#but i also remember seasons 2 and 3 being absolutely vile viewing experiences. especially 2 which was like purgatory

[simptasia]

even tho nbc's heroes is two years younger than abc's lost, whenever i talk about it, i feel like im talking about something older

[traitor-boyfriend]

I got into a civil debate with a kyman shipper about Cartman secretly crushing on Kyle, but what worries me is that said person confuses sadistic lust and a hate filled obsession with love. Idk I just find that kind of worrying? Of course not all kyman shippers, but this specific one didn't really know the difference. Like they were using what happened in Imaginationland as proof of romantic feelings...how. I don't hate said person, it's just very...worrying

ugh. so this particular ask has been sitting in my inbox for.. honestly i can’t even remember. two weeks? probably more. and it’s cos there was something very specific i wanted to articulate and i’m not sure i’ve necessarily found the right words but i really want to have this answered so lets hope i find them along the way

anyway, i think that’s what’s particularly bothersome to me about the idea that cartman is capable of having a healthy, loving relationship w anyone, least of kyle; cartman approaches everything through a lens of competition and domination. we literally just had an entire season of this with heidi – . she remarks at one point that a relationship isn’t 50/50 but 100/100, which is a nice sentiment if your partner had ever once brought 50% to begin with. cartman’s relationship was one of self-preservation and convenience; she had been exiled from the inner circle of kids through social media around the same time as cartman. they were both experiencing this kind of isolation, so to cope, they do it together. even then in season 20 there are obvious misgivings on cartman’s part about his feelings for heidi in the last few episodes, suggesting that a lot of his transformation was merely performative as a method of blending in and trying to soothe his ego by working his way back into the spotlight by behaving in a way that’s socially advantageous. but once cartman *is* back to his normal spot within the group, that’s when his relationship with heidi sours, and when an entire season of manipulation and gaslighting begins. christ, he tried multiple times to literally have heidi killed. worse yet, seemed appalled at the suggestion that stan, kyle, and kenny wouldn’t help him do it, or by kyle’s indignant plea that he just break up with her and leave heidi alone. there was no need for cartman to get heidi off her vegan diet. i think he just wanted to see if he could, and he did, b/c cartman can’t help but act maliciously when presented w someone who is so completely and totally under his thumb b/c his desire is not rooted in being someone’s equal. it’s in being superior, being dominant, being the one to come out on top in even the most mundane or self-created form of competition.

take for example cartman’s fixation w rape: it’s obvious cartman doesn’t necessarily see his mother as an autonomous human being but rather an object that serves him, and i think that’s the root of his anxiety in “insecurity” at the idea of a stranger breaking into his home and assaulting his mother – b/c he views it as an act of degradation against his property, not out of genuine concern for liane. in the first coon episode, cartman see two grown adults who, by every possible indication, are on a date that is going very well. the man asks her consent to kiss her, and when he does, that’s when cartman comes out of the woodwork to stop this supposed crime. it’s an obvious joke about cartman’s delusions of grandeur in being a so-called vigilante in that he isn’t actually thwarting any real crime or even the threat of it, but it’s interesting to note that cartman views even the most innocuous of romantic situations as an assault. in tfbw, when doctor timmy uses his psychic powers on cartman, he remarks that timmy is “raping [his] mind.” he has an extremely warped view of sex and romantic relationships. there’s more but i don’t have the time to comb through and list them.

there’s a lot of arguments surrounding whether or not cartman is capable of change, and i think the answer is a very plain no. do i think there’s potential in tempering some of the more extreme aspects of his personality? sure, it’s possible i guess. but as far as the brunt of who cartman is, no. it’s the entire purpose of his character. matt and trey have said this time and time again – cartman is meant to represent the very worst not only in themselves but in anyone. in people. cartman is the human embodiment of id. you are not supposed to think positively or cartman.. the ten yr old obese nazi murder child is not to be revered; it’s the antithesis of his character. and yeah, kyle often has a naive optimism that cartman can change, but this has less to do with any positive feelings he has toward cartman and more an example of kyle’s compassion being illustrated as a situational flaw. he’s been betrayed enough times that he should know better by now than to trust in cartman’s ability to act in an altruistic or considerate way, yet that belief in compassion is vital to kyle’s moral outlook, so he keeps believing despite all evidence to the contrary. and he’s not alone! ii know a lot of people reject this not out of a love of cartman but more of a basic sympathetic belief that everyone is capable of change – which is a noble mindset! and at it’s core i believe that. human plasticity is incredible, and there are a lot of really great and sincere activism done around helping people reform and repent vile and oppressive mindsets, but south park is not reality – you treat reality within the context of societal norms of the show. neither will cartman ever have access to any such kind of therapy or behavioral rehabilitation. he is too far gone. it began and ended w scott tenorman; there’s no reformation after that. i can’t believe i’ve seen people argue that “well, he didn’t actually -kill- scott’s parents!” as if that, like, makes the act of him desecrating their dead bodies and grinding them up into raw meat and then feeding the remains to their child (also, his half-brother) more palatable. i believe this was a very deliberate hole matt and trey dug themselves into; up until that point cartman had mostly just been an ignorant, mean-spirited bully, so transforming his character by having him orchestrate something so genuinely evil,  he has carte blanche to be as vile and disgusting as their hearts desire

now. this is what’s especially worrying about his relationship w kyle. we’ve seen time and time again that cartman fosters a genuine distrust and dislike and actively enjoys seeing him fail – specifically if he can be the one to make it happen. this isn’t necessarily what i think, but it’s something i’ve seen suggested and i don’t think it’s outlandish to believe cartman could have some sadistic, pyschosexual fixation on kyle given my previous assertions wrt his views on sex, love, his relationship w heidi – but that’s all it could be. it’s a violent, selfish, purely physical fixation b/c, above all else, cartman is in a constant competition with kyle and it doesn’t end until cartman is utterly bested and brought to his knees or he wins. kyle is his rival, and as that, cartman has an innate responsibility to oppose kyle at every turn and try to bring about his downfall. even if they’re capable of being neutral, or even friendly, those times are few and far, the truce is always broken, and doesn’t come close to just how often cartman delights in seeing kyle victimized by none other than cartman himself. remember humancentipad. remember ginger cow. remember imaginationland – which trey parker has said himself on the commentary that cartman’s obsession with having kyle suck his balls was not out of some secret romantic desire but was an obvious and explicit act of dehumanization and humiliation. not to mention cartman’s racism and anti-semitism, and the endless degradation kyle experiences on a daily basis for being jewish. cartman despises something so innate and so personal and wholly woven into the very essence of who kyle is, it’s beyond me how anyone thinks this is something kyle could see past this or something cartman would want to have anything to do with other than destroy it (which, again, he has tried. lol)

it really, honestly, truly baffles me that anyone thinks cartman 1.) could have positive romantic feelings for kyle or that 2.) cartman and kyle would be capable of having anything other than a strictly unhealthy, malevolent, abusive relationship. and it’s more baffling (and, yes, very worrying) that someone could so blatantly remain oblivious or misconstrue that level of obsession with a genuine romantic partnership

tl;dr: yeah that’s very worrying, cartman is incapable of genuine love, some people are unable to change and he’s one of them, cartman’s desires are always selfish and self-serving in nature, he and kyle would never have a romantic relationship and if they did it would be an absolute unbridled disaster of sadism and victimization, it’s 3:08 a.m and i’m going to bed

[sejinpk]

Top 5 pre-2000 manga/anime, for the ask meme?

Thanks for the ask! I’ve read almost no manga, so this is gonna be all anime. Instead of just making a list, I thought I’d go into more detail on what I like about these shows that makes them my top 5. I actually keep going back and forth about which I like more between my #1 and #2 picks, so you can probably consider them a tie for #1.

1. Great Teacher Onizuka

Great Teacher Onizuka is easily one of the funniest things I’ve seen, whether animation, live-action, Japanese, or non-Japanese. Onizuka’s faces and the noises he makes are absolutely priceless. Uchiyamada’s (the Vice Principal) faces can be equally priceless. The English dub isn’t *good* (and they have a handful of VAs doing multiple roles), but that just adds to its charm for me in this case (I haven’t seen the Japanese dub). I like how Onizuka helps his students through their problems by teaching them how to become good people, not just good students, even though he’s not necessarily a good role model himself. I like how he views them as people, not students. I like how the show keeps its characters around, and doesn’t sideline them after they’ve had their feature episode(s), so we can see how they interact differently with each other as they grow and change.

FWIW, Urumi Kanzaki and Onizuka are tied for my favorite character from the show.

2. Belladonna of Sadness

Belladonna of Sadness (Kanashimi no Belladonna in Japanese) is an absolute visual treat. Its visuals can be incredibly surreal and metaphorical/symbolic, which I tend to find inherently interesting aesthetically. They can also be pretty psychedelic/mind-trippy at points. The movie was released in 1973, and had never had a U.S. theatrical release until last summer (apparently it had a limited screening here in 2009), when it was restored and shown in 4K. Unfortunately, no theaters in my area showed it, which is a huge shame, as I think it would’ve been incredible to see on the big screen.

I like how the movie handles misconceptions of sexuality as inherently bad: The setting of the story is feudal, so its world’s ideas about sexuality, especially for women, are incredibly limiting. The main character, Jeanne, has internalized that mindset, so she views her sexual awakening as being brought on by the devil. There’s a lot that I’m leaving out, but eventually she makes a pact with the devil, and expects to be thrown into a world of fire and darkness and evil, etc. etc. as a result, but she wakes up and it’s springtime, and it’s lush and green and vibrant. I love that way of conveying Jeanne’s misconceptions about (her own) sexuality and her realizations that her previous mindset was wrong.

Jeanne’s journey and growth and change over the course of the story is something I really enjoyed watching and found very gratifying, both emotionally and thematically/ideologically.

I feel like there’s a lot more I could say about the stuff I mentioned above, including about the movie’s source, and how that informs the movie. I’ll probably write a post about it at some point.

I should also mention that this movie is INCREDIBLY sexually explicit. It had a red band trailer, and is rated Rx on MAL (that’s the rating they give to hentai). I’ve heard it also inspired Kunihiko Ikuhara, one of my favorite anime directors, to work in anime, though I don’t think that’s something he’s confirmed.

3. Mega Man

Mega Man is the first anime I ever saw, well before I even knew what anime was. I remember getting up super early before Sunday school literally every week when I was a kid (I wanna say it was like 5 a.m.), just so I could make 110% sure I was awake when Mega Man started. Like, it was usually about an hour early, because I distinctly remember watching episodes of two other shows before Mega Man came on.

I don’t think it holds up well in terms of “objective” quality, but at the same time, I also don’t think there’s really anything bad about it. It’s a very average, typical, episodic kids’ show. The animation and (especially) art quality can vary wildly from one episode to the next. The one-liners can be pretty bad, though I have a massive tolerance for (read: love of) bad puns, so that doesn’t really bother me. XP

It’s simple fun soaked in nostalgia, but I also love some of the really silly/doofy absurdities here and there. For example, in one episode, a vampire robot created by Dr. Wily hypnotizes a human character into believing she’s a vampire robot. And she actually turns into a vampire robot somehow, even shooting lightning from her fangs. XD In that same episode, Dr. Wily creates a werewolf robot that actually transforms based on moonlight. In another episode, a robot dinosaur lays an egg, which hatches. And in yet another episode, there are lion men who shoot eye beams that turn humans into lion people.

This isn’t the case anymore, but when I was a kid, my favorite episode was the one where Mega Man X, Vile, and Spark Mandrill from the Mega Man X video game make an appearance. As a kid, the Mega Man X games (at that point it was just the first three on Super Nintendo) were my favorite, so I thought that the episode with Mega Man X was the best thing ever. :’D I still want a full-fledged Mega Man X cartoon/anime, preferably based on the earlier games (up through X4 at the latest).

My favorite bad robot used to be Elec Man, because I thought he looked really cool, and also Vile and Spark Mandrill when they had their one-off appearance. More recently (yes, I do still re-watch this show from time to time), I’ve come to really like Proto Man. In general I enjoy his attitude, and I find it amusing that he compliments Mega Man from time to time. I’ve also come to like Roll quite a bit.

4. Yu Yu Hakusho

Of the really long-running (70 to 80+ episodes) shounen stuff I’ve seen, Yu Yu Hakusho is easily my favorite. I love the English dub (I’ve never seen it in Japanese), as well as the English-dubbed versions of the OPs and EDs (man, I miss when companies did that). I really like how much character work and moments there are in the relationships between characters. For a show that has the oft-used theme of friendship that so many shounen shows have, I like how Yu Yu Hakusho handles it, where it’s not just characters supporting each other, but it actually feels a bit more…real? Like, I can easily see these characters hanging out or interacting in very normal circumstances. It’s not just, “Yeah, you can do it! Keep going!”

These are the relationships that have stuck out to me the most:

Yuusuke and Kuwabara

Yuusuke and Keiko (mainly in the 4th season)

Yuusuke and Genkai

Yuusuke and Younger Toguro

Genkai and Younger Toguro

Yuusuke and Raizen

Kuwabara and Shizuru

Kurama and Yomi

There are just so many good moments, too. Some of my favorites are Genkai’s “final” words to Yuusuke in season 2 about having to fight with time to find your place in the world; the stuff between Genkai and Younger Toguro (especially in Spirit World) and their backstory; the stuff between Yuusuke and Keiko before he leaves for Demon World in season 4; Sensui’s final moments; the stuff between Yuusuke and Raizen.

I love how the characters all have such distinct voices and perspectives. Like, Genkai’s views of Toguro, what he did, and why he did it are different than Toguro’s views of those things, and both characters’ views of their own past and present are surprisingly nuanced and complex, given the rather limited screentime those things get. And I love how they both, in their own way, sort of become surrogate parents to Yuusuke. And then, at the end of the series, he also has Raizen, and I love the dynamic the two of them have.

I think maybe the best I can explain what I like so much about Yu Yu Hakusho is that it has the fun stuff that a lot of shounen shows have, the fighting and the superpowers and overall energetic tone, but it also has a lot of meat under the surface, and that meat is woven throughout practically all of the character work in the series, which I think is part of what makes the character interactions and friendship themes in the show seem more real and true to life, somehow, than many of the other shounen shows I’ve seen (I think the English dub helps with this a lot, too).

For a long time, Kurama was one of my absolute favorite anime characters because he embodies what I think is sort of the pinnacle of humanity: he has great intelligence, wisdom, and logical abilities, but he also has tremendous warmth, empathy, and caring. And he sort of uses them to augment one another, like a synthesis/harmonization of these two general aspects that we all have.

5. Princess Mononoke

(Sorry there’s no video here. I couldn’t find an AMV I liked, I can’t think of a particular clip that would be fitting, and I wasn’t too fond of the movie’s trailer, either.)

It’s been a long time since I last watched Princess Mononoke, so this entry is shorter and less detailed and/or in-depth than some of the others.

Generally speaking, I like how the man vs. nature theme is handled. It wasn’t simply man = bad, nature = good. Both sides are given depth and nuance. Further, I like how the nature side is depicted as such, where the animal gods behave more…beastly? animal-like?, if that makes sense.Like, I’m thinking of the way that Moro talked to Ashitaka the night after he’s saved by the Forest Spirit. Nature isn’t humanized, but it’s still presented in a way that you can empathize and sympathize with it.

I like how the movie doesn’t sugar coat anything, as well as how the ending doesn’t tie everything up nice and neat with a bow. The way it ended felt very realistic, which I thought was very much in keeping with the movie’s overall approach.

Honorable mentions:

-Revolutionary Girl Utena

-Serial Experiments Lain

-Neon Genesis Evangelion

-The Vision of Escaflowne

These aren’t actually “honorable mentions,”but I couldn’t think of a succinct way to put it. Rather, the first three of the abovetitles are shows that I feel like, based on my first viewing, if I understoodthem better, could very likely have made it into the list. I think this isespecially true for Revolutionary Girl Utena, based on my first viewing, as well as things I’vecome to understand in retrospect about both the show and itswriter/director/original creator, Ikuhara. As for The Vision of Escaflowne, I’m currently watching it, though I’m only seven episodes in.

Again, thanks for the ask! I had a lot of fun writing this! :)

[panda013]

on shipping

Contains spoilers for Voltron: Legendary Defender, season 2.

If you don’t want to see them, don’t read, but I’m not putting this under a cut because it’s important. And if you’re going to read what I say, read it all, not just the start, even if you don’t like the beginning.

On shipping (or not shipping) Sheith:

Stop pointing out the brother’s line in S2E08 as a way to gloat about the “death” of a ship.

I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what you ship. But I do care about the fact that you’re trying to shove your beliefs and interpretations down everyone’s throats when there are, in fact, still other ways to look at the situation.

I’m going to clarify this with: I do not ship Sheith. I never have, and I probably never will. But I can see why people do, and I understand that part of being a fandom is respecting everyone and their own ships.

Now, that said, let’s move on to discuss why I say this, why I would defend something I can’t ship (gasp, is this tolerance?!) and why I urge you to stop attacking each other and arguing when this is a show that isn’t focused on romance and a show in which there are no current canon pairings, except for Sam and Colleen Holt and subtle hints at Hunk and Shay.

1. Respect how Keith feels.

What do you think I mean by that?

It means that I 100%, wholeheartedly accept that he truly feels that Shiro is his brother. Keith Kogane is not the kind of person that would say something he didn’t mean, and in the moment when he tells Fake-Shiro that he’s like a brother, Keith believes it with all his heart, and it’s hard for him to say.

Respect how he feels.

In that instant, Keith believes that Shiro is like a brother to him, yes. 

But this doesn’t mean it can’t lead to more later.

Keith thinks of Shiro as his brother, but he also seems to have little experience with family that stays, so he’s afraid of being attached because he’s afraid that Shiro will just leave, like his mother and ultimately, like I think his father did. He’s scared to acknowledge how much Shiro really means to him.

So, from a Sheith fan’s perspective, this isn’t the death of the ship. From my perspective, it’s still not the death of a ship. What it is, however, is a tantalizing taste of something more. It’s acknowledgement that, at this point in time, Shiro is the closest person to Keith. And it’s absolutely true. 

It’s how Keith feels in that moment; he’s pure, he’s vulnerable, and he’s afraid of being left alone again.

Respect that he feels this way - this is for antis and fans of the ship alike.

2. Think about the possibilities.

After talking about how Keith feels, you have to consider what comes next.

Some people are blatantly throwing that scene around and declaring it as the end. Celebrating it. And this is what I hate about fandom. This is both an absolutely disgusting display of entitlement and an incredibly rude attitude towards anyone whose views do not align with theirs.

But consider the numerous possibilities.

Consider the slow realization that Shiro means more to him than a brother. The realization that Shiro is his family, but not just because they’re close. Consider Keith coming to terms with the fact that his feelings are more than platonic or familial, and learning to accept the idea of romantic love into his life for the first time.

Consider that.

I don’t care if you’re not a Sheith shipper. Consider it from and outsider’s point of view if you must. Consider how it may have happened in other series or stories you’ve watched or read. Consider just the misinterpretation of brotherly affection, how Keith didn’t realize how much he really loved Shiro until faced with, say, his disappearance?

Do not blame or attack or shame when you haven’t even considered the natural progression, the idea of love, the blossoming of warmth and hope and affection in his chest when he realizes that there’s something more.

Shiro is a brother to him now, but feelings wax and wane and there is nothing stopping a fan creator, whether they are an artist or a writer or a gifmaker, from exploring those varying factors.

3. Remember that a fandom is a community, and hatred divides us all.

I am not stopping you. I am not stopping them. They are not stopping me. So what right do you have to try to stop them?

This ship hate is divisive. It eats away at the fandom from the inside, creating something grotesque and vile, sending tendrils of poison into even the most inconspicuous corners of the fandom.

This needs to stop.

You are not better than anyone here.

I don’t care what you think, but your ships are not better than mine. My ships are not better than yours. Someone who ships your notp is not in the wrong. Your opinions do not trump theirs, and it is wrong on every level to try forcing your ships on people.

Stop gloating.

I don’t care how many “moments” your ship got. Don’t rub it in someone’s face just because you think it directly contradicts their beliefs, or their ship.

If you’re doing this, you are what’s wrong with fandom.

Practice tolerance. Use blacklisting. Try to have civil conversations about why or why not you like what you do, and why they don’t.

Do whatever makes the fandom a comfortable place for you, within reason. This does NOT include making rude comments about other ships, or other people who like them.

4. Discourse.

Discourse.

This fandom has so much of it, it’s sickening. But it happens with every fandom at some point or another, when so many people with differing opinions come into the picture. Especially when we have younger generations, who feel so entitled to their opinions and who were raised to believe that they can say or do whatever they want, mixed in with older generations who have been here since the original, who think they’re schooling the younger kids when they’re only making it worse.

But my remarks on the discourse are simple:

AGES:

For months, all official sources still said five teens, even after that video fiasco and a few interviews. I choose to believe the official printed sources over things that may have been said in the moment or under duress. Which is why I also do not take the rough ages given by the voice actors recently as fact. 

And I will write them at whichever ages I please, because THIS IS WHAT FANFICTION IS FOR.

SHIPS:

I don’t care which ones you ship and which you don’t. You’re free to them, because it’s your decision.

But stop spreading hate to those who don’t ship what you ship.

I ship Shidge. Have you seen me blaspheming and hating on everyone who doesn’t agree? But because of fandom mentality, and the disgusting pack approach of some antis, I haven’t publicized it very much. In fact, I tricked myself into believing that I shipped Klance more because of how much hatred I had seen.

Someone shouldn’t be afraid to tell someone about a ship they like, or to admit that they don’t like a ship.

Stop making this an environment where people feel safer to keep their ships to themselves. 

Stop the hate. 

Stop the fighting. 

Stop trying to shove your beliefs and ships into everyone’s faces.

Stop.

This is our fandom.

We are all trying to show our love for the series in our own ways.

TOGETHER.

We may not always agree, we may not see eye to eye, but the key to progress is patience and tolerance and above all, the ability to see that there really is a person behind the profile you’re attacking. 

They have feelings. They have beliefs. They have a story that you know nothing about. And all of these make up who they are and how they view the world. 

They’re going to be different from you. Everyone is. 

In order to become a better person, a better member of fandom society as a whole, you have to be able to see that

And a final note: Don’t make Space Dad sad. Wherever he is, he would want us all to get along.