#ep: village of the darned

[librathefangirl]

s02e06, "Village of the Darned"

ID: 7 gifs from My Babysitter's a Vampire season 2 episode 6. Gif 1: Ethan stands in his living room as Jane and the Turner twins draw pictures of red door over all the walls and furniture. The twins turn to him and say "Val Mudrap is coming". Gif 2: Rory and Benny also stand in the living room. Rory has a red circle drawn around his face. He asks "They say who now?". Gif 3: Ethan looks over at them, saying "We've got a problem". Gif 4: Benny looks from the door to Ethan. He speaks in a tight voice as he says "Your mom's home". Gif 5: Ethan looks over in panic. Gif 6: Samantha walks through the living room, looking shocked as she looks around. Benny shuts his eyes tightly as she pushes her way between Rory and Benny. Gif 7: Ethan and Benny walking through the school hallway the next day. Ethan rubs his ear as Benny says "Your mom was so busy yelling she didn't even notice Sarah gone, or Jane acting weird". END ID.

[fizzingwizard]

Episode 6 was AWESOME. Finally it really and truly felt like Digimon Adventure!!

This episode plus the last one makes me eat my words of despair over the blandness of episode 4. I’m counting that one as just a miss. I’m hoping that it doesn’t bode for the tone they’ll take with all Sora episodes though. Sora’s easy to overlook because she’s already kind, brave, and responsible - the main things the other kids need to work on. Still she never bored me in old Adventure. I only ever wanted more of her and that was my hope for 2020 Sora. Her intro episode wasn’t a great start, but guess what, she got to be pretty darn cool in this episode, and overall the tone of this ep was such an improvement on ep 4 that I’m back to thinking we will absolutely get a modern, cool girl Sora who rocks her spotlight episodes in the future. Pray with me friends.

By the way we finally got some decent animation in this episode. So I took gratuitous Taichi pics and I’ll post a couple to start us off bahahaha

Okay, so this was the much-awaited MIMI episode. Heck yeah. It’s called “The Targeted Kingdom.” Who is the queen of the kingdom, I’ll give you three guesses, eh what’s that Mimi? like WOW you got it on the first try!

More below!!

^ So I’m not quite sure what’s going on here. I think Sora is standing on Taichi’s back and Piyomon is helping lift her (them?) up into the trees so Sora can look around? They are trying to find the way to the ocean. This seems like the most awkward way possible to go about it but you do you kiddo...

See, Adventure Taichi would be making jokes while this is happening. 2020 Taichi is thinking about The Big Picture, at least as much of it as he knows of. He’s turning into such a pensive type. Yamato’s gonna have to work hard to keep his lead brooder status.

Also I was thinking... there’s a few times in this ep, and more in others, where I feel like the animators don’t show us enough... Idk what to call it, movement? The fall out of actions? Like why don’t we see them climb into the tree? Why are we zoomed into so close when they fall out? Later during the big fight scene, there’s stuff going on that could definitely be shown in a clearer, and also cooler to watch, way. My theory of course is it’s all budget issues but what a bummer.

The kids’ first intro to the bottomless pit that is a Digimon’s stomach. They have no food (seriously? in that pack of emergency supplies Sora brought by pure happenstance there is NO food??) so they go... steal some. But they don’t know they’re stealing.

Not that SHE cares.

Mimi: Bahaha... you’ve fallen into my trap! *cutest maniacal laugh ever*

^The trap

There is another trap that comes later in the ep and I’ll just say here. It’s some Jessie & James level shit. Way to go Meems!

ugh soooo cuuuute I want twenty

Introducing... Queen Mimi! Yes, Queen. They’ve upgraded her!

Honestly, I love how she’s introduced as royalty, but she’s dressed as a cowgirl. No one would ever ask Mimi to pick just one theme. Like her kimchi fried rice with whipped cream and strawberries, Mimi is not afraid to mix genres!

Like I said, the animation in this ep is a cut above what’s it been recently, which is a relief. And everyone’s appearance is so much like Adventure that I wonder why they changed anything xD But I’m just so grateful everyone kept their unique eyes. It was the one thing I missed in the animation of Tri, even though I wouldn’t have wanted high school kids to have baby eyes. But the eyes really highlighted each character’s individuality. Glad that’s still a thing even if not every animator pays attention to it.

Taichi & Sora: Were those your fruit trees? Uhh sorry? My Digimon was close to death and we were starving...

Mimi: You will starve again unless you learn the meaning of the law!

that’s a little les mis interlude for ya youre welcome

So Mimi arrived in the digital world, separated from the others, and immediately became Queen of the Tanemon. I SENSE A TREND.

Mimi doesn’t come across as ditzy and selfish as she did in early Adventure. I am not sure if that side of her’s been erased in favor of simply making her reluctant to fight because she’s soft-hearted, or if we’ll see her self-centeredness appear later on. I hope so. Right now the 2020 story is very focused on the plot and not on the children’s growth, which is a huge departure from Adventure, but I don’t think it will remain that way. I hope not at least. But I do think it’s possible that they’ll rewrite Mimi to be a bit less self-centered and/or airheady, and I’m not exactly against that. After all, post-Adventure Mimi showed her cool side more when she was willful or opinionated, and I’m on board with more of that in the 2020 show too. A better balance would definitely be a good thing in Mimi’s case.

She kind of made me think of Sailor Moon in this episode, lol

GASP! We are all Chosen Children! Mimi immediately says NOOO WAY i’m queen of the Tanemon!! But not because the Tanemon are catering to her every whim (they’re not, as far as I can tell! Though they did make her a throne!). Because she honestly feels a responsibility to look after them. Again, pretty different from old Adventure.

Pocket Koushirou returns and Taichi tries to absorb him into his brain!!

Taichi: *grunting* HNNNNGGGG!! Give me me your curiosity!!!

Koushirou: Are you Vademon!?!?!

Koushirou shows video footage from the human world that shows the effect the power outage is having. Though it’s not a complete blackout yet, some places like hospitals have already lost power and are in trouble. 

Mimi sees her grandfather, the president of Tachikawa Industries, on the TV helping people in trouble. VERY DIFFERENT. VERY COOL. I approve

Koushirou also points out that there is INDEED a time lapse between the human and digital worlds. I’m not exactly sure how different the time lapse is from old Adventure. At first, I thought it was much smaller, but thinking about it... given how slow the video from the human world was moving, it might be sizable. But I don’t think it’s as big as old Adventure. At any rate, Taichi and Sora figure out this means Mimi was on her own with Palmon and the Tanemon village for longer than they realized.

Also makes me wonder just how much time Yamato’s spent in the digital world...

Mimi feels torn between wanting to help her grandfather and needed to protect the Tanemon village! Naturally Taichi suggests they work together!

And a Tanemon rudely kicks him in the face!! Just kidding. But it was too cute not to cap

Mimi brings the waterworks like three or four times this episode.

Mimi: Alright! You work for me now!

Taichi: ...??? Okay I guess????

Yes, Princess or Queen, Mimi is still Mimi <3

So they join up and uhh... get ready for war I guess??

I MEAN HOW CUTE IS THAT

So this is the second Team Rocket trap, a giant hole in the ground. How did they dig it? How did the build that raft two eps ago?? Inquiring minds want to know

Greymon is surprisingly limber for a chubby dinosaur.

Taichi does what he does best in battle scenes: stand in immediate danger and look up a dinosaur’s bum.

OGREMON MAKES HIS BIG APPEARANCE IN A MIMI EP. I totally called it last week. Okay, technically he already appeared in episode 5... but we barely saw him okay! He uses Soundbirdmon (who may indeed not be sentient?) to mind-control other Digimon to find and apparently kill?? the children. Ogremon honestly sounds kind of mind-controlled himself but not sure. If he is, it’s a different kind of control. He may just talk like that because he’s an ogre and not very articulate...

I guess I capped this because CUTE CUTE CUTE

So speaking of rushing into immediate danger... Not only is Sora right in the middle of the right, she’s HANGING OFF BIRDRAMON’S LEG. This show is SO not promoting child safety hahahhahaha

Cute Taichi. Cuter still - Taichi and Sora tag teaming it. PLEEEEEASE give me more of this!! I want nothing more than for Sora to join Taichi and Yamato as a heavy-hitter. I always headcanoned her that way growing up. Let Sora kick ass 2020!!

^Palmon’s method of rescuing Mimi... effective, yet questionable

Capped because Cute.

Sora and Birdramon take down the blue bird digimon (sorry... forgot its name... will likely forget the name of every other Digimon not from old Adventure as well. i am a senior citizen). Taichi cheers for them and says “You nabbed the best bit from me!” SO CUTE. Come on, they are the best team!!

Meanwhile, Palmon: *screams bloody murder*

Mimi: Palmon! Noooo!

Episode 6: Palmon friggin DIES

I mean she is like glitching in and out. So it totally FIGURES it would be a Mimi ep that tells us “yeah kids we’re not Pokemon!” I mean. Keep watching...

Mimi recalls being all alone in a strange world when she meets Palmon. Btw they totally revamped the Pyokomon Village for this Tanemon village, I dig.

EVOLUUUUUTION!!

Boxing!!! Cactus!!! Eat this Precure!!!!

While Togemon takes out Drimogemon, Greymon rushes in to protect the kids from Ogremon...

... AND FREAKING SAWS HIS HORN OFF.

Like I said. THIS AIN’T POKEMON, KIDS.

Isn’t this actually darker than old Adventure? I mean I guess at least no one dies (I think? uhh...) and I suppose that’s less dark... but sawing off body parts... Idk man... I’m down with it, I just don’t know that it’s any nicer than old Adventure... hahahaha

POW! Err, Drimogemon’s drill ain’t looking too good either...

More waterworks as Mimi tells Palmon she loves her, and Palmon says it right back. Foreshadowing for Mimi/Koushirou tiffs in the future!? It was lit last ep that Koushirou tried to say he loves his partner and choked on it. Something tells me these two are gonna butt heads again ;)

Ugggggghhhh so cute I can’t staaaaaaand ittttt

Mimi decides to go with Taichi and Sora and leave the Tanemon village, Idk, I guess they’ll be safe now???  at least they won’t be targeted for having a human child among them.

Also I like her leaf bag. The Tanemon totally made it for her.

We end with Ogremon gripping his broken horn and fricking sobbing. This... does not bode well.

I want to hug him

so cast your votes, who gets the first hurt/comfort scene with Ogremon? Will it be gentle chastisement from Mimi while she patches him up with stuff from Sora’s pack? Or will it be Jou and the toilet paper you know he brought even if it makes no sense?!? hahahaha

I give this ep a 7/10 WELL DONE. That’s what a Digimon episode should be. Very close to VERY VERY GOOD.

I missed the trailer for next week so have more gratuitous Taichis instead.

[doomedandstoned]

The Bog Wizard Sees All!

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

Review by Billy Goate

Album art by Al Seamer

Michigan's BOG WIZARD was introduced to us in last year's Doomed & Stoned in Detroit compilation when they shared "The Wizard in the Bog." The lyrics carry a similar sentiment to "The Troll" by Saint Vitus, though arguably the latter was a more sympathetic character than this:

In the bog, he plies Dark and twisted blackened sorcery

He shapes, he knows Never ending hatred for humanity

Their lies, death throes Neverending fuel for his treachery

Now following the EP, 'Campaign' (2018), which was the culmination of more than a decade of casual jam sessions, the Ludington trio of Ben Lombard (guitar, vox), Harlen Linke (drums, synth, vox), and Colby Lowman (bass) have battened down the hatches to bring us an ambitious 12-track album approximately an hour and five-minutes in length.

I suppose it is fair to say that 'From The Mire' (2020) does not behave like the typical album, but its episodic quality sure would make it an attractive soundtrack to an indie film.

They'd make one hell of a good pairing with Psychic Dose, too. Both are fascinated by the swamp as a setting for mythical lore, both have a similar lo-fi production epic, and both have some of the meanest growls and nastiest riffs in the entire marsh.

The record opens by sampling a preacher sharing his laundry list "dangers" that Dungeons and Dragons portends, undoubtedly from one of those scarey Christian video tapes that got passed around to concerned parents (mine included) in the '80s. "Is this dangerous? You decide."

Right on the heels of that statement the Bog Wizard comes stomping out of the muck and into your earspace in classic doom fashion, accented by sludgy southern riffing and vocal harmonies reminiscent of Brimstone Coven.

"Submission In Defiance" is a promising beginning and bleeds right into "Tarrasque" (a dragon-like creature from the D&D universe), which is presented with epic doom bravado. "City in the Mountain" follows in like manner and its forlorn quality gave me flashbacks of the late, great Rhode Island doom outfit Pilgrim (another band that incorporated fantasy RPG themes in their music).

Doomed & Stoned · Bog Wizard - From The Mire(2020)

Without these programmatic elements to guide me, my first listen got a little bogged down in the album's mid-section, particularly with some of the instrumentals (e.g. "Gnarled Cane," though that bass does eventually get down and dirty like we're used to hearing from Missoula's Swamp Ritual). Second listen had me better acclimated.

It's worth noting that when you hear clean singing alternating with much grittier strains on a song like "Shapeshifter," that's not two people, it's just one: Ben Lombard. I found his vocal performance pretty darned convincing on the whole. His range isn't operatic, but it can soar when he wants to and his "dark side" vox are achieve the tone and pitch that Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe might reach if he could, you know, sing.

Overall, the album is a grower, with a good handful of songs that will grab you right from the get-go and others that will probably take a time or two to fully digest (like the grand finisher, "Swamp Golem"). Then again, you just might be in the mood to slow headbang all the way through.

Bog Wizard's From The Mire surfaces from the swamp waters of doom this Friday, July 3rd (pre-order here). Today, Doomed & Stoned is bringing you its world premiere.

Give ear...

From the Mire by Bog Wizard

A Listener's Guide To Bog Wizard

By Harlen Linke

The album was put together earlier this year, self recorded and produced in our drummers basement, where we usually practice. We sound-treated the space, dividing it off from the rest of the basement, placing the guitar cabs outside of the drum area, and recorded directly on bass, so we could get away with playing everything live together without much bleed between mics. We tend to have a fair amount of tempo changes and it would be a nightmare to try to record every part separately, our music is very go-with-the-flow.

We worked with Max Schoenlein of MAS Audio (who also does shows with us, doing lighting usually) who ran the board. We worked with him on our original EP as a two-piece a few years ago. Our bassist Colby used to own a recording studio, and I've had experience mixing music, as I've dabbled a bunch in the past on various projects and mixed/ mastered our EP, so collectively we had all the pieces to self produce this full length album.

We recorded the whole thing over the course of 4 weekends in January 2020, and Colby and I passed a few early mixes of one song back and forth for awhile before settling in on a rough template to apply to the rest of the album, doing a massive amount of iterating and adjusting over the next few months, finishing the process of mixing and mastering in May. It was a pretty great learning experience, and I think the end result turned out great for what was a pretty thrown together studio. We're very proud of it.

Our bassist joined in November of 2018, and we've been working on writing this album since then, in addition to learning some covers and doing live shows locally. Ben and I tend to split the writing between the two of us, with one of us coming up with a few cool riffs and concepts, and jamming on it to figure out where it takes us. We tend to improv jam a lot of our new ideas and record everything we do, going back and listening to what we did and picking out the good parts to apply to a more structured song that we refine over time.

Thematically, we have a focus on fantasy/Dungeons & Dragons, as well as spoofing off of the '80s Satanic Panic era, but role playing games have a pretty big influence on how we go about writing our lyrics as well. I'm credited in the liner notes as "DM" or Dungeon Master, which in D&D context is the person who runs the game and story that plays out, with the players interacting with it. And while I do usually handle running our games outside of the music, we also apply this dynamic to our lyrical writing process.

Often I'll lay out a rough idea or story we want to make our song about, and Ben and I will talk through where it heads, with me leading the narrative and Ben refining it, and eventually writing the lyrics to fit the idea. While not all of our songs are handled this way, the ones that are end up as very linear story based songs.

One example, the song "City in the Mountain" tells a tale of a visitor experiencing the wonder of a sprawling underground city, with the lyrics seeming to be from almost a tour guide describing the city to them as they enter. The song has this looming theme of misearned wealth and power accumulated in the city, culminating in the reveal of an ancient magical creature contained under it that is driving it's growth, and the sacrifice of the listener being the final step of their trip deeper into the city, to placate the creature.

Or "Submission in Defiance," which the first act of the song is about an adventurer setting out to confront a highly intelligent mind-controlling enemy, and their realization that the only way to get close is to allow this creature to take control of them, and the existential struggle that a decision like that requires. However, the second half of the song describes their new mental state after this happens, which is complete submission to the enemy, doing the entities rage-filled bidding as almost part of a hive mind, with an implied complete failure of their original intended goal.

Overall, our From the Mire takes heavy fantasy influence, a few songs being straight up retellings of D&D games we have played together in the past ("Shapeshifter" being the most notable example of that, which is actually a game that had a character my daughter ended up getting named after), but we do sprinkle in our fair share of social commentary and deeper thoughts about the world applied to the setting.

From the Mire by Bog Wizard

The Bog Wizard himself is a recurring character in the album, a crotchety old bastard of wizard, living in isolation in his swamp, who doesn't take kindly to trespassers. Our single "Swamp Golem" is a song about the conjuring of a massive hulking creature created from swamp muck (featured on the cover of the album and CD itself, drawn by Al Seamer) to enact revenge on a nearby village for that very sin. He's a very "get off my lawn" type, taken to the extreme.

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[trulycertain]

Thoughts on the Netflix Witcher:

Not many people are tossing a coin to their Witcher, are they? Geralt still has to buy his own drinks, it seems.

Jaskier’s lyrics need, er, work, but Joey Batey has a lovely voice. 

Love the wardrobe design, Yen’s in particular. It’s distinctive, not always “pretty” in that it sometimes feels like medieval experimental haute couture, and combines sexuality with hard lines. It feels very her.

I love Freya Allan’s Ciri. Allan’s a really good actress, in my opinion, with a really hard arc to carry, and also apparently show!Ciri has the same effect as games!Ciri - that of me turning into Geralt and muttering “must protect” a lot and wanting to stab anyone who tries to hurt her. Her eyes are very cool.

I think it's interesting that in the books, Yen is clearly based off Polish archetypes and the wild raven curls are part of that; in both the games and the show, it's played down. (Not least because I've seen her in other stuff and Chalotra naturally has pretty poker-straight hair, so curling that for any length of time without the curls falling out, even with a ton of product, would be a pain.) 

My one issue is that I still think she looks a bit young and I would've been perfectly happy to chuck out the whole "sorceresses enchant themselves to look early twenties forever" thing, but actually... I also kind of really like the "soft-faced, soft-voiced enchantress is actually hard as nails" idea. It lets her presence speak for itself, which Chalotra does very well, and means people tend to underestimate Yen, which is also handy. I mean... I will always be frustrated by “somehow, conveniently, they look like a 22-year-old actress and a 35-or-so leading man”, but Chalotra’s work itself is good. It's different from the Yen in my head, but I like her performance and interpretation.

I like Triss, and I like seeing her here. I hope they’ll go more into their friendship. It’s been rocky at times, but I found it quite annoying how the games treated all that, as opposed to the books. This is one of those things where I’m really glad it’s adapting the books in particular.

Critical stuff, written in December, with warnings for discussions of consent and stuff:

The Last Wish is the short story where Geralt and Yen meet, with the capture of the djinn. I read it once, coming up for four years ago? now, so I'm really muzzy on memories and it might well have been like that originally. Now, knowing Sapkowski, who does pull this shit, it probably was. (I love his female characters as characters. It’s just that often, his gender worldbuilding bothers me. The two shouldn’t be different, but they often are.)

All right, so the sexual dynamics going on are... uncomfortable, and perhaps you get a bit inured to it in the books because there's just so much uncomfortable stuff, but it stands out a bit more starkly in the show, which has been better for it. (I do not like rapey canons. At all. I have no idea how I got into the Witcher; really liking the female mains and liking Slavic mythology? And the fact that the games and show were pretty good with how they treated it as part of someone's story rather than a "haha, look, so titillating" on-screen scene? And certainly, Calanthe and her people killing themselves to avoid enslavement, torture and rape is depressingly historically accurate. Anyway.) 

Things I'm bothered by:

The implication that the orgy is basically sex pollen/a possible humiliation tactic, rather than her manouvering her way into circles with everyone's embarrassing secret being "we like to willingly fuck the whole village," which would also have been political humiliation. I mean, you can make a point that she's had a background of being sexually and romantically manipulated most of her adult life - look at the Istredd thing, for a start, with the rectors - and is just shrug about it all, but. It's different from Stregobor's  illusion because these are real people. They all look like they've just come out of a trance and scrabble panickedly for clothes and their reputations, they look like didn't know quite where they were, and spells for that kind of thing had been established an ep or two earlier in the series.

So the first time Geralt and Yen meet, we've got non-con sex played for laughs, or at least played off as "yeah, she does that, don't worry about it" (which is fed into by Geralt's later enchantment, which I actually don't mind, humiliating him and then sending him to hang because he's in the way is somehow less objectionable to me? Maybe because i just hate non-con storylines that much, or maybe because it's less of a direct attack). And then when they meet, you've got: strong-arming him into a bath (sure, he says yes and I guess you can say he figured there'd be sex, but he seems surprised about it all), getting naked in front of him when he's already in a position where it'd be difficult/awkward to leave, the first kiss which has a pretext but was very specifically a kiss and which again, he's kind of too taken-aback/assessing to reciprocate... I mean, if all this sounds kind of OK, swap the genders; heck, even watching it at the time, some of it was pinging me as "hey, this sounds too much like rl things that have happened". 

Now, one can say, "Well, he stuck around, didn't he?" - hmm, OK, but you've got the trickier things of magical intimidation at play (even before the enchantment, he knows he's dealing with a powerful sorceress who fucks with people's heads) and just "eh, I guess I'll go with the flow" that can kind of characterise Geralt. And even Witchers freeze. And you can say, "Well, she could probably tell he was attracted to her, with magical mojo if not just through observation." Aye, but dude was kinda busy and on-duty and clearly mistrustful of her, so he would probably never have acted on it - and didn't, because of all those factors. The later thank-god-we're-alive/angry sex when they actually get it together? Totally fine with that, that seems about par for the course with those two.

I also feel like the fact that Geralt, who I fondly say is the biggest horndog in Temeria a lot of the time and will rarely turn down a bit of afternoon delight, doesn't make a move and stays questioning her, albeit amusedly, says a lot about where their relationship is at that point and the fact he's still trying to figure her out. (Not that that implies he's not interested; quite the opposite, mistrustful boffing is kind of a thing he does at times, and heck, look at Renfri.) And on Yen's part, it's definitely more of a power play than needing to save bathwater (I mean, she's pretty rich). 

Now, as said, the original story was prob at least a bit like this, because Sapkowski *eyeroll*, but considering the amount they changed (Istredd's entire backstory! A whole bunch of Yen’s! Yennefer's transformation! A bunch of other things), they could've probably adjusted this and/or at least put a different lens on it in the script. It's also frustrating because a lot of people I've seen make this argument are using it for "Yen is such a bitch, Geralt deserves better, I hate her." I'm not interested in char-bashing.  No, I love games!Yen (one of my favourite characters in... anything) and what of books!Yen I've read, and I really enjoy Chalotra's version... aside from these scenes. 

And aye, one can say that Geralt/Yen is about two people who've been shaped by a truly awful world learning to be better and of course they have their flaws (uh, completely ignoring consent is a pretty darn large one), but it's definitely played as intriguing/romantic/casual mischief. 

Update, as of January, when I went back to it:

I literally love every single other scene with her. Hmm. Also, I’ve spoken to a couple of people about this, and neither one of them had it ping to them as coercion. Perhaps I’m just overthinking things or not being good at romance storylines again.  Just... not sure, I guess. Nothing else bothered me. Is this my books knowledge being wonky? Am I being daft? If anyone else has thoughts, I’d be glad to hear them.

[liveasbutterflies]

Final Thoughts...

Did I love the ending?... No. The ending was weak, messy and had holes, lots and lots of holes. HOWEVER does it sully my love for the series? Nope. Let’s discuss the good and the bad...  The Bad 

VP vs Yul This is my biggest gripe about the ending. The entire series was setting up for this big showdown between the Vice Premier and the Crown Prince. But their match ended literally within 20 mins into the episode. Talk about anticlimactic. I wished it was the Crown Princess that stuck a sword into her father’s chest. She saw Moo Yeon literally die via sword plunge to heart thanks to dad. I think it would have been poetic justice if we saw his demise in a similar fashion. Yes I know she’s heavily pregnant but I think it would have been better than him being shot at with arrows. It wasn’t even at the command of Yul to loose those arrows! Writer-nim let’s talk. 

Time jump... REALLY???  Yul couldn’t have given Yi Seo his journals 1 year sooner? What was he waiting for? Seriously though, what was he waiting for? She didn’t say meet me in a year to for me to figure this out. She literally rejected him. If the journals were the way for her to change her mind did it really have to take a time jump + a scheme with the King & Jae Yoon for Yul to deliver his journals to Yi Seo? For me time jumps are just a lazy way of writing while attempting cover plot hole ineffectively. 

The Good

WONSHIM The glue to the entire series. I love that we got to see their relationship bloom. At first they would have pull out each others hair if they could. But then we see the subtle changes to their relationship. When they’re falling for each other we’re right along side them rooting them on. Are we all the dad then? We saw how miserable palace life was to Yul. He literally counts the days he’s stuck in his “prison.” So to see both of them so relaxed and just so content with their simple lives together melts my cold heart. They’re just so darn cute. 

Song Joo Village They are amazing. So hilarious, warm, and lovable. Even you Ma Chil! I love the dynamic that they played off Yul especially when he was adjusting to the simple life. They were just so relateable and you wish you had neighbors like them. 

Jung Jae Yoon

I think he might be my fav. character out of the entire series. We saw that he was conflicted and at a crossroad. Love or Loyalty. Instead of being petty like most typical kdrama second leads, he chose the high ground and chose loyalty. Also he was rational about it. He knows that Yi Seo has only one man in her heart and its not him. Even though he’s very forward with his affection for Yi Seo and she knows that he is interested in her he wasn’t mean or petty about it. can we get an amen. 

Cinematography & Directing... Absolutely gorgeous! Whenever I’m able to go to SKorea again I want to visit all the filming sites. Its just so gorgeous! For the directing I love the attention to detail and the use of long and wide shots shown in the drama. 

I want to write more but it’s past 2 AM here and my eyes are about to seal shut. 

Overall I would give this drama a 7 out of 10.  I think its also good to remember that this drama was always geared towards the romantic comedy side and not the angst-ridden/I will rip out your heart and tear ducts via tragic story line. Not that it is an excuse but it makes sense I suppose as to why the majority of the last ep the writer might have wanted to get back to the cute and lighter side of the drama. Did they stick the landing in the end... For me they did but ended up walking away with a twisted ankle if you know what I mean.  It’s still a drama that I enjoyed watching. What do you guys think? 

Also I’m still very bitter about no hapbang. 

[sheplaysthegames]

20 Questions for Simmers

1.) Favorite Sims Game

While I have played and loved every version of The Sims, I think my absolute favorite was The Sims 2. It was the one I couldn’t put down! The little details and humor are what really stand out when I look back, and I don’t remember having any real problems with it either since the game itself was pretty solidly developed and bugs tended to be squashed quickly. Overall, I was never bored playing The Sims 2 and I still occasionally boot it up just to reminisce.

2.) Yourself in 3 Traits

Ambitious, dog lover, neat

3.) CC or No CC

I play with a small amount of CC. Everything I download is Maxis-match, and I pull pieces out whenever we get new official content that I can use instead.

4.) Preferred Part of the Game

I really like each part of the game and try to spend my time evenly among them. Lately I’ve been building and messing around in CAS more than actually playing though. Oops!

5.) Favorite Expansion Pack

In The Sims, my favorite EP was Makin’ Magic. I was so young when I played that I thought I was incredibly clever for figuring out the pattern to the spells in the dueling arena so that I’d win every time. And I had a lot of fun creating one of each type of potion and then trying them out on the poor, unsuspecting townies!

In The Sims 2, my favorite EP was Bon Voyage. I spent so much time completing every single vacation memento! Some of them were really hard to figure out too, so finishing the collection was really rewarding to me. All three of the destinations were equally fun to explore with their local dances, gestures, foods, and massages. I could really feel the difference between visiting Takemizu Village, Twikki Island, and Three Lakes.

In The Sims 3, my favorite EP was Ambitions. The firefighter career and the new inventing skill were the real highlights to me. I spent weeks creating a Simbot without cheating, and firefighting was a really exciting change from the standard rabbithole careers. Another neat feature was the ability to sculpt statues of Sims. Never-melting ice sculptures looked great in mansions, and of course stone sculptures made great monuments to ‘famous’ Sims in town.

In The Sims 4, my favorite EP (so far) is Seasons. The weather effects are beautiful, the raincoats and rainboots and umbrellas are adorable, kiddie pools are the greatest item ever created, and temperature is just such a vital addition that it's finally starting to feel like a full game for me! Seasons and weather in general also function differently in each world, which is perfect. I didn’t want snow in Oasis Springs, and Brindleton Bay desperately needed fog and rain to feel complete.

6.) Favorite Game Pack

In The Sims 4, my favorite GP (so far) is Vampires. I never really liked this life state before, but this time around they’re fantastic! The abilities help differentiate each vampire from one another, and I love that they don’t have to ask permission nicely before biting a Sim. The sticker cracks and spider webs are also something I’d been wanting to help make places seem less perfect. Overall, the life state seems so detailed and sets a much higher bar for future life states. I don’t even mind paying for each individually if they’re this well-done.

7.) Favorite Stuff Pack

In The Sims 2, my favorite SP was H&M Fashion. Honestly, I just really loved all the new clothing that kept my Sims from constantly matching each other. And building a clothing store with all the cool retail items that came with it was a lot of fun too!

In The Sims 3, my favorite SP was Town Life. The rabbitholes were more modern and added some variety since most of the others were the same building with slightly different colors. I had a lot of fun remodeling my more modern worlds with them.

In The Sims 4, my favorite SP (so far) is Laundry Day. I’m a sucker for realism elements so adding another menial chore for my Sims makes me happy. The laundry system is surprisingly complex, the furniture filled in a lacking farmhouse style I felt was missing from the game, and stackable machines look perfect in apartments. The clothing and hairstyles were also very well-done and I have to actively try not to overuse them on all my Sims.

8.) Least Favorite Expansion Pack

In The Sims, my least favorite EP was House Party. It felt like the smallest addition we were given, and parties weren’t enough for me to explore more than a handful of times before I got bored. As soon as the next EP came out, I moved on to the new content and I don’t think I ever threw another party again.

In The Sims 2, my least favorite EP was Nightlife. It wasn’t bad at all, it was just the one I used the least. My personal gameplay style at the time was incredibly family-oriented and you just don’t take your kids to clubs. I only ever went to the new Downtown subhood for first dates and a few marriage proposals since the date interactions were pretty cute.

In The Sims 3, my least favorite EP was Showtime. I don’t think I ever really played with anything from it. The ‘optional’ online connection where you would send your Sims to someone else’s game to perform really made me mad since some of the items you paid for were locked away behind it and I had no desire to participate. And the whole in-game news feed and achievement system were horrible and really caused problems. The venues were also super glitchy so even when I did give the new active careers a go, trying to complete a performance was almost impossible. Overall, the whole thing felt like more trouble than it was worth.

In The Sims 4, my least favorite EP (so far) is Get to Work. I think my expectations were just too high going into it. The active careers are okay, but none of them make me actually want to follow my Sims to work past the first few days because they get highly repetitive and there’s no real risk associated with them. The retail system also seems a bit lacking. There are very few retail items to use when building a store, although I do have to mention that the clothing mannequins are pretty cool. And actually running it is too easy since you can just instantly restock the items even if they’re unique things that you’ve made your Sims create.

9.) Least Favorite Game Pack

In The Sims 4, my least favorite GP (so far) is Spa Day. It’s not nearly as immersive as the others. There isn’t much to do outside of getting a massage or doing yoga, and both are kind of boring to do repeatedly over and over. It doesn’t expand on the gameplay nearly enough to be categorized as a GP in my opinion; I’d demote it to SP.

10.) Least Favorite Stuff Pack

In The Sims 2, my least favorite SP was Glamour Life. It added the least versatile stuff. Most of my Sims weren’t swimming in cash, so the items, particularly the clothing, were rarely used since they’d look and feel out of place. 

In The Sims 3, my least favorite SP was Katy Perry’s Sweet Treats. I didn’t even buy it and I have no idea why anyone did. The objects were all horrible and cheesy. There was literally nothing good about it. At all. Ever.

In The Sims 4, my least favorite SP (so far) is My First Pet. No matter how many times they deny it, it’s a massive money grab. The furniture set literally completes what they left incomplete in Cats & Dogs! The clothing is for the most part just recolors of what we already have! And to top it all off, there’s just one new critter. They claim four, but it’s the same thing with a different skin overlay. I am perfectly fine with some items in a pack being dependent on owning previous packs so that they can continue to expand on past content. But to release this immediately after the associated EP and for it to pretty much be the rest of the items that we were missing from said EP...certainly seems like they withheld content just to wring an extra $10 from their players. Especially since it wasn’t even mentioned in their quarterly teaser. Haven’t bought it, and will not until it’s on sale.

11.) Custom or EA / Maxis Sims

EA / Maxis Sims are the best! I adore the premades and their unique, weird stories. My favorite thing to do is make them over and put an interesting spin on their storylines while still keeping them recognizable.

12.) Households or Single Sims

Definitely households. I prefer organized chaos with lots of things going on at once! There just isn’t enough to do when there’s only one Sim.

13.)  Free Will On or Off

Free will is always firmly set to off in my game. I’m a dictator when it comes to my Sims and I make no apologies for that.

14.)  Favorite Life Stage

Toddlers. They’re just so darn cute! The expanded skill building this time around is really cool since they actually learn in discernible stages instead of all at once, and I’m still not over their ability to go up and down stairs all on their own. The little mess-makers also have some of the cutest interactions with other Sims and their environment.

15.)  Favorite Life State

Aliens. The first time I ever had a Sim abducted was in The Sims 2, and it terrified me because I had no idea what was going on and didn’t know if he was ever going to come back. Then he was finally returned and popped out an alien baby! It was just so surprising and ever since I’ve had a particular fondness for extraterrestrials.

16.) Favorite Skill

Cooking is probably my favorite skill to build. Something about getting to see what those difficult dishes look like is just fun to me. Since The Sims 4 actually includes 3 separate skills for cooking, gourmet, and baking skills I’ve been having a blast discovering all the new recipes!

17.) Ever Completed a Legacy

Only once, way back in The Sims 2. It lasted a grand total of 16 generations before I wound up making the move to The Sims 3. I’ve tried numerous times since then, but The Sims 3 was too buggy to play a single file that long and The Sims 4 is still missing a couple of key features that I’d like to have before trying again.

18.) Longest Simming Session

When I had more free time (and was significantly younger), I happily confess to wasting away a full weekend playing The Sims 2. These days I’m lucky to get a couple hours a week here and there. Ah the joys of growing up!

19.) Personal Sims Wishlist

There are a few things I’m still really missing for The Sims 4. I’m hoping universities and witches are making a comeback soon as they’re crucial to my planned storylines. Fairies, werewolves, and a beach vacation world would also be wonderful to have but they’re less important to me.

20.) Unpopular Opinion

I don’t miss the open world system from The Sims 3 at all. I’m perfectly happy trading it for every world to be connected. Every save file is a megahood and I find that preferable to a single, completely open world. I also think that it makes the game more stable for everyone, especially lower-end computers. The loading screens are worth it!

[almachandromeda]

Inktober Day 3!! I’m making it yo

As a part of my spooktober themed quotes, I wanted to include a “brief” explanation of the chosen quote, but somehow this one ended up being kinda long so it will continue under the cut!

So this quote is from a favorite podcast I’ve been listening to recently called Lore (there’s also an amazon tv adaptation but the podcast is def better).  The writer of Lore has a particular knack for creating atmospheric creepiness by talking about old legends and myths with a more modern interpretation.  This quote is from one of my favorite episodes, #3 The Beast Within.  The episode basically goes into the legend of the werewolf and a lot of the history behind it and so on.  It was pretty darn cool, mostly starting out with some examples of there the tale of the werewolf got its roots, like an old roman legend about enchanted wolf pelts that turned the wearer into a wolf.  Besides the specific roman legend, there are also a number of similar tales of items imbued with the ability to turn the wearer into a wolf and the horrors that ensued.  One such tale was from an old German town in the 1500′s that began finding some of their cattle slaughtered just outside the town.  This in itself isn’t particularly interesting, since it is like ur average forest village, the number of cows being killed is a bit concerning, but can be easily attributed to rising animal populations.  So the townspeople didn’t give it a second thought.  What really brought these occurrences to the forefront of investigation though is when a number of women and children began turning up in the same fashion as the cows, particularly on bright, moonlit nights.  This, of course, put the townspeople on edge, and when the killings didn’t stop even after preventative measures were put in place.  At the time, the legend of the werewolf was already common lore so naturally these beastly murders that coincided with full moons had to be the work of a werewolf that recently moved into their forest.  The townsmen began going out on bright, moonlit nights to hunt down the supposed wolf beast that had been terrorizing the town.  One night, a local farmer finally spotted the hulking beast with glowing red eyes that matched the description of what obviously had been preying on the town.  A chase ensued but the monster managed to get away, but the sighting alone was enough to confirm the werewolf to the town citizens.  They continued the hunt with even more fervor than before, and eventually their efforts bore fruit.  On another similarly moonlit night, the wolf beast had been spotted again, though this time with the whole hunting party on its trail.  Soon the town was able to corner the beast in time for it to transform, not into a feral, cowering being like they had expected, but a well known figure in the town.  A local craftsman with a wife and a family.  Your average joe.  Instead of fearing or forgetting, the man confessed.  He confessed to countless horrible acts he had done, as the wolf man.  He confessed to how the wolf form allowed him to mercilessly hunt the innocents who found themselves as easy prey.  This man gave accounts of depraved acts such as tearing children apart, and how he’d greet the victim’s parents once the body had been found and offer his condolences, knowing the truth about the child’s disappearance, as well as countless other equally gruesome crimes.  But the thing about legend like the werewolf that Lore made me think about, is why these legends came about in the first place.  How perhaps the mythological beast that is the werewolf, actually benefited these townspeople in the end.  How the werewolf offered these people an easy explanation for horrors they were incapable of accepting at the time.  That it had been a legendary monster that had been committing these horrifyingly depraved acts, and not their neighbor, their own flesh and blood, that had committed these acts of so little humanity.  Another key piece of werewolf legends? That werewolves never had tails, even when transformed, as they were still men.  Along with being beasts, they were still just men.

I tried to tell this story as best as I could, but honestly Aaron Mahnke on Lore did it best so I would highly recommend checking out that ep and also more of their stuff!

[thenixkat]

Voltron notes 3

Ep 3

Intro continues to underwhelm. Did no one want to make an interesting op?

Zarkon has dinner

Um, if yer robeast can beat the most powerful weapon in the galaxy then, that just makes the robeast the most powerful weapon in the galaxy.

Why dont yal make an army of robeats to fight voltron at once?

Keith apparently doesnt belive that kicking is useful in fights. Someone needs to get a roundhouse to the face and change his opion.

Hunk’s helmet doesn't fit properly, too tight

Darn shame yall cant go to earth and pick up some engeneers to help fix the castle. If only the lions could make wormholes.

Coran, how do you know humans can eat that? Do u even know human nutritional requirements? Teen human nutritional requirements?

Hunk has a random herb he fucking picked from the ground at some point b4 comming in from training Coran tries to feed Shiro like a little kid and Shiro isn’t having it

Shiro’s convenient amnesia

Katie isn’t really interested in the health and safety of the prisoners, just wants into on finding her menfolk

Hunk cooked beautiful food that everyone likes and Cooran is jelous

Allura thinks these aliens whove been at this for less than a week are ready to fight Zarkon

Allura assumes that Arusian’s gender

Also why the fuck havent we seen any of the natives till now?

Keith is ready to kick this small person’s ass just incase

Neither Hunk nor Lance take Klaizap seriously and thats not good either

Convenient mural on a piece of ruins

when the fuck did any Arusians see Voltron back in the past long enough to have murals on their temple ruins of it?

Why is Allura mistaken as a goddess and not something more believable like a priestess

Why is Voltron not mistaken as the godess?

Also the Arusians send a warrior to deal with a problem involving a god, did they expect Klaizap to commit deicide if a peaceful solution couldnt be reached?

Keith doesnt care about meeting the locals

i gotta wonder how much the fights with the galra, voltron taining , and Allura shooting at the lions fucked up the nearby countryside. cause that village is legit the next hill over also i'ts too bad that the arusians arent part of the voltron coalition

and i can't help but feel that its b/c Aruans are a 'primitive' people that unlike the balmerans dont have any resources that the coalition want to use

There are way more than just galra watching the gladiator fights

Also Galra=space Romans

Kate u really think Shiro, friend of the family, was really wanting to hurt yer brother

Looking at the king of the Arusians and going by Klaizap’s voice, the ‘dude’ Arusians have the one big horn while the ladies have 2 big horns. That’s what i’m going with

Also a kingdom is not just one little village.

I really wish everyone didnt all speak english.

The arusians are really fucking ready to sacrifice themselves, what are their sins

Shiro and Katie explore a rickety wrecked ship alone and if that rubble collapse it would not be good for them.

How much power is in Shiro’s prostetic?

Katie does not give a single shit that everyone might be indanger

Keith can drag an unwilling Hunk

Green and Black get off their asses to save their paladins

That robeast has some damn good hearing

Keith takes charge of team B

Robeast sits around and lets Voltron asseble

Voltron a good way to protect the vilage is to get very far away from it

Maybe 5 on one would be better for this fight?

Shiro is good at recognizing patterns

That;s not firing a shot thats swinging a ball

Why did the robeast explode? That swing was horizontal not verticle it should have decapitated the thing

Sendak was Zarkon’s student

How the fuck did Sendak and twiggy bitch survive the ship explosion and crash?

The galra empire is run by a bunch of dumbass edge lords

Why does Katie need to keep up her secret? Why not full disclosure with the team?

[geekwithoutafandom]

Xena Phase Rebirth S4 Ep 5 and 6

I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated. Technically I'm through Ep 20. I'm gonna catch up by tomorrow's episodes if it kills me. I told myself I'd do this and gosh darn it I'm gonna see it through! It might not be be the best quality but I'm going to write something for every episode.

Episode 5 A Good Day

Episode opens with Romans attempting to occupy a Greek village. Xena gets in there with her chakram and Gabrielle is kicking ass. Phlanagus a Greek mercenary for the Romans is determined to protect his family and village. Xena and Phlanagus reach understanding and devise a plan to gain Intel and eventually overcome the Romans by having Ceasar and Pompey's armies destroy each other with minimal causalities to the villagers. Gabrielle befriends a young man eager to join the fight and wonders what killing in battle is like. They convince him to send signals. Gabrielle ends up commanding the Army in Xena's absence and indeed thinks like her. The boy kills a soldier attempting to defend Phlanagus after Gabrielle's javelin failed but he was too late... Phlanagus was dead and he just killed Roman...In order to come to grips with what has passed the only comfort Xena can give Gabrielle is that it was a Good Day fighting which what Gabrielle then emparts on the young man. This episode messed me up a little bit not gonna lie. I love how this show navigates the moral ambiguity of war vs say cold blooded murder.

Episode 6 A Tale of Two Muses

The light episode to balance the previous heavy episode. Basically a Footloose inspired episode with Tara as the protagonist. While trying to convince the local religious authorities to see the error of their ways hilarity ensues with a proper balance of emotion. Gabrielle who supposedly can't dance has seemed to catch the jitter bug. Autolycus doing his best Southern Baptist Preacher. All ending in a wonderful dance number and a good person rising to power. All dancing featured in this episode was so beautiful.

[muse-atronics]

top ten (or five) bethan eps? I'm rewatching mbav but I've seen it so many times that I can't just watch it from start to finish 😂

i haven’t rewatched mbav in a long time, so i can’t really recall which episodes the Good Bethan Shit happens in, but i shall attempt to help you anyway!in chronological order: 

1. blood drive2. smells like trouble3. die pod4. blue moon5. the brewed6. three geeks and a demon7. revamped8. fanged and furious 9. siren song10. jockenstein 

also for serica (just because):

1. three cheers for evil2. smells like trouble3. revamped4. welcome back dusker5. say you’ll be maztak6. flushed7. mirror/rorrim8. village of the darned9. siren song10. the date to end all dates part 1i bolded the episodes that appear in both lists! hope this helps!

[mytogoworld]

Ep. 443 The Difference In Power Shippuden Filler Thoughts

The biggest enemy is those gosh darned gossipy villagers. Can't change my mind.

[mcl-pauly]

some things i noticed while watching ep 12 eng ver

they removed Louce/Luce’s accent. in the french ver she has a... countryside accent i guess ? it’s very noticeable and it allowed her to stand out from the other villagers (so that her death feels more impactful... i guess lol) so it’s too bad they didn’t try to translate it

they removed the harry potter reference ? unless “catbrain/birdbrain” is a reference i dont know about ? i wanted to see Chrome mess up the word “mudblood” what is this

Chrome is one rude little shit in the french ver. so hearing him say “darn it” in every sentence or two makes me laugh a lot please let him say the dreaded d word

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Rokuhoudou 1 - 12 (REWATCH) | Fruits Basket 25 (FINAL) | Demon Slayer 25 - 26 (FINAL) | Mob Psycho 100 II OVA | Cop Craft 11 - 12 (FINAL) | Dr Stone 11 | Ahiru no Sora 1 | Shinchou Yuusha 1

New anime of the season, here we go!

Rokuhoudou 1 (REWATCH)

I’m doing a new project where I rewatch some of my favourites to test their integrity in that regard. Here’s the first show - Rokuhoudou. So what I remember about Rokuhoudou is that it’s very simple – the guys make food and help people, occasionally there’s cats – and that was enough to help me through a mental rough patch I was going through at the original time of airing.

Being sick and watching with a cinnamon roll really brings home the idea of Rokuhoudou as “comfort food for the eyes”…No, it’s not what you think. I’m eating a cinnamon roll.

I always assumed the title was translated to “Four-Coloured Daily Life at Rokuhoudou”, because that would be the best translation if the title was fully in kanji. It’s not though, so the hiragana-rendered parts could mean anything.

Rokuhoudou almost gives you this sensation of being spirited away by good food (and Good Boys).

Sui sometimes reminds me of Kunikida (BSD)…must be the glasses.

Gure’s such a tease, LOL.

Tokitaka’s so refined, yet also has the heart and patience to help old people, plant things and make pottery. I love him~!

“You don’t need to show appreciation with bodily functions!”

I only just noticed it…but Gure has a nice eye colour.

Oh…I just realised this since I now know Tokitaka grows the veg and herbs out back, but Tokitaka must’ve grown them.

Hmm…I was wondering why you’d need a spoon for chazuke, but then I realised it’s because of the soup…D’oh.

I wonder if Tokitaka also made the chopstick holders…

Update: The ikura reminds me of Hinamatsuri…

Rokuhoudou 2 (REWATCH)

(Sorry, I had a note, but I didn’t write it down fast enough so I don’t have any for this ep…)

Rokuhoudou 3 (REWATCH)

Tokitaka has a flower in his hair (during the pottery wheel scene)…cute~!

Rokuhoudou 4 (REWATCH)

“You need to chill out.” – More like “you need to calm down”, amirite??? (LOL)

Look at how badass my bois are!

Now that I’ve been seriously working on my customer service skills, I sort of get the ethic behind the Rokuhoudou workers in general.

Rokuhoudou 5 (REWATCH)

Oyaji ga Susumeru Café Iko! – “The Old Guy Recommends Cafes to Go To!”, literally speaking. However, it’s quite slang and seems to be hinting at the positive connotations of an oyaji (fondness, the sort you’d have for your dad), so I approve of the chosen translation “Daddy-o’s Café Go!”.

Oh yeah…this is the weird delusion from Isago, isn’t it? I still rmembr writing a blog post about it!

Why does Tokitaka look so evil in this one scene (where he’s helping Tsubaki), anyway?

Rokuhoudou 6 (REWATCH)

(no notes, sorry!)

Rokuhoudou 7 (REWATCH)

(no notes, sorry!)

Rokuhoudou 8 (REWATCH)

I love how Gure gets all fired up just to pedal a duck boat.

Is it just me, or does young!Gure look like he was designed by Rihito Takarai (creator of Ten Count)…?

I can’t believe this…my stomach grumbled in the middle of an espresso episode…

“Who else could it be for?” – The dog?...I’m kidding, man…don’t get so angry at me, dog lovers.

I think this might be the 2nd time I thought the kid was called “you” (2nd person pronoun), but his nam is “You” (given name).

Oh! I don’t think I noticed this special ED the first time around.

Update: Gure is a happy drunk, LOL. Also, Gure is half-Italian, with his father being Japanese. (see ep. 1 of original watch-through for corresponding notes)

Rokuhoudou 9 (REWATCH)

Is the land of love France or Italy…?

Shinchosha is real…in fact, they’re the ones who publish Rokuhoudou’s manga!

Oh, seriously, I ship it now! Isago x Hayashi, that is…and Sui x kittens.

Update: Somehow I only just ralised it…but the titular “Mont Blanc Boy” is Tsunozaki, even though technically the only boys we see in this episode are young! Kyousui and Yakyou.

Rokuhoudou 10 (REWATCH)

The Napolitan episode…this is where Astral’s post comes from.

I get the feeling this segment’s title is a shoutout to “You Don’t Know Gunma Yet”, which is in…Kurage Bunch, also by Shinchosha, if I’m remembering correctly.

Gure and Tsubaki are like children sometimes, I swear…

Kuromitsu = brown sugar. (It means “black sweetness”, literally translating and it used to confuse me so much that I want to mention it here.)

VAINO computer, eh?

Tokyo NX, LOL. (Parody of Tokyo MX, which has a lot of anime.)

Short-haired Tokitaka!

I think Koto(ko…?)’s words, in particular, were one of the best monologues in this series when it comes to relaxing by realising I wasn’t alone in my doubts of the world. “Can I make it to my dreams?” I was asking the first time I saw this and even though I haven’t achieved the dreams of past me, I just had to adjust my expectations, make some new dreams and keep on going.

Rokuhoudou 11 (REWATCH)

Good heck, Gendo-I mean, Kyousui. (re: finger tenting)

Also, there is one univeral truth about this show: don’t watch it on an empty stomach…I had to go get some food a few eps. back in this rewatch because my stomach grumbled…

When I thought of “something rich”, I thought of a pudding too. Maybe my memory is better than I thought, huh?

I thought there was something dirty on my screen…turns out it was just Gure’s beauty spot.

Rokuhoudou 12 (FINAL, REWATCH)

“I’ll wake you up, then.”

I learnt this from the manga, but Itou is the old tea vendor.

Gin-chan reminds me of the inventor Logicalist from Hina Logi.

Karamimochi. By the way, from earlier in the ep…ankoro mochi.

Neneko was meant to be into kimonos, wasn’t she…?

Nion (sic) camera, LOL.

Okay, that’s the end of my first rewatch. It’s a keeper!

Fruits Basket 25 (FINAL)

Shihan = shisho = instructor.

Notice the Jizo, protector of children.

“…didn’t have to block…”

LOL, Tohru’s shocked face going from Kyo to Yuki.

Ooh, Makoto Takei and Machi Kuragi…

Isuzu!!!

Okay, that’s the end of that. See you next time!

Demon Slayer 25

So the other butterfly mansion girls (aside from Aoi, Shinobu and Kanao) are called Naho, Kiyo and Sumi, huh?

Tanjiro is seemingly a freakin’ masochist right now to those girls…

Ooh, there’s a butterfly in a chrysalis on the title card!

It seems, based on the kanji for Tsuguko, the word literally means “inheritor”, “successor” or “one who makes [another person’s role flourish by being in it]”…Like a Legacy Character from TV Tropes. Also, “Tsuyuri” literally means “chestnut flowers fall”, if I understand the characters right.

Kanao does the Naruto run. She wants to see them aliens too!

“Putting in effort isn’t my thing.” – Now there’s a sentence after my own heart!

Why does Kanao not talk???

Kanao’s coin says “front” and “back” instad of heads and tails.

Hmm, hmm…very heterosexual reading of Kanao here. It almost makes me lose hope in the “gay Shinobu” department (not that I’m angry about that).

This guy with the hat…I swear he looks like a jellyfish…

Why do all the swordsmiths wear that mask???

There’s one thing I realised this episode…anime humour means I expect exaggerated reactions to a lot of things, such as Inosuke chipping his swords like that.

I remember being a bit annoying about the interchangeability between the translation of honoo as “fire” and “flame” when I was a Boueibu rookie...*sighs happily* good times.

Okayyyyyy…Tanjiro’s gone cuckoo…

Nezuko, Inosuke and Zenitsu, huh? There’s a combo I’ve never seen!

Mob Psycho 100 OVA

Isekai hot springs, LOL.

I think I can see Saitama’s bald head, LOL.

I think there might be CGI on this hot springs establishment…

This is Reigen, king of bulls*%$, everyone!

Nanbanzuke.

“[P]air of plumbers”, eh…?

Ooh, 8-bit graphics! Remember season 2’s early scenes? That 8-bit one was good.

Dude, Reigen…just leave the train already…then you’ll get out.

LOL, “Mobpis”...Mobpis 100, maybe?

Strangely, Teru looks vaguely hot in one frame of one scene where he has his eyes closed.

Why do I get the feeling the capybaras on TV will be relevant later…?

Now, this parallel world brings a new meaning to “Infinity Train”!

Nice callback to the opening words of s1 and 2.

…and randomly, Dimple can be seen in the red waves.

It seems Dimple likes sprouting legs these days.

Cop Craft 11

Tourte’s career…almost sounds like Trump’s…

“No one treats me like an alien.”

Don’t bring a sword to a gun fight, Tilarna…

The name “transitional crises” is perfect for this episode…geesh. Just like episode 1, there’s a cliffhanger.

Dr Stone 11

Notice the focus on E=mc2 when Senku talks about passing on knowledge.

Ahh, science…the cliché says it’s for loners, but truth be told, science works in tag teams just like anything else. (Yes, even IT, if you look at it a certain way – such as how creating your code builds upon the people who built that code and the people who made the programs you code in.

Why do all the villagers have platform shoes anyway???

Demon Slayer 26 (FINAL)

Is that woman (not the Biwa player, the other one)…Muzan?! Update: Yes.

Genya…he got so tall in 2 years(ish)…poor Tanjiro. He’s fated to kill Kibutsuji, but he’s also fated to be short.

Does every girl in this series have to fall in love with Tanjiro?!?! (or be implied to be shippable with him, even Nezuko???) I obviously don’t like that kind of direction, as you can see.

Ah, Kanao speaks…for once.

I guess Nezuko has a really loud heart voice, to contrast Kanao’s tiny heart voice, so to speak.

How does Inosuke eat anything through the boar head if he’s taking it off all the time now to do things with his mouth???

Darn that ninja Giyu, leaving as soon as he feels sentimental. (LOL)

*starts yelling at top of lungs* MU-GEN TRAIN! (roughly to the tune of TM Network’s Love Train, which I heard about a few months before this)

I just realised Tanjiro’s probably never seen a train, considering the only transport he’s ever known is maybe a carriage/cart…or maybe just his legs.

As Zenitsu’s struggling to keep up with the train, I almost expect the Harry Potter theme to play and a flying car to appear in the distance…okay, I’m kidding about the car, but I did wish for a second the Harry Potter song would play. Nur-nurr-nur-nurrrrrr-nur-nurrrrrr-nurr…(or something)

Cop Craft 12 (FINAL)

“…taking the lead in the mayoral lead.” – That sounds redundant.

Hey! It’s that one Demon Slayer joke again! (i.e. Kei used his head.)

Dead Randall: too much for TV.

I still can’t believe they properly managed to incorporate the porn case into the finale…

I watched Hellsing today and all this “Sir Matoba” this and “Sir Matoba” that made me wonder…why is Integra a “Sir” as well…?

Zelada does look like Alucard in some senses…hmm.

I think the large bruise over Kei’s eye disappeared in one of the scenes…Now it’s just under his eye.

Wait, Tilarna has a sibling??? Wuh???

I like how they transitioned into the OP, but man…talk about a fast ending. That’s a Hellsing kinda ending fo’ sure. Oh well, see you next time.

Ahiru no Sora 1

New season, new faces, new series. Let’s get into it.

Man, this sparrow freaks me out…

Lyrics from the outset. This must be something special to warrant such a thing.

I always thought Kuzuryuu (“nine-headed dragon”, literally translating) was a cool surname to have! Or just a place name, in this case.

LOL, his name is Momohara (peach field).

The arcade machine says “fist” in the back.

Uh-oh…nothing ever goes right when a boy tries peeping into the girl’s locker room…

*sigh* The male gaze…geesh.

“What are you doing?!” (Nani yatterun da?!) doesn’t translate to “This isn’t the circus!”.

Oh right…Momo = 100, chi = 1000, haru = spring, aki = autumn.

Hey, Chiaki actually got Sora’s name right for once…

Basically everything I know about basketball is from Kuroko no Basuke, so…uh…Sora’s reminding me of Kuroko right now.

Shinchou Yuusha 1

I just call this “TUEEE” instead…don’t mind me. Obviously, my target here is Ume…y’know that, right?

Most of these gods and goddesses look suckish, but I wouldn’t mind an anime about the one with the long hair and Monkey King headband.

Ristarte’s already a bundle of fun…although her leg jiggling’s a bit annoying…

(mocking) There must be a downside to this, right, Listarte…?

Can we not with boob storage??? I bet no matter how big a woman’s knockers are, you can’t store anything between ‘em in real life! (I think we’d need an anime Mythbusters for something like that…make it happen, someone!)

YesyesyesyesYES! OOH, Ristarte, you sure know how to pick ‘em! The fact he’s over 180 cm in height is…well, it’s bad for trying to kiss him, but otherwise it’s just a cherry on the cake of smokin’ HOT!

“[F]ish story”??? You mean “fishy”, right? (Oh well, seems like synonyms work too…)

I…don’t quite get this song…but I think I saw a hot guy (might’ve been a woman, but I’d like it to be a man since there are already so many women in the OP as is) about halfway through the OP. It’s a real 2 for 1 bargain here, people. Update: Argh…that’s a woman after all…

Argh! *is suddenly sabotaged by one Ariadoa* If you’ve read the Spellbook, you’ll know one of my aliases is “Aria Noyed”. It just happens to be the same as an anime and manga already, but now I have it ruining my fun here too…

LOL, did you hear that “ba-bing!” acquistion sound when Rista produced the money?

To be honest, I think regular Seiya (with the purple-highlighted armour as you see here) looks pretty hot anyway (plus Ume’s voice, which I came for), so I think I have a lock-in for the season right here.

The sakuga in this show is way too good (according to all the cubes of soil I keep seeing)!

This ED is a pretty cool bop, yo.

[kinetic-elaboration]

January 30: Thoughts on 1x06: My Sister’s Keeper

Instead of eating dinner at a normal time like a normal person, or even watching TV in a normal way like a normal person, I took over an hour to watch a 40 minute episode and write these incoherent notes on it.

Okay, so the flashback saying seventeen years ago implies Octavia is seventeen, and here I was, pretty darn sure she was supposed to be sixteen as of the pilot. Not super sure how I got that idea but regardless, I actually do like it better, it makes somewhat more sense to me.

Aurora’s a pretty terrible person and tbh I wish the show had just gone there 1000%, more along the lines of the books. Like this show is so weak sometimes. Not that making her son an accomplice to a crime and telling him that making sure neither his sister nor mother is brutally murdered by the state is his sole responsibility isn’t bad enough but like...they could have gone harder on just how screwed up this situation is.

I guess since the massacre in S3 no one gives a fuck about Bellamy throwing away the radio but I remember when it used to be the Hugest Deal Ever that he did that (a laugh btw), and isn’t it funny how the very next episode starts out Hardcore Humanizing him by showing him as a small child just trying to take care of his sibling??

“It’s Octavia. She’s probably chasing butterflies.” Girl does that one time and it’s like her only character trait. I feel like ‘being a petulant brat’ should overshadow it but okay. (I don’t even dislike Octavia, I just think ‘butterfly chaser’ is more of an anomaly than a primary character trait.)

Lincoln’s mancave: OMG he has paper bound books and something that looks like a toy car?!? I’ve never noticed this before.

Generally though everything about Lincoln’s introduction (kidnapping Octavia, chaining her up, and most importantly refusing to speak to her in her language even though he’s fucking fluent in it) tells me that the writers cared 100% about drama and suspense and 0% about believability or long-term character consistency, which is part of why I have a hard time giving them the benefit of the doubt ever. Sorry.

First appearance of Monroe. Like 20 years after the pilot, sorry again but I still don’t believe she was cast that early and didn’t show up in a single frame for 5 whole episodes.

Never forget that Jasper was known for, what, weeks maybe, as the kid who can’t leave camp. Also I miss Jasper + Octavia friendship stuff tbh. Totally underrated.

Finn was considered a good tracker, that was like his one skill. Literally.

Raven’s so beautiful.

I know I always say I don’t hate Finn and then I badmouth Finn but like it’s so hard to see the connection between Finn and Raven and I’m trying, sincerely, but...I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fandom. Maybe it’s the annoying way he tells Clarke he’s “not sure” they can stop having an affair when, like, she literally just told him, she’s not going to have an affair and that’s totally the sort of thing one can choose to do or not do. Hard to tell.

Jasper is bi headcanon continuously constantly confirmed. “Finn? We’re not gonna find her with you?”

Bellamy is looking particularly beautiful in this episode. If no one has giffed his face when he finds the skeleton graveyard, someone should do that.

Speaking of: skeleton graveyard! That’s the kind of creepy shit I like. No idea what tf it is or why it’s there but it’s cool as heck.

So Bellamy braves the skeleton yard because O’s his sister, obviously, and Jasper because he likes her, and Finn because IDK gotta be a hero or something, but you know who else goes with them when all the little boys get scared and leave? Monroe. Boom. Another wasted character.

Aurora: “Fear is a demon. Close your eyes and tell yourself you’re not afraid. That is how you slay the demon.” Bellamy is such a wide-eyed innocent. He’s just trying so hard.

I stand by my theory that class disparity on the Ark has little to do with material wealth but I will admit the Blakes have a much shittier housing unit than the Griffins, the Chancellor, or anyone in Alpha based on the S3 quarters.

I still ship Clarke/Raven something fierce; I miss scenes like this one where they...you know...interact. I love that Raven loves flowers and thinks Abby’s a badass and I also love that they either walked all night or stopped to rest and ended up (literally) sleeping together.

The Grounders are obviously lame as a whole but even I am impressed by their sneak attacks. RIP other John.

Okay also by the way: the Grounders only attacked when the kids crossed the skeleton line, or as this helpful exposition points out, when they “crossed the boundary.” In other words, as of now, the total Grounder interaction with the Sky Kids has been: spearing Jasper when he crossed a boundary, (possibly rogue) spying, having their spy go (extra?) rogue and kidnap someone, and killing a couple more kids when they crossed another boundary (this one admittedly more clearly marked). So far, almost halfway through season 1, the Grounders really do not seem to give a fuck about the Delinquents. I really don’t think this ever had anything to do with land. I think if the kids were on Tri Kru land this entire time they would have been wiped out in Episode 2.

Anya will of course later cite the destruction of the Grounder village by the flares. Retaliation seems to come pretty late for that lol (I’ll have to watch, actually--DO they ever retaliate for that?), but at least it’s a definite, though accidental, form of aggression.

Okay, wow, it is canon that Bellamy and Octavia are from the section that would have been quietly killed in the original culling plan; it says Section 17 on their door.

Octavia’s first walk through the Ark is really beautiful though. Lovely sequence.

I love how they have their dance...in a hallway? Like undergrad parties in the atrium in Main.

How completely overwhelming and magical to be Octavia in that moment though, like she‘s literally only met 2 people her entire life and now she’s around all of these other kids, just dancing and having fun.

(Also it still bugs me what tf is behind Jasper’s goggles in this scene why I do obsess over random shit? And yet. Also also he’s 14 in that flashback what a trip.)

Lincoln’s neck thing with the skull hands on it is one of my favorite pieces of Grounder wardrobe.

I wonder if Lincoln doesn’t speak because in his head he’s like ‘oh shit, I’m in so much trouble, what the fuck am I doing, this is such a bad idea.’

I feel like they should have started figuring out that Jasper has some Pretty Big Issues sometime around here: can’t leave camp, starts screaming for Grounders to kill them, etc. Funny how no one is suspicious about this.

I find it semi-weird that the response to a solar flare is to start taking names, like--this makes me think there was no solar flare, this is just a trick of the totalitarian state. I mean “you know the drill, masks off, id chips out” sounds like this happens a lot--random person inspections just like random housing inspections. Also what is an “ID chip”? I feel like this is something you carry but you know what would have been cooler? Something in your skin. But this is a Fake Sci Fi show so they’re not going to go that route.

Was Bellamy going to “create a distraction” for O using police brutality?

Major props to make up making Marie Avgeropolous, a woman pushing 30 at the time this was filmed, look like she’s actually 15/16 years old.

Bellamy’s realization that O doesn’t know how to get home breaks my heart EVERY DAMN TIME.

This is definitely the moment when Shumway picked Bellamy to be his Chancellor assassin.

It’s not funny, but Finn, Bell, Jasper, and Monroe squeezed under a tent together just looks like the most awkward sleepover ever. Which is to say it is pretty funny.

No commentary, only respect, for the Clarke + Raven discuss Finn scene, but: “Do you love him?” / “I hardly know him” is gold because, yeah, she does hardly know him, and even though Finn would 10000% think otherwise, level headed people like Clarke know what’s what. (Aside: I actually think she was lying to him when she killed him--or that she meant ‘love’ in the general sense, the same way she loves, say Monty or Octavia or any delinquent. But that’s just me.)

I feel a little cheated over a proper Jasper/Octavia hug tbh.

LOL at Jasper wanting to take the knife out of Finn. “Mom, Dad said I couldn’t take the knife out...”

Next time on The 100: Raven and Clarke work together to save the life of a boy who two-timed them both. Then they fall in love.

Bellamy and Clarke and leadership, since I’m semi-trying to develop a theory here: nothing really about leadership in this ep. Clarke seems initially to be heading up the search party with Bell, but then she goes with Raven and has basically the C-Plot. From the point of view of the delinquents, in this ep, Bellamy is definitely the leader (again) and Clarke is the doctor.

[alwayssummerblog]

New Artist Spotlight: Tenille Townes

Do you love Elle King or wish that Duffy made country music? Tenille Townes is the artist for you.

A post shared by Tenille Townes (@tenilletownes) on Apr 10, 2018 at 10:04am PDT

Originally from rural Canada, Townes spent her childhood obsessing over music during long car rides. She recalls, "I would obsess in the back seat over lyrics. I would follow along to all the words and sing along, and call out my favorites. Eventually, I started to learn all of the writer and producer names, just soaking it all up."

At nineteen, Townes made the 45 hour drive from rural Canadian town, Grand Prairie, to Nashville, Tennessee. Townes talks highly of her move to Nashville, "Coming here for the first time felt like walking into a dreamland." Townes started songwriting non-stop and performing at the Bluebird Café. She landed a publishing deal with Big Yellow Dog and recently signed with Columbia Nashville.

It makes me so darn excited to get to share this news this morning. I have signed a record deal and am officially a part of the Columbia Nashville family. So wild. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to work with such an amazing team of people who believe in this music. Everyday I'm learning what a village it takes to carry this music forward and I couldn't have asked for a more incredible village to bring this dream to life with. I played a couple of acoustic songs for the @sonynashville office a little while ago now and the story that unfolded from that moment has been one I will look back on and smile at for the rest of my life. And I can't wait for all that's ahead. I'm so honoured and excited to be the newest artist on the Columbia roster. This is the kind of thing I imagined happening far off in a someday, listening to all the artists I looked up to from the back seat of our car as a kid. Waking up and getting to do this in real life is insane. Hold on to the crazy far off dreams you guys. Catching up to the somedays is one amazing feeling.

A post shared by Tenille Townes (@tenilletownes) on Apr 13, 2018 at 6:01am PDT

Townes recently released Living Room Worktapes, a four-track EP full of heartfelt acoustic songs. Townes beautifully sings while strumming an acoustic guitar. Themes of reflection, reminiscing, and moving on permeate the small, but mighty release from Townes. It's the perfect soundtrack for reading, relaxing, or late night listening.

Well here we go!!!!! They're officially here. I'm so grateful to kick off sharing the new music I've been working on by going back to the beginning of the way these songs were written. My Nashville big brother, the amazing Daniel Tashian helped me record these just sitting down and playing them the way that I would for you in a living room. I love a living room- it makes me think of my family in our favourite spot to hang and it's the place for all kinds of conversations and connection. Thank you for listening to these and being a part of this process. Your excitement about this music coming means so much to me you guys. It makes me so happy to have these songs out in the world. ❤️(link in bio to listen)

A post shared by Tenille Townes (@tenilletownes) on Apr 12, 2018 at 9:32pm PDT

Townes' music has also allowed her to give back. While in high school, Townes organized and performed at several fundraisers benefitting a local youth shelter. After graduating, she decided to take her gracious heart on tour. She launched the Play It Forward tour. Over the span of 32 weeks, she visited 106 schools and played music for over 35,000 students. Play It Forward is meant to encourage and inspire youth to be leaders in their communities and get involved. Townes explains, "Music pushes walls down that you didn't know were up. A song will take you places you didn't even ask it to, and I'm always thankful that it does."

@TimHortons never ceases to amaze me with their #payitforward initiatives! #WarmWishes is a campaign where you can simply share your good deeds on Twitter and Instagram with @TimHortons by December 30th and they will donate a toque to a child in need through the @THCF1974 for every single story up to 10,000 toques! Thanks Tim Hortons for making the holiday season even brighter with your awesome acts of kindness!!! Now let's hear these #WarmWishes stories!!

A post shared by Tenille Townes (@tenilletownes) on Dec 18, 2014 at 12:38pm PST

Living Room Worktapes is available now. Click here to buy or stream the beautiful collection. Townes is about to go out on tour. Click here for dates and tickets.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Sacred Beasts 2 | Astra 2 - 3 | Given 1 - 2 | DanMachi II 1 | Demon Slayer 15 - 16 | Dr Stone 2 | Fruits Basket 14 | Cop Craft 2 - 3

Rolling out the tags soon.

Sacred Beasts 2

“Sissy” always pissed me off as a nickname for your sister. It’s clearly meant as a term of endearment in some cases, but it also is the equivalent of “wuss”, y’know???

I’ve seen mushroom soup out of a tin…that don’t look like mushroom soup in that case.

Uh, random question…she has th same surname as Will, but is Schaal herself adopted???

Y’should’ve followed Hank, Nancy…(is her name Nancy or Schaal? Schaal is her middle name, yet she seems more commonly referred to as Schaal…hmm.)

*sees synopsis* - No one mentioned Nancy’s hometown was called Livletwood Village…

I pause my shows a lot to get down these notes…then Crunchyroll or my internet (or both!) cursed me with regular buffering (that can sometimes play video and subs through it, but generally sets down a few seconds after unpausing and lasts for a minute) and made it a pain in the butt to make these notes. But you do realise I basically have notes for almost every show I’ve ever watched under this system? These notes are special to me, which is why I put up with the buffering. It also means impactful scenes lose their impact, meaning well-paced shows get favoured in my picking process on CR these days.

Astra 2

Yup, the 2nd time we talk about how to scavenge for food this season – gotta remember this…in case I ever get into a situation like that. You never know! (creates “The More You Know” star with hands)

I-awwwwwww…I never thought I’d see the day where the Luca Javelin would get animated, much less Astra as a series. Dang, is this a dream???

Eyyyyy. Nothing like endangering your little sister to really understand why you love her…much less understand that you love her in the first place. (partially sarcastic)

Given 1

This is my second rodeo with BL anime (I’ve only read one BL manga and it was pretty darn mediocre, but the one BL game I tried was okay)…hopefully it’s good.

Was there the ticking of a clock in the background???

…and cut to OP. Yay! I can predict when the OP happens now…(It only took me years of training…okay, I’m kidding.)

I think this OP is like a music video…and I think that’s the point.

Kaji??? Is this Eva (LOL)?

I’m no band person – I was merely a solo pianist in my time with music, although notably I did have to sing for one of the musical pieces – but “Thom Yorke” and “Keith Richards” sound familiar. Why???...Okay, so it seems Thom Yorke is part of Radiohead and Keith Richards is part of the Rolling Stones. I’m familiar with those bands by name, at least.

Lemme guess…this guy (Ritsuka) sucks at improv.

I had to go back and find out what Yayoi said a few lines ago…and  love her already because she’s like “You suck”…she’s just like me, to be honest.

Early husbando predictions say Haruki is my dude of the season.

Seeing manly dudes act like blushing schoolgirls is great…!

Yushiro-who???...Okay, Yushiro Ishihara is apparently that’s a singer that’s already passed away, but has a bit of a rep behind him.

Is it just me, or is Ritsuka basically a lesser Bakugo…?

Come to think of it, it would be hard for me to teach someone piano now that I haven’t properly played since the end of 2014…almost 5 years. Geesh, that’s a long time.

Welp, that was…actually pretty good. The only thing that sucks is that this ED isn’t rock, to go with the rest of the show.

DanMachi II 1

Another counterintuitive name for a sequel anime season…this is my last premiere before I wrap them up, or at least until Machikado Mazoku (or whatever) land on CR.

…and of course, it’s back to Big Boobies (aka Hestia). She’s probably the worst part of the show for me.

Why does Bell need an advisor anyway…? I never thought about it when watching s1.

Who’s this Naza-sama, anyway…?...Okay, it seems she’s a doctor from the Miach Familia. I don’t remember her from s1, really.

I’ve forgotten who Asfi is as well…Oh yeah, that blue-haired woman from the Hermes Famlia. Hermes seems like a bit of a loose cannon – the sort who wouldn’t have a Familia if given the chance – though.

I think we saw Freya in s1…just scheming behind the scenes…

Hermes looks like a sleazebag half the time he’s on screen…

I forgot how much I loved Miach’s character design in s1...and to a lesser extent, Takemikazuchi.

Demon Slayer 15

…Zenitsu is annoying again.

I didn’t think Tanjiro was scared of anything…excpt maybe losing Nezuko again.

Oh! I just realised Natagumo has a hint in its name…The “gumo” can be read “kumo”…as in cloud or spider, but it’s given with the kanji for spider so it can only be a spider-related problem on Mt Natagumo.

I’d hate to have Smellovision on this show…(What’s Smellovision, you ask??? Here, read up on it…at least, I was thinking of the Google variant, so read up on the Google version.)

Ukogi appears to be a type of plant known as eleutherococcus and ukogi rice is rice with ukogi leaves.

Dr Stone 2

Episode 3’s title is like “Weapons…of SCIENCE! *cue Bill Nye the Science Guy theme song*”

Ooh, nice angle! (on Senku and petrified!Yuzuriha being protected by Taiju…and not just because Yuzuriha’s butt is showing…)

“You can eat lion?” – No duh, Taiju!

“I want to give thanks to the circle of life…” – Sorry, but can I interrupt with a meme here? *cue ululations that ae meant to imitate the iconic song from The Lion King, y’know, the one that goes “Ahhhhhhh zee bun yah… (etc.)”*

Tsukasa’s frickin’ tall, man! Look at him tower over Taiju and Senku…

Having read the manga before, I just realised Tsukasa is mighty suspicious when he says Senku could be able to rebuild civilisation from scratch. That was harder to recognise in manga format though, I think.

I also didn’t realise, but the shell tale is talking about Tsukasa! Hmm…interesting.

Dr Stone’s ED…never in my life did I think it was going to be a rap song. Unless, of course, it’s a science rap…(There’s hydrogen and helium and lithium, berrylium…uh, I don’t remember the words after that…)

Oh, that next-ep font takes me back…it reminds me of the 90s, where terrible WordArt font like that was everywhere and I had to get by on Lucida Calligraphy.

Fruits Basket 14

Oh, crab meat…these CGI cars look absolutely terrible…

Pay attention to the relationship between Kyo and Kyoko…you people who don’t know about manga!Furuba are in for a real revelation on that front.

Wow, the effects on the flowers are really pretty for the ED…

Cop Craft 2

That OP is just so good…*swoon*

Well…they spelt “Unknown” wrong…on Kei’s phone.

Hmm…I think the insert song was in English.

Astra 3

Oh…something didn’t make sense. It turns out the word the subber is using is “attitude” when it should actually be altitude…

Given 2

Ooh, Haruki does coffee in the OP! I didn’t notice that, since I had to skip it…there’s some kinda suckish buffering on CR, which is why I have to skip as much as I can.

Welp, I’m a pianist. I’m as clueless as any other non-guitar player when it comes to guitars, so I don’t mind the lesson but also don’t need it.

Given this is a BL/yaoi (no pun intended), I think Akihiko and Haruki should pair up…but maybe I’m just going nuts with the shipper glasses here.

“You’re going to have to do something about that soon.”

Aye…I relate, Mafuyu. When you’re younger, you can beg your parents for money, but equipment, books etc. really costs some hard cash. I remember having to go to Hong Kong to find a pearl pink metronome on the cheap…the poor thing isn’t getting much use now. (But still, I think the more I watch and see Haruki in action, the more I like him. Not necessarily as a husbando, but more in the sense of that one cool dude you gravitate towards.)

It randomly cut to Salon Harusame…don’t tell me this is how Haruki gets his money???

I think the comment that said “lolol” actually had 超 in front of it, so that would be “super lololol” or, in my personal way of saying it, “major lololol”.

Oh, so that’s what was in the OP!

I swear Uesama (LOL) should just get a job as a guitar tutor to little kids…well, that would work if he were in college/uni, maybe.

Hey, a girl! Didn’t expect one in a BL work…(LOL, my standards are so low for BL/yaoi, eh?)

Hmm…I get the feeling amateurs get their hands on acoustic models instead. I know a guitar player, y’know (although again, that doesn’t mean I know the first thing about playing a guitar).

I love how the show turned green all of a sudden. The colours match the mood, basically.

Demon Slayer 16  

This episode’s titlecard only has a wave pattern…I probably know what the pattern is called, but I’ve…probably forgotten that name.

Hey, a Demon Slayer girl! (My standards seem to have been lowered in regards to seeing gals in leading or even supporting roles…It’s more acceptable for Demon Slayer, given its historical setting, but still, how sad it is to not see many girls…)

(TW: abuse) Why…for some reason, this feels like an abusive household, specifically where the father does evil things to the mother…but this time, the son’s part of the problem.

I find it funny Zenitsu just calls Inosuke “Wild Boar”. To be fair though, I don’t think Inosuke introduced himself to Zenitsu, way back when they were meant to.

This scene where Zenitsu is crying and has his back turned to the “camera”…they clearly used a CGI model for him.

It’s a BODY! Holy s(BLEEP)!

“Chu-Chu chuuuuun!” Oh my glob, Ukogi is so adorable~!

Hey…where was Ukogi hiding before he chose to come out again?

Another CGI model when Zenitsu walks away from the camera. It’s so dark, nobody can see Ukogi…I don’t think he has a CGI model and that’s good.

I had a weird thought, but…I think Tanjiro would be a good breakdancer, if he were living in 2019.

Inosuke, you did it! But I wonder if those stats are correct and Inosuke’s going to call his name properly at climactic moments…?

Cop Craft 3

Brother Kenny…you’re just lewd.

“…O or V or A.” – Aside from OVAs, hmm…O would be (CENSORED), V I don’t know about and A…I don’t know either, but I guess it’s (CENSORED).

Kei Manoba (sic).

Doreany seems to be humanity…Did they already introduce that? I forget.

This show looks pretty bad, but the story makes the stay worth it.