Sledgstone

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.

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

I don't drink much soda anymore unless I'm at the theater or some other public event. But every time I see something new I gotta try it. My grocery store got some new specialty sodas in this week. Some haven't come in yet that I sill want to try. I've already had Cheerwine before which is basically a Dr. Pepper variation clone. They had some Faygo with real sugar, and a Shirley Temple soda that was liquid diabetes. But there was one called Moxie and it was pretty fucking nasty. It didn't say what it was, so I assumed it was just some type of cola... which it was with a vile aftertaste that can only be described as bitter grapefruit extract with a pinch of dirt. Apparently its an old soft drink made in the late 1800's and it should have stayed there because its nasty AF.

Tuesday my favorite festival of all time for GW2 comes back. I'm more hyped to play than I have been in a very long time. I was a n00b when this festival first debuted, and I'm sure a lot of nostalgia boosts it's memory for me, but even then, I remember feeling that Halloween and Wintersday paled in comparison. When the year spun back around and it didn't come back I was disappointed. Labyrinthine Cliffs is going to be much easier to traverse without the need of the aspect crystals, but the Dolyak Race should still be funny. I'm looking forward to the additions they've made, and I'm ready to grind out Boss Blitz. I hope they've scaled up the bosses properly and made the rewards worth grinding so it doesn't become a ghost town if people go back to Istan.   

Ordered some Corsair Void Pro headphones for Prime Day. I've been putting off a new headset for PC for way too long. I have my cord duct taped and wires are coming out of the ear pieces. Its hard to give this headset up because its lasted me 15-16 years. Its just some cheap ass standard Microsoft headphones i bought at target years and years ago. The ear cushions look like cloth because the fake leather coating all fell off or deteriorated. Even with all the wires falling apart, it still works without a hitch. I don't really need turtles for PC, but the Corsair's were on a pretty decent discount, so I went with it.

So I finished watching the first season of My Hero Academia tonight and you were right DX I absolutely love the show. I think most of that has to do with my absolute adoration for All Might but I could be wrong (but I'm sure I'm not, you can't hate the man he's just fucking perfect).
Gotta say for a shounen series it certainly has a lot going for it. Great humor, awesome character development and characters , a good story (I only say good for now as it's only S1 that I've finished, I hear it gets a lot better), and a pretty kick ass soundtrack. Not going to say I don't have any problems with the show (it suffers from some of the things I hate about shounen series) but those are greatly overshadowed by everything I said before.
I'm honestly looking forward to starting S2 tomorrow (thank god I'm on vacation) and hopefully starting S3 before I go back to work (if I don't get lost in the myriad of other things I have to do this week).

I completed my 6th world completion on Guild Wars 2. It will probably be my last. Mounts definitely made this one much easier to complete, but it still wasn't much fun. My first two runs were done the old school way with WvW map requirements. My third, forth, and fifth were done post HoT with gliding, and elite specs providing me with more mobility and power. This last one took less than half the time, but the hearts are so tedious, it's too much. The Beetle is cool for zipping around the map and unfogging everything. You may pick up a few WP and POI along the way, but if you were to move from heart to heart, half the time you'd just get your boost meter full and you'd be at your destination already. The raptor is still the best for these scenarios. The best thing the Beetle is for is getting to an event fast before it completes. Also the skimmer made maps dominated by lakes and ocean so much faster. With 10 gifts of Exploration, I doubt I'll ever grind out the Gift of Mastery track 10 times to go with it. I kind of wish I would have bought more than I did before that change occurred.

Absolutely gutted and devastated to hear of Anthony Bourdain's death, turned an already shitty day into an extremely shitty day. I would of said something earlier but I had to come to terms and sort out my own thoughts on this (and of course get through a 10 hour work day).
The world truly is a bit darker and a lot less interesting today with his loss. His passion, gift for storytelling, humanity, and all around awesome attitude were what drew me in when I first started watching A Cook's Tour (his first show) so many years ago and what cemented my love for this man during the run of No Reservations. Sadly I never did get around to watching Parts Unknown or The Layover but I can only imagine they were as good as the other two. This man truly had a gift for opening his heart and mind to people and their culture as well as getting them to open up as well.
RIP Mr. Bourdain, not only have you opened my eyes to new things, given me countless hours of enjoyment, and been an all around awesome person you've also inspired my love for travel (that one day I will hopefully get to do) and my love for other cultures. You will truly be missed and my heart goes out to your daughter and family in this extremely tragic moment. I can only hope you've finally found the peace that so eluded you in life.

This has got to be Destiny's last run. Twice expecting people to pay for a Y2 overhaul can't be sustainable. I don't regret my purchase of D2 because I did get a lot of fun out of it. Bungie just has no idea how to balance a game to appease hard core and causal players. They've reverted the game to get max progression via raids again so I'll probably never play since my clan died off months ago. They either give it all to you easily or make grueling time gates and obnoxiously low drop rates. Like there is no in between here? Now they have some new $100 million dollar deal for a new IP which makes me think they are giving up on Destiny. With even COD ditching the MP season pass, the days of paid DLC are going away and yet Bungie is trying to milk two season passes out of each game. Meanwhile Overwatch is still healthy after 2 years.. match queues are pretty much the same as they were 6 months after launch. No DLC, free heroes and maps, along with constant rebalancing and hero reworks for underpowered characters. I REALLY hope Battlefield V gets this level of support for 2 years until the next main BF game comes out. I'm getting a bad vibe that the launch game will only have like 5 maps or some BS "because Tides of War". Yeah we get it, we'll progres along with WW2, but give us the same amount of maps every launch title has had. Hopefully The Division 2 comes out swinging from lessons learned unlike Bungie. The Division is in a good state right now and if they can release it with all the content this last free patch had, they'll be good to go. Really I just want games to be successes again, I want to stress over what to play instead of waiting for something that's hopefully worth my time. I hope Anthem is amazing for BioWare's sake, and I hope Borderlands 3 is going to be amazing as well.

I must have started watching Fairy Tail like 4 or 5 years ago. I always got held up by the dub progress. I finally finished the 265 or so eps that are out. Overall I really loved this series despite its tons of flaws. The story was very child friendly as no one really ever dies in a fight. If someone dies, its none of the important characters and they're already dead when they're found. Hell they even brought one back that was supposedly dead the first 3-4 seasons. However where it isn't child friendly is the fan service that progressively gets more abundant each season. Rather than a joke here and there it's bewb flaunting and gratuitous bent over shots. FT does have the most luscious cast of females you could ask for in an anime, and they exploit it the later into the series you get to the point its laughable. I feel like the series peaked at the Grand Magic Games and they ran out of inspiration after that. The whole former enemies turning good got old after it kept happening. I mean Minerva had resting bitch face, and Flare had psycho face to indicate they were indeed villains, so it was odd later to see them get the normal face when they weren't evil anymore. What made me love the series is the running gags and the fact that most all the characters had their own fights and stayed on equal footing with Natsu, rather than taking the DBZ approach and having the main character surpass everyone to where only he could do anything of value. Even though Laxus and Guildarts were super mega ultra OP, they were never around when it really mattered. Anyways, I'll be looking forward to the final season later this year. This was by far my favorite opening sequence.
 

After four days of playing I finally beat Detroit: Become Human or should I say finished my first play through and boy was it a pleasure. It's been a very long time since I've played a game with such an amazing story behind it and it's been even longer since I've felt such emotion while playing. This is my game of the year and nothing will come close to over taking it. A little early to be saying this? Probably but the chances another game as rich in story, character development, and emotional attachment coming out this year is slim to none. Games like these are what influenced my decision to get my degree (even if I'm not using it or working in the industry) and it's games like this that I've always wanted to create.
True, the story has problems (and an extremely slow start after the first mission (the demo mission if you haven't played it)) and borrows heavily from real life events (civil rights movement is the big parallel with Markus coming off as the android MLK (depending on what choices you make)) and covers some pretty heavy subjects (domestic abuse, drug use, what does it mean to really be alive, etc) but they are few and far between and do little to detract from the narrative being told (in fact I think it gives the story more character). This game also does an extremely good job of making you feel the consequences of the choices you make and drives those points home later on down the line (every choice you make effects how the story ends, even the most mundane).
All three main characters are interesting in their own ways and it was a joy seeing them all evolve throughout the course of the story and while I admit some of them were bland (Connor coming to mind, his character arch is the most interesting but his character is rather bland until about half way through the game) that hardly detracts from the story. If I had to choose I'd say Kara's story was my favorite for pure emotional reasons and Connor's being the most enjoyable (mostly due to the Detective he works with). Don't get me wrong Markus's story is good and the beginning of it really makes you feel for him but overall it doesn't outshine the other two. Plus the actor's they got to play these characters did an extremely amazing job bringing these characters to life so much so that I became emotionally attached to each one of them (this goes for secondary characters as well, I had to make some real hard choices at the end of the game and it was heartbreaking to do so).
While I'm not one to gush about graphics I must say this game is beyond beautiful and the motion capture and animation are top notch (not to mention the starting screen is probably the most unique one to date). It's obvious this is a game and everything is CG but sometimes you forget given how well they nailed the likeness of the actors/actresses they used (almost all the main characters and certain side characters share their likeness with the actor/actress that portrayed them). I also have to say the soundtrack is rather amazing (now to rip it off my PS4 for my listening pleasure).
All in all this game was an emotional ride and probably the best $70 I've spent on a game in years. I can't recommend it enough but I warn you this game is not for everyone. There is very little action (and what little there is completely consists of quick time events) and it's completely character driven, think of it as a CYOA movie that takes some input from the audience. Plus if you've never played a Quantic Dream game (Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls) then you probably won't really enjoy it. However if this sounds like something you'd like I highly recommend it. As I said it's been a really long time since I've enjoyed a game this much and I can't wait to play it again this weekend to try out the paths I didn't take (and to get all the trophies, this will probably be the only game I 100%) and see the other endings (I got what could be considered the best ending).

Ancient Magus Bride is simply outstanding. I wish I would have gotten to it sooner. Its like a darker Spirited Away with some XXXholic and Mushi Shi mixed in. From all the promotion Funi did on facebook, it was nothing like what I thought it was going to be. They really need to work on conveying themes better. Its partially why it took me so long to get around too it, because it didn't interest me at first. If you're ever in the mood for a mystical anime, this is the one. The world building is fantastic.

I'm going to preface this by saying I'm normally not a fan of Super Robot mech shows (more of a Real Robot guy myself (Gundam/Macross)) and never really have been (there are exceptions but they are few) so that will tell you just how much I adored this show.
It took me 11 years to finally sit down and watch it (and it's spent many years on my Netflix to watch list (I watched in on CR though) but I finished Gurren Lagann tonight and I have to say I absolutely fucking adored it. I don't understand why it took me so long to finally watch it but god am I glad I finally did. I haven't been this pumped after watching a show since I finished Kill la Kill (funny considering Trigger is also responsible making that gem). I'll admit it was a little rough in the beginning and if it wasn't for Kamina I would of dropped it but man am I glad I stuck through it, it only kept getting better. I'll admit, my taste for shows like this has dwindled over the years and I'm not really into the over the top, ridiculous shit anymore but god this just scratched an itch I didn't even know I had. Sure, I have my issues with the show (some pretty poor character development in some of the secondary characters, story is a little hard to follow after a certain point, some of the mech based science bugs me, and the whole Spiral Energy thing is ridiculous) but god damn do they seem insignificant when put up against an awesome soundtrack, awesome visuals (a little jenky considering how old it is), and a downright stellar main cast.
If it wasn't for my absolute love for Zeta Gundam this might have taken the place as my all time favorite mech anime (you all know me well enough to know how high of praise this is). I can't wait to watch the movies this weekend (yea they're recaps but apparently the second movie makes the final fight even more epic then it already was) and I'm sad to think there is no more of this wonderful show to watch (manly tears were shed at this realization).

Smoked some ribs last night and they turned out amazing.

Just got a severance from my old job, and I immediately paid off a credit card. Feels good because that's a monthly payment gone that will act as a buffer for the small pay cut I took at my new job. Plus it was the card with the highest APR. I gotta hold out another year hopefully. My PC is showing signs of its old age, and I'll probably have to upgrade completely in the future. At 10 years old, its mother board is probably severely outdated to rebuild on, 6 of the USB ports don't work anymore, and more are dying. My wireless connection is kinda shit because I think the USB ports cut off for a second and kick me off at random times. I say this because the USB port I had the adapter plugged into died when it was giving me problems, and I put it into a new one and after a few days the same issue started happening again. I had to swap my mouse to a new port because that one died. Even though I haven't been playing GW2, I can imagine getting kicked off while doing something important. My PC case is too small at that. The video card I just bought a few months ago barely fits in it, otherwise I'd strip the old ass wireless card my dead PC had and put it in... although I think I lost the antenna for it. I also have plans to buy a new firearm. I sold my 1911 to the FFL I frequent so I could secure a larger down payment for my car. I never carried that behemoth, but I want a revolver since I don't have one. That will only cost me around $600... so that empty credit card balance is already begging to be used.

Funimation started the dubcast of the Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These. Apparently it's a reboot of the 1988 series Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Never saw the original, but the first two episodes has me pretty impressed. If this series is full of huge 5000-10k ship battles using old school formations and tactics I'll def be hooked. Since the original was over 100 eps, I hope I don't get The Legend of Legendary Hero'ed here after season 1.

The dub of first ep of My Hero Academia Season 3 finally came out so I caught up on the first four. Holy crap, they aren't wasting any time this season. Shit is already going down! Finished Garo Vanishing Line. It was really good, I want a second season of this era, and they left it open for one. I'm pretty pumped about the movie that takes place in the first era though. Overlord Season 2 was kind of a let down for me. The action was still good but it felt like the season had no real beginning or end... it was like the middle of a season, and there was no apparent turning point or climax. The lizard people happened, and then this whole thing with six arms... but nothing was resolved. Hopefully season 3 is more structured.

Fucking hell that was a ride. Just finished watching Steins;Gate and I have to say its an amazing show. I finally understand why people love it so much. Characters are pretty interesting (pretty bland and stereotypical but none-the-less interesting), story is completely bonkers (we're talking Serial Experiments Lain and Boogiepop Phantom levels of bonkers) and amazing, and the sheer emotional ride this puts you through is both terrifying and exciting.
Sure it starts out pretty slow but once you get to the halfway mark it seriously starts moving at an intense pace. I normally don't praise anime this much but this is truly a great show, almost a masterpiece if I've ever seen one (probably one of the only shows I have rated at 10 on MAL that actually deserves the rating for all the right reasons, not just pure enjoyment). I highly recommend watching it if you haven't, it's definitely worth the time investment (and I'll admit it's not for everyone but if you want a show that tears your emotions to shreds and makes you think this is definitely one for you).
Seriously can't wait for Steins;Gate 0 to start airing on Thursday (really hope CR has the simulcast for it). Now I just need to find time to watch the movie and the OVA before it starts. Also need to hope the VN this is based off of goes on sale on Steam so I can see the actual story that wasn't adapted for the anime (and to see all the other endings).

So far Netflix is 1 for 3 on their new series. Sword Gai was ok, but it was more like a GARO/Guyver type clone. B: The Beginning could have been better written. Maybe its the story structure that is throwing me off as they are definitely more western in flow. I'll probably watch both for another season. Children of the Whales was pretty enjoyable and my favorite of the three. I definitely look forward for its most definite second season. It was pretty charming in a Studio Ghibli way. 

Ugh, I forget how spoiled I am watching Netflix series where all the episodes are loaded in at once. Catching up on all these Simuldubs on Funi is like hitting a dead end when I reach a point to where I have to wait weekly. I started some more series. I was hesitant to start GARO -Vanishing Line- but I'm glad I did. I loved GARO: The Animation, but GARO -Crimson Moon- was kinda lack luster and I didn't finish it. Each series takes place in a different timeline with different characters that dawn the Makai Knight armors. The original was Medieval like, Crimson Moon was more feudal Japan themed, and VL is modern times. At first I thought it was gonna be some macho bullshit, because the main character is so western with big ass muscles. I was pretty surprised. But so far its excellent, and the Armor suits are actually drawn instead of CGIed like the first two series which is a pleasant surprise. First brawl I saw was so Michael Bay-like with a shaky cam and I was like "oh boy, not this" But ever sense they haven't really done it.

Finally got around to seeing Thor: Ragnarok (just finished in fact). Gotta say it was a really good movie, really enjoyed where they went with it and thought it was a downright blast.
Good amount of comedy (I thought it was a nice direction considering what we'll be getting in a little over a month), nice action sequences, and seeing Thor get the snot kicked out of him by Hulk was pretty damn funny. Was also nice to see Thor actually use his damn powers for once (the bridge fight was pretty fucking epic). If I didn't love the first Guardians as much as I do I'd say this would probably be my favorite Marvel movie (considering how much I hated the first two Thor movies that's pretty high praise from me).

Normally I'm not a fan of live-action adaptations for manga and anime but I gotta say the Blade of the Immortal movie live-action adaptation was fucking amazing. Gory as fuck, full of action, and just down right fucking awesome.
Please note that I have not read the manga, I've only seen the anime adaptation so I don't know how well they adapted it but I gotta say just based off of what little I know they did a stellar job for having to cram that much story into a 2 1/2 hour movie. Definitely recommend it if you're looking to watch something along these lines (and hell if you read the manga maybe you can tell me how well they adapted it), can't go wrong with senseless violence.

Got caught up on a few of the Simuldub's Funimation is running. Basilisk: the Ouka Ninja Scrolls caught my eye since I did enjoy the original. So far the action is pretty good. It takes place 10 years after the first one ended... or so it says until there is a time jump after the 4th episode. Its very different from the first as its more of your standard ninja anime rather than some tragic love story. I'm glad it did the time jump though because I was feeling like it was gonna be another "kids beat adult fodder" type thing. I also started Darling in the Franxx since it's getting so much hype. Its basically Gurren Lagann style animation with a ton of sexual innuendo. Its catering to my craving for a mecha series so far.

I've watched so much anime since getting Funimation, I can't remember half of what I watched. I'll see something I remember watching and enjoying but i can barely remember any of the story. I guess I can tell what I felt was truly great when I can remember what happened. It doesn't really take much for me to enjoy a series without it being a favorite. Here is what actually stood out to me in the last year whether it came out in 2017 or not... none of these are more than 2 years old.

Mob Psycho 100
I adore this anime, and its a close second to My Hero Academia. It's unique blend of purposely plain character designs, mixed with its batshit psychedelic fight sequences, along with the comical still expression scenes sets it apart from the norm we've been getting over the past few years. Its wacky and fun.
Drifters
As a history nerd I really enjoyed this series. The animation and character designs are top notch, and the fight scenes are really good. The Hellsing people did this one and it has the same gore level. Its also one of the better Dubs out there.
My Hero Academia
Easily my favorite series I've seen in a while. Unique characters, great fights that never drag, excellent background music that properly sets the tone, and superb animation. This is #1 on my recommendation list for anyone looking for a new series to watch. Christopher Sabat brings his Major Armstrong type persona to Allmight, and its great.  
Kuromukuro
This one is on netflix. Its a fun watch. Good action, comedy, mecha design, and fights. Its not on the level of Aldnoah.Zero or Gun X Sword, but its definitely more entertaining to watch than Knights of Sidonia.
Lupin III part 4
Not much to say other than its classic Lupin. Although this season was a bit more connected with an overall story arc rather than several single standing episodes. The animation keeps it's classic designs with modern shading and a much more fluid motion. The new recurring characters were also well done.

Holy cow there seems to be a subscription crate for everything now. AC Filters, Clothes, Bras, Candy, etc. I actually just signed up for Umai Crate. It seems to be the most unique and best value. Its just a box full of different Japanese instant ramens. I'll report if its any better than the cheap shitty ramen you can get at the grocery store. For $25 a month, the box seems to be full of 7-9 bags/boxes/cups of various types. If I'm not impressed with the first box, I'll cancel it and feel like it was worth trying something interesting. I watched a few youtube unboxings and taste tests and it seems to be pretty well received, even in the comments on their facebook posts. I recently had authentic ramen at a local hole in the wall and it was amazing. I always thought ramen was just that shitty Nissin stuff. Some of the videos I watched, its def a little more complex than just pouring hot water into noodles and a tiny spice packet. Some of them have multiple packets to enter in before and after water is added. And apparently there are suggested fresh add ons you can buy separately at the grocery store. Things you obviously can't dehydrate like hard boiled eggs.