Seasonal Anime Tag~

☆ Summer Anime Tag ☆

Yahalloooo~ (^ _ ^)/

Well, once again, the current anime season is drawing to an end. So here I am to do my usual Seasonal Anime Tag~! This time for the Summer Season which finished up this week :3
My overal opinion for this season?
Meh. ┐(‘～`；)┌
I mean, it had a couple of great series! But the rest were hardly anything groundbreaking :,)
I still had a few I liked and enjoyed...but in all honesty, only five of them I really looked forward to each week;; And because of that reason, I've decided to start including series that continue on with a second cour. Because if I didn't do that this time, I wouldn't be able to complete this review :,)
...
Huh. I usually have more to say when I start these tags.. ^^;
But I really feel like I've said everything. So...ya'

Let's get staaaarted~! ♪

[ Remember, of course, that the answers to these questions are all my opinion. So please don't get offended if I dislike something you like and/or our thoughts don't match ]

~   ~   ~

List of Summer Series I watched;

- Ballroom e Youkoso (recommend)
- Battle Girl High School: Battle Girl Project
- Boku no Hero Academia 2nd Season (2nd cour) (recommend)
- Dive!!
- Hina Logi: From Luck & Logic
- Isekai Shokudou
- Kakegurui
- Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu
- Konbini Kareshi
- Kyoukai no Rinne (TV) 3rd Season (2nd cour) (recommend)
- Made in Abyss (recommend)
- New Game!! (recommend)
- Re:Creators (2nd cour) (recommend)
- Sakura Quest (2nd cour) (recommend)
- Sakurada Reset (2nd cour)
- Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul (2nd cour) (recommend)
- Tsurezure Children (recommend)
- Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou (recommend)
- Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e (TV) (recommend)

List of Summer OVA's I watched;

- Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! (haven't seen it air with subtitles yet..)
- Bungou Stray Dogs: Hitori Ayumu (recommend)
- Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 2 OVA

List of Summer Movies I watched;

- Free!: Timeless Medley - Yakusoku (haven't seen it air with subtitles yet..)
- Hibike! Euphonium Movie: Todoketai Melody (airing September 30th)
- Kimi no Koe wo Todoketai (haven't seen it air with subtitles yet..)
- Mary to Majo no Hana (haven't seen it air with subtitles yet..)
- Uchiage Hanabi, Shita kara Miru ka? Yoko kara Miru ka? (haven't seen it air with subtitles yet..)
- Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Washio Sumi no Shou Movie 3 - Yakusoku (recommend)

List of Summer Specials I watched;

- 91 Days Special

1. What was the best anime?
For me, this one is kind of a no-brainer >ω<
Straight away I instantly chose Made in Abyss!

I wasn't even originally planning to watch this series and only did so because a friend recommended it to me. I mean, it didn't sound that bad, so I went ahead and watched it. I wasn't really expecting much from it, but...

Oh! My! GOD!!

I freakfrackingdoodleydoo love this series! *ω*

..that was really lame, huh? |||orz

And I also found out the other day that starting in January 2018, the manga is getting released in English so I can actually continue on the story!! Because I'd honestly be SO upset if I couldn't;;; No where online updates frequently, so I was hella happy when I heard this news! ♥

So the story of this series focuses on Riko and her little robot friend, Regu (who, might I add, is the cutest thing EVER and I love him) as they venture into the Abyss. The Abyss is a huge chasm that is full of relics and creepy monsters and all that good stuff and people known as "Divers" travel into this Abyss to bring back the relics and any other interesting things they may find. The Divers I mentioned earlier are ranked by whistle colour and can only travel as far as their level will allow. The best Divers are known as "White Whistles" and they pretty much can go as far down as they like, I believe. Riko is only a Red Whistle, so she is only permitted to travel around the top layer of the Abyss. Riko's mother, Lyza (who is also a White Whistle), has been missing for years and Riko finds something that gives her hope that her mother is still alive at the bottom of the Abyss and so Riko sets off on her journey to find her mother and to also uncover the secret technology that created Reg which she also believes lies within the Abyss. Once deep enough into the Abyss, there is something called "The Curse of The Abyss" which is triggered when you try to venture upwards instead of downwards. So as it currently stands, Riko has no way of ever returning to the surface unless this curse somehow gets cured which looks...next to impossible right now ^^;

..and it basically gets darker and emotionally scarring and painful from that moment onward.

But it's really good! *ω*

I mean, granted it's not the most visually artistic series ever, but I honestly quite like the style the series has adapted. And in all honesty, if this series had taken on a more detailed style...some things would be next to impossible to watch;;

Episode 10. GOD help me, I will never be able to forget that!!!!!! ; ___ ;

But I highly recommend this series! I honestly think anyone can enjoy it! :3

..I also just really love Reg ;ω; He's just adorable! I love him SO much! (*´▽｀*)

[ my rating; 10/10 on MAL ]

2. What was the worst anime?

Again, I didn't have to do much thinking here.

I'm going with Battle Girl High School: Battle Girl Project.

A bit like Made in Abyss, I wasn't originally going to watch this series either.

I only chose to in the end because so many seiyuus I absolutely love were in this series.

Ten-chan, Ayaneru, Hayamin, Naobou...the list goes on;;

And even they couldn't save this series from being seriously awful and boring :,)

I'd actually compare it to Schoolgirl Strikers: Animation Channel which I actually featured in another review as the worse one, also :,)

To give you a synopsis of this series, there is a tree. And this tree gives the girls at Shinjugamine Girls Academy powers to fight against these invader things called "Irousu."

Like, seriously. That's it.

They train and fight and train and fight and secrets are discovered that hardly make sense.

It's really just boring and whenever I saw that a new episode was out, my heart dropped and I'd be like..

 "Ah...I have to watch this again..."

I also don't drop series, by the way. If you're wondering why I didn't give it up if I hated it so much, it's because I don't like to drop anything and leave anything unfinished. Hopefully that makes sense to at least one person.. ^^;

But I digress!

Honestly, just stay away from this series. It's not worth your time :,)

[ my rating; 3/10 on MAL ]

3. What was your favourite anime?

This is where my idea for including series with a second cour comes into play, otherwise I wouldn't have a favourite to talk about;; And weirdly enough, it's the same series that I also chose for my favourite in my Spring Tag.. >ω<"

It's Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul (2nd cour) ♥

The second cour of Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul takes a more serious turn compared to the first cour. This half is really heavily focused on all sides trying to bring as many people together to fight against King Charioce. The demons are being used as slaves and the hostility within them has been building up against the humans until their revolt finally starts in this half and then you have the gods who eventually take action against Charioce to take back the power he has been stealing from them. And among all this chaos, you have Nina, Kaiser, Favaro, Rita, Azazel and Jeanne fighting together until an incident occurs that leads to a few of them splitting off to seek a better way to achieve their own goals of revenge and justice. Of course Nina and the King have a deeper relationship than anyone is really aware of and despite Nina really hating what Charioce has been doing, she is determined (..as always ^^;) to save him and bring peace back to the city of Anatae.

I had a lot of really specific things I wanted to get out of this second half :,)

My main one was that I really wanted Nina and Charioce to find a way to be happy together and I wanted Favaro to find peace with what has carried on with him from the first season. I also wanted happiness for pretty much everyone and for all loose ends to be tied up.

Loose ends were tied up; though some felt too easily tied up. Favaro did find peace and honestly, I cried so much when Nina told him what Amira said to her;;; My biggest problem is what happened to Kaiser or more better put, what Rita did to him. It's not that I dislike it, but I don't like it either :,) I mean, you could tell how upset she was when Kaiser was killed, but...I just don't know how I feel about her making him into a zombie. I mean, he kind of almost looked at peace when he died and I feel that him being turned into a zombie took that away?? So...yea, I'm still working out how that makes me feel :,)

Nina and Charioce...they got a very bittersweet ending. I understand that their relationship is maybe better kept as a secret, but it was just SO sad what happened to both of them during that final battle. Their dance at the end was lovely...but seriously! Everything about them is so bittersweet! It hurts, man! It hurts :,)

I did like the conclusion of this anime, though! It was a great series throughout and really brought a ton of feelings with it :,) And while not everything always pleased me, I think it surprised a lot of people by being as great as it was! ^O^~

My full recommendation to watch this series! >ω<

[ my rating; 9/10 on MAL ]

4. What was your favourite OP. song?

There were a couple I had in mind, but I ended up going for the one that I seriously just loved so much! Like, I love it that much that my stomach kinda...gets all fluttery?? Almost like when you like someone?! XD ..is that weird? ^^;

Anyway, it's Sora ni Utaeba (Boku no Hero Academia 2nd Season (2nd cour)).

Sora ni Utaeba - Boku no Hero Academia 2nd Season (2nd cour)

It's amaaaaaaazing~! ♡

The band behind the song, amazarashi, I only know from one other series, so I didn't recognise them straight away. But WOW~~

I seriously can't get enough of this song. I waited and waited and waited for it to get a release by playing it over and over and over again before I actually started a new episode just to get my fill of it because hearing this song just once is never enough;;

It's just such a great song! ..and definitely my favourite out of the three BokuHero op. songs we've had! ^ω^~♡

5. What was your favourite ED. song?

I decided to go with LAYon-theLINE (Kakegurui).

LAYon-theLINE - Kakegurui

And, no. My reason is not Yumeko :,)

I honestly didn't like her that much?? I mean, she was alright. But I liked the Student Council President better. And then towards the end, Mary :,)

I chose this song purely because it just sounds hella cool! \(>ω<)/

This was another song I purchased as soon as it was available! It's just...it's rad, 'kay? XD

..I don't think I need more of a reason than that ( •̀ᄇ• ́)ﻭ✧

6. Who was your favourite seiyuu of the season?

Funnily enough, this person was also my favourite seiyuu in my Spring Tag as well :,)

But really, for obvious reasons, it's kinda like...how could I possibly choose anyone else? XD

Put your hands together for Saori Hayami (voiced Yumeko Jabami from Kakegurui).

I know I've already said I wasn't particularly fond of Yumeko and...yea, I'm not :,)

But what I am fond of is Hayamin's voice as Yumeko ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)

..yea, that probably sounds quite creepy ^^;

I've been a big fan of Hayamin for a very long time and this is a first for me hearing her voice like this :,) 

Yumeko is a really crazy chick! XD She basically gets off to the thrill of taking risks through gambling and...that's pretty much it. The thrill fills her pants :,)

So knowing that, you can imagine the sort of voice she'd have and I'm going to do a Max Caulfield here and say "WOWZER" because I seriously had no idea Hayamin could do this!

..I mean, I know seiyuus are super talented and can pretty much do anything, I've just never heard this sort of voice from Hayamin before, so I was just very surprised :,)

But she did it. ..I always knew Hayamin was a Goddess~

I mean, with Yumeko being how she is, there are many different ways the direction of her voice could have taken! Like, it could have been an overly exaggerated voice that made her sound even more turned on, you know? :,)

But Hayamin was chosen and everyone knows how lovely Hayamin's natural voice is :3 So I personally think she did a great job at capturing Yumeko's "crazy-sexy-gambling" voice and also capturing the moments when Yumeko was slightly more chilled and sounded a little more...un-crazy ^^;

Nice fighto, Hayamin! I love you~ ٩(^ᴗ^)۶

7. Who was your favourite male character?

My favourite male character was, of course, my baby! ..he's my baby :3 

Tatara Fujita from Ballroom e Youkoso (*＾3＾)

He's SO cute and he makes me SO happy~! ^ω^~♡

Tatara has never really been overly good at anything and goes through life in high school with no goal in mind for the future and getting bullied every now and then by the upperclassmen;;;

D-Don't cry, Tarara!!! I would beat those guys up from behind with a stick for you!! ;A;

One day, he is getting picked on outside of a dance studio and out of the blue, someone pulls up on a motorbike and chases the bullies away. It turns out Tatara's saviour was none other than the famous dancer, Kaname Sengoku! He drags Tatara into his studio and introduces him to the world of Ballroom Dancing and, quite literally, Tatara's life is changed forever as he falls in love with the sport :3

Tatara is a really sweet person :3 ..so sweet that it sometimes pisses other people off ^^;

When he realises how much he loves Ballroom dancing, he announces he wants to become a professional like Sengoku and immediately throws himself into training! ..and as it currently stands, he's barely an average dancer :,)

But he has this ability to learn from watching other people dance. So he'll watch someone perform a move and he'll be able to copy that move which is...kinda cool *O*

..if only learning everything was that easy ^^;

He is also super determined and even though he isn't great at dancing yet, he rarely lets it get to him and just keeps on going and going! >ω<

I'm SO excited to see what Tatara is capable of next! I can't wait to see him get even better and show people that he can actually win! (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑

..I feel like a proud parent :,) I love my baby Tatara! ( ˘ ³˘)☆

8. Who was your favourite female character?

I had to think about this one for a while > <; No one immediately came to mind, but after her final moments in the series...I was blown away! ;A;

And I knew I had to choose Selesia Upitiria from Re:Creators ♥

Even though I chose her as my favourite this season, I wasn't particularly drawn to her in any specific way. I mean, I always liked her, but not really to the point of calling her my favourite;;

Weird as well since she is obviously so awesome! *ω*

Selesia is your typically strong female lead who also has a refreshing comedic side to her :3

She is also very sweet, caring and dedicated to the people around her ^O^~

Selesia is always at the heart of pretty much every battle that takes place as she is very strong and can fight well with swords! She also had a pretty freaking cool mecha called "Vogelchevalier" until it was...well, destroyed...... ^^;

What made me choose Selesia was, sadly, based on how brave her death was;;;

Her, I guess you would say "love interest", was brought from her world into ours and was fighting against her because of Altair. Talking to him and trying to convince him that he was fighting for the wrong side didn't work, so in the end, she resulted to taking their lives together in order to get him to stop;;;

I was literally crying SO much! And when her Creator saw this and left the room they were all watching the battle from, I cried even more because of how upset that made him;;;

It was seriously awesome what she did! But so sad ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

Selesia was great and was always great! And I just feel so hella guilty that it took me until this moment to realise just how much! ;A;

9. Who was your least favourite character?

This was a hard question because I didn't particularly dislike anyone this season :,)

BUT! This dickhole instantly earned all my hate when he did what he did!! 凸(｀0´)凸

That person is Alessand Visponti from Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul.

I mean, throughout the series, he didn't have an awful lot of screen time to even learn much about him. So I never had any feelings of anything towards him! ..until he killed Mugaro! TAT;

What he did...was not okay! > <;

When he'd left and was found by a fellow knight/friend and was sort of crawling along the ground towards him, I almost pitied him;; ..until he tried to kill that guy, too! TAT;

Then after that, NO! Always NO! > <

Mugaro's death was just awful and afterwards when everyone was watching Rita trying to save him...it was heartbreaking! I HATE this guy! I hate, hate, hate him!! > <

He wasn't even that interesting of a character, either! So when you add murderer to that, you really have nothing going for you;;

So, yea. One last time...

Hate. This. Guy!

~   ~   ~

So that was my Summer Anime Tag!

I am stoked as hell for the Fall Season which will be starting...next week on the 3rd, I believe.

There are six sequels I am dying for and literally SO many other series look great!! I'm also especially excited to finally watch Code:Realize: Sousei no Himegimi because I've played the otome game and loved it! The wait for this anime felt like forever and now it's finally going to be airing and I can't wait! I hope it's handled well;;

Also! Hayamin is voicing Cardia! ♡ I remember when I played this game and thought about a voice for Cardia and Hayamin was the first person I thought of! And she is actually going to be doing it! It's so awesome :,)

So... YAY! I'm very excited!╰(✧∇✧╰)

I hope you enjoyed reading this tag! ^^

And if you're interested, here is a link to my MAL account :3

MyAnimeList - Serahnyan

Thank you for reading and have a great day! n.n

BYESIES~! c:

                         xoxo~

Life is Strange: Before The Storm - Episode 1: Awake Review~

Well, hey there!
..I'm not going to be bother with the whole "it's-been-so-long-since-I-last-posted" nonsense. I mean, you can see for yourselves how long it's been!

Maybe...about an hour ago now, I just finished the first episode of Life is Strange: Before The Storm which is a prequel (developed by Deck Nine) to the original game Life is Strange which was developed by Dontnod Entertainment.
And...I am still reeling from what I just witnessed :,) I mean, fans of the original Life is Strange know how important the relationship between Chloe and Rachel is as it's one of, if not the main element that drives the game forward. So I was very excited (but also nervous) as to how their relationship would really get played out. After playing the first episode, I can definitely say I was not disappointed! ..but let's save all my opinions for later on in the review :,)
As for what drove me to review the game, I had thought about reviewing each episode as they were released a while ago and decided to do that straight away while the events are still fresh in my mind.
..sometimes my memory isn't so great ^^;

[ 20/12/17 Edit: I've completed all my reviews, so I'm going to leave the links here in case you want to read them all ]

Life is Strange: Before The Storm - Episode 2: Brave New World Review~ By SerahNyan (ME!)
Life is Strange: Before The Storm - Episode 3: Hell Is Empty Review~ By SerahNyan (ME!)

So, let's get this review hella started!!

--SPOILER ALERT--

Usually I just use a "warning" before reviews, but I am going to talk a lot about the first episode and what happens, so if you haven't played the first episode yet and want to do so without knowing what happens...maybe don't read this review quite yet.

~   ~   ~

[ Available on Microsoft Windows, PS4 and Xbox One ]

Plot Outline~

Life is Strange: Before The Storm is set three years prior to the events of the original Life is Strange and, as opposed to Life is Strange where you play as Max Caulfield, Life is Strange: Before The Storm is played through the view point of 16 year old Chloe Price.

Currently, Chloe is feeling very alone and very abandoned. Her father has died and Max, her best friend, left her to go and live in Seattle. Chloe has tried to keep in contact with Max but Max eventually stopped talking to her.

With Joyce, Chloe's mother, bringing her new boyfriend, David Madsen into the picture, Chloe is feeling very frustrated at all these changes happening around her. Along with the absence of her now ex-best friend and her father gone, Chloe becomes very rebellious as a way to deal with all these emotions.

One day, she meets a girl called Rachel Amber who is very beautiful, very popular and has big dreams and the two girls form an unlikely friendship that becomes something very special to them both.

Gameplay~

Much like the original Life is Strange, you experience this game from a third-person point of view, only this time you assume control of Chloe. Unlike Max (who you control in the original Life is Strange), Chloe doesn't have any super natural abilities and definitely not the ability to time travel. Instead, Chloe has a little feature called "Backtalk" which is something of a...type of mini-game, I guess you could say, that allows Chloe to lash out and insult people as a way of getting them to do what she wants which, in turn, gets her out of less than desirable situations :,)

Something similar to the original Life is Strange though is the power of "Choice." You will be given various times in the game to interact with different people by being given the chance to make a choice on how you'll respond to things people say to you. And depending on what you choose, this affects the overall outcome of the game.

People who've played the original Life is Strange know that Max kept a diary which let us see more about how she felt about all the things that were happening. Chloe doesn't exactly keep a diary, it's more like she's writing letters to Max telling her what she's been doing, though she never sends these letters.

..it actually causes me emotional pain knowing Max has been completely ignoring Chloe all this time.

And again we all know Max enjoyed taking pictures of her surroundings (which also earned us Trophies in the original game). Now Chloe is no photographer, so instead Chloe is given a "Graffiti" option which allows her to draw on different areas in her surroundings which, of course, earns us the trophies.

Episode 1: Awake Summary~

We begin this episode as Chloe who has entered an old mill to attend a night-time concert of this band she likes called Firewalk. She ends up getting into a bit of trouble with two men who are also there and help comes to her in the surprising appearance of Rachel Amber.

It becomes public knowledge the next day that Rachel and Chloe were together as Rachel posted a picture of the two of them on social media, so if you're conversing with people the next day, they may comment on this wondering what the hell Chloe was doing with Rachel since they've never spent time together before. There are a couple of new people Chloe is friends with, Steph and Mikey, and there also appears to be someone Chloe is "well-aquainted" with known as Elliot. It is hinted that him and Chloe have hooked up a few times and he is apparently keen to keep the relationship going while Chloe is a bit more reserved about it thinking that their time together was "just something she did while she was bored."

Chloe and Rachel are reunited as Chloe is about to enter Blackwell Academy and Rachel suddenly appears at the front doors and pulls her toward the rehearsal of a play she'll be in. After some discussion and assisting Rachel with the task of bringing her her belt (which you can choose to bring to her while she's changing instead of tossing it over the divider. I'm not really shy, soo...) the two of them decide to ditch school together.

Rachel pulls Chloe into the back of a cargo train where they talk a lot about themselves and Chloe is even given the option to "flirt" which actually made me laugh SO much as Rachel's reaction was priceless... Uh, no pun intended ^^;

Anyway!! They eventually end up on a small cliff with a viewfinder there. They spend some time together looking through it and improvising weird yet funny conversations between people they see until Rachel witnesses a man meeting a woman which greatly upsets her. She lashes out a little at Chloe claiming that it's weird of Chloe to take a girl out and not offer her a drink, so the two of them sneakily steal a bottle of wine that a picnicking couple nearby have. After walking for some time together, they end up at a familiar place to all who have played the original Life is Strange which is the Junkyard. There, Chloe confronts Rachel about her change in mood to which Rachel tells her to just back off and leave her alone.

What happens next, I felt, was a really important scene.

Rachel asks Chloe what she thinks "This is" between them to which you can respond with either..

"A friendship"

OR

"Something more"

I chose the latter and I'm so glad I did because it actually made the scene seem a whole lot sweeter and Rachel even confesses to Chloe later that she feels the same way and that Chloe is totally badass for saying what she feels.

After Rachel leaves Chloe in the junkyard, Chloe becomes excessively emotional and starts beating on cars and trashing nearby junk pieces until she finds a car which triggers thoughts from when her father died. You then enter a dream sequence and once you've woken up, it's darker now and Chloe walks away and finds Rachel again.

Rachel confesses that the man they saw through the viewfinder was her father and that the woman he was with was not Rachel's mother. Rachel is in tears explaining all this and apologises to Chloe for treating her the way she did after they had such a great day together. After this, Rachel shows Chloe a photo she has of her and her father taken years ago to which she then proceeds to burn it. Rachel then tosses the flaming photo into a nearby bin and then in a fit of rage, kicks it over which causes the tree nearby to catch fire.

What happens next is interesting...

There have been many theories presented by fans that Rachel is a time traveller like Max or has some sort of super natural power and it seems that...they were in fact correct.

Rachel screamed a few times after kicking the bin over and whenever she did, a strong and seemingly powerful gust of wind surrounds Rachel and blows towards the tree.

Whether or not this is a sign that Rachel has super natural powers is still unknown...but it was very mysterious and definitely left me surprised and feeling that Rachel is definitely more than she appears.

My Thoughts~

When I first heard about this game, I wasn't really worried about a completely different developer working on this like some fans were. What concerned me was how the relationship between Chloe and Rachel would be fleshed out. I already mentioned briefly that Chloe and Rachel's relationship is the driving factor of what Life is Strange is all about, so I was really hoping the team working on this game would do it right. While it is only the first episode that has just been released and with two more still to go, I'm feeling very good about it so far. SUPER good, in fact!

Looking at how Rachel and Chloe interacted during their day together (or more accurately looking at how I made them interact) really made me feel that their relationship is truly something special. Granted it's the player who makes the choice on how everything pans out, but I definitely feel that there is a very deep love in their relationship; not necessarily a romantic love, but something intense nonetheless.

Also, after playing the original Life is Strange, I completely fell in love with Chloe and Max and how close they are and how even after being apart for so long, they come back together and mend that time like they had never really been apart! So I was a little...maybe irritated at first knowing Life is Strange: Before The Storm would be based around Chloe and Rachel. I remember being all like..

 "NO! No, no, no, no, NOOOOOOO!! It's Chloe and Max! Always Chloe and Max!! I don't know how I feel about Rachel being in the game! I don't know if I want it! I don't want anything to ruin my perfect Chloe and Max!!"

..which looking back on that reaction now makes me feel very embarrassed based on how much I enjoyed the first episode :,)

But...already...I feel that there is something much more powerful in Chloe and Rachel's relationship and as a pose to Chloe and Max who, I have to admit, always felt a little bit broken because of Max abandoning Chloe. But I still love them greatly, you know? They are very close, close friends and Max did so many things for Chloe and tried so hard to stop her impending destiny.

And we all know what happens with Rachel, too. We know she dated Frank and that she, towards the end of her time in Arcadia Bay, wrote a letter to Chloe claiming to have met someone who changed her life (that likely referring to Mark Jefferson) so there is abandonment there, too. But there is still something between Chloe and Rachel that I can't quite put my finger on. I think it's the fact that during the one day they spent together, they instantly became so close. Almost like a fated type of friendship.

I also really liked how the first episode fleshed out overall.

Because we're only getting three episodes of Before The Storm, the developers need to show Chloe and Rachel meeting, to their friendship becoming what we know it to be, to the time when Rachel disappears. And when you think about it like that, there is a lot of ground to cover. So they need to show what they can within the amount of episodes they've chosen to have. And while the relationship between Chloe and Rachel developed quite rapidly in the first episode, it still didn't end up feeling rushed or forced. It definitely felt natural and honest and I think that is because there is a genuine spark between the two girls and Deck Nine really captured that perfectly, I think.

Another big thing that had fans very upset was that Ashly Burch who provided Chloe's voice in the original Life is Strange wouldn't be back to reprise her role due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. I was also saddened by that because Ashly has such a personal connection with Chloe and because of this, she brought to Chloe a special sort of depth that no one else would ever be able to do.

So I was very skeptical thinking about the new voice and how they would portay Chloe.

And, I have to say, I'm not at all disappointed with how Chloe sounds. Yes, I'm still sad that Ashly isn't voicing Chloe as I would truly love to hear Ashly as Chloe during this particularly tough and challenging time in her life. But Rhianna DeVries who takes on the role of 16 year old Chloe really did a wonderful job in her own right! She really managed to capture the emotion that Chloe would currently be feeling and especially during the junkyard scene where Chloe is breaking old junk and pushing things over, you can really hear the raw hurt in her voice when she's shouting...it was really outstanding and I was definitely brought to tears;;

I also really like Rachel's voice actress as well. When I first heard her in the trailers, I wasn't so sure. But hearing her more during the episode was better as you get more time with her. I think she did a great job, too!

The music in the first episode was beautiful~

A band called Daughter took on this role and they also managed to capture within their pieces of music a certain sound that also reminds you of the original Life is Strange soundtrack. The musical sound as a whole does a great job at capturing the different feelings of characters at the right time and also the background music in each environment feels unique and just...fits perfectly within everything at the right time.

As for character designs and background designs...it almost looks slightly improved from the original game. Especially movements when characters are speaking looks more matched than the original game when you'd hear speaking but not in time with the movement of the characters mouths :,)

While close up views on the backgrounds looks a little weak, the overall environments look stunning and there is definitely a good amount of depth added that makes even the faraway views beautiful and appear almost life like. Light within the graphics is also used well offering darkness when moods shift to showing more brightness when good things are happening. It's all just...very well put together.

Conclusion~

Life is Strange: Before The Storm Episode 1: Awake definitely starts off strong. It dives you right into the world we all remember and giving us a game through Chloe's perspective gives us all new insights into how she thinks offering more depth to her character. We start to see the beginnings of what makes her who she is to us and what it is about Rachel that means so much to Chloe.

Everything that made the original Life is Strange what it is still remains within this game giving returning fans familiar things to look forward to. While I'd say that fans of the original Life is Strange will get more enjoyment out of this, it's not as if newcomers wouldn't enjoy Before The Storm, either!

So I think if this game is on your radar, old fan or new, you can enjoy it regardless of your previous knowledge on the game.

..I'm really thinking Life is Strange: Before The Storm has many special and emotional moments waiting for us and I can't wait to see how this new story will lead up to the start of the game that we all know and love so much!

~   ~   ~

Thank you for reading my somewhat messily put together review :,)

Because I was trying to recall everything I felt while playing this episode while it's still fresh in my head, it's not set out like my regular reviews :,)

But regardless, I hope you reading it now were still able to enjoy it :3

I'll see you guys in my next blog post!

Have a hella awesome day! ;D

BYESIES~! c:

                        xoxo~

Seasonal Anime Tag~

☆ Spring Anime Tag ☆

Yahalloooo~ (^ _ ^)/
I know I always say this...but this time, it really has been a while!! Like, 3 months!! ∑(ﾟﾛﾟ)

Well, it's that time again (sort of??) for me to do my Seasonal Anime Tag~! This time for the Spring Season which is just about coming to an end for some series. A few still have a couple more episodes to go and then some other series which, excitingly, have a second cour!
YAY! (◞⁎˃ᆺ˂)◞*✰♥
As for my enjoyment of this season... I absolutely LOVED it!!!! >//ω//<
There was really only one series that I didn't like (and that will actually be in the review as what I thought was the worst anime of the season) and another series which I haven't seen updated in a while... But again, I wasn't overly keen on that one either :,)
But every other series, I LOVED!! *ω*
..or loved elements of it at least... *cough* Loved Sagiri from Ero-manga sensei *cough*
So yaaywooopwoop!! (/^▽^)/
Oh! I will say one more thing... While I enjoyed this season a lot, quite a few series have pretty low scores on MAL, which I think is quite sad;; Quite a few of the series I really enjoyed are within the score of 6 category which is a shame;; So if you're someone who goes by scores when you decide on a series to watch or at least let that contribute towards your decision, I will say pay no mind to what MAL says as if you think you'll enjoy it, I'm pretty sure you will! ^O^~

So with all that said and done...
Let's get staaaarted~! ♪

[ Remember, of course, that the answers to these questions are all my opinion. So please don't get offended if I dislike something you like and/or our thoughts don't match ]

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List of Spring Series I watched;

- Berserk (2017)
- Boku no Hero Academia 2nd Season (recommend)
- Clockwork Planet
- Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka Gaiden: Sword Oratoria
- Ero-manga sensei
- Fukumenkei Noise (recommend)
- Granblue Fantasy The Animation (originally meant to air in January, but was pushed back to April) (recommend)
- Kyoukai no Rinne (TV) 3rd Season (recommend)
- Re:Creators (recommend)
- Renai Boukun (recommend)
- Sakurada Reset (recommend)
- Sakura Quest (recommend)
- Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata ♭ (recommend)
- Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul (recommend)
- Shingeki no Kyojin Season 2 (RECOMMEND!!!!!!!!!!)
- Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka? (recommend)
- Souryo to Majiwaru Shikiyoku no Yoru ni...
- Starmyu 2nd Season
- Tsuki ga Kirei (recommend)
- Uchoten Kazoku 2 (recommend)

List of Spring OVA's I watched;

- Ajin OVA
- Ao no Exorcist OVA
- New Game!: Watashi, Shain Ryokou tte Hajimete nano de...

List of Spring Movies I watched;

- Free!: Timeless Medley - Kizuna (haven't seen it air with subtitles yet..)
- Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome (haven't seen it air with subtitles yet..)
- Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Washio Sumi no Shou Movie 2 - Tamashii (haven't gotten around to watching it yet)

List of Spring Specials I watched;

- Berserk (2017): Majo no Tsuisou
- Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata ♭: Koi to Junjou no Service Kai
- Tsuki ga Kirei Recap (this isn't necessary AT ALL! XD)
- Welcome to The Madness ٩(♡ε♡ )۶

1. What was the best anime?
I mean, it's been a long time coming.
We've being waiting since 2013...
Is there any other anime to choose besides Shingeki no Kyojin Season 2?! ♥

We FINALLY got our season two!!! T3T; ..even though it doesn't have a second cour, sadly...

It was still very much worth the wait!!

..okay, not really. I mean, we wanted it MUCH sooner, you know?! ^^;

I'm someone who hasn't been keeping up with the manga and is only just starting to catch up now ^^; But it's like...it feels like I have been reading it since all of the "big stuff" that was revealed/happened in this season... I already knew about :,) Like...

 "OHMYGODDDD!!!! ..I already knew that." ..kinda thing :,)

But with a series as huge as Attack on Titan, spoilers are everywhere even when you aren't looking for them :,) ..I accidentally came across something yesterday about the Ape Titan. Oopsies ^^;

This season pretty much picks up where the first season left off, so you still have the mysterious Titan lurking inside the wall and then this crazy hair BEAST APE TITAN thing running around outside the wall...

Side note: it's arms are FREAKING ridiculous! XD

Actually for quite a few episodes, we didn't really see much of Eren, Armin and Mikasa at all! It was mostly focused on different characters until a bit later on when IT REALLY GOT REAL! ..then Mikasa almost gave Bertolt a heart attack... Armin lost his shit... Titans were being flung around... You know. Same old, same old.

Apart from Armin. Like, whoa!!! He actually scared me a little bit! (ﾟДﾟ)

With only one episode left, I'm starting to feel the depression seep in a little.. ;A; But since I'm reading the manga (at long last!) I'm not as sad as I maybe would be;;

But it's like I can't believe it's nearly over already!! It's already been 12 weeks since it started!! The wait was brutal...yet it feels like the season has ended within the blink of an eye!! ;~;

How cruel of a mistress is time... *dramatically places hand on chest* ...

[ my rating; 10/10 on MAL ]

2. What was the worst anime?

For me, there was only one really, truly god awful anime and that was Clockwork Planet.

This anime was definitely mistakenly hyped up..   -______-

..is "mistakenly" even a word?? O.O"

I think because Clockwork Planet was created by the same man who is behind No Game No Life and even though I haven't seen that yet, I know how widely popular it is. So I thought Clockwork Planet would be a decent series to watch but... It damn well wasn't!! > <

Like, honestly? I don't even know what's going on half the time .-. It's just not clear! The direction is really poor and the plot just feels so messily put together;;

Basically the planet is covered in cogs and... This automaton thing crashes into Naoto's (the protagonist) house and...stuff just happens from there, but seriously! I don't even know what! They meet an annoying Princess, I think she is? And her lackey and then another automaton.

Also Naoto had to make a contract with the automaton (named RyuZU) that crashed into his house and to do that... She needed to suck his finger?

I'm sorry, but even to anime which fails to surprise me at this point...

What even the fuck was that? ¯\_( ͠° ͟ʖ °͠ )_/¯

It's just a really bad story with even worse characters that provides no enjoyment whatsoever.

I'll be happy when this series ends, I know that much!

[ my rating; 1/10 on MAL ]

3. What was your favourite anime?

I look forward to this one every week!! HELLA YES for 24 episodes!!! ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪

My favourite anime was Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul!! ♡

When I saw Shingeki no Bakamut: Genesis, I enjoyed it...but I wasn't crazy into it or anything. But I liked it, so I knew I was going to watch the second season.

But honestly... I didn't think I'd love it THIS much!!

And I seriously, seriously DO!! ;ω;

So this season is set 10 years after the events of Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis. After the revival of Bahamut, the humans in the royal capital gained great wealth so they enslaved many demons to assist with the revival of the capital and the Gods lose their power due to a decrease in religious piety. Basically you have the humans, demons and Gods trying to hold on to their own ideas of justice and this conflict is sort of throwing the world off balance.

That might not sound like the most intriguing plot ever, but it really is great! And made even better with the amount of different characters you have :,)

You have Nina; a cute and quirky girl who moved to the royal capital to make a living, Charioce XVII; a cold and calculating King. We also have old favourites like Kaiser, Rita, Azazel (who took a child under his wing named Mugaro) and everyones personal favourite, FAVARO who recently popped back up! And of course, many more! *ω*

While this series definitely has it's dark moments, it's also such fun to watch! I'm really looking forward to the second cour; I can't wait to see what's in store then! And I'm also hoping Favaro will come back as a main character for that because, even though the series has still been great, I've really missed him and his crazy antics :,)

So I really recommend this series! Really, really, really, reeeeeeeally!!!! ♥

[ my rating; 9/10 on MAL ]

4. What was your favourite OP. song?

I always seem to say this, but for this season...I really mean it! ^^;

Choosing a favourite opening song was SO hard!! ;A; There were literally so many great ones I really had to sit and think it through. Like, really think it through;;

I decided to go with the song I love that also gets me hella pumped up!! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و

And that is Shinzou wo Sasageyo! (Shingeki no Kyojin Season 2).

Shinzou wo Sasageyo! - Shingeki no Kyojin Season 2

*deep breath* Like, literally... Ohmyfuckinggod!!!

I seriously go into cardiac arrest whenever I hear and/or watch this! Not even kidding!

I flip OUT!!

It gets me SO fucking pumped!!! I have to watch this a billion times before I continue with the episode and then another billion times once the episode is OVER!!

It. Never. Gets. Old!

Also...

I like Shinzou wo Sasageyo! better than Guren no Yumiya.

Fight me.

5. What was your favourite ED. song?

Again, another really difficult choice.

But I decided to go with the song that I've been constantly listening to ever since I bought it.

That song being Freesia (Sakura Quest).

Freesia - Sakura Quest

I've enjoyed the music of (K)NoW_NAME since I first heard Knew day which was the OP. song for the anime Hai to Gensou no Grimgar. That group has three really wonderful vocalists~ ♪

(K)NoW_NAME also does the OP. song for Sakura Quest as well, but out of the two...

Freesia is definitely my favourite ♥ It's just SO beautiful ;ω;

ALSO!!

I just want to say how much I love Maki ♡ She is one of the main characters in Sakura Quest and became my favourite since episode six;; I related to her in that episode and the following one so much that I actually started crying because of it;; She also said some really deep things that got me thinking and made me cry even more;; ..I still can't get over it! How much I related to her in those episodes and... She's just amazing. I love her SO much! ;ω;

6. Who was your favourite seiyuu of the season?

I had to think about this for a while because I wasn't exactly sure if I had one.. ^^;

But I eventually came to the conclusion that my favourite seiyuu of the season was Saori Hayami (voiced Nino "Alice" Arisugawa from Fukumenkei Noise).

I'm a big fan of Hayamin in general! ♥

She has such a gorgeous voice that is always pleasant to listen to ( ´ ▽ ` )

Even if she's shouting! It's like the wind is caressing your face~

..is that weird? ^^;

Anyway! As Nino, Hayamin is portraying a very passionate singer who, sometimes...I can't even tell if she can actually sing or not :,) I mean, we all know Hayamin can sing and has a beautiful voice at that! But Nino... I think Nino is still improving and that's what Hayamin is showing :3

Nino went "berserk" once while singing and Hayamin's voice was SO raw, I was kinda like..

 "Whoaaaa..! I didn't know she could do that!"

Basically, Nino always sang with her childhood friend Momo, but once he left...she had the urge to shout instead so that's why she started wearing that mask. And I think that also relates to how she sings now and also why she went berserk before. I think her feelings for Momo just pour out uncontrollably and she loses the ability to control her own voice.

So basing that on Hayamin's performance as Nino, she really is something amazing :,)

Hayamin really fills Nino with so much emotion you can actually almost feel it coming out of the screen! Even when Nino has cute little moments (since she is kind of a air-head sometimes) where she doesn't really know what's going on or doesn't understand something, Hayamin is right there the whole time! ♡

She is amazing! And she makes an amazing Nino! ^ω^

Also! I mentioned this before with the MAL scores, but don't let the score for this anime put you off. It's really good! I know I'm definitely enjoying it! The love triangle with Nino, Momo and Yuzu... It's painful for me! ;A; But in general, I think it's a really sweet story that shows passion and perseverance! ^^

7. Who was your favourite male character?

I wasn't sure if this character would actually count since he's only just made his reappearance, but even so, I still want to choose Favaro "Bomber Head, Fava" Leone from Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul *ω*

This is him when he first appeared again! :,)

..his hair got HUGE!! ( ꒪Д꒪)

I mean, since he hasn't been in the second season for that long, it's not really enough to see if his personality has changed that much. But from what we've already seen...I think it's safe to say he is still the Favaro we all know and love :,)

He is a bounty hunter who actually trained (if that is even the right word.. XD) the cute and quirky Nina! Favaro also pretty much only lives for women, alcohol and money :,) Though he did change a little bit in the first season after meeting Amira...but we see how well that turned out since we're reunited with him...in prison! XD

But Favaro is Favaro and I will always love him no matter what!! >ω<

He's weird, funny, ridiculous, reckless, crazy, voiced by Yocchin ♡, silly and just...kind of awesome!

I fully freaked out when he returned at the end of...episode 8, I think it was? My sister was next to me at the time and I actually made her jump because my reaction was so loud :,)

I mean...it's FAVARO!!!! Who wouldn't be excited to have him back?! >ω<

8. Who was your favourite female character?

My favourite female character was definitely, without a doubt, Nina Drango from Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul ♥

..I just now realised both of my favourite characters come from the same series..! >ω<"

Nina! Ohmygod!!! I just love Nina!! (◍＞◡＜◍)

It's impossible to dislike her! The entire royal capital even likes her!! ..well, everyone who has met her, at least :,)

She's got such a lovely happy-go-lucky personality! She's also really sweet, kind, helpful...and strong!! Like, reeeeeally strong!! She can lift, like...something a billion times her weight!! ..okay, maybe not that much! But she's still really strong :,)

She helps out everyone in the capital which is why they've all grown to like her ^ω^ ..and also because, again, she's SO sweet and happy and cute! (˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

She also gets flustered really easily when in front of or talking to a really attractive guy, which isn't good!! Because then her heart will start racing and if that happens, she'll--

Well, I won't say! Watch the anime if you want to find out ;p

I can guarantee that you won't be expecting what happens, though..! (◍˃̶ᗜ˂̶◍)ﾉ”

9. Who was your least favourite character?

I thought about this for a while since there wasn't one that came to mind instantly..

In the end, the only character that came to mind was Stolas from Renai Boukun..? (;・﹏ •̀)

Even then...like, what the actual hell is this thing??

From what of this makes sense...he is a creepy penguin...thing that has a weird obsession with the protagonists sister and always shows up wanting to mate with her > <

First of all, that's ILLEGAL!!

Second of all...that's gross!!! [ ± _ ± ]

..I really can't think of anything else to say :,)

Basically. Creepy penguin wants to mate with a young human girl.

That is NOT okay and therefore, everything about this penguin freaks me out ;~;

End of story. See you later! ( ・_・)ノ

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So that was my Spring Anime Tag!

As of right now for Summer 2017, I'm currently planning on watching seven series as I've yet to have a proper look as to what else will be airing :,)

But I'm especially looking forward to Ballroom e Youkoso *ω* I've been reading the manga and I can't wait for the adaptation! Production I.G does good work, so I'm excited to see how they'll animate all the dancing! I'll be very disappointed if it's done using very obvious CGI;;

But judging from the PV's, that doesn't seem to be the case, so yay! ^^

I hope you enjoyed reading this tag! ^^

And if you're interested, here is a link to my MAL account :3

MyAnimeList - Serahnyan

Thank you for reading and have a great day! n.n

BYESIES~! c:

                         xoxo~