#(BUT WE HAVE NOW BEEN VALIDATED BY TOEI US)

[izzyizumi]

M E: OH, and just for the record, 2020!Taichi is already officially calling 2020!Koushiro "his friend" by Episode 03 of the 2020 U.S. dub. 2020!Tai: "My *FRIEND*, You're *FULL* of Surprises."

[regallibellbright]

Mashiro having some compunctions about letting a baby fight is completely understandable.

Using it to draw a parallel to Sora and Mashiro when she first became Cure Prism? Fantastic.

*Deepest of sighs* I see we are once again suggesting that Ageha is a red Cure (and okay, she fits the archetypes, there's never been a supporting pink before, I GUESS I can forgive it from an organizational standpoint) and Tsubasa is yellow.

TSUBASA IS NOT FUCKING YELLOW, TOEI. YOU WILL NOT CONVINCE US. You could've made Sunny red. There was no reason why you couldn't make Sunny red. But you went with orange, which means orange is now a perfectly valid color for Cures. He's an orange bird. He has orange hair. His transformation backdrop is orange. His outfit is overwhelmingly shades of orange. THE BOY IS ORANGE.

LET HIM BE ORANGE.

[ladyyatexel]

I Went On A Manga Binge

So you don't have to

For those of you who have wisely avoided the shreds of it I've left around the blog thus-far, I had some weird notion to go re-experience Yu-Gi-Oh uuuuuh a week ago? We'll go with that. Time is meaningless.

I'd been able to read a good portion of the early manga at the end of highschool, and somewhere in my stacks and stacks of paper is fanart from this dark time, so you know I cared. I also still own a Dark Magician action figure somehow, so. I'd also watched a large portion of the anime with my brother because it had been laced with some kind of crack and we couldn't look away? I remember when we both were just like shit, wait, don't change the channel, I can't stop looking at it. And the next thing we knew we were waiting for new episodes and I was doing research on the Japanese original because I was that kid.

Anyway, unnecessary backstory out of the way, here are some... let's call them Observations and Consequences of having read somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 chapters (and growing) of a manga primarily hinged on card games from a spectrum of sources ranging from boringly lawful to sketchy as fuck.

Surprise actual character that develops in typical shounen fashion being Jounouchi. My limited experiences with the 4Kids dub and only early manga had not painted him in a particularly good light. I don't know if episodes were being aired out of order or if I had just missed the ones that established that he was making shit up as he was going along, but Wow I liked him a lot more going through the manga than I ever did watching the (dubbed, heavily edited and censored and thrown into a slurry machine) anime. I'd managed to come out with the impression that he was just as reasonably experienced with the game as Yugi back in the day. Wild.

I'm now reading every single comic-style post on Tumblr backwards.

Striking inverse to first point, wow, I don't like Seto Kaiba. Though he gets points for his general philosophy of the future, and the line I read in my sketchy online combo of scans and scanlations in which he said, "If God is in your way, you run him down," was Metal As Fuck. I somewhat shame-facedly admit to enjoying him a lot more as an Abridged Series character. (I watched Abridged as it came out back in the day! The experience of watching the anime with my brother had been so fresh that I got all the in jokes about the way things were edited and dubbed, it was great. Series remains influential part of my life to this day, which is hella weird.)

I almost understand how Duel Monsters works now. I don't want this.

That said, wow a lot of the decisions made in the anime made everything a lot more ridiculous than the admittedly already ridiculous original. I got the distinct feeling in the manga that the Duelist Kingdom stuff we were seeing was designed to be used and exploited in ways that don't make sense in an actual cardgame just played on a table like a normal person and this was part of testing everyone to think higher, differently. Maybe this is obvious to everyone already, I don't know. I had always liked that it was very, 'Not so fast, I'm going to blow up the moon to change the tides,' but I'm not really sure the anime gave enough explanation that this was an extra layer added to things for that event? You can see people actively getting used to it in the books, and people who aren't considering the real or 3D nature of it getting owned, but my memory of anime version is everyone just like, 'oh, shucks, fuck me, I forgot to consider the phase of the moon before i played this card, can't believe I forgot.' No one calls Yugi on any of this stuff because it's valid play in that situation. Plus Yami Yugi had mad trickster energy in the beginning and it suited him to think of ways to do things inside these little simulation boxes the way it suited him to set perverts on fire. I imagine the real card game trying to emulate this element as something that would be to its detriment, but I neither know nor particular care haha

Ryou Bakura.

Really, though. I think he became kind of casualty of 'wow, we have a lot of characters who really aren't able to do anything in this story anymore,' despite the fact that his whole inner life could have been as interesting as Yugi's. I always like thinking about the possibilities of stories in which main character falls into magical world and is given magical item and told they're the hero and then they find out they've been the bad guy the whole time. The first several volumes of manga were about the quiet weirdo kid that no one talked to who was always blacking out and turning into a fucked up version of himsef because he was so attached to his ancient Egyptian jewelry, so like, Bakura could have much the same shit going on. I want to know what's happening with him so much. He clearly doesn't love being possessed, but he's also so drawn to the ring. Despite it having stabbed him at least twice and him knowing it's a danger to him and his friends, he keeps being pulled back into it. You see so much more of him being like, 'Oooh, a creepy thing, I love that! :D' in the manga than ever in the anime, which I'm all about. Also more blood. I'm very about that as well. Though my memory of the anime also made it look very much like normal regular daily Bakura was just a weird facade in places before he ever would have been. I think that was it trying to compensate for what people didn't see from the Toei anime, but okay whatever, that I love everything about this guy is not news, I don't need to talk about Bakura excessively here, I'm pretty sure that's gonna show up on my blog by itself

On a related note though, damn, more of these people need to talk to each other. Can we have some existential crisis support clubs or something. Can we get like some apologies or something? "I respect you as a duelist." "Cool, but you literally built a tower designed to specifically assassinate me and my friends? You were supposed to get Better after I retaliated by putting you in a coma, but you kinda didn't." "Why would the coma have made it better" "I just told you it didn't" ---- "Sorry I went along with the plan of your evil parasite stabbing you, misled you, and then also jumped in and took up some real estate in your head too." "I understand, I also have an evil thing inside me that does things while I'm blacked out." "...no, I was conscious for all of that." "Oh." "..." "..." "..." "Do you like Ouija Boards?" "sure okay" ETC. Like damn we are reading shounen manga because no one is talking extensively about their feelings here and I'm tapping my foot angrily.

Holy shit there are so many mythologies happening at once. The ancient family guarding the Egyptian Pharaoh has a surname that's a Mesopotamian goddess. None of the god cards make any Egyptian sense except Ra, and just like. Baaarrrrely. Somewhere either Evil Ring Bakura or Mar/lik makes a reference to cremation and spirits being taken to heaven with smoke which several things, but definitely not Ancient Egyptian. Marik/Malik meanwhile is clearly trying to head Arabic, along with Rishid, but then, hey, our sister is just Isis. Goddess McGoddess. Sometimes they're the same goddess! Her name could be Isis Isis or Ishtar Ishtar. Meanwhile, all the obviously 'occult because Christians think it is freaky' stuff. ~ancient egyptian pentagrams~~~This isn't a complaint, I guess so much as a 'Wow, I can kind of see the cultural spot the author was coming from and where he was aiming' kind of thing.

Wonder where things would have gone if the card games had not been latched onto the way they were.

Managed to forget how gross the pre-cardgames stuff was on the sexual harassment front. I'm glad there was a sort of explanation of everyone drifting away from being dick heads and that that decision was made. It got way more comfortable to read after no one was bringing Yugi p*rn on VHS.

Yugi looks better with a nose, glad we got that upgrade.

Interesting to watch the series style shift as it goes away from being horror to being over the top cardgames and friendship (with blood!). The first picture of Mokuba is fucking Jarring. Also noticed that the nicer a character is, the less their teeth are defined.

Glad manga did not go as completely off the fucking the rails about Marik's face. I never got as far as seeing him back in the day because college occurred, but I remember seeing pictures and stuff and being like, "what in the Fuck happened to that dude, I think the house style has collapsed in on itself"

Things the author Really Likes: motorcycles, belts, SHOES, holy shit the shoes. These are some of the most lovingly rendered sneakers I've ever seen. All the detail on his characters goes straight to their feet and then it's stretched upward until it forms stiff peaks. Gently fold in 3000 years of trauma and bake face down in a crumb coat of scattered mythology. Remove when you roll two zeros.

Where the fuck am I going to put the extremely large omnibus volumes of this comic I purchased in order to balance out how much I would be reading for free on the internet. I should have grasped that a three in one edition would be Thick and yet somehow I was still :O when it arrived. Have I strategically purchased volumes that contain my favorite parts, maybe, what's it to you will i eventually get the whole thing because incomplete book series gnaw on my soul? yes

Wish the transition from "I've murdered several people in delightfully karmic ways" to "all you need is friendship in your heart and cards in your hand" Yami Yugi/Pharaoh had been discussed more/transitioned better. Buddy, where did you get this approved for television high horse? Please go back to strangling people with yo-yos or at least tell me why you stopped.

I still can't tell anything that looks like a big robotic monster apart from any other big robotic monster. My dude, I can't tell cars apart, all these monsters look the same.

Yami Yugi fascinated me way more in highschool? Maybe because it was still super early and the anime was like 'we need to torture you about his origins WeEkLy. Now I'm just like 'wait hold on, can we go back to Bakura and Marik for a minute, there's some extreme unpacking to do here?' Those two are paying so much more in baggage fees here my guy wow

Violently uninterested in any of the spinoff media

[legitimateluffy]

One Piece Animation Thesis: East Blue

If you would prefer to follow via the master Google Doc, [HERE] is the link! This will be updated as we go through the arcs and is currently planned to be updated weekly!

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Whew hey everyone!

So this is the beginning of a project that I have had in the back of my mind for quite some time and finally decided to start working on. A quick rundown of what this actually is, it’s a somewhat showcase of the animation found within the main One Piece anime (so, no movies/specials/filler arcs between canon arcs etc. although that may be something I will attempt to tackle one day if this does well). This will also include some insight into the anime industry and essentially give some insight on behind the scenes and why certain decisions are made as well as giving names of the hard working animators to their respective scenes. Hopefully this whole thing will continue to give a bit of insight into the One Piece anime as I believe that it is greatly under appreciated and while criticisms of it are valid, there definitely needs to be more of an understanding as to why the anime is the way it is. This will be a long journey ahead so please bear with me! Let’s get started!

The One Piece anime, including movies and specials, is animated by Toei Animation, and they are responsible for many other famous animated properties and adaptations, including Digimon, Dragon Ball/Z/GT/Super, Sailor Moon, Toriko, Gegege no Kitaro among many others. They animate many different series and have a big load to take on. This is something that will be touched on later, because it greatly affects the anime in later years. But for now, I’ll be going through the arcs, starting with the East Blue saga. The East Blue saga is made up of episodes 1-53 (including some filler) and consists of quite actually not that many noteworthy animated scenes, even though it covers many arcs (Shells Town, Orange Town, Syrup Village, Baratie, Arlong Park, LogueTown). Animation throughout this portion of the anime was quite limited, using minimal movement and taking appropriate shortcuts where necessary. Scenes are also quite hard to tell exactly who animated what due to the style consistency. There are a few noteworthy scenes though, but first I would like to introduce the rough structure of how the anime is made. An important part in animation is someone who is the character designer, someone who essentially designs the characters and in this case, attempts to replicate Oda’s style for it to be easily animated. During this part of the anime, the character designer is Noboru Kizumi who would continue to be the character designer for the anime for the next 10 or so years. These are the some of the sheets he made for the main characters:

This is something I’ll continue to showcase as we continue to go through each of the arcs, showcasing the strawhats as they pop up in the story. When the time comes, we will also compare the changes of style and why things have changed. But for now, I’ll just present the first designs.

One Piece at this stage was very cartoony and had quite a different style, especially compared to a lot of the current anime/manga at the time and it still continues to have a distinctive style to this day. Following these sheets allows for a good sense of continuity, which is very important with anime. If anyone out there attempts to draw something without looking at a reference, it’s not going to look quite as well as we want it to. So in using a reference, we can have a better grasp as to how the character looks from certain angles, heights compared to other characters, facial expressions and more.

In order to keep these characters looking somewhat similar so as to not disrupt the viewer’s experience by seeing jarring styles, someone works as a Chief Animation Director. They aim to ensure that characters remain consistent throughout the episode, and that they are on model. So, how is this achieved? Well, we’ll have a look at the process on how something is conceptualised and then put to screen. 

Initially, a script is conducted. Going through the manga, people take what is deemed necessary material and put it into script format. It is important to note that as the anime and manga continue to go on for years, the gap between the anime and manga release shortened significantly, resulting in pacing issues. Keep this in mind for later as this is something I plan to touch on. Then a storyboard is created, having very rough lines in order to convey what is to be created. Here is an example:

A good storyboard can make or break an episode, as it dictates angles, how long scenes linger on screen, etc. Once the storyboard has been decided on, the animating can begin. Scenes are appointed to animators, where they create something called Genga. This is done on paper, similar to how it’s done in other parts of the world. Here are some examples of older Genga:

Even though times have changed and anime has become digital, with some animators now exclusively animating digitally, the anime industry still uses Genga, using paper and pencil to create their scenes. Here are some examples of newer Genga:

Once the Genga has been created, the Chief Animation Director will go in and correct what is necessary to ensure that the style remains consistent. Others may also help participate in this process, such as an Animation Supervisor. Here is an example of a Genga being corrected to ensure that it remains consistent in style:

In doing something like this, some animators can animate great action and keep their lines rough to save time, and an Animation Supervisor can clean it up and make it look good. After this has been completed, the Genga is then made into what is called Animation Cels. This is not exclusive to Japan, as for decades this is a process that has been used. This is a transparent sheet that had the lines and colours painted on, and is then photographed over painted backgrounds. Yeah...A long and dubious process indeed. This is not common place anymore due to how time consuming it is, and with the rise of digital, creating colours, effects, filters and backgrounds are much faster and easier to accomplish. Here are some examples of One Piece animation cels:

I would have much preferred to share cels directly from the anime itself and not the movies but they are quite difficult to come across and have more than likely been sold off from Toei long ago. But they will suffice, as it gives a good idea as to what they look like.

But voila! Animation has been created! All that’s left is music, sound effects and voice over and you’ve got yourself an anime. Wonderful. Easy right? Yeah, not exactly. All of this takes time and patience. And this is something that needs to be remembered. Time. A very important keyword in the animation industry and a lot more important than the word budget that likes to get thrown around. Due to One Piece being a long running weekly series, the animators have a lot less time than, say, My Hero Academia or Demon Slayer, two very prominent seasonal anime. These series do not have more money shoved into them, more budget, than One Piece that results in higher quality and consistent animation, a problem the One Piece anime definitely faces further down the road. Here’s an example:

Michelangelo is one of the most famous artists of all time, due to his remarkable attention to detail in his works present in the High Renaissance period. One of his most famous works is the Statue of David, an incredible piece of work that was worked on for 3 years. However, if you were to tell him to replicate it but say, give him a month, he’s not going to get anywhere near the same results as the piece where he spent 3 years on. It would be quite rough around the edges, and quite rushed. No matter how much money you throw his way, he still won’t be able to get anywhere close to those results. And this is the same with any artist, including animation. This is a big misconception in the anime community, and that is that as long as you throw money at people, they’re going to end up creating incredible works, regardless of the poor time management. That is just not how it works.

This does seem like quite a ramble, and it’s already quite long prior to even reaching the main aspect of this whole project, in which I showcase animators, but this is important background information that needs to be understood prior to delving in. With that very long introduction, let’s now get to showcasing animators!

Some of the animators that were present on many early One Piece episodes include: 

Kazuya Hisada, Masahiro Shimanuki, Naoki Tate, Jin Inaba, Tadayoshi Yamamuro. Please note, there are many others involved animating wise, but these are some key names, and ones that will develop and evolve as the years go on.

Kazuya Hisada is someone who will pop up later and fulfil a more important role in the series, but in the early days he created some great scenes with some snappy timing, while using lines to help convey impact. He is found throughout early One Piece, however due to the limited animation and consistent style thanks to Noboru Kizumi, he can be difficult like most during this era to spot.

Hideaki Maniwa is more prominent in his animation, being more pronounced due to his camera movement on his characters. He uses subtle smears usually on impact to further enhance the idea that whoever is being hit, is being hit HARD. He also created the most animated piece of early One Piece in episode 23 where he creates seemingly natural movement of the background of the ship and water, making the sea feel powerful and heavy. 

So what have we learnt so far. 

Well, there is a lot of hard work that goes into the production of an anime series, and that is no different with One Piece. Early episodes for the most part had not too many interesting scenes animation wise, and the animators essentially got the work done in order to produce and release the series week to week. It will continue to be a bit of a slow start, with arcs like Alabasta and SkyPiea being similar in the regard of not many noteworthy scenes however, we can begin to see the cracks of emerging stars and evolving styles that will later become staples within the series. 

This is it to the first of what is hopefully a long and engaging project! So far it has been quite a read and very lengthy and I apologise for that. Hopefully from here on out we should be able to successfully get through more animators and styles become more distinct and animation continues to evolve. Next up I intend to cover Alabasta.

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A massive thank you to everyone who has participated and uploaded at Sakugabooru! Without it, I would not have been able to make nearly as much as I have without all the hard work in identifying and tagging animators’ work! Most of the footage used to showcase these animators has come from there! I simply just turned the videos into gifs for an easier showcase.

I would also like to issue a big thank you to Animators Corner! The staff listing really helped me in determining who worked on what episode to identify animators and their works!

[shihalyfie]

Excellent meta about Adventure 2020. It kind of reminds me of Ultraman Ginga, which had a VERY bare bones budget, but because of its success, helped relaunch Ultraman in the 2010s and led to later larger budgeted series that fans love. So if Adventure 2020 is a similar success, it can lead to a "not my cup of tea but at least it relaunched the franchise and led to later series I like."

I should point out that there is an audience for this reboot even among those in the adults' crowd hardcore fanbase; I imagine that, numerically speaking, it's not a huge percentage because the "Digimon fanbase" as we know it now has been building expectations and tastes based off seven prior series that were varying levels of character-centric to some degree (an expectation that was also largely set by the original Adventure itself), so naturally most people who have been hanging around here are more likely to prefer that, only to be confronted with such a diametrically opposite philosophy series. But some people actually like that! I don't think the fact that crowd may be a small percentage of the fanbase makes their feelings or preferences any less valid, and I'm honestly very happy for the people who felt like the action-oriented elements or the rich Digimon null canon lore was underrepresented in what we've had so far, because this seems to be the one series that really showed that off in animated form. I wonder if maybe this series can be a huge lesson in "the importance of understanding personal taste" given how blatantly in that direction it is.

Of course, that goes the other way too, so people who were frustrated or let down, or just aren't happy about this reboot's sheer existence or the fact this kind of thing is associated with the Adventure brand now, have every right to feel the way they do. And even if this series seems to have finally pulled off what Bandai/Toei's been attempting to get the franchise revival on board for over a decade, I think it's fair a lot of people will have mixed or even resentful feelings about the fact this was what it took to have it happen. I don't think people who are feeling that way should be obligated to like or forgive this series or even be grateful to it for that. But I also don't think getting hung up on resentful feelings about something that's over and done with is a particularly healthy way to live, so since the reboot is over and behind us for now, and since going forward we are getting what seems to the more highly demanded original-concept more character-based kind of narrative we haven't had since Appmon, my best advice -- just purely for the sake of everyone's peace of mind -- is to zoom out and look forward to the benefits that came out of it, and if you do have to look back on this reboot now that it's over, revisit it only if you feel you want to or if you think it's necessary.

Also, I don't think Toei/Bandai has been showing any signs of expecting pop culture to "replace" the original Adventure with this reboot (this happens with remakes/reboots a lot, but if the original Adventure merch at Shibuya Parco is any indication, they seem to be very happy to continue respecting the original Adventure in its own way), so I don't think original Adventure fans need to worry about long-term impact on Adventure's place in pop culture or public perception of the brand. This seems to have existed as a measure to help bring Digimon to a new generation of kids, but it never had any pretense of posing as some kind of replacement or even worthy successor. So just purely framing things in terms of "what should we all think going forward?", the original series will still be as iconic as it always has been (and rewatchable for those who wanted to revisit it), the reboot can be treated as yet another series in the long lineup of Digimon anime history, stuff going forward seems to be original, and the future at least seems to have a lot of fun things to look forward to.

[yeonchi]

THIS JUST IN: TV-Nihon C&D’d by Toei?

We’ve known that Toei can get a bit “Jewish” when it comes to copyright claims of their content on YouTube, but this seems to be a first. Just today, Takenoko of TV-Nihon received an email from someone claiming to be from the “Intellectual property rights department” at Toei asking them to take down their copyrighted materials. As such, TV-Nihon have taken down their Super Sentai and Kamen Rider torrents from their tracker for the time being.

Some people on Twitter have suspected that this is not a legitimate notice and I agree with them because I don’t think this email looks professional enough to be legitimate. If they knew how to file a DMCA, this would be different, but I digress. According to Over-Time on Twitter, New Wave and Perfect Zect (NewZect for short), a Brazilian toku fansubbing group, also received a similar email back in March. At the time of writing, their site is still up and they have deleted whatever notice they had about this, so I don’t know what’s happening on that front. Also, no other toku fansubbing group (English or otherwise) has received similar notices either.

It just seems too coincidental that this happened after Shirakura claimed that he wasn’t supposed to know how fans could watch Super Sentai and Kamen Rider internationally. As such, I’m seeing people putting blame on the person who tweeted at Shirakura, similarly to what happened during the Zi-O Trinity fiasco. Guys, I know the Shirakura paradox runs deep, but I don’t think the person is to blame. I’m pretty sure that Shirakura’s tweet was meant as a joke and honestly, Toei has known about the fansub market for like twenty years now, so it’s weird that they’re doing this now instead of very early on. Remember when Shirakura claimed that there was no Kamen Rider fanbase in the West and you went out of your way to make yourselves heard? This is someone who apparently thought the only toku Westerners liked was Power Rangers (because Shirakura was a producer on Zyuranger, the first Sentai that was adapted to the West). Also, the person didn’t even mention watching it outside of Japan, it was Shirakura who brought it up. They were just asking for more Super Sentai music on Spotify.

Anyway, as I said, I’m hoping that this copyright notice is fake (just as the next person), but in the event that this turns out to be real, I sincerely hope that TV-Nihon’s typesetters can hook us fans up with the lists of fonts that they use in their releases. Times have changed guys. Don’t leave us hanging.

This post will be updated as events progress.

UPDATE - 15 May 2021: Apparently, after comparing emails with TV-Nihon and KRDL (who also received one such email), Over-Time seems to be convinced that the emails are legit (note that they did not receive any such emails themselves), so they’ve decided to stop sharing raws and subs for Super Sentai and Kamen Rider (apparently they’re still going to sub shows, just not post about them on their site). Nobody has been served any legal letters and the emails don’t seem to be valid legal threats, but Over-Time are being cautious for the time being just like TV-Nihon are. I’m still of the opinion that these are not legitimate, particularly because no lawyer has had a hand in any of this (as far as I know) and the emails are purposely vague.

Regardless of whatever happens, please don’t blame twt_tokusatsu for tweeting at Shirakura, or even Shirakura himself for joking about it because he might not even know what is going on (and we don’t exactly know if he does either). If anything, Toei should be blamed for being “Jewish” with their copyrights.

Also, I highly suggest that people refrain from tagging Shirakura on Twitter with their complaints or being paranoid and alarmist when someone does. Some people seem to think that the Western toku fanbase is on thin ice with Toei, but we don’t exactly know how thick the ice is. Yes, some scepticism and cautiousness is okay, but the more paranoid the fanbase gets, the more rumours and misinformation get spread around.

UPDATE - 19 May 2021: Takenoko has stated that he wants to continue translating the shows, so TV-Nihon have started releasing subtitle files for use with the raws. The subtitles are only in an .srt format with no fonts, styling or karaoke, which might be a bit disappointing, but still a good start for TV-Nihon, who have been hardsubbing their releases since the beginning. It would be nice, though, if they eventually released their full collection of subtitle files so that people who have the raws can use them themselves, plus it would save me from bugging TV-Nihon’s typesetters on my posts to release the fonts they use for their releases because they would all be in the files themselves.

Also, you didn’t hear this from me, but I’m starting to see TV-Nihon’s latest releases on a certain site that other sub groups use to post their release torrents.

Since it’s going to be about a week without anything else in the way of news, I’ll keep observing the situation for a couple more weeks and then write a post summarising the whole situation. Assuming that nothing much happens during that time, this will be the final update for this post.

[digitalgate02]

#KizunaCountdown day21

You know there’s so much I’d like to talk about but no actual idea.

Day 21 - Ni’s Bonus choice for the free day.

I pick... Talk about how much important tri. was to lead us into Kizuna.

This is a risky subject but I daresay tri. causing a lot of hurt for people helped to make Toei take new actions to recover the lost audience.

“But Ni, tri. was a success!” are you sure? While yes, they went well in all movies, they were released close to other big movie/franchise names enough to not be very well. Not to mention the huge breaks between each movie -- having like, starting in 2015 and ending in 2018. While we had two movies in each 2016 and 2017, I consider those pauses too long to a story like that.

The story has the weight of a 50-part episode, some things were left open. Too many of them in my opinion. It’s not the format, I swear. They simply had taken bad choices, like the unnecessary scenes/fanservice which would’ve been toned down and add things the fans wanted to know -- about the 02 kids whereabouts & status, Maki and Daigo’s backstory, Alphamon’s role, and who the heck was Mysterious Man (which I assume is neither a Gennai and that Gennai form is just another identity he stole)

Most of the fans who disliked tri. were turned down by something. That being 02 kids, portrayal or not enjoying the art style, etc. Those critics, as much they sound selfish or stupid, were valid feelings. In my opinion, most of the characters were acting differently -- some I liked, some I disliked so much -- but the 02 kids being treated like that was disrespectful with the original sequel and its fans. Art style, on the other hand, I loved so much. But back to what I meant: People were disappointed with something in each movies the feeling of betrayal by the writing caused so many angry voices on the net.

Okay so... why those were so important? While tri. was in the last movie, Kizuna was in development. That, according to Kakudou vague tweets about a project he was helping with but decided to quit due to artistic clashes. He did not mean those as “this project sucks” and also had to explain himself on his blog saying “people who liked tri. might enjoy the project”

You know the internet had evolved very fast and on our current days there’s a very much strong connection between producers, staff, and fans right? So, if you go looking at every interview about Kizuna, you will realize Toei has been listening to our complaints. They saw what went wrong with tri. and what went well. I daresay tri. mistakes led Toei to pull another Adventure movie to not just grab money with but ALSO to make peace with OG!Adv & 02 fans.

What choices are so blatant from tri. to Kizuna? 

1- Art Style

One of the complaints for tri when the first key art got revealed was the faces. You could find a lot of “fix-it” redraws and edits of the characters. While I loved the art style... I didn’t like how Joe’s hair became black blue and how Yamato’s haircut made him look like an older Takeru twin. Mimi’s hair worked sometimes but some material had it pretty bad. While they fixed one of my complaints about Hikari’s design in 02, which were the big forehead she had.

What Kizuna staff did? They got the original character designer from OG!Adv and 02 to work in the movie -- if you look at the artstyle for Kizuna, they have some signature parallels with OG!Adv and 02.

Some people didn’t like the design, but most of the fans did like -- at least the crowd I saw by myself. And, while it’s the same artist, you can clearly notice his improvement from 1999 to 2019~2020.

Now, a comparison between those:

OG - 02 - tri. - Kizuna (To Sora short)

Can you notice the difference? Kizuna may not be very much the same as OG, but when you look at...

You can clearly realize the huge development of the designer’s style & art. (Sorry I’d call him by his name but sadly I’m not good at typing his name yet orz)

2 - 02 characters official return

Believe me or not, MANY PEOPLE (me included) wanted to see Daisuke, Miyako, Iori and Ken back. Not only in the west but also in the east too. When tri. omitted them in art & promo art, plus in summaries... People were upset. Then, Reunion opens with that tragic scene. VERY BRILLIANT but they wasted time and movies. The fans were concerned with them, when tri. staff wasn’t expecting for that. Not even Toei I guess. The huge disappointment with the lack of them was clear. And the fact the last movie had so little about them... Sad huh?

Sad enough to make people NOT believe when the 02 kids were announced in Kizuna, with legit design, new voices and the return of the 02 digimon cast. They made it a BIG BIG DEAL, as I point out the official announcement was a SUPRISE of DigiFes2019. 

Also let’s not forget that one of the newest content after the very first trailer released on Anime Expo was...

...the clip shown on DigiFes2019. Yep, the special sneak peak of the babies.

So I consider tri. the cause of Toei’s realization that 02 and 02 kids -- not just Ken and Daisuke -- sell. They’re beloved, people want them and I know a LOT of people who were screaming and crying when the announcement was in fact real.

3 - New characters [SPOILER FREE]

Okay, tri. had very cool concepts but we had so little new content with the new characters and somehow they were badly done -- Like Daigo spending most of the movie being clueless and futile, and when he finally gets a big role & action (movie 5) he is killed in the last movie. While yeah, Daigo’s death was so important for Taichi’s development I believe it would’ve been better IF we had seen more of Taichi-Daigo and Daigo-Taichi interactions. Daigo had so little importance to the plot in my opinion. Also Maki had one the most unsatisfying closures, as I’ve mentioned before here.  Meiko is the catalyst of the plot, being Meicoomon’s reason to evolve and go on rampage, and in the end she loses Meicoomon and what they do with her? Send her back to Tottori. Yup.

The PVs for tri. has a mysterious girl and cat under the bridge, and that gave a lot of ideas about her and her role as well.

While... Kizuna someone makes clear the new characters have a strong role in the plot -- Bellucci and Imura are researching about the Chosen Children and Digimon Partners’ bonds. The PV featuring her makes her get no mysterious girl vibes, she’s shown with her name voice and her role. She’s a key character, and you know that.

The reduction of the number of parts for the plot is a good point I guess. While I feel tri. long pauses ruined the conception of the plot and drama, I hope Kizuna being a standalone movie makes things straight.

With this, I conclude saying tri. is good yeah, but its mistakes made Kizuna be real. So I thank tri. for the efforts and for letting Toei make one more movie with the original Adventure series.

Peace~

[sailor-cresselia]

HEISEI GENERATIONS FOREVER

I’M GOING TO CRY

OKAY?

I’M GOING TO FUCKING CRY.

Spoilers for Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Forever below the cut.

also this got really long. Like. 3.8k words long. I am SO SORRY, Mobile Users, I know read mores don’t always work. Just. SCROLL.

20 MINUTES IN AND MY HEART HAS ALREADY BEEN BROKEN MULTIPLE TIMES.

Memories coming and going for everyone - just - just!

Sougo as a smart, smug, asshole.

Tsukuyomi as a ditz.

Then! Then!

Sento and Ryuuga saving a kid from Another Double – who’s design I LOVE, btw.

But Grease and Rogue leap out over the crowd. They remember, when they shouldn’t. When no one should remember them.

When Kazumi Sawatari and Gentoku Himuro shouldn’t remember each other. Shouldn’t be able to become Riders at all, because here they never were exposed to the Nebula Gas that the Rider System requires.

Gentoku forgetting, returning to the stiff, formal, son-of and assistant-to the Prime Minister.

Misora remembering – the cafe’s a bar, and then she forgets. Again.

YA SURE KNOW HOW TO KILL MY HEART, TOEI.

The kid – Shingo – being found by Sento… who doesn’t get the chance to transform. Who looks… he looks like he’s been brainwashed.

A boy who ‘draws Riders to him’. Him and Sougo go to Fuumen – FUUMEN!

TOEI YOU ARE ACTIVELY HURTING ME. Because Another Double shows up… and it turns out. It turns out Shotaro gave the owner of the Fuumen ramen cart the Double Ridewatch to hold onto for him.

And now we’ve lost Geiz, too.

Nobody remembers Sougo – and smartphones don’t exist. Not enough that a small child would know about them.

The first episode of Kuuga airs tomorrow.

Just- hng. Some part of the brainwashed Sento holds out enough to send the Machien Builder to find Ryuuga. To find his partner.

But when he and Sougo get to where he and Tid are.

Tank and Tank.

Just one word.

“Transform.”

And he attacks.

AHAHAHA YESSSS! Ataru points out the “Same Actor Issue” with regards to Kouhei Takeda having played both Otoya and Kazumin THANK YOU I was hoping that would happen. I didn’t think it would but THANK YOU.

IMAJIN NO. No ominous comments about how ‘it might not end well’!

...Shingo. Shingo… Tid brought you here from the past, didn’t he? From the day before Kuuga aired. That’s why you don’t know what a smartphone is. He brought you forward from your little brothers birthday. And you met him here – where he’s 18, and contracted with an Imajin, in order to meet Riders.

I don’t even know these two and my heart’s breaking for them.

...was. Was that Ataru in Another Den-O?!

Okay, yeah, Sento was faking being brainwashed. No surprise there.

BIG surprise that Ataru contracted in order to meet Riders… because he wanted to escape from reality. He’s not worried, because it’s all just a delusion.

Because his older brother disappeared the day he was born. His brother Shingo.

Whoops.

Ataru latched onto Den-O SO HARD that he summoned an Imajin into his world – his world, where Riders are fiction. And that Imajin is trying, but he’s reached his limit. And Tid cares not for what world he’s in, as long as it’s correct.

...it makes sense that sento isn’t torn up about being fictional like sougo is. he’s already been there – twice, even. sento kiryuu was made up in his own world, and no one from the new one remembers he exists. this is nothing new to him.

…

OKAY FOR THE RECORD. I wrote that BEFORE the scene in the rain.

But…

It doesn’t matter if it’s reality or fantasy. They’re Kamen Riders. They do what must be done.

Don’t worry, Sougo. You’ll understand.

Riders always do, in the end.

Also, the bugster virus grunts stand out so badly against all the other mooks. Waste Yummies, Dustards, Ghouls, Inves, numberless Roidmudes, Ganma, Bugsters… It’s. Actually really nice seeing all of these old suits in action. I can’t even say why, but. I really enjoy that.

… Kazumin’s out.

… … Ataru’s had enough of a world with Riders. He’s done. There’s no such thing, after all.

The contract is complete.

The Riders are gone now. But the mooks might not be.

Be careful what you wish for.

Hey there, Woz! Been a while!

Hey there, Sento. Glad you found your kouhai… and that you didn’t blank out when you two left Ataru’s house.

Because I was right. Shingo’s been pulled out of time.

That’s what Imajin are all about, aren’t they? Changing time. (I have not watched past the first two episodes of den-o but that’s the impression I’ve gotten from hearing about it. Shush.)

And Ataru can’t have a brother that went missing if the brother never went missing in the first place. Which is where Tid, the Imajin, and Another Den-O come into play.

Sure, The World of Ataru is ‘reality’ from one perspective, but The World of Riders is reality from it’s own perspective, just like The World of Build. Sento, you’ve done this, don’t dismiss the world you live in now as fiction quite so easily.

(Tsukasa will be disappointed in you. … if everyone else doesn’t beat him up first, for some of the stunts he’s pulled.)

So… since the Double watch came from Ataru’s world, it can act as a link to there from the Rider’s world.

Actually, I really like how much of W they’re working into here. I know it means we most likely don’t get a W arc, but still. Fuumen, and the watch being handed over by proxy – namedropping ‘Sho’. Another W has three faces – Cyclone, Joker, and CycloneJoker. Cyclone’s eyes light up when he uses the tornado attacks, which is a great nod to both how he’s using one side, and to how Philip’s half lights up when he speaks. I mean, the green tornados alone are neat!

(I didn’t think I’d missed the lens-eyes, because they’re creepy, but come to find out, I had! Huh!)

THING IS. I’m a LITTLE pissed about THIS. I get you haven’t been given much to do today, Woz. And I ADORE all of the W references. But the Library is PHILIPS domain. It’s his to explore – his, and Wakana’s, and those who he allows in. Sokichi Narumi, when he was just a tool for Museum, when he got a chance at freedom. When he got to be Philip. And Shotaro. His Partner. Who saved him from himself in there – When the library was BURNING because he was losing himself to Fang, when he was terrified and lost and this is where he is supposed to be.

… Sorry, I have a LOT of W feels, and this movie is hitting a LOT of them right now.

… Basically, Woz, I tolerate you now, but this is December 2018 you, who I tolerate a lot less. Get out of there.

OH, THIS IS INTERESTING THOUGH.

The book is labeled Masked Rider Den-O. Not Kamen Rider. The series has been writing it as ‘Kamen’ when using the roman alphabet since W.

Before that, it was translated into English whenever it was written like that. So it would be accurate to have Masked Rider Den-O, but not, say, Masked Rider Fourze.

Huh. Nice touch.

~Archival footage from Den-o!~

... Woz how did you get that rail pass out from the library?

(Philip would LOVE to know, that seems like it would be a REALLY handy trick, if he could bring even just. Like. Segments of a book, or pictures, or some such. It’d be SO MUCH EASIER to show Shotaro stuff that way, instead of having to copy it out onto a whiteboard.)

… A lot of the time, Another Double sounds like two people speaking in unison.

… can two people be one Another Rider? Could Tid have. Like. Fused some dudes? This is. A valid question right now.

I mean, we never did find out Who Another Double is.

! !! !!!

LUNA!

THIS IS FINE.

(It’s not fine, but only because I hate the Luna memory)

!!! !! !

AH. So. That’s. ONE way to have things happen out of order. Have a watch shoved into your chest after seeing yourself as that Another Rider.

Ataru latched onto Den-O SO DAMNED HARD that he summoned an Imajin, warped time, and became Another Den-O.

Kid… That’s brutal.

Purple Imajin’s lost hope… but Sougo says that they’re not alone.

Tid shows up at the site where the Arcle was found. At the tomb of the first Kuuga. That… if this is the world of Ataru, that shouldn’t exist here.

But he uses the Arcle – still worn by the first Kuuga – to make the Another Kuuga watch.

That’s terrifying, but makes sense. The watches only need the power of the rider, after all. Doesn’t matter which version of the Rider, as we’ll see in Hibiki months down the road and two weeks ago.

TID OW WOAH DUDE

I MEAN

You’re a bad guy but! I’m sorry for you right now! That looks OBSCENELY PAINFUL.

And VERY Time Mazine sized.

Enough to knock Sougo’s Time Mazine into the Another Denliner… which crashes upon arrival in December 2018, scaring ‘Everyday Schoolboy Sougo’ spitless, while carrying Tid as we have known him to this point. Also of note: Another Den-O is posing like Momotaros. That’s a nice touch.

Oh! Hey! I just realized! I like the Purple Imajin’s speech and all, and the exposition’s great, VERY in line with Den-O, but I just realized.

Sougo’s at a point in time where he hasn’t been born yet.

I doubt this’ll do jack all to history, but still. It’s kind of funny.

(Also, hey, Toei, you couldn’t have remembered that Rider used to start in January back during the Fourze and Faiz arc? You had Faiz disappear during an episode that took place in February, thanks to an event in, like, November. I’m still salty about that.)

Cut to 2018.

Sento and Ryuuga step into Tid’s vault.

(brb, snorting with laughter at the bugster stuck in an idle animation on the floor)

Sento’s already altered the world once, and nobody should have remembered him. But one idiot was stubborn enough to remember him. So… who’s to say that can’t happen again? The world has never made sense. Science and physics, chronology and sequence, reality and fiction… all of that went out the window ages ago, as far as he’s concerned. So why not mess around a little more?

Rabbit and Rabbit!

Cross-Z Magma!

““TRANSFORM!””

(cue Build fight music)

I love my boys.

I also love the two busted time mazines basically piggybacking off of each other.

A train whistle sounds.

Oh, Tid. Of course they keep coming back.

You’ve got someone who knows them pretty well right by your side.

AHAHA YESSSSS

YOU’RE FACING THE WRONG WAY BUT YESSSS

‘Sup, Momotaros?

Oh, hold on-

‘Sup, Team Den-O?

Like beats Like. It takes a Rider’s power to defeat an Another Rider.

And the base of ‘imajin’ is imagine. To think up, to dream.

Or, in some cases.

To remember.

Urataros, if you and Ryotaro are going to use the line “Ai to Seigi to” I expect SOMEONE to do a Sailor Moon pose! SOMEONE NEEDS TO!

She is the senpai for EVERYONE HERE. She’s from 1992, after all, Mr. 2007.

Okay, sorry, Moon Fan comments aside.

Sougo gets it now. It doesn’t matter anymore if they’re real or not.

Because here? In this moment? They’re real enough.

I’m willing to bet that under that mask, Sento’s grinning, because he can tell that his junior’s caught on.

Misora – kind, sweet, Misora – guiding civilians to safety, even though she’s a civilian herself… wondering where Sento and Ryuuga are.

They’re a bit busy elsewhere… but Kazumin and Gentoku? They’re available.

Welcome back, Kamen Rider Grease and Kamen Rider Rogue.

Cries for help from two young boys – the right age bracket for right now.

Level Up!

Kaigan!

Welcome back, Kamen Rider Ex-aid and Kamen Rider Ghost.

Two men in their late teens, early twenties.

Cyclone! Joker!

Welcome back, Kamen Rider Double.

A man in his mid-to-late twenties… possibly with his sons, who are wearing the two latest belts. His inner child calls out.

The startup sound of the Arcle

Welcome back, Kamen Rider Kuuga.

A crowd.

Hanamichi! On STAGE!

Welcome back, Kamen Rider Gaim and Kamen Rider Kiva.

A crowd – larger, with more varied ages.

Hii, hii, hihihiii~

Welcome back, Kamen Rider Agito, Kamen Rider Ryuki, and Kamen Rider Wizard.

Three adults.

Turn Up.

Welcome back, Kamen Rider Blade, Kamen Rider Faiz, and Kamen Rider Hibiki.

Change Beetle

Welcome back, Kamen Rider Kabuto, Kamen Rider Decade, and Kamen Rider Fourze.

UCHUU KITA indeed.

Ta To Ba! Ta-to-ba TaToBa!

Welcome back, Kamen Rider OOO and Kamen Rider Drive.

“Ankh…”

Toei don’t break my heart like this. He caresses the hawk medal. Don’t do this to us.

“Let’s go, Mr. Belt.”

“Okay! Start your engine!”

Hi, Krim. Nice to see you again, too. Ah, man, Shinnosuke’s voice is so subdued.

They didn’t have the same type of partnership, but both Eiji and Shinnosuke lost their partners. This is. Right. This is right, for now. It’s something.

Now. Time to fight.

Momotaros doing his own theme song.

Emu bouncing into the air.

Takeru floating – they’re letting him have powers, letting him have the forcefields that he’s going to prove he has when he shows up in the episode that aired the day before this takes place. To the point of TAKERU CAN MAKE TELEKINETIC TORNADOES THAT IS SO FUCKING COOL! (Further vindication! Takeru gets to be spooky!)

One on one my rear end, Gentaro. Rocket on.

Drumsticks and kicks laced with fire from Hibiki and Haruto, before they and Shinji all set a crowd of mooks alight in a wave of fire.

Shinnosuke getting to use the tires on Type Speed’s boots for once… before… Start up. Clock up! The three speed demons – him, Takumi, and Souji – knock the crowd of mooks aside.

Swords and claws slice through one group, thanks to Kouta, Eiji, and Kenzaki – wait, hang on, his given name is Kazuma? I thought that was his surname?! UGH it’s the Banjou and Ryuuga thing all over again, but before it happened, you know what WHATEVER.

Shouichi and Wataru blasting apart mooks with inherited powers.

Tsukasa on his own… because of course he is.

Likewise for Yusuke.

Sento and Ryuuga struggling against Another Double… but Sougo got that watch earlier today. >:)

Like beats Like.

Er, Woz, this is not the time to IWAE. We’re. We’re in a movie. This. Isn’t in the show, save it for- oh, wait, you weren’t there the first time he used Double in show, were you? Haaaa… fine. I’ll allow it.

...I’d really missed Sougo flubbing the catchphrases. “Tell me about your crimes.” It’s. Close. You’re. You’re almost there. You got the pose better than you did the phrase, anyway.  

Another Double is a bit closer, though, since he thinks you’re half-boiled. And did Shotaro’s stressed out forehead pinch – even though Sho’s usually in civilian form for that, and wearing his hat, it still scans. (HNG MY W FANGIRL HEART.)

Maximum Time Break!

Hahaha! Another Double explodes three times. Once to separate in two, once each for a cloud of green and black smoke for each respective half, and then two massive fireballs. That’s glorious.

Tid, I get that you’re a movie villain, but why are you this dead set on getting rid of the Heisei Riders?

“Where’s Tsukuyomi?!”

“Still fixing the Time Mazines!”

And she’s so FRUSTRATED about it!

Good thing Sento built all of his equipment. Oh man, he’s going to have a field day with this thing. Be careful, you might not get both of them back.

CASE IN POINT. SENTO’S JACKED A TIME MAZINE TO FIGHT ANOTHER KUUGA.

And looks like Geiz didn’t just go to fight Tid when he was in 2000. He made the Kuuga watch from the first Kuuga’s body, same as Tid.

Clever. Like I said. Doesn’t matter which version of the Rider. As long as it’s the same power.

Armor Time!

Kuuga!

It didn’t take long to take Another Kuuga down with that much brute power behind the attacks.

Sorry, Ryuuga, but Geiz just isn’t that excitable. No high fives for you. (I’ll give you one!)

Sento must be absolutely beaming under there.

And Sougo does the thumbs up.

HEY REMEMBER HOW I WONDERED IF TID FUSED TWO DUDES TO MAKE ANOTHER DOUBLE?!

THIS IS WORSE.

THIS IS MUCH WORSE.

Step. Away. From. The. Child.

Let him go.

TID HAS ISSUES.

But! Getting everyone out in to one of The Quarries means.

BIIIIIKE FIIIIIGHT!!!!!

Kudos for the Bakusou Bike jingle, and Faiz’s bike pretty much being a drill. Press F to pay respects for Kabuto’s tires. Wonder how many of those he goes through in a month.

Shotaro, Philip, not breaking out the Revolgarry this time? You did back in Taisen Grand Prix!

...Where are Drive and Hibiki?

Oh, wait, nope, there they are, along with Ryuki.

YESSSSS Ryuuga and Geiz in Geiz’s Time Mazine!

AND LIGHTING IT UP WITH BLUE FLAMES TO KNOCK “ANOTHER KUUGA TWO; CREEPER BOOGALOO” DOWN TO EARTH. Literally.

Twenty Rider Kicks. Straight to the face.

(Okay, technically it’s 22 kicks, since Double is, by necessity, both Shotaro and Philip, and Den-O is presumably Momotaros and Ryotaro.)

And the final three to hit? Zi-O, Build, and Kuuga.

Yesssss.

(Also Gentaro looked so awkward standing with the Drill Module still active. Because DRILL. On the LEG.)

We get a montage of two brothers, growing up together, as fans of Kamen Rider. Mirroring a montage of one boy growing up alone at the opening.

And the speech between Senior and Junior – Sento and Sougo.

Yeah. They were Riders. They always were Riders. The laws of time travel aren’t nearly as rigid as you think, Sougo.

As long as someone remembers. They’re still there.

Why should anything have to change that?

Final notes. Whoever made this movie must love W SO MUCH. Because in the end credits, there’s a montage of shots from every season since Kuuga. It shows the riders themselves, as civilians, their base forms, and their final forms.

The slide for W has two variants. The first has CycloneJokerExtreme at the top, CycloneJoker at the bottom, and Shotaro and Philip preparing to transform in the center. The second – the center photo moves to a different expression from the same exact scene – the same SHOT – Shotaro and Philip looking at each other and smiling. It’s from episode 49. When they were reunited.

There’s some nice care for all of the slides, actually, but most noticeable to me…

The Fourze slide has four pictures –  Fourze base mode, Gentaro in front of an explosion, Fourze Cosmic States, and Gentaro and Ryusei. The last three? Are all from the same episode. The one where Gentaro GETS Cosmic States.

Drive has two ‘variants’ as well – in a similar manner to W, actually. The first time, there’s Chase, Shinnosuke, and Gou together, Shinnosuke and Kiriko – from the last episode, no less, as they’re saying goodbye to Krim, and Drive (Type Speed) leaning against the Tridoron. Really puts that “Let’s go, Mr. Belt” line RIGHT BACK IN THE FEELS ZONE, there doesn’t it? Well, the shot of the three riders morphs to the same scene, but all three of them in their armor. THAT is where they show Type Tridoron. I believe that was the first time we heard Spinning Wheel, actually.

Ghost manages to have all three of it’s Riders on a cliff – in civilian form, but still.

Ex-Aid has Emu’s first transformation – both before he activates it, and in his Level One form right after. There’s the first transformation into Hyper Muteki. But his Base Mode shot, for Level Two? Chronos about to get a Gashacon Breaker to the face.

Gaim features both Kouta AND Kaito in all but one shot, which is the one with Gaim on a horse. The others are Kouta and Kaito in Beat Rider attire, Gaim and Baron while the Woman of the Beginning looks on in the background and… Gaim Kiwami Arms versus Overlord Baron… in the final moment of their last fight.

As for OOO? Well, we’re clearly not getting an answer from Toei as to what his official final form is any time soon. Not with Shirtless Episode One Eiji, and TaToBa OOO on a RideVendor as two of the shots. The other two? One is PuToTyra. And the other is TaJaDor… with Ankh right beside him, Greeed arm on display. (Eiji’s final form is Ankh’s Boyfriend and you can’t stop me from believing that.)

I don’t know enough about the other seasons to know how heartbreaking a lot of them are, but. Well.

Over in Kuuga, that’s a transformation in the snow.

Ryuki has a wide shot with thirteen suits.

Blade as a shot with four riders, and one with Blade and Chalice in the water.

I’m not really happy with their choices for Build. Build RabbitTank deciding that he’s going to take Ryuuga with him, Sento and Ryuuga on the bike – at the end of episode one, so they both look awful, Sento in the opening, of all things, and what is quite frankly a terrible shot of Build Genius. They had a lot more to go off of here.

Especially since at least Zi-O has an excuse for poor selection. A close up of Zi-O’s face, a shot of him on his bike on a bridge from the opening, a slightly battered Sougo transforming – not even his FIRST one, mind you, it’s from the wrong angle for that… and OMA ZI-O. I know we weren’t even fifteen episodes in, he didn’t have Decade yet in the timeframe it takes place, but still. STILL.

But I might do a compilation post of all the ending cards, because there was clearly care put into… well, all but the last two, really.

So! In Conclusion!

Not as bad a movie as I was worried about!

There were a lot of nice touches, and I’m pretty sure that at this point, they were working towards un-doing the whole ‘riders were never riders’ situation. Especially given the time placement of this film.

The present day sections take place on December 3, 2018 – literally one day after the first episode of the Ghost arc aired. It was released on December 22, so… about when Sougo was shot into the future by Decade, and the day before he Did The Thing with his belt.

Ghost was allowed to transform. “Oh, right… I’m a Kamen Rider…” And, of course, Decade was there. As Decade.

The next Legend Rider to appear wasn’t until February – with Ryuki, who would never have been a Rider in the first place, regardless of Time Travel interference. He’d already had his adventures undone at the end of his season. After then, every Legend Rider is still a Rider.

As long as someone remembers.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Heh heh, whoops…

… Realised I forgot to do a Ryusoulger Raw post.

So… Y’all get to hear my initial reactions to the subbed version! Yay! XD

Let’s a-go!

In no particular order and w/ many typos:

Naohisa peeling the banana for Ui bc she’s so busy staring. XD Ui, I know Asuna is beautiful, and the boys, too, but please remember to eat?

Well, that’s either really convenient, or Naohisa knows more than he’s letting on. This is Sentai. It could be either.

Aw, poor Melto. Come here, I’ll give you a hug. ^^ Sometimes I’m a good mother.

I think I already waxed about why I love the way Banba immediately, like, flies to this guy’s side in the tags of Ryuu’s gifset, but it still holds. Believes he can’t trust people and that kindness is weakness, but still can’t stop himself. I am really hoping for an episode/something way down the line where he has a ‘I would have turned into a monster w/out Touwa and the rest of you’ moment. Might just write one myself, eventually. ^^

And the coincidence, one of the true heroes of Toku, saving the day is also still hilarious. Like, if Banba had been one block over.

Why was he even on this street to begin w/?

Why is Touwa here? I find it hard to believe Banba would at all be interested.

No, actually, I know why. Bc plot.

Aw, he came bc he loves you two and is constantly anxious. Melto is absolutely the type of person who is afraid to let the people he loves out of his sight bc what if they didn’t look both ways before crossing the street and got hit by a truck???? And I doubt Biker Dad’s death helped that at all. Kou and Asuna are all he’s got left of his ‘family’ and he’s secretly terrified of losing them, too. Hey, Melto, I think I just got an idea for an angst tidbit for you, and I’m really sorry.

Aaaaand the youngest brothers are at it again. XD Dorks.

My ‘age’ order for this family is Naohisa, Banba, Melto, Asuna, Kou, Touwa and Ui. Age in quotes bc obviously the canon ages are completely wild. But I think I’ve done the fam break down before, so I won’t go into it again. ^^

I mean, gotta hand it to Wyzul. It’s a situation where acting blatantly weird and out of place works. Like, it’s a legit acting job. People in special events/games. Ren fairs. Yes, he’s acting really evil and suspicious, but that’s easily explainable as that being the character. Another pretty good plan. Very Sentai, but actually a good plan.

OH GOD NO! IT’S A MIMIC! DX

I don’t actually play Dark Souls, but…

Okay, but I wouldn’t be getting too comfy, yet. You’re missing one, and he happens to be the most stab-happy out of all of them. Like, I’m sorry, but as a villain, I would be celebrating while Banba was unaccounted for. I’d be checking the back stairwell.

This confirms that the chibis are merely going in colour order and have no bearing on the focus character.

Mother¡Melto makes another appearance, in a small way. ^^

I don’t know, Asuna. Given that none of you remember how you got here, I think it’s very valid of Melto to fear this was a Druidon trap.

Kou takes a moment to look majestic. XD HAve you been taking lessons from Banba? ^^

This is so obviously suspicious. Like. It’s obviously magic. Touwa and Asuna win the doofus award this ep. At least Kou figured it out eventually.

Touwa is the super winner of the award, though. Asuna had the sense to snap to it when told there were Druidon. XD

Honestly, she probably needs the protein and calories. Her super strength might mean she burns through energy faster than other people.

Actually, I dunno if that makes sense.

Mother¡Melto again. XD ‘Don’t eat mystery meat!’ is kind of like he’s telling her not to take food from strangers…

Yup, Touwa’s a dumb. ^^ I love how in the character blog, Yuito was like ‘he would have gotten scolded if his brother was there.’ XD Probably one of the reasons they didn’t want Banba in Wonderland w/ them. A) he would have snapped Touwa out of it too soon, and B) given how the chests open in their own, they didn’t want to reveal too much about his past, I guess? Though I wish they would tell us at least a little more. Keep it slow, absolutely, but I’m hoping for some more concrete hints soon.

A for effort, Melto. You tried.

Also, oh, Kou. ^^ Cutie. So it is limited—bc they had to stay trapped in the ‘box,’ it couldn’t actually grant Kou’s wish. But it sure tried. Kinda like w/ that Yummy that was destroying people’s dreams when it tried to attack Eiji, and the world came out of his mind.

Aw, he’s fine. The boy is durable. ^^

Kou, now is the time when you assume this is not the real world, you dork. XD

Aw, did Banba help clean up? Actually, there’s no indication if he did or not, but it’s sweet to think he did. ^^

I mean, he’s got a point. It could have a backlash. My recommendation would be to poke it first. Though since Kou crashed into it before, it’d probably just be impervious…

Oh, don’t remind him of that, that was (obviously unintentionally) kinda insensitive of her… Well, it did say that she sometimes has a habit of saying the wrong thing/speaking so bluntly she has trouble communicating… We haven’t really seen that yet, but I think it’s kind of coming into play here, since Melto’s bio, and this ep, establish that Melto is self conscious and doubts himself in comparison to the others… So that probably hurt him a lot  more than she intended it too.

But bc he’s Melto, he didn’t communicate that, so she had no way of knowing and no chance to reassure him she didn’t mean it that way.

God, Banba’s got a compulsive apologising streak, Melto has an inferiority complex, neither likes admitting hurt/weakness, esp to people they care about… And then there’s Asuna being too blunt and saying thing w/out thinking, Kou and Touwa are probably in the ‘bottle things up’ boat, too, just of the Stepford Smiler/Snarker variety… Any more of my quirks you’d like to spread out amongst the team, Toei? Like, maybe Gold is constantly terrified he’s bothering everyone?

Sorry (exhibit A XD) that got a little nonsensical. Right now it’s mainly Banba, Melto, and Asuna who are exhibiting some of my habits (apologising [for ex. rather than thanking someone], a slight inferiority complex compared to more “successful” friends, an in ability to read social cues and saying things w/out thinking).

And I love them for it. DX Really gotta write more Melto now!

Aaaaaaaaand… Now I’m crying all over again. DX I mean, hi Biker Dad and all, but poor Melto… TT^TT

This poor baby… DX Like, you can tell that for a fraction of a second, he’s almost like ‘oh my god, you’re alive?!?!?’ And… Then the memory hits him. DX

And then he promptly logics himself out to ‘I’m hallucinating.’ Oh, baby… DX

I know it would’ve broken the illusion, but… I wish Melto could’ve hugged him. Let the boy hug his Biker Dad. DX

Or, if not, can someone please hug someone??? Please?!?!?

Aw, he’s scared, though. I mean, I totally think he was the anxious, ‘oh my god what if I turn around for a moment and they fall of a cliff?!?’ sort of person before, but losing their Masters magnified that. He loves them so much he was afraid of something happening to them before, but now that something terrible has happened to someone else he loves, it’s even worse.

Basically, he was already terrified of something bad happening to the people he loved, and then something did, validating that terror.

Inferiority complex probably didn’t help. It’s not exactly resentment toward people perceived as ‘better’ (though there is some in it), but feels like a failure on the part of the one w/ the complex for not being ‘good enough’ or able to ‘catch up.’ He knew they were good at fighting, but was terrified by their recklessness and feared he might not be strong enough to help them one day, or something. Not sure any of that made sense.

I do like the idea of Biker Dad inside the Blue RyuSoul just being like, ‘oh no, Melto is worrying himself into a corner, maybe it will help if I astral project and give him a pep talk.’ Might be cute if the Masters’ souls are still semi ‘present’ or ‘aware’ in the RyuSouls.

…

… Ooooooo. I just got an idea. Kinda like in that Magiranger episode. Like, the trio get trapped in some ‘magical dimension’ or something again, and, like, the Masters are somehow there, or their souls come out of the RyuSouls somehow… Anyway, could have something like when… Houka, I think it was, didn’t want to leave that place bc it seemed like their mother was there. Could also include friendship bc maybe the final straw for them finding the will to go isn’t just ‘we need to protect the world’ but also, on a more personal level, the Tatsuis and the brothers? Like, if they realise that the boys are getting overwhelmed in the real world, esp if the brothers are partially fighting to try and rescue them, and are about to get defeated, and meanwhile Ui’s in the line of fire bc she’s trying to help civilians and doing everything she can, too… Could be cute. And heartbreaking.

That was a bad explanation, I’ll try to be more concise later.

Why… Is he explaining this?

Again. I wouldn’t be celebrating while mister handsome murder boy the Majestic Knight is still at large.

I like how it’s still saying ‘here, here.’

Wow, Melto can jump!

Oooo. They came out of the fire! Cool effect.

I’d question how Biker Dad knows this, but he’s dead, so maybe he’s omniscient now. I dunno. I’m inclined to give more leeway to people knowing weird things if they’re dead. Bc they’re no longer tied to this plane, ya know?

Anyway.

…

……

……… Butt. DX

AAAAH! DX Poor baby. He’s all like ‘I did it, dad!’ and briefly forgets that it was an vision, and then of course Biker Dad is gone, and it… TT^TT

Ah, yes. The perfect way to get me to stop crying. Cut directly from sad, introspective Melto to Banba tenderly caressing the lid of some random box. XD

Now, I will not grow out of that joke. XP Ryusoulger here, making me jealous of inanimate objects like pros.

Must everything he does be so very attractive? And by that I mean sexy? But for some reason I am very self-conscious about that word???

Touwa still wins the super doof award.

And now, Melto does math. I think.

XD Kou’s crash into the dome was useful! Though I’m impressed Melto could have any estimation of what the height of that was. ^^

I really like the little collars of the suits. I really do.

AH. I FIGURED IT OUT. THE LITTLE ‘LIFE BLOBS’ ARE SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THE MINUSAUR!

(pictures at the bottom)

CUTE.

XD Using the Minusaur’s power against it. ^^ Nice going Melto.

I guess it’s not technically him piloting alone—though he does seem to be the one in control…

XD Wyzul and Crayon’s reactions are so funny. ^^

Touwa just lying on the grou w/ his arms folded is still funny.

Banba just… Freaking teleports behind Kou. How did he even find them? Did he walk down the street carrying the box while fully transformed? XD

Banba interrogating the mooks is hilarious bc, esp in most recent years, they can’t actually talk. The most recent exception I can think of is Kyuranger’s mooks.

XD The absolutely unnecessarily fancy sword twirling he does just to point it in the other direction. <3

I mean, I guess it might seem a little silly, but… Isn’t there a belief in Shinto that all things have souls, even inanimate objects? So… Not so far afield, really. Though that does kinda make it sadder that Banba just smashed it. DX Requiescat in pace, antique miniature garden box. Thank you for your sacrifice.

Most easily defeated Mimic. Ever.

Asuna and Kou are either staring into my soul, or thinking about how cool Banba is, and I find both to be valid.

Touwa, don’t be mean. DX Ah, dorks.

This scene is really cute. Y’all here turning into a family w/out noticing, between the younger sibs teasing Melto and then goofing off among themselves, Banba just walking behind them like a tired babysitter and even shooting a look at Melto like he’s trying to make sure Blue’s still w/ them… Cuties.

Also, Touwa bouncing. ^^ <3

The soft piano version of the theme song definitely helps, too. ^^

That hug is still available if you want it, Melto.

And yes, I’d like to think it was. ^^

Still wondering what was up w/ that hooded person. They’re in the opening. They can’t just forget they exist! What happened in the rest of that secene w/ the brothers? Not even Touwa has mentioned it. Did they get their memories of the encounter wiped? Or is there something more?

Preview:

I like the opening shot of Asuna playing a carnival game while the boys watch. Like, it’s so cute and family-y. Melto’s so excited for her like a proud mom and Kou seems to trying to perfect his strategy. XD

Asuna once again finds herself talking people out of… That.

At this point, I don’t care how short that Banba sulking scene is or how little it relates to the plot. I just want to see it. ^^

That’s all, folks! Virtual mochi for anyone who read all that! I really liked this episode, and I’m glad for Melto getting a chance to be very heartbreaking, too. Next episode is an Asuna ep, and while I’m a little cagey about it bc of the short summary we saw at first, I’m willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt and not jump to conclusions about how they’re going to handle it. Hoping we’ll see Anky Mom, too, though there haven’t been any shots of her in the previews… Well, it wouldn’t make much sense if they didn’t eventually bring her back in some way. Still hoping for more concrete info about the brothers’, and specifically Banba’s past. Not all at once, but you could slowly start giving us more. Though it’s not that pressing, and is mainly bc I’m an impatient baby—they’ve got time to do it. And then there’s mysterious hooded person who is in the opening. Gaisoulg? Master Gold? Probably too old to be Gold, but who knows. It does seems strange that not even Touwa, the more friendly of the two, has brought it up to the trio. You’d assume he’d mention ‘oh, yeah, mysterious cloaked man came and sought us out and [something something]’ Makes me very suspicious of cloaked man. Did he wipe their memories? Threaten them? Just plan ask them to keep him a secret? Is he friend of foe? Is he Naohisa? Who knows. But I’d like some clues. At some point.

Lastly, the screenshots I promised, of the life blobs, and the thing everyone else probably already noticed:

[takaraphoenix]

Phoe’s Advent Calendar: Day 7

Happy December 7th to @3littlemieces and all you others! Hope you’re surviving the pre-holidays phase well. ;)

Title: Advent Calendar Project – Christmas in Space

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Disclaimer: All rights to the remake reserved to DreamWorks, Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, and to the original to Toei Animation. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, polyamory (threesome), fluff, Christmas fluff, team as family, homesickness

Main Pairing: Shiro/Keith/Lance

Voltron Characters: Lance Charles McClain, Keith Kogane, Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane, Katie 'Pidge' Holt, Hunk Garett, Princess Allura, Coran

Summary: Lance is really down when Christmas comes around, because he misses his family. So the team put together a Christmas party.

Links: FFNet | AO3

Christmas in Space

"Kitten, what's wrong?", asked Keith worried.

He slowly slid down to sit next to Lance, wrapping a comforting arm around his boyfriend. Keith wasn't good at the whole relationship-feelings department. He preferred to leave that up to Shiro, but since his second abduction at the hands of the Galra, Shiro had been rather withdrawn himself and Keith found himself in a position where he had to take the lead not just with Voltron but also in their relationship. Having one boyfriend with depressions and one boyfriend with PTSD was hard, but Keith loved both Lance and Shiro so much that he'd do everything to make them feel loved.

"I just... It's Christmas soon, you know?", whispered Lance softly. "On Earth, I mean. I kept... track on what... day it would be on Earth. And... I miss my family. You know me and Jenny are the youngest, all of our older siblings were already out of the house by the time we were pre-teens so Christmas was always this one time of the year where we all would come back together for a week, to be together and talk and laugh and eat and... and I'm just gone and they must be so worried and I miss them so much, Keith. I miss my family and my home a—and..."

Lance started sobbing and curled together against Keith, burying his face in Keith's shoulder. Gently, Keith cradled his boyfriend in his arms, caressing him in a soothing manner.

/break\

"We're going to put together a Christmas party", declared Keith seriously the next day while Lance was below deck to feed Kaltenecker, giving Keith an opportunity to talk to the rest of the team.

"...What is Christmas?", asked Allura slowly, blinking.

"It's a big celebration on Earth", explained Hunk. "It started out as a religious concept, but by now it's mainly just about... being together with your family and exchanging presents and eating food and singing together. And you put up a tree and decorate it and it's a lot of fun."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea for team-bonding", nodded Coran curiously.

"What brought that on, Kei?", asked Shiro gently, grasping his boyfriend's hand.

"It's... Lance, he's really homesick. Missing his family. I mean... I never... celebrated Christmas, I never did the whole family Christmas thing, but it's important to him, you know?", replied Keith.

Shiro smiled at that and leaned down to kiss Keith before he turned to the others. "Okay. Hunk and Coran, you're in charge of food. Allura, you and me will take care of decorations – I will explain everything to you, no worries. Keith, your job is to distract Lance so he doesn't notice. I know you're very good at distracting Lance." Pidge made gagging noises at that. "Pidge?"

"I'll take care of the tree", chimed Pidge mischievously after she stopped pretending to puke.

"...How are you going to do that?", asked Hunk suspiciously.

"Leave that up to the genius", smirked Pidge.

/break\

Lance was grinning softly as he leaned back against Shiro, allowing his boyfriend to lead him. Shiro's hands were covering Lance's eyes because the older Paladin claimed to have a surprise. What he saw when Shiro did remove his hands was not what Lance had anticipated. The common-room was decorated in red, green and gold, with ornaments they must have bought on the last planet they had stopped. They looked alien, but Lance still saw that they had picked them to resemble Christmas decorations. The table was set with what looked close to a Christmas dinner. And in the corner was a tree. An actual, real pine tree. The tree was decorated with the same kind of alien ornaments. It looked amazing. It looked like Christmas, especially with Allura, Coran, Hunk, Pidge and Keith standing there, in front of the tree, all with matching broad smiles.

"Merry Christmas!", chorused all of them.

"But... What...", whispered Lance, searching for Keith's eyes.

"You said you missed home. So we tried to turn this into... home. You said you missed your family, but... I hope this family will do for this year", stated Keith, shifting nervously.

Lance stumbled into Keith's arms and kissed the Red Paladin fiercely. When Shiro cleared his throat behind them, Lance reluctantly let go of Keith so he could also kiss Shiro. Coran and Hunk eagerly ushered everyone to the table to try their semi-authentic Christmas dinner. They laughed and ate, trying to teach Allura and Coran Christmas carols and telling them Christmas stories. After dinner, they found themselves curled together on the couches, light dimmed and the Christmas tree sparkling while they talked in soft voices, exchanging stories of Christmas past. How they used to spend them with their families. There were tears and laughter alike as they missed home. Lance sat curled together against Shiro's one side, while Keith took Shiro's other side, Shiro having his arms wrapped around both his boyfriends, holding them close.

"Did you like it?", whispered Shiro into Lance's ear, kissing his earlobe.

"I... I love it", replied Lance a little teary-eyed. "I didn't... expect this, but... but it's amazing. You guys are amazing. I love you. All of you. My space-family."

"Space-family, huh? I like that", grinned Hunk happily. "Can't wait to get to introduce my Earth-family to my space-family after we managed to save the universe."

"Good plan. I want a real, big Earth Christmas, with my family and your family and Pidge's family and we can have a cook-off between our moms", grinned Lance happily.

He squeezed Keith's and Shiro's hands, knowing both his boyfriends didn't have family. It was why he had tried to hide how much he was missing his own, because it felt so selfish. He had family, after all. They didn't. But the smiles Keith and Shiro offered him told him that it was okay. The two always made sure to try and teach Lance that his feelings were valid, even if he felt the need to hide them because he didn't want to be a burden or something.

"This was a really great idea", smiled Shiro, looking at Keith before he turned to Pidge. "There is just one thing I've been wondering. How did you manage to get the tree?"

"Just some tweaking of my lion's plant-cannons. Turns out I can control what kind of greenery comes out", replied Pidge. "Which means we could get vegetables and real fruits."

"Best. Present. Ever!", cheered Hunk, close to tears. "Actual food. Real food. I love you man."

~*~ The End ~*~

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: Ojamajo Doremi and the Magic of Children's Animation

  Hello everyone and welcome back to Why It Works. Though there are a lot of interesting anime projects coming down the pipeline, one, in particular, might come as a bit of a surprise. That would be the Ojamajo Doremi revival film, a continuation of a children’s magical girl franchise from 20 years ago, which I’m told will star a trio of Doremi fans who’ve now reached adulthood and are looking back on the magic of their favorite show. We’ve been getting more and more tidbits of info about the film for a while now, and at this point, I can honestly say it’s my most-anticipated upcoming production.

  All images via Toei

  I was actually only recently introduced to Ojamajo Doremi, courtesy of some friends who’d been watching it for years. Though I’ve long appreciated the dramatic flexibility and charming atmosphere of great children’s anime, Doremi still felt like a revelation, in terms of both its beautiful direction and art design, as well as its ability to gracefully explore topics both poignant and frivolous. Ultimately, Doremi’s strengths embody the unique and laudable strengths of children’s animation as a whole, as a vehicle apart from our usual late-night shows. So today, let’s explore those strengths as we tackle the unique appeal of great children’s anime!

  First off, though you might naturally assume children’s anime are more simplistic in terms of their characterization and themes than late-night anime, you’d be making a grave mistake by doing so. Children are more thoughtful than you might think; they can handle topics like grief or prejudice or any of life’s other injustices, so long as those topics are handled with care. Some of Ojamajo Doremi’s strongest episodes focus on co-heroine Aiko’s attempts to grapple with her parents’ divorce, culminating in devastating moments of vulnerability for herself and her overwhelmed father. Children’s shows can handle nearly any of the topics you come across in late-night anime and frequently explore them with more nuance and grace than their more ostensibly “adult-oriented” counterparts.

    Part of this comes down to intended audience and authorial perspective. Most of the anime we’re immediately familiar with is designed for teenagers, specifically to echo and validate their view of the world. In light of this, many popular anime are inherently limited in their perspective, because they’re viewing the world through an adolescent’s eyes with an adolescent’s value perspective. There are obvious repercussions of this perspective — the dearth of parental figures, general idiocy of adults, and tendency to frame all problems as solvable by punches — as well as not-so-obvious ones, like the way the base mechanics of daily life, social interaction, and personal responsibility are often considered too “boring” to play a key dramatic role.

  In contrast, great media for children is designed to appeal to children, but not to simply reinforce their view of the world — it’s designed to instruct and to help its audience grow. Frequently, this means shows like Ojamajo Doremi will actually be quite harsh on their characters and lead them through difficult circumstances that force them to reevaluate their understanding of the world. With no compunction to flatter its audience, children’s anime is free to speak directly with respect and emphasizing the ostensibly mundane but ultimately critical elements of growing up and coexisting with others.

    As it turns out, children are capable of understanding some really tough topics! Great shows like Ojamajo Doremi sympathize greatly with their protagonists but do not coddle them — they convey their universal human conflicts honestly and demand their protagonists rise to the occasion through personal strength and moral integrity, not physical acrobatics or energy beams. Ultimately, a show’s narrative complexity or darkness of tone has little to do with its maturity or moral complexity, and by presenting difficult conflicts that demand not physical strength but emotional growth, children's anime frequently exhibit a great deal of the latter.

  Along with their ability to handle tough topics, children also tend to be amenable to wild shifts in visual style, perhaps even more so than older audiences. As we age, it becomes harder to fully immerse ourselves in media, and disruptions within an aesthetic can easily create a sense of emotional distance, as we’re no longer able to “believe in the reality of the fiction.” Visual continuity becomes more of a requisite over time, in order to lure our increasingly skeptical minds into full emotional engagement with an obvious fiction.

    In contrast, children are perfectly willing to embrace massive visual disruptions, and thus shows like Ojamajo Doremi are absolutely brimming with fun visual experiments, absurd stylistic shifts, and ostentatious creative methods of breaking up the frame. Just look at the early works of Masaaki Yuasa to see how gleefully a great animator can embrace the flexibility of children’s animation and children’s capacity to embrace all manner of visual invention in pursuit of raw emotional expression.

  Of course, Yuasa is far from the only great animator to make his mark on children’s anime. In fact, many of the greatest directors and animators in the business succeeded by climbing up the ranks of children’s anime, or are still lending their abilities to dynamic shows like Pretty Cure and Pokemon. Rie Matsumoto first made her mark on Pretty Cure before exploding onto the scene with Kyousogiga and Blood Blockade Battlefront, and Ojamajo Doremi itself has one of the most stacked staff lists of any production in history. Directed by Takuya Igarashi (Sailor Moon, Soul Eater) and Junichi Sato (Sailor Moon, Princess Tutu, Aria), with character designs by Yoshihiko Umakoshi (Mushishi, My Hero Academia), and even a few turns by Mamoru Hosoda. Before discounting a children’s anime, it’d be wise to check and make sure it doesn’t feature a bunch of your favorite artists!

    With all that said, I still feel like I might be burying the lede a bit here. Yes, children's shows are capable of poignant moral complexity, and yes they're often suffused with beautiful contributions by top-tier animators — but ultimately, what might set them apart the most is their sheer joyfulness and willingness to embrace all the happy, incidental experiences of everyday life. Not every story needs to be a tragic or difficult one, and shows like Ojamajo Doremi or Pretty Cure feel uniquely comfortable reveling in pure, honest friendships and the positive experiences that accompany them. Sometimes it's nice just to feel good and spend time with characters who truly appreciate both each other and the infinite potential of the world around them.

  All in all, while there are obviously limitations on the sorts of stories you can effectively construct for children, the nature of the industry means children's anime are frequently able to explore tough topics, engage in more wild visual digressions, and employ a sharper tone than more ostensibly “mature” productions. At the same time, shows like Ojamajo Doremi, Pokemon, or Pretty Cure are also warm and joyous experiences, tempering their difficult lessons with a clear love of their cast and embracing the uplifting and community-building potential of animation. There is so much to appreciate in the wide world of children’s anime!

  What anime first spoke to you as a child? Let us know in the comments!

      Nick Creamer has been writing about cartoons for too many years now and is always ready to cry about Madoka. You can find more of his work at his blog Wrong Every Time, or follow him on Twitter.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[ajgbtt]

Day 17/Game 12: Sliding in Safe

Whew. Took us 2 hours to get home last night from the MetLife Dome, including an aborted stopover for ramen. Thus, posting this now.

It's funny, but I think I'm starting to run out of things to do and see in Tokyo. At least it felt that way yesterday.

Made my way to the Tokyo Metro Museum in the east end of the subway network. It's a decent museum for only 210¥. I particularly liked the dioramas they had, including one with all nine Tokyo Metro lines in it.

From there, I headed back to the Asakusa area to find some tempura. Nick mentioned a place (actually a bunch of them) that use sesame oil to fry the food, as they did back in old Edo. I found one of them, Sansada, that said they've been operating for over a century. Some of the patrons seemed like they were there opening day, but it was good.

I tried to make the most of my Common One-Day Subway ticket (valid for both Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway) and zipped from Akihabara to Harajuku to Shinjuku in search of a couple vinyl records I've had on my bucket list for years. I thought Cheap Trick was big in Japan; I might've overestimated.

I kept an eye on the time, and wended my way to Seibu's Shinjuku station to get out too the MetLife Dome. Took a couple transfers, including on a tiny one-track rubber-tired train called the Leo Liner, but I got there with ample time. Had a MOS Burger on the way, too

The MetLife Dome is an odd duck. It was previously an open-air ballpark, but they put a lid (like a yarmulke) on top of it while still exposing the insides to the outdoors by not having walls around the whole field. On a nice day like yesterday, it works. On a rainy, windy day... Might be tough to be in the ouendan.

MetLife also had three things that seemed uncommon at NPB parks: a warning track in the outfield, an organist on the PA playing baseball standards, and visible bullpens. In fact, I think the MetLife Dome is the only NPB ballpark with exposed bullpens!

The game itself was tight for a few innings - the Carp scoring early, the Lions responding, the Carp getting ahead again - but the Seibu bullpen melted down in the last three innings, and Hiroshima ran away with it 9-1. Valiant effort by the home side, but the Carp are just too damn good.

And I heard it all night because I accidentally sat us on the 1st base side where the visitors are. Ah well.

Of course, for perfect balance, the home team went 6-6 over the twelve games we attended. The Lions lose their lone game in our schedule - Nick pointed out each of the four teams we only see once lost their games - and the Carp move to 2-0.

Still, that's a completed baseball tour. 12 games to cover every team's home ballpark in 16 days. What a ride.

Of course, the vacation isn't done yet. I did put a contingency day at the end just in case there was a rainout in Sendai or Chiba. A time to pack, shop, relax, and get one or two more meals in.

Now where is it people say they're going to go when they accomplish something big in sports? I think I'll be heading there myself later today.

[magicalgirlmascot]

Heya I don't mean to sound passive aggressive in any way, but I was just wondering why is it that you dislike Super a lot? I mean you're allowed to like and dislike whatever you want, and I'm in no way trying to change your opinion. I'm just curious as to why you seem to have a burning hatred for it?

Nah you don’t sound passive aggressive ^^ if you were you wouldn’t have acknowledged that my opinion is a valid one, you’re cool

I’ve avoided going into too much detail to avoid The Discourse, but essentially it comes down to a few main points: ships I don’t like, characters I don’t care about, pacing, terrible one-note characterization, and the fans.

I know a lot of that sounds really petty but with all my Sweet Home Alabama discourse yesterday are any of you surprised

I’m going to put my more detailed reasoning under a cut because boy howdy it is long and I have some Things To Say

Ships I Don’t LikeOkay this, honestly, is incredibly petty, and it’s not even the pettiest thing on here. But I HATE Trunks/Mai. I hate it. It is the worst ship that’s had the word “canon” sneezed at it in all of DB history, and that’s coming from someone who firmly believes Yamcha/Bulma was unhealthy for both parties. One of my rules for accepting writing commissions and requests is that I will not accept ships with an “aged up” child character in a relationship with an adult. (Aged up children in relationships with other aged up children are a different story, as they’re at least at the same stage of development, but that’s an issue for another day.) Trunks/Mai has the opposite problem: it’s an “aged down” adult character in a relationship with a child. You can argue about Future Trunks’s age all you want, but that changes nothing about kid Trunks and Mai. She’s in her forties. He’s nine at most. How is this not the creepiest thing in the world what the fuck.

Even with Future Trunks and Future Mai, it still grosses me out because it’s the same thing. Assuming the Pilaf Gang did (somehow) wish to be young again in the Future timeline (which...I don’t see how they could have, that doesn’t make sense continuity-wise, but continuity has never been DB’s strong suit), that still makes her way older than him. And if they didn’t, well, that’s just worse. Also how is she still that young looking.

Honestly the only reason I can think of for Toei/Toriyama to bring that into existence was so people would stop shipping Trunks with Goten and Future Trunks with Gohan. Which. I get it, you don’t like it, they’re your characters, et cetera, but could you maybe not have done it in a somewhat less creepy way? Dude. What 40-something wants to be in a relationship with a kid? Even if said 40-something looks like a kid? It’s creepy and gross and I hate it more than any other canon ship.

Characters I Don’t Care AboutI’ve heard a lot of people refer to Super as The Goku and Vegeta Hour and...yeah. DB’s never been great at remembering their MILLIONS of side characters (humans especially once Z happened) and Super doesn’t take enough steps to change that imo. Don’t get me wrong--I like Goku, and I...tolerate Vegeta, but characters who were once considered major players are relegated to backseat viewers again, and nobody can keep up with Goku except Vegeta sometimes (when previously most of them could at least hold their own). I’ll admit, I like the looks of some of the new characters, there are some who seem like they have interesting characterizations (like Kale.....though I’ll be the first to admit I’m biased as hell towards buff women). But Zamasu/Goku Black or whatever just seemed like a couple of shitty Hot Topic teens. I went to high school with people like them and they were annoying.

There’s just too much of a focus on a few specific characters while other characters get the shaft, and the new characters and plot points they bring up just...aren’t interesting. I don’t give a shit about yet another “gotta get stronger” plot you guys. Ugh.

PacingOKAY I’LL ADMIT this is the pettiest thing on this list but like...I’ve never liked the DB anime’s pacing. Ever. Remember how I used to liveblog DBZ? I got like 10 episodes in and got fed up with how long it took to get anywhere. Stuff that took like...a couple chapters in the manga took five half-hour episodes to deal with. And you’d think they would’ve learned in 30 years, especially since they don’t have to base everything off the manga now, but no, the pacing is still awful. And it’s not just the whole “Namek takes half a season to explode” stuff (although that is really annoying, and knowing the real-world reason for it doesn’t make it less annoying), it’s that every shot lasts longer than it needs to. You could cut the running time in half just by trimming the shots slightly. It’s bad, and I’ve always stuck to the manga because of it. It’s not that I’m a Manga Purist(TM) or anything, I just...can’t watch the anime.

Terrible, One-Note CharacterizationYou all know who I mean when I say this, but it extends to more than just Yamcha.

Videl’s character was absolutely decimated in this show. 18′s the only female fighter we have left anymore because of it. I once saw an argument saying that Videl not fighting anymore makes sense because she was traumatized by being killed by Buu, which okay fine fair enough, but 1) nobody said she had to fight in life-or-deaths situations, AT LEAST LET HER BE SAIYAWOMAN AGAIN YOU COWARDS, and 2) that doesn’t mean you have to get rid of her firecracker personality and replace it with the sweet, docile housewife type. We saw it with Chi-Chi...sort of, we don’t need it with Videl, too. Once a female character gets married in DB, they stop fighting (except 18) and stop being important to the plot (except Bulma...sometimes (remember when Bulma was the main character? Pepperidge Farm remembers)). Three times is a pattern, Toriyama, I’m just saying.

Goku even gets hit with shades of this. He’s not an idiot, you guys, he can read a dang grocery list. Yes, he’s selfish and simple and bad at communicating and often doesn’t realise what he’s done wrong until it’s pointed out to him, but he’s also a fast learner, a really good tactician (like. look at some of his fights in DB and early Z, those are some Good Tactics), and not a complete asswipe. We don’t get to see those good traits much in Super. He had no reason to not tell people the stakes for the tournament to get them to join. None. There was no reason to lie. Yes, his biggest flaw is his inability to communicate with his friends and teammates (COUGHS LOUDLY AND LOOKS AT THE CELL ARC) but Jesus you guys, his friends would have helped him if he told them the real stakes too? He didn’t need to lie? There was no point? I’m so angry?

The worst of it though is Yamcha. For the love of fuck, you guys, Yamcha has more characterization than just “guy who sucks at everything and has a thing for Bulma.” Like that’s some Funi dub shit there, not original canon. What happened to when he said he’d given up fighting in the Buu arc? Where did that go? You could have done so much more with that concept rather than have him still be overconfident in his abilities and slamming him at every turn. Even when he does get to do stuff, it’s obvious that it’s just a setup to make him fail so Vegeta will look good by comparison. It’s awful. The writers have such an obvious hard-on for Vegeta and they keep cutting Yamcha down. Those bits where he’s waiting for Goku to ask him to the tournament even though we all know he won’t? They’re not funny, they’re just sad. Also, on that note, why is Roshi there? Yamcha surpassed Roshi years ago, Roshi himself says so! I get that he wasn’t in the RF movie because his voice actor was busy, but they couldn’t have given a better reason than just Tien leaving him behind because he didn’t think he could keep up? At least have him sick in bed with a fever and wanting to go anyway and being forced to stay behind by a worried Tien or something guys, geez. And his VA was obviously around for that arc of Super, so what the hell.

(Yes I was salty earlier about Yamcha still fighting and shit but if you’re going to drop the “Yamcha retiring from fighting” plot point then at least DO something with it you cowards)

FansOH GOD, THE FANS. Not to say that people who dislike Super are perfect or ideologically pure (I once knew a person who bragged about trolling/picking on Super fans...we do not talk), but the people who do like the show seem to spend an awful lot of time yelling at us and telling people they’re not real fans if they like GT more than Super or don’t like either or whatever.

And of course the VegeBullies are out in full force over it, too. VegeBul gets a lot of screentime, and when fans of other ships (GoChi primarily) say “hey we’d like more content” they get shut down or yelled at. They demand more content despite already having more than anyone else at this point. Shut the fuck up and let me enjoy the fact that Tien and Yamcha stood next to each other again in peace.

But that’s getting dangerously close to ship war territory and I try to stay out of that. (It’s hard, because I’m a salty, bitter person, but I try.) I’ll also say Not All VegeBuls(TM) even though I shouldn’t have to because if I don’t I’ll get at least 10 angry anons in my inbox flipping their shit.

You know what the really sad thing is? When Super was first announced, I was mega excited. And I really liked the first couple episodes! But they veered away from making it the Martial Arts Themed Slice of Life Comedy Hour we deserved, they retold the same story the movies already did instead of just making the movies canon and continuing from there (thereby drawing it out way too much), and they just...fucked it up in general. I can’t stand Super and while I don’t expect to sway anyone’s opinion with this, you did ask me why, and I hope now you can understand.

[50cyg]

Digimon Adventure Tri and How Toei is Treating their Pairings: Long and Picture Heavy Rant

Okay so there are 3 ships that I am 95% certain will be canon by the end of Tri. One is Koushiro x Mimi (Koumi), pretty sure everyone can get behind me on this assumption. The other two are Meiko x Taichi (Meichi… TaiMei… not sure what they are called) and Sora x Yamato (Sorato), these two seem to still be being debated within the fandom and I get why.

I feel like Koumi is being treated relatively well, they are getting a good amount of screen time together, and from it we can pretty accurately decipher what kind of relationship they would have. With Koushiro trying to please her by wearing nicer clothing

and Mimi making sure he’s taking care of himself while he’s working.

I don’t ship them Romantically at all, I am a hard core Jyoumi shipper and to be honest Koumi actually really upset me when I first saw it but with all the interactions Tri has given me I could very easily defend this couple.

Now moving onto Meichi (I’d going to call is Meichi), you can definitely see hints that these two are going to be end game. There are a lot of classic anime romance tropes within the first movie especially with these two.

Such as her being assigned to sit next to him in class

The long looks they have with each other

And the fact that she blushes when she looks at him

However no real further development has been given to this pairing. He talks to her to comfort her 

but Sora and Mimi do the exact same thing.

He shows concern when she is about to get crushed by debris 

but then proceeds to scream YAMATO’S NAME

If these two are intended to be canon the way I think they are, an opinion I have justified by tropes and can further justify through promotional material

Then I think that Toei should be spending at least the same amount of time on them as they have on Koumi. And I do not feel that is unreasonable to expect. And this is coming from a hardcore TaiYama shipper who strongly dislikes Meiko.

Moving onto Sorato.

I am of the belief that Tri is taking place in an Alternate Universe and that not everything in 02 is canon in Tri (I intend to do a post on this at some point but haven’t gotten around to it yet). Therefore, I do believe it is possible that in this series Yamato and Sora never started dating and will not be end game. This is relevant because despite that I still believe that they are in fact dating in this instalment and will refer solely to Tri stuff to justify this.

First off, we have the promotional material which like with Meichi I think pretty strongly points to the intensions of the writers

Then we have the fact that they are arriving together.

Pretty definitely sure these two are coming from a date. Do they live in the same vicinity? I don’t think they do but someone tell me if I’m wrong.

Her laughing at him

Also, these two characters have been seen to be very private people, with Yamato having a lot of difficulty expressing himself and so keeping things to himself (this is shown heavily through his interactions with Taichi in 01) and Sora always putting others first while also being very private about herself (shown by the fact that she doesn’t tell people about her family issues or crest until she’s cornered). So, it is not unlikely that they are just not very open about their relationship in public, if these two were all over each other it would be out of character. However, they should still be getting a good amount of relationship screen time even if it’s just the two of them talking to each other.

But again, although their is more of Sorato than Meichi, we still get very little interaction with these two, and definitely not much that is unique to them and not mirrored by other pairings

Giving her the ticket

All of his interactions with her in Loss are mirrored by Taichi with maybe a few exceptions (that movie was Taiorato heavy, not that I’m complaining because I really enjoy Taiorato ❤)

So far, the primary Sorato moment we have gotten with these two on screen one on one is the shoulder touch and reassuring words.

But if these two are dating and are meant to be end game then they he should be getting an equal amount of interactions with her as he is does with say Takeru.

Private is one thing, I don’t expect them to be all over each other, it would be very out of character if they were. But at least have them talk to each other on screen without TAICHI ALSO BEING THERE!

Also, can I just say that Yamato is like the worst boyfriend ever. He brings Taichi along to comfort his girlfriend which he really shouldn’t have to do

but on top of that he is completely unaware as to what is wrong with her AND HE SHOULD BE! Yamato is a very perceptive person (one of my favourite aspects of his character). He Immediately notices something is wrong with Taichi before anyone else does and starts paying very close attention to him because of it

He accurately determines that something is wrong with Takeru and comes to talk to him about it

And with these two things he has very little to go on to know that there is something wrong, with Sora it’s literally right in his face and he is not paying enough attention to her to notice. Because like she points out he is too busy fighting Taichi… AGAIN

Seriously Yamato has had more meaningful interactions with Meiko! He gets to save Meiko TWICE 

but he can’t save Sora on his own ONCE? 

He’s got to bring Taichi along as backup. He didn’t need backup to save Meiko when Taichi was going through his PTSD

JYOU got to catch her out of the air like HER KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR.

While Yamato is off performing some kinda weird synchronized swimming with TAICHI!!!!

YAMATO, STOP GIVING YOUR JOB TO OTHER PEOPLE!!!

At this point I almost feel it makes more sense for Meiko and Yamato to be end game more so than Meichi and Sorato (If we are sticking to only Monogamous and Straight relationships that is… OTHERWISE BRING ON THE CANON Taiyama and Taiorato 😝 Cause we all know that’s what’s really going down lol)

Anyway, this whole thing annoys me because I feel like if creators are going to make something canon they should properly invest the time into what they are making canon. Because to me, the whole point of making canon pairings like Sorato is to make us love them as much as presumably the creators should love them, the same way that the author tries to make us love the heroes of the story. Now that isn’t always going to work, people are going to ship what they choose to ship but it can definitely help, because like I said before I am not a Koumi shipper but Tri has made me understand the appeal and capable of defending it if I choose to. I cannot say the same for Sorato or Meichi, and maybe that is just me but I feel like their lack of One on One interaction has something to do with it. 

Sorato deserves more screen time and love from its creators, it is the longest lasting canon romantic relationship in Digimon, and its fans have waited 15 years for them to get more development. I honestly feel bad for Sorato fans when other ships that aren’t even cannot yet/will likely never be canon are getting spoiled *cough cough* koumi *cough cough* Taiyama

It’s one thing to have to read between the lines or look for small moments with ships that are not meant to be canon but I don’t feel we should have to do that with Canon Pairings…

Anyway, maybe some Sorato and Meichi fans will disagree with me, I welcome it because I know I probably missed a lot of interactions. At the same time though I have seen many Sorato fans who are not happy with the lack of Sorato in Tri and I think they have a valid point.

If you made it to the end thanks for reading 😊 Please no ship hate if you leave any comments

[sarazanmai]

Thoughts on the “Sailor Moon Crystal” English dub. Episode ten.

le voyage dans la lune

I like that they’re telling us real info about the moon, like who says anime isn’t educational?

I remember for a while in the intro Queen Serenity was given blond hair and I’m happy they changed it because no she needs silver hair

Kenji is so taken aback by the idea of his daughter getting a gift from a boy, like sir

I love these outfits and I love that I do see girls cosplay as Usagi’s look

so um so far this episode is drawn well too, I’m wondering if Toei pooled their budget more towards the later episodes

seeing the sword in this anime made me so happy

the queen is coming

oh my God she’s voiced by Wendee Lee I love her

she was Faye in Cowboy Bebop, Kei in Akira, TK in Digimon, and Yoruichi in Bleach

Queen Serenity knew how to design a palace

I am also happy they kept in the flashback with Serenity showing how she’s similar to Usagi in ways we wouldn’t expect, like in the 90s anime she was just a generic regal princess

I like how Queen Metalia is “evil in its purest form” and yet she’s nowhere near as badass as Galaxia or Nehelenia like the villains get way better as the series progresses

“the planet was completely destroyed and had to begin its history all over again” thanks Saturn

I’m so happy we’re gonna see Queen Serenity again in season four

“I never knew there was a staircase down here” I guess Jadeite was too busy taking driver’s ed to actually explore this place

really I just love the implication that the Shitennou never cared enough to explore this place, like were they too busy getting their hair done?

MEMORY TIME

I like how the virtues the Shitennou represent are honestly very feminine traits, like comfort and affection

I understand not everybody was on board with how the Shitennou were used in this version, but you do need to admit that their backstory as Endymion’s knights and being brainwashed into serving Beryl gives them a lot more depth than the classic anime

I dunnow the fact that the classic anime just had them doing her bidding and leaving it at that always made me find them to be just typical henchmen, yes Nephrite was given real development with Naru and yes Kunzite and Zoisite’s relationship is one I still really enjoy (Jadeite on the other hand had zero depth and was just a dick) but them paralleling the senshi and serving a purpose beyond being Beryl’s goons appeals to me

when it comes to pairing them off with the senshi I know Naoko wanted to do it back in the day and wasn’t able to fit it in given her deadline (which makes me wonder how the series would have been if she could have done it), personally after thinking it over and remembering what La Reconquista did with this I think the pairings have potential but sadly we’re only ever gonna get so much of it in SMC given how the rest of the manga worked out

though the fact that according to the materials collection Kunzite is like 26 makes his age gap with Venus very....eeeehhh....but at the same time Zoisite is said to be like 16 so he and Kunzite as a couple have the same problem

this time Kunzite gets to do the fist meme

Patrick is a good yeller

Kunzite a frozen desert is an oxymoron

I hope Patrick voices Dio with the same level of extra that he does with Kunzite

speaking of Dio, Venus just walked up the side of that building like him

“you can’t be serious” hey now Venus having a fetish for men that look like Sephiroth is valid

that being said she’s the only one where its explicitly stated she fell for her counterpart so

you spin me right round baby

also I wanna know why no one ever cosplays as the Shitennou

tune in next time where we get our first Mamoru is brainwashed subplot

[firebirdsdaughter]

When you wish you were asleep…

… Watch raws! XD

Actually, I still kind of wish I was asleep. Maybe I’ll grab a nap after this. (-_-)

But on to my children!

In no order and w/ many typos:

Okay, look. Wyzul’s not ‘weak,’ he’s just meant to have essentially the opposite style of Tankjoh. He’s a ‘planner.’ The manipulative, cunning ‘evil genius type.’ Doesn’t mean anyone has to like him, or think he’s a good villain—hell, I promise you I already miss Tankjoh, too—but he’s not ‘weak.’ He just has a different style. His plan this week was actually rather clever.

Sorry. Wanted to get that off my chest. I miss Tankjoh, too, but I actually like that they followed him w/ a general w/ an opposite style, that the one time Tankjoh kind of tried it, it got him killed (the plan w/ the Cerberus Minusaur).

XD TOUWA. Oh, honey. Who put you in the back? ^^

Knowing the twist makes this whole thing all the more hilarious, somehow.

Though this plan was actually rather clever! If Cardena hadn’t had a few slips in her words… Though admittedly, she was so clearly anxious about it that Banba and/or Melto might have caught onto something anyway, but… It was close.

Banba’s become naturally suspicious, so he may have doubted them anyway, but… It could’ve worked.

Poor Touwa’s so short. And even Banba is kinda hiding in the back there! XD

Other facts about Banba: Google Earth, always taking pics.

Ah, yes, we’re sneaking in. Let us yell, loudly! XD Ah, Toku…

Odd place to keep things, honestly…

There’s something incredibly goofy about the fact that this confrontation is taking place in a cramped stairwell…

They forgot the little men for Banba and Touwa’s transformations. XD

Everyone else is in the middle of fighting a Drunn. Banba has alreday freaking killed his. ><

I think Touwa just asked Wyzul to repeat himself bc they didn’t catch it the first time. And Asuna just figured it out? Uncertain.

Wait. Waitwaitwaitwaitwait. I guess it’s Pink??? But she looks purple???

Curse my inability to put an image in the middle of a bulleted list! Curse my attachment to bullet points! DX

I’ll put it at the bottom?

Touwa here, stealing the monster’s lines. XD

Rip unnamed Drunn.

I’m confused as to whether Cardena was trying to tip them off, or just conflicted and getting anxious. Most likely the latter, as she didn’t seem to understand they’d figured it out later.

My watching experience is foiled once more by how INCURABLY BEAUTIFUL TATSUYA IS! DX

Now she’s getting the hairy eyeball from both big brother/dad and mom. XD Deception check failed.

Is that a thing?

They are dunking on this man so hard. I mean, he doesn’t seem to mind, but…

I really hope that smirk really was just Tatsuya and wasn’t planned. I like how they had trouble getting the ‘towel scene’ (a line ad libbed by Simon Pegg) bc Zachary Quinto kept laughing, so they just went w/ a scene where he jus barely smirks and they cut away real fast. This is smaller, scale, of course, it’s very low key and I only noticed it bc I am almost always watching Banba in any given scene, but it’s funny to think it was unscripted.

Aw, I thought Dad was an alright singer. Also, love Ui’s face here. ^^ And she tries to comfort him, such a sweetheart.

Aw, Touwa also looks like he’s finding it cute, too. ^^ I’m still thinking of Touwa and Ui as the ‘babies’ of the fam. Resident youngest sibs. :)

Nah, Banba doesn’t trust this situation enough to start stabbing people, don’t worry, Kou.

Pretty sure he’s just looking for an excuse to leave, actually.

Melto takes the opportunity to go full mom friend.

Banba’s like ‘so one of you was paying attention.’

There’s never any indication here if Touwa figured it out, too. I’m inclined to think he didn’t? But I don’t know.

Why must Tatsuya persist in being so attractive??? DX

Okay, guess it’s confirmed they can call Ui from the braces. … How. Did they program her number into them? Is there some frequency that they tapped her phone into?

Also, largely unrelated, but Ui is really pretty. She really is. She makes goofy faces sometimes, but this actress is really beautiful. I’m love her. ^^

She’s jack awful at lying, though.

Though it is justified that no one caught on, here. How would Wyzul know how modern human technology works? And Cardena’s an alien. And neither of them know Ui very well. She could be like this all the time for all they know.

But also… Did Melto text her? How did she know to leave her phone?

I say Cardena didn’t catch on bc she doesn’t seem to have realised that they knew later.

Tall Cheese seems to be having a good time hamming it up, and that is valid of her.

Really, though. There’s no way they would have actually released Tall Cheese, if this had worked. That’s not Short Cheese’s fault, she didn’t have many options, but I highly doubt Wyzul intended to honour any sort of deal.

I realise I shamefully remembered Short Cheese’s name in the rest of this post. Whoops. I’d go back and fix it, but now it’s funny… ^^;

Oh, yeah. And this explains why Tall Cheese was looking so evil in those photos.

So… Was Wyzul actually just sitting chained up in the park the whole time?

But also… Wyzul is a shapeshifter. Toei, would you mind…? >:)

Synchronised staring at Kou. XD

Oh, yeah. Moment of appreciation for Tatsuya sitting on the bloody playground equipment like a freaking model.

Banba going for a low blow, there. But he has a point.

And… Kou hits a button. We’ve only really seen Banba be this angry when yelling at Crayon the Mushroom Man about curing Touwa, I think… Makes me wonder if the betrayal he suffered happened in a situation like this? He took a risk for someone in a similar fashion, but it turned out they were lying and stabbed him in the back? Like, loosely similar, maybe. Like… Kou’s reaction clearly hits a nerve.

GAH! Toei, give me more to go on! DX

He backs down, though. Either bc he’s still soft for sibling relationships and can’t help it, or he’s getting soft about Kou—or both. This makes me think even more that he’s never killed anyone before. For all his apparent willingness to do so, in the end he can’t got through w/ sacrificing someone like that.

Esp not when considering it while staring into Kou’s sad puppy eyes.

As Touwa mysteriously vanishes from the shot, despite being exceedingly close by a moment ago.

Though… Banba seeing the fact that Kou et al. being willing to sacrifice what’s important to them for what’s important to others… And seeming kinda effected by that… Is kinda fuel for my ‘he ends up trying to protect their innocence/kindness’ idea? In, like… A ‘I’m the expendable one’ kinda way? Not exactly, but… Augh, explaining is hard. I’m sure I’ll think of one later. DX

Like… Could lead to a moment later where he tries to sacrifice himself/something so that they don’t have to? Or forcibly decides to be the sacrifice for something.

Oh, boy, that sounded weird.

Tyramigo is adorable, and will be the death of me.

Tyramigo be like ‘Is this the bomb I’m meant to eat?’ Then checks w/ Kou just to be sure. ‘Eat the bomb? Okay, eat the bomb!’

Him going ‘aaaaaaaah’ like a little baby, he’s so cute. DX

And how it awkwardly cuts out when she says ‘don’t.’ XD

HOW DID SHE NOT CATCH ON? Either her lysing skill improved significantly, or she completely misunderstood Kou’s nod here.

HOW DID HE SWALLOW HE HAS NO THROAT. O_o

They are dunking this poor man so hard… But, like, he’s listed as a special guest star, so I guess he doesn’t mind, and he seems happy, but… XD

Banba in the back: Google Earth, always taking pics.

Actually, that’s him at any given moment, really.

So… Were those copies of them, too?

Kou, you do not get to call people ‘baka.’ You are the baka!

I don’t actually know what he said. Could have been a different word.

Where were they hiding? Did they hang off the edge of the roof? Stairwell?

Banba not only refuses to smile, he sighs like he’s only there under duress.

He maintains his carefully practiced grumpy face for the whole scene, too. XD

Aw, I think Touwa just said ‘we barely did anything.’ Honey, I watched the flashback, you were the other person making copies.

Synchronised brother head tilt. Seriously, they’re at exactly the same angle. Ah, family. XD

Touwa loves it, Banba is required by contract to keep glaring.

His little awkward looking at the ground after, like ‘shit they’re cute’ what do I do??’… ^^ XD <3

They did do great, though. Plus he knew they’d never leave him alone if he didn’t do something there. XD But he is getting fond of them. Will probably be in denial until something happens and then have a freak out. Maybe it won’t even be that big, maybe it will just be Gold shows up and he finds himself getting protective. But I like big. ^^

Oh, please let Gaisoulg be who I hope it it… >.<

Aaaah! They’re so pretty! DX

So… Is it still a Minusaur if it didn’t come from a human?

What’s this? Minusaur is evolving!

Wait… So so they all turn into dragons when they complete????

I guess they didn’t tell her how Minusaurs actually work.

MAH BABIES!

How did we get down on the ground? Who knows. Toku.

The others go w/ proper combat Souls. Touwa and Kou use the balloon Soul and the shiny Soul. At least one of those kinda makes sense.

Aw, she’s self conscious. ^^

What I think I love most is that she’s clearly putting conscious effort into being out of tune. Which she can do bc the actress actually knows how to sing. XD

Asuna playing the drums is SO CUTE. I’M GONNA DIE.

I love how Melto explaining implied the brothers asked.

And the fact that you can just hear her in the background through the whole scene.

I realise it was Wyzul impersonating her, but it seems like something he might pick up from the real her to make it more believable. Plus Short Cheese had a a name for it, making it more likely.

Gods love her, she’s putting so much effort into it.

Banba briefly checking on Touwa when he rejoins them. ^^ I love this family.

Short Cheese thanks everyone, and the kids smile, but Banba gets embarrassed. XD

Oh dear. Wyzul knows we’re in a TV show…

Ui playing the demanding voice instructor is ADORABLE. XD

Kou and Melto in the corner imitating Banba. XD

Next week, looks like Melto is piloting Kishiryu Oh alone, Biker Dad returns (as an illusion), and the kids get stuck in Wonderland when Banba turns his back on them for five minutes.

I’m kidding, I don’t actually know if his subplot is at all related to Wonderland. All it says is that he’s dealing w/ an ‘antiques dealer.’ I have this wild theory that what the summary means is that ‘Wonderland’ is inside a box (the chest that’s referenced in the title and is the goal of the ‘attraction’), and then Banba also ends up chasing it around. Alternatively, he could just end up in a situation where he’s wandering around like ‘have you seen five brightly dressed dork children? I left them right here, but I looked away for one minute and they all disappeared.’ Or he doesn’t know at all. The magazine did say something about him doing things alone… Maybe he’ll get himself into trouble and they’ll have to come save him in episode 10. I mean, we know he’s gonna get a plot about not doing everything himself eventually.

I’ll leave everyone w/ this thought: the shapeshifting Druidon general now knows where the Tatsuis live.

That’s all, folks! Virtual rock candy for anyone who read all that. Excited for next week. I hope we get episode summaries for the next few eps, soon, as that might give me more of an idea as to whether I was actually right. I like the idea of Banba chasing a box that may or may not have his younger siblings in it around the city and drama that could ensue. But they could go other ways w/ this subplot. Like… Maybe the antiques dealer is the hooded person? Or Banba is trying to investigate the hooded person? Or it’s Gaisoulg (please be who I want you to be, Gaisoulg!)? Or an early cameo of Gold? Or a Druidon? Or a completely inconsequential side character. Who knows.

Oh, yeah! Purple chibi!

Though… I guess it’s Pink? It… It looks purple, though… Wait. Could it be… Magenta?