#''tragedy: null and void'' is a fun one

[destinywillowleaf]

one of a kind living in a world gone plastic

baby you're so classic

@most-tragic-character-tournament

(all my thoughts in the tags)

[rain-world-headcanons-2]

my hc of Saint is a nihilist with unknown connection, not influenced by Sliver Simply put, nihilism is the belief that nothing ever truly matters, and acceptance of that absurd belief. I just see Saint just doing everything he can to play and have fun after like at LEAST a 100 cycles of thinking they're some holier than thou chosen one after seeing a glowing symbol and swimming to it in the void Like (in my hc) they were born mortal, you can only see yourself living familiar setpieces over and over until you at least try something different, everything doesn't matter to them anymore, repeating the same song and dance over and over, when the void is gonna rust up to the surface anyway My Saint admits his purpose is null, the thought process of "My existence wasn't needed" was accepted, and now he's basically just trying his damndest to find meaning in the nothing, for that is nihilism's final goal, and have fun and (hopefully) explore where he hasn't gone yet, maybe choose a route and simply go every few ascensions to spice it up, new friends maybe? Who knows, they're excited. P.S. Nihilism doesn't mean only accepting depression and sadness, it's just "Do good just to do good, the fact it might not be worth anything doesn't matter" but replace Do Good with literally anything else, Ascend, Make Tragedies, Befriend, Have No Morals, Be Moral, etc. etc.

A most sisyphean interpretation of Saint's journey! Your thoughts on saint 'ultimately not being needed' are intriguing. For a creature with such massive implications, saint is an almost invisible presence in the world. It can bring an end to superstructures and seemingly defy the cycle itself, but it is paradoxically incapable of affecting the world in any lasting way. Saint's time loop might be the cycle's way of neutralizing creatures powerful enough to threaten it, like how an oyster forms pearls around irritants.

[storm-driver]

if i may ask. thoughts on the trollhunters movie

how did they do voltron a second time

under the cut for spoiler discussion

I don't think it's the worst "finale" we could've gotten, but it's verily lackluster, considering how great the ending for og Trollhunters was.

I think the worst part is arguably the 'Unbecoming' part during the last 10 minutes, especially since Jim had finally gotten his amulet back and was REALLY ready to throw down again, just like the good old days.

The original series already showed us that Jim not being the Trollhunter wasn't destiny, so it sorta feels like a kick in the teeth for Jim to casually pass it on to Toby. I would want to think the implication is that Jim is going to bear the burden of knowing there was a worse outcome in the other timeline. But that still feels just as bad.

The idea is that the ENTIRE journey we all just went on was null and void. Did it happen? Yes, because Jim remembers by the end and he's going to use that knowledge to make this second shot better. But it feels so cheap at the end of the day.

It was like they wanted to write a little more tragedy into the show, but knew that they needed to give it a big send-off that would leave fans with some decent closure. Unfortunately, the closure comes in the form of having to accept that the massive journey you just went on has been forgotten.

Now, if this had branched into some mega version of "Unbecoming," where Jim has to face the consequences of his actions, I don't think that'd be a bad idea. But it ain't where the series ended, and thus, I don't like to consider the movie when I think about the series as a whole.

Besides the ending, I don't think the whole movie was bad. I thought the opening sequence with tryna get Nari to safety was cool and beautifully animated. There were a few scenes throughout the whole movie that I thought were fuckin dope, like the scene where Jim gets the amulet back while he's gonna fight Belroc. That whole sequence was very hype and it honestly felt earned.

The animation quality for the movie as a whole is immaculate. Nothing looks out of place as far as the original series goes, it just looks like they got a higher budget for the movie and told the animation team to go nuts. Again, it's gorgeous and I'm glad I watched it for the animation alone.

I have always had my faves and dislikes in the voice cast of ToA. Unfortunately, I still haven't gotten past the loss of Anton Yelchin for Jim. His new VA does a splendid job in his memory, but part of why I loved Jim so much in the original series was that passion from the late Anton. Of course, that's nothing that can be fixed. I have no issue with Jim's voice as it is, I just mourn what we've lost. Everyone else in the main cast does a great job, and I have a soft spot for Douxie especially. He was a beautiful addition to the franchise as a whole.

Besides that, I wouldn't want to rag on the movie fulltime besides saying the Steve and Aja sideplot was someone's disguised fetish, so I'm not commenting on that at all. I also thought Aja and Krel's presence in the movie was very weak, considering how fun a sideseries 3Below had been. The Varvatos mech was cool, even if it was just another Pacific Rim. Wish they'd been in the movie more as leading protags.

I'll write down one last thing: I thought the ending of Wizards ended kinda weak, considering how long it'd been since we saw Troll-Jim, and I personally would've loved to see more of that version of him before it got swept away in plot resolution. So not getting to see that side of him for the movie felt like a semi-loss. I don't mind that he got saved. Just that it was too soon and we could've seen more of that troll-ish side like we saw in the original series.

Overall opinion? Very poor quality close to the whole franchise. Not a terrible movie as a standalone. Good animation, bad writing choices. I don't personally think of it as canon, or accept it as a proper ending.

I can't think of much else to say, but if you wanted my opinion on anything I didn't say here, totally okay to respond or reblog with further discussion! The series as a whole means a lot to me and I enjoy talking about it, even if we do a little nitpicking.

[shadowedlove97]

Quick thoughts before I head to bed:

- The kids not being Ultimates originally doesn’t surprise me. I think that’s the one thing Tsumugi said that WASN’T a lie. Because we see proof of that in the prologue.

- I’m not sure how I feel about the message personally, but not because I necessarily don’t agree with it but because I’m...unsure fully on what that is? I hear it wasn’t a call out towards the actual fans and that Kodaka confirmed this in an interview, but the game.... really feels like it is? I also am not sure about the whole equating fiction with lies. In the context of the scenario it makes sense, but in the context of the message of the game as a whole... That feels like an oversimplification? Also “fiction/lies can change the world” is uh...yeah true, but also a very...complex thing. 

- Back on the fake Ultimates thing...while I don’t mind it and had called it from the beginning (I think it was kinda obvious honestly and that the game was really hoping that you’d forget about the prologue after everything) it’s like... We also fell in love with the children how they are now right? So I’m like “okay I love this child but also if they’re like actually really bitter I don’t know if I could take it” sort of thing.

- I...don’t fully like that Danganronpa in-game, aka the past two games and the anime, are just fictional and part of a show that eventually...spiraled into a real killing game? I believe V3 is mostly an AU so technically in another universe in the lore the previous games and the anime DID happen, but like... I’m still majorly conflicted on that. It’s not like it was written terribly either: I think it was written fine. I just... Don’t like that sort of plot? Just like I don’t like the plot of Sonic 06 for this reason - it kinda...makes other games (or in 06′s case, the game you’re playing) feel null and void even if it wasn’t technically.

  - Also tbh, while killing games themselves aren’t too farfetched to me in that other novels have done it via Hunger Game sort of scenarios, and we DID have Gladiator fights at some point in history... I think that the fact that it started fictional, but then turned into real murders at some point....breaks immersion for me? Because unless the first two games and the anime are the only “canon” material in-universe and all the real killing games put on as new “seasons” are made by a group of fans hosting it on some obscure website ala Red Room style shit, I can’t.... I can’t imagine they’d somehow get away with it? Of course it could be part of Monokuma and Tsumugi’s lie that it’s as far reaching as they say but.... 

- I also have a problem with how ambiguous it is. I don’t mind ambiguous endings normally: half of the anime I watch have ambiguous endings and one of them I even call a masterpiece (seriously, go watch Violet Evergarden). My issue is that it leaves so many questions unanswered. I’m sure that was intentional, but I never liked that style of ambiguous endings. The endings I liked in this style answered MOST questions, but only left one or two unanswered. Or otherwise left the fate of the characters up to you. The original TRC (before CLAMP started and put the sequel on hiatus...), Violet Evergarden, 91 Days, even Code Geass kinda (I think it got debunked but I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole again), and Sakamoto (as humorous as it is) all had endings that fit one of these categories. 

TRC you didn’t know the fate of the cast (particularly one of them). It was not a happy nor a sad ending. It just was. And whatever they did next could be whatever. You knew the cast was alive, just that one important goal was not and could not be met at that time, and whether or not they can meet it is up to you. 

The rest made you uncertain on the fate of specific characters and whether or not they were alive. Sakamoto is a weird one in that it’s ambiguous on if the character uh...is just leaving at the end to go to who knows where (he says Mars but I think the show calls that out) or that he’s actually a terminally ill HS kid who doesn’t want to tell his friends he’s dying and that when he “leaves” it’s actually symbolic of the fact that he’s dying. There are a lot of hints both in the manga and the show but uh I try not to think about it too much bc Sakamoto is first and foremost a comedy and if I ever rewatch it I don’t want to keep thinking about how he’s actually dying the whole time. :’) (Apparently there was an OVA that “disproves” it but it’s not based off of the manga at all [the manga ended where the original anime ended] so I don’t count it.)

I feel like V3 left the wrong questions unanswered. It’s supported in game that they were never Ultimates, that this “killing game” has been going on and on, that the tapes are false, and that what they are like in the prologue are probably how they actually are, but that’s basically the only things we can say as fact. They honestly didn’t give us enough info on how that worked. 

There’s some implication that Tsumugi was also brainwashed essentially, but that’s something that should have been confirmed. The “cosplaycat criminal” was also a weird line. We understand that Rantaro was a survivor of the other killing games because the ending scenario probably has happened over and over again before and him and someone else was “punished” but it doesn’t tell us more than that. Was Tsumugi a survivor too and the second one would end up being the new “Mastermind”? Who is “Team Danganronpa” in context of lore and not real-world? A mega-corp or a deranged group of fans that found a terrifying subset found online? Do people think it’s all fake and that they’re actors or do they know these people are actually being killed? I really feel like these are the sort of questions that needed to be answered. 

Whether or not the other kids are actually alive because maybe it was a simulation of sorts or maybe there were fail-safes (I don’t think so though even if I want that), how the 3 canonly-surviving kids adapt, if the outside world is as peaceful as Tsumugi says or some sort of dystopian... I feel like these are the sort of questions that are suitable for an ambiguous ending. These are the sorts of questions that don’t need to be answered in order for the ending to be satisfying, while also leaving intrigue and a lot up to the player.

I just... I don’t know. I have a lot of Feelings about this ending. 100% looking up fanfic later though. Especially mastermind!Shuichi fanfic that either changes up or answers some of the unanswered questions.

Also need to see an AU fanfic where these kids are the Ultimates they say they are, but they’re set in the original Danganronpa world and there’s either no killing game or Tsumugi was a Remnant of Despair and it’s actually set sometime during the Tragedy in secret.That would be fun.

[lia-nikiforov]

Spring 2018 Anime Final Review

So, uh, this is six months late. I’ve had half of this post in my drafts forever. To make it short, as I’ve mentioned previously, mom lost her job, which has not only been a heavy hit to my sense of stability for the last six months, but also means my time to watch anime was seriously reduced and even now a slight change of plans fucks up my whole schedule and sets me back for a full week. Anyway, nobody cares about any of these shows anymore so let’s get straight to it? I’m gonna ommit the two-cours that continued into the Summer - hopefully I’ll be able to make that post soonish? idk. Worst to best, same as usual

The crappy gender politics pit of shame

Darling in the FRANXX: I think everyone has ripped this show to threads at this point and there isn’t much I could add to that. It is quite funny to me to see how many people flipped out when the show went completely bananas in its last few episodes. Feels a bit like KADO, I’ve been telling y’all this was a ton of empty crap since episode 2, it just took the writing to completely self-destruct for everyone else to notice. A part of me feels tempted to do a long post breaking down just how badly the show collapsed in its final shebang, specifically how every single twist and turn completely nulled any remote kind of message or central thesis the show may have had, but at the same time it doesn’t seem worth the time. In the end, I may have given What is Internal Consistency, The anime way too much credit. It’s not hateful antigay propaganda, it’s just dumb as shits, with a writer and creators who didn’t think for half a second of the implications of what they were doing, and who were so incompetent they couldn’t even conserve the minimal plot and character coherency within a single episode, let alone 24. In other words, Darling isn’t saying “gays shouldn’t exist” but “I have no idea of anything regarding gay people”. What makes it egregious is that the show spent so much time acting like it was “meaningful” and “important” and yet it ended saying absolutely fucking nothing. Except mayb “have babies”. Down to oblivion you go, along with the likes of KADO, to the void of shows that couldn’t even be offensively bad and no one will remember a year from now. Bonus garbage points for the half-assed “bury your gays”.

Nil of Libra Admirari or whatever this show was called: I’m not trying to diss on the show, I just genuinely never remember the title because I have the JP and EN all mixed up. Not that it matters much, as far as I could tell, the show could call Shalabalabatuna and it would have the same significance in regard to the content. But the title isn’t important. In fact, it may be a bit unfair to have this show in this section. For the most part, Main Girl is very self-determined and has an active role in the story.... but then the last two episodes heavily featured a lot of rape threats or rape themes and forced pregnancy (real and threat) and I don’t really understand why they’d go there all of a sudden. One of them was treated relatively well, even empowering the victim in the process, but when the ikemen bad guy was rambling endlessly about how he wanted to impregnate the protagonist it really turned me off :/ I’m also not a fan of “main boy was her secret fiancé all along”, but at least they also handled that somewhat decently. It’s a very disposable series, but since I watched all of Amnesia, I think I owe every otoge adaptation at least the smallest chance to clear that very low bar, and Libra of Nil does it, more competently than most other stuff in the same genre.

Hisone to Masotan: I really, really wanted to love this show. Even now, as I put it in the pit of shame category, I’m pained. There was a good show in this, and a lot of it made it to the screen: an adorable, charming little story about a woman finding her place in the world, making new friends, finding her calling and bonding with an adorable dragon. Unfortunately, it got buried down under this opressing, horrendous gender politics that tried to do something with bringing attention to sexism in the military only to cancel it out making the one dude that embodied that sexism getting rewarded with the affections of a girl he explicitly tried to crush. It also called back on the virgin or whore fallacy and even managed to shove in a “bury your gays” trope. Even though Hisone challenges the ritual bullshit, it’s too little, too late, and she does end up carrying it out anyway, so the defiance to the status quo is of little importance in terms of problematizing the ritual itself. Sorry BONES, it wasn’t meant to be this time. 

The ni fu ni fa section

Ni fu ni fa is a Mexican colloquialism for “It was okay but it didn’t change my life.”

Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boueibu HAPPY KISS: This soft reboot of the franchise had some really great episodes and did an actually good job of developping its characters. For the most part, it achieved what its predecessor did in terms of satirical comedy and I enjoyed it quite a bit. However, what bunked it down so low in the list was the final episode. At some point, the writers forgot they were doing a parody and made the show somewhat self-serious, way closer in tone to the magical girl anime it was supposed to be making fun of, rather than the satire its predecessor was. Whereas S1 ended with the whole Magical boy stuff being revealed as a crappy space reality TV show, this one ended with a real cheesy conflict about happiness and family and blablabla. Which is not bad by itself if this were a Precure show, but that kind of self-serious plot development just didn’t work for this series. I still enjoyed it, and the fanservice episode is one of the best of the whole franchise, but I’m a bit sad the finale missed the mark so badly.

Hinamatsuri: Hinamatsuri was very hit-or-miss for me. There were some truly brilliant episodes, a lot of funny vignettes and heart-warming stories, and then there was some stuff that made me uncomfortable -like every single Hitomi story- or felt unnecessary and dry. It also threw me off that the superpower dynamic completely disappeared in the second half of the show, especially in Anzu’s part of the story. It was okay but I feel like I needed something that felt like a closing, and choosing to end it with Mao who featured very minimally in the show overall didn’t cut it. It’s a fun show, I’d reccommend people check it out, but it felt a bit too disjointed for me

Persona 5: The Animation: This is a hard show to place because I love the looks of it and I think the concept is interesting and pretty cool, but there is something that’s keeping me from connecting emotionally to the story. The part where changing the villains’ heart makes them repent from their sins and become “good” feels very artificial and very tasteless when you’re dealing with rapists and abusers. I ended dropping it at episode 16, I just couldn’t find the motivation to catch up with the 6 episodes i’d fallen behind on because my schedule is a tragedy

Tokyo Ghoul: Re: I guess it’s fair to say I’ve kind of outgrown Tokyo Ghoul. There’s something messy and confusing about how this season panned out, and there comes a point in which misery porn just doesn’t cut it anymore. I still watch because Ishida has a way to make every single goddamn character extremely sympathetic, which makes for an emotionally engaging viewing even when you’re not sure of what the plot is supposed to be or who you should be rooting for. I tried picking up the new season that just started airing and immediately found I had no idea of what was going on, who was on who’s side and in general, who the fuck were 90% of the characters, so I dropped it.

Nanatsu no Taizai: Imashime no Fukkatsu: I’ve mentioned it before, this second season had the opposite problem than the first one: the pace was too slow. It took more than half of it to get to Escanor, and then the season ends at a kind of random spot. I really thought we’d get further along on the story, since Gowther’s backstory was hinted at in the openings, but no such thing happened. They did manage to give us a variety of cool moments and fights, and I love Ban so his scenes with Zhivago and Elaine made me quite happy, though I really wish the romance between Elizabeth and Meliodas wasn’t su dubious and cringy. In light of some revelations that take place further along the manga, going out of their way to emphasize that Meliodas was a sort of mentor figure for Elizabeth when she was a toddler seems unncessary and just very squeamish. I do hope we get a third season though, and an OVA of the Vampires of whatever side story would be great too.

Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori: I was pleasantly surprised by this show, and it’s closer to being one of my top of the season than it is to “meh”. It had some weaker, cheesier segments, but it also managed great whacky moments and a genuine soothing atmosphere. What surprised me most is that the vanilla looking cast of moderately handsome dudes managed to develop into interesting, funny individuals with a dynamic that made every episode enjoyable. A solid reccommendation for anyone wanting to see delicious looking food and moderately handsome dudes being ridiculous. Also, the cat episode is the best episode of anime ever produced.

The I’m probably the only person alive who enjoys these shows

Mahou Shoujo Ore: This is a difficult show to place because it wasn’t quite as great as I wanted it to be and its parodic nature took me by surprise, but somehow I was still seriously entertained more often than not. The twists in the final quarter and the absolutely bonkers finale was a total riot, but I definitely advise caution before going in, given that some of the jokes may seem insensitive or in poor taste in regards to gender presentation, sexuality and there are even some mild harrassment jokes that certainly made me roll my eyes.

Yowamushi Pedal: Glory Line: I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but I think through half of the show’s 25 episode run, I was convinced the title was actually Glory Road. It’s kind of anticlimactic that it’s called Glory Line if they don’t actually reach the final Goal btw. Anyway, I feel I say this a lot, but really, if you didn’t like the previous Yowapeda seasons, there’s nothing here for you, and if you did, you’re probably not gonna hop off this late in the game. This season does suffer from the same dragging than its predecessors, with the added issue of being quite pessimistic for no reason in about half the episodes, and a diminished presence for Onoda. I really wish they hadn’t dragged the Day 2 goal so long, I really hoped we’d see the end of the race, but no such luck I guess. Still love most of it and hope we get one more season or a movie to complete the story.

The favorites of the season

Golden Kamuy: In spite of its pacing issues, terrible animation and general clunkiness, I can’t help but love this show. When season 1 ended my feelings for it had mellowed quite a bit, but as soon as I picked up season 2 this Fall I just fell in love all over again. It’s fun, unique, over-the-top in some ways, incredibly grounded in others, and the dynamics between the characters are incredibly charming. 

Hozuki no Reitetsu: It’s hard to talk about this one because it feels repetitive, given how tonally the show remains just the same across its three seasons. It could’ve very well been a one-season, 36 episode show, for how little it changes in spite of the time that transpired between the first season and the second. But in short, the comedy continues to be as spot on as always, the Zashikiwarashi twins are the best addition to the cast. It’s definitely a show I could watch endless episodes off, and the rare case of an episodic series with no overarching plot that I can enjoy wholeheartedly. 

Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card arc: Over the course of the series, I’ve expressed a few concerns and misgivings about how the story of this 20th anniversary sequel was playing out. The final episode was particularly troublesome in that it left the story unfinished in spite of deviating from the manga. In spite of this, more than anything I’m very happy that this continuation still retains what made the original so special, that they captured the magic behind Sakura’s “everything will be alright” spell and gave us the chance to spend more time with these beloved characters and see their stories continue. The slow but sweet development of Sakura and Syaoran’s puppy love is a definite highlight. Needs more Touya/Yukito and Yue in general.

Piano no Mori: This show got heavily overlooked because it was kidnapped by Netflix (pls stop immediately), and then when it was finally unceremoniously dumped a month or two ago, it came under fire for the wonky CGI during the piano scenes -and it is indeed very wonky-. But beyond that, I found the story very engaging, especially because Kai is such a fascinating protagonist, his intense rivalry-friendship with Megane-kun (sorry, it’s been six months, i can’t remember names) is exactly the type I can’t help but root for. Kai’s participation in the final episode gave me goosebumps. I’m very happy we’re getting a continuation,  can’t wait to see how the Chopin competition develops.

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii: Sweet, funny and absolutely delightful from start to finish, Wotakoi was easily one of the highlights of the season. Although there were some aspects about Cosplayer-senpai and Yuri Otaku-senpai’s (I’m really trying to remember the names, I’m sorry!! ;---;) that didn’t work for me -namely the izakaya segment- Narumi and Hirotaka more than made up for it with their clumsy yet adorable romance. I spent the entirety of the amusement park episode screeching. I really hope we get a continuation -and get a chance to see more of Hirotaka’s brother and his gamer friend too- and that in general we can get more anime about adult stories

Megalobox: Who would’ve thought that a show that wasn’t even in my radar before the season started would’ve end as one of my favorites, possibly of the year? Even as someone who’s only marginally acquainted with Ashita no Joe and has no interst in the sport of boxing, I was completely enthralled by the style and passion of this production. As I said a bit above, intense rivalries are very appealing to me, and the build up in the tension between Joe and Yuri was almost palpable, their mutual respect gave me chills. Definitely the surprise of the season, made even better by its optimistic happy ending to contrast with its predecessor’s tragedy. Megalobox is a unique anniversary project that is closer to an homage and it works perfectly. Definitely check it out.

That’s it for the Spring season! I hope i can do the summer season this weekend and maaaybe even my watchlist for the Fall season. Fingers crossed i won’t get swallowed up in other stuff :’D 

[destinywillowleaf]

#anyway i found their theme song and lost my mind #i'm gonna be thinking about this for the next hour before i go to sleep #i just wanted to make a playlist for them i didn't think i would find a perfect fit #they have taken over many of my braincells and i can't even complain this is the enrichment i needed #all i'm saying is the idea of a movie trailer for these two is taking shape more and more and this should 100% be the accompanying song #not even a full trailer because that would take forever but like. a 30 second TV spot. family drama. them not really getting along at first #(e.g. glaring at each other while being forced to dance or something) #but then warming up to each other on the road because road trips have my soul when it comes to movies ok #i want them to stargaze in the bed of a hotwired pickup truck while on the run from people who demand bloodshed (a poll winner) #the slow(?) burn of not wanting to be in this mess to actually enjoying spending time together to something more #(trailer/commercial ends on or just after “baby you're so classic” with the cut to the title and in theaters date) #maybe most of the tv spot is them arguing and making life hell for one another but it's hard to deny there's something more brewing #(one of the reviews is just ''A modern classic'' because i think i'm funny) #i really want the title to be a play off of them meeting through the tragic tournament but it's completely different from the tone i want #''tragedy: null and void'' is a fun one #i've never been the greatest at titles if they don't hit me like a truck #anyway hi folks i'm sorry if you have no idea what's happening and see this in your tags

no longer in the tags because i cannot be contained

one of a kind living in a world gone plastic

baby you're so classic

@most-tragic-character-tournament

(all my thoughts in the tags)