The all-time favorite series of many anime fans, and even after two decades, it still feels so familiar and comfortable. There are moments of sage wisdom and inspiration, along with potent themes like processing grief, overcoming isolation, and embracing love in all its forms.

10. “Those Who Break the Rules Are Scum, But Those Who Abandon Their Friends Are Worse Than Scum.” – Obito Uchiha

Obito Uchiha was a bit of a black sheep compared to the rest of the Uchiha clan. He was brash, incompetent, and didn’t show much promise. But what he had was a lot of heart that reminds us a lot of Naruto Uzumaki, and this potent line was enough to break through Kakashi Hatake’s walls and leave a lasting impression.

Well, if you’re just starting in the series, you might have thought this was originally a Kakashi quote. He may have said it the first time in the series, but Obito was responsible for reminding Kakashi that he could be an elite shinobi while still protecting his comrades. It’s something he’d impart on Team 7, and so forth from there.

9. “If you don’t like your destiny, don’t accept it. Instead, have the courage to change it the way you want it to be!” – Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto made a ton of profound speeches in his youth that would resonate with others around him, and it was quotes like these that would win over far more respected peers of his. Whether it was humbling Neji Hyuga, or convincing Gaara that he deserved to live like anybody else, Naruto’s endless optimism is a product of him refusing to be isolated as an orphan or an outcast.

8. “People Call Me a Failure…I’ll Prove Them Wrong!” – Naruto Uzumaki

Speaking of humbling Neji, this one goes out to the underachievers and those who weren’t nurtured for their strengths. This scene from the Chunin Exams Arc is among the many that cemented Naruto as one of my top Shonen manga, and seeing it brought to life in anime was gratifying as well.

It was so interesting that in the original series, he didn’t have an ounce of self-doubt, and in many ways left the strongest lasting impressions on major characters that rippled through the franchise. He won the respect of one of the most brilliant fellow genin of his generation in the moments that followed this line, to the point of him being followed into battle years later.

7. “If I Could, If I Were Able, I Would Want to Go to the Same Place on the Other Side As You.” – Zabuza Momochi

The afterlife is a tricky subject depending on who you ask, but for Zabuza Momochi, the first monstrously strong opponent Naruto and Team 7 would encounter, it was all but a given. This character left a strong impression on me, and it clicked many years later: aesthetically he had the tiniest hints of Guts from Berserk in him. He was ferocious, bloodthirsty, and wielded a giant sword, but most relevant to this discussion, he was a mentor to his comrade, Haku, and he loved him like a son.

Disarmed by Kakashi, injured and brought to death’s door, and able to take out one last act of defiance against Gato, he laid down next to his apprentice. Knowing that while he is likely destined for hell, all he cares about is seeing Haku again in the afterlife. I use the manga panel from Chapter 33 here because this arc endeared me to Naruto forever, and I still have that issue of Shonen Jump to this day.

6. “To Be a Parent Is to Have Undying Faith in One’s Child.” – Minato Namikaze

The Pain Arc is peak Naruto, and this ranks among the top individual moments. When Naruto met Minato, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It was seemingly impossible, but Minato left just enough of him behind after he died to guide Naruto past the lowest point in his life. The demon sealed inside him was wreaking havoc when he fell prey to his grief, and in this moment he ignited Naruto’s Will of Fire.

Naruto had plenty of doubt left in himself. His mentor was killed by his strongest opponent yet, and loved ones were mercilessly massacred all around him in this story. But Minato, in a moment where he’s confirmed as Naruto’s father and the Fourth Hokage, reminded his son of their mutual ability to be sanguine in the worst of times. Naruto needed that, just as much as he needed a father all these years.

5. “For You Are a Distinguished Student of One of the Legendary Sannin; Acknowledged by the Great Jiraiya Himself.” – Iruka Umino

Most of these quotes are total tearjerkers to play even now. The context is key here: Iruka was one of the first teachers to believe in Naruto, giving him the time of day when nobody else would. Cut to the present, when Iruka is saying this the night after Naruto learns Jiraiya was killed in battle, wandering at night, holding a popsicle he would normally split with his mentor.

It’s heartbreaking to think about even now. But Iruka did what he always did, reminding Naruto he is not alone and has accomplished a lot. The final kicker of this moment was when Iruka broke the popsicle in half and offered it to Naruto, mimicking how the late sage would do the same. Saccharine, yet fitting.

4. “As For Friends, I Have Lots of Good Ones. I Wish You Could Have Met Them. There’s One That I’m Not Getting Along With Though.” – Naruto Uzumaki

This one felt like a total gut punch that nobody talks about. Naruto has come so far and won over so many hardened, traumatized fellow ninja and improved their lives by being himself. So when he finally got a chance to tell his late mother beyond the grave about this, it was a reminder of his personal growth.

It’s also a reminder of how stubborn he was with the last part of that line. It’s loaded with subtext about his fraught friendship with Sasuke, who thoroughly betrayed all of Konoha multiple times. It was also foreshadowing how he’d never give up on trying to win back his friend. The moment he said it was also endearing for the fact that Kushina Uzumaki is a wonderful character and a charming mother figure.

3. “Rejection Is a Part of Any Man’s Life. If You Can’t Accept and Move Past Rejection, or at Least Use It As Writing Material — You’re Not A Real Man.” – Jiraiya

This one is a precious lesson for any adolescent males reading this, which is good because that’s the primary target audience of Naruto, and this is one of the best, most timeless quotes. I’d argue that it’s a lesson that can be transferred to any gender though. Jiraiya carved a niche for himself as not being able to practice what he preached in many ways (do NOT make him an idol) this speech should be mounted on a plaque in any father’s study that he can point to when lecturing his child.

2. “Because You Fail, You Have the Strength to Face Your Failure…I Think That’s Real Strength.” – Hinata Hyuga

Hinata Hyuga’s demure demeanor was adorable the first time fans were introduced to her. But in how she idolized Naruto, yet cheered him on and loved him from afar, she helped reassure him of his self-worth. The courage to embrace failure is what helps us grow, and Naruto certainly had his share of those in the series.

The story of their love made fans glad, not only because it deviated from a problematic pairing like him and Sakura (even if her pairing with Sasuke has some issues) but because they were perfect for each other. They were both looked down upon and found strength in being each others’ better angels.

1. “I’ll Pick Up Your Pieces.” – Shikaku Nara

For those unfamiliar, Shikamaru Nara’s favorite pastime is Shogi, aka Japanese Chess. The quote in question here has extra meaning as it caps off a potently delivered line by his father, Shikaku, seconds after Shikamaru tosses aside the board and all the pieces they’re using the play together. This one is a fantastic moment for the anime-only viewers in the audience.

It’s only fitting that one of the best arcs of the Naruto Shippuden anime would also get one of its best quotes. Shikamaru recently lost his mentor Asuma Sarutobi, and after a devastating scene at the beginning of the episode where he broke the news to Kurenai, Asuma’s lover, and mother of Asuma’s unborn child, Shikamaru went quiet.

But Shikaku did what any father should at this moment. He sat and played, coaxing Shikamaru’s grief and frustration, being just coarse enough to get across. When he goaded Shikamaru about his playstyle between questions about what he would do about his mentor dying, Shikamaru lost his temper, throwing the board and shogi pieces aside, and Shikaku said the following:

Just Let it all out. All of the sadness, fears, and anger, and everything else! You’ve got to let it go. It all starts from there. I’ll pick up your pieces.

-Shikaku Nara

It’s haunting, and such a powerful way for a father to say “It’s okay to cry, son.” It’s also not only one of the best quotes in Naruto but quietly among the best in popular fiction. You’d be surprised how many people need that in their lives. Shikamaru was given the space to grieve, and then to plan his next course of action, where he’d grow as a shinobi, and avenge the lost while keeping himself and his friends alive.

Oshi no Ko is one of the most compelling, layered manga series currently available. It is at times a bleak and poignant critique of the entertainment industry in Japan, while also remaining relentlessly entertaining and filled with strong characters.

Its grasp on subtlety in visual storytelling and characterization is no less apparent than in one feature shared by several key characters. This sparks the question, what’s with the star eyes in Oshi no Ko, and why do some characters’ eyes have bright or dark stars?

Star Eyes in Oshi no Ko Fan Theories: Explained

The most important thing to note about the star eyes in Oshi no Ko is that while it’s not been explicitly explained, there’s a significant and conceivable set of reasons. Some are simple and have some layers of truth and logic behind them, such as being hereditary, inherited by Ruby and Aqua from Ai Hoshino.

Others dive deeper, looking into the previous reason’s inconsistencies, and finding symbolic meaning behind the stars. There’s even meaning behind why they are bright or dark for some characters at different points, and why certain characters have them at all.

Are Starry Eyes Hereditary in Oshi no Ko?

There’s some half-truth to starry eyes being hereditary in Oshi no Ko, but the full answer is complicated. While it might be a simple conclusion to say they’re not genetic, with characters like Akane Kurokawa developing them through intensive method acting, Aqua and Ruby still had one each at birth.

This is partially due to inheriting Ai’s characteristics genetically, but there are reasons for each of them having starry eyes beyond this simple connection, that vary depending on who you’re talking about. This includes Ai herself.

Two Bright White Lies: Why Does Ai Hoshino Have Dark & Bright Star Eyes?

Ai Hoshino is the driving force of the story’s main plot, despite being murdered in the prologue arc. Her eyes are undeniably the most spellbinding in the series, while also being a loaded subject.

Being described as coming from a broken home with an abusive mother, Ai was incapable of recalling a moment she felt loved, and unable to express it to others. This intimidated her as a prospective idol in Chapter 8 / Episode 1, but upon being scouted, she was taught that lying was a desirable skill and a way to protect herself. She resolved to tell lies to please others, even though it would be her downfall.

While she had stars in her eyes at this moment, it was more thoroughly conveyed in the anime when her eyes went from dark stars, to full of radiant, glittery light. The brightness and charm of her eyes were fueled by lying, and the darkness was due to her fraught past and less desirable, or even ostensibly human traits.

What makes this meaningful is the moment of Ai’s murder in Chapter 9 / Episode 1, where she lay dying, back against the door, professing her love for her children. She had previously said that she was afraid of saying it only for it to be a lie, but at this moment, she speaks her final truth, acknowledges it, and dies.

It’s heartbreaking that the moment she feels safe to speak her truth is also the one she draws her last breath. The life, and stars, fade from her eyes the moment she stops lying, leaving her children to carry on in their ways.

Where Do Aqua and Ruby Get Their Starry Eyes From?

Even as infants and toddlers, Aqua and Ruby bore these eyes as traits from their mother. But the meaning behind these eyes goes deeper than the surface. Each of these characters is the reincarnation of people who were victimized by cruel circumstances, forced now to play the part of Ai’s children.

Goro was murdered while trying to protect Ai from her stalker, while Sarina died as a terminally ill child, abandoned by her parents in her final moments. Their respective identities of Aqua and Ruby are charades to mask their troubled past lives.

Aqua’s star eyes in Oshi no Ko are often dark, with him concealing his soul’s desire to kill Ai’s murderer, while also using manipulation of others as a means to an end. Even being reborn and starting with a bright star in his right eye, losing his new mother sent him into a dark spiral of vengeance in a chilling scene from the anime premiere. This moment was even accented with crow imagery, which we’ll explore later.

Aqua occasionally has bright starry eyes, indicating more innocent or palatable motives, yet upholding the lie, in that he maintains the illusion that he’s just another aspiring teen actor. He also uses his dishonesty and manipulation for the gain of others in these moments, with the black stars seemingly hinting when his actions are tied to his personal goals.

Like most of the other characters, at one point the stars left Aqua’s eyes entirely. In Chapter 68, upon learning what he believed to be the truth about Ai’s killer and that he would never get his vengeance, he resolved to live a normal life at first.

He even claimed to be leaving that path behind in Chapter 78, but upon learning about Ai’s true killer, not just the original eye, but both eyes now sported a grim, black star by Chapter 98. Aqua then began to use more shameful tactics to achieve his goals, once more to track down this killer.

In true seinen fashion, instead of Aqua becoming a misunderstood villain in an inferior story, this just creates a more layered, nuanced protagonist. But this does nothing to discredit just how compelling the rest of the characters are.

Ruby Hoshino is the reincarnation of Sarina Tendoji, a cancer patient from the same hospital where Goro worked and treated Ai during her pregnancy. She was a fan of Ai’s since the start, introducing Goro to her, and her death was not discussed in greater detail until Chapter 75. What’s more, her troubled past and similarly absentee mother made this second life as the daughter of her idol a blessing of sorts of which she could live blissfully unaware. In the beginning, Ruby’s eyes symbolized her lying to herself.

Ruby’s eyes have the distinction of becoming possibly the most complex in the series. As she loses sight of her goals, you see the points of the stars waning in her eye, such as in Chapter 79. There are even moments where one eye is black while the other is still light such as when her desire for vengeance is softened by her urge to protect her friends. When she determines that Goro’s killer could still be out there, and the star comes to both eyes, a deep, menacing black.

Ruby’s past as Sarina is exceptionally cruel, and one I noticed her finally realizing in Chapters 118-119, or at least grasping at it. Sarina’s mother was too “busy” to be present in her final moments, yet appears outwardly normal later when Aqua meets her, beloved by her family as a present mother figure.

This part hurts particularly to read again, but as you see the mask slipping, Ruby has been lying to herself for so long that she is on the verge of a breakdown. Upon reading Ai’s script, where Ai’s mother similarly neglected her, Ruby is frozen. In a moment where she appears to come to terms with this about her past, the stars leave her eyes entirely in the final moments of Chapter 119.

Why Does Akane Kurokawa Have Starry Eyes?

Akane Kurokawa was the main anomaly of this series for this reason alone. Originally a supporting character and member of the reality show cast Aqua joined in pursuit of Ai’s true killer, Akane Kurokawa recovered from the brink of suicide and bounced back hard. In a bid to protect herself from online abuse while also cultivating a persona onscreen, she studied Ai Hoshino’s past and channeled her personality quirks. Akane wound up becoming a carbon copy of Ai, as wonderfully brought to life in Episode 7.

But Akane’s eyes indicate two main things: star eyes in Oshi no Ko are not necessarily hereditary, and they can fade and reappear frequently for some characters. More importantly, Akane’s performance and persona which causes these eyes to appear, in essence, is another form of lie.

Despite immersing herself the most overtly in this lie, Akane is also one of the most outwardly honest characters, and this honesty is on full display when you don’t see the stars in her eyes. In moments like Chapter 116, she confronts Aqua wanting to stop his violent revenge fantasy, not a star in sight in her eyes.

Why Does Hikaru Kamiki Have Black Star Eyes in Oshi no Ko?

While Hikaru Kamiki is the least-known character in Oshi no Ko for fans of the anime, the stars in his eyes have a more obvious meaning thanks to the precedent set by other characters. His eyes are seemingly permanent black stars, telegraphing his darker qualities as the main overtly evil character in the series. His blonde hair and starry eyes make him a dead giveaway as the biological father of Aqua and Ruby Hoshino.

Hikaru Kamiki doesn’t lie for his own protection or to look out for others, but rather to gain the trust of his future victims, before staging their death as an accident or tragedy. Hikaru appears to fit the bill of a serial killer and mastermind. He orchestrated Ai’s murder, and even the murder of Goro before he was reincarnated.

Kamiki has had visibly black stars in his eyes in every appearance since his introduction in Chapter 96, and his teased appearance in Chapter 72. His motives remain unclear, but a glimpse at his targets hints at something else: Yura Katayose (from Chapter 109) briefly showed a glimpse at a star in her eye, at the time the #1 actress in Japan. After learning of her mountain hiking plans, he warned her as a show of trustworthiness, only to follow her and kill her, adding to his list of victims.

Perhaps he’s after the lives that show this quality, and the stars have a deeper purpose than simply the capacity to lie, which brings us to a mysterious connection. This leads us to the crows and a mysterious ethereal girl who appears before Aqua.

Yatagarasu: What’s Up With the Crows?

One of the most striking recurring images in Oshi no Ko, aside from the star eyes, is the use of crows. They accentuate the scene of death such as Goro’s death in Episode 1 of the anime. They even form the black star in Aqua’s eye in a brilliantly illustrated moment in the prologue, but they are also connected to divine guidance and intervention in Japanese folklore. They’re intensely symbolic, such as in the closing scene of Chapter 79, where a tearful Ruby sits in a pool, surrounded by falling crow feathers.

This suggests a connection to Yatagarasu, a guiding God in Japanese culture. This connection was implied since the beginning when Aqua and Ruby as children pretended to be divine messengers, invoking the name of Amaterasu. It could suggest a divine presence in the series that makes the reincarnation happen, with the clearest possible manifestation of this being of course, crow girl.

The crow girl is often sardonic but guides Aqua when his path falters in dreamlike sequences, possibly suggesting that she’s the embodiment of Yatagarasu. Her connection in the series plot is unclear but hints at enormous potential beneath the surface of this drama.

Conclusion: What Do the Star Eyes and Crows in Oshi no Ko Mean?

Lies, reincarnation, and a divine connection are fascinating but entirely fan theories about the stars in peoples’ eyes in Oshi no Ko until explicitly confirmed. They make the most sense, but the truth will probably be stranger than fiction when it’s introduced. The meaning behind these eyes could be the primary motive of the antagonist and is a secret closely guarded, possibly by divine forces.

It’s far less likely that it’s just an aesthetic choice given how much detail has been put into these gorgeous eyes. It’s too anglocentric to assume that the character Ai’s name is just a pun, too. That’d be too overt, especially since no characters seem to talk specifically about the stars. Finally, it’s too tantalizing a secret for Aka Akasaka and Mengo Yokoyari to keep locked up for too much longer.

What Are the Story Arcs of Oshi no Ko?

The main plot begins after a poignant prologue beautifully told in Episode 1 of the Oshi no Ko anime, while the manga does so from Chapters 1-10. Beyond this, we see a time skip where Gorou, Ai’s doctor reincarnated into the body of her son, Aqua, goes into the entertainment industry to identify his father and the culprit behind Ai’s murder.

The ensuing story arcs concern different facets of the entertainment industry the siblings go through, such as TV dramas, dating shows, stage plays, and even movies.

Every Oshi no Ko Arc & Its Corresponding Anime Episodes

While it’s unclear whether we’ll get another season or cour of Oshi no Ko, the common consensus among viewers is that it’s a high-quality anime drama with a lot to offer. It’s a great reason to consider a HIDIVE subscription, as well. The anime typically adapts 3 chapters from the manga at a time, with the story arcs varying in length.

The 2.5D Stage Play arc is currently the longest of the series, as it had the most compelling concept until the Movie arc, and forced Aqua further out of his comfort zone as an actor than ever before. One neat part about that arc, in particular, is the meta-commentary on manga creators, and just how many times a story changes hands before it’s turned into a script for an adaptation.

In fact, much of the series enables us to look at the entertainment industry in a rather satirical sense, seeing our preconceptions about dying sectors of the industry turned on their head, and other seedy elements put on display. While the identity of the culprit behind Ai’s killing at this point has been revealed, he has not been brought to justice yet, and we’re along for the ride, however long it takes.

She is promised a paradise of male suitors but has her favorite things taken away until she chooses a boyfriend. The story is hilarious, heartwarming, and self-aware, so readers/viewers might wonder, who does Anzu end up with in Romantic Killer?

Does Anzu End Up With Tsukasa in Romantic Killer?

Anzu x Tsukasa

Tsukasa Kazuki is the first love interest introduced in episode 1 of the anime, but the pair are not end game. Anzu and Tsukasa encounter each other in numerous instances that seem to parody the meet-cute trope, where future couples meet under seemingly random and often humorous circumstances.

Tsukasa’s good looks and initial cold demeanor belie his kindness, with him becoming a wonderful friend to Anzu. While he finds himself falling for her, Anzu does not feel pressured to reciprocate his feelings.

Anzu x Junta

Junta Hayami is propped up by Riri as the encapsulating the childhood friend archetype, even referring to him as ‘easy mode’ in the context of otome games, but these two just weren’t meant to be. He idealized Anzu since elementary school when he was teased for being overweight and called Tonta by their classmates, becoming a baseball prodigy when he learned that Anzu liked athletic guys. While seemingly cowardly and resentful of Tsukasa, Junta is steadfast and loyal to his friends.

Anzu x Ryuya

Ryuya seems like the closest romantic fit for Anzu, but does not end up with her in Romantic Killer. Their mutual appreciation for video games is a strong indicator that they could have chemistry, but this alone doesn’t seem to be enough to bring the pair together. However, Ryuya joins other characters in protecting Anzu from some rather scary circumstances by the end of the series, and remains her friend.

Anzu x Koganei?

Hijiri Koganei is the rich, handsome suitor sent after Anzu by Riri, but they do not end up together in Romantic Killer. Their personalities clash, with Anzu going as far as to taunt him for his attitude, referring to him as a tsundere. Despite his arrogant demeanor, Anzu still regards him as a friend, playing into his confidence and showing him affection as she does for her other friends.

Anzu x Riri

One of the more complicated and admittedly odd pairings in the anime – these two do not end up together, but when Riri wishes to stay in her life, Anzu shrewdly uses the technicality that there’s a fraction of a percent chance they could end up together romantically. This forces Kate, a later wizard assigned to her case, to allow Riri to stay in the human world.

Will There Ever Be an “Endgame” Pairing For Anzu?

For those who have caught on at this point, the story isn’t meant for Anzu to end up with anybody, at least, not definitively. The series does a wonderful job showcasing the importance of platonic love, which is often devalued in romance stories as only another avenue for people to end up together. Anzu eventually is given access to her possessions, while keeping her invaluable friends, and keeps the autonomy to not have to date any of them or respond to their advances.

However, the anime ends on a cheeky ‘to be continued…?’ note while setting her up with a new quest given by Kate, to find a boyfriend before graduating. We’ll see if there’s ever a continuation, but for now, the anime and manga end on the same note, with Anzu ending up with her favorite things: video games, chocolate, her cat Momohiki, and her friends. The ending of the manga is equally open-ended, however, there are some hints that she and Tsukasa could eventually develop something, since the final chapters give him the spotlight.

Romantic Killer was released on Netflix on October 27, 2022, and is based on the manga originally released on July 30, 2019. You can read Romantic Killer on Shonen Jump.

What is Jujutsu Kaisen’s Manga Release Schedule?

Jujutsu Kaisen releases weekly on Sundays and is available on Manga Plus and the VIZ Media Jujutsu Kaisen portal, with occasional hiatuses. Aside from the usual holiday breaks for Weekly Shonen Jump series like New Years, Golden Week, Obon, and Christmas, I will keep you posted on any developments.

Full Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2024)

Please, note that the Jutusu Kaisen chapter release date schedule might change due to unforeseen circumstances regarding the author’s condition and problems with the magazine. If that happens, the data here will be updated to bring you the most accurate release schedule. As of early June 2024, Gege Akutami, the mangaka behind Jujutsu Kaisen, has announced that he will be taking a three week break as he deals with a series of health issues.

Given that Gege doesn’t take any breaks after he returns at the end of this month, Jujutsu Kaisen‘s schedule in 2024 should go as follows:

Fans will want to buckle up – it seems as though, with current events in the series, that Jujutsu Kaisen is ramping up for its grand finale.

Full Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2023)

Below you can find our previously-covered 2023 schedule! As you might have guessed, several unexpected hiatuses happened, but some explosive moments followed too!

It’s bittersweet to imagine the Dark Trio soon losing its second pillar, but the series has had a spectacular run! However, Chainsaw Man has lately been bringing up the rear with some crazy chapters of its own.

What is Spy x Family’s Manga Release Schedule?

Spy x Family does not run in Weekly Shonen Jump despite its mass appeal, but rather through the online service Shonen Jump+, and has been its most successful manga since its release date in 2019. Spy x Family releases on a bi-weekly schedule, releasing one manga chapter every other Sunday, with Chapter 100 being 2024’s latest installment released on June 23, 2024.

Full Spy x Family Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2024)

Below you can see the anticipated Spy x Family release date schedule for 2024. While the mangaka has taken a couple of unexpected breaks throughout the year, if everything stays on track, this should be a definitive guide to keeping up with the Forgers for the rest of 2024.

As you can see, this biweekly format is anticipated to carry through much of the year, and the only currently foreseen conflict is at the end of April, Golden Week, a set of consecutive holidays in Japan. This is a fairly similar pattern to that of One Piece’s release schedule from 2024.

With two seasonal anime seasons, a smash-hit feature-length film and the manga still being far enough ahead of season 3, there’s plenty to enjoy this calendar year with Loid and the rest of the Forgers.

Full Spy x Family Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2023)

We have provided an anticipated release schedule, with small adjustments predicting a similar pattern to 2022’s releases, accounting for any holidays that overlap throughout the year.

You can read these chapters through the Viz Shonen Jump portal or through the Shonen Jump manga reader app.

Spy x Family released on Shonen Jump+ on March 25, 2019. It also has received an anime tv series, as well as an upcoming anime film.

Super Bowl LVIII is one of the biggest annual events taking place in 2024, and for good reason. It’s the ultimate championship of one of the United States’ favorite national pastimes, American Football, which is also the nation’s most-watched sport. But with a hold on this level of viewership being so valuable, especially with the crazy ads that air year upon year, what channel is hosting the Super Bowl this year in 2024?

Super Bowl LVIII in 2024: What Channel is the Super Bowl on This Year?

In 2024, the Super Bowl will be broadcast nationally on CBS. Additionally, any streaming app that includes CBS live streaming in their packages is available to watch this. The main event for this broadcast begins at 6:30 PM ET / 3:30 PM PT. For American viewers, this will be the channel to follow and gather your friends for the annual Super Bowl party, to celebrate however you choose, and to root for the Kansas City Chiefs or the San Francisco 49ers.

Be sure to keep an eye out for a phenomenal and entertaining event, whether you’re there for the sport of the game, or to watch the incredibly well-done commercials, capitalizing on the level of viewership for the event as shown in their production values.

How to Watch Super Bowl LVIII if Not in America

If you’re planning to watch the Super Bowl from Canada or any other part of the world, you’re in luck since there are quite a few options. You can watch it on the following networks and services:

• Canada: TSN, CTV
• Local Broadcast: The game should be broadcast on any local station that carries CBS programming.
• Streaming: Paramount+, fuboTV, DAZN, NFL Plus, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream

In addition to the above events, Usher is confirmed to be the musical performer for the halftime show. Make sure to use the above channel resources to tune into the Super Bowl this year!

The odds seem stacked against them, but the human race is given a fighting chance thanks to Brunhilde’s schemes and her fellow valkyries’ Volund weapons. So far, there have been nine rounds of the potential 13 in the series, with each of these fights in Record of Ragnarok being surprising and intense bouts full of shock and awe.

Every Record of Ragnarok Round: All Fights in Order

While round 9 is over in Record of Ragnarok, there have been some spectacular fights with surprising finishes. Despite all of these humans, or Einherjar, being distinctly mortal, their talents and motivations, along with Volund, have given them a unique edge in each fight.

Related: Record of Ragnarok Round 8 Winner Prediction: Nikola Tesla vs. Beelzebub

As you can probably guess, since one side needs to claim 7 victories to win the tournament and even round 10 won’t determine the winning side just yet, humanity has clinched a few wins. We won’t spoil it in this piece, but you’re welcome to check out the list of winners and losers from each round. Listed below is an official Record of Ragnarok fight list

• Round 1: Thor vs. Lü Bu
• Round 2: Zeus vs. Adam
• Round 3: Poseidon vs. Kojiro Sasaki
• Round 4: Heracles vs. Jack the Ripper
• Round 5: Shiva vs. Raiden Tameemon
• Round 6: Zerofuku/Hajun vs. Buddha
• Round 7: Hades vs. Qin Shi Huang
• Round 8: Beelzebub vs. Nikola Tesla
• Round 9: Apollo vs. Leonidas
• Round 10: Susano’o no Mikoto vs. Soji Okita
• Round 11: Mahatma Ghandi vs. Set
• Round 12-13: TBD

Contestants in Future Record of Ragnarok Fights

Aside from these characters, there are still several combatants on each side who have yet to feature, such as the gods:

• Anubis
• Loki
• Odin

For the humans, there are still some mighty challengers remaining, and even some other teased human legends who have yet to factor in:

• Grigori Rasputin
• Michel Nostradamus
• Sakata Kintoki
• Simo Häyhä

Layouts have shifted even since the start of the series. For instance, Buddha went from the gods’ side to that of the Einherjar after they convinced him humanity was worth fighting for. The fights of Record of Ragnarok can often also hinge on who has the more compelling backstory, making the gods more sympathetic than expected.

It’s fun to speculate on who will be pitted against whom, with characters like Simo Häyhä, known for his unmatched marksmanship, being an ideal foe for Loki, the Norse god of mischief. And, of course, Rasputin will be a match to watch closely, given his apparent immortality.

This article will take you through exactly how to get the Speed Cola schematic easily in MW3 Zombies.

MW3 Zombies: Where to find the Speed Cola Recipe Schematic

You can get the Speed Cola Recipe as random schematic drops in Reward Rifts from Threat Zone 1 contracts in MW3 Zombies. This makes Speed Cola one of the easiest Perk-a-Colas to get in the game, which is great considering it’s such a valuable asset. You’re almost guaranteed to find one after beating only one contract, so take it easy, as you won’t need much more than maybe an Uncommon weapon to handle any of these contracts.

Unlike the Epic Aether Tool in Zone 3 or even the Raw Aetherium Crystal in Zone 2, Speed Cola is one you can approach nearly any way due to how much easier Threat Zone 1 is. You can chain together a ton of contracts that are packed together in this portion of the game’s map and find any of the following schematics:

• Brain Rot
• Cryo Freeze
• Deadshot Daquiri
• Napalm Burst
• Speed Cola
• Stamin-Up

Once you’ve found the Speed Cola Recipe, extract from any Exfil point in Zone 1 to play it safe and keep this valuable Perk-a-Cola. It’s my favorite, as it can get you out of a bind even with Pack-a-Punch weapons when you need to reload in a sticky situation, dropping the wait time to a fraction of the regular reload animation.

Best Contracts to Get Speed Cola Schematics in MWZ

Unsurprisingly, Cargo Delivery is among my top recommendations for farming to get the Speed Cola schematic in MW3 Zombies. However, even while playing solo, you can also reasonably chain that with some Big Bounty, Outlast, and Raid Weapon Stash contracts without feeling too pressured. My main advice is to switch it up if you’re comfortable, as running constant Cargo Delivery missions can get stale.

How Do You Get Schematics in MW3 Zombies?

All schematics in MW3 Zombies can be acquired through contracts and missions. I have personally found contracts to be extremely successful for gaining a lot of schematics in quick succession — as was the case with Speed Cola. Further, a user on Reddit took time to create a loot table that has information on what every schematic can be linked to, so that can act as a great point of reference.

Overall, be sure to complete contracts whenever you can, and you will have plenty of schematics in no time. Now that you know how to get the Speed Cola schematic, you can dive back into the world and grab it for yourself.

Starfield: Preparing the Ship for Grav Drive in the First Contact Mission

There are three computers you need to interact with to prepare the ECS Constant with a Grav Drive for the ‘First Contact’ quest in Starfield. I found this mission to be complicated at first, but you won’t have any trouble following this guide.

Engineering Control Computer Alpha – Turbopump Port

The first step in the mission to prepare the Grav Drive is to reroute power from the Port Turbopump to the Auxillary Cryogenic Radiator. To do this, go to Engineering Control Computer Alpha and select Turbopump — Port first and Cryogenic Radiator — Auxiliary second, and you’re good to go.

Engineering Control Computer Beta – Plasma Run-Off Inhibiter

Next up, you need to adjust the power level of the Plasma Run-Off Inhibiter to the correct level at the Engineering Control Computer Beta. To complete this step, choose the Plasma Run-Off Inhibiter from the list and set it to 95%.

Engineering Control Computer Gamma – Magnetic Flange Pipe Enclosures

Lastly, you need to decouple the Auxiliary Module Assembly from the Magnetic Flange Pipe Enclosures. Use Engineering Control Computer Gamma and select Auxiliary Module Assembly. From there, choose to decouple and then select the Magnetic Flange Pipe Enclosures. That’s all you need to do!

Related: What Do Red Health Bars Mean in Starfield?

This quest seems much more complex on paper than it is in practice. If you ever forget what you need to do, all of the steps are in your quest log, so don’t hesitate to check your journal if you need a refresher.

There’s also no penalty for choosing the wrong options, so you can always go back and correct your mistakes if the quest doesn’t advance to the next step. I got the steps wrong multiple times, but thankfully, nothing happened, and I could go back and make the correct adjustments.

Once you’ve set everything to the correct levels and decoupled the right parts, the quest will automatically continue to the next step. At this point, the First Contact quest is nearly over! There are just a few more people to talk to before you can cross this one off your list.

Is There a Different Ending if You Don’t Take the Grav Drive Path in Starfield?

There are three endings for the First Contact mission. There are three dialogue options at the end of the mission that can change the ending you get. Here are all the dialogue options.

1. Help the crew settle in Paradiso by providing some extra resources.
2. Equip the Constant with a Grav Drive for them to settle somewhere else.
3. Destroy the Ship.

Naturally, these are conflicting options. The ECS Constant encountered Paradiso after an enormously long voyage, and it’s simply a sad coincidence that somebody settled there first. Helping them settle seems appealing, but sending them on a new mission to settle elsewhere is a worthy compromise once you can persuade them.

First Contact Mission Rewards in Starfield

If you choose to settle the crew on Paradiso, you will get rewarded with the following items:

• .45 Caliber ACP x30
• Antique Earth Baseball x2
• Antique Earth Basketball
• Antique Earth Hockey Stick x3
• Antique Earth Soccer Ball x2
• Antique Piggy Bank
• Modified XM-2311

If you choose to send the crew on a new voyage with their new Grav Drive, you will be rewarded with the following items after completing the quest:

• .45 Caliber Acp X30
• Antique Earth Baseball x2
• Antique Earth Basketball
• Antique Earth Hockey Stick x3
• Antique Earth Soccer Ball x2
• Antique Piggy Bank
• Grav Drive Retrofit Manual
• Modified XM-2311

Destroying the ship will only reward you with Credits after completing the First Contact quest:

• 6500 Credits

What is the Best Option in Starfield’s ‘First Contact’ Mission? – Grav Drive, Settle on Paradiso, or Destroy the Ship?

The first or the second are equally reasonable choices. I don’t recommend the third option, which only rewards you with 6,500 credits. Unless you’re in dire need of some cash, 6,500 credits is pretty underwhelming.

There isn’t too much reason not to choose one of the other options, as you will be getting a free weapon from them in the process. Plus, who doesn’t love a good antique baseball every once in a while? You can even keep it on your desk like Captain Sisko.

Related: Here’s Why Starfield Requires an SSD on PC

Now that you know what to choose for the First Contact quest, you can hop back into the galaxy and do some exploring of your own. If you’re looking for a new ride to scour the galaxy, check out our article on the best ships in Starfield.

This article will take you through everything we know about the Phasmophobia console release date.

When Does Phasmophobia Release on Consoles?

The console release for Phasmophobia has been postponed, so PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S players hoping for a chance to play the game have to wait longer. A revised release date window was not given. The originally planned release window was the week leading up to Halloween in 2023, but there were several factors cited in their mid-October news post including:

• Continuing to adjust after the fire incident caused August’s delay.
• Setting up a new office.
• Additional challenges balancing the experience for PSVR2 players.
• Reworking the Maple Lodge Campsite with a new reception office area, hiding spots, and performance improvements.

Related: All Equipment Tiers in Phasmophobia

Phasmophobia was initially planned to hit consoles in August 2023. Due to an unfortunate fire incident at Kinetic Games’ office, the release date was pushed forward two months to ensure a smooth launch. Since then, there has been a further update in the form of a Steam blog in January which showcases that the game is still in development for consoles.

It should be noted people have also wondered if a Phasmophobia PS4 version will exist and this is answered below along with other consoles.

Is Phasmophobia Delayed On PlayStation 5?

Yes, Phasmophobia is delayed for PlayStation 5 but it is coming, alongside Xbox Series X and Series S. For console players, I recommend you’ll want to learn how to use the DOTS Projector and the other ghost-hunting tools.

Will Phasmophobia Release for PSVR2?

As mentioned earlier, Phasmophobia is coming to PSVR2 as well! I know that Phasmophobia VR is a truly terrifying experience; it’s not for the faint of heart. While other Phasmo clones have sprouted up in recent months to years, few have this level of continuous support to reach the wider player base like Phasmophobia.

Is the Console Version of Phasmophobia Crossplay?

The PS5 and Xbox Series versions of Phasomophobia will have the option to enable crossplay. This means that no matter which platforms your friends choose, you can all play together. Horror games are always better with friends, and Phasmophobia is no anomaly.

Is Phasmophobia Coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4?

Phasmophobia isn’t coming to PlayStation 4 or Xbox One consoles. There will be no Phasmophobia PS4 version. I know this may come as disappointing news, but I’m looking forward to playing Phasmophobia on other consoles soon. We aren’t sure if it’ll be on Xbox Game Pass yet or exactly how much it’ll cost. It currently costs $13.99 on Steam, so expect a similar price on Xbox Series X|S and PS5 when it does eventually release.

How to find the Refined Aetherium Crystal schematic in Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) Zombies

Refined Aetherium Crystal schematics are occasionally found in Threat Zone 3 contract Reward Rifts in MW3 Zombies. It’s easy to farm these using the Cargo Delivery contracts, so bring Decoy Grenades and Throwing Knives to clear any zombies in your way. Make sure to avoid Mega Abominations, though, as they’ll tear through your vehicles.

This makes the process very similar to getting the Tombstone Soda or Ray Gun Schematic, with RNG playing a factor. You will not likely get the Refined Aetherium Crystal schematic as a reward after completing only one contract in Zone 3. Still, it’s also the only way you can get the following schematic rewards:

• Epic Aether Tool
• Refined Aetherium Crystal
• Elemental Pop
• Tombstone Soda
• Ray Gun

Beyond that, once you find the Refined Aetherium Crystal Schematic, run to either Zone 2 or Zone 1 for a safe extraction. You won’t want to die and have to grind for another one of these items — something that happened to me multiple times.

The best contracts to get Refined Aetherium Crystal schematics in MWZ

The best contracts to get the Refined Aetherium Crystal schematic are Cargo Delivery or Outlast, which you can complete even with minimum load-outs in MW3 Zombies. My recommendation is to bring some Decoy Grenades and Throwing Knives, which allows you to farm the Cargo Delivery contract multiple times to get the Refined Aetherium Crystal schematic without nearly as much hassle. If it’s not showing up for you, it alternates with the Escort mission in the zone, so take the Escort contract, then immediately cancel it to spawn another Cargo Delivery.

Outlast might be a bit trickier, but inside the building where the PND is, you can climb to the top of some scaffolding, throw decoys out the opening, and run outside for ammo when you need a refill on your equipment. If you alternate these contracts, you can potentially even get these schematics solo.

How to craft schematics in MW3 Zombies

Players can craft any schematic skill, such as the refined Aetherium Crystal schematic, once they exfil the battlefield with the schematic corresponding to the skill. For example, if you want to craft Speed Cola, you must first find the Speed Cola schematic in the field and exfil with it. Once you exfil with the schematic, you can head into your Gear Menu and select an empty space in your Rucksack to be brought to the Schematic Crafting section.

The Schematic Crafting section will show you all schematics you have successfully exfiled with and ones you can currently craft. The good news is that it will also show the ones still in the field, letting you plan which ones you should try to find on your next match.

I know this can put a dampener on any situation if you think there’s a chance of losing some support from your fellow villagers in LEGO Fortnite.

Can Villager Tools Break in LEGO Fortnite?

Yes, villager tools will break just like yours. A small bubble will appear next to them with a broken tool symbol and a red exclamation mark. The broken pickaxe symbol in LEGO Fortnite is shown below, so when you see this, it will be clear that the tool is broken.

Related: How to Fix Hunger Bug in LEGO Fortnite

The only reason it happens less commonly than it does for your equipment is that villagers use tools at a slower pace, meaning fewer swings against a given target.

While this can be frustrating, it adds a dynamic of team management to your survival playthroughs, and you’ll want to keep track of your villager’s equipment. If it’s been a while, consider crafting a secondary tool of your choice in case they need one. Keeping a check on tool durability for restoring will always be extremely important, so I recommend constantly having a backup plan.

How to Give Villagers New Tools in LEGO Fortnite

You can give villagers new tools by going up to them, hitting ‘X’ or ‘Square’ or ‘Y’ to speak to them, and selecting the ‘Take this!’ dialogue option. Doing so will prompt you to give an item of its corresponding type from your inventory. This includes basic tools like:

• Pickaxe
• Forest Axe
• Shortsword

I have noticed that doing this carefully can benefit you and allow them to help you more efficiently in gathering and combat. They can even carry multiple items. But if their gear ever breaks, they’ll fight like a true champ when you need to be defended from mobs like skeletons that emerge at night. Giving your villager tools will help, such as in finding helpful resources like shells from rollers in LEGO Fortnite, so always be mindful of that when making new gear.

Related: How to Get XP in LEGO Fortnite

Now that you know Villager Tools do break in the game, you can keep a close lookout for any broken pickaxe symbol in LEGO Fortnite or other tool breaks.

How to Use Balloons in LEGO Fortnite to Build a Flying Machine

You can do this both in Survival and in Sandbox, but I recommend trying to build your flying machine first in LEGO Fortnite’s Sandbox mode as it is incredibly janky. To use the balloon to navigate in LEGO Fortnite, you’ll need to create a base platform with small enclosures, a set of large thrusters to push it forward, and a secondary pair of platforms inside the enclosure, all before placing the balloons to take flight.

As this is a confusing setup, I chose to go in-depth below:

Step One: Dynamic Foundations

As suggested by YouTuber Hayden Leroux, you can build the bones of this flying machine in LEGO Fortnite by first building a set of Wood Foundations (4x4x12, or any Foundations, doesn’t matter). As Leroux’s build is quite clever, I’m basing this build on his concept. If playing on Sandbox Mode, you can use Flying mode to make this building process easier, but in Survival, a Log Lookout will help get you up to the platforms when needed.

Related: Here’s How to Easily Restore Weapon Durability in LEGO Fortnite

Build 2 Dynamic Foundations and snap them together to form a longer piece. For extra assurance, I recommend making sure they’re balanced well on the Foundations and placing a Large Wheel on its flat end on each of the inside corners to cushion any crash landings. You can knock away the Foundations underneath from this point if you want.

Step Two: Building the Enclosure

The next step in constructing your LEGO Fortnite flying machine is to use more Wood/Rock Foundations to wrap around the outer edges of the Dynamic Foundations. I chose 4x4x4 Granite Foundations for a little color contrast, and so that they’d easily wrap around the Platforms. Make sure they’re at an even height so it’s level with the platforms for the sake of the next part.

Using the same 4x4x4 Foundations, make a set of individual blocks to wrap loosely around the top edges.

This is to hold a second set of Dynamic Foundations while preventing them from snapping onto the base ones.

Step Three: Secondary Dynamic Platforms for Steering

Here’s where the true jank comes into play. You must place a Foundation of your choosing in the middle of each of the 2 conjoined Platforms. Place a new Dynamic Foundation atop each of these, and then break each of the Foundations so the Platforms land in the enclosure you’ve made. You can walk toward the platforms if they hang over any edges to push them inside.

Step Four: Place Your Thrusters

This is where the Large Thrusters come into play: place an evenly distributed set along one of the long edges of your plane. These will push your balloon machine forward, and this next set of Thrusters will allow you to navigate in LEGO Fortnite.

Place a 4x4x8 Foundation atop each of the loose Platforms in the middle, then place a Small Thruster on the rear (matching the Large Thrusters) and on the top of each Foundation.

Attach an Activation Switch to each of these Foundations holding the Thrusters, then one to the main platform. The reason for separating the secondary Platforms was so that the Thrusters wouldn’t be linked to the switch on the base frame.

Step Five: Place Your Balloons

Use the Large Balloon, and while standing aboard, place them carefully, in one corner then to the opposite corner. If you don’t place them carefully, the ship will tilt severely and you could fall off. Or you could have what happened to me and you could place the balloons on there without getting on first, watching helplessly as your janky creation sailed off into the skies.

On each side, you can use the left or right Thruster Switches to change direction left or right, while the main frame’s Switch will propel you forward.

How to Land Your Balloon Platform in LEGO Fortnite

An interesting technique that works as of the 2.0.3010.6568 build of Fortnite is to build a Wooden Crate from your ‘Build’ menu and place it directly in the middle of your platform. Then walk up to it slightly and push it, and the whole platform descends to the ground quickly. I also like to add weight to the middle of the ship until it starts to slowly descend to the ground, but be careful since you need to account for the entire base platform’s weight balance.

For those wondering how it looks in action, here is the original video that inspired this build:

Flying using balloons to navigate in LEGO Fortnite is a precarious setup, but this build is one of the best ways to change direction while in the air. I recommend bringing a Glider if things get hairy, but this is an amazing way to achieve enormous height and get where you want to go.

Are There Other Types of Flying Machines in LEGO Fortnite?

Generally speaking, the only way you can make a flying machine in LEGO Fortnite is by placing balloons and thrusters on a dynamic foundation. That’s not only how you build an airship, but also the process to follow if you want to build a huge pirate ship in LEGO Fortnite. In Survival mode, I usually go for more practical designs when exploring the world. However, if you just want to see if some crazy idea of yours is possible, I do recommend trying it out in Sandbox mode.

Here’s how to activate Deadbolt Turrets with ammo mods in MW3 Zombies!

• How to Activate 3 Deadbolt Turrets in MW3 Zombies
• How Do You Get the Deadbolt Turret Circuits in MW3 Zombies
• How to Do You Complete Automated Backup in MW3
• What is the Best Turret Circuit Mod in MW3 Zombies

How to Activate 3 Deadbolt Turrets in MW3 Zombies

To activate the 3 Deadbolt Turrets in MW3 Zombies, you’ll need to approach one as marked on the map, hold ‘Square’ or ‘X’, and press down on the D-pad to select a Turret Circuit. This will activate them to use against the surrounding zombies, and they work with killer efficiency if you’re looking to clear some breathing room on the map. Additionally, they can be modded with special ammo to spice things up.

Related: MW3 Zombies Saboteur Guide: How to Get Uncommon Aether Tool Plans

I believe it’s always worthwhile using Deadbolt turrets when you can, especially when things start to get a lot more heated as time goes on. The trickiest part is the process of gathering the materials needed to start up the turrets.

How Do You Get the Deadbolt Turret Circuits in MW3 Zombies

You can find Turret Circuit Boards commonly at Mercenary Encampment caches and even more frequently at Mercenary Strongholds. I’ve often been able to find one or two boards at each of these locations, making this one of the easier mechanics to pick up and play. However, if you’re planning on going into Mercenary Strongholds, I recommend being prepared with the appropriate gear.

Make sure you have armor stocked up along with a pack-a-punched weapon if at all possible. The strongholds are excellent for getting loot and the circuit boards needed, but be careful if you’re by yourself.

How to Complete Automated Backup in MW3

To complete Automated Backup, you only have one objective:

• Activate 3 Deadbolt Turrets with Ammo Mod Circuit Boards

While this sounds easy, you’ll need the ammo mod boards, and plain Turret Circuits won’t cut it. So anything like Cryo Freeze or Brain Rot Circuit Boards as shown in the above section are the only ones that will count toward this objective. After you have what you need, you can get the 3 Deadbolt Turrets active and complete the mission.

I tested this out myself, and while it was disappointing that you need these special boards, it’s one of the missions with the least amount of tedious or meticulous work (looking at you, Hellhounds objective in Freezer Burn).

Top recommendations for specific ammo mods for these turrets are largely Brain Rot and Cryo Freeze, with good chances of these being pulled off and curbing the hordes surrounding you. Brain Rot is especially good at turning the threats against themselves, saving you time, HP, and ammo.

What is the Best Turret Circuit Mod in MW3 Zombies

I personally enjoy using either Shatter Blast or Dead Wire for the ammo mod applied to Deadbolt turrets. The Shatter Blast in particular can be beautiful for watching it in action thanks to the explosive nature of the mod.

Related: MW3 Zombies Big Bounty Locations: Disciple, Mangler, and Mimic

No matter which one you decide upon, there will still be an advantage given to you over the regular ammo, so be sure to stock up on the ammo mods when you can. Now that you know how to activate 3 Deadbolt turrets in MW3 Zombies, it’s time to begin the process for yourself and gain even more experience points.

Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) Clothing Store Locations

There are only two Clothing Stores in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Facemaker’s Boutique
• Carm’s Garm

Both locations can only be accessed during Act 3. The Facemaker’s Boutique is in the Lower City part of Baldur’s Gate, and Carm’s Garm in Rivington.

Facemaker’s Boutique BG3 Clothing Store Location

The Facemaker’s Boutique BG3 clothing store is located in the northeasternmost portion of the Lower City (Baldur’s Gate) map in Act 3 at coordinates X: -163, Y: -127.

To help you easily find where the Facemaker’s Boutique is in BG3, look above The Glitter Gala (in map view) and in front of the Baldur’s Gate Waypoint, which will be located right from the House of Grief and directly below the map’s north entrance.

Carm’s Garm BG3 Clothing Store Location

The other is called Carm’s Garm. It’s located in Rivington right before you enter Baldur’s Gate, near the Wyrm’s Crossing waypoint in Act 3, Coordinates X: 16, Y: 134.

Carm’s Garm is located on the north end of Rivington. Right before the entrance into Baldur’s Gate in Wyrm’s Crossing, turn right and you’ll walk right into Carm’s Garm. It’s right across from Danthelon’s Dancing Axe.

When Can You Find These Clothing Stores in Baldur’s Gate 3?

The Facemaker’s Boutique and Carm’s Garm Clothing Stores are only found in Act 3. To our knowledge, there isn’t a Clothing Store in Act 1 or 2 of Baldur’s Gate 3, so your fashion game is going to have to wait.

Related: Should You Let Volo Try to Remove the Parasite in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Facemaker’s Boutique and Carm’s Garm will feature exclusive sets of clothing, hats, and undergarments. Examples like the Elegant Robe and the Angelic Scion Outfit can be purchased for relatively cheap. The Elegant Robe will be available for 353 Gold Pieces, while the Angelic Scion Outfit will be available for 284.

There are also many other unique and cool-looking pieces of gear to acquire in Facemaker’s Boutique and Carm’s Garm, so shop around and grab what catches your eye. While the gear in these shops isn’t likely to replace your armor, you will look pretty suave when you return to camp. I always enjoy this option in RPGs, often appreciating the chance to craft or customize my gear to look my best.

The store will also sell a wide array of rare dyes, which you can then use to change the color palette of both armor and clothing. You can check out how to use dyes to change the look of your gear in the game in our How to Dye and Customize Armor in Baldur’s Gate 3 guide.

I particularly like looking fancy and checking the stores because the game allows you to change the look of your character by alternating between the combat equipment and the camp clothes without affecting your stats. It’s a good way to make your characters look fresh and change what you’re staring at a little bit, especially if you’ve been wearing the same armor forever. Also, the clothing stores sell dye, which you can use to change the color of your armor and clothes.

Where Do You Get Outfits in BG3?

The Carm’s Garms and Facemarker’s Boutique BG3 clothing stores are the only two stores where players can buy new clothes in the game. However, you don’t get to wait until you reach Act 3 to change your character’s clothes. You might be able to find new clothes by looting enemies and exploring the many different locations throughout all the acts. I also like to switch clothes with party members that I’m not using in case I like theirs more. They are not going to miss it.

Where to Buy Stuff in Baldur’s Gate?

The city of Baldur’s Gate has several different locations where players can buy items. You might want to check the location of all merchants in Baldur’s Gate 3 to make sure that you’re not missing anything, but here’s a list of stores you can find in the Lower City:

• Stormshore Armoury
• Stormshore Tabernacle 
• Felogyr’s Fireworks
• Bonecloak’s Apothecary
• Sorcerous Sundries
• The Glitter Gala
• The Singing Lute
• The Blushing Mermaid
• Forge of the Nine

Who is The Best Merchant in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Many players believe that Exxvikyap, Lorroakan, Roah Moonglow, and Lann Tarv are the best merchants in BG3. Honestly, I don’t think there’s such a thing as a single best merchant in Baldur’s Gate 3. Although I agree they have interesting items, including magic items and scrolls, there’s no single best merchant in Baldur’s Gate 3. Lorroakan’s magic scrolls won’t do any good to you if you want new clothes. Each serves a different purpose, and you should try to visit them all if you have the chance.

Can You Find Quests at Carm’s Garm or Facemaker’s Boutique Clothing Stores in BG3?

When visiting Carm’s Garm, you might stumble upon an NPC called Naaber. He seems to be a nod to Nüber and Noober, similar NPCs from previous Baldur’s Gate games. Talking to him until dialogue options are exhausted means you will have completed the “Patience is a Virtue” quest. Your reward is the Absolute Confidence Amulet, which grants you +1 to Performance checks and -1 to Intimidation checks.

This guide was made while playing Baldur’s Gate 3 on PC.

What’s Great About Solo Leveling?

Solo Leveling isn’t always the most groundbreaking work of literature, but it’s remarkably entertaining and succeeds as a strong example of a good manhwa. Thanks to a left-to-right presentation for its print editions, along with color-printed pages, it’s accessible to Western audiences. It also boasts stellar artwork and a style reminiscent of traditional manga.

What Makes A Manhwa Similar to Solo Leveling?

As I’ve gone over in previous pieces, many popular manhwa scratch a common itch similar to Shonen manga featuring gimmicky, months-long fights. In the case of Solo Leveling, manhwa similar to it touches upon its themes including rapid ascent to incredible power, overcoming one’s lower social status, and often a modern-day setting common in most manhwa.

Related: December 2023 in Manga and Manhwa: A Month in Review

The best manhwa similar to Solo Leveling, however, aren’t just carbon copies, but series that steer into their gimmicks, and draw readers into the written medium to seek a broader variety of series. They may share common traits like OP main characters, a penchant for game UIs, and bizarre powers/scenarios creating a sort of inverted isekai plotline, so here are my top 5 picks!

5. Tomb Raider King

I’ve gone over Tomb Raider King already a couple of times at this point, thoroughly appreciating its angles commonly shared with Solo Leveling. It boasts a resurrected protagonist, relics and weapons of ascending potency, and a modern-ish world suddenly littered with dungeon-like areas to explore and raid. While Solo Leveling has Gates, Tomb Raider King has Tombs. Jinwoo Sung is killed in the double dungeon, while Jooheon Suh is betrayed by his colleagues and the raider organization.

The comparisons become more unclear when comparing their personalities, however. Jooheon is certainly more unapologetically manipulative, while Jinwoo has more of a journey to discovering the newfound power he has over people in his new status. But both characters embark on similar paths, an ascent to greater power, this time with the foresight to improve themselves, and their mutual experiences of having felt death’s embrace.

4. Overgeared

I love Overgeared. It’s one of the more upbeat stories comparable to Solo Leveling, although perhaps because it’s got a bit of Sword Art Online isekai mixed in with the OP MC structure. Youngwoo Shin is a player of an in-universe VRMMORPG in this case, as opposed to Jinwoo’s more mysterious “Player” status carried into the perceivable real world.

Overgeared features blacksmithing as Youngwoo forges his way forward, creating incredible equipment to make a living and protect himself. He functions well as part of a team, while still maintaining a similar OP Hero’s Journey narrative.

Jinwoo, upon seemingly dying, receives his quest and path to ascension. Youngwoo dies in-game while on an SS-Rank quest, jumpstarting his own experiences as well. While Youngwoo didn’t suffer the same penalties or stakes, he was brought to Level -1 after a class change, creating a distinctive twist on the formula that’s amusing to read, so check it out!

3. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

Knowledge is power, and when you know everything, you can quickly find power over everything. In the case of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, there’s a strong set of common elements shared with Solo Leveling. There’s a stat-building mechanic, a layered and sympathetic protagonist, and existential, fantastical threats to a modern world.

What sets Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint apart is its distinctive appreciation for web novels as a medium. Dokja Kim is the sole reader of “Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse,” giving him a unique insight into its various life-or-death scenarios. It’s equal parts MacGuffin and Deus Ex Machina, standing in for a more compelling and overt concept than Solo Leveling’s “System,” I’d argue.

2. The God of High School

Armed with lethal style and a MAPPA anime adaptation already under its belt, The God of High School is a great example of a successful and popular manhwa. This is possibly also the most nebulous comparison to Solo Leveling, as beyond their modern setting, it’s tougher to find the common elements.

While both series are set in the present day, The God of High School deals with martial arts as opposed to the more typical manhwa adventure in Solo Leveling. Instead of parties of hunters crashing gates and storming dungeons, The God of High School is named after its central martial arts tournament.

But despite these differences, their respective paths lead to similar insane levels of strength. The God of High School predates Solo Leveling by 5 years, but with Mori Jin’s surprising heritage from a certain simian monarch, you can mix in more than a fair share of Dragon Ball for the formula, and it’s a highly worthwhile series to check out.

1. Jungle Juice

I will never quite be able to shut up about Jungle Juice. Picking it up at NYCC turned out to be a bit of a life-changing decision of sorts because it’s become my favorite action manhwa. To call it manhwa like Solo Leveling would be an oversimplification. It shares elements with the series, sure, but it arguably also has traits of X-Men, Spider-Man, Vixen, and my all-time favorite superhero, Animal Man, but with a specific focus on insects and arthropods.

Jungle Juice is so good that I suggest you look past any fears of insects before you give it a try. While that sentence feels weird to write out, I stand by it. Suchan Jang as the protagonist is wonderfully engaging, turning slightly away from the Solo Leveling formula. There are no game UIs, and instead, people have been transformed by cans of Jungle Juice, a bug spray that disintegrates bugs and bestows their traits upon the users.

Related: Solo Leveling Episodes 1 & 2 Review

This doesn’t mean people are transformed entirely into bugs, decidedly taking a middle ground between fantasy and Cronenbergian horror. Often this results in aesthetically pleasing infusions of the most important traits, such as Suchan having dragonfly wings yet retaining other human traits like a mostly unchanged body free of insectoid limbs or chitin.

But here’s the kicker: Suchan tried to hide this and blended in as a popular young man. It’s only in embracing his abilities in a life-or-death situation where he became an outcast, and when he was brought into the fold of the Nest, an ‘Xavier’s School’-like haven for others affected by Jungle Juice, he still seeks a cure for his condition. Instead of quickly embracing his new powers, Suchan sees them as a threat to his happy, normal life and wishes to remove them while also discovering how incredibly powerful he is.

With the reward for excelling at the Nest being Cinderella, the key to reversing his condition, Suchan quickly guns for this, while encountering dangerous villains who threaten his classmates. It’s so much more than just another action manhwa like Solo Leveling, yet it can be just as gory, and for what it’s worth, I’d argue its art is streets ahead.

What is Blue Lock’s Manga Release Schedule?

Since Blue Lock is serialized in the Weekly Shōnen Magazine, it is rare for the series to take a break unless there is a holiday in Japan or the magazine itself takes a break. This means we can expect a new chapter to be released every Wednesday in Japan, or technically Tuesdays in the West before translations.

Related: Edens Zero Manga Release Date Schedule 2023: When You Can Expect New Chapters

Full Blue Lock Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2024)

Blue Lock has a generally reliable release date schedule for 2024 much like it did in 2023. However, if an unexpected hiatus happens, we will update this Blue Lock chapter release schedule to reflect new release dates.

With only a barely less-packed schedule than last year, you can expect plenty to come from Blue Lock in 2024!

Full Blue Lock Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2023)

Starting the year similarly to last year as it will this year, Blue Lock had a pretty spectacular 2023. The number of chapters that passed may have been excessive while fans waited for one goal to be scored, but it was worth the wait!

You can read Blue Lock manga online from the official Weekly Shōnen Magazine website. Unfortunately, it is not translated into English, and you need a membership to read current issues. If you want to catch up on previous volumes or read some chapters digitally, check out the publisher’s portal here! You can also read over 100 of the first chapters on Mangamo!

What is My Hero Academia’s Manga Release Schedule?

My Hero Academia is released weekly and hardly ever goes on breaks, meaning that you will be able to read the manga every week. Its schedule is pretty similar to the one of Black Clover. If the dates change due to unforeseen circumstances, the data here will be updated to bring you the most accurate release schedule possible.

Related: Oshi no Ko Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule 2023

The story follows Izuku Midoriya, who dreams of becoming a hero but doesn’t have any special abilities, called quirks, like the rest of his peers. After proving his determination to All Might, the number 1 hero and symbol of peace, he gets a chance to attain a new power and make his dreams come true. He starts attending the elite hero training academy and becomes one step closer to his goal.

Full My Hero Academia Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2024)

While the series was originally planned to end in 2023, we can be optimistic about 2024 playing into what’s turning into a crazy final saga for the series. With key villains out of the way, we are rapidly approaching the endgame, so read on for the release date schedule in 2024 for My Hero Academia!

Related: All My Hero Academia Arcs

Given the previous year’s pattern-breaking hiatuses seemingly every 2-4 weeks, and some pretty spectacular art lately, it’ll be understandable if delays happen. We’ll keep you updated here first!

Full My Hero Academia Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2023)

If you’re already thinking about what you’ll be reading when My Hero Academia ends, there are many great new Shonen manga that can interest you, like Wild Strawberry. Or, if you’re interested in trying something new, perhaps manhwa might be up your alley!

For those keen on keeping up with the series though, and any hiatuses that come up, we’ve created a handy resource for you to consult! Here’s the Oshi no Ko manga chapter release schedule for 2024!

What is Oshi no Ko’s Manga Release Schedule?

Oshi no Ko is published in Weekly Young Jump, a Shueisha publication that is exclusive to Japan, but is digitally available to read at the same time on Manga Plus!

Related: How to Watch the Oshi no Ko Simulcast on HIDIVE

Any time a new chapter is released on the Manga Plus app or browser portal, this latest installment will be available to read for free for several weeks, until a subsequent fifth chapter is released. Chapters often come out weekly every Wednesday, but fans have come to expect semi-frequent breaks.

Oshi no Ko Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2024)

Oshi no Ko has a lot of amazing stories still to cover over its manga release schedule in 2024. The story is still firmly in the Movie Arc, with Ruby painfully immersing herself into the role of her deceased mother Ai, Aqua as the reprehensible father Hikaru, and an impressive supporting cast. Here is the current anticipated slate, which we’ll update in case of any breaks!

We’re going into a year full of potential, and as long as no major breaks happen and there’s no especially alluring Apex Legends content in the year (which shouldn’t be a challenge) we are looking at a packed schedule! But stay tuned for updates!

Oshi no Ko Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2023)

Below you’ll see the full listing of chapters that arrived in 2023 for Oshi no Ko. With an excellent first season under its belt, the series quickly attained even greater worldwide popularity and earned a steady stream of critical acclaim too.

Take everything listed here with a grain of salt, and we’ll update in the case of author breaks or anything else. Given that the current arc seems to indicate a possible path to the finale, we’ll keep a keen eye on any changes deemed necessary. But Oshi no Ko has been a powerful, poignant experience for readers, and we hope it doesn’t end too soon.

In addition to reading these chapters digitally, you can support the official release by picking up physical manga volumes of Oshi no Ko from Yen Press.

What is Chainsaw Man’s Manga Release Schedule?

Chainsaw Man releases on Tuesdays available on Manga Plus and the VIZ Media Chainsaw Man portal, however, it doesn’t always release a new chapter weekly. Fans have come to expect a new chapter of CSM every one to two weeks.

Full Chainsaw Man Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2024)

Here’s our latest up-to-date schedule for Chainsaw Man based on the recent chapter release pattern it had going into 2024. As an ongoing manga that returned with Part 2 in July 2022, it’s had readers ecstatic, even with the surprising shift in character focus.

Aside from holiday breaks, it has a semi-regular schedule, which we’ll revise with any updates including author and publication hiatuses.

Full Chainsaw Man Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2023)

Below you can find the chapter schedule for Chainsaw Man through 2023, a phenomenal year for the series following the stellar reception to the 2022 anime.

Related: Four Knights of the Apocalypse Manga Release Date Schedule 2023: When You Can Expect New Chapters

This series gets 1-week a hiatus lately every 2-4 weeks, much like Jujutsu Kaisen. While every chapter is an anticipated new update for CSM fans, it can be difficult to follow its release date schedule, so we’ll keep this piece updated with any additional author or publication breaks! Keep an eye out, as the series introduces us to the Chainsaw Man Church as Asa’s fame grows — while Denji’s fades.

Top 11 Best Manhwa With An OP Main Character

Manhwa featuring an OP MC is fairly common, as is the case with Shonen manga or Western comics, particularly Marvel and DC. Detractors may believe this lowers the tension of the Hero’s Journey when they see how quickly characters rapidly ascend from humble beginnings, but the truth is, these manhwa are mighty entertaining for what they are. They often represent a radical change or growth in the main character, including maturity, cleverness, raw strength, and even height.

Related: December 2023 in Manga and Manhwa: A Month in Review

How this manifests varies from case to case, though. Some main characters become shrewd or even arrogant, while others remain affable throughout the story, appealing to different readers seeking a different form of escapism. Here are my choices for the 10 best manhwa with an OP MC:

11. Leveling With the Gods

I should clarify to start this list: Leveling With the Gods is considered a webtoon, which is essentially the digital format. These are typically read by scrolling up or down on your phone, and in the case of Leveling With the Gods, it’s a bit trickier to put to print due to impressive vertical panels throughout.

Right away, you’ll notice a pattern that follows many of these series. Despite often never outright pointing it out, the protagonists are faced with game UIs to guide them along their journey. In the case of Kim Yuwon, this brings him into a conflict with the Outer Gods, bringing in a mixture of mythological gods including Greek and Norse legend, a running theme in popular manga. As he is sent back in time by Chronos to reverse the outcome of the war, he begins his rapid ascent in this action-packed series.

10. The World After the Fall

I find this series intriguing because of how quickly it acknowledges its game-like challenges, equipment, and interface with an otherwise real world. The events of The World After the Fall depict an otherwise normal world suddenly threatened by calamity in the form of mysterious towers appearing around the globe.

Sing N Song penned the original story for this in its web novel format, a name you’ll want to recognize later. I found this series quite striking, and while the Tower Impacts felt a bit tropey in terms of popular manhwa plots, the underlying conspiracy is where the readers will inevitably be drawn. Jaehwon, its protagonist, undergoes a series of important developments, namely abilities, weapons, and vanquished enemies he encounters while he ascends the tower. Chief among these is the Awakening concept, a bit of a running theme in several manhwa with OP MC structures.

9. The Gamer

Perhaps the most on-the-nose name in the case of this list, The Gamer features Han Jihan who bears the eponymous moniker. This series features Hanjihan’s experiences with the world reflected by his love for gaming, in a setting where people can ascend (or attempt to ascend) to godhood.

Hanjihan’s abilities, as founder of The Players, have predictably RPG-like foundations including elemental traits, affinities, and more. It’s an interesting blend of incredible feats and mundane activities, making this one more relatable.

8. Kill the Hero

Meet Woojin Kim. Woojin was murdered in a previous timeline, and returns to the past before his awakening as a ‘player’. Noticing a running theme so far? One of the cooler aspects of Kill the Hero is how you can differentiate Woojin’s abilities from others in this list of OP protagonists.

Woojin gets access to a great deal more death and gore-focused abilities here, dealing with his connection to the Underworld. His quest brings him on a warpath to defeat the otherwise righteous hero and leader of his guild who killed him. Combine this with a modern aesthetic and fantastical, varied global mythological influences and you’ve got a standard yet compelling story!

7. Second Life Ranker

Not the first and not even the last to feature monolithic, otherworldly towers the protagonist must ascend on this list, Second Life Ranker is the revenge tale of Yeonwoo Cha. Yeonwoo’s twin brother, Jeongwoo, was the pre-eminent high-ranked Player in the Obelisk (this series’ multi-tiered tower) before his murder at the hands of his teammates. This, along with a powerful keepsake, motivates Yeonwoo to ascend the Obelisk to take his revenge.

The signature defining trait this time around is Yeon-woo’s powers which largely draw from dragons. However, in true OP fashion, he also takes on abilities featuring the other powerful races to appear in this series, including gods, demons, and giants. To top this off, Yeon-woo starts this procession by having a reawakening as part of becoming a Player, another common trait of this series.

6. Player

I love Player because it speaks to the school outcasts who enjoy remedying their social anxiety woes with a little comic escapism. Seoljin Heo seems to have the same fixations as those around him in high school, yet he isn’t able to connect well with others. He despises a manhwa where a main character loses to a stronger enemy because “Losing in real life is enough.” But when his comment on the eponymous webtoon “Player” (getting meta here) got enough likes, he is incarnated into the story.

Ready to prove his mettle in a match, he is….practically disintegrated on the spot. But then he’s brought back as, you guessed it, a Player. Players in this series are destined to climb the Heavenly Arena Terrarium. That’s right, another tower features in this series. But with a great deal more humor, this series offsets its quirky faults by being delightfully self-aware of the tropes it uses. While it’s unfortunately not widely available in English yet, fans were eager to translate this one for those seeking a good story.

5. Tomb Raider King

Taking the route of regressing to an earlier point of the timeline in terms of predictable manhwa story beats, Tomb Raider King has some killer style. It’s got a decent amount of geopolitical commentary thanks to its central gimmicks of relics based on literature, legends, and myths from cultures around the world.

This results in some relics being innately more helpful than others. Some, such as an escape rope from ‘Brother and sister who became the Sun and Moon’ are originally not as strong as Muramasa, and certainly not as powerful as the Hand of Midas or Qin Shi Huang’s Elixir Plant. Still, protagonist Jooheon Suh makes excellent use of each. After dying, he’s sent back 15 years into the past when the relics started appearing around the globe. He takes this opportunity to seize them and grow his power to take revenge against Taejoon Kwon and TKBM who left him for dead.

This series not only embodies a similar structure to other manhwa series with OP MC stories, but it’s also genuinely interesting with a shrewd, hardened protagonist at its core. Plus, I just found it so compelling to see series like Michael Moorcock’s Stormbringer see a reference like some sort of mythological mashup similar to the original book version of Ready Player One.

4. Overgeared

Surprisingly, Overgeared is more isekai than outright modern fantasy stories featured elsewhere on this list. It’s a full-dive VRMMORPG adventure with Youngwoo Shin as the star as he grows his presence in the game “Satisfy”.

Many gamers have dreams of making a livable wage or even getting rich off their obsessions, and that’s not even exclusive to enjoyers of this medium. Overgeared not only empowers Youngwoo to live out this fantasy but to feel a place in the world and carve out a legend for himself. He’s Grid in this world, as he gains the knowledge and skills of a legendary blacksmith along with harnessing a bizarre supposed glitch allowing him to potentially outmatch anybody of a similar level.

Overgeared is not the least bit edgy or overly serious, being a fun comic book for any reader wishing for a little escapism. It’s got possibly the most likable protagonist of the bunch here, and for fans who prefer it in print form, your adventure is just beginning!

3. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

This manhwa might rub it in your face just in what way its MC is OP (what’s more OP than knowing everything?) but it’s also among the best. Based on the original creation by SingNSong (told you it’d come into play later) Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint is a brilliant story that, contrary to Player‘s central webtoon, allows Dokja Kim to live out the plot of his favorite web novel.

This creates a surreal test of humanity when the world suddenly experiences apocalyptic events where people are pitted against each other in life-or-death scenarios. Dokja proves his cleverness and adaptability numerous times throughout the story thanks to knowing how the events will proceed ahead of time.

While Dokja initially seems arrogant, beneath this facade is a vulnerable character who is his own worst critic. The result is one of the best-conceived protagonists you can enjoy in manhwa,

2. Tower of God

Revisiting Tower of God, I noticed that the art style has had a nice fine-tuning, but perhaps more noteworthy is its prolific run. With over 600 chapters (or episodes) its webtoon is still running today, one of the most beloved manhwa around since its 2010 debut.

What readers will truly enjoy about this series, aside from the usual hallmarks of an OP protagonist, leveling, and towers, is that it’s the formula arguably at its best. The series flows well, is eagerly anticipated both in webtoon and in anime form (Season 2 is coming in July 2024!), and has an approachable lore.

Regulars live within the Outer Towers, chosen to climb the Inner Tower, and Rankers are those who ascend to the top, with Jahad as the God of the Tower. Irregulars, such as Twenty-Fifth Bam come from outside this realm, able to change the world around them. As you dive deeper, the lore expands further and becomes more compelling, as you find that Bam, while increasingly powerful, is surrounded by compelling, compelling characters with intriguing backstories to make them feel more fleshed-out.

1. Solo Leveling

I started this list debating just how high this series would place. In many ways, it embodies many of the common tropes found in other series here. But Solo Leveling…well, it perfects the formula. Jinwoo Sung undergoes a rapid transformation that reminds me a lot of the meek Peter Parker just as he is bitten by a spider. But it’s all done in the setting of a real-world mixed with RPG mechanics.

Jinwoo died as the infamous Weakest Hunter of All Mankind but was given a second chance in the ‘Courage of the Weak’ quest. He’s the only one who seems to suddenly see a game UI pushing him to work out, defeat threats to his progression, and climb the ranks of society. He’s able to fight threats that were normally deadly to him, grow stronger, find powerful weapons, and even just grow taller. The transformation turns him into a poised, tough, hardened warrior who sees his old limits more clearly than ever and works like hell to keep surpassing them.

If not for Jinwoo being 25 years old, I’d have sworn this would fit like a coming-of-age. He has his reawakening after being a burden to others for far too long, and this serves as his way to seize his power. He quickly overpowers or outsmarts all opponents, yet knows when to halt after seeing threats too dangerous for him to tackle just yet. It’s fascinating to watch him try to keep his progression a secret as it would understandably arouse suspicion. He gains admirers and would-be assailants and tries to figure out the secret of the mysterious System protecting him.

Solo Leveling may embody the generic trends many other series in this list have, but it’s well-paced, wonderfully drawn, and utterly so satisfying. It doesn’t hurt that the series has an anime you can enjoy (for which I got to review the premiere!) and I can assure you that this one is likely to go down as one of the most famous manhwa ever.

Table of Contents

• Fun Manga to Read with Female Protagonists
  • I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time Vol. 1
  • My Poison Princess Is Still Cute Vol. 1
  • Sakura, Saku Vol. 1
  • Neighborhood Story Vol. 1
• Charming and Fun Manga for Yaoi and Yuri Fans
  • I Don’t Know Which Is Love Vol. 1
  • Minato’s Laundromat Vol. 1
  • Cheerful Amnesia Vol. 1
• Manhwa for Readers Desiring Killer Style
  • Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom Vol. 1
  • Dark Moon: The Blood Altar Vol. 1
  • Overgeared Vol. 1
  • Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Vol. 1
  • Jungle Juice Vol. 2
• Bonus from VIZ Signature

A Cascade of Content Courtesy of VIZ Media and Yen Press

I’ve been delighted to review manga this year as I was generously provided wonderful review copies from VIZ Media, and recently Yen Press along with their imprint IZE Press. The result has had the effect not only of showcasing the strengths and appeal of print manga and manhwa. They take up an impressive portion of even the largest book retailers.

But another impressive achievement of this has been to shine the spotlight on series under these publishers that deserve far more exposure. So I’ve been delighted by the recent deluge of content as we close the year, and while some are inevitably not all superstar series, many are worth consideration. Whether you’re wishing your loved one a happy holiday, treating yourself to a good read, or want to wish somebody an especially joyful Monday, here are the series I’ve been able to review for December 2023.

Related: Solo Leveling Episodes 1 & 2 Review

Fun Manga to Read with Female Protagonists

The first batch of reviews was a healthy balance of Yen Press and VIZ Media series along with some highly anticipated Shojo series. These stories feature characters seizing their agency, finding their place in the world, and occasionally finding love.

I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time Vol. 1

Ahh word soup, the first phrase I thought when even seeing this title. This is a case of a series being compelling enough as a concept that the concept just became the name, burying any mystique. I had to search Crunchyroll among similar series with overly syntax-laden names to make sure I didn’t see this one already.

But don’t let my words sound like a poor impression, because once I got past this I found an entertaining, relatable manga. It’s got a medieval fantasy RPG premise that’s all the rage, and its central character is what happens when you put a disgruntled professional’s personality into an NPC. We’ve all been there, asked to go into overtime or pushed into it by the circumstances.

But in the case of Alina Clover, she’s having none of it, having signed on to be a guild receptionist for a comfortable life. If there’s an especially troublesome dungeon boss causing adventurers to tie her time up, she’ll solo the boss like a certain jar-headed Malenia slayer. Does she want to be celebrated as a hero or be invited into the Silver Sword guild? No, she wants to clock out and go home, and any monster who disrupts that for her is not long for this world.

The strengths of this series lie largely in its protagonist, but I found the supporting cast to fall somewhat flat. It’s well-drawn, with decent paneling, and it’s fun for a romp, but it’s not exactly water-cooler fiction. Not that there’s anything wrong with a little fun light reading!

3/5

I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time Vol. 1 was released by Yen Press on October 17, 2023.

My Poison Princess Is Still Cute Vol. 1

This one has an endearing premise, with the demon Princess Raffy being so naturally poisonous that she’s considered a biological weapon. If you weren’t won over already by that stunted description, the story opens with her being married off in an attempt to broker peace with humanity. Her groom Loren, however, is perfect for her, not because her poison doesn’t affect him, but because he just reincarnates. Why does the charming knight continue to respawn for the princess who kills him just by being nearby?

He’s in love. It’s as simple as that. Loren is a gem in this, being so accepting finding everything about Raffy adorable, and discovering his boundaries with her shrink. Raffy helps this by meeting him halfway, speaking with her many confidants to understand her developing feelings, and what causes her to emit poison to begin with.

The paneling on this series is something I notice about a lot of the Yen Press review copies I got, being rigidly structured yet easy and approachable. The art has a cartoonish, spritely feel to itself, and Raffy and Loren make for a charming couple who break down boundaries despite being in an arranged marriage. It’s a wholesome story featuring a protagonist whose journey to loving herself leads to her being able to accept affection when she didn’t think it was possible.

4/5

My Poison Princess Is Still Cute Vol. 1 was released by Yen Press on December 12, 2023.

Sakura, Saku Vol. 1

This one was impossible to miss, with VIZ Media living rent-free with expertly targeted advertising in this case. Sakura, Saku is a Shojo Beat manga I thoroughly appreciate, with it feeling at times like it’s grasping at a love story, but at other times it feels like a coming-of-age or even just a character study. Why do people do good deeds? Do they do them with the desire of others’ gratitude, or is the simple act of kindness enough of a motivator?

It’s a simple premise, but wonderfully executed. Saku Fujigaya was sick to the point of being ready to pass out, only for a guardian angel to look out for her before she collapsed in a compromising spot. When she woke up in the hospital, protector by her unknown protector Ryosuke Sakura, she quickly sought a way to thank him, while taking his kindness to heart, paying it forward to the people around her.

Her changes are noticeable, and when she gets led thanks to Haruki Sakura, Ryosuke’s brother, she tries to get him to bring the letter to Ryosuke. But she quickly learns that Haruki is a wise and warm confidant beneath his blunt exterior. In truly getting to know the people with whom she bonds on this journey of personal discovery, Saku might discover beautiful friendships or possibly more.

While the paneling and presentation are certainly cinematic, what I admire about this manga is the expressiveness of its characters. Something about blushing faces in Shojo manga hits differently. Seeing Saku’s persistent state of wonder, gratitude, and pensiveness juxtaposes nicely with Haruki’s otherwise expressionless face, belied by his eyes beckoning you to an ocean of depth. This was also a total page-turner and I realized pretty quickly that while it’s certainly a potentially solid love story, I also love how much potential Saku and Haruki have to continue to grow.

4.5/5

Sakura, Saku Vol. 1 was released by VIZ Media on November 14, 2023.

Neighborhood Story Vol. 1

Neighborhood Story existed long before creator Ai Yazawa’s iconic Nana series, and it hit the presses back in 1995. However, English-language readers couldn’t enjoy this thoughtful, layered storytelling until December 2023. Knowing of Nana’s popularity, with my Shojo-reading friends raving about it, I had to give Neighborhood Story a fair run.

It’s fantastic. Often I find popular manga, especially from the 90s and 2000s, guilty of giving us great protagonists and supporting characters, but forgetting about the latter as their runs go on. But in Neighborhood Story, I found Mikako Kouda and her childhood friend Tsutomu Yamaguchi to be an entertaining and thoughtful love story. Still, suddenly their friends, former romantic partners, and family felt so essential. They provided unique insight, and it felt like they noticed along with the readers when Mikako was in emotional turmoil.

When the story shifts to characters like Mariko or Yusuke, it doesn’t feel like B-plots, and their journeys feel equally compelling. This is what a proper ensemble cast should feel like, and Shonen creators should take notes on how it balances its cast. Between each series in this segment, I found no two mangas looked alike, and not in the mere sense of different artists.

Neighborhood Story has an extremely distinctive art style that thrives when it hyper-fixates on characters in close-ups, with Mikako’s thoughtful, spunky, pouty expressions popping off the page. Platonic and romantic love often overlap via frustrating nuances, and it’s the type of tension that feels far more genuine and relatable than will-they-won’t-they sitcom antics. It doesn’t hurt that the book itself is as expressive as its star, a hot pink paperback with heart-shaped flourishes perfect for fans of quintessential 1990s Shojo manga.

5/5

Neighborhood Story Vol. 1 was released by VIZ Media on December 5, 2023.

Return to Table of Contents here or read on!

Charming and Fun Manga for Yaoi and Yuri Fans

Yen Press had an impressive slate here, with several series varying in tone and tension featured. This is also not the only instance of me reviewing BL property this year, and I hope to bring those numbers up in 2024, as Sasaki and Miyano were a gem.

I Don’t Know Which Is Love Vol. 1

This was the first Yuri manga I ever read, and my close friend pointed out this one to me when I sent her pictures of YP’s manga display at New York Comic Con. I had to check it out, and quickly discovered a fun romp inside!

I Don’t Know Which Is Love is a Yuri harem, essentially, where Mei Soraike enrolls in college with the clear ambition of getting a girlfriend. However, she quickly finds out that there are a ton of attractive women, including fellow students and even a teacher! It’s possibly the most predictable template possible for a harem series, but Mei’s character is plenty of fun, being genuinely flustered by all of her prospective partners.

Virtually every interaction Mei has digs her deeper into a romantic hole where she can’t decide for herself on a partner. It knows how to draw the reader in to wonder who her genuine partner is, with just enough hints at who it wants us to expect. Each character has fascinating gimmicks that bring them closer to Mei, including things like being attracted to her voice, being a mentor to her while allowing her to express her sexuality, or just outright sharing a bed with her. It’s definitely at the end of romantic fantasies, and it’s difficult to say how it’ll end, but it’s a cute, casual read.

3.5/5

I Don’t Know Which Is Love Vol. 1 was released by Yen Press on August 22, 2023.

Minato’s Laundromat Vol. 1

This one had a bit more of a familiar BL structure, with its two male leads being attracted to one another, and internalizing it for a predictably frustrating amount of time. But Akira Minato has a justifiable reason to bottle it up: he’s in his 30s, and his crush, Shintaro Katsuki, is in high school!

The result is a significantly more complicated bond between the two. Shintaro develops his attraction to Akira, while Akira conceals it due to everything from their age gap to dealing with some previous unresolved issues. The romantic tension in this series is the most palpable of any of the romance manga I was sent, but it’s also the most troubling.

Yet, Shintaro’s connection to Akira never quite crosses the line, to Akira’s credit. Their sexuality is quickly revealed to each other, and I’ll say that Akira’s fixations go on the gratuitous side, but it’s tough to say what’s to be expected when you’re bottling up your sexual feelings for long enough. The tension erupts near the end of the volume, sure, but there’s enough to have readers wonder what’ll happen for the pair.

What sets this volume apart is its lovely bonus manga and even a small light novel portion in the back by Yuzu Tsubaki, the original author. But what I find from continuing to read these BL stories is that seemingly no other manga genre is as potent when it comes to two characters, looking each other in the eyes, with tension thick enough to cut with a knife while they lay their flirtatious proverbial cards on the table.

4.5/5

Minato’s Laundromat Vol. 1 was released by Yen Press on October 17, 2023.

Cheerful Amnesia Vol. 1

This one is fun as it features two women who are already in a committed relationship, but with a hook; Mari winds up taking care of Arisa when amnesia strikes, wiping 3 years from her memory. Despite the pair living together, Arisa has to adjust to all of it, with everything being a novelty.

The result is wholesome as hell. Mari is perfectly accommodating to Arisa who is just in awe of the two being together. Arisa is innocent but in curious way where she wants to rediscover her sexuality with her lover, but often has to pace herself. But the element that sets this apart from being too similar to 50 First Dates is the fact that it’s a Yuri romance.

See, later on in the series Mari laments her fears upon learning Arisa lost her memory. She feared she wouldn’t be accepted as her partner, as if their mutual attraction wouldn’t last. But Arisa is steadfast and loyal to her girlfriend, despite getting incredibly shy and overwhelmed when the two express affection or intimacy. It reads like a collection of comic strips or short stories, making it easy not to get lost in the plot. It’s adorable, a breezy read, and saccharine in a good way.

4/5

Cheerful Amnesia Vol. 1 was released by Yen Press on October 24, 2023.

Return to Table of Contents here or read on!

Manhwa for Readers Desiring Killer Style

2023 was the year I finally got to talk about manhwa and Korean print comics. It’s been a fascination of mine, and with Yen Press’ wonderful IZE Press imprint supplying us with fantastic books, I knew I’d get a chance to showcase some of my favorite reads. Sadly, I’m not able to review some of their most talked-about series like The Horizon just yet, but I did get to check out some truly special series nonetheless.

Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom Vol. 1

This premise is an interesting blend of Isekai and Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom brings us a reincarnated Abigail Friedkin, former evil stepmother of Snow White (or Princess Blanche in this case) who is far less evil this time around. Inhabited by Lily Lee, a fashion designer from the present, Abigail wishes to correct the course of her stepdaughter’s upbringing and bring a smile to the girl’s face.

The gimmick here is that Abigail still outwardly presents with her usual traits making it hard to trust her. She’s got a terrifying smile, a reputation for cruelty that precedes her, and a husband who is mercilessly untrusting and cold toward her. It’s an uphill battle for Abigail then, as she tries to make Blanche happy while winning back the trust of her servants.

Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom is well-executed but does have a few distracting flaws, namely the backgrounds. It seems accurate to claim that Mo9Rang isn’t very good at drawing detailed backdrops, so you’ll notice most shots focus entirely on the characters with the environment almost always blurred. This is a style choice, but it feels limiting when set in such an elegant, noble background. I’ll say it first, I can’t draw backgrounds from scratch either, and I arguably can’t draw at all, but it’s nonetheless a weaker aspect of the series. However, seeing Abigail win over Blanche’s heart over time? Priceless.

3.5/5

Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom Vol. 1 was released by IZE Press on August 22, 2023.

Dark Moon: The Blood Altar Vol. 1

I’ve found that many of the manhwa I review tend to feature characters struggling to find acceptance in the face of some body-altering gimmick. Dark Moon: The Blood Altar is precisely no different, introducing vampires to the mix.

The story starts strong, with the main character Sooha withdrawing further into herself as her childhood friend, Chris, is being buried with bite marks on his neck, and a stake through his heart. It’s striking, and also super frustrating because that’s the most interesting part of the story before it all-too-quickly jumps to the present where we see Sooha going to a new boarding school.

The school explicitly forbids vampires from attending, which is good news for Sooha, because she tells her new classmate, Heli. You’ll never guess his secret, and if his otherworldly eye color and handsome appearance aren’t enough of a tip-off, I won’t say any more. I appreciate that Sooha’s story draws her closer to Heli and his fellow vampires, none of whom wish to reveal their secret to Sooha, but find this story doesn’t have as good of a flow.

Despite vampires being seen as a clear and present danger in the beginning, that intensity screeches to a halt as the story spends extra time padding out the ensemble cast introductions. 7 secret vampires along with Sooha, whose own powers are concealed for fear of being revealed as a vampire, make for an interesting dynamic. Heli’s chemistry with Sooha is engaging, and supporting characters like Shion are a hoot, but beyond a visually attractive series, I find this to be a slower burn and hope that Volume 2 picks up some steam beyond predictable vampires vs. werewolves drama.

2.5/5

Dark Moon: The Blood Altar Vol. 1 was released by IZE Press on December 12, 2023.

Overgeared Vol. 1

Maybe I’m just the target audience because despite this (and other series in this list) strongly resembling Solo Leveling, I LOVED Overgeared. It is your usual fare, a VRMMORPG player who isn’t overly capable but wishes to make a living as a famous player of the game discovers a life-changing quest.

Shin Youngwoo is a ‘Satisfy’ player who, despite his love for the game, was nothing special in real life or the game. This was the case until an anomaly in the software turned his quest into a metamorphosis when he underwent a class change to become the successor to a legendary classman. It also reset his level to 1 before he was instantly killed in the game, dropping him to Level -1, without the stat penalties resulting in him being able to grow at a better rate than anybody else.

This, essentially, is a power fantasy, but in a more unique sense, it’s a “power gamer” fantasy where Shin can chart a new path for himself. He’s able to quickly learn to craft masterwork items to sell in the in-game economy and make fat stacks, while potentially making amazing gear to carry into battle. It doesn’t hurt that Shin is truly likable and takes advantage of this clever premise, turning it from a more generic Isekai story into a clever story for RPG fans to root for, with this being a personal favorite of mine.

4.5/5

Overgeared Vol. 1 was released by IZE Press on October 24, 2023.

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Vol. 1

While Overgeared was the “power gamer” fantasy and Solo Leveling was the OP Hero’s Journey, I like to think of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint as the “rules lawyer” fantasy. It stars Dokja Kim as an office worker and web novel enthusiast whose favorite series has him as its only reader. He comes across the final chapter and soon finds himself contacted by the creator to thank him, where the story takes a turn.

After being contacted about the story becoming paid content at 7 PM despite it having such poor readership, Dokja sees the world devolve into bedlam. Moreover, it resembles events from the book so closely that Dokja realizes the book he was reading, “Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse” has bled into the real world. As the only reader, he therefore had insight into the life-threatening game imposed upon humanity, along with all of its rules.

Dokja turns from a meek salaryman into a clever and ruthless strategist. When faced with a life-or-death choice, he brilliantly bucks the notion that he’d have to take innocent lives to fit the demands of TWSA’s strange godly creatures. Fantasy has bled into reality on an epic scale, and while it feels similar to many other manhwa with its depiction of RPG mechanics in the real world, it still feels unique.

It’s possibly the most blood-soaked manhwa on this list, but the action-packed visuals and premise of a man with intimate knowledge and rules of the future can forge his destiny are among the most compelling reads yet.

4.5/5

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Vol. 1 was released by IZE Press on December 12, 2023.

Jungle Juice Vol. 2

I will open by saying this: if you haven’t read Jungle Juice, it is a ‘must-read.’ This was possibly the first series to jump out at me when I started looking into covering it, and there are several factors to credit here. I’m a Western reader, growing up initially on Western comics with a love for Spider-Man and X-Men, you know, *chuckle* the indies. But Jungle Juice scratches the itch I have for both of those series, along with all-time favorites like Animal Man.

Jungle Juice’s second volume continues Suchan’s journey as he learns to control his dragonfly powers. In this volume, he and his class are increasingly keen on performing well and protecting each other from the threats of ominous figures like “The Breeder” and we get treated to significant character-driven stories. Huijin’s story was a treat to behold, where we finally see the source of her powers, and I must say, it’s the most compelling, most awesome interpretation of the strengths of a certain infamous arthropod.

But beyond that, even just the small interactions with minor characters help us see significant growth. Suchan’s rigid desire to be “normal” again is chipped away at when he is faced with a child’s perspective on dragonflies and their roles in nature. It’s wholesome yet factual, and the “did you know” energy feels like a genuine, proper channeling of a child’s voice, making Suchan feel better about himself. The acceptance angle is solid in this manhwa, and this, along with his budding affection for Huijin, makes him a joy to watch.

But the action. THE ACTION. This manhwa is full of killer panels where the characters channel their bug-related powers, or complex, into something that feels like a truly iconic modern Shonen manga should be. Seeing Suchan channel his furiously glowing Compound Eyes in his fits of rage is intense. It smartly interprets more bugs and their characteristics, showcasing characters each with unique strengths and abilities. It’s not just super-strength in play. We’re talking razor-sharp barbs from a Goliath Birdeater, or the immense strength and durable chitin of an Emperor Scorpion. It’s clever and feels incredibly fresh.

Everybody has a signature attack they begin to develop, and the posing, along with vivid color and raw, primal emotion driving many scenes, makes it a delight to read. Jungle Juice is my favorite action manhwa, but it’s also among my favorite current comics in general, and I urge any fans reading this to check it out. You’ll also be excited to learn it’s part of a larger ‘Super String Universe’!

5/5

Jungle Juice Vol. 2 was released by IZE Press on December 12, 2023.

Return to Table of Contents here or read on!

Takopi’s Original Sin: An Emotionally Devastating Manga Story from Taizan5

My last review of this feature will discuss Takopi’s Original Sin. Sitting at just over 400 pages, this story was a cautionary Shonen series despite clearly being more of a Seinen read. An adorable interplanetary octopus who adopts the name Takopi wants nothing more than to make the humans he encounters happy. It’s in doing this that we see the unintentional, relentlessly cruel stream of events he unleashes.

Takopi learns a harsh lesson about how intentions don’t always negate results. His life’s purpose is to make others happy, at least for humans, this occasionally means giving into our misery to properly process trauma. While it was sweet and endearing, Takopi attempted and failed to make humans happy in this story, and with the help of some alien gadgets, he even had access to do-overs.

But this created a brutal causal loop, a bit of a trope in modern fiction where he continuously failed despite countless attempts. Where the series differentiates from others is the diabolical plot developments that cause that loop to snap. The series goes to some truly dark places but is remarkably heartfelt and will hit readers like a truck. But finishing this story can be oddly therapeutic.

The story is not the first to approach such dark subject matter. The film Mean Creek comes to mind, especially with its unflinching portrayal of bullying, misery, complex moral decisions, and death. But as a manga, you’re given the freedom to approach it at your pace and come back to it however slowly you need to. But I strongly recommend it, as the strongest collected story I’ve seen perhaps all year.

5/5

Takopi’s Original Sin was released by VIZ Signature on November 21, 2023.

I adore manga, manhwa, and print comics in general as a storytelling medium. They can be as challenging or as thought-provoking as any print novel, and the complex art within is always a nice bonus. I look eagerly forward to talking more about my favorite manga going into 2024, and I strongly suggest you consider the series featured on this list if you’re looking for something new!

Return to Table of Contents here.

_{These reviews couldn’t have been possible without the help of VIZ Media and Yen Press, who have generously supplied review copies of each series featured here.}

The long-running series doesn’t stop attracting attention and new fans, but with over a thousand chapters, it can be hard to keep up with it. At least, even though Oda says he’ll finish the manga soon, we probably still have tons of time.

What is One Piece’s Manga Release Schedule?

One Piece is released weekly, like Mashle: Magic and Muscle and most of the Shonen Jump manga, but Oda also often takes breaks after publishing three chapters, making the schedule a bit different. That allows Oda to take a breather and think more about the story while also letting us reflect on everything that happened in the story (and, of course, craft more theories).

Related: One Piece Manga Will Take a Break After Chapter 1086

You can read the three most recent chapters of One Piece on the Manga Plus website for free to catch up on the latest chapters or subscribe through the VIZ Media One Piece portal for the full library. If you are reading on a mobile device, you can also download the Shonen Jump Manga reader app to read all official Shonen Jump Mangas.

Full One Piece Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2024)

The release schedule for the One Piece manga in 2024 will likely resemble other schedules in terms of the weekly pattern along with irregular breaks.

While it’s impossible to fully predict Oda’s documented trend of breaks every few weeks, sometimes stretched into multi-week hiatuses, we recommend you check here frequently!

Full One Piece Manga Chapter Release Date Schedule (2023)

Here is the complete list of releases for 2023. As there were indeed many hiatuses, don’t be surprised to see 2024’s schedule change in similar fashion!

We will update this schedule with any hiatus taken, such as by Oda-sensei or by Weekly Shonen Jump. With every new chapter hailed as a blockbuster and peak Shonen anime by its legion of fans, this is a good resource to keep handy!

The Apothecary Diaries Episode 12 Release Date, Time, and Countdown

The Apothecary Diaries Episode 12 is scheduled for release on Saturday, December 23, 2023. You can stream the new episode at 10:45 AM PT / 12:45 PM CT / 1:45 PM ET as a simulcast on Crunchyroll.

Related: Do Maomao and Jinshi End Up Together in The Apothecary Diaries?

Looking for the exact time the new episode drops in your region? Check out our The Apothecary Diaries Episode 12 English Sub release time zone guide below!

In Episode 11, Maomao uncovers the truth behind the poisoning, along with its connection to an older case.

When Will the Next Episode of The Apothecary Diaries’s English Dub Drop?

The Apothecary Diaries’ English Dub’s first five episodes are available for streaming on Crunchyroll. The Episode 9 English dub will drop on Saturday, December 16, 2023, at 1:30 PM PT / 3:30 PM CT / 4:30 PM ET.

The Apothecary Diaries Episode 11 Spoilers, Recap, and What to Expect in Episode 12

Tying off several mysteries in this episode, Maomao confronts Fengming who turned out to orchestrate Lishu’s poisoning. Lishu’s knowledge of the poisonous honey meant she was a loose end that could expose an older coverup of Fengming’s, which was the true cause of Ah-Duo’s son’s death.

Or at least, who was believed to be Ah-Duo’s son, as another mystery was explored about Ah-Duo’s familial connection to Jinshi. But Fengming’s guilt was palpable when she collapsed in tears of shame over failing her concubine so tremendously. She was put to death, and Maomao went back to the site of the servant’s suicide from Episode 9.

It’s here that not only the death was confirmed as a suicide, but Maomao’s suspicions of Fengming’s coverup grew, knowing this could be a way to cover her tracks about Lishu’s poisoning. Lies beget lies, while the most consequential lie left Jinshi alive, as it’s quietly revealed that he’s Ah-Duo’s son, switched at birth for his protection. After this whirlwind of developments, I can’t wait for the release of The Apothecary Diaries Episode 12!

Is Jinshi a Relative of Ah-Duo in The Apothecary Diaries?

As viewers might have been surprised to learn, Ah-Duo is the biological mother of Jinshi in The Apothecary Diaries. Jinshi was switched at birth with the Empress dowager’s son, knowing he’d live a safer, more comfortable life in this position.

Related: The Apothecary Diaries: What Is the Significance of Jinshi’s Hairpin?

The clues began showing themselves in Episode 10 when she noted Ah-Duo’s familiar features but crystallized in Episode 11 when she was able to compare the two. She shared a drink with Ah-Duo at the location where a servant previously committed suicide in Episode 9, and a key detail was revealed. Ah-Duo claimed her son “left her”, instead of the very public perceived death of her child.

Why Did Ah-Duo Switch Jinshi At Birth?

Aside from protecting her son, Maomao acknowledged that this decision could have been made under duress. After all, the child would have been just born, and Ah-Duo wanted more than anything for her son to be safe and happy. This also makes Jinshi’s story a lot more interesting despite him already being an enigmatic figure. Seeing him reduced to tears, desperately drunkenly hugging Maomao was unexpected.

However, when Ah-Duo’s position as a pure concubine at the Garnet Pavilion came to an end, the drink he got to share with her was a bittersweet moment. It was a reunion of mother and child before she had to leave, and this prospect is heartbreaking. Ah-Duo lived a lie to protect her son, concealing her motherhood, with only traces of it being allowed to show when she said goodbye to the young concubine Lishu.

The OP Hero’s Journey

Solo Leveling is an anime adaptation lifted off the pages of its webtoon or manhwa format, itself an adaptation of the original web novel. It’s gotten an impressive fan following thanks to its fantastic execution of a familiar premise. The plot is structured like any Hero’s Journey narrative, but in the case of Solo Leveling, it can be called The OP Hero’s Journey.

Sung Jinwoo is the protagonist in a society where humans must combat supernatural threats that cross planes into their world. These humans are known as hunters, and their responsibility is to stop monsters from coming through various gates in the world. Its setting is ostensibly like modern-day society but with JRPG trappings such as swords, sorcery, and a hunter-ranking system.

Jinwoo is a hunter, he’s given the humiliating distinction of being the weakest of all humanity. He’s thus the weakest E-Rank hunter, a title he bears throughout this 2-episode premiere. He’s too weak to tackle practically any dungeon alone, and often spends his meager winnings to put his sister through school, provide for his ailing mother, and replenish his paltry supplies.

While anybody can guess how this proceeds, the series sells you on how pathetic he is. Everybody around him pities and and speaks poorly of him, and his few advocates like B-Rank healer Joohee still struggle to keep him alive. So when he joins for a dungeon, his companions are relieved, assuming it’ll be a piece of cake if the weakest E-Rank hunter is okay with it. How much more wrong could they be?

From here things will march into spoiler territory, so you’ve been warned!

The Double Dungeon

Jinwoo’s adventure went fairly okay in the dungeon early on. It was a D-Rank dungeon so he had no hope of running it solo, but with healing from Joohee, he could survive otherwise grievous wounds. Things were looking up, but the team was upset by the lack of rewards (McGuffins like Mana Crystals and Essence Stones, more on those later) and wanted more. They then spotted a passage into another dungeon.

This was highly unusual, but Jinwoo’s team felt compelled to explore further for the prospect of more treasure. After all, members of the party had mouths to feed, with one even having a pregnant wife at home. Jinwoo reluctantly agreed, having people depending on him at home as well. So he joined this ill-fated raid on the Double Dungeon.

A Glorious Cacophony of Chaos and Death

While I found Jinwoo’s predicament endearing, it’s not different from a lot of action manhwa protagonists in essence and even resembles a lot of Shonen protagonists or Western comic protagonists. He’s clearly on a path to becoming incredibly strong, but not before the “metamorphosis” step of his hero’s journey, which happens here. But in the Double Dungeon, we also see a glorious cacophony of chaos and death.

I won’t go into too much detail because I’m already in danger of summarizing the plot excessively in this review. But this dungeon aka the ‘Cartenon Temple’ has an esoteric puzzle gimmick where, if you don’t solve it, you die. The RPG structure of this makes it feel like death isn’t that big of a deal. After all, it’s inspired by game mechanics. But this is no game. Members of the party anxiously try to escape but are viciously and instantly killed by the statues who have now come to life.

The weight of death in this series reminds me a lot of how character deaths were handled in other series like Attack on Titan. Not all characters had fleshed-out stories but seeing them die was often delivered unflinchingly and in some cases with agonizing details like squelching flesh as one character is flattened. This creates real tension for the viewers.

In Solo Leveling, this premiere features the Double Dungeon massacre in pretty faithful detail, down to hunters being sliced in half with their gristly corpses on display. It’s gruesome but reminds viewers that the characters aren’t in some full-dive VRMMORPG. They are experiencing these terrors in real life, and their prospects of surviving are next to zero. Jinwoo sees this and realizes that he is doomed if he tries to fight or escape, so he tries to solve the puzzle. It’s this adaptability that is his saving grace.

Solo Leveling Is a Great Showcase of a Manhwa Hero’s Qualities

I’ve gotten into several other manhwa before and after reading and watching Solo Leveling, and in Jinwoo’s case, he embodies a few recurring characteristics of its protagonists. He’s weak at first, to a pitiful state in his case, but can grow and survive thanks to a combination of shrewd wits and courage reminiscent of a mythological Greek hero. But also, in the case of Solo Leveling, Jinwoo pays the ultimate price before this happens.

Jinwoo solves the puzzle of the Cartenon Temple, but he requires his team to help, and the tasks are simple too. But the harrowing trauma of the massacre causes each of them to retreat, leaving him alone to his fate. Jinwoo’s courage is on display here, when he faces the approaching statues (grinning like psychopaths) and holds his ground. Where others misunderstood the puzzle, Jinwoo stuck to his guns, even if the result wasn’t immediately appealing or even rewarding.

He completes the puzzle while being brutally sliced and diced within an inch of his life before being given a mysterious offer to turn him into a Player. Maybe Solo Leveling is more of a game than viewers perhaps realize, but still a cruel one where death is swift and merciless.

This structure is a great showcase of a pretty typical action manhwa plot, and Solo Leveling is a great showcase of a manhwa hero’s qualities. Jinwoo had everything to lose and was left to his fate despite doing everything right, and was ultimately rewarded with it. While viewers don’t know yet what will happen, rest assured, that Jinwoo’s death and return will also be his metamorphosis where he becomes unimaginably strong.

Brief Introductions of Supporting Characters

Solo Leveling does a pretty decent job at introducing us to characters we can predict to survive fairly well. While we know the sympathetic backgrounds of many of Jinwoo’s companions, they’re also fairly one-dimensional and there’s not much else to learn about them. Their deaths aren’t much of a concern. But we also learn of Go Gunhee, Guildmaster Choi, and Cha Hae-in, each with fascinating stakes in the story. This results in a slightly different structure in the anime adaptation, but one that doesn’t hurt the series.

My favorite moments of these include Go’s intended use of Mana Crystals and Essence Stones as sustainable power sources or Cha’s prowess as an S-Rank hunter. It doesn’t tell us all of their personality traits or their life story, but rather just enough to leave us wanting more, and for them to show up again. The brief introductions of supporting characters do more than just pad out the runtime of the episode. Their introduction is a worthy B-Plot to tease viewers about the details and power structure of Solo Leveling’s world.

The Verdict

I knew that a faithful adaptation of Solo Leveling would garner praise and excitement, and I was right. It’s not ground-breaking in terms of animation, and the plot is derivative, but the execution is extremely strong. Jinwoo is a sympathetic protagonist who goes through incredible suffering in this premiere and you can feel the tension alongside him. It might cross familiar territory, but it also pulls no punches.

The terror of what happens if a dungeon expedition goes wrong is believable, with the weight of death being nothing to scoff at, and the murderous, grinning statues are absolute nightmare fuel.

While I know the anime will go to some radically cool places in future episodes, I’m relieved that the premiere was as strong as it is. Seeing how weak and helpless Jinwoo is in this premiere, I recommend you hold onto that image. Remember that, as you see him steadily ascend to incredible new echelons as the Player, a pawn used by forces we’ve yet to see or understand.

_{This review of Solo Leveling Episodes 1 & 2 was made using a screener provided by Crunchyroll. This anime will premiere on Saturday, January 6, 2024, and will be available to stream on Crunchyroll.}

Where to Find Flexwood in LEGO Fortnite

Flexwood is harvested from cactuses in LEGO Fortnite, found in the Dry Valley (or desert) biome. On your map, you’ll want to find a reddish-brown territory, and you’ll often find this inland from shores or near grassland biomes. However, there are several things you’ll need before you can harvest it.

Related: PSA: Here’s How to Easily Restore Weapon Durability in LEGO Fortnite

How to Harvest Flexwood in LEGO Fortnite

You will need a Forest Axe (Rare) to harvest Flexwood in LEGO Fortnite. To make this, you’ll need Knotroot Rods and Amber which you can mine with an Uncommon Pickaxe in Dry Valley — and to build and upgrade the following Utilities in your village:

• Level 3 Crafting Bench (Rare)
• Gem Cutter
• Stone Breaker
• Lumber Mill

The Crafting Bench is required first, which you can build once it’s reached Level 2 (Uncommon) by opening the bench, going to ‘Bench Upgrade,’ and having the following resources:

Crafting Bench Level 3 (Rare)

• Knotroot Rod x12
• Marble Slab x15
• Sand Claw x6
• Sand Shell x3

The Gem Cutter is built from your ‘Build’ menu and requires the following:

Gem Cutter

• Marble Slab x20
• Rough Amber x5
• Sand Claw x5
• Sand Shell x3

After you have this, you’ll be able to put Amber through the Gem Cutter, then build Forest Axe (Rare) to chop down cactuses for Flexwood. This can take a long time, but it will be worth it, especially as villagers can potentially harvest and refine more Flexwood in the future.

How to Get Villagers to Refine Flexwood

Once you’ve found and processed your own, make sure you have a villager assigned to a “Refine Wood” job in your village. Each day that passes, speak with them and ask how their job is going, and you’ll get a chance to take any of the new resources they’ve refined. I remember being excited about this after learning they could give you planks, rods, and even Knotroot and more!

What Is Flexwood Used For?

Flexwood is used to craft the uncommon knight shield, rare recurve crossbow and rare pickaxe. Each of these requires a differing amount of Flexwood Rods specifically in order to craft, alongside other resources. On top of that, it can also be used to upgrade your village to level 9 and 10.

For level 9, you’ll need just standard Flexwood, whereas your level 10 village upgrade requires Flexwood Rods.

How to Get the Sound of a Horn for the Great Fairy in Zelda TOTK

You should first speak to Mastro at Snowfield Stable east of the Hebra Mountains in Tabantha Tundra to start seeking the ‘Sound of a Horn’ in Zelda TOTK. He’ll tell you Eustus can be found near a stable further south.

Just in the southern parts of Tabantha Frontier west of Tabantha Great Bridge to Hyrule Ridge, there’s a pit marked on the map where Eustus and his cart have fallen in.

Related: How to Get the Sound of a Flute for the Great Fairy in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

Here you’ll have to help Eustus out as part of a small side quest.

How to Complete The Hornist’s Dramatic Escape in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Speak to Eustus, tell him to get into his cart, and take the following steps:

• Attach the metal grate’s flat end to the posts on his cart
• Attach 2 balloons to opposite corners on top of the grate
• Attach 2 Flame Emitter Zonai Devices found nearby, inside the rings of the balloons.
• Climb outside of the pit, shoot the flame emitter with an arrow
• Use the Ultrahand to pull the cart the rest of the way out

You can even do this with only one battery, it’s quite easy, I even tested it myself! This will conclude Eustus’ quest, after which he’ll give you 3 Courser Bee Honey items. The Honey could be useful for a certain drummer so save these!

How to Get Eustus to Play the Horn for Great Fairy Mija TOTK

Go back to Snowfield Stable and speak to Mastro, initiating the final phase:

• Bring a horse from the stable with the Towing Harness to attach to their cart, Breezer
• Put a roof on top using wood boards next to the cart

Then simply ride north to up the left side of the hill where Mija awaits! Serenade her, and that’s how you get the sound of a horn for the Great Fairy in Zelda: TOTK!

This copy of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was played on the Nintendo Switch OLED edition, using Ver. 1.1.0.

Where to Get Potatoes in Starfield

The easiest way to get 50 potatoes in Starfield is by purchasing them from certain stores such as the following:

• Shepherd’s General Store in Akila City (Akila)
• The Store in New Homestead (Titan)

Potatoes will cost you 35 credits from here in the “Aid” section. They’re reasonably cheap but you can only buy a handful at a time, so you’ll need to use an exploit.

Related: Starfield Clothing Store Locations: Where to Buy New Outfits

How to Refresh Potato Vendor Supplies in Starfield

Buy all the potatoes in stock and then it’s time to go in the back room. Yes, to refresh the store’s stock of the gleaming potatoes you need to wait 48 hours so wait for 24 hours twice. I recommend the seat in the back of the store as it is closest to you: no need to go back to your ship.

It’s a classic Bethesda RPG mechanic, so don’t worry about how upsetting it’d be to have somebody sitting on a chair staring into space for 2 straight days.

I recommend that you partake in the journey to gather the 50 potatoes as it will make sure the quest giver (Janet Yang) who wants off the Generation Ship can get a taste of freedom — and hopefully of some more potatoes too in the future. Once you have the 50 potatoes you can take them back to Diana on the Generation ship and hand them over.

Can You Grow Potatoes at Outposts?

No, you can’t grow potatoes in outposts. However, mods in the future may change this fact so it is worthwhile keeping an eye out for them. Just don’t mistake potato mods for “potato mode” mods meant to enhance FPS in exchange for graphics. Even if that didn’t stop players from hoarding potatoes and letting them drain out of their ship airlock.

Related: Here’s Why Starfield Requires an SSD on PC

Now that you know where to get potatoes easily, don’t be afraid to sit silently after buying by the bushel. It’s only mildly upsetting for patrons, and it’ll pay off soon.

The Best Gear to Find or Craft in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

You’ll find some of the best gear including weapons and armor while completing dangerous segments like RDA outposts in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. However, with the crafting and customization mechanics of the game, you can create some Superior or Exquisite items to beef up your arsenal, such as:

Best Heavy Bow

Solali’s Venomous Heavy Bow takes a pretty sweet spot as a popular choice for late-game Heavy Bow users. The combination of intense raw power with poison effect is hard to pass up, and while these weapons are slow to charge, they boast an impressive damage ratio. Heavy Bows are my favorite weapon type in the game, as they let me pierce AMP Suit canopies with the Na’vi’s insane 7-foot-long arrows!

You can find the blueprint in Solali’s shop shown below:

Related: Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Review

You could reasonably end the list with a weapon like this alone. Heavy Bows are badass and versatile sniper weapons capable of tearing down anything from Samsons to AMP suits, to hunting the infamous Thanator.

Best Longbow

The best Longbow is likely the Energizing Longbow, an Exquisite weapon crafted only after unlocking all skills in the Memories of the Maker skill tree. Do this, then you will be given the Apex Challenge: The Bow Master to complete to craft this weapon. But it’s worth it, with impressive fire damage and energy restoration applied to each shot, allowing for a solid guerrilla weapon at your disposal.

Best Shotgun

The Superior Jackhammer Shotgun is likely all you’ll need for this weapon class, as it boasts an impressive 140 Damage, along with +15% Weakspot Damage. To top things off, it increases damage by 15% for the next attack after hitting said Weakspot, which is absolutely bad news bears for exposed vents on an AMP Suit. You can find it in the Extractor Plant northwest of Weeping Steps, shown below:

Best Assault Rifle

I almost debated leaving the ARs out of this discussion entirely because I hate them in this game. However, Hurit Ahenakew sells a mean AR for 80 Spare parts, Hurit’s Merciless M69 AR, boasting similar Efficient Tactics bonuses to the Jackhammer along with impressive damage-stacking potential.

It’s a shame then that Assault Rifles handle rather poorly in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, but this is among the best gear in the game regardless. You can buy this gun here, at the Resistance HQ where the bulk of the earliest parts of the game play out:

Best Spear-thrower

Coming back to Solali, you can get an excellent Spear-thrower blueprint with specifically improved RDA-centric damage output. Solali’s Spear-thrower, like any variants of the weapon, is powerful, but unwieldy. It requires a brief charge after which it immediately fires, unlike the Heavy Bow which you can hold indefinitely.

Most Broken Weapon in the Game

I remember being rather astonished by the Staff Sling which made mincemeat out of the reinforcements I encountered if I tripped alarms at RDA facilities. You can practically stand where a Samson lands with troops, throw down a Trip Mine, and watch the infantry and helicopter explode while you gear up to take down another. You can chain clusters of dead RDA with this weapon, so use it wisely.

However, if you wind up under heavy pursuit by AMP Suits, refrain from using this weapon, they can handle those explosives a lot better than most opponents.

As this is a developing story, I’m still identifying the best armor and mods to go along with this list. Check here frequently for new recommendations!

How to Find the Legendary Aether Tool Schematic in Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) Zombies

The Legendary Aether Tool Plans are a randomly dropped schematic reward for defeating Greylorm, one of the hardest bosses in MW3 Zombies. You can find this boss inside the Aether Storm once you complete a particular set of prerequisites, and a Reward Rift will appear with a random chance to get this item. For this, you’ll want a ton of armor and reliable teammates.

Related: MW3 Zombies Dark Aether Easter Egg Guide

This is the same practice you’d apply to get the Flawless Aetherium Crystal, so if you don’t have that either, this guide will take you a long way! You’ll need to make it appear by gathering all 4 Calibration Data USBs, which you’ll need to use at the Refractor Terminals inside the Storm (that purple circle that expands once the regular timer ends).

Be ready; this spawns Greylorm, and you’ll want a good gas mask.

How to Beat Greylorm and Get the Legendary Aether Tool Plans in MWZ

As pointed out by my colleague Christian Bognar, there are 3 main attacks you should watch out for:

• Lunge: Greylorm will lunge to close in on players who don’t stay far enough away, similar to how Gorm’gant operates
• Burrow: Greylorm shares traits with a Ground-type Pokemon, using Dig. When you see this happen, move elsewhere
• Aether Breath: This is the single biggest case for having the Golden Armor Plate to regenerate armor if you’re unable to run away from this attack

Between each of these, hit it with any weapons you have, and Pack-a-Punch III is ideal, so be sure to use the machine in Threat Zone 3 to get your upgrades. After this fight, grab your rewards, you’ve earned them. I’d say to safely Exfil but…to be honest, if you survived Greylorm, chances are you can Exfil from anywhere on the map and be okay at this point.

Best Locations to Build Your Base in LEGO Fortnite

The best locations for a base either for respawning or a village boil down to whether you want resources or aesthetic views in LEGO Fortnite. Remember that even just putting down your bed and/or a fire and Village Square nearby is a healthy start to building the base of your dreams, so here’s a little inspiration.

Oasis Castle

Sometimes the procedurally generated world of LEGO Fortnite creates some absolute visual gems like rocky terrain overlooking a breathtaking oasis in the Dry Valley biome. I saw a plateau up ahead and decided, naturally, to build a home there.

Related: Best LEGO Fortnite House Designs

Specifically, I chose the Grand Manor. It was enormous and took up 603 Granite and 103 Wood, but it provides breathtaking views of the Dry Valley biome. There was only one tiny issue the contractors (me) failed to mention when building this:

It’s probably not going to pass a lot of safety checks. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men better sleep on the right side of this structure. Hope you’re insured, milord. But I’ll add in some scaffolding later.

This area was found in world seed 1704722471 at map coordinates -5.24099, -2.99600, 3.164. Check out other seeds we’ve found that were particularly great.

Cabin in the Woods

A lovely concept for anyone who isn’t a teen in a slasher or Ash Williams, this serene base option enables the best of both worlds in LEGO Fortnite, often being near livestock, vegetation, and tons of trees. A huge plus to this is you can have shelter and only have to use the wood all around you, nothing else.

If you want to use this, check -5.39343, -4.04287, 3.675 in the same seed as above.

Hilltop Vista

Hilltops can be phenomenal and have strategic value if you build a base at or near them. They allow you to survey the land around you and let’s be honest, at daybreak, there’s little that can beat such a gorgeous view. Plus, you can see whether livestock is moving around nearby, in case you need supplies or want to say hello!

Found at -5.23453, -3.99627, 6.741.

Desert Tower

If you can contrive a series of staircases or fly atop these in Sandbox mode, these make for another great survey point. Aside from access to Flexwood, Amber, and caves containing even more luxurious loot and ores, the Dry Valley views often have a unique charm as you look into the distance, your view slightly obscured by the shimmering heat.

Found at -5.01957, -3.98872, 7.052.

Mountaintop Campsite

This one is slightly not serious as a suggestion, but should you summit some of the incredibly tall mountaintops you might find in LEGO Fortnite, these can be a bit of a flex in terms of base locations. Pack some cold-resistant items before hitting the Frostlands and trying this one, folks.

Just maybe don’t roll over off your bed. Found at -4.04450, -3.76199, 262.58!

This guide was created using LEGO Fortnite on my Xbox Series X.

The Best House Designs Are What You Make in LEGO Fortnite

Right away, you’ll notice on the build menu a set of building designs for different house styles in LEGO Fortnite, but sometimes it’s best to go off-book. You can create a foundation of your choosing to serve as a basement while building to a 2 (or more) floor house, or a walled-off fortress across the river.

You can build a humble shack if you’re more about adventuring than flashiness, or if you’re like me, you’re fond of a nice brick house.

Player-Built House

My house relies on the basic principles of a wood foundation for each floor, with the interior stairs going from the corner into the basement. Sadly, there aren’t many options for shorter stairs, but the result is a larger house overall.

Related: Best Lego Fortnite Vehicles to Build First

You can get by surprisingly well with just a touch of wood flooring and tile on the upper interior. And that pleasant roof, along with some windows along the way? Fantastic. While this house will surely be improved upon and upgraded, it’s an important reminder of how easily you can make something impressive on your own.

Palace Tower Preset

This build blueprint requires Frostpine and creates a multi-tiered majestic Shogun Palace, complete with multiple entrances and a lower dungeon-like area. It takes an impressive 32 stages, but once it all comes together, it’s a fabulous building with excellent built-in visibility featuring windows along its several floors so you can survey your village or the area.

Humble Manor Preset

This one’s fantastic because all you need is Granite and Wood, something abundant in LEGO Minecraft, making this possibly the best among early-game preset house designs. I know it’s not intentional, but looking at this makes me think of Ye Olde Town of Jerusalem, an over-800-year-old English pub, but it’s a family game, so that’s probably just a coincidence.

Related: How to Find Dry Valley in LEGO Fortnite | Desert Biome Location

Roomy Home Preset

I was mildly annoyed to find the Roomy Home preset after building my custom house, but in a way, it helped build character as much as it did my first home. However, this one does cost less in terms of resources, including using Knotroot instead of Frostpine.

Jumbo Lodge Preset

This one is fantastically rustic and made entirely of wood. It’s not for everyone with its heavily brown aesthetic, but with a nice campfire going on outdoors and some farmland, you can feel at home in the woods or along a stream in one of these.

LEGO Fortnite gives you the resources to make the best possible house, nudging you along with the prebuilt designs while giving you the resources to make a dream home. But as it’s a sandbox game, it’s limited largely only by your imagination, and possibly resources.

How to Complete the Dark Aether Easter Egg in MW3 Zombies

To complete this easter egg in MW3 Zombies, you must first gather 4 ritual items for the pedestals that appear near the Aether Rift you enter for the Bad Signal mission. These items are the following:

• Locked Diary
• Pill Bottle
• Surveillance Camera
• Dog Collar
• Rift

For all items except the Locked Diary, you’ll first get an Epic Rare version of them, but we’ll guide you through the process of getting their Ultra Rare version needed for this easter egg. I highly recommend bringing a team you know and trust, because completing this solo is close to unthinkable.

Locked Diary

This one is arguably already the toughest, but also the most straightforward of the Dark Aether easter egg items in MW3 Zombies. Bring a team that has Quick Revive and Speed Cola, and it won’t hurt to have some Tesla Storm and Healing Aura for crowd control and group healing. It’s the Bad Signal mission, which is free even for players who haven’t beaten Act 3 yet, and it’ll be marked as a special Exfil icon near Threat Zone 3!

Pull out all the stops for this one, as it’s got some intense horde battles that culminate in a lethal boss fight with Gorm’gant. Beating Gorm’gant will create a Reward Rift with the Ultra Rare Locked Diary. Leave the Aether Rift through the nearby exit doorway, and Exfil with this item.

Pill Bottle

Dialing it back a bit, for this one you’ll need Brain Rot, my favorite ammo mod in the game. If you don’t already have the schematics for this, we have a way you can easily get them.

• Go into an Aether Nest with your Brain Rot ammo mod equipped
• Shoot a cyst at close range just enough until it turns green for a prompt to appear
• Hold ‘Square’ or ‘X’ to ‘Open Toxic Cyst’
• Clear the Aether Nest fully, returning to the cyst you infected to grab the Pill Bottle
• Find an Aether Tear on the map (the icon has an arrow pointing up on the tac-map)
• Go inside while holding the Pill Bottle, then parachute to a green tear
• You’ll see a green indicator that floats toward a Big Bounty Contract
  • These contracts appear as a purple icon on your minimap

Complete this contract and you’ll get the Ultra Rare Pill Bottle, so Exfil safely!

Surveillance Camera

For this one, bring Dead Wire ammo, and go looking for a Harvester Orb like you did for the Reaper mission.

• Shoot the Orb with Dead Wire ammo and it’ll glow yellow
• Destroy the Orb once you’ve confirmed it’s yellow, and collect the Epic Rare Surveillance Camera it drops
• Go to an Aether Tear (icon has an arrow pointing up on the tac-map)
• Go inside while holding the Surveillance Camera, then parachute to a yellow tear
• You’ll see a yellow indicator that floats toward a Big Bounty Contract

Related: MW3 Zombies Shocked Guide: How to Get the Dead Wire Ammo Mod

Complete this contract and you’ll get the Ultra Rare Surveillance Camera, so like with the Pill Bottle, Exfil carefully!

Dog Collar

For the Dog Collar, bring a Molotov Cocktail in your stash, so that you can deposit it and farm a Chunk of Flesh off zombies. You can get these easily either through hordes in Raid Weapon Stash or Escort contracts, or by killing them with explosives/headshots/Pack-a-Punch weapons, the latter of which I recommend.

• Go to a Doghouse and place your Chunk of Flesh and Molotov inside
• Defeat the hellhound that spawns
• Gather the Epic Rare Dog Collar
• Go to an Aether Tear (icon has an arrow pointing up on the tac-map)
• Go inside while holding the Dog Collar, then parachute to the red tear
• You’ll see a red indicator that floats toward a Big Bounty Contract

Complete this Big Bounty and you’ll get the Ultra Rare Dog Collar, so Exfil safely!

Entering the Rift for the Dark Aether MW3 Zombies Easter Egg

This is the hard part. Pack-a-Punch your weapons and bring your best upgrades here, and even consider a Juggernaut killstreak from the Zone 3 Buy Station. Go to the area just nearby where you enter for the Bad Signal mission. It’ll be a small island near Threat Zone 3, and it’ll look like a tornado is swirling around the area. Go to the pedestals inside and place the following:

• Fire: Dog Collar
• Ice: Locked Diary
• Lightning: Camera
• Crossbones: Pill Bottle

This unlocks a Dark Aether Rift nearby. A Mega Abomination and zombies will spawn. Tear through them and a Reward Rift will appear containing a Sigil. Completing this completes the easter egg, allowing future Tier 3 contracts to drop Sigils, allowing you to spend them to open the Rift in the future.

You can then approach the large doorway and hold ‘X’ or ‘Square’ to open the Aether Rift, prompting a vote for the team to enter. You’ll be able to do this now and in the future so long as you have Sigils to use at the doorway, enabling contracts inside, so bring a good team! This is your path to incredible schematics, so don’t sleep on this!

Top 5 Best LEGO Fortnite Vehicles to Build First for Starters

Less is more as you pick up the finer points about LEGO Fortnite vehicles and which ones you should build first. There are no firm principles or expectations of what you can or can’t build while playing, either. There’s no shame in taking advantage of even the most dubious ‘vehicles’ if you want to get around quickly and don’t have a ton of resources.

Related: How to Build Vehicles in LEGO Fortnite

The Car

A global classic, this is the first image that pops into your mind while playing LEGO Fortnite. While the steering mechanics are awkward at best, you can make a car that goes forward simply with a Dynamic Foundation, Wheels, some Thrusters, and an Activation Switch.

If you have a path forward and you’d like to save time, even the most basic builds will work to cover huge distances until you’re ready to tackle bigger projects.

The “Buggy”

This concept was hilariously pointed out by @BuilderDriz on Twitter. All you need for this is a Dynamic Foundation, a Large Wheel placed directly on the middle of the flat surface, all steered and powered by you walking into it while carrying a Wooden Crate. It oddly scoots across the ground and uses the least amount of resources in this list, and you can make one pretty soon after discovering Flexwood in Survival.

Why name it the “Buggy”? It’s pretty self-explanatory, is it not, with how it’s seemingly propelled by a bug in the game? But please refrain from punching your buddies when you see one of these on the road.

The Boat

This one’s great because you aren’t as likely to run into trouble with obstacles as for the car, so steering is often an afterthought. Usually, the boat is ideal when needing to cross a stream. Swimming uses up stamina and can cause you to lose health, so this is one of the best vehicles to build first in LEGO Fortnite.

The design is just a car’s Dynamic Foundations, some Thrusters, and an Activation Switch, with optional Wheels if you want to make it amphibious.

The Hovercraft

Okay, this one’s being generous, but it’s for the “Buggy” with 2 Small Balloons added on opposite corners. This achieves buoyancy while glitching across the water, but it also makes for an incredible, durable vehicle you can steer easily as you tear through trees and rocks like paper.

The Balloon Plane

The first vehicle I built was based upon the concept for Thruster-propelled steering highlighted by @haydenleroux on YouTube. It’s tricky and is still no stranger to jank in the game, but it can also give you the coolest, most breathtaking view of the game’s world, and can get you anywhere without opposition.

The Vehicle You Should NOT Build in LEGO Fortnite

While trying to build a simpler Balloon platform, I learned one vehicle that’s not the best choice. That is one Dynamic Foundation with a Large Balloon tied to it. See that speck in the image above? That was the result of me putting it onto the Foundation before getting on.

Built responsibly, who knows what wonders you’ll spot along your travels!

Best Holger 556 Zombies Loadout

The best Holger 556 holdout in MW3 Zombies leans into its strengths when used in the tactical stance. These attachments double down on those advantages to make it a deadly, accurate weapon that’s quick to draw and quicker to kill.

• Barrel: LM Inflix Short Heavy Barrel
• Muzzle: STER45 Skyfury Compensator
• Underbarrel: Bruen Bastion Angled Grip
• Rear Grip: CT2000 Tactical Grip
• Stock: RB Addle Assault Stock

Related: Best Lockwood 680 Zombies Loadout in Modern Warfare 3

I already liked this weapon while playing in multiplayer, but testing out the Zombies build, I found it can put in some serious work with the tac-stance. The LM Inflix Short Heavy Barrel does a nice job leaning into that, limiting spread for hipfire, too, and sprint-to-fire speed is always a plus. The STER45 Skyfury Compensator looks snazzy, but it also helps contain your weapon recoil wonderfully in tac-stance.

The Bruen Bastion Angled Grip offers excellent stability across the board, and while you trade off more ADS speed, it doesn’t matter, as you’re going to use the tac-stance a lot in this mode at close quarters. The CT2000 Tactical Grip and RB Addle Assault Stock help tie this off, keeping your crosshairs narrow and you can switch from aiming to shooting zombies in the face on the fly.

Sadly, ADS is traded off in this case, so I left out the optics for this as they’d go largely unused. In a pinch, if you want to make every shot count against, say, bigger targets, ADS is still an option. But perhaps you’d prefer to quick-scope your prey if ADS is your poison?

Blue Lock Chapter 245 Release Date & Time

Blue Lock is set to release Chapter 245 on Wednesday, December 27, 2023 at midnight JST. For most readers worldwide, you’ll be able to catch this chapter at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET on Tuesday, December 26, 2023, or even earlier as the leakers love to showcase this series on social media.

Related: Blue Lock Manga Release Date Schedule 2023

Check our time zone guide below to see when this chapter drops in your region!

In Chapter 245, Rin Itoshi and Ryusei Shido brought the heat with polar opposite styles, aided by a gifted playmaker on their team.

Blue Lock Chapter 245 Countdown

For those wanting to see the chapter show up digitally in Japanese as soon as it is available, keep an eye on this countdown for each upcoming chapter of Blue Lock!

Don’t forget, Kodansha US is the North American print publisher if you want to collect the volumes or buy them digitally!

Blue Lock Chapter 244 Spoilers

Yoichi Isagi and others ponder over the Blue Lock auction system. It seems like the greater their number of goals, the more value they’ll get to their name. Goals are estimated at a value between 30-50 million in this case, meaning any given game Isagi could be one goal from reaching the top!

Shifting away from the Ness and Kaiser backstory, we instead saw some intense soccer being played between PXG and FC Barcha. The game began with earnest forward momentum, especially once Rin Itoshi was set up for the team’s first goal! However, this means the gulf between him and Isagi could widen.

But then a team subbed out Rin for Ryusei Shido, whose infamous shot-taking was complemented by the same player who set Rin up for his goal. This phantom playmaker is revealed to be Charles Chevalier, and we’ll surely see more of him as PXG nets an impressive 2-0 lead already. We can’t wait for the next installment in Blue Lock Chapter 245!

Best Steerable Car in LEGO Fortnite

No car is currently durable enough to last forever, but there are 2 options for building the best steerable car in LEGO Fortnite:

• Build a massive machine with 2 wing-sized platforms to hold jets to change your direction
• Use the jank to your advantage and put a Large Wheel face-up on a Dynamic Foundation

The best way to say this is that you can build a highly steerable car in LEGO Fortnite that goes until the jank destroys it, or you can build a bare minimum vehicle powered by ‘jank’. Let me explain.

1. The Jank Method

Illustrated by @BuilderDriz on Twitter, you can build a Dynamic Foundation to start. From there, take the following steps:

• Lay the Foundation anywhere on the ground
• Build a Large Wheel
• Place the Wheel face-up in the middle of the Foundation
• Build a Wooden Crave
• Holding the crate, walk into the wheel to move around

Related: How to Move Your LEGO Fortnite Village

It is by far one of the weirdest janky mechanics spotted yet in the game, but in terms of building a steerable car, it’s also the most resource-efficient. I can hardly imagine the carbon emissions we’ll reduce when we throw down plywood, a bicycle tire, and a U-Haul moving box to rock our commutes to work.

2. The (Less Janky) Rocket-Powered Method

This requires a lot of resources, so try it in Sandbox mode to start. The idea behind this is to create the best, closest thing to a steerable car in LEGO Fortnite, but it is fragile so drive carefully. You’ll need to start the build with 2 Dynamic Foundations conjoined at the end and place it upon another pair of Foundations to create a sturdy base.

From there, you’ll need four Large Wheels to go evenly around the edges. Once that’s done, in the middle of either side, build out using 4x4x2 Foundation blocks to create what look like wings with a large hole large enough to hold a Dynamic Foundation. If you’ve read my Balloon Plane guide, you already know where this is going.

Build a layer to create a floor for each wing, then place a 4x4x12 Foundation in the middle, each holding a Dynamic Foundation on top. Break those 4x4x12 Foundations to drop the Dynamic Foundations inside the enclosure you’ve made in the wings. Then place 3 stacks of 4x4x2 Foundations on each of these Dynamic Foundations, and place 3 Large Thrusters on those for each wing.

Finally, place 3 Large Thrusters on the rear of the car’s main body, as well as 4 on the rear of each wing. Place an Activation Switch on the main body, then on the Dynamic Platform for each wing. This allows you to activate your car, or activate rocket-powered steering either to the left or the right. From there, you’re welcome to add cosmetics and flooring as you wish!

I built this car myself and am proud to say it works, but if you crash, much like real cars, you can ruin it, so consider some tires along the front and sides to help cushion the blow. Be sure to stock up on Flexwood before tackling this project.

Best MCW Zombies Build

This MCW build is meant to make a minor trade of mobility and handling for accuracy and recoil control, along with an impressive ammo reserve in MW3 Zombies. You’ll spend less time reloading and have plenty of flexibility to swap between hip fire and tac stance while you dodge incoming waves of undead foes.

• Barrel: Orchestra-40 Short Heavy Barrel
• Muzzle: Purifier Muzzle Brake
• Underbarrel: Demo Firm Grip
• Magazine: 60 Round Drum
• Laser: 1MW Laser Box

The Orchestra-40 Short Heavy Barrel sacrifices recoil control and minor range but gives you control across various fire modes, including hip fire and tac stance. This enables you to slaughter enemies efficiently, even coming out of a sprint. To further stabilize your aim, the Purifier Muzzle Brake might trade range out, but the additional stability will be key when firing full-auto bursts.

Related: Best Tyr Akimbo Zombies Build in Modern Warfare 3

As you may have guessed, this build favors hip fire and tac stance, so the Demo Firm Grip fits in perfectly here, reducing ADS speed a bit but your recoil and accuracy are yet again boosted. This all comes into play when the 60-Round Drum is attached, which slows you and your reloads down, but the damage you can do with that much ammo allows you to tear down hordes, and Bounties, and survive even the rougher story missions.

The glue that holds this together is the 1MW Laser Box, with no drawbacks while stabilizing hip fire and tac stance spread. This gives you the advantage of allowing you to fire at the enemy efficiently, while still giving the option for ADS such as for bosses who are difficult to miss. The MCW already has exceptional stability and range, so it should still be incredibly accurate when aiming down sights even with these hip fire attachments.

While it doesn’t have the explosive potential of the Crossbow build, it’s a great way to tear apart zombies with a high fire rate at medium-to-close range. Speed Cola and Stamin-Up will be your best friends, and don’t forget that Pack-a-Punch will double your ammo capacity!