Pause Menu Musings

When people talk about Fruits Basket , they usually mention the romance, the family drama, the cute Zodiac transformations . And yeah, all of that is there. But what really stuck with me after finishing the 2019 reboot wasn’t the love story. It was how the show handled grief, and how it didn’t try to fix it. Grief in Fruits Basket isn’t just a backstory. It’s a shadow that follows every major character. Tohru, Yuki, Kyo, Momiji, even Akito in their own way. Each of them is stuck somewhere between denial and acceptance. But unlike most shows where emotional trauma gets magically resolved in a few episodes, Fruits Basket drags it out. It lets characters sit with their pain. Sometimes it even lets them make the wrong choices because of it. Tohru’s mom is dead before the first episode, but her absence is louder than half the cast. Tohru tries so hard to stay cheerful and supportive that it becomes a kind of self-punishment. She refuses to let herself be sad in front of others because s...

Okay, so let’s be honest. A lot of male leads in romance anime are just there. Like, they exist, they blush, they trip and fall into the female lead's bosoms or get dragged around by a much better female character and somehow that’s romance? I’m tired. So here’s a list of five romance anime guys who are actually worth watching. Not perfect, but they either have a personality or grow one. Or at least aren’t just standing there looking confused all season. 1. Kyo Sohma ( Fruits Basket ) This man is just full of feelings and rage and guilt and trauma. When Fruits Basket started, I genuinely thought he was gonna be another loud tsundere guy with nothing behind it. But no. Kyo is going through it and you see every step of it on his face. He’s angry, yes. But he’s not stupid. And when he loves someone, he loves them hard. Like, this boy’s idea of love is protecting them even if it means they hate him. Toxic? A little. Real? Absolutely. What makes him stand out is how much he grows. ...

I grew up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I was 8 when The Avengers came out, and it changed everything. I remember rewatching Captain America: The Winter Soldier like five times in one week. Infinity War was a cultural event in my friend group. For years, Marvel could do no wrong. But around Phase 4, something changed. The movies started feeling rushed or half-baked. Then they added all the Disney+ shows and it just became too much. Every new character needed their own origin story, every storyline had to connect to ten other things. I stopped caring. Not because I didn’t love the characters, but because it all started feeling like homework. But I’ve Always Loved the Old Cartoons Even before the MCU, I was obsessed with old-school Marvel shows. The ‘90s Spider-Man cartoon was my favourite thing as a kid. I had no idea what was going on half the time but I was locked in. Same with the original X-Men animated series, though I caught more reruns of that when I was older. So...

Look , I’m not saying Solo Leveling is trash. The fights are flashy, the animation is slick, and yes, Sung Jin-Woo looks cool as hell standing in the dark with his army of shadow dudes. But after a few episodes, I started asking myself... is that all there is? It feels like the show is all aura. You know what I mean: characters just standing around radiating purple energy while everyone gasps and calls them a monster. That’s fun once or twice. But every episode? Every single fight? It gets old. There’s barely any focus on the actual story. Jin-Woo levels up, gets a new power, kills a boss, repeat. That’s it. There’s no tension because you know he’s going to win. And don’t even get me started on the side characters. I couldn’t name more than two. They’re just there to react to Jin-Woo or get saved by him. People are hyping this up like it’s the next big thing, but I honestly think it’s just good timing. JJK is on break, Demon Slayer is winding down, Chainsaw Man still hasn’t come back....

Okay so I wasn’t planning to play Infinity Nikki . I saw the trailers and thought, yeah cute fashion game, probably not for me. Too pink, too much dress up. I play Genshin and Honkai Star Rail , I like action, grinding, boss fights… you get it. But then I tried the beta and this game is actually good . Yes it’s still about fashion and dressing up, but it’s not boring. The outfits you wear literally change what you can do in the world. One outfit lets you glide like in Zelda , another one lets you shrink and go through tiny holes, there’s even one that lets you freeze water and walk across it. It’s kinda genius how the puzzles and exploring are tied to the clothes. The open world is really pretty too. Feels like Genshin but calmer. Less enemies, more focus on collecting stuff, platforming, and solving cute little challenges. It’s relaxing but not in a bad way. Honestly it’s insane this is running on mobile. The game looks like a Pixar movie sometimes. Also the fashion part is way more f...