#(like having a clever or unique name pops a lot more)

[arseniccattails]

Stupid Blurr headcanon: his full name is actually Blueshift.

[kaythetrashcan]

Here are some of my thoughts on DN: short stories!

And it's a lot. I'm crossposting this from my reddit account. Spoilers ahead

Book cover

Why does Ryuk look different on the cover? He looks like normal in all the actual stories but on the cover he has a red spot on his chest and red lips (among other things).

I do really like his right bracelet, it reminds me of the handcuffs Light and L had. I'm not sure if it's new but it's cool.

Speaking of the cover, there is 'Death Note' written in shiny letters and I only noticed once I turned my lamp on. That's such a nice detail.

Onto the stories themselves.

C-Kira

When I read the name Yamamoto, I though it was one of Light's friends from the manga, since they have the same name and appearance (spiky black hair and glasses). But apparently they are different characters entirely, which is kinda disappointing even if it doesn't change anything.

I'm bit confused on what's up with Matsuda. He tries to justify actions of C-Kira and I'm not sure where the writers where going with this. Like he was supportive of the original Kira but I kinda thought that ended when he shot Light several times.

I like that Near's hair got a bit longer from last time. Also the tator card towers are insanely cool.

And the way he just pops out of them on page 22 XD.

When Near recalls the video chat, we see a kid with a striped shirt, who I'm guessing is Matt

I haven't seen the Relight movies (I'm planning to one day), but I saw L's monster speech and I'm guessing it's based on this scene. The manga is pretty different from it, L is more forward and cold.

It's pretty interesting to hear that L picked Near and Mello because they didn't ask him any questions, just listened. Also bc of their glares.

And if this is the only time Near interacted with L, how does he know his appearence for his finger puppet? Did he see a photo or did he just get a description from someone else?

I can't believe Ryuk got other shinigamis, including the actual King of Death addicted to apples. Good lord.

Also I love how Ryuk refers to king of death as an "old fart". Makes it sound like he's the shinigami's dad XD

Near just tuning in, calling C-Kira a murderer and then signing out was pretty badass. Rip C-Kira, you were okay.

Speaking of C-kira, we actually know really little about them. All we got was they own a bunch of anime figurines.

I noticed how many bananas Meadra has eaten. Do all shinigami's have a specific food they like? Although all seem to like apples.

I like Near not being sure if he acted like L and how Rester tells him he's L now, it's pretty sweet and adds a bit of humanity to Near.

Also how are the towers holding together? Near's breaking laws of gravity

Meadra is such a nice friend, bringing Ryuk an apple.

This was a pretty fun story and it's always nice to see Halle Linder.

A-kira

I really like Minoru's design. He looks unique but still natural and his hairstyle is bit more modern compared to Light's.

Ryuk picked Minoru rather than just throwing the death note and waiting for somebody to find it. It's a interesting shift from his first appearence.

I love Ryuk's disappointment when Minoru told him he can't read the rules and demanded translation.

Minoru is so based for just trying to sell the notebook and his plan is really clever.

Ryuk holding the sign while literaly everyone in the studio can't see him is hilarious.

Near looks gorgeous with the long hair. <3 And so does Halle Linder with the shorter hair cut

Is that Donald Trump???!!! What even is this story?!

I love how Armonia just shows up with his chair and leaves immediately.

Wait, Yotsuba??? I was wondering what the Yotsuba group was actually leading, nice to get a conclusion.

I'm also intrigued that Minoru decided to keep only a fraction of the money, but it was pretty smart and he still got a bunch of money from it.

I can't believe Ryuk met Donald Trump.

In the end, Ryuk writes the name of Minoru in his note book. I thought the rule would kill him immediately? Or is Ryuk obligated to write it?

Anyways, this story was goofy, Minoru was entertainingly smart and I liked it.

Scribbles

I love how insane and fun everyone in this. We need more. Also Sayu has more to do. Yay :D

Why does Light think strawberries are more sexy than apples?

Misa's back!!! I missed her so much.

Her swimsuit is really bland, but Light looks great in the Hawaian shirt. He should wear it more often.

I'm not sure how to feel about Misa getting sexualized in this. I'm fine with fanservice and her being sexy, but I feel like she sometimes gets treated more as a source of fanservice than an actual character.

I noticed she's the one driving the car. And I don't think I ever saw Light drive. This leads me to a conclusion that Light never learned to drive. Headcanon that Misa just drives him around during those 5 years.

Also I live for Misa and Sayu's friendship!!!

Misa making bunny apples for Ryuk is so cute.

Somehow, "Disappointment" makes Misa and Light into a somewhat healthy couple.

In second to last strip, Light somehow pulls L up using only one arm. My boy is strong.

And the last strip, "Debate" depicts Rem holding a glass of wine (?). Since Rem doesn't have a favourite human food (unlike Ryuk, Meadra and Sidoh), maybe she likes to drink wine? Misa seems to enjoy drinking (in that one scene in the anime). Maybe she shared some with her.

L - one day

Watari narrates this like an animal documentary.

It also gives L both really bizarre and really normal traits, like he bathes in a washing machine and can't be bothered to put a shirt on, but he is fond of art galleries and theme parks.

Also L's a pop fan. Love that but I'm bit said we didn't get this in the main series. I'd love to see what interactions with Misa could come from that.

I'm glad to know that L does more than just sit in front of a computer.

L- Wammy's house

I love L, but he looks so weird as a kid. Glad he didn't stay like this forever.

So L came into the orphanage without a name. Did he name himself or did Wammy gave him that name? How do all the kids get their names? Why does Near have a normal name but then we have a guy named Mail?

How did L manage to defeat a group of kids who were trying to beat him (the new kid) up? And judging from what L says, this might be a common thing, so why isn't anyone doing anything about it?

Kids in Wammy's house share bedrooms so I wonder who did Near and Mello live with.

L and Watari's dynamic here is so hilarious.

Overall I'm not really big on this story. I know it's a matter of preference but L feels really overpowered and inhuman here. I kinda prefer when he gets some grounded moments, like his monster speech in Relight movies or even just his reaction to Misa kissing him on the cheek. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just not really my thing.

Taro Kagami

This is also a pilot for the series.

I noticed that the shinigami's look more human. I'm glad their designs got changed, I don't like how they look like sexy women with weird faces.

Taro is so cute! I really like his design.

I like how he just uses the Death note as a regular notebook and accidentally kills someone. It's a pretty common concept in memes about DN so it's nice to see it in a serious story.

I appreciate Taro's reaction to Ryuk and accidentally killing people. It's pretty realistic for a kid like him.

Takagi kinda looks like Raye Penber while Yamanaka's design didn't make it into the series. Its kinda a shame, since it's pretty unique.

I also like to see Taro's mom getting involved. We never really got any reaction from Sachiko.

The conversation between Yamanaka and Takagi about how they'd use the death note is really interesting. Yamanaka makes a great point on how most people would use it.

I also love him saying that Takagi would have to kill half the world to achieve his harmonious world.

And personality wise, Takagi reminds me a bit of Matsuda.

The death eraser is a cool concept. While it probably would be too overpowered in the main series, I'd love to see what could be done with it.

I'm also intrigued by the author of detective novels. His design is cool as well and I wonder if he somewhat inspired L's character. His deductions were great.

And so we're Taru's, when he figured out Miuro is the second DN owner.

The ending itself is amazing in my opinion. Taro manages to twist the truth just right, so Miuro trusts him while he keeps the original note book. Death note becomes a legend but Taru still has it after all these years. The ambiguity is brilliant.

And older Taru looks great with long hair.

I read on the wiki that Taru might have inspired Mikami and I honestly believe that, but he seems like a combination of both Taru and Miuro.

He gets his long hair from Taru, glasses and fanatism from Miuro (who kept screaming "Die, die, die" while frantically writing names of criminals) and being bullied from both.

This was my favourite story. It flows a bit better than the A and C kira stories and it had some really cool ideas.

Final thoughts

While I'm bit sad we didn't really have any female characters (since DN doesn't really have many and as a woman I'd like to see them) I had fun with this book, the art's great and it's nice to see the pilot, shorter funny comics and what's most of the living cast up to after Light's death.

[thepodcasthoard]

How to Start a Podcast: Step-By-Step Guide- Castos

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The thirteenth article Sydney gave me is from Castos, which is a hosting site.

Castos lines out six steps to start a podcast.

Plan

Define goals. Why are you making this podcast?

Choose a topic. Castos suggests thinking about if you can talk about the topic you're considering for hours. Yes. Plural. If not, then it's not the topic for you. What makes your podcast different than similar ones? You also might want to consider future monetization if that's something you're after. The article I linked suggests twenty five broad topics to get you thinking (such as your trial and errors, and yourself narrating something).

Define your audience. Make a listener persona or avatar.

Choose a format. That article lists pros and cons of each, with examples of established podcasts.

Choose a name. That article goes over the camps of naming- yes, the descriptive, clever, and brand- and a few other things, like how saying the name out loud will help.

Choose who's going to conduct the podcast. If you're doing it solo, it's a no-brainer. But if you have a team, there will have to be a discussion.

Write a description. This article says that out of 780 people surveyed by the podcast host, most of them judged whether or not to listen to a podcast by their description. I included the first article because it has other useful stats. You should write it to be engaging to the human readers, and search engine optimized for the algorithm. If you get stuck, Castos helpfully provided three templates to chose from and tweak as you need.

Choose categories. Most people (from the podcast host data) find new podcasts via the search function in their app or site of choice. The categories are how your listeners will find you. One broad category and two sub categories are allowed, so choose wisely.

Decide on a length to shoot for. You won't hit it to the second, but having a general guide will help. Your episode length can be a unique selling point- if every other podcast in your niche is over an hour, your fifteen minute podcast will be interesting. And the opposite is true. But don't pad out the episode with fluff to make it longer for the sake of it, and don't cut any useful information to make it shorter for the sake of it.

Decide on a publishing frequency. Whatever you choose- weekly, fortnightly, monthly- be consistent. If you miss an update, you might lose listeners because they don't feel like they can expect the episode reliably.

Name episodes. Consider the episode name like the headline of an article. You want to get the broad view across while also enticing people to read. Or, in this case, listen. Use at least one or two keywords naturally to make it so when people search for a solution to a problem, your episode has a better chance of popping up. Podcast apps tend to cut off episode titles, so make sure the most important words start the title. If you have guests, include their names, but leave off your podcast name. It'll already be in your feed, so there's no need to reiterate.

Consider monetization. While monetization is most likely far in the future, think about any ideas now. For example, merchandise you can sell, or a subscription tier system.

2. Recording equipment

They included a handy infographic, but really a microphone, pop filter, headphones, and the computer you already own will do fine to start. When you're ready to expand, they have more equipment recommendations.

Have a recording space. You don't need a fancy studio, but it should be a quiet place with little background noise.

Set up equipment. Make sure everything works and is recording. Then- this is just an aside from me- make a test recording. Make sure it sounds how you want it to.

3. Editing software

A lot of times, your recording software can also edit, but in case it doesn't Castos provides some options.

Remote recording software is different, and you need it if you have guests that aren't physically present in the same room as you.

4. Record your first episode

Don't worry if you don't have a workflow yet, that will come.

Write a script if you're nervous.

Check out some microphone techniques to build good habits.

Castos has general tips here

They also have a video tutorial and article here.

5. Edit

Add intros and outros. According to NPR, 20-35% of listeners will only give your podcast five minutes. To avoid this, Castos has a guide on intros and outros.

Music. It's nice to have, and makes your podcast sound more polished. Castos collected sites to get affordable royalty-free music.

In general, there are three things to do when editing- removing things you don't like, adding things that make the episode better, and fixing audio mistakes like background noise.

Castos put together a video and article on editing here so you can take some of the guesswork out.

Export your final file. There's some technical jargon here, but basically there's a preferred file type and a way to adjust your sound so that the episode is the same volume throughout the one episode and between episodes. Castos focuses on how they expect files to be- they are a hosting site after all- but I feel like maybe other hosting sites would encourage this. The best practice is to check out the guidelines on your hosting site and follow them.

6. Launch

Choose a podcast hosting site. As I've said in previous posts, you need an RSS feed to give podcast directories before people can listen. Castos does a good job explaining it in this infographic.

When choosing a hosting site, consider a few factors: storage, website, analytics, and marketing.

Artwork. Castos recommends that the font is clear and easy to read, and there aren't too many diffferent fonts- two max. Keep your topic in mind as you design or have someone else design the artwork for you. Contrasting colors and 'empty' space are your friends- they bring attention to the podcast and gives the name room to metaphorically breathe. They also included a handy site called the podcast artwork check to see how the artwork looks across sites and apps. Castos also has an in-depth guide with examples of artwork.

Submit to directories. Now it's time to get ears on your podcast and get it out there. Check out the list of thirty different directories to submit to.

Build a website. This is a permanent home for your podcast, just in case anything disastrous happens to any directory.

Add show notes and transcriptions.

Strategies:

Make a trailer.

Release three episodes on launch day.

Network with other podcasters. You can offer to cross-promote, which means that if they feature a snippet or description of your show on theirs, you'll do the same with theirs on yours. Make sure your niches are linked, though- no one wants a comedy podcast in a true crime one.

Be active in online communities related to your audience and topic.

Don't be afraid to self-promote. Word of mouth has to start somewhere.

7. Promote your podcast.

Don't be afraid to reach out to your audience. They're listening to you for a reason, and they'll probably gladly spread the word if they haven't been already.

If you mention any brands organically, shoot them a message and tell them. They might feature your episode on their social media.

Guest on other podcasts. Be nice here, no one likes someone constantly nagging about when they're going to be on their podcast.

Advertise on podcast apps. Just make sure you're actually listed on their app before you buy the ad.

Castos also has social media and email list guides.

There are a few resources listed at the bottom of the article, including a facebook group and their podcast about podcasting.

[tomorrowxtogether]

TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s playlist

The group resists temptation and walk their own path

2023.02.13

Following The Dream Chapter and The Chaos Chapter, TOMORROW X TOGETHER has now opened the door to The Name Chapter. They stand now at a crossroads between their desire to become adults and to live forever in a fantasy world of dreams. We asked the boys of TOMORROW X TOGETHER about their fifth mini album, The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION, and the portrait it paints of young men given the promise of growing as adults while also wavering in the face of temptation. They also gave some song recommendations for the people who are always by their side, no matter the path they choose: MOA.

“Sugar Rush Ride” (TOMORROW X TOGETHER)

SOOBIN: It’ll be more memorable if you watch the performance with the song and get the mood we were trying to deliver better. Please enjoy how we switch from-and-to different sides!

YEONJUN: It might sound like a refreshing song, but at the same time, the drop in the chorus, the hook and the whistle all throughout make it extremely catchy and captivating.

BEOMGYU: The song has refreshing and sexy vibes and they will be amplified if you listen to it with the performance.

TAEHYUN: This is a refreshing song that we sang in a way to give it a sexy nuance. This is the first single we’ve put out where there’s no melody in the chorus—it’s the beat and the breathing that come after the drop that are the real highlight.

HUENINGKAI: I feel like this is a kind of song no one’s ever heard before. It’s upbeat but sexy at the same time and it comes across really well. The chorus is catchy and the melody’s a total earworm!

“Devil by the Window” (TOMORROW X TOGETHER)

SOOBIN: The full English lyrics and all the little details make this song fun to listen to. It’s got a lot of personality and will make you think of the devil just by listening to it and it really suits the somewhat grotesque choreography that goes with it.

YEONJUN: This song’s so unique and trendy it makes me wonder if there’s ever been a K-pop song like it. It’s our second fully English song so I hope our fans all around the world enjoy listening to it.

BEOMGYU: It’s been a while since we put out a song that’s entirely in English. It’s really trendy and catchy.

TAEHYUN: The transition almost feels like it could’ve been changing to a different song if it hadn’t been done right, but it’s actually really clever the way it’s done. It’s very TOMORROW X TOGETHER!

HUENINGKAI: This is TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s second English song. We’ve never done a song in this style before! It also feels like a trendy pop song.

“November Rain” (JANNABI)

SOOBIN: I listen to this song on repeat at night lately. I’m moved by those sad lyrics and the guitar is so good it gives me goosebumps.

“My Fire” (Sam Ock)

YEONJUN: I listened to this song on Christmas. It’s a good song and it makes me feel relaxed when I hear it, so I’m recommending it to you, too.

“Happy Fools” feat. Coi Leray (TOMORROW X TOGETHER)

BEOMGYU: I helped write the lyrics for this song and the story’s all about TOMORROW X TOGETHER. You’ll be able to think, Oh, this really happened, when you listen to it. It’s also nice to listen to when you’re out for a walk.

TAEHYUN: You don’t have to be a singer to relate to this song. Lots of people can. And it’s hard to find any K-pop songs with groovy Afrobeats like this that sound really wide when you listen to it on speakers.

HUENINGKAI: This song’s great anytime. I’m recommending it because it makes me feel happy and I get excited every time I hear it!

[thisaintascenereviews]

That Mexican OT - Texas Technician

When I first got into rap music about a decade ago, we were in what was then known as the ���swag era.” Featuring artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj, Wiz Khalifa, Tyga, Lil Wayne, and a handful more that were on the come-up, the swag era was defined by skinny jeans and snap backs, and it also overlapped with what was also known as the “blog era.” A lot of rappers started gaining traction through blogs, reviews, and social media. Simply put, rap music a decade ago is a lot different compared to how it is now, especially with how it’s perceived.

Despite a lot of songs being popular at that time, a lot of music fans were sick of the trends of that era, especially lyrically and musically speaking. Rap music, just like pop music, had become soulless and generic piles of trash. A lot of great stuff came out, too, but it was more so in the underground than in the mainstream. Unfortunately, a lot of people that weren’t familiar with those genres tended to write them off as being about the same few topics and being soulless and brainless trash, but you want to know something I’ve learned over the years?

I love a lot of music that’s considered to be “dumb,” but that’s because I look at those albums for what they are, not what I want them to be. A good recent example of this is the new Denzel Curry album, King Of The Mischievous South, Volume 2, where Curry essentially made a record that flexed his muscles when it came to simplistic and energetic southern rap. Featuring a slew of southern rappers, it’s one of my top favorites of the year, but I’d be lying if I said it was for how poignant and profound it is. No, it’s catchy, fun, energetic, humorous, slick, and just an overall great project that sounded like a blast to make.

One of the featured artists on that record is That Mexican OT, a Texas-born rapper with the real name Virgil Gazca, and he’s been a rising star within the last few years, especially with his last album, 2023’s Lonestar Luchadore, and how he’s gone viral for a couple of tracks from it. He came back earlier this year with a new album, entitled Texas Technician, and sort of with how the aforementioned Denzel Curry paid homage to his Florida roots on 2019’ ZUU, Texas Technician is very much a love letter to Texas hip-hop. Is the album deep, poignant, and intellectual?

No, it’s really not, but what it is, however, is an energetic, fun, humorous, and engaging ride through the south that has some really clever and funny lyrics along with some great performances and production from That Mexican OT and his collaborators. I’ve been going back to this album quite a bit over the last few weeks, and I’d say it’s one of my favorite albums of year so far. I’ve come to redefine what constitutes as one of my favorite albums of the year, and it doesn’t have to be an album that’s super weird, experimental, or unique, but it needs to be something I go back to quite a bit, regardless of its sound.

I’ve been coming back to this album quite a lot, just for how catchy, groovy, and fun it is. I don’t have a lot to say outside of how good the production is, as well as how fun and unique OT’s flow is, but it’s a solid little album. At 16 songs, it does feel a little long and repetitive at times, but it’s only 41 minute, so it isn’t even that long of an album, but it’s still a lot of fun. If you enjoy southern rap, it’s worth hearing, though. That Mexican OT is one of the biggest rising stars in rap, and for good reason. This was my introduction to his music, and I’m excited for whatever he does next.

[chorusfm]

Twenty One Pilots – Clancy

The seventh studio album from Twenty One Pilots, called Clancy, brings closure to the near decade-long conceptual series that began with Trench. In many ways, Twenty One Pilots are challenging their audience to go on this ride with them as they navigate through the waters of rap, alternative, punk, and indie rock, while still looking for new and innovative ways to express the right emotions in their music. Clancy is the character that the band first introduced in Trench, and this record of the same name pulls out some additional thematic elements to bring rich context to the story. After some hard to hear radio chatter on the beginning of the opener, “Overcompensate,” a voice comes on to set the tone by stating emphatically, “Welcome back to Trench.” By taking a brief detour to where they’ve been, while still trying to advance the music forward in their repertoire, Twenty One Pilots have crafted an album worthy of multiple repeat spins and reward listeners willing to take deep dive into the world of Clancy. After the brilliant opening track/lead single, the subsequent single of “Next Semester” follows with a frenetic drumbeat from Josh Dun, while lead vocalist Tyler Joseph croons over the mix to bring some experimental pop into the fold. The dreamy acoustic guitar outro in the song is a welcome departure from what the band has attempted to date, and yet it still feels authentic to the band. “Backslide” is largely a hip-hop song that is rooted in the nostalgia of what Twenty One Pilots accomplished on Trench, while the production from longtime collaborator, Paul Meany, accelerates the artistic growth from the band. The steady pick-me-up bounce found on “Midwest Indigo” is sure to be a crowd favorite on the Clancy arena tour, while the brooding “Routines in the Night” is clouded in mystery, much like its intentions. Twenty One Pilots have never been strangers to the darkest of thoughts, and this song sounds like the logical progression from their standout single “Heathens.” The bombastic pop of “Vignette” is filled with sweeping orchestral parts that lend itself well to the heavy synth breakdowns in the song, while “The Craving (Jenna’s version)” was a curious choice for a fourth single since it seems a bit out of place in the overall sequencing of Clancy. The largely acoustic ballad features the refrain of, “Say enough, say enough / Did I let her know, let her know? / If I found my body in chains / I’d lay down and wait / And hope she looks for me,” and puts the spotlight on the vulnerability of the Clancy character. It may have made more sense towards the end of the tracklisting, or even as the album closer, if they chose to go out on a somber tone. Things pick back up on “Lavish” as Tyler Joseph softly croons, “Welcome to the new way of livin’ / It’s just the beginning of lavish.” The song plays out a bit like a commercial jingle in its memorable chorus, while the rapping in the verses makes it firmly implanted in Twenty One Pilots lore. The heavy bass line in “Navigating,” mixed with great guitar riffing, makes for one of the heaviest songs that the band have attempted to date, and they largely pull it off with grace and poise. “Snap Back” features a unique blend of dreamscape pop paired with heavy hip-hop elements to make for a really creative listening experience. “Oldies Station” features a clever pre-chorus of, “Fear of the past and (Relative pain) / Future’s comin’ fast, you’ve got (Nothin’ in the tank) / In a season of purging things you used to love / Everything must go,” since a lot of this LP is about looking back, while still embracing the uncertain path ahead of us. The closing one-two punch of the bouncy “At the Risk of Feeling Dumb” has a great, gradual crescendo towards the tail end of the track, plus the sprawling “Paladin Strait” is an excellent way of making a memorable statement. The closing lines sung over an acoustic guitar of, “On the ground are Banditos / Fighting while I find Nico / Even though I’m past the point of no return /… https://chorus.fm/reviews/twenty-one-pilots-clancy/

[rockmiyabideusexmachina]

2021 Megaman Summer Fanart Contest Results!

Yet again, I had no time for promo-themed art, so I will just continue rehashing this old Akane pic since it sorta fits the theme. Just to have some visual before the writeup. 

Thank you as always to every single one of you who participated this summer! I say it all the time, but you all really do make it a challenge judging these pieces year after year, with your creativity and hard work. Trying to be objective about each piece and how they best fit within the requirements gets harder and harder each year! Thank you for your patience in waiting for these results, as this never is a quick process to format and write up, especially around my work schedule. I will be contacting the winners about their prizes soon after this goes live. 

After the break, you’ll see the winners for both categories, along with all of the entries.

Category 1: A Cool Summer DiVE

For our first category this summer, participants were tasked with creating a Rockman X DiVE-inspired summer-themed character(s)/skin of their choice, and a special summer weapon design to go along with them.

There were a grand total of 10 participants in this category. For the full gallery of entries, you can head to this link HERE. Beneath each entrant’s name will also be a link to their individual pieces at full-size.

1.) @firemanshug: $100 prize

[Image 1] [Image 2]

He is so happy, and he makes me smile! Much like the Sailor Mammoth we got in DiVE this summer, I like the contrast a flame-themed boss gets by having a watery-feel to him. But you incorporated a lot to give Sword Man this summery look, with the bright colors, which feel both like a lemonade and water scheme. You’ve got the sun on his head, cool shades, the flowers reminiscent of a lei, and even if it appears liquidy, it feels like he’s ready to fire up his kabob arm for a luau. So overall, I loved how much you meshed into this design, and made it just feel like a summer skin I want to pull! Your Cold Slush Buster fits wonderfully with the style of other Classic boss busters we’ve seen so far, like Aqua and Air. 

2.) Algaae: $75 prize

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Definitely the most detailed and technically sound artwork overall, your style certainly could make some think this was official artwork for swimsuit Levi! The little details to her swimsuit are simple, but nice tweaks to allude to her standard armor, yet still look fashionable and unique. Feel bad for that poor fish if it’s about to be whacked around as a weapon on that staff, but would also be amused if it popped off for it’s own attack, only to bite right back on the orbs after flopping around out of water. XD

3.) @subzeroiceskater​: $50 prize

[Image 1] [Image 2] [Image 3] [Image 4]

As a boss idea, having “Serve” Master K bumping and spiking Bounce Man and all his volleyball parts in a beach volleyball boss room sounds like a ton of chaotic fun! That creative concept alone had me sold, even before seeing their design changes. Your humorous punny bunny additions were a bonus, and certainly made me laugh. The weapon is cute and clever, and I liked how you were able to fit both characterizations of Watt. It would be interesting to see how a “combo” character would play in-game, a little more differently than Tron & Servbots, for example. 

And the rest of the Deep Log error entries, in alphabetical order by alias:

@annvolans:

[Image 1]

Pink flamingo Heatnix is a decoration we all need on our front lawns this summer! Love his chilled, relaxed pose, just nursing that drink while trying to avoid any battle. Wonderful pic, just unfortunately no accompanying weapon design to compete with the other entries.

@aw-colorcat:

[Image 1]

I really loved this idea, and seeing Heat Man as a cooler is just like the best summer image. This needs to be an official concept. Period. The spray gun having dual pop tabs and the warning to shake first was so amusing. Absolutely appreciated your creativity on this, and had a hard time debating where it would place. So very close!

Dash Nolan:

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I swear I had a Super Soaker in this color scheme back in the day, so I did totally love the concept of Vile having to pump his shoulder blaster multiple times to get water to spray out. And if it doesn’t work out, he can help plug Sprite instead with these colors. Thank you for your extra effort with the turnaround vid, which I had to shrink down into a really small .gif just to present it on here. It does look really cool to see his full model that way. 

@digitallyfanged:

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Under the Sea Under the Sea X, it’s better When your corpse is wetter And crushed by my heeeeeee~ls MerSigma...Sigmerman...Ursaligma...regardless what you want to call him, he’s still pretty imposing. (With emphasis on pretty...) Yes, we all have questions, but you have to admit, you want to see this Sigma form running through a stage with his flowing locks and mertail blowing in the wind, with the grace of a school of fishes swimming through the current. Love the pearl theme tying in with his head orb and the Fish Hook Glaive weapon of his. Although now I’m imagining him emerging from Shield Sheldon’s shell like The Birth of Venus or something...XD

Mattasaurs: 

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Swimsuit Ashe stumbled upon a booty of kabobs, and greedily doesn’t appear like she’s gonna share any of that food. XD Your Bubble Crab Spray Gun would make a lot of sense in-game, and would kinda be fun if you could encase enemies and jump and bounce off that giant bubble, to help reach inaccessible areas. 

Rockman HQ:

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Thank you for incorporating both categories into your entry! Love seeing this as an actual banner image. Bit’s outfit is amusing on a lot of levels, from his pineapple and novelty dual slurpee cup headwear, Doppler logo trunks, and surfing on his shield better than Blues ever could. Another bubble weapon, buku, which is a simple, but effective way to allude to Cancer Bubble’s powers with your claw buster design.. 

Ryan Vogler:

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Lime Margarita X -on the rocks(man)- knows Sigma is drunk on power. So he’s going to splash a hint of lime juice in his eyes, using his Lime Blaster, which will certainly sting a bit. But good luck at the capsule for either of these alcoholic-themed gacha pulls, because I think all you’ll get is salt. I was certainly amused at X getting equipped with a citrusy margarita for the summer, and the colors of this piece really stand out beautifully. The watercolor background is just mesmerizing. 

Category 2: Ride the Big Wave

In our second category this summer, participants were tasked with creating a Megaman-related surfboard design, as well as a scene that put that surfboard into use. 

There was a grand total of 8 participants in this category. For the full gallery of entries, you can head to this gallery HERE. Beneath each entrant’s name will also be a link to their individual pieces at full-size.

1.) NightopianFoxGirl: $100 prize

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This surfboard is cute and has a little bit of everything. The ‘80s bright neon net skyline aesthetic certainly helped it stand out, as the Mets do against it. Their progression with unique beach-themed items, seemingly being led by the one with the lifeguard whistle, makes it feel like they’re out to have fun on their own digital summer vacay. Cool, creative, and one I’d definitely love to see on a real board. On top of that, your additional scene had a really nice composition, with the curve of the wave tying in with War Rock curving in to fetch the frisbee, and still capturing two different scenes with Subaru and Tsukasa both walking with their boards and surfing on them. Had a good laugh at Gemini’s shades. Twinning they are not, though. XD Well done overall!

2.) Moogy: $75 prize

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Overdrive’s board is something that looks so simple in many respects, yet fits him and symbolizes so much with those simple shapes. A stylized version of the missile that launches in his stage, which you can clearly see blasting off. But being a flightless bird, you can feel that symbolism of Overdrive wanting to fly in the sky, with the wings and arrows pointing upwards to the heavens. But wait! The missile also can double as an overhead view of Overdrive himself. With his long neck and beak at the top, the blast from behind symbolizing his speed, and those red arrows actually being his Sonic Slicer attack! He flies in his own way, unlike that rocket and his bird bot brethren. And that creativity makes this an awesome board! I love his multiple chains and Hawaiian shirt. Your corresponding pics of the board in use are both beautiful and amazing.

3.) @stephodell: $50 prize

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Seeing the evolution of your board ideas was really neat, and I do think the merger of those concepts turned out pretty neat! The curve of the shooting star sort of gives Pegasus another flowing mane (or Proto Man’s scarf cosplay), but also works to mimic the flow of the waves...be they radio waves or water waves. The actual Pegasus constellation helps fill in empty space, and overall, it looks very nice! Your accompanying pic is top notch as always, and love seeing Ken in that lifeguard chair scoping out what’s happening in the water. Subaru’s wetsuit works perfectly with Rockman-form trim. Just take the bulky armor pieces off, and it’s just a wetsuit underneath, basically. LOL

And the rest of the Hang Ten entries, in alphabetical order by alias:

AbilityField:

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Winner of the most creative use of an ironing board! XD You really thought outside the box with this VR approach for Laika. The actual surfboard art balances well with both the EXE and Classic counterparts to the side of his Navi Crest. The colors pop well, and certainly fits Laika’s style. A lot of fun things going on in the background of your accompanying pic. Besides the box for the board, I loved how you tied in Ken and the Big Wave remix into the simulation with those screens/consoles. 

@aw-colorcat​:

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The gradient on this board gives off a beautiful sunset vibe reminiscent of that closing cutscene in MM8, along with that triangular green up top to play off of her hair ribbon nicely. The cut of having the main board design on sand to separate it from the main pic was clever, and the effect worked out nicely! Good thing Beat is following Roll on the waves, so he can dive on in and grab her, if she falls off her board!

ColeManX: 

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Poor Forte. I don’t think those kind of fins make the surfboard more aerodynamic and able to handle the waves better. In fact, that’s probably why you fell off it so awkwardly! The design is certainly amusing and unique to him, though. 

@mosketches​:

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Anko and a school of Shrinks definitely fit the theme for a Bubble Man board. The background really gives off that underwater vibe, yet helps the minor bots stand out on it with the help of the white water lines. Very cool. Your accompanying pic is very amusing, from Flash’s eye gag, to Wood Man’s sexy sand curves, to Air Man’s hat. Unfortunately, both Bubble and his board are going to be going back down to see those actual Anko and Shrinks below the depths of that huge wave! XD

@subzeroiceskater​:

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Well, you certainly did your research on surfboards, giving me a whole lesson on your final board page! Your effort on that alone certainly stood out. Seeing Totemer as a board amused me the most, closely followed up by the Impact Bro board. But you clearly put a lot of thought and care into each character’s style, while still making them fun. Poor Chill, at least he tried for a good cause. Had a good laugh at them all trying to get out of there with the cash in the end. So much for a fair contest. 

[rolanberry-rebel]

Info sheet: Kjalla Nisemi

Name: Kjalla Nisemi Nicknames: K, Two-Guns, “oh hell, not her!”, “Gun-bunny” if you want to get shot Race: Viera (rava) Age: mid-late 30s in hyuran years, exact age unknown (even to her, really) Gender: Cis female Orientation: Whatever suits her at the moment Relationship status: Whatever suits her at the moment Profession: Professional psycho, hired gun, mechanic

Height: 6′2″ Weight: 160lbs. Eyes: Icy blue Hair: Dark blue Skin: Greyish-blue Build: Fit, busty Scars: Deep scar along the left side of her jaw, scarring around her wrists and fingers, scar tissue along her neck. Tattoos: Blue markings along her face; a thorny blue vine splayed down the back of her neck, along her right shoulder and twining around her right bicep Fashion: Spartan and street-tough; never goes anywhere without her kickin’ boots and a good jacket. Loves leather, loves fishnets, loves denim, loves spikes. Comfortable and not necessarily showy. Dark colors. Loves red; loves black. Not afraid to show off what she’s got. When she thinks she’ll need it she's outfitted in the one of the suits of heavy armor she custom-builds herself, varying from more mobile sets of light plate to bulky, gadget-augmented battle suits. Accessories: Kjalla wears a fair amount of jewelry, a lot of it worn and tarnished, suggesting it might have some sentimental value. Often seen with a smattering of dull gold and silver rings, earrings, and a bridge piercing with a pair of rubies at each end.

Birthplace: the Golmore jungles somewhere. Residence: Her junk shop/personal safehouse off of a private jetty near Kugane. Alignment: Chaotic Evil Hobbies: Violence, rowdy nights out, any and every manner of indulgence, creating new weapons and gadgets for her armors, salvaging and experimenting with old junk, making and spending lots of gil Likes: Exciting experiences, adrenaline rushes, the opposite sex, the same sex, swapping stories, swapping punches, money, people with guts, alcohol, tinkering away Dislikes: Cowards, soft people, pretty things, lalafel, you if you get in her way. And chocobos. Disgusting things. Personality: Erratic and unconstrained, shifting wildly with her impulsive mood swings. One night you buy her a drink and you might flirt your way back to her junk-shop; the next she might put a round through your skull. More than anything she likes to surprise and be surprised, so always expect the unexpected. Always headstrong and often arrogant, and you should absolutely never tell her what to do. Ever. In spite of her crazed impulses, when she’s not in a bad mood Kjalla can be incorrigibly flirtatious, friendly, and fun to have a good night out with. Virtues: Strong, physically and emotionally; there’s very little that will break her, and she’s seen it all. Strong leadership instinct, whether through her charisma or force of character simply overwhelming others into following. Obsessively self-sufficient and fiercely independent. Determined and diligent when there’s work to do, and will not quit until she gets it done. Streetwise, clever, skilled; not conventionally smart but picks up new hands-on skills quickly. A fierce, experienced fighter. Unfailingly loyal to those who prove themselves worth it. Bad habits: The obvious - she’s utterly immoral, indulging in any behavior if it makes her feel good. Impulsive, reckless, violent, quick to anger and lash out at others. Heart hard as a rock and a firm believer in the survival of the fittest (the fittest, of course, being her). Trusts next to no one and will betray others save her closest circle if it helps her get ahead. Stubborn as hell. Promiscuous with little regard for whom it might hurt. Huge chip on her shoulder. Has a major problem with authority. Unintelligent by conventional standards, and completely dead to magic.

Significant Other: *derisive laughter* Children: *even more incredulous laughter* Family: All presumed dead, except for her sister Eyrisse, from whom she is estranged. Pets: Linchpin and Electrode, her pair of baby coeurls, who live at her junk-shop. Their unique grounding and electrical powers help Kjalla with her electrical experiments.

Friends: People aren’t friends to Kjalla; they’re tools, things to be used, experienced and discarded. (Most of the time, anyway...)

You might know Kjalla if...

Merciless Mercenary. Kjalla is a notoriously cutthroat sellsword, unscrupulous - more than willing and able to do any job big or small, just as long as kids aren’t involved. (That’s the one line she doesn’t cross.) From political leaders to petty thieves, she’s taken them all. Her race may paint her as a novelty - it’s not often you see a viera mercenary traipsing around the world, after all - but she’s no laughing matter. If you hire mercenaries, work with them, or are one yourself, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of her, under one of her assorted names - some flattering, some very much not.

Underworld Surgeon. Kjalla has no magical healing talent but she’s a darn good field surgeon, and has a great knowledge of alchemical remedies, salves and drugs. A ‘side-job’ of hers is to sell her services as a mundane healer to shady characters who, for fear of the law, of the attention, or otherwise - avoid visiting a reputable establishment for healing after an incident. Criminals on the run, overdose cases, just someone who wants to stay off the grid - if you’re in need of a quick patching-up and you’d rather keep it discreet, her junk-shop is always open.

Life of the Party. Kjalla is a staple in a few of her favorite seedy dives in cities across the world - and would certainly be recognizable to regulars, given scar-covered, foul-mouthed viera with backwater accents aren’t exactly easy to miss. If you frequent these kinds of establishments, you’ve no doubt heard of, seen, and maybe even gotten into a drunken brawl with her.

Purveyor of Dangerous and Exploding Things. Kjalla loves weapons - all of them, but especially guns, bombs, tasers, flamethrowers, dynamite, and weapons far more bizarre and exotic. If you’re a weapon collector, an arms dealer, or if you’re looking to outfit yourself with something significantly more dangerous, you’ve no doubt run in to back-alley gunrunners and smugglers who’ve mentioned her as a supplier. Conversely, if you’re searching for training in gunsmithing or engineering from a master, she might consider it... you’ll probably wind up dead, though, so maaaybe not a good idea... unless that’s your kink. 

Garlean Killer: There’re few jobs Kjalla loves more than the ones where she gets to pop Garlean heads like grapes. Though one could scarcely call the viera a principled woman whose violence is politically sophisticated, she takes a perverse delight in torturing and killing agents of the empire, even if she’s not getting paid to do it. Naturally her reputation for murdering prominent officers, personnel, facilities, and stealing lots of Garlean technology has made her a notorious outlaw in the empire, and if you’re involved in any of those fields, you’d recognize her scarred visage anywhere. Just be careful - she really does love planting bullets right in those third eyes.

Hi! I’ve been RPing forever and I’m lookin for new friends!

Adult female OOCly who’s RPed in every game you can probably think of and happy RPing lots of themes/scene types so long as we talk about it beforehand.

Kjalla is violent, rude, crude, and lustful. I however am (well, in my opinion, anyway...) none of those things, and am happy to talk with nice people! Just be aware most RP involving her’s gonna be one of those things, lol.

Available at random times, usually late evenings EST. Will always try to respond to private messages here no matter when you send them though!

Discord: I’m not on there very much, but I know it’s become a big way for a lotta people to do most of their OOC communication/RP threads so I’m willing to get on there if you wanna talk!

In-game: Anylissa Sebastis (Balmung) or Kjalla Nisemi (Mateus)

If you’re not into psychotic rabbit-ladies, I have my playful spoiled heiress, Anylissa, if you’d prefer. :>

[popculturebuffet]

Lilo and Stitch Crossover Arc: “Rufus” (Kim Possible) Better and Worse (Paid for by WeirdKev27)

Aloha all you happy people! It’s back to Kauai for the third of my look at LIlo and Stitch’s crossover episodes! This retrospective was made possible by WeirdKev27, who had the idea for it and paid for me to review these episodes. You too can buy reviews for only 5 bucks a pop. Just go to my ask, Direct Messages or discord.

Now with my plugging out of the way, this one, out of all four is the one I looked forward to the most, and out of the four shows in this crossoverathon to make the trip to the Kauai, this one is hands down my faviorite. 

Kim Possible was just damn good and having rewatched a handful of episodes and the movie (Easily one of my faviorite Disney movies and the best DCOM, I will not back down on either), I can say it holds up every bit as good as it did in the early 2000′s. Frankly like Danny Phantom i’m surprised I never thought to get to it till now. But no time like the present: The show proper is a fun super spy sendup, but still feels unique: Instead of i’ts Teen Superspy working for some knockoff of MI6 or S.H.I.E.L.D., Kim is self employed, simply helping people because it’s the right thign to do and not for any reward with the help of her bumbling  but loveable sidekick and future boyfriend Ron, though the romance angle wasn’t overplayed with the two, just hinted at here and there, enough to make it plausable for Ron to realize he has feelings in the movie and for Kim to return them and frankly it’s probably the best handled “Friends to lovers’ plot i’ve seen in a children’s cartoon. I”ll get more into that if I hit my stretch goal for it on patreon, more on that at the end of the review, but while it has no baring on this review I still felt it worth noting as that trope is NOT easy to pull off.

Point is, the show was smart, funny, engaging and had two great characters, a tremendously talented voice cast, and more anchoring it. It was a treasured part of my adolsence. It also had one of the only succesful “Save our show” campagins from fans i’ve ever seen. Despite So The Drama having been written as a finale and having reached Disney’s episode count, fan demand for a fourth season was so incredibly high we got one and it’s to this day one of the very few Disney shows to live past three seasons as a result. The show is in full on Disney Plus, along with the movie, which I HIGHLY recommend and hope I get to talk about, and the recent live action remake movie which .. is not bad. Not GREAT but the leads do make a good kim and ron, paticuarlly my boy Sean Gambone as Ron, and for a live action remake it really does get the spirit of the show. 

But obviously we’re not here to talk about the show proper, though I REALLY want to now, but instead it’s crossover. So far the crossovers for Lilo and Stitch have been, much like said live action remake, OKAY, but nothing amazing, often shoving in sideplots related to Lilo and Stitch proper we didn’t need, forced morals and not really having a good amount of character intraction. The good news is this crossover DOES fix a lot of that.. the bad is that it also has some new problems, and still falls into some of the same traps the other episodes have. See what I mean with the full review under the cut!

We open at night, with Lilo and Stitch playing hide and seek. Adorably though Sttich dosen’t quite get the hang of it and proudly announces where he is. However things are quickly interupted when he’s kidnaped by a mystery ship out of the blue. It’s a good hook to start with, leaving us wondering who it could be...

And thus, if you hadn’t gone into this episode knwoing it was a crossover, giving us a hell of a reveal with a cut to Dr. Drakken being the one to kidnap stitch!

Look I love this Doofus. He’s easily one of John DiMaggio’s best roles, up there with Jake and Bender, and the one along with Bender that cemented his career. as one of voice acting’s finest. He’s just so loveably incompetent, over the top and quick to bicker with Sheego, which leads to some of the funneist moments in his home series as she’d either skewer him good or he’d shove his boot in his mouth and help her point instead of his own. He’s just such a great character and he not only fits neatly into Lilo and Stitch’s world, but the writers clearly get him perfectly. We get a hilarious bit where, fed up with Hamsterviel, who he’s teamed up with, he simply fakes the radio going out, adjusting the dials purposfully to make it come in buggy something I GUARANTEE he put in for SHeego and I gurantee she saw right through. His plan is to create a clone army of Stiches.. meaning Hamsterviel’s big evil plan.. is a copy of someone else’s.

Lilo goes to Jumb and Pleakly, the latter of whom has been collecting magazines adorably. Lilo plans to go after Stitch but Jumba says she can’t go on dangerous missions without him and to get a professional and this part.. does not work for me. Most of the time Jumba ENABLES Lilo’s behaviors and while not wanting an 8 year old to run out into the night is a good call, he also suggests getting help.. instead of you know GOING WITH HER WHEN IT’S LIGHT. It sounds more like Nani’s idea... it fits her more to not want Lilo to run out and to want to get help versus Jumba whose admant about keeping secrecy yet very lax on things, and you know would BE concerned that his prized creation was suddenly stolen and actually think about it. He’s just so horribly out of character it hurts. 

And Nani’s absence really hurts the episode. See the last two, as much as I missed the lovely and talented Tia Carrere’s presence, didn’t really need her, though still could’ve included her: she could’ve made a cameo at the start since Lilo was there to visit her and she woul’dve made a better target for Spats than trudy, with Oscar fighting Jumba instead, allowing us some crossover interactions instead of having Jumba argue with a random asshole the episode wrote in. But it’s minor stuff. Here though? Her being the one to tell Lilo not to go would’ve made more sense: She’s protective by nature, and while she’s let go more since the movie, it’d make sense for her NOT to want Lilo to blindly chase after someone who beat stitch of all beings, as well as for her ot be the one to later tell Kim not to let lilo be involved. It’d be stronger coming from her sister and surrogate mother than Pleakly and it would’ve been a better arc to have Nani let Lilo off the leash so to speak and accept she needed to save kim. Instead she’s just gone for no reason and Jumba is grosly out of character and i’m disapointed. 

That said the setup is the best and most intergrated so far: Pleakly sees an article about kim so he reaches out to her via a message on her site, while Lilo is stubborn about not being help.. obnoxiously so to the point it hurts the episode. While her being inscure about someone else saving Sttich would be fine, the episode never adresses that and instead just has her say she can because shut pu instead of accepting help. The episode would’ve flowed better if instead she accepted kim but Nani had Kim push her away, and thus create more problems. More on that in a bit. 

But as I said this setup is great: it uses BOTH shows for once isntead of feeling like the first two, and honestly the next one judging by the blurb on the wiki, where its just “Hey x character visits Kauai”, here it blends both: The two main villians team up, and Kim is logically called for help since that’s what she does and they don’t want to risk lilo’s saftey. It’s good stuff. 

So our other heroes enter the episode, on a ritzy jet as Kim’s dad had an old college friend with an airline. I admit the episode weirdly downplays Kim’s penchant for getting rides, getting a helicopter that appears to be a touring one and getting this one via her dad instead of the usual person who owes her a favor. IT was a neat part of her character: that she got help from people she already helped on adventure’s we hadn’t seen to establish she can’t drive herself yet and to show she’s an experinced heroine with a lot of history before the show started. I also like how a handful of episodes after season 1 had returns from people we HAD seen before or linked to them, a clever way of having callbacks. 

It’s simple stuff Kim is ready for the wrold saving mision and ron hopes to get a vacation in. Nothing too out of the ordinary. 

So the next day Lilo tries to go it solo but is spotted before she can leave, while Pleakly has built a.. photo colloage of Kim’s face on the wall...

... no wait i’m getting paid for this. Nevermind. 

It is funny as it is unsettling though and Kim arrives and Pleakly faints.. Ron also arrives doing fake kung fu moves. This episode gets ron about half right... they overdo it a bit on the shenanigans, but Will Freidle’s natural charm and talent mean that even standard ron bits coughed up by a cat onto a page and used for this script still work simply because he’s that good at delivery. 

We also get the who’s on first bit you all knew was coming as Kim asking what’s the Sitch confuses lilo and i’ts .. pretty funny. Again you could see it coming from a mile away, but Daveigh Chase and Christy Carlson Ramano really sell the hell out of it and we get a nice runner after of Kim misprouncing his name and trying NOT to say her usual catchphrase. 

She also gets filled in on the alien thing... and while she admits i’ts a lot to swallow, she also admits she’s seen weirder. And given this episode would, by airdate (ignoring the one for So the Drama as that aired before the last batch of season 3 episodes but continuity wise takes place between seasons 3 and 4), take place around the same time as the season 3 intended finale “Team Impossible”, by this point she’s seen vengeful fishteens mutated by a horrifying summer camp, a rogue gentecist who basis her crimes against nature on a beanie baby knockoff, magical monkey based kung fu, a magican egyptian amulet, killer robot’s resembling teenage girls, a body swap episode, a plan using a barcode to destroy the internet, an attack on canada, a giant poodle, a complicated time travel plot, a trucker with a mullet, her sidekick getting turned into a surprisingly competent supervillian, and draken’s plan to use his rap career to promote brainwashing shampoo. And that’s just a handful of the things I was reminded of on the episode list. So yeah, this isn’t THAT much of a stretch. Oh and lest you think Kim never encountered aliens the series finale was an alien invasion by aliens Draken had pissed off earlier in the season. Suprised Lilo didn’t you know have Stitch and the family army pitch in. Maybe Leory and Stitch was going on at the same time? 

Point is she’s in but goes with Pleakly in trying to keep Lilo out of it. And here’s yet another place the episode missteps: Kim’s REALLY patronizing to Lilo, treating her like she can’t do anything and later ignoring her advice when she brings up the current later, something that ends up getting Kim caught. The latter part especially bugs me since Kim normally listens to her clients pretty well, and had she doubted him could’ve at least asked Waid since she contacts him in the same scene. Speaking of which THAT’S why I feel her patronizing “not now kiddo” atittude dosen’t work: her spy master IS a child, her brothers have helped out multiple times, and the incident I mentioned from where she met her younger cousin who idolized her at an old west town was understandable: Her cousin was getting into dangerous stuff and throwing herself out there recklessly with no regards to her own saftey and impeding the mission with her well meant antics. Lilo.. knows who their looking for, knows the island well, and knows stitch’s weaknesses. And she goes from being annoyingly hostlile to kim to helpful, so it makes kim even more obnoxious for not accepting said help. It’s just.. draining as when this part of the plot ISN’T in play, Kim is fine. She’s her usual self.. not AS well written as the parent show, a bit too reliant on her catchphrases, but still not half bad and Christy Carlson Romanao, like Fredle helps paper over the weaker bits of the script.  She’s not even out of character in her actions, as she does have a tendency to think she knows everything or undereistmate people.. the problem is it’s written poorly enough she comes across as insufferable, and unlike the show, where she actually learned something here.. she just learns to work as a team? When she does on a regular basis with Wade and Ron? 

It’s just so frustrating because they almost had it just right, but instead just had to try and put some half assed moral about teamwork in there. They broke from the formula of having an experiment of the week but they still just HAD to keep to their own formula. And look Kim Possible has it’s own formula.. but it used that to great effect, often using the episode’s plot to shake it up in fun ways, and the plots were still diffrent enough and the villians bold and intrestin genough that it didn’t grate.  This is starting to grate. And I do remember good and intresting episodes of the show.. but i’m starting tor ealize why I don’t remember NEARLY as much of Lilo and Stitch as I do the other shows it’s crossing over with: it’s so bolted to the formula they all just sorta blend together. It’s really fucking disheartning to realize something you loved so damn much as a kid just.. isn’t as good as you remember. And with these other shows.. I don’t have that as much. I accept proud family’s fault, Jake Long actually seems MORE intresting than it was at the time, and rewatching kim possible it’s excellent, same with recess coming up. I really need to watch more Recess. The most disheartining thing about this arc is the crossover just shows how BETTER the other shows were. Lilo and Stitch wasn’t a BAD show, and it isn’t here.. but it’s a mediroce one. it has a good premise. but it feels like they just don’t break away from the premise enough. This just... hurts a lot to type and realize. I really loved this show and movie as a kid and while the movie likely still holds up this.. this just dosen’t. 

I need a moment... i’m breaking open the glass case containing my emergency patrick stewart clip excuse me...

That.. I needed that. 

So before the bicker sisters can head off, we get our goofy comedy subplot: Jumba thinks Rufus is one of his experiments, one that could destroy the universe if not cancel and is highly unstable. As for why this one wouldn’t of worked out, I get why: it’s TOO powerful. Stitch is a weapon of mass distruction in a cuddly package, but he’s also easily deployable, kind of like Wolverine if he was in the body of a cartoon mascot. Having the THREAT of destroying ap lanet is fine and good for the long term but it does you no good if you can’t control it and i’td just destroy you too. 

So he and Pleakly try to steal rufus without telling Ron why after Ron naturlaly refuses to sel land a chase insues. So while the boys and gender fluid person have their comedy plot, the girls head to where stitch was taken and find Draken’s glove.... they know it’s his because he put a note saying “return to dr. draken, his mother gave it to him”. That’s just.. fucking precious. And entirely in character. So kim aranges a ride, and dives into the ocean, but finds lilo in her parachute, and tries to send her back despite LIlo offering valuable advice both about the area , the current I mentioned earlier, and about stitch, i.e. Draken’s base is underwater (something Kim didn’t realize which feels odd for her), because Stitch can’t swim, something I genuinely forgot. 

So while Kim sends Lilo back, or rather intercut with that but I choose to compress plots for my own convinence we cut back to Drakken and Shego. And I WAS worried that Shego wouldn’t show up, she wasn’t in the synopsis or anything and was delighted to find that nope she’s here. Drakken just isn’t the same without her.. I mean I liked the recurring subplot in season 4 where other villians would break her out, that was great, but in the end the two need each other. I may not ship them romantically but as a comedy team one just needs the other: Drakken needs Shego to cut down his ego and Shego needs someone to snark at and complain about. Sullivan and DiMaggio just had perfect chemistry and it’s easy to see why Drakken and Shego went from just another part of the Rogue’s Gallery to Kim’s arch enemies. 

Which is why I am sad Gantu and 625 don’t show up for this one. I mean I can buy it: Hamsterviel likely is doing this on the sly to see if he can find a better minon, but the two sets of villians have similar dynamics and i’d love to see Shego and 625 dunk on their bosses together. It’s a really big missed opportunity but I do get it as they may of just nto been able to fit the two together or it may of been hard to block a lot of scenes iwth the human sized drakken and the giant sized gantu. So unlike a lot of missed opportunites in the other episodes, this one I at least can understand. 

We get some GREAT banter with the two though. Out of the four guest characters in this one the crew really got Drakken and Shego down and the two bicker like any episode of Kim Possible, with Shego pointing out the massive bill on Stitch’s cage and how Drakken’s tried cloning about five times now and it’s never worked, and of course how he’s 50 50 splitting with a hamster bellow his station. Seriously why get rid of Gantu and 625 but keep the annoying rodent, I don’t get you episode. 

Of course while they quack quack bicker bicker Stitch escapes and Shego gives chase. Sadly we don’t get a fight between the two like we did with Jake, another missed opprotunity but Stitch getting out of her grasp by licking her is objectively funny. Stitch finds he’s underwater though and gets recaptured. 

Kim gets captured for the first time shortly after as the current caught her, but luckily she has kimunicator gloves and calls waid to call ron. Meanwhile Ron finally catches rufus back and Jumba explains the situation.. but Ron understandably dosen’t want to give up his buddy especially since Rufus has shown no signs of being a planet killer before. He’s not mooncake... althought i do think those two could hang. God now I just want a final space kim possible crossover to wash this out of my mouth. 

So it’s down to Lilo, the really not all that ambigiously gay their pretty darn gay duo, and Ron to save the day. Lilo finally gets to do what she kept asking kim to do: use jumbas hot rod car spaceship thing to go down under the sea, and they send Lilo and Rufus in since hteir small enough to get in and suriive the pressures. Our heroes arrive and Drakken is nonplussed.. only for Lilo to prove WHY she can keep an alien in line by freeing stitch from teh leash drakken has him on using kim’s grapple gun, and then frees kim. The good guys win and the bad guys loose and the base starts to self destruct.. eh they’ll be fine. They still have the movie to get to. 

So time for the wrap up: Stitch sniffs Rufus and confirms what the audience knew... that he’s a naked mole rat not an experiment. Which didn’t make sense to begin with for either show: Jumba’s archive should’ve been able to scan him or something (And if not he could build something to do that), and Kim Possible not only implied from day one Ron had Rufus a while, long before the rain of the pods, but A Stitch in Time outright confirms Ron bought him years ago in middle school. It just makes no sense and while it thankfully dosen’t take up a ton of the episode it still takes up too much. 

But with that our heroes prepare to part on good terms but Pleakly decides to celebrate with  Luau. Kim’s repsonse “Well I can do anything...”

And we get a gratuitous luau sequence! I do love a job that allows me to type the phrase “Gratuitous Luau Sequence’ They clearly ran short and we just get a good minute of everyone doing hula dances for no reason. I mean.. you could’ve done a quick gag with the experiment who was mistaken for Rufus... who I now realize given the finale was befriended by someone. I’m headcanoning now Kim and Ron came back for that one and Kim had him sent to space as part of one her dad’s projects where he and earth would be safer and he could help with space missions or something. 

Final Thoughts: As you could tell I had mixed thoughts. As a crossover this melded things better, had a more original plot and the actors from Kim Possible brought their a-game.. but once again some disapointing characteteriztion and downright stupid decisions really let the episode down. These episodes just depress me every time and I’m looking forward to being done.. which given how excited I was going into this.. yeah. Like all of these despite their flaws I recommend checking it out if you like Kim Possible, if nothing else than for some extra drakken shego banter but.. keep your expectations low.

Next Time on Kim Possible: A team of spiteful assholes who are in a way repsonsible for Kim’s Career try to shut her down. It’s the intended finale episode outisde of hte movie people buckle up.. or you would if I was doing any of these. Though I should do “Team IMpossible” at some point. 

On the finale of these crossovers: The Recess Gang are the final visitors to Kuai as Lilo must find and stop a lazy monster... no i’m not guest starring too. 

Tommorow: Another kev one this time by patreon as I put two similar episodes of a show or franchise against each other and ask “Who Did It Better?” This time it’s two episodes of Celebrity Death Match, original versus revivial may the original.. probably win. 

If you liked this review, please consider supporting my patreon, YOU CAN FIND THE LINK TO IT HERE.  For just 2 bucks a month you get access to my discord, to pick a short each time I do one of my shortstravaganzas, and acess to my Patreon exclusive reviews! Next month I intend to do one for the show whose crossover gets the most likes within a week of it’s relase. Proud Family has already passed American Dragon so you have a week to get it ahed. And if you like Kim Possible, help me reach my 25 dollar stretch goal! At that i’ll review So The Drama, along with the Recess and Proud Family Movies. So check it out and i’ll see you at the next rainbow. 

[scottymcgeesterwrites]

Final Fantasy XIII Review

Year: 2009

Original Platform: PlayStation 3

Also available on: Xbox 360, PC, Android, iOS

Version I Played: PlayStation 3

Synopsis:

On the planet Cocoon, those who come into contact with anything from the planet Pulse are purged to that planet. Pulse is a feared planet full of monsters and strange creatures. Both planets are ruled by fal’Cie, mechanical godlike beings who sometimes brand humans as their servants for specific tasks, called a focus. Those who fulfill their focus are turned into crystals and obtain eternal life. Those who do not fulfill their focus turn into mindless monsters. Lightning is a former soldier whose sister, Serah, is branded by a fal’Cie and taken to be purged. Lightning sets off to rescue her.

Gameplay:

Going to say this now – the worst gameplay in the entire Final Fantasy series.

The battles are Active Time Battles but instead of you inputting individual commands, there are what’s called paradigms. Paradigms are somewhat like Job Classes from the old Final Fantasy games, except less fun and more automated. You can switch to a Medic paradigm in battle and every time you press “Auto-Battle” your character automatically performs a series of necessary cure and restore spells, based on what’s going on in the battle. The Sentinel paradigm specializes in keeping the enemy at bay. The Ravager paradigm uses magic. The Commando paradigm uses physical attacks. You get the picture.

As a result, the gameplay could be best described as:

With occasional switching of paradigms whenever you see fit. You can set up a number of combinations across the characters. Two Commandos and one Sentinel. One Sentinel and one Ravager and One Commando, etc.

The party automatically heals after each battle – you can even press start during a battle and restart the battle.

I probably only used an item once or twice. I honestly don’t see why they bothered putting any items if you hardly ever use them.

You can upgrade your weapons with pieces and junk you find after battles. You find so many of them that you hardly ever think about what you’re upgrading so long as whatever you make upgrades your stats. Is this better? No? What about this? Okay, good. Moving on.

Like Final Fantasy X, the game is linear. Much more linear. You follow a long hallway for about 30 hours of the game before you can do sidequests. The sidequests involve completing other people’s focus. That’s about it. There are no towns, no inns, no villages. You are entirely on the road, constantly in battle (Okay, there’s like one time where Sazh and Vanille are in a casino or something but that’s about it).

I wrote a blog piece a while back about what exactly was wrong with Final Fantasy XIII, and it’s not that it’s linear. We play really great linear games all the time. It’s the automation – the feeling that you’re not really doing anything.

There isn’t an ounce of customization. Leveling up is similar to the Sphere Grid of Final Fantasy X. It’s called the Crystarium but it follows a strict path. You can’t actually stray anywhere or customize anything. If that’s the case, why bother making you open the menu to level up through the Crystarium? Why not just automatically do it? I guess they want to give you some ounce (more like a milligram) of control over the game.

Basically – you’re watching a long movie and occasionally get to move the people around. That’s how I see it.

Graphics:

PLAYSTATION 3 HD GRAPHICS HOMG DO YOU HAVEA BONER YET? LOOK AT THIS. FIRST FINAL FANTASY GAME IN GLORIOUS HD.

Everything is pretty in this game. Everything. There is nothing wrong with this at all.

Story:

The characters appear to reference those in Final Fantasy VII. Director Motomu Toriyama wanted Lightning to essentially be a female Cloud Strife. She’s a no-nonsense, athletic female lead. While Cloud and Squall were introspective and antisocial, Lightning is slightly different by actively ordering people around. She comes off as a dick to everyone, and that’s due to her ex-soldier background. Think of your stereotypical ex-cop/ex-CIA/ex-military action movie hero, like Liam Neeson (Bryan Mills in Taken) or Bruce Willis (John McClane in Die Hard). That’s basically Lightning.

Can we go on a short tangent for a moment to talk about how weird it is that Lightning was also used as a model for advertising in Japan?

Here she is driving a Nissan.

And wearing Louis Vitton.

Cool? I guess? Unless you start to realize that Toriyama wanted to design his own personal waifu, and that he’s completely obsessed with her. That gets really weird. And sad? A little? Anyway.

Vanille has some reminiscent of Yuffie from Final Fantasy VII, although with more character via her inner monologues and narration. Fang is vaguely like Vincent Valentine. Sazh takes the place of Barrett as the token black dude, except instead of being aggressive he’s more like the comic relief and wants nothing to do with anything. Every time you control him, jazz music plays, because black people I guess. Hope doesn’t appear to be reminiscent of anyone – he’s just this boy who yells and complains a lot with Lightning. Snow meanwhile is a ripoff of Zell from Final Fantasy VIII, except somehow even more annoying.

(Every time I see his picture I think about your typical dude bro at a frat.)

The story starts of a bit choppy as you follow almost each character separately, then they run into each other, then separate again, then join again. The first 30 hours or so gives flashbacks of 13 days prior- BECAUSE IT’S FINAL FANTASY XIII GET IT? Vanille actually narrates some events but it’s not exactly clear why or from when – but that’s a spoiler. Along the way, I got really confused because I didn’t know why some people were fighting each other when they were on the same side a moment ago. The concept of the “focus” is really weird and sometimes confusing. People with a focus simply have visions or a general idea of what they’re supposed to do, but they don’t actually know for sure unless they actively seek it. If the gods granted them a focus, wouldn’t it make more sense if the gods just told them what to do? Seemed to work in Final Fantasy XII. 

In short, the narrative weaves around a lot. If you stop playing in the middle and pick up the game again months later, you’re bound to forget what’s going on. I know I did.

The characters didn’t annoy me as much as you would think they would on paper. They all have character development and that’s good. The only character that effectively got on my nerves was Snow. Snow is Serah’s fiancé, and Lightning hates him because of course you need some family drama. I don’t blame Lightning though. Snow shouts cheesy lines left and right, like “Heroes never die!”. He shouts Serah’s name the same way Christian Bale shouts Rachel’s name in the Christopher Nolan Batman films. Snow is quite possibly the most irritating character of all the Final Fantasy games. He will not shut the fuck up about what it means to be a hero.

The rest of the cast works well in that their motives and desires clash with each other. But I’m still sore about the wasted potential for a great character in Jihl Nabaat. Sazh wants his son Dejh back, who was taken to be purged by the sinister and extremely hot Jihl Nabaat.

 Goddaaayyyum. Seriously, look at her.

Too bad, because she’s only featured in a handful of scenes and then dies. Her death isn’t a major spoiler, at least one that I consider, because she hardly does anything except get in the way for a moment. You don’t even fight her. How lame is that?

Then you have this annoying bastard – Primarch Dysley.

When I think of him, I think of Mitch McConnell.

Old. Disagreeable. Been in power for too long. Always in the way of progress.

Primarch Dysley happens to be as annoying as Seymour from Final Fantasy X, so expect to be overjoyed every time you run into him.

Overall, the story isn’t as bad as you’d think. You just have to pay close attention. The gameplay is far worse than the story. I could easily slip into a coma while playing this game and still make it pretty far.

Music:

Final Fantasy XII saw the departure of Nobuo Uematsu (well with the exception of the pop song “Kiss Me Goodbye”). Final Fantasy XIII continues to head into the unknown without the beloved longtime composer. This game’s score is composed entirely by Masashi Hamauzu, who if you haven’t been paying attention, already partly worked on Final Fantasy X.  I immediately saw how “Saber’s Edge”, the boss theme, is similar in nature to the boss theme of Final Fantasy X.

Final Fantasy XIII made the most radical changes to the score. There are no signature themes from the series. No “Prelude” theme, no “Main Theme”, no “Victory Fanfare” theme. Instead, we get a theme called “Fabula Nova Crystallis”.  It plays frequently throughout the game, and almost acts as Serah and Snow’s love theme. In some portions of the game, some woman is singing along. Yes – this is the first time where you roam around a world in a Final Fantasy game with actual pop music playing in the background – “Sunleth Waterscape” to be exact. Final Fantasy XIII’s music gets pretty poppy.

Not saying it’s a bad idea.

Just.

You got pop music playing in the background now.

“Lightning’s Theme” is pretty sick. Her theme plays during the battles in a rendition called “Blinded by Light” – HA GET IT BECAUSE SHE’S LIGHTNING. SO CLEVER.

But Hamauzu was a good choice – the entire score holds up well and sounds like a movie score, with varying motifs running across. It can be a bit more subdued but that’s how contemporary instrumental music is nowadays, especially with film composers like Hans Zimmer.

 Notable Theme:

“Blinded by Light”

Really epic, unique song. I always scat along to it as it plays.

Verdict:

Uff. 

Look, if you just search on YouTube for all the cutscenes, there you go. That’s the game. And it’s entertaining to watch. But it has the worst gameplay that doesn’t feel like you’re even doing anything. No sense of customization or originality.

Direct Sequel?

Yes, two.

Final Fantasy XIII-2.

I started it around the time it first came out, but I’m still in the middle of playing it and I have no idea what’s going on in the story. NO idea. NONE at all. They use time travel but none of it makes sense. Apparently changing things in the future can change the past. I don’t know how. I only understand a vague semblance of a plot with the bad guy Caius. While it doesn’t tarnish the dignity of the original like Final Fantasy X-2 did, it’s still offbeat with its metal (yes, metal) music and utterly confounding story. It’s infamous for this metal rendition of the sweet and innocent Chocobo theme.

Then there’s the third game, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

I plan on playing it after I finish Final Fantasy XIII-2, if I don’t already die from an aneurysm by then. It’s supposed to be better than Final Fantasy XIII-2 but lacking in graphics.

[shefanispeculator]

Blake Shelton has 28 career No. 1 songs on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, and another seven that have reached the Top 10. It'd be easy just to stick with the singles in making a list of his best songs, but who likes easy?

Find plenty of deep cuts on this list of Shelton's 50 best songs, including his spiritual songs. Those are sprinkled all over the playlist — The Voice coach is a rare singer who can sing about drinking and heartache with as much conviction as his relationship with God. Fans will find a new one called "Bible Verses" on his Body Language album. It does well on this staff and reader partnership.

Songs with ex-wife Miranda Lambert and fiancee Gwen Stefani make the list as well, but the Top 10 Blake Shelton songs are all solo efforts ... with one exception. Is it strange that his most convincing bedroom ballad was a collaboration with a different "Gwen"? Cover songs by George Jones and Conway Twitty, collaborations with RaeLynn and Trace Adkins, and a co-write with Earl Thomas Conley all make this list of Shelton's top songs. Which is your No. 1?

Top Blake Songs: His Greatest Hits + Best Deep Cuts

Taste of Country staff opinion, and the commercial success of tracks from Shelton's 12 studio albums were certainly considered in making this list of the top songs. More than anything, we sought fan input, via sales and direct input. What's your favorite Blake Shelton song, and does it agree with our No. 1?

Below are the The Voice coach's 50 best songs. Lyrical integrity and production were also considered in this ranking. Really it's hard to argue against any of the Top 5, but we understand if there's a debate about placement. Heck, we encourage it!

Warner Music Nashville

No. 50: "She's Got a Way With Words"

Songwriters Andy Albert, Marc Beeson and Wyatt Earp wrote a clever country lyric, but the problem is, it felt too personal from Blake Shelton in 2016. This is the song that stopped Shelton's impressive streak of No. 1 singles. Sonically, very few songs from this era stand apart from one another.

No. 49: "Gonna"

" isn't a bad song — a strong case could be made that it's better than some of the singles ranked ahead of it on this list of the top 50 Blake Shelton songs, actually — the love story from 2014 just isn't memorable in any way. Think about it: At best you said, "I remember that song" but more likely thought, "which one is that?"

No. 48: "The Wave"

" is a unique metaphor for how a good love can wash away all of your troubles. Blake Shelton's song from Texoma Shore is another fan favorite. The mid-tempo track displays his voice nicely.

No. 47: "When the Wine Wears Off"

," an album track from Texoma Shore that could have been a single. The song's structure and flow is very similar to so many hits from this era of Blake Shelton.

No. 46: "Anyone Else"

When asked which deep cut they like most, Blake Shelton fans chose "

," an album cut from Bringing Back the Sunshine. This ballad shows a bitterness that's rare across the singer's discography, and certainly this list of 50 songs. It's packaged in a fairly unoffensive arrangement, but his lyrics really sting.

No. 45: "Over"

Blake Shelton gives a great vocal performance of a fairly ordinary song during "

," his fourth straight No. 1 single from the Red River Blue album.

No. 44: "I'll Just Hold On"

Shelton relied on a sitar to make this song stand out. It only worked to get him a Top 10 hit. The remainder of "

" is arranged more conventionally, making the outsider instrument something of a gimmick.

No. 43: "All Over Me"

" will always hold a special place for Shelton, as he co-wrote it with an idol, Earl Thomas Conley. The piano-led ballad finds the singer doing something truly unique: Showcasing a timid falsetto during the chorus of this poignant, pure country single. Lyrically it's difficult to keep up with, but sonically it's bold, like so many of his early hits.

No. 42: "Every Time I Hear That Song"

In retrospect, very few songs from Shelton's post-divorce album stack up against his earliest and most recent singles and deep cuts. "

" relies on a vocal hook, but the performance lacks urgency. Still, it hit No. 1 easily.

No. 41: "Sure Be Cool If You Did"

Shelton's Based on a True Story ... album started with "

," but every single that followed is far better and more engaging. This love ballad doesn't hurt for warmth, but the arrangement is milquetoast at best.

Rick Diamond, Getty Images

No. 40: "Drink on It"

Real life couple Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall joined Rodney Clawson for this track from Shelton's Red River Blue album. While still a No. 1 hit, "

" gets a little lost among other more dynamic performances and arrangements on this list of his 50 best songs.

No. 39: "I'll Name the Dogs"

" cast Blake Shelton as a husband in waiting, something his fans and the world in general were hoping for in his real life. The No. 1 hit from 2017 went Platinum on the strength of a pop-rock chorus and a charming lyrical hook.

No. 38: "Happy Anywhere"

" — the second of two straight single collaborations with Gwen Stefani — hit No. 1 and is a total earworm. It's hard to criticize the feel-good jam, but we'll say "Nobody But You" is a superior duet for the country couple.

No. 37: "Neon Light"

In a vacuum, "Neon Light" — a No. 1 hit, released in 2014 — is a funky, country and hip fusion that works. Across Blake Shelton's full catalog of hits and album cuts, however, it tries to do too many things that this singer does better elsewhere. For that reason, this track rates a bit low on this list of Shelton's best songs.

No. 36: "Granddaddy's Gun"

Aaron Lewis' version of this same song was more convincing, but Blake Shelton's "

" wasn't trying to act tough. The more sensitive singer's rendition was more sensitive and polished. The two men were targeting different country audiences.

No. 35: "A Guy With a Girl"

Blake Shelton celebrates his woman during "

" a No. 1 hit from If I'm Honest. The song is a sweet gesture, made atop a radio-ready arrangement.

No. 34: "Nobody But You"

The first of two straight, Gwen Stefani duets to country radio finds the couple trading lines as they tell a love story that can only be described as genuine. The No. 1 hit reached a very pleasing one million downloads quickly. "

" should not be confused with another song on this list. It's a progressive, pop-friendly ballad that truly simmers.

No. 33: "When Somebody Knows You That Well"

Of all of Blake Shelton's official singles, "

" faired the worst. It barely cracked the Top 40, possibly due to an outdated, string heavy arrangement. But it's not a bad little song. Harley Allen co-wrote this ballad and Shelton does OK in finding the right perspective. 'A' for effort, big fella.

No. 32: "Doin' What She Likes"

This charming No. 1 hit is best remembered for a music video in which a bumbling Blake Shelton burns the house down trying to cook a romantic dinner for Miranda Lambert, who makes a vocal cameo early. Sans video, "

" is a warm love song that's fit for a squeeze.

No. 31: "Just South of Heaven"

Another fan favorite from deep in Shelton's catalog, "

" finds the singer relying on a familiar mood over a welcome acoustic guitar and fiddle combination.

No. 30: "Came Here to Forget"

If you expected Blake Shelton's post-divorce album to include some heartache, you were right. "

is a dark country lyric atop an R&B-infused guitar line. His twang keeps it country, but the song is among his most progressive No. 1 hits. Often when he stretches the genre, it's done with a wink — not this time.

No. 29: "Sangria"

Few songs on this list of Blake Shelton's best smolder like "

." The love song rides a warm melody that covers for a barely-there hook. This 2015 hit was one in a string of No. 1 hits for Shelton, most of which went Gold or Platinum.

No. 28: "Jesus Got a Tight Grip"

When Blake Shelton does sit down to write, what comes out is often spiritual. Deep love songs and reflections on a higher power make up his short songwriting catalog. Jessi Alexander helped him with "

," a plucky country-rocker from 2019.

No. 27 Draggin' the River

" tells a dark story of two lovers escaping together, and in that way, it's very Miranda. Shelton's polished vocals and a sweetened production make this track from the All About Tonight EP very Blake, however. While not a single, it was a fan favorite back when they were a couple. We still dig it.

No. 26: "Minimum Wage"

Blake Shelton's blue-collar love song is no "Friends in Low Places" but the spirit of this song still hits today. There's not a lot of love-conquers-all messaging across his catalog, at least not as much as that of storytellers like

" is a mainstream effort that did its job of introducing a new album, but it's hard to put it high on this list of Shelton's 50 best at this point.

No. 25: "Footloose"

Blake Shelton didn't deviate much from Kenny Loggins' original version. The country "

" wasn't a radio hit, but it went Gold and introduced the country singer to an all-genre audience that was just beginning to learn of him via The Voice.

No. 24: "Some Beach"

One could make a case for "

" as Shelton's most important song, as it saved a career that was spiraling after a trio of Top 40 country airplay hits. This is the first time fans got to witness his sense of humor and sarcasm — remember, there was no Twitter in 2004. A pre

Rory Feek co-wrote "Some Beach," showing how wide the singer reached for great songs early in his career.

No. 23: "Bible Verses"

" is the faith song on Blake Shelton's 2021 album Body Language, and it's truly a highlight on the project. The singer approaches the topic with genuine humility that feels as honest as any love or drinking song he has recorded. A great play on a phrase pushes the song higher up on this Top 50 list.

No. 22: "Hillbilly Bone" with Trace Adkins

Blake Shelton proved he's a dynamic duet partner with this partnership with Trace

" is among his most well-known songs, even if it's not a Top 10 song on our list. Amid a catalog of songs with sexy, delicate women, this rocker with tough guy Adkins stands up and demands you pay attention. Even the haters have to smile!

No. 21: "Nobody But Me"

Did you even know that Shelton has a hit song called "Nobody But You" and "

"? The former is his most recent hit with Gwen Stefani, but the 2005 love ballad is the one that deserves a celebration. A jazzy piano carries the country singer atop this pleading love song. It's both memorable and effective.

No. 20: "Savior's Shadow"

Jessi Alexander returns to this list of the best Blake Shelton songs to offer a gentle message about faith and peace. "

" is Shelton's only Hot Christian Songs hit, reaching No. 14 in 2016. He's rarely, if ever, performs the song live.

No. 19: "The More I Drink"

," a Top 10 hit for Blake Shelton in 2007. The singer's early rompers are unmistakably genuine. In his later years, a certain polish would change the raw messaging, but that doesn't exist in this Brent Rowan production.

No. 18: "Playboys of the Southwestern World"

This is a song about best friends. "

" is a critic's pick for this list because we can recall him playing it live. The song is largely shelved now, but it still cooks. As a storyteller, few artists do better than Shelton, as some of the highest ranked songs on this list will prove. Playboys (No. 24 in 2003) is a different kind of story.

No. 17: "Lonely Tonight"

Give Shelton credit: At a time when few solo females could break in country music, he was doing what he could to celebrate talent.

is just one example of the hitmaker looking past stars who would have furthered his career to support Nashville's best. This dark ballad about a one night stand is a provocative conversation that just burned in 2014, a time where Blake Shelton was king. During "

No. 16: "Turnin' Me On"

Blake Shelton hasn't written very many of the songs found on this list of his 50 best. "

" is a rare case where he set out to write a song that became a hit, albeit a minor one. The simmering love song only reached the Top 10 after its 2018 release, but charts aren't everything. Years later it really stands apart from the rest of the songs he released to radio. You can feel his passion as he sings a song that he clearly had girlfriend Gwen Stefani in mind for.

No. 15: "I Lived It"

This Top 5 hit for Blake Shelton seemed to come and go, but we wish it would have stuck around as a catalog cut for the singer. "

" is among his best late model songs as it treads into new, nostalgic territory for a singer who is so often singing of love and love lost.

No. 14: "The Baby"

Blake Shelton cemented himself as one of country music's most promising young storytellers with three of his first four singles, including "

." The heartbreaking mother-son story is a gut punch for older country music fans. Melodically, the chorus gives it wings. This song from The Dreamer would become his second No. 1 hit.

No. 13: "All About Tonight"

" for Blake Shelton, and it's a song that will forever hold a place in his live show. It's kind of the theme song for any country concert, isn't it? In truth, Shelton hasn't released too many all-out jams like this one in the last decade, so it stands out a decade later.

No. 12: "Boys 'Round Here" With Pistol Annies and RaeLynn

Every once in awhile Blake Shelton drops a song that reminds you he doesn't take himself too seriously. It's critical to his artistry and an integral part of his longevity. "

" was his early 2010s version of that song. It's a sort of hip-hop-inspired redneck stomp with callback lyrics and his then-wife's supergroup supporting him. The song is just so much fun to bop along with, even a decade later.

No. 11: "God Gave Me You"

Blake Shelton took Dave Barnes' "

God Gave Me You

" and turned it into a Grammy-nominated, chart-topping country song. But that's just part of the story. The emotive love ballad is also what gave the singer the kick in the pants he needed to propose marriage to then-girlfriend Miranda Lambert. This is a tremendous vocal performance and certainly worthy of a high placement on the singer's best songs list.

No. 10: "My Eyes"

Blake Shelton and

Gwen Sebastian

kept a brother-sister kind of relationship after her time on The Voice. She even joined his band. That changed with "

," a true bed burner that beckons, "Come a little closer, come a little closer / Come a little closer, love the way you look tonight / My eyes are the only thing I don't wanna take off of you."

"My Eyes" was the last of a trio of great male/female collaborations that truly put new female artists on a pedestal. RaeLynn and Pistol Annies joined him for "Boys 'Round Here," Ashley Monroe jumped in for "Lonely Tonight" and Sebastian for "My Eyes." This was a time when women struggled mightily at country radio, but the singer did what he could to help introduce new talent.

Warner Music Nashville

No. 9: "Home"

You see a real change in Blake Shelton's commercial success beginning with his cover of "

" in 2008. One could argue this is his most important radio release, and his vocals stand up to anything else he's put out. Prior to his version of the Michel Bublé song, Top 20 was where he lived. After that, he rattled off a string of No. 1 hits as long as anyone ever: Nineteen of Shelton's next 20 singles hit No. 1.

Warner Music Nashville

No. 8: "Goodbye Time"

There is more than one famous cover among Blake Shelton's 50 best songs. "

" was a

Conway Twitty

hit in 1988, and the younger singer did it justice with a piano-led arrangement that showcased him as a premier vocalist. This song also exemplifies why he was hit-and-miss at radio in the mid 2000s. It followed the chart-topping "Some Beach," which followed a Top 40 song called "When Somebody Knows You That Well." It's good to go back and forth between good times and heartache, but with Shelton, the pendulum swung too far every time. It was hard to figure out who he was for most of a decade.

No. 7: "Ol' Red"

" is not Blake Shelton's best song, but it's his signature song. He can't play a live show without telling this story of a prisoner, a dog and a warden who gets fooled. Early in his career, Shelton wasn't shy about covering other artists, including Conway Twitty and (in this case) George Jones. His tie to the past has loosened in recent years, which is a bummer because songs like this are far more interesting than anything on the radio today.

Warner Music Nashville

No. 6: "Honey Bee"

There's not an easier song in Blake Shelton's catalog to enjoy than "

," his slightly saccharine, but still grinning love song from 2011. The track went triple-Platinum and is perhaps his most recognizable song worldwide today.

No. 5: "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking"

Joe Nichols

cut this song several years before Shelton would make it his best love song. Both versions are exemplary. It starts with the songwriting. Lyrically, "

" is more sensitive and poetic than anything else on this list. Each line is phrased as a question, and each question is one any woman can relate to. The magic is in this hitmaker's personal delivery. His range isn't needed for a subtle romancer that the greats would be proud of. Few country women will resist a warm smile when this No. 1 hit begins.

Warner Music Nashville

No. 4: "God's Country"

God's Country

" rejuvenated Blake Shelton's career. The country-rock song paints a vivid picture but it works so well because everyone who touched the song went for it 100 percent. The chart-topping hit is arguably his best of the last half-decade and an easy pick for Top 10 on this list of his greatest songs.

No. 3: "She Wouldn't Be Gone"

There's no song in Blake Shelton's catalog that paints a breathtaking picture with the same ease of "

She Wouldn't Be Gone

," his No. 1 song from 2008. He begins with, "Red roadside wild flower if I'd only picked you / Took you home set you on the counter" before his second metered stanza that goes, "Yellow sunset slowly dipping down in the rear view / Oh, how she'd love to sit and watch you / I could have done that a whole lot more."

The chorus of this song is where the tension lies, however. Shelton has told great stories before and delivered strong vocal performances plenty of times, but few songs find him so recklessly emotional as this ballad. It's almost unnerving to listen to.

No. 2: "Mine Would Be You"

" is a Top 5 Blake Shelton song because of the twist at the end that just crushes your heart. It's a love song, until suddenly it isn't. Jessi Alexander and company wrote it, but it's the singer's energy that makes the song special. As with "She Wouldn't Be Gone," there's a sense of panic so rare on the radio today. Shelton seems like such a cool character most of the time, but moments like this remind us of his gifts.

No. 1: "Austin"

Fans have, and will continue to, make a case for "

" as Blake Shelton's best song. It's certainly an all-time great debut single — one that would work in any era of country music. Early in his career, the Oklahoma native relied on veteran songwriters and producers like Bobby Braddock to shape his sound. These days everything comes with a little more polish, which is fine and probably even necessary.

You can't compare 20-year-old tracks like "Austin" with modern songs like "I'll Name the Dogs." Lyrically, his newest material lacks depth when held up against the rich tapestry of these early hits. So many songs from Shelton's first two albums make the Top 10 or even Top 20 of this list for this reason. "Austin" at No. 1? It's tempting to select another for the sake of being bold, but doing so would just be dishonest.

[purplesurveys]

1283

Are you more annoyed when decorations are up two months prior to a holiday or still up two months after a holiday? We only do this for Christmas, so I’d personally find it weird if this was done for any other holiday; like if I see people wearing 2022 glasses right in October lol. But for Christmas, it’s fine; we literally put our tree up a month ago and I imagine we would have it around until end of January. 

Have you ever had Dippin’ Dots and if so, what’re your thoughts on it and you favorite flavor? No. Their product never looked too appealing to me, honestly. It looks like it’s a lot to chew hahaha.

What’re the best and worst books you ever had to read for a class? I will allllllllllways vouch for Without Seeing the Dawn by Stevan Javellana; his style of writing is precisely what I look for, so I was b r e e z i n g through the pages while still appreciating what I was reading. As for worst, I really hated Holes by Louis Sachar.

What’s the best meal you had at an amusement park. or if you haven’t been to one, how about a good meal at another place like a zoo, aquarium or museum? Ooh, good question. I’m not actually sure...I don’t really buy food from these places because they tend to be overpriced, and the food I have had have been unremarkable at best. I’m not sure I’ve had something that was especially good because I would for sure have to remember that.

Who, whether a person or company, emails you the most? These days it’s one of my clients since we have a huge huge huge event/launch coming up for that brand soon so there have been a million and one things to prepare for.

If you were given an assignment to draw anything besides stick figures or just doodles, what would you draw? I hate being creative hahaha. I would 100% just use the opportunity to practice my written Hangul.

Do you own any magnets and do you even like magnets? I don’t own any of my own, but our refrigerator is filled with magnets from all the places my dad has visited for work. At this point I think we’ve got at least one magnet from each continent except Antarctica lol.

What kind of sound or noise freaks you out the most and why do you think it scares you? Banging doors shut. That’s my mom’s habit when she’s extremely pissed off and she has been banging doors since I was a kid, so it makes me nervous and sends me into an internal panic.

If you could get any body part massaged right now, what would you pick? My shoulders.

Are the street names in your area in the standard language of your country or in another language? Most are Western-sounding ones, but there are a handful that are Spanish in origin. So, essentially, none are in Filipino haha.

What’s the strangest art piece you’ve come across? I’ve never seen anything too weird.

What’s the most clever or unique name you’ve come across for a business? I’ve come across a lot of unique ones but the first that came to mind is the online shop I frequent for K-Pop merch – their shop name is what would at first look like a random bunch of numbers, which technically doesn’t look the most appealing – but I got curious and did some digging, and it was there I learned that they actually combined the country codes of South Korea and the Philippines :)

Are there a lot of Cash for Gold stores in your area? We don’t have those here and I have no clue what they are.

If you had to name one of your hypothetical future children after a song, which song would you pick? One Direction has a song called Olivia, and that’s a name I’ve always loved, even before 1D. I’ll go with that.

What’s the best item you’ve bought from the dollar section of a store? We don’t have fifty-peso (what the equivalent of $1 be here) stores lol.

Do you ever get meals or snacks when you go to a coffee or smoothie shop? Not always, but sure. It’s nice to have something to munch on while having coffee.

Are you a messy eater and what foods do you consume that are usually messy? Yeah, it drives my mom nuts. I always end up with a mark on my shirt or with a few grains of rice on my side of the table.

How popular is the bank you or your parents use and can you find one pretty much everywhere or is it not as common? It’s probably the most popular one here in my country.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve witnessed at your work, or if you don’t work, what’s a strange experience you witnessed at a store or restaurant? One of my clients is pretty elitist and has said some absolutely wack shit in the past.

[passionate-reply]

ABC are known for their high-brow sophisti-pop, but did you know they started out as something closer to an industrial band? Find out all about The Lexicon of Love, on this week’s Great Albums. Transcript below the break!

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today’s album is one of the more unique triumphs of early 80s synth-pop: ABC’s The Lexicon of Love. The Lexicon of Love would be the first album released under the ABC name, but prior to their metamorphosis into ABC, the band had been known as Vice Versa. They also had a very different sound than the one they’d later become known for.

Music: “Riot Squad”

Vice Versa had been a heavily electronic, experimental outfit, more in line with fellow members of the Sheffield music scene like Cabaret Voltaire and the early Human League. As ABC, they would pivot dramatically towards lushly arranged sophisti-pop, and produce some of the most iconic hits of the early 80s, like “The Look of Love.”

Music: “The Look of Love”

Between the minimal synth lashings of Vice Versa’s EP Music 4 and The Lexicon of Love, the band that would now be known as ABC saw a major addition to their lineup, in frontman Martin Fry. Fry had been a member of the Sheffield music scene prior, as the author of an underground fanzine, but was recruited to become the new lead vocalist of Vice Versa after interviewing them. Fry’s crooning is certainly one thing that makes the album sound different, but I’d also be remiss not to mention the influence of its producer: Trevor Horn.

By this point in his career, Horn was mainly known as a member of The Buggles, of “Video Killed the Radio Star” fame, and the progressive rock group Yes. He also brought along two of his more consistent collaborators, with whom he would go on to form The Art of Noise: J. J. Jeczalik, programming digital synthesisers, and Anne Dudley, arranging and orchestrating electronics and strings. The Lexicon of Love was one of Horn’s first major forays into production, something he would go on to prioritize in his career. Still, I think tracks like “The Look of Love” demonstrate Horn’s signature style of rich, bombastic, borderline campy pop in full force, as much as his later work with artists like Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Seal. Horn is certainly known for his complex and painstaking orchestral arrangements, which are something you’ll hear a lot of on The Lexicon of Love. The lone instrumental it features, “The Look of Love (Part Four),” makes that particularly easy.

Music: “The Look of Love (Part Four)”

While the album’s famous single is often referred to as simply “The Look of Love,” its full title is actually “The Look of Love (Part One).” Before you ask, yes, there are second and third “parts” of this suite, which were all released together on their own EP, or perhaps extended single. In the context of the album, though, parts one and four bookend the second side of the LP, with part four arguably serving as a sort of reprise of that unforgettable hit single. Speaking of singles, “The Look of Love”’s success in the charts was actually preceded by that of another entry in the top ten: “Poison Arrow.”

Music: “Poison Arrow”

As the title implies, “Poison Arrow” is focused more on the darker side of love, when things don’t go one’s way. The Lexicon of Love is a sort of loose concept album, which deals mainly with romantic love, and the trials and tribulations of those who seek it. Perennial subject matter for pop, of course, but it is executed with a lot of style. While “Poison Arrow” certainly has synthesisers, they’re hardly the first thing you notice in its dense arrangements.

Ultimately, The Lexicon of Love is a very backward-looking kind of album, particularly in the context of synth-pop. Where so many of their contemporaries were looking to the future, ABC were committed to capturing this suave, traditional pop glamour, somewhere between Motown and Sinatra. Despite all the efforts being made to embody this classic sense of cool, there’s still an undeniably 1980s sensibility about the album that I think shines through in the end. But I don’t think of that as an indictment of the material, simply a neutral feature of it. I don’t really believe music can truly be “timeless” or “dated”--those terms get thrown around by people trying to ground their taste in objectivity, but at the end of the day, we all like what we like. I think The Lexicon of Love sounds like it was made when it was made, but also holds up, insofar as it’s still enjoyable to listen to.

One of the most endearing features it does have is Fry’s witty, clever lyricism, full of unique rhymes and lofty allusions. He had studied English at Sheffield University before entering the band, and that literary flourish really sets him apart. While Vice Versa certainly had some indignant numbers, Fry sells us on a much more posh kind of anger on tracks like “Valentine’s Day.”

Music: “Valentine’s Day”

The cover of The Lexicon of Love is nearly as busy and complex as the album’s arrangements. It shows a scene from a theatrical narrative of some sort, in which Martin Fry catches a woman falling backwards, seemingly fainting with fright. With determination, he points a gun at some unseen, off-stage antagonist. The bright red of the curtain, at stage left, draws our attention to that suspenseful absence, and gets us to wonder what’s happening here. Adding to that sense of the incomplete or not fully known is the way the action is boxed in, almost claustrophobically, by the eye-catching, high-contrast text showing the album title and band name. In the lower left-hand corner, you’ll find a surprisingly large block of text--I think this album has a higher word count on its cover than anything else in my collection! That text consists of an amalgamation of lines from several different songs on the album. Both the inclusion of this lyrics box and the title “The Lexicon of Love” put emphasis on the concept of language, and, perhaps, the difficulties of putting the most powerful of human feelings into communicable words. Given that Fry’s lyrics are such a standout, I think that angle benefits the album a lot.

Over the next fifteen years or so, ABC would see several further lineup changes, and add infusions from house and early hip-hop to their take on synth-pop. They continued to see modest chart success up through the late 80s, though they would never crack the UK top ten again, after The Lexicon of Love. In more recent years, Martin Fry has revived the ABC name and released some new material, including, most notably, an album called The Lexicon of Love II, intended as a proper sequel to his magnum opus. As ambitious as that is, I think it really works, but you can listen for yourself and decide.

Music: “Viva Love”

My favourite track from The Lexicon of Love is, without a doubt, “4 Ever 2 Gether.” The average song in my music collection sounds a lot more like Vice Versa’s efforts than it does this album--I like a lot of harsh, synth-forward stuff. “4 Ever 2 Gether” is closer to that sound than anything else on the album, with a chilling vocoder part that really stands out against the rest of the album’s sonic footprint. It’s also got some of Fry’s most striking lyrics--deeply abstract, but still bitingly bitter. That’s all I’ve got for today--thanks for listening!

Outro: “4 Ever 2 Gether”

[thisaintascenereviews]

The Maine - Self-Titled

Last month marked the 15th anniversary of Arizona alt-rock band The Maine's debut album, 2008's Can't Stop Won't Stop. As an emo / scene 15-year-old kid when that record came out, it hit me in all the right ways, especially for being a prominent album in the "neon pop-punk" scene. That record showcased a lot of promise from the band, incorporating folk and indie-rock sensibilities into their otherwise emo and pop-punk sound, but as I got older, I began liking them less and less. This trend isn't uncommon, as a lot of bands I used to listen to in high school have either broken up, faded into obscurity, or changed their sound (for better or worse, but in most cases, "worse"), and in some cases, transcending the "emo" label that they started off with.

As for The Maine, and where they fall in that wide spectrum, they're a band that I stopped listening to after 2015's American Candy, sort of because of how they changed their sound. I was becoming less and less enamored with them as time went on, anyway, and American Candy was the last straw. As much as I loved their debut, I felt as though they were only getting worse and worse, and that record was a huge step down in quality and creativity. Now that was eight years ago, and since then, they've released another three albums, but I haven't paid attention to any of them. After a few years of being away, they're back with a self-titled album, and self-titled albums are often a means of reinvention, but I don't have any context for what they sounded like before this record. The self-titled album came out on 8/1/23, which holds significance to them for being the number of the parking garage the band always met up in when they started, as well as the name of their record label and their festival.

Maybe it's that I didn't have any context going into this self-titled album, or that I haven't listened to them in almost a decade, but this album pleasantly surprised me in a few different ways. From the band's overall sound to being rooted in 80s-soaked arena-rock / pop-rock, or to vocalist John O'Callaghan improving tenfold on this record, I absolutely love this record. Sometimes an album just hits you in the right way, regardless of what it is, and it could be for a variety of reasons, but most often, the timing just feels right. Right off the bat, this album is a perfect "summer album." There are very catchy, fun, and groovy songs that are great for this time of year. including a couple of songs that will make my favorite songs list of the year, such as "Leave In Live" and "Thoughts I Have While Lying In Bed." The way the band combines 80s-influenced arena-rock / pop-rock riffs with new wave, synth-pop, and electronic textures from time to time really makes this album stand out. Make no mistake, this album isn't unique by any means, but that doesn't mean it hits any less harder. The hooks are impeccable on this thing, especially on a handful of cuts that I really can't get out of my head.

I mentioned a bit ago that vocalist John O'Callaghan has improved greatly on here, and maybe he's improved more on their last few albums, but he was always a vocalist that I liked, but never loved, just for how limited his range was. I gotta say, however, that this sound suits his voice well, and he even has more of a range and more emotion than ever before. The lyrics, too, are quite good, despite being about relationships, and things of that nature, but they're written well this time around, so I can look past the lyrics being rather generic and not the focal point of the album. Their lyrics have always been either decent or really bad, and their debut album is good indication of that, but the lyrics on this record feel more mature, reflective, and more introspective than I've heard on previous albums, albeit in a somewhat vague in a relatable kind of way, but there are a lot of clever, interesting, and enjoyable lyrics throughout this record.

There's something to be said about listening to a band that you either used to love more than a decade ago, and that you've either forgotten about, or fallen out of favor with, and really enjoying their new project. I had no idea what to expect with the self-titled, and it's a wonderful little record. Of course, it helps that this album is only 36 minutes, so it's a breeze to get through, and that's a perfect length for a record like this. I'll even go as far to say that this is one of my favorite albums of the year, because of how slick, catchy, fun, and groovy this thing is. It just hits me in all the right spots, and I would never have guessed that the new album from The Maine, a band I haven't thought of in a decade, give or take, would be one of my favorites of this year. That just goes to show you that bands can surprise you, even when you least expect it, but that's the beauty of music.

[otakween]

07-Ghost - The World (Part. 3)

Episodes 21-30 of the 07-Ghost radio show! Aww man, I’m really sad it’s over. I had a lot of fun listening the whole way through. It definitely made me a Namikawa Daisuke fan. I look forward to spotting him in another role!

Episode 21

Kuroyuri VA’s second episode. Honestly, she was kind of annoying (sorry!) She wouldn’t stop cracking up at everything and it made the whole episode very chaotic. They started out by discussing: their ideal birthdays and nicknames they’ve had in their lives. They then played a “what would you do?” game where they had to pick the most popular reaction to various scenarios. This time the punishment was to speak like a servant/butler. The loser was...Namikawa of course (lol every time!)

Namikawa failing at keigo was honestly the highlight of the episode for me because, same. Apparently this episode came out close to the end of the anime. Funny that the show would go on for so long after the show was already over. I guess because the manga was ongoing and they still had DVD sales to boost? 

Episode 22

The first no-Namikawa episode in a long time (another scheduling issue). This time though we got two guests: Castor and Lab’s VAs! Saiga called it a “church special” lol. It did feel like a mini reunion. The opening discussion was “what do you do to calm down when you feel stressed.” Lab’s VA said he likes to be alone/have alone time. Castor’s VA said he likes to eat sweets lol. Maybe it’s because Namikawa wasn’t there to react, but they barely read any fan mail. 

For a game, since Lab’s VA was there they played a “flower language” game where they had to guess what each flower signified. Somehow the flowers were also connected to birthdays? I tried to Google this but couldn’t find much. I want to know my birthday flower! Anyway, the final corner was a “Last Supper” where they ate something that was supposed to taste like chestnut and another thing that was supposed to taste like sweet potato. For once, both experiments were yummy. 

Episode 23

In this episode Namikawa comes back and so does Lab’s VA (sorry, I should probably learn his name). I was honestly pretty relieved to hear Namikawa again because he’s really the heart of the show. They discussed their blood types and caught Namikawa up on what he missed in the last episode. I finally looked up what the heck “Namikawa ga Kamu” means (the name of one of the corners) and I think what they’re going for is that he snaps at the listeners who send him ridiculous mail lol. Kamu has a bunch of different meanings so it took me awhile to get that.

They played another flower-themed game. This time they had to guess which flowers out of a bunch listed were currently blooming. They kept saying “ah that one blooms in winter, huh?” and I was like “wtf? Nothing blooms in winter!” Damn you Japan and your higher temps! This time Saiga and Lab’s VA lost and their punishment was to speak like a maiko (I didn’t even know maiko had a unique speech style). The final segment was responding to listeners worries but I honestly struggled to understand what they were saying and spaced out a little, oops! Lab’s VA said he wants to come back, but was disappointed in the lack of food this time around lol. 

Episode 24 

Wow, a Bastien episode, how unexpected. I honestly forgot what Bastien sounded like because he was in so little of the anime, but he has a nice, deep voice. Probably second deepest after Ayanami. It cracked me up how he and Namikawa bonded over how they both voice dead guys. The started the episode out by discussing what kind of food they like to eat in November and then talked about how popular/unpopular they were in their younger years. One fanmail asked what they would give Teito as a birthday present and no one really knew what to say LOL (it is a hard question). Namikawa said a camera and Bastien’s VA said “Mikage” loool. 

I thought the game they chose for the Bastien episode “find the impostor” was clever, but it was hard to play along. It was another game where they had to pick “which one of these doesn’t belong” out of a list of 07 Ghost things, but they didn’t clearly read out the options so it wasn’t super interesting to listen to. Bastien’s VA lost and his punishment was to talk like a country bumpkin for the next segment. They ended the episode by doing the confessional-like corner and listening to listener’s sins. Amen. 

Episode 25 

Another Kuroyuri episode! I guess she was really available lol. This one was recorded around Christmas time so it was slightly Christmas themed. They talked about sock fetishes (for some reason lol) & read some more chaotic fan mail. One girl that wrote in claimed to be from Namikawa’s elementary school and they freaked out. 

The game they played this time around was “what do you want for Christmas” where each person listed a bunch of things they might want for Xmas and then the others had to guess what the correct answer was. Kuroyuri asked something along the lines of “what cup size boobs do most women want?” I’m used to boobs coming up a lot in stupid anime so I was kinda surprised to hear real people have that conversation lol. Namikawa was clearly uncomfortable and gave the “I think size doesn’t matter” speech haha. (By the way, the answer was C cup). Namikawa lost as usual and had to use “reindeer speech” for the following segment. His interpretation of this was to add “tona” at the end of every sentence (because tonakai = reindeer). 

The final segment was Last Supper and they ate things that are supposed to taste like melon when you eat them together (white chocolate + apple juice, cucumber + honey). Apparently neither hit the mark but at least they weren’t too gross this time. 

Episode 26

Jun (Hakuren’s VA) returns! They call him “Jun Jun” which is way too cute. I think he’s one of my favorite guests, just cuz he’s so iconic and has great energy for radio. In this episode they discussed what color each person would be (Namikawa = orange, Jun = black, Saiga = blue). They also discussed New Year’s resolutions because this was recorded around January. They played an 07-Ghost themed version of karuta which was fun to play along with. Guess who lost? (It was Namikawa lol). I totally didn’t get what his punishment was. He had to talk like “maro/daimaro” and I couldn’t figure out via google what the heck that is.

In the final segment they gave advice to listeners. One listener asked what they should do about a mouse problem. Namikawa at first said “move” but then changed his answer to “get a cat” lol. Very inspired. Only 4 episodes to go~!

Episode 27

A rare no-guest episode. Namikawa seemed very fed up and low energy in this one lol. This was recorded in January so they discussed new years again. It’s kinda cool hearing time pass in these. Oh how innocent times were back in 2009/2010. The only thing that really stood out in the beginning of this episode was that one listener called Namikawa “Namikawa D-Cup-san” and Saiga and Namikawa died laughing. This was in reference to a past episode where Namikawa called himself that but he acted like he never said that loool. Honestly, the best part of this show is just hearing everyone laugh at dumb jokes.

The game they played this time around was pretty creative. Basically while one person was blindfolded the other had to help them draw a picture of a 07 Ghost character with verbal instructions. As they did so, they had to stay in-character. It was really funny hearing Saiga switch from polite Japanese to Teito’s feral speech style. You don’t really realize how cartoony anime character’s are until you hear natural speech right next to it (or maybe that’s just me lol). Namikawa lost again (I felt bad for him this time cuz he sounded genuinely disappointed) and his punishment was to stay in Mikage-mode until the end of the episode. He said acting so “pure” was exhausting. 

Episode 28

Another Haruse episode. He was really cute in this one, he admitted that he was nervous about doing radio and was worried his voice would shake haha. They again talked about New Years and New Year’s resolutions. They also took some kind of “psychology test” where they had to describe what color/pattern handkerchief they’d want to receive from a girl. The color handkerchief = the color of panties they like or something stupid like that lol. 

For the game, they had to put 07-Ghost characters in the correct order. Saiga had to order the ghosts, Haruse’s VA had to rank the Black Hawks, and Namikawa had to organize a bunch of characters in the order they’re introduced in the manga. Pretty difficult. Everyone did about the same so they had to do rocks, paper, scissors to decide the loser. The loser was, of course, Namikawa. His punishment was to sing everything like an opera singer for the next segment.

The final segment was giving advice to listeners. One person asked for advice on dating someone older than you and another person asked about giving “the talk” to their younger brother lol. At least I think that’s what they said. These advice portions have some tricky Japanese. 

Episode 29

The first Konatsu episode, it’s interesting to see them bring in new guests at the very end. Konatsu was one of my favorite characters so it’s unfortunate that I found his VA really annoying lol. His style of humor was to just repeat the same obnoxious thing over and over again and I found it really grating. This was recorded in February so they discussed how much you should spend on Valentine’s day chocolate. They also asked Konatsu’s VA what kind of character Konatsu is and he basically said “I had like no lines, so I dunno” lol. Too true. I forgot Konatsu was even in the anime.

For the game they had to pop some balloons and the more hearts they got the better their score was. (I guess they put heart on pieces of paper and stuffed them inside the balloons?) For once the loser was the guest and Konatsu’s VA had speak in a Kansai dialect for the final segment. The episode ended with “The Last Supper” and they ate avocado with vanilla ice cream, which apparently is supposed to taste like mango.

Episode 30

The grand finale! They actually called it that too. I wasn’t sure if they were going to acknowledge this as the last episode but they made it special. They did a lot of reflecting on how far they’d come and how the show seemed long and short at the same time. This was an hour long episode but they basically spent the entire time reading listener mail (which is my favorite part anyway). No games, no guests. Namikawa’s “kamu” corner got special background music for the first time. Most of the listener mail was people saying their goodbyes and being sad that the show was ending. 

At the end of the episode some staff person came into the studio to thank Namikawa and Saiga for their hardwork and to give them chocolate. Very cute. The depressing part is that both the hosts and the listeners were talking about “if season 2 happens...” which obviously never did. Pooor 07-Ghost :’( 

[rockmiyabideusexmachina]

2021 Megaman Valentine’s Day Contest - Rules Thread *CLOSED*

Welcome to year #14 of my mostly-annual Megaman Valentine’s Day Fanart Contest!

Two categories, in which you are allowed to submit one entry for each category, if you would like. If you place in one category, you will be automatically disqualified from the other, for reasons of fairness, and to give other people a chance to win a prize.

CATEGORY 1:  Kiss From a Rosered (Talent)

Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a Rosered on Nebula Grey Ooh, the more I think of it, the stranger it feels, yeah And now here to give a rose to Split Mushroom A light hits the room on Jet Stingraaaaayyyyy~

Ba-da-da, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-da-da

For this category, your goal is to create a scene between the Megaman characters of your choice involving roses being given to one's Valentine. Simple enough, right? But there is a little twist. For those who don't know, the color of the rose actually has some meaning behind it. We are all used to the standard red rose as a symbol of love more than anything. But just as there are different forms of love, there are different concepts these various colors can represent, when giving someone you love flowers.

The other part of the challenge for this talent category will be your use of color in your pic. Just as you choose a color to convey meaning with this rose, and theme your scene in a similar manner, I'd also like to see you utilize this color as the strongest within your piece. 

So, while I don't expect all of these submissions to be purely monochromatic, or a single hue when coloring, your goal will be to try to make your art have your rose color as the dominant color in your piece. Whether that means the characters you choose are predominantly that color too, or, they have a pallette change with their outfit/armor/etc. to echo or help contrast the color theme. 

Content Requirements: 

* Megaman characters of your choice giving roses to their special someone on Valentine's Day

* Utilizing the symbolism of specific rose colors within your artwork (see a list with examples here: https://www.proflowers.com/blog/rose-color-meanings) to help set the scene. 

       For example, if you are using purple roses, it often represents love at first sight. Your artwork should convey characters involved in a love at first sight scene.  

* When coloring your art, keeping the color of the rose you chose to also be the predominant color of the piece. (This does not mean you have to stick to a single hue when coloring. You are free to be as creative as you can with this in mind!)

* Judging will take all of these content requirements into consideration, and how well you are able to mesh all of them together in your piece. 

CATEGORY 2: Kawaai-rimi (Humor)

From lining store shelves this time of year, to carnival prizes, or even life-size 30th Anniversary editions, there's nothing that says love like a soft, cuddly plush character to snuggle. 

One of the more memorable Mega Man plushes comes from the Battle Network series, specifically the kawarimi/anti-damage doll of Megaman.EXE. So, using that as the basis for this category, your job will be to create a Valentine's Day-themed plush of a Megaman character. But again, with a little twist.

The Megaman character of your choice is in a scenario where they need to give a gift to their sweetheart, and they need one very quick. Who pops up to help? Why, it's Shadow Man (or any ninja character from any Megaman series of your choice)! To help this character in a bind, your ninja character instantaneously produces a specially-made Valentine's kawarimi plush. Your character can then give this plush doll to his or her Valentine. 

For example, a cute little Sir Crescent Grizzly bear, who just wants to hug-a-lot with his sharp claws, or a charming Toad prince, who wants to give kisses with a little tongue. Have fun thinking of funny, but cute plush concepts!

Content Requirements:

* A Megaman-related character created in Valentine's Day plush form. Draw the most clever, unique and hilarious design for this plush

* A ninja character in the scene, who can instantly produce this plush for your character who is in a bind to give a gift to his crush

* As this is the humor category, judging will be based primarily on how funny your piece is. Creativity, concept and execution may get you some points, but the focus of this category is how you make us laugh! 

PRIZES:

Due to Covid still causing havoc around the world, physical prizes are going to be a little tougher, with some regions still seeing postal restrictions. So the main prizes for winners will still likely be cash, sent via Paypal.

The winners for both the Talent and Humor categories will receive the following:

1st Place: $100 USD  2nd Place: $75 USD  3rd Place: $50 USD 

(...as long as I don't bankrupt myself helping with a certain auction before this...*ahem*)

PARTICIPATION PRIZE RAFFLE:

However, I am still going to try to give away 2 cels in another participation prize raffle this year. I don't want to limit this to US entrants only, although given the circumstances, it might be hard to send to certain countries. I will certainly try to send either of these worldwide. But just know it may depend on postal regulations, as the ripple effects of this awful virus continue into the following months.

In any case, when you submit, please mention which cel you would like to be entered into the raffle for.

If you draw a pic for both the Humor and the Talent Categories, you can double your chances to win! (Odds of course, depending on how many others enter and also draw two pics.) You will be able to add your name into the drawing a second time for the prize you are most interested in, or have a chance at both!

Raffle Prize #1 – Captain N Mega Man with genie lamp

Raffle Prize #2 – Captain N 'Cuts Man'

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: 

When you submit, I would prefer you to include the following information in this format, along with your entry:

• (Your name/preferred alias) – As much as I usually know who you are, there’s always someone new or somebody who has a different preference from what their email name says. 

• (Category this entry is for) – You can either say 1 or 2, or Talent/Humor

• (Participation Prize Eligibility) – Again, you can say either 1 or 2, or Mega Man/Cut Man

In the event you are submitting your second entry, please specify which cel you would like your bonus chance in the raffle to be put towards. 

Only submit your own work, as usual. Any character, major or minor, from any series is allowed. Pairing characters from different series is totally allowed. Same-gender pairings are completely fine. OCs are allowed, as long as your art contains at least one canon Megaman character.

As always, participants are allowed to submit from all over the world. 

Paypal is still the preferred method for cash prize payouts. Please have a valid account to receive your winnings. 

Youngin's, get your parents permission before entering.

Entries do not need to be fully colored, but it is preferred. The more effort put into things, as always, the better chance you have!

Entries can either be e-mailed to me at rock2125[at]hotmail[dot]com, or you can just PM/note me a link to your pic. 

DO NOT post your pics in this journal, your dA galleries, Twitter, tumblr blogs, other sites, etc. until the contest is over. This is the fairest way for competitive reasons. I prefer to keep them all secret until the deadline has passed. 

I'll edit a confirmed entry list in this thread when I receive them. So you won't be in the dark about whether or not I've received your entry. 

DEADLINE: 

The deadline for this contest will be Saturday, February 13th, 2021 by 11:59PM (global end of the day). This gives you a little more than 5 weeks to finish your entry! 

MISCELLANEOUS INFO: 

- As usual, If you don't plan to enter, but would like to help me judge, please let me know through DM or mention so here. Never hurts to have extra opinions on all the entries.

Bug me with questions if you have any. Please join in, and good luck to everyone who enters! 

Confirmed Entries:  

Cat. 1 - Forceway, @dragonmarquise, @digitallyfanged, donnie, abilityfield, @aw-colorcat, Mattasaurs, Dark-Dullahan, Sapphire Cat. 2 - Mattasaurs, ColeManX, @destinywillowleaf​