Those Unforgettable Days - Getting to Know the Nadesico!

Introduction

When talking about mecha anime, it’s hard to overstate its popularity and impact in Japan. The late 70s and early 80s gave birth to several influential mecha series that fundamentally shaped not only the genre but anime as a whole during that time. Even in the West, series like Code Geass, Voltron, and Neon Genesis Evangelion have become cultural mainstays in many anime communities, remaining popular among fan artists, general anime discussions, and cosplayers to this day. While it might be fun to dive into a deep discussion about my opinions on some of these more well-known series, I instead want to shine a light on a slightly more underrated series from the late 90s. Today, I’m going to talk about a particular series I watched a few years ago that I’ve come to deeply appreciate: a quirky, authentic, and unique hidden gem known as Martian Successor Nadesico!

❤MS Girls, Ojōsamas, and the Prowess of the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² - Galaxy Fräulein Yuna❤

 Introduction

Today, I wanted to do something a little bit different and talk about a visual novel. Well, okay, I guess visual novels aren’t exactly anything different—my last post was literally about Danganronpa. Before that, I talked about Sakura Taisen. Coincidentally, the company that developed Sakura Taisen, Red Company, is the same company that developed the game I have in mind to discuss today.

Rewinding a few months ago, as a fan of obscure retro Japanese games, I frequently browsed blog sites, forum posts, niche YouTube channels, and online threads that discussed these lesser-known titles. Since many people my age don’t seem to care much about retro games, browsing these pages for hours was one of my only ways to really learn anything new. One site I enjoyed visiting was HardcoreGaming101, which hosts thousands of articles and regular podcasts about retro games, even to this day. While they also cover some modern games, I mostly tend to avoid that stuff.

That site is where I first found lore information about XZR 1, Popful Mail, and Langrisser. Eventually, I purchased one of their books, Japanese Video Game Obscurities, written by Kurt Kalata, the founder of HG101. The book discusses several obscure, mostly Japan-exclusive retro games, ranging from more well-known games like Sakura Taisen, Der Langrisser, Tokimeki Memorial, and Bulk Slash, to more niche titles like Hanjuku Hero, Maka Maka, Sa-Zi-Ri, Emerald Dragon, and Bokosuka Wars. Of the titles discussed in the book, the one I wish to talk about today is a humble PC Engine game called Galaxy Fräulein Yuna!

StrikeForce Squad!! Stardust Memories: Revisiting Kirby Flash Animations

 Introduction

In an era long, long ago... Before monetization, before algorithms, and before advertisers, there was a time when passion-driven fan content thrived prominently in fandom spaces on the early internet. Many series captivated viewers and inspired a generation to show off their own creativity. Much of this independent art was crafted using nothing but talent, personality, and Adobe Flash. While there are hundreds of different series I could talk about today, I wanted to focus on one particular genre of content that shaped my childhood—one that involves Kirby fan characters, sprite sheets, and early 2010s internet humor.

Characters portrayed from left to right: Aege (DestructionSeries), Kirby (HAL Laboratory lol), and Saito (LoneAlchemist). 

Logo created by LoneAlchemist, character art and background edited by myself.