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𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐯𝐡.. 𝐡𝐡 𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐝 (𝐥𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚)

Because of the way in which I got into VGM, many of the more iconic soundtracks remain unfamiliar to me beyond their most famous tracks. In an attempt to remedy this, I hope to occasionally dedicate a month of features to a specific series, giving me the incentive to check out the more infamous titles. I've already done this with Super Mario; this month, I'd like to familiarize myself further with The Legend of Zelda. To start off, I've chosen A Link to the Past as being one of the more iconic entries. By my understanding, several series-staple motifs were introduced in this game, and it continues to be referenced as among the best in the series. Personally, I tend to struggle with the SNES sound; sometimes it works (Chrono Trigger comes to mind), but sometimes it sounds like the composers wanted an orchestra and weren't willing to adjust. This isn't quite that bad, but I suspect it could have been better. Fortunately, there are many strong melodies to make the soundtrack a memorable experience anyway.

I am back. And this time, I would like to announce that I have completed my watch of Amagami SS. But before I am doing an overall review of the series, I have to catch up with talking about the arcs and extra content. The Rihoko Sakurai arc Oh, this one sure has been different from the rest. I do not have very much to say about it, besides the fact it focused quite a lot on the development of the high school tea club (apparently a common complaint towards this arc), while leaving aside the romantic plot we got all so used to in the previous arcs. This is probably the only arc where the story is not complete, the viewer having to wait until next season (Amagami SS+ Plus) for a proper conclusion. It was a little sad to see things not going very far, but I guess childhood friends ended up getting closer and working together in trying to make things better for the club. Some things I found interesting: this arc goes beyond Christmas, until the next spring (since apparently the action of the game is placed through 40 days, with the conclusion coming on the Christmas Eve) Rihoko just can't keep to her diet, be it by delaying when she wants to start it or ending up doing exactly what she she wanted to stop doing both Kaoru and Tsukasa are not the kind to offer "obligation chocolate" on Valentine's Day The Tsukasa Kudamaki arc Along with the Kaoru arc, probably my favorite of the series. Tsukasa is a very interesting person, whose personality is greatly explored through the episodes. She can be sweet, she can be scary, she can feel anxious and insecure, even if trying to pose in one way or another. She's also extremely dedicated to her goals. I really do not want to go into the details here, as I think the arc is worth exploring on your own. However, there are a few things I would like to mention: this is probably the arc, outside of hers, where Kaoru gets the most screen time; and oh boy, each time she shows up it's quite a treat for all the reasons looks like someone has skipped one too many PE lessons: bonus, for anyone wondering where Keiko disappeared in the previous episodes, this is also the arc giving her most screen time (even more than the second arc) on today's "Reasons why Kaoru is the best girl" topic, probably way too many good moments, quite ironically, in someone else's arc: Ready to support Tsukasa in an argument regarding the organization of the Christmas festival Again, ready to side with Tsukasa just when everyone was against her. Kaoru turned the whole situation from "Tsukasa vs everyone" into something more manageable And mere moments after Junichi decided to join in too And of course, despite skipping some of the PE classes, it seems that Kaoru is strong enough to beat a guy at wrestling (continuation of the discussion about that punch from her arc) Tsukasa: "Alright, just don't make your outfit too risky" Haruka & Hibiki: "Got you" Also Haruka: (bonus for that white dress, it looks very good) oh, we are also learning about an old decision that Umehara regretted up to this day, and which haunted him for quite a while; therefore, he just wants Junichi to avoid his mistake Keiko is back even more we all knew that the arc would get a good end, but I sure was not expecting such a sweet end as we got. It was a very good way to end the show... The Kamizaki Risa special episode ...until we got to the specials. Once the 6 protagonist's arcs got over, there were two more specials. First of them was dedicated to Risa. I... this is probably the only episode of the series that seriously left me with a bitter taste and dislike for the supposed heroine. She pretty much represents the "stalker with a crush" archetype, and since this is just one episode, I don't think it will matter if I just talk about it. Overall, I do not know what to say about the episode. I guess it was nice to see the final heel-face turn, but it still comes after giving you a very bad taste of everything that happened up to that point. Some wish other bonus character got this special episode, while others simply recommend skipping it at any rewatch of Amagami SS. The Miya Tachibana special episode The final episode of the series is dedicated to Miya, Junichi's younger sister. This was a more enjoyable episode than the previous. There's not a lot happening, but it get a sweet conclusion and the proof that there's love and caring even among brothers. Again, I will not spoil this one, since there are some interesting parts about Miya trying to understand her brother, as well as the way they interact. Oh, and since Risa was established as a character in the previous episode, from now on she will appear in every episode left, be it in her side quest with Miya this time, or as someone observing Junichi from the shadow each time he is with a girl. I have to say though that the final shot of the episode, even if for comedic purpose, might be what triggered all the incest fanart I was talking about when I was making Miya's character introduction... The OVAs Not so much to say about those ones either. There are two episodes in which we are getting an extra interaction scene between Junichi and each of the 6 girls: sharing a dessert with Haruka helping Kaoru with a selling cake before Christmas (she has 5 part-time jobs, how can one deal with that many?!) receiving a birthday present from Sae cheering up Ai when she was going through a rough patch cutting Rihoko's toenails with a special nail clipper (yeah, this was a bit of a weird short) going for a melon bread with Tsukasa Just some nice interactions, 3 per episode and around 5 minutes long each. And just to be biased one more time, from the Kaoru short: Is it just me, or she looks great no matter what she is dressed with? Be it the high school uniform, a leather jacket, a swimsuit, a dress or the Santa outfit. Oh God, I am fanboy-ing again... Alright, next time I am writing something, that will probably be the overall review of the series. Until then, I might start Amagami SS+ Plus, I also got my hands on a digital copy of the Amagami: Precious Diary manga with English translations thanks to SoundOfRayne. See you around next time!