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I've done the newest quest in wuwa to gather some info for a OC I wanted to make and... Yeah, safe to say the quest made me dislike Lupa entirely because of the NPCs comments on Rover being her "lover". I'm done. I'll start skipping everything and catch up with the important parts of the lore (if we even get any) afterwards.

I'm just playing for the combat gameplay and a few characters I've enjoyed at this point, it's not worth hating every single new character because the story shoves them all into that god awful Rover harem. I'll keep up with the actual lore of Solaris for my characters and that's it. I'm so done with how they're treating this game and their women.

They made me dislike characters I was extremely interested in just because of this bullshit. Catering to incels is the worst possible thing a game as promising story-wise as Wuthering Waves could have done.

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Every single time I play the character quest of a female character in wuwa I lose ALL interest in pulling that character. Every. Single. Time. Why can they never be their own characters, why does Rover HAVE to shoehorn himself into their stories like that.

I get reminded of why I stopped playing this game regularly every time there's something new and it never ends.

All the characters have so much potential and in the end they are just reduced to someone that HAS to be involved with Rover in the wrongest way possible every single goddamn time. Let them be their own people, let them have a different kind of bond with Rover, let them EXIST without the game turning literally into Gathering Wives.

And don't say "it's not for you". Because it was. IT FUCKING WAS. The beginning was so full of potential and interesting, the lore was there (even if it was still lacking a bit), the story had so much that could go right. And they just decided to say fuck it and waste their characters and stories on this shit.

I'm so mad about it.

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My personal faves and least faves (as of now) regarding Genshin characters

My favorite playables for each element Honorable mention for Furina and Neuvillette, they lost just because I love Childe a slight bit more.

And my least favorite playables for each element

Mavuika is currently my least favorite of all time because of design, characterization, kit, and story, as well as excessively glazing marketing. It's the only character I genuinely want out of the game, to the point I don't even have her in the AU with my OCs, so if you follow me and like her... well, don't expect many good things from me :')

My favorite of all time is not playable yet, so he didn't make the list, but it's Dainsleif.

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HSR shipping tier list - personal

This is based on the ships I personally come across the most

I'm sorry about Aglaea and Anaxa, I do think they have a fun dynamic, but they remind me of my parents constantly arguing and pissing each other off and I genuinely hate that feeling

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I want to eat them

Look at them, they're so squishable

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5 years later | Honest Opinion - Pegasus Seiya

Here we are! I said I was going to revise this series with my updated outlook on things, and I'm starting off with the Bronze Saints this time around.

I won't be giving scores by number, though. I feel like it's not an accurate representation of my thoughts on these characters anymore.

Also, I WILL NOT be including Saint Seiya Omega or the Netflix series. I dislike the first one and hate the second, so I won't be making time to write new posts about them. As far as the movie is concerned, I'm still deciding, but it would be an overall negative succession of posts so I may avoid it as well.

Let's start now, shall we?

Overall opinion on him: very low

I didn't change my opinion much on him compared to a few years ago, but I do have something to say about it. He's not a bad character per se; Seiya suffers a lot from the series itself having him as the "absolute" protagonist. I know, I know. The show is called Saint Seiya, so of course he has to be the absolute protagonist, but it's kinda done in a way that doesn't put him in a good light.

Let me explain.

Seiya is not the best of the main group in many different ways. His personality is not showcased well, which affects greatly the way his character can be perceived. I have no issue with characters being portrayed as incredibly self-assured, or arrogant, but Seiya is not the type that should be presented as such. They try to portray him as the great hero who always saves the day at the end of everything, but this representation falls short because of how insufferable he appear be during the process. In this particular setting, a protagonist this strong should appear way more noble and overall likeable; there are other types of content where protagonists can be completely different, some of which I consume myself, but Saint Seiya has the kind of setting, atmosphere, and story that doesn't benefit from someone like Seiya, who oftentimes has to be pushed in the right direction rather than being able to understand it himself after so long.

His shenanigans are something that I'm 50/50 about; they make me cringe a lot, especially when Seiya does something exceptionally stupid or says something completely out of this world, but on the other hand some funny moments are not unwelcome even in this kind of series. Some lighthearted interactions are still needed, the problem is that Seiya takes them a bit too far.

What I dislike the most, which is something that hasn't changed from my first iteration of this series, is the fact he gets all recognition and power not only before anyone else, but in a way that puts his companions in shadow. Seiya is, objectively speaking, not the strongest of the main group, and neither he's the best. He is extremely flawed in behavior and discipline, reaching an acceptable level of them way too later on in the series, and his actual strength doesn't feel at all on the same page of the comments made about him by other characters. Am I supposed to believe that, just because he's able to don cloths that aren't his own, he's stronger than anyone else? Most of the times he wears a God Cloth, with few exceptions (because there are moments in which it actually felt like he deserved to don it) it's just some plot-driven event that doesn't take into account his actual accomplishments. It doesn't feel authentic, it feels incredibly artificial and undeserved.

The awakening of his Seventh Sense at the second temple also doesn't sit right with me; considering Seiya's character, behavior, and development so far, it felt completely out of place and only something that happened because the plot armor around him pushed it forward.

In the Hades Chapter, unfortunately, while Seiya has undoubtedly reached new levels of power and refined his strength, his behavior still doesn't reflect that of a Saint of the caliber he should be. His impulsivity and naivety caused more damage than good, and while I don't condemn him for the incredulity and refusal to accept Shun's transformation into Hades, he still appeared far more childish and weaker than he should have.

He does have a redeeming quality, which is his unwaivering devotion to Athena, something he gains throughout the series and becomes stronger with time, but that's about it. Seiya has a faulty, weak story and development that hindered characters around him as well: Athena being, by plot, so blatant in her favoritism towards him ruins the role she's supposed to have regarding all the other Saints, making them fall in the background despite their importance and own devotion for her; Shaina's character lost a lot when Seiya looked at her face, becoming a weaker version of herself due to his already lacking story, and something similar happened with Marin along the way. Seiya is so bad on his own that characters who are deeply tangled with him end up sufferring from it.

I loved how he was presented in the Italian dub; he was given exceptional lines, straight up quotes from classic authors like Dante Alighieri, Ugo Foscolo, and Giacomo Leopardi.

A questo punto non mi rimane che accettare la sfida, vuolsi così colà dove si puote ciò che si vuole. Divina Commedia: «Vuolsi così colà dove si puote | ciò che si vuole»

A pretty strong example of how many good things have been done for his character in our dub, and one that makes me even more upset at how lackluster he is.

At the end of the day, Seiya is a devoted yet pretentious young man who wins far too much and far too easily for the challenges he faces and for the writing he has. It came to the point of me actively cheering for some of the enemies facing him, particularly Alberich, because why would you make a character that's supposed to have matured way more at that point (both mentally and in terms of strength) fall for his tricks so easily?

Seiya is frustrating to watch. He runs blindly into anything regardless of what other characters have to say about it - and many times the others end up being right, with Seiya saving himself only thanks to his plot armor - he keeps being wrong about too many things for being a protagonist of such caliber, and there are far too numerous instances where the plot itself is the only reason he's settled down.

Seiya wants to be too much, is allowed to be too much, and in the end he feels like he's nothing. I never liked Seiya; my very first impression of him wasn't positive, my second one was the same, and the one I have now remains unchanged.

Moving to Legend of Sanctuary, my opinion is exactly the same as the one I had a few years ago. The movie gave him no redeeming qualities, making him worse rather than better, and that's about the length I will write about this. His characterization was messed up and his role was far too inflated compared to everyone else in the movie; a protagonist that takes the merits, the easy win, and the freaking goddess that's supposed to care for ALL of her Saints. No balance whatsoever considering shortened context of the movie.

I personally think he could have been written a lot better. Many of his flaws are salvageable by actually allowing him to grow rather than just giving the impression he matured, and most of his characterization should have been avoided entirely in light of his central role in the entire series. I don't hate Seiya to the point of willingly ignoring his character, but my dislike for him is far too deeply rooted for it to change.

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After almost 3 years of not being able to play, I finally got my hands on Saint Seiya Awakening again.

You can definitely expect a revised review of character skins and appearance, I had too much fun last time.

(I also got Apollo somehow????? Man, I'm missing so many Saints now, I had almost them all back then and now I'm back to missing a TON)

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Wriolette

Commission I did for a friend. She specifically asked for it to be done using watercolor pencils. It's a medium I haven't used in years, but I'd say I didn't lose my personal style with it

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I'm currently rewatching Saint Seiya and having many new thoughts on things. Maybe you can expect a revised version of my honest opinion series on it

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Sunday & Robin - Infinity Nikki

Sincerely hoping Infold does something to fix this game and bring it back to what it was in the beginning, but at least I've got some photos in the buggy mess that it is currently

The color of the head wings is not correct but I can't dye them white because the dyes are evolution locked :D and it pisses me off to no end

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I recreated Signora in Infinity Nikki and I must say. I must say. I'm proud of the result

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Let's talk about Natlan's technology (and a bit about Natlan in general)

I know, at this point you've heard everything about this nation, good and bad, but since we're approaching Nod-Krai I thought it would be time for me to write an actual, well though-out comment here.

I'm not going to talk about how badly they butchered the cultural representation. That would need an entire post all by itself, and I'm not here for that. My only comment on this is that they messed up so much you can't even tell the inspiration of many characters just by looking at them (coff coff Ororon coff coff). The blatant disrespect towards the culture they've taken, the fact they added colonizers as a way to "represent" more, and the lack of people of color is just insulting and disappointing. And as someone who has seen someone very close suffer because of this lack of representation, I can only get mad at them for this.

Now, onto what I want to talk about, which is the awful representation of technology.

I've seen far TOO MANY people trying to defend Natlan's technology by using Khaenri'ah, Fontaine, or Sumeru as an example, and that's so ridiculous I don't even know where to start. Premise: I'm not saying Natlan shouldn't have had technology. People who are upset at this nation being technologically advanced don't understand the importance of how much humans learned from the dragon civilization, and many are simply projecting obvious (and wrong) stereotypes.

The problem with Natlan's technology is not the fact that it's advanced, it's the fact that it looks too modern and too close to realistic types of tech we have in real life. Most technology in present-day Natlan just looks like recolors of real life items, with little to no fantasy elements added to it.

And I'm not just talking about Mavuika's motorcycle or Chasca's giant ass flying gun (which are an issue on their own), I'm also including the little things. I'm including the fact that DJs exist in Natlan, too. That's a concept that's WAY too modern for a game like Genshin, which yes is not medieval fantasy and is slowly adding some sci-fiesque elements to it, but this is crossing the line. Some concepts are out of place, and the DJ is one of them. If anything, including this kind of profession could have been done by changing the name at least, adapting it to the setting, but honestly it just doesn't fit in.

The clothes are going to be included too. Leaving aside the lack of cultural aspects, or the very little representation of them, they're way too modern and have too few fantasy elements to them. Ororon and Xilonen straight up wearing jeans is terrible, relying on urban streetwear too much is not going to have the characters fit in with the overall vibe of the game (which is often seen mixing fantasy or traditional elements with modern ones), Kinich's pixels are COMPLETELY out of place and would fit a lot better in a game like Honkai Star Rail. I could go on with all characters, and Mavuika is by far one of the worst ones. She doesn't look like an archon (and she's probably the worst out of everyone, they made her a goddamn Mary Sue), that latex suit is so ridiculous I can't even understand what the hell went through their minds while designing her. She's supposed to be an archon, and yet she has close to NO representation of the culture around her, just a latex suit with two or three symbols slapped on her. A Maori-inspired archon should have been COMPLETELY different, period.

And what about the motorcycle? I hate that thing so much I never used it even when I was forced to use Mavuika in game. And you know what? If done well, that motorcycle would have made sense, because we did have the mention of a bike already in Genshin. By Xianyun, when she was recalling he race with Moon Carver (Grus Serena Chapter)

The way this was described evoked a motorcycle fully adapted to fantasy, and knowing adeptal devices, it was easy to have a mental image of this that fits Genshin's worldbuilding. Mavuika's motorcyle doesn't fit into this, and it's such an outrageous excuse to say that it was "tech from the dragons". The ancient technology of the dragons doesn't fit the realistic modernity of Natlan (which in turn doesn't fit the game), it fits Genshin's fantasy type much better, it's reminiscent of the technology you see related to Khaenri'ah or to Deshret's Civilization. Advanced, but still fantasy. There can even be more sci-fiesque components to the game, what's important is that they're implemented well into the already existing style.

Natlan doesn't do this.

Another example, and I'm keeping small here, is the jetpack in Chasca's quest, that I even redesigned to give it a more Genshin-like vibe. Straight up using a modern-looking jetpack is an awful design choice, especially when you have wind gliders as a starting base. Use saurian wings attached to the packs to make them more fantasy; they're still advanced, because they're miles away from wind gliders that can only make you glide down, but they keep that fantasy vibe instead of losing it to a bland-looking item that's just a realistic piece of tech recolored to "fit" the nation.

These are the phlogiston wings I made, based on the in-game design. Still advanced, but a lot more similar to the other pieces of tech we already have in Teyvat. And what if the phlogiston wings wanted to prioritize small dimensions and portability? Well, the design could have been adapted better into the context is in. Unfortunately, the fantasy element gets lost not because it's not a good design, but because the surrounding elements make it stand out too much in a negative way.

Chasca's gun is an entirely worse problem. It's so obnoxious and out of place, it's literally somethign you would see in any other game that's not Genshin. It doesn't fit, and the fact it just references colonizers and cowboys is... not good. Not in a nation that's supposed to be inspired by Mesoamerican culture. There are other things they shouldn't have added, considering the colonizing aspect, but the entire Flower-Feather Clan is by far the worst one.

Out of all the characters in Natlan that have items with them, the one that fits the most is Kachina. As much as I don't like her (she looks like she'd fit in Pokemon rather than Genshin), her elemental skill is the only one that has a transportation method actually designed to fit the environment of Genshin. Mualani's surfboard could be fine, but the overall design of it is what makes it wrong, and the plastic floaties and balls are way too much. I was mad at Ayato's bubble tea cup for the same exact reason, it's not just Natlan characters that break fantasy with that. I'm not even going to talk about Citlali, they did her so dirty that I'm mad just thinking about her (and her design has the most potential out of all of them, excluding Iansan who is genuinely a perfect mix of fantasy/traditional and modern).

And now, just because I'm tired of people comparing Natlan's tech to other nations just to say "no you're wrong Natlan is fine", let me address some things.

Fontaine's advanced technology is fantasy-esque, and people who deny this are probably missing the whole steampunk inspiration behind it. Also, people using Fontaine as a mean of comparison just to say "if Fontaine is this advanced Natlan can be too" are just annoying to me. Of course both nations can be advanced. The difference lies in how the technology is adapted to the setting of a fantasy game. Because Genshin Impact, regardless of what those Honkai fans say, is a fantasy game with many elements mixed into it. It's not a fully sci-fi or futuristi-esque game. The main elements are classic fantasy, they've been for most of the nations and excusing the sudden change by using other games as a comparison just because they fit into the same universe is foolish. This is the game's vibe, not the universe as a whole.

Back to the topic, Fontaine's advanced technology is rooted in steampunk automatons and mechanical machines. The designs, eben the more modern pieces of tech, are adapted well to the environment, and the technology blends in exceptionally well. People and scenery are all equally involved with the technology used in Fontaine, and the playable characters don't look out of place when putting them amongst NPCs.

Next, another popular comparison I see is Scaramouche's giant ass robot. Well, there you have it. Is a giant ass robot. It's advanced, yes, but its sci-fi elements are blended well in the fantasy environoment. It doesn't look out of place, and it takes elements from both Khaenri'ah, Inazuma, and Sumeru all together. It's designed in a way that, while it seems too much, it's actually not and it fits the surrounding environment of the game perfectly.

Sumeru's advanced technology? Man, that's the most perfect blend of tech and fantasy I've ever seen. Nahida's attacks are literally a mouse and keyboard, and they don't look out of place at all becayse they're designed keeping in mind the background of the game. Alhaitham's headphones, Mehrak, even the Akasha, these are all highly technological items that are lean more in the sci-fi field but are still adapted to a fantasy environment. The Akasha might be the most genius example of them all, being a fantasy version of internet. Hell, Irminsul itself is akin to a giant computer connecting all the different entities in Teyvat, and yet it doesn't feel out of place. Why? Because it's adapted to the environment of both the nation AND the game.

The elephant in the room, Khaenri'ah? They literally have computer screens, there's no going around it. But does that tech feel out of place? Does it feel like it belongs to a different setting? NO, it doesn't. It's ADAPTED. I wouldn't be surprised to see Khaenri'ahns with goddamn cellphones at this point, the most important thing is that the technology IS ADAPTED TO THE SETTING.

The argument most people make is that advanced technology exists everywhere, so why is everyone mad at Natlan? The response to to that is "technology is adapted to the setting everywhere but in present-day Natlan". That's why I'm mad, and that's why many many people are mad.

The dragon civilization is done extremely well. Tollan and Ochkanatlan are probably the best places in all of Natlan when it comes to technology. Everything blends well with the environoment and the characters (the non-playable characters, let me specify), and it's advanced in a way that feels advanced but also fantasy.

Everything that they did in present-day Natlan can work in Genshin if adapted better. Mavuika's motorcycle, the phlogiston wings, most other means of transportation used in characters' skills, the items found in the settlements. It doesn't work now because they slapped some color over a copy-pasted item from the real world and called it a day. The technology feels so out of place in Natlan because it's not even present in the nation itself; it's not blended in with the environment, and most of the times you only see it on the playables.

Advanced should not mean realistically modern. And that's my general take on it.

I could have talked about many more things, but I'm cutting it short here to not make a giant post that's boring to read. Of course, this is mainly my opinion at the end of the day, so you're allowed to disagree, but it's what I'm seeing when looking at the difference between Natlan and the other nations.

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The frail scholar is home

I had the guaranteed and he still came home at high pity, I'm having horrible luck in Star Rail lately :')

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These two have a chokehold on me

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HELP WHAT'S GOING ON

DAN HENG SEAL MASTER

AM I DREAMING

I JUST FINISHED THE MAIN QUEST AND GOT SLAPPED IN THE FACE WITH THIS, WHAT IN THE EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER I'M EXPERIENCING HERE

And of course Caelus is joining in. Of course. I love this game

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Wuwa rant

I opened wuwa 3 times total this month. I'm so disgusted by the fanservice being shoved into the "story" every five minutes. There's no interesting lore anymore, it's just lost to the whole mess that is this incel-catering game, I'm so done with it.

It was so promising at first, it had so much potential. I had hope for Rinascita, but it's just disappointing. Characters are not even explored deeply because the only thing that matters is their relationship with Rover, and that's mostly in a fanservice way.

I want to say something nice about it, I really want to. I love analyzing characters and environments, I love watching animations and scenery, but the exaggerated fanservice just ruins everything for me. The majority of the fandom doesn't help either.

I'm so tired of this. The story was so intriguing, too, and it's just... nothing to me now. Every dialogue leads to some sort of fanservice, or prepares to it. Every story can't go on without some sort of innuendo, flirting, or the like.

It's the same thing, over and over, and it's just annoying at this point. And to do this, after establishing a profound connection between Shorekeeper and Rover (which is something I absolutely hated, they could have done such a beautiful relationship between creator and creation that wasn't romantic but it's gathering wives I guess), is just poor taste. Why even bother to establish something if you're just going to move onto the next piece of fanservice next?

I'm genuinely upset at the development of this game. My liking of some of the characters doesn't change the idea I have of it now. And the worst thing? Even when I really like a character, like Zani or even Ciaccona (her personality is amazing so far), they just find ways to shove fanservice into it. Zani's liberation looks cool, but in the context of a game that constantly sexualizes its characters is just bad. It literally threw me off and I don't want to pull for her anymore. She and Brant were my favorites in Rinascita design-wise, and now I don't want to pull for her anymore.

I really like the style wuwa has, the scenery is amazing and the combat is great, but the catering is too much. No character can be unique because everything is fanservice even when they try to be unique. Cantarella would have been such an interesting character if the game didn't have so many characters already sexualized to hell and back. Even her design (still too much for me but okay) wouldn't have been such a problem if she was the odd one out. But she's not. She's just another sexualized woman.

All the interesting things that make characters worth analyzing are just not there in wuwa. The world doesn't feel alive because there's too little to actually see, despite there being so much. It's sad.

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I really like my Infinity Nikki card. SO happy I got the horns using free pulls, since I'm skipping banners now.

Here's to hoping they keep their promises and actually improve the quality of the game, as well as the story.

And hopefully they tone down on their greed because it's still too much.