#i do love looking at VAs and seeing their range of characters its pretty fun

[atomicpunch-natsume]

If i were smart i would have drawn a movie still or something first to keep up with the theme lol! I know exactly one thing from genshin now~! Good thinking though @asteriis, Natori deserves a sword.

[korkrunchcereal]

WoW Q and A

Elaborate on the Chains of Domination cinematic: Story of Anduin and Sylvanas/relationship with the jailer is foundational to Shadowlands. Anduin was dominated. Jailer needed someone like Anduin to be able to walk into Bastion and claim the key. Brief moment of Anduin gaining control in cinematic, so still in there. Chains of Domination will explain more.

When he (Anduin) walks past Uther, did Uther know what was happening or did he feel bad? Couple things going on. His hand touches his wound, made by a weapon of the maw. Uther recognized on some level that power, as well as stirring memories seeing this blonde, kingly figure. Confrontation with Sylvanas in the raid one of the biggest moments in WoW.

Moving from classic to BC while keeping a copy. Whats it going to look like for gold, items/banks. Am I going to see differences or is it two separate entities for all time? Logging in at pre patch will snap a copy of your character. There will be an option to move onto BC classic, or stay in vanilla classic. Can pay a fee and activate “clone” to put them on BC classic if you choose to stay Vanilla. Beta is around the corner. 

How will high population  numbers be handled in TBC classic? How will you handle bottlenecks, sharding, dailies etc. Recognize high population, want to make sure experience is enjoyable. Optimization improvements to help stabilize servers. Experience of rare material and multiple people going is part of the game. Willing to make targeted changes if there is particular problems. 

 Will there be more race/class combinations? Player agency and choice is major theme. Customization key, but also want to reinforce differences. Want to maintain a world that doesn’t have exact symmetry. Have gone back over the years to change things. For now, think they’ve gone about far enough. Nothing planned, but never say never.

 Surprise on Covenant armor? Based on heritage armor. Pure aesthetic, want to give players more and more options. Gameplay reasons to not tmog the entire range (warrior wearing cloth for example)

Workflow change during pandemic? Happened very suddenly. Team reached to each other to find comfort. The isolation found purpose for devs. Making Shadowlands/games help to reconnect friends and people.

Any plans to address faction imbalance? What happened to cause it? Something talked about a lot. Know there’s a very real problem, particularly high end. What caused the problem? Imbalanced in racials allowed to persist too long. At this point, don’t think racials are imbalanced. People staying Horde however due to social reasons now; compounded issue from all the way back from MoP etc. No real answer. Social issue requires social answer.

Have you ever seen a swing in either faction direction due to story elements? Across the game as a whole, faction balance is pretty good. Its raiding/high end PvE that the imbalances really emerge. Have seen faction switches/more cross faction alts in BfA for example. 

If I play BC, when I decide to play on main char and a classic era realm at 60, will I have to name change? You have your name in both places. Ensure people don’t park on names forever.

Any plans to connect more realms? Had to do survey across all populations in all realms. Essentially have to copy an entire realms database onto another. Not a flip a switch thing, lot of work. Have been able to address a large amount of the very low pop. realms. Had to pause for Shadowlands launch due to launch and Shadowlands had huge effects on server populations. Last time they connected realms was right before WoD, and realms had a LOT of queue problems. Watching and waiting for populations to go down before making the jump.

Never gonna have cross faction raids, dungeons etc? Not gonna say never. Essential to hold onto identity but...

Will our amount of Anima be increased later? Is it possible for sanctum upgrades to be account wide? Lot to collect. Hotfixed Anima drops so far. Looking for new sources of Anima for next patch. Over all looking at the costs. Cosmetics are generally account wide. Anima is designed to span the bulk of Shadowlands. 

Sire Denathrius is an eternal one and imprisoned. What will he do? Will we see him again? Best laid plans can adapt. During BfA, intended Bwonsamdi to be a one off. There, but no big deal. Once they heard the VA they went “we need more of this character”. Planned for Sire Denathrius to be there, you kill him w/e. Then heard the VA and went “this guys awesome we love him.” Changed plan to keep Sire Denathrius alive. Will find some other role for him to take. Watch fan feedback to see how community responds/gravitate to. He is in that sword, there may just be allies of him that would be interested in liberating him from the sword...

When will we see more Heritage Armor? As each one was released, got more and more excited from response/enhanced feel of the game. Working on further Heritage Armor. Some coming to near future updates, some more in the future.

Any plans to bring back the AH app? Not as you know it perse. It got turned into a lot of automation. Revamp removed app, then change of the AH. Meant to be more of a socialize thing then accumulation of gold by automated system. Recognize however convenience factor. Consider getting back into some form, but not like how it used to be.

Will there be more new character customization options for Shadowlands? None in Shadowlands. Tend to be fairly big projects. Release them when it’ll be very good for players. Lot of work to juggle. Felt like they got good feedback and support from it. Want to invest going forward when it makes sense.

What are actual requirements for flying in Shadowlands? Where can we fly? Can we fly across the realms? Shadowlands pathfinder no rep grind. Just requires completing full covenant campaign (9.0 and 9.1). Cannot fly from zone to zone. Once unlocked, alts will be able to fly freely. 

In the BC classic, will there be class tuning that would make it notably different than 2007? Broadly no. Want to keep the authentic behavior of final patch, like classic had. Seal of blood

Is there work being done on new Torghast Anima Powers for later patches? Spec specific, when can we see? WIll be done through all patches/future patches. new powers etc. As for powers working outside Torghast, keep OP nature of them inside Torghast.

Difference between passage of time in Shadowlands and in Azeroth? Salanar the Horseman in DK order hall said he was in the veil for what felt like days and it was between WoTLK and Legion. Meet characters for whom time doesn’t seem to have meaning. What is time a construct of? Order. On Azeroth, understand the passage of time because of influence of titans/order. Outside of the influence of order, time loses meaning. A lot more fluid. Shadowlands about eternities. Can have it perceived differently by different characters even going through same thing.

Bringing back 10-man content, either as different difficulty or different instances for smaller groups to tackle. All raid basically is/can be 10 man. These days its the 5 player mega dungeons that fill the role. In BC, ZA and Kara filled that niche of the smaller group doing the BIG, raid like content. Fulfills the spirit of 10 man content.

Will summoning stones be available at launch of BC or come later? Will have them at launch.

What’s Bolvar up to and where is his story going? Will he have a major role to play? One of the fun parts of Shadowlands was getting Bolvar back into the mix. We saw him be pivotal in Torghast and getting into Shadowlands. Saw there was a price to pay for visions with Torghast. He will be front and center in Chains of Domination. Good rallying figure.  

In BC, how will pvp titles be handled without battlegroups? Originally, reward was made for the best player in each battlegroup due to technical reasons. Now that they have better technology, fair way is % based, though still want to keep it small amount. 

In Stormwind, Darnassus refugees mention going back once the smoke clears. Does this mean Teldrassil can grow back and become habitable again? The damage was pretty definitive/lot of lives lost. Don’t want to reverse on a whim. The story of the souls of the Night Elves however is not yet done, nor is Tyrande’s story going into Chains of Domination and beyond.

Will fresh classic servers be added in addition to TBC servers? For the timeline of BC classic, no new classic servers. Eyes on it however for the future. Will discuss once BC launches.

How do you get the Wandering Ancient Mount? Got to have Shadowlands. Will be in 9.0.5 patch update next month (March). 

[astrovian]

Richard Armitage interview on BBC Radio Somerset for Uncle Vanya (25/10/20)

Full transcript under cut

Now the moment you’ve all be waiting for, particularly if you’re female – some proper eye-candy on this show okay, not just me. ‘Kay, some proper stardom. Richard Armitage has been in so much television okay, let’s give you a bit of an idea as to what he’s been in over the years. Of course, he started off in North & South back in 2004. He was Lucas North in the British TV drama Spooks. He was in Castlevania, he was in Robin Hood. He’s done so much work for The Royal Shakespeare Company. But for lots of you, you’ll have seen him in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. Here’s him talking a little bit about his role.

[Clip from The Hobbit interview – I play a character called Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, the last King Under the Mountain. There’s a direct descent from the royal line, which is myself, Thorin, and Fíli and Kíli, who are nephews by my sister]

Now, I’ve never seen The Hobbit, but whenever I think of Richard Armitage, it’s always- he was the guy in the last couple of episodes of The Vicar of Dibley.

[Clip from The Vicar of Dibley]

Brilliant, from Dibley to the valleys of New Zealand. Fantastic. Really pleased we can say we can speak to Richard Armitage on the show this afternoon to talk about his brand new film. Good afternoon, Richard. Thanks for joining us on the Sunday show. How are you?

I’m very good. How are you?

I’m great, thanks. Now, I say good afternoon, but you’re in New York, so it’s good morning to you over there.

Good morning. Yes.

Now you’ve done so much TV and film it’s ridiculous. If I sat here and listed out all the stuff you’ve done, we’d be here all day. However, we’re chatting about the latest one. Am I saying it right – Uncle ‘Van-ya’ or ‘Va-nya’? I’ve always said ‘Va-nya’.

You can say either, I mean a lot of the actors in our play were sort of from the North or from Ireland, and so we were calling him ‘Van-ya’. Sort of has a nicer ring to it, doesn’t it?

Yeah, let’s go with Uncle ‘Van-ya’. Yeah, now this is the-

Uncle ‘Van-ya’.

Now this is on Tuesday, you can see this from Tuesday onwards. Give us a bit of backstory. You were doing this as a play, but then Covid hit and it all had to change, is that right?

Yeah, we were in the middle of a, of a sixteen-week run and we’d-, we got through about ten weeks, and then we came in on a Monday morning and theatres were closed and we, we all had to go home. But it was something that we knew was coming, obviously Broadway had closed the week before us, and uh, so the chance to come back, even in a really still very difficult working environment, to, to sort of re-stage the play for film was something I think we were all incredibly grateful for.

Because not every play’s doing that – lots of plays have closed and we don’t know when they’re gonna re-open. But it must be a great thing to have because not every play was having that, were-, you know some of them were still just waiting for their moment to open up again.

Yes, and I mean National Theatre Live and Digital Theatre, they do film theatre, but they usually do it with a, with an audience in place, and that’s part of the, the thrill of it. But we had to- or, Sonya Friedman and her team had to sort of re-imagine what it might be like without an audience, and so this is a kind of hybrid film really, it-, we’re still in a theatre, but we’re much more kind of involved in the play and the camera comes into the stage and we see a little bit more than a regular production. But yeah, I feel very lucky that we were able to do this.

So it’s not like if you, if we had gone and seen it before it closed we’re obviously sat there looking on, but in this, in this version, the camera’s on the stage with you, you’re pretty much right in with the action, aren’t you?

You’re right in there, and I think that’s one of the, one of the y’know, unusual experiences, that that’s often not possible because you can’t, y’know, disrupt an audience’s viewpoint, so we tend, y’know, we tend to see theatre and hear an audience. Which, we lose the sound of an audience and that was very important with this play because the play is a comedy and y’know, the audience participation is, is really quite important. But it’s still a-, an interesting experience without the audience. In fact, there’s this sort of sadness for the audience’s lack, y’know.

Your character, you’re Astrov, is that right?

Yeah, I am. I’m the doctor.

Tell me a bit about him. What’s he like?

Well, he’s a bit of an outsider to this, to the family. Um, he’s, um, turned to drink because he is traumatised by losing patients, um, he’s working in a, in a region that’s suffering from an epidemic. At the same time, he’s recognising that his small corner of the world is being depleted environmentally, and so he’s, he’s, he’s an environmentalist. He’s planting trees and trying to sort of sustain his natural habitat, and he has a theory as to what, y’know, why people are sick and why our society is sick. And so, in terms of relevance, I think it, it sort of rang a lot of bells. Um, but he, y’know, in terms of his journey through the play, he finds love. Y’know, he talks early on in the play about not feeling anything because he’s been so battered down by his, his work, but he finds love and, um, is rejected. And you know, that’s the tragedy of Chekov, is that everyone’s in love with the wrong person.

And Chekov plays are very well-known, and they’re incredibly written as well. For you as an actor, to say you’re doing Chekov in the West End, or in this case in the cinema, that must be wonderful.

Yeah, it always sounds very kind of, um, highbrow, but Chekov didn’t write that many plays, and he’s also – y’know, he was a doctor as well himself. So there’s always a doctor in his plays. He writes about people, and I think that’s what attracts actors to this work. He doesn’t, he’s not so focused on the plot, he’s very much about the human experience and how we attract and repel each other. And he’s also a great purveyor of comedy and, y’know, finding fun with our, our flaws, and I think people will watch this after living in lockdown for six months, watching these people in a house that can’t get away from each other and are, y’know, ripping shreds, tearing shreds off of each other and, and kind of going out of their heads, and I think audiences will understand what Chekov was all about.

And this is available from Tuesday, unclevanyacinema.com, but you’re over in New York, so are you on the next project already, or are you doing something over there?

No, this is, this is where I, I live when I’m not working. But I’ll be back in, in England next year, I’m working on another Netflix show, so that will be good.

Now, when I said that Richard Armitage was coming on, it was- oh, the ladies, they go mad you know, ‘cause you’re so damn good-looking. And all these people, they’re on about the blimming Hobbit and all that sort of stuff, which is fantastic. But for me, do you know what thrills me most about you?

Go on.

You’re the guy that married Dawn French in The Vicar of Dibley. That’s the first thing that comes to my mind-

*Laugh* I knew you were gonna say that.

I know that for a lot of people it’s The Hobbit, and I know how big those sort of things are, and I know how good this, this new film is, but for me, you say ‘Richard Armitage’, he’s the guy who was nearly cheated on Dawn French.

Thanks for that.

No, not on-

He wasn’t cheatin’ on her.

He wasn’t, but she thought he was. But you’ve done so much-

Maybe they’ll re-run it at Christmas, who knows.

Oh, they re-run it all the time, Vicar of Dibley. Can’t move for it.

Do they?

Oh, they can’t move for it. UK Gold, it’s on every half hour. I hope you’re getting royalties for all these repeats.

I do too! I didn’t know it was on.

Oh, it’s on all the time. On all the time! But when you, when Covid’s out of the way as such, do you go back on stage with this, or has that sort of run its course now as a play, and you’re just gonna, it’s new life is now in the cinema?

I, yeah, I don’t think we’ll get the chance to go back, and I think that’s to do with the theatre is now being handed over to the fantastic David Tennant who’s gonna perform there-

Of course.

And the set is gonna be taken away, so I think this was a last chance to, to sort of discover the, this play. But I’m thrilled it’s on film, y’know. Film is forever, so…

That’s a good thing. I will just- if I don’t do twenty seconds on, twenty seconds on The Hobbit, the people will go mad. Great thing to be involved in, is it still something people ask you about?

It’s massive, I mean it was such a huge part of my life as well. Life-changing, y’know, going to New Zealand and working with one of my cinematic idols, y’know, Peter Jackson and that whole cast was, was phenomenal, and y’know, one of my favourite childhood books, so I, I couldn’t have asked- it was a dream come true really. And I, uh, still have incredible memories of that time.

So, Uncle Vanya, okay, is out from Tuesday, unclevanyacinema.com, but to be honest with you-

.com!

I’ve just been doing some googling, and if you just type in to any search engine ‘Uncle Vanya’, it comes up as the top listing. I mean there’s some great reviews for it as well-

Brilliant! And have you been to the cinema in this time?

I haven’t!

Are you getting out and going?

No, I haven’t been, that’s what I’m thinking, I should go and do it.

Give it a shot! I’ve done it, I did it a few times while I was there, and y’know, if you do obey all the rules and let the cinema take, y’know, do what you’re ‘sposed to do, wear the mask, it’s fine. It feels like normality. I mean, it’s like a Tuesday afternoon when there’s not that many people in there, but it’s still, y’know, still worth it.

I’m not minding that you see, ‘cause you’re guaranteed-

No.

-not to be next to someone who’s gonna be eating their popcorn in your face.

Chewing their popcorn.

Yeah.

Exactly.

That’s it. Or you get the couple in the back getting off with each other. I’m quite glad to be on my own there watching.

*Laugh*

That’s absolutely fine.

Is that what happens in cinemas in Somerset there?

Oh, it does, it does. Not-

*Laugh*

-not as much as I’d like. Well, look, Richard, it’s been a pleasure to speak to you, you are a gentleman, and I’ll give you a big plug again, Uncle Vanya comes out on Tuesday, unclevanyacinema.com, the reviews are great, it’s got five stars everywhere. Thanks so much for your time.

Thanks Andy.

[tfw-no-tennis]

hxh....MUSICAL

as soon as i saw that a hunter x hunter musical from the year 2002 starring the OG 99 VAs existed, i knew i has to see this...so i set out and watched the nightmare of zoldyck (i would later find out that theres ANOTHER musical, which i plan to watch too)

luckily its all on youtube subbed! in 360 quality...oh hell yes lmao

ok i logically knew this was gonna be a musical but seeing the characters singing is like. a lot. THIS IS SO STRANGE 

musical illumi is played by a woman which is interesting. shes got a good voice 

i think they just panned to killua but it was so pixelated that i legitimately could not tell hvbadjkfbjkdsf

i have no idea whats going on vhbajdfhhajsdf theres a bunch of people falling over on stage...i think theyre dying? who are yall 

oh shit backup dancers?

lmao illumi killed the backup dancers rip.

oh that IS killua lol. s/o to the 3 pixels that are visible 

is this gonna be the zoldyck arc but a musical? lmao

OH WAIT IS THAT KURAPIKA AND LEORIO? i cant even tell lmaoooo

i can 100% tell these are fan subs lmaooo i love bad fan subs SO MUCH it makes a viewing experience even better

this is p much just a musical version of the manga/anime so far lmao i love it 

the way theyre spelling zoldyck is. a lot 

is every character gonna get an intro song. how much of this musical is singing and how much of it is dialogue cause theres defs a range w/musicals 

lmao i love gon leorio and kurapikas interactions even here, they rlly feel like two parents being dragged around by their energetic kid 

i cant even see the set at all so im just gonna assume theres like, the gate and all that behind them, but it all just looks like a dark wall to me lmao

i love singing exposition 

HISOKAS IN THIS???????????????????? oh my lorddddd 

OH i see now in the description that hes played by the 99 VA too lmao i love it 

wow musical hisoka rlly b like [writes himself into the zoldyck family arc]

oh here we go w/the song introducing the zoldycks 

damn grandpa got mad flips 

this is. wild 

its especially wild that alluka isnt here bc she like...didnt even exist yet at this point in the story 

zoldyck family sitcom wow 

i see the gon/killua romance is still going strong in the musical 

oh so they did all the training and goin thru the door stuff offscreen lol

this is actually doing a pretty good job expanding on the canon stuff from this arc lol so props. espec w/showing more of killua being scared of illumi 

oooh this is interesting actually, this is like....an AU where illumi is present during this arc, and how that would change things. And Also They Sing 

the zoldycks are so fucked up lmao 

also i feel like theres some ‘early adaptation’ character weirdness going on, like w/the grandpa, who seems much less intense here than in the anime (at least after seeing him in the yorknew arc), and milluki, who seems like a gag character here lmao

oh my god lmao is hisoka here to visit illumi?

the hilarious irony of illumi telling killua that assassins cant have friends, then going to hang out with his good buddy hisoka

kurapika is the only one here with a brain cell (for now) 

ah yes hisoka and illumi doing their nasty murder flirting thing 

HISOKA IS SO NASTYYYY I HATE HIM tho his actor is very good and smarmy

OH its canary!! is there uh. blackface goin on there. i cant actually tell, what with there being only 3 pixels present at any given time

really love how half of this is just the regular arc but with the characters singing abt stuff during it 

the lady playing killuas mom has a rlly good screeching voice jesus lmao 

ohh i love musical fighting so much

the sound fx on kurapikas sticks are cracking me up

butlers got mad cartwheels

oh theyre doing the coin thing! this is so out of order lmao

oh my god i love that theyre doing like, sick dance moves while coin flipping

ah the zoldyck messenger hawk makes an appearance. i love that thats canon and real

the 12 yr old gay romance is REAL even here 

the subs seems to be translated very literally, especially in the songs, so its honestly not clear what theyre even singing about vbsjkdjhfskjfd

gon and killua singing about each other is adorable tbh. also i love how silva asks killua abt his friends and killua is like yeah i made some friends. and then only talks abt gon ahjsduhfabhskdf gayboy 

ok so the zoldyck arc is like, ending, but theres still an hr of musical left so whats even gonna happen lmao. also where did hisoka go

oh no the audio and video arent synced anymore huvbhjadfbhjsakdf

oooh they asked canary to come w/them, thats cool

theyre having a party??? hvbajdsfbhasjkdf

oh shit??? what did zeburo just do to killua??? WHATS GOING ONNN lol this is UNCHARTED TERRITORY 

OH GOD IT WAS ILLUMI. SHOULDVE KNOWNNN

omggg all their formal outfits....everyone cheering wildly at kurapika is cute 

LEORIO AND KURAPIKA DANCING.....

the fact that both killua and gon are taller than kurapika in this is rlly funny 

the idea that the zoldycks are also highly trained ballroom dancers is super hilarious to think about, even moreso when you consider how isolationist they are 

seriously grandpas got mad flips

also i love leorios outfit 

this feels like a filler arc tbh. and i dont mean that in a bad way!

leorio trying to get kurapika to go to the hot springs with him lmaoooo

HVDSJBJFSBFJHS HISOKAS BACK. IN DISGUISE. OH MY GOD 

hisokas stage presence is fantastic gotta say 

damnnnn dad zoldycks got mad flips too. guess it runs in the family 

props to the actors for managing to keep their wigs on while flipping around like that 

its so fuckgin funny thats hisoka just introduces himself as illumis friend, when this whole arc is all about how assassins Cannot Have Friends 

so hisoka is just here trying to get family approval too huh

gon miming a fishing trip was adorable and realistic...sometimes u get skunked and It Just Be Like That

leorio is rlly tryin to shoot his shot w/kurapika and kp is just Not Realizing huh vbjsdufjbsaukjf

wow leorio breakin the fourth wall like that lmao 

wow so illumi hacked killua. rude 

hisoka and illumi are lowkey hilarious in this 

leorio is rlly sending every signal possible to kurapika and kp is like. No 

leorio: killua is a scary murder baby, but also im adopting him 

kurapika singing abt how weird it is having friends after dedicating their life to Revenge(tm) is v on brand 

HISOKA OH BOY 

LMAOOOO HISOKA IS SUCH A FUCKING SNITCH I CANT 

no wonder illumi didnt wanna tell him abt his evil plan lmaoooo he fucked up even telling hisoka that much clearly 

the zoldyck siblings just staring at hisoka in confusion bc How The Fuck Did This Clown Get In Our House hvbhjdksfnjksdf

you can tell the subs are off when the audience is cracking up but you dont even see a joke there lmao

oh my goddd hisoka using bungee gum to make everyone dance is. hilarious 

oh my god synchronized dancing 

HVBSHDJFBJDSKFHBSJ illumi doing a dance routine independent of hisoka and hisoka being like ????? vhbjsdkhfjkjsdnfkj THIS IS HILARIOUS

supremely funny to me how illumi makes such a big point abt assassins not having friends, yet hisoka is announcing himself as illumis friend w/every given opportunity hvbhajdkdfhjskf

this feels so filler arc i love it. thats so charming to me since the 2011 anime doesnt have any filler (from what i can tell?) 

kurapika and leorio rlly feel like killuas parents here lmaooo

this is all dramatic but kurapika keeps repeating what leorio says and its cracking me up hvbajhkdhfbjsk

i lov this fambly 

ah, even in the musical illumi is still such a manipulative bastard 

i feel like the quality just went down EVEN MORE, which i didnt think was even possible hvbhjkdsfskf. at least the audio is synced w/the video again

illumis got a good evil laugh 

this is the exact brand of dramatic angsty filler content that i was hoping for in this lmao i love it 

oooh more zoldycks 

honestly this is more how i expected the zoldyck arc to go in canon hbshjdkujfkjsfdas

dramatic gay filler angst + somewhat incorrect fansubs = perfection

OH SHIT CANARY 

BRO DID SHE JUST DIE???? OMFG

the subs keep calling illumis power ‘spells’ which seems to imply that illumi is some sort of assassin wizard rather than a nen user hvbsudhfkjsdjgf

come to think of it, what point was the manga at when this musical was written? it has to be pretty early on, maybe just as nen was being introduced

gon boutta go ham on illumi...Get His Ass

OHHHH GON DOING THE ICONIC ARM GRAB....ARM GRAB REPRISE

gon doin the good ole reliable shounen ‘punch your friend and yell at them so they snap out of a funk’ lol

i do love how typically shounen this is. friendship speeches! but delivered by SONG!

illumis main hobby is butting in at the worst possible moments 

HISOKAS BACK OH BOY

hisokas playing card blocked killuas hit hvbhjakdhsfjnakdsf thats like in jojo when those manga blocked dios knives 

wow the whole zoldyck squad is here

ooh forbidden zoldyck lore lmao

killua: mom u guys are lame im joining this much cooler family now. bye 

i love how hisoka is just weirdly lurking around for all this zoldyck drama lmao

silva seems like such a bro in this but i feel like hes rlly not like that in canon vhauidfhbsjhdkjfk

oh nope there he goes w/the evil laugh lmaooooo

sorry dude but leorio is his dad now 

gon sniffing zeburo hgbajkdfshbjkdfjnsjdk oh my god

oh hell yeah some synchronized main character finale dancing 

actor showcase! everyone loves kurapika which, same 

ah so the director of this musical also directed the sailor moon musicals, which i didnt know existed but of course that exists...thats funny considering the hxh mangaka is married to the sailor moon mangaka 

anyways that was fun honestly!!!! i fuckgin love musicals, and musical adaptations of non-musical source materials can be like, SO different tonally, but this honestly felt like a fun filler 

it was really interesting seeing something based on the canon from this early on - as i said above, some of the characterizations (like the zoldycks) seems a bit different than we’re used to, but others were spot on - like hisoka only showing up intermittently to sow chaos and do nothing else vhjkadhbfhkjdsfnj im assuming the yorknew arc hadnt happened at this point, but hisokas actions in this musical were hilariously similar to how he acted in the yorknew arc, so, props. 

plus it was cool to see the ‘what if’ factor w/hisoka and illumi also being there, espec illumi interacting w/killua bc its so wildly different from how killua reacts to any of his other family members - hes clearly scared of illumi, in a way he isnt w/anyone else, and that was done well here w/the scene where illumi threatens killua’s friends to get killua to listen to him

also the angst was honestly great, and there was some REALLY sweet wholesome parts that i loved. and the music wasnt half bad either!!

i think the VAs did a great job playing the characters - hisokas VA was especially great (and i really loved kurapika too). gons hair was not very similar to how it looks in the show so it was a little more obvious that he was being played by a grown woman, but still a great performance. 

anyways fun times, i love musicals and this was a fun ole 2000s filler shounen musical adaptation

[hardnoctlife]

My Thoughts on FFVIIR

It’s been a few days since I finished FFVIIR, and I wanted to put my thoughts on the game into words, but I gotta get a few housekeeping things out of the way.

1.       These are all MY opinions. I understand and respect that others may have different opinions from me, however, that does not make this an open invitation for argument in the comments, bashing, etc. I have no problem blocking anyone who wants to be an asshole. Just be nice, please.

2.       I grew up playing FFVII and all of its spin-offs. FFVII was my first RPG, and ultimately what got me into playing video games. Nostalgia is a -huge- part of why I enjoyed FFVIIR so much, and therefore I am openly biased towards the game. I’m interested to hear the thoughts of people not familiar with the original, because they’re seeing the story with a fresh set of eyes.

3.       With that being said, I’ve already noticed drama surrounding FFVIIR fans who -have- played the original vs. those who haven’t, or those who haven’t played Crisis Core, etc. I am firmly of the belief that this is a great game for new and old fans and won’t tolerate any condescending attitudes in either direction. Video games are supposed to be fun, so let’s just all agree to enjoy the thing TOGETHER, shall we?

Alright, now that those things are out of the way, onto my thoughts. **MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD**

I’m going to be breaking this up into sections, because there is just too much to dissect! Let’s start with the characters.

“The Good Guys”

Cloud: Still my favorite character of all time, even more so after playing the remake. And of course, he is gorgeous. I could stare into his eyes all day. I know there has been a lot of controversy over getting new voice actors for the remake, but I feel like his VA did a great job. They nailed his personality of “broody asshole with a heart of gold”, and I think the remake had reasonable and believable character development when it came to Cloud’s interactions with the other party members. His dynamic with Tifa, Aerith, and Barrett was also spot on. I think it was a good move on Squeenix’s part to keep him pretty much the same, because he’s such an iconic character for the entire Final Fantasy series, so no complaints on my part!

Jessie: Okay, so, I hated Jessie at first. She was too flirty and all over Cloud for my liking, and I felt this strange disconnect between the “I used to be an actress but now I’m fighting for the planet” part of her backstory. Yes, she was still spunky in the original, but they didn’t draw it out nearly as much (I assume because she was killed off early). I -do- appreciate that the developer’s felt the need to give her more depth and show more interactions between her and Cloud and everyone else, but I also thought it detracted from Cloud’s relationships with Tifa and Aerith to an extent, especially the whole scene where she was asking him to come back to her place with him (yikes). And, true to Squeenix form, they killed off her character, even while letting Biggs and Wedge live (they both died in the original). So, in that sense, I didn’t really care that much for her, although her final scene with Cloud was very moving and redeemed her in some ways for me. So, yay for more screen time, but c’mon Squeenix, why do you gotta use your female characters this way?!

Biggs & Wedge: I loved the updates to their character models, and like with Jessie, I appreciate they tried to give them more depth and dialogue to make their involvement more significant. It did throw me for a loop when they both ended up living instead of dying when the Sector 7 plate fell. I was delighted to discover they survived (until I found out Jessie died and they didn’t). At times, I felt like their exalted importance detracted from other characters, especially at the end in Shinra HQ where Wedge shows up to warn everyone and Avalanche comes in to try and rescue Cloud & the gang, only to imply that he dies -there- instead. To me, it felt like an unnecessary moment to add in, but hey, there are only so many characters in the remake that people get to see, so why not give the Avalanche crew a more important role? I’m interested to see if this means that they’ll be returning in the next installments as they may be ‘fated’ to survive.

Barrett: What a glow up! Barrett looked good, he sounded good, his character was solid and true to the original. I have to say my favorite thing to see was how the banter and dialogue shifted between him and Cloud as you progressed through the remake. They went from basically hating on each other to complimenting each other and being buddy-buddy, and it was truly heartwarming. I even enjoyed using Barrett in battle (more on the fighting system later), which was refreshing. It was a good move on Squeenix’s part to show his softer side by including more scenes with Marlene, and he’s an excellent foil to Cloud’s character, which I feel was consistent for both games.

Tifa: My lady, the love of my life, my HERO. Tifa was -amazing- for me. Also, her VA was probably my favorite of the bunch. The updates to her outfit were much needed, yet she still retained her sexy allure, even if it was a little awkward to hear all the male NPC’s talking about how hot she was all the time. Other than Cloud, she was my favorite party member to use in battle—what a total badass!—and the scenes with her and Cloud made me squeal with delight. I was grateful for the extra attention put into their relationship, and how it was made clear that she was just as important and strong as the male characters.

Aerith: First, the positives. They expanded Aerith’s fighting range, which was appreciated, because in the original I only used her as healer. Her personality shone through a bit more, as she was even ore outgoing than I remembered her being (and even cursed a few times!), and I loved all of her interactions with Tifa and Cloud (my favorite trio/love triangle). Her backstory was pretty well communicated regarding the Ancients and her relationship with Shinra. On the flip side of things, I found her party banter annoying as hell and her voice grating at times (it reminded me of a high school girl), and I’m not sure how I feel about her interactions with the Whispers and what that implies for future installments. There was some hinting at the end of the remake that Aerith may not die like she did in the original (at least that was my interpretation), and I’m not sure whether I like that possibility or not, mainly because Aerith’s death is one of the most memorable scenes of FFVII, and that would change the entire plot. For better or for worse, who’s to say?

Red XIII: I loved all of the scenes with Red! His voice fit him really well, and they showed a lot of character development with him and the group in a short amount of time. I was sad you couldn’t control him in your party, but I’m hoping that will change in the next installment. I’m excited to see his backstory in Cosmo Canyon when we finally get to that point in the remake.

Chadley: This kid was annoying and weird, and I wasn’t sure exactly what his deal was, but he was definitely shady AF. Not sure why he was entirely necessary if he was simply a way to upgrade your materia, but hey, I’ll take that assess materia from ya buddy if it means new stuff for me to use. 

Johnny: Johnny grew on me. Was he also annoying and weird too? Yes. But he reminded me of a Prompto-Gladio lovechild and turned out to be a sweetheart, so I say he can stay, Squeenix.

“The Bad Guys”

Shinra executives: Not much to say here for me other than great job in bringing this diabolic group to life. Yep, still hate every one of ‘em. They stayed pretty much true to their original selves, and all of them matched what I remembered of them, right down to the dialogue. I thought it was an interesting choice to see Sephiroth kill President Shinra (in the original you just find him dead at his desk, impaled on Sephiroth’s sword), but I’m not complaining. That guy was a grade A asshole.

The Turks: Love, love, love how they portrayed each of these guys, and showed how they are also unwilling participants in all of Shinra’s shit. They definitely made them more likeable from the get-go and I felt a lot of callbacks to Advent Children. Reno cursing and being sassy was probably one of my favorite things out of the entire game. He had -so- many great lines, even if they weren’t direct translations of the Japanese. I’m hoping they will include more of the Turks in future installments (like Cissnei in Crisis Core) and continue fleshing out their story arcs.

Rosche: Okay, unpopular opinion, but I did not like this guy at all. I’m not sure what the hype is about him all over my social media. Could be the mullet, which is an automatic ‘no’ for me (Gladio from FFXV being the only exception), but he seemed like an irritating and very pointless addition to the game. His sole purpose appeared to be to prepare you for escaping Shinra and fighting from Cloud’s motorcycle towards the end, but I felt like he could have been taken out of the story entirely without missing anything. I didn’t hate as many of the newer characters (like Leslie) as much as I did him, but I guess he and I just didn’t vibe. I’m assuming he’ll return later on, so maybe my opinion will change. (I sure hope so.)

Leslie: Okay, at first, I was like, “who is this knock-off Noctis wannabe?” but I really enjoyed the backstory and depth they gave this seemingly minor character. I see that Squeenix is trying to provide new things for older fans to take interest in, and in this case, I felt he was a nice touch. (Edit: I was told that Leslie, Kyrie, and some of the other new NPCs were featured in an audio book?! Which I had no idea even existed, so...the more you know!)

Don Corneo: Even slimier and creepier in HD! Honestly, hats off to Squeenix for translating what was possibly the most cringy and controversial part of the original in a ‘tasteful’ way in regard to all of Wall Market. This guy was definitely a worthy villain in the remake.

Rufus: Holy hell. I never ever in my life thought I’d be saying this, but wow, is Rufus hotter than I remember. Thank you, Squeenix for giving me another foxy bad boy to drool over. He was also, for me, the hardest and most frustrating boss battle (even more so than Sephiroth), but it was totally worth dying to watch all the cut scenes with him over again. Can’t wait to see more of him in the next installment.

Hojo: God, I hate this guy. I know you’re -supposed- to, but he is such a creep. Hearing his dialogue in the remake was even worse than reading it in the original. Gotta say, dealing with his four wards in Shinra HQ was my least favorite part of the game by far, but I know he will get his comeuppance later down the road. All the dialogue was just as shocking as I remember, so, yeah. Good job?!

Sephiroth: Alright, anyone else feel like they made Sephiroth EXTRA SEXUAL in this remake?! You too? Oh, good, good, same bro. Now, it could just be me projecting, but anytime he came on the screen…panties were dropping y’all. Of course, I’m not one to complain about Sephiroth content. On the contrary, I lap it up like I just walked through the desert and found an oasis, BUT, I will say this…you barely see Sephiroth at all at this point in the original. As a reminder, the remake only covered the first 4-6 hours of the original game, and I get you can’t really do a remake without at least SHOWING Sephiroth for the people who have been waiting to see him in HD, but with that being said, he was VERY involved. I love Sephiroth, he’s a great villain, but they are definitely changing things with him, so I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

My one criticism? His voice was my least favorite out of the main characters. Not saying the VA didn’t do a great job, but it didn’t sound deep enough to be as intimidating. I prefer the VA who voiced him in Advent Children, but I’m sure it will grow on me in time.

Gameplay

Battle system: When the remake’s demo was released, I remember a lot of people were complaining about how ‘difficult’ the new battle system was, but I absolutely love it. It’s just the perfect balance of turn-based and real-time, with plenty of options for customization. If you want more real time, you can set your short cuts, and if you want more turn-based, you also have that option. My only real complaint was that item use is also tied to the ATB bar, but overtime I figured out when to heal myself in a timely fashion (after dying more than a handful of times). Button mashers won’t enjoy this battle system because it requires a little more strategy, but I think the point was to create an updated version of the original fighting style that would appeal to both old and new players, and it definitely delivered. Seeing the classic limit breaks used and being able to run around during battle was so much fun for me, and I about died when I saw Cloud strike his OG victory pose in Wall Market’s coliseum. Also, the transition between running through Midgar and entering battle was SO incredibly smooth and seamless that at times you didn’t notice the shift. Phenomenal.

o   Boss Battles: As much as I enjoyed the battle system of remake, some of the bosses felt unnecessarily hard and/or tedious (I’m looking at you, Hell House). Making use of the assess materia early on definitely helped me out, but I legit got bored at times, especially that damn giant robot you fight with only Barrett and Aerith when escaping Shinra HQ. This is really just a minor complaint, but there were a couple bosses where I died several times (*cough* Rufus *cough*) before I figured out the secret to defeating them, while others were super easy or just not that interesting. Meh. For context, I played on “normal” mode, but it truly felt hard in certain scenarios. (That could just have been me trying to get used to the new fighting style.)

o   Materia: speaking of materia, I did notice some new materia in the game, which was neat, and although I didn’t care for Chadley (dude, where are your parents?) it was nice to have a way to develop and earn new materia throughout. I found it somewhat strange that summon materia was just a thing you could get so early on instead of having to work for it, but I was excited to use it. Shiva and Ifrit were definitely my favorite summons (which hasn’t changed from the original for me). My one big question: where is the freaking ‘all’ materia?! I know they kinda split ‘all’ up into many different types of materia, and you do have ‘pray’ for healing your entire party, but man, that was so versatile in the original so that was a hard adjustment for me not to have use of it.

o   Weapons: I think it’s cool that they developed an upgrade system to make use of your weapons long term, giving them their own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Made me think of FFX where you used the spheres to upgrade your characters. Also? I loved being able to see materia in my weapons when I switched them out. That was a really neat touch. 

Music: And here I thought they couldn’t make the music of the original game any more epic, but they definitely outdid themselves in the remake. I enjoyed hearing all the remixes and ways they wove the classic themes into different parts of the games. I think my favorite was when you’re going through sector 5 with Aerith and have to control the giant robotic hands. The music in that section SLAPPED. The in-game jukebox was also a nice way to honor the old school classics. Hearing Aerith’s theme for the first time just about made me cry, and listening to One-Winged Angel fighting Sephiroth? Nothing could beat that moment musically for me.

Side quests: I’m not sure about anyone else, but I really didn’t care for the side quests. They weren’t very fun for the most part, and considering how linear the game is, they felt more like chores that needed to be completed because I had to, and not because I wanted to. The only exception was Wall Market, but all-in-all, most of them didn’t add much to the story, unlike in FFXV where I could go down a rabbit hole of sidequests for hours and hours.

Graphics: This is clearly stating the obvious, as anyone with eyes will tell you, the game is nothing short of gorgeous. I cannot tell you how many screencaps I took of just Cloud. It was definitely a world that I wanted to run around in for hours (and did) and will do so again and again just to look at all the little details. My favorite thing to do is watch comparison videos of the original and remake openings side-by-side. How crazy is it that technology has come this far!

Playtime: My biggest critique of this game is that it was too damn short. Stretching the first 4-6 hours of the original into 40 was definitely impressive, but considering I waited 20+ years for the remake, it was pretty disappointing to finish the game in less than a week. Like most people, I’m wondering just how long they plan on stretching this out, how many installments there will be, and when the second part will be released. Hopefully not another ten years, but it -is- Squeenix we’re talking about...

Storyline

Most people who played will tell you that most of the remake stayed very true to the original, even lifting some of the exact dialogue and scenes. The nostalgia hit me so hard in parts that I was literally in tears. The first time I watched the opening in the demo, I cried. That’s the power this game has over many people, including myself.

In other ways, the remake improved on parts of the story or re-imagined them. We always knew it wasn’t going to be a copy and paste of the original story, which I’m sincerely grateful for. I would seriously hope that after 20+ years they would have thought of ways to improve or polish FFVII and make it new and exciting for returning fans and people just picking it up.

My pros regarding the updates in the story:

- They fleshed out many background characters and added in new ones. Most of the core group spent more time interacting, and the party banter felt natural and progressed realistically as the game went on.

- New mini-games and side quests expanded on the slums and made the areas larger and more interactive, yet they still kept the nostalgia of iconic locales.

- Plenty of fuel to fan shipping fires with emotionally charged scenes and pretty boys abounding (Cloti and Clerith especially).

- All of Wall Market was brilliantly done. I was wondering how they’d update it for the new generation, and it was seriously the best part of the game for me (and had me laughing the entire time).

-  Hinting that Zack is alive and/or Aerith may live is something I’m listing as a pro, only because I would love to see these characters used to their full potential, however, this is also a con for me, and I’ll explain why.

My cons:

Whispers: If you played the original, you probably had the same reaction as I did when the ‘Whispers’ showed up. “Wtf are these dementor-looking things?” At first, I thought they might be something similar to what we saw in Advent Children, and that they were ‘remnants’ or parts of Sephiroth, or somehow his minions, or even souls from the Lifestream, etc. When I found out they were actually supposed to be ‘protectors of fate’ or whatever, I rolled my eyes, especially when Barret was ‘killed’ by Sephiroth and then miraculously brought back to life. It felt very ‘deus ex machina’ to me in the sense that ‘everything has to go a certain way because we said so.’ While it makes sense, I really wasn’t buying it, but I’m assuming that we will learn more about them in the second installment. 

The Ending: The whole final boss battle of the remake was surprising, because it felt almost exactly like the final boss bottle of the original game, right down to the cutscene where Cloud is thrown through space and faces off against Sephiroth one-on-one. Before you defeat the ‘harbinger of fate’ (anyone else get KH heartless vibes?) and fight Sephiroth as the final boss, Aerith goes on her long spiel about ‘fate’ and ‘destiny’ and ‘this will change us,’ and it’s laid on so thick that it’s almost like they were setting us up for an alternate timeline, which is entirely possible, but that’s all speculation at this point. Regardless, they made it clear that whatever is coming next is going to be -very- different from the original, or possibly is going to be another timeline of the story, especially since Zack was shown alive and well. One criticism I heard from someone who hadn’t played the original game was that they treated Sephiroth and Zack like people you were supposed to know, and I can agree with that. They didn’t spend -any- time explaining their significance, backstory, or why people were so afraid of Sephiroth other than showing you little flashbacks into Cloud’s deranged memories, so in that sense, the ending might have fallen flat for those who don’t know exactly what Sephiroth represents or who he is, or why he stole Jenova from Hojo’s lab, etc, etc. Plus, throwing in Zack at the end is something that anyone who played the original game or Crisis Core would get, but new fans would also not understand the significance of. Personally, I screamed when I saw Zack because I was so happy , but I can see why that ending would be very unsatisfying and/or confusing for some.

Overall: 9/10

No, it doesn’t get a 10/10 for me, even as someone who absolutely loves Final Fantasy VII, but hey, no game is perfect. It’s honestly hard to live up to the hype this game has created since it was officially announced, and all things considered, Squeenix -did- live up to it. I will still be eagerly awaiting part two, playing the shit out of this game and squeezing the most I can out of it until I get to experience more.

I’d love to hear what other people thought (so long as the discourse is respectful of course). If you read this far, thanks for listening to my ramblings!

[asiryn]

here’s the second update post about my playthrough of ffviir! at this point in my life, with my worsening disability, i’m just gonna have to admit defeat and that i’m going to be making very slow progress from this point on. like....limit myself to playing a chapter a day (or even every other day) so that i don’t make myself Regret Everything.

spoilers below the cut. i finished ch 3, and i think i’m most of the way through ch 4? maybe?? i haven’t finished it, i stopped right before the second (official) mission, and tbh, i have no idea how much is left of the chapter. 

i’m going to try to go in chronological order through the chapters, but i can’t make any guarantees

- i absolutely love marle, she’s a great new addition to the cast 💖💖💖

- the remake is going way more in-depth on everything from the original, and is really adding in a lot of that connective tissue that wasn’t really there before. like, it wasn’t necessarily a glaring issue in the original game, but everything was clearly focused on the main plot, and moving the player along so they can get out of midgar faster; plus, with the limited scope of the 2d environment (the 3d in the environment itself was more like it added a bit of flavor (and frustration) to navigating), there wasn’t really much to explore. and with the limited hardware, the npcs only had a few small bits of dialogue, and the number of npcs in general was limited

- by contrast, this entire game is only covering the midgar sections of the game, so it can flesh everything out to its heart’s content. and at least so far, i’m all for it, and i’m a big fan of the way they’re doing it. it doesn’t feel like they’re just padding it out and wasting your time, but rather it’s giving the story and characters room to breathe, and breathing new life into characters that are pretty forgettable in the first game (i’ll talk more on that in a bit)

- the bulk of ch 3, therefore, is for the most part just cloud and tifa, hanging out. everything’s still being grounded in more realism, with talk of cloud needing to find work to get money and savings, so having him....actually being a mercenary, and getting hired for a bunch of side quests makes a whole lot of sense. plus, tifa’s along for the ride, so you also get to see her interacting with the other residents of the sector 7 slums. and we get a lot of nice conversations with cloud and tifa, and giving their relationship way more development

- i also love that tifa and cloud are making further dates plans to hang out, it’s cute

- also, i love the way the npcs are done in this game. again, they’re being used to enhance that message i talked about last time, and in general, they just....actually react to the things happening around them? their dialogue is always evolving more over time (and it has great synergy w/ cloud and tifa’s mission of getting cloud’s name out there, as the more side quests you achieve, the more they start talking about you and recognizing you, even thanking you). plus, all the npcs have different opinions, ranging from pro-shinra, to wondering if avalanche has a point, to conspiracy theorists, so it’s not all one-note 

- in the category of, technically there in the original, but far expanded on with the remake, was everything with johnny. tbh, i always forget about him in midgar, so i don’t remember what triggers him to show up in....costa del sol, i think? but that whole scene in the remake really helped to highlight tifa’s later concerns, on how she doesn’t agree with the means that avalanche is using to achieve their ends (which again, was somewhat there in the original, but not explored that much), with her refusing to let cloud kill him, even if it would have been the wisest tactical approach to silence him to protect avalanche

- an interesting change is that avalanche was originally planning to do the second mission of bombing reactor 5 without cloud

- also....what’s up with those thugs wanting barret? are they working for don corneo? bc that’s the only other faction that i could think of. if so, i like the fact that they’re starting to establish the groundwork for this sooner, bc it....came a bit out of nowhere in the original

- probably my favorite thing so far about the remake is just how much they’re expanding the characters of jessie, biggs, and wedge. tbh, i never gave two shits about them in the original, bc they were barely even in the game. and not just bc they died early, but bc even when they were there, all the interactions you could have with them were super limited. and when they did die, it wasn’t really dwelled on, and everyone quickly moved onto saving aerith from shinra, and from there the main thrust of the story took off and we barely looked back

- but now, jessie, biggs, and wedge, are fully realized characters, and it’s fantastic. jessie is my favorite of the three, both in terms of the character herself, and what they’re doing with her. her backstory is excellent, her va is great, and i love her peppiness, and i love her relationship with cloud (her playful flirting is great and really fun)

- i also loved the moment where biggs and wedge showed up to help her with her secret mission, just bc they knew her so well

- i’m.....pretty sure roche is a new character?? i don’t remember ever hearing mention of him in any of the rest of the compilation, but my knowledge of before crisis in particular is sketchy, so who knows. in any case, i’m curious to see if he’s going to become a recurring character

- i also loved that they’re showing cloud slowly bonding with biggs and wedge too, it’s sweet

- wedge with his cats is a Mood (and ppl were right, there really are a lot of cats in the game)

- i absolutely ADORED the way they did the flashback scene with cloud and tifa, it was spectacular. they even sounded noticeably younger, and they nailed the looks and mannerisms from the original scene. plus, i love that cloud remembered his promise to tifa on his own, and that he’s the one to bring it up to her later, instead of her guilt-tripping and continuously prodding him about it

- i knew that in before crisis, there was the original version of avalanche, that was essentially at war with the turks in an effort to take down shinra, but i guess i always assumed that it ended up either disbanded or defeated by the time barret’s avalanche was created. so it’s therefore fascinating to me that it’s still operating in the remake, and that barret’s group are a different branch that the og group disapproves of. makes me wonder how that’s going to play out, especially with everything set to go down soon

- what is the deal with these ‘ghosts’?? are they the black-robed seph clones? i think one of them spoke to cloud in seph’s voice during his nightmare, so....maybe? it’s the only thing that makes sense to me. but what are they doing??

- i find the way cloud was roped into the reactor 5 mission interesting, with him replacing an injured jessie

okay, i think i’m gonna end it here for now. on my next session, i’ll finish ch 4, and hopefully ch 5, and i’ll get to see aerith again soon!!!!💖💖💖

[venus-says]

Round of Randoms #1 - Shorties

The one with the skeleton, the cat boys, and the card game.

Look who's back!

After a much-needed break to cool off from the Aikatsu marathon, here I again to delight the world with my unnecessary opinions. XD

You may be asking yourself, what is this? Well, I was thinking of what to do to come back to the blog, but still on my break mindset and I didn't want to get back to my regular stuff. So I thought about it and decided to get back to my roots and one of the reasons why I created this blog in the first place and went down on my anime list and see what was there that I could watch and bring to here. I've made a huge list of things, divided them into categories, and I'm planning to watch them in between the regular shows I comment here. I was lazy and pretty much only picked stuff that came out this year, but is still a somewhat diverse range of the usual things I talk about here.

Since I wanted something quick and easy to do at first I went with my "shorties" category that is composed of shows with a run time of 15 minutes or less per episode, and "one-shot" OVAs, in other words, things that I could watch on a single day with not much trouble. These are "reviews" of the entire season so they won't be as detailed, but that was never the point of these to begin with, If there's a show on my list that I have a lot to talk about I'll probably do it on a separate post.

Anyway, let's begin.

MYSTERIA Friends

Starting off is MYSTERIA Friends (or Manaria Friends in the original). This wasn't a show that was on my list actually, but once I saw that it was only 10 episodes of 15 minutes each and that both Yoko and Nana were voicing characters on this show I was "okay, I need to watch this now". I had no previous knowledge of anything related to this show and I was kinda excited to see what it was about, I don't know what I was expecting from it, but in reality, I got really disappointed.

Like, the show technically is gorgeous, I think that because of the shorter airing time they could pay more attention to the drawing and animation and you get stunned by the visuals. The soundtrack is also pretty decent, there's nothing exceptional aside of maybe the insert song Nana's character sings in one the episodes, but the general background music is pretty effective on putting yourself on that world.

With that being said, this is probably where the positives end. The show has no plot, which in itself it's not a problem, most of this short shows are episodic anyway and that's one of the charms of this type of anime, but in this case it's a problem because it just seems empty, the show seems to be trying to talk about inter-species relationships, but it actually never touches on that what gives this "empty media" vibe. This ties in with another problem that is the fact that this fantastic, magical setting has no purpose of being there other than aesthetics, I feel that the excuse of going "magic medieval" was we gonna show how this human and this half-demon can get along and bring peace and harmony to this world, but they never touch on the topic and it becomes pretty obvious that they only went with that route because the author has a thing for girl dragons.

Which ties in with my biggest problem, the useless ecchi. Honestly, the amount of ecchi they got to put in such a short amount of time is unbelievable, like, right on the second episode Grea is pain because she's molting, but the scene is shot as like she's having sex and the moans are more like pleasure moans rather than moans of someone who's in pain, and is just so uncomfortable, and to add more into this weirdness Anne steals the shed skin of Grea's tail and in the final episode she's smelling that like those pervs smelling on panties and IT'S SO AWKWARD. This threw me off so much, I think I only got through because the show was very short and I know the suffering would be very low, otherwise I would definitely have dropped it right on episode 2.

Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san

Honda-san was that show that I had always seen people commenting on and was very interested in watching since the beginning, but I never did because I'm lazy, so when I decided to do this I knew I had to put the show on the list and finally watch it, and that's a decision I definitely don't regret making.

Honestly, this show is so good. It's not that comedy that will let you laughing your pants off, but it doesn't mean that it ain't funny. It's mentioned in the show that the manga that originated from this anime was written by Honda-san himself about his experiences working on a bookstore, I don't know how truthful the stories are, but is this sense of "damn this really happens irl" that makes everything way much funnier and it is a true joy to watch. The anime isn't ambitious, I don't think it's trying to convey a message or make a commentary or anything, but this doesn't come as a detriment for the show, this anime didn't need any of that and they don't try to make it be about something big. It's just a wholesome show about life that is really comforting, especially if you're an adult that already had some experience with retailing.

What else do I have to say? I love the style, I love the soundtrack, I love the weird situation that happens, and the characters are just amazing, aside of Honda-san I love manager Armor she's lots of fun, and Chief Pestmask (who's VA is, look at that, Hikasa Yoko once again) who doesn't appear a lot, but when she comes she sure leaves an impression on you. This show did crush my fantasies of working on a bookstore someday, but I loved every second of it anyway. XD

Hey, Your Cat Ears Are Showing! Season 2

So when I heard Hora Mimi was getting a second season, I was both excited and apprehensive. This one of the rare short shows that have an episodic narrative but that has an overall plot to the whole thing, and I was quite satisfied with the ending of season 1, it was sweet and heartwarming as the rest of the series was and I really didn't think a second season was needed, thus I really didn't watch it while it was airing. But this was the perfect opportunity for me to finally watch it.

And this season was a very good surprise, it expanded on what the first season had built and it became three times gayer by giving Dong Dong and Jin Zhu partners, Jin Zhu partner being an Ear People but from another species, which made this season even more fun and cute. The final arc of this season where they established that Da Shu and Miao had met each other before the events of season 1 is probably the only thing I don't like about this sequel because on my eyes it looks silly, but I wouldn't call it a negative that renders the show. Hora Mimi remains a very adorable, heartwarming show that everyone definitely should check it out.

The Girl From the Other Side

Totsukuni no Shoujo was never on my radar for mangas so I wasn't aware of its existence. A few months back I saw someone reblogging gifs from this OVA on my dash and I got really intrigued by it, the aesthetic was kinda similar to Ancient Magus Bridge but it was darker and it had this antique style to it that made me fall in love instantly.

Since I don't know the manga, I'm not familiar with the characters and their stories, but even though I was in the dark I could grasp the concept without major difficulties because the characters are very expressive, and the music is very well used on passing to was what is going on with those characters. I thought an anime with no dialogue would be boring, but this OVA was very captivating, not just by its visuals but also by the narrative and the music that got me hooked from beginning to end. I feel like this is a very shallow review of the thing, but I don't think I'm smart enough to elaborate more on what to say about this show.

I'm not familiar with the manga and I don't know how things work there, neither I know if such style could hold up for an entire season, but I definitely wanna see more, and I'll definitely look up the manga if I can make my tablet work again someday.

Zenonzard THE ANIMATION - Episode 0

And to wrap up we have Zenonzard, which was another show that I wasn't aware of until I decided to do this thing and it's only here because the poster looked cool, and it was officially available on youtube with subs and no region locks so I thought, "why not?"

This is probably the weirdest of the bunch since it's a show based on a card game, and I haven't watched one of these in ages, and it's weird, but I was kinda into it? Like, I don't like that most of the girls in this show have ginormous breasts and this thing of a female coming to an apparently normal boy saying "I choose you" seems that it's going to backfire and will create a huge mess in the future, but as the episode was progressing I was getting more and more into it?

The plot doesn't seem as good, if they even have a plot. It does a crap job at explaining what this game is and how it works, and also the CG used for the monsters is horrendous. But it got me interested, it had some great music playing and I think this is what caught me the most, even though there's one song, that I believe is sung by Nanase who did voices for Aikatsu, that I feel like it was very misplaced. I also like the futuristic aesthetic, I'm a sucker for these things and I was pleased for the most part of it.

I don't know if this will become a thing, but if they actually release an anime and if they publish it on youtube like what they've done with this ONA/Special/Prequel? I may keep watching it. Which comes to as a surprise to me.

And this was the first Round of Randoms (provisory name) of this blog. I quite enjoyed doing this thing, I think I'm gonna keep doing it to always have something different and new around here. What did you think of it? Have you watched any of these shows? What are your opinions about it? Is there any show you have to recommend? And what's a good name for this new thing I'm trying to do? Thank you so much for sticking with me until the end, and I'll see you guys at another time.

[why485]

It’s that time again. As before, my rule for making these is that nothing I’ve had on here before can be on it again. As such, this isn’t so much a “favorite of all time” 3x3, but instead just things I want to call out and recommend.

Violet Evergarden - I have a complicated opinion about Violet Evergarden. I think it’s painfully predictable and emotionally manipulative, but at the same time it is a KyoAni tour de force of breathtakingly beautiful visuals, excellent VA, and a memorable soundtrack that I still listen to. It has to be seen to be believed. Just know going in that its writing will be very hit or miss.

Hatsukoi Zombie - Practically a high concept science fiction approach to the utterly absurd premise of floating imaginary girlfriends. I’ve spoken about this before, as I really admire its ambition, world building, and attention to detail. It details the intensely problematic implications that arise from an intangible projection of your desires following you around, only getting more complicated when it starts to become self-aware. Unfortunately loses steam towards the end, but it was a fun journey with a great cast of characters.

80k Gold Coins - Trash in all the right ways. A clever, selfish, and hypocritical 18 year old girl who looks like she’s 13 (this is a plot point), ends up in a medieval fantasy world, swindles everyone she meets, opens a shop where she upsets the balance of the world, and massacres an invading army of orcs and dragons with hired mercenaries using machineguns and rockets. It’s so dumb, but it’s so good.

Yuru Camp - The show so comfy that it actually made me want to go camping. Rin likes camping alone, but gets sucked into her school’s camping club. That’s pretty much it, it’s just executed extremely well with great music, fun characters, and memorable moments. It easily makes it into the comfy hall of fame.

Hitoribocchi - My favorite entry in the recently trending “ultra socially awkward girl” genre. Bocchi has incapacitating social anxiety and must befriend her whole class before she graduates middle school. It’s got a wonderfully charming cast of characters, a clear end goal, and character growth. Do your best Bocchi!

Non Non Biyori (S1) - I’m a sucker for comfy escapism, and NNB is one of the best. It takes place out in the middle of nowhere, in a town small enough that the 4 main characters, ranging from elementary to middle school, are all in the same class. It’s good simple fun, knows exactly what it is, and takes its time.

Asebi and Adventures of Sky World - Two parts Skies of Arcadia, one part Eureka Seven, Asebi is a fun (and finished!) adventure story set in a world with floating islands, airships, ancient lost technology, and androids. The characters are lovable, the plot actually goes places, characters grow, the world building is great, the fights are intense, the art style is distinctive, and enemies become friends. Despite an obviously rushed ending, I totally fell in love with this world and its characters. It really deserves an animated series.

Ookami Shounen - It’s difficult for me to articulate why I love this one so much, so I’ll just describe it instead. It’s about the relationship between 3 characters that each see a lot of development and growth. It’s the most interesting take on crossdressing I’ve read, while not even being about it. It touches on issues of gender, what it means, and its influence on the perspectives of yourself and those around you. It is perhaps the best exploration of androphobia I’ve read in the medium, not treating it as a punchline as many series do. The protagonist’s initial lie, and premise of the whole series, becomes too painful for him to maintain. There’s a beginning, middle, and end. Things happen. People change. If this sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend checking this one out. It has a bit of a trite start, but bear with it. It picks up quick.

Girls Last Tour - I’ve already written much on this one before. Girls Last Tour is one of my favorite anythings I’ve ever watched/read. It’s beautiful, melancholic, haunting, and contemplative. It follows what may very well be the last two people on Earth as they roam around a long dead world doing their best to survive and make the most of their situation. Despite its premise, it’s a very comfy and peaceful end of the world, but every once in a while you’re reminded what that really means. I cannot praise it enough. Watch it, then read the comics.

[calliecat93]

Red vs Blue Season 17 Review, Part One

On March 9th, 2019, Red vs Blue: Singularity premiered at last. After the monster cliffhanger of S16, to say that many of us had been anxious would be an understatement. Well, it’s several months later and the season has concluded it’s 12 episode run. So, was it good? Was it bad? Well… that’s a hard question to answer. But however we feel, we’re going to be going over it today in my Season 17 Review~!

This baby got a Hell of a lot longer than intended, so hopefully, it’s coherent. I tried to be firm, but honest. No matter what I think though, there is no arguing that these people put in a lot of work to make this season a reality. I never want that fact to be ignored. So thank you Jason, Miles, Josh, Austin, Greg, Joe, RT Animation, and everyone else for all the hard work. Couldn’t have been easy, but we appreciate it all the same~!

So with that said, for the final time, let us talk about Red vs Blue Season 17.

Visuals/Machinima

This season was unique in that not only was Halo 5 still being us, but they had to go back and use all the past renditions as well. It looked like they were going to use Halo 2 Anniversary for the paradox stuff, a familiar yet different design, but I guess someone decided it was better to just reuse the older games. Which I think was probably the right choice. Halo 2 Anniversary I think would have helped add this feeling of everything being off, but at the same time seeing the previous versions helps connect to the moments more. It adds more emotional investment since we’re seeing something that we recognize being fucked with. It meant more work for the Machinima team, and I hope that they’re all still alive and had a nice vacation after it was all over cause yikes. Their efforts are greatly appreciated~

The machinima was overall very good. Josh Ornelas has been with the show for six years as a machinimator and directed at least a few episodes of S14. So he was more than fit to be a co-director for this season. Austin Clark is newer and IDK when he started (my guess is around 14 or 15), but I think he’s shown that he’s perfectly capable both as a machinimator and as a director. I never noticed any issues with the machinima that threw me off… but as usual, it’s hard to critique what are essentially video game movements/defaults. Very least whenever the characters were emotional or something, I got the feeling from how the scene was framed. Even though you can’t see the faces, the machinimators know how to frame it to make you feel the intended emotion. Episode 9 with Carolina and Wash’s talk I think demonstrated that. Yeah, the VA-ing helped, but you can see the emotion, even though there’s no emotion to display. And while Austin handled the even-numbered episodes and Josh the odd ones, everything felt like they were on the same page, which is essential when co-directing. They both did an excellent job directing.

Animation was sadly sparse compared to the last season. Wasn’t bad though. There were some good bits, like the opening credits and Wash directing his gun at Genkins in Episode 3. Oh. and Genkins getting stabbed with his own golf club was pretty gruesome, especially with his writhing around, but seeing the original Halo animated was nice. We only got one fight scene, but it was Carolina vs Carolina and it was badass. Not as creative as the Donut vs O’Malley fight, but still really good and impactful. Loved it!. The sets and effects were all very good. Just look at the opening. The effects used for The Everwhen looked really cool and other-worldly. The Labyrinth looked pretty creepy, as it should be considering its true nature. And of course, all the previous Halo’s still looked good… maybe a little dated with Halo: CE but still as good as it did in the remaster.

Overall, visually speaking, the season was really good. The machinima looked great and was directed competently. I felt engaged, and that’s what’s important. Definitely one of the season high points.

Voice Acting/Music

We’re mainly going to be discussing Dan Godwin, Shannon McCormick, Jen Brown, Ricco Fajardo, and Lee Eddy. Everyone else in the main cast was pretty much at the expected level of quality. There’s sadly not much to talk about specifically, which we’ll go more into during the character section. But Joel, Matt, Gus, Geoff, Becca, and Jason Saldana all did well and gave the quality that I expect from them, just nothing that stands out really. I’ll say this, Geoff and Becca’s performance in the finale was very strong and emotional and I loved it. Matt he both got to do Wyoming again and had to do Doc and O’Malley at the same time, which he nailed perfectly. And hearing Burnie as Church again was really nice… but never let him do English Lopez again. Ever.

Let's talk about villains first. Ricco Fajardo as Genkins is freakin’ fantastic. While we got glimpses of it last season, Genkins fun but truly shitty self is on full display this season. And Ricco is clearly having the time of his life recording it. He’s just always so cheerful and having fun, but it feels so messed up and sadistic due to the circumstances. But he owns it. Sometimes having a villain who is just shitty can be fun, especially if you have a competent actor doing it. And Ricco absolutely nailed it. We also have Lee Eddy, who voiced 479er, make her return to RvB as Chrovos. She too is clearly having a fun time. She goes full-on Large Ham with Chrovos’ theatrics and basting but also portrays her getting fed up very well. It’s the Gwen in her showing, haha. But yeah, these are two fun villain characters, and the performances very much reflected that. Loved it~

Next, we have our Freelancers, Shannon and Jen. They both got the emotions hard this season. Which considering how their plot ended last season, is no surprise. It’s no shock that these two did very well, but… man… Jen had to express a lot of guilt, but also a lot of tears and pain. Which she did very well. Carolina feels terrible and has to accept that her efforts were in vain, and Jen conveyed that very well. The second that Carolina breaks down in Episode 9… God, I just wanted to hug her. Then there’s Episode 11 where Carolina is confronting her past self, and it truly does feel like two different characters, even though it’s the same actress. It was a very strong performance this season, arguably her best one yet.

Then we have Shannon. Oh golly, Shannon. How long has he been doing Wash now? Over a decade, right? He knows this character in and out… and he perfectly shows that this season. Wash has a lot to get through this season. His anger at Carolina, him having to accept what happened, accept what has to happen, it’s a lot. Shannon nails it. From going back and forth between normal and crazy in Episode 3 to any time his anger at Carolina showed, to his talk with Carolina in Episode 5, his acceptance of his fate and prepping for it in Episode 9, and his horror to seeing everyone die in 11. And he still got lighter moments, like his interactions with Donut, which were super enjoyable. Shannon just knocked it out of the park this season, and I loved it.

But of course, the one I have to give the biggest kudos to is Dan Godwin. While he has performed Donut since the very beginning… well, he only got to do so much since Donut only got to do so much. He never did a bad job, or he was on par with everyone else, but he simply wasn’t really allowed to go beyond ‘optimistic, innuendo-spouting moron’. That is, until now. Dan got to do so much this season. He got a full range to do with Donut that he really never got, or only got so briefly. He got to be emotional, he got to be angry, he got to be frustrated, he got to be utterly done with absolutely everything. And he conveyed all of that very well. Heck, I think the pitch even lowered a little bit compared to before, or it felt less squeaky as the season went on. It feels more like an in-between of Blood Gulch Donut and pre-Paradox Donut, which I think works. Overall, Dan got to show how much experience with the character he really has after so many years of not getting to, and he was by far the best performer due to it.

Everyone in the cast did great. Even for brief returns like Miles and Gray with the Mercs, Arryn Zech with Dr. Grey, and the Freelancers all did a great job. Jason Weight as Grif’s coach was also simultaneously hilarious and scary. He clearly put his all into it, anyways. As for the music… what? Ae we surprised that it was good? David Levy and Trocadero again delivered a solid soundtrack. The fact that we have to wait for both this soundtrack and still for the S16 soundtrack continues to upset me. But at least it means a lot of quality tracks whenever they do come out. Solid job overall from the music team.

Characters

So one of the problems with these reviews is I have to remember to look at things two ways: as a fan and as a critic. We had a lot of really good character stuff with some characters… and not so much with others. And looking at it as a fan and then as a critic causes two widely different perspectives regarding this section. Normally I’d rather get the negative out of the way, but to explain the negative I have to talk about the positives first. Hopefully, I don’t come off as too harsh, but I want to be honest in this review as well. So.. here we go.

Okay, happy first. The two main focuses of this season are Donut and Wash. Let's do Wash, and in turn Carolina, first. Wash… well, got put to the side last season for the most part. His plot was mainly focused on his brain damage that he didn’t know about and ended with his blow up at Carolina. Which we all know what that leads to. Here, Wash has to deal with the fallout of it. He gets to stabilize and be back to pre-brain damage and is determined to save the others… but his anger at Carolina is lingering. His arc this season is about him forgiving Carolina, helping Donut, and accepting his own fate. I think, overall, Wash had a very good arc. And this is coming from someone who is not that big of a Wash fan.

Wash’s anger at Carolina is understandable, but he realizes that she did it out of concern for him and never meant to hurt him, and especially after talking to her in Episode 5 and how even when paradox’d she still trusts him, he forgives her. Carolina, in turn, has to deal with the immense guilt of her actions… again. Yeah, the fact that we got another ‘Carolina is guilty’ story after Freelancer, S13, and S15, it’s feeling a little repetitive. But her emotions regarding it were very well written. You do really feel the remorse and understand why she did what she did. It makes it even worse when in Episode 9, Wash accepts what has to happen and Carolina has to accept it. It was one of the toughest scenes in the season but was such a beautiful, poignant moment for both. They still have problems, like Wash fears of losing everyone and Carolina has past issues lingering still over Freelancer and her family. But it’s safe to say that they’ve both become closer and stronger.

The biggest character of this season is, of course, Donut. This was a long time coming. Up until the end of the last season, Donut was probably the most underutilized character in the show aside from maybe Lopez and Doc. He went from a dumb but semi-competent rookie to a flamboyant, one-note joke character. Like after Blood Gulch I can't think of anything significant that he contributed. Recollection more or less wrote him out/killed him off, Chorus did nothing with him, and S15 also did nothing with him and even forgot him in certain scenes. S16 began to fix that, having Donut get annoyed at being ignored, nearly betray everyone, and then get into one of the shows best fight scenes by far. So we were building up for something for this season, and sure enough, it came and it came hard… was that at innuendo? Dang it Donut, you’ve influenced me too much!

This was developed for Donut that was loooong overdue. He further got frustrated with being ignored and belittled by everyone around him. He recognized his innuendo problem and tried to actively improve it. He showed some of that competence he had in Blood Gulch, piecing things together and actively taking charge since he understood things the most. When he told everyone off in Episode 7, it felt so satisfying because of how long he’s been treated like a nuisance when he was at worst a little annoying and TMI. He was willing, tried his best, and it really felt like he was finally allowed to be more than just a joke. It really made me like and appreciate Donut a LOT more than I did before. Like he used to not just be my least favorite Red, but my least favorite of the BGC. Now? He’s right below Grif and Simmons on the Overall Favorites List. Yeah, that’s a LOT of places.

Donut was great and I wouldn't change him getting him this development… but this development did come at a cost. That being development for everyone else. The other Reds and the Blues were shafted and shafted pretty badly. The first half of the season, they are trapped with no memory and go about how they would in that time period. Which okay, it’s necessary for the plot so we can overlook that one. They get restored in Episode 6… and they are STILL badly shafted. They are all joke characters, which does NOT work when we’re this deep in the plot. I mean we get some moments, like Tucker reliving his failure on Crash Site  Bravo and recognizing his fault over the past few seasons, Sarge has his scenario in Episode 11 that I thought was very insightful, but those are small moments. Sadly, Donut got too much attention. Even with Wash, him realizing how he was the Donut of Freelancer was more or less contributing to making Donut look good, as did Tucker’s moment. I like those scenes and I love Donut… but not everything had to be about him. He’s the main character, not the only one.

Let's do the Blues first. As I said, there were more or less just there and had no real major character development or effect on the plot. But that being said, they were given some legit good stuff. Tucker got it the best as he re-lived Crash Site Bravo and finally realized true leadership was. It was about stepping up when no one else would and when things were at their bleakest, not being the cool, macho guy like he kept acting like it was. Which after these past two seasons, was nice to see. I was one of the people who were perfectly fine with how Tucker was written the past two seasons because I could see why he had regressed. But I do know that a lot of people didn’t like it, and this feels like a good way to bring it all around. Have Tucker relive his worst moment, this time having to let it go through, and therefore truly remember what caused him to step up on Chorus: because he had to. It’s short, but it does its job and this along with his Labyrinth vision I think has really helped Tucker’s character immensely.

Caboose is overall pretty minor but had some good scenes like beating the shit out of Genkins in Episode 6 and figuring out how time travel worked before the others. It helps show that he’s an idiot, but he’s a smart idiot (if that makes any sense) and was a step up from his limited screentime last season. He also had my favorite line in the entire season (“These graphics look horrible!”). Sister was overall minor, but I’ll go into her later. You’ll see why when I get there. Doc was overall also minor and how the Hell he was in the Everwhen I’ll never know, but I do like him in the finale and finally getting a grip on O’Malley. He more or less is a combo of the two now and seems much more capable due to it, so that’s good. So yeah, while it may not have been a lot, the Blues and Doc were at least given something, which is better than nothing at all.

The Reds though… so you know how these past two seasons started giving them more development? You would think that since Donut is the main character, that would continue, right? Haha… nope! They went right back to ‘the comedy relief team who do absolutely nothing!’! Which after the past two seasons started to do more with them… yeah, this felt like a slap in the face. Sarge annoyed me this season. Mainly in Episode 7 where he was a hypocritical asshole about Donut’s betrayal, ignoring how he not that long ago betrayed everyone and was still feeling guilty about it. He was also the one primarily being a jerk to Donut, which did not do him any favors. I know it’s Sarge and he’s an asshole, so it’s not 100% unexpected… but I felt like it was pushed too much just to contribute to the ‘Donut is so unappreciated!’ arc. His speech in Episode 6 was hilarious though and I did like his Labyrinth vision showing that he can't handle both civilian or army life. It was surprisingly insightful in a way that I’m not used to with Sarge. So yeah, I feel his screentime was on par with Sister and Caboose at least.

Simmons… got nothing. Absolutely nothing. I mean the running gag where he kept seeing Donut shot was really funny, and it also meant he wasn't an asshole like Sarge. Heck, he seemed to be the only one willing to hear Donut out about saving them in Episode 7. And he did more or less point out how they could launch the gold club through the portal to stop Genkind from reigniting the paradox, which was minor but nice to see for him. Him not being a kissass anymore is also sticking, which seeing him back when he was pettier in Episode 2 did make me appreciate where he is now. The way that he was legit concerned for Donut during the ‘Wash shoots Donut’ gag also helps make it look like he at least cared about him in contrast to Sarge’s jackassery. But he was otherwise just there. Very least, it also means he was the only Red that I didn’t get frustrated about since his character remained consistent… until the finale with the utter bullshit that was his nightmare. Seriously guys, what the fuck?!

But at least with Sarge and Simmons, they weren’t exactly in the spotlight last season, so I don’t feel like I got cheated with them. I cannot say the same about Grif, however. Which we will cover that, as well as the Story section, in Part Two.

(Part Two)

[untoten-fuchs]

Finished the original Full Metal Panic! tonight.

Took me a few months to get through the 24 episodes since I’m more busy than I used to be but now I’m here. I don’t quite remember how I came to learn about it but I’m sure it had to do with the random shit my friends and I talk about at the local hobby shop. Either way I’m glad I got to it.

Plot: It’s a simple premise. Sousuke was raised in battlefields and is sent by his PMC to guard Kaname, a very special girl, from bad guys. It bounces between action and comedy regularly. The action is done really well with only a scene or two standing out as meh. It does a bit of everything between tension, cleverness, surprises, and most battles not being a stomp. It’s choice of comedy a little hit or miss. On one hand it had me smiling with how good Kaname’s VA delivered her lines. On the other hand, despite using it most of the time for it’s purpose, the ecchi parts missed more than it hit. It never made me not want to watch but I did feel like I was waiting for the scene to pass. Some of the episodes don’t feel particularly connected but for the most part it wraps up everything it presents. There are a couple episodes dedicated to just being fun but otherwise keeps rolling. 

Characters: Uhhhh, not too much to say. The main cast has a pretty reasonable spread of personalities. Sousuke is militaristic but kind without normal social understanding, Kaname is outgoing and intelligent if a little tsundere, Teletha starts pretty quiet but is shown to be playful as she opens up, Weber is a bit of a creep but absolutely will protect people first, Mao is professional on the job and tends to loosen up off the clock, and Gauron is mister bad guy with vague enough reasons to fuck up anyone. Most of the characters don’t change much and the side characters do their parts well.

Animation: I’m really a fan of the art style. Many of the characters are actually pretty distinct from one another from the hairstyles to their facial structure. The De Danaan’s crew alone standing out in the opening. Facial expressions are also done really well ranging from Gauron being a crazed mad man to Kaname being really annoyed or happy. The mecha themselves and most of the action scenes are really nicely detailed. Only a few different designs appear but they’re all set well enough apart and can easily be identified in action. Tbh just watch the opening and you’ll see what I mean.

Music: Watch the OP and ED. Everything in between is fine but I can’t say I actually remember any distinct tracks otherwise. Seriously though, the opening is one of my favorites of all time between the wholesome lyrics and lovely soft rock. The ending is much the same, just... more sad. So good! But sad.

My Thoughts: It’s an oddly mixed show with some serious hits and some meh misses. I love it anyway. I just want to say it upfront, but main girl Kaname is really top notch and really carried the less serious scenes. The animators nailed her expressions and the VA was a perfect match. Anyway, I wouldn’t call it a top 10 for me but there’s just something about the OP/ED, characters, and mecha fights that really give me an appreciation for the whole thing. I can't get over the quality and design that went into those. I’ve heard Fumoffu and Second Raid split comedy and action respectively lending to much more focused experiences. I look forward to them but I’m certainly happy with the original.

[kordeliiius]

Spring Anime 2018 First Impressions

This season is looking up to be a pretty big one. For some people, it's because several huge series such as Tokyo Ghoul, BnHA, and Stein's Gate are returning to the screen all at once. But for me, who got into hardly any of those, it's more because I feel like I have more on my plate than before. Heck, there were a few more shows here and there that didn’t quite make my watchlist, but I feared I wouldn’t have enough time to get through all of them, so it’s back to the usual one or two per day. Without further adieu, let’s get into it!

Notes:

I won’t be doing impressions for anything continuing from last season. This consists of: Black Clover, CCS Clear Card

Decided to not watch Golden Kamuy after all; Decided to add Comic Girls to the list

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi - A show like this might remind a person of Noragami, Inuyasha, Kamisama Hajimemashita, or Spirited Away because of the heavily-emphasized youkai theme, though none of them put such an emphasis on food, so I'm looking forward to how the show sets itself apart from the crowd. At the moment, I'd say it's alright. The animation is nothing special, but I immediately became a fan of the color usage, with the OP drawing me in, and I specifically remember seeing that initial shot of the Hidden Realm with a color-contrasting town and mountain range against the night sky. I found a few of the character designs to be intriguing as well, though I'm a little concerned as to how far the show will go in terms of personality. It's gonna take a little more than them being attractive to drag me in this time. I'm at least glad that the main synopsis is out of the way and we've already landed in wonderland. I decided to watch this show pretty last-minute, but I like it enough to keep going!

Magical Girl Ore - Hooooooh boy where do I even begin with this one? So. Basically it draws you in by throwing all the cliches in your face. Reusing shots, childhood friends, embarrassing teenage drama, the sentient ahoge, super long attack names, the power of love, etc etc. The intro to the first episode was like Tokyo Mew Mew and Precure (and maybe even One Punch Man?) had a child that liked to occasionally break the fourth wall, and I loved it. I wouldn’t say the show is quite as outrageous as something like Pop Team Epic, though it certainly is outrageous. Certainly looking forward to the fun I’ll be having with this one, though I’ll probably dread watching it in public...

Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai - I don’t watch very many romcom animes, though for one reason or another I decided to check this one out. After looking into it, I discovered that it’s being made by the same studio who adapted Nozaki-kun, so this’ll be interesting. Getting into the actual show, I admittedly didn’t like Teresa riiiiight away (probably because she was introduced with the typical “gaikokujin” stigma), though like some other watchers, I can’t help but feel like there’s a mystery surrounding her. She did hesitate in saying her last name, after all. I recall the synopsis saying that she and Alec were from Luxembourg, though in the show they’re calling it Larsenbourg? Weird. At the moment, a voice that really stands out to me is that of Ijuuin’s, I found it amusing to listen to. (I also looked up his VA, and found out he’s apparently a big deal.) I feel like the voice acting is good in general. This show has a slow start, so I honestly don’t have much to say about it, yet it seems promising to me.

Comic Girls - Sure enjoyed watching this one! I first showed interest in Comic Girls because I like to draw a lot, myself, and I plain and simply love manga, so I thought that a whole series dedicated to the process would be an excellent idea. And I feel like the first episode got the feeling of an artist down pretty well. Though I'm more experienced with general classroom settings rather than a (college) dorm, I think this anime accurately portrays communication with artist peers, the joys and pains of creating, and living in a new environment. It's also good as a comedy, and it makes good use of gags such as typical manga cliches, using panel-like screens for scene portrayals, Kaos' oddly adorable nervousness amped to the extreme, and how everyone is gay for Tubas, but don’t quite admit it. While some things are obviously exaggerated, all the characters seem real, and the fact that this is a cutesy, colorful slice of life doesn't prevent it from showing us their struggles as artists. I almost didn't test this show out, but I'm ultimately glad I did.

Hinamatsuri - I REALLY LIKED IT! I really liked it. That’s the least I can say right now, haha. We’ve just begun and this show is hilarious. You wouldn’t think a show with a yakuza and a psychic little girl would work, but it honestly does. I’m not sure why it took so long for it to be uploaded anywhere, but the intro hooked me with its fast-paced, non-stop animation, and from what I can tell, that part was a flash-forward that gave us a preview of the plot. I like the setup and the characters quite a bit, and I just know there’s gonna be more along the way. Also, can I just say that I really like how they draw the hair in this show? I don’t think I’ve seen something quite like it before.

Boku no Hero Academia Season 3 - Not the strongest start for a new season, to be honest. A lot of the episode was simply dedicated to flashbacks, recap exposition, and what some people would call filler, I guess. So far not a lot to get us prepped for the upcoming plot, other than what was already stated or implied at the end of the last season. Other than that, I thought the OP and ED were quite nice! The OP song was really hype and modern-sounding in my opinion, and I liked the ED because it started off by showing pencil concepts and keyframes, which are something I always like to see. Tasty. Can’t wait for new characters and for things to get real dark in the near future.

Piano no Mori - I actually liked it more than I thought I would. the characters and their personalities drew me in immediately, and I can’t wait do see how the relationship between Kai and Shuuhei grows. This is just a little suspicion, but I’m hoping the series uses magical realism somehow. The prominent example in this first episode was when the piano in the forest would play for Kai and no one else, and for this to truly be MR, it can never be explained. It’s something I’ve been wanting from an anime ever since I started studying the genre again. And you know what? I’m just gonna say it. The use of CG isn’t bad. In fact, they kinda had to use it, considering how fast these kids’ fingers are flying and the kind of camera movement they’re going for. It looked something straight out of a game to me; it clearly looked like it had effort put into it. And hey, why couldn’t Houseki be that smooth most of the time? I’ll be looking forward to the rest of this show, and appreciate some quality music while I’m at it.

OOOOOOF that was a lot to get out. For now, I’m gonna sit back and watch what I’ve chosen and just have fun with it. See you in a few weeks for the usual ongoing impressions!

[tarenko]

Taren’s Games of the Year!

Another year, another set of amazing games and holy shit did 2017 have some knockouts! Please keep in mind this is based only on games I was able to play and there were a few I missed!

Best Art Direction - Persona 5

Persona 5 is a game that bleeds A E S T H E T I C from every single piece of its body. The games use of a red and black color pallet for the menus as well as incredibly smooth animations and a jazzy, upbeat score make it an incredible sight to behold and a joy to hear. The gameplay is the best yet in the Persona series with the reintroduction to demon negotiation as well as a plethora of abilities unlocked through your confidants. It’s an incredible tight package with a good storyline (though I still prefer 3′s overall story). If you are a fan of RPG’s pick this game up. You will not regret it.

Best Soundtrack - Nier Automata

I need to put a lot more time into Nier Automata than I have. This game has 26 endings and I’ve only scratched the surface so far. What I’ve played has been pretty good and I can tell there’s far more to the story. Combat and visuals look and feel great thanks to Platinum Games compared to the original Nier albeit somewhat simplistic compared to something like a Devil May Cry game. Where Automata has truly stood out to me though is in the music. Every single track in this game has been incredible. One specific track that began to play after the conclusion of a side quest has stuck with me ever since and I’ve begun playing it regularly out of how incredibly beautiful it is. Nier Automata is well worth anyone’s time and is sure to touch your robotic heart.

Best Fighting Game - Tekken 7

Tekken 7 is a beautiful looking fighting game with plenty of content and more on the way. The story mode is silly but fun to go through, there’s an arcade mode, online is tight, and THERE’S BOWLING. Did I mention GEESE HOWARD IS IN THIS FUCKING GAME WHAT THE HELL. Pick this up if you have any sort of love for fighting games. Honorable mention goes to Injustice 2 which I did not get the chance to play but since launch is adding Hellboy AND the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the roster.

Best Shooty Game - Splatoon 2

Splatoon 2 is more Splatoon with more content. More maps, more weapons, more missions, more game modes, more character styles and customization. More EVERYTHING. Updates are free and the game is still as fun as the original with many different ways to play and a great twist on shooting games as a whole where your primary target is the map rather than the enemies. Honorable mention goes to Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus which I did not get the chance to play yet but I’ve heard many good things about. You get to shoot nazis so it gets an A in my book.

Best Racing Game - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

This is kinda cheating as it’s sorta a rerelease of MK8 but Deluxe adds a proper battle mode now as well as a few new characters and all dlc included so I’m counting it anyway. This game is excellent. I have had so much fun with this game and being able to take my Switch to a friend’s place and both of us use a Joycon to have a few rounds is a total blast. Every single course is beautiful and fun as hell and the music for some stages is incredible. If you enjoy playing racing games with friends, don’t pass up this one.

Best 2D Platformer - Sonic Mania

Holy fuck. Sonic Mania is so good. From the visuals, to the music, to the gameplay, everything about it is tight and a blast from start to finish. The game is an excellent return to form for Sonic and the team of fans behind this have shown the world that Sonic can still go fast. 

Best 3D Platformer - Mario Odyssey

HERE WE GO. OFF THE RAILS. DON’T YOU KNOW IT’S TIME TO RAISE OUR SAILS. IT’S FREEDOM LIKE YOU NEVER KNEW. Mario Odyssey is my first 3D Mario game ever and I have to say, It’s p good guys. Platforming is incredibly tight, levels are super varied and interesting, exploration is greatly rewarded, and there are so many different abilities at your disposal. The base story of the game can be fairly short depending on how you play through it but the game has hundreds of challenges for you ranging from reaching areas, solving puzzles, racing RC cars, to so much more. It’s a game that screams fun and becomes an incredibly enjoyable challenge once you start searching for those harder moons. Honorable Mention goes to A Hat in Time, a game that looks so incredibly cute and I’ve heard nothing but good things about from friends.

Best Game I Played this Year that Came Out Last Year - VA-11 HALL-A

Va-11 Hall-a. If anyone ever asks me what my aesthetic is I just need to point to this game. The music, the art style, the characters, the setting, everything about this game clicks with me on a personal level that I adore. The premise is fairly simple: you live in a cyberpunk future under a shitty government. You aren’t here to cause a big change in this world but rather to serve drinks for the people who live in it. As you do you’ll learn more about your patrons, the world, and even your player character, Jill. The gameplay isn’t too involved but can have some interesting effects on the story which is the main star of this Visual Novel. The main story and sub stories of this game are some of the most relatable and enjoyable ones I’ve seen in a while from a game and I loved every single one. It requires you to pay attention and remember certain conversations to see how people connect to each other and understand each person’s motivations. There was never a dull point in this game and I can not recommend it enough. Please buy VA-11 HALL-A. It’s time to mix drinks and change lives.

Best Game of the Year - Gravity Rush/The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Okay I’ve been stuck with this decision for the entire year and I still can’t decide between these two. They are both masterpieces and deserve high praise, so let’s go over them both.

Gravity Rush 2 is the sequel to the original Gravity Rush and improves on it in every possible way. The world is beautiful with a cel shaded sort of art style and strong use of color to give each area a different feeling. Music throughout the game is absolutely incredible and the story gives an excellent conclusion to what began in the first game. Combat and maneuvering are greatly improved and the game is simply fun to explore and experiment different ways of using your powers. The characters in Gravity Rush 2 are top notch and found myself loving each one for their unique personalities. Kat is an excellent protagonist and the feeling of flying between buildings, hopping from place to place gracefully is incredible. I can not recommend Gravity Rush 2 enough and think it is a must have for any PS4 owner.

Breath of the Wild is my first ever Zelda game and holy shit am I hooked. This game feels so incredible to play and the world is incredibly beautiful and fleshed out. There’s insane amounts of detail to all the different ways you can approach problems and the feeling of experiencing a world that both you and your character know nothing about and have no requirement to go a specific direction at the start is an incredible feeling. The game rewards exploration and experimentation and tells a story through recovered memories that tie into the present day beautifully. The soundtrack is understated and usually small piano melodies but when things get intense turns into these wild mixtures of techno and classical music. I loved every moment of learning my way through the world and discovering new challenges and quests. If you own a switch or wii u buy this game. It is incredible.

[kihocrystal]

Mahou Tsukai Precure - Final Impressions

It’s that time of year again; another Precure series has finished its run! You can find my thoughts about Mahou Tsukai Precure under the cut!

Mahou Tsukai Precure! - 7.5 - 8.0 / 10 (B-)

This season was on the weaker side (in comparison to past Precure seasons), but I still had a good time with it and found aspects that I really enjoyed~

art/animation:

Toei did a fine job overall here! everything looks very bright and colorful~

there’s also good use of highlights & sparkles, giving characters lots of shine!

I really liked the art-style in general, as I liked how the rounded eyes & fluffy hair were drawn!

Edit: I forgot about the form changes the Precure have this time around (Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, and Topaz)!

I liked their implementation much better than in Happiness Charge (since they’re actually used outside of attack animations this time!)

That being said, the extra forms don’t change their style of battle *that* much

Their designs though range from cool to... weird (I’m looking at you, Topaz)

Animation-wise, it had its ups and downs (as most long-running shows do)

In other words, some episodes look great! and others have some off-models shots going on…

Action/fight scenes were also kinda lacking, since there wasn’t much fluidity in their movements

The fights in general were pretty short overall and relied a lot on stock sequences

Those stock sequences (transformations, finishers, etc.) though looked pretty good!

Every other type of scene had pretty standard animation overall (though that art style does help)

CGI is used for the endings again, which doesn’t bother me at all since it looks great!

characters:

The cast was fun overall, but the standouts are definitely the main girls & mascot!

Mirai and Riko are such a good duo! I liked seeing their bonds grow over time, plus they have a good dynamic together!

I also liked how both girls had to adapt to being in a new world! plus both girls reacted differently to their new surroundings!

Mirai was full of wonder, while Riko learned to appreciate the non-magic world (& her family!!!) over time!

Mofurun is definitely one of the best mascots Precure’s had in quite a while!

She’s just super caring, and is basically Mirai’s childhood friend brought to life! What a good idea!

Kotoha/Haa-chan is fun, super bubbly, and had her share of life lessons too! And of course, she develops a strong bond w/ Mirai and Riko too~

(she’s also a nice nod to Hana-chan from Ojamajo Doremi :P)

Plus, I love how all three Precure girls have great seiyuus behind them! Rie Takahashi, Yui Horie, and Saori Hayami! :D

The villains this season were just… okay overall.

The first half minions had some fun personalities at least! They just didn’t get to do much

Also it’s worth noting that Batty actually turned good by the end! (+ the rest came back to fight during the 2nd half too!)

Plus Dokuroxy himself being a former friend of the Headmaster was a nice touch

The second half minions weren’t that exciting either…

There is one exception to this though: Orba’s definitely the best minion of the bunch!

I just really liked how he was super analytical and scheming… he even blackmailed Chikurun into working for him

Plus his seiyuu’s performance (by Noriaki Sugiyama) really helped here too

While i’m talking about seiyuu’s, can I just mention how there’s at least *three* seiyuus from the F/SN series in this???

Kirei’s VA played Gamettsu, Tokiomi’s VA played Shakince, and Shirou’s VA played Orba! it’s like a reunion in here!

The rest of the supporting cast isn’t anything to write home about, but they were good, well, *support* to the Procure girls!

I liked how the adults got some spotlight time too! Including the headmaster, Riko’s family, and even Mirai’s grandma!

The Magic world adults even helped the Precure w/ actual plot stuff!!! I love it when shows do that!

Even the classmates from the Magic world got some focus too!

Can’t really say the same for the non-magic world classmates though (besides the girl who kept saying she saw witch stuff)

I can’t forget Chikurun either! He had a simple yet nice character arc that was good to see~

story:

The premise follows two girls from different worlds that become friends and help bridge the gap between those worlds!

Of course, there’s also the transforming and fighting evil part, as is tradition :P

The main aspect of this show that I think goes unappreciated by many is the slice-of-life aspects!

There’s some focus on world-building for both worlds, ranging from different landscapes to culture and traditions!

Just seeing how these worlds contrasted each other (and in some ways cross paths) was cool to see!

I also liked learning about the worlds’ lore, which also tied into the “fighting evil” plot!

The character stories were also one of this show’s strong suits!

Whether it was giving them good development, or simply them just having a good time, I thought it was executed quite well!

These were definitely the best source of this show’s heartwarming moments~

Honestly, I felt like this show was worth watching for this aspect alone!

As for the “fighting-evil” part of the story, this show fell a little flat in comparison to prior entries

While both halves of the show had different villains behind them, both story arcs kinda had the same problems

The plot beats themselves were fine, but its execution felt pretty basic overall

The villains not being as memorable and the two big climax fights feeling rushed didn’t help either

The story overall almost seemed more concerned w/ the “bridging the two worlds” aspect vs. the “defeating the calamity” aspect (focus on the latter aspect definitely lessened over time)

That being said, I did like certain aspects of the story (including adults being involved and the world’s lore tying into the plot)

I don’t even have a problem w/ Haa-chan being a successor to Mother Rapapa! It makes sense w/ the given foreshadowing!

Also Orba’s involvement later on improved the plot progression a bit w/ his actions (including Chikurun’s character arc)

The finale in particular irked me, though…

There was no reason they couldn’t of just made all of episode 49 the final fight, and episode 50 be the timeskip epilogue...

Instead, the final fight lasts only ~10 minutes and the actual final episode just feels like a OVA instead of a proper finale :T

that being said, the epilogue part in episode 49 *was* pretty dang good~

they even included a KiraPre cameo in episode 50… I’m not sure how I feel about this

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Mahou Tsukai Precure! It’s far from perfect, but its worldbuilding and character arcs helped bring up this show higher for me than it would’ve been otherwise. If you’re a fan of Precure or other monster-of-the-week magical girl shows, I suggest checking it out!

[justlanroyref-blog]

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[recentanimenews]

Fans Give Their Hot Takes On The Anime Awards

More important than the Oscars, the Grammys, and the Havelock, North Carolina Chili Cookoff combined is the Anime Awards. It's that wonderful time when we can look over the past year of anime and bestow honors upon the ones that most touched our hearts. And with them looming ever closer, we asked some of y'all to give us your hot takes on who YOU think should take the trophy in some of the categories. And you didn't disappoint. Your answers ranged from surprising to thoughtful to inspired, so we decided to collect the twelve best of them and post them here for the rest of the internet to love and appreciate and then, as the internet does, nitpick into oblivion. 

  I'm gonna go down category by category, and what better category to start with than the big one: Best Anime.

  BEST ANIME

  "Yorimoi for AOTY" by Cameron (A Place Farther Than The Universe)

  A Place Further Than The Universe was the best anime of the year. It was the best anime by far and no other show came even close. There were plenty of other shows I loved this year like Laid-back Camp and Revue Starlight but none of those shows compare to the good good Antarctica girls. The show teaches amazing lessons and made me cry many times. The email scene at the end of episode 12 made me cry for hours and I still tear up every time I think about it. It's just genuinely one of the best shows I've ever seen. This is my new go-to recommendation for people who want to get into anime. Their adventure is so inspiring and it deserves anime of the year. 

  "Devilman: Crybaby" by Manic Stylo (Devilman Crybaby)

  It's been almost universally accepted by both formalist and populist anime fans that Devilman Crybaby has the qualities of an instant classic. From its unique visual direction, infectious soundtrack, and unrelenting use of adult content, Devilman Crybaby breathes new life into Go Nagai's classic manga and beautifully streamlines it for a contemporary audience. Remaining mostly faithful to its source material, director Masaaki Yuasa's sensibility for abstract and avant-garde visuals makes for a delightfully nightmarish fever-dream adaptation of Nagai's original concept (it's a match made in heaven...or hell in this case). As far as adult anime go, Crybaby is consistently balanced fare with uncompromisingly violent action for anyone who just wants a fun romp, solid thematic undertones for those who want more bite out of their shows, and tastefully implemented real-world commentary if you want more than just escapism. A hyper-stylized modern gothic masterpiece, whether it worked for you or not, Devilman Crybaby will not leave your subconscious any time soon.

  "Zombies But Still Alive" by Jouii-chan (ZOMBIE LAND SAGA)

    2018 has been quite the year for anime. It's my first year that I've been watching and keeping up with seasonal anime with Crunchyroll! But one show stood out to me, and that show was Zombie Land Saga. For the first few episodes, I was pretty doubtful about the series. I mean, an idol anime with zombie girls? That was just plain crazy!

  But as the show went on, I realized Zombie Land Saga was more than some silly comedy show. It was beauty. All the characters had great chemistry, and the music was great. It got me addicted to it with it's great music too. The best part of the show was how it showed the indomitable human spirit and how even through the toughest of storms, anyone can prevail. Sakura provided a great lead with her past sucking her of all her confidence, yet she overcomes this to lead Franchouchou to a great future. Zombie Land Saga was one of the surprises of 2018, and I was always hyped to watch the new episodes when they came out.

  "Violet Evergarden: An Anime for a Lifetime" by James (Violet Evergarden)

  Violet Evergarden is an anime that grabs your heart. The loss of a father, mother, daughter, son- the fears of rejection, regret, and failure- Violet Evergarden reaches inside you, and pulls tight on these strings. It's not just a post-war story; Violet Evergarden is a somber filled tale that elicits a strong sense of empathy from the audience. Beautifully rendered and well-paced, the story features a subtle escalation in heart ache and healing. Each episode takes the time to fully immerse the audience in a complex micro-story filled with very human lives. This anime understands the importance of a well developed character, and spends it's time wisely weaving this incredibly vibrant, living world. Story aside, the animation and artwork are absolutely stunning. When paired, the audio and visual cues truly bring the world of Violet Evergarden to life. From start to finish, there is no other animation that delivers a more compelling sense of catharsis and satisfaction, and that is why I believe Violet Evergarden deserves to be Anime of the Year.

    Best Boy

    "I Would Lay Down My Life For Toono Hiyori" by Nija (Free! -Dive to the Future-)

  200 words definitely aren't enough to properly convey my intense love and appreciation for my everything, the light of my life, the absolute blessing that is Toono Hiyori from Free! but I'M STILL GONNA TRY because he deserves everything. Starting out as a fun antagonist, turning into a slightly confusing antagonist, and then ep. 6 hits you with that ABSOLUTE GUT-PUNCH and I weep for him always. He did some things wrong (though I understand why he did them and wouldn't say I necessarily disagree tbh) but in the end he's just a lonely boy giving everything for the person he cares about the most without ever asking anything in return. Less important but still Important things include: he's a jerk sometimes and I love it. His frenemyship with Asahi? The funniest thing. He can and will ruin your life with a smile, he loves reading and coffee and has a really good fashion sense, he's very organised and on top of things, even if he's a social mess lbr... And if he likes you, he'll probably kill for you. All in all he's just the best and you, person who's reading this entry, should know that too. Bless his soul.

  "Katsuki Bakugo, A Living, Breathing Explosion" by Mimi Valentine (My Hero Academia)

  Katsuki Bakugo is easily one of the most dynamic characters of the year. Starting with his complicated relationship with Izuku, his hidden jealousy for a boy with no quirk, to outright anger at him suddenly having a quirk, to the rejecting the trope of "rival becomes evil for greater power," to confessing his feelings of inferiority towards Izuku, and the intense self blame for what happened to All Might. Katsuki has always shown that he has this heart, from treating Uraraka as his equal in the torunament, to fully acknowledging Izuku's growth ans strength. Seeing his slow dismantle from just a typical bully to a hidden broken boy only to show you that under all that anger, he's truly just a boy who wants to be a hero.

  "Why Rimuru Tempest is the bestest boy of not just this year, but of all time" by Kat (That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime)

  There were a lot of good boys this year, but who was the goodest? The undoubtedly most delicious smudge-muffin in existence?

My answer is Rimuru Tempest and here's why:

He is the kindest ball of squidge you could ever meet. He would stop and help anyone in need at the drop of a hat. In his previous life he DIED saving his kohai from an attacker and he would do it again.

He is adorable. How could you take one look at his face (or lack there of) and not fall in love instantly with this soft boy? Not only is he soft in his ball form but once he grants the wish of a dear friend, he becomes the ultimate soft boy. One you could probably hug endlessly and both of you would still be comfortable.

He is the definition of epic. One of the first things he does with his new life is befriend and EAT a dragon. He ate him, whole. Then he proceeded to eat everything else in the cave. If you hurt one of friends he'll eat you too! Not before he beats you in a hilariously and awesomely one sided combat sequence though.

  BEST FIGHT SCENE

  "SSSS. Gridman's True Final Battle" by Donovan Bertch (SSSS. Gridman)

  The greatest part about SSSS.Gridman's final battle wasn't the sheer amount of quality animation and editing on display. It wasn't the satisfaction of seeing Gridman finally return to his original form, theme songs blaring, as he finally decked the villainous Alexis Kerib in his smug face. It wasn't even finding out what the hell SSSS actually meant in the end. All of those were wonderful moments that made the fight shine, to be sure. However, the greatest part was that when all was said and done, the fight wasn't Gridman vs. Alexis Kerib. It was the show's antagonist, Akane Shinjo, vs. Herself. Her sins, her insecurities, her self-hatred...it took a lot of effort, and it wasn't a total victory (given that Akane's final scene with Rikka shows her still processing her guilt), but few things are that simple. Even when the heroes came to encourage her, it was Akane who made the final choice that led to Kerib's downfall. Gridman may have landed the final strike and had the big speech about human potential, but Akane Shinjo defeated Alexis Kerib and saved her world. The action-packed duel was just icing on the cake.

  BEST VA PERFORMANCE (EN)

  "My Hero Academia, Episode 61: Bakugo's Breakdown (Clifford Chapin)" by Masky (My Hero Academia)

    In one of the most emotionally stirring episodes of the entire series, we finally see all of Bakugo's pent-up anger come to a boil in this what could be considered a huge turning point for his character development. As a character who is known for his angry outbursts, this episode let us have some insight into Bakugo's inferiority complex and really reminded us just how young and emotionally immature these upcoming heroes are, and yet how much responsibility is weighing on their shoulders. With such an important milestone for a character like Bakugo, the voice acting in this episode was critical. Clifford Chapin gave an extremely raw and powerful performance that truly echoed Bakugo's pain; a performance that exceeded expectations of even those who don't normally give dubs a try. It was real, emotionally-charged, and could be considered a landmark for just how far english dubs have come.

  "Clifford Chapin (Katsuki Bakugo)" by Katherine (My Hero Academia)

    My Hero Academia fans sure are spoiled with a fantastic same-day English simuldub in addition to everything we already love about the series! With great casting overall by ADR Director Colleen Clinkenbeard, Chapin's take on Bakugo is one of the highlights. He's consistently been such a natural fit for the role that I can't imagine anyone else voicing him, and always seems to give 110%. Season 3 has been no exception with some key moments to really shine, including a fan-favorite emotional confrontation. His vocal cords would probably disagree, but I'm definitely glad he's a part of one of my favorite anime from 2018.

  BEST OPENING SEQUENCE

  "Fighting Gold - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" by Loon (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind)

    "Fighting Gold" is an intro I was honestly excited for long before it was even announce. I may be slightly biased as a manga fan and long time Jojo fan but in all honesty "Fighting Gold" is really a masterpiece in my opinion. It highlights the series so well with plenty of hidden spoilers as most Jojo intros have had before it telling the story perfectly if you break it down. It is an intro I will honestly never try to skip to get to the anime itself faster.

  BEST DIRECTOR

  "Akira Amemiya - SSSS.Gridman" BY Katherine (SSSS. Gridman)

    I would not be surprised to see SSSS.Gridman represented in quite a few categories this year, but its direction is where the show truly shines as one of the best of 2018. Akira Amemiya and Studio Trigger juxtapose the understated, day-to-day activities of our heroes with glorious, city-destroying kaiju battles without ever being jarring. However, that doesn't mean the former is only viewed though a mundane lens while the latter are just beautiful hype machines. Character moments have just as much flair as any fight with dynamic framing, art, and sound design, while tokusatsu battles are given so much attention to detail with how the kaiju move to pay homage to the live-action shows the team grew up with. Amemiya has a confident sense of visual language, and it shows every episode. SSSS.Gridman is subtle when it needs to be and bombastic when it wants to be, which is not an easy task to pull off.

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  And there you have it, the diverse tastes of anime fans and people that praise the holy name of Bakugo. But even if you didn't find your submission on here, thank you for taking part in this and double thank you for supporting Crunchyroll over the past year. We do our best to give you the greatest anime collection in the universe, so we appreciate y'all taking the time to give us your thoughts in return.

  Remember, if you haven't voted in The Anime Awards, there's still time! And if you have, we look forward to sharing the winners with you on February 16th, when the Awards are streamed live on Twitch. 

    By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[furederiko]

The Devil's Scientist made his influences known, eventhough he's not around in flesh and soul... or is he? Hmmmm....

You know the drill, last time it was my internet that behaved badly. This time, my health was the the culprit. Forcing me to stay in bed since last week, postponing all the plans I've made and posts I've wanted to publish. To be completely honest though, this was initially meant to include episode 10 that's about to air in just 2 hours from now (following last week's break). In a last minute hours decision, I've decided to delay episode 10, and batch that one alongside the other November episodes. Separating these episodes on a monthly basis sounds better for the long run, right? Okay then, here's episode 08 and 09...

08 - "Maternal Instinct"

- Hey there, we got to see the three Prime Ministers again. Along with their names, in case people have forgotten. I know I have, because last we saw them was 5 episodes ago. LOL. Yoshiko Tajimi of Hokuto questioned how the fugitive Kamen Rider was able to appear in her region. Masakuni Midou of Seito pointed out that Touto could be working on a military angle with this. Taizan Himuro of Touto obviously didn't have a clue, because it's his son who's playing with fire. - Aaah, yes, I guess there's good coming from the identity reveal of Night Rogue. Gentoku got to show up much more often now, and even in the battle! No more beating around the bushes or playing coy. We also learned a hint of his motive with the Kamen Rider system. It's clear that he wanted to build a military response to protect Touto from the threat of Seito and Hokuto, even if that's against the wishes of his own father who prefered to focus on economy. Classic case of Republican vs Democrat, eh? Then again, Gentoku could simply be exhibiting paranoia, constantly living in fear that the other regions are scheming to attack his region when that 'might' not be the case. For now, let's just wait and see... - Having learned from Blood Stalk that her son was the founder of Faust, Kyoka decided to give Sento and clown Ryuuga (no kidding, he had TWO cosplay jokes in one episode) a chance. In a sweet conversation she told them about Takumi, his love of science, and how he idolized his late father, the man previously responsible for Pandora's Box. - It's an intimate conversation, that was amped up by Sento's polite and emotional reaction when he ate Takumi's favorite dish: sweet rolled omelette (Tamagoyaki). Hmmm... this reaction felt odd. Could it be possible that, Sento is in fact... Takumi? As in, trapped in an outer body situation? Seriously though, the more I saw it, the more I felt how Takumi indeed resembled so much like him. This is a sci-fi show, so perhaps Takumi's consciousness was transferred into Sentou when he died? That's certainly one possibility. - Apparently, Kyoka left Takumi's research data in Touto, and wanted to retrieve that herself to ensure that it's given to the right hands. Sadly, that also caused her to be the prime target of Faust. Dang it, our boy Gentoku is ruthless! Not only he snatched Kyoka himself, he openly tricked her into giving the data, and then turned her into Smash just to erase his tracks. He wanted to protect Touto, but would do anything, even use dirty measures to get it done. Can't say I dislike this ambiguous side though... *grins* - The Fire Engine Full Bottle that Misora handed out was a Best Match with Hedgehog (the one from episode 1), turning Sento into "A Pin-Point Rescue", Fire Hedgehog form. FYI, this was the form that encouraged me to see this show... before I actually saw its appearance. I dig the design, but why the Red and White color scheme? To make it look like a Fire Truck? Hmmm... - Kyoka was rescued, but the memory of her meeting with Gentoku and Utsumi was already lost. Thankfully, Takumi had already planned out his own safety measure in advance, by planting the Bank's safety box as decoy. The real USB flash drive was hidden elsewhere by Kyoka, at a special place for both Takumi and her husband: Nanba Heavy Industries Composite Materials Laboratory. Sento and Ryuuga obtained the data, but Stalk has been... ugh, stalking them. - Ryuuga fought Stalk, prompting the Cobra to utter that intriguing phrase... of how his enemy's Hazard Level is already 2.4. He continued the battle to increase this number up to 2.7. I wonder why? Build on the other hand, dealt with Night Rogue who entered the battle. - The battle ended abruptly, when Stalk decided to... give the data to Ryuuga. HUH? Night Rogue furiously demanded an explanation as Build ran off with Ryuuga, to which Stalk revealed a sneaky reasoning. He did that on purpose... to let Sento do the hard work for their project (with Ryuuga as the subject). OUCH!!! Of course, this made me certain that Stalk could be Takumi after all. Let's just say, I wouldn't be surprised if he is. Remember Night Rogue? Takumi understood that only his mother knew where the data was hidden, so unlike Gentoku, he waited for her to make the move. And the way he analyzed Ryuuga in battle? That sounded like a mad scientist to me. - This episode ended in another strong note. Kyoka made her decision to entrust the research data to Sento. He returned the favor, by giving her Takumi's private message... "Thank you for giving me life.". Aaaaaw... THE FEELS. As I've said before, Kyoka has been a highlight for this show, and her story with Takumi was soooo compelling and heartfelt. I just hope this wasn't a massive redherring, when the show ends up revealing that Takumi is indeed... Stalk.

Overall: Great goodness!!! WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THIS SHOW?! After being disappointed three episodes in a row, it delivered probably its best episode so far. Both in storyline and acting, particularly Kyoka's, Sento's, and Ryuuga's actors. It not only succeeded in making me VERY intrigued to see what's next, it even made me shed a tear. Of course, it's worth noted that this show still feels like a big game of charade. Moving back and forth and confusing audience with the character's motives and actions while the outcome is pretty much straightforward and simple. So here's a wild guess for the sake of speculation! Basically, these early episodes merely serve as a 'prelude', that will see all Riders (Build, Cross-Z, Rogue, Stalk, and probably more) working together to protect Touto against the other regions. I'm not betting my money on this theory, but if it that's indeed accurate... then I certainly won't be surprised.

09 - "Hazard-Level Twist"

- "PROJECT BUILD". Yep, that's the secret research data that Takumi left behind. Well, I'll be damned! Who would've guessed that Takumi was the true creator of the Build Driver, and not Sento, right? - That Takumi video. I wonder if this was meant to be Build's transformation video, instead of Sento's version? Some people might found this oddly filmed presentation to be... annoying. It honestly didn't shout nerdy scientist, more of a cocky flashy Tony STARK-esque. Remember how "Iron Man" used science for military? But that's good for the plot development, because it actually gave Takumi a proper characterization. Hmmm... his gesture and attitude felt familiar. Wait a sec... BLOOD STALK? *winks* - According to the exposition-heavy video, the Rider System was developed for 'ultimate defense'. Hence, weapons for military. Only people who has achieved a certain criteria could use the Build Driver. And that criteria? *drumrolls* Hazard Level. The phrase Stalk kept mumbling about since episode 6! It's a term used to describe resistance to Nebula Gas, ranging from 1 as the weakest, to 3 as those who could utilize the Driver. This explained why Ryuuga was zapped when he tried to trigger it. He couldn't use it... YET. Sento deduced that those human experiments were likely performed to find perfect candidates for the Driver. - Full Bottles were generated from Nebula Gas, combining a pair would produce new sets of power. Takumi demonstrated this using Wolf and Smartphone to create Smaphowolf form. No sign of when this cool-designed form would make an appearance in the show, because we somehow got the Lock bottle instead. - Another surprise arrived on the opposite side. If you think Gentoku was the Leader of Faust, then you might be mistaken. Another player called Juusaburou Nanba (played by Akira Hamada) entered the fray as Faust's bigwig investor whom Gentoku needed to report to. He even debuted in a fan-service scene that... easily humiliated our Night Rogue. If his last name rings a bell, that's because he's the Chairman of Nanba Heavy Industries... the place where Katsuragi and son used to work! This old man pretty much threatened Gentoku to persuade his father right away, or he would offer his aide to Seito or Hokuto instead. - Sento had a disagreement with Ryuuga (acting like a... married couple? LOL) about Takumi's work, so he ran off to find distraction by... going to work. Seriously? THIS is your reason to actually be in the office?! Two of his colleagues, Shingo Kuwata (played by Ryo Yoshida) and Eita Kawai (played by Tsukasa Honjou, who reminds me of VA Tomokazu Seki) turned out to be Takumi's fanboys. Hold on, why did the episode reveal their names? Important people? - On the other side of the equation, angry Ryuuga vented out by... having casual chit-chat with Misora. Goodness, what is wrong with these guys! Why not talk it out with each other? At least, Ryuuga did a better job, by dragging Misora out of the house to have some fun outing. Another costume cosplay joke aside, this sweet risky 'date' provided us with much needed depth for her. We got to learn more about her, and how she has been a poor victim all these time. 7 years of comatose since the Sky Wall Disaster?! You've got to be kidding me. No wonder she kept saying "Sleepy" and always looked tired. Misora never had a normal life, and she's stuck with that golden bracelet as well, the key item that purified Smash Essence! - As always, things were too perfect after all. Night Rogue attacked them, and tried to take back Misora. Once again, Stalk meddled and allowed Ryuuga to bring her to safety. WOW, WHO's really the higher up among these two then? Why did Gentoku keep on agreeing with Stalk, and not the other way around? - As suspected though, Gentoku was doing all this merely to save Touto. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep it away from the other countries", he vowed. To the point that he wants to do bad to his own father, by stealing the Pandora's Box to spark a war. And guess who would serve as his lackeys? That's right... Kuwata and Kawai. THAT's why these two extras got the privilege of having actual names. LOL. - Kuwata turned into a Smash. Sento utilized the Lion and Vacuum Full Bottles and become "The Maned Cyclone!", Lioncleaner form to deal with him. Nice color scheme, but so-so busy design. It was a quick fight, that ended with Kuwata revealing that he was merely a distraction to ensure Kawai's part. Before the poor nerdy guy obliterated himself, he also revealed that Takumi is still alive. Yep.... CALLED IT! - At the same time, a familiar female voice handed photographic intels on Build to old-man Nanba. Oh Sawa, you sneaky woman you! So the person she has been reporting to in the first episode, was none other than this creepy Chairman. Then again, this could end up becoming another massive red herring. Because if I didn't know any better, Sawa acting as a double agent or some kind is the most probable situation... - One last thing. Why the name 'Kiryuu Sento'? 'SEN' is the first kanji of 'SENSHA' that means 'Tank', while 'TO' is the kanji for the kana 'Usagi' that means 'Rabbit'. So he's... literally Rabbit Tank. LOL. Thanks to this convenient confirmation, I've updated the protagonist's name from 'Sentou' into the more accurate 'Sento'. Is it a coincidence that Sento sounds like 'Saint'? Probably not, knowing Sento's... almost Saint-like personality. What about 'Kiryuu'? That's just the name of the barber whom Souichi visited when he found amnesiac Sento. Oy oy...

Overall: Okay, I'm convinced. I've said that I would give this show a chance only up to episode 9, and it surprised me by giving not one, but TWO consecutive great episodes. This one managed to up the game even further, beating an earlier episode that was already impressive. A show is good if it can hide shocking secrets from the audience, and not just withholding them between characters (because that can get tired very fast). This episode proved just that by pushing us into a fun loop. I admit, this was an exposition-heavy episode, but the many reveals were all important. Takumi got actual personality now. Misora's high school date was truly a highlight that added so much depth to her character. All the ambiguity with Gentoku, who ironicallly has been pushed around by other people, also added depth to his questionable actions. And then there's Sawa... As I've said over and over again, this show is really good when it's serious and not trying to exaggerate itself too much with comedy. I'm also amazed how a science-themed Kamen Rider eventually evolves into a military themed one, complete with political intrigues and agendas. Definitely best episode so far! If there's one part I truly dislike, it's none other than the preview. From the looks of things, Blood Stalk IS exactly who I've been suspecting. Just like episode 6, TOEI LOVES to ruin a good surprise in advance, by revealing the obvious. This time, TWO WHOLE weeks earlier due to the break! Sad to say, that reduces the episode's overall score... a few points *sigh*. Next Episode: Shall we start a war...? PS: For the time being, I WILL be watching more episodes of Build. It still doesn't mean that I'm going to follow it to the end though, because if things get bad again, then I won't ever mind to abandon ship right away. Let's just say, I'm giving the show another chance to prove itself for the next 9 episodes. Will its Hazard Level increase enough to force me to stay, or will it goes the other way and goes 'kaboom'? We'll see... *grins*

Episode 08 Score: 8 out of 10 Episode 09 Score: 8,3 out of 10

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Kamen Rider Build" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.