041: Down the Rabbit Hole #3

Welcome back to the SoraRabbit Hole! I hope 2021 has been treating you all better than 2020 did. I’m about to have my first game night in over a year and I get to visit the arcade in a couple of weeks, so things are feeling a little more normal for me!

You may have noticed I’ve been absent for over a month, and I really didn’t mean for that to happen. I don’t like having such a long gap in between posts. It makes me feel idle and like I’m falling behind. I haven’t been lazy, though. (Not entirely.) I’ve been hard at work with a trilogy of new posts, and planning for my YouTube channel. Since I’m running into some unexpected delays with the trilogy, I decided it would be a good idea to put together the next edition of Down the Rabbit Hole.

For those of you who have not read my previous installment in this series, it really doesn’t matter. This is a place for random thoughts and discussions that don’t warrant their own post. Here we go!

To start out with, I mentioned my trilogy of posts. I’ve been writing them for a few weeks now, and they’re all about the Kingdom Hearts mobile game that is closing down at the end of June. I thought this would be a fairly easy undertaking, but it turns out putting six years of game experiences and story into text takes a bit of time and space. I soon realized I would need to expand it out to three posts. I wanted to have them done before the announced shutdown of May 31st. But then they extended that to June 30th due to having to split the final story chapter into two parts. This threw off my timeline. Add to the fact that Dark Road (the other part of the game) currently has no theater mode so I can’t review the story and take screenshots until after June 30th when the game switches to offline mode… well, that’s even more delay. These annoyances and setbacks threw me off, and made it difficult to complete the posts.

I have also been experiencing delays on my planned YouTube channel. Some of this is motivation, some is trying to do too much on the blog (I always swore the channel would not take away from the blog, just enhance it), and the rest is just being too busy to focus. My son has recently finished up high school (I was helping him with his schooling) and summer is here so I have yard work and a garden to start, I work full time, yadda yadda yadda. You’re not here for excuses. You’re here for a geeky guy talking about geeky things. And I promise that will happen. I just need to focus more and get it done.

This post is the first step in that. When I hit a creative lull, putting together a short post usually gets the energy flowing again. So far it’s working. As soon as I started this post, ideas started coming to me.

So if I haven’t been spending all my time writing, what have I been doing? Reading, mostly. I’m catching up on books on my Kindle and comic books. I’ve also embarked on a mission that is going to result in a new series of Short Hops. These two things go hand in hand, as the mission involves searching for comic books in my mom’s garage.

Ah, nostalgia.

This is an ongoing mission and serves two purposes. I’m able to dig up my old comic books (and more content— more on that later) while also helping my mom clean out the garage and get the clutter in order. So far I’ve been unsuccessful in finding the comics I wanted… my old Turtles and Spawn collections… but I have found an entire tote of old comic books dating back to when I was four years old. Looking over these old comics just brings me back to my youth… poring over the pictures and text, immersing myself in exciting worlds. I decided that I would do a series of Short Hops about these old comics, seeing what’s good about them, what’s bad, how they hold up today… those sorts of things. It’s going to be fun. I feel like an archeologist.

Seriously, this book is massive. (Credit: Todd McFarlane, Greg Capullo)

One of the reasons for doing the search is because I’ve recently gotten back into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. I’m currently reading my way through the sprawling IDW series, but one day I know I’ll want to revisit the original Mirage Studios issues, which I have in collected form. Somewhere… (I’m starting to fear they were lost or an ex made off with them.) I’ve found many lost and forgotten treasures, and helped my mom quite a bit… but still haven’t found what I was looking for.

Also, on a whim, I grabbed up the enormous Spawn Compendium 1 at my local comic store. The thing weighs almost 5 pounds and contains the first 50 issues. I haven’t read Spawn since I was a teenager, and it’s been great reconnecting with a series I loved in my youth. I started over and now I’m past issue 80, well past where I stopped collecting it initially. It’s really a good story and has solid characters and ideas.

I’m trying to get caught up with Spawn because I also picked up Issue 318, ahead of the release of the one-shot Spawn’s Universe and the new series that are spinning off from it. The story of Spawn is expanding, and I am right here for it.

Although I’m working on getting through both long-running series (and all the spin offs and side stories involved) my biggest problem continues to be focus. I’m constantly finding things that are taking my focus away.

Wheeee! (Credit: Hajime Isayama )

I have a tendency to become fixated on things. I’ve mentioned this before… when I like something, I immerse myself in it. This is one of the biggest barriers to me actually accomplishing things. Before I can finish reading something or playing a video game, I get distracted by something new and shiny and get lost in it. This is a habit I am working hard to curb. 2021 is about focus for me. So far it’s going fairly well. Sure, I got seriously distracted by Spawn and Super Sentai (which I’ll talk about later) but for the most part I’m finishing books on my Kindle, reading through series on Marvel Unlimited and Comixology… even finishing some video games. Crossing things off my list feels good and makes me feel less buried under unfinished tasks.

It’s not all easy. I get whims and have to struggle to hold back. For instance, I completed Pokemon White 2 and started Pokemon X. This got me thinking about the manga Pokemon Adventures. When I read it before I got to volume 8. I’m dying to get back to it, but with my slate of comics and manga I’m already reading, I can’t devote the attention to it right now. The same goes for the Dragon Ball manga, Beastars, and Attack on Titan. That last is actually fairly easy to hold back on. Cocoa and I have finally gotten back to watching the Attack on Titan anime and at the time of writing we’ve just finished up with Season 3. (No spoilers, I’ll just say that story evolves in unexpected ways.) I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise by reading the manga before we finish watching the anime. Since the dub for Season 4 won’t be out until 2022, I have a long time to wait. Of course we’re so hooked on it we may break down and watch the last few episodes subtitled on Crunchyroll… we’ll see. I’ve also heard Season 4 Part 1 is dubbed on Funimation, but I really don’t need another streaming service.

I’m not one of those anime fans who’s strictly dub or sub. I think both have their own merits. For instance, I watched all of Dragonball and the first Yu-Gi-Oh series dubbed, just as personal preference. But for Yu-Gi-Oh GX I’m watching the subs. (This is mostly because the final season never got a dub or an American release.) So I’m not strict on which to watch, but if I start something one way, I want to finish it that way. I would rather not jump to subtitles for a handful of episodes, regardless of how difficult it is to wait for the resolution. (We’ll see if I still feel that way after the inevitable mid-season cliffhanger on Attack on Titan.) (Update: We’ve talked it over and decided that we can be patient. Season 3 ends in a decent place and Season 4 Part 1 will most likely end with a tantalizing and infuriating cliffhanger. It’s better to wait.)

Classic. (Credit: Christine Weston Chandler)

So, yes, there are a few things I really want to read but don’t have time for. Some things I’ve ended up getting into regardless of my resolve. This year I learned about a person named Chris Chan… and I’ve found myself inexplicably hooked. Please don’t think I’m a troll or condone the actions of trolls for bringing up Chris Chan. I’m just weirdly fascinated by everything to do with this phenomenon. I have watched Geno Samuel’s entire excellent documentary series (all 51 parts released so far!). I have read every readily-accessible issue of Sonichu. I’m even reading some of the works that have been inspired by Chris Chan.

For those who have not come across this, here is a brief explanation: Christine Weston Chandler (previously Christopher Chandler) is a high-functioning autistic transgender artist who has struggled with multiple trolls over the years, as well as her own impulses and emotional issues. In recent times she has drifted further and further into a state of delusion to the point where she believes she is a goddess and our dimension will soon collide with a dimension made up of all the fictional characters ever created in a destructive event called the Dimensional Merge. She is considered by many to be “the most documented person in history” and there are scores of people who refer to themselves as “Christorians” who strive to make sense of all the media and content related to this person from over the years. It’s all very interesting. At times sad, at times sickening… but always interesting.

Pickle Inspector from Problem Sleuth. (Credit: Andrew Hussie)

Another rabbit hole I managed to fall down was Homestuck. This is a massive, epic multimedia story told by Andrew Hussie and it was a huge internet phenomenon a few years back. I’ve heard about this web comic many times over the years but never got into it until recently. I also read the other comics on the site— MS Paint Adventures and Problem Sleuth. All of these stories are very entertaining and brilliant and if you’re never given them a try, I highly recommend them. Especially Problem Sleuth. It’s a wild ride with a lot of intelligence and humor, as well as strong video game vibes.

There’s a lot going in here. (Credit: Andrew Hussie)

Homestuck has great characters, an intriguing premise, and lots of humor. There are so many twists and turns and I’ve found it very entertaining so far. The whole thing is still online, although the flash portions can no longer be played since flash is extinct. They’ve included stills from those portions so the story isn’t completely lost in places. It takes a very long time to get through. As of the writing of this, I’m only on Act 2 out of 6 total acts. The entire story is around 8000 pages and 800,000 words, so it’s no small undertaking, especially when reading casually like I am.

The Gorangers are so stylish. Look at their little capes! (Credit: Toei Company)

As mentioned earlier, another of my distractions this year was Super Sentai. Most of you have probably seen some of this long-running franchise without even realizing it… some of the Super Sentai series were the basis for the Power Rangers franchise. After reading a few articles about Super Sentai and its adaptation into Power Rangers, I decided to give it a try. I was hooked by the first episode, which should come as no surprise to anyone.

Super Sentai is a long-running Japanese tokusatsu superhero series with multiple teams, dozens of series, and a wealth of content to get through. The series feature colorful characters, flashy practical effects, handmade monsters in costumes, and so, so much silliness.

Or, in other words, it’s something that is right up SoraRabbit’s alley. (His strange, slightly frightening alley.)

I have plans to do some posts about Super Sentai, but I doubt I’ll do full season reviews. (I have plenty of those going already.) I’m thinking I will do Short Hops reviewing and discussing three series at a time as I get through them. (Like I’ve done with the Just Dance games. New post coming soon!) With 45 series (and counting!) and over 2000 episodes, watching this entire series is actually more daunting than Ultraman. Much of that is the simple fact that I don’t have time to sit down and watch that much content. My possible solution is to alternate seasons between Doctor Who and Super Sentai, watching an episode a night. It will still take years, but at least that way I can get through it. Besides, I noticed that I’m getting through Doctor Who much quicker than I anticipated and I’m worried if I keep going at the rate I have been, most of this blog will end up being Doctor Who posts. I’d rather do 3-4 a year than one every month. Given that, and the fact that work has been exhausting, I’ve been on a brief hiatus from my Doctor Who journey.

It’s pretty fitting to think of Loki as President. (Credit: Marvel Studios, Disney, Boundless Entertainment)

So those are my current distractions, and it’s fairly obscure stuff. In more mainstream news, since my last Rabbit Hole post, Marvel has continued their Disney+ shows. Captain America and the Winter Soldier was excellent, and the news that Falcon’s Captain America is getting his own movie was very welcome. I liked the Sam Wilson Captain America in the comics, so it’s nice to see them following through with that on screen. (Hopefully it won’t have the same result… before too much time passed with Sam wielding the shield, the Original Recipe Cap returned to the page.)

Loki has just started, and I’m enjoying it so far. Out of the three series that have aired so far, this one seems to have the biggest implications for the future of the MCU. Don’t get me wrong, WandaVision and Cap both brought important changes and new elements to the franchise, but Loki promises to shake things up in a big way with the fallout showing for years to come. I won’t spoil it… just watch it and you’ll see what I mean.

Next up for the MCU Phase 4 content is Black Widow and we have not decided yet if we’re seeing it in the theater or paying for it on Disney+. We’ll see how safe we feel going back to the theaters and how busy it is around that time. (I still wish I had been able to see Godzilla Vs Kong on the big screen, but oh well.)

I love this show. (Credit: Brendon Small, Titmouse)

So that’s a summary of what I’ve been busying myself with this year so far. In these posts I also like to mention what I’m looking forward to. Black Widow, of course. I recently learned that Aqua Teen Hunger Force will get a new movie. Venture Brothers and Metalocalypse— two fantastic epic series cut down before their endings— will get conclusions in the form of movies. Gorillaz, whose animated series has had no news in years, has announced they will get a movie after Song Machine Season Two. Nintendo has announced new games for The Legend of Zelda and Metroid, as well as a new Mario Party using boards and minigames from the N64 era. So all that, along with the ongoing MCU and Star Wars content, the aforementioned Spawn’s Universe books, and Shin Ultraman, there’s a lot for me to look forward to. What are all of you looking forward to in the near future?

That’s enough of a journey through the rabbit holes for now. I need to get back to work on my long overdue Kingdom Hearts posts and working on my YouTube channel. My period of low motivation is past and it’s time to get back to work! Thank you all for reading. I appreciate you all!