about me

video games

my main genres are role playing games and the ever ubiquitous cozy game or life sims. i grew up on nintendo (ds and onward!) and got into very casual pc gaming in high school. no history of competitive play or esports beyond tryhard smash 4 years in middle school, lol.

some games that i like:

• octopath traveler series
• octopath 2 specifically is my favorite game ever!
• the title was formerly held by octopath 1, but the sequel just improved the formula in so many ways
• i'm so excited for octopath 0 you don't even know
• fire emblem series
• fates: conquest, engage, binding blade, and path of radiance are my favorites (so far! jugdral is on my backlog...)
• awakening is a guilty pleasure... :,3
• other role playing games i fancy are dragon quest 11s and persona 5 royal. rpgs i'm attached to have a cozy quality thanks to the familiarity :)
• i love stardew valley and fields of mistria! whenever i'm in the mood for something chill yet addictive i usually boot one of the two. i have perfected stardew valley once and am on the road to do it again!!!!!
• a recent game i picked up with a similarly chill gameplay loop is touhou: mystia's izakaya. i like touhou...'s characters, so about time i play a touhou game. doesn't have to be a shooter tho, right?
• I AM INSANE ABOUT MII GAMES I LOVE YOU TOMODACHI LIFE I LOVE YOU MIITOPIA
• they're great vessels for crossovers ;)
• love-hate relationship with smash bros. i like crossovers so i am on board with it in general but its fans sure are interesting... that said, the fanfic community is filled with some of the most wonderful people i've met :)
• meanwhile, love-LOVE relationship with its step-sister (??) kid icarus uprising!
• i like to play tetris on the toilet

in case it may interest you, i ocassionally log recently played games and play game reviewer on backloggd...

i'll be honest i am procrastinating on watching a lot of tv shows and movies that i ought to so this list might seem a bit short, also i'm just self-conscious U_U

anime

i tend to latch onto a series if i really like it and turn to it as go-to background material. i could never debut a show or movie as background noise but i am always doing shit that needs background noise, so you see...

• little witch academia: ultimate comfort show! a very modest two seasons that ended right where it needed to but i'm so sad there will never be more... love the characters, world, art style, and the story... SO GOOD i need to watch it again :D
• jojo's bizarre adventure: more than a meme i SWEAR! i love its art, themes, story, characters, the powers, man it's so good to get back into every time the phase comes back. my favorite parts are diamond is unbreakable, vento aureo, and steel ball run (YIPPEE FOR SBR ANIME!!!!) and my favorite jojos are johnny, josuke, and jolyne! i own a few artbooks, read some spin-off material (not all of it yet! one day! i am morbidly curious about jorge joestar the most) and am a huge fan of araki's work and process.
• madoka magica: it's been a while since i last watched this one but it really blew my mind when i was younger and its story and themes hit even harder as an adult. love the characters and the anime's art direction and score is phenomenal! favorite girl would probably be sayaka :)
• other anime i like but have less to say are mob psycho 100 (have not finished the final season but i like the characters), ouran high school host club (very nostalgic lol), and violet evergarden (kind of soured after the movie but the art and story really compelled me. maybe i should give it another shot)

youtubers

i watch quite frankly way too much youtube so i got a lot of opinions on people in the tube. here are some of my favorites:

• somecallmejohnny - in my opinion the gold standard when it comes to video game review videos. i really enjoy how soft-spoken his voice-over is aside from comedic bursts in energy to emphasize a point, which makes his videos very relaxing to watch and rewatch many times over without feeling dry. i also enjoy his script writing, both in the jokes which i repeat out of context to myself too many times to count but also how he conveys his passion (or dispassion) for what he's talking about in what feels very honest and candid. truly a comfort youtuber ever, i was shocked to see how low his sub count was when i first subscribed!
• drew gooden - commentary funnyman who is my favorite in the genre. his script writing and especially his comedic delivery are top tier and have permanently ruined my sense of humor and own comedic delivery. but beyond just telling jokes or commenting on online fads, he also displays a passion for discussing and critiquing media, and i am always sat down to hear his opinions on tv shows i simply do not care about because he executes his points in a very approachable way.
• indigo f - a variety youtuber of sorts? their topics range from obscure corners of the internet to cultural phenomena to media discussion to youtube poops and a lot more. what really sells me on their work is their extremely sharp wit and joke writing. their humor is very clearly molded by an esoteric corner of tumblr that would be a hard sell to the average person but really just does it for me. and you’ll learn a lot from their insightful commentary! discovered them by chance and they’re sooo underrated.
• hazel - describing her as an anime or game review channel would be doing her work a massive disservice, even if that’s close to what she does in a nutshell. hazel’s videos take you on a trip through all the branching paths of whatever broad topic a video is about. her more marathon-style videos where she talks about a lot of things in a particular genre are cozy to watch in segments. my favorites are the ones where she dives into a specific topic and exploring all of its facets—production, the people involved, historical context, legacy… her videos are very thoroughly researched and her scripts rarely leave a stone unturned. i also like her soft-spoken voice and how her narration comes across like a casual conversation, which makes the oodles of information she expounds much more approachable in repeat watches.

honorable mentions (mainly because i don't watch them as much):

• excelblem - his stream highlights of his extreme fire emblem challenge runs are such a treat. not only is his fire emblem skill really impressive, especially given the insane stipulations of the challenges, but his post-commentary that summarizes story content and chapter premise, his strategic approach, and humorous storytelling are all really solid. my main drawback with him is that his streamer persona isn’t as engaging as his post-commentary, though that might just be a drawback of fire emblem not being a very thrilling game to watch on its own.
• snapcube (2) - she doesn’t self-describe as a youtuber, which is understandable since her youtube presence is primarily twitch vods, highlights, and the occasional fandub. but penny has a really good showrunner personality and i can see why she’s such a hit as a streamer. extremely contagious laugh and great improv skills make her streams so fun and energizing to watch. special shoutouts to elliespectacular, who edits her streams down for her main channel. her editing style (likely from her prowess as a youtube pooper) enhances penny’s humor and improvisation even further. ALSO! i love the midnight snap series! i use it to either sleep or put something on to draw! even in a format not suited for her high energy, she still excels in delivering humor and good vibes.

music

i'll confess: my music taste has a lot of room to grow! i have a very comfortable niche listening to game soundtracks and vocaloid (which you will soon see down below...) but i'd love to listen to more :) slowly expanding through word of mouth or my favorite artists' non game/vocaloid stuff. hehe!
i love fast-paced danceable stuff as well as metal arrangements of familiar tunes. but even then something soft or atmospheric also suits my needs whenever i'm idling.

game soundtracks i like:

• TOUHOU PROJECT. i haven't played the games (beyond a fan game of a completely different genre) so i mainly engage with touhou through the characters and music. i love zun's work and i can tell his passion lies most in storytelling through music. i have listened to the mainline touhou game soundtracks (including the first 5 pc-98 games thanks to akyuu's untouched score) + a few of the spin-off tracks composed by u2 akiyama. all phenomenal, literally so good!!!! my favorite overall soundtracks are 15: legacy of lunatic kingdom, 10.5: scarlet weather rhapsody, 11: subterranean animism, and 10: mountain of faith
• not exactly a game soundtrack but still touhou/zun related but i am ALSO getting through listening to his original music collection. so far, dolls in pseudo paradise has really hooked me! love the opening track!
• octopath traveler. yasunori nishiki really perfected the grand orchestral sound expected of a medieval fantasy role playing game. i haven't played the mobile game that much (i do like tytos's boss theme) but the two mainline games are basically tied in terms of greatness. both have energizing boss themes and relaxing town and character themes. i love how the second game ties the characters' motifs into their final battle theme (even though i think the execution is inferior to the universal final boss them in octopath 1... seriously, completely tied up). if not my lo-fi remixes of vocaloid songs, THIS is the study soundtrack.
• rhythm heaven fever. i sure hope the game about playing to the music has good music! fever has my favorite ost with bangers across the board, and its strong english localization makes vocal tracks come to life outside of japan. i love, love "beautiful one day" and "lonely storm", and there are so many non-vocal tracks to love (remix 4, packing pests, monkey watch, ringside ?!?! PEAK)
• fire emblem: three houses. for all i can critique about the game, it will never ever be its music. currently my favorite in the series, though fates is a rising star. similar to octopath, three houses nails both claming atmospheric themes and actual map/battle themes. it's a cliché, but... cmon, "god shattering star" really is that good!
• persona 5 strikers. more than the main game, i'll say it. as a musou, the music needs to be high energy, and it absolutely delivers. love "daredevil" and "counterstrike". AND OF COURSE, the easy-going slice of life/vacation themes that play outside of combat are also super good and make me almost like summer!
• mario kart world. a fairly recent game but what a behemoth of a soundtrack. it's like, 250 arrangements of a bunch of mario kart and mario general music! and they're all amazing! say what you want about the oddball decision to turn a kart racer into an open-world game, but having night themes for idle driving has led to some really amazing arrangements that celebrate mario's legacy. i really hope nintendo actually sells the soundtrack fr cuz i'd kill to have it... this would be like, the least controversial way they'd make money off of this game.

even though i expended so many braincells into this tabbed thing i kinda wanna change the layout again. lol, lmao even. anyway the only "other stuff" i can think of rn is what happens next by max graves, very good webcomic.