#but I love how much depth and spotlight the manga gives her

[theoutofworld-blog]

Together, they fight crime

[fellow-traveller]

What's your opinion on Hol's first appearance when he manipulated a girl and told J. Geil he was doing it so they would risk their lives to save him, compared to his later appearance when he got very upset about the implication that he would hurt a woman?

To make it short, it's good character growth, visually. Very rarely one gets to see a minor antagonist who was supposed to be forgettable having such in-depth and memorable development.

I'm not a good meta writer, but let's try to dissect this question anyway. As usual, disclaimer, I'm not an expert in the Major Arcana...yadayadayada okay, let's go!

(decided to put it under the cut because it ended up being a very long answer)

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By the girl, I would assume you're referring to Nena, the wielder of the Stand Empress. The girl who rode the elephant with Hol Horse. The girl who proposed to Hol Horse for his hand in marriage but got rejected by the cowboy because (likely, he assumed) she was 16.

Before I say more, a brief note on this: I know a lot of new JoJo fans are throwing a fit over Hol "flirting" with a 16 year-old - although I wouldn't call it flirting as it sounded more like "sweet talking his way out of trouble" kinda thing - and my solid argument to that is the era. The 1980s and early 1990s were ladened with people getting into relationships and getting married young, not just in South Asia (where Nena might be from) but also in the West. It wasn't right, but it was the norm, especially in the poorer parts of the world with strong traditional and cultural practices, before the UN strongly advocated for the rights for children's education in these regions, and pedophilia crimes had taken the spotlight in the public eye.

Hol was, and probably still is, the Western rugged gentleman trope through and through. And part of the Spaghetti Western is the cheesy romance, so if Hol's character design was following it to a T, at least in his first appearance in SDC, he's bound to speak like the dialogues in a novel with Fabio Lanzoni on its covers.

Plus, we don't even know if Nena was really 16 years old. She was in disguise, remember?

It's not too far off to say that Hol still respects women as long as they did not interfere with his life as a mercenary. And being a mercenary, one does need a network of people to aid their journeys, even if it seemed like a blatant manipulation of emotions and resources.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't call it 100% manipulation on Hol's part, even though manipulative behaviour is a trait for a Reversed Emperor. Reversed tarot cards are what I assumed the Agents of Dio had traits of and followed through as the villains of the story.

I'm not sure if this is already told by Araki or if it was general consensus since the manga came out, but...it's a common belief that Nena was in love with Hol Horse, second to Dio, and she actually disguised herself into a beautiful young maiden to match Hol's dashing looks. She was genuinely in love with Hol, and based on that, she could be willingly giving up herself to Hol's vices without thinking about the consequences.

Her disguise is also part of her own manipulation of Hol Horse himself (and after that, to an extent, of Polnareff as well), so Hol and her are pretty much just two sides of the same coin. Which, again, is not too far off.

Reversed Empress is characterized as the loss of willpower, going overboard with loving someone, neglecting own needs, heavy reliance on others and being clingy...which is basically what Nena was, and how her Stand works. In the context of her sticking with Hol and helping him, yes, it could be Hol's own manipulative trait of a Reversed Emperor, but it's also Nena's whole Reversed Empress trait doing the works.

Hence, why it's not exactly 100% manipulation by Hol.

That said, we also don't really know if Hol knew that Nena was in disguise. He might have known she had the Empress Stand. Her backstory as a heiress to nobility might also be a ruse, just so she can get close to Hol. All of these? Manipulative behaviours. Though this sometimes made me wish she wouldn't be in disguise since I do believe when Hol said that he respects all women, pretty or ugly, young or old. He wouldn't care about her looks anyway, should she present her appearance as her real self. But that wouldn't be too bizarre, wouldn't it?

(part of me actually headcanon Nena being giddy about Hol Horse, while Midler supports her crushing and gushing over the cowboy...I wished this was real, somewhere behind the scenes)

---

Now what he confessed to J. Geil, about using women around the world for his own selfish benefit, could be true. As I mentioned, Hol's a mercenary, and with a Reversed Emperor, he's basically not following what a king should do - serve his subjects. Instead, they are serving him. Although I do believe it's not solely to risk their lives to save him, but, like Nena, these women most likely were in love with the cowboy that had the Western charm of John Wayne and Marlboro Man. And love can make people do stupid things.

Also, we're kinda forgetting that Hol Horse was a fucking cocky bastard. At least in his first arc in SDC.

So I'm not too surprised if he's trying to overcompensate when talking to other people, even to his work partners. And overcompensation can be an outright lie. Another possible reason for Hol to boast about his "girlfriends around the world" story might also lie in him being intimidated by the person he was talking to. J. Geil is, as far as the canon manga goes, a mysterious man to Hol and he only knew him as Enyaba's son who wielded the Stand Hanged Man. He most likely didn't even know J. Geil killed and raped Sherry, and why he pursued Polnareff first. All Hol knew at that point of time was J.Geil was assigned as his partner, and they were to work together to kill the Joestar group. But at the same time, he knew J. Geil was a dangerous man.

Also, with Polnareff, Hol Horse did his cocky stint as well, in the possibility that he didn't know much about what Polnareff can or cannot do with Silver Chariot, other than the intel that was given to him. Obviously his confidence (and arrogance) rose up a notch when he was a millisecond close to killing Polnareff before Avdol stepped in (irl context it's kinda bull since no one can dodge a bullet unless they have Star Platinum or King Crimson...or Hol Horse's supreme agility).

Hol's cockiness showed the most when he should feel intimidated. It's almost like a defense mechanism.

He's pretty much humbled since he had his head shot at, but in his interaction with Mariah in CDDH, he still has a tiny bit of cockiness left in him. Again, intimidation by Mariah because he did think he was touching her Stand Bastet a few minutes earlier.

---

So this long arse explanation is just to conclude this - Hol had always been a good person, despite the obvious flaws. He still respects women; it's part of his own principle, which he cannot go against as the Emperor. He gets upset (as all people should) if he had to hurt a woman for no reason. Even in the context of his conversation with Nena, even in his Reversed Emperor traits, the words he chose to tell her off were still rather gentle, and while she was saddened, she wasn't exactly hurt by the rejection. Twice, if I might add.

Keep in mind his Emperor card is only reversed when he's the major villain in his arc i.e. when going against the Crusaders in India. Otherwise, his card is always upright and I believe before he met Dio, he's a real deal hero.

Hence why it's more of a character growth for Hol visually, because we saw it happen. From The Emperor and The Hanged Man arc, to the latest Chapter 15 of CDDH. Visually, we saw him gradually changing his Emperor traits from reversed to upright. But upright was what Hol originally was. And so were most of the villain characters of the tarot card (which we barely could dissect because, unlike Hol, their appearances are pretty limited).

---

idk...I hope this answers it.

[beevean]

A but of an inconclusive rant that makes more sense in my head.

“Humanization” seems to have become a synonim for “adding positive/likeable traits to a character”...

But it’s not necessarily that?

For example, when I write Hector, I add more negative traits to him. I wrote him being mean to Isaac, aiming at his insecurities when he’s fed up with him. I wrote him being condescending to Rosaly, looking down on her for being too pious for him (he gets better lol). I wrote him having zero empathy for humans at first, not even understanding the concept that children are supposedly innocent. I emphasized how self-centered his heel face turn started out. I keep repeating that I'd love to see more of the coldhearted General Hector who committed war crimes in the name of a genocidial Dark Lord. And I even praised two parts of N!Hector: the fact that he himself burned his own parents, unlike in canon where the animals/demons did it for him, and the fact that he saw humans as animals to be culled, but without a hint of resentment, almost out of innocent pity.

Isn’t that humanization too? Isn’t that fleshing out a character? Or does it count only when it’s time to give an unrepentant manchild of a villain sudden fatherly emotions?

Speaking of Eggman, you know what also counts as humanizing him for me?

Eggman loves amusement parks and circuses. There is no deeper reason for it, no secret childhood trauma. He enjoys creating colorful places and if they can be used to exercise control, all the better. It’s his unique way to shape the world. It’s a character trait that he doesn’t need, but he has it, and it fleshes him out.

And you know what else humanizes him? The Egg Memo where he complains that Maria stole the spotlight from him because she dared to be ill and be killed. He’s jealous and selfish and insensitive and constantly seeking attention - aren’t those human traits too? Can’t they be relatable too, as much as we wouldn’t like to admit it?

Another villain who got humanized in a negative way is Isaac in the MF manga. Once again, I link to my analysis of that scene (bottom of the post) where he killed his own underlings because he wanted to disobey Dracula’s direct orders, all while thinking of himself as his most loyal servant, in a brilliant display of hypocrisy and denial that IMO makes him even more interesting. From the same manga, I also am still not over that one page where he shows fear over being approached by his caretaker (?): however you interpret it, whether it’s a reaction to nearly dying, to losing his master and home, or to being betrayed by Hector, this is a human reaction, albeit a negative one.

On the flip side, what about Sonic? Does Sonic need to be humanized by making him more of a jerk? Or, god forbid, by adding a completely unnecessary moral “dilemma”? Or is the fact that this speedster actually loves sitting down and reading books enough to give him more depth? Or the fact that he loves nature, or the fact that he is both empathetic and has a noticeable ego that sometimes gets him into trouble? I think it is. Sonic is a simple character at his core, but he has so many cute quirks that he ends up being both an inspiration, which is what he’s meant to be, and endearing :)

“Humanization” means writing a character in such a way that they’d feel human, like people you could meet in real life. It doesn’t mean “adding more palatable traits”. Humans are not inherently good, nor they are inherently evil, they are simply complex. You can write the meanest bastard in the world, you can write the goodiest hero with the most unshakeable heart, and if you add extra traits like tastes or quirks, and if you can make them fit with their core characterization, that counts as writing them as human.

[peachesandmilktea]

What are you honest opinions on all the mha villains?

Ooooh interesting question!!

Shigaraki: I think everyone knows by now that he's my boy. My husband. I'd do anything for him. But if I were to truly state my opinion, as someone who got into BNHA solely because I had fallen in love with his characters through the fnafics I'd read, I would say that I really, really enjoyed his character development. I think it's really well done, that his character is super deep and tragic and I'm truly looking forward to see where Horikoshi takes him. He's a great leader, he's clever and resourceful, he cares about his comrades, he would be an amazing hero (as in, main character) if he'd been given the opportunity. That's why I like to give him the spotlight in many of my fics, and ofc not gonna lie it's also because I only dream of a steamy enemies to lovers relationship with that pretty man.

Dabi: I can't even describe the SATISFACTION of seeing him traumatize his father back jdskjsdk I mean like a lot of people I guess I can relate to him in some way, and because of that I enjoy seeing him wreck havoc very much. Now for an objective opinion on his character, I'd say I find absolutely fascinating the fact that he's a huge liar on his own emotions. He pretends not to care but he does, and I just have a very soft spot for characters like this who have a very different image of themselves from what they truly are. I can't wait to see his storyline deepened a bit and the development of his relationship to Shoto and his father, whether it goes well or badly.

Toga: I didn't really like her at first because I found she lacked a bit of depth compared to the male characters, like most of Horikoshi's female characters tbh. And I felt like she existed only to give a yandere love interest to Izuku in the beginning. But then, I got to discover her character more and more during the Overhaul arc and MVA and then I think I truly started to fall for her with the development of her relationship with Ochako. I really, really like her now, though I think her storyline and character could be improved if Horikoshi learned how to write better female characters. And the last chapter of MHA that shows a bit of her relationship with Dabi and also her grief for Twice just makes me melt. She's such a loving character and I love her to bits.

Spinner: Best boy, no questions asked. The anime REALLY doesn't do him justice, he deserves so much better and I'll never forgive Bones for that. I absolutely ADORE his relationship with Shigaraki, I love every single one of his appearances in any chapter, he lights up my days and is truly a gift to the League. But I got into MHA with the anime first and I really didn't care that much for his character then, so yeah. Anime bad. Manga good. Spinner the best.

Overhaul: I'd say the thing that makes him the most interesting is his reappearance throughout the story with Lady Nagant that I hadn't really seen coming. Other than that, I think he was a pretty basic villain, though his design is interesting (I really like it) and he basically served as an introduction for Eri's character and for the League's development. His change of character with the loss of his arms and his quirk when we see him again with Lady Nagant was super interesting though and I wonder if we'll see an end to his story at some point.

Compress: I really like him. He looks like a comic book villain which I think is super fun, and I love his personality. I hope we'll see more and more of him at some point, hopefully soon.

Kurogiri: ndskjdnk I love his story arc. I haven't read Vigilantes so I wasn't too familiar with Oboro's character but his story is so damn TRAGIC and I absolutely love that. I'll get any crumb of development of his storyline and I'm begging Horikoshi for more. I would love for him to be a way for Aizawa and/or the heroes to understand Tomura a bit more (just as a beginning, I think the rest should come from Izuku)

Magne: Gone too soon. WAY too soon.

AFO: Go die in a ditch you stupid bitch. Not a really compelling villain, he's too powerful and evil and I'd say it makes him not interesting but at the same time, he makes me feel such RAGE I can't even think straight and as a writer, I'd say that's a win if you make your Reader feel that much about a character.

tell me if i forgot anyone!!

[galladerocksgamer]

Okay so I love the Paranormal Liberation War arc, it does so much fantastic stuff, dang near perfect across the board. But I think it’s pretty widely felt that the pacing got a bit off the rails near the end, we had big reveals and character moments stacking up and half of them barely even felt relevant. And me being the person who just thinks about things in depth and for long periods, I’ve still been dwelling on it for months. And now as the manga has continued, I’m finally seeing how some of the aforementioned War moments could have been better executed in different situations, because honestly this latest arc seems like it would have been tailor-made to address them all. So lemme take a closer look at three different components here: Mirio/Eri, Bakugo, and Hawks.

1. Mirio and Eri

Probably the most random moment from the war’s climax, don’t think anyone was predicting the sudden return of Mirio to battle. I love Mirio, he’s one of my favorite characters, but it was a pretty anticlimactic way to bring him back into the fold. He doesn’t even really bring anything special to the battle, nothing uniquely Mirio. His role is just backing up Best Jeanist against the Nomu, and anyone could have done that. Burnin could’ve arrived sooner, or Manual and Rock Lock could’ve come back after getting the injured heroes to safety. Heck, if you still wanted the Nighteye agency to be involved, then Bubble Girl and Centipeder could’ve been the cavalry to help Jeanist. But instead Mirio returns unexpectedly and none too remarkably.

And on top of that, we’re basically just told “oh by the way Eri has some control of her power now.” Something that the series had been building up toward for awhile just … occurs off-screen with no forewarning. Really feels like a disservice to Eri and her development to not give that intense moment any real spotlight.

It felt extremely weird for me at the time, but I also kinda wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the coming arcs just couldn’t afford to place focus on Eri and Mirio, so their respective developments were tied together to lend an extra surprise to the war’s final bout. But instead this most recent arc has gone the opposite route … through the return of Chisaki.

The man once known as Overhaul, now thoroughly broken and wanting nothing more than to fix his one great regret. With Nagant’s defeat, he winds up back in custody, but having now once again met with Midoriya and made his wish known. So indeed, the opportunity arises for Eri and Mirio to be brought back to the forefront. I don’t doubt that we will indeed have at least a brief glimpse at Eri healing Chisaki’s boss as Midoriya promised, but the potential for that scene could really have been through the roof if it was the impetus for Eri to willingly use her power on a person for the first time.

Imagine Midoriya coming to Eri with that heavy request, of Eri deciding to offer this kindness toward Chisaki of all people, using her power to heal before the man who always told her that she could only destroy. Because really, I don’t think there’d be a question of that, we know the kind of kid Eri is, and she won’t let anyone suffer if there’s any way she could prevent it. Even if Chisaki was the person asking, there might be hesitation and fear, but is there any doubt she’d offer what aid she could in the end? And for Pops to be the first person she helps, to undo the harm carelessly inflicted by Chisaki … well, it’d certainly be poetic.

As for Mirio in this scenario, that could go a couple ways. Route 1: Eri is hesitant to help Chisaki with Pops because she would rather help Mirio get his Quirk back, and we know that her power seems to have a bit of a limit on it via the energy stored in her horn. So what if it did work, but she ran out of juice healing Pops and then made Mirio wait even longer? Well, of course that’s exactly what he’d insist on, he wouldn’t let himself take priority over another person in need of Eri’s help. And he’d take it all in good spirits as always. Or Route 2, if there was concern that Eri’s power could run wild while trying to help Pops, then they could go the complete opposite direction and have Mirio offer to go first, to be the guinea pig for Eri in case of emergency. But of course, he’d have full faith in her all along and coax her through, ensuring her of just how helpful and brave she always is.

So yes, can see how Eri and Mirio’s development could have taken a more satisfying route, and cap us off with some good ole Chisaki angst to boot (though at least we’ve still got a decent serving of that). Now moving on …

2. Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight

So Bakugo’s long and arduous journey of personal growth reached a new peak during the battle with Shigaraki, where his body moved without thinking and he underwent his true heroic awakening to protect Midoriya. Such a sacrifice seems like a perfect cap for his development for the War arc … and then a couple chapters later he forces himself right back into action to back up Best Jeanist, and as promised he reveals his over-the-top hero name to his mentor. In this case I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with the reveal, but in light of his preceding big heroic action, it really feels like a hat on a hat.

It’s not like Bakugo’s hero name heralded some major turning point for the battle; Jeanist’s arrival (and subsequently Mirio’s) had already assured that. And like Mirio, there wasn’t any real special reason for Bakugo to rejoin the fight with the Nomu, especially with Iida and Hado on the scene. After getting skewered by Shigaraki, it would have been pretty simple for Bakugo to just spend the rest of the fight bleeding unconscious on the ground, rather than complicating matters by shoving him back into the fray. And ultimately, the moment feels a bit anticlimactic. All the suspense waiting for Bakugo’s hero name, and then it’s revealed at a time where he barely even has the spotlight.

Of course, such a bombastic name as “Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight” doesn’t particularly lend itself to a quiet or emotional scene, so it wouldn’t be thematically fitting to move that revelation to Bakugo’s hospital bed or his somber apology to Midoriya. That said, given his decision to announce the name first to Jeanist, there would at least be precedent for him to have a “Dabi says secrets in a black speech bubble” moment in the hospital in which he talks to Jeanist but leaves the readers in the dark, before coming back to the actual audience reveal later on.

And there must certainly be other opportunities to present the name appropriately. Bakugo is a master of making an explosive entrance, after all. And when Class 1-A finally catches up to Midoriya, if Bakugo really wanted to make a big impact on his friend/rival before getting into the sentimental stuff, then it would be a prime chance to reveal his hero name in grandiose fashion, both to Midoriya and the audience.

Or if his hero name had been Kacchan, then that reveal would have fit right in with his apology to Midoriya, but that’s neither here nor there

This could be one scenario, of course, but it hardly feels like that would’ve been the only option. And compared to the crammed-in reveal in the final fight with the League, it’s easy to say that there could have been plenty of smoother roads to take.  But setting that aside, moving onto the final touch:

3. Hawks

The long-awaited Hawks backstory doesn’t really disappoint. Admittedly, there weren’t really a lot of holes necessary to fill in there; we’d had enough bits and pieces provided before this point to pretty much put together the whole picture of his crummy childhood. But even without any really surprising turns, the flashback is welcome and hits some good emotional beats. But really, the glaring issue in this area is the timing.

We’re presented this backstory at an instance where Hawks is hardly the most relevant character. Shigaraki is undergoing a personal crisis as All For One seizes the reigns of his own body, Endeavor’s dark history has been exposed and the Todoroki family is in turmoil, escapees from Tartarus roam the streets, and Midoriya consults internally with the vestiges of One For All ... and the narrative decides to take a chapter to look at Hawks. Practically nothing from his flashback directly relates to present events, serving only to further emphasize his already well-established devotion to Endeavor and his (misguided) understanding of Twice’s feelings. The timing is just kind of baffling, especially with some other more appropriate places being readily apparent.

For instance, only a dozen chapters later, we’re properly introduced to Lady Nagant. As Hawks’s predecessor within the Hero Commission, the two have a lot in common, and the similarities and differences between the two could set up some interesting comparisons if Hawks’s backstory was saved to follow up Nagant’s. Two idealistic young children, handpicked by the Commission and groomed into assassins, yet whose outlooks in the present day are starkly opposed? Nagant's guilt driving her to turn on the Commission, while Hawks holds few regrets despite the blood on his hands, longing for freedom from the Commission’s grasp? That kind of parallel could really have built a more solid foundation for Hawks’s past to be laid upon.

That could be an effective setup, but there’s another approach I’d actually much rather have seen, one that brings Hawks’s backstory not later, but earlier: during the dramatic confrontation between Hawks and Dabi. The instant that Dabi reveals he knows Hawks’s real name, the story opens itself up perfectly to dive into his past. And the timing would be superb, showing Hawks at his worst as he murders Twice, then turning back the clock to look at the innocent child who just wants to save people. A little boy whose feathers tingle with the need to rescue those in need, superimposed against the man whose same feathers are used to deliver the killing blow to a victim of hero society’s ills. You want angst? Now that’s how you do angst. Placing the backstory there would play up the tragedy of both Hawks and Twice simultaneously: a “hero” raised by the Commission to cut threats to their control short at the root, and a “villain” who could have been a kindred spirit but instead suffers for their would-be friendship.

And that’s not even the icing on the cake. The real matter of interest here comes in Hawks’s view of Endeavor. By the time we get to Hawks’s backstory, all of Japan has already learned of Endeavor’s history from Dabi, and the result of the timing feels a smidge tone-deaf, and fails to realize the full potential resonance of the situation. The flashback to young Hawks as a victim of child abuse, who is rescued (unwittingly) when Endeavor arrests his father, is presented to us as the moment when Hawks realized that heroes are real, not merely a fantasy. We see why he developed such an ideal view of heroes, and why he is so specifically loyal to Endeavor ... so just imagine if all that was presented during his showdown with Dabi. Imagine if all that came before the tragic revelation of Toya Todoroki. The true terrible irony, that Hawks was rescued from his abusive father by someone secretly guilty of the same crimes, that Hawks’s whole epiphany of “real heroism” was founded upon one of the most corrupt enforcers of all.

The end result would be the same, I’m sure. After all, this is certainly the same thought process Hawks was going through all along, and his decision to maintain his faith in Endeavor’s personal growth would presumably remain unchanged. But presenting Hawks’s backstory before Dabi’s would have opened up a lot more room for us as the audience to actually see Hawks’s views be challenged. If there’s one real complaint I’ve got about Hawks’s character, it’s that we don’t really tend to see him questioning himself or his actions; whatever happens, he rolls with it and presses on, no matter how his ideals are brought into question. But this simple matter of timing could go a long ways to remedying that, granting the audience the chance to watch Hawks grapple with his personal image of and approach to heroism, and his relationship with Endeavor, rather than allowing most of that to pass unseen in the wake of the war’s end. Even if he would ultimately come to the same conclusion, at least such a narrative structure would provide a much more satisfying presentation of his struggle up to that point.

So, I’m not great at endings, but that brings us to the conclusion of my rambling though process here. To recap, the more I’ve thought about it, the more obvious it is that the backloaded War arc could be remedied, and the following arc only made that more obvious. Why force Mirio’s return so soon when he could be tied in later with Eri mastering her powers and the desperate pleas of Chisaki? Why shove in Bakugo’s hero name when the boy has already made a tremendous impact on the arc, and will be more open to further focus during the conflict with Deku in the next? And why throw in Hawks’s backstory as a standalone chapter at a time when it’s largely irrelevant, when there was such great potential to emotionally contrast him with the backstory of Nagant or Dabi? These are the kinds of things I think about. Little things, really, and honestly the whole reason they stand out to me is just that the rest of the arc around them is so dang fantastic. So … yes. This is the testament to my love for this manga, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, byeeeeee

[kitreadsbirdmen]

Birdmen Finale Thoughts

A Reflection on the End

Birdmen checked a lot of boxes for me. The most superficial being wings and flying, concepts that I would imagine from the window of a speeding car or subway train. I can’t say I was attracted to the freedom of the idea, that frankly scared me silly. But it was fascinating enough, and it preoccupied this small part of my imagination from time to time with the pull of the absolutely inexplicable. What if… What if something happened? What if I were different or strange? How would everyone react? What would I do? How would I change or what would I do to fight that change?

These thought experiments often led me to self-indulgent stories with fantasitcal premises that would only halt the speculation and sweep their characters towards their own plots and narratives. They would only glance over to the vastly more interesting human fallout of the [insert truly miraculous phenomenon] for the sake of episodic drama or a comedic take. These would deep down be very disappointing to me because they failed to give weight to the mind-spinning concept of the supernatural. By brushing past it, the story would dismiss my biggest questions, the ones I felt a morbid curiosity to see explained vicariously. That’s probably why I was so hooked to Birdmen at first. 

Birdmen was and is... rather mundane if you think about it. Grounded, set in a recognizable reality, gave nuance to very human quirks and details of life and society. Kinda dull-ish, slightly charming, and depressing, with all the same desire for something more that we feel when we watch the clock tick away. And even the murmurs of the supernatural had this incredulous air. Something amusing and perhaps hard to dismiss nevertheless. And as our cast is thrust into this new spin on reality, it’s given weight and time. Growing pains full of stumbling youth shenanigans and strife. The Introductory Arc is some masterful execution of humanity as the line of a new species skirts more and more into a diverging reality. It’s here that a very different kind of strength is capitalized on. The limitless potential found within limitation itself.

The core concept and primary conflict of birdmen comes from the subtle utilization of a grounded scientific and philosophical school of thought. This limits the entire narrative to concepts inspired not by the dramatic needs or visual aesthetic, but by the imagination of existing science itself. While a lot of things can boast this particular source, I think Birdmen is very conservative with where it could go. The most outlandish things are noted but not abused. Nothing is absurd no matter the demand. It’s the reason why I found the lore behind the growing science and discovery of the Seraph abilities to be immersive. It’s why I could create a million 1st ability ideas, headcanons, and theories (some of which would actually get confirmed) in one sitting. The source material existed within limits and therefore opened the door to boundless potential. 

To put it in a word, it’s realistic.

Realistic characters, events, ‘villains’, powers, relationships, conflicts… the list goes on. When we pick up a story we suspend our disbelief to welcome the basic empathy and logic to engage us through the world. But I felt a strange relationship with that process on so many levels for Birdmen. It’s why talking about it in-depth is such a hard to explain feeling. When fictional characters have all the nuance and depth as a real person. When wide-scale event scenarios start reflecting the common trends of the current mediascape. When manga-panels start echoing peer-reviewed articles… It becomes hard to see the need to suspend disbelief. At least not in the same way. It makes things seem so much more possible. Everything feels so much more personal.

The current pandemic has helped in this process of course. My life has been turned upside down and I often find myself asking ‘dude is this (still) happening???’. It makes a lot of stories and speculative fiction narratives seem a lot closer. But then the final arc of Birdmen introduces its own pandemic SEVERAL months before covid-19 is first spotted and we see a roll-out of cultural fallout that is eerily familiar. WHO press conferences following the resignation of Eden’s director. Forgetting your mask as you leave to greet your son’s arrival home. Teachers taking a sick day for themselves or perhaps out of caution (if only that worked state side lol). Misinformation and tension across social media. Unrest and riots in the street. (that image of Robin’s flock watching the riot from a distance got me big time. Mostly because I was thinking about the Capitol riots at the time). I think I just needed a chapter devoted to a successful and seamless vaccine distribution to set my resonating heart at ease.

...I’m not kidding there actually. We can’t just assume it went off without a hitch Tanabe. Can I get some wish-fulfillment here??

That actually brings me to a big takeaway as I read the final chapters. In my initial reflection, (and entire year ago) I talk about how I was certain Birdmen was prematurely cut short. And while there is probably a world Takayama could witness in his multiverse seeing eyes, where Birdmen runs for several more volumes and the playout of years of arcs goes much longer, I ultimately want to rescind that thought. 

I don’t think the ending was rushed. I don’t think Tanabe was racing against a clock to wrap things up. I don’t think she was dropping million plot threads into the void out of necessity. It is very clear at every point toward the end that Tanabe knew exactly where she was going and was taking a straight shot to that destination at every point. 

Yes, there are some characters that did not get a long enough time in the spotlight. Yes, there is a boundless potential to explore with many characters and concepts. Yes, there is an element of fallout that was left unaddressed. But this doesn’t make it unfinished or unsatisfying. The mundane, realistic nature of the narrative, allows this lack of tangible book-ends. It has uncertainty. The resolutions are not perfect. Not every person in your life is going to shine in the same way (no matter how much you like them). Their purpose in the narrative may seem small but has ripples of effects on the characters and chemistry of the collective. This is not wasted. I knew this wasn’t rushed because the primary themes of these characters came through and they were given all the space and time and panels they needed to tell that story. I noted this most when Robin was having that discussion with Agent Leo about her address to the media at the White House. The back and forth and revelations of Robin’s entire arc were expressed in this one conversation and it lasted several pages. This is the final volume of the story and this nuance is getting the full dry clean treatment. How can I claim that this was rushed? If I had to claim any ill intent I might say we would have gotten a few more chapters of proper fallout, but that would only be for the sake of neatness. But as I mentioned there is something grounded about taking that away and leaving that to the imagination. 

And thus, I’m left feeling incredibly satisfied. So impossibly satisfied. Birdmen has become something so integral to my life and I feel changed having known and loved it. To see it take a bow as gracefully and profoundly as it did fills me with a personal satisfaction I cannot put into words. This is and will forever be, one of the finest stories I will ever read. 

There is a part of me refreshed. Inspired by the daring embrace of reality. Charmed by the beautiful characters. Intrigued by the possibilities still to be discussed. I am almost left a little overwhelmed with how much I want to do as a response, both for the sake and honor of Birdmen and for my own personal motivations. It’s a kind of weightlessness, burdened by crippling fear. 

It’s a lot like flying really. 

[mitsuhasnolifebutwatchesanime]

Kimetsu no Yaiba: Demon Slayer

Kimetsu no Yaiba was really no surprise, yet it still surprised me. Like with Jujutsu Kaisen I had been seeing manga caps of this for months before the anime got announced. Once I heard UFOTable was in charge of it, I figured “well, there’s no way this won’t be good, but I’m not feeling very shonen right now.” And then I saw some gifs, I think at this point maybe 20 episodes were out, it’s been a while to remember clearly. I was like “okay, this is gorgeous, funny, action packed, and interesting. I may as well try a few episodes.”

Then I realized after several hours I was still watching and was nearly caught up to the 20 something episodes out at a time, so then I had to impatiently wait for the rest. Now I’m impatiently waiting for the movie to be remotely accessible before season two drops in...what? April? June? Not 100% sure when it is but I KNOW I need to watch the movie first because it’s supposedly an entire arc of the manga.

The story follows the Kamado siblings, Tanjiro and Nezuko, the only survivors of a massacre that left their mother and four other siblings dead. Nezuko too almost is lost, but unfortunately, the man responsible for killing their family also turned her into a demon.

A chance encounter with a demon slayer saves their lives, as he spares Nezuko and tells Tanjiro to become a demon slayer himself, launching him into this new world head first as he learns to take care of his sister in her predicament, though it seems for now, her demonic urges to kill and eat humans is subdued because of a gag the other demon slayer, Giyu Tomioka, put on her which allowed her human rationality to take back over.

Now Tanjiro is on a mission to hunt down the man responsible for his family’s suffering, find a way to return Nezuko’s humanity, and become a capable demon slayer who can protect anyone.

I think where Kimetsu no Yaiba wins the most points is in style. It really is a gorgeous anime to look at. Incredible character designs, beautiful backgrounds, those flipping sword animations...When you add in the ridiculous UFOtable crazy CG camera whatever you call it movement, it adds so much depth to the scenes and it feels smooth and seamless.

The characters win the next round of points. While yes, I did want to break Zenitsu’s spine occasionally, he was a fun character, loved his back story and he’s also voiced by one of my favorite voice actors, so thank god. While people think Nezuko or Inosuke stole the spotlight, I think Tanjiro is seriously a great protagonist. He is such an interesting character, with his own ethics meeting motives that conflict against those. He’s learning about an entirely new world of monsters, but somehow sees the human in each of those demons. Though the SECOND he gets wind of the bad guy, he’s like (KILL BILL SIRENS).

It was also a lot of fun seeing the story planting seeds to both his past and destiny, how he might’ve been destined to become a demon slayer had his father stayed healthy and alive, maybe, but the fact of the matter is it’s in his blood.

A lot of people complained while Nezuko is so, so, so cute, that her character lost a lot of agency and her voice to the gag. The second her inner monologue came about I about lost my mind like, YES, I want more from her! I want to hear her side of the story, BUT her silence doesn’t make her expressionless. There are so many points where you can tell exactly what she’s thinking with very little outside influence. I could enjoy her adorable antics or her extremely metal demon fighting for hours, but I really am interested to see where her story goes, whether she will in the end become human or learn into her demon self. Who knows. I don’t. I haven’t been reading the manga so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Another thing about Demon Slayer that REALLY strikes my fancy is a lean into the Japanese lore and history. I love anything to do with Japanese mythology and lore, so demons are just so yum yum. There are also lots of versions of demons in Japanese mythology, ayakashi, youkai, oni, etc., so it really intrigues me how demon slayer refers to its demons as Oni specifically, because in Japanese myth, they are specifically monsters that eat humans and have a much more hostile nature.

It’s also really cool that it’s set in the Taisho period. I got a little nibble of that from Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, but it is really hard to find series set in the very very beginning of the modern era, and seeing the blending of Japanese tradition and western aesthetics and technology is just so cool.

This anime is really good, and I mean, not even just for a shonen. It’s an amazing story, full of likeable characters and a lot of plot intrigue. The fact it’s gorgeous to boot is just such a bonus! Please give this anime a try and here’s hoping we get to see the movie before season two comes out but I’m SO excited about season two.

[mahou-furbies]

Closing thoughts on Sugar Sugar Rune

I've read the manga a few times and praised it on numerous occasions on this blog, but I figured I should post a review of sorts too after this most recent reread. (spoiler warning)

Especially after so many repetitive magical girl stories I really appreciate how the story bothers to do different things. It starts with a "heart of the week" kind of structure where the heroines face magical and mundane issues in the human world, but towards the end we spend more and more time in the magic world and the plot turns to a fantasy adventure. Adults moving the politics in the background also makes it feel like the main girls aren't the only thing that exists in this universe. The story flounders a bit towards the end (jumping to school drama after an epic adventure in the magical world sometimes feels jarring, my Hated Trope "Forgotten Childhood Friends" appears, the politics turns to just some random senate guys being greedy, Vanilla fixes everything during a timeskip) but on the whole the manga is still enjoyable.

In addition to the fun setting there's also the unique mechanisms with how the magic works. The heroines compete on who will collect most crystallised emotions from the human world. This doesn't work just by shooting a magic beam at people and instead they must manipulate their target to have the desired emotion. Which leads to good character development when the girls must learn how to be charismatic enough for tons of boys to have a crush on them. The heart crystals are also used as currency and energy source so they feel more like a part of the world and not just a random collectible that's relevant in the one scene the characters get it.

The greatest thing is still the characters, or especially Chocola. I love how assertive and confident she is, and not in the "still reasonably cute and well-behaved for a girl" style. Truly one of the best magical girls out there, it's very clear why she's so popular in the story (or it takes a while in the human world). She also has great character development and grows from an impatient brat to a more mature witch, and the growth of her magic skills is very believable too. Vanilla is good too, she has the "shy girls gets confidence" plot but it's well executed. It's a shame though that her character arc sort of ends in the middle of the story when she turns good again and doesn't have much to do after that.

Chocola and Vanilla's relationship does a great job at exploring what a friendship between such different girls can be instead of just stopping at them being BFFs. Chocola is a great friend in that she is always ready to defend Vanilla, but also completely fails to see that not everyone can keep up with her and that she can be somewhat of a spotlight hog (would love to see more protagonists like this). And Vanilla is the nice amicable girl who is secretly bitter towards her more confident friend. Still their relationship doesn't turn into angsty drama about how the whole friendship was a lie or something, and everything can be resolved with communication. I love how supportive they remain of each other, they always defend their friend when someone speaks ill of them, even Vanilla when she turns to the Ogres and resents Chocola.

One other notable thing that I love is the flowery language. You don't have just clouds in the evening, we get a description of the pink glimmer of the clouds passing in the sunset between night and day. Chocola doesn't simply use rose petals for her magic potion, it's nine sweet pink heart shaped rose petals. This is consistent through the series and gives it a lot of personality and it's not something I'm used to seeing in a manga. A lot of the descriptions are related to food too which makes me crave for sweets... The initially dumbass Chocola also gets some depth when we see that her thoughts have similar ornate descriptions of the scenery.

The art is so beautiful as well, I love the memorable style and the backgrounds give the story a fairytale-like feel. The background characters also have very detailed designs, and even the men get fabulous outfits. Speaking of outfits, Sugar Sugar Rune has some of the best magical outfits ever and rivaled only by CLAMP in how fun and creative they are (CLAMP wins by sheer volume but I like the faces of the SSR characters way more)

[thekagepro24]

Can we appreciate Kou as a character? 

MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS UNDER READ MORE 

Usually in these kind of series with a trio, one person inevitably gets less spotlight, but JSHK makes sure to give Kou lots of depth. And in a way, I see him as more of a main character at times. With Young Exorcist arc, we see him blindly aspire to be just like his older brother, but he gains the independence and courage to tell Teru off for trying to exorcise Hanako before he's had a chance to prove himself.

With this being a supernatural series, having one of the main trio be an exorcist puts a great spin on things. And not just in a lighthearted sense.

Kou resolves to do his best as an exorcist and make his own decisions as to what is best to do. Afterwards he's set up with one of, if not the biggest challenge. After reuniting with Mitsuba, Tsukasa quickly steals that happiness away from him. A mysterious supernatural out of nowhere that turns his best friend into a husk of his former self.

This proves to Kou that pure resolve isn't enough to be an amazing exorcist. Resolve didn't save Mitsuba from turning into that, and resolve didn't save him from almost being killed just then.

But Hanako's appearance in this scene is very interesting. Instead of scolding Kou for lack of strength, Hanako doesn't even consider it. Through all of the hardships Hanako had faced during his life, and his now constant routine of having to get rid of spirits that become corrupted, Hanako feels like nothing can be done, and tells Kou just that.

"There was nothing that could have been done, this was for the best."

But Kou rejects that. He's not the type to take this kind of thing sitting down, which is very very resilient of him! After seeing all of that happen to Mitsuba and having flashbacks to human Mitsuba dying, he still says, through a tear-filled face, that this WASN'T for the best. That something COULD'VE been done. He just needs to find it.

We'd assume that whatever Hanako says must be true, as he is the most knowledgeable of the trio, but this scene proves that even Hanako is flawed and has something to learn from Kou, the sobbing mess gripping onto an old camera.

Next is Clock keepers. When the reveal is made about Yashiro, Kou confronts Hanako only to be told the same thing. "It can't be helped." Hanako had known what would happen to Yashiro and had been keeping quiet, believing there was no changing her fate, and thus, wanted to make do with the short time left.

Hanako informs him that with the time reset, Kou will forget all about learning this. He rejects this as well. He doesn't want to just go along with forgetting and inevitably losing Yashiro. Something had to be done. He had lost Mitsuba, what good would losing another close friend do?

In Hell of Mirrors, Kou is met with the grave reality that Tsukasa has stolen his best friends' memories and made him into a school wonder, all for his sick idea of fun. Mitsuba has no idea who he is, but calls him the same nickname. He's still Mitsuba, after all, even down to the funny nicknames. Kou gives Mitsuba the gardening book with photography done by Mitsuba himself. And along with that, he tells Mitsuba his name again. "I'm Kou Minamoto! Remember it, girly-face!"

And finally (so far) is Picture Perfect. Kou has to find out the meaning behind this fake world with Yashiro, and is told to kill Mitsuba.

He talks to Mitsuba, who's caught up in insecurities and learned helplessness. Kou himself is even taken aback when Mitsuba projects his past self on the window. Mitsuba breaks the window, claiming that even Kou doesn't care about him, only longing for the past Mitsuba. He breaks down, claiming no one else except Tsukasa could grant his wish.

Kou is faced with a big problem. He had resolved to save Mitsuba, to get him back, to help him out, but things have turned out this bad. His best friend is stuck here crying, helpless, and alone. No wonder he'd love this world. How else would he be able to live out the normal life both of them had lost to the distant past?

Mitsuba stares him dead in the eyes and makes the offer to Kou. "Let's stay here! You can save the friend that you lost, and we can just stay here! It'll be like Mitsuba never died!" He extends a trembling hand.

Kou can't accept this. But not in the same way as the two previous instances. This time, he has to know what to do and what to say on the spot.

After exchanging blows due to Mitsuba attacking in self-defense, Kou is able to recall Mitsuba's previous words, and brings them up as a rebuttal. "You didn't want to become 'Mitsuba', you wanted to become a human in the real world!"

Mitsuba tells him he's wrong, but that's a lie. Mitsuba knows full well Kou is right, but again retreats into helplessness, claiming to be alone.

And so, Kou leaps with Mitsuba. I think a lot of people misread this scene as Kou suddenly resolving to end it all, but Kou himself claims that's untrue. He resolves to return to the human world alongside Mitsuba and to stay by his side. (Remember that Kou had not yet learned the other way to leave the fake world. He believed the only way out was to kill Mitsuba, so he lept with Mitsuba as a means of going together instead of just pushing Mitsuba.) The leap was a means of proving to Mitsuba that he was serious about staying together. Even though only Mitsuba and Hanako had to be killed to return to reality, Kou leaps with Mitsuba.

Mitsuba stops this, worried about Kou's safety, and after some light bickering, they come to an understanding. For the first time since Young Exorcist, Kou has proven himself as dependable, and Mitsuba stays by Kou's side for the remainder of the arc as they find another way out of the fictional world.

Having a strong contrast to Hanako's all-knowing sort of aura, a great dynamic with figuring out all of this spirit stuff alongside Yashiro, and a strong drive to save Mitsuba from his misfortune, Kou is a very dynamic character that is amazing all-around. I ended up writing so much, but Kou deserves it. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[hollywoodhangar]

2, 3, 13 / Lizzie!

questions for muns of canon muses! // @silvcrreaper​ // accepting

Do you have any controversial headcanons that go against what is generally accepted by the fandom? Do you incorporate this into writing your muse or keep it to yourself?

I imagine I do! I don’t look much into the fandom anymore outside of fanart (you see too much Elizabeth hate, you get real turned off from reading just about anything related to her. the fandom misogyny never dies). 

One, my Elizabeth thinks beetles are cute - specifically the ones from the Scarabaeidae family. Her favorites are the ones that are black with a rainbow sheen to their shells and the jewel scarabs. Francis and Edward are absolutely repulsed by this fascination and have done their damndest to deter Elizabeth from it, but Alexis is supportive of it. She has a jewel beetle brooch among her jewelry (Alexis bought this for her on her 12th birthday) that is among her most precious items that’d she’d be devastated over should it go missing.

Ladies aren’t meant to play with bugs, but Elizabeth does and has ever since she was a tot. It’s gotten her teased before by children of her social circles and as a result has made her cry, but she still plays with them, by now having grown a thick skin and (mostly) not caring what anyone says. 

Between Her and Ciel, she is the one who captures spiders and takes them outside.

Two, her life should not revolve around Ciel. It’s a terrible habit, it’s a terrible way to be. It’s the Victorian Era so this is simply how she’s raised to be and it’s what’s expected of her. Eventually, I want to have her start growing outside of him and stop fussing over him so much, and start focusing more on herself and developing as a character. She’s beginning this, especially the more I write her with other characters, and I hope to flesh her out as an independent character who, while she loves Ciel, doesn’t have her world revolve around him. His doesn’t revolve around hers, and I’m just not a fan of the girl-character-revolves-around-brooding-boy-who-doesn’t-have-as-much-investment-in-her-as-she-does-in-him dynamic. 

This also includes breaking a few social norms expected from females that would irritate Francis, but it’ll be good for her. Claudia’d be proud.

Three, this post is getting too long but there’s others. She’s not exactly as soft and sweet as one would expect, not entirely, anyways. She’s not frightened by things girls are expected to be frightened of. Her mind has a capability that’s more like a cold assassin mode that’d frighten Edward and I know a lot of people wouldn’t be down for that, but! It’s my headcanon, and it’s my Lizzie, so nyeh.

What is something that was never addressed at all in the canon material that you have independently developed for your muse?

We’ve never seen how Elizabeth digested the Campania arc and that bothers me immensely. She’s so young and she just went through one of the (known) darkest events of her life; killing hordes of the undead that tried to devour her, then proceeding to be a witness to the most traumatic sight of a sinking ship and not to mention, hearing the sounds of it. The masses of people screaming for their lives, from pain, from terror, from despair. The loudest groaning and breaking of metal, the snapping sounds of electricity. The sound as the water consumed the Campania.  

My Elizabeth has referred to it before, and it was a line that’s so short but honestly one of the saddest I’ve written on my public blogs: “I never knew the ocean could scream.”

She’s a side character so we never get to see how she digests news that comes to her, but this? This is especially just one of the things I really wanted depth with. I wanted her reactions, I wanted to know her feelings after the fact, her thoughts. Canon won’t give it to me, so I’ve crafted it all myself. She definitely has PTSD from watching the ship sink, and she starts shaking uncontrollably when the notion of taking a boat to anywhere is brought up, and she starts to reject everyone erratically who tries to talk her into it, working herself into a fit of pure anxiety and panic. You just.. cannot get her on the sea anymore. It’s not happening, not while she’s conscious. 

As for the Bizarre Dolls, that is also something I want to know her thoughts on but it’s all on me to make. AND I WILL DO IT. >:( She’s actually not traumatized from them, which is CONCERNING FOR ME AS HER ROLEPLAYER BUT I WILL GET INTO THAT WHEN I MAKE A HEADCANON POST, but they were definitely a dark chapter I need to cover base with for her, especially seeing as how they’ve remained so integral to the story, and how canonically, she is bound to be wed to one (I highly doubt we’re going to see these kids make it to the ages of marital union, you know both twins are checking out before then - possibly with their keepers, but you know).

What canon character do you really wish your muse could interact more with?

I was thinking about this literally yesterday, but oh my god, I would love for Lizzie to be able to interact with a Soma. They’re two people I’ve wanted to see interact in canon a lot more than they have, but they’ve just never been given the spotlight, which is a damn shame because I feel like they could really, REALLY bond to a deep level - down to becoming best friends. Like, a level where Soma would take Lizzie’s side when it came to Ciel kind of level. They’re both absolutely delightful characters with a lot of similarities, but a lot of differences that’d bounce off each other well! They’d learn from each other (Soma already has a graduated education so him showing Elizabeth the ropes when it comes to learning and being her study partner and teacher?? help?? I love it??)! And because of them bonding, Paula and Agni would wind up bonding, too. That’s just.. 🥺 The thought of those four just having a really tight little social circle together warms my heart, okay?

And god, the way the manga’s done the both of them so damn dirty. They’re precious people who did not deserve to be broken as hard as they have been (it was bound to happen, seeing as they were both characters who wanted to make Ciel happy the most so of course, they’ve been punished the hardest for it). I think right now, ESPECIALLY right now, that bond could be one source of much needed comfort for Soma (given he doesn’t cut her out for being related to Ciel, of course). He has someone on his side. I know he’s going home, but being so deeply bonded to Elizabeth could allow for a great depth in understanding the situation.. but also, exacerbating it. And potentially making things worse. Because he’d find out about the twin situation and you know he’d want to dismantle R!Ciel, and Elizabeth would be shocked about the murder reveal and in her emotional state, things could go EXTREMELY sideways between her, her fiancé and the Undertake.. OK LET’S NOT GET INTO THAT. Although that sort of drama and tension is exactly Kuroshitsuji’s brand.

BASICALLY. SOMA. YES PLEASE. I’D LOVE FOR LIZZIE TO BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH A SOMA.

I’d also have a ball with her being able to interact with Paula, Sieglinde and Joker. :’)

[smokeybrandreviews]

Smokey brand Select: Vast and Infinite

I’ve done a few of these Smokey brand Selects, lists of some of my favorite films in any specific sub-genre, and it occurs to me that I haven’t even touched my actual, favorite, sub-genre at all. A few of these movies have made different lists, sure, but I've never cobbled together an actual, dedicated, catalog for the Cyberpunk category. I absolutely adore these types of film. They capture every aspect I look for in a flick; Beautiful imagery, enthralling sounds, compelling narrative, existential questions, and so much more. The sheer depth of this genre lends itself to great storytelling, diverse creativity, and enthralling visuals. I love Cyberpunk and these films are some of the best I've seen.

10b. Johnny Mnemonic

Johnny Mnemonic is probably the purest, US made, Cyberpunk film I have ever seen. It’s not a great watch, there’s a ton going on all of the time, but it is bursting with creativity and ideas. I adore this film, I really do. Even with all of it’s confusing, spastic, scatter-brained, story telling, I loved this film. Up until The Matrix and then John Wick, Johnny was my favorite Keanu Reeves performance. That, alone, has me coming back year after year. I highly recommend checking this one out if your a fan of the genre but it’s probably the weakest select on this list by a wide berth.

10a. Virtuosity

I was hesitant to put this one on the list because, I mean, this makes it eleven instead of ten, but moreso because I wasn’t sure of this thing qualifies as Cyberpunk. There’s a couple ahead on this list that have the same issue but I ended up putting them on so I guess this goes on here, too. Plus, I never hear anyone talking about this thing and I feel it deserves a bit more of a spotlight. Virtuosity is a goddamn blast. There’s a great performance from Denzel Washington a trite but ably executed plot, and some pretty interesting choices from a relatively new director. The strongest draw, however, is Russell Crowe as the artificial, glass eating, super psychopath, SID 6.7, as well as all of that mid 90s, virtual reality, conjecture. Virtuosity is definitely a product of it’s time but it's still a great time to watch.

9. Tron: Legacy

Legacy is, admittedly, not the best film. Even so, i had a ball with this one. The soundtrack by Daft Punk, alone, is worth the price of admission but couple that with the stunning, neon, visuals and you have a combo that can move even the most stoic of moviegoers. I absolutely adore this film. It get way too much hate for what it is. I’m a little perturbed we’ll never see the capping to this narrative but, for a second outing, I really did enjoy returning to this world. I’d put the first on this list but I really did connect with it beyond how dope it looked. Legacy gave me so much more to dig my teeth into and I respect it for that.

8. 12 Monkeys

I don’t even know where to begin with this movie. I’ve seen it a few times and dissected it in a couple of essays for school but I'm still not sure if i understand it wholeheartedly and that is incredible. For a movie to keep me so off-balance and I still enjoy the show is testament to the brilliant direction on display. The plot, itself, as convoluted as it can be sometimes, is rather gripping once you get a handle on what’s going on and the performances are outstanding. Brad Pitt really shows his range in this one, shades of things to come. 12 Monkeys is a Cyberpunk on the strictest sense but, like The Matrix, I was hesitant to add it tho this list. But, also just like The Matrix, if it is truly a Cyberpunk film, it has to be required viewing.

7. Dredd

Dredd is entirely Cyberpunk. From page to screen, Cyberpunk everything. The first outing was a little too campy to make this list but the second? The Karl Urban Dredd? That one fits this list perfectly. It’s a crying shame we didn’t get a sequel. I was itching to see Judge Death do it’s thing but the siege of Peachtree was more than enough to sate my ultraviolent appetite. Seriously, this movie is outstanding and it’s a crime more people didn’t see it. I feel like if this thing was released today, maybe on VOD, it would get the respect it deserves. Too early to the party, it seems.

6. RoboCop

It’s crazy to me that all of the classic, US made, Cyberpunk movies are all championed by foreign directors. Ridley Scott, Denis Villeneuve, Terry Gilliam, and Paul Verhoeven. Verhoeven’s RoboCop is a scathing indigent of consumerism and it’s interchangeability with corruption. When I was a kid, that sh*t flew right over my head. All I saw was a dope cyborg named Murphy and a beautifully alien war machine called ED-209. As I got older, I learned to appreciate, more and more, Verhoeven’s vision and RoboCop became more than just an action film for me. This thing is one of the best in the sub-genre and far more intelligent than anyone gives it credit for being.

5. The Matrix

I don’t know if The Matrix belongs on this list. It never felt Cyberpunk to me but everyone else tells me it is. When I think about it, it checks all the boxes; Existentialism, robots, future dystopia, etc. All the boxes but I always felt it skewed more toward Neo Noir than anything. That said, if it is Cyberpunk, and it seems that is the accepted consensus, how can it not make this list? The Matrix is one of the most influential films ever made. It’s easily the greatest action film in history. Terminator 2 is usually the front runner for that title, I’ll eventually make a Select for action films so don’t worry, but Neo’s maiden voyage matches anything Cameron created.

4. Alita: Battle Angel

I was initially introduced to Alita way back in the early 90s. the SyFy channel, back then know as the Sci-Fi Channel, used to show these blocks of what was called “Japanimation”, later known properly as anime, and the original Alita OVA was one of the few that aired. I loved every bit of it. It got me wondering about the manga so i went looking for that, too. Imagine my surprise when it was hundreds of chapters deep and encapsulated an entire world. I was hooked. So was James Cameron because he optioned it for the big budget, US, blockbuster treatment and spent the next decade and change, adapting technology to bring Gally and her universe to life. What we eventually got was, hands down, the best adapted anime or manga to the big screen, ever. Alita: Battle Angel is an incredible film experience that deserves more eyes on it and more love. Here’s hoping HBO Max and ATT give it that sequel everyone wants because it gets real awesome after the rollerball arc we just witnessed. Plus, I mean, Rosa Salazar’s Alita is just f*cking adorable, man.

3. Akira

Akira was the first anime I really watched with intent and that viewing colored my perception of cinema going forward for the rest of my life. I had seen anime before, of course, but not like this. Macross and Go-Lion were serials, cartoons for kids, but Akira was a completely different animal. I didn’t understand the narrative as a child, that came later, but i knew the experience was revolutionary. As I watched this film over and over, year after year, I began to understand exactly the story being told in a critical nature. It wasn’t only the breathtaking visuals that held up. Akira is as influential as it is because of it’s absolutely pristine storytelling. It’s reputation is unassailable and if you count yourself a fan of cinema, you have to see it at least once. I am petrified at what America is going to do to this narrative, man.

2. Ghost in the Shell

Ghost is easily the most balanced Cyberpunk film i have ever seen. It’s what I measure all movies in the sub-genre against. The narrative is poignant, profound, and perfectly executed. For the record, I’m speaking about the 1995 anime, not whatever the f*ck ScarJo starred in a few years back. That sh*t was the worst but Oshii’s masterpiece? That sh*t is the best. For such a short stint in Masamune Shirow‘s world, you are immersed in the grit of it all immediately. Kusanagi’s story, her struggle with being and conflict, mirror each other brilliantly. This would be top of the list if not for how much the world, itself, resembles our own. The Cyberpunk aesthetic kind of eludes this most Cyberpunk narrative. Even that juxtaposition is a positive in my eyes.

1. Blade Runner 2049

This one was hard to place. I love the original Blade Runner to bits. I think it’s a masterwork of cinema. It’s deftly acted, brilliantly directed, and easily one of the most gorgeous films I have ever laid eyes upon. And then Denis Villeneuve drops his continuation. Everything i just said about the original, stands for it’s sequel, but maybe even more. 2049 is breathtakingly gorgeous. It tells a simple, yet, emotional story driven by outstanding performances from everyone. No one is bad in this at all. I enjoyed the characters as much as I enjoyed the first’s, absolutely falling in love with Joi and Luv. This movie is everything and doesn’t get the love it deserves. Admittedly, it can be a little long in the tooth, but it needs all of that time to tell it’s story. If you commit to the narrative, engage with the visuals, and accept what the film is offering, you will be absolutely rewarded with one of the best movies ever captured on film.

Honorable Mentions: Terminator, Appleseed Alpha, Hotel Artemis, Run Lola Run, Demolition Man, Black Magic M-66, Elysium, Upgrade, The Lawnmower Man, Dark City, Armitage III, Ready Player One, The Zero Theorem, Minority Report, Looper

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing 12-18 January 2020

Here’s this week’s roundup!

Remember to give your content creators some love! And join in on the events at the bottom!

~Mod Hel

Fanfiction/Snippets/AU Ideas:

@bobo-is-tha-bomb​

My Daddy https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/22270513

Trowa Barton/???

OC - Character, Trowa Barton, Catherine Bloom

I don't care that Daddy only smiles and never laughs out loud. He still is my Daddy.

Short story from the POV of Trowa’s daughter.

To see the truth (Ch. 8) https://archiveofourown.org/works/22084159/chapters/53063614

F/M, Heero Yuy/Reader

Heero Yuy, Reader, Relena Peacecraft

Romance, Friendship, citrus, Reader Insert

Relena is coming over for a visit because Heero thinks you two need to get along. You don't like the idea of spending time with her, but maybe one day is all you need to convince her that you really love Heero.

@cynfinnegan​

Gundam Wing: Remastered, Expanded & Annotated (Ch. 3) https://archiveofourown.org/works/4696364/chapters/53257096

F/M, Gen, M/M, none yet, Subject to change - Relationship

Hiiro Yui/01, Duo Maxwell/02, Trowa Barton/Triton Bloom/03, Quatre Raberba Winner/04, Zhang Wu Fei/05, Zechs Merquise, Lucrezia Noin, Treize Khushrenada, Lady Une, Relena Dorlan/Peacecraft, Hilde Schbeiker, Catherine Bloom, Sally Po, Dorothy Catalonia, Doctor J, Professor G, Doktor S, Instructor H, Master O, Quinze Quarant, Duke Dermail, Ken Tsubarov, Vice Foreign Minister Dorlan, Pagan - Character

It's a Gundam!, War, Mobile Suits, space colonies, Canon Rewrite

The Alliance Navy sends out troops to find the sunken Gundam, but Zechs and his men locate it first, using OZ's new Cancer and Pisces mobile suits. Hiiro must locate and destroy his Wing Gundam before anyone can get their hands on it, but in the dark ocean depths, the shadow of another Gundam appears.

@noirangetrois​

Of the Sea (Ch. 7) https://archiveofourown.org/works/12749670/chapters/53036122

Duo Maxwell/Heero Yuy

Aro!Trowa, otp, Yaoi Eventual Smut, fairytale my way, Meroctopus!Dorothy, more ships on the way, Slow Burn, Multi POV, POV Third Person Limited, merman au, Slash, MerMay, Fantasy Politics, mentions of abuse

Quatre hated all this waiting. And he was so tired. It took effort to connect telepathically to any of his creatures, though his bond with Iria was strong enough that it took less of his energy than with the others. Even so, he was spending an unprecedented amount of time connected with her, and it was taking a toll.

But the waiting was even worse than the exhaustion. Every day Duo spent on land was another day his secret might be discovered. Quatre was sick with worry, especially because there was only so much he could glean by watching Duo through Iria’s eyes. She couldn’t follow him inside, and even when he was outside, she couldn’t get too close too often lest she arouse suspicion.

Fanart/Gunpla/Photo Manips:

@antarespromise​

https://antarespromise.tumblr.com/post/190227485426

Duo Maxwell

@bluesquishylemon​

https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/bluesquishylemon/186949846757

Trowa Barton

@bobo-is-tha-bomb​

https://bobo-is-tha-bomb.tumblr.com/post/190275073081/thumps-up-for-sandrock-having-so-much-fun

Sandrock, gunpla

@disturbed02girl​

https://disturbed02girl.tumblr.com/post/190324760160/quatre-believes-a-good-pair-of-shoes-makes-all-the

GW Fashion, Quatre Winner

@duointherain​

https://duointherain.tumblr.com/post/190242222644

Duo Maxwell

Photosets/Gifsets/Screenshots/Manga Pages:

@disturbed02girl​

https://disturbed02girl.tumblr.com/post/190216838085

Trowa, Heero, & Quatre | Glory of the Losers

@janaverse​

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/190235691863/heero-is-not-having-his-finest-hour

Heero Yuy, screencap

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/190290857518/trowa-is-dubious

Trowa Barton, screencap

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/190290813143/heavyarms-is-off-to-an-impressive-start

Heavyarms, screencap

Fandom Discourse:

@incorrectgundamwingquotes​

https://anaranesindanarie.tumblr.com/post/190218624609/tag-game

Tag Game

https://noirangetrois.tumblr.com/post/190290849907/lemontrash-incorrectgundamwingquotes-duo-and

The boys and gaming | @lemontrash​

Quotes:

@incorrectgundamwingquotes​

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/190335713095/quatre-are-you-okay-wufei-was-the-mission

Quatre & WuFei

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/190227223698/dorothy-i-dont-sweat-heero-everyone

Dorothy, Heero, & Relena

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/190229622334/duo-on-a-scale-of-1-10-how-angry-are-you-at

Duo & Heero

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/190239292719/une-we-need-to-improve-the-working-atmosphere

Une & Trowa

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/190245900751/duo-lets-go-see-sally-already-heero-oh-im

Duo & Heero

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/190248303409/duo-so-heres-the-tea-wufei-for-the-last-time

Duo & WuFei

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/190264234615/relena-kisses-heeros-cheek-heero-what-the

Relena & Heero

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/190276479079/sharing-a-safehouse-wufei-returning-from-a

WuFei & Trowa

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/190284683510/duo-man-this-sucks-i-hate-doing-missions-alone

Duo & Trowa

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/190291905999/duo-admit-you-are-happy-to-see-me-heero-im

Duo & Heero

Calendar Events:

@gundamzine​​

Rhythm Generation: Shooting Stars, Celebrating 25 Years of Gundam Wing

Be sure to not miss any updates or Creator Spotlights by following @gundamzine​​

Be sure to reserve your copy of the Zine as well as Zine MERCH by completing the sign-up form, here  

All zines and zine swag are FREE, but the Zine Crew encourages everyone who is able to donate to one of the branches of their chosen charity, WAR CHILD

Also be sure to submit your response to the (totally anonymous) Fandom Metrics Survey the Zine Crew is running, here

@gwcocktailfriday​

Cocktail Fridays!

Post responses on Friday, during Happy Hour between 3 & 5 pm in your own timezone.

Here’s the prompt for Friday, January 24th! https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/day/2020/01/18

For those going to Pillowfort, find us here.

If anyone has ideas for prompts, PLEASE send them in! Our ask box is always open.

In need of Winter prompts!

@thisweekingundamevents​

Gundam Wing Holiday Gift Exchange 2019/2020

https://thisweekingundamevents.tumblr.com/post/188113410410/holiday-gift-exchange

Gifts! https://thisweekingundamevents.tumblr.com/post/190303140060/gw-holiday-gift-exhange-2019-2020

@anaranesindanarie, @noirangetrois, @vegalume, @seitou, @duointherain, @dpganime, @amyole, @deejayers, @doctormegalomania, @gundayum, @rhysgalenrigsby, @feanaro07, @deathscythehell​

Thank you all for participating!

Here’s the link for the AO3 Subcollection! https://archiveofourown.org/collections/GWHolidayExchange2019

[yenrz1314]

LET’S (attempt to) FIX/REWRITE KH 358/2 DAYS

Let me preface this: I love Roxas, Xion, and Axel A LOT. I have been thoroughly blinded by nostalgia as much as you have and I don’t really care. I’ll continue to love them even after I’m finished destroying their game here. Keep in mind I’m not hatin’. And, fun fact, I think that Days is perhaps the best written game in the series regarding character writing. Still doesn’t mean I think it’s actually good though.

I’m going to start off saying something kind of controversial. Axel, Roxas, and Xion weren't that great of friends. 

Yes they were the best friends that they ever had, but when you're constantly surrounded by the melancholic mundane, any sort of friendship is the great friendship. They weren't that great at being friends to each other because they dealt with conflict in the most incompetent way possible. As far as I know, there was barely any communication whatsoever between them, which is really disappointing because Roxas is like the most understanding person ever. Most of their conversations concerned small talk. Not necessarily boring small talk, but small talk.

I really wish we could at least have gotten a talk between Xion and Roxas when he was on that mission to chase her down before Axel came in and knocked her out. The only real communication about Xion’s situation is between her and Axel, and we rarely get to see any camaraderie between her and Roxas. We do see a decent amount between Roxas and Axel but I’ll just attribute to the fact that they’ve existed as characters longer than Xion has.

Xion’s inherently pretty bad at communicating. To Roxas especially. Even though Axel tried to talk her down, she didn't really explain herself much. Axel honestly had to figure it out himself.

If Days gets remade I hope to death that we have at least one scene of Roxas and Xion having more meaningful talks. Alone. They were close. Its just that Xion kept stonewalling, and Axel would always be dodgy with his answers, which makes you question if they’re truly all that close. I mean, you wouldn’t just not tell one of your best friends anything about something you’re really struggling about.

Though I guess you can’t blame them since they had no memories of their past and were learning based off of watching those around them, and they did live with the organization

And to be fair, you’re a part of an organization with a leader the answers basic questions like “Who is Sora?” with vague af answers like "the connection".

Also they’re stupid teenagers. I’m already giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Honestly I would normally be fine with her lack of communication and accept it as an character flaw.  In fact, under normal circumstances, it would be a reason for me to be invested in her character. But the truth is that we don't see enough scenes of him and Xion having meaningful bonding time for me to be accepting of that lack of communication. There was that one absolutely adorable scene of Roxas and Xion on the clocktower discussing about how much they worry about each other...but the rest of the time they spent together is superficial, mostly consisting of just kind of empty small talk. It’s kind of rare that we see them actually talk about their relationship and/or any chemistry. A lot was just them sitting next to each other eating ice cream or on missions and we did have a lot of skips of one of them being asleep or missing.

The main problem KH has in its writing is that it really likes to display the cute little quirks or tressings of a relationship but absolutely fails to write any core to that relationship. Like, for example, the seashells they leave for each other when they’re sleeping is absolutely precious, but there’s not that much of a core dynamic between these characters that this really cute character interaction can be built upon. And in the end, but just because something is tragic doesn't mean it has substance

Because Days doesn't give me enough meat of writing to bite into, it just ends up as a frustrating tale of Roxas just being confused the whole time. Sure, Roxas is the main character, but he literally has almost no agency throughout the entire game. And I find that pretty insulting to his character. This guy is literally one of the most well written in the series. And no, I’m not pulling the ‘xion’s a mary sue stealing the spotlight’ card. I’m totally fine with her existing, but dang if I had the opportunity to change ONE THING about Days I would totally rewrite the cutscene Fracture on day 298, the day when Xion was captured.

So the original scene goes like this: Roxas tracks her down, asks her to come back, he tries to comfort her, asking why she won’t come back to him. She just says "I can't" and GETS SCARED WHEN THE MOST TRUSTED PERSON IN HER LIFE REACHES OUT TO HER. Okay. breathe. I understand if she’s scared. It’s a bit of a stretch, yes, if we take into account that she’s in the depths of emotional turmoil trying decide between her friends or Sora. I understand if she really doesn’t want to go back to the organization. My problem is that Roxas really doesn’t pose a threat to her at all here.

But then again, it could be that Xion’s a very delicate person, emotionally. And that she’s easily disturbed and is flighty. BUT THE THING IS: We don’t see this anywhere else. Days, as is, doesn’t really do a good job of establishing Xion’s personality at all anyways. So we can throw that excuse out the window.

BUT. BUT BUT BUT. THE ABSOLUTE WORST WAS WHEN SHE TURNED HER KEYBLADE ON ROXAS.

SERIOUSLY I would have totally been fine with everything up to this point except her turning on him like that

Again, he is literally no threat to her at all! I can understand her being scared, but he didn’t threaten to take her back or yell at her or anything

Like why. Why isn’t she willing to tell him anything about the truth about her existence. It's not like she's trying to keep it a secret. I understand how jarring it must have been for her to have that sort of existential crisis knowing that she’s just a puppet created to copy...But telling Roxas absolutely nothing is ridiculous. ESPECIALLY because Roxas was the one who always was breaking his back for her. He was the one who first approached her to join him at the clock tower, he was always trying to reach out to her, understand her. Heck, even when Xion was the aggressor, both times in Fracture and in the final battle, Roxas still sees her as the victim, the one who was in the right, and it's both very sweet and a bit unhealthy that he views her in such a positive light. He always does his best to give her the benefit of the doubt. And this is clearly shown in his actions.

I would rewrite it like this:

Keep everything the same up to the point right before she turns on him. She walks away and he stops her and everything, but after that she stops and thinks for a moment. And she asks quietly for him to let her go. Roxas, of course, let's her go because he's freaking Roxas

And she tries explaining to him what's going on in a very roundabout way, for the sake of being consistent with her established character. I'm not asking for her to explain it word for word. She's as flighty as a deer. I understand her not being direct. And then Roxas tries talking to her how they could work this out. Hell, this would be the PERFECT TIME to incorporate that scene from the manga when Roxas proposes they run away together. Xion is shocked and ask if he is serious, and he says yes. And THAT'S when Axel comes in and stops the party, and everything plays out the same till the end of the cutscene.

Also if this writing was implemented, then that would be a payoff point. The pacing in Days’ story is kind of whack, and adding a breakthrough moment like this would be super satisfying to the viewer.

Also it makes sense that Axel would come in then because he can't just accept both of his friends leaving like that. In the og game, Axel pretty much just let his two best friends walk away from him.  The only time he shows any protest is when he is ordered by his superiors to go after them. Xion in particular. Sure this works, as it’s implied that Axel is respecting his friends’ autonomy by letting them go.

But maybe we could make it better by having Axel go through a mini arc where he accepts his friends' departure with a bit of a struggle. You’ll see more below.

The only change that would have to be made is that the organization would have to actively keep Roxas and Xion apart to keep them from conspiring together. Or when they're together, always have a third party member to keep a watchful eye. I’m guessing this would mean no more ice cream time either. For now.

Xion’s communication is just a trickle the first few days, but over time it slowly opens up, gradually telling more as they interact when they have the occasional mission together. She would mutter things like 

“The organization is keeping so much from us, Roxas…” 

or telling snippits like that when the third party member/chaperone isn’t watching.

Eventually, the organization takes note of this and orders for the two to be kept completely separate at all times, and Axel knows that this will absolutely kill their friendship so he does a solid by confronting Saix about it to propose a compromise. He’s like: 

"I'm a trusted member of this organization. Hell, I brought them back for you.  So how about this: I'll watch them for you instead" 

And Saix accepts that compromise. And the result of that compromise is that we get more trio missions, something we ALL LOVED. And also those would be opportunities for them to talk. ALL THREE OF THEM

Okay so the three talk on missions and at the clocktower again, Xion knows her purpose and desperately wants to leave. She won’t disclose Riku or Namine's location. Axel protests fiercely to the thought of her leaving. Meanwhile Roxas is trying to mediate as always, but he leans more towards helping Xion leave at least. However, he would still show how he emotionally would rather have her stay. He has an internal struggle when Xion tries to explain their connection with Sora and how they need to go back during a few talks with them alone that Axel allows. She needs to be the one who tells him he needs to come back to Sora.  Someone who he trusts and can help him through this process. Not a stranger like Riku or Namine.

And then this time of communication all abruptly comes to a halt when the Org. starts pitting Roxas and Xion against each other in missions. Also, let's have Xion be less heartless to Roxas here and not be so eager to leave. Of course, she desperately still wants to, but Roxas is her anchor keeping her there. She knows that it'll all be for naught if Roxas doesn't go with her anyways. Also she doesn't want to hurt him by just leaving like that. She cares.

So, back to the rewrite, the talks stop when the organization starts pitting roxas and Xion against each other in those missions. Axel stops them like he did originally, and they have a talk about how crazy ridiculous this all is. Roxas agrees with Xion and Axel agrees too but hides it because he's a coward and is the org's lapdog, and just tries as hard as he can to keep them together. Roxas is dismayed that his existence is possibly ending, but at the same time agrees with Xion that this is all crazy. Axel shuts them down for the day. 

And the next day is the day Xigbar, Axel and Xion go on that mission.

But instead of Xion jumping ship, Riku comes in to take Xion, kidnapping her without a fight because he knows he can't take survive one against two other org. members. Axel doesn't do anything to stop her because he's accepted it at this point. Also seeing Xion as Ven really made him realize the gravity of the situation.

This really upsets Roxas because he thinks Xion was taken against her will. Axel doesn’t have the heart to tell him about Xion’s current extremely unstable state. And this sets him off since he's been putting up with so much BS at this point and he runs away as originally written as well as to search for Xion, because he knows the org. will never let him look for her himself. Everything plays out the same after that.

 On the clocktower where Roxas and Xion meet, there's one change. When she shows him that she's almost Sora, she *explains* as best as she can what’s happened to her, since she’s under the control of the org. now. She makes him realize that it's inevitable that she must die or she'll cease to be herself. And then they fight as originally scripted, Roxas’ motive for fighting being that there still might be a chance for them to go on if he finishes things himself.

When the fight is over and she begins to die, Xion's final request is that he join back with Sora. That is were it this all leads and she knows it. We're changing that because in the original she, when Roxas and Riku are fighting, for some dumb reason, retracts her final wish???? Like… that's got to be one of the most contrived things in this story.

Also I'd like to cut that dumb pointless plot device that Roxas forgets who Xion is right after finishing his final battle with her, Because by golly did the writing team really want Roxas to be as clueless as possible even as his best friend is dying. Geez wtf.

Honestly, you can keep the memory loss, just please make it so that he remembers her SOONER, so they can actually COMMUNICATE AND SO THAT HE CAN ACTUALLY SAY GOODBYE.

FUACK.

“Promise me...you’ll come back...to Sora. That way...we can be together again...”

Or something like that, make me cry more. 。ﾟ(ﾟﾉД｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡

But then what would Roxas’s motive be for going back to The World That Never Was and fighting Riku then? Just wait a moment and hold on to your seat because I’m going to take the original situation and make it even more badass AND make it work with my rewrite.

Also this blog is finally almost done good job for making it this far.

Let's have Roxas know about the heartless nobody cycle. He can have learned this after maybe sifting through the organization’s research files or something. It wouldn’t be hard to stick it in the story somewhere. 

What was the most heartwrenching thing about Roxas’s final day in the real world? I would say his rage, grief, and desperation over his entire life. So let’s take that, and multiply it by a couple dozen times. After Xion's death, his motive to destroy the organization will be more about his rage at the unjust way he was treated. Him and Xion. They messed up his and his friends’ lives.

“Well if I die, then whatever I'll just go back to Sora. Kill two birds with one stone.”

Regardless of however you write Days, angsty, bloodthirsty Roxas is a requirement. It’s what makes Roxas Roxas. And as a result his grief is amplified tenfold. He doesn't even care about preserving his own life anymore.

And Riku confronts him. Asks him what the hell he's doing. He tells him he's going to fuck up the organization. And Riku's like ‘don't be stupid they'll just capture you and hold you hostage to keep Sora from waking’

Roxas looks at him, points one of his keyblades towards him.

"You don't know that." 

"I'll end every single one of them before they get the chance. You want me to prove it..? WELL HERE'S MY PROOF!” 

AND THEN HE FREAKING STRIKES,

AND THAT’S THE FIGHT

And let's hammer in the fact that Roxas is his own freaking person. Instead of the line "C'mon Sora! I thought you were stronger than that!" from Riku, instead he says to Roxas something akin to this:

"C'mon Sora...I know you're stupid, but not to this extent!"

And then Roxas doesn't give him a Sora-ish line.

“You’re the one calling me by the wrong name.”

Riku sits defeated and despondent on the ground.

"...Why...? It's not supposed to be this way...Sora..."

This breaks a nerve in Roxas.

"This again?! I'm me. NOBODY ELSE. Get that through YOUR thick head!"

And the rest is history...

..................

THAT’S THE REWRITE KIDS.  YOU’RE FINALLY FINISHED READING THIS RIDICULOUSLY LONG BLOG. THANK YOU FOR READING \o/

Fun fact, this was all borne out of a late night discord chat with a friend of mine.

Edit: this is the headcanon for what happened in Days now. Goodnight.

[echodrops]

Can we still send ships? Midotsuyu, Kiribaku, Kataang, Zutara, JoxLaurie (don’t know the ship name, little women)

Whoa, there are a lot here, so I’ll just write a little about each one.

MidoTsuyu:

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

I quite like Tsuyu and her character. It’s refreshing to see a somewhat blunt female character who speaks her mind, is responsible, level-headed, and great in a crisis. She’s not only cute in her design but also in her reactions to other characters–her straightforward manner of making friends is very endearing to me. Even though she rarely gets as much of the spotlight as she deserves, I think that she and Midoriya could be a fine ship! In particular, I appreciate that if this ship was the main het ship, there probably wouldn’t be a lot beating around the bush and awkward romantic tension such as exists between Izuku and Ochako–Tsuyu seems like the type who would come clean about her feelings fairly quickly. Ha ha, it would honestly be pretty cute to see Midoriya completely flustered by having a girl confess to him–he’d probably melt into a puddle from the heat of his own blush.

I think this ship has a lot of potential and should get more attention from fans–maybe Horikoshi should spend a little more time giving Tsuyu some ship tease with other characters! I’m kind of partial to Ochako/Tsuyu myself.

KiriBaku:

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

There are some ships where you just have to ask yourself what the creator’s intent was. Like do you think Horikoshi intended for the fans to like seeing Bakugou and Kirishima together as much as we do? Do you think he sees all the fanarts and asks himself “What have I done?!” or, deep down, do you think that sometimes manga and animation artists create these characters just KNOWING that fans are going to ship them, and secretly embracing that fan reaction, even if they don’t ever actually plan on making the pair canon in actual material? Sometimes when I look at KiriBaku, I just get the feeling that Horikoshi knew what he was doing when he started drawing the two of them together.

I love that Kirishima has zero fear of Bakugou’s threats and crappy attitude, and that he also won’t just allow Bakugou to trample over others. He’s such a good kid whose gentle chiding and constant corrections seem to be improving Bakugou’s mannerisms and helping Bakugou to make genuine friends (however grudging Bakugou seems to be about it lol). Kirishima makes Bakugou a better person just by being around him! But it’s also true in reverse–I don’t know if Bakugou’s really deliberately trying to cheer Kirishima up or just stating what’s on his mind because he’s honest, but Bakugou’s supporting words have been massive motivators for Kirishima, whose greatest weakness has always been his internal feelings of inferiority.

A good, mutually supportive and beneficial ship. A+.

Kataang:

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

Ten years ago I was not the mature adult I am today, and although I myself was never an active part of the ship war between Zutara and Kataang, I definitely read every single piece of back-and-forth drama between these two ships that I could get my hands on and was vocally on the Zutara side. To be honest, I recall hating Kataang with a burning passion back then. I just disliked everything about it, from the stereotype schoolgirl/schoolboy crush vibe it radiated to the irritating “clingy jealous girl“ scenes that got handed to Katara… Not to mention that, personally, I’ve always found it a bit odd when girls date younger men–I’m sure this is just ingrained societal stereotypes coming out, but… ha ha, is it bad of me to say that I’ve always found men to be less mature than girls? Dating a guy who is your own age can turn into a babysitting gig if he hasn’t got his shit together… Dating a younger guy might be even worse. XD

I felt like a lot of chemistry between these characters was kind of arbitrary… Almost like “Katara has never met any young men who weren’t from her tribe before but now she met someone new and ooh, he’s so cool and different as the Avatar!” There wasn’t anything wrong with Aang–he was sweet and fun and strong. But I could never see what particularly would have attracted someone to him romantically; his vibe and attitude were so explicitly childish through the first half of the story that I never quite got a “romantic” vibe and it kind of made me, as a nearly twenty-year-old viewer, a little uncomfortable to even try to imagine a twelve-year-old in a romantic light. I feel like a lot of the Kataang shippers might have been on the younger end, and therefore more likely to see Aang as a reflection of themselves?

In any case, as a more responsible adult, I definitely have learned my lessons on shipping and letting others ship–if Kataang is your cup of tea, more power to you guys! I was never my ship, but I can respect other people’s love for it.

Zutara:

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

Obviously if you’re not a Kataang shipper, you’re a Zutara shipper. I don’t make the rules, just abide by them. Zutara was my bread and butter for as long as Avatar was on TV. I remember calling my friend up on the good old house phone with a cord I had to stretch to the max just to see the TV and talk at the same time, wailing about all the ship tease scenes for this ship. I still remember the heartbreak I felt when watching the ending of the last season and knowing that Kataang was incoming. I remember grumbling through every Zuko/Mai scene wondering why in the hell the creators hated Zuko so much they’d throw him together with someone so ambivalent as Mai…

I love red/blue, fire/water, opposites-in-balance ships, always have and always will. I love the imagery, I love their motifs, I love the personalities that come along with these kind of elementally-aligned characters; I love the weight and automatic tension coding two characters with these colors or other opposite features brings and how creators can bank on these archetypes to add additional depth to character interactions–there’s just something very tidy and pleasing about color-coded ships.

Not to mention all the other wonderful aspects of this ship. I really wanted to see this one in canon. Alas…

Jo/Laurie:

vomit / don’t ship / okay / cute / adorable / perfect / beyond flawless / hot damn / screaming and crying / i will ship them in hell

LOOK MAN. I might not have read Little Women since elementary school but you do not forget the perfection that is Jo and Laurie, the most perfect ship that never was. Screw you Louisa May Alcott, I’ll never forgive you.

I feel like, when you’re young and you read books, there’s that moment where you come across your first “real” romance, the first relationship where you go from seeing relationships as “blech, something for adults” to “this is why all the adults make such a big deal out of getting married because THEY’RE IN LOVE”–in some ways, what we read or see depicted to us through media early on in life becomes our lens for viewing and judging later relationships, and having Little Women as an early example of romance has definitely had a profound effect on my tastes and definitions of romance throughout the years, I feel.

Jo and Laurie had no right to never get together. It actually feels cruel, thinking about it in retrospect. How could their destiny be denied so coldly?! I’m getting sad just thinking about this lol.

Jo and Laurie were each other’s best friends, the absolute picture of “kindred spirits”–they understood each other, delighted in each other’s wit, and supported each other through the doubts and drama. There was an air about them that they existed in a world all their own, that they were just two very different people from all the other characters, who saw eye-to-eye in a way that others couldn’t touch and who brought out the best–and sometimes worst–in each other in a very vivid and human way.

They felt real, lovable, enjoyable, and made for each other.

And then it never happened. I’m going to leave my dissatisfied fan letter on Alcott’s grave, dammit.

[gaarfielf]

k im gonna throw in my hot take on part 5 now i think the time has come where i’ve watched enough of the damn series i can make a coherent essay on whats what on what (putting it under a read more bc this shit is gonna be long and i dont want my followers to suffer too much)

I’ll do this character by character starting with the new ones

Ami: I’m having a hard time deciphering whether she’s being underutilized or over utilized because number 1) her character isn’t interesting enough to have her keep coming around, especially when her only connection to the group is Lupin. She hasn’t had any interaction with Goemon or Jigen that i know of and she hates Fujiko for ??? reasons. That being said, I would’ve preferred if she was fleshed out more because 2) literally having her be the distant girl that is quiet and doesn’t understand social norms is..... really boring. It’s almost as boring as having a female character whose only there as a set of boobs... (coughs). She isn’t interesting because they didn’t make her interesting, yeah? It’s hard to hate a character based on the fact alone they were clearly written by a man but I mean it very literally when I say she could’ve been something great. Having her confess her love to Lupin was straight up disgusting and I really expected more from tms in that vein. Putting romance where romance doesn’t need to be is bad enough let alone when you jack knife it in between a child and an adult. And for those of you saying ‘Oh hhhh she’s like nineteen’....look into your heart. Even if she is 1) she sure as hell doesn’t look it and 2) Lupin is like 40-50. In the wise words of me, children loving adults was a myth made up by pedophiles in support of the devil. Npot to mention pitting her against Fujiko because they both like Lupin?? I ain’t even gotta explain why that’s a pathetic excuse at writing. But I will. Fujiko is a grown ass woman so why the fuck would she care and Ami is a child who shouldn’t be in love with him anyway. She has truly been nothing in the series except a tool and even at that not a likable one.

Yata: Do I even have to say that I can’t write anything about a man who hasn’t had more than 4 minutes of screen time in the last 24 episodes? He was hyped up before the series started and he’s done nothing but be Zenigata’s personality in the place of Zenigata y’know. Actually speaking and having one for himself BUT WE’LL GET TO THAT LATER. He’s done nothing but yell and cry over literally nothing? Like he fights Zeni’s fights because for some reason Zenigata got super lazy this season (again, we’ll get into that later) and he’s just a pointless character.

Albert: Gay rep for life haha just kidding he was bad at that too. I think they literally introduced him as faux-gay rep because they know the fans wanted more sensitive interactions from their already existing male cast members and they were like ‘well that’s gay so we’ll give them this guy’. And speaking on behalf of myself - ‘I don’t want these’. So Albert shows up, supposedly having a HUGE connection to Lupin’s past and then............we never see him again. And they literally tell us nothing about him except he’s gay and works in the government. Apparently when we say ‘we want gay rep’ they hear ‘very minor gay character??’ and didn’t hear us say ‘no’ back. And every time I hear anyone say 1) ‘well, his connection to Lupin is supposed to be a mystery!’ I can feel hives growing on my skin because i’m allergic to bullshit like if they weren’t gonna tell us the connection, and whatever the connection is didn’t reveal anything new about the character outside of ‘Lupin knew somebody that wasn’t Jigen when he was younger’ then why?? mention it?? why make an entire arc dedicated to not telling us something if the end result was ‘it doesn’t matter who he is’? 2) ‘well they’re obviously cousins’ except they obviously aren’t. if they obviously were, they’d say that they were cousins. like if y’all are digging up bits of the manga from 40 years ago to say ‘there was a character who had the same last name’ but are also out here saying ‘Jigen doesnt have a sister bc they said that over 40 yers ago and haven’t mentioned it since’ then I ain’t got nothing to say to y’all, you’re just dodgy and ain’t worth the stress of talking to. 3) ‘they’re maybe gay’ well the cool thing about gay rep is that we don’t give honourary mentions out for series that were too cowardly to actually come right out and say it. So in conclusion, Albert was written by cowards who couldn’t decide what to do with him.

Enzo: Boring. That’s literally all I have to say. Trying to give him depth by making Ami his daughter was predictable and not at all interesting. To be honest I completely forgot she was looking for her dad anyway because she didn’t seem to care that much about finding him either (or seem to care about anythign really). He’s a shitty villain and every time he speaks I got my finger on the right-key because I don’t care what he has to say and so far I haven’t missed anything good so yeah. Just disappointing.

I think that’s it??? For new characters?? So I’ll move onto the main cast

Jigen: I 👏 WANT 👏 JIGEN 👏 TO 👏 DO 👏 SOMETHING like good fucking God the man hasn’t done anything this whole series up until 24 where he got  5 minute scene dedicated to him killin’ cops (direct action) but like?? As a character he hasn’t progressed he has BARELY spoken and we’ve learned one new thing about him the whole series in the episode where he meets the daughter of a woman he used to work with. And that one thing that we learned was: he used to work with the mother of this girl. That’s it. Episode 24 he got a little bit of dialog with Lupin that I guess was supposed to be like character development but it was so weird because it was kind of directed at the audience?? So it’s like is he talking to me or to Jigen because if I was Jigen I would not have one goddamn clue what he was talking about. Also, he’s so depressing this season?? Right up until now we’ve seen very little personality from him aside from Angry and Complains a Lot. He smiles sometimes sure but like he doesn’t exactly have a lot to smile about this season considering he’s not really in the limelight anymore and is only brought back to foreshadow how much he hates technology and wants to retire. Personally, Jigen is one of my favourite characters and the fact he hasn’t achieved much this series is a big let-down

Goemon: I can’t even imagine how let down Goemon fans feel because again, up until Episode 23 he did nothing. He had an episode where he fell in love?? With a girl?? Disguised as a woman?? For some reason?? It was in one of the throwbacks and I’ll admit that maybe the episode made sense and I probably missed something but to me I had no clue what was going on. ANYWAY like his big scene in the spotlight is 3 episodes before the end of the series (its not like he’s a main character or anything) and he cuts Lupin. Because he thinks that he isn’t really his friend. That’s it that’s the only reason he almost murders his friend. Just kidding the other reason was that it was a half ass attempt at shock value to make sure the audience was still paying attention. They can’t seem to decide this season whether they want Goemon to be edgy or stupid but I think we’ve gotten a greta big helping of both so thanks tms /sarcasm/. They’ve really just dragged his character through the mud this season because he used to be stoic, mysterious, traditionalist but lowkey clumsy guy and then now he’s. I don’t even know how to describe it he’s just become so cutesy and edgy at the same time so we get him cutting Lupin in half right in front of UwU i eat my fish skin first ! I’m quirky ! like what am I supposed to feel about this grown man? He’s really too back-and-forth for me this season

Fujiko: I’M GONNA GET HEATED ABOUT THIS ONE SO BUCKLE UP I’ve never seen Fujiko written this poorly since TWCFM (yes i’m outting that as a bad series too so don’t @ me about that lil tidbit). She’s there as a piece of eyecandy bUT SHE IS SO POORLY DRAWN IT MAKES ME WONDER IF ANYBODY AT TMS HAS EVER SEEN A WOMAN IN THEIR LIFE TIME. Seriously her proportions are so off and outwardly repulsive looking it makes it hard not to skip anything she says in the series on account of how half-ass her character looks. Not limiting herself to being visually repulsive, she also has a half-ass personality. Suddenly Fujiko isn’t the come-and-go as she pleases, mysterious woman that gives Lupin intel on very high security operations she’s just. There. At some point in the series she said ‘a woman’s body is just a tool to get something she needs’ and I wanted to puke this is NOT Fujiko’s character at all and I’m disgusted that they’re brushing her off as a pair of walking talking boobs. Also her absolute lack of empathy is just mind numbing because they’re somehow trying to convince the audience that Lupin broke her heart due to wedding related reasons that still haunt her but? Seeing him cut almost in half does nothing for her? And then she deadpan ‘This is just how it is’ like this is just putting her in such an evil light that I hate because I love Fujiko! In every other season she’s fighty and sarcastic and witty AND NOT JUST THERE FOR EYE CANDY. And going back to the wedding thing, why is this being made into such a big deal? There’s literal episodes in other seasons called ‘Fujiko Doesn’t Look Right in a Wedding Dress’ ‘Fujiko Doesn’t Want to Be Married’ ‘A Ring Is Like a Trap’ like she 👏 don’t 👏 want 👏 to 👏 be 👏 married 👏. And the preview for the next ep shows her in a wedding dress so I’m ultimately preparing myself for the big season finale being them getting married.

hurray.

Final thought on Fujiko being, the episode where she picks up Lupin to save him from succumbing to his crossbow wound (easily the funniest thing thats happened all season) I mean. Yeah it’s kinda cool. I don’t really have any strong feelings about that like I’m not about to praise them for something like that when it was immediately followed by her and Ami slap fighting over him again.

Lupin: In my days of watching Lupin movies/specials my slogan was ‘if the ratio of screen time in the movie between characters is 10:0 in Lupin’s favour then it ain’t a good movie’ and it’s ringing true to this season where it’s all about Lupin. I understand obviously it’s a series called Lupin III like I’m not stupid but the amount of ass kissing to his character is something else like they’re putting him on this huge pedestal like he’s a do-no-wrong kind of guy to the point where he’s boring because he’s done nothing wrong. Ever. He doesn’t argue with anybody he doesn’t have any strong emotions really (outside of that episode where Zenigata loses his memory we see him outwardly angry for a minute). It just makes him such a dry character when they try to mold him into being absolutely flawless and admirable. Also the amount of faking his own death and ‘oh no is he gonna die’ moments are just not entertaining. Like I said earlier when he got shot with the crossbow that was the hardest I’ve laughed in a long long time. It played like an SNL skit (you know what one). And again we aren’t learning anything new. Whose Albert to him!? We never got to know, What’s his relationship to Fujiko!? We’re probably gonna find out they’re getting married last episode after all the touching moments they had together this season like.... like uh.... when they uh... oh right they’ve barely spoken to each other all season. And when they did they were arguing. Love is in the air huh?

Zenigata: AI’ll try to keep this brief but Yata’s taken over his character this season. He’s barely spoken, he has like, NO energy or determination. After the episode where Lupin faked his death (the first time, not the proceeding 90 times) Zenigata just stopped appearing and stopped doing anything productive. If anything his character became an excuse for an info dump. Like oh we see a war torn area whats going on? Zenigata is conveniently nearby to say ‘these people are at war!’ and then outside character will tell a 18 paragraph history on him of whose at war and their history and then Zenigata says ‘okay’ and doesn’t appear again for the next 2 episodes.

Now for the closing thoughts I guess

i don’t know why they’re looking at Lupin having plot as separate from Lupin being episodic. Like they’ve separated him from adventure so he’s just doing the same things over and over again. Not to mention like I said earlier, the fans wanted to see more sensitive interactions between the already existing characters, and if anything, they’re farther apart and just really confusing and contradictory. It’s hard to get through an episode when every week its another ‘great time for another plot arc they’re never gonna finish’. When I watched episodes of Part 1 and 2 and 4 (not so much 3 because i can’t find anywhere to watch it lol) I’m pretty attentive all the way through because the series drops tidbits of information about the characters and they make the episode enjoyable to watch. This season is so dreary and dry I can’t find anything to enjoy about it because it’s just one disappointment after another. I’m trying to to sound bitchy as I type all this out but I mean I’m speaking as a fan who is just really disappointed. I know I’ve said ‘disappointed’ a lot in this whole thing but there isn’t another word to describe it because that’s really the way that I feel about part 5. Seeing my favourite characters on screen is supposed to make me feel happy and excited to see where they’re gonna go and what they’re gonna do not make me think “I hope they don’t ruin this character for me’ in every. single. episode. This season has been underwhelming, unenjoyable, inconsistent and just really exhausting to me overall.

i gotta go eat now so peace out and if you read to the end of all this then hopefully i’m not the only one in this boat but if you don’t agree with me then i guess thats just how it is yeah?

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the callbacks were cool at first but now I just find they’re baiting me into thinking i’ll enjoy the episode because i’ll find something I liked from one of the better seasons in it. They’re just really overused at this point because these callbacks aren’t being used for anything. like ‘lupin is making his plan at the cagliostro castle!’ like. why. ‘detective melon is also angry at lupin!’ but if she isn’t like teaming up with zenigata or actually doing anything to find him why should i care. 

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Select: Vast and Infinite

I’ve done a few of these Smokey brand Selects, lists of some of my favorite films in any specific sub-genre, and it occurs to me that I haven’t even touched my actual, favorite, sub-genre at all. A few of these movies have made different lists, sure, but I've never cobbled together an actual, dedicated, catalog for the Cyberpunk category. I absolutely adore these types of film. They capture every aspect I look for in a flick; Beautiful imagery, enthralling sounds, compelling narrative, existential questions, and so much more. The sheer depth of this genre lends itself to great storytelling, diverse creativity, and enthralling visuals. I love Cyberpunk and these films are some of the best I've seen.

10b. Johnny Mnemonic

Johnny Mnemonic is probably the purest, US made, Cyberpunk film I have ever seen. It’s not a great watch, there’s a ton going on all of the time, but it is bursting with creativity and ideas. I adore this film, I really do. Even with all of it’s confusing, spastic, scatter-brained, story telling, I loved this film. Up until The Matrix and then John Wick, Johnny was my favorite Keanu Reeves performance. That, alone, has me coming back year after year. I highly recommend checking this one out if your a fan of the genre but it’s probably the weakest select on this list by a wide berth.

10a. Virtuosity

I was hesitant to put this one on the list because, I mean, this makes it eleven instead of ten, but moreso because I wasn’t sure of this thing qualifies as Cyberpunk. There’s a couple ahead on this list that have the same issue but I ended up putting them on so I guess this goes on here, too. Plus, I never hear anyone talking about this thing and I feel it deserves a bit more of a spotlight. Virtuosity is a goddamn blast. There’s a great performance from Denzel Washington a trite but ably executed plot, and some pretty interesting choices from a relatively new director. The strongest draw, however, is Russell Crowe as the artificial, glass eating, super psychopath, SID 6.7, as well as all of that mid 90s, virtual reality, conjecture. Virtuosity is definitely a product of it’s time but it's still a great time to watch.

9. Tron: Legacy

Legacy is, admittedly, not the best film. Even so, i had a ball with this one. The soundtrack by Daft Punk, alone, is worth the price of admission but couple that with the stunning, neon, visuals and you have a combo that can move even the most stoic of moviegoers. I absolutely adore this film. It get way too much hate for what it is. I’m a little perturbed we’ll never see the capping to this narrative but, for a second outing, I really did enjoy returning to this world. I’d put the first on this list but I really did connect with it beyond how dope it looked. Legacy gave me so much more to dig my teeth into and I respect it for that.

8. 12 Monkeys

I don’t even know where to begin with this movie. I’ve seen it a few times and dissected it in a couple of essays for school but I'm still not sure if i understand it wholeheartedly and that is incredible. For a movie to keep me so off-balance and I still enjoy the show is testament to the brilliant direction on display. The plot, itself, as convoluted as it can be sometimes, is rather gripping once you get a handle on what’s going on and the performances are outstanding. Brad Pitt really shows his range in this one, shades of things to come. 12 Monkeys is a Cyberpunk on the strictest sense but, like The Matrix, I was hesitant to add it tho this list. But, also just like The Matrix, if it is truly a Cyberpunk film, it has to be required viewing.

7. Dredd

Dredd is entirely Cyberpunk. From page to screen, Cyberpunk everything. The first outing was a little too campy to make this list but the second? The Karl Urban Dredd? That one fits this list perfectly. It’s a crying shame we didn’t get a sequel. I was itching to see Judge Death do it’s thing but the siege of Peachtree was more than enough to sate my ultraviolent appetite. Seriously, this movie is outstanding and it’s a crime more people didn’t see it. I feel like if this thing was released today, maybe on VOD, it would get the respect it deserves. Too early to the party, it seems.

6. RoboCop

It’s crazy to me that all of the classic, US made, Cyberpunk movies are all championed by foreign directors. Ridley Scott, Denis Villeneuve, Terry Gilliam, and Paul Verhoeven. Verhoeven’s RoboCop is a scathing indigent of consumerism and it’s interchangeability with corruption. When I was a kid, that sh*t flew right over my head. All I saw was a dope cyborg named Murphy and a beautifully alien war machine called ED-209. As I got older, I learned to appreciate, more and more, Verhoeven’s vision and RoboCop became more than just an action film for me. This thing is one of the best in the sub-genre and far more intelligent than anyone gives it credit for being.

5. The Matrix

I don’t know if The Matrix belongs on this list. It never felt Cyberpunk to me but everyone else tells me it is. When I think about it, it checks all the boxes; Existentialism, robots, future dystopia, etc. All the boxes but I always felt it skewed more toward Neo Noir than anything. That said, if it is Cyberpunk, and it seems that is the accepted consensus, how can it not make this list? The Matrix is one of the most influential films ever made. It’s easily the greatest action film in history. Terminator 2 is usually the front runner for that title, I’ll eventually make a Select for action films so don’t worry, but Neo’s maiden voyage matches anything Cameron created.

4. Alita: Battle Angel

I was initially introduced to Alita way back in the early 90s. the SyFy channel, back then know as the Sci-Fi Channel, used to show these blocks of what was called “Japanimation”, later known properly as anime, and the original Alita OVA was one of the few that aired. I loved every bit of it. It got me wondering about the manga so i went looking for that, too. Imagine my surprise when it was hundreds of chapters deep and encapsulated an entire world. I was hooked. So was James Cameron because he optioned it for the big budget, US, blockbuster treatment and spent the next decade and change, adapting technology to bring Gally and her universe to life. What we eventually got was, hands down, the best adapted anime or manga to the big screen, ever. Alita: Battle Angel is an incredible film experience that deserves more eyes on it and more love. Here’s hoping HBO Max and ATT give it that sequel everyone wants because it gets real awesome after the rollerball arc we just witnessed. Plus, I mean, Rosa Salazar’s Alita is just f*cking adorable, man.

3. Akira

Akira was the first anime I really watched with intent and that viewing colored my perception of cinema going forward for the rest of my life. I had seen anime before, of course, but not like this. Macross and Go-Lion were serials, cartoons for kids, but Akira was a completely different animal. I didn’t understand the narrative as a child, that came later, but i knew the experience was revolutionary. As I watched this film over and over, year after year, I began to understand exactly the story being told in a critical nature. It wasn’t only the breathtaking visuals that held up. Akira is as influential as it is because of it’s absolutely pristine storytelling. It’s reputation is unassailable and if you count yourself a fan of cinema, you have to see it at least once. I am petrified at what America is going to do to this narrative, man.

2. Ghost in the Shell

Ghost is easily the most balanced Cyberpunk film i have ever seen. It’s what I measure all movies in the sub-genre against. The narrative is poignant, profound, and perfectly executed. For the record, I’m speaking about the 1995 anime, not whatever the f*ck ScarJo starred in a few years back. That sh*t was the worst but Oshii’s masterpiece? That sh*t is the best. For such a short stint in Masamune Shirow‘s world, you are immersed in the grit of it all immediately. Kusanagi’s story, her struggle with being and conflict, mirror each other brilliantly. This would be top of the list if not for how much the world, itself, resembles our own. The Cyberpunk aesthetic kind of eludes this most Cyberpunk narrative. Even that juxtaposition is a positive in my eyes.

1. Blade Runner 2049

This one was hard to place. I love the original Blade Runner to bits. I think it’s a masterwork of cinema. It’s deftly acted, brilliantly directed, and easily one of the most gorgeous films I have ever laid eyes upon. And then Denis Villeneuve drops his continuation. Everything i just said about the original, stands for it’s sequel, but maybe even more. 2049 is breathtakingly gorgeous. It tells a simple, yet, emotional story driven by outstanding performances from everyone. No one is bad in this at all. I enjoyed the characters as much as I enjoyed the first’s, absolutely falling in love with Joi and Luv. This movie is everything and doesn’t get the love it deserves. Admittedly, it can be a little long in the tooth, but it needs all of that time to tell it’s story. If you commit to the narrative, engage with the visuals, and accept what the film is offering, you will be absolutely rewarded with one of the best movies ever captured on film.

Honorable Mentions: Terminator, Appleseed Alpha, Hotel Artemis, Run Lola Run, Demolition Man, Black Magic M-66, Elysium, Upgrade, The Lawnmower Man, Dark City, Armitage III, Ready Player One, The Zero Theorem, Minority Report, Looper