What Up Nerds?!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Hit a road block in what to do. I know I’m starting from my normal drama/anime blogs, but I just had to do this. This is something that just made me furious. So I’m fixing it.

Making Champion Geeta a Champion

In each Pokémon game, you are tasked with beating gym leaders and earning badges, or doing something close to that. At the end of you gym stream you will come to the best of the best. The Elite four. After beating these four special trainers, you are faced with the regions best Pokémon trainer, the champion. They are your final test to see if you are in fact the very best there ever was.

While there have been some not so challenging champions, most had their strengths and could give an unsuspecting player a run for their money. Except for Scarlet and Violet’s champion, Geeta. She is introduced as the champion of champions, the regions best trainer. A cut above the rest. But battling her will say other wise. Not only does she not auto lose her teams abilities to the fullest, she also has questionable taste in Pokémon.

Greta’s team is set up as follows:

This team isn’t really an utter failure. It’s biggest flaw is not taking advantage of her Pokémon’s abilities. There are abilities that are wasted because of poor placement in her line up. Specifically speaking of Glimmora and Kingambit. Heck f these two were placed right the other Pokémon in her team would work well as a set up. All of her Pokémon, with a exception of avalugg and gogoat, aren’t even that bad. They could hold their own in a fight. Down below I will be giving her a new team line up and explain the abilities that she failed to utilize.

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New team

I honestly like that she has this Pokémon. It’s a unique one added to the line up and is pretty fitting when paired up against her looks. It’s also a nice foreshadow for what’s to come, but I don’t think it should be her final Pokémon. First off is it’s large weakness pool. Terizing it would help with some of the weakness problems, but I just don’t think it’s enough to give it a reason to be the last Pokémon, since the last Pokémon is usually the strongest. The second reason is because of Glimmora’s ability: toxic spikes. When it’s hit or KO’d, it releases toxic spikes on the ground. This will leave something to harm her opponents Pokemon when they switch in throughout the battle. This ability is wasted when it’s her last Pokémon. So that’s why I think she should lead with Glimmora.

Move set: power gem, dazzling gleam, sludge wave, earth power

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Geeta has Gogoat, a pure grass type Pokémon. A bad grass type Pokémon. Could someone make their way through the game with a gogoat? Sure, but this isn’t a champion Pokémon. Instead I want her to have a better grass option that isn’t a starter. So I chose Arbivola. This is a Pokémon I personally used through a violet play through and it’s pretty good. With its ability seed sower, after getting hit it’ll set up grassy terrain. Arbivolla learns the move terrain pulse, which is an attack that uses whatever terrain is set up to make a powerful move. The power and type of the move is determined by what type of terrain is on the field. This makes Arbivolla a huge threat. Not to mention that’s it’s a pretty bulky grass type. Even if you didn’t have seed sower and a different terrain was set up by an opponent, Arbivolla could still use it. This does make it so that arbivolla needs to be the slowest Pokémon and go second, but that’s not too difficult to achieve. Then we can equip Arbivolla with leech seed for continuous HP gain. It can also learn a fairy move, dazzling gleam to help with some coverage. Now with the pure grass typing it does leave room for some Ko’s. But, that’s ok because we are setting up for her ace Pokemon, Kingambit.

Moveset: leech seed, Terrain pulse, energy ball, dazzling gleam

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I’m not opposed to Espartha staying on her team. It’s ability, speed boost, will boost its speed after every turn. It could have a focus sash to keep it from fainting right away. This will help gain that speed boost from its ability and potentially give geeta time to pick away at your team. What will also help this speed boost is the use of protect. Getting protection from a move and a speed boost? What’s not to love?

Move set: protect. Lumina crash, shadow ball, dazzling gleam

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Now her last Pokémon was one I spent the most time thinking through. I wanted to kinda keep her typings the same, but not use Pokémon we’ve already seen used in gyms and fights. And we were definitely not using avalugg. So with much deliberation I chose Bearatic. It has a nice attack stat and a good coverage move pool. She can’t start by buffing with a swords dance and then let her fury unleash.

Moveset: swords dance, Icicle Crash, Stone Edge, Brick Break

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Dondozo is a bulky water type that can be a beast. It can also get some pretty good type coverage to help her team. You can have water, dragon, ice and fighting all in one which is a huge asset to have. I know because it’s what I used in my play through. It also has a good set of coverage options move wise.

Move set: body press, aqua tail, avalanche, order up

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I like kingambit and true fact it looks like the samurai. I’m just not sure why they didn’t place it last. kingambit has the ability supreme overlord. This makes it so that for every lost Pokémon in your party, kingambit will gain a boost to its attack and special attack. Which could help make this the fearful Pokémon it needs to be. It has a X4 weakness to fighting, but this a where teralizing comes in handy. If she switches it’s tera type, then it can nullify that weakness. We’ve seen it with all the gym leaders where they have a Pokémon that didn’t fit with their specialty, but their Tera type is. So there’s no reason why geeta couldn’t do that here. And since she doesn’t have a set typing, which can really work to get advantage, she gas a bigger pool of typing to choose from.

Move set: Tera Blast, sucker punch, kowtow cleave, iron head, brick break

Tera Type: Dark or Flying

Dark because it’ll give an extra boost to his signature move, kowtow cleave and reduced the X4 weakness.

Flying because it helps with the weakness and also does damage to those it’s weak too.

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Outro

What would yo do for power?

For the chance to control the world?

What Up Nerds?!

I’m gunna be doing a series with this squad about Netflix originals. Of yo I didn’t know, Netflix has gotten into the anime game. At first o was a bit iffy about it. But then I decided to jump on in one day and I wasn’t disappointed. First up in this series is Spriggan.

Name: Spriggan

Genre: Action, Sci-FI, Thriller

Platform: Netflix

Release: June 18, 2022

Writer: Hiroshi Seko

Plot:

An ancient civilization, with advanced technology, rules the earth. Their downfall was the misuse of their own power. They left behind message plates for generations to come on indestructible metal. Written in Hebrew, they warned of their mistakes and told them to destroy the ancient artifacts that held their power if they could not find a good use for them.

A search begun between powerful companies, groups and private armies for these artifacts. For their chance to rule the world. One power known as ARCAM rose up to defend these artifacts from the rest of the world. They use their elite agents known as Spriggan to stop these groups from destroying the world.

This freakin anime man. I am absolutely in love with it and am anticipating the second season. The action is great, almost non stop. The voice acting is spot on. The story for me is engaging. And characters are memorable and like-able, even those who die. This one would be one where I would recommend reading the manga first, as the arching plot would make more sense. But also from some who didn’t read the manga first, it’s still extremely entertaining.

I have read elsewhere that this anime is true to its manga predecessor which is something extremely refreshing. Often times, we see too much that anime’s don’t adhere to its source material or trail off too much. (Let’s not talk about fillers.)

Something that I see with this anime is that it runs kind of like Ghost in the Shell: stand alone complex. Each episode can stand on its own and be engaging enough to where someone could still follow along with what’s going on.

I have always liked stories that used history and real artifacts of the world to give us something new. It gives us something relatable to us. We know about Noah’s arc or the crystal skulls. Some of this stuff has been used in other media like Indiana Jones. So it becomes something familiar, but with a twist. And this anime does that. Puts an action twist on history.

One flaw that I can see is the sense that there is a lot of foreshadowing and set up for further events. Shady companies are introduced. There’s no overarching plot. Characters die or disappear. There isn’t any character growth or room for it. The supporting cast is different with each episode and nothing to really tie things together. There are very little flash backs to the past. Which can be off putting for those who weren’t fans of the manga.

The second flaw I can see is the choppy animation. While it’s not the worst I’ve ever seen, it’s still noticeable. The 2D mixed with the CG sometimes don’t work hand in hand. It slows down the action packed scenes. It can be fine when dealing with the robots or mecs, but they don’t always look good either. Sometimes the clunky machine looks out of place when next to other things in the scene. in terms of animation, the 1998 film looks better.

Overall, I’m giving this anime a 4.5/5. I think the good far outweighs the bad, but I also can’t fully ignore the bad. I would recommend this anime to newcomers and manga fans alike. It’s defiantly one that could be one of the greats!

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One of the big questions I and other people have in the Sweet Hone series is, “how do these monsters come to be?” We are told that this is not a disease or virus. Rather it is a curse. The monsters are a result of human desires. And more importantly a persons fight against themselves. We see this with Hyun-su as he constantly fights a curler version of himself. But we aren’t really given much more to this story if you are a drama watcher.

Please be aware of spoilers to Sweet home and it’s predecessor, Shotgun Boy.

Before Sweet Home was “Shotgun boy.” This comic series takes place before the breakout. Much like our protagonist in Sweet home, Gyuhwan is a victim of bullying. While running he comes across a shot gun with enough bullets for his classmates. With an intent for revenge, he comes back to the school to find his classmates being eating my monsters. His classmates survival now depends on the one they used to bully. The boy with a shotgun.

The main antagonist is a boy named zero. His creation, or life more over, is still a mystery. He appears and saves Gyuhwan after he falls off a cliff. Despite their differing opinions, he befriends Gyuhwan and protects him. He also saves some other characters within the series. Which gives you a conflicted feeling. He also comes off as some kind of god or savior. He said that the human race is doomed and needed to be purified. He needs to save the wounded souls by annihilation. We see this with his meeting of Seongbin. Zero sees him as a stain on humanity and ends up igniting his monster.

Zero has a range of abilities at his disposal. Psychometry, Telekinesis, Enhanced Biomechanical Regeneration, Radio wave Interference, healing of others and the most important Monsterization. Zero is able to awaken the monster within people. How isn’t exactly explained. But it has something to do with the human genome.

Zero reminds me of a desire demon. These are demons in a game I play a lot of called Dragon Age. Desire demons pray on those with deep rooted desires. Most of the time it’s lust, wealth or power. They take great joy in subtlety deceiving their pray into accepting their desires. Zero in a sense does this quite well to start the monster epidemic. He’s there to help ignite their desires and give them what they want, but ultimately isn’t the cause. The only difference is he is “doing this to save humanity” rather than just doing it for kicks. Or at least that’s what he says.

While even here doesn’t give us a clear, cut answer to our question, we know that Zero is linked to the curse inflicted on humanity. For me I think that he isn’t the cause, he just helped it grow. Just as I explained above. Humans did it to themselves. It’s showing that the world won’t fall to disease or some disaster. The world will fall due to how humans are. Or rather who they are. We will destroy ourselves without the help of the world. Humanity is the true villain of the series.

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What Up Nerds?!

I know, I know. I did things backwards. But my intro didn’t fit with the aesthetic I was going for in the beginning. So I made this my outro! If you’d like to read my short review on Sweet Home, tap here. I will have another sweet home blog coming out soon so stay tuned for that. I hope you enjoyed this blog and I’ll see you soon.

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I am here today to give you not one movie review, but 4! The reason I am doing this is because this movie has four parts to it and I think it’d be a shame to jut do one and not the rest. The movie I chose to review is: Persona 3!

Persona is a game series, and like other popular game series, it got its spawn of movies and anime series. Persona 3 is by far my favorite game out of the whole series. The darker tone and story is what drew me in and I love all of the characters we are given. I also really liked the P3P version as it introduced a female protagonist. Of corse knowing about the game or playing the game before hand will enhance your movie experience and create a sense of nostalgia, it is not required to be able to enjoy the films. You will be able to follow along just fine and enjoy it. I will also keep this review spoiler free!

The reviews will be as follows:

1)Spring of Birth

2)Midsummer Knights Dream

3)Falling Down

4) Winter of rebirth

Films: 4

Release:

November 23, 2013 – January 23, 2016

Directors: Noriaki Akitaya (No. 1), Tomohisa Taguchi (No. 2 & 4), Keitaro Motonaga (No. 3)

Plot:

Makoto recently transfers to Iwatodai high school and finds himself mixed up in a supernatural happening. He gains a special power known as a persona and becomes part of group known as SEES, Specialized Extracurricular Extermination Squad. Their goal is to protect the people of Iwatodai against monsters known as shadows that appear during the hidden 25th hour; also known as the Dark Hour. In place of the school, a building known as Tartarus appears where most of the shadows appear. It seems to be the key to everything that’s happening, but why?

This movie is a great start to the series. It encompasses the darker feeling and tone the game before it had. It’s not common to start off a movie or series with the tone of death, but that’s what we get here. We open with the dark hour starting and Mokoto walking past coffins that he seems to be blissfully unaware of. We also start with a suicide. This makes it so you know what you’re in for.

While there are some lighter moments, the tone doesn’t let up. Which is something that the game done as well. And this is where the adaption came in great. The switch form game to anime was done beautifully and the Personas and fight scenes are exquisite. The way they done well to keep the darker tone is in the way they introduced and made Mokoto.

Our protagonist in the game series can be interpreted in different ways depending on dialogue choices and what the player themselves see. There are times that when movies and anime adapt form moldable protagonists, they make them “yes men” and make them flat. But not persona. Mokoto becomes this very dramatic and dark personality. It gives you a new experience to the movies that game players can enjoy. Gives you a fresh take on something yo y already horn dear to your heart. It’s a subtle change, but one that I tended to like very well.

The rest of the cast stays true to their game personalities. They offer up varying perspectives on situations and bring in the same tensions as the game had. Familiarity is always key to adaptations. Yukari doesn’t have the courage or confidence she needs to fight. Fukka is an emotional wreck. Junpei thinks he worthless. Mitsuru is a strong leader who takes responsibility for literally everything. Then Akihiko doesn’t give two fucks. Put them together and you got one hell of a dynamic team trying to work together.

The presentation of the film is extremely amazing. From lighting to design, I think it’s a 10/10 mate. The orange hues let you know their in the from. The the green lugging lets you know that you’re in the dark hour. The lighting here does a fantastic job for giving you some amazing PC and phone backgrounds. Characters designs, especially persons and shadows, are masterfully done. All of this combined makes those cutscenes form the game look even more epic. That entrance scene to Mokoto’s persona just left me in awe.

The last thing I’ll touch on is the music. We have a mix of the original game sound tack and new tracks. Of corse the new tracks were also made by the amazing Shoji Meguro.

Overall I give this a 10/10. It is an amazing adaptation and subtly gives you new takes on an already know classic. It also gives anyone who doesn’t know about Persona an engaging entrance into this series. It leaves you wanting more, and a good thing too since there are three more movies.

One thing I’d like to point out is the fact we had a change in staffing. And with this change in staffing came a different take on how to adapt the game to a movie. While the first movies was able to give us some fresh new takes on the source material, Midsummer Knights Dream stuck very very closely to the source material. This one movie covers a lot of material form the games, but still had ample time to explore each plot point to its fullest.

As the team begins to defeat the Full moon bosses to end the dark hour, we begin to see doubt within the team. Maybe they shouldn’t erase the dark hour. Maybe they should keep it around.

We are introduced to four new characters: Shinjirou, Ken, Kuromaru and Aigis. While the addition of these characters is needed, they became the only characters who had development. Junpei, Makoto and Yukari had this dynamic going on and tension got high, but that was all tossed aside. Junpei becomes a background character and Yukari is almost forgettable. These three are the focal point of the series and yet they got put on the back burner. Yet, I almost don’t care. Why? Because what they did when focusing on our new cast was phenomenal. They took a character that would be hated and made us understand why they are the way they are. Why they act that way. It’s is interpreted with such passion and care that I can’t help but utterly enjoy it. It makes the back burner forgivable. Once again the visuals and music are on point. So many screen shortcake moments and I could listen to the sound track off days. 10/10.

Even though we have two different takes on the series and two different lenses, I do t think it hinders it. In fact I think it enhances it. It gives us Persons fans what we deserve in an adaptation and it also gives that “player choice” vibe with the different tellings between one and two.

This movie installment fell down. Literally.

If there was ever such a thing as a filler movie in a series, this would be it. While there is a lot of source material for fall, it’s not quite enough to fill the movie run time. So this is where the director took another creative spin to fill in the rest.

During this season we are introduced to social links. Social links are a way to gain new powers and new relationships in the game. As a player of the games I liked this route as you got to see more familiar game mechanics come to life. While I did enjoy this, I did feel that the pacing was a bit off. Which is a bummer since I think the first two movies done really well with its pacing.

While I generally liked the characters, development and story just as the others there is something that this film lacked in comparison. That was the animation. Character designs were disproportionate throughout. We have some scenes where Junpei is taller than the door frame and others where he’s normal size. Then there was this one weird scene where Junpei comes crawling form a room like a weird human-animal hybrid. The lack of CG took away from the backgrounds of the movie and the cats just looked plain weird. The scenes weren’t as captivating and I feel some of the darker tone was lost. There could be an argument as they were focusing mor on the social links and the fact that Makoto was trying to distance himself away from everyone in order to try and save them.

Im keeping this review short and sweet because there’s nothing much else to say. My overall rating is going to be 8.5/10. Part of me just can’t forgive the animation problems and pacing. So this became the least favorite of the series, but still enjoyable.

We returned to greatness my fiends.

We are back to great animation and lighting for those amazing background pictures!

This movie also returned to really straying from the game script wise. Which I still don’t mind as it gave me a new perspective on the game I love and I really love here they went with it. The tone of death and darkness are heavily played on, more so than the first. Which makes she’s as this is the final movie in this dark series. A lot of the scenes have more of a horror feel to them which I think fits nicely for what we are about to experience. I mean this is supposed to be the end of days here.

This new material, such as Yukari’s new character story, helps the Fall seem more real. All these changes gave the movie some nice thematic arcs. The story is the most internally consistent among the four movies due to all these heavy changes in plot. It doesn’t go through the sequences from the game as some sort of check list. And that is something I am thankful for.

Winter of rebirth captures the heart of Persona 3 the most and makes this installment my favorite out of the series. The changes made to the film make big some Persona 3 fans who are die heard to an exact replica of the game may have som trouble with this movie. But I implore you to have an open mind. Make sure to watch the other three as you do need the context from them to under and what’s going on since they deviate from the game plot.

Overall, I’m giving this movie a 10/10.

What Up Nerds?!

Today I am reviewing an anime classic: Paprika. Now this film would be like if you were tripping acid and having a nightmare. Best way to describe it. Even after watching it a few times, I’m confused as hell. But it’s still a good show. Here’s why.

Doctors Tokita Kosaku and Chiba Atsuko create a device known as the DC Mini. When a patient wears the head set, their dreams are projected onto a computer screen. If the Dr. wears a headset as well, they are able to enter the patients dream. With this, they hope to better help those with psychological issues.

However a prototype was stolen before any restrictions were placed. With the ability to enter someone’s mind and view their psyche, what would happen if it falls into the wrong hands? The doctors join hands with a dream psyche named Paprika to rid the world of dream terrorists.

Satoshi Kon has a very distinct way of conveying a story: cartoonish, creepy characters, reality-blurring into nightmares, and an almost sensible plot. Paprika definitely sticks to that formula. The plot has many people, like myself, still confused to this day and this movie came out in 2006! It’s something you can rewatch but not quite know what’s going down and will find new things. This movie ages like fine wine and I find that watching this movie at different stages in life gives you different perspectives. It’s rare for a movie to do that.

In order to grasp an understanding of the film, I think it’s best to take a look at the parade. From first glance, it’s a mess. A glorious LSD trip while at a rave kind of shit. You’ve got waking refrigerators, statues and weird dolls that march to [weird theme music|https://youtu.be/O-QpfLV8dQw]. Every time this parade shows up, it unites the individual dreams into a glorious sense of insanity and ultimately unites dreams and reality.

Kon stated, “In order for viewers to identify with this dream, I chose a parade which makes one think automatically of other common dreams and unconscious states. There are very old characters like objects that are discarded by people today or religious symbols that people have forgotten. I think that even nowadays, people have forgotten the importance of dreams."

The sense of wonder, terror, and magic that come with dreams is perfectly captured in this film. A deep meaning that could be translated into so many different ways at different points. According to Kon;

"Movies that you can watch once and understand entirely — that is the type of movie that I don't really like. However, if you are able to understand 70 to 80 percent of what's being relayed, and there's still some percentage left that would allow for your own interpretation . . . that's the type of movie that I do like. There might be a certain part that you don't quite understand, but there is a portion that rests in your heart."

I believe that Kon achieved his goal. If you go read multiple reviews, you’ll find different things seen by different people. Most left confused, but impacted by the masterpiece before them. The thing you’ll find most common is that people enjoyed it regardless. Wether it was from the art style, finding a deeper meaning or just the acid trip they went on, it was enjoyable. It’s an experience that won’t be forgotten.

This movie is about the fight between past and present. A fight between past future and future. The common denominator is that it is a fight for yourself. It’s about a self that is fighting for you that really doesn’t exist.

Straying from the plot, this movie is gorgeously animated. It is computer generated, but you wouldn’t think that while watching. Each scene and transition is so seamless that it is near impossible to spot any flaws. It’s literally an orgasm for your eyeballs. The music goes hand in hand with this as well helping further portray the emotions needed for a specific scene. This movie is an artistic masterpiece.

My rating: 10/10. A must watch film

Welcome back to another blog. Today I’m going to be gushing about my waifu. The only waifu that deserves my full attention. The only waifu that is the correct answer to “who is the best waifu.” May the season of love commence.

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[C]Also known as “Major,” Motoko is a synthetic, "full-body prosthesis,” augmented-cybernetic human. She is the commander of Public Security Section 9 of the anti-cybercrime law-enforcement division for the Japanese National Public Safety Commission. Motoko is known for her skills in deduction, hacking and military tactics. She is fiercely independent and strong willed.

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My reasoning for her being the best waifu runs deeper than just looks or power. It’s a very specific connection that I made with her that keeps her at the number one spot. Of corse the other things mentioned are side benefits. But we’re justly talking about how we see ourselves. More specifically, how we see/feel about our bodies. I will also make some comparisons to real life situations as well. So let’s get started shall we.

From a young age Motoko was given full prosthetics. She didn’t consent to this, but the decision was made for her any way. Of corse this was due to the fact that she was one of two survivors of a plane crash. A new body was given to her at each stage of life. She has stated that she never felt that her body was really hers. Motoko does often change out her body, keeping some key features in each one. But no matter how many times she changed, she still didn’t feel right because she never had the choice to change in the first place.

This feeling of not being in the body you’re made for is a real one. This feeling could be for many reason. In my case it’s because of the medical conditions I have and the pills that I was put on for those conditions. The first is my eczema. For those that don’t know, eczema is a topic dermatitis that causes red flaky patches in the skin. Sometimes it can get so bad that the areas will crack, Ooze and bleed. It’s also continuously itchy. I’ve had all of these happen. I would get so self conscious about it that I’d try to hide my skin as much as possible. I used to wear gloves constantly due to my hands cracking, oozing and bleeding. I always remember asking “why me?” The looks I would get from others who didn’t know what was wrong. They looked at me like I had some contagious illness or something. Which I obviously didn’t have.

The next part was the fact of my body weight changing. Without illness and medications having an effect on your weight, it’s always something that’s focused on. Especially when it comes to women. I remember being in grade school and having body Image issues. I can look at a picture of myself and see the skinny child I was, but I remember not feeling that way. I remember seeing my self as 10X bigger/heavier in the mirror than I actually was. I dealt with that for years. Then came puberty. I had developed som medical conditions that made me gain weight. Tack on the medications that I had to take for those conditions and I gain even more weight. That’s just a recipe for disaster. For someone who already saw themselves as big, gaining weight makes things even worse.

These things combined made me feel like I was in the wrong body. Like it wasn’t mine. Now I wasn’t put into a prosthetic body by someone else without consent, but I might as well have. I didn’t ask for the conditions I have to the mind set I gained from it. I just had it. Something out of my control. Just like Mokoto having her prosthetic body was out of her control.

Another aspect of her body swapping, was the fact of being a woman in a man’s world. It’s hard enough in real life, but in the world of Ghost in the shell where you can literally chose everything about your body and change it the problem gets worse. The major was asked why she keeps her female body. She could in fact change it to be male and have more strength and just be overall better. Which brings us to a real world problem. While equality is still making its strides, there is still a general thought that women are weaker than men. That they can’t do everything a man can. They are still looked at as inferior. Which isn’t very good for the mental status.

The major then hacks into his programming and makes him hit himself. She states that she has the smarts and skill to turn things in her favor. That she in fact can best someone no matter what body they may have. While some people will see this as not solving the problem because she is admitting to not being strong, I see differently. Not everything has to be solved with strength. People have their own strengths and weaknesses. Which is what she demonstrated. Mokto showed that she is strong in her own way and that she doesn’t need “a mans body” to be useful.

Dealing with this “you’re weaker/dumber because of gender” mentality is something I have dealt with as well. I remember being in a computer science class and literally being made fun of because I was a woman in a computer science class. “Women can’t do smart things” was pretty much the vibe. Like what the hell? It was 2017 and there were still people who thought that, and this was a college class. Even the teacher acted that way. Like I can understand this stuff too. My brain does work believe it or not. I didn’t end up continuing due to switching my major to something else, but the incident still stuck with me.

The thought of “well if I was a guy..” has crossed my mind way too much in my life. For a number of different reasons. Either because of strength, the way people treat you and even the way you look. While I know men get made fun of or ridiculed for their weight as well, women still seems to get the most hate for it. You can see this in the celebrity world as well. If a woman gains or looses weight it’s all over the news. People make fun of her and are actually rude. Like why should it matter? But it almost seems like a man who gains or looses weight just gets glossed over. A Kpop idol who was on the heavier end of weight was praised for being different, but a woman Kpop idol who gained weight is fat shamed. This male idol also made remarks that women need to be skinny/ a certain weight even though he did not follow the same guidelines he set. How is that fair?

Seeing a character just give a big FU to someone having misogynistic thoughts was fantastic. Showing that she can in fact best someone who focused on strength without lifting a finger was pretty satisfying. It’s showed that yo can in fact do anything as long as you play into your strengths and that just because you’re not a body builder doesn’t mean you can’t win.

Watching this struggle happen through the corse of the anime, without it being the full focus, was inspirational. When we get towards the end we see this circle end. Once she receives her watch, Mokoto finally accepts her body as her own. She even says that she can’t imagine herself any other way and that it suited her the most. She finally accepted herself and thought of her body as her own. And that is a beautiful thing. Just like how me accepting my body came full circle. I too began to have more positive thoughts and became more confident. Of corse it took time and I didn’t receive a watch, I still came to an acceptance.

And this is why Motoko Kusanagi is my waifu. See you in the next one.

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What Up Nerds?!

I’m here today with a blog on the Korean Drama Sweet Home. This is an in-depth analysis on how the drama portrays mental health!

I had started this drama when it released and I remember really liking it. I can’t really tell you why I stopped watching it. I stopped at about episode 2 or 3. I think it was just because I wasn’t in a good mind set at the time. Which is a theme for this blog! (If you couldn’t already tell by its title) This drama hit home in a way I didn’t think possible for a monster movie. It became a drama I related too and now hold very dear to my heart.

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Title: Sweet Home

Genre: Horror

Country: South Korea

Episodes: 10

Platform: Netflix

Release: December 18, 2020

Cast: Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Si-young, Lee Do-hyun, Kim Nam-hee, Go Min-si, Park Gyu-young, Go Yoon-jung

Trailer:https://youtu.be/7rI56NmD33Y

Plot:

An epidemic begins to plague Korea that doesn’t seem to stop. No one knows it’s origins or how to stop it. People begin turning into monsters and killing off the population. Residing at the Green apartments take a stand in a way to survive. One teenager, Cha Hyun-su, is infected but hasn’t turned yet. Could he be the groups last hop of survival?

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*trigger warning: I am going to be talking about mental Heath and suicide. While it’s not graphic or totally in depth, if that’s something that triggers you, please feel free to skip this blog. I’ll see you in the next one.

*There is also a spoiler warning for those who haven’t watched it or haven’t finished watching.

This drama is a must see in my opinion. The way it handles mental illness is very creative and new for me. Portraying mental health in media is such a fine line. It’s hard to say what’s good representation and what’s bad. A lot of the times, however, it is shown on the bad spectrum. Then, most zombie movies are just outbreaks because some government decided it was nice to make a bio weapon. Or there’s just some random virus. But what’s happening here in Sweet Home is completely different.

Most of the time when we look at suicidal depression, we see stories that lead up to the suicide or are seeing the after affects of suicide. Shows like 13 reasons why are a good example. When a character shows up in the media that someone can relate to due to the illness they have and want to see a happy ending too, but in the end they just see them die. Or characters that are already dead and gone They are given this picture that there is no hope. That they are beyond saving. And when the portrayals of them are just painting them as a stain on society, what message does that send? Bringing light to these situations is important, but when they do more harm than good, what’s the point?

Cha Hyun-su is our light in the dark. He is a teen who is struggling hard with suicidal depression. With flashbacks we see that he was severely bullied and isolated from his classmates. This lead him to self harm and eventually isolate himself from the rest of the world. His parents are unaware of what’s going on, or choose not to care by how his father acts, and can’t seem to figure out why he became a recluse. One day he goes on a car trip with his family that only stared an argument. During which a truck hits the car and Hyun-Su becomes the sole survivor. He’s stricken with grief, but also holds some envy as he was not the one to die. His depression has many layers and isn’t cause by one sole incident.

When dealing with self harm in a show, most of the time we see it happen. Or it’s heavily referenced to the point of nausea. It basically becomes trauma porn. This drama, however, does this beautifully. His self harm is referenced. Every so often we see his scars and then in a school flash back we see him with a box cutter in the school bathroom. We know what he’s done, but it’s not overly shoved in our face. It’s tastefully done. One scene that really stands out is when he’s sitting down and his inner demon drags its hand over the scars. It’s using that as a tool to control him. And I think that was genius.

Speaking of inner self, the portrayal of the “monster” and the depression he holds is just an evil version of himself. The voice he hears and the image he sees is a black eyed version of himself. When we talk about inner demons it’s not some dark demented thing. Often times we look in the mirror and see someone different. We are fighting ourselves and this can’t be more true. I’m speaking from experience. You fight your own thoughts. This has been used in media before to represent illness, but it works. And for how this plot goes about explaining the illness, it kicks it up a notch.

Some of the monsters of the show are manifestations of peoples trauma and illness, but not all. Hyun-su keeps his “monster” at bay by talking to it. The evil version of himself tells him that he can give up and live as a monster, but Hyun-su didn’t call for it and stabs his reflection. This is the pivotal moment where Hyun-su reclaims his desire to live and find meaning. He doesn’t have some romanticized way of overcoming his depression. He fights for it and it takes him a while. The first step of his recovering was wanting to save the children. Then everything spiraled form there.

Something else that I want to touch on is the evolution of self harm. Most of the time when we think of self harm, it’s just cutting. Sweet Home goes a step further. We see Hyun-su jumping at the chance to be put in danger for the betterment of the group. He can’t really die and he just heals fast. So why not be the one to venture out. This becomes his way of giving his existence meaning, this another way to self harm. Wanting to make yourself useful to others is a form of depression as well. There is no set form of self harm or depression and this is something that the series should be praised on the depiction of multiple forms.

This is something that I can relate to as well. While I never cut myself or tried any form of suicide, I put my self at risk for the sake of others. I pushed through being extremely sick just to work because I knew we were short staffed. I took everything on at work and rarely asked for help. My health was already not the best due to the conditions that I had, but overworking myself and not stopping was doing the most harm. My blood pressure skyrocketed and I was so stressed that I didn’t know what to do. I became sicker, but I told myself that this was good. At least I wasn’t at home laying in bed and doing nothing with my life. I told myself this was my purpose. I never really took the time for me. It was always about work and other people. Being dedicated to something or someone can be good, but you also have to take care of yourself and realize when it’s destroying you. It took me a long while to realize that I had to step back and think of me. It took me until a few months ago for me to stand up for myself and start thinking of myself again.

What’s beautiful is that no one saves Hyun-su from his illness. No one is holding his hand and they don’t pitty him. It’s not done magically. He learns how to grow with it and live on. Eun-yu holds him accountable for his actions telling him that he got hurt because of his choices. This ain’t victim blaming. Hyun-Su has never stood up for himself, but he needs too. The first step to recovery is seeking help, which is something he hasn’t done. Both know that he resents being put in danger, but he doesn’t have the voice to say so.

Depression is something that I’ve been dealing with for quite some time. And it has varying reasons. While I had a support system in my family and some people that came and went, it wasn’t enough. Others can only do so much. I had to be the one to make the choice to get better. To keep going. To find the light I needed myself. There was no soulmate to pull me from the dark. No one to hold my hand. Hyun-su made his choice to keep going just like I did. He had a bit of tough love from Eun-Yu, but everything was his doing.

The drama ends beautifully with Hyun-su making the decision to live for both himself and his new family. He begins to give into his monster side as a way of accepting his pain and depression as part of him. He’s stopped by Du-Sik who tells him that it’s alright. The burden of people’s deaths is not his. His want to live creates something painfully beautiful.

It’s dramas like these that keep me coming back. It’s so easy to just see something for what it is on the surface. A zombie apocalypse drama in this case. But when we step back and try to see the messages it’s trying to convey and lessons it’s trying to teach, that’s when the true magic happens. And so often I think these are missed because we just want to see the next big drama. We build ourselves with all this hype and then get disappointed when we don’t think it meets expectations. We don’t take the time to pay attention and find the details that make it special.

So my homework to people who have made it this far in the blog. Watch a drama for what it is. Not for the hype. Step back and pay attention to the nuances of the drama. Find what it’s trying to tell you. It’ll help you appreciate the artwork in front of you more than if you were just watching for entertainment.

~Pioran

What Up Nerds?!

It is time for me to review another masterpiece in the anime world. This time it’s To Your Eternity!

Name: To Your Eternity

Genre: Fantasy

Release: April 12, 2021

Episodes: 20

Seasons: 1 (so far)

Plot:

An orb is cast into the world and watched over by an entity know as “the beholder.” The orb slowly grows from those around him into an immortal being. His journey through life takes him to many places where he meets new people who influence his growth as a person. But troubles lie ahead when the beings known as Nokkers come to steal his memories of those he loves.

In a world full of jiggly titty plots, it’s always so refreshing to find something that actually focuses on a story and keeps to it. And I gotta say that this anime blew me away. The story is unique, the characters well done, art is beautiful and the pacing is exquisite.

The first episode of any show can make or break it. If you find it boring or something annoys you to the point of nausea, you won’t continue watching. Thankfully the first episode of To Your Eternity delivers. It explains the premise well and we start to follow the life of the orb cast to the earth. Not to mention it will make you cry a bucket of tears. Never have I ever had an anime that just got me in the feels like a boxer knocking out his opponent. This one episode sets up what we are to expect for the rest of the series. Once someone dies, this orb evolves. But it becomes more than just death that makes him evolve and this is where the true beauty of this anime lies.

In his journey’s, the orb becomes known as Fushi. He meets many people along the way and grows as a person. The only problem, is that everyone he meets ends up dying and he takes their form. It becomes so that you almost start to fear for him getting attached to anyone. But you know he can’t keep going unless he meets others. Fushi can’t evolve without stimulation. This here is no different than real life. Everyone evolves due to those around them. Who we are is shaped by the world and people around us. Everyone has stories about good and bad things that happened in their life involving people they met. Stories of how situations and others made them stronger or helped them grow. Just like Fushi, we can’t grow without others.

While it would be easy to write this off as just a tragedy, it’s not the focus. When paying attention, the focus of each arc is the positivity Fushi experiences. The focus is what he’s learning through these important people in his life. March teaches him about family and love, Gugu teaches him about embracing your differences and the boy in the beginning shows him the importance of pursing your goals and desires. Without any of these things, we wouldn’t have a story. We wouldn’t have Fushi. The main antagonists of the anime are called Nokkers. Their soul purpose is to hunt down Fushi and steal his memories. These are the memories of his loved ones. Watching Fushi forget and try to remember those who impacted him is even more heart wrenching than watching them die the first time. This only adds to the importance of the positivity they brang into fushi’s life.

The beauty of this anime lies with the time spent with the characters. Genuinely enjoying their company and empathizing with their struggles despite knowing they will meet their end soon is what makes it special. That’s what makes life special in the first place. We know that everything is temporary, but we don’t let that hold us back. It doesn’t make any experience any less impactful. If anything, it makes it more impactful. If we just had some random guy running around and people just dying off, we wouldn’t have a very great show. But the connection to real life, something we can hang onto is what keeps people coming back. Fushi is going through an extreme version of a universal experience. Something we can all understand.

The use of emotion is what sets this apart. If the author wants us to laugh, we’re laughing. If the author wants us to cry, we crying a River. And that is what makes an anime a masterpiece. When you can be so immersed into a show that you have to take a step back and enjoy it as a piece of art, that is when you know you’ve got a jackpot.

Im back again with another World trigger blog. I know I know. What a shocker. This time around we are going to be fangirl- I mean talking about one of the best anime protagonist Osamu Mikumo.

First things first, let’s get to know our Loveable leader!

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Osamu is a 15-year-old high school student in Mikado city. At the time of season one, he’s only been at Border for a few months as a C-Rank agent. He meets Yuma Kuga, A neighbor who save his life when he enters the restricted zone. The two become friends and Osamu promises to keep Yuma’s identity a secret. Later, a gate opens up outside at his school and he’s the only agent around. In order to save his classmates, he decides to fight, which is against the rules. Low and behold he can’t really fight. Yuna steps up and defeats the monsters, but gives the credit to Osamu.

Osamu is a very honest and kinda. He has a very high sense of Justice and is very determined and courageous. Even if it puts him in harms way, he always go out of his way to help others. While others can see the good in him, Osamu consistently doubts himself. He believes that he would run is he ever compromises due to his doubt in his drive to be an agent. Instead of thinking of his actions are noble or benevolent, he beloved them to be selfish in nature.

Aware for his lack of talent and strength, Osamu strives to become better and overcome his weaknesses. He does his best to strategize and give his team the win regardless of opponents or situations.

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On the outside, Osamu is ordinary. Nothing making him stick out from the crowd. Especially when paired with Yuma. His trion level is low and his combat skills are….non existent. He’s workin on it though. Now you might be thinking that this is a horrible start to the argument, but please, Bear with me here.

Osamu doesn’t have some tragic backstory for what he’s doing. No one died or he wasn’t scared as a child. He does gain goals for being in border. His friend and tutor disappeared and he wants to find him. Then later on he wants to help his team get to their goals of the away missions. There is no intense 24 hour training where he is all of a sudden all powerful. He doesn’t have some epiphany to become the best. No, he’s just an average guy trying to do the right thing.

He isn’t getting an easy way out. All top border agents had to fight for their spots and it took them a lot of time to get to where they are. A lot of trial and error. Osamu isn’t treated differently just because he’s our main squeeze. He’s being made to go through all the failures and training everyone else had to go through. The of corse there are natural talents like Chika, but even she has to work up to being a top agent. She too has her trials and errors. She’s a cannon, but still has much to learn about hitting targets and controlling her fire.

At first Osamu sells himself short and is very unsure of himself. Fear of leaning of Yuma too much and feeling unsure of his place consumes him. With the constant reminding from literally everyone in the show that his combat is an F- , the confidence in himself is very low. This causes doubt in his thinking skills and makes him start away from honing in on his true ability. To become a useful asset to the team, Okamu does what ever he needs to get his team to their goal. He goes to others to ask for training and advice. But this soon becomes a hindrance. As he strays away from what he really contributes to the team. His strategy and trick play are S-Class. What he lacks in physical ability he makes up for in mental ability. Koji Oki notices that Okamu is good at dealing with setbacks with a level head. He rarely panics or hesitates when things get tricky. One example is during the Aftokrator invasion when he deceived the Neighbors about having chikas trion box. He thought up a plan in the middle of an invasion when things were looking bad.

After Sōya Kazama’s advice to be the Capitan instead of focusing on himself, we slowly begin to see his confidence grow and his strategy shift. He slowly begins to realize that he does contribute to the team. Osamu is able to bring out the strength of his teammates. Like the wires letting Yuma excel in his agility or train manipulation with Chika’s cannon. He begins to use his Brian more and his confidence in his convictions becomes stronger. He begins to think outside of the box and strengthens his team through ambitious ideas. Ideas such a as asking Jin to be on the team and then accepting a once hostile neighbor to be on their team. He also learned some negotiation tactics that he implements by placing his own “agents” to sway the conversation his way. A tactic he learned from Eizō Netsuki during the conference after Aftorkrator’s invasion.

Just a quick theory: I believe that Kido was just like Osamu when he was younger. This could be why Kido just lets him do shit. Kind of like how he backed up Osamu in the conference. Could have just left him high and dry, but he just went with the flow. Or when he learned that Osamu broke the rules, but just went ahead and promoted him anyway. Not to mention Osamu has his old room at Tamakoma. You know just a thought.

Osamu is relatable. He’s someone we can route for and someone we can be. His goals are obtainable and watching him grow is rewarding. He is the voice of the underdogs. The one to show that any goal can be reached as long as you work hard. And that’s something you don’t often see in a Shonen. Watching his growth was what really pulled me into this anime from the get go. I wanted to watch him succeed. His self realization and reflection is what set him apart from others. He perseveres even when things look bad and victory seems far. And this my fiends is why Osamu Mikumo is one of the best protagonists.

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Welcome back to another blog about World Trigger because I am an obsessed fool. Today we are going to be exploring a question that I have been seeing around in my research. “Is Hana a Psychopath?” Now as I’m watching the anime, as I haven’t read the manga yet, that question never really came to mind. After explaining others reasonings, I though I’d deep down e into my thoughts on this question.

Now for us to fully grasp the situation at hand, we need a basic definition and list of qualities for Psychopathy. The term psychopath is defined as someone who has superficial charm, high intelligence, poor judgment and failure to learn from experience, pathological egocentricity and incapacity for love, lack of remorse or shame, impulsivity, grandiose sense of self-worth, pathological lying, manipulative behavior, poor self-control, promiscuous sexual behavior, juvenile delinquency, and criminal versatility, among others. They may feel inferior and that the world is against them. They often love their families and pets, but have trouble trusting others. Not all psychopaths are killers or have violent tendencies. Psychopathy is something that can be treated if given the chance.

Now that that’s out of the way. Let’s go into her personality!

Hana is described as confident and impassive. While seeming very composed, she is not in able or afraid to show emotion. She never falters from her decisions or beliefs. We see this with her conviction on saving Katori instead of her parents. Hana is a very logical thinker and try’s to rationalize what she does. In an effort to not hate/resent her parents, Hana determined that studying would help her understand and navigate the changing world. This became her motivator for studying and trying hard to meet her parents expectations.

She is very focused on her goals and keep. She doesn’t intervene in her teammates fights unless it begins to directly effect their goals/mission.

“I study on my own and I've learned that the world radically changes its makeup every few years or decades. Even if I follow my parents' instructions, that may not be how things work by the time I grow up. That's why I'm working on my own so I won't get panicked when things go that way. Just in case it turns out my parents were wrong in the future, I won't have to blame them.”

Now, let’s dive into our question.

My answer is no. I do not believe she is a psychopath. I would, however, say that she holds some traits of psychopathy.

•cold

•Calculated

•Lack of Emotion

•High intelligence

These traits are very few and alone can not pin her as a psychopath. Many arguments that I have seen have been spawned from the fact that she saved Katori instead of her parents. With most people saying that she done that to get “revenge” on her parents. Her relationship with her parents does seem strained and distant. It’s common for Asian parents, that I’ve seen around, to stress at their children getting goods grades and being at the top. It’s the only way for them to ensure that their child has a good life and gets into the best schools. Not saying I agree with this taking sole precedence over letting your child be a child, but it’s the culture.

Even though obviously bothered by this as she gets angry when being told she can’t see Katori, Hana accepts it. She may resent them a bit or feel that she herself doesn’t matter to them. Who wouldn’t when they are a child/teen? Hana doesn’t hate them though. She tells Katori that she finds her own motivation to study. As long as she studies she will adapt to the changing world around her and thus she won’t get mad if what her parents told her becomes untrue. That way she won’t hate them. This shows that she has an understanding of the world and she takes her families thoughts and feelings into consideration. So the idea of her getting revenge on her parents doesn’t quite fit.

Hana reassures Katori that she doesn’t need to worry about the fact that she saved her. Hana only took the rational approach and chose who was best to survive the situation. Although this action seems very cold, she’s not wrong. Moving wood is a bit easier Than bricks. By the time little Hana would have gotten done with sifting through the bricks, there’s no guarantee they would have made it. Bricks are heavy. It’s much easier to move wood. Not to mention Katori is younger. Her chance of surviving injuries would be greater than her parents. Katori overall had the best survival rate. This seems cold, but it’s rational.

If there’s anything that I learned it’s that being rational doesn’t always go with what we deem as “morally right” or with the emotions that we feel. Sometime the truth and logical choice is hard to swallow. He rationalizing the situation may have been her way of avoiding the guilt of her decision. Or to help her cope with it.

Now I say this because of her apologizing to Katori for not being a great operator and seeing the situation clearly. She tells her that she could have done better. This shows me that she feels a bit of guilt when she’s unable help her team, when that’s her whole job. She realizes that her actions can affect others and can understand their emotions. But to help herself and others feel better, she rationalizes the situation to downplay things. A psychopath wouldn’t care about others thoughts and feels and wouldn’t admit any wrong doings. Rather than apologizing, she’d be blaming Katori and the other members of the team for their lack of skills.

Hana cares deeply for her friends and puts a lot of faith in them. We see this when she just lets her team hash out their problems. She has trust in them to get the mission done and guides them when needed. A psychopath would have a big problem trusting people outside their family. So her having that trust in her friends and most likely the other agents at bored, says a lot.

I do want to take a moment and say how much I love the dynamic between Katori and Hana. Their personalities complement each other well. Hana’s logical and cold demeanor helps ground Katori and brings her stability that she lacks. Katori on the other hand Brie the emotion that Hana tends to hide away. And I think that’s beautiful.

Before I end this blog I did want to touch on something else that kind of goes with this. I have seen others call Hana a sociopath instead of a psychopath. To this, I say a no as well. Here are some core traits of a sociopath.

•Breaking laws and rules

•Aggressive/impulsive behaviors

•Little to no guilt when causing harm

•Manipulative, deceitful and controlling

None of these traits sound like her. Hana isn’t the type of person to break rules or rules on purpose. I think she’s one to strictly follow them and make sure others do as well. As that would be the logical thing to do. Now if there were situations that were outside the norm that may call for breaking a rule, she may do it but only if it was the most logical thing to do. Hana didn’t make impulsive decisions. She thinks them though rationally. She is also not an aggressive personality, though she can be brutally honest. I do see her as someone who does feel guilty about causing harm, but she would do what it took to make someone feel less hurt or bad about a situation. She’d rationalize it so that herself and others could move on form the hurt. And if she did hurt someone she would take responsibility in a heart beat. She is neither manipulative, deceitful or controlling. And I think the points above can tell you why I think that.

Hana is cold upfront and very rational about the world. She tends to hide her emotions, but that doesn’t make her a psychopath or sociopath. It doesn’t make her a bad or evil person either. It just makes her different. Her decisions may not always be morally right or go inline with what we would decide, but that’s what makes Hana a voice of reason in emotionally high stake situations.

That concludes this character deep dive! What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know. I’ll see ya in the next one.

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Hello and welcome to my blog! I needed a place to fan girl over my anime and share my thoughts. So here I am! Today I’ll be starting with a review of world trigger!

A gate suddenly appears over Mikado city. Other worldly beings, know as neighbors, begin to invade. Impervious to modern weaponry, a new organization is formed to combat the invaders. Know as Board, agents specialize in neighbor technology known as triggers.

Osamu Mikumo is a C rank agent and one day a gate opens right over his school. Despite not being aloud to use a trigger outside the headquarters, Osamu take it upon himself to protect his classmates. A transfer student by the name of Yuma Kuga takes down a neighbor, reveling that he himself is a humanoid neighbor.

So I ended up binging this whole series this year. I had started it back in 2014 but never kept with it for some reason and just now came back. This anime is a masterpiece! There are some cons that I will just get out of the way so that I can end this blog on a positive!

First, during the entirety of the first season (which is 73 episodes) they had this god awful long recap of pretty much all episodes before the one you watch. It was nice for the first couple episodes, but then it just got redundant and it spawned for a good chunk of the episode. That time could have been used for better things like the story. Not to mention that they would try to fit the intro in anywhere they could find. Didn’t matter if you were 15 minuets in, it would be there.

Second, the animations can be a bit awkward at times. Most of that was fixed starting with season two. But in the first season, just be warned that the animation isn’t as good as some others. Don’t let that steer you away though.

Third, there are some instances where the comedy or drama within the show seem out of place or awkward. It’s not the biggest issue on the world. But it’s something I did notice.

Lastly, the Xeno arc could have been left out. I didn’t think it was all that bad. But I think it was unnecessary and easily skippable as you gain nothing from watching it and it doesn’t hinder the story if missed.

Now into the Pros!

The story is unique and I love the world that is built. The triggers and their variety are well done. There is a political unrest in here as well. Boarder seems to be split in half with people who detest neighbors and what to annihilate them and the other half want to be more diplomatic. Work with the neighbors instead of fight. Not only do you have a kimono tray lenses to look through, but also a political one.

I love all the characters as well. They all have their unique backstories and reasons for being at boarder. They each have their own strength and place. We have a variety of cool, funky, serious and laid-back personalities to deal with that bring out the best of this anime. There is very little animosity between characters even during tank wars. Rivalries are friendly. And that’s kind of refreshing. There is no truly every character. The enemies have their justifications for invasion. Those who hate neighbors even have their reasons for being hostile towards them. The characters are being judged as people for their thoughts and actions, not just by a tv trope.

Speaking of charters our main squeeze, Mikumo, has become a favorite of mine. Mikumo isn’t your already badass guy or the charger that all of sudden becomes fantastic. He’s just your average guy looking to do some good in the world. We are in season three and he is still struggling with finding his place among the fighters. He’s still learning. And that’s something I can get behind. He really shows that anyone can do anything if they just put their mind to it.

There are plenty of other characters who are better than Mikumo and it constantly shows. During the battles everyone else is getting points where as Mikumo doesn’t. Which in turn makes him self conscious. It doesn’t help that most everyone else knocks him for not getting points (except for his teammates of corse). The one thing that he can do well is strategize, which I think will only get better with the addition of Hyuse to the team. It seems as though that gets glossed over by many people. Not everything should be about getting points or the hit. Strategists are an essential part of any team. In a way, he may have been better suited for an operator, but a great strategist excels better on the battlefield.

Mikumo isn’t naive or arrogant. He’s very self aware and has great self reflection to be honest with himself. The clarity he has gives him the tools to maximize his teams abilities to the fullest. His unwavering beliefs and goals keep him going. And that’s what I love. A relatable character who perseveres even in the most difficult situations. He progresses in a different way than most charters in other series.

Im very intrigued by the chairman of boarder. He doesn’t seem to hate neighbor’s, but doesn’t outwardly accept them. He makes decisions based on who’s around and the situation at hand. He seems to play both sides of the card. Even after three seasons, he’s still just a mystery. Which I can appreciate.

One thing that I liked that seems to be a hit or miss with most people is the “talking episodes.” These are the episodes that have minimal to no fighting. During these episodes we find out backstories and goals of the characters. We also follow the struggles of Mikumo finding his way in the world. During these times we also see a lot of talk about tactics and explanations of how things work. This is something I appreciate a lot. While the action is fun to watch, I’m extremity intrigued about how everything works and how the minds of the boarder agents work. It helps me understand the world better and I appreciate that. It also helps me get into the fights more during the rank battles.

The pacing of the show, while it may seem slow at first, is done well. We get fed all the info needed about to world of the anime before anything happens. This lets the anime become more complex without you noticing or questioning anything. You already know and understand the basics so it’s easy to follow along. We aren’t waiting for an explanation after the fact. We already know.

I honestly think this is a severely underrated anime. And it pains me to know that. I highly recommend this series to anyone. My overall rating is a 9.5/10.