#ryu plays fallen hero

[ryuichifoxe]

I'm trying to design most of the main cast (from Emery's canon) and figured the modern day Rangers were a good starting point

[bahnloopi]

As per the last question, you mentioned that you were a fan of Street Fighter - Are there any characters that you main or characters you wish you could play as? For that matter, generally speaking are there any characters that you just really like regardless of playability?

For me, as to where the "Shotos" part of my username comes from, I generally like those kinds of characters and tend to play them the most- Ryu, Ken, Dan, etc. I also just happen to really characters like Cody, since he goes through a whole process of being a beloved hero (Final Fight) to a fallen hero (Street Fighter Alpha 3/Street Fighter 4) and then clawing his way back out of his fallen status (Street Fighter 5).

Curious to see what you might have to say, always glad to hear from ya.

In my prime FGC days, a mained a lot of characters. Part of why my wrist is pretty messed up now. I wanted to have mains and pocket counter-picks.

(No specific order by game)

Mains: Chun-Li, Karin, Cammy, Urien, Guile, Blanka, Sakura, Ryu

Pockets/Secondary: Nash, Ken, Hugo, Necalli, Juri, Akuma, R.Mika, Alex, Bison, Balrog, DeeJay, and Ibuki.

[radramblog]

Ultimate^2

Super Smash Brothers Ultimate has finally unveiled its final DLC character, with reactions ranging fully across the spectrum. Hot takes abound.

I mean, statistically, just about every possible opinion is going to be represented. There were at least 500,000 people watching the reveal stream, and that’s not including those viewing through restreams. That’s insane for a trailer of any kind, let alone for a console-exclusive video game DLC.

Now that it’s been like… a day and a bit, I think most of the spciest takes have probably been made, which is the perfect time for me to chip in with my own milder opinion. More of a butter chicken, really.

(no images in this one i’m lazy tonight)

I figure I’m this late already, might as well drop some notes on the other ones first.

Piranha Plant was kind of the definition of an unexpected pick. Not only was it from an already well-represented franchise, being fucking Mario, it’s also just…not a character. As such it makes an odd choice for a DLC fighter…except for the part where it was free. If you owned the game in its first month. And frankly, I don’t think people would have been happy if it wasn’t. As it is, though, it’s a perfectly fine character- surprisingly cute, actually.

I’m unsurprised about Joker’s inclusion. With how huge Persona 5 became in both Japan and the west, capitalizing on it to make a shitload of money makes perfect sense. The character plays well enough, though the meter gimmick was kind of a daunting sign of things to come. All that in mind, though, the most surprising thing about Joker being in the game is that they still haven’t put P5 on the Switch. Atlus please.

Hero and Banjo/Kazooie were announced on the same night, and I distinctly recall someone saying that this was one for the Japanese audience and one for the Americans. I mean, I’ve never played Dragon Quest, so I guess I fell into the latter? Both series have a long, well-regarded pedigree (Banjo’s lack of recent offerings notwithstanding), so both arguably deserve their respective positions. Hero is the much more notable character gameplaywise, though, with the incredibly complex mana and spellcasting mechanics. Complaints about RNG in Smash aren’t completely unfounded- though it has existed in the past in the form of, say, Luigi’s misfiring side-B- but I know a lot of people think Hero took it too far. If I’m honest, though, the weirdest thing is just having Akira Toriyama-ass 3D models in the game. Banjo’s gameplay is…awkward. The kit is kind of a mess, but at least the gimmicks weren’t going too hard, you know?

Next was Terry, perhaps the most obscure character on the entire list in 2021. I actually really like Terry in this game- while he’s still trying to emulate a similar feel to Ryu/Ken, the difference feels more natural, if that makes sense. Maybe it’s because I’ve never really devoted significant time to them, but Terry’s kit feels easier to work within than the Shotos when going between characters.

Finally for the first Pass, we had Byleth. I think it’s for the best that they announced the second Fighter’s Pass before this released, because if both 4 and Ultimate had ended their run on Fire Emblem DLCs then people would have been pissed. I mean, people were already pissed, but like…moreso. As someone who has played Three Houses, I do think the game is worth celebrating, but having yet another Fire Emblem Protagonist (read: basically a blank slate) in the game over all the substantially more interesting characters 3H has to offer is just really frustrating. Also the final smash looks like dogshit, like FE3H has overall worse animations than Smash for obvious reasons but I’m pretty sure this attack looked better the first time around.

FP2 opened with Min Min, which brings ARMS to the table. ARMS. The only first-party fighting game Nintendo has outside of Smash, so it looks a bit less weird next to everything else but…come on, man. I think this was the most confusing pick of all of them- the game came out in 2017, and having Min Min in Smash would serve as promotion for a sequel…which hasn’t been announced. There was a graphic novel in the works, but it was cancelled earlier this year. Oops? At least the stage was fun.

As much as playing them is awkward and complex, the Minecraft addition was fitting. Only the best-selling game around. I think people weren’t sure if Microsoft would go for it, but they let us have Banjo, so sure. I’m mostly just annoyed that they couldn’t get any of the songs from the actual game in there- like, you got one in from the fucking mobile game, but you couldn’t just get C418 on the phone?

Sephiroth is definitely one of the hype-ier releases from this pass. The character is iconic, as is his theme and his home game. I’ve never played any Final Fantasy game, but I can still respect the name. Once I remember how to spell it. The whole bossfight aspect to his release was also quite cool, while it lasted.

On the other hand, I have no love for Pyra nor Mythra. There’s so much wrong with these ones, frankly. They’re another swordy character, immediately following Sephiroth too, and they go back on Smash’s very deliberate decision to split characters like Zelda/Sheik and Samus/ZSS up (Yes I know Pokemon Trainer does the same thing but I have a lot more leniency for them). Add in their being from a JRPG much less well-known or remembered than the previous couple characters and the designs being…questionable, I have a big issue with the whole thing. This was also around when I kinda stopped playing the game in general, and they definitely didn’t help pull me back in.

Kazuya might have, though. With the exception of him and Sephiroth, all the characters from the Fighter’s Passes were pretty much protagonist-types, but this motherfucker pulses with the essence of bad guy. What I’m saying is that he’s fucking cool, and while he’s ludicrously complex, that makes perfect sense since…I mean just look at the combo lists from Tekken 7. His inclusion also kinda rounds out the list of biggest fighting game franchises out there being rep’d in the game, though I imagine now I’m going to have stans from Mortal Kombat or whatever on my back. They’re not going to put a fatality-capable character in Smash, guys!

Finally, this rounds us around to the original point of this article. Let’s talk about Sora. And by that I mean…I don’t really have a huge amount to say about him. Kingdom Hearts is a franchise that completely passed me by growing up, and I don’t think I have the time or energy to devote to it now. I’m sure it’s good, people seemed really excited for him to be in the game so they have to have gotten that love from somewhere, but I don’t share that feeling.

That’s not to say that I don’t think he deserves a slot. The idea of “deserving a slot” in Smash Bros is kind of an odd concept, even though it’s come up a lot so far this post. But a slot in this roster isn’t just a place in a popular fighting game, because at this point, Smash is kind of a museum of (mostly Nintendo) games- and so having representation is a forever acknowledgment that the franchise is, or has been, an icon to so many. Kingdom Hearts, to my knowledge, has 100% earned that position, and so Sora getting to be playable here makes perfect sense. He wasn’t my pick (Touhou representation never I guess), but I’m happy for those who wanted him.

As far as the actual gameplay looks, he reads like a character that kept in mind what people didn’t like about Hero when he released. It’s another sword-based character, which I think at this point speaks more about the demographic of video game characters than it does about Smash. But I appreciate that the Magic Bullshit is toned down, and that it’s also his only real gimmick (The 3-hit combo feature is A Thing, but other characters e.g. Bayonetta have already done that, so whatever). His recovery potential looks patently absurd- like he just gets Pikachu/Pichu’s Up-B as a Side-B that can also be chained with his actual Up-B? This guy better be light as hell or he’s going to be super hard to take out. I dunno, I think he looks solidly fun enough- more dynamic and aerial than the other swordfighters, at least- and that’s good enough for me.

And I guess that marks the end of Smash Ultimate. Not with a bang, but with a key…dude. It’s been a very solid run, the game managing to keep itself fresh across several years of development, even as other games have risen and fallen. Smash is kind of forever at this point, I think, though the finality of Ultimate’s ultimate character implies that this particular iteration may be coming to its end. And seeing as it is always one Smash per console, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Switch itself was nearing its endgame as well.

Okay but also it’s pretty funny how they heavily censored everything Disney out of Sora’s DLC except for that little Mickey charm on the trailer, like how much must that one shot have cost them, was it even remotely worth it, I don’t know but I kinda want to

[aion-rsa]

The Game Awards 2020 Nominees

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The Game Awards return in 2020 to celebrate the best titles of the year. The ceremony will take place on Dec. 10 and will be hosted once again by executive producer and presenter Geoff Keighley. Gamers will be able to watch the festivities via live stream.

Due to restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s ceremony will take place across multiple cities instead of one venue. According to a press release, the event will be streamed live in “4K UHD from studio locations with no in-person audience in Los Angeles, Tokyo and London. The three host cities for The Game Awards will be digitally connected for an innovative celebration with live award presentations, musical performances, and spectacular world premiere game announcements.”

Favorites at this year’s award ceremony include The Last of Us Part II, Hades, Ghost of Tsushima, Half-Life: Alyx, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Final Fantasy VII Remake.

“In 2020, video games have connected and comforted us more than ever, and that makes the 2020 edition of The Game Awards our most important show ever,” Keighley said in a statement earlier this year. “Our team is working hard to deliver an innovative and thoughtful program that celebrates excellence, previews the future, and amplifies important voices that are shaping the future of this medium.”

The Game Awards 2020 will also kick off “a weekend of instantly playable game content, in-game drops, demos, and live streams that celebrate the exciting future for video games across PC, console, mobile and mixed reality experiences.”

Fans should expect “Game Award Sales” on various digital marketplaces. It’ll probably be a good time to buy those games you’ve been putting off all year.

BAFTA and Emmy nominated composer Lorne Balfe is returning as the Music Director and conductor of The Game Awards, and will be conducting the world-renowned London Philharmonic Orchestra from London’s famous Abbey Road Studios.

“Being a part of The Game Awards is truly a wonderful experience ,and I’m thrilled to again be celebrating the incredible games of 2020,” said Lorne Balfe in a press release. “There is nothing quite like music in video games and with the phenomenal talents from the London Philharmonic Orchestra, I look forward to bringing the scores from this year’s ground-breaking titles to viewers around the world from the legendary Abbey Road Studios.”

And of course, the ceremony wouldn’t be complete without some HUGE announcements regarding upcoming games. Last year’s event brought us the reveal of the Xbox Series X. How will The Game Awards top that this year? Fans will just have to wait and see!

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For now, here are all of The Game Awards 2020 nominees:

Game of the Year

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)

DOOM Eternal (id Software/Bethesda)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)

Hades (Supergiant Games)

The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Best Game Direction

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)

The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Best Narrative

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (George Kamitani)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Kazushige Nojima, Motomu Toriyama, Hiroki Iwaki, Sachie Hirano)

Ghost of Tsushima (Ian Ryan, Liz Albl, Patrick Downs, Jordan Lemos)

Hades (Greg Kasavin)

The Last of Us Part II (Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross)

Best Art Direction

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios)

The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Best Score and Music

DOOM Eternal (Mick Gordon)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Nobuo Uematsu, Masahi Hamauzu, Mitsuto Suzuki)

Hades (Darren Korb)

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Gareth Coker)

The Last of Us Part II (Gustavo Santaolala, Mac Quale)

Best Audio Design

DOOM Eternal (id Software/Bethesda)

Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)

Resident Evil 3 (Capcom)

The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Best Performance

Ashley Johnson as Ellie, The Last of Us Part II

Laura Bailey as Abby, The Last of Us Part II

Daisuke Tsuji as Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima

Logan Cunningham as Hades, Hades

Nadji Jeter as Miles Morales, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Games for Impact

If Found… (DREAMFEEL/Annapurna Interactive)

Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (Cardboard Computer/Annapurna Interactive)

Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games)

Tell Me Why (Dontnod Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)

Through the Darkest of Times (Paintbucket Games)

Best Ongoing

Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)

Destiny 2 (Bungie)

Call of Duty Warzone (Infinity Ward/Activision)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best Indie

Carrion (Phobia Game Studio)

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic/Devolver)

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Spelunky 2 (Mossmouth)

Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games)

Best Mobile, Presented by LG WING, Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon

Among Us (InnerSloth)

Call of Duty Mobile (TiMi Studios/Activision)

Genshin Impact (miHoYo)

Legends of Runeterra (Riot Games)

Pokémon Café Mix (Genius Sonority)

Best Community Support

Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)

Destiny 2 (Bungie)

Fall Guys (Mediatonic/Devolver)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Valorant (Riot Games)

Innovation in Accessibility

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Grounded (Obsidian/Xbox Game Studios)

HyperDot (Tribe Games)

The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Watch Dogs Legion (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)

Best VR/AR

Dreams (Media Molecule/SIE)

Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)

MARVEL’s Iron Man VR (Camoflaj/SIE)

STAR WARS: Squadrons (Motive Studios/EA)

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (Skydance Interactive)

Best Action

DOOM Eternal (id Software/Bethesda)

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)

Nioh 2 (Team Ninja)

Streets of Rage 4 (DotEmu)

Best Action/Adventure

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)

MARVEL’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games/SIE)

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios)

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn/EA)

The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Best Role Playing

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)

Genshin Impact (miHoYo)

Persona 5 Royal (Atlus, P Studios)

Wasteland 3 (inXile Entertainment/Koch)

Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)

Best Fighting

Granblue Fantasy: Versus (Arc System Works/Cygames)

Mortal Kombat 11/Ultimate (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition (Dimps/Capcom)

One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai-Namco)

UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe: Late[cl-r] (French Bread/Arc System Works)

Best Family

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (Toys for Bob/Activision)

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic/Devolver)

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (Velan Studios/Nintendo)

Minecraft Dungeons (Mojang/Double Eleven/Xbox Game Studios)

Paper Mario: The Origami King (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)

Best Sim/Strategy

Crusader Kings III (Paradox Development Studio/Paradox)

Desperados III (Mimimi Games/THQN)

Gears Tactics (Splash Damage/The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios)

Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo/Xbox Game Studios)

XCOM: Chimera Squad (Firaxis/2K)

Best Sports/Racing

Dirt 5 (Codemasters Cheshire/Codemasters)

F1 2020 (Codemasters Birmingham /Codemasters)

FIFA 21 (EA Vancouver/EA Sports)

NBA 2K21 (Visual Concepts/2K)

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 (Vicarious Visions/Activision)

Best Multiplayer

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)

Among Us (InnerSloth)

Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward/Raven/Activision)

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic/Devolver)

Valorant (Riot Games)

Best Debut Game

Carrion (Phobia Game Studio/Devolver)

Mortal Shell (Cold Symmetry/Playstack)

Raji: An Ancient Epic (Nodding Heads Games)

Röki (Polygon Treehouse/CI Games)

Phasmophobia (Kinetic Games)

Content Creator of the Year, Presented by Adobe

Alanah Pearce

NickMercs

TimtheTatman

Jay Ann Lopez

Valkyrae

Best Esports Game

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Raven/Activision)

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

League of Legends (Riot Games)

Valorant (Riot Games)

Best Esports Athlete

Ian “Crimsix” Porter / Call of Duty

Heo “Showmaker” Su / League of Legends

Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu / League of Legends

Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro / Call of Duty

Matthieu “ZywOo” Herbaut / CS:GO

Best Esports Team

DAMWON Gaming / League of Legends

Dallas Empire / Call of Duty

San Francisco Shock / Overwatch League

G2 Esports / League of Legends

Team Secret / DOTA2

Best Esports Event

BLAST Premier: Spring E2020 European Finals (CS:GO)

Call of Duty League Championship 2020

IEM Katowice 2020 (CS:GO)

League of Legends World Championship 2020

Overwatch League Grand Finals 2020

Best Esports Host

Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere

Alex “Machine” Richardson

Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez

James “Dash” Patterson

Jorien “Sheever” van der Heijden

The post The Game Awards 2020 Nominees appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[cienie-isengardu]

What is up with Shirai Ryu?

Or, is Hanzo a hypocrite?

While looking through various MK11 intros, I’m kind of tired about the whole “honor” stuff that Hanzo and Kuai Liang and so many other characters like to talk. Mainly, because honor is very unspecified term whose meaning (thus the line between acting honorable and dishonorable) will change from one person to another. And as much I love cultural clashes between characters of different clans / fraction or realms, Hanzo’s talks about Shirai Ryu make me wonder what the hell is going on with his clan right now?

Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu were rival clans for ages, but the japanese ninjas - and the whole ninjutsu created by them - has its roots in Lin Kuei teaching. Bi-Han called himself thief and assassin and we know that ninjas played similar roles through the ages. Stealing, killing, doing all dirty job someone paid for, it was what Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu did for years. The two fractions of course vary in clan traditions and family matters, but I think we can all agree that morally wise, assassins and master thieves aren’t the common image of honorable men, right?

Of course, both Hanzo and Kuai Liang decided to reform their respective clans, pledged to serve Earthrealm as the protectors rather than working for anyone who can afford their service. Thus both grandmasters reject job offers from gods & Outworlders alike; reject offers that would pose a danger to their home realm. What is nice and all, but clan has its own needs; there are people who must be feed, clothed, sheltered, medically equipped, armed with the right equipment and trained. This of course cost a lot money and maybe the Shirai Ryu and Lin Kuei do have the right funds accumulated over the centuries. But as far as MK11 intros are concerned, Sub-Zero most likely did not change completely Lin Kuei. Of course, Kuai Liang’s clan is meant to be protectors of Earthrealm, but there is still (rogue) Frost who is proud to be an assassin. And since she joined the clan between MK9 and X, the fact she is so aware of the clan history, the feud with Shirai Ryu and assassins traditions may imply that at least to some degree Lin Kuei is/was still involved in “old bussiness”. Whatever the case - Lin Kuei still training assassins who just don’t work anymore for “outsiders” or Frost (with Noob) being a rogue " remains of ancient glory”,  both versions are representing the better and the darker sides of Sub-Zero’s fraction.

Hanzo on another hand, as solely representation of Shirai Ryu in MK11 game, seems at times as, well, deluded person. Especially when intros aren’t clear if that was supposed to be P.O.V of current or past Hanzo.

First, let me quote little backstory provided by MK: Mythologies Sub-Zero:

Scorpion is the code name for a modern day member of the Shirai Ryu named Hanzo Hasashi [...] He learned this technique from his own father, a ninja himself who forbade his son to become a member of this ancient group of assassins and wanted him to accept the trappings of modern day life. But the lure of quick money and his own wish to afford his wife and child the finest in life force him to join the Shirai Ryu.

His latest mission leads him into the heart of China, home of the rival Lin Kuei and location of the Shaolin temple where his mission is to steal the sacred Map of Elements.

So, Shirai Ryu are ancient group of assassins, the last mission of Scorpion was to steal the sacred Map of Elements from Shaolin Temple and Hanzo wasn’t forced to join the clan, he did it mainly for money to afford his family in finest way.

After coming back to life, Hanzo made great effort to redeem his clan and became ally to other heroes. At the same time, he himself says Shirai Ryu are not bound to Special Forces (U.S.)’s laws what results in fact Sonya Blade keeps eye on Hanzo and his clan. Probably attacking SF’s base and killing captured Quan Chi is/was still fresh in her mind. Anyway, the real question is, what Shirai Ryu does? What kind of jobs the clan takes, from where Hanzo get money to cover needs of his ninjas and funds to rebuild destroyed years ago home? What Shirai Ryu ninjas do between crisises threatening safety of Earthrealm?

The reason why I wonder such things is tied up with Hanzo’s character banters, particularly with other merceneries.

Scorpion: Why seek out my clan?

Kano: You're a clan of assassins, ain't you?

Scorpion: You refer to the Lin Kuei.

It is hard to tell, if Scorpion here is the younger or current version thus if he talks about old Lin Kuei (a true statement about clan of assassins then) or refer to Kuai Liang’s one clan that was supposed to change for better. Whatever the case, if clan of assassins is what refers to Lin Kuei, I’m sorry, what Shirai Ryu is or was then? Because it was assassin clan too not so long ago and Hanzo himself joined and worked for such group.

Kabal: The Shirai Ryu hiring, Scorpion? Scorpion: We're family, not mercenaries.

Not mercenaries, said a man who was once hired to steal sacred Map and did it solely for money (or maybe even satisfation/chance to kill Lin Kuei). Even if Hanzo is speaking only about current situation of clan, it still does not answer are his ninjas involved in illegal jobs or are they just train in case of emergency?

This statement (and other intros with Jacqui anc Jax) makes it clear to join Shirai Ryu means became part of the clan for good. But frankly, that still does not mean that family unit like ninja clan can’t (couldn’t) be mercenaries. I mean, mercenary is person primarily concerned with making money at the expense of ethics and you know, taking jobs like assassination or theft is, well, dark side of mercenary profession. Soo, did Hanzo’s statement “not mercenaries“ was purely about joining the clan (not hiring unknown people) or as a whole, no more doing illegal stuff by his clan to gain money?

Erron: I thought Shirai Ryu were mercs. Scorpion: You understand little, Black. Erron: I've killed people for being less rude. 

This one is similar to the previous intro but I feel this time the focus is more on the past of Shirai Ryu, since Erron (as hired gun by Shang Tsung / Shao Kahn) lives for one or two hundred years so he may be familiar with old!Shirai Ryu ninjas reputation.

Of course, Hanzo may be right, Black (and us, for that matter) as outsider, does not have insight into internal clan traditions, ethics or internal matters thus the lack of understanding may lead him (and me) to incorrect conclusion. Maybe Shirai Ryu for ages served Japan in a way Special Forces serves now USA? Maybe they worked always for their homeland’s well being? We don’t know. But then if Shirai Ryu aren’t/weren’t mercs, how else one should think about ninja clan that send his own warrior to Shaolin Temple in foreign (hostile) territory to steal sacred artifact while being paid by some weirdo (Quan Chi)? Like, how that was more honorable than, let’s say, Erron working for Kotal?

   Scorp: There will be no deal, Kano.    Kano: Gotta make a buck, mate.    Scorp: The Shirai Ryu are not criminals.

Hanzo says his clan members aren’t criminals. I sorry, aren’t attacking Special Forces, the supposed allies, isn’t sort of crime? Even if two years passed since then, Shirai Ryu ninjas went to foreign country and attacked its army (who were at times helping refuges from Outworld). Of course, they weren’t motivated by greed or bad will, they were following their grandmaster. But Hanzo literally put his own need for revenge above needs of other heroes, including dead ones. Oh, and let’s no forget that past!Hanzo attacked Shaolin monks and killed who knows how many of them. Indeed, no criminals, ha!

Scorpion: The Shirai Ryu do not respect thieves. Kollector: I collect only what is due Shao Kahn. Scorpion: It is robbery, nothing more.

Sorry, what was your last mission again? Stealing from Shaolin Monks some precious map for some dude Quan Chi? I’m sure Shirai Ryu would never respect thieves! Riiiight.

Hanzo of course may talk about reformed Shirai Ryu, but that would look, once again, like he keep silent about past sins. Unless he really believe his clan never did anything dishonorable.

It’s hard not to wonder how exactly Hanzo reformed Shirai Ryu is he alone seems to ignore his own deeds. Mercs are looked down, so are thieves or in general, people working for money. As much as I can agree than Black Dragons - especially Kano - are the worst kind of scum, it would be actually nice to learn more about Shirai Ryu ethics or how ninja define honor. We know that for Hanzo, his “clan's honor is priceless” but he himself did a lot questionable stuff through the course of all games.

My biggest problem with Scorpion and his talk about honor (or in some causes, how pretty quick he is to accuse others of lack of thereof) is the contrast with Kuai Liang. Sub-Zero is the one willing to admit faults of his clan while Hanzo rarely acknowledges such in Shirai Ryu. Sub-Zero is the one trying hard to estabilish Lin Kuei as protectors of Earthrealm AND ally to other heroes, while Scorpion for a long time freely(?) keep himself and his clan isolated. Of course, both grandmasters treat Earthrealm’s best interest as priority, but between them two, it’s Kuai who is seen actively protecting Earth while Hanzo often was the source of problems, like killing capuring Quan Chi. Mind you, I don’t think Hanzo was wrong to assume as long as evil sorcerer will live, Earth is in danger (though, since Quan Chi is demon(?) shouldn’t he reborn in Netherrealm at some point?). But attacking your supposed allies and destroying the one chance to save fallen and enslaved comrades because Hanzo knows better does not strike me as the most honorable thing.

Once again, what is honor in Mortal Kombat? How Hanzo or Kuai Liang or Raiden or anyone define such matter?

I keep wonder about that, because Hanzo talks a lot about how Shirai Ryu are honorable while other merceneries are just thugs and all. What sounds a bit like hypocrisy when one look at Scorpion’s own history. Especially when younger!Hanzo is involved, because he is still the prime example of Shirai Ryu ninja working not-so-long-ago as assassin and thief.

But yeah, sure, everyone is greedy bastard and thug, even if said person is doing the same stuff like (old) Shirai Ryu did.

[sasorikigai]

Compilation of Young Hanzo and Kuai Headcanon 

Hanzo Hasashi;

Hanzo was an energetic, more upbeat when he was young (in childhood and even adolescent years). He always had a propensity to be nimble on his feet and sneaky, and he would always surprise anyone and everyone and was a master at hide and seek. After dedicating himself to the craft of martial arts and fighting, he has never looked back from becoming an esteemed and ferocious ninja from day one.

The Shirai Ryu children would gather around a fire at night as one of the elders would tell them various stories. Hanzo still cherishes and treasures those memories, as he would always watch the embers fly up into the night sky as there would be numerous stories of great battles and heroes vanquishing great nemesis and stories of their ancestors. It’s something that now, as Grandmaster, Hanzo does for the children. The children especially likes it when he plays any tricks with his pyrokinetic abilities, e.g. throwing a fireball into the pit to get the fire started, his hand passing through the flames unmarred, etc.

Especially in his mid to late teens, Hanzo would train extremely hard to surpass his peers, wanting to prove himself. One time, he got so frustrated with his kunai, struggling to really balance and keep it equilibrium without his arm muscles giving in, especially when he tried to retract the chain rope back without risking losing a limb or leaving a vulnerable spot for his enemies to attack in open. The chained rope with attached kunai is his own invention, and no one can ever fathom to control it better than he ever can. That became his character-defining, signature weapon and though he has extreme remorse towards the days of him being Scorpion, he takes pride in the codename nonetheless.

Hanzo’s father (a Grandmaster when he was training to become a ninja, climbing up the ranks. He passed away before witnessing Hanzo appointed as one of the youngest ever to be erected as the master apprentice) always taught Hanzo proper manners and how to be respectful and courteous not only around the elders, but other people in the clan as well. When he was appointed as a suitor for Harumi, such was the case, as she too, would have been a formidable warrior in training (imagine her weapon being like a bladed weapon which Jade wields), and perhaps superior skills with the knives. Ever since the inception of their wedding and copulation to follow afterwards as the tradition entails, Hanzo would have become just a little bit of a showoff during the sparring when Harumi was around.

Kuai Liang;

Kuai may have been a bit of a rebel when he was young, but he behaved around his superiors and elders, despite coming across level-headed and knowledgeable beyond his age. If he acted out in defiance for his own humane and kind-hearted philosophy and morality, he was punished well beyond what his peers could endure, because he was that mature ever since the inception into the Lin Kuei ever since he was orphaned along with Bi-Han.  

The memories of his father and mother only exists through the archives of the Special Forces; since Kuai Liang and Bi-Han were abducted into the Lin Kuei after they were orphaned, their lives would have been hell ever since Kuai Liang was a mere infant/toddler. If it weren’t for a kind family who took them in to raise them as their own (they too, were punished by death and then cyberized because of their compassionate, altruistic endeavor). Kuai Liang knows of the archives and he could be granted access if he wished to gain it, but he has yet to see the faces of his mother and father, nor knows their names. 

The Lin Kuei clan saw friendship as weakness, it was even forbidden (trust was only given to the clan as the collective, and obviously the Grandmaster) and the clan would never approve of such strong, brotherly bond between Bi-Han and Kuai Liang. They didn’t have choice (and wanting to leave or worse, running from the clan was equivalent to treason punished by death), they were forced to endure all murderous trainings and to adjust to the new life as Lin Kuei warriors. Their superiors would have tried to do something about their brotherly bond - it was warrior’s flaw, weakness and thus it make sense they would want to eliminate it as fast as it was possible (Lin Kuei’s dislike for friendship/affection is one of reason why the clan changed its members as cyborgs, including younger Sub-Zero). Still, Kuai Liang openly showed he cares for Bi-Han - didn’t even bother to hide fact he sought revenge for his fallen brother (not one of fallen Lin Kuei warrior. For brother. First for his family, then for clan). 

Kuai was an emotional boy (even into his young adulthood) in such an open way. Kuai Liang by nature is friendly and good-natured (he could come off as naive and idealistic), even with years of forced not only to painful physical exercises but also to mental and emotional tribulations (from small, helpless child to an experienced killer) could break anyone. Yet, he still has faith in friendship and brotherhood, the human connection, which he always had believed it as strength, not a weakness. Even after such drastic events in his life, there is still… childish naivety in him. For he still remains affected by the brotherly bond with Bi-Han and his friendship with Smoke. He showed mercy to Scorpion, who was an enemy. No wonder his superiors thought him as flawed. How he managed to preserve so much naivety kindness in his own soul is unparalleled when one thinks about his traumatic and abusive upbringing; he was trained to be a merciless killing machine, loyal only to the clan and the Grandmaster, not to single individuals, yet Kuai Liang has so much trust, sympathy and compassion towards the individual. 

[wrestlingisfake]

Final Battle preview

Rush vs. PCO - Rush is defending the ROH world title.  As far as I can remember, Rush is undefeated in Ring of Honor.  The only singles loss in ROH that I could find for PCO was his last shot at the world title.  It is probably worth noting that each man’s contract is expiring at the end of the year, and there has been little word on whether either of them plans to re-sign.

Rush is probably the hottest star in wrestling that isn’t signed to WWE, AEW, or New Japan.  You see his entrance and you can tell this guy is a big ass deal, far beyond anything else going on in ROH.  I’m still surprised they managed to sign him.  Pierre Carl Ouellet, meanwhile, is a minor name from the 1990s enjoying a cult resurgence as a monster brawler with a Frankenstein gimmick.  At 51, PCO isn’t a hot prospect bound for the big leagues, but he’s a can’t-miss draw at the super-indy level.  So this is arguably the biggest match ROH could deliver in 2019.  It reminds me of a big match from ROH’s early days, where a WWE fan wouldn’t get the appeal but hardcore indy fans saw it as a dream match.

Even someone like me, who only half pays attention to ROH, can see the appeal of this match.  Rush’s matches are fast and intense, and he quickly destroys guys with big explosive moves.  PCO’s matches are about how he feels no pain and keeps getting back up to do increasingly insane spots.  This is, fundamentally, the irresistible force meeting the immovable object.  I can’t believe we’re getting such a match from “The guy who taught Tetsuya Naito how to be cool” versus “The Mountie’s tag team partner,” but such is wrestling in 2019.

Ring of Honor has really fallen off a cliff this year.  The core of their star power left to found AEW, and their alliance with New Japan seems to be at its lowest ebb.  The whole controversy of CMLL firing Rush and Dragon Lee, who have become key figures here, would also seem to be a bad sign for the ROH/CMLL alliance as well.  So it’s been a rebuilding year for the company, and frankly I haven’t been impressed with what they’ve rebuilt.  Except for this one match.  This is very symbolic of their one shot to turn things around for 2020.  I hope they don’t blow it; I expect that they will somehow.

My gut tells me Rush is moving on to greener pastures, whereas PCO probably can’t do much better than being a big fish in a small pond.  Wild as it sounds, I think we might get a title change tonight.

Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal & Jonathan Gresham - This is for the Briscoes’ ROH tag team title.  The biggest question mark here is that Lethal broke his arm back in October, and although he’s vowed to make it to this match it remains to be seen if he’ll be healed enough to really go.

I haven’t followed the story closely, but Lethal and Gresham were friends until Gresham decided that he needed to cheat to get ahead, and then they fought over that, and then they reconciled, and now they’re both whacking the Briscoes with chairs.  I’m still not sure if the Briscoes ever officially turned babyface this year.  So to me this is a pretty standard 2019 ROH story, where there are no heroes and everyone’s an asshole.

In theory this should be a down-and-dirty brawl between two teams that would prefer to fight than wrestle.  But since it’s not officially billed as a street fight or anything, what we’ll probably end up with is a basic wrestling match where they just sneak a few weapon shots and low blows behind the ref’s back.  That’s fine to build to a bigger, wilder spotfest later, but not so much to be a featured tag match on Final Battle.  I guess Lethal and Gresham will win the belts with shenanigans to set up a rematch.

Shane Taylor vs. Dragon Lee Ryu Lee - Taylor is defending the ROH television title.  Dragon Lee had been a big name in CMLL, and a frequent representative of the company in New Japan, and of late he’s been getting involved in ROH through his brother Rush.  But since CMLL suddenly fired him, and they own the rights to the name, he’s now adopted the name “Ryu Lee,” using the Japanese word for “dragon” to honor his new deal with New Japan.  Lee’s preference among those three companies is to work for New Japan, so now that he’s got that contract I am very curious whether he remains a ROH regular.  I suspect this match will be the first clue.  Taylor has been a dominant champion but Lee has friends in high places, so the one they want to push should be very telling.  I’m kinda thinking Taylor retains.

Matt Taven vs. Vincent - Vincent used to be Vinny Marseglia, a member of The Kingdom stable with Taven and TK O’Ryan.  I’m not sure what happened to O’Ryan after Taven lost the ROH world title, but Vincent turned on Taven and has gone all in on the gimmick of being a horror movie slasher.  This means Taven is doing the “asshole champion you come to respect drops the title and then improbably turns babyface” thing.  I’m not sure I buy that, but I guess ROH kinda has to make the best of what they have to work with.  All I know is when I see Taven plugging his DVD I’m just reminded of when TNA put out that Jeff Jarrett retrospective as if he was Triple H or something.  Anyway, I guess the King of Kings King of the Mountain King of the Kingdom needs to win this match.

Mark Haskins vs. Bully Ray - This is being billed as a street fight, so the match cannot end by count-out or disqualification.  Bully Ray has been playing the bitter veteran bullying young guys for the better part of two years now.  He was mainly feuding with Flip Gordon, but even after they blew that off he just kept doing it, and when Flip turned heel they just sort of switched to Haskins.  They’ve even got Bully going after Mark’s wife like he did with Flip’s wife.  It’s the exact same fucking thing.  Which, I suppose, means Bully has to win this match to generate more heat for more rematches.  I would literally rather be escorted into a room where Bully bitches me out for being a bad fan than watch this crap one more time.

Marty Scurll & Flip Gordon vs. Bandido & Flamita - All right, so months ago Juice Robinson came to ROH to found a stable called Lifeblood, with the goal of elevating some new stars to replenish the roster after the AEW exodus.  Well, in an apt metaphor for ROH’s fortunes in 2019, Lifeblood quickly fell apart with half the team disappearing from ROH, leaving Bandido, Mark Haskins, and Tracy Williams.  They tried to recruit various guys to fill the void, but nobody has stepped up and Flip Gordon even turned heel on them to join Scurll’s Villain Enterprises.  Then Flip blew out his elbow during the heel turn.  Anyway, Haskins has his hands full with Bully Ray, and I don’t even know where Williams is, so now Bandido is starting a new tag team with Flamita and this is the closest we get to blowing off the Lifeblood/Villain Enterprises feud.

Scurll’s contract with ROH actually ended a couple of weeks ago, but he has a handshake deal to work this show and the one on December 15.  The big questions now are which company he’ll sign with and how ROH will write him out of the company.  But presumably those questions won’t be answered until the 15th, so even at this late date we’re still in a holding pattern, and I’m guessing they’ll keep acting like  everything is normal.

Logic would suggest Scurll should do the job so ROH can put over Flamita and Bandido.  Then again, it wouldn’t shock me to learn that Bandido is getting ready to leave, so you never know.

Jeff Cobb vs. Dan Maff - This is basically a battle of two big mean guys.  Cobb is just back from a month-long tour with New Japan.  Maff is a recent acquisition, and notably filled in for Brody King to help Marty Scurll and PCO defend the ROH trios title.  That kinda makes me wonder if Maff could end up playing a role in the final fate of Villain Enterprises, but that probably won’t affect this match.

Cobb is--say it with me this time, folks--expected to have his contract come up soon, and may or may not be getting ready to leave.  If he’s staying, he should probably win this match to build him up for whoever is champion going forward.  If he’s leaving...well, Maff seems to be a budget version of Cobb, so it would make sense to have him be the guy to send Cobb packing.  We’ll just have to see what happens.

Angelina Love vs. Maria Manic - Love won the women’s title at the last ROH show I watched, but it turns out she lost it back to Kelly Klein shortly thereafter.  Then Klein suffered a concussion, which turned into a pretty big story abut ROH not taking care of her and letting her contract expire, and I don’t know what’s going on with the women’s title anymore.  I occasionally wonder if they’ll even continue to have a women’s division after this show.  Manic is clearly their big new project, but apparently they almost let her go to NXT before locking her into a contract.

The story of the match is that Manic is a big mean monster and Love is terrified of her.  Usually in this kind of story the heel gets to demonstrate that they can come up with some clever way to outwit the monster, and the match is about whether that works or not.  But as far as I know they haven’t given Love anything--she seems to just be a lamb led to the slaughter.  It’s possible Love is preparing to leave and this is the blowoff for her character.  If so, I’m not sure who will be left to fight Manic.  There’s only like five other active women in the official roster, and I haven’t seen any of them wrestle in months. 

Dalton Castle & Joe Hendry vs. Silas Young & Josh Woods - This is scheduled for the pre-show.  Young and Woods are apparently calling themselves “2G1T” (“Two Guys, One Tag”), which is possibly the most alarming sign of the creative energy left in this company.  I think Castle and Hendry have been passive-aggressively feuding and teaming for months and I’ve kinda given up trying to figure out where this is headed.  I guess Castle and Hendry win.

Rhett Titus vs. Kenny King - Another match set for the pre-show.  Titus and King were a tag team ages ago, but now King is a wannabe top heel and Titus is a prelim guy.  Well, I guess they’re both in the pre-show so technically they’re both prelim guys.  I assume the point is to give King a win, but if this guy was ever going to be something in ROH, he would already be well beyond the point that beating Titus would mean anything.

[lucky-number-606]

Mystic Messenger name meanings

right away im gonna say that i don't speak korean this is just what ive dug up through hours of researching help me

SPOILER WARNING

Pointer: In Korean, the last name is spoken and written before the first name (ex: Han Jumin). I'll be translating in order of ln/fn.

Jumin Han:

The surname "Han" is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese character "hén", which means "bitterness”, “resentment", and "animosity", amongst a couple other terms. You get the gist.

The surname "Han" also is in reference to Korea and the name of a Chinese kingdom, and can also mean “leader”. This ties in with Jumin’s character, since Jumin runs the business alongside Mr. Chairman, his father.

The name "Jumin" can be dissected into a couple different terms and meanings. The Korean character "ju" means "pillar" or "circumference", while "min" means "streaks in jade" or "(autumn) sky". The meaning “pillar” would make sense, since it can be seen that Jumin primarily keeps the business afloat.

Other sources claim that the first name "Jumin" means "Heavenly”, or “Gift of God" from a Korean origin. It is also said that “Jumin” means "stability”, “responsibility", and "routine", but sources remained unknown of the origin (meaning that the meaning might not be derived from Korea).

The last translation to me is personally what makes the most sense out of any of these translations, because even though the game consists of very religious undertones (making the religious meaning of the name "Jumin" more plausible), Jumin does not practice his religion and wear it on his sleeve.

Jaehee Kang:

The last name "Kang" takes on the meaning of the term "ginger" (??). The last name "Kang" is very popular, so I wasn't personally expecting anything too meaningful.

The name "Jaehee" doesn't have much of a meaning directed towards the character, either (which I was sort of disappointed with). The name "Jaehee" simply means "to exist", and in other translations, takes on the conjoined terms "limericks" and "river", which doesn't make any sense, and definitely doesn't explain anything personal about her character at all.

The translation "to exist" would make the most sense, since in all honesty, Jaehee doesn't play much of an important part in the game. Even when playing Jaehee's route, the MC never experiences a romance of any sort, where in the Casual and Deep Story, you are able to romance all other characters. I personally feel as if Jaehee was only added to the story to create a different perspective for the MC to understand and read about, as well as adding in more characters with diverse personalities.

Hyun Ryu (Zen):

Zen’s surname, “Ryu”, is also a very well known name that many families share. “Ryu”, can also be translated as the surname “Yoo” or “You”. “Ryu” means “masculine”, “initiative”, and “assertive”. These terms tie in well with Zen’s character.

Zen’s real name is actually “Hyun”-- Zen is only a stage name, not a birth name. “Hyun”, meaning “profound”, “virtuous”, “worthy”, and “able”, reflecting Zen’s character well.

There wasn’t much else that I could find when it came to Zen’s name besides the fact that his surname, “Ryu”, is actually more derivative of Japanese culture and language than that of Korean culture and language.

Yoosung Kim:

This is actually one of my favorite translations. I find it sweet.

The surname “Kim” is again, a very popular and well-known surname in Korea. “Kim” directly translates to “gold” and “metal”.

The first name “Yoosung” takes on a couples different meanings. Firstly, “Yoosung” can be translated as “beautiful child” and “innocent and pure with a hidden side”. The last translation partially explains Yoosung’s character on behalf of his yandere and possessive tendencies towards the MC while he continues to be deredere (head over heels in love with) the MC all at the same time.

Secondly, the name “Yoosung” can also be translated as “shooting star”, which holds a Korean origin. This explains why Yoosung’s LOLOL user is “Shooting Star ★”!

Saeyoung Choi (707, Luciel):

Besides Yoosung, this was my favorite name to translate.

The surname “Choi” means “pinnacle” or “mountain”, as well as “top” or “most”. Choi is also a common Korean surname.

If you didn’t know, 707′s name actually isn’t 707 nor Luciel! Saeyoung, 707′s birth name, is uncovered further into gameplay. Saeyoung tells the RFA + the MC that his name is actually Luciel, but that is false information-- Luciel is only a baptismal name that 707 gave the others to cover up his true identity.

Surprisingly, all three names carry a very distinct meaning. The name “707″ is derived from “Error 707″, which is primarily memory corruption or an Adaptive Server problem on a computer. This name points the direction of the story closer to the popular “reset theory”, in which 707 is actually self aware and is there for every single time you reset the game and play other routes, also including his own.

The baptismal name “Luciel” also is important to Saeyoung’s character. “Luciel” is an equivalent to Lucifer, or Satan. Cheritz intended to make this so to show the player that Saeyoung has a life that will not end with him becoming a fallen angel. If this doesn’t make sense, know that Satan was actually one of God’s right hand men until he disobeyed him and was cast down into Hell, therefore earning him the name Satan/The Devil. This ties in with Saeyoung’s character since Saeyoung finds himself to be chaotic and evil, while he is actually a good person on the inside.

Ironically, Saeyoung’s real name is pretty straightforward. “Saeyoung” directly translated in Korean means “gift of God”.

Jihyun Kim (V):

See translation for “Kim” above.

Honestly, if the name “V” has a meaning, I don’t know it. I don’t want to look into the meaning of that particular name since I haven’t gotten to play V’s route yet, and I’m guessing that they explain it there.

“Ji” translates to “wisdom” and “intellect”, as well as “will” and “purpose”. “Hyun” also means “worthy” and “able”, as seen above.

I can’t give solid information on how these translations tie into V’s character since again, I have not played any routes in Another Story.

Rika (surname not found):

Again, I don’t know the ins and outs of Rika’s character since I have not played Another Story, and have only completed Secret Ending 01.

After searching everywhere for a Korean meaning, I was not able to find one. The only translation for “Rika” I found was “forever strong”, which is derived from Norse origins. It has been said that people with this name are seen as lovers of the arts, have good leadership qualities, and can have reckless energies. All of these qualities seem to reflect off of Rika’s character.

The translation “forever strong” could have two meanings-- one of which is drastically more sinister than the next. The first meaning I thought of was that Rika will be forever strong as she continues living with a mental illness, but this does not make much sense since she only lets her insanity fester and take over. The second meaning could possibly be that she is forever strong like a god, and immortal and never-ending like how a god is portrayed to be. I took this into mind since she is the cult leader for Mint Eye.

Saeran Choi (Unknown):

Saeran’s name was probably the hardest to translate. I still don’t have much to show for it.

See translation for “Choi” above.

“Saeran” can be directly translated to “three” or “bird”. I don’t necessarily get the “bird” part, but “three” could be in reference to the signs of the cross (the father, the son, and the holy spirit) since Catholicism has a huge role in the gameplay. “Three” could even be in reference to Saeran’s “family”: V, Rika, and Saeran himself.

I saw a website that said that Saeran meant “powerful chaos”, while Saeyoung meant “powerful hero” (meaning that the relationship between Saeran and his brother is that of a yin-yang relationship). Those translations make more sense than the ones I found.

Saeran’s other name, “Unknown”, has no other meaning except for the fact that the RFA didn’t know who the hacker and MC’s stalker was. The name “Unknown” was also used in certain RFA chatrooms as well at the mandatory start of the game in which Unknown leads you to Rika’s apartment.

[theultimateegghead-blog]

Noble or Nefarious, some of gaming’s greatest Ninja warriors!

Ninja’s. the warriors of shadow. They lurk in the darkness before striking. Often armed with powers considered magical, or weapons that require great skill. These Ninja are no longer in the shadows, as they are taking the spotlight. As a rule for this list, no Ninja that originate from anime will be on this list, so namely, no Naruto characters. (Also, for anyone who does not know… Kunoichi means female ninja, keep that in mind.)

Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden) One of gaming’s most legendary Ninja. Ryu Hayabusa has gone on several death defining journeys. He has saved the world from men and demons alike. Armed with a wide assortment of weapons and ninjutsu, Ryu dispatches his foes with no mercy. Ryu does not fear death, nor does he hesitate in striking down his foes. In the ninja gaiden series, Ryu fight hundreds of brutal opponents, he utilizes acrobatics and masterful swordplay. In the Dead or Alive series, he relies on skillful hand to hand combat. When not in combat, Ryu is a Curio shop owner and is the love interest of a female American agent. Ryu has appeared in various other games either as a guest character or a cameo as well.

Joe Musashi (SHINOBI) Sega’s response to Ryu Hayabusa. Joe Musashi is one of the main characters of the SHINOBI series. A ninja from the Oboro clan. Joe is half American half Japanese and is quite the skilled warrior. Proficient at ninjutsu and shuriken throwing, Joe has fought evil since his early twenties. Joe is a righteous man who strives for world peace and has clashed with the evil terrorist syndicate Zeed on several occasions. He would eventually become the head of his clan and would continue defending the world from evil.

Scorpion & Sub Zero (Mortal Kombat) Scorpion and Sub-Zero, one of the most iconic rivalries in video games. The Sub-Zero we all know and love is the brother of the original Sub-Zero. Scorpion is a wrath obsessed with revenge and can rarely see past his own anger. Sub zero can control ice and can use it to freeze opponents solid while in battle. Sub-Zero is calm and calculated and is the leader of his own people. He tries his best to be a good leader but is not afraid to bust some heads while doing so. Scorpion is a fallen soul that was given a second chance to enact revenge. While the target of his revenge is Noob Sabot, he tends to target the current Sub-Zero. Scorpion is adept in his knife throwing and has decent manipulation over fire. Scorpion is undead and very angry, rarely listens to reason and tends to be the one who stats fights. In some cases, the two put aside their differences and work together, when that happens they become near unstoppable.

Grey Fox (Metal Gear Solid) Frank Jaeger, also known as Grey Fox is a mercenary turned vengeance fueled cybernetic ninja. Frank made an appearance in the first Metal Gear title as the infiltrator of outer haven, he was captured and rescued by Snake. He would disappear after the supposed Death of Big Boss. In Metal Gear 2 he reappears, this time as Snake’s enemy. Having sided with the real Big Boss, Fox tries to drive Snake away several times but ultimately fails. The two engage in a fist fight and Fox loses and supposedly dies. Later, in Metal Gear Solid, Fox returns in his famous cyborg ninja garb. A man obsessed with fighting Snake once more, he is a rogue card in the Shadow Moses incident. He eventually turns to Snake’s side and dies in the games finale. His death would carry a legacy that plays a large role in MGS4. As a cyborg ninja, Fox can render himself invisible and deflect bullets with his sword. He strongly prefers fighting hand to hand.

Kat and Ana (WarioWare) Not every Ninja is a shadowy warrior that leaves behind a trail of bodies. Kat and Ana are two young ninja in training. Their name is a pun on the word Katana. When they are not in school they are training to become professional ninja, but usually something silly happens in the process. Their microgames in the wario ware series vary from game to game, covering themes such as nature, ninjas and everyday life. They also appear as an assist trophy in the smash series.

Ibuki (Street Fighter) A young Kunoichi in training from the street fighter series. Despite her training, Ibuki acts like a normal teenage girl. She is not to fond of her training and finds it bothersome but takes it seriously nonetheless. She tends to sneak off and skip her duties to do her own thing. She desires to meet cool and handsome guys and will often judge her foes based on the way the look, act and dress. At some point she fights an immortal hermit named Oro, and even though she lost, it was considered her final test and she was granted a pass. She then went to university for ninjas.

Kaede (Onimusha) A ninja assassin who would dive headfirst into combat regardless of the risk. At some point in the past she was sent by an unknown benefactor to assassinate a mane named Samanosuke Akechi. She instead became his ally and eventual lover. The two would travel together over the next couple years. She plays a role in several Onimusha games, usually aiding her lover or searching for him when he went missing. Eventually she would fall in combat at the hands of Gargant. After her death, she is still remembered fondly by her widowed lover.

Rikimaru (Tenchu) A young master class Ninja assassin. Raised and trained by the man who killed his parents, Rikimaru was turned into a deadly warrior since an early age. Stoic and ever so serious, Rikimaru is loyal to Lord Gohda. He has helped quell rebellions and has fought off rival ninja clans to ensure Lord Gohda’s protection. A detached man, Rikimaru is very rarely influenced by emotions. He is skilled in many forms of combat and swordsmanship and is the current head of his clan.

Yuffie Kisaragi (Final Fantasy VII) A teenage kunoichi thief who desires to restore her homeland of Wutai. She is one of the secret characters of FFVII and makes her debut by trying to steal Cloud’s materia. A spunky, emotional girl, Yuffie can act quite childish at times. She tends to get on her allie’s nerves but can be a skilled comrade in battle. Yuffie fights with a giant shuriken. As the series goes on, Yuffie grows up and matures a bit but still has an immature demeanor at times. She also appears in Kingdom Hearts as one of Sora’s first allies.

Strider Hiryu (Strider) A master spy and an active Strider agent. Hiryu’s name, nationality and age are all top secret. The most info on him other than his appearance is that he was born in 2030. Hiryu is extremely skilled and collected in combat, often considered to be the top Strider agent to date. Being able to dodge bullets and defeat tons of enemies without showing fatigued, Hiryu is often the one who is left standing. Eventually the other Striders are whipped out, and he is the sole survivor. While he could easily flee, he chooses to fight. It is this bravery and tenacity to survive that make him an excellent Ninja.

Izuna (Legend of the Unemployed Ninja) A 16-year-old kunoichi who is down on her luck. Izuna and her clan were kicked out of their castle because their leader thought Ninja were obsolete. Stubborn and somewhat clumsy, she winds up accidently offending the gods and must go on a quest to set things right. Surprisingly enough, she is a gifted individual that can allow gods to leave their shrines and support her. While not the most skilled ninja on this list, she is a kunoichi nonetheless.

Shadow Man (Mega Man) A ninja robot master who originated from Mega Man 3. A skilled martial artist hwo loves to sneak up on people, Shadow man is surprisingly impulsive. He has a variety of attacks, such as creating a clone or using a smokescreen in battle. His weapon is the shadow blade and he is weak to the incredibly useful top kick. He reappears in several other games as well which further his ninja skills. Shadow man is possibly alien in origin as well.

Wonder White (Wonderful 101) A superhero and a ninja in training. Wonder White, known by his real name Momoe Byakkoin and his other super name, the claws of calamity, is one of the heroes of Wonderful 101. Armed with special weapons passed down from generation to generation, White is a speed oriented fighter. A man who enjoys long entrances and spouting philosophy, he can be somewhat of a nuisance. While calm and cooperative, Wonder White is very talkative… Not very fitting for a ninja.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry this one took a while. I was sick for the past day or so and typing just wasn’t going to happen. This list took me a while to write as well but hey! Its done! Thanks for reading, next time we will either look at some factory levels, or… If we reach 30 followers (we are at 29!!!) I will start my 5 part follower appreciation special! See you next time!

[makeste]

KHR 071: Miniboss Fight Bingo (Part 1)

Okay, get ready, everyone, because this chapter has (part one of) Tsuna VS Lancia, which in hindsight is such an outrageously cliched shounen fight that after rereading it, I went ahead and made this:

Let’s see how long it takes us to win this thing.

So! Last time we left off, Yamamoto was facing off with Lancia while Tsuna was running aimlessly through the woods thinking about how that mysterious evil kid from the forest was acting really mysterious and evil.

However, Tsuna recalls that Fuuta was also acting weird, which goes a long way towards his excusing Mukuro’s strange behavior. But then I think to myself: “So if he thought that ~MYSTERIOUS KID~ really was innocent and was just being manipulated or something, WHY DID HE LEAVE HIM ALL ALONE IN THE WOODS AGAIN.” And the answer is… …. ……………………… um

It actually was kind of funny though, in hindsight.

Back to the fight! Yamamoto got hit by Lancia’s ball and chain and is now lying on the ground emitting smoke for some reason!

WHY THOUGH

Then there’s another panel of Gokudera being so worried about Yamamoto! Intellectually, I know that Gokudera having feelings of empathy doesn’t automatically equate to them being soulmates or anything! But emotionally I don’t even care, I am already on board this ship and it sailed ten fucking years ago and I don’t know where I am anymore! So you’ll just have to live with me enjoying my 8059 angst!

TWO EXCLAMATION POINTS MOTHERFUCKER

All right, and here we go. Brace yourselves and get those cards out, because Lancia is about to start monologuing.

Wow guy could you just cool it there for a sec

Can we count this as “it’s no use”? Eh, for the time being I’m going to play things straight. So no score as of yet, but we’re only just getting started.

So upon hearing this, Gokudera tries to stand up EVEN THOUGH HE’S DYING because HE IS HEROIC AND BRAVE

“Trying to stand up and failing” is pretty much all he manages to do for this entire chapter, so I have to give him whatever props I can while the giving is good.

BUT WAIT, WHAT’S THIS

LANCIA: ABANDON ALL HOPE

YAMAMOTO TAKESHI: (୨୧ ❛ᴗ❛)✧

THIS CHEEKY MOTHERFUCKER. I NEED AN MP3 RECORDING OF YAMAMOTO SAYING “OI OI” TO SET AS MY DAMN RINGTONE

LOOK AT GOKUDERA’S “HE’S ALIVE” FACE

I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO INTERPRET THAT FACE BUT IT’S GREAT

Also nice to see that Bianchi has finally set aside her own differences with Yamamoto! Things were a little dicey there for a while.

Not to spoil things here, but my guess: It’s probably something really stupid that makes absolutely no sense.

Lancia continues to monologue at them all like some sort of Sith Lord, and throws his giant ball at Yamamoto again.

Incredibly, I didn’t have “it is foolish to resist” on my card either. Lancia is so cliché that I couldn’t fit all of his damn clichés on a 5x5 card, goddamn.

Anyway! Yamamoto, who you have to remember at this point has no kind of formal sword training—or any sort of fighting training, really—whatsoever, then instinctively goes right into one of the Shigure Souen Ryu defensive forms, only using the dirt and his bat rather than water and Shigure Kintoki.

Can we give this boy some fucking props because damn. Seriously, though, this is Surging Rain. Completely untaught. This kid is a fucking legend.

So he uses the dirt he just swept up to track the ball’s rotation. It doesn’t make much sense but it seems to work within the context of the series so let’s just roll with it.

WHY IS HE SO CUTE!!!

Reborn then explains that Lancia’s ball and chain weapon works via the power of bullshit.

Look, I’m not a physicist or anything, I’m just your everyday layperson reading a shounen manga who is nonetheless telling you this is bullshit. If you go over to NASA and ask them if you can create a tornado using a grooved wrecking ball, they are going to say no, once they stop laughing long enough to speak.

But then again, a girl was microwaving things with her clarinet two chapters ago, and another girl turned that clarinet into toxic food sludge simply by touching it, so I’m not sure what it is I’m actually complaining about. I guess it’s that they tried to fudge a scientific explanation when they could have just said “magic” and it basically would have amounted to the same thing lol.

I’LL STOP RANTING ABOUT THIS NOW.

So Lancia doesn’t give a fuck if they’ve “figured it out” or not, and goes on the attack again. Yamamoto charges in, thinking he can avoid it now, and oh no

—THERE IT IS!!!! FUCK YEAH

SWEET, WE’RE OFFICIALLY ON THE BOARD 

Okay, I just want to press pause here for a sec and acknowledge that Lancia threw this thing at Takeshi again, Takeshi dodged it, and then the thing just magically changed direction and started going the complete opposite way, at the same time creating this fucking whirlwind somehow, that FUCKING LIFTS YAMAMOTO UP IN THE AIR. Like, this is a really entertaining fight, but it’s also just. SO ABSURD. NOTHING ABOUT IT MAKES ANY SENSE.

ANYWAY THIS THING’S ABOUT TO HIT HIM LIKE A WALL SO BRACE YOURSELVES

Oh my god right in the babymaker

AND YOU’VE UPSET THE BOYFRIEND AGAIN

1. You bitch, and 2. We know you’ve already said that, please say something new so I can update my bingo card again please and thank you.

YEEEESSSSSSSS [FISTPUMP]

Gokudera is all like “DAMN YOU” and trying to stand up to protect Yamamoto but then he falls down again because of his plot ailment!

NO MY SONS, ALSO, I’M LOVING IT THOUGH

BIANCHI GOES FULL GANDALF AND IT’S AMAZING!!

AAAAAAAAAAHHH

AND THEN LANCIA DELIVERS THE CLASSIC “ONLY USING X PERCENT OF MY STRENGTH” LINE, AND WE’RE ON FUCKING FIRE NOW WITH THIS BINGO SHIT

WHAT A SHOWDOWN

Time for Tsuna to finally blunder in just in the nick of time!

“WHERE IS EVERYONE—HOLY FUCK”

But then he sees that all his friends are either dead or dying and Bianchi is all on her own (REBORN WHO?!) protecting Yamamoto because she’s a goddamn hero!

And then Tsuna’s face does this.

LOOK AT THAT INSTANT 180 IN DEMEANOR. HE’S JUST ONE OR TWO RAGES SHORT OF JUMPING STRAIGHT INTO DYING WILL MODE RIGHT THERE ON THE FUCKING SPOT

Tsuna I love you so much and I want to write another rant about you becoming a different person all of a sudden when your friends’ welfare is at stake, but I think I’ve made my point on that already in past recaps lmao

Still, this is great.

Then a split second later he realizes what he’s actually done, and

SOB

Tsuna has no idea what to do. Until Lancia turns back to Bianchi and says he’ll just kill her first. 

Then Tsuna knows what to do.

REBORN SHOOTS THE DYING WILL BULLET, BUT ALSO MAKES THE MISTAKE OF SAYING OUT LOUD THAT IT’S THE LAST ONE THEY HAVE. THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER PROBABLY

ANYWAY

He actually moved to catch it before the bullet fully took effect. I choose to believe he was already in motion when Reborn shot him, because even if he hadn’t been in Dying Will mode he was still going to catch that thing one way or the other.

AH THE NOSTALGIA

Tsuna is SO ANGRY he SWITCHES TO A DIFFERENT FUCKING FONT TO SHOW HOW ANGRY HE IS

Reborn again says out loud that THIS IS OUR FINAL TRUMP CARD!! JUST FOR ANYONE WHO MIGHT SECRETLY BE LISTENING! NOW YOU KNOW! AFTER THIS WE HAVE NOTHING LEFT!!!!

Come to think of it, wasn’t there some guy in the very last chapter who said he was going to watch and wait for the Arcobaleno to show his hand first?

Uh oh

You were fucking timing him, Chikusa?

Yeah it is the last one. Yeah they have completely fallen into it.

HOW MANY FUCKING STEPS ARE THERE

Back to Tsuna!

This one’s not on the card either, but least they got him to say something other than “THE END IS NIGH REPENT YOUR SINS HEAR ME AND REJOICE YOU ARE ABOUT TO DIE AT THE HANDS OF THE CHILDREN OF THANOS”

Lancia sticks to his one trick, unaware that Tsuna is the main character and this shit’s not going to work this time.

I LOVE THIS PANEL. THE BLURRY MOTION LINES ON TSUNA’S ARM. LANCIA’S HEAD TILTING BACK. THE RAW “OOOOMPHH” IN THIS MAGNIFICENT UPPERCUT. This was back in the days before we had fancy schmancy X-Burners and the like! Back in the days when problems were solved WITH OUR FISTS. LIKE MEN!!!

Bianchi and Reborn watch like proud parents from the sidelines.

Lancia does a backflip for no reason and then Kamehamehas the ground!

Tsuna catches the ball and chain again because NEWS FLASH LANCIA YOU CAN’T BEAT HIM LIKE THIS

And then to add insult and injury, Tsuna Kamehamehas that shit RIGHT BACK AT HIM

oof

Without checking to make sure Lancia is actually dead, Bianchi and Reborn start patting themselves on the back and making celebratory dinner plans.

Mukuro and Chikusa watch from the window. Mukuro admits he’s surprised, but…

Holy shit. You know what that means, kids. SAY IT, LANCIA. SAY IT YOU COWARD!!!!

MOTHERFUCKER HE REALLY SAID IT!!!

Hot damn. 

And that’s where the chapter ends! It feels short, but it was actually 23 fucking pages. It’s just that a good deal of those pages were just Lancia’s giant metal snake ball whirling around over and over and over.

NEXT CHAPTER WILL CONCLUDE THIS EPICALLY GENERIC FIGHT. Will we ever get bingo?? STAY TUNED

[ryuichifoxe]

How about some art that isn't just shop and comm related? :'>

[radramblog]

Ninty Direct Feb 2021 Thoughts

That was uh. Kind of disappointing, actually.

I suppose it was inevitable that we weren’t seeing Pokemon since they’re gonna do their own announcement. But like. Coulda done better here.

(oh no you’re now introduced to my awful awful handwriting, is this better or worse than my cursed interests? you decide)

Anyway I wrote down everything they announced so here we go

Pyra/Mythra in Smash: I don’t give a single shit about the Xenoblade series, but it’s one of like 2 IPs Nintendo has had in the last decade so sure whatever they can have second a character as a treat. I’m mostly just annoyed this wasn’t a third-party character.

Fall Guys Switch: This feels inevitable. It also feels about 5 months too late.

Outer Wilds Switch: I’ve heard some absolutely excellent things about this game, so fair enough. I’m not sure I’d buy it on the Switch, but I haven’t bought it at all yet, so.

Famicom Detective Club: This looks like a Ren’py game if it had an actual budget, but still used Ren’py for some reason. Prooobably not biting on this one chief.

Samurai Warriors 5: The only Warriors game I’ve played is the first hyrule warriors, and the only Nobunaga game I’ve played was Pokemon Conquest (it’s a trip), so. I don’t understand the obsession they have over there for this bloke, like imagine if Australia made like a tv series a year and a large handful of video games about Ned Kelly or something.

Legend of Mana: Shit I should go play Octopath Traveler huh

Monster Hunter Rise: Those monster designs looked pretty kickass, and those human designs made me crack up laughing. I’ve never played Monster Hunter, and I don’t think this is gonna change that.

Mario Golf: Hey look they confirmed Waluigi as playable ahead of time so people wouldn’t complain, good job guys. The multiplayer of this looked silly as hell, but I’m not spending 80 bucks on wii sports tennis for a multiplayer mode ill drag my mates to play all of once before we go back to playing Beetle Adventure Racing.

Tales from the Borderlands: Wait telltale is still around? Ok…? I haven’t played Borderlands and don’t really care for the Telltale style so nah

Capcom Arcade Stadium: They could have made a peripheral like the NES/SNES mini, but they didn’t, and it’s for the best. The fact that one of the games is free implies to me that the rest are going to be overcosted, though.

Stubbs the Zombie: What the fuck am I looking at. Apparently this is a remaster of an old Xbox game, but I’ve never heard of it. Weird as fuck, but sure.

No More Heroes III: No more Heroes is a franchise that I’ve never played, but always wanted to. It seems right up my alley aesthetic-wise, and the gameplay looks pretty solid too- probably gonna try one of the older ones first, though.

Neon White: Speaking of aesthetic. This looks anime as fuck and edgy in a good way, and the gameplay looks real fun. I actually really want to check this out, and no, it’s not just because of the skull masked goth gf on the cover. (Doesn’t hurt, though.)

DC Super Hero Girls Teen Power: Jesus, this looks like a bad tie-in game from the mid 2000s. Not like Battle for Bikini Bottom, more like a Jimmy Neutron. And while I really liked the Jimmy Neutron game as a kid (shame about the show), this doesn’t look like it’ll stand up to that…high bar. Listening to this trailer made me want to die a little bit inside.

Plants Vs Zombies: Battle for Neighbourville: I miss PopCap. Peggle 3, never.

Miitopia: This looks cute, and will probably lead to the same sort of 3am DMs that happened with Tomodachi Life. If it’s a full priced game, it probably won’t sell at all.

Animal Crossing New Horizons Mario items: uhhh sure. Don’t have that game, so.

Triangle Strategy: Aww fuck it’s a final fantasy tactics that looks like octopath and it might have an actually good story, shiiiiiiiiit. I’m gonna give the demo a try before I land on this, but I’m optimistic.

Star Wars Hunters: When was the last time we had an actually good Star Wars game? And don’t say Fallen Order. Yeah, didn’t think so.

KO City: Ah, the bottom of the barrel. Didn’t think it would take this long. At this point, the pseudo-cartoony style everything has because they’re trying to ape Fortnite is extremely grating on me. (I definitely thought this ad was for Fortnite stuff at first)

World’s End Club: OK this one has me actually hyped. I knew that Kodaka (director/writer of the Danganronpa series) and Uchikoshi (director/writer of the Zero Escape series) were working on a joint project, and we’re finally seeing the results. Both of them have multiple excellent games under their respective belts, and this new game looks like a fun spin on what I’m sure a lot of people were expecting from the pair. Literally both of them have made a game where (spoilers I guess, Keara stop reading here you haven’t played VLR yet) there’s a death game going on while the characters are unaware the world fucking ended, so to see the idea of the death game getting interrupted and the characters actually having to live in the dead world is really cool. I’m paying cloooose attention to this one.

Hades (Physical Release): Dang now if I buy hades I can choose to have some of my money go to EB games or JB hifi or something. Cooooooooooooool.

Ninja Gaiden Collection: This just made me wonder why Ryu Hayabusa isn’t in Smash yet. Is it because there’s already a Ryu?

Age of Calamity DLC: I don’t think I mentioned this in my post yesterday, but I would have put money on DLC for this game coming out. I still haven’t played it, but the first Hyrule Warriors had so much fucking DLC so this was inevitable in my eyes.

Bravely Default 2: Uhhh its another JRPG man idk what you want me to say. Didn’t play the first one, apparently its good.

Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection: Kinda funny having this next to the free original in the Capcom Arcade Stadium. Capcom is reviving old franchises, I guess? Where’s Mega Man Battle Network, cowards?

SaGa Frontier: I’ve heard good things about the SaGa series, but this looks awful. Not like gameplay wise, the style for the models and shit in game just disinterests me.

Apex Legends: Is anyone still playing this game?

BOTW 2 (no news): I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. Next Direct, I guess.

Skyward Sword HD: I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.

Seriously though, I was expecting 3 of the best Zeldas ever made to get ports, and we got the one that I wasn’t interested in. Fuck you too, I guess.

Splatoon 3: I actually was super interested in this, seeing as the trailer looked like it was gonna be for some like… side game, 3D RPG or something, exploring the origins of the Splatoon world? But then it’s just Splatoon 3. And like, I know people really like that series, but it never appealed to me. The world is neat! But I’m not interested in the series as it is.

And that’s the tea.

ADDENDUM:

shit that’s this weekend? huh ok -New Hearthstone expansions revealed, kinda like WOTC does with magic every so often, just like “here’s the next couple sets btw”. Since they do nothing but plagiarise off each other and MTG is having a set based on another WOTC property this year (D&D), there’s going to be a Starcraft set. -Diablo 4 release date that will not be stuck to since COVID is still a thing -people are hoping for starcraft 3. Blizzard to announce Starcraft 2 Episode 1. -New WoW expansion announced, determined objectively to be “worst ever” before trailer is even finished

[aion-rsa]

The Game Awards 2020: Winners & Results

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The Game Awards are back to celebrate the best titles of the year. Taking place in three studio locations — Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London — the event is hosted once again by executive producer and presenter Geoff Keighley, with special guest appearances from Brie Larson, Christopher Nolan, Gal Gadot, Keanu Reeves, Tom Holland, John David Washington, Reggie Fils-Amie, and more.

And of course, the ceremony wouldn’t be complete without some HUGE announcements regarding upcoming games. Last year’s event brought us the reveal of the Xbox Series X. How will The Game Awards top itself this year? Fans will just have to wait and see!

Gamers can watch the festivities live in the stream below:

Favorites at this year’s award ceremony include The Last of Us Part II (11 nominations), Hades (9 nominations), Ghost of Tsushima (8 nominations), Doom Eternal (5 nominations), Fall Guys (4 nominations), Half-Life: Alyx (4 nominations), and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (3 nominations).

Which title will be crowned Game of the Year? It’s time to find out! Here are all of the winners (marked in bold) of this year’s Game Awards:

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Game of the Year

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)

DOOM Eternal (id Software/Bethesda)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)

Hades (Supergiant Games)

The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Best Game Direction

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)

The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Best Narrative

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (George Kamitani)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Kazushige Nojima, Motomu Toriyama, Hiroki Iwaki, Sachie Hirano)

Ghost of Tsushima (Ian Ryan, Liz Albl, Patrick Downs, Jordan Lemos)

Hades (Greg Kasavin)

The Last of Us Part II (Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross)

Best Art Direction

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios)

The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Best Score and Music

DOOM Eternal (Mick Gordon)

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Nobuo Uematsu, Masahi Hamauzu, Mitsuto Suzuki)

Hades (Darren Korb)

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Gareth Coker)

The Last of Us Part II (Gustavo Santaolala, Mac Quale)

Best Audio Design

DOOM Eternal (id Software/Bethesda)

Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)

Resident Evil 3 (Capcom)

The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Best Performance

Ashley Johnson as Ellie, The Last of Us Part II

Laura Bailey as Abby, The Last of Us Part II

Daisuke Tsuji as Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima

Logan Cunningham as Hades, Hades

Nadji Jeter as Miles Morales, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Games for Impact

If Found… (DREAMFEEL/Annapurna Interactive)

Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (Cardboard Computer/Annapurna Interactive)

Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games)

Tell Me Why (Dontnod Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)

Through the Darkest of Times (Paintbucket Games)

Best Ongoing

Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)

Destiny 2 (Bungie)

Call of Duty Warzone (Infinity Ward/Activision)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best Indie

Carrion (Phobia Game Studio)

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic/Devolver)

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Spelunky 2 (Mossmouth)

Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games)

Best Mobile

Among Us (InnerSloth)

Call of Duty Mobile (TiMi Studios/Activision)

Genshin Impact (miHoYo)

Legends of Runeterra (Riot Games)

Pokémon Café Mix (Genius Sonority)

Best Community Support

Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)

Destiny 2 (Bungie)

Fall Guys (Mediatonic/Devolver)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Valorant (Riot Games)

Innovation in Accessibility

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Grounded (Obsidian/Xbox Game Studios)

HyperDot (Tribe Games)

The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Watch Dogs Legion (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)

Best VR/AR

Dreams (Media Molecule/SIE)

Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)

MARVEL’s Iron Man VR (Camoflaj/SIE)

STAR WARS: Squadrons (Motive Studios/EA)

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (Skydance Interactive)

Best Action

DOOM Eternal (id Software/Bethesda)

Hades (Supergiant Games)

Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)

Nioh 2 (Team Ninja)

Streets of Rage 4 (DotEmu)

Best Action/Adventure

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)

MARVEL’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games/SIE)

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios)

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn/EA)

The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)

Best Role Playing

Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)

Genshin Impact (miHoYo)

Persona 5 Royal (Atlus, P Studios)

Wasteland 3 (inXile Entertainment/Koch)

Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)

Best Fighting

Granblue Fantasy: Versus (Arc System Works/Cygames)

Mortal Kombat 11/Ultimate (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition (Dimps/Capcom)

One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai-Namco)

UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe: Late[cl-r] (French Bread/Arc System Works)

Best Family

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (Toys for Bob/Activision)

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic/Devolver)

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (Velan Studios/Nintendo)

Minecraft Dungeons (Mojang/Double Eleven/Xbox Game Studios)

Paper Mario: The Origami King (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)

Best Sim/Strategy

Crusader Kings III (Paradox Development Studio/Paradox)

Desperados III (Mimimi Games/THQN)

Gears Tactics (Splash Damage/The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios)

Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo/Xbox Game Studios)

XCOM: Chimera Squad (Firaxis/2K)

Best Sports/Racing

Dirt 5 (Codemasters Cheshire/Codemasters)

F1 2020 (Codemasters Birmingham /Codemasters)

FIFA 21 (EA Vancouver/EA Sports)

NBA 2K21 (Visual Concepts/2K)

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 (Vicarious Visions/Activision)

Best Multiplayer

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)

Among Us (InnerSloth)

Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward/Raven/Activision)

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic/Devolver)

Valorant (Riot Games)

Best Debut Game

Carrion (Phobia Game Studio/Devolver)

Mortal Shell (Cold Symmetry/Playstack)

Raji: An Ancient Epic (Nodding Heads Games)

Röki (Polygon Treehouse/CI Games)

Phasmophobia (Kinetic Games)

Content Creator of the Year

Alanah Pearce

NickMercs

TimtheTatman

Jay Ann Lopez

Valkyrae

Best Esports Game

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Raven/Activision)

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)

Fortnite (Epic Games)

League of Legends (Riot Games)

Valorant (Riot Games)

Best Esports Athlete

Ian “Crimsix” Porter / Call of Duty

Heo “Showmaker” Su / League of Legends

Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu / League of Legends

Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro / Call of Duty

Matthieu “ZywOo” Herbaut / CS:GO

Best Esports Team

DAMWON Gaming / League of Legends

Dallas Empire / Call of Duty

San Francisco Shock / Overwatch League

G2 Esports / League of Legends

Team Secret / DOTA2

Best Esports Event

BLAST Premier: Spring E2020 European Finals (CS:GO)

Call of Duty League Championship 2020

IEM Katowice 2020 (CS:GO)

League of Legends World Championship 2020

Overwatch League Grand Finals 2020

Best Esports Host

Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere

Alex “Machine” Richardson

Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez

James “Dash” Patterson

Jorien “Sheever” van der Heijden

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[underneaththenightsdisguise-blog]

100+ followers later and I’m still working at this Edgelord

    It may not seem like a huge goal reached, but I love every last one of you guys who follow me here! 💜 It’s only been about a month since I’ve actually joined the Overwatch fandom and made this blog! Couldn’t do any of it without you guys!

    And now bias list stuff~

@thexdragonxbecomesxme​-- One of the first people I interacted with! I was so happy when we started interacting with just Genji and Reaper doing tea and chill, then getting a Blackwatch thread going! Honestly, you got me more confident about my Reaper that he doesn’t have to be so stone cold all the time

@undeuxtroiskillshot​-- my lovely amazing admin Courtney--oh, whoops wrong blog. I’m still amazed by the fact we found each other again after moving from one fandom to this one. And just being able to rp with you again has been amazing <3

@southern-charm​-- I mean shhhh most of our rps have been going on over on Hanzo’s blog, but I’ve had such a blast talking with you and just throwing out ideas for threads, ships and playing Overwatch with you! I’ve loved all the ideas we’ve made and future plans for our characters. And Baeyes, can’t forget Baeyes (Nope I will never stop with that, it’s pure gold)

@astralcircuit​--BOI, I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL REAPER STARTS GETTING THOSE FEELS FOR NOIRE. My body is ready. Just, our thread is amazing and getting the interactions between Noire and Reaper, plus all the things we’ve talked about in IM have been soo much fun! She’s going to know the exact moments to make Reaper’s heart melt (dat tiny kitten hehe)

@rendezvousaveclamort​-- You’ve been a sweetheart ;v; dealing with my uncomortableness with rping smut, talking with me on Discord and all the times we’ve gotten Widow and Reaper just close to having a moment and taking it away like the cruel muns we are hehe

@pressnerftocontinue​-- I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the D.Va Blackwatch AU, another child for Reyes to adopt and take under his wing--and the feels that will come when she figures out what happens to him in the future, ouch. The times we’ve talked have been amazing <3

@plasmabcrn​-- can I just say that Aether is so precious and adorable? She’s made Reaper confused a few times due to how nice she comes off as and being a Talon member. And fff I’ve loved the ideas we’ve talked about and playing Overwatch together!

@he-is-my-hero​--I’m so sorry how much of a jerk Reaper is to Alejandra. I’m really happy to give my edgelord a chance to be a manipulative jerk (and get a kick to the shin as he deserves)

@reapiing-souls​ and @velvettclaws​-- honestly, I was not going to follow other Reapers since I’m a bit self-conscious, but after that time of horrible dad jokes/puns you guys became two of my favorite people <3 It’s been my favorite thing that has happened on this blog!

The lovely guys I’ve interacted with! I may have not had time to get to know you well, but you guys are amazing!

    @talonsaconite​, @blackwatchs-cowboy​, @rhiinestonecowboy​, @ibellator​, @deadcyed​, @deadeye-talon​, @highnoon-cowboy​, @helden-sterben-nie​, @enlicht​, @thedoorscmbra​, @the-merciful-angel​, @hackeroftalon​, @asthebeatdrops​, @rusty-metal-of-honor​, @soldierofhorus​, @witnessxher​, @apmeka​, @aoiryuujinshimada​, @hxnzoshimxdx​, @ahorita​, @solitcire​

Plus those I have had little interaction/no interactions but admire from afar because I’m a shy dork that’s horrible at approaching others <3

    @scarslookgood​, @wccntd​, @firstdrawn​, @panzerung​, @sliipstreamed​, @chronal-anomaly​, @warvirtue​, @spiritkind​, @icarustorn​, @ryu--ichimonji​, @hook-em​, @wiithoutform​, @bodhxsattva​, @timeruins​, @flxshasarat​, @fingergxns​, @medicalboostio​, @essence-of-discovery​, @aimbotwidow​, @visoredvigilante​

All of my followers as well! Every time I see a new follower I’m beyond happy to see that you find me worthy to follow! Every last one of you mean so much to me for letting my dorkness and this asshole Reaper to be on your dash! I’ll do my best to continue providing dash worthy rps and posts 💜

Of course, there is one more <3 My very first follower, the first person I rped with on this blog, my wonderful partner in crime, my Zenyatta, the Ultravioletkiller to my Purplemurderer, and my wonderful and amazing gf 💜 @harmonyxandxdiscord ​ 💜 She’s followed me from the TF2 fandom all over my horrible ability to hyperfocus on one fandom at a time, all the way to here. I am so damn lucky to have such a wonderful gf 💜

[winterolympicssports2018-blog]

(Yonhap Feature) Perception of No. 2 hitter changing in S. Korean baseball

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(Yonhap Feature) Perception of No. 2 hitter changing in S. Korean baseball

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, April 19 (Yonhap) — Josh Donaldson, Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Yoenis Cespedes and Kris Bryant.

What do these Major League Baseball (MLB) sluggers have in common? They have won MVPs, Rookie of the Year honors or Silver Slugger Awards. And they have launched 30 or more home runs in at least one season in their careers and have been named to All-Star teams as well. One could make a compelling argument they are the best hitters on their clubs.

Also, they are the primary No. 2 hitters in their respective lineups.

And before he was traded to the New York Yankees over the winter, Giancarlo Stanton was the Miami Marlins’ No. 2 hitter in 2017. He launched 47 home runs from the No. 2 hole, a major league record, and was voted the National League MVP thanks to 59 homers in total.

These stars don’t seem to fit the mold of a traditional No. 2 hitter, someone who can slap the ball the other way or put down bunts to advance the runner, with any sort of power considered a bonus. Instead, they are part of a new breed to set foot in the No. 2 hole — sluggers who can generate offense by themselves with one swing of the bat and who can also get on base to set up chances for the heart of the order.

“The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball,” a groundbreaking book on statistical analysis of the sport, noted the No. 2 hitter comes to bat in situations as important as the No. 3 hitter does but does so more often. Statistically, it makes sense to give the best hitters more opportunities in key situations.

In this file photo from March 28, 2018, Roger Bernadina of the Kia Tigers watches his fly ball against the Samsung Lions during the bottom of the third inning in a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

And in 2018, teams in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) have also fallen in love with the idea that their best hitters should be batting second in the lineup.

Defending champions Kia Tigers have moved outfielder Roger Bernadina into the No. 2 hole this year. In 2017, his first season in the KBO, Bernadina didn’t play any of his 139 games in the second spot in the lineup. He either led off or batted third and had an outstanding season with 27 home runs, 32 steals, 118 runs scored and a .320 batting average.

Through Tuesday, he had appeared in 14 of his 18 games as the No. 2 hitter and is off to a much better start than a year ago. Bernadina batted just .255 with one home run and nine RBIs in his first 25 games in 2017, struggling amid whispers that he should be sent down to the minors to get his act together. But in 2018, Bernadina was batting .290 with four home runs and 11 RBIs, along with a team-best 17 runs scored through Tuesday.

And his manager Kim Ki-tai enjoys having Bernadina in the new place in the lineup.

“He has a great work ethic, and he always practices hard,” Kim said before a game April 1. “Last year, he just had to go through a bit of an adjustment period in the new league.”

   Former major league outfielder Kim Hyun-soo returned to the KBO for 2018 and now occupies the No. 2 hole for the LG Twins. In his previous KBO season in 2015 for the Doosan Bears, Kim batted either third or fourth, and produced career highs of 28 home runs and 121 RBIs.

In this file photo from April 3, Kang Baek-ho of the KT Wiz (R) runs toward first base after hitting a grounder against the Nexen Heroes during the top of the third inning in a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Yonhap)

Hoping Kim would put up similar power numbers, the Twins manager Ryu Joong-il inserted Kim in the fifth hole to begin the 2018 season. In the first two games there, Kim went 2-for-8. Then Ryu moved him up to the No. 2 spot. He homered in his second game there, on March 28, and hasn’t moved since.

Kim’s abilities to put the ball in play, hit for power and draw walks make him uniquely suited as the modern-day No. 2 hitter. Through Tuesday’s games, Kim was leading all No. 2 hitters with 22 hits, 12 walks and 40 total bases, and was tied with Bernadina for most home runs with four.

Ryu used Kim in the second spot in a few preseason games in March and said he believed the No. 2 man should be the team’s best hitter “to help improve the overall offense of that ball club.”

   Different spots in the lineup require different roles and responsibilities, but Kim said he’s always ready to hit anywhere.

“I don’t really worry about my spot in the batting order, and I don’t have any preference,” Kim said before the start of the season. “Wherever (Ryu) puts me in the lineup, I’ll try to be the best hitter for that particular spot.”

   Lotte Giants outfielder Son A-seop is such a versatile hitter that he split the 2017 season in the leadoff, No. 2 and No. 3 spots. He had the most plate appearances as the No. 2 man with 282 and was also most productive there, with nine home runs, 35 RBIs and a .990 on-base-plus-slugging percentage (OPS). Overall, Son led the KBO in hits and enjoyed his first 20-20 season in 2017 with 20 homers and 25 steals.

This year, Son has also been the Giants’ primary No. 2 hitter, appearing in 13 of his 18 games through Tuesday. And he has been the lone bright spot for a team mired in last place, with a .329/.434/.471 line, two homers, 11 RBIs and 15 runs scored.

In this file photo from April 11, 2018, Son A-seop of the Lotte Giants (R) scores on a sacrifice fly against the Nexen Heroes during the bottom of the fifth inning in a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Munsu Baseball Stadium in Ulsan, 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)

Son also had 250 plate appearances as the leadoff man in 2017, but the arrival of Min Byung-hun from the Bears via free agency has allowed Son to focus on hitting out of the No. 2 hole.

Min was the Bears’ primary leadoff hitter last year, with 341 plate appearances, and batted .304 with nine home runs and 37 RBIs, and had a solid .390 on-base percentage.

Lotte manager Cho Won-woo said prior to the season that he likes to put hitters in places where they’re most comfortable.

“Son A-seop enjoys hitting out of the No. 2 hole, and he did a great job from that spot last year,” Cho said. “Min Byung-hun is also most comfortable batting leadoff because he likes to see a lot of pitches at the start of the game.”

   The KT Wiz are trying to stay out of the league cellar for the first time in the franchise history, after finishing last in each of the past three years. And they’re pinning their hopes on 18-year-old rookie sensation Kang Baek-ho, who has thrived as their new No. 2 hitter.

After Kang homered in two of his first three games as the No. 8 hitter, his manager Kim Jin-wook moved Kang all the way up to the No. 2 hole. And Kang hasn’t missed a beat in 15 games there.

He made seven straight starts in the No. 2 spot before moving briefly to the No. 5 hole, and in those seven games, Kang slugged at a .621 clip with two home runs, eight RBIs and five runs scored.

Through Tuesday, Kang was leading the team with a .316 batting average, seven doubles, 12 extra-base hits and 45 total bases. He was tied with Mel Rojas Jr. and Yoo Han-joon for the club lead with five home runs.

The Wiz averaged 3.7 runs per game in their first three games. And in the next six games with Kang as their No. 2 hitter, they averaged 8.8 runs per game. In an 8-5 win over the SK Wyverns on March 28, Kang hit two doubles, scored a run and drove in a run. The Wiz ended up scoring a run in both of the innings in which Kang had a hit.

In this file photo provided by the LG Twins baseball club on April 3, 2018, Kim Hyun-soo of the Twins celebrates his two-run homer against the Doosan Bears during the top of the ninth inning in a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. (Yonhap)

It also helps to have some depth in the lineup, where powerful No. 2 hitters can be followed by other sluggers.

Bernadina hits in front of hard-hitting second baseman An Chi-hong and perennial MVP candidate Choi Hyoung-woo. Choi and An are first and second on the team in batting average with .385 and .369, while An leads the Tigers with six home runs and 18 RBIs.

Following Kang in the surging Wiz lineup are veteran hitters with pop: Rojas Jr., Yoo, and former San Francisco Giants third baseman Hwang Jae-gyun, who has contributed a pair of home runs, along with five doubles and two triples.

Kim Jin-wook said Kang’s hot start compelled him to make the switch.

“I felt that Kang would get more pitches to hit if he was batting in front of some good hitters,” Kim said on April 6, a few days after the change. “With Rojas and Hwang behind him, pitchers will have to pitch to Kang. Right now, I think it’s the best spot for him in our lineup.”

   Kang was a two-way star in high school as an ace pitcher and a hard-hitting catcher, and always batted either third or cleanup as an amateur.

“I’ve never hit in the No. 2 spot before,” Kang said. “But I enjoy having more plate appearances.”

   That’s the whole point of placing the best hitters in the No. 2 spot — to give them more opportunities than they’d be getting if they were batting further down in the lineup, so that teams could maximize their production.

And as it happens, the Wiz and the Tigers were first and third in team batting average with .294 and .293 through Tuesday. In the runs scored category, the Wiz were in first place with 125, with the Tigers having slipped from second to fifth in recent days with 107. They were second and third in OPS, with the Wiz checking in at .853 and the Tigers sitting at .840.

jeeho@yna.co.kr

(END)

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Bookshelf Briefs 12/5/17

Son of Cornucopia of Briefs!

Akashic Records of Bastard Magica Instructor, Vol. 2 | By Hitsuji Tarou, Tsunemi Aosa and Kurone Mishima | Seven Seas – Last time I said Glenn was too irritating, this time the opposite may be the case. Part of that is due to the fact that this is mostly just a big battle, as Rumia has been kidnapped and Sistine and Glenn have to rescue her. This involves a pile of fights, some of which are more exciting than others. The final fight is an anticlimax, partly as the villain is dull and gives up very easily, and partly as Rumia, in order to contrast with Sistine, is also quite dull. The best part was Glenn pushing Sistine out of the building, frankly. This is an OK series if you like magical high schools, but there’s honestly better ones out there. – Sean Gaffney

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 5 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – As I’ve said before, the quality of this series is dependent on the amount of music depicted in it, and this volume has a LOT of music, making it easily the best volume to date. Nino can be good at playing and singing, or she can blow everyone away with her voice and emotions, but she cannot, seemingly, do both at the same time. The result is a concert that looms towards trainwreck the entire time but never quite gets there, riding entirely on the skill of the band and Nino’s desperate cries of the heart. The art here is stunning, and remains the best reason to read it. The romance, honestly, is the weak link, and you’d really like it to resolve itself but know that it won’t. Get this for the band. – Sean Gaffney

Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 7 | By Izumi Miyazono | VIZ Media – The more things change, the more they stay the same. Ryu has been offered a promotion to the Washington, DC branch of his news organization, and, with encouragement from Asuka, decides to accept. They attempt to make the most of the months they have left, including a few fun dates and an outing in which Ryu introduces Asuka to his brother. He even proposes, sort of. “In spirit,” he says. But still, once he’s gone, we get essentially the same stuff as before. Vague glimpses at Asuka’s job, her brother showing up to poke his nose into her business, and, most significantly, yet more of Kamiya and his persistent angling for Asuka’s affections. It’s not bad, but it’s a dynamic that I’m pretty tired of. Still, it’s a quick, light read, so I’ll probably keep following it. – Michelle Smith

Frau Faust, Vol. 2| By Kore Yamazaki | Kodansha Comics – I must admit, I was very disappointed at the big plot twist of Frau Faust‘s second volume. I really liked the badass adult heroine, so seeing her, though the bargain she has with her demon, have her body stripped away so she looks younger and cuter strikes me as not the best bargain I’ve ever had. That said, her personality remains the same, and it wouldn’t matter if she was young or old, nothing was going to be able to stop Marion getting himself into trouble, as he possesses a thirst for knowledge second only to her own. And most of the horror in this book is given over to a creepy church with an evil priest and nun, always popular with readers. Despite the age regression, I’m still enjoying Frau Faust. – Sean Gaffney

The Full-Time Wife Escapist, Vol. 6 | By Tsunami Umino | Kodansha Comics – I expected to be happy and relieved when these two awkward failboats finally got it together, confessed they liked each other, and had their first time. And I was. The good news is that it does not in any way detract from the fact that they are still two really awkward massive failboats, even as they deepen their relationship. Because they still can’t think of it as a relationship—in particular, Mikuri is panicking at the fact that being his real wife means giving up on the income she’s been getting. Which you could argue is meant to be a comment on the sheer amount of unpaid work the average wife goes through, but I think is more meant to show that Mikuri has serious compartmentalization issues. I love this series. – Sean Gaffney

Idol Dreams, Vol. 4 | By Arina Tanemura | Viz Media – Idol Dreams has always been “problematic but readable,” and both qualities amp up in this fourth volume, as Chikage deals with her decision to date Ru as a 15-year-old. She thinks of things as an adult, so can’t really understand a teenage boy’s drives and desires, which almost leads to tragedy, and does lead to her doing something very cruel in order to “fix” things. The other problem is Chikage’s complete and total lack of self-worth. This is, after all, a woman who tried to kill herself near the start of the series. It’s so bad that she even gets “confidence” lessons from the other girls in the office. Tanemura is always readable, but I still can’t see this ending in any way other than everyone being very, very unhappy. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, Vol. 2 | By Rin Mikimoto | Kodansha Comics – Despite still having issues deciding how much of a comedy it’s supposed to be, this is a better volume than the first. Our heroes have gotten together, though of course given Kaede’s idol status it’s a big secret—if found out, Hinana could be in big trouble. I liked the added depth we got from Hinana here—she does initially have confidence in her relationship with Kaede, but is still a teenage girl, so lies can persuade her. She also reveals that she’s adopted, which means she feels the need to excel in school, and being around Kaede all the time is not helping, especially when he keeps trying to distract her. (The sniffing scene was a highlight). I’m having sufficient fun to continue. – Sean Gaffney

Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 13 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | VIZ Media – As ever with Ooku, time moves on, and when I first started reading this volume, I missed the beloved group of characters involved with eradicating the redface pox. Soon, though, I realized that Iesada, the first female shogun in over sixty years, is awesome, and that Takiyama, her new senior chamberlain, is likewise awesome. Moreover, her female senior councilor (becoming more of a rarity as the male population recovers) Abe Masahiro is seriously awesome. Now they (especially Takiyama and Masahiro) are as beloved to me as the other group! The moral of the story is: never doubt Yoshinaga. She even knows how to give a reader goosebumps via a dramatic reappearance of a symbolic kimono design! I’m so happy there are at least two more volumes of this. – Michelle Smith

A Polar Bear in Love, Vol. 1 | By Koromo | Yen Press – This is a cute and seemingly heartwarming manga, but its relationship between predator and prey makes me a bit uncomfortable. I think the manga artist is aware of this—we get constant reassurance from the polar bear that he does not, in fact, want to eat the seal but has fallen in love with him instead. And the fact that they’re both male is also not overlooked. There’s a lot more going on here than you’d expect in a series that’s meant to run on “ooooh, adorable animals!” Still, there’s no denying that the seal is terrified the entire time and unable to really escape for a while, and the fact that he’s slowly starting to fall for the polar bear does not really quiet my misgivings. Warily recommended. – Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 7 | By Aya Kanno | Viz Media – Say what you will about Kanno, she really knows how to drag out the canon scenes to serve her own interests. And serve them very well, as this is another volume of Rose King that you absolutely can’t put down once you start reading it. Margaret’s downfall will be very familiar to readers of the Henry VI plays, but that doesn’t make it less tragic. As for Richard and Henry, Richard seems to be descending closer and closer to madness, and he doesn’t even need Joan of Arc’s ghost this time around—his mother fills in nicely. Add to this Anne being ABSOLUTELY BADASS, and you have another volume of what may be the best Shojo Beat series out there that isn’t Shojo Beat. You need to be reading this. – Sean Gaffney

Sword Art Online: abec Artworks | By abec | Yen Press – It’s always nice to see a series do well enough to justify licensing the artbook, and I’ve always liked abec’s work. We get some gorgeous art here, of course, along with some insight into the process (such as Kirito being added to the cover of book seven by editorial fiat). There’s also a short story at the end by Reki Kawahara, which involves an artist who’s trying to figure out a way to paint in Aincrad, whose game nature does not make it easy on artists requiring a large canvas. There are also lots of pieces unseen by North American fans, as we get art for promos and magazines. Basically, anyone who is a fan of Sword Art Online should be getting this. It’s also out digitally, but that may not do it justice—go for the bigger print book. – Sean Gaffney

Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Vol. 9 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics (digital only for the moment) – I was equal parts anticipating and dreading this final volume of Tokyo Tarareba Girls, because I wanted a happy ending for Rinko and Key and Mr. Hayasaka, which was going to be impossible. That said, I’m quite satisfied with how things turned out. I won’t give away any plot details, but I loved how Rinko both changed and did not change, in that instead of saying “what if” and regretting the state of things, she’s now determined to say “because” and be grateful for events and people who have helped her grow as a person. She’s now more honest with herself and with others, and yet she’s still the Rinko who periodically gets sloppy drunk with her friends. This is a really strong conclusion that even made me a little sniffly! – Michelle Smith

By: Michelle Smith