Psycho666Soldier

1 hour ago, dr. b said:

Issho definitely seems to have taken more of a 'tough love' approach to teaching Kaisei. I guess it's working more or less as intended... But the master-student relationship that Akane had with Shiguma seems a lot nicer than what Kaisei has with Issho  I'm hyped for the next few chapters. Issho and Zensho are characters that I mostly dislike, but I hope they both show some signs of not being absolute bastards through their art and performances  Whatever happens, I'll probably still not like them either of them all that much. Just give me something that I can begrudgingly respect. To be fair, Issho already has that going on... but I want to know more about him anyways.

I was gonna say I feel Issho has definitely passed the respect line at this point. We know he's not quite as heartless as he comes off, but probably feels he has to be that way for the sake of Rakugo and almost certainly tied to something with the original Shiguma (we still never got a full explanation for that one panel we keep seeing where he tells Issho "You killed me" or something like that while he's lying in his death bed).

Alternatively, Zensho is spiteful and irredeemable, so F that guy

- Finally read the special chapter of The Elusive Samurai. Was a fun way to get back with the characters, and I loved so many of the modern characterizations. Takauji being an upstart business dude with Go-Daigo being the CEO of the financial empire was pretty clever. I also about fell out when I saw the fans doing the bow headbang for Akiie. Also the idea that the Hisashiban are a band makes so much sense. 

- Finally caught up on Akane-banashi, and while I wish I hadn't fallen behind, it was awesome reading Kaisei's performance and the aftermath in one swath, and then catching up perfectly before the Issho/Zensho showdown.

God, so much to say about this. Kaisei's performance was incredible, and it was awesome seeing him discover that he hadn't truly found himself, and that this was him finally branching out and finding what true self looks like. Also nice to see him as so vulnerable and actually fighting from underneath.

You can kinda tell Akane was almost a bit disappointed that she won because she was probably thinking, "Well, shoot, I didn't expect to hit these goals so soon," but I think seeing Issho's performance will renew her fire. Incredible series and it just keeps getting better. Can't wait.

On 7/20/2026 at 9:04 AM, dr. b said:

Akane-banashi # 215 

I'll spoiler it in case you haven't read it yet

  Hide contents

I am pumped and confused and conflicted all at the same time!   

 

I had expected Kaisei to somehow pull off the better performance, and the last couple chapters seemed to point in that direction. The way he got the crowd back onto his side after Akane's masterful performance was really impressive. Then Issho pulls the rug out from under him at the last second. What a bastard..! Of course, I wanted Akane to win, and I love it that she won. But if I'm being honest, I wish there could have been a way for them to both be winners. That would have been a total cop out, but it would have been a feel-good kind of decision.

 

Now what happens next!?!  I don't we're anywhere close to the end of the story yet. But will it go into a Shin'uchi promotion test arc, or will something different happen... and Shiguma's Art is still unresolved. 
 

I definitely feel like his judging had motivations behind it. He might have actually thought Akane was the winner on pure Rakugoka art, but think he specifically did this to help Kaisei grow through loss now that he's finally broken out of his shell, while forcing Akane to find new goals and seek even higher heights. Or something like that.

Yeah if anything, I would recommend seeking out some of the big fights from the earlier stuff. There's a Roll fight that they go crazy with the animation

I got a bit of catching up to do on stuff. I've been getting really hard into Marvel again recently and have actually started following some ongoing stuff, so that's been eating most of my energy for reading.

Only one's I'm actively caught up on are Kurumizawa's Folly and Haunted Peak. The latter is still really intriguing and I'm trying to figure out where it's gonna go, but the chapters feel like a drip feed sometimes and I'm sitting here thinking it would probably be less agony if it was animated. Depending on how it ends, I recommend checking it out, but maybe waiting until it's finished or more chapters have piled up.

Once I catch up on the usuals (and I want to read some of the new series and get back to Black Clover), I'll post a flood of thoughts.

I'd be very curious to know your thoughts on the Black Clover anime versus the manga if you ever get bored. I think some fights are given the animation treatment in a way the manga can't capture, but episode to episode I've found reading the manga to be way more enjoyable (and I loved the anime)

This honestly looks so hype. Basically looks like it plays like a more dynamic version of the 360 game with a more open world aesthetic, and probably better motion and exploration in general. I also appreciate that it's actually involving the larger X-Men/Marvel universe instead of being fully self-contained like the last one.

I also just realized it's meant to be a shared universe with the Spider-Man games, which gives a lot of hope for other potential Marvel games and crossovers in the future.

I'll be uploading the Kami soundtrack to Bandcamp soon! I think the publisher for the other one is trying to license the music to sell, so I'm kind of holding off on hearing more about what they want to do with that before putting anything out there, but I'd be happy to share the drive where I've stored all the songs 

I didn't want to make a separate thread for this, so this seems good enough 

Within the last two weeks I've had two games I did the soundtrack for come out on Steam. The other one I'm very proud of, but this particular one that came out today I think is a special game that has potential to make some waves. It's called Slaughter Void, and it's basically like Hotline Miami but Eldritch Horror. If y'all have the time and the money, would love if y'all checked it out. It's only 7.99 and on a small discount right now.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3333980/Slaughter_Void/

If you want to check out the other game, it's only 2.69 right now and is a compact Metroidvania game, though this one was built off a game jam project so it definitely FEELS like a first time dev game. But if your curious or want to support, it's called Kami: The Great Guardian: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4381200/Kami_The_Great_Guardian/

Sakamoto Days is definitely one of the few manga that can get away with it because it already has a pretty gritty and sketchy style. I appreciate that Yuto Suzuki(finally looked it up again) always focuses on maximizing the FEEL of a panel. It's not necessarily about perfect art, it's about cool angles and poses, breathtaking action shots, and weighty moments that you let linger.

I feel like if Undead Unluck suddenly looked like that, it would be really jarring 

Akane-banashi #207-208

Yeah, that was a great performance, and the realization that this is the first time she's been able to properly go all out with no restrictions hit hard. Even if Kaisei Ani-san wins, the way the pompous crowd went from not giving a fuck to treating Akane like a legend was so nice to see.  Was also nice to see Kaisei seem somewhat unsettled for the first time in the most recent chapter. It almost made me have sympathy for him enough to cheer him on to win

Sakamoto Days #261

I'm not sure if the last couple pages were intentionally sketchy or if dude ran out of time, but it still worked for the kind of style he does. Also thought the idea that Tanabata used his guitar to recreate the exact same pitch frequency as any given attack was a pretty cool concept. I don't have perfect pitch, so I could never lol

1.  Hades (9.5)

2.  Pokemon LeafGreen (7.5)

3.  Broken Sword: Reforged (7.5)

Hades was earlier this year. Finally beat Hades himself late last year, and then in March I finally got the main story ending. I actually started playing on the Switch at one of my partner's houses, but when my girlfriend who I live with started playing it on her Steamdeck, it inspired me to start playing at home, too, and that's when the real addiction kicked in. Absolutely loved this. I'm not often a rogue-lite/rogue-like fan, but something about the aesthetics and character development reeled me in. The combat ends up being very satisfying, even if some runs feel like bullshit with everything they hand you. Still want to work on achievements and 100% relationships and stuff, but yeah, Hades fucks.

Was my first time playing LeafGreen. I played the OG Gen 1 games but never did the remakes. Was a fun experience, they really updated the QoL, and unlike Alpha Sapphire/Omega Ruby, the game still feels appropriately challenging instead of being made a little too easy from the updates. I blazed through it pretty quickly. Was able to get everything on the Pokedex that didn't require a trade. No complaints, just a nostalgic romp.

This is probably like the 4th time I've beaten Broken Sword. My first proper Point-and-Click game when I played it on the PS1 all those years ago. The remake is impeccable, with updated art that is completely faithful to the original vision and just makes it look more like a theatrical cartoon as opposed to the crunchy block graphics. Only real complaint is that for some god awful reason, any dark room is made so impossibly dark that you can't see shit. Thankfully, you can just click the right stick and change to the original graphics. Another nostalgic romp, still one of my personal classics. Now I'm probably gonna finally finish Monkey Island 2 when I'm done being distracted with Mina the Hollower

One of these days maybe I'll catch back up on the Witch Watch manga

Akane-banashi was great as usual. I predict she won't beat Kaisei, but based on Issho's reaction, she's gonna get what she wants anyway.

Something I loved about the newest Sakamoto Days is the way everyone was talking about how Shin influenced them, and the brother assassin dude saying "Shin must be some guy," kind of cemented that he's already living up to Sakamoto's legacy..I thought it was a really touching moment, knowing how much that means to Shin.

1 hour ago, dr. b said:

I am enjoying the art style a lot. Quality stuff. I'm at chapter 40-something now. Asta, Gauche, and the Sister are trying to rescue the kidnapped children from Sally and her goons. Now the apparent leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun has shown up so it's going to get serious  Probably going to binge a bunch of chapters at lunch break today to see what happens.

You're probably only a couple chapters away from one of the coolest fights in the series. When I saw the anime episode, my jaw was dropped for like 3 minutes lol

I'm on Chapter 28 now, so I'm catching up!

Man, I'm up to Chapter 17 in Black Clover now and the art and paneling is out of this world. The anime has some stellar episodes with great animation, but as a whole it does NOT do the manga justice 

The most recent Spy x Family was pretty hilarious. Maybe the first chapter in a while where some of the last few pages had me giggling out loud while waiting to pick up sushi

Sakamoto Days #257

Akane-banashi #204

Oh man, I honestly love the Black Clover anime. It's like...not the most original, but it has pretty incredible pacing and the characters are so endearing. I've actually been playing around with going through the manga so I can actually finish it, so maybe I'll try to catch up with you 🤔

3 hours ago, dr. b said:

I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying the anime so far! I've been putting off starting it just 'cause I hardly ever use Netflix. Guess I'm gonna have to fire it up and get watching sometime soon!

I don't know how it is in Canada, but they've been uploading all the episodes on YouTube as well. In America that's currently the only way to watch it legally

Akane-banashi and Dr. Stone are the only ones I've really been watching. Been hella busy with music and school lately and been caught up in this other show or playing Hades whenever I have some free time.

I'm really enjoying how they've done Akane-banashi so far. Episode 4 was great

Ok, been a bit quiet from me in here, though I'm caught up on my usuals now other than some of what happened this week, but I had to comment on Kurumizawa #18

I've also been reading the new series Haunted Peak. I'm not 100% how I feel about it yet, I think the chapters sometimes leave off on awkward spots, but I'm pretty intrigued to find out what the heart of the mystery is

Hell has frozen over

Have you been keeping up with Spy x Family? I just read the last few chapters that's been covering the TV Studio arc and it's been a blast honestly. The idea that Yor, Loid, and Yuri can't do what they'd normally do (sneak off and save the day) because they're worried one of the other two will catch them/will worry about them is such a clever twist on the usual formula.

I kind of expected Kurumizawa would be a short run as is, so I'm not expecting much more than like 3-5 chapters at this point unless the plot thickens in a way that warrants continuation. It seems pretty clear that "Kurumizawa" has his reasons for what he's doing (seemingly something to do with the medical procedure his love interest is going through), and I'm betting he didn't kill his old ghostwriter like it seems. So I can maybe see a world where they work it out or something, but still feels like it can wrap up pretty satisfyingly in the next few chapters. Short and sweet, very interesting and suddenly very tense as it gets to the climax. Can't complain about that.

Been a bit behind on most stuff so haven't had the chance to really respond

Finished Elusive Samurai a few weeks ago. I'm so glad you convinced me to pick this back up after the first few chapters because it was been one of the best rides I've been on since I've gotten properly into reading manga. A surprisingly deep and heartbreakingly touching series that seems shallow at first but really flourishes the deeper you go. An excellent ending that wrapped everything up well from character development standpoint (as obviously they were a bit hamstrung by history, so had to make the most of what it meant for the characters to be effective). I also loved the tidbit at the end where we got to see them doing shit in hell, and the concept that most humans end up there for the smallest of transgressions. And now that I'm reading your post about it, seems like you pretty much said the same thing lol

I think I'm gonna binge Chainsaw Man soon to get that wrapped up. I know the ending was pretty universally panned on Twitter, so it got me curious to get back into it. Plus, I think the story is easier to digest when you binge the chapters instead of going week to week.

I have been caught up on Kurumizawa's Folly and just read the most recent chapter, and I did NOT expect the full thriller turn, but I am all for it. Things got really tense real quick and now I'm just like "what the fuck's gonna happen next?"

I finally got up to Akane-banashi #187 after being behind for a little over a month, and I absolutely love the way Kaisei is characterized. We finally got a glimpse into his personal feelings and he's actually a really nice, likeable guy - but fundamentally driven by the opposite means around Shiguma's Art, so can't truly be friends with Akane. At least not as artists.

Very excited to catch up on this God of Death training arc 

Once I catch up on Akane-banashi, I think I'm gonna force myself to start 2 of the new series(catching up on Gonron Egg and either Someone Hertz or Kingdom) and then gonna read Under Doctor and check that out, because the first few pages and the art REALLY intrigued me

On 1/25/2026 at 1:07 PM, dr. b said:

Harukaze Mound ended today at 30 chapters. That was a bit of a bummer. For a hurried ending, it wrapped up pretty nicely. I would have liked to get more of this story instead of rushing straight to the ending (time skip) but at least it was an uplifting ending. I'll fill in all the blanks with my imagination I guess. It sure seems tough for sports manga to last. Ekidon Bros (marathon running) didn't get past 20 chapters. It wasn't an incredible series or anything, but I thought it was enjoyable enough. The recent-ish golf and ping pong mangas also got cut rather quickly. And of course Martial Master Asumi didn't last super long despite being quite good IMHO. Blue Box, on the other hand, seems to be going strong still. I still haven't read it. Tried watching the first episode when it premiered on Netflix and it didn't really grab me. Maybe I should give it a second chance.

I didn't read this one just because I'm not normally a sports fan so I usually need someone telling me it's great to check it out, but I'm still mad about Martial Master Asumi. It's weird because it kinda felt like it was a series destined for cancellation, but also felt like it had so much quality and potential to be huge if given the chance. 

There was another couple I know we both got pretty attached to that was cut pretty early. Hunter's Guild was disappointing. Still haven't checked out anymore of Otr of the Flame which could maybe be good, but I was kinda meh on the first chapter

Ahh, so it looks like Tokiyuki doesn't want to allow Takauji to have his head or make him commit suicide or submission. I fully dig that! Excited to see how it all plays out.

Loved the most recent Sakamoto Days. Trapping Uzuki in a mirror house is so simple but makes sense with Takamura's personality. Classic Sakamoto action panels in this one 

God, Elusive Samurai #234 is so bittersweet. It almost feels like, "what was it all for?" In a good way narratively, it's just such a bitter pill to swallow. Almost would have been less a kick in the balls for Tokiyuki to die by his disease.

It's amazing how quickly you can blaze through multiple chapters of Sakamoto Days and how nicely it flows that way. Was behind for a while but got caught up this morning and I'm still in awe of how the action is laid out. Have to imagine we're setting up for the final fight finally. At least for Uzuki.

Loved the Spy x Family mini chapter on Schlag and it explains so much about her. I love that we got to see another side of her these last few chapters and that she's not just some one-dimensional villain. That said, I get the feeling this incident with Henderson is about to lead to the State Police cracking down on Eden and getting closer to finding Twilight. I'm intrigued.

Still gotta catch up on the newest series. I've read a couple first chapters but need to get further