Backlog Dialogues

Will. The power of the individual to influence people and events. This has been at the core of Rika's cruel fate all this time. As she has seen her friends muster the collective will to save Satoko, she too has found her own strength of will to defy her death once more.
But even the collective willpower of a village may not be able to overcome a will forged with certain conviction. A will backed by a far greater power than a single village will crush all beneath it. It would take a miracle for one to survive against such a force. A miracle backed by an equivalent amount of will.
This week on Backlog Dialogues, we confront the true Will behind the tragedy.

Politics. The science and art of convincing others to do what you want them to. For many, it's a dirty word, a thing to be avoided. But if you want to save the life of a child, if you want to change the nature of a village, if you want to tear through fate itself, it is a skill one must master. But even more important than mastering the skill is knowing who to use the skill on. To save Satoko, Keiichi must convince the head of the village herself to change her mind...
This week on Backlog Dialogues, we bring the greatest challenge to its end.

Humans are weak on their own. No single person has all the answers. People need to turn to each other for support, no matter what. As Keiichi and Friends discover, it takes many voices speaking in unison to get the gears of society turning. With a simple marching tune, they raise a chorus to defend their friend, and give Rika a fleeting hope once more.
This week on Backlog Dialogues, we make our voices heard.

The human heart is fragile, and must guard itself with the armor of hope to endure hardships. Rika has strengthened her armor, as she finds more and more cause to hope... only to have that armor stripped away. As if to mock her, the world has set up hope after hope, just so that it can lead to her deepest despair. When faced with this reality for a hundred years, who could blame anyone that wants to abandon the fight?
This week on Backlog Dialogues, we face the harshest reality.

Ah, you're finally aware of where we are. This infinite expanse of possibilities across time and space has brought us together here and now. As we travel it, it falls to us to understand not just what is happening around us, but who is impacted by it, as we are the only ones truly aware of it. You are almost at the truth you seek, but there is still much to learn before it can make sense. Come, let us see the world finally through Rika Furude's eyes, as she repeats the same month of her life for hundreds of years, struggling desperately with one simple question - who wants to kill her?
This week on Backlog Dialogues, we find a small hope.

It's time once more for a Minilog, this time covering the first season of the anime Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World! Join us as we go over this time looping isekai that defies the usual expectations of isekai by not being a total power fantasy! We talk about Subaru and his persistent inability to die, and how that does very little to actually help him solve the issues he faces in Lugnica which mostly stem from him having to get over his own shit that he brought with him from earth. 

Another arc, another godcast! This week we look at Ryukishi's impassioned plea to those struggling to reach out, go over the Manga and Anime adaptations, and once more go over what we learned.
And for those who have seen all things, in the spoiler section of the Godcast, we discuss the impact of this work on Ryukishi's future writing.

And I face you now tonight, And we'll fight this more than everAnd if you only play this right,We'll be playing here foreverAnd we'll only be making us win,Because neither of us will lose Together we can face off at the top of this roof Your hand is right in front of me offering the truth I don't know what to do, and I'm still in this dark, But were standing on this building top and GIVING OFF SPARKS I really need you tonight There's only one winner tonight There's only one winner... Once upon a time, i was saving this town But now I'm only falling apart There's nothing i can do, A shadow's come over my heart Once upon a time, there was laughs in my lifeBut now there's only blades in the dark Nothing I can say, Total eclipse of the heart
(Filk of Total Eclipse of the Heart, by Bonnie Tyler)
This week on Backlog Dialogues, we tear through fate.

Ninety-nine City PD Ninety-nine Yakuza Meet To worry, worry, super-scurry Call the cops out in a hurryThese books are what we've waited forThis is it, boys, this is warThe Sonozakis on the lineAs ninety-nine Kyuteballoons go by
(Filk of 99 Red Balloons, by Nena)
This week on Backlog Dialogues, we reveal the 'truth.'

I went to a nurseWho thought that I was cursedShe said it's parasites that are getting me downI went to my friendOn who I do dependHe said he'd listen to what's getting me down
Sometimes that van gives me the creepsSometimes those gardeners play tricks on meIt all keeps adding upThe whole world's cracking upSurely I'm not paranoidOh no no no
Grasping to controlSo I better hold on
This week on Backlog Dialogues, we search for the truth.