abject horror at another person, it's best you avoid that person!

Generation VIII

Generation VIII doesn't really have a whole lot to work with, the Sword entry is something we learned in the previous generation, but the Shield entry does pose an interesting thing with Lucario only trusting those with justice in their hearts. I feel like it does slightly feed into how Riolu only evolves with a high friendship level, and it does remind me of how some Pokémon don't trust their Trainers until they have a high number of badges. But would Lucario just not allow itself to be captured by those without justice in their hearts, or would it flee from them?

Mega Lucario Generation VII

We also have a Mega Evolution entry to look at with Lucario, and it really makes me wonder why on earth people would want to Mega Evolve their Pokémon. I mean, Mega Absol will literally kill peoples with its mere presence, there's another Pokémon that is pain once it Mega Evolves and Mega Lucario sheds its whole justice spiel and becomes enveloped with a primal, heartless instinct. I'm not surprised that this instinct lies within the Pokémon itself, but with it having such a strong sense of justice, why would it want to Mega Evolve to become this heartless machine?

Conclusion I've always felt that the Mega Evolution Pokédex entries are pretty dumb, and I don't really pay much attention to them, so putting that aside, Lucario has some really solid entries. I would've liked a bit more from Generation VIII, but Generation IV and Generation VII really deliver, and really help you understand Lucario's place in the Pokémon world. And with aura being some mythical thing associated with Lucario in the Pokémon universe, it also does a good job at explaining what exactly aura does for Lucario. I'm always happy for more information in future entries, but with Lucario, the only thing I find myself wondering is how a leader is determined in their packs.

HalfBakedPretzelLogo.png
Written By:

Welcome to my November tradition of skirting away from American Thanksgiving by focusing on international brands! This year I’m focusing on Cadbury, mostly because I’ve tried a bunch of Cadbury things here and there over some time and it’s finally precipitated into enough content for a review instead of just being half-formed notes. Cadbury itself is a British confectionery company, but joke’s on me, they’re wholly owned by Mondelēz, an American company. Gotta love corporate mergers! After months and months of grueling painstakingly researched reviews, I’m thanking myself by having this one be a rather straight-forward review. Go me!

Cadbury Caramilk Apparently this hasn’t been available in the UK until late 2019, but also seems to be a completely different product. Upon just a simple cursory look it appears that ‘Cadbury Caramilk’ has several iterations, even licensed under different companies, or just simply exists as the same product under different names with only the most minuscule changes. Why this was done seems completely unknown and just seems kinda short-sighted and silly.

Regardless, the one I had was what Americans probably know as Caramello; just a bar of chocolate with little nubs that are filled with caramel. The pieces break apart easily and uniformly without cracking into the caramel core and dripping everywhere, which is a fantastic aspect if you eat enough chocolate as I do to notice. The caramel is a bit runny rather than how chewy it tends to be utilized in American candies, and makes it not feel as heavy and filling. The milk chocolate is nice, light, and sweet, carrying the caramel with it rather than separately, serving as a reminder that dark chocolate just isn’t always the way to go. Because there’s a billion different kinds of caramel-filled chocolates out there, texture can become an important way to differentiate; this particular Cadbury Caramilk’s top chocolate layer was relatively this, and kinda felt like a bubble that could be popped with even a gentle pressing of your tongue, and just something about that I liked. Felt lighter.

Starbar In another Cadbury twist, the Starbar is apparently the same thing as what Canadian and German markets brand as the Wunderbar. I’d really like to get some marketing intel from Cadbury and Mondelēz to see why there’s such variation in markets for the same candy bar having different names, or the same name applying to several different candy bars. To appeal to different markets? What else?

Well whatever it’s called, this candy bar is peanut butter, caramel, some kind of crunchy stuff, all robed in chocolate. The peanut butter and caramel seem to be layered right with each other, and are both soft, but with varying levels of firmness, which makes it a tad awkward to bite into. Coupled with the crunchy layer not really providing much weight, and the chocolate being softer and almost greasy, it just doesn’t give a nice satisfying bite. The whole thing kinda smashes down around your mouth as you bite into it. There are better vessels of which to shotgun peanut butter into the back of your throat. Flavor is good, though! Crunchie Literally just sponge candy, but long. Like, that’s all there is to it. I talked a little bit about sponge candy two years ago when I reviewed the Nestlé Coffee Crisp, where I said: "(...) sponge candy, which is a chocolate toffee thing that’s apparently only really well-known and popular from the western New York area I grew up in. Me, being the only Buffalo native who hates it (...)" There’s just something about the way sponge candy crunches down on my teeth that I really don’t like, but it’s at least tolerable when they’re little cubes you can pop in your mouth in one bite as is common in Buffalo, but the Crunchie forces you to bite into it, pretty certainly with your incisors, and even just thinking about that sends chills down my spine, like scraping a fork on a plate. The taste isn’t bad, it’s really just regular Cadbury chocolate and sugar, but the entire purpose of the bar is its texture and it’s just abominable. To each their own.

Double Decker Chocolate bar with nougat and crispy cereal bottom, the two making the eponymous Double Decker. The crunchy bits seem to be puffed rice kinda just sitting freely with only the hopes and dreams that the nougat and chocolate will keep it all together. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t; the little balls fly all over the place every time you bite and makes for more of a mess than I really care for. Now, I know based on the picture I’ve provided it’s clear that my bar was smashed, but holding it in my hand I’m certain that it being smashed, if anything, made the bar more stable; it’s hard to imagine what an uncrushed bar would be like, would the crunchy balls just pour out? The nougat has the most notable honey taste I’ve ever had in a candy bar, though, reflecting what actual higher end nougat tastes like. It’s an alright candy bar, leaning surprisingly on the sweeter side, just be sure to not eat it in your car.

Mr. Big Living up to its name, it is a fairly large chocolate bar physically, but it doesn’t feel nearly as heavy as it should be. Turns out that this is because, aside from some peanuts tossed into some caramel and enrobed in chocolate, the majority of the bar is a big wafer and more of the puffed rice balls, which seems to be an easy Cadbury filler. As a result of most of the bar being either wafer or puffed rice, it just really feels like I’m biting into nothing, with a couple peanuts kinda floating around for good measure, and kinda just tastes a bit dry and flavorless. Compare this to Kit Kat, whether it’s Hershey’s or Nestlé; it’s a chocolate bar that is simply chocolate and wafer, yet it has a satisfying firmness and crunch, and feels like you’re biting into something more than filler. Should the Mr. Big wafers be a bit more dense I feel that I’d enjoy it more, but with the entire gimmick of this chocolate bar being its size you just simply can’t expect there to be much content of quality over quantity for the same price point. Much like the Sex and the City character by the same name, I’m left somewhat unsatisfied and expecting more.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Whole Nut Just milk chocolate with a big hazelnut in each section. Pretty good, simple but to the point. The chocolate is pretty standard mainstream quality, kinda sweet, creamy, smooth, and the huge nut in the middle makes a nice texture. This just honestly isn’t that far off from chocolate covered nuts, it just so happens to be in a bar format with some extra chocolate. Whatever else you can say about this I feel would just be a prior preference showing, like whether you like hazelnuts or not, or which brand of chocolate you prefer. I could attempt to dissect the intricacies and variances of Cadbury’s chocolate compared to other brands, as well as the quality of this one compared to other Cadbury lines, but honestly who really gives a crap? It’s just a well done chocolate bar, and sometimes that’s just all it is.

Picnic Whole lotta stuff in it but really only tastes and feels like a handful of those little crunchy rice balls covered in chocolate that is in every other Cadbury bar. Described as crunchy, chewy, fruity feast, I guess I can agree. The cereal rice balls are certainly crunchy, the caramel is certainly chewy, and the raisins certainly provide a fruity sweetness. It just feels like it has no direction, you know? Kinda just some things thrown together with no clear leader, so it’s like shoving a fistful of trail mix into your mouth but with messier chocolate. It was surprisingly filling, though, so I guess the goal was achieved, but I feel you can get more bang for your buck by literally getting a bag of trail mix. In standard Cadbury fashion, apparently there’s an Australian version that’s basically just the Mr. Big but lumpier.

I LAUGH AT YOU. MUSHROOM HEADS. PATHETIC THINGS. Also, tell me what to review next! You can tell me to do can also be movies, shows, physical actions, trying new foods, music, literally anything and I’ll cover it eventually if it’s not too ridiculous. Just send me a message here on my talk page or PM it to me on the forum. Don't like what I have to say? That's fine, and probably bound to happen because I've been told about how much people like Super Mario 64 and how they feel about any criticism of it! We at Critic Corner will welcome your alternate review of it as a new section for the next issue!