Shredder VS Silver Samurai

So this was one of those episodes the fanbase wanted a different matchup with Shredder VS R'as Al Ghul. But we got this instead. Now while I had no idea who the Silver Samurai was, I was familiar with Shredder; having watched my fair share of TMNT cartoons as well as playing some of the games. Onto the review.

Analysis

The background for Shredder is covered fairly decently, giving information about the multiple incarnations of the Shredder before focusing on his life as Oroku Saki. The hosts then go onto cover Shredder's arsenal and techniques as well as his "spike fetish". It also goes onto tell the audience the various different types of ninjitsu. The episode then moves onto Shredder's feats and I was particularly entertained by both the Leatherhead feat and the meatball slicing feat. The latter of which does a good job at averting the 'calc omission' trap and because of this, the episode did throw me for a bit when it came to the actual result. The analysis then starts to focus on Shredder's weaknesses and because of how silly a character Shredder was in the 1987 cartoon and live action films, the episode is able to capitilize on this opportunity to add some extra humor to the episode.

Similarly to Shredder's rundown, the host cover Silver Samurai's background fairly well, while also adding some humor to the fact that Kenuichio Harada is a "bastard" and a "mutant". The analysis then goes onto cover Harada's techniques and abilities which it does a fairly good job at. It also manages to make a nice shout out to Desk of DEATH BATTLE when covering Harada's arsenal. The rundown also does a good job at covering Harada's feats and weaknesses. By putting most of the feats calculations out there, the episode handily averts the calc omission trap and instead relies on the viewer's own ability to memorize all the different feats. Sure it might make the episode more predictable to an intelligent viewer but this just encourages viewers to use their brains more often. I give the analysis an 8.5/10.

Animation

As usual, Jetz proves to be an amazing animator. While the animation still has the stylish cinematography Jetz implements, it also shows restraint and barely shows any closeups at all. The ones that are there are generally before and after the fight so they don't disrupt the flow of the combat. Admittedly the animation is a bit more simplistic than what Jetz typically does but i don't think it detracts from the charm of the battle. 

The animation makes full use of both Shredder and Harada's fighting styles emphasizing Shredder's ninja reflexes and deadly precision while also maintaining Harada's own fighting ability as well. The fight's climax is done really well as Silver Samurai impales Shredder with his sword yet this doens't feel like a fake out due to two reasons: 1) Shredder is clearly not dead meaning that the battle is far from over and 2) The music used (which is wonderfully done by Brandon Yates) also doesn't end but just feels like a natural pause. As Shredder turns into his super form, the animation switches to a curb-stomp battle in Shredder's favor; emphasizing the change in physical stats and how Shredder is now physically superior. 

Of course even after that the fights not over. Shredder summons a lightning bolt which Harada responds by cutting the bolt in half. This turns the battle into a battle amongst the flames and there is a definite tone shift. Shredder looks much more demonic and ends up dismembering Harada before punching the sword into Harada's eye socket and decapitating him, showing the audience Harada's head and crushing it with his hand. 

The animation is a bit different from normal animations. While it starts out as a typical death battle, it ends up gently leading you to the conclusion as it goes own and as things escalate. And to be fair, I don't think is a bad thing. Because DEATH BATTLE has 82 episodes and is still ongoing, its gotten predictable so a fight that gently leads you into the death is, much like Balrog VS TJ Combo, a breath of fresh air. I have no doubt that episodes will start to get more boring and predictable if they continue with this style, for now it is a much welcome change to the formulaic style that we've been getting for the past 80 episodes or so. I give the animation a 9.8/10

Conclusion

I find the conclusion to be sound and uses common sense. It shows that while Silver Samurai was technically stronger, it was nothing Shredder hadn't faced off against before. It also points out that Silver Samurai doesn't typically teleport spam as he fights. It also points out that all either combatant needed was one good hit and proves that Shredder would land this a majority of the time due to his superior speed and that's still not covering his super form. I give the conclusion a 7/10. This means the episode has a total score of 25.3/30 or 84%.

Balrog VS TJ Combo

So this matchup has been popular for a while now and its the first Torrian fight since Power Rangers VS Voltron, 6 episodes ago. So I was actually surprisingly hyped for this fight despite only really having played Street Fighter 4 and even then, I never once played as Balrog. How did this episode do, well let's find out!

Analysis

Balrog's analysis gives a good rundown on his background before moving onto his fighting style making the analysis a bit more refreshing. It even has a nice transition into Balrog's arsenal of moves. The analysis then goes on to cover Balrog's feats and does manage to bring up some good calculations such as the 10'000 pounds of force required to kill an elephant and even shows its working for Balrog's falling feat. 

TJ's rundown is fairly similar to Balrog's starting with his background and for the most part Wiz and Boomstick are able to keep it informative and entertaining while also having some good jokes in there such as TJ Combo as a janitor (who Jetz animated). They go on to cover TJ's past such as his deal with UltraTech and how afterwards, TJ strived to prove he could win in the ring for real making him a foil to the more villainous cheating bastard that is Balrog. The transition into his berserker mode is also pretty well done and perfectly sums up what it can do. Both rundowns also showcase the weaknesses of both fighters and averts the weakness trap. I give the analysis a 9/10.

Animation

I LOVE this animation. It plays out almost as if it were an actual boxing match rather than a fight to the death. That is until Balrog kills the referee. Both combatants receive an introduction and the announcer spectates and comments on everything. There's even actual rounds to the fight! The way the combatants are restricted to only the boxing ring (even when they start to break it) actually works in this animation's favor as it helps the fight feel a lot more grounded. Also of note is that the two aren't actually trying to kill each other during round 1, abiding by a special set of rules making it seem like a completely different fight than most of the ones we see in death battle. The audience even boos Balrog when he starts to fight dirty. 

As soon as Balrog takes out the referee there is a noticeable tone shift, more akin to the regular fights in death battle. Both fighters are now giving it their all, even if it means killing the other combatant. Balrog scores a combo but TJ c-c-c-combo breaks it. The best part about all of this is that even after the fight has descended into a death battle both combatants are still utilizing their respective styles. Balrog is using his powerful but slow punches while TJ is clearly dodging Balrog's attack and attacks when he sees an opening complimenting the outboxer style. 

The music and sound design is also well done as the animation uses the much slower part of "I'm Back (to Rise)" to help the defeatist feeling of TJ being knocked down by Balrog. The music then immediately picks up to symbolise TJ's second win as he enters his berserker state. After that its pretty clearly a curb-stomp battle in TJ's favor but during this we also get a pretty good POV shot from Balrog's perspective as he's getting his ass kicked. The killing blow is well executed and even after that we still get to see the camera track Balrog's head as it lands on the camera. Cue color bars. I give this animation a 9.5/10. The only reason its not a perfect score is because Balrog often phases through his robe but even that stops about halfway through round 2 when he removes it.

Conclusion

I think what makes this episode so refreshing is how close it really is. Wiz and Boomstick show that both TJ and Balrog had advantages over each other but because each advantage was so slight that they didn't really matter. Instead what ultimately decides the match is the fighting style each combatant uses and they even use a triangle theory done in real life and provide examples to show why TJ would win. In the end TJ didn't win because of superior stats (though that is a factor) but instead because of the type of boxer he was. I give the conclusion a 9/10 providing a total score of 27.5/30 or about 92%.