Yuru Camp season 2

 In our continueing journey to watch a 1000 anime series before 2030 (meaning that over a period of 42 years I would have seen 25 series a year on average), I finally continued Yuru Camp.

 

A lovely, innocent slice of life series about the Outdoor Activities Club, a small group of school friends that want to go camping outside in Japan.

 

There is nothing bad to say about Yuru Camp actually.  It has no love issues, no drama, and of course no action sequences or even tragic injuries or god forbid, deaths.  No, what you get is a group of school girls going out into the landscape of Japan to go camping, and their journey getting there.  And that is both literally, as by figure of speech, as well as what they learn along those paths with the solemn goal of having a good time and enjoying the view.

 

And that is just fine for me, every now and then you just want to watch that innocent yet enjoyable anime series that just puts so many smiles and good feelings in your head.  From how Rin and Nadeshiko each go solo camping, the first being experienced in this, the latter all learning on what it encompasses.  Before they reunite and go on a big camping trip together after they gathered the necessary funds for the undertaking... and to go enjoy the onsen in the region.

 

And so we are taken along for 13 episodes of pure cuteness and cute adventures, and for the 700th anime I completed in my lifetime, that is just fine! 

 

Blood Bowl Match report: Only Fangs versus Hashut's Homeboys

 Time for the second game in a row against short legged armoured tin cans, so hopefully my Claws will perform better this game round.

 

Facing the Chaos Dwarf team in our league, who had one game more under the belt but a CTV of 100 less, Only Fangs took to the pitch today as such.

 

Now, his team also had a Minotaur, but more importantly his four Iron-hard Skin blockers all had Guard, so the middle section of the field would be a grinder, and one I was planning to avoid, hopefully dismantling the team peacemeal by focussing on the Bull Centaurs and Hobgoblins to take out his scoring potential.  Or at least, that is the game plan. 

 

Now, he had spend his inducements on 4 cheerleaders, a team mascot, a weather mage and 3 Prayers to Nuffle, whom would allow him to throw a rock, have his top blocker up to AV11 and gave Peachgardens greasy cleats meaning she would be at minus one movement for the game.  Not the most terrible of results I must say.

 

As both teams lined up for a first half, it would soon become apparent that the claws where once again having an off day, passing through armour only twice during the game for a stunned and a KO result... yeah, great investment that has been in the past two games where they where skilled up for...

 

This all resulted in a long, drawn out first half where for most of the time, nothing seem to happen.  Blockers on both side knocked each other over, drawing the speed out of the game, but also failing to do any serious damage.

 

Until in turn 6 his Minotaur broke the armour of Kleio Valentien, badly hurting her and sending her to the casualties box as a result.

 

This opened a hole in the defensive line, and one of his Bull Centaurs managed to break through with the ball, scoring the 1-0 after a series of succesful rushes.

 

 

One blocker down as a result, my tackle Beastly Women had to take to the pitch, whom I had tried to keep safe for the future games against dodgy vampires and the likes.  We lined up in our Femdom formation, but he got a Charge on the kick-off table, and his Minotaur badly hurt Proxy Paige as a result of that.

 

Now two blockers down, crap, the girls knocked over the raging cow, and Raven Black, assisted by about half the team, fouled the big beast.  When the dust settled and the Chaos Dwarf apothecary had had a look at the beast... it was pronounced deceased as a stiletto of one of the ladies boots had perforated it's windpipe.

 

But the half ended after that, and Only Fangs was trailing still.

 

The second half told a likewise story, with the ladies keeping the ball in the team, using their slightly higher movement speed to pull his team slowly overstretched by going left to right and back behind their line.

  

But the an opening started to form, and my opponent hadn't expected that I would try that play.  Cat Coxx pushed over the hobgoblin next to her, in order to blitz into the end zone.  Raven Black then moved up with the ball, threw a perfect 6 pass, and Cat Coxx duly caught it right in the endzone, equalising the score on the board to 1-1 and 4 turns left for the Chaos Dwarfs.

 

The teams went to the line again, and Only Fangs went for a very deep, defensive positioning.  As my claws had done nearly nothing, I didn't want to go into the slugfest anymore as no way I would grab those three casualties for the bonus points. 

 

Instead, I kept the field boxed in, forcing him to have to make a series of dodges to get through.

 

And right at the end, due to Frenzy that pushed Sabrina Sabok past his Bull Centaur (I forgot to grab a re-roll here, I was fishing for a both down on the second roll, as we both had block and that would obstruct the Bull Centaur so he couldn't score anymore), and instead she ended in the crowd in return, with no consequences bar perhaps a finger stuck in front or aft.  It might come down to his final turn...

 

But the Bull Centaur would need to dodge three times, and then rush for 2 more, and at the second dodge he already failed.  I broke through his armour, but he was only stunned, oh what a poetic justice that would have been... 

 

But no problem, the game ended at 1 to 1, leaving me nicely in 6th and certainty of qualification, while the Chaos Dwarfs still have to look back for the upcoming snotling teams...

 

Most Viewed Pornstar

 

And for this game, the crowd elected none other then Veronica Rose as MVP, for her brave game of tying up his grinder block in the center all match long.

 

So, for the next game I'm down one inexperienced linewoman, who was fouled into a Miss next game at the end of the match, so that is okay for me.  This could have been far worse, especially as my claws kept failing spectacularly. 

 

League wise, I expect one of the two snotling teams to jump over me in the coming weeks, putting em still solid in 7th at that moment, and the second team of snotlings is coming up through the ranks at the moment.  I actually am aiming to qualify for the play-offs either as 8th in the ranking, which would knock these Chaos Dwarfs out, and get me a quarter final against the Wood Elves.  That would come down to opening round brutality on how much we can damage that team, OR qualify as 5th or 6th to be probably be put against the Dwarf team I faced last match, for a hopefully better performance of my Claws.

 

I'm just trying to avoid either the Skaven or the Necromantic Horror teams in those quarter finals, as they are both to fast or to solid for my poor T3 ladies team to handle...

 

But let's see how it goes next game! 

My first experience with Gundam Assemble

 It was demo'd recently at the WTC here in Malines, so spending to much money on a ticket and parking, I just had to check it out.

 

So, back from way to sweltering heat (sorry, forgot to make pictures, with the WTC 40k doubles and XWing in full swing, it was insanely busy there).

Got myself a demo in (Epyon, Vidar and Char's Zaku, I love my bad boy suits), and the game plays really smooth.  Now, the biggest difference between UW and GA is the deck, you only have a deck of 9, and can draw tops 6 per game, meaning 1in 3 chance you won't get your uber card.  There are generic handy cards, but also "better then those" but specific Gundam only cards.  In general, you will have your 3 specific cards in a deck, and then 6 generics, but it comes down to if you get the right one at the right time, or are stuck with one resulting in less cards drawn.  For example, Barbatos Rex's card is super when he is taken out, but if he is largely ignored until after the start of round 2, it's a dead card.
Now,m the way you win the game is based on two factors: on the one hand, you can knock Gundams out and score their VP's (they do come back, so they can in turn go after your heavily wounded victor), but also by killing / saving Garrison markers.  These are scattered around the board depending the deployment scenario maps, and are a bit like "surge objective bonusses" to your VP tally.
I doubt you can win alone by garrisons, as the map I so far saw has tops 10 of each (yours and the enemies) , while a Gundam rakes in between 6 to 10 VP every time he is knocked out.  

Warscroll wise, every suit has a special attack that triggers on crits (9 or 10 on a d10), which often gives an extra point of damage per crit in your roll (average you roll about 5 dice with all trinkets active), and you hit standard on 4+, though terrain gives an added +1 if you are higher up then your opponent.  Ofc, 1s always fail.  One shotting mobile suits is not as easy as one might think as such, so expect even when focussed upon by the enemy with all his suits to activate with yours at least.  This due to the "tracker"...

... which advances whenever you do "something", depending the action.  A "heavy action" suit probably activates twice, tops thrice, during a round (appear on round 3, shoot for +4 advance, activate again and go in the end phase).  A medium suit like the RX78 starts at tracker 2, and if you just keep slashing and moving with it's beam saber you'll get 4 activations out of him, making it for example ideal to go garrison hunting for a round.

Game length wise, this is a bit of a dual one.  IF you know above average of the rules, you will be looking in the basic 3vs3, 2 phase game at around an hour to an hour and a half to get through the game.  BUT, the set up requires a longer process then Underworlds, as the terrain and all the tokens need to be placed on specified locations on the map, and every map "area" can come with some special rules (not the base scenario mind you, but from scenario 2 you get water areas etc, and later on it will also move into space).

Is it like Underworlds?  Well, yes and no, the core feels the same with hexes and cards and a board, BUT the amount of deckbuilding is far, FAR less.  You basically have to decide which 6 cards you take along the specific unit card (yeah, and it is "Championship" mode on that part mind you, no idea if the generic cards will come loose later down the road) BUT those generics are not that overpowered you really "need" them all, and often are very likewise to each other.  It's the unit specific cards that can decide the battle, as well as the pilot you can put inside your Gundam and his skills / bonusses.  

As a rule of thumb on what I saw, pilots gell better with their actual suits, so Heero Yuy in Wing Gundam is way better then putting him in for example Gundam Aerial from another series in the franchise, as his skills go along with the abilities of his suit.  They actually though that thing out...

.. so yeah, is it fun: Yes.  is it cheap: Yes, but with the intense release schedule and if (like me being an anime and Gundam freak) you want to buy them all, the first 4 months will hurt you.  After that, release is about one Deluxe box (battles from the series with about 10+ models) per half year, and a warband expansion box (3 figures) about each 1.5 months.  Luckily, even with imports and all, they managed to keep it at a decent price level, an expansion box is the price of an UW warband, a Deluxe box (apart from the on purpose cheaper first one to get the game going) costs the price of a GW Cogfort or big monster.
That basically makes you look at an initial investment of everything from release until Easter 2027 of a 2k Warhammer AoS or 40k army, just spread out more and all that you already have is perfectly playable as you just add to your collection instead of needing that army in one go to start playing.

Is it as such the same as Underworlds?  No.  The same as a mainstream GW army?  Also no.  It occupies a spot in between I would say, both in difficulty as in price cost.  Am I sold?  Not answering that objectively, I am full with anime tattoos on my body incl Gundam one, so I can't answer that fairly.  Would i recommend it to people looking for a casual game: yes, especially if you go the scenario and "in fluff route" that can give great fun moments.  Is it competitive?  To early to tell as only 6 suits have their stats known so far, but it does seem that any combination between 3 very heavy hitters or 3 light generic soldier style suits might get the job done, thanks to the Tracker system, and it shows they developped it for 3 years as the weapons and actions seem to keep it pretty balanced (sorry GW, playtesting IS your greatest weak spot).

And that's my two cents on it. 

Kimetsu no Yaiba full manga series

 Okay, this is sort of a unicum for me, as it was the first series I read "digitally", bit easier at work.

 

Now of course, I've seen everything Demon Slayer that has been so far released, but never the less reading the series would unlock the special manga reading badge over on MAL.

 

Consisiting of 23 volumes, the series counts 207 chapters, drawn is a basic, not super awesome but neither to bad either style of panels.   Now this has some serious downsides.  The anime is praised for it's high level animation, especially the fight scenes are often awesome displays of animation techniques and effects, and that is something you miss out on in the "paper" version.

 

Now, the series did follow the manga pretty well, which is something that often happens with these longer animes (Boku No Hero for example comes to mind) as they have enough seasons and episodes to adapt the whole manga.  Now, this also has a serious drawback, as I already know now how the whole anime will end, who lives and who dies.  Which is why I won't be putting a story review down here though, to prevent any spoilers for those only watching the anime.

 

But just like the anime, this really is worth reading, and a manga that truly became a classic for good reasons. 

 

And this also crushes my read 10 manga goal for the year in a fell swoop of the katana... I must admit e-reading manga helps a lot on that part, something I never would have thought.  What might be next in modern day discoveries for this old otaku, audiobooks??? 

Foundation season 3

 So, time for the third season, with season 4 still being in production, of this not to bad, but certainly in my view not the "all time best show" some make of it.

 

But granted, Lee Pace remains awesome in his role.

 

And of course, we start with a timejump, as the series progresses 152 years, the Empire is crumbling, Foundation now has 800 member worlds and the mind controlling Mule has arrived on the scene.  Within the genetic dynasty, the roles are changed as well, with day being totally not intrested in the Empire compared to his galaxy subdueing crazed predecessor of the first two seasons.  

Harry and Gael in the meantime are preparing the secret Second Foundation for the imminent Third Crisis, which centers around the Mule, something Demerzel also tries to prevent.  And the role of Demerzel takes to the front in this season, because putting a robot in charge is always a good idea, especially as we learn she was the one that caused the Star Bridge incident way back in the very first episode of the whole series.

 

In the meantime, the Mule goes about his plans, destroying the whole Empire fleet in the process.  As he gets a better grip, even bringing down Foundation's leadership, Empire, in the form of Dusk, comes into action.  Faced with being overthrown, he unleashes a secret doomsday weapon, destroying whole planets of the factions rising against Empire, killing billions in the process.

 

As Day discovers the remains of another robot, he brings it to Demerzel, while the Mule and Gael come to their final confrontation.  The Mule is killed, but soon it is learned that he was just a front, and that the actual Mule was amongst them all along in one of their agents.  On Empire, Dusk kills all the future clones, and as Demerzel tries to save the last remaining baby, she is immolated together with the infant.  Dusk murders Day to become the sole ruler, but the other robot skull sends out a signal suddenly, and this is picked up on our actual moon at the other side of the galaxy, where robots still hide, and they set out the plans in motion for their return...

 

So yes, quite a few plottwists in this third season, but I couldn't "gel" with the presumed Mule, the actor, Pilou Asbaek, just lacked for me the needed charisma of a rogueish space pirate tyrant, and remained to much "Euron Greyjoy" from Game of Thrones.

 

But still, it remains great science fiction with spectacular visuals and a good story (if you are not attached to the books, guess in that way this is Rings of Power for sci-fi, only better) and certainly worth watching! 

Witch Hat Atelier

An anime I saw passing by in the to watch tips for it's second season, I went back to view season one as such as the premises intrested me.

 

Based around arts and magic, this seemed like some good fantasy fun of the not isekai genre, but just pure magical joy. 

 

Oh, and before we start, my god that animation was awesome! 

 

The story centers around Coco, a young girl that assists in her mother's dressmaker shop but wants to become a witch.  When one day she observes a wizard customer, she tries her hand in magic but this results in her home and mother being encapsulated in ice.  The wizard, Qifrey, saves her from the same fate and takes her on as an apprentice to teach her how to free her mother.  In his atelier, she meets his other apprentices and together they start their training.

 

But a masked man, the one responsible for what happened to her mother, still has an intrest in Coco, and tries to get to her at various points in her training.  But slowly she gets better through the trials her master has laid out for her, and work together to start a series of strange occurences and the underlying mystery...

 

... which will be hopefully resolved when the second course hits, because it ends on a last stand cliffhanger here.   But it is a pretty nifty and really good series, and one I will be definitly be returning to with great pleasure to see how it plays out further!

 

 

Lord Ipsqueeck's Adventures: De Tovertuin

 What to do on a sunny saturday in the big school holidays?

 

Try out a new amusement park of course!!

 

So me, mommy and daddy went to De Tovertuin, a recently opened amusement park tailored for 3 to 9 year olds, based on the Woezel and Pip franchise of cartoon figures.

 

Now, this is one of those cosy little parks, and if you look around you can find some nice discounts on the entrance tickets.  And at about 45 minutes drive from our front door, this would be a nice little afternoon outing!

 

Now, the park has only a few rides, and some nice educational parts as well.  But what jumps in the eye immediatly is how lovely thematised everything is, with lovely pastel colourings, and making use of Animatronics.  This also goes for their dark ride, Overal Vriendjes, that uses animatronics instead of viewscreens that you see all to often these days.

 

Another ride I really loved was Tante Peerboom's Musical Journey, a boatride that takes us around the big central tree, with a lot to see while going around.

 

Another fun ride was the Pannekoekenmolen, though for an experience Scirocco traveller like myself, this was a bit on the calm side.  Still, it was some good fun to do.

 

The park also has quite a lot of playgrounds, though the big indoor one I skipped, as it was a bit to warm inside to go climbing and running all the time.

 

And there is a labyrinth as well, just as an educational part teaching about insects, and with a piece of "naked feet walking" to feel everything under your soles.

 

It was a fun day out, but I fear I am just a tat to "big" and experienced in slightly wilder rides already for this particular park.  Though a special mention must go to the young employee who noticed I have autism, and that we can have a special entry line.  It was not that busy though, so I waited nicely in line with the other people like the big bloke that I am!

 

And so we explored this new little amusement park, and let's see which parks will be visited as well in the coming weeks!

 

Until then!