It's almost the end of September and three months are left in the year. As much as everyone wants this year to end so a new one can begin, a lot of what we're facing right now isn't going to go away. COVID-19 is the biggest problem and threat that we're facing in the world right now. Even if a vaccine is created, tested safe, and distributed throughout the world, there is the unfortunate chance that this virus could evolve and render the vaccine useless in the future. I can only hope that life will be better for everyone in the near future rather than the far future.
I feel like I've really stagnated on all progression this past month. With work, at the very least I finished the audio work I was doing with a friend on a game project. But since then, I haven't really gotten anything done the past 2 weeks. It doesn't help that I've been facing a LOT of computer problems the past week and possibly found the culprit. My portable external hard drive that I use to store all my Steam games has been acting up where it's active 100% and stays pinned there. Reading and writing data is slow and it might be the cause of the extremely slow game updates on Steam. It's possible that it's also affecting the slow downs, choppiness and freezing in the games I play, recording, and the long wait time for the computer to shut down. So I decided to buy a new Desktop external hard drive and have been focusing on transferring all the data to the new one the past few days.
Because I've been playing so much Phantasy Star Online 2 and Guardian Tales, I haven't been playing anything else, really. I've only complete 2 games last month and 3 games in September, which goes to show how much I've slowed down on game completion and the limited variety of games I've been playing. The problem with playing PSO2 and Guardian Tales is that I've been mainly doing dailies for them and never really progressing the story or playing the other content. So even in the only two games I've been playing I have stagnated. I've been trying to play games with friends a bit more the past two weeks and that has helped break through the monotony that I accidentally put myself into.
Right after I finished that anime rating post from last month, I decided to watch Ryuuou no Oshigoto! I was expecting it to be cute and funny, but WOW I was left in awe by how dramatic, emotional and passionate the story would be. The show is about a young 16 year old boy who became Ryuuou, the highest position in the competitive Shogi world where their thoughts and actions help shape the scene of Shogi as it moves forward. He starts teaching young, grade school girls how to play Shogi with two 9 year old girls in particular who have talent in strategizing and planning far ahead their moves. Shows like these often follow a similar formula in presenting its niche theme so that anyone can enjoy it. It's very similar to competitive sport stories where the characters are passionate, love what they do, face insurmountable opposition, deal with defeat, and overcome their own doubts and inhibitions. I know little to nothing about Shogi, but I felt that I would enjoy the show anyways as I've experienced something similar in reading and watching Hikaru no Go (which I never finished but really want to go back to). Ryuuou no Oshigoto's story and characters moved me. The intense emotions that flood over each scene is accentuated through its incredible background music (BGM) and is one of the best I've heard from all the shows I've watched this year. I wasn't expecting to watch such a good show right after reviewing all the shows I've watched. Right afterwards, I had remembered that High Score Girl finished its 2nd season. I decided to re-watch all of the first season again, but this time in Japanese as I lead into the OVAs and the 2nd season. WOW! I knew I was going to like it, but I was expecting the story to get THAT much better in the 2nd season. When I first heard about High Score Girl, I was honestly expecting it to be a slice-of-life comedy and not a romantic comedy. But I'm very happy with that surprise. The show was incredibly enjoyable and the best in catering towards its videogame loving audience. The references really resonated with me as memories of the early 90s flooded my mind. I loved the show and it quickly became one of my favorites. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I decided to read the manga. I was surprised that the anime actually changed and added things into the anime that wasn't in the manga in the first half while it took things out in the 2nd half. Overall, I actually liked the anime more. I ended up playing a decent amount of older Street Fighter games because of all the Street Fighter they talked about in the story. After that, I had started watching Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-San. After watching two shows that were so passionate and story driven, it was quite a contrast when I was watching another slice-of-life comedy anime. While Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-San didn't hook me, I did enjoy it for all the different types of ramen I learned about. The comedic formula they had between the energetic Yuu with the stoic Koizumi just didn't work for me. But I loved all the ramen they showed. I haven't had ramen since March because of the lockdown. So finishing three shows isn't too bad for a month, but I've definitely slowed down the past two weeks watching Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-San. I just felt so lost in thought after finishing High Score Girl.
After I finish transferring these files to my new hard drive, I'm going to need to focus. I want to do one more example track for my portfolio before I put everything together to start applying for jobs. Genshin Impact released last night and I'm downloading it right now. I'm hoping to play a lot of it, but that means having to balance it with PSO2 and Guardian Tales all while trying to complete more games. I'm hoping to watch more anime, too.
Another month passes by and soon Summer will come to an end. It's been an exhausting month, mainly because I keep trying to fix my sleep schedule. I'm not doing a very good job since I still sleep around 4-5AM and wake up around 12PM. I figure one of the biggest factors for my insomnia is the fact I don't get enough cardio or do an exercise that would tire me out enough. I'm still doing push-ups, squats, and planking everyday, but it's not enough. I decided to purchase a set of resistance bands as an alternative to weights. I've been contemplating getting a set of weights, but they're several hundred dollars. The set of resistance bands was only $20. I've only used them for a week, but I can see the potential in using them.
Aside from worrying about the COVID-19 virus, California was hit by a passing thunder storm that struck lightning up and down the state. This has caused widespread fires like the ones we experienced back in 2016 (or was it 2017?). Because of this, the air stinks of smoke and breathing it has caused some coughing for me since I seem to be sensitive to it.
I've been still working on my portfolio, but was also asked to work on some music and sound effects for a game a friend is working on. I've spent the past 2 weeks working on it and it seems I'll be spending another 1-2 weeks working on another potential track for it. I'm hoping I can finish putting my portfolio together, do the research for copyright, upload them and be ready to start looking and applying for jobs next month.
I've stagnated on my backlog this past month for videogames. Aside from playing more Ghost of Tsushima (which I also haven't played much of this past month), I got swept up in doing events for Borderlands 3, 100% Orange Juice, and Phantasy Star Online 2. I also picked up Ogre Tale at launch and picked up Gunfire Reborn to play with my friends, which happen to be the only 2 games I completed in August. Besides that, I've also been playing a new mobile game called Guardian Tales. While it's not like I'm disappointed with the time I've spent on these games, I also feel like I've been running on auto-pilot and playing them because I felt like I should rather than because I really wanted to. It still boils down to "wanting to do too much, not enough time in the day to do them all."
I found myself watching a lot of animé this year and it's the most I've watched since college over a decade ago. It's a nice feeling watching animé again. I thought it'd be fun to kind of reflect on them and rate them as a change in pace from my usual posts this year. So let's get to it!
Animé I've watched this year in 2020
Amagi Brilliant Park
Aho Girl
Bofuri
Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai
Comic Girls
Demi-chan wa Kataritai
Eromanga Sensei
Gabriel Dropout
Little Witch Academia
Magical Sempai
Masamune-kun no Revenge
Net-juu no Susume
Outbreak Company
Sakura Wars
Ueno-san wa Bukiyou
Amagi Brilliant Park - Fantasy, Comedy
I knew about this show because of this one scene where the pink cat-like character says "Simply put, we need to go lewder." It was a meme and I thought it was funny. So when I saw this show recommended off from another show I had just finished, I decided to give it a shot. It's about an amusement park at the verge of shutting down and requires it flourishing for the stakes are beyond just monetary gain. It was fun, it was weird, but it's not a show I can easily recommend.
Aho Girl - Comedy, Slice-of-Life
This is one of those short-episode type shows, and so I ended up watching the whole thing in one sitting. It's a simple premise of a really smart guy who doesn't know how to socialize always being chased down by a really dumb girl. A lot of its humor is slap-stick comedy and it absurdity. I really enjoyed the show and while it's not for everyone, I can easily recommend giving it a try if you're looking for comedy.
Bofuri: Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu / I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense - Fantasy, Action
It's one of those Light Novels that has those ridiculously long names, and so they often get shortened, nicknames like Bofuri. I never heard of this show and was recommended by a friend who said I'd like it for its gaming setting and cute characters. Kaede Honjou plays a VRMMORPG for the first time with a friend who's familiar with gaming. The Kaede doesn't know much about games and figured maxing out her defense would prevent her from getting hurt. But little does she know that she accidentally finds the most over-powered build and continually find ways to break the game by becoming even stronger than what the developers intended. It's a cute show and I'd recommend it to those who enjoy and understand Online Role-playing games.
BokuBen: Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai / We Never Learn - Harem, Romantic Comedy, Slice-of-Life
I first heard about this show from a Under Night In-Birth meme since one of the characters look like Orie. As I started watching more animé this year, this particular show's clips kept appearing in my recommended list on Youtube and I decided to watch it. Nariyuki Yuiga is a young high school boy who's working towards getting a scholarship into a good college so that he can get a good job to bring his family out of poverty. While he was considered, he was given the condition of helping 3 other female students get into their choice of school and study before given the scholarship. The other 3 students happen to be geniuses at what they do, but oblivious when it comes to their choice of study. I don't even remember the last time I watched a harem animé, but it was a little nostalgic (one of my favorite animé is Love Hina). I loved the character development, seeing them grow, improve, and come to understand one another as they all struggle with their own personal goals and issues. It was definitely one of the most enjoyable shows I watched this year. I can't wait for the next season.
Comic Girls - Comedy, Slice-of-Life
Kaoruko Moeta aspires to be a manga author depicting the fun life of a high school girl. After countless rejections, Kaoruko was recommended to stay at a dormitory with other young manga artists and learn more about writing a manga and about living a normal high school life. It was cute and funny, but I know this type of Slice-of-Life comedy doesn't appeal to a lot of people.
Demi-chan wa Kataritai / Interviews with Monster Girls - Comedy, Supernatural, Slice-of-Life
I've been hearing about this show for a while, but didn't think much about it since I wasn't watching animé at the time. It was one of the shows my friend recommended and so I watched it as soon as I could. Demi-humans such as vampires and dullahans exist in the world and has since been accepted by society. Biology teacher, Tetsuo Takahashi, wants to learn more about such beings is at a loss when his research begins and ends with what is common known or researched and dreamed about meeting the actual ones. To his surprise he meets a vampire, dullahan, snow woman, and succubus at the school he teaches at. As he interviews each of these demi-humans, he helps them understand more about themselves as he learns more about them. It's wholesome and heart-warming despite a lot of humor involved. This was also a show I loved and can easily recommend.
Eromanga Sensei - Romantic Comedy
I was expecting a lot of cute moments and character development between Masamune (main character) and Sagiri (Eromanga Sensei). I was also expecting it to be light and cheery. But the very first thing that happens is Masamune explaining how their parents re-married so that he and Sagiri became step-siblings and that their parents had passed away sometime after which left Masamune taking care of a room-ridden Sagiri who won't even look at him anymore. It was a shocking and confusing show to me because it defied my expectations for it. I really liked it, but felt the priorities were off the mark. All the characters other than Eromanga Sensei were very interesting and got a lot of character development. And while Sagiri is very cute and gets some cute moments, she is rather unbearable a majority of the show (though it's kind of hard to blame her given the circumstances). I really like the character Elf Yamada. She had SO much screen time, character development, and opportunities that make her that much more interesting. Honestly, she feels like the main character.
Gabriel DropOut - Comedy, Supernatural, Slice-of-Life
Gabriel, a young angel who graduated at the top of her class, is sent down to Earth to help guide humans towards happiness and prosperity. Unfortunately for her, she comes across an MMORPG and becomes addicted. The show revolves around the life of two angels and two demons going to a human school together where most of the humor is driven by irony. It was mildly entertaining, but it's not a show I want to watch again.
Little Witch Academia - Coming-of-Age, Magical Fantasy
This was actually the catalyst that got me to start watching animé again this year. I started watching this show two years ago to gain an understanding of it before I bought and played the game Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time. Having held off on it for so long, I decided to finish it and started watching it again. Atsuko Kagari watches a magic show as a young girl and is inspired to become a witch herself so that she can spread magic and happiness to the world. The plot is well conceived with a diverse and interesting cast of characters with personality and lovable traits. The character development is well paced and engaging as the viewer watches Atsuko learn and grow while affecting all those around her. The animation is impeccable with its dynamic expressions and techniques based on comedic situations or action scenes. This was definitely the highest quality show I watched this year and one I could call a masterpiece.
Magical Sempai - Comedy
Senpai wants to save the magic club and tries to bring in new members by performing magic for them. Another short episode animé, this was the only show I watched this year where I felt disappointed and didn't like. Most of its jokes weren't funny and a lot of the humor were attempted to be covered by "fanservice", which really didn't cut it. I watched it all the way through, so it wasn't awful, but it was rather forgettable and didn't leave much of an impression.
Masamune-kun no Revenge - Romantic Comedy
After being cruelly rejected by the beautiful Aki Adagaki as a child, Masamune Makabe decides to concoct a plan to make himself incredibly attractive and popular to make Aki fall desperately in love with him so that he can reject her spectacularly. The overall writing for its plot is well paced and incredibly engaging. I couldn't get enough! I do think some of the character development and relationship building wasn't polished enough or get enough attention, but the way the story kept surprising me and got me hooked left such an impression that I couldn't stop thinking of this show. It has so many memorable moments. Sadly, it doesn't seem like it will get a second season. Thankfully, the manga was finished and so I fervently read through the whole series and absolutely loved it. It is a bit flawed in character development for the side characters and the ending felt rushed, but WOW I haven't felt like this watching an animé or reading a manga in a long time. It has some aspects of a Shoujo romance and some aspects of a shonen harem. It's a unique story that I haven't experienced before. I felt quite emotionally invested in the characters. I think I could only recommend this show to those who like romance and is willing to transition into reading the manga as the animé ends with you wanting more but can't deliver.
Net-juu no Susume / Recovery of an MMO Junkie - Romantic Comedy, Slice-of-Life
30 year old Moriko Morioka is a successful career woman who decides to leave the working world to fulfill her wish of leading a peaceful and enjoyable life of a NEET. Having the MMORPG she used to play get shut-down, she decides to find and play a new MMORPG where she met new players and cultivated new relationships. But some chance encounters in real-life starts crossing into her gaming life and can no longer be ignored. Can she continue to lead the life of an Elite NEET? Honestly, the show is slow and it's possible that it won't get another season as the manga has also been discontinued due to the author's health issues from allowing her to continue. Despite that, I couldn't stop watching and I kept wanting to see that one moment (you'll know it if you ever start watching it). I liked it, but it's sad to know that it's probably a story we won't get to see a conclusive resolution to.
Outbreak Company - Comedy, Fantasy
This was a surprising show that I ended up really liking. My friend actually recommended me against watching it as he didn't find it that enjoyable and I found out after finishing the show that a lot of people didn't like the show, either. Shinichi Kanou, a hardcore Otaku who loves every aspect of the culture, applies to a job looking for an expert in Otaku culture. During an interview, he's drugged and wakes up in an unfamiliar world where dragons, elves and dwarfs exists. Shinichi is to take on the job of introducing Otaku culture into this new and unfamiliar world of Medieval fantasy. While I was expecting the whole "Otaku culture is great" shtick, I was not expecting the whole political aspect, class struggle, and racism to be involved. It was a fun show and an easy watch. I want to recommend it, but the fact that so many people didn't like makes me question my taste in animé.
Sakura Wars - Adventure, Mecha, Sci-Fi, Shounen
I've been interested in the Sakura Wars franchise for the longest time. But the fact that most of the games never came to America and it was difficult to find the animé back in High School, I never found a way to really get into it. The sixth and newest Sakura Wars games in the mainline series was brought to America this year and I pre-ordered and played it. Sadly, the game was incredibly cliché, corny, and the total opposite of what I expected. What got me interested in the series is that every game has incredible openings with the music composed by Kohei Tanaka. The opening of each game showed thrilling action, touching camaraderie, emotional drama; they were so memorable and left such an impression it's hard not to be left in awe. I started questioning "has the games and anime always been like this? Or is this just the product far detached from the original?" So I started looking up gameplay footages of the original and I realized a lot of scenes and moments in the newest game are homages to the original, and yet they don't quite have the same impact. The biggest problem I have with the newest game is that everything felt contrived and artificial.
Despite all that, I went into watching the original animé with an open-mind and my god, my mind was blown. For a game/animé that is heavily involved in romance, I found it odd that the characters weren't particularly attractive at glance and their default personality aren't amiable either. But as each character is featured and interacts with the others, you slowly understand them and find aspects about them that view them favorably. At a certain point, I found myself emotionally invested in all of the characters. Their struggles, their goals, their fears, their pride and determination all felt so real, it just brought the whole world of Sakura Wars to life. "This is what I was hoping for and more!" I thought when I finished the show. It is, hands down, the best show I watched this year and well deserved for its reputation of being a masterpiece. It made me appreciate the newest Sakura Wars a little more, but it still pales in comparison by a large margin to the original.
Ueno-san wa Bukiyou / How Clumsy you are, Miss Ueno - Comedy
This is another one of those short episode anime that you can get through in one sitting. Ueno is a brilliant girl who can make anything she thinks of, except making Tanaka aware of her feelings for him. It's short, it's cute, but it's not good enough for me to recommend.
So for a quick run-down of all the shows I watched this year:
Masterpiece: I can definitely recommend watching
Little Witch Academia
Sakura Wars
Recommended: I liked it a lot and can recommend it to most people
Bofuri
Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai
Demi-chan wa Kataritai
Enjoyable: I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure if I could recommend it to just anyone
Amagi Brilliant Park
Aho Girl
Eromanga Sensei
Masamune-kun no Revenge
Outbreak Company
Fun: I might have liked it, but I don't think others will
Comic Girls
Net-juu no Susume
Not Recommended: It's not something I'd watch again
Gabriel Dropout
Magical Sempai
Ueno-san wa Bukiyou
Well, that was fun. Maybe I'll do this again after watching some more shows this year. I've accumulated quite a bit of new shows on my queue list to watch, so there's no shortage of what I can watch.
