Neon Genesis Evangelion Discourse Recommendations.

OG Best Girl

So, I've been watching Neon Genesis Evangelion on Netlfix. And it has been a wild ride thus far. But this isn't a time for my thoughts on the show. Instead, I want to point everyone towards two podcasts that I listen to regularly (And have heard the first episode of each covering this subject) that are discussing the show and providing some food for thought: Vice's Waypoint Radio and The Ringer's The Rewatchables: Sound Only. I also plan on writing more on the show once I have a fuller picture fresh in my mind. Maybe at the halfway point. Either way, check out those pods. And listen to them regurlarly because they're good shows. Also, I read a couple really good, intelligent pieces on Kotaku. Check 'em out.

Neon Genesis Evangelion Has Returned

As the above trailer will gladly let you know, Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most influential shows in modern anime history. And it has been stuck behind red tape for a long time with the only legal way to watch the show was to buy very rare and expensive DVDs. But that age is over. Although the version of the show on Netflix has a new dub with new actors, many people will be able to watch the show for the first time. And that is worth something. I have never seen the entire show in order because I was only able to catch an episode here and there on Adult Swim (My parents definitely would not have approved) so I'm excited to be able to truly understand what is even happening. I urge everyone to watch this show, but know that it goes to some very dark and controversial places. The show is going to make you uncomfortable. The director, Hideaki Anno, created the show as a way to work through his depression and it shows. But hopefully every one of you will be able to take something from this interesting and meditative story.

Comic Reviews 06.17.2019

               Hey y’all! I apologize for this being late, but there were some technical difficulties. It was a pretty good week of comics and featured some of my favorites. Also, Flash Forward, starring Wally West and written by Scott Lobdell, was announced. And I’m super excited. I like everyone involved, even the ever-divisive Brett Booth. Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium was also announced. And it will be followed by an ongoing LoSH series by Brian Michael Bendis and Ryan Sook. Get hyped. But before that, we have comics to review!

Comics Reviewed: Event Leviathan #1, The Flash #72, Superman #12, Supergirl #31

New Frozen Trailer!

Hey y’all. I just wanted to share this trailer. I don’t have too many thoughts. Frozen 2 looks visually amazing. The story seems to be going in a slightly darker more adventurous direction. That has me excited, but I just hope it doesn’t fall into tropey traps. The original is so good in part because it is so subversive. Either way, I’ll see and probably enjoy this film. Can’t wait to get knocked back by that tidal wave repeatedly in Kingdom Hearts 4.

Square-Enix Has Me Hyped

It's been a week y'all. Sorry I didn't get reviews up this weekend, but I have family in town and there weren't any comics I particularly wanted to write about. Young Justice is still pretty, but the first arc ends mildly anticlimacticly. Black Cat was bad all around. But that’s not what we’re here for. I watched one E3 press conference this weekend because it was the only I had any interest in: Square-Enix. It was a fantastic conference with several exciting announcements.

DPCC 2019: Serenity Forge

Serenity Forge is a video game developer based in Boulder, Colorado. Their goal is to “create interactive experiences that challenge the way you think.” Essentially, games that have a meaningful message and that players can come away with. At the age of 18, Zhenghua “Z” Z was diagnosed with a severe blood disorder that hospitalized him. He could barely move and was forced to drop out of school. He lost touch with most people in his life outside his family. Things were bleak and Z almost lost hope. But he had one thing to fall back on: video games.

While Z played games like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Portal, League of Legends was the key to his life. For those unaware, League of Legends is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, or MOBA. In this game, each player controls a single character and must together with their team to defeat opposing teams. And it was through these teams that Z met many new people friends. People that would check up on him everyday and that gave him hope. The hope to not give up.

And thus, was born the idea that became Serenity Forge. If video games that weren't designed to effect people in this way could, what could games designed to help people and the world do? Serenity Forge is a video game developer based in Boulder, Colorado. Their goal is to “create interactive experiences that challenge the way you think.” Essentially, games that have a meaningful message that players can come away with.

               I was able to play some of Serenity Forge’s games at Denver Pop Culture Convention as well as speak to Z. My big take away is that he and his team seem to be achieving their goal. Now, I only played a limited selection of games as well as limited parts of those games, but I came away impressed. The clear standout to me was Half Past Fate (releasing sometime this year), a “romantic narrative-adventure” about people and the connections we make. Not only is this right up my alley in terms of theme (Kingdom Hearts has a similar theme at its core), the gameplay and writing were enjoyable during my time with the game. The writing in particular meshed well with my humor and rode the line between naturalistic and video game-y very well.

               In conclusion, I will be checking out more of what Serenity Forge has to offer and I think it will be worth your time as well. After all, what video game player hasn’t been able to turn to their favorite games in hard times? Maybe these will be your new go-tos or just really fun games. I’m going to check them out, so I’ll report back to y’all later.

Pokemon Sword and Shield Direct

I love Pokemon. Full stop. I also bought Sun on it’s release date. That game was slow and boring and I just didn’t care about anything that was happening unless Guzma or Kahili was onscreen.  And even that is only because Guzma is such a doofus that I couldn’t help but love him. And Kahili has such a nice design and interesting backstory. But that’s not explored to any significant degree in the game.

And then there was Ultra Sun, which I also bought at release because it was advertised as basically a new game that would remix concepts from Sun in a new and interesting way. It was not. It was the exact same thing but with these two goofy ass robot people that came from the Negative Zone or something. I don’t actually know who they are because I never finished this version. It was also slow and boring. And I still only cared about Guzma and Kahili.

So, imagine how disappointed I am that I’m getting caught up in the hype cycle for Sword and Shield. It looks like Sun, but in HD. Which is cool, I guess? It also has a super interesting looking region. The new Pokemon that have been revealed thus far seem pretty cool. Dynamaxing is exactly the ridiculous bullshit I want from Pokemon. I could do without the Raids, but whatever. There’s always some features in these game I don’t use much. So I’m incredibly excited for these games even though I don’t think I should be. That’s just how it works when you love a series, right?

Also, Zamazenta and Zacian look like very good boys.

DPCC Swag and Cosplay

               Denver Pop Culture Con was a ton of fun. I got to walk around and meet people as well as check out panels and do some learning. But that’s not for today! Today is for two things: Merch and cool cosplay. I took a ton of pictures of people, but I mostly want to highlight my favorite characters/cosplays because its my blog and I can do that. But also, I want to be able to show off the swag. Before we dive in, I want to give a shout out to every Kiki I couldn’t grab a picture of. With that out of the way, Let’s do cosplay!

The Plan for This Week

Hey y’all! The Denver Pop Culture Convention came and went this weekend. It was a blast! I'm very thankful for being invited to cover it. I'm going to have a number of pieces focused on the event going up over the course of this week. The first of which will be focused on my favorite cosplay I was able to get pictures of as well as some of the the awesome merch I picked up (or wanted to, but couldn't afford).

My next piece will then focus the time I had with the founder of Serenity Former and playing demos for some of their games. After that, I’ll be discussing some of the panels and events I witnessed and attended. I’ll also be writing more along the lines of my typical posts throughout the week. It’s gonna be a fun and busy week here on Defender of the Multiverse!

Also, I got my new comic reviews up yesterday. Check 'em out if you haven’t already.

Comic Reviews 06.02.2019

            The Denver Pop Culture Convention was this weekend, so I’ve been stealing moments here and there to write these reviews. That was a fun change of pace! More coverage of that event will rollout throughout the week. For now, its time to get to comics. A very mixed bag of comics. Fair warning, I rant about Heroes in Crisis here. But I think it’s entertaining. Let’s jump in!

Comics Reviewed: Heroes in Crisis #9, Age of X-Man: X-Tremists, Superman: Leviathan Rising Special #1