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Posts posted by Psycho666Soldier
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Kurumizawa's Folly #7
This was a good chapter. I get the sense this will be a shorter form series, and I was curious how long they'd push off Hata finding out the truth. I low-key think he's gonna have some, "I don't care because I've never gotten this opportunity" response, but I hope it comes after he confronts Kurumizawa about it first
Sakamoto Days is impressive in how it always finds a way to escalate the stakes. Something tells me they're still gonna have to bring Sakamoto to the JCC and deal with things there.
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On 10/9/2025 at 8:30 AM, dr. b said:Forgot to mention Dogsred in my big post. I am still following and really enjoying it. The game that's been happening over the last several chapters has been really satisfying. If you are even remotely interested in hockey, I recommend giving it a look. Super fun cast of characters.
I've been curious about it just because the art looks cool and really good sports manga/anime tend to be incredible. I'll put it in my "must-read" pile
On 10/19/2025 at 8:35 PM, dr. b said:Such a satisfying arc for Akane-banashi. They did a good job of instilling doubt and making you feel like Akane truly had to reach a new level of Rakugo to be able to overcome her rivals, what with her failing the first time she tried to win without making people laugh and wrecking herself in the process. Really enjoyed #180 with Karashi and Hikaru reflecting on where they're at in comparison to Akane, and actually getting to see all the rivals hanging out and enjoying it! I also absolutely love the way Karashi has developed, and felt his performance was my favorite of this competition.
I'm caught up on the rest, will comment later
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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.
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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.
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Funny, because my partner has been listening to a bunch of old school DEVO after seeing them open for My Chemical Romance recently.
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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
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I'm just glad it was something like that and nothing like tragic
Happy to see you back
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Happy Birthday!!
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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
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Happy Birthday dude wherever you are. Hopefully just busy and still alive
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Happy Birthday! Got any nerdy plans?
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Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
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Disco Elysium
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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
4. :ps1: Final Fantasy VIII
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Tales of Kenzera: Zau
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Animal Well
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Tunic
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Dragon Ball Sparking Zero
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Dark Cloud
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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
I played this when I was a kid and I thought it was such a novel concept but felt sort of hollow and unfinished, and when Dark Cloud 2 came out, it seemed like such a strong improvement that I wrote off the original. But having gone back to this one, I got pretty hooked immediately. The dungeon grind starts feeling like a soothing ritual, and putting together the villages and rearranging to match everyone's needs and wishes ends up being so satisfying. The weapon system is definitely refined in the sequel, but I kind of like how this one forces you to be extra careful with your weapons and how you use them.
I'll say I think the bosses are either underwhelming or tedious, and the final boss was just as much a victim of this. Ended up sapping more joy from this. The final dungeon in general felt a bit like a slog. But the story ended up being pretty engaging and a satisfying conclusion.
Ya gotta be down for early PS2 jank and simpleness to really appreciate this, but the setting and gameplay loop does a lot to make this a really fun experience.7.5/10
Pseudoregalia
SpoilerGoddamn, this game is awesome. For those that don't know, it started as a project made for a one month game jam(meaning people just get together and whip up a game in a month), and the concept and formula was so good on its own that it ended up becoming a full Steam release. It's basically a 3D Metroidvania that's focused on platforming and exploration, but the player character gets upgrades that let them do maneuvers like Mario 64 platforming. So the game is designed for you to find your own path based on what upgrades you get first and how you manipulate them to get to areas that you maybe shouldn't be able to get to technically.
I got really hooked on this right before the holiday. The exploration is infectious, and finding your own "shortcuts" or pulling off some ridiculous combo of maneuvers to reach a platform you thought impossible feels so rewarding. The game ultimately takes no more than 10 hours to explore and beat, but there are a lot of platforming challenges that give you unlockables that I have yet to beat. I did start a second playthrough just to see what weird path I could take instead, and I plan to use that as my 100% run.
Excellent game. Only reason it's ranked as low as it is only because it could have been a bit longer for my tastes, but it really was fantastic.
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
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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.
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Happy Birthday, Tassi!
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10 hours ago, Mera'din said:4.)
Pocket Mirror ~ GoldenerTraum
This is one I had started a while ago but had kind of fell of of playing when other stuff came out. Interesting little 2D gothic/psychological horror game. Doesn't give you a lot of info to work with and kind of have to stumble through figuring stuff out. Interesting story overall, but a little predictable. Nice variety to the endings and some decent replay value. I had actually picked this one up due to another game, Little Goody Two Shoes, releasing as it looked really interesting, but this one is part of the same series and released first (even though I think Little Goody Two Shoes is actually a prequel to it). It sounded interesting as well so decided to give it a go. All around solid experience. Glad I gave it a shot.
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.
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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.
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Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
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Disco Elysium
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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
4. :ps1: Final Fantasy VIII
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Tales of Kenzera: Zau
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Animal Well
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Tunic
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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
Animal Well was great. A game focused on avoidance, platforming, and obscure puzzle solving. There were some amazingly unique ability items in this game, and a lot of them made you think outside the box to solve some puzzles. The game doesn't hold your hand at all and pretty much all things you can do with the items you have to find out on your own by experimenting.
The first 20 minutes or so had me thinking, "Is this it? What's all the hubbub?" And then I started unlocking more abilities and getting sucked in. It definitely consumed my life for a few weeks. I did have to look up a couple things because some of the hints are so cryptic, and you can technically go even deeper with the game by getting involved in the ARG solving and stuff like that, but I stuck to getting all but two trophies, getting the true ending, and finding all the eggs.
If you like puzzle platformers with captivating background lore and visuals, this is for you.
9/10
TUNIC
The undies are out here killing it this year(or whatever previous year this game was made), because I absolutely loved this game. This has similar ARG elements to Animal Well but in a much more compelling way. The game comes off at first like an Isometric Zelda rip-off. But the core feature of the game is that you don't know how to play or what abilities you have, and you learn by trial and error OR understanding the game manual pages that you pick up throughout. So yes, you collect pieces of the game manual, which gives hints about how to play, where to go, and where to find the most secrets. What makes it even better? The manual is mostly in a fake language that you have to decode in order to get the most secret of secrets. The game is bearable without doing all that, though you have to still do some decent deciphering to get the true ending.
This is up there with Rebirth as the game I was most obsessed with. By the time I got to the end, I had a notepad I was carrying around with me to try and solve the manual puzzles/riddles and decipher the language. I feel like I had SOME complaints, but thinking back on it, the only thing is dealing with some of the combat can be a bit tedious.
This was an awesome game, and if you like adventure exploration games with some good puzzles, even if you don't go as hard as I did, you'll love this.9/10
Dragon Ball Sparking Zero
In some ways this game is everything I could ask for. In other ways it still leaves a lot to be desired.
The Budokai Tenkaichi series is hands down my favorite Dragon Ball game franchise, with what is in my opinion the most Dragon Ball-like combat while still being a blast. In that sense, this game fucking nails it. It's everything I loved about the original games, with sharp engaging combat, and particularly when you're up against a human player, there are some incredibly epic moments you can have. The battle system is just so deep and allows you to engage in most DB cliches. And they've done a lot in this one to fine-tune the weaker characters like Master Roshi and make them more useful against god-level opponents.
However, BT's biggest weakness was always its story mode, which had a decent structure but always had disappointing cutscenes(and a huge lack of them) to make it feel like a more tedious slog. But it WAS the main way to unlock characters. Sparking Zero arguably handles this worse. The game is now divided into choosing a character whose story you follow, which is a cool concept until you realize some characters get some vital and fun parts cut from their campaign. The cutscenes are even worse than before. It feels like there's less of them, and a lot of the "fancy" cutscenes are either less detailed or don't even cover the most iconic moments. There are actually a disappointing lack of iconic moments altogether. And what's worse is that there are only 2 characters you HAVE to play episode mode to unlock. The rest can be unlocked here, but are also purchasable on the store from the jump. And if you're like me who bought characters before realizing you could still unlock them in episode mode, you lose that thrill of getting a character for dealing with the tedium.
What the episode mode DID do pretty well is the What If chapters, or "Sparking Chapters" as they're called. This definitely has some of the most in-depth what if scenarios ever. And this is where they clearly put most of their effort into the cutscenes. The Piccolo and Gohan ones were particularly enjoyable for me, but Goku's alternate paths almost completely make up for how lackluster the main story path is. Only issue is some of these still felt too short or limiting, and the time limit challenges to unlock some of them are downright bullshit (there's a Piccolo one I think I STILL haven't beaten because I've technically done it tens of times, but the game says "actually, the timer ran out first").
I think with a better structure, better cutscenes, and/or shifting way more focus onto the Sparking Chapters with more playable characters, the Episode Mode could have been awesome and made the game feel more worth it for the solo player. But as is, this still makes for a great game to play with your friends or challenge people online.
So one way or another, I don't regret the purchase.7.5/10
Will probably add more tomorrow.
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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.
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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?
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Good to hear from you Anelle
I've been very very slowly watching Dragon Ball GT for the first time. It's been fun.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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1. :gba:Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
2. :ps5:Disco Elysium
3. :ps5:Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
4. :ps1: Final Fantasy VIII
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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
[Manga Chat]
in Anime & Manga
Posted
I didn't really get the chance to talk about the way Takauji has been portrayed in the last 20 or so chapters of Elusive Samurai. The one where he killed Tadayoshi was legit unsettling. Where the pages were talking about how he bowed to the will of his brother and the other members of the court before he starting eating the manga panel and changing history. Same thing with #223 where he's trying to convince us he's the good guy and keeps telling us to turn the page. Just incredible art direction and really plays on the way they had already been breaking the fourth wall since the early chapters.
With #224, I think this is probably the actual end. And what a brutal kill if so. Either way, I feel like this has been one of the most satisfying final stretches of all the manga we've been reading lately. Funny how I went from having mixed feelings to becoming one of my Top 3.