#but her expressions and overall animation are so good in the original film

[coleoidea-reversa]

Inside Out vs. Inside Out 2

[amerricanartwork]

True Love Conquers All (Lilypad Essay cont.)

Ever since I realized the fairytale parallel was one of the main reasons I ship Lilypad, I've wanted to draw this, so here it is! Sig and Moon as Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora!

Actually, though, besides the drawing I'm also making this because I wanted to expand on that point from my Lilypad essay; there's still more I wanna gush about regarding the fairytale parallel!

I was too nervous to say it before, because it's derived largely from my personal tastes. However, I really wanna just write about my opinions on it now. Much of it's actually the feelings I've had about several ships before in various other fandoms, yet I've never really had the courage to express these feelings openly because I have yet to find even one person in any of these fandoms who feels the same way. However, I started thinking about it again, and I think it's about time I get it out somehow, at the very least to express these feelings in some tangible way so they don't stay bottled up forever. And maybe, just maybe, to find someone who likes these themes as much as I do!

Again, it's definitely very personal, so I don't mind if you completely disagree with all of it. But with that being said, if you want to read an additional 1,846 words on Lilypad fantasies, it's just below the cut!

To elaborate on why I love ships with fairytale parallels so much, it has to do with the poetic feeling stories like Sleeping Beauty seem to carry. I must preface that I don’t know the original fairytale, I’m pretty much entirely going off the 1959 animated Disney film, but even so I still love various themes within it and how they can be applied to other stories. Sleeping Beauty isn’t the only old Disney movie where I interpret these themes, or even the only animated story in general where these themes can be interpreted, but I think it’s overall the most similar to Lilypad specifically because of the whole “fair maiden dies and gets revived by the prince’s love” dynamic.

Something I’ve come to realize, especially upon developing a love for Rain World specifically, is that I adore stories about accepting one’s own nature and learning how to have it coexist with your personal goals rather than conflict with it. Sleeping Beauty has this not only through the eternal bond between Aurora and Phillip (I mean, “Once Upon a Dream” literally seems to be about how the singer will always love the person they fell for even if their love seemed too good to be true), but in the whole curse put on Aurora and the “true love conquers all” message. The conflict is all about how to ensure Aurora’s safety despite the impending doom of Maleficent’s curse on her, which is made more intense by how the curse can’t really be stopped, only lessened in severity. However, the inevitability of true love’s triumph over all obstacles, and really the inevitability of nature as a whole, is just so beautiful to me because it’s something so universal. As much as we may try to hide it, we humans are still animals, and still a part of nature as much as any other animal is, so the idea that forces as powerful and omnipresent as natural phenomenon could just as easily be on your side and working to help you reach your goals instead of trying to hurt you and keep you from them is very comforting specifically because of how powerful and inevitable these forces are. I mean, if forces like those can pose a seemingly impossible challenge when they seem to oppose your goals, what if they could also supply seemingly invincible support if you learned to work with them? Hence, why true love conquers all. It’s basically, “I can’t stop this thing, but maybe I don’t actually need to”. And the fact that both this and the next theme I’ll write about are present in stories which are, by this point, quite old, and can even be interpreted in newer and more recent stories just helps to further support their eternal, everlasting power by adding a sense of real-life timelessness to it all that I just find so beautiful!

Part of my love for stories like this actually comes from a specific natural force I freaking love and have been craving more of ever since I rewatched the old Disney movies and really begun to appreciate the poetic themes of them, and that force is the classic attraction between men and women. I’m not gonna get super into it now because I imagine I’ll have other chances to talk about this (again, Lilypad is far from the first ship I’ve derived this theme from, and I doubt it will be the last), but I’ll provide an intro of sorts to it here. If you’ve seen my full Lilypad essay you already know I’m a BIG fan of “inverses attract” ships, where the characters display opposite sides of the same base trait, conflict, or subject, and when they come together they help balance each other out in ways no one else can by offering each other the benefits unique to the other side of that subject. Well, simply put, if you ask me, what better example of this “inverses attract” dynamic exists in real life than the natural inverses of male and female, where the strong protectiveness and creative nurturing combine to literally create a family, from which all people come? The presence of the inverses attract dynamic is always nice to see in ships regardless of gender, but whether or not it occurs in this way specifically — that being whether or not it showcases the inverse characteristics of men and women and the positive potential when those forces combine as a team — is another major factor that, throughout my fandom experience so far, has determined which pairings I actively ship rather than just mildly smile at from time to time. (And on a side note, now that I have much more skill in art and feel more confident about my art, I figured it’s about time I start acting on that love more openly!)

So what in the WORLD does this all have to do with Lilypad?

Well, even disregarding how this very idea will basically be the major theme of my personal worm-off-the-string AU (I may elaborate on that more later because it’s just SO perfect for these particular characters and can even be interpreted in the base game to some degree), I think Lilypad, at least as I choose to imagine it, is the Rain World ship that best embodies this idea — that nature and instincts can actually help you once you simply stop fighting and accept them — more than any other in the fandom for a variety of reasons.

I’m actually going to start with how Looks to the Moon and No Significant Harassment, as strange as this may sound given who and what these characters are, actually do still display that feminine and masculine energy I love at least when I picture them, especially with Sig being confirmed as a “he” according to the wiki. It’s clear to me that Moon is very feminine (I mean, c’mon, her design in the CGs, how the moon is often associated with femininity and feminine things in real life, how she tries, even after her collapse, to connect with Five Pebbles and nurture their relationship in a very caring way, etc.), but I wanna elaborate on how part of the reason I love Sig as a character and the slag reset keys as a plot point so much is because it perfectly demonstrates that masculine protectiveness that happens in stories like Sleeping Beauty, where a man faces great trials all to rescue the fair maiden. Again, it may not have happened literally because Hunter had to deliver the slag keys, but the sentiment is the same if you ask me! And it’s always so nice to see because, again, he literally brought her back to life! How could it NOT be a sign of deep love and devotion that someone would go through so much trouble just to make sure you’re okay? 

It’s also great because I imagine the local group would have a tendency to not always take Sig seriously because he’s so careless about their purpose, so I’m sure the slag key stunt would also warrant a lot more respect for him from the other iterators. This is another thing I love seeing — both when the character everyone else overlooks finally uses their full power and their peers have to re-evaluate their impression of them, but specifically when men feel inspired to use their full power and skills to help the women they love! I love it because it demonstrates just how powerful and valuable femininity can be, shedding light on a more subtle kind of power, that being power through influence and aura rather than raw strength and stubbornness. Heck, I like to imagine wanting to protect Looks to the Moon and make sure she lasts as long as possible is a major reason why, in my AU, their physical interactions are when Sig and Moon finally begin to act on their love despite it having existed almost since Sig came online. Moon’s collapse would’ve shown both of them directly that she won’t be around forever, and if you ask Sig, someone as beautiful, kind, intelligent, noble, and all-around beloved as Looks to the Moon deserves to at least enjoy her life a little more before she fades (again), even if all the iterators falling apart is inevitable. But, coming back to what I said about nature, the inevitability of the eventual end is what makes the time they have left all the more precious!

And that’s the next part of Sleeping Beauty and fairytale-esque stories I see in Lilypad — there’s also the inevitability of this dynamic, which hits hard with Rain World iterators specifically because their whole purpose is fundamentally opposed to natural phenomena. Solving the Great Problem is, as far as I know, all about trying to escape the natural cycle of life, death, and reincarnation, and likely about escaping all natural cycles as a whole. And the iterators exist specifically to facilitate this rejection on a massive scale. So think about how poetic it would be that even they, seemingly so far detached, so far above these things, STILL fall in love and embrace these forces despite every attempt by the Ancients to prevent them from doing so! It’s made better by the fact that the iterators are machines and, even though they’re very much biomechanical ones (a big example of natural phenomena still manifesting in them despite their attempts to separate from it), one can argue they’re therefore somewhat detached from nature inherently, especially that bond between masculinity and femininity I discussed. So again, the fact it still finds a way to show up in them despite seemingly having much less reason to exist and the iterators themselves likely having much less desire to possess it just re-emphasizes how eternal it is. But once again, are they (and by extent, we the audience) sure that’s such a bad thing? 

Lilypad in an ideal scenario, to me, is of all the Rain World ships the strongest embodiment of “true love conquers all, and that’s not a bad thing after all!”

And it makes me more eager to develop my worm-off-the-string AU because I imagine that’s where their relationship really gets to flourish. Moon and Sig can finally enjoy that physical aspect of romance, and Moon in particular would, by that point, more confidently join him in rejecting the Ancients’ ascensionist philosophy. Not to mention how cute it would be to see them drawing parallels between their relationship and the love the Ancients used to feel for one another long ago, once again supporting true love as a truly timeless phenomenon. And it would branch off to not just embracing their romance that existed for so long but could never fully go anywhere, but learning to enjoy and partake in all the aspects of the world that were denied to them and that they were told to deny for who knows how long! And when it comes to not just for Sig and Moon, but the local group as a whole, what could be more poetic than that?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Man, a HUGE thank you to anyone who made it to the bottom of all this! To know that anyone bothered to at least consider what I have to say in this fandom is always nice, but with this in particular I greatly appreciate anyone who read it all! And again, PLEASE let me know if you agree with any of this, especially the parts about masculine-feminine teamwork. I'd love to know even one other person in one of my fandoms who's into that as well, and maybe even hear possible additions to it!

Regardless, I've gone on about this for so many words already. I hope you enjoyed the ideas, or at least the art! Thanks again for reading!

[mysoftboybensolo]

My Thoughts and Theories on Little Mermaid 2023

AVOID IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS

Acting- I knew Halle was going to knock it out of the park with her singing ever since I heard her cover Unforgettable by Nat King Cole, but she truly embodied Ariel and made it her own. Jonah, I had only once seen before in Masterpiece Theatre’s Little Women as Laurie, and I liked him in that, so I was very curious on how he’d do Eric. Before I go on about him, I just want to say that I feel that people are too harsh on animated Eric, because Eric was very sweet, adventurous and brave, the live action film just helped to expand on that. Jonah’s Eric was just the sweetest but also quite smart in wanting to try to open the ports again. I love that the film expanded on his character and showed how he had no prejudice against Ariel and the merfolk. His and Halle’s chemistry was just beautiful, and I really ship them so much, more so than the original version (but that’s not a criticism of the cartoon, just that a few couples superseded them). Also, let’s talk about how Jonah is Jewish, so Eric is out first Jewish prince.

Daveed Diggs’ Sebastian was so fun and cracked me and my mom up so much, his delivery on certain lines were just perfect, and he had great chemistry with Awkwafina and Jacob Trembly. I don’t think his accent was that bad, I mean I have heard worse Caribbean accents, and his is nowhere as bad as the others I’ve heard. Melissa McCarthy was so good as Ursula, she brought that same theatrical and frightening performance that Pat Carroll gave, and Javier Bardem did a really good job with Triton, though I was there was a little bit more of his character explored, but that is mostly the writing than the acting. I did really love his delivery of the line “You didn’t have to lose your voice for me to hear you,” it sounded so sincere and so apologetic that it made up for it. Awkwafina and Jaconb Trembly did a really good job in voice acting, and I didn’t expect to like Grimsby as much as I did, and it is all due to Art Malik’s wonderful performance. Overall, this was a solid cast and no one to me were a sore thumb.

Changes/Additions- I really liked the changes and additions to the story, like using a quote from the original fairytale was a really call back to the original fairytale, but also a parallel to how Ariel, being unable to properly express herself feels her suffering even more thus pushing her to make the deal with Ursula. I know some people were upset that we didn’t get the song the sisters sing, but I wasn’t too bothered by it, not when there was a very cool change to it. Pretty much, the sisters help to control the different seas from around this fantasy world, which is a nice call back to a theory people had about Ariel and her sisters representing the seven seas. My only issue with the film, and it is a small one, is that I wish we saw more of the sisters and Ariel’s relations to them, but other than that, solid. I like that we had a parent for Eric, helps to make his story broader and the idea that we was happily adopted, love that!

Small changes I liked were confirming that Ursula and Triton being siblings, and possibly hinting that the reason she was banished was because she had a hand in the death of Ariel’s mother. The change from Ariel signing a contract to taking a scale off and making a deal in blood does make sense considering they are in the water. Eric, despite being under Ursula’s spell still looking for Ariel, including his interest in collecting things just like Ariel, etc.

I liked that we had Ariel forgetting that she has to kiss Eric, not only because it helps to make the relationship a bit more genuine, but also it makes sense for Ursula to play dirty and do whatever she could to win. It also helped to show how good friends Sebastian, Flounder and Scuttle are for helping. I had been worried that they were going to change the ending and be something different, namely how it was in the stage version, which works for the stage, but would have felt anti-climatic for the film, so I was grateful to see that they kept the Ursula becoming a giant and being killed by the ship, and for Ariel to know how to because she saw Eric do it, nice touch. Also, it’s a small scene, but I really liked it, but the scene where Ariel is found by the fisherman who immediately goes to help and give her clothes without ogling her, it was so refreshing to see and I know someone will say, of course they wouldn’t it’s a kids movie, that hasn’t stopped other kids movie for having similar scenarios happen and it feeling really creepy.

Songs- Halle did an amazing job of her rendition of Part of Your World, and I was one of the many who cried while listening, she seriously has the voice of an angel. Under the Sea was fun and I liked having Ariel being part of it, and Kiss the Girl was also very good, but I loved that we had Sebastian, Flounder and Scuttle singing it to try and help their friend. It was crazy how well Melissa McCarthy had done with Poor Unfortunate Souls, not because I think she is a bad singer I knew she could sing beforehand, I was just surprised at how many times she sounded just like Pat Carroll. In regards to the new songs, I really liked them, I liked that we had songs with Ariel even after she lost her voice, get a glimpse of what she is thinking even if she can’t say it. 

Eric’s song Uncharted Waters was an unexpected delight and you just gotta love that he is singing about longing for a girl while getting drenched, thank you Rob Marshall for that. And I think some of you are pretty harsh on the Scuttlebutt song, because I thought it was fun and served the purpose of the story. My mom said her one small criticism is that she didn’t get Les Poissons, but even she admitted she was a little bias as she loved that song from the original and understand how it wouldn’t have worked in the remake.

Also, I think people were making a big deal over the changed lyrics for nothing. In Poor Unfortunate Souls, they removed the “body language” line and “men don’t like blabber”, but it doesn’t feel like they did it because it makes Ursula bad, but that in the context of the moment, it wouldn’t make sense for her to say that. Ariel’s big issue in the scene isn’t that she won’t be able to speak to Eric but that she isn’t sure if this is the right thing to do, so to have Ursula say those lines wouldn’t make sense. Kiss the Girl makes the tiniest change of “There is one way to ask her, It don't take a word, Not a single word, Go on and kiss the girl” to “Possible she want you too, Use your words, boy, and ask her, If the time is right and the time is tonight, Go on and kiss the girl” It is seriously not a big deal and if that is an issue for you, then you really need to reevaluate your choices.

Theories- Some people were curious as to why Sebastian said that Ariel used her siren voice to save Eric, and here is my thought. As Eric said at one point about the idea of mermaids leading sailors to their deaths with their voices, I think that he wasn’t wrong, that really it saves them. If you notice in the scene where Ariel saves Eric, he is just laying motionless even after water escapes from his lungs, but once she started to sing, he begins to move, come back from being unconscious. You know how relatives of coma patients will play audio of their favorite actors or music or whatever in hopes that it will help pull them back from the coma, I think that was what was happening in that moment. Ariel’s siren song was powerful enough it could pull someone on the brink of death back to life.

Vanessa’s voice. The other thing I’ve seen people question is why doesn’t Vanessa/Jessica sound more like Ariel/Halle when speaking, and again, I think the film set it up for us to understand why. As Ursula explained before making the deal with Ariel, she says that she didn’t want Ariel to use her “siren song” to get Eric, the emphasis being on her singing as why she wouldn’t want her to have it. Also, considering that Eric was only able to identify her through her singing voice, it makes sense that her speaking voice wouldn’t have to necessarily match as he is unaware of what she sounds like talking.

Conclusion- Overall, this remake is definitely in my top 3 favorite remakes, it had a wonderful cast, music was incredible and it truly felt like it honored the original in the best way possible. To those who hate it because of Halle, then guess what, die mad because the film’s biggest charm is her and she deserves to be our Ariel.

[imagitory]

Okay, disclaimer here. I can't really call myself a true fan of Disney's Wish, just as it is. I do think the film had a LOT of really good ideas and I do think that a lot of artists and creative types put sincere work into it -- I mean, all one really has to do is look at the Wish art book to see that the creators wanted to salute a lot of Disney's overall legacy with their work. However the result turned out -- and I personally found it a bit half-baked with a lot of story and character elements that just didn't quite come together for me -- I like the overall concept enough that I've really enjoyed seeing the fandom embrace those good ideas and reinterpret them. I like the art people have started doing based on Star's old designs by artists like Brittney Lee. I like people writing drafts with villainous-couple-goals Amaya and Magnifico. I like people envisioning Asha as becoming a fairy godmother more in the vein of Whitney Houston's version of the Fairy Godmother in the 1998 Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella! So everything I'm going to write here is from a place of sincerely wanting to add onto the original concept and perhaps improve on it, rather than just out of a desire to make petty pot-shots at the film.

With this out of the way, let me get to the crux of it.

(concept art by Brittney Lee, found in Disney's The Art of Wish)

Now of course people have discussed the concept of Star as a love interest for Asha before. And I won't lie, I do think it's cute! It could even offer a great potential for diversity if Star remained androgynous gender-wise, the way they are in the finished film. Honestly, even having a completely mute leading character and love interest throughout the entire picture would undoubtedly be a unique and special challenge for any animator and storyteller...and for those people who want to evoke old Disney projects, it would prove a great opportunity to build on the legacies of voiceless Disney characters like Dumbo, Bambi, and Tinker Bell, while still adding a new twist in the form of this character being magical and therefore being able to express their feelings not just through colors and body language like Tink does, but perhaps also through the instrumental score! You could embody the whole core of Fantasia -- a passion project of Uncle Walt's that he never saw appreciated in his lifetime but is widely considered to be a masterpiece of animation and music -- in one character!

This leads nicely into another tack this could've played into -- the idea that Star could be an embodiment of Golden/Silver Age Disney, while Asha embodies Renaissance/Revival Disney. Star could be endlessly optimistic and a bit naive, but strangely resilient -- something that seems fragile and helpless at first glance until you realize just how many people and creatures alike gravitate toward them and want to help and protect them. Meanwhile Asha could be all about proving herself -- she could want to become a powerful magician and do great things like her master King Magnifico, but lack confidence in her own abilities and feel isolated thanks to how much her service to and desire to honor Magnifico has isolated her from others.

Star would be Snow White to Asha's Tiana. The Aurora to her Mulan. The Tinker Bell to Asha's Elsa. The bright star to Asha's cool, thoughtful night.

And this is what I love most about this idea -- their relationship wouldn't need to be romantic. It could be platonic. It could be romance-adjacent. Or, if one wants to really go and do something different for a Disney movie...Star could be a child. A mute, sweet, brand-new star, one just born, that responded to a wish that Asha made when she thought no one could hear -- a wish she has trouble admitting to anyone, especially her mentor and toxic father figure, King Magnifico -- because as much as she plays contentment, there is a part of Asha deep down that wants something more. That remembers the loving embrace of her deceased parents and how much Magnifico can't quite capture that warmth and nurturing, however tight his hold might be and placating his words might be. And out of that wish is born this little bundle of stardust, which Asha is now suddenly responsible for and wants desperately to hide and protect from Magnifico.

In essence, Asha would be put in the same position that Willow is put in, when he suddenly becomes the caretaker for baby Elora in the film Willow.

Now that would change up the context for At All Costs, wouldn't it? This lullaby-like song would resonate awfully well in a story where Magnifico sees Asha as an apprentice and almost surrogate daughter and wants to "protect" her a la Mother Gothel by controlling everything in her life, while Asha sees this new Star who's now reliant on her and feels this strange, new desire to protect them from the man who filled the role of her father after his death in a selfless way that man could never understand?

If someone tried to hurt you... I don't see how that could happen! I'd fight for you in ways you can't imagine! Felt this? No, I haven't -- I hope it would be alright to Stay right here beside you...

It would be such a beautiful picture on how love can be both selfish and selfless -- how a villainous person can love, perhaps, but that that love is poisoned by the desire to mold someone into your image and hoard that person away from others who could "take them away" or "change" them...how love at its truest core is selflessness and fighting on behalf of others, to give them a world where they could live safely. And again, this could be either in a scenario where Star is Asha's "child" or her peer -- for a world can't be safe for all if anyone is under threat because of who we are. And Asha, Star, and Rosas all deserve to know true happiness, not just mindless, complacent contentment -- the happiness that can come from the birth of ideas we never thought possible, until we're given the freedom to dream and dream big.

[lonerwolfjay]

The Little Mermaid: Premiere Screening

On May 8th, 2023, I attended the premiere screening of Disney’s The Little Mermaid: Live Action and I’m here to share some of my thoughts. Just to be clear, I’m not here to spare anyone’s feelings and I could care less about how you perceive what I am about to tell you. These are my thoughts and my opinions and if you don’t like what I have to say, then that’s on you.

First off, I’ve been seeing other reviews that have said that this film is perfect. I’m here to disagree. The film wasn’t perfect. It definitely had its flaws. More specifically, the bland color palette and some pacing issues. But overall, I would say the the film was indeed enjoyable.

I can’t say that I’m 100% sold on the animals, however, they do emote and have their own unique personalities which is much more than I can say about that sorry excuse of a remake that was The Lion King.

My least favorite performance in this film would have to be Javier Bardem who plays King Triton. In almost all of his scenes, he only has one facial expression (I don’t think I saw him not frown once) and it comes off as very one dimensional. However, I have to give him credit where it’s due, he plays the overbearing father figure very, very well. And there is a scene where he gets a bit choked up when talking about Ariel’s mother, however, that’s pretty much the only scene where his character conveys any kind of emotion, that and at the end when he’s saying good-bye to Ariel as she leaves with Prince Eric.

The acting in this film is pretty decent. Melissa McCarthy definitely surprised me. I wouldn’t be surprised if she starts to play more villainous roles after this film.

Halle Bailey doesn’t act in this film. In just about all of her scenes, more specifically the fun ones, her persona on screen comes off as very natural and you can tell she’s just being herself. However, in the more serious scenes, it’s pretty apparent that drama isn’t her forte and that she’s still very green. But even still, it is somewhat believable.

Jonah Hauer King and Halle Bailey do have chemistry. While the trailers haven’t done a good job at showing really anything, it is there.

The land scenes look pretty dull. I don’t get why Disney’s become so obsessed with making their live actions look so stale. The Peter Pan and Wendy film that released last month had this same problem. But the difference between that movie and this movie was that this movie actually managed to push out a pretty decent story. The heart of the original tale was there.

Awkwafina as Scuttle was surprisingly hilarious.

Giving Ariel’s sisters new identities and letting them represent the seven seas, I got to say, was a genius move.

Newcomer, Jessica Alexander, delivers a chilling performance of Ursula’s human counterpart, Vanessa and quite frankly looks like she stepped right out of the animated film. I only wish she got to stick around a little longer.

I remember seeing all these articles about song changes that would be in the film. If there were song changes, they had to have been very minor because I didn’t even notice them.

The underwater world could be its own movie, quite frankly. While at times, the CGI was quite off putting, the world building that went into this film was quite impressive and in my opinion, that puts it at a bit ahead of the 1989 film. A bit. Not a lot.

A lot of audience members were in tears listening to Halle Bailey sing the new Part of Your World Reprise. Halle executed this scene beautifully and though it nearly took the entire movie, it was at this point that I finally came around to accepting the race-swap of the character Ariel. Trust me, I didn’t want to like this movie. I didn’t. In fact, I went in with the full intention of hating it. But after seeing it in its full capacity, I can definitely say that I was surprised by what I saw. I had my doubts, but Disney pulled it off. However, that shouldn’t suggest that Disney needs to start race-swapping all of their already established characters now. Don’t get me wrong. Halle Bailey did deliver. She WAS Ariel. But if Disney wishes to keep their brand, they need to start creating new, fresh characters that people can relate to instead of being lazy and making the same stories over and over again.

All in all, the live action Little Mermaid was a decent film. As far as adaptations go, it’s definitely one of the better ones and I’d put this right there with the 2015 Cinderella movie, maybe even a little above because of the music score and the effects.

Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy saved this movie. Again, while I don’t necessarily support race swapping, I will say this. You can cast whoever you want as Ariel, but if she doesn’t that voice, then the whole movie is pointless. I applaud Rob Marshall for finding the Ariel that was in Halle Bailey. Her overall performance I would say was outstanding.

Based on how the film ended, there is a possibility that a sequel might get pitched.

Nonetheless, If this film hits a billion at the box office, we may be in for a big problem with Disney.

[sunfish999]

The nitty gritty is watering down katara's character so she's just a meek girl ? Your lying If you really think that's the same character. The producers said they would take an axe to the main characters and that's where the show really suffers...also nothing is perfect people like you is why we get stuck with mediocrity

?? I finished episode 5 but what😭 how is katara just a meek girl, i feel like yes she has a little less rage but other than that she shows that shes smart and powerful and her own person? Explain what is watered down i feel like animation usually over-exaggerates facial expressions and voices for the most part, so i’m not surprised that katara has more subtle strength so far, and also the actress has a very kind face, but i think shes still able to show some of that anger. (I havent watched the water master fight yet so maybe thats where you’re talking about, so i cant speak on that)

Idk what taking an axe to the main characters means (like really cutting them apart? Cuz i doubt they would promote a show by saying its gonna be bad but who knows). But i feel like the characters are all pretty accurate with how they carry themselves, of course they’re younger so acting wont be perfect but i think the imperfections are what brings them to life. I know a lot of people hate the writing, i feel like it’s quite similar to the show? (Though its been maybe 3-4 years since i last rewatched it) and some lines especially from something previously animated are gonna sound awkward in real life, which is why generally i believe live actions arent necessary for any animation, though in this case i’m really enjoying just rewatching atla and my childhood be brought to life.

Nothing is perfect: ok i was using perfect mostly because i was very excited about it, of course i know theres things that could be changed to improve it but a lot of those things are impossible (like you cant get an actress thats EXACTLY katara and will make everyone happy, because shes a drawing) but overall, i think the landscapes come close to perfect (i’m just really into fantasy scenes and i think it’s so beautiful and impressive to see things like the omashu supply rail and the air temple come to life. And zuko’s boat looks so awesome and so accurate too.) And i thought the cgi looked slightly silly at first (especially air) but then i realized that we were always seeing drawings of aangs air in the animation which would look even stupider irl so i made my peace pretty quickly.

People like me is why we get stuck with mediocrity… hm. I feel like my opinion probably has nothing to do with what comes out on tv, especially because in this society haters have the real power, and you guys tearing it down are more likely to get it cancelled. I don’t think any production team takes an animated film or show and thinks ‘yea im gonna make this absolutely awful,’ (though i’m really not sure what they were thinking when making the pjo movie, its good as a standalone but they went so off course from the plot…) of course they’re all just trying to fit what they think into the show and express their own opinions, which are ultimately going to be a lot different than some people watching it.

Overall, ok i haven’t watched the og in years, so my memory on comparing each episode of the show to the live action is not going to be at the level of others (which i think boosts the enjoyability 100x over). But as i watch it, i remember tons of parts of the animation, and it makes me super happy that it has the same air as the show, albeit slightly more serious because they can’t fit all the funny filler episodes (if they ever created a live action lost appa episode i would lose it that cannot happen).

Maybe i sounded rude in my original post (i changed it quickly bc it was very angry at first lol) so sorry i know you’re all entitled to your opinion, it’s just i was SO EXCITED and then checked the tag on tumblr only to see that everyone hated it… i always feel inferior to people who really like films etc because i tend to enjoy things that other people hate, (like i really enjoyed the avatar way of water movie even if it was super long, and i know people DESPISED it). So maybe i seem like someone who is satisfied with mediocrity, and maybe i am, i focus mostly on the backgrounds and beauty of movies because im really into art and much less on acting and script (though i can appreciate beautiful characters, i was Blown Away by live action suki and hair down sokka my jaw dropped fr) i agree i am fairly simple to please in terms of this type of thing.

SORRY THIS IS GETTING QUITE LONG IM SURE U WONT READ IT ALL but i hope ur finding joy in life since live action atla is obviously not doing it for u

[lserver362reviews]

While I haven't seen all of the Disney "live-action" remakes I'm going to say I think this is the best one and should not disappoint any fan of The Little Mermaid (1989). As soon as the title came on screen I got chills just from reflecting what the original means to me over the previous days leading up to seeing this and seeing this fresh take with real people. Not shortly after that I was missing Avatar 2 and realized just how good that CGI is. The CGI throughout was solid enough but there were definitely some weird places (Eric swinging on a mast rope, the explosions in the grotto). Then I saw Javier Bardem and was absolutely shocked as I did not know he was in this, and boy did I laugh, and I didn't stop laughing whenever he was on screen. Why is he in this? He looked so silly in the end with the blankest of expressions and the wettest of hair. Funniest part of the film for me, hands down. The pacing overall was real slow but in a way where the cinematography was also too chaotic 80% of the time. I just wanted to be able to take more in in each scene. I loved the island kingdom (Barbados?) and the day in the market was of course still my favorite part. I did really like the new music there but was a little wistful for that original theme to come in in some way (www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGgDjmv5X08&list=OLAK5uy_kdasrLkkCnSUzHNU0EL3Jub5WyEMdnkYY&index=16). Kiss the Girl was a highlight and particularly well adapted to this version. Throughout this, Eric really grew on me, and I liked how we got his wants and back story. His study really made me think of the library from Beauty and the Beast. Halle Bailey as Ariel was a really really good choice but in places she felt a little too green, in some ways that worked well for Ariel's naivety and wide-eyed wonder, but other times it just felt like a subdued performance and then caused really contrasting dynamics (and I do mean that in regards to her acting as well was the singing itself). I have my qualms about losing a bit of the showtune broadway sound I'm accustomed to because she doesn't have that background, but I recognize that this is completely a me problem. I hope her versions mean to kids what Jodi Benson's meant to me and that they wear out whatever version of a cassette tape they have now, like I did listening to the soundtrack. I don't think as a kid I would've been able to relate to a voice that technical and doing those runs! (BUT maybe it's not about me, and insert the Broadway-so-white discourse here) BUT as soon as Halle said, "C'mon, Flounder, don't be such a guppy," she had me and once again, I had chills. She was a really good Ariel. I just wish this hadn't been her debut starring role (excited to see what she does next!). I really liked the costume choices (those tails, Eric's hat, all the dresses, the hair) although I wish they had recreated the date day dress from the animated film. The added songs were mostly poorly written, except For the First Time. That was a really nice addition. I wish we got a bit more of the relationship between Ariel and her dad, but I liked the relation of Ursula to Triton. Once again I ask, how does he have so many kids? and does this make Flotsam and Jetsam Ariel's cousins? I thought Melissa McCarthy did a great job and I don't know if I should've been so surprised really. I wish they had gotten a better makeup designer, read a drag queen, because I'm just left to wonder if they purposely made her eyebrows all janked up in order for her to be less beautiful? But she did what need to be done and it wasn't her fault for the dialogue and lines that got taken out (i.e. weirdly sanitized). I was very surprised that they kept the final battle scene fairly beat for beat to the original (scary!). I thought Disney didn't kill their villains anymore! I do wish that we understood what the heck was going on in her soul garden in this one a bit more, and why was she fighting with her own tentacles? (I'm asking dumb questions now-remember: kids movie). The fantastical sea creatures and the regular sea creatures were very muddled in general to me. Also getting rid of ALL the ensemble moments was unforgivable. Under the Sea is for an ensemble!!!! I did like the visuals in that sequence though. But in the wise words of Patti Labelle during the 1996 National Tree Lighting, "Where my background singers???" Some of the shots that recreated moments from the original, like the hair flip out of the water against the sun or the big moment on the rock, just hit at me as strange. I'll try to unpack what I mean by that at some point. The enduring legacy of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken really make this movie a hard one to mess up (although Lin must be stopped) and I found it a little bittersweet that Howard's dedication was almost hidden, way down, under all the credits (Please watch Howard on Disney+). Out of curiosity I did compare (I know, I know, I should stop right there) Part of Your World (OG: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXKlJuO07eM and New: www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf7Dss2gCe0 ) and I think it speaks for the whole movie itself, in that, this new version is so much slower. The original movie clips along and I really missed the original songs per minute ratio during my watch of this. I think that kind of messed with the whole tone of the movie. I don't think it settled on a tone where there's a balance of being a musical and telling a story outside the music. I like the story changes here but I wonder if it's a problem of gravitas. For (the biggest) example: the Hans Christian Andersen quote at the beginning-really, I get that it's the original original source material, but this run time is too long to try to infuse some sort of it's about the story not the music, when really the story is in the music! Give me more music and get to it faster! At the end of the day it's a story about wanting more, not just adventure per se, but to belong in the space that is full of wonder, curiosity, and love for this experience that we are gifted only once. The folks at the Austin Danger Podcast did a lovely and very eloquent review that lines up with a lot of my experience watching this film (at a 6:30 PM showing with my best friend that I met on the bus to Kindergarten, with children reacting all around us): podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-little-mermaid-2023/id1605702441?i=1000616640386

[rayshippouuchiha]

A good point about horror movies. But to really what I was originally thinking about. My issue is more with the need to sanitize villians or morally questionable characters. An extreme example would be my friend not letting her daughter watch Pocahontas because of racist characters (seriously). I understand that there are things that we don't want to see but scrubbing villians of traits that make them hate-worthy seems like a weird direction to go.

Yeah I figured I might have been slightly left of what you were specifically talking about but I felt like it was still a good point to make on a base level.

This kind of sanitization of anything morally questionable regardless of context is like an overcorrection response. It does still oftentimes root back around to the same issue but it also ties into an entire host of different problems as well.

I think some of it can absolutely be rooted back to the downswing in the importance of things like art and creative skills as well as creative and critical thinking are given in most corners of modern society, especially in the US.

A lot of classes just teach to get kids to pass tests. It's memorization instead of focusing on how to learn and to think.

There's this upswing in the idea of art/creative skills being valuable only if they make lots of money. Which has, in turn, impacted the stories and art being created and marketed in a lot of sectors because money becomes the driving factor instead of the story or the expression.

Sometimes parents also just don't want to/know how to answer the hard questions about the more sensitive topic. They'd rather not expose their kid to anything like that and avoid that conversation entirely. They start operating on this "well my kid won't be racist if I don't expose them to anything racist". Which I can kind of get the spirit of but it is, overall, the wrong direction to take things.

Your kid is gonna experience a world outside of your house eventually. And that world has problematic things littered all throughout it.

You need to teach your kids about these things and starting small like with animated films that feature those themes can give you the chance to show and explain to them in simple terms why things like racism and prejudice are wrong. It cements that base idea in the kid's mind and gives a foundation for later, more critical thinking and understanding to be built.

There's an entire generation of people who were raised on screens and the internet whose parents didn't give them the "Fiction Isn't Reality" talk at a young age and so they didn't grow with that foundational knowledge that gave them the basis to grow into deeper thought about how "Fiction Isn't Reality But They Do Impact One Another" which then leads to "Fiction Isn't Reality But They Do Impact One Another But Not Always On A 1:1 Scale".

Fiction doubling as both entertainment and a learning tool has been pushed to the side in a lot of places because either the creator just wants to be the next flashy thing for $$$ or the audience is unwilling/unable to realize the lesson it's trying to teach them.

Just, not to sound like a whiteboard drawing, black marker scribbling, string connecting, conspiracy lunatic, but it's all connected and loops back in on itself.

[theblurrxdface]

Spoilers for Life Is Strange True Colours/3. Specifically about how the powers work, but I've tried to keep the rest non-specific

A review, that I'm perhaps posting to the wrong audience, however I believe this game is really interesting even if you'd never consider playing a game in your life. No gaming skill is required. Watching it like a film for free online is entirely possible but you won't get to make your own choices. However the modern motion capture and voice acting and graphics make that still a very viable option. I recommend Eurogamer on YouTube for a pleasant, thoughtful playthrough.

The latest stand-alone Life Is Strange game has a protagonist with the superpower of empathy. Yeah, a bad name that doesn't sound like a superpower at all and had many perspective players unenthusiastic in the build up to the launch, but Alex's abilities are very much supernatural. Capable of seeing people's strong emotions as an aura, Alex lives with the blessing (or curse) of being able to feel what they feel to the point where she can read their thoughts in relation to these strong emotions. She has had an incredibly tough upbringing involving the care system and unwillingly feeling many unwanted and unmanageable emotions in these environments, causing her to get into repeated trouble. At 21 she's in a position to start over when a sibling finally tracks her down.

Throughout this small town mystery she goes on to develop her power, as other Life Is Strange characters with abilities have done, gaining the ability to see the world through the eyes of people in these strong emotional states to truly understand what is going on with them. She realises she can help with her power rather than just be helplessly overcome by others' emotions. Whether that be a child's imagination running wild or an elderly woman losing her memory, Alex is able to see and feel it and then help resolve it. And it looks amazing with beautiful graphics and in the format of an interactive game you can walk around in and truly explore through Alex's eyes and their eyes.

Each chapter features objects with emotional memories linked to them that Alex can also 'read' to gain insight into the characters around her and contribute to the ongoing story. Unlike previous LIS games, a small touch has been made where looking at items again at a different point will appropriately change her mental observations on them rather that just playing the same recording of ther thoughts on the item forever. It makes exploring far more interesting. I looked at everything.

A darker twist on Alex's powers occur when we are presented with a character consumed primarily by anger, a loved one has died, she can't help but blame people who were around at the time who she knows aren't really at fault (including her son who is probably about 10), she hates them all and hates herself for it, she feels she has failed as a mother. She's in a very dark place. A potentially dangerous one. Alex figures out she might be able to take these feelings away and absorb them for herself, but the consequences of this are unknown. At the time I expected the anger to take a toll on Alex, and I thought how dark it would be if we left the other person devoid of emotion. But I didn't think the game would go that far. So I opted to take on her anger, fearing she could be in danger otherwise. Unfortunately my worst fears came true and the character remained numb and dispassionate throughout my game while Alex struggled with the anger she took on. And yet, I still found myself backed into a corner later on where I hesitantly chose to use my powers similarly. Such is the power of LIS games upon their players.

Overall, I wouldn't be sure how to grade this installment of LIS out of 10. It's probably not my favourite of them, but it was very good. Initially I found the game too colourful and the animation a little too 'Pixar', it lacked the classic LIS art style and the whole vibe seemed too lighhearted. But it grew on me quickly, the colours and expressive faces make sense for a game about emotions, and the story quickly developed into something deeper. This is the most expensive game they've released so far, especially if you're like me and can't resist the Ultimate Edition of it (complete with remasters of the old games and an extra chapter so there is at least actual content for your money and not just cosmetic stuff), but LIS games go on sale all the time and usually start giving away the first chapter free after a few months/a year-ish. So if you're interested should you buy? Yeah, I think so, you can always start with a base edition and upgrade, or watch the first half an hour on YouTube and see if it captures your interest first.

Before I go, I want to clarify that I do know that non-supernatural empathy is a minefield for many people in different respects, and I'm not trying to be dismissive of that. Simply the name of this superpower seemed to generate less buzz than its predecessors of telekinesis and time travel which I think is also fair until you understand what it consists of.

I originally wrote this review for my Facebook where 3 people read it and that was more than I expected, I don't know if it'll gather any attention here either. On the off chance it does and you'd like my take on any other games I've played, let me know. I've enjoyed writing this. I even have vague thoughts about a side-blog. And if you enjoyed this, please like it, reblog if you can, and don't steal my writing. Thanks guys.

[opbackgrounds]

so I was doing some research after watching movie 6...

...and apparently it was originally written as a comedy

Yeah, I was surprised, too

Baron Omatsuri is not my favorite One Piece movie—Film Z has too many of my favorite tropes to be usurped from that position—but I do think it is the most daring. Of all the supplemental material I’ve seen and read, it feels the least...One Piece-ish. 

Yes, that includes the noodle commercials. 

If you haven’t seen the movie and can stomach a little spookiness, do yourself a favor and give it a watch. Unlike movies like Strong World or Z that have the look and feel of a manga arc, Movie 6 transplants the Straw Hat Pirates into a world that doesn’t feel like a One Piece story, taking risks and exploring themes that would never fit in the manga proper. 

In addition to the obvious changes in art and animation style, there are supernatural elements that don’t make sense within the One Piece world. None of the Straw Hats win a fight—Luffy included, although he is heavily implied to have killed the big bad at the end. The moral of the movie, if it can be said to have a moral, is if you lose the people closest to you, the answer is to forget about them and make new friends. The story ends with many questions left unanswered and the main drama between the crew unresolved.

And, if you allow me to get philosophical for a moment, I wish there were more movies like it. As I wrote in my review of Novel A, I don’t go to supplemental material or side stories looking for a repeat of what’s in the manga. Oda has written 1000 chapters of One Piece—why not spice things up a little and try something different for a change?

I know the answer isn’t that simple, and by their very nature not all risks will pan out. There will be people who don’t like this movie because it’s different, both in look and tone. But there’s something to be said about a creator putting their heart and soul into a work and having it show in the final product. 

Which brings us back to the original premise. How does a movie go from a light-hearted comedy based on a variety show theme to...this

Baron Omatsuri was directed by Mamoru Hosoda and came out in 2005. To put that into perspective, the movie was in production when the Luffy vs Usopp fight was first seen in the manga. Manga!Luffy had not yet faced the challenge of an inter-crew disputes when the story was being written and boarded, nor did the creative team have the events of Sabaody and Marineford to see how Luffy would react to the loss of his loved ones. They were working without a full understanding of Luffy’s character, and to a lessor extent the character of the Straw Hat Pirates, and it seems like Oda was much less involved In production than has been in movies since Strong World and beyond. 

Likewise, Hosoda had just left a tumultuous situation at Studio Ghibli while working on Howl’s Moving Castle, and if this interview is anything to go by (https://instrangeaeonsblog.wordpress.com/2016/04/24/mamoru-hosoda-on-omatsuri-danshaku-animestyle-interview-part-1/) was going through a lot of personal shit when he was brought on as director. The script he was given was originally written like a variety show—something that was carried over into the various trials seen in the final movie—and meant to be a lighthearted affair after the relatively serious Movie 5 (which I have not seen am thus unable to compare tone). 

With that backstory in mind, it’s easy to see how the bickering and backbiting between the Straw Hats early in the movie is a metaphor for Hosoda’s time at Ghibli, which is something he admits to in the interview. Movie 6 feels different than any other One Piece movie because it’s the project of a man who has had to endure the loss of those who he was close with, at least in a professional capacity. 

There are moments in Movie 6 where Luffy doesn’t feel like Luffy. More than once a member of the Straw Hats ask him to intervene during arguments, moments Luffy either ignores or doesn’t notice. It’s a version of Water 7 where instead of fighting Usopp, Luffy ignores the underlying differences within his crew, and as a result loses everybody. 

The structure of the three trials follows a clear path of deterioration within the crew, the initial goldfish scooping game showing the Straw Hats at their best and inciting the jealousy of the Baron, the ring toss sowing discord among the crew even as they snatch a narrow victory, only for them to be utterly crushed in the third and final challenge as they’re unable help one another survive. 

It is somewhat implied that the Breaking of the Fellowship(TM) is magical in nature—that like the One Ring, the Lily Carnation was able to influence the Straw Hat’s thoughts and actions, but this is never stated outright and I prefer the more mundane interpretation: That without strong leadership the Straw Hats fell victim to the manipulative machinations of the Baron, and simply self-destructed as a result.  In the end, it’s up to the interpretation of the viewer. 

And speaking of things up to interpretation, I love how the Lily Carnation isn’t explained in the slightest. The plant that initially absorbs the Straw Hats looks more like the stem of a devil fruit than a flower, it for some reason rings like a gong when hit, and somehow is able to turn pieces of itself into facsimile of the Baron’s old crew who can somehow move around despite being plans. It’s weird, it’s wonderful, and the element of the unknown works so well in the horror-lite setting. 

My personal theory is the island somehow managed to eat a devil fruit which manifests itself as the Lily Carnation (which due to the L/R conflation in Japanese, is pronounced ‘reincarnation’, which I think is a nice touch of foreshadowing that may or may not have been intentional).

(Also, I can’t decide if little chewing animation it makes when it’s eating people or the weird bullseyes it makes when shit gets real are the most terrifying thing in the movie.)

Hmmm, tasty.

Anyway, this is getting long, so here are some final thoughts:

1) This movie has some low key fantastic outfits. The Straw Hats all look very cool without being over designed like a lot of recent movies. Big hat Robin is of course a fave, and makes me really want to see her in a Carmen Sandiego getup.

2) Screenshots do not do the animation of the movie justice. It’s very fluid and has a lot of excellent expressions/poses, although I admit the 3D is jarring at times. Do not let the art put you off if you haven’t seen it 

3) Also, I don’t think there’s any shading? Like at all? The movie does a lot of cool stuff with color instead. For example, the scene where Luffy initially loses to the Baron his skin goes all grey, and I thought it was because he was fighting at night, but it stays grey even in the better lighting of the underground tunnels and stays that way until he finds out the Straw Hats are still alive, where it returns to his normal color

4) There’s an extended Benny Hill-type gag when Luffy first chases after the little mustache pirate that’s perfectly timed to the music, and ends when Luffy just uses his power to grab him. The comedic timing is amazing and it’s probably my favorite funny moment in the movie, of which there are several despite the overall darker tone

5) The extended jungle shot from Nami’s POV? Very cool

6) I love how from the earliest scenes nothing is as it seems. The opening text is Robin reading the map, but the storm that’s seen on screen is the one that sank the Baron’s crew. Likewise the whole fancy city is shown to be fake panels early on, the goldfish catching game is a trap, etc., etc. It does a good job clueing the viewer in early that’s something’s very wrong on the island, even if they don’t realize it at first

7) I don’t think this type of movie would work in modern One Piece without somehow nerfing Luffy. Horror works best when the protagonist is weak and vulnerable, and that fits best with a pre-Gear 2/3 Luffy (same with the rest of the crew, tbh. I was waiting for Nami to use her lightning stick during the games, forgetting it hadn’t been boosted yet). 

8) I like how there are four captains on the island representing different levels of loss—the Baron has lost his crew and wants to destroy all others because of it, mustache pirate lost his crew and is willing to put it behind him to make new friends, Luffy has freshly lost his crew and hasn’t decided what path he will go, and coward dad hasn’t lost his crew yet but is at risk if he doesn’t change his cowardly ways

9) I think the reason why Chopper was the first Straw Hat to disappear is he’s the most likely to play the part of peacemaker. He’s also the only crew member needing rescuing at the end of the goldfish scoop game, when Luffy foolishly puts his life at risk trying to save him from drowning, just like he recklessly charges the Baron at the end of the movie. Except that time there was no Sanji to save him, leaving Luffy to get his ass thoroughly kicked

10) This is a very good Halloween movie, and I’m glad I watched it in October

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett

If there's one character that has one of the biggest fanbases of all time its Boba Fett. The man only had so much screen time in the original Star Wars film trilogy and barely any dialogue and yet, his legend grew into a sprawling adventure across comics, novels and video games. He got the best treatment in the Clone Wars animated series and he finally made his jaw dropping live action return in season 2 of The Mandalorian. Now comes his own spinoff series and for the most part it was fun and fascinating. It answers so many questions right from the opening scenes and gives the character a new outlook on his life as he learned how to become civil again. I was a fan of Boba, but not a massive fan. The Clone Wars made him interesting and his return on Mandalorian made me all the more excited. The tone was set from the wise choice of a slow burn and as the series progressed, you get to experience his rebirth. The problem this show had was that it lost its goal of being about Boba and ended in a crescendo that felt flat. Don't get me wrong, I had fun watching this series with all the exciting reveals and a debut of another favorite character but I felt that once episode 5 hit, I felt the series was stolen from him. Now I'm gonna spoil a few character returns going forward, but it won't be plot reveals though. I can't talk about this show without talking about the characters. So if you haven't watch the show yet and you don't want to get spoiled, stop here.

Temuera Morrison returns as Boba Fett and he was excellent. He brought humanity to the character that wasn't ever there before. The amount of emotional depth behind his stoic expressions and dialogue delivery was impressive. Ming-Na Wen reprises her role as Fennac Shand and she is even more dangerous and awesome in the show. She remains the badass we know and her bond with Boba was the highlight of the show. We get to see her strategic mind at work and how it benefits those closest to her. Jennifer Beals was good as the Twi'lek that runs the local cantina, Garsa Fwip. She represented the more regal side of Tatooine and she was very welcoming. David Pasquesi was hilarious and fun as Mok Shaiz, the Twi'lek majordomo to the Mayor of Tatooine. He easily could've been the most annoying and weakest parts of the series, but there was just enough of him spread about that he doesn't over stay his welcome.  Pedro Pascal returns as Din Djarin / The Mandalorian and he was awesome. I loved seeing his story progress from where we left him in his own show. The friendship that was forged with him and Boba comes back in full force and they were awesome together. Amy Sedaris returns as Peli Motto and it was great to see her, but I think she was too much at times. I didn't mind the bite size moments we had with her in the beginning, but man did she kind of kill the mood at times. Timothy Olyphant returns as our favorite sheriff Cobb Vanth and he was just as silky smooth. I loved seeing his moral compass keep straight and not go down an easy path of darkness. Now there are alot of returning characters, surprise cameos and of course one debut that had me screaming with joy. My favorite bounty hunter of all time makes his live action debut and brings out the terror and gravitas of the show. Cad Bane makes his on screen debut and Corey Burton voices him once again. He terrified me to no end and his quick draw fight was the best I've seen in a long time. His scenes are the western aspect of Star Wars incarnate and a love letter to the Spaghetti Westerns of old.

The theme for the show was expertly done by Ludwig Göransson and it was perfect. The series score was composed by Joseph Shirley and I loved it all. The tribal tones that were used in the Tusken Raider scenes and the overall scope of it was that much more impactful and warm. My favorite piece is called "The Ultimate Boon". It plays once Boba makes his gaffi stick and it is one of the most intimate and beautiful moments of the show and one of the best episodes. There are many problems the show has and they all become clear when Din Djarin shows up. Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing him and Boba reunite, but it took away from Boba's story in so many ways. I loved seeing Din's story continue and eventually sync up with Boba, but it was so distracting and I personally felt that episode 5 and 6 could've been apart of Mando Season 3 instead of stealing the spotlight from Boba. The finale was awesome with all out action, but by the end it felt empty and rushed. Overall I enjoyed this show, but it felt like halfway through the show it had an identity crisis of what it wanted to end up being. It could've been The Sopranos of Star Wars, but missed its chance. Maybe a second season will help bring it to its full potential. Let me know what you thought of the show or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

[cherry-valentine]

Spring 2021 Anime Season

Mars Red is one of two series this season set in one of my favorite periods, the Meiji era. It’s a vampire series that deals a lot with the politics of war as the Japanese military is attempting to establish a vampire unit, supposedly to compete with the British vampire unit (because of course that’s a thing). It focuses on a human military officer named Maeda who is charged with recruiting and managing vampires. Maeda is the type of character I really enjoy. Handsome, a little older than most anime protagonists, chain-smoking, overly serious, and voiced by Junichi Suwabe (who has to have the sexiest voice in all of anime). The series has a classic, romantic feel to it. Its take on vampires is somewhat traditional (they evaporate in the sun, drink blood, sleep in coffins, have super strength and speed, etc.). If it brings anything new to the table, it’s the concept of vampires having different ranks, from S-class down, and how lower ranks naturally fear higher ranks. Still yet, the classic vibe works in the show’s favor. Combined with the historical setting, it gives the show a certain charm. The art is lovely, from the backgrounds to the character designs, and the music is a high point. It easily has the best ending theme of the season.

Fumetsu no Anata e (To Your Eternity) is a unique series. I’ve seen a lot of people comparing it to Mushishi, but with an overarching plot, and that assessment is pretty accurate. The show follows an entity that comes to be known as Fushi. It begins as an orb, and as it makes contact with other objects and creatures, it learns from them and can possibly take their forms. Among the forms it most often takes are a white wolf and a young man. Originally, it’s a somewhat empty shell, incapable of communicating, but as it meets different creatures and learns, it develops a personality and begins to speak. The series is, overall, about Fushi’s journey through this world and all the experiences it gains, both wonderful and tragic. There’s a subtle beauty to the series, with an early focus on nature, but it also has scenes of trauma and violence. The animation is fluid and the facial expressions are amazing. There’s an overall natural feel to it that, like others have pointed out, reminds me of Mushishi (though it’s definitely faster paced than Mushishi). The show also likes to make you cry, so keep that in mind.

Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood is the other series set in the Meiji era this season, albeit an alternate version of it that has a strange form of technology. To be honest, I’m a little fuzzy on some of the details, but it seems to be about a group called the Nue who work for the government to fight against a growing rebellion. The main character is Sawa, a member of Nue who has some sort of special powers involving her blood, which allow her to transform and battle monsters, or whatever else stands in her way. Her goal is to get revenge for the death of her entire clan (implied to be wiped out because of their power). Sawa is a decent heroine, a woman who craves vengeance and is determined to get it through any means, but is, at her core, a compassionate person who would rather live in peace. It’s this internal conflict that makes Sawa compelling (even if it’s not entirely original). The other characters are interesting, particularly Tsuki, whom I won’t talk much about because it would involve spoilers. The plot and details can get a little convoluted, but the action and animation are solid. When Sawa transforms, the art style changes, and it’s a really cool visual effect. The music is also nice.

Shaman King received a remake this season. I was a huge fan of the original, and so far I’m enjoying the remake, but to be honest, I’m having trouble seeing the point. The art is almost the same (just a lot shinier), the voice actors are the same, the plot is the same. Maybe it’s just that it’s been so long since I saw the original, I’m unable to remember the details and so I can’t tell what’s different. But to me it feels like I’m just rewatching the show. Which is fine, because I loved it to begin with. Maybe it gets different later on. Maybe it more closely follows the manga. I’ll keep watching to find out. For anyone new to the series, it looks like the remake is a solid place to start if you want to get into it. I won’t go into plot details for a story this old, so I’ll just say it’s a top tier shounen fighting series with a unique art style and some very memorable characters. If you like that sort of thing, and missed the original (or you just want a refresher), definitely check it out!

Godzilla Singular Point is a true delight. I’m a huge Godzilla (and kaiju in general) fan. I’ve watched every single Godzilla movie, as well as all the related movies (the Mothra films, Rodan, etc.), but I never watched the previous Godzilla anime that was on Netflix a few years ago. It just didn’t sound like something I’d like. Singular Point, however, is right up my alley. Set mainly in a small seaside town that’s suddenly attacked by bird-like monsters known as Rodans, we have two geeky protagonists using their intelligence to figure out what’s going on while more and more monsters appear. Mei and Yun are excellent heroes. They rely on their wits rather than physical strength, which is a refreshing approach. It’s also interesting that they have little to no face-to-face interaction. Instead, they chat with each other via text as they work separately. They often challenge each other with science questions. It’s adorable. The show’s overall feel is fairly upbeat and energetic. The colorful art and peppy character designs by Kazue Kato (who did Blue Exorcist) help with this feel. It should be noted that Godzilla himself doesn’t fully appear until halfway through the series. It says a lot about the quality of the show that I don’t actually mind that at all. Some of the science stuff does go over my head, but the general plot is easy enough to follow and the action is very well done. It also has fantastic music, with my favorite opening theme of the season. Even if Godzilla isn’t your thing, consider giving this series a shot if you like nerdy science types as heroes.

Burning Kabaddi is a sports anime about an unsual sport. I’d never heard of it before now, and if people in the comments were not talking about the very real sport, I would have assumed it was made up for the anime. The show is aware that the sport is obscure, so it takes great pains to explain the rules and details so that we can all follow the action. The story centers on Yoigoshi, a soccer prodigy who decides to drop all sports once he gets to high school due to all the drama and angst that surrounded him (mostly due to his teammates being jealous of his talent), and pursue a career as a streamer. All the various sports clubs at the school want to recruit him (especially the soccer club, of course) because they’ve heard of his skill and he has an athletic build. He rejects them all, but the Kabaddi club is strangely relentless. He ends up being manipulated into joining (the vice captain of the team straight up blackmails him by threatening to show his online streaming account to the whole school). Despite this rocky beginning, Yoigoshi actually starts to enjoy playing Kabaddi, and more importantly, begins to bond with his new teammates. It’s pretty fun stuff that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The art is serviceable for a sports anime and the music is fine. The series isn’t going to blow your mind, but it’s a fun way to spend twenty minutes every week. Worth a watch if you have a weakness for hot blooded sports anime.

The World Ends With You finally got its anime adaptation and I was so excited. The game is one of my all-time favorites. So far the anime is pretty good. The art is a near perfect replication of the bold, thick-lined art of the game. The battles are exciting and cool. Best of all, the anime often uses music from the game. This is important because the game has one of the best soundtracks, ever. Every time I recognize a song from the game, I almost squeal. If I had a complaint, it’s that the pacing feels a little off at times. It feels like the anime is rushing through the story, but that’s understandable. In the game, it took longer for everything to happen because you were walking from place to place, fighting battles along the way, stopping to scan NPC’s, shopping at stores, spending time in menus, etc. The anime has to cut most of that out, so naturally things are going to move faster. The result is that you don’t get to spend as much time with these characters, and so you feel less attached to them. Anyone watching the anime who didn’t play the game might feel like the emotional beats are lacking. I feel like this anime is definitely meant to be enjoyed by fans of the game, rather than newcomers to the story. But if you are a fan of the game? You should be watching this every week. It’s an excellent refresher on the story, just in time for the second game to come out this summer. Super high on my watch list.

Boku no Hero Academia has a new season. To be honest I don’t remember what number we’re on. This season, so far, focuses on a tournament-style competition between the two main hero classes. I would much prefer the plot to move on to something more exciting involving the villains, but I suppose they have to throw arcs like this in every so often just to remind everyone of which characters have which quirks. The plus point is that instead of being an individual competition, it’s team-based. What this ultimately means is that characters that are viewed as weaker or having more obscure quirks actually get a chance to shine. These are characters who definitely aren’t going to win one-on-one battles. In an individual tournament, it’s pretty much a given that characters like Deku, Bakugou, and Todoroki are going to win most of the matches. But in a team, everyone has to work together. The end result is that the lady characters, all of whom have fairly weak or situational quirks, finally FINALLY get to actually do stuff! Even better, in several of the match-ups, the girls have taken the lead in planning and strategizing. It’s been pretty nice to watch. The girls from the other class have been very proactive as well. I really wish the girls could do more in “real” battles with villains, since it’s clear that they can step up when they need to. Who knows? Maybe this is a sign of good things to come.

86 is a new mecha/sci-fi anime based on a series of light novels. The setup is fairly cool: In a country where everyone has silver hair and eyes, the people live in what looks like a utopia. There is a war going on outside their protected land but all combat is performed by automated robots, so there are no human casualties... or so the government would have the people believe. In reality, there is a district that exists on the outskirts of the country called 86, where people who don’t have silver hair and eyes are sent to pilot the robots and fight to protect the country that shunned them. Most of the pilots are children or teenagers. The mortality rate is high. Only a few people in the government know of their existence, mostly military types that include “handlers”. These handlers each take on an 86 unit and communicate with them through a system called “para-raid”. Using this, they monitor the battlefield from their safe positions and issue commands. Naturally, most handlers view their units as nothing more than tools in the war, and most 86-ers view their handlers as privileged snobs who know nothing of actual battle. The real plot kicks in when Lena, a young Major, becomes the new handler for a particular 86 unit. Lena is sympathetic to the people of 86, but it’s going to be hard getting her notoriously rough unit to accept her. The plot is a bit complicated and the show deals with some weighty themes (racism, privilege, war, child soldiers, death). Lena is a likable enough heroine and the members of 86 are all interesting and fairly well written. The music is fine. The art... well, it’s pretty to look at, but it feels a bit generic to me. A bit too shiny. The mecha designs are great, but I’m not crazy about the character designs, which feel like they could be from any other modern anime. I also find it sad but hilarious at the same time that the women’s military uniforms are clearly designed for fanservice (they include mini skirts, thigh-highs with garters, and a short jacket that opens up just above the chest to show the tight shirt underneath) while the men’s uniforms are just totally normal military wear. To be honest it’s just too stupid to actually be offensive, so it comes across as comical. Thankfully, the interesting setup and plot carry the show, making it good enough to overlook the generic visuals.

Moriarty the Patriot has a new season... maybe? I think it’s technically still season one, but with a split cour. Regardless, it feels like a new season so I’m treating it as such. The series focuses on famous Sherlock antagonist Moriarty, here represented as a trio of handsome brothers (though one of them is clearly the protagonist and the leader of the group) who work as “crime consultants” and basically help the lower classes wage class warfare against the nobility. This season shifts the focus away from the individual crimes Moriarty concocts and instead focuses on larger-scale conflicts that involve government conspiracies, corrupt cops, etc. We’re also treated to a lady James Bond (finally!), fixing one of the very few complaints I had about the first cour (that it lacked strong lady characters). The show remains very compelling, with beautiful art and excellent new opening and ending themes.

Best of Season:

Best New Show: Godzilla Singular Point

Best Opening Theme: Godzilla Singular Point

Best Ending Theme: Mars Red

Best New Male Character: Maeda (Mars Red)

Best New Female Character: Sawa (Joran)

[xiaozhan-stanaccount]

Hi! It's time to talk about Douluo Continent!

Please, stop right here if you haven't finished the drama yet and don't want spoilers. Also, I want to clarify that I don't know anything about the Douluo Dalu franchising, since I have only watched the live action!! Okay, let's start.

Overall the drama is very interesting, enjoyable and easy to watch. It entertains the viewers thanks to the mix of dramatic, suspenseful and comedian scenes. I think that it has a perfect balance of scenes in which the viewers can have so much fun and laugh, scenes in which the development of the story is so engaging and scenes through which the viewers can be moved by the emotions displayed on the screen by the actors. There wasn't any episode that can be described as "boring". The drama has the perfect elements that can get the viewers hooked. As for the story, it's not so complicated and quite linear. I like how it was developed. They gave so much space to each character! This is something I really enjoyed. Each character has its own story, its own personal growth and its own characteristics that make it unique and lovable. I think that their teamwork building is the most powerful thing of the drama! I loved their interactions with each other and how they slowly consolidated the relationships between them. The scenes in which they fight side by side, worry about each other or support each other were my favorite ones. Also, I like that romance is not the main focus. The romantic moments in the drama are pretty refreshing and fun to watch!

But still, I think that 40 episodes were not enough. I mean, I loved the plot, but I don't like dramas that need a sequel. This is more like a personal opinion. The 40th episode ended with a cliffhanger and we already know that there will be a second season. But this means that we have to wait for who knows how long to get the sequel. Waiting is so nerve-wracking and I'm sure I will forget everything before the sequel airs!!! Anyway, I read a lot of negative comments saying that the story is slow pacing, that there is a lot of useless focus on the characters' introduction and development or that the plot is completely different from the original story. Well, I think that that's not a bad thing. I mean, the drama is more focused on the characters' building, so that's fine! That's the main reason I enjoyed it in the first place. I know that a lot of people wanted a Tang San focused story (and maybe the drama is following a different path than the novel or the animated series, but I think this is pretty normal for live action adaptations), so I totally understand the frustration of these people, but I think that the producers have done an amazing job with this drama. Also, the CGI is AMAZING and the cinematography is so aesthetic. The colors are vibrant and bright! It's visually stunning!!

Now let's talk about the cast. I loved everyone in this drama!!! The actors are amazing in the portrayal of their own characters and they have a great chemistry with each other. I really hope that we can get to see all of them together again in the second season!! (Maybe the only one that could have done a better job is Wu Xuanyi (Xiao Wu). This is her first drama, so her performace wasn't perfect since she was still inexperienced.)

As for Xiao Zhan, his acting is impeccable and smooth. His eyes are so expressive that we can easily understand the deep emotions of his character through the screen. His crying scenes are so moving (special mention to the one with his mother). Also, we can see his acting flexibility thanks to Tang San: he can do both comedian scenes and dramatic scenes without a flaw. The fact that we hear his voice dubbing his own character gave his performance much more impact. He really has done a great job as Tang San. I'm so proud of him!! And oh my God his visuals are on another league! Let's remember that Xiao Zhan filmed and dubbed this drama during the most difficult times for his career. He really tried his best for this role. Watching the outcome of his efforts makes us realize how GOOD he is. Thank you, Xiao Zhan, for letting us meet Tang San ❤ We are looking forward to meeting you and your new characters on the screen once again!!

[sonofanumbranwitch]

P5S Seven Heavenly Virtues PT.5. Akane Hasegawa and The Jail of Kindness.

So the next few Jails are kind of different from my last few because I actually feel like they match their sins rather well. Akane is supposed to be the Jail representing Wrath and this actually fits her perfectly with her anger towards her father and the injustice of the world. But we’ll need to change a few things to make her fit my concept for Akane “Jophiel” Hasegawa.

So the first changes I want to discuss are the aesthetic and design changes to her Jail because they are the more blantant ones. The whole shrine aesthetic of the original are cool and all but they don’t really have anything to do with Akane’s monarch aesthetic. Perhaps in the sense on how it relates to her mourning for her mother.

But her Monarch’s whole thing is she wants to be a Phantom Thief. So instead of the shrine the Palace is a dark city for anti-heroes to run around in. Think the aesthetics of the early 1990s Batman animated series.

Also the Jail has been expanded to be a full jail with Prison Keeps and everything. A Chekhov’s Gun that was never triggered is the fact Akane has over 50,000 subscribers to her Phantom Thief stream. So the first thing she did when she was changed into a Monarch was give all her subscribers her keyword and steal their desires. Now people all around Japan are dawning masks and capes and are throwing themselves into dangerous situations in order to be “Heroes of Justice.”

I also was having a hard time trying to figure out how to make kindness as a virtue a bad thing. But then I remembered how kindness can be harmful toward one’s self if they allow their kindness to make them forget about their own needs.

So our next change for Akane’s story is her relationship to her father. It’s still rocky but she doesn’t open express her anger towards her father. Instead she’s been bottling up her feelings. Trying to put on a strong face for her father instead of allowing herself to work through the trauma of losing her mother. A lot of inspirations come from Riley’s journey from the Pixar film Inside Out. By denying her feelings she’s only getting angrier deep down but she does it because she doesn’t want to burden her father.

Zenkichi of course is aware that his daughter isn’t doing as well as she pretends to be. But given how shaky their relationship is he isn’t sure how to address the problem. In comes Makoto who is able to connect with Akane given her own experiences having a police officer for a father.

Makoto will be playing a larger role in this Jail overall. She acts as the mediator for Akane and her father. Helping them to communicate their struggles and start towards rebuilding their relationship.

“Akane I understand how you feel. You put on a strong front for your father, but deep down your in terrible pain. You both are! You’re father has tried his best to endure the pain of losing your mother just like you. But two need to be honest with each other or you’ll never stop having that pain. Once you lose someone, it’s too late to say the things you need to. I waited too long to tell my father how I felt and I lost my chance. Please learn from my mistake. I would give anything to have the opportunity you have.”

Akane’s boss form is inspired by the Joy angels from Bayonetta. Akane wants to be a phantom thief so her boss form has her copying the move sets of the thieves. She splits herself into these Phantom Thief clones and there is now a series of one on one match ups instead of just fighting Shadow Joker. The thieves eventually figure out they beat the shadows by switching opponents with each other. Ex. Ann and Yusuke switch opponents because they can take advantage of each other’s elemental weakness and so on.

The Jail ends much the same with Zenkichi finally having a real heart to heart with his daughter. Akane finally lets lose all her pent up feelings. Her sorrow at losing her mother, her frustration with the justice system that failed her, and her complicated emotions surrounding her father.

“I know you want me to be happy dad. But I’m not. I haven’t been for so long, ever since mom died. I knew what really happen but no one believed me. And then I saw just how sad and angry you were. I felt like I was going crazy. I didn’t want to make you feel worse and I didn’t want feel anything at all. So I just forced myself to smile. Please don’t be mad at me.”

“Oh honey. No. No no no. I could never be mad at you for that. I’m sorry for all this. I never should have let you feel like you had to hide your emotions for my sake. I was afraid of losing you, so I buried ideas of justice for your mother. So I’ll set things right. I swear I will find the criminals that hurt my family and I will bring them to justice.

“So you’re really going after him?”

“Yes. I promise you… and your mother.”

At this point I would just be retyping the dialogue from the original version, which just goes to show how good Akane’s Jail always was. I actually felt conflicted about changing the nature of their relationship at all, but I feel like the core idea here is still the same. Namely how trauma had strained this relationship between a father and daughter and how they need to come together to face it head on instead of pushing it down.

[charlemange1]

Ranking adaptations of Victor Frankenstein from least to most evil

The character Victor Frankenstein has been adapted many times over the years. Sometimes he’s a heroic YA protagonist while others have him using his clone army to wipe out humanity and take over the world. But which Victor is truly the worse?

After reading several adaptations, I’ve decided to rank Victor’s morality in each one and find out! The gothic lit community doesn’t talk about these adaptations much, so hopefully this list can introduce the fandom to some of the lesser-known interpretations out there!

This is part one, which ranks printed retellings only. If people enjoy it, I’ll do a part two and merge the films into the mix!

Disclaimers (please read):

SPOILERS! Victor’s actions in these adaptations will be thoroughly analyzed with no regard for the spoiler tag.

Some of the more evil Victor’s get into dark territory, and while I will not go into extensive detail (lest I go insane) if mentions of abuse, sexual themes, possessive behavior and murder bother you, don’t make my mistake and turn back! (I will leave an additional reminder when said parts come up)

This list centers on Victor’s actions and NOT the quality of the books themselves—so if you see your favorite title getting a low score it’s not because it’s a bad book—it’s because Victor is a jerk.

This list is by no means complete, just the ones I’ve read personally.

These are my silly personal opinions and if you disagree with my ranking that’s perfectly fine!

Ranking: On a 1-10 scale, with 10 being fantastic and 0 being “run if you see this man in a dark alley.”

10/10 Perfect Sunbeam. Overall great, wholesome guy!

*crickets chirp in a serene backdrop of a Romantic field*

Good dude

Junji Ito’s Frankenstein: 8.5/10

Props to the master of manga monsters for making the twist be that Victor is not secretly evil/insane.

Not only does Victor pity the creature and agree to create a mate for him—but he keeps his word! This is especially touching when you consider how the creature treks alllllll the way to Switzerland to dig up Justine’s head as a face for the bride. (Henry says he probably didn’t know it was Justines, but come on, you just happened to pick up the head of the girl you framed and carried it for miles across land and sea to deliver it to Victor instead of stopping somewhere closer? I don't buy it.)

Victor even goes the extra mile, kindly stating:

Yet the bride rejects the creature (not Victor’s fault) and in revenge, the creature kills Henry, Elizabeth, and Alphonse. In retaliation, Victor follows him onto the ice and relates his tale to Walton before dying.

Victor's actions are nothing heroic, but what more could he have done? He didn’t break his promise and kill the bride like in the original novel and he clearly cared about reanimating “Justine” as shown in the above image.

And did I mention this manga was done by Junji Ito? Would YOU stay in the same room if you created a Junji Ito monster? Didn't think so! After the initial mistake of abandoning his monster, this Victor did the best he could to make amends and protect his family--making him an overall good person.

Decent guy

This Dark endeavor by Kenneth Oppel: 7/10

Serving as a prequel to the original novel, This Dark Endeavor tells the untold story of what leads young Victor Frankenstein to create his monster.

While Victor very much struggles with his angsty dark desires (bad), he tirelessly searches for the alchemic "Elixir of Life" to save his twin brother (good). A brother who is more talented than Victor, has the heart of his love interest, and Victor believes everyone prefers over himself.

Good on you, Victor, for letting the love for your brother override understandable sibling jealousy. If that wasn’t enough to make him decent, letting a few fingers be cut off to save his twin definitely does.

What brings Victor down to a 7 is his relationship with Elizabeth. It’s born out of jealousy from her loving his twin rather than genuine affection. Even if this retelling makes Elizabeth a feisty, pants-wearing independent female (to lessen the possessive undertones Victor exhibits, I presume? Read it and judge for yourself), the relationship does nothing positive for his character. Tricking someone into kissing you is a jerk move, bro.

Ok I guess….

Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel 6/10

The sequel to This Dark Endeavor loses Victor’s careful balance of good and bad traits its predecessor boasted. Victor wasn’t perfect in TDE, but the majority of his negative actions stemmed from trying to save his ill brother and were mostly forgivable. In Such Wicked Intent, his understandable sibling jealously now comes off as petty since Victor’s twin is already dead.

Victor trying to bring his brother back to life (good) is undermined by his growing reliance on supernatural butterflies that increase his abilities despite other characters pointing out the obvious danger. Victor is also not the greatest parent to Twin 2.0 and the previous issues with him and Elizabeth from book 1 don’t improve. He’s the same Victor from TDE, but the plot focusing on his selfish desires makes him more flawed as a result.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (the original novel): 6/10

Depending on how you interpret the events of the original novel, Victor is either a college Dad in over his head and trying his best after an initial mistake, or a misogynistic, irresponsible jerk only capable of thinking of himself. There are enough professional articles to support both interpretations, and I’m not the person to pick one over the other. 

However, if the narrative he tells Walton is to be taken as truth (and the creature not correcting Victor's account tells me it is), Victor spent most of the novel trying to fix his mistake (intentions may vary)—and isn’t too bad as a result.  

Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel: 5/10

Despite being a crossover with Pride and Prejudice, Kessel tries to be as faithful to the original Frankenstein as possible. However, the few changes he makes hurts Victor from a moral standpoint.

Victor’s not the greatest guy when handling the romantic gestures of both Mary Bennet and Henry. Also, murdering his creature's mate with poison right before they leave to start their happily ever after is awful, but understandable from his point of view.

Then there's P&P's ending, where Walton describes meeting Victor on the ice. It’s revealed that Victor left killing the creature's mate and the Bennet’s out of his narrative. While this is probably Kessel justifying why Jane Austen’s characters and his changes weren’t mentioned in the original text (and who can blame him?) it does make Victor a liar. In the original, the creature never called Victor out for omitting anything—so altering the story on his deathbed places P&P’s Victor a rung lower than his original counterpart.

Ehh….

Frankenstein According to Spike Milligan: 4/10

As a nearly-word-for-word retelling with minor, humorous changes by the comedian Spike Milligan, Victor is more pathetic than anything. He’s a harmless, pathetic, hilarious jerk.

Some quotes:

"I bounded along with feelings of unbridled joy and hilarity. From a great distance my family could see me bounding with unbridled joy and hilarity." (53)

*

"'I tell you,’ I said, ‘that murderer had his trousers down, was eating fish paste sandwiches and traveling 100 miles per hour.’" (59)

*

"‘I can offer you no consolation,’ said he.

‘Then piss off.’ said I." (54)

Here’s his jail visit with Justine in animatic form (and me shamelessly plugging my other creative endeavors)

Monster by Neal Bell 3.5/10

Warning: contains mentions of animal abuse

On one hand, Victor wants to conquer death to save his family and is clearly disturbed over Justine's and his mother’s death. However, the man expresses little concern at the possibility of William getting struck by lightning with his kite in front of his mother who had already lost 9 children.

He can also talk to dogs and cats (for…some reason?) who are portrayed as intelligent beings with feelings—yet that doesn’t stop him from eating said dogs in the Arctic and killing said cat after threatening her with a knife. He also flings around Bible verses while being painfully egotistical about “being God”.

Using Henry’s romantic affections toward him to his advantage, briefly forcing himself on Elizabeth, and tenderly caring for his monster only to abandon him after the creature expresses a want to die just makes him an awful person all around. The fact he doesn’t do these things with clear malicious intent saves him from being any lower.  

Quotes:

ELIZABETH: A bone. A brittle bit of skin. A tooth—

VICTOR: Would you not be womanish now?

Be useful. Here—hold the Leyden jar,

While I attach the string…

*

VICTOR: A satisfactory morning, then, Mister Puss—tormenting the dogs?

CAT: God gave me a duty. I fulfill it.

VICTOR: Papa says there is no God.

(He takes out a knife)

Pretty bad dude

WARNING: Please note that some of these Victors get into unsavory territory. If the mention of sexual themes/abuse/murder bothers you turn back:

The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd: 3/10

This one was tricky. The narrative chugs along with Victor being an intelligent, thoughtful guy with only a few obsessive tendencies. He’s chilling with the Shelleys, talking to the poor in the streets and financially supporting Fred’s family along with giving out generous tips. He’s a cool guy. He’s a great dude! He’s….revealed in the final 2 pages to be recounting everything from a mental asylum, the monster was in his head, and he’s actually the one that committed the murders.

Alrighty then.   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Having his insanity revealed in the final pages, it’s hard to judge whether there was genuine malicious intent or if Victor truly thought he created the creature and believed he was doing good in trying to “stop” it. No matter his intentions though, the body count remains and a child strangler has no place being anything higher than a 3.

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White: 1/10

We all knew this one would make the list. Elizabeth’s first flashback sets up Victor as having serious issues—the question becomes how low will he go? Turns out pretty low. 

He’s the one who killed William and framed Justine along with murdering his father, brother Robert and various people at Ingolstadt. 

What really makes him despicable is that Elizabeth is the novel's main POV character who only sticks with Victor so she’s not thrown out on the streets. He’s abusive, controlling, dominating, and so possessive that he’ll perfect reanimation so that not even death can take her away from him! Yikes. I can’t stress enough how being in Elizabeth’s POV makes these actions all the more menacing. 

Quote:

“There was never another path for you. Consider how much worse it has all been for me. How much I have had to suffer. And how much of that suffering has been caused directly by you!” His face twitched, and his fingers tightened on the pistol. Then he sighed. “It does not do to dwell on it. There is no point in fighting. This is your fate, Elizabeth Frankenstein. I will let no other claim you—not man, not death, not even God.” (279)

Nice guy.

Despite his terrible actions, Victor is trying to "save" Elizabeth from death. In his mind, he wants what’s best for her. It’s a crazy mind that mixed up domination and love, but the fact that his evil actions come from wanting to keep someone he wants to control cares about safe vs. other versions where his crimes stem from wanting to rival god and rule the world, this version isn’t THAT bad. At least his hearts in the right place—even if his mentality is utter garbage.

The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Theodore Roszak 0/10

*insert my screams of insurmountable anguish here*

Caroline: Hey son, you should do NSFW things.

Victor: Sure. I will now do NSFW things.

Victor: *proceeds to do NSFW things*

The reprint of this novel mentions on the cover it’s erotica, but the copy I bought (and to this day have not finished) had no such disclaimer. I’ll break my rule and speak on the quality of this book: there is none. For an alleged “pro-feminism” novel everyone is terrible—and Victor is no exception.

Literally Satan.

Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein Series: -∞/10

So you’ve read far enough to join me in Hell.

Where do even I start? This is a Victor who extended his life to the present day. Who worked with Hitler, Stalin, Castro and regretted the fall of the Third Reich. Who created an army of emotionally deprived “new race” creations to kill people and assume their identities so he could ascend the ranks of politics. Who, once he has enough of his new race integrated into society, desires to commit mass genocide on humanity and establish himself as supreme ruler of the world—only then can he conquer the cosmos as well because why the hell not?  

Oh, and he’s a wife-beater/murderer too! Which isn’t a problem, considering he can create a new wife whenever he sees fit (he was on Erika 5 by book 3). The sheer lack of any positive traits in this man is laughable. Koontz really, REALLY wants to get across that Victor is a bad guy.

And if you’re somehow not convinced by the above description, here are some quotes I pulled from the first 3 novels as a bonus to reeeeeally sell how despicable this clown is:

Regarding Elizabeth:

“Victor had not loved Elizabeth. Love and God were myths he rejected with equal contempt. But Elizabeth had belonged to him. Even after more than 200 years, he still bitterly resented the loss of her, as he would have resented losing an exquisite antique porcelain vase if [his creature] had smashed that instead of the bride,” (3.97). 

Regarding Mary Shelley:

“When Mary Shelley took a local legend based on truth and crafted fiction from it, she made Victor a tragic figure and killed him off. He understood her dramatic purpose for giving him a death scene, but he loathed her for portraying him as tragic and as a failure. Her judgment of his work was arrogant. What else of consequence did she ever write? And of the two, who was dead—and who was not?” (1.79-80)

(Author Note: For your information, Victor, The Last Man is considered by some to be the first dystopian novel)

His…ah…"friends”:

“Fire was featured in some of his less pleasant memories. The great windmill. The bombing of Dresden. The Israeli Mossad attack on the secret Venezuelan research complex that he had shared with Mengele in the years after World War Two. Nevertheless, he liked to read to the accompaniment of a cozy crackling fire,” (1.76).

*

“Victor admired Hitler. The Führer knew talent when he saw it.

In the 1930s and 40s, Victor had worked with Mengele and others in Hitler's privileged scientific class. He made considerable progress in his work before the regrettable allied victory…the problem with the Führer had been that his roots were in art and politics…The future did not belong either to artists or to politicians,” (2.24-25).

Dat ego tho:

“When I die, those cells will be capped descend a signal that will be relayed by satellite to everyone made of new race flesh, to every meat machine that walks. And you will fall down dead,’…Victor smiled, anticipating triumph in spite of their silence. ‘Did you think a God would die alone?’” (3.345).  

*

Civilization would not be remade or sustained by Christianity or by Islam. Neither by Scientologists nor by the bright-eyed adherence of the deliciously solipsistic paranoid new religion encouraged by The Da Vinci Code. Tomorrow belonged to scientism. The priests of scientism were not merely robed clerics performing rituals, they were gods, with the power of gods. Victor himself was their Messiah,” (2.25).

*

“With Victor's unstoppable drive for power, with his singular intellect, with his cold materialism and his ruthless practicality, and now with synchronicity on his side, he had become untouchable, immortal.

He was immortal,” (3.329).

*

“How they goggled at him, abashed by his wisdom and knowledge, mortified by their ignorance, over-awed by his godlike power,” (3.330). 

*

“’Murder,’ said the caller. ‘murder…excites me.’

Victor kept the growing concern out of his voice. ‘No, your mind is fine. I don't make mistakes.’” (1.156)

Oh yeah, he has a wife, doesn't he:

“This is why Victor requires …the cruel humiliation of his partner. He has long ago transcended the guilt that committing acts of cruelty might spawn in others...the exercise of raw power thrills him,” (1.244).

*

“I have given you a life…remember that. I have given you a life, and I will choose what you do with it,” (1.464).

Wives view of him:

“She owned literally hundreds of outfits. Having been created to his ideal measurements, Victor had purchased everything…She hoped that someday she would be allowed to shop for herself. When Victor allowed that, she would know she had at last met his standards and earned his trust. Briefly, she wondered what it would be like not to care what Victor—or anyone—thought of her. To be herself. Independent. Those were dangerous thoughts. She must repress them.” (1.107)    

*

And those are just the PG bits, he does much, much worse.

*

In conclusion:

So yes, Spike Milligan made Victor a pathetic jerk, Casebook made Victor a madman, Memoirs made him an erotic predator, Dark Descent had him as an abusive boyfriend ruthless in possessing “his Elizabeth”,  but nearly succeeding at worldwide genocide while abusing/murdering/manipulating people to achieve his goals makes Dean Koontz’s Victor Frankenstein the worse, more morally despicable Victor Frankenstein of them all. At least from what I’ve read.

Annnnd that’s it! If you want me to make a part 2 and add in the films/plays let me know! Hopefully at least one of these peeked your interest as something to check out during spooky season.

Shameless plug-in: here’s my own Frankenstein adaptation

*

Bonus!

Ranking the books on how much I liked them personally!

Great:

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein: Nice to see Victor’s villainy stem from family relations and not ego and wanting to defy God for a change.

Junji Ito’s Frankenstein: Phenomenal artwork, fairly faithful adaptation, and the changes serve to put Victor in a better light—which I love! The master of manga monsters himself made the right choice in keeping the creature more monstrous in this version instead of focusing on his humanity.

This Dark Endeavor: Frankenstein characters go on a Harry Potter styled adventure. Need I say more?

Average:

Such Wicked Intent: Victor’s character takes a dip, and pit monsters/life-absorbing butterflies don’t quite fit in a Frankenstein prequel.

Frankenstein According to Spike Milligan: It’s a silly, stupid comedy. Got a few chuckles out of me.

Pride and Prometheus: The concept works way better than it should. However, it follows the original text to a fault and can be boring at points. 

Bad:

Warning: contains mentions of suicide 

Monster: Victor’s character was far too inconsistent to be likable. He can talk to animals why, exactly?

Casebook of Victor Frankenstein: So, Victor is revealed to be crazy in the final 3 pages? So, the monster was in his head? Alright. But other characters throughout the book SAW the monster and described him like Victor did. So, there’s no way to separate Victor’s POV from reality and that kills the reread value and makes this a waste of time. Don’t get me wrong, the creature being symbolic for Victor’s inner demons is a fascinating direction if done well—and I recommend the essay “Frankenstein: The Man and the Monster” by Arthur Belefant if you want a much shorter exploration of this concept. It’s not perfect, but beats Casebook by a longshot!

Also, taking the real-life suicide of Percy’s wife Harriet and turning it into Victor murdering her and framing it on someone else to mimic Frankenstein’s Justine/William scene is just wrong. You made a woman’s suicide a cheap plot point in your fanfic of the mistress’s novel. That is what you did, author.

Dean Koontz Frankenstein: It starts out good and has great suspense—too bad the actual plot is awful. Victor’s so painfully evil it comes off as comical, the characters are bad/bland, plot holes abound (they state Mary Shelley’s novel is canon, then mention the windmill which was only in the films—so who even IS this Victor? Book or film?). The conclusion in book 3 is one of the most underwhelming finals I’ve ever read, and the creature “cures” a kid of Autism in the final chapter. No really. How this is a book series/comic series/movie is beyond me.

So atrocious I couldn’t bring myself to finish:

Warning: contains mentions of sexual themes

The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein: It claims to be pro-feminist, but the women “good guys” blatantly state they are grooming children for sexual rituals and Victor and Elizabeth are coerced into doing NSFW things by Victor’s mother in the name of “women’s rights”. Here’s the kicker: these awful actions are framed as being positive. I—a woman—loath this novel. Maybe things got better by the end (and if there was some plot twist that changed the entire setup, I apologize for ranting about nothing) but I’m not reading to that point to find out! This will forever stay both my first and last experience with erotic literature. Thank goodness The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein exists to give us a decent feminist take on Frankenstein!

[pop-pop-pop-popculture]

Let’s talk about live-action Disney films

  The first one I like is Beauty and the Beast despite Emma screwing up Belle. How did she screw up Belle for me? Her acting was awful (she used little to no facial expressions and lacked emotion throughout the entire film), her singing required auto-tune because she cannot sing, and her over-the-top demands to make Belle fit her “Emmione” image were (and still are) embarrassing. Do not get me started on that underwhelming, cheap yellow dress! The way she acted during the press tour was terrible because of the things she said and did. I will not go into detail about all of that, because this post will turn into an essay if I did. I felt so bad for Dan Stevens! He didn’t deserve to suffer touring with that egoistic woman. I give the film a 6 out of 10. It would be a 7 if an unknown yet talented French actress who has experience with singing was Belle and the dress looked similar (not exact, but similar) to this.   The second one I enjoyed was the CGI-reimagining of The Lion King. Say what you want about the film, but you cannot deny how beautiful and on-point “Circle of Life” was. My literal facial expression was like this during the song: 😮😍. I enjoyed the film overall, and I love how accurate most everything was. There were no new characters, no new songs... it stayed fairly true to the original, so for that, I give it an 8 out of 10.

Now for the movies I disliked...

  The first one is Maleficent. I haven’t seen many of Elle Fanning’s films, so I can’t really judge her acting, but I loved the idea of her as Aurora. Why did they make her use a British accent when she was born in France, though? That was stupid. The same thing goes for Beauty and the Beast. If Elle couldn’t pull off a French accent, then they should have had her use her own. Besides, Aurora’s voiceover actress was American and she used an American accent. Anyways, I would have rather seen Sleeping Beauty brought to life than a backstory film on the villain, which was basically Sleeping Beauty in Maleficent’s point of view. The storyline was weird and barely stood true to the 1959 animated film. I’m pretty sure it was Maleficent who got Aurora out of her deep sleep instead of Prince Phillip too. Like ... what the f*ck? The sequel was equally as pathetic. Maleficent throws a fit about two things: Prince Phillip proposing to 18-year old Aurora and Aurora no longer being under her care. #thismeanswar! Really dumb. These two films shouldn’t have been brought to life. I give both of them a 4 out of 10.   The second live-action Disney film I disliked was Aladdin. I actually did not mind Will Smith as Genie - he was the only good thing about that disaster! I felt the acting and line delivery was dull from most everyone (except Smith), and the script was awful. Everyone’s singing was decent but flat. Naomi’s singing was something else, though, and I mean that in a good way. That girl can SING. Giving Jasmine a friend was okay, but there was zero need to make the friend Genie’s love interest. The scene where everyone was dancing after “Prince Ali” made me cringe. Oh, and one last thing: Jafar did not turn into a snake, which is what I was looking forward to! Had I not gone with a friend, then I would have left during the dancing scene. I give this film a 5 out of 10.

♡ April 11, 2021 ♡