RE: Pokémon Sun and Moon

This would be the part where I’d say “Boy, I am late to this”, but I learned something very important.  You see, neither you nor anyone else can point out how late you are as long as you refuse to acknowledge that you were ever late to begin with.  It’s the perfect system.

Anyway, Pokémon Sun and Moon.  Let’s get to it.

Let’s discuss Mumen Rider.

Okay, so I know that I’ve said some controversial stuff on this blog before -- COUGHunchartedCOUGH -- but I don’t think anyone’s going to take too much issue with what I have to say next: Mumen Rider is the best character in One Punch Man.  And that’s saying something, if you ask me.

Though while we’re on the subject?  Let me back up and say that One Punch Man is, on the whole, a pretty freakin’ good anime.  Its popularity may have surged relatively recently -- and thus people have likely started throwing stones at it -- but much like JoJo or Attack on Titan, I’d say that that popularity is deserved.  And now that I’ve said that, I’m just going to spend the rest of this post gushing over how freakin’ sick Mumen Rider is as a character.  Like, I would absolutely be down for a full-on Mumen Rider series -- not spinoff, but series -- starring the cyclist for justice.  Granted it’s not a guaranteed success, but…hey, it’d at least be something that caters to me.  And that’s what matters most.

Now everybody sit down and shut up, because Mumen Rider said so.  Or someone of relative import.

Shower Thoughts with RWBY (Part 4)

All aboard the RWBY Volume 4 Headcanon Express!

…I would make a longer and more meandering intro, but given that this thing has reached Part 4, I think it’d be best if I speed things up and not drag my feet.  Alternatively, maybe I should hire a full-time editor to shadow my every move (and word) so I can make stuff that’s actually a manageable length.

Then again, if I did that, then I’d have less money for muffins.  Can’t have that.  So let’s get crackin’.

Shower Thoughts with RWBY (Part 3)

It was pretty much a given, but RWBY Volume 5 is officially in the works.

The voice actors are (as far as I know) in the middle of recording their lines, and assuming that everything goes well?  We’ll be seeing the next chapter of the story sometime in the fall of 2017.  That’s not too far from now, as of this post -- less than half a year, if we assume that Rooster Teeth is shooting for an episode drop on the Autumnal Equinox.  They probably aren’t, but that’s still a pretty short amount of time.  So before you know it, we’ll know where the crew plans to take the story -- not just the plot, but the development, the setup, the payoff, and the authorial intent. 

It’ll be interesting to see what they do in response to the fans.  I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have two fingers pressed deep into the pulse of the fandom, but I’d imagine that there are those who like Volume 4’s treatment, and those who resent it.  Whose voice will ring out louder?  Who will Rooster Teeth listen to?  Or will they ignore both camps so they can blaze their own trail?  Course correction is always a possibility, but even if they don’t go to that extreme, Volume 5 will 100% cement whatever style and direction the crew is going to head down.  So for that reason alone, I’m interested in seeing more.

Until then?  Let’s get back to the headcanon action.  I started with Yang and Blake last time, so let’s finish their story off and move on.

The Greatest Hits! Oh, and NieR: Automata.

So there’s a comic of NieR: Automata floating around online, which has 2B and 9S having a hypothetical meeting with Lightning and Hope from Final Fantasy 13.  While the two older ladies stay on the sidelines and alternate between stoicism and confusion, the younger boys have something else in mind.  Namely, they wish each other good luck -- for reasons that aren’t immediately obvious to the heroines, but blatantly so for the comic readers.

It’s not that far of a reach to draw parallels between the two.  Superficially -- at least based on the opening hours of NieR -- 9S is more than willing to shadow “onee-san” 2B because he’s got feelings for her.  It’s not so overstated with Hope and Lightning, but I’m sure the hints of romance (however unlikely) are there.  Of course, the key difference is that one of those games is pretty sick, and the other one just makes me sick.  It goes without saying, but NieR: Automata is better than Final Fantasy…even though I’ve only put a few hours into it, and would’ve played more if my body hadn’t nearly given out from an earnest desire for sleep.

So, like…is there any chance that I can become a robot?  Imagine how much work I’d be able to get done.

Shower Thoughts with RWBY (Part 2)

So what’s your take on headcanon?

I know that there’s a certain level of futility to it.  After all, I gave Street Fighter V the headcanon treatment before its story mode made the rounds.  There were enough clues to make guesses on where the upcoming A Shadow Falls would go narratively, and so I made those guesses -- about Necalli, about the nature of the Dark Hadou, and more.  Then the actual story came out, and…uh…I don’t want to talk about how wrong I was.

Fans and fandoms are powerful, but they’re nothing in the face of the actual content creators.  That’s probably a good thing in some cases, because A) you have to respect the creative vision of the guys and ladies in charge, and B) giving power to fans who don’t always know better can lead to….well, let’s call it “misfortune” and leave it at that.  The reverse is true, of course; fans can and do create stuff that makes the pros look like amateurs.  But as long as they’re on the bottom rung, they’re doomed to have their best work and razor-sharp skills languish in obscurity.  Why bother with it, then?

Easy.  Because it’s fun.  It’s fun to come up with different takes on a story, especially when it’s something you really care about.  So let’s get ready to have a ball with an alternate, hypothetical take on RWBY and its 4^th volume.  More specifically: let’s start with Yang and work backwards.

How it Feels to Play Persona 5.

Need someone to sum up Persona 5 in three words in case you don’t have 100+ hours to blow?  I’m your man.  So, here you go.

That.

Escalated.

Quickly.

Tales of Berseria is…

So I had a moment with Tales of Berseria the other day.

I was pretty much in the last stretch of the game -- more than capable of waltzing right into the final dungeon, at least after I tied up some loose ends vis a vis the sidequests that opened up.  I did as many of those quests as I could, since I worked under the assumption that -- by virtue of the game taking up much-needed memory space on the PS4 -- I might never get the chance to play it again.  As of this post, I’ve finished the game.  I didn’t do everything (like the post-game dungeon) because I need to move on to other stuff.  But I’d say 95% of the stones were turned.

In any case, one of those sidequests got a real reaction out of me.  I didn’t cry or anything, though.  It’s just that…well, I won’t go into detail about it, because it’s a spoiler for both Berseria and (to a lesser extent) its predecessor Zestiria.  But it does involve/clarify a core character’s fate, which is just as dire as you’d expect.  Said character -- Eizen, the one who had become my favorite character -- happened to be the one I was using as an avatar on the field at the time.  So when the cutscene finished and I regained control, I could’ve gone on to do other stuff.  Fight more daemons, search for treasure, et cetera.

But I didn’t.