Good ghouls don't do drugs

So recently I finished the second season of Bethesda's Fallout TV adaptation. Nowadays I rarely follow any TV shows unless they're worth my time after I finish the pilot episodes. I dropped bunch of "hyped" shows that I was initially interested in, like Alien Earth, The Last of Us, and The Witcher just because they couldn't hold me after a few hours in. The last series (or miniseries) that I actually enjoyed watching till the end was Chernobyl. Damn excellent show.

Anyway, when I heard Fallout got a TV adaptation back then I was honestly skeptical. Fallout is one of my favorite game series ever, so I know what it's about and I know how the world looks and feels. I doubted that in the current year they could adapt it into a TV series. But they did. This is one of those times that lowering my expectation actually paid off.

When I watched the first episode I instantly recognized it as another canon Fallout media, just like the video games. Actually it feels like a game that is never being made. You've got your naive vault dweller main character, there's your cowboy ghoul sidekick, your power armor-wearing Brotherhood of Steel companion, and of course the ever trusty Dogmeat. The world and places adapted the Fallout aesthetic and vibes perfectly. And the music? It's as if Mr. New Vegas himself picked the soundtrack to the show.

I love this show and don't mind if they continue to venture outside of the places in the games. I also don't mind a few retcons they made here and there. Currently there are two seasons available to watch and I heard they're making the third one. Is this show watchable to non-Fallout video game fans? I think yes to some extent. Who knows, maybe after watching the show you'll end up wanting to explore the nuclear wasteland yourself with a big iron on your hip.

Everyday I'm taffering

In the early 2000s, we got some nice stealth game series to play hide-and-seek on. From Hideo Kojima's blockbuster movie Metal Gear Solid series; the social dress-em-up Hitman series; and of course, my starting point in the genre: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series. There's also the now-forgotten Tenchu and the not-so-stealth-anymore Assassin's Creed.

All those games usually follow the same formula. Players need to emphasize on hiding from the enemies instead of just simply killing them and moving on. If you're detected, either it's game over or you need to fight difficult battles to survive. Stealth is about hiding in the dark, waiting for your chance to slip away undetected to reach the goal.

I love the stealth genre. Some of my favorite games of all time (note to self: need to make a list one day) are either stealth games or have stealth elements in them. In fact if any games give me a choice to build my own character, I usually make myself a stealth one. Like the infamously overpowered Skyrim stealth archer build. I also spent my childhood sneaking from my parents to play games during nightime

Got some rare things on sale, stranger!

That's why I owed it to myself to play one of the classics, the grandfather of sneaking video games: Thief (1998) by Looking Glass Studios. And play I did. I took my time on this, with me finishing the final level only last February even though I started it after completing System Shock 2. It's not too hard, like I said, I just took my sweet time.

Thief placed you in the control of Garrett (a.k.a. Mr. Taffer), a master thief / archaeologist who steals from the rich people to give it to the poor (himself). The game is played in first-person view, so you rarely see his face, but he does speak from time to time, giving him a bit of character. He's quite a cool character IMO, definitely right there with Geralt of Rivia ("Wind's howling") and JC Denton ("I’m not big into books") in terms of the best one-liners.

The world in Thief is kind of a mix of steampunk and medieval era, which at times looks pretty depressing. Like you don't want to live in that kind of setting. Oh, and there are also fantasy elements such as zombies and sentient, floating fireballs. However, I must admit the world is indeed very immersive. It feels alive thanks to the fantastic sound design of the game. The footsteps, the constant droning backsound, the guards' conversations, all helped to immerse me into the game's world.

A religious man he ain't

The gameplay itself is honestly pretty obvious from the game's name. In each level you need to steal certain items from a certain place. You can up the difficulty to add more objectives, like stealing more loot or not killing any guards. Garrett has many tools to aid him in his thieving quest, like water arrows to douse the torchlights, noisemaker arrows to attract enemies out of your way, and rope arrows to climb otherwise unreachable points.

To be fair, once you get the controls set up to your liking (the default is really really bad), the game feels familiar like any modern first person game that isn't a shooter. The first level set in a rich man's mansion serves as a great tutorial about the game. You can enter via backdoor after stealing the key from a guard, you learn how the guards have patrolling routes, you learn how sound and light work in the game, you earsdrop the guards about important stuff. It's a great introductory level by any means.

The story is simple at first but getting a bit cryptic near the end. You can learn the story via cutscenes before the levels, also via guard conversations and in-game notes and books. There is this grand backstory about The City and its factions such as the Hammerites, The Keepers and The Pagans but none of those are really needed to know to enjoy the game.

This is how my wife read Google Maps

Thief is not a perfect game nor it's aging well. The graphic is quite dated even by 1998 standards. Heck, we got MGS and Ocarina of Time that year. Still, after finishing it for the first time in the year of 2026, I can say with confidence that its core ideas and concepts are way ahead of its time. The sound and light systems are still used in today's games. Thief's legacy is foundational to modern stealth and immersive sim genres. Maybe it is not for everyone especially for today's kids, but if you do play it you'll know why it's an important piece of gaming history. I will also play Thief 2 soon and hopefully Deadly Shadows follows. No, there is no Thief 4.

Shik Shak Shock

If we're doing a vote and compiling a list of the best PC games since its inception, I'm sure sooner or later people will be calling System Shock 2 name into the conversation. Released on the eve of the '00s by the now-legendary Looking Glass Studios, System Shock 2 is often mentioned as one of the most influential video games ever. But in actuality, how many of those people actually played the game until the end?

The first time I heard about the game was from a gaming magazine article back in my childhood. I think the article wrote "Top Ten Scariest Games" or something along those lines. It named many horror games, but the one that caught my attention was System Shock 2. The article mentioned "screaming monkeys" and "cyborg midwives" as one of the reasons why. Of course I had to play it.

But during those days, almost nobody else talked about that game. It's like the game was some sort of fever dream of mine. I tried to find the game on the internet to no avail. Even when I found the link and downloaded it, the game refused to run on modern systems. Until finally in 2013, GOG released a non-hassle version of System Shock 2 to play.


I tried it. It was suck. Or I was suck. Regardless, I couldn't get past the first hour of the game. It was ugly as sin; the controls were janky, and there was too much stuff to learn in the beginning that I got overwhelmed. I gave up shortly after. Thus, I put the game back into my endless backlog.

Meanwhile, I played a lot of games known as immersive sim (I kinda dislike the term) such as Deus Ex series, Dishonored, Prey, and Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines. Basically those games play like a first-person shooter, but there are different options on how to solve the level instead of just shooting your ways out. You can have techs or magics to help you deal with the enemies. You can go gunblazing or tippy-toe stealthing. Some also have multiple routes and dialogue choices. Games that give you freedom. 

There is also this series called Bioshock, you can guess from the name, that is a spiritual successor of System Shock series. All of these games were my favorites, and lo, they all took inspiration from System Shock 2, which many named as the grandfather of the immersive sims genre. So one day I decided to swallow the pill and jumped onto the decks of the Von Braun, the spaceship that became the setting of System Shock 2.

The first few hours were still painful. Until at one point it finally clicked on me, and then I understood all its praises and reputation. I can find the System Shock 2 DNA in all of my personal favorite games. The freedom play of Deus Ex and Dishonored, the audio logs and environmental storytelling of Bioshock, the body horror of Dead Space, the manipulative AI villain of Portal, and many more. It was a game ahead of its time in terms of gameplay.


The story itself isn't too special nowadays, but it's still fascinating. I won't tell much about the detail of the plot; basically you're a dude who is one of the few survivors of an FTL spaceship expedition that went very, very wrong. You were contacted by another survivor that gave you a mission to try to survive and rendezvous with her. You explored the Von Braun decks which were filled with enemies such as zombies/mutants (of other crew members), suicide bombing androids, the aforementioned monkeys and cyborg midwives. Oh, I did also mention a rogue AI before. Enter SHODAN.

Many have heard of her name and her famous line: "Look at you, hacker: a pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a perfect, immortal machine?" that was delivered with such a chilling robotic voice. But being actually stalked and taunted by SHODAN throughout the Von Braun corridors while being chased by killer mutant with a shotgun made GLaDOS from Portal look like a tsundere roleplaying ChatGPT.

Anyway, I really enjoyed my playthrough of this game and its unmatched atmosphere. My only gripes with this game are the inconsistent background music and the unbalanced builds. My advice if you play the game is to take your time to read, whether it's the game's manual or the in-game guides.

I played the original 1999 release with mods, but recently they released a remastered version of the game on Steam called System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster which has multiplayer and other trinkets like achievements and QoL fixes. There are many more to said about this game but I'll save those for later. Next, I'll discuss about the grandfather of stealth game.


Can't believe I'm still alive, unlike this blog. So I wrote some kind of a post, in my other blog (please read it if you have time—it's in Indonesian though). After a whole decade of not writing something in the form of a blog post. No, that previous failed comeback post in 2020 doesn't count. That was the post-Covid syndrome talking. What makes me do it btw? I can't say. Maybe I just woke up one day and decided to relive the past glory of shitposting. Yeah, I'll go with that.

P.S. Kirino is still mai waifu

P.P.S Besides my IRL wife of course

 




It was around 6 in the afternoon, when my buddy sent me a Youtube link on Steam chat. I thought for a sec it was probably a silly video or something then I clicked on the link. It was actually an announcement of I LOVE ANISONG guest stars. I was preparing for the worst, maybe someone new will show up. Or it may be this certain idol group whom I adore recently. Whatever, I thought. Then I watched the darn video. Eir Aoi and FLOW, still not amused. I was a bit upset when it get to fripSide, why didn't they come to AFAID earlier. GARNiDELiA, the awesome DJ Kazu and LiSA followed. 'Meh, nothing new this year' that was what I thought at the time when May'n was the next one that get announced. I was getting ready to close the tab when suddenly an awfully familiar voice heard in the earphone. Boy, I wasn't prepared. I shouted my lung out, in somewhat combination of excited and fury. It was Yanagi Nagi herself in the flesh. Yanagi Nagi will perform live in AFA Singapore. Fucking hell. It's almost unreal.

Been following her steps since 2009, I have several mixed reaction for this news. I am of course really, really, really glad to see her getting the recognition she deserves. I am enjoying her works and so do the other people out there. Her fanbase is getting bigger day after day. I still remember the time when it was really hard to get ahold of her new doujin single, let alone to see her face. Good 'ol days. Now we can see her live. As big fan of her I cannot get more grateful for the event organizer. However I am also mad, because it looks like I cannot go to Singapore to attend the show even though there's still time to save money. They could've include her in AFAID anisongs artiste but nay, they didn't. Well they'd better invite her again next year to come to Indonesia. I'm sure as hell I'll go even if it costs me an arm and a leg.

Hello and welcome to my (apparently) dead blog! I hope you don't mind with the lack of new post recently. However if you mind, well, the door's right there mofo. Anyway, it's exactly what it says on the title. I'm going to AFAID and nothing you can do can stop me.

This is my first time attending an anime con and probably the last, unless a certain idol group will perform on the next one. Kinda bummer that the artists lineup aren't as excellent as last year. Though recently I've taken a liking to some of Eir's songs. And both Haruna Luna and MARiA are pretty cute I guess, so there's that.

If there is no change of plan, I'll be in Jakarta from 14th until 18th. So yeah, I'm going there all day erryday. See you there and wish me a safe trip!
Goddammit Bird, get your shit together!

So another volume of Oyasumi Punpun has been released by Hox earlier today (or was it yesterday?). I must say this volume has been a bloody wild ride. While last volume was just plainly batshit insane, Asano gave us another emotional rollercoaster this time, just like he did in volume 10.

So Punpun and Aiko are still on the run after what happened in the last volume. Aiko's wound is getting worse and worse, and Punpun is still mentally unstable because of that incident. He even went as far as picking a fight with a guy because of he littered, probably he'd kill that guy if not for Aiko stopping him.

Meanwhile Sachi is getting desperate in search of Punpun. Her searching took her to Punpun's hometown in Fukushima and there she met his dad. After hearing from Punpun's dad about all sort of happening in his past, Sachi is finally determined to be the one who will protect Punpun. A bit late if you ask me.

After this point it will be a spoiler if I tell more but this is where things are starting to take a freefall Not like that saying anything after what happened in Punpun's spiral downward life so far but this time it will likely caught you off guard. I should've known better than to trust Asano. He always hits you when you least expected and rubs the wound with salt afterward. Oh and there's this subplot with Pegasus and co. too, but I doubt you'd care about that.

Anyway, I'd say this is one hell of a penultimate volume. That damned Asano kept toying with our emotion whether we like it or not. This is Punpun after all. There are pure rage, confusion, tears, a slight of hope, only to be crushed by utter despair in this volume. This is where I can't help but to sympathize with Punpun, even though he's now a jerkass psycho and not how he used to be anymore.

If the source is to be trusted, next volume will be the last. I don't think I'll like where this is going but it can't be helped. Will Asano give us the unlikely happy end? Or will he end it in the most despair way possible? Will Punpun able to conquer Planet Punpunia? Only time will tell. See you in the next volume in winter.

I want to get off Mr. Punpun's wild ride
Advent is the final part in the Berserk saga Golden Arc trilogy, in which the infamous Eclipse event took place. Though it is true that this movie is adapted closer to the manga compared to its TV series counterpart, they still cut several contentss due to time constrain, most notably the fight with Bakiraka and Black Dog Knights. Fortunately, this time they didn't mess much with the main plot. That means  we able finally to see Skull Knight in animated form.

The CG, while it looks much better that the previous movies, still managed to distract me sometimes. The rest of the movies is pretty enough, especially the Eclipse part, which successfully able to capture the sheer horror and nightmarish feel of it. This movies is, of course, uncensored. So you'll be able to enjoy it to the fullest, down to the demonic rape part, if you happen to fancy that sort of thing.

If you are somehow only watch the TV series version, and confused as hell with the ending (which ended right in the middle of the hellish part) then you may want to check this movie out. It tells you the aftermath of the Eclipse, about how Guts and Casca able to survive the event, Guts unescapable fate to fight countless demons and his determination to settle score with Griffith. This led to a hint to a possible sequel,The Black Swordman arc which hopefully continue to the Retribution arc.

In the end this movie is very enjoyable as the climax to the Golden Age arc trilogy. Those who like Berserk manga and TV series will be pleased with this finale. I think it's safe to say that the Berserk saga is finally getting the anime treatment it deserves.
#giantrobot #ERUERUFU #spacevampire #BLITZENDEGEN #forfeithumanity #TENRAPESPERSECOND #Illbethesugartoyourcoffee #SPACETWITTER #checkurprivilege #Shoko4President #betterlovestorythanSAO #AOTS #BOKUJANAI #SWAG #YOLO
Aww shieeet, 10/10 Kyoani! You guys sure know how to please fans.

So yeah, kinda late for this but I finally watched Chuu2koi OVA (or episode 13 some people say). It's continuation from the last episode with the cast are celebrating christmas party in Dekomori's fortress. A lot of things happen, most of them tend to induce a sudden heart attack to me. As usual, the chuunibyou battle is well-animated, making me despair because Kyoani will never do action anime ever again. Anyway, I'm glad this isn't the last time we see the cast since they already announced S2 is in production some time ago. So yeah, more chuu2 antics and moe overload.
The second season of Ore no Imouto have had its ups and downs so far, mostly downs but the latest episode has restored my hope in Japan. If nothing it implies the ending geared toward Kirino end. Even if not, at least Kirino will stay in her dere form for the rest of the show. Who am I kidding. It will have an open end because no one would dare to pull another Akasaka or Yosuga no Sora stunt. Let's wait for the last volume of the light novel instead, which will be released soon. Manami a shit.
So. Many. Feels.

Goddammit. So I've just finished watching Makoto Shinkai's The Garden of Words (Kotonoha no Niwa) which was suddenly came out of blue about three days ago. Like other Shinkai's works, this movie talks about relationship. And of course, like other Shinkai's works, it doesn't really end well.

As usual, the visual aspect is a top-notch. Just like what you expected from the master of scenery porn. I especially like the detail put into the rain scene. It makes the movie very moody and comfy to watch.

So yeah, why don't you start watching this movie right now instead of reading this silly anime blog. It's probably one of the most 'Shinkai' out of all Shinkai's works. I dunno what the hell am I writing anymore. I should just shut down this blog already. (Nah, that wouldn't happen though, sorry to disappoint you)
Alright I'm going to keep this short. Bioshock Infinite has one of the most interesting world in video games that comes to my mind recently. In this day and age where "realistic" setting in video games is considered as the most popular choice, the imaginative city of Columbia is such a treat for me. Yeah, the intro for Rapture in Bioshock was cool and all but there's nothing like breathing the fresh air and seeing that beautiful sky filled with floating monuments.

But that's not all. The gameplay is almost pretty much the same as the first game, you got weapons and this special powers. Then you proceed to shoot everythings that moves. Simple. And the story. Oooh. The main theme is 'infinite universe' but there are many things beyond that but I don't want to spoil the fun. Also the ending left me shocked, both in awe and confuse.

Bioshock Infinite is the game that I hyped for a long time since Bioshock is one of my favorite modern game. Finally playing it gave me this sense of unrealism. It's like I'm playing that game from my dream. Well, turned out it wasn't as brilliant as I expected but nevertheless it's pretty exciting to play. I can't wait for Bioshock whatever that's gonna be released next. I hope it will bring another interesting setting to explore.
That horrible creature on the left is a girl. Yep, at this point I might've stopped watching this show already, but alas, my curiosity got the better of me and I proceed to finish another episode of Aku no Hana. Good riddance I don't even know myself anymore. What am I? What am I doing here?
So, uhm, I just finished Tiger and Bunny movie last night. I was expecting it to be a boring recap but turned out it was better than I expected. Sure, I got this sense of deja vu but surprisingly it has better pace than the series. There's not much to give in this movie beside more cohesive storytelling and a random new villain, still it's the same Tiger & Bunny I enjoyed two years ago.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ahaha... ha... sob sob sob...

WHY

WHY WOULD THIS HAPPEN

THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE MY MOST ANITICIPATED ANIME THIS SEASON

THE MANGA HAS DECENT ART

I THOUGHT AT LEAST THE ANIME WOULD USE THAT

BUT THIS

THIS IS JUST WRONG

EVRYTHING LOOKS LIKE A PILE OF SHIT

WHAT THE HELL IS THE DIRECTOR THINKING

IS NOTHING SACRED ANYMORE

FUCK YOU AKU NO HANA ANIME

FUCK ROTOSCOPE

FUCK EVERYTHING I'M OUT
Girls und Panzer was such a goddamn good treat, I kid you not. When I first heard about it I had my share of doubt like most of any sane person would. I mean, the premise sounds silly. However you can bet your own ass that Japan can turn any kind of silly premise into a wonderful thing. Girls und Panzer is one hell of a wonderful thing. Every episode packed a punch, especially the latter episodes. The pacing is superb. The battles are awesome and I can learn a thing or two about tanks in  the most fun way, even though I'm not a military freak type. The final battle is especially one of the coolest moment in anime that include tanks.

You think moe and tanks cannot be combined? Well think again, kiddo. Ever see a tank doing MULTI-TRACK DRIFTING? In this anime you can. Oh what's that, you want moe Commie girls singing Russian wartime song while riding a T-34 (CMIIW)? Look no further than this anime. You like both playing World of Tanks and watching Chinese Cartoon? Good, this anime is for you then! Everyone can be pleased. Only in Girls und Panzer.
The show was over, I went home with a satisfied face. Yep, Love Live was one big surprise for me last season. I was expecting a bland idol anime that only exist as a promotion for the CD and Love Live other goodies but instead I was entertained by the characters and the story. I wasn't a long time Love Live School Idol Project fan. I was introduced to this idol group when they released their fourth PV. I listened their songs from time to time but that is all. This anime actually made me want to collect Love Live merchandise. So I say this anime is a success.

I rarely seen anime where I love and adore all the characters but Love Live is sure as hell one of those anime. There is literary no character that annoys me, well maybe Nico sometimes but even she has some redeeming features that I like. The rest of cast are also great, with Nozomi as my favorite idol in the show. Another surprise for me is how the characters presented differently in anime compared to how I thought they're gonna be when I watched the singles PV. It's a nice way to keep me watching this anime every week.

As much as I want a second season to happen, I don't think the story can be stretched for another season. So unless Sunrise is going to milk this franchise further I'll be fine with how the anime ended. An half-assed written story for the second season will just ruin the miracle of this anime. Honestly I'm sad to see this anime ends because 13 weeks just passed by quickly, but every good things must come to an end.

Thank you Love Live and μ's for all the fun! I hope we will meet again someday, someday of my life!
This anime revolves around a young witch doing witch things. Kinda reminds me of Mahou Shoujotai, which still be one of my favorite fantasy anime. Little Witch Academia is part of Anime Mirai 2013 project, which used to be called Young Animator Training Project in 2010 and 2011. The episode is pretty good, it has nice setting and all. I don't mind if one day it'll get a proper series.

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