#a solidly entertaining episode

[cryptidorchid]

Girl, help, I'm seeing symbolism in an improv series where there is none. Anyway, does anyone want to hear about how both Scott and Pearl tamed a wolf in their first episode of Double Life and how those wolves pretty solidly represent their relationship with each other?

Pearl's wolf, Tilly, is the first one she tamed. Scott's wolf is actually the second pet he tamed and did so after the first one, a bird, died. See a similarity to their partnership in Double Life? Pearl was Scott's second partner. Scott was Pearl's first.

Scott gets his wolf relatively early on and has it with him when searching for Martyn and Pearl. He mentions the possibility of leaving it behind once, after it bites Cleo when he hits her to test if they were soulmates. Later, it bites Cleo again and Scott mentions that it keeps doing this and Cleo calls it a bad dog. At which point, Scott actually leaves it behind and decides to team with Cleo instead of his soulmate. [The dog biting Cleo isn't kept in Scott's perspective but on the way to Jimmy, the dog just disappears without explanation and as soon as they leave Jimmy, Scott's like "do we even need our soulmates?"] Like, the symbolism of Scott choosing Cleo over Pearl is very obvious.

On Pearl's side, Pearl tames her dog as soon as she comes up to the surface and thus has a chance of finding her soulmate. And then she left it behind when she went to the Nether, symbolizing that Pearl is neglecting her relationship with her soulmate by going to the Nether. She gets the dog back when she comes back from the Nether. But then Pearl gets rejected at the end of episode 1 and the dog dies at the start of episode 2. More symbolism about the relationship dying for Pearl once she was rejected in episode 1 or perhaps once she decided that she was mad at him and she didn't want to reconcile in episode 2. Either way, the dog (and the relationship) dies in episode 2.

Scott's dog on the other hand is not dead. After talking to Pearl, he goes to get it back and takes it home. And he doesn't interact with it much. Doesn't even name it. But he does keep it on his porch.

And I think that fits with Scott in general seeming to express more willingness to mend their relationship than Pearl does. Scott says he needs time to be friends with Pearl again, he calls their 1st confrontation in the 2nd episode couples therapy, Scott implies that he'd be willing to be friends with Pearl if she stopped being "unhinged" (powdered snow + forcefully moving in), he suggests working through their issues. Scott gives the impression that, as put off by her as he is now, he does want to make up with Pearl eventually. 

In comparison, despite Pearl forcing herself into his life, Pearl does not seem to be entertaining the idea of making up. Despite complaining about them not wanting to be friends with her, she passionately rejects the idea that she wants to be friends with Scott and Cleo when it’s brought up. She spends most of her time with them antagonizing them. Pearl just isn't really open to the idea of making up. Pearl's original dog is dead and Pearl having a new dog that she's calling the same name isn't changing that.

If I had to ascribe a meaning to the second Tilly, I'd call it an idealized version of her relationship with Scott. Like she doesn't just want her friend back, she wants a world in which the rejection never happened/couldn't happen. Which is why she's so antagonistic and unwilling to mend their relationship, because she wants the impossible and she can't have that so she's never going to be satisfied with their relationship.

And then they make an alliance and Scott brings over his dog to make puppies with Pearl's dog, symbolically showing the mending of their relationship. Except not really because Pearl's original dog is still dead so she tries to leave anyway while they were in that red life base. Pearl says it's for strategic reasons but I also think her decision was affected by an argument she had with Scott beforehand where Pearl says she forgives Scott for abandoning her and Scott rejects her forgiveness because he doesn't feel guilty about what he did. And that feels like what Pearl wishes her relationship with Scott was like is coming into conflict with what it's actually like. 

And they part on bittersweet terms in that moment, not as angry as they would've been earlier. Pearl still has their dogs' puppies with her. And then Pearl uses those puppies to kill Cleo in a fun callback to the reason Scott left that dog behind in the first place! But Scott leaves his dog in the red life base for good. And Tilly dies. 

And I feel like from this lens, the ending feels kind of bittersweet in the sense that the two of them have given up on ever getting back the relationship they used to have but on the other hand, they can also see and appreciate each other for who they are now. Even though he wishes she would put more effort into their relationship, Scott can appreciate the work and effort she's put into their survival so he wants to give her the win. And likewise, Pearl can appreciate the kindness Scott's willing to give her rather than focus on what he won't give her. Which is why she acknowledges that he did that for her and says she forgives him at the end.

[spaceorphan18]

More thoughts on XM97 - because of course I have more thoughts...

Doing some more reflection, because this is what I do during hyperfixation, apparently.

It helps to write things down and get them out of my head, I suppose. Honestly, it'll be nice to get past the last episode, because then I can compartmentalize and just push the thing away until season 2 (if the finale gives me any reason to want to come back).

DeMayo went on another tweeting spree (I just keep an eye on these things because I get curious) and during this particular bout, I feel like I've got somethings clarified. And I think my own personal frustrations come down to - the ideas of writing and creating vs fan expectations.

Overall, I do think that XM97 is a solidly good (or at least entertaining) show. The animation is good. The voice cast is good. And the ideas they are using, in theory, are more adult and mature and nuanced than the original kids' show ever was (which, I'll give TAS some credit - dug deeper a lot of times when most kids' cartoons of the time didn't).

One of the biggest issues for me has been execution. First of all, the show is way too short for the amount they're trying to pack in here. It almost feels like they wanted to do everything on their wishlist because if they didn't, they wouldn't get the chance to do it. And it feels, muddied... They really needed a full season to unpack a lot of this.

The thing about Rogue and Gambit's story.... I get the 'kill your darlings' strategy of writing. In fact, I agree that good stories are messy and have conflict and you should always put your heroes through the worst. I feel like there was a better way to do the story (I believe) they're telling.

I don't think Magneto needed to be a part of it at all, and the triangle just feels... forced in a lot of ways. I understand that they went there to give Remy some heartbreak along the way, but I truly believe the two of them, with their own issues, and the two of them being in an undefined relationship with complicated issues over touch -- still could have resulted in compelling TV, and still would kept the devastation of Gambit's death.

Episode 5 is still my favorite, and despite my distaste for the whole Magneto side of it, I think the writing there was top notch, and still the best this show has been. I get, though, that they wanted to have Rogue and Gambit "break up" for the impact to hit harder, for Rogue to feel much more guilt once he died, for that last line to be even more heartbreaking.

So, the easiest route was to add the Magneto of it all. Episode 5 is brilliant in a vacuum. But in greater context there are other ways you can get there. And, no, Magneto wasn't ultimately needed. Rogue still could have had regrets, there still could have been heartbreak, there are always things you just don't say before a tragedy.

The thing about it, had they set this up correctly, and in a way that was more satisfying and didn't involve third parties? You may have gotten way more of the Rogue and Gambit fans on board. (And I'll get to the fan side of this in a second.)

See, TAS flirted with Rogue and Gambit's romance but never pushed it too far. Not only was it a kids' show, but Rogue probably would have never had her powers under control and it just was never going to go that far. Meanwhile, the comics have moved way beyond where TAS was. Rogue and Gambit's relationship has evolved a lot in thirty years - way past the tragedy, past the will-they/won't-they, past the break ups and reunions, and in the comics, Rogue and Gambit are a relatively healthy (for a comic book couple) couple of best friends and old marrieds. They're story is so far beyond what they once were that going back to TAS feels... odd.

So, the show starting in this place where TAS left off feels awkward in a lot of ways. There's a lot of expectations layered onto this show, but the show -- being limited by external factors, can't really handle all of it.

I don't think the first few episodes of the show did enough to show the sheer strength of Rogue and Gambit's connection and relationship. And part of that was time and part of that is because it's a sequel to a show set thirty years ago and part of it is time compression and part of it is the writing wanting to leave some vague open-endedness to the relationship so that Episode 5 could work.

And thus Episode 5 feels a bit jarring. It's way more a mature script. There's much more going on in those relationships that we haven't seen set up. Not really. And it's almost relying too much on - things that were mildly set up in the original and the heavy history of the comics.

Which leads me to what has happened afterwards. I think that in a world sans the Magneto of it all, you still get a Rogue who is absolutely heartbroken over the loss of her love. She would still go dark. She would still seek vengeance. She would still wrap herself up in that trench coat and wreck havoc on everyone until she ultimately succumbed to her own grief and eventually dealt with it in one way or the other.

(The part that I just don't agree with -- besides giving up the trench coat, which I know is symbolic in gesture -- is her running off to play Colossus in Fatal Attractions. Which, again, is why they did add the Magneto of it all, but I'm digressing.)

Anyway, this leads me to the fan expectations, and why it does feel so raw for a lot of us. Rogue and Gambit have never really had their time to shine. The films are full of mischaracterizations and limited (very limited) appearances. The other TV shows never let the relationship shine. And even in the comics it felt like forever for the X-Office to take them seriously.

This TV show felt like an opportunity to start fresh. To be excited about something. To get behind the characters we love and celebrate them. We can still break their hearts. We can still even kill them off. But give us a reason to care!

But instead of building that relationship with us fans, it went a different route. And now we feel heartbroken and angry, instead of just heartbroken. Gambit fans - who get shit on so often - get one bright of moment of glory before a death that feels somewhat hollow when you start to realize it was in purpose of someone else's story. Rogue fans - have the internet hating her with a passion. It feels like once again - being set up only to fail.

It feels hurtful, even when, I truly believe, that was not the writers' intentions. Make your characters go through hell - yes, but you have to have your audience on your side to make it impactful.

I don't really know where the show goes from here. There's either going to be closure or a cliffhanger. What I'd really like, though, is some sort of hope.

Because I get real life sucks. And I get that we often reflect in our fiction that it does. But we're talking about a cartoon about superheroes. We're talking about escapism at its finest. I love complicated and messy and nuanced and sometimes even heartbreaking stories -- but I also want something that makes it all worth while.

There is still one episode left, and I'm curious as to where it's going to go. Because at the end of the day, X-Men has always been about hope, too.

[lemotmo]

I think people might be getting ahead of themselves. Which is understandable! I love being excited too! But if we do get Buddie I don’t expect it to happen until near the end of the season. It might not even solidly happen this season! I think we need to prepare ourselves for that possibility. One part of it is that I think a lot of people are very used to streaming show patterns now, short seasons that get straight to the point, no room for “detours” or “side quests” or character stuff, a lot of instant gratification, episode dumps instead of weekly airings and even when they do weekly drops the seasons are still short, and episodes usually not being so linear that if you miss one you’ll understand nothing, because they’re somewhat geared towards reruns and not locking new weekly viewers who happen to tune in out, etc. So it can be hard to get back into the mindset of how network shows work and the rhythm of them. Buddie would also be a very game changing storyline for the characters, and I would definitely prefer to see it handled with care and taken time with. If they get them together in the first half, well I think that would just be too soon. Really, getting a couple together too soon on TV can be just as damaging as taking too long! I want them to take their time with it, if it’s happening I want to savor the journey. Does that make sense?

Oh yes, you make perfect sense and I fully agree.

I don't believe we'll get any real resolution before the mid-season break. I do expect some hints before the break, maybe a realisation, a conversation with a friend perhaps, but that's it. That might or might not continue up till the end of the season. It'll all depend on what the network and showrunners decide.

Personally, I have entertained the possibility that they might not even go fully canon in season 8 or maybe only in the last ep during a disaster or something, with a big cliffhanger to keep us occupied during hiatus.

That we'll get a 'Will they? Won't they? Type of story that will show us pining and jealousy, but won't be resolved until the season 8 finale or even the beginning of season 9.

So yeah, I fully agree.

I used to watch 'the X-files', 'The West Wing' and so many other great shows on TV. We had to tune in every single week to see what was going to happen. This was before social media too, so no tweets or hints at anything. We only had the episode blurbs in the TV guide to give us a clue.

I am addicted to slow burn romances. That's why I love Buddie so much. So much of their story is already slow romance-coded. It goes all the way back to season 2. I love to savour each and every single scene between them, analysing it to death. 😄

So I wouldn't be mad if they would draw out this storyline into season 9. All I ask is that we'll see a clear progression in their feelings for each other and the way they treat each other.

I need to see scenes with them realising they've fallen in love with their best friend. I need to see them struggle with these emotions. I need to see the heartache, pining and jealousy.

If we get a storyline like that? If they treat Buddie as any other great slow burn that has come before?

I'll just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. 😄

[threetrenchcoatsinatrenchcoat]

How to win Dirty Laundry.

I'm no expert on lying or deduction, I just take this show pretty serious when I watch it, and I think the patterns to notice in this game offer a cool lens into interpersonal communication.

I. How to not catch liars. Liars largely aren't that spottable. Buckle in for this one: it's usually easier to eliminate ~3 honest people than to find one liar. Liars tend to be hyperaware of everything they do and end up doing nothing. Everyone's all too aware of the concept of tells, so here are some anti-tells that actually work.

The first to talk after hearing the secret read is a truth teller. Seriously. I can maybe count on one hand the number of times the liar spoke first, but everyone alllllllways ends up suspecting the first talker.

If someone unnecessarily implicates themself, they're likely a truth teller. For instance, giving a related anecdote is a strong anti-tell.

Truth tellers will dig deeper into the wording and theorizing cause they're actually trying to find a liar.

Less solidly, the biggest, flashiest accusers tend to be truth tellers. Liars try to fade into the background, so if someone is going ham on a theory--and not simply after they've been targeted--it's often someone unworried about the attention.

II. How to catch liars. There are somewhat tells. Sometimes. There are more in this list than the previous, but this is all less sure. The rest of your natural suspicions will help. The state I'm in when I get more things right is aware of my instincts but not reliant on them.

If everyone thinks someone's the liar, they're right.

Don't let anyone off the hook. Accuse for whatever reason, then see how they react.

Because liars usually act the same each time they lie--going quiet, going loud, accusing, double bluffing, whatever. My theory is people have a strong pre-built idea of what looks suspicious, so they won't be worried about lying the same way as last time as much as being suspicious at all.

Liars sometimes act ignorant and way overdo it. Like folks who say they're unaware of basic relevant world knowledge or fully skipped relevant life experience or just forgot the question. It's possible but it's suspicious.

There are some contestants who are just good liars. There usually aren't multiple in one episode (besides Lily and Grant, but it's safe to ignore them as a baseline). If someone fully outwits me on their first lie, especially by breaking any of the above patterns, and I have no suspects later, I'll just have to suspect them. Aabria Iyengar and Anna Garcia could sell me sand in a desert.

Not sure how the show's edited and how much of this is actually applicable to people in the game, but there's always some meta information for us to use. Everyone will get at least two secrets in the episode somewhere, usually no one will repeat until three distinct people have had a turn, often exactly three, they tend to space out each guest's secrets, and Lily and Grant will rarely appear early or be the episode's title. If someone's been on a previous season, they're probably not gonna bring anything crazier than then.

III. How to lie. Mostly chill out a little bit. Unless you're a trash liar.

Don't talk first. As stated above, you won't fool me, but there's less of me than people with the opposite belief.

Be the second to accuse someone. Everyone remembers the accused and the first accuser, but the quiet "oh yeah I could see X doing that" gives the theory a ton of validity while flying fully under the radar.

Don't say "I know it sounds like me, but this one's not me." (Even though truth-tellers and liars both say this all the time.) The best way to lose heat is to confidently say this couldn't ever have been me.

While you're doing so, make the justification very, very concise. Simple nonsense is more compelling than convoluted truth.

You do have to have good secrets. This is an entertainment product more than a competition, so the show will probably want the craziest story, but an uncharacteristic, mild secret will always fool more people than a buckwild but on-brand one.

[crehador]

BROTHER CRAB'S SUMMER 2024 TOP THREE

i can't believe this is happening i really can't believe it but i think i'm gonna have to go with

THIRD PLACE: NIGE JOUZU NO WAKAGIMI

for much of the season, nigewaka seemed like it was easily going to be my anime of the season. it had a banging first episode and never at any point got less enjoyable to me

the animation was consistently beautiful (yeah sure with the occasional jarring bit of cgi but in all honesty it never bothered me much) and the characters are all delightful to me

i think the mix of humor and the horrors of war depicted here, understandably, might not appeal to everyone. but it really worked for me. the fact that these characters are so lively and alive, as opposed to doomed and hopeless, in these times of strife makes the stakes feel all the higher to me

so despite it taking third place on my list, this is still solidly one of the best shows of the season (of the year, even)

a few things just happened to blow me away a tad bit more

SECOND PLACE: DEAD DEAD DEMONS DEDEDEDE DESTRUCTION

honestly this is so close for me that demons and nigewaka may as well be a tie, but maybe demons gets a slight edge just for being something so fresh to me

god i loved this. it's been a hot minute since i've seen something that felt so real and human. aliens are invading, the world is ending, but girls will be girls

i guess, like nigewaka, demons also mixes some good ol' humor with The Horrors, and it really works here too. the theme of "hey there's this giant alien mothership hanging over the city but life goes on" is executed so well in the early episodes of this series, and the plottier plot comes together in such a satisfying way in the later episodes

and seriously just huge props to ano and lilas ikuta for their performances in the leading roles here, they smashed it. if i didn't know, never in my life would i have guessed they weren't voice actors with years and years of experience each

ANIME OF THE SEASON: TSUE TO TSURUGI NO WISTORIA

first things first, i would not say this is objectively the best show of the season

but holy shit this is the most fun i've had all year

i'm probably more surprised than anyone that wistoria is ending up as my anime of the season, because even after a whole season, the story is just so... it's basically nothing (stay with me)

there are so many things you could call the plot of wistoria. typical, tropey, contrived, textbook, tired, etc etc etc. anyone who finds the plot boring isn't wrong. it's a fantasy magic school series like any other fantasy magic school series, with so many tropes that you'll recognize if you've watched basically any amount of fantasy at all

but for some reason i didn't dislike it. maybe wistoria doesn't do anything new, but it hits on all these familiar plot beats in such fun and entertaining ways

at some point i realized what word i really wanted to use to describe it:

quintessential

sure, it wouldn't be unfair to call it contrived or derivative or what have you. but to me, this is a quintessential fantasy action/adventure series. yes it hits on all the story beats we're familiar with, from countless series before it, but it hits each beat perfectly

the characters are ridiculous, all easily recognizable archetypes, but they're so unrepentant in who they are that i find myself enjoying them too

and then there's the animation

guys this show is fucking gorgeous. like if it weren't this pretty, i doubt i would be raving this much about it. if it had been just decently animation, i'm pretty sure i would've just enjoyed it a normal amount

but the animation is so so so good that this quickly became the number one show i was hoping for a season two of (and we are getting one!)

like the production quality just did not waver. i found myself baffled that this is the series, the story, that got this level of masterful work put into it. but then i started thinking maybe that's unfair, because really, the story is not bad. fairly simple and straightforward sure, but again: quintessential fantasy

not to end on an absurdly cheesy note, but just like how it's wistoria wand and sword, i think it's the stellar animation and entertaining story/cast that makes this series work so well. without the animation being this good, the story wouldn't have been enough to stand out. but without a truly entertaining story, the animation, however pretty, would have felt pretty empty too

very eagerly awaiting season two

[sleepyyghostt]

ok i take back everything ive ever said about the doctor who episode sleep no more. my fever-dream memories of it from ten years ago LIED to me i love this episode now. fundamentally stupid premise. ridiculous ending. a solidly entertaining time in between. everything i could ever want

[realbeefman]

Angus loyal follower here I love your posts I actually started reading hilson fic because of you even though I’ve never seen the show and I never will because once I heard Hugh lauries voice in a fancam and it was so unsexy also they filmed a lot of b roll at my school anyway Seeing your destiel post was so surprising to me please tell me more about your spn opinions I’m so curious I love discourse <3

very long answer so i’ve hidden it under a readmore for the sanity of casual dash scrollers and people who dont care

first off his american voice or his british voice? this is kind of controversial and may seem wild considering i spend a solid chunk of time thinking about what house would be like during sex but i ACTUALLY find him deeply unattractive. i’d love to have his face and wear his skin but never in my life would i consider him a sexual being. he’s too british for it. the only way british people can be sexy is if they are women this is my most political belief on foreign policy. however i do think hugh laurie’s AMERICAN voice is actually very normal and makes him very endearing to me. hilson fic is awesome but honestly!!! most hilson fic for me just does not hit the same unless u can visualize the creepiness with which house looks at wilson. it’s genuinely sickening. he talks about wilson in the softest voice. so many of the most iconic lines in the show just dont HIT the same if u dont listen to the way they’re delivered.

that is SO cool that they shot b roll at ur school though!!! honestly seems like a dream. if i knew i had walked the same halls the house film team had i think i would die. the camerawork on that show is just fucking PHENOMENAL. i could write entire essays fangirling over how they shoot certain scenes but i fear that would be chronically desperately boring

oh man my supernatural opinions… first off disclaimer i have not seen supernatural recently because i am a deeply paranoid individual and prone to delusions and when i first watched the show i genuinely convinced myself that the monsters were real so. i think my most controversial spn opinion would have to be that it’s a PSYCHOLOGICAL THREAT. have you ever met a normal supernatural fan? NOBODY HAS. BECAUSE THE SHOW DRIVES PEOPLE NUTS

other than that my opinions are pretty normal i thiunk. i actually dont have anything at all against destiel even though i am solidly on the wincestie side of fandom. i dont care for the ship and i think it sucks but OBJECTIVELY its a good ship and has strong canon support. i think my hatred comes because i have read SO many destiel fics and have yet to come across a genuinely good one that accurately portrays the characters. i dont understand why an objectively reasonable ship with strong canon support has created some of the middest fic ive ever read in my life. genuinely fascinating. it’s not even that the fic itself is not good or entertaining it just doesn’t feel anything like the actual canon dean and castiel! i have read like two genuinely entertaining destiel fics that felt realistic and BOTH were from authors who primarily write samdean so!!

other controversial spn opinions i have. the “chuck is god” stuff is by far the most entertaining late seasons retcon. objectively ridiculous but so goddamn amusing. i think season 8 and the leviathans was the peak of supernatural. by far the best season in my opinion. plotwise it was not the most believable but i strongly believe that what makes a story good is not it’s logical soundness nor it’s objective value but whether it is ENTERTAINING and COMPELLING and by god the leviathans were both of those things. what a season. also benny and dean were having sex. i loved castiel going insane. OH and i think endverse spn is overhyped both as an episode and in fanon! i did not understand what endverse referred to for so long because i couldnt comprehend that SO MANY PEOPLE could possibly by THAT fanatic over a very mid episode.

not a controversial opinion but rowena is hot. she should've been in every episode for this reason alone. last semester i set up an office meeting with my professor who looked JUST like her to shoot my shot and she literally died before the meeting could happen. i've always felt in my heart that these are related.

[telomeke]

MY SCHOOL PRESIDENT – SOME (RANDOM) THOUGHTS

My School President has hit the one-third, four episode mark, and this light little rom-com has got me *thinking* (a bit like Bad Buddy did in its time).

It's not all fluffy clouds and rainbows this one; there's a keen intelligence percolating behind the scenes that knows just what it's doing (and every now and then it will drop in a little nugget of greater significance to offset all the romantic sweetness, to remind us of who's in control).

I'm hopeful for more as the rest of the story unfolds, but am also hoping that they keep the balance right, because this has been (above all, so far) an enjoyably light high school BL romance.

MSP winks at Bad Buddy quite a bit – its team of writers and directors is approximately the same, although Khun Noppharnach has taken a step back into the producer role to allow Au Kornprom Niyomsil to take up directing duties, and only two of BBS's writers are on MSP. But the signs are there it's taking up the mantle BBS so expertly wove and deployed.

But at this time my thoughts on MSP are still random and unfocused; I can't tell where it's taking us just yet. Nonetheless, I remember it took me until BBS Ep.5 and 6 to start focusing my thoughts, so I'm waiting things out before looking at MSP more closely.

In the meantime I can't resist jotting down some random unlinked observations though (more for my own future reference than anything else). Whether or not they'll come together as part of a bigger picture I don't know, but time will tell.

By switching up the POVs in consecutive episodes, they've wrung out the seme/uke trope (just as BBS did, but the MSP treatment is not as heavy-handed). At first it looked like the taller, serious Tinn was going to be an archetypal seme, but then they showed us he's really a lovesick dork whose schemes to get closer to Gun get thwarted by circumstances all the time (and that Tinn for whatever reason fails miserably to rise above). And Gun the shorter sunshine boy is anything but a delicate flower vase, more than just an object of affection. I think @absolutebl has already written about this here (and much more coherently too) so I'll leave it at that.

Win and Sound are going to end up together (this one's pretty obvious, I think). Their exchange in the music room (when Win says to Sound about the pieces of meat being grilled: "I'll get a new one for you. Here. Take this one") at Ep.4 [4/4] 11.14 (as well as Phat and Por's reactions) is MSP winking at the "food = love" trope, not just Sound's acceptance into the friendship group. But with the ditching of the seme/uke trope that Thai BL seems intent on pursuing, I think the two blustery personalities getting together is another wink in that direction, that they're moving away from stereotyped roles in Thai BL couples as well.

There are also two nods that MSP does to socio-political realities outside of itself, that directly or indirectly have an impact on the production of Thai entertainment.

The first is at Ep.1 [1I4] 11.04 when Gun turns up for the presidential debate like this:

This is actually a reference to the current governor of Bangkok Chadchart Sittipunt, who, while serving as a minister in 2013 was photographed in much the same (casual) outfit barefoot and bearing alms at a Buddhist temple, concretizing his down-to-earth and solidly dependable image among Thai people:

MSP's nod here is a witty flex, but I've not quite worked out yet what they're getting at, beyond that it's a cute, chuckleworthy moment.

The second socio-political nod they've done is at Ep.4 [3I4] 0.27, and it's particularly barbed:

This is a direct reference to government intervention in the creative process, that is being done with a view to increasing Thailand's visibility and clout in the global entertainment scene.

You can read more about it here:

It's clear that there is pressure being applied for productions to go in certain directions (possibly with the dangling of financial carrots, that the money guys at profit-driven studios may be insisting individual shows have to snag, thus entailing modifications to the plot or portrayals for compliance with funding guidelines – but really I'm just guessing here).

Any sort of outside influence will always be a dampener on the creative process and I'm sure this is what's being critiqued here.

I have my own ideas about which directions are being strongly pushed (to increase marketability) but will save the details of that for a different post – for now I will say that I think Thai creatives are being pressured to emphasize Thailand's cultural links and overlaps with East Asia (especially with an eye on the gigantic Chinese market).

So climbing back into MSP from outside the fourth wall (and keeping with the randomness of it all), @respectthepetty has pointed out that Tinn and Gun may be represented by the colors blue and red, in this write-up linked here.

I'm keeping an open mind about this, but if it is true – take a look again at this photo of Tinn and Gun on the stairs:

There are red and blue arrows on the steps, with the red pointing up and the blue pointing down. I know these are the school's directional arrows for the students to follow when using the staircase, but even though the arrows are worn (and thus may be pre-existing and not intentional on the part of the MSP production team), part of me can't help wondering if they may be signaling future developments for Tinn and Gun too. 🤔 Why keep the shot so wide, if not to keep these arrows in view?

All eyes on you, My School President! 😍

[anime-fyi]

The fourth episode of Tomo-chan is a Girl! was a nice set of small, separate stories. Carol and Tatsumi appear to want to be closer to Misuzu but how they go about it isn’t quite effective. Next, Tomo wants to experience a little more friendship with girls, though akin to the earlier stories it doesn’t quote go as planned. And last, we got some time between Junichiro and Tomo, which seems to show they’re incredibly close, and yet still so far from being in a true relationship. This far in, I’m generally sold that this is a solidly entertaining school-based romantic comedy that leans more into the comedy element. The glimmers of romance are here, but it’s quite distant from a lot more friendship elements. Growing curious what progress Tomo and Junichiro will honestly make here, there’s both a huge and non-existent distance to these two being in a relationship but I don’t see yet how they bridge that gap.

[tiggymalvern]

I continue the weekly Burn Notice watch with my friend Sonja. We’re in early season two, which is when it’s solidly become Burn Notice, and she ended our scheduled two episodes this week with, “I really want to watch another one, but I have to go! I have to make dinner!” Cue an evil grin from me XD I first came across Sonja via the Due South fandom around two and a half decades ago. She said, “This series is ridiculously fun escapism,” and I said, “Yes! It reminds me of Due South in some ways, in that it’s manic light entertainment fun, full of snarky dialogue, and every now and then it will crank up the drama and rip your heart out.” Sonja hasn’t reached the ripping your heart out parts yet, but she agreed. “It really is like Due South minus the magical realism.” And it’s funny, but I hadn’t actually put it together before - that the things I love in Burn Notice are so many of the same things I loved in Due South. The bonkers energy, the frenetic pace and crazy shenanigans are so Due South-like. The snarky dialogue between weirdo outliers who latch onto one another and refuse to let go is a feature of literally everything I fall in love with, while the other details vary. But now apparently I’ve come full circle back to the late 90s style of my fannish loves…

[h0rsemn]

I just watched the First episode of Sailor Moon (1992). I don't really know if I can judge the quality quite yet since it's very different from what I usually watch i.e stuff like JJK and ONK, this is much more silly,cute(for lack of a better term) and is more Slice of Life in comparison to those 2. If I had to draw a comparison to another series I'd say it's Kamen Rider for girls (same formula it looks like) but I was solidly entertained despite all that though.

[sealwithfeels]

Spring 2023 Anime Wrap-up

Didn't watch a huge number of anime this season, but enough to have some short reviews, plus some fanart. Some spoilers for Witch From Mercury.

Heavenly Delusion (Tengoku Daimakyou) - the standout of the season, definitely the best of the shows I watched in Spring 2023. Fascinating world thats revealed naturally, characters that feel really and have a great dynamic, slowly unfolding mysteries, excellent animation that even messes with style a bit. Heavy content warnings though, deals with some heavy stuff, in a way I'm not sure I've decided how I feel about it yet. Hoping there will be another season to adapt more. Feels kinda like a combination of The Last Of Us, Made In Abyss and Shinsekai Yori so it was kind of inevitable I'd be into this.

Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba) S2: Swordsmith Village arc - great animation, pretty fun, but otherwise standard battle shounen. Still enjoyed it. Though the supporting cast are much more likeable than the Entertainment District arc, the fights felt much more messy, and villains not as cool or interesting. Mitsuri deserved more spotlight though, they did her dirty.

Gundam: Witch From Mercury S2 - such mixed feelings here, as a lot of it is good enjoyable stuff, but then there's also so much blegh. Some interesting characters and conflicts dragged down by a bizarre obsession with focusing on things that don't matter in the end. Really needed to either have a third season do the concepts justice, or to have cut them entirely and focus on what mattered. Guel and Miorine continue to be the best, and Prospera steals the show as a villain. The ending was lackluster, with sudden third faction distracting from the core conflict of the show, sudden asspull power-up to defeat the threat, and generally killing the conflicts and plot threads in a very sudden and rushed way. Suletta and Miorine got married, so there's that, but they didn't kiss and their relationship got shoved to the side in the latter half, so the shipper in me is annoyed.

The Marginal Service - dropped, and the less said about this the better. Just kinda incompetent and boring tbh.

Oshi no Ko- the big hype machine. Absurd but attention-grabbing premise and a memorable first episode, but kinda peters out afterwards. I do think I'd have gotten more out of it if I was into the aspects of the entertainment industry it covered. Aqua was rather boring as a main character, and it was baffling that he had all these girls fawning over him, but it could have been worse. Kinda wish they ditched Aqua and had the whole show about Kana and Akane's acting rivalry instead. Lots ups and downs by episode, never really amazing but far from bad either. Solidly enjoyable, but far from living up to the hype.

[audikatia]

Was tagged by @apocketfullofhobbits and @your-void-senpai! Thanks guys!

Tag people who you want to get to know better!

3 ships: Pynch, Gallavich, and lately I've been into SnowBaz lol

first ever ship: Raven and Beast Boy from Teen Titans is the first one I remember just absolutely losing my shit over.

last song: Love Me Tender by Elvis

last movie: that new Batman movie with Robert Pattinson. I went in with low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised. Was it flawless? No. But it was a solidly good movie and very entertaining.

currently reading: About to reread the All for the Game series because I have The Itch

currently watching: Not really watching anything right now, honestly. I'll probably watch my favorite Gilmore Girl episodes while I bake Christmas cookies though, to keep up with tradition

currently consuming: Black tea with a little milk

currently craving: a new hairstyle that requires zero time, effort, or money to maintain. I am open to suggestions for this impossible look lol

Tagging: @the-prince-of-tides @sirenwalker @annesurelyblythe and

@ive-garden

[snazzy-specter]

i really don't think y'all need to be as worried as you think

vld is . . . a hot mess that i never finished because the pacing was driving me up the wall, but I really feel like you guys need to remember; everybody has black spots in their careers, especially in entertainment.

that aside, i did research on whose doing what and what they have done and, shock of shocks, one of the showrunners from vld is credited as director, Joaquim Dos Santos. He also worked as a director on Justice League: Unlimited, storyboard artist and director on Avatar: the Last Airbender, and has some other directing credits.

the other two credited directors are Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson. Powers doesn't have a huge fimography, he seems to only have film credits in 2012, but those credits include One Night in Miami, which he wrote the original play and the adapatation, and it kinda got him a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. And if you're worried he has not animation experience, he also happened to be a writer and co-director on Pixar's Soul. and he has experience in franchise material, and is credited as writing 5 episodes of Star Trek: Discovery. I've heard kinda mixed things about Discovery, but again, no one has a perfect track record.

Thompson has more credits that include a fair amount of work in the Art Department of various shows and movies. and he also worked on the last Spiderverse film as a production designer.

also, the director of a film is not indicative of a projects final results. Santos was mainly a producer for vld. he has two directing credits, one art department credit for storyboarding, and two writing credits, one of which is one of IMDb's highest rated episode.

it's worth noting the guy with the most writing credits (not staff writer credits), Joshua Hamilton, has a, frankly, kind of middling career, and i don't feel like dwelling. check his IMDb if you feel like it

meanwhile, Phil Lord is back from the first movie and is joined by his frequent collaborator and guy he has to share a wikipedia page with, Christopher Miller, who was just a producer on the last film. for some reason, i get the feeling they don't need an introduction, but just in case, they also wrote and directed Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and The Lego Movie together. do with that information what you will.

personally, i'm more concerned about the other credited writer, David Callaham, as his credits include the screenplay for Doom (2005), Wonder Woman 1984, and Mortal Kombat (2021), which was beaten at the box office by Demon Slayer: Mugen Train in the second and third weekend of its release. that said, he is also credited as a co-writer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, so again, make of that what you will.

and for anyone who thinks i'm being too optimistic, let me pull out my oldest fandom card and bring up Danny Phantom, which Butch Hartman desperately wants you to think he was responsible for. yes, Hartman created the concept, but he's only credited for writing seven episodes, one of which being the series finale that fans have rather infamously hated for literal years (it's cooled down, but i saw that shit as recently as 2012). he also has one additional story credit for the episode Splitting Images, which, yeah i can see that.

meanwhile, the guy credited as the series developer in thirty-one episodes, Steve Marmel, has fourteen story credits and nine writing credits by my count, and one of those is the highest rated episode that also got a video game tie-in, The Ultimate Enemy.

even with that praise i've given Marmel, i'd still argue he's had a solidly OK career, which i would also say of Marty Isenberg, who has fourteen writing credits and Sib Ventress, who has nineteen writing credits.

the point i'm trying to make is that media like film and television is a collaborative medium. every participant has some black spots on their resume. looking at everyone's track records, i'd said Across the Spiderverse is in mostly good hands. and the one guy i'm worried about isn't the one who worked on vld, which frankly, i think is just kinda a show that started strong and fumbled that execution towards the end into mediocrity.

just remembered the v*ltron showrunners are directing the into the spiderverse sequels

[warm-soda-solutions]

SUMMER ANIME FIRST IMPRESSIONS/RANKING WOW!!!!!!!

bunch of shows are coming out and i'm watching some of them!!!!! now that each show has 3+ eps i'm gonna rank them from worst to best by my enjoyment of them so far. 12. My Deer Friend Nokotan: probably a controversial pick for last place but i dropped this one after 2 eps because it was painfully unfunny and also not nearly as wacky as i was hoping it would be.

11. Days With My Stepsister: i don't get the generally positive reception this show was getting. dropped after 1 ep because it was real boring. this kind of premise is trashy no matter how you try to dress it up, and doing that rather than leaning into the trashy aspects like Domestic Girlfriend makes this show a lot less entertaining than that one. essentially this is a trashy show pretending to not be one and i dislike that sort of thing greatly. 10. Narenare -Cheer for you!- : dropped this one after 2 eps because it still wasn't really clear what the motivations of the protagonist were or where the plot might go. felt like it was juggling too many characters and i wasn't super interested in any of them. parkour was cool though. big gap in quality between the bottom two and this one. 9. ATRI -My Dear Moments- : dropped after 1 episode not because it was bad, it was honestly pretty solid, but because i found the whole robot girl thing to be done in a way that's kinda cliche and uninteresting to me. definitely check this out if you want a Key-esque thing but other shows were just more interesting to me.

8. Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin: this is where we get to shows i'm actually still keeping up with, and this one is just a cute little farming show. i like the character designs and the world a lot, but i'm pretty mixed on the characters themselves and the focus on rice farming after the premiere is expected and done solidly but also not quite as interesting to me as the more fantastical elements from the premiere. unsure if i want to stick with this the whole way through 7. Wistoria: Wand and Sword: absolutely killer visuals and music elevate a very generic Harry Potter/Mashle/Black Clover thing into a solidly enjoyable spectacle. if this were at all dumb or annoying i'd probably drop it but it's fairly inoffensive when it comes to dumb anime bs surprisingly.

6. The Elusive Samurai: some of the best art and animation i have ever seen in a TV anime (less so in the newer episode for justifiable reasons) and a very solid premise mixed with some awful, tonally dissonant humor and not super interesting characters so far. thankfully it seems like the show is getting the humor in check but it's gonna have to keep up the good elements of the story and the quality of the animation to keep me watching. 5. Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!: this one is mostly a very good romcom so far with a great, kinda grounded visual style that i really like. the op and ed here are also both fantastic. i think this shows's got a really good sense of comedic timing and a very likeable cast of dorks so i generally feel quite positive on it BUT i'm worried it could very easily become some garbage-y wish fulfillment harem stuff, and an awful, out of place fanservice scene in episode 2 has made me highly suspicious of the show's direction in the future. if this stays good, which it so far has, i will keep watching, and if it doesn't i will not. 4. Senpai is an Otokonoko: this is kind of the unexpected sleeper hit of the season for me. i was worried going into this one that it would handle its subject matter poorly since i don't really trust most anime to handle LGBTQ+ issues sensitively or all that well in general (not that i can particularly speak to this personally). however, it turned out to be mostly very good in that area and all the characters are quite layered and enjoyable. it's a great mix of fun slice of life shenanigans, a little bit of romance, and some surprisingly compelling if somewhat too quickly paced character drama. likely sticking with this one all the way through. 3. Mayonaka Punch: just a super fun romp about making YouTube videos from a lot of the same people behind Ya Boi Kongming, which i also loved. i think this show's got a really strong sense of style visually, and i enjoy getting an anime where the protagonist is actually an adult, i feel like that sort of thing is far too rare. every character here is fun in their own way, and the show seems intent on meaningfully developing them as well. i also like that the protagonist is really not a great person, so i'm curious how she'll change over the course of the show. 2. TASUKETSU -Fate of the Majority- : this show sucks really really bad but it's so unintentionally funny that it's easily one of my favorites of the season. the combination of an edgy nonsense premise, beyblade looking characters, limited animation, and completely out of control pacing make for the most fun i've had with a trainwreck of a show since EX-ARM. this honestly might be at number 1 if it weren't for the pacing grinding to a halt for no reason in the 4th episode, but even that just kinda adds to the fascination of this show. 1. SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary: i really like Hyouka, so unsurprisingly this is my favorite of the season so far by a decent margin. it's a ton of fun to watch the two leads solve such incredibly mundane mysteries. you'd expect that kind of thing to be boring but the characters and direction work really well together to make it actually super engaging. i also love that the leads are something of a mystery themselves, with the audience slowly learning more and more about why they are the way they are each episode. it seems like it's just beginning to get to some even meatier character stuff so i'm very excited for that. i also really love the ED for this show, the live action settings with the anime characters just fits the whole show's vibe so well.

[grimmmviewing]

S1E14: “Plumed Serpent”—C/C+ (Watched 3/30/24)

“Til then, you might as well go home and get a little… rest.”

Now here is the (sort of) continuation of the Nick and Juliette conflict from “Last Grimm Standing,” in the sense that a certain rockiness in their relationship is the focus. It needs to be said, though, that doing this sort of episode with a temptress/stalker character endangering their relationship was a pretty obvious avenue to take. I more or less guessed that was the angle from the description alone (“Nick’s latest case threatens his relationship with Juliette”). It would have been more surprising to not do a story like this at some point!

Ariel is clearly written to fulfill this role from her very first verbal interaction with Nick as well, which makes the obvious trope-y-ness even more annoying. The fact that the parallels between Juliette’s eventual abduction by the draconic villains of the week and the classic damsel abducted by a dragon scenario are explicitly acknowledged by Monroe in terms of archetypes further undermines some of the cleverness of the situation. It’s not exactly deeply-hidden to begin with.

It’s not that the episode is without fun or deft touches: The concept of a dragon expelling a biological accelerant created from its own fat before breathing fire grounds the fantastical just enough in the plausible to make it cool/satisfying. I was not expecting the link to ketosis and the keto diet reference in Monroe’s explanation of the process, though. In a similar way, the real-world issue of people stealing copper for profit gets twisted to tie in with the draconic treasure obsession, and it results in some fun designs for the father’s and daughter’s respective living spaces—his junk-strewn cave with its ominous entrance, and her house with the many roof rods and an interior that’s eventually revealed to be positively wrapped in strands that curl across the ceiling. Replacing a pile of gold with something more modern and accessible while still being valuable was a solidly subversive idea.

These are fun visuals that resonate with the creatures’ fantastical nature and that also represent a certain continued care and attention to detail in the series overall. They could have just had a traditional house or cave with maybe a bunch of jewelry or bits and pieces of copper, but both are instead dressed with some intricate-feeling care that no doubt made the filming process some degree more complicated. The visual of the father’s little junk-accentuated, downright Mad Maxian, cart that he drives along the train tracks was also cool and fun in this same vein. And ditto a certain prominent warm/orange slant to the lighting (reminiscent of fire) in this episode as well.

When I break “Plumed Serpent” down into the little details or moments, that’s when I start to feel much more positively about it. There’s that sense of something like care, again, where the creators clearly know how to make fun or cute moments happen. Take Nick initially finding Monroe at the club watching Ariel perform her sexy fire dance show—It’s a subversion of the standard arrangement where he’s just at home, essentially waiting to dispense information, and it also results in him being embarrassed about having been caught patronizing such an establishment. It speeds the episode along thanks to the convenience but also creates something warm and entertaining as well with the two characters.

Monroe finally getting to meet Juliette is also well-handled, despite the brevity of their interactions, and the relationship drama’s climactic conversation in the car, post-rescue, also feels quite thoughtful and relatively grounded given the events that led to it. Although the writing can be heavily expositional or “fast” out of the necessity of fitting everything into 40 minutes, I’d go so far as to say the characterization is probably consistently the best part of the show and that it’s a shame it ends up subservient to a monster-of-the-week plot here that just feels kind of meh to me.

I really loved how Nick immediately calls Juliette to tell her when he has to go back to Ariel’s again to get out in front of any further misunderstandings. He assures her that Hank is coming too and has Hank speak into the phone himself to confirm it. I’d say that this earnestness is both a lot of fun but also maybe a weakness—that the writers do (at least for the time being) treat the Nick-Juliette relationship as sacrosanct rather than, say, making Ariel less of a Crazy Stalker and over-the-top sexpot and instead pitching her as an actual, serious option, even if only in passing, in ways that could have enhanced the conflict. After all, she doesn’t have Juliette’s ignorance of Nick’s true nature or her human frailty and, unlike other Wesen, she doesn’t see him as a threat. Maybe it’s actually a shame that fascination is so obviously leading somewhere negative from the jump…

(Also, I don’t feel like you should be allowed to use a Baldwin (Daniel, here) in an inconsequential part like they do in this episode. The face and voice are just too distinctive to blend seamlessly into the passing impressions these types of characters need to leave. Or maybe he was supposed to be a red herring, as I thought there was no way he didn’t have some further relevance to the plot, only to be completely wrong about that.)