So I wasn't going to ramble this game till we got another traller, but there's a lot of good going on around it, and we just got the game informer article about it! So let's talk about one of the games I'm look forward to quite a bit, and something that has been on people's minds since the PS5 event, Kena: Bridge of Spirits!

I honestly don't know a lot about Ember Lab. The Majora's Mask film was something I heard about but I wasn't super into Zelda yet. However I probably will check that out at some point. 

The first trailer for this game was amazing. Let's start with the art style. It's seem to be Disney Pixar like, but has a very anime like flare to it. It's nice, because things having an eastern flare is always good in my opinion. It feels a lot better a lot more appealing to look at in my humble opinion. 

The trailer itself comes off as a bit mysterious, as it starts with us looking at the Rot,  going around in some lush looking environments. Nice!

We then cut to Kena meditating, with a voice saying this quote:

We then cut to gameplay that shows that this game is a Zelda-style game, WHICH IS GOOD. One thing I've noticed in the gaming industry is that no-one seems to have a old school 3D Zelda like game. Let me know if there is something like that on PC, but it's good to see a developer having a crack at it! Anyways, between this and the articles from Game Informer, lets see what this game has to offer.

Let's start off with the combat. Kena can use her staff to fight with light, mid and heavy attacks. She seems to be powered by spiritual energy, which until told otherwise, I'm going assume it's the physical manifestation of chi, as it goes with the themes of this game. She can use this energy to make a block and turn her staff into a bow. The Rot can also help out in battle by distracting her enemies or powering up her attacks which sounds awesome! Kena herself can't be customized, but the rot can have these cute little hats on them. Kind

Kena's world structure seems to be wide-linear, where you can find thing along the way, but there is a definitive path. The village that you start in serves as your hub. We haven't see a lot of the game, but between the amazing visuals and breathtaking gameplay, this games should be a lot of fun. Kena:Bridge of Spirits launches Q1 2021 for PS4, PS5 and the Epic Games Store(aka, the only reason why I have it)

Funny enough I was writing about this as the delay happened. Eh. However, still looking forward to this game! Also shout out to the emberlab twitter account, they are great!

But for now, thanks for reading, and I will see you guys next time.
Written by Nana Marfo
Zelda:Majora's Mask(C)Nintendo
Terrible Fate/Kena Bridge of Spirits

So, remember when I made that poll about the time reviewing lewd anime! I feel like now is the time to re-create that. Monster Mususme was something I heard about when watching WatchMojo list in the summer of 2018. I only did this to learn about lewd animes because I think the only I had really watched at the time was Dragon Maid and My Hero. Still I know this is a monster harem anime, and that the protage's first thing is maybe trying to fuck a snake? IDK, I just know that is gonna be kinda crazy.

Rules:

1.Spoilers are abounding here folks. If you want to watch it blindly... go watch it. Spoilers are here.

2. Depending on the Anime, this can get NSFW. There's no nudity in this one, but be prepared for some lewdness.
​
3. I am watching the subbed version.

To misquote Mr.Feel, is he going to fuck a snake? This is my review of Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls.

We begin with our protagonist, Kasum Kimihito in waking up and being chocked by his snake girl, Miia. She feels cold, so Kimihito wants to draw a bath, but instead Miia want's to be heated up by Kimihito's body. THIS IS HOW THE ANIME STARTS. I admit that is a pretty cute way to set up things, by, showing Kimihito as very nervous and Miia as kinda needy, but honestly, making a snake climax by rubbing her tail is one of weirder thing I have seen to start an anime before the opening. Weirder than Thoru transforming to start Dragon Maid.

The opening is honestly really cute, but I have to say it's not super memorable. I guess Dragon Maid's one spoilled me a bit, but hey, it's still cool. Saikousoku Fall in Love is a fun song!

Anyways, we cut to them Miia bathing and Kimihito trying his hardest not to be a perv and also not to get dragged in, as well as reflecting on the renovations he made for Mila to live with him. As he is making breakfast for her, we learn in a news report that interspercies exchange law have been around for a while, and they are being used to enhance the world rather than change it. However, we meet a women simply knowing as Smith, who is overseeing the relationship between them. Basically he can't hurt her in anyway, and she can't hurt humans at all. And yes, this is the reason in universe why he can't fuck the snake. I'm glad that the show is at least providing an excuse in universe why he's a harem protagonist.

This doesn't Miia from trying admittedly because DAMN does she love Kimihito. Or at least there's a bond there. Kimihito basically was super kind to her, despite her appearance of having a snake like lowerbody. Kimihito doesn't care. He doesn't find interspecies to be bad... species, I guess. Miia doesn't mind if anything happens between them, and even tries to get him to fuck at one point... but her snake body dislocates Kimihito's shoulder, so he needs to heal up.

After this they go on a date of sorts where Miia heads lingerie shopping, and Kimihito accidentally grabs her pants(he was wonder how she wore underwear earlier in the episode). Some people laugh at them at them along they way, but she can't harm humans. They end up in a love hotel, even though Smith told them not to but it was more because they needed to get away from the public for a bit. After some self reflection Miia asks if he's only being nice because he has to be... and tries to get him to fuck again, but Smith thanks to the power of twitter puts a stop to that. I will say Miia at least wanting to try to fuck makes things interesting. Plus she's pretty hot. I'm not a furry, she still has human parts.

Anyways, they head back and Miia asks why Kimihito is so super protective, especially after he punched the assholes. Kimihito says it was nothing, especially since they were rude to a girl. Miia tries to fuck, AGAIN(I swear this girls hard-on is like no one elses), Smith break things up, and the 3 have dinner.

The ending theme is pretty cool, it revolves around Smith, adding to the mystery around her. 

I think that music is standard for a slice of life, as well as the visual style and animation. I do like a lot of the framing though as Milla has the lower half of a snake so her body is focused on one side of the screen, meaning the animators have to be smart with positioning and it works a treat. Character wise I think Kimihito is cool, and while Miia is kinda desprect, she be fun to have around.

Overall, I think that is a really good starting episode. It's a little bit insane at some point, and fucking a snake brings up a lot of questions, but I still think it's fun.

This was fun! Getting back into anime more, so keep on the look out for more first impressions and reviews! 

But for now, thanks for reading and take care!

Written by Nana Marfo
Monster Musume(C)Funimation/Studio Hibari

Racing games are cool! And last week, I spoke about Codemasters' Rally offering, and game that I thought was a bit too hard for beginners. This time however, I wanted to talk about what was one of, if not the last 7th gen(PS3/360) offering, and what it entails! There's a lot of different types of racing here's so let's take another virtual tour around Europe... and in this case the world.

So GRID:Autosport has 5 different styles of racing: Touring, Endurance, Openwheel, Tuner and Street. You race in these 5 categories and once you reach certain levels in all 5 style, you get to race in the GRID Series. I got up to the Grid Grand Slam for this article.

I will start by saying Codemasters knew how to get most of the PS3/360 at this point because THIS LOOKS LIKE A EARLY PS4 GAME. Seriously, it's insane how good a lot of cars look in this game. While I didn't play Race Driver: Grid, I know from playing Grid 2, the  had the problem of too much bloom because 7th Gen. This is thankfully not much of an issue here, as everything feels very clean, crisp, and most importantly, visible. The music... well there isn't much, that's why I didn't mention it in Dirt:Rally, it's only the menus, and even I usually turn music off in a racing game to listen to my own music, or a podcast. It's how racing games are meant to be play in my opinion. I do wish there were bunch of licence songs to listen to while in race, and again, please let make weeb cars in your future games. I know F1 2020 has a livery editor, but IDK if I can put images in there.

So lets start with the gameplay and I'll get the styles I didn't like out of the way first. Compared to all of the other starter cars, the lowest level of Endurance cars are extremely fast and a bit harder to handle. While the same argument can be put across for something such as OpenWheel, there it feels better because you know there all the cars are different. Here, in everything else, you start in Road cars, and build your way up to race in the super fast cars. So it kinda feels a bit harder to start out in Endurance. Also everything is at night, and it kinda feels weird, since the game doesn't have a day to night cycle, and races don't usually last longer than 10 min, so it kinda feels unnecessary, especially with lack of visibility and all other styles taking place at daytime .

​The drift challenges in tuner are super hard in my opinion. Then again I hate drifting challenges in games, so I won't talk about it because that would make me stupidly mad.

Touring cars are basically stock cars for all the Americans out there, but unlike NASCAR, we race on race tracks and street circuits instead of ovals. It's honestly really fun, as these feel like stock cars with the volume turned up, and not being forced to turn a hard left.

Before you can race, you have to qualify, and there are 3 extra championships points for qualify first here, which can make all the difference here, because there are 2 races to do! This also goes for OpenWheel as well, just with out the 3 points in Qualifying and the reverse grid that happens in the 2nd race. It's honestly fun to race around circuits such as Brands Hatch and Istanbul Park in these cars. That's all I can say about it sadly, as I don't really watch BTCC, WTCC or DTM, so all my knowledge is an outsider's knowledge, so I can't really say anything about tactics.

Tuner has 2 types of races, the drift challenges as I talked about earlier, and time trials/races. These revolve around you taking muscle and what in game are called "Jam" cars, and driving them around the track as fast as you can. I personally find the muscle cars, such as the Dodge Charger to be a bit unstable due to the amount of power in them, but the Jam cars, such as the Nissan Sliva are pretty fun to use, and the variety of cars in the Jam category is astounding. Oh I should mention how the career mode works.

So basically, once pick a style of racing, you get a choice to go to a team, where the difference are the amount of XP you earn, and how much you be able to set up your car. You have a rival to beat, but most of the time, you will want to try and beat Ravenwest Motorsport, so focus on them. I will say that this does affect the replay of the career mode quite a bit as I just feel like I need to beat RavenWest... and yea my job is done. I mean we have a lot of IRL brands here, such as Intel and Monster Energy, so why not try to make them top contenders as well?

Street racing here is mostly focused on the city, as you race places such as Barcelona and Dubai, where the surface is constantly changing, and the width of the roads can change at a moments notice. This is honest my 2nd favorate style because racing all all the different surfaces is really fun, especially when you feel it through the controller.

But now, let's get to OpenWheel.

Open-Wheel is the racing style basted on Formula 1 or Indycar if you are American, and it's the best type of racing this game has to offer in my opinion. The race feels really fast as you go around tracks like Istanbul Park, Brands Hatch and Yas Marina circuit. It also helps that the cars feel better to control with a controller! This goes for all of them, even the Endurance class. We need more sim style games that feel good to play with a controller on PC!

Overall, I can recommend this game, especially given that the new GRID game is still getting DLC, and will probably be getting a updated version later on. I think that game, as is, is really fun, even the parts that I don't like that much here is probably just me complaining a bit too much admittedly, as they have their followings! Play this. please. You can get this on PS3,360, Steam and Humble Bundle.

So, that was fun! Let me know if I should look at more racing games here, preferably ones that let me weeb up my car. Got a good few ideas on content, so stay tuned!

But for now, thanks for reading and I will see you guys next time.

Written by Nana Marfo
Grid:Autosport(C)Codemasters

Oh wow, it's another one of these! The world is still kinda shit, and for me on top of home issue, is kinda soul draining. However! We always have video games, and for me while anime games are my preferred choice, racing games would be a solid 2nd on the list for me. I find that because they usually have a story that doesn't really involve a plot, they are very easy to pick up, play for a bit, leave for a few months while real takes over, and start playing again, which makes them a prime candate for me to just write a few sentences on! And I've been playing a lot of DIRT:Rally by Codemasters, so let me talk about it!

Let me start off by saying Codemasters really knows how to make games look good. The graphics on  the car are astounding, the detail in the environments are amazing, and on my new laptop with a GTX 1650 and 10th Gen i5 processor, it runs at a constant 60fps, which is insane, However, please make my own livery in the next game, I want to Mini or 1600cc car that has weeb s**t on it. 

Anyways​, Dirt: Rally has 3 modes, Rally, Hillclimb and Rallycross. Rally is the signature mode, as the DIRT series is derived from the Colln McRae Rally series, and man is it hard! This is admittedly somewhat due to game being very heavy on the simulation side of things, so if your like me and use a controller, watch out!

There's also a lot of differences between this and a regular street race. If I was playing something like Grid: Autosport, the street racing there involves me being on screen with a bunch of other cars, and the roads are wide enough to accommodate side by side racing. Here, it's like a bike time trial, where everything is narrow, the road furniture constantly changes, and you're on your own against the clock.

Another thing that really hinders the experience for me is the handling, which to be honesty, is pretty fine tuned for steering wheels, and it feels like I need to play with ABS on just to stop locking up or stop the car in general. Also not helping is when I'm on a snow stage and having to deal with ice physics. ICE PHYSICS. IN A RACING GAME. Yes I know this is an off road game, but still I'm not use to this. 

However, once you get used to it, it's fun to race. I just think that the game has a lot of mechanic that you need to get use to, hell there is co driver yelling instructions at you for road furniture, what the road furniture is, what kind of turn the next turn is, it's too much for me to get use to at one time.

Hillclimb is something I honestly only put time into for this but to sum it up, it's like Rally, but with super modified cars and no co driver, so it's a little more traditional, but damn, do the cars there feel even more unstable at high speed with a controller.

But now on to the mode that I actually know the most about! Rallycross has only been around as a world championship since 2014, and this is the first official game for it. It's a bit lacklustre with tracks, as, there are only 3 with their variations. Lidden Hill in the UK, Hell in Norway, where it always seems to rain, and Hojles in Sweden. How did you guys miss the Estering? Or Loheac? Or Hockenheimring? I guess all of these and more are in Dirt 4, and GOD DAMN IT. 

Anyway, Rallycross is mix of both touring car and rally surfaces, so you have to be versatile. The races work this way: Qualifying is split into 4 heats and 4 groups of 4 drivers, and the fastest 12 from their combined finishing positions go into the semi final. The ones in Group A start on the first row, B on the second one and C on the 3rd one. The top 3 from each Semi-Final go into the final.

I honestly enjoy this mode the most because I feel as if I have control of the cars here, though the Supercars are still very slidey and I hate them for that, but the 1600 are alright and the classic mini is a joy to drive in. It also helps that the racing keeps me on my toes with the Joker Lap. This is a lap that all care have to take which is slower, and I find that this keeps things interesting, take it too early, and your stuck at the back, take it too late, and you just lost the place you were in. It's quite interesting.

Dirt Rally seems to take a lot of learning of in my opinion, which is not great for beginners in my opinion. If Dirt Rally 2.0 is better at this I would recommenced it to everyone, but the game requires you to sit down a learn it constantly for it's rally mode, which isn't great for a racing game in my opinion, you should be able to from the get go to some extant be able sit-down, play the game for a bit and get on with your day, which I feel like it's better accomplished in Rallycross mode. For that I would have say, get this if you are a sim racing fan, it's obviously made for that crowd. Besides that, I would say look for other alternatives.

I'm really sorry that I haven't written much in the past few months, really trying to get out of this hole I seem to be in, but Damn I can't get out of it atm. Got a few plans though so please look forward to them!

But for now, take care and I will see you guys next time!

Written by Nana Marfo
Good Smile Car image taken from Good Smile Racing's Twitter

Dirt Rally(C)Codemasters

Took me long enough to get to this review! Always, it's over! Unless you keep reading the Manga, which I'm going to because I love this show. Hell, I already bought and read the first volume of it. It’s good, and shows how sometimes things can change given the transition from the Manga to the Anime. But Manga or otherwise, was the Second season of seeing girls making cute games fun?
 
Rules:
1. Spoilers are abounding here folks. If you want to watch it blindly... go watch it. Spoilers are here.

2. Depending on the Anime, this can get NSFW.
​
3. I am watching the subbed version.
 
Let’s make a game about bears! This is my review of New Game Season 2.

​So yea, this time we are make a game about bears called PEKO, though this time there is a bit more of a story, though it mainly happens in parts. Episode 2 has a contest to design the main character of the game, and during the middle of this episode, Aoba gets her design approved,and she asks Ko for help, Ko gets frustrated at her, due to Aoba doing better than her, and for the first time in a while, being knocked down, after talking with Rin, her and Aoba team up to design a character, and Aoba ends up getting the lead character role with Ko as her supervisor. From there show begins to get more character focused again,as another contest comes up to design the key visuals with Ko winning over Aoba, but later down the line, we get some new hires, one of which is very familiar to us.

​Nene in this season is working her programming and even shows off her games to Ahagon(pls don’t shoot me), Aoba, and their other childhood Hotarun, who I will talk about when I analyse Aoba’s character for this season. Thanks to this she’s able to get hired on a temporary contract. We also meet Momiji Mochizuki and Narumi Tsubame. Momiji(who I will just call Momo from now on) realises that Ko didn’t do the charter designs, and upon entry, targets Aoba as her rival and also gets her name wrong.
 
These 2 are interesting duo, with a lot of scenes with just those 2 show Narumi being the adult, and Momo being the creative child. It’s a nice bond they share.

The last episode brings in a storyline that I think will just remain in the Manga. I’ll speak about this more in a different blog post, but Ko decides to go to France to work on a game, in order for her to gain more experience and get better. Aoba and Company make their feelings known, and episode ends with Aoba looking forward to the future. This story isn’t a lot, but it’s a pretty decent spine for what is a LOT of character development, and the effect of a publisher’s demands really helps, as Christina has to get use to working with the people from the company. Hell, she even stops Ko from retiring completely, as she wants her to work for Eagle Jump when she becomes better.

Let’s start with the smaller developments. Hajime is has been adapting from being an animator to being a designer, and she ends up leaning on Aoba and Yun for a bit of help. She’s also shown to be working very hard, and also still an Otaku, which becomes a plot point towards the end, as she talks about having to fit in during high school, while Yun on the other hand didn’t try to fit in at all, and they realise they are more similar than they thought! It’s a really nice change of pace, as these tend to dislike each other with their banter in season 1.

​Hifiumi’s arc is more focused on becoming a leader for her the character team, as learns to conquer her social anxiety. However, I feel like her arc is a lot smaller than last time, as she doesn’t feel like she has the impact that she had in season 1. She is still learning along the way, and while it’s cool to see, I guess I just expected a bit more because of how good her arc was in season 1. She does have a lot of good moments though, which once again, is all Hazuki gets. I mean, yea, she does have a storyline with Ahagon about trying to not change specs so much, but getting your forehead flicked doesn’t really count as character development!
 
Speaking of, it feels like Ahagon has mellowed out a bit thanks to working with Nene. While she does have her insane moment, it honest to god feels like Nene has made her a bit calmer and it comes across well, with being outright told about it, it’s really good. Speaking of, Nene feels like she is evolving at an astonishing rate, learning to fit in the workplace, and even help Narumi when she messes up big time, even though she can be kind of a dick to her, which is is very mature of her.
 
Finally, lets go into Aoba’s story arc. Yea I’m missing Ko and Rin, but I want to save that for the Episode 12 blog post. Aoba’s arc pretty much is her evolving into the next Yagami Ko, a character designer who can carry the company for the next few years. Ko was instructed to do the key visuals, so that she can be credited as the character designer, but Aoba, more experience than she was just over a year ago, isn’t going down without a fight, and asks for another contest. Sadly she loses, but it shows the strength need to be a future character designer, not giving up, and having the guts to stand up to corporate PR bullsh*t.

The 2 ending themes are great! Jumpin Jump Up is awesome and the visuals are CHIBI, which makes the girls even cuter! Yumerio Compass feels a lot more grounded in it’s tone and visuals, which works for the 2nd half of the series.
 
Overall, the 2nd season is something every fan of New Game should watch! This series is very near to my hear, and it sucks that people either don’t talk about it, or dismiss it as “Cute Moe bulls**t”. I want to see more people talk about New Game, because it is a masterpiece in my humble opinion.

​This was SOO much fun to write! I love New Game so much, it makes me happy to like Japanese Media.
 
Before I go, I want to once again promote the anime dormitory. I’ve always been a fan of these dudes for providing better conditions for animator in a country that makes it hard to move up the ladder. They do great work, and is a good way to support anime without worrying where your money is really going. However with the state of the world, I’m worried they won’t reach their goal this year. So please, if you can, donate to an amazing cause here. I have done so twice and will do so a 3rd time if needed!
 
But yea, for now, thank you guys so much, and I will see you guys next time!

It's back! Game making has taken a backseat admittedly due to me just wanting to focus on uni work and my 3D art skills, which is why I haven't done anything, but I wanted to talk about me making a new tech demo for a 1st person hack and slash using assets I've made in the past year.

If you follow me on twitter, you probably know that I like to make swords! This is because I want to get into the habit of modelling swords so I can model while freelancing, but also so I can test them out in a game scene. 

The main reason I sort a took a backseat with Game Development was Uni, which I'm very thankful for because feel that uni has expanded my creative horizons. I got a LOT that I want to do now, and I'm extremely thankful for the people I've met there. It's also been rewarding because I actually am learning how to model now! 

What you see about is me making the MacheTeddy model, which was the first big model that began making. As you can see there are A LOT of mistakes in the topology because I didn't know how to make workarounds , but this works well in the game engine, as shown here:

I've wanted to test an action game prototype for a while, but of course I have a lack of knowledge on C# coding, unill now. I'm going to try and get at least working prototype of all the major sword models that I have working. Here's one more:

I also have begun working on another game! It's a basic ball game, that might be based on Sonic 2/might be a ball platformer? IDK fully yet, but this one will be better because I know how to program a game manager now! 

Next, I want to thank Haelyonn for providing me with a re-design of Clare Flowers! This amazing and makes her look like comes straight out of Kingdom Hearts! Go commishion her!

Finally, I made a new character! Her name for now is Laura, and she's just a futuristic mascot character for now. Going to make some tweaks, but we should be good to go!

Ok time for some serious stuff. I've been having a really bad July, and while the past few days have been better, I've had a lot to deal with this year and I'm trying very hard to keep hopeful and make content because I know context can put smiles on peoples faces and that's what I want to keep doing. I'm really sorry for the inconstancy on the blog, but I'm hoping things will get better with it soon.

Thank you guys for all you support, and I will see you guys next time.

Written by Nana Marfo
Laura base model taken from Royal Skies LLC

Well, it's time for another blogger tag! Thanks to Heather from Just geeking by for tagging me in this and thanks to Michelle from A Geek Girls Guide for making this tag!

Have you ever...

Rage Quit a game
No. If I'm mad or not in a good mood, I tend to not play games besides Tony Hawk's Project 8 because I think it's good game for to get mad at because I can just quit it before it happens.
Earned all achievements in a game
Nope, however I want to do this for Final Fantasy 13, Hyperdimension Neptunia, and Sonic Generations. One of the goals I have with games I love is to clear all their achievements.

Livestreamed your game
YES! I did a stream of Tomb Raider and BlazBlue once. I also make some Youtube videos of games, which I want to back to.
Pre-Ordered a Game
The only one I did pre-order was the windows edition of Final Fantasy XV, and I do regret it for the soul reason of that it kinda screw me over with money plans later one. Man I wish I knew how to save back then.

Bought a game and never played it
I've only done this now because I wanted Grid:Autosport and I got a few other games with it that I know I'm not going to play.
Been Jumpscared by a horror game
If Wings of Glass counts, yes. If not, then no because I don't play horror games.
Had a specific set squad for a game
I'll be honest, I usually use Lightning, Vanille and Hope in FF13 because I gravitate to them most. What? I can have connects to video games characters. Lightning gave me confidence, god damn it!

Bought a game on multiple platforms
Not yet, but given that I'm getting a switch that will happen... eventually.

And that's it! Thanks to Heather and Michelle again for the tag. As such, I tag:
- Ace Acunder
- MoeGamer
- A Geeky Gal

But as always, thanks for reading, and I will see you guys next time.

Written by Nana Marfo
Tony Hawk(C)Vicarious Visions/Activation
Final Fantasy XIII/XV:Windows Edition/Tomb Raider(C) Square Enix
BlazBlue(C)Arc System Works
Grid:Autosport(C)Codemasters and Codemasters Racing
Wings of Glass(C)Sayuri Artsy

So we are back to a game made by Sayuri and Eager Passion. This was a game I was looking forward to, as Sayuri seems to been leaning into a sorta meta narritive, which I'll get to monumentally. However, this game was meant to be a short project, until Sayuri got a invitation to go to Gamesrome, which made her think to make the game more ambitious. But did it pay off? Well let me start by I think is better than Wings of Glass, which is saying a lot, but I'm already giving a away to much.

Rules:
1.Spoilers are abounding, and depending on the game, can spoil the experience. While not super story heavy, be warned going into the review.

2. I will not put aside any bias, but will try to be fair for games I do not like. This is my personal opinion. If you want to send your opinion, please do so in the comments below.

3. I am reviewing the PC Version.

Lets wield the fire sword! And also see cute lesbian relationships too, I guess. This is my review of Feathery Ears.

Story
OK, so the story is told without daiologe through draw cutscenes, which are very nicely presented! However, I have grown up on too many games where almost everything is voiced, so I do personally find it a bit weird, but I know for a fact that's just me, because the characters move VERY expressively. However, this does make the story a bit trick to describe because while I know what's happening(or at least have some idea), I don't know the whys and the hows. I am autstic, as some of you know, meaning I infer things the wrong way sometimes... or don't infer things at all, so that might have something to do with it.

Anyways, Ashaly Dengura is a 9th grade student with a lot of ideas, particularly Misa Ikko and Coral, the latter of which she is working on, and while try to working on her, accidentally performs the art of the isekai anime by spilling paint on herself. From here I believe we are transported to the world where Feathery Ears takes place, probably based on ideas either in her mind or in her sketch book.

As you start the game and get used to the controls, Misa goes to Coral to receive the fire sword, a sword that might be the master sword of this game because it does get s**t done. From here it's all about completing the levels and releasing the stars(which may or may not be literal souls) back into the sky.

Towards the final levels, a hooded figure(who may or may not be one of the stars) attacks Misa, but Coral helps her heal up as she ends up climbing the tower to the sky, and they end up looking at the stars together. 

Overall, this is a really good and basic story told in about 2-4 hours depending on how fast you are. One of the things that I did like was the cute relationship between Misa and Coral, you can obviously tell they are more than friends, and it doesn't feel awkward at all, which is good!

Gameplay
I'll be honest, this game defiantly feels different to wings of glass gameplay wise, but that's what makes very cool!

First if all, you have the dive from Wings of Glass, but it is a lot more power up, and helps you go a lot further. This move was very useful to me, as I found that the extra height that the dive game before I started to fall got me to certain platforms better than jumping alone. You also run faster and this helps your momentum when jumping and it helps to give more energy to the gameplay loop.

The fire sword is very powerful and is not only effective as a short range weapon, but a long range weapon as well as it shoot fire beams, which cover a pretty good distance and with the aim tool, make it pretty hard to screw up hitting your target. If Kingdom Hearts 1 controlled like this game, I would probably be less harsh on it. 

The level design usually calls on you to find the stars in the level. In 3D, this is really cool with the open world design that Sayuri has been proven to be very good at. In 2D, it becomes a little too straight forward, as the levels in 2D feel like are designed to be very streamlined and fast, making the collectables a little too easy to get in my opinion. I think having a few different paths like in Sonic games, or having a small metroidvania style area would help the styles of the 2D sections and 3D sections match up a little better. Besides that I have no real complaints beside maybe a few stars being a little too tricky to get in the 3D sections(i.e the third to last level requiring a lot of precise jumps to get certain stars in my opinion).

Looks, Sound and final Thoughts
This game is gorgeous and I played this on the highest setting, where everything really pops! The last level was probably my favorate because it just involves you going among the clouds and ​a purple skybox and it just looks amazing.

The sound track is made by Naoya Sakamata, and she does an amazing job with the music. Every piece of music felt catchy, fun to listen to, and belong in there environment. 

Overall, this is a fantastic game bar none, if a little bit short. However, I would still say play wings of glass first, so you can appreciate this games mechanics. You can get Feather Ears on the switch, but I would say also get the PC version, the graphics on that port of the game, have been severely down graded.

First game review in a while, and it was a pretty good one if I say so myself. Hopefully more reviews soon, as I actually bought video games that one time!

But for now, thanks for reading, and I'll see you guys next time.

Yes, I live! Sadly, lockdown hasn't treated me well, and uni has been hellish on top of that, but Geoff Keighly, host of The Game Awards and game indusry insider, made something called the Summer Games Fest. This was probably meant to happen next year as he was stepping away from E3, but due to the cancelation of E3, it's happening this year. As a quick side note, I don't think Gamescom: ONL is happening due the cancellation of Gamescom this year, but that's besides the point. On Wednesday we got the big news that Unreal Engine 5 is happening, and I want to talk about it! 

Just as a side not, I mostly focus on asset creation, and I don't have super deep knowledge of the pipeline. I'm just excited about something and I wanna talk about it!

We start off with Brian Karis and Jerome Platteaux talking the 2 new systems in Unreal Engine: Lumin, which improves the effects of Dynamic Globel Ilumination, and Nanite, something that if it works properly, could VASTLY make the job of 3D video game artists a lot easier. The footage they show is running on PS5 in real time, and MAN does it look amazing!

The first thing I want to talk about is the opening in the cave. It showed that the amount of tris in the was akinned to pixels on screen, and that the textures were 8k textures via virtual texturing. I'll talk about this more in a bit when I get to the zBrush portion of the program. They also state that the lighting in this demo, powered by Lumin, is all dynamic, without using light maps, which is pretty insane.

They also talk audio engine improvement, which I'm not gonna talk about because I don't really know too much about the sound pipeline. They also talk about their particle system Naigra, and how each particle can now 'talk to one another' and can read the environment better than ever. They also talk about the improvement of the of their animations systems, including predictive foot placement, as well the abilty to trigger new contextual events seemlessly. A lot of improvements into animation within the game engine is good, as this help compensate of an animator's mistakes.

They talk a bit more about Lighting, which again, I don't know too much about, but I want to talk about something that could change the workflow of the inderstury.

That stachu you can see in front of you there was imported directly from zBrush, according to Epic Games, which is huge because usually models made in zBrush are skulpted digitally, which means there meshes are very uneven and topology is not very good. This is why usually models have versions with lower poly counts, as they usually are easier to optomise in a game engine. But with this, it seems that time period has ended as they use the assets that are usually used in cutscenes. The reason that cutscenes can use higher quality assets is because typically, cutscenes are pre-rendered, and don't have to worry about the memory being used in real time. This does depend on the game though, so don't quote me on that entirely. 

Overall, I'm VERY excited for next gen of console, as well as what companies decide to make with them! I really hope you guys are as well, as on the day of writng this, sony does it's big event for the PS5!

Man 2020 would be amazing if all the sucky stuff in the world wasn't happening. Sadly we can't change that. Anyways I hope you guys are all always doing well, a lot of gaming news is dropping right now, so if anything super interesting comes up, I'll ramble about it!

But for now, thanks for reading, stay safe and I'll see you guys next time! 

Hey all! These are post from when I wrote for game savvy, which is now defunked. This is main for people who may have missed these posts. Enjoy!

Wings of Glass is a game made by Eager Passion, a new game for the company From Soy Sauce, who created the first 3D bullet hell. It’s something that I have been interested in for a while, ever since the original concept, Glass Wing Capstone was announced I’ve been following the development of this game very closely. The developer, Sayuri Artsy has made it clear that the game will be episodic, and I feel like, with the way the story has been presented, it would work best that way. The game is a platformer that also contains physiological horror elements, however, the focus is mostly on the platforming rather than messing with the player’s head.

The story is centred around the mythology of Glass Wings, demons that, according to the villain of the game, Ferace, can save people from sadness. As such Ferace hunts down Mayfly, the protagonist of Wings Of Glass, and explains that all of his friends are dead and that he’s been researching a way to stop demons from becoming mindless monsters.

However, I found that my favourite parts of the game's story were during the cutscenes with Ferace, as they mostly involved interactions with the Mayfly that allowed me to play the game alongside watching the story. Sayuri’s visual storytelling is very dynamic, allowing the player to interact in cutscenes, giving the player a sense that they are really in the action.

The gameplay and general design of the game really made me think outside the box at several points. This game has a lot of emphasis on the puzzle parts of the puzzle platformer, as well as avoiding combat entirely. You don’t fight anything in this game, as most of the monsters you meet you either are meant to ignore or run away from. Furthering this mentality is the fact that Wings of Glass is very old-school with its design, not really telling you anything about how the game works.

The game focuses on the main protagonist Mayfly and her gaining her abilities. In the forest, you gain the ability to swim faster underwater, though I didn’t really use it much because of another feature that the game boasts. Towards the end of the game, you get a Spinning Glide, Super Dash and a double jump, making for a very versatile Mayfly.

I felt the control was very smooth, I didn’t have any major hiccups with Mayfly, though I will say that the game does require you to very accurate with your jumps. I could count at least 3 times where I thought I made the jump, but it turns out that I undershot the jump, leading me to start the section over again.

There 2 types of bugs that attach to your feet and give Mayfly different platforming techniques, and they make the game very interesting to play. The purple and light blue bugs allow you to break certain platforms and when underwater, it allows you to have the same weight as you do on the ground. These bugs are very nice to have, but I prefer the light green bugs for one reason: you can walk in midair. This is such a cool feature, and I really hope I get the chance to play around with it more. The look and sound of the game don’t necessarily scream “horror”, but the look of the game is striking and colourful, and the sound design is really well thought out, having music that feels like it belongs to each area, and removing it to make the game feel creepy.

Overall, I can wholeheartedly recommend this game to anybody looking for a good indie title. It’s fun to control Mayfly and learn about the mythology of the glass wings, and the old-school design makes for a very fun experience.

Hey all! These are post from when I wrote for game savvy, which is now defunked. This is mainly for people who may have missed these posts. Enjoy!

Editor's note, Sayuri now goes by SayuriArtsy rather than Sayuri-Sensei.

Platformers have been making a return to old school formats, from the passionate Kick Starter attempts such as Yooka-Layliey, to outright returns to form in Super Mario Odyssey.  However, I want to draw your attention to a game called Wings of Glass, currently under the name Glass Wing Capstone from what is an interesting history.

This game started off as a Game Jam in 2014 made by Sayuri Artsy, the person behind games such as the Bullet Life, the first 3D Bullet hell game, and founder of the now-defunct From Soy Sauce. The game is a physiological horror platformer and was going to get a remake in the form of the game Glass Wing Retold, which was going to be a new game that would tell the story in a different way, and expand on some characters.

But Sayuri-Sensei, as she and her fans often refer to her, was in college at the time, and with her final coursework project looming, she wanted at first to remake Bullet Life. However, in the end she decided to make a remake of the original game, under the name Glass Wing Capstone, which is the basis for Wings Of Glass.

Anyways, I have played the demo, and for me it seems to be a mix of old style gameplay, with how Mayfly moves like she was ripped right out from Super Mario Sunshine, with more modern elements inserted in, such as Ferace, the antagonist of the game, talking to Mayfly, our protagonist and playable character, in a mix of both gameplay and cutscenes. This may have been something used by Uncharted and the Tomb Raider reboot, but what makes it unique here the art style and ambience. Furthermore, Mayfly is referred to as a demon, which is clearly contrasted by her design, which, to paraphrase Sayuri-Sensei herself, is meant to be cute and huggable.

And it works. I keep thinking in my mind that there is no way that Mayfly is a demon, who Ferace takes an interest in because of her Glass Wings, but I keep having to remind myself that she is a demon. Ferace I find unique as a villain, because of the fact that seems both powerful and cunning, which I hope is expanded on the full game. However, it also excels as a game by being able to give you new abilities and platforming challenges that are admittedly a bit brain-racking, but also make it feel like it wouldn’t be out of place on an N64. 

Sayuri’s normal brand of physiological horror is also present here. From the opening monologue to the heavy breathing of Mayfly when she is low on health. However, this also makes the game rely on Gotcha moments, where the only way you know something is there, is if you… know it’s there, and it can be annoying at times. The game also immerses you into the environment in different ways, as there is no Heads Up Display, and Mayfly’s health and different modes are tied to her wings, making the game more immersive. Though there is a hint mode if you struggling, so put it on if and when you need help.

Overall, I can say that the demo for Wings of Glass is worth checking out on itch.io. There is a lot of fun to be had in what I think is an old meets new styled platformer, not to mention the fact that this is just a taste of what’s to come.

I'm really sorry I haven't been blogging as much, but I have this and one more piece on Wings of Glass. I'm also working something about unreal engine 5, so please look forward to that!

Welcome back to what I am now calling Fairy Tail Fridays, where I review arcs of the show Fairy Tail. Last time we looked at the first 2 episodes of the shows, with the real meat of that arc coming in the second half.  However, what awaits the Fairy Tail crew in their second adventure?

Rules:
​1.Spoilers are abounding here folks. If you want to watch it blindly... go watch it. Spoilers are here.

2. Depending on the Anime, this can get NSFW.
​
3. I am watching the subbed version.

ARE YOU READY FOR ROUND 2? This is my review of Fairy Tail's DayBreak Arc.

So this will be a bit shorter than the last one, as it's just a 2 episode arc and the episodes flow into each other more. Lucy and Natsu are agree to go on a quest to gain back a book called Daybreak. They agree to the quest, which requires Lucy to dress up as a maid because Natsu and Happy tricked her. Ok That's funny. 

Lucy decides to go with it, but Kaby Melon, the person who sent out the quest, upped the price from 200,000 Jewel to 2 million Jewel, as he wants that book to be destroyed. As such, the crew have to head to Duke Everlew's mansion to start the Job.

Everlew rejects Lucy as she is pretty enough... though most of his maids are ugly as hell. As such, Natsu, Lucy and Happy decide to sneak around to get the Daybreak book. After retrieving the book, Lucy begins to read it, while Natsu fights off the guards and Everlew's hit men.

Lucy ends up fighting off Everlew, with Help from Cancer(the sign, not... you know)  and Natsu, who ends up fighting off one of the maids, Virgo. They return the book to Kaby, however things are not as they seem. Kaby's father, Kemu Zaleon also known as Zekua Melon, used a word changing spell, as the words DAYBREAK change to DEAR KABY, a letter to his son.

And that's the arc summed up as simply I as I can. This does feel a bit more condensed, but there are some good character moments here. Kaby, wanted get rid of the book because it gave it bad memories of his father, Natsu, due to his own past(his father left him when he was young and has been looking for him ever since) is pretty pissed off here, as Kaby is basically destroying the last memory of his father. This is good because it shows Natsu is not fully over his trauma and abandonment just yet, and I want to see what will happen there.

The bond between Lucy and Natsu also feels superstrong atm, they already seem like good friends, which is nice to see! I also want to see who would join team Natsu in the future!

Overall, this was a nice arc to watch. It was a little short, but I get the sense that it's a pace setter and benchmark for things to come more than anything.

Well this was short. Good though, because we have long arcs to come. Also I realise I didn't talk about the OP and ED last time, which are good, even if Kanpekigu No Ne feels a bit out of place. I'll talk about Snow Fairy more when we get to OP3, which is linked due to the artist being the same one.

Anyways, stay home if you can, keep washing those hands, and I'll see you guys next time. Take care and keep creating!​

Written By Nana Marfo
Fairy Tail(C)A1 Pictures/TV TOKYO

Hello! I have a bonus article for you guys this week because I really want to talk about the Neptunia game is coming out August 6 2020 in Japan and 2021 to the west called VVVtunia! I'm just gonna call it Virtualtunia, because how the f**k do pronounce the name? Update: In the west this game is called Neptunia: Virtual Stars.

​VVVtunia got announced in November of 2019, with an announcement trailer teasing a new re-design of Neptune, 2 new characters and touting this games as celebrating 10 years of Neptunia and 25 years of Idea Factory. Famitsu and Dengeki Playstation gave us some more details.

In this new spin off game, which makes sense to me, as this game is more different to what the series usually looks at, the 4 goddesses, with pretty cool re-designs, team up with virtual idol team Mewtral, currently consisting of just Yuu and Mii, thought there are some that are not revealed, in order to save Virtualand. 

One complaint I've seen with Neptunia is that there are too many spinoff right no, with I get, but at the same time, Neptunia has always been a series to tackle different topics within the Japanese digital space. While the Switch hasn't been covered yet to my knowledge, we may get a new game based off the PS5 and Xbox Series X pretty soon. Plus, E-Ninja Neptune is still in the works, and who know what that will be.

During the November announcement we got some screenshots of gameplay showing Neptune carrying a gun, as well as an room showing off the 2 new idols, Yuu and Mii. 

Also, I apologise for the image quality, this is is the best I could get in all the cases.

In December of 2019(and I think uni made me miss this), we got some more screenshots, showing off the VN styled cutscenes, which look to be in 3D this time. I have to say, the graphics are a HUGE step up. Looking at HD quality screenshots,  this is a gorgeous looking game. We also got a look all the characters with guns.

In January of this year,  the "Guest Connect System" was announced, will feature real V-Tubers! They will become involved in a incident and turned into V-Cubes, and after saving them, you can help them out in battles! This is awesome, Nep usually parody things with references, but the fact they are adding in the possibility to have Kizuna AI, Siro and more V-tubers in the game, is pretty surreal.

On February 14th, 2020 during a stream, we got our proper first look at gameplay, and it looks pretty awesome! The gun gameplay looks to be pretty casual, but for Neptunia that's fine, it's always been more about exploring conspects rather than making them more advanced. YOU CAN SWITCH CHARACTERS IN REAL TIME, ANY TIME. This is a really cool mechanic, which may have been in the Tamsoft games, but to a lesser extent. Did I mention that to me, this game is one the best looking anime games that is upcoming? The worlds looks great, and I can't wait to play this game. EXE attacks look next level, and Nep has some hover boots which I think is pretty cool!

Overall, this is probably on of my most anticipated 2020 games. Due to the way Idea factory international handles releases, it may not ship to the west in 2020, but I'm still really excited. Update: I was correct and this is one of my most anticipated 2021 games.

...this is probably worst it's even been for me being a weeb on this blog. Oh well. Anyways, I did leave some stuff out for the sake of writing convenience, so please check out my sources, Gematsu and Silloconera, there was even a unsubbed behind the scenes video, go check that out.

But for now, thank you guys for reading... and what the hell.

See you guys next time. Take care and keep creating!

Sorry for the wait! But now we get into the 2nd, and last bulid side movie. Now that Kasumin has obtained his memories and the would is mostly returning to a state of normality, what is the new threat known as Metal Bulid doing in this world?

There was a 5 min short before the start of the film, which basically had Misora and Kazumi go on a "date"... though it was just Misora getting a birthday present for her dad. It's honestly pretty cute. The big thing to note from it is that Grease and the Hokoto trio go to an island, which we will get back to later.

Simon Marcus from the UN is visiting, warning Genktoku and President Taizan of the terrorist organisation called Downfall, lead by Keiji Uraga, another experiment for the lost bottles with a nasty burn on his face.

After showing off some tech to the UN, and Gentoku speaking some Engrish, Downfall infiltrate the government buliding, and while Gentoku does transform, he gets his ass handed to him, and his powers are somehow taken away, as Simon Marcus betrays the Japanese government.

Meanwhile, Sento and Banjo are helping Utsumi get his memories back as he was not inject with the Nebula Gas that the others were injected with. However, a member of Downfall ends up there and takes away Sento and Banjo's powers as well, alongside taking the white Pandora Panel... which turns out to be a fake. Man, don't you just love fake all powerful devices.

Grease and the Hokoto trio sent themselves to an island after the bit movie, and they get back from it to fight a Phantom Crusher who can't take their powers for some reason.

Grease and co went to a hot spring while on the island, which had Phantom Liquid in it. With some help from Sawa and a returning Takumi Katsrugi, they hear that Phantom Liquid was created with Nebula Gas where the 2 earths merged at the end of the series.

Meanwhile, The Hokoto trio go and find Misora, with Grease devastated from being rejected by Misora, and they meet up with Keiji, who uses the power of a spare Bulid driver to become Kamen Rider Metal Bulid, AKA how you do Kamen Rider Bulid Hazard form. The all-black is what make this form so good looking.

Metal Bulid walks through the trio and while Grease puts up more of a fight, he can't break through Keiji's defences, and Misora ends up captured. Grease goes to Sento to ask for a power up in order to save Misora and stop Metal Bulid.

Sento's solution is the Grease Perfect Kingdom device, which requires 3 people's worth of Phantom Liquid, and meanwhile Kazumi takes the white Pandora panel and the Blizzard Knuckle, which Sento still didn't f**king finish. Grease could have died if it wasn't for the Phantom Liquid. To top that all off, Sento is using the energy of the Hokoto Trio to get the Perfect Kingdom Device working, effectually killing them(allegedly).

JESUS CHRIST, SENTO.

Keiji has betrayed Marcus at this point, leaving just Metal Bulid for Grease to deal with. With the power of Grease Blizzard, he's able to fend him off, but Keiji uses the power the white Pandora Panel to become Phantom Bulid. Not a bad look for a kitbash form.

After phantom Build DESTROYS Grease, Banjo shows up to give Kazumi the Perfect Kingdom device, while the others are fighting in the city. Using the power of Grease Perfect, Misora is recused, Phantom Bulid is destroyed and the day is saved.

Grease mourns his lost comrades...only to find they were alive and well and that Sento lied to help raise his Hazard level. Man, emotional power ups, am I right? It's also revealed that Sawa and Gentoku are dating now, and Misora decides go on a date with Kazumin to end off the movie. How sweet. 

The ending theme, Perfect Triumph  by WAЯROCK is amazing. Rock is really fitting for Kamen Rider, and this is no-exception. The strong guitar is what really makes it sound awesome!

I'll be frank, the story is good. Damn good, esphally since it feels they actually pulled off a slightely darker Kamen Rider plot, and this movie(not counting the starting bit) is only 58 MINUNITYS AND 14 SECONDS. I was scared to see how this film could turn out, but the plot is pretty good, and is pretty dark, without being too edgy or moody. There also a lot of cool moment in this films too, with the final fight and Grease Blizzard fight standing out to me.

Keiji as a villan is sadly not as good as Killbus, but he's pretty threatening and very no nonsense. He walks the paths that he wants to walk alone in order to gain power and not be held down by things he has to protect, which in this case is the exact opposite of Grease, and it works. His power feels earned and fought for, which is nice. I mean besides shooting Simon Marcus, which is a little forced.

Grease's arc in this film revolves around him and the Hokoto trio, their bond and the faith they place in each other. Grease wants to protect the world, but he can only do that if he can protect the ones in front of him. Misora being used as the pivoting point makes sense, as lot of how he because comfortable with the crew revolves around Misora.


Overall, this is a good film. A really good film. I won't say it's great, because it's only an hour long and does have some bad colour grading at points(when you do a part VFX degree, you begin to notice these things), but I think every Bulid fan, and most Kamen Rider fans should Grease's final chapter.

Sorry that this took so long to review! Up next for Rider will be The Heisei Generation films leading into Reiwa: The First Generation! 

As always, Thank you guys for reading and I will see you guys next time. Take Care and keep creating!

Hey all! Sorry for the random 2 week break! I did have plans for the blog, but my uni work must come first. However, instead of jumping right into my Kamen Rider Grease Review, I wanted to talk about an MMO that I have fell in love with that nobody in my circles plays: MapleStory 2.

So with MMO, I don't really care about the story, so I'm going to skip it here, though I will say it depends on your class. As a berzerker, my story involves me never winning against an old man. The gameplay is mostly basic, but also really fun.

It's a standard MMO, you can run, jump and do your basic attacks and using the shoulder buttons and trigger buttons on your controller, you can perform special attacks. You can get custom clothes for your character, a custom house for your character, the works! People may ask what makes me enjoy this game so much and it's a few things. Firstly, the art style for this game is so cutesy and when stepping into a town with so much life, it's just a joy to behold. Furthermore, the controls for the game also feel like they belong in a performer, as you can run and climb up walls. The game takes advantage of this by having minigames that you can play with people online every hour or so, and it's really fun to do.

Secondly, it's just the atmosphere around the town that makes me so good to play. I love just going into town and finding a person playing music. I love going to a new place and just finding out about what I can I see and do, seeing all the cute avatars makes me so happy to see. I think that's amazing to go into my house and work on it if I can. The game's music also makes me feel as I play it.

Overall, I think Maple Story 2 is a great game, that sadly is not played by many. I honestly hope that more people give this game a try with the new expansions coming out. And if your in the Europe server, say hi sometime! Just look for NanaMarfo!

Sorry for the Long wait guys, I just took a lot of time off in order to finish my course work. I think it went well! No results just yet though. 

Either way, thank you guys so much for reading, Happy Valentines Day to those who will be celebrating and I will see you guys next time. Take Care and keep creating!

Written by Nana Marfo

Maplestory 2(C)NEXON

Hello all! Today, I'm review my first V-Cinema! I'm not super into these because Kamen Rider makes these for 2 purposes: To make money and to make people mad with continuity errors. However Bulid only has 2. This is still more Ghost's 1 V-Cinema(I know Zi-O only has one atm, but they could plan ones for Woz and Tuskuomi), but still more compared to the 3 for Ex-Aid and Drive, and 4 of them for Gaim. Srill, I'm intrested in this to see where it goes.

Rules for Toku(man it's been a while): 
1.Spoilers(and I'm talking series, not just the film this time) are abounding folks.

2.I am watching GENM CORP subs.

And let us begin. This is my review of Bulid New World: Kamen Rider Cross

Ok, so before we go any further, the ending of Bulid involved everyone dying, and the world was reset, with only Sento and Banjo keeping their memories. As such, we begin with Sento and Ryuga, selling stuff in order to make a living due to them not meant to be in this world. While Ryuga is out selling his things, he meets a girl named Yui who is looking for Cross-Z in order to recover her memories. However, a new villain named Killbus shows up looking for Evolt. He came out of the white Pandora Panel, copying Sento's memories, transforming into the body of a dancer, and reactiving Pandora's Box to find Evolt residing inside Banjo. Evolt snuck himself inside Banjo during the part where everything went to s**t in the finale, which is how he's here now.

Sento gets a message saying that he should go to the govement houses, and he finds that everyone expect Utsumi, who didn't undergo any experimentation, got their memories back. Sento then explains what's going on with Killbus.

Meanwhile, Evolt explains that Killbus is his older brother, and a destroyer. He destroyed his home planet, which is what lead Evolt to take Pandora's Box and leave what is know as Planet Blood. Banjo then meets Yui, who is a girl that kept her memories due to her being test subject for the Lost Bottles that Banjo failed to save. She ends up helping him get to the basement where Evol goes to find the Dragon Evol bottle, and also revealed he killed Banjo's parents. Good to see your still a d**k, Evol.

Killbus meets them and transforms into Kamen Rider KillBus, a really nice design for the spider motive. Also, the spider was something made by Sento that was meant to be sold, but after the first fight, Killbus took it, and because he copied Sento, he used Bulid for the first fight.

Killbas fights Evolt in his Blood Stalk form and Cross-Z Charge and seemly kills Evolt, as Grease and Rogue arrive to help with the escape. I wish we could more of them in these films, as they are some really good characters, and I like them a lot, but they seem to always get shafted. Sento comes up with a way to defeat Killbas, by making the Muscle Galaxy Full Bottle. This revives Evolt in his Kamen Rider Evol Cobra form

After meeting Killbas, Banjo ends up saving Yui from one of the Smash Killbas summoned, and to defeat Killbas, he fully combines the power of him and Evolt to become Kamen Rider Cross-Z Evol! The suit is really cool, a combo of Evol's black hole form, Cross-Z Dragon, and even the eyes from Cross-Z Bulid/Sliver Dragon. With their powers combined, Killbas is destroyed, Banjo and Yui end up dating(the version of Banjo in the new world is dating his girlfriend), and Evol leaves earth for a while. I don't think this will lead into anything, but I'll talk about that if Bulid New World: Kamen Rider Rogue is revealed.

The ending theme, Cross is... not very good in my opinion. It feels way too generic for me, especially since this J-Crown and Taku, the same people who gave us Burning My Soul. Now that's a good song. Still, I'd listen to this over regular pop stuff.

Overall the story is good, BUT THIS FILM IS WAY TOO FUCKING FAST. I was scared when I looked at the length and 59 mins and 58 secs. THIS FILM IS NOT EVEN AN HOUR. I was expecting this to be an hour and 15, especially with some the plot points brought up here. For example, Killbas was the King of Planet Blood, and he was also a destroyer, this could have been expanded upon in my opinion, esphally with the hatred that Evolt could have for his brother, but they just leave at that, and it's kind of annoying.

There's also the weirdness of Sento getting poison damage at the start, then getting rid of it thanks to the Genius Bottle's purification feature, but he's strangely sidelined for the entire film. Maybe Takaiwa was busy filming Zi-O stuff at the time, but seeing Sento not transform once is kinda weird. He also did get the focus film in Be The One, so that might have something to do with it.

The fight scenes in this are VERY action packed, and Killbas while a not a great villein, is very well acted and comes off a destroyer pretty well. I say he's not a great villein because he's just a destroyer who is from Planet Blood, he was the king Planet Blood, he destroyed Planet Blood... and that's it. He's serviceable, but that's all I can really say about him before his death. Still kudos to the actor in both body and voice, and to the suit actor for all the kinetic movement he put into his actions and fighting style.

Yui is there to remind Banjo that he f**ed up that one time... and that's all I can say about her really! I mean them dating at the end is cute, but that's the only thing I can really think she does in the story. Her learning to see people change is kinda forced in as she's doesn't really soften in the film in my opinion.

Banjo's final arc is more about coming to terms with the meaning of a true hero, and learning to accpect what Sento has taught him, and I feel like this was done pretty decently, while Yui was there to remind him of a darker time, he teams up with Evolt in order to stop the bigger threat at hand here, which is Killbas.

Overall, this was an OK movie. I find to be terribly rushed at some points, but it's a fun after the battle rider film with great fight scenes, and I think fans of Banjo Ryuga will enjoy this.

RIDER IS BACK ON THE BLOG! Man this has been a long time coming. I can't wait to go through some of the films I've missed, so look forward to it!

Before I go, I wanted to promo my good friend Trinny, AKA Trinnybop! She is one of the funniest and supportive people I've met. She's had to deal with both hard living conditions thanks to her family and unexpected loss of one of her family members. Now she's trying to move out and needs a lot of help. Trinny's art is amazing, so I suggest if you need emotes or banners, go commission her! And if you don't care about that, go support hergo fund me for moving out, everything is going towards that in her mind. 

Anyways, I will see you guys next time. Take Care and keep creating!

Written By Nana Marfo
Kamen Rider(C)Toei

Hey all! I know I swore off long anime, but this series is another on that has been in my sphere for a LONG time now. I first heard of the series through DEATH BATTLE, and looking at the show had me interested, but I took one look at the episode count and... yea. As per the suggestion of @KingEphemera on Twitter, I'm gonna split this into arcs. However, since the first Arc in the anime according to the Wiki is only 2 episodes, this arc will make up my first impressions. 

Rules as always:

1.Spoilers are abounding here folks. If you want to watch it blindly... go watch it. Spoilers are here.

2. Depending on the Anime, this can get NSFW.
​
3. I am watching the subbed version.

That being said, let's see how much of this I can get done before they annoence the anime adaptation of 100 years quest. This is my first impression of Fairy Tail, as well as the review of the Macao Arc.

Fiore is a kingdom that uses Magic as a daily exchange, as spells can be bought and sold. I like this idea, as it encourages those who want to get stronger to buy more magic accessories, and train in how to use them. Powerful Magic users can join guilds, where they can use their magic for work, such as quests.

We then cut to a girl named Lucy, who is trying to use her feminine charms in order to lure a man into a magical key, which we later learn she can use as summons that by the looks of things... don't like her that much. She's trying to join the Fairy Tail guild, while 2 travelers, Natsu and Happy, enter the city of Haregon, are looking for a person named Salamander. While his name is being called in the city, when Natsu and Happy find him, they don't know who he is, as Natsu also recognises Salamander as the Dragon Igneel. 

Lucy realised that the man Salamander was using a charm ring, which makes people attracted to him unless they know about it, which Lucy catches on. However, he claims he's a part of Fairy Tail, and Lucy agrees to go to his party in exchange for not saying anything about about the Charm ring.

The party turns out to be a trap, as Salamander wants to sell off Lucy off along with the other girls on the ship when the reach Bosco, however Happy and Natsu give chance dragging him back to Haregon, where Natsu is shown that he is a part of Fairy Tail, and that the man known as Salamander is not really Salamander, but Bora the Prominence. 

One common complaint I've heard about A-1 pictures is that there anime's tend to all look the same, which I can see, but I get a different vibe from Fairy Tail, which I think is good looking for a pre 2010 anime, and it's more out there than SAO to me as well, really playing up the fantasy vibes, as SAO had more of a futuristic vibe.  Also the fight choreography for a first episode is perfect, showing Natsu as powerful in his own right as fire magic user. The episode ends with Natsu agreeing to get Lucy into the guild.

I won't do this for every episode, but this a first impressions, so I have to make an exception this once, and say that I did enjoy this opening episode. On to episode 2!

Episode 2 begins with the council of magic looking over Fairy Tail's action and complaining about them, but a man with blue hair seems pretty intrigued about what they are doing.

We then head to the main Fairy Tail bar, where Natsu fights a dude who told him that the Salamander was in Hargon, and where we meet a lot of characters, such as Grey Fullbuster, a man who can't keep clothes on, Cana Alberona, a drunk, Elfman, a dudebro who likes to solves things by punching them, Loki, a flirt and Mirajane Strass, a women who usually acts as a bikini model in the Fairy Tail magazine. 

Anyways, a huge fight breaks out, which is stopped by Mr.Makarov, the leader of the Fairy Tail clan, who wants the clan to break the rules and cause chaos in order for them to find their own strength. This is a nice change from usual as the leader usually wants his people to stay within the law, rather than break it and cause chaos. 

Anyways, a kid called Romeo, asks where his dad Macao is, as he went on a quest to defeat the Vulcan's in the mountains, Makarov just shoves it off. However, Natsu after hearing this goes off to find Macao. I'll get to my impressions of Natsu in a bit.

Mirajane explains to Lucy that everyone in Fairy Tail has backstory, I mean a hidden past, I mean backstory. After hearing Natsu's, she decides to go off with him. Natsu has problems taking any transportation as he always feels sick after doing so.

They reach the summit of Mt.Hakobe, where Lucy gets captured by one of the Vulcans, which Natsu defeats. However, the Vulcan turns out to be Macao, in a plot should have saw coming but still took me by surprise. The episode ends with Macao and Romeo re-uniting.

Overall, I would say that the Macao arc is more one episode than a 2 episode arc, but it makes sense, as this is the introduction arc. However, none of the characters so far have made a real impact besides Lucy, who comes off as pretty kind and ambitious, and Natsu, who is pretty stupid, but wants strength and to defeat evil that comes his way. 

This was good start to what is probably going to be a VERY long journey, so strap in folks because once you start, you have to keep going.

Finally, the Fairy Tail Series has begun! I can't wait to dive into what this series have to offer, which is a LOT. Also for those wondering, yes, I want to review the OVA's and the upcoming video game, but I need to figure out how to put those in there. That being said, thank you guys for reading, and I will see you guys next time.

Written by Nana Marfo
Art done by Naochan Doodles, with Character designs by Lilla and Jennivi

Fairy Tail(C)A-1 Pictures

Happy New Year my friends! It's been a while since I did a blogger award, but here one called the Real Neat Blogger Award! Thank you to Nabe of geeknabe for nominating me for this award!

Been a while(in more ways than 1, but lets do this!)

Rules for this award:

1. Display the logo 
2. Thank the blogger for the award
3. Answer the questions from the one who nominated you
4. Nominate 7 to 10 bloggers
5. Ask them 7 questions

1. It’s going to be 2020 soon, so what’s YOUR No. 1 anime of the decade?
I only really began watching anime in 2017, so I would say it's a MMO Junkie because I feel that has a story that is going to be relatable for a while in the future.

2.What character (anime/manga/games, take your pick) has left the strongest impression on you?
I would still say Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII as the confidence I felt I gained from her still has an effect on me to this day.

3.Who's your Waifu/Husbando?
I am a dude who is as straight as an arrow, so no husbandos for me. Sorry. I have a lot of Waifus, so if I had to pick one... let's just say...Thoru from Dragon Maid because she's very sweet to be around.

4.What is your take on fans’ acclaimed Top 3 (Naruto/Bleach/One Piece)?
Haven't seen any of them. Long anime tend to be a turn off for me. I know about Fairy Tail, but their are very different matters in that case. I also feel like that in the next few years, the big three will change to My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, and Black Clover. I stand by what I said.

5. What advice do you have for new bloggers?
Start out making content that you enjoy, then if your friend or someone else recommends a TV show, note it down to maybe review. It will help widen your horizons. Also don't be afraid to write about stuff you love! That's why you do it!

6.What anime would you recommend to your friends that have never seen a single episode in their life?
Small Tangent: Peach Girl is the only anime one of my friends has watched. 
For a first anime, I feel like My Hero Academia is a good starting point, as the superhero nature and flashy fight scenes will give this a Western show feel to it.

7. What’s your opinion on fanservice in anime?
Anime boobs are nice. But seriously, I'm ok with it, because it's funny most of time. Plus, I can't lie, the girls are pretty attractive 100% of the time. Also series like Shimoneta seem to use it to their advantage! Man I could go for some cookies right now... 

​(For those wondering, I only know of the joke, I haven't seen the scene yet.)

And that's it! Here are my questions and Nomiations:

​

The blog is back for 2020! Took a lot more work than it should have though for various reasons. Anyways, look forward to more content in 2020!

But for now, thanks for reading and I will catch you next time.
Written by Nana Marfo
All content used(C)Their respective owners

Hey all! Today I'm going to be looking at the year in review in 2019, looking back at some of my favourate moments, giving some of my awards, and seeing what's next.
​
Personal Favourite blog post by me - The J-pop Experience

For as much as I love my post on creativity, the J-pop experience was the most fun because I had i was able to share something that I love and hopefully expand peoples horizons!

 Favourite Blog post from another website - "Let's Respect each other's tastes" by MoeGamer

Pete's has some really good one shot articles, and this was a good read because it talked about how reviews have a lot of bais when it comes to reviews of anime styled games, plus it gives some good life lessons for all.

Favorite Song of 2018 - Bamkucain End by E ve

This was honestly a very hard choice because there has been a lot of great music in 2019 from the J-Pop side of things. However, I think this song is much more flowing from Eve. It's also differently structured compared to other E ve songs, and that gives it more appeal to me.

Favorite Music Video of the Year - Utena by Reol

Reol's videos have all been Crazy, but I like this one in particular becuase it really suits the song, and it appeals to my Japanese Style of Crazy.

Show of the Year - Kamen Rider Zi-O

The end of heisei Era of Kamen Rider brought us this great show, celebrating the past and present, and sometimes even it's future. I can't wait to see the movie because it looks very good! For now, thank you Zi-O. I won't be an anime of the year because I haven't see any anime that came out in 2019 besides The Promised Neverland, and I didn't finish it.

Game(s) of the year - Kingdom Hearts III/Wings of Glass

I have for this game for a while now, and it really delivered on all it's promises. Plus there is more to come in the future.

My thoughts on 2019
2019 was a painful year, but was also fun! I had a lot stress due to exams and some emotional issues that are now sorted. I have a weird thing with me where my second half of the year is mostly a breakthrough and Uni has been that for me, it's been really fun getting to know people, and I just love the general atmosphere there, it's really nice to be in, it's also nice to know I don't have do exams again for at least another 3 years. I also learned loss and real heartbreak this, both of which I hope make me stronger. And I welcomed some people back into my life, people who I am thankful for.

As for 2020, the goal is to get a job and start funding this website proper. Uni is fun, but I need start performing a balancing act if I'm going go anywhere in life. I also have plans for this blog, including starting Fairy Tail, which will probably be a long running series of blogs for me. I also have some game stuff and Kamen Rider content in the works. Please look forward to it!

I also may start a Patron so I can become self-funded within this field, that's pretty much my dream at the moment. To be free to create self funded content for everyone, not being held back by anything.

But for now, I am taking a Christmas break. This way I can work on content without too much strain. That and gaining all the weight I've lost by eating lots and lots of food.

But for now, thanks for reading, and I will see you in 2020.

Oh gosh here we go. This is also something that has been on my list to watch for a while, and the conspect for this was interesting. A world where dirty Jokes don't exist? This could be cool. But how is the conspect pulled off? 

Rules as always:

1.Spoilers are abounding here folks. If you want to watch it blindly... go watch it. Spoilers are here.

2. Depending on the Anime, this can get NSFW.
​
3. I am watching the subbed version.

I'm also gonna add another NSFW warning because you can never have enough of those for this show. Reader Discretion is advised here.

That being said, let's... get weird. This is my First impressions of Shimoneta: A boring world where the concept of Dirty Jokes doesn't exist. Eh, I'm fine with calling it Shimoneta.

We begin with a group of police offers stopping a group of dudes from jacking it. This is thanks to the Public Order and Morals in Healthy Chlid-Raising, a law that prohibits any sexual activity, or anything relating to sex. This is interesting to me, but also does bring the idea that asexuals be more accepted into this world? Where Sex is not super common, would the one that have no sexual attraction stand out more? It's an interesting question to ask here.

We then see a boy wanting to pass his exam so he can be reunited with a girl name Anna followed by this quote:

We then see this same boy on the train to school, and he stops a women that is falsely accusing a boy from the new school he is going to. He drags the women to another station, where he meets Blue Snow, a pervert "terrorist" that wears pants on her god damn face. She helps him escape, but somehow knows that he goes to school.

We then head into the school to meet Anna Nishikinomiya, the student president, who welcomes all the new students into the school. Tanukichi Okuma, the name of the boy, while watching a video of the welcome ceremony meets Hyoka Fuwa, a tired scientist that think there is more to the world that she has been taught. Because Okuma comes from a school that has low morals, Fuwa wants him to teach him what he may know. However, she is knocked out by Ayane Kajo, who invite Okuma to meet Anna and Raiki Goriki, the dude who he saved on the train.

Okuma comes from a school that has very low public morals, as such is being tasked to stop Blue Snow, as the near-naked terrorist is likely to be someone within the school. However, when he goes to get a further introduction from Ayame, she is revealed to be Blue Snow! This will make things VERY interesting down the line. At least I hope so.

Okuma's bloodline makes him the son of another perverted terrorist, but he wants to impress Anna. However due to Ayame having prints of him using a rope to escape the train station that morning, and the fact that Ayame and Anna are friends, Okuma is forced to join the terrorist organisation... SOX. Yes, that's is a euphemism for exactly what you think it is.

Ayame's backstory is honestly very nice though. She grew up the daughter of Masashi Endo, and politician that raped a schoolgirl 10 years before the events of the show. However he was framed by the PM, and she was given a phone to speak dirty jokes for 3 mins a day. It's interesting to see how it affected her and show she has good intentions at least.

The next day, Hyoka has taken Okuma into the science labs by force, and in order to understand human reproduction, she has been observing... flies fucking. I'm not even kidding. After reporting this to Ayame, she gets the idea TO SHOW THIS TO THE ENTIRE SCHOOL IN ORDER TO AWAKEN THEIR SEXUAL FEELINGS. This is coming from a girl that says Hyoka is too crazy for her cause, good lord. 

After that, Okuma questions his feelings towards the terrorist organisations and the episode ends. There is a theme that plays at the end, but I will talk about that in the review instead.

I honestly think I love this show already. It's the kind of crazy you ONLY get in Japan. I really want to  see where the relationships between Anna,Okuma and Ayame, with Hyoka being used as occasional comic relief. At least that's how I see it from this first episode.

My last anime review of 2019. What a year! Keep your eyes out for the year in review this Friday!

But for now, thanks for reading and I will see you next time.
Written By Nana Marfo
Shimoneta(C)J.C. Staff

The year is coming to an end! Let's look at November in terms of writing!

Writing in Review
This month has been great in terms of writing, because I got an editorial out for once! I also got an interview out, which is good for varing content.
Blogs written this month
The J-Pop experience
10 Questions from RecklessDani
GameSavvy posts This Month
N/A
​Favourite artwork this month

Awesome thing that I saw/read/did
-This happened as the post was going up for October, but a HUGE congrats to Elliot and Sabrina of Bound By Games for getting engaged!
-We got a new Trailer for Kamen Rider: Reiwa The First Generation and OMG ISHIGATA!
-We Also got a trailer for Kamen Rider Zi-O Next Time: Geiz Majesty!
-As a correction to my J-Pop post, Reol announced her new Album Gold Tower, which is coming out in January.
-We got Sindel for Mortal Kombat 11... and man, the banshee scream seems more powerful than ever.
-WE GOT A ANNOUNCEMENT FOR A NEW NEPTUNIA GAME FOR 10 YEARS OF NEPTUNIA, AND I'M EXCITED! 
-Gen Hoshino released a video for Aint Nobody Know!

Games Played this Month
Two games were what were consistently played this month was Neptunia and F1 2009. 

Re:Birth 1 is so much fun to play! I got a lot of Laughs out of the scene between Noire and Neptune where they were fightning and it I love that this game is not afraid to be all over the place in tone, it really works here.

F1 2009 is fun, but I've only been playing it super casually because it's a racing game, and I'm only into it because I'm into motor racing. That's it.
Merch bought this month 
Nothing to see here, sadly.
General Thoughts
November has pretty awesome in terms of things happening! I'm learning more about my abilities and skills, I feel like my ability is increasing in what ever I do. Uni is going great so far, and I feel like I fit more here than I did in Sixth Form. I also have a few projects in the works, so look forward to that!

December will be an interesting month. I don't know how much I will be writing, but I will see how things. I also have a few games I might be able to review. Look forward to it!

But for now, thanks for reading, and I will catch you guys next time.

Hey this series is back. Welcome to 10 questions, the series where I ask 10 questions to people about their gaming interests. Today I'm asking 10 questions to a friend and a person who's work I've been a fan of for some time, RecklessDani, I talk to her quite a bit on twitter, a lot of her cosplays are great, and she's just a lovable ball of fun! I'll leave a link to her twitter and her Patron as well at the end of this interview, but if you love fun people, she is a person you should follow for sure. Also big thanks to Dani for doing this, I really appreciate being able to interview you!

Besides that that I have nothing else to say, so thanks for reading, and enjoy the interview

What was your first game? Do you have any fond memories of it?

​The first game I ever played was Super Smash Brothers on the Gamecube. It's actually insane but I still have my old Gamecube in mint conditions as well as all my games including Super Smash Brothers. Honestly I have so many amazing memories playing this great game. I played a lot with my Dad and we had a ton of fun plus we would play sometimes all day and order a pizza and just relax at home. I guess I can say that was my first time getting addicted to the world of video games and what it had to offer.

When was your first exposure to the wider gaming community (when you looked more into other games that you were not into at first)?

Since I was really young back in the day I played mostly on gamecube and psp but once the xbox was released my father rush to buy it. That was my 1st getting expose to games like Halo & Gears of War. I watch my dad played for hours these game and tyey always peeked my interest. When my dad would go to work I would log into his account and play both these game. It expose me to the online community and making up clans with your friends to play.

What was the first game you truly fell in love with?

The first game I fell in love with was Gears of War. When i first saw this game it intimated me and scared me as well but I saw how my dad got into the game and how much fun he had. Eventually I picked it up and would play story mode with my dad and that was the best thing ever. He was Marcus and I was Dom his right hand hand. After finishing up story mode I started playing competitive online with my friends that's when I started getting hooked.

What was your first video game cosplay?

My first game cosplay was Janna from Leagues of Legends. It was my first time building a cosplay and I really loved how Janna looked it was a great learning experience and my first time getting expose to making cosplay and armor.

Which video game cosplays gave you the most trouble? 

The cosplay that gave me the most trouble was Ibaraki from Fate Go. I still till this day put this cosplay on the back burn because I didn't like how it was coming out, had to redo the horns and headpiece several time. Plus getting all her tattoos handpainted was such a pain but I will finish her someday when I feel more confident. She a amazing character and I really want to do her justice! 

What was your favourite Video Game cosplay?

My favorite video game is Mercy from overwatch I just love her character design! It's my dream to be able to cosplay all her different outfits and to be able to wear those amazing wings. She will forever be very precious to my heart.

What Draws you to Cosplay? Why do you love it so much?

I have been cosplaying since I was small I just never realized it was call cosplay. What really draws me to cosplay it's the feeling that you get when you put on your cosplay you feel like that character. Its just feels magical to be one of your most beloved character brings a lot of joy to my heart and I love going to Cons and interacting with other cosplayers. It really is a amazing feeling and you feel like you are a part of a wonderful community.

What draws you to video games?

8. I thought at first what drew me into video games was my dad but in reality its the inline community, my friends and the types of game that I play. I love sitting down and forgetting about real life issues and just immersed myself into the video game world where I am a better version of myself. Video game gives meaning to my life and also just helps get through rough patches in life.

Where do you see your cosplays going in 5 years time?

I think in five years I'll still be cosplaying with either my son or daughter I'll probably start making duo cosplay. No matter what I'm a kid at heart and I believe I'll be cosplaying for a very long time. I'm also sure my crafting skills will be much better and more redefined. I can't wait to see all the growth!

Why do you think people should cosplay?

I think people should cosplay because it's really enjoyable also you meet such aamazing people that also have a love for cosplay. Cosplaying let's you be your favorite character and completely immerse yourself its just quite beautiful honestly. It also gives you a confidence boost and overall you feel happier. I really recommend that everybody cosplay its life changing!

All photos are from Dani's social pages and used with permission from Dani herself

I'll be honest right now: I've wanted to write about this subject for a long time, but I've also been scared to. While I'm very passionate about this subject, I don't think I'm as passionate as some others on the subject, and I'm not sure if I'll do it full justice, so you were expecting a full breakdown on why No Title is a great song, or the breakdown of one of Eve's music videos, then this is not article for you(though I could probably do that last one). This is just me talking about I a medium I love, as I mostly do on this blog.

Also, as a disclaimer, I am using Romaji English for titles that don't translate to English well, because my keyboard doesn't have a Japanese type setting(and even then, I don't know Japanese), and it will make things easier to understand for people who are not weeb as s**t like me.

So, what is J-Pop you are asking? Well, think of it like K-Pop, but in Japanese, however, J-Pop from what I know tends to encompass all Japanese music that isn't traditional here in the west. As such I wouldn't be surprised if people associate the term "J-pop" with Rock music, like how people pair African Music with distinctive styles of "Highlife", "Hiplife" and "Afrobeats".

So you probably wondering, how did I get into this kinda of music? A lot of people would say anime or maybe JRPG among other pop culture phenoms. Me? As with most things in my life it was Kamen Rider.

.I remember listening to Kamen Rider Gaim's theme, Just Live More by Gaim no Kaze. It's very energetic, giving the feeling of non-stop action through the song thanks to the guitars.

Kamen Rider also introduced me to insert songs. These are songs that usually play in the middle of battle, and these are usually made to fit certain characters or rider systems.

For example in Kamen Rider Kiva, Kamen Rider Ixa actually gets 4 songs. One of these is Fight for Justice, sung by the main user of the Ixa system, Nago Keisuke, talking about he wants to show he is the best user of the Ixa system. Also just to get this out of the way, in the Japan they usually credit the song in the name of the character, with the actor's name usually reversed for CV usage.

The second of these is called This Love Never Ends, sung by the main user in 1986, Kurenai Otoya, talking about how he will fight for his never-ending love. The 3rd is also sung by Nago Keisuke and is called Don't Lose Yourself, talking about the battle within himself when he uses Ixa's final form. called Ixa Rising. The last one is by the band TETRA-FANG, called Individual System, telling the story of Ixa, the white soldier that is waiting for fate.

Once I got into anime, my liking for J-Pop rose. One of my favorite ending themes in anime was Shiawase no Arika or Whereabouts of Happiness by Local Connect. The song just flows very nicely and the lyrics are very meaningful. An opening that I like is Melissa from Porno Graffiti. This is the intro to Full Metal Alchemist 2003, and it's a really nice song. Even with songs that are not considered J-Pop, I'm a sucker for things with acoustic guitars.

The moment I began getting more into mainstream J-Pop was when I listened to Kataomoi or One Sided Love by Aimer. I watched a Kingdom Hearts OC ending with a the song, looking for the anime it was from.

There was no anime. It was an original song. An amazing, unique, beautiful song. The flow of the music is so nice, it just carried me away with it's soothing instruments, and Aimer's beautiful voice.

Now I'm not to just talk about J-Pop and why it's a big thing to me, I also want to get people into the genre. But if you like anime or tokusatsu, I think it would help if you looked up some of your favorite opening songs, insert songs and ending songs to start off with. If you want me to individually recommend songs that are nice to listen to, I would say wait until the end, I'll put some down there. However, I think it's important that we get to know a few artists because they have distinctive styles for their music and music videos.

Just as a quick aside, while most of the link here go to YouTube, there are few Amazon links for the albums. Read more about those here.

Let's start off with everyone's favourite Kamen Rider Band.

RIDER CHIPS

Old men with a HELL of a lot of style, don't you think? These 4 have been the official band for the Kamen Rider Series since 2000. Originally consisting of Terasawa Koichī, Miyawaki "Joe" Satoshi, Nomura Yoshio and Watanabe Cher(Not pictured), the band was the official Kamen Rider band until 2007, with Ricky(the man with the sunglasses and pink streak in his hair) join the band in 2006 after Kamen Rider Blade. I can't really recommend an album, but I would recommend songs from them such as Elements and Next New World to really get a feel for the rock style they have, it's very dynamic and flowing, especially in the lead guitars.

Gen Hoshino

I think that 2019 was a break-out year for Gen Hoshino. He started off by releasing Pop Virus in 2018, which lead into the song getting into Death Stranding! Awesome, even if I'm not really into Kojima's games. He released Same Thing in October of 2019, and I recommend that single on the sole reason that the title song for that album is in English, and was written by Gen Hoshino himself, and the song features the Australian band Superorganism. I would also recommend listening to Sarashi-mono, as that song is pretty relatable in my opinion, and Gen also mentioned that the songs in this single contain some thoughts about his career so far, and you can feel it in all of the songs in my opinion. For an Album recommendation, I would say Pop Virus, or Yellow Dancer, as these contain some of his best work, such as IDEA, an awesome song about loving life.

Reol

A lot of people may be familler with the Vocaloid Band REOL(and we will get to Vocaloid recommendations soon, trust me), but I'm more familler with her workings as a solo artist. For an album recommendation, I will plug her upcoming 2020 album, HYPE MODE. Reol's songs lately tend to be inspired off Buddhism, or Zen Buddhism, the version of Buddhism that Japan tends to pratrice, so if you like her songs, go and look for the lyrics online. I personally recommend Utena and Phanto(me), especially since Phanto(me) ties a lot into spirits.Also I recommend Saisaki, it's a fun song, and I made a scene based off it.

E ve

Eve is known as an Utaite, or as I like to say a indie artist who has worked with a lot good animation studios such as WIT STUDIO, the people behind attack on Titan. Eve's songs tend to be theory heavy, which is good for his fandom, as people can guess the feelings and emotions going into the song. I reccomend Outsider in order to get a feel for his style of music and for his music videos are animated by Mah, who's art style is very, very rough. For an album recommendation, I would say his latest album, Otogi, and his upcoming 2020 album, smile.

Kenshi Yonezu

He is probably the one of biggest artist in Japan right now. Kenshi started out as a voclad producer under the name "Hachi". I'll be honest, I'm not super into Vocaloid music, because the synthetic voice is a bit ear grading to me, but I do like Donut Hole, as that song talks about a girl who has lost her memory, and can't remember her true name. I'll get into some more Vocaloid recommendations later on. 

Kenshi is probably most known for doing the first opening to My Hero Academia. known as Peace Sign, but his music varies in styles. Even his older music has some synth in his voice, and backing track music is more focused on a flowing simple beat shown in songs as MAD HEAD LOVE and vivi. However as you get to soon as you get to Shunrai and Eine Kleine, the synth is gone, and there is a lot more complexity in the beat.

For an album recommendation, I would recommend Bremen or Bootleg, as both have some amazing songs on them, such as Flowerwall and Unbelievers for Bremen, and Hien and Nighthawks for Bootleg.

Hikaru Utada

Probably the J-Pop artist I have known for the longest time thanks to Kingdom Hearts, the game that also put on the path that I am on now. Utada's music in the past was very western inspired I must I say, but it makes sense as she was brought up in New York, so the songs are catchy and flowing. However for Kingdom Hearts. Simple and Clean(Hikari) is more of a slow ballad than anything else, as it was Remixed by PlanitB and later, PUNPEE. Outside of Kingdom Hearts, she has released a Album called Hatsukoi. This is my Album recommendation, as all the songs there are pretty varied and it has Anata on it and that is one of my all time favorite songs. That is something you listen to with the one you love the most

Other Artists I recommend but don't listen to as much as the ones above

• SIRUP
• Kamen Rider Girls(current band for the Kamen Rider Series)
• UVERWORLD(MHA S3 OP 2, The Promised Neverland OP, BLOOD+ OP)
• LiSA(MHA S2 ED, Several SAO OP/ED's)
• Daichi Muira(Kamen Rider Ex-Aid OP, DB Super:Broly theme)
• amazarshi(MHA S2 OP 2)
• Masaki Suda(Phillp from Kamen Rider W, MHA:The 2 Heroes theme)

Vocaloid and Solo song Recommendations

• Yobanashi Deceive  - Jin
• A Tale of 6 trillion years and a Night - IA
• Plastic Love - Mariya Takeuchi (I think Noelle would complain if I didn't put this in)
• Last Summer Whisper - Anri
• Eternal Love and Kimi ga iru Kara - Sayuri Sugawara
• REAL X EYEZ(Kamen Rider Zero-One theme) - JxTakanori Nishkawa
• We Two - Aimer
• Go now! Alife a Live neo(RIDER TIME:Kamen Rider Ryuki theme) - Rica Matsumoto
• Labyrinth - Mondo Grosso
• Colours(Code Geass 1st opening theme) - FLOW

My 2 top tips

• THE INTERNET IS YOUR FRIEND HERE. English translations exist for most songs in any language, and if it's from an anime, there will be a translation  for it, so get to look for it!
• If you are using them for creative influence, look into the lyrics of the song, and pay close attention to the visuals. How do certain things make you feel?

That's all I have to say for this subject. I hope that this.. I'll be honest, over-extensive look into one of the mediums I love, and a piece of entertainment that inspires me, has inspired you to try something new.

All Images used(C) Their respective owners

Spooky month has ended(quite literally), so let's recap it!

Writing in Review
This was a good month for my writing! I wrote about anime, including the Devil is a Part Timer and My Hero Academia Season 3!
Blog Posts written this Month
My Hero Academia Season 3: Review 
The Devil is A Part Timer: First Impressions
NM Gameworks #24:Maya VS Blender
Game Savvy Pieces written this month
Wings of Glass Review
Favourite Art Pieces This Month

Awesome things I saw/read/did
-MoeGamer put out a nice article what people said were overlooked games!
-We got a trailer for Kamen Rider Reiwa: The First Generation!
-Alyssa from Nerd Side of Life did a 30 day geek out challenge!
-A big shout to my friendYully from Twitter! You are awesome girl!
-I WENT TO THE POKEMON CENTRE AND IT WAS AWESOME!!!
-Gen Hoshino released a new Single featuring Superorganism called Same Thing, and it's in English!  Explicit Language warning if you want to listen to it.
-Also Eve released a new MV called raison d'etre, or reason for living, and it's amazing,
-Reol announced her 2nd Album called HYPE MODE, and released a single of the same name!

Games played this month
I haven't a lot this month, but I did play Wings of Glass to review! And it's very fun! I recommend you try it out!

Also more Nep-Nep! Cute and fun as always.

Merch This Month
Nothing this month. I am a broke uni student.

Final Thoughts
This month... it's been pretty awesome! Uni has been amazing so far, and I'm fitting in very well, however the second half of last week was... well shit. I was out of money for 4 days until my friend bailed me out. I also had to cut off a friend because they didn't want anything to do with me before... and I'll confess, I had pretty intense feelings for her. I'm just glad I had people to talk to, and I hope things get better for me.

November begins the push to Christmas! As such a BIG amount of focus will go into my T-Shirt store and just generally trying to push my Brand. I'm currently wait on some new graphics of my 2 OC's so maybe a refresh will happen soon here! I've also put in a news letter in place, so click the button below if you want to know when my content is coming out, and a month newsletter to inform you of all my content!

But that's it! Thanks for reading, and I will catch you guys next time!

Hey all! So the course I wanted to do at university originally was unsubscribed, so I ended up going an animation course instead at the same university. This is more helpful to me, as while I do have both artistic and programming skills, I find that I know more about the programming side, and that the programming is a bit easier for me to learn. However, changing to this course required me to use a program called Autodesk Maya, the indestury standard for 3D modelling and animation.

I will say straight off the bat that Maya is a lot more stable than blender, and I recommend that you start using Blender for 3 reasons: 

1. It's more stable and crashes less
2. The community around Blender makes it easier to learn, as there is always a tutoral for exactly what you need most of the time
3. IT IS FREE

Blender being free is the big upside to me here. Because of this, I find that Blender is more accessible to younger people, who have little to no money. It's also not helpful that Maya and 3D Max cost about £1,700 a year, which a lot of small studios don't have.

As for the Maya experience? Well, I still think Blender is better, because a lot of the stuff is more logically laid out to me, plus the rendering engines (Arnold and Redshift) for me don't really feel as quick and easy as Cycles or Eevee. I will say that I like that Redshift auto lights your scene for you if you have no Lighting. Also you have to pay more money Redshift, which is just great, isn't it?

Here I have 2 scenes that I made, the Blender one is on the left, the Maya one is on the right. I admit that this isn't a super fair comparison, but I wanted to talk more about the modelling experience rather than everything else, since I don't know how to make procedural textures in Maya yet.

Here's I observed: I found that model overall was easier to make in Blender. I think that Maya is very powerful, in fact I can say that the scene felt easier to make, because it felt like the scene it came together better, as well as the fact that Maya uses On screen Gizmos, making things idiot proof, especially if you have used 3D software before this.

However, I felt that the model was easier to make in Blender. I admit this partly because I'm more use to using the tools there, but I also felt that Maya gave me less control, since I am getting used to Maya pretty quickly. I can see why Maya would be useful for businesses, as does have a lot of powerful tools that I haven't used fully yet admittedly, and I think that it is easier to learn... if you are studying with the software at a specialised school or University. I feel like besides that though, there is no point in using Maya, because Blender is getting to a point of getting a point where it's easier to learn and can do everything Maya can do and more. Plus it's FREE, which makes my choice by default

Before I end off, I also need to say this: Unity Chan Dash has had to restart development. The files that had with Unity broke during a transfer between versions of the engine, and the files corrupted. This is fine however, as there a LOT of things in the game need to be fixed, and I have started working on a new character controller.

That's it for now! Thank you to GoddessReanne for supporting me with one-off coffees. If you would like support me, you can do via the orange button below! 

But for now, thanks for reading, and I will see you guys next time!
Written By Nana Marfo
Blender 2.8(C)Blender Corporation
Autodesk Maya 2018(C)Autodesk.Inc