DeathscytheX

NieR: Automata's soundtrack is probably my favorite for a game in a very long time. It's been a while since a game's tune gets stuck in a loop in my head through out the day. I haven't loved the music for a game this much since God of War and Dark Cloud.

If you think you're hot shit in Overwatch and tea bag me, I'll swap to Junkrat and make you're life a living hell. Thats what some asshole playing Reaper learned tonight. I generally don't play my two best characters as much as I want to because I've been expanding my skill set. Dude got the best of me multiple times when I was playing McCree the previous round, then he did that, and went on to die 15 times in a match because of me.... including getting a rip tire to the face 4 times, and every time he managed to kill me, he died from my martyrdom.... and they lost the match, and he left after that.

I'm starting to get really good with Genji. I got gold in eliminations several times tonight, and carried at 51% kill participation in one of my matches. And with a buff to his ult in the pipeline, I won't have to worry about my fun getting nerfed for a while. There are few things that feel amazing in this game. Hooking airborne Phara with Roadhog, Hooking Tracer with Roadhog, Killing a good Zarya period, and deflecting an ult back at the enemy team with Genji... because I totally got McCree good.

I'm almost done with GARO: Crimson Moon. I'm pretty disappointed with it. Its no where near as good as GARO: The Animation was. The story is pretty meh, and they reduced the golden night to some sailor moon type format where he only gets to transform at the end of the episode and wins in 2-3 moves. It reminds me how Blood-C is inferior to Blood+ as they both take place in similarly unconnected time frames.

IFC had a Three Stooges marathon on Thanksgiving. After we ate, we watched that the rest of the day. I haven't laughed that hard for that long in a long time. Good stuff.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a testament to what single player games can be when you spend years developing them rather than 1-2 years and throw them out there with endless sequels. It would take me a few hours to hammer out my initial thoughts on this game. The level of detail is truly spectacular. My one concern was having to juggle all the health/stamina and weapon maintenance, but somehow Rockstar made it very uncumbersome to where its there, but you don't really have to worry about it every few minutes... I've gone hours without having to rest or use consumables. I've found myself getting lost in just tracking/hunting for hours. The amount of random side content is astonishing. After I get off work tomorrow, I'll have a whole week to dive into it and get lost. I'm really looking forward to it.

MOB PSYCHO 100 Season 2 is coming to the Winter Simuldub and I'm really freaking hyped about it. Its def one of the most underrated series of the past few years. The animation is gritty and wild, the action is amazing, and the comedy is outstanding. I can't wait!

2018 was an interesting year. Here are my picks for best of the year.

Game of the Year
God of War
Runners up GOTY
Red Dead Redemption 2
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

Anime of the Year
Violet Evergarden
Runners up AOTY
Mob Psycho 100
My Hero Academia

Movie of the Year
Deadpool 2
Runners up MOTY
Ready Player One
Avengers: Infinity War

Podcast of the Year
The Joe Rogan Experience
Runner up PCOTY
83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff

Biggest Letdown of 2018
Diablo Immortal Announcement
Runner up BLOTY
Battlefield V

I finished Fate/Zero and I'm into season two of Fate/Stay. I really hate how Saber keeps getting screwed over. She's such a nice and honorable character. :( I'm waiting for her overdue redemption.

Last Spring was an anime season of epicness. This season is of charm and adorableness. Meiji Tokyo Renka, My Roommate is a Cat, The Quintessential Quintuplets, and ENDRO have all captured my heart and they're not even my favorites this season. I'll def have my work cut out for me doing a full review at the end.

I just discovered Hyouka and I'm hooked. The animation is stunningly beautiful... not Evergarden tier, but extremely good compared with most. The Chemistry between Hotaro and Chitanda is outstanding. Chitanda is super adorable and Hotaro's lack of enthusiasm for anything just makes their interactions great. Plus the "mysteries" are intriguing as they go about solving them.

Finished Ultraman on Netflix, the story was good but it left too much unanswered... and the biggest travesty was the CGI. Holy cow it was wildly inconsistent and mostly all bad. The distance shots looked like some PS1 stuff, like they didnt know what shading was. They spent all the money on the final fight which was awesome, and then the last few minutes got really bad.

The Warclaw mount is the best thing to ever happen to WvW, at least for casuals like myself. You can't be trolled by roamers making YT montages, you can escape fights you don't want to be in, and you can get back to the action pretty fast if you die in a zerg v zerg fight. It eliminated the downtime of a boring long trek back to the front lines that could have ended up in death before you even got there. That was the biggest turn off of WvW for me. Also, with how many people are running support firebrand, scourge, and chrono, the heals are so good I rarely die with my glass cannon PvE builds. I can see myself starting to farm some more gifts of battle now, and actually enjoy it rather than seeing it as a chore.

13 episodes into The Rising of the Shield Hero, and this show is pretty much taken the crown for this season... or last season depending.. I guess it counts for both as its still going. Unlike most Isekai, the main character is constantly getting screwed and is always at a disadvantage. The pure hatred you feel for all the other characters in this alternate world of douche is amazing. Literally everyone except a small handful of people are assholes. So the main character tends to go Mass Effect Renegade at times. The emotional vitriol this show invokes is outstanding. The animation of the characters and the dub voice actors nail it completely... as someone that it doesn't take much to want a character to die... I REALLY want 90% of the cast dead.

 I started Revisions on Netflix. The first episode has awful and janky CGI but it gets a lot better after that. The premise is great, but for fucks sake the main character is so damn annoying. He makes Asta from Black Clover look like a good character. Mecha series have the absolute worst main characters the majority of the time. I just don't get it. Mikazuki Augus, Sousuke Sagara, Lelouch Vi Britannia, and Van of the Dawn are the only ones I can think of that I've ever liked. But here we don't have your typical emotionless husk, or pacifist crybaby... you'd only wish for that once you meet Daisuke Dojima. He's ultra full of himself and a selfish idiot. Holy cow he should be a side character. All his friends aren't that great either as they all bicker with Daisuke's douchness. Why am I even watching this?

Only anime can make a great story out of the most basic and odd themes. Like playing the koto after school. Kono Oto Tomare! is this seasons pleasant surprise and one of the reasons i watch most of every simuldub season's offerings. The OP would be #1 this season if it wasn't for Fruits Basket.  The characters are interesting, and their backstories are slowly unfolding in intriguing ways. I look forward to seeing how it all blossoms in the end.

7SEEDS on netflix is definitely one of their better offerings. I found it to be highly enjoyable. Gripping even. Its basically an anime about Life after humans, with humans reinserted into it. Think After Earth, but not shitty. The only gripe I have is that it's one of those "Part 1"  deals, and it ends on a extremely important cliffhanger. Leaving the chances of being LoLH'ed never sits well with me. Bottom line, the cast of characters are solid, the voice acting is above average, and the story is engaging. This is post apocalyptic wilderness survival. No evil dystopian government plots, no alien overlords, just humans and an evolved ecosystem.

If Black Clover took seasonal breaks like MHA, it would have had the potential to be one of the best Shonen series in years. Second to MHA of course. The story is good, the characters and their development are good... besides Asta who's gotten better recently. But the animation quality is such a convoluted mess. People can blame the studio with some merit, but the next episode will be 86 for the sub. That's closing in on two years with zero breaks. The dub only missed a week which is highly impressive for Funimation. When the animation is good, its good... the character models are a mix of good to mediocre. But there is plenty bad... and the low effort animation can go on for multiple episodes in a row. Even a bigger sin is that it happens during big moments at times... you know what you generally save your best work for? Its a damn shame too. The Magic Knight tourney was completely marred the first half with laughable animation at times, and then it got excellent for the final few matches. It drives me crazy when they show how good it can be and then how bad it can be alternating without consistency. With the introduction of their most compelling character yet, I just hope they try to do better overall. I have too much invested into this series now to turn away from it. I've heard they're going to stop outsourcing so much which is the main root of the problem. At least they get the power of friendship right.

Holy cow, I guess I'll be watching a crap ton of series this upcoming season. Funi is loaded on dubs. I'm a little irked that the new Fate series will be sub only out of everything tho. Fire Force and Dr. Stone are my most anticipated. Cop Craft and Astra Lost in Space look interesting... I see 2 new isekai series that could go either way. Master of Ragnarok set the bar super low, and Sheild Hero set it ultra high for the genre. 

As a hater of CGI in anime for the most part. I must say Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin has done the best job I've seen of using it. The Battle of Loum was an incredible sequence. This should be a clinic on how to do proper CGI if you're going to do it. I'll always prefered drawn, but damn that episode was phenomenal.