#Zim was my main in the first game so I'm excited to see how they change him

[theizzifromosaka]

So the next piece of media I've decided to review is Monster Prom, but these games aren't really meant to be played for extended periods of time, they're more meant for occasional single playthroughs with friends.

In the meantime I thought it would be neat if I spoke about an individual character I might not get to talk about otherwise. I figure this would be a neat way to fill the gaps between reviews, and opens the possibility to talk about just about any character that fits the description of "monster" and "girl".

Invader Tak (Invader Zim)

Despite only appearing in two(ish) episodes Tak remains a fan favorite character. Personally, I love all these little Bloodthirsty Irken Scrimblos, and honestly wish Invader Skoodge and Sizz-Lorr got the same amount of love as her.

Tak definitely earns her popularity, as her two part special is one of the best episodes in the series. It starts off as a Valentine's special, with Zim predictably aghast. Suddenly an inconspicuous new girl joins the class and covers Zim in barbecue sauce, causing him much pain.

Of course this hideous new girl is revealed to be an Irken in disguise, with a grudge against Zim and intent on conquering the earth to regain her status as Invader. Zim and Dib must join forces to save the earth and re-ruin Tak's life.

Tak is such a good parallel to Zim. Their backstories are similar in many ways but while Zim was victim of his own hubris and stupidity, Tak was instead victim of Zim's hubris and stupidity.

Villain protagonists are pretty rare, especially among the media shown to kids. Sorta like the few instances when Klasky Csupo tried to make Angelica sympathetic, to get people to root for Zim you gotta pit him against somebody worse. Tak fills these shoes well, she's every bit as conniving as Zim, and somehow almost matches his eccentricness (with Richard Steven Horvitz voicing Zim that's all but impossible), with the crucial difference between them being Tak is competent, and as a result genuinely intimidating.

As for her design, she's built off the same deceptively adorable base all Irkens share, with her pointy "eyelashes" and curled antenna giving her a distinct, easily identifiable look. Her human disguise is similar, standing out from the background characters but still matching the show's angular style.

Invader Zim is my favorite Nickelodeon cartoon, and the only real competition it has is SpongeBob. It stands out so much from its peers, both visually and tonally. Though I can't recommend it to Monster Girl fans on account of it really doesn't have any, I can personally say this show means a lot to me.

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[amyisherenowitsokay]

Sent the last one before I listened to anything lmao, so while I'm going thru at the same time - Curious if there's a reference/POV for the title of Sing To Me itself, or it's just the lyrics that matter. like, who's asking for/singing? What's ON MY MIND for re:2 in reference to, I assume from the POV of Zims thoughts? Nothing to say about re:3 except "oh. i'm excited. i can feel the plot and vibes already." esp with Obey lol. and going over the anime ones, is there a particular genre/feel/tone you see for each pick? what are they? right off the top of your head, how do you think the openings would 'look'? odd thought, cos i forgot the first Q was for broad encompassing and was like, "the tonal dissonance wtf" BUT. would you say there's any relation between both sets of answers, if you imagined Q1's placed between the Q2's openings/endings? or rather would you pick different answers in that situation? (and ofc, what would they be? why?) ..and yeah the tone of slotting re:3's Q1 in with re:3's Q2 slides together so well.. (well, the opening & encompassing answers. ending's just vibey. curious if the ending song would still stay, since the tone throws it? something i'm missing? lyrics i figure.) ..gotta ask for some hints/spoiler crumbs for what's coming for re:3. can't just ignore the dramatic music bomb.

Sing to Me is one of my favorite songs, both for lyrics, tone, and narrative (also, it was made for the Death Stranding sound track, a favorite game of mine, and gets more love for that reason as well.)

To me, the song is attributed to both Zim and Gaz. It reads to me as very desperate, seeking help, but also seeking distraction. It's about not really recognizing oneself anymore, for the worse, and panicking. It's also reads as incredibly lonely. I think at the beginning of Re:MHNY1, both Zim and Gaz are pretty miserable in their personal lives. No friends, no social lives. Gaz is simmering in her own familial estrangement and Zim is rolling in his own self-loathing about his Defectiveness and banishment. I think it's a really good song that evokes a lot of feelings of anger and pleading and hopeless optimism, which I think really lends to some of the darker themes in Re:MHNY1.

OWN MY MIND, in it's most basic sense, could totally be about Zim. He was not the primary individual I had in mind for this song, and I will leave it at that.

Infected I picture being very Cyberpunk 2077 . A lot of slow motion shots with flickers to the beat in the background. Hints of things to come.

Young and a Menace and Obey I'm picturing a lot of Shakugan no Shana III energy. A lot more sharp, punchy, foreboding and foreshadowing. There's a LOT of anger. conflict, and tension in the sequels, and it'd be super cool to see that reflected. Especially with the same wind-down energy of a more peppy rock-song, the same way the first "series" ending did.

Regarding synergy/vibes in my song choices, I chose them mostly on vibes. I like anime openers that really have a lot of darkness and action that look really cool, with closers that have really upbeat 90's anime energy. Think Black Butler's (CW), Attack on Titan (CW) and Tokyo Ghoul's (another CW) style of openers/closers - gritty intros, visually impactful, . Then Black Butler's S1 closure is jamming out to BECCA with chibis doing everyday things. Evangelion's crazy ass is just peaceful "Fly Me to The Moon." I love a closure with some dissonance. Really makes the anime feel more dimensional to me.

I would not change any songs as the "series" went on, because I feel like the more you understand the fics, the more the songs feel MORE appropriate, not less, and that'd be a cool thing to do. Like Gravity Falls's constant hints since the beginning of the series that look like fun gibberish, but actually were just laying out the whole plot of the series the whole time.

In terms of the relationship between my choices, I'd say the openers/closers are what they are, while my encompassing/main songs would be on the soundtrack. Kind of in the same way New Divide by Linkin Park became both meme and THE song for The Transformers movies (rip Chester). Like, Perfect Day was Legally Blonde's opener, but Watch Me Shine was the main song that really emphasized a climax/turning point in the movie. The same role I Wanna Be Bad played in What A Girl Wants. I probably just dated the fuck out of myself, but that's the vibe I was mentally picturing.