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*＊✿❀ Maki ❀✿＊* (7 KP) rated Sword Art Online: 1: Aincrad in Books

May 3, 2018  
Sword Art Online: 1: Aincrad
Sword Art Online: 1: Aincrad
Reki Kawahara | 2009 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
4
7.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
I don't know why I did this to myself. I knew I wasn't going to enjoy it. I suppose that in my mind, I thought of it as reconnaissance work, to try to better understand where all of the "Kirito" and "Asuna" clones suddenly flooding the few MMOs I played were coming from.

<img src="http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u556/kotonemaki/For%20R%20Purposes/12.29.12%20If%20SAO%20was%20Real_zpsjsrg8fz5.jpg"/>;

I enjoyed the premise of the light novel - the whole "being trapped in a video game until you beat it and if you die in the game you die in real life" thing. I also liked the idea that once in the game, the players were stripped of their anonymity. They were forced to play as themselves, rather than the avatars they had created to represent themselves.

And it's nice that the novel/anime/manga have managed to carve out their own space in the "virtual reality gone wrong" genre, and give .hack// some competition.

But I really, <i>really</i> did not like Kirito.

Maybe I'm a bit prejudiced against the character because of the flood of people naming themselves Kirito in MMOs who made the games obnoxious to play for months on end, since a good portion of them had no idea what they were doing. They all chose to play tanks (of course) and completely ruined it for people looking for a tank who knew what they were doing, or made it harder for actual tanks to get a party, because nobody trusted anybody to know what they were doing in those dark years after the anime first came out.

Maybe it's because Kirito (the actual character) was such a complete special snowflake, without any real redeeming qualities, other than the fact that he managed to luck into his power. That, and his relationship with Asuna are all that really define his character.

I've heard that their characters and the build up of their relationship are handled better in the anime, and doesn't come across as so insta-love. But to be honest, I've got no desire to watch the anime just to get character development when it should have been handled better in the novel that the anime was based on in the first place.
  
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Erika (17789 KP) created a post

Nov 7, 2020  
Christopher Nolan on 05 Nov:

“Warner Bros. released Tenet, and I’m thrilled that it has made almost $350 million. But I am worried that the studios are drawing the wrong conclusions from our release — that rather than looking at where the film has worked well and how that can provide them with much needed revenue, they’re looking at where it hasn’t lived up to pre-COVID expectations and will start using that as an excuse to make exhibition take all the losses from the pandemic instead of getting in the game and adapting — or rebuilding our business, in other words.
Long term, moviegoing is a part of life, like restaurants and everything else. But right now, everybody has to adapt to a new reality.”

Disney on 06 Nov:

Free Guy and Death on the Nile are moving to 2021!

😑
      
Show all 4 comments.
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Sarah (7800 KP) Nov 7, 2020

Me too. Being able to go back in August, I forgot how much I missed it now not being able to go again is awful. Watching films at home just isn’t the same!

Did they not refund you for that? I think for me Cineworld did take a partial payment but then refunded it a week or so later. I haven’t paid my full subscription since February/March I think!
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Kevin Phillipson (10072 KP) Nov 7, 2020

I miss the cinema I was meant to see Saint Maud this weekend at my local independent cinema roses theatre but then the second lockdown happen sometimes u just can't win
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kelsey (8 KP) rated The Adventure Zone in Podcasts

May 29, 2019  
The Adventure Zone
The Adventure Zone
Comedy
10
8.8 (9 Ratings)
Podcast Rating
A Natural 20!
I stumbled about TAZ through tumblr; I kept seeing people post about it and had absolutely no idea of what it was, just that people adored it. After weeks of being confused, I decided to look into it, and wow, just WOW. I don't think a podcast has ever gotten me so hooked. The first arc, Balance, spans 69 episodes under the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition tabletop role-playing game (or TTRPG) system. The McElroys are relatively D&D rookies (though they've had their brief involvements with the game), and so rule-breaking is abound. It's hardly a fault of the podcast, but I wouldn't listen to this one if you want to really learn D&D and its intricacies/how to play. This podcast is far more about the storytelling aspect of the game, which the McElroy family handles FANTASTICALLY. I laughed and cried real tears listening to the first arc of their podcast, I fell in love with so many characters. Clint, Justin, and Travis all have created wonderful player-characters that are engaging and oh-so-fun to root for, and Griffin SHINES as a creative Dungeon Master, with settings and NPCs that are unforgettably fun and interesting.

Balance has since ended, and now the podcast has moved on to other TTRPGs like Fate (TAZ: Commitment), Powered By the Apocalypse (TAZ: Dust), and Monster of the Week (TAZ: Amnesty). Commitment and Dust are two short-run "test-drives" run by Clint and Travis respectively, and I personally adored a departure from the 5e system to not only be introduced to different TTRPGs, but to hear the DM-ing (or now GM-ing) styles of the other McElroys. In Amnesty, Griffin once again takes the reigns to run the game, and at the posting of this review, Amnesty is being considered the "second season" for TAZ. For some, these diversions from the 5e system may not work, but I recommend listening. They're just as creative and fun as Balance was, though different. I recommend coming in with an open mind, as going from the way Balance was to now, the show is quite different, but the heart is still there and the stories are still stunning.

If those aren't your speed, though, the McElroys post bonus games (like Four Sherlock Holmes) that are meant to be silly one-shot arcs AND they host a number of live-shows that bring back the beloved Balance characters into hilarious one-shot adventures, so you're never short of a dose of Magnus, Taako, and Merle. Being honest, the live shows are some of the funniest things I've listened to. They're marvelously fun, and the added time pressure of the show adds to the comedy. They also really bring back the actual-play atmosphere that sometimes gets lost during edited episodes.

I cannot recommend TAZ enough. Being honest, it pretty much saved my life. It brought (and still brings) me so much joy, and it encouraged me to try out TTRPGs--seriously, I took up DMing because of TAZ, and now I run TTRPG games weekly.

Do yourself a favor, roll perception with advantage and give this one a listen.