Best Albums of 2023

I am the most humble man in the world, so my musical opinions are truly important. After skipping out on new music last year, I made it my New Year's resolution to listen to more freshness. I listened to 102 new albums and only dropped five for being hot garbage. Here's my top ten, not including remasters (sorry, fellow Swifties).

10.) Avatar - Dance, Devil, Dance
9.) Girlschool - WTFortyFive
8.) 69 Eyes - Death of Darkness
7.) Ne Obliviscaris - Exul
6.) Queens of the Stoneage - ...Times New Roman

5.) In Flames - Foregone
In Flames has been pretty meh since before I was Mormon. But who knew an almost entirely new lineup would revive the band in the middle of their third decade? But it's the long term singer, Anders Fridén, who has kept me returning to this album since February. His clean vocals sound better than ever and make the lyrics pop.
Favorite Song: A Dialogue in b Flat Minor

4.) Ignea - Dreams of Land Unseen
I listened to 102 albums this year (and stopped listening to 5), and one thing I've learned is that I have an infatuation for women who can sing like a pop star one second and then turn into a Cannibal Corpse tribute act the next. Add in some folk instruments, heavy progressive guitars, and catchy melodies and lyrics, and you get a concept album about a woman who sailed the world! Slava Ukrani!
Favorite Song: Incurable Disease

3.) Screaming Females - Desire Pathways
I don't like indie rock, but I fell in love with Screaming Females. Marissa Paternoster is a great guitarist, so maybe her chord progressions made me realize how great the genre could be. Catchy lyrics that are easy to sing to might also be why this album was in constant rotation throughout the year.
Favorite Song: Brass Bell

2.) Gorillaz - Cracker Island
My YouTube Music Recap said I was in the top 0.7 percent of listeners of Gorillaz, and it's entirely because of this album. I've said catchy in every other review, but Cracker Island is full of those hooks. Lyrically and melodically. Ya gotta love bands that get better after 25 years.
Favorite Song: New Gold

1.) Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars
It's catchy, but it's hard to see why. Katatonia's brand of progressive metal means guitar riffs or drum beats don't always line up with vocals. It's complicated and trips me up, so it (apparently) clicks with me. The mix of it all makes every listen a new but familiar experience where you see something new. And all that under the weird drone like vocals of Jonas Renske and his (presumably) meaningful lyrics that kept me intrigued, there are so many reasons I've been listening to this album all year.
Favorite Song: No Beacon to Illuminate Our Fall

Treasure Hunter G should have stayed in Japan.

While I didn't hate Treasure Hunter G, it's not great. I don't want to spend much time on this review, so let's skip the fluff.

Plot: mediocre. Characters are boring. All of them are just there. Who was Rain? All of the villains are one note boredom entities with no substance. Why were Leonardo and J-Elf here? I have more questions now than I did a week ago, and that's bad! 5/10

Gameplay: the focus. It's a fun tactical RPG. I like that you can attack diagonally, which is a weird thing to say, but it's pretty rad. The idea of enemies having an aura around them that makes them harder to navigate around is an idea I can get behind. I wish we had it, though. But this game came out at the end of the SNES, so I'll take what I can get. It can get tiring, sadly. 7/10

Sound: too good. I got Chrono Trigger vibes several times throughout the game. It's not as good, but if the game were better, I'd wonder if the OST would be talked about with the same reverence. It had nine people writing for it! 10/10

Visuals: fine. The sprite work is great, but there is a lot of reuse, and many secondary characters don't stand out. A few paths in maps could do with a touch up, but the spell animations look rad. 5/10

Charm: disappointing. There are so many little things here. AFK animations, fun dialogue, and the idea that we can be rewarded for knocking on a stranger's door are neat. Exploration revolves around looking through every nook and cranny to make money. And the game isn't very long. Sadly, that's it. NPCs come and go, and others leave forever. Whatever happened to the King and Queen? Or Kiruru and the turtle? But they sorta fit because the world lacks substance, too. Like the game, as a whole, there's so much lacking in this experience. 5/10

Negatives exist in the form of separate vendors to sell things, item limits, and the game removing my healer for a boss rush. Remove the negative six from the above, and Treasure Hunter G is a 25/50.

I feel like it's better than a fifty percent, but the game lacks anything to sink your teeth into. The story is a simple McGuffin fetch quest with characters who are just kinda there and their magical monkey. The gameplay is front loaded and doesn't evolve. Maybe if the ending felt satisfying, but I have too many questions. Maybe THG deserves it?

Gee, this was worthwhile...

The Demon Castle is a painfully long dungeon. Fortunately, you can return to one of two heal spheres. One in the town and the second on the third floor. There are many battles on the way up, all of them quite tough, so I ran back to them often. There are also an assortment of items throughout. Most of them are seemingly useless weapons, but there are a few weapons and armor pieces that are great. Also, a bracelet that ups attack instead of defense. Sadly, Blue became useless here. His attacks never hit, and his techniques are all terrible. Maybe if I was smart and learned how to attack from the back without wasting a bunch of action points, but I didn't. But he came around later on. Pongo became a pure mage, but Rain was somehow able to be a good red mage. When you reach the second Undersea Palace from Chrono Trigger room, you're about at the end.

After five floors of suffering, we reach the, presumably, top. Dark Lord is here, which means we fell for his trap? Why did he need to hunt us? Either way, he points out the folly of love, claiming it's what brought us here. I don't remember why. He points out there are only five fairies (who are also guardians) but knows the last one is before him. He Kamehamehas Rain, turning her to crystal. But now he wants to clean up loose ends and kill us. He calls forth Bone Dino, but it'll take a while before it gets here.

So I hope you handed Rain's important items to someone else because she's not here. This is pretty lame for a final boss! Greg is joined by mobs and can summon more when he isn't teleporting around. Neither Blue nor Pongo could physically hit him from the front, but we had to be grouped up. Greg's attacks can do half damage to the entire team, so we needed to be close for a heal bell. If only the game didn't remove my healer. Greg has a lot of HP, so you may need to grind for pots. I hope I missed a shop somewhere in town...

Greg dies but refuses to admit death. He calls forth all the underlings we killed, and they'll fuse into him. We're now against a blue orb. Pongo and Blue can connect with their attacks now, but Red has issues hitting now! I got lucky with level ups, as characters regain a lot of HP when they do so in battle, and I had just enough healing potions for this. If only the game didn't remove my healer!! As Greg gets below 1000 HP (out of 3400), something happens. Bone Dino, who I'll call Gil, begins his resurrection! The ground beneath the castle splits as the dinosaur tries to surface. But something's wrong! Gil's skin falls out. It's well animated! Greg realizes he made a mistake. Rain isn't the fairy guardian. It's Pongo! We're magically healed up to full, putting us in a position to end this farce.

The three return to the top floor of the tower, and Pongo takes up his...her naked fae form. She picks up the blue ball that was Greg and uses it to free Rain. Pongo then leaves the castle to free the other five fairies. While she does that, Red, Blue, and Rain jump off to the surface for one final battle.

Gil's only attack is a fire breath to our 2x8 battlefield. It does just enough damage to be annoying, but it lacks any KO unless you want it to. Red did 200 HP with his Slices skill, and Rain could crit for 100. Save her SP for boosting and healing. Blue was perfectly fine. This battle felt more like an epilogue.

While they did that, Pongo freed the fairies and restored the world from all the damage Greg caused. They bring the landmass back together and return us to the surface.

And this is where we have to say goodbye. Rain can't go with the G brothers. I assume she's from the village at the top of the tree, and this place needs to remain a secret. The fairies cry, and Blue begs Rain to come with them. She remains silent before crying alongside Blue. Staying quiet, the Pongos begin the flight back to the canopy, and Blue promises they'll go on another adventure one day. And with that, the Gs prepare to go home. There's a quick scene where Blue cries again because he realizes his dad is dead, and it's off to Dr. Hello.

He, too, is silent. They all climb aboard the Ferric Falcon and fly over the north continent and Carbuncle Island before landing near Oceania. He and his bird bid them farewell, and they go their separate ways. The Gs can get a lay of the land to learn everyone is enjoying the peace now, and our singer friend wrote a song about them that's popular. We can return to Tania, but there's more to see.

Ruoun is on the mend. Harbettle and Ms. More and living together. Mail is also with them, and her not-so-secret admirer is nearby.
The sword tree Grandpa has on his has already grown tall.
Two people moved into our house, and they found a clock. They give it to the boys, and the clock disappears. Was that grandma's??
The dojo is filled with idiots.

Tania town is similar to Oceania. We have one last opportunity to explore, but the goal is our dad's house. They spend the night and wake up when they hear a voice outside. There's no one there, so they wonder about Brown again. They hear his voice and see him standing on the church's roof! He was saved by Mio, who's probably our new mom. She saved him.

But Brown's already ready for another adventure. He wants to learn if the world is flat! But this time, the boys are coming along!

All the NPCs appear on a stage to remind us they existed. The whale and his turtle friend weren't invited. The credits roll, and the last image of that of Leonardo waiting for either Red or J-Elf on a plateau somewhere. Why was he in this game!?

Whatever...

The End.

G-six. Fly like a g-six.

It's the little things that wow me.

The party returns to Stonehenge only to find Brown G as they leave. There's not much of a happy reunion, as Red gets down to business and wants answers for Brown's actions. He reiterates what he said in his letter: Brown wanted to explore the World Tree, so he researched the Oparts. Much of this was spurred on by, presumably, Georgia talking to him in his dreams. The topic turns to the Ferric Falcon, which the Brothers G inform their father has been repaired. Dr. Hello went and done it! With that knowledge, the game automatically jumps us to Babel Dome.

Also, Leonardo ran up to Red and gave him a duel invite that Leo wanted us to hand to J-Elf. We ignored it...

Hello retells us how the Falcon is only missing its power source, but Georgia gave us the Feather for that purpose. Hello begins preparations, but those'll take a few days. Days that we quickly learn we don't have. The warning klaxons ring out as monsters are attacking the tower. The party heads down two flights, fighting some incredibly powerful mobs. The exp rewards are really good, though, so it may be worth grinding a bit. But fire ends up blocking the path, so the party must return to the top. Hello urges us to escape, but we're concerned about the Falcon. Hello is worried that his work will end in another failure, but everyone believes in this man we just met. We climb aboard the Falcon and prepare for take off.

But then Dark Lord warps in. He doesn't want us to advance, but there's no way we can blow past him. Brown exits the Falcon and prepares to fight against the Dark Lord. He throws us the final Opart, the Talking Stone, first. Greg hits him with a chi blast, and Brown poofs away. Okay... But it worked, and the Ferric Falcon takes off!

While Dark Lord cannot fly, another underling can. Fossile catches up to us midflight, so there's a battle here. It's a tiny field, but it's enough. Hopefully, you gave all your SP pits to Blue because he's pretty useless here. Pongo and Rain can use magic, and Red should spam Slashes. I also placed the smiling doll behind everyone for some good regain.

After the flying dinosaur skeleton dies (again), a new task is at hand. A series of natural events tries to block our path. These are barriers by the World Tree and fairies. The Oparts need to be used. Dad's Talking Stone is used first and guides us through the procedure. It's usually obvious, but the Dark Globe sets up the final push. It feels kinda random, but I'll blame translation puffery.

The Ferric Falcon lands good enough in another frozen realm. Dr. Hello and his bird remain behind to repair it, so we're on our own. Luckily, he brought a new item with him that we can use (by speaking to him) to restore our status and save. From here, we need to battle our way through abominable snowmen. We'll only need to fight one, but someone is waiting for us.

The final (?) underling of Dark Lord jumps out at us, declares his love for Greg, and fights us. Fenril is joined by three yetis and can summon red skeleton goblins. I had Red and Rain go up the middle while Blue and Pongo distracted the other two with status effects.

Behind him is the final fairy, but she's already been crystallized. It yells at the guardians for help. Behind her is the biggest tree ever. The party wonders how they'll get to the top, and Rain and Pongo step up. They appear to cast a spell, and we all start to fly up the trunk of the tree. It takes a long time, and Blue mostly talks about something childish. Rain is concerned that her secret will be revealed...

At the top is a desolate and ruined village. Most of the homes are empty or contain new gear. But there are a few depressed beings underground in the back. They believe that the fairies are gone, and the guardians (who are different than the fae) are nowhere to be found. One thinks we're them but refuses to get hopeful. There's a restore and save sphere within, and the Demon's Castle is what appears to be where a temple would be. I think we're at the end, so I'll finish Treasure Hunter G...

...tomorrow!

There are a lot of things that need to be explained and very little time to do it in.

Grid Level 4

It's more forests!

West of Aknass is a forest. It's filled with the usual rabble, but there's also a turtle man! He finally reappears, still swearing vengeance over our dad or something. Leonardo fights alone and isn't strong. He runs away, telling us we're not strong and promising more revenge.

On the otherside are two villages. Haama is to the north, and it appears abandoned. No one runs the inn, and the item shop is filled with kabutops. As we explore, a human runs up to us and asks to save his family. We follow him to his house and enter the pitch black building. Nothing is there, and we hear the door lock behind us. Water suddenly begins to flood the room. Shout out to the architect of this village. Their homes are water tight! But this trap starts to show its effectiveness. The floods rise, and we quickly learn to "swim." Rain mutters to the aether while Red runs around. Three holes implode the house, and water rushes out. We were saved by Mio? She hits on Rain again by saying she sensed the call of her heart. Things then get weird when Mio teaches Rain the Drain spell. As thanks, Rain has to accept Mio's original deal of becoming her slave. Mio quickly metaphorically rips up that deal. It was all a joke. Mio teleports away, and the party never thinks about why they almost died. There's another town to the south that exists to rest before the next forest.

We'll eventually reach Rekur. As Hello showed us, Papa Brown is lying in bed, dealing with severe injuries. He's so out of it that he didn't realize his children were here. He was more concerned about finding the Oparts and going to the World Tree. He passes back out, muttering about the Underground City. One of the maids gives us his possessions, a strength seed and the Tablet. Check out the town for new weapons and armor. Other townsfolk inform us about a cave to the northeast.

Rekur Cave is wonderfully small. There's an ooze at the top, and a bat guards a door. From there, it's a gauntlet of mobs. We can return to the healing and save spheres at any time. I found it got easier as it went along. At the end is a tall man named Artemis and his three golems. He says something about the fall of his home, Atlantis, and how he's protecting it.

The battle against him is straightforward. The golems only move one square at a time and can't seem to attack when they move. They're surprisingly fragile if you gang up on them. Meanwhile, Artemis only has one attack: a homing fire thing that hits everyone on the team. It only did 30 damage to everyone, so I had no problem here. After the fight, Art recognizes us as the heroes who can save the world. He teaches Red the Super Dash technique before dying. Behind him is the Old Map, an Opart that lessens the effects of gravity.

We return to Brown, but he's run off in the last few days. How long were we down there!? The maid doesn't know where he went but suggests the Underground City or Stonehenge. I think we were just at the city, so I made my way back to Aroshu Castle.
 
The King is gone, so we can't enter the castle. But there's a new north entrance from the city. The headache inducing effects aren't as strong as before, and someone thinks it's because of the Map. Red informs us that "sensors indicate something is forming in the middle." Is Red a robot? What sensors!? Regardless, the thing Red sensed was the great villain, himself, Dark Lord. The party finally meets the man they need to defeat. And under such auspicious circumstances, too. Dark Lord, who I'm gonna start calling Greg, randomly blurts out that he's found the final fairy. He then charges a Kamehameha and shootout at us, but the team casually steps aside. They suddenly begin to float and warp away, confusing everyone.

We're brought to a ruined castle. There are a few mobs outside, but the people and harpy are normal NPCs. They're shocked that we exist and could come to this area. Venturing into the castle has more NPCs, horses, who inform us this is Atlantis. They've been outside the conventional flow of time, but there are mixed feelings about this from the populace. We also hear of a "winged lady."

In the back is a giant angel. The winged lady looks like a divine being. She welcomes the team to Atlantis, and Blue is excited. This is the woman from his dreams. Remember those? She fills us in on how all this started. The Atlantans abused the power of Stonehenge, the Pyramids, and another Opart to control the Power of the Earth. But this caused an imbalance in space and time. It ended up with Bone Dino being born and creating what the current humans call the Ancient War. The surviving Atlantans joined up with the six fairies to seal Bone Dino, using the Ferric Falcon, but this killed countless and reshaped the physical landscape of the planet. Atlantis sank, and the new continents formed in the wake. And now Greg wants to unseal Bone Dino. The Winged Lady, who I'll call Georgia, urges us to find the last fairy at the World Tree. Blue doesn't understand, so she gives us a Feather, which can be used to power the Ferric Falcon. We now have to walk back through the castle and return to Stonehenge. The repaired falcon is with Dr. Hello, so I'll talk to him...

...tomorrow!

What a wonderful piece of music Atlantis gave us. I think we're coming up to the conclusion soon. Both guides I "used" are reaching the end of their bars, and I know I bought the final gear I'll ever buy.

G man!

There are two forests south of the pyramids, and I took the east one. I don't remember the name, The only thing here is a man is waiting for us by the name of J-elf. He's the guy who freed Dark Lord. J works for Dark Lord now and wants to kill us. He brings forth two kabutops and attacks us. I put the Pokémon asleep and make quick work of the alleged elf. The party remarks that that was weird, and they remind me of something I forgot. We were sorta ambushed by a guy in Hello's tower. He failed and couldn't even fight, though. Blue called him a turtle, and we carried on our way. We wonder if they're related.

We'll come out near a castle. There's also a town, but I'm more interested in the castle. I'm also dumb and didn't go there. There's yet another forest to the south called Ur, and a man is being attacked. We kill one of the highwaymen, and the other tells us the man they attacking has a bounty from the King on him. They run off, and the man invites us to his house.

Next to him is another woman in a crystal. She shows us a city being destroyed by fire from the sky and demons. Rain calls her a fairy, which reminds me of another thing I skimmed. In the conversation with Dark Lord and the unnamed underling, who we learn later tonight is named Ryzer (?), one of them mentioned six fairies. These six seem important for some reason.

To the east of this is a lone house. The guy we saved is inside and lets us sleep in his house. The inn in town is only five giv, so I don't know why. But we wake up and see that the man is a singer. He used to work for the King but was fired. Since then, he's been living here at the shrine to a famous vocalist, teaching orphans how to sing. But the debt has been repaid, so we leave. Guards from the castle stop us and ask for the singer, and Red gives them the wrong directions. Blue thinks that was cool. The party warns the singer, who has a very strange name I'll never remember, but the guards aren't far behind.

They knock down the fence and desecrate the shrine. As they do, evil spirits appear and quickly kill the guards. They surround their leader, who we'll learn is the King, and we run in to save him. This battle is weird because only Red does any damage despite not having an elemental weapon. But spamming magic is the way to go. After the battle, the sprints are still restless. From behind us comes a chorus of voices. The choir that was in the house walked out and defeated the creatures. Seeing such selfless actions, the King recalls the bounty but asks us to escort him home. If he gets attacked, he'll detonate a bomb because being dead is better than being hurt?

Take the new south exit and go north through to the forest. This will result in only one battle, and the King never exploded. Take him to the castle, and he'll throw a feast. If you're speed running, then run to the third floor. The castle is huge but empty. Maids bring in a large feast we never get to eat because the Queen joins us. But she's gone mad! She thinks Blue is her dead son. The King tries to convince her that Blue isn't their blood, but grief rocks Charlotte, who takes Blue to play in her room. The Kings asks to borrow Blue for three days, but that's not prescient at the moment.

An explosion is heard outside, and two guards enter. Something has landed behind the castle at Stonehenge, a place in dad's journal. The guards are afraid of the area, so we do it. The sound we heard was a woman crystal landing. She shows us Dark Lord talking to Ryzer, and they bring up guardians again. But those guardians won't matter if they find the sixth and final fairy. I tried to investigate Stonehenge, but a strange forcefield gave everyone a headache.

The Queen is asleep, so we sneak in and abscond with Blue. She catches up to as we leave, and King finally convinces her Blue isn't hers. The threat of invading another country is worse than losing a child, I guess. We're free to leave.

Outside the castle are guards in green. These are the guys from the kingdom the King wanted to invade. They ask us for detailed information on the castle, but I won't talk. This results in an easy battle! More arrive, but we get back up, too! Dr. Hello has fixed his drill train. We all hop on and return to his dome. Hello has learned our father is still alive. He's been tracking him since Hello fixed the Falcon. Remember that? Hello invented the pervert peeping vase to appease his love, Mio, but he has one too. We look into it and see Brown fall out of bed. He's severely injured, so the brothers want to find him. Hello says he's in a village out west, and we begin heading there. The forest that was blocked is open now, but I'll head out west...

...tomorrow!

Grid level 3 is a difficulty spike.

(camel)

Wikipedia is weird.

Dead end and soldier blocked forests surround us on the world map, so the only place we can travel to is the Babel Dome. We enter a tower, and this game becomes a sci-fi romp. Cold, electric steel line the halls of this place, and all the mobs are robots with tasks for us. The first guard asks for a hi potion. We have an extra one, and the game mandates we relinquish it. The next two behind her ask for a frog. I don't have any, so I get to beat them up. They're nothing to worry about. The rest of the battles up are optional and only triggered if you speak to them. I considered them free, easy experience. At the top is the man everyone in Aknass spoke of: Dr. Hello. Or, as he insists, "The last mad scientist, Dr. Hello." He and his mimic bird say some nonsense, but the alarms in his tower start to clang out. Something is happening in his basement. He asks us to follow him, and he escorts us there.

Hello called it a robot boar, but it looked like a teddy bear to me. But it is on a rampage. Interacting with it causes us to enter a fight against two of them. Focus on one at a time. These guys hit incredibly hard. I think Rain died at the end. After we've taken them out, the doctor's robot mice go crazy. Their only attacks are a wide AoE around them that electrifies everything, including allies, for decent damage. Hello will get mad that his experiments failed again and asks us to leave. His bird catches up to us and gives us the key to his house. Underneath that is a passage to the Pyramids.

The house is back in town, and we explode some contraption to reveal it. It's home to a lot of mobs, and this feels the most combat heavy area yet. You can punch through walls of rock to reach the pyramids.

There's a village here that acts as a town, minus any item shops. You can buy new weapons. We'll need to go through the small pyramid to reach the north part of town. It's a straight path, but getting into it is fun. Find the correct path up and avoid the perilous rocks that crumble as you pass them. The same puzzle blocks the second. Inside both are mummies, as you'd expect, but there are two new ones. A barrel that transforms into a man and some sort of rock creature add to the difficulty. The second pyramid is very long and mazelike. As the tunnel to get here, expect an absorbent amount of battles. I'd explain the puzzle at the very end, but I didn't understand it. But Pyramid Eye is waiting for us. It increases resistance to lightning damage, so I'm sure it's good. Blue won't let us use the Golden Spiral to leave, so go through the door behind the Eye.

It brings us to a tomb like area, and we'll meet a new named enemy. Lady Mary is there, and Blue says she smells. He falls asleep during her monologue about the Dark Lord and the ancient magic the pyramids house. But she awakens the two cockatrices guarding the entrance.

This is an odd battle. There are two, but one just wastes time. It can't harm us if we're on the opposite side of the room, beating up its twin. Both dudes cast an AoE magic attack and have a rock that causes confusion. Great Heal and Cure will be your biggest assets in this lengthy battle.

But Mary's not done. She'll summon two mummies and attack us herself. I put the ads to sleep/delusion and focused on Mary. She's just a vampire Hel, so it wasn't hard. Mary was load bearing, and the pyramid began to collapse. Now, Blue lets us Helix out.

Return to the tunnel to see Dr. Hello there. And he brought a train! It's actually a drill, and he's here to pick us up and bring us back to his place. We board the train, and he promptly breaks it by backing it into the cave wall. He and his bird argue about putting the fire out, but we'll need to find our own way back/to the next Opart. But we'll do that...

...tomorrow!

I wonder if this is a NES story game? Find the McGuffins and save the world as you do? I hope the story kicks up.

Gylfaginning

But first, we fall.

The hole the carbuncle brought us to ends horribly for everyone. For starters, we fell. And we didn't land in the same place. The Gs landed near the top, while Rain and Pongo landed far beneath them. The boys are fine and make it their mission to find their friends. Along the way are old mobs we've dealt with before. Nothing is a concern.

We fell into a hole, but it feels like we're on a cliff. We need to descend down until we reach an old, dilapidated rope bridge. We can run across the bridge, but it's quicker to let gravity do the work. We'll magically appear at the bottom of the ravine, and our friends will be nearby. It's faster than walking, but I wonder if I missed anything? Rain is fine, but Pongo hurt his leg. For the next few battles, his defense and act will be lowered. The puzzle of the Opart involves a bunch of hidden factors. There's a plaque on a wall that gives you clues on how to advance. It's pretty easy, and even I figured it out quickly. At the bottom is the boss battle.

We're against two of the green tank dogs from the previous dungeon and another bull. The problem here is I haven't healed since before the whale ambushes. My item hoarding has allowed me to collect a good amount of SP pots, so liberal use on Rain was wise. Behind it is the Opart we've sought: the Gold Spiral. This allows us to fast travel out of any (or at least this one) dungeon. Using it now takes us back to the carbuncle camp. Before we leave, they praise us as the heroes in one of their legends. We return to Kiruri, and I'm reminded that a crystal with a woman in it is here. She speaks to us, asking about a guardian. I don't think it's actually to us and is more of a recording "Save me, Obi-won" thing.

We (the player) witness a scene between Dark Lord and a yet unknown underling.

Back on our whaleboat, we began to travel to the northern continent. But something is wrong with the water; it's warmer. Suddenly, several massive tidal waves strike us. The party hides in Kiruri's blowhole, but they're spit out into a battle against a giant squid. Its only attack was a spinning knockback to everyone around it. More tidal waves come at us, and three giant squids ambush us. Yet more tidal waves beckon us to the depths, but one final one was called forth by the dead.

The Ghost of Hel is a giant floating face above us. She attacks us. This battle is against eight green slimes. Hel floats above us but can't be struck. She occasionally tries to inflict status effects on us, a single target poison and a battlefield wide delusion, but the slimes are the main threat. They never move but like to cause us to teleport around the whale's back with a tornado. They also have a basic attack when we get close. Take them out one by one and heal often. We still haven't rested since Oceania. As we finish up, Rain notices that Kiruri is bleeding heavily from his right fin. He tries to play it off that he's fine, but it's a lot of blood. But we arrive at the north continent in time. But slowly. As we depart, we promise Kiruri that we'll find a hi potion for him if he waits. He's too excited to swim again, so he promises nothing.

Investigate around town to learn there's a guy who sells "drugs" in the inn's attic. If we bring him a frog, he'll make us our potion. Several kids hang out around a manhole to the east, and we get to ruin their secret hideout. Surely, frogs live in sewers! Battles down here begin by informing us that the field is at level two. We're against mobs from the Aged Cave, but they're definitely stronger. We'll need to push levers to open passages until we reach a frog. A fight begins, but we can end it early by picking it up. I tried to fight my way l through, but I still haven't slept! Using Blue's Teleport Trap brought Red near to the target. Return to the druggist, collect your hi potions, and go see our whale.

Kiruri isn't there. The mood turns sour, and we all ponder where he went. We try to leave, but Rain remains back, looking out at the sea. She points out that Kiruri isn't gone, and he pulls up! He just went swimming. Red feeds him the hi potion and lets him get on with his life. We each promise to see each other again!

And with that, I finally went to sleep. It was uneventful. I upgraded my gear and got a lay about town. There's a slightly crazy scientist living up north who makes weird things, like a giant black bird who scared everyone in Akass. So I'll check that out...

...tomorrow!

I explored a bit around the forests and got my butt kicked. But I did save a goat! I felt rushed trying to get the hi potion because I accidentally spoiled myself that Kiruri could die if we ignored him. Not sure if this is true, but sounds neat!

G-Unit!

Whales!!!!!

Yeah, the new island outside the Oceania Inn is actually a whale. It hates us, though. Even after we beat up its jellyfish and water cloud parasites, too. But even if it didn't hate us for being nosy, the whale couldn't do anything. Its tail is too hurt to properly leave the bay. Fortunately, Kujira is cool just floating about. Its turtle friend informs us that this is a defensive tone. Kujira does want to swim again, but its tail is too damaged to propel him. The turtle tells us to find something to heal him. Head back to the inn and find a pharmacist in one of the rooms. They'll tell us about frog oil in the Neko Forest. While we are here, spend a night at the inn. There will be a scene during the night where Red and Rain have a kinda romantic moment on the roof of the building. Rain sees how much Red loves his dad while Pongo plays violin.

The Neko Forest is home to man eating plants. The good news is those plants are also man spitting. To advance, speak with Ms Mora back in Sebia. She can coat us in something slimy, allowing us to travel the roots. Mail is getting better, but Harbattle is nowhere to be found. We can also see the ruins of our home and see a sword sprout growing where grandpa died.

The Neko Forest is a straight path, only broken up by the man eating plants. To be fair, Rain can speak with plants, and we were warned it would. But with Ms Mora's thingy, we slip through the underground and warp around the area. Every section is walled off, so this is the only way to traverse. Inspect all the purple/pink flowers along the way because there are plenty of stat seeds to be found. There's a strange building in the middle, and an entity I can't figure out is attached to it. It complains about being immortal and stuck here.

Eventually, we'll make it into that building. It's inhabited by several types of feline people, tigers being the most obvious. There are also a million jars filled with nothing. The catmen inform us they're here because of a tidal wave that cursed them. Okay. Their elderly princess is on her throne in the back and doesn't care for us. She goes so far as to summon mobs and attack us to kick us out. Her ads were the chaff from the mountain and easily dispatched. Once she was alone, I didn't have any problem with her. She'll surrender and give us access to the frog we need. A stairwell beneath her opens, but she warns us of something...

After looking around at the swamp, I stumble upon the Boss Plant. It cycles through several attack patterns. It can spit up four slimes, put everyone in front of it asleep, or attack everyone before it. You can only stand and attack in the four squares directly in front of the plant. The target has 1800 HP but lacks any offensive power. Save Rain's SP for healing. There was a fire rod in the throne room, and the boss was weak to fire and ice. It'll take a while, but you're in no danger. We'll get the frog, and you should return to the healing sphere.

As we try to leave the forest, Hel will ambush us. She offers us reprieve if we hand over Rain, but that's not happening. She's finally getting good! Hel calls forth two underlings with weird names. They did nothing in the battle, so I didn't remember their names. I managed to put both of them to sleep/delusion, removing them from the whole fight. Hel has the same stats and attacks as before, so this is the exact same battle. Once she's dead, we'll have a turn or two to do what we want with her minions before they randomly die. There's probably a reason, but this translation kinda sucks. It causes visual glitches a lot. As before, Hel teleports away.

We (the player) witness a scene where we meet the Dark Lord. Graphic glitches ruin the scene, but I get that Hel apologizes for failing again. Dark Lord doesn't care and kills her. "I'll send you to the old world."

Red and friends return to Oceania and speak to the apothecary. They make the potion, and we try to heal the whale. He doesn't take it out of stubbornness. Even the turtle attempts to convince him, but it's to no avail. Rain, being a being of pure love, manages to reach him. It works, and our new whale friend takes us out to see. We discuss life and the past, learning that Kujira is a descendant of a whale from when the seas split in two. This somehow granted whales the ability to speak common. As we travel, we're attacked by sea creatures. Eventually, our boat gets tired and needs a rest at Carbuncle Island, which is a location in Brown's journal.

We travel around until a group of gnomes find us. Rain speaks their language and tells us the diminutive fae folk are harassed by monsters. We're the heroes, so we kill them. It turns out it is a group of rats... As thanks, a carbuncle guides us to a hole, which I'll inspect...

...tomorrow!

All the good walkthroughs for Treasure Hunter G don't carry on past Neko Forest, so I'm on my own from here on out. I'm sure this will be fine!

Number 1 in da hood, G.

The Abnoba Castle is home to a bunch of perverts. There's the guy who's staring into a vase that sees everything. He's looking at a woman undress... And then there's the wo/man in charge.

Magician Mel knew we were coming as they could see everything with the vase. They even know what's in the letter. They don't care, though, because the ruler of the world means nothing to the people in the castle. What does interest Mel is Rain. Mel looks like a woman but acts like a lecherous man. S/He says s/he wants to spend time with Rain, but it's clear it was spoken in a perverse way. Fortunately, she turns Mel, who I'm going to assume is a woman, down. Seeing her will, Mel offers us the knowledge we came here for. Papa Brown has been searching for Oparts, which are Out Of Place Artifacts. Mel presumes they're from an ancient civilization but doesn't know much more about them. Even the one she hands over, Dark Globe, just clears confusion. It's pretty insignificant but still an Opart. Mel tells us our dad's written the locations to several more and gives us a place to rest tonight.

Rather than sleep, though, we explore the top of the tower. We gain some minuscule backstory on this world through book titles, and one causes Blue to think another ancestor had wanderlust. But then they get to the top and look out to the world. It's dark and foggy, so there's not much to see. For some reason, Red takes this as an invitation to pee off the side. Blue and even Pongo join him. Blue tries to get Rain in on the fun, but she's not an idiot. Everyone finishes, but Red and his delay ends up causing the team to be ambushed.

A knock wakes up Rain, and she explores the hallway to investigate. Once she's there, the door locks, and everyone else is awoken by her yelling. A giant bird has appeared before Rain. It rams her into the wall. Before this, she's been a useless character. Out of desperation, though, she casts a basic fire spell in defense. The bird changes into Mel, who congratulates Rain for awakening her powers. Everyone wakes up the next morning wondering if that was a dream. Mel sees them off and hits on our new mage one last time before we descend the mountain.

This might be optional, but the monk beneath the waterfall has been knocked out. Monsters attacked him from behind the river. Investigating inside brings us to the commander who ordered the burning of Ruian. Hel is doing her Magus impression and sentences us to death. She's joined by creatures I didn't get the name of because I focused all my attacks on Hel. She was the closest. Her main attack is a knockback sword swing that does a lot of damage. She can't be surrounded because she can also teleport. The blobs she's summoned tend to place traps on the bottom part of the map and remain out of the fray. It's another reason to avoid them. One did get close and died for it. Rain had learned a healing spell by this battle, so I did get to make use of that. Hel will be shocked she lost and teleport away, swearing we'll meet again. She also said we only won because of Pongo... With little reaction to that, the team automatically runs (into a wall) back to the G Home.

There's a quick discussion about whether or not this is another one of dad's tall tales, but Rain believes it's true. We figure we've nothing else to do, so we might as well have an adventure. The list of places Brown has found Oparts are mostly on the northern continent. But there is one in Harmon's Cave, north of Oceania. I picked up the ice weapons because someone said there were a lot of fire mobs in the cave. They were correct. The forest is a quick trek, and we reach the cave in due time.

There's a lock before us. Words are written in a language no one knows, but there's a translation in Brown's notebook. Red has to say something embarrassing, but it works. I focused on the rare but scary jars. They don't move, have one HP, but can cast an ice magic that hits everyone and hurts. After them were the surprisingly tanky fire snakes. These guys can knock back a character with their fire tackle and can do it multiple times a round. The fire clouds aren't a big deal already. We'll eventually jump down a pit filled with snakes...and a giant!

Bull is joined by an entire squad of fire slugs and clouds, as well as two ice jars for good measure. I remained south and took out the mobs around me, letting everything north come to me. This would create a bottleneck, but that's fine. I feverishly killed the ads before Bull started ramming my party. He's so big he takes up four squares on the battlefield. I don't know when or how, but Rain learned Great Heal at some point. This spell allowed her to heal the entire party at once for twenty two MP. I had plenty of MP pots, so I used that spell liberally.

In this room is another locked door. Rain magically can read the words now and details something about tickling feet and grabbing a shoulder. I then notice that the room we're in looks like a cactaur... Find a switch on the left foot, jump through the right eye, and high five the left hand to open the door. Inside is the Gorgobabia Crystal. Apparently, this controls the seas, which is why the ocean has been unstable lately. With it in our hands, though, everything is settled down. Too bad we're too late. The last tidal wave sank all the ships that could have taken us to the north continent. But there's a new island, and there's still the rumors of ghosts. I'll check them out...

...tomorrow!

I also spent time at the frog casino. Won me some boots and anti poison ring I won't be using, and learned I suck at frog racing.

The OG

Akin to nothing, Final Fantasy Renaissance is cheap as hell.

Irate-o Forest lies between us and our hometown of Tania. But before is a woman in a crystal no one wants to acknowledge. There's an old man beside it for some reason, but something will happen to him. The spirit of the crystal lady will possess the poor man and speak to us. She warns us of a being called the Dark Lord. He was sealed for 1000 years before he was released. We (the player) see a scene where a rude man is escorted into a tomb, seeking the Dark Crown. His guide is worried and doesn't wish to go further, and the ruse man calls him a coward and tells him to wait here. He quickly changes his mind and cuts the man down. The thief wants that crown and the power that comes with it all to himself. He enters the tomb and approaches the grave. The crown begins to shake, levitate, and fill the room with light. The thief runs away, and the scene returns to the Irate Forest. The spirit asks us to stop the Dark Lord before he revives Bone Dino. The spirit retreats from the man, who runs off in terror.

Enemies in the forest are things we've already fought. The only thing new is the bees. Explore everywhere and dig up those plants. I'm starting to notice that sifting through every single little corner of a map is how one finds and earns money in this game. Mobs don't drop giv, nor do they drop poached furs or something. So it's gonna be tough sledding until I figure out some stuff. At the end of the path is the gremlin who ran away from us back home. She informs us they were sent to burn the sprite and promises we'll meet grandpa again as a battle against her begins.

She's surrounded by sentient fires, and she'll spawn more her first three turns. The witch has a lot of HP, so I don't think you can stop her from calling them. Go slowly and kill the slugs before her, and let everything come to you. Witch lacks any offensive powers once her fires are dead. Her final words mention someone named Lord Hel. Besides that, there is no fanfare, so head onto the world map.

I like that there are no encounters here, and the music is fun. It also feels open world, as there are five places we can go to now. So add Chrono Trigger to the list of games the game feels like. Rather than explore things early, I just went to Tania Town. As with other villages, there's a lot of neat stuff around. Finding clothes that suck, falling for traps filled with bats, killing bees, and learning more about dad. He often told wildly over-the-top stories that no one believed. At least his public persona was the same as his private. Outside our old house are the training guys from Runion, and they'll teach Blue a new trap.

The boys enter their former home and announce they're back. The place is empty. The boys want to find dad's adventure room, so they start to look for clues. After a few false leads and a mild bomb, they discover a secret staircase behind the bookshelf. It takes them to a room so dark no one can see. Blue bangs his knee on something as he finds a source of light. There are more pots, but they eventually find a note from dad. It's a note to them. It tells them dad always sought adventure but stumbled upon something world altering. He didn't write much of it, as he's a rather flippant man, but he speaks of things called Oparts and the world's trees. One in particular, especially. He handed that stuff over to "academia," but an angel came to him shortly after. She "turned into a map" that showed dangers and the Earth Tree. There was something about saving the world that called out to him, so he took on that quest. He hopes to see his sons again after finding the Earth Tree and asks them to take a second letter, found beside this one, to a magician on Mt. Abnoba. He signs off as "Brown G." So we're the G in Treasure Hunter G! Red and Blue wonder if this letter is another tall tale, but Rain joins them in the basement and urges them to obey. Red knows she's hiding something, but Rain refuses to say anything. ...for now. But her words reach Blue, so that's our next destination.

Abnoba is to the east, but visit the Port Town of Oceana. There are new weapons and armor here, but I only bought a sword for Red for some reason. I also found a bunch of Smelly Boots. The perks are not worth equipping them!

Mt. Abnoba is filled with monks who test us often. Every time we win their test, someone will learn new skills. At last, Pongo isn't the only one with extra stuff to do! Blue still seems pretty mid, but his teleport trap did help us out up here. Rain, sadly, still sucks. The new mob is something terrifying. It's a clam that attacks the entire battlefield with ice. It can't move and is protected by friends, so abuse the teleport trap. It works on allies as well. The party then has to avoid an eternal rockslide as they climb a sheer cliff. Fortunately, they move side to side quickly. We'll eventually reach a tower where the guards tell us to find the hole. There's a save point on the second floor, so I'll look for this mage...

...tomorrow!

I kinda see why Square kept this local. It's a big break from convention, which they didn't like to test foreign markets with. But of a learning curve, ya know?

The hunt for treasure, g.

Treasure of Rudra was the last game Squaresoft developed for the Super Nintendo, but it was not the last game they produced. That award goes to another game allegedly about treasure: Treasure Hunter G. THG is another Japan exclusive that Square never translated to another region. Because of that, translators got mad and decided to rom hack the game so people everywhere could enjoy it. In theory, at least. Is it actually enjoyable? Let's-a find out!

I skipped the opening movie because I'm bad, so the game starts in a small cabin. An old man is trying to wake up two boys, Red and Blue. The man is complaining that neither brother is fond of getting up in the morning. Blue has had nightmares every night and has cried every morning. Red is deep asleep, and we get to experience his dream. The two brothers are having an argument with their unnamed father. Dear old dad is an absentee father and goes off on adventures all the time, leaving the color boys alone. Red, especially, calls him out, but dad doesn't listen to his son's complaints. He's more interested in chasing after Ferric Falcons, whatever those are. After a lackadaisical proverb dad made up to justify his actions, Red grabs Blue's hand, and they storm out of their house. The two talk outside until Blue starts to strike Red for no apparent reason, but we quickly see the old man is smacking his grandson. The two boys made their way to their grandfather's house in a neighboring town, and that's who they're staying with now!

The three discuss life until a friend of grandpa's, Harbattle, barges into the house. Something has happened at the nearby Aged Cave. There's a falcon there... Grandpa joins them for the expedition, and we get to the tutorial dungeon.

Treasure Hunter G is another stab at a tactical style of combat. It's no Final Fantasy Tactics, nor is it even Energy Breaker, but it's close. There's only one plane (so far), but all actions take place on a grid. Movement has its own counter, different from actions, but they are tied together, somehow. Proximity to a mob seems to adjust action points. But something G does that's interesting is the ability to attack diagonally. So a strong line can be an actual line. Items can also be thrown for damage, but I don't think I'll be doing that. Samurais are overrated.

Battles in the Aged Cave are against rats, who look a lot like snakes. It takes the boys a few turns to take them down, but grandpa easily kills them. He's a well seasoned monk, it seems, judging by his rad spin kick. There's also a single bat. In an offshoot is a strange machine no one can surmise the meaning of. They guessed it was a drill because the cave never used to be this deep. We're also introduced to healing and save points.

In the back is not what I expected. It appears to be an airship, but this is a Ferric Falcon. The party sees a group of people in the distance talking about planting a bomb before the bombers leave. Suddenly, the cave starts to shake. The party takes a look back at the falcon and sees the father they ran away from climbing the rocks around the falcon. There's nothing they can do, so they need to get out of the cave before they're trapped. We need to avoid falling rocks, but the escape isn't terrible. As they leave, the cave collapses, and they witness something fly off overhead. We (the player) see that it's dad, but the engine of the airship is broken. The party sees it crash far to the east. Rather than check it out, they go home.

Haubattle is informed of what happened, and the family decides it's time to find dad's secret adventure vault. Grandpa has known about it, but it's new information to the boys. Before leaving, though, we'll need new gear. Looking around town has us meeting a young girl named Rain and her monkey, Pongo. Grandpa saved them when they were attacked by bandits in the forest. But they're still healing, so they go elsewhere. But grandpa wants to drink, so he tells us to make money!

From here, we need to do odd jobs to make money. Mow the lawn, kill rats, and sell frogs. There's also a training dojo to tell us more about combat and gain some difficult experience. If we try to leave, Ponga joins us. So pick him up before combat. More importantly (I hope), we can learn a lot about our fellow Rurians. Collect giv and head to the world map. The nearby town of Sebia has the gear. Weapons are a priority and the only thing we need to buy. I'm not fond of how shopping works. It's very realistic, which is kinda clunky. I'm sure I'll get used to it. There are also a few more odd jobs here. As we try to leave, a villager tells us our home is burning!

The fire has spread everywhere, so we decide to help anyone we can find. Harbattle is in his house, and we need to save him from sentient flames. Take him to Ms Mora's, who he will save after she gives us her ex husband's violin. Mail is trapped by normal fire, so we concoct a plan. It fails, but Pongo rescues her anyway. Her secret admirer's dialogue didn't work... Grandpa's fighting gremlins outside the house, defending Rain as he holds his own. After our battle against a second gremlin, the gremlins get a cheap shot at grandpa and throw him into his burning home. The gremlins run away, and we put out our grandpa.

The burns are fatal. Grandpa's dying words urge us to return home, and he succumbs to his injuries. Rain takes the blame for this, saying they were looking for her again. But it's time to get away from the fire. The three leave the village and see Pongo heading towards Sebia. There's no way the music that plays for that scene was stock SNES chiptune. It's way too good!

The survivors of Ruran are in the item shop. Mail is despondent, but at least Harbattle and Ms Mora are in decent spirits. Pongo plays a song on the violin as we leave. Armor is free now because the shopkeeper feels bad for us, as is the inn. So gear up and get ready for the forest before us, which I'll do...

...tomorrow!

The menu is going to take some getting used to. Switching items is very cumbersome.

Songs I Think are Magic pt. 5

The weeb episode!

One of the biggest reasons I've never touched a boob is because of Adult Swim and Toonani. There are a lot of other reasons, by the way. Them introducing me to anime, alongside my growing interest in JRPGs, molded me into who I am. I didn't mean for this, but I really damned Japan, didn't I?

Uh...anyway, I like anime! From Dragonball Z to Cowboy Behop, I've recently rewatched Outlaw Star and YuYu Hakusho, and they hold up. I'd have long breaks here and there because of school and other stuff, but I recall recording Witch Hunter Robin and Blue Gender in middle school. High school was a total wash, but I came back afterwards because of Elfin Lied and Clannad. Other Key Studios stuff was there, too. Even in college, Angel Beats! and Rosen Maiden were my supper entertainment one summer. The amount of bagel bites and corn dogs I ate that season shortened my life by five years. Sword Art Online, Akame Ga Kill, Shakugun No Shana, (even) Attack on Titan, and so many others I've forgotten kept me and my stuffed animals on edge before bed. Nowadays, I've been rewatching old shows, but I've also thoroughly enjoyed newer ones. Ascendence of a Bookworm, Faraway Paladin, Ancient Magus Bride, Somali and the Forest Spirit, 86, Is The Order a Rabbit...

Right, uh, music. I'm talking about music. Most of those shows won't be here, but I occasionally nerd out. Their exclusion isn't a review of their soundtracks, but I don't usually pay attention to backing music. I struggle to see and am too focused on the story to retain anything on first viewing, and there's rarely a second. So what does pierce my thick skull means something. Only the best of the best on this list (and the next)!

And let's start with one that isn't on Spotify: Heaven's Not Enough. The final song that's played in the 2003 dystopian adventure anime has three notes. The synth piano plays behind everything else, and is always prominent but never boring. After a few loops, a woodwind instrument plays a melody alongside it and brings the mood even lower. Steve Contie, a name you'll see again, of New York Dolls fame, begins to sing about the folly of alternate worlds. "You think you've found it, but it loses you." "Most everything is nothing that it seems...you see the things you only want to see." And then the words become a first person event about flying and forgetting. Drums join the song as the singer states his own potential displeasure with heaven for a few verses. And then it becomes a solid rock song. At this point, it's a lengthy poem about a previous life. A life that was focused on this heaven? A heaven that didn't matter in the end. The final sentence is "heaven goodbye." The three note synth piano becomes the only thing in the song again, as it drones on for a full minute. The track is haunting and a little confusing, which is a good metaphor for Wolf's Rain. The premise is a group of wolves/boys seeking a flower girl who's supposed to lead them to Paradise. Cheza is also chased by two scientists who try to study her: Hub and his ex-wife, Cher. There's also a wolf hunter, Quent, and his dog, Blue, who interact with both groups. There's also the nobleman/main antagonist who created Cheza and his underlings, who become focal points in a world war that doesn't really matter. The plot skips between these four groups, their meetings, twists, and how the world changes. At the end of the extra OVAs, we experience the end of the world, and the final scenes are a bit strange. But I do recognize that no one gets their happy ending. Yoko Kanno will be back. Expect this entry to disappear and repeat elsewhere eventually...

"The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom. His tongue speaks judgement. Oh, how sacred. How serene. How benevolent. Oh, pure lily." What does a Latin foux church hymn have to do with Elfin Lied? Absolutely nothing! But it sure as hell sets the tone. In a show filled with blood and nudity, it's a song inspired by several bible verses that sticks out the most. Lilium is the opening theme to Elfin Lied, but it has some gravitas on the show, proper, as well. The main characters hum it once or twice, but it's never explained why they know it. The church organ inspires an idea of a benevolent being a vital part of the show, but the real MC is a woman most believe to be a devil. And her actions during the twelve episodes leads even me into agreeing. There's a lot of slaughter at the hands of Lucy. A tale of nurture vs nature at the hands of a young woman with invisible hands and cat ears doesn't really fit the opening song. But Elfin Lied is the anime that got me back into anime. I even read the manga! I don't know what to say about Lilium, but Elfin Lied is kinda important to me. Even the ending theme, Be Your Girl, doesn't fit, but is still really fun! Also, I will neither confirm nor deny that my Lucy's name stems from this Lucy.

Another pivotal track in my anime journey is about food! The closing song to CLANNAD tells the tale of a family of dongos, rice dumplings, and their unique personalities. I'd love to go into more detail about them, but I've never eaten them. I don't think I've even had a dumpling. And I can't even speak to the lyrical quality because it's in Japanese. A translation I found says they personify food, and every little dongo has a unique outlook on life. It sounds cute, which is amplified by the music. It's an adorable child's xylophone with a kawai voice over it. The instrument plays a number of melodies throughout the piece, but it's always the focus. Even the bells that start to show up don't override them. They somehow enhance them! A foux choir starts up in the second part, which makes it feel so wholesome. But why is there a tinge of melancholy behind it all? This show is filled with happiness and only happiness! Right? Anyway, everything falls away as the song ends with the one voice and that cute xylophone melody.

A Moon Filled Sky is the name of a song that's a common motif throughout both Ef - A Fairy Tale of Memories and Melodies. I just finished rewatching these a few days ago, so there's a good reason it's taken me a year to write this part! There are several versions played on different instruments, tempos, and moods. The common version is on a solo violin after a quick scale or two on a piano to introduce it. The piano doesn't change much, but the violin sings a charming tune. And it's definitely supposed to be lyrical. The second violin "verse" is slightly altered, but I can't pick out why, but the piano is more aggressive. The "chorus" is a bit of a duet between the two instruments. And there are only those two instruments. Quartets are overrated! But that does make it such a chill and mellow song to keep on repeat. It's played as typical background noise in the first season but takes on incredible gravitas in the second. We learn who wrote it, and that only sorta makes it worse because he's a creepy pedophile. But the song was written when its composer was in high school, so I won't blame the composition. But it also means something to his friends and the painful journey they take in life. Two of them give the track lyrics. It might be one, but my translator got lazy with the longer song. The English version, though, was created by the character with the worst life. But that doesn't hold her back from happiness! Her lyrics are about hope. "With the courage to live, the future I embrace, and the strength everyone gave me, I believe in love." Her dying words were a happy song made by her friend, so get ready to cry.

Both Moon and Ef''s OP/ED were written by TENMON. Both have several variations throughout both seasons, and they're songs of love (I think). But that's where the similarities end. Euphoric Fields/Ebullient Future sound nearly identical, and I can't tell which is which off the top of my head. Future kicks off hard before slowing down. It's a song of love, but the type of love that doesn't come easy. Fields starts slower, with the singer, Elisa, getting some time to shine before the J-pop hits. From there, the lyrics are about looking toward the future and realizing the past can't hurt anymore. "Be alive, take it!" Both songs are great representatives of the overarching plots of the seasons. Chihiro and Maya Maya finding love to overcome their deficiencies, and Yu and the creep, Kuze, are trying to overcome the pain in their past to move on and live. Honestly, on their own, the songs aren't super spectacular, but they're so startling and instant reminders of the anime they're from. They're catchy, and Elisa's thick accent adds to the charm of them. There are also Japanese and instrument only versions scattered here and there.

What's the greatest fake band in the history of the world? Detkklok! Better question: what's the best fake band for weebs? Girl Dead Monster! The distraction girls group from Angel Beats! introduced me to J-rock. Admittedly, it's not a genre I've spent much time with since 2010, but guess what I want to do! Angel Beats! is another anime that made me feel things men aren't supposed to feel, so I wanna write about it. It's a show about dead kids who aren't ready to pass on. Purgatory is high school, so maybe it's hell? Over time, all these characters you come to meet and laugh with start to slowly fade away, including the most memorable part of the show, GirlDeMo. Of all the songs I could write about here, I want to shout out Crow Song. It's the first thing we hear from them and is the catchiest. Lyrically, It's a good call to the show's premise. One day, everyone hearing the song will have to leave the plane of existence. But until then, I agree with the singer, Iwasami. Let's just rock out on our guitars! I think I'll rewatch Angel Beats! soon!

Not only is this the final song on this update, and not only is it the best in this section, but it is the best song of all time. From the godfather of lo-fi hip hop, Nujabes, comes Aruarian Dance. Sampling The Lamp is Low by the Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida in 1970, Nujabes slaps a damn fun drum beat over the melody that transforms the song from a Disneyesq background song into a track that forces your attention. But it's not a violent demand. It's in the same vein as a gentle stream calls you to the majesty of nature or the warm, embracing eyes of a lover calling you home. Aruarian Dance makes you want to, well, dance. A dance that's just a smooth glide across the room to your comfy spot or a relaxing tour on a skateboard while drinking cranberry juice. Nujabes shows what the power of a drum can do while cleaning up the guitar notes that get a little lost in the original song. It's from Samurai Champloo, but it's spread across the hearts and souls of all who've listened to it and need a good reason to enjoy the company of loved ones or just time alone. I dare you to be upset or even depressed after a listen. Fun fact: the true origins of the song can be traced back to Maurice Ravel in 1890's Pavane for Dead Princess, along with some Mildred Baily along the way to really showcase it. It goes to show the power and immortality of music. Something written 124 years ago is still relevant across genres that didn't exist when it was first written and made with technology Ravel could only dream of at the time. But despite the time gaps, the original message carries on. Ravel wrote a song to call back to happier times in Spain. Baily added lyrics about a simple love, and now Nujabes uses a Brazilian's version to elicit all of that again. May we all dream the sweetest dream we will ever know.

But what's an aruarian?