The year continues to move at an incredible pace, and I continue to engage with so many forms of media, keeping track is starting to get a bit confusing! Nothing impossible to manage of course, itās fun to have so many more things going on.
Podcasts
Once again, my podcast listening has been diminishing this year, as music continues to go upwards! I think that now that I fully settled on scrobbling with Listenbrainz, plus going to sleep with music over podcasts, has helped quite a bunch. Another big reason might be that I havenāt listened to Welcome to Night Vale in a while, which was what I listened to before sleep. In any case I listened to 23 horus of podcasts in March!
- Into The Aether - The usual run of current weekly episodes. The run so far has been amazing, featuring all maner of games like Resident Evil Requiem, Persona 4 Golden, PokƩmon Pokopia, Danganronpa, Marathon, Slay The Spire 2 and Minishoot Adventures.
- 99% Invisible - A couple of great episodes on the Em Dash, and the history behind knowing where we are.
- Wolf 359 - Listened up to episode 45 of this show. The story continues to be incredible, some of my favorites episodes that I still remembered from my first listen around 5 years ago. I drama and the stakes are getting real.
- Revolutions - Listened to another four episodes or so of the French Revolution. This historical event has so much to unpack, I have listened to 50 episodes of it so far.
- Stuff You Should Know - Just a random selection of episodes I listened to. Like an episode on tracking time, and flood myths.
- Dungeons and Daddies - Listened to one episode and a half of Season 3! It got interested by the end so I expect to keep this up next month a bit more.
- Theyāre Just Movies - This one is no longer around, but I listened to their overview of the Aliens movie, and want to check some more of their episodes. I kinda miss it.
- Trash Taste - Just picking episodes at random, not much else.
Gaming
Gaming took over, and despite it all, I didnāt finish a single game! I just started so many at once and I am kind of having fun just jumping around between them without any rhyme or reason. But hey, theyāre games, meant to be fun, after all.
Started
-
Resident Evil - I decided to venture into the worldā¦ of Survival Horror. The game that started it all! After the sequel, I thought Iād visit the original, and I have to say, I have really enjoyed it so far. I am happy to say Iāve managed to figure out all of the puzzles without help, except for the one that uses the chemical. Other than that, itās been fun.
-
Metroid Fusion - I have so many Metroidvanias avilable to me, and I havenāt finished Silksong in ages, and yet again, Iāve decided to start another run of Fusion on my Miyoo Mini Flip. This game rules, and Iāve already reached the third boss of the game. I want to finish it as quickly as I can without using save states!
-
Ridge Racer Type 4 - I listened to the soundtrack of this game and I wanted to check it out. There are so many menus and modes and an actual story? I just jumped into a race as quick as I could and enjoyed the soundtrack a bit, but I admit I didnāt do more, I prefer the PSP physics and gameplay.
-
River City Ransom - This is a game that I tried online with Naty playing via NSO. It is a fairly deep game for its time, and we definitely had a lot of fun with its gameplay and mechanics, we played it for like 40 minutes but ran out of time and we havenāt returned to it.
-
What Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord!? 2 - This is considered a hidden gem of the PSP. A game where you create an underground dungeon and grow your own army of creatures who grow by themselves and follow basic movement patterns to fight against the heroes. Itās a fun subversion, but not my cup of tea, I think.
-
PokƩmon Emerald Legacy - I played the first 20 minutes of this game and I am tempted to give it a proper go. The Legacy romhack is supposed to be the ultimate way to enjoy the game and I look forward to having the mood to get into it.
-
Caves of Qud - I played a bit of the tutorial since Iāve heard so many great things, but I didnāt go much deeper than that, it seems huge and Iām definitely interested though.
Ongoing
-
CrossCode - A wonderful game that really grew up on me during this month. I made a bunch of progress and since Iām playing it alongside some friends, Iāve really looked forward to what they think or have to say about stuff. I like that Iām ahead too, not gonna lie. In any case, all the dungeons have been awesome, and even if the puzzle design can be a little tiresome, it definitely gets my brain working and I love the feeling of figuring things out. The puzzles can definitely get long though.
-
Super Mario 3D World - This has been a fun game to play with friends, and even to go through by myself a couple of times. We are trying to get every single star and sticker from this before finishing the story! We made it to the final stage now that itās kind of like a circus, and Iām looking forward to beating this game at some point in the next couple of months.
-
Ridge Racer - This masterpiece for the PSP continues to be excellent to play. I have made some progress doing World Tours in the EX class, and I love how this game just hooks me and wonāt let me go at all.
-
Into The Breach - I ended up returning to this gem of a game and finally managed to complete a run on it, even if it was on easy. The tactics and mechanics of this masterpiece are just amazing. I want to keep playing more of it and master all the available mechs too.
-
Balatro - Ended up playing this game with friends a couple of times, however, I ended up finally caving in and purchasing the title for my phoneā¦ It is fun, and I am scared. I am yet to win a game though, despite it all.
-
Gladiator Begins - This title for the PSP is an arena battler that Iāve played on and off. I touched it for a bit during the PSP season of Into The Aether, but didnāt even bring it up much. I have played some more lately and yeah, itās very fun! Iām currently stock in a boss fight though, where I simply need to git gud.
-
Vampire Survivors - This roguelike ābullet heavenā is finally losing its spell among my group of friends, we play it for time to time, but it definitely feels a bit more like homework lately, just to complete the unlockables and achievements. We will keep playing though, just not as crazy as before.
-
Grapple Dog - I barely touched this game, although I had a lot of fun with it last month, I need to get back to it, I really enjoyed the physics and mechanics of it, but I guess that Switch and handheld gaming took over to compensate for the Laptop-focused gaming of February.
-
Super Smash Bros Ultimate - Just a couple of matches with friendsā¦ Iāve been tempted to play the solo campaign lately though, to unlock more characters and just test myself.
Movies
The only movie I got to watch in March was David. An animated, faith-based, musical film about the traditional story of David and his rise to the throne as a King. I already said it on my weeknotes, this film is pretty good for what it is, but and probably among the best when it comes to Christian animation, with a few truly awesome scenes.
However, it falls short in other aspects, it gets preachy at timesāalthough not as bad as othersāand the songs, while good in the moment and with an OK message, they just arenāt very memorable, and thereās maybe one or two that werenāt really necessary. I also would have liked to see a bit more action. I donāt expect anything gruesome from a kids movie, but at the very least some swords clashing would have been fun.
Manga
What a great month this was for manga, other than the fact two of the ones I finished didnāt meet my expectations, the rest of what I read was rather enjoyable!
Started
- Kagurabachi - Up to chapter 115. Speaking of swords clashing, this was a manga that completely hooked me and wouldnāt let me go at all. I read from the start to the latest released chapter as of now, catching up with it. This is a revenge story, and features some amazing characters, excellent action and panelling, simple, yet breath-taking artwork and some actually good writing for once! Iāve enjoyed everything thus far, zero complaints, genuinely surprised.
Ongoing
-
Fly Me To The Moon - Up to chapter 214. This is a manga I started ages ago, and this month I finally decided to return to it. It starts as a fun rom-com manga about a newly wed couple, but it has turned into something much more interesting. There is a mystery to it all, and everything has started to finally unveil, if at a slow pace. However, I donāt mind, even without the mystery, the humor and wholesome moments are plenty. I enjoy it.
-
DanDaDan - Up to chapter 226. I barely read any of this manga, but at the very least I managed to get to the big bad guy of the current arc, I think, and itās definitely an interesting premise. I am only a few chapters behind, so I am honestly just waiting for more chapters to release and build up some momentum.
-
Blue Lock - Up to chapter 340. I catched up and Iām reading week by week. This match against France has definitely been an epic one. I enjoy the challenge that Isagi has been facing. So many questions, doubts and tactics that donāt work. I really love the drama thus far.
-
Loveās in Sight! - Up to chapter 56. It had been a while since I revisited this one as well, itās a cute rom-com about a blind girl and a delinquent guy with a soft heart. Itās pretty wholesome, and it actually deals with a lot of the accesibility and life of a blind person. Way more educational than I expected, and some of the narratives focused on that are really well done.
-
Kingdom - Up to chapter 866. This continues to be an absolutely epic tale. There were a couple of great moments going on during the current arc (The Battle against Zhao), and I am only three or so chapters behind. Some great developments have been made.
-
Spy x Family - Up to chapter 130. Currently on a very fun arc where Loid, Yor and Yorās brother are held hostage, and while the three of them could easily get away and stop the whole thing, neither of them wants to blow off their cover. The conflict is solving itself in the most hilarous way, I love this manga.
Complete
-
Planetes - This is definitely a must read, a great science fiction manga in space in a nearby future that follows a group of garbage collectors that keep Earthās space as clean as it can be. We follow multiple characters of this crew, all of them with their own journeys and ideal, forming relationships, dealing with the struggles of life in space. We meet some of their families, we see how technology continues to develop, we see the impact that seeking for the stars can have in life. There are so many topics, there are so many incredible moments, so much conflict, be it in political drama, between characters, and of course, internal dilemmas, depression, trauma, joy, hope, love. This is a true piece of art, up there with Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Vagabond and Kingdom. In only 22 chapters, this gave me so much food for thought. Just read it if you can.
-
Chainsaw Man - I have no words to describe what finishing this feels like. It is such an internal conflict. I absolutely loved Part 1 of this, and early on, I also loved Part 2. But something happened, and things started to look way too dire. Nonsense after nonsense, and chapters kept getting shorter and uglier. In the end, this manga finished with a 6-page long issue. I donāt know what to say. It was definitely a journey, and thereās a way to see this as the only ending Chainsaw Man could have had, but nah, I needed more out of it. I have a sour taste in my mouth. Thankfully I read plenty of masterpieces this month I even forgot to bring it up on my weeknotesāI edited them now, but still. I hope the anime fixes it.
-
Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo - Another manga that also started with a lot of promise, but didnāt manage to stick the landing at all. Its redeeming grace is that it only really had 25 chapters, and that 15 or so of them are very good. The art itself is awesome though, and even though the final sequences are super rushed, the art is great to see.
Anime
Orb: On the Movements of the Earth was the only anime I started, and I watched up to episode 4. This is an anime that caught me by surprise. A story set in the middle ages about a smart kid with a love for astronomy who eventually learns and the Earth revolves around the Sun, in an era where the Catholic Church considered the heliocentric model to be heresy.
The conflict and the relationship between truth, faith and science is very interesting to see. I definitely need to watch the rest of the season, it loks very promising.
Books
So many books were read, I actually started a couple more than the ones I mention here, but these are the significant ones, to be honest.
Started
-
Clarkesworld Magazine #211 by Neil Clarke - I finally started going through the Clarkesworld magazines that I subscribed to a couple years back. I went through the first two stories found on this issueāThe Lark Ascending and An Intergalactic Smugglers Guide to Homecomingāthe third one is the longest thus far, but Iāll hopefully deal with it soon! The second story is my favorite thus far.
-
Strange Dogs by James S.A. Corey. - A novella that takes place before Persepolis Rising, so far so good! I barely read it though because reading on my XTEINK X4 took over.
Completed
-
Chrono Trigger by Michael P. Williams - A memoir, a critique, and retrospective of my favorite game of all time. It was quite cool! And contained plenty of information I didnāt know at all. It also featured some great interviews with the translators of the game. I enjoyed it, itās a fun read but you definitely need to play the game before getting to it.
-
Non-Stop by Brian W. Aldiss - An incredible story that makes great use of the generation ship plot. I loved it from start to finish and flew through it in a matter of days. I already published my review of it so I wonāt say much more. Itās worth a read despite its age, in my opinion.
-
Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey - The seventh entry in The Expanse series. This journey does a timeskip and places us in a new status quo, which is about to be challenged by Humanityās greatest enemy once again, itself. A great start to this last trilogy. I look forward to the rest!
This is day 44 of #100DaysToOffload
Goals
Last month I set some goals that I would pursue during March, but I think I should do some more general goals that I can do during the year, and during the month itself. This is what I came up with. I added those I completed from last month, but I donāt think I want to list everything I completed as the year goes, so, yeah, just ongoing goals and progress updates, I guess.
Completed:
- Survived my work
- Finished Persepolis Rising
- Went to the movies once
New
- Fully sorting and labelling everything on my shelves for once
- Finish a pending commission for a friend
- Finish a pending commission for my parents
In progress
- A full website redesign (??)
- Read the whole Bible in a year (9/365)
- Finish listening to Wolf 359 (45/61)
- Complete 15 books (4/15)
- Complete 15 videogames (2/15)
Finishing thoughts
This month was wild. Work really took over a lot of my life since my coworker went on his long vacation, and yet, despite it all, I managed to surpass expectations when it comes to the amount of media I watched. I am particularly happy about the books and manga I got to read.
Itās getting to a point I may just highlight some specific things instead of mentioning everything.
And all the blogposts I managed to do this month? Itās not my best or the most constant, but I am rather happy about it. Plus all the small changes and additions to my website. A good month all around, even if I could have gone without the extra workload. Canāt complain much though.
Definitely looking forward to what April has in store, I hope things will go alright.
Until next time!
This is day 44 of #100DaysToOffload
