#And now we can take high-quality screenshots that truly show off the detail of the backgrounds in this movie

[derekfoxwit]

Doctor Dorpden’s Critical Tips of Prestige

Note: This post was made with satirical intentions in mind. I’m only emphasizing because I’ve had a couple of comments on previous joke posts I’ve did take it seriously. With that said, here we go.

Tip 1: For starters, remember that when looking at the work, if the Mystic Knee twitches fast enough to punch a hole in a wall, this suggests that the work should be near the lowest of the low. No further development of opinion is needed.

Tip 2: For an equal degree of sophistication, give the warm comfort of nostalgia at least 5 times more chances than the new thing that MAY seem actually poggers.

Tip 3: If you have the anecdote of encountering shitty fans, then use them as a scapegoat for the show they flaunt over being shitty. Clearly, they’re always making the show the way it is.

Tip 4: If you haven’t heard much about a newer film or show you’re yet to watch, there’s an 85% chance that film or show is actually not worth your time. The Father (2020) isn’t as widespread as Joker (2019) for a reason.

Tip 5: At this point, just go for the Asian Artist Dick. I’m actually in the mood to see merit in that because I want to look edgy against cute doodles. Stop attacking Uzaki-Chan, you cowards!

Tip 6: Avoid the electronic tunes. They’ll make you smell like a bum, for there’s no structural in a music album that’s nothing but wubs.

Tip 7: If you see a Tweet that looks dumb, use it as a means of generalizing all the fans of a work as sharing that same opinion.

Tip 8: If the cartoon I’m given doesn’t provide me with mature ideas such as slicing an Arbok in half or fake boobs, then the cartoon might as well be on the same level as Teletubbies.

Tip 9: You know the music is (c)rap when it brings up drugs, regardless of lyrical context.

Tip 10:  Raw mood is the indicator of quality cartooning. If you’re quick to assume the worst in the newest HBO Max original cartoon, then you got thyself a stinker. Same thing if you were super bummed out when watching a new thing, regardless of anecdotal context.

Tip 11:  When you’re not given continuous throwbacks, ensure you’re as reductive and over-generalizing about the works shown as possible.

Tip 12:  If your hazy and imperfect as hell recollection of a children’s film, whether it’s Wall-E or Lilo & Stitch, would describe said film as “too sugary” or “key-waving schlock”, then that HAS to be the case. No meat on that bone whatsoever.

Tip 13: Simpler, more graphic style that isn’t as realistic as old-school Disney or Anime? You got yourself a lazy style with zero passion put into it.

UPA? Who’s THAT?!

Tip 14: Don’t trust anyone saying that western children’s cartoons had any form of artistic development after 2008 (with, like, TWO exceptions). If it did, why didn’t we go from stealing organs in a 2001 cartoon to showing opened stomachs in a 2021 cartoon?

Tip 15: Big booba is always important to the strong female character’s quality.

Tip 16:  Only MY ships count, for they provide me with a feeling of intelligence.

Tip 17: “PG-13″ and “R” rating just simply mean you’re not caring for expressing themes in a sophisticated manner. It’s just THAT simple until I dictate otherwise.

Tip 18:  In this age of smelly radicals, “Death of the Author” is more important than ever. Without it, this’ll imply that a classic like The Matrix was secretly toxic, due to what the Wachowskis have to say about it being an “allegory of trans people.”

Tip 19: Turn the fandoms you hate into your torture porn. Ask in Tweets to Retweet one sentence that’d “trigger” them. Go out of your way to paint all of them as blind consoomers. That’ll show them, and it’ll show how much more intelligent you are compared to those clowns.

Tip 20: Whatever the Mystic Knee dictates upon the first viewing of a work is what shall indicate the full structural extent of the film.

Tip 21: The mindset of a 2000s edgelord is one that actually understands the artistry of the medium of animation. Listen to that crazy but ingenious man.

Tip 22: Because sheer ambition makes me feel manly, the high pedestal you bestow upon a cartoon work should be based mostly on the mere mention or mere suggestion of serious topics. This means that pure comedy is smelly.

Tip 23: Is the new work tackling subjects that you’ve loved a childhood work of yours for covering? Just assume it’s super bare-bones in that case compared to the older case, for there’s nothing the older work can do to truly prove itself otherwise. Seriously, Letterboxd. Stop giving any 2010s cartoon anything above a 4/5

Tip 24: If the Mystic Knee is suggesting that the work is crummy, then consider any explanation off the top of your head for why the work in question is crummy.

Tip 25: Sexual and gender identity is inherently political, so don’t focus on them in the story. It’s no wonder why Full Metal Alchemist has caught on more than the She-Ra reboot.

Tip 26: Since I got bothered by a random butt monkey type character in a crummy cartoon, I’m now obligated to assume that having a butt monkey will only harm the writing integrity of the cartoon.

Seriously, Mr. Enter....what?!

Tip 27: We’re at a point where pure comedy for a kids’ cartoon is doing nothing but dumbing down the children. Like seriously...... I doubt Billy and Mandy would ever use farts as a punchline, unlike these newer kids comedies.

Tip 28: The difference between the innuendo in kids’ cartoons I grew up on and the ones Zootopia made is the sense of prestige they give me. Just take notes from the former instead.

Tip 29: Wanna make a work of artistic merit? Just take notes from the stuff I whore out to. It’s just THAT simple until I dictate otherwise.

Tip 30: Always remember this golden rule: If the newer work, or a work you’ve recently experienced the first time, was truly great, why isn’t it providing the exact emotions from your younger, more impressionable years?

Tip 31: If the Mystic Knee aims to break the bones of a character doing certain things (.i.e. having body count of thousands; lashing out to character; etc.), that means the character is bad and deserves no redemption.

Tip 32: If you want me to believe there’s any intrigue or depth in your antagonist, give them redemption, for I am in need of that sorta thing being spelled out. Looking at you, Syndrome. Should’ve taken notes from Tai Lung.

Tip 33: In a case where you’re going “X > Y” (.i.e. manga compared to western comics), ALWAYS CHERRY PICK! Use the recent controversies of the “Y” item while pretending that the “X” item has never had anything of the sort.

Tip 34: BEFORE you bring up those comments that shat on the original Teen Titans cartoon back when it was new, whether for making Starfire “more PC” or whatever.......the DIFFERENCE between them and me is that THEY were just bad faith fools that couldn’t see true majesty out of blind rage. I, however, am truly certain that calling any western TV cartoon from 2014-onward a work that transcends its generation suggests a destruction of the medium.

Tip 35: Based on fandom growth, it shows that any newer show isn’t being watched much by kids, but rather loser adults that act like children. Therefore, there’s more prestige in what I grew with.

Tip 36: The focus on children is bad at this point since the children of today have attention spans that flies would have.

Tip 37: A select few screenshots (or even one) of either a less elaborate attacking animation, less realistic game graphics, or a less on-model image in a cartoon indicates EVERYTHING about the work’s quality.

Tip 38: Consuming or writing media where characters go through constant suffering is little more than gaining pleasure out of it. YOU SICKOS!

Looking at you, Lily Orchard!

Tip 39: Whether it’s a sexual awakening story or just simply a romance, focus on a character being lesbian, trans, bi, etc., then it shouldn’t be in a kids’ work. It’s too spicy for them by default. Kids don’t want romance anyway.

Tip 40: The very idea of a western cartoon with no full-blown antagonist (i.e. Inside Out) is a destruction of animated artistry. Sorry, but it’s just THAT simple until I dictate otherwise.

Tip 41: Unless it’s my fluffy pillow, such as Disney’s Robin Hood, it should be obligated to assume the inserting of anthros is only there to pleasure the furries. Looking at YOU, Zootopia!

Tip 42: With how rough and rash The Beast was, it shows that he was more of an abusive lover. Therefore, I refuse to believe that Beauty and the Beast has any of the meticulous moral writing that most of Disney’s other 90s films has.

Tip 43: When you suggest one work should’ve “taken notes” from another work in order to do better, BE VAGUE! Those who agree will be shown to be geniuses.

Tip 44: Remember how morally grey Invader Zim was? That really goes to show how little the Western Animation scene has been trying since that show. Really should just be taking notes from that series (and of course anime).

Tip 45: Even if I have a radar that clearly indicates such, hiding the item I look for inside an enemy is always bad, for I refuse to believe it would be inside the enemy.

Goddamn it, Arin!

Tip 46: People struggle understanding your gender identity or pronouns? All there is to see in that is a giant cloud of egotism that reads “My problems” zapping another smaller cloud that reads “other people’s problems”. Seriously, kids are starving, so WHAT if you identity confused someone. Grow a spine!

Tip 47: Stop pretending that adaptations should colorize how a story or comic series should be defined. No way in FUCK can a cartoon or film incarnation become the definitive portrayal of my precious superhero idol.

Tip 48: Enough with your precious “limited animation” techniques, YOU WESTERN HACKS! All you’re doing is admitting to sheer laziness and lacking artistic integrity. Now if you excuse me, I’ll be watching more anime, since that gives me a sense of prestige.

Tip 49: If getting five times more detail than the 2D animated visuals have requires someone getting hurt, so be it. No pain, no gain after all.

Tip 50: Yes, I genuinely struggle to believe there’s this majestic level of layered material without having the most immediate yet still vague re-assurance practically yelling in my face. But that’s STILL the work’s fault, not mine.

Tip 51: Every Klasky-Csupo cartoon has more artistic integrity than any of them cartoons with gay lovers such as Kipo or the Netflix She-Ra show.

Tip 52:  If Sergio Pablos’ Klaus is anything to go by, we have no excuse to utilize those smelly as fuck digital animation “styles” found on Stinky Universe, Suck-Ra or Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turds.

Tip 53: Stop projecting your orientation onto works of actual talent. Seriously, how does Elton John’s I’m Still Standing expel ANY rainbow flag energy?

Tip 54: Hip hop and electronica have been the destruction of music, especially the kind that’s actually organic and not farting on the buttons of a beeping or drumming gadget.

Tip 55: The audience for cartoons has become significantly less clear over the years. We should just go back to Saturday mornings of being sold toys or shit kids actually want.

Tip 56: PSAs for kids shouldn’t be about ‘woke’ content. They should be actual problems such as doing drugs; not playing with knifes / outlets / matches; or acceptance.

Tip 57: The instant you realize a detail in a childhood work that’s better understood as an adult, you’re forced to paint that work as the most transcendent thing in the world. It’s just THAT simple until I dictate otherwise.

Tip 58: Before you lash out on ALL rich people, remember this: #Not All Rich People.

Tip 59: There’s nothing to gain out of the (c)rap scene other than becoming a spiteful, gun-wielding thug that sniffs weed for breakfast.

Tip 60: Since the Mystic Knee told me to get anal about prom episodes in several gay cartoons, this shows that writing about one’s younger experiences just makes you look pathetic.

Tip 61: Another smelly thing about Zootopia is how it was painting a police chief as stern and exclusive. #Not All Chiefs

Tip 62: Me catching a glimpse of Grave of the Fireflies as a kid and turning out fine shows that you may as well show kids more adult works without worry. No amount of psychological questions being asked will suggest otherwise.

Tip 63: There’s a reason why the Mystic Knee keeps leaning more toward the 90s and early 2000s than most decades. That knee KNOWS where there’s a sense of true refinement.

Tip 64: The BIG difference between rock and electronica? Steward Copeland actually DRUMS. All that the likes of Burial, Boards of Canada, Depeche Mode and several others did was push drum buttons.

Tip 65: One exception to the golden nostalgia is when the work in question doesn’t stuff your face with fantastical, bombastic stories. At which point, there can only be rose-colored blinds covering Nickelodeon’s Doug. Nothing of merit or personal resonance to be found.

Tip 66: Remember that the sense of nuance in the work comes down to there being everything including the kitchen sink, whether it involves multiple geographic landscapes; giving us hundreds of characters; etc. Only through the extremes will I be able to tell there is nuance.

Tip 67: Once you see a joke that has an involvement with sexual or violent content, just ignore the full picture and just reduce it to having nothing to it but “sex, violence, gimme claps.”

PKRussel has entered the chat

Tip 68: With all the SJWs messing up the art of comedy, lament the times where you could be called a comic genius, NOT a monster, for shouting out the word “STAB,” calling a gay weird, painting Middle Easterns as inherently violent, etc.

Tip 69: Guitar twang will always win out over (c)rap beats. There’s a reason your grandma is more likely to listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd than Kendrick Lamar.

Tip 70: Once the Mystic Knee notices a lack of squealing at the video game with linearity, that shows there’s more artistry in going full-blown open world.

Tip 71: Related to Tips 66 and 68, ensure your comedy gets as much information and mileage out of each individual skit as possible. EMPHASIZE if you need to. Continuously spout out your quirky phrase of “STAB” if needed.

Tip 72: Based on the onslaught of TV shows with many seasons and episodes, animated or otherwise, it shows that there’s more worth going for that than simply having a miniseries or a 26-episode anime.

Tip 73: Building off of the previous tip, you’re better off squeezing and exhausting every little detail and notable characterization rather than keeping anything simple and possibly leaving a stone unturned, especially if there’s supposed to be a story. 

Tip 74: Playing through the fan translation of Mother 3 made me realize how much some newer kids’ works just try too hard to get serious. Why even make the kids potentially think about the death of a family member?

Tip 75: The fear I had over Sid’s toys from the first Toy Story and similar anecdotal emotions are the be-all indicators of what kind of show or film is fitting for the children.

Tip 76:  Seeing this British rapper chick have a song titled “Point and Kill” just further exemplifies the fears I’ve had about rappers being some of the most harmful folks ever.

Tip 77: The problem with attempting to make a more “relatable” She-Ra is that kids aren’t looking for relatability. They want the escapism of buff fighters or something similar. This is why slice-of-life is so smelly.

Tip 78: Based on seeing the rating of “PG-13″ or “R,” I can tell that the dark humor is little more than “hur dur sex and guns.” Given the “TV-Y7 FV” rating of Invader Zim, the writers should’ve taken notes from that instead just so I can sense actual prestige.

Tip 79: The original He-Man has more visual intrigue in its animation than any of those smelly glorified doodles found in the “styles" of the 2010s and early 2020s.

Tip 80: It’s always the fault of the game that my first guess (that I refuse to divert from) on how I have to go through an obstacle won’t work.

Tip 81: Zootopia discussing prejudice ruins the majestic escapism I got from my precious childhood films from 1991-2004. Them kids might as well be watching the news. Now to watch some Hunchback after I finish these tips.

Tip 82: There is no such thing as an unreasonable expectation, and there’s especially no wrong way to address the lack of met expectations! For example, if you expect some early 2010s cartoon on the Disney Channel to be a Kids X-Files, yet you get moments such as some girl getting high on stick dipping candy, you got the right to paint the worst out of that show for not being “Kids’ X-Files.”

Tip 83: Related to my example for Tip 82, if you get the slightest impression of something being childish, you know you got yourself a children’s work that does little than wave keys and has basically nothing substantial for them. In this situation, those malfunctioning robots found in Wall-E are the guilty party.

Tip 84: Without the extensive dialogue that I’m used to getting, how can one say for certain there was any amount of characterization in the title character of Wall-E?

Tip 85: Ever noticed yourself gradually being less likely to expect an upcoming work or view a work you’re just consuming as “the next best thing”? That’s ALWAYS the fault of smelly “artists” (hacks really) and their refusal to give a shit.

Tip 86:  It’s obligatory for your lead to be explicitly heroic just so there is this immediate re-assurance that they’re a good one.

Tip 87: Without the comforting safety net of throwbacks, one cannot be for certain that there has been an actual evolution of a series or the art of animation and video games.

Tip 88: Don’t PSA kids on stuff they give zero fucks about. That means no gender identities or pronouns, race, etc.

Tip 89: Don’t listen to Mamoru Hosoda saying that anime women tend to be “depicted through a lens” of sexual desire. He’s just distracting from the superior prestige found in anime women.

Tip 90:  If you’re desperate to let others know that your talking points are reasonable, just repeat them over and over with little expansion on said talking points.

Tip 91: 7 or more seasons of art is better than 26 episodes of art.  EVERY TIME!

Tip 92: Always remember to continuously talk up the innuendo and mature subject matter of the childhood work as the most prestigious, transcendent thing of all time. With that in mind, there’s a high chance that your favorite childhood work will be better known than Perfect Blue (1997), and there’s likely a reason for that.

Tip 93: An art style that gives many characters relatively more realistic arm muscle details will always shine through more than any sort of art style done for “simplicity” (laziness, really).

Tip 94:  Seeing a few (like, even VERY FEW) people show more enthusiasm for Steven Universe over Invader Zim really shows the lower bar that has been expected out of the western animation scene compared to anime.

Tip 95: Electronic music makes less conventional time signatures cheap as hell. REAL music like rock makes them the exact opposite.

Tip 96: If your Mystic Knee suggests that the 90s cartoon being viewed doesn’t showcase a vague sense of refinement or artistic integrity, then every related assumption of yours is right. EVERY TIME!

Tip 97: Doing everything and the kitchen sink for one series or movie shows a better sense of refinement and prestige than any form of simplicity. THIS includes character design as well.

Tip 98: The advent of that Star Wars: Visions anime really shows just how stinky western cartoons have become.

Tip 99:  For those wondering, no, Europe isn’t being counted in my definition of “western animation”. Doing so is a complete disservice to prestige.

Tip 100: If even less than half of these tips aren’t being considered, you can kiss that prestige badge goodbye. After all, I SAID SO!

[xseedgames]

Zwei: The Arges Adventure - Localization Blog #1

AAAAAAHHHHH IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING.

I’ve been working on this game for the better part of a year now, but have been unable to say anything about it for PR reasons – namely, that it wasn’t in a showable state, and we didn’t want to confuse prospective players by having two Zwei games announced but unreleased at the same time. Which is totally reasonable, but AAAAAAAHHHH I’VE BEEN WANTING TO TALK ABOUT THIS GAME SO BADLY YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

…Ahem. First off, I guess I should bring you all up to speed, in case you missed the announcement. Falcom’s 2001 PC classic Zwei!! is coming to the Western world via Steam, GOG, and The Humble Store in early 2018, under the name Zwei: The Arges Adventure. Why the name change? Well, because we already released its 2008 sequel, Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection (which was originally called Zwei II: Sky-High Great Adventure in Japan).

That’s right. Localization work wrapped on the sequel first, and now we’re finishing things up with the original.

What are we thinking?!, you must be asking yourselves. Why would we release the sequel first, then go back and release the original? Why wouldn’t we release the original game first? And since we’ve already released the more modern second entry in the series from seven years later, can this earlier effort really hold its own by comparison? 

Well, that’s why I’m so excited. Because Zwei: The Arges Adventure is good. REALLY good. In fact, I dare say it’s my favorite translation I’ve ever worked on to date – yes, even topping Return to PopoloCrois and Corpse Party. And if you’re at all familiar with me (this is Tom, BTW), that statement alone should tell you that Zwei: AA is something special, since PopoloCrois and Corpse Party are… shall we say, perennial favorites of mine. To put it very lightly.

So, yeah. Let’s address those hypothetical questions, shall we?

Why would we release the sequel before the original? Well, two reasons. One, because we can – these games each tell standalone stories, set on different floating continents with different casts of characters. Zwei: AA’s two protagonists, Pipiro and Pokkle, do make a few cameo appearances in Zwei: II, but this is done almost purely for the sake of fanservice (the literal kind, not the naughty kind). When all is said and done, these two games are completely standalone, taking place in the same world but telling very different stories with very different characters and a very different feel. Think of it kind of like the Ys series, but even more episodic (since, Ys Origin aside, Ys has the Adol-as-protagonist connection from one game to the next, whereas Zwei doesn’t even have that!).

The other reason is because of the nature of Zwei: AA’s code. The Japanese version of this game utilized DirectX 5, was formatted strictly for 4:3 resolution with no widescreen options whatsoever, offered a lovely FPS selection of 30 or 15 (seriously!), counted on players to play it with mouse and keyboard over gamepad (it supported gamepads, but… barely), and contained no fewer than six unlockable Windows desktop apps that were loosely tied to yet completely separate from the main game.

This is one of them. And that first screenshot at the beginning of this blog entry is another.

In other words… this is the kind of adaptive coding project that’s been known to give lesser programmers heart attacks. Getting a game like this to even run on a modern Windows machine at all – much less run WELL – was decidedly not a task for the meek. In fact, it’s because of the way this game is coded that we ultimately decided to translate the game in-house rather than working with any fan-translators as we did for Zwei: II, as no two programmers would handle this text the same way – and trying to convert a fan-translated script to a format that would work for us would’ve taken almost as long as translating the game from scratch.

So, yeah. Getting Zwei: II out first was pretty much just done because… erm… it was ready first. And it was always GOING to be ready first. Even with a lengthy QA process and a couple minor delays, it still inevitably got finished long before its predecessor was ready to make its debut.

Fortunately, we hired a veteran programmer to work with us on Zwei: AA… but you’ll never guess who! It wasn’t Sara, since she was busy getting Zwei: II ready at the time (and a fine job she did of it, with one of our smoothest PC launches ever!). But this wasn’t our first time working with the guy we worked with on this project, either. It was, however, our first time working with him to modernize someone else’s game – and he really did perform some miracles for us (and put up with my many, many demands for quality-of-life improvements and feature additions, to boot!).

The man in question? Matt Fielding, of Magnetic Realms. A.k.a. the guy who brought you the game Exile’s End. 

Pictured: Exile’s End. Which is also an awesome game you should play!

And thanks to his technical wizardry, you guys are going to have an astoundingly up-to-date version of Zwei!! on your hands at launch. We’re talking more than just widescreen support here – there’s full in-game integration of the Pet Monitor and other desktop apps, new control functionality for more natural gamepad support across the board, inclusion of the arranged soundtrack from the Japan-only PSP version of the game, additional art and text content not present in any previous version of the game, and much, much more (to be detailed in future blog entries!).

Moving on to the second question I asked, with Zwei: II already out, can Zwei: AA hold its own by comparison?

I think you know what my answer’s going to be, on that one. Zwei: The Arges Adventure is a freaking awesome game with a lot to offer, and differs from its own successor in enough key areas that it can very easily hold its own any day of the week. Hell, you might even like it better than Zwei: II – it’s certainly a very close call for me, but I’d say Zwei: AA gets the slight edge! 

Sure, they’re both dungeon-crawling action RPGs at their core, and they both use food to level-up, even sharing the same food exchange system to discourage grinding. And the two-character party (plus one pet), with one character taking the role of physical attacker while the other slings spells, takes center stage in both titles as well. Plus, both games are set on floating continents in the same world.

That’s a lot of similarities, but they’re all relatively superficial. You could say Zwei: AA is like the 2D answer to Zwei: II’s 3D world, but that would be discounting its snarkier and more tongue-in-cheek storyline (yes, even more than Zwei: II’s!), or the gorgeous and ludicrously colorful hand-drawn backgrounds, or the two games’ very different approaches to pets (you only get one pet in Zwei: AA as opposed to the veritable army of pets featured in Zwei: II, but that one dog or cat [or other?] has significantly more personality and gameplay involvement than its many Zwei: II counterparts), or the huge variety of minigames on offer (all of which have been adapted to play from within the game itself, despite formerly existing only as desktop apps)… and that’s just scratching the surface. In short, although the two games use the same basic template, they represent two very different approaches to game design within the confines of that template.

For me as Zwei: AA’s translator, though, I can’t help but laser-focus right on the game’s dialogue. Protagonist duo Pipiro and Pokkle are without a doubt the best pair to write that somebody like me could ever ask for. Pokkle constantly cracks bad puns (and I do mean constantly!), wears a tail for funsies, and is always hitting on women twice his age.

And Pipiro just has absolutely no filter whatsoever, and is full of so much snark that she’s fit to burst.

Practically every line out of these two is an absolute gem – and that’s to say nothing of the many quirky NPCs surrounding them over the course of their rather lengthy quest (such as the endlessly self-delusional “libertine fatass” that’s funding your adventure, and his extremely no-nonsense maid who gave him that nickname).

I… really can’t stress enough how much fun it was to write for these characters, and how inspired I was to come up with the perfect phrasing for every line. I’m extremely appreciative that we chose to translate the game in-house, as it gave me an opportunity to work much more deeply with this script than I ever could’ve if we’d only been tasked with editing it. As time went on, I found myself revising my work on a daily basis, making small tweaks here and there as new bits of wordplay or better puns popped into my head (much to Matt’s chagrin, I’m sure!). The end result is something that I can stand behind as a faithful interpretation of the game’s mood and intent – an attempt to convey the same degree of lighthearted fun and irreverence present in every line of the Japanese script, but formatted to sound more natural in English, accounting for context, tone, atmosphere, and individual character quirks rather than just hammering out a word-for-word translation.

I’ve never laughed so hard while playing a JRPG before, and I truly hope that when you guys play this one in English, you’ll find its English interpretation just as hilarious as I found its original Japanese to be. That would mean I succeeded at what I set out to do, and would bring me great joy and pride as a localizer!

And please do keep an eye on this Tumblr, as I fully intend to give lots more info about Zwei: The Arges Adventure (and more screenshots showing off lines I’m particularly proud of) in the weeks to come!

Until then, I hope you’re all continuing to enjoy Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection, and… well, I’mma go back to testin’ Zwei: The Arges Adventure now, ‘cause I want this game to be downright perfect when it’s released! And with translation and editing 100% complete, and coding probably somewhere in the 70-80% done range, that release date will be here before you know it…

[xtremedespair3d]

HajiKo Anime: Fall 2020

Where was Summer at? We needed to have a line-up as lit as this one, but alas, this cold line-up was pretty refreshing!

Okay, I probably shouldn’t come up with these ridiculous puntastic introductions just for filler and for the sake of using the “Keep reading” tab because these posts are always lengthy, but there’s nothing else I can say, I can’t just simply put the “Keep reading” tab and that’s it!

Also, there were some details on my anticipated shows and I completely forgot about them so I’m going to write them down here because I’m not even gonna bother go editing my previous post and add the things I forgot to say and tell everyone about it, nobody reads my posts anyway.

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Before I start this review, I want to say something and it’s probably not for the faint of heart depending on your prefered way of watching anime and mine may not be the absolute best if you’re a “purist,” but it’s very important. On October 1st, as soon as I published my previous Summer 2020 review the day prior and as soon as the Fall season began, HorribleSubs, the anime subs torrent site I’ve been using for a long time, has closed.

Torrenting anime is kind of a gray area for me to say this, but I’m not a shallow anime review site, so who cares? This is my personal blog and might as well say this. I’ve been torrenting anime for quite a few years now, and my go-to anime site to watch the latest shows ripped straight from big-shots like Crunchyroll, Funimation and HIDIVE, is HorribleSubs. I’ve been using random websites before but I moved to torrent anime because the torrent library site Nyaa offers a huge variety of high quality torrent anime, there are so many websites to watch anime illegally and they’re not even that good, the biggest one being KissAnime but on mid-2020, it appears that KissAnime has been closed, a lot of people who used the service are sad, meanwhile I’m laughing my ass off at them since I mainly torrent anime.

Ever wondered how I usually watch anime that aren’t licensed by Funimation, Sentai, etc.? Torrent, that’s why.

The closure of HorribleSubs is quite shocking considering I’ve been using the site for a while, but there’s other sites like Erai-Raws, although not as good as HorribleSubs as they can be very late, but they still get the job done. Sometimes I browse on Nyaa to look for any other sub groups that have the newly released anime I want to watch, but sometimes they can bring pretty awful quality.

I had briefly used Erai-Raws for a while, which was my alternative whenever HorribleSubs was slow, but even Erai-Raws can be very slow at times, so I switched to SubsPlease which at first I had seen torrents from them uploaded on Nyaa and they’re probably the first group to upload torrents of this season’s anime I watched, so I switched to SubsPlease and I gotta say, I’m really really impressed with SubsPlease, they truly are the best website, they really live up on being the better HorribleSubs and Erai-Raws.

Let me give you a quick rundown on why SubsPlease is absolutely better than HorribleSubs and Erai-Raws:

They have a schedule tab on the left page and they waste no time on uploading new seasonal anime, which they are rips from Crunchyroll and Funimation (I don’t know if they rip stuff from HIDIVE too and who knows if they’ll rip Netflix stuff too but we’ll see).

Although on November 19th, for some reason SubsPlease took so damn long on having the latest Guraburu episode, it only took a few hours, but seriously, I do not condone the tardiness and I hope they don’t make this same screw-up or be worse in the future. And then on November 27th, they also took too long with an episode of Assault Lily Bouquet, I don’t watch that series but the tardiness, come on...

The website automatically detects my timezone, even after the daylight saving time, which is really amazing.

And most importantly:

Dark theme! Well, Erai-Raws’ website is dark by default and there’s nothing wrong with it, but since I treat SubsPlease more like a successor of HorribleSubs, having a dark theme on their website is something HorribleSubs always lacked. Dark theme is the future! Not just it’s easier for my eyes, but dark theme is just cool.

I should also point out that on December 9th, Crunchyroll was actually bought by Funimation, this may or may not sound like a win-win situation, it sounds impressive and guess the tables have turned considering their previous team-up which didn’t last long and now they’re back, but I don’t have high hopes for this move overall, just as long as they don’t go too extreme with piracy DMCAs and worst-case-scenario nuking Nyaa or any subs sites like SubsPlease and Erai, I’m okay with it.

Anyways, enough talk with all the anime torrenting, but still, let’s press F to pay respect to HorribleSubs. HorribleSubs closing with the first episode of Higurashi (They were still uploading episodes of ongoing series for a little bit but we don’t count those) sounds like they definitely ended with a bang.

One more thing before I talk about my review for this Fall 2020 season as well as talking about my line-up for Winter 2021, let’s talk about my birthday. So, how was it? It was great, it’s always better when you happen to have friends who make lovely pictures for you, even if it’s usually a day early or some may not always deliver screenshots (Because most of my friends are Japanese and a Filipino who make Custom Order Maid 3D2 content) but at least I get something.

As for the actual day, well, it was alright, it started off quite stressful with reuploading my birthday picture with numerous fixes over and over and played some Among Us with friends, and then I did have fun just going out with my family and have lunch, so that was something.

But to be brutally honest, most of my fun was already taken away the day prior with all of my Japanese and Filipino friends sending me their COM3D2 pictures to me, that’s a big problem, their timezone is like way ahead of me and they lived on October 4th, so everyone pretty much celebrates my birthday so early and as much as I like it, it starts to lose the fun for what I’m supposed to be on my actual birthday.

My birthday should officially be October 5th in their timezones so I would tell everyone in my actual day that it is my birthday, and I should stop having this habit of telling everyone it’s my birthday, I say it’s pretentions but at the very moment I end up doing so anyways.

Actually, the most fun I would have had in my birthday was if Venom: Let There be Carnage hadn’t been delayed if only COVID didn’t exist, that seriously should have been the main thing that would have made my birthday but without it, my birthday has become shallow overall. But whatever, at least I did have a pretty good lunch, only to make my stomach hurt for a week.

So for the future of my birthday, I probably should stay quiet in telling Japanese people about my birthday being in October 4th in their timezone, at least some who don’t know, I’ll start going crazy about my birthday in my actual day. I really hope there’s something really exciting in my birthday and beyond, too bad there’s no movies to watch next year (Although I could wait to see Dune in my birthday since it comes out in October 1st, so it’s kinda close--And my birthday in 2021 is in Monday, lovely...).

Also, we do not talk about the day Travis Touchdown was announced in Super Smash Ultimate as a Mii fighter, the timing, which happened a day before my birthday, and the choice of making him a Mii fighter are the worst thing they’ve ever done and now I’ve 100% lost care for Smash, if I had any care to begin with, I’ll NEVER forgive you, Sakurai! 😡

That is until October 28th that the Switch ports of the first two No More Heroes games have been released! Aah, what a relief! I might have NMH3 next year, but having the first two games on Switch now is an absolute win and the most important thing right now! (SOMEONE GIVE ME A SWITCH!) Actually, now it seems like NMH1 and 2 will be coming out to PC as well, I GUESS I WON’T NEED A SWITCH AT THE MOMENT, THEN!

After I publish this post, please look forward to my New Year post in the next few days as well.

ANYWAYS, let’s start with the reviews!

Fall 2020 Review

(Higher resolution)

Akudama Drive: Call me biased since I’m a Danganronpa fan, but THIS! THIS IS IT! THE ANIME THAT SAVES 2020! THE ONE OF MANY TOOKYO GAMES PROJECT THAT HAS FIRST SOLD ME FINALLY RELEASED AND IT’S ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING I WANTED!

Ahem, sorry about that, but it’s true, I ABSOLUTELY loved this series.

It’s got really great characters and their designs are great, it’s got kick ass opening and ending themes (Although the OP theme is the most important highlight), the animation is very aesthetically pleasing too, and then... AT LAST WE GET TO SEE A PREVIEW OF THE DANGANRONPA COLLAB ART AND IT’S BEAUTIFUL! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY MY #1 AOTS!!! THEN ON DECEMBER 1ST, THE FULL ART IS SHOWN!!!

Another thing I like about the series are the titles of the episodes which they’re all movie titles, especially the episodes “Mission Impossible” and “The Shining,” especially The Shining because it definitely lives up to its name and goes all out with the most obvious references anyone would know.

As much as I love Akudama Drive, I have some complaints!

First off, in terms of the universe, I kinda wish the characters didn’t go by codenames and it would be nicer if they had real names or have them revealed at some point (Which they didn’t, sadly), this makes me feel like watching Goblin Slayer all over again. I mean, there are some things where I’m okay with the characters just having codenames for varying reasons (Hiding their identities or remain mysterious), but this one kind of doesn’t work a bit.

Another which I may take back is the lack of fan arts, somewhere like episode 4 or something, I thought I wouldn’t see fan art of Akudama Drive which I thought nobody watches the series, but one random person miraculously saved my life by giving this one fan art, not only it’s a good fan art, IT’S A CROSSOVER FAN ART WITH DANGANRONPA, ABSOLTUELY PREDATING THE REVEAL OF THE ACTUAL CROSSOVER ART!

Then I searched through Twitter and Pixiv and there’s quite a lot of decent fan arts! (Especially on Pixiv since it usually has god awful fan art, but not all the Akudama Drive fan arts were all that bad, not perfect, but it was something). Searching for Akudama Drive fan arts on Twitter would be extremely hard, especially when there can be way better fan art but without the Japanese hashtag, but even so, I can still find plenty of good fan arts with the hashtag. If anyone has more good Akudama Drive fan arts, please give them to me.

Well, these are nitpicks that are rather meaningless, the real complaint I have is the heavy censorship on any violent moment, like, the most hardcore bloody scenes or something. This is something I’m never going to understand with Japanese censorship, like, I’m okay with the censorship in porn, but the gore is something that hits close to home for me since I’ve always liked blood and gore but it just feels like whatever people like doing with violent video games, anime and manga, it just feels very limited. Not to mention there’s some weird inconsistency in some Japanese media that some can show gore uncensored and others censored, I’m so confused.

I also wish the ending was a little more satisfactory, even though I’m sad about all the Akudama dying, something about the ending is a little left to be desired and raises a lot of questions.

The healing factor kids are save now, but it came at the cost of our Akudama bros’ lives. 😭

By the way, there’s a manga adaptation that came out when the anime was supposed to come out back in July, it’s monthly and I would absolutely read it legit in this site called Renta and the chapters are quite cheap to rent or buy, which is really nice. I would like to read it but I’d like to buy the full volumes of it whenever they’re gonna come out.

Anyways, after the series ends, I hope we get to see new info in the Kazutaka Kodaka projects with Rui Komatsuzaki character designs soon, and I really hope Kodaka would make more original anime like Akudama Drive (As long as the characters are designed by Rui Komatsuzaki, I can’t look at anything Kodaka without Komatsuzaki character designs, no matter the concept).

Oh, by the way, even Osomatsu-san season 3 promoted Akudama Drive! (I mean, they’re both made by Pierrot, but to see something like this is just uncanny)

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni - Gou: First of all, the title is actually not “New,” the true title is actually “Gou,” which supposedly this is a brand new entry, this is interesting, the secrecy behind the series and how it was marketed certainly makes for a really great series, but since I’ve never experienced Higurashi in my life, I feel left out. I mean supposedly because from what I hear this isn’t even a remake but rather a new entry, but whatever site I heard that from is probably an unreliable nobody source that I know of, so I’m not entirely sure on that one.

Second of all, before I go into details on my impressions with the series, as someone who never grew up with the original anime nor the visual novels, there’s something I forgot to address in the previous post, Higurashi Gou is animated by Passione, which they impressed me with High School DxD Hero and Citrus. Although sometimes the character designs does throw me off a little, and I saw a comment on Nyaa within the HorribleSubs upload of the episode that the art style reminded of the commentor to Monogatari, which it does look Monogatari-ish and I can’t unsee that now.

Now for my impressions, since I pretty much know the nature of the Higurashi series, I didn’t have that much of high expectations, so there’s not much to say about it. Although even if I’m familiar with the messed up nature, I wasn’t really familiar with the characters and the story, so I guess this is my one way to go with it. As of late, YouTube has randomly been recommending me comparison videos of some moments from the series so far and I’m usually biased towards newer stuff that look cleaner, so I’m definitely take the 2020 side (Which leads me to believe this IS a remake of an adaptation or something).

One thing that did disappoint me, however, is that the Eiko Shimamiya opening theme from the original series was only used once at the end of the first episode, I was kinda sad this isn’t used for the rest of the series, but it was kind of expected to make new theme songs.

If I have the time and desire to do so, I wish I would watch the original Higurashi series and maybe rewatch Gou for like a side-to-side comparison visually and perhaps narratively as well. (And what about the VNs? Eh, I’ll probably never get the mental capacity and time to do so, sorry.)

D4DJ First Mix: Since this is already a new franchise beginning, I thought I would give this an A (just like other Sanzigen titles this year but for varying reasons), but as of the writing of this episode after episode 5 premiered, this series immediately went from A to S! This is my #2 Sanzigen anime of the year, #1 being of course Bandori season 3.

One thing I’d like to point out is that the background characters throughout the series are entirely CG! Looks like Sanzigen has finally delivered God’s work for once! Except there are times when MINOR characters, like the owners of Cafe Vynil and even the Happy Around girls when they were kids are still hand drawn. I don’t know why but I just realized I constantly talk about how much hand drawn characters I have to point out in literally everything Sanzigen makes, so apologies about that.

When I started watching the first episode, I literally got familiar vibes to that of Argonavis with the main character (or in this case, multiple main characters being Happy Around) going to a live concert, but it’s a little different. Instead of the main character being motivated to becoming a musician and go to the concert he went when he was a kid, instead the main character (Being Rinku) went to this concert and remembers WOW WAR TONIGHT, Maho, however, does have the desire of going to the same concert Rinku went when she was a kid.

That kinda sounds more like Argonavis but with more accessibility and well, something that appeals more to audiences because I’m still baffled that out of every Sanzigen title that came out this year, no company, and I mean, NO COMPANY, has officially licensed Argonavis at all! Leaving the series mainly being fansubbed. I think it may be for the better that Argonavis isn’t officially licensed because not everyone would like the series because not everyone is fond of the concept of a male equivalent of Bandori (If it works for Idolmaster, it wouldn’t for Bandori IMO).

Hopefully they’ll make just as many seasons and movies like Bandori if this is going to be Bushiroad’s next big franchise.

Osomatsu-san season 3: After 5 long years, Osomatsu-san continues to deliver some really good laughs and being bizarre.

Wait, it’s been 5 years, why hasn’t Osomatsu-san season 3 addressed a 5th anniversary of sorts? 5 years is an important milestone!

Girls’ Frontline Healing Chapter season 2: Sure, Osomatsu-san season 3 is definitely the better comedy of the season (Which forgot to mention it would top Girls’ Frontline Healing Chapter season 2 along with Uzaki-chan), but that doesn’t mean Healing Chapter season 2 wouldn’t give me a lot of laughs (Which I think it gives me more laughs than Osomatsu-san sometimes).

They definitely improved this season with a lot of things, new characters, extended runtime which they really listened, and G11 now speaks. The first season will always be iconic, but I definitely think this season is beyond better.

However, as much as I loved this season, that is until I watched episode 12 where right before watching it, I just realized we had come this far until the very end of the season, time went flying so fast I felt like this season ended way too soon. Even if the season had a longer runtime for episodes, but for some reason it kinda feels like it didn’t do anything to me. I was pretty confused with M16′s character throughout that episode as well.

Then there was this teaser with 6P62 in episode 8. Was this supposed to mean something or did they just randomly threw this scene out of nowhere?

This finale doesn’t ruin the season overall, like I said, it improves the first season and I had plenty of laughs, but I need to process this. Once I watch the Japanese, I’ll probably get a better impression of it, and yes, the Japanese dub is indeed happening. It is coming in Spring 2021 as well, I wish it would come out in January 2021, like how the first season in Chinese dub started in late July 2019 and then the Japanese dub came out in my birthday, October 4th, I actually saw this coming but I guess the Spring 2021 release is fine, I suppose.

Despite the somewhat weak ending, I repeat, I still think this is absolutely better than the first season.

With the trend of wasting new characters in comedy shows, I absolutely award Girls’ Frontline Healing Chapter season 2 as the one new comedy season that absolutely did not waste new characters like DEFY and Sangvis Ferri! 🏆

Surprisingly there was no surprise Madness Chapter season 2 or anything, which it’s for the best and I guess that’s just to show how that series wasn’t as popular as Healing Chapter, even though it’s supposed to be like an adaptation of the game’s 4koma, but the animation is so cheap and people prefer the more wholesome series like Healing Chapter, which is probably why it’s so popular.

(Although I kinda wish they picked Architect from the villain roster, I like Architect more than pretty much every Sangvis character. Although I guess Hunter, Executioner and Scarecrow are like the most popular characters or they’re important to the story? I don’t know, I just like Architect because she’s cuter)

Hoping for season 3 if the Healing Chapter series continues to grow popular and hopefully the 6P62 teaser can be paid off.

Burn the Witch: I’m still surprised how this adaptation came out shortly after the manga serialization was launched, which means it was on the work for some time, did Tite Kubo give the animators his drafts or early copies of the three chapters of the manga serialization early before it come out or something?!

Anyways, it was quite a great adaptation, I liked it, the animation was clean, I like the performances, etc. Although I do wish they should have adapted the one-shot instead since it’s pretty much the prologue of the story, although one-shots usually aren’t what the actual stories supposed to be, it’s kind of like a prototype of sorts, but this wasn’t a prototype at all, but oh well.

Golden Kamuy season 3: Around November 1st, I randomly read through all my previous Tumblr posts and even talking things out about my retrospective thoughts in stuff I reviewed (Some hold up, some don’t), with the first two seasons of Golden Kamuy, I gave it a B- overall because I was kinda spoiled with some of the hate around it and gratuitously CG animals, but retroactively, it’s still a very good series, the action, the worldbuilding, the characters and especially the bizarre humor are the best part.

Although to be honest, I like the storyline from the first two seasons better, but I’m glad things have turned out well in the end this season.

Munou na Nana: For a show that came out on my birthday, I guess this was alright overall, when I watched the first episode, I was quite surprised with the twist and that’s pretty much what the entire series is. Still, I wasn’t highly impressed, but it was alright at best. Like, I think it was best worth watching the premiere on my birthday, otherwise I wouldn’t be committed on watching the entire series because I usually drop anime that don’t convince me on my birthday.

At first I thought Rena from Higurashi and Nana would be a cute but deadly waifu combo, which they still are but I prefer Rena over Nana because I’m not pretty sure about her as a character before, she’s quite smart but I definitely wouldn’t cross paths with her ever, she at least had some hilarious faces throughout the series too. That is until the last few episodes is where I’m starting to like Nana now?

There’s another thing I liked about the series is that how earlier episodes were character focused, like dedicated to Nana’s victims before Nana kills them, later episodes have become more serialized or something.

Probably the worst thing I can come up with (And I seriously wish anyone else, especially anime journalist sites, the journalists themselves or normies would say this), is that Munou na Nana is basically Among Us the anime. Kyoya always sus’d Nana, and Nana was the Impostor all along. Pink is hella sus. (Yeah, this is stupid, moving on) But then, the final episode came out and... it ended... in quite a shocking fashion, and this is probably the best episode in the series.

If there’s one thing I have to complaint about this series, is that the official Funimation subtitles can be cringey and don’t make sense with what the characters actually say sometimes, what the hell were the official subbers thinking? I wouldn’t rewatch the series but I’m sure fansubbers would do a much better job with the writing in the Blu-Ray rips.

But then, the final episode came out and... it ended... in quite a shocking fashion, and in my opinion this is probably the best episode in the series, although even if I liked the episode very much now after watching it, there are some things I was pretty confused by, but whatever. Now this episode for sure makes me think about the series in retrospect, probably not the best anime to come out in my birthday, the first most of it was decent but this episode delivered quite a punch!

First the series started in a shocking fashion which I had no expectations for the series at the time, now the series ended in a shocking fashion. Who would have thought?

Danmachi season 3: Throughout the middle of the season, I thought this would be my least favorite storyline of the series ever, but I think it turned out pretty good in the end, I usually like beginnings than climaxes. I kinda felt similarly with Golden Kamuy as mentioned above, but both have solid climaxes.

Call me crazy, but I feel like Danmachi doesn’t feel as relevant as it used to be back when the first season came out and it was quite memed a lot, particularly with Hestia’s boob ribbon and the tooth brushing from the opening or something, those were the good old days.

Although I do admire how we’ve come this far with quite a lot of Danmachi anime over the last 5 years, from the first season in 2015, the Sword Oratoria spin-off in 2017, last year’s season 2 and now season 3. There’s this two year pattern but season 3 this year feels different.

Toji no Miko Tomishibi: On November 1st (Día de los Muertos), before watching the latest episode of Munou na Nana (or Talentless Nana as I called the series in the previous post), I knew I was definitely gonna forget about the first part of the OVA, so I watched the first part of the OVA after watching Munou na Nana and I guess it was okay, not really great but not bad either, but there was one thing I immediately noticed is that the character designs in the OVA look completely different than the TV series.

Before (TV series):

After (OVA):

The OVA character designs look a lot less like Yoshinori Shizuma’s art style like the TV series replicated. That is probably because the OVA was made by a different studio than the TV series. The TV series was made by Studio Gokumi and the OVA was made by Project No.9.

But even if they’re both made by different studios, part of the visuals kind of look similar in a way or something? I also noticed the Aradama aren’t CG in the OVA like in the TV series.

I was happy to see Kanami and Hiyori in the OVAs too, I always liked them better than pretty much everyone else, especially the characters from the mobile game which are the main stars here who are my least favorites, so I guess there are some characters I like in a series I’m otherwise lukewarm with.

The second part, however... It didn’t do much service to me, as the animation has gotten really horrible, the writing was terrible (And no, I’m talking about the subs, I’m talking about actual writing), and even if this served as the finale of the OVA, the pacing felt way fast for it being the last half of the OVA.

I’m not sure I should hope for more Toji no Miko anime in the future, I really hope this should be the last and never hear about Toji no Miko again.

Guraburu: This is probably the blandest Cygames adaptation yet. I mean, sure, you could say that it’s nowhere near bad (Same with Princess Connect Re:Dive), but for some reason this series wasn’t really that funny for me, definitely the worst comedy of the season when we have great ones like Osomatsu-san and Girls’ Frontline Healing Chapter. I think the Guranburu 4koma work best when they’re just still images, making an anime out of this just doesn’t work.

Then there’s the animation, I’m very conflicted with it. On one hand, it tries to replicate the art style of the 4koma very well, but when it comes to the motion, it just looks very cheap, almost as if it was animated on Flash, it’s kind of like Queen Bee tier animation. Even gacha 4koma adaptations like FGO’s Manga de Wakaru is does absolute justice to the art, it's hilarious and it's very pleasing to look at.

The subtitles writing can also be a little weird as well, though probably not as god awful as Munou na Nana can get, right? (No wonder people say dubs are usually better written, but I couldn’t care less about dubs in general)

As for the comedy, sometimes it was funny, but I wasn’t really impressed, I don’t think this is a case of “comedy is subjective” (or might be), if the animation were better, I would have laughed along with the jokes.

If you want better examples of anime adaptations based on gacha games’ 4koma, just watch FGO’s Manga de Wakaru instead, like I previously mentioned, and then the upcoming Azur Lane Bisoku Zenshin (If you’re one of those people who hate Azur Lane: The Animation which I hope you’re not).

This was me throughout the series...

(Although this and Lyria’s “See? You just said something nonsensical.” are the only good moments I liked which these make for good reaction images from a series I find otherwise bland.)

I just realized I haven’t put any anime I didn’t like or hated in D or E, so this might as well be the first and ONLY anime of 2020 being D tier! Congratulations! We’ve finally found a bad anime of the year that’s D or E-tier worthy for once! I’m impressed, most of the anime I watched this year aren’t really all god awful compared to last year, all the anime I watched, even the ones that let me down and downright disliked weren’t all god awful, so this year turned out quite a blessing in disguise with my anime experience for an otherwise terrible year for literally everything.

Honorable mentions

Attack on Titan: The Final Season: As of the publishing of this post, we’re literally four episodes into the season and I’d hardly call this as an AOTS in  2020, as the tier on my TierMaker image suggests, this gonna be more like the Best Anime of 2021, there’s no way after four episodes, this season should immediately be AOTY material, or who knows.

There’s one thing I forgot to mention in the previous post and that is the surprising studio change from Studio WIT to MAPPA, at first when I saw the poster of the season, I was very skeptical and confused as to why did they change studios from WIT to MAPPA, before I even noticed the trailer was actually there when this was announced, I was very skeptical, then I saw the trailer and I thought I was impressed, it seemed on par with what WIT did, but upon watching the actual first episode in fullscreen this time, I think it looks alright but it’s got some good parts so far like the rotoscope animation. Some of the character designs look a bit different too, but I don’t know if it’s just me. I just hope it’s not a repeat of One Punch Man season 2 where JC Staff did a horrible job and ended up being my #2 worst AOTY 2019 just for the animation quality alone. That’s not to say I’m shitting on MAPPA just yet, let’s wait until the very end so I can get a better judge of what’s the animation to come.

And then in episode 2, there were flashbacks from the previous seasons with the WIT animation. I think I’ve come at a point where I really started to get fed up with this trend. It’s not just lazy copy and pasting scenes from previous seasons, but it’s just really heartbreaking seeing those clips of the previous seasons done by better studios compared to the actual season we’re watching done by another studio.

The OP and ED are absolute bangers too. As for the OP, it’s still not Linked Horizon but it sounds good, and I love how it has now being parodied to death with footage from World War and even one of 2020. The ED is pretty good too and that one’s actually released in full first, sometimes I listen either the OP or the ED quite a lot Oh, and I found out the band that did the OP made... This. Uh... Okay... (Before you complaint, I don’t think it’s a bad song, but the backstory behind it just makes me feel uncomfortable. Oh and they did the ED theme for season 2 which I didn’t even know and forgot about the song)

The most shocking part is, from what I heard, this season is going to be 16 episodes long. I mean, it sounds a little better than 13 episodes like season 2, but is that even going to be enough considering the manga is nearly about to end? It should end pretty soon but the final season of the anime is ending in March and who knows if by that time the manga would have ended and who knows if MAPPA will be able to catch up by adapting this season with JUST 16 episodes, or they would probably end up making movies that cover the manga’s finale, I DON’T KNOW!

So far MAPPA’s animation has been okay for me, it can be a bit of hit or miss but they’re doing an alright job, but of course, WIT will always be the best, althugh sometimes even seasons 2 and 3 can get a little stale, but WIT will always be better. They pretty much worked hard into the series and lately they’ve been working in a lot of projects, so it must have been very difficult if they were able to work on AoT The Final Season and everything else all at once. Thank you WIT.

Fire Force season 2: After two seasons, Fire Foce is one of the best and worst works David Production has ever done. My thoughts into the story and stuff goes the same if I were to read the manga, I like the story, the worldbuilding, etc. But my biggest criticism in the anime’s part is the animation, sometimes even in the second season can still be a bit slow and poorly paced, but at least it’s not as dreadful as the first season, but even so, there’s still some great sakuga moments.

With that being said about the animation, I hope this doesn’t affect David Productions in the future, such as the upcoming second seasons of Cells at Work and potentially the JoJo Stone Ocean anime. (And whatever else David Production makes but honestly I don’t give a shit)

Hmmm, I feel like I’m missing something, oh yeah, what about the Dragon’s Dogma anime? Well, I wasn’t interested on wanting to watch it. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear it would be shitty, even from hardcore Dragon’s Dogma players.

Arknights Holy Knight Light: This was quite the most surprising thing ever to come out of the 1st anniversary livestreams from the Japanese and English Arknights YouTube channels, the first time I started watching it, I couldn’t help but fanboy out of this with what was happening, this OVA is worth rewatching a billion times as a New Year movie!

Since I don’t have time or not planning to add this into my actual tier lists, might as well say that this is definitely S tier!

(This last honorable mentionis more like a last minute addition since I had planned to publish this post this Sunday, the 27th, which you’re probably reading now. This was written on the 26th.)

Anyways, let’s get into the most anticipated releases of Winter 2021!

Anticipated anime of Winter 2021

Note that I’m not talking about my anticipated anime of 2021 overall, as I’ll be discussing that in the next post which is my New Year 2020 review, so for now, let’s talk about the Winter 2021 releases!

Azur Lane Bisoku Zenshin - January 11th: Over the course of this 2020 after the finale episodes came out, I became extremely bummed out and spoiled on the fact that a lot of people (Especially the Western Azur Lane community) absolutely HATE Azur Lane: The Animation. I mean, sure, the animation kinda got bad at times but that doesn’t make it automatically trash, and neither should the story (Which I think the animation is more troublesome than the story).

I of course had always known Azur Lane The Animation might be hated, at least from the Western community, from the day it was first broadcast, I’ve seen nothing but praise from the Japanese community, and it was going that way for the entire series, that’s what I always relied on and it has beared with me until I started talking to the official Discord server about it and it was quite a shitstorm.

I could go on and on with ranting about why Azur Lane The Animation isn’t garbage for billions of times, over and over, from the many references from the game to fan service at its absolute best. especially that they actually featured official Azur Lane nudity in the Blu-Rays, and speaking of the Blu-Rays, they offered very cool costumes. You might say having exclusive costumes in the Blu-Rays would scream ALTA being a cash grab, shut up, it’s not, people of course religiously buy the Blu-Rays for whatever purpose. Shit animation my ass! Shit characterization my ass! Shit story my ass! Identity crisis my ass! Fuck everyone whoever talks shit about Azur Lane The Animation and even if I were to forget about it for a while, I’m bound to come across someone who’s gonna be like “Azur Lane has an anime too but it’s shit,” and I’m gonna yell at their asses off!

After making animated trailers, not only for Azur Lane but even Arknights too, this is the first major TV series release from Yostar’s new animation studio, Yostar Pictures, but they won’t operate alone, so they’re collaboration with another studio known as CANDY BOX. which seems to be a relatively new studio, but this isn’t the first time Yostar Pictures is collaborating with another studio, they also work with Madhouse for some trailers, including trailer for the third anniversary as well as the Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation collab trailer. YOSTAR PICTURES COLLABORATING WITH MADHOUSE, HOW COOL IS THAT?! THAT’S A DREAM TEAM FROM STUDIOS I LIKE!

Imagine if Azur Lane The Animation would get a second season (Dear god, please do. I loved this season more than anything, fuck what people say) that is animated in the same style as these trailers, the series could recover and it would be redeemed for the Western community (I may jinx this one out since I said the same thing with the very first animated commercial made by Sunrise, and then ALTAS was animated by Bibury Animation Studio, I’m not really disappointed, though).

What if an Arknights series from Yostar Pictures x Madhouse too? That would be amazing and they even teased about it. Actually, around this Christmas when the first anniversary livestreams were happening, they actually released an OVA which is sort of New Year-themed at the end BUT IT’S SO COOL, I’M GOING TO BE REWATCHING THIS A BILLION TIMES!

Anyways, I’m sorry for going off topic with Azur Lane The Animation instead of what I was supposed to be talking about, Bisoku Zenshin.

It’s been like 2 years since I started following the series, mainly on the Japanese Azur Lane Twitter account and I can’t remember what were the first chapters even like, the only things I remember is this one chapter where Takao actually having animal ears. 2 years later, the English Azur Lane Twitter account is finally catching up with English translations of the 4koma, but the problem is that it’s 2 years and so many chapters behind from JP, going from the first chapter, it may or may not help me remember what were the first chapters like and hopefully they’ll be adapted in the series, I probably should pay attention.

Although from what I’ve seen in the trailers and the character reveals which so far they revealed Formidable, Baltimore, Spee, etc, I’m not really sure if this series is going to actually adapt the 4koma from the very beginning, well, I don’t remember what were the first chapters like, so hopefully once I start seeing the series and try to find the first few chapters, this can be a faithful adaptation. Although, honestly, I wouldn’t mind if this were an original story using the same foundation, I just want to watch more Azur Lane anime with whatever stories they can come up with.

Cells at Work! season 2 and Cells at Work! BLACK - January 9th: What’s better than having a second season of Cells at Work and have an adaptation of the spin-off, Cells at Work BLACK? HAVE BOTH OF THEM AIRED BACK-TO-BACK IN ONE HOUR! That is such a perfect way to celebrate the series with a new season and spin-off! It kinda reminds me of the good old days when I used to watch Danganronpa 3 Hope and Despair Arcs almost simultaneously, just with two days apart, but with Cells at Work and BLACK, we’re getting ONE HOUR!

As previously mentioned in Fire Force season 2, I really hope David Production can keep their shit together with the animation in future shows, most specifically Cells at Work season 2. I’m not animation expert but I’m sure it’ll be pretty much the exact same team of animators who did the first season, so I really hope the series won’t have a very deteriorating tone and direction like Fire Force suffered so badly in the first season last year.

With Cells at Work BLACK, if you haven’t guessed from the title, this is a darker spin-off of the vanilla Cells at Work series. The vanilla series is already violent but it keeps a light spirited tone, BLACK, however, is downright edgy. We’re having quite the Ying and Yang of two series. I’m surprised that David Production isn’t doing BLACK like the vanilla series, although I think it’s for the better because they’ve been working on other stuff like JoJo and Fire Force, and with this different studio doing BLACK, I’m impressed with how the visuals look so far.

And female White Blood Cell is cute.

Quintessential Quintuplets season 2 - January 7th: I’m surprised how long it has been for season 2 to come out, at first I thought it would come out this Winter 2020 but nothing came out of it and I was already thinking it would have been delayed, then a few months later we finally got some info but the most surprising thing is that they actually changed studios to Bibury Animation Studio.

Given that this is Bibury Animation Studio, the same one that did Azur Lane The Animation, like I previously mentioned in Azur Lane Bisoku Zenshin, PLEASE GIVE BIBURY A CHANCE! THEY DID NOTHING WRONG!

When I looked at the visuals and looking at the character trailers, it actually looks quite promising, the first season wasn’t visually the best, so this has potential.

Project Scard: Scar on the Praeter - January 8th: Actually, this 2021, GoHands is going to release two TV series, this first one being an original anime series, and the second one which was supposed to be for April being Tokyo Babylon, an adaptation of CLAMP’s manga series of the same name. Tokyo Babylon was delayed until further notice because apparently costume designs were referenced without permission, that is such an outlandish reason. Besides, what kind of costume references? And permission from who or what? So vague. I could have gotten two GoHands shows in two seasons in a row!

Anyway, let’s first talk about Project Scard which that’s what it’s gonna come out first. I’m happy to see that GoHands is doing more original series, but there’s a problem: This one is apparently not related to Hand Shakers at all!

And no, this is not a case of misleading marketing with the trailers tricking me this could still be secretly a sequel of Hand Shakers like W’z did (Although I don’t think I payed attention to the W’z trailers at all until I started watching the series), I definitely see this series entirely standalone for once based on the characters and the setting, which I’m very disappointed that this isn’t a threequel to Hand Shakers. Everyone hated Hand Shakers and W’z was GoHands’ EXTREMELY worst selling anime, I really loved the series and I liked their stories, the world had so much potential!

Anyways, I may be sad this isn’t a new Hand Shakers entry, I should at least enjoy this series for what it is, not everyone’s going to like this one for sure since the animation is more akin to Hand Shakers, which would turn many people off.

With what I said about Bibury Animation Studio with Quintuplets S2, people should also give GoHands a chance! THEY DID NOTHING WRONG!!!

I’m honestly feeling more excited about Tokyo Bablyon than this, but we’ll get into more details in the New Year post.

Bungou Stray Dogs Wan! - January 12th: There may not be a new season of the main series as of late, but an adaptation of a chibi spin-off is quite surprising, since I really like Bungou Stray Dogs, I’m of course watching this!

(Now that I think about it, I don’t really think Bungou Stray Dogs a huge part of my life... 🤔)

Promised Neverland season 2 - January 7th: With the manga now ended a few months ago, should we expect future seasons so they would adapt the finale?

Beastars season 2 - January 5th: I always victimize Beastars when criticizing Sanzigen’s syndrome of having hand drawn background characters (Even D4DJ was so close on breaking the syndrome, it has CG background characters but there’s still some minor characters that are still hand drawn, the most baffling part is the main characters when they were kids), but that aside, it doesn’t really affect the story or anything, just ranting.

Yuru Camp season 2 - January 7th: I literally forgot the spin-off series, Heya Camp, existed, and since that one was a short series, I feel like it wasn’t enough, so it’s finally time for season 2 to come out!

I also forgot about the movie, so maybe once season 2 ends, there might be some info on it?

Re:Zero season 2 second cour - January 6th: It hasn’t been long but it still feels weird having to wait a while for the next part of the season, at least it’s not in production that would take forever like Magia Record.

Dr. Stone: Stone Wars - January 14th: A few months ago, I randomly watched a couple of episodes of Dr. Stone, but on the night of December 6th, I have decided to start binging the first season, then I finished it and... WHY DID I SLEEP ON IT IN 2019?! THIS IS GREAT! I was already impressed by the 3 episodes I randomly watched at some point, but after watching the series fully, I couldn’t be more impressed than ever, it’s making me feel like the time I binged Shield Hero and I was just as amazed (which lead to the disappointment of Isekai Quartet 2 wasting the Shield Hero characters hard).

That is it for my Fall 2020 review as well as my anticipated anime of 2021!

Final thoughts on 2020 in anime

I want to give my final thoughts on this overall year in anime: As previously mentioned, I was absolutely impressed that there was almost not a single anime I didn’t like that I would consider D or E, even for a year that has done me more harm than good, this year has delivered quite a lot of good anime, even if some of them disappointed me. BUT! Want to know what are my top anime of the year? You’ll have to find out in the New Year post to see what are my contenders!

Check out my Carrd.

[componentplanet]

Upscaling Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Using Topaz Video Enhance AI

Last year, we covered one man’s efforts to upscale Star Trek: Deep Space Nine using Topaz Gigapixel AI. If you’ve ever attempted to watch DS9 on Netflix or Amazon, you know what a shame that is. The version of DS9 that you can stream via online services sucks, to put it kindly. The streamed version of the show ranges from slightly worse to much worse than what you’d get from an MKV rip or original DVD. Even if you own the original DVDs, however, DS9’s quality leaves much to be desired.

There are a number of shows that were shot from the early 1990s – early 2000s that didn’t broadcast in HD and were never upconverted to 720p or 1080p. If you love series like Babylon 5, Voyager, or Deep Space Nine, you’ve had few-to-no options for a decent viewing experience… until now. Topaz Labs’ new Video Enhance AI software ($299) uses artificial intelligence to upscale low-resolution video in ways that can dramatically improve on the original image. I’ve spent the last few weeks taking the application for a test drive.

While Gigapixel AI can upscale content, there are actually multiple reasons not to use it for the task. The app will not allow you to load large numbers of images at once and in the past, it’s had a bad habit of crashing every 500 – 600 frames. Considering there are roughly 66,000 frames in an episode, it looked as if improving DS9’s image quality would require an absolutely insane amount of work.

Way of the Warrior upscaling in progress. Click all images to enlarge.

Then, a few weeks ago, Topaz released a new product, Video Enhance AI. Instead of literally unpacking a TV show into each individual frame and then upscaling them one by one, Video Enhance AI is designed to convert entire video files at once. Performance on a GTX 2080 is roughly 95 frames per minute, or approximately one episode every 10.5 hours. While this represents a non-trivial time commitment to rip several seasons, it’s vastly better than Gigapixel AI’s demonstrated performance. Whether GP produces better results or if these results can be further enhanced via application of Topaz AI’s other software suites is something I intend to explore in greater detail in future articles. For now, we’re focusing on Topaz Video Enhance AI, specifically.

How Topaz Video Enhance AI Works

Topaz VE allows you to choose the quality level of your source from three options: High Quality, Low Quality, and HQ-CGI. HQ-CGI boosts anti-aliasing in CGI scenes, and I also ran some specific tests of this setting on the test episode I converted and will be demonstrating today. On a show like Deep Space Nine, you’ll definitely want to use LQ — a 720×480 initial input is basically the poster-child for a low-quality upscale. If you were trying to scale 1080p video up to 4K or 8K, you’d want to use the HQ setting. The application has very few options beyond choosing your file output name, your desired level of upscaling (200 percent and 400 percent were both tested here), and what file format you want to output in. Choose your starting and ending frames, hit the button, and away you go.

Be advised, however, that Topaz Video Enhance AI isn’t capable of passing audio to the newly encoded file in at least some cases. All of our test encodes came out sans audio. We recombined the audio streams into the primary video file using FFMPEG.

How We Tested

I’ve performed all of my testing with MKV files I created from the DS9 boxed set years ago. After seeing how this project came out, I actually intend to dust off my old DVDs (when I can find them) and try this project directly on the DVD source itself. ExtremeTech does not endorse piracy or recommend stealing Deep Space Nine or any other television show. If you’re interested in this kind of upscaling, you should buy the DVDs. It’s entirely possible you should do that anyway, given that the source will almost certainly be a better target for this kind of scaling.

I’ve performed a number of test runs and gathered comparison data from HQ-CGI versus LQ, as well as a wide range of Netflix – MKV – Upscaled comparisons at both the 2x and 4x scaling factors. I’ve also included a range of screenshots to show the benefit of increasing the default brightness a bit even if the DVD source is all you have. And we’ve got some YouTube uploads for you, to show the benefits of the upscaling using the DS9 credits.

Let’s get started. For starters, here’s the Defiant under attack in three frames from “Way of the Warrior.” These three are not frame-matched identically, so focus on the architecture and clarity of the ship, not the disruptor fire striking it. This is Netflix, MKV, and 4x upscale, in that order. All images can be clicked to enlarge in a new window.

Netflix, in all its smeary glory. The phrase “USS Defiant” around the saucer edge looks more like a row of windows.

The MKV rip based on DVD source. The shot is much clearer and “USS Defiant” is legible, but the overall quality still isn’t very good.

Finally, our 4x upscale. The quality level here still isn’t truly HD, but it’s vastly better than anything in the previous frame.

These were some of the first tests I did, and I was quite impressed with the results. Let’s look at a larger cross-section of an episode. Click on each image to enlarge (and you’ll want to, in order to see the degree of improvement).

Call to Arms Comparisons

All of the following screenshots and comparisons are taken from “A Call to Arms”, the 26th episode of the fifth season. I’ve included both 200 percent and 400 percent comparison images in this collection to illustrate the trade-off from each size. The best balance between visual quality and image size that I’ve seen is to upscale either 200 percent from the original DVD or to upscale 400 percent and then watch the stream at half-size.

Obviously most of you are going to be reading this on monitors, not TVs, but I checked the output quality on a standard TV set as well. If you’re sitting at standard viewing distances, all of the versions look better, but the 400 percent upscale benefits the most. I’ll call out which comparisons are 2x scaling and which are 4x scaling comparisons. All Netflix comparisons are 4x, because Netflix doesn’t allow for resolution-based resizing.

I’m going to cover image comparisons first, before I hit the video comparisons.

MKV versus 2x/4x Upscaling

Weyoun docked at Deep Space Nine. MKV.

Weyoun docked at Deep Space Nine. 4x Upscale.

The amount of detail recovered from this scene compared with the MKV is impressive. There’s a smeary sort of vaseline look to the MKV file that isn’t present in the upscaled version.

At just 2x zoom, the original MKV doesn’t look so bad…

But the improvement in the upscale is still very impressive.

Video Enhance does strong work with the starship battles in Deep Space Nine. The front of the Jem’Hadar battleship looks downright sharp. Compares 4x upscaling displayed at 1:2 ratio to standard MKV displayed at 2x size.

Netflix versus MKV versus 4x Upscaling

This screenshot of Deep Space Nine under heavy fire is a poster child for why the Netflix version of the TV show deserves to be drug out into the street and shot. The entire frame is noticeably orange-r (and these frames are matched — you can tell by the exact position of the pieces of debris in the lower-right-corner, inside the fireball).

The MKV original dumps the reddish lighting and looks a bit less blurred, even though it has the same base resolution. Color balance is better.

Our 4x upscale. The station and explosions both benefit enormously.

Next up: A comparison of the same Jem’Hadar battlecruiser that serves as a poster child for why the Netflix version of the TV show… wait. I already said that, didn’t I?

Well, it’s still deserved. Here’s Netflix.

Check the aliasing on the left wing of the battlecruiser. It looks like it was rendered in Quake II, which is impressive, considering DS9 is still using models at this point in time.

Here’s the DVD. Much better as far as the left-hand wing, and better overall preservation of detail, but still not great compared with what we’d want in a modern show.

Much, much better. Quite good, in fact. Alright. We’ve done two battle scenes — let’s take a look at how some of the character shots come out.

Weyoun’s unctuous used-car salesman vibe made him a great character foil for Gul Dukat. Netflix is still the blurriest option of the lot, but the gap between it and the MKV file is much smaller than normal.

Here’s the MKV file. Not much difference, though it’s minimally clearer and doesn’t have the weird color issue Netflix does.

Again, the upscale does a good job of drawing out subtle detail in Weyoun’s eyes and face. His jacket texturing is also much less blurry.

Improve Image Quality by Bumping Brightness

The color reproduction in the Netflix version of DS9 is terrible and the MKV just isn’t much better, but a small tap to brightness can improve the situation, in my opinion — and this option doesn’t require any upscaling or processing time. Here’s the Netflix version, followed by an MKV screenshot.

Netflix. Slightly brighter, but less detail.

MKV file. Dim and rather poor-looking, but slightly more detail.

Nudge brightness up a bit in-player, and you get this:

Rome — Actually Visible Edition. (season to taste)

Whether or not you consider this an improvement is in the eye of the beholder, but many DS9 episodes are much darker than I remember them being when I watched them the first time, and this tweak doesn’t require anything but a software player like VLC that supports it. Finally, here’s the same image upscaled 400 percent in Topaz VE.

Check his jacket texture compared with the image above.

I’ve also tossed a number of images into the slideshow below, with both space battles and additional characters. Check them out if you’re curious. The slideshow does a nice job of showing subtle improvements when it shifts from one image to the next.

Opening Credits

If you’d like to see what the opening credits to the show look like when rendered in 200 percent and 400 percent upscaling compared with the standard version, I’ve embedded YouTube links to all three below. Note that while the first link isn’t mine and does look slightly worse than what you’d see on Netflix, it’s honestly pretty close. Make sure to set the second and third links to 720p and 1080p, respectively. Both of these encodes were done using the HQ-CGI mode.

The standard introduction. Full-screen for best comparison — and this is only very slightly worse than what is available on Netflix.

200 percent AI upscaling using the HQ-CGI preset instead of LQ. HQ-CGI yields better results on some special effects, though I’m still working out what the subtleties are. The 200 percent upscale is subtly different than the 400 percent. Set to 720p for best comparison.

The 400 percent upscale. Set to 2160p for best comparison.

Discussion and Analysis

If I’m being honest, the existing encode quality I’m seeing is about 85 percent of where I’d like it to be. I’ve already found myself wondering if some of Topaz AI’s other tools might be deployed to perform some additional post-processing where it’s needed. The application struggles with graphics displayed on terminals or PADs, and I’m still testing to see if that can be resolved within Topaz Video Enhance AI or not.

The MKV version. Obviously not everything from the mid-1990s has aged well.

  This is one place where the upscaling effect *doesn’t* improve image quality.

I’m not going to claim that upscaling like this simply makes Deep Space Nine look like it was shot in modern times. The color reproduction is bad in all cases and no matter how good an upscaling algorithm is, it’s still an upscaler — and therefore not the same as having the original data via 35mm film. These are all fair complaints. There are still some places where I’m hoping to clear up these files further. But the output I’ve gotten is leaps and bounds ahead of the MKV versions I’ve got, and vastly better than the Netflix streams. I’m already planning to encode most of the show — I just want to see how much additional improvement I can squeeze out first.

On a big-screen TV, Deep Space Nine is barely watchable via Netflix or Amazon. The old MKV rips I did years ago aren’t much better, which is one reason I’m going to return to original source for my next round of tests. But while I may not have a perfect solution to present day, Topaz Video Enhance AI has taken the idea from “Maybe someday,” to “Holy crap, this works now.”

Low quality source for DS9 is typically better than HQ source as far as I’ve seen, but I’m still checking if HQ-CGI can be spliced into an MP4 that uses LQ for everything else. I may also check Gigapixel again, just to see how the AI upscaling method compares, or if other Topaz Labs products can improve the final output further.

Performance-wise, both AMD and Intel systems perform identically when you test using a GPU — the RTX 2080

averaged between 95 – 105fpm (frames per minute). CPU encoding is 10x slower than GPU encoding, so I’ve only begun testing that mode. GPU encoding has a reputation for not being quite as good as CPU encode in applications like Handbrake, but I haven’t yet seen evidence it’s true in Topaz Video Enhance AI. Even if CPUs do give better results, 9-10 frames per minute would mean 110 hours per episode. Even if the quality jump was dramatic, I’d only use the CPU for trouble spots — the encode time is just too long otherwise.

These software packages and techniques have significant applicability to shows beyond Star Trek. Series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer were converted for HD, but fans hated the way color balance and the 16:9 conversion were both handled. Babylon 5 can’t be remastered due to massive rights entanglements and the destruction of its original assets, which means an upscale project like this would be its best bet.

I intend to write more on this topic in the future, but I hope you’ve enjoyed the preview. Topaz Video Enhance AI and other Topaz products are available for 30-day free trials, which is how I tested the application. You can also purchase it at the current introductory price of $199, down from $299 standard. If you’re a serious cinephile who enjoys this kind of editing, it’s worth it.

Now Read:

Fan Works to Remaster Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1080p HD, Using AI First Trailer Arrives for Upcoming Star Trek: Picard on CBS Astronomers Find Exoplanet In the Same Place as Star Trek’s Vulcan

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/306701-upscaling-star-trek-deep-space-nine-using-topaz-video-enhance-ai-review from Blogger http://componentplanet.blogspot.com/2020/02/upscaling-star-trek-deep-space-nine.html

[tutorial-ownmethod-blog]

100 Easy Drawing Tutorials for Beginners and Beyond!

Traditional drawing is certainly way harder than digital and it is true that people are able to progress much faster digitally, but one should learn the traditional type of drawing and painting before starting digital drawing, since it often lays out the foundation for screen design.

This article contains a mixture of traditional drawing tutorials, drawing techniques and some methods for transforming and preparing your creations for screen design. Some are intermediate level and some are advanced tutorials that include general theory, useful tips, comic inspired art, sketch a pencil drawing, coloring processing, character sketching, doodles, shapes, proportional, perspective and much more. We hope that drawing tutorials and techniques in this post will be a great help to you. [Content Care Dec/01/2016]

Further Reading on SmashingMag: Link

Things You Didn’t Know Your Doodles Could Accomplish

I Draw Pictures All Day

The Messy Art Of UX Sketching

Drawing Challenge: Illustrating Animals With 13 Circles

Traditional Drawing Tutorials Link

Marilyn Portrait Tutorial

A truly fantastic drawing tutorial to learn how to draw a portrait of Marilyn Monroe with pencil. Each step of the portrait is perfectly well explained and commented. This tutorial is very detailed, and requires a lot of patience.

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Portrait tutorial

This is a step by step tutorial on how to draw a realistic portrait. The artist assumes that you have a basic understanding of drawing and shading before attempting to draw a serious portrait. For this lesson he is drawing on 11″x14″ Fabriano Hotpressed Watercolor Paper. He is using Derwent Graphic Pencils ranging from 2H to 7B. For more information on any of the drawing tools that he mention in this tutorial, visit the drawing materials page.

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How to draw lips

In this tutorial artist will explain how to draw the structure of the human lips.

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How to Draw a Car

For this tutorial the artist will show the different steps he takes in drawing a realistic looking car. He chose to draw an american classic, the Corvette. This tutorial will apply to any car though because for the most part, they are all the same. The key to drawing a car that will pop off the page is having a good balance of lights, midtones, and darks along with clean, sharp edges. He is using Derwent Graphic Pencils and Fabriano Artistico Bright White Watercolor Paper, he is also using mechanical pencils for small details.

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How to Draw Optimus Prime From Transformers

In this tutorial you will be learning how to draw one of the most popular of the Autobots, Optimus Prime. This drawing tutorial will show you in detail how to sketch, draw, and shade in this character that is popular around the world

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Pet Portrait

A very good tutorial about how to draw pet portraits with colored pencils. Basic process and tips. Medium : Prismacolor Colored Pencils.

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How to Draw a Ninja

This tutorial will show you how to draw a ninja step by step. This tutorial has easy to follow directions and steps making it that much more possible for anybody to tackle

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Portrait tutorial

Artist is going to show several step photos along the way on this one. Artist chose this photo because of it’s RICH content, and it’s HIGH amount of TONAL VALUES, CONTRAST as well as it being a high resolution file, Finding just the right photo is half the battle to a good drawing. NEVER EVER work with a low quality photo.

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Hair drawing tutorial

Drawing hair is definitely one of the trickiest part of almost every portrait. However, you will definitely like it if you acquire technique and skill in it. Therefore Artist introduce some easy and effective ways to draw wavy or straight hair or hair blowing in the wind. No matter how much chaotic the hair is, you’ll be able to draw it.

This tutorial explains two techniques of drawing hair on four portraits.

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Eye-drawing tutorial by Sarah

A great and very detailed tutorial, to learn how to draw an eye in 30 steps

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How to Draw a Realistic Eye

Artist made this tutorial to show the different steps that he take in drawing a realistic eye.

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How to Draw a mouth and teeth

Artist made this tutorial to show the different steps that he take in drawing a realistic mouth, lips, and teeth.

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TRADITIONAL SKETCH RENDERING

At most design schools they teach you how to use a single wooden pencil to create an entire rendering, sometimes referred to as a “Prisma-rendering” due to the type of pencil usually used (Prismacolor wood pencils). These are fast and very pretty looking techniques, and they are fairly easy to master. This will be more of a walkthrough then a tutorial in the sense that artist won’t describe every pen stroke, more the basic steps and thoughts behind. Ok, let’s go!

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Drawing Hands and Feet

Some useful explainations and tips about how to draw hands and feet.

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Drawing a Rose

An excellent tutorial offered by Rachel, to learn how to draw a pink rose.

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A Pseudo-Sugar Skull: From Start to Finish.

Create a highly detailed sugar skull illustration by following this expert tutorial, with details on the process from sketch to final digital design.

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Hair Amanda Tapping

A step by step drawing showing amazing hair on a portrait of actress Amanda Tapping. The result is impressive realism. A must see!

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From Sketch to Vector Illustration

Create inspiring digital creations from hand drawn sketch using these helpful tips.

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Manga Making Tutorial

In this tutorial artist will show you the process of creating a complete Manga comic strip using traditional tools.

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How to draw a fashion figure

In this video tutorial you will learn how to use existing reference photo to trace a fashion inspired sketch.

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How to Draw Dragons: Step-by-Step Instructions from Tooth to Tail

Dragons aren’t real, but if we want them to look like something living in our reality, their design must obey certain rules. Dragon draw tutorial –  Game of Thrones, the Hobbit or Harry Potter series.

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Leather Wings

In this tutorial you can get ideas and techniques for drawing realistic wings stracture, Artist focuses at drawing wings.

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Pencil Sketching by Max MaxBert Bertuzzi

very comprehensive theoritical tutorial, this article will increase knowledge and power of your drawing skill

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Drawing Hair in Pencil

Some very useful tips for you on how to create extremely inspiring and realistic drawing hair in pencil work

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Drawing Hands

Follow these simple and easy tips to avoid the difficulty of recreation of hands in pencil drawing and to learn some great tips and techniques of drawing hands.

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Clothing Tutorial

An excellent roundup with plenty of tips and clothing tutorials. So, dress your characters in the best way by practicing these tips.

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Comic Story Step by Step

If you are looking for a comic story guideline, here is a perfect step by step guide for you that will guide you starting with sketching and moving on through the inking and digital processes.

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How to draw Marlon Brando step by step

It is now time to show you “how to draw Marlon Brando step by step” All the steps and instructions are laid out in the simplest format possible to help make this tutorial a breeze.

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Face drawing: the heroic male

In this tutorial we’ll draw a character face of a hero-like character. In the process we’ll review an optimal placement of the facial features and the best ways to emphasize the features of the face that will make our character look manly and heroic.

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Evil skull drawing

Looking for a terrifying evil skull drawing tutorial? Just follow the steps and you should be able to walk away with a scary skull to use in your scary projects (whatever they might be).

Let’s start with the evil skull drawing tutorial!

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Lone Wolf Pencil Drawing

Here is a new miniature speed pencil drawing. Artist wanted to make this one different from my other ones. He combined two drawings in one to make a single image. The sunset and the single wolf. It gives the final image a different look and feeling.

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How I making manga part 2

A step by step comprehensive and detailed tutorial about making manga.

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Graphite Portrait

This tutorial explains all steps to create a portrait of Zinedine Zidane in graphite pencil. Time to complete: 10 hours.

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Dance of Spring Tutorial

A step by step detailed tutorial that will help you with your Colored pencil.

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Today, too many websites are still inaccessible. In our new book Inclusive Design Patterns, we explore how to craft flexible front-end design patterns and make future-proof and accessible interfaces without extra effort. Hardcover, 312 pages. Get the book now!

Traditional Drawing Tips & Techniques Link

How to Draw what you See: Techniques and Tips to Improve your Drawing Skills

This article contains step-by-step images of the process Artist uses to create realistic looking drawings, as well as tips he have picked up over the years which anyone can use to improve their drawing skills.

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Shading and Blending

This brilliant tutorial is all about shading and blendng, so let start and get lot of tips and amazing techniques.

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Tips for drawing hands

In this tutorial Artist will include many tips about drawing hands he has picked up which are useful for getting better at drawing hands, including foreshortening, nails, and finger shapes.

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Circulism Technique

Circulism is a very interesting technique to create skin texture with pencil. With this great tutorial, learn how to acheive a realistic skin texture with circulism.

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3 Dimensional Drawing Techniques

To learn the basics of shape, perspective and shading in order to create depth in your work.

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9 Steps to Creating Better Compositions

Great compositions don’t just happen by accident. They take planning, patience, and a knowledge of all the visual elements at your disposal. The great thing is, no matter how much or how little talent you have, you’ll always be able to improve your art by sketching out a good composition before you begin.

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Drawing clothes techniques

A less general point that the portrait seems to pose few problems is the representation of clothing. In this tutorial, clothing can be summarized in two points: the folds and textures.

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Editing Drawings 

Editing Drawings by Cataclysm-X offers valuable tips for bringing out the best in your traditional drawings after they have lost their depth and luster due to scanning.I am sure this technique will help many traditional artists in the presentation of their work.

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Detailed Hair

This article contains high quality tutorials that will guide you how to create highly realistic and inspiring hair on your subjects.

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Portraiture lesson

To study draw a portrait using the ‘inside-out’ method.

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Proportions

Proportions in any drawing assignment hold great value; therefore we have come up with these five most helpful techniques that will help you getting grips with proportions in your drawings.

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How to Draw Caricatures: The 5 Shapes

This is a great collection of tips and techniques you can use to draw caricatures and learn the basic theory and 5 shapes of caricature design.

[animeride-blog]

Ballroom e Youkoso Episode 12 Review https://animeride.com/arspecial/review/6818/ballroom-e-youkoso-episode-12-review/ #BallroomDance, #Chicuru, #Chinatsu, #Fujita, #FujitaTatara, #GajuAndTatara, #Mako, #SengokuAndChizuru, #Tatara

New Post has been published on https://animeride.com/arspecial/review/6818/ballroom-e-youkoso-episode-12-review/

Ballroom e Youkoso Episode 12 Review

Oh yeah this is what I was excited for last week.  Sengoku showing off his stuff and he did look Great ! So Ballroom e Youkoso episode 12 lets break this down.

BallroomThoughts

Alright so this was the “cool down” episode. With all the tension from the Tenpei cup finally gone we get to relax a bit and ease into the next arc of Ballroom. We find out Tatara finally learns how much he sucks when he and Shizuku watch the film from the Tenpei cup and he’s downright embarrassed and ashamed at his performance. We all knew how much he sucked but it’s nice to see him finally grasp how much he needs to improve. We also get to see good ol Gaju again being in the same school as Tatara so if you weren’t really ever a fan of him I’m gonna have some bad news for you. He’s going to be sticking around so I’d suggest opening up a bit to him. Since he’s more or less pretty damn friendly with Tatara after he got mad at him…….oh for what?….cause Mako started wearing a bra, and I’m not quite sure if he’s mad cause he doesn’t want to see his little sister grow up, is a strange pervert brother, or is just upset that it happened after Tatara paired up with her. I’m going to guess the latter in that he thinks Tatara did some unsavory things to her. I would also like to point out Tatara’s LOFTY goal now that he’s in high school.

He’s definitely got more balls than I would telling his entire class that he likes ballroom dancing since it’s such a niche thing and people may find it odd. I certainly wouldn’t end up telling the class if it was me. But hey, that shows his determination towards his goal and love for Ballroom dancing.

HAHA HOWEVER those little things wasn’t why I was excited for this episode: that happened in the latter half. When Sengoku finally gets to show his stuff to both Tatara and us the audience by actually dancing in a competition. And boy does he look good. I can dig whatever outfit or hairstyle he uses cause he can really pull off anything. We see him and his partner dance to the quickstep where he decides to show off in front of Tatara a bit. The dancing itself looks pretty good since they gave us a good amount of actual movement this week. So when I say pretty good I mean it looks like some of the best consecutive dancing we’ve seen without interruptions or panning shots. Also worth pointing out that I believe this is the first time we hear the song for the quickstep all the way through without interruptions and I really liked it. It seems that the production team aren’t big fans of letting us hear most of the music the characters dance to, but they don’t have much of a problem letting us hear the Waltz or Quickstep even if they are for a short time. I find it odd.

Things start to get interesting once Sengoku steps on for the Waltz. We see him do some basic moves before deciding that it’s the preliminaries so they should mess around some. It’s hard to describe what he does but I’ll try my best. He ends up noticeably lengthening his strides before he ends up dancing where his back is strangely twisted and his head is tilted back more than normal. In most other cases this would cause dancers to break their hold but for Sengoku it’s apart of his unique style of dancing. Tatara thinks back to when Sengoku said the Waltz should be like a smooth moving current in the water and I love the effect the art and animation take at that moment.

Sengoku’s dancing distorts like ripples in the water making his, and his partner’s, figures look distorted and underwater. The music changes to sound like it’s cutting in and out, and honestly it made it seem like kind of creepy music which adds to the distortion. Of course Tatara can see it’s like they are moving in water but he himself feels like he’s seasick because of the massive difference in skill between Sengoku and himself that he’s finally seeing. He’s a bit overwhelmed by the fact that he’s seeing his teacher dance for the first time AND he’s just finding out that Sengoku is Japan’s only world level dancer……….oh did I not mention that? Yeah my Man Zoro is Japan’s ONLY world level dancer so he is obviously no schmuck.

He feels like he’ll never get to Sengoku’s level but of course we all know that’s probably not true. Time to give Sengoku’s partner a name. Her name is Chizuru and man do I love her. I always have in the manga and thankfully in this episode she still keeps her spitfire attitude by literally beating the shit out of her partner because he changed the flow of their dance without letting her know. Chizuru and Sengoku are easily one of my favorite pairs because they are such a power couple and I hope Ballroom keeps the little extra details that the manga has which shows how close their relationship really is. She switches between being a hothead with Sengoku to being such a mom around Tatara with a snap of the fingers and it’s adorable really. Though I have to say I think she looks better with her hair down than all dolled up, but that’s just me personally.

Lastly we get formally introduced to Chinatsu the real heroine of this series. I can see people not being real big fans of Chinatsu because she’s quite the tsundere. She hears Tatara tell the class that he likes ballroom dancing and she tells him that she thinks it’s lame straight to his face, but later during Sengoku’s competition at the end of the episode we see that she was actually there to watch, so she’s a hypocrite and a closet dancer. But I’m excited because she’s the one who will make Tatara a truly better dancer in the long run so I hope people do like her because I certainly do.

Overall I really did enjoy this episode. It was really well paced, had good character introductions, and it was a good episode to let us breathe easier after the last arc. Seeing  Sengoku’s dancing animated was fantastic and I got some good quality Sengoku screenshots from it. Chizuru is a spitz of a personality that adds a good color to the cast that we already have and Chinatsu adds to that as well. Oh, we also do get a new opening and ending this week. I know people were salty about he opening’s spoilers but really what can you do? If you didn’t guess that Chinatsu was going to be Tatara’s dance partner from the moment she was on screen I think you need to learn the old “only character in the room with colored hair” rule in the anime world. I was a big fan of the ending myself.

But it seems that next week we’ll see Tatara actually being the partner follower and Chinatsu be the leader in their practicing together so that surely will be interesting to see.

So what’s your thoughts for this episode ? Do let us know in Comments ! Have a nice day !

[jillmckenzie1]

The Silver Lining – Online Dating on the Road

Once upon a time, in a galaxy not so far away, I came across a guy on Bumble who immediately proclaimed in his bio that faith was the number quality that he was looking for in a woman. Okay. He then proceeded to say how much he loved positivity and hated photo filters: “Real is beautiful.” You got it, bud. I second the filter hate train. I mean, I’ll send you a dumbass video of me with cheeseburgers circling around my head, but a hard no on the cat ears for public visibility. In true Stephanie fashion, I led with: “Should I start sending all my Snapchat filter selfies now or later?” (don’t worry, the answer is yes, I do amuse myself). Here’s the part where you sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. His response: “Funny, Funny. I wonder what a vagina looks like filtered? Huh [insert light bulb emoji]. I have an idea. Test it out for us. Send me one both ways. I’ll let you know [insert smiley face emoji].”

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

Yep, this actually happened. Seriously. I responded and questioned why, on any planet in any point in time, he believed this response would be an acceptable way to speak to a woman. Ever. I recall using words like “disgusting” and “degrading” (I’m sure the screenshot is somewhere deep in the abyss of my iPhotos if you need evidence). His response? He was joking. Right. Super funny, dude. Real funny. Report. Block. Terminate. Bye.

If you’re single, you’re not surprised by this story. If you’re in a relationship, I hope to God you are completely astounded. And, while I often think dating apps are the absolute devil, it is also the current means to an end. Are you even a real single person if you are not on a dating app? Not even kidding. Okay, slight over exaggeration, but truly, never in our wildest teen years did us 30-something-year-olds imagine using our phones to score a significant other (AIM, sure, but not our phones).

So, I exist in my current reality. Fact: I’m single. Fact: I’m transient. Fact: I’d like to be in a relationship. Fact: I don’t care whether or not that relationship exists in a transient or stationary state. So, yes, if our vibe is high and you want to hop in the Airstream and explore every end of the earth, great. If you work in a job you love in a city that you call home, ask me to stay. Let’s ride the wave. Together. Because, seriously, doing life with someone who really gets you better than anyone else ever could is the real damn deal.

Back to dating. I don’t think anyone actually dates anymore. I am actually convinced that it’s not really a thing these days. There’s like pre-dating in which you entertain the idea of actually dating. And then there is friend-zoning or jumping deep into the abyss of quasi-matrimony. I speak with experience from the former, not the latter. And, mark my words, “friends with benefits” is so hot right now. I actually went toe-to-toe with two guy friends at a bar last weekend in a pursuit to convince them that the typical Millennial male is more often than not seeking a friend with whom he can simply have sex than an actual committed relationship (let’s just say they didn’t disagree). Because, I actually do believe that most men do not want to sleep around with handfuls of random girls. They seem to be perplexed by their own paradoxical existence of not wanting anything serious (i.e. being forced to attend your grandma’s 80th birthday with you) while simultaneously wanting to have sex as much as humanly possible.

Let me present to you exhibit A.

I moved to Denver in my Airstream last spring. I met a guy on Bumble who happened to be on the way to a bachelor party for the weekend. I assumed we would engage in an hour-long text conversation that would end with him asking me to send nudes or with him sending me a completely unsolicited dick pic (because, yes, as you can assume from the above scenario, guys really do that). I’d tell him to (a) Google a nude, any nude (most certainly not mine), if that’s what he wanted, or (b) I’d cuss him out for exposing himself like a disturbed and arrogant asshole, and I’d add another tally to my list of douchebags found in the wild.

Welp, surprisingly, he proved me wrong. Beyond that, he actually seemed interested in who I was as a human being, and he proceeded to text me non-stop over the course of the weekend. While at a bachelor party (I feel that this detail needs repeating).

So, he returns home three days later and we commit to actually meeting face to face (like, whoa). And, for lack of a better word, it’s flawless. We’re super funny together (priority one), conversation is natural, and chemistry is fire. We hang out for a few weeks, which inevitably leads to sex. Immediately, he drops the bomb: let’s be friends. Let’s. Be. Friends? Oh wait, I’m sorry, correction, let’s be BEST friends. Perfect. Great. Because, I’m really lacking in the best friend department (insert massive eye roll here).

At this point, I assume it will die out. I assume that he used the nice guy “let’s be friends” card in an attempt to save my feelings and he will vanish as quickly as he had appeared. But, no. He quite literally continues to pursue my friendship. For a month he asks me to do nearly everything with him. He also proceeds to pay for everything: climbing, concerts, movies. Let’s note here that he also proceeds to take my clothes off on a semi-regular basis (despite his constant commentary on us needing rules to prevent such happenings). Final bomb: after a Luke Bryan concert, while sitting on a bench enveloped by a Colorado night sky, he tells me that he loves my soul. I’m sorry, what? Like, we are dating, bro. We. Are. DATING. I don’t care what you title me, but let’s call this thing by its Urban Dictionary definition. He follows up this statement with the fact that I simply deserve better. One, I think I am being dumped for the first time without ever actually having been in an established relationship. Two, fuck off. No one gets to tell me what I deserve. I decide that. So, no, I don’t deserve better. You simply deserve less based on your own evaluation of whatever this thing is that we’re doing. Say that, please. Own that.

So, spring came. And, spring went.

Summer roared in like a lion, and I committed myself to rock faces and mountain peaks, two things that I find to be (surprisingly) much more predictable than men. I also dove even deeper into my work (don’t worry, the digital dating gods still delivered amidst my commitment to my professional projects).

Enter exhibit B.

As a freelance creative director and brand strategist, I work remotely for all of my clients. Idaho. California. Kentucky. Texas. I sometimes wonder if I have a subconscious goal to knock off all 50 states. With all that being said, I met a guy in another state who pursued me completely on his own accord. My vision had always been to travel with my Airstream, but I was never 100% certain on dates. This guy gets my number, he uses round-about questions to engage me in some witty banter, and low and behold he says, “Move down here and I’ll fix all your dating problems.” Wow. Bold statement. I like it. So, after a couple months in this state of flirting euphoria, I commit (amongst a sea of many factors, but I’m intrigued by what’s happening here). He calls me pet names and we have running jokes, and if you know me, these are the keys to my heart. So, I’m smitten kitten. Without any expectation of what will actually become of it. If anything.

The point here is that I show up. I have the luxury of saying yes and then doing something about it. I want to be next to him, so I choose that. Because his voice brings this uncanny smile to my face, and when his name appears on my iPhone notifications, there is a simultaneous level of excitement and comfort. He is fireworks, and he is coming home. And the beauty lies not only in the feeling, but also in the reciprocation of the feeling. Because, there is zero bone in my body that has interpreted anything that he’s told me as being untrue.

Until I’m there. Until I’m standing in front of him begging for every inch of contact. And, that alone becomes the culmination of months of aggressive flirting. Me. Begging (like, seriously, just kiss me before I scream). Because he likes me, but he doesn’t know. I’m sorry, what? Yes, he likes me, but he doesn’t know. Because, self-admittedly, he is a tease. And, he likes it, even though he’s not proud of it (his words, not mine). Perfect. Great. Because, my character flaw is not consuming enough water daily. The effect of this flaw on other people: zero.

At this point, I need to clarify two things. One, I respect people who have an awareness about what they do not know. There is nothing wrong with not knowing. I would take harsh honesty over a sugar-coated lie ten times out of ten. My frustration or disappointment or bewilderment exists in the actions that suggest otherwise. I get it, the pursuit is fun, but if you are not ready to take the elk out of the woods after the hunt, then why are you going hunting in the first place? Terrible metaphor, by the way, but rolling with it. Two, I do not believe in forcing anything in life. I spent far too many years making things happen in the pursuit of checking off items from some proverbial checklist (which is entirely bullshit, by the way). So, for someone not to choose me does not devastate my being. Yes, I have feelings. Lots of them. Too many of them, probably (hello, Leo over here). But, in a world where we get to choose everything (for argument’s sake), I’m not into forcing anyone into a choice that involves me.

What I have observed in this last eighteen months of singledom is that no one wants to commit. To anything. There is no need to commit to anything. Most guys are on dating apps to have sex. Okay, rephrase, most guys are on dating apps posing like they want something substantial in order to get sex. I actually have the most respect for bios that read, “If I’m being honest, just looking to hook up.” Bravo. Kudos to you, dude. Because, I have had my own seasons of wanting more and wanting less. And, there is nothing wrong with either choice. There is nothing wrong with existing in either space. It’s the lack of honesty that burns me to my core. Stop flirting with me if it’s not going anywhere. Stop wasting my time. I don’t need more friends off of Bumble, or sliding into my DMs, or through obscure means of getting my phone number. Truly. I’ve reached my lifetime quota after 34 years.

In tandem, what I have observed in the last eighteen months about myself is that I am, most certainly, a lover and believer of words. And, that is the crux. That online dating, or simply just dating, is this whole show of words. That are so easily believed. And it’s just all shit. If I had a dollar for every guy who suggested running away with me in my Airstream, I would have been able to pay straight cash for my new F-150 a few weeks ago. Seriously. There’s one in LA, and a couple in New Jersey, a handful in Texas, and so many in Colorado that I’ve actually stopped counting. Because the minute I say, “Okay, I’m calling you on this statement,” my experience indicates that they can’t live up to it.

Great, tell me all about your fantasies, homeboy, only to ghost two days later (or, better yet, I find out about your undying love for your current girlfriend on your second to last Instagram post from five days ago). Newsflash, smoother operator, this is my actual life over here. Hope you enjoyed your glimpse.

So, yes, I’m attempting to not grow cynical. I’m also attempting to unpack two very real personal questions. One, if a game must be played in order to win the affection of another, and that game requires me to act outside of my normal state, then am I even winning if I do “win?” For example, guy articulates that he doesn’t know if he wants anything. Then, the same guy asks for me to bring him food because he’s stuck at work. I show love through service, so naturally, my being is dying to deliver said food. But, guy advice (based on my current inner circle) is usually, don’t bring him the food: “He’s using you. If he can’t say that he wants you, but is willing to get favors from you, show him that you don’t have time to do him favors without him giving you a respectable level of commitment.” And, this is fair. This actually makes sense. But, still, I deliver the food (yep, that’s me) because, yep, that IS me. And, I don’t want to be anything but myself. Ever.

Two, what is my responsibility to give people space to be honest and themselves but also to guard my own heart in that process? I believe in ease. I believe that there are certain things in life that mysteriously and beautifully fall into place. I’d like to believe that a romantic relationship would unfold in a similar fashion. But, if this guy says he doesn’t know and then proceeds to engage with me in a fashion that suggests otherwise, should I believe his actions or his words? And, the fact that I’m asking that question is my answer, right? If the right person were standing in front of me, I’m confident I wouldn’t have to be choosing between his actions and his words in the first place because there would be an alignment in both areas that carries the level of integrity that I demand for in my own self. Yet, here I am, FaceTiming my best male friend at 7:32pm on a Wednesday night to ask how to respond to the 47th text message from a guy who just doesn’t know what it is that he wants from me, making me perplexed on how to proceed with my own verbiage and actions.

At this point, let’s add the nomadic element to the mix. And, I am quite confident that therein lies a bigger piece to this commitment-phobic puzzle. Because, it is easy to fall into a routine with someone who resides within your city limits and has a similar schedule to your scripted life. It is an entirely different thing to choose a person who has the freedom to leave. To ask someone to stay requires a deeper level of commitment. It means that someone is choosing for me to do life alongside him, and it means that we are taking off into the sunset together or I am abandoning the road to call someone my home. Ultimately, that choice is my desire. Because, the more I embark on adventures alone, the narrower the gap becomes for me to experience those things for the first time with someone else.

And, I’m starting to question whether or not anything is actually beautiful without it being shared, without it being seen through two sets of eyes in the same moment, if anything is real without the conversation of that thing existing between two coherent bodies.

So, I continue to sit and manifest these desires in the belief that, one day, I’ll be done with the exhibits. That, one day, someone will choose me, and I will choose him back. Without force. Without fear. Without the twenty questions. Granted, maybe I’ve already missed out on Mr. Perfect somewhere in between. Because I didn’t like his shoes. Or his haircut was weird. Or, I swiped left because he failed to include a bio (c’mon, guys). Regardless, I know that wanting something requires attention to that thing. I know that wanting someone requires intentionality to his existence. So, I’m here. Showing up. Attempting to live outside of our digital dead zone. Attempting to keep doing the work to have that one thing that my heart yearns to explore. I can reason that if it were easy, then everyone would do it. Like, really do it. It’s not easy. Not everyone does it. Like, really does it. But, it will damn well be worth it.

Meanwhile, if you need help with your pickup lines, don’t hesitate to slide into my DMs. They’re currently still free for the taking.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/the-silver-lining-online-dating-on-the-road/

[mlpsimta]

Simta’s best games that he played in 2017

2017 has finally ended. I truly hope that everyone had a wonderful 2017 and that 2018 will be even better for any of us. As for gaming 2017 was remarkable. It started off really strong with games like Gravity Rush 2, Yakuza 0, Resident Evil 7 in January and was followed up immediately by amazing titles such as Nier: Automata and Horizon Zero Dawn. The year even got better with Nintendo’s highly successful new console the Switch. With an amazingly drop fed release schedule and top of the line quality of games it became one of the most seeked out system. Of course thanks to some companies who just couldn’t resist to spread some bullshit over the last months of this year we got some let’s just say underwhelming and disappointing titles too.

But this day is not for those games! Today I only intend to talk about the best games that I have played in 2017. There’s only one caveat. Because of the incredibly huge amount of amazing games that came out last year I just simply wasn’t able to play with all of them. Of course those games that I missed will have their own list. There are going to be some older titles because as mentioned before and my line-up is about the best games that I have played in 2017. So even if a game came out in the ‘80s but I only played it for the first time only now, it will be on the list. Let’s get started and see: what were my top games that I’ve played last year.

Dark Souls 3

I am a huge Dark Souls fan. Anything that is closely Souls Like I am going to jump upon it, but when Dark Souls 3 first came out I intentionally didn’t bought it. Mainly because I was waiting to get the inevitable GOTY edition of the game so I can power through all of that the title can offer in one or more painful weeks without touching anything else. So after a year of going completely dark and avoiding anything that is Dark Souls 3 I jumped into it knowing nothing and let the game surprise me. And oh boy it had quite the surprises! The whole game was a wonderful journey and not just in-game wise. I don’t know if it makes any sense but traversing through Lotrich showed also how the series evolved since Demon’s Souls. Meeting the Not Maiden in Black in the Not Nexus, fighting against the undead on the High Wall of Lotric, going into the Catacombs to get murdered by skeletons and every area of the game had that nostalgic feeling of you have been there, you have seen this. But From Software not just simply recycled previous ideas and maps from their games but evolved them, and learned from them, so the next time you came across something similar it won’t just be bigger and flashier, but better and more challenging too! And that is true for the game mechanics even! Every swing with my trusty Broadsword felt so right, every fight and even the spell casting felt for some reason better. No more gimmicky mechanics, no more overpowered stat, every build is viable! So it is only up to you how you are going to try and beat the game. Dark Souls 3 in short was a collection from the best elements of the Souls series, from Demon’s Soul, to Dark Souls and Bloodborne. The dev team picked all the parts that stood out of, and cranked them to eleven. It was a nice way to say goodbye to the Dark Souls series and I just simply can’t wait what they are going to come up with next!

PRAISE THE ART

Doom

You know whenever I see some YouTubers or other gamers talking about how their first game was Mario, Zelda, Sonic or Dizzy, I always find it funny when my time comes to talk about it and my response is: Doom. Yep my first game that got me started was Doom. So after the lacklustre Doom 3 I just kept waiting for a true successor and finally a true heir came in 2016! This game embodies everything that a Doom game has to be. It’s fast phased, filled with action and the story takes a backseat, because it knows that we are here not the get lectured or have life changing experience. We are here because we want to shoot, punch, blow up, and tear apart everything that stand in our way. This game truly understands what made the first two Doom games special and doesn’t shy away about it. It knows what we want to see and delivers on it with high octane! And you know what is funny? That it is able to deliver bombastic action while having one of the best story and main protagonist that I have ever seen. Doom Guy doesn’t say a word nor does he need to. You completely understand him simply by his gestures! Spoilers are coming up about the story so if you haven’t played it than please do so it worth your time. The whole plot is simply about your bog standard big evil corporation wants to get its hand on new ways to generate power for humanity. Obviously the best decision is to go to hell and use its energy to do so. Than shit hits the fan and that is when Doom Guy comes and saves the day. It is just so funny to see how your ‘boss’ tells you that you shouldn’t break some machines as those provides the power for humanity, and Doom Guy just takes a second to think and punches it and destroys it! These kinds of actions show that he not just simply doesn’t give a single fuck, but show that he understands hell the best. It’s bad, you shouldn’t touch it, okay you did it I’ll fix it by murdering everything that is demonic. I could go on and on about the game but I think that I have already carried away, so I just stop and you should go and play it.

I forgot to press the screenshot button during the whole campaing... So have this.

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight

What more I can say about this game that I have already did in a few weeks ago in my review? Momodora is a true Metroidvania in every way or form. You play as a priestess armed to teeth with a leaf and your duty is to lift the curse of a city. With tight controls and a surprisingly deep customizable fight styles thanks to the items you found through the game you are in for a nice ride. It has a beautiful pixelated art style and an atmosphere remembrance of Bloodborne and the challenge you would see in games like that. You ought to yourself to play this little gem.

Read my review: http://mlpsimta.tumblr.com/post/168403269727/simta-reviews-momodora-reverie-under-the

Simple and beautiful

Persona 5

This year’s best game without a doubt for me easily. The Persona series always has been close to my heart and now after years and years of waiting I was finally be able to play a new one! I got this game just before the spring break and I completely no lifed it during the vacation. After exactly 108 hours later that took me one and a half week to achieve, I was looking at the end credits with a huge smile on my face and tears in my eyes. The game has an amazing cast of characters who you are genuinely care for and root for. The best designed menu system and visuals that you have ever seen! No joke! I often founded myself just moving from menu options from menu options to see every little detail that was purred into it. Also the game has a wonderful soundtrack too. From calm and relaxing music that plays during rainy days, to rock that just bursts and makes you pumped up during a fight! It has everything for every occasion and all of just clicks together so well. Now add all of it to a classic JRPG fighting system and you end up with turn based game that never feels slow. With the music mixed in, every battle can turn into a rhythm game where you try to keep up with the music, and paired all of this with the visuals it just simply looks and sounds amazing. I have to say it makes me really sad that I simply not literature enough to be able to make coherent sentences. Every time when I think about this game is just overflow with emotions of how great of a game it is. I just hope that everyone will get a chance to play it even if you are not a fan of Japanese games you ought to yourself to try this game and see through it. Believe me you are going to experience something wonderful.

YOU NEVER SEE IT COMING!

Tearaway Unfolded

While Sony tries to forget the PS Vita there are still some truly amazing games on that little machine that are begging for attention just like this one. Once a PS Vita launch title it got re-released on the PS4 so it can be finally played by more than a handful of people. The whole world of Tearaway from the trees to the houses, the animals even the water, everything looks like that it was handmade only and just only using paper. But not just the visuals even the controls have a unique twist to them too. You can swipe left to right on the controller’s touchpad to make the wind blow in the world, or press it to make everything jump. I’m not really into controller gimmicks because most of the time they just get into the way and make everything less convenient, but in this game this is not the case. Every function feels very natural and good to use. You can seamlessly move around, do your stuff, and interact with the world via the touchpad without you having to stop for a second, which is crucial as you have to use the wind during a lot of jumping sections to make you reach further platforms. The whole world is just filled with joy and happiness and it is simply a fun adventure that you should try. If you are looking for a third person platformer and for some reason missed Tearaway I urge you to try this one as it is one of the best that the genre has.

Read my review: http://mlpsimta.tumblr.com/post/158588857952/simta-reviews-tearaway-unfolded

Simply adorable and lovable

Undertale

Undertale became a huge hit in 2016 and while I was interested in it I decided to skip it. For some reason there are some types of games that I just simply prefer on a handheld device. Luckily the game got released on the Vita so I immediately purchased it, and I have to say it is truly as good as everybody says. With the premise of you can spare or kill anyone that you come across in the game which ultimately decides how every character will interact with you and the narrative to. Undertale has much more tricks up its sleeves, a game that remembers every decision of yours and adapts to it and judges you for them. It can deliver one of the most heartbreaking scenes that I have ever had the chance to experience. A well thought out world filled it loveable characters and truly unique game mechanics Undertale is tale that you have to hear. Go and play it!

It is possible that you should play this game

Wolfeinstein: The New Order

Besides Doom the original Wolfeinstein 3D was among my first games that I played as a child. While it had some good games since 3D for some reason I never really cared about them and ended up missing all of them (I should really play Return to Castle and the 2009 one) but not this one. While the game is old enough that a sequel just got released this year I kept putting this one into my backlog as one day I’m going to finish it. Well this summer I had a week off after my exams so I download it and decided to finally finish it, and it was a blast to play! Surprisingly this game just like Doom has an amazing storyline with a colourful cast of characters -who are depending on what timeline you decided to pick- and bombastic action that even takes you to a Nazi Moon base. This is another game that understands why we love this series so much and expands it. From one scene where you are planning with the resistance to another where Blatzko is silently taking out guards while monologing about his past, to another where you dual wield two automatic shotguns and mowing down even more Nazis, this game delivers in every way. Let it be story, a very well and tastefully done romance, sneaking or balls to the wall action this game has it all. If you love a good story, choosing your own play style (sneaky or loud) or just simply want to shoot some nazi bastards this game have you covered.

BJ is back!

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Last year I got my very first home Nintendo console a Wii. The main reason for buying the system was to try and show my family that there are games that even they can enjoy. While the system didn’t become a huge hit, and I am still the only gamer in my household it is still used time to time for some good old fashioned Mario Kart and Wii Sports which I consider as a success. But when it is not party time the Wii become a Zelda machine for me. Besides Mari Kart and Wii Sports I got a copy of Twilight Princess for it and as someone who has never played any Zelda games before was very excited to see what is all the fuss about. While I haven’t finished the game as of writing this (I think I am close to the end) I have to admit this is a really good game, and it is not just because I love games that have motion control gimmicks in them, but it has an interesting story that I want to see through to the end, and some brilliant level design. Maybe it will sound odd but I felt like I was playing a Souls game during my adventure. While the combat is not as unforgiving for errors as a Souls game would be, but traversing Hyrule and especially the dungeons made them feel like you are playing a Souls game, as you not try to beat the enemies (they are not challenging the least) but as you try and beat the levels itself. Thinking about how to use every item in your arsenal, how to combine them and what to look after is really exciting and keeps you engaged. Also the boss fights are stunningly good! The feel when you finally got the key to the dungeon’s boss after figuring out every little puzzle and looked under every pot, you go and open the final door to reveal what is the last obstacle, and go against it is the same that I have whenever I beat a tough boss in a Souls game. Twilight Princess is another extremely well put together game with clever level and boss designs with motion controls that don’t get in your way. I hope that Nintendo will port it to the Switch.

Image from: http://en.stargame.com/201511/0536855363.html

Doki Doki Literature Club

Doki Doki Literature Club is your basic visual novel dating game that you have probably saw countless times already. You play as a shut-in guy whose childhood friend makes him join a Literature Club. From there you are going to meet with four (j̨̛̛̀ù͘͘͜s̕͠t̨̛̀͟͢ ̴̸̨̛͝M͡҉o̸̵n̵͟i̧̕͡k҉̷a̸̴) girls who ask you to stay and help them with the upcoming school festival while learning the ins and outs of poetry and writing. On the surface level this might sounds boring but as you are getting to know the girls better (p̸̨ĺ̵̶͘è̴́̕à̕҉͠s͘̕͜͟͠é̵͘ ̢͟l͜͠o̵͜҉̴v̨̕͏é̸̵͡ ̸̵̸̸ḿ̴̷̷͢e͞͏̛ ̡͠t̶͟͢͠o̸̧o̸̴̢) you realise that Sayori, Yuri and Natsuki have some real problem not just accepting the other members opinions and viewpoints but also themselves too. So from here your job is to not leave them hͣ͊͏̱̜̼̹͇͚̥̞a͛͊ͤͤͤͭ͛҉̸̛̤̤n̷̬ͭ͒̄̋̓͡g͚̦ͫ̇̈́ͭ̒̾͑̉i̢̪̩̖̣̼̝̤͋ͫͫ̋ͦ̇ͯn̨̙̼͍̬͎̩̮͖̿̔͟gͩ͛̈́̆͗̋ͩ̑͏̪̼̮̻̙͎, try and c̸̛͇̖͉̏͒͡ǘ͕̜̜̗̌̅̊̌̂̀ẗ̵̹̠͚̉̃ͩ͐ͫ̚͘ͅ corners in your life while not b̨͚̊̌͆̔͛̽͠͞ŗ͙̣͓̖̔̌̄̔ͪ̽͝ͅe̫̞̗̜ͩ̓͢a̷̵͉̩̱̽̈̅́͂͛ͅk̮͔͚̖ͣi͈̯̙̩̱͉̗̎̇ń̪̗̣͖̍̀͟g̦̬͇̻͉̦͆͊̒ͥ͌̀͝ ̵̳̖̲̦͙͎̣̀̎͞y̶̰͉̮̙͑̀͠ͅo̼̭͔ͥ̐̊u̴͖͇̭͔̬̯̞ͬ̊͆͒r̛̤̘̭̣̮̩̭̲̓́̎͐̈̈ͧ̍͜͝ ̰̻̞̪̫ͨ͂̀͛͒̄̅͡n̢̗̳͚̣̣̻͎͋̐͌̓ͫ͐́͟e͔̪̰̬͔̬̤͙͓͒͐͗́͒̄̅̎ͬcͭ̄̀ͧ̈̊́͘͏̗̪͙̣̯͙̞̟k̊̎̏҉̢͎̪̙̫̭̕ while helping them to make sure that not just the plans for the school festival but their lives too to get back on track. Doki Doki Literature Club while short is an amazing game that can delve into some truly horrific moments while you try and save each of the girls and unravel the mysteries behind their hatred.

What a cute and depressing game at the same time

Katawa Shoujo

This year I tried and played a few visual novels. This genre of gaming never really interested me as I found the concept of them is simply boring. How naive and stupid I was... Me! Who can love a well crafted story and characters enough to suffer through some janky game mechanics or grind countless of hours to make sure that I can see the best ending possible. So after some research and reading online what visual novel should I try out everybody pointed me towards this little free game. Just like in any other visual novel your main job is mainly consist of clicking next and reading while occasionally make a decision. Depending on your actions you can become closer friends to a girl or become her boyfriend, or achieve the opposite of it and you’ll start seeing her less and less again. As for the girls in the game I was surprised how well written they were! You see them how they interact with each other, how their own disability affects their relations, their everyday lives, and most importantly how they deal with them. And it is true for the main hero too! He who never had anything life threatening condition to care for suddenly finds itself in this new situation, and his journey is also remarkable. Seeing him interacting with the girls in the school as they teach him that just because he has a disability he shouldn’t let it get into him and he can still have a normal life. A truly beautiful game with important life lessons that everybody should at least give it a try.

Read my first impressions: http://mlpsimta.tumblr.com/post/156280048037/games-from-my-backlog-katawa-shoujo

I still love her

Splatoon 2

There’s gotta be a Switch title on the list. That little system became really popular and most wanted among gamers and rightfully so. While many people bought it to play the new Zelda (I really want to play it too) I was waiting how the system will hold its ground, but most importantly I wanted to see if Splatoon will be on it. Time moved on and summer came and with it Splatoon 2 hit the Switch. So in December when I was able to afford the console I bought a copy of it alongside my new console. Online shooters and any other kind of shooting games have been always amongst my favourite. So to see something vastly different that is not just simply about firing towards one and other got my attention. In most online shooters your only worth is mostly measured in K/D, but Splatoon 2 breaks away from that tradition by rewarding players the most who went after the objective. While players who prefer hunting down the opposite team’s members still will be appreciated as they make sure the keep the bad guys away while the rest of the team can peacefully paint the map. Just this little simple idea of using paint instead of bullets not only makes the game family friendly but opens up a lot of possibility game play wise. Painting the map not just gives you scores, but the more map you cover the faster your team will move around it. A simple but brilliant idea that turns every match into a game where map knowledge and controlling it is a must if you wish to succeed in the game. Not to mention playing for the objective also builds up your ultimate faster that lets you use powerful attacks that can turn even a losing match into a victory. A very fast phased, well balanced, fun game where you always have to keep your eyes open as in every minute the table can turn. Not to mention that all of this with regular free updates and events! So if you have a Switch and don’t have this game go and buy it! It’s well worth of your money. And for the others who already have I have a question for you: Are you a squid or a kid?

Why thank you Marie!

Stardew Valley

My go to comfort game of the last year. After a long day when I was really tired and I simply wanted to relax Stardew Valley was there for me on my Switch. A simple but somehow surprisingly deep game where your only job is run your own farm the best way you could. There’s just simply something calming for me to go over tiles and tiles watering the crops, cutting down some trees or mining, that helps soothe my nerves. While boring as it sounds wanting to see my farm grow and improve were rewarding enough that I truly felt some pride and accomplishment as I saw my homestead got bigger and better. You don’t also just improving your new home but your character too. On the first day maybe you get tired after watering a couple of plants, but as you go on and on you start to see how your avatar grows too. Simple task that were previously hard to do are becoming more and more easier, you learn new tricks how to make everything go smoother and easier as you start to understand the game mechanics and unlock new crafting recipes. I remember making my first sprinkler. I felt so proud that now I don’t have to manually water four tiles, only the remaining 100, because it was a long way to get there and quite expensive. But now half of my farm has a sprinkling system that saves me a lot of work and in so allows me spend more time with the villagers of Stardew Valley. Going into Stardew Valley you can find a lot of interesting people who occasionally ask you to deliver some farm product, and will offer their services for some of your money. Some will have a steady supply of seeds, some can patch you up, and others can build you new stuff and so on and so on. You truly feel like that you are part of a community, and as you start knowing the people better you understand them more and more and care for them. But not just plants can blossom in this game but friendships and loves too. You can get married and live together with your wife or husband (same sex marriage is completely OK!) and even can have kids too! There’s just simply so much more that I haven’t even see in this game that I can’t wait to go back and experience. If you are a fan of games like Harvest Moon, Terraria or Minecraft I urge you to check this one out and if you happen to have a Switch this game is perfect for it!

Me and best girl in the rain.

There you have it, the twelve games that I’ve played the most in 2017. Sadly a lot of games haven’t made into the list because of me not having the time to play them or the money to buy them. 

If you are interested in what games I want to play that come out in 2017 here’s a quick list for you to see:

-Nier: Automata -The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild -Mario Odyssey -Gravity Rush 2 -Night in the Woods -Ladykiller in a Bind -Yakuza 0 -Horizon Zero Dawn -I am Setsuna -Nioh -Rain World -The Sexy Brutale -LawBreakers -Sonic Mania -Cuphead -A Hat in Time -Xenoblade Chronicles 2

As you can see the list of games that are waiting for me to buy them and play them is quite huge and I hope that I can cover some of them in this brand new year.

I hope that you are going to have a wonderful and successful 2018!

For closing I want to say thank you for your reading my post and of course have a great day!

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How to Upscale Video Content to 4K, 8K, and Beyond

For the past three months, I’ve been working on what I’ve named the Deep Space Nine Upscale Project (DS9UP). The goal of DS9UP is to create a new, much-improved version of the show by applying modern processing techniques to the original DVD source before using AI-based software to create a higher-resolution version of the show. It’s had me thinking about upscaling and upscalers in general. Upscaling isn’t a feature we talk about much, but how your TV handles it (or, alternately, how you use the capability on a PC) can have a significant impact on how you experience content.

The word “upscale” generically means “to improve the value or quality of something.” In the video and PC space, it’s almost always a reference to increasing the effective resolution of a piece of content. There is typically an understood difference between upscaling and native resolution. If you upscale a 1080p video into 4K, it means you are taking a 1080p input and using a combination of hardware and software to create a larger image. This upscaled image will not be identical to a native 4K signal, but it should offer a better picture than what was previously available on your 720p or 1080p television.

Keyword: “should.” Video scalar quality in TVs can vary widely between different product families. In some cases, you might be better off using a GPU to drive a picture than relying on the TV’s native rescaling capability, while other TVs have excellent upscalers. Manufacturers rarely disclose their upscaling hardware choices, but higher-end TVs should have improved upscaling capabilities. If you have a UHD Blu-ray player paired with an older or lower-quality 1080p or 4K TV, you might even get better results by running all video signals through the Blu-ray player rather than the television. Generally speaking, a good TV upscaler is considered to be as good or better than a GPU.

How the Scalar Sausage Gets Made

The most basic function of a video scaler is to take whatever image it receives — 480i, 720p, 1080p — and stretch it across the entire screen. Without this functionality, a 1080p signal would take up just a fraction of a 4K television’s display. This simple resizing is typically done by taking each individual 1080p pixel and creating four pixels out of it (remember, 4K is four times the pixels of 1080p).

But many TVs and Blu-ray players do more than just perform a simple 1:4 mapping. They also use video processing techniques to extrapolate what details ought to be present in the scene. How well this works depends on the type of content being

Image by DisplayNinja

In the image above, you can see how the upscaled 4K is much more nuanced than the simple 1:4 mapping in the second grid from the left. If you’re having trouble seeing the difference between the 1080p upscale and the native 4K, look at the left-side blocks in the very first row and the right-side blocks in the very last row. The native 4K image resolves into distinctly different colors than the 1080p image in R1C2 (That’s 1st row, 2nd column), R1C3, and R8C8. As the amount of available horsepower in televisions has improved, the quality and sophistication of their integrated upscalers have grown as well. Some modern TVs have sophisticated sharpening algorithms to reverse the blur created by upscaling and interpolation algorithms good enough to almost match the precision of a native 4K signal.

How does all this look with real content? A 2017 Rtings article can help answer that question. The first image below is from a 4K set displaying 1080p in upscaled 4K, while the second is native 1080p.

Image by Rtings

If you have trouble seeing a difference between the two images, open both of them in a new tab and focus your eyes near the center of the image. See the house with a brown roof near the center of the image, with three windows facing approximately south-southwest and a fourth pointed east? (All directional cues based on north being “up”, not the direction of the sunlight). Look at that specific spot in both images, and the roofs in the buildings immediately adjacent. The difference should jump out at you. In this case, even using TVs that date back to 2015, the 1080p upscale to 4K is better than the 4K image.

Image by Rtings

If you have an older TV or a budget 4K model, there’s one obvious method of improving your TV’s upscaling: Buy a better television. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to predict how well this will work without knowing exactly what you own now and what you plan to purchase to replace it. The older your current TV, the better the chances that a new set will deliver upgrades in all respects, but many of those improvements may have nothing to do with the way your upscaler handles <4K content.

If you aren’t happy with your current TV, can’t replace it at the moment, and happen to own a high-end Blu-ray or UHD player, you can also try running content through its upscaler rather than relying on the television to handle it. In some cases, a top-end UHD Blu-ray player may deliver a better experience than an entry-level 4K TV from a few years back. If you’re still using a DVD player to feed a picture to a mediocre 1080p or 4K panel when/if you play DVDs, and you can swap over to a high-end Blu-ray / UHD Blu-ray player instead, I’d try it. It may or may not help, but it definitely won’t hurt. What you’re trying to do here is route the signal through the upscaler that’ll give it the best quality kick.

Still need a higher-quality picture? You’re in luck.

Real-Time AI Processing

I haven’t tested the most recent Nvidia Shield myself, but there’s a demo you can actually play with on Nvidia.com to apply the effect the TV offers. Here’s a screenshot of the effect. I’ve positioned the slider over the lizard’s eye because it’s the easiest place to see the upscaler’s impact:

Left: Regular upscale Right: Nvidia Shield

Still not clear? Here’s an enlarged version of the same screenshot.

The image on the left is a traditional upscaler, the image on the right is Nvidia’s Shield when asked to scale up 720p or 1080p content to 4K (content below 720p is not supported for upscaling, at least not yet). The AI component of the upscaler obviously improves the overall image quality. In my experience with applications like TVEAI, this is a fair representation of the improvements that can be achieved.

Third-party reviews of the Shield agree. Slashgear writes that when it works, the effect is “fairly astonishing.” So far as I’m aware, the Shield is currently the only set-top or 2D box offering this kind of functionality.

Video Upscaling via Third-Party Software

Finally, there’s the option to use a third-party upscaler, like Topaz Video Enhance AI. I’ve made extensive use of TVEAI as part of the Deep Space Nine Upscale Project, and can confirm that the application is capable of yielding stunning results. One major limitation of TVEAI, however, is that it currently only supports Intel and Nvidia platforms for GPU-accelerated processing. CPU processing is available, but likely too slow to be all that useful.

Thanks to AI-based upscaling, historic sci-fi canards like the “Enhance” function are now a reality. It’s a truism in video encoding that no application on Earth can put data back where it never existed, and that’s still true today. The reason we can now “enhance” images to improve their clarity is that AI-based applications are capable of analyzing a video field and estimating what detail would exist if the image were in higher quality already.

One of the typical ways to train a video-enhancing application like TVEAI is to provide the neural net with the same image or video in both high and low quality. The neural net is then tasked with finding a way to make the low-quality source look as much like the high-quality source as possible. Instead of trying to teach a computer what lines and curves look like by providing painstaking examples, we’ve developed the ability to make the computer do the work of teaching itself. That’s why “Enhance” has gone from a complete joke to a plausible reality in a matter of a few years.

You may need to zoom to see subtle differences, but this isn’t an upscale comparison. It’s a comparison of performing my upscale work in separate applications and steps (left-side) versus ingesting the entire video workload into Topaz Video Enhance AI using the AVFS virtual file system and performing the entire operation at once. If you’re thinking “Wow, that’s a tiny difference, who would even care?” well, you may be right — but I wasn’t kidding when I said I was going to use the highest-quality source possible.

Applications like Topaz Video Enhance AI can cost several hundred dollars and they don’t run in real-time — the RTX 2080 appears capable of 90-110 frames per minute when upscaling 640×480 video to 2560×1920. The result of using these applications, however, is a vastly better picture than you’ll see from any other source.

DVD source on the left, upscale on the right.

I suspect we’ll see AI video processing and upscaling become more important over time as Intel, Nvidia, and AMD introduce their next-generation graphics processors. There’s an awful lot of old content orphaned on bad-quality source, and building specialized AI processors to fix it will likely consume some silicon for all of the concerned parties over the next few years.

Finally, I’ve embedded the current version of DS9UP’s opening credits for the show below. This is new footage that hasn’t appeared in a previous DS9UP article. There is no audio in this clip and you’ll need to raise the resolution to 4K, but I’ve created this file based on the DVD source with modifications in AviSynth, DaVinci Resolve, and Topaz Video Enhance AI.

Compare that to the actual credits ripped from the DVD and uploaded to YouTube by yours truly:

This is what the credits look like if you watch them on the source DVDs. The improvements from this version to my own are not small.

Upscalers are amazing and only getting better. That’s true no matter how you consume content or what technology you use to do it. Depending on the shows you like and how much time you want to sink into the project, there are tremendous improvements to be had… or you can just wait a few years, and buy a better TV. You can read more about DS9UP at the links below.

Now Read:

Deep Space Nine Upscale Project Update: Variable Frame Rate DVDs Can Burn in Hell

Deep Space Nine Upscale Project Update: ‘Sacrifice of Angels’

Upscaling Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Using Topaz Video Enhance AI

PCMag: The Best TVs for 2020

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/310029-how-to-upscale-video-content-to-4k-8k-and-beyond from Blogger http://componentplanet.blogspot.com/2020/05/how-to-upscale-video-content-to-4k-8k.html