#but ryuki needed his rendition

[mieutwo]

top 3 very normal ryuki moments

[crystalelemental]

Unit Viability Speculation (March 2023)

I should’ve known.  I got myself so convinced of Alola VA removing Elio and Selene from consideration for alts that I didn’t even think about how broadly unpopular they are.  Of course they wouldn’t happen.  And it’s been so long that I forgot, when Galar gets anything, Galar gets everything.  So sure.  Galar month.  With...Ball Guy.  This feels vaguely like PoMa’s rendition of the Bravekeeper fiasco, only without it being directly the community’s fault.

But, trying to remain positive: Marnie got another cute outfit, Bede’s little wizard cosplay is precious, and Hop...sure is there.  I’m breaking.  Look, I don’t like Galar at all.  And this month is literally nothing but Galar.  They made an entire anniversary about one region.  I’m annoyed.  I prefer eclectic events.

Champion Hop Apparently these are all Champion Master Fair alts.  So it’s not just protagonists getting the Champion title.  And apparently, challengers to your throne count.  Champion Ryuki alt when?  This is a joke, I don’t really care about Ryuki.  Wait, doesn’t Lusamine challenge you in Alola?  Hang on, I may have demands.

Anyway!  Hop is a Fighting tech unit with Galarian Zapdos.  I am admittedly kinda pissed people were right about Galarian birds.  I like the base forms better, I’m sorry!  Anyway, Thunderous Kick is a fairly weak 4-bar move that drops defense 1 stage.  Dire Hit All+ is always appreciated.  Buddy moves are a thing.  His is Buddy Thunderous Kick.  It costs no gauge, is reusable, but has the condition of activating after the sync countdown has been reduced by 6.  It can never miss, ignores passives that reduce damage, ignores Vigilance and Endurance, then lowers defense and speed of the target by 3 stages.  Anti-Latias, it’s anti-Latias tech.  His Trainer move is what’s interesting.  Fighting Zone is applied, then it raises his speed 3 stages, but lowers just special defense by 1 stage.  Passives are Galar Pride, Lightning Legs which gives HEad start and +6 attack on entry because god forbid flaws, lowering special defense by the same amount every time you lower physical defense so Sundering 10, and Free Move Next when any of its stats are lowered, such as through the trainer move.

Grid is fine.  Trained Mind 9 is funny to me.  Sharp Entry means only one turn of buff setup but doesn’t help allies.  Inertia and Smartypants are decent multipliers, though both are fairly challenging to set up independently in a CS context due to the slow ramping nature of his kit.  Brainteaser and Chase Down 3 are nice, Brawling Acceleration 2 will be nice for a four-bar spam, Brawling Opening Sync has some potential application, but since you want the Zone up for his sync anyway and it only works once it’s good but potentially not optimal depending on placement.

I have to call Hop good, with the knowledge that this is an unbelievably strong Gauntlet kit.  Debuffs rule, and having defensive debuffs alongside a Zone is tremendous.  You know how Renegade Cynthia has Sundering and Zone effect?  This is her, but better.  Better self-setup, better gauge control, better DPS, better sync, more reliable debuff.  But.  His multipliers are really slow to set up in a CS context.  I doubt he’ll have legitimate challenge clearing a stage, but it’s worth noting how slow this stuff is to set up.  -6 cooldown is two full turns, before one buddy move, and he needs two to cap speed.  He needs to physically hit his opponent for a mere -1, which means six turns.  The good news is, Lucian covers both needs in one set, because Lucian is the man.  The bad news is, Zone setters tend to want to pair with their same-type allies, and there’s no Fighting type that gives Hop what he wants.  SC Diantha can debuff special defense, but cannot buff speed.  The only Fighting support who does help with speed is...Maylene.  Who’s...okay.  So while I do think Hop will be wildly powerful, I’m also not like...salivating at anything he does.

Champion Marnie I like the dress.  I’ll say that much.  But.  Dark-type striker.  This isn’t a particularly occupied niche.  Massive 502 special attack is also impressive, though speed leaves quite a bit to be desired, and bulk is not optimal.  Her Fiery Wrath move can make the foe flinch (20%).  Protect...exists.  Buddy Fiery Wrath activates when you use a sync move, and functions exactly like Buddy Lysandre’s but with Piercing Blows instead of SEUN and SMUN stacks.  Trainer move clears the speed concerns by buffing +4 in one use, and capping special attack.  It also buffs evasion, and applies endure, but lowers HP by...10%.  Sure.  Free.  Galar Spirit, Head Start 1+Sharp Entry 3, heals 40% when you’re under 50% the first time then +3 special moves up next, and...hmm.  “Special attack increases 40% when its HP is reduced.”  This sounds like any HP reduction results in 40% more special attack.  So her own trainer move should set it up.  That’s...sure.

Protect Super Preparation 9.  Aggravation 2 on Fiery Wrath.  Proulsion 9 on trainer move so any Head Start ally is a full turn saved.  Soften Up and Propulsion.  Wounded Power 3, because why not give more powerups for that minor 10%?  Wounded Sync 5, sure.  Endure Again.  She does Ash’s gimmick.  Okay.  Marnie’s kit’s really good.  That’s a super strong striker with a lot of failsafes against the usual Gauntlet problems.  But.  I noticed one issue.  There’s no answer to evasion.  Which means this is not a Cresselia counter, despite the ludicrous special attack and hitting her weakness.

Champion Bede And Bede is support, so we have a Regional Trio focus once again.  This is...man, I don’t even know.

Freezing Glare, a four-bar move with a 10% freeze chance.  You are a support, sir.  Confusion.  That’s better.  Buddy Freezing Glare, activates after -3 sync cooldown, but only one use.  It never misses, has a minor chance to freeze, boosts defenses of allies by...only 1 stage, then applies Free Move Next to all allied sync pairs.  Okay.  Trainer move is +2 Atk/Sp Atk/Crit, and is 2MP.  They finally did it.  Perfect buffing to both offenses.  It also boosts physical and special moves up next by 1 stage for all allies, which is kinda nuts.  Four bar.  No, I’m...not joking.  His speed stat is 244 by the way.  Passives are Flag Bearer, Head Start 1+Team Speedy Entry 2, a buffed MP Burst where it happens every sync move so enjoy infinite replenishment of moves up next, and goddamned motherfucking Vigilance!

Grid is...fascinating.  Aggravation 9, MGR9 on Confusion, Charging Confusion 9 to get +2 gauge on Freezing Glare when it hits a confused opponent, Shielded and Barricade Buddies on his buddy move, Hostile Environment 2, Quick Cure, Recuperation 2, Natural Remedy, Posthaste 3, Team Sharp Entry, and Entry Freebie.  Oh, and for fun?  Passive healing each time he hits a confused opponent.

It’s interesting.  I go back and forth on whether this is overpowered, or just right.  My main concern is gauge.  Even with speed boosts, four bar spam on your support of all things is not a pretty picture.  You can forego the Freezing Glare option, and probably should in most cases, but even beyond that, a lot of this emphasizes confuse.  Which isn’t always possible.  Still.  Vigilance rules, Quick Cure/Natural Remedy means lucky skill is a free pick (Head Start 2 on this guy will be insane fast-ramping), MP recovery every sync means you get infinite repetition of moves up next each cycle, and if you can afford the four-bar spam it’s got a respectable freeze chance.  I’m not sure quite how he’ll shake out functionally, but on paper this rules.  It rules so much I’m actually kinda mad.  If this kind of kit were on anyone who wants Galarian, I’d be losing my goddamned mind.

Ball Guy Variety Scout like the Eevees.  5*, no EX, he’s a support this time.  Defenses are...okay.  Move Gauge Boost.  Absorb.  Trainer move activates randomly.  He can apply a random status each time he’s hit I guess?  Listen there is exactly one thing this guy is doing of literally any value and it’s Clear Smog.  I have been waiting AGES for Clear Smog to be a used move, given how hard it can counter Cresselia and Latias.  They even gave it the effect to never miss.  This was designed as anti-Cress tech.  On...Ball Guy.  On a 7% 5* rate variety scout.  Where he can’t even EX.  As a support.  Which is infinitely more damning than the Tech Eeveelutions that can’t EX but still hit like trucks.  Oh, and Clear Smog is only 2MP.  He can restore it with a passive if he hits a statused opponent, but...you know.  Impervious, Vigilance, and Interference Immunity on grid makes it easy to select Status Immunity, so there’s that.  But this guy is 100% random and can’t buff stats effectively to save his life.  As a support!  He can’t even heal!  This is a unit that exists for a singular function, and it is Clear Smog.  Is Clear Smog worth your gems?  Are you seriously going to pull for Clear Smog?  You better not.

(Addendum: at 4*, everything was listing this guy as just 5* no EX.  The edits have been made, apparently Ball Guy can EX, which adds something.  Still think he’s underwhelming for a limited unit, but more importantly when do the Eeveelutions get EX?  Hello?  JoltKris needs her power.)

Lodge Gloria Welp!  There goes any suspicions that Lodge was following a pattern, or getting regions to 2 before anyone got to three (assuming Unova was split between games).  She gets Thwacky.  The worst of this evolutionary line.  Solid attack, Razor Leaf and Wood Hammer.  Dire Hit+, trainer move buffs +4 attack and +2 speed, applying Gradual Healing to herself.  Standfast 9 is nice, First Aid 4 is great, and...Super Preparation 4.  Super Preparation 4?  We’re now giving the only offensive tool of any value that Anni Lillie got to fucking commons too?  Anything else, game?  Anything else you’re going to take from my daughter without giving her a grid expansion?  Fuck you.

Amped Up 1 is nice speed control.  Double Down 5 because again, it must be stated, fuck Anni Lillie.  Furious Brawn.  Super Syncer which is fine.  Turbo Turf if you want.  Honestly, it’s a pretty strong Lodge unit.  Grass-type, so you know, plenty of competition.  But this one tries.  Some of them don’t try.  But Gloria tries.

Final Thoughts And that’s it, those are all the new units for this month.  We had an exciting anniversary even planned, but instead of doing something that is a celebration of the series, we’re going to just go ahead and fixate on Galar exclusively.  Galar, which admittedly could use some help in a few directions.  More F2P options, introducing any of the several missing gym leaders.  But no, none of that.  Here’s three Master Fair alts, a random NPC being locked behind a variety scout and no access to EX, and a Lodge unit that’s based off a PokeFair.  Even when Galar wins, it loses.  Which is just so wildly on brand.

And for anyone wondering, this is, in fact, it.  Ball Guy is set to come out late in the month, there is no second half of the datamine.  This is all we get.  We hope you enjoyed Galar Month.  Been a while since an entire event was taken over by just Galar so hopefully you remember that this is a thing we do sometimes, and apparently have no intention of stopping.

[shewasanamericangirl]

kamen rider OOO review

a young man, having dozed off a night on security guard detail, awakens to find an odd red coin engraved with a bird motif. assuming the coin is payment for his work, he goes to change into his civilian clothes and oh fuck there’s a giant hole in the wall.

after a quick police interview revealing that our hero 1. is thoroughly naive and 2. has an unusual fixation with underwear, he puts his clothes on and goes to spend his “payment” in a vending machine and--whoops, dropped the coin under the machine. fortunately, a very strong (and CUTE) young lady is nearby to help lift up the machine...and nearly drops it when they see the monstrous disembodied arm crawling out from beneath! then the arm, who can talk and has a terrible personality, starts giving underwear boy orders. oh yeah, and i totally forgot to mention the opera rendition of “happy birthday” played over a bunch of weird monsters terrorizing civilians as a snappily dressed executive decorates a birthday cake on his office desk.

welcome to the world of kamen rider OOO! (pronounced “ohs”--like cheeri”os”.)

^ oh, the sexual tension.

plot: there’s two other fictional worlds that OOO has brought to mind for me multiple times. the worldbuilding and unique magical elements of OOO combined with a heaping cupful of absurdity and a pinch of homoeroticism reminded me quite a bit of jojo’s bizarre adventure--crazy and ridiculous stuff happens, but it’s built up in such a way that you generally understand enough of what’s going on that it isn’t too confusing. furthermore, the themes of desire, evolution, beginnings, endings, and nihilism bring to mind the dilemmas at play in the shin megami tensei games--many of the platitudes expressed in OOO could’ve easily been quoted from lucifer...and others from smtiv’s white. you’ll want to learn the truths. you’ll want to see what happens next.

characters: despite what ankh may claim, this show is not about him, as evidenced by the fact that its title is not bird greed ankh. he sure is a Character, though. heisei kamen rider is great at giving its viewers morally iffy or outright bastardy characters so unique and interesting that you wind up cheering for as much as if not more than for the heroes, and ankh is a primo example of this.

i love him, but also fuck that guy.

eiji hino definitely fits into the tradition of himbo tokusatsu protagonists. he’s not a complete dumbass so much as he is a pollyanna. like others in said tradition, he’s endearing, and i believe in him. you learn a lot about him over the course of the story, and how you see him closer to the end may surprise you.

the cast is colorful and fun. hina izumi, the super strong girl from earlier, becomes inexorably entwined in this drama of medals and monsters when her beloved older brother shingo winds up possessed. shintaro gotou, a former police officer, now works on behalf of the mysterious kougami foundation with the aim of fighting evil and protecting the innocent--but isn’t so sure how he’s going to do so. akira date, a roguish bad boy doctor and self-professed slave to desire, takes on a very special job to fulfill his goal of earning 100,000,000 yen. more oddballs can be found in service of the kougami foundation as the story continues...

oh, and the greed. or greeed. i’ve seen it both ways. i believe i’ve said a bunch of times before that i like a toku series with good fucking villains--you learn who they are and what drives them, you get how what they’re doing fulfills those goals, and you see how they relate to those around them beyond the customary shit-talking of the heroes. not only that, but the greed are a novel concept with fascinating aesthetics. i greatly enjoyed learning their secrets.

fights: instrumental to every battle is the abilities OOO has access to, which are determined by the medals he has in his possession--ancient coins which act as the DNA of the greed, and grant OOO different animal-themed powers. he equips the cheetah medal, and he can move at great speeds. he equips the hawk medal, and he can see great distances. naturally, such powerful artifacts are in high demand--OOO and the greed are constantly stealing them from each other, meaning what he’s capable of can vary greatly from episode to episode. only being able to switch out different hands is so 1980.

abilities that change again and again throughout the series make for some awesomely unique fights. mix that up with the various greed and the unique monsters they create using the power of human desire--yummies--and the fights don’t get dull.

visuals: the fact that i started watching kamen rider w with @shylax while still watching OOO made me notice something interesting: OOO appears to be the point that neo-heisei kamen rider became the bright shiny lightshow we see today in zi-o. w, while not visually lacking, still has the sort of drab, overcast quality to it that i’ve also noticed in ryuki and decade. i don’t know the technical terms needed to describe this phenomenon more accurately--just that something changed in 2011, and kamen rider really brightened up.

OOO’s suit forms are colorful and bold. many of the characters are associated with color motifs. cous coussier, the eccentric costume cafe that becomes eiji’s base of operations, is constantly switching up its theme and outfits. and as always, toei provides lots of visually striking sets.

music: the unusual opening theme, “anything goes”, will definitely make an impression; i initially found it weird, but damn, it gets me fired up now. strong inserts and moving incidentals are included too. “anything goes”, along with inserts “time judged all” and “reverse re;birth” have their own music videos, the latter two featuring the characters singing.

if you actually read all that, it should come as no surprise that i had a blast watching kamen rider OOO and highly recommend it. kobayashi knocks it out of the goddamn park once again!

as for my next series...i’m looking at a few possibilities. kamen rider 555 is one, as it’s a series @shylax definitely enjoyed. i’m also curious about other yasuko kobayashi series, seeing as they’ve proven great investments of my time so far. i’ve also grown curious about metal hero after seeing the new space sheriff gavan on kyuranger, though i’m at a loss for where i’d start with it. in the meantime, however, i’m going to watch the OOO movies!