iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Seiko Yoshioka (concept artist, layout designer, worldview illustrator) posted a bunch on twitter really highlighting some of the work the anime team did that expanded the world of the manga from sometimes rather generic fantasy design: x.com/seiko11/stat...

I think Frieren is especially interesting because the original has rather bland paneling and especially does not convey action strongly, and there are cuts in the anime that take like 1-2 pages, tops, and translate them into utterly stunning sequences, faithful to but so much more than the original.

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Yeah, absolutely. Dungeon Meshi and Witch Hat Atelier both have just amazing art and paneling which their respective anime then proceed to take to a whole new level. They definitely set a high bar that I wish more adaptations would aspire to... or perhaps it's more be allowed to aim for.

Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 9h

It does seem like the trend for adaptations these days is to hew closer to the original, which presumably appeals to big fans of the manga, but so many adaptations really shine when they don't simply take a panel-for-panel manga-to-storyboard approach. Dungeon Meshi and Frieren come to mind...

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This is really the case for any software. Unless you spend time seeing (and paying attention to) how the actual users of it experience it, what works and doesn't work for them, etc, it's never going to be better than accidentally mediocre at best...

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 13h

That's always been the case... the last 10% has always been the hard part... and if you have no idea how the first 90% even works, and it's just a pile of incomprehensible slop, well, good luck with that I guess. I've yet to see any "amazing ai coded software" that's not just techdemo crap at best.

Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 06/10/2026

I miss the Oldest House as a setting and a lot of the wacky SCP'ish stuff that was going on in Control, but am definitely enjoying Resonant (in the endgame now), and went from being extremely skeptical about the protagonist shift to liking what they've done with Dylan a lot. Some very good moments.

Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 06/10/2026

The chemistry across the entire cast is such a big selling point of this show for me. That and how it avoids so many tedious anime romcom tropes in favor of characters actually communicating, etc. Gonna miss these kids. Poor Miyu never did figure out how to not smile weirdly in photos.

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 06/10/2026

The HTML draft standard and Mosaic arrived during my junior/senior year of high school and I didn't actually get exposed to the WWW until I was a college freshman... I did write HTML by hand for a personal website in 1995 (hosted on my workstation at NSCA SDG, not Geocities though).

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 03/10/2026

Yeah, it sucked, it was just a bit more contained than the current wave of technological misery foisted upon us. Just looking for silver linings in VC funded clouds (which they probably have preferred stock in), I guess.

Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 03/10/2026

Are the kids calling them permadeathslop nowadays?

Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 03/10/2026

I feel like there was less incessant blather about NFTs and "crypto" outside of the more absurd techbro circles, fewer products randomly integrated "crypto" features, and when they did it was just dumb shit (payment systems nobody used, gacha crap, etc), not completely destroying useful software.

My first guess was maybe you were talking about Workspace but that didn't make sense in context. I think one of the reasons I haven't moved away from gmail is as a perpetual Second Class Dasher Citizen (because of my "vanity domain", wow I hate that term), I manage to dodge a lot of "ai" crap there.

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Ah. Been using duckduckgo. I don't love it, but at least I can turn off the "ai" shit on it (unlike GWS), and on the rare occasion I try Google because I'm not getting great results searching for something on DDG, it's even more rare that the results are better nowadays.

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What is GWS? (Sorry, I couldn't keep track of Google's product naming even when I worked there)

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 28/09/2026

This is me, realizing that it's unlikely Google will ever produce a product I care about again, while it actively destroys what remains of its products that I currently use (mostly just gmail and docs anymore... stopped using search 2 years ago and skeptical about buying another pixel phone).

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Building demos and prototypes along they way is important for getting the shape of things right and a necessary evil for funding, etc... and it always risks running into "why can't we just ship the propotype?"... now management has a prototype-building-slop-machine that won't argue with them... joy.

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 28/09/2026

Yeah, this stuff is an absolute disaster and it is sad (and scary) watching so much of the industry decide to destroy its/their ability to write software that works reliably and correctly and is maintainable by embracing this overhyped tech demo nonsense.

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Anni K. Comics @annikcomics.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

If Alan was poor little meow meow in AW2 then Dylan is a sad puppy. A sad, 34yo killer puppy who's probably the most powerful being on earth. #ControlResonant #ControlResonantFanart #annikART #DontEatTheMold

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 27/09/2026

Crap, now *I* know this too and I can't un-know it.

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 27/09/2026

Finding dog toys and fighting vending machines. #ControlResonant #Gaming

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Reposted by Brian Swetland

Gaijin Mommy @gaijinmommy.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Not quite the money shot, but I’m never here anymore so I’ll post it anyway.

Red Marunouchi line crosses Kanda River, crossing paths with the Chuo line pulling into Ochanomizu station. Missing is the Sobu line that would be crossing that green bridge back there. Imagine it for me, if you will. Taken from hijiribashi but you knew that.

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Counterpart was so good. Haven't seen River... the 6 episode BBC series? Might have to check that out.

I'm not sure if you should give the AIbros ideas about pioneering BiohazardComputing....

I'm hoping we'll get more of that in time. The FBC has apparently plastered the city with their brand of propaganda posters, so that's something. At least The Board is still around, doing their (its?) thing... bsky.app/profile/did:...

The Uppercut finisher massively improved the combat experience for me. I need to pick up or respec something into AOE to help deal with the mobs of little guys. I still think I prefer Jesse's Service Weapon + TK approach to combat in the original, but I'm having fun nonetheless.

Kingfisher & Wombat @tkingfisher.com · 26/09/2026

Reposted by Brian Swetland

So apropos of nothing in particular, let’s talk about media tie-in novel pay vs. original work pay, shall we? Let’s say you write a novel. It’s set in your own world, your own characters, and titled The Original. You get a book deal! Look at you go!

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 25/09/2026

It gets better (at least for me) once you start getting more stuff unlocked, but I definitely miss the ranged service weapon + telekinesis combat from the original game, which was much more my speed. The setting though is still very Control and a bunch of NPCs I like are back, so yay that.

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 25/09/2026

Past that initial tutorial boss battle things definitely get better with more goodies unlocked and I'm getting by on the standard difficulty and enjoying all the SCP-style weird crap going on. I wish respeccing was free so I could tinker with builds as easily as I can turn on the assist settings...

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 25/09/2026

Feeling pretty bummed out by Control Resonant. I absolutely loved the original game, but the combat design in this one seems tuned for optimal misery for me. I just do not enjoy (and suck at) the melee combat and dodge mechanics and it seems like that is all you get. #Gaming #ControlResonant

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Alice Averlong 🏳️‍⚧️ @alice.averlong.com · 21/09/2026

1992 POV-Ray can still render pretty well. Here's default-settings 1280x960, on DOS.

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 21/09/2026

Fbzrbar zhpu zber bofreinag guna V abgrq gung nsgre gur gvzr whzc, gurer'f ab zber fvta bs gur fhcreangheny be zlguvpny. Jr qba'g npghnyyl frr Xbgn (whfg uvf funqbj), Ynen unf erthyne uhzna rnef, Ynen vf yvivat va gur uhzna jbeyq nf n uhzna abj, naq unf yrsg gur snvel gnyr oruvaq.

Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 21/09/2026

Znev'f fgvyy tbg uvtu fpubby gb pbagraq jvgu, Ynen'f fgvyy tbg n ybg gb yrnea nobhg orvat uhzna, gurl obgu unir cyragl bs gvzr gb svther guvatf bhg, naq V guvax sbepvat n trarevp snvel gnyr "unccl raqvat" ba guvatf jbhyq fbeg bs syl va gur snpr bs gur erwrpgvba bs gur snvel gnyr jbeyq.

Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 21/09/2026

Upon reflection, I think that I am content with the Sayonara Lara ending. (rot13) Ynen erwrpgf gur vzcbffvoyr snvelgnyr dhrfg vzcbfrq ba ure, pubbfvat gb yvir ba gur fhesnpr, nf n uhzna, va gur jbeyq jvgu Znev, ohg fgnaqvat ba ure bja srrg, gnxvat ure gvzr, abg unhagrq ol fbzrobql ryfr'f qrnqyvar.

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Will Quinn @willquinnart.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Daily bunny no.3446 is not left-handed

Bunnies re-enact the duel between Inigo and Wesley in "The Princess Bride", with a masked bunny fighting against a dashing shaggy bunny with a gold sword. The masked bunny is cornered, near the edge of a rocky cliffside, but still has a trick up his sleeve

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 17/09/2026

Ha. Love the "why are you here if you hate it so much" replies. Welcome to blocksville, population: you.

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 17/09/2026

I mean I do appreciate that at least most of the folks I followed on twitter came here so I can see their posts without visiting elon's white nationalist paradise, but it's pretty much a "well we ran from one burning building to another that's maybe slightly less on fire" situation.

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 17/09/2026

The dumbest thing about this place is people thinking the crypto-bro dipshits that built this half-assed slop-coded twitter clone were ever going to do anything other than speed-run the dumpster-fire-ification that twitter went through.

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 16/09/2026

Dungeon Meshi is so good. Both the original manga and the anime adaptation by Trigger. Ryoko Kui is a genius (of art, storytelling, and novel takes on dungeon ecology, among other things).

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Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 15/09/2026

Completely effective page for conveying that! I think I might have just accidentally missed it while catching 2-3 updates at once back them.

Brian Swetland @swetland.frotz.net · 15/09/2026

I love the shoulder mantis in that second illustration.