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gamer2002 · 3 years ago

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Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair - Review2002

Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is a sequel to Danganronpa that focuses on a new cast that, this time around, is trapped on a tropical island. The game is an improvement when it comes to writing, mechanics (mostly), characters, and executing own premise. It’s pretty much a perfect sequel that is a genuinely good game.

Like in the first game, we have a set of cases where one of participants of the killing game commits murder and tries to frame somebody else for their crime. This time around, our main character is Hajime Hinata, who doesn’t remember his own Ultimate Talent. Hajime is much better main character than Makoto, not just because of an intriguing mystery about him, but also because of being a better character with a better story. Sure, since Makoto was a painfully generic goodie-goodie, it isn’t saying much. And, Hajime isn’t really an outstanding character. But he is relatable, sympathetic, and funny, as the only sane man in the cast. He does a good job as a protagonist, while going through his own journey. He actually experiences far more hardship and Despair™ than Makoto did in his game. Which is why, at the end, you really want the guy to overcome it.

The gameplay also has improved, mostly. I like new blue statements in the Nonstop Debate. I like new trial minigames, though Rebuttal Showdown is more a neat idea than a good execution (you can’t really focus on what the characters are saying). I like that now, from the start, there is some logic element in the rhythm minigame. The so-called Improved Hangman’s Gambit is an overcomplex crap, though.

Outside of trials, the game also has improved acquiring new skills. Now you gather skill points from Free Time events, and you can spend them on buying available skills from a list. You can also unlock characters’ skills, by maxing out their Free Time events. It’s a much better system that gives you more control over gaining new skills. And you also have more control when it comes to getting presents, as you can buy few from a vendor machine, or spend coins on rolling random ones. Acquiring coins is also improved. Now you don’t need to examine same locations all over again, you just hunt hidden Monokumas. You can also get coins from taking care of Tamagotchi.

Music is pretty much the same, with just few new tracks. Island is much more interesting environment than the school. Direction is also more interesting during the trials. And also, we have better characters, but I will elaborate on that later on. There is still meme writing with hope and despair, but it is twisted into something far more interesting.

There are flaws, tho. I say that finale, while it had great last third, was exposition-heavy and also was relying on pretty heavy retcons. The world lore is expanded on, but is pretty unimpressive. But I still say - it’s a good game. A ridiculously animu edgy shonen that relies on selling underage waifus and a shock value, which can be not to your tastes, but a good one. The previous game was just fun, which means that you could enjoy it despite its flaws. The sequel fixes quite a lot of flaws, and also improves its strengths. And one of such strengths is its set up that allows to experience brutal treatment of likable kids. Yeah, the kids actually earn that they can be called likable, this time around.

It is an 8/10 game, even though I maybe should have given it a half point lower. I enjoyed it a lot more than the original, and also was more moved by it. I think that sequels that strive to improve the series deserve recognition.

But now, to expand on my review, I’m going to tell more why Danganronpa 2 gives us better cast than the first game, and why it is such a good sequel. In the spoiler section, I’ll be focusing on the new, much better, villain, and expand my thoughts on the game’s finale. So, let’s start with the characters…

Prepare them likable before the slaughter

In this game Danganronpa finds its strength as a series, which lies in its set up that allows building up likable characters, before brutally killing them off. While the new cast is still is mostly a bunch of two dimensional ridiculous stereotypes, they are more likable and useful to the player. Because they actually try to be.

The first cast wasn’t really good at giving us reasons to like or respect them, with two or three exceptions. Especially if you didn’t happen to make free time events with them. Most treated Makoto like a pushover (albeit deservingly), or plainly neutral at best. The motives, while understandable, were just realistically understandable, not sympathetic. Most of those that didn’t end up being killers still mostly focused on self-survival than improving anybody’s else situation. It wasn’t a group of people you’d be happy to live with, let alone be locked with. It wasn’t even much of a group. Even in the final case, after everything that survivors went through, Monokuma still could make them turn against one another with a rather unimpressive trick. While it’s realistic that kids in such situation would be self-centered, even if they didn’t end up becoming killers, such characters’ deaths rather can’t make you feel devastated. Not you can feel glad over their survival. Even if you happened to like their personalities, which is subjective anyway.

Hajime has better relationships with his cast. Only Fuyuhiko and Hiyoko (after her personality has shifted from killer of little animals into a foulmouthed shortie) ever treated him like crap, but they were like that towards everyone. And one of them had proper character development. Everyone else was neutral towards Hajime at worst, not best. One character has noticed Hajime’s reliability, and asked him for help with keeping security of others. Other character wanted to watch girls on the beach with him. I also don’t remember the first cast to mourn the deceased ones as much as the second cast does. Neither I remember them trying much to be supportive to those that were feeling down. The motives that are meant to be understandable are also more sympathetic, so even the killers are more likable.

And the usefulness? Let’s do a spoiler-free comparison of both first cases. In the first game, everyone, but one person, falls for the set up that framed Makoto. During the investigation, aside from the most reliable person in the cast, nobody really was much of any help, excluding one person witnessing something helpful. During the trial, Makoto had just one ally to count on, until he managed to clear himself from wrongful suspicion. But even afterwards, the trial was still carried by just two people. It doesn’t help the mystery wasn’t really complex.

The second game? The situation isn’t better just because nobody is wrongfully accusing Hajime. Excluding the two smartest characters in the cast, three Ultimates use their talents during the investigation, and each provides us with useful information. There are also two others that were screwing around, but still accidentally allowed us to learn something of use. During the trial, everyone tried to be involved, and just one character was briefly idiotic about it. Other than that, mistakes happened, but they were understandable due to the crime’s complexity.

The difference in the first impression is pretty self-evident, and that was just the start. Needless to say, 2nd game’s emotional peak is higher than the 1st game’s. Actually, more disturbing and sad things are happening in the 2nd game. And that’s where Danganronpa can shine. While this game can turn people off for being a ridiculous animu nonsense, when you get past that, you do get likable and pretty useful characters that experience terrible things. This is what this series has to offer, with the writers realizing that in their second game. Because, let’s face it, most of the first game’s cast were either caricatures, or had no proper chance to shine.

But this game isn’t just what the first game should have been. It is also what its sequel should be.

How to sequel

There are three kinds of sequel: betrayals, cash-ins, and genuinely good ones. Danganronpa 2 is the last one. An example of a cash-in sequel is second Ace Attorney game, Ace Attorney: Justice For All, which is my least favorite game in the series.

JFA is pretty much everything you’d expect from an Ace Attorney sequel, and that’s simply not good enough. While it’s always nice to be able to follow the story further, long-runners are popular for a reason, good sequels are more than that. They are supposed to do more than just deliver another set of cases that are rather similar to the previous game. They are supposed to give us a better rival than just watered down amalgam of previous ones, but with boobs and a whip. Expansions are more of the same, sequels are meant to have a game-changing aspect to them. And it’s not supposed to be only used as the final case’s main gimmick. An example of good sequel is Virtue Last Reward, because it uses the concept introduced as a final twist of 999, as the core element of the game. Even Zero Time Dilemma, the disappointing finale of the trilogy, does add an interesting twist to said concept.

Danganronpa 2 is a good sequel because it improves a lot from the previous entry. The main character actually has an interesting story that isn’t just “an optimistic guy tries to remain optimistic, so he does”. A new setting allows for more different murder mystery set-ups. Ultimate Talents are frequently used during crimes and investigations. And, like I’ve said earlier, many game mechanics are improved. And there is also a game-changer.

Years before Among Us becoming popular, I was playing with my friends Battlestar Galactica board game, which is also about managing a space ship with a traitor, known as Cylon, among us (hah). In a way, Danganronpa series is similar to those games, with a killer being a hidden withing the group traitor, that will doom everyone, if remains undetected. Anyway, an expansion to Battlestar added new characters, new environment, and also a game-changer – Cylon Leader, a character that is a known Cylon, but at the same time may be not, due to own mysterious agenda. While regular Cylon players wins when Battlestar Galactica is destroyed, and human players win when they reach their destination, Cylon Leader player was a wild card. At the start of the game, Cylon Leader randomly draws its own secret victory condition. And it not only could go either way, but also had special requirements. A Cylon Leader could want Cylons to win, but only after specific game phase. A Cylon Leader could want humans to win, but only after specific losses of resources. Other players didn’t know Cylon Leader’s exact agenda, only that he could shift sides depending on situation.

That being said, Cylon Leader was a controversial addition to the game, and not every fan liked it. But regardless, it was a game-changer. Which is what Danganronpa 2 offer, by quickly introducing its own Cylon Leader. But that’s for the spoiler section.

The superiority of Hope Man over Despair Thot

Nagito Komaeda is a superior villain to Junko, and this is simply an objective fact. Like you could tell from previous paragraph, he is this game’s Cylon Leader.

When I started the sequel, I’ve already been spoiled that Nagito is a psycho. What I expected was him being the sequel’s hidden in the plain sight Junko, a nice guy that befriends us just to be revealed as the mastermind in the finale. Well, I was wrong about that. In the very first case, Nagito tries to kill somebody, but this is all part of his plan to drive somebody else to murder, because he has no interest in his own survival. The killer was executed, but Nagito remained, declaring own readiness to aid anybody who wants to kill him and escape, at the cost of everyone else. And this put the new cast in a situation the old cast never was.

Some people say that Nagito has Byakuya‘s role from the previous game. But Byakuya was just openly outspoken about wanting to accomplish what every other killer wanted, until he was hit with character development, before delivering anything as an antagonist. Fuyuhiko is more similar to Byakuya. Meanwhile, Nagito delivers, first early, and then later on, after his character development goes wrong, orchestrating the most twisted and personally devastating crime in both games. He successfully forces us to sacrifice the Ultimate Gamer Waifu, how can you get more personal than that?!

But doing twisted and devastating stuff is what Junko is all about, so what makes Nagito better? First of all, even though he has literal good luck superpower, he doesn’t pull things out of his ass. Nagito doesn’t have Junko’s unexplained endless resources, he just finds opportunities in what is available to everyone. Even in case 5, where he has ton of crazy tools, we know that he obtained them during case 4.

Nagito also does have his twisted philosophy. For Pate’s sake, Junko herself admits that causing despair is nothing more than main characteristic of her one-dimensional character. He also does have a past (if you complete his Free Time event), even if it is the Joker-style multiple choices of past. Maybe he lied to Hajime about being terminally ill. Maybe he lied about lying, to motivate Hajime into killing him and escaping. The game never tell us, and this makes it more fascinating.

There are also opinions that Nagito ultimately plays into hand of Junko, nearly delivering her 15 bodies to control. I don’t agree with that. In the event of Chiaki being the sole survivor of her trial, she wouldn’t have a reason nor intention to graduate and allow Junko to take over bodies of the deceased. Neither Makoto and co. would have a reason anymore to risk themselves getting trapped in virtual world. Wrong and twisted as it was, Nagito plan would’ve neutralized Junko, forever trapping her with Chiaki in her virtual prison.

In the end, Nagito is a highly dangerous enemy, a highly useful ally, and a highly unpredictable wild card. He is an interesting character and he actively makes the game more interesting. Did I mention the sequel has Junko again and it is same old, same old? Ok, Junko/Monokum is slightly better now, but she still has many of her old issues.

The good and bad things about the finale

Overall, I liked the finale better than the first game’s, but it had some issues. One problem is that the investigation is an lazy exposition dumb. The first game was better at handling its revelations during its final investigation, as we were receiving more vague clues, not fucking walls of text. Not to mention, there were emotional moments, like Kyoko visiting her father’s office. Here, we are hit with a wall of text after wall of text, and there isn’t any meaningful scene. The only exception was meeting Alter Ego and receiving message from Makoto, but that was it. And those weren’t really strong scenes. The final investigation of the first game did much better job at handling its reveals. Even the final trial was better in the original, until the confrontation with Junko.

Also, retcons. The sequel wants us to believe that Junko, who was easily defeated, was constantly screwing herself over, and whose successes at driving people to murder were more attributed to weak opposition than anything, was the one responsible for the world’s collapse. When I played the first game, I saw Junko as a part of Ultimate Despair, whose task was to infiltrate Hope Peak Academy and broadcast a killing game to lure the groups’ opposition. A high and mighty Doctor No that only works for SPECTRE. But her being a manipulative genius that has turned the entire cast into her devotes? Have you seen her doing that in the first game? Where she could left Aoi devastated and resentful towards everyone, after the 4th trial, but she blew it so hard that fucking Byakuya had a change of heart? Where she was ultimately beaten by Makoto like it was nothing? Please.

That being said, Junko/Monokuma are better in this. Because the game is set in simulation, there is no problem with Junko being able to do whatever. Because the cast has stronger morality than the previous one, she does have to be more cunning with driving them to murder. Junko also sticks better to the rules, even if she is forced to. Her plan and the final dilemma she has for the cast is also actually a good one. But that actually wasn’t Junko anyway, just Junko-based Alter Ego. If I was writing this, I wouldn’t try to retcon a turd villain into something she never had been, I’d just state that Hajime/Izuru was behind everything in the first game and he has used Alter Ego to recreate Junko and lure Makoto and co.

One last complaint about the finale I have is that they retcon Kyoko’s father into a doctor Mengele, without her even reacting to it. The twist itself with the Academy fucking over Hajime was good, but they shouldn’t just carelessly (and without noticing it) turn a character that wasn’t evil, but good-intentional albeit flawed, into a monster that was experimenting on children. Or, at best, a detective family’s failure that had no idea what was happening in the Academy he was running.

After all that complaining, what is good about the finale? Well, things have slowly picked up since it was revealed that Monokuma/Junko wanted the cast to graduate. Everything related to Hajime was also good. The dude really went through a lot, starting from doubts about his lost talent and Nagito’s betrayal, through the revelation that he never had any talent and the loss of Chiaki, up to learning that the Academy has altered his very identity. The idea of everyone from the cast being part of Ultimate Despair was also a good twist, a much better one than “lol, the world is already destroyed”.

Besides that, the last moments of the game have masterfully used gameplay for storytelling. Movies and books can make us feel two things – pain or pleasure. Alternating between those is how stories have impactful twist and turns, causing them to be engaging. But in video games, we can experience a spectrum of feelings that other mediums cannot provide. In games, we can also feel power or powerlessness. And the game’s final gameplay segments put us at start in a state of powerlessness, in form of a choice between bad and worse, then letting us slowly regain power, culminating in a satisfying beat-down of helpless Junko. The point of that section of the game was death and rebirth of Hajime into SSJ Chadiyan, and the game makes you experience all of it.

Also, unlike the previous game, this one makes a proper statement. In the bad and worse situation, where you can either allow the devil to triumph at cost of other people, or become a martyr to stop the devil, what you say is “screw the devil, there’s a chance we will still survive, and we are risk takers!”. This is exactly the statement that the first game should have made. You can’t fall into despair and give up in face of overwhelming hardship. But you can also be betrayed by a false hope of everything working out. But not much can be accomplished without facing the risk and taking your chances, even if you odds are desperately small.

Overall, the finale did drag and relied on retcons, but its climax was truly enjoyable and worthwhile.

#danganronpa #danganronpa 2 #hajime hinata #nagito komaeda #vn #game review #review #review2002 #video game #video game review #writing tips #super danganronpa 2

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blueraith · 7 years ago

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Saw The Last Jedi Last Night

And I’ve been reading fan reactions to the movie, mostly on the Star Wars subreddit. Read more for spoilers, though this will also be tagged.

I really enjoyed this movie. I don’t think it was a perfect movie, but everything made sense, and there weren’t any plotholes that stuck out to me immediately. I plan on watching it again at least once, so maybe something will bother me then. I don’t find myself bothered by some of the criticisms that many are listing elsewhere.

Namely the humor. People say it’s too ‘marvel-ish.’ Honestly, I haven’t seen a Marvel movie since the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. I’m super behind. Anyway, I wouldn’t know if they’re right about that. What I do know is that the last trilogy of a Star Wars movie I was subjected to took itself way too seriously. Endless political discussions, referencing midichlorians, constantly going back to a lame prophesy to explain a millennia old order’s hubris as if they couldn’t just look out the damn window and actually see the galaxy they were living in.

But I digress. Complaints about the prequel trilogy are literally 10+ years old now. I didn’t mind the humor in this movie because too many people take Star Wars too seriously. As if it’s supposed to be this modern era biblical text about good and evil. It is a story about good and evil, but even the source material itself forgets to make its own characters human at times. You didn’t get that with this movie. There were some silly moments, but honestly, I was just enjoying something that was fun for once.

Case in point, there is a complaint about Snoke hitting Rey in the head with Anakin’s lightsaber. A funny moment in a super serious conversation. Which I had a hard time taking that seriously anyway because it was clearly a critique of RotJ’s Palpatine/Luke/Vader’s scenes. Snoke goes out of his way to humiliate Kylo Ren for being a Vader fanboy when he himself is a Palpatine fanboy. The entire First Order is a love letter to the deposed Empire. Claiming that a single cog of this institution isn’t embarrassingly living in the past is just being dense. It was also one of the main points of the movie. Move on from the past. Don’t forget it like Kylo wants, but learn from the past’s failures and become something better. Yoda literally says this almost rote in the movie.

Also another tangent. Why I didn’t mind that bit of humor in the Snoke scene was that I didn’t find it ‘silly’ like others would have. The entire scene in the first place was silly. Snoke trying to out Palpatine was just ridiculous in the first place and he pays for it dearly later on. It was more dark humor for me. Luke pulls his lightsaber from Palp and Vader has to defend his master in RotJ. That doesn’t happen here. It’s one of the more original parts of this part of the movie, with Kylo and Rey’s team up being the other. Instead of depending on a glorified robot to protect him, Snoke shows off his own considerable Force powers and shows Rey outright that trying to out power him is a stupid move. Kylo tricking him was clever and much more successful. (And I didn’t think I’d be praising Kylo for anything in this movie, but hey, he went through some character development without getting redeemed. Exactly what I wanted, so he’s much more palatable to me.)

Aside from the humor, another complaint I disagree with is Luke’s role in the movie. Luke’s always been a whiny little brat. He’s less so in RotJ, but that’s always been a defining character trait for him. So, finding out that he’s a whiny old man was super refreshing from what I feared he would be. Which, ironically, seems to be exactly what the Reddit fanboys wanted. I didn’t want Luke to be a badass caricature of a Jedi like he is in the Legends novels. I’ve always hated book Luke. He’s stupid powerful, supposedly wise beyond all measure (yet also had the obnoxious hubris the Old Jedi Order had), and does stupid powerful things with the force. Folks on Reddit wanted him to literally pull down AT-ATs like The Force Unleashed did with the Star Destroyer.

Holy crap, no. No, no no. Star Wars had been experiencing a power creep for over two decades in the Legends canon. Shit had been getting silly. And not the good kind, either. It was a sort of silliness that insisted it was perfectly reasonable and that it was super serious in this grimdark universe. Looking at you, NJO and LotF. God, those book series were so cringeworthy.

Instead, I appreciated this reasonably powered, whiny, broken Luke. He was refreshing, and wasn’t obnoxious. While trying, albeit incorrectly, to teach Rey the mistakes the Jedi have always made. This is ultimately why I liked this movie. Luke wasn’t trying to be Jedi Order 2.0. He already went that route, and it blew up in his face. Ultimately, I wanted a movie that did look at the flaws of the Jedi and the Sith and treat these flaws as the disasters that they were. Luke and Rey did that. And when Luke does finally get his head out of his ass, he does it in a way that shows off how powerful he is appropriately. I mean, come on, we’ve never seen a living Jedi project his image across light years like Luke does in movies, TV shows, books, or video games. This was a fresh power used in a brand new way. It was great, and showed Kylo directly that brutal shows of power aren’t always most effective. Luke buys time for the Resistance to escape using a glorified hologram of himself. It was great. And Kylo was so blinded that he didn’t notice that Luke wasn’t leaving footprints. Didn’t notice Luke hadn’t aged a bit since he last saw him, and most damning, didn’t notice that Luke was using Anakin’s just destroyed lightsaber. One that Kylo himself had a part in destroying.

The time of the Old Jedi Order is over, they died when Luke did. Now it’s up to Rey. I hope she actually changes some thing about Jedi and that those texts she took from the old temple won’t lead her down the same path all over again.

#Star Wars #The Last Jedi #spoilers

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justanothercinemaniac · 8 years ago

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Epic Movie (Re)Watch #115 - Fantasia

Spoilers Below

Have I Seen It Before: Sort of.

Did I Like It Then: I was...11, I think. I fell asleep.

Do I Remember It: The parts I was awake for.

Did I See It In Theaters: No.

Format: DVD

The format for my Fantasia post will be a bit different from previous Epic Movie (Re)Watch posts since the format of Fantasia is unique as well. Walt’s original vision for the film was that it would be re-released every few years, with older segments swapped out for newer ones. But Fantasia was a flop upon initial release and so this plan was scrapped. However the film ended up making its money back and then some following the 1969 re-release when its psychedelic imagery was promoted.

Disney released a new sound system to theaters for the film - Fantasound - so the idea of the, “film concert,” would be even greater. This was a precursor to surround sound!

Introduction

Each segment of Fantasia is introduced by Deems Taylor, the host of the film. It helps create the film’s unique format, although in future releases Taylor’s dialogue is dubbed by talented voiceover artist Corey Burton (since the original audio of Taylor was so scratchy).

This leads to an interesting point about Fantasia: after its original roadshow version, it was almost impossible to find a complete version of the film. Taylor’s segments would be cut and/or some scenes were totally omitted from the film (including the famous Night on Bald Mountain scene since it was deemed too frightening for children). It wasn’t until the 60th anniversary DVD in 2000 (the version I own) that the film was fully restored for home video. This is now the version which Disney releases today.

Toccata in Fugue in D Minor

“Toccata in Fugue in D Minor” is probably the least narrative piece in the film. It’s really just a showcase for the beautiful music and amazing animation working hand in hand. It’s mostly landscapes and lights which are pretty to look at but can get a bit dull after a while (which can be said of a lot of Fantasia).

The Nutcracker Suite

“The Nutcracker Suite” is almost like a mini-Fantasia in its own right, with each unique segment containing a different set of characters. It is when the film starts to feel Disney-ish, with dancing mushrooms with a lot of character and fun fantasy elements throughout. It has more characters and more conflict than “Toccata” and starts to feel like a narrative film. One of the best pieces in the film. Although...I don’t remember the bit with the fish halfway through. That was sort of dull.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Honestly, this is the best part of the whole freaking film and the reason it even exists. According to IMDb:

Walt Disney himself related the story of a chance meeting with [conductor] Leopold Stokowski at Chasen's restaurant. They agreed to have dinner together. As they talked, Disney told of his plans to do "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and other possible projects using classical music with animation. Disney said that he was stunned when Stokowski, then one of the two most famous conductors in the country (the other being Arturo Toscanini), responded by saying, "I would like to conduct that for you." It was an offer he couldn't pass up.

This segment introduced Mickey’s new/now-classic design including more human eyes and a flesh tone face. Originally the piece was meant to star Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, not Mickey, and if you pay attention to how Mickey’s sleeves behave you can definitely see that.

There’s a lot to say about this piece. It feels like a classic “Silly Symphony” (shorts Disney used to make) and is the most narrative part of the film. Mickey is a joy to watch as always, things like the broomsticks have so much classic Disney character, and it’s just a total joy to watch!

And then you have the wizard, Yen Sid. Which is Disney spelled backwards. Originally the name “Yen Sid” was going to be associated with the demon now known as Chernabog at the end of the film, but the animation team decided to secretly model this wizard after their boss. Everyone thought the little smirk he gave and the one eyebrow being raised when he catches Mickey was a dead give away though. Still, Yen Sid is the canon name for the wizard (even being used in the Kingdom Hearts series).

The Rite of Spring

From one of the best segments in the film to one of the most dull. “The Rite of Spring” starts out interestingly, watching the earth boiling in a molten form before it cools. But then it just...drags. The arrangement is a little dull (and the composer of the piece hated how it was arranged in the film), and we get to watch single celled organisms develop. Yay? The best part is when the t-rex shows up and fights a stegosaurus but that moment is just not long enough compared to the rest of the piece.

On one note, however, according to IMDb:

While perceptions of dinosaurs by both scientists and the public at large have changed considerably since this film was released, aspects of their depiction in the film are considered more progressive and accurate than most of their contemporaries. They were generally depicted in the film as "dynamic and agile" creatures, while most of the contemporary depictions had them as slow-moving reptiles. Certain scenes portray them as social animals and the image of the baby Triceratops staying close to his/her parents implies family life. This was nearly unheard of in contemporary depictions.

The DVD even has a 15 minute intermission, which I took to my advantage by pausing it (on the DVD it’s not actually 15 minutes but Deems Taylor says it is) so I could get food. When the film comes back Taylor introduces us to “The Soundtrack.”

It was probably more fascinating in 1940 when you had surround sound, as this little string (given so much character by the animators) demonstrates all the sounds of the orchestra and moves wonderfully to them. Although it does go on a bit long, but that can be said for most of this film.

Beethoven’s 6th Pastoral Symphony

Perhaps the most beautifully animated piece in the entire film, “Beethoven’s 6th” is one of the most memorable parts of the film. It’s Olympian setting was a precursor to Hercules years alter (the Zeus-s in those films even look a bit similar), it’s characters are funny and a treat to watch, and it is just filled with a lot of imagination.

It also has - or HAD - one of the most racist caricatures in Disney history with Sunflower the centaur. Don’t believe me. Well...

It’s not just the Disney of Sunflower, which in and of itself may not be too horrible. It’s that she’s the only black character in the entire segment and she is seen happily dotting on the white centaurs who are designed to be more traditionally pretty. According to IMDb:

In the "Pastoral Symphony" segment there was originally a scene showing stereotyped black assistant centaurs shining the hooves of white centaurs. The chief of these was Sunflower, who had a very stereotypical look: big, red lips and wild, messy hair. It was not until the 1969 re-release that this was thought to be objectionable, and all subsequent releases until 1980 had an abrupt cut at this point. Every subsequent release after 1990 includes the scene, but with the section blown up so that it only shows the faces of the white female centaurs.

When you’re looking for these crops, they’re painfully obvious. If you want to see a comparison of the two, I found this video:

youtube

Dance of the Hours

“Dance of the Hours” is another quite memorable piece from the film, if only because of the very Disney decision to have the dancers be ostriches, elephants, hippos, and alligators. It’s a lot of fun with nice slapstick that’s just a joy to watch.

A Night on Bald Mountain

One of the darkest and most frightening scenes in Disney’s animated canon, “Night on Bald Mountain” is also tied with “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” for the most memorable segment in the film (but for different reasons). Even 60 years after the film’s initial release Disney gets complaints from parents about this scene being too scary, and who can blame them? The animation is harrowing, with ghosts and demons brought to life in glorious horror and monstrosity.

Bela Lugosi (Dracula) provided reference footage Disney used for the design of Chernabog, possibly the most frightening character the studio has ever created. His image has lived on in such media as “Fantasmic!” at the Disney parks, various fireworks shows, and even as a boss in at least two different Kingdom Hearts games. It leads into the final piece of the film to compliment this hellish imagery...

Ave Marie

The only piece in the film with any vocals, Ava Marie is a nice five minutes to end the film own (especially after the jarring “Night on Bald Mountain” segment). According to IMDb:

The filming of the final "Ave Maria" sequence was plagued by mishaps. To achieve the effect of moving through the scene, several panes of painted glass were used. The whole setup was over 200 feet long and had to be redone three times. The first time the wrong lens was placed on the camera, and the subsequent film showed not only the artwork but the workers scurrying around it. The second time around an earthquake struck the studio, and the shot was once again scrapped. The next morning the shot was redone, the film was shipped to the lab, processed and couriered to the premiere in New York where it was spliced into the final print with only four hours to spare.

Just a truly nice way to end the film.

Fantasia is film history and one of the most critically acclaimed films in the Disney catalogue. But it’s okay if it bores you at times, I was bored at times and I’m a Disney nut. Fantasia is not for everyone but if you’re a fan of animation, music, or are just curious, put it in. Or at least fast forward to your favorite segments.

#Fantasia #Disney #The Sorcerer's Apprentice #Night on Bald Mountain #Mickey Mouse #Epic Movie (Re)Watch #Fantasia GIF #Movie #Film #GIF

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blairtrabbit · 8 years ago

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Thoughts On Voltron Season 2

Can we officially coin a new phrase? I’m going to do it and I think everybody should support me on this.

Whenever a show with a pseudo-serious and consistent tone introduces something absolutely ridiculous that is apparently permanent but never mentioned again by the cast or in the plot it should be called.

VOLTRON’S COW.

Its not like a Simpsons’ episode where everything reverts to normal at the end of each episode. There is no reset. That cow is still on the ship somewhere. That cow is walking the halls of the castle mooing in despair and nobody talks about it.

More under cut (spoilery)

Cons-

1. Did Hunk get dumber? Or did they just treat him like he was dumber? Because in season one he got to do alot more engineering and mechanical stuff. In this season he made 99999.999 more food jokes and one of the most elaborate flatulence jokes I’ve ever seen.Hunk didn’t get close to a solo episode this season. Better luck next time buddy. 2. Did Lance get dumber? Did they just treat his character with less respect? He felt....dumber. He also felt more like a caricature of himself. He had exactly ONE moment of introspection the entire series and that was when he wondered if he was as valuable as the other members. Why wasn’t this explored in an entire episode? Lances only “Lance” episode was the one with the mermaids and it was more ensemble than singular focus. Pidge had to really grow to get her tree weapon but Lance just was like...I LIKE WATER and BAM! Sonic canons! What happened to the Lance that missed his family and earth? Where did that go? I miss that Lance alot. That was my favorite character good ole multi-facet Lance. I hope we see him again I do. 3.This season suffered from an EXTREME case of battle fatigue. Its that feeling you get when you’re watching a movie and there is so much action going on you get bored and apathetic. Alot of superhero movies have this problem but damn Voltron had the curse real bad this time around. Action exhaustion is easily cured by focus on characters and quiet moments or episodes spent on relationships. You know...like the first season.I am not by an stretch saying we need to not have action. We just need more quiet/funny episodes in between. When we got to the mall episode I was like..thank god there won’t be a giant robot fight in this one. Some of the fights felt tacked on because there needed to be some kind of fight QUOTA. Like Dreamworks told the story department that little boys got bored if there was too many feelings. (Is this show for little boys? Who is this show for? alot of people die in it but its not graphic so is it for...Oh whatever.)

4. Hey Voltron.There are more characters than Shiro and Keith you know. This season was the Keith season but as I talked about before it was not a great thing to focus all the attetion on. The show built up all this stuff about his relationship with the Galra and the mysterious knife in all their PAINSTAKINGLY long-winded build-up. Then it all ended with the biggest blue-balls reveal I’ve ever seen in an action show. Nobody. Cared. There were a few jokes by Dumb-Hunk and..some weird uncomfortable out of character racism by Allura and then...resolved? Again, next season better have more Hunk and Lance episodes and by this I mean NOT Dumb-Hunk and Dumb-Lance. I hate those guys. 5.Allura’s behavior was bad and out of character. Also thank god they gave her that five minutes of action at the end because otherwise? All she did the entire season was stay on the ship, yell at some screens and faint while Coran told her she was too weak to do -insert thing-. Do you think Coran ever gets sick of telling her that shes too weak to do -insert thing-. C. NO PRINCESS YOU CAN’T MAKE TOAST IT’LL KILL YOU! A. Don’t be silly Coran I’ll be fine ~makes toast~ AHHHHHH C. PRINCESS NO!!! A. ~faints dramatically~ Then all of the paladins scream in unison and the princesses fainting inspires them to unite and make the best toast the universe will ever know ~en scene~ Allura got one field-trip with Keith that really did nothing for either of the arcs they were going through even tho it SHOULD HAVE. IT kinda went into a little character development and shared bonding but not...enough. Even Allura’s final resolution with Keith felt oddly gross. Keith doesn’t even know how much of his DNA is Galra and even if its 99.9 percent he has been nothing but loyal and trustworthy. Killing my planet or no Allura you acted like a stupid bitch. I love you and your one of my favorite characters but seriously. Stupid. BITCH. Again this felt like Dreamworks telling the story department that little boys don’t like girls. Girls are icky. 6. How about giving us more backstory on those Galra resistance fighters? They seemed pretty interesting and THREE of them died. THREE. They made a lot of sacrifices. Sure would be nice to care about those sacrifices.

Yep. 7. The episode where Thace was being captured intercut with a battle was really not edited well. It went from bone-crushing action to...a guy talking with another guy. The tonal shift was distracting and not well thought out it seems. You would be into the fighting then suddenly back to the espionage you had totally forgotten about. Also Thace was boring. Also? Thace was/is probably Keith's dad. Calling it now.

8. I can’t believe neither Keith nor Hunk noticed the Galra they saved from space-monstro was a lady. She had lady hips and everything. I hope she doesn’t come back as a love interest but you know what she probably will. Pros- 1. Animation is ON POINT SON. This season obviously had a bigger budget and they CG lions were somehow blended even better than the first season. The backgrounds were beautiful and the color palettes just gorgeous. The fight scenes were spectacular at times and very well choreographed. But I am not surprised by any of that honestly. 2. This season did make me laugh. Probably not as much as the first season but I really really liked the Mall episode. The pool/exhaustion (You know the one where Keith and Lance do the Emperors New Groove friendship shuffle nude) episode will have its fans but the mall episode made me laugh a lot. I loved the security guard and the space pirates joke just...all of it. Good episode. WISH THERE HAD BEEN MORE LIKE IT MAYBE. 3. Even if the payoff was done badly at least they finished Keith’s arc. There were some other things they just seemed to leave hanging or didn’t explain very well but they kept on that arc and wouldn’t quit. ~golf clap~ 4. Out of the entire crew I felt the person who grew the most as a character was actually Pidge. Her lion episode was one of the more solid character pieces and we saw her change her mind about a previous bias.(HINT HINT ALLURA) 5. I like how they tried to steer some of the Alien character design away from a human-esque build. I liked the weird blobby maggoty things they saved from the acid planet and the Ohmu-esqe monster where they harvested the crystals. I really liked Slav’s design. It was interesting how he had a beak thing instead of a real mouth but was still very expressive.Make me a toy of Slav please he was like a cute Ghibli monster. I hate to admit how much I liked Slav with his lil pockets and his weird OCD problems. 6. Weird Al was one of the jellyfish mermaid resistance fighters.That is very important to me. Conclusion: I enjoyed the second season but it had some serious flaws and the constant battles became exhausting by the end making the conclusion just not as satisfying as it should have been. In fact thats my overall review.

:Satisfying but not as much as it really should be.

#voltron legendary defender #season 2 #review #glassvines #be my friend who agrees with me #i just had to get all of this out while its fresh on mah mind #cartoon blurbing

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dani-qrt · 6 years ago

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Hopes for New Era of Malaysian Free Speech Are High, but Pending

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — For his cartoons skewering Malaysia’s political elite, Zulkiflee Anwar Haque was hit with nine sedition charges and banned from leaving the country.

But after Malaysians voted in May to oust Prime Minister Najib Razak and his governing party for the first time in the country’s history, Mr. Zulkiflee, who is better known as Zunar, logged into a government database and discovered he was free to travel abroad.

“When the new government came in I expected some changes in human rights and freedom of expression, but I was surprised to see this happen so quickly,” Mr. Zulkiflee said. “At the same time, the ex-prime minister and his wife are on a travel ban now. So, funny, you can say it’s trading places.”

Mr. Zulkiflee’s discovery was a promising early indicator for supporters of the new prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, and his opposition coalition, which had campaigned against Mr. Najib’s tightening restrictions on free speech, among other issues.

Still, some people who were prosecuted for criticizing officials in the past are cautious. They say that while the new government appears to be genuine in its commitment to free speech, they are awaiting concrete action.

“The euphoria is still there,” said Steven Gan, editor in chief of Malaysiakini, an independent news site. “A lot of people really believe that there will be change.”

There are several laws still on the books that have been used to restrict criticism.

One is the British colonial-era sedition law that was brought to bear against Mr. Zulkiflee, the cartoonist. The other is a “fake news” law passed in April under Mr. Najib that made it an imprisonable offense to produce, publish or circulate misleading information — with the government as the ultimate judge of what is misleading. There is also the Communications and Multimedia Act, derisively known here as the “hurt feelings act,” that prohibits offensive messages online and has been used to pursue journalists and dissidents.

“Over the years the repression and the laws that are being used just seemed to increase,” said Linda Lakhdhir, a legal adviser for the Asia division of Human Rights Watch.

“The anti-fake-news law that came out just before the election was very clearly designed to suppress any criticism of the ruling party or of Najib.”

Now, the pace and extent of change is in the hands of Mr. Mahathir and his new government. And if there is concern, it is at least partly because Mr. Mahathir, who previously ran the country from 1981 to 2003, was long known to find one way or another to jail his critics.

Mr. Mahathir’s campaign-speech commitment to free speech did seem to waver right after the election, when he suggested that the fake news law needed to be reviewed rather than scrapped entirely, as his coalition had pledged during the campaign.

But his cabinet officials maintain that the law, which Mr. Mahathir himself had been accused of violating during the campaign, will be repealed.

And Mr. Mahathir has sent other signals that he will uphold free speech. When the police in Langkawi arrested a man on charges of insulting Mr. Mahathir after the election, the new prime minister said he disagreed with the man’s prosecution.

Mr. Gan and the co-founder of the Malaysiakini site, Premesh Chandran, were charged in 2016 under the Communications and Multimedia Act for publishing a video that criticized the former attorney general over his handling of the scandal at 1 Malaysia Development Berhad, a state investment fund. That attorney general, Mohamed Apandi Ali, has been removed and could face charges for protecting Mr. Najib.

While the change in government looks promising for people who are facing charges for criticizing the previous leadership, Mr. Gan said he had niggling doubts about what could come next.

“Promises have been made; the first task will be to ensure they stick to the promises,” he said. “For myself, having covered Mahathir for so long, I think the fear is that he may not stick to his promises.”

Many of Mr. Mahathir’s allies are former rivals, including people he had jailed, including Anwar Ibrahim, his former deputy prime minister who became the dominant opposition leader after the two men had a falling out.

Lawmakers in the new governing coalition say they believe Mr. Mahathir has entered a new stage of his political life, focused on his legacy. Should he revert to his older, more authoritarian tendencies, he would face resistance from coalition partners who hold far more seats in Parliament.

Likewise, the public now expects the new government to follow through, said Eric Paulsen, executive director of Lawyers for Liberty, a Malaysian human rights advocacy group.

Mr. Paulsen, who was charged with sedition in 2015 over a Twitter post that accused a government agency that manages Islamic affairs of promoting extremism, said he hoped the new government would drop the charge. But that has yet to happen, he said.

“As far as freedom of speech is concerned, we shouldn’t be naïve,” he said. “We will see where it goes in the next six months or a year. Things are definitely opening up, and the press is reveling in its newfound freedom.”

The Malaysian artist Fahmi Reza became one of the most public figures in the fight over free speech in Malaysia when his caricature of Mr. Najib as a clown led to his being charged under a law prohibiting online content deemed offensive.

His lawyer, Syahredzan Johan, said the election should mean that Malaysians will now have more freedom to criticize their leaders.

“Since we have a new government that has come to power with the promise of reform, especially with regard to free speech, there is a little bit of an expectation they will not clamp down on dissent,” he said.

But Mr. Fahmi is still cautious. This month, he shared advice on Twitter about what people arrested over online comments should say to the police.

“Although the government has changed hands, the #HurtFeelingsAct still applies,” he wrote in reference to the section of the Communications and Multimedia Act that prohibits offensive messages online. “You can still be arrested and investigated just for a tweet.”

Tommy Thomas, who was appointed this month as Malaysia’s new attorney general, said that repealing “oppressive laws” was one of the government’s first legal priorities. He specifically named the fake news law and a national goods and services tax, adding that “the list of such laws is pretty long.”

Mr. Thomas also declared his support for free speech. “I am happy for everybody to criticize me; it’s part of free speech,” he said. “In fact, I’d rather listen to criticism than praises.”

While Mr. Zulkiflee, the cartoonist, has had his travel ban lifted, he still faces nine sedition charges, a record number for a single person in Malaysia.

He hopes the government will abolish the Sedition Act, but says he is unsure if it will follow through.

“Government is government everywhere,” he said. “During the honeymoon era everything is O.K.; after that they go back to their old tricks. I really hope this is not only a new government but a new Malaysia, with more space for freedom of expression, especially for artists like me.”

The post Hopes for New Era of Malaysian Free Speech Are High, but Pending appeared first on World The News.

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#World News #Today News #Daily News #Breaking News #News Headline #Entertainment News #Sports news #Sci-Tech

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dragnews · 6 years ago