Dark Aether

If you see this, quote with a vampire that isn't Dracula.

(A not subtle preview of what I'm working on btw)

YouTube video by Release - Topic Super Express to Hell

Howdy!

(And yes, I too am playing a Ninja Gaiden)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqbP...

Splinter Cell: Deathwatch (cover)

88) Splinter Cell: Deathwatch

Ended up finishing this much quicker than anticipated. Expected to have this sitting on the background, but got fully engrossed at some point.

Guess "grizzled old soldier" stories are my type (or needing something to fill the Metal Gear Solid hole in my life).

V/H/S/99 (2022, poster)

87) V/H/S/99 (2022, rewatch)

1. Ozzy's Dungeon
2. To Hell and Back
3. The Gawkers
4. Suicide Bid
5. Shredding

+ Takes advantage of the aesthetic of the era
+ Pretty good payoffs for most of these
+/- No connecting story this time (but it's funny)

Here's 3:

- CITY: The Animation
- The Executioner and Her Way of Life
- Oshi no Ko

OGREST: The Storm Before the Tears (volume one cover)

OGREST: The Storm Before the Tears (volume one). An image of an adult Ogrest with the six Primordial Dofus in the eye of the storm. He is staring outward in distress.

OGREST: The Storm Before the Tears hits next week, but digital copies are going out and I got mine ahead of the physical release. Already burned through volume one!

Will come back to this some point. For now, I'm stoked to return to this world and finally get the origin of...well, the end.

Anne Shirley (2025 anime, cover)

86) Anne Shirley (2025)

If you had told me The Answer Studio would go from making one of the worst anime in last year's Tower of God to one of this year's best in Anne Shirley, I wouldn't have believed you. Yet here we are.

(̶I̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶a̶l̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶h̶a̶d̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶w̶r̶i̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶k̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶)̶ 🤫

V/H/S/94 (2021, cover)

85) V/H/S/94 (2021, rewatch)
1. The Subject
2. Terror
3. Storm Drain
4. Holy Hell
5. The Empty Wake

A series best. Will see if that changes as I go through the rest of the films this month.

If these crossovers are going to be a periodic thing, they should do one with My Marriage to Saneka.

Witch Watch (ch 221), featuring Hako Aono from Blue Box. The WW character's are pointing out the different art style and speech bubbles.

Witch Watch (ch 221), continuation of the Blue Box crossover, talking about a literal "blue box".

Witch Watch (221): Turns out the Blue Box was the number of 4th wall breaks we made along the way. 😂

Villain(s) • Several bears (no further appearances)

They never bring back any of the really good villains.

We don’t use AI for subtitles. Every line is carefully timed and translated by real people (who cry during finales and debate Best Girls, just like you).

Toilet Bound Hanako-kun 2 (second part, cover)

84) Toilet Bound Hanako-kun 2 (Season 2? Part 2? Whatever)

Short one today. Yeah, this is pretty much what I wanted from a sequel. Higher stakes, drama, emotions, more rapport from the supporting cast.

What a finale! I shall have much to say when I'm compiling my end of year list.

Watching terrible horror films - so bad, it's good (lol).

So, as I was wrapping up this movie yesterday, I saw the post credits for the 1st time which I must have skipped on first viewing. Lo and behold, look what my search turned up:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go1w...

Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor (2023, cover)

83) Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor (2023, rewatch)

They don't recycle footage like 3, but everything else is just watered down except in a bigger house (and clowns).

How does a franchise consistently get worse with each entry?! 2 was average, 3 was bad, Origins just bored me.

Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire (cover)

82) Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire (2019)

The only entry I've not watched until now. "Uninspired" is the word that comes to mind. Constant cut-ins to the first two films (as in flat out copy/paste), dull jump scares and the most batshit ending of the franchise.

"Well, at least its over-"

Witch Watch (Season 1 cover)

81) Witch Watch

My favorite anime of last season, if not the year. A solid adaptation of Shinohara's work, even if it doesn't quite exceed the manga, with some exceptions.

Still, I have too many good words to say (stay tuned). Haven't had this much fun since The Elusive Samurai!

My Dress Up Darling (Season 2, cover)

80) My Dress Up Darling (Season 2)

Wrapping up some shows this week. Debating whether I liked it more than the 1st. Great localization, excellent dub, some of the funniest dialogue all season.

Missed opportunity with the two leads (not a whole lot of progression), though never a dull moment here.

Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel (cover)

79) Hell House LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel (2018, rewatch)

A decent follow up, if not quite on par with the 1st. I gotta say, everyone says the 3rd is where it went off rails, yet upon rewatch, they were setting up the next film pretty hard.

(Shit, now I have to watch the next one...)

"there are many filmmakers whom i clearly recognize as major artists while remaining completely untouched and, frankly, annoyed by their work. learning the difference between "i hate", "it's bad", and "it just isn't for me" has been a crucial feature of my maturation as an artist and human being."

respectfully: no. develop your own taste, absolutely, but own it. it's fine to think that popular thing is bad. it's fine to not have an opinion too, but i see statements like this one all the time and i just want to push back a bit: there's nothing wrong with having the courage of your convictions.

Elusive Samurai (221): I don't really do hype around what I'm reading (I prefer to let stories speak for themselves), but damn Matsui out here giving us a FromSoft boss fight AND [redacted]?!

You have no idea how much I lit up at the end of this chapter with that reveal (not pictured here)!

REC (2007, movie poster)

REC 2 (2009, movie poster)

78) REC 1 + 2 (2007/2009)

The nicest thing I can say is watching these together, their continuity is well thought out. My suspension of disbelief however was tested multiple times, especially as 2 dragged on.

("What do you mean there's four films?!")

V/H/S/Halloween (cover)

77) V/H/S/Halloween

Fun individually, but one of the weakest anthologies in the franchise. Best to Worst:

1. Diet Phantasma
2. Home Haunt
3. Fun Size
3. Coochie Coochie Coo
4. Ut Supra Sic Infra
5. Kidprint

"Enjoy Diet Phantasma" now lives rent free in my mind palace.

Yaiba: Samurai Legend (Season 1, cover)

76) Yaiba: Samurai Legend (Season 1)

Simple, yet very well made old school shonen. The plot and humor is definitely of its time, but they don't make em like this anymore.👍

(The Detective Conan-haircuts are still dumb, and I will die on this hill!)

Watch V/H/S/Halloween on Shudder Don’t get left behind – Enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Shudder's full library of films and series for 7 days.

#NowWatching Okay Shudder, let's see what treats you have for us this year, starting with:
www.shudder.com/movies/watch...

The revolutionary politics of Final Fantasy Tactics, and why Ramza Beoulve is a hero for our times Final Fantasy Tactics' original writer-director Yasumi Matsuno signalled the timeliness of this remake for a reason: its hero offers a model of resistance.

Oh, hey! I'm *writing* again!

Let's talk about a man named named Ramza Beoulve. Let's talk about the "ease at which men are branded heretics..."

Let's talk about revolution.

www.eurogamer.net/the-revoluti...

"Posers. I was hating her before it was cool!"