Breaking it all Down

Posted on August 10, 2019August 3, 2019 by Alexander Case

Mr. & Mrs. X: Comic Review

There is running theory in stories with romances that the chase is better than the catch – that once characters in a romance get together, there is no motivation to continue the story. These are people who never watched Hart to Hart nor are familiar with Nick & Nora Charles. In the X-Books, probably the biggest of these romances, almost as much if not more so than Scott Summers and Jean Grey, was Gambit and Rogue. However, during the planned wedding of Kitty Pryde and Piotr Rasputin, things ended up not happening, leading to Rogue and Gambit basically deciding to take advantage of the opportunity and the two X-Men who could never tie the other down decided to get hitched.

Posted on August 9, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Let’s Play Viewtiful Joe: Part 13 – Midnight Thunder Boy II

The edited version of this episode would not render properly, so I’m uploading the raw version of my save scumming through some nonsense.

Posted on August 8, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Let’s Play Viewtiful Joe: Part 12 – Midnight Thunder Boy I

This episode we take on tanks and fighter jets.

Posted on August 7, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Dragons of the Dwarven Depths – Book Video Review

I kick off my August GenCon licensed tabletop fiction reviews with a Dragonlance novel that fills a gap in the original Dragonlance Chronicles.

Posted on August 6, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Let’s Play Viewtiful Joe: Part 11 – The Viewtiful Escape III

In the engine room, we encounter a dark version of Joe and have to take them down.

Posted on August 5, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Let’s Play Viewtiful Joe: Part 10 – The Viewtiful Escape II

We stop the flow of missiles and flip the ship again.

Posted on August 4, 2019August 3, 2019 by Alexander Case

Quag Keep: Book Review

If I was going to describe the modern “Isekai” genre in brief, I’d describe it as “Game-based another world fantasy.” It’s not just fantasy where a protagonist is whisked to another fantastic world from ours like with the John Carter of Mars novels, or on the anime front with El-Hazard and Magic Knight Rayearth. This is fantasy where the characters are explicitly in a world that draws inspiration to games from gaming – sometimes by drawing the characters or their psyches into an actual game (ala Sword Art Online or Log Horizon), or a world which uses the language of RPGs like with Konosuba or Grimgar: Ash and Illusions. I would argue that if not the first of these, then one of the first of this particular genre – and was done in the ’70s by a woman.

Posted on August 3, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

RobiHachi: Anime Review

RobiHachi is a very different show than most of the anime series I’ve seen – particularly those about travel. Most anime series that are about travel and tourism that I’ve seen tend to be chill slice of life comedies, like Laid Back Camp. RobiHachi, on the other hand, is a very silly, wacky, over-the-top comedy – though one with some thematic elements in common with those other series.

Posted on August 2, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Let’s Play Viewtiful Joe: Part 9 – The Viewtiful Escape I

This time we flip the script and flip the ship.

Posted on August 1, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Let’s Play Viewtiful Joe: Part 8 – 2 Million Leagues Under The Sea III

We finish off Gran Bruce.

Posted on July 31, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Nintendo Power Retrospectives: Part 92

I’m putting the next episode of the show on hold for a month, in the wake of the tragedy at Kyoto Animation and due to the presence of “The Ignition Factor” among the covered games. Instead, I’ll be discussing the second companion book to one of Nintendo’s miniature consoles – Playing With Super Power.

Posted on July 30, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Let’s Play Viewtiful Joe: Part 7 – 2 Million Leagues Under The Sea II

We get our first attempt at beating Gran Bruce.

Posted on July 29, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Let’s Play Viewtiful Joe: Part 6 – 2 Million Leagues Under The Sea I

This time I have to disarm a really annoying bomb.

Posted on July 28, 2019July 27, 2019 by Alexander Case

Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory – Anime Review

I first watched Mobile Suit Gundam: Stardust Memory when I was in High School, a little after 9/11. The story worked for me at that time, when all the Gundam I’d seen had been the Gundam compilation films and Char’s Counterattack. Since then I’ve seen considerably more Gundam (including Zeta Gundam) since then.

Posted on July 27, 2019July 14, 2019 by Alexander Case

We Never Learn: Anime Review

A lot of fanservice anime tends to be gross. Maybe it’s because the fanservice comes through sexual slapstick of the “Whoops I fell and groped you or looked up your skirt” variety. Or it comes through battle damage of the “Female character gets their top shredded in combat and now their boobs are hanging out” variety. Or it’s of the “Male lead openly sexually harasses female characters variety.” Perhaps that’s why the fanservice that comes up in We Never Learn feels like a breath of fresh air.

Posted on July 26, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Let’s Play Viewtiful Joe: Part 5 – Some Like it Red Hot III

Joe takes on Hulk Davidson – will this lead him closer to Sylvia?

Technical Notes: I’m playing this using a physical copy on PCSX2. There may be some technical hiccups.

Posted on July 25, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Let’s Play Viewtiful Joe: Part 4 – Some Like it Red Hot II

Joe continues to make his way to the next boss, while lacking a proper Superhero name.

Technical Notes: I’m playing this using a physical copy on PCSX2. There may be some technical hiccups.

Posted on July 24, 2019February 23, 2025 by Alexander Case

5 Anime Series to Watch After Neon Genesis Evangelion

Well, you’ve just finished watching Evangelion on Netflix, and you’re wondering what to watch after this. I have a few recommendations here for you. The video is fairly spoiler-light so if you’re making your way through the show now, you should be fine.

Lists of all the works I recommend below the cut/further down, with affiliate links for Amazon and the Crunchyroll Store, and streaming links, where available. Buying anything through affiliate links helps to support the show.

Posted on July 23, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Let’s Play Viewtiful Joe: Part 3 – Some Like it Red Hot I

We push on to the city in the second level.

Technical Notes: I’m playing this using a physical copy on PCSX2. There may be some technical hiccups.

Posted on July 22, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case

Let’s Play Viewtiful Joe: Part 2 – Joe the Hero Part II

This time I beat the game’s first boss. Please pardon the lack of commentary, due to technical difficulties and a cold.

Technical Notes: I’m playing this using a physical copy on PCSX2. There may be some technical hiccups.

Posted on July 21, 2019July 14, 2019 by Alexander Case

Dororo: Anime Review

There are works of anime and manga which view feudal Japan with a less than critical eye. Dororo is not one of those works. The original manga by Osamu Tezuka was a work that, while more than a little cartoonish (as this was ’60s Tezuka), looked on the realities of Japan leading into the Warring States period with a critical eye. The 2019 anime adaptation of the work keeps a similar appraisal of the period.

Posted on July 20, 2019July 14, 2019 by Alexander Case

Hayate The Combat Butler Vol. 28: Manga Review

In the last couple volumes of Hayate the Combat Butler, we got something of a new status quo for the characters as a whole, while not really setting up what the next arc for Nagi was going to be. Volume 28 introduces a couple of new characters (sort of) while setting up Nagi’s next arc.

Posted on July 19, 2019February 16, 2025 by Alexander Case