SRL here with a whole lot of research for you. Buckle your science belt—this is good stuff!
First up, Drizzle Season 2023 drops on 9/1, and our Video Team has uncovered this trailer. Are those new weapons we spy? New stages?! See for yourself!
Next, some shocking news. It's been a full YEAR since we started researching the Splatoon 3 game! And now we've discovered that the next Splatfest (from 9/8 to 9/10) celebrates the same anniversary with a divisive theme: Who would be the best leader? Shiver, Frye, or Big Man?
SplatoonJP:
『スプラトゥーン3』発売から来月で1年。発売1周年に合わせて、フェスが開催されるぞ!
お題は「リーダーにふさわしいのは? フウカ vs ウツホ vs マンタロー」。
期間は、9月9日(土)午前9時~11日(月)午前9時だ。
個性の強いすりみ連合の面々を束ねるべきは、誰なのか?
ぜひともご参加いただきたい。
SplatoonNA:
We've also discovered a set of badges that can be unlocked by playing in and winning 10x Battles. And there will be twice as many 10x Battles in this special anniversary Splatfest! If you don't quite make it, all is not lost. Your stats will carry forward to future Splatfests.
SplatoonJP:
10倍マッチの参加数と勝利数に応じてバッジがもらえるようになるぞ。
これらの数は今後のフェスにも引き継がれるので、自分のペースで獲得を目指してみよう。
なお、1周年記念フェスでは10倍マッチの発生率がいつもの倍にアップする。
運が良ければ、このフェスだけでバッジをゲットできるかも?
SplatoonNA:
We're not done yet! If you like badges, you'll love banners. Check out these Deep Cut banners celebrating the game's first anniversary, available via the Splatoon 3 channel in News on your Nintendo Switch system. They'll roll out following the Drizzle Season (5.0.0) update.
Last but not least, for the Deep Cut diehards out there, a series of Deep Cut amiibo is releasing on 11/17. Our research indicates that they will function in a similar manner to other Splatoon amiibo, giving you powerful in-game gear that can boost your battle abilities!
(Individual videos of the Amiibo included in the JP tweet!)
SplatoonNA:
Alert! With everyone distracted by all the news, the Salmonids are planning an invasion! The SRL Big Run Prediction Team is expecting a swarm from 5 PM PT on 9/1 to 5 PM PT on 9/3. No one invited these Salmonids to the Splatfest, but we'll need your help to send 'em packing!
THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL HE'S SO PERFECT I LOVE HIM WITH ALL MY HEART AHHFKSBAHFKABDKAJFSJ!!!!!! 💕💜💖💕💖💜💗💜💖💕💜💗
I MUST include the description on the page because OMFG I'm losing my mind!!! Translation of what I could get through DeepL, seems slightly better than what I can get on auto translate on the page:
"It is no exaggeration to say that the Sonic series would not begin without him! He is pushing forward towards his ambition of world domination: ...... He has an IQ of 300!
You all know what I'm talking about, don't you?
The evil genius scientist who has no equal in this world.
It's Dr. Eggman!
It is rare to see Dr. Eggman, a scientist, in a fighting pose: ......! No, or perhaps he is watching with a look of satisfaction as he beheads his enemies with the mecha and robots he has created himself......! Either way, he looks really cool with his fearless smile and kanroku poses!
As you all know, Dr. Eggman has been Sonic's nemesis ever since his debut in the game "Sonic the Hedgehog" and has been a big villain who has been plotting various devious schemes. Sometimes he acts as a serious and dignified "evil genius scientist," and at other times he shows a slightly off-kilter "angry old man" side. ...... I think that this variety of charm is the reason why Dr. Eggman is not only a big bad guy but also a great villain.
Coolness like in this illustration is also one of his many charms!
The latest game title to feature Dr. Eggman is "Sonic Frontiers," the third free major upload of which was released today!
In this title, Dr. Eggman is trapped in a mysterious place called "cyberspace," but even in such a situation, his clear mind, strong will ...... He is still a very smart, strong-willed, and selfish man, and this time, too, he is "as good as Eggman! He was very unique with his new subordinate girl, "Sage". The unique relationship with the new subordinate girl, "Sage," is also not to be missed. ......"
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Let me just gush about WHY I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THIS:
"It is no exaggeration to say that the Sonic series would not begin without him!"
It really is no exaggeration to say many of the games and entire series wouldn't have even began without him and that's why he's so important!
"The evil genius scientist who has no equal in this world."
That's right because he's the BEST and he knows it so that's why his ego is huge! XD
"It is rare to see Dr. Eggman, a scientist, in a fighting pose: ......! No, or perhaps he is watching with a look of satisfaction as he beheads his enemies with the mecha and robots he has created himself......! Either way, he looks really cool with his fearless smile and kanroku poses!"
They say he's possibly either got a "fighting stance" like the big strong handsome man he is or he's watching with a look of satisfaction as he "BEHEADS HIS ENEMIES" with his "mecha and robots he created himself" !!!! FUCK YEAH HE LOVES VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION that's the real dynamic he has with his creations!!! And yes he does look "really cool" with his pose and his "fearless smile" AHHHH 🥰
"Dr. Eggman has been Sonic's nemesis ever since his debut and has been a big villain who has been plotting various devious schemes.
Sometimes he acts as a serious and dignified "evil genius scientist," and at other times he shows a slightly off-kilter "angry old man" side.
I think that this variety of charm is the reason why Dr. Eggman is not only a big bad guy but also a great villain. Coolness like in this illustration is also one of his many charms!"
THIS SUMS HIM UP SO PERFECTLY, he's a big villain that plots devious schemes of world domination! He's an "EVIL GENIUS SCIENTIST" AND an "ANGRY OLD MAN" side! I love how he's an evil scientific and evil old man, my favorite way to describe him!
"Coolness is one if his many charms." Yes he IS cool and that IS one of the many parts of his charm!!!!
"Dr. Eggman is trapped in a mysterious place called "cyberspace," but even in such a situation, his clear mind, strong will. He is still a very smart, strong-willed, and selfish man."
HE'S A VERY "SMART, STRONG-WILLED, AND SELFISH MAN" YOU'RE GOD DAMN RIGHT HE IS!!!!! 💗💕💜💜💕💗💕💜
"He was very unique with his new subordinate girl, "Sage".
AND acknowledgement that Sage is his "SUBORDINATE" as his servant and protector not the other way around‽‽‽
This is saying absolutely EVERYTHING I'm saying about him ALL THE TIME, it's like they reached into my mind and pulled out every single thing I've ever observed about his character and summed it up here!
I'm so glad I was right and that he really is the man I fell in love with and that OFFICIAL JAPANESE SONIC TEAM/SONIC CHANNEL MEMBERS who really get the say agree and describe him that way when it comes to their own character- I'm so happy I could cry :'D
Igusa Matsuyama Interview #2 Original Japanese correspondence
Below is our original e-mail correspondence with Igusa Matsuyama in Japanese. This is provided for the benefit of Japanese readers and fans wishing to translate Igusa Matsuyama’s words on their own. The text is presented mostly as-is, though Tumblr ate some elements like emoji. Sorry about that.
If you missed our English translation yesterday, you can find it here:
Ranch Story の皆様へお待たせいたしました。まずは質問の答えを順番にお返事しますね。
Anonymous asks: 牧場物語幸せの詩の女神様とリオンはどのような関係ですか?
リオンは確か妖精という扱いだったと思います。
女神さまと接点があるかどうかは、私もちょっとわかりません。ごめんなさい。
Tomato asks: 牧場物語ワンダフルライフforガールの主人公の衣装なんですが、I love Kumaのコーデを見ると、Mezzo Pianoというレディースアパレルブランドを思い出しますが、どこからインスピレーションを受けましたか?
The short, thorny, graceful hawthorn. The slender hawthorn trunk and branches twist as the years go by. In winter they are particularly beautiful, standing clinging to misty wildernesses and craggy rocky outcrops, or clustered on open ranges of hills that their appearance is spectacular. Leaves and flowers appear simultaneously in May, signalling the change of season from spring to summer. Hawthorn flowers bloom in clusters, so that at the height of spring, rows of white froth run across the fields and mountains, a scene aptly captured by the English writer H. E. Bates as 'the fluffy cream floating in May'.
In spring, when the hawthorn flowers are in full bloom, the air releases a musky, sweet, rich fragrance all around. Small round berries turn burgundy in autumn.
In Ireland, hawthorn is still cherished as a magical tree protected by the fairy kingdom. Tradition has it that if you cut down a single hawthorn tree standing alone in a field or burial mound, you will lose your livestock and household possessions.
Hawthorn trees protect wells and springs as fairy trees. The beautiful flowers of hawthorn are also said to deliver prayers to the heavens. Even today, many people tie rags and other items to hawthorn trees standing near wells and springs, wishing for good luck or that their love will reach the person they love.
Before Christianity, hawthorn was the supreme fertility symbol and at the May Festival, people confided their love, danced to their heart's content and made love in the woods. Among the Celts, spring was the season for marriage, and it was customary to bring a bouquet of hawthorn flowers to weddings to ensure that the couple would be blessed with children.
In Britain, the earliest known hawthorn goddess was Olwen ('white footprints'), a woman of courage, wit and beauty. The well-known mythological tale of Culhwch and Olwen, in which King Arthur's cousin, Culhwch, overcame 40 impossible tasks that seemed virtually unattainable set out by Olwen's father, the giant king, Yspaddaden, and marry his beloved Olwen.
As the beautiful, white hawthorn flowers opened, people celebrated the power of nature and love to bring new life into the world and marvelled at the miracles of sexual activity, pregnancy and childbirth. For the Celts, sexual activity, pregnancy and childbirth were not something to be ashamed of, but an essential part of life and a sacred expression that one could love.