SurrealBrain

Maybe that's a sign that you've improved. You notice things that you didn't several years ago.

@SurrealBrain I know that feeling all too well.

That's me everytime a week passes pretty much

You bet your butt that's me in a nutshell.

No one gets it right off the bat. A reflection like that indicates that you’ve improved or can even mean you’ve done something that you regret. Think we’ve all been there.

Either way consider it a learning experience. Just make adjustments and move forward but most importantly keep writing. 

Who bets a butt?

That's something you'll regret in a week for real

Well, if I'm betting my butt, I might as well bet my toilet as I sure as hell won't be needing it.

Let's go for a more serious answer - 

One of the things I feel that will always be confirmed in life is this - you're going to look back at yourself, or your work and wonder just what the hell you were thinking. Unless you're an egotist who thinks their perfect in every single way, which none of us are - all humans are flawed - you're going to always improve. And when you improve, and then look back at things you've written in the past, especially fan-works, you're likely going to facepalm, shake your head, possibly chringe a little, and wonder just what the hell you were thinking writing this.

And it's not just stories, and it's not just you, everyone will go through this at one stage or another. I always feel like I'm writing something good one day, because I've improved elsewhere in an area...only to return to it months later and think this is so bad and why did I write this.

It's just kind of human nature, it's the lower point of the fact we all tend to improve over time. We always keep learning through new experiences, and we tend to take those new experiences into new ventures, especially written works as you begin to get a better idea of plot structure, character moments, better character writing, etc etc.

The beauty of story-telling and writing is that you'll constantly evolve throughout it, and the slight downside of that is you'll return to past works and judge yourself on your new standards. But even then, you shouldn't judge yourself too harshly on your past work. Alright, sure it might not be amazing, especially if you're coming back to it a year later, but it was a stepping stone for bringing your writing skill and ability up to where it is now. If you hadn't have done that, then maybe your writing today just wouldn't be up to your current level today. So that lost moment back then could be a good method of improvement today. After all, if you didn't make the mistake in the first place, you wouldn't have been able to learn from it and make use of your newfound knowledge of that mistake in all future works so they can reach their fullest potential.

Well,  that's just one thing of life that's always going to come your way. But think of it as a reflection of your own growth,  and it doesn't necessarily mean that what you wrote in the past is all bad. 

It's like practicing a game or sport, looking back at footage when you were more of a beginner compared to now,  learning from it, appreciating how you've improved and continuing to get even better @SurrealBrain!

The G8 arc was a filler arc that was so good that it may as well have been canon. Also in recent memory the Zou arc of the anime was very well done.

It's not until Thriller Bark which is about 320 episodes in that the anime gets really bad with pacing, either way yea the manga is still better. I'd definitely recommend at least watching Water 7 in the anime tho

I feel like it was also around the time of Thriller Bark that the anime moved away from the consistency of having simplistic-yet-functional animation in each episode, to every other episode or two having 10/10 animation in certain scenes, leaving other scenes or entire episodes to look noticibly lacking by comparison as an unintended side effect.

I typically advocate the anime for the added atmosphere and VAs (sub only tho I'm sorry ferno I tried but I can't handle the dub forgive me) but I recently rewatched the first dozen arcs of the series, and basically:

- The pacing and progression of the start is waaay different than the Manga, and while I thought it was great the first time I watched it, it also gave off the impression that Coby was far more important to the story than he really was, which kinda sets it up wrong. I liked the slow burn effect of the backstories for Luffy and Zoro, but honestly it can go either way imo. Pacing is just as fast, so really you can't go wrong with either

- Orangetown is good in the anime. Fights slow down a bit, but overall it's just as fast as the Manga, and where the series starts to find its footing

- Syrup village has great storytelling for the time, and Ussop is Ussop so of course the anime is the way to go, but fights start to drag out here; could have been handled better, but a solid adaption that's probably worth watching over the manga

- Baratie starts off great, but as soon as the crew starts fighting, the pacing drops off a cliff. Honestly this is the start of all the series' problems, from dragging out fights, adding unnecessary commentary, reusing animation, butchering the pacing, and reducing the impact of basically everything that happens. Honestly once you reach the fighting, immediately skip to the end of the arc, and just read the action, even if it's through the scanlations sites. Anythings better than this one.

- Arlong Park is where the anime thoroughly peaks, though, imo. I almost feel like Baratie was so poor because of Toei preparing for this arc, because hot dang. Animation gets an upgrade in quality, pacing is thoroughly perfect until the last few fights, and the way every episode begins and ends feels expertly crafted compared to the rest of the show, almost tailor made for the TV show model. There's nothing cut, nothing butchered, nothing lost in translation, and everything added through the show is just... So good. Watch this in the anime, by all means. It's worth it. Well, by the standards of the show, at least.

- lougetown is great, no problems there

- Warship island is an anime only filler arc, and personally, I loved it about as much as the rest of the stories when I first watched it. After going through the entire series, it's a biiiit long in the tooth with too little going on in comparison, but it is more adventures with luffy and the crew, which is more than can be said for

- The buggy and Coby filler episodes somewhere around here. They are alright I guess, but when you just want to see more of the straw hats, they feel pretty pointless, and work a lot better as the cover stories in the Manga. Skip imo, unless you're fond of either two

- Reverse mountain is okay. No pacing problems

- Whisky peak is okay

- Little garden is slightly poor with the Climax pacing but worth it for the two new character VAs 

- Drum island has all kind of pacing problems, as this is where the show really abuses the flashbacks every other episode... But it's wierd because I did like that about it at first. Maybe the pacing was lost on me after I already know what happened, I dunno. Could be worth watching, could not, I can't tell.

- Aaaaand then there's alabasta. If you haven't given up on the anime by this point, it'll be the make or break point where A) you love the voice actors, ost, and animation enough to tread through the longer arcs without much issue, or you get burnt out and Switch to the Manga, or lose all interest in the first place from the burnout itself

The getting through the arc is crazy satisfying once it's done, and you'll love it regardless of format by that point, but the format choice could make or break whether you can make it through in the first place. If you want to play it safe and enjoy it regardless, read the Manga, but if you feel it's worth it, the anime is just as great in a lot of ways. It just suffers from a lot of the same problems with the previous arcs, but over the span of 100+ episodes rather than 30 or so.

That's it, though. Never made it past Alabasta again yet, and I dunno if it'd be worth it when I know exactly how it goes. Pacing is important, yo

G8 is great, though. If you ever read past Skypeia in the Manga, Switch over to the arc immediately after. It really adds to the series, imo

I’ve seen just how shitty it is, but somehow my friends still enjoy it. Maybe I should give it a chance, but I’m not so sure.

I feel like they could have stood to reveal characters a little out of sequence here. K.Rool or the Belmonts would have been a much better note to go out on than a Pokemon, an echo and a fucking pot plant.

Dark Pit was all we really needed anyway

@Blacklightning True, true, I do agree with that now that I think about it. I'm still pretty happy with the roster all around, but I do admit you have a point there.

@Strickerx5

Well, everyone does need two armpits, I suppose.

You're right

and i need two angels

i would've liked two hedgehogs

but the main guy on the top floor was like "lol u see the shit that's happening right now? y'all don't deserve all that"

From what I gathered yes...

I knew this would happen... What with Brexit happening, Donald Trump in power and all, any logical decision is out of the window since 2 years ago. You might as well say goodbye to me, my days online are getting numbered now.

If you only think now that 2013 is not recent, then I must be ancient. I still think anything past 2007 is recent even if 2007 is 11 years at this point and doesn't sink in.

Maybe because the past 11 years haven't been that remarkable or memorable (apart from 2012)? I don't know.

It's only been 5 years!

...oh...

...it's only been 5 years...

Yeah time is flying! I don’t remember what even happened in 2013 *thinks*

Oh that’s right. I became a mod in 2013 *cries* 

Rockstar cheaped out and bought lower capacity cartridges for Noire, which necessitated the day one patch. I can't imagine why they'd do the same thing for disc systems.

doesnt the switch have region lock for physical games?

From what I know, it offers an English option so the menus are in English even though it mixes Mega Man and Rockman names but the games are in Japanese. Purists would like it though since it has the original songs. Don't know if you can change them to the Mega Man versions of the games.

I would have to go for the import option as well because Europe has it worse. If it isn't Monster Hunter, Street Fighter or Resident Evil, Capcom wouldn't do a physical release. The last physical Mega Man game was all the way from the DS era.

Netflix is kinda like the Steam of tv shows and movies, so yeah. That can happen.

I had to set up my Wii U last week so that some guests could pay Riders ZG.

I regretted having any way to play Wii games.

Wii U also has a great library on the Virtual Console, while the Switch at the moment barely has anything.

That could change, but knowing how Nintendo handles VC, it could take a while.

@Blue BloodWell I did say most Wii games. Not all of them.

@Ratcicle KingThat's true. The Wii U's Virtual Console has a pretty decent library, even if it isn't perfect.

That's my reason why I got a Wii U in the first place! Was quite disappointed with the game selection (especially the ones promised but never bothered, it is embarrassing that the Wii U has very little racing games, even the Switch has that Test Drive Unlimited successor and already has some of the Milestone racers on it). We didn't even get NES Remix , only the 3DS version has a physical release. Even using it as a Wii, it has started to scratch the discs on mine so am a bit weary of using it now. For having a Wii U in 2018 now, it's really a collectors only system at this point for most people.

Ended up having a Wii as well with component cables, well technically it isn't mine and my Gamecube is on the way out. The Wii is cheaper and a whole loooooot more got made even though I haven't seen as many as in the past compared to barely seeing a Wii U at all.

@Ratcicle King The Wii Shop is closing down soon so over half of the Virtual Console and all of the WiiWare games will be gone. At least it still has those hard to get games like Metroid Prime Trilogy and that Kirby game.

The Wii U is also a great console to catch up on franchises you might've missed if you skipped a few nintendo Gens. Just off the top of my head, you can play all Metroid games, most of the main Zelda games, almost all Kirby games and all Pikmin games just on the Wii U alone.

It's kind of why I'm still gunning for one.

Thank you so much Surreal! It was a good one! ?

Welcome back.  Hope you're doing well!

You're back!!!! :DDDD

Long time no see!

Wow you actually came back

You ready to kick some butt at wild canyon?

Just kidding. Hello 

Hello stranger ^^

Hello, long time no...type.

*waves*

Hiya Surreal! Welcome back! It’s always nice to see a friendly face around here! 

Hiya! I was wondering where you went. Glad that you're back!

Same.

And I live in a totally different country.

Must be a strange coincidence.

Oh dear...

Interestingly enough I've been having issues with my Internet the past couple of days but not today. 

Actually, I haven't eaten my cake yet. Eating it on the weekend where a family gathering's happening.

Regardless, thanks buddy!

Oh...well, here's an early cake, anyway! And glad to see you're enjoying your day!

Did someone say "cake"?! Save me some!  

in my day 4k gaming meant 4 kilobytes of data

Surreal you sound like me. We probably had 4J gaming back in my day...that's too long ago for me to truly remember. 

Thanks, man!

Omg I love this! This was right on time too. Brought me a much needed smile so thank you so much Surreal.

You're welcome. I'm glad it brightened your day!

awesome~thanks

I'm fine thanks. Just been a bit busier than usual among other things...thanks for asking! Hope you are doing okay as well  

Here's to the end of a crappy year that we'll one day be strangely nostalgic for.

I'm really hoping 2017 will be a better year than 2016.

There will be NOTHING nostalgic about 2016 for me. I'm so glad it's over you just don't know.

Definitely hoping 2017 will be a better year as well.

Not sure what's going on but please take it easy. 

I think resting is best, buddy. Hope you feel refreshed and worry-free when you wake up.

*let

What post are you trying to edit? Maybe I could help? Or at least try to. 

I solved it...barely. But the editing system seems broken.

Oh okay. Glad you got it resolved. I was definitely willing to give you a hand if need be!

It's difficult to say before reviews start rolling in. It sounds like quite an effort has been made to make it palatable to a wider audience though, going by the talent involved and the changes made.

Yeah they want you to look at the ads anyway so it's successful on their end when you see one that grabs your attention as that is the intended purpose for advertisements after all.

Now whether they succeed or not is another story...I personally skip a lot of them as I haven't figured out a why to block ads on on mobile.