Psycho666Soldier

Has anyone here been reading Dr. Stone? I usually don't get too deep into manga like I do anime, but this was part of the big 4 new IP's that were meant to bring fresh blood into the Shonen Jump pages (The Promised Neverland was one of those four). It's basically a battle manga where the conflict and escalation is based on scientific advancement as opposed to fighting and power levels. Really cool art style and surprisingly engaging story. Anime comes out in July. Mostly just getting the ball rolling in this forum.

Been getting back on my X-Men chronological run. I had the Epic Collection volume for the Brood Saga for the better part of a year before I finally read it. Absolutely loved it. Maybe my favorite X-Men story so far, both in the existential themes and just some of the most stellar art. I think it was #162 where it's all Wolverine surviving the wilderness of The Brood's base planet and I was enthralled the whole time. This inspired me to watch X-Men '97 finally, which then inspired me to read the rest of my collection of comics (I've had 168-199 in individual issues just waiting for me to catch up) and am now up to 193. Kinda funny how that just so happened to be the run of comics that covers a lot of the stuff X-Men '97 does(Lifedeath, the introduction of Valerie Cooper and what I assume will eventually lead to Bastion, Madelyne Pryor). One of my favorite parts of Claremont's run has been Storm's introspective moments, and everything post-Brood up to Lifedeath is a goldmine for that stuff. Have really enjoyed Rogue's introduction. The way she's been thrust in situations to prove herself willing to put her life on the line for the team, her realizing she actually wants to save people, seeing the X-Men individually start to accept her. Finally seeing the follow-up to #173(Logan's wedding) after having that issue randomly for years. Also, the art evolution from Cockrum to Paul Smith to Romita Jr./Dan Green is incredible. No shade to John Byrne as I think his art style works for the horror-leaning stuff, but his faces always look off to me. Cockrum feels like he designed the true spirit of X-Men's art style, and then Smith and especially Romita Jr. soar with it.

Yeah, I haven't been really watching a LOT this year. Been keeping up with DanDaDan, Witch Watch, saw the Demon Slayer movie(fucking amazing), and...I think that's been about it? Oh, I think the newest Dr. Stone season was this year, wasn't it? Either that or late last year. Was a great season for sure. Still wanna finish Dragon Ball DAIMA at some point. I've heard mostly good things.

Funny, because my partner has been listening to a bunch of old school DEVO after seeing them open for My Chemical Romance recently.

I've been wanting to yap about manga for months now but you and I are like the only two that still post and follow most of the SJ stuff so I held a lot in. Yeah, Kaiju No. 8's ending was like not as disappointing as a cancelled series ending but felt like there could have maybe been more. Though to be fair the way that final Kaiju escalated I kinda wondered where they go from there. I was pretty happy with Show-Ha Shoten's ending and really happy we got to see a glimpse of what was going on after the competition. Also really enjoyed that Shijima got the girl morally but still had the growth moment of her having a boyfriend. Subverted the cliche some. I'm glad you've gotten into Witch Watch! I really liked the first 20 or so chapters and I assumed it would have been cancelled long ago, but it's still going strong! I've converted to watching the anime at this point, but it's such a treat. Elusive, Sakamoto, and Akane-banashi continue reigning as my Top 3 and have all had me hooked the last few months. I think Akane-banashi might be my #1, but these are the three I usually jump to read first. I'm anime-only on DanDaDan beyond the first couple issues so I'm still in the throes of quality. Guess I'll have to see if it peters out for me over time. I also keep having Chainsaw Man really behind and even though it's not a LOT of issues to catch up on with it's release schedule, I always completely forget what the fuck is going on before I go in, and then often am confused even when I do. Still can't help but love seeing whatever wacky shit goes on with it I've honestly been slacking on a lot of the newer series, but a good few of them (like Someone Hertz) look super appealing to me. I was curious about Otr of the Flame because it was the same artist as Hunter's Guild which we really liked, but the first chapter didn't really grab me the same

I'm just glad it was something like that and nothing like tragic Happy to see you back

Happy Birthday!!

Zau was a great game. Just long enough to feel satisfying and ended before it became a drag. The movement and the platforming(and the boss fights) were definitely the highlights for me gameplay wise. I found the combat zones to be tedious, though

Happy Birthday dude wherever you are. Hopefully just busy and still alive

Happy Birthday! Got any nerdy plans?

1. Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons 2. Disco Elysium 3. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth 4. :ps1: Final Fantasy VIII 5. Tales of Kenzera: Zau 6. Animal Well 7. Tunic 8. Dragon Ball Sparking Zero 9. Dark Cloud 10. Pseudoregalia 11. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door 12. Teslagrad 2 Just rounding out the rest of the list I finished. I did my usual write-ups for Dark Cloud and Pseudoregalia on a different forum a while ago and just forgot to catch it up here. Dark Cloud 7.5/10 Pseudoregalia 8.5/10 Last two from the year. Pushed this off too long, so I'm not gonna go full review mode. TTYD is incredible and the remake does it wonderful justice. First time I beat it all the way through, absolutely love the story, the characters, the setting, the mechanics. This is peak Paper Mario. Peak Mario RPG tbh. Hoping it sold well and convinces Nintendo to make a proper faithful Paper Mario sequel with full RPG mechanics and FUCKING PARTNERS. 9/10 Teslagrad 2 felt like it maybe could have been a bit longer, and I wasn't as immersed in the setting the way I was with the first one. The main campaign is definitely way too short. But if you take the time to go through and do all the extra challenges and find the extra upgrades, there are some awesome uses of platforming in this game. Honestly, the platforming feels really smooth and clean and is just fun to move around once you get a few key upgrades. Hope the dev team keeps working on stuff and maybe makes something just a bit bigger next time. 8/10

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

And Undead Unluck finished a couple Sundays ago. Very satisfying ending. Doesn't try to do too much or be too confusing, so arguably safe, but honestly, it just feels so right after everything that happens. Loved this manga so much. It's dripping with charm and just pulls you into the emotions of the characters. And they did such a great job with the last couple chapters. I can't wait to see the rest of it animated.

Happy Birthday, Tassi!

I actually have been playing this very slowly with my girlfriend over the last couple months too for the EXACT same reason. We technically beat it, but I want to go through and get the different endings before moving on to Little Goodie Two Shoes, since I know the ending we got doesn't directly correlate it. I'm kinda with you where it's a fun experience if not a bit predictable and basic. Little Goodie Two Shoes seems like it's the more creative/original game. That said, I did really enjoy this and it was fun going along the journey of seeing how the protagonist and the other characters fit into the whole narrative.

Haven't seen b in a minute and not sure anyone else has been following, but Beat & Motion had it's last chapter last week. Honestly I expected it to end quite a few chapters ago and would have been satisfied as is, so I felt it ended at a good point. Wasn't much else to develop without making drama for the sake of drama. Really love the way they portrayed Nico and Tatsuhiko's relationship. The final chapter is absolutely stunning and gorgeous, and love that there's minimal dialogue. Great work, I hope it gets animated some day, but honestly the manga format just captures such a unique beauty I'm not sure would hit the same as a cartoon.

1. Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons 2. Disco Elysium 3. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth 4. :ps1: Final Fantasy VIII 5. Tales of Kenzera: Zau 6. Animal Well 7. Tunic 8. Dragon Ball Sparking Zero Well I've got like 7 more games I beat through the year, so let's get them up, shall we? Animal Well 9/10 TUNIC 9/10 Dragon Ball Sparking Zero 7.5/10 Will probably add more tomorrow.

That's really dumb about the Crunchyroll uploads. I never actually watched Wolf's Rain myself, but I've always heard good things from various people I associate with, so maybe this is a sign to give it a shot 🤔 What I'm liking about GT so far(only like 6 episodes in) is that it captures the spirit of the original Dragon Ball. Which is probably problematic for most kids who grew up on Z and wanted more action and less silliness. Though the action is still pretty fun. I know later it gets more action-oriented, but I also know that's kind of where opinions get more contentious, particularly with the Hell saga. One thing I've really enjoyed is Pan's character. I don't know if the dub maybe ruined her or something, but all these years I was under the impression that Pan was some annoying, badly written character, and I've been severely misled this whole time.

I'm still alive, and I've read some stuff and haven't read others. I started teaching recently and it's consumed a lot of my energy lol. I've been keeping up with Hakutaku. Has keeper potential for me at the moment. I finally read the last couple chapters of Dragon Ball Super. Beast Form is kind of an obnoxious design, but it was really cool and fun and surprisingly fresh to see Gohan spar with Goku, Vegeta, Broly, Goten, and Trunks. I assume we're probably only gonna get like one more arc with Black Frieza, but I'd love if they squeezed in one more that focused on Gohan et Al as the heroes, maybe even giving Vegeta the final victory, before we get the expected final showdown between Goku and Frieza. I guess we'll see. All I know is I hope the manga-only arcs get animated at some point. I've also caught up on Sakamoto Days. I'm curious to see if Shin goes through with killing the prison dude. It's kind of a shame but also such a nice change of pace from the usual "Villain turned Hero" character arc where they become squeaky clean after joining the hero. @dr. b have your been mostly up to date with everything?

Good to hear from you Anelle I've been very very slowly watching Dragon Ball GT for the first time. It's been fun.

I caved and started watching DanDaDan because I figured my girlfriend would like it. Looks I'll be roughly keeping up with it going forward. I love the OP. Everything else is incredible as well. Animation is other-wordly.

A little behind on some stuff. Might try to catch up a bit today. But I wanted to shout out one of the newest series Hakutaku. Third chapter dropped today, I really liked the first two chapters. It's about becoming a video game coder. Good art, very interesting characters, and it feels like it has the right level of charm and style as all the best anti-battle shonen. Hard to say if it'll hold up, but it hasn't disappointed yet. I think once I get caught up on the last couple rounds of the usual series, I'm finally gonna move to the second chapter of Kagurabachi and burn through that.

I already bought the first two volumes of Dandandan a good while back because I really liked the first couple chapters but didn't want to read on the website all the time. Of course, now there's an anime and the manga is available on the app, but I think I might still try to start by reading my volumes. We'll seez though.

1. :gba:Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons 2. :ps5:Disco Elysium 3. :ps5:Final Fantasy VII Rebirth 4. :ps1: Final Fantasy VIII 5. Tales of Kenzera: Zau This game had a lot of controversy on Twitter because it was made primarily by black creators who used African mythology to inspire their lore and world-building while saying they wanted to make a story everyone could relate to regardless. So naturally, when it was getting great reviews, a lot of idiots complained about it being a DEI game and the only reason the game was getting strong reviews(it was getting some 9s and 10s). It got so bad that one of the head creators made a video online explaining the vision(black people have spent years finding theirselves in white fictional characters, why can't it be the other way around sometimes?), and asked all platforms to discount the game so people could give it a fair shake. So I decided to give it a fair shake. And I thought it was really good. It's a classic Metroidvania in a mythical African fantasy world. Pretty compact game. Couldn't have taken me more than 15 hours to complete. It doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel, but the setting had me in awe, and the characters and story were touching and told in an interesting way. The game shined in its boss sequences(which were pretty epic and intense) and its movement. It felt very satisfying to maneuver the map, and the ability upgrades you get are neat. There are these platforming challenges you can do for extra items that were really good tests of your reflexes. Its biggest flaw is its combat. They've crafted an interesting system with some cool abilities and a flow that forces you to think. But the issue lies in the game's structure, where most of the combat you do is repeatedly getting in a trapped zone that's about one screens worth, where you have to fight X amount of waves of enemies which all have very specific ways to beat them. The result is the combat ends up feeling more tedious than enjoyable, and it slows down what is otherwise a really enjoyable experience. I don't think it's the 9-10 game that some were claiming. But the complaints were definitely coming from bad faith, because while mechanically it might not be changing the game, the game comes together in a fun and captivating package that is only marred by it's dodgy combat. 8/10 easily

Super glad to hear this. I'll have to buy it soon