#also apparently the script for S2 goes hard

[blaqueswanzaghouliishiilikeda]

don’t mind me. just thinking about what the writers of iwtv gave us in season 1 and the fact that they weren’t properly compensated.

[mary-fantg]

Thoughts on PB

Хочу отставить некоторые свои мысли здесь, потому что очень хочется их высказать, пока у меня острая фаза впечатления от просмотра сериала. Надеюсь моя горечь со временем уляжется, потому что я сама не могу себе объяснить почему увиденное так затронуло моё сердце, ведь я уже довольно взрослая тётенька, последний раз я так расстраивалась из-за фильма наверно когда была подростком. 

It's a shame that the plot turned out this way in s3. I'm talking about Grace, of course. I understand and fully agree with SK that, according to the whole logic of things and justice, we must pay for all our actions in life. That is why Thomas Shelby should not be happy, and not only he, all Shelbys are deeply unhappy people, as far as their personal human happiness is concerned (be it Polly, Arthur, Ada, John and even Michael). but! due to commercial considerations, the script was so compressed that it does not fit into my head, to lead a couple to a reunion for so long (s1, s2), to create an intrigue about who will be the bride (although, as for me, everything was so obvious that it was not worth it, but more on that below), to gain a huge audience fans of the T/G pair (yes, I hope that we are still the majority) and stop this literally in 2 episodes. It's just like a face on the asphalt! Well, why not let us look at them at least a few more episodes in the season to better understand their relationship, the character of Grace in a new role for us, when she can be herself, and not the “bartender from s1”, to get to know her biography better. That's something I'll never forgive SK. The actors managed to create such amazing chemistry on the screen that their shared scenes gave me goosebumps personally, I can look at these two forever! In parallel, it was quite possible to run a story about Tommy's machinations with the Russians, but without all this dirt, orgies, humiliating scenes with tattoos under the testicles, sex in front of icons. This is already some kind of sick imagination of the author, IMO.

In general, this is what hurts the most, the fact that they did not allow you to enjoy the couple properly, but interrupted everything in the most interesting place.

МЭЙ. 

 I must say right away that I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, this union also has fans. But in my opinion, their storyline was also hasty, hasty, sex made me feel embarrassed, there was a feeling that people were trying very hard to portray passion, but at the same time they were terribly embarrassed and did not experience what they needed to show, because of this I was embarrassed to watch them. Maybe it was awkward for the actors to play it with each other, I do not know, but I did not believe what I saw on the screen, I'm sorry. And this whole scene with a kiss in e6s2, when T. tells her that he will definitely find her, in my opinion, absolutely does not fit with T.'s actions in the previous series, where he goes to her far away (I do not know how foreign friends will understand my phrase, it is unlikely that the translator will translate it correctly), in general It's a long way to say they need to stop. Although at that moment he already knows that Grace will most likely sail away (“who is she?”- “the one that will sail away soon"). And apparently understands that despite this, he still wants her and will think about how to solve it. It is quite obvious that this was invented on the fly in order to increase the degree of intrigue for the next season. But how many broken hearts have appeared among the fans of this potential couple.

GRACE'S MARRIAGE. 

I don't know, everything seems to be logical. She and Tommy are not together, the chances are 0, we need to move on, Grace is smart and beautiful, of course she easily arranges her personal life, gets married. And I understand her like a woman when you don't order your heart, no matter how good your husband is, but Tommy lives there and there's nothing you can do about it, she's such a love, you won't run away, you won't hide. There is also infertility in marriage, everything is not happy. Of course, I understand her desire to see Thomas in order to close this hellstatt for herself, if everything went well with him, then you need to move on, you won't be nice by force. Anyway, I think this was her last attempt to talk to Tommy.  And then we all know, again this chemistry on the screen blew my blood, an amazing acting duo, guys, I believe them every time I see them together 😄

And then I again did not have enough dialogue in the script, why did they not tell each other about their feelings, why did they answer the question “why did you come here today?” The answer was that the doctor thinks it's about me. It's not that I still love you, Tommy. Because of this, so much hatred later descended on Grace from fans of the series, because her behavior was interpreted as greed, a desire to get pregnant, etc. But we understand that this is not why she came.

I don't know, I didn't understand the depth of their dialogue. Her gaze of course screamed that she still loved, as did his gaze and tenderness too.

As a result, it is logical that Thomas assumed that she was “still working undercover”, since she came out to him again, at such a tense moment between him and Campbell and did not really say anything about her feelings.

Of course, this is my question for the script, not for Grace.

ЛИЗЗИ. 

I will not talk much about her, this character is unpleasant to me, I will not hide that I am glad that the script did not come up with a great love for them with Tommy, everything is logical, logical and honest in my opinion. She got what she had to, given her selfish nature, and the arrogance that she invented for herself, believing that she had “grabbed” Tommy and wiped the nose of the rest of his ladies. To be honest, it was unpleasant for me to watch the s5 and s6. Firstly, the behavior of all the characters seemed somehow feigned in s5 (especially Polly and Lizzie), overly pretentious, even grotesque. Finding out at a family meeting why Tommy told Polly something, and not Lizzie, looked like a caricature, considering what kind of relationship between T and L we see further throughout the season.

But what do I want to point out. 

I was very pleased that Lizzie treats Charlie warmly, because it's hard to imagine how lonely this child is, especially in s6. I think that was the main reason Thomas married Lizzie, Charlie needed a family, a mother and a little sister. Thanks a lot for that, because she agreed to take Charlie with her, even though he is the child of Tommy and another woman who always stood between them. This is an act!

Moreover, in S6, when Ruby got sick, when she died, my heart was torn by the sight of Lizzie. I felt so humanly sorry for her that I wanted to hug her and cry together. She went through all this in absolute solitude. Tommy didn't even hug her on the porch of the hospital when she told him that Ruby had died. It was terrible! He was completely cold to her, absolutely. Of course, Thomas's complete inner death is also shown here, he “seems to see everything on the screen.“ In general, it's a difficult season and Lizzie paid off all her debts in full, I'm very sorry for her.

Result.

Thanks to everyone who reads this, I really wanted to speak out, because all this has been spinning in my head for several weeks after watching PB.

I will be glad to receive feedback and any opinion on all this.

[sol1056]

Okay so i'm really confused. Who pitched the idea for the Voltron reboot? Did they write the original story or was that someone else? Who's writing the story now? Like i get that there is more than one person working on the story but like to take someone's vision of their story and to just throw it in the trash is just kinda fucked up ya know? I wouldn't want to work with a network if they're gonna screw over something I came up with.

It’s not a simple picture since there’s a lot of history. There’s three parts, behind the cut: who wrote the original story (vs the original-original), who pitched the idea for a voltron reboot, who’s writing the story now, and the issue of revisions. 

I must have at least three pages of asks that talk about Hedrick’s story and how the EPs butchered it… and I recently stumbled over something that made a few pieces click together. So, if you sent me an ask about Hedrick’s story and what he’d planned, you might want to read, ‘cause this answers a lot of your questions.

who created voltron

Back in the early 80s, the Koplar brothers purchased a license from Toei’s back catalog, and adapted/cut/rearranged the original GoLion into an American-only version called Voltron. GoLion hadn’t been much of a hit in Japan; it was kinda behind the curve. When the Koplars adapted it, Voltron was a huge enough hit in the US to warrant a second season, requiring new footage from scratch (mixed in with re-used stuff from the original season). 

The sequel (using a completely different anime from Toei’s back catalog) didn’t do anywhere as well. The planned third part was never made. Since then, there’s been reboots, comic books, idk what else. 

who pitched the idea

Long story short, Universal purchased a bundled archive of licenses. These are collected existing properties they could redevelop – anything from some no-name, one-season, failed cartoons to ones that were popular once and since forgotten. Voltron was one of those properties.

I doubt anyone pitched the idea, formally. More like, the execs saw Voltron in the pack and chose it for a reboot/remake. All they needed was staff to do it, so they interviewed potential showrunners. Around that time, JDS had pitched his idea for a Streetfighter cartoon. DW TV passed on JDS’ pitch, and instead offered him the position as EP of what would become the VLD reboot. 

(An aside: JDS and LM both talk up how much they loved Voltron as kids, but in early interviews they admit neither could remember for certain who Voltron’s ‘real’ leader was — Keith or Sven — all the way up to starting their interview with the execs.) 

who wrote the version we have now 

I’ve been operating under the assumption that as the story editor, Hedrick had a major influence on the story. I’ve also noted in several different posts that S1/S2 feels like a completely different story, in more ways than one:

As the story moved into the split-seasons, it’s clear that whomever lent that guiding hand in S1/S2 was no longer present. Someone else’s fingerprints are on S3, and my guess is it’s mostly Hedrick, at least on the script-level. The word choices change, the cadences change, the beats change. From S3 on, VLD has all the hallmarks of a muddy vision. 

A few days ago, I was researching for another ask and came across this:

On-screen, a “producer” credit for a TV series will generally be given to each member of the writing staff who made a demonstrable contribution to the final script. The actual producer of the show (in the traditional sense) is listed under the credit “produced by”.

According to IMDB, these are VLD’s  executive producers:

Joaquim Dos Santos  (63 episodes, 2016-2018)Lauren Montgomery (63 episodes, 2016-2018)Jae-Myung Yoo (24 episodes, 2016-2017)Robert Koplar (23 episodes, 2016-2017)Ted Koplar (23 episodes, 2016-2017)

We’ve been assuming Hedrick steered a large part of the story. If that were so, though, Hedrick should also have EP credits. He doesn’t. The Koplars have EP credit ‘cause they created the original Voltron. JDS and LM are on there, as showrunners. 

And then there’s this guy Jae-Myung Yoo. He’s done key animation, directing, and storyboards. He has a handful of executive producer credits, mostly for single episodes. Yoo left VLD in 2016, and joined Big Fish & Begonia as a co-producer. 

I think we just found the voice that steered the first two seasons, and whose departure left the story without a clear vision. 

Yoo doesn’t have any writing credentials, but his resume goes all the way back to Gargoyles in 1995. He doesn’t have to be a writer to be a storyteller, after all; there are different ways and methods of telling stories. My guess is Yoo’s a respected directorial voice around Studio Mir, understands how a story flows, and most importantly was probably a trusted voice after working with Ryu, JDS, and LM on AtLA and LoK. 

We’re left with one of two options: Hedrick stuck to the Yoo-created outline, rewriting and rearranging as the EPs shifted tracks, and the majority of the story’s direction since S2 has been from JDS and LM. Or Hedrick did have a substantial impact from S3 on, and JDS/LM refused to grant Hedrick the proper credit for that level of contribution.  

the issue of revisions

Television’s a wacky environment. It’s somewhere between collaboration and sheer hell, especially if you don’t come with major credentials (ie, your name is not Guillermo del Toro). 

Here’s how it starts: the showrunners, any other EPs, the writers, the senior writer/head editor/story editor (title depends on seniority), production assistants, writing assistants, and other producers will gather and brainstorm the story, and come up with a synopsis for the story’s outline. When the execs approve the synopsis (after probably a round or two of feedback), the expands the synopsis into a full outline of the entire story. 

The writers set about writing the script, which are sent to various execs for their feedback. The execs send their feedback — called ‘notes’ — to the showrunner. These are usually a jumble of responses (and a lot apparently tends to be personal taste, too), and also often contradictory. It’s the EP’s job to relay the exec response to the writers’ room, and make sure things get changed so the execs are happy. 

The EP (and the writers) must do a delicate balancing act, between budget, story, and sheer insanity like one exec demanding a scene be cut and another exec thinking the scene should not only stay, but be expanded. Or insisting on specific pairing endgames (or lack thereof). Or — as seems to have plagued VLD — saying the story is too dark and ‘needs more humor,’ which the EPs appear to have interpreted as ‘do more filler episodes that have no plot relevance.’ 

The first thing to remember is that most execs are not intentionally malicious. They will ask for too much, and they often have their own agendas, but their goal is a hit, not wasting a bazillion dollars for no gain. If you look at the credentials for decision-level execs at Dreamworks, every single one came up through the ranks: they’ve directed, produced, some were also animators, and at least one did either acting or voice acting. They’ve been doing this for awhile. My advice to any wannabe-EPs (or writers) would be that when an exec says, “kids are going to be bored stiff with this scene,” listen. I’m not saying automatically change it, just give it a fair listen. 

Collaboration is hard. It takes patience and good listening skills and empathy for the people on the other side of the table. It takes a willingness to bargain and enough strength to be vulnerable, and a whole lot of honesty about your own reasonings for wanting one thing or another. 

Stories created in the high-pressure hot-house environment of a collaborative group are a very different critter than one-author novels: no one person owns the story. Not everyone wants to sign up for sharing that creative process, and that’s fine, too. We do need books with good stories as much as we need shows and movies with good stories. 

Just color me seriously unimpressed when someone in a collaborative storytelling process constantly snarks about exec meddling. I have no sympathy: they signed up for this. If their creativity is so fragile it’s threatened by feedback, they need to find a different medium, ‘cause the collaborative world of television production is probably not the best fit.  

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Shield Hero 20 - 22 | Sarazanmai 7 - 9 | BSD 32 - 34 | Fruits Basket 8 - 9 | Demon Slayer 8 - 10 | OPM 20 - 21

Shield Hero 20

Motoyasu getting dragged by Filo was funny…not enough to get a proper laugh though. Just a smirk or two.

Stop narrating and just get on with it, Naofumi and friends…!

“I was saying we should fight together all along.” (from Itsuki) – Were you, now…? (skeptical)

Ass-pull! I call “ass-pull” at the power to swallow the phoenix flame! Seriously, when did the dragon get the opportunity to teach Naofumi how to do that???

How did Naofumi not die after losing so much blood…?

What does the Q even stand for in the queen’s name…?

Sarazanmai 7

The seagulls…so fluffy…

For some reason, I expect a fakeout, but then it never arrives…these boys are really connecting…

I found some kappa croquette thingy online, but it referred to a “Shiki City” which probably isn’t in Asakusa…

The shirt…Kazuki’s shirt says “frog” but I get the feeling it also means “return”.

Shirohasu water. It’s Irohasu in Japan.

Was the lyric to Kawausoiya (the otter song) “gonna take ‘em”…?

Nice ET reference, Sara.

Balls…not just sport entendre, but…y’know. The sort of humour I don’t like as much.

Ooh…Keppi is shaping up to be the bad guy. But what plans does he have? Am I speculating too much and is he being framed? Hard to know until next time…

BSD 32

When Kyouka is eating the sundae, she looks like the Tofu Kyouka from Mayoi…hmm.

Can I confess something? Before I saw the illustrations for s2, I thought Louisa’s hair was much darker than what it is in the anime…hmmm, indeed.

I don’t think we were ever told (in the manga or the anime) what Louisa’s wish was…

This bit with Fyodor…I don’t think it was in the manga.

Subarashi-sou is a pun on “it seems wonderful”. That wasn’t in the manga, but it’s a great pun (because it’s right up my alley).

Fitz laughing at the neighbour’s TV wasn’t in the manga either, but that’s just the anime director’s humour peeking through.

“Blalack Daniel’s”, LOL.

Ohh…a quick Google reveals TJ Eckleberg is from the Great Gatsby. In there, he’s an eye doctor, but here, he’s an engineer.

George B Wilson is also from the Great Gatsby…Here be spoilers, but…George dies in his original work too.

Manhasset is a place in New York…I assume it’s connected to the Great Gatsby as well…

Oh yeah! Random Poe moment. That’s in the manga, so Igarashi (or whoever’s responsible for the terrible humour) doesn’t have to fake that bit.

Cue “Objection!” by Fitz, lemme guess. Even if I know the outcome and how it was done, I’d like to have my memory refreshed (by stabbing in the dark…and making an Ace Attorney joke in the process).

I already know, without googling, that Tom Buchanan is part of Great Gatsby as well…

Bank of Amerigo…LOL.

Fruits Basket 8

“If you show up for the banquet now…”

“The banquet sounds just like the folk tale!” Honestly, subbers, proofread…

Haa-kun and Haa-san. No distinguishing between them (aside from honorifics), even though they’re two completely different people.

Hatori’s squinty face was…hilarious, to put it simply.

Oh…I forgot the dance seems to be something the animal of the year does. So if Yuki was 3 years ago, it makes sense Momiji is doing it this year.

Best seat in the house for a sunrise, huh?

Kimetsu no Yaiba 8

I’ve seen Muzan being described as “Demon Michael Jackson” and now I can’t get that out of my head when I see him…sorry.

Tsukihiko, huh? It translates to “moon’s radiance” or something like that. That name is appropriate for a bad guy, isn’t it?

This is the first time I’ve really listened to the OST (aside from the OP and ED), so it’s…really something.

Ooh, I didn’t realise until now, but Ufotable even imitated the paper Jump is printed on with the next-ep previews…

OPM 2 8 (OPM 20)

Er…I haven’t mentioned it for the past few episodes, but Suiryu is hotttttttt. (No? I said that? Okay, next step.) That’s basically the only reason why I’m watching anymore…I can’t seem to find anyone who thinks positively of this tournament arc enough to do reviews of it that I can read, which has made my own opinion of this beloved series go down the drain…Also, if you weren’t aware, my taste lies not in Suiryu’s huge bulk, but rather in the fact he’s got long hair.

Didn’t Suiryu get pierced in the abs??? Where’s the blood coming from his injuries??? Update: He does have injuries there, they’re just not bloody…that’s all.

The main criticism for OPM 2 is the fact that it keeps cutting between different events, so it’s hard to follow. Well, I’ve had worse (see Concrete Revolutio) so that’s why I’m still here.

People say that clothing changes you – say if you put on a new outfit, you feel like a new person. (Of course, that’s all glamorising and praising consumption, but that’s beside the point here.) I think that’s what’s up with Max and Snek.

Shield Hero 21

“…the Shield Hero is worshipped.”

Really? Boob jiggle, at a time like this??? (Context: Malty is getting th slave crest painted on her.)

Wait, was there ever a Shield Church???

Okay, that felt like a real seasonal ending. What the heck is going to happen in the last few episodes, I wonder…?

Sarazanmai 8

Chikai knows the real meaning of YOLO…heh. I’m only kidding…

To be honest, I think I like Toi best out of the main trio. I tend to like the boys in blue…and no, I don’t mean the otter police.

Kazuki’s service provider is “Kappa Phone”, LOL.

When Reo held up the gun, I was yelling, “Enta! Get it for him!” (i.e. take the bullet) I didn’t expect him to actually do it…

…and here I thought tragic yuri was common enough and we don’t have enough Tragic Yaoi Dudes…

Notably, Toi was registered on Enta’s phone as “Kuji”, while Kazuki is registered as “Kazuki” (katakana) on Toi’s.

Shots fired…!

Update: I didn’t notice this, but the evil dude with kamome written behind him (I think it’s in this episode, but it might have been in the last one instead) must be based on a seagull…because that’s what kamome means.

Bungou Stray Dogs 33 (BSD S3 Ep 8)

I think it was around here I stopped reading the scans, because the series was picked up legally anyway…but I can see the death flags for a certain Port Mafia man…one who stands at the top.

As expected…butt shot. Igarashi (or whoever’s responsible for that shot) likes butts, so between this and Sarazanmai…*imagines image of kappa!Kazuki holding a shirikodama* There’s absolutely no buts about it (LOL), there’s no shortage of butts this season.

“To think that the rabbit being hunted would show its face…” – I think it’s hard for you to say that, Akutagawa, when you yourself have no face in that frame…

Why are both Akutagawa and Fyodor Naruto running today???

“So you’re doing this for that woman.”

What is “Mukurotoride”? I don’t seem to remember…maybe I never learnt what it was. Update: Apparently a tower in Dead Apple is called Mukurotoride.

Conspiracy time! This book sounds like Kunikida’s Ability…so imagine if it were under Dazai’s nose the entire time…

Fruits Basket 9

I love how the synopsis for this episode goes, “Kyo fights Yuki, Yuki fights a cold…”

Hatsuharu’s wearing such an ostentatious fluffy jacket…LOL, I love it.

Holy cow (LOL), I forgot how old Hatsuharu is…so that means he’s 15-ish, right?

Come to think of it…I see Fruits Basket characters in Ro Te O, which I started writing at about this time in 2013. The Azrael of that time was a hybrid of Hatsuharu, Ritsu and Ayame, Tetsuya is basically Yuki and Ryou is Kyou…hmm.

Apparently, Shigure had in the 2001 anime a song that went like, “High school girls, high school girls, cute high school girls for me.” So that’s where it was??? (Context: I haven’t seen Fruits Basket 2001, but read the entire manga.)

Kimetsu no Yaiba 9

Recap time, recap time…so the lady’s in the back room and Tanjiro conveniently forgets the man is in the basement…? Wuh?

Moya was complaining about how repetitive this show can get when it comes to the script (i.e. it repeats itself because it doesn’t trust its audience, but I think that’s because this is originally serialised on TV week by week that people may forget if they’re not bingeing, taking notes or following the manga). I’ll talk more about that in my KnY collab post, I guess…

When Yushiro said “watch your back”…he really meant it, huh?

Temari are the balls, but kemari is when you kick the balls.

“…the eyeballs on his hands are creepy.” – LOL.

Shield Hero 22

The ep title just says “Hero Council”…not specifically that there are 4 of them.

My stream’s been buffering more than usual, so I went “like mother, like daughter” before Naofumi did…

It would’ve ben massively funny to hear Melty call Malty either “Trash” or “B****”…especially the last one, because that’s always a fun way to end a sentence (especially for a girl as young as her). Update: She does, but the way she does it isn’t as funny as I thought it would be (and she doesn’t end her sentence with her sister’s new name).

Wait, I thought they got rid of her slave pact??? I thought it was only for the duration of her trial that she needed it for.

L’Arc and that lady seem like they’re foreshadowing for later…hmm. Update: The next-episode synopsis says “yes”. So does that new visual.

Sarazanmai 9

I can’t believe this show’s almost over…That means I gotta get a move on with RobiHachi, but to be honest? Non-anime things are probably going to kep me busy until…a few days from now. So I’ll get RobiHachi watched then.

Characetrs are dying en masse in this episode, aren’t they??? I saw a spoiler that (well, SPOILER) Chikai’s gonna die, but I don’t know about Enta or Keppi…Update: To be honest, I thought Chikai was going to become the next monster – a gun monster, perhaps. Maybe now that I’ve finished the episode, he’ll become a real zombie. (Hey, see what I did there with the bolding…? How’s that for hiding spoilers, eh???)

Oh yeah…I forgot Enta’s sister was Kazuki’s teacher…

There was a sign behind Masa that said”Hinode Asakusa” – “hi no de” meaning roughly “under the sun” or “leaving the sun”.

Tokarev…? The gun? Gun monster, maybe? Is this a critique of the American gun…(exaggerated voice) Nah, can’t be…this is Japanese.

Lionel…Lionel…for some reason, that name in relation to soccer seems familiar...I just can’t put my finger on who it reminds me of, though. Update: Is it, perhaps, Messi…? Yes, I think that’s the guy I was thinking of…!

Aw…I’m not crying, you are…But these words were running through my head before Toi chucked the bag of money away and yelled, “F***!”: “Everything I do, I do it for you.” Isn’t that cute…?

Bungou Stray Dogs 34

“…one by one?” Junban means “sequentially”, so I don’t see why you have to use the phrase “one by one”. Or “one at a time” would also work.

Hardbank…to contrast Softbank (a phone company in Japan).

Face-stealing aliens strike again…(re: Atsushi)

Oh flip. This reminds me of my Kunikida fic…yeah, I bet you don’t remember it.

Hey, this dude! Apparently he’s from one of Kunikida’s stories. I really am approaching the end of what I know of canon…*gulp* Update: Oops, we already passed that part…

I wonder if the real Fyodor could play cello…? Or is this just a thing to make him ominous and villanous…?

The cross on the wall behind Kunikida…makes this show more like Eva than Kekkai Sensen…exquisite. Absolutely exquisite, isn’t it?

Another cool cross, behind Tanizaki!

What’s a tatamigatana? Also, I didn’t know other people could be synchronised using Doppo Poet and Ranpo’s deduction…

Does Kouyou mean (by “the one I most despise”)…Chuuya? Or herself? It’s definitely not Ace.

Kimetsu no Yaiba 10

Headpats for Yushiro as well! Headpats for everyone!

There’s a lot of Tanjiro being terrified in this episode…

Wait…Kizuki? I thought they were the 12 Moons? (Well, “tsuki” means “moon”, but then what’s the “ki”?) Update: The “ki” means “demon”, so the Kizuki are the 12 Demon Moons.

Being alone with the body…that’s always a scary thought in murder mysteries…for the people who dissect them to determine the cause of death, that is.

Considering the name of the episode is “Together Forever”…nup, I don’t see Nezuko and Tanjiro separating anytime soon…

The Kasugai crow is what happens when you can’t turn off your Google Assistant…or GPS…or Siri.

If Tanjiro knows the name of his crow, how do the crows get their names? Do their trainers (is that the right term for a crow breeder in this case…?) give them names?

OPM S2 Ep 9 (Ep 21)

LOL, that one shot of the ants…JC Staff really don’t care about this series, do they…?

I kinda forgot about Genos after a bit more than a week…sorry, I was watching other anime in between. (More than usual, at least. I started playing Chibi Tamago – a forum game for AniList where you collect badges for watching anime - that’s why.)

Did he (Pri-Pri Prisoner)…store his phone in his butt…?

[lightsandlostbells]

Skam France S2.2 reaction

they managed to make one of my most disliked parts somewhat less bad

slow clap for Skam France?

some very heated opinions below, be aware!

Episode 2

For real, some very negative opinions are coming, and it’s not my intention to make anyone feel like garbage about something they like. If you’re a fan of Noorhelm/Marles, maybe don’t read.

Clip 1 - Manon and Emma in class

I like Emma a lot more this season. I didn’t feel like the actress quite carried the really vulnerable moments, but she’s exhibiting more personality with her take on S2 Party Eva.

They cut the scene with the two girls asking Noora if Jonas had a girlfriend and if he were dating Eva, so the vibe is kind of different. With that context it seems like Noora wants to gently nudge him Eva into moving on because she suspects Jonas is moving on. This has some of that but it also feels less urgent, because Manon doesn’t have quite the same reason to be concerned for Emma’s feelings in that moment.

I do like Emma’s bit about being kidnapped by that prostitution ring in Taken, that’s funny.

Clip 2 - Yann the Man

Charles’ text about seeing Manon even though she was trying to hide - WHY. Why would they add this shit? Do they not get how uncomfortable this makes girls feel? Manon goes to school with this guy so there is nothing she can do to completely avoid him. He is not only just checking her out, but he’s making sure she’s aware of it. Let’s be clear: she wanted to hide from him, and he made sure she knew that he noticed she was trying to hide, and he made sure she knew that it didn’t work.

Look, I know that many Noorhelm fans also hate William’s behavior at the beginning of S2 and only warmed up to him as the season progressed. For me it’s that this opening behavior is so bad, such a textbook example of male entitlement in action, that it’s hard for me to ever get past it. I just have very few fucks to give about men who prioritize their boner feels over women’s boundaries.

Lucas, Sarah, and Ingrid here are like when Ron Weasley and Lavender Brown started sucking face and Harry and Parvati Patil had that shared moment of “God, our friends are getting on our nerves.”

I super love French Ingrid. I love her being bored and annoyed by Lucas and Sarah, and then her flustered reaction to Yann was great.

So what I’m taking away from Daphne’s reaction is that Manon and Emma probably told the whole girl squad about what they saw on Lucas’ phone. Not cool.

AND NOW a breakdown of Yann’s power walk. This scene annoyed me, because they did not put in the work of setting it up. This is Skam France’s worst quality; it copies the events at surface level without understanding why they are there or how they got there in the first place. At least this is a smaller humorous moment and not something dramatically important, even though it is relevant in terms of Emma’s character this season.

Let’s go over how the two shows set up this scene. Skam plants the setup during last Friday’s scene at Noora’s. The girls get to talking about sex, it’s a frank conversation. Vilde wants to know if the others have ever experienced a guy going down on them, because she thinks (hopes) William may do it to her. Eva jokes that no Norwegian guys will go down on girls, telling us in an indirect way about this aspect of her relationship with Jonas. This part of the scene is so comedic and light-hearted that on first viewing, you might not assume that it’s not anything except banter, a fun conversation that Noora has no part in and serves as a contrast to her anxiety over William’s attempts to contact her and Vilde’s continued interest in William. At the start of the next episode, we have a clip with Noora at her locker and being approached by two unknown girls who clearly catch her off guard, too, and want to know whether Jonas has a girlfriend. This random encounter leads her to prod about Jonas from Eva and subtly push her in the direction of moving on, as she suspects that Jonas may no longer be single. Then we get The Clip. As Vilde makes conversation with Ingrid, Eva notices girls’ heads turning in one direction, whispering and giggling. She follows their gaze. They’re looking at Jonas. She wants to know why, and she gets the answer about Jonas going down on a third year. Vilde looks confused, then starts to ask Eva about what she said on Friday, but Noora shakes her head as we get Eva’s stunned reaction. Jonas comes up to them and we get an iconic quote.

Skam France sets it up like this: Sarah tells us that Yann is the big man of campus, we see him walking and girls reacting, we get the explanation about Yann going down on the third-year, Emma seems a bit upset, he goes up to the girl squad and drops his line.

We don’t get the setup of “French guys not going down on girls” so there’s no impact of Yann being THE man, THE one true cunnilingus hero (and I have no idea what’s the general attitude of French men toward going down on women but I mean, you could spin this as “teenage boys are all about their own pleasure and don’t eat out girls” no matter what country you’re in) (except lol it ain’t gonna work in Skam Italia, thanks Giovanni!) - like I can understand in-universe why the girls might be impressed but from an audience POV, we’re not given any means of comparison to understand just why this is such a big deal

We don’t get that earlier line from Emma in particular so there’s no impact of understanding how upset she might be about this - not just that Yann is hooking up with other girls, but that he’s doing something with them that he apparently never did with her

There’s no additional moment of realization, “oh, so THAT’S why those random girls suddenly wanted to know if Yann is single,” a Brick Joke to use a TVTropes phrase, because they cut that scene

Even within the scene itself, it’s not built up? Like in OG we see girls reacting to Jonas and Eva picking up on it before we land the punchline. This one just tells you off the bat that Yann did a Thing, look at him (this bothers me less than the omission of the other stuff but in combination with it, it’s another symptom)

Is any of this a crime? No. Could people still find the Yann scene funny? Sure. But if this were my show, and I had to cut some things that didn’t fit into the episodes? I would question whether this scene was as effective without the buildup. I would question whether it was necessary. If I had to get across Emma’s moment of hurt, that likely inspires her to start hooking up with dudes from social media, I would consider whether it could be written in another way.

TBH I know I’m sounding nitpicky, but honestly this is why I enjoy overanalyzing the remakes. I felt like I learned something about setup and punchlines from observing the two scenes, and I appreciate how deftly Julie managed to make an extended oral sex joke pack some emotional punch.

I did like the music break from when he was walking to the exposition, and that was an admittedly great line from Yann about being hungry.

Clip 3 - Daphne loves lesbians

Daphne was sitting apart from the other girls at the beginning of the scene seeming very disconnected, hmmm.

Also Emma is not using Tinder in this version, she’s using Instagram  and seems a bit firm that she isn’t using Tinder, so I wonder what the significance of that was. Maybe because Tinder is an app used for dating, and she doesn’t want to seem like she’s trying too much to move on, whereas Instagram is a more generic app with other purposes and hey, if a guy happens to message you, why not just roll with it, right?

And Emma immediately says no fake plans, like she just immediately calls it, though Manon fakes them anyway.

Does anyone else think that Alex’s sexuality is being handled really strangely, and by strangely I mean not at all? Because from what I recall, in canon we really just that comment about her hooking up with the girl named Clara and wanting to see Daphne’s topless pics. Her bisexuality was confirmed by the actress, outside of the show. This scene would’ve been a perfect time to address Alex’s sexuality directly, especially because Daphne is the kind of clueless character who would say something boneheaded that would require some education. When Daphne asks Manon whether she’s a lesbian, why not have her mention something like, “It’s OK if you like girls, so does Alex,” or even make a misguided comment about how Alex and Manon could pair off? Or have Alex make some kind of joke related to the discussion? Like this is genuinely weird to me not to acknowledge it at all in this context, when Daphne is even saying that their laughter makes it an unsafe environment for Manon to come out, but there’s also a bi girl sitting right there, participating in the laughter? It feels like another example of them just not thinking through the script that much.

This is why I’m skeptical about how they’ll handle the bit with Daphne and Emma making out, as seen in the trailer. Because again, they have a girl in the group who actually is supposed to be bisexual and who has apparently hooked up with girls, and yet we don’t hear much about it except in passing, but if we get these two supposedly straight girls making out because they’re drunk … that’s not a great look? What I’m worried is that they’ll play it completely like the original show because they’re just following the script and not thinking about it, while ignoring that they’ve changed a character’s sexuality and it might be relevant.

They cut the bit with Jamilla and her crew, so maybe they won’t play a role this season. I guess if they ever get to season four, they’re really going to have to rewrite the story because the bus plot will not make sense. But it’s kind of a bummer, I hope they find another way to include those girls. I think Skam France could improve on the original in how much they used the hijab squad in the show.

Manon, what was your objective in coming on to Daphne like that? You just have to get in her personal space. MMMMkay girl.

OK I laughed my ass off at Daphne posting a “love is love” image immediately after this clip. 

God, I really wish we had Daphne for season three.

Clip 4 - The date

It only took me two whole episodes to figure out who Mika reminds me of: Ben Whishaw. Which is super obvious now that I recognize it.

Mickael’s DRAMAAAAAA is up there with P-Chris’ iconic version. Manon’s imitation is also good.

Mickael is smart negotiating for a birthday gift even if it didn’t quite work. I like his style.

Manon doesn’t wipe off her lipstick (like Noora did) which maybe is supposed to signify that she’s attracted to Charles, or maybe that she’s less concerned with how she presents to him. She does seem to be more confident when she squares off with him verbally.

I know the part in the car with The Weeknd is Iconique but I thought this version was fine and worked about as well   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

This is one of my most hated parts of the original show, so let’s see how they did.

Disregarding the context of how he got her on this date, that’s a nice setup with the chairs on the rooftop (which I’m guessing he dragged up there himself).

Actually ... you know what, there’s a lot of uncomfortable stuff about this part that I didn’t even realize previously because it’s presented so cinematically. (Assume that when I refer to Charles here, I also mean William because it’s more or less the same writing.) One thing I’ve never really considered until now is that if Charles (or any guy) pressured me into this date, didn’t accept my rejection, said that saying no will just make him want me more ... I would be fucking afraid if I finally went with him on a date and he took me to an isolated area. Now I didn’t think about that at first because this is a very beautiful scene from an aesthetic point of view! There is some gorgeous cinematography in both this scene and the original version. And he gives her something to drink and it’s cute because he remembered she doesn’t drink alcohol, so he made cocoa, cocoa is a drink that brings to mind warm, cozy feelings! Awww!

But take this out of the pretty TV context: in real life, a guy who has made it clear he doesn’t take no for an answer and who takes me to a nice secluded area and gives me a drink he made himself? Would raise serious alarms. I would have this feeling of dread in my stomach. And I don’t think you can disregard this train of thought or call it unfair or over-the-top, because guess what, Noora (Manon too by the looks of it) is potentially drugged later in the season when someone gives her a drink (I don’t remember if they ever confirmed if she was drugged or if she just got very drunk and blacked out, but we’re definitely supposed to think it’s a possibility). We do have a sexual assault storyline later on, with this very same character. It is completely reasonable to consider these dynamics especially in light of the season’s larger themes and topics.

I am being 100% serious ... what reason does Manon have to think that Charles is not capable of date rape at this point? Think about it, consider it from her POV where she doesn’t know what’s going to happen later in this season, just analyze what she knows in this moment. So far he’s had sex with her friend and then ignored her and cruelly put her down, and he’s pursued her despite her rejecting him, he’s openly said that he doesn’t take her “no” seriously, he’s sent her messages that make clear he’s noticed she’s tried to hide from him and he doesn’t care, he’s cornered her into this date. Other than the fact that Charles is our designated male lead, why should Manon trust him? Why should we? The only reason is because we know we’re watching a TV show, we know that this is the scene where we start to build up to our characters getting together later. Charles is handsome, Charles will be The Love Interest, therefore Charles is going to be a good guy. If Charles was some gross, unattractive, obnoxious dude who would clearly not end up with our heroine, how would this scene feel? 

The jab at Twilight is hilarious and accurate. They are Bella and Edward.

“Why did you get into my car?” You fucking know why, dude.

This shit about him not pressuring her to go out with her is wrong. Yes. He did. Him just saying he didn’t doesn’t make it true. If just saying stuff made it true I’m going to go around calling myself Julie Andem and telling people I’m working on Skam Season 5: The Adventures of Dr. Skrulle and Her Wife, The Danish Receptionist.

In original Skam Noora did tell Vilde that there was nothing going on with her and William before this point, I don’t think Manon did. So I guess Manon could have done that. But Charles has put her in a complicated place. Manon asked him to apologize to Daphne. He did so on the condition that Manon go on a date with him. At this point Manon can’t tell Daphne she’s going out with Charles without having to explain why, which means nullifying the apology in the first place. And Manon is trying to avoid him but he won’t let it happen, and he’s shown that he’s willing to use Daphne to get to her. 

All right, here’s why I fucking hate this scene: this is a prime opportunity for William/Charles to show some humility and character growth about what happened with Vilde/Daphne, and he doesn’t. Not once during this conversation does he express regret for how he handled the Vilde/Daphne situation. Not once does he express remorse or consideration for her feelings. Instead he offers several excuses about why what he did was justified, which happen to be about benefiting himself. So basically his apology was hollow and only about getting this date with Noora/Manon. Yes, it is early in the season and his character should be able to grow in future episodes, but I don’t recall William ever changing his tune on this topic, specifically. 

And tbh what's irritating is that this is framed like William/Charles has some reasonable points, and no, he doesn’t, literally every excuse he offers can be easily torn down. Noora/Manon can be judgmental, for sure, they can assess people incorrectly, but in this scene, they are completely right in their criticisms of what happened.

“Being nice to someone you want to get rid of doesn’t work ... I’ve been clear with her.” So did he ever try ... telling her outright ... you know, BEFORE they have sex, “hey, I’m not looking for a relationship.” Oh wait, the girl might not want to have sex with him then. Or even explaining it in direct but not malicious words afterwards? From what I remember, he basically just ghosted her until she confronted him and he tore her down. He doesn’t have to promise her anything, but he also owes her some basic respect. And he knew he was doing something cruel. Remember when he walked by Daphne and the girls in the schoolyard and he made a point of establishing eye contact, then looking away? 

“I’m not responsible” for harming Daphne’s self-image - oh shut up. If I went up to a random person on the street and told them they were ugly, I probably wouldn’t break their spirits forever and ever. But I probably would play on any insecurities they had. I would possibly create new insecurities that weren’t there. And I would possibly make them feel like garbage. So yes, I have to take some responsibility for the fallout.

And lmao, what bothers me is that yeah, actually we do see how cruel comments can affect one’s self-image over and over throughout the show. We see it with Vilde and Daphne, how this made them feel like they weren’t pretty enough and influenced their disordered eating. We saw it with Noora, how her shitty previous boyfriend also messed up her self-image and caused her to get sick. We saw it with Isak, how casual homophobia and comments about gay people around him influenced how he saw himself and made it difficult to call himself gay. We saw it with Sana, how she was bullied at her old school for being Muslim, how Islamophobia affected her and shaped her, how desperate she was to prove herself because people were judging her on all sides. It’s fine if William/Charles is meant to be wrong. What bugs me is that the way this is presented, makes it seem like he’s supposed to be right.

“I’m not letting her think there are chances when there aren’t” - aren’t you texting Daphne and inviting her to things? He absolutely knows how Daphne is going to respond to this. If he was so desperate to use one of the girls as a go-between for him and Manon, he could easily get Emma’s number from his pal Alex. But no, he is going through Daphne deliberately, because he knows she’ll be an enthusiastic messenger. And he knows she’s going to get hopeful. He literally says that she’s into him again! 

Characters can be flawed, characters don’t need to always say the right words. But William never had a turnaround where he acknowledged that his courtship of Noora or his treatment of Vilde was wrong, outside of that apology that he apparently didn’t mean, when these were things that he really, really needed to address in terms of his development. I fear that they’ll do the same with Charles since this remake is so close.

That being said, there are a few things in this scene that I preferred to the original:

One of the dumb things William says is that “if you see if from his side” Vilde is the one who pursued him, she approached him and wanted to sleep with him,. This is the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard. William is not obligated to sleep with every girl who comes on to him. He and Vilde had a consensual sexual encounter, Vilde did not trip and fall on his dick, and he was participating in her flirtations and contacting her. Take some responsibility for your role in this, dude. This bit of blame-deflecting is thankfully missing from this scene, sparing me that particular headache.

Charles’ actor has more emotional range than William’s and I felt like he maybe did feel a bit less assured in his position, whereas William felt pretty smug about it the whole way through.

Manon seems less stumped by Charles’ comments than Noora did. Not that Noora needed to have all the answers all the time, but it always  saddened me that William’s BS excuses were what had her tongue-tied. Also her turning his sad anecdote into sarcasm about the homeless was good.

When Manon says she’ll walk home, Charles doesn’t push her and says it’s fine. That seems counter to chivalry, but it’s at least him respecting something she wanted, even if it might just be because he was busy with his fight drama.

The music throughout the clip was good, but the music at the end got too DRAMAAAAAAAAA for my liking.

General Comments:

I’m going to be honest, I think the actor playing Charles has more charisma than William, so on a superficial level I’m engaged more during the Manon/Charles scenes, and like I said above, I think it benefited his character in the date scene. But there are some ways I think this might make his character seem worse, for instance when telling Daphne she wasn’t good enough, it felt a lot more deliberately mean whereas William seemed so checked out of the whole thing that it was less like he wanted to twist the knife. So we’ll see how he fares at some later parts of the season. 

Tangent but I love the girls texting about Jane the Virgin. Also that Manon references Pedro Almodóvar and Emma’s like “we don’t have the same reference pool,” that legit made me laugh.

This had a lot of negative remarks, lol. Probably this will be as negative as it gets, tbh. That one scene just makes me angry.

I’m not French so I apologize if I misinterpret, and feel free to correct me. 

If you made it this far, thank you for reading!

[jyushimatsu-falls-in-love]

s2ep10: a little respect

♪ So-o-oul, I hear you call-iiiiiing Oh baby, pleeeease... Give a little respe-ect, toooooo meeeeee! ♪ - “A Little Respect” by Erasure, which seems to be this week’s theme song :P

[SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!]

The first of this week’s three skits is “Karamatsu and Brothers”, which I know nearly everyone was looking forward to. After all, Kara’s the fan favorite both here and in the Japanese fandom, where recently he’s won the top spot in a recent magazine’s favorite characters poll; does it live up to everyone’s standards?!

The skit opens with Totty asking Choro to buy him a soda, which Choro refuses to do in a very aggressive manner. I like how Totty described Choro here - “You act like an honor student, but you’re really just a delinquent!”; it succinctly summarizes Choro’s character well enough :P 

Luckily for Totty, Kara comes to the rescue and offers to buy his soda for him! And after Totty gets his soda, he calls Kara “nice” and “reliable”, which makes Kara feel very happy and sparkly :P

Then everyone else starts asking Kara to do things for them: Starting with Oso, who asks Kara to do his chores in his stead; then Jyushi asks the same thing, then Ichi, then all of a sudden everyone except Choro is asking Kara to do something for him. And Kara says yes, he’ll do them! He’ll do anything his brothers ask him, they can rely on him!!

At this point Choro steps in, and scolds the others for putting so much on Kara. He even scolds Kara a bit for not standing up for himself. Honestly these little moments of Choro stepping in for his family members’ sakes (approaching Matsuzo about his problem in S2Ep4, now telling the others to lay off Kara in this ep.) are very nice; he really can be a good son and brother, after all ;v; And to the other brothers’ credit, they do feel bad for piling so much on Kara after realizing it - but then Kara protests and assures them no, it’s okay, he likes it when the brothers ask him to do stuff, it’s perfectly fine!! And with that assurance, the others go back to treating him like a work horse :P

Later, up on the rooftop, Kara confesses to Choro the truth - he actually hates it when the others ask him to do so much for them, so much that he could either die or kill them. When asked about why can’t just say “no” to them, Kara puts on the cool act and says that it’s because he’s such a nice guy~ But Choro quickly gets that the real reason Kara can’t say “no” is because beneath the painful guy act, he’s really just a timid wimp who can’t stand up for himself :P

Honesty Tidbit # 1: I never thought I’d actually say this, but... Kara’s situation was oddly relatable to me in some aspects. My family members - especially my sister - ask me to do things for them, get things for them, etc. all the time. And even when I don’t want to do them, I do them anyway orz (The difference between me and Kara is that unlike him, I usually complain first before doing them :P) To be fair, since I’m a NEET and no one else is, I guess it makes sense that I’m asked to do things for everyone while they’re doing work or resting from work. But still, it’s annoying...

Honesty Tidbit # 2: I can already see the annoying part of the fandom latching onto the fact that Kara’s a bit of a pushover and using that to further push the “pwecious sad woobie” fanon interpretation orz I’m really not looking forward to it...

So Choro tries to be a good brother again and offers to help Kara practice saying “no” to his brothers. However, he ends up getting sidetracked haha :P I find it interesting that Kara actually can’t recognize Choro’s caricatures of the others, even with each one’s more obvious attributes (”horse races” and “boobs” for Oso, “cats” and “killing you all” for Ichi, “baseball” and “BOEH” for Jyushi) mentioned. It makes me wonder, does Kara view and identify his brothers differently from how Choro (and the audience) does? If that’s the case, then how does he view and identify them? ...Or maybe Choro’s caricatures just too exaggerated for him haha

In the end, though, they go and tell the brothers Kara’s true feelings on the matter. And in a very nice moment, the brothers actually backed off once they knew that Kara didn’t actually like being asked what to do (they even said, “Why didn’t you tell us that you wanted us to stop?”), recognized that they really did keep asking him because they knew he wouldn’t say no, and sincerely apologized for it and promised not to do it anymore. Despite what fanon tends to say, the brothers really do care for Kara after all. I’m very glad that’s the case ;v;

...and then the others proceed to make Choro take Kara’s place as the errand boy :P Choro angrily protests, asks for Kara’s help... and Kara refuses and leaves him to fend for himself with a “Good luck~” PFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. Of all times for Kara to decide to say “no”... I guess no good deed goes unpunished when your name’s Matsuno Choromatsu :P

This was a good skit! A good Choro, good Suiriku interaction, the brothers proving fanon wrong... What’s not to love? :’)

The second skit, “New Employee Totoko”, is exactly what it says on the tin - in an office AU, Totoko is the newly hired employee, with Totty being her superior. The skit is already interesting to me because of Totty having the role of the boss/leader/department head in this skit; he doesn’t usually take on these roles IIRC. It fits the ambitious side of his personality though, so I’m not complaining :) He’s also taking his job really seriously in this skit, and certainly acts like how you’d expect a boss/leader/department head to act. It ends up making him a pretty good tsukkomi to Totoko’s antics :P

Speaking of Totoko, she was pretty neat here too! For one thing, her hairstyle as a newbie employee is really nice ;v; It’s her first day working in Akatsuka Tradings, but already she’s causing problems for her superior - first off, she won’t come over when Totty calls her over to his desk. Her excuse is that nobody told her that that’s what she had to do, so she didn’t do it :P Then Totty gives her a document to work on, which he tells her should be finished before lunch - but she doesn’t finish it at all by then, her excuse being that she hasn’t used the programs before, hasn’t done this sort of computing before, etc. Totty ends up having to do the work himself. Then, since Totty did her work for her, Totoko ended up spending her office time updating her social media and sleeping on the job... Again she uses her inexperience as an excuse... Yeah, Totoko’s not exactly the ideal employee for anyone working as a department head :P

I wonder if I can say that I’d be like Totoko if I were in an office setting? :P Again I’m a NEET so I don’t have any job experience... But if my memories of school, college, the two-week internship I had when I was in college, etc. are anything to go by, I know I’d be utterly useless when left to my devices and would always have to ask for help and instructions before I could be set on doing anything orz That, and I get distracted easily, I lose motivation easily, I stay up late... Yeah, Totoko is rather relatable here as well and I’m not proud to admit it orz

Totty ends up having to give Totoko a stern talking to, saying that since she’s new he’ll do his best to help her, but she’s still gotta put in the work herself. They agree to work hard, their conversation ends on a good note, Totty shows off his own version of Kara’s bishie eyes...

...and at the end of the day, Totoko quits her job :P Though Totty begs her to stay, and after his begging she says she’ll stay and even starts saying these cheesy, so-cliche-that-they’re-clearly-bullshit lines about how she’ll do a good job from now on... And then she ditches her job without saying goodbye :P Totty’s very upset about this. Ichiko and Jyushiko (?!) showing up and proving to be better employees doesn’t really help matters either, and it proves at the end that Totty won’t accept “uggos” and wants to work with a cute girl like Yowai-kun :P Ah, classic Totty

And finally, the last skit, “Dubbingmatsu-san”. A couple of unknown people who do unknown work in the Osomatsu-san anime enter a lavishly decorated room filled with food, comfy sofas, and pretty girls in bikinis. What’s all this for? It’s to receive the sextuplets, who are coming in to dub the anime of course! The sextuplets enter wearing various things to conceal their identities to the public - each one increasingly ridiculous than the last - and after a few minutes’ rest, they start to read and practice their lines before they start recording. And during practice, it never seems to be good enough...!!

It becomes clear that this skit actually isn’t about the boys at all - it’s a meta piece about their seiyuu, with the boys kinda-sorta acting as the main six seiyuu’s avatars instead of being themselves. Or at least, that’s how I like to think of this skit :P There are references to seiyuu having to take care of their voices - the boys have humidifiers with them to keep their vocal chords working, and even have back-up surgery implants for their throats in case the worst happens! 

And then the boys start practicing their lines and beating themselves up for not meeting their own high standards - the part I really lost it was when Totty yelled, “What did I go study abroad for?!”, which is a reference to Miyu Irino going abroad earlier this year to pursue his theatre studies. It makes me wonder now if the stuff the others were saying while they were beating themselves up were references to their own seiyuu themselves?? Meanwhile Ichi’s/Jun’s just practicing his stabbing skills. Good job Ichi/Jun Also can we please exploit Miyu Irino’s English skills in S2 already

Then recording’s about to begin - with the boys completely naked of course, can’t risk any clothes ruffling making any noise! - and after some chants, they start dubbing over the provided images. And apparently, they’re so good that they can ad-lib and almost change the script entirely, and it’d be okay! They didn’t even need to do any retakes - the boys/seiyuu are just that good!! They’re professionals!!!

It’s interesting to see Ososan’s (fictionalized and exaggerated for comedy’s sake) take on the recording process of anime. It certainly matches up with some of the things I remember reading in interviews with the seiyuu before. In the end, this skit is a silly and irreverent but affectionate love letter to the guys who bring our loveable six same shitheads to life. I can’t help but wonder how Sakurai/Nakamura/Kamiya/Fukuyama/Ono/Irino all felt while recording this skit. Were they embarrassed? Happy? A little proud? I hope someone asks about that skit either in an interview or in a post-Cour 1 commentary reel, like last season’s.

Finally recording ends, and the boys head home - each going home with a hefty sum of yen in one hand, a pretty bikini girl on one arm, and in each one’s personal private helicopter. I... am pretty sure this bit is an exaggeration, there’s no way anyone would actually go home in a private helicopter unless they’re that stinkin’ rich and famous :P But hey, the boys did a good job, they’re happy, the anime staff is happy, we get a quality anime because of everyone’s hard work, therefore everyone’s happy.

“Who would’ve thought such professionals were behind those shitty episodes that air on TV?” “Makes you respect them even more.”

So in conclusion, thank you to Sakurai & Nakamura & Kamiya & Fukuyama & Ono & Irino (& don’t forget Suzumura & Kokuryu & Endo & Saito & Ueda & Tobita & Inoue & Kujira & Yamashita &...) for everything that you do for this shitty anime!! \( ; v ; )/ It wouldn’t be the same without you, thank you for your hard work! ♥♥♥♥♥♥

All in all, this week’s episode was pretty great! I enjoyed it thoroughly and was invested all throughout. I think my favorites would be a tie between “Karamatsu and Brother” (surprisingly!) and “Dubbingmatsu-san” - on one hand, we have solid Suiriku and brotherly care on many sides; on the other we have meta and a silly but sweet nod to the professionals who make the anime come to life. But even “New Employee Totoko” is solid for the roles the characters play alone! So yes, all in all, this week was a good week, and I’m greatly looking forward to next week’s fare ^^

I’m actually really, really excited for next week because - HORROR(HOUSE)MATSU!!! While I’m not really big on the horror genre as a whole, I like the idea of throwing out favorite NEETs into scary situations. And a haunted house is perfect for it >:) The title is “Chibita’s Revenge”, so Chibita's definitely gonna have some sort of hand in all of the spooky shenanigans... Does he have friends on the other side?! :0

Aaaaah, next Matsu Monday can’t come soon enough! ♥

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

S2;E8 ~ November 10, 1969

Directed by George Marshall ~ Written by Milt Josefsberg and Ray Singer

Synopsis

When Kim goes to a drive-in movie with her boyfriend Alan, Lucy and Harry spy on them dressed in hippie clothes to blend in.  

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter), Desi Arnaz Jr. (Craig Carter)

Guest Cast

Robert L. Hughes (Alan Stevens) was mainly a theatre artist with only a dozen screen appearances, including playing the Colorado River Guide in “Lucy Runs the Rapids” (S2;E4).  Hughes left show business in the 1980s to pursue a business career.

Interestingly, in his previous appearance as the Colorado River Guide, Kim flirted with him, which Lucy disapproved of.  Alan's mother is in the social register and his father is a millionaire. He is 21 and taking post-graduate courses.  Lucy still disapproves of him!  

Larry J. Blake (Manager of the Drive-In) appeared as a Native American Medicine Man in “Lucy the Rain Goddess” (TLS S4;E15). He was an ex-vaudevillian making the second of his eight “Here’s Lucy” appearances. 

Jackie Joseph (Jackie Berry) is perhaps best known as Audrey in the 1960 (non-musical) horror/comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors. From 1960-76 Jackie Joseph was married to performer, Ken Berry, one of Lucille Ball's protege's who was shooting “Mayberry R.F.D.” on the Desilu Paramount lot and followed “Here's Lucy” on the CBS Monday night line-up.  Joseph and Lucille Ball appeared together in the film A Guide for the Married Man (1967).  

Jackie Joseph is using her married name for the character.  Jackie Berry is a married friend of Kim's who has a newborn named Wendy.  Her husband is in the service.

Orwin C. Harvey (Drive-In Patron with dog, uncredited) was an actor and stuntman who played one of the singing and dancing teamsters in “Lucy Helps Ken Berry” (TLS S6;E21). This is one of his six appearances on “Here’s Lucy.”

Harvey was featured on the same “Lucy Show” episode that also starred Jackie Joseph’s husband, Ken Berry.  

Robert Buckingham (Drive-In Patron, uncredited) had been seen with Lucille Ball in Critic's Choice (1963).  This is his third and last uncredited appearance on the series.

Other men and women (and one dog) at the drive-in go uncredited.

The final draft of this script was submitted on April 28, 1969.  

On the date this episode was originally aired (November 10, 1969) “Sesame Street” debuted on PBS, changing the landscape of children's television.  In 1970, production memos for the show indicate that Lucille Ball and Gale Gordon were to be guest stars, with their segments taped at the Paramount stage where they were shooting “Here's Lucy.”  The appearances, however, were postponed and never came to be.  In 2007 “Sesame Street” mentioned “I Love Lucy,” although they were referring to Lucy the Lazy Lizard. During the reference, the background music was similar to the “I Love Lucy” theme.  In the book Sesame Street Unpaved it is pointed out that Snuffy shares his astrological sign, Leo, with Lucille Ball. 

"Vitameatavegemin is almost as hard to say as Snuffleupagus".

In the DVD introduction to the episode, Jackie Joseph reinforces that Lucille Ball was all business on the set, but a dear friend when not working.

The episode opens with Craig alone in the living room singing along to a record. "It Was a Very Good Year" is a song Ervin Drake composed in 1961 for and originally recorded by Bob Shane with The Kingston Trio. It was subsequently made famous by Frank Sinatra and won him a Grammy Award in 1966. Craig imitates Sinatra's performance style, but Lucy jokingly says she thought he was imitating Lawrence Welk. Lucy admits that Sinatra was her idol when she was a bobby-soxer. Lawrence Welk will make an appearance as himself on a future “Here's Lucy” episode. Although Lucille Ball knew Sinatra socially, the two never acted together on screen.  

When Lucy hears that Kim's boyfriend Alan graduated from Berkeley, she is visibly upset.  Craig jokes that Alan got two degrees and three arrests for picketing.  During the 1960s the University of California Berkeley was the site of several riots and protest marches that received national attention.  

When Lucy is concerned about Kim being too young for Alan, Craig reminds Lucy that she was 17 when she married his father.  This is one of the few mentions of Lucy's late husband.  

Kim and Alan are going to the drive-in to see a (fictional) Italian film titled La Notte Del Bacio Dolce, which translates to Sweet Night Kiss. Craig also goes on a date to another drive-in with his girlfriend Patty.  This may be seen as a coy reference to Desi Jr.'s dating Patty Duke, although most sources agree that the two did not meet until 1970, a year after this episode was filmed.  

Lucy does a long comic take when she realizes Kim and Alan are going to a drive-in. In the 1950s and 60s drive-in movies were dubbed “passion pits” because they were a popular place for teenagers to be alone together for making out on a date.  Although drive-in theatres were very popular in the 1960s there are hardly any remaining today. The first one opened in Camden, New Jersey in 1933.  The fourth in the nation was in Los Angeles (above) in 1934.  Although Lucy is a self-confessed movie fan, she acts as though she has never been to a drive-in before, not knowing how to activate the sound or where to hang the speaker.  

Meanwhile, bachelor Harry is home alone looking at the centerfold of a magazine that has a scantily clad woman on the cover!  Although the magazine's name has been taped over, it is likely supposed to be Playboy magazine. In the image of Playboy’s founder, Hugh Hefner, Harry wears a red silk smoking jacket and is drinking a cocktail.  While ogling the centerfold from every angle he sighs and sings “To dream the impossible dream.” “The Impossible Dream” was written by Joe Darion and Mitch Leigh for the 1964 Broadway musical Man of La Mancha. Harry also looked at a magazine with a centerfold in “Lucy's Birthday” (S1;E8).

This is an expensive shoot for “Here's Lucy” because of the many cars needed for the drive-in scene:

1969 Red Plymouth Barracuda convertible (Alan's car)

1965 Yellow Dodge Dart convertible (Lucy's car)

1969 Blue Plymouth Valiant (Younger necking couple's car)

1969 Blue Plymouth Barracuda (Older necking couple's car)

1969 Blue Simca 1204 [928] (Man with dog's car)

1964 Red Plymouth Valiant Signet

1969 Beige Simca 1118 [950]

1969 Yellow Triumph TR6

When “Viv Visits Lucy” (TLS S5;E15) they both dress as beatniks to spy on a friend's son who is hanging out with the hippies on the Sunset Strip.  

Lucy and Harry's 1965 Dodge Dart is the same car used in “Lucy Helps Craig Get a Driver's License” (S1;E24)...

... except that the license plate was California WMO-526 and it is now UTM-541.  Also, the dialogue infers that it is Harry's car, not Lucy's.  

The hood of Alan's car has collected a great deal of dust.  Apparently the vehicle was in studio storage for quite some time and not wiped down prior to shooting.

“Lucy at the Drive-In Movie” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5

Besides the crazy get-ups worn by Lucille and Gale , this episode is very funny, with a great twist ending.

[deltaengineering]

Spring Anime 2017: I did it for teh awkwardz

We’re already a month deep into the new season, but I’ve had this draft sitting around and I might as well finish it. It’s not much anyway, because a lot of shows just kept going this time. Oh, and just for the record, I also watched episode 1 of The Reflection and that was just a boring, sketchy looking mess without any sort of narrative hook besides “superheroes, right?” Thanks, Stan Lee.

Little Witch Academia

Little Witch Academia was a really cool short movie about little witches doing witch things, followed by another rehash short movie which raised concerns that the  LWA concept doesn’t have any legs besides good production values. Now we got 25 more short movies, and guess what: What worked once for half an hour of random entertainment can’t sustain 10 hours without major writing effort. And “writing effort” is clearly not where Trigger’s core competency is. LWA isn’t badly written in the ways that anime usually is: it doesn’t have terrible ideas, or schizophrenic tone, or a lack of concern for pacing. It just doesn’t really try and seems barely “written” at all. The script always has an air of “first draft” about it, in that it thinks that just winging it until the animators can make a cool action scene or a goofy face is good enough.

This is especially apparent during the first half, where Trigger are taking inspiration from episodic Western animation and just have Akko be bad at magic in various circumstances – but something like Dexter’s Lab actually has very skillful writing, even in absence of an overarching plot. In the second half, a plot rather haphazardly gets bolted on to this, but it’s not a good plot and the one good crisis it raises (an explanation of why Akko is so bad at magic that still fails to explain how she managed to get into a magic school) is so quickly resolved by everyone not actually caring about it much that I wonder if they even realized what they had there. In the end it’s just about the regular “believe in yourself, trust your friends, and ffs don’t try to harness the power of hate and suffering for your own ends” message I’ve seen a million times before, and usually done better.

And there’s more, like the cast: lots of half-assed scripts get by with just parading funny characters around, but LWA is almost always about the exceedingly one-note Akko. Apart from the ending, when Akko suddenly doesn’t matter much and it’s all about Ursula and Croix. Lotte and Sucy, ostensibly major characters, get one focus episode, then just sort of hang around later, and that goes for all the other students too. Diana gets a bit more focus, but that just points out that there isn’t a lot to her either (still more than to Akko, admittedly). There’s bizarre subplots about football. Croix gets introduced late and even then only sits around menacingly until the end. The universe is a Harry Potter knockoff without the depth (yeah, I know), and is decidedly un-whimsical for something that is supposed to run on the boundless power of imagination – just replacing mundane utilities with magic, like “crystal ball facebook”, loses its charm very quickly. And the rest is usual parade of references to things that caught the animator’s fancy that day – yes, there is a mecha episode. Of course there is. It looks good. Of course it does. 

So if the writing is only a means to an end, is at least that end (animation) worth it? Well, that mostly depends on how important you consider the writing. On its own, the look of the show is premium tier, it’s always colorful, expressive, and definitely notable on a technical level for quite a few cuts. But it’s not a notable artistical achievement in its own right, and of course a TV show still can’t afford to be awesome all the time. The animation is just where all the effort went and it should make for some very nice demo reels. And even the action scenes lack engagement, because they’re set to a whimsical wannabe Danny Elfman score with no rhythm or punch.

Overall, I’d consider Little Witch Academia barely mediocre. After all my complaints about the writing, that may sound like letting it off easy. Still, the writing, while beset with endless flaws I could easily spend as much time again on, is just one aspect. All other aspects are at the very least okay, it has a few nice moments, and the visuals are consistently good – the good parts are just nothing you can spend a lot of praise on, but they do exist. Compared to the originals it’s just “more of the same”, but it’s a stark reminder that “more” in itself often makes something not “the same”. Especially 25 times more.

Kabukibu!

After angrily ripping into an superficially easy-to-like, well-made anime, it’s time to be a hypocrite and give Kabukibu, a cheap, forgettable show that nobody cared about, a pass. I just have a soft spot for these little shows that try, and if nothing else, Kabukibu doesn’t feature strange self-owns like when Cheer Danshi introduced a dozen supporting characters between episodes. Kabukibu is just a show about some school kids that really like Kabuki, and that’s okay. It doesn’t excel at anything, but it doesn’t fail hard at anything either. Even the animation knows its limits, it’s obviously cheap but it never outright falls apart. The characters are a cut above the bland nothings they could be. There’s a semi-meaningful conflict about doing something for fun vs doing something as a job, and another interesting conflict of modernization vs tradition – The way that the kabuki club approaches non-traditional kabuki is actually thoughtful. And hey, even some of the jokes land.

I feel like these small stories about niche topics have one big benefit over the designated heavy hitters: They know they’re not pandering to the mainstream, and this means they can afford to be earnest (unless they’re pandering to a niche crowd, but I assume the lobby for amateur kabuki is very small). No, Kabukibu is not even close to a Rakugo Shinjuu, but earnestness is quite refreshing in anime – even if it’s just another fucking school club again. 

The King's Avatar

There’s a very simple elevator pitch for The King’s Avatar: “Sword Art Online, but Chinese”, and you’ll hear that pretty much every time TKA is mentioned. Like just now. But from what I can tell, it’s only surface level. Yes, TKA is about a cool dude who pwns fools in an online game, but that’s pretty much where it ends. What’s actually very true about the comparison, however, is that TKA is Chinese. Very Chinese. Much more Chinese than all the Haoliners anime made for the Japanese market. It’s still basically a very slow, idealized sports show about a bunch of quirky people that climb the ranks in an MMO that also is a hugely popular e-sport, led by a guy who is suspiciously good at it, but playing a game for a decade will do that I suppose.

I don’t know much about MMOs, much less Chinese ones, but the details of the game don’t seem to make a whole lot of sense to me (especially the focus on APM in a game like this seems questionable), but hey, I’ll accept it. It’s not like it’s very important either, since thankfully there isn’t a lot of backseat game design happening here. It’s just people having fights with the occasional random powerup, and that works well enough. The Chinese like their sudden comedic tone shifts even more than the Japanese do, so there’s a bunch of that too. But I like the characters and their schemes, and I like how the fights look – at least up to the standards of a mid-tier Japanese production. It’s pretty cool. To be honest, the culture clash my main draw here: TKA isn’t exactly great, but it feels odd in a way that reminds me of the time when I didn’t know every anime trope and a huge amount of Japanese cultural details. That makes it feel more like “anime” than actual anime does nowadays.

Uchouten Kazoku S2

Uchouten Kazoku didn’t have to do much to be a winner, and sure enough, a winner it was. If you liked the first season, you’ll like this too, since it’s more of the same. And that’s in fact the one major thing I would hold against it, and which makes me like season 2 less than the first one: The surprise factor is gone, but everything else is just... the same. Down to the plotline, which eventually turns out to be almost a replay of season 1. Only this time with an even less conclusive ending because there will be a season 3 eventually – but the book that will be the source material for that one hasn’t even been written, so it’ll be a long wait. 

But stagnating at a level as high as Uchouten Kazoku is operating on is still far from bad. And the few things they did add are top notch: The Nidaime finally gives Benten a counterpart that is able to stand up to her, with glorious results. Gyokuran, Yoichirou’s fiancee, makes for a nice romantic foil for his previously a little bland character. And Tenmaya is just a bastard you love to hate. Add to this some delightfully weirdo happenings like Benten taking a trip to hell to recreationally wrestle ogres, and you’re never lacking for entertainment with this show. It didn’t blow me away the same way the first season did, but it’s still an extremely solid show. Just come up with a few more new things next time, okay.

Tsuki ga Kirei

And finally, we have the hardest sell for a show in quite a while. What is Tsuki ga Kirei about? Well, it’s an understated romance between normal (i.e., awkward) teens. No magical realism gimmicks (like One Week Friends), no intense drama (like every shoujo romance ever), no odd couple dynamics (like Ore Monogatari), nothing. And it’s shamefully heterosexual on top of everything, who is supposed to watch this!? Well, there’s only one actual reason to watch it, and that reason is that it’s pretty damn good. There isn’t much to it, but it just does everything right: The characters are fully formed humans with relatable, relatively minor weaknesses that anyone could have. There are no designated villains; even the romantic rivals just turn out to be good people whose danger comes mostly from being a bit more outgoing that our introverted protagonists. The meddling adults really do have everyone’s best interests at heart, they just have a more cynical outlook on life. The characters develop in a relatable way, without leaving their original setup behind. It’s really good stuff that I would hesitate to call fully “realistic” (it’s a bit too sappy and positive for that), but has a verisimilitude that is almost unmatched in anime of this genre. And that is more important here than brutal realism.

It looks good too; the production falters a bit in the middle, and it has a curious reliance on stiff CG models for crowd scenes, but it’s nothing unusual and nothing that would amount to a major trouble spot since the character design, animation detail, background and and color work is consistently very good. I’m not going to lie, I love Tsuki ga Kirei and it’s the best show of the season, and that is no mean feat considering that said season had a very solid sequel to Uchouten Kazoku in it. Just a nice, small scale story about a bunch of lovable dorks that fully pays off and leaves no questions open.

[snarktheater]

Shadowhunters S2 — Episode 4

Today on Shadowhunters: spooky cemeteries!

Yep, we're going back to the City of Bones. And immediately, I have questions.

"What is your business here, Shadowhunter?"

Aren't Silent Brothers themselves Shadowhunters? Did you forget about that? Are you just ignoring it for the sake of not confusing an audience not familiar with mythos you didn't explain all that well, so we'll pretend they're just something unrelated? Does anybody cares?

She's here to see Jace, because we're still somehow sticking to the plot of the books, so he's locked up down here. Leading to yet more questions as Clary sees the City's other prisoners.

"They all deserve to be here."

Like Jace does? I'm pretty sure he didn't get a trial, so excuse my skepticism. Don't get me wrong, I'm not fond of Jace, but this is once again a display of a complete lack of care for ethics that makes it really hard to root for the Clave. I guess that's what happens when you're writing for teenagers and therefore have to portray "the man" as an enemy, if not the enemy.

To Jace's credit, after his obligatory "you shouldn't be here, Clary" patronizing macho nonsense, he does ask after Alec first thing. It's almost like the show remembers their relationship better than the books did.

Anyway, Clary wants to help Jace get out because she feels guilty for what happened.

"You're here because of me, if I hadn't fallen under Dot's spell—"

Um. No, you're really not the main reason, but okay, guilt makes sense, I guess. But Jace doesn't want her help.

"No matter what happens, never come near me again."

I guess I shouldn't be surprised it took so little time for Jace to be the main source of angst again now that he's back on the good side.

"There isn't a 'together' for you and me, Clary. There never can be."

You do realize she meant as friends/siblings, right?

The Institute's plot line

At the Institute, Magnus tells Alec he's going to be punished in some indeterminate fashion for his disobedience, but Alec thanks him for saving his life, which…makes it okay, I guess? Also, Alec has a whole lot of faith in Jace.

"Once his hand touches the Soul-Sword, the truth will come out, and prove that he's never been on Valentine's side."

Yeaaah. We'll see.

He also brings back up that first date he and Magnus are supposed to go on, but before they can elope, Alec's called away to yet another briefing for a demon alert.

As for Clary, she's still pissed at her mother, for…various reasons, I guess. But Jocelyn has a bombshell of her own: the Clave is reassigning her to Idris, which…wait, she's reintegrated the Clave? Why would she do that? When did she do that? She asks Clary to move to Idris with her so they get a fresh start, but before Clary can answer, that pesky demon alert calls her away as well.

"We don't have Jace, so…you're with us."

Yeah, because replacing Jace with the complete rookie is totally a reasonable choice!

To be fair, it is kind of nice to see the protagonists do…you know, their job. I still like seeing Isabelle be the science person on the team, and it's a nice touch to have Luke work with them to keep mundane police at bay, even if it does raise a few questions. Like…is this standard procedure? Do all police departments have Downworlders working there and collaborating with the Institutes?

Oh, and Alec and Clary are "widening the perimeter" to try and track down a demon. Which is much needed character development, since we're almost halfway into season 2A and they still kind of hate each other's guts for the most part. So they team up to track down the murdering demon's heat signature, which leads them to a girl who was possessed by the demon to kill that guy, leaving her amnesic.

And because this show loves its tangents, Luke argues with Jocelyn about her move to Idris, then when she tells him it's the Council's orders, he offers to come with her. She refuses, because he has too much to lose, but he insists. Cue them kissing, and me wondering if they were established to be a couple at all until now.

Meanwhile, Lydia and Isabelle are handling things at the Institute with the victim's body. There's banter about Jace, and that's the end of that. Also, Raj, the Shadowhunter who was guarding Magnus last episode and was a minor presence last season, is still around for dumb, sexist comments.

"Wow, that guy's heart is obliterated […] I've been in his shoes before, except my demon's name was Cathy." "You know, you might wanna cut back on the smartass after getting manhandled by a warlock."

Tiny problem: while everyone's distracted by the banter, a suspiciously evil smoke comes out of the body and into the Institute's vent. Random Shadowhunters get possessed and killed, and the Institute has to be put on quarantine.

"How did a demon get past the wards?" "Same way it got in without setting of [Isabelle's necklace]. It must have some advanced cloaking ability." "I didn't know demons could do that."

Well…yeah, this is apparently new and the result of Valentine's experiments. So the guy who hates demons…experimented to make stronger demons? It's already a logical stretch that he uses them at all, but you're really pushing my suspension of disbelief there, show.

Since they're dealing with a demon who feeds on negative emotions and possesses people, they…naturally decide to split up. Good idea, guys! I mean, sure, you're in pairs, but that still leaves you one on one against the demon. Also, is there only like…five people at the Institute? Seriously, it's just Lydia, the Lightwoods, Clary, and that Raj guy. Guess who's getting possessed soon?

So it's Isabelle's time to talk to Clary about her potential move to Idris, and have them dump their mommy issues on each other. Which…fair enough, but honestly, the issue here is that Clary moving to Idris isn't really a possibility that I think anyone would consider plausible. You're not fooling us, show. And this only highlights the mom talk more. I wonder where this repeated and unusual focus on Jocelyn could lead. (Disclaimer: I don't actually wonder, because I'm pretty sure I've been spoiled the end of this episode, but I digress)

Back with Lydia and Raj, and yup, Raj is possessed. Shocking, I know. Cue fight scene, with Lydia mostly getting her ass kicked until Alec comes to the rescue, and the demon escaping again.

So, how about we get another mom-daughter talk with Clary and Jocelyn? Because this is absolutely the right time and totally not an attempt to establish drama and character that should have been done before, but fuck it, we're out of time and we can't rewrite or edit the script, so this will do. Point is, Clary refuses to go to Idris with Jocelyn.

After this, Clary finds Alec, covered in blood and amnesic as well. And gee, who's inside the room but Jocelyn's freshly-killed corpse. Wow, I didn't expect that at all.

…Yeah, okay, I did. And there's a lot wrong with it, little of which has to do with killing off a character who…you know, is alive in the books. No, it's more of a problem because she spent the past few episodes being vilified. Because the wrap-up effort in this episode on her character arc is rushed and botched all over the place. Because this deprives Clary of a pretty positive female influence in her life. Because it means Jocelyn won't get to interact with her actual son in season 2B. Oh, and also, because Alec is the one who does it (albeit possessed), a character who had no real connection to her beyond the unending enmity between him and Clary. So in other words, we're putting our token gay character in a position where he's even more at odds with the audience avatar. And yes, I realize that that's as likely to turn the fans against Clary than it is to turn them against Alec, because misogyny is strong in this fandom, but that's not exactly a good thing either way.

Clary is however surprisingly cool-headed about all this.

"I have a demon to kill."

And then it's Isabelle's turn to get possessed and fight Alec and Clary. Alec doesn't manage to do much, but Clary gets the drop on Isabelle, stabbing her in the back. This causes the demon to come out, Clary kills him, and Isabelle's…fine, I guess, even though I'm pretty sure such a deep stab should have punctured a lung at least. But hey, healing runes, I guess.

Jace's plot line

Jace gets dreams about killing Clary, because the Silent Brothers give you nightmares. He wakes up to hear that Hodge is his cell neighbor, and he's basically broken by the Silent Brother treatment. This goes nowhere, but hey, more angst and drama, I guess.

And with that, we get to Jace's interrogation/trial with the Mortal Sword, and being awfully defiant for someone holding a magical tool that forces the truth out of you.

"Alec and I uses [the motto 'the descent into Hell is easy'] to remind each other that we cannot be broken."

Except…why don't you want to tell the truth? Considering you were taken by force and manipulated, it should be relatively easy. It's not like Jace has nothing at all to hide, like the demon blood (that he doesn't have, but they don't know that). But the show doesn't even bother establishing his motivations.

Instead, we get…stupidity. Like Aldertree basically teasing Jace about his relationship with Clary. How is this relevant? Aldertree also knows a suspiciously large amount of detail of Jace's childhood with Valentine, too, but I'm not really sure what this means. The trial ends with Jace unable to pledge is complete loyalty to the Clave, resulting in Jace being sentenced to life in prison. I wonder how long this will last.

The answer is: not long at all. The City of Bones gets attacked by Valentine's forces, and Valentine himself shows up, with Aldertree prisoner and the Mortal Sword. He claims he was trying to rescue Jace, but…no, he was probably here for the sword, and Jace isn't fooled either. Valentine opens Jace's cell to take him back anyway, but Hodge acts as a distraction, giving Jace an opening to recover the sword and fight his way out. For five seconds, that is, before Dot shows up and wrecks his ass. So Valentine gets the sword back, and Jace saves Aldertree, giving up the Soul-Sword in the process.

The useless Simon subplot

Raphael gets brought into the Institute to be interrogated about yet another vampire den, and yep, Aldertree's still pretty useless.

"If you want to prove your innocence, deliver Miss Belcourt to the Clave."

Because it's not like it's…you know, the Clave's own job to do that.

Of course, on the other hand, we have Raphael Santiago, so…

"You think I haven't been trying?"

Well, so far, you bullied an inexperienced teen and that's about it. So…no, I don't think you've been trying.

So Aldertree makes the very…reasonable call to use a Bond villain death trap against Raphael. He locks Raphael in a chair and uses a "concentrated UV" ray which is totally not a laser to torture Raphael.

He comes to Magnus for help afterwards, who immediately decides this is all about him and how he views Raphael as his protégé. Because Magnus is a self-centered asshole, and apparently that extends beyond his relationship with Alec.

Enter Simon, who also wants to wrap things up with the Camille search because…he has a family dinner that his mom guilt-tripped him into attending and he can't do that and look for Camille at the same time. Oh, the drama! Clearly this is equivalent to Raphael being threatened to see his whole clan burned alive! Or, um…burned undead? You get my point: Simon is a completely superfluous character here.

Well, okay, he does have his mystery box, but Raphael could have gone with Magnus instead and found the box and we'd have lost all of…nothing. The box contains Camille's grave dirt, which can be used to summon her. And they can open the box with Camille's blood, which Simon conveniently has in his vein. Thanks, plot convenience gods!

After a break with Magnus angsting about how Camille isn't pure evil and giving us the backstory of their relationship. Which involves her preventing him from committing suicide, apparently. He goes as far as to say that she's for him like Clary is for Simon, which is far from the truth, considering we saw them interact last season and it wasn't particularly nice. Besides, that's all well and good, but she's still a murderer and all.

Magnus asks Simon and Raphael to go get Catarina Loss to reinforce the trap he set for Camille. But of course, the moment they leave, he summons her on his own, because Magnus is a self-centered idiot. Also, that summoning uses a very clumsy visual effect.

No, I didn't edit this. They didn't even match the cut of Camille during the effect with her after the effect. And she doesn't look particularly surprised by the whole experiment. I mean, even if she knows what happened, are you telling me she saw it coming?

To his credit, Magnus does plan to turn her in, and starts lecturing her about how she's crossed a line, and she treats her vampire "children" poorly, and that includes Raphael, who's Magnus's spiritual son or something because he took him under his wing. Camille, decides, plays mind games with Magnus. And by that I mean she uses classic abuse strategies.

"I'm the only one you can count on to be here for you forever. You know that. That's why you love me."

So yes, we really are pushing this subplot ahead of book five, I guess. Magnus doesn't fall for it, and portals Camille to Idris in a cage. Shouldn't he at least warn them that she's incoming? Well, at least this subplot of the hunt for Camille is over, I guess. Now maybe we won't have to deal with Simon as much.

Or maybe we will, since we cut straight to him coming to the Institute to convince Clary not to leave to Idris. I guess he hasn't heard the news about Jocelyn yet. Also, he skips his family dinner for this, which means the whole thing was basically pointless. Shocking, I know.

Wrap-up

After the demon is killed at the Institute, Jace and Simon conveniently arrive…basically at the same time (with Aldertree, too). Clary breaks down over her mom's death, with Simon rushing in to comfort her, while Jace silently broods for a moment before checking in on Isabelle. And then brooding some more after Alec helps Isabelle leave.

And…yeah, I think I've pretty much listed all the issues I had with Jocelyn's death, and that's kind of the big center piece of the episode. That, and Jace's angst. I have a feeling we'll get lots of that in the future. So I'm not particularly thrilled by this episode, even if it had some nice character moments. And somehow, we're back to the plot of the books, too, which is actually surprising to me even if it probably shouldn't.

It is interesting to see the show expand on things while still managing to retain the same plot structure, and overall most of these changes are good ones. Which is why Jocelyn's death is so baffling to me, a little like how the Alec wedding plot line was in the previous season. There are clearly good ideas being used there, but then the show drops the ball. It's disappointing, and it makes me realize that, for all the creators' good will, I don't think this show would be more than mediocre, even without Cassandra Clare's text holding it down.

But hey, maybe if we get a season…four or five, we'll get beyond the plot of the books, and then we'll see if the show can stand on its own. Can you imagine? Wouldn't that be something.