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tsubaki3192 · 7 months ago

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No worries :) Your post actually triggered me to express my opinion ahaha... It's the whole "Oh thank god I'm not the only one who thought this" situation with me too! But also, thank you for responding too!

I will admit to one thing before I actually begin though: It was 7am when I first responded and I'm actually surprised I was coherent enough to do an analysis xD I also realise I did forget about Sugishita and Umemiya's relationship until sometime later in the day before I saw your response xD

(Spoilers for both Bleach 1000 Year arc + Post S1 Windbreaker under cut!)

... Apologies for the jumbled mess of thoughts xD I don't think I can make anything particularly connected for now, so I'll just leave my thoughts as is ahaha...

You're right though: I do also think the biggest thing we're missing is a lot of connecting points/points we, as readers/viewers, could see as a connecting point for further arcs/the final arc: Take Bleach as an example—Quincys were introduced very early on, and even the point of discourse between Reapers and Quincys were also introduced almost simultaneously.

Wind Breaker lacks that sort of "Ah. That's a possible ending" moment that we can see in a lot of major Shonen animangas. (e.g. One Piece, finding the One Piece/Zoro defeating Mihawk; Naruto, Sasuke vs Naruto fights... That kind of thing, if you get what I mean. A bit of predictability or even just information that gets us thinking.)

Even in this arc, it's very difficult to see exactly who will win, and who will lose. It's not actually entirely obvious. Sure, Bofurin itself might win against the mass going against them, but the real kicker here is Endo and Takiishi. Especially since we don't know how strong Umemiya or Takiishi is, and Endo is already terrifying on his own.

Re: Kotoha + Backstories:

I was actually really surprised to not see her (as in very obviously/as a major side character) in Umemiya's backstory. As you said, Kotoha is very obviously a major person in Umemiya's—and the rest of Furin's—life. She's oddly mature for a 16-year-old, and gives really good advice. Something has very obviously happened both to her in general, and between the two of them for Umemiya to be so defensive about her. Not to mention, those two actually do have a very wholesome sibling relationship, which implies that they're quite close to one another... I'd argue even more so than the other kids at the home Umemiya lived in, though at this point in time it's very difficult to tell since presumably none of the other kids have appeared yet.

(Again, with the way there's omitted information about her, I feel as if it's another relatively major arc in the process.)

(Just as a side note, I do think that if we do get arcs/backstories about Suo and Kiryu, I do think the difference might be that Suo would probably be a major character arc vs. a more minor character arc for Kiryu—and Sugishita, maybe; an arc length akin to Tsubaki's? Though again, this is just an assumption, so don't take this to heart xD.)

(Another backstory we might get in this arc might be Takiishi's: We got Endo's side of the story, but what about Takiishi? We know next to nothing about him, or his relationship with Umemiya. Especially why he's so obsessed with Ume-chan and fighting.)

Re: Story length:

I'm actually a little like you in this regard: I've somehow talked myself into believing that this manga might reach somewhere between BNHA's 450+ chapters and Bleach's 500+ chapters and be much heavier content-wise later on.

Minor arcs aside, this major arc, which I agree is maybe about 75 to 80%-ish complete (Umemiya's fight hasn't been mentioned at all in the newest few chapters except for a falling chair lol), is already roughly 70 chapters long, with a very big potential to reach maybe 90 chapters total. At the pace it's going (with world building, character development and all), there is a very big potential for the entire manga to reach even 600 chapters if there are even 3 major arcs (and intermission arcs) of roughly the same length. .... Though in saying this, I think it'll be more similar in length to BNHA. It's just a hunch, that's all.

This... doesn't really consider the content of the story, I'm aware.

Because if this is just an "opening act" how many other acts are there? And how long will those acts be?

Not to mention, aside from all the other characters we don't really know about/haven't recieved backstories for, Sakura's really only interacted with Tsubaki and Hiragi from the 4 Heavenly Kings. Sure, he's spoken to Mizuki, but it's not the same as actually interacting with him. And Momose has the potential to have his own arc (similar to Tsubaki's) as well, with how little we know about him.

You make an interesting point too though: I do wonder how the author will make the other major arcs as exciting as this one/how will they change it up so it doesn't feel like a regurgitation of previous arcs.

.... I think I've basically run myself dry and risk repeating thing we've both said, so I'll stop here xD

If I do end up writing an analysis for Suo (I actually want to do one for Sakura too, because I'm just a little bothered—it's not serious, dw—by his slight mischaracterisation in fics xD) I'll be sure to tag you in it, if you're okay with that! :3

so I'm reading the Wind Breaker (Satoru Nii) manga... and uh... I'm in the 120's for chapters and this feels.... like a final fight kinda? Do we know if we're already gearing up for the end?

#Tsu-talks!#Wind Breaker #WB reblog #Manga Spoilers #Wind Breaker Manga Spoilers #dw I got really excited too xD #and I think I'm running a bit of a headache rn so oops.#I probably havent addressed everything and I'm sorry TT

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dorkydragon · 2 years ago

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Yakuza games kanji info 19

Yumi Sawamura (澤村由美, Sawamura Yumi)

The lovely flower made of steel.

...also known as:

Mizuki Sawamura (澤村美月, Sawamura Mizuki)

澤 sawa = swamp

村 mura = village, town

由 yu = wherefore, a reason

美 mi = beauty, beautiful

- About her given name: Yumi is the one who kickstarts more than one significant series of events, whether willingly or unwillingly.

Nishiki kills Dojima to save her. Kiryu takes the fall to protect Nishiki. The lonely and underestimated Nishikiyama becomes a ruthless man while Kiryu is in jail for 10 years.

She works with Kazama and Sera to steal Jingu’s money. Nishiki found out and revealed it to the Tojo Clan, prompting a massive hunt for the money and the girl who is the key to get to it.

Her disappearance brings Kiryu and Haruka together to look for her, eventually forming a deep bond of mutual love and trust between them.

She dies taking a bullet to protect both her beloved daughter and the man she had always loved, ensuring their survival and giving Kiryu a powerful reason to retire from the criminal underworld.

Of course the protagonist’s love interest has a kanji in her name that means ‘beauty.‘ In fact, if you find a woman in the series who has the syllable ‘mi‘ in her name, then her name is most likely written with this same kanji.

美 mi = beauty, beautiful

月 zuki = month, moon

She kept the kanji 美 for her other name/her sister’s name. It’s not uncommon to see siblings with similar names that have the same kanji. Now the ‘moon’ part is interesting: the japanese name of her symbolic tattoo, the Queen of the Night, is 月下美人, read as ‘gekkabijin’ - literally “moonlight beauty.” As you can see, the plant’s name has the same kanji as Mizuki.

What about the meaning of the moon itself? From greenshinto.com: “For Buddhism, the full moon is a symbol of enlightenment, and the phases of the moon indicative of the ever-changing nature of life. Nothing is constant except change itself. For Shinto the moon is a symbol of the wonder, beauty and awe of natural phenomenon, compelling realisation of mankind’s place within Daishizen (Greater Nature), a true creature of the environment.“ We can see Yumi changing ‘phases‘ like the moon as the story develops: the innocent childhood friend and first love, the amnesiac new mother fighting for survival and the determined, courageous woman who works against her enemies and makes sacrifices for the sake of the ones she loves.

Extra - Here are some characters with the same kanji in their names:

(澤 sawa) 澤田有希, Sawada Yūki

(村 mura) 谷村正義, Tanimura Masayoshi

(美 mi) 宇佐美勇太, Usami Yūta

Extra 2 - Here are other ladies who also have the kanji 美 (mi) in their names, as mentioned above:

笠原清美, Kasahara Kiyomi

鳥山美恵子, Toriyama Mieko

朴美麗, Paku Mirei

#ryu ga gotoku #yakuza #sawamura yumi #yakuza games kanji

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gorochanfanclub · 4 years ago

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Yakuza Characters as Gift Givers

Had another deep meditation about what getting a Christmas (or birthday) gift from some yakuza characters would be like. Notice I say characters and not boys. There’s a surprise at the end ;)

Majima:

Goes over the top with each and every gift he gives. Plans them months in advance. Will give you the most expensive, most thoughtful, gift you could possibly imagine. Probably shirks his duties as a yakuza patriarch to plan it. Wants to make sure it is the best gift you’ve ever got- every single time. Finds it hard to top himself every year. You like murder mysteries? He’ll probably fake Nishida’s death just to let you solve the case, that’s how serious he is about giving you something you’ll never forget.

Kiryu:

Will get you the most thoughtful gift ever. Might not be very expensive but it won’t matter because the thought he put into it will be more than worth it. Whether it’s a picture of you two in a frame he had custom made, something he saw that made him think of you, or something that references an inside joke or special memory between you, it’ll bring tears to your eyes when he gives it to you.

Saejima:

Tries to plan his gift in advance but worries so much about getting you the right thing he misses his deadline. The poor boy will worry himself sick for weeks, or maybe even months about getting you something special but just won’t know what to get. Eventually, he’ll get you a card and present it to you, blushing like mad and apologizing for not getting you something better, but also promises to make it up to you. Seeing him so distraught over you, you’ll probably forgive him in a heartbeat.

Akiyama:

Gifts experiences. Likes to get you concert tickets, cooking classes, dancing classes, vacations, anything fun the two of you can do together. He isn’t a very materialistic person so he wants to gift you the memory of doing something fun and special with with him by your side. A perk of his gifts is you always have the best Instagram feed.

Ryuji:

Will get you something insanely expensive. Whether it be a new car, a designer outfit, a pure 24 karat gold necklace, you name it. His gifts are always so nice but with him constantly showering you in pricey gifts, you find it hard to keep up with them all. After being with him for a while, you’ll probably have an entire closet full of Louboutins. It’s not that he isn’t thinking of you, he just wants everyone to know that you belong to a rich, successful, man. That, and he wants you to feel as luxurious as he sees you as.

Rikiya:

Totally forgot to get you a gift and runs out to the store the night before he’s supposed to give it to you and buys something on the spot. Probably won’t even wrap it because he won’t have time. So when he presents a plastic shopping bag to you, you know exactly what happened. Yet, you can’t find yourself to be mad at him when he smiles so brightly at you, hopeful you’ll like what he scrounged up.

Mine:

Buys something very expensive but presents it in a way that shows he was really thinking of you. He might not understand yet that money can’t buy love, but when he gives it to you (which he will insist on doing in person) you’ll know that he meant well. The smile on his face as you open it though will almost be enough of a gift in of itself.

Daigo:

Has no idea what to get you. Will (not so) covertly drop questions about what you might like. Stresses just a little about what to get you but eventually gets you something very... safe. Meaning it’s a nice gift, you appreciate it very much because he worked hard to figure it out, but it isn’t something you’d want to write home about. Definitely the type to gift jewelry, clothes, and things you’ll use in your daily life. (Loves seeing you use things he gives you)

Nishki:

Doesn’t understand how gifts work and will get you something he would like to get. A nice watch, tickets to a concert he wanted to go to, etc. Will get upset if you point it out however and beat himself up for disappointing you. It’d probably just be best if you laughed it off and accepted it with glee. His happiness and triumphant look is a gift enough.

Bonuses:

Hana-chan:

Gives you a very practical gift, something you never knew you needed in your life. When she gives it to you, you’ll be confused, wondering why anyone would give you something like this. Yet, after a few weeks or months of having it, you’ll find yourself wondering how you ever lived life without it. Don’t tell her you feel that way, however, because she’ll take it to heart and use every opportunity to remind you how good she is at what she does.

Haruka:

Will probably cook you something. Presents it in a pretty box wrapped in a bow, no matter what it is. She already knows what you like to eat so expect your favorites. And of course it’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever had, it was made with love, after all...

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ichika27 · 4 years ago

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The World Ends with You

(Yeah, it’s the same screenshot I used for my post about ep. 1. I couldn’t get a new one so...)

Ah, first week without the TWEWY anime to look forward to. I’m actually kinda sad cause I’d miss waiting for the episode every Saturday night (Ani-One posts theirs on that day here). I have some stuff I wanna say about the anime so I thought I’d make one of these plus this is a good way to end the twewy anime blog post series I make every week. I’ll try not to spoil until the very bottom of this post which will have a spoiler warning.

Also, this will be very long and rambly as most of my fandom posts are haha.

Story:

A boy named Neku wakes up in the middle of Shibuya with no memory and finds himself as a player in the Reaper’s Game. For a week he must partner up with a girl named Shiki and both of them must complete missions, battle creatures called noise, and survive as failure meant erasure.

Characters:

Neku Sakuraba - our main protagonist who somehow lost his memories and is now playing the Reaper’s Game. He’s a loner who isn’t too keen on getting close to anyone let alone working alongside anybody - unfortunately for him, it’s a requirement if he wants to survive. As a player he has an assortment of abilities to fight off noise and other enemies (in the game this meant he can use a lot of different pins).

Shiki Misaki - the nice and friendly Shiki becomes Neku’s partner in the Reaper’s Game. Unlike Neku she has knowledge of the game and fills Neku in on things he doesn’t understand. Her ability is to control her stuffed toy called Nyantan/Mr. Mew which she uses in combat.

Beat - the tough skateboarding player, he’s somewhat more like the typical hot-blooded shounen protagonist when compared to Neku. He’s protective of those he care about especially his game partner, Rhyme. He uses his skateboard in battle.

Rhyme - Beat’s game partner who is a lot kinder and calmer than him. Rhyme tends to be the one to reason with Beat when needed and the two are always seen together.

Yoshiya Kiryu - a mysterious boy who seem to know more than he lets on and acts at times acts suspicious. He prefers to be called by the nickname Joshua.

Sanae Hanekoma - a cafe owner who helps out Neku and the others and would give them advice. His advice prove to be very helpful and Neku takes them to heart. Seem to have a lot of knowledge about the Reaper’s Game but doesn’t seem to be a reaper himself.

Thoughts:

(I tried my best to not be spoilery in the character descriptions so some names weren’t written in full)

The World Ends with You (or in the original Japanese “Subarashiki Kono Sekai”/It’s a Wonderful World) is an anime based on the video game of the same name. It had to compress an entire game’s worth of story within it’s 12 episode run which meant they cut out a lot of things and combined some scenes to quickly run through them. It’s theme song is the anime version of the game’s original OP “Twister” although this wasn’t what was originally planned but an incident involving the band who sang the original theme forced them to make changes. The original voice actors from the game also reprised their roles for the anime. The series is created to be watched before the release of the long-awaited sequel game.

The art style is made to be similar to it’s game version (with a bit of change to adapt it as an anime like when it comes to body proportions). They also retained the effect of the characters from the UG (players/reapers) being brightly colored while those from the RG having darker/muted colors. While the noise are obviously cg, I personally liked this since they’re said to be from a different plane anyways so it’s a nice contrast to those from the UG and RG. They had to update the setting though as years had passed since the original game’s creation and they had to model anime version of Shibuya to what it’s real life counterpart now looks. The characters are also given smartphones instead of the flip phones they had in the game (anime-only watchers who are gonna play the game would have to get used to them still using flip phones though lol).

Okay so story-wise... it’s rushed. Of course it is. They shortened it so that what’s left would mostly be important plot points from the main story but they cut out many scenes that consist of character interactions and several little things that could’ve fleshed out the characters more. The gameplay is also made simpler with some mechanics taken away and the mini games weren’t adapted (RIP to Reaper Creeper and Tin Pin Slammer, especially the latter as you’re severely missed). The game boast an assortment of characters and some NPCs have their own stories but due to the anime’s limited run time, they had to either be cut out (and are just given cameos) or given smaller roles (and their stories weren’t adapted). They did, however, give a few bits and pieces of information that weren’t in the game such as some details about certain characters and one supporting character was given a bit more screentime that they did in the game version.

Despite the rushed nature of the series (which may or may not affect how one views the story itself), the anime made sure to adapt several important scenes and the dramatic stuff is made worse... like, they really had to make some deaths harder to take. The battle scenes were nice as well although my biggest complaint about them is that the boss fights were over too quickly. There were scenes that were changed for the anime version and there are those that I liked and those I didn’t but there are many which I think was as good as the game’s version.

Do I recommend the anime? The game is better, the characters and story are more fleshed out and the way the character/relationship development happens is better paced so of course, me, biased already would tell you to play the game instead if you haven’t yet. Do I recommend those who played the game to watch the anime? Yes! Yes I do. I think the anime is better watched when you’ve played the game and know the stuff that they cut out cause it’ll make better sense that way. Plus I found it enjoyable seeing the scenes from the game animated and the characters are speaking whole dialogues and moving. It’s great!

Even if the anime wasn’t perfect, like I mentioned before, they did their best to condense the entire main story in a 12 episode series and it tried to be as faithful as it could to the original story so despite the deviations when it comes to how things got to the way they did, if you summarize important plot points, they would be the same (with some details changed). Overall, it was very enjoyable and it wasn’t as bad as I feared when I heard how many episodes the anime was going to have.

Some spoiler thoughts:

It would’ve been better if the anime had more episode count than just 12. Cramming a 3 week story of game into just 12 made the thing very rushed with Week 1 only getting three episodes, Week 2 getting four, and final Week getting five. They had to get to the good stuff so they cut off a lot of scenes where the characters are interacting with each other which means they suddenly get character developments and relationship developments too quickly. It might not be that obvious to anime-only watchers but to me, it felt kinda sudden and it feels like it doesn’t work out well story-wise since Neku had to learn how to trust other people and make friends and with how he started vs. how he came out of it contrasting each other.

By the way, they made the characters look good in the anime. Especially Joshua. Have you seen Joshua? He’s so pretty in the anime. I want a picture of him I could stare at anytime I want to (I do not own a phone, sadly).

I like how they gave Eri more scenes though and that they changed her outfit for the anime so she won’t look exactly like UG!Shiki. All of her scenes though made me feel like I wish the anime gave closure to Shiki’s own story by showing us her and Eri making up. Another scene I liked in the anime is Neku’s fanboying of CAT when he finds out the truth. It was adorable.

Some info was taken away from the anime. Beat and Rhyme leaving home had scene dialogue and unlike Beat just narrating it in-game but they didn’t mention specifically why he was angry and his trouble at home. Joshua wasn’t present when Sota and Nao gave Neku a pep-talk either which is a shame cause I think that helped Josh as well.

I mentioned before how the anime made things go too fast. They cut off chunks of not-main-plot story that let the characters interact with each other more which means each game day is shortened as well. I think it made sense that Neku wakes up at the scramble in the end and not stressed out because he didn’t go through as much as his game counterpart did. That said, game Neku learned a lot from more than just the main cast in the game compared to the anime so I like his character development in the game better.

They took away Tin Pin Slammer. I am sad and disappointed. I was hoping so bad for Another Day to be adapted even if it’s an OVA. That and the ramen incident are part of Josh’s week which meant some side of him wasn’t shown (I mean, anime fans don’t know he wasn’t there on week 3 since he’s busy playing a kid’s game elsewhere and how he could talk about food like he is from a cooking anime). Speaking of Josh, they made him very suspicious from the get-go in the anime. I understand as there’s a limited run-time and they can’t really afford to be subtle about it but it meant some of the fun interactions with Neku is gone and so are some scenes where they actually got along. At least they had ice cream together, I guess?

(I have more to say when it comes to Joshua cause he’s my fave character but this is long and my thoughts on it would make this way longer. I might make another post.)

In the end, it wasn’t perfect but the anime was fun and enjoyable enough that I found myself looking forward to it every week. Seeing scenes I recognize from the game in animated form (with voice acting!) felt exciting and awesome. I’ll miss this show and I still wish it was longer.

If you’ve read this far well, thank you. And also I’m confused why but still hopefully that was a good time-killer. I have so many other things I wanted to comment on but that’s for another time. Maybe.

#Subarashiki Kono Sekai #subaseka #the world ends with you #twewy #sana_post

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subasekabang · 4 years ago

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Past Nova - Chapter 01

Title: Past Nova - Chapter 01

Rating: T

Word Count: 12,665 [Ch 01: 3976]

Pairings/Characters: Neku Sakuraba. Beat. Shiki Misaki. Rhyme. Sota Honjo. Nao. Joshua Kiryu. Sota/Nao.

Warnings: Past Character Death mentions.

Summary: Neku and his new friends find that they’ve been brought back to life, time wound back as if the three weeks had never happened. It’s something that they don’t have time to adjust to though, as Neku realises that Sota and Nao are still alive, with no guarantee that the two won’t end up back in the UG. Even without a timer on his hand, time is ticking down - but Neku isn’t going to let Sota and Nao disappear without a fight. Not again.

Partner: @licobleps & HB Kit

Author’s Note: Tadaa! I was having trouble coming up with what I wanted to write for the Bang but just before we had to submit the idea I remembered this old plot bunny and said ‘yes, this is it!’. I struggled to get this moving at first because I kept overthinking details but it was fun once I got going. A super huge thank you to Lico and Kit for choosing my fic to work with - look out for their artwork, I’m sure you’ll be just as impressed as I am!

“The stars are out tonight!”

Despite this proclamation, if one were to look up at the sky, they would not spot a single shining star. The lights that kept the city alight past sunset maintained disappointment for anyone with enough optimism to have a glimpse. Even if stars were visible in the city, they were a touch far from nighttime; the sun was barely past the horizon.

Nao, however, showed no signs of her spirit being dampened. On the contrary, she seemed invigorated, arms spread wide as if she was about to welcome falling stars into them.

He couldn’t see anything in the sky himself but if Nao saw something more up there, Sota sure as hell believed that they were really there.

Even as she stumbled slightly, stretched too far on her tiptoes, with Sota moving in to catch her by her shoulders, he was sure of this.

“You manage to catch one?”

“Like, I tried. But no.”

“I’m gonna get you one.”

She giggled - wondering aloud if they could really catch one.

“We will, promise.”

After all, they had all the time in the world to chase stars.

Didn’t they?

Chapter 01 - Urban Nebula

Ramen.

Just a while ago, Neku would have carried on eating this dish without a second thought. It was something that he could find anywhere, something he would consume unceremoniously. Yet here he was, finding himself genuinely appreciating how good this bowl of ramen was.

Nothing can beat a warm bowl of Shoyu.

“Yo, you’re trippin’. Tonkotsu’s where it’s at.” Beat said this in between messy slurps of his own.

Neku didn’t realise he said that out loud.

“I’m more of a Miso person myself,” said Shiki.

He also didn’t expect this to be where their conversation went.

“I actually prefer Miso too,” Rhyme piped up.

The volume in the small ramen shop increased twofold as Beat noisily argued why exactly Tonkotsu was the best of the best when it came to ramen. Shiki countered with reasonings of her very own, while Rhyme added her thoughts every few pauses.

It all seemed so trivial. So normal.

As if it hadn’t been a week since he had last seen them.

Though, he supposed Beat did tear up when Neku met him and Rhyme by Hachiko a few hours ago. So it wasn’t like he was the only one still reeling from the Game. Still, Beat bounced back pretty quick and once Shiki arrived, they were all just happy to be reunited.

Honestly, he welcomed this normalcy but at the same time, it was a new kind of normal for him.

Before this, he hadn’t had any friends to actually just sit down and eat together with. Not for a long time. During the Game, once he figured out that eating actually affected his performance in fighting against the Noise, he became pretty careful with what he picked and he was still a lot more…prickly than he was now. He was sure that during his first few days with Shiki, they spent the majority of their time while eating in silence. Well, she did make an attempt to make conversation though he admittedly brushed her off. With Joshua, as Shiki’s life was on the line, Neku didn’t want to waste his time with too much small talk. Beat inhaled his food, just as he was doing now, so they didn’t really stop to chat during meals either.

Now, however, they didn’t have to rush off anywhere. No timer burnt upon their skin to urge them onto their feet. They were just four friends eating ramen Shibuya. Who would’ve thought?

“Neku, I know your fave is Shoyu but give it to us straight - Miso or Tonkotsu?” Shiki nudged his arm to get his attention. She must have realised that he was spacing out.

“I think that - ” Uh oh, this looks serious. Both Shiki and Beat’s expressions said that victory hinged on his answer. Rhyme was looking between the two with concern, hand against her mouth as if to prevent herself from intervening. “I think that they’re both ‘okay’. Shoyu’s the best.”

Beat groaned while Shiki let out a cheer. “Rhyme agrees with me, so that makes the score for Miso, Tonkatsu and Shoyu to 2-1-1. I win!”

“What exactly do you win?” asked Neku.

“Hmm.” Shiki tapped her finger against her lips as she pondered the question. “Aha, I know! You guys can pay for my lunch.”

“‘That ain’t gonna work Shiki, I’m broke.”

Shiki peered at his sister instead, who begun to smile sheepishly.

“Neku?” Shiki looked at him expectantly.

“What? Hey, don’t look at me! Why should I get dragged into this?”

At that moment, the owner of the shop leaned over the counter and slid across his receipt. It had both his and Shiki’s orders on them. Wha - he can’t do that! Can he do that?

He opened his mouth to object when he spotted that Beat and Rhyme had their receipt, cash already on top of it and passing it back to the owner. When did that happen? Neku suspected the ramen owner had been listening to their conversation and had picked a side.

“Okay, okay, I get it Mr. Doi, I’ll pay.” He sighed, forking over his cash.

“Oho? So you’ve heard of me, young man?” He crossed his arms and nodded triumphantly. “As I thought, I’ve still got it in me to reach young folks like you too. Always appreciate getting new customers who follow the news of good ramen. You kids enjoy the rest of those bowls! Don’t take too long, though!” He gave a hearty laugh before rushing off to serve another customer.

Just like that the steam that wafted throughout the restaurant suddenly seemed to contain more heat, the smell becoming sharper to Neku’s senses. He pulled at his collar, feeling the stuffiness start to overwhelm him.

“He doesn’t remember us, huh?” Shiki said quietly, voicing what all of them were probably thinking.

Guess we’re going to talk about it, after all. It would be stranger not to.

“During my second week, we helped him out,” Neku murmured. “He should remember us.”

“Yo, I just wanna ask so that I know I’m not goin’ crazy. The Game did happen, didn’t it?” Beat whipped out his phone. “So how come Day 1 is supposed to be…tomorrow.”

Beat was right - which was a weird thing in of itself - the date shown on his phone was the date that they had their first day in the Game.

Neku had woken up in the middle of Scramble Crossing last week and he knew that wasn’t where he died. When he had rushed home then, though, there was no sign of him having been gone for more than the few hours from when he went out that day. He was left even more confused as to when he checked his phone and saw the date, it was a little over a week before he was to start his first Game. Not only was Shibuya not Erased but he had been brought back to life as if nothing had ever happened. Unlike the first time he woke up on the streets, all his memories, even of the Game, seemed to be intact. Some of which, he thought he could do without.

“It was the same for me,” Shiki said after Neku described what happened for him. “I remember everything but…my parents don’t remember me…dying.”

“Our folks don’t remember that either.” Beat grit his teeth, “but they do remember me an’ Rhyme runnin’ outta the house.” A familiar look flashed across Beat’s face. It was the one that he had every time he talked about Rhyme during their third week.

Before Neku could find any words of comfort, Rhyme said, “I think it makes sense that they don’t remember. Otherwise, I don’t think the Reapers having double lives would work.”

“Really?” asked Shiki.

“I think so. I heard about Def Märch before the Game because they were getting more famous. But wouldn’t there be a problem if someone who knew 777 when he was alive saw him? Since he should be dead?”

Neku was sure he didn’t find out about Reapers being able to appear and disappear whenever they wanted until Joshua told him, but Rhyme was observant so he wasn’t surprised that she caught onto that. She did have a point about that; if you become a Reaper, something probably needed to be done to the memories of people around you. “The Reapers, or at least the Conductor and the Composer, definitely have the power to change memories. I learned that the hard way.”

“Right, so if they do if they change up memories of people for Reapers it would make sense that they do it for Players that go back to the RG too,” Rhyme reasoned.

It did make sense…but was something about it bothered Neku. “How come we’ve got back a few weeks, though?” If they could just change memories, why were they also back before the start?

“Mr. H told me and Neku that the Shibuya we saw wasn’t real, so maybe it’s kind of a reset for us?” Shiki suggested though she didn’t sound so sure.

“He did say that. But Joshua, was saying the opposite,” Neku recalled.

“I dunno man, how’re we sure he wasn’ lyin’?”

He couldn’t answer Beat. He wasn’t sure exactly how many of the things Joshua had said to him during their week together were lies but he definitely knew that there was a lot.

Seeming to notice Neku’s change of disposition, Shiki carried on, “So let’s say we were reset. Does that mean everything was reset? You guys went on for another two weeks after we won our game, right? Does that mean that everyone who played those games have come back to life?”

“I’m back and I got Erased in the first week.” Neku wondered how Rhyme could say that in such a matter-of-fact way. “Maybe that means the other Players that got Erased were also brought back. There weren’t any other Players in the third week but Beat and I saw some in the second.”

Other Players in the second week…- wait!

“There were…there were two Players that I made met - that I made friends with - during the second week.” It was the couple, the ones who reached out when he felt himself slipping back to his old self. They were kind and wanted to help other Players, even if it might have put their own reincarnation at risk. “They were Erased when I was Partners with Joshua and I couldn’t do anything to help them.”

The memory of it, of the Taboo noise attacking the two, of Neku arriving too little too late, flooded through him. What made it worse, though, was that he hadn’t thought of them again until now.

A tentative hand rested on his shoulder. He looked at Shiki, to find her eyes searching his. Although it was the first time he had seen this on her real self, her worry was something he recognised.

While Shiki seemed to try and be a calming presence, Beat was anything but.

“Phones, I don’t wanna freak you out but,” Beat hesitated and Neku had the feeling he would end up freaking out, “when I was a Reapers I was talkin’ to Shades.”

“The Conductor?”

“Yeah, that dude. I asked him a bunch of questions about tryin’ to get Rhyme back and how comin’ back to life works an’ he gave me half-assed answers for most of ‘em but I swear he said that if a Player came back it wouldn’t bring back anyone who’s supposed to die with ‘em.”

“Right…which is why you wanted to become Composer to change the rules,” Neku recalled.

“And Rhyme’s only back ‘cause - ” He exchanged a look with Shiki, who seemed to understand what Beat was going to get at.

“‘Cause we were all there…at the end with The Composer.”

‘At the end’. It was a moment that had been playing in Neku’s mind more times than he could count in the last week.

“We couldn’t move Neku, we couldn’t stop him from…from shooting you.” Shiki’s voice started to tremble. “I was scared for you Neku. But he didn’t Erase you but you were out cold and he said he would bring us all back. And the next thing I knew I was in the middle of a road. It was a few moments before I died. Except I knew that it was so I didn’t get hit by the car in the end.”

“Us neither. Beat stopped running away so we didn’t get to the middle of the road,” said Rhyme. “So it wasn’t that our parents didn’t remember, it’s that we never did die.”

So, Joshua kept all of their memories intact then…For Beat, Rhyme and Shiki, he made it as though their deaths never occurred as they had the memories they needed to stop it from happening themselves. In Neku’s case, it seemed Joshua had to undo things completely since he was the one who killed him. If it was only the four of them that had their memories from the game, though…

“That could mean that…they - those two - would still die and enter the Game.” Neku’s blood ran cold at the thought.

I don’t know for sure. It was entirely possible that he was simply taking leaps in logic. It wasn’t like any of them were certain that they were the only ones that were ‘brought back’. Still, if there was even a small chance of it…They didn’t win the Game that Neku played that week - there was no way of knowing whether they would win if they were the play again. If he was remembering correctly though, he was sure he saw them earlier than the Tin Pin tournament.

“Shiki - remember when we were helping that Makoto guy give out the red pins? And he managed to give them out a couple? Both of them had blond hair.”

“Their outfits matched, yes I remember! That was them? That was our second last day…so then - “ Shiki realised it the same time as Neku.

“If time reset then they’re still alive now,” said Neku. ”And not because they were brought back but because they hadn’t died yet in the first place. “So we could - “

“We could stop them from playin’ the Game in the first place!” Beat punctuated those words with his hands slamming down on the counter and jumping off his seat.

“Hey, keep it down. Are you kids not done eating?” Ken Doi’s voice snapped Neku back to attention. He had completely forgotten that they were in such a public place.

It was a good thing Beat had shouted ‘stop them from dying’ because that would cause eyebrows to rise from the other customers, no matter how few of them there were. Neku had to admit that it sounded crazy. But it also sounded crazy enough to work, considering everything else he had gone through in his time in the Game.

“We done. C’mon les’ go.”

“Beat, hold up,” Neku said, trying to get his friend to slow down. “I don’t even know where to begin with this. We’re not sure if they’re actually still going to die. And if they are we don’t know if there’s any chance that we could stop it.”

“Yeah, so les’ just go ask.”

“Ask who?”

Beat grinned.

“The coffee man, who else?”

xxxxx

Neku had thought about it.

There was a small window of consciousness that Neku had, between getting shot and waking up at the crossing. He was sure that during those few seconds, he saw Mr. Hanekoma and Joshua standing side by side. They were both smiling down at him.

The Conductor didn’t seem to know who Mr. H was. Joshua had told Neku himself that he was the Composer, otherwise, he wouldn’t be here right now. So then, who was Mr. Hanekoma? He told Neku to think of him as a ‘guardian’ of the Game. Did he mean that he was there to oversee the Game that Neku was playing or the one that Joshua was playing with the Conductor? Was it his job to do both? Was that why he was there at the end?

Questions like these had plagued Neku’s mind since the day he got back. The reason that Neku started to let his guard down around Joshua was because Mr. H was helping him out. If Joshua’s goal was to cause Shibuya’s destruction then Neku could only conclude that Mr. H was helping Joshua do that. But that can’t be it. If Mr. H was really CAT, he couldn’t believe that. His art, his words, they didn’t call for the end of the city but the constant renewal and growth of it.

With his doubts on Mr. H it wasn’t as if taking a trip to WildKat hadn’t crossed his mind. If Mr. H was actually there…he didn’t know what he would do. He didn’t know if he was ready to hear the truth of it, if Mr. H was going to share it at all.

At least, he wasn’t ready to face it alone.

The Shibuya streets weren’t exactly appropriate to be running through, not when they couldn’t pass through people anymore. Nevertheless, Beat bulldozed his way through the urban crowds, parting them as people jumped aside to get out of his way. His sister tried to keep up with him, always several paces behind, offering a quick ‘sorry’ to anyone who might want to hear it. Shiki lagged behind slightly, stopping every now and then to catch her breath (“did I mention that I’m also not as athletic in the RG?”). Watching them run, for his sake, for the sake of putting his mind at ease - it made him feel ready.

Their arrival at the cafe’s storefront highlighted their reset, as Shiki called it. It stood, as unassumingly simple as it did when Neku first saw it. That was to say, there was none of the damage that Minamimoto had inflicted on it during their last week.

“Mr. H owns this? Funny…I’ve never noticed this shop before,” Shiki said, squinting at it.

Maybe it was by design; if not a lot of people visited because it was a ‘simple’ shop in Shibuya’s plethora of unique offerings, then it gave Mr. H a lot of time to be doing…whatever that he was supposed to be doing in the Game.

Beat had stopped right in front of the door. He looked back at Neku. “Yo, you aight?”

Neku blinked at Beat, taken aback by the sudden question. “Yeah, I’m - ”

“We don’t have to go in yet,” Shiki said, “if you don’t want to.”

They noticed, huh?

“Thanks guys.” He really was touched. “But I’m okay, let’s go in.”

Even as Beat pushed the door open, however, Neku took in a deep breath. He could do this. He followed behind Shiki, feeling the weight of every step forward.

The shop was empty.

Not completely, there were still pastries in the display, ones that looked fairly fresh. There was no sign of anyone being around though. Neku couldn’t help but start to feel disappointed. For all his apprehension of coming here, Hanekoma wasn’t actually around. Being here when they wanted to see him would be too easy, wouldn’t it?

“Seems cosy,” said Shiki, if for nothing else but to fill the silence that had set between the four.

Neku pulled out a chair, sinking down into it. Might as well sit down, while he thought of what they could do next. If they were going to help Sota and Nao, they should probably go look for them. It might be possible if he could still scan people, but how was he supposed to find them in a sea of people that he couldn’t read? If they did need help, in the first place.

Lost in his thoughts, once again, he only registered that Beat was snooping around when he heard a tearing sound. He sat straight up, recalling that this was where Hanekoma had hidden the note for them, leading their way to the Shibuya River.

“Huh? The hell is this?” Turning to show the others, Beat had his fists clenched around two feathers, grip a tad rough for such delicate-looking items. They gave off a glow as if hinting that they would not be harmed no matter how Beat handled them. “Why’d Coffee Man leave these here?”

“Maybe he’s a bird keeper on top of a cafe owner and working as CAT,” Neku said, drily. “You sure you didn’t find anything else in there?”

“Nah, nothing else in there ‘cept dust,” Beat confirmed. He came back around the front of the counter, looking to hand the feathers to Neku.

Sighing, Neku got up and took them from Beat, making sure to be gentler with them than he was. While they looked like feathers, they weren’t exactly ‘normal’ looking feathers.

“Did those come from a Noise?” Shiki adjusted her glasses, taking a step close to inspect them properly. They did look like they could have come from one. “Maybe you actually got it Neku, maybe he’s some kind of birdkeeper…for those bird-looking Noise. Or just in charge of the Noise in general.”

“He did know how to make Noise,” said Rhyme, also taking a closer look. “That’s how he kept Beat and I in the game, after all.”

“Maybe.” That was one possibility. It was just a gut feeling but Neku didn’t think that was it. Though he didn’t think that Hanekoma was a Reaper either. Whoever he was, he must have been pretty important if he knew the Composer so well. Knew him a lot better than I did.

Bzzt.

The buzzing came from one of his pockets. It was his phone. He fished it out of his pocket and stared at it.

“What’s wrong, Phones?”

The only people who would message him were in this room. Except for the two people that he couldn’t seem to find.

Flipping open his phone he clicked on the message, sent from an unknown number.

–

I’m devastated that I couldn’t make it today. I have a few things to attend to.

You’re probably all at WildKat Cafe right now, aren’t you? Predictable.

I’d rather not come back and find you running around Shibuya aimlessly again so I’ll give you a little hint -

Sota Honjo and Nao Akahoshi.

Entered Shibuya’s UG on the 2nd of August.

6.48pm

I can’t provide you a timer in the RG but it’s safe to say your time limit is within seven days.

Have fun saving the tin pin champions.

–

Neku considered reading it out loud but he wasn’t confident in how his tone would come out right now. He passed his phone along, allowing the others to read through it. The message gave Neku so many more questions. Ones that he wouldn’t know how to voice properly, even if Joshua had been standing right here with them.

Yet that was as good as a confirmation that he was going to get that he had to do this. No, he didn’t have to - he wanted to.

“Look at the time,” Shiki said as she passed Neku back his phone.

6.48pm

“Seven days, exactly.”

And to think, only this morning Neku had been looking forward to spending time with his friends without having a time limit hanging above them.

This time, though, they were alive. Alive along with the rest of Shibuya, brimming with life day in and day out.

“You guys sure you’re alright with trying to do this?”

It was a question that didn’t need to be asked.

They were with him.

#TWEWY #TWEWY Bang 2020 #The World Ends With You #Subarashiki Kono Sekai #thestormfall #submission

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smokeybrandreviews · 5 years ago

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Smokey brand Select: Heavy is the Head

There is a criminal lacking amount of material about Godzilla on this blog. I feel ashamed that i have so haphazardly neglected the Big G. I've spoken about this before, but Godzilla means a great deal to me. I didn’t have the warmest of experiences during my childhood so i cherished the ones that weren’t horrifying. I’m melancholy for a reason and a lot of that can be traced back to my unkind environments as a kid. Godzilla is tied to many of those good memories i was able to glean off the darker circumstance of my halcyon days. I’ve seen every movie and own about half of them. It occurs to me that there are, like thirty of these things and, with the release of the what might be the final Monsterverse movie on the horizon, Godzilla vs. Kong, i wanted to take a look at the entire catalog. I wanted to revisit the films and choose what i believe to be the best in the franchise.

10. The Return of Godzilla

This was probably the first Godzilla movie i ever saw in my entire life. The second is actually on this list a ways down but this one left a massive impression on me. It was gorgeous, lavishly produced, and completely different than the film i had just watched. Not in the sense of tone, they both are on the darker side of the Goji spectrum, but this is the first time i witnessed the “death” of a Godzilla and it f*cked me right up. I remember weeping about that for days. Imagine my surprise, years later, when i found out that Godzilla 1985 was the start of an entire era of Goji films. This thing is actually a direct sequel to the 1954 Gojira film, ignoring everything in the Showa era. As such, it takes a ton of cues from that film, not only the tone, but visually as well. This Goji is like an updated version of that Goji and it really shows. I initially saw this film in the re-cut, Americanized, version Godzilla 1985. It was fine. I was a kid so i didn’t even know about the way the US butchers foreign film yet. As an adult, i made it a point to watch the original Japanese version and i can say, hands down, that version is the superior watch. I’d say check both out, Godzilla 1985 and Return of Godzilla if you’re a Goji fan but Return is definitely the better of the two.

9. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

This is the first appearance of Kiryu, the third Mechagodzilla. You’ll notice that Mechagoji makes a ton of appearances on this list. That’s because it’s films are some of the best in the entire franchise, hands down. Plus, it’s my all-time favorite Goji villain. This particular version was our introduction into the loose continuity of the entire Millennium era. This saw Goji in a ton of one-shot type and experimental narratives. The only two story lines actually connected were this film and it’s direct sequel, Tokyo S.O.S. I chose this one over it’s follow-up because of the raw emotion i felt seeing the best design of Mechagoji ever captured on film, for the first time. Kiryu is a masterpiece and i loved every second it was onscreen. The narrative is an interesting one, too. It’s not top-tier but, for the Millennium series, it’s pretty ambitious. Objectively, Tokyo S.O.S might be the better film, but this one made a great first impression. If you see one, you have to see the other. They’re kind of a set.

8. Godzilla: Final Wars

Oh, Final Wars. Your ambition is only matched by your absurdity. Look, final Wars is Endgame before other was an Endgame. It’s the cap to the entire Godzilla franchise to that point, kind of like how Destroy All Monsters was supposed to close out the Showa era. We saw how well that worked, just like this “conclusion.” This thing is unapologetic fan service, rife with the campiest of performances. I mean, the Xilliens in this are a direct reference to the original, would-be world conquerors from Planet X, first introduced in 1965. I love that sh*t! It’s chock full of Aliens, Mutants, Monsters, and more! Almost every Goji villain gets a cameo, including the first US attempt at a Goji adaption, Zilla. Gigan got an updated design that was just gorgeous, King Ghidorah gets a promotion to Kaiser, and Monster X is introduced as it’s own thing. That initial design was absolutely filthy and immediately made my top five Goji villain designs. Speaking of designs, Final Wars Goji is my favorite version of the King, Slim, mean, and breathtakingly regal in statue, it was dope seeing this suit in action, even if it was the only time.

7. Godzilla: King of the Monsters

I’m a huge fan of the new Monsterverse being woven together by Legendary over here in the States. So far, I’ve enjoyed every release, even Kong: Skull Island. I don’t like King Kong. Never have. It’s a rather offensive allegory when you think about but that’ a discussion for another day. This is about the latest release of Legendary’s universe; King of the Monsters. Like Final Wars and Destroy All Monsters before it, this film is kind of a celebration of the Goji franchise as a whole but with a Yankee twist. For the first time, we get to see what classic Toho monster look like, filtered through a modern Hollywood lens and, let me tell you, it is a sight to behold. I was already on board for the Godzilla reveal a few years before but Mothra and Rodan killed it. Those designs were amazing, particularly Mothra. She seemed like a proper threat and not some mascot. I loved it. That said, and this might be blasphemy among the fandom, but the Monsterverse version of King Ghidorah is the best goddamn version of the monster ever captured on film. This motherf*cker is smarmy, conceited, arrogant, and just plain awesome. The design, the personalities, the cruelty; It’s everything a challenger to the Throne had to have and Legendary nailed it. The movie, itself, is kind of weak in the narrative department, mostly as a knee-jerk reaction to the heavily human story of the initial Godzilla release, but the monster action is premium.

6. Godzilla vs. Biollante

Among the fandom, this is considered the very best Godzilla movie in the entire franchise. I wouldn’t go that far but i can’t deny the objective quality saturating this film. It gets right what so many of these movies get wrong; The human story line. That aspect of the story, rather than feeling like something tacked on for perspective, is integral to the overall narrative. It’s rare for that to occur and this film was the first time experienced it, myself. This is easily the best film in the Showa era but it took some time for it to be seen as such by the entire fandom. Initially, people hated this movie. They hated Biollante and wanted to see old monster with new tech. They got their wish and those films are kind of bogus. Heisei closed out strong with Space Godzilla and Destroyah, but that was after a series of mediocre retreads. Toho should have followed their instincts and moved forward with the new look they pushed with Biollante. She was dope and deserved better initially. and, yes, Biollante is female. That’s part of that integral human story i spoke of before.

5. Terror of Mechagodzilla

The second appearance of Mechagodzilla was one for the history books. The bionic monster was just a ferocious, just as menacing, as his initial outing but even moreso here. Terror is less heavy that the first time we saw Mechagoji, but it’s still got a ton of blood on it’s hands. This thing skews closer to the darker Showa outing but never really gives you pause like those other films do. No, it;s true to the narrative established a year before and tends to be an exercise in violence the whole way through. I really like this film and it has one of the best stories in the Showa era. It's not as tight as it’s predecessor, which is on this list, but it does a spectacular job with what it has.

4. Godzilla

So this is the first of several adaptions of the the initial Godzilla encounter. This particular one, is the first appearance of the Big G in the Monsterverse. The 2014 Godzilla film is derided for having next to no Godzilla in it, but that didn’t bother me too much. Of course you want all Goji, all the time but that makes for a lousy film. King of the Monsters did that and it is vastly inferior, narrative wise, to this flick. This film, while Godzilla-starved, does accomplish that rare thing Biollante was able to pull off and so few others in the franchise seem to do; Make the human narrative relevant. This sh*t does that exceptionally, even if they kill off the best character in the entire goddamn movie, almost immediately. Still, after Bryan Cranston bites the dust, i was still on board. A lot of this movie feels like a test run for what comes later but what a Beta it turned out to be. As a film, Godzilla is amazing. I loved the narrative, the characters, and even the monster action, what little there was initial. I really hate the MUTO. They’re kind of corny looking, a little generic, but the best designed of all the US Titans. All of the US Titans are gross looking. All of them. Great movie though!

3. Gojira

The first appearance of Godzilla and the most harrowing tale in the entire franchise. The name Godzilla is actually a misnomer. Goji’s original name was Gojira, which basically means “whale ape’ but this was mispronounced by Americans as Godzilla, thus the moniker we use today. Gojira is the correct, Japanese name, for the King of Monsters but people, worldwide, recognize Godzilla more so it’s been accepted as the proper name. Now that that little tidbit is out of the way, let’s get into the many, MANY, different cuts of this film. Similarly to Return of Godzilla, this one was recut, had scenes added with a well known US actor, dubbed, and released under the title Godzilla: King of Monsters! I’ve seen both versions and there each have their merits but the aggressive bleak tone and tragic narrative of Gojira make for a truly emotional viewing experience. Godzilla isn’t a monster in this movie, he’s literally the physical personification of that devastation inflicted upon Japan, by the atomic bomb. This film is Japan mourning the death of their great country. This is Japan reflecting on their sins. It’s an incredibly raw, violently bleak, take on such content, easily held in the same vein as Schindler’s List. That’s not hyperbole either, this film hits the same as that one. The US cut is good as a film but lacks a lot of that genuine Japanese energy. Gojira does not and of the tow, this one is far superior. both version are absolutely required viewing if you’re trying to get into Godzilla.

2. Shin Godzilla

I love Shin Godzilla. I was mad hyped when Toho announced they were going to release a proper Goji film after some years and even more on board when i heard that Hideaki Anno was going to be in charge of it. Dude is the principal architect of my all-time favorite anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion, so i knew there was going to be a brilliance to this flick not seen in the entire franchise. The take on Godzilla being a manifestation of how crippling bureaucracy and tradition clot the Japanese culture was not lost on me. This is another one of the Goji flicks that puts precedence on the human story and it does that so goddamn well, i was stunned. Look, i loved film and, as a film, this thing is outstanding. I get that it can come across as plodding and slow paced, but you have to understand, it’s showing you, real time, what it’s like to move through the Japanese government. All of that red tape, all of that inaction, is a noose around Japan’s neck and you get a real understanding of that. Not only does this thing have great direction and exceptional performances for a Japanese product, that Shin Goji design is absolutely horrifying. It’s wholly original, brilliantly executed, and easily my second favorite in the entire franchise. I love this movie and everything it represents. Shin Godzilla is absolutely required viewing for the Goji fan.

1. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

I alluded to this before, but Mechagoji is my favorite Godzilla villain of all-time. This film is why. Terror was the second Godzilla movie i had ever seen. It was the first VHS i ever bought with my own money. I remember, vividly, the emotions i felt watching this mechanical monstrosity decimate both King Shiisa and Godzilla. Mechagodzilla was a legitimate powerhouse and it demonstrated that with every assault on Tokyo. I mean, he shows up, and damn near rips Anguirus’ face right the hell off! We saw blood, so much blood, spew from Goji’s best friend and it was truly heartbreaking. Angie just scuttled away in defeat, inflicting almost no damage to the violent impostor and, from there, it was just a massive show of power. Unlimited power. Narrative wise, it’s actually one of the best, most coherent stories in the entire franchise. In my opinion, it could give Biollante a run for it’s money but most would place is a step behind. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is my favorite Goji film and required viewing for any fan of the series.

Honorable Mentions: Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla vs Gigan, Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster, Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Destroyah, Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out attack, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S, Godzilla Raids Again

#Smokey brand Select #Godzilla #Gojira

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smokeybrand · 5 years ago

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Smokey brand Select: Heavy is the Head

10. The Return of Godzilla

9. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

8. Godzilla: Final Wars

7. Godzilla: King of the Monsters

6. Godzilla vs. Biollante

5. Terror of Mechagodzilla

4. Godzilla

3. Gojira

2. Shin Godzilla

1. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

#Smokey brand Select #Godzilla

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aftermathdb · 5 years ago

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DEATH BATTLE Review: Dragonzord vs. Mechagodzilla

Robotic Kaiju fight to see who is the true king of them all!

Power Rangers get a third round to see if they can’t net a win. This is the third 3D battle of the season too.

Oh, preemptively: Some of the screenshots might not be that great-looking. I had to use Photobox to get these on here.

Dragonzord′s Preview.

We all know the Power Rangers. Five teenagers that banded together to fight the evil Rita Repulsa and her army of monsters. Things were going pretty well for them, until Rita hatched a plan. She would create her own Ranger with their own powers and their own zord.

Enter: The Dragonzord. A powerful mech that can go toe-to-toe with the Megazord, and has a large plethora of powers.

The hosts go over these powers and note that despite this large arsenal, the Dragonzord is more of a CQC mech than a long-range one.

The Dragonzord’s pilot is Tommy Oliver. A martial arts expert who was so dedicated to Ranger work, that he wore the tights for a long time, and even mentored other rangers. Fun fact: His actor’s birthday is on the day that the episode airs for Youtube.

Tommy controls and summons the Dragonzord with a dagger that he plays as a flute, which leads into this segment:

This goes about as well as you’d expect, and…

I just want to say that Boomstick’s expression there is hilarious, and should become a shirt.

I enjoy this pun unironically.

Anyways, the Dragonzord made short work of Rita’s monsters, and has even fought against the Megazord, which has a power output of over 50k megavolts.

Also worth remembering is that the Megazord once pulled off a feat of 90 Million Newtons

(I don’t know about you, but the whole “As determined in…” parts are really nice callbacks).

So the Dragonzord is in the same ballpark.

Now, the Dragonzord can reach escape velocity. This means that it can move at speeds over Mach 30.

And for the era it was a part of, the Dragonzord is arguably the most durable.

It once survived a blow worth 356.67 Tons of TNT. And shoutout to the guy who made that set piece knowing that it would be destroyed. That’s some quality work.

And what’s a rundown without feats?

The Dragonzord has defeated the technically superior White Tigerzord, and survived a fight with the Thunder Megazord.

And it certainly stands a chance with it’s own fusion of the Mega Thunderzord… Or Dragonzord Fighting Mode… Or Battle Mode- They establish that he never really settled on a name.

But while Tommy has lost his powers in the past, he has still fought the good fight. Even regaining his powers along the way.

And with the powers returned, perhaps one day, so will the Dragonzord.

Mechagodzilla′s Preview.

We all know Godzilla. The rampaging monster that decimated Japan.

And I’m sure we all know the famous story of how he was defeated. By Dr. Serizawa’s (in)famous Oxygen Destroyer, a weapon so powerful, he destroyed himself with it to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.

And while Japan was subject to many giant monster attacks over the years, their special task force would handle it neatly… Until a new Godzilla showed up and started wrecking them all over again.

Without the Oxygen Destroyer, the defense squad needed a new way to fight back. So they gathered their top scientists in robotics, microwaves, low-temperature physics, and… Cyber-Necromancy to create their own monster.

Enter: Mechagodzilla.

While it’s not the first one of it’s kind (As Wiz notes), it’s certainly the most unique.

So much so, that it was given it’s own designated codename of Kiryu. A combination of Machine and Dragon. Though, Boomstick opts to just call it Mechagodzilla.

Kiryu is equipped with a wide assortment of weapons. From rockets, to maser cannons, to grappling wires, to spinning claws, a hidden blade, and most famously: The Absolute Zero Cannon. This makes it far better suited to long-range attacks. Making Kiryu a zoner.

The Absolute Zero Cannon robs it’s target of all of it’s energy at once. Meaning that whatever it hits shatters at the atomic level.

Kiryu is also built around the skeletal remains of the OG Godzilla, giving him all the size and strength as the King of the Monsters. It even uses cyber-DNA to give it an edge up, allowing Kiryu to preform some rudimentary actions like a simple AI. exactly like Wiz’s own Cyber-Goos3 (Spelling citationn: The commentary. There were some difficulties getting the screenshots to work, so time was needed).

(Whether or not this is the same goose from the Terry Board Preview is unknown).

Much like the Dragonzord, Kiryu is piloted by Akane Yashiro. A hardened warrior of the Anti-Megalosaurus Force.

According to the hosts, she’s your typical antisocial anime protagonist. Cutting herself off from other people because she has no family left, and got her squad killed on accident. Because I guess that wasn’t an overused trope back then.

Akane pilots Kiryu from a nearby jet plane. The AC-3 White Heron can fly at a speed of 930 km/hr. Together, these two have a perfect track record against Godzilla.

But, as Boomstick warns, Plot twist: Akane isn’t the only pilot for Kiryu. As it turns out, the original Godzilla is also there in spirit�� Literally. Godzilla can wrestle control away from Akane, making it a rampaging monster again.

Though, it’s strongly implied that the two have reached an understanding. Which is a good thing. Because the giant mech has some impressive feats. Like tossing a second Godzilla that clocks in at about 25000 metric tons.

Kiryu was even fast enough to dodge the Atomic Breath, which moves at a speed of Mach 2.5.

Speaking of speed, the mech once flew an extremely large distance in a manner of minutes.

Regardless of who is behind the wheel, Kiryu is a powerhouse. No monster has ever fought a battle against it and lived to tell the tale.

The Battle Itself.

Animator (and some of their previous works), Tommy Oliver will be voiced by Nicholas Andrew Louie and Akane Yashiro will be voiced by Hitomi Farrell. sprite artists, Draconic Robotics by Therewolf. Kristina lead on animation, and Chris Kokkinos on audio.

So the fight is similar to Weiss vs. Mitsuru in the sense that there’s no lead-up to the fight. The fight animation just dumps us in the middle of the battle as it’s going on.

Tommy uses his skills to knock Kiryu down, so Akane gives some motivation.

(For the record, these are subtitles provided by the animation. Not mine).

So Tommy knocks down Kiryu and starts kicking him while he’s down. So Kiryu responds by using that hidden blade from earlier to get Dragonzord off of him.

Akane ensures that all systems are go, and opts to play smart.

Like, let’s take a moment to appreciate this animation. It’s awesome. This is stuff that they could only dream of doing, and now, it’s a reality.

Kiryu gets some distance in, and then goes for a missile barrage. Dragonzord responds by using the head fin to blast them.

However, the jet booster does manage a hit, and it knocks Tommy down.

Tommy isn’t going to let some monster blast him with an attack that has a charge though, and retaliates.

I kinda wish I could make gifsets of these, because they are awesome bits of animation that should be seen to be believed. But, that would take away from the suspense, and I’d rather people go watch the video proper than plagiarize viewership from my review. Plus, I wouldn’t be able to have sound on the gifs anyways. And the music is friggin’ awesome.

Akane comes in to provide covering fire.

Tommy retaliates by bringing her down.

Now, if it weren’t for the fact that Godzilla could take over, Kiryu would be done for. So the battle rages on.

The fight remains close-quarters as both sides make impressive blows and make great counters to one another.

As an example, Mechagodzilla grapples the Dragonzord in his mouth, and starts running and pummeling him.

Can I just say that the Run-and-Pummel is one of my favorite things to see in an action scene? It’s just really cool to see a character carrying their opponent, and either hitting them or ramming them through walls. It’s just so cool.

Tommy then pulls the same trick he did (will do?) from Tigerzord vs. Epyon, and calls the other zords to help him out. If they look familiar, that’s because they’re the same model from Megazord vs. Voltron.

(I won’t be showcasing any screennshots of the combining sequence, because that’s something that must be seen with one’s own eyes).

With Fighting Mode ready, Tommy is ready for round two.

The two do battle, and go at each other. It’s a very close bout, and even over time, it’s hard to tell who has the advantage. Though, given that it’s close-quarters, the Dragonzord has an edge up.

Tommy gets ready for his own finishing blow, so… y’know.

Finishing blow in

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Verdict + Explanation.

So, right off the bat, Tommy had the experience advantage in the bag. Given how long he’s been at the job, that was a given. But experience wasn’t enough to win the day.

In comparison, Kiryu held the advantage in weight, and had more impressive strength.

Take the best feats that both have shown, well, scaled to in Dragonzord’s case.

In direct comparison, the Megazord’s best strength feat isn’t even half as good as Kiryu’s best feat. Meaning that Dragonzord’s best feat is also not as good. It also doesn’t help that Kiryu was also good at fighting at a distance thanks to the wider arsenal of tools he had at his disposal.

They go on to explain that while it’s hard to find the Fighting Mode’s largest output, it’s in the ballpark of the Thunder Megazord and Rita, the latter of whom destroyed an island.

By the size of it, it clocks in at about 2.62 Gigatons of TNT. But still not as good as Kiryu’s best feats.

The Absolute Zero Cannon destroyed the Prince Hotel New Tower building, as well as a few others surrounding it. Using the real-life measurements of the building, this means that the Absolute Zero Cannon’s power output is nearly 130 Teratons of TNT. And since Kiryu was at the center of a blast like that, it’s pretty obvious that he has the durability over Dragonzord.

Which is thousands of times greater than anything that the Dragonzord could potentially do.

Overall impression.

Like I said, the animation and music is friggin’ awesome. And it’s also a nice relief seeing another movie character enter the fight, since we don’t get too much of that these days.

The explanation makes sense too, aside from the Absolute Zero thing, because it feels more like they should have found the amount of energy robbed instead. It’s probably around the same thing, but still.

The jokes are pretty spot-on, and the animated segments between Wiz and Boomstick are pretty funny too.

It took a few years to see it, but it’s well worth the wait if this is the result of having to wait on seeing this matchup.

9.0/10

Next Time…

(Screenshot of the upcoming battle).

… I have no idea as to why these two are fighting.

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

Some demon shits.

#Death Battle #Deathbattle #review

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j-exclamationmark-l · 6 years ago

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Personal rant

So I found out the hard way about two or three months ago that some phrases trigger some form of PTSD in me from the way I was raised. At least, I think that's what it is. I get filled with this aimless dread, I start seeing memories as clear as day. I start seeing exactly what happened years ago, I can feel myself screaming even though logically I know I'm not actually screaming, it’s just a memory but it's so real, like time doesn't exist and everything is overlapping on itself and I feel like I'm going crazy but I know I'm going crazy, I know none of these things are actually here, and it's like I'm being split in two by the reasonable side of my brain and this pure emotion that's insisting the threat is still right here in front of me.

I started crying at work and asked my coworkers to stop saying it. That was maybe two months ago. It's not even a common phrase - I think people used to say it in the 90s, but until recently, I hadn’t heard anyone say it.

But since I asked, my oldest coworker has kept saying it. I ask her to stop every time and she keeps defending herself. She’s incredibly self-centered, always talks about herself and how awesome she is, brags that she has the most exciting life outside of work (not really? she’s exactly what you’d imagine a white, middle-aged party-girl divorcee to be like), always cuts me off, never remembers things I say, always tries to get me in trouble. She also likes to insinuate that I’m gay by saying frequently that girls with short nails are lesbian (have you ever seen a violinist with long nails?). Her way of asking me to do things is to say “Why am I always the one who has to do this?” I’ve tried being nice to her. I try to listen to her a lot. Once I accidentally said her son was autistic and she began yelling at me that he’s not autistic, he has Asperger’s, so I apologized and asked her what the difference was, since I’d always thought before that Asperger’s was a form of autism. I didn’t fight her on any point she made, I just asked her out of curiosity because I genuinely wanted to know. The next day at work she bragged to the other woman in the office about how she totally schooled me, even though I’d asked.

Friday, everyone in the office was talking about cheesecake, and how Japan’s just doesn’t compare to cheesecake in other countries.

“When my best friend first came to Japan about eight years ago, cheesecake wasn’t really a thing that had caught on,” I said. “So he went to a restaurant and saw ‘hot cheesecake’ on the menu and decided to try it.”

“Gross, cheesecake isn’t supposed to be hot,” this woman cut in. “In Australia--”

“That’s not the story,” I frowned. I’ve been getting more aggressive about her cutting me off. She fought me to begin with, but slowly, other coworkers have started pointing out when she cuts them off, too. “He ordered it, then what was served wasn’t cheesecake at all, but a pancake--”

“That’s not cheesecake,” she interjected. “We were talking about cheesecake--”

“...A pancake. With a slice of processed cheese, like American cheese, on the top.”

“Some cheese could taste really good on sweets, like cream cheese, or--”

“It wasn’t cream cheese, it was a slice of processed cheese, like you buy at the supermarket, the plastic-y ‘torokeru cheese.’“

She began listing off other cheeses that could taste good on a pancake, and I tried to reiterate that that’s not what my friend was served.

Realizing she had nothing else to say to derail the story I thought was kind of funny, she looked me in the eye and said the phrase that she knew triggered me.

At first, I was just really confused. I wasn’t even upset, it was just so weird - not even that she’d say it, but that she’d tried so hard to derail my story. The room went silent, as I’m sure everyone remembers the time I started crying. I made a mental note to tell my friend how hard she’d fought his story. I wondered how weird he’d think that was. I wondered if there were any other details about it he’d share that I’d forgotten; it had been a long time since he’d told me, after all.

I could kind of feel it gnawing at the back of my mind. I knew what she’d said, but I was busy, and if I put on my headphones and went back to work, the flood waters barely sloshed over the top of the dam. If I didn’t process what was behind that wall, if I ignored it...

The minute I was out of work, the minute I was alone, the dam broke and I realized what she’d said, and saw my father looming every time I closed my eyes. I could almost swear he was hiding behind the crowds of people on the train, ready to scream at me. But I knew that was ridiculous, he hates me so much he’d never dare follow me to Japan.

But part of me was certain he was there.

The commute home takes an hour, and for that hour I felt torn, telling myself he wasn’t there and yet somehow convinced he was, and that I was 14 and he was threatening to leave me somewhere and my mother was telling me I was crazy and he was changing the pictures in the frames to not include me or how he dumped all my food down the sink or...

It sounds so stupid now that I write it out. Like a paper tiger. It looks scary, but there’s nothing actually to it.

I got home and drank. I drank more than I thought I could at once, I drank until I passed out.

In the morning, I woke up for long enough to send my coworker a message saying I noticed that she said that phrase and asking her to stop. I passed out again.

I was woken up by her reply. It was long and wordy and filled with phrases like “it’s been ubiquitously ingrained into our lexicon” and how I can’t expect everyone to change their speech patterns just for me. I was so angry that I woke up fully to tell her she’s literally the only person I know who uses that phrase. She then claimed, after her lengthy rebuttal, to have forgotten what the phrase is that upsets me. She also insinuated that nothing I’ve experienced could possibly be anything worse than the shit she’s seen and told me she has more compassion and empathy than anyone else alive, I’m just being an unreasonable little shithead.

So I tried to describe for her what it’s like, being reminded of my dad like that. I know I can’t stop from being reminded of him all the time, but somehow knowing I asked her to stop and seeing her continue to do it makes it worse. I’m not about to tell her that even the word “family” is dangerous territory for me because even I know that’s unreasonable to tell everyone to stop saying that word. But there are things I can do - thinking of my friends as my “family,” thinking of Kiryu’s music as “home.” But that phrase, the one that upsets me, has no actual meaning, and no one even really says it anymore, except for her.

And in the office, I told her, I do what I can. I try to listen to music to block out their conversations most of the time. Yeah, it’s antisocial, but I don’t want another episode and I don’t want to have to force them to change their habits.

But the way she interrupted my story to look me in the eye and say it during one of the few moments I didn’t try to block it out...

She didn’t reply to my message.

I stayed inside for fear of running into her on Sunday (she lives uncomfortably close to me) and I felt sick to my stomach at the idea of seeing her on Monday, but luckily she ignored me yesterday, and today, too.

I wish I could explain it to them, I wish there was a way to let them see instead of seeing it myself all the time. I know they don’t have the attention span to listen, though, and I don’t actually want them knowing that much about me. I just wish they’d understand, I’m not trying to be unreasonable.

I’m in pain and they’d poke me with sticks telling me to “get over it.”

I remember how her friend yelled at me after the first time I broke. She apologized later, but I still don’t trust them. I don’t trust any of them. They lack the imagination to empathize with anything they haven’t experienced firsthand, I think.

I remember friends in high school making jokes about how awful my dad was. I didn’t get it, not really. I mean, I wasn’t happy, but it was normal to me. I didn’t get it until I reached college. And how unfair it was that these people had families that loved and cared for them.

I’ve been having the same nightmare I used to have all the time.

It feels like it will never end.

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tojohq · 7 years ago

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Yakuza 6: The Song of Life Review

The end of Kiryu’s story. As ominous as it sounds, that’s one of the biggest selling points of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. The character that has been leading the series since its very first game finally has an ending chapter to its saga. As an old-time fan, that made me worried and intrigued: How do they plan to end its story? What’s the series going to do moving forward? And, more importantly, how does the game compares to its predecessors, with all the changes made to its engine?

The following review aims to be as spoiler-free as possible, but be advised some spoilers may occur for previous games of the series, like Yakuza 5. Read at your own discretion.

Kiryu Kazuma, the series’ main character, spent several years in prison following the events of Yakuza 5. He is released only to find out that Haruka is in a coma after having been hit by a car. She also had a kid, Haruto, who is at risk of being taken to an orphanage. Kiryu must fight for and maintain custody of Haruto, while investigating the strange mysteries surrounding Haruka’s accident. The stage is set as we initially enter Kamurocho once again, and after he begins his investigation, the trail leads to Onomichi: a peaceful town that is more than it seems.

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The new Dragon Engine was introduced in Yakuza 6, bringing several innovations to the series. For starters, the graphics got a revamp compared to the older engine (used from Yakuza 5 to Yakuza Kiwami), being the first game developed exclusively to PS4. The level of detail in textures, character models, and the world itself, is outstanding. A common complaint about Yakuza 6 is the presence of screen tearing on the game, but I must say I wasn’t able to notice said issue. It’s worth noting that the game runs at 30fps, compared to 60fps on Yakuza Zero and Kiwami. New physics were added, both to the open world exploration and the battles. Exploration-wise, Kiryu can now jump over things, climb stairs, and even fall down from certain buildings. The inventory has also changed. You don’t need to send items to a hideout-like place, like in previous games. Your inventory can store as many items as you like; however, you can only hold 5 of each health/heat restore items, or 10 of each food/beverage items.

Things have changed - the year is 2016 and even Kiryu has a smartphone now, which acts as the game’s menu. Through it, you can find your current tasks and missions; access your inventory; check your stats and mail; check your completion list; change settings; and even take photos or selfies.

With the new graphics engine, Kamurocho has been completely reworked. We have new explorable areas, like Millenium Tower’s rooftop gardens and the Kamuro Theater. We can enter and explore several random buildings, making the city more alive than ever before. We have the same number of taxi stops as before, but more destinations as a whole. It’s worth it to note that certain portions of the map have completely changed. Little Asia is a primary example, and some underwent… peculiar changes, like Pink Street, which is in a diagonal orientation now. However, not everything is good news: some explorable areas that have been around since the first game have been removed, like the Champion District and the Kamurocho Hills/West Park area. We also have fewer stores than before (Kotoburi Drugs, for example, is gone).

Onomichi is considerably smaller when compared to Kamurocho, and has less shops, restaurants and entertainment spots. This more accurately reflects the cities’ real-life counterparts. It’s a port town based on a Hiroshima city that goes by the same name. Here you can access the spearfishing and baseball mini-games, as well as the Snackbar Gaudi. Snack bars are, on that note, popular places on Onomichi to hang out, considering the city doesn’t have Cabaret Clubs. You can also find a few restaurantes, a temple, and a pawn shop.

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We have quite a few new minigames compared to previous games, like the Live Chat, which - more than just being sexy - manages to be funny and quirky due to Kiryu’s reactions; full ports of SEGA games, like VF5FS and Puyo Puyo; and classic arcade games from the 80s, like Space Harrier.

The RAAP Gym features a series of minigames where the player should press the buttons accordingly to make Kazuma exercise. After a session, the trainer recommends a dish you should eat, which impacts the evaluation you receive. Before you attempt to train again, you need to engage in a random encounter in the city.

There’s also a baseball team management minigame. You can recruit new members through substories or around the city and train them. On a match, you can manage your players and sometimes control the hitter. It’s a bit confusing, and, honestly, I didn’t manage to find it too enjoyable.

The Gaudi Snack Bar - unlocked during the baseball team quest line - is actually one of the most fun addictions to Yakuza 6, mini-game wise. For it, Kiryu is invited to a small and familiar bar in Onomichi. In the minigame, you speak with NPCs about their problems, enjoy a few drinks with them, and can even play darts or sing Karaoke. All these things help you develop your friendship with them. Each NPC has its own story, and each one of them is enjoyable, and some of them are tough nuts to crack - you will will need to be persistent with these. I’ve gotten so invested in this specific portion of the game I started to think about the NPCs as close friends of Kiryu, and it made me like Onomichi itself a lot more, since some of these characters are shop owners. It’s a simple yet great addition that gave even more life to the city.

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The Clan Creator is another minigame first introduced in Yakuza 6. It involves recruiting NPCs to your very own Kiryu Clan and using them in battles - but Kazuma himself doesn’t fight, he just commands them like in a strategy game. You can set your hierarchy: Captain, Lieutenants and so on. There’s also an online mode available, where you can fight other player’s Clans. You can, also, add new members to your Clan by entering codes, made available at several different places and through the Yakuza Experience website.

Another feature is the opportunity to help a Cat Cafe that… happens to have no cats, since its owner doesn’t do well with the animals and they all ran away. It’s up to Kazuma to find new cats in Kamurocho or Onomichi for the shop by giving them food and earning their trust. After you max out the trust gauge of a cat, someone will go get the felline, which you can always see in the Cafe from then on.

The spearfishing minigame is basically a shooter with a fishing theme. You can earn money from the fishes you catch, and there’s a spearfishing level: the higher your level, the higher your HP in this minigame. You have different spears to choose from and three different areas to fish in - both selections make an impact on the mini-game difficulty.

Some classic mini-games have been removed, like bowling, pool, UFO catchers, and gambling. Changes have been made to Karaoke and its song list: they are all new this time around. The batting cage minigame has also changed slightly. The Cabaret Club minigame has also been reworked, with a new card-based system that has made it more enjoyable.

Yakuza 6 has 52 substories in total, from which a considerable amount is tied to mini-games like the Snack Bar Gaudi, the Clan Creator, and the Baseball team. We also have 40 different Trouble Missions. Trouble missions are picked through the app ‘Troublr’ on Kiryu’s phone. They usually require the player to battle against an enemy or a group of enemies who’s causing - as the name implies - trouble in Kamurocho or Onomichi. Trouble Missions usually spawn nearby you, are time restricted, generally under 5 minutes, and are considered failed if you engage in another event (like a cutscene or a minigame).

The soundtrack and effects of the game are once again memorable. Differently from previous games, there’s no opening theme this time. On the other hand... some of the songs really stand out, like Joon-gi Han’s theme, several battle themes, and some of the karaoke songs (prime examples would be ‘Hands’ and ‘Today is a Diamond’).

With the new graphical engine and physics also came a new combat system. The very core of it - characteristic to the series - remains the same: fight, do combos, use heat actions. However, the changes run deeper. It was reworked from the ground, with completely new combos, actions and Heat Actions. Unfortunately, Heat Actions are one of the biggest flaws of Yakuza 6 in that there are very few of them. That said, the new physics also make the combat both hilarious and satisfying at times: it’s not rare to see objects being destroyed simply by running through them, or enemies being thrown far from you by doing a combo finished with a kick.

In Yakuza 6 - once again - we see a new leveling system. We have five different experience points: Strength, Agility, Spirit, Technique and Charm. Different activities award different amounts and different kinds of experience. For example, you will get more Strength and Agility by fighting than by doing entertainment activities. You can spend experience points on basic stats (Health, Attack, Defense, Evasion, and Heat Gauge), battle skills, heat actions, and other skills.

We also have an in-depth buff system this time, like increased experience gain, increased money drops, increased stats, and so on. They can be achieved through different means (such as temple blessings, statue offerings, food buffs, and machine drinks) and last a set amount of time or battles.

What was played:

A full playthrough of the main story, 40 substories, and all minigames at least once. Around 60 hours of game time.

Pros:

Graphics are gorgeous and detailed

Great OST

The cities seem alive and as detailed as ever

Several new minigame addictions are fun and rewarding

Good story with likeable characters - both on the substories and the main plot

Cons:

Certain classic mini-games were removed

Areas that have been accessible in Kamurocho since the first game, like the Champion District and the West Park/Kamurocho Hills area are off limits now

Combat seems simplified compared to Zero/Kiwami: less combos, less heat actions

No system to craft weapons, or even to carry then

Verdict: A fitting end to Kiryu’s story, with great graphics, OST, and side content, but not without a few hiccups. Fewer heat actions and the removal of certain minigames detract from it, when compared to previous games of the series.

Score: 8.5/10

Disclaimer: Reviewed on a standard PS4 model using a review code provided by the publisher.

#Yakuza 6 #Yakuza #SEGA #ryu ga gotoku

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gushingaboutgames · 8 years ago

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Yakuza 0

I’m not going to mince words. I fucking love the Yakuza series. With the exception of Yakuza 3, I have played every game in the series that had made its way to the west (yes, even Dead Souls, I like zombie games, shut up). People like to rag on Sega, saying they’re a shit company because their recent Sonic games are a parade of crap, a sentiment that does have some merit. This is the series I hold up as an example that Sega still has it. I was talking about Yakuza with a good friend of mine, and even though she hasn’t played any of the games, even she recognizes that it’s one of the biggest labors of love in gaming.

(note to self: gotta get TL a Yakuza game sometime in the very near future)

It is thus, with a great deal of joy, that I can say Yakuza 0 is perhaps the best game in the series to date, an exemplar of everything that makes the Yakuza series great.

(A bit of warning beforehand: there may be some minor spoilers for the Yakuza series ahead. I’ll avoid the major spoilers, but nonetheless, proceed with caution.)

The game takes place in late 1988, near the end of a period of Japanese history known as the “Bubble Economy”. After World War II, Japan’s economy was in shambles, but with a bit of help from the US, the Japanese economy made the mother of all economic rebounds and went on to become the second largest industry in the world, overtaking others in engineering and consumer products.

With this economic boom came money. Tons of money. Volumes of money. Japanese citizens had cash to burn as the economic bubble grew to epic proportions. Sadly, the good times would not last: the bubble burst in the 1990′s, and Japan has suffered from a recession that it continues to struggle with to this day.

It is in this time of prosperity that Yakuza 0 begins. Being a prequel, this represents an excellent point for new fans to jump in, as no knowledge of the previous games is necessary (though it enhances the experience, natch).

Yakuza 0 is a tale of two cities, and two gangsters. The first, coming out of the Kamurocho district in Tokyo, is series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, a fresh-faced 20-year-old underling in the Dojima Family, one of the most influential (and infamous) factions in the criminal syndicate known as the Tojo Clan. One cold December night, Kiryu finishes shaking down some poor schmuck in debt to a loan shark, then meets up with his best friend and blood brother Akira Nishikiyama for a night out on the town, drinking and singing karaoke before hitting up a cozy little ramen shop.

The fun times come to an abrupt halt when a news bulletin breaks: there’s been a murder in Kamurocho! What makes this different from the other gang-related violence in the city is the fact that the deceased was the same person Kiryu shook down mere hours earlier! Worse still, the body was found on an empty lot in the center of a redevelopment project that the Tojo Clan has been eyeing for quite a while: a dead body and police investigation keeps them from getting their hands on it, and that makes the leadership in the Tojo Clan very cranky.

Not helping matters is a conspiracy among the top brass in the Tojo Clan to usurp the position of the clan’s captain, held by Kiryu’s sponsor and father-figure Shintaro Kazama. If Kiryu was responsible for the murder, it would reflect poorly on Kazama. As a result, the clan’s lieutenants are gunning to have Kiryu take the fall for the murder he did not commit. It’s a race against time as Kiryu tries desperately to clear his name and keep himself and Kazama out of the Tojo Clan’s crosshairs.

Meanwhile, in Sotenbori, Osaka, we have Goro Majima, a 24-year-old gangster from back before he went off the deep end and became a nutjob. He’s living the dream, managing a successful cabaret and raking in dough like a baker in a neon-lit bakery. It is not his dream that he is living, however, for Sotenbori is actually little more than a gilded cage to Majima.

A few years prior, Majima conspired with his sworn brother Taiga Saejima to take down the leaders of one of the Tojo Clan’s rivals. A Tojo Clan higher-up didn’t take this well, and detained Majima while Saejima took the fall and was sentenced to death row. For his trouble, Majima lost his left eye, was exiled from the Tojo and given over to Osaka’s Omi Alliance, where he was tortured for a year before being released on a heavily-supervised work release program, managing the afformentioned cabaret to make enough money to essentially buy his way back into the Tojo.

Eventually, however, a shortcut presents itself: Majima’s handler is willing to put a good word in for him if he is willing to carry out a little bit of wetwork, an assassination. One life in exchange for a ticket back into the Tojo Clan? How hard can it be?

When he realizes his target is actually a defenseless blind woman, though, he hesitates. Does he have it in him to take her life? Is he prepared to face the consequences for not carrying through with the assassination? Can he find some way out of this quandary with his life, and his sanity?

The stories of the Yakuza series have never been anything less than solid. I can’t really talk about it without spoiling it, but it will tug at your heartstrings and keep you on the edge of your seat.

The visuals of Yakuza 0 are a treat, as well: the cities of Kamurocho and Sotenbori look amazing on the PS4, both of them neon-lit playgrounds with a gritty, dingy feel to them. While the graphics may not always be perfect (some textures are a bit blurry and many NPC models look a bit jagged and antiquated), they are never painful to look at. The sound department is no slouch either, with music that is a joy to listen to and voice acting that is always on point.

Of course, a game that looks and sounds good would not be worth a damn if it wasn’t fun to play. Thankfully, Yakuza 0 exemplifies fun.

Kamurocho and Sotenbori are brimming with things to do and sidequests to complete. These substories, distinct from the game’s main plot, are always a treat to engage in, featuring bizarre stories and characters that contrast with the campaign’s hard-hitting crime drama. To name a few examples:

-Kiryu meets a yanki band (a mix of punk rock and ‘50s greaser fashion) who are much too mild-mannered, and must teach them how to be hardcore to impress their fans.

-Kiryu gets swept up pretending to be a TV producer after the real producer was chased off by an overbearing director.

-Kiryu volunteers to help a young boy buy a dirty magazine from a vending machine.

-Majima volunteers to play a pretend boyfriend for a young woman who is tired of her father trying to arrange her marriage.

-Majima must infiltrate a Scientology-inspired cult to rescue a woman’s brainwashed daughter.

-Majima has to help a high school student retrieve his pants from a bully, who turns out to be Yakuza 2′s Ryuji Goda back when he was in grade school.

There are dozens more, but all of them are fun to partake in.

Those sidequests, as well as simply walking the mean streets, may lead to getting into a brawl with some unsavory characters, and combat has thankfully always been one of Yakuza’s strongest points. This remains true in Yakuza 0, which features challenging battles against gangsters and thugs. Each character has three fighting styles they can switch between on the fly: Kiryu has a balanced “Brawler” style, a fast-paced “Rush” boxing style, and a slow but powerful “Beast” style that weaponizes anything not bolted to the ground. Meanwhile, Majima has the deadly “Thug” style, a baseball bat-centric “Slugger” style, and an insane multi-hitting super-stylish “Breaker” style (my personal favorite). Each style has its own strengths and weaknesses, but all of them are practical and fun to use. All of them also have their own unique “Heat” moves that are absolutely brutal, but satisfying to pull of.

In line with the game’s theme of economic prosperity, enemies practically bleed money when you batter them: it’s not unheard of to rake in at least a cool few hundred Gs in per fight. You’re gonna need that cash, too: there is no experience points or levels in Yakuza 0. Instead, you purchase upgrades for your fighting styles, and they get expensive as you make your way through each skill tree, with the highest upgrades costing hundreds of millions of yen, if not billions.

This, of course, means you’ll need to find ways to make money beyond simply beating it out of street punks. One way is by finding and helping citizens being harassed by bad guys. Helping them out gets you high quality items, some of which you can sell at pawn shops for wads of cash. Another is by challenging Mr. Shakedown, a burly buster who wonders the streets shaking down anyone who crosses him. Losing to him means you will lose all of your cash, but if you can beat him, you’ll earn a metric fuckton of money (including any money you lost to him before).

About halfway through the game, you also get a chance to engage in side businesses to further pad your wallet. Kiryu becomes the leader of a real estate agency, and is tasked with purchasing properties and collecting their profits while hiring managers to maximize their profits and security to ensure business goes smoothly. Majima, meanwhile, becomes the manager of a cabaret club, a mainstay of previous Yakuza games, but not as ubiquitous in the 80s as in later in the series chronology. Here, Majima must train hostesses and keep up with customer demands to make a profit. While Majima’s business venture doesn’t have the raw money output as Kiryu’s, it is more engaging and fun. That’s not to say Kiryu’s real estate business is without merit: there is a fair amount of strategy involved in hiring the right people to maximize profits.

All work and no play makes for dull gangsters, though. Thankfully, this is where another large strength of the Yakuza series comes into play: minigames! There is no shortage of ways to burn your money.

There are arcades in Sotenbori and Kamurocho, and they have classic Sega arcade games on display. My inner 12-year-old reveled at the chance to play Space Harrier again since Shenmue, with OutRun also taking more than its fair share of my money. Completing certain sidequests also unlocks Super Hang-On and Fantasy Zone, so there is variety as far as retro gaming goes.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. One new attraction for Kiryu is the telephone club, a unique dating service in Japan. The game plays out similar to an arcade shooter, where Kiryu must hold the girl’s attention by aiming at and hitting the proper phrases to increase her affection and ultimately ask her out. It’s a lot harder than it sounds: the correct phrases are often hard to hit, and until you get some practice, you’ll often end up accidentally asking girls about their baby ferrets rather than their best features.

Another unique outfit in Kamurocho is an underground women’s wrestling ring, where you can bet money on the outcome of fights between buxom battlers. The battles play out like rock-paper-scissors, and are high-risk high-reward.

There are also disco clubs, which feature a rhythm/puzzle game where you have to move an avatar on a dance floor before moving them over spaces with a face button on it. Again, not as easy as it sounds, but still very fun, and the music is a treat to listen to.

Finally, among the new attractions is “Pocket Circuit”, a slot car racing tournament wherein you can customize your own little race car and race for prizes and fame. There are tons of parts to use, some purchased from stores, others found in the world.

Aside from those, there are many other mainstays of the series that return and are still fun to play: karaoke, gambling, underground fighting tournaments, fishing, darts, pool, and so on. You will never be lacking in ways to amuse yourself.

My love of the Yakuza series, and Yakuza 0 in particular, cannot be overstated. I recommend this game to everyone, series veterans and newcomers alike, action game fans, Japanese game fans, and anyone who enjoys good stories, good gameplay, and fun in general.

#yakuza #yakuza 0 #review #video games

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morniingrose · 8 years ago

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Tagged?

Someone actually acknowledged my existence? It’s not something that happens often, >.< . Even if it could be because you lacked enough other people to tag (which is certainly going to be the case for me, because I don’t really know people on Tumblr... so i’m just gonna pick some random followers) or what, but thanks for thinking of me @xo-wildest-dreams-xo , lol. By the way, I think you have two great characters as your favorites, <3 Anyway... here’s what this post is actually about:

Rules: Tell your followers 11 random facts about yourself and tag 11 people. Tag backs are allowed but if you do get tagged again you must not repeat any of the facts you mentioned in the previous round. The facts can be absolutely anything, whatever comes to mind first. This is gonna be tough, x.x . I’m honestly pretty boring. 1. I guess i’ll start by talking about how I usually pick my own favorite characters, and tell why I enjoy my top favorites so much. This first one is gonna seem like an essay, but I promise that the other things won’t be this long, >.< The biggest way for a character to make their way into my heart is if I find them very relate-able on a personal level... The way that I usually get myself to genuinely enjoy a series is usually very dependent on having a character I can relate myself with; in a way, it sort of links me directly into their series and gives it a more personal, irreplaceable feeling. Sometimes, though, when I pick a favorite it could simply be because I find them interesting. I can and do enjoy characters that I can simply just find amusing/entertaining, or just like-able, but unless there is something really unique about them, i’m going to select another character I like that has more substance as my favorite for the series.

Now, for my top favorite character... It’s Setsuna Higashi from Fresh Precure, of course. I love her so much... I relate to her a lot and consider myself to be like her, from her past and her present. I used to be just like her at the start of the series; I hated seeing people happy, wanted to see them be miserable, was very uncaring, etc.. I would even go as far as saying that my circumstances while growing up were similar (in a more real life sort of way), but that’s not something I will go into right here.

Anyway, as time went on both of us started to change, though our reasons for doing so were different. My change was fueled by depression and a growing sense of loneliness making me start to see things differently, and her change was brought on by Love’s influence on her. I really appreciate how her character arc is done; you got several episodes to establish who she was, but you also got several episodes that show a gradual change in her. Her eventual struggle with her identity was very realistically done... I struggled with being transgender while I grew up, and tried for so long to try to ignore it; in fact, that struggle and how I was raised made me become who I was... She isn’t trans, but after a certain part (basically starting with episode 19), you get the sense that she knows that she’s different than what she was at the start of the series, but is starting to desperately cling on to who she “should” be, rather than being honest with herself and admitting to herself that she’s changed. That’s more or less how I was while I was in denial of being trans... After all is said and done, though, she becomes a much kinder, much more sweet, very caring etc. person, though you can still tell that she’s not literally a different person (still a bit of a loner, tries to be more independent than she should be, is socially awkward, etc.). Going by what people say about me, I guess i’m more like that now... But, Setsuna is also better than I am. She becomes genuinely happy, and makes friends; i’ve never managed either of those things. In a way, I guess you can say that she’s my personal hero, because she’s stronger than I am.

My second favorite character is Moeka Kiryu, from Steins;Gate. She’s a widely disliked character from what I can tell (for very incorrect reasons, at that), but I love her anyway... most people try to dismiss her as being “evil”, but the truth is that she’s not even remotely evil. I don’t think she has a single bit of malice in her at all... you don’t really get to learn a lot about her in the anime or the first visual novel, but even then, if you study her actions very closely you can find plenty of evidence pointing to the fact she isn’t the uncaring monster that people try to make her out to be. In extra Steins;Gate material, such as the Linear Bounded Phenogram visual novel (which has a story directly from her point of view) or the Darling visual novel (heck, even the Twin Automata ending for Steins;Gate 0),she’s shown to actually be a kind, compassionate person... but here’s the catch. She hates herself so much that she’s voluntarily tried to throw away who she actually is (who she sees as unlovable, unneeded and unwanted person) in favor of being someone who she isn’t; “M4″. “M4″ is someone (in her eyes) who is all of the things she is not: wanted, loved, and needed. Moeka has literally nothing, and her delusion is literally her only reason for being alive... If she doesn’t fulfill the role of “M4″, she would be abandoned and would be forced to back to being simply Moeka... the person who wants to die. So, no matter what Moeka herself actually wants or feels, she’ll do anything to not be tossed away; even if it means something she would never otherwise think of doing. It’s easy to see why she ended up being so broken: her parents didn’t want her and mistreated her (as revealed in the Darling VN), she was bullied a lot while in school, her severe social anxiety prevented her from making friends... She was never shown any proper love or care, so it’s only natural that she would go to extreme lengths to get even a semblance of it. I think a lot of the hate that she gets is based by from people who either never gave her character any actual thought, can’t understand what she feels or why she feels it, or they simply just don’t have enough empathy. I don’t endorse everything that she does, but I think the intent behind something makes a big difference. Anyway... I guess what i’m trying to say with all of this is that I honestly feel pretty sorry for her; both what she’s lived through and how the Steins;Gate fandom actually treats her (which makes me love her all the more to make up for it). My childhood was unpleasant itself, and I was bullied in school... never made any friends. My social anxiety is as terrible as hers, if not worse. Not to to mention the struggles with depression... Her and Setsuna are really the closest matches to me as a person. 2. My favorite types of music are metal and vocaloid... Metal is something that also gets a bad rep for undeserved reasons; there are many (and I do mean many) different styles of metal... I listen to different genres of it it, but my favorite type is progressive metal. Favorite bands include Dream Theater, Baroness, Kamelot and Soilwork. My favorite vocaloids are SFA2-Miki, Hatsune Miku, and CUL. 3. I really love sweets, <3 . If I wouldn’t get fat by doing so, I could live almost entirely on dessert, lol. 4. I’m a shut-in; I rarely leave my house more than once a month... sometimes I can go months without leaving.

5. I’m really lonely most of the time, :/ . I would appreciate it if more of you tried to talk to me more... 6. My first sewing project was making a tiny little ghost with the help of my sister. I also did a lot towards making a Moeka doll, but so far it has yet to be completed because we can’t figure out a good way to do her eyes. 7. My favorite TV show (that isn’t an anime) is Game of Thrones. My favorite cartoon (that, again, isn’t anime) is probably Steven Universe... though only for the plot episodes. I’m not a fan of a lot of the filler episodes.

8. I don’t read so much anymore, but I used to love reading while growing up... and that was because of my grandma. When I was little, she bought the first three or four Harry Potter books but couldn’t get either me or my sister interested in them. So, her and my mom took us to go watch the first movie when it came out... my sister and I both loved it, and when we went home we ended up fighting over the books, >.< 9. I can’t really tie my shoes (seriously). It’s a good thing that I usually wear boots, sandals, etc., so I don’t really need to tie... 10. On that note, my clothing style would probably be defined as “cute”. A lot of my things have hearts on them, because I really like hearts, <3 11. I love collecting plushies/dolls of my favorite characters, and I frequently turn to them as a source of comfort... Time to tag some people: @beautiful-lusamine @jenhedgehog @flaresies @henry-parrish @yukyak @peterthepenguincure @ arcticninja21 @albicantknight @curecresselia @harunojeanne @andy-the-umbreon

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barbosaasouza · 7 years ago

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Yakuza 6: The Song of Life Preview: Unchained Melody

The Dragon of Dojima, otherwise known as Kazuma Kiryu, has been at the heart of the long-running Yakuza series ever since it began. The no-nonsense tough guy with a heart of gold, Kiryu is the lifeblood of Yakuza, and the glue that holds everyone together. For a franchise about criminal activity and the seedy world of the yakuza, Kiryu's tales have always been heartfelt yarns wrought with sensitive parables about what family means and how important loyalty can be. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life brings it all home one last time for a rousing sendoff to Kiryu himself, offering up a slick, stylish, deeply brutal and always heartfelt goodbye to the Dragon himself. This is Kiryu's swan song, and it's a beautiful one indeed.

Father Figure

It's difficult to relate the tale of Kiryu without spoiling things for anyone who hasn't played the last five games, so understand that you do need to, or at the very least pore over the helpful recaps available in-game before beginning to get up to speed. You'll miss out on a considerable amount of important material otherwise. The most important thing to keep in mind is that Kazuma Kiryu is a veritable badass, but after some events transpired in the previous game, he's chosen not to resist arrest from officers looking for him to take him in for older transgressions.

He chooses to go to jail for three years so that when he gets out, he can spend time with a group of children he's been acting as a foster parent to. Only when he gets out, the oldest foster child Haruka has gone missing. Kiryu returns home from jail and must search for Haruka to find out what's happened in his absence. There are some dark secrets surrounding Haruka's disappearance, but it appears she has a newborn son named Haruto. The intricacies of Yakuza 6's narrative are best left unraveled by the player, but that's the basic setup. Kiryu has been acting as a reliable father figure for some time now, and the kids love him. The juxtaposition between his instinct as a father to the foster children he works to raise and his status as a yakuza is an interesting thread to unravel, and makes for an even more sympathetic character arc.

Like a Dragon

Don't misunderstand, however. You shouldn't mistake Yakuza 6 for a tearjerker filled only with poignant moments and sadness. It's got those, several of them for sure, but first and foremost at its core it's still a Yakuza game. That means exploring the streets of the fictional Japanese city of Kamurocho, trolling the streets to fight off rival gangs, and maybe even helping a guy build up his cat cafe or two. You never know how many hungry kitties you're going to find across the city who need milk.

Yes, a cat cafe. Yes, Kiryu feeds them their favorite cat food and has the cat cafe owner pick them up and bring them to the cafe for safekeeping and care. What of it? Kiryu may be ready to throw a common thug off the edge of a building with several stories or pummel a bad guy until he bleeds, but he's got that softness to him that makes him an admirable and even relatable character, despite his criminal status.

Yakuza 6 is a whole new ballgame, with some big alterations brought by way of the new Dragon Engine, which makes some much-needed improvements to the formula. Gone are the days of having to find a phone booth to save your game or waiting for loading screens to come and go when you enter buildings. It's an impressive change that makes Yakuza 6 look and feel utterly superior to the rest of the series, especially the implementation of a smartphone to bring Kiryu into the modern age.

You'll explore both the big city lights of Kamurocho and the smaller town of Onomichi, which is a more condescend area meant to feel more intimate. While both are considerably smaller affairs than you may be used to, they aren't smaller by way of downsizing -- just condensed. There's still a ton of stuff to see and do, so much so that you can't possibly see it all if you decide to just play through the main story missions.

Rise Up

Most of your time will be spent splitting up your time between combat in terms of random fights you'll happen upon while wandering throughout the city or staged story battles. Fighting feels just as excellent as it ever has, though it's a lot different than you might be used to from the previous games or even Yakuza 0.

The battle system has been given a rework from the ground up, where you only have one battle style rather than multiple as seen in game likes Yakuza 0. Kiryu's core set of combat abilities requires you to make deliberate use of each punch and kick, and there are several Heat actions for you to use to really wreck your opponent's day. Extreme Heat Mode is an experience in itself, offering some pretty gnarly fight animations on Kiryu's part and grisly ends for those who decide to cross him. The flow of battle feels more cohesive and put together,

Though there aren't multiple fighting styles, you can still control Kiryu's growth as you please with the five different types of experience that you earn while completing mini games and activities.

Hitting the Gym, Then the Arcade, Then the Batting Cages

Yakuza has always been about giving players what they want aside from the visceral combat, and that's a ton of extra stuff to do. There are so many minigames it'll make your head spin, from bowling to karaoke to batting cages to darts and a fully-stocked arcade. You can even grab some stuffed toys from the crane game. If you're into collecting cats for the cat cafe as previously mentioned, you can do that too. And while there aren't as many minigames as some of the previous iterations of Yakuza, there are so many that it's seriously difficult sometimes to stay on task. There's a new possibility waiting around every corner, whether you're exploring Onomichi or Kamurocho, including fishing and real baseball outside of the batting cages.

One of the biggest additions to Yakuza 6 is the Clan Creator, which lets Kiryu team up with clan recruits in an RTS-styled segment to take out a street gang called JUSTIS. It's a surprisingly nuanced addition to the game that lets you summon various soldiers to command and attack enemy units (read: gang members) to rid the streets of trash – or other players online, when the game has launched.

If you prefer to stay on the road to the main narrative's end, you'll still contend with 51 (plus a bonus to make it 52) substories to complete with missions ranging from the frivolous to the poignant. In short, there's enough to keep you busy here for some time.

Play It Again, Kiryu

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is an action-packed sendoff to Kiryu and his legacy, and while this is supposedly his last hurrah, I wouldn't put it past Sega to bring him back in some form or fashion in the future. It's an adventure that's simultaneously violent, passionate, and emotional without being too hamfisted or over the top. It's a delicate mix of self-discovery for a character that's had a lot of time in the spotlight, and an excellent cap to a story that's been a long time in the making. If you're not already a Yakuza fan, you'll certainly be after this song has ended.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life launches on PlayStation 4 on March 20.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life Preview: Unchained Melody published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

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