Movies, TV & Books

Although its also on the PS4, I purchased Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana for the Switch recently because it's just been collecting dust. It was probably the better option anyways because the graphics look like something out of the N64/PS2 era with modern draw rates. Not a knock against it, as its quite charming... but the game looks like it belongs on the Switch rather than PS4. Everything about this game is so 1998. I've never played any of the Ys games before, but this one caught my eye for the old school hack and slash. It's very Dark Cloud-ish minus the world building. Sprinkle some old Zelda in there as well. The combat is relatively simple with 1 button main attack, and 4 special attacks that consist of holding R1 and pressing A B Y X. These use a SP meter that replenishes on kills. There are also dodge and block counters that give you a special speed combo ability. You have a party of 3, and characters that join where you can swap them out and swap between the three in combat. Each character has a assigned damage type (Slash, Precise, Bash). Having all 3 types helps weaken the right enemies susceptible to these plus you get a rare drop bonus... rather than the 1.1x bonus for having two of the same. Anyways, the story is campy but interesting, the dialogue is 90's cringeworthy, and its a lazy sprinkle of actual voice acting and text reading. The world is  large but a bunch of sectioned off instances that quickly load without a loading screen as you cross them. There are fast travel points but not in every sector, so it requires some old school memorizing where to go at times. As you get special gear, you'll find places that were inaccessible previously open up. I'm 20 hours in and I don't feel like I'm even half way through. So at $60, I feel like I'm getting my money's worth for a decent nostalgia kick. I bet this will be a free PS Plus game next year so when it comes up I highly recommend it without even finish it. I'll report back when I beat it with a proper review.

Its been quite the stressful couple weeks. Lady had her surgery and is having a very slow recovery process. My bank required specific repairs to the garage to approve the mortgage and instead of paying a massive price to a contractor me and my friend spent 2 days this last weekend busting our asses in 90 degree days with 90% humidity and full sun working on the garage. Thats all done and accepted now.. Yay. Getting into the final stretch here with the house. Hopefully I'll be moving by the end of the month. I might actually have free time this weekend... finally. *knocks on wood*

The first two eps of AoT season 3 are better than season 2 in its entirety.

Originally I wasn't going to say anything until I actually finished watching the series (which should be Monday or Tuesday night) but you were right DX, The Ancient Magus' bride is spectacular and I say this after only watching 15 episodes.
I have to say it's up there with Violet Evergarden for both visuals and story (and it's been awhile since I've seen a show that has completely drawn me in to the point that I sacrifice sleep just to watch another episode). I honestly didn't think the premise would suck me in this much but I'm glad it did (and both episodes with Nevin were extremely well done (I shed some manly tears they were so emotionally impacting)).
I honestly have to say this is probably going down as one of my favorites shows from the last few years (which isn't really hard considering my problems with the last few seasons), only taking second to the masterpiece that was Violet Evergarden. I can't recommend this show enough for those who want a story driven show focused on character development and world building (I'm just sad I only have 8 episodes and 3 OVA's left, really hope this gets another season once the manga gets further along).
 

This simuldub season is pretty meh compared to last. If it wasn't for the fact that MHA and out of all things; Black Clover was still running. I'd be hard pressed to keep up. Ep 1 of Overlord season 3 felt like a waste of time, but the second one made things pretty interesting. Angels of Death seems kind of bland so far. How not to Summon a Demon Lord is a typical fanservice trapped in a video game world show. Same goes for The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar. Lord of Vermilion feels like a better Tokyo Majin.. which isn't saying much. Hopefully it will be something better. Harukana Receive is bouncy bikini beach volley ball, but Haruka is a total best girl, so I'll shamelessly enjoy it. On the opposite end, I'll skip Free! because I'm not watching a bunch of dudes swim, and I'm already watching HR and Hanebado... an anime about freakin Badminton. With Dies Irae and AoT not staring until later in the month that leaves three unlikely contenders for a surprise best in season for me, that isn't Overlord or AoT which I already expect to be solid at worst.
Magical Girl Raising Project is apparently a dark ass violent series with cute moe magic girls. A total clash of genres. The first two eps only have brief hints at it so far, its mostly just cutesy. But if it turns out like I think it has the potential too. It should be pretty interesting.
Chio's School Road is a "school" anime thats about Chio's walk to school every day, instead of the actual school day. The absolute absurd happens apparently every time. The first three eps have been pretty hysterical so far. Its different, so I like it.
Island is a pretty big mystery to me as to what its suppose to be about. It has my interest to see how it unfolds. It can honestly go either way. I guess I'll be reviewing these at the end of the season and we'll see how my opinions have changed since this status update.