2005 Video Game Journal ReWind!

8/17/2005 11:01pm 

Woo7! Only 5 days left until Nintendogs! I cannot wait for it! I'll be sure to take pictures of my dogs. I'll even write down the names of my Nintendogs.

I will be getting Lab and Friends version by the way.

1st dog: 

Name: Shadow
Breed: Labrador
Color: Black
Gender: Female

2nd dog

Name: Shiron (Pronounced Sherahn) 
Breed: Husky
Color: Grey and white
Gender: Male

3rd dog

Name: Ashes
Breed: Dalmatian
Color: Black and white (duh)
Gender: Male 

This was a journal entry that was written from my video game journal on this day in 2005! This was back when I was obsessing about Nintendogs and I couldn't wait for this to be released! It was the best way to end the summer. I didn't have my own video camera back then so journaling was the only way I could document my thoughts on the game and any other future games I was looking forward to. I thought I'd share this awesome bit of gaming history from my life in the mid 00s.

Nintendo Switch 2 Launch Displays @ Target

The Nintendo Switch 2 release is finally here! I decided to go check out Target today and see the fun displays and such. 

The store greets its customors with this huge Mario World display, full of Mario display signs and plushies, Nintendo Switch 2 accessories and games. 

  

Now let's take a closer look at the standees... 

 

To the left, we have Mario and underneath the shelves, there's Mario themed plushies and merch. 

In the middle here, there's some games and other Switch 2 accessories. Click to enlarge so you can see the prices.

 

 






In the Nintendo section, they had a display case of these games for the Switch 2.

And lastly, I saw this really cool Mario Kart World advertisement. And that's all that I saw today! I may go check out other places and see what their displays are like but we'll see! Thought I'd document this history in the making at Target at least. 

I do eventually plan on getting myself a Switch 2 but only if there's gonna be a physical release of a new Animal Crossing game or Nintendogs game and maybe Pokemon. Hopefully we'll see one of the 3 around this Christmas! 

My Video Game Backlog for 2025

It's been awhile since my last blog post so today, I thought I'd talk about what's on my backlog of video games to play this year. The year is already close to half way over which is crazy! With time going by so fast, I decided to put together what I plan to play this year and maybe into the next few years. So this here is what I'm currently playing....

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm currently playing Trinity Trigger on my Nintendo Switch and Dark Cloud 2 on my PS2. I started playing Trinity Trigger on April 28 2025 and I actually got it in the mail back in April this year for $20. So far, it's been pretty fun. It definitely has a nice old school style JRPG vibe to it. I started playing Dark Cloud 2 on May 1st. I'm currently 2-3 hours into both games and I intend on finishing them this year. :) 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what's on my backlog of games to play for this year. I have been wanting to play all 5 of these games. So these will definitely be on my plan to play after I finish the other two I'm currently playing. I can't wait to start playing them! 

 

Oh and I may also add this game to my backlog as well since I just got it in the mail two days ago.

 

 

 

 

 

I have really wanted to play this as well since I heard good things about it. I also got another game this week...

I definitely look forward to booting this one up as well! I got it from amazon for $20! It's normally a $30 game. 

With that, I got a decent amount of games this month! I'm also waiting on one more to arrive in the mail. I got Paleo Pines for $12.50 from amazon. It was so cheap that I couldn't pass it up and it's a game I've wanted for awhile as well. I'm gonna have quite the backlog to keep me busy when I retire lol. 

Otherwise, I've been shiny hunting a lot these days in Pokemon Legends Arceus. It's so much fun hunting for shiny Pokemon in that game! I hope shiny hunting will be exactly like this in PLZA.

But yeah, I guess that's all I gotta report on in terms of games. I'll write again soon! 

Latest in YouTube Comments: Ban Anti-Spiral

 

This trend began in December 2024. It's essentially the new way of saying, “Waffle House has found its new host”. Both are basically just a meaningless spam comment to annoy the uploader. Very similar to instagram’s most recent spam comment, Nice try Diddy.

Anti-Spiral (アンチスパイラル) is a villain in the famous anime series, Gurren Laggan. The purpose of the character in the anime series is to destroy Spiral life forms. It can use methods to instill fear, hopelessness, and absolute despair to subdue any Spiral uprising. The Anti-Spiral technology is so great that it can bend the laws of physics and even alter probability.

Spiral energy is fueled by willpower and determination. However, the Anti-Spiral will show mercy to those who surrender. It will also install an Extermination Systems around the home planet of those who surrender, which will destroy all Spiral life should their numbers become too great. It is then up to the Spiral warrior who surrendered to maintain the Spiral's numbers. 

Upon doing some research, I discovered this trend began in power scaling communities. Power scaling focuses on shows with more tangible power systems, with goofier anime series usually being ignored. However, most newer, and more serious anime don't really have anyone that powerful to compare to characters such as Son Goku at the moment.

Because Anti-Spiral is such a not-so-serious and even goofy villain, it just became a funny enough concept that people have started turning it into a modern meme. Others say it’s trendy now because due to a lack of relevant new characters. 

My Thoughts: Now that we have this documented, I do wonder how long this trend will go on for. I have been seeing this everywhere since the documented date, December 2024. I guess literally anything can turn into a meme these days. :/

Anime ReWind ReView: Mahou no Chocolate OVA

Young middle school girl, Mami Itou, has a crush on her senpai, Ishida. Mami is nervous about confessing her feelings to him so she has her friend Koko-chan help her practice. She wants to give her senpai her hand made chocolate on Valentine’s Day but can’t seem to build the courage to do so even though she can easily do it in her practice scenario with Koko-chan. Luckily for her, there might be something that can help! 

 

Mami asks her friend Koko-chan how she confessed to her lover on Valentine’s Day. She said she got some Valentine chocolate from a strange girl in black clothing near her house. The strange girl said it was magical chocolate that would get to a boy’s heart! She thought it was a trick but it was big success when she gave her crush that chocolate! Mami-chan wondered if that strange girl was actually witch. 

Later, the girls see Ishida-Senpai playing soccer. He’s very popular with the girls. They fawn over him as he plays the game. He looks so cool! Koko-chan says he’s going to be at an out of district high school next year. Then suddenly, Mami-chan gets hit with the soccer ball right into her face. She gets sent to the clinic immediately. Ishida-senpai went running over to Mami-chan asking if she’s alright which she clearly wasn’t. He decides to go see her in the clinic. Koko-chan is there to support her. She sees Ishida-senpai there and she leaves the two of them alone. However, when Mami-chan mentions the name Kazuki (the name of her brother), Ishida-senpai has a strange feeling and leaves. 

Feeling sad, Koko-chan tells her friend, that if she just tells Ishida-senpai that Kazuki is her brother, everything will be fine! Mami still isn’t feeling confident and is about ready to give up. Before they part ways, Koko-chan tells her...

えがお、えがお！

Which means smile smile! Mami-chan smiles and heads over to the park and stays there awhile. She decides to go home since it was getting cold. As she gets up, she hears a voice from out of nowhere! She sees a strange girl in black clothes who throws her a box. She explains it's a box of magical chocolate. Mami-chan catches it and before she could ask any questions, the mysterious girl disappears.

The next day, it’s finally Valentine’s Day! Her brother, Kazuki, pokes fun at her before she leaves cuz he knows about her crush on Ishida. Her dad says he won’t accept that boy but her mom thinks it’s so romantic! Unfortunately, Mami-chan has caught a bit of a cold from staying out in the cold weather too long but she’s determined to confess her feelings for Ishida-senpai. She’s worried he’s going to be leaving soon. She finds him at school and the other girls push her away before she got a chance to say anything. Ishida-senpai refused to talk to the other girls and ran off with Mami-chan together alone. The other girls were left in disappointment. 

There’s an awkward silence. Mami-chan contemplates giving him the magical chocolate. Then Ishida-senpai confessed his feelings for Mami-chan! She’s shocked! She puts down the magical chocolate and gives him the chocolate she made. She nearly passed out due to the fever and her boyfriend carried her home. Her poor dad was shocked to see them like that but she still felt like the luckiest girl ever! Turns out the chocolate was actually made by her friend Koko-chan so it’s a good thing she didn’t give it to him!

My Thoughts: This OVA came out on August 30^th 2001 by Ishikawa Pro. I first watched this a few years later, back in April 2005. This was the first anime I ever downloaded and the first torrent I downloaded from an anime torrent site called animesuki! I normally don’t do fully on reviews like this but I decided to do so anyway since this was only around 8 minutes long. The drawings/animation are horrible but I don’t care. Watching this OVA felt like watching someone’s first ever homemade anime for like an animation school project or something. Though, I suppose that’s what gives this a bit of charm and what makes me still remember it 20 years later. I honestly wish there was more to this story than just 8 minutes.  

As far as I’m aware, this is the only dedicated Valentine’s Day anime out there. Though I could be wrong!  Will it still hold up to newer viewers? Probably not. Many probably won’t like the art or animation but if you can get past it, it’s worth watching at least once. Especially if you like shojo anime. Personally, I loved this little OVA and I still do! It’s a tradition for me to watch it on every Valentine’s Day now. :3

My Ratings:
Art: C
Animation: D
Story: C+
Fansub: A
Music/OST: B
Overall Rating: 7/10

I'm giving this a bit of a higher overall rating due to the nostalgia goggles and because I thought the story was actually cute. It may be predictable but the nostalgia still holds up well for me and that’s all that matters imo. Anyway, thanks for reading up til this point and Happy Valentine's Day to you all! Hope you got to eat tons of chocolate from the people you love. ^_^