(One of the things I really like about Turkey! is the way it doesn’t shy away from the “nasty, brutish and short” of ancient life, even though it’s at heart a “cute girls have fun” anime.)
This morning I watched Japan Railway Journal and thought about the impermanence of our social order. The Gamesoft Robo Fun Club is a solo labor of love that depends entirely on paid subscriptions from readers to exist. If you enjoyed this piece and you'd like to see more,
It’s messed up that just a couple of newsletters ago I was tricked into referring to Mario Kart 8 as “perfect”, because I spent hours this past weekend playing an arcade racer that seems set on nitpicking Mario Kart 8 (not World!) and improving on its all of its
I’m going to try something new today. I find I don’t always get around to talking about the stuff that I enjoy— which would be fine, except at this newsletter it is kind of my job— without writing a very long piece that usually spends a lot of
I spent a bit of Labor Day over at the Brooklyn Bandai-Namco showroom. When I first visited, I wrote it off as a tourist trap I didn’t really need to visit again: Bandai toys and model kits were on sale for market prices, but gashapon toys and arcade games
"I'm not worried about winning stuff from two opposing business rivals. That just means I'm decorated."
After months of buildup, the Virtua Fighter staff came up on stage at Evo this weekend, dropped about a minute of actual gameplay footage, updated us on continued support for VF5 Revo, and went on their way. This is a clever way of handling things; we’ve started to expect
I haven’t done one of these in a long time, and I don’t want to commit myself to it on a regular basis because it often takes time I could be talking about more interesting stuff— like actual finished series which I could give a proper review to—
I had been quietly excited about the upcoming TV series revival of one of my all-time favorites, the post-apocalyptic kung-fu melodrama Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken). It’s certainly been long enough— the original Toei TV series is over 40 years old!— and with a high-end production
Nobody wants to have to follow up perfection, and Mario Kart 8 nailed it. Ten years and two consoles ago, the game refined the arcade kart racer into the very best version of itself. Rather than bothering with a sequel, Nintendo simply kept adding content to it until it was
Education is walking far in front of entertainment here, advertisement's hanging out in the background, and grinding boredom is the main attraction.
Part of me wants to say Capcom Vs. SNK 2 isn't that old. But I know. Haruhi Suzumiya is old too.
city of the wolves
I’m only two thousand words in and I finally get to talk about how the game plays!
mahjong
Niche mahjong choices, and therefore, Sega.
games
Not to brag or nothin’, I just want to get that out of the way so we’re all clear.
movies
"Everything in the film centers on this one ecstatic moment that everyone builds and inhabits together, unashamed, loving, exuberant, free, and so powerful as to call the spirits out to play."
anime
"The thing I hate most passionately about isekai slop is the false modesty of a fake underdog."
anime
As the guy from Hand Shakers says, this stuff just won't mesh.
anime
...like a conversation between robots programmed only to spout catchphrases like Pokemon babbling out their own names at one another.
(As a general content warning, Tohai— yes, this mahjong anime— contains frequent graphic violence, including dismemberment, mutilation, torture, and sexual violence. Do not watch this series unless you are ready for anything; the violence escalates as the show goes on.) All the different Japanese manga magazines have a brand, and
anime
(There’s no video release for Beginning, so I am running a bit off memory of a movie I saw last week. I will get things wrong; forgive me.) GQux Beginning wants to fit its whole alternate One Year War onto film, but as it only has so much time
anime
This is not Hideaki Anno's Gundam, everyone please stop calling it that
arcade games
I had a great time playing City of the Wolves over the weekend and I’m looking forward to the completed game, but whether I buy it on launch or wait until it’s on sale depends entirely upon whether or not this online matchmaking experience improves.
arcade games
Now that the review-vital stuff is out of the way, I want to talk about the point that actually makes VF so fun and so rewarding to return to. That’s the characters, and how well-defined they are. I get that they don’t have the lore and story modes