Tag Archives: not dead

Anime Review: MASHLE: Magic and Muscles

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Hello again, all!

Today’s review tackles a show that I hadn’t had the desire to watch for a while, but took a shot and watched it.  MASHLE: MAGIC AND MUSCLES is definitely a unique show, but it’s got enough of a following that it must be good, right?

Here’s a quick synopsis:

In this world, magic is prevalent, and almost everyone in it can use magic to some degree – except our protagonist, Mash Burnedead, who was born without a mark (basically, has no magic potential).  He instead trains his body to the max, day in and day out, at the behest of his father, who hopes this is enough to protect him from the sinister underbelly of the magic world.  But an event endangering his happy family life forces Mash to enroll in the magic-centric Easton Academy and try to become a Divine Visionary – a person deemed as one of God’s chosen.  Will Mash be able to succeed in his studies and live in peace?

Spoilers start now.

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Update Diary: Hell/Dolls Update 12/31/24

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Good day to all!

Today, I’d like to provide a short update on my Hell/Dolls story, as it stands right now (though, truth be told, I started this article on the 23rd).

As it stands, here are the statistics I have:

Current Chapter: 8 (Talks and Whispers – tentative name)

Pages: 89

Total Word Count: 41,110

So, something some of you may have noticed is that the word count hasn’t gone up much despite entering a new chapter (the last update had 37,185 words, so barely over 4,000 words since the last update).  Part of this is that I went back some days and reconfigured some wording and events, but the other part of this is that I haven’t been able to work on this story as much as I would have liked.  Between a surprise guest in our household and holiday hours at work, the most I’ve been able to do is finish this chapter (a little abruptly), start the new chapter, and review what I’ve written and edit the errors out.

All in all, this is a short update telling you that I have indeed been working on the story despite my personal life.  I have been able to do some work on my reviews during the weekends, but my story has suffered a little due to this.

Update (12/30/24): So, this WAS supposed to come out this morning, but I forgot.  Instead, I’m sscheduling it for the ACTUAL end-of-the-year post.

I did want to address the decision I made regarding the novel’s release – I have decided to release the first four chapters (as well as the prelude) once I reach chapter 10, on FictionPress as I normally do.  My train of thought is that by the time I get to Chapter 10, the wording for the story should be finalized, or at the very least need miniscule changes.  I will also probably do an audio recording at some point, both for myself and for the readers.

What this basically means for the novelization is that it probably won’t be available on hardcopy, unfortunately – I think that releasing the story for free gives more access to people who want to read it, and it gives me less of a headache trying to find a publisher, dealing with fees, and other problems that come with publishing full-on books.

On the plus side, this means that once I feel a chapter is done, it will be available to read (and record).  I won’t (or, will try not to) edit any posted chapters, and I’ll probably start a ko-fi or pull up my Patreon for anyone who wants to support me monetarily.  Both links will come soon.

For now, keep an eye out for the first few releases!  I hope to have them ready by mid-2025.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

-Marcosias the Isif

Anime Review: Special Review

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WHAT? THIS IS NOT ANIME!

Yes, this review is a little different.  Today, I want to spread a series that some of you know or may have already watched.

Hazbin Hotel.

I’m aware that this show is definitely not for everyone, but I feel like it’s a show that should be discussed for one reason or another.  It has some very specific messages, and some that are not as clear, but overall the show is an interesting experience.

I’ll be using the anime scoring system that I normally use, even though this isn’t anime – because it’s an animated series with musical numbers, a specific art style, and dynamic characters, I think it fits enough criteria that I use to fit this model.

Spoilers ahead.

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A Gentle Update

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Good morrow, my fellow readers and watchers!

I just wanted to provide an update on some stuff going on in my life – both to clarify future posts on the blog and to give myself a to-do list.

Firstly, I haven’t forgotten about Kizumonogatari.  I have the review started, but I need to rewatch it while writing, which for a subbed anime with lots (and I mean LOTS) of text notes and Japanese-language jokes, is not easy.  I am taking my time writing this one because I truly love the Monogatari Series, and I want to give unbiased, fair, and clear commentary on these movies.  If I haven’t already said, I’ll be doing separate reviews for each of the three movies to fully hit home what I think of them.

Secondly, the Hell/Dolls story updates.  I do still want to do regular progress updates on this story, but with how infrequently I write, and how varied my writing sessions end up, I realize that every month on the 15th probably won’t work.  I do still want to update y’all every month, but just know that I probably won’t be able to do it at consistent times every month.  It will most likely be on the back end of each month, as I generally maintain better writing schedules in the middle of the month due to work.

Thirdly, random reviews and other anime and game reviews are still planned (I’ve got a few in the pipeline now), and I will still post at least one anime review each month, not including the Monogatari Series ones.  The quick reviews segment I did in the last period I was posting could make a comeback if there’s enough demand, and I happen to have the time to watch a few episodes of a lot of anime, which could definitely happen when things slow down.  Game reviews, unfortunately, will be on the back burner for the foreseeable future, as I generally don’t have the time or money for new games… though I do have an extensive Steam backlog that I could review, given some free time.  We’ll see.

Lastly, I just want to note that I will try my damndest to give my readers updates on anything I can: if there’re more reviews than usual planned, life events that prevent me from uploading, or sudden desires to update my older stories (like Touhou, which is somehow still getting new readers despite not being updated since 2018).  Y’all are my go-to updates over Facebook and Twitter (currently X), and I want you to know that I respect that, since some of you have been with me since high school.

Thanks for listening, I promise a new review will drop soon (probably not Kizumono, but something).

Happy Holidays!

-Marcosias

Returning Once More

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Holy moly, it’s been a while.

I think the last time I updated this thing was (checks watch) 2017!  Wow, seven years really flies by when you’re having fun.

So, to be brief, I’d like to tell you what’s been going on (bear with me, there’s quite a bit):

For starters, I’ve got a full-time job that I love.  Working with both my coworkers and vendors is an enjoyable experience, and the work itself is something that my unfocused brain can easily grasp, organize, and process.  I’ve even written some documents outlining my job’s ins and outs for the company’s position (not officially, but my superiors are actually sharing it around to help new people).

I’ve also been writing A LOT.  In addition to my To Aru universe fanfiction and that old Albel Academy story (both of which I haven’t updated recently), I have a Touhou universe fanfiction that is up to seven chapters, as well as two original stories that I have been excitedly working on for the past year.  The main one I’ve been focused on is at seven chapters as well, though I plan to release the chapters over a few weeks once it’s done.

In addition to writing stories, I have been thoroughly revamping some of my tabletop games; two in particular I have grown quite attached to, in part because they are somewhat related to the stories.  I’ve gotten most of the mechanics figured out, but there’s still a lot of work to do before they are playable in any capacity.  With how much I’ve been working on these, I’m a little surprised I haven’t burned out yet (knock on wood).

Other than those endeavors, I’ve been slowly catching up on my backlog of anime and manga, though my game backlog is still pretty much untouched.  I was finally able to play Payday 2 with a friend, though, so I see that as a major plus!

I still plan on posting reviews here – both the quick season posts and the in-depth reviews, especially the Kizumonogatari one I promised all of those years ago.  By the way, can you believe we’ve gotten Off Season and Monster Season in anime format?!

To summarize my intentions going forward, I think I’d like to start updating this blog again at a gentle pace, maybe like two to four posts a month.  Now that I have a pretty set schedule for my work, friends, family, and hobbies, I think I can be more consistent in updating this.  I’m probably going to do a review post (probably on Kaiju No 8 or Kizu) and a progress post on the favorite story I’m working on, where I’ll follow in the footsteps of the brilliant writer L.G. Estrella and give you more detailed info on it, such as word count, chapters, and maybe even sneak peeks.

Because I now pay for all of my streaming services, I will be getting most of my anime review material from Crunchyroll or HiDive releases, but there is always a new series dropping on other services, so I’ll try to stay diligent.  I’m also watching series on a regular basis again, so I may be able to give more variety than just SoL and Yuri.

I’m excited to come back here, so hopefully you’ll be happy to join me on this restarted journey!

Tadaima,

Marcosias A. Isif