Strawberry Loft

  I was influenced by TikTok to play Mouthwashing ! The community it has stirred up on TikTok is so creative; I’ve seen amazing edits, art, and cosplays that made me want to be part of the fun. I think TikTok has been great marketing for Mouthwashing , and now I’m jumping on the train—you should play it! I enjoyed seeing firsthand how scary good dental hygiene could be. Mouthwashing is an indie horror game developed by Wrong Organ, which is a fun developer name for a game with more eyeballs than mouths. The crew of the Tuplar—a spaceship operating under the shipping company Pony Express—are left to survive on their own after an intense crash that leaves them stranded. Eyewitness co-pilot Jimmy informs the crew that Curly intentionally crashed the ship in a suicide attempt. Curly survived the crash but is unable to give his side of the story due to being intensely mutilated. He is barely alive and has become a fandom favorite. You even get an achievement for opening and closing his m

  When the weekend weather is cool and damp, the best thing to do is grab a warm blanket and start up your favorite video game. It’s the perfect excuse to relax at home. As you immerse yourself, it may feel like the outside world is fading away—or maybe you are. When the rain picks up outside and you pause for a break, déjà vu sets in: you’ve lived this weekend before. Until Then is a visual novel with beautiful pixel art that follows Mark Borja, the resident procrastinator, who’s trying to graduate high school by the skin of his teeth. We get a good feel for Mark's character in the opening scene, where he forgets to complete a book report and resorts to creating the presentation slides the morning they’re due with his friend and project partner, Ryan. In a satisfying scene, Mark and Ryan pull off the last-minute project, receiving a passing grade. After pulling off one last-minute project trick, Mark attempts to get away with another low-effort project. During the preparation pha

Fall anime is here, and it’s shaping up to be a memorable 2024 season. So far, I’ve seen the first episodes of two highly anticipated titles: Uzumaki , produced by Adult Swim for the revitalization of Toonami, and Dandadan , produced by Science Saru. I’m excited to watch these shows as they release weekly, as both fandom spaces are buzzing with life and anticipation for more. These shows showcase amazing technical animation abilities and hard work. Starting with my impressions of the first episode of Uzumaki , I was getting antsy waiting for it. I loved the manga and was thrilled when the anime made my skin crawl and sent the perfect shiver down my spine. The atmosphere was unsettling and spooky from the very first frame shown on screen. The wait was well worth it, with Uzumaki originally being announced at Crunchyroll Expo 2019. The anime looked as if they had magically pulled the still manga images from the page and brought them to life, which is very on-brand for Junji Ito. The e

  After a long day of work, the best feeling is enjoying some free time to yourself. To some, that means binging a new TV show, reading, or playing video games. Others find relaxation in cooking or going out to eat—a quiet moment to take in the aromas and appreciate the flavors. Eating a good meal can rejuvenate anyone. Delicious in Dungeon was the anime on everyone’s tongue, offering a creatively fun take on dungeons and dragons and fantasy food! It left a satisfying taste on everyone’s palate and may have left some people hungry for more. Luckily, I have a bite-sized dish for you. Wakakozake is a slice-of-life show about a young salarywoman named Wakako who spends her evenings trying local restaurants to enjoy a good meal with the perfect alcoholic pairing. Depending on the day Wakako had at work, she sometimes goes more for the drink. Wakako gets excited about every meal she has, talking about its smell, texture, and taste. She also takes other factors into consideration, like p

Picking up skills as a kid can be done in many ways. You could learn from a parent, an older sibling, or a teacher. There are even more ways now, thanks to the aid of technology. Older kids can learn from YouTube videos, while younger kids can turn to children’s programming. Shows like Between the Lions or anything on PBS Kids taught spelling and math in a fun and engaging way. Everyone else seems to have all the answers when you’re a child, and you’re rapidly learning information to be successful as you grow up. No grown-up will let you in on the truth, though, until much later. The truth is that childhood goes by too fast, and you’ll slowly lose your sense of wonder as adulthood attempts to crush you. Good thing big brother Uramichi Oniisan is around to tell you exactly how bleak it is. Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan is about what happens between takes of a children’s educational broadcast show. It’s actually a spoof of a real television show, Okaasan to Issho. I’m sure most of

There are two approaches to making a remake: recreating the same story or retelling it with a twist. Sometimes, writers borrow the name of a previous work to attract an audience and then create something entirely different. The Brothers Grimm fairy tales have been famously adapted by Disney, which smooths out the dark, gritty edges of the original stories while retaining recognizable features to create a new, family-friendly narrative. Other notable retellings include the 2011 TV show Once Upon a Time , the 2005 film The Brothers Grimm , and the latest addition to the legacy, the 2024 anime The Grimm Variations . The Grimm Variations is an anthology series written by Clamp, an all-female Japanese manga group. It consists of six stories inspired by the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, each running between 30 and 40 minutes. The stories, penned by Michiko Yokote, use the famous titles more as prompts than direct adaptations. Each story features recognizable elements of the fairy tales, suc