User blog:MetaMachine/MetaCriticMachine Review! Top 10 Fanmade Rap Battles of 2017

Hello everyone! MetaMachine here! and i think we can all agree that 2017 is... A year. I don't think i need to add anything to that nor do i plan to elaborate on the events that happened this year. But i'm going to talk about something the the wiki doesn't talk about a whole lot despite what the wiki is called: Rap Battles! More specifically rap battles that came out in the Rap Battle Community. I think this year is more important for fanmade rap battles because ERB Decided to take a year long break and even now in 2018 they still have not started making battles so i'm sure a lot of us turn to the community for our love of rap battles. While i think we can agree that most of them are not AS good as MOST ERB's there are a lot of enjoyable, well-made, and clever rap battles that can look back on and admire. and I'm going to talk about some of the best ones. Specifically ten, that came out this year that distracted me from the ERB Drought of 2017. If you haven't see my blog announcing the rules for this list i'll make this quick:

1: The battles had to come out this year. (duh)

2: It has to be on Youtube.

3: Has to to be made by people in the community.

4:  One rap battle per series, but NOT per channel.

So with that, let's start the countdown!

Number #10 Kirby vs Pac-Man (Remastered) by B-Lo Lorbes
Kicking off this countdown is something i think most people won't expect. There was a lot of battles i was thinking to start the bottem of the list (this part is actually one of the last parts i'm writing because of this.) and we are starting with one of the more intresting battles of my list. We have a long path ahead of us so let's get started!

So the first thing i want to talk about the unique structure of the battle. And i'm assuming you saw the battle (i mean, i put the link above so if you haven't you should.) The best way for me to describe the format would be like James Bond vs Austin Powers- ish.



(Let me explain.)

So the battle starts with Kirby and Pac-Man but after his second verse, Pac-Man goes to sleep and Jigglypuff shows up and raps against Kirby. I really like this since in the old battle Jigglypuff is just a normal 3rd-party rapper which doesn't make a whole lot of sense because Jigglypuff has nothing to do with Pac-Man so writing him out of the Kirby-Jigglypuff half makes more sense and i think is rather clever. Purely because lot's of rap battles have 3rd party-rappers and it's pretty cool to see some rap battles put a new twist with it.

In addtion the beat also makes the two parts of the battle different with the change of the beat from a very video game beat with Kirby and Pac-Man (with the beat getting a bit more serious with Pac-Man and being a little more "cute" with Kirby might i add) to a more up-beat... beat. (Great writing there Matthew.)

Another thing i like about this battle more then most GASRB's is the clips used for the video, B-Lo used to use still sprite's like a slideshow for his battle but has moved to video clips from various games. (Good move mate.) but this battle use's clips from the anime's that Kirby, Pac-Man, and Jigglypuff have which is something that B-Lo should use assuming the video game character that he uses has a anime. It adds more variety to to the battle and is just a really nice touch.

So now i'm going to talk about each character  in this battle and give my thoughts on each one starting with Kirby. After all, he is the star (*wink)  of the battle rapping against two rappers and getting the most lines in the battle. But to be perfectly honest with you, i think Kirby is the worst of the battle. He is played by Matthew (ERBOC Matthew, not me or Swift. We have a lot of Matthews.) and it work in the original back when his voice was kinda high but now he has one of the deepest voice in the entire community. (Heck, he sound more of a man then me and most people in my family and I'M older then him and i'm the second youngest in my house!) But he still puts on a really good performance with his rapping.

Pac-Man, Being the most serious in the battle does this job very well with the first four lines he gets in the battle and being the oldest character in this battle and in video game history gives him a sense of authority over Kirby that he shows vary well more in his voice and how he raps more then the rap itself. But still shown in the battle. Something i want to mention about Pac-Man is his voice, He is played by B-Lo and it just B-Lo's voice (more or less) and while it can be a little weird you have to think that Pac-Man doesn't say words but just makes sounds like a machine and would be hard to translate that into rap form. So i give Pac-Lo a pass with the voice.

Last but not least is Jigglypuff. She is worked into the battle after Pac-Man goes to sleep and draws on his face with her classic marker (if you watch the anime you should know about what i'm talking about.) and in my opinion she wins the battle. The voice that Anna Chloem does for Jigglypuff sounds like the character, and the part when Jigglypuff sings her last four lines is the best part of the battle with how it was mixed and sound. And she also has the most emotion in the battle ranging from sassy, happy, to even threatening with how she says some of her lines and the clips that B-Lo used But even though i really like this battle it has it fair share of flaws. Not including what i mention above with the voices. the transtion from Pac-Man to Jigglypuff is longer then it had to be (about 25 seconds if you're wondering.) A lot of the lines are very, For lack of a better word "direct" which is a part of B-Lo style. Which works very well for his other series like his Dis Raps but for his rap BATTLES. it's hit or miss. But i will keep coming back for this battle and all the good that it does. ==Number #9 Rick and Morty vs Mr. Peabody and Sherman by Skeep*Tieel== So in case you didn't know this battle was going to be a CMRB but it ended up getted scrapped by the CMRB team due to them thinking that the writing was not that good, Morty not being in-character, and it being quote "a reference orgy" (0_0) you can see the details about it on the Cartoon Made Rap Channel 2 account on Soundcloud in the comments of the flow test for but lots of people did like the battle like Vladimyr P, Matthew (ERBOC), and of course. Skeep. So Skeep pick up where CMRB left off and made this the first rap battle for his new series Rap Battles Rebooted. (at least on his Soundcloud account it's called that since his intro just says "Rap Battles" but whatever.) Let's start with the pros of this battle. First, the editing. Skeep is a very good editer/animator with battles like  Blackstar vs Rainbow Dash, Ganta Igarashi vs Yukiteru Amano, and Notch vs Herobrine under his editing belt. and this battle is really well edited with each transition and cut being done in different ways so the battle doesn't get boring. Another thing the battle does well is the intreaction with the rappers on the same team. a lot of the battle's lines take a dialogue approach which is to be expeacted given the characters. The part that does this best in the battle i think is the first four lines of Peabody and Sherman's first verse and Rick and Morty fifth and sixth lines in their first verse. Moving into the flaws of this battle, when CMRB said it was a "a reference orgy." there not COMPLETELY wrong. a lot of lines make references to Rick and Morty stuff that the casual viewer who doesn't watch Rick and Morty (#me.) might not understand and while i don't watch Rick and Morty, this is not a HUGE problem to ME because i know a lot about Rick and Morty from family members who watch the show but lines like the Red Grin Grumble and the Meeseeks line i'm left scratching my head. I guess i just don't have a high enough IQ. :( And some minor nitpicks i have is while the intreaction we get is good i do think a little more at least on Rick and Morty's side would have be nice. Don't get me wrong. They do intreact and talk to each other but like i said earlier, intreaction is something to be expeacted and a little bit more could of really push the battle in its favor. Also, nothing on Skeep or anything but his Rick and Morty impression while not the worst, (in fact, his Morty isn't half bad.) His Rick impresson Could have been done by someone with a better impression. Wait a minute...

i heard the audio and Mathew does have the better impression but his flow is kinda weird in some places but i would have had him re-record wit Skeep's flow but maybe he was busy and he couldn't. It's not that big of a deal. Also, i know that when making battles you can be limted by what to use for video but the Peabody and Sherman show on Netflix... doesn't look good. it's fine for the most part but i think some video from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show and the Dreamworks movie could have been used for some parts. Let's just look at the title card                                  let's just move on. ==Number #8 1999 vs Five Nights At Freddy's by Freshy Kanal== First thing i want to get out of the way is that while there ARE lots of battles with FNAF and Creepypastas i'm not necessarily against a lot of different rap battle series using the same characters assuming that each respected series does something new with said overused characters. in the case with this battle, 1999 is a creepypasta that has only been used one other time (Evil Rap Battles of Horror 1999 vs Where Bad Kids Go.) and as for FNAF, Yes 5 Night's at Freddy's IS overused but maybe Dustin could do something different with it that hasn't been done in rap battles before. Let's take look and let's start by talking about how Freddy is portrayed in the video Getting Slimplay, who animated Mario vs Sonic by VGRB. Animating Freddy in this battle was one of the, if not the best choice Dustin could of made because i LOVE the animation in this battle! The animation in the battle really plays up the creepy aspect since FNAF IS a horror game and 1999 is also a horror story weather or not you find ether of them scary is matter of opinion but i'm getting sidetracked. Just by the beginning of Freddy's first verse with him starting the battle putting a book on the table with him telling his rap like a story in the first 4 lines to Mr. Bear is really cool and cinematic with the lighting done in the scene there's more moments like this but if i talk about all of them we'll be here all day so i'm going to move on and talk about the voice of Freddy. DNA_Fox does a very good performance with a voice that's more deep and creepy then say Zander's and Stoff's Freddy and most of the time i would say the actor should try to sound like the character i feel this is a exception because of the tone of the battle would not be the same if Freddy sounded like a demonic Yellow Guy from DHMIS. but i'm not dissing Zander's and Stoff's Freddy in anyway i'm just saying their interpretation of the character wouldn't really work for the battle. Same would be said if DNA_Fox was Freddy in say, FNAF vs Candle Cove which is a lot more upbeat and has a more energy. That's really all i can say for Freddy so let's move on to Mr. Bear. Now in the creepypasta, (And yes i did read the creepypasta for research.) Mr. Bear was said to have a quiet and timid voice and sometimes had a stutter and Dustin was able to do the quiet part of the voice but he didn't really sound timid or had a clear stutter but i think it's fine because like i said for Freddy's voice, if their used the voice closest to the source material i think the mood of the battle would be less creepy and Dustin still did a amazing performance as Mr. Bear. Now as for the Mr. Bear costume it wasn't bad by any mean  but the creepypasta did show what the head looked like for Mr. Bear and the bear costume in the battle looks to be of a lighter brown and of a different material then the picture shown. But it's still a pretty good bear suit that Dustin got but i'm just wondering if he bought it in public the looks he got from people and if he bought off say Amazon the website suggested other animal suits. #notfurryshaming #justaskingaquestion And the editing of Mr. Bear is still very good mainly in the first 8 lines of his first verse with the lighting, the smoke effect put into the 5th-8th lines of Bear's first verse, and the dramatic scene of him putting on the bear head. "Dramatic scene of him putting on the bear head." never that i would type/say that in any context. So this battle sound amazing (and it is.) so why is it at number 8? In my opinion, a lot of the lines in that battle are not that good and can even be kinda fillery, I'm not saying all the lines are but some lines are really good and some are just kinda... Banausic. (thanks thesaurus.) i'm going to copy and paste some lines and i'll show you what i mean: "Your whole franchise is a epic fail" "Shut your goddamn springtrap, you lines don't have logic" (outside of Springtrap their ain't much here) "Mr. Bear is back to beat this Animatronic" (can someone tell me why "Animatronic" is capitalized here? it might be something i don't get but might also be a typo i don't know.) "I've seen a better creepypasta in Dead Bart" (Could've been any creepypasta) "Keep your lines to yourself, you'll be buried alive," These lines above are not bad but could of added more and there aren't even that many 1999 references in the battle. There don't need to reference everything but i've read the creepypasta and there's no reference to Booby (don't take this out of contect read the creepypasta if you don't know what i'm talking about.) The battle could of said something about INRI or a "feeling of dread" but this is still a very good battle and might even be the creepiest battle on my list today. Something i want to say is that with most battles i hear them on soundcloud first and watch them on youtube when they come and in the video, Dustin added a lightning sound effect in Mr. Bears first verse that wasn't in the soundcloud audio and in turn, i didn't expect it and actually jump from my chair in surprise.Mock me in the comments i'm just keeping it real. ==Number #7 Guzma vs Robbie Rotten by UBERocity== So as we enter a new year there are going to be trends and memes with that we will laugh at, get bored of, and then laugh at how old the memes are and then joke about them being old memes more then the origin of said meme and what made them funny in the first place! So with that Mancha decided to put two of my favorite memes (don't think i suggested this battle because i didn't) in a rap battle that i really like just because throughout the entire battle i was smiling and laughing the whole time just because the whole battle is of a silly idea and it would have been very easy for the memes to just be said in like one line but Mancha and Eddie made the writing is creative then that. There are a lot of ways that it shows but let's just start with the first lines of the battle with Robbie's first two lines being slightly different to the first two lines of "Villain #1" (which i just found out the other day from my older brother that the song is not even called We Are Number One.) Lyrics from the song: Here's a little lesson in trickery This is going down in history! Lyrics in the battle: Here’s a little lesson in rhyming and diction Because your defeat is going down in fiction! This shows that Mancha and Eddie put a lot of thought and care into the battle but keep in mind, There IS more to the battle then just the writing and i can't mention every good line so let's just move on to the video. So if you don't know URBoF Is animated by Mancha and i really like this aspect of UBRoF and this battle is no exception. For the series is really sets apart this from other rap battle channel snice most are ether flimed and live-action or use clips from TV shows and video games. But from cool scenes like Guzma running and Robbie doing that thing with his hands before he sings "Villain #1" to even cool and menacing shots like Guzma and Robbie face's at the end of their last verse's makes these guys look cool and reminds you "Hey! these meme-nuggets ARE Villains"Something i want to say tho is that the battle is up on the list for how funny i find and watching the battle over and over again (which i do with all the battles on the list) so me watching this battle a lot did make it less funny over time but i won't forget the first time i saw it and laugh the whole way through and almost fell out of my chair when Guzma dabbed with my 3DS. if i were to point out the biggest flaw with this battle it would be that Robbie is treated MUCH better then Guzma. There are a lot more references on Robbie's side and they make up a lot of the battle. i am aware that the We Are Number One meme is bigger then Guzma's "Ya Boi!" but if Bruce vs Bruce is unfair line-wise then this is unfair meme-wised (Never thought i would say that) Imma make a chart just to show ya. i know We are number one is a bigger meme then ya boi guzma but it's just something i thought i would share.

But i still really love the battle. I've gone on record and if i could be in one rap battle series this would be it because i think URBoF is one of the best fanmade rap battle series and i still stick to that plus i kinda feel it should get more attention show i think you should watch all the battle i've talk about on the list but if you don't, Go check out UBERocity i think the series start getting really good by Ronald McDonald vs Needles Kane but feel free to watch before or after. Mancha! i've mention you twice in blogs now! Can you get me in a battle? No? well i'm done sucking on your channel teat yet!

Number #6 Froslass vs Chandelure (EPRB) by UBERocity
So remember that rule that said one rap battle per series and not per channel? Well that was mostly for UBERocity because it has several series with URBoF, Battle Bytes, and of course, Epic Pokemon Rap Battles. And being a a pretty big Pokemon fan having a Pokemon battle is right up my alley!

Starting with the flaws of this battle. The video, while not bad by any mean of the word, Just using clips of the pokemon anime and from Pokken. going back with what i side with Peabody and Sherman, Using clips from other sources is used in other rap battles so using it in this battle wouldn't feel out of place. Could of done something with the sprites using some of the moves in the games or maybe add some blue and red shading to Froslass and Chandelure symbolizing ice and fire or purple or black shading with them being ghost types could have been pretty cool.

And for whateven reason there is a sprite of whoever is rapping in the upper-right corner of the screen that i don't think is really needed since the only reason it's there is to remind who is rapping and it's just unnecessary. But it's more of a nitpick because it's just a small part of the screen and it's not painfully obvious

Moving on with the pros, With this being a Halloween battle (ooo spoopy) It has a creepy mood and i'm just going to say it: I'm just a sucker for creepy battles. Most rap battles try to pump up the viewer and i don't hate that. But rap battles like this and nice and refreshing even with bad rap battles that try to have a creepy mood.

Something that i wanted to point is the voice that Mancha did for Chandelure. Usually Chandelure has a quiet and soft voice but Mancha did a loud voice that i still like and fits the mood of the battle but i find it intresting that Mancha chose the voice he did. What most likely the case is either Mancha and Adam thought the loud voice fit more with the battle, (both voices would work.) or Mancha just couldn't do the normal Chandelure voice since we don't hear Mancha do that many quiet and high-pitched voices,

Can't think of much else to say except that Jacob (HyperJacob96) has a cover of this battle on his soundcloud account that i think is pretty good and should be check out if you have the time.[LINK]

Also, do you know Bad Rap Battles? it's a twitter account run by Justin that takes out of context rap battle screen shots and i think i found his next tweet, Sorry, couldn't resist. ==Number #5 Squidward vs Benson (Remake) by Cartoon Made Rap Channel== So i mentioned CMRB earlier and here we are 4 entries and about 3,000 words later and we're just now talking about them! CMRB had a lot of really good battles and this and another series that we'll get to later i had a hard time picking which one to pick but i think i made the right choice. So i'm just going to jump into it and start talking about the editing. Fle, Boris and Geon did a really great job with the editing being on-par with Skeep's Rick and Morty vs Peabody and Sherman. It also stays constant with no high or low point in the battle. and as for the lyrics, for the most part there constant but i think Squidward and Benson's second verse's are better then thier first so the battle doesn't go downhill but the first half of the battle is still very good so don't get the wrong idea. Moving on with the impressons, I don't think Zander sound like Benson a whole lot but i think Zander capture the mood of Benson with his anger and the way he raps sound so bitter but doesn't go into Squidward vs Benson 1 levels of anger On the other side Justin is the go-to Squidward and it's just a good as it is and their isn't really any part where he loses his impresson and sounds like himself. Not much else to add here. The writing is very good with lines packing lots of punchs and with characters who are known for there anger. It fits to see both of them stay on the offensive. I'm sorry if i'm not going too in-depth but this battle is what i call a "bland good" and what i mean by that is that everything about is really good but their just isn't anything to talk about and while for a normal review i can just pick what rap battle i review. But for a top ten, it's my opinion so if i don't say a whole lot. I'm sorry. I tried but there just isn't much to say so just go watch the battle and let's carry on with the list... ==Number #4 Bendy vs Mama Tattletail by VideoGamesRapBattles== Like i said earlier there are going to be new trends that we are going to look back on and think, "What were we on that year?" and one of the things that 2017 is known for (that isn't in infamy) is video games! And one type of video game is Indie Horror. Slenderman, Amnesia, and as we saw earlier, 5 Nights at Freddy's are games that took the internet by jump scaring into our hearts but two new games to come out that took the internet by storm is Tattletail and ESPECIALLY Bendy and the Ink Machine. Wait.Well... The game didn't get traction until 2017 so it still counts right? Don't answer that. So we are going to look at Bendy vs Mama Tattletail by VGRB not to be confused by Bendy vs Mama Tattletail by JMB. But to be fair, Cam did not know Justin was doing it until Justin's version was already out on Youtube go to Cam's Twitter for proof but you'll have to dig a lot to find it. So before we talk about the battle i want to say that the prologue with Cam playing a animated security guard just screaming "WHY IS EVERYTHING FROM MY CHILDHOOD TRYING TO KILL ME!?!?" absolutely hilarious as more and more horror games, (Especially indie games.) are turning innocent things scary with things like Chuck E. Cheese with FNAF, Duck Hunt with Duck Season, and Furbies and Mickey Mouse with Bendy and Tattletail! All we need is a indie game that turns a purple dinosaur into some pedophile-child murdering freak and we'll be good to go! (if you know who i'm talking i shouldn't need to elaborate. It's Barney. i find Barney terrifying. F*ck him.) So the first thing i want to talk about is the animation... I love it. this battle along with 1999 vs FNAF, Froslass vs Chandelure, and a few more entries on my list. Has a very slow, creepy, and cinematic feeling for the battle and the animation captures this feeling perfectly. In addition, The voices that DAGames and Kat do in the video really pushes the unsettling tone of the battle. Outside of that i can't of much to say about the voices other then DAGames Bendy sounds like a demonic Sean Connery or at the very least talks like a demonic Sean Connery but that might just be me/i might be going crazy when i say that. (there is a recuring joke with my family that i say something looks or sounds like something and everyone thinks i'm crazy so you tell me.) Even though i really like this battle. (Hence why it's this high on the list) i can't think of a whole lot to say, Outside of the really good animation and  Sean Connery and the Ink Machine i can't think of much to prise or critique about it. The only thing i don't like about is that it is a pretty short battle ending at 1:40 even counting the prologue and the announcer at the beginning since this battle has the 8-8-4-4 structure but while it is short it did still manage to creep its way up to number four. I'll try not to end another part of my list like that... no promises tho XD ==Number #3 Donald Duck vs Daffy Duck by Epic Rap Battles of Cartoons== A lot of rap battles have intresting and unique connections weather or not the battle itself is good or bad but a lot of battles just take classic rivalries and put them into rap form. You see where i'm going with this?Back in 2014 Matthew made Bugs Bunny vs Mickey Mouse, a very good rap battle back then that i think is still pretty good and 3 years later Matthew decided to make a another Looney Tunes vs Mickey Mouse battle but with Bugs and Mickey's duck friends because ducks are funny. So with the list entry on my list and for the entries moving on their won't be a whole lot to say without just gushing over the entire battle so i'm just going to say that the lyrics and pretty good but no lyrics really stand out or are worth critiquing so i don't need to go on with that and the editing is pretty good using clips of cartoons with Donald and Daffy from the cartoon days of old all the way up to The Looney Tunes Show and Ducktales 2017, and even some images moving around with the waggle town Comic Book Rap Battles style so the video doesn't get boring with the clips that are used. So why is the battle so high on my list? Simply put: The Impressons are some of the best that i've ever heard in the entire community! And for characters with such iconic voices i'm sure Matthew knew that getting the right people to play Daffy and Donald was more important then most battles. Stofferex does a very good Daffy voice lisping when it's right and making fart noises with his mouth when it should happen to. Also, i think it's kinda cool that the same guy who played Bugs for your series to play Daffy since IRL, Mel Blanc played Bugs and Daffy too. Could Stoff do every Looney Tunes character that Mel played? If you're reading this Stoff let me know in the comments. And know we go to Donald. OH MY GOD JACOB YOU ARE A GOD AMONG MEN! Anyone who can do a Donald Duck impresson as good as Jacob gets my respect as a voice actor. His Donald voice is so accurate that if their was a petition for Jacob to play the next Donald in the next Disney thing with Donald weather it's a cartoon, movie, or video game. I would be one of the first to sign. Hear the battle and you'll know what i mean. Now there are a lot of people to think that Donald sounds too hard to hear just go to the Soundcloud and Youtube page for the battle and you'll see people saying things like "I can't understand Donald." and to that i say, That's what he always sound like. And i would get it if their wasn't subtitles, But their is. And it might just be me but Jacob playing Donald in this battle sound MORE understandable then we he used him in his Wacky Covers of Undertale vs FNAF and Seven Deadly Sins Royale on his soundcloud! you should hear it for youself to judge but that's what i think. So Donald's voice doesn't bother me. But if you think other, Let's debate in the comments just as long as you keep it clean with me. ==Number #2 Ken Kaneki vs Hannibal Lecter by Vinnyo== I'm starting to run out of ways to start these entires so I'm just going right in with this one. I've never seen Silence of the Lambs or Tokyo Ghoul but the battle made this high for a reason and i'm going to say why! So i'm going to start with the video portion of this battle first since this is the first full live action battle (Mr. Bear was live action but Freddy was animated.) So the costumes are really good for Lecter and Ken and the only things of note is that Lecter is bald (or close to it at least.) and in the battle Lecter has a full head of hair. But getting a bald cap with the small amount of hair that Lecter had could've been hard and expensive so pass. But i love the video with scenes like Lecter freaking out in the straight jacket and Ken's freakout before he start rapping. This battle has a lot of emotion with it. Ken's screaming a lot of his lines, and when he isn't he sounds passive aggressive like the beginning of his first verse, and most of  Lecter's verse's are like him as a mother talking down at Ken like a  her child for doing something bad (it's the best way for me to put it. if you have something better let me know in the comments), And the voices in this battle are just as good as the video! Mancha's Lecter impresson is really good. (Not as good as Lloyd's but still impressive) and his rapping can be from boosting about his superiority and trying to get into Ken's psyche, to being angry at Ken for rapping back at him. And on the other side of this. While Ken sounds like Vinny, the emotion he puts into Ken is very entertaining and amazing acting! he starts the battle trying to hide his ture emotions and tries to keep a cool head of the situation but Lecter see through the facade and after his second verse, cause Ken to snap and in his anger, kills Lecter (that's the impresson i get at least) I could go on but i would just be gushing about the battle and i think i give it justice so i'm just going to leave it at that. But before i go to number one. there's a scene in Lecter's first verse where there is a side shot but Ken isn't there. So i left a comment on the battle before writing this part of the list asking if it was intentional and Vinny responded! Just look! Thanks for answering my question Vin! assuming you're reading this. Which you're most likely not. ==Number #1 Jack the Ripper vs the Zodiac Killer 2 by JMB== Kinda a obvious choice but this battle is really good. Justin made a lot of battles in 2017 and i had to pick one and if you've seen this battle, you would understand. So let's just start and try to break this battle up piece by piece.So the costumes are some of the best that i've seen pulled off in any rap battles not just this year but ever in fanmade rap battle history. Justin and Greg (Skitzy) did really look their parts and do really good body acting with no scenes of them breaking character or being silly in the battle. This battle has a serious mood and it is never broken in this battle for a joke in like a lot of other battles which isn't necessarily bad but sometimes... Moving on, another amazing looking thing in the battle is the backgrounds and visuals with parts of Jack's first verse being filmed outside and the having a dark background of London with only brown and black being the colors with a flashing white light and Zodiac's parts only being in black and white and having a old-timey camera effect with black lines around the screen. Really puts contrest with them by justing showing how different they are by just they location and period of time. The beat takes that "creepy cinematic mood" i've been talking about a lot this list and grabs it by the balls in one hand and cranks the dial up to eleven with the other hand. The editing is done beautifully and with scenes like Jack writing and sending his letter (most likely to Zodiac with what he's writing being what he's rapping) and Zodiac's mask cover the camera and running at and knocking away the camera at the end of his first verse. But to be number one you have to go that extra mile. And this battle does that amazing with small things like Jack and Zodiac rapping by sending letters to each other and with very little scenes with them side-by-side making this storytelling really well executed. It's works for both of them because they are known for leaving letters to the police at the scenes of their crimes. Outsmarting and taunting the law while they did so. And having them do that with each other really show them trying to one-up themselves in this battle is a really cool idea done really well by everyone involved. Now for some small things that i noticed and thought about for this battle. First, the scene where Jack and Zodiac are side-by-side doesn't mix their colors and effects together (you don't see the black lines of Zodiac's side into Jack's side) and attention to detail like that is really appreciated. Also i want to see Greg's closet because in addition of The Zodiac Killer in this battle and Hannibal Lecter in Vinny's battle, he has also done body work as Trevor from GTA 5 and Leather Face so that's something worth noting. But i still have to talk about flaws when i see them and the two mean things are Jack's hat keys out poorly in his second verse and Justin's normal rapping voice in my opinion just doesn't fit Zodiac Killer. Maybe if Justin used the voice that he used for the Wither Skeleton in Minecraft Rap Battles but his normal rapping voice doesn't really work but these two things still make the battle the best of 2017. So there you go. Ten rap battles that made 2017 just a bit more bearable. Hope you had a good year but if you had a bad year. I hope you have better year. And wish you the best of luck. Tell me in the comments what are some of the best battles of 2017 in your opinion because i just spent like who know how many words (6,542.) talking about my opinion and i'm just one person on this globe of billions. So i think that's it. If there is something that you like or dislike in this review. Let me know in the comments and if you have any top 10 ideas or normal rap battles to review let me know. I'll probably get to it at somepoint. But until then. See ya!