Opinion – Pinkie's Paradise

Periwinkle’s Five Favorite Video Game Writers

Occasionally on my days off from scrubbing the pool floor, changing filters, getting Chlorine in my eyes and falling off ladders trying to replace the festive holiday lights permanently fixed to the tiki bar I get a chance to spend some time on things I actually love.

And I’m not talking about spending hours alone weeping and pulling my hair out questioning poor level design, awful difficulty curves and gigantic plot holes as I play my monthly bad video games that the manager ruthlessly opens the door and tosses at me in my hut.

I’m talking about laying on the beach like an even more drunk TJ Miller sharing raw fish with my best buddy, Cookie and reading back issues of EGM. Reminiscing about Periwinkle in his naive youth. Thumbing through every single page of any gaming magazine I could afford while working minimum wage at a grocery store. Using dial up internet to keep up with his favorite writers in the gaming world. Knowing someday he too would be beloved in Japan and by a small but growing contingent in North America as a masterful script writer for an incredible Action Adventure series.

As you now know – obviously that all happened and now I’m just your typical billionaire that spends his free time in between riding in my personal jet made of platinum and naming Elon Musk’s children after cyborg angels writing for the blog because why not? I just love games.

So I guess I decided to create my own little list. I am going to briefly write about my own top five favorite video game writers. And I’m going to ask my co-conspirators on the site and YOU! (yes, you don’t be shy) to follow suit!

Also I don’t want to hear any belly aching about how, “March isn’t Video Game Writer Month” and “You can only write about your favorite writers in August!!” or any other made up blog rules because I don’t give a shit.

BUT – I do want to hear from you and your favorites! Be it video game writers, anime or book authors. Could be anyone – who cares – let’s rejoice in the people that make us happy. Alright let’s start:

These are in no particular order and this list is obviously not a proclamation of who is “the best” or any of that. Just my personal favorites.

Known for: Grand Theft Auto Series, Red Dead Redemption series, Smuggler’s Run, Max Payne 3, Midnight Club, Bully

My Pick: GTA IV

Despite being one of the most commercially successful writers on this list, Dan Houser has always shied away from the celebrity some of his counterparts bask in. Growing up in England with brother Sam – the Housers ultimately ended up in New York creating the upstart Rockstar Games.

While not being created by the Housers they took over chief writing of the Grand Theft Auto series early on and by the third installation single handily revolutionized open world gameplay. The series has since went on to become one of the most popular video game series of all time (selling over 320 million copies). Grand Theft Auto has always been known for its dark humor, satire of American culture and homage to crime movies but with GTA IV the writing truly evolved into epic storytelling. Matching the updated and realistic graphics the gritty story followed anti-hero, Niko Bellic as an off-the-boat immigrant from the Baltics trying to start a new life in America – only to be forced into the same criminal lifestyle he led back home. It’s a mature and dark take on the American Dream and subsequently became an instant classic.

Known for: Horizon Zero Dawn, Fallout: New Vegas, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Horizon, Dungeon Siege: 3

My Pick: Fallout: New Vegas

Most die hard Fallout fans despite what system they swear allegiance to would tell you that they were giddy after Microsoft acquired Bethesda in September of 2020 because of one thing: Bethesda now being reunited with Obsidian Entertainment.

The last game the two companies worked on together was the near perfect, post apocalyptic masterpiece, Fallout: New Vegas.

The high water mark that some Fallout fans fear will never again be reached. Fallout 4 was good but it wasn’t New Vegas and Fallout 76 is unfortunately a stupid bastard child hated by all. But maybe all fans don’t know that in addition to Obsidian and Bethesda kissing and making up they will also need the help of John Gonzalez, the lead writer of New Vegas. The darkest entry in the violent series, perfectly paced and packed with exciting and interesting dialogue trees and characters, Gonzalez deserves a contract worth all the Nuka-Cola caps in the world to lead the writing team for Fallout 5.

Known For: Max Payne, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, Alan Wake, Quantum Break, Control

My Pick: Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

Max Payne was an absolute game changer for me. Revenge. One of the oldest tales ever told reinvented with style, bravado and a smoky verbosity that my friends and I still joke about to this day. The original Max Payne was about guns and Matrix-esque action sequences. In fact, they were on such a tight budget at Remedy that Sam Lake modeled for Max Payne himself, with other programmers lending their likeness for henchman and baddies throughout the game. They even used Sam’s own mom as the main antagonist, Nicole Horne.

But after Max Payne crushed it as a critical and commercial darling – the budget inflated and Lake hung up his modeling cap and turned the storytelling up to 11. The Fall of Max Payne is a masterpiece on several levels, between its submersible baddie dialogue to its expertly crafted Shakespearean-star-crossed-lovers story arc the Fall is not only a PlayStation 2 masterpiece but an achievement in story telling from an underrated modern day master.

Known For: The Nomad Soul, Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy), Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, Detroit: Become Human

My Pick: Beyond: Two Souls

David Cage is a polarizing figure. I will acknowledge that. But thats it. I am only here to discuss writing prowess and even to that end his company, Quantic Dream also draws hard lines in the sand with gamers. You either really love Quantic Dream games or you don’t. There truly doesn’t seem like very much middle ground.

My personal pick probably seems confounding. Beyond: Two Souls was by far Quantic Dream’s least successful release. It was skewered by critics and gamers alike for bad controls. But it was easy to work through these issues with Cage’s script being read by Elliot Page and Willem Dafoe. If this game doesn’t give you the feels than I can’t help you. The acting is elite and Cage’s script keeps up with his talent.

Known for: The Metal Gear Solid Series, Policenauts, Zone of the Enders, Snatcher, Death Stranding

My Pick: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The master. In the opinion of many (including my own) one of the greatest writers of all time. No one has quite mashed pop culture, action adventure cinema and overall gun powdered existentialism quite as smoothly than Mr. Kojima.

Throughout Kojima’s career one could argue no one has ever imposed a more convincing anti-war argument to teens through visual media. He may have created one of the most badass soldiers of all time but like all man made weapons of destruction he runs the film past the script end. Never afraid to challenge his own genre and medium no writer has ever been as bold as Kojima when it comes to challenging his players to look at the world around them and demand, “Why?”

ADULT SWIM HOURS

My two best friends that I constantly harass when writing any of my articles had some writers to add of their own they were mad I omitted. They know my guys. They know what games I love. But they needed the world to know:

Shigeru Miyamoto is number one. You don’t just write Mario/Zelda/Donkey Kong/F-Zero/Pikmin/Star Fox and get ignored on some idiot’s blog about great video game writers. It just can’t happen.

While that is true. A few faithful readers will remember that I’ve already been thrashed by a Twitter badass for my lack of absolute devotion to everything Nintendo as is. So I might as well continue this disturbing and challenging trend.

Also, this guy:

This curly haired fellow? Neil Druckmann? He is solely responsible for one of my closest friends denouncing Xbox and buying a PlayStation 3. After watching a half an hour or so of Uncharted. I’d say that’s a pretty good endorsement.

Alright so… now it’s your turn.

And in addition to all of my favorite writing partners on the site I have a couple specific bloggers I follow as well. Obviously don’t feel obligated to but I’d be interested to read your favorites:

The Gamer With Glasses

Shoot The Rookie

Geeking-By

So there you have it. Who inspires you? Who are your favorites? Join the conversation in the comments below or let me know via social media at: Buffalo Retro

Granny Pinkie doesn’t understand the internet

Hello Island Guests! In just under two months I will turn 21 for the 14th time in a row! I do not feel like a person who just passed the double threes in legitimate age definition. However there is one thing that makes me old.. and that is a part of the current geek but also world culture… and that is memes. Then there is also this lingo and these commonly accepted things and humor that go over my head. I often find myself wondering.. why is that supposed to be funny? Where is the craft in that? So today we sit in a rocking chair, wiggle our cane and wonder if my Island should not be a retirement home already! Today I look at things prominent in geek culture that I do not understand.

What the Heck is G-Fuel

Back in my day gamers would keep themselves up with a Red Bull or quite a bit more popular Monster Energy Drink. A company I worked for twice hosted gaming events in the country with Monster as one of our main Sponsors. I wasn’t a huge fan of the energy drink hype back then but I also feel it was a much more silent thing. It was more like “Pinkie is AFK getting a drink” and people would be like.. Monster.. and then you could go “Monster!” and they would ask what colour. Then all of the sudden there was G-Fuel and it was everywhere. Yet nowhere?! I see people constantly talking about G-Fuel which I would assume stands for Gamer Fuel? I am so not sure?! Why are people going this crazy over it? I see people shout G-Fuel .. in their name on twitter or Discord or whatever but why would you do that?! Why would you want to walk in clothes of that?! Okay I see people walk with Redbull shirts or Monster shirts as well.. but when it’s Redbull it is mostly due to the formula 1 fandom and not the energy drink itself. Monster has pretty much died out since the ban on young people came.

So G-Fuel turns out to be a powder.. I thought it was an energy drink but it isn’t? Is it like a protein drink or is it caffeinated powder so people can sell it to kids?! Do we need to be that jubilant for people finding a loophole to sell us what medical people think.. might not be very good for you? I mean I get why it’s nice to have something you could no longer have.. but I just don’t get the fandom around a drink. I like my drinks carbonated and I like the feeling of drinking from a can . I like a glass as well but with powder mix I usually get dust everywhere, I never get the consistency right due to how different all glasses are and why would I go for a drink I need to make instead of one that is ready to pour?! I only liked Nestle Quick when mom made it for me! Are they THAT delicious?! If so why isn’t it available then?! I never found it in any store?! I do not get the appeal! Then again I never liked any energy drinks except for the classic Ginseng Monster one.. and only when I was really hungover because I liked how my throat got prickly?! Please let me know the appeal! Or what it actually is.. or what the G stands for. If it stands for G-Fuel maybe I should make A-Juice.

I Stan and Simp makes my ears or eyes bleed

I Stan the Anime Man, I stan Laura Bailey.. it sounds so ugly! What is so bad that the word love isn’t valid anymore? I mean sure I get that it is a different form of love and it sure is faster to say than Idolize but it sounds so ugly. I stan Irina .. I could barely type that without chunks of G-fuelless vomit coming up my throat. Why do we need to butcher the english language like this?! Just because it is “hype” to get an entry on Urban Dictionary?! I get that language evolves over time but 95% of these words die out within the year they are invented. How do I keep track of what is active lingo and what is not?! There are a few YouTubers I actually do NOT understand without looking at Urban Dictionary regularly. It doesn’t mean I disapprove of all the words. Pog is something I still find very ugly but I get the need for that to be a word. Chats on discord go fast so POG instead of nice play my man.. is a lot faster.. but love and stan isn’t different in length nor in pronunciation. Why is it fun to use fashion words if you know they will die out soon, it will only make you look uncool after the word has died out. I could still say I love Foovay instead of saying that I stan her and no one would think I am weird.. but if I Stan Ospreyshire in like three months people think like.. wow nobody uses that word anymore it is so uncool. So why make yourself sound like your vocally handicapped for those few months.

Another one of those words that I hate is Simp. While I do not mind the “intended’ meaning of the word.. because it is so popular that meaning the “threshold’ ‘ for what it takes for someone to be a simp has been lowered that now it has no meaning and is just an annoying word. A simp should be someone who follows someone in an uncomfortable way to the one being followed. …Well at least this post is nice for training my abs. Someone who desperately follows a person in the false hope of establishing contact. Yet now you are already a “simp’ for following or commenting on a girls blog or twitter. That would make Raist and Indigo huge simp’s of mine and I do not think they are. I would simp Irina and Summer. So even IF you even use a memy word people use it so much it loses all its meaning. Take “Okay Boomer” for instance. That was trendy a few months ago. Now you are a Boomer for being old enough to “know this was a meme” how old do these people think they are?! Did the G-fuel disable their long term memory, so they can’t even remember what happened last month?! I really don’t get the language rules of this day and age!

Everything is a Meme

Why is James May putting cheese on a table ,and the rest of the video being cut out, a meme?! Why is it funny.. it’s just a man saying Cheese. Why is Micheal Fassbender looking for the real something funny? Usually it is just three pictures. Ricardo was a meme as well .. this buff guy with a six pack.. why is showing his picture in certain situations funny?! I mean I do edit some pictures and put in some other elements to make it “funny” but usually a story goes along.. without context those would not be funny.. and neither are 90% of the memes. Not to me at least. I am super happy people can enjoy it but I often wonder if there is something broken inside me that I do not find that funny. One of the cringiest meme formats I almost never like is that anime guy with his butterfly and then the subtitle IS this?…. I sometimes see something clever in that format but usually it is just someone putting in a quote and making the guy say the opposite. There is no content and it almost always feels unearned.

I do like meme characters in general. I enjoyed Bowsette being a thing , I enjoyed Ugandan Knuckles and I liked Ultra Instinct Shaggy but that is because they break the status quo we see a character do something they are not supposed to do. Oftenly blown out of proportion in fairly extreme ways. It is a fandom for something coming alive. That is why I also really love Devil Artemis YouTube Channel.. I like that level of randomness.. but on the other hand we have the Dio joke.. Which can be nice when well times.. but in the world of memes that joke is being made every second so in the end it is just another guy who put Dio’s head one someone else.. or blames Dio for Covid or whatever. That would be the same as me posting a picture of a ringing telephone and then placing the “run forest run” scene. A flyer for some kind of Marathon .. and then placing run Forest run.. or whatever situation you might want to run from. The guy who did it first is clever but those who repeat it don’t do anything special. There are so many situations that apply that it’s not clever. Most memes follow that format.. I do sometimes like simpler memes like that as well but you need to cater them to a niche because then it hits hard. When you try to gain as big of an audience as you can.. your meme will be super generic and I think it is the humor that requires the least amount of effort.

Tommy Wiseau being Thanos Snapped saying Bye Mark I find funny for example, well at least I found it funny when it first came out. Then there is the Drake stuff. Then there is the completely random stuff. I saw a meme recently that was “Why are there so many demigods?” Followed by an image of Zeus be Like.. and showed him in a few poses. To show he is feeling awkward.I get what is trying to be said but I don’t really get why it’s funny.
You could call it observational humor but a big pet peeve of mine is judging one’s actions through the changed perception of time or forcing our perspective upon everyone. Not everything needs to be judged by our current standards. These kinds of jokes have already been made by Monty Python as well as well. I just do not think we have to put EVERYTHING into that mold of memes! To me at least it goes stale real fast and you can really tell who forced something to be a meme. The creatures that I said I liked earlier, like Bowsette, Ultra Instinct Shaggy and Ugandan Knuckles.. more or less originated naturally.Then there is the LOSS meme.. which can be funny when someone experiences actual loss.. but why is it fun to see it in mario shells?! Forced!

Every Opinion is a Fact

Finally, why has the internet collectively forgotten the definition of an opinion. I can say I ship Cocona and Yayaka from Flip Flappers. Or Mimi and Joe from Digimon. If I do it on WordPress I might even get an interesting article on it but if I do it anywhere else I probably will get some toxicity from it. I would get explained in facts why it is not the writer’s intention to set them up, there is only so many minutes of interaction during the show, the colour palette shows the political nature of the author and from that I could have realised it would never happen if I wasn’t a total idiot who gave the fan base a bad name. When I was a kid in the schoolyard and I said I liked the Pink Power Ranger other Power Ranger fans would tell me their pick is the best ranger and would listen to why I like Kimberly. Nowadays when I say stuff like that people say I should pick Billy as my favourite ranger because David Yost was gay and he was bullied on the set but stayed so long, or Tommy because he can face Goldar on an equal level and thus is the stronger ranger.

I never said I thought the Pink Ranger was the strongest, nor that I respected her most.. I just said I liked her. Favouritism and love are an irrational thing as they stem from an opinion. Just because I love you all doesn’t mean there is not a blogger out there that thinks that the people at IGN or Kotaku are the real bloggers! I am sure the bloggers at IGN get paid more and that Kotaku bloggers have a wider reach, but that doesn’t mean they have found factual proof I should love you less?! So why do they do it?! What is the fun of talking trash about others’ opinions?! Why does one need to validate oneself by trashing another. If I think Goku can beat Superman in my headcanon that is what happens. I could release math on it, but a battle is not just numbers. Fictional characters have this flexibility to give us a story we want. If we apply logic the villains would always win as they always start off stronger than a hero. Frodo would not win in a fight against Sauron.. yet he did end up winning. Fantasies are our own and like movies they do not always need a rigid logic. There have been times where I wanted to make a top 5.. but I looked at other peoples opinion as well to be more correct! That’s pretty insane! Yet I am pretty sure others have done this as well. Which is kind of insane! Even if I like the things people hate, that doesn’t make me wrong! I can’t be wrong because I can’t be right either! And yes that does mean you can’t be right either! No one can! It’s amazing! But when I am online that doesn’t appear to be the case.

It seems the younger people are the more factual their opinions are. The more inclined you are to play Fortnite with peers or your age, the more inclined you are to be one of those people. Yet being part of a fandom also helps. The console wars going on are quite annoying to me. “The xbox series S is so inferior to PlayStation’s budget model..for 100 bucks more you get a more powerful device” FACT!.. Well yes… but that’s the whole point. Microsoft was like, well some console gamers do not care about the amazing graphics, if that was the main selling point they would most likely be pc gamers. So why not save you a ton of cash instead of just 100 bucks.. by building a lite version.I think that is smarter than the no disk version that only allows you to buy games at PlayStation store prices. I am not wrong..but the guy saying I do not buy physical anyway..probably is right as well. I honestly prefer my switch above both those next gen consoles. I can safely say that to my friends.. but when I say it on twitter I am dumb for preferring a device that has less power than a PS4… Well I do not care, I acknowledge you care and good on you.. but we all have different definitions. In fact when I say something is good, not only are the points I base that on NON factual.. even the terminology is subjective. For someone good might mean enjoyable for others, it has not a lot of faults and for others it would have at least an average of 7/10 when tested on 5 different testing points. Yet on the internet.. The only opinion that is right is that of the biggest influencers that talk about that topic. I do not get that.

Am I a Bad Person?

I have been making this post and deleting this post for a few times now. Recently I had a bit of a nasty experience in my beloved Pokémon Fandom. I dared to defend the new Mewtwo Remake, saying that if it’s not for those who do not like the artstyle that doesn’t mean it’s bad persé. I saw it as a new way to watch a classic. I am not a big fan of the style myself but at times the battles remind me of the games, especially back in the Pokémon Stadium days. For Nostalgia sake I would watch the new version. I have seen Mewtwo Strikes Back like seven times by now.. so I welcomed the chance to rewatch it in a different way. I will love Pokémon regardless … but does that make me a bad person?! Apparently to some it does.

Pinkie is a Fake Fan

I got accused of being a fake fan, who is destroying the franchise by simply going to see whatever is on offer. Yet this isn’t exactly true. I don’t buy everything from Pokémon. I will most likely not buy the Mystery Dungeon game, because I played it so much already it will not offer me enough new things. This movie however does! It’s a whole new look on an old movie. New effects, new animations, maybe not for the better but at least it breaks a monotony for me. Why is Nintendo greedy for doing this after 25 years? No one ever called George Lucas greedy when he released enhanced editions. When Lord of the Rings Extended cut came out.. no one said it was greedy to release an additional version. So why in this age do we have to keep nagging and demonising people for an updated version. It’s fine to not need them, for example , I do not like the Disney live action remakes , yet I do not think doing them taints the orginal classics in any way.

***I dn not mind other people do not mind these movies! As long as it gives Disney Budget to make more Baby Yoda stuff let others go see these!***

Is Disney greedy? In my opinion.. no…. and yes.. but it depends on what we count as Disney. We live in the age of shareholders, silent partners and major investors. It’s not like there is a single guy at the top rubbing his hands like Mister Burns saying… excellent the sheeple will buy everything. It’s a bunch of people in the shadow that do not care what Disney does that want numbers only. So sure at times companies will have to release stuff to up their numbers to keep everyone investing happy. We as fans might be at the heart of the company but the shareholders, money providers are the blood. The bigger the heart, the more blood it will pump, the healthier the company. However that blood doesn’t really care about the company it just wants to get that sweet sweet oxygen for those red blood cells.
The fandom can act like white blood cells to make some stands here and there to keep our company from getting sick sure.. but if we boycott and hate.. those red blood cell investor bastards just see less and less oxygen coming.. and eventually will just see that thing we love and try to block of from commercialism as dead. For any franchise we love we have to allow it to make as much money as possible.

**How people see companies they once loved for modernising their sales methods.**

So why would you hate on me for keeping the body alive? Why am I a fake fan for liking something and supporting it? My admission ticket for a movie, that game I buy that you think might not be worth it .. will help keep the franchise alive.. because it keeps the shareholders happy. If shareholders tell Nintendo that Pokémon doesn’t make money anymore.. because part 8 got boycotted.. they will tell Nintendo to pull the plug on it.. they will NOT tell them to make a better one. I will not buy everything myself, but I am grateful to the persons who do. I am happy people will buy the new/old mystery dungeon game, I am happy people still go to the pokémon movies. Because at times we do get some seriously awesome stuff. So are you a bad guy for giving critique to the company you love? No! You are the white blood cell. Am I a bad person for supporting the content I actually like, even if I might not LOVE it. No.. I am the heart that keeps the body alive.. and allows the white cells to fight for what they want. So can we all just realise this that there is no right opinion and we need both for progress?

***Shareholders. Creators and critical fans working together! Kept alive by the fan that keeps pumping money into the franchise.***

Pinkie is a horrible person

So defending something a majority dislikes now is a crime.. something that really stings. Another thing I recently got flack for is following certain youtubers. Because “They are assholes in real life” or “they have said mean things to fans”. Well , I am not friends with them or anything. I just enjoy their content. Their content does not equal them. Who they are in real life or how they act to fans is oftenly not in my field of interest. Sure if someone is victimised by a person we should offer them a platform of support do not get me wrong, but I do not want to be a judge on how someone should live their private life. If I have to stop watching a youtuber because he was mean to his girlfriend, or refused to sign an autograph , I feel like I would have to stop going to a store if my question got ignored as well, or if the store manager slapped his sister once. I should stop ordering online from site X because one of the order pickers has most likely cheated. It just feels hypocritical to judge some harder than others.. just because we have a dislike and unsubscribe button.

***In this “Orville” Episode people who get to many dislikes get “reprogrammed” in reality we are kinda already doing this!***

It feels a bit as if we live in some kind of Orson Welles like dystopia. People have to present themselves online to make money.. but the “people” decide how these people should behave. If you eat unhealthy, if you make ONE bad joke or if people find something in your tweet history of 10 years ago, your show could be cancelled and you lose your entire life. I do not want to get dragged into the whole social circus. This idea honestly scares so much. We are strangling individuality. We are forcing people to act like what we think is decent. Yet where is the limit? Soon we will dictate what a person eats, judge their spouses behaviour as well and so on. I do not want to be like that. I want people to be themselves. Flaws are included into this. A world where we force everyone to be flawless or flat out cancel their lives is something I will actively rebel against. It’s not up to us to judge a person for how they live their lives, as long as it’s not a crime. I’d rather watch an honest reaction of a guy who cheated on his wife about my favorite anime then a reaction of a person who is to afraid to do anything wrong and keeps their opinion as harmless as possible, who lives not his own life but that of his viewers choosing.

***I want to eat Kebabs tonight..but it is served in a platic tub.. am I allowed to get it my sweet fans?***

Nowaday on Twitter I see a lot of comments like “If you are friends with someone who watches Loli’s you are a pedophile yourself’ .. Friendships have to be broken to keep your own social status. Sure they are only online “mutuals” but is that really the world you want to live in? For me it’s certainly not! Yes I have a friend who cheated on another and I am still friends with them. Why? Because it does not expunge the good stuff that the friend in question did for me. They supported me in harsh times so I will do the same for them. Friendship is meant to be in good times and in bad. They did not cheat on me and me banning that person from my life would not benefit either. Sure the victim might feel a bit happier but in the end what good would it be to them either. So am I really a bad person for sticking with people who have vices. For appreciating what they have done for me.. over what they did to others? I do not think so, a cheater might be very very unhappy.. we can not look into their brain.. so are we right to judge them? I am not sure. Again.. the law is the law and we should offer a platform to support those hurt but we do not have to demonise everyone. I stick by my friends and those who did something important to me. If that makes me a horrible person.. that might just be a badge of honour I’d proudly take.

***Me celebrating my badge of honour!***

Pinkie is a crybaby

The fact that I liked Pokémon and that I defended the new Pokémon movie got negated by a guy who commented. Those who defend this movie all have pronouns in their twitter bio! Most of them use she/her so their opinion doesn’t count. This post made me cry. Do we have to alienate people to get our factualise our opinion? Why does the Pokémon movie have to suck? Why can’t people just feel it’s sucky. Our opinions aren’t facts. Why do you have to devalue my opinion for disagreeing with you. I am not asking to you to agree with my opinion, I just ask people to accept people might think in otherways and just burning something down is not always in the interest of others. Why do I have to be a bad person simply for disagreeing. Why do I need to be demonised and my opinion invalidated. Most of the time this polarised view comes from the negative camp, though not always as fanpeople can also be somewhat toxic to criticism. Yet I simply can’t see why it has to be this way. No one is factually right. An Opinion never EVER is. So no one deserves to be a bad person for having one that is unpopular.

**Kids do you prefer Ketchup or Lemon Meyonaise!?**

I cry a lot when I read forum when someone is called stupid for saying a perfectly viable argument. It worries me how people have become. It’s great that you fight for the environment that makes you GOOD. That doesn’t make people who aren’t as active BAD. The world is not that black and white. Dumping toxic waste, actively choosing toxic materials as packaging because it is cheaper is BAD. I do not separate all my waste because I do not have the room in my super small apartment. I do it as much as I can but I can’t have three trash bags in my house because I do not have room for three. I do not think that makes me a bad person. With my monetary means, with my living space, I will not always have room to do what is best. Should I give up that little bit of luxury or those games , or cute thing I buy each month to give me some semblance of happiness in order to be a good person? I do not think I need to do that.

***Super Saintly Pinkie is certainly something people should not ask for!***

Pinkie is Selfish

Everyone deserves some happiness and not always will that happiness be good for everyone. Not because I do not wish my happiness to be in the way of others but because inevitably it will anyway. If I fall in love with a girl.. some other girl might lose a chance to be with her ex, or maybe I deny some friends that one night with her because I took her out for dinner on a night they would want to party with her. Sometimes we will hurt each others feelings, it’s sad but it is a fact. If I let them go because it’s a bigger group.. maybe another group asking her out for drinks the next day gets hurt because “she already went out that week and would rather watch netflix” Than I hurt the other friends. Somewhere somehow people will be disappointed in my call. Somewhere down the line I will disappoint anyway. So here is my view. If I am gonna do it wrong to some people anyway.. might as well do it right for me. I am the only person who can look in my brain so I can without fail say if my actions will make me happy. I can only guess that for other people. So why not live life the way I know I get at least some customer satisfaction?

***I try to make a person smile every day… that pink lady in the mirror!***

We are always thought to think of others , but oftenly we defend people who aren’t even hurt. We call out western people in kimonos because it’s deemed stealing culture. Meanwhile japanese people are happy people are willing to try it.. as long as they respect the customs. Little girl tries to bring awareness to save the planet.. meanwhile we calculate how polluting her campaign is. Why can’t we look at the good side? Why do we demonise everything. I do not want to hear why I should not like an anime or a game, I prefer to hear reasons why I should. Isn’t that how love is supposed to work? You can have a thousand reasons not to love something but all you really need is one reason why you should? When did this change? I love Projared’s videos because he really loves the games and lets them shine as much as his personality. That’s what I want in a youtuber. I enjoy the new Pokémon game and the new pokémon movie because they allow me to experience something classic in a new coat of paint making it a fresher revisit. I love my friends despite their flaws because of what did for me! I do not judge them on what they did to others. The only way I can make sense of this world is by putting me in the center of it. At least that way I got some answers I can rely on.

***I am the center of MY uniiverse.. does that make me so fat that I have gravity?***

Pinkie is Pinkie: Deal with It

So am I a bad person? I help my friends, I fight for them but also can be stern to them..without abandoning them. I do think about myself and my own enjoyment but I also actively seek ways to include as many people in that as I possibly can. I think that is the reason why I can not see myself as a bad person. I try to include people. I might not operate on the global macro scale in terms of good, I try to be there on the micro scale. Help those who help me and those I can really get to know. It does mean forgiving some sins that in the eyes of the common folk might be unforgivable .. but everyone deserves a chance of happinesses. I think we need good guys on all levels. Yet not being good doesn’t always equal bad.

***Welcome to my World it’s not just blacks and whites! Mostly Pinks!***

Good and Bad usually are still only opinions though so I guess neither is either completely right as well. So am I a bad person? Probably in the eyes of a lot of people I am. But it is okay.. because I am kinda happy with the way I live. At least I try to be! And my sweet little readers, I think you should do that to. If you are going to be a bad person.. make sure at least it still makes someone happy! That way.. being bad isnt so bad after all.

My Favorite Isekai: Konosuba

Today I shall talk to you about my favorite Isekai show. To be fair I have only gotten into the genre fairly recently so there is plenty I missed out on but among all the Isekai I have seen so far there still is a clear cut winner for me. Something that is so ridiculous that it is more a spoof on the Isekai genre maybe yet it has still won my heart. I am talking of course about Konosuba.

STEALing the spotlight

Konosuba follows the misadventures of Satou Kazuma, whom upon his untimely death gets to choose one item to take into a fantasy world with him. He choose the snarky goddess Aqua and together they move into a wonderful world. Yet I assume you all know this and since the plot basicly is “this is an Isekai” I will not be going into it to deep! Watch the show! It’s great! “But Pinkie, how could you pick that one, the animation quality of the second seasons is so bad” At least that’s what my somewhat money hungry chinese friends keeps telling me when I praise this show. So let me make this clear, I don’t really care about animation all that much. I see it more as a bonus that oftenly I even hardly notice. I didn’t even notice how badly drawn the Goku versus Beerus fight was in Episode 5 of Dragon Ball Super the first time around. I get caught up in a story and since I don’t read manga all that much , I don’t need to pay that much attention to it anyway. This is all still new so I can fully enjoy the wondrous adventures for a first time. I am not watching my favorite manga come to live in a somewhat wooden way. It’s like how I do not read the books of a western movie I really wanted to see (though I really wish I did with Twilight) because I am setting myself up for disappointment. As long as it is not Spawn’s live action cgi levels of bad, I am mostly fine with these sort of , what I think are petty gripes.

***(Live action CGI …now this is bad animation!)***

Konosuba is not a show that has to shine around it’s animation anyway. I can see a racing anime or something with cyberpunk ninja’s having a need for very fluent/sleek animations.. even something like the devil may cry anime. Yet this is a show about a party fighting a horde of cabbages, loudly arguing in a dungeon or lewd dreams induced by a succubus.
Konosuba is a comedic and lighthearted show that shines through it’s jokes and whimsy. That is where a show like that should shine and to be honest, I don’t think I laughed harder with any anime show than I did with Konosuba. Marking it down strictly on it’s animation feels like buying one of those family cars.. you know the minivan things, and then criticizing it that is not very fast. Konosuba doesn’t try to dazzle you with epic fights.. in fact Konosuba has some of the lamest fights I have ever seen and I love it.

***(This made me spill my drink.. RIP my drink)***

During the first big encounter , when facing a Dullahan named Bedlia, who is one of the generals of the big bad Demon King, they tease him, play soccer with his stolen head and the entire fight is just him whining.
Why did they fight him in the first place? Because Megumin , the groups archmage trained her magic and blew up his house day after day after day. The build up for this had great comedic timing, the anti climatic encounter is hilarious and the conclusion and jokes satisfying from beginning to end. The show knows it’s strengths and what to highlight and I rather have the budget be allocated to extra episodes as making something look cool, what does not need to look cool. Comedy is where this show shines so much and some clunkiness to the looks kind of improve that experience for me even.

***(How players look when they are about to *beep* the DM)***

EXPLOSION of Laughter

Konosuba is extremely relatable to me as a regular DM in a fantasy world. When we play D&D people pretend they would like to play cool knights that slay dragons and woo a princess heart. We would love to pretend we are a skillful mage that is knowledgeable and wise. We think people play a strapping young lad, who was once a thief but has now find a calling that makes him use his skill for the greater good. That is the image people get of people playing D&D. In actuality virtually every game of D&D I ever mastered AS WELL as the games I played in end up more like Konosuba than an epic fantasy adventure. Sure the series might exaggerate it a little bit, but in honesty not all that much. That fight where the Dullahan gets completely dominated and people play soccer with its head.. it happens in all D&D campaigns where players get to make their own character. At one point the DM will forget about an ability of one of the characters that completely renders a boss or dungeon useless. If you create a fantasy world at one point this WILL happen to you.

***(When you have spend hours on a plot character and the mage comes along)***

The entire concept of when Kazuma takes Aqua to this magic world with him as his chosen item seems like something a D&D player would do. He basically dragged the DM into her own game and now the game is DMed by someone else. As a result we get a super salty player in the form of Aqua that is portrayed brilliantly. Aqua makes choices a player who has DMed would have made. It feels just so right when connected to the hobby of D&D. We see Kazuma obtain a legendary weapon once, but since he is not proficient with it.. he just sells it off for a measly amount of cash. THIS happens in D&D as well. You as a DM create something very cool for the party to have and they don’t recognise it right away so they just toss it away for coin they will spend at the tavern.

***(How DM reacts when players trade plot items for beer)***

Every episode had me rolling on the floor with laughter because of how it reminded me of the adventures we had in the past. To me Kazuma, Aqua Megumin and Darkness are so much more real than most Isekai characters not because they actually feel like “real people” but like relatable characters. This really is your average D&D party and it makes the adventure that much better. This is just really cleverly written throughout.

Nature’s Beauty

Isekai to me is a bit of a hit or miss genre. Sword Art Online for example I find atrocious myself despite the good reviews it’s not for me. Rise of the Shield Hero was okay but never really gelled with me. Didn’t I tell you to make my abilities average in the next life, I really enjoyed myself with. I do not like it when an Isekai takes itself to serious. For example let’s take Isekai Cheat Magician as an example of this. Putting an overpowered hero in a serious situation like a war doesn’t work particularly well as there is no real tension arc. Deaths that happen feel even worse when a character is overpowered. It feels extremely avoidable and often like lazy writing. Yet so many shows do this, Sword Art included. We see Kirito duel some vagrants who can’t even hit him because he is so high leveled that they don’t do actual damage yet in an earlier dungeon his party still wipes because of a trap. It feels weird.It’s like you are reborn in the world of dragon ball as a super saiyan 2, yet you still can’t stop Frieza from killing Krillin. That’s not dramatic that is just dumb.

***(This image is so fitting right now)***

Isekai often relies on game like world building or a skill system or has a character rise above the occasion because they are familiar with these tropes. Many of these elements do not work with a serious tone.
Konosuba is aware of this and just has fun with the way it’s world works. Showing us what we want to see in a fantasy world without having to create too much logic behind it.The show manages to pull my heart strings by creating the cutest creatures imaginable, like the cabbages they fight in season one , or chomusuke and the snow sprites in season 2. These creatures are all adorable in design and would not work as enemies in a serious Isekai. Yet EVERY VIDEO GAME EVER that is set in a fantasy world has enemies like this. At least in my beloved JRPG’s . To me an Isekai show needs to have that kind of thing these tributes to what we know in fantasy. We want to feel we are in another world in a fantasy world or a video game world. Shows like Didn’t I say to make my abilities Average and Konosuba use that trope well.

**(Aren’t they just adorable! I want one!)**

Take Re:Zero for example and we see Subaru doesn’t really HAVE to be from another world. It adds very little to the plot. Sure he is unfamiliar with his situation but he just might as well have amnesia and the show would remain largely the same. Danmachi for example knows that it doesn’t have to be an Isekai. The world is somewhat serious and makes sense to the characters so there is no real need to have a protagonist be aware off the whole fantasy world aspect. Konosuba would not work as well if it was not an Isekai. Kazuma’s style of thinking is rather unique in this world define by culture, the world is too“odd” to be inhabited by just people of that world. Both Kazuma and Aqua come from a different world and use this in their train of thought. In a way they even Meta-game pestering a god to be brought back to their world so they can do insane suicide strategies. This fits and we get a world that gels together nicely even in its stupidity.

I’m broken.. please BREAK ME some more!

Konosuba does something that very few Isekai do, although in a bit of a different direction one may expect. They make Kazuma and Aqua seem alien to the world. Their different way of thinking, their quirks from the other world often get them in trouble and as such like again in most D&D their worst enemies is actually themselves. More often than not they are clearing up their own mess , we see them move from living in the stables to getting their own mansion and then losing it just to regain it again. A big part of this show is actually focussed about living in the other world. Plenty of Isekai have our heroes join a guild and then be carried of into a slipstream of a huge adventure. They immediately become a part of this world.

***(No Darkness I do not mean getting trampled into the ground.. becoming part!)***

Kazuma and Aqua don’t do that as much, they much like their party are dysfunctional and do not completely gel in this world. The same can be said for residents of that world who join them in the form of Megumin and Darkness. A mage that only knows one spell and is an extreme oddball, and a noble lady that is utterly useless with a sword but trough her deep rooted masochism makes a great “tank” are so twisted, yet so close to actual fantasy adventures where we place ourselves in another world that it really keeps that Isekai feeling. You DO always believe these guys do not fit in this world. None of them, in part because some behaviour is spearheaded by Kazuma. This shown never stops being Isekai and I do think others could take examples from this.

(***They even stole god’s panties!..Several Times)***

That same brokenness these characters share adds another strength to this show. That is the ability to surprise. Each adventure has a wacky outcome, that while predictably may not be in our heroes favor most of the time it still offers something new. I constantly found myself amazed by their clever solution to a self imposed problem or the after effects of an action. Oftenly in D&D we see a party burn a town down to stop a single thief to complete a quest. Oftenly these damages are taken for granted but not in Konosuba. There is a deep level of consequence to your actions. Like when you teleport a bomb to a random part of the world…or a hidden reason why most adventurers do not bother with a seemingly easy quest. This show made me laugh out loud, feel extremely happy when Megumin finally was able to cast a second explosion spell and at every twist and turn I feel they are just enough on a leash so the show never really derails. I love everything about it, from the music to the entire cast and how it all comes back to my beloved D&D. God’s blessing upon this wonderful anime.