Strider Hiryu

So over the last two weeks I've finally taken the time to watch two of both Arkada's and Geoff's most recommended anime both of which scored pretty highly on each of their respective top anime of the decade videos. Those of course being anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day and A Place Further than the Universe. I also watched them because they've been sitting on my lists forever but I thought I'd open with that little bit.

We'll start with anohana. Quite frankly I honestly don't see where all the love Geoff has for this anime comes from. Don't get me wrong it's a good show and I actually did cry during the final episode (extremely emotional and it's really hard not to let it hit you right in the feels) but I just can't see why it's highly praised. The story is alright (dealing with the loss of a friend and the drifting apart of close friends after said death), characters are so-so with most being bland or downright unlikable  (Poppo is the only real character I actually liked, Naruko being the second after I got over my initial dislike for her), animation is top notch, and the soundtrack also gets high marks. Sadly though it felt like a lot of the events in the show were just placed there to add extra, unneeded drama and filler to continue the show for it's 11 episode + movie run (note I haven't seen the movie yet, not available on streaming services and I have not got around to dling it). Again I liked the show overall I just don't know how it gets such high marks from people when there are other shows and movies that do drama and loss so much better then this one. Still recommend giving it a watch if you want to ball your eyes out in the last episode (and for Poppo's hilarious antics and lovable nature).

As for A Place Further than the Universe I'm totally on board with Arkada's gushing about it. This show was a pure joy to watch and I'm actually extremely sad it was only a 13 episode run. It's definitely one of those cute girls doing cute things shows but it's also so much more then that. You have four girls going to Antarctica for completely different reasons (one to make the most of her youth, one as a job and to embark on a journey with actual friends, one trying to run from her past and do something interesting, and one looking for closure after a past incident involving the frozen continent), becoming friends, facing various hardships, and growing as individuals before the climax. Throw in a bunch of cute antics here and there, some minor and major drama, fights, penguin obsession, long sea voyage with plenty of sea sickness, and interesting and hilarious side characters and you pretty much have one of the best shows to come form the 2018 Winter season and season as a whole. Quite frankly this is another of those this is what Strider looks for in an anime shows and I rate it as high a Violet Evergarden (in fact it's the only other show outside of VE that's gotten a 10/10 from me in the last five years). Sadly it doesn't have a dub as it didn't get a BD release in the state as of writing this (which disappoints me just as much as the lack of a VE BD release) but if you can get over having to watch it with subs I highly suggest giving this one a watch, it's definitely worth it if you're looking for a laid back, relaxing show.

I would talk about Sound! Euphonium as well (finished watching it before I started anohana) but I kind of want to watch the movies first (which I can't find anywhere x.x) and I really don't want to sit here tying up a novel. Suffice to say I loved every minute of this anime and would also recommend it (I mean it deals with a school orchestra band trying to get to nationals but the character interactions alone are worth watching this if you don't want to watch school band the anime).

I'm going to take a moment to say that out of all the games I've played throughout my time as a gamer Nier: Automata is probably one of the best games I've had the pleasure of playing in a very long time. By saying this I have just beaten it (well I beat it last night but I went through to get ending D today (I cheated so I didn't have to do the whole tower section again and reloaded at my save right before the final two fights). I'll most likely be redoing the whole Tower chapter again tomorrow so I can get D on my main save file so I can get ending E, the true ending. Wish me luck because I hear the final section to get E is a nightmare) and yes it took me forever but I'm glad it did. I've played many games that have great stories, great characters, great world building, great gameplay, and yes even great soundtracks (you'd be lying to yourself if you didn't think the OST for Nier was a major component of it) but none of them have ever encapsulated me this much (I say this having a complete obsession over the Suikoden series of games, by far my all time favorites when it comes to world building/story/characters).

I've never come to care for characters so much as I have with 2B, Pascal, and A2 (screw 9S, sorry to everyone that likes him but I do not like his character and don't get me started on actually having to use him in combat. Worst parts of the game for me even with his story being so damn good). Everything they go through and everything they experience from the minor gains to the major losses all resonated with me (and in some cases absolutely gutted me, I'm looking at you Pascal). I won't be ruining anything about their stories here or giving a major plot developments but DX will definitely understand where I'm coming from. You really grow attached to these characters in ways you don't notice until something major happens. Hell I've never been attached to a character as much as I am to 2B. Watching her grow throughout the entirety of her play through (and 9S's), watching as she struggles with the things she had to do before the events of this game, watching as she gradually opens up more to those around her, and watching her become more accepting of the new truths around her was amazing. Most main characters never get this treatment with all these minor nuances and most are lucky if they get the character growth she did. A2 is similar in a lot of ways but her growth comes a lot faster and it's harder to get really attached to her since you don't spend as much time with her (but damn do I love her sassy personality, her interactions with Pod 42 are gold). I really wish she'd of gotten more attention than she did (and you really don't even understand the depth of her backstory and character unless you read about the stage play Yoko Taro did that tells it (it's briefly mentioned in game but not much is said)). I won't get into Pascal other than he's a very well written character, lovable, and gets the shaft hard and it really sucks because he's so lovable.

Story wise it's really just your typical sci-fi plot and while good is nothing really to write home about as it's the characters that make this game so good (not trying to undermine it by any means but it's certainly not Tolkien levels of epic). It also pays, while not necessary, to have prior knowledge of both the original Nier's story and Drakengard's story as it actually helps you understand a lot of the what happened in the past to lead to where this game is at storyline wise (hell three of the NPC characters are directly from the original Nier). I'm really glad I went and read up on them before beating the game, it really helped me understand a lot of what I was seeing toward the end and helped elaborate on a bunch of the in-game text documents you find. Though it might be easier to get that backstory soon as rumor has it we might be getting a remake/remaster of the original Nier or maybe we'll get a brand new game.

The OST is where this game truly shines (so much so I bought it, a rarity for me as I usually don't buy game soundtracks (the only other exception being the Journey OST)). As I said above it's a major component of the game and a major factor behind why I love this game so much. Hell I can't even listen to Weight of the World anymore without getting teary eyed (such a great song, don't think I'll be able to do the Nier raid in FFXIV anymore with the music on. Might end up ugly crying (and they won't be manly tears)). It really sets up all the pieces quite well and adds a lot of the emotional undertone to the game.

As for gameplay I'm not the biggest hack and slash fan. Never really have been as I've always gravitated toward RPG's and Strategy games while only playing the occasional hack and slash (I mean before this my only real forays into the genre were the Dynasty and Samurai Warriors games) but I gotta say I really enjoyed the combat in Nier. After getting used to it (which did take awhile) I started to really enjoy dashing in, slashing like a mad man, evading when needed, and rotating in Pod Programs (I'm a big fan of Mirage, so OP with fully leveled weapons). Bosses are a blast as well if not somewhat annoying depending on which one you're fighting (I'm looking at you eyeball of death). My only two complaints about combat are the Pods (outside of programs they're practically useless (and I say this knowing full well how many times the missile pod saved my ass)) and the 9S hacking mini-game (god was this one of the most annoying parts of the game for me and it sucks that its so fucking powerful. I just hate the randomness of what you'll get every time you hack into an enemy).

I really don't know what else I can say about this other than I finally understand why everyone has been praising it since it came out, it really is that good. I can't recommend this game enough and it's definitely worth the money (I only wish I'd of waited on buying it until they released the Game of the YoRHa Edition so I could get that damn dynamic theme and avatars). I also need to thank Platinum Games for making it and Yoko Taro for creating such a wonderful world (he's a mad lad and I love it, I really hope we're getting a remake/remaster of Nier or another Nier game in the future as this man needs to be at the helm again). This truly has been one of my best gaming experiences in a long time (outside of Detroit, which is still a masterpiece imo).

Now to move on to other games finally. Maybe now I can finally get Horizon beaten or maybe not as I did get Pokemon Sword for Christmas and that will probably eat up my free time until Cyberpunk (hey don't judge me, I actually still like the Pokemon franchise and this one, from what little I've played, is really fun and I'm liking a lot of the new editions to the main game play loop).

So just found out Spotify has all of the My Hero Soundtracks (I now have epic music to game to) and all the music from Zombie Land Saga on it (even the insert songs, I get to listen to Saki's song legally now. Fucking yay!). Completely lost my shit when I found out.

Glad to see Spotify is starting to get more Japanese music streaming rights and is finally getting all those anime OPs/EDs that I love. Makes listening to them so much easier now (instead of rummaging through my 191 gigs of music). Now if only they'd get there hands on Myth & Roid's shit (outside of the one album) so I can listen to some Shadowgraph (they're extremely protective of their stuff as it all used to be up on Spotify then it was all removed suddenly).