Backlog Dialogues

As we cross the vast seas of possibilities, the winds shift around us. Whether it is a tailwind giving us support, or a headwind buffeting us and hindering our progress, these shifting winds help determine our course, our fate. What risks we take, what chances we see, and how we sail with the wind determine our fate, and our existence. With these thoughts, we close our discussions on Connecting Fr...

As a person lives, they take on many burdens in their life. Whether it's as simple as a watermelon too big to take home on a bike, as thoughtful as a large teddy bear as a birthday present, or as complex and hindering as the weight of ones sins, that person needs to let themselves accept the help of others, for no burden is so easy that anyone can bear them alone. Unless you're Takano Miyo, and ar...

Fifty fragments lay before you. Within each, a morsel of knowledge to build the understanding needed to reach the ideal June 1983. It will be a long process to sift through them all. Which is why we need to do this in three parts. Sorry. This week, we cover the first seventeen fragments of Connecting Fragments, Ryukishi07's bizarre TIPS minigame that stands between us and the true Matsuribayashi,...

The Mastermind has been revealed, and her god complex laid bare. With her unbreakable certain willpower, she is forcing the inevitable murder of Furude Rika, and the destruction of Hinamizawa. She wants nothing more than to tear god from his throne and be revered above all else. Truly, she is a monster for the ages... right? Would it make you happier if she had a good reason? A thousand little tra...

We're going more obscure with this minilog as we explore the 2013 cult classic anime Gatchaman Crowds and its 2015 sequel season Gatchaman Crowds Insight. We look at this history of the Gatchaman franchise and Tatsunoko Productions in general before we start discussing this strange, political, and highly prescient twist on the Superhero story, where protagonist Hajime Ichinose sets the rules and d...

We've made it to the end of the penultimate arc of Higurashi When They Cry. With this, all things have been revealed, and we are left to discuss the aftermath. As we prepare to go to the final world, we consider how Minagoroshi has been adapted, and discuss the greater context within When They Cry in the spoiler filled postcredits discussion. Where can we go from here?

Will. The power of the individual to influence people and events. This has been at the core of Rika's cruel fate all this time. As she has seen her friends muster the collective will to save Satoko, she too has found her own strength of will to defy her death once more. But even the collective willpower of a village may not be able to overcome a will forged with certain conviction. A will backed b...

Politics. The science and art of convincing others to do what you want them to. For many, it's a dirty word, a thing to be avoided. But if you want to save the life of a child, if you want to change the nature of a village, if you want to tear through fate itself, it is a skill one must master. But even more important than mastering the skill is knowing who to use the skill on. To save Satoko, Kei...

Humans are weak on their own. No single person has all the answers. People need to turn to each other for support, no matter what. As Keiichi and Friends discover, it takes many voices speaking in unison to get the gears of society turning. With a simple marching tune, they raise a chorus to defend their friend, and give Rika a fleeting hope once more. This week on Backlog Dialogues, we make our v...

The human heart is fragile, and must guard itself with the armor of hope to endure hardships. Rika has strengthened her armor, as she finds more and more cause to hope... only to have that armor stripped away. As if to mock her, the world has set up hope after hope, just so that it can lead to her deepest despair. When faced with this reality for a hundred years, who could blame anyone that wants...

Ah, you're finally aware of where we are. This infinite expanse of possibilities across time and space has brought us together here and now. As we travel it, it falls to us to understand not just what is happening around us, but who is impacted by it, as we are the only ones truly aware of it. You are almost at the truth you seek, but there is still much to learn before it can make sense. Come, le...

It's time once more for a Minilog, this time covering the first season of the anime Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World! Join us as we go over this time looping isekai that defies the usual expectations of isekai by not being a total power fantasy! We talk about Subaru and his persistent inability to die, and how that does very little to actually help him solve the issues he faces in Lugnica wh...

Another arc, another godcast! This week we look at Ryukishi's impassioned plea to those struggling to reach out, go over the Manga and Anime adaptations, and once more go over what we learned. And for those who have seen all things, in the spoiler section of the Godcast, we discuss the impact of this work on Ryukishi's future writing.

And I face you now tonight, And we'll fight this more than ever And if you only play this right, We'll be playing here forever And we'll only be making us win, Because neither of us will lose Together we can face off at the top of this roof Your hand is right in front of me offering the truth I don't know what to do, and I'm still in this dark, But were standing on this building top and GIVING OFF...

Ninety-nine City PD Ninety-nine Yakuza Meet To worry, worry, super-scurry Call the cops out in a hurry These books are what we've waited for This is it, boys, this is war The Sonozakis on the line As ninety-nine Kyuteballoons go by (Filk of 99 Red Balloons, by Nena) This week on Backlog Dialogues, we reveal the 'truth.'

I went to a nurse Who thought that I was cursed She said it's parasites that are getting me down I went to my friend On who I do depend He said he'd listen to what's getting me down Sometimes that van gives me the creeps Sometimes those gardeners play tricks on me It all keeps adding up The whole world's cracking up Surely I'm not paranoid Oh no no no Grasping to control So I better hold on This w...

Somewhere in this little town. Someone's feeling way more down. Wish that made my heart feel sound. Wish I didn't hide a frown. The world's kyutest violin really needs an audience. So if I do not find somebody soon. I'll cut my problems into bits And try to find a spot that fits While hiding in my secret place To keep a smile on my face I know ive tried my very best to once more find my happiness...

No one knows what it's like To be the bad girl To be the sad girl Behind Kyute Eyes And no one knows what it's like To be hated To be fated to hearing only lies But my dreams they aren't as icky As my heart seems to be I have hours only lonely My love is kyuteness That's never free... (Filk of Behind Blue Eyes, by the who) This week on Backlog Dialogues, we get to learn about Rena.

This week brings another Minilog, with the sci fi kung fu multiverse flick, Everything Everywhere All At Once! We discuss the struggles of laundromat proprietress Evelyn Wang as she tries to file her taxes properly but keeps getting distracted by things such as her daughter coming out as a lesbian, her husband seemingly seeking a divorce, and the entire multiverse deciding that she needs to fight...

All Cast Review Sessions may be done, but Ryukishi07 has some things to say to launch us into our first postgame discussion of an Answer Arc! We discuss all that we have learned, and John continues his exploration of the adaptations. From the excellent manga adaptation that elevates the work almost as well as Tatarigoroshi did and an almost good anime adaptation that has a good run for the first f...

How did everything go so wrong for Shion? As victory over the three families approaches, she finds herself constantly thwarted. By Rika, strangely acting violent. By Satoko, refusing to give in to her torture. By Keiichi, who never gives up on her, even as she claims a demon has taken hold. And by her sister Mion, who reveals the terrifying truth that the three families have nothing to do with the...

The year advances to 1983 and things start to get a little more familiar, as we experience some of the events of Watanagashi through Shion Sonozaki's eyes. It's still different in some places, but eerily similar in others, but with Shion's perspective we get to see her hearing mind Satoshi and getting closer and closer to the truth, guided by her intricate behind the scenes knowledge... and her st...

Things take a turn for the worse for Shion, as Satoshi comes under the scrutiny of the law after killing his aunt and she reveals her true identity to cover for him, bringing the wrath of the wicked matriarch of the Sonozakis upon her. Fingernails are removed and old wounds start to open, and she becomes increasingly suspicious of all the murders that have been happening in town while the Sonozaki...

Shion has a problem. The hot guy she likes is not doing well. He's skipping baseball practice and acting real strange. What's a girl to do? Why, pose as her sister to cause severe damage to her social life, of course! She encounters the peculiar Rena Ryuugu, who proselytizes for Oyashiro-sama as a way to show how much trouble she knows Satoshi is in, and then takes Mion's place at school to solve...

The answer arcs begin with our new Protagonist, Shion Sonozaki! This demon of a twin sister breaks out of catholic school to seek freedom in Okinomiya, no matter what her mafia boss grandma has to say about it! But this tough teenager has a weakness - cute boys with sad puppy faces that like to say 'mmph!' Can she navigate the politics of the Sonozaki Crime Family to get familiar with the hot stud...