Psycho666Soldier

Yeah, I don't need every chapter to be advancing a plot, but before it just felt like it had a lot of heart and super hilarious moments in the every day stuff.

I think part of it is there have been a lot of shorter chapters in the last couple months so there's been less time to have the more meaningful slice of life chapters where it feels like there's both character development alongside the gags? I think that might be it.  Until these last two main chapters(not counting the extra short side ones), it feels like there hasn't been that character development side as much?  Or maybe it's also just because there have been so many break weeks that the flow makes every chapter hit weaker.

I have faith it'll find something to dig into eventually, but we'll see

I actually have been caught up on Akane-banashi, Spy x Family, and Sakamoto(and Undead Unluck), but you reminded me to check out this week's chapters.  

The big splash page at the end of Akane-banashi was such a a heart-warming image.  Loved her performance and the way she stood up to "mophead".  And Sakamoto has been killer(pun intended?).  Loving the art in some of these chapters, and the reveal about Uzuki was cool.  I did kinda think it would be something more wtf, but honestly it makes a lot of sense.

Can't help but agree on Spy x Family and Chainsaw Man.  Feels like some of the spark was missing from recent Spy chapters(though this last pair was pretty enjoyable, and I get the feeling Fujimoto is burning out on Chainsaw Man and probably wants to do something else.

Korean BBQ achieved

I feel like I'm about to explode

I never watched GTO, so that's pretty exciting news to hear.

I don't think I ever put in here that a good while back I watched Tomodachi Game and Mushi-shi.

Tomodachi Game was pretty fun.  It seemed a bit dependent on shock early on, but I found myself really enjoying how they characterized the cast.  Hope there's more to come down the line

Mushi-shi is a masterpiece.  The way it rides the line of emotions and tone, never being outright scary in a lot of moments, never being outright positive, but having this sort of melancholic uneasiness about it all.  The art and soundtrack are just incredible, and I love transient the narrative is.  Awesome stuff.

Thanks dude.  Just gonna have a couple drinks, eat cake, and watch wrestling tonight.  Sunday I'll be going out for All-You-Can-Eat Korean BBQ.  That's where the true celebration begins.

Happy Birthday wab!!

I'll be watching Kaiju No. 8 but I think k the art feels a bit neutered compared to the manga art.  The character designs don't look quite right and I think it makes the subject matter look a bit lighter than it actually is. Still, some great action that'll probably look awesome animated.

No objection from me!  I think that works too because I tend to watch some stuff out of season and don't really see a reason to not keep it to the same thread.

I honestly having watched any of the new series this season.  I've mostly been watching Undead Unluck and then my girlfriend and I finally started JJK.  I might give some of these others y'all have talked about a shot once those are dried up.

I've actually been relatively caught up on the usual suspects.  I just usually miss one week and then catch up on 2 chapters at a time.  That said, I do have to read the last two weeks.

Just did Sakamoto and holy shit I love the fights going on right now.  Seeing Shin trying to stand in his own strength and wits without his ESP(though he maybe unlocked some kind of mind suggestion technique?).  

Absolutely loved Akane's performance.  I love that she started expanding into other stories, and man, the last chapter with her father acknowledging her path to Rakugo and then tearing up at the end.  Shit was beautiful.  She deserves the promotion.

Also hadn't realized it's been over a month since the last Spy x Family!  The most recent chapter was pretty fun, but it definitely feels like the best stuff will be next chapter.

So far, it's been amazing.  Fixes a lot of the things that were rough about the first one, definitely improves on most of what XVI tries to do, and I've honestly just had a ton of fun seeing the characters develop more.

It's definitely a wacky game with a lot of it's sidequests.  But it has so much love and charm put into it.

Anyone else been playing Rebirth?

Happy Birthday, dude!

It's funny realizing that I'm still like 6 years younger than most of the community here, haha.

Well this fucking hurts 

Belated Happy Birthday!

The most recent Show-ha Shoten almost got some tears out of me halfway through.  It's curious how Nazutani had decent intentions but became a legit dick in the process. Excited for the next chapter.

Fuuuuuck.  I had a feeling it was coming.  I was looking on jajanken a few weeks ago and it's been ranking terribly each week.  Which is such a shame because I thought it had a lot to offer. Mirrored the best of sports shonen storytelling, but had enough great art and characters with heart that it felt like it stood on its own.  Maybe just bad timing, I dunno.  Really disappointed about it regardless.

Gonna try and catch up on the last couple weeks of stuff soon.  Been a bit lazy about it.

Happy belated!!

The Gay Agenda, clearly 

You know the drill

1. Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

Holy shit, is this a good Zelda game. It's short, but when you consider it's supposed to be paired with Ages(which I'm playing next), that's not really true.  Even on its own, it's a content-packed adventure, with some inventive items and solid boss battles. Some of the puzzles had me stumped(some for stupid reasons like forgetting I can push a trampoline -_-). I used a guide for that damn trampoline mishap and to figure out where to go(another dumb oversight) after Tarm Ruins, and I wasn't gonna try and find the random spots the golden beasts popped up. 

While not all the bosses were super hard, I thought they all had unique mechanics that took advantage of all the items you get. I really liked that the final proper dungeon tests all your skill with them and is designed in a way where you can get past some of the basic hazards in multiple ways depending on how you're using everything.

Oh, and of course, the music was incredible.  The dungeon themes would be stuck in my head all day after playing. GBC OSTs are underrated.

Sick game. Unique setting and identity and the best that top-down Zelda has to offer. You can't ask for more. 9/10

Happy Birthday KR!!

I finished Zom 100 the other day.  Was a really good show regardless of whether it continues or not.  It's nice to get media about a zombie apocalypse that isn't bleak, but rather feel-good while also still touching on a lot of deeper themes.  Plus the analogies to the pandemic and how people evolved(or devolved) through that are obviously palpable.

Happy New Year everyone!

Here's to a better 2024, regardless of whether 2023 was good for you or not 

1. Pokemon Violet

2. :snes: Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

3. Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage

4. Octopath Traveler

5. Metroid II: Return of Samus

6. :ps1: Oddworld: Abe's Oddyssee

7. God of War (2018) 

8. :ps1: Crash Bandicoot

9. Spider-Man Remastered

10. :ps1: Crash Bandicoot 2 (100%)

11. Final Fantasy XVI

12. Spyro: Year of the Dragon (100%)

13. Jet Set Radio

14. Final Fantasy VII REMAKE (Platinum Trophy)

15. :ps1: Legend of Legaia (88.84%)

16. :switch: Super Mario RPG Remake

17.  Ghost of Tsushima (Platinum)

18. :PS1: Crash Bandicoot: Warped (100%)

Holy fuck, Ghost of Tsushima is so good. If I wanted to be nitpicky, I could say the combat was a bit repetitive and it eventually started feeling a bit formulaic.  But that was never at the forefront of my mind because this game is just a vibe. All the side things you can do like the hot springs and haikus just helped immerse me in this world.  At all points I was just engulfed in the sheer beauty of the visuals and the presentation while also just feeling absorbed into the gameplay and story.  I can't think of many games that just the feel of the game had me entranced more than the overall package. I completed everything in the base game.  Probably won't do New Game + or Legends Mode, but at some point I may want to play the DLC.

Overall, I really did love the combat and the capabilities for mixing direct combat and stealth operatives. And just enough climbing/platforming to make this feel a bit different than most open world games.

And hooooly shit do I love the story and characters.  This had all the room to be a basic story of honor and revenge, but especially when you do the Tales of Tsushima, it's really an exploration in human nature and figuring out what is right and wrong in your eyes.  I love that each of the main characters are flawed in different ways.  None of them are clear-cut as "good people," but it's clear they are all people reacting to the trauma of the invasion as well as personal traumas, and how in life that is messy and there's no clear answer for what is morally right or wrong.  And the way it's reflected in Jin and the choices you can make with gameplay and endgame stuff...man, I can't help but just be super into how it was handled compared to how I think most games in this style would be handled in the years before.

Top tier modern game, stunning visuals and sound design, excellent story and characters.  Very glad I took the time to finish this before fully moving to the next gen.  9/10

Crash Warped remains my favorite entry in the series.  The boss battles are even more creative(though I'd argue Crash 2 had a harder final fight), it's a completionist's wet dream, and the level designs are just more tight and varied. I took some time away after completing the main levels and I think there was something I liked about Crash 2 more, but they're pretty close for me either way.  I got all the gold relics except for 4 because two of them just felt like I would be trying at it for hours on end and the others I just didn't have the patience to go back to. And I'm not even bothering with the Platinums.  The 105% for the gold relics is tempting, but I'm satisfied with where I'm at.  Happy to finally have properly completed the original trilogy. 8/10

And I think that about rounds it out for the year.  Got a lot of stuff I've been meaning to get off my backlog, some recent, some since my childhood.  I'm excited to keep churning through it next year, with FF7R Rebirth and Thousand Year Door on the horizon for new releases.  Think I'm gonna buy Disco Elysium and make that happen this year, too.  Probably Baldur's Gate as well.

Second pretty much everything here(these are also the three I've read so far)

On Elusive Samurai