Just Rambling About Anything: A lover of Animanga, Video Games, Books, and other some such hobbies. (Over 21 years of age - I can drink, Ma! - feel free to guess, lol.)
I'm not really familiar with MP100, how is reigen fanservice?
his character isn’t really made for fanservice (nor is originally meant to be attractive in any way), he’s literally just a conman that’s there for comedic relief like 80% of the time and looks like this in the manga
but for some reason studio bones decided that they had to throw scenes trying to make him look hot
absolutely nobody asked Bones to try to make Reigen look attractive in the anime and the fact that now he’s considered like one of the top anime bishies is hilarious because at the end of the day the original still looks like this
you’re gonna have to look at lists of top 10 hot anime men and see this now
There’s actually an interview where one of the artists for the anime admits that when they draw Reigen they like to imagine themselves licking all along his body, starting with his ass.
I don’t think people realize that this interview is the actual origin of the “Bones is horny for Reigen” meme. It came to Tumblr’s attention in February, before season 2 started airing, from this tweet:
It has become such a well-known meme by now that people forgot where it originated. Like, it’s not just a joke that animators at Bones are horny for Reigen, it’s a known fact.
Did you know someone made an album about majora’s mask? Seemed apropos, considering where the links are at in the story rn
Is this someone other than the usual suspects? Because like, I can list you off a whole bunch of Majora's Mask cover albums right now. Theophany has at least two, ZREO just made one, ROZEN has what I think is a Majora's Mask EP (as opposed to an album), I know that The Marcus Hedges Trend Orchestra has one, I'm fairly certain that MOSIK has an EP...
So on the bright side, go forth and enjoy quality MM covers!
On the other bright side, if this is somebody completely different, please fill me in!
What’s this? More Mob Psycho from me? After how long?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, this anime lives rent free in my head and probably will continue to do so. I love this show so much (and still plan on reading the manga) that it’s very hard for me to forget about it.
Hyperfixation? Maybe, but I’m not analyzing that right now. Instead, let me talk about one of the Mob Psycho endings; Refrain Boy by ALL OFF.
As I mentioned in my first Mob Psycho post, the one I made rambling about my feelings after watching the show, I had very little intention of watching the anime, let alone reading the manga. At the time the show did not appeal to me. I thought the art style looked strange and I did not vibe with the opening song at the time. Yes, I know, shallow judgement. However, the one thing that kept this show on my radar for years, was this very ending, specifically the English cover by Dima Lancaster, and it’s animation.
Something about this song just connected with me. There was no context, nothing from the show to go off of, but that didn’t matter. Now, after watching the show and reading the Reigen spin off I have a better appreciation for this song. It resounds with me still, and I would like to do something of a small analysis and ramble of this song, if you would permit me the time.
As a quick disclaimer, I will be using the official English version of this song, as well as the translated lyrics on the official music video (or at least the one on the WB Japanese YouTube channel (hopefully that's the right one ^^;)), to go off of since I don’t know enough about Japanese Kanji and Japanese wordplay to really dive into that (my Japanese is very basic), so the kanji could very well be saying something different or be interpreted differently. Yes, the official English version is a thing, you can find it on Youtube and hear it the background at the end of season 1 episode 8. I will also be using the context of the show, rather than what the song might mean on a meta level for most of this. Also, please note the analysis part is probably not going to be as big as the ramble part, but that’s par for the course with me, lol.
Also, eveything I say here, is just my opinion and my opinion only. You may very well have a different interpretation of this song, and that’s perfectly fine. I’m just someone on the internet that’s getting my feelings out is all, lol. This is just me having fun, and hopefully you will too. :) (Long post under cut, so buckle up, lol. No. I'm serious. This post is long.)
Let’s start.
(Edit: Please ignore any word formating, it's being a bitch :))
Here’s the entire song in English according to both the lyrics on the official music video and the English version (I copied and pasted this from a wiki for convience ^^;, but it does seem to be the official ones and I did make some minor corrections. So let me know if anything is off.):
“Under the sky of nowhere we search for answer to seize our lives
Forget the tears and the eyes beyond the lights
All the stuff that we care and believe in everyday
Could be washed away and disappear in one blink of an eye
Countless memories flashing back so clearly
And slowly fading into the sky
Realities that I wish that I could just forget
All the sudden, what happens, if trapped in, the blood into vessels of heart
All the damage and ravage breaks my heart
I lose control and overflows the feelings
That I can't resist
Under the sky of nowhere we search for answer to seize our lives
Forget the tears and the eyes beyond the lights
Zero to countless times of rise and fall we've carried on
Resound again, the beat of our heart
Yes,
No
All the stuff that we see and hear and feel everyday
Is so complicated and makes me lost below this sky
The fast beat of heart and the flicking refrain
All the despair repeats in mind
Turns into a small hope and brings the light on
Under the sky of nowhere we march against the violent wind
With all the guards up, the eyes beyond the lights
Sometimes it's hard to see the truth but we carry on
Again and again, resound again
Yes,
No
Breathe the air deep in, deep out
Let 'em all be the way they are
Be yourself and stand up tall
Without a clue, with broken shoes, walk this way with you
Deeply inside the heart we scream and shout to seize our lives
As time tries to wash our lives away
Zero to countless times of rise and fall we've carried on
Under the sky shining so bright
All the smallest hope and the largest pain flies through the night
As new horizon lighting up the sky
Not everything is easy to get but we carry on
Again and again, resound again,
Answer refrains in beat of our heart
Yes,
No"
Now, onto how I think this song fits within the context of Mob Pyscho, specifically season 1.
First, I’ll go through a couple of the ones I think could work, but I personally don’t think fully fit then go with the one I feel fits my own personal interpretation.
Let’s start with the one I think is least likely, at least for the full version; Reigen addressing Mob.
That’s not to say I don’t think Reigen’s advice and ideologies don’t come through in the song, quite the opposite actually, but I don’t think it’s Reigen talking to, or about, Mob exclusively. Especially since the song mentions things about overflowing feelings and feelings that can’t be resisted. Two things that are very much Mob. Granted, the animation for the ending is clearly from Reigen’s POV, but I think this fits in a different way than Reigen addressing Mob. Granted, I think the TV version can fit this better, especially since the part about “can’t resist feelings” can do with Reigen’s growing care for Mob, whom he sees as family.
Second; It’s Mob’s POV about himself.
Again, the lyrics mention overflowing feelings, not being able to resist them, but also how there are memories and realities he wishes to forget, possibly in reference to his powers and how he fears hurting people with them (like Ritsu).
“. . .Countless memories flashing back so clearly
And slowly fading into the sky
Realities that I wish that I could just forget
All the sudden, what happens, if trapped in, the blood into vessels of heart
All the damage and ravage breaks my heart
I lose control and overflows the feelings
That I can't resist”
The second verse even says it’s complicated for him to understand things (him not being able to “Get a Clue”) and how bottling up his emotions make it hard; a repeating despair. Yet, it’s also this that makes him decide to change.
“All the stuff that we see and heart and feel everyday
Is so complicated and makes me lost below this sky
The fast beat of heart and the flicking refrain
All the despair repeats in mind
Turns into a small and brings the light on”
Even the chorus parts can very well be talking about, despite Mob’s suffering, he still holds hope and understands that things are going to be hard, but to keep going.
However, this is also where I think it falls short from being from Mob’s POV exclusively. It’s the bridge that complicates it for me, as while it could be Mob talking to himself to pump himself up, a self-motivation, it feels like someone else talking to him, rather than talking to himself.
At this point, you can probably see where I’m going with this.
Personally, I feel this song best represents a kind of “conversation” between Mob and Reigen. Maybe literally, maybe not.
Pretty much the entire first and second verses are using words that best represent Mob’s feelings; how he has to keep his emotions under wraps, how this causes him to have a hard time connecting with his peers, and how his explosions of emotion happen to a point he can no longer control. It definitely fits with the almost pessimistic or even anxiety filled issues and thoughts Mob can have. Especially during season 1, where Mob is probably at his lowest confidence wise.
“All the stuff that we care and believe in everyday
Could be washed away and disappear in one blink of an eye
Countless memories flashing back so clearly
And slowly fading into the sky
Realities that I wish that I could just forget
“All the sudden, what happens, if trapped in, the blood into vessels of heart
All the damage and ravage breaks my heart
I lose control and overflows the feelings
That I can't resist”
“All the stuff that we see and hear and feel everyday
Is so complicated and makes me lost below this sky
The fast beat of heart and the flicking refrain
All the despair repeats in mind
Turns into a small hope and brings the light on”
Meanwhile the choruses feel like it’s Reigen trying to tell Mob otherwise. He’s too pragmatic and realistic to not understand what Mob’s saying, but there’s no way he won’t try and make him feel better. It also fits Reigen’s ideology of life being complicated, but we still get back up and try anyway.
“Under the sky of nowhere we search for answer to seize our lives
Forget the tears and the eyes beyond the lights
Zero to countless times of rise and fall we've carried on
Resound again, the beat of our heart”
“Under the sky of nowhere we march against the violent wind
With all the guards up, the eyes beyond the lights
Sometimes it's hard to see the truth but we carry on
Again and again, resound again”
As a quick note, part of why this feels like a conversation is how the song progresses. It starts of almost purely pessimistic, with the opening lines coming off in the same manner, like the starting line to a conversation; “You know what I’ve noticed”, “I’ve been thinking”, and “You know, this how I feel about –,”. With the first chorus acting like an answer that says “You’re right, but-,”.
The last line of verse two sounds like Mob is starting to understand Reigen’s words, almost like an echoing overlap into the next chorus; “Turns into a small hope and brings the light on”.
Which brings me to the bridge. It sounds like a direct statement from Reigen to Mob. It sort of reminds me of the last two episodes of season 1 where he tells Mob “It’s okay to run away” or when talking down the Claw grunts. It sounds very much like a statement Reigen could say. Not so much the same message, but the energy of it. Firm, reassuring, and being said as if you’re being directly looked in the eyes. The last line is what sells it to me. It sounds like Reigen telling Mob, that no matter what, he’ll walk beside him through those hardships.
“Breathe the air deep in, deep out
Let 'em all be the way they are
Be yourself and stand up tall
Without a clue, with broken shoes, walk this way with you”
This brings me to the final part. This time, it doesn’t feel like Reigen speaking, at least not on his own anymore. It feels more like Mob has taken over, echoing the advice and feelings that his master helped him to understand. That he’s starting to get it.
“Deeply inside the heart we scream and shout to seize our lives
As time tries to wash our lives away
Zero to countless times of rise and fall we've carried on
Under the sky shining so bright
All the smallest hope and the largest pain flies through the night
As new horizon lighting up the sky
Not everything is easy to get but we carry on
Again and again, resound again,
Answer refrains in beat of our heart
Yes,
No"
The one part of this song that I had a hard time understanding, was the “Yes, No”. How did this fit, but maybe it’s just meant to further emphasize how complicated this whole thing is. As well as Mob’s “No” and Reigen’s “Yes”.
Now, the one elephant in the room. The ending animation. I said that while I did mention I think the TV size version does fit better with Reigen’s POV, that I had a different take. Yes, the POV is from Reigen. It’s showing us his daily routine as he gets up for work and, eventually, runs into Mob. It’s also notable how it goes from grays to color when he finally does. How does that fit with this take on the song? Reigen’s parts, if you don’t mind me calling them that, reflect the fact that he does, to some extent, understand Mob. Or rather, that he has his own personal experiences where he knows things get better. Again, the animation is all grays until he meets Mob, showing that Reigen understands that while things can be complicated or dull or hard, there’s always something that makes it worth it. The animation subtly shows how important Mob is to Reigen, and this song could be showing how that importance effects how Reigen would teach and guide Mob. After all, during season 1 we see just how important Reigen’s words are to Mob, not that we don’t see it in other seasons, but the first one is very clearly showing the positive effect those teachings have, like how this song goes from something somber and melancholy, to hopeful.
Honestly, I’m not even sure if I explained that very well, but like I said, this song has resonated with me for a very long time. Something about that optimistic tone in the face of harsh ideas just stuck I suppose. Granted, I highly doubt the song was made with any of this in mind, and I’m just being that rambly fan on the internet, but hopefully, even if you disagree, maybe you got some entertainment out of reading this as I did writing it. And thanks for sticking around till the end :)
So, I'm nearly done with Dan Da Dan season 1, and while I know I am not the first one to say it, I'll say it anyway - I have been loving Momo's friends, Miko and Muko.
These are the kinds of characters that could have easily been the bitchy friends who diss Momo for her interests, especially when it comes to Okarun. But no, they are absolutely all in on it if it's what Momo wants and I love that. They worry about her, tease her, and all-round are just supportive of her. However, they do also call her out sometimes when they think she's getting too far in her temper, such as episode 5.
They could have been easily relegated to bitchy friends or even stock side characters that we see nothing of. And while yes, they are side characters, they have been a delight whenever they are on screen and are, honestly, just as unhinged as Momo can be. It makes it easy to see why they are friends. For so little screen time they've been given some wonderful personality.
I don't know how much they'll be in season 2, but I certainly hope I'll still get to see them later on. They've been a delight.
"Then what about that skin colored armor on your head?"
I decided to watch a couple of episodes of one-punch man to see how I like it, much like I did with Bocchi the Rock, to see my first impressions and how much I might like it.
I'm only halfway through episode 2 and Genos is so stupid, I fucking love him already.
Genos alone had me choking on my own spit, dear lord.
Oh, the animation and stuff has been pretty good too I guess, lol. The opening theme is growing on me.
(Yes, I have heard rumors of season 2, and how it's not as good as season 1 or something, but I'm not worried about that right now, so no major spoilers please (I can find them on my own if I really want to, lol.))
First off, I'm gonna preface this by saying this whole post may as well be a spoiler post for anyone who cares about that. I'm just gonna be talking about the whole thing. I literally just beat this game not even five minutes ago and I need a moment to vent, lmao. Also a lot of swearing ahead. You have been warned.
Now, on to the real meat.
This game frustrated me. There is no doubt about that. I don't think I've ever raged this hard at a game before. Even with Rewind and Save States on the Switch and a guide on hand (because I know how bullshit some of these older games can be). Fuck some of these enemies and fuck the way they all just gang up on you. The fact there are secret passage ways you have now way of seeing and invisible floors with no hints is just a kick in the teeth. You know, along with all the others this game gives you. It does not care how you feel; you're gonna get your shit rocked and you're gonna like it.
And yet, despite all the frustration, much like Zelda 1, I do not completely hate this game.
In fact, if it wasn't for a few key things, I'd even go so far as to say this game could've been enjoyable, even with invisible floors and passages.
Those things being:
Blue Darknuts
Wolf Heads
Moa
The way enemies can go off screen and you can't damage them but they can damage you.
The fact you need the Thunder Spell to even damage the Thunderbird.
Not in any particular order by the way. I'm even gonna be generous and not count Bagu, whom you need to find to progress the game because at least with him you can find him with enough fumbling around. I could figure out how to handle all the other enemies and bullshit. Sure it was still challenging and still a bit bullshit, but doable. Despite the fact the Thunderbird actually wasn't that bad once I knew what to do, I still put it on the list because you need all four magic containers to learn the Thunder spell to even damage it. Otherwise you can't beat it. In other words, you can't finish the game. It should have been only to weaken it and you can still hurt it without the spell, just that it would take longer or something; it should not have been a requirement, especially with how much magic you need (at least/about half of your magic).
It's a shame because until I hit the Maze Palace, about halfway through the game, I was actually enjoying myself. No, Death Mountain didn't bother me, but I did have the guide to not get lost so I'm biased, lol. Death Mountain was still tough though, being so low leveled. I was even figuring out my own strategies to fight some enemies. It was a challenge but I was kinda liking it.
Then the I went through the Maze palace and it went all downhill, slowly but surely. That Palace alone frustrated me so much that I took some time grinding outside Naborou Town on the tektites (I thank one of the comments by 'tdog' on the Zelda Dungeon Guide for pointing that out). They give 50exp a pop, but have a chance of dropping 200exp bags. By the end of the grind I had all but one stat maxed out. Yes, I was that done because I knew the game probably wouldn't let up from here. Yes, I cheesed Dark Link at the end because I wanted so badly to be done.
Honestly, if it wasn't for, at least, those four things up there, I might have liked this game more. It has some good ideas that clearly continued on in Zelda. A magic meter and spells to choose from, Link being able to learn new sword techniques, more engaging boss fights, bustling towns where you can do side quests and find secrets, and even the fact Link felt so much more maneuverable here than in the first game. There was clearly improvements over the first game here, but it got bogged down to the point I now place it on par with my feelings of Zelda 1, just for (somewhat) different reasons.
Still, much like the first game, I don't regret giving the game a shot. I don't think I'll play it again, but I did find some aspects to it that I liked. Aspects that would continue on into the rest of the series. Honestly, if Nintendo ever remade this game (probably never gonna happen) with more balanced challenge I wouldn't be against giving it a shot. So hey, why not give it a whirl if you're up for the challenge? Much like Zelda 1, you may like it more than you think, especially if difficulty is what you're looking for.
Disclaimer: Heavy spoilers for AI: The Somnium Files, under the cut. It's only one ending, but still. It's a short quick post though; I need to go to bed, lol.
I just got my first ending in AI: The Somnium Files; it was the one that focused on Ota and, ultimately his mother.
I did not like Ota. This asshole not only got in my way at every turn, but he also was a complete simp for Iris, who I also have somewhat frutrasted feelings and heavy suspicion towards (but we'll see where it goes).
Anyway, this guy just pissed me off at every turn. A part of me just wanted Date to sock the guy.
But then Mayumi's dementia, something I already had a feeling she had, was finally revealed and everything just snowballed.
It wasn't until Date was interrogating him, and seeing his care for his mom, that my feelings began to change a little. There was no deflection this time, not like when he left Mizuki, just insistence. We could see glimpses of something good in Ota here and there, I can admit that, but for awhile there wasn't anything that overshadowed everything else he'd done, until here.
Then confronting him at the diner, Mayumi's Somnium, everything after that point, just-
I was like Aiba, I believed Ota had conspired with Iris, that he was actually the polar bear. Hell, he might still be for all I know!
But this whole finishing sequence happened and something in me shifted. Not just Ota, but Aiba trusting Date's intuition, finding Sejima's body, this whole thing was a roller coaster.
I still can't say I like Ota very much, but I don't doubt his love for his mother. I was not expecting this game to make me cry over this snot-nosed manchild, but damn if it didn't do a fine job of it.
I have no idea how this game is going to top that ending, but I look forward to seeing it try.
hey maybe i’m just projecting a little bit but does anyone feel like reigen has dealt with massive fucking trust issues? like…before the separation arc, he’s convinced that if mob has a life outside of work and meets new friends, mob will ditch him. so he projects his own feelings on mob, telling him that his friends don’t really care about him, and that they won’t be loyal to him. in my opinion, that really sounded like something that was spoken from reigen’s own experience - he’s had close friends and maybe even significant others just ghost him out of nowhere, after they found someone cooler or “better” or whatever to spend their time with. so now reigen has a complex: he’s terrified of the people he cares about leaving him, so he loses it when he senses any hint of rejection from them. that in turn causes the people he cares about to push him away. so then, reigen’s feelings about himself are validated as “truth” - that no one cares about him, that everyone will leave him in the end - and the vicious cycle repeats itself.
at least, it did. before he realized exactly what it was he was doing (i.e. unintentionally pushing people away because of his own insecurity), and made the choice to reach out to mob and apologize. and mob forgave him, because mob understands.
after separation arc, we see reigen dealing with his own emotional issues in a much healthier way. he learns that he HAS to trust the people he loves to actually love him, too. he’s no longer threatened by mob’s other friends, because he trusts that mob still cares deeply for him, even when mob spends time around others. and in turn, this consciously-cultivated ability to trust is what enables him and serizawa to have such an instant connection - reigen trusts serizawa not to betray him by losing control of his powers or returning to toichiro, and serizawa trusts reigen to be honest and open with him. without that trust, the relationship between them couldn’t have been formed, and reigen’s relationship with mob couldn’t have been salvaged. of course, the issue isn’t completely solved - reigen still compulsively lies, and is clearly still very insecure - but it’s a testament to reigen’s character development that he was able to grow and begin to change his worldview.
So, how many of you would believe me if I told you I had a nearly completed file of OoT 3d and had never completed it? What if I told you that file was from back in 2016, lol?
While it might have been a long time coming, I finally finished this game. No, I did not play the file that was nearly complete. Instead, I started a completely new one. If I was going to beat this game, I wanted to beat it with a fuller knowledge of the game. That wouldn't have happened had I just used my original file.
I did my best to collect everything I could with no help for this one. By the time I used a guide for clean up I had around 86-90 (can't remember the exact number at the time) of the gold skulltellas, was missing both Deku Nut upgrades and had five pieces of heart to go, and of course I still needed the last Great Fairy upgrade (once I had the Golden Gauntlets); all this by the time I reached the Adult part of the Spirit Temple. I did need a guide for the Big Poes though, otherwise it would have taken far longer to find them than necessary ^^;.
I want to also note that I did play some of the original N64 version when I was younger via the Gamecube Zelda Collection, but, if I remember right, I noped out of there as soon as I was Adult Link and saw the town full of Redeads and did not touch the game until 2016. Slightly embarrassing? Yes, but cut kid me some slack -_-. (I know I wasn't the only one that got freaked out and traumatized by Redeads. Yeah, that's right, I'm looking at you.) Plus, I have seen playthroughs of the game but it's been a while, and I actively avoided them while playing through this one myself.
Please note after this point the post gets quite a bit longer, lol. I am so sorry. (Spoilers, too, I guess. Granted the game is over 25 years old now, so. Yes, I did need to remind you. You're welcome.)
Anyway! Needless to say, yes, I did enjoy my time with this game. I loved how the dungeons were built and how connected they felt to the world. Honestly, it's easier to list my least favorites over my favorites, those ones being Jabu-Jabu's Belly, and the Fire Temple. Yes, I prefer Dodongo's Cavern over Jabu-Jabu adn even the Deku Tree. Normally, I don't care for Desert or Fire areas in games much, but Dodongo's Cavern is an exception, along with the Spirit Temple.
And the infamous Water Temple (yes I know the 3ds version was made easier, but still)? I am proud to say I only got turned around a couple times and only missed one key that I had to run back for. And change the water levels for twice. It was inside the central tower. I didn't grab it the first time I raised the water level to mid. I am so glad this was the only key I missed. Stop laughing >.>;.
If I did have to mention favorites, which is hard, I'd say the Forest and Spirit Temples. I just love the overgrown and decayed look of the Forest Temple, and I like the idea of switching between Adult and Child Link to finish the Spirit Temple, which I also liked the design for. Plus, the light puzzles were pretty neat.
The Bottom of the Well and the Shadow Temple are still freaky as an adult. I wonder how many children got scared by Dead Hand and noped the fuck out of there. (Nintendo got a taste for traumatizing the children early. They were probably laughing their asses off at the thought of it. Fuck them kids, I guess, lol.)
That final fight with Ganondorf, though, that was amazing. I was a bit frustrated how the asshole didn't wanna die in the first phase, bu that second phase with Ganon was worth it. The menace this man had and the look in his eyes as he transformed into Ganon. I was genuinely excited fighting this dude. I can only imagine how it felt being a kid and getting this far. I think Wind Waker beats it out for me, but that's one of my favorite Zeldas so I'm biased, lol. Still, this final sequence was amazing and I'm glad to have finally seen and played it for myself.
Going around and collecting everything, slowly making yourself stronger, was gratifying like most other Zeldas. Fuck hat fishing mini-game though. I hate it. It took way too long to get the biggest fish and my line kept breaking. I swear it sometimes felt like RNG if that fish stayed hooked or not. No, I did not steal the fisherman's hat. Yes, I know that secret. I just wanted to get out of there and never see another fish again. No I did not go after the Hylian Loach. I checked the reward, and Rupees were not worth it. Honestly, money felt pretty useless by the end, but that's something other Zelda games have struggled with as well, this was just one of the earlier iterations of it.
Collecting the Skulltellas wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Honestly, finding the ones out in the field was probably the worst part, but once you have the Sun's Song (which is you can get early as shit), it's not too big a problem. 100 seems like a lot, but really, since all you have to do is kill them and collect the goods they're much more manageable than, say, 120 (-136) shrines like in BotW. Or heaven forbid 999 Moons or 900 to 1000 Korok Seeds 0.0.
I'm just starting to realize Nintendo has a thing for this kind of stuff.
Regardless, most of the rewards were fairly helpful, even Rupees early game. Yes there are some archaic and aged things about the game; such as the Big Poes having very specific spawn points and can sometimes be bit odd with where they spawn from (particularly the one by Kakariko Village by that small cliff, at least for me it was), the movement can be a bit chonky, which can make fighting enemies and bosses a bit of a pain, and the lack of a controllable camera can sometimes get in the way. The Scarecrow's Song can be a bit finicky with where you play it and Hyrule Field a bit empty by today's standards (but was probably amazing back when it first came out). The story is a bit basic (at least on surface level), but also classic with fun moments (Link being afraid of a Goron hug is both hilarious and understandable). Because, yes, while the 3ds did give some QoL updates (like making the Iron Boots and Hover Shoes equipable items instead of gear), you can still feel some of the old, aged elements of the game.
However, despite that, the game has aged surprisingly well, and is still more than playable. Hell, it's still enjoyable even. It's yet another Zelda finally checked off my list, though I should have finished it ages ago, lmao.
As they say, it's an oldie, but a goodie, and I'm glad I got to finally finish it.
I am just going to out right say it: I had to use a map for this game. I had to use a guide for some of the dungeons, mostly the final one, so I didn't miss any goodies. I still ended up missing the Magic Key, though. ^^;. I tried to go as long as I could without it though (which wasn' very long, honestly). I was also playing the switch online version so, you know, save states and rewind.
This game just had too many things that were archaic to me to not have something handy, lol. I'm probably going to have to do the same thing with Zelda 2 as I hear that game is pretty vague and archaic with it hints and secrets as well.
The first time I tried to tackle the last dungeon, Death Mountain, I got so freaking lost without a map and it lead to frustration.
Even with all of this, this game still kicked my ass, lmao.
However, despite all my griping, I still had a fun enough time with this game. Yes, it's old and even dated, but I can very easily see the makings of the Zelda Formula here.
Overworlds and Dungeons
Heart Containers after defeating bosses
Keys and puzzling dungeon design
Mini-Bosses
Secrets hidden all over the overworld and even in dungeons
Fairies to heal you
Potions
Dungeon Items to help you progress to newer dungeons
The Lost Woods and other maze-like landscapes
A mystic sword and arrows
Even a musical instrument - The Flute!
(I know I'm missing some, too, lol)
Old as the game may be, so many of the staples of Zelda have been here since the beginning. Granted, some of these things Zelda didn't do first, such as keys for unlocking new areas (be they dungeons, castles, etc.), but how they are utilized here is no different to how they are used for the rest of the series. The only difference being you can take the keys with you to other dungeons.
Yes, some of the enemies were frustrating (fuck wizzrobes and darknuts), I didn' know what walls to bomb without the usual visual queues, and traversing the overworld here was probably more perilous than all the other Zelda games I have played (so few opportunities to heal). However, to say I didn't enjoy my time would be untrue. It is my favorite? No. Absolutely no, lol, but I can appreciate what this game did and seeing how this series that I have come to love and cherish started was a great thing to see.
(I actually first played some of this game on my GameCube via the Zelda Collection, and I swear that version wasn't nearly as hard as this one? I might be misremembering though, as I didn't get far in that version ^^;.)
While I don' plan on replaying this anytime soon, if you're a Zelda fan and haven't at least tried it I encourage that you do. Who knows? You might end up liking it more than you think.
(I’m gonna preface this with headcanons are cool, and you can do what you want with these characters, and I promise that absolutely none of this is angry in tone despite the caps lock, but when we’re talking about what is confirmed canon, coming from someone who is 5’0”:)
LET ANDREW MINYARD BE FIVE FEET EVEN.
PLEASE JUST LET HIM BE FIVE FEET EVEN. STOP DENYING THAT IT’S CANON JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN’T PICTURE IT. LEAVE HIM ALONE. HE’S JUST A LITTLE GUY. MY SHORT KING. LET HIM BE.
“I could see him as 5’3” but 5’ is just not a real height.” THE ONLY PEOPLE AGREEING WITH YOU ARE THE PEOPLE RUNNING THE UNIVERSAL STUDIOS AUDITIONS WEBSITE BECAUSE THERE’S NO OPTION TO SELECT ZERO INCHES ON A PROFILE. And that’s not even a joke either, I can’t put my real height on there. :(
“He can’t even get on most amusement park rides!” I AM LITERALLY HIS EXACT HEIGHT AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN DENYED ENTRY TO A RIDE. ALSO HE PROBABLY DOESN’T CARE, I DOUBT HE’S AN AMUSEMENT PARK KINDA GUY, HE’S GOT BIGGER PROBLEMS.
“He can be short but he can’t be THAT short.” DID YOU EVER CONSIDER THAT MAYBE PART OF THE REASON CHARACTERS IN THIS SERIES TREAT HIM SO DIFFERENTLY IS BECAUSE OF HIS HEIGHT? BECAUSE WHAT DOES “he can’t be THAT short” EVEN MEAN? I MEAN THIS IN THE NICEST WAY POSSIBLE, BUT TRY AND EXPLAIN THAT TO ME IN A WAY THAT ISN’T ABSOLUTELY INSULTING AND DEMEANING TO SHORT PEOPLE.
Like, I’m not even mad. Just passionate about character integrity (especially when it’s a character I really see myself in because it’s really special to share a height with a character that isn’t just “cute and nice” for once) and absolutely stupefied that people think that something uncontrollable such as a person’s height has to somehow match a character’s personality. Or that they just “can’t” be that height.
Whew, I was not expecting to dive head first into this fandom on Tumblr like this but here we are lol!
I just watched a couple of the first episodes to Bocchi, just to try it out. Don't know when I'll finish since I have so many other anime on my To Watch list, but I like what I've seen so far. It's cute!
However, I do have one question-
Where did this sassy child learn to talk like this?
The new Mononoke movies brought me back to the Ayakashi/Mononoke fandom after many years — and in my hype, I translated the Q&A from the official Twitter/X account and compiled the current lores/trivias in one document for easy reading. ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡
MONONOKE Q&A (Updated: 04 April 2025) This is a fan translation from the Q&A posted on Mononoke movie trilogy’s official Twitter/X account
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