Em E. Lee
Writer-of-all-trades and self-appointed "professional" nerd with an infinite supply of story ideas and not nearly enough time to write them down. Lover of all media, especially fiction and literature. Proud advocate of the short story.
The SpongeBob Anime is a Delight
Well then. This was a review I never thought I’d be writing anytime soon. I should start by saying that I’m a huge advocate for independent and fan-made content; as an avid fanfiction writer for years now, I understand the motivation and passion to create something out of love for the original work. Many incredible creators out there most likely would not be doing their original work right now if they hadn’t got their start making fanfiction, fanart, fan music, et cetera. One reason why I’m still fascinated by this type of derivative content is that it’s sometimes astounding how creative others can get with the existing property; watching videos, reading stories, or looking at art that depict the property’s characters and worlds can introduce the audience to entirely new perceptions and interpretations of those characters that they might never have considered otherwise. They oftentimes take on a life of their own, enough so that their own mini-fandoms can spawn and create fanworks inspired by that original fanwork. It really is amazing to me, seeing this kind of creativity that expands on the original work’s world in ways I could never have imagined on my own.
How Pokémon Journeys Reflects the Franchise's Fandoms
This mirrors how GO the game only ever lets the player throw Pokéballs at the wild ones, without ever needing to weaken them first;I adored the Sun & Moon seasons of the Pokémon anime; dare I say it, it's my favorite arc of its whole 1,000+ episode run. Considering what I had already experienced with the series before Sun & Moon, it's not hard to see why. I first became a Pokémon fan around 2009, starting my lifelong obsession by playing hours of Platinum version and watching the second half of the Diamond & Pearl anime. The show captured that younger me with how much resemblance the stories bore to the games; it was something I'd never felt before, feeling like I could relate to the characters' struggles that I knew not from my personal life but from a simulated world I'd become fixated on.
Ninjala: First Impressions
My hype for this game began when it appeared during Nintendo's Mini-Direct back in March; it seemed like a cute new IP, revolving around Ninja-powered bubble gum and taking place in an appealing world that blends two of my favorite aesthetics together, Japanese culture and architecture with modern-day Western society. The free-to-play battle royale-style gameplay only strengthened my resolve to try it out once it dropped later in the summer, since I haven't had much experience with the genre before, and with the state of the pandemic right now, I felt like I needed something new to keep my spirits up while in quarantine.
The Quadrupedal Street Fighter - Them's Fightin' Herds Review
If the 200+ hours I've spent on this game doesn't tip off how addicting it is, then I don't know what would. Although much of its design screams "unconventional", fans of classic 2D fighters like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat or even modern classics like Skullgirls will feel right at home with Them's Fightin' Herds's combo system. Despite the quadrupedal cast of characters and adorable art direction, this is a remarkably sophisticated game with detailed mechanics for very fast-paced and reactive gameplay - so much so that I can see some serious high-profile tournaments for the game in the future.
We Are A Victorian Garden
Roses are red while silence is gold but it’s shine’s dull as a rusty copper bill flying high above the poppies pushed against the lilac lotuses,
This is a Modern Poem
It's something I came up with while looking for work, moving game pieces or drowning in thoughts that begged me questions of love and humans and minds that made me ponder the reality of science. It began with words about the past and futures and whether archived similes could stand to be repeated, if the rhythm required that 'trepidation' replaced 'fear' or if the sun-kissed-daisy rhyme stood to be deleted. It was written with the present in mind, those front page exclamations that burden the working days and it's layered like a cake with anecdotes and inspirations from the hallucination I call life.
Nintendo's Most Neglected Franchise
It's about time this game got some more love. While everyone else was hyping themselves on Animal Crossing, I spent my last week of March helping myself to the free trial for ARMS - a game that I honestly didn't care for much when it first launched, but with the then-recent Smash Bros. DLC announcement and free trial complete with a new special event, it couldn't hurt to finally dip my toes into such an out-there fighter.
The Sonic I Want to See
They did it. I’m sure that went through everyone’s head while watching the newest trailer for the Sonic the Hedgehog film.
