Top 5 Unpopular Opinions

The greatest aspect of an opinion is that everybody is entitled to their own; while many may have a similar opinion on one thing, there may be some that think differently. For example, some may think it is great to have more Dragon Ball content on the air with the advent of Super and the new movies, others may think the franchise has long overstayed its welcome. Another example is in regard to Disney's direct to video sequels; some may think a majority of them are horrendous trash, others may think there are quite a few hidden gems (I am in the latter camp, I loved the Lilo and Stitch, Lion King, and Aladdin sequels). I am just as guilty when it comes to unpopular opinions, matter of fact, here are five examples of my own (along with an honorable mention):

• One Piece is an anime that has long overstayed its welcome 
• Before explaining this unpopular opinion, let me give you all a disclaimer; One Piece is by no means a bad anime at all. However, I think an anime (or any ongoing series for that matter) that has gone on for well over 900 episodes is a tad excessive, and creates a problem in terms of pacing. I understand this series is about a band of pirates traveling the globe in search of the titular treasure, but we do not need to see every second of their adventure. If its creator were to streamline the story to the most important moments of the Straw Hat Pirates' adventure, then this series would be much more palatable and easier to get into. I have attempted to get into this series multiple times, but failed each time because the massive episode count and horrendous pacing makes it a chore to watch completely. This series has been ongoing for over twenty years, I believe it is well beyond time for the Straw Hats to reach their final destination and end this series. The longer it goes, the more difficult it will be for a newcomer to get into.

• The Wii U is a genuinely great console
• This one is pretty self-explanatory; Nintendo's Wii U console is one that is gravely underrated. It combines the best aspects of home console and portable gaming, it is Nintendo's first High-Definition console, and its Virtual Console represents all of their previous systems with the exception of the Gamecube. Unfortunately, it was unable to realize its true potential due to Nintendo's poor marketing of the product. They marketed the console as an upgrade to the original Wii, rather than its successor like it actually was. Additionally, third-party developers found it difficult to create games for it. As a result, the Wii U was a commercial failure to the company, similar to their Virtual Boy, and was quickly phased out in favor of the Nintendo Switch. Personally, I loved playing games on the Wii U, and was disappointed to see its quick demise. Matter of fact, it is one of my favorite consoles from Nintendo, next to the Gamecube and Switch. While the third-party support was severely lacking, its range of first-party titles was phenomenal! Games such as Hyrule Warriors, Super Smash Bros., and Nintendo Land were great experiences, and their remakes of Zelda games such as Wind Waker and Twilight Princess were massive improvements over the original. I never beat the original versions of the latter two games, but I quickly beat their Wii U remakes. If you ever get the chance to play this console, I can assure you it will be an unforgettable experience. However, there are some glaring flaws, such as having to be in the same room if you wish to stream the game to the GamePad controller. If you wanted to play purely on said controller, you had to be less than thirty feet away from the main unit or else the signal would be lost. 

• X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a solid film
• Ironically, I believe the X-Men films that are considered "bad" in the eyes of the general consumer to be fairly solid (with the exception of the recent Dark Phoenix); X-Men Origins: Wolverine is no exception. It presents a solid interpretation of Wolverine's origin story, and serves as an excellent lead-in to 2000's X-Men film. The pacing is also solid, with no events being too quick or overstaying their welcome, in addition to having a good balance of action, drama, and comedy. However, I do agree with one criticism of the work, Origins' version of Deadpool. I am glad this version of the character was quickly retconned into the snarky, crude, fourth-wall destroyer the public is familiar with. Ryan Reynolds' initial version of Deadpool was the polar opposite and a far cry from his counterpart in the comics, to the point of his mouth being sewn shut; the character is supposed to be a chatterbox, why make him mute? That aside, it was interesting to see Wolverine's beginnings and the cause of his memory loss in his later appearances. If you catch this film out in the wild, I would highly suggest giving it a watch.

• Disney's live action remakes are not as bad as people think
• Disney's recent trend of live action remakes based on their animated films has been a polarizing subject, with a general consensus finding them mediocre at best to horrendous at worst. Personally, with the exception of Maleficent, I found these remakes to be very enjoyable, gladly defending them whenever possible. I grew up watching the original animated versions of these films, and I am always excited to see new interpretations of these stories. While some may see these remakes as "cheap, soulless cash-grabs", I find these as opportunities for Disney to bring back concepts that were cut from the original films (along with elements from their stage counterparts in some cases), and integrate them with the stories we all know and love. Additionally, it allows the company to address the flaws found in the originals and expand upon them, such as how Belle and Beast's backstories are addressed. However, I will admit these new versions have their share of flaws as well (if you would like to see my opinions on Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King, click on their respective italicized names, as I do not plan to re-address them here). In the case of Dumbo, we are not only re-acquainted with the original story, but shown what happens afterward. Perhaps it is time to give these remakes another shot, seeing them for their own merits instead of in the shadows of their source material; you might find them as "diamonds in the rough", to quote Aladdin.

• Honorable Mention: Sonic 06 is not the worst game ever
• In many lists of "worst video games ever made", the 2006 reboot of Sonic The Hedgehog is frequently mentioned. While it is a barely playable mess with a plethora of frustrating glitches, there is some merit to the game. It presents an experimental scenario of placing Sonic and his cast in a realistic setting, along with a new design for series antagonist, Dr. Eggman (a design I think would work so much better in the upcoming live-action film). The game also introduced a new character to the franchise (Silver the Hedgehog), along with solidifying Sonic Rush's Blaze the Cat's place among the franchise's cast (despite retconning her origin). I am probably one of the few that finds Sonic 06 enjoyable; matter of fact, it was the game that made me want to get an XBOX 360 in middle school. It is by no means a perfect game, nor is it great, but it is a solid title in the XBOX 360's library despite its flaws. It is not the worst game in history either (that goes to the Atari 2600 game based on E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), and is one that definitely deserves a second look. However, in regard to the Wii U title, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, that mess of a game deserves to burn in the nearest dumpster fire.

• The Little Mermaid's Ariel is a selfish protagonist
• While I understand this may cause me to lose a few readers, I will preface this by saying that I do not think The Little Mermaid is a bad film by any means whatsoever. It has amazing animation (being one of Disney's last to use traditional cel-animation before switching to the CAPS system), a great score from Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, and great characters.... aside from the aforementioned protagonist. In terms of Disney heroes and heroines, Ariel is probably one of the most naive and selfish in the studio's history. Her actions and motivation not only endanger herself, but her supporting cast as well. Her exploring the sunken ship at the beginning of the film almost caused her and Flounder to become shark food, and her desire to be with a human prince puts her entire kingdom at risk from Ursula as well. Her father had every right to be protective, since I have a feeling he knew all of this would happen. She is a protagonist that really needed to learn that all of her actions have consequences, both good and bad; throughout the course of the film, she thought little of how her actions would affect others, thinking only for herself. I do admit I am being a bit harsh on the character, but this is one major flaw that I hope is addressed in the upcoming remake. Ariel is a character that desperately needed to gain a sense of humility and consideration for others. 

What are some of your unpopular opinions? Feel free to discuss them in the comments below and on social media, and be sure to give a follow for future Reviews and Retrospectives posts.