#but a 2d monster in a 3d world can be so scary if done right

[organised-disaster]

Did a bit of worldbuilding and felt like getting Adne Hardware involved

Yapping under cut

This is Trustworthy Human Manager in his actual form, not the fantastic human disguise he wears to avoid spooking customers

Our friend Trustworthy here is a monster that most folks would call a Walking Nightmare (not to be confused with waking nightmares, a temporary side effect of bumping into one of these shaky fellows)

Essentially, a Walking Nightmare is a spooky concept that decided to grow legs and walk away. Sometimes they're sleep paralysis demons, sometimes they're actual monsters seen in people's nightmares, sometimes they're the creatures pictured crawling out of the dark when the midnight paranoia sets in.

Our guy is fairly standard. Nothing too special or scary, just kind of a weird freak. He's based off of several descriptions of sleep paralysis demons (the staring kind, which is a thing apparently) because I've never actually had sleep paralysis myself and thus am guessing what the hell he looks like

Some of them are pretty scary, based on what they're made of. They can come in all shapes and sizes, depending on the concept they came from. None of them are malicious, though. It's not uncommon for small children to draw pictures of themselves receiving a flower from a figure made entirely with black crayon, or for the monster under the bed to delicately place a stuffed toy back with its owner.

They feed off of fear of any kind. People with generalised anxiety don't tend to be the only presence in their house. High schools and universities have one too many shadows around exam time, and classroom corners are a little darker than they should be. Sometimes they appear at funerals if the person being mourned was dependable enough.

[atopearth]

Higurashi When They Cry Part 7 - Ch 7 Minagoroshi-hen

As I thought, Rika was trying her best to save every world that existed, she always tried her best and yet she could never succeed past the “curse” that would fall on whichever character. It must have been so tough for her to watch all this, to die all those times and to experience that failure to save everyone each time. I’m happy to say that I noticed all the rules for the worlds! Please praise me hahaha. I’m just sad that Rika’s mental life span after experiencing all this is shortening and she’s going to mix up stuff soon, I guess that’s why you can tell after each succeeding chapter that she is revealing more and more things for you to unravel what exactly is happening. Well, it seems like this is the last chance for them all to fix everything in two weeks! Seems like it might be the last chance for Hanyuu (Rika’s sister? Inner self?) to rewind everything with the rest of her powers~ How will it go, I wonder~

Hanyuu is SO CUTE! Honestly, it was so heartbreaking to see Rika so disappointed that Keiichi couldn’t remember what he did in the last world, she really wanted to believe in a miracle happening, yet they wouldn’t allow that. Rika still has hope, so I really don’t want those hopes of hers to be crushed. I want her to finally win against this cruel fate… Satoko has an incurable disease?! Why is the poor girl suffering so much?😭 How has Rika been doing the same thing over and over so many times? Sure, there’s variations, but it’s crazy to think that she has to react similarly to her first when it comes to stuff that has happened before. I guess it’s finally causing a toll on her… It couldn’t be helped that she didn’t react properly to Satoko… In a sense though, with how Rika’s mind is breaking from being unable to cope with death once again and living the same life again, and with the end coming sooner than usual, wouldn’t she be the “cursed” one this time around? The thing is, Rika is always talking about how it’s fate that they’ll play this game at the toy store with Mion and them, but she’s forgotten that she doesn’t have to go along with this fate. She’s become so numb to it that she’s forgotten that she’s Rika, she’s a person in this world as well, she’s not an overseer, she could have rejected playing that fish game, she could have asked to play another, there are so many choices for her but she’s forgotten that just as there are these “rules” that have forced her to live these 100 years endlessly, she is also in control of what she can do in this world. So, I’m really glad that even though Keiichi may not have the memories she wants him to have from the previous world, I’m glad he said that he wouldn’t go along with her “predictions of the future” and that he would change fate. Even if everything happens as she says it does and the owner would give them that specific game, Keiichi can reject it and get another for his group. I’m happy that Keiichi showed her that this world doesn’t have to repeat and be boring like she thinks it will be. So it was really nice to see Rika be inspired and want to change her fate again, without complaining that two weeks wasn’t enough to change it when Keiichi changed it so easily in 5 minutes. I liked her initiative in telling her group she didn’t want to play the fishing game. C'mon, you’re Rika! Of course they’ll go along with you on whatever game you want to play, they all love you hahaha. I’m not sure what the point was for the “choice” with Rika telling Keiichi to give the doll to Mion or hoping that he would, but I’m happy that either way, in this world, Keiichi knows who wants the doll the most and didn’t cave to embarrassment or anything, he literally gave the doll to Mion. I’m so happy for Mion. It’s such a simple thing but I’m sure Mion would be so happy. Is it true that Keiichi is growing as a person throughout the worlds without consciously knowing? I prefer the music and the result of when Rika doesn’t try to tell Keiichi though, because it surprises Rika and she thinks of it as a miracle, she just sounds more hopeful and I like that haha.

I would have loved to see Keiichi playing that pop up pirate game, it would have been awesome I bet! But, oh well, the idea that everyone wants him to be a part of the Watanagashi Planning Committee to host an auction for donated items sounds cool! It seems that Keiichi is starting to get mixed up with his previous memories unconsciously now… Was ohagi the food that made Keiichi doubt Mion and Rena in the first chapter? It probably was… The first chapter always saddens me… The sewing needle story must have been traumatising for him as a kid, no wonder why he overreacted in the first chapter, or maybe he was just so paranoid about them, he imagined the sewing needle in the ohagi huh? Regardless though, it was nice to see Keiichi have absolute confidence now that Mion would never do such a thing. It was so wonderful to hear that Rena and her Dad are redecorating their house with new furniture now that he’s got a new job! Everything seems to be going well with them now! I’m so happy that they’re moving forward together. I’m also so glad that Rena could actually tell them openly about her parents divorce, I think the fact that she did makes it sweet to see how much she has also learnt to trust her friends. I kinda believe that they all possess the memories of the previous worlds as well tbh. Ooh so Rena saw her previous world memories through a dream, I guess that means that subconsciously, they’re all changing because of what happened before, so really, Rika’s efforts weren’t for nothing! Things are changing for sure!! I never really thought about or realised that Tomitake and Takano were like a protection for Rika, and that the main reason why she can be killed later on is because she loses their protection after their deaths, so in order to save this world, she needs to save them. It was also saddening to hear that back then, she used to try her best to save her parents from death until the point she became apathetic towards it, I guess that’s why her mother thought of her as like a monster? If what’s causing Rika to die every time is someone’s strong will for her death, wouldn’t it be ironic if the one that’s killing her was herself/Hanyuu? The future is uncertain, but the cycles of life they repeat are certain and similar, what if there’s a part of her that actually is really scared of the future and actually would rather repeat all these worlds “safely” and repetitively, having fun with all her friends even if it’s momentary?

Lmao at Rika saying Takano should take photos inside the ritual storehouse if she paid her 10,000 yen and she really did hahaha. It’s also funny that Hanyuu was against it until she gave the money and could eat more desserts with it lol! Well, this Oyashiro-sama (i.e. Hanyuu apparently appears every couple of generations or something?) is very chill as long as there’s desserts! It’s kinda cute how Takano really would do anything just to see the storehouse, and it’s also kinda weird going into this storehouse with such “fun vibes” when it was so scary the last time Keiichi and them went inside… Does that mean the “stomping” they all heard in the other chapters was Hanyuu hearing Takano badmouth her and she got mad at that since she never wanted these torturing systems, it was all the people just using her name to conduct such atrocities? So…the curse of Oyashiro-sama really is a disease that causes hallucinating etc when it progresses to the higher levels, and Tomitake is involved with people in Tokyo that are giving Irie and Takano the budget to cure it? And they’ll protect Rika hopefully… But omg! Akasaka is here too?! And this time, he actually listened to Rika and went back to his wife in the middle of his work so his wife and child are still alive! I’m so happy for them! Rika really is working in a world where all her efforts are bearing fruit! I guess you really can’t blame Rika for giving up when Satoko’s uncle came back. She’s tried so many things before in these 100 years and they never worked out after all… It was just saddening to see Shion acting like Keiichi back then when he murdered the uncle… Everyone cares for Satoko…but murder won’t solve anything because Satoko will just continue to blame herself even more… Sigh…

I love how they’re slowly progressing on how to help Satoko and are gathering people to the child consultation centre to kinda have like a peaceful mass protest. It was hilarious when Keiichi tried to get Kameda (the friend from the baseball game), and he described Satoko’s charm as a tsundere but when flipped, will be deredere lolll, and then when he said Satoko is just like the first and last half of Higurashi’s plot itself hahahaha, he’s so right😆😆 I must admit, Keiichi’s passionate speech about 2D and 3D girls was great, it was so easy to change Kameda’s mind hahaha. I love their friendship lmao. HAHAHA, I loved it when they said they needed more people than just Kameda’s baseball team and then he just shouts out to his comrades in Angel Mort (the cafe) who all love moe and 2D of the like, everyone is so funny but united in such weird ways, but I love it hahaha. I like how friendly Ooishi and Keiichi are, they bond over such silly things, it was also nice of him to give his warning/advice about the Satoko situation and how the child consultation centre is viewing everything. I knew Keiichi wouldn’t back down regardless but it was nice to see his resolve like that. I’m also really happy to see that everyone in Hinamizawa can be so united in a good way rather than the intimidating way it always was in the previous chapters. Also glad that Rika has finally realised that although it’s true that they can’t help Satoko as much as they want to unless she requests for the help herself, Rika herself has not been cooperative either. She’s merely watched over what Keiichi and everyone has done like a bystander when really she should be in this story as well! She can’t change her world to be what she wants if she doesn’t take an active role as well. Just as Satoko needs to realise that she needs to seek help from the others, Rika also needs to understand that if she can’t do it, she must rely on the others as well.

Although I do feel like Keiichi’s talk with the oldies and Oryou (Mion’s grandmother) was rather “easy” and smooth considering how everyone was once so adamant on thinking the curse would kill them or whatever for doing anything like this, or maybe because Tomitake and Takano haven’t died yet so they’re a bit more chill? Nah, I dunno, but I did feel like it was rather smooth sailing, but I guess in a sense, everyone wanted to drop the negativity towards Satoko just because she was a Houjou, so they really just needed someone brave enough like Keiichi to say that out in the open and make them change their stubbornness on the surface, they all already knew that they didn’t want to continue isolating her, they just needed a push from someone else. I always love Rena in these situations though, I feel like she doesn’t say much but what she says is always critical and to the point, and that’s why I think she’s a great match for Keiichi. Also love and think that she was one of the only ones that could really tell that Oryou wasn’t angry at Keiichi at all when he confronted her, she just had to don that aggressively angry persona to keep up with appearances as the Sonozaki family head. Not surprised that the child consultation centre isn’t gonna yield just because there’s a lot of outside pressure though. But I do think it’s about time they bother doing something like a reassessment rather than try and check the power balances between the village heads etc, like can you focus on the children? I don’t blame the centre for being busy and overwhelmed with such cases, and that the things our main characters are doing are merely putting pressure on them rather than providing proper evidence, but at the same time I want to cheer for our main characters for doing so many things just because they want to help their friend, and hope for the centre to finally understand that if so many people are willing to take their time out to protest about something, they should really learn more about this supposed guardian of Satoko’s, especially with his dodgy background and everything and the fact that so many people are witnesses of his atrocities last year and right now. And after all, I really do like Hinamizawa’s motto where if one person is hurt or whatever then two people should rise up and protect them and if there’s too many, then the whole village should, I think that sense of unity in Hinamizawa is its charm and I like it.

I’m happy that Rika was finally able to get through to Satoko. She’s right, Satoko is still the same as she was last year, enduring abuse and waiting to be saved. If she truly wants her brother to acknowledge her and come back, she needs to stand up for herself, especially when so many others are offering their hands to her, so I’m glad that Satoko has finally decided to face what Satoshi faced in order to protect her. I’m soooo disappointed that it’s the festival and we didn’t even get to see Keiichi actually host the auction! I’m so sad😭😭 I’m so sad that they cut all those slice of life moments (with summaries), they’re what really make Higurashi what it is as well! So it feels really incomplete without it… *Super spoilers from here on* I’m not surprised Takano was the one who killed Tomitake by injecting that disease into him, and I’m not surprised she faked her own death. She’s crazy enough to want the curse to be true and continue on like this. I’m not sure what they want to achieve though…like destroy Hinamizawa with this disease? Does she think of herself as part of the Demons and needing to cleanse Hinamizawa by killing everyone? Does she want Hinamizawa to live as some kind of legend without physical presence? How did this disease even come to be, and why does no one in Hinamizawa know about it when it’s something most apparent in their village? Btw I feel sorry for Tomitake. I still don’t trust Hanyuu though, I still think she just wants to live happily here with Rika forever repeating this same life however many times rather than going past June. I feel that since there are circumstances where she can be heard e.g. the stomping, she definitely is suspicious! I’m sorry Hanyuu if I’m wrong hahahah.

I’m glad that Rika finally found the courage within her to tell Keiichi and them everything, especially when she knows that she’s gonna die that night. Just wondering though, if villagers who leave Hinamizawa get sick quickly after and this is proportional to the distance from the village, what about Rena’s mum? So if “Tokyo”, the organisation trying to use the Hinamizawa Syndrome like a military weapon is Takano and them, then does that mean the reason Hinamizawa kinda gets destroyed later on is because they experimented on Hinamizawa to see how much damage they could cause on a community? Not sure I really get Rika being the “queen” idea but it seems that maybe the village is always destroyed in the end because Rika is killed and when she’s dead, the disease somehow spreads rapidly and makes everyone have that persecution complex to kill each other? I wonder if it’s really wise for the Mountain Dogs (secret military unit that Takano is a part of and is a part of Tokyo) to just kill Ooishi and Kuma like that, they’re policemen, it’ll definitely be investigated properly if policemen are killed.

Anyway, I’m not surprised everything ended the way it did considering how ill prepared they were to take on Takano and them, but I agree with Rika, it’s sad that everything ended the way it did, but the amount of progress that happened in this world was unfathomable and definitely hope for next time to be better and to be possible for them all to survive. Although I wasn’t fond of all the fourth wall kinda stuff talking to the reader and how they could talk to each other even though they died, I did enjoy the fact that they finally could touch Hanyuu and make her believe that there is hope, and that she shouldn’t be so passive like a bystander anymore, just like Rika, she needs to be a part of this story for it all to work as well. I think that was nice. Honestly, it does feel rather ridiculous and rushed for them to so easily agree to killing so many people that probably will exert these “terminal symptoms” when they just found out about this disease itself and what destruction it can cause, no one has even really shown the effects of it after losing the “queen” yet. And they let the villagers bring their bank books and cash? They trying to rob them while they’re at it? I don’t see how after all this that the Sonozaki family that is in Okinomiya wouldn’t react suspiciously to this “gas leak” considering how many of them there are and how powerful they are too. And Takano is ruthless and crazy as usual but for some reason I can’t really feel for her craziness? Like, I don’t know if it’s because things ended so fast or because I just don’t find it interesting that it makes me feel like this?

Overall, I think for once, I’m actually disappointed in the chapter! Lol! I feel so bad that I feel like that because maybe it’s because of my high expectations and how long I had to wait for this chapter to come out rather than the issue of the story itself. I’ll still try and talk about what I feel though. Another reason I might be quite sad is that I kinda missed the formula of Higurashi in the previous chapters, like, I always enjoy the slice of life games before the actual story and not getting that in this chapter made me a bit sad. I also felt that a lot of Rika’s thoughts were repetitive, like too repetitive, it’s kinda like when I’m reading To Aru Majutsu no Index and a lot of the time, the author likes to reiterate a lot of things for effect but it’s a bit too overused and it felt like that with Rika and Hanyuu. We knew how they felt and how much despair they felt having to relive all this so many times, so I thought it was unnecessary to keep mentioning it with the same words, I think if the despair could have been put in more different words or in a different way to show her feelings, it would have hit me more than just the idea that Rika is devastated and can’t find it in herself to move on or give up entirely. I’m also not a fan of stories breaking the fourth wall really, so the beginning of the chapter where it kinda “talks” to the reader felt a bit surprisingly unconnected to me, it kinda made the story of Higurashi feel a bit more detached to me, and it made me feel like a true “outsider”. I always read the story and engaged with the mystery as like a part of it in a sense where like a lot of the staff room rolls, you would think alongside the characters on how the story would unfold, and yet that beginning made me feel pushed out of wanting to find out the mystery of everything with them all. I also didn’t like how a lot of things were explained and told to you such as the summaries of what happened and the origins of the disease, rather than being shown through the characters and their stories. I liked the extra exposition and background of it, but I think that could have been done as a tip rather than as a part of the story. I guess my biggest complaint is just that as Ryukishi07 wanted, this was really an answer to everything in the sense like it was an answer key. You flip to the last page and it gives you the answers but doesn’t really show it to you in a way where you discover it along the way kinda feel, it’s literally just an answer. I enjoyed the previous answer arcs because you kinda go step by step into being enlightened to more things that happened from another perspective and I guess I expected that instead. I guess I also wasn’t a fan of the motives and how everything played out with Takano and their organisation, this is mostly my problem though, I just didn’t enjoy it being what it was?

However, I did still enjoy the chapter. I thought it was really nice to see how everything could be resolved for Satoko’s situation. I didn’t agree with everything that happened and how it was done all the time, in terms of the story and the characters’ actions but I really did enjoy the sense of unity from everyone. It really felt like a culmination of all the hard work in the other chapters, it really felt like everything was done to achieve all this and make these miracles really happen. It made me believe in them strongly as well haha. Rika’s monologues were repetitive but it really reflected how much she had suffered and how apathetic she was forced to become, so it was nice to see Keiichi break all that. Basically, I guess I am satisfied and dissatisfied with everything at the same time hahaha. I hope the next chapter comes out soon though… I mean, however everything ends up being resolved, I’d still love Higurashi just as much though. I’ve always been a person who loves stories for the journey rather than the ending, and I always appreciate the journey much more no matter what, but yeah, I still hope I’ll like this last chapter of the main arc much more than this one haha.

[rileyskys]

Must Have Video Games Tag Meme

Alright, so, I don’t post a lot of personal stuff on here, but I guess I can’t fight being tagged by the great @pi3pr0xy​. ;p

So, I got into videogames when I was really young because I had a hip disease, the name is lost on me, but it was something that caused my hip bone cartilage to deteriorate and my bones would start rubbing against each other. I was basically out of commission for playing outside for a few months and my mom had just bought my older brother (who is a big ‘ol redneck) a SNES, which ended up being mine, and the rest is history.

Megaman X - SNES

This was the first game I can remember playing as a kid. This game was the absolute bomb. It had amazing controls, beautiful jraphics, and a compelling story line that pulled me in immediately. This is also the only game I remember playing with my dad who passed away when I was still young. I highly recommend this game to anyone who loves old school platformers.

Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past - SNES

I can already sense people who are fans of Game Grumps that there’s a pattern of me picking some of Arin’s all time favorite games as my favorites, but long before I had the internet, I had a 12″ CRT TV at my grandma’s house. A TV on which I would first discover Link, a small boy tasked with saving all of Hyrule. This game was what jumped me into the LOZ series and I’ve fallen in love ever since. The feeling of adventure I felt in this game was immense. I spent hours finding new things, discovering secrets, and just enjoying being in the world.

Final Fantasy VII - Playstation

Call me a fanboy all you want, but this game revolutionized what I thought games could do. with very limited 3D graphics and pre-rendered backgrounds, this game might not look like much, but it’s storyline was amazing. I was engrossed the moment I turned on the game. The Chocobo, the size of Cloud’s sword, the Highwind, and for the love of God; Materia. The Materia mechanic is what really drove this game home for me. I would grind for hours to get the right Materia for the right fight and I loved it even nowadays when people hate the notion of grinding. I had the dopest selection of Materia for all situations and I couldn’t have been prouder.

Conker’s Bad Fur Day - N64

This is the game that gave me a potty mouth. This fucking squirrel was nuts. From helping a bee fuck a flower with boobs, to fighting a opera singing pile of shit, a creepy zombie level, and even a D-Day re-enactment between squirrels and Nazi teddy bears, Conker’s was Bonkers. Through all the horrible language and imagery, this game was an excellent platformer, and really got me into the N64. I guess the normal game to say you have to play on the N64 is Super Mario 64, but nope, this game all the way.

Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 - Xbox 360

This series was the absolute best at getting you to invite 1-3 friends over and just having a blast slashing and shooting your way through zombies. Seriously, this is the zombie equivalent of Mario Party. I honestly sunk hours and even days into this game trying to get all the achievements. The characters are lovable, the areas are interesting, and the Finales are kickass!

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Xbox 360

Here she is. Big Momma Fantasy. The game that made me feel like a God killing demon. Skyrim, for anyone who doesn’t know, is the fifth game in the Elder Scrolls series, and holy shit, I jumped into this series too late, but this is the one I started with. I’ve never spent so much hours in one day on a game then Skyrim. Playing it on a CRT TV with my iHome blasting Scary Monsters and nice sprites will stick with me until I die.

Borderlands 2 - Xbox 360

Handsome Fucking Jack is the best fucking villain of any game ever.

Nier:Automata - PC

Nier:Automata is a game about anime tiddies, androids, and huge swords, so it hits all my weak points. This game started out super intense and I wasn’t sure how I would enjoy it, but then the world opened up to me and suddenly I felt amazing being in control of 2B, the main character. Her fluid attacking animations and spacious areas to traverse and learn are intoxicating. I got lost in this game so fast. Everything in this game is polished (Besides the optimization issues) and being an android fighting machines controlled by robots is just sick as fuck. I liked the game so much I played it 3 times to get the final ending (Plus the 26 other endings. Yeah, 26 fucking endings), which holy shit, I didn't think there was a game I would enjoy playing 3 times in a row. Oh, but wait-

Bloodborne - PS4

You like Victorian architecture? You like horrible, malformed beasts? You like games that are HARD AS FUCK!? I introduce Bloodborne! I love everything about this game. From the art style to the combat, it's all golden. If you think you have what it takes, and it'll probably take a couple of times, you're gonna absolutely love this game. Oh, did I mention that you can just keep playing it into infinity or you can try your hand at PVP, or not. I sincerely hope you don't. I'm already on New Game +10

Stardew Valley - PC

So. You all know Harvest Moon, right? One of the pioneers of farming games. Want to know something cool? Stardew Valley takes everything that made Harvest Moon great and amplifies it by ten. With beautifully detailed 2D graphics, a lovable town filled with unique friends and potential partners, I played this game far more than any of the others. I've gotten quite bored of it after many, many hours now that I have oodles of money to buy anything, but just when I was about to hang up this game as done but fuck-

They introduced a multiplayer function which you can edit how much money you make from selling things, so you know I played that boy with one other person and made everything 1/4 the price so I can feel like a real farmer, struggling to make ends meet. Honestly though, if you love having a good time, this is the game to play.

Honorable Mentions:

Any Pokemon game, including Pokemon GO.

Fire Emblem: Birthright/Conquest/Revelations - In that order.

God Eater Ressurection - Giant beasts, and giant swords, truck yeah!

Overwatch - Please stop nerfing Mercy, Papa Kaplan.

No Man’s Sky - Everyone hated it, but I loved and still love it. SPACE SHOULD FEEL EMPTY

I guess I got to tag some people too... Hmm...

@point-and-click-adventure @sharkmittens @lilfoxcat Your turn!

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Reflection 12 (FINAL) | Netjuu no Susume 1 | Mahoutsukai no Yome 1 | Code:Realise 1 | Kino’s Journey (2017) 1 | Dynamic Chord 1 | Houseki no Kuni 1 | Anime-Gataris 1 | Idolmaster Side M 1

Kekkai Sensen seems to be off limits, even when I try to comprehend the relevant JavaScript after dodging region lock. Grr…I spent and hour and 30 mins just trying to figure out that code!!! Oh well (dejected tone), at least I have Classicaloid…

Reflection 12 (FINAL)

Oh please, X-On. Fighting fire with fire is the worst thing you can do. Haven’t you learnt that over the course of this show?

Gahhhh! Finally, the magical girls have arrived! Thank you, Stan Lee!

Wowee, that was some concentrated sound, so to speak.

Well, that’s just original, y‘know? Pyramid. In the desert. Whoop-de-doo.

Rule number 14138008 of crime-fighting: Always make sure you have a backup in case someone uses yorur kryptonite against you. Or in this case, a superpower-stripping technique.

I don’t think X-On’s become one with the Darkness yet. He has some flippin’ plot armour on his side, after all. Why haven’t any of these guys succumbed to the ageing process yet?

Well, I got my answer to my previous question, but how did vision!Eleanor appear, anyway?

Wait…wait. I knew he had plot armour! Argh! X-On! What the heck did you do to deserve plot armour???

Oh, the magical girls are part sentai and part actual magical girl. Notice they have kanji across their chests for their associated element.

“Why won’t you accept Darkness’s darkness?” – Okay, “Darkness’s darkness” is a bit too redundant, y’hear?

Wait…wait. Ninth Wonder only had 4 members??? Wat. Then Ian goes and undoes all their hard naming work by calling them by their real group name, dangit. You ruined a perfectly good magical girl show, Ian.

They didn’t even put in the crack on X-On’s helmet…head…thingy.

Okay, I am so confused…Guh. Thank goodness it’s over.

Netjuu no Susume 1

I like the rare stories where a girl transforms into a boy for non-hentai reasons. This is the closest anime I’ve gotten so far to that concept, so…yay, me?

“Recommendation of the Wonderful Virtual Life” and “Recovery of an MMO Junkie” mean two very different things on the same topic. What was happening in the localiser’s mind when they created this title for the English-speaking audience???

That scene where Moriko collapses on her bed…for some reason, someone was watching a show with the Moonlight Sonata in the background, so now I think MMO Junkie is sad. (Which is probably wrong.)

Oh, by the way. The –juu in Netjuu gives the word a special kind of connotation. A riajuu is what’s known as a normie, or a non-otaku, non-gamer sort of person. A netjuu must therefore be a net addict. Kiznaiver taught me that.

“I chose the NEET life.” - I know that feel, Moriko.

Oh, they even gave Moriko’s character Saiyan hair for a moment, LOL.

Okay, here’s a pun. Mori (forest) is 3x ki (tree) and hayashi (grove) is 2x ki. That’s using the kanji, though.

The guy with the glasses looks like a dude from Occultic;Nine. I have bad memories of that show because of Ryouka…er, big knockers girl.

Owee. I once joined an RPG because of some IRL friends but I forgot to ask them what group they were in, and so I was a solo quester…so I know that feel, Moriko.

This is based on a Comico manga, so the designs are simple to draw and they were originally in colour, so they just needed to be reworked for animation. See? Backing Comico in my Superstar wa Nemurenai days wasn’t such a bad idea, now, huh?

Himeralda? For a guy character? Well, that broke the gender barrier.

Christmas is a holiday for lovers in Japan, so I suspect it’s something to do with that.

Lawson -> Cowson, LOL.

Despite all the obviously still motion shots, I’m really enjoying this. Why does it have to be 10 eps??? (By the way, why didn’t I get Kekkai Sensen??? Dangit, Funi!!!)

Oh, this is so adorable! Lily even dressed up and Moriko got her chicken! It’s such a heartwarming Christmas for these guys.

These transitions, while not original, I find are really cool. Not Disney-level, but still inventive. Also, that green dot is definitely Hayashi and the pink one Lily.

LOL, Lawson was a sponsor this ep, it seems. Had I paused a little later, I would’ve missed its credit!

This is a keeper for sure. I’m just disappointed about the short ep count (due to the nature of Comico)…and Kekkai Sensen, uwu…

Mahoutsukai no Yome 1

Le hype. That’s all. I’ve been watching 1 – 2 eps per day (for these first eps of the fall season) and since the weekend is so full of good shows, I don’t know how people can watch entire seasons like this…As for my take on this show, it’s pretty and well-received after the OVA and advance screening, so hopefully this will deliver. I’m not an AMB manga fan by the way.

It’s normally a bad sign to start with an OP, but it shows off the animation, so I’m not complaining.

The English title shows how interconnected the world is these days…it’s kinda scary, actually.

Chise looks lke a bride here, or she’s on her deathbed. Both symbolic meanings are applicable.

I never thought Japanese people would be able to capture Western elegance so well.

The chibi-ish style doesn’t suit such a serious show. Are these chibi-ish sections also part of the manga?

I thought the woman with the bonnet was called Silky? Not Silver? The promo materials all say “Silky”, and the OVA did too IIRC.

I think the biggest descriptor of this show is “whimsical”.

Historically, fairies lure people into Fairyland like the stereotypical portrayal of sirens, and they’re not as benign as my portrayal of them in One Wish They Never Wanted.

The irony of a dog-face skull calling you his puppy. It really brings an odd sense of humour to this show.

Welp, that’s another safe keeper. I’ve being quite definite about my choices, as you might have noticed, since the weekend is positively overloaded with shows (as I mentioned earlier).

Code:Realise 1

It’s an otome game adaption. They don’t always go down well, but it’s worth a shot.

Isn’t it “London Bridge is falling down”?

CR seems to have forgotten to title this ep “London Steam” on their site.

Well, they’re guards. Y’think lowering their guard would’ve been a funny pun, at least if this were dubbed in English (which this will be…eventually).

Ooh, so this plain bishie is Arsene Lupin? Me likey.

Like, seriously, Where are this tiny spark-star-thingies coming from?

Impey…who? Update: Google (plus previous spoilers) tell me that Impey is Impey Barbicane, accomplice to Lupin.

LOL, I’ve watched me too many Kaito Kid heists. Me likey, once again. However, the thing I don’t get is the voiceover. Couldn’t Lupin have actually said these lines instead of putting them on voiceover???

Gahhhhhhh! This eyecatch’s bishie has such horrible eyes that they burn mine! Get me out of here!

How does Impey know Cardia’s name??? Update: You’ll get the answer later…

It’s a few generations too early for a man to go to the moon, LOL. Poor Impey.

Victor…well, I never. Anime really does cover everything. Plus, Frankenstein ain’t his monster in this one, which would make Mary Shelley proud.

Hey, Kaitou (Phantom Thief) Lupin is one thing but using your real name as your kaitou identity is taking it a bit far. Sure, there was Kaito Kuroba, but at least he was Kaito Kid as well.

Sheesh, the Horologium sounded like nuclear power before Lupin explained it was Cardia’s heart…that would’ve been tonnes scarier, had Cardia been a nuclear monster.

LOL, Lupin’s so tsundere! Hahaha…

Oh please. Don’t let the vampires steal away Cardia (LOL)!

Victor being pegged as a terrorist has something to do with Isaac, right?

Lupin’s so effin’ short. No wonder he stands in high places when he lords over the British Army, haha.

Smol corgi with cyborg leg is probably my new dog aesthetic, haha. Plus top hat. I like top hats.

Shouldn’t the corgi have died when Cardia grabbed it though, or was that because of its leg?

The rainbow transition was a bit much, but okay. I can live with it.

So smol corgi is called Sisi? What a weird name.

It’s…not bad, I could probably watch until the end. However, the colour scheme seems to be “bright” with these recent female games (see Sengoku Night Blood for another example of what I mean). Well, since I said that, it’s a keeper. (I think the random James Bond-esque scene involving shooting guns then being in front of an explosion in the ED sealed the deal though, LOL.)

Kino’s Journey 1

I’m a noob to the world of Kino, so please don’t spoil me on anything you’ve seen in the previous adaptations! All I really know is the shtick: Kino is neither a guy nor a girl. They stick around in a country for 3 days then leave. They have a talking motorbike named Hermes…that’s pretty much it.

Lerche? On Kino? Y’think someone else could’ve done it better? I feel like a washed-out, subdued feeling would suit this show best. However, these words are coming from a Kino’s Journey noob, as I just said, so disregard me if you want.

Mori no naka de…b? What’s the “b” for?

A few times when they say “country”, I imagine a sea. That makes sense, considering it’s the sea that separates a lot of us.

How does Hermes talk???

Hermes is CGI. Trust my eyes, they’ve seen a lot of CGI for their time.

The gun is called Cannon? Wuh? The other gun is called the Woodsman? Wuh wuh???

A motorrad appears to be a motorbike, but…okay. It’s a BMW make of motorbike. Like a Ford Gran Torino.

*Kino points the gun* Whoa! What a fakeout!

Kino is CGI sometimes, too, it seems.

Those cows seem to be angry at Kino for some reason…

Why does no one question the talking motorbike???

Oh, I see. That was what I suspected from the moment the rifle was shown in the store. Public order is good here because people simply turn a blind eye.

I think Kino hopping behind Hermes should’ve been 2D. It’s not fluid enough in 3D…not quite yet to convey a proper sense of action, but enough to create a sense of disquiet. (Which is what I believe the show wants, so I’ll take my words back for the moment.)

“Ow!” is an understatement, considering it (the arrow) must’ve severed a muscle or two.

Ah, loophole. I didn’t see that coming.

Whoa. What dramatic irony.

I swear they recycle parts of this footage over and over again. I’m getting dejavu.

Hahaha, that crepe ending was funny. It wasn’t an ideal way to finish such an unsettling episode, but it was a good punchline.

Well, I think this is going to be really repetitive, so I’ll put it on hold and roll the next show up.

Dynamic Chord 1

More Ume. As an Ume fan, I’m spoilt for choice this season.

Cherry blossom opening is probably a bad omen. It’s probably the most cliched opening you could go for.

Holy eye colours, Batman! “That yellow should not exist as an eye colour,” is all I’m saying.

Honestly, this is the least gripping band/idol anime I’ve tackled all season. If they’re just going to be angsty in the rain, they should’ve been one season earlier because I would’ve taken this over The Reflection or In Another World With my Smartphone, laser eye boy be damned.

Wait, is pinkhead in the car or out of it? Update: He’s in a convertible. So it’s a yes and a no.

That metronome transition was pretty bad. Really hamfisted.

That transition away from the metronome, I couldn’t even tell that was a transition!

Aw gawsh, spare me. This looks like one of those ads you see play between shows on TV channels without company sponsorship. Or an only-half-decent MV.

I think they’re trying to be Dark and Edgy (TM) in comparison to, say, TsukiPro, but that was better than this.

Extended Pans for No Reason Whatsoever (TM)! Also, Bumblebee car. I’m having fun ripping this show apart, man. Now I see the real quality of Hatewatches (with a capital H), but it’s only been 5 minutes...

Dual eye colour boy (Reon), oi. You really didn’t do anything. Don’t give yourself unnecessary credit.

Bumblebee boy has way too long eyelashes, by the by. Did I ever mention that?

At least they justified the previous shots. That one there, at about the 6 minute mark, was not justified.

Based on Dai Murase (Ume’s role in TsukiPro), I thought the Kyohso doppleganger was gonna be Ume, but he thankfully got someone more attractive (Kuro of apple polisher). I still don’t like the name apple polisher though, how the heck did that name “get popular overseas”???

The camera shakes sometimes for no reason at all.

Reon seems constantly grumpy for some reason…

C’mon…this production is visually quite junky. Admit it.

Please don’t make this another ad fakeout. Only play your cards once for a certain trick…

Pink and blue eyed boy looks like a villian, but he’s probably a “hero” in this story.

This is probably a music video, but if I wanted a music video, I’d go to YouTube. Not an anime, unless it were an anime musiv video (a proper one, not an amateur effort YouTube Poop).

Wait, they spent 5 minutes just showing us a music video? It was pretty bad, so of course I noticed it in a bad way.

What is up with black and blue guy’s hair? I thought bumblebee guy was bad enough.

Sometimes removing the volume is all you need to figure out if an anime is good, since if they cared about their visuals and plot enough, then they wouldn’t be relying on shots of dudes rocking backwards and forward so much.

I get not all band people are singers, but still…bumblebee boy, if you’re so willing, why not you take Reon’s place?

Wait, so pink-haired convertible boy is the famed Yorito??? Dorito, more like it!

If the animators for this show were any good, they’d animate the fingers when the guitarists play. I’ve seen people play the guitar before. I used to take music classes. Geez, Pierrot. Stop skimping.

Another Skimping Technique (TM) – Speedlines in Replacement of Actual Motion (sic).

Too bad Dorito’s skipping practice, eh, Reon?

C’mon, Dorito. First it’s an angsty rain scene, now it’s an angsty shower scene? You don’t even look half hot here. Or half wet, for that matter.

I know anime is meant to look flat, but these sections I’ve been calling “music videos” are…superflat, to give them a name. They look like paper overlaid on the anime background, with little to no real animation being done, and that’s why I’m giving this show such a bad rap.

All that angst…for this? It seems a little anticlimatic, is all I’m saying.

Well, I made it through one episode. It’s probably not as bad as I made it out to be, but I do hatewatch picks for my own pleasure and this just became one of them. Onto the drop pile it goes…

Houseki no Kuni 1

This is the last debut of the fall season, at least until someone hands me Kekkai Sensen. Okay, here’s the story about why I’m here: I heard good things about Steven Universe in my home country, so I went on a trip and tried some Cartoon Network there. Thing is, Steven Universe didn’t resonate with me as much as I thought it would. Therefore, to take the concept and turn it into a real anime – would that do it for me? Let’s find out.

Hmph, I had the sound on this time and I had the feeling all the gems were voiced by women. Like Steven Universe.

When they said “sunspots”, they…uh, kinda meant it.

I feel like Master Kongo’s VA is a bit too soft. Otherwise, this show is pretty good.

Whoa. Seeing Phos shattered like this and still conscious must be freaky. Makes for some good body horror, eh?

Well, this show has some excellent worldbuilding. That’s something I haven’t said in a few seasons…in this simulcast commentary, that is. Made in Abyss has good worldbuilding too. The only problem with this is…where did Phos’s gloves come from?

The eyecatch seems to be in English. Like Princess Principal last season.

The echo, I think, had a worse effect this time than when Kongo destroyed Phos.

“Don’t use that hand!” - LOL.

So Cinnabar’s poison creates amnesia and (an indirect need for) amputation, eh? What a duo of afflictions.

Well, it’s…actually pretty good. Let’s press on.

Anime-Gataris 1

I actually wanted to pass on this, but after seeing Karandi pass judgement on its second episode and seeing a Haruhi reference, I decided I would pass a judgement on it too. Well, it’s an anime about anime. What do you expect, really?

Hahaha…Oarai is known for being popularised by Girls und Panzer, so Galtan is short for Girls with Tanks.

Haritaro = Hamtaro, Dezumon = Digimon, PreFae = PreCure. Haha, it’s an anime watcher’s paradise of parody anime!

“Double riding is illegal.” - I think that’s a reference to the first episode of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun and the tandem bike.

Fish??? Wuh???

Aw. That fakeout, I was hoping for it to be A Certain Magical Index or something.

Geez, typical School Council Pres with optional Ethereal Glow. Now available in Blonde too, it seems.

Sebastian Michaelis right there.

The teacher just did the flippin’ Ringo (from UtaPri) intro! Holy gender-barriers, Roppongi is a man??? Why I don’t react like that to Ringo, I’ll never know.

The “I should go by myself” bit is also from UtaPri, IIRC. The bit where one of the boys reveals he’s actually the star Haruka likes.

Obvious Chuunibyou with extra Fake Magic. Geesh, if it weren’t for the anime references…I really wouldn’t be covering this…

That’s my face when people talk about anime, LOL. Hero School = Boku no Hero Academia while R:Zero is Re:Zero.

Shika = deer, hence the weird deer. I don’t know what the references around the Shikabari one are, though, including the fence jump.

You picked a fight with the wrong anime lover, Anime-Gataris (I specialise in recent anime, for obvious reasons)! Tamukeda = Tanakeda (Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge) and Toramiko = Kumamiko. Clearly someone doesn’t remember that Kumamiko was a controversial flop, anime-wise.

Bakusou = Bakuon. Therefore, Shikabari is probably…Kiznaiver? No, it’s Kabaneri. That’s the best match, considering we’re talking about spring 2016. Time Travel Shonen = Time Travel Shoujo. Still don’t get the fence jump though.

Kyou Kara Sessha Wa!! = Kyou Kara Ore Wa!!, where “sessha” is an pronoun for…I think it’s older males. Angel Story = Angel Legend (Angel Densetsu).

The OVA references went over my head again…

Gachiemon = Doraemon, naturally. Nobue = Nobita and Karashi = Takeshi (Gouda). Well, while looking for the Gachiemon movie, I found Reddit spoiling it all for me. Refer to it if you don’t want me doing it for you, because I’m going to...ignore it! Haha, you thought I was going to use it as a crutch now, didn’t you? I like this challenge.

The dog one is A Dog of Flanders, Everstrike is Evangelion. I thought the Cinnamon Roll one would be the not-often-mentioned Powerpuff Girls anime  but Reddit says it’s Dragon Ball??? Autumn Wars = Summer Wars.

Light music club = K-On, classical literature club = Hyouka, NJ club = GJ Club.

The cover of this magazine appears to be Newtype or Animage, which I think both started around the 70s or 80s. That’s definitely Urusei Yatsura on the front, though.

The Girl who Slept Through Time = The Girl who Leapt Through Time and Replica…Paprika, perhaps? (Think I was recalling Reddit there.)

Is that…a Boueibu reference?! Or is that just a cliché…? (If it’s a cliché, I’d feel sad, man.)

I feel like the video quality seems to warp a little at infrequent moments. It’s quite disappointing for a 2017 anime to be suffering from strange visual problems like that.

There’s a KonoSuba poster…sort of.

Maria Clara doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen although it does kind of look like Hatsune Miku or Elsword.

Dang that fakeout, I thought she meant the beret.

I feel like this is best binged to get at all the references, so onto the on hold pile it goes. I think its plot will be cliché but its references are the best thing about it.

Idolmaster 1

Time to thin out the herd! This’ll be tough, since all the contenders I’ve kept have the potential to be great.

The pun here is that 315 (saikou) can mean “the highest”, or in this case, “the best”.

The eyeless producer (and Saito, by the by) was probably a bad idea.

Hey, it’s a 315 business card!

The cardboard boxes say “Bear Mark Moving Company” (Kuma no Ma-ku no Hikkoshi Kaisha).

Ooh! I like ponytail boy. I have a thing for bishies with ponytails.

“Handwriting” is probably the wrong word for a typed contract, CR subbers.

An odd juxtaposition between lawyer (or any other job) and an idol. That’s what piqued my interest about this idol anime specifically – because there is clearly going to be some dirty stuff that comes to light once characters have debuted as idols, and the more disconnect between the past and the present, the more the paps are gonna eat it up. At least, that’s my thoughts, having written Half-Paid Heroes. (I’m currently not sure if I should continue on HPH though, since I had a fight with fellow Honeyfeed writer Aura…).

Nice shirt, Teru (LOL).

When Kaoru broke the cheery atmosphere, Teru’s shirt suddenly said roiya (“lawyer” in katakana, transposed to hiragana).

Dandou literally translates to “male way”. It’s actually hilarious since it sounds really macho…in a bishie show intended to capture a female audience.

“I want us to work together…”

Does this producer have a name? I get the feeling he doesn’t. Maybe, instead of that woman producer they were hinting at at the end of Side Jupiter (was that a woman?), it was this guy.

Sakuraba’s being kind of awkward on the side with his fistpump. I like him.

“Then from now on, the three of you…”

If you know me from Boueibu, you’ll know the line Saito says should actually be “Boys be ambitious”.

The board up the back of the Dramatic Stars’ party says “Celebrate! Dramatic Stars’ Formation”…or something like that, anyway…(Happoro beer, LOL.)

Oh, it’s Hokuto, Shouta and Touma from Jupiter.

It’s this shot from last episode. Oh, okay. It’s kinda like Death Parade in that there are two backstories leading to the same ending shown in ep 1.

What’s with those 17 badges, guys???

This frog mascot looks kinda funny in a (LOL) sort of way. I think Ume’s character will be in a unit with the shota that likes this frog mascot, so…good on me.

At least “Drive a live” doesn’t sound as bad as “Burny!!” or “Crazy Baby Show”, namewise. It does, however, sound like a slogan for a drink-driving government prevention scheme.

I think Ume’s character is the guy behind the counter, although I’m a bit sketchy on that. We’ll see in a few eps.

I think I’ve probably been missing out on something by not listening to the trio with the music. Even though I threw the others out based on visuals and plot, an idol/band show is nothing without its music, so I’ll put Idolmaster on hold so that I don’t become too attached to any of the trio and maybe someday I can evaluate TsukiPro vs Idolmaster better.