Me, before PGSM: Sailor Moon is about the milennium-spanning Miracle Romance between Usagi and Mamoru. Usagi and her friends transform into Sailor Senshi to protect the world and fight evil!

Me, after PGSM: Sailor Moon is about how much it sucks to be reborn and still have to deal with the consequences of your past life. There's a one-sided love triangle between Usagi, Mamoru and Ami, a tragic love between Rei and Minako, and Makoto is just doing her best while sweeping her own issues under the rug, damn it!

I'm on the final episode of PGSM now.

Wow wow wow! This show is FUCKING WILD. The BALLS on these people.

It occurs to me, as I'm watching A CERTAIN CHARACTER proclaim her intention to throw herself at evil like a battering ram for all her lifetimes, that PGSM's silly OP is very misleading.

VERY. MISLEADING.

The bargain bin special effects, the turntable setup at the end where you can see them jerk a bit when it comes to a stop, it's all a ruse! It's all cheesy funtimes at first, but that's how it lures you in!

Next thing you know, you're watching this show and going, "Oh. That's fucked up." And now I need to know how it ends! I've had to go to sleep for several nights while not knowing the ending! It's awful!

Do I think PGSM is a perfect show? No. But...it's beautiful. Much more so than I ever expected.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is, in a way, the best thing ever put to television.

It competes in one category--batshit insane--and it's the only competitor. Nothing else even comes close.

PGSM Venus: You haven't awakened your powers yet? Hmm, maybe you're missing...something? *obvious hint to search yourself for flaws*

PGSM Luna: Ah yes, the ancient training regimen of...uh...catching little pieces of paper with chopsticks! Yes! Chop chop, hop to it! And here, Mako-chan, eat these raw potatoes! This will surely help you awaken!

At this point I'm convinced that Luna was a giant troll eons go and became a somewhat okay mentor figure *only* because she'd lost part of her memory. Now the brakes are off and I fear for Makoto's stomach.

Damn you, PGSM! Screw you too!

...Now come here and give me a goddamn hug!

Me: God this show looks so cheap at times, it's hilarious (love the girls' outfits though)

Also me: The twists and turns of this cheap-ass production are killing me *happy sob*

I recently remembered Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon exists and recalled, somewhat vaguely, that there were exciting writing things happening in it. (Thank you to Jet Wolf for exposing me to this once upon a time.) I know *some* things that happen, but most of the nitty-gritty is completely unknown to me.

So here I am, 20 episodes deep into this show which was stapled together with paper clips and duct tape...

...having the time of my life, because this show is doing all the things I want out of anything!

Please enjoy the no-context Makoto screenshot. It serves no function other than to let you know I still have a soft spot for Mako-chan.

My picks from the June 2023 Next Fest

In June 2023 there was another Steam Next Fest, and I've finally managed to play all of the demos I'd selected.

Keep in mind that these are my highly personal picks; I mostly explored the turn-based RPG category, as I'm currently not feeling up to much direct action, brain-breaking strategy, etc. (And certain genres are so popular that some good demos will be reported on anyway.)

So, without further ado, here are the games that I liked this time around!

I recently learned how to do these kinds of edits, so an errant comment from someone was enough to make me insert rolled-up Tsubasa from Hirogaru Sky PreCure into this scene from Smile PreCure.

Enjoy.

A few days ago, I happened to stumble upon this absolutely insane Smile PreCure AMV. To be honest, I'm still not sure if it's too ridiculous, but the fact is, making AMVs is a lot of work. Making an AMV like this? I don't even want to know.

So drop on by. Give it a watch, give it a like and a comment, and boost this sucker for the algorithm. I think its creator deserves that much.

Since I just linked this in response to someone, I figured I'd also make a separate post about it. This is a link to (an archive of) the full fan translation of the Smile PreCure novel.

I'm very thankful to the kind people who allowed me to experience this sequel. Whoever you are, you're amazing!

Note: Please be advised that with the re-release of the PreCure novels, the Japanese original is now in stock at some online stores!