#I'd like to do more of these for other franchises

[ineedseveretherapy]

thanks for the tag @bagels-and-cream-cheese333

Fav character: Leo or Donnie, but for very different reasons. Leo is such a fun character to pick apart and psychoanalyze (not that you can't do that with Donnie, I just love my leo angst) and his complex insecurities are so fun to play off of for me (also personally he's a very easy character to get into the mindset of), also I heavily kin him. But I adore Donnie's chaotic attitude and violent goofy nature, he's more of a comfort character for me personally because every time he's something chaotic or stupid or silly it just makes me giggle (and I know that Leo in Donnie are really popular and overshadow Raph and Mikey but I dunno there's just something about those two that makes them a great punching bag for trauma but also incredibly goofy that just puts an itch in my brain)

Least favorite: Meat Sweats, there's nothing necessarily wrong with him I just find him kind of annoying

Character I think is attractive: DONNIE! DONNIE! DONNIE!!! Also Frida and April, GOD DAMN THEY'RE GORGEOUS. I always have to tell my girlfriend that her competition is a silly little goofy purple turtle with a large ass forehead and long list of federal crimes.

Fav villain: From the show I think i'd be Big Mama because I think she just had so much potential as a villain, but from the movie, the Krang definitely, cuz again I love angst and the Krang sure delivered my angst in the movie

Least Fav villain: Oh uh, does captain Piel count? Idk never really cared about him

Fav duo: Disaster twins, 100% Again I'm sorry I know that like everyone likes them and a lot of people kind of think they're overrated, I don't think that's the right wording. Anyways I'm sticking by my choice because Idk, I think I just I have a thing for the twin dynamic, also since in the actual show Leo was the one that Donnie showed the least affection too, like physical and what not, a lot of it was more sibling banter, which I also love but it also just tugs at my heart everytime I see fanart of Leo breaking down and Donnie comforting him OR DONNIE BREAKING DOWN AND LEO COMFORTING THEM, I just eat it up. But for second it's automatically Brains and Brawns because AHHH there adorable, also cuz of my personal headcanons

Fav Ship: LEOSAGI, KENDRATELLO!!!!!! GOD THOSE TWO SHIPS DESTROY ME AND THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH FANS OF KENDRATELLO!!!!

Why I like Rottmnt: Oh boy, get ready for an infodump. So I always knew about the TMNT franchise since I was really young because my brother was an avid lover of 2012 but it never really caught my eye (but then again I was watching Paw Patrol at that age so, yeah). Plus I think I remember watching a clip from the high school dance episode on youtube when I was bored. But I truly discovered Rise last year while I was watching tiktok compilations on spotify, I saw it and like I was intrigued by all the angst stuff so I looked it up on youtube and here I am. From an artistic standpoint the show is just beautiful and great to look at. The colors, the animation, the character designs, the style, it's all amazing! Also the comedy, which people tend to compare to Teen Titans Go. Which is not true because while yes it is silly and goofy, it's humor is done in the right way and it's also so much than that. Now the biggest reason for me is the psychology, if that makes sense. I love shows with complex arcs, character dynamics, and storylines, things I can really pick apart and play with. But out of those 3 things the most interesting thing for me is character dynamics. In Rise (I only have 2012 to compare it to since that's only other one if watched a good amount of), you can tell all the brothers love each other, that splinter loves them and that they love splinter. They have a strong bond that's affected in so many different ways due to there contrasting personalities and insecurities and what not, it makes for such compelling sibling dynamics because it's so obvious that they all love each other, but they don't always like each other, sometimes they can all be really annoying and I just adore how accurately the show portrays sibling dynamics. I love my brother so much, put that doesn't mean that we haven't fought and been nothing but a pain in each others asses, he was sure a pain in my ass all of last year, but it doesn't matter because he's my brother. Now comparing this to 2012 which I've watched like 4 out of the 7 seasons of, I did not like the turtles dynamics. Now recently I did see someone pointing out that while Rise portrays healthy sibling dynamics, 2012 portrays toxic ones, and I had never thought of that before which really gave me a new respect for the show. But I still don't like the dynamics, I hate how everyone shits on Raph's anger problems, I hate how everyone always plays Mikey off as stupid and reckless, I HATE DONNIE'S WHOLE PERSONALITY AND HOW HE TREATS APRIL, and I dunno, I don't think I have a problem with Leo, I haven't watched the show in a while so I might be wrong, I also don't like the way Splinter acts towards the boys. AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT 2012 IS A BAD SHOW!! IT'S A GREAT SHOW!! I think the storylines are cool, I think the villains are incredible, I adore Casey and Karai (April can go find a hole to wither away in), the action is amazing, and yes the dynamics are very complex, just not complex in the way I personally like but that doesn't mean their not good. Uh... I just realized how long this was... welp! I'm done anyways!

Sorry for the rambling, anywho here's the tags!!! @bootyshakerrr9000, @lowkey-loki245, @ellie11x-x, @lowkey-loki245, @eggbem, @mysticclementine

Calling all ROTTMNT fans

Hi i'm new and I've been seeing these on Tumblr, so I thought to do one :) Btw tag your Rottmnt friends to do this to!

Favorite Character and 1 reason why: (Mine is Donnie because he's funny XD)

Least Favorite Character and 1 reason why: (Mine is the Leader of the Kraang bc of what he did to Leo..)

A character you think is attractive(Can skip if you don't have one): (Mine is DONNIE >:))

Favorite Villain: (Mine is Kendra, or Big Mama)

Least Favorite Villain: (Mine is same as my least fav character)

Favorite Duo: (Mine is DISASTER TWINS)

Favorite Ship: (None tbh)

2 reasons why you like Rottmnt :3: (Mine is because it's a genuinely funny show, the humor in it is great, and the characters are so well done.)

Your tags: (Mine: @donniecrazy20, @geese-ball, @mycomars, @tonystarkwasrobbed, @ihateitallsomerandomguy, @yourlocalmia, @sockkllyy, @strawberryswirl4321)

[my-world-my-stories]

.... Well, I just discovered something. Songbirds And Tigers will soon turn a year old in a week or so...

.... Where the HELL does the time go?!?

[oh-meow-swirls]

it's kind of weird to me that they didn't bother releasing sushi and tempura internationally at all but at the same time i'm kinda glad they didn't cuz like. yo-kai watch was financially failing in the west by the time 3 released. i feel like if they had released sushi and tempura the franchise would've completely tanked before we got sukiyaki which would've sucked. honestly if anything i feel like it's more surprising that we got all three versions of 2 instead of them just releasing psychic specters but tbf i think yo-kai watch was doing well in the west when 2 released. 2 is just inexplicably what killed the franchise despite being a masterpiece-

[red-dragon-archfiend]

My Yugioh anime hot take of the night is Alexis Rhodes might've been the main character if Jaden wasn't set in stone as the protagonist

[bmpmp3]

and this is old news now but my own perspective on the project sekai miku movie as a mobile game outsider who just likes some of the tunes - all i really hope for is that i'll be able to follow the plot somewhat with my very limited knowledge because it does look like it'll be a fun watch. i know there is like dimensions. the dimensions include: alt rock world. depression world. carnival world? etc. furirn and tomoriru voice characters. i like the trans one in depression world. and the little orange guy in EDM world.

[lovinglin]

I think the funniest thing about me shipping with col.ress is the fact that I legit barely know ANYTHING abt pkmn's world building and overall lore

I just wanna kiss the silly goofy science man okay, don't look at me

[affluent-havoc]

so i maaaaaay have fallen deep into spirk suddenly 👉👈 without warning i don't even know how i got here sent help

[iidsch]

now that i've completed all the character episodes and fought with or against all characters i can finally make a tier list with my opinion on everyone ✌

[alexcutecolly]

Hello, my dumb vore-infected ass is replaying Kid Icarus Uprising... Also known as, my vore awakening. Why the hell is that swallow sound effect in Chapter 23 so good??? Like, it even has a slight trail off, which is a little hint that something (or someone) is sliding down with it??? Also, his taunting throughout the level is immaculate... And the extra detail that the music in the 'land' portion of the level has a heartbeat in the background of it. UGH. So good.

Hi there! I've watched the chapter twice from someone's playthrough on YouTube and OMG that swallow sound effect?? With the screen fading to black too??? It's nuts!!! It does seem to let the player realize what has just happened! x3

Also... Can I say that I *love* Hades and his taunts? xD Being a pred must bring so much entertainment to him, he clearly *adores* voring souls and "lesser" beings and poking fun at them while they're inside his innards! x3 Like when he wants to eat Pit all of a sudden during the fight at the beginning of the chapter, and then calls him a 'bad chicken nugget' for surviving the fall into his stomach (something even Hades himself is surprised of, btw xD) x3 I admit some of his jabs were a lil off-putting for my taste, but almost all of them really hit the spot! x3

I actually never knew of his existence as a character in the Kid Icarus games (tbf I've never played any up until now, and the only characters I recognized were Pit and Lady Palutena xD), but he's amazingly charming and funny as a villain! (Dunno if he's the real main bad guy of the game, but the dialogue in Chapter 23 seems to imply he is xD)

Also I didn't expect him and Pit to actually start a morality discussion on the 'eating souls and reformation' topic, especially considering the latter was fighting for his life in the former's belly xD the fact that Hades was quite interested in the subject, but at the same time so uncaring for the fate of those he ate really makes sense for a character like him x3

Btw I'd personally *love* being swallowed by Hades! x3 He gets a 9/10 in Pred Points x3 💕

[navree]

i've said this before, but it bears repeating, if the new dc movies are going to start well into bruce's time as batman, then stephanie brown should either be the robin, or it should start with duke thomas's and a version of "we are...robin" and "robin war" (but without spyral or the court of the owls)

[the-acid-pear]

Yesterday I had 3 thoughts but I was like I'll remember tomorrow I won't wake up to type them now and I forgot two BUT I remembered one of them so that's huge

[thankskenpenders]

Thoughts on Sonic 3!

On December 10th, 2018, I was on the last day of a trip to Milwaukee. The night before, I'd attended the wedding of one of my best friends, Jake, who I've known since high school. Even though half of us were sick the whole trip, it was a great time. Derek had asked the wedding DJ to play "One Week" as the first request of the night, and proceeded to lip sync the entire song on the dance floor. On that cold winter morning in a hotel room hundreds of miles from home, Derek and I groggily checked Twitter on our phones and saw the shocking news: Paramount had teased the design for Sonic from their upcoming live action film. Even in silhouette, the shape of his face and the realistic curvature of his limbs made him look like a grotesque little homunculus. This movie was going to suck.

Six years later, I've now seen the third entry in what's become a hugely successful Sonic film franchise. It features Keanu Reeves as the voice of Shadow the Hedgehog in a fairly faithful adaptation of his story from Sonic Adventure 2. At the time of writing, it currently sits at a whopping 86% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, vying for the title of the best-reviewed theatrically released video game movie of all time. Critics are saying nice things about the emotional journey of Shadow the Hedgehog. Never in a million years did I think I'd see this day.

I, too, have now seen this movie, and... yeah, it's pretty good.

I'm gonna get deep into spoilers here, so I'll just say up front that I liked the movie. It feels like just about the best possible execution of this version of Sonic. But that's also damning it with faint praise, depending on who you ask.

If you're a fan of the games who didn't like the second movie, you probably won't get much out of this one, either, unless you just really love Shadow so much that nothing else in the movie matters to you. It doesn't reinvent the wheel for this film series. It's still got a heaping helping of broad comedy, cheap pop culture references, bad one-liners, and characterization that diverges greatly from the source material. This is not high art, nor is it a direct adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2. If you're the kind of person who hates this portrayal of Sonic and Eggman, or a lore nerd who'll hate that they let Shadow do Chaos Control without an Emerald, then just don't bother with this.

On the other hand, if you did enjoy the last movie, then you'll probably have a fun time here, too. Shadow is very cool. The action is the best it's ever been. There's a bit more focus on characters from the games, and less on human characters invented for the movies—with the exception of Agent Stone, who's in this a lot because everyone likes him. There's a lot of SA2 fanservice. They even play "Live and Learn." It's a fun time! Be sure to stick around through the end credits.

And now, to dig deeper, let's get into the spoilers! I'm gonna jump around a lot and talk about different aspects of the movie, spoiling everything along the way.

Shadow and his reams of lore

Here's the main thing you came for: Shadow is great in this! They really did him justice. Keanu Reeves is extremely solid in the role. He can be a bit flat as an actor sometimes, but I think he did well here. He can be tough and menacing, but he can also be earnest and emotionally vulnerable. Good casting call. Excited at the prospect of seeing more of him in the future.

Really, as a Sonic Lore Nerd I'm most interested in discussing the changes they made to Shadow's backstory. I'm sure there will be many fans upset with the changes, but for the sake of streamlining a complicated backstory that was subject to a bunch of retcons and multiple layers of amnesia and fitting it into a 110-minute movie, I think they generally made smart choices.

For one, Gerald didn't create Shadow using Black Arms DNA, because Gerald didn't create Shadow at all! Instead, Shadow arrived on Earth inside a meteor, and Gerald was merely the prominent GUN scientist who studied him after he was captured. (That meteor does have very strong Black Arms vibes, though, so I wouldn't rule out the possibility of them exploring that stuff in the future.) This simplifies things a lot and allows Shadow to be a direct foil for Sonic, kind of a version of our hero who was treated as a lab rat and lost the only human he considered family instead of finding happiness like Sonic has. Then later Shadow hurts Tom and Sonic wants revenge, and it mirrors Shadow's feelings about Maria, and after they fight they can empathize with each other over this, Shadow sees the error of his ways and helps save the world, yada yada yada. You get it. People predicted 95% of this movie's plot from the trailers, but it's effective.

Likewise, all of the stuff about creating Shadow as the ultimate life form who's immune to all disease to cure Maria's illness is completely cut out. Shadow's still called the ultimate life form, but he's treated as more of an energy source than a genetic research project here, playing off of the stuff about Eggman wanting to harness Sonic's natural Chaos Energy in the movies. The original intent behind the ultimate life form project was always hard to explain in the games and doesn't even come up that much, so I don't blame them for cutting it.

Because Gerald isn't doing genetic experiments and creating artificial life, the Biolizard also doesn't exist. It does, however, appear in an old monster movie Shadow and Maria watch in a montage, with Shadow later commenting that he worries he's a monster like the one he saw in the movie. That's a clever way to include it, I think.

The ARK sort of exists. There was no space colony back in the '70s, all of the events of Shadow's flashbacks just took place at a secret GUN base on Earth. Fair enough for a version of the story ostensibly set in the real world. The big space laser in the third act of the film is obviously supposed to evoke the ARK, but it's referred to as simply the Eclipse Cannon. It's still not a full-blown space colony, just a weapon of mass destruction Gerald designed for GUN in exchange for his release (while also secretly planning to use it to blow up the planet in an act of revenge). I am, however, pleased to report that the Eclipse Cannon still has a giant Eggman face on it.

And as for Maria: I like her in this! She's obviously not going to get a ton of screentime, and she's always going to be a very straightforward character, but she's more playful and lively here. She teases Shadow for being grumpy and plays with him a lot. She feels less like this perfect embodiment of everything good and pure in the world and more like an actual kid. She's still not a complex character, but it works.

And the most important question: do they show a child getting shot and killed by the military? The answer is almost. In the flashback, GUN soldiers chase Maria, Shadow, and Gerald and ready their guns, but the young Commander Walters (who's in his 20s rather than being a kid) grabs them and tries to stop them from firing on a child. In the chaos, a soldier fires, missing Maria but hitting a generator that then blows up and kills Maria. So, y'know, close enough I suppose.

So, yes, many of the details change here, but they captured the gist of Shadow's story from SA2. The emotional core is there. I will say, though, I almost feel like Shadow isn't in this movie as much as I thought he'd be? I think he's used effectively in all of his scenes, and they make room for his backstory, and BOY does he get to kick ass in his fights, but for much of the middle part of the movie he's overshadowed by Ivo and Gerald. Though this might be a compromise to leave more screentime for...

Tails and Knuckles

I'm relieved to report that Tails and Knuckles both get a good amount of cool stuff to do in this! They don't feel like an afterthought.

I was worried that Tails in particular would completely fall by the wayside, since even his debut movie didn't entirely know what to do with him. But he's good here. He pretty much just feels like the Tails from the games at this point, especially since they dropped that fawning admiration he had for Sonic with that running gag of him going "Only Sonic the Hedgehog could do that!" He often chimes in as the one who wants Team Sonic to stick together when Sonic and Knuckles bicker. He particularly gets to shine in the Mission Impossible-inspired heist sequence at the GUN headquarters in London that serves as the climax of the second act, which feels like it was tailor made to let him shine as the tech guy of the team. He also gets several opportunities to swoop in and catch someone for a save in an action scene. He's good in this!

Knuckles is... fine. He's definitely fallen into the role of the comic relief dumb bruiser since joining the good guys, but he's at least a little better than he was in his own streaming show. The jokes lean more into him just being really brash about his strength and skill, rather than him being this archaic warrior who doesn't understand anything about the modern world. He also gets a few more serious bits in the back third of the movie where he gets to shine a little more, so overall it evens out to him being fine. They could've done way worse.

As for the relevance of the Knuckles show: Knuckles is now said to be the guardian of the Master Emerald, like in the games, though with no Angel Island this amounts to him hiding it somewhere for safekeeping. It's eventually revealed that he just gave it to Wade, who gets exactly one scene (sorry, Wade-heads) for a joke about him using the Master Emerald as a hockey puck. So, the miniseries explained why Knuckles has a connection with Wade. That's it! Also I think Knuckles might use the Flames of Disaster a bit in fights, but they never called the technique out by name, so I never really thought about it. So, yeah, the six-episode streaming miniseries about Wade bowling has zero meaningful relevance to the Shadow movie. Who could have seen this coming?

Miscellaneous humans

For that matter, the human supporting cast is MASSIVELY downplayed in this one. Tom and Maddie are there for two key sequences (the beginning of the movie and the GUN HQ heist), but otherwise they disappear for long stretches of the movie. They don't go to Japan in act I, nor do they go to space in act III, and there's no subplot for them during those periods, either. There's nothing like the wedding subplot in Sonic 2 where they'd constantly cut back to Hawaii for comic relief with the humans and only reveal why this was relevant to the plot near the end. (There's also no random dance battle in Siberia.) If a human character is here, it's because they have something to contribute to the plot right away. Most people will probably consider this an improvement, and I'd certainly say it makes for a much tighter script, though I have to remind everyone that I thought the wedding being a GUN sting operation was such a funny twist that I'm a defender of the Hawaii subplot.

On the subject of Tom, something funny I've noticed is that they've just completely downplayed the fact that Tom and Wade are cops. Tom being a cop never comes up once. Wade being a cop only gets referenced via the fact that he's practicing hockey on the roof of the police station in his one scene, but he's not in uniform or anything. They clearly got the memo that we don't want Sonic to hang out with cops.

Here's something else funny: Rachel and Randall got character posters, but they're actually not in the movie! Not technically, anyway. During the heist sequence at GUN HQ, Tom and Maddie use some gadgets Tails invented to holographically disguise themselves as those other characters. But the real Rachel and Randall never show up in the flesh. It's a very odd way to shoehorn the actors into the movie. (Jojo is also absent. They did not give her Amy's role of being the girl who reminds Shadow of Maria. Instead they just let Sonic have the big heart to heart with Shadow that makes him switch sides.)

You know who IS in this movie? Krysten Ritter. Not as the voice of Rouge, as the fandom once hoped, but as a director for GUN. She gets like three scenes and she feels completely checked out the whole time. Can't say I blame her! She's not really a character, just a plot necessity. Commander Walters dies in Japan but gives Sonic one of two keycards needed to activate the Eclipse Cannon, and then Ritter's character assumes Sonic stole it and labels him a bad guy. So that's why they have to break into GUN HQ in the second act instead of just talking things out with them. Still, I am at least relieved that Sonic doesn't work with GUN for most of the movie.

I gotta be honest: when Walters pulled a credit card-shaped object out of his pocket, I thought he was about to give Sonic another Olive Garden gift card as his final act before dying. Part of me wishes that happened.

The supporting human character in this who really gets to shine is Agent Stone, which I'm sure most fans will agree was the correct choice. There's a LOT of Agent Stone in this. He's good. I don't have much to say about him, but he's fun as usual.

But, of course, the ones who steal the show are Jim Carrey, and his costar Jim Carrey.

The Robotniks

I've gone back and forth on whether or not I can actually see movie Robotnik as Robotnik. I think with this third and final entry in the Jim Carrey Robotnik Trilogy, I've landed on... yeah, that's just Jim Carrey playing a Jim Carrey character. He's absolutely having fun with the role, and I enjoyed watching him, but I think a lot of that comes down to the fact that I'm a millennial who grew up watching Jim Carrey movies. If you didn't like him before, this movie will probably be nails on a chalkboard to you, because now there are two of him.

Ivo's arc here leans very heavily into the fact that he grew up as an orphan and never knew his family, a thing offhandedly mentioned in the first movie that's never been a thing for any other version of the character. Here, he learns that he has a living grandfather who's also a mad scientist, and it feels like a hole in his heart has been filled. It certainly makes sense for a place to take this version of the character, and it fits with the movie's themes of finding and losing family, but the cartoonish, childlike affection Ivo feels towards Gerald and all the scenes of them frolicking and dancing together have basically nothing to do with the characters from the games. He's a fun villain for this movie, but he's overwhelmingly used as comic relief this time rather than as a serious threat. He doesn't particularly feel like Sega's Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the arch nemesis of Sonic the Hedgehog who'd take over the world with an army of robots and a fleet of airships in the span of a day if Sonic wasn't around to stop him. He's a guy who lives in a big crab robot and has some drones. He has more in common with Carrey's depictions of the Grinch or the Riddler or Count Olaf than Dr. Eggman. Though he does, at least, finally get his outfit from the games by the end of the movie. So that's something. And also he's in a fat suit now. They only make jokes at the expense of his weight a little. Hooray...?

Gerald, meanwhile, is... largely the same character as movie Eggman, but older, so they can make jokes about him having saggy flesh and smelling funny and needing dentures. (Also, his voice kind of sounds like Homer Simpson sometimes?) To his credit, Carrey absolutely nails the handful of more serious scenes Gerald gets, whether it's Maria's death or his sinister turn when he reveals that he actually wants to destroy the Earth. But then it's right back to goofs about there being two of the same guy. Even the final battle features a lot of slapstick shenanigans with the two Robotniks fighting each other. I was able to enjoy the absurdity of it all, but if the humor doesn't land for you the dual Jim Carrey schtick is a hell of a lot of the movie. I wouldn't be surprised if there was more Gerald than Shadow in the movie, when you go and tally up their screentime. I was able to enjoy the sheer absurdity of it, but your mileage will vary.

I will, however, say that the split screen stuff they do with the two Carreys is EXTREMELY impressive, from a filmmaking perspective. They were absolutely flexing with their ability to pull the effect off. They don't rely on cheap tricks like cutting a lot, or having shot/reverse shot scenes where you're looking at the back of a body double's head. Instead they have a lot of long takes where the two Robotniks are talking to each other, you can see both of their faces, and they'll even hug and touch each other a lot, and the whole time the conversation maintains a natural pace like it really is two actors playing off of each other. It's really well done. It's an incredibly silly idea, but boy did they commit to it.

Sonic

I've hardly said anything about Sonic himself in all of this. It's his movie, isn't it! Well... I don't know, he's fine.

I feel like movie Sonic is a known quantity at this point, and either you like this take on the character or you don't. There was some speculation early on that this was supposed to be a younger Sonic who would grow into being the character we know from the games and comics, the one who's still got lots of quips but is also kind of aloof and cool, a free spirit who goes where the wind takes him, a figure the other characters look up to. And... no, that didn't happen. Once again he gets more serious as the stakes are raised, and he's totally badass when he goes Super, but the rest of the time he's still a little goober with tons of generic one-liners who learns schmaltzy lessons about the importance of family. He's still constantly going to undercut the tension of most scenes by cracking a pop culture reference that will make the average American parent go "haha I've heard of that." I don't think they're ever gonna change that. I think this just what the writers think Sonic is like.

And, again, for what it is, it's fine. He's a little annoying. You already know how you feel about movie Sonic. This third entry won't change that. But they do, at least, have him say "Talk about low budget flights, no food or movies... I'm outta here!" before jumping out of a helicopter. As my thoughts on the climax will show, I am not immune to fanservice.

The climax

God, the climax is SOOOOO fucking good. It's fantastic. Easily the best action these movies have ever done.

Rather than saving Super Shadow for the team-up with Sonic at the end, they have both of them go Super to fight each other first, and they just go full DBZ with it, fighting across the entire planet. It absolutely rules. I think this is the new coolest fight the two of them have had in anything ever. And then they have to stop the Eclipse Cannon together, and sure, there's no Biolizard. But Gerald DOES release a swarm of GUN Hunter robots, and the ensuing space battle turns into some Gundam shit. It's good! It's so good!!! The movie's flaws kind of melt away for me here when I'm watching Super Shadow take out an army of robots with Chaos Spears on the big screen. What a timeline we're living in.

And yes, they play "Live and Learn." They had to. They knew the assignment. They actually play a slight remix, but it's still got the original vocals, so it's perfectly recognizable. Actually, the tune of the song is used as a leitmotif for Shadow throughout the movie, first introduced via an acoustic guitar version played by Maria, and I really love that. I've been begging these movies to use more music from the games the whole time, and I'm glad they finally did so here. (They also use the traditional level clear jingle early in the film, and Eggman's theme from SA2 is very briefly used as a ringtone.)

... Anyway, uh, meanwhile Eggman, Tails, and Knuckles straight up just kill Gerald to save the world? They unceremoniously knock him into an energy field at the end of their slapstick fight aboard the Eclipse Cannon and he disintegrates like he hit a bugzapper. It's over in an instant. It's not graphic or anything, but it's, like... I didn't expect them to show it, or for it to be such a casual murder! Eggman has one quip about it and then immediately moves on.

Shortly after this, Eggman and Shadow sacrifice themselves to stop the Eclipse Cannon. Shadow's sacrifice doesn't stick, obviously (he's revealed to be alive by the end of the second stinger—pretend to be shocked), but Eggman's probably dead dead. I seriously doubt Jim Carrey's gonna come out of retirement for these movies again. His final moments before the big explosion are also SO dragged out and belabored. He has a dramatic final line like ten times in a row. It really just feels like the series saying goodbye to Carrey. And, again, it feels like a fitting enough end for this Eggman's arc, but it's an odd adaptation of the character from the games.

And so, that's what we're left with. This is far from Sonic Adventure 2: The Movie. It's not that, though there are many, many references made to that game in particular. It's a sequel to the film Sonic the Hedgehog 2 that has a similar tone and style, but Shadow and Gerald are in it, and Shadow gets some really cool fights, and there's a liiiiiittle more focus on stuff from the games than last time, and the script's a little tighter. If that sounds fun to you, you will have fun with this. I know I did. If it doesn't, you're probably better off waiting for them to inevitably do an animated reboot whenever this live action series runs out of steam.

It hasn't quite run out of steam yet, though...

The post-credits scenes, and the future

One of the big questions going into this was: what's next? How do they top a Shadow movie with heavy Sonic Adventure 2 overtones, in terms of hype for the fans? How do you fill Eggman's shoes after Carrey retires, for real this time? There are still more fan favorite rival characters to get through, but how many movies in a row can they introduce a furry foe for Sonic who inevitably turns good and helps him stop a larger threat by the end? And when the hell are we gonna see the girls?

Well, we now have our answer, and it's one I'm cautiously excited for: a whole army of Metal Sonics, and Amy!

Yes, Amy! Finally!! It's an absolute crime that we've gone three whole movies and a streaming miniseries without including the female lead of the series. I've complained about this ad nauseum (and also the fact that they cut Rouge from the story). But at least now they're finally doing something about it.

But now the question is, how will they characterize Amy? Sega's struggled with her for years, and there's a million different directions you can take her. Her one scene here has her smashing a bunch of Metal Sonics and wearing a cloak for the sake of a dramatic reveal, which gives her the vibes of a mysterious, badass action girl. This is, of course, completely different from how Sonic and Amy met in the games. What will her personality be like? She doesn't speak here, so who will they get to play her? Where did she come from? Will she even have a crush on Sonic? All of these have yet to be determined. So, like, I'm hyped to finally see Amy, a character who should've been in the movies from the start, but they could so easily end up playing it safe with an incredibly boring girlboss version of Amy who's no fun at all. We'll have to wait and see.

(My prediction: they're going to try to cast either Zendaya or Ariana as Amy.)

Metal Sonic, likewise, is very exciting, and he looks perfect. He looks just like the design from the games. But the question is: what will they do with this army of Metals? Will they be lead by one main Metal Sonic, perhaps Neo Metal Sonic, who gets to be a proper bad guy? Will they take some cues from Sonic CD, Heroes, and the OVA, or do something completely original? Where did they come from? Were they activated as a failsafe after Eggman died? Did they and Amy come from some sort of bad future, riffing on Sonic CD's time travel? Will they explore the fact that Metal wants to be the one and only Sonic? Or will they just be an army of disposable robot grunts for Sonic and friends to mow down like it's a Dynasty Warriors game, while some other villain takes center stage?

It could go so many different ways, and some prospects are more exciting than others. I mean, the Knuckles show had endless possibilities for what it could do with him, and none of the options on my bingo card were "Pachacamac's ghost tells him to help Wade win a bowling tournament." And while I'm a sicko who thinks it's funny that the Knuckles show is what it is, forgive me for keeping my hype about Amy and Metal Sonic in check here until we learn more.

Regardless of what they do, it'll still be hard to top the hype of Shadow, and it'll be hard to fill Jim Carrey's shoes for general audiences. So despite this clear statement of intent, I have no idea what the future of this film franchise holds. But regardless of what they do, I can say one thing for certain: the kids in my theater were hyped as hell for it. They popped off over Metal Sonic, and they were screaming their heads off with excitement over Amy. I heard a teenage girl on the opposite end of my row of seats say "finally!" over Amy's reveal, verbalizing my exact thoughts. She also said that this movie was "peak," though it diverged from the games, and she hoped they'd do a movie with Silver and Blaze someday.

The kids are gonna be okay.

[mirroredmemoriez]

A collection of Amanda Young’s outfits (PT 1)

As the title states, this is just all the outfits I can source from Amanda Young from the franchise but also any game adaptation too. This will be broken into parts because of the image limit.

1.) The Reverse Bear Trap (RBT) outfit

One of her most iconic and recognisable fits. She has a purple tank top with matching sleeves to go alongside, presumably kept in place by the pink bands on her upper arms? Amanda in this wears a black skirt with ripped fish nets and kinda shiny boots- Other things include the eye makeup, nail polish and the only time we ever see her have the clawing panther tattoo on her shoulder.

2.) Rockstar outfit

I've generalised this as the ROCKSTAR outfit- Because this specific shirt comes up a few times, not just in that cut scene. It seems there is actually two shirts? The blue graphic one on top and a grey one underneath. Amanda's hair and jackets change! There is the light grey jacket and then the black one and even things like how heavy her makeup is are different... The main place we see this look is when she is setting up Adam for his game. Of course she has boots on as always and I guess I'd call the jeans she has on cuffed? One extra is she has a watch on.

3.) Junkie outfit

BECAUSE I WAS A FUCKING JUNKIE!!! Anyway, with this I had to brighten the image to see what the design on the tank top was... From there I went, ''I think I've seen this before...'' And yeah, I had- Shawnee Smith has worn this logo a few times, so that's why I've added the last two images for a clearer reference. Amanda here looks quite gaunt and sickly and we can't see the rest of this outfit such as trousers.

4.) Visitor outfit

I'll dub this the Visitor outfit because of the badge of course- I would say this likely is Amanda's most simple outfit? Black shirt and skirt. The most striking thing about this look is the RBT scars she has... It's also one of the only times outside of Saw 3 we see Amanda with a ponytail! I can't lie when looking at her hair here, it almost looks two toned in places such as the side burns? Almost grey in parts? (Edit: This may be a dress actually.)

5.) The Red Pig outfit

This is my personal favourite when it comes to her in movie pig looks. She has a red coat/cloak which the length goes all the way down to her boots- Looking there I think the lower half from seeing the cuffed like jeans is probably the exact same as her Rockstar outfit. Her eye makeup is heavily smudged and the mask itself in my opinion is one of the best shaped pig masks, with what seems to be ''blood'' coming out of the eye sockets and black slash brunette hair.

6.) Bow Dress/Clinic outfit

This scene and the follow up is so depressing but she's so cutesy here- It's a simple black dress, but the bow is very Amanda. I have no clue whether the shoes she has on in the first image are actually apart of the outfit or just something Shawnee had on whilst testing it out. 7.) News Report/Scott Tibbs outfit

May be my overall favourite Amanda outfit.... She has on a grey hoodie jacket, possibly another article of clothing from her Rockstar outfit? Her iconic skull sweatpants with a belt and then boots that I would say are more akin to her RBT outfit. I can't really tell if the shirt she has got on is layers or just has different materials- Amanda's RBT scars are also very visible in this look.

8.) Suffocation outfit

At first I started doing these as two separate outfits? One for when she kills Adam, the other for when she wakes up from her nightmare- However, I'm pretty sure this is the same outfit through and through. Amanda has on a long sleeved orange shirt with a grey tanktop over it. The jacket is leather with noticeable silver studs and she has on cargo type trousers and as always... Boots.

9.) Nightmare outfit

Another personal favourite! Once again we get to see the skull pants and this is how I was able to gage the material a bit better. I honestly have no clue how to describe the specific items of clothing she has on her upper half? A corset type shirt going on? Details I enjoy are the safety pins around the shoulder and bottom half and she has a watch on.

10.) Saw X outfit

I decided to not have this pig look separate. Anyway! This is Amanda's most recent outfit with Saw X having come out in 2023.... Simple grey t-shirt alongside cargo trousers with a belt. The boots she's got on are very combat/work like and Amanda also has a black choker and earrings here- Her coat/cloak is black with red detailing such as the cuffs and the inner lining.

[fire-of-the-sun]

NOCTIS' TRANSFORMATION ANALYSIS

"We carefully considered the path of Noct's life and sought a design that would convey his humanity with with the passage of time. I asked Naora-san to look at him as a real person and to depict his aging with realism rather than symbolism." - Hajime Tabata

The decision to age Noctis up from a 20 to 30-year-old not only enhances Final Fantasy XV's coming-of-age story of a young, unprepared prince transforming into a fully matured king, but also offers a unique insight into the choices made behind the external, physical changes intended to reflect said internal development. I've seen a lot of conversation about his altered appearance ranging from approval to confusion to downright rejection. So, as someone who enjoys analyzing faces and character design, I'd like to explore this change in depth. How did Noctis go from the stereotypical clean-shaven, spiky haired anime pretty boy to a rugged, masculine man? Were the changes too bold? Does he even still look like the same person? And what does his evolution say about other men in the Final Fantasy franchise?

FACE SHAPE

Noctis' face is symmetrical and well balanced with nearly equal thirds, the lower third of which increases slightly in length at 30. I drew over his jawlines as best I could manage as his hair is in the way on both and older Noctis' face is angled slightly downward, making these guidelines less accurate to compare but, even at a glance, it's not hard to see that his face and chin do widen at 30 to accommodate a squarer jawline.

It's normal for many men's jawlines to develop a little as they age but it typically emerges during puberty. At 20 years old, Noctis should probably already have the jawline he has at 30 or close to it. Of course, a jawline can be strengthened through various means but, unless Noctis was mewing in that Crystal for a decade, this change doesn't make a lot of sense to me, which makes it more of a stylistic choice to emphasize his older age and to add a notable dose of masculinity which naturally takes a step away from the younger, more 'feminine' appearing traditional Final Fantasy face type. Compare young Noctis or Cloud's face to someone like Lightning: the overall shape isn't too different and certainly a staple of the franchise regardless of gender.

EYES

(For the sake of better comparison, I've edited 30-year-old Noctis to have his natural blue eyes)

I've seen complaints that the change in Noctis' eyes makes him look less Asian. He is biracial, of course, and his features aren't and shouldn't be considered fully Asian, but I believe the reason behind this criticism is that, in the effort to contract and narrow his eyes to be more realistic at 30, his epicanthic fold is less visually obvious as his lacrimal caruncle are enlarged, which inadvertently makes his eyes look comparatively less Asian. This change serves to shrink his eyeball while taking up the same margins on his face with the length and even eye slant all remaining identical as far as I can tell, as is the overall shape and space between the eyes.

Noctis does maintain the same basic eye shape from childhood to adulthood, it just narrows as he ages which is completely normal. Despite the particular tastes of the Final Fantasy franchise, having larger eyes to depict youth is very common in animation of any kind with children bearing especially large eyes that shrink as they age. This was no doubt the intention here as well to depict Noctis' relative adolescence at 20 and continue to embrace their stylistic history of other Final Fantasy games.

I also want to note that his eyelashes are less thick and prominent at 30, which acts as yet another change for realism and a step towards a more masculine appearance.

NOSE

(Consult the previous images)

For many faces, the edge of the nose typically lines up with the inner corner of the eye which they finally do for Noctis at 30. As I've already stated, the margins of his eyes did not change, which means the alteration in nose size to be accurate to realistic proportions where it wasn't before contradicts the stylistic choice to purposefully give him a smaller, slimmer nose at 20. Also, though I don't have a comparison shot of his profile at both ages, his nose obviously not only increases in width but also length at 30 to match his altered proportions.

EYEBROWS

Where some changes are more subtle and feel like logical extensions of what came before, one of the more striking differences between 20 and 30 is Noctis' eyebrows as he loses the thin, manicured brows of youth and gains, well, more natural looking male eyebrows. I will point out that they appear lower on his face at 30 because he's tilted slightly downward and bears a more intense expression than the neutral pose at 20 which makes the exact angle a little harder to compare here but, that being said, I do believe they sit slightly lower on his face at 30 in general. Though they sit at essentially the same angle, the overall shape has changed a bit. Not only do they become thicker, they also frame the eyes more along the browbone which is very different than the sharp, nearly straight line of the brows in his youth.

Choosing to change his eyebrows so significantly is an interesting choice and perhaps one made not only to be more realistic and less like Final Fantasy characters of the past, but also to look more like his father as was part of their intention with his older appearance.

It doesn't necessarily feel like a choice borne purely from age either as Prompto and Ignis maintain their previous, thin eyebrows even in their 30s (as well as most of their other features). Instead, this alteration (among others) feels more in line with Gladio who, as the most traditionally masculine member of the group, similarly boasts thicker brows, a squarer jaw and facial hair, further proving that this is the direction they wanted to take Noctis as well.

LIPS

There's not much to say about his lips as they remain the same shape and are only lengthened a little. Typically, the outer corners of our lips correspond to near the center of the eye but, as his eye margins have not changed, the slight lengthening of his lips is yet another adherence to realism to better fit his adjusted features and widened face.

EARS

(Consult previous images)

Ears typically line up with the top of the eyebrow and the bottom of the nose and, though his photo at 30 is tilted more downward and this naturally changes the angle of his ears and makes them appear higher on his face, they seem to be proportional at both ages. That being said, based on these images alone, they do seem to change shape to me with the outer helix appearing to stick out farther at the top and taper in slightly towards his lobe at 30 whereas his younger ears appear narrower at the top, rounder overall and widest towards the middle. Our ears can change shape and size as we age, of course, I'm just not sure there would be a noticeable difference after only a decade, and they could have potentially been left unchanged in my opinion.

HAIR

"From their [characters] hairstyles and clothing as children to the expressions and posture they develop as adults, their individual traits and the way they change over the years all inform the looks we created." - Yusuke Naora

I think it's important to note that Noctis maintains the same basic hairstyle for the majority of his life from a child into his teens and early adulthood, which feels indicative to me of how it's meant to convey that he hasn't truly grown up yet. The abandonment of this style for the first time in his life at 30 reflects great inward change: letting go of the boy he used to be and becoming a new man.

Though his two hair styles seem vastly different at first glance, I love that the foundation of the first is easily identifiable in the second. The boyish bangs and choppiness at 20 help to emphasize his youth - an element that is largely abandoned at 30 in an effort to help him appear more mature as he adopts a rugged, unmanicured style that enhances his newfound regality. The formerly long and well-maintained face frame has been shortened slightly with loose strands left to fall randomly rather than sustaining a clean sweep over his cheeks. Where the bangs have gone, a few errant strands remain to fall across the left side of his face - a vestige of what once dominated the area (and a similar feature to Ardyn as well). The vertical, gravity-defying spikes at the top of his head have been abandoned entirely and left to join the cascade of hair falling down his neck at greater length and the spikes at the sides of his head have also been left to curl softly over his ears. The results feel inevitable for a man who has left his hair mostly untouched for a decade (with some tidying up) and a natural extension of what came before.

While we're discussing hair, I also want to address Noctis' beard. Love it or hate it, it certainly aids in helping him appear much older and kinglier (a direct reference to his father) and also acts as further evidence of his Asian ancestry as the texture and lay of the beard hair is noticeably different than that of his father's, Gladio's and the other White men around him.

SKIN

Barring the fact that older Noctis in this image (and throughout most of that chapter of the game) is usually very dirty with a face marred by sweat and grime, his skin tone is also noticeably warmer. I'm not sure why this change was implemented and allowed him to go from a paler skinned youth to a warmer skinned man (especially not having been touched by sunlight in a decade), but perhaps it's a result of his new power and another step toward realism as there may be a tendency to have Final Fantasy protagonists be paler skinned in general as a stylistic choice?

It also goes without saying that Noctis was given a few small moles at various places on his face to give him more realistic skin and not a flawless, porcelain doll look.

AGING

"We didn't just add typical aging details, but also referenced images of war veterans and actors to find the 'sublime' characteristics, from single wrinkles to hair tips that could express the magnitude of Noct's fate and life experiences. Also, in keeping with the father and son theme, we made it so you can see Regis in Noct's face, with features such as the beard bearing his essence." - Yusuke Noara

I believe the main narratively validated reason Noctis' appearance receives such a drastic change over the course of 10 years while his companions were barely altered, is no doubt attributed to his unique aging from the power he now possesses due to his time in the Crystal. We know that simply wearing the Ring of the Lucii has a physical cost even for those meant to wield it as it can scar and age prematurely. This led to Regis aging rapidly due to his overextension of power upholding the wall, looking arguably older than he should at just 50 years of age. It's also a marked leap from how he looked just 12 years prior. His black hair had been bleached to grey and his body composition clearly waned given his difficulty with mobility.

Having been imbued with such immense power for so long, it's no surprise that Noctis has also aged at an abnormal rate, perhaps biologically looking closer to 40 rather than 30, I dare say, just as his father appeared older than his actual age. This aging, of course, led to all the altered features discussed above as well as more visible fine lines under his eyes and slightly greyer hair, the latter of which is harder to notice in the main game, but a clear distinction made in the hyper-stylized Pocket Edition.

BODY

I've seen some comments lamenting that Noctis' older face makes his head look a little too large for his body. Though I'm not entirely convinced his head was actually enlarged overall, it could appear that way given his widened jaw and possibly neck that inadvertently produced a sense of disparity as his body remains the same as it did at 20 - the only thing that didn't change about him over the time skip.

We know Noctis was essentially frozen in suspended animation inside the Crystal for 10 years and was ostensibly sustained without food or water due to its power. However, time still clearly passed for him as Noctis' mind has matured just as his face, but his 20-year-old body is left untouched. It obviously doesn't make sense for him to have gained any muscle without exercising all those years, but I'd argue that altering his body by increasing his muscle mass even just slightly could have avoided the complaint regarding his head size as it'd allow his new face to match better as well as continue to support him feeling older and at peak strength given the Crystal's immense power now surging through him. A mild change here could have made a big difference, but this is just what I would have done.

CLOTHING

Let's quickly address Noctis' evolution via clothing as what a character wears is just as important in reflecting their identity as their physical appearance. Dismissing the optional outfits you can choose to put him in, I'll be focusing mainly on his default 20 and 30-year-old clothes as these are what the creators intended to best suit him in their respective sections of the game. This leap in style is as seemingly vast as his physical changes and helps to emphasize his growth just as much as his face, albeit with some base elements that are maintained such as the continued adherence to all black clothing (of course) as well as the use of a jacket and collar.

Young Noctis' appearance from hair style to clothing is obviously very youthful and not overtly regal - at least not to the degree you'd expect from royalty. Noctis clothes feel modern and edgy adorned with skull motifs, resulting in a style that feels a bit rebellious and incongruent with his father's pristine, kingly wardrobe and even that of the immaculately clothed Luna, both of whom are characters he's meant to emulate to fulfill his destiny. In this section of the game, Noctis isn't particularly ready for the role, as his clothing helps to emphasize.

As a 30-year-old, Noctis abandons the clothes of his youth and adopts a simple but dignified suit, granting him a more regal, mature and capable appearance which helps to enhance those newfound qualities. Where his wardrobe stood out before, his suit now feels in line with what one would expect of someone in his position, albeit not entirely distinct as Lucian royalty beyond the color - that is perhaps best represented in the kingly raiment he wears towards the end that acts as a direct reflection of his father and further showcases his tremendous growth and acceptance of his title.

THE PROGRESSION OF FINAL FANTASY MEN

I'm no expert on all the titles in the Final Fantasy franchise so forgive me if I'm off about any of this, but, as far as I've noticed, male Final Fantasy protagonists tend to share a similar appearance: young, clean-shaven, stylized features, spiky/over-styled hair with thin, and rather effeminate brows. Think of Cloud as the poster boy of this look. 20-year-old Noctis fits squarely into this category, making his leap outside of it due to a significant time skip (and design choices) an interesting one to examine as this has never been done with a mainline male Final Fantasy protagonist before.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the latest protagonist, Clive (a character who also aged significantly in his game and ends up at 33), who stands out as a unique addition to this roster with his more obvious masculinity as depicted by his larger build and facial hair. Though still stylized to a degree in its own way, Clive and the direction of Final Fantasy 16 as a whole trend more realistic for the most part, avoiding the more typical stylization choices of previous titles and striking a new direction into more Western appealing territory as was the intention, but though he embodies these qualities to a more notable degree, he certainly wasn't the first attempt.

With a foot in both worlds, Noctis bridges the spectrum with his younger self being more in line with past characters like Cloud, and his older self acting as a prototype to pave the way for a protagonist like Clive. Time will tell if this series continues to lean into this new style choice and feature older, more traditionally masculine men or if we'll return to the classic, more overtly stylized, 'pretty boy' formula for its male protagonists. Regardless, Noctis' bold leap in age and appearance will always stand as a notable choice that helped pave the way into new territory for the Final Fantasy franchise.

CONCLUSION

As we've explored, Noctis' appearance changes drastically after the 10-year time skip. From his eyes, brows, nose, ears, hair and even skin tone, every feature on his head has been altered to some degree with the exception of his untouched body. Did he need to change that much, though? Honestly, probably not. As I surmised, most but not all of these changes felt entirely necessary or even logical based on the foundation of what came before but, rather, felt like choices borne of a new adherence to realism over past stylization in the case of his eyes, nose and lips specifically and a desire to masculinize him as evidenced by his rugged new beard, strong jawline and thick brows - all elements of which result in turning him into one of the most realistic looking protagonists in the entire franchise, in my opinion, even if the journey to get there arguably pushes the boundaries of normal age progression at times.

This departure from what came before was certainly a bold choice and not one that worked for everyone as I've seen some lament that such a dramatic change coupled with a sudden timeskip made him no longer feel like the same character, but I'd argue that change is also the point. By the end of the game, Noctis has grown and transformed in all the ways he needed and that's the purpose of the entire story and therefore a necessary choice in telling it. The creative decisions behind the changes are, of course, debatable. I for one really love the alterations and think the creators were successful in aging Noctis in a mostly realistic way that visually embraced his inner king by outwardly reflecting his father and also offering audiences a taste of something revolutionary for the brand.

These are just my thoughts. What do you think about Noctis' change in appearance and which age do you prefer?

Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed this, please reblog and/or like and check out my #ffmeta and #ffedit tag for more!

[doyoulikethis-videogame-song]

**Important**

***Information masterpost as this post will replace that pinned for this week.***

In lieu of an ask masterpost this week, I'd like to just do a poll addressing an ask I frequently receive.

Most of my current list of submissions were received when this blog had a fourth of the followers it does now. Even with purging duplicates, there are still 6000+ leftover songs, and many of them have to be manually rearranged (due to a previous rule allowing people to submit multiple songs from one game at a time-- and a lot of my rearranging not accounting for entire game series/franchises, just individual entries).

Submissions would be limited to one per person, per submission period, which I will determine a new date/time/length to open.

~

Caveats (from discussion in the notes)

I appreciate all concerns for my sanity, but both options (discarding vs keeping) are equal in terms of my overall effort :)!

One song per game* will be preserved from the purging (if it does happen) on a first come, first serve basis to conserve any niche series that would otherwise rarely or unlikely be submitted again. (* remakes and remasters would likely be excluded.)

I would open submissions on a consistent day, but at a random time to eliminate any timezone favoritism. The time would be announced some time beforehand so no one has to stalk the blog all day.

I will post the full list of purged songs. If you know you have submitted a song and would like it to be replaced with a purged song from the same game, I am more than willing to do that.

I am not going to limit the amount of songs posted/allowed to be submitted for a different game. At a limit of one song per person per submission period, I expect that this filter will be enough on its own to stave off series bulk (It would also be incredibly time consuming). If I do not end up purging the existing submissions, I will continue with my current process.

I am currently in EARLY AUGUST submissions (Aug 1-Aug 8). At the current rate (which I am not willing to change), September submissions will not be posted until September of 2026.

I highly encourage reading the notes (to help you understand some other perspectives) before voting!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

You know what would make the Lucky Charm more balanced? Make it so that there are times where other characters figure it out, not just Ladybug. That way, it doesn't make Ladybug hypercompent and makes it possible for other people to save the day.

I don't mind Ladybug being the one best suited to Lucky Charm. I don't think it makes her hyper competent because you don't need a Lucky Charm to save the day. It's just the way that she saves the day. The other characters should have their own unique talents that let them win fights. Generally speaking, that's how strong teams work.

For a random example, let's talk about the teenage mutant ninja turtles simply because I think most people know something about that franchise. The character Donatello (aka Donnie) is the team's tech guy. He makes all kinds of inventions that help them save the day. The show would not be improved if all four of the turtles were able to take on this inventor role. I'd argue that it would actually be lessened because the characters would become interchangeable. This is something that the franchise seems to agree with as each version of the show gives each turtle unique skills and personality traits that makes each of them indispensable in their own way, which is what I think Miraculous should have done with the temp heroes.

That being said, I do think that there's a way to make your idea work. I'd just go a slightly different, more lore balancing route since Lucky Charm is technically bad lore and you all know how I feel about bad lore. So let's talk about giving it a minor tweak and how I think that would actually improve things.

Tikki is supposed to be Creation, not Luck, so the Lucky Charm shouldn't have anything to do with Luck. It should just be pure Creation where the holder comes up with a thing they want and that thing then pops up. It could also have a give and take element where the holder gets what they asked for if they want something specific, but they could also just call the power as a hail Mary and Tikki would come up with something on the fly, leading to the occasional puzzle.

This leads me to my proposed changed.

I personally think it would be hilarious and honestly more fun for Marinette's character if she could summon anything she wanted, but the Lucky Charms stay exactly the same because that's just how her mind works. Even when Tikki is helping, it's still all wacky items because Tikki knows how Marinette is and just goes with it.

For example, in Copy Cat, Ladybug turns a spoon into a hook for a cobbled together fishing pole. Wouldn't it be even funnier if Marinette summoned a spoon on purpose because she was thinking of the makeshift thing she cobbled together in order to fish up something she dropped from her balcony? Then, post fight, Chat Noir praises her like always, only to then ask, "So why a spoon and not a fishing hook?" And Ladybug just stares at him because oh, right, those are things they make. She could have done that. Ooops.

And in Malediktator where she summons a sniper rifle to get a laser pointer? Well, she was thinking about this silly comic about a cat assassin! She totally spaced on the fact that you could just get a laser pointer by itself.

Eventually, her team learns to just go with it and not ask questions. Meanwhile, the general public thinks that the Lucky Charm is some random item that Ladybug has to figure out and no one bothers to correct this misunderstanding. You can even have a running gag of new team members learning the truth and going through the acceptance process of, "Hey, you try thinking up how to set a trap while a 5 meter tall lollipop is trying to crush you! Your mind goes to what it knows, not to the ideal solution, okay???"

If we go with this setup, then other people can wield the Ladybug and use Lucky Charm effectively, they'll just use it in a very different way from the way Marinette uses it. There will also be people who are just not suited to the Ladybug since that was initially how the powers were supposed to work and it made perfect sense. Kwamis should have ideal holders along with okay backups and terrible backups. I personally think Alya would be an okay backup since she's creative, but not creative in the same way Marinette is, leading her to be a lesser Ladybug. Adrien, on the other hand, should generally suck at the Ladybug as he simply doesn't have that style of creative thinking. Which is fine. Better than fine, even! You don't want your characters to be interchangeable! They should all have strengths and weaknesses!

This is one of the show's big flaws. Since everything is on Marinette's shoulders, the other characters rarely get a chance to shine and so they feel interchangeable. For example, if gift always shows the target what THEY want, then why does Rose need to be the one to wield it? Juleka could wield it just as easily. And if Ladybug is generally the one telling Marc and Nathaniel what to summon with their powers, then their creativity is not needed. Anyone could wield the rooster and the goat! The show has completely failed to understand what makes teams memorable and so we have a bloated, boring team whose presence I'm dreading because they had five seasons to set these guys up and yet here we are.