I’m So Exhausted… (12/19/2019)

Don’t worry, I’m fine. It’s just a busy thing again.

How’d Your Day Go?

Today was probably the first time in quite a while that I’ve taken a proper nap. I don’t mean those spells where I’m working on something and then, the next thing I know, I wake up. I mean I actually climbed into bed with every intention of going to sleep. I’ve generally been pretty tired, lately. Mostly a result of work and all these projects. So the added sleep was nice. Even if I was rudely awakened to attend a movie immediately thereafter.

On that note, I went and saw the conclusion to the latest Star Wars trilogy. It was fine. Not great, not bad. Just very middle-of-the-road. I’m a Star Wars fan, but not an uber-fan or anything. I’ve pretty much just seen all the main-series movies, the cartoons (barring the newest one and maybe, like, a third of Rebels) and read some of the comics. But I do like Star Wars. And, having said that, my opinions towards certain aspects have always been lukewarm (no pun intended). It’s no secret that the Star Wars fandom is one of, if not the most toxic in all the realms. Certainly up there with Sonic, Pokemon, and so many others. Not in its entirety, obviously. But the rotten ones are always the loudest. I never really engage with dedicated fandoms, specifically because of this. Obviously, I do not need the stress.

That all being said, I’ve maintained that, of the new trilogy, The Force Awakens is the superior movie, if only on a purely technical level. The Last Jedi has some strengths over it. But they’re mostly in presentation. Meanwhile, the film is just… it’s kind of a mess. This movie I find is just very much in the middle. It’s cohesive but also very safe, making it just a middle ground between them, as far as I’m concerned. There’s a lot in it that I think Star Wars fans (of my level, I can’t speak for anyone more invested than myself) will appreciate and, likewise, a handful of things that will irritate. The fanservice is, for the most part, handled well. And I think the general arc is done decently. Mind you, they were dealing with some limitations in casting, and whatnot. So I’d say they did what they could with what they were given. And the end product was… fine. Just… Fine. I’m not going to actually rate it because this is sort of a casual thing. My rating system is generally based heavily on the storytelling mechanics at play and I’d honestly need to watch it again to determine that.

How Are You Doing?

It’s been pointed out to me that I’ve not really been using the blog to talk about my thoughts or feelings much, lately. I can’t say I have a real reason for that. I just haven’t been thinking all that much. I’ve been working, keeping myself occupied with more pressing matters. I don’t have time to be in my head, right now. Especially this time of year.

That said, I did see my counselor, yesterday. It was a nice visit. I’d say it’s helpful to openly talk about this stuff. I rambled a bit, but I’m just prone to that, in general, once I get started on something. But I broke down some of what I think may be how my head works. Of course, I don’t know anything for sure. That’s kinda the point. But, at the very least, it was a good start, putting to words what I think might be going on in my head, on occasion in a more broad, generalized sense. Things like how, IRL, I tend to self-edit. I’m far better-spoken on the internet. Because I can take my time with things. Formulating responses and whatnot. It’s one of the reasons I loathe social media. It’s just too fast. There’s often just no time. In real life, there are a lot of pauses when I speak. Sometimes just staring off into space while trying to process. I think very, very slowly. And I’m meticulous about the things I say. Usually. So conversation with me tends to be very starty-stoppy. It’s a desire to make sure I’m being understood, or so I suppose.

Other stuff came up. But I’ll probably bring them up some other time, when they naturally occur to me.

How Go Projects?

Oh, you know. They’re going. I’ve gotten some pretty handy feedback, as I’d already stated, about PROJECT ACADEMIA, and I already went through writing a second draft around that and just some ideas of my own that I’d wanted to try. So the Early-Bird preview, which is still open, by the way, will now feature that draft. Should anyone be interested, my Discord and Twitter are open, as is my business email.

As for Burning Sky, we’re basically ready for the Christmas update. So that’s exciting.

Bulletoon is different. This episode isn’t our most daunting, or anything. But it’s a lot of clips and a lot of editing. Easy editing (mostly). Nothing fancy. But a lot of it. Luckily, I have off tomorrow, so I’m going to work on it throughout the day (along with other stuff) and get it done so it’s ready to go up on either Saturday or Sunday. But, in case it was unclear, this is going to be the last episode of the season (I know, it was a short season but also highly experimental), and of 2019, in general. After that, I’m taking another extended break. We’ll hopefully be back in mid-January with new episodes and a new production schedule.

So… You Know How This Site Is Supposed To Be ANIME Voyage?

…Yeah, but shut up. Okay, in all seriousness, I’ve already mentioned that I’m probably not going to cover anything more from the current season. I final-thoughts on this season of Bokuben, for sure. And maybe mid-season thoughts on My Hero Academia (2 cours, so…), but probably nothing else. I’ll likely just bing a ton of shows and maybe do one super post on my thoughts of them. That said, I’m going to adopt a new policy for myself… I’m gonna drop stuff if it’s not holding me well enough to actually want to watch it, week-to-week. I’m too busy to force myself to watch things. So if it loses me, it loses me. I might binge later if I can manage, but yeah.

As for next season, well… next season’s the Anime TKO: Battle Royale Edition, so I’m actually going to be covering a lot, but nooot as full reviews. You’ll have to wait to see how we handle that one. We’ve got some fun ideas in store. Just keep one thing in mind. Anime TKO is not a series about selecting the best series of the season. It simply masquerades as this through parody. Anime TKO is literally a week-to-week clash. It’s not looking at the collective whole of a series. And we’re probably going to start approaching it from a slightly new angle to give it a little more immediate identity. Hope you’ll enjoy that when we announce it!

‘kay, I’m done. This ran a little longer than I thought it would. It was supposed to just be a journal. Wound up including a lot of updates too. Whoops. Anyway, take care! I’m off to write more about Mio. She’s just my latest fascination, it seems. Curses. I’ve created another one.