#Grant Toei

[wellthatsasketch]

Sunset Over Superheroes

Been missing my groups first ever campaign Grex (Great Expectations). One of my favorite pieces I have done of the crew since our game concluded.

[shannonsketches]

Every time I talk to a DB fan who doesn't know or doesn't agree that the whole franchise is an adventure comedy first and an action series second I feel insane but then I find an old Toriyama interview,

You made some comedic scenes where you have minor villains Pilaf & co. appear; how did you come up with a balance between laughs and fierce battles? Do you pay attention to the difference between comedy and battle in making a work “entertaining”?

I believe that, when you combine comedy and serious battles, both of them might come alive even more. As for me personally, though, I much prefer drawing dumb jokes to battle scenes.

as a bonus, every time I'm like 'idk I didn't really like most of the DBZ movies prior to Yo Son Goku and Friends Return and BotG,' and get the 'whAAaaT they're so gOOD' (from my brother, tbh askdjs) but they all seemed really Action-Drama and About the Fight Scenes and I'm like 'meh kinda boring tbh' I get to gaze upon,

In the latest movie, Toriyama-san, you participated in the production from the scriptwriting stage for the first time. What is the reason for that? Was there anything you noticed in coming face-to-face with the work after so long?

I was told about a project for Dragon Ball in its first animated film in a long while, and I read the story outline; while the beings “Beerus, God of Destruction” and “Super Saiyan God” (which goes above Super Saiyan) were interesting, the themes were heavy, and I felt that the world was a bit different from Dragon Ball. Rather than telling them about this or that problematic spot, I thought it would be faster if I just wrote it out concretely, and while I had intended just to give them a model―”for example”―my hand wouldn’t stop, and ultimately, I ended up writing almost everything, including the dialogue. I am reflecting on the fact that I did something terribly rude to the scriptwriter.

Akira "It was bad so I fixed it, oops" Toriyama, Absolute Legend

[longwuzhere]

I fucking love the Kamen Rider Geats cast. Look at these dorks recreating Ace's transformation sequence!

Basically this^ in the show if you have no idea what I am talking about. Sad that the show will be over this week, but damn what a good Kamen Rider season!

[no1ryomafan]

The subject of the getter manga spin offs came to my mind randomly today talking to some of my friends and I’ve been thinking about how IIRC the only major spin off manga to not be translated is High, aka the Mahjong one with a all girl team. The only other ones to follow are a manga made for the PS game and the “try to remember” manga that arma’s first 3 ep director made, but those are in a weird territory of spin off classification, at least compared to the others, but I also chalk up their lack of translations being their hard to find, especially because try to remember was considered lost media. (Until my friends randomly found it lol) But I’ve been wondering to myself something regarding that: While High simply could’ve never been translated because finding the proper scans could be hard, I feel another factor people gloss over it compared to the other spin offs is because there’s a absence of the OG getter team.

Because even though I talked about how Go team been not adapted properly in animes and the toei go show was likely overlooked because of that-to manga readers-I also note it is the only Getter show to NOT be fully subbed even though getting the footage doesn’t seem to be a issue. All the other getter manga spin offs feature the OG team in some capacity, most of them are their own tellings of getter so we get adaptations of the team. The only example I can think of that didn’t do this was Hien, but that had Hayato in it. Meanwhile High is a new getter team completely so people seem to turn an eye to it, even though the girl pilot is- very much clearly “Ryoma but gender bent” lol. (And I do know a handful of people who like her but not a TON)

I don’t wanna make bad assumptions about the fandom because it’s just more so how it goes, the first line of protagonist’s will ALWAYS be the most popular with there only ever being a few exceptions to this, but it is kinda a shame Getter falls victim of most of the fandom either liking Ryoma and/or Hayato the most-mainly Ryoma but I met plenty Hayato fans and y’all are insane /pos-and don’t really bother to bat a eye to the other characters which I just feel leads to these things getting neglected. And I’m- guilty of this but I’m trying to talk about the others more.

[ahalal-uralma]

@sunkissedfawn answering you back in the tags section. 💕🌸💕

i'm just curious bc i'm watching How to Train Your Dragon and i always forget how happy and calm it makes me feel. i mean, i did name my cat after Toothless the dragon. but i also love Lion King, that's my Disney comfort movie. and my Ghibli comfort movie is Spirited Away. watching any of these when i'm in a foul mood or my anxiety is high always helps 🥰 but i watch them just for fun too, not only when i'm in a mood. what about you?

[mochiajclayne]

Call this as my way to pickup my Japanese lessons or another One Piece meta post but I find it fascinating that Doflamingo consistently describes Law's motivations for fighting him in Dressrosa as resentment and revenge. On the other hand, Law uses several terms to encapsulate why he was truly there.

Doflamingo says 逆恨み (sakaurami) which means unjustified resentment or unreasonable grudge. Law, in turn, denies this and says he is there to fulfill that person's 本懐 (hon'kai) which means (one's) long-cherished desire.

What is that desire, you may ask? Corazon shared it when he spoke for the first time with Law: His purpose/motivation/goal is to stop Doflamingo's 暴走 (bousou), which is translated as rampage.

(Later on, it was further revealed in the flashback and confirmed by Doflamingo that Corazon was trying to save Dressrosa--and the ever manipulative little shit hoped to rattle Law's feelings about screwing up in passing the message that Corazon asked him to do 13 years ago but he was able to keep his calm.)

The next time that Law thought about his motivation, specifically, the moment that he will be truly free is the time that Corazon's 思い (omoi) will be fulfilled/granted/come to fruition. 思い (omoi) could be translated differently depending on the context. For this one, it refers to desire or wish--a nod to Corazon's purpose, to stop Doflamingo.

Doflamingo didn't even scrimp with his descriptions as he used both 恨み (urami) which means resentment, grudge, malice, bitterness​; and 復讐 (fukushuu) directly translated as revenge. He even says that Law is acting like Corazon's vengeful ghost. He views Law's persistent defiance to carry out Corazon's wish as pointless, even going through the effort of saying that Law has been overtaken with his feelings--however, when he saw the Corazon at the back of Law's coat, he riddled him with bullets and even saying that both Law and Corazon's curse have ended.

Lastly, and I think this is where Law's motivation reached its reveal in full circle. He says that he lived for the past 13 years to do this and he used 討つ (utsu) which, in this context, can be translated as to attack, to destroy, to defeat, and surprisingly, to avenge. This part is up for interpretation, really.

(My two cents on it is Law's main focus on wanting to take down Doflamingo stemmed from wanting to carry out Corazon's purpose, however, I am not necessarily dismissing the part of wanting to take responsibility and avenge Cora's death.)

Ending this self-indulgent meta post with Law giving the middle finger because Toei decided to not include this badass moment. LMAO.

[shortpplfedup]

We Are Episodes 6-8: The talking stage, and how to escape it

One of my consistent complaints about New Siwaj has been his penchant for daily minutiae and character antics and how much of it he injects into his stories, and how that feels like it disrupts the movement of his narratives. Who knew the solution was just to let him make a whole show about daily minutiae and character antics, without much of a narrative for it to disrupt. This is by far the most I have ever enjoyed a New Siwaj show. IDK if this is what Star and Sky attempted to give (I ain't watching that), but when your concept is 'dudes vibing', it does help if they have some vibes. The cast is most of the reason to be here, granted, but they ARE a good reason.

If this show has a core, I'd argue its core is Toey, and specifically how this loving bunch of of queers adopted a baby gay and did everything possible to ensure that he was happy and cared for, while falling for each other along the way. Everybody in this group shows up for Toey, always, and I love it so much.

This show has put a lot of time and attention into slowly building its core ships, spending an extended period examining that dreaded hell known as 'the talking stage'. Phum/Peem and Q/Toey know they feel attraction and a vibe, both couples have even kissed already (in Phum and Peem's case more than once). But flirting is not dating, and everybody's very clear on that even if they're clear on nothing else. I kind of like that these things are not expected to be assumed or understood, nobody's going to become a couple without having a conversation about it in this universe. I like the effort these boys put into thinking through their feelings, and being intentional. Are they overthinking it a little? Of course they are, they're what, 20? But that's GOOD, that they're thinking it all through and really trying to understand how they feel and what they want to do about it.

That extends out to the side ships of Tan/Fang and Pun/Chain who are on the extremes of this: we saw Tang grab the tiger by the tail, asking Fang out and getting a positive response; Pun and Chain on the other hand, well they're doing their best it seems to neither think nor talk about their clear feelings for each other AT ALL, leaving them in this weird 'just friends' space even as they behave like a couple.

We're halfway through this show and I'm ready to update my couple scores.

Q and Toey: 3/4 hearts

These two take a teensy dip for me because I hate to see Toey cry, but they're on the right path now.

Phum and Peem: 3/4 hearts

+1 for Peem realising his feelings and Phum making an attempt to confess, -0.5 for Phum not committing and Kluen hanging about.

Tan and Fang: 3.5/4 hearts

How is it I love them the most? They understand each other, they like each other, and they don't want to change each other.

Pun and Chain: 2.5/4 hearts

I fully expect their score to go up as we enter the second half of this thing, but there still isn't a whole lot going on. Still, them losing focus and having a whole-ass moment in front of Peem and Tan at the beginning of episode 7 was fun.

[thunder-point]

i can't get the episode 15 preview out of my head so i decided to drop by to ramble about the qtoey moments specifically because toey looking up at the sky and going “p'q, look at that star.” and q staring at toey unabashedly instead and responding with “cute.” is just so them. and the very next scene being q framing toey with his fingers while saying “my favorite view.” as toey smiles shyly. it's beautiful to see q, a character who was originally quite tight-lipped, openly express his adoration for toey so straightforwardly with sweet words and loving actions. their relationship is just so healthy and full of affection, and it really makes my heart so full.

oh, how i love rambles!! <3 thank you so much for sending me this, it's everything and more! I will ramble back at you a bit. Sorry if it's all over the place.

Q may be one of my favorite if not my favorite character, so to see his developments not only in terms of himself but his relationship with Toey specifically is quite delightful.

It truly is beautiful to see how open he is with his affections, with his softness. I think I've said it since the episode where he confessed at the camp - but since then, he's been so free with the level of touch, with his words, and most of all with his smile towards Toey. There are so many things to say about it, truly. To me, it felt like once he overcame the tumble of doubts and getting out that he likes Toey, Q realized that there was no need for the reservations he put in place regarding him. Not when Toey receives them so devastatingly easy. Not when Toey is the person that made him realize he could very well fall in love again, just because it's Toey. Just like with Peem, for example. When he's with Peem most of all, I feel like Q unleashes all his reservations. Because he knows Peem never takes it for granted, I bet. Peem is also so very gentle, and I bet that makes Q's comfort grow.

And we can also see him do it with Toey, little by little. He lets his own kind of loveliness meet Toey's. It was utterly wonderful to witness him give in to some teasing from time to time, to some softness (like the scene where Toey was sculpting - you can spot his endearment in his tone and touch), but before the confession, it always felt like he had to hold back. And you know, Toey asked for more from time to time. In his own way. He asked for Q to buy him treats, for example. It's one of the little details of Toey perhaps indulging to dare make Q come closer, if not as something more at least as a mentor. And Q gave, even if in a much more stilted manner. Which contrasts so fucking beautifully with the way he's giving so freely now, when all the cards are on the table and he and Toey are together. He has an inherent sweetness that resides at the core of his rather serene, reticent self, and for the people that matter, Q is ready to offer it.

To think that Toey once told Peem "P'Q's terrifying" (paraphrasing here) in that one scene where he resolved to confront Q, and now he's directly grabbing Q's face to place all sorts of kisses over his face. It's the gradual loss of timidness from Toey that reflects exactly how much Q's open affection made his bravery bloom. He's not afraid to ask for more anymore. For love. And now they're both sweet and in love and gorgeous in their happiness. Their relationship is everything. And there is just so much to uncover from it. I feel like I didn't even scratch the surface with my babbling here. I just truly adore them and the portrayal of their relationship.

[tobiasdrake]

Beyond the necessary inclusion of the original 1984-1995 Dragon Ball manga, "canon" is whatever you want. The "whatever Toriyama worked on" criteria doesn't really work, because he's had at least a small hand in the conception and story of basically everything.

Nowadays, people act like Super is somehow the "oNe TrUe CaNoN" continuation and all that matters anymore, even though there's two separate versions of Super that can't even jive with each other. What's more, that same "Super is everything" crowd also can't even decide which of those two versions is the more important or "canon-est" one — a few years back you'd more likely see claims that it's the anime, since it was the original product and the manga simply served to promote it, but now you'll see more claims that it's the manga, just because it's the only version left.

Which should all go to show just how much of a ridiculous and self-contradictory mess this whole topic is, and why any given person is better off just not buying into it. Just take the original manga as your starting point and go in whatever direction you prefer from there.

The concept of canon is actually really important when doing critical analysis, part of which depends on understanding the choices being made, what they represent from a creative perspective, and what they lend to the story. It's important to be able to identify what was part of the creator's original vision, what the creator came up with years later and bolted on after the fact, what was added by other creatives, what was interpreted by other creatives, etc.

To draw a fairly extreme example, let's talk about Bulma's ki-sensing abilities.

In a filler arc of the Z anime, Captain Ginyu takes control of Bulma's body and rides a motorcycle over to spectate on Goku and Frieza's fight - While also seeking to take over a stronger body.

During the American dub, Ginyu's inner monologue celebrates that being in Bulma's body has granted him the ability to sense ki.

Ginyu: This is strange! In this body, I can clearly sense the intensity of each of their power levels!

However, much later in the series, we have Vegeta and Trunks fighting Cell. Bulma needs Piccolo and Tenshinhan to explain to her what's going on.

Well, that's a little strange, isn't it? Why would Bulma need Piccolo to explain what's going on to her? Why can't she just use her own ki-sensing and figure it out for herself?

Is this a plot hole?

Well. No. Obviously not. The reason Bulma can't use her own ki-sensing is because Bulma can't sense ki. That was a line from a localized dub of a filler arc of an adaptation of the original source material. It's three stages removed from original canon. Obviously it has no bearing on the core plot of Dragon Ball, which was written long before it even existed.

With regard to Dragon Ball Super, things are... dicey there. The way Super works is that both and neither are the true canon. Super was created by way of Akira Toriyama writing out a story outline for what he wanted, then separately delivering those notes to Toei Animation and to mangaka Toyotarou, each of whom fleshed out those notes into a complete story by applying their own creative vision.

So it's a weird situation where there isn't really a true canon to Super because both versions of the story are separate creators' adaptational interpretation of the same outline. The Super anime, of course, was made by the studio that made the Z anime so it borrows a lot of elements that Toei created for their version of Dragon Ball. The manga version does not, but it does feel subtly off because Toyotarou's interpretations of the characters don't always mesh well with the original story.

[hollowslantern]

hm out of the three "uncle ben fucking died" tellings I've seen so far (raimi, webb, and now the original amazing fantasy #15, not counting toei because that's a different guy) I think my favorite is raimis rendition of it (which could be "baby's first spiderman" bias admittedly). since i have the original context now upon which to judge the other 2 i can say that I feel like the raimi movie adapted it nicely and imo the differences for the most part made sense and make for a cleaner + more cinematic and emotional story. granted i doubt it made all the changes on its own. due to comic books I assume this is not the last time I am going to see a new edition of That Time Ben Fucking Died so I think it's safe to say that raimi movie likely drew from and blended together one or several later versions

[rozamasu]

Why Monaka is unironically Top 3 in the verse

The Monaka variant of Merged Zamasu (you can tell by the outfit and context that it's Merged Monaka, not Monaka Black) fully retains Monaka's appearance.

This implies that the mere presence of Monaka's body in the mixture not only defies the appearential element of Potara Fusion, but overpowers a fusion of two identical and resonant souls, causing all physical traces of Zamasu to disappear despite the above-100% compatibility of Future Zamasu's soul and Present Zamasu's soul.

I say "above 100%" because, in the manga, the two Zamases reject the fusion splitting because their souls are so compatible (being identical people) that they joined on a cellular level.

Because this inherently subverts basic rules of Potara Fusion (they outlast and defy the time limit), I am inclined to believe two variants of the same person fusing is something the Potara Earrings do not account for whatsoever in terms of fusees' compatibility, especially considering time travel is extremely taboo even for gods. This idea is also supported by the fact that Merged Zamasu retains an unusual amount more of Zamasu's appearance than Goku's (Black's) unlike a more even split in features like Vegetto or Kefla, suggesting that Potara Fusion does take some kind of abstract "appearance of the soul" into account.

So, clearly two identical souls merging creates several unique and unforeseen characteristics in a Potara Fusion. Yet, as mentioned before, Monaka's body alone proves stronger than such an exceptional union by tearing through the souls' resonance and entirely overwriting Zamasu's appearance besides his clothes, even without the presence of Monaka's own soul in the equation. If you think about it, it's kinda like what Toji's body did in JJK.

If you want to take it a step further:

Future Zamasu's body is enhanced by Super Shenron's magic, who is essentially the end-all be-all in terms of power besides Zeno and likely the Grand Priest. Beerus states he wouldn't be able to destroy Zamasu despite him demonstrably being one of if not the single strongest GoD in the manga, which corroborates the notion that Zamasu's regeneration scales to Super Shenron's power itself, at least to some significant degree.

Yet, despite Future Zamasu's Super Shenron level physiology, once again, Monaka's body completely suppresses Zamasu's.

You can also bring the anime mechanics of Hakai and Zamasu's immortality into account to scale Monaka higher, although this is admittedly dubious since Merged Monaka and the variant of Infinite Zamasu that led to his appearance are both only rooted in the manga.

In the anime, both Hakai and Immortality extend to the soul; Future Zamasu's immortality grants Zamasu an undying soul, as evidenced by Infinite Zamasu in this continuity being Zamasu's "posthumous" willpower, and Hakai is both stated and shown to interfere with (un)dead spirits and their passage into otherworld.

(In case you're curious, the "Zamasu's will" statement comes from this official Toei timeline of the Black Arc.)

Similarly to the previous point in the manga, Zamasu's immortal soul scales above Beerus's soul erasure through implication, and thus again presumably to Super Shenron:

If you take the anime version of Zamasu's immortality and Beerus's Hakai into account, you can reasonably say Monaka's body is so strong it outright overpowers Zamasu's Super Shenron-enhanced soul in the Potara mixture.

So Monaka has multiple arguments for overpowering Future Zamasu's empowered physicality and soul, as well as shitting all over the Potara Fusion that already got mechanically shit all over by Black and Zamasu's identical souls.

I'm now convinced Monaka is a Zeno situation: weak fighting ability but has unimaginable hax that makes him an unbeatable, terrifying enemy.

(Obviously this is all for shits and giggles.)

[chaztalk]

Rinkai!

Studio: TMS Entertainment (Fruits Basket)

Summary: Izumi Itō is a high school girl who loves cycling. After witnessing a race in which the best female bicycle racers compete against each other, Izumi vows to become a bicycle racer with her friends.

A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics (Henjin no Salad Bowl)

Studio: Synergy SP (Major), Studio Comet (Initial D)

Summary: While trailing someone, the poor detective Sousuke Kaburagi runs into Sara, an imperial princess from another world who uses black magic. Sousuke and Sara gradually begin living together, but in the blink of an eye, Sara becomes accustomed to modern-day Japan...

Girls Band Cry

Studio: Toei Animation (One Piece)

Summary: The main character drops out of high school in her second year, and aims at entering a university while working alone in Tokyo. A girl is betrayed by her friends and doesn't know what to do. Another girl is abandoned by her parents, and tries to survive in the city by doing part-time jobs. This world lets us down all the time. Nothing goes as planned. But we want something that we can continue to like. We believe there's a place where we belong. That's why we sing.

Unnamed Memory

Studio: ENGI

Summary: Witches—the centuries-old mages that command power immense enough to bring catastrophe. Oscar, the crown prince of the powerful kingdom of Farsas, was cursed as a young boy to never sire an heir. Hoping to break the magic, he seeks out Tinasha, the strongest witch on the continent. To meet her, he climbs her tower, as she is said to grant the wish of any who successfully do so. Yet, when he arrives at the top…he requests that Tinasha become his bride!

Viral Hit

Studio: Okuruto Noboru (Tomodachi Game)

Summary: Scrawny high school student Hobin Yoo is probably the last guy you’d expect to star in a NewTube channel that revolves around fighting. But after following some advice from a mysterious NewTube channel, Hobin is soon knocking out guys stronger than him and raking in more money than he could have ever dreamed of. Can Hobin keep this up, or will he eventually meet his match?

Mission: Yozakura Family

Studio: SILVER LINK. (Non Non Biyori)

Summary: Taiyo Asano is a super shy high school student and the only person he can talk to is his childhood friend, Mutsumi Yozakura. It turns out that Mutsumi is the daughter of the ultimate spy family. Even worse, Mutsumi is being harassed by her overprotective, nightmare of a brother, Kyoichiro. Taiyo will have to take drastic steps to save Mutsumi.

Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night

Studio: Doga Kobo (Oshi no Ko)

Summary: The young artist Yoru Kurage has been on hiatus ever since a certain incident. In reality, her name is Mahiru Kōzuki. She became traumatized by the pressure of being "special" and instead decided to live a normal, standard high school life. However, things change when she meets former idol Kano Yamanōchi.

A Crow Doesn't Choose Its Master (Karasu wa Aruji o Erabanai)

Studio: Pierrot (Bleach)

Summary: Yukiya is the lackluster second son of a regional boss in the North House territory. His younger brother has overtaken him in academics. He is no good at sword battle, either. Not that this ever bothers him. So it comes as a shock when this boy, who claims to have no ambition whatsoever, is the one chosen to attend the Imperial Prince in Court--. What awaits Yukiya and his new master is intrigue, murder, a mysterious drug, and invasion from an unexpected enemy. Can they save the world of Yatagarasu (three-legged crows of Japanese myth)?

Mysteries, Maidens, And Mysterious Disappearances

Studio: Zero-G (Grand Blue)

Summary: A mysterious incident that occurs in a row in a city. The challenge to this monster is... With a writer's aspiration, Sumireko, who is a plain girl and has a lot of sexual appeal and body. Although it looks like a boy, it is a bookstore clerk from Adashino who is full of mystery.

[shannonsketches]

I know I’m already super biased toward Toriyama’s writing style but there’s something insane about the fact that this dude took a character and backstory I disliked so much 20 years ago that I stopped caring about Toei’s movies altogether and revamping him into one of the most sweet and sympathetic men without disrupting his power or the level of fear he can invoke in an opponent to better fit into the tone and message of the universe he created and now I Love He

like

I want to be that good at what I do

[mahou-furbies]

I took super effective damage from the newest Otona Precure episode, but it had some fun stuff too. Namely that it spent like a third of the run time on the Cures ordering alcohol and getting drunk. Who okayed this at Toei? I'd love to know what kind of conversations happened to make this a reality. Granted this anime is aimed at an older audience, but Precure is still a very much children’s IP, and a big one at that too. Like can you imagine an official Disney tv show where a grown up Snow White gets drunk? Or a Pokemon one with Ash? This is simply amazing.

[pollsonmorenichetopics]

Disproportionate Retribution Poll Round 1 Side A:

Kamen Rider Imperer/Mitsuru Sano's (Kamen Rider Ryuki) Disproportionate Retribution:

"Mitsuru Sano was disowned by his wealthy father so, living out of a dinky appartment, he was offered the chance to join the Rider War, compete with 13 other Riders, and get a wish granted so of course he accepted. As Kamen Rider Imperer, he was a wild card out of the bunch and sold his loyalty, backstabbing other Kamen Riders if it meant a better pay. Being a merc in a free-for-all war isn't that bad (considering that there IS a convicted criminal among the participants) but Imperer's life got better when he inherited his father's business. He tried to turn things around, start a life with a nice girl he met, and Imperer even went out of his way to save another Rider who would've died without his help. But you can't leave the Rider War. As a Rider, you are bound to a monster that needs to feed on other monsters (Feeding them another Rider's monster is the goal) so, with a starving herd of Gigazelles, Imperer had a new sense of resolve to fight and win. He would never get this chance as Kamen Rider Tiger, the Rider he was sheltering, jumped Imperer with the reasoning that inorder to be stronger, Tiger had to kill those he cared about most. Imperer ONLY wanted to make a nice life for himself and went about it in a pretty shrewd way but having someone he saved just because he could turn on him? Leading Imperer to his death in an alternate dimension, watching his fiance through a glass reflection?? Having someone who genuinely cared about him kill him??? Hey Toei WHAT are you putting in your kids' show?! Genuinely, Kamen Rider Imperer's death scene messed me uppppp. He was always super polite, honest with the fact that his loyalty was flimsy, and even offered to pay the other Riders for their aid but in the end, bro died alone and marked as missing with a body that could never be recovered"

Randal Kirkland's (From) Disproportionate Retribution;

"From is kinda a weird show to explain. Essentially every character gets trapped in a town that you can't leave and monsters come out at night to kill anyone who isn't inside with a protection symbol. That's all you really need to know. So the main thing Randal did was get mad at other people and kinda be a jerk. One night one he doesn't believe Donna(another character) when she tells him about the monsters. He then gets kinda conspiracy-ey where he starts getting paranoid about How this is an experiment and how certain people are probably moles for it. He ends up tying donna to a tree and leaving her to diet night. A reminder that's hes not doing this out of cruelty hes paranoid about a REALLY WEIRD situation. This paranoia isn't even brought on fully by himself someone else brings it up to him. Anyways Boyd comes along and saves him leaving him to die after attempted murder. Fair sorta. Anyways my problem comes in more recent episodes when hes moved on from this paranoia and is starting to be a little nicer albeit still kinda mean. THEN He goes to HELP NEWCOMERS when they get trapped in the town. AND THEY LEAVE HIM AGAIN. LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING ME HE LITERALLY WAS TRYING TO HELP YOU. I should mention that Randal is still alive but the monsters REALLY screw you over with how they hurt you. Also it's not like anyone was trying to save him. Now hes really badly hurt (like barely able to move) and barely anybody feels bad for him."

[ecargmura]

Wonderful Precure Episode 1 Review - Very Wonderful

My review of the new Precure show is finally here! Thanks to Hirogaru Sky, I find the franchise quite entertaining! I can’t wait to see what this show has to offer as it has a different feel to its predecessor!

While Hirogaru Sky was a more high-stakes, fantasy/storybook type of story with princesses, knights and nefarious villains, Wonderful Precure feels more light-hearted as it seems to have low stakes. I don’t think it’s necessarily bad. Pokemon had its fair share of light-hearted anime series and so does Yugioh; I’m a fan of both franchises, so I know what it’s like to enjoy the mature, darker aspects and the light-hearted ones because both are precious. Remember that the target audience for Precure are little kids.

I love the animal themed premise of Wonderful Precure. It seems that everyone in Animal Town have animal companions and live harmoniously with them. Even the major characters have pets. Iroha Inukai owns a Papillon dog named Komugi. Mayu Nekoyashiki owns a cat named Yuki. Satoru Toyama owns a rabbit named Daifuku. There’s also the classic “other world” that Precure often has that is filled with animals too. The GaruGaru, the episodic villains, all seem to be possessed animals in a way.

The fight scene with the GaruGaru doesn’t seem to be as intense as its predecessor as Komugi doesn’t really do kicks and punches and prefers to use barriers and hugs to purify the enemy. Will this change? I mean, I don’t mind the hugs, but not all animals would be susceptible to them in the future if one were to make assumptions. 

The transformation scene is actually super short. I do like that Komugi moves around a lot in a short sequence. Not all transformation have to be minute long segments that is basically rinse or repeat. This sort of reminds me of the evolution scenes in Digimon Ghost Game where it’s not an entire segment, but a short, brief one that has good animation nonetheless. Given how choppy and messy some transformation scenes in Hirogaru Sky were (I’m looking at you, Majesty and Prism), sometimes, it’s best to keep it short and simple.

The series introduces its first animal Precure as Komugi is granted the power to become a Precure in order to protect her owner Iroha (note that while Tsubasa from Hirogaru Sky is technically a bird who can transform into a boy, he’s more of a bird fairy as he’s a fictional bird race and not an actual animal). As a dog, Komugi has typical dog traits from being a menace to their owners when its time to wake them up to having separation anxiety when apart. In Komugi’s case, her separation anxiety is very bad. She gets upset when Iroha leaves for school and even wishes to become human just so she can spend more time with her. As a Precure and a human, Komugi’s dog traits are still present as she says to the GaruGaru that being bad won’t get you treats and thinking running off means racing. She also speaks childishly given that dogs have the intelligence of a two-year-old, so it makes sense that her words and dialogue are a bit choppy. Since this episode mainly showed Komugi as a dog with crippling separation anxiety, I do wonder if her character arc is about overcoming it. Now, it pegs the question of whether Komugi will lose her Precure/human form towards the end of the series because the Mirror Stone/Wonderful Pact is the reason she is able to transform and become human. Losing it means she reverts back to her dog form, most likely. Given how light-hearted this show seems to be, I can’t help wonder how the depressing moments will come in when the time comes? Props to Toei for using a rather obscure dog breed as the main dog. I don’t think I’ve seen media where a Papillon dog is used as a mascot or as a character in a story. I’m not too familiar with Maria Naganawa as a voice actress, but her voice is super cute. It fits Komugi’s childish and cute nature perfectly; it makes her sound like a kid, which makes sense given dogs behave like children at times.

Iroha is actually a lot different from what I expected of her. I didn’t expect that she’d be so outgoing and polite at the same time. I like that! She greets all the animals she sees but is still able to be a conversation starter as she was the one who went up to talk to Satoru without second thoughts. I do like that she has a strong sense of justice as she wanted to protect the boy and his St. Bernard dog by diverting the GaruGaru’s attention towards her; she also plays volleyball. She also seems to be a bit astute as she quickly realized that the girl standing in front of her is Komugi and that the whole situation became too wonderful for her, as she did wish to be able to talk to animals when she was younger. Oh boy, Iroha is gonna have A LOT of explaining to do with her parents regarding this newly bizarre scenario. Iroha is voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki. I’m quite familiar with the name as she voiced a lot of mainstream anime characters like Anya Forger from Spy x Family and Frieren from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. I think Tanezaki is extremely talented as I cannot hear Anya or Frieren in Iroha. 

Satoru and Mayu make small appearances, but their personality is shown a lot. Satoru is a bit reserved, but likes to learn. He’s very interested in learning about the origins and background of the Mirror Stone as it’s called the Mirror Stone, but people’s reflections aren’t shown. He’s also the type that seems to get flustered easily as Iroha tells him that she hopes they’re in the same class together. It makes me wonder if they’ve been friends since elementary school. I’m also curious about Daifuku; that bunny is adorable with its basket and lop-ears. Also, I didn’t expect Takuma Terashima to be his voice actor. If you’re not too familiar with voice actors, Terashima is known for being the voice actor of Mahiru Shirota from Servamp and Shiki from Edens Zero. He’s married to Satomi Satou who voiced Tsubasa’s mother in Hirogaru Sky. In terms of magical girl shows, he’s been on one before this, as he was Gero Akoya from Boueibu (a Magical boy show that parodies usual Magical girl genre). Given that his voice actor is quite reputable, it makes me wonder if he’ll continue the trend of having male Precures. I do wonder who Daifuku’s voice actor is and what gender the bunny rabbit is because Iroha used “-chan” which COULD mean the rabbit is female, but it’s mainly used for pets regarding of gender.

Mayu reminds me a bit of Kokone from Delicious Party Precure with her shy personality, but they’re a bit different. Kokone doesn’t really mind being alone or not having people talk to her while Mayu is a nervous wreck around people. Her cat Yuki’s smug expressions are HILARIOUS! I can see why she’s being memed on social media. Mayu is voiced by Reina Ueda, who’s a rising star as of now. I know her as Kanao from Demon Slayer and Miyo from My Happy Marriage (an excellent show if you like supernatural romantasy). Given that Precure characters are expressive, I can’t wait to see Ueda’s range when it comes to voicing Mayu as it does fall into her usual reserved character tropes, but the first episode alone also disproves it. Yuki, the cat, is voiced by Satsumi Matsuda, who voiced Beryberie in Hirogaru Sky. It’s cool that they get voice actors who voiced characters in past shows in this one.

Iroha’s parents seem intriguing too. Yoko, Iroha’s mother, is A BABE. Holy heck, she is beautiful. I’m a woman and I find her dazzling. I do feel bad for her as Komugi doesn’t seem to like her as much as Iroha or her husband. Speaking of Iroha’s dad, he is JACKED! Wow, I guess Iroha’s athletic sense comes from him. It’s cute to see him in a frilly apron and cooking. Komugi does seem to like him a bit more than Yoko as he gives her food; dogs always obey those who give them food (I would know because my dogs follow my mom around thinking she’ll give them snacks or table scraps when they’re mainly loyal to me).

I’m curious to see what this show has to offer as it is a new Precure show. Will it be cute? Will it be depressing? Will I be able to see cute animals? What I am seeing so far is good, so I can’t wait to see more. What are your thoughts on the premiere?