Author: Lenlo

Warhammer: 40,000 – The Horus Heresy – Horus Rising by Dan Abnett

by Lenlo, posted in Warhammer 40,000

Welcome all, to the first book of my Warhammer 40k book club and our introduction to the Horus Heresy, Horus Rising! I wasn’t sure what to expect from Horus Rising to be honest, I’ve never read a book from the First Founding/31st Millennium time period. It’s very different from modern Warhammer 40k, containing a lot less of the religious zealotry and fascism that will come to define the Imperium of Man in the future. In fact, if it weren’t for the Space Marines, Primarchs and other core 40k concepts, it could almost be a regular science-fiction novel. On one hand, was a bit off putting, as I was expecting typical Warhammer 40k experience. On the other hand, the very purpose of this series is to watch the fall of an empire in the middle of its ascendancy, to experience the decay and destruction of something great. And to do that, Horus Rising has to first establish what exactly we’re losing.

Oh and for those of you looking for anime content, don’t worry. I have a few reviews I’m working on for the end of the season, and Wooper and I are working on our usual Season Preview to come out in a week or two, so those are on their way!

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Warhammer: 40,000 – The Horus Heresy Series – Quick Primer

by Lenlo, posted in Warhammer 40,000

Welcome all, to a fun new thing I’ve decided to do. So for those who might not know, I’ve been a big Warhammer: 40k fan for a while now. Pretty sure I’ve mentioned it in the occasional post, as well as on Discord. Yet despite this, despite playing the table top for a number of years, loving the setting, playing all of the games, and reading plenty of the “modern” novels, I’ve never actually read the definitive story of the setting, the Horus Heresy. Recently however I’ve decided to do just that, and thought it would be fun to do little reviews for each book as I finish them and share my hobby here. I know this isn’t anime, but well… It’s something I’m passionate about, so why not try and something new? Before we get into that though, I need to introduce you to the setting and answer a few questions you might have. Questions like “What exactly is the Horus Heresy?”, “What’s a Space Marine?” and “What do you mean ‘40,000’?”. Well this post is going to answer all of those and hopefully act as a bit of a primer to the Warhammer 40,000 universe, affectionally called Warhammer 40k or just 40k, for those who have been interested but never dared dip their toe into the franchise. So without further ado, let’s dive in to my favorite fictional universe ever!

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Guest Post: Unearthed Treasure with Firechick – Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid (88/100)

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews

Hey kids! Remember back in the 90s-2000s, people were convinced that video games made people violent? Or believed that video games were only violent shooters, and stuff like D&D and Pokemon were Satanic? These days, actual studies have shown video games by themselves don’t cause people to become violent or engage in violent acts, and luckily, that stereotype has mostly died out. But there are also people who believe that real games should only be shooters, action games, or overworld games, not those pesky RPGs, visual novels, farm sims, and so on. I think you guys know which camp I’m in. Video games, like all media, can be anything and everything their creators want them to be, whether they be action packed fantasies or down-to-earth, quiet farming sims. There’s really no restriction on their content anymore. Just look at the Boku no Natsuyasumi series, which are basically video games about kids playing in the countryside during their summer vacation and doing everything from fishing, catching bugs, hanging with friends, and so on. I’m only just starting to learn about the BokuNatsu series, but recently, a game that’s made by the same creators, Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid, got an English release and came out on Switch and PC. It looked cute, so I played the demo and thoroughly enjoyed it. 30 hours in, and I’m totally hooked!

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Summer 2024 Mid-Season Check In

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, State of the Season

Welcome all, to a mid-season check in post! I’m stuck in the middle of a writeup on My Hero Academia that’s taking longer than I thought, so I figured why not talk about how this season is going and what, if anything, interests me. Make sure to let me know how you’re enjoying it in the comments down below! Always a chance I missed something after all. Also these are in no particular order, so don’t read into that, I just added them as I thought of them.

Isekai Shikkaku

First is my surprise favorite of the season, Isekai Shikkaku. To be honest, I really wasn’t expecting to stick with this. The first episode was a pleasant surprise, but I didn’t think it would be able to keep it up for the entire season. Yet here we are, seven episodes in, and I’m still enjoying it just as much as I did the pilot. Something about Hiroshi Kamiya’s deadpan performance as Osamu Dazai, the way he simultaneously enables and dampens all of the usual Isekai bullshit, really appeals to me. His power is still situational OP bullshit that does whatever the plot demands, and they still always win, but he also never involves himself in a conflict until the very end to clean it all up. Instead he walks around making morbid quips and trying to kill himself, all the while those around him expect Dazai to be the standard Isekai protagonist man-child.  It’s… I wouldn’t exactly call it novel, because Isekai Shikkaku still follows a lot of the standard Isekai tropes, but it’s definitely more entertaining than 90% of Isekai and there’s a degree of heart to it I don’t get from most. Something about a suicidal Osamu Dazai giving life lessons and wisdom to people that he himself will never take to heart works for me.

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Guest Post: Unearthed Treasure with Firechick – A Little Lily Princess (90/100)

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Special Articles

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “What?! Why would anyone adapt a classic Victorian era novel into a visual novel?! This is gonna suck soooooo bad!” Yeah, adapting a Victorian novel into a video game is definitely not the norm. Was anyone really expecting this? And did anyone even want such a thing to happen? Well, Hanako Games thought it’d be a great idea, and they made A Little Lily Princess. Now, as of this review, I’ve finished this game, read the book, and I’ve seen three adaptations of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess so far: The 1993 movie, the 1986 British mini-series/movie starring Amelia Shankley, and the 1985 anime adaptation, the latter two I think are some of the best adaptations. I can definitely say for sure that A Little Lily Princess is up there with those two in that it’s one of the most well executed, well thought out adaptations of Burnett’s novel, though I won’t deny that it does have some flaws that prevent the game from being truly great.

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Guest Post: Unearthed Garbage with Firechick – One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e (48/100)

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews

Many know the company Visual Arts/Key for their visual novels: Kanon, Air, Clannad, Little Busters, Rewrite, their kinetic novels, and so on. But while Kanon is the first VN that they produced under their Key banner, the staff that formed Key were actually part of another company before this, Tactics (Which would later come to be known as Nexton), and in 1998, they released an adult rated visual novel called One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e. It was initially never exported outside of Japan, but in its home country, it was quite popular, to the point of getting a ton of ports to different consoles and supposedly pioneering the concept of VNs having more low-key, emotional, character driven dramas that many Key fans endearingly refer to as “nakige” or “crying game.” One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e did get a fan translation and that was all it got as far as English exposure. So imagine my surprise when I found out that it suddenly got a complete, from the ground up remake out of nowhere that came out in December of 2023, and said remake getting an official English release, at that! I’m gonna keep referring to the game by its original title, One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e, because just saying the word One would just be confusing by itself. Seeing as a piece of gaming history was being released, I thought I’d give it a try and see what it’s like.

…Yeah, I regret that choice. A LOT.

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The 4 (8?) Forms of Ancient Greek Love, Using Anime

by Lenlo, posted in Currently Watching:, Special Articles

Relationships are complicated. From learning how to communicate and respecting each others boundaries to how they are established, grow and change, there’s a lot that goes into them. And this is true for all relationships, not just the romantic! Friends can grow apart without proper communication, or grow into a romance with it. Family can be pushed away when you don’t respect each other properly, or you could pick up a whole new one from those around you. In my eyes it’s these complications, these ugly details that each of us interpret differently and draw our own lines with, that make relationships so difficult to portray and discuss in media. Why some may love and believe one character dynamic but push back and scoff at another, why some may see a romance where others see a deep friendship. And the best part? When approached in good faith and earnestly thought about, no one is wrong, because each of us are looking for something different.

So to help figure out what relationships mean to me, and hopefully you as you read this, lets took a look at the various form a relationship can take as defined by the Greeks, using examples from anime to illustrate them. Sound fun? Good, because I’ve been looking forward to this for a while. So without further ado, let’s dive into the 4 (8?) forms of Ancient Greek love, and my first big post since retirement!

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Guest Post: Unearthed Baubles with Firechick – The Flying Phantom Ship 74/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews

Show of hands, who here has ever heard of this old movie from 1969 called The Flying Phantom Ship before 2022? No? Me neither. I never even knew Flying Phantom Ship existed until Discotek Media announced on their Twitter page that they licensed it in May of 2022. Not only that, they even made an English dub for it because the original music and effects tracks, which are required to make dubs in different audio, were actually preserved, something which wasn’t considered a common practice back in the sixties. This effectively makes Flying Phantom Ship the oldest anime to ever receive an English dub in the modern era. I was already intrigued and decided to buy the movie just based on its history and significance in terms of dubbing, but hearing that Mona Marshall, one of many voice actresses who defined my childhood, was cast as the lead character pretty much cemented that decision. But what about the movie itself?

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Summer 2024 Impressions: I Parry Everything, Bye Bye, Earth, Atri: My Dear Moments

by Lenlo, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

I Parry Everything

Short Synopsis: Noor has wanted to be a hero since he was a child, but he was never good enough at anything to do so. After years of training he was only able to learn a single skill, parry. With only one path before him, he takes that skill to its absolute limits.

Mario: Well, even though the episode feels familiar, at least the main character is so earnest that it’s hard to hate him. The show spends an entire episode showing us his journey to become an adventurer, from when he’s a teenager until now. Throughout all his hardships, and displaying no talent at all, he still keeps going at it. I guess the punch line here is the same as that “BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense” show – he maxes out his parrying skill, so much so that it actually becomes his primary weapon. The girl he saves is a princess so she will take him everywhere with her… I think the show will have all the familiar beats here, so if you still like the main character after this episode and don’t mind the tropes, you will have a good time here.
Potential: 10%

Lenlo: As Mario says, there’s nothing particularly new here in Parry. The MC has a highly specific OP skill in a fantasy world ruled by video game logic, saves the girl who then falls for him, pretty standard power fantasy stuff. But… Parry executes on it competently. It doesn’t rush into the OP bullshit from the first minute, the MC isn’t some Isekai chosen one who doesn’t put in any effort to obtain his skill, and in fact he’s kind of a decent person, helping everyone out and being your friendly neighborhood hero. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about Parry, but I also can’t say I hated it. If you’re looking for a fun OP MC action fantasy series, you could do far far worse than Parry than season.
Potential: 20%

Bye Bye, Earth

Short Synopsis: Belle Lablac doesn’t really fit in as the only human being in a world full of anthropomorphic animals. No fangs, no fur, no scales, no claws. Lonely and eager to discover where she comes from, Belle journeys to find answers to the questions of her heart. Carrying nothing but her giant sword, the Runding, she faces a world of possibilities and pitfalls in hopes of discovering the truth.

Mario: Sometimes, you can feel the air of racism in an anime so thick that you could taste it, and that’s what the first half of this episode does for me. It’s a bit sad, really. For all of its efforts to differentiate itself from the normal isekai settings (there are a whole range of different races here), it just tries a bit too hard on isolating our main girl from this world. In fact, “trying too hard” is what I feel about the whole episode. There are some neat worldbuilding details about nomad and enola, but because the episode tries to cram so many details, it gets lost in the middle. Belle’s flashback, for example, clashes a bit with her current time with her teacher. As a result, it is hard to get emotionally invested in their farewell fight as we don’t spend enough time with them together. Still, the music is nice, and at least the show is trying. Still, I’m not sure if I’m gonna stick around for more.
Potential: 20%

Lenlo: The way I feel about Bye Bye, Earth can best be described as… Curious. I’m curious about this world, and why everyone in it are animals, and not sexy “fox/cat girl” animals, I mean actual insect humanoids/Minotaurs/Centaurs. I’m curious about why our lead is the only human, and what that means for her. I’m curious about this sword, a spell inscribed on the blade, and this curse she undertook to become a Nomad. I’m not sold on any of it yet, the action isn’t great and there’s some pretty basic fantasy racism going on. But there’s enough here that I want to give it a few episodes and see where it goes, plus Penkin’s music, while mixed a tad loud for my taste here, isn’t bad. Hopefully it does something with itself.
Potential: 50%

Atri: My Dear Moments

Short Synopsis: A one-legged man discovers a remarkably lifelike robot sleeping in the undersea ruins of his grandmother’s former home.

Wooper: In the seven years since I started writing for Star Crossed, our quarterly first impressions periods have ended on a stinker around half the time. So, which side of the decent-to-dud divide does our final premiere, Atri: My Dear Moments, fall on? Happily, I’d say it’s the former. The show boasts an interesting (if not original) setting featuring risen sea levels and dilapidated highways, and though its characters are clearly trope-driven, the composition of the cast gives off a mid-2000s charm that I can at least tolerate. The main character is sullen, but he’s got a good reason for it (more than one reason, really), and the cutesy android he discovers on the seafloor near the start of the episode will surely appeal to fans of little sister types. She’s granted a few bits of expressive character acting here, and the protagonist’s 3DCG submarine looks pretty good, too – and even when it didn’t, as in a shot of its extendable arms pinching at nothing in particular, the clumsiness put a smile on my face. My Dear Moments doesn’t have a strong narrative thrust behind it after one episode, but it’s raised a couple questions about its main character’s past and its setting that may bring people back for more. I won’t be among their number, but I can at least appreciate the show’s redeeming qualities – and its place as a decent finisher to the summer season.
Potential: 25%

Lenlo: I was pleasantly surprised by Atri. I wasn’t expecting much, initial impressions weren’t great since we open on an Onee-san type flashing her cleavage and thigh gap at us. But as the show went on it became more and more of a vibe. Sailing through the ocean, floating underneath the sea, an MC with good reasons to be moody for once. It felt like someone actually cared while making this, unlike a great many of the shows airing this season. I think whether or not you like this will come down entirely to whether or not the vibe is one you connect with. Personally, while I enjoyed it for this episode due to all the other seasonals I had to watch for these posts, I know it’s not something I could keep up with for an entire season. Still, if you’re looking for something that’s more about experiencing a world and the characters living in it, rather than a set narrative, I think this could work for you.
Potential: 35%

Summer 2024 Impressions: Quality Assurance in Another World, Tower of God S2, My Deer Friend Nokotan

by Lenlo, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Quality Assurance in Another World

Short Synopsis: A player tries to save a village with a bugged strategy to kill a dragon.

Mario: There’s more to Quality Assurance than it lets on, at least for the good first 15 minutes of this premiere. I’m pretty sure everyone would consider “the twist” a legit gamechanger (pun intended here), as it opens up more layers for both the story and the main character Haga. For me personally, it comes off as a bit clunky. How can Haga have so many resources in the first place, and how did he bring them all there by himself before his showdown with the dragon? Does this also mean he witnesses Nikola and the villagers die every time, but only this time Nikola comes back to life? I reckon the show will address the second point later on, as there are still many ambiguous circumstances that await Haga and Nikola on their journey. For now, the character designs remain mixed as well. I really enjoy the designs and costumes that remind me of Kemono no Souja Erin and the Bookworm anime, but the Dragon design is a bit off (are they… dragons?). And the concepts of “debugging” and “non-player character that becomes a main character” aren’t something new anymore. This one does delve into a darker theme and more serious tone, which is always a welcome change, but I suppose we will get a full taste of it in the next episode – when Haga and Nikola explore the world and figure out a way to get Haga back to real life.
Potential: 40%

Amun: That was not what I expected. I thought we’d get something similar to the other Dungeon show (Working!! Dungeon edition). Instad, we’ve got something of the SAO stuck-in-VR setting meets To Your Eternity – not necessarily bad, but not necessarily good. I agree with Mario, those dragons are…not good. The overall story I guess is fine, and the characters are at least mildly engaging. I don’t personally love the designs or most of the visuals, but I’m a bit interested in the premise and the mystery of the world. The twist is fun, so I’m interested in this for at least a few more episodes. Not expecting anything great though.
Potential: 50%

Tower of God S2

Short Synopsis: There’s a tower that grants whoever climbs it fully whatever they wish for. Also, when betting on yourself, make sure to not go into debt so much that you have to sell your organs.

Amun: Ah man, four years since the last Tower of God, and I vaguely remember what was going on (just remember blonde girl is worst girl and something or other about Jahad). This definitely feels like a soft reboot, introducing a new lead. I guess it’s okay since Bam filled the role of the energetic newbie last time, but it just feels like a step back, storywise. I don’t entirely mind, I guess it’s okay to bring in new characters who I won’t remember in four years. I’m not sure I love our new lead, but I’m willing to give him a chance – everyone sitting waiting by the elevator was really funny. The action wasn’t super snappy, and the characters feel more….normalized than season 1. I really liked the first season since it was something a bit different than we usually see – a self-contained world with different factions, powers, and rules (something of a more serious DanMachi). This feels a little more standard fair (especially the character designs), but I’m still interested enough to carry on. I don’t have very high expectations though.
Potential: 50%

Lenlo: So this is where I have to be a bit of a negative nancy. I know a fair number of people were looking forward to this, that they enjoyed Tower of God, both the WebToon and the anime, and were excited for Season 2. But personally? I’ve always found this to be one of the series’ weakest sections, which is saying something for how bad it gets. It wants to do this “Who is he” mystery with the cloaked FUG member while simultaneously making it incredibly obvious that it’s just Bam with a new edgy coat of paint. It also tosses in a bunch of new characters that never really come into their own, but are shoved center stage because Tower of God doesn’t want to reveal anything with Bam after just reintroducing him. It’s just… Narratively it’s unsatisfying, always has been, and the only worthwhile thing I can see coming are the fights. Yet even those don’t seem very promising judging by what we got this episode. Maybe Tower of God has something coming, there are a fair number of fights in this arc, and Kevin Penkin’s OST is always pretty good. Just don’t expect anything great from it.
Potential: 5%

My Deer Friend Nokotan

Short Synopsis: A high school girl befriends a transfer student with antlers growing from her head in the hopes that her violent past won’t be exposed.

Wooper: I was originally holding out for fansubs on this one, since the official subs suffer from constant formatting errors, but we’ve got impressions posts to write, so I bit the bullet and watched what was available. Having seen it now, I don’t think spiffier subtitles would change my evaluation of this premiere by much; My Deer Friend Nokotan is supposed to be dumb fun, but instead it’s just dumb. I like non sequitur humor, which is most of what this show has to offer, but my issue is that this episode doesn’t establish a sense of normalcy that it can go on to break. Sure, there’s a school setting, which is probably good enough for some viewers, but from the moment Shikanoko transfers into said school, she speaks with a squeaky voice, causes property damage, and violates the laws of common sense at every possible turn. Even giving her a teenage speaking voice, rather than a babyish drawl, might have helped to establish some sort of mundane baseline against which her more bizarre actions could be contrasted. We never got that baseline, but this show isn’t totally without hope – there was a scene near the end, where a pair of characters flattered the main girl with progressively outlandish praise, that demonstrated some solid comedy fundamentals. That was the only moment where I cracked a smile while watching, though, so I don’t think I’ll be back for round two.
Potential: 5%

Lenlo: Look, it’s a meme show. There’s no other way to put it, Nokotan is a meme that lives and dies by its absurd comedy. If something about poorly composited CG deer and stupid physical/gross out gags from her deer-horned classmate sounds fun, then have it. I have plenty of friends who are raving about this thing because this sort of humor is right up their alley. Personally though, I was bored out of my mind this entire episode. None of these jokes are particularly clever, and I feel like it will run out of material by episode 3 at the latest. So yeah, as with most slapstick gag manga, this is a hard pass for me.
Potential: 0%