cool meta knight ceiling tech. all other characters use their arms to breakfall, but meta knight lands upside down like a bat.

Phew!

So I'm rewatching Zoids: New Century (which is one of my favourite anime and honestly just a huge comfort show — I love the characters and the comedy and the voice acting and the soundtrack and the Zoids so much) and boy, I didn't realise just how late into the series the Panzer unit is actually used? It's introduced for the first time in Episode 19. In a series with 26 episodes! That's... late.

I'm looking forward to revisiting some of the moments that have stayed with me for the last 20ish years, when I last watched Zoids: New Century from start to finish — like Harry getting kidnapped by Dr Laon, lol. Brad doesn't have his Shadow Fox yet and Vega Obscura hasn't made an appearance. So man, the last part of the series is going to be packed with fun!

Today, I watched the Wild Eagle episode during my lunch break and actually felt a chill go down my spine when Jamie pulled out of that nosedive... again, what a great episode; it's one of my absolute favourites.

I understand that Zoids: Chaotic Century is the ultimate Zoids series for a lot of people, but since I watched it when I was a kid and the war themes were pretty heavy, it's just... never been a show that I wanted to revisit, even though it's really great. Then, when New Century was advertised on TV, I remember wondering what kind of show it was going to be — and it was really lovely to find that it was a light-hearted adventure with some poignant moments (Leon using the phrase, "Unlimited potential," has just been stuck in my brain FOREVER).

There's something special about Zoids: New Century.

Though man, as an adult, I am thinking about the environmental impact of the Zoid battles and worrying about the logistics of the Zoid Battle Commission and wrinkling my nose at the way Harry squanders his wealth. And I'm even trying to work out the nature of the Backdraft Group's corrupt activities...

Maybe I just like to overthink.

A few years ago, there was an anniversary edition re-release of Zoids: New Century in HD. Someone on Etsy painstakingly replaced the Japanese audio with the English audio and it was apparently a stellar job (I only know of this because of some Reddit threads). I've been trying to find some HD clips just to compare the difference but wow, they're so hard to track down? And it's also really hard to find the original Japanese audio! I want to hear Takahiro Sakurai as Bit Cloud...

Boy. I love Zoids.

Recommended jdramas last decade

Given that the ratings list isn't exactly diverse and lots of interesting dramas didn't make the top cut, I thought I'd come up with a recommendation list. I remember back in the 2000s J-dramas were all the rage but now there seems to be much less interest in them outside of Japan, but that doesn't necessarily mean the quality is less! My preferred genres are more on the tense and action-packed side, and I rarely watched rom-coms or slice of life dramas until more recently. Nevertheless there are some very topical ones that are worth mentioning. Police procedurals 1) BOSS 1 & 2: another one of my perennial favourites. Set at the pace of American procedurals, equipped with snappy humour and quirky characters, it is the perfect amalgamation of funny, touching and gripping. 2) Strawberry Night: the original series with the gorgeous Takeuchi Ryoko and Nishijima Hidetoshi is leagues above the remake. It's much darker than BOSS but perhaps more resonant because of it. 3) Kinkyuu Torishirabeshitsu seasons 1-3: similar to BOSS, this cast consists of veteran supporting actors who play off well against each other. The cases range from satisfying to acutely dissatisfying, just as in real life. 4) Keiji 7-nin: similar to KinTori, the cast consists of some solid veteran actors, and the cases range from triumphant to depressing. There are some interesteing back stories to the characters, but it's not as well developed as you might hope. 5) Zettai Reido season 3: I tried to go back and rewatch the first 2 seasons, but it's a completely different story. Consisting of mostly a young green cast, somehow the actors have fit the roles so well that it doesn't irk. The cases mostly end on a note of despair and helplessness, as the system rolls over and quashes anyone in its way. 6) CRISIS: for the longest time I confused this with BG as the set-up of the characters are quite similar. It's very well-made, but again the characters function in a morally grey territory and is an interesting digression from the usual straight procedural. Crime solvers 1) 99.9 seasons 1 & 2: quirky and humorous, but also full of heart, and with Kagawa playing the straight foil to MatsuJun's insolent lawyer, it is almost perfect except for the lack of insipration in its cases. 2) Unnatural: I still consider this to have one of the best developed back-stories and characterisations of any crime-solver or police procedural. The script is by Noki Akiko, and it has a sensitivity to it that is not often seen in this cerebral genre. 3) Galileo seasons 1 & 2: released back in the day when Fukuyama Masaharu was still hugely popular, this was long enough ago that I don't actually remember what I liked about it, except that I do like and recommend it. 4) Kagi no kakatta heya: out of Arashi, I've never thought of Ohno as the best actor but when the role fits him, it fits like a glove. Based on a manga, it has the occasional unrealistic plot holes that comes with this genre, but overall it's well-produced, funny and the 3 main characters play off each other to hilarious effect. Medical dramas 1) Code Blue 1 & 2 - Hayashi Koji has a remarkable grasp on the mentality of young doctors. The first two seasons of Code Blue are on my perennial recommend list 2) Black Pean - I hesitated about whether to put this down, but there's actually very few medical dramas I recommend even though I watch a lot of them. I did enjoy Black Pean for its production quality and the dedication of the actors, but the script is an absolute let-down. 3) DOCTORS seasons 1-3 - this subversive drama straddles medical and comedy, and Sawamura's character slowly turned from a straight, obliviously helpful do-gooder, to an outright calculating manipulator but with the best of intentions. It is a fascinating premise for a main character and I'd recommend it purely for that. Rom-coms 1) Nigeru wa haji daga yaku ni tatsu - I really shouldn't put something I couldn't keep watching as the top, but apart from the fact I couldn't stand the 2 main actors, the story was an interesting philosophical exploration of what a live-in relationship means in practical terms. 2) Hotaru no Hikari 2 - again this was so long ago I couldn't remember much of it, except it was nice and sweet, although I think the first season was better contained. 3) Watashi ga ren'ai dekinai riyuu - I'm not quite sure this qualifies as rom-com as the characters didn't all get their happily ever after (which is actually quite rare in Japanese dramas). The story revolves around three women, each progressive yet conformative in their own ways, and how they dealt with the social expectations of courtship. A nice watch and probably a realistic window into how romance works in Japan. Underdog victories 1) Doctor X series 1-6 - Look, as much as I HATE this series as a medical drama wannabe, it is the defining story for the underdog against a conservative hierachical paternalistic world. It is full of impossible triumphs, no bad outcome ever happens and the main character never loses. 2) Shitamachi Rocket 1 & 2 - arguably the series that started the Ikeido Jun craze, it turned something boring and nerdy (rocket and machine engineering) into gripping rollercoaster drama. Well-acted and well-scripted, it made you cheer for the characters even as your real boring self acknowledge how ludicrous their victories are. 3) Grand Maison Tokyo - this is a story of redemption through the shared love of food, brought together by a team of great actors who clearly had great fondness of each other. There are some silly moments, but a lot of it was touching, sweet and highly rewarding, just like a beautiful meal. 4) No Side Game - I tossed up putting Riku-Ou in as well, but in the end I thought No Side Game was slightly better. Both based around sports (marathon and rugby, respectively), it's full of hot-blooded idealism about loyalty, teamwork and dedication, a shounen manga fairytale for adults. Slice of life 1) Gibo to musume no Blues - I'm really not a "slice of life" person, but this drama exceeded all expectations. It starts off odd and a little slow, but each episode will make you laugh and then cry a little about what it means to be family, all the silly moments, the frustrating moments and the tender moments that we share. 2) Ie-uru onna (season 1) - I'm not too sure this quite fits in "slice of life" or comedy, because the main character really is rather odd, but the first season had some beautifully reflective stories, again about what it means to be family and what home means to the different people in society. I don't know what happened in the 2nd season, but it's definitely lost that evocative touch. 3) Jimi ni sugoi! - maybe because the publishing industry interests me, but I thought this was a very cute series with some good inside tips about publishing, but also can be drawn to reflect on how people should view their vocation. Almost a rom-com, not quite a comedy, but a really nice light-hearted series with Ishihara Satomi at her most radiant. 4) Watashi, teiji de kaerimasu - this was a surprisingly sweet take on difficult problems that aren't necessarily unique to the Japanese workplace - the clash of generational values, the internal sense of inadequacies and the people who are deterimentally unable to say no. The main character, rather than being the focus of growth as often happens in these dramas, turn out to be the mediator as she uses her previous painful experiences of burnout to guide others through their own struggles. Suspense 1) 3-nen A-gumi: while prone to hyperbole and melodrama, this was a very nice fable of adulthood and the idea that once you are an adult, you must take responsibility for the consequences of your own actions, told through the microcosm that is Class 3A. Highly recommended. 2) BG: slick and well-produced, as many of KimuTaku's dramas are, it had action and suspense in good measures but unfortunately wasn't quite carried by the plot. Each individual case was interesting enough, but the main plot was rather convoluted and disappointing. 3) Ouroboros: almost similar to Toma's earlier Maou, it was cerebral, suspenseful and full of a sense of inevitable tragedy. The ending was more than it could chew, but it gave a good effort. 4) Kazoku Game: one of those rare dramas that really suited Sakurai Sho, where he was the intelligent and highly sociopathic and slightly psychotic home tutor for a highly dysfunctional family. A fascinating watch. Comedy I have to say this is a genre I struggle with. I'd happily watch slapstick and screaming in an anime, but live action is just awks. There's been some popular ones that I haven't watched but have heard good things about: - Tami-Ou: the sleazy prime minister accidentally swaps body with his extremely introverted son, and they both have to try and continue the facade. - Kyou kara ore wa: high school kids pretending they're better than they're really are, we've all been through that. This is not an exhaustive list by any means. There's a lot of well-reviewed dramas that I hadn't been able to catch, especially in the first half of the decade. There's a bunch of highly popular dramas that I hadn't been able to continue, but clearly they've got their appeal to the Japanese audience. I think in general Japanese dramas do human drama very well, especially the various relationships we have in our lives and how they interact. It's not great at doing the K-drama fairytale romance. I hope the list helps people try out some new things, or you could check out the top ratings list for other safe bets.

Hunter x Hunter for the Fandom questions! 💕😁

You have activated the trap card!!! 💓 As always, a warning for everyone because this is a very long post -

Top 5 favourite characters: Truthfully, my top five are Shoot, Knuckle, Hanzo, Kite, and Gon. The three uncles, the honorary father, and the son. ❤

Other characters you like: Too many!!! I do love Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio. Kastro I really liked from the Tournament Arc. Melody, definitely! She’s the best. And, of course, Morel. I adore Big Papa Smoke. Palm and Knov, as well. Along with Ikalgo and Meleoron. ❤ Too many good characters.

Least favourite characters: I’ll have to say Illumi and Hisoka. I like them to an extent.

Otps: I am a sucker for Nashuu. 💓 What can I say? I really like Kurapika with Leorio, too.

Notps: Don’t…ship the children with other people please.

Favourite friendships: Gon and Killua of course! They are such a good pair. Shoot and Knuckle are the bestest though. I love them too much. Honestly, I really love when Meleoron and Ikalgo get to be with Gon and the others, especially after the Chimera Ant Arc. It’s so sweet.

Favourite family: Oh, I love Gon and Aunt Mito. 💌

Favourite episodes: There are too many good ones, but you know I have to put 86. For reasons. ❤ The biggest ones for me…were 112 and…118 just becauae of how emotional they made me. Especially 112. That episode made me SOB. After I finished the episode, I had to step away from the computer to breathe, I was crying too much. Not necessarily in a bad way, but I did get really choked up.

Favourite season/book/movie: Favorite season is the Chimera Ant Arc, even though it’s also the absolute worst at the same time. Favorite book is…the very first one! I was about to say Vol 20 or Vol 25, but the very first one makes me so happy. It’s my favorite cover, too! 💚

Favorite movie I don’t have an answer for. The Last Mission was pretty good, and I know there are at least one or two more I believe? I’ve only seen one though.

Favourite quotes: I absolutely loved it when Knuckle said “Everyone has a heart. That’s what I want to believe.” And…Shoot’s whole inner monologue right before he fights. Even when Shoot explains to Killua how he doesn’t like to hurt people. I still can’t handle them, I get so emotional just thinking about them.

Best musical moment: Well…I know when Pouf plays his violin it is incredibly musical. That’s the only thing I can think of to say here! That scene is so out of place, but the music is lovely at least.

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: I actually remember when I first got into Hunter x Hunter, and I saw that Hanzo got four badges in the hunting exam, literally was just cheering him on like “Yay Hanzo!!! Good job!!!” 💞 I was so happy for him!! Oh…and when Knuckle was on screen, especially when he would throw off his jacket… 💘💘💘💘💘 Every. Single. Time. My poor, weak heart. At all that fanservice. And!!! When Shoot would fight!!! I would just be mush like! 💓 I just loved seeing Shoot any moment I got, and I still do.

When it really disappointed you: I’m not going to say it because I don’t want to spoil Meve by accident, but it is a huge disapointment for me that still leaves me upset.

Saddest moment: Well… 💔 I won’t say it.

Most well done character death: Uvagin, I guess? I mean, I don’t want to say that, but Kurapika at the time…oh it was rough. 💔 The scene was well done.

Favourite guest star: Hm. Guest stars? I would say Togashi, but I’m clearly thinking about how we’ll see ONE appear in One Punch Man every now and then. Not sure if Madhouse did the same with Togashi dog or anything. – Oh shoot read that question wrong as soon as I wrote all of this, LOL! Oh, now I know who to say!! Junichi Kanemaru! 💓💓💓 He only voiced Buharu during the first season, but ahhh I absolutely adore him! Just hearing his voice again brought back great childhood memories since I know he’s Sonic. 💓 Takaya Kuroda also! He was great as Razor, but you can never not hear him as Kiryu if you know the Yakuza/Ryu Ga Gotoku series. Listening to him as another character in a completely different thing was so funny. It was nice little cameo for my ears for both of them. ❤

Favourite cast member: Yuuji Ueda! 💓💓💓💓💓💓 Of COURSE. Favorite Japanese voice actor. (Can I just say how lovely Shoot’s voice is? It’s breathtaking. 💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞) Along with Wataru Takagi, who is literally one of the best Japanese voice actors ever. He is an absolute gem. 💓 And I love Megumi Han. She was always so into her character and voicing Gon, she was just so passionate for the series. She’s the best.

Character you wish was still alive: Kite. 💔 And Kastro too, he seemed like a nice guy.

One thing you hope really happens: Please just let Gon and Killua rest. Give all the characters a rest. Where’s the filler episodes where they’re all getting together and having a good time and nothing can go wrong? Where’s my dream beach vacation episode?

Most shocking twist: Kite’s death… 💔💔💔 It really makes me upset please stop I want to forget

When did you start watching/reading?: I started watching the anime around March! I’m not sure when I bought the first volume of it though. Maybe in the same month? But yeah, March 3rd is the official date! (Which I was actually trying to figure out when I was deciding a date. I watched the first episode with my love maybe a month or so before I did on my own? But March 3rd was when I started watching it from the beginning. I thought about making it March 5th because…that’s when I first watched Shoot and Knuckle be introduced. You know.)

Best animal/creature: I’m biased to Knuckle’s puppy. 😌 For creature, I like Ikalgo and Meleoron a lot. It took me a bit to warm up to them, but they’re my favorite out of the Chimera Ants.

Favourite location: Whale Island! It is such a beautiful place! If it were real, I would definitely want to visit it.

Trope you wish they would stop using: Nothing that I can think of.

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: A big thing is that…it shows no matter what you go through, no matter what happens, you can definitely try again. And “you can smile again~” 🎵 All of these things slowly go more and more downhill when you follow along the adventure, but after the events of the scariest arc of the series, things do try to get better despite everything that happened during the darkest of times.

Funniest moments: I really can’t think of any super specific ones, but I know there were a lot of little moments Gon and Killua shared that cracked me up so much. Oh, when Gon hit Hanzo during their fight, and Leorio called him a liar for saying he let Gon hit him on purpose!! Ahhh the way Leorio’s voice actor did that line was PERFECT. “LIAR!!!!” I was dying! I also giggled bad at ones Shoot and Knuckle shared, ahh they’re so funny together.

Couple you would like to see: Shoot and I love the thought of Aunt Mito with Kite, for some reason? I think it’s because someone wrote a fic of them meeting, but…it’s a nice thought.

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: Could you imagine if someone like Hiroki Yatsumoto voiced someone? Or Masaya Onosaka? Ahhhh or even Takahiro Sakurai! Just get Makoto Furukawa to guest star a character along with some other One Punch Man voice actors! It would be a fun time I’m sure.

Favourite outfit: I would say Knuckle. How does he stay looking so good??? His clothes never get dirty. But I do love how Pakunoda dresses. She just looks so lovely, ugghgh

Favourite item: The Hunter cards! ❤ They just look so iconic. Definitely Hotel Raffelasia. Gon’s fishing rod. And Crazy Slots!! Technically not an item himself, but Kite’s scythe is definitely the coolest weapon.

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: I do now. ❤

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race/etc would you be in?: I would love to be in the little family Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio have together. I do have to say I would want to be apart of the Extermination Team, too! What great groups of friends.

Most boring plotline: I honestly did get bored watching through the Phantom Troupe and Greed Island Arcs when I first watched Hunter x Hunter, but I really need to rewatch them. When I think back on them, I feel like I didn’t appreciate them enough. I might enjoy them more after I watch it from the beginning again.

Most laughably bad moment: Whenever Hisoka shows up and he’s just like that

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: The one during Shoot’s inner monologue, and the one of Gon meeting Kite for the first time. Definitely. Even though Gon meeting Kite was the opening for Hunter x Hunter in the manga. There’s also the one Knuckle has where my most favorite picture comes from. ❤

Most layered character: I jokingly say Shoot because my goodness that man wears layers of bandages, but he really is a layered character. There’s actually a whole bunch of layered characters throughout the series.

Most one dimensional character: I’m honestly not sure.

Scariest moment (and Grossest moment, I’m mixing both questions for my answer): When the Chimera Ants would kill people.

Best looking male: Knuckle. I love my Shoot, but…Japanese pompadoured delinquents make me swoon. They are seriously my biggest weakness. Especially him. 💘💘💘 My poor, weak heart. I can’t even look at him without melting.

Best looking female: Pakunoda and Palm. Both women are beautiful in their own way. And Melody is of course very warm and sweet, I adore how she looks. ❤

Who you’re crushing on (if any): …Shoot… ❤💍

Favourite cast moment: When Megumi Han got really emotional speaking at one of the panels for The Last Mission in front of fans. It was so genuine and sweet.

Favourite transportation: I always loved the shuttle train! When Gon and Killua used to get to the tournament, and when Morel and the others traveled together. ❤ It makes me wish I could go on long and cozy train rides to different places like that in real life.

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): When Gon was hiding out to watch Hisoka in the bushes, and the sun shown through the trees. Anytime a scene would be in a forest or in walkways of trees, really! The way the sunlight shines through the trees and leaves in patches over the vast green surrounding is just so pretty. I just love the colors, contrast, everything. Oh! And when Knuckle was punching Youpi!!! Like ahhhhhh Madhouse!!! Every once in a while in Hunter x Hunter that fluid Madhouse animation would just hit you!

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: I wish we could have seen what Kite’s other rolls (weapons) were. 💔 Along with Hanzo’s, Knuckle’s, and Shoot’s backstories! We know just a bit about Knuckle’s past, but nothing about Hanzo nor Shoot really. I would want to know why they all became hunters!

Best promo: Hm…I haven’t seen promos or anything at all for the series. This wouldn’t fit the answer I don’t think, but I loved the little “To Be Continued” ending scenes with Gon and Killua. They were so cute! I actually missed them during the Chimera Ant Arc.

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: Honestly, I’m not sure. I just ended up really liking it just by watching it from the beginning. Watching the first episode over at my love’s house piqued my interest in the series, but then a few weeks or so later I started watching it all the way through, and the rest was history. Everything blurs together for me because I literally blew through episodes watching them, but I had fun watching them all. And…even though the Chimera Ant Arc leaves me heartbroken and sickened, characters like Knuckle and Shoot came out of nowhere, and I was so excited to see them in such an awful part of the story. They were a breath of fresh air. And, of course…I got to meet Shoot. A character I will cherish and keep in my heart for the rest of my life. I already talk about him to death, but he came into my life at the perfect time. He gives me strength. I truly am happy I found Hunter x Hunter and just got into it.

10 Best Smash Reveals!

Now that we’ve had every reveal in the base game of Ultimate, I thought I’d look back through Nintendo’s backlog of splash screens and pick the trailers that built the most hype with the most over the top Nintendoness. But hey, let’s be real, they were all good.

Note: This doesn’t rank the characters themselves, just how they were revealed and how much hype it caused.

10. Mega Man

Since becoming an important an important third party mainstay in the series, Mega Man’s debut in Smash 4 at E3 2013 basically made everyone explode a bit, especially considering the array of cancelled Mega Man games that were dropping off all over the place. Mega Man’s trailer was simple but great, with Capcom and Nintendo I think fully realising that a character like this needs little introduction.

9. Pac Man

There’s really no arguing Pac Man’s place in gaming history, and he was the perfect fit for the series’ fourth installment, especially while Nintendo was getting used to the presence of third party characters in the roster. His reveal trailer rightfully depicted him alongside Mario, Sonic and Mega Man as we finally got our ‘yellow icon’ representation. I think he’ll be sticking around for a long time to come and for good reason.

8. Cloud

This one really knocked it out of the park. While Final Fantasy, as the gaming giant it is, is pretty much an obvious fit into Smash, I think very few people expected it to be 7′s Cloud, the game that famously was a PS1 exclusive at launch and signaled the end of Square’s relationship with Nintendo at the time. And to be honest, he’s still one of my absolute favourite third party characters.

7. Palutena & Dark Pit

Is this a weird pick for this list? Probably! But hey, I said I’d be judging these based on the trailers too and while these two might not have been the most hype reveals in history, have you seen how cool that trailer is? The bright, colourful and awesome manga art style, the fact that you’re immediately thrust into a fight between Link and Pit! I absolutely loved this trailer and I watch it more than I probably should. Plus, Palutena is one of my favourite Nintendo characters and you can fight me.

6. Joker

Here’s one I’m kind of still recovering from. Marked in as another sort of embarrassment to Playstation considering Persona 5 is still a PS exclusive, the Smash team dropped this on us at the Game Awards 2018, just before the launch of Ultimate. And I have been waiting as patiently as I can ever since. I’ve absolutely ADORED Persona 5 so far and seeing my boi get put into my favourite fighting game was enough to melt my whole brain. You can’t tell me you’re not excited.

5. Snake

There’s excitement and then there’s explosions. Snake’s reveal as the very first third party character both shocked and absolutely blew everyone away. Likely to be seen as the very last character who would be considered, especially since the likes of Sonic and Mega Man were absent at this point, the fanbase has never been more thankful for Konami’s tenuous ties to Nintendo, especially since we got our boi back for Ultimate.

4. Ridley

Here’s a legendary Nintendo villain that no one ever thought would see the light of day on the roster, as Sakurai repeatedly tried to tell us he was far too big to work. But damn, did they make him work. They made him work so much he got his own Alien-esque reveal trailer at E3 2018 that sees the purple menace brutally murder Mario and Mega Man. And this might be an unpopular opinion, but I’m glad he looks as genuinely scary as he does now and not that weird bug-eyed model they went with for his boss fight in Brawl. Yikes.

3. Sonic the Hedgehog

After Snake’s arrival in Brawl, it was a little while before fans finally got to see a blue blur hit-and-running Mario as his official reveal, but this is the moment that it finally felt like Nintendo and Sega’s competition level had been set to ‘friendly’. Drawing arguably more of a reaction than Snake due to his iconic status, Sonic is the longest serving third party character in Smash at three games so far (everyone else with only one or two) and it really doesn’t look like he’s leaving. His special moves may all basically be the same, but I love him anyway.

2. Simon & Richter

Oh boy. This reveal really did have it all. The spooky atmosphere and visuals that made the trailer so uniquely Castlevania that we all knew who this was gonna be as soon as the trailer kicked off. But the ingenious blend of Castlevania with Luigi’s Mansion? I absolutely LOVED it. And on top of that, the Castlevania franchise is one that was definitely sorely missed from the series up until now and even though it just arrived, it almost already would feel weird without it. Here’s hoping Snake and the Belmonts continue into Smash 6! (if there is one lol)

Here’s some gr8 picks that didn’t quite make the big 10:

Shulk - Come on, I don’t care if this was leaked beforehand, how cool was that trailer?

Wii Fit Trainer - The fighter we didn’t know we all needed. And her reveal was pitch perfect.

Ken and Incineroar - As the final reveals for Ultimate’s base roster, this trailer blended general Smashness with some well-received humour that made this one of my faves

Isabelle - The one that confused us all. Is it Animal Crossing? Oh wait,  Isabelle is in Smash! And it’s also new Animal Crossing!

1. King K. Rool

Despite the plethora of third party characters, I don’t think any reveal built as much hype as this. DK fans and general memers alike rejoiced in unison when it was revealed that you can play as this massive crocodile at the end of the August 2018 Smash direct. Honestly though, I think this trailer and its execution was absolutely brilliant. From the stomping sound effects and the few suspenseful seconds of blackness to the ‘villains’ motif in the opening frames. That Dedede fake-out that was followed by his immediate death. And that music! Holy hell, Gangplank Galleon is one of the best remixes I’ve heard basically ever. And despite the fact that I had no attachment to this character before Ultimate came along, this trailer easily came out on top for me.

What was your favourite reveal? Let me know down below if you want! Thanks for reading!

2017.12.14 Adekan 2 [Review]

I was so excited to go and see this! I was surprised how small the theatre ended up being! I thought 12th row would be like the middle of the threat but turned out to be the second to last row! But even though it was a smaller venue, the boys felt so much closer to us! The stage everything felt really close which is gooood!

CAST and CHARACTERS

Sakurai Keito as Yoshizawa Shiro Mikami Shun as Yoshizawa Anri Suehara Takuma as Yamada Koujiro Tanoue Marina as Mutsukuchi Hayashino Takeshi as Tachibana Shinzou Noda Hirotaka as Wakabayashi Kenichi Kano Kazuma as Yugami Murata Hisashi as Sakura Haruto Kato Ryosuke as Uchiuma Akito Ensemble: Okada Agasa, Yoshino Teppei,  Osawa Shinji, Takashi Yukiya and Akama Hide

NON-SPOILER REVIEW Overall: If you thought the last one was nose-bleedy and sexy enough, WAIT until you see this one! Oh my! I don’t remember the first one having THIS much nakedness, this much implied sex, this many kisses nor these many moans! It was so bad! Seriously, we girls in the audience.. some people DID squeal because some parts really did get you hot and sweaty. BUT past all the sexiness, there’s actually a really good story and a heart-touching one too; we all ended up crying by the end of it! I was weeping like a baby by the end. This was a lot of fun, very sexy, but also has a real solid story. I really have no qualms or complaints about this one ^_^ Rating: 8/10

*

SPOILER REVIEW

Where do I start with this.... the story I guess? I’m a little fuzzy on the details but I’ll try my best:

STORY

There has been a series of people being killed and decapitated near a run-down community. Shiro goes to investigate and discovers it’s a community of ex-convicts or simply people who want to escape their past. The owner of the community accepts everyone and anyone, and makes it a rule that people don’t pry in others business when it’s not wanted; he’s not interested in what they did or might have done so long as everyone is good; everyone deserves a second chance, is the life lesson he’s living by. And of course his brother Anri gets involved a long the way and part of Shiro’s past comes up.

DONE! Without getting into all the spoils >.<

Now for the real spoils!

So Anri goes undercover to find out what’s happening at the community as well as Mutsukuchi experimenting on people and turning them into abominations; one also being the culprit who's taking people and decapitating them because they have the desire to eat human flesh. During one of the fights, Shiro gets seriously injured but luckily an old friend (Sakura) and his comrade (Akito) turn up to help him - they too have come to Shiro for help.

But it turns out Sakura just wanted to manipulate and take Shiro's power; when he turns on Shiro and tries to cut off his arm, Anri is too late to help but ends up using his power in order to save Shiro's life. It's implied that Anri's body has gone back to that of a child in order to help save Shiro, but it's never revealed or confirmed.

I'll leave the rest to surprise you.

The ending is what makes it though; the old man of the community, Yugami, had taken Anri in and taken a liking to him, but after he learns that Anri was just manipulating and using him, he starts to doubt his life and feels like leaving because so many in the community see him as this god-like leader. There is one character who is a super old man, who goes to visit Yugami every day to show him his flower, and at the end of this scene while Yugami is having his real down moment and yelling 'I am not a god! What do these people want from me! It's better if I die! Kill me! Kill me! There is no point in me living any more! Kill me!!!' the old man just walks on stage and finally, his flower has bloomed (this is where I started balling!) and he had come to show him but he over hears all these. When Yugami realises the old man heard everything, he's distraught, but the old man tells him that he wanted to show him the flower everyday, it doesn't matter what he did, he gave the old man a new way of life so now it's time for him to give Yugami meaning in his life too. I am not doing this scene justice at all because it's just heartbreaking and heartwarming all in about the space of 5 minutes. It's one of my favourite scenes from the stage.

Other favourite scenes would be:

This also relates to my favourite character which is DEFINITELY Wakabayashi, the Mousou King. He is absolutely hilarious! He essentially daydreams about having sex with Shiro all day, but because it's only in his head and his imagtination, he claims he isn't gay xD he is absolutly hilarious and kudos to Keito because during Wakabayashi's first scene Keito is literally naked on stage bar a metal disk that he's holding to cover his private area. And then Wakabayashi gets behind him and starts thrusting and the doors close as Shiro starts seriously moaning. It was a very raunchy scene! And then another scene with Wakabayashi is actually a higawari/daily-change scene when he meets Sakura and suddenly he's like 'Oohhh Yamada and Sakura together?!'. The day I went he gave three commands; The first was that Yamada puts his head on Sakura's lap, and the second; turn the other way so his face is in Sakura's crotch and grope his chest, to which Sakura started moaning, and the final command; to nozzle their noses. He left them to do it for like a good minute and Yamada was like 'can we stop now? Can we stop?!' and Wakabayashi was like 'nah, I'm good. Keep going ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... okay that's enough' I'm pretty sure the actors hated him after xD I know Murata wrote on his blog that he was embarrassed and is always worried every show for that scene because he doesn't know what Wakabayashi is going to say >.<

Another scene I loved was with Tachibana. Just after Anri infiltrates and gets in with the community leader, Anri is left in his room and he opens the side wall and BAM Tachibana had been eaves dropping. He tries to get through the small square in the wall but really struggles. Eventually he does. On his way out he struggles again and ends up going back through butt first xD 

Another great scene is when Mutsukuchi is telling off Anri but he doesn't want to deal with responsibility. She tells him to get out and he says something like 'okay I'll go and strip!' and goes down the aisle and starts taking his kimono/cloak off. BUT before that scene, Anri enters from the right side door and approaches a girl on the either and tells her to touch him, and to touch him more but Mutsukuchi turns up and tells him to stop xD

However, one scene that really hurt my heart though is towards the end; I really liked Sakura and Akito, even when Sakura turned on Shiro, I still liked him (blame it on the actor-biasness). BUT THEN(!!!!) he turns on Akito and kills him!! He tells him that they were never friends, that all he even did was manipulate him into doing Sakura's bidding! But after Akito is dead, Sakura says 'the last part (he said he hated him) was a lie'. But you can't completely blame Sakura because in ANOTHER scene, we see him stripped of his upper clothing and is getting whipped to crap by his dad! So clearly there's abuse and mental issues there with Sakura -- I hope Shiro can save him in the next stage. But I am SO upset Sakura killed Akito! I wanted more gayness and adventures with them two! They were a great pair =[ I was so shocked at him betraying Akito.

Going back to the sexy things that happened: There were so many kisses! There were some between Anri and Akito. Another between Anri and Mutsukuchi which shocked everyone and especially after the kiss where he so softly saying 'I really do like you'.

Now to character/acting points:

Of course Keito did a great job as Shiro! He definitely went all out this time! It takes guts to go all out naked on stage with nothing but a metal disk covering your parts, and he did look do a few times to make sure he was completely covered! Of course, the fight scenes he was in were great too! In fact all the fact scenes were great!

I really liked how this time Yamada has trouble trusting Shiro and vice-versa and it creates a distance between them. Yamada really struggles and he has a moment where he's like 'Am I even Shiro's friend?! I don't even know anything about him!' but luckily they finally meet up again towards the end and it's a beautiful moment of 'yes these two were always friends. How could they not be!' ^_^

Speaking of fight scenes; there's one moment where he's fighting against Sakura and he does his signature 'crotch in the face' pin down xD Poor Murata >.< it was fabulous haha Also I'm now super interested if he really meant it to Mutsukuchi when he said he liked her. Because it was a proper kiss and everyone went silent in shock and the way he said he liked her sounded so serious and true.

I really liked Murata in this and his character! Naturally, I appreciated the shirtless whipping scene even though it sounded super duper painful. Also the fact that his weapon is a damn whip!! OH YEAH!! xD But still(!) he's freaking switch-a-ro and betraying his friend was a huge shocker1 But damn he better be back in the third stage!! And I freaking LOVE his outfit! And fighting in THOSE heels?! DAMN! xD

Also Kato did a great job as Akito too! I am so upset we won't be coming back though -- or at least it seems like it! I really, really liked his and Sakura's relationship. Also the fight scene where he just kept getting kissed was hilarious too!

I have nothing else left to say except GIVE ME A SECOND LIVE AND/OR A THIRD STAGE ASAP PLEASE!!!

*

GOODS

Even the goods are riskee o_O

*

And we’re done! I’m super excited to see which higawaris made the DVD recording and stuff >.<

I got tagged by @dialoversotaka, thank you!

Rules: Answer the Questions and tag whomever you want to tag~ 1. Would you rather wear Carla’s Scarf or Shin’s eyepatch? Carla’s scarf! It’s super comfy looking.

2. Which moments has been the most shocking to you? (Game, Manga, CD Drama, Stage Play, Anime) I remember when I first came across the scene where Kanato stabs Yui with a fork repeatedly. I was pretty shocked by that, I mean it’s such a bizarre way to stab someone that it makes it slightly more disturbing if that makes sense?  3. Have you had a Diaboy whom you hated (or had very little interest) and now you love him? Hmm, I don’t really hate any of the guys, but at first, surprisingly enough, I was luke warm on Shuu. I mean in the anime, he doesn’t get to do much, so I just found him pretty, and relatable with his tiredness, but not all that interesting. I remember being so confused as to why Shuyui was such a massive pairing in the fandom. Luckily I then read his game route translation and the mangas, and I’m super glad I did, as he’s now one of my favourites and Shuyui is adorable and spicy.

4. Which moments (Game, Manga, etc) has made you laugh the most? The CD drama where they drink the vampire juice (I think this is a popular answer lol) but I also loved the one where they have to be Yui’s butlers. Yuma being all suave and eloquent was strange to hear, but funny. Ruki was super manipulative but his voice and wording was soo attractive, and Reiji trying to hold back from correcting Yui, only to give in and be like - ‘You’re a lady! Don’t slouch in your chair! And your table manners are awful!’ made me giggle.

5. Which moments has made you cry the most? I think I can remember an ending where Yui kills herself and Subaru blames himself for it and it’s super depressing, made me super down. But I’ve only cried once, and that was listening and reading Ruki’s bloody bouquet CD. Shuu remained quite calm in his, so I don’t know, it didn't get to me as much, even though you could hear his pain. Ruki though, rarely shows how desperate he can get, and Takahiro Sakurai really made him sound like he was in absolute pain. The desperation of the situation felt so real.

6. Which moments has been the scariest for you? All of Kanato’s endings, when Laito’s voice drops, and Reiji locks Yuma, Shuu and Yui in the dungeon in one of the MB endings and Shuu (who is restrained) has to watch Yui slowly die because Yuma eventually gets thirsty and drains her to stay alive. 7. Which moments has made you the angriest? When Laito rapes Yui. It’s just a very unpleasant situation to read.

8. Would you like to be a student at their nocturnal school? Would you stalk/see what the Diaboys are up to? Who? (Only pick 3 diaboys!) Sure! I’m more active at night anyway ^^ I’d probably be too awkward to actually stalk the boys but I’d probably silently crush on Subaru, Ruki or Shuu.

9. Have you had any DL Dreams? If so… Tell us your favorite or your most recent~! I tend to dream more fanfiction scenarios to write (that I’ll probably never get around to) than anything. 10. Is there something/habit a diaboy does that bothers/annoys you? Hm, Kou suddenly snapping makes him frustrating to predict and therefore write. He’s entertaining to watch/read/listen to, but I agonised over that Dorian Grey chapter for him haha 11. Is there something/habit a diaboy does that makes your heart flutter/melt? When Subaru does anything. Pfft, well his awkward moments are endearing, but in general, you know when you’ve got a fav when he just has to show up and you’re all - that one. You. I like your face.

Apart from that, when Ruki gets all commanding, aand when Yuma gets surprisingly teasing.

I tag whoever would like to do this!

TOP 10: Nogizaka46 Members

Said I would do this so here it is! Few things beforehand, in making this I actually did end up with a full ranking as I took all the current members, as well as some that have graduated but I felt were either important or I wanted to include, so this isn’t every single member of Nogi EVER, but since the graduated ones I didn’t feel like I should include they probably would have ended up near the bottom anyway. In saying that, however, only one graduated member has made it into the top 10, but if anyone’s interested in a full ranking of all the members I included then I could do that XD. Right on with it!

10. MINAMI UMEZAWA

Ahh Minami... decent voice, a really great Jupiter in NogiMyu, and her CONFIDENCE really makes her stand out among the 3rd gens, I love her for that.

9. KARIN ITO

Spoiler... she’s the only 2nd gen in my top 10. Idk what it is about them, I think I just prefer the 1st and 3rds over them, but Karin is so amazing to me, omg, there’s something about her performance aspect and her just general presence that I love, she’s so smiley and sweet and has an amazing voice aaahhh I could gush more but I need to gush about 8 more so I’ll stop here.

8. MAI SHIRAISHI

Haha Maiyaaan... I’m honestly kind of shocked she’s this low down even thought 8 is like really good out of 40 odd?? BUT Mai is soooo adorable and funny and an amazing performer, I’m kind of surprised she hasn’t centred more senbatsu because she’s so popular and SO talented.

7. KAZUMI TAKAYAMA

Ask me in terms of NogiMyu, and Kazumi actually isn’t one of my tops in terms of acting. However, she’s is honestly one of the MOST talented people I’ve ever seen, her dancing, FLAWLESS, her singing, GORGEOUS, plus she’s so mature yet sweet and SUPER cool Kazumiiii omg I need to stop going crazy here lmao.

6. REIKA SAKURAI

Captaaaiiiin!! Aww Reika is so sweet, she’s another one where there’s just something about her personality and presence that I love soooo much, also PSA to get Reika to centre a senbatsu cos she’s the captain why haven’t they done that before?? XD.

5. SAYURI MATSUMURA

My precious Sayuriiiii I don’t CARE if her voice is off-pitch she still gets all the small songs with the solos and it’s sweet! And Sayuri herself is adoooorableeee I mean she said so herself she’s super cute and it’s TRUE she’s like a cute little bun I wanna hug XD. OMG also there was a moment idk what show it was but the 3rd gens were like giving gifts to their favourite 1st gens and the 1st gens had to guess who the 3rd gens’ favourites were, idk if I explained that well, but anyway when Ross (Riria Ito, Nogi fans it’s a thing) went and revealed it was Sayuri Sayuri gave her the SWEETEST hug, honestly it made my heart fkn melt, I’ll put the video here so you can see but it was precioouuussss.

4. YUMI WAKATSUKI

Hahaaa okay this is why I included graduated members... I fkn LOVE Yumi. She’s so COOL but SWEET and talented omgggg... I think I have a FAT crush on her honestly... I was so sad when she announced her graduation why did she leeeeaaaave T_T.

3. MIZUKI YAMASHITA

Mizuki is soooo precious... I love her <3. She also seems one of the more confident of the 3rd gens, and I love her voice! There’s also something about Mizuki that makes me looooove heeeeer sooooo muuuuuch she’s SUPER adorable but has some SUPER cool moments as well she’s just... amazing!!

2. MISA ETO

MISAAAA omg my QUEEN I honestly cannot believe she started as an under member cos she’s SO talented and sweet!! She feels mature like Kazumi and is so sweet (did I already say that?) and her VOICE is the most amazing sweet angelic thing I’ve ever heaaaaard gosh I love her so much and I’m so glad the managers came around and made her permanent senbatsu as of 9th cos she deserves SO MUCH spotlight and recognition for just being so amazing <3.

And finally... (you all see this coming I know you do)

1. HINA HIGUCHI

I’m not sure if anyone was expecting anything else to be honest, tell me if you were cos I really want to hear this. Anyway, HINA, my absolute QUEEN who deserves THE FUCKING WORLD she’s one of the sweetest, most adorable, yet mature and AMAZING people I just... I love her, okay, I really, really, LOVE her, BIG crush, love her so muuuuch... and she’s SO underused like she only really gets into the performances of the title songs by senbatsu if someone’s missing? The amount of times I’ve seen her standing in for someone like, idk, Erika Ikuta is an example, in a senbatsu she didn’t make is UNBELIEVABLE, like... just put her there in the first place and let members who rarely get a chance be the stand-in! I honestly cannot believe she’s only ever made 3 senbatsu... I mean, she’s got the looks, she’s got the talent, she’s PRECIOUS, like seeing her reaction to making senbatsu is the SWEETEST thing ever because she’s so happy!! GOSH I love Hina so much and she needs so much more recognition T_T <3.

Ahaha I went on a bit at the end there just HINA 😍. Anyway I hope this was interesting! If any fellow Nogizaka46 fans want to do this as well go ahead, I like seeing what other people think XD.

Netojuu no Susume Episode 11 [OVA]

New Post has been published on https://hentaihun.com/blog/2017/12/16/netojuu-no-susume-episode-11-ova/

Netojuu no Susume Episode 11 [OVA]

I must confess, nowadays, I find that I usually skip out on the OVAs. I either forget about them altogether or I just don’t have enough interest to take the time to watch it. Netojuu no Susume however is an entirely different story. It’s certainly one of the very few shows when I am thirsty for more content, and this episode most certainly delivered. (Except for a kiss, THEY HAVE YET TO KISS!!!!!)

The OVA was split into two parts. The first half was a “date” so to speak with Moriko and Sakurai, and the second half was about a dream the two of them had of being cast into the game world where they met their characters.

If I had to choose which part had me laughing the hardest, I would have to say Part 1. It was so cute how watching Moriko freak out about Sakurai coming over to her place. She stayed up all night to clean every inch of her house because she didn’t know what to do. Poor girl gets so overwhelmed so quickly!

It also says a lot when I know I could easily spend my entire day just watching Moriko and Sakurai be the precious dorky and clumsy couple they are. They are flustered and overwhelmed so easily, it’s hilarious to watch. It was so much fun watching the two of them game together in Moriko’s apartment, and it was even sweeter how Sakurai even offered to build Moriko a new computer after her motherboard died. (RELATIONSHIP GOALS!!!!!) After they beat a boss, their characters were chilling in the hot springs and that’s how the conversation of how ‘it would be nice to take a dip’ or Sakurai’s slip up of suggesting to stay at a Hot Springs overnight, together…. only to try and fix the situation and calm Moriko down because he could tell she was getting overwhelmed, he immediately added Koiwai to the party. And on that note, they said they will save that story for another day, boy I sure hope we get it. I don’t care for Hot Spring episodes, but when I do, I SURE HOPE THEY MAKE IT HAPPEN! DO IT! DO IT!!!!!!!!!

And I am sure we were all so very disappointed when the two had their moment of close contact and looked like they may just FINALLY kiss (WE NEED THIS IN OUR LIVES OKAY?!), they were cockblocked by a bunch of weirdos ringing the bell.

Part 2 was a lot different than the first, but man I loved what they did with it. In her dream, Moriko finds herself transfered into the game, where she has been assigned a quest to “Save Princess Sakurai from the Demon King”. There were a lot of reasons why I loved this half and one of them was definitely because Sakurai was dressed up as Princess Peach!

Then we see Hayashi and Lily, along with the rest of the guild-mates characters be themselves. I really liked the way they used the in-game avatars, but I have to say Harumi’s use was my favourite. She was supposed to the tough boss only to do Koiwai’s signature move: AFK! Making it easy to slip past her! It was so simple, yet so hilarious I was clutching to my stomach because I was laughing so hard.

It was also quite funny how Moriko kept on being charmed by her own avatar, Hayashi– which I have to admit had quite a dashing personality to say the least. They join her on her journey to save Sakurai from the Demon Lord (Koiwai). Before they do they go and upgrade her amour where it’s suggested she win the first prize, a bikini armour said to be essential for defeating the Demon King. The best part about this scene was the fact Moriko’s horrible luck saved her, because she absolutely did not want to wear the bikini armour (nor would it be in character for her to do that), and was able to settle for a classic one. Only lo and behold, Demon King Koiwai had specifically made that armour so Moriko would be required to wear it, which leads to the next highlight of the episode, Sakurai equipping the armour onto himself (since it was gender neutral gear), and defeats Koiwai, only to find out IT’S BEEN CURSED TO NEVER BE REMOVED!

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My Top 25 Games Advent Day 15 - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (#11)

​​“On that day, when the sky fell away, our world came to an end.”

​​​​It would be an understatement to say I was late to the party when it comes to Smash and even fighting games in general, after my first experience being stumbling upon a copy of Brawl amongst my boyfriend’s old Wii games, before picking up the 3DS one for myself. There in front of me was some of the most fun I’ve ever had playing a game, especially with other people, and a roster full of characters I’d barely heard of. I found myself drawn into the Smash hype circle, getting to know each and every character, their movesets and what characters/stages could turn up in the future. This meant I was in the perfect spot to be blisteringly excited for the game’s latest installment and, for me at least, it is by far the best fighting game ever made, as well as most ambitious and well-executed crossover event conceived.

​​Smash at its base level embodies fun, both for casual players (like me) and those who prefer the competitive side of things. The controls are intuitive, but take time to master, and it’s so accessible I genuinely feel as if I might be competent at it. To make matters even better, Ultimate is the most refined and fast-paced in the series, blending perfectly responsive controls, moment-to-moment fighting and revamped movesets to accommodate these changes, this truly is my definitive Smash title. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve whittled away just playing the CPUs (actually, yes I can, because my Switch tells me), because I genuinely just have that much fun with it.

​​As I mentioned before, I was pretty much immediately sucked into the hype cycle that came with Ultimate and I was unbelievably excited for each and every character that came in. That’s the great thing about Smash; the fact that the lead-up is arguably better than its release, purely due to the giddy speculation of what characters from our favourite franchises could make the cut this time around, even if most of the characters that came in I’d purely heard through other people.

​​In March of 2018, Nintendo dropped a sneaky trailer showing off the inclusion of the Inklings before the game was even announced at the end of the trailer; Inklings are fun and cool and I was into it. Skip to E3 and oh god I’ve never been this excited in my entire life. Fucking everyone is coming back from every previous game, along with highly requested big boi Ridley and slightly less requested Daisy (who I still main sometimes) and that’s when I sort of lost it. Following that up with the likes of the Belmonts, K. Rool, Ken, that beautiful plant, my bois from Persona 5 AND DQ11? And some 90s twunk in a baseball cap? This roster couldn’t get any better if it tried (except it can, because there’s more coming). Each and every stage that accompanies these characters is perfectly realised, with the whole game brilliantly utilising its bright, consistent art style, which is especially impressive when you consider the fact they needed to balance the aesthetics of the likes of Solid Snake and Isabelle. Everything in this game is just brimming with Sakurai and the Smash team’s dizzying attention to detail that packs as many references and callbacks to specific characters and franchises as possible. The vast majority of stages maintain the overall visual design of its home franchise, as well as including camoes from other NPCs from those games. And the S O U N D T R A C K. Basically a thousand tracks worth at this point, peppered with remixes for every franchise, even ones that wouldn’t have been necessary but are just a testament to the amount of time and effort put into making this game the ultimate crossover. Even putting aside the massive amount of original tracks and older remixes, newer ones like Termina Field, Guile Stage, Beneath the Mask, literally everything from Mega Man and Castlevania. It’s all just so GOOD. 

​​However, by the time release was starting to inch closer, one gripe remained. What, if anything, were they going to do about single player content? Because Smash is not famed for its myriad of stuff you can do alone and Smash is basically half the fun without someone to play it with. In Melee, you had Adventure Mode, which was just kind of there. In Brawl, a grandiose campaign complete with unique bosses and wonky platforming, Subspace Emissary. And I’ll be honest, while I loved the cutscenes, I eventually couldn’t finish it due to the sheer length of time I spent competing with the slightly off platforming sections. And famously, Smash 4 was almost completely devoid of any single player content, with the exception being the inevitable classic mode. But all my concerns melted away when they unveiled the opening cutscene of their cool new story mode, World of Light. I know this had mixed reception, but I personally loved it, because it focused on what you’re actually meant to be doing in Smash; fighting things. Add on top of this a vague story about killing eldritch beings and collecting over a thousand shiny JPEGs and yeah I’m hooked on this. It’s still wild to me that so fucking many of my absolute favourite characters are collectible in one place, from Mipha to Makoto Niijima, my DQ11 lads to Ricky the kangaroo. World of Light was an absolute blast and I loved playing it and discovering all of its secrets.

​​And now, prepare for the smallest paragraph in the world as I take you through my two (2) tiny gripes with this game:

​​1. They kinda fucked with All-Star mode. I preferred the sort of gauntlet thing from the previous game, though that is just nitpicking at this point.

​​2. Two tracks and no spirits was apparently all they could find for Final Fantasy. I suppose we can’t blame them, I bet they looked. Probably buried underneath all that Squeenix royalty money. Maybe they’ll dig up some more content one day.

​​There’s my gushing review on my absolute favourite fighting game I’ve played. Maybe I’m biased considering this is packed with my favourite series and full of characters I’ve come to now through the game, but I consider this to be the definitive Smash. And there’s still more coming! I’m going to explode!​​

​​Standout Moment Award: Today’s standout moment is the only one on this list that’s going to something that occured pre-release; that is every Nintendo Direct that gave us a brand new character. That build-up, that giddy excitement of knowing you’re about to find out who’s next to join, is something little else in gaming can match.

Standout Character Award: Joker. Nothing can really top the excitement I felt at my perfect boi dropping into the Game Awards.

​​Tomorrow: No. 10; Space captain and all-around sex machine goes on a universe-spanning, pest control adventure.

2017.02.13 D-Stage 20th: 柔道少年・Jyuudou Shounen [Review]

I watched D-Stage 20th: Jyuudou Shounen (Judo Boys) Monday night and it was a LOT of fun with so many things going wrong throughout which added to the hilarity.

Official Website here Official Twitter here Press 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

CAST

Miyazaki Shuuto Miyazaki’s Parents (played by Mitsuya - mother and Ikeoka - father) Mitsuya Mitchell Ryo Ikeoka Ryousuke Arai Atsushi Shison Jun (played by Mitsuya Ryo) Negishi Takuya (played by Arai Atsushi) Nishi Yukito (played by Ikeoka) Voices of Shiramata Atsushi and Maeyama Takahisa Sakurai Minami Kobayashi Masahiro

NON-SPOILER

This was so funny! I didn’t stop laughing! Some parts were obviously planned and were supposed to be funny but quite a few things went wrong when I went and even the actors couldn’t not laugh which added to the hilarity. It’s a simple story and the comedy is definitely the selling point here. Seeing their close interactions is great too!

Rating: 9/10 << might be in the race to be my favourite D-Stage! But I’ll have to rewatch it to decide that finally.

---

First I will talk about the story: 

Basically Miyazaki Shuuto* has always been told to aim for the Olympics but he doesn’t see the point; he’s on a losing streak, he doesn’t want to go to the Olympics, he doesn’t even think he likes it anymore. Then thanks to a trip to Tokyo with his Judo buddies, he has his first love, finds a rival and discovers what he really wanted to do and what Judo means to him.

*They’re using their own names for the characters.

Simple enough story right? Which is great because it left a LOT of room for the BIG theme of the play: the comedy. This was absolutely hilarious! A lot of it was planned comedy but unfortunately the day I went, a LOT of things went wrong or happened without the other actors knowing it was going to happen so not only were the audience laughing hard but also the actors were laughing insanely hard too that they had to stop the play a little so both actor and audience could calm down xD Which means it as a lot of great fun!

To be honest, when I first got my ticket and it was Row Z and the site said row Z is actually row 3 and a bench seat I kind of panicked because I imagined the type of benches we have to sit on in primary school in England and they are not comfortable! SO I was super worried I’d have to put up with one of those types of benches for a 2 hour plus show BUT when I got there they weren’t really benches; just normal chairs without the back and with a cushion! And my bad didn’t hurt at all! I was comfortable the entire time! Also I was super lucky that the person in front and the person next to me didn’t show up SO I was technically on my own and second row! Which made it SUPER easy for the actors to spot us; seriously the first row could TOUCH the stage without even stretching their arm out! And Mitsuya definitely spotted me and I think Ikeoka looked over a few times -- but being me I kept looking away from IkeP if he so much as seemed to see me, cos I’m a shy girl with my bias’ xD

SPOILERS

Anyway! Now to the parts of the play I wanna focus and talk about! First let’s talk about the PLANNED comedy okay?

First Mitsuya pretending to be a returnee from America and speaking half English and half Japanese, at a fast speed, was both hilarious and impressive. For the most part his English was pretty accurate but there was one that cracked me up hard and that was "it’s privacy” (instead of saying “it’s private”) which we understand in English but isn’t right xD

Then next was Mitsuya playing Shuuto’s mother and his ‘chest’ was huge! xD also after she catches her husband look at her sons dirty magazines and pins him against the wall was hilarious.

Shuuto’s a master at showing comedy through his face! When he goes to see the girl he likes’ match every time the shuttlecock (she plays baminton) went to the rival player his face would be like -____- or angry and when it went back to her, he’d be like ^_^ or =D. It occurred about 5 or 6 times and it just got funnier as he continued.

Towards the end when Shuuto realises he does want to do Judo, IkeP and Mitsuya come running in and are like ‘hey you’re next guy is called Kaji Masaki and he’s a big guy so be careful’ which is hilarious that they mentioned Kaji’s name. We cracked out every time they used a D-Boys members’ name as the rival xD there were three times:

First was Shishon Jun played by Mitsuya and Mitsuya was doing the whole pouting his lips and playing with his blonde (wig) hair.

The second one was Nishii Yukito, played by IkeP, and he was like ‘YEAH!’ in a high pitched voice and kept flicking his hair back. But this scene soon changed into an unplanned accident scene when Shuuto did the final topple, IkeP’s wig came off and IkeP was facing the audience straight on and he just looked in shock as he realised the wig had come off and then cracked a smile that he couldn’t contain. He grabbed the wig and cradled it as he walked off xD after IkeP had walked off Shuuto was left on stage by himself and he just goes 'tondemonai koto na/unbelievable stuff is happening today' and then we went back to some planned comedy where he takes his time to re-adjust his uniform and checked the ties were the right and equal length and looks so proud of himself when he’s finished xD

Another funny moment is went Mitsuya and IkeP come on stage as the Kindai Kids (play on Kinki Kids) and do a song together and their outfits are ridiculously flashy and bright, and IkeP trying to sing high notes was funny too.

Some I’m not sure if they were planned or improvised/accident comedic scenes:

When Kobayashi gets angry at Shuuto and grabs him and he pushes Shuuto back but Ikeoka is behind him and Ikeoka is stuck between the wooden pole, Shuuto and then Kobayashi still pushing on Shuuto xD

There’s a part where Ikeoka (as Shuuto’s dad) is trying to talk to his son seriously but looks down and realises his fly is open and proceeds to try and close it for the remainder of the scene (it’s got a few more minutes left) and the audience were laughing too much to pay attention to what he was saying.

And now for the, even the actors couldn’t keep it together and laughed hard scenes:

Towards the beginning of the show, the boys were running around their coach Kobayashi, and without expecting it, he grabbed IkeP and toppled him over, and IkeP got back up and just looked at him in shocked and Mitsuya and Shuuto had sopped what they were doing and just stood there wetting themselves laughing as IkeP also cracked up and joined in, as well as the audience.

Another was a karaoke scene with Shuuto and Minami. Shuuto was trying to sing badly, but it ended in his voice cracking, and he couldn't stop laughing as he continued to sing the rest of the song. 

About halfway through Mitsuya and IkeP suddenly stop the play for a few minutes and get everyone to do Mitsuya’s Exercises! So we all had to stand up and we did an arm stretch, a neck stretch and a hip roll stretch. The Mitsuya was like ‘Mtsuya Solo!’ and danced around the stage widely and IkeP just stood to the side, lent against the wall, just looking at him speechless and in amazement at the silly things he was doing. When Mitsuya finished IkeP couldn’t speak at all xD

Towards the end, to help Shuuto win the girl and tournament, Arai comes to where the tournament in and before he can start a fight, IkeP, Mitsuya and Shuuto knock Araki out, but then Kobayashi comes in but they don't have enough time to 'hide the body' so they cover him up with their bodies, BUT Arai's face went right into Mitsuya's crotch and he’s not allowed to move because he’s supposed to be unconcious, so we slowly see his face going red and his chest laughing, as Mitsuya is facing us with his head in his hands dying of embarrassment and laughing.

One final one was when Shuuto lost his balance at the left side of the stage and IkeP luckily saw it pretty soon and smoothly grabbed his arm and re-balanced him xD

Side note; can we give a special mention to IkeP and Mitsuya’s eye contact! Talk about giving each other the sex eyes all the time! xD 

During the AfterTalk

Naturally it was centered around valentine’s day and when we came in, all our leaflets had a pink heart stickie note on and they explained that it’s our chocolate and as we leave, we can put the hearts in the box of the actor we like. Then suddenly IkeP was like ‘So we’re a host club now? and then it slowly got to them calling the play ‘Boku no Jyuudou chan’ xD

They spoke about the most chocos they got as kids and Arai and Shuuto were adament they weren’t popular but none of them believed Shuuto xD IkeP spoke about getting TomoChoco and was like ‘whao! this is so nostalgic!’ and Mitsuya was like ‘that’s not my generation’ xD and they were like ‘but you’re only 19 right?’ and he’s like ‘yeah I was born in Showa but I’m a Seihei’ and he realised he’d fucked up Heisei and just died and they all got on his case about it, ‘when was Seihei?! Never herd of it! Must be an old, old era’ xD he gave up trying to correct his mistake.

Arai also mentioned how he was the one who wrote the letters/characters on the boards that are in the background.

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Final note:

This stage was a godsend in terms of reconfirming and reaffirming my love for IkeP. He did amazing in Yuhiden and Litche Hikari Club at the end of 2015 and that’s where I fell for him so I went into 2016 super hopeful for him but he only ended up doing like ONE play and ONE dorama and that was April and September, so I was super worried for his career and worried I wouldn’t be able to see more of him BUT we’re only in February and already he’s got a dorama airing, he’s doing a stage now and he’s definitely got Dansui stage in May! So he’s already doing more this year which makes me a super happy bunny and seeing him (finally!, again!) in this on Monday really helped me remember ‘ah yes I love this idiot’ xD he really is hilarious and cute!!

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That’s all I got to say really. I am very much looking forward to the DVD! It’s a thoroughly enjoyable play! Seriously, a lot of fun and I didn’t stop laughing for over 2 hours!