#book to visual adaptations are too different

[ponypickle]

I wish book to show/movie adaptations still kept the exact plot points. I watch these because I want to enjoy the story in another format, in this case, visual. I *DON'T* want to be surprised suddenly because the adaptations writer decided to change something because if you're adapting a story, why are you changing it, why not say 'inspired' by this and write your own fanfiction like story like the vampire diaries did where only the characters are the same and the plot is widely different.

I just don't understand the reason for it, why can't it be like twilight where the story is pretty much word for word with slight changes, why are full plot points written out and character moments changed for it, I want it EXACTLY how it was in the books, I don't want Percy, Annabeth and Grover to know exactly what is going to happen before it happens so they can give me the 2 minute info dump BEFORE the scene happens give me the info dump AFTER they get suprised like they do in the books. WHAT WAS THE REASON. Shockingly, this makes the movies more watchable for me because at least that was an entirely different story posing as a Percy Jackson movie while the show is ACTUALLY trying to follow the books while utterly failing because they want us to be 'suprised'. They make a children's book dumber for the audience at home by removing any dramatic moments with monsters because they want to info dump.

They did the same with Bridgerton season 2 (which I am currently watching for the 1st time after reading the books), they kept the characters as being the same and the storyline the same until a certain point and then they decided the book wasn't good enough and decided to go with a love triangle which ruined the sisters relationship from the books. I wanted to see the bee scene, the library lightning scene, the desk ankle biting kate scene, and the thing is if they decided on another trope to build up kate/anthony (removing the ugly love triangle) and kept all those scenes it would've been different enough to be watchable without basically being a fanfiction with the books names on top of it.

They could've changed seasons 1 SA scene, at least if they were going to ignore book 2's whole plot. They could've pulled the 'oh no, Daphne is pregnant, even with Simon's pulling out', which leads to the same fight and separation they feel, but instead, they kept it. So why the changes, why, I don't get it.

[cabeswaterdrowned]

I don’t understand so many lines of thought certain people had going into this show but one of ones I understand least is people who thought they were going to watch the whole affair storyline unfold not only with no physical intimacy, but also no emphasis on them being attracted to each other, and also no one actively flirting with anyone else like????

[petermorwood]

A day or so ago, @dduane reblogged a long post - a Canadian magazine article from 1966 - about the Americanisation of Winnie the Pooh.

It's an Impressive Tirade in which the writer (Sheila H. Kieran) says what she thinks about letting Walt Disney have a free hand with a foreign Children's Classic.

There's mention of the previous Adaptation Endeavour, "Mary Poppins" (1964) but it's very brief, perhaps with an eye to limited column space - or maybe because All Was Said Already in a previous review.

There is, however, rather a lot about the English characters being given American accents, and about the inclusion of a new character, an American gopher (which, the article suggests, looked vague enough to the Kieran children - its target audience - that it might as well have been a mole or a beaver).

*****

And that reminded me of another bit of American Animalisation done by Disney, in the 1949 short "The Wind and the Willows" - though in this instance it's visual since the voices are, for the most part, suitably British.

They include Basil Rathbone as narrator, and a horse who sounds like George Formby. In some scenes the horse actually looks like Formby, so this voice may not be entirely accidental.

Badger, however, sounds like a Scotsman - the worst kind of stage Scotsman at that - rather than how I used to "hear" him as a C. Aubrey Smith-voiced crusty retired colonel.

That, however, is just personal preference.

However, Disney's Badger is not a proper British (more correctly, European) badger, Meles meles. Here's one, which though not the most amiable of beasts in reality, still manages to look fairly affable ("I say, old chap, whatever are you looking at?")

Instead he's a North American badger, Taxidea taxus, which not only has a less affable expression ("Hey, bud, you. Yeah, you. You lookin' at me? You lookin' at ME?") but, more important, different stripes.

Here's Disney's version alongside mine. The correction took about five minutes of pixel-tweaking.

Disney's animators could have got it right from the outset just as easily, because I'm pretty sure the reference library which provided costume info for Rat's tweed Norfolk jacket and britches included picture-books of natural history.

Come to that, any "The Wind in the Willows" after the unillustrated first edition would have been enough, and there must have been at least one copy lying around for story adaptation and scene-description purposes.

The first illustrated edition came out in the UK in 1931, and its artist was, at author Kenneth Graham's request, the very same E.H. Shepard who had illustrated the Pooh books just a few years previously...

...while this Arthur Rackham colour plate is from an edition published in 1940 in New York.

So those books wouldn't have been impossible for Disney to get.

The problem, however, is that if a word ("badger", for instance) is well known to mean one thing here, it may be Too Much Trouble to find out if the same word means something else there, with the result that finding out can sometimes come as rather a surprise.

Check the UK / US meaning of "suspenders" to see what I mean... ;->

[just-some-user-hunny]

The Cannibal dragon headcanons ...

(art credit for middle image, ig: dracalyss)

. Cannibal is a huge dragon, the largest of all wild-dragons, but I can't see him being any larger than Vhagar- let alone Balerian the black dread. I imagine he'd be a tad bit smaller than Vhagar- just about. His build is bulky and scarred, a thick neck of scarred obsidian scales, a set of jagged jet-black spikes that run along his spine, and covered in thick taut muscle and hardened flesh. His eyes are a blazing emerald green, teeth sharp and jagged like a shark.

. I also love the idea of him having this 'grinning' look on his face, like a crocodile or the indoraptor from Jurassic world. (His personality screams indoraptor to me, just a mean guy with a nasty lil goblin grin). And with his torn jaw and exposed teeth, it makes him look even creepier and menacing. There's something way too...human about it. Expressive in both his grin and mannerisms.

He's definitely a stare-er too. Something about a monstrously big dragon being unnervingly quiet and observing is uncomfortable, which is exactly the vibes he gives off.

. I like to visualize him as a very 'wild' looking dragon, like how'd you imagine a stray feral cat. His scales are rough and weather-worn, covered in large claw-like scars from fighting and hunting other dragons throughout his life. There's also fanart of him missing a huge chunk of flesh around his jaw and mouth, baring his teeth, which I think looks really cool :) as a young dragon he probably picked off the small and easy dragons, ones that wouldn't put up much of a fight. But as he grew in age and size, he would probably grow cocky and try his luck with larger prey. Due to him being an absolute monster, I'd imagine he'd often come up on top- but not without earning a few disfiguring scars in return.

. Despite never being bonded to a rider before, nor being ridden before in his life (he'd scoff at the mere thought of some little measly human thinking that they could climb upon his back and treat him like a pony), once he bonded with you it was like an instant connection. He is still a little edgy and unpredictable, but there is one thing for certain and that is he is always as gentle as possible with you. He'll press his body into the dirt if it allows you to climb on and off safely, craning his claws and jaw for you to step upon.

. He wouldn't wear a saddle, so you'd have to learn to ride him bareback. Thankfully he has many jagged scales and spikes to cling onto, but to be on the safe side, you'd have special riding gear to wear to help cling on. Rougher gloves and boots and trousers, it certainly helps, even if it's just a little. If anything the fact you ride bareback is a testament of your bond, showing how close and in sync you both are.

. The biggest issue with him would be his... diet, and how he'd have to adapt once he begins to hang around dragonstone more often. I'd imagine he wouldn't eat much, adding to the unpredictability of him and when he would hunt, but as his rider you'd have to supply him at least livestock every week to keep him happy and saturated. Cows, horses, large livestock due to his sheer size.

. He flies quite similar to Vhagar. His form is heavy, and although strong, he is lumbering.

Although at his age now he'd be a rather ancient dragon, he wouldn't really show his age besides a few moments where he just wants to curl up in his little cave upon his ✨private island ✨ to take a nap. In his youth he was most likely a very quick dragon, like a stalking panther striking upon his food. (Being younger dragons and hatchlings). I've seen someone write about him being a silent hunter (I'll reblog and credit once I find them), but that's such a neat idea for his character! He's survived from hunting his own kind, so he's going to hunt differently. Smarter.

. His fire in the books is described as green, and that's just too cool to swap it out with normal fire. Blazing emerald flames that engulf earth and prey, unnatural and mystical. It'd be very distinctive as well, whoever finds their fields or flocks of trees burning and crackling in a blaze of green fire, they'd know that the cannibal had just been there.

. Personality wise, I feel like he'd be cruel and sadistic, but wise and grumpy. Probably cocky as well, for having survived on his for so long and through unconventional means.

He's not a hardheaded bully, he's very tactical when it comes to facing challenges, but at this point he's such a huge threat he may be blinded by his own ego and emotions. If something were to happen to his rider, he'd make sure you'd get avenged. He's ride or die, quite literally. He'll burn everything down for you, because he feels strongly for the one human he feels he can trust. His grief is not silent or tearful, it's angry.

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era: the visual novel (a fan project)

On a whim, I've decided to finally just publicly release this project that I've had laying around for two years at this point, for Dazai's birthday today. It was originally made for my very dear friend @letmereachforthestars , when I first introduced her to the series and wanted her to be able to read my favorite BSD light novel in an easier-to-read format. You need a computer to be able to play. The details and links are under the cut:

If you've never played a visual novel before, it's basically a novel in the form of a video game. Text will appear line by line, one a time on the screen, and it will be accompanied by relevant background visuals, music, and sound effects, to make the reading experience more immersive, and more stimulating than just reading from a book. Some visual novels have actual gameplay elements to them, and some are just books and nothing else (oftentimes dating sims/choose-your-own-adventure novels), the latter of which this is. If you've played the mobile game Bungou Tales/Mayoi, the story sections of that game are basically mini visual novels.

This game was made with screenshots and music from the anime, sound effects from the anime and Bungou Tales and free sound effect online sources, as well as graphics and fonts and other assets from Bungou Tales and other official BSD art (particularly the official anime soundtrack cd covers). The script is taken entirely from the official Yen Press translation of Dark Era, with the exception of about two or three iconic lines that I used different translations of because I felt like they had more impact. Additionally, at the very, very end, I added on the original ending scene from the Dark Era stage play and wrote a few fanfic lines of my own to accompany it you can tell because they are very cringe and don't match Asagiri's writing style.

Before playing the game, there are a few very important things to keep in mind; PLEASE read all this:

I am not a professional in the slightest. I took some coding classes in high school, and have some photoshop skills (when it comes to the design elements of the menus), but for the most part the former wasn't much help here; this was my very first time ever using the Renpy engine, and I made this entirely from scratch. I used my knowledge of playing other visual novels to emulate the kinds of effects and timing that is typical for these games, and I think it turned out pretty well all things considered, but it's still very amateur. This is most evident in the sound effects. The sound effects have no volume consistency between them, and some of them, particularly the gun/battle sfx, can come on very suddenly and be loud. I highly, HIGHLY encourage going into the settings and turning down the sound effects volume (the music should be fine), so that you're not startled by certain sounds when they happen, and for a lengthy time. I wouldn't blame you if you decide to turn the sfx off entirely if's too distracting, honestly 🫠 I am no expert in sound files equalizing and making sound files loop seamlessly, so this was by far the most tedious and frustrating part of the process of making this for me. Hopefully it doesn't ruin the game or break immersion too much if you decide to leave them on (I hope you do, for the rain and clock sounds at least, but again I wouldn't blame you if you can't).

Dark Era is the most faithful light novel adaptation in the anime, but there are still a handful of scenes, mostly fight scenes, that got shaved down significantly. Because of this, there are numerous occasions where I had to simply linger on a black screen or the same screenshot for a long period of time, while tons and tons of narration happens, because there's simply nothing I can show to accompany said narration. This is not ideal, but unfortunately I didn't have much else of a choice in those instances, so I hope it's not too distracting. There are also a few instances of straight-up inconsistencies between the novel and the anime (ex. the fight between Oda and Akutagawa happens in the woods in the novel, but in the anime it's still right outside the art museum), so sometimes what you're reading won't quite match the screenshots I use. Fortunately it's never anything major, but it does happen.

There will sometimes be long, unchanging black screens. Don't worry, the game isn't broken; just wait long enough and it will continue.

Sometimes, a character will get cut off when speaking, and when that happens the dialogue will auto-force to the next line. If you didn't get a chance to see what was said before, check the text backlog/history (in the menu or the H key).

Last but not least, this game was made with the default text speed in mind. Meaning, that when it comes to certain specific scenes, the mood/tone of them, made up of the timing of music, transitions, sound effects, etc, all of it was arranged around the speed at which things progress when using the default text speed. I completely understand if you can't, but if at all possible, please try not to change the text to go too much faster or slower, especially faster, because certain scenes will lose a lot of impact otherwise. If you already know Dark Era, you probably have an idea of some of the scenes I'm referring to. At the very least, during the more high-stakes/intense scenes, please try to play through those all at once without stopping, for the greatest impact based on how I designed the game, and only pause/quit during the slower scenes. There are specific moments that I'm really proud of how they came out, and I'd like for them to have the maximum impact that I intended :') (also note that if you make the text appear instantly, the cut-off dialogue mentioned above simply will not appear at all, and you won't even know to look back for them, so please refrain from making the text instant at the very least)

Ignore the cringe sappy final message

...I think that's everything. With all that out of the way, here are the links for both PC and Mac:

Download the PC version

Download the Mac version

This was a passion project for me for a good many months back in 2022. It started out just as a gift for my friend, but in the end I was really satisfied with how it turned out, despite how tedious and frustrating it was to work on. I've been hesitant to share it with the fandom for all this time because I kinda doubt anyone would really be interested in something like this especially since it's not stormbringer or beast, but someone on discord who tried it told me that I should share it, so here it is. I'm sharing it not just because I'm proud of my work, but because Dark Era is a truly amazing light novel — underrated, in my opinion (yes, I said what I said) — and far better than the anime adaptation, as good as that is, and I want more people to read it. If reading the books is hard for you and you've never read Dark Era before, if I can help just one more person to read it with this, I'll be happy, and consider my job done. 💖

I so desperately want to make more of these visual novels for the other light novels, but sadly, some of them simply aren't possible thanks to how many scenes are missing from the anime, like with Entrance Exam in particular. I've also been waiting with vain, thin hope that Bungou Tales will eventually reach seasons 3 and 4, so I can use their Fifteen and Untold Origins title screens like I did here, if those ever exist. However, I'm also held back thinking about certain scenes that would require some redrawing/drawing additional details to match what's written in the novels. If anyone has any ideas on things I could do to possibly get around these issues, or just thoughts in general about how the other light novels might be tackled, or if you're an artist who can recreate the anime's style and takes commissions/knows someone who does, I'd absolutely love to hear from you! As well as any advice/help on how I can smooth out/improve this project here!

Anyway, sorry for the long wall of text. Thank you for reading all this, if you did, and if you do try the game, please let me know your thoughts; I crave any and all feedback. 💙✨

[lurkingshan]

Love in the Big City Drama: Book Club Meta Round Up

Welcome back, book clubbers! Here is your weekly round up post, which will be updated each Monday for the next few weeks as we work our way through this excellent drama adaption of our beloved novel. Any additional essays that post after today will be added to the list next week, and I'll add on a new section for each part every week as we progress.

Episodes 1-2 (Part 1)

A Ramble: Love in the Big City Eps 1-2 by @solitaryandwandering

Go Yeong's parallel losses by @shinjiikari

Jaehee by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Künstlerroman vibe by @becomingabeing

LITBC Episodes 1 and 2; Differences in Mediums by @starryalpacasstuff

Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Love in the Big City Drama: Episodes 1-2 Book Club Discussion by @profiterole-reads

Love in the Big City, Ep 1 and 2 by @wen-kexing-apologist

Love in the Big City Part 1: A friend is your needs answered by @impala124

Love in the Big City Part 1: It's Gay by @bengiyo

Love In The Big City: Reflections on the Novel, and Episodes 1 and 2 of the Television Series by @waitmyturtles

Love In The Big City series adaptation: Episodes 1 & 2 by @doyou000me

Love in the Big City TV Series Episodes 1 &2: The Loneliness of Conformity and Nonconformity by @twig-tea

On queer loneliness by @poetry-protest-pornography

On the use of Namsan Tower by @lurkingshan

On Yeong and Mi Ae by @lurkingshan

More thoughts on Mi Ae by @shinjiikar1

Part 1 book parallels by @troubled-mind

Responses to discussion questions by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

That Jaehee didn't live here anymore by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

The role of Mr. Splendid by @moutheyes

Thoughts on episode 1 by @stuffnonsenseandotherthings

Softened entry into the story by @avorbl

Use of Noh Sa Yeon's Meeting by @troubled-mind

Episodes 3-4 (Part 2)

A bite of rockfish, taste the universe by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Adaptation choices by @impala124

A Ramble: Love in the Big City Eps 3-4 by @solitaryandwandering

Just another part of the world that was him by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Kdramafication of the story for the screen by @lurkingshan with additional thoughts from @wen-kexing-apologist

LITBC Ep 3-4: What Does Eating Pasta Have to Do With Your Tough Past? by @wen-kexing-apologist

LITBC ep 3 & 4: When they're homophobic but you love them by @starryalpacasstuff

Love in the Big City Drama: Episodes 3-4 Book Club Discussion by @profiterole-reads

Love in the Big City, episode 3 + 4: A Piece Of Rockfish, A Taste Out Of This World by @colourme-feral

Love in the Big City Episodes 3 and 4 by @avorbl

Love in the Big City Part 2: Call me "Blueberry" by @impala124

Love in the Big City Part 2: Go Yeong and Umma by @neuroticbookworm

Love in the Big City Part 2: The Weight of Homophobia by @bengiyo

Love in the Big City TV Series Episodes 3 & 4: Found Family by @twig-tea

Notes on Love in the big city Part 2 (Eps 3-4) by @impala124

On homophobia, remaining closeted, and character foils by @shinjiikar1

On Knowing The Story and Characters (and their trash) Beforehand by @doyou000me

On Yeong's complex feelings for Umma by @lurkingshan

Thoughts about the episodes by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Thoughts on discussion questions by @shinjiikar1

Episodes 5-6 (Part 3)

A Ramble: Love in the Big City Eps 5-6 by @solitaryandwandering

Feelings About the T-aras by @impala124

LITBC locations by @colourme-feral

Love in the Big City by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Love in the Big City Drama: Episodes 5-6 Book Club Discussion by @profiterole-reads

Love in the Big City, Ep 5-6: Visuals to Support Adaptation by @wen-kexing-apologist

Love in the Big City Eps 5 & 6: That Apartment Was Too Small by @bengiyo

Love in the Big City Part 3: Go Yeong and Gyu-ho by @neuroticbookworm

Love in the Big City TV Series Episodes 5 & 6: Kylie Once Again Recontextualizes Everything by @twig-tea

Responses to discussion questions by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Thoughts on Part 3 by @shinjiikar1

Thoughts on Yeong and Gyu-ho's romance by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Yeong in his relationship with Gyu-ho by @lurkingshan

Episodes 7-8 (Part 4)

A Ramble: Love in the Big City Eps 7-8 by @solitaryandwandering

Go Yeong & Gyo-ho after Thailand: Freefall by @impala124

Gyu-ho. My only wish. by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

LITBC Ep. 7-8: Gotta Love an Adaptation by @wen-kexing-apologist

Love in the Big City adaptation changes by @avorbl

Love in the Big City Drama: Episodes 7-8 Book Club Discussion by @profiterole-reads

Love in the Big City Eps 7-8: Always Forward by @bengiyo

Love in the Big City IRL Locations by @colourme-feral

Love in the Big City Part 4: We All Need T-aras in Our Lives by @neuroticbookworm

Love in the Big City TV Series Episodes 7 & 8: Different Flavours of Hope by @twig-tea

Moving on by @avorbl

On Habibi and Yeong by @lurkingshan

The End - LITBC Ep. 7/8 by @shinjiikar1

Tis better to have loved and lost by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Yeong's enduring wish by @lurkingshan

[macinthecaac]

I've seen a lot of mixed opinions and fears about the Project Hail Mary Movie. A lot of people fear that it won't be accurate to the book, that the science will be stretched or dramatized for the sake of an entertaining movie, or that they might change the ending (okay, this one would be GENUINELY horrible), but I have kind of a different opinion on it.

Before reading The Martian, I actually saw the movie first. It wasn't until talking with a friend that it even occurred to me it was based on a book! So I read it; and I was shocked at how different the movie and book were from each other. There were scenes added just for the movie, and plot points left out that were in the book, and the ending was a bit different. Not enough that it completely changed everything, but it was definitely noticeable.

I have my gripes with the movie, but I WILL say this: the movie gave me more insight into Mark Watney. It gave us more scenes that weren't in the book, it changed dialogue slightly to allow for different jokes and a slightly different watching experience. And it made me realize that I don't think movie adaptations are supposed to be a carbon copy of the book; they're supposed to tell a similar story while trying new ideas and perspectives on the characters, and while I definitely prefer the book, I'm glad the movie adaptation of The Martian exists. And my own personal interpretation of Mark Watney is a mixture between his book and movie counterparts.

What I'm really excited for with the Project Hail Mary Movie is the new stuff. New conversations between Rocky and Grace, The Hail Mary gang, actually visually seeing all of these scenes in the book that were once just imagination, now actually on a screen! I'm excited to see planet Adrian up close, I'm excited to see the new jokes they squeeze in, I'm *really* excited to see how they handle Rocky's language. And maybe that'll be a good opportunity for more dialogue and jokes too!

In the end, movies are kind of like a love letter to the original media. And I'm sure when the movie comes out I'll have my complaints and gripes with it. But hey, I'll get to actually see Rocky and Ryland Grace hanging out and being buds on-screen, and I think that's reason enough to be excited.

.... BUT if they do completely change the ending, I'll be pissed. /lh

[elbiotipo]

I mean I love a nice story with a good plot and characters. Good plots, good pacing with good characters that adapt well to a visual medium. I like that, I often try to write that too.

Most literature isn't like that. And it SHOULDN'T be like that either. Not every book needs to have Scenes and Plots you can easily adapt to the screen for the inevitable movie. With the written word, you can play with words and add things that a visual medium just wouldn't allow. It's a different medium with many, many things that make it unique.

Books are just made to be read.

[astro-cattus]

Flatland (The book) is pretty good!

I read Flatland not too long ago, I´m afraid to admit that I saw the 2007 adaptation before I read the book fully. I didn´t change the fact that the movie was a hot mess to me.

At first I chalked it up to be just an indie movie from almost two decades ago, of course the script would be messy and the visuals jarring. But the moment I gave myself the time to read the book in it´s entirety, I realized how bad Ladd missed what the book was aiming to teach, and make fun of. Bigots like him :^/

Not only that, but something that irks me so fucking bad is the whole Chromatists ark in the movie; not only is it extremelly inaccurate to the book. This being A.Square´s retelling of a historical event that happened so long ago, we can´t really take A.Square´s word for it, as it was probably altered to make the Chromatists as "irrational liberals" and the Circular Priests as "the voice of reason".

Bringing this very much innacurate retelling to the present day of Flatland feels to me, like a very poorly made strawman.

I need to mention too, the leader of the Chromatists, an irregular shape. Which could´ve been an interesting approach to the differences between both kindoms. But,, the way he´s characterized really hits me the wrong way, feels extremelly ableist. And just serves to further the point that Ladd Ehlinger didn´t comprenhend the message the book was trying to comunicate.

Or he did, afterall, the Chromatist movement was a in-book version of a human rights movement, as it seeked women´s and irregular liberation and individuality.

To be honest, It could be interesting to explore a Chromatist resurgence in Flatland, the book has plenty of worldbuilding and potencial to have new stories written about it. (I´m yet to hear of a good adaptation though, If you have any good adaptations around this world, I would love to read it!). But not by people like Ladd.

Another thing I would like to mention is how much Ladd butchered A.Sphere´s personality in this movie. I hope I´m not the only one who has this sentiment. A.Sphere is supposed to be humble, he scoffs at the idea of somehow being a supperior, perfect being. He´s also empathetic and patient, things A.Square mentions he associate´s with women, and therefore inferior. Something that is supposed to challenge his view, as he has this notion that A.Sphere is a godly entity.

I believe this was a counsious desition; by scrumbing this character of this personality, now he doesn´t have to challenge A.Square´s (and by proxy Ladd himself) bigoted views.

I can still understand people might´ve grown attached to the character, I trust you have two brains and understand the core message of Flatland regardless.

This just goes to show media literacy is a very crutial skill, specially as an adult.

Anyways, have this quick thingy before I run to my Uni because just now I realized I ranted too much and now I´m late lol

[child-of-hurin]

I'm on episode 4 and unsure how I feel about Netflix's Three Body Problem overall, but I'm pleasantly surprised by a number of things:

If they were never going for an all-Chinese cast, I so far appreciate the attempts at giving it a worldly feel. I like that we hear a lot of different languages and I appreciate that key nationalities --Ye Wenjie and Mike Evans more obviously, but also Sophon's chosen Japanese appearance -- were kept, and I appreciate the diverse cast too, immensely. I feel like it's safe to hope for more even more in-universe diversity. Wondering if we'll see Manuel Rey Diaz lol.

It feels at the same time an obvious solution and a bold move to have the protagonists of each book be friends in this one -- I think it takes away from the insane scope of the series, but OTOH it does facilitate it for the viewer, and allows for more character exploration, which we know is something Western audiences tended to feel was lacking in the original trilogy. I was worried the show would not be able to develop so many characters at once, but by ep 4 I feel the opposite! The cast feels strong too, I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality of the acting. But I had very low expectations.

I was worried an adaptation would water down the discussion of fascism that is ever so present in the book (albeit discreet to the point that many readers say it's not a political book!) but I was pleasantly surprised on that front too... The (purposefully) half-committed discussions about god and violence have hit some mark for me so far, though I'm not entirely sure what mark it was. But it's there!

I wish they had been more bold visually, but I can't complain of the quality of the effects!

If you have any opinions about these topics, I'd be curious to hear about them!

[benkyoutobentou]

Beginner Manga Recommendations for Japanese Learners

It's time, you've done your due diligence in studying. Now it's time to jump into native material. But where to start? Here are a few manga series that I've read that I think would be a reasonable place for a Japanese learner to start their immersion journey.

Disclaimer: I haven't read every series, and the manga that's interesting to me might not be interesting to you. We also all encounter different words as we go along our language learning journeys. A series that I find relatively easy might have you looking up every other word. The trick is to not get discouraged and just keep on pushing through! As with everything, it gets easier the more you practice.

消えた初恋 - アルコ＆ひねくれ渡: This BL series follows a group of four friends and their experiences with love in high school (it also has a drama adaptation that I highly recommend! Available to watch for free on Viki). This series is so silly and just a fun time. The art has great visual gags and it's definitely a series where you can sit down and not even realize that suddenly you've gone through an entire volume and why didn't you buy more of this series to start with? It has furigana on everything, but the characters do speak pretty casually, so there's some slang and less standard language. This series is completed with nine volumes.

佐々木と宮野 - 春園ショウ: This is another sweet BL about Miyano, a high school first year, who catches the eye of an upperclassman, Sasaki. After asking to borrow Miyano's book, the two bond over a shared enjoyment of BL manga. The vocabulary is pretty simple in this one as well, but it does use quite a bit of otaku slang, which can be difficult if you've never encountered it before. It has furigana on everything, though! This series is ongoing with nine volumes and also has a spin off series titled 平野と鍵浦 which is also ongoing with four volumes.

月刊少女野崎くん - 椿いづみ: The first manga I ever read in Japanese! This series follows a high schooler, Sakura, as she confesses to her crush and classmate, Nozaki. However, Nozaki thinks that Sakura is just a fan of his shoujo manga series, and recruits her to be his assistant. This series is so enjoyably silly with a wonderful cast of characters that absolutely steal the show. There's a bit of vocabulary specific to the process of making manga, but it isn't too overwhelming. There's also plenty of casual speech and some great moments that can't quite come out in translation (bonus fact: I actually wrote a paper on this series and how humor is translated in one of my university linguistics class). It also has furigana on everything. It's ongoing with fifteen volumes.

加瀬さんシリーズ - 高嶋ひろみ: This adorable little GL series follows two high school aged girls, popular and athletic Kase and the shy gardener Yamada, as their relationship develops over their high school years. The vocabulary in this one is relatively simple with the exception of some more specific words, but those tend to pop up time and time again. This one doesn't have furigana but I think it's a great introduction to readying manga without furigana! This series is completed with five volumes, but there's an ongoing sequel series called　山田と加瀬さん that currently has three volumes released.

ささやくように恋を唄う - 竹嶋えく: This is a music based GL series about a high school first year, Kino, who tells an upperclassman, Nagi, that she loves her music. Nagi, however, misunderstands this as Kino confessing her love for her. The story follows both the relationship between Kino and Nagi as well as the trials and tribulations of Nagi's band. This is another one without furigana, but the vocabulary tends to be simple enough that I think it's still pretty accessible. It's ongoing with eight current volumes.

かけた月とドーナッツ - 雨水汐: Our last GL, this follows two coworkers, Uno and Satou, and their blossoming relationship in a society that pushes conformity and marriage on women. I really loved the way this series depicted coming into one's sexuality as an adult. Another one without furigana, but simple vocabulary regardless. A possible difficulty with this one might be the office vocabulary, though. This series is completed with four volumes.

[soupdreamer]

i need to lie down

so excited for nimona!!

[lakesbian]

Are there any spesific moments you wish to see be adapted/animated from worm? Do you think your's differ from most others?

i too am unfortunately not immune to the fact that worm is a Big Fucking Book and it's easy to forget or lose visuals that were striking in the moment but some ones i remember really wanting to see drawn in the moment:

THE OIL RIG. taylor literally turning into a bug and being furious with scion scanned like something that should be an iconic fandom visual to me the first time i was reading it, but i would also like to see the bit w/ sveta clinging to the metal rails & weld coaxing her onto him with the sky and sea and disaster as backdrop

this visual of alexandria:

also from the echidna fight, when the part of the-thing-that's-still-getting-called-noelle that still looks like noelle is just entirely lopped off....and then regrows, but with her arms wrapped around and attached to her chest like a flesh straightjacket, and she sort of keels back and is tipped up at the sky. incredible visual and also i love it as an indicator of like. Ohh. It's been getting called noelle because it used to be noelle, but she's long gone now. reports are in: ship definitely not theseus's anymore

the part in arc 17 where krouse and to my memory jess find a pet bird in the house they've broken into bashing its head against its cage over and over again and they're like hm that can't be good

when the travelers are crawling across the now-horizontal apartment building with krouse carrying noelle on his back and the simurgh is like. Right there where they can see her. fanart of this please please please youre nothing

there is probably more i could think of if i pondered longer but alas i do have tasks. no idea how different or not they aren't from other people though

[broken-risk-assessment-module]

The Adaptation That Shall Not Be Named aside, I had an idea for an interesting way you could represent ART in a visual medium: it's cameras.

We know that, in any visual medium, what The Camera (be that literal in film or figurative in animation) chooses to show and focus on is important. Its the primary way the piece of media communicates to its audience, and the framing of a scene tells us a lot about how we're supposed to interpret it. What is on screen and how it's on screen convey authorial intent.

Take all that, and turn "authorial intent" into character expression (in this case, for ART). A conversation between Murderbot and ART that would traditionally be shot-reverse-shot becomes shot-ARTPOVshot, so both shots would be of Murderbot, but one would be from The Camera and one would be from ART. Even though the subject is the same, the difference between them could show us something about ART in the same way a reverse shot shows us something about any other character.

To me its like those shots from a monster's POV in horror movies, where one second you're with your protagonists, the next you're watching them from a far off angle between some blades of grass, shaky cam, ragged breathing. It's a classic, even a cliche, but it does the job of conveying the sense of unsafety, of Something Out There Watching Them, of monstrosity, of something feral and dangerous. All without needing to see the monster. What if that type of shot was all we ever got of a character?

(Also, in all honesty, some of my favourite meta about this series is how it's in conversation with the horror genre. ART and SecUnits being the type of characters that would be The Monster in another story, or from another perspective, is compelling to me, so i'm drawing on that a bit here. The idea of characterising but not visualising ART by taking pages out of horror monster cinematography? I just think it's neat.)

Anyway, you could also do all the sci-fi Augmented Vision stuff with it too. ART POV shots where we watch it pull up a feed tab over the camera feed and replay a section of audio, or check Murderbot's diagnostics, or look at Some Code Or Perhaps A Graph. ART POV shots that are broken into multiple feeds showing different things. ART POV shots that give you the sense of it being textually present without it being physically present.

You could use some of this for Murderbot itself, if you leant into how its drones are an extension of its awareness. You could even use it in a similar way to how Murderbot uses its narration, narrating less when it's upset as well as leaving out major details. What if, when Murderbot is tired of people looking at it or in a more vulnerable headspace, we get more drone POV shots without Murderbot in frame. It's still there, but present in a different way, behind The Camera rather than in front of it.

I think there's potential in using POV shots from ART's cameras to characterise it without visualising it in a traditional way. I think there's potential in using horror movie monster language on ART and Murderbot. I think there's potential in having the cinematography focus on what they're seeing in a way that emphasises the amount of Surveillance both of them are constantly doing.

I think there's potential in a show using The Camera as cleverly as the books use Narration.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

I read GRRM’s interview regarding book vs show canon and I thought the way he was approaching an adaptation of his own story, and fiction as a whole, was very interesting. I do wonder though - does the concept of having a separate show canon kind of become like a cop-out? Because in that case, any TV/film adaptation can just decide to change the plot as they see fit and go “oh, well, that’s our canon, the book is a different canon.” Doesn’t it cease to be an adaptation after a point, or at least become a loose one? In the HotD context, a lot of the changes being made I actually quite like because I can see them fitting in the canon, because there’s nothing suggesting otherwise.

But say, Sansa marrying Ramsay (or, alternatively, the moment that show was dead to me) we can say with absolute certainty did not take place and will almost definitely never take place. D&D knew that too but they went ahead with it anyway; it’s not quite like the Scarlett example where it makes no difference to the story because this change does. I feel like the whole point of adapting written words into something visual loses some of its sanctity if we just accept TV changes a whole separate canon, as opposed to simply a change made by the writers (good change or bad change is up to personal opinion).

I have followed your blog for almost a decade so I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on the subject.

GRRM's "Scarlett example" -- his question of "how many children did Scarlett O'Hara have?", because in the book Gone With the Wind she had three, one with each of her three husbands, whereas in the movie she only had one -- has been his go-to when asked about the difference between book and show canon since at least 2012. Or to quote him from 2015,

How many children did Scarlett O’Hara have? Three, in the novel. One, in the movie. None, in real life: she was a fictional character, she never existed. The show is the show, the books are the books; two different tellings of the same story.

This is IMO one of the most sensible ways for an author to look at adaptations of their work (even if I have gotten rather tired of GRRM using the Scarlett example specifically, pick something different George, we've seen it before lol). There is book canon and there is show canon. They are different parallel universes. They're separate canons because they contain changes made by the writers, and also because the very process of moving from the written word to visual media must involve some kind of change.

And this applies to all adaptations. That's why I brought up X-Men comics vs the Fox X-Men movies vs the X-Men cartoon (original 90s and 2024's '97). For example, there's 4 different versions of the Dark Phoenix Saga between those canons, at the very least. Wait, sorry lol, I forgot the Ultimate canon version. And the various in-comics alternate universe versions. And god knows when they finally bring the X-Men into the MCU they'll probably do yet another DPS there too. And that's only one of many storylines that are radically different between the various canons.

Or look at the various Interviews with the Vampire. Is the new tv show "not an adaptation" because its Claudia is a teenager rather than 5 years old as in the book or portrayed by an 11 year old as in the movie, thus resulting in extremely different relationships and a reshaped plot? (Among many other changes?) No. IWTV has book canon, movie canon, and show canon.

And I can't speak that well about Transformers since it's not a major fandom of mine, but go take a look at their various continuities if you want some more perspective about just how very far the meaning of "adaptation" can stretch.

Or hell, look at Stephen King, where among his many many many adaptations, some of which just barely resemble the original text, the only one he sued to have his name removed from was The Lawnmower Man, because they literally used an entirely different story and just slapped his title on it.

And then there's the movie Adaptation, which is a wildly meta-adaptation of the non-fiction book The Orchard Thief (it's a story about the process of adapting that book and involves a fictional version of the writer, the screenplay writer, and an entirely invented screenplay writer's twin brother)... and it was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for multiple film awards (and won a few times), and the original writer even said it kept to the book's themes.

Suffice it to say, HOTD has a long, long, long way to go before it could ever "cease to be an adaptation after a point". Changing the timeline to make Alicent and Rhaenyra the same age, or doing Blood & Cheese differently, do not even compare to what some book-to-visual media "loose adaptations" have done. Even GOT, as wildly terrible as their non-book storylines could be, both their changes to the text and after they had no actual text to work with, never became a "loose adaptation". Certainly it became a less than faithful adaptation -- and let's be real, it always was unfaithful for both themes and the essential elements of so many characters -- but it also always was a remarkably accurate adaptation of the whole span of Westeros (in geography and breadth of characters) and the general (not specific) book plot. (Consider previous attempts at adaptation that GRRM rejected, such as a single 2 hour movie, or eliminating Jon and Dany for being "irrelevant", or only making a Jon movie with none of the other storylines, etc.) Which is why, when GOT was different (and awful) it was such a betrayal, like a zombie or evil alien wearing the skin of your best friend or beloved child, and worse, that this twisted lookalike was the only version millions and millions of viewers ever saw and believed to be true.

But again, this just underlines what GRRM has said. "The show is the show, the books are the books." There is book canon and there is show canon. They are separate things. Parallel universes -- very close parallels, often touching in many places, but sometimes they're quite different. Sometimes the differences in adaptation enhance the themes of the original canon; sometimes the author may even consider certain adapted characters (Shae, King Viserys, Helaena) to be better than his original canon; sometimes you know there's only those tricky NDAs (and payments of lots of money) that prevent him from expressing his disappointment in more ways than dropping the Sansa TWOW preview chapter only days before the release of GOT S5. But perhaps if we're lucky, maybe one day we'll have yet another parallel canon to compare to the others.

[mithykster]

He is a little too fun to draw... Again, I kind of wanted to try and 'generate' him based on the book, so square jaw etc, and of course I wanted to try out the famous tiger smile. I think his 'honest' expressions made it so much more fun too. I think as a character he is so fun and intriguing too, but honestly, Victor Hugo is so good at describing a character that they all hold a special place in my heart. I think to me Javert needs to be almost like a caricature; with just very prominent features that make him instantly recognisable. I have also been doing some Valjean artworks and in my mind his adaptations can very so much because he should look like just a guy? Able to blend in anywhere? I have seen so many other talented artists make such beautiful artworks of these characters and Javert specifically where they are so different but still so good. Y'all know who I am talking about! (it's everyone, yes, even you!). Perhaps one day i'll also draw ponytail Javert because I do think it has a nice flair. It is just so amazing to see such variety but still such closeness to this peculiar character. I have also noticed that I am tending to ramble beneath my posts and that recently all my art has been in gray values.. Oh well. But thank you so so much to everyone who puts something nice in the reblogs or actively responds to these long ass captions. It means a lot and I wish I knew how you would respond to those things on tumblr so I can give a thank you :) Anyways, perhaps I'll post a poll on what character I should draw / try to visualize next!