4/30/20

Wrestling Illustrated

Illustrated wrestling PPV posters are pretty uncommon (almost rare) nowadays.
Hence, here is a brief collection of some of the greatest PPV posters from days of long ago up until today.
Plenty of which were illustrated by one of the greatest artist/painter ever, Joe Jusko.
Which Joe Jusko?
YES! 
THAT JOE JUSKO!
Kung kaya't JUSKO po kung hindi na ito maipagpatuloy!

Halloween Havoc 1990

Royal Rumble 1991 by Joe Jusko
Royal Rumble 1992 by Joe Jusko
Beach Blast 1992
Survivor Series 1993
Yokozuna Version:
VHS Version:
The poster was edited due to Tatanka's absence from the actual match.

Royal Rumble 1994

Hockey Game Boxart 1992 by Joe Jusko
Side Panels:
Royal Rumble 1994 by Joe Jusko (for Data East)
Although not exactly PPV posters, pinball decals, and boxarts are pretty badass as well.

And on that basis, this is also a poor excuse for us to post the boxart of:

Wrestle War 1991
Summer Slam 1998
Armageddon 2000
Royal Rumble 2001
Survivor Series 2004
No Mercy 2006
Elimination Chamber 2010
Wrestling Dontaku 2015 by Nagatoshi Sakai
Vendetta 2015 by Benj Bartolome
Vendetta 2016 by Benj Bartolome
Wrestling Dontaku 2017 by Nagatoshi Sakai
(courtesy of JamieOD via Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamieOD/status/861988177866784770)
Vendetta 2018
Royal Rumble 2019 by Steven Chorney
All Out 2019 by Jonathan Bartlett
Double Or Nothing 2019 by Jonathan Bartlett
Full Gear 2019 by Jonathan Bartlett
Full Gear 2019 by Jonathan Bartlett

4/29/20

The SSM! Home Theater #2: Ninja Slayer

Hello!
From our side of the quarantine to yours.
We humbly welcome you to yet another edition of The SSM! Home Theater.

The SSM! Home Theater #1: https://silentsanctummanga.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-ssm-home-theater-1-gene-simmons.html

This pandemic had just halted most major businesses and pretty much gave
everyone (willingly or unwillingly) their much-deserved vacation.
On our side of the spectrum, this had given us more time to catch up
on almost all of the shows and series we normally couldn't binge watch due to work.

Shows like the much talked about Hi Score Girl (which currently is on Season 2) on Netflix.
Favorite scenes from Season 1:
But enough about that, we're here to talk about another show.
A show that doesn't get that much love.
A show called Ninja Slayer.
Ninja Slayer is a 25 episode anime by Studio Trigger.
Yes, the same company behind Inferno Cop.
A series we featured several years ago:
https://silentsanctummanga.blogspot.com/2015/03/infernal-capisce.html

And just like Inferno Cop, some of the fight scenes in Ninja Slayer would retain that cheap 2D cutout look made famous in Inferno Cop.
This might make the show look rushed, unprofessional, and unpolished but that's exactly what made the show kinda appealing.

And to quote Mae West on the animation quality of Ninja Slayer,
When I'm good, I'm very good.
But when I'm bad, I'm better!
Ninja Slayer would also ditch the contemporary portrayal of Ninjas.
Which is basically ninjas in modern-day clothes (e.g. Naruto)
Ultimately deciding to give this show a more traditionally eastern look.
Ranging from the typical anime character designs to somewhat racist stereotypes.
Character designs akin to maybe Ninja Gaiden or Shinobi.
And speaking of Shinobis, Ninja Slayer's (main protagonist) excessively long red scarf was definitely Shinobi inspired. That, or probably HBO's Spawn inspired.
Either way, it's all good!
For after all, when in doubt TODD it out!
The show would also incorporate more experimental techniques like ink washes,
textured photographs,
 scene transitions (ala Transformers)
and even some live video footages.
Making this feel less and less like your typical anime.
Favorite episodes,  episode 7
and 13-14.
Business started picking up from Ep.13 onwards.
Some episodes would be two-part continuing episodes while some of which might even contain post-credit scenes.
So watch the show but stay for the closing theme because most of it is lit AF.
The show would also get extra socio-political in some of the episodes.
Tackling on subjects like communism and workforce equality.

Characters would bow and announce their names politely.
This made most of the fights rather honorable and the character's name somewhat memorable.
Very reminiscent of Karateka.
Some characters were pretty original
while some are a lawyer friendly version of characters you can probably recognize.
Others are pretty easy to spot while others are a little more obscure.

And can we just address that Nancy Lee
 is just basically Zero Suit Samus wearing a black jumpsuit.
And she'd be providing all the necessary "fan service" this show needs.
Be it via Shibari (Japanese rope bondage)
chained,
gangbanged, 
to various methods of boob mashing.
(this excellent scene courtesy of Earthquake and Dragon Yukano / Amnesia)
The show's got it all and more!

Subtle geek references?
We got you covered, fam!

Another recurring gag from the show is the instance of someone wetting themselves.
Much to the enjoyment of R. Kelly, I guess?

The season ended on a high note with various characters returning.
Heavily hinting on a Season 2 for the show.