Impadalko

The Apothecary Diaries - Season 2

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 20:07:23 -0300

The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 has a larger scope than the previous season, focusing on developing the world’s backstory. The narrative centers around the imperial family’s history and the rear palace, unlike Season 1, which was focused more on Jinshi and Maomao themselves. The structure of most episodes remains the same: a mystery case that highlights Maomao’s intelligence or knowledge. It does not really work as a typical whodunit, as episodes are short, hints are a bit too on the nose, or the solution requires very specific knowledge.

Maus

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 07:40:44 -0300

I first read Maus in my teenage years as part of my school classes. After so many years, it is hard to remember my impressions in detail, but I remember being moved by the animalistic representations of people and the scale of the war. Maybe I was too young but I’m not sure I really grasped the scale of the systematic killing and suffering implemented by the Germans. After watching a video by Shaun, I decided to reread the book and it was way more impactful this time.

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:29:29 -0300

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc remains as surreal, violent and funny as the anime was. The choice to present this arc as a movie was well made as the shorter arc naturally translates to the structure of a film and the format keeps the momentum without breaks. The highlight of the movie is its characters. Denji remains as naïve and silly as he always was, but it works for the narrative.

Jujutsu Kaisen - Season 3

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 21:23:26 -0300

Season 3 of Jujutsu Kaisen is the series at its most intense version. Animations are the best the show has ever had, battles are visceral and impactful, and there is no shortage of epic moments. The overall momentum of the series has always been breakneck, and this season, like the previous ones, is not concerned with offering breathing room between the action. The problem with this relentless rhythm is that it trades character development for action, leaving no time for the cast outside of combat.

The Boys - Season 5

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 18:13:38 -0300

The final season of The Boys was disappointing. It concludes the story in a sensible manner but with lackluster execution. The series feels a bit lost on what this season should be other than the final confrontation with Homelander. More than ever, the series relies on satire for humor and gore for impact. These, however, have diminishing returns. The satire of political affairs feels very on the nose this time. Admittedly, The Boys never was subtle, but after four seasons, it really is tiring.

Frieren - Season 2

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 21:09:48 -0300

The feeling left by Season 2 of Frieren is that nothing really happened. This is not true, but the break of momentum from Season 1 is strongly felt. After a thrilling ending of the first season with the first class mage exam, the second season returns to the episodic travel and odd jobs. You cannot have Frieren without the episodic travel as it is essential to worldbuilding and character development. However, the narrative works better when these episodes are paired with more focused arcs, as the lighthearted nature of the travel reinforces the high stakes of those conflicts.

Hades II

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:30:52 -0300

Improving on perfection

Finished: 2026/05/22

Invincible - Season 4

Sat, 23 May 2026 21:18:50 -0300

The fourth season of Invincible feels different from the previous ones. The series is determined to raise the stakes and focus on the Viltrumite War. To achieve this, the episodic nature of the first half is put aside, and a more focused arc is presented in the second half of the season. To this end, this new structure works. The Viltrumites stop feeling like a random, occasional threat and become the main antagonists of the series.

Why Keep a Blog in 2026?

Sun, 17 May 2026 21:26:09 -0300

A blog is an artifact of an internet that does not exist anymore, replaced by major platforms that gather all content. So why on earth am I writing a blog in 2026? There are many reasons: The decay of the organic internet Today’s internet is dominated by major platforms that host most content. In some ways, this was a natural evolution: it lowers the barrier to entry as people do not need to understand web hosting to maintain an online presence, and it helps with discoverability since that is usually outsourced to the platform.

Dune

Wed, 06 May 2026 19:07:31 -0300

I usually don’t like sci-fi stories. While they often feature settings that deeply interest me such as the future of mankind or space exploration, many of them get lost in their own context, adding scientific-looking explanations that normally fail to sound believable and break my suspension of disbelief. For me, it is easier to enjoy a story that does not attempt to explain how things work and focus on its consequences on the universe rather than one that tries and fails to do so.

Slay the Princess

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 20:32:12 -0300

Truly interactive storytelling

Finished: 2026/03/25

Tactical Breach Wizards

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 18:39:11 -0300

Special Ops, Wizards, and Defenestrations

Finished: 2026/03/15

Pseudoregalia

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 21:00:19 -0300

Lost in the movement

Finished: 2026/03/01

Chrono Trigger

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 20:17:38 -0300

A classic showing its age

Finished: 2026/02/22

Returning to Linux

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 21:31:36 -0300

My journey with Linux started in college (2013) when I decided to try Ubuntu. I loved how easy it was to install packages and run programs directly in the terminal. Over the years, I experimented with many distributions, including Xubuntu (where I fell in love with XFCE) and a very precarious Arch Linux installation (where I never quite managed to automate the internet connection). But I always kept Windows as a dual-boot safety net, mostly because certain software required it.

Finding new meaning

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 16:01:23 -0300

Throughout my whole life, I have always been chasing the next thing: college admission, an internship, a new job. This drive, combined with a tendency to hyperfocus, has helped me achieve a lot. In short, when I decide I want something, I do everything I can to achieve it. But what happens when I’m unable to achieve my goal despite my best efforts? I spent the last two years working toward a promotion in my previous company.

The Case of the Golden Idol

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 20:56:54 -0300

A short and fun detective game

Finished: 2026/01/25

Neon White

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 10:14:05 -0300

Speedrunning heaven, narrative hell

Finished: 2026/01/24

1000xRESIST

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 21:32:56 -0300

A multifaceted narrative masterpiece

Finished: 2026/01/07

About

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Personal blog of Ivan Padalko. Software Engineer, video game enthusiast, gym rat, Tsundoku victim, weekend baker, and a chronic project starter learning the art of finishing. What I’m doing now Updated on 2026/01/26 Working full-time as a Software Engineer Developing my first game Actively writing for this blog Building my balcony garden Getting reintroduced to the cult of Linux Work Experience Software Engineer @ Google (10/2025 – Present) Software Development Engineer @ Amazon (10/2021 – 10/2025) Software Engineer @ R2U (09/2019 – 09/2021) Technology Intern @ Goldman Sachs (01/2019 – 06/2019) Software Developer Intern @ TheVelops (02/2018 – 07/2018) Software Development Engineer Intern @ AWS (04/2017 – 07/2017) Software Engineer Intern @ Amadeus (06/2016 – 08/2016) Education Diplôme de l’École polytechnique @ École Polytechnique (2019) Computer Engineering @ Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (2019) Disclaimers All content on this site is created on my personal time using my own resources.