#The Original Characters are still lovable but problematic at times

[xdhxhpxbrx]

Can I just say all of the Characters in Legacies, villains included, are far less problematic than the characters in Vampire Diaries or Originals. They all just give wholesome vibes.

[love-sapphirerose]

10 Shojo Anime That Disappointed Fans

Though shojo is one of the most popular genres in anime, some series still managed to disappoint fans.

Shojo is a unique anime demographic that targets a young female audience. It’s much more sparse than more popular categories, such as shonen, so when a new title comes out, it’s a big deal. Unfortunately, not every new shojo series is a smash hit.

In fact, many shojo series over the years have disappointed fans, for one reason or another. Sometimes it’s due to poor quality in the art and animation, while other times it’s because of a disappointing conclusion. No matter the reason, these shojo series fail to meet fans' expectations and don’t live up to the hype.

10. Fans Consider Fruits Basket Prelude To Be Poorly Executed & Problematic

With the incredible success of the 2019 adaptation of Fruits Basket, everyone was looking forward to the upcoming prequel special. However, Fruits Basket Prelude has been met with shockingly mixed reviews.

Many believe that the film lacks the charm that made the series so beloved, taking on a much different approach with the narrative that most fans couldn't get behind. On top of that, many fans can't help but feel uncomfortable over the relationship between Tohru's parents, who have a wide age gap that feels a little problematic.

9. Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Is Underwhelming Compared To The Original Series

Though many have longed for a continuation of Cardcaptor Sakura, it's never exactly been necessary. The original '90s anime concluded satisfyingly, and though it left room for more, fans felt happy with it. That said, it's apparent that Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card is purely a nostalgia trip, and nothing else.

It's enjoyable in its own right, but it's pretty underwhelming and forgettable when compared to the iconic classic series. While many fans enjoy this continuation, plenty have mixed feelings about it and believe it may not be worth the watch for anyone other than diehard fans.

8. 7 Seeds Gives Fans A Disappointing Anime Adaptation

7 Seeds is a shojo series many fans longed to see adapted into an anime. But when that time finally came, it was nothing short of disappointing. The 7 Seeds anime suffers from many of the usual pitfalls, with subpar animation quality, poor pacing, and a lack of the magic that made the source material so special initially.

The anime crams 35 volumes of story into a short, 12-episode series that hardly does the original justice. Thanks to this, much of the depth within the story and characters is lost. Instead, it leaves fans with a shell of an adaptation that many would rather pass on.

7. Kimi Ni Todoke Goes Downhill With Its Second Season

It's hard to believe that a beloved series like Kimi ni Todoke could ever disappoint fans, but even this adorable series isn't perfect. The first season goes by flawlessly, introducing the audience to the sweet and lovable protagonist, as well as setting up the beginnings of one of the most wholesome shojo romances of all time.

Unfortunately, like many shojos out there, Kimi ni Todoke's second season brings out the usual love triangle drama. With new rivals introduced, there's trouble in paradise for Sawako and Kazehaya. Many didn't expect the series to take this clichéd turn, and it's overall disappointing for those who loved the first season.

6. Glass Mask Will Never Have An Adaptation With A Proper Conclusion

While Glass Mask is a lesser-known shojo series, it's a cult classic with a small yet loyal fanbase behind it. Unfortunately for fans of the series, Glass Mask has been on an indefinite hiatus for some time. As a result, no anime adaptation has ever given the story a proper conclusion.

Though the creator has expressed the desire to complete the series in the future, it's likely still a very long time from now. Until then, every adaptation will remain unfinished, much fans' disappointment.

5. Diabolik Lovers Is Painful For Fans To Watch

When Diabolik Lovers first came out, no one could have guessed it would be so infamously bad. It's easily one of the most hated shojo series of all time, and it disappointed fans in every way possible.

The series has one of the most appalling and cringeworthy storylines of any shojo, with a weak and helpless protagonist, who's devoid of any personality. Each of the Sakamaki brothers is awful, and their abusive relationship with Yui is painful to watch. One of the only good things about Diabolik Lovers is its beautiful art style, which most fans feel is wasted on this horrendously disappointing series.

4. Vampire Knight Had A Strong Beginning But Failed To Keep Its Momentum

During the 2000s, Vampire Knight was one of the most popular shojo series around. Love it or hate it, everyone knew about it, and it was virtually impossible to escape from. The series had a lot of promise at the start, which is why so many fans fell in love with it in the first place.

However, it dragged on for years, adding convoluted storylines and problematic relationships that brought it infamous levels of controversy. Nowadays, it's mostly just regarded as the "Twilight of anime," and shojo fans have all moved on from it.

3. Requiem Of The Rose King Proves To Be A Failed Adaptation

With shojo adaptations becoming rarer these days, fans were thrilled to discover an anime adaptation of Requiem of the Rose King was on its way. However, this excitement immediately ended when the series finally released. In just the first couple of episodes, many were already tempted to drop it, thanks to poor stylistic choices that left viewers spending most of the time watching still images.

As the series progressed, it also became apparent that Requiem of the Rose King was plagued by poor pacing, and many important storylines were left out, much to fans' dismay. Overall, it turned out to be a failed adaptation that many hope to forget.

2. Ouran High School Host Club Never Finished The Manga's Plot

Ouran High School Host Club is one of the most beloved shojo series of all time. It's regarded as an iconic classic of the 2000s, and even those who aren't normally fans of shojo can't help but love it. Nevertheless, it has its fair share of disappointments, the most notable being its ending.

The series has no definitive end, and it's left up in the air if Haruhi will ever end up with any of the boys. It leaves out a majority of the manga's plot, including Haruhi's developing relationship with Tamaki, something that many fans have longed to see since the beginning.

1. Sailor Moon Crystal Disappoints Fans With Less Than Impressive Visuals

Sailor Moon is one of the most popular and influential anime series of all time, so when fans found out about the reboot series, the hype was everywhere. Unfortunately, when Sailor Moon Crystal was finally released, it disappointed much of its audience, due to its poor animation quality and wonky art style.

Many expected the highest quality from a title like Sailor Moon, so the low-budget visuals were unacceptable. Luckily, the series has had many makeovers since its debut, and it looks better than ever now. However, that poor beginning still weighs heavy on many fans' minds, and many are still disappointed with the reboot's outcome.

[arcane-ish]

@embershroud108

Personally my “hero” character, which is to say the character who I would most try to model myself on/try to act like in similar circumstances, is Caitlyn (even though I acknowledge she’s by no means perfect either). But I also think Jinx is a more interesting character than Caitlyn ;p

Oh, absolutely. Caitlyn is absolutely the most good character to our modern sensibilities in regards to kindness and relative open mindedness. It’s both her biggest strength and biggest weakness as a character that she is almost “too nice” for her setting. (compared to let’s say Jayce’s “is generally well meaning, but still has prejudices against the Undercity that sometimes pop up”) 

All of Caitlyn’s “faults” or “flaws” are things that aren’t her fault in the traditional sense of the word. She can’t help what family she was born into, she was genuinely not aware of the corruption (probably the least realistic aspect of her character, like you are supposed to be this super smart Sherlock Holmes person and it never occurred to you that enforcers are corrupt? You really went through enforcer training, even with the protection of your mom and you never were forced to search warrant an undeserving person?) 

Yeah she is generally at fault in a collective responsibility/privilege kind of way but not more than any Piltover character and arguably considerably less so since she shows understanding of the problem and tries to counteract the situation. 

And for the record: I actually hope that they don’t turn Caitlyn into a more setting appropriate “I experienced loss and am now also on my flawed revenge path just like everybody else” character. I actually think the story about Caitlyn still mostly maintaining her pollyanna/modern sensibilities nice person outlook ... and that being woefully and helplessly unequipped to help with the current situation is way funnier and way more interesting. 

Like I said before MacBeth in particular (the Shakespeare tragedy I’m most familiar with and is my personal favorite)

See, my favorite Greek tragedy protagonist is Antigone from Sophocles and Jinx has basically nothing in common with her :D 

And for the record, my general perception was that MacBeth is considered a lot more problematic/not that likable and sympathetic compared to more tradional sadface tragic protags like Hamlet. Like I would say it’s more like Hamlet -> Othello -> MacBeth -> Richard III when it comes to protag likability. (again remember that I have seen these plays about roughly once, with Hamlet maybe the most of these, so it’s vague memories plus general cultural osmosis, so my characterization would that surface level is Hamlet = tragic hero who goes mad, Othello = noble guy with serious character flaw, MacBeth = kind of a shitbag who had potential if he had just stayed put, Richard III = villain and asshole and then you can dig deeper and wax on the details and subversions and “well actually!” the surface read)

Daenerys Targaryen.

I can sort of see it but mostly because she was so well intentioned and high minded in her lofty goals for a long time (something that again I don’t see with Jinx because I think that her actions against Piltover are very gut instinctly and not motivated by any semblance, not even sublimated lofty goals) and the people she was going up against were so much shittier than she was. 

But imo a “yeah, it’s just a misspaced normal villain origin story” not much different than your average JRPG villain with supposedly high minded goals (”I was trying to wipe out human sadness!”) that go terribly wrong is also a read I can I equally see. 

as varied as Scarlett O’Hara

LOL, Scarlett O’Hara is a hilarious delusional asshole. IMO she falls much more into the “entertaining and lovable scamp” category and trying to force her into a tragic hero to me smacks of people trying to gussy up the fact that they like her and tying bows onto that rather than just embracing the fact that they like her. 

Like with your example of “wanting to see them fall versus feeling sad to see them fall”, I’m sorry, seeing Scarlett fail is hilarious and she absolutely deserves the vast majority of things that happen to her. 

(note that I read the book before seeing the movie and imo book Scarlett reads like a hilarious subversion of the traditional good and sweet and passive romance heroine because of all the ways she’s a mean spirited and selfish (but supremely entertaining and enterprising!) little shit)

Andy Dufresne

I had to google who that is. I’ve seen Shawnshank Redemption actually once, but from my vague memory isn’t he just a beleaguered good guy/a good guy with a checkered past at the most? Google spits out that he was actually innocent of his crimes and he gets a happy ending? That seems more like normal “hero overcomes obstacle” (maybe with some “will bear some scars from the experience” at the most? again it’s been ages that I’ve seen that movie) to me.

I mean by the time act 2 starts she is essentially the most feared warrior in the undercity, which basically approximates someone like MacBeth or Achilles.

Is she though? Most people seem to think that her supposed skills are not worth the downside and it’s mostly Silco who thinks highly of her and protects her from criticism. 

Ekko does seem to fear her that much and beats her pretty handily with a non lethal weapon vs. her ranged weapon. 

Maybe the topside fear her, but I get the impression that people still think pretty lowly of her in the undercity and would probably think they would and could take her out fairly easily if Silco wasn’t protecting her (imo they are wrong/will likely find out that they are wrong, but again this is about public perception at this point). IMO the general respect that MacBeth/Othello/Archilles command (and how much Iago is considered the odd aberration for disliking Othello when everybody loves him)/the high opinion people have of them before their downfall is pretty essential to their archetype and that is has to be more “well one really powerful person really likes them”. 

Similarly, her intelligence is there, but underappreciated by most people other than Silco and particularly in Act 1 it is never useful. She is the underdog, the runt, the underappreciated one, the forgotten one (ie Silco saying he thought Vi was the obvious prize of the family, Vi generally being considered the “primary” child of Vander’s like the king’s firstborn versus the “spare” heir), not the one on top of the world. 

IMO she also fails noble intentions pretty hard. Just “yeah she was also trying to save Vander like everybody else and also trying to prove herself after being told specifially to stay behind” isn’t really enough to make somebody notably noble (in the sense that she doesn’t stick out compared to Mylo, Claggor and Ekko), same for “proving oneself to crime daddy” and of course doubly so for “trying to drive a wedge between my sister and her girlfriend”. 

So, I’ll just stick with “fascinating subversion” with elements of “lovable scamp” and “victim of great tragedy” personally :) 

Btw: a really interesting discussion point would actually be Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Imo he hits way more points on the tragic hero list at the same time I would still classify the Episode 1-3 more as a villain origin story than a straight up tragic hero story (particularly because of how he shares protag duties with Obiwan as a contrast while in your Shakespearean tales we are very locked into the POV of the main character).

[life-rewritten]

Tharn and Type 7 Years: The marriage disagreement

When I think about Tharn and Type, I think about their love, their passion for each other, and their growth to get to the place that they are in, in Tharn and Type 7 years of love. The sequel for the show. Whilst on the surface it may look like Tharn and Type have remained the same; argumentative, non-communicative and everybody's favourite word to use toxic. I think they are so much more different, so much more in love and happy and healthy. One issue though that comes about for their new show is the marriage disagreement. Tharn wants to propose to Type, but Type for some reason keeps on avoiding and rejecting the proposal. It's a weird disagreement to me, but then when I look at the characters and how they have been shaped and view the world, it becomes quite clear no one is right or wrong when it comes to this matter. Let's look at the marriage disagreement from both of our guys' point of view.

THARN: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL, EXTERNAL, AND INTERNAL NEED TO BE LOVED

Let's look at our Tharn. When we first meet him he's you know; sly, sexy, confident in who he is. He's been out for a long time since he was 14 and so he is proud of who he is. And why shouldn't he be, he's rich and spoilt, successful and talented, and he's also sweet, kind, selfless and possessive to those he loves. He's the perfect guy, and Type knows that and Type falls for that. The thing is when you actually look at Tharn and try to bring out his flaws you see the same reasons he's perfect is the exact reasons for why he isn't perfect: he's spoilt; so he always gets his way, and because of this he's manipulative, he's possessive; so he's always jealous and explosive when it comes to whats his being taken away, he's kind but selfless; so he always lets things build under the surface, he avoids conflict not to lose what he cares about so he's a pushover. This is all because of one thing, in particular, that's his biggest flaw, he's terrified of being unlovable. 

Tharn’s Psychological Scars

Let's dive into that deeper because it's interesting. First of all, when we watch Tharn and Type season 1, we only think Type is the person who has suffered psychological and mental damages/trauma that has shaped him into the flawed person he is at the start. It's understandable why Type is the way he is, but we fail to do the same for Tharn. Tharn is also a victim of some psychological/mental hurt. He's always been deserted each time he got to close; he was always secretly manipulated by his best friend who continued to maim him and convince him that there was something wrong with him and he didn't deserve to be loved. This is why his biggest fear/hated word is break up.

Tharn has been turned into someone who is clingy and possessive of the people he loves because for a very long time he didn't understand why everyone he got close to, left and blamed it harshly on him. In fact Long has caused many painful scars to Tharn: he got physically punched and hurt by Tum his best friend for something he didn't do but also the mental strain that had on him when he lost his best friend and being accused as an awful person, he lost all the people he kept falling in love with. And even though he and Type get back together after he realises the truth, it still hunts him that he was the cause of all that happened to the people who dated him for example, Tar. He's terrified at the realisation that everyone who falls in love with him gets hurt, and it makes him think he deserves to be unlovable. 

Thus Tharn is overly protective,  possessive and clingy of his relationship despite the fact that it should seem stable because of it lasting seven years, but no his mind automatically finds loopholes and places for where it could be weakened. He goes into overdrive to ensure that Type is his and won't leave him again. So he obsesses over something that will ensure that nothing will separate him and Type for example something where they have the law and pieces of evidence that they're tied together for life. Marriage.

The origin of his and Type’s relationship

But Type automatically rejects, and this is why he's scared, he's worried about Type not wanting them to be married: 

You have to remember that Type started of this relationship very differently, he was homophobic excessively due to his own scars, and he kept Tharn on a loop for a while before they got together. First of all, for Tharn, he can't help but question if Type is still feeling this way if he still sees their relationship as something unnatural and unacceptable. It scares him because it's something that could cause their relationship to fall apart at any time if Type reverts back to his old self.

Also in episode he over hears Type talking about the future saying that if they break up then it’ll cause an issue, but the thing is Tharn only heard his trigger word break up, Type shouldn’t be thinking that they could break up, could they break up, could he end up changing mind on their promise to each other? It seems like he’s already making prevention plans for when they do, what could cause it and how can he prevent it? These are the thoughts probably running in his head And for him the way to stop that is marriage. 

It's irrational but if you're someone like Tharn who's become obsessive with the protection of his relationship then its understandable that he's finding irrational reasons in his head why Type could leave him. He's overthinking everything, and he hates that.

The jealousy of Phu and Cir

This hate is further exacerbated with jealousy for Phugun and Cir. We've seen Tharn now meet with Phugun and Cir in both episodes, in both episodes we've seen him marvel at Cirs possessiveness and their overly affectionate manner. These two are a device to shadow what's going on in Tharn's mind: they are the antithesis of Tharn and Type, they're softer, and they don't seem like they argue, or fight, they're overly affectionate to each other in public, and Phugun is gentler/sweeter when it comes to showing his love for Cir. I'm not saying Tharn wants someone like Phu as his; he loves Type. Still, he's being forced to see another couple act the way he wants, he wants to be possessive, and call Type his in public the way Cir tells him to back off from Phu, he wants to hold hands and have Type lean his head on his shoulder in public and have Type call him his in front of people. Again because of his mindset, being in public, showing their affection to other people, makes it more evidential that they have something real, having people know that they are dating/married prevents home wreckers/ others from questioning if they are making up their partner and hiding the fact they're single; Both in episode 1, have to hear people question their relationship, the authenticity and genuineness of it because they've hidden who they're seeing for seven years. It's another trigger for Tharn, hearing people question the authenticity makes him also see another loophole/question if Type is really his. That's why he says he wants Type to be only his in episode 2.

TYPE: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL, EXTERNAL, AND INTERNAL NEED TO BE PROTECTED

Let's look at Type. On the other hand, we have our problematic but lovable Type. Type is very adamant about not seeing the importance of marriage. Like I said before, I don't blame him, Type focuses on protection, or should I say prevention for their relationship. He's all about preventing outside sources from bothering them; he's all about ensuring that they keep on being the way they are because it's not an issue to him, he's okay with the people who know, so he's not ashamed of Tharn, he's willing to show their relationship to his parents, so he isn't going to revert back to thinking what they have is not natural.

But for Type he's focused on reputation, people's opinions and loopholes that cause a break down in their relationship (funny same as Tharn). Type's own is more logical and rational. He's focused on how the world perceives gay people. Let's look at Type's mindset first.

His family and society

First, his father is still against him and Tharn being together. That's already proof to him why telling people or involving world isn't useful for their relationship, it just causes bothersome noise and anger, and it becomes an unwarranted issue for them to deal with. Type has spent most of his life being homophobic because of his past trauma, for him he's spent time looking at it from someone who is against their relationship, so he knows what people can do in anger, (ruin Tharns family reputation or hurt him or Tharn ) if angry or irrational.  For Type, society isn't as lenient to LGBTQ as it should be, so he's focused on protecting what he has with Tharn. He saw how his father reacted to them, what if others do the same, what if their environment hate them and life is more challenging for them.

Also because of his past Type has a very negative reaction to people being involved in his life like that. One because after his trauma happened it was all over the news and he was a victim of people invading his space for that very reason. He had all his information, reputation, and self exposed to people who were cruel to him and so yes hates being public because of this as well. 

The nature of his and Tharn’s relationship

Secondly for Type getting married isn't a necessity, not when he knows and is confident that he and Tharn will last. Tharn has other reasons why he can't think like that, but for Type one thing he's sure about is their love for each other, they don't need physical evidence for that, they already are the physical evidence that they're forever. Because Type and Tharn have chosen each other as life partners, they tell each other that every day, they show each other every day, they've demonstrated their relationship to the people that matter to them, and they already live like a married couple for seven years.

As much as I understand Tharn's need for evidence/action to prove that they won't be separated, it is still stupid, because home wreckers will always try to break them even when married, Type still isn't going to be as affectionate in public because he's not that kind of person in public, and nothing will change their dynamic after they're married because they already live together, see each other and spend most of their time together like a married couple.

THARN AND TYPE 7 YEARS OF LOVE

But like I said, I get it. The only issue now that pushes this as a plot is how Tharn reacts to this issue when he's not getting his way. We know he can be sometimes manipulative, (he likes to guilt Type into doing his bidding/ forgiving him when they fight like putting his hand on the pan to get him to feel sorry for him), we know he can be hotheaded and just as explosive since we saw his reaction to being jealous and possessive in season 1 so mix this issue and fear with Fiat (walking in and choosing to fight for Type because they're not married). It means Tharn will make mistakes when he reacts to that.

One thing for certain though is Tharn loves Type, Type is all he cares about and wants, he's willing sometimes to be patient and hold back for Type, he tries to be understanding and communicative in episode 2, but also he still has this issue in his mind, it's going to keep on building and building, and soon it'll cause an explosion. That's why him being a pushover isn't a good thing for this.

The one thing that remains above all this is that Tharn and Type love each other, even despite having different opinions, they can't bear the thought of losing each other, they decided from episode 1 that it was them against the world, together. So no matter what happens, they will keep fighting to be together, they will keep trying to understand each other. Like I said they have matured, their relationship has changed and becomes healthier, (fighting does not mean toxicity, it just means they're realistic), and they have loved each other so far for seven years. They haven't lost that passion and attraction they have for each other. This season its time for Tharn to mature and deal with his own fears, flaws and scars last season we watched Type deal with his as he fell in love with Tharn, so let's see what happens next.

[travllingbunny]

Tribes of Europa, season 1 - thoughts

I finished season 1 of German post-apocalyptic Netflix drama Tribes of Europa a couple of days ago, and I have... lots of thoughts and mixed feelings.

It's a standard post-apocalyptic show with all the usual tropes, but mostly well done, and has potential. I ended up liking it better than I expected, mostly because one of the storylines (Kiano’s) turned out to be pretty good/interesting.

The main problem of the show is that most characters, so far, don't have a lot of depth. An exception is a female villain who has proven to be quite complex and interesting. On the other hand, while  I loved seeing Oliver Masucci, in a role completely different from Ulrich Nielsen, and he's great and charismatic, I feel like I've seen the exact same lovable rogue-turned-mentor character a dozen times in various shows and movies. The main trio of young protagonists have the potential for interesting character development, but it remains to be seen what saason 2 does with it.

At least there's one thing that makes the show different than most post-apocalyptic shows I'm aware of - I can't think of any others that take place on the European continent? Usually it's North America, Australia, or UK. So, that's interesting... But then, after I finished it, I started thinking a bit more about some of the elements of the worldbuilding, which are a bit... questionable? I'm reserving judgment till these things are explained.

Spoilers under the cut.

In the first episode, the show did the GoT thing of introducing us to a likable family and then having siblings separated by fate and trying to get back together, while having different storylines. But they should've spent a bit more time with them together and explaining their history.

The show also does that thing where the siblings look nothing like each other and are played by actors of different ethnic origins, so I was waiting to hear they were half-siblings or some other explanation, but there was none. Well, OK then.

One thing I wasn't crazy about is that Kiano had a girlfriend we saw for about 20 seconds and then she apparently got killed for no particular reason. I can't say it's even fridging, since he never even mentions her afterwards and he has a lot of other reasons to hate the Crows.

But Kiano's storyline turned out to be the most interesting , and most disturbing, the kind that can make or break the show, depending on how it deals with issues like slavery, rape, trauma. So far, the show has dealt with it well, which made me like the show more than I thought. (It definitely beats The 100 - a show it was the 100 in the Netflix promo campaign - in that respect. I was already scared it would do something similar to The 100, which really dropped the ball when it touched on such issues in a really clumsy way in season 3.)

Lord Varvara has turned out to be the most interesting and compelling character, and excellently played by Melika Foroutan. (I wish I could say the same about the Crows’ big boss, Yvar - but whether it is mostly due to the OTT costume and makeup or the similarly OTT acting, I had a hard time taking this guy seriously.) She is not exactly morally grey - she is definitely a villain, slaver rapist and murderer, but her role as a former slave - a victim of abuse turned abuser, and someone who upholds the ideas of Social Darwinism - makes her role very interesting and ambiguous. I think that (especially based on some hints) that she used to be a sex slave, too, and if she was also made to be a Crow by her former slave master, that would probably mean Yvar used to be her master. That could lead to some interesting tension and conflicts, as she probably hates this guy deep inside, but still has to vie for his approval, even now that she has “made it”.  And she sees to see something in Kiano that makes her think they are similar, that he is 'strong' like she thinks she is (on the other hand, she despised her other slave who had a huge Stockholm Syndrome for her).

I'm curious how they deal with Kiano's character development next season, and how far into moral greyness or darkness it will be willing to go with him. Varvara is a blueprint of what he could become.  He didn't exactly show much concern for the lives of other slaves, except his father.  

Liv's storyline was also pretty interesting. with her navigating the political issues of the Crimsons. I liked that the Crimsons as a whole turned out to be more morally grey than I initially expected - with their strict military discipline to the point of authorianism and lack of tolerance for dissent. 

I don't know if the show expected me to side with the general (aka "Father") or think his views were right, as Liv did? I did not.. "Let's make peace and unity with slavers"? No, dude. But I’ll go with the idea that we are not necessarily supposed to side with him rather than David just because Liv did; or that a third option may be found (such as causing a rebellion among the Crows themselves, which would be my preferred direction of that storyline). 

(I also rolled my eyes whenever he started going on about "old European dream" or whatever he called it. No, my dude, you need to brush up on your history. Your plan is nothing like the EU, unless your plan is to go and deliver a bunch of demands to the Crows:  "Unless you guys: abolish slavery; ensure human rights for everyone; install a viable non-slavery based economy etc.. - we're not letting you into our new unified Europe!" He also may needed to be reminded EU was formed after Axis powers were defeated.)

I've heard that a lot of people didn't like Elja's storyline because they found it the least interesting, and sure, it wasn't very emotional and didn't have much character development, but I'm very curious about the mystery of the Black December, the Atlantians etc. so I liked it.  And I liked the fact that Elja wasn't a naive kid and could deceive people and keep secrets when he needed to.

But there are certain problems I have with the show’s world-building... which, at its worse, may end up being just as problematic as The 100′s was.

While I like the idea of a post-apocalyptic show set in continental Europe, and with languages other than English - almost all of the characters are only speaking German or English (the latter, I guess, for the same reason it's widespread today - people speak it as a second language and use it to communicate). We should really see more people who speak other languages. So far, that’s only happened sporadically - but my problem is more with the fact that the most villainous tribe, Crows (murderous, slave-owning Eurotrash-like villains with very Social Darwinist views) -  even though they speak German or English 99% of the time - very notably use certain words from Slavic languages - and only for specific terms like "lubovnik" ('lover' - actually sex slave), "boi" (fight/battle), "svobodnik" (free man?). These were very recognizable. I have no idea what "Bozie" means, but I read somewhere it comes from Russian. What's supposed to be the backtory behind that? Sure, I am for more language diversity, but did a German show have to give the kind of barbaric-version-of-fascist villains these questionable Slavic references?  That would be uncomfortable in so many ways.... It's not just Slavs, because another notable Crow character, Grieta at some point used Romanian (and the actress is Romanian), but I hope they're not going with the Evil Barbaric Eastern Europeans here. To be fair, many Crows were clearly slaves at the beginning, which complicates things... but Varvara says her real name - slave name - was Sophia, which could be anything - while her Crow names is Varvara - which definitely sounds Russian or Bulgarian (or, I guess, it could be Greek).

On the other side, opposed to the Crows, we have the more “civilized” tribe/army of former Eurocorps, whose members have so far only been heard speaking English, German and, at one point, Dutch - curiously called Red Crimson Army (!), I have so many questions...

Another questionable thing, pointed by the host of the Culture Cave YouTube podcast, who did an overall favorable review of the show, howeverpointed out that the Crows - the villains - are the only ones who don't conform to gender roles? And the males who are the most 'effeminate' looking are baddies. I didn’t even think of that initially, but thinking about it... yes, it has been like that so far, hasn’t it?

I’m reserving judgment till next season, but I only used to give The 100 the benefit of doubt with its questionable world-building, and we know how that turned out.

[popculturebuffet]

Goof Week: Goofy Birthday Shortstacular!

Hyuck all you happy people! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOOFY! The celebration already got on track today with a look at the two part goof troop pilot. You can find that here.  

That review kicked off GOOF WEEK my weeklong look at all things Goofy, but as is tradition on this blog the birthday of one of the big three wouldn’t’t be complete without a look at their theatrical shorts career. And with this one i’ve covered all three of Disney’s biggest stars having covered Donald last june (and will again next month) and Mickey in September so it’s long overdue that my boy gets a shot and even longer overdue I watched some of his classic shorts. 

A large part of why I started doing these is because I love classic theatrical shorts and the reason I love looking at the Disney ones is, unlike Looney Toons or Tom and Jerry, I didn’t grow up with these and Disney never replayed them. At most you’d get one or a small slice of one in a House of Mouse episode. So this is a fun way to dive right into history and see a piece of Disney I’ve only started scratching the surface of. 

This is a fun one too. I ended bumping this up to 12 shorts again, and i’m glad as it allowed me to take a look at some of the weirder stuff and we go all over the place: We have dancing, goofy begging for a smoke, goofy devlopnig a split personality that calls him fat a bunch, a prototypical max who is a LOT, trips to medevil times and cowboy times, a tex avery esque noir short, and the lead in short to National treasure. If any of that sounds like a real good time to you, then keep reading under the cut!

Mickey’s Revue (1933)

Goofy was created by his VA Pinto Colvig, who based the character on the local happy go lucky moron from his home town, and after a dicussion with Walt it was decided to roll him into Mickey’s growing supporting cast. 

My guess from here is they decided to do a dry run to make sure the character worked with audeinces before giving him a full time roll. Given Goofy’s been both a staple of Mickey’s supporting cast and often more popular than the mouse or even the duck, you can see how that went. 

Colvig was awesome. While Bill Farmer is my preferred Goofy, I still tip my hat to the original and it’s clear this was a character he was born t play and it shows: a lot of characters take a short or too to really find their personality. Goofy.. has his early shorts persona straight out of the box> The only weird thing is he’s an ol dman here.. but otherwise his schick here, loudly eating peanuts, laughing a bit too loud and annoying everyone around him with no genuine malice.. that’s Goofy and Pinto really hit onto something and as we’ll see today had a TON of range beyond this. 

As for the rest of the short.. it’s forgetable. It’s not BAD, but it’s just Mickey and friends capering on stage. Nothing really out of the oridnary for these early Mickey Shorts, especially since some of them could get really damn creative.

The Whoopee Party (1933)

Now we have Goofy’s first proper appearance, going from joke character in the crowd to full member of Mickey’s friend group. 

This one is also just okay, but better than the last: Mickey and friends throw a wild party, with Mickey, Goofy and Horace making the sammiches. Goofy dosen’t do much btu gets a good gag or two, and overall it’s alright. Enjoyabl efor it’s lively animation and not much else. 

Goofy and Wilbur (1936) Three years later we get Goofy’s proper debut, a cute short about him using his Cricket friend to fish. That’s not the exestitnal nightmare that it sounds like mind you as Wilbur simply tricks them into Goofy’s net an donly gets eaten when they catch on and Goofy runs to his aid. The short really is more about Wilbur but it’s fair: like with Donald , who was paired with Pluto in his first solo short, they wanted to test the waters before having Goofy carry a cartoon himself. As we’ll see he very well could, but it’s fair to want ot backdor pilot it first and it’s easily one of the best shorts of today’s batch.

How to Play Baseball (1937)

First off while they make a good effort I already know how ot play baseball short...

How To Play Baseball is my faviorite of the Goofy Shorts on Disney Plus, which is a VERY small batch. Especailly since most of Today’s shorts aren’t at all problematic or inapproriate for kids. This one is a gem though. It’s one of the How To Shorts where a narrator goes ove rgoofy trying and failing at an activity though this one’s a tad diffrent. 

 The How To Narrator teaches us about baseball before narrating the world series game. It’s full of cleve slapstick, high speed animation and plain fun. It’s also part of the trend that would dominate Goofy’s sports career of putting him in whatever roll the shorts needed. Here he’s everyone at once, others he’s his old goofy self, other time sh’es just a normal joe. But Colvig does every version amazingly, so it all meshes and that general goofy design is so appealing it just WORKS.  So yeah while i’m not into sports I do genuinely love the How To shorts, as they were my faviorite part of House of Mouse and still are, and the originals are every bit as classic as their reputation says they are. 

A Knight For A Day (1946)

This one is the only other one of these on Disney Plus and it’s decent enough. Nothing incredibble or extra specail: Goofy plays a Squire who has to fil lin for his Knight in a tournament and tries to win a princesses hand against another douchier goofy. Simple stuff iwth some fun gags, but it just dosen’t feel all that fresh, especially since Disney already did a much better shorts with knights with Mickey’s “Ye Olden Days”. It just dosen’t feel as fun or creative as that one was btu on it’s own it’s fine. Nothing great, nothing terrible, just fine. First short of the day to feature Goofy’s faceless blonde love interest who in domestic shorts is his wife and by the same extension Max’s now dead mother. 

Tomorrow We Diet (1951)

We’ve got three from 1951 here. By this point Goofy had traditioned from lovable bumbler to every man, taking on a more generalized personality to fit into every day slice of life scenarios, using those to brilliantly contrast the goofy animated comedy with the more mundane setting it comes from. And sometimes it’s just straight up sticom humor with the ocasoinal joke you could only do in a cartoon.  And sometimes.. you get a version of Goofy who lives in a mirror taunting Goofy over being fat and then trying to keep him on his diet while it’s not clear if thi sis a split personality, a mirror ghost tormenting him that took his form and is doing this so Goofy breaks the mirror and frees him, or his evil doppleganger from another universe. 

Yeah .. one of the centerpieces of this short is Goofy’s reflection/split personality/earth 3 doppleganger/some sort of evil genie taunt shim abotu the fact he’s putting on weight startnig by saying “Hey Fat”... because apparently in this unvierse the best weight joke they can come up with is literally just calling someone fat. I bet I know who rules THIS timeline with an iron fist....

The first half of this short is Goofy being told he’s fat by a bunch of people and the second half is his hallucination/psychotic break/guardian asshole tormenting him with the diet. And I do mean tormenting: He knocks away all of Goofy’s food, then suggests he not even eat his carrot and STARVE himself, which is just deeply unhealthy, and earlier forces Goofy to let him read his book and then tell shim to just diet anyway. Which granted dieting IS sensible.

So yeah this short as you can probably guess by the fact it involves the term “Hey Fat” which was only said by a human being once.. Dick Kinney or Mick Shaffer, the writers of ths short,  when one pitched the line to the other and they laughed for some reason and put it in the script. But with that you can wager this short is REALLY outdated> Overating CAN be a problem and fat shaming still exists, but it’s far less tolerated and far less of a thing.

And hell I can tolerate a good natured weight joke, the Critic had some great ones, especially as a fat guy myself... but this isn’t good natured. The entire joke is, as the man said above HE’S FAT.. So as a legit short. it’s deeply unfunny at best, horribly insulting at worst. But as a so bad it’s good short? it’s GOLD. From the whole mirror goofy thing, to the fact fat is seen as a legit insult here or something to just call fat people because that’s what the writers thoguht humans, even in the 50′s talked like it’s just riffably cruel.. though it will obviously depend onthe viewers tolerance for both fat jokes and how creepy the short can be and again as a short it sucks. As something to be mocked for fun.. it’s fat with potential

Father’s Are People (1951)

Hey Kids you wanna see Max and Goofy reenact Problem Child? 

Given I did Goof Troop earlier this week and i’m finishing this week with A Goofy Movie, it shouldn’t come as a huge shocker that I wanted to cover the first short with Goofy’s son Juinor, who’d later be remolded into Max. 

The short STARTS promising with Goofy having a kid and the hyjinks that comes from having a baby child: Goofy passes out Cigars because Lung Cancer was the preferred way of celebrating having a child in the 50′s, runs himself ragid helping out, which I give the short credit for as “Donald’s Diary” three years later would play a man helping a woman around the house for horror. Here George (Goofy would often go by George Geef in later shorts) pitches in and while he’s clearly exausted he is trying to help with the boy. 

It takes a turn though once we jump ahead to a toddler Junior. Seriously a red head named junior... there’s no way that’s a coincidence. Anyways, the problem is unlike problem child, where Junor dosen’t really go after his dad but the assholes around his pushover dad who genuinely deserve it, this Junior goes after Goofy who at wors tis mildly negelectful but clearly loves his boy> He also DOES try to take a brus hto the kid... but it’s hard to be too mad about that as it was acceptable at the time and he dosen’t actually paddle a three year old. It’s like a less horrfying version of donald puttin ga penguin to a shotguns face in that the targeted party dosen’t see the threat and that goofy isn’t some form of sociopath in this short like Donald was there. It’s just not very funny and only worth watching at all for the historical value. 

No Smoking! (1951) (Patreon Selection by WeirdKev27)

This is my first of two Patreon selections, my patreon is here if you want to chip in a buck to pick a short for Donald’s birthday next month, by longtime friend and backer of the blog Kev. He suggested this one for the sheer absurdity of Goofy smooking.. and was right on the money> This one is DELGITHFUL. 

It works on two levels: it works on the modern level of seeing such an iconic cartoon grapple with trying to quit smoking, first smoknig so constantly a giant cloud appears over him and he has about 80 cigs in his mouth at once, but then trying to quit and being surrounded bycigs before finally DESPERATELY begging for one. As I discovered you really HAVEN’T lived till you’ve heard goofy madly call out “Smoke, smoke gotta have a smoke”. 

But while the novelty IS great.. it’s also just a good cartoon. Outside of some blatant racisim at the start, with a native american sterotype introducing smoking to colmbus which feels so wrong to type I need a shower and really puts a damper on the short which after that.. is just really funny. From the smoking through the ages, to the very creative smoking gags it’s just fun.. and it is CLEARLY anti-smoking, showing both the insane amount of cigrte smoker can go through and how mad the addiction can drive you. It’s not bad... though if you can’t stomach the blatant and terrible racisim.. I get that and it’s fair. 

Two Gun Goofy (1952)

This is one of two “put Goofy in another setting all together” pieces, both in the same year which tells me they were trying to find new stuff to do for Goofy. Thi sisn’t unheard of in cartoons: Around the same time and before Bugs Bunny went all over the world and thorugh time and space, and Mickey went through the looking glass and had two fantasy shorts, so i’ts not unusual

But what IS neat about these next two shorts is they combined the two goofys: he has his goofy demanor and oblivoiusness from the classic shorts, but still has his deeper, slightly less goofy voice from the everyman shorts and is still treated as an average joe, just one now undertaking genre careers, here a cowboy and next a detective

This short is decent. I’m a sucker for cowboy episodes apparently: either old west style showdowns or having the characters go to a dude ranch or something. So naturally I picked this one and was told Max was in it an dhe is... in a two second cameo when Goofy has a thought bubble after meeting faceless lady.

But this is a really enjoyable picture. not Disne’y sbest but good stuff. It also pairs Goofy with pete which really is a perfect pairing, putting our scowling rotund villian against our skinny well meaning hero. And while i’ts a common gag in a lto of things I do love Goofy accidently beating the shit out of pete as the short finds fun ways to do it. All in all worth a watch. 

How to Be a Detective (1952)

This one was a REALLY fun one. Like with westerns i’m a sucker for a good noir parody, even if ironically I haven’t watched much of either genre proper. Add in the fact this is clearly inspiried by Tex Avery’s work and i’m sold on this fun madcap romp with an approraitely more noirsh narrator. 

Goofy is naturally a detective and hired by the faceless woman to find “Al” having to contend with both a goon he keeps failing to recognize and The Chief of Police, played by Pete, who keeps telling him “I told ya to stay off the case Goof!”. It’s just the delivery makes it funny any time he says it as does his instance... and the punchline, which I won’t spoil to both that an dthe overaching mystery i sa gem. This one’s on youtube, seek it out, it’s damn fun. Before I go thoguh I also love how Goofy is Given “Goof Balls”. Yes GOOFY GETS DRUGGED and I am here for it

Father’s Day Out (1953)

I couldn’t find any GIF’s for this one, not even one’s in teh same tag that were unrelated so here, have more smoking Goofy. It will never not be funny.

This one is ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhtastic. Goofy is overworked, wnats to rest on his weeknd, and stuff gets in the way. Oh and halfway through he abrubtly has to take Max to the beach. It’s.. not much honestly. It’s like the simpsons if it wasn’t funny. 

How To Hook Up Your Home Theater (2007) (Emma Fici Patreon Selection)

You may notice the MASSIVE time jump here. That’s because while Disney still does theatrical shorts nowadays, in part because Pixar’s shorts turned out to be a huge hit, they almost never use the classic cast. This delightful anamoly is one of the few exceptions and was picked by Emma out of sheer curosity. And she picked well this short is fun, feelnig like a big budget version of the House of Mouse How To Shorts I loved so an dhaving a modern yet still ultimatley timeless subject: while the tech featured is missin ga streaming box and 4k, otherwise it really has aged incredibly well and getting all the diffrent modes set up and what not is a hassel we al lcan agree with. 

It’s a fun short with lots of good gags and humor as Goofy tries to set up his Home Theater before the big game, and worth a watch. Weirdly not on Disney+ though try explaining that one. 

One final note is for whatever reason this was paired up with National Treasure: Book of Secrets. 

My BEST GUESS i sthat it appeals to the kinds of dads who’d watch National Traesure: Book of Secrets as well as kids since it’s an adventure film. Though it now makes me want to see Nicholas Cage voice goofy. Get on it Disney. Not forever though, Bill’s a treasure. Just for a gag like Don Cheadle vocing Donald.. oh god put them together.. and then have them do a movie together I don’t think they have and do not know why. 

Final Ranking: As a bit of added fun to close this out and as a new feature for these i’m ranking today’s shorts from best to worst How To Be A Detective How To Play Baseball No Smoking Goofy and WIlbur How To Hook Up Your Home Theater Two Gun Goofy The Whoopee Party Mickey’s Revue Tommorow We Diet A Knight for A Day Father’s Are People Father’s Weekend

For the record despite not being a GOOD short Tommorow we diet is at least intresting, hence i’ts ranknig while Father’s weekend is just a boring 50′s version of problem child. Fathers are People at least has some good gags to set it off. 

So thank you for reading and if you liked this review give it a like and consider joining my patreon at patreon.com/popculturebuffet. As a patron you’d get access to exclusive reviews, the patreon’s discord and to pick a short each time I do one of these shortstaculars. Donald’s comnig next month and the deadline is in only a few days to join up for said month so the clock is ticking. Even a dollar a month helps me reach my stretch goals so please i fyou can sign up today and if not, I understand and i’ll see you at the next rainbow

[daggerfall]

At the risk of starting yet more disk horse, what's the problem with Dyvayth Fyr? To clarify I've only interacted with him in clockwork city, haven't played Morrowind or seen him anywhere else in eso. And he seemed like kinda a privilaged ass but no more so than Tharn, or honestly any of the Wizard tm characters in tes, so I've always been a little confused by the hate.

i did kinda worry this was like, bait when i first saw it, not noticing what had popped out of my queue around the time I got this - but at full risk of discourse, i think it is still best to like, give you an answer as unbiased as I can. full disclosure ive not played morrowind and im gonna get a little soapboxy about tesblr discourse

in TES III morrowind, there are some dialogue lines that imply/state the four women in fyr’s house to be his daughters, clones of himself, but also his wives. which should pretty obviously be uhhhhhhhhhhh really REALLY yikes. ESO fyr exists 800 years before this and has zero references to this, nor does it give any indication of fyr as being anywhere NEAR that level of reprehensible. It’s a big difference, one that some fans agree with as “the writers of ESO wanted to distance themselves from the original writing of morrowind, which was a massive dumpster fire and highly HIGHLY problematic in places, but wanted to bring in such an important lore character as divayth fyr for their story”. other fans see the decision as woobifying an irredeemable character for the purposes of wanting to fuck him or whatever, without the baggage of morrowind, which to them is something one cannot and should not shrug off. 

and in all honesty, i support whatever people feel in regards to the character, on an individual level. the morrowind characterization can and should elicit strong emotional responses - some want him killed and to suffer, some want him entirely gone from the game, some just want that one aspect about him removed from the game for personal comfort, some want it gone so they dont have to feel guilty about liking him. and some people only know him from eso, where he is as you described: no worse than any other lovable asshole wizard character. he induces a certain level of rage in me only seen before in tharn that I find to be... enjoyable to play through. I do admittedly enjoy his characterization in ESO (but I’m just a corporate simp so what do I know). 

and those people who only know him from eso often have NO CLUE what his morrowind characterization was like (or that he was in morrowind at all) because morrowind is highly unplayable if you have any form of dyslexia, adhd that doesnt let you read walls of text, hate the combat system, hate older graphics, your system can’t play it, you’re wildly uncomfortable with the amount of sexual harassment and depictions of slavery in it... there’s so many good reasons to never play or care about morrowind. 

The hate I usually see directed at Fyr is either “he’s like tharn so it’s lovable bullying of an asshole wizard character” or “he’s disgusting and i hate that he even exists in ESO”. It entirely depends on people’s stance of what to do with his Morrowind characterization: throw it out, acknowledge and condemn it, or be unaware of it. So i cannot tell you if the hate you are seeing is coming from one side or another without knowing OP’s intent. 

If people want to talk about Fyr without ever acknowledging Morrowind, hell yeah. If people want him to suffer and die because his Morrowind characterization is especially emotionally triggering given trauma or whatever other reason, then all the power to you, I support you. If people never want to acknowledge him, go for it. If people want to talk about Fyr but knowingly remove that singular disgusting thing about him from Morrowind because the idea of it even existing in the world makes you WILDLY uncomfortable (that’s my stance personally), rock on. 

I think people deserve the right to feel uncomfortable with him, feel rage and hate toward him even. And I also think they deserve the right to just, delete that one bit because it would be SO EASY to get rid of it and make him into a character more like Tharn who we love to hate - to just take Morrowind and throw it out the window. And I think both these groups deserve the right to exist in the same spaces and be civil toward each other. Essentially, let people feel their rage, but also don’t bully and harass people off this site for only knowing ESO characterization of Fyr when they talk about him :)

[baebeyza]

Pros and Cons of all the TF shows I watched [updated: Unicron Trilogy and BW Neo]

Update info: Whyever the hell I wrote this and why people care about my opinion is beyond my current understanding, but @chaoticgirl23 asked for the Unicron Trilogy I hadn't watched back then, so- Also decided to write down if I actually like the show or not xD

(also I removed wfc, because I cant really judge after all with the show not being finished) My personal opinions + stuff that can be dubbed controversial and problematic, so beware for racism and sexism! But also beware of my idiotic attempts at humour

G1 (loved the show with all my heart)

Pros:

- The original show

- big cast of loveable characters

- Really awesome human side characters

- Very clever and witty dialogue

- fucking batshit insane

- Rodimus Prime is babe

Cons:

- apart from Arcee, female autobots being treated like a subspecies and only appearing in like one episode (3 if you are generous)

- Motherfucking country called “Carbombya”

- Some human characters are actually shit (those boys from B.O.T)

- Rodimus fucks as a human and not as a robot

- Everything animated by AKOM

- Galvatron’s portrayal as a person with brain-damage reads as ableistic (Personally I still love his G1 version more than the others I’ve seen)

- The “You’re only truly disabled if you lose your courage” line from Chip, it was explained to me that it’s ableistic as well

Headmasters (loved the show)

Pros:

- exciting plot

- characters die, fuck yeah

- Planets get destroyed, fuck yeah

- <3 ~ Power of Friendship ~ <3

- Sixshot is babe

Cons:

- Everything about Cyclonus and Wheelie

- Rodimus fucks off after episode 10 and never comes back

- Arcee going from warrior to secretary

- If you come from IDW I have to break it to you that Chromedome is straight

SuperGod  Masterforce (loved the show with all my heart)

Pros:

- A darker and more serious storyline if you’re into that

- Lots of character arcs and well-written characters in general

- Decepticons having a more family like dynamic

- Decepticons with a level of depth to them

- Redemption much

- Ginrai is babe

Cons:

- This show’s focus is on the humans so if you don’t like human TF characters, this aint for you

- The character Cab has a level of racist stereotyping - he comes from a fictional country in Oceania called Karin and the depiction of that country is everyone living in wood homes and having no electricity. (The show plays in the future so that makes it worse) Cab himself gets introduced as a Tarzan kinda dude who can talk with animals.

While I found Cab himself not bad as a character, the problem with how his background is written sure is stupid and insulting. There isn’t a lot of focus on his country in the show however, but it’s still there

- There is a scene in which the boys Shuta and Cab spy on girls during swim class (they get called out and apologize for it though and the “fanservice” scene itself is really damn modest and tame)

Victory (loved the show)

Pros:

- Similiar fun tone as G1

- lovable cast of idiots

- Exciting episode plots

- Leozack is babe

Cons:

- The only two prominent female characters are love interests and nothing else (which is drop in quality when compared to Masterforce, which had Minerva as a fleshed out autobot with agency and Mega as an interesting female villain)

- Leozack never punches Deszaras in the face

- Fucking retcons the destruction of Mars in Headmasters

Beast Wars (loved with all my heart)

Pros:

- Really compelling story and characters!!!

- Well written dialogue

- Wonderful character animation

- Dinobot is HONOUR and babe. Also I’m crying

- Megatron and his bullshit

Cons:

- Megatron and his bullshit

- That stupid love triangle subplot in season 3

- Some major plotline not being fully developed (the Vok plotline)

Beast Wars II (liked the show)

Pros:

- The Predacons in general

- Lio Convoy (the Optimus of the show) having a son

- Galvatron is babe and so is Starscream

Cons:

- Maximals are lame apart from Lio Convoy and the arc with his son Lio Junior

- A lot of uninteresting characters an episodes

- The Jointrons as racist mexican stereotypes

- Only female robot is part of a love triangle (even more annoying than the love triangle in Beast Wars)

Beast Wars Neo (liked the show)

Pros:

- Big Convoy being a lone wolf turned teacher was a really sweet story to follow <3 How he and his team learnt to trust each other over the course of the show was really nice!

- Unicron in this show was a delight

- D-Navi was always fun

- Magmatron was a rather nice Decepticon leader

- Heinrad is babe

Cons:

- No girls (Boo!)

Beast Machines (very conflicted, tend to dislike)

Pros:

- Plays entirely on Cybertron

- Explores themes of technology and organic life forms and really tries to be something different and deep

- The last episode is really nice

- Jetstorm is babe

Cons:

- No fun allowed - the maximals are really frustrating because we only ever see them being angry and fighting and a lot of them only show us their worst sides

- The maximal character models are HIDEOUS

- You may not actually like the philosophical aspect of the show, especially when you think too long about it and realise it’s kinda shit

Robots in Disguise 2001/ Car Robots (liked the show)

Pros:

- New continuity! New story, new take!

- Funny and lighthearted

- Cute characters

- Sky-Byte/Gel-Shark is babe

- Ultra Magnus/God Magnus is a fucking jerk and I love it 

Cons:

- Sideburn/Speedbreaker’s gag about loving red sport cars and chasing after them - it’s played as a joke all the time but I can see that stuff making people uncomfortable when they see the female driver trying to get away from him and his catcalling (Apart from that I do like him a lot though)

Armada/Micron Densetsu (disliked the show)

Pros:

- Lots of feels between Megatron and Optimus

- Starscream's arc

- The ending arc

- Jetfire was babe

Cons:

- The pacing was unbearable

- Half the time the characters didn't act like people and I was confused about almost every conflict, action and point they made. It's not a great story when I watch episode and need an hour to figure what the hell the story even was

- The parts I liked in concept are not helped by how unnatural and weird the characters acted at times. I liked the ending, but how they got there was so weird that I just can't enjoy it

Energon/Superlink (loved the show)

Pros:

- Megatron/Galvatron - Everything about him

- The japanese voice acting was fantastic!

- Really nice death scenes (I love death scenes btw)

- Mirage/Shockfleet being in love with Megatron

- Bringing back old names apart from Megatron and Optimus

- Rodimus being an equal to Optimus was a nice touch

- The few scenes it was 2D animated

- Jetfire/Skyfire is babe

Cons:

- Animation

- The "for the toys" thing kinda ruined some characters, where instead of getting the toys as completely new characters, they killed old ones and brought them back with a new model. It did suck story-telling wise (and me, loving death scenes, get annoyed when a death scene gets ruined by bringing the character back). So you got all these character arcs that feel like the just stopped

Cybertron/Galaxy Force (loved the show with all my heart)

Pros:

- Love the setting and world with all the different colonies and how they were explored ~

- Optimus Prime, this one is my favourite version of him!

- Vector Prime, they should bring him back

- All the different leaders

- The friendship between the characters- this show has my favourite set of Autobots from all TF media

- This also has my favourite Mega&Star dynamic

- Starscream himself is so well done here!

- Jetfire/Dreadlock was babe

Cons:

- Megatron was lacklustre. When it came to him and his dynamics with other characters (apart from Starscream), he was hardly written as a person with feelings. He never reacts to anything happening within the ranks of Decepticons and it is really disappointing, because there was a lot of potential! (with Flame Convoy and Chromia specifically)

Animated (loved the show)

Pros:

- Character writing, plot and themes!

- Lighthearted tone but enough scenes that dig a little deeper

- Really nice and smooth animation

- Optimus is baby

Cons:

- The chins

- No 4th season

Prime (loved the show)

Pros:

- Best friggin fight scenes and animation in general

- Really exciting plot 

- Ratchet is babe

Cons:

- Predacon Rising exists

- Characters dying for budget reasons (Just don’t hire celebrities when you cannot pay them for more?)

Robots in Disguise 2015 (it's okay)

Pros:

- ...the Stunticons are babe

Cons:

- characters never developing and learning the same shit over and over again

- almost no interesting villains

- even the interesting ones being shoved aside a lot 

- no real built-up for the climax

- lots of filler and not enough time spent on the actual plot of a corrupt Cybertron goverment

Prime Wars Trilogy (loved the show with all my heart)

Pros:

- Megatron, everything about him, he’s babe

- I really like the soundtrack

Cons:

- Bad storytelling, both narrative and visual

- Horrible or mediocre voice acting

- Static and bad facial expressions

- Static and bad character animation

- Feels like no one involved in the production had any idea how to tell a story

Cyberverse (meh)

Pros:

- Really cute as fuck

- Big cast 

- Astrotrain is babe

Cons:

- No time for character arcs, they just jump from set up to conclusion with nothing in-between

- Unfocused plot that jumps from one idea to another

- Megatron broke my heart and I hate him

[autumnblogs]

Day 47: Too Many Feelings, Alpha Kids Edition

https://homestuck.com/story/5627

Everything about the Condesce’s tastes and language suggests someone who has really never grown up. She is not the sort of person who should be making decisions about reproduction for her people.

CW: Very minor suicide mention re: Dirk Strider

https://homestuck.com/story/5640

A friend of mine made mention the other day - it might have been @bladekindeyewear - of the fact that one of the ways in which Caliborn’s unique brand of wickedness expresses itself is the way in which he steals little bits and bobs of other people’s schticks while claiming that he is the original mind behind them.

Lil’ Hal is modelling the same kind of bad behavior here.

Dirk finds himself, as usual, trapped in a never-ending hall of mirrors, unable to escape from himself, unable to really find a tether to other people, something that makes him feel not just like “Dirk Strider,” an individual who is alone, but as a member of humanity.

No man is an island, and Dirk Strider is drowning in an ocean of aloneness, sick to death of himself, but no matter how far he reaches for a life-line, the ocean of his own self-destructive ego is all he can manage to grab.

Dirk’s attachment to human history, and to “Western Civilization” is all because of exactly that. Dirk yearns for being a part of something bigger than he is, he’s desperately looking for it.

He doesn’t find it within the scope of Homestuck, but Dave seems to be a lifeline - and with Brain Ghost Dirk serving as Jake’s ideal of Dirk, with his best buddy believing in him, that’s a possible life-line for Dirk to eventually escape from the Ocean of Himself too.

Dirk’s problem, at the heart of everything, is that he doesn’t recognize anything lovable within himself, and can’t see the intrinsic dignity of other people as a result. (I think the antidote to this is that Dirk needs someone who will love him unconditionally, and that Brain Ghost Dirk represents Jake’s unconditional love for him, what Homestuck might call his Belief In Dirk, but I’m biased.)

He’s both Gendo and Rei.

https://homestuck.com/story/5641

Dirk hates himself because he views himself as being a person who is, in essence, destructive and dangerous. He wants to not exist.

https://homestuck.com/story/5657

There’s probably something to say here about the perfect unity between a couple of characters who are arguably both parodies of Dirk Strider (although maybe as the character who came after Equius, Dirk is the parody of Equius? He’s more like a deconstruction of Equius, or at the very least, a thorough analysis of him) creating a character who is absolutely in love with himself.

Maybe it’s something like the experience of friendship? Y’know like, just, the experience of finding someone who feels the same way as you do and going “I thought I was the only one!”

But it’s probably inexpressible.

https://homestuck.com/story/5669

Caliborn’s bizarre and childish misogyny continues to be his least charming feature.

Aside from his universally murderous temperament, I guess.

https://homestuck.com/story/5671

I feel Caliborn’s discussion of the concept of having a special mind is suggesting that he and Jake are neurodivergent which sounds like it’s probably correct (though as usual, I find the way that Andrew portrays characters who are neurodivergent to be problematic at best.)

I think we could also read this as Caliborn *appropriating* Neurodivergence, but I don’t think that’s a particularly useful reading, and kind of makes me feel gross to suggest, so I’m not going to countenance it.

https://homestuck.com/story/5671

Here we get some more insight into Caliborn’s horrible ideology;

Caliborn does not view beings as intrinsically having any worth, and instead, expresses the opinion here which I suspect colors his view of most things in general; nothing is intrinsically worthwhile on its own, it needs to be able to prove that it ought to exist. It’s the literal opposite of the way Paradox Space actually works; everything in Paradox Space is self-authenticating. It all exists just because it wants to.

https://homestuck.com/story/5672

While the most obvious parallel between Caliborn’s desire for being responsible for Jake’s rise to power is Vriska inserting herself into Jack’s origin story, I think it is also parallel to Dirk’s dubious mentorship of Jake, particularly in the sense that while Caliborn’s rivalry with Jake may be emotionally lukewarm, it still has romantic undertones because of the fact that rivalry is presented as a basically romantic relationship throughout the story.

https://homestuck.com/story/5673

I think what Hope is as an aspect is unconditional universal optimism and good-will. In its purest form, I feel like Hope is probably best summed up by the phrase “God’s in his Heaven, All’s Right in the World” - it is belief in the goodness of things, and of people.

Or to borrow language from Peter Pan, as long as we’re hanging out with a Page; Love, Trust, and Pixie Dust.

https://homestuck.com/story/5675

I think it’s extremely interesting that Caliborn reliably refers to Puppets as False Men; I feel like that’s got to mean something, particularly because of his relationship with the concept of “Real Men” through his male chauvinism.

https://homestuck.com/story/5684

The Alpha Kids are just having a bad time - the Light Level of their campaign has been reduced to the level of Darkness (or lower), and they are Miserable.

Their Misery mirrors their Beta Counterparts, so we should expect that, while John is not literally expressing his persistent unhappiness over the death of his Dad, he is going through the same set of emotions as Jane is.

https://homestuck.com/story/5710

I’m not going to discuss the nature of the Sucker Juju As Auryn here, since BKEW has already done so.

Instead, you should go read through his delightful stuff.

For now, we’re done - we’ll start in on the trickster shenanigans tomorrow night.

Thanks as always for tuning in. See you tomorrow, Same Cam Time, Same Cam Channel.

[burtonsdoodles]

Why are all the guys so possessive and creepy?

Part one - Oliver.

A big criticism I’ve seen about the way Oliver is written in Elite Force is that he is turned into this obsessive stalkerish character who is desperate for Skylar to love him the same way he loves her. He measures her, he films her without her knowledge, he sends her things (or at least he tries to) and I’m sure there are other things he’s said to have done - all of which are creepy and inappropriate.

One of the problem with this decision is that it’s taking his character in the wrong direction - Oliver was sweet, caring and a little naive at time - but never overtly creepy. Everything he did was to help others - that’s why he joined Might Med - not for fame or glory - but to help. His promise to get Skylars powers back wasn’t because he was being possessive of her - it was his way of proving himself and showing how much he cared about her. He was determined but still lovable. However, because he ultimately fails to be the one to get the powers back - something he’s put a lot of time and energy into - this naturally affects his character.

Suddenly he’s lost his means of proving himself to the girl he really likes because another guy has beaten him to the answer - that is obviously going to dint his pride and probably spark a bit of jealousy - which is sort of what happens. (I’m saying “sort of happens”, because I don’t think they committed to the whole jealousy thing at all - they suggest it a bit in the beginning, forget about it, then brought it up again near the end when chase is hanging out with Kaz - it isn’t given any real development or time. Much like everything else in this show.)

But the point I’m getting at is that Oliver’s devolution into becoming very obsessive towards Skylar is actually kinda plausible - he’s lost his means of proving himself to her, so he’s just going to satisfy his desires by taking things that contain her essence instead (it made me cringe typing that). It makes sense as a character development - however the problem lies with the fact that if the writers are committing to this development - then Oliver should not have been rewarded for his actions. Throughout the series he is never reprimanded or told to stop - they all just shrug it off as him being creepy and it’s treated as funny instead of what it is - which is inappropriate. He even ends up getting what he wants as she basically agrees to date him - something that should be and would be cute with Mighty Med Oliver - but is just problematic with Elite Force Oliver.

As a show for younger audiences, as Disney shows are designed to be, the writers should not be using this behaviour for humour. Kids are massively influenced by what they see on tv and in these kinds of shows - and having a laugh track over Oliver saying he secretly films Skylar as she brushes her teeth (which is most likely in the bathroom) sends the wrong message to these young minds. And I’m not saying that this only happens in Elite Force - I’ve seen it in a lot of different shows for different types of audience - I’m also not saying that all shows must be sterilised of any sort of inappropriate behaviour in its characters - but it is important to show consequences to said behaviour instead of just laughing it off and treating it as funny. Creepy Oliver should not get the girl.

Anyway, this has turned into a really long post about things I didn’t intend to write about (get used to that it happens a lot) so looks like this is gonna be a multi parter. Oh well. The next part should focus on chase and/or kaz and how they fit into the creepy spectrum this show seems to love.

(Also feels free to leave your opinions on the show or what I’ve said if you want to - I’m just one perspective with my own ideas and love hearing different view points. 💛)

To be continued...

Little side note - This has been saved in my drafts for ages, along with some others, just waiting to be posted - but I got distracted by getting obsessed with Newsies and doing original stuff so that’s where they’ve stay. However after seeing some other EF posts cross my dashboard I thought this might be a good one to finally get posted. I’m hoping it might get me back in the right headspace to finish the ones that are still waiting to be done or finished - but we’ll see. 🤞

[quixoticnexus]

◑☒✄❀✑

( This is so late, I waited until The Next Monday ) 

◑ What is a side to your muse you want to show off, but haven’t had the chance to yet?

I say a lot about Kaneda struggling with delusions and psychosis, and since he’s the least utilized character on this blog, INCLUDING Doc, it’s kinda getting to me that I can’t showcase that in a way that doesn’t sound like it’d be super problematic. That bugs me because I’ve put a lot of thought into his character, as well as research! 

I actually read articles and heavily research stuff that I put in my muses’ backstories, and I really wanna show good rep for a lovable, friendly boy that struggles with psychosis in a non-stigmatized way! I’m so tired of people like him getting pigeonholed into being your typical horror movie “psychotic villain”!!! I have an aunt with schizophrenia and I don’t think she’s ever hurt anyone, and for a long time, I didn’t even know about it! 

I just want to show people like him having jobs and friends and family and getting along as best as they can... I hope I get to delve into his character on here as much as I’ve been lucky to on private Discord servers. 

☒ Is there any sort of behavior towards your muse (ic or ooc) that you simply cannot stand? (Answered!)

† Do you portray your muse as religious? Why or why not? How does your own religion (or lack thereof) influence this?

Kouki is pretty obviously a religious or spiritual muse, and I wanted to make him because I feel like religion can sometimes be pointed to as the Cause Of All The World’s Ills in some circles, and... I’m sorry, I just don’t agree with that at all. That doesn’t mean it can’t be taken and corrupted by shitty people, as it has been all throughout histoy! But I also think it can be a major force of good in the right hands. 

Kouki is “the right hands”. His father........ is not. And I want to show that duality in a way that’s meaningful to me, as someone who grew up in a religious house with a mom who is still really devoutly religious and also progressive as all hell.

✄ What is an idea you originally had in mind for your muse, but ended up scrapping? Why? (Answered!)

✸ Tell us about any NPCs on your blog. Who are they to your muse? What do they contribute to your blog?

Kaneda, being a Pokemon Contest Coordinator and potential challenger for the Hoenn League has 4 “rivals” in the contest scene! His specialty is Beauty, and he took it up to follow in the footsteps of his idols, Wallace and Juan! His other rivals specialize in the other four contest types! 

The most major of all being Dale, the Toughness Champion. Dale is Kaneda’s foil in a lot of ways that I can’t get into right now because of how much it spoils Kaneda’s story and I can’t do that to myself before I’ve had the chance to write even ONE proper thread with the poor guy (sobs), but I will say that he takes inspiration from Pro Wrestling, and is more than happy to play the “Heel” in Kaneda’s rise to glory!

❀ What is a muse you want to play but haven’t? Why haven’t you played them yet?

I have more monster girl characters in the waiting, but......... Am too Shy abt playing them............. Joro is easier because I’ve done a whole campaign with her, but Beau, Chetak, and Firebringer would be mostly new and I get so fuckin Antsy about not playing my girl characters “right” because I just love them so much... Maybe one day I will stop being a coward. 😔

✑ Do you prefer writing OCs or canon characters? Why?

After a long history of playing OCs, and an even longer history of playing canons, I can honestly say......... 

I have no preference. Lmao.

They’re both fun in their own ways. It mostly just comes down to what I’m in the mood for atm. Right now, in this stage of my life, I’m in the mood for making my own stuff, because I really want to set myself up to maybe start publishing my own works! But I love making canon characters uniquely my own, too. 

It’s like slipping into a warm pair of pajamas........ It’s comforting in an odd way to know that there’s actual, solid shit to look back to and reflect on so that I feel like I can play my muse as canonly as possible. As opposed to my own characters where... I’m the only pilot driving this plane and I’ve had an entire bottle of tequila. 

[aion-rsa]

Shameless Season 11 Episode 9 Review: Survivors

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This Shameless review contains spoilers.

Shameless Season 11 Episode 9

“The only thing that’s permanent is impermanence. Change is the only constant…”

Change is not an easy thing. This entire farewell season of Shameless has functioned as an examination of change from many different angles, but the characters have reached a point where they have to stop running and confront these developments now that there are only three episodes left in the series. 

“Survivors” is a busy episode that puts every character outside of their comfort zone and in the middle of transformations of various severities. 

Kevin taking over parenting duties for an afternoon or Carl’s transfer to another police department are hardly as drastic as Vee’s mother moving from Chicago or the ultimate fate of the Gallagher home, but they all light a fire under everyone in the same way. The Gallaghers are a resilient family of lovable cockroaches, but “Survivors” pushes the message that if you don’t move with the changes then the changes will definitely move you.

The past few episodes of Shameless have largely been preoccupied with the sad decline of Terry Milkovich, which has also functioned as a strong counterpoint to the Gallaghers’ own situation with Frank’s health. Terry is now gone, but his spirit heavily lingers in “Survivors” and it drives forward some of the episode’s most rewarding material. Mickey casually echoed the sentiment, “family is family,” a few episodes back  and Terry’s death has prompted Mickey to truly stand by these words. It leads to some growth that surprises Mickey more than anyone and he’s constantly at odds with the confusing and raw feelings that bombard him all episode.

Mickey is typically one of Shameless’ broader characters and this season has thrown him into several caricature-like situations that take advantage of his no filter attitude. Sincerity is not typically the character’s strong suit, yet Mickey’s free floating grief over his dad is actually compelling, new territory for him. He and Ian involve themselves with an earnest and sweet story that does manage to humanize Terry in a way and almost act as an “origin story” for his despicable racism. 

Some of Noel Fisher’s best work from the entire series is in this episode as he wistfully reminisces over horrendous moments from his childhood. It becomes a little repetitive, but Ian’s deadpan reactions to Mickey’s “precious moments” all land and it’s a refreshing change of pace to have Ian act as this grounded foil. Mickey’s turn as the sympathetic one in this adventure is also the right approach. Mickey and Ian’s characterization was a little questionable at the start of this season, but it’s comforting to see these past few episodes really hit the sweet spot of their relationship.

Frank launches into an important chapter from his past just as Ian and Mickey get to learn more about Terry’s younger years. Frank’s plan is considerably more maudlin than Terry’s elegy over unrequited love. The idea that Lip is selling the house stays in Frank’s head long enough that he launches a scheme to get the necessary money to just purchase the house himself. Frank has been involved with lots of ridiculous shenanigans over the course of Shameless, but none have been as deluded as a plan to rob the Art Institute of Chicago. This would be a near impossible task for even an accomplished thief, so a severely impaired Frank doesn’t seem like he has the best odds of turning this scheme into a reality.

“Survivors” has some fun as Frank tries to get the (literally) old gang back together, but this wild pipe dream transforms into a morbid reality check for Frank. He’s surrounded with signs of decay and he’s unexpectedly forced to come to terms with how he’s also at the end of his rope. Frank gets caught up on if he’ll still have an effective wheelman for his art heist when he should appreciate that he somehow still has people in his corner that care about him. Frank’s family is infinitely more valuable than some treasure.

Some of the most interesting moments from this season of Shameless involve Frank’s frailty and how everyone treats him after they become aware of his diagnosis. It gives each of his interactions a little extra impact and pathos. “Survivors” chips away at the idea of Frank’s legacy in yet another interesting fashion, yet in the end it seems like he was somehow able to pull off this art heist entirely by himself?

Speaking of crime, Lip was fully at odds with Brad in the previous episode and ready to take things into seriously dark territory, but now they’re pulled together more tightly than ever before. Their volatile situation becomes even more combustible after they learn that their former employer has deep ties with the mafia because it seems like 90% of Chicago is corrupt according to this season of Shameless. The awkward Godfather-esque music cue that’s used when Lip and Brad meet the crime family also doesn’t improve upon the scenario in the way that the episode thinks that it does. It’s a very unusual way to seemingly resolve the heavy danger that’s followed Lip for a quarter of the season.

On the other side of the law, Carl’s reckless act of altruism with the vice squad reunites him with his former partner on the eviction squad. It’s nice to have Joshua Malina back in this nebbish role and it seemed strange to just have him pop in for a single episode before. His new zen attitude about destiny raises some superfluous questions for Carl, but the character doesn’t feel that different from before and this material fails to amount to much. Carl’s work for the police has made for rewarding character development, but his constant rotation throughout Chicago’s police departments is beginning to feel repetitive and aimless. 

Between Carl’s work on the eviction unit and the prospect of the Gallagher house going up for sale there’s a lot of focus on whether the lack of a home means the lack of a family. Vee finds herself in a situation that oddly parallels the Gallaghers’ current instability when her mom moves away from Chicago and tries to establish new roots in Louisville. Vee is mostly critical that her mother’s actions are impulsive and that they won’t last. She worries about losing a connection with her mother and it becomes another situation where everyone is so caught up on what they might lose that they lose stock of what they already have. Veronica’s maturity with her mother gets juxtaposed with Kevin’s complete regression and failure to parent for less than 24 hours. It does not go well and it’s slightly misguided that this parental disaster ends as a punchline and not a cautionary tale. 

Vee’s mom has a fancy new house in Louisville, but Liam is still left worrying if he’ll have any home at all if the Gallagher residence goes on the market. In perfect Liam fashion he attempts to resolve his paranoia over the future in a manner that’s more professional than every other Gallagher. There’s an inherent comedic nature during Liam’s attempts to get put into a foster home or become adopted so that he’ll have a place to live after his house gets sold. 

They’re exaggerated moments, but Liam’s concern is very real and it remains impressive to see how self-sufficient he’s become. He continually thinks rationally about the future while his siblings ward off the mob and pray that they don’t have any sexually-transmitted diseases. Honestly, put Liam in charge of the family and they’ll be thriving within six months.

All of the chaos in “Survivors” begins and ends because of Lip’s stubborn attitude over selling the house. Lip’s insistence to force his family to move just because his life is imploding is still super problematic, but thankfully everyone finally just talks to each other and gets their fears and doubts out in the open. The final moments of “Survivors” are genuinely nice and it’s long overdue that Lip actually communicates and listens to the people that he cares about. 

It’s really sweet that Lip promises Liam that he’ll be a part of his home and that the family’s sense of community isn’t going to change, even if their living arrangements do. However, this is also something that should have happened at the same time as Lip’s initial proposal to sell the house rather than the renegade sledgehammer that went through the wall. It’s led to a few episodes of unnecessary drama, but the Gallaghers are at least on a collective front now as the series heads into its final three episodes. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

“Survivors” is a confident step forward for Shameless. It figures out how to balance the series’ more tender sensibilities with the wackier antics that were more prominent during the show’s earliest seasons. Characters operate as functional units and finally listen to each other before they’re left with fractured relationships that no longer feel like a family. There’s still a lot of growing up to do, but not that everyone’s on the same page and working towards a common goal it actually feels like Shameless might end in hugs rather than heartbreak.

The post Shameless Season 11 Episode 9 Review: Survivors appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3c7WTT3

[flying-elliska]

Ok I caught up with wtfock s3 because well, it felt weird to leave unfinished (except a few clips i just didn’t want to watch, like the attack one). here’s what worked and didn’t for me (i’m pretty critical so don’t read if that sort of thing upsets you or you’re not in the mood) because i still think having this story remade so often is an unprecendented storytelling experiment worth thinking about even when it doesn’t entirely work (and i think argumented criticism is good, but if you post hate about the actors/fans etc you really suck tbh) : 

- to start with positives : like many said, the acting was pretty damn good. overall wtfock has a really solid cast. the willems have succeeded in creating an onscreen queer intimacy that feels very believable, no holds barred and no awkwardness, and they have to be commended for that. there’s a lot of chemistry and tension at first between them, which then turns into something very soft and sweet and puppy-love-like. it was nice seeing Robbe evolve and the sweet bean energy that emanates from how the actor plays him is very very powerful. i also loved the warmth of the flatshare, and as a Dutchie I just adored the Sinterklaas bits, it was so funny and i loved the found family vibes. warmth is just something they do really well, esp with the last clips, perfume shopping, playing board games, the party at the end. They use the Christmassy vibes really well. the cinematography has its moments too, contrasts between warm and cold, the episode at the beach is gorgeous, the sequence in the tunnel, the light on their faces when they are in that classroom surrounded by drawings. wtfock as a whole is also good at creating some very lovable secondary characters, be it Milan, Yasmina, Noor, or especially king Senne. So, I do understand that there are things to love about this remake, which is probably why my disappointment feels so strong. I really wanted to care about these characters in their journey. 

- on to the controversial : i don’t necessarily fault them for wanting to show a more prononced aspect of homophobia. i think the debate about this often lacks nuance. on one hand, this is the sixth remake, and homophobia is something that is still often prevalent, and having one remake show that out of six is not in itself a problem. on the other, yes, happy fluffy stories are important, but sometimes people who have gone through stuff like this also need to see their experiences represented. the power of skam is that it shows difficult experiences BUT ALSO a happy ending. that can be very healing, i think, compared to other stories which focus only on the drama. the trouble is, i don’t think they dealt with it very well, or put any effort into processing the consequences of these harrowing things. and if you don’t, it feels cheap.

- on to my main gripe : the writing. previsible, i know. but to me, essential. and this is not about them ‘changing things’ - i like when remakes change stuff, when they do it well. the thing is, i have been burned too many times before. and when i sense that the writing is being wack, it makes it automatically much harder for me to invest emotionally in the characters. and simply put there were signs early on that made me distrust the writers. for starters, the first two episodes gave me a feeling that they didn’t have their priorities in order. the POV-immersion and depth is one of the most powerful aspects of skam, and it was lost. too many early clips felt out of Robbe’s perspective, and when it was him it was about Noor ; a few clips to show his discomfort were on point, but there were too many of them, and there were repetitive, losing time on what isn’t really an essential part of Robbe’s journey. and while they were spending time on clips that felt like misery flavored filler, they decided several times to condense original clips focused on Isak and Even, together ; like their first meeting and then their first hangout, or later in the series OHN and the minute by minute talk. and i think their story suffered from that. i think because they don’t have a real discussion early on, the buildup of their relationship feels mostly based on physical attraction. and while it certainly is a thing that happens, it just isn’t my fave love story thing. i missed the sweet pining from afar and tension that makes later drama believable. it felt like they brought the drama comparatively too fast without enough character work to make it worthwhile. Also there is just too much time spent on Zoenne drama, and their breakup seems like it foreshadows the dreaded s4 love triangle, which, yikes. the focus is all over the place, the rythm felt incoherent. 

- what’s more, they decided to introduce pretty grave elements of plot, like Robbe using slurs against Sander, the homophobic attack, the suicidal urges on both their sides, Sander kissing Britt while he was still saying I love you to Robbe in the morning, without either proper build up or resolution. It made it all feel cheap, jarring, and unearned, especially when they didn’t put trigger warnings or made jokes about it on insta or waited forever to give news about the characters being ok. it felt like drama for the sake of drama, and definitely not written with a vulnerable audience of queer teens in mind. and at the same time, when it came to the ‘big scenes’ of their relationship, like the first kiss or the universes talk or sander’s episode, it felt more or less lifted from OG without a lot of effort made to adapt it to them. i actually quit live watching/blogging after the first kiss scene, because of how similar it was, and how uninspired it felt, and lukewarm. it felt like a lack of imagination. when it came to OHN, the scene in itself was lovely, but the weird time gap, random timing and people seemingly doing nothing after a suicidal Sander disappeared, sort of broke it for me.  In the OG the combo of buildup, longing, realisation, fear, release works so well in a sequence, and splitting it over time really diluted it, to me. Similarly the quickly thrown out ‘life is now’ at the ending felt sort of out of nowhere, while in OG it was such a lovely bookend, him apologizing to Eva and reflecting on his growth. The symbolism, which ties everything so beautifully together in themes of rebirth, salvation, baptism, union, faith, deciding your own narrative in OG, here feels inconsistent. There is an attempt I see, something about wasteland vs. warmth/family, but it’s often absent of main clips. It’s nowhere near as coherent as it could be. 

- all of this builds up to the main problem for me, of the season. which is, i didn’t really get into Robbe and Sander’s relationship. Or their individual arcs for that matter. When it comes to Robbe, I guess he just isn’t my type of character. I feel like he is missing the fire of an Isak. A lot of the time he just felt too passive, like he let other characters make his decisions. I was waiting for him to stand up for himself more than he did. And there are too many scenes of another character doing his coming out for him. And then Sander ; I have to say I don’t understand all the love his character gets. Maybe because that’s because he sort of gives me Dutch fuckboi vibes...but there were several times he just came accross as a flat out asshole. I found him intriguing in his intro clip, chaotic and charming, but that never really went where i expected it to. i didn’t get his passion, what drew him to art. the symbolism around his character - basically Bowie, and drawing Robbe, and Chernobyl (which is a bit tasteless imho, turning a tragedy like that into a cutesy romantic thing), feels ...disjointed, and shallow to me. Like I never really got into it. And maybe some people did and noticed deeper links but to me, I got stuck at the surface. I saw a lot of interesting theories with what was going on with him but in the end they just copied OG. And I’m sad to say, but he ended up feeling like a manic pixie dream boy cliché to me, and i just didn’t understand what drew them to each other so strongly. Yes, Robbe is caring and Sander is in need of care, but that feels like a very reductive reproduction of OG. Beyond that...i don’t know. Certain complexities of the OG i loved  just...were sanded away, like Isak being ignorant about MI and learning compassion. This just...didn’t feel like it had the same depth, and often felt like soapy teenage drama, leaning too hard and too lazily on the actors’ chemistry. i like my romances wordy and solidly enmeshed in character development, and this was not it. It never felt like they had a real conversation about things, esp after the drama. 

- i think this is the first remake that made me actually angry for reasons not related to problematic cast shit, and so i’m trying to analyze that emotion. for me it comes down to too much drama, too heavy handed. Too much of the boy squad being shitty to Robbe, too much Noor, too much filler clips without any deeper meaning, too much things distracting from getting to know the main characters and going into their issues in depth. They changed stuff, but didn’t have the guts to actually follow through. They broke the mold but only in ways that ended up feeling shallow and unconsequential. Like I would have loved seeing Robbe go to therapy ! see his mom ! Zoe and Robbe go to the police together ! Sander have a complicated home situation ! or doing a Bowie related art installation to express his feelings of alienation ! seeing more of the underground graffiti scene ! or just...something, idk. And them also removing the faith-related themes also felt disappointing. and the ohn clip taking place in the place where sander draws feels very....basic to me, even if it was pretty. very ‘oh he’s an artist, here is his safe place’....hm, okay. I didn’t like that they made Britt into such a villain, I didn’t like how the boy squad showed no care for Robbe whatsoever for weeks until the plot said it was time for them to be redeemed in a way that felt too jarring, and I didn’t like that they made Moyo so horrible but redeemed him so easily. I actually thought they would show that it’s okay to separate yourself from friends who are that bigoted, because it just shows they are not willing to care for people. And him suddenly saying those sweet and mature things felt too out of characters and a ahah ‘gotcha’ rather than depth . I didn’t like that Robbe, too, was made so virulent by his internalized homophobia but got over it so quickly. I think what disappointed me most, in the end, was that I kept picking up potential and the show kept doing absolutely nothing with it, or confirming my fears, and it made me feel stupid and out of tune with whatever they were doing. And it’s, to me, symptomatic in modern storytelling of a trend to privilege shocks and twists over inner coherence and build up. And it makes for...Very underwhelming stuff, in the end. 

- all in all, i think this remake illustrates why s3 of OG is not as easy to remake as it sounds. it’s very intricate machinery, with a pitch perfect rhythm (and an extremely passionate nitpicky fanbase lmao). and if you don’t get all the parts of why it’s so great, you’re going to lose a lot of it. (and all the remakes ended losing up stuff in translation ; more or less compensated by inventivity and charm of their own.) so many mainstream press articles praise the real time/social media format and the ‘real talk about teen issues’ which, yeah, is part of the success, but doesn’t explain the devotion on its own. there’s the way the story uses real time to build up a storytelling rythm that feels organic and makes sense as if it was part of the lives of the viewer. There’s foreshadowing and aftershocks. Wtfock often feels like they wrote the clip numbers on darts and randomly threw them at a week planner. If an episode of a regular series ends on a cliffhanger, we can be thrilled and frustrated and put it aside for next week. but if you end an episode with a character shown to be suicidal, or you don’t show them being okay after a beating, for hours or days, that’s the emotion you leave your viewers with, because skam is a continuous experience. and remakes who pile on drama moments without respite (looking at you too skamfr s4) don’t get how tiring and disengaging this can be, in this format. skam worked so well because of how benevolent it was, on the whole. and also, cheeky, with that ‘don’t take it too seriously’ deflating humor. grumpy isak in ‘hate me now’ mode getting bumped into. this lightness and comedy often feels missing here. also my god the social media is absolutely terrible. plus...there is too much filler. honestly, them having more time, on the whole...ended up being a bad thing. Plus Wtfock feels like it has so much more unadressed plot points, like...why did Sander change his mind exactly and kiss Britt again ? How did Robbe’s mom react ? Who did the attack ? What is happening w Senne now ? etc. And it feels like they just missed the fact that OG, however subtly, did adress those things. 

- now, don’t get me wrong, i’m happy it’s popular in Belgium. On the whole it’s still a beautiful story of love and acceptance. and that people found something in it that spoke to them. but as a remake, it’s probably one of the most disappointing yet, to me. and i sort of...don’t get the hype. and i don’t want to be too ‘oh cute boys kissing’ cynical about it. but i think this illustrates why in the end, this is also very subjective. there are probably things i missed because i didn’t feel the need to examine it in depth or do the extra emotional work that comes with being a devoted fan of something. and some of their choices made me angry, and i’m not forgiving when it comes to these things. i still wish them success for s4 and whatever else, but i don’t think i will watch live, at least unless it gets really rave reviews about their treatment of Yasmina’s season. i mean they got s2 right, who knows? 

[jojotichakorn]

2moons2: Review (& General Info)

Summary: Wayo gets into the same university as his high school crush Phana, who he’s liked for years, but has never really managed to properly talk to. There, they eventually start hanging out because of the contest Wayo takes part in. The only problem? Phana doesn’t recognize Wayo at all. Meanwhile, Wayo is also being pursued by Phana’s friend Forth, which first creates a love triangle that is later resolved by Forth getting drunk and hooking up with his friend Beam. At the same time, Wayo’s friend Ming starts pursuing Phana’s friend Kit, who is reluctant to reciprocate the feelings. (Trailer)

Couples: Three mlm couples - one is slightly above the two others, but generally the running time of the show is separated pretty evenly between the three.

Running Time: 12 episodes - around 53 minutes each - 10,5 hours in total.

Cast (& their Instagram pages): Benjamin Braiser (Phana), Earth Teerapat (Wayo), Joong (Chen) Aydin (Ming), Nine Kornchid (Kit), Pavel (Phoom) Naret (Forth), Dome Woranart (Beam), [more].

Where to watch? YouTube

Related Shows: 2moons (the original version with a different cast that has the same plot as the first four episodes of 2moons2, except more detailed), 2moons3 (a future sequel that hasn’t come out yet).

My Review:

Rating: 8/10

Short review: 2moons2 is both kind of problematic and really cute. The acting is great, the characters are good, the relationships - both platonic and romantic - are really sweet and wonderful. There is lots of details about this show that really just make you feel things, you know? At the same time, it has quite a few problems, most of which are unfortunately connected to questionable consent. Which is why it’s really hard to say how good this show really is, but man do I love it anyway! And, if I had to choose one word to describe 2moons2, it would be “charming”, because even with all it’s disadvantages, you still end up falling in love with it. Which is why I recommend you to watch it. Though, as usual, it’s obviously your own decision to make.

Extended review (under the cut):

I am confident in saying that 2moons2 is the most charming BL that has ever been made. How so? Well, I can’t exactly explain how they did it, but I can certainly tell you why it is so charming to me. The thing is, 2moons2 is pretty problematic. It’s not the most problematic BL we’ve ever had, but it definitely has a lot of questionable and just downright shitty moments in it. And usually, that takes away from my personal experience of watching a BL. I can still enjoy it, but the more problematic it is – the angrier I get at the whole situation and the less I can enjoy the show. However, that is not the case with 2moons2. Even with all the problematic moments that it has, there is just something so specifically charming about it that those problematic moments don’t take away from my experience of the show at all. Which is why I give it the high rating of 8/10 stars. But, let’s stop generalizing and talk specifics. What is so good and what is so bad about this BL?

So, let’s start with a pretty important thing for this form of media – acting. In my personal opinion, it’s actually really good here! Benjamin, who plays Phana, does a great job of showing us both Phana’s “cool guy” mask and later on revealing his true slightly awkward and soft self. Earth, who plays Wayo, can fall a little flat sometimes, but he is extremely good in emotional scenes. Chen, who plays Ming, is very good at what he does. He is just charming and noisy enough, and I can’t stop talking about his background acting choices, which are clearly his own initiative and which are so intricate and genius that they deserve a round of some serious applause. Nine, who plays Kit, is very good at showing emotions through very subtle actions, which is extremely important considering what kind of character he plays. If Nine wasn’t this good, Kit would fall completely flat and would seem emotionless and stone-like, but thanks to Nine being able to play as subtly as he does, we see and understand more of Kit, while the character himself remains as reserved and shy as he should be. Pavel, who plays Forth, is very clearly in his element with this character and does him just right (though, I have talked about a different interpretation of Forth that would perhaps be more interesting than the one Pavel chose, but his is still 110% valid). Dome, who plays Beam, doesn’t get much screen time at the beginning of the season, but thankfully that didn’t seem to be much of a problem for him, since he manages to shine through even with the limited amount of lines and shots that he got, which helps us get attached to him even before his storyline starts properly. Dome managed to fix what I think was a mistake on the scriptwriters’ part with his great acting, and I commend him for it. Finally, the other actors that play more minor characters are both good and bad, depending on who we’re talking about. As for the background characters, unfortunately I don’t recommend paying any attention to them at all, since they all look like glitching emotional NPCs (though, I’m going to say that I’ve only noticed that on like the 5th rewatch, so you might not even see what I mean while watching it for the first time).

As for the actual characters, I’m overall satisfied with them too. For starters, all of the main characters end up being rather multidimensional and can’t really be fit into one specific stereotype, which is really nice – especially in this genre. Phana seems like a bit of an asshole at first, but it’s supposed to be like that, and he gets more and more lovable as we progress through the show. There is the quite confusing point of him being a bit awkward or even shy in his advances towards Wayo, which doesn’t really make much sense. But otherwise, his character is pretty sympathetic and consistent. Wayo is a little more complicated. They don’t seem to really know what exactly they want to do with him, because sometimes he is just shy a normal amount, and can even be cheeky and quite confident. But, at the same time, sometimes they make him almost cartoonishly juvenile, naïve and “unexperienced”. Not only does this make his character disappointingly inconsistent, it just looks unrealistic and frankly uncomfortable. Ming is just an overall great character. He is extroverted, clingy, noisy and honest, but not in a bad way. He is just charming enough, he knows boundaries and he can be quite hilarious, so nothing bad to say there. Kit is beautifully written and played. In the beginning, he is as shy and reserved as he is supposed to be, and the way they show his progression from being all that to opening up a little and being much softer and more vulnerable with his boyfriend is absolutely magnificent. I would call Forth everyone’s problematic fave, because you will love him, but you will also roll your eyes more than they can probably handle. He is this bad boy, who has a soft yet still quite cheeky side to him, and he is probably the most familiar and stereotypical character out of all. Beam is probably the least definable character, since as I said he doesn’t have much screen time in the beginning. And even though you will like him thanks to Dome’s efforts, it won’t be for anything particular in his personality. At least, that’s how I felt. There is also the so called “lady gang” in the show, which has always been a shitty trope, and even though they tried to humanize them just a bit, it’s still offensively stereotypical and just overall bad. Finally, there is not many girls in this show – only two being really of any importance, one of whom is a terrible person and the other is a fujoshi, which should tell you everything that you need to know. Not good, guys…

Friendships are actually handled very well in this show. When someone is in distress, they always go to their friend(s) for advice or to just talk it out, friends always ask each other how they are doing and make sure everything’s ok, they are interested in each other’s lives and are up to date with everything. And that doesn’t just go for friendships between the main characters, but also for example the friendship that Forth has with his engineering friends, who we see very rarely, but who are still established as his friends in a very natural and eloquent manner. Of course, Ming and Wayo take the cake in terms of friendship. Though, I certainly think that sometimes Ming is a better friend to Wayo than Wayo is to Ming. But that has less to do with actual bad writing of friendships and more to do with the pedestal Phana and Wayo are weirdly put on in the show, which I will talk about later. The “wild doctor gang” which consists of Phana, Kit and Beam is also quite well written, though I don’t think we see enough of them. Phana also ends up being close to the entire main cast, which involves him in lots of different storylines, which is fun to see, because usually BLs don’t go for complicated mixing like that and separate storylines quite strongly. The only thing I’m really disappointed in is the lack of friendship between Ming and Forth. I think it’s a truly missed opportunity, considering the fact that they are both in the engineering faculty, they are both the Moons of their faculty, and they were both on two sides of one situation at one point in the plot, and could really help each other out and support each other at that time, because they would understand each other perfectly.

What about the most important part of the show – romance and everything connected to it? Well, there’s a lot to unpack there, so let’s start slow.

Firstly, let’s say a few words about how LGBTQ+ rep is handled. I would say that it’s a little better than usual. For example, when Kit and Beam ask Phana if he liked Wayo and he confesses that he does, the boys say that they are alright with him liking boys (in general) and are still friends, which gives us kind of a nice coming out and doesn’t put us through the whole “I only like him and girls” thing, which is great. Though, there are still some questionable moments and generally LGBTQ+ topics are not really addressed.

Secondly, let’s talk about the couples and their romantic journeys themselves. For starters, it’s important to point out that none of the couples come out of nowhere. Obviously, Phana and Wayo have something going on ever since high school, we find out later on that Ming has always payed quite a bit attention to Kit even in school and remembers him very well, and by some interactions between Forth and Beam, you can clearly see that they really care about each other – even before anything starts. And, before I say anything (negative), I want to say that regardless of anything, I still love all the three couples and consider them to be super cute.

Now that pleasantries are out of the way, let’s get serious. I do think that generally Phana and Wayo are truly very cute. However, they do have quite a few problems. Mostly they come out of the fact that – as I’ve previously mentioned – Wayo is sometimes presented as uncomfortably juvenile and it creates a weird and unsettling dynamic in his relationship, because Phana almost seems like “the adult”, which is obviously not how this is supposed to work. However, I have nothing, but genuinely good things to say about Ming and Kit. They understand each other very well, are really soft and cute with each other and the way their relationship progresses is very natural and makes complete sense both in general and in terms of their characters. They are clearly very different people, but it works, because neither of them expects the other to change and be someone they’re not. They accept each other the way they are and never overstep or push beyond clear boundaries that each of them has set. It’s interesting to point out that both Ming and Forth have to deal with boys who they like very much, but who are reluctant to reciprocate their feelings. And I think the main reason why Ming and Kit have such a different dynamic in comparison to Forth and Beam, despite being in pretty similar situations, is because Ming approaches Kit with care and respect, stepping away whenever Kit asks him to. Meanwhile, Forth pushes quite hard, and though there are moments when he appropriately steps away, there are also moments when he uncomfortably oversteps boundaries, which can be a little unsettling to watch, especially because Forth often gets physical. Forth and Beam generally begin very questionably and they never seem to really get into each other’s comfort zones and even it all out. I suppose it has something to do with the idea that there is indeed such thing as someone wanting something, but not saying it – but I’m obviously not a fan of it. Beam is often hot-and-cold, and there is something a little unsettling about Forth thinking he can hold Beam’s hand after Beam pushed him away just because Beam held his hand the night before. That’s why it’s possibly the hardest for me to evaluate how appropriate Forth and Beam even are together, but that usual 2moons2 charm steps in once again, and I still think they’re hella cute even though there is clearly lots of questionable stuff going on in their storyline.

Thirdly, I would like to say that emotional vulnerability is handled quite well in this show. Those of the boys who are generally very opened can be quite emotional from time to time and express themselves quite eloquently. But even those characters that were established as very reserved and detached have some moments where they really talk about how they feel and that’s important. When someone has communication issues, they are also dealt with very well. They are not there for the drama and they are resolved in a way in which they are supposed to be resolved – by talking.

Fourthly, with pushing some boundaries, intimacy in 2moons2 ends up being better than in most Thai BLs. There are many kisses – of different kind and on different occasions, there are hugs and cuddling in bed and sharing drinks and things couples usually do, which other Thai BLs usually shy away or even loudly run away from. It’s still not entirely perfect, mostly because there is that questionable area of consent that comes up from time to time, but it’s better than usual. Also, there is some great fucking kissing in this show. Every single kiss is really good. Like really good, guys. It’s quite shocking really.

Finally and I suppose unfortunately, we have to talk about consent and the way sex is handled in this show in general. Ming and Kit didn’t get to have any scenes of even discussing anything past kissing, so we are not talking about them in this section simply because this subject matter hasn’t touched them at all. Now, Forth and Beam had a hook up scene, and Phana and Wayo eventually have a sex scene too. And what I mean by hook up and sex scene is talking about it and the camera fading away right before it actually happens. Still, there manages to be quite a few questionable moments. Starting with Phana and Wayo, there are moments when Phana kisses Wayo when he clearly doesn’t like it or even outright tells him to stop and tries to push him away. They also often switch between questionable consent and sudden change of character, as if to justify the initial actions of Phana. So, Wayo starts pushing him away and asking him to stop, and when he eventually does, Wayo suddenly changes his mind or feels the need to assure him that “he will do it eventually”, looking guilty. When Phana first starts the conversation about sex, Wayo is clearly uncomfortable, but every time Phana talks about it, he puts quite a bit of pressure on him. As for Forth and Beam, it’s important to point out that they were both drunk when they first hooked up – Beam being significantly more drunk that Forth, and there is of course the unsettling moment of Beam asking if he “can be on top” and Forth saying no, pressing him into the mattress. Also, the idea of Beam having his first time without any lube or condom, when Forth is clearly very experienced and very bisexual, is quite unbelievable to me (and definitely not cool).

Now that romance is out of the way, let’s talk a little about some other things I liked and disliked about the plot. There are some really emotional moments in this show and they manage to be quite natural and realistic and they can really make your heart sink. Many plot points are executed quite well and end up being either deeply entertaining or deeply emotional, both of which is great. There’s a lot of care about the boys’ lives outside of what’s happening here and now in the show, because both Phana and Wayo as well as Ming and Kit appropriately reminisce about their joined time together in high school. They’ve also used the jealousy trope twice and as amazing and satisfying as it was the first time, that’s how disappointing and frustrating it was the second time. 

They do devote a proper amount of time to each couple and aren’t afraid to give a lot of screen time to one specific couple at once, when they truly need it, which is incredible. At the same time, it often happens so that after a couple got a lot of attention from scriptwriters, they completely disappear off the radar for a while and aren’t present together even in the background, which is quite nonsensical. The initial mystery of the show is a little dumb and a lot unrealistic, but kind of in the best traditions of BLs like this. Some plot lines can honestly be ridiculously unrealistic as well, and some scenes that are clearly used to further the storyline in the easiest of ways don’t make any sense whatsoever. Finally, the most disappointing and specific plot point is Phana and Wayo’s reunion, which was shortened (in comparison to the novel and the original show) for obvious reasons, but was unfortunately shortened in all the wrong places and ended up being very confusing and unsatisfying. It was done oh so very wrong, and that’s kind of sad, because it’s a monumental point in Phana and Wayo’s relationship.

Now, a couple of other minor points:

This show is actually quite good with metaphors and foreshadowing and referencing both important plot points from the past and the future, which takes quite some care and dedication and is rather complicated to do, which is a pleasant surprise, since BLs of this kind don’t usually try this hard. It also tries to be deep sometimes, which always ends up being a 50/50 situation, when you either think “Hey, that’s kinda true!” or “What the f-“.

The attention to detail in this show is the true enigma of our time. On the one hand, there is a lot of details in this show that are very small and you don’t really notice right away, but which are done exceptionally well. On the other hand, when you are watching this show for the 5th time, you start seeing missed details that are painfully obvious (to you at that point). So, it’s both extremely good and extremely bad with details, neither of which you will really notice unless you watch it five times like I did.

This show has a lot of unnecessary pauses, and the closer you get to the end of it, the more you will come across this unfortunate phenomenon. Are you familiar with the expression “a pregnant pause”? Well, 2moons2 has whatever the opposite of a pregnant pause is, because all its pauses have absolutely no meaning or purpose, and are there to just drag out the time and probably also annoy the living hell out of me personally.

Some moments in the show can be quite cringy, awkward or even just really weird. Some moments are really cute and will send your heart racing and force all your smile muscles to do some cardio, but some moments that are supposed to be cute can be quite awkward and weird as well. It can also be genuinely very funny, but some jokes are not only extremely unfunny, but also terrible (I could really do without those rape jokes, 2moons2 – I really could). Second hand embarrassment is here as well and it’s here to stay.

Another important point to make is the fact that the subs are slightly worse than usual, but considering the fact that when the show was airing we were getting them right away, and the episodes were translated with the help of some cast members who were trying their best, but simply don’t know English very well, it’s all entirely understandable and justified.

Camera work itself in this show is genuinely quite good – the camera person clearly knows what to film and when to film it and how to film it so it would look good and have additional meaning. At the same time, there is a lot of shots that make no sense and are there to look “epic” and which just end up looking ridiculous, which is clearly a poor directing choice. 

Some final minor points on the weird and problematic moments of 2moons2 also have to be made. There is this weird pedestal that both Phana and Wayo are put on, when everyone always compares everyone to them and says they are the best, which is very weird and nonsensical, especially when a guy talks about how beautiful the guy he likes is, but how “he’s still not as beautiful as Phana” or whatever. Everyone is also way too invested in all three couples’ relationships. Actual real people don’t do that, I doubt even fujoshis act like this in real life. By the way, there is a scene where a fujoshi teaches the “lady gang” all the fujoshi (gods forgive me) terminology, which is just… yikes. There is also a moment where Phana leaves his phone in Wayo’s room and Wayo looks through it and does some things in it, and that’s just not ok. Oh and, the whole “wifey” thing? Needs to go like right now. Needed to go years ago. In fact, didn’t need to show up in the first place.

Finally-finally, the show ends with a cliffhanger, which is connected to a storyline that just ain’t it chief. Honestly, it’s so vague, badly written, ridiculous and clearly done for shock value that, considering the importance of the subject matter, it’s quite offensive. Thankfully, the show ending on a cliffhanger isn’t a problem, because we are getting a sequel, but that was a huge risk that they took, and I’m not a fan of the entire storyline that’s connected to the cliffhanger in the first place, so the ending is not only bad, but also not even really an ending at all.

In conclusion, I would like to say that despite 2moons2 having so many problems, I still love this show and enjoy it a lot. And perhaps it’s about the unproblematic MingKit, or perhaps it’s about that secret charm of this show. Either way, despite all the questionable moments, I still highly recommend this BL – it’s quite cute and lots of fun. But, as usual, it’s obviously your own decision to make.

[burnouts3s3]

Maria-sama Ga Miteru, a blu-ray review

(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, don’t take anything I say too seriously.) Just the facts 'Cause you're in a Hurry! Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP):  99 USD How much I paid: 69.99 USD, the Pre Order price Animation Studio: DEEN Original Localizer: Nozomi Entertainment Licensed and Localized Currently by: Sentai Filmworks Audio: Japanese Audio with Subtitles Number of Episodes: 39 Episodes and 5 OVAs equaling a run time of 1237 Minutes. Length per Episode: 25 Minutes on average. 21 Without Intro and Ending song. Length per OVA: 50 Minutes on Average Number of Discs: 8 Blu Ray Discs Episodes per Disc: Seasons 1, 2 and 4: Episodes 1 through 9 on the 1st Blu-ray Disc. Episodes 10 through 13 on the 2nd Blu-ray disc as well as “Don’t Let Mother Maria Know”, funny ‘outtakes’ of the characters in Chibi From. Season 3: OVAs 1 – 3 on 1st Blu-ray Disc. OVAs 4-5 on 2nd Blu-Ray Disc. Aspect Ratio: 4:3 for Seasons 1 and 2. 16:9 for Seasons 3 and 4. Are there plans for a DVD release?: A DVD release of the series exists from Nozomi Entertainment. Does this come a digital voucher to redeem?: No. This only has the Blu-ray discs. Also on: HiDive, Sentai Filmwork’s Streaming Service. Bonus Features: Clean Opening Animation, Clean Closing Animation and “Don’t tell Mother Maria”, ‘outtakes’ of the characters in chibi form. Notable Localization Changes: Onee-sama, a popular phrase Yumi addresses Sachiko with, has been translated into “Dear Sister” (which is more or less the same thing). Honorfics such as –san or –sama have been omitted in the subs or changed. (For example, when a character refers to Sachiko as Sachiko-sama, the subs translate it into “Lady Sachiko”). Make of that as you will. My Personal Biases: I actually reviewed Marimite a long time ago on this site. I still hold fond memories of the show to this day.

My Verdict: A long running staple of the Shoujo genre and said to have kickstarted the Yuri trend that gave us Kannazuki no Miko, Strawberry Panic, Aoi Hana and Sasameki Koto, Maria-sama Ga Miteru still holds up to this very day. And thanks to Sentai Filmwork’s ability to print it on Blu-ray, now even newcomers can enjoy the quiet campus of Lilian Academy. Buy it! Maria Sama Ga Miteru, a blu ray review

“The Maidens who assemble in Mother Maria’s Garden have such angelic smiles that today, too, they pass through the tall gate. Their pure bodies and minds are wrapped in dark colored school uniforms. The pleats on their skirts shouldn’t be noticeable. Their while sailor collars should always be tidy. Walking slowly is preferred here. St. Lilian’s Academy is a Garden for Maidens.”

Our Protagonist, Yumi Fukuzawa, is a freshman in St. Lillian Girls’ academy, an all-girls Catholic School. One day, while praying in front of the Virgin Mary, Mother Maria, someone comes up to her. It is none other than the school’s idol, Sachiko Ogasawara. While Sachiko fixes Yumi’s collar, Yumi’s friend, Tsutako, takes a photograph and blackmails Yumi to get the scoop. While Yumi goes to the Yamayuri council, which acts as the governing body for the school, Sachiko storms out of the room and trips on top of her. Sachiko attempts to make Yumi her petite Souer. Through the Souer system, upperclass girls can make a lowerclass girl their ‘sister’ by handing them a Rosary. If the underclass girl accepts, they become partners and look after each other until graduation. While seemingly innocent at first, the system can lead to all sorts of conflicts and misunderstandings but also joy and laughter. This is the story of how Yumi first accepts Sachiko’s Rosary and ends when she eventually bestows that rosary to another.   I really love Yumi as a character. While she does act as the ‘ordinary outsider’ meant to be the audience Point of view character, there’s a charm to Yumi. She’s actually very quick on her feet, eager to help and very kind and friendly. She does make mistakes but there’s a very human quality and the small moments where she shines (initially rejecting Sachiko’s rosary, practicing her routine to impress the graduating Seniors, helping out during the school festivals, standing up to some rich snobs) that really makes her shine. (Though I will give some credit to Yumi as she manages to possess proper hand eye coordination and inner ear balance that her successors Himeko Kurusugawa and Nagisa Aoi seem to lack.) In some ways, Sachiko was the inspiration that lead to the creations of such characters such as Shizuru Fujino from My-Hime, Chikane Himemiya from Kannazuki no Miko and Shizuma Hanazono from Strawberry Panic. On the surface, Sachiko is a cold, stern and almost unbendable force of nature, bent on getting her way. However, slowly but surely, Yumi melts the icy exterior to find the human underneath. (It also helps that Sachiko occasionally is the butt of the joke at times, such as, being her first time at a fast food restaurant, she remembers to order correctly and pay the server, but forgets to pick up the food). Among my favorite characters is the adorably lovable Satou Sei, a senior of the school and the canon lesbian of the show. Sei is often flirtatious but also very humorous to boot.  There’s a sort of fandom clash as many people ship Sei and Yumi together and Shimako and Sachiko together.  (There’s the implication that if Sei had not picked Shimako to be her petite seour, she would have picked Yumi and Sachiko is jealous of that fact since she wanted to give Shimako her rosary first, but Shimako refused her). Rounding out the cast are Rei and Yoshino, a Kendo Senior and her sickly cousin who might switch the idea of a tomboy on its head and Touko, Sachiko’s cousin who’s prickly exterior might hide someone much more vulnerable and Noriko, a girl who might share a love of Buddhist statues the Shimako does. A lot of people cite Maria Watches Over Us (or Marimite for short) as the revitalization of the Class S genre, which focuses on romantic friendships between school girls. A lot of people have pointed out that the genre has had its fair share of negative stereotypes and doesn’t exactly portray a healthy or realistic relationships for young queer women. But, I’ve always stated I would rather have a problematic show that affects me emotionally over a well-meaning show that has a good social message but leaves me cold. Of course, the show is self-aware of its genre roots and occasionally pokes fun at it. (At one point, Yoshino does the ‘rich girl laugh’ with another person and all it does is draw unwanted attention from passerbys). If there’s definitely a weak spot to the series, it’s definitely the animation. Panning shots and freeze frames are all present here, but the direction is solid enough where you’re enjoying it even when you notice the stitches and seems. (It’s an early 2000’s show centering about the school lives of ordinary girls. What were you expecting, Darling in the Franxx?) Granted, Season 3 is when the animation quality (as well as the aspect ratio) picks up but even the older seasons are passable and enjoyable to watch. What sells the show isn’t necessarily the animation, but character interactions with one another. Those looking for Women Love Women relationships probably aren’t going to find it here, but it did lead to the inspiration for other works to tackle. Each movement, each subtle touch or facial reaction or slip of the tongue feels weighty. You can tell there’s so much more being said than what’s on the screen and the characters missing or picking up on those subtleties really is the highlight. Season 3 is where the show changes format from a half hour episodic series to an hour long OVA (Original Video Animation) format and they play out more like self-contained movies than a series of over-arching episodes. And yes, the blu-rays also include “Don’t let Mother Maria Know.”. These are a series of humorous shorts included with the original DVD releases that contain cartoonized versions of the characters engaging in very silly behavior and outtakes. 

After Nozomi Entertainment sold the rights off, Sentai Filmworks bought them and did a pretty good job localizing the show. The show contains no English Dub, but translates the Japanese text to pretty close to its original source material. One thing to note is the lack of honorfics. Honorfics are titles one refers to when addressing another person, like –san meaning Mr. or Ms. in English. “Onee-sama” is translated to “Dear Sister” while “Sachiko-sama” is translated to “Lady Sachiko”. (Though for some reason, Kashiwagi’s nickname for Sachiko, Sacchan, is kept in). CAVEAT: There’s the implication that Maria Watches Over Us feels dated in its depictions of girls’ relationships and class differences and promotes not quite so healthy relationships. But, had it not been for Studio DEEN and the characters of Yumi and Sachiko, we might have never gotten Himeko and Chikane or Shizuru and Natsuki or Fumi and Akira or Kazama and Sumika or Kase and Yamada or Touko and Yuu. Hell, even Flip Flappers did a parody of Marimite for an episode. With Nozomi Entertainment selling off the rights (as well as Seasons 2 and 3 DVDs being sold for outrageous prices), Sentai Filmworks has done the anime community a service by preserving this work and making it available to Western audiences. So, it all but depresses me to know that this great work will go unnoticed while the inevitable fans order the next Umaru merchandise instead. If you have enough of an attention span to watch a show that doesn’t have constant explosions, fanservice or attack names being shouted out, it’s definitely worth a look see. Of course, speaking as someone who binge watches Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure during his off hours, I enjoyed every bit I had with Maria-sama ga Miteru.

Verdict: Buy it!

[meldelen]

Dragons of Summer Flame - A (very sad) review

"So you would not apologize to her. You would not ask for forgiveness. What, then, did you want to say to her?" Raistlin was silent long moments. He had turned back to the bookshelves and was staring now at the shadows that surrounded the books, staring at a time that would never happen. "I wanted to tell her that sometimes, in my long sleep, I dreamt of her," he said softly.

Just for this moment, this sad, sad book is worth it.

Why sad? Because after the constant rise that the Chronicles and Legends have been, this closure is a bitter disappointment.

Dragons of Summer Flame is the conclusion of the cycle started with the Dragonlance Chronicles. Honestly, I’ve not re-read the 6-9 books that would go between the Legends and the present one I am going to review - series known as Dragonlance Tales and published as The Second Generation - because I don’t own copies nor did I ever. I didn’t enjoy them enough to buy them. Neither does this one, and it’s in my possession because it belongs to my husband, specifically.

From the Dragonlance Tales, a series of short stories in the style of the Preludes and other prequels and spin-offs, it was only memorable the moment when Palin Majere - younger son of Caramon and Tika and nephew of Raistlin - passed his Test for be a mage. And that's because of the chance of seeing Raistlin again, who’s mostly dead, although the idea that he survived to suffer daily the torture of Prometheus at the hands of his goddess has its macabre appeal. In the end it is just a hoax, like that abomination called Raistlin's Daughter, which I don't know how the authors could have come up with, since it fits the character like a slipper on top of a television.

But let us go to the present volume, Dragons of Summer Flame, a duology that includes The Knights of Takhisis and The War of the Gods in Spain. I said it’s a bitter disappointment, and not because it’s bad in itself - the story’s very original and very well written - but because the authors suffer what I call SAS (Successful Author Syndrome) that has led them, basically, to write a lot of fanservice and pull flashbacks because they already assume that readers will settle for it.

The story revolves around the second generation of the Dragonlance's heroes, that is, their children (or alleged children) and their actions to prevent Chaos, the father of all the gods of Krynn, who has managed to escape his confinement in the Graygem of Gargath, destroy the known world and all gods with it. As I said, it’s not a bad plot. The book rarely gets boring, although it does depending on the section. It has very positive things, such as giving more consistency to the social context, for example, of the city of Palanthas, providing more lore and depth to the story, something that they have rarely done until then. The idea of the evil knights adopting a honor code and polite behaviors to their enemies is also excellent. Not to mention the humor, as good as is always was in this series.

Dragons of Summer Flame. Cover art by Matt Stawicki.

BUT, unfortunately, they take it for granted that, as far as characterization, dialogues and character development are concerned, at this point their readers are unconditional fans and will accept anything. Nope, gentlemen, anything is not enough, no matter how great you were with the Chronicles and wonderful with the Legends. Unforgivable mistakes? Hold my tea:

1. Bring back characters that are already dead. Sorry, but in my modest view, this is a bad author resource. Yes, we loved them, we miss them, but they are dead. Leave them alone. Removing them from the grave is not going to make them better or more lovable. Sometimes the last memory, painful as it is, is the best memory we can have of a character. So leave them alone. The authors abuse visions, flashbacks, or even the physical return (it's a kind of magic!) of beloved characters from the past. Nope, it’s a mistake, because they don’t even play a prominent or relevant role. They are only there out of nostalgia, fanservice and to serve as motivation for the second generation of characters, who are alive. NO, NO, AND NO. 

Raistlin was dead, a martyr to his own ambition, from villain to hero in an instant, a living legend forever in Krynn. Why bring him back stripped of his magic, but still suffering his ill health, so that everyone rubs in his face his many past mistakes, suddenly forgetting that he also died because of them? You’re mean, people. Kitiara, Sturm, Flint, they are dead, let them rest in peace, it’s very annoying constantly bringing them back in visions or flashbacks. Even Tanis, who dies in this book, is soon brought back in another vision. Oh, c’mon!

2. The characters of the second generation are not well developed, they don’t have autonomy or their own personality, I don’t get to love them as I loved their parents. Why? Well, because the authors have made them live in the shadow of their parents (or uncle), stripping them from their self-agency.

About Tanin and Sturm Majere I hardly remember a thing, they start the book already dead, and I can't figure out if they were developed much in the Tales. Palin Majere is a shadow of his uncle, poor thing. I say this because there’s nothing wrong with him - he’s handsome, he’s young, he’s brave, he’s kind - and therein lies the problem, he’s a certified Gary Stu. But he lives with the expectations of being like his uncle, all the time compared to Raistlin, which is absurd, because Raistlin is/was incomparable. His evolution isn’t believable, because we know that he’s a mediocre mage - at best - and in the end we see him guided by his uncle, endowed with invaluable artifacts like the staff and the book of Magius, and doing an OP super-spell that hurts Chaos. Come on, please. We are not blind: victory belongs to Raistlin, who’s the one leading him throughout the book. And that final statement that he’s the greatest mage in Krynn? Please. We all know WHO is the greatest mage in Krynn - and poor Palin doesn't even get to the tip of his golden heel.

Steel Brightblade is Sturm 2.0 despite his mother, Kitiara, suddenly super interested in him - although she’s dead - constantly tries to turn him towards evil. Usha "Majere" is really nobody - thank you, glorified authors, for confirming that she’s NOT Raistlin's daughter and fixing this mess a bit - apart from being another Mary Sue who’s only there to be a link between the Irda - practically just taken out of the sleeve of the authors - and the other mortals. Oh, and to be Palin's love interest, of course.

The only decent character is Tasslehoff again, who, thanks to the gods, although more mature, remains faithful to his essence - and then they go and kill him. And how. Life sentence for Weis and Hickman for doing this to him.

Dragons of Summer Flame. Cover art by Larry Elmore.

3. Flashbacks, repetitions, memories, nostalgia, repeated explanations throughout the same book of events that we already know - and reencounters. Many reencounters. Tense reencounters. Happy reencounters. Reencounters. And the only reencounter that we don't have, the only one that I wanted, that I really needed, never happens - the one with Raistlin and Crysania. Yes, I admit it, it's very problematic. It’s to reunite the victim and her aggressor. Only that a part of me refuses to victimize Crysania, because as Raistlin well says, she knew - mostly - what she was getting into, and besides, Raistlin is totally unrepentant, he doesn't regret anything. But you get to see him reunited with the one that IS his true, real victim - his twin Caramon. In this bloody book full of unnecessary reencounters by mere fanservice, couldn't you have given me this one? Life sentence for Weis and Hickman for doing this to ME.

Anyway, I leave this ranting because I won’t solve anything either. Dragons of Summer Flame, and in general, all the books dedicated to the second generation are an example of why sometimes it’s better to stop writing about the same thing and give rest to your beloved characters. This epilogue, to be honest, was superfluous, better to have closed with the Legends. As a friendly reader out there says, seeing what Weis and Hickman have done to our beloved characters makes you want to shave your head and attack someone's car with an umbrella - only in quarantine I shouldn't and I also like my hair.

SAS. Successful Author Syndrome. When you have succeeded, it’s best to quit. And if you're still going to write more - among other reasons, because the bosses make you - at least leave your dead rest in peace. It’s the golden rule.

Needless to say, I haven't even bothered to read more Dragonlance books from this point on.