By Leaana Khan

Staff Writer

Persona 5 Strikers was released on February 23rd for Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. The game is a crossover between Atlus’s hit JRPG Persona 5 and Koei Tecmo’s hack-and-slash series, Dynasty Warriors. Since it’s a hack-and-slash, there is a lot going on in the game at once and it is important that the system can handle everything happening. Despite spending almost four years in development, it falls short of the graphical standards it should have reached. 

While it is obvious that the Steam version has the best performance, there are more comparisons to be made about the graphical performance of the two console versions of the game. Both of these versions are completely viable options to play the game: however, there are certainly some major differences in graphical capabilities.

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Ghibli films are out of this world animations.

By Gabrielle Fernandez

Staff Writer

Trying new things, playing new games, and watching new movies are some of the ways to keep ourselves sane in these weird and troubling times. Having all this extra time inside our homes gives us opportunities that we may not have had before to discover new things that we love. A part of trying new things means going outside the box, and Studio Ghibli movies are perfect for that. 

Studio Ghibli was founded by directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata on June 15, 1985 as a Japanese animation studio. With a collection of 21 movies in total and one planned to be released in 2023, there are quite a few to choose from when selecting which one you want to watch first. 

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Demon Slayer: Kimestu no Yaiba season 2 cover art

By Allison Diaz

As 2021 just begins, it has been announced that Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, will be getting a second season. No exact date has been released for the second season of Demon Slayer, but it is safe to say that it will come out sometime in 2021. The announcement was confirmed during the Demon Slayer Matsuri Online-Anime 2nd Anniversary Festival. 

The cast and crew from the previous season and movie will be returning to adapt Tokyo’s red-light district arc, which is the sequel of the Mugen Train arc.

Many fans are delighted to hear about Demon Slayer: Kimestu no Yaiba getting a second season. 

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By Isabel Sinnott

A&E Editor

Image Source: Disney+

WandaVision is a new show that takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU, three weeks after the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019). The first episode was released January 15 on Disney+, and a new episode has been released every Friday following its premiere, concluding on March 5. 

WandaVision stars Elizabeth Olson as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany as Vision, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and starts out following Wanda and Vision as they live a quiet life in the suburban town of Westview. Each of the first few episodes takes place in and is styled in the form of a different decade sitcom; the first is a black and white sitcom from the 50’s, the next from the 60’s, then transforming to color for the 70’s, then 80’s, and finally 90’s before the decades theme starts to break up and the tone of the show begins to shift. 

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By Isabel Sinnott

Hammond has several different performing arts programs that provide students with creative outlets and opportunities to perform, but with the switch to digital learning, these programs have had to work to come up with digital alternatives to live performances and provide students with different ways to stay involved.

The theatre department generally provides two main opportunities for students to perform; the fall play and the spring musical. Last year, the play was “These Shining Lives,” and the musical “The Addams Family,” but school shut down due to Covid after only one performance, and orchestra and dance never got to have their spring performances. Now this year, without any sort of in person opportunities, the performing arts departments have worked to create online and virtual options.

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Why do we play even when we’re going to lose? Why do we invest ourselves in things that may bring us pain? Because we love it.

By Eric Porco

Staff Writer

(Image Credit: Tatsunoko Production)

Ping Pong the Animation is without a doubt a very good anime. Eleven episodes long, it is also a pretty short anime as they go. Right away I will say that this is a must-watch to anyone that plays sports or is involved in any competitive activities whatsoever. While Ping Pong the Animation is centered around the sport table tennis, it has much to say about the nature of competition in general, and I would say that anyone who plays a sport or competes in a game of any kind will find watching Ping Pong to be an incredibly enriching experience.

With that said, Ping Pong the Animation centers around the story of two particularly talented high school table tennis players in Japan. Makoto “Smile” Tsukimoto, ironically named “Smile” for the fact that he never seems to smile or show much emotion or passion at all, and Yukata “Peco” Hoshino, Smile’s childhood friend who introduced him to table tennis, and who is particularly passionate about the sport. While the story follows these two for the most part, one of the things that makes Ping Pong the Animation such a good show is the plethora of good supporting characters, all of whom bring their own unique philosophies about the sport and about competition.

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By Isabel Sinnott

A&E Editor

Since there aren’t in person events, there can’t be dance or theatre performances, and art can’t be displayed in the hallways or shown in exhibits for people to look at. Music classes as well have struggled, as playing in ensembles is not possible in the same way in this virtual world.

Dance has continued to work similarly to in person school in that combinations are still taught during class. However, sophomore Jessica Owens said that, “It’s hard to understand the combinations because some people’s camera’s mirror. We learned a whole dance and I was doing everything opposite; using my right hand when I was supposed to be using my left.”

Instead of being able to learn the combinations in the studio with other dancers, they need to have their cameras on at their homes and learn through Google Meet. This is difficult for a number of reasons; following along with an instructor through a screen for dance is far more difficult than following in person, and not all students may have the space required to move, or the equipment that would be provided in a dance studio that is needed to be able to effectively participate in class.

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By Eric Porco

Staff Writer

Photo Credit: Akira Kurosawa

Seven Samurai is a story that takes place in the Sengoku period of japanese history, in a time where a cycle of conflict, formed from various civil wars, left the countryside filled with bandits and lawlessness. The story centers primarily around a small village, who learn that a group of bandits plan to come to the village to pillage their next harvest, the only food and resources the village has left. The villagers, certain of their demise otherwise, decide to attempt to fight back against the bandits. In their attempt for survival, a small group of villagers set out to find Samurai, to teach them how to defend their village. The story of Seven Samurai primarily follows the attempt of the Samurai to train and protect the village, and the final confrontation that ensues. 

Seven Samurai is a great movie that stands the test of time. Despite being released in 1954, Seven Samurai is one of the most compelling movies I have seen in recent years, surprisingly somehow being more memorable than many modern stories I have experienced. Seven Samurai is a trendsetter, pretty much inventing the “Training the peaceful villagers” trope, which I’m sure pretty much every person engaged in modern entertainment has experienced through one story or another. 

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