Blayde MacRonan wrote:
Finished up watching Trigun Stampede, and my speculation ended up being correct. The July Incident occurred in the final episode with a two-year timeskip taking place afterwards and Vash is in hiding, going by the name of Eriks. He has not only the 60 billion $$ bounty, but his hairstyle is very similiar to his original anime version. Meryl is still working for the news service, but is also receiving a newbie by the name of Milly Thompson to mentor. However, the best part came at the end of the credits: Spoiler:
in space, a crew member is stating that "Project Pieces of Earth" is now entering phase two, and drain gate deployment is complete. Before they active an experimental warp drive, Special Ops Lieutenant Colonel Independent Chronica stops them and tells them to make some corrections, explaining that she sees a fluctuation in the gate and asks for readings from the entire solar system. Chronica realizes that the noise is coming from Project SEEDS. My understanding is that the final bit at the end will take the series (for which there will be a season two) further into Trigun Maximum manga territory, which it had already been delving into. Overall, I enjoyed this take on Trigun. It lacked the goofiness of the original anime, yet still remained wholly Trigun. The use of elements from Trigun Maximum lends it a more serious tone that I thought the original anime lacked and instills a better understanding as to why Vash carries such a burden of guilt upon himself. I highly recommend watching it through at least once.
I'm very much looking forward to Ancient Magus' Bride season 2 myself. Definitely can't wait for that to start. Think I finally figured out what the deal is with Trigun: Stampede. Can't believe that I missed it, but after re-watching episode 6, I think I know where this season is headed. In episode 6 (and continuing into episode 7), Vash and Wolfwood take a ride on a sand-steamer, but are attacked by Livio the Double-Fang, along with Legato Bluesummers, Zazie the Beast, and the Bad Lads Gang (no Brilliant Dynamites Neon, however). I had never seen Livio before, so I was too focused on him to be paying attention to the sand-steamer's destination: the city of July. If I'm correct, then everything in this series is taking place before the July City Incident. If true, then this means we may actually get to see it animated for the first time. In fact, I think that the season will end after that happens, and will probably launch into a timeskip that could take place in a season two very similar to the one that happens in the manga, Trigun Maximum (I only know this because I have a friend who has read the manga, and who also informed me of Livio's identity as well). This is merely speculation, and considering that this season is only going to be 12 episodes long, this means that they're two-thirds of the way through, with episode 9 continuing the backstory started in 8. That only leaves 3 more episodes to find out whether my theory is on point or not. I had all of this buzzing in my head, so I needed to get it out.
Episode 8 of Trigun: Stampede begins delving into Vash's backstory. This was something that I wanted to see very much, at least this interpretation of it. I'm enjoying it so far, but next week's episode (which continues what was started in this one) will be very crucial, as I'm curious to see if I can understand what drives both Knives and Vash.
In addition to watching Trigun Stampede, I've taken up watching The Eminence in Shadow. In doing so, I became aware of a term that I hadn't really heard of before: chuuni (spelled with this kanji 厨ニ) After some research, I discovered that it's a shortened form of the word chuunibyou (spelled with this kanji 中二病), or "middle-school second-year syndrome," which refers to when someone acts and talks like they live in a fantasy game, in the manga world, with magic, evil organizations, and so on. Why is all of that important? Because the MC of The Eminence in Shadow believes he is experiencing this phenomenon rather than believing he's been isekaied to another world (thanks to that Black Air Force menace, Truck-kun), and it informs his every interaction in the series once he arrives. Sure, it's yet another isekai where the MC is overpowered compared to everyone else, but I'm not watching because of that. No, I'm watching it to see just how long he can keep convincing himself that he's something that he isn't, and what he does when the reality of his situation truly sets in on him. If, of course, that ever happens...
Technically not an AMV or MAD. Just a collection of the opening and all of the endings for Chainsaw Man gathered into one place. Enjoy! In order: "KICK BACK" - Opening Theme
"CHAINSAW BLOOD" - Episode 1 Ending Theme
"Zanki" - Episode 2 Ending Theme
"Hawatari 2-oku Centi" - Episode 3 Ending Theme, Episode 7, 9 Insert Song
"Jouzai" - Episode 4 Ending Theme
"In The Back Room" - Episode 5 Ending Theme
"Dainouteki na Rendezvous" - Episode 6 Ending Theme
"Chu, Tayousei." - Episode 7 Ending Theme
"first death" - Episode 8 Ending Theme
"Deep down" - Episode 9 Ending Theme
"DOGLAND" - Episode 10 Ending Theme
"Violence" - Episode 11 Ending Theme
"Fight Song" - Episode 12 Ending Theme
Managed to catch up to the current season of Boku no Hero Academia. Also started watching Trigun Stampede. This is the show that I wanted the original series to be like. More serious and darker in tone, especially where the character of Millions Knives is concerned (because he is legitimately scary in this new version). My problem with the original series is that they made Vash seem way more heroic than he actually was, and I didn't like that at all. Vash is still no one to model their behavior on in this new one, but by the end of the third episode of Stampede, he embarks on the journey to become something more than he is currently. At least that's my hope. Oh... and that opening is a thing of beauty.
I've been enjoying Chainsaw Man. I especially love that each episode has a different outro and song (my personal favorite so far being HAWATARI NIOKU CENTI [2-hundred-million-centimeter-long blades] (TV edit) by MAXIMUM THE HORMONE. Would definitely love to hear the full version of this song. Also gets extra points for being used as a proper battle theme in episode 7. Bleach: The Thousand Year Blood War has gotten better and better with each episode, peaking (or so we thought) with last week's reveal of the Head Captain's bankai. Then this week's episode happened. Though not perfect, this arc has exceeded all of my expectations so far.
Just finished watching the first episode of Bleach: The Thousand Year Blood War on Hulu... and all I can say is DAMN! The ten year wait was worth it (I'm an anime-only fan). The animation was crisp and clean, the soundtrack was on point, and the lack of censorship when it comes to the violence marks that we're truly entering a darker season than the previous ones. Looking forward to what's coming.
Freehold DM wrote:
No insult. Just saying that the live action Ranma 1/2 movie is better than the Sailor Moon pilot. But I suppose we can take this up a notch. The live action Dragon Ball movie (it doesn't matter which one at this point, because both were pretty awful) is better than that Sailor Moon pilot.
Here4daFreeSwag wrote:
My eyes! Oh, dear gods.... my eyes! And I thought TMNT: The Next Mutation was bad.... It's freaking Shakespeare compared to that visual and auditory hellscape I bore witness to. I'm willing to bet that even the live-action Ranma 1/2 movie is better than that drek.
Taken from the text for handwraps: "Some martial artists also weave small coins or metal bars into their handwraps, adding special material effects as well. Handwraps don’t alter the damage a character’s unarmed attacks deal. However, masterwork handwraps can be enchanted as weapons, providing their benefits on unarmed attacks the character makes with her hands." You're looking at just the damage die. I am not, because lets not forget that bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage are a thing as well. The handwraps themselves are the vehicle to provide the weapon special ability to your unarmed strike. Because if we follow your line of logic, then that means that brawling can't be applied to an amulet of mighty fists (as it also does not have a listed damage, critical range, or damage type). Let's look at another weapon... the cestus. It also is worn on the hands, but unlike handwraps, it has a listed damage (1d3/1d4), critical range (19-20/x2), and damage type (bludgeoning or piercing). Those supersede the damage, critical range, and damage type of the unarmed strike. The reason why handwraps don't have those things listed is because the unarmed strike takes precedence in that regard. Because let's not forget that some feats and abilities can alter the damage type of an unarmed strike (the feat Hamatulatsu immediately comes to mind, as you can choose to do bludgeoning or piercing damage when using it). To not take that into account with handwraps would limit their use. And denying them brawling would impose a further limit that they really don't need. Now if I'm wrong, then so be it. I can accept that and move on. After all, I'm no professional game designer and I wasn't there when they decided to work on the item in question. All I'm doing is offering my take on how it works.
Yes, I'm resurrecting a dead thread. The damage, critical range, and damage type of the handwraps themselves are irrelevant, since they 'don’t alter the damage a character’s unarmed attacks deal.' Unarmed Strike is, in and of itself, the vehicle through which the damage, critical range, and damage type are determined. The sole purpose of masterwork handwraps is so that they can be enchanted as weapons, thus providing their benefits on any unarmed attacks the character makes with their hands. So yes, masterwork handwraps can, in fact, be enchanted to have the brawling special weapon ability (as an unarmed strike is a light bludgeoning weapon).
Greylurker wrote:
Not a member of KISS... Di-Amon is actually a reference to King Diamond, the musician. I mean, the manga's author, Kazushi Hagiwara, is both a heavy metal and Dungeons and Dragons fan after all. I love how characters keeps reminding both the viewer and those around that it's a shonen manga when things start to get a bit... raunchy at times. I'm loving how fun this series is and I'm hoping that the next 11 episodes that are coming later this year are just as fun.
Watched Spriggan on Netflix. 6 episodes, with the second one being what the 1998 OVA was based on. Thoroughly enjoyed what I saw, especially the animation quality. Not surprised though, considering that David Production, the folks behind Cells at Work, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and Fire Force, worked on this. Now I'm just waiting for Bastard! to drop...
Actually started watching the anime version of the Netflix series Alice in Borderland on ANoD (Anime Network on Demand). There appear to be only three episodes so far, and it looks like the anime is an older one, say 20-teens if I'm judging by the style. I think I prefer the live action series over what I've seen so far with the anime. Not sure what I think of the Netflix Shaman King ending, but to be fair... I don't recall how the original anime series ended either. I may have to track that down and compare the two. I'm going to have to rewatch the second half of Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045. I was following it all up until the last couple of episodes and then things just got... weird.
Freehold DM wrote:
Ahh... Tenjho Tenge. Had one banger of an opening. I'd love to see them pick up where that series left off at. That tournament arc was shaping up to be epic.
Well... this was an unexpected reveal. The return of Ikki Tousen.
Watched Shaman King and Eden's Zero on Netflix. Looking forward to more episodes to drop for those (especially Shaman King). Also watched Way of the Househusband (Gokushufudō) on Netflix. And while I'm not really into slice of life anime, I've got to say... that series is hilarious! Got to see the movie edition of Macross Plus in theaters last year with my son. Didn't know if he would enjoy an old school classic like that, but he loved it. Gives me hope for the future (sniff, sniff). Need to catch up on Demon Slayer season 2 (having watched the movie in theaters, I took a pass on episodes 2-7). Need to finish watching Cells at Work!! and and Cells at Work: Code Black. Watched Rebuild of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time after doing a rewatch of the previous three movies on Amazon Prime. I enjoyed it very much and loved the ending. Need to watch JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean.
DM Blayde MacRonan wrote:
I'll ask Nyym's player when I talk to him how he feels, but I don't think the player will mind either. But given how the current majority has agreed to this, I'll provide the following update: Vambraces of Overflowing Power (+3) (Rocnork): These bracers are made of a highly flexible metallic substance, covering the wearer’s forearms and the tops of their hands. Glass globes line the length of them, the one over the hand being the largest, and decreasing in size up to where the vambraces end at the elbows. If the wearer is under the effects of their elemental overflow, rather than visually displaying their abilities as they normally would (such as an aerokineticist having wind and lightning around them, or water weeping from a hydrokineticist’s pores), the glass globes brightly glow with a color or range of colors associated with the kineticist’s elemental powers. This glow sheds light as a torch, and the effect can be suppressed in the same manner as elemental overflow could be. In addition, the wearer can apply their bonus to damage rolls granted by elemental overflow to attacks made with blasts modified by kinetic blade, kinetic fist, kinetic whip, devastating infusion, and to any other blast that would normally be denied this bonus. The amount of bonus that can be applied is limited by the strength of the vambraces (+3 in this case). Focusing Glove (Rocnork): This light white glove seems to shine like a prism whenever used, flashing brilliantly in a rainbow of colors before dulling once again. A focusing glove is made with a special ability (in this instance seeking) that can be applied to the user’s kinetic blast as though it was a weapon being held in one’s hand. Using a focusing glove requires the wearer to increase the total burn cost of their blast by an amount equal to the bonus of the special ability being applied to the blast (+1 in this case). A focusing glove uses up the wearer’s entire hands slot. The wearer cannot not use another item (even another focusing glove) that also uses the hands slot. Seeking: A seeking weapon veers toward its target, negating any miss chances that would otherwise apply, such as from concealment. The wielder still has to aim the weapon at the right square. Arrows mistakenly shot into an empty space, for example, do not veer and hit invisible enemies, even if they are nearby.
I've been enjoying rewatching Saint Seiya on Netflix and it reminded me just how much I missed the music of MAKE-UP (Pegasus Fantasy and Blue Forever both are really good songs). Rewatched Ouran Host Club, Card Captor Sakura and I started rewatching One Piece on Netflix. Annoyed that Netflix wouldn't help fund another season of Wakfu, so if you're wanting that new season track down the Kickstarter for it and donate. I also watched the new Stand Alone Complex on Netflix as well... well at least the first half of it. I enjoyed it (especially since they brought back the English dub voice actors from the original SAC), but it really didn't feel like SAC until about halfway through and it ended just as it was getting good. Looking forward to seeing where they go from here with it. Watched the new Orphen series on Hulu. As a fan of the first season of the original series, I really liked this new one due to the overall seriousness of its tone. If they plan on doing another season, I'm down for it. I'm trying to watch Terror in Resonance on Hulu, but my wife has been watching Scrubs as of late so there's that. I watched Fire Force season 1 and am waiting for more episodes of season 2 to drop before I get back into that. Also watched Kengan Ashura on Netflix and was pleasantly surprised by how much I got into that. And while I'm not into what passes for hip-hop nowadays, that closing theme slaps. Also got around to watching Demon Slayer. Really looking forward to watching more episodes of that as well.
While I would rather have James Cameron actually directing the movie, I'll trust him with allowing Robert Rodriguez to take the chair for Alita: Battle Angel. Especially since the reason why he can't do it himself is due to the success of the Avatar film, which was actually done to show that Alita could be made in the first place. I think a lot of people forget about The Warchowskis' Speed Racer film when it comes to Hollywood live-action adaptations of an anime, which is a shame. My friends and I saw that in theaters opening weekend and loved it. We're hoping to do the same with Alita, but we'll just have to see how that pans out. As for the live action Bebop, well... if they can't get Yoko Kanno to do the soundtrack, Netflix might as well forget about it doing well in any capacity. I am glad that Evangelion will be streaming on the platform though (re-mastered, apparently), even if Funimation is pitching quite the hissy fit over losing out on that particular acquisition.
So... I don't know if anyone has asked about this or not, but the stats for the Core Iconics are no longer a part of this PRD. Is this intentional or will they be added at some point in the near future? Yes, I know I can use the simplified Iconics over at the d20PFSRD, but I liked that they were available on the Paizo PRD and used that more often than not.
Are there any plans to release Zova the iconic shifter as a pregen? I understand that the focus currently is on Pathfinder 2e, but I've been really curious about her statistics since the announcement of the shifter class and the release of her backstory. Really hoping that you all will deliver the final iconic.
Why hasn't anyone done an AMV centering on Rabbit from Zodiac War using SoaD's Psycho? 3 more episodes til the end of Dragon Ball Super. Wondering how Frieza is going to fit into the battle between Goku and Jiren.... So Netflix got back all of Brotherhood so they could show the live-action FMA movie... Gotta say, it wasn't bad, but it was disappointing to me. This was mainly due to some of the changes that were made because they really skewed my enjoyment of the movie. Like... Spoiler:
No Scar, which means Nina's still alive as a chimera. Both Envy and Lust get killed by Mustang (who also makes his first appearance in Reole to help Ed stop the priest and was later set up for the death of Hughes). Still, I took comfort in the fact that the actor for Maes Hughes did a good job. If they had messed that up, I'd have been really pi$$ed. Finally watched C:Control all the way through and learned a lot about economics that I didn't have a clue about before. Re-watching both Psycho-Pass and Thunderbolt Fantasy so I can watch their respective second seasons.
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