7th Station ~TV, movies, games~

[Celedam]

"Wait, is that us?"

[Celedam]

So I gave Magic the Gathering: Arena (MTGA) a try…

I played MTG back in school. A member of my friend group — which was much larger then, as is the nature of university life — came back from GenCon '93 with a couple decks of the very first set (a.k.a. Alpha). We all caught the bug from him, and we were deep into it for two years, from the summer of '93 to the summer of '95.

And then we were out of it. I graduated in 1995, and I sold my collection simply because I needed the money. (That collection would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars today. Oh well.) I also brokered for a couple of my friends, who didn't necessarily need the money but still lost interest because our friend group broke up.

I mention all of this because the social aspect is important to a game like MTG. Without the hype and camaraderie, all you're left with are the abusive mechanics of the game itself, including the mechanics by which it is monetized. <scowl>

If you already play MTG in person, with friends, then I can see the appeal of MTGA as a way to practice at home and to try out new sets and decks relatively inexpensively. But MTGA by itself is just gross, and I can't imagine any sane person sticking with it for more than three months (i.e., the release cycle for each new set).

[JonCC]

Picard Season 3 Finale.

I'm just going to quote someone from the Star Trek subreddit:

Sitting here in the middle of the night I'm still buzzing about the finale. I grinned, I cheered, and I got misty eyed. I tried to enjoy seasons 1 and 2 for what they were and not disdain them for what they weren't. But season 3 has made me so happy as a fan who was a kid in the 90s and watched Next Gen for as long as I can remember. Well worth the wait.

[Shoujo Q]

I guess I need to watch Picard Season 3 this weekend.

[erilaz]

SPIRITED AWAY: Live on Stage (movie)



Sunday, April 23 at 4:00 PM (with Kanna Hashimoto as Chihiro)
Thursday, April 27 at 7:00 PM (with Mone Kamishiraishi as Chihiro)

I saw today's screening, with Hashimoto Kanna as Chihiro. Quite a spectacular production!

The Hashimoto version screens again on April 25 at 7:00 pm, and the Kamishiraishi version also has a second screening, on May 2 at 7:00 pm.

https://gkids.com/films/spirited-away-live-on-stage/

[Starra]

So it's 2023 and I'm getting back into my first proper childhood obsession: Pokemon. More specifically, the anime.

I initally started a rewatch of the 90s anime (the shitty 4KIDS English dub that I grew up on) but haven't made it very far because, well, I can only handle so much of it. Though I have watched the last batch of 11 or so episodes that aired this year and were Ash and Pikachu's send-off.

And I'm following the new anime, which has an entirely new cast of characters -- including a proper female protagonist this time, as well as a male deuteragonist. I like the female lead Liko quite a lot, but to me, the real star of the show is a certain character who was clearly made with a very specific audience in mind:

Amethio

Spoiler: show

He's one of the main antagonists, and part of a group who are after Liko's MacGuffin -- her mysterious pendant with special powers.

Just look at that character design. They knew what they were doing with him. He's also an insufferable haughty brat and probably a pampered rich boy, who looks down on everyone else, thinks he's superior, and is most likely a tsundere.

It's like he was made for me, and I couldn't be happier. The new anime is actually pretty good regardless of Amethio existing, and I'm enjoying it for what it is (it's a kid's anime after all lol), but he just makes it so much more entertaining.

Also, 7-year-old me loved Team Rocket the most and they were my favourite characters of the original anime. I shipped Jessie/James before I even knew what shipping was (I just liked the thought of them together). Even watching the anime a good 20+ years later, my tastes haven't changed at all, and Jessie/James is still one of my top anime ships. I've always loved queer villains I guess.

PS The only other ongoing anime I'm currently watching is the final final (for real this time) season of Attack on Titan, which is just about the opposite kind of narrative to Pokemon lol. The two series being next to each other here amuses me greatly.



(FWIW Attack on Titan is my favourite manga, oops.)

[JonCC]

They actually did it. Not content to have a Definitive Edition of each game, now they essentially put the Definitive Edition of Age of Empires I into the Definitive Edition of Age of Empires II.

I wish i could go back and tell 12 year old me.

[Nayoko-Kihara]

I guess I need to watch Picard Season 3 this weekend.

And apparently I need to tell my dad to jump back in for season 3.

[Amped]

SPIRITED AWAY: Live on Stage (movie)



Sunday, April 23 at 4:00 PM (with Kanna Hashimoto as Chihiro)
Thursday, April 27 at 7:00 PM (with Mone Kamishiraishi as Chihiro)

I saw today's screening, with Hashimoto Kanna as Chihiro. Quite a spectacular production!

The Hashimoto version screens again on April 25 at 7:00 pm, and the Kamishiraishi version also has a second screening, on May 2 at 7:00 pm.

https://gkids.com/films/spirited-away-live-on-stage/

I saw the Kamishiraishi Mone version today. Her acting and expressions were amazing. She fits the role. You can tell she is an experienced actor compared to Hashimoto. They did an amazing job recreating the scenes that would be hard to do in real life.

If they release this on Blu-ray with English subtitles, I'd buy it.

[Amped]

Just announced yesterday, SPIRITED AWAY: Live on Stage is getting more live performances this year in Nagoya and in 2024 in Tokyo. Hashimoto and Kamishiraishi will continue their role as Chihiro.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2 ... 24/.197580

They also announced Blu-ray for both versions

Also announced is a Blu-ray home video release of the play. Versions featuring only Hashimoto or Kamishiraishi (which include their respective program pamphlets) are priced at 11,000 yen (US$84), and for comprehensive fans there’s a deluxe box set that bundles both complete performances of the play with a bonus disc featuring extras like interviews and fan greetings, for 33,000 yen. English subtitles are included for the play itself, but the extras seem to be without translations.

The Blu-ray goes on sale July 29, with preorders open now through Toho Mall online store here.
https://mall.toho-ret.co.jp/category/PREORDER6/

Tickets for the play’s new performances have not gone on sale yet, but when they do can be found through the official Spirited Away website


https://soranews24.com/2023/04/28/new-s ... 2023-2024/