#and end it with the conclusion of the anime

[tossawary]

I finally saw "Transformers: One" and I really liked it! If you like Transformers at all, it's a really fun and solid movie. Not, like, deeply sophisticated by any means, it got a little silly at times, though with the usual amount of on-screen robot death for the kiddos and everyone else to enjoy. But the movie was also compelling and colorful, visually striking and with pretty solid emotional beats, and it's perhaps the first time that I've actually really enjoyed Megatron as a character (as opposed to just being mostly neutral) out of what TF stuff I've seen. His voice actor really did a great job.

I wasn't sold on the animation, exactly, the first time that I saw the trailer. I do love stylized 3D generally, but I was still a little dubious with how shiny everything looked. Walked out of the movie at the end honestly loving the overall style choices: the still frames of the movie sometimes looked like really, REALLY well-done photographs of toys / photoshop edits of toys, and I liked it? Like if video game animation and stop-motion done with Transformers action figures had a really vibrant baby. Reminded me of an "I Spy" book for some reason. The backgrounds looked really great. It was different! And neat! I enjoy things that look a little unique.

It was fun to see what felt like really fresh takes on Optimus and Megatron. Like, I'm not married to any particular canon, so I don't really care about lore and characterization overhauls with new continuities, since TF has been doing that for a long time now anyway. I just want any given continuity to own its choices. It was funny to see Optimus as a "information and mobility and freedom of choice should be available for all! and I am going to pursue those things with the stupidest fucking stunts and schemes you've ever seen" guy and Megatron as a "believe wholeheartedly in suffering for the system until its deceptions are stripped away" guy. It felt almost like a role reversal sometimes, with certain lines, which was cool, but the conclusions felt very natural. Elita and Bee were also fun.

I liked how alien and scary the Quintessons looked compared to everything else. Cybertron as a constantly shifting planet was a fun and visually striking choice. Of course, the worldbuilding quickly starts to fall apart if you poke it too hard with a stick (intrigued as to what the hell was happening with Starscream and company's backstory), and I had some personal quibbles with the ending, but that's normal for TF stuff. I liked how fast-paced the movie was, I thought the humor worked better in context than it did in the trailer, and the action scenes were all a lot of fun. It was super cool to see them actually transforming and shifting between forms and into hybrid forms during fights.

Overall, it was entertaining! I'll probably go see it again for the visuals. I wouldn't mind seeing more of this continuity.

[frankotalk]

squidward voice i have GOT to make a reki/nemu doujin

[liliumofthevalleyy]

THIS PANEL HURTS ME TO THIS DAY.

So upset the anime left it out, too. Just the first third (quarter?) of the panel explains a lot about William's guilt and how much the Final Problem was visibly weighing on him.

[super-paper]

ALL FOR ONE REALLY IS THAT GUY. HE HAD THE MOST WINS AND SATISFYING CONCLUSIONS YIPEE

if someone had told me back when i first started mha that AFO would end up being one of my faves + also end up being one of the only characters to not get completely derailed-slash-assassinated by mha's grand finale-slash-epilogue i would've laughed but like

here we are 😬

[caw4brandon]

How to End a Story

Stories are often told through two styles. It's either a recollection of something that has already happened. Or, it's an ongoing event happening to the character's life.

The story can be told through just one main character or multiple characters but like all stories. They have to end. Let's discuss the ending of three shows that I recently watched. (I'll try not to get into the spoilers)

- They're Not just Frogs -

< Amphibia > by Matt Braly; follows three girls; Anne, Sasha and Marcy who stole a mysterious music box that transported them into another world of talking frogs, toads, newts and other horrifying monsters.

Our main character is Anne Boonchuy who found her temporary home with the Plantars; Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly. A small family of frogs who took Anne in and helped her better understand the world. The show is good at using little segments to build the world. Such as a mind manipulation sentient spore, the divisions between the main races and the mystery behind the music box.

Story-wise, the show tried to make the flow of events happen at a nicer pace. Season 1 was used on Anne to better understand the world and how things have changed between her friends. Season 2 used that change to add another twist to their relationship. As the seasons progress, the cast slowly expands.

The show eases in the main trio and their new friends. Some episodes foreshadowed what was coming for the characters, and some felt pointless. With a cast that big, it would slow the story down but surprisingly, it felt okay.

You get to spend some time with them, learn what makes them tick, what changed them and how they felt about the current state of the story. As a person who had some regrets in life, I really liked Sasha Waybright's development. She went from someone who took charge to becoming a character who matured into a better person. Giving her time to improve, showed that she improved but is still a work in progress.

As far as the ending goes, I felt a little bittersweet. I liked that it ended and that the big arc of the main trio is resolved but I would really like to see an expansion for how they deal with all the events they went through as it was rather traumatic. Thankfully, we have fan artists for that!

- Eat This Sucka!!! -

It would be impossible to avoid spoilers when < The Owl House > by Dana Terrace was at its peak. Spoilers were happening left and right!

Context, The Owl House follows the outcast teen; Luz Noceda who was meant to go to a summer camp. On the day she was about to go. Luz got distracted by a thief who went through a mysterious door that led Luz into the Demon Realm.

The series takes on a familiar arc where the outsider; Luz learns the ways of the witches but with her own creativity and innovation. Luz also resides under the care of the Owl Lady; Eda Clawthorne, King and Hooty (The house itself)

As the seasons progress, Luz helps the other witches her age improve and come out of their shells. Importantly, she finds new friends she never had in the human realm.

The Owl House is a show of obviously coded Queer characters and individuals that don't fit with the norm. Dana is a genius that never made a big fuss over the fact that some characters are openly Queer. Although the studio; Disney tried to limit the screentime to avoid public outcry.

The show is my first-ever witness to openly Queer characters being completely normal about it instead of being preachy. Perhaps this has to do with the title; Demon Realm.

"Where the general belief of the overzealous conservatives in a so-called Good and Righteous God thinks that's where Queer people and other abnormal people belong."

The main villain; Belos tries his hardest to "purify" the realm by limiting how witches use magic and violently persecute anyone who opposes these new rules. It's a symbolic view of the Puritan tyrant. That their ways are destined to be divine when it was all a ruse to further their own personal agenda.

The show suffered a mess of developments as Disney has a strong Anti-Queer policy with their shows. But Dana, the sneaky bastard that she is. (he says affectionately) Slipped in undeniable proof that the characters are proudly Queer and the Puritian miserably fails.

The ending was pure cinema! The show uses Luz's perspective to show that kids can have their own complexities and what we may think is good may not be what is right for said person. The show also displays good values of being open to change, that it's never too late to right the wrongs and Weirdos Gotta Stick Together.

- The Freaky Friends -

We finally came to my favourite show of this batch. < Hilda > by Luke Pearson is a fun and adventurous show about a young girl who loves adventures living in a world that is brimming with magic. I would like to talk more about it but I've already covered that in [The Beautiful World of Hilda]

For the sake of this post, I'm only focusing on Season 3. The final season of the series. While the show is not as plot-driven as the latter mentions. I think there is much to be said about the breath of fresh air Hilda brings to the table.

Hilda has a special place in my heart for how she managed to bring wonder and joy into my viewing experience. This season, took on a more ominous turn where the adventures get deadlier and the stakes get higher in this little world of the blue-haired adventurer.

Season 3 was commented on by the viewers as "underwhelming and inconclusive" and that it tore its own "fan theories" apart. Personally, I loved that the showrunner revealed everything and also nothing because that's the point.

Hilda is not about a big mystery, it's a pure adventure and curious exploration of the mythology surrounding Trollberg and the rest of the world in Hilda. The feeling of fulfilment but also, melancholy that the series has ended is in my opinion, the best conclusion.

Admittedly, I didn't know how to end the post. I just wanted to get my thoughts out about these three shows and how it ended. It feels like the end of another era. A close to another chapter for animation and the stories it can tell.

These three shows; Amphibia, The Owl House and Hilda proved that animation is still taking new heights but still maintains the charm of what stories are. A good ending where the arc may be over but the adventures will still carry on.

It's been a fun and tear-jerking journey with Hilda, Luz and Anne. Their worlds are unique and brimming with excitement that I haven't felt in years and a desire to catch up more.

I'll miss them dearly but hey, such is the life of an adventurer. Don't be sad that it's over. Be happy that it happened and above all. Go make your own stories!

[inksandpensblog]

We completely misinterpreted the hug scene

I was going to make this into a nice, well-composed essay, with each section talking about a different aspect of the episode's construction or execution, and about narrative theming and character arcs, and about why so many people thought this scene was enough to ruin the episode for them. I was going to do that, but then it took me eleven hours to try and narrow down what the actual problem with the scene was, when taken into context with the entire rest of the episode and episode 29; and then another three hours to realize what the actual intent of the scene had probably been and why nobody, including myself, seemed to have picked up on it (except for Lui and @k1ttyadventurer apparently-). So instead of the nice essay, you're getting a conceptual overview of my entire thought process, from beginning to end, as I tried to figure out the deeper reasons behind why everyone hated this scene so much, and then why we all had it wrong. You're welcome.

For the sake of internal consistency, I'm invoking author's bypass and using the names my server-mates and I have picked up for these characters. King shall henceforth be known as Mango, his child as Apricot, Purple's dadfigure as Cobalt, and Purple's momfigure as Orchid.

--

What started me on this path, was this thought: We didn't like Mango's reconciliation with Purple, but aside from pacing issues, Mango's arc (thematic, character, narrative, etc.) is pretty solid. So if the problem isn't with Mango's side, it must be with Purple's.

So, what was wrong about the way Purple's arc was written? Was it just that reconciliation scene in episode 30, or was it something from back in episode 29 that didn't show its full implications until now?

But, again, Purple's arc in episode 29 alone is pretty solid. So, the problem was just the reconciliation scene. And, again, for Mango's arc the scene works, it's only for Purple's that it doesn't.

So, what's wrong with it? Does this scene contradict episode 29 in some way? That's how a lot of us felt, at first, I think. Purple learned last episode that he didn't need acceptance from Cobalt, and he follows through on that in this episode, choosing to do what HE thinks is right and not what he thinks will earn him approval, and his reward is...symbolic acceptance from Cobalt? It didn't make sense, and sat wrongly with many of us.

--

But I still couldn't pin down why this didn't work, so I circled back. Maybe it was the relationship dynamics? Was that why many of us didn't like the idea of Mango being Apricot's father instead of their older brother, at first?

--

But then I noticed something amazing: if you watch the episode while viewing Apricot as Mango's sibling, and then watch it while viewing Apricot as Mango's child...nothing about Mango's arc actually changes, on a thematic level. It all still works, no matter which interpretation you go with.

Why, then, is the distinction given so much emphasis? Why is it important that we know that Apricot is canonically Mango's child, if it doesn't change anything about Mango's story either way?

Because what it DOES change, is the implied dynamic between Mango and Purple, and the number of inverse parallels in their stories.

--

I also think that at this juncture it's important to note that Mango seeing Apricot in Purple is something nobody seems to have had a problem with, even people who didn't like the episode. It's literally just Purple seeing Cobalt in Mango that people had issues with. Purple's side of the story, again, is the one that seems to be flawed in either its construction or its execution.

--

Now, while the status of who Apricot is, to Mango, doesn't influence Mango's story much, something about Apricot that does hold heavy sway over Mango's story is Mango seeing Apricot in Purple. And, since this seems to be paralleled by Purple seeing Cobalt in Mango,  we'd naturally expect this element to have an equally weighty effect on Purple's story. But what does Purple seeing Cobalt in Mango actually DO, for Purple's story?

--

@kikoqueenofrats and @luizastarry mentioned how after seeing Mango's backstory, seeing him be likened to Cobalt felt wrong. Specifically, that if Mango was meant to become a new parental figure for Purple, then having him become the new Cobalt, instead of, say, the new Orchid, felt really wrong, given how poorly Cobalt treated Purple (and, in my opinion, given how well Mango appears to have treated Apricot, whom he had recently likened to Purple earlier in the scene).

This is when Lui first brought up the idea that maybe the hug scene wasn't supposed to be a comparison after all, but was actually supposed to show how Mango and Cobalt were different. @iluvylalevu brought up pacing issues again, as a possible reason why the idea wasn't communicated clearly enough to the audience. Then they both discussed how some different body language from Purple in reaction to Cobalt's approach would've gotten this story point if it was indeed the intended point of the scene across to the audience a lot better; made the irreconcilable differences between Cobalt as Purple knew him and Mango as whoever he became over the course of this episode a lot clearer. 

I missed what Lui had already figured out, though, because my eyes caught on the body-language conversation, and it made me remember something: Cobalt, again and again, no matter what, forcing Purple to get up again when he fell.

--

So, I muted the video, and watched the hug scene again, and observed Purple's body language. He doesn't look like he's expecting he'll need to fight, but...in my opinion, it doesn't look like he's expecting a hug, either.

--

...maybe what he was seeing, during that moment in episode 30, hadn't been Cobalt turned around and returning to accept him, like he'd learned to stop yearning for in episode 29. (And really, would it be in-character for Purple to imagine his dad doing that? I think he knew his father better than that.) Maybe he’d seen Cobalt coming to admonish him, again. He had just defied Mango, after all, and then failed to stop him. And Green and the others weren’t here, to accept him regardless of his failure. And Orchid wasn’t here to catch him, all that was left were petals. And when it wasn’t Orchid standing over him to shelter him, it was always Cobalt, looming. But he knows it’ll be worse, if he stays on the ground. So he gets up.

And then the hug closes in, and Cobalt is gone, and it’s Mango.

--

The episode isn’t trying to compare Mango to Cobalt, like some questionable construction and execution choices for the scene led audiences the web over to believe. Instead, it’s contrasting them. Mango isn’t “the better Cobalt,” he isn’t “who Cobalt should’ve been.” He isn’t “the Cobalt Purple needs,” because episode 29 established that what Purple NEEDS is to get out from under the shadow of Cobalt’s expectations. Mango isn’t Cobalt. Mango is Mango. And Mango accepts Purple, not because of anything Purple did, and not even because he saw Apricot in Purple; the only time Mango saw Purple as Apricot was in the wall drawing, never when they were looking directly at each other, never the same way that Purple mistook Mango for Cobalt. Mango accepts Purple, because he’s Purple. Just like Green said his friends would.

Which is much less of a rancid vibe than what we’d all thought we were seeing, when all of us most of us first saw the episode.

--

I'd like to thank my server-mates for letting me figure this out, and for asking me to make sure it's shared.

[katsukis-bakugo]

seeing people praise the ending for attack on titan - or worse, er*mika and how "tragic" it supposedly was - is depressing

[briebysabs]

Seeing some people interpret the ending as “everything was pointless what’s it all for” greatly ignored the message behind Armin and Zeke’s conversation.

And it’s a very important one. There is meaning to life even if the cycle never ends. Enjoy the moment, appreciate the world. Find the love. As Erwin said, we all die. But does that make our lives and lives of our comrades meaningless? No.

This world is cruel but very beautiful.

[lyril]

dungeon meshi is so crazy though like you would never think "oh, i've got it! falin and izutsumi foil each other" on your own when they don't really interact unless you're either really paying attention or are like several layers deep in analysis, but both of their arcs in fact are about autonomy and agency, the ability to choose and to not be controlled by others. not only do they respond completely differently to those circumstances but they also learn and go forward with the opposite lesson in the end — falin needs to start making choices for herself and what she wants, and izutsumi can't only make choices for herself and what she wants, in order for the both of them to live happy and fulfilling lives

[ilovereadingandstuff]

Reconsidering what I explained in my last post here about RinHaru's relationship up to season 2, now i feel like I've seen most of the whole picture:

Rin is quite devoted to his relationship with Haru. I mean, their friendship and rivarly.

I noticed that Rin was the one to mostly make the moves, demostrate and say out loud his feelings for Haru (to the point that was kinda obvious and even Sousuke take note of that).

While, in the other hand, Haru...I feel like he's autistic or something.

Haha.

And I'm not saying this in a derogative meaning or with intentions of hurting anyone!! I'm hoping to not be that ignorant for using a term that does not apply here (correct me if that's the case)...but what I'm trying to say is that, actually, this treat of his character is just endearing: he doesn't speak that much, he's always straight-forward, silent and less expressive than others...this treat is one of the reasons why people like him so much, also something I like about him a lot, but to not lose the main topic: I think that's one of the reasons why I felt so one-sided his relationship with Rin.

I noticed that, after having to share much more time with Rin than the past time after their winning at final S1, especially in the movies, Haru was much more expressive both in speech and actions than before. And also, that makes sense!

S1 is him and Rin's conflict, mixed-up with the past-present and the construction of the clubs. This season was quite deppressing, in a way because of so much sour feelings in each character (mostly Rin and Haru) for their complications, so their 'happy side' was touched mostly at the end.

S2 they were focusing on their future and their own problems with the competitions and their respectives groups (alongside with Sousuke's story and Makoto's heavy participation). They were quite far from each other because their interactions were not a neccessity for the plot, and again, their 'happy side' and important interactions were handled mostly at the end.

S3 was heavely about Ikuya and Haru's story (that, at least, 7 episodes), and about their preparation to reach global levels. They were, still, a little much far from each other because their interactions, again, were not needed for the plot at that moment.

So, finally with the movies, the circumstances were the ones where they were going to interact with the other on one way or another. At the end, they were literally competing against each other, in the same group, against the same people (Albert, the other gringer/blond guy which I don't remember his name but was a hard swimmer also). They had quite a lot more meaningful interactions because they were together at the end of the day, participating in the same game...and while it was beautiful, I felt like finally I could see the reciprocity of Haru's feeling for Rin in terms of their relationship.

They were rivals after all, friends that worry for each other, that searched for the other when something bad happened, that supported, admired and inspired the other to be their best. And, something more beautiful, is that they wanted that. Both of them: To be together in that, racing to win. And they did, they won...and even after time passed and they met again in Bulgary...they kept swimming together.

I still feel that Rin is more vigorous when it comes to the relationship, but Haru's side is clearer now and I think I can say that, yes, this was a rivals to friends, meant to be, and they're both into it.

Thanks for reading this, which I consider to be one of the many internal disputes I have when watching two characters I like too much and I also ship them together.

[you-can-be-what-you-want-to-be]

I love you 12 episode shows I love you 26 episodes shows from the 90s and early 2000s that still somehow bother to have monster of the week and filler, I love you five and three season shows that run exactly how long the story is supposed to be. I hate you Netflix making all shows short and canceling to get out of paying workers. I hate you HBO for selling all your stuff as a tax write off. I hate you reboots. I hate you “but it’s with their kids”. I hate you 24 season long shows that were meant to end in season six.

[hungnitan]

HSR x Fate UBW coming in Q3 2025 !

(I write these in mind for anyone doesn't know Fate series at all)

For now it's unknown will it come with stories or just skin or full pack with playable UBW character

Not long ago HSR had interview with FGO team, the magazine only release their Q&A but considering both side love each other project, these collab shouldn't really suprising. If there's suprising fact is why only UBW not FGO directly ? Since there is no info about collab details, let's make some analysis for now :

FGO especially Fate series is really big world ! If you need comparasion, it's not only Honkai Impact world but all Hoyoverse become one and you need to know at least a bit of each title to make sense about Fate series !

Continuing point above, which is the reason they gave us years for this collab ! Their developer consider years should be enough for player to quick read most Fate series franchise (lol)

Fate as whole already into their 20 years old now so it's kinda impossible for anyone to learn that series from start (even I only know fifty percent of it). So to make it simple, they just pick their well known franchise but not making players too confused about their world building which is Fate Stay Night. UBW is decent choice considering what's happened with other two.

If anyone need comparasion, UBW kinda like GGZ in term of popularity and reminiscing (lol) while FGO kinda like former Genshin in term of popularity.

I kinda saw FGO pretty desperate nowdays or maybe they're already out of idea to promote Fate series onward. For anyone doesn't know, FGO was the king of mobile gacha games but after Genshin release their revenue drop sharply and with more Chinese gacha games out lately, you can say now it's their lowest situations so to be honest Fate series feels like gonna dying sooner or later which is this collab came.

I can say for sure that this collab came from HSR side since those otaku ops growth like now while watching/reading Fate series (lol) so I think there's no way HSR or even Fate team will slack off especially for storytelling since it's Fate main selling (if there's one for collab later lol)

Onto collab prediction since it's specifically UBW, means the main character is either Rin or/and Emiya. Maybe anyone still not read questionable leaks but there's info this collab need two version to finish means there's at least four and max six new character avaliable later. Considering UBW stories, I can think of Saber and Gilgamesh or maybe Kirei can join the roaster too.

Now for everyone who doesn't know Fate series and need pointer for later collab, first please watch Fate Stay Night, it have three titles with same story premise but different PoV with different ending (Fate Stay Night 24 episode -> Fate Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works 1 movie -> Fate Stay Night Heaven's Feel 3 parts movie). Next it's Fate Stay Night prologue, Fate Zero 24 episode and you're good to breakthrough the collab only.

Sounds simple right, which is the reason they choose Unlimited Blade Works for collab. If FGO, you could swarm yourself with 9 years FGO lore materials + other works with and without "Fate" titles on it (lol)

[vaugarde]

pokeani moments that exist purely to make Me miserable:

the line where they call ash's oshawott a throwaway pokemon in the unova league so they're just flat out saying they think it's a worthless pokemon

to thine own pokemon be true (extra angst points for me bc ambipom was my second favorite on the team at the time)

the granddaughter of the guy who trains gliscor calling gliscor pathetic and weak to her face despite gliscor being an extremely sensitive pokemon

pretty much everything about that gible

blue episode (favorite color but they made it a fetish somehow and also dewott and brionne and meowstic are all there and its so bad)

boxing heracross immediately. also that battle frontier episode where it's literally the only returning ash mon (barring torkoal i think but i dont count it bc its native to AG) to get humiliated onscreen

pidgeot returning but gliscor didn't even show up in the miniseries despite being an Actual Character

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Y'all, I think I've figured it out. Operating on the assumption that the finale is indeed an alternate timeline from the manga, then someone could have written on a page of the Book to rewrite reality to lead to the events of the finale sometime during season 5's events. In other words, this would explain the INCONSISTENCIES with things that were established or at least heavily implied/assumed prior and in the manga: Chuuya being a real vampire and not in control, nothing being planned, Dazai giving sincere speeches, Dazai really being shot and saying his "last words", Fyodor's hand not being injured, soukoku not killing Fyodor while in Meursault because they literally couldn't and Dazai needing Sigma to discover Fyodor's secrets because of that, Fukuchi's goal not being one that relied on Fukuzawa being alive since he clearly intended to kill him, etc etc too many more to count

Events and explanations in the finale feeling so contradictory and out of place, and characters feeling so ooc and not acknowledging any discrepancies, makes perfect sense if you consider that, up until a certain point, this was our canon timeline — until someone rewrote the ending of the arc with the Book, starting with Fyodor injuring his hand...! We only have one example of the Book being used to majorly rewrite reality in the manga, and when that happened, the main players — the ADA members — were aware that reality was changed, even though they did have memories of the new rewritten reality. BUT, Nikolai was unaware of this during that scene, and so also were all law enforcement because of the clause written on the page accounting for that, so what if the same thing could happen in this instance, to prevent all our characters in the finale from being aware that things had changed? We literally saw someone writing Nikolai's dialogue for him; imagine someone doing that during Dazai's final speech in the episode, and during all the rest of it! I don't know who this would be, but possibly a mysterious third party who got a hold of a different page from the Book somewhere and wrote things to turn out this way, because they wanted the ADA to win against Fukuchi and Fyodor? Maybe even because... this is the only way they can win?

Remember Atsushi asserting this plan, and how silly and too simple it sounded? What if someone else ended up doing just that, writing their own simple outcome for the ADA to win (as a narrative of course, which is probably why it had to start with the major catalyst of, again, Fyodor injuring his hand)? Additionally, if that's what happened, maybe the ending of the finale is a sort of side effect to the Book being used improperly in this way, leading to a destabilization of the timeline or a mishmash of other timelines into the anime one, leading to the alternate Fukuchi and Akutagawa we see there?

[aeroplaneblues]

lets raise a daughter together, be a ride or die type of found family and live a normal peaceful life but no homo 😘✨

[meandmyechoes]

maybe it’s the lighting or angle or just the softer-feature style but i genuinely thought her cheeks look fuller on the left and went ‘my baby is eating’ and started crying