Board 8 > SaveEstelle/LeonhartFour in Different Houses: Frasier in the Sky Edition [SELF]

(+) Yeah! (+)

image search of "finger foods" almost 100% brings up small bite-sized foods

looking up "finger food recipes" does too
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the Rinon/Kitty sidebar is one of the best parts of Chapter 4

also I'm realizing the error of taking Schera with you instead of Agate at the beginning because I still can't get rid of her
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also time to sacrifice an hour to the ether so that it will stay daylight longer

I think when time goes back in the fall I'll just refuse out of protest and live an hour into the future
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LeonhartFour posted...

also time to sacrifice an hour to the ether

the worst
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Alright, Sora done. Last step is the worst grind of all. Getting Riku to level 99.
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Now Playing: Trails in the Sky SC - The Dream Continues

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHCLsd0wsMU" data-time="

a.k.a. one of the best darn songs in either game

in commemoration of finishing Chapter 4 and that excellent dream sequence

I had completely forgotten what Luciola even looked like until she showed back up here

that is some outfit huh
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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the ReLIFE manga is finished and it managed to have a good ending, to boot! It still does that kinda typical anime/manga ending of not actually getting to see "Happily ever after" but it's usually strongly implied. They like to leave the extra details to your imagination, I guess!

Friendly reminder that Chizuru Hishiro is amazing.
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As far as Enforcers go, Luciola is extremely forgettable. Character development for Schera and that's about it.
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ya go my dubs in today's POTD
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Interestingly I'm almost exclusively subs when it comes to anime, but for video games more often than not I go for the dub if there's a choice.

Not really sure why.
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I almost never pay attention to what the top ten list on the front page is, but for some reason, it caught my eye today.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/top10/3048-the-top-10-final-fantasy-characters-of-the-playstation-era

and hey what do you know

it's not terrible

not a bad character on there, even in the honorable mentions

of course the Playstation era is peak Final Fantasy so I suppose it's to be expected but usually they sneak at least one bad character on there
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Well they got #1 right at least.

Overall the list is pretty solid, though Beatrix as the #2 rep from FFIX bothers me a bit. I always thought she was a super overrated character, and the game also has Zidane and Kuja who are also top tier JRPG characters imo. Kuja might be my favorite gaming villain actually? Definitely was before I played the Trails series. Trails has a few antagonist characters I like more than Kuja, but I'm also on the fence as to whether or not they should also get the "villain" label.
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I mean the order on a mass produced list will never be right so the most you can hope for is a selection of good characters

Squall/Ramza/Cloud all in the top 5 is pretty impressive
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Would be a bit surprised at people calling Loewe a top tier character based solely on Trails FC! (I actually don't think his characterization there jives that well with his characterization in SC? Kinda similar to Agate in that respect. Both of them kinda felt like they were written by different people)

If anything I'm surprised that many people are good with subs! There aren't that many more people who prefer dubs, and the huge majority is fine with either subs or dubs!
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I only really remember 2 scenes with Loewe in FC, so I don't think there's much characterization to go against. And based on memory they both seem pretty consistent to me anyways, though I'd probably have to watch them again after having context from SC to be absolutely sure.

Agate I kind of see where you're coming from, though to me it's more a case of rushed development than complete inconsistency.

edit: I guess you could also argue it's not "rushed" as much as "happens off-screen", but I think the effect on the player is nearly the same.
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I think what little we see of Loewe in FC is pretty consistent with his SC characterization. In particular, the fact that he actually doesn't let the fire at the orphanage kill anyone in FC shows he does have a moral code of sorts.

The big difference between Agate in FC and SC is that he respects Estelle in the latter. Plus, you don't really get any opportunity to get to know him in FC. He's never around for that long.
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I certainly wouldn't have called Loewe top tier just based on FC, although I do love how casually he just owns you and jumps off the balcony
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The scene with Loewe and Agate at the beginning of Chapter 3 is one of the scenes I know has translation issues, so maybe that's partly why? *shrug*
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oh man that Anton/Aina sidequest in Rolent

and I got the Odyssey of Anton achievement for my trouble so that's good I guess
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Trivia: Vivi is often noted to be 9 years old, but officially he is only 6 months old - the youngest playable character in any game, I would imagine.

Someone hasn't met Ezio
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or Baby Mario
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dammit I read way too much ReLIFE last night and didn't get enough sleep

I didn't realize the chapters would be so short! Most of them are like 8 pages, while the longer ones are 10. So far it seems extremely similar to the anime? Some things are even better in the anime I think, like Chizuru's smiles are even more impressive when animated. Also, Chizuru being a ReLIFEr seems even more obvious here than it was in the anime. I don't think I became totally certain of it until An's job was revealed in the anime, though I was definitely suspicious. Regardless, it's all good stuff. Regardless, this is all great stuff so far, just like it was in the anime. Unfortunately my least favorite arc is next I think (the one with the volleyball club captain), so maybe I'll have to hope that's executed better in the manga.
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I think the anime does a good job of covering the major events, but the manga lets the characters breathe a bit more. It's mostly those extra little moments that make the manga better. There's more interaction and you get a little more insight into the characters. Plus, I love the bonus panel at the end of each chapter because those are usually hilarious (Like Chizuru doing a Google search on "What to do when you find two people who fell down the stairs").

Like, I could give you a couple of moments in the manga that I thought were great that didn't get into the anime. They aren't essential to the plot so you probably wouldn't even notice the difference if you haven't seen the anime recently, but they're nice little moments. Rena's breakdown in the clinic after they fall down the stairs is expanded on more in the manga, and I think it makes her a bit more sympathetic as a result.

Also, Chizuru's dislike of An is more on display in the manga, and it's great. Like when Kaizaki hugs her thinking she's his old boss, she asks him afterward if he did the same thing with An when she visited. When he says no, she gives him this coy smile, and it's great.


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oh hey thanks to the kind soul who gave Fina a vote

now we just need to get votes for Chizuru and Shoko
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Got Old Hunters DLC but haven't done anything with it because chalice dungeons

Cleared Pthumerian Depths 1-3, Hintertombs 2-3, Loran 4. And am currently on Pthumerian Depth 4, Layer 3. Cleared it up to the boss but stopped before seeing what it is. Half HP gimmick the worst. I really enjoy working out how to fight these bosses, but dying because of a single mistake not fun. Watchdog of the Old Lords was an ordeal because of it.
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Hey I started watching code Geass

It really hits you with a bunch of terminology out of the gate huh
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Code Geass, huh

watch Full Metal Panic if you want a good anime with an altered world history
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I always meant to watch Code Geass back when it was around the height of its popularity but never got around to it.

Probably didn't help that I did watch Death Note around that time and saw the two compared to one another. that's one way to sell me on staying away.

I mean I'd watch it if it showed up on Toonami or something, but eh.
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Code Geass is one of those rare entities in which SaveEstelle and I are of the exact same mind
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also I forgot how annoyingly big the roadways around Bose are in Trails
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The PC version has turbo mode now, right? Felt like that was a big improvement for Cold Steel over the previous Trails games when I played it. Must be nice for Sky too.

The other anime topic is probably a better place to discuss Code Geass pj...

xp1337 posted...

I mean I'd watch it if it showed up on Toonami or something, but eh.

It did air on Toonami!
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Bose as a region is probably my least favorite in terms of navigating to talk to everyone. It's huge and if you want to really talk to everyone you have to go pretty much everywhere.

even nebel valley

Rolent is compact, Ruan is a straight-line with very few short branches for the school/lighthouse, Grancel is huge but it's really just the city. Zeiss comes the closest but makes up for it by being the best city with the best NPCs.
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I honestly think Death Note/Code Geass comparisons are pretty overblown.

I also think Death Note is a much better show though, so...
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Yeah, Sky patched in Turbo after Cold Steel got it.

And I know it was on Toonami but that was back when I had stopped watching it! I forget when that was, but at some point I tuned out of it. Been following it since its return though.
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pj can talk about Code Geass in here if he wants

there hasn't really been any anime discussion in here for a while
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Code Geass is a pretty fun show

Death Note is 'okay'
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i'm not going to say death note is my least favorite anime

but let's just say i can't immediately think of one i like less
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The more anime I watch, the less affection I have for Death Note. When it was the only anime I'd seen I thought it was amazing, even on a rewatch. Now it's like a middling 7/10.
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oh yeah it's cool to talk about CG here I just know you have some antipathy for it

I assume I'd still love DN if I watched it again since when I read the manga a couple years ago I still loved the first half (though the second half of the manga was much worse than the last third of the anime)
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I think it's pretty common sentiment for people to love death note when it's one of the few things they have watched, but then become a bit less head-over-heels for it once they have a lot of other stuff to compare it to.

all that being said I've found that it's the exact opposite when it comes to me. when I watched death note for the first time it was at a time when I'd still seen relatively few series. I thought it was good but I didn't think it was the top tier anime that it's often lauded as.

it's the kind of series that has this amazing quality that makes me think about it still from time to time. and whenever I got back and read sections of the manga or rewatch the anime again I always walk away with an even greater appreciation for it. so, if anything, as my knowledge of anime (and writing in general) has increased, and as I've had more time to examine the writing and storytelling of death note, I've only come to love it more.
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code geass

is trash

sorry, but it's just bad.
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I watched Death Note years before I started actually watching anime, but my opinion of its quality has remained more or less unchanged. (And yes I have re-watched it in more recent years)
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xp1337 posted...

i'm not going to say Code Geass is my least favorite anime

but let's just say i can't immediately think of one i like less

Mac Arrowny posted...

oh yeah it's cool to talk about CG here I just know you have some antipathy for it

that being said it's totally fine

I don't have a problem discussing stuff I'm not a fan of either

after all we discussed Xenosaga for a bit in the last topic
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anyway just hit the "it just got real" point in Trails SC
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also I think the guide messed me up by not being specific enough yet again and now I'm not going to get a perfect BP run

bah

I mean I guess it's my own fault for not totally understanding what the guide meant but still

bah
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Mac Arrowny posted...

The other anime topic is probably a better place to discuss Code Geass pj...

Nah I mentioned it because I know how he feels about it, plus I don't usually discuss things until I'm done with them.

MariaTaylor posted...

it's the kind of series that has this amazing quality that makes me think about it still from time to time. and whenever I got back and read sections of the manga or rewatch the anime again I always walk away with an even greater appreciation for it. so, if anything, as my knowledge of anime (and writing in general) has increased, and as I've had more time to examine the writing and storytelling of death note, I've only come to love it more

YES

I mean I thought it was pretty cool way back when, but rereading it within the last two years solidified it as a an all-time JUMP manga. It's freakin' smart.
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xp1337 posted...

Got Old Hunters DLC but haven't done anything with it because chalice dungeons

Cleared Pthumerian Depths 1-3, Hintertombs 2-3, Loran 4. And am currently on Pthumerian Depth 4, Layer 3. Cleared it up to the boss but stopped before seeing what it is. Half HP gimmick the worst. I really enjoy working out how to fight these bosses, but dying because of a single mistake not fun. Watchdog of the Old Lords was an ordeal because of it.

the cursed and defiled dungeon I think is a big reason a lot of people are down on the chalice dungeons in general, despite the fact that there's plenty of content before then and literally infinite content after then. all that being said if you're appropriately leveled and you have +HP runes you likely won't get one shot except by specific things. watchdog's charge attack, one specific section where an enemy throws a fireball at you while you're walking through oil, some of the attacks of the final boss. edit; keeper's flame attacks are a borderline case that usually tips against your favor if you're on the lower end of appropriate level or especially if you take counter damage while getting hit by the flames.

the final boss is amygdala and you will see why the one in nightmare frontier is basically a joke compared to what the boss is actually like when you're on an even playing field. it is the only boss in the game that can have its AI easily exploited, though, even by accident, so there's a fair chance you find a boring way to beat it without much trouble or challenge.
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I should play Demon's Souls. It sounds like a super fun series I never played for some reason.
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chapter 5 complete
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Best chapter incoming.
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