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Giant Bomb Review

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Comic Jumper Review

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Comic Jumper isn't a great game, but it's such a hilarious one that it's still worth seeing from start to finish.


 This is an unedited gameplay screenshot of Comic Jumper.
 This is an unedited gameplay screenshot of Comic Jumper.
There are terrific things in Comic Jumper. It's astoundingly absurd and, at times, absolutely hilarious. It's a game that reaches Amped 3 levels of FMV-laced madness, and if you've seen the cutscenes and story in Amped 3, you know that this is not faint praise. But there's a catch in Twisted Pixel's latest Xbox Live Arcade release. Actually playing Comic Jumper can be something of a chore. It's ambitious in spots, with a lot of surface variety, but once you've seen its few tricks, the gameplay's repetitive nature really starts to grind against the great sense of humor.

The real premise behind Comic Jumper is fantastic. Faced with a poor performance in his own comic book, Captain Smiley--a bulky superhero with a smiley face for a head and a wise-cracked star named Star on his chest--finds himself canceled. In order to make ends meet and prove his worth for an eventual relaunch, he'll have to guest star in other comics to earn money for his comeback. Additionally, Twisted Pixel--that's the company that developed the game--buys the rights to Captain Smiley, making him an employee of the game's developer. This ends up leading to everything getting incredibly self-aware, with plenty of opportunities for the characters to directly reference the game's development and, as has become something of a Twisted Pixel trademark, a lot of terrific live-action video. It's almost as if the developer took the wildest parts of 'Splosion Man and The Maw and expanded it all into an entire game.

It's funny, the writing is strong, and it also has a great visual style. What starts out as a fairly generic modern comic look quickly gives way to three additional styles. The fantasy style '70s comic, Nanoc the Obliviator, has an appropriately desaturated look and lots of fur boots, evil birds, and... uh... golf balls. It makes sense in context. After three levels of that, you'll move onto a silver age style, where "invisible" ropes are clearly seen as dashed lines and a governing body attempts to maintain moral standards by fining you every time Star decides to swear. Things really go off the rails after that with a manga style, which, cleverly, has you moving from right to left instead of left to right. Smiley takes on a Cloud Strife sort of look in the manga style, and jokes are made about how the game's creators probably didn't bother to do much actual research into the source material before writing a bunch of easy, yet great material, all of which is well-delivered by a pretty seasoned voice cast.

The manga art style gets especially delirious. 
The manga art style gets especially delirious. 
All of that good, fun comedy makes it a little easier to get past Comic Jumper's weakness: it isn't much fun to actually play. The action rotates through a few different basic concepts, but the majority of the game is a sort of dual-joystick platformer/shooter, where you use the right analog stick to aim at targets and can also jump or slide. The controls are mostly mapped to the triggers and bumpers, to make things easy to manipulate. But the action is very basic. Enemies fly or run onto the screen, you aim at them, they eventually blow up, you move on. Many of your foes soak up way too many bullets before falling, even if you've upgraded your attack power. Some of them shoot back, forcing you to jump or run out of the way, but that's about it. Occasionally the game will break into a Quick Time Event, a flying stage, an extremely dry melee system, or something reminiscent of Cabal or Panzer Dragoon, where you control an on-screen reticle to aim at enemies while also dodging incoming projectiles. The game is certainly ambitious, and it's cool that it manages to switch styles on the fly, but with no one type of gameplay feeling particularly exciting, it all seems a little academic. At times it can get challenging, but a lot of that is muted when you play the game as a slightly slower pace, so as long as you're upgrading your abilities frequently and aren't just blindly running into enemies, it's never impossible.

But middling gameplay isn't enough to stop Comic Jumper. While I found myself disappointed with portions of the game, the sense of humor and green-screen madness on display make Comic Jumper something much, much more than a basic platformer, and it's this aspect of the game that makes it relatively easy to recommend.    
Jeff Gerstmann on Google+

73 Comments

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Shabs

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Edited By Shabs

I'm glad there's a demo for XBLA games. 
 
I was totally ready to try out the demo and put down my $15, but after 2 min of gameplay, I could tell this was not for me, despite the amazing style and humour.  I just hated the act of playing it, and I'm glad Jeff warned us that this is the case through the entire thing.

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ApolloBob

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Edited By ApolloBob

Sit back and relax - take a look at all them stats.

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nolupita

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Edited By nolupita

I think it's pretty lame that the game features a unicorn. 
 
Along with zombies, unicorns are quickly becoming an annoying hipster trope for wackiness.  Unicorns and manga have nothing to do with each other either.  Maybe if they used an Amaterasu-like creature it would make sense. 
 
Just a pet peeve.

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Undeadpool

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Edited By Undeadpool

Uuugh, if it weren't for those damned "stars," a system Giant Bomb editors have called a necessary evil, this wouldn't even be a debate. Four stars is not a concrete barometer, it's a loose guideline. Read the ACTUAL review, that's where the meat is. Complaining about the stars in these reviews is like complaining about the parsley next to your steak. It's mostly just there to make the whole package look more appealing.

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mutha3

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Edited By mutha3
@ez123 said:
" @Nfinit said:
"Do you honestly believe Comic Jumper, a game where the GB crew themselves admit that the gamplay is fundamentally flawed, deserves the same rating as Guardian of Light or Case Zero? "
Yes, it deserves to get whatever the reviewer gives it.  I do think game-play is king but different people are allowed to get different things from their games.  There have been games that I didn't think the gameplay is any good but I would still recommend. "
Right. 
 
Similarly, we're also allowed to think said reviewer is nuts for thinking that.
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HadesTimes

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Edited By HadesTimes

I haven't finished the game yet, but geez guys this game is messed up.  I love all the presentation stuff, but the actual gameplay is usually really broken.  I agree with Jeff its a lot like Amped, only worse...

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ez123

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Edited By ez123
@Nfinit said:
"Do you honestly believe Comic Jumper, a game where the GB crew themselves admit that the gamplay is fundamentally flawed, deserves the same rating as Guardian of Light or Case Zero? "
Yes, it deserves to get whatever the reviewer gives it.  I do think game-play is king but different people are allowed to get different things from their games.  There have been games that I didn't think the gameplay is any good but I would still recommend.
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Nfinit_Vylence

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Edited By Nfinit_Vylence
@ez123 said:
" @mutha3: Lol, even if Jeff had reviewed those games, he wouldn't be "right" or have any sort of point. "
Why not, exactly?  Do you honestly believe Comic Jumper, a game where the GB crew themselves admit that the gamplay is fundamentally flawed, deserves the same rating as Guardian of Light or Case Zero?
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ez123

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Edited By ez123
@mutha3: Lol, even if Jeff had reviewed those games, he wouldn't be "right" or have any sort of point.
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mutha3

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Edited By mutha3
@WinterSnowblind said:
" I think people are missing the point a bit.  The gameplay certainly isn't "great" but it's still good.  Nobody said it was flat out bad, and the style and humour more than make up for any flaws.  Absolutely hilarious and a blast to play.  "
You should watch the quick look they did of this game, because they DID say that the gameplay was bad
 
Some choice quotes:
 
"if we show the fmv's and the stat song, you have no reason to buy comic jumper"
"pretty terrible"
"Not fun"
"*groan*"
 
(I'll admit the above is paraphrased)
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mutha3

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Edited By mutha3
@ez123 said:
" @Nfinit said:
" Problem is you can't sit there and say this thing deserves to be rated in the same area as Case Zero and Guardians of Light."
Jeff, how are you gonna sit there and say that? "
He's right, though.
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ez123

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Edited By ez123
@Nfinit said:
" Problem is you can't sit there and say this thing deserves to be rated in the same area as Case Zero and Guardians of Light."
Jeff, how are you gonna sit there and say that?
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NellyK

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Edited By NellyK

I'm only 10 minutes into the demo and think this is some of the funniest shit I've ever played. The "Brad Song" alone makes it worth the price of admission. 

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Afroman269

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Edited By Afroman269

Man I want this game but the gameplay keeps turning me from buying it.

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Nfinit_Vylence

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Edited By Nfinit_Vylence

The stars aren't the issue here, it's consistency among reviews. 
 
Comic Jumper is a deeply flawed game that has some redeemable qualities that makes it recommendable if you're a fan of the genre/developer/writing/whatever.  That's pretty much the definition of a three star game.   There' no shame in giving a game three stars.  It's an average game.  Most games are average.  That's how the word "average" works. 
 
Problem is you can't sit there and say this thing deserves to be rated in the same area as Case Zero and Guardians of Light.  Both of those are substantially superior games-- Now either you have to rate Case Zero and Guardians of Light higher-- meaning they're now five-star games-- Or you have to rate Comic Jumper lower. 
 
Now, it's understandable to say you're a fan of the writers or the developers and that means you overlook certain aspects of the game.  We all do this.   But I think in this case it's clouding the judgement of the reviewer and may be causing GB to recommend what may be a fundamentally bad videogame.

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WinterSnowblind

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Edited By WinterSnowblind

I think people are missing the point a bit.  The gameplay certainly isn't "great" but it's still good.  Nobody said it was flat out bad, and the style and humour more than make up for any flaws.  Absolutely hilarious and a blast to play. 

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bybeach

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Edited By bybeach
@billyblaze said:
"Just ignore the stars and watch the QL, which is way more insightful than a silly rating. It's hard to convey an opinion with "stars", hear? And since reviewing games is 250% subjective, you'll get more out of the QL. Or the review. Or whatever. But not from stupid stars which are only there because you nutfuckers nag every site that wants to drops them. Bite-sized pieces of information may be what you want, but not what you need to learn something about the game in question.    Oops. Little rant. Hugs all around. "

This is great advice..except no one does it. That is, and ignore the numbers first. That's the joke of the whole oh grow a couple and read the words argument. In fact, the written review usually below physically(or virtually) those big golden stars or numbers and may even be placed on the following page. I won't go into how fucking trite it sounds also, except I agree in principle. Read the review, or at least some of them on sites you value. This site for me is a first now in fact. But I tend to read a few others to look for differences and sameness.
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Tober

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Edited By Tober

If the game wasn't so damn expensive i would have bought it today. Looks so so awesome and funny.

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MartinG

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Edited By MartinG

I bought it and there are some pretty funny dialog and moments in this game.
The gameplay is somewhat "meh", I don't like using a word like that but I can't describe it in any other way. Anyhow, I agree with what is said in the abstracted review.

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DriveupLife

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Edited By DriveupLife

"not a great game", "middling gameplay" OK Jeff, I won't be playing this thanks for the review.

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Jayzilla

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Edited By Jayzilla

wow. it's really too bad about the game play. some of that was stinkin hilarious. like anything else though, i am not gonna make myself sit through something terrible to get to something good. defeats the purpose.

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iamjohn

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Edited By iamjohn
@Lurkero said:
" What's the incentive if the game doesn't have good gameplay? "

Because a game can still be great on the merits of its other parts and how they all come together?
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mutha3

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Edited By mutha3

The writing doesn't seem "strong" at all from everything I heard and saw about this game.

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Sambambo

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Edited By Sambambo

Rather tempted... Especially as it is effectively 800 points with the new promotion.

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deactivated-5b43dadb9061b

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@Styl3s said:
" If it ever drops to around 400 points (on some sale) i will pick it up, it looks fun but not 1200/800 points fun. "
There's no way it will go down that much. 800 though, sure.
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deactivated-5b43dadb9061b

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@Mrskidders said:
" This reviewing is getting a bit out of hand to be honest. "
 
Que?
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Mrskidders

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Edited By Mrskidders

Well, I didnt really enjoy playing through this but its good to know its on the same level as reach.  This reviewing is getting a bit out of hand to be honest.

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Edited By billyblaze

Just ignore the stars and watch the QL, which is way more insightful than a silly rating. It's hard to convey an opinion with "stars", hear? And since reviewing games is 250% subjective, you'll get more out of the QL. Or the review. Or whatever. But not from stupid stars which are only there because you nutfuckers nag every site that wants to drops them. Bite-sized pieces of information may be what you want, but not what you need to learn something about the game in question.  
 
 
Oops. Little rant. Hugs all around.

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Swarfigo

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Edited By Swarfigo

Super pumped. I loved the other two Twisted Pixel games that were on XBLA and this one looks great too. 

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TwoOneFive

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Edited By TwoOneFive

that was fucking hilarious in the quick look .. might have to buy this. 

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Edited By jacdg

'Splosion Man was my favorite game last year, can't wait to get home and download this! Great review Jeff, this seems exactly like the experience I thought it would be. Gameplay looks okay, but the crazy style Twisted Pixel delivers in every game they put out, has made them one of my favorite developers. Exept for a little Halo: Reach, I'll be playing nothing but arcade games until Black Ops.

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Edited By HydraHam

If it ever drops to around 400 points (on some sale) i will pick it up, it looks fun but not 1200/800 points fun.

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Edited By bybeach

Once again I feel uncomfortable with the 5 star system in single whole increments. It may be Unrelenting in it's 'Fer or Agin' point system, but sometimes there's a reason to play the middle. , It prevents a tyranny of terminology defining a game that's better than the sum of it's components, some of which that may lack..
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MasterMind34

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Edited By MasterMind34

Surprisingly looks pretty funny.

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Brackynews

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Edited By Brackynews
If you liked Comic Jumper
you might also like...
AMPED 3
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Edited By Lurkero
@Skillface said:
" @Lurkero:  He gave it 4 stars because he is RECOMMENDING the game. He is telling us to play it, despite it's flaws. If it was 3 stars, half of the community would look at it and say "I'm not buying it anymore."  Man, stars sure do suck. "
I dunno how you interpret the context, but recommending a game that you just told me isn't fun to play sounds very contradictory. What's the incentive if the game doesn't have good gameplay? A few jokes for $15? I get jokes on the Bombcast every week.
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radioactivez0r

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Edited By radioactivez0r

How do you recommend a game that isn't fun? 

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Undeadpool

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Edited By Undeadpool

It's good that the humor comes through, in that E3 preview it was looking REALLY fucking hit-or-miss. I'm glad it seems to have turned out more hit than miss.

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BagSquad

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Edited By BagSquad

really. really? 4 stars?

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skadbob

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Edited By skadbob

The premise and setup of the Captain Smiley character is enough to convince me to get this game.

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Diamond

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Edited By Diamond
@sixghost said:
" So basically youtube the funny parts in a couple weeks and save $15? "
That's the plan
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sixghost

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Edited By sixghost

So basically youtube the funny parts in a couple weeks and save $15?

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George_Hukas

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Edited By George_Hukas

Boring gameplay is hilarious

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mcmets93

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Edited By mcmets93

Will not even try this game out. I really hate button smashing games or games where you are just hitting the same buttons over and over again for combo attacks

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kitsune_conundrum

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the comments are on fire!

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Nfinit_Vylence

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Edited By Nfinit_Vylence

Kinda weird that you guys killed this thing in the QL and wound up giving it the same review score as Case Zero or Guardian of Light.

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InfiniteGeass

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Edited By InfiniteGeass

The game looked really boring from the quick look. I'll probably try the trial, but I'm not so sure I'll buy it.

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ArbitraryWater

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Edited By ArbitraryWater

From the quick look, this game looks positively dull from a gameplay perspective. However, it also looks hilarious. Hmmm....

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cooljammer00

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Edited By cooljammer00
@Ratinho said:
" @cooljammer00 said:

" How is this not a 3 star game? "

 SOMEONE HAS AN OPINION AND I DON'T LIKE IT!  Do your own review and give it 3 stars then?  Knew there'd be a few people crying about the score when i saw 4 stars. Even knew why there'd be bawling about it, what part they'd whine at, and why  it would get a high score, having seen the GB guys videos and how much they loved it even though it was a pretty average game for the most part. Yay me?  Sharing that sense of humour, this is a definite pick up for me later today. Much preferred the game play in the earlier QL though from a while back. "
It was more the "it's not a great game" in the header, and the times they mention the game not being fun or looking good in the quick look.
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animateria

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Edited By animateria

This seems like a more emotional 4 Stars than a real one.
 
Whatever that's supposed to mean...