Samurai Equine

Happy Birthday! 

Happy Birthday, buddy!  

Let's proofread the script~! It's time now to go over the results of Tuesday's game!

THE ★★★★★ S-RANK WINNERS ARE: @TomDaBombMLP & @Astral Soul

THE 1st PLACE WINNERS ARE: @PoisonClaw, @Rising Dusk, & @Kujamih

THE 2nd PLACE WINNERS ARE: @Rikifive

As much as I wish she had said something like "Nopony asked", the answer is C. And the trick part was that I shortened one of Fluttershy's quotes. She actually said "Yes, because he's not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale having, horn wearing, smoke snoring, could-eat-a-pony-in-one-bite, totally all grown-up dragon!". Personally, I found some of those descriptors a bit too redundant, but whatever! It's comedy. Hope you all don't mind the results being posted a little late~.

Take care, my crowd.  

Anti's and believers, get down! Let's pop together, woah-oh! 

(https://www.deviantart.com/sambaneko)

How goes it, my crowd?  I bet no one will get that reference above.

On a whim, I decided I'm going to watch two movies this week that have nothing in common, other than they are the revival of two franchises long thought dead and done. One is more about fighting specters from the beyond, while the other is about the digital beyond. Hopefully, they are both good.

It's been so cold lately!  No ice on the roads or anything, so that's good. As long as we don't have that or any snow, I'll be happy. December is the only time I want snow, especially around Christmas/Hearth's Warming. By that point, you're suppose to be home anyways. Any other time in the year is just inconvenient. Know what I mean?

Take care, my crowd. 

It's time once again to Equip the Script! Can you guess the right answer? 

In Episode 7, Dragonshy, Fluttershy just finished explaining that she is only afraid of dragons and not other creatures. Pinkie Pie counters by saying "Spike is a dragon. You're not scared of him." To which Fluttershy responds with "Yes; because he's not a gigantic, terrifying, could-eat-a-pony-in-one-bite, all grown up dragon." Surprised, Twilight Sparkle asks "But if you're so afraid of dragons, why didn't you say something before we came all the way up here?" What is Fluttershy's response?

A. "I tried, but you weren't listening."
B. "It all just happened too fast."
C. "I was afraid to."
D. "[Scared mumbles]"

And yes, the question is a trick question~!

• There is no limit on who can win this game.
• Answer the question correctly, become a 1st place winner.
• Find the trick part of the question, and you become an S-Rank winner.
• Comment, leave extra quotes or trivia, or do anything else, and you get a bonus hug.

Good luck, my crowd. 

Happy Birthday! 

Happy Birthday! 

 Hello there, my crowd! Welcome to my Weekly Musings: Red Edition. 

[I ❤ JAPAN] -- [I ❤ THE COLOR RED] -- [I ❤ CELESTIA]

   Feel free to leave a song request. Your song will eventually be featured in a future Weekly Musings entry!   

Happy New Year, my crowd!!  We have so much to talk about, so little time. So let's do this!

 The biggest thing I did the previous week was celebrating New Years! Thankfully, I was given some time off to prepare for the big event. The night itself went over mostly how I wanted. I got most of the ingredients for my drink. They were out of grapes and Fruit Roll-Ups, so I just got Fruit by the Foot instead. (I swear, when you go shopping for stuff on New Years Eve, they ALWAYS run out of something!) Also, I accidentally grabbed Ginger Beer instead of Ginger Ale. Honestly? I like it way better!  It tastes better and, despite the name, it doesn't actually have any alcohol in it. But the best part of the night had to be my uncle joining us. Wasn't expecting that, but it kept the party going well past midnight! Even my mother, who usually falls asleep before midnight, stayed up for once.

 And that was just Friday! There were celebrations on the other two days after. On Saturday, I got together with my other uncle and some friends of the family for a New Years Day dinner. Black eyed peas; new years tradition. I don't care for it, but my mother insists on it. Furthermore, my uncle returned on Sunday for another party, since he couldn't be there on Saturday.  Also, I didn't do much in the front half of the week. My free time was spent helping my mother prepare for the New Years party at her house, and I had to make some future plans. I needed to narrow down my desk chair options, and I needed to look for the best place to buy a bluetooth adapter. I want to use my new headphones with my desktop computer.

 Let's get the tokusatsu stuff out of the way first... TOKUSATSU MOVE TIME!  Decade VS Zi-O, and Zi-O VS Decade! (Seriously, I hate that name scheme. I am glad to see more Rider Time specials, but even I could have come up with better names than this.) Each crossover is actually a trio of episodes, and I am glad I waited until both specials were translated. You really need one to finish the other. It takes place after the events of the Zi-O TV series and any movies or crossovers that immediately follow after it. To summarize, the last remnant of Ohma Zi-O is running wild, and it is attracted other Sougo's from parallel realities together. Naturally, parallel realities means Decade gets in on this too. Because Sougo has no instant memory of his previous life as Kamen Rider Zi-O, his ambition to be king or a savior is not as strong as it use to be. Honestly, considering the simple premise of these episodes, much of this story could have EASILY been wrapped up much faster. I'm not sure why they dragged it out like this. Still, we got some HUGE highlights from it. Seeing the actor for Alt. Reality Kuuga/Yusuke turn into a villain was way better than seeing him try to replace the original Kuuga. It was also nice to see Decade and his Rider companions joining him in the final fight one more time, even if it was only for the first half of the over-all story. Sougo learned that ensuring the happiness and safety of others matters more than becoming a king. And as the special reminded us, seeing Decade accept his own death is utterly pointless since death has never been a lasting consequence for him before. We'll see him again someday, maybe.

 ReVice 07: Animals In A Web.  The new stamp is based on Ex-Aid, but this episode doesn't really have a strong connection to that unless you go as loose as possible, so I won't bother trying to connect the stamps of the week to the story of the week. What's interesting is Ikki/Revi is now working with Fenix directly, which is not something he wanted to do before. Kind of a big narrative leap there, unless I missed or forgotten the part where he agreed to do this in the last episode or so. Still, it doesn't matter because we now have Kamen Rider Demons. I wonder what this will mean in the future. Will Fenix even need Revi if they have their own personal Rider now? This might be where the story starts developing too fast. Let's hope not. Also, this was my first time returning to IzuSubs. Couldn't be avoided. Maybe things will get better in the future... (I wouldn't mind using IzuSubs if there was a dedicated scrubber fixing the scripts and putting in the text message translations as well.)

 ReVice 08: How Brothersome!  This episode was better. Without spelling it out, it shows why Fenix will need more than one Rider, because the enemy is growing in numbers as well. Kagero/Evil reveals himself to Ikki's family. He gets a new power-up while Revi & Vice get a new weapon. I hope Ikki learns from this and learns to maybe trust his demon partner a little more. (The fact that he isn't even trying to bond or learn more about him is kind of irritating.) However, I am really glad that this ending was willing to be as heavy handed as it was. In a lesser show, Ikki/Revi would have defeated Evil right then and there, saved his brother, and fixed his family bonds right away. However, this show is going to make the main characters earn it. You can feel the heart break in the mother's voice, you can see the frustration in the father's face. The mother's recover celebration was completely ruined, and now they have to pick up the pieces.

 Zenkaiger 40: Fighting For Family!  Seeing this episode was a good way to come back to Zenkaiger after the holiday. Ever since Hakaiser was introduced, we've been waiting for the day Kaito/Zenkaiser's dad would be reunited with his family officially. It has finally happened, yet part of me cannot help but wonder many things. Is Isao home for good, or will Tojitendo pull some dirty trick and get him back? Is there any signs of Tojitendo's technology or mind-control still attached to Professor Isao? And what happens to Stacey from this point on? So much left unanswered, but for now, welcome home Professor Isao. Your mother and your son missed you.

 Zenkaiger 41: You'll Flip Your Noodle!  The front half of this episode was pure silly, but the rest is where the real story is at. I honestly can't believe Professor Isao is just leaving like that, especially when they made such a big deal about how fascinated he gets about new things, and how he needs to be recharged. Guess my question from last episode got answered. His family was even worried about him standing out too much, lest he become a target for Tojitendo again. And yet, here he is, traveling across realities to find his wife. Wouldn't that potentially make him a target again? How do we know Tojitendo can't track him if he's still partially machine? All the struggle to get him back, and he's gone. Doesn't even stick around for more than one episode! And HOLY MOLY! Being an episode or so behind actually helps! I NEVER thought they'd be setting up DonBrothers this far into Zenkaiger!!

AND NOW, MY THOUGHTS & REFLECTIONS ON 2021.

 As I make a list of all the noteworthy things that happened to me in 2021, it seems almost even. There might be slightly more good memories than bad, but some of the bad memories were so bad that they utterly ruined 2021 for me, even if it happened just before the year ended. Still, let's start off with the POSITIVE things!

• Wow! Was this ever a year for Sonic the Hedgehog, am I right? So many Sonic news... In terms of things to come, we saw trailers for The 2nd Movie and Frontiers. There is no trailer, but we know a cartoon called Sonic Prime is going to be released eventually. Things that were released? Sonic Colors Ultimate, an HD remaster of the original game, and it came with a short cartoon tie-in. Sonic has also been making cameo appearances in other video games, mostly mobile games. There was a Sonic-themed flavor for G Fuel. Lego is now selling some Sonic playsets. Dream Come True released a new song dedicated to Sonic, and we celebrated Sonic's anniversary with a huge orchestra concert! In random news, Sonic is a V-tuber now, promotionally speaking of course. Cherry on top of it all, just as I predicted, Roger Craig Smith and the crew are staying on board to voice the Sonic cast a little while longer. Let's hope they stay on 10 more years!
• Tokusatsu has been seeing it's fair share of news. Two Kamen Rider anime titles were announced. There's going to be a Kamen Rider reboot movie was announced (I kind-of hope it's more like the manga than the TV show). Kamen Rider Zero-One got an official physical release in America, with only the movie being available for streaming right now. Kamen Rider Ryuki got an official streaming release. There's been plenty of releases by Mill Creek, but I am most excited that they'll be releasing Ultraseven X. MediaBlasters pulled a phoenix and are showing interest in Kamen Rider once again; hopefully we'll get THE NEXT this time!
• There were many movies, shows, and games released this year; including a bunch of things I either haven't seen (yet) or haven't actually played myself. Titles that stick out include a Pacific Rim anime, an Animaniacs continuation (I refuse to call it a reboot), a He-Man CGI cartoon (I'm morbidly curious about this one), the epic 3rd Marvel Spider-Man movie, Matrix 4, Deltrarune Chapter 2, FNAF Security Breach, and various anime titles that are just now being teased for 2022. I'll watch Let's Plays for the games, but for the shows and movies that have caught my interest? I'll get to it eventually.
• As for movies I actually did see? There's Coming 2 America, Zack Snyder's Justice League, My Hero Academia Movie 2, Mortal Kombat 2021, Fiddler On The Roof, Up, Space Jam 2, Disney's Hercules, THE Suicide Squad, Black Widow, Finding Dory, Promare, Ducktales The Movie, Superman: Man of Tomorrow, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, and SO MANY adaptations of A Christmas Carol! I didn't see as many things as I wanted, but I'm still impressed, and I have written down even more movies to catch up on.
• TV shows that I actually saw? There's He-Man Revelations, the last season of Netflix's Carmen Sandiego, the first Netflix Godzilla anime, Harley Quinn S1 (mostly), Gridman anime P. I, Ducktales reboot, Pony Life, the final season of Transformers Cyberverse, and the various anime titles I saw on Toonami this year. There is still a wide variety of shows I want to see, and I have made notes on those too.
• I managed to get some really nice things for myself this year. On top of gift art from people like @yungsparkle7 and @Windy Breeze as well as the Christmas gifts I mentioned last time, I got a new hat, a free golf video game (which I don't have the right controller for), a new keyboard, USB extension cords, free insulation in my attic thanks to the city, and best of all... I got a brand new computer with Windows 10! I have been loving it every day since I got it.
• Because of this new computer, I was able to do other things. I decided to keep a smart watch that I was originally going to sell, even though it's kind of cheap and lame. I discovered and became dedicated to Photoshop and Open Office (I refuse to pay Microsoft a monthly fee for their Office suite; that's just ridiculous). I also got to install other games and editing software that I just couldn't do before on my previous computer.
• Awesome things have been happening for my family too. Both my mother and one of my uncles got new cars. Speaking of, my mother got a new job that is WAY better than the last one. Hoping that will continue to lead to more life improvements.
• And last of all, I got to have plenty of new experiences. I tried new foods here and there. A new restaurant called "Noodle Bar" opened up; I love it but it's pricey. Pepsi Blue came back for a limited time! I got a dental health scare and spent more money than I wanted, but at least it was an easy fix, so I count that as a win. But the best news is that I got fully vaccinated and I got a booster shot too. I feel so much more secure.~

 And yet, despite all the good times, there were NEGATIVE things too. I'll start the list with the hardest hitting stuff first...

• This was the year my aunt Holly died. We managed to have a good Christmas and a good New Years party too, but this is still something we'll have to face. I need confirmation, but they may have all ready settled Holly's funeral. If not, I know my family will continue to hear about... My grandmother died in 2020. I was hoping 2021 would be a year where we could rebuild some happy memories even if the world isn't 100% back to how it use to be, and then this devastating turn brought us all right back to grieving and feeling horrible.
• There were so many COVID scares within and close to my family. My uncle caught it, and even when his quarantine time was over, he still didn't feel 100% for a while. Not to mention, my grandfather's health has only been getting worse... (More in the wrap-up).
• Twice this year, I nearly died. First, I was in a vehicle accident that claimed my mother's vehicle, ultimately being the reason for her having to get a new one. Never drive on an icy road, my crowd! Also, there was incredibly terrible snow storm in my home town. It shut off electricity long enough to kill some people in town, and water services were temporarily suspended too. Pipes bursting was a big problem for a lot of people. I'll never forget having to huddle in the kitchen and turning on the gas fire for warmth. We were cutting it too close back then...
• There were other kinds of goodbyes too. I had to help my mother unsubscribe from Netflix, and she had been letting me use her account. I said goodbye to DeviantArt (I'm still there, but I'm mostly inactive there). This was the year Daft Punk disband.
• Due to shady practices from TOEI's sister branch and their new YouTube channel where they subtitle SOME of their works, they started issuing C&D orders to fansub groups, even though they shouldn't have the legal reach to do so. It hasn't stopped fansub groups, but it has left the community divided and falling apart. Some are working in secret, and many are reconsidering what they translate and release.
• I had to shut down a long running Roleplay I started. I hated to see it go in such a non-glorious way. The time was right, but I was still sad to see it go...
• There were inconveniences too. Despite being gifted a vinyl record player, as I feared, I hardly use it. I got it mostly for the sake of preserving old music that never got a CD release, but seems the world has all ready done most of that work for me. My Windows 10 activation code stopped working, and as I feared Windows 11 was soon released. (I'm sure I'll get a new activation code, I just ran out of time for now). My computer chair broke down. My HDMI switchbox broke down. My best pair of headphones broke down too. (I got a new pair for Christmas, but I still hate that I have to buy an adapter for them.)
• There were other deaths. A church pastor I respected died. There were some celebrity deaths, like Betty White and John Madden, and maybe others I am forgetting right now.
• The final sting is knowing I only halfway completed my resolution from last year. I had two things planned: Close out my DA account and update my LiveJournal. I did one of those things. I worked on my LiveJournal account, but didn't make the updates I wanted to make.

GOING FORWARD INTO 2022...

 I really, REALLY want this new year to be better than 2021. I don't know how we'll make that happen. Mostly, I just want more happy memories than bad. I want the good memories out be stronger and more powerful than any bad memoires I could list. I'd like it if this is the year where we start turning things around with COVID, maybe get to a point where we don't have to worry so much about vaccinations, masks, or closing things down. Where new strains ultimately mean nothing or stop happening. Still, I am all ready expecting bad things. Considering my grandfather's deteriorating health, I think we all expect him to pass away this year. If he makes it to Christmas and New Years again, we'll call it a miracle. But as for resolutions... Again, I believe in keeping things simple. There's A LOT I would love to do, but... I think my resolution will be this: Watch & Finish either Kamen Rider Kuuga or the original Gridman. One or the other. Doesn't have to be both. I think I can manage that. Other ideas I had, I might accomplish anyways. But just in case, it's always better to keep resolutions simple.

That's all for now, my crowd.  Take care, and let's greet the new day! 

I both hate and love when people blur the lines with stuff like this. Here we have a song made for an unofficial, Sonic fan project. And yet, the song is performed by an actual musician that has made official Sonic music before. So even if it's NOT official, it feels like it is... This is "Fly With Me" by U.N. OWEN ft. Tony Harnell & Emi Jones. And maybe check out "Sonic and Tails R" some time! I hear it's good.

Happy Birthday, my friend!  

To stare into forever... 

(https://www.deviantart.com/marsel1nushka)

How goes it, my crowd? 

Trust me, there will be a weekly summary. However, I ran out of time to complete it tonight. This one is going to be an EXTRA big one. So trust me, the wait is worth it. It will talk about the year we just finished, and plans for the future.

For now, all I can say is I had a super eventful week. Complete with cold weather and a chance to wear my cold weather clothes for once!   I've watched things, had fun, and have lots to talk about. So look forward to it. I also downloaded a cool forum mod made by @Rikifive. Totally has improved my browsing experience here by a million percent. How these mods aren't standard is beyond me. And if you're wondering why I haven't taken down my holiday avatar, banner, and display name yet; it's for holiday reasons. Christmastide is a period of time that extends past the end of December. Furthermore, Japanese New Year is celebrated for more than just one day; it is a week long. So by the 8th, I'll have put everything back to normal. Talk about getting the most out of my holiday artwork that I put a lot of effort into. 

Take care, my crowd. 

To all my followers & friends, whom I affectionately call "my crowd"...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
In the days auld lang syne?

In the days of auld lang syne, my dear
In the days of auld lang syne
We'll drink a cup of kindness yet
In the days of auld lang syne!

Happy Birthday!  

Take a look at everything around you~

(Art by JowyB)

How goes it, my crowd? 

This is it! The final week of December, moments away from New Years! Hope everyone is excited.

As you can tell, this is no game this week either. Games will return next year.

I'm watching movies to pass the time, and I'm planning for the New Years party. Outside of that, nothing special to report. What are your plans? 

Take care, my crowd. 

The prophet of evil has spoken~

How goes it, my crowd? 

Not much to report on this Monday, immediately after Christmas. I tried the tea I got as a gift. It's delicious. Also, feeling a tag nostalgic, so...

Take care, my crowd. 

Hello there, my crowd! Welcome to my Weekly Musings: Orange Edition. 

[I ❤ JAPAN] -- [I ❤ THE COLOR RED] -- [I ❤ CELESTIA]

   Feel free to leave a video request. Your video will eventually be featured in a future Weekly Musings entry!   

Seasons greetings, my crowd!  So much to talk about! And yet I still can't help but feel like I am forgetting something simply because of how much happened!

 You know what I'm going to talk about... The biggest thing that happened this week: CHRISTMAS!!! I got some time off to celebrate and prepare. The celebration was great! Gifts were given, gifts were received, tons of food, and everyone had fun. And since I'm always afraid someone will ask, here is what I got for Christmas:

 ...And that was mostly just on Friday. Well, technically I opened the gifts from my uncles and grandfather-in-law on Friday. Saturday morning is when I exchanged gifts with my mother. From there, we went to one of my uncle's houses for a nice Christmas brunch, as per tradition. Then we had a nice dinner at my other uncle's house! He wanted to light the firepit, which was beginning to be his tradition, but the weather never got cold enough for that. And on Sunday, we mostly wined down and went to church too. It is a Christian holiday, so might as well go to church when it matters the most. 

 Of course, these events could have been better. My cousin broke tradition and couldn't be with us on Christmas. Never found of why. Hope he's okay. I really wanted to see his face when he opened the gifts I made for him. Likewise, we all struggled trying to get my grandfather-in-law something for Christmas. He doesn't want anything, he doesn't need anything, and his failing health means he wants even less. If he needs anything, he can just get it with his own money or rely on his side of the family. Still, we wanted to make sure he felt included, so we spent some time with him and we're going to help clean his house again soon. 

 In a random turn of events, I had a dream about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!!  It's such a rare thing to get dreams about them. I wonder if this has all ready been turned into a comic. Princess Celestia was feeling overjoyed because it was Heath's Warming Eve and she wanted to deliver presents while all of Equestria was asleep. However, just as she lands on the roof of the first house, Luna is all ready there. She tells her that she all ready delivered gifts, and Celestia pouts that her plans were ruined. But even her pouting was super adorable~

 But the most recent dream I had was way more meaningful. I had a dream that I was at my uncle's house, preparing to eat a meal with everyone. I was just watching the food cook in the kitchen while everyone else was off doing their own thing. But soon, it was time to eat. And as we were setting up a place to eat, my grandmother joined us. She looked just like she did when she was alive; before her health started failing. She was able to walk around all on her own with no assistance. In this dream, I swear I could feel the presence of my actual deceased grandmother, as if she was trying to tell me everything's going to be all right. I didn't see my aunt Holly in the dream, but this was nice enough.

 Did I mention all the great news in Tokusatsu?! The first look at the next Sentai, Don Brothers, has been posted. Looks great, and it might be a sequel to Zenkaiger! Mill Creek is still releasing more Ultraman titles, including the title I've been waiting most patiently for, Ultraseven X. MediaBlasters is pulling phoenix and is showing interest in releasing a bunch of Kamen Rider stand-alone movies, including the long-awaited Kamen Rider THE NEXT. And most recently revealed, Shout Factory had a special live stream for Kamen Rider Zero-One, and soon it will be available to stream globally on the first of next month. I knew there was a chance this might happen, but I didn't think it'd happen so soon! I just hope they doing make The Movie and the side specials available to stream as well. I mean, give us SOME reason to buy the physical copy!

 Lego is finally going to be releasing some Sonic sets! They are different than what was pitched. Not sure if this was Lego's idea or if SEGA put their foot down concerning creative direction. Still, I am glad this is happening regardless! I hope we see more awesome stuff like this in the future. There was also news that Sonic Frontiers would have a full cast of characters. I hope they are playable too! Considering the hype around Sonic the Movie 2, it would be crazy not to have Tails and Knuckles as playable characters again!

 NO TOKUSATSU THIS WEEK!    I ran out of time to watch any of it this week. Hopefully you can see why. The activities between Friday-Sunday were so jam packed, I just couldn't find the time. But I'll make it up to you all next week with a double Tokusatsu Movie feature next time.

 Last of all, I didn't see any other Christmas movies or specials recently, sorry to say. At least not any NEW ones. I did revisit some old ones, including some pony ones.  Maybe I can watch a few more before December is over. Mostly I wanted to try and catch up to my YouTube videos, because I am FAR behind. However, I did rewatch Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol again. Magoo is a natural choice for Scrooge. However, now that I am more familiar with A Christmas Carol, I see the interesting things. They went out of order with the ghosts. They didn't even try to throw in Scrooge's sister, which kind of makes Scrooge's past a little more tragic, depending on how you look at it. And the songs are still catchy ear-worms. Any version of A Christmas Carol that tries to follow the classic tale closely should probably have music in it. After all, the reason Dickens called the story "A Christmas Carol" is because he wanted it to be memorable and unforgettable, much like Christmas carols themselves.

That's it for now, my crowd.  Take care, and cherish every gift.

Before I get back on to sharing regular videos again, I want to carry on the holiday spirit some more. However, I don't have any grand holiday videos left to share, so let's go for something a bit more simple and wholesome. This is "[MLP Christmas Comic Dub] A Cold Day (romance/cute - Derpy/Doctor Whooves)" by Scribbler Productions.

To all my followers, whom I affectionately call "my crowd"...

 Merry Christmas
Happy Hanukkah
Captivating Kwanzaa
Youthful Yuletide
Wonderful Winter Solstice
Bountiful Boxing Day
Harmonious Hearth's Warming
Lovely Life Day
Fantastic Festivus for the rest of us
And may your days be merry and bright!   

 Now let's rock those jingle bells!

Hey there, my crowd. No art this time. Didn't feel like it.  So how are you all doing?

This week has been giving me surprise after surprise, and most of it positive. Has Christmas come early?

First off, Tokusatsu news has been going CRAZY! The first biggest thing is that we have a first look the next Sentai, Don Brothers! And it actually looks good?! Two of the 5 will be CGI, but at least we're not repeating the production choices of the Zenkaiger. The logo is amazing too. I am getting some STRONG Gurren Lagann vibes, even though this is supposedly based off of Momotaro and Japanese folklore. Is anyone else getting that vibe? 

Next up, MediaBlasters just pulled a phoenix! Years ago they blessed the tokusatsu community by release Masked Rider THE FIRST in the west. They went silent for years and left us all hanging, especially because that movie had a sequel, THE NEXT. Well now they showed interest in bringing us some more stand-alones. They teased Shin, ZO, and J. Later, they teased both THE FIRST and THE NEXT! On top of all that, they seem to be listening to fan input. I'm not sure how far this will go. I would love to see Kamen Rider SD, G, and World as well. Heck, I'd love to see the ZX special, if Shout doesn't get first dibs on that.  Some things I feel might be too crazy to ask for. I would love them to include the English dub track for ZO, but that might involve some legal situations with SEGA. I honestly don't care about the Malay English dub for THE NEXT, because it's absolutely broken. I am grateful for whatever we get, but MediaBlasters is REALLY getting our hopes up right now!

Lastly, Mill Creek has been consistently cranking out Ultraman releases. However, they just teased something I was DEEPLY hoping they would get to! Ultraseven X. This dark and surprisingly Western "reboot" on Ultraseven really captured my attention back in the day. Even with TV-N's terrible subs, I still managed to enjoy the show greatly! It'll be so nice to finally see it again in the original video and audio clarity, and better subs too I assume. Seems almost too fitting as we are just now getting a release date for the Shin Ultraman movie, May 2022.

But it's not all Tokusatsu related. Somehow, I won a contest drawing that I had no idea I was entered into.  Either way, I "won" a free GIF! Check it out:

...I wonder what kind of caption I should give this?  Usually @Sparklefan1234 has better, funnier GIF captions.

And before we close out, there is some less than positive news...

That's all for tonight! 

Take care for now, my crowd. 

Happy Birthday!  

  Hello there, my crowd! Welcome to my Weekly Musings: Red Edition. 

[I ❤ JAPAN] -- [I ❤ THE COLOR RED] -- [I ❤ CELESTIA]

   Feel free to leave a song request. Your song will eventually be featured in a future Weekly Musings entry!   

Things are about to get busy, my crowd...  Don't be surprised if I am less active in the days that come.

 The biggest news this week was the celebrating of one of my uncle's birthday!  While I am glad he enjoyed it, I think we all needed this. I worked hard on the main course, and my mother worked hard on everything else. There was some gift shopping. It was a little hectic, but I think we worked so hard that we didn't have time to feel anything bad. When we got together, we shared laughs had a truly good time. In this moment, it was easy to forget that my aunt is no longer with us. I'm going to do my best to make sure they keep feeling this holiday cheer and have little reason to feel sad.

 The days before the big birthday party, there was lots of shopping, most for Christmas presents. I did some, but I also helped my mother. We both had Friday off, so that gave us both some extra time to get it done. There was some frustrations, but we managed to get things done. Also, my computer desk chair broke. I am using a chair from the dinner table right now. It's okay, but it's not a long-term solution. I'll have to figure out what I want to do when Christmas is over. At least my back isn't killing me, though. 

 [ 1 / 2 ] And now... Christmas Movie Time!  Once more, I am on a mission to see every film adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" I can find; or at least which ones are available on free streaming platforms. So let's get into it as rapid fire as I can... “A Christmas Carol (1910)” This is not the first film adaptation of the classic Dickens tale, but considering how far back we're going, it might as well be. It's a silent film, and it's 10 minutes long. This isn't just a speedrun, it's telling the classic tale on hard mode! And somehow they managed to hit most of the major story beats, the only flaw is that they made the Ghost of Christmas Past & Present one spirit instead of two. Likewise, they could have used more dialogue cards. But none of that matters, because what they managed to throw in was impressive. You'd need to be familiar with the story before you see this, but it's still very impressive! “Scrooge (1935)” is a talkie, and while it does try to be very honorable to the source material, it does leave out some details (like the Surplus Population line, despite referencing it later). It does a good job of showing just how merciless Scrooge is and what made Belle fall out of love for Scrooge, at least.

 [ 2 / 2 ] “Charles Dickens' The Christmas Carol (1949)” Sorry Vincent Price, no amount of beginning narration can fix this. It's about as shortened and streamlines as the Disney version with Mickey and friends. So much was cut that it made me wonder if America was (at one time) given an altered or condensed version of the book. However, it did combine Scrooge's redemption arc by having him celebrate with Bob and Fred at the same time, which I am sure some people probably wanted to see. “A Christmas Carol (2018)” is the strangest adaptation I've ever seen. Set in the modern era, it changes things that shouldn't, and keeps things from the book that shouldn't. It proves that America is not the only one who can make a bad adaptation, but at least here they showed how Marley's rotten attitude affected Scrooge. “A Frozen Christmas Carol (2018)” ...No. Screw this version. It's not even a movie. It's not a bargain-bin movie. It's not even a tech demo. It's an audio book placed on top of a bunch of Christmas screensavers. You can find better Christmas Carol movies posted illegal and in full on YouTube. If I wanted the book, I'd get the book. (IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A CREDITS ROLL!)

 Zenkaiger 39: In One Year, Out The Other!  Other than the last split-second of the episode, this was just more filler and more build-up to actual plot. And considering there is only about 10 episodes left (give or take), it makes sense that the plot will start picking up about now. They really dragged out the story, and I do hate to see that on an anniversary series. Perhaps the pandemics really have affected things far more than we know. Can't say that any Zenkaiger movies will be better than the series at this rate, but maybe they'll find a way to surprise me. Also, do you really need the Gokaiger Gears to swap weapons? This feels like the lamest use of gears yet.

 ReVice 06: Insert Evil Lawyer Joke Here.  I'm not really sure what to think of this episode. It looks like Ikki/Revi's brother is the new evil Rider, and he has the ability to imitate the look of others, including fellow Fenix agent Hiromi. Or maybe not; perhaps Daiji has somehow gained a demon partner of his own that looks like an identical twin. Daiji might not even be aware of him! However, all of that takes a back seat to a story about a corrupt lawyer and a corrupt judge. A story that ultimate goes nowhere. I can't even call this episode a waste, if they are building up to something in the next episode. But I can't even tell because the Next Episode preview is giving me no clues! Guess we'll find out the hard way.

 TOKUSATSU MOVE TIME!  ReVice The Move: I Wish I Was Deadman. ...Seriously, someone put me out of my misery until I'm 6 feet deep. Something that is less than the length of your average TV episode has no business calling itself a movie. Even old school Sentai and Rider movies did better than this. And I could forgive it if they actually had a story to tell, but they didn't. It was as bland and as boring as possible. Apparently this is a special that aired before the Saber + Zenkaiger movie, a teaser to hype you up for when ReVice would eventually air on TV. So unless these events hold bigger significance in that crossover movie, this movie is utterly pointless. They don't even try to introduce you to these characters or give you a reason to care. The whole thing stinks of being put together last-minute. Maybe if I had seen it when it first aired in theaters, I'd be stoked. After watching 6 episodes of the series? I wish I hadn't even bothered.

hat's all for now, my crowd.  Take care, and can you hear the bells?

I don't care, I'm jumping ahead because I choose to! The official Sonic YouTube channels (both JP and US) are no strangers to posting original remixes with no album releases. However, this is the first in a series of remixes that they'll be releasing. It's classic, old school funk/classic rock! I never imagined this song in this style, but it works SO WELL! This is "Escape From The City - Funk RMX feat. Lyn", a remix composed by S.A.M.E (Dean DiMarzo & Jun Senoue).

Happy Birthday, Panpan. 
I know you said something about how Birthdays for you don't usually go over well. But I hope you know that's not how it's suppose to be. Birthdays are suppose to be a happy time, one where you can celebrate with others. And even if that can't happen this year, remember that your true friends are celebrating for you. It means they got to meet you, become friends with you, and make wonderful memories with you. Your true friends value and care about you very much, and they are very happy that you were born. 

Celestia is better than Santa. 

(Art by StravyVox)

How goes it, my crowd? 

Best Princess Celestia wanted me to write letters to the mane six this holiday season, and so I shall.

TO TWILIGHT SPARKLE:

TO RAINBOW DASH:

TO PINKIE PIE:

TO RARITY:

TO APPLEJACK:

TO FLUTTERSHY:

TO SPIKE:

Just thought I'd have a little bit of fun before I go celebrate my uncle's birthday tomorrow. 

Goodnight, my crowd. 

Let's proofread the script~! It's time now to go over the results of Tuesday's game!

THE ★★★★★ S-RANK WINNERS ARE: @TomDaBombMLP, @PawelS, @Astral Soul

THE 1st PLACE WINNERS ARE: @Moonshadow Spark, @Starforce, @Rising Dusk

THE 2nd PLACE WINNERS ARE: Derp.

The answer was D. "My, my, my. What boasting." In some ways, I gave away the answer considering the title of the episode. And yes, the trick was some Trixie dialogue I left out. If you watch that moment in the episode, she calls herself "Great and Powerful" twice in a row. It's rather repetitive and redundant, from a grammatical standpoint of course. But there is something about characters that are full of themselves and chew the scenery that just become unforgettable~ 

Take care, my crowd.  

Happy Birthday! 

Happy Birthday! 

Happy Birthday, niisan!