media log

pokemon pokopia
i've been playing this game non-stop since i got it! i actually gave in and got a switch 2 just to play it... which i don't regret honestly, because there's some games coming out for the switch 2 i want to play too.
i really liked the storyline for this game and the elements of environmental storytelling, and i like how flexible the construction is. i really liked that we had a bunch of quests to do while the plot was happening, and now that i've beaten the game i miss them. i hope they add more later, because as fun as decorating and building is, i liked having specific things to do with quests too. i'm hopeful for more limited time events in the future, and more dlc to add more pokemon and areas. i'm still missing just under 70 pokemon, so i definitely still have a lot of work left to do!

persona 3 reload
i only just started this one! persona 3 is one of my favorite games ever, so i'm looking forward to playing it with updated graphics and gameplay. i'll lock into this one more once i get the rest of the pokemon in pokopia.

iron lung (2026)
i love a good cosmic horror! i'm really looking forward to when this gets a physical/streaming release, because i want to watch it again now that i know how the story goes. i was really impressed by the whole movie, especially considering that it was a completely independent amateur production. the special effects and creature designs were really neat, and the acting was really solid. i watched markiplier's playthroughs of the game before seeing it, and you can tell how much he cared about the source material when making it.

sinners (2025)
this movie was SO good. i'd been wanting to see it since last year as my sister kept recommending it, and i'd heard such good things about it. i'm honestly still rotating it in my head! it was a solid allegory for assimilation and how european ethnicities that were discriminated against used black oppression to gain "whiteness" in america, and how non-white minorities (especially black americans) have faced harm on multiple fronts--the more overt threat of hate groups like the kkk, and the more subtle threat of loss of culture and cultural exploitation. also, the choctaw vampire hunters were rad as hell, and i appreciated their inclusion as representation of how indigenous goodwill towards the irish during the famine was forgotten by irish-americans as a whole in order to maintain their "whiteness". the music was also amazing!

the apothecary diaries (2023)
i watched this for the first time with my partner last year, and i rewatched it with my mom this year since she's been interested in watching more anime (after enjoying demon slayer so much). it's still just as good the second time around, especially knowing how everything ties together from the beginning. i really enjoy maomao as a character, and the mysteries presented are so interesting. i think the whole series is very well-done, with both the politics and intrigue woven through the story. i'm really looking forward to seeing season 3 and the movie later this year!

dungeon meshi (2024)
next on my list of anime i watched with my mom! this was actually my first time watching dungeon meshi, but i'd read the entirety of the manga so i knew what was coming. the anime was really well-done and true to the manga. i really love the story and all of the characters, and i loved the english dub; it had some of my favorite voice actors in it! the themes in dungeon meshi are so good, from lifestyle balance (and not villainaizing certain foods! your body needs fat and salt as much as it needs veggies!) to environmentalism (it's not "don't eat the creatures in the dungeon", but "don't take more than you need"), and of course the themes of desire, feeling like an outsider, and finding a community that'll come later. i am of course so excited for season 2, mostly because i know it's going to get even crazier, but also because i can't wait to be So Normal about kabumisu