#but i still have faith in this series

[theselightsareblinding]

I read so many people blaming Dee for what happened in today's episode or saying his character doesn't make sense anymore. Well for me it's the opposite, I can't understand Yak or his latest actions. I'll try to explain myself.

Yak could've waited for Dee to explain himself when they found him in Ter's apartment, but even if something really happened between Ter and Dee, what right does Yak have to overreact like that? Aren't they still just friends with benefits? They haven't said otherwise to each other in any way. Wasn't Yak asking Dee two seconds ago to help him get together with Taem? I understand him being jealous, but punching somebody? Who's also Dee's coworker? That's taking it way too far. So yeah, I understand the feelings but not the actions. I think he should apologise to Dee actually.

And Dee, he's been in love with that man for 8 years. I actually like that the show is consistent with that, which usually doesn't happen. I find it perfectly normal that he's still clinging to it, even though he clearly likes or even loves Yak now it's not that easy to let it go. What you hoped for all those years suddenly becomes a possibility, it's normal to have doubts. And Yak has told him several times he likes Taem.

There are things that don't make 100% sense and they definitely should have talked about it before kissing but we're only on episode 7, I still trust the series to slowly tie everything together in a satisfactory way. The show has been slowly establishing they both have their own issues and it's clear that they have to work on them before they have their happy ending.

[tangents-within-tangents]

Just some things I think deserve a super accurate movie/show adaption in a beautiful 2D animation style:

The How to Train Your Dragon series

Gregor the Overlander

Artemis Fowl

The Adventure Zone

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (fr so much was left out of the 1939 film!)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass

The actual Little Mermaid story (there are a ton of adaptations I haven't seen yet so maybe it exists somewhere but we all know Disney’s didn’t even come close)

[genericpuff]

vent post

[finalgirlgretchen]

if one more person tries to claim that the oh hellos are no longer christian i am going to lose my shit

[theprinceandthewitch]

Resisting and failing to not give into the urge to talk about a show with a dead fandom but... people did not understand Raimundo Pedrosa's arc and I still have no idea why they thought Raimundo was misogynistic to Kimiko when he's literally her personal cheerleader LMAO.

Most of these people were Jack/Kimiko shippers, but Raimundo was the only person on the team who wasn't misogynistic to Kimiko - not once throughout this entire show does he think she's less capable than him just because she's a girl. These people really looked me in the eye and said "not only is Raimundo underserving of Kimiko he is also undeserving of his leadership role"

ong... we did not watch the same show...

I still don't understand how they could have come to the conclusion Raimundo wasn't deserving of Kimiko or leadership when Raimundos whole story is about how you can achieve greatness despite fucking up in the worst way possible. They rlly said the character who's main theme is kindness was the worst one to be a leader... even though this show makes a point about how being the best fighter doesn't make you the best leader through Omi's and Raimundos relationship.

These fellas really watched Raimundo's arc culminate when he took Kimiko's spot in an unfair AND LETHAL fight even though he wasn't the best fighter on the team and said "wow what an asshole he thinks Kimiko can't fight as well as him - he rlly is undeserving of her love and leadership LOL"

LIKE??? How... How is he an asshole... This kid was actually prepared to die when he took Kimiko's spot in the Final Showdown... AND he would rather risk his own life than Omi's - even though he knows Omi is the best fighter they have... because you know... he loves his teammates and doesn't want to see them get murked by literal villains...

[idiosyncraticrednebula]

The backlash against Frozen, which, from my observation, has cooled down (that isn't a joke, I swear-) quite a bit over the past few years, was less based on the quality of the movie itself and more on the fact that its massive success and reach really overshadowed a lot of other movies that came out prior to it and after it and was getting credited for stuff that had already been done before plenty of times, and in many cases, in those exact movies. This is why, to this day, many fans STILL refuse to give Tangled its props without trying to put Frozen down in some way. In their eyes, Tangled should have gotten the glory and accolades Frozen received, but did not, and that made them quite jealous. Overall, Frozen is far from a bad movie. It's a great movie with a great message, characters, music and does actually deserve the success and recognition it got, and some fans need to stop being so salty about it and uplift their fav movies without putting Frozen down so they get the proper appreciation they deserve as well. Although, yes, the credit this movie got for allegedly introducing themes, archetypes and tropes that had already been seen before in Disney, including movies set in a fairytale world with heroines as the protags, was undoubtedly the most annoying part about its success and is part of the reason why many tried to drag this movie and its main leads.

[artemx746]

Okay I’m sorry if I missed something but how the hell did Percy know Luke was the traitor when his reason for not arresting Clarisse was perfectly reasonable

[halfricanloveyou]

ok ok ok like i thought “the chosen” would suck cause “blah another series about the life and times of jesus” like we GET it it’s been around for CENTURIES you guys make the same damn movie all the time

but it’s actually legit really good? lots of pretty good representation! not everyone in the movie is white. actual portrayals of jewish culture instead of just ignoring that part. disabled people. matthew being autistic. characters that aren’t just two dimensional. the people in it feel like real people. there’s actual jokes, jesus cracks a few and they’re really funny?? so far nothing hateful, no gay or transgender bashing. it calls out the church for being judgemental and hateful in a way that’s very tasteful

it’s not perfect tho. jesus is…still white for some reason? despite mary not being white? and no one else around him being white? no gay people in it which is kind of a bad and a good thing…but it’s a portrayal of jesus and the people around him as human. as real life people who felt things and made jokes and rolled their eyes and stuff. also the guy they cast as jesus is pretty hot as are all the disciples. which isn’t the point or whatever but i can’t say i’m complaining. it’s free online and i think it’s worth a watch!

[panncakes]

okay last twilight is good and enjoyable everyone was right; but I am slightly worried with the surgery talk that it might turn out to be a 'happy ending because the disabled character gets cured' story and I think that's possibly the biggest disservice they can do to Day's story and the rep we all deserve

[creative-hanyou-girl]

2000's Trio 2020's Trio

Imagine how great it would be if the PJO show is successful and gets the Harry Potter treatment where we get to see these kids grow up throughout the show!

If the Golden Trio was our big 2000's trio, I hope the Original Trio will be our big 2020's trio💙💙💙

[monsterbisexual]

the silt verses: chapter 34

chapter 38

[oliviartist]

EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOUR DOING

it has been brought to my attention that not that many people know about the graphic novel called the nameless city by Faith Erin Hicks

well I’m Telling y’all to go read it it’s really good

please just trust me it’s amazing

[toytulini]

saw fanart yesterday that i was ehh on

but it brought me to the conclusion that, if shrek was a lesbian, if shrek was a woman, i think she would be exactly the same as canon movie shrek, actually, and in fact. to the point, she would be so indistinguishable, that i can no longer be convinced that canon movie shrek isnt a he/him lesbian, and im excited to rewatch all the movies through the lens of percieving shrek this way. i think it will be based. excited.

[muninnhuginn]

here we go. please ignore the quality, but these are a few of the media I highly rate that I've sorted into groups based on shared qualities with other media. the idea is along the lines of "if you like this show because of y theme, then you may also like z show which shares said theme".

a few bonus recs that I couldn't fit on this list (because I either didn't want to give stuff away or because they fit into multiple different groups at once):

Link Click (donghua) (time travel, first season much more about individual stories, second season more plot-based. Two seasons out at present.)

Spy x Family (animanga) (yes, I know everyone knows about this one already, but it's one of those shows that strikes such a good balance between the humour and the drama. and the way that the manga arcs start to increasingly weave in social commentary is so well done. Ongoing series.)

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju (animanga) (full disclosure, I haven't yet completed this hence not wanting to put it down yet, but so far it's really impressed me. It's a complete series.)

Full list of media (and some more tidbits) below the cut:

Serial Experiments Lain (anime)

Complete

Really fascinating dive into the Internet, identity, and conspiracy theories. Despite being released over two decades ago, it's somehow more relevant nowadays. That said, there is an underlying thread of tension and it's hard to piece together what's happening at times. Very surreal and heavy on the unreality. So, it's probably not for everyone (and it'll be fairly obvious early either way), but if that sounds like your jam, then go for it. (EDIT: Also, I just realised that I entirely forgot that this series also belongs in the ND-coded protag circle because Lain's whole deal has a lot of overlap with schizophrenia/psychosis in general.)

Jibaku Shonen Hanako-kun (animanga)

Ongoing

The anime is an incomplete adaptation for this (though it does have Ogata Megumi) and the manga goes much further. It's a monthly release and the art is gorgeous. It's centred around a school where urban legends come to life as the supernatural. I've seen some people say it's fairly light-hearted a series before, but I can't really say I agree, especially when it comes to the later chapters. It can play into particular anime tropes at times though.

Princess Tutu (anime)

Complete.

There is also a manga, but I've heard it's pretty different and I've not tried it so can't really comment. If you like ballet and European folktales then this is the show for you. It's... probably aimed at the lowest age range of all of my recs and it does show at times, but I'd point to it as an example of how just because a show is aimed at younger ages, that doesn't mean it has to look down on you. Anyway, it's neat seeing the protagonists interact with the concept of the story they themselves are a part of.

Revolutionary Girl Utena (anime)

Complete.

The manga for this is meant to be pretty different so keeping this rec to the anime. Obligatory "look up trigger warnings" if you think you may stumble into something you can't handle, because this show sure covers a lot of fairly dark topics. Still, it's pretty surreal and at times ridiculous so it's not all dark all the time. The premise is around a girl who wants to be a prince, who participates in duels for the hand of the 'rose bride'.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (animanga)

Complete (og series)

The manga iirc is fairly similar, but the anime is really good in its presentation so would recommend anime over manga for sure. The soundtrack and the way it's directed both elevate the story massively. Anyway, twelve episode season, with a movie afterwards you can decide whether to proceed to or not. It's about what it takes to be a magical girl, and what is taken. I imagine most people nowadays know the big twists already but in case you don't, I'll just say that the foreshadowing in it is one of my favourite things. So much rewatch value.

The Locked Tomb (book series)

Ongoing. Three books out, with fourth expected to be final.

Speaking of foreshadowing, this series has so many levels of foreshadowing going on, I think it would take many rereads to catch it all. The first book in the series is a relatively standard murder mystery, but after that, the author immediately cashes in the good will earnt to become increasingly experimental. Each book therefore is pretty different genre-wise, despite being set in the same universe and progressing the same story. Anyway, I know this one isn't for everyone, but I'd say at the very least give Gideon a shot.

Orphan Black (Canadian drama)

Complete.

This is a co-production between a US and CA company but Wikipedia classes it as Canadian so okay let's do that. Okay. Orphan Black is about discovering you may be a scientific experiment and the questions inherent in that. In this case, it's about clones. The main actor has such range and she plays half the cast and somehow makes it work. I will say it takes her a couple of episodes sometimes to get the accents right (I took psychic damage occasionally), but once she's got it down she keeps it. This one is another genre blender, with different clones progressing different subplots. One of them off doing an investigation whilst another is trying desperately to live in a soap, etc.

Severance (US drama)

Season one complete, season two ambiguously in the works.

More science experimentation. This show is based on a premise wherein people can partition off parts of their brains so that their work selves are entirely independent of their non-work selves. The two selves have no shared memories, but they are in theory the same person. It brings up a lot of questions about nature vs nuture, along with commentary on religious cults and workplace rights.

Oddtaxi (anime)

Complete.

We follow a taxi driver through his daily life, picking up passengers, dropping them off, getting accidentally (or maybe--) involved with the local gang members. It's pretty chill, but as you go on you realise just how thoroughly everyone's lives are intertwined with each other. And there's a mystery or ten to be solved. If our driver guy can be bothered. This and Reset both fit into the incredibly small niche I like to call "character-based mystery show with social commentary set in a vehicle". Very catchy.

Reset (cdrama)

Completed

Time loop scenario where a pair of strangers are caught on a bus that keeps blowing up and have to try and figure out how to escape. I feel like the pace at which the audience figures out stuff is timed really well to whenabouts the characters figure out stuff, but there's a lot of foreshadowing I didn't realise until I rewatched a few episodes. Just, really solid mystery and character drama.

March comes in like a lion (animanga)

Ongoing (manga)

Full disclosure. I have only watched the anime of this and from some of what I've heard about the later parts of the manga it's likely to stay that way, but! The parts covered by the anime are something special. I grouped together this series with Skip and Loafer and Frieren because they're very... they're all about 'moving forwards, despite'. So, at the start of this series, the mc is pretty depressed, but as it goes on you get to see him slowly unfurl out of that. You get to see him make new connections, progress with shogi (aka, what the series is ostensibly about), and just generally let himself live again. It's a very wholesome anime without letting itself forget the darker aspects of life.

Skip and Loafer (animanga)

Ongoing (manga). Season one of anime complete.

This is a definite comfort show and has one of my favourite depictions of developing friendships (I want to say something here about the intersection of platonic and romantic but I'm not sure how to put it). This show/manga follows Mitsumi as she starts at a city school after growing up in a rural village. It has her meet new obstacles and new people and shows how they all influence each other. Overall, it's a fairly gentle story, but I think it pulls off heartwarming so well because it can also do heartwrenching.

Frieren (animanga)

Ongoing.

I may regret putting an ongoing anime here before it's even finished airing (staying anime-only for now personally). So far though, this is a show about grief, and living life beyond that. It's a show that could so easily be a tragedy but chooses to venture beyond instead. It follows Frieren (an elf with a long lifespan) as she realises that she hasn't really allowed herself to know people properly and decides to fix that. It's a fairly standard fantasy setting so it's hard to describe what's so appealing about it, but it's very intentional with its parallels, with putting the words of long dead characters in the mouths of those who never knew them. Very cyclical. The first four episodes released in one go, so if you're thinking of giving it a shot, I'd watch those four before deciding whether to drop.

Stranger (kdrama)

Two seasons out. Can be taken as complete at end of either season though still open for more.

So, it's a drama about prosecutors/corruption, a lot of the standard kdrama jazz. It has one of my favourite pairs of besties though and I love how many threads are woven through all levels. It's a show that's heavily plotty (the number of times you're forced to recalculate as you get more pieces is ridiculous but in a good way), but despite that, doesn't neglect the characters.

Mob Psycho 100 (animanga)

Completed.

An OP protagonist would rather focus on his non-psychic attributes. I tend to struggle with OP protagonists sometimes, but this show/manga deals with it well, because the point isn't actually *about* Mob's powers. It's more about how his powers are linked to his emotions. There are plenty of fights (and they're all incredibly well animated), but the tension isn't usually in "who will win", and I don't mean that in a bad way at all. Anyway, the show is for the most part a comedy (it does have some off-colour jokes at times unfortunately, though they're mostly relegated to specific episodes at least), but my favourite parts are always when you get to see the other side of things. This show also has Reigen, for whatever that's worth. (I hate the fact he's so well-written. Why couldn't he just be the meme and nothing else.)

Arcane (US animated)

Season one complete. Season two in the works.

You don't need League knowledge for this despite it being based off it. This (like a few of the others actually) is a three-act structure following Vi and Jinx as they grow up in the shadows of Piltover. Visually, it's a gorgeous series, and the mix of 3d and 2d works so well. Despite being only nine episodes long, it manages to fully develop scores of characters with their own interweaving subplots, all culminating with the finale. It's another one with social commentary, in this case, it's not particularly subtle, but it doesn't actually need to be. And it does the showing not just the telling so it works in tandem.

Blue Eye Samurai (US animated)

Season one complete.

And now we reach the revenge trio of shows. I will fully admit I started this series because I saw many a pretty gifset across my dash. And the aesthetics absolutely hold up. This is an Edo-era revenge quest by a samurai who has given up on happiness. It starts fairly tropey and by-the-book, but it pulls off the execution solidly and infuses a lot of symbolism into the main trio (especially Mizu, but Akemi gets plenty as Mizu's reflection). There is a decent amount of sex and graphic violence though and, given that the show deliberately conveys various characterisation points through them, they're not really skippable. Try not to wince at the pronunciation of Japanese words either. It's old-style English anime dub level a lot of the time when it comes to names/places, despite a lot of the setting itself being relatively well-researched from what I can tell. I guess it's just a disparity between the voice actors and the writers.

Nirvana in Fire (cdrama)

Complete. There is a season two but it's a next generation deal.

Terminally ill guy returns to the capital to get justice for a betrayal before his time is up. Despite how grim that sounds, the show itself has a much nicer balance between the light-hearted and the serious. It does chuck you right into the depths from the very start (I know a lot of people refer to charts for relationships for the first few episodes until they get the hang of it), but once you start to understand, you can really get the impact. How the previous generation has echoed onto the current generation. Also, the main character is Mei Changsu, one of my favourite schemers. He knows how to troll, even (or maybe especially?) as he's plotting someone's downfall.

The Glory (kdrama)

Complete.

The mc in this show (Moon Dong-eun) was bullied at highschool, to the extent she was suicidal. The show is about her revenge on the bullies, as she sets the pieces for their own flaws to fell them. I will say for this, that the first episode is imo the darkest in tone. The later episodes do still touch on darker topics (sexual assault, suicide again), but for the most part, the first episode is the darkest to help you understand why she's willing to go to the lengths she is. And yet, despite that, a line of hope runs through the show. There's a line early on about the solidarity between victims vs the solidarity between abusers and it's a real thesis statement for the whole show.

[jpasionr]

I was gonna post this a day before the grand festival’s splatfest but, ended up finishing this ahead of time.

[sylphwing]

if mangadex actually goes down i'm gnna blow this whole place up wtf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!