#damn. peak fanservice moment. good for him(?)

[number-1-kuaidul-fanboy]

Galaxy Cup is actually really good overall

I said back when the arc first finished that it was just as bad as the previous arc up until Kuaidul's introduction.

...yeah, no I don't think that's accurate to my feelings anymore. I didn't really remember the arc much differently, most of it felt very familiar rewatching it, I think I was honestly just in a bad fucking mood during nearly every episode of this arc before episode 74.

I was so burnt out by the amount of bad writing choices and overabundance of Sevens fanservice hijacking the plot in the previous arc that even though the darkness cards plot was inherently cool, I couldn't get invested in it because I just assumed the mastermind was going to be Otes and as a result, didn't care.

Rewatching this arc and KNOWING that the mastermind is actually this amazing new character pulling the strings enhanced the arc tenfold, especially the duels involving the darkness cards.

Kuaidul, and the foreshadowing and build up to him, is undeniably the best part of the arc. The final three episodes of this arc pop off so hard and are just peak Yugioh. As stated previously,

KUAIDUL VELGEAR

Plus, I absolutely adore the setup of the other characters having to defeat the protagonist who is playing right into the villain's hands without the villain even having to do anything. That is so cool and unique and amazing and HAVE I MENTIONED HOW MUCH I LOVE KUAIUDL?! HE'S A SASSY PUPPETMASTER WITH A HAND IN EVERYTHING AND AH HE'S SO DAMN COOL! :D

Um... So anyways, the rest of the arc is uh... it's pretty good. I kind of like Zaion now. He's funny. But let's be real for a moment: he was just a filler villain to tide us over before Kuaidul. Zaion was a tiny lil mozzarella stick tossed to us to make us shut up while we wait for our Kuaidul pizza. And while Zaion was a nice little enjoyable mozzarella stick, he did still feel like a distraction that... honestly still hasn't amounted to much, at least in the grand scheme of things. I dunno, the current upcoming episode at the time of writing this (A Clockwork Zaion) could change that but at the current moment, his presence in Galaxy Cup felt like a distraction and... messed with the pacing and focus of the arc a bit.

The big problem with this arc in general is that it was pretty aimless and all over the place before Kuaidul graced us with his presence. Before that... only one character gets properly taken over by a darkness card (Yuamu), which is supposed to the A plot, because the plot has to balance screentime with Zaion's furniture excursion, Yudias training Epoch, Manabu having my most hated episode in the show (again, not bothering to go into detail, we all know why it's bad) and then the fallout, Epoch learning that cheating is bad- oh wait, she never actually learned that because the arc was balancing too many plots at once and Epoch went right back to cheating in Spacetime. Ha ha oops. I don't dislike Epoch for this like I used to. She is just a kid and has other qualities that do make her a likeable character despite this but... the cheating thing really needs to be addressed.

This arc spent so much time introducing more and more subplots before the finals that to this day, it's left a lot of things unaddressed for way too long. Tremolo and co. are currently STILL FURNITURE and this arc ended in SEPTEMBER. There's just... too much going on this arc and it makes the episodes feel disjointed. That being said, the stuff that's going on is all good (except the Manabu thing). Yudias mentoring Epoch is really cute and Zaion is a funny ridiculous mozzarella stick of a villain. Most of the parts are good. They just don't completely mesh at times and makes the pacing a bit of a mess.

Seriously, Yudias getting into Galaxy Cup (something that's crucial for the finale of the arc to happen) felt so rushed and out of nowhere, as though the creators ran out of episodes to have him naturally get into the tournament with. However, I can ultimately forgive that as what it lead to was good. This arc is disjointed but apart from two episodes (the Manabu and Mitsuko ones), it's overall enjoyable and the payoff is well worth it. It definitely put Go Rush back on the right track, even if some of the problems from the last arc unfortunately carried over into this arc.

[broken-clover]

god the SF2 movie is so damn good. every now and again i'll just rewatch the Chun-li and Vega fight just to marvel at it. Chun-Li kicked a man through a BRICK WALL. after getting stabbed and slashed like 5 times. She beat his ass bloody after getting AMBUSHED. she won because she was better then him and that is still in my top 10 fights of any movie ever. love at first sight i tell ya.

Peak cinema. Peak fucking cinema.

And this may be a weird takeaway but for some reason when I was watching it I felt it was surprisingly unsexualized despite the amount of nudity? Like don't get me wrong the shower bit was gratuitous as hell but despite the fact that she fights in a nightdress it doesn't feel jarringly fanservice-y. We see her bra and her clothes get torn but it feels less for the sake of titillation and more to emphasize the disadvantage she's at and danger she's in, being in a place where she's usually safe to put her guard down, and later to make it all the more badass when she beats a man with a sofa and kicks his head in. THE WOMAN THREW A FUCKING SOFA WITHOUT HESITATION WHAT A LEGEND

I'll concede I know very little about her as a character (mostly because she's the Designated Girl so most fan content you see is just about being sexy) but this was a really nice way to see her characterized, a bit stubborn and dramatic but still with her silly moments and absolutely able to hold her own. And like I said she had such cute rapport with Guile (who tbh is another character I know very little about but found charming here)

[aforrestofstuff]

Chapter 149 Expert Review Time

Hey gamers what’s up time for another CHAPTER 👏 REVIEW 👏

It was looking kinda bleak last time for pretty much everyone so I’m hoping things improved this time around, but it seems Murata and ONE are kinda going through their “I’m going to put my characters through the MOST” phase so… that feels unlikely. But nevertheless… still excited to see my favorite boys.

The 10000th Psychic Sister cover. Murata, I’m begging you. There’s literally like 30 other characters to choose from. I know you like drawing boobs but imma need you to put the pencil down for a minute and take a walk because this just ain’t IT.

“Summer is coming” it is July. Summer has been here for ten years. I’m so fucking hot all the time. Everything has been evaporated out of me and I’m literally a raisin.

The Psychic Sisters covers are just so devoid of life a lot of the time… I wouldn’t mind if it was them fighting or engaging in everyday activities but when they’re posed for the camera and deliberately placed there to look sexy it just sucks all the human out of them. The cover/splash page is a great chance to show characters in a new light!!! It’s mostly set away from the story so you can do whatever you want! Choosing to make 80 fanservice covers is just wasted opportunity for what could be additional character development. It’s gotten to a point where even the smegma-slinging bitchboys on Reddit are complaining about the excessive sexy covers…. When PussySlayer384756 complains that there’s too much tittage being shown, that’s how you KNOW we’ve got a problem. Now, idk how the fan climate is in Japan but I can’t imagine they’re feeling much different over there either.

Also, her anatomy is… janky. Her tit is bigger than her head, her belly is too long, and she’s got like 4 spare ribs. Like, I’m by no means an art expert but it doesn’t take a chef to know the soup is shit, you know what I mean? I feel like page after page of Murata drawing obscene muscle men has made him rusty on what should be (somewhat) normal-looking people.

Darkshine learns what TRUE peak male performance looks like.

You’ve gotta wonder how Darkshine even got to the S-Class to begin with when he pussies out of nearly every single fight… except the one where the opponent was literal water. Everyone says that he just joined the association for additional validation, and I believe it… this boy is not cut out for actual hero-ing. 99% Of the time HE’S the one who needs a hero.

It kinda bothers me how useless he’s been post-Garou fight, especially when we spent like an entire chapter trying to console his ass. I get that’s part of his character and development… but it’s begun to slow things down. We get it. We don’t need to see him be insecure every time a new enemy pops up. One was enough. We would’ve gotten the same effect if he just sat out the entire time post-consolation, because everything that’s happened to him on the surface has been kinda redundant.

Here comes the boooyyy 🎶🎶

Nice callback. I’m glad Metal Bat is finally here. Bitch runs slow as fuck.

It’s nice to see him act on his own agency instead of orders from the hero association. He’s clearly much happier when helping out on his own accord, and has a ton of initiative too. The chapter he got with just he and King meeting up and slingshotting themselves to the fight was really a breath of fresh air from all of the fighting. It’s moments like these where ONE remembers that people like OPM for the characters, and not necessarily the pretty action sequences. I really like this duo. I like Metal Bat. I like it when they’re given time to be themselves and not just vessels for the next fight scene.

I know I said I wanted the heroes to die but Murata I’m begging you please don’t kill the child. You can kill Puri, though. I hate that fucker.

Child Emperor regularly visiting and eating with Bofoi even despite being his lab assistant would be a lot cuter if Bofoi wasn’t the human equivalent to a dog turd. I might’ve overstated that… seems like Bofoi is just using him as an errand boy. The clear lack of respect he has for CE is very indicative of his character and is not necessarily a bad thing plot-wise, but I would still like to beat him with a cane. Additionally, it’s clear that he’s not going to help the heroes here. At least, I don’t think so. His “fuck them kids” attitude seems to be a pretty big pillar in the building of his character and I doubt ONE would jeopardize that just because he’s written himself into a corner. Oh, well. We’ll see.

It’s very sweet that even when near death, CE still thinks of Zombieman. Aaaaghh it’s so GOOD when the characters actually LIKE each other. I know realistically not everyone is gonna be friends but man… it would be a lot cooler if we got more insight on their chemistry. Pleaz have more Metal Bat-and-King-esque chapters. I wanna see how everyone gets along.

Also, the concept of Puri just manifesting drilling powers and carving through solid rock with nothing else but pure strength and determination is so funny. A little convenient, sure, but I really don’t care because it’s actually done well. Their reunion scene is hilarious. More stuff like this pleaz….

I don’t even know what to say about Genos here. Dude, I know you made an oath to protect Tatsumaki or whatever, but there’s no shame in a good bail. You can’t even bail anymore because your damn legs are gone. See, this is what happens when you make promises. The secret to keeping your legs intact is doing the bare minimum. Hope this helps ❤️

He’s making a valiant effort but… I’m afraid he just ain’t gonna do much while roleplaying as a worm. Maybe he’ll make a chrysalis and come out as a butterfly. Wait, that’s caterpillars. Fuck. TATSUMAKI IS A GONER, BRO. WE NEED YOU TO BE THE DEUTERAGONIST!! IF YOU DIE WE LOSE 70% OF MERCH SALES NOOOOOOOO

Local man has a heart attack in front of thousands of little monsters and somehow saves the world, more at 5.

King I’m begging you please get that shit checked out that’s not NORMAL.

Yeah, I like this conclusion. Very tasteful cliffhanger. I mean we know King ain’t gonna do shit but SOMEHOW black sperm is gonna get punted like the little cumstain he is. Can’t wait to see the events that unfold next chapter… it seems like every scene that involves King turns out to be really funny and I’m super looking forward to black sperm seeing Jesus.

Also, a little off-topic but I just really like the way Murata inked his pants. Got a real comic book feel to it. I mean, he’s just really good at drawing clothes overall (save for Fubuki’s body-tight dress that is 100% not how women’s clothing works but I digress). Fucker understands fabric physics like I understand how to make a bomb ass chicken parm. I respect it.

In conclusion, lower everyone’s expectations of you and you might get to keep your arms and legs. This has been Life Lessons from Forrest. You now owe me 50$.

[1-lightofjustice]

Justice for Awashima Seri

One of my latest posts made me want to re-watch K Project Return of Kings, especially Scepter 4 segment. And damn, there are so many things that happened to Awashima and frankly she didn’t deserve it. I’m not talking about GoRa’s overly disgusting fanservice attempts on Seri, although that’s indeed something that must be protested. I’m talking about how she was kept in dark by her two megane colleagues (mainly Munakata) even though she’s Second in Command of Scepter 4 and someone who has been working besides them for years. After I finished rewatching..... wow it’s worse than I remembered. My heart truly breaks for Seri, and I’m super glad that in the end she got her happy ending (by punching Munakata’s face). Like first, we know how worried she was about Munakata’s state, and after Reisaru’s fight in episode 8, Seri was so worried about Fushimi’s wellbeing and his bedding. Then at the very beginning of her role in episode 9, we have this :

For almost anyone besides Seri, maybe they will not think too much about the fact that they can’t understand what the hell are on Munakata and Fushimi’s heads, after all they’re not the easiest people to understand. But for Seri, it’s quite a new unpleasant territory for her. There’s a reason why she’s the Second in Command after Munakata, why she can easily command the rebel Fushimi without many protests from the said rebel, and why she can work alongside cryptic geniuses like Munakata and Fushimi. From R:B novel, we know that she’s an all-round achiever, but one of her main virtue is she’s goddamn observant. She more or less can understand Munakata’s unique mindset, and she mostly can see right through Fushimi’s bullshit. She more often can hit ‘100 point mark’ regarding the enigmatic Munakata and the ‘absolute tsundere’ Fushimi than any other human being except each other. Like on Munakata’s case, we have this :

Yoshino continued. “An ordinary man would have an interest in nude females, I think, but this is the Captain we’re talking about… How is it for him, what do you think?” She looked up at Awashima.

Awashima’s lips curved into a stiff smile as she took her time to think.

Then she drew a breath and, “I haven’t given that subject a thought until now. But well, if I had to answer…” She shook her head. “This is what I think: in the Captain’s case, it’s entirely possible that never once in his life he has so much as opened that kind of magazines or, alternatively, stores an entire thousand book collection of obscene materials in his room, and I won’t be surprised in the least in either case. Would this suffice as an answer?” Munakata Reishi’s right hand woman and Lieutenant, Awashima Seri, said with an even more strained smile.

 Case Files of Blue Chapter 1 (and looking at how eager Munakata asked Hidaka to show his collection, suffice to say that Awashima is absolutely correct about her answer).

Awashima: But, well, for the Captain it’s probably of equal value. Fushimi: Of equal value? What is? Awashima: Protecting this country’s peace and fulfilling his promise to a kindergartener.

Optician Drama CD

And on Fushimi’s case :

“…It might not be a misunderstanding, you know. What if I were in cahoots with Homura?” he retorted, lips pursed.

For a moment, Awashima’s eyes widened slightly before narrowing to slits as she humphed letting a slight smirk tug on her lips. “Suppose there really is a traitor who’s trembling while covered in cold sweat; I’d say at the very least it’s safe to assume he’s not switching sides because he likes it. It’s time for your report. The materials are ready, I hope?”

The King and The Traitor 

“It’s hard to call realistic, I have to agree with you on that. And on the off chance that it indeed is a strain’s doing, there is hardly any ground to claim harm sustained from the act. It’s the rainy season, after all. So I do find the idea of wasting time and manpower on investigating this possibility unreasonable, especially considering that we hardly have any to spare, but… if it’s an order from my superior officer, I will look into it though?”

It was said curtly and emotionlessly, but Awashima let out a little chuckle, hearing Fushimi’s answer. “Then look into it for me. Since like me, my competent and capable subordinate, too, seems to be concerned with this matter.”

Endless Rain

Also in anime, she noticed Yata’s worry for Mikoto and informed him about Mikoto’s condition to calm him. After breaking Sarumi’s fight, instead of asking apology, she demanded Fushimi to show her the result of his investigation, knowing full well that Fushimi already did some digging before he confronted Yata. She made the remark about only a King can attract another King. Heck, she already deduced that the reason why Munakata kept Zenjou-san on Scepter 4 is to kill Munakata one day, even though Munakata understandably never told anyone about it. During ROK, I kinda got feeling like Munakata and Fushimi were purposely ‘ghosting’ her, but looking at how observant she is, it’s quite understandable why Munakata and Fushimi kept Awashima in the dark to preserve their secret mission (still jerk move for them though). 

I think that’s one of the reason why Fushimi gave the hint about his secret mission only to Yata. Not only Yata is his best friend, but he also can count on Yata’s insensitiveness, having been the victim first-hand in the past. Like, Fushimi who is surprisingly responsible and dutiful for his job maybe thought “it’s fine to give Misaki a hint, it’s not like he can pick it up anyway”, so he can feel ‘less guilty’ for endangering the secrecy of his mission. Not that he’s wrong though, I mean Yata you’re a good guy but I have to say you really have a fine thick-head for not noticing and still saying that Fushimi betrayed the Blues, Fushimi jumped from sinking ship after Fushimi uttered such a vague sentence and after knowing that Fushimi secretly asked your brother to quit Jungle. Thank God Munakata gave him clear explanation later. Instead for Awashima, she only got this :

In that brief moment of silence, Fushimi let Awashima knew 3 things :

1. He joined Green clan and willing to attack his ‘former’ clansmen for them.

2. Not only joined Green clan, but he’s now one of J-ranker of Jungle. You know, the true Green clansmen, the one they have to be most cautious like Sukuna and Yukari.

3. He allied with one of Green clansman who participated on Anna’s kidnapping and former Scepter 4′s prisoner.

And he didn’t give Awashima and Kusanagi anything except complete silence and green-laced knife-throwing. Mission accomplished! The monkey succeeds on fooling the strong-willed and observant Lieutenant of Scepter 4. Just like the phrase “To fool your enemy, fool your friends”, there’s no way Awashima can perceive that except as complete betrayal. Haha.

(Truly, Fushimi was so good at executing his job. Too good, actually).

Then, after that shocking revelation that can shake someone’s mentality, she still had duty to report it toward her superior. Look at her reaction after Munakata said things about biting the giver’s hand.

(OMG watching that scene after knowing about Fushimi and Munakata’s secret mission made me truly itch to punch a certain King’s beautiful sparkly face).

She blamed herself for failing to look after Fushimi. I read some posts about Fushimi’s betrayal speculation before ROK episode 11 was aired, those who predicted that Fushimi joined Green for real, almost all expected Yata to stop Fushimi and made him go back to Scepter 4 (or Homra). While I understand the potential Sarumi heartbreaking angst and their another flashy fighting scene, I can’t help but think, can Yata do it? Not that I doubt strong bond between them, but Yata and Fushimi are equal in power. Okay, Yata is stronger in raw power, but Fushimi proved himself can accommodate his power effectively to match Yata. We know from their fight in Ashinaka Gakuen that Fushimi’s dual-color status can pass Yata’s defense, just like an attack can pass the defense from the same aura. Then Fushimi got his Green Aura. I didn’t say that Yata surely would lose to Fushimi on that situation, but it’s understandable if he lost and no one will blame him. But Seri? She’s canonly stronger than Fushimi, she’s usually can keep Fushimi on check in Scepter 4 and Seri is his direct superior after Munakata. I think if indeed Fushimi joined Green clan, the ones that have a chance to win battling him are Seri, Kusanagi, Kuro, and Kings. I can see Awashima blamed herself for failing to stop Fushimi and wanted to compensate for that failure by bringing Fushimi back to Scepter 4.

So, as if that burden is not heavy enough, Munakata brought Zenjou to his side and Awashima, who already worried about Munakata’s safety for a whole season and more, got an honor to watch on front seat as this happened :

Her King had a sword pointed toward his neck, but Awashima wasn’t fast enough to even touch her saber. Munakata’s Second in Command, who just realized that preventing her King’s Damocles Down is her responsibility, was shown the fact that she was not fast enough in comparison with Zenjou. Just, let’s imagine some time between episode 9 and 11 Seri looked at her saber, lamented at the fact that she failed to stop Fushimi and she was not fast enough to fulfil her most hurtful responsibility. Imagine Seri tried to get a hold of herself, readied herself to point her sword toward her closest comrades. 

Of course her torment didn’t end there. The Quack Prime Minister fired Munakata from his duty, removed him from Scepter 4. And Munakata, wordlessly, without giving any words or announcements toward his clansmen...  

(SERIOUSLY GIVE HER A BREAK! MUNAKATAAAAA!!!!)

I feel like that scene is the peak of Munakata’s “ghosting” toward Awashima. Not to mention, her (and Scepter 4) next order is :

(Help! My poor clueless ducklings are trapped while their genius jerk megane superiors are carelessly walking toward suicide plans!).

Honorary mention for the rest of poor lost ducklings :

(Yes, Munakata, you can’t just leave without any words toward your clansmen. Especially when you literally walked toward your death).

(BTW the meaning of “one unthinkable thing happening after another” is Fushimi’s betrayal followed by Munakata’s resignation. Little appreciation that they thought Fushimi’s betrayal is “unthinkable thing” even though the fact that Fushimi’s status as Homra’s “traitor” is widely known in Scepter 4).

 (Zenjou-san and the rest of Scepter 4 are not amused by your secret plan shenanigans, Munakata and Fushimi. Zenjou thought that those jerks truly ruin meganes’ reputation. Unbeknown to him, Enomoto thought the same).

Well, we know what happened after this. Seri and the rest of Special Squad got their first clue about what the heck is happened from a freaking TV, they rushed toward their King, the show was shifted to Silvers and Reds and NO SCEPTER 4 REUNION OR SETTLEMENT EVEN THOUGHT GORA CRAFTED SUCH A BIG AND COMPLEX CONFLICT IN SCEPTER 4.

Well, at least Seri got to punch Munakata in the face, even though in my opinion she truly deserved more after all the shits she had been through.

[lovehotelreservation]

[Hey, just for the day, we’ll pretend I’m made of money. I’ll be your sugar daddy. - Dance Gavin Dance] Gran has finally graduated(?) from an idol of the prestigious Gran Cypher Entertainment and signed a new contract as solo artist. With all this newfound freedom from the idol lifestyle, Gran plans to party hard with tables and bottles of Dom Perignon. He is no longer baby, he wants power.

THANK U JESSICA 4 THIS PROMPT OF SELF LUV U UNDERSTAND ME SO WELL

The Ideal Idol.

The Eternal Valentine.

The Singularity of the Music Industry.

The Captain of All.

There were many phrases drummed up by journalists and squealed by adoring fans to describe the one and only Gran of Gran Cypher Entertainment. As leader of GC Entertainment’s newly debuted boyband SPARK, he already had to be front and center for variety show appearances, interviews, and the like. However, with his boyish looks, incredible vocals, mastery of dance, commanding stage presence, and captivating personality, it did not take long for many fans within the Japanese idol community to take immediate notice of his rise in popularity. 

His merch always being the first to sell out, tv producers practically fighting one another to have him so much as cameo in their newest drama, and more.

A promising future in the entertainment industry was practically assured. He need only say the word.

And so, when it came time for Gran to make his highly publicized graduation out of GC Entertainment, he had his eyes set on a solo career with the famed Crystal Records.

The nation’s idol was taking his first big step towards becoming his own artist.

And he was doing so by taking a grand stand atop a VIP table of a Vegas nightclub, pumping his fist into the air as he proceeded to chug back a bottle of Dom Perignon while the performing DJ was blasting some sexy EDM remix of Paradise Lost. The surrounding crowd of Americans--all unaware of his pristine, clean image back in Japan--cheered and jeered in support of his stranger who seemed to be paying top dollar for a fun night. 

Champagne bottles, platters of hors d'oeuvres and sushi--there was a feast all on Gran’s black card to commemorate his newfound freedom from his idol days and to give thanks to his management team for their guidance throughout his career up until now and beyond.

You didn’t feel thanked.

Rather, you felt stressed.

Quite stressed.

From the day that SPARK was selected, you were assigned to be Gran’s personal manager. Wherever he went, you would go--all to make sure he kept to his schedule and was on his best behavior. Of course, given that you both were rather close in age, your professional relationship became more relaxed and at ease. You saw firsthand the struggle to keep up to such an inane perfect ideal as an idol that he faced, and you did your best to give him time to unwind, whether time to sleep in or indulging his desire to sneak out for a fun night around Tokyo.

This closeness was why he almost turned down Crystal Records’s initial contract upon hearing that they would assign him to new management. He would only allow his signature to glide along the paper if you came with him.

And so it was done.

And it was why you were standing in this club, watching what was basically immediate grounds for the end of an idol’s career unfold before your very eyes.

No wonder he insisted on celebrating in Vegas.

To the other clubgoers, he just looked like some rich influencer balling out.

To you, it was the sight of Japan’s most cherished idol freely handing out retirement savings to all sorts of unscrupulous paparazzi.

It was almost inevitable that he was about to literally begin to rock out with his cock out.

You had to act fast.

Though Gran didn’t have to abide by idol standards anymore, you refused to see his solo career to be tainted in debauchery by the work of Instagram Live.

One moment you were at the other end of the club, the next you were halfway at the center by the poolside bar, asking for napkins and a pen from the bartender.

When it came to the idol industry, far too often did you have to create NDAs on the spot to ensure and protect the image of your idols. Never once did you step into law school, but you were familiar with striking down any potential leaks.

With your makeshift agreements in hand, you were ready to hunt down anyone who was taking pictures of Gran’s shameless display.

Your eyes shifted over to the table he reserved for tonight’s party.

He wasn’t there any longer.

“Just a step behind, manager.”

Because one of his arms was busy slinging around your shoulder, hugging you close to his side as you were quickly led away from the bar towards one of the nearby poolside cabanas--another special rental for tonight’s celebration.

Heat quickly rose to your cheeks. Both out of fear and a feeling of something that only he was privy to. Your head turned around while your fingers clawed at your stack of napkins, alarmed as you looked around to see if anyone--mere clubgoer or sneaky paparazzi--was looking your way.

“G-Gran! What are you doing--?!” You gasped out to him above the deafening club music and the chatter of the crowd. “How drunk are you that you’re doing this?!”

He only grinned toothily as he opened the tent flap, ushering you in while his hand stayed on the small of your back. “I’m not drunk, I’m alive!”

Gran entered after you. 

As the opening flap of the cabana fell closed behind him, he immediately brought his hands up to your cheeks and drew you in for a kiss.

The two of you were close after all.

“Gra— Gran…!” The gasp of his name was muffled between your mouths, his tongue swiping at your bottom lip. Your body was quickly ensnared within his grasp, his arms toned from years dedicated to staying in shape for his years as an idol. Hands that left fans buckling with a mere wave were now roaming over your body, finding much indulgence in squeezing your ass or grabbing at your breasts.

It wasn’t until you felt the slight brush of a napkin against your leg that you realized that you dropped your makeshift NDAs in the process, suddenly making you aware of what you were doing and who you were doing this with.

You pulled away with a weak whine. “We’re still in public—!”

He pursued and kissed you over and over, a grin plastered on his lips. “Who’s to say that everyone out there wouldn’t do the same if they had the chance?”

His fingers ran over the fabric of your dress, brushing at the hem as he teased, “I got this dress for you because I wanted to celebrate, and yet you were still working.” With you still in his arms, he guided you over to a nearby wicker sofa, having you lay across the ivory cushion on top as he hovered above you, gazing down into your eyes with a mischievous expression. “Bad girl~”

As his manager, you were the one to always guide him along his career path, making sure he followed up on his schedule as an idol while giving him space as needed.

But Gran was a leader for a reason.

And he reminded you of this as his fingers tugged down at the neckline of your dress while hiking up its hem.

Fanservice for hands was common for his days as an idol, with him being an expert of winking at a camera during a televised performance, or murmuring a tender line of romance to an audience of adoring fans during a variety show appearance.

But nothing he did publicly could compare to how effortlessly he made you melt with the filth he spoiled you with as the two of you remained locked in your own little world together as the party outside raged on.

“Manager’s pretty nipples--” He groaned in-between noisy suckles and kisses along your breasts, his lips clamped around your hardened peaks, all while his hips ground against yours, making sure you felt the weight of his clothed, erect cock through the flimsy material of your panties, of which were soon removed afterwards.

Were it not knowing that he would only tease and torture you further if you proceeded to do so, you wanted to hide your face in embarrassment--even now, it was still just so much to have the nation’s idol be so dirty towards you.

Especially when it came time for when his desire for you could not wait any further, with the hasty unbuckle of his belt and the tug of his zipper before you felt the hot, drippy tip of his cock nudge and slide against your dribbling center as he groaned out, “--manager’s pretty pussy.” With adoration in his eyes, he then breathed out with reverence as he drank in the sight of your disheveled state. “Everything about you is pretty.”

“You are too much,” you shuddered with a whine, the barrage of his relentless sweetness. “To think I let you get away with practically everything.”

“‘Too much?’” He repeated curiously with a chuckle. “Are you saying you want less? Because I’m pretty sure you want more, right…!”

His hands grabbed hold of your waist as he sheathed his cock inside you fully in one thrust. The squeal of his name on your lips and the adrenaline of partying so hard had him wasting no time to begin pounding away into your core with heavy, hearty thrusts. With a twinkle in his eyes, he admired how precious you looked as you were left to grab at the cushion of the sofa beneath you, all while humming out, “I guess it’s only reasonable that I behave like I do when my manager is so naughty~”

“Gran--!” This man was just too damn good.

His lips were all over yours again, a mix of tender love and shameless desire with each kiss. “No matter where we go from here together, that’s the sound I always wanna hear above anything else in the world!”

It was nearing 3 AM at this point, but as everyone in the club continued to party the night away, so would you and Gran as the both of you celebrated not just his newfound solo career, but a new chapter where he was no longer bound to his duties and expectations of an idol, but to being his own individual, one who would eagerly and happily proclaim his love for you soon enough.

Because while everyone beneath the blue sky saw Gran as their one true idol, there was no one in the world who idolized you like him.

[x0401x]

What do you think of the last episode?

Bro, just… lmfao. I don’t even know where to start.

I think we all knew what was gonna go down. Masaki was pushed over to the far back of the darkest corner. We saw it coming.

It was still really shitty, lol.

I’m just laughing so hard, though. This was the peak of KyoAni’s disdain for the gay of the novel and their fruitless appeal to generic fanservice that only lasts for maybe one minute at most.

Just like any standard sports shounen format, they made the final episode mostly about the protagonist’s relationship with his rival and his best friend, and it’s really funny that it’s all original content clearly meant to fill up for the spare time they got by erasing Masaki from the picture. They gave non-canon flashbacks to Shuu and a moment of resolution for Seiya, as anyone would expect from a one-dimensional narrative where the Adversary that had been until this point so damn far to reach is portrayed as a misconception-ridden and somewhat delusional douche, while the Comrade has found his light at the end of the tunnel. Except he didn’t go through the tunnel at all and got to the other side thanks to Deus Ex Machina, because truth remains that his entire world still spins around Minato yet we were never shown him being rid of his guilt and he never once said his literal most important line in the book. I think the clearest proof that SeiMina was there just for show is how it almost felt like they were gonna have a moment when Seiya congratulated Minato, but then it turned into a fistbump to remind us of the real nature of their relationship, and then evolved into a collective fistbump because Patterns Must Be Followed Here.

Also just like any other sports shounen, the last round was clearly won by the proverbial Asspull of Friendship. As if Minato saying in the previous episode that they should forget Masaki’s teachings weren’t enough, the boys suddenly became better than the actual local powerhouse out of sheer sense of camaraderie, because this is all they need, by the looks of it. They simply had to “find their own ideal shots and believe in each other”, and teachings are actually not that necessary because this is anime.

Fuck this age-old fallacy. It takes away the little credibility that had been kept there by a hair’s breadth until this godawful end.

Manji’s sparking of target panic was thrown into the spotlight when convenient and then taken out as if it didn’t matter that much, since the effect it had on him wasn’t depicted nearly as vivid and intensely as in the novel. Minato didn’t get the injury in his hand. Seiya and Kaito’s relationship was murdered in cold blood with no chance of even five seconds of resurrection. Nanao and the girls’ encouragement and comments on the beauty of Minato’s shots were jumbled together and given to Seiya, as if to tell us that the only thing Minato has over Shuu is a good form and to make us forget that this isn’t the sole requirement for winning a freaking competition.

Speaking of the competition itself, there was very little suspense to it and there’s hardly anything to feel from it, despite the enthusiasm of the characters watching. The result of the tournament was extremely predictable and underwhelming. It was too painfully obvious that Shuu would miss his last shot. The boys’ celebration was different and, ironically, the fact that Seiya was probably the one feeling most pressure the whole time was covered up in the momentum.

But as always, worst of all was Masaki disappearing into the background.

He did escape from the hospital, but at what cost? His meeting with Minato right before the big match was erased, so the solace aspect of their interactions in the books where Minato is put at ease just by seeing Masaki’s smiling face has been buried away in the animation for good. But that’s completely fine with KyoAni, especially since Minato’s worries were calmed by Seiya’s non-canon pep talk in the previous episode.

Of course, Minato didn’t have his monologue about Masaki and how he got back into archery and into the club because of him, just like Masaki didn’t have his monologue about how he would probably have quit being an archer after his ten thousand shots if he hadn’t met Minato. The fact that they literally lit a fire in each other when no one else could and all the metaphors in-between weren’t showcased. Plus, Minato thinking that he “finally knew why Masaki had told him to go home” that one night also only works to enhance the Nakama Power levels of nonsense and destroyed the fact that Minato had immediately come back to where Masaki was either way.

Anime!Minato only glanced at Masaki right after the last shot, which had next to no impact whatsoever because he was paying full attention and saw that Shuu had missed, and then retreated without a second thought, as if he was not at all surprised to see Masaki standing there instead of resting in the hospital. And yet another trope was killed off: the fact that Masaki always greets Minato with a grin also got deleted until the last minute.

Now here’s what made me roar with laughter because it was just too ridiculous. Masaki disappears when it counts, but KyoAni seems aware of the basic concept that they can’t simply pretend the main relationship didn’t have a purpose for existing, or else neither does the rest of the story, hence that final scene. Masaki is still being painted off as obsessed with his grandfather, so his internal conflicts, too, have not been solved. He was the one who heard his grandfather’s (altered) words from Osone instead of Minato, announced them to Minato instead of Minato announcing it to him, and wasn’t nearly as moved by them as in the book. His grandfather seems to have been framed as being Right All Along about him, and for that reason, he has “taken back his shot” from Minato.

For fuck’s sake.

The cherry on top was the last flashback, though, hands down. I had lost hope of KyoAni showing that Minato and Masaki had met before (maybe even before Minato had met Seiya and Ryouhei, since he was only five back then). But Minato didn’t even look at Masaki in that scene, and it was far too quick for the viewers to process that it was meant to display the karma behind their bond.

KyoAni literally went, “by the way, it was fate all along” and then it was over. They did that. They fucking did that, and I lost it completely. I actually haven’t stopped laughing yet. Probably won’t stop anytime soon.

From the finale of this horrid excuse for an adaptation, I don’t think we’ll get a second season. Honestly, I can’t even pretend that I’m mad, because I’d hate to deal with this level of bullshit a second time. I just feel really bad for the author. She deserved better than this.

Wake me up when KyoAni ends. Or when they decide to go back to their golden age. Whatever comes first.

[jacereviews]

Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

Theatrical Showing

Spider-Man has had a good year. While I can’t speak from a comic perspective, as a multimedia star he’s had quite the run. Many people are in love with Tom Holland’s portrayal of him in the MCU and his starring role in Avengers: Infinity War. Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PS4 is (allegedly) fantastic and even got a game of the year nomination. So here we are, last month of 2018 with one more Spider-Man. I’ve heard many people complain about Spider-Man movie fatigue, so is yet another new Spider-Man worth it? Let’s Rock. STORY: Peter Parker’s career as Spider-Man is at its peak. You know the stories, we all do. This isn’t Peter Parker’s story however. Miles Morales is moving to a new elite high school, the son of a cop and a nurse, he lives in a New York where Spider-Man is swinging up and down the roads. However an incident with a mysterious spider bite pulls him into the world of heroes, a world shaken up by the Kingpin trying to break down the walls between dimensions. Thrown into chaos, Miles must work with those brought in from other dimensions to try to restore order and figure out what it means to be Spider-Man. This shouldn’t and probably won’t be your first Spider-Man movie. It references a lot of Spider-Man culture and is a fanservice romp for long time fans, yet is still a refreshing tale. The plot isn’t particularly deep or complex, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s simple, yet effective. Going through the logical order of a superhero story, yet packing some surprises along the way. I want to give bonus points for the story being told in a way that’s aware of the trailers and intentionally tries to subvert some preconceptions established by the trailers. While I may not be able to give this much credit on originality or freshness, I can compliment the ability of the story to deliver the emotional payoffs it needs. Some of the harder hitting moments are done fantastically and work within the simplicity of the tale. Story-wise I think my only real complaint was the climax being a bit too straightforward. The way the story is told shines brightly though, especially in its use of spider-man tropes and parallels. Since my format doesn’t have a spot for it, I’ll go ahead and discuss the humor and comedy here. The movie can be damn funny when it wants to be, not only in simple jokes, but in twisting expectations, pop culture comedy, and a lot of inside jokes for spider-man fans. The gag character of Spider-Ham manages to stay amusing throughout the whole film and never gets grating.

8/10. Simple yet effectively told. Also funi movie make me laugh.

CHARACTERS: Let’s start with Miles himself. He’s discontent with his new high school, trying to flunk out so he can move back in with the people. He’s got some issues with his family, mostly looking up to his Uncle Aaron, who’s not always on the good side of the law. While like Peter Parker he’s got a good brain and some social troubles, he’s less of a nerd wish fulfillment type. His dynamic with his Dad and Uncle is unique from Parker and is a strong point throughout the movie. While not shockingly new or interesting, Miles is a strong central character. The other spiders are also strong. Peter B. Parker is a late career Spider-Man, one movies never show us. He’s arguably washed up and the constant life toll of Spider-Man has clearly gotten to him. I found this take to be rather unique, and also relatable as we see the youths around him reminding him of what he once was. While some people may not like his negativity, I found him to be rather engaging as the group senior. Gwen Stacy brings the main cast into an effective trio. Being slightly older than Miles, she’s got a good dynamic of banter with him despite her claim to not keeping friends. She’s pretty prominent in action scenes and in general has a strong energy that puts her in the movie spotlight. While I can’t claim she has too much interesting going on, I think in large part that’s simply because it isn’t her movie. As for the other 3 spiders, they feel like a lower tier in prominence. While there, they don’t have much individual bits outside of their backstories (which get told together.) Peni and Noir were quite interesting, and I honestly felt like we really just didn’t get enough of them. If I can claim any problem here, it’s a utilization issue, but that’s something to be expected out of a one off movie. You can’t give every character the full spotlight they could use. As far as villains go the only one I can really discuss is the Kingpin. While maybe not needed, the movie did go the extra mile to give him a borderline sympathetic backstory. I was a fan of how his story kind of paralleled miles with his downfall being his inability to learn from his mistakes. All in all a pretty strong cape movie villain even if he’s not my favorite Kingpin. I also want to give a shout-out to this movie’s Aunt May. Being a spider-veteran she’s just freaking awesome in this film.

7/10. Some nice ideas and strong characters. Any real complaints are kinda inherent to the medium.

VISUALS: Oh boy is this a treat. I feel like the real appeal of the movie is the frankly amazing art direction. Pretty much every aspect is spot-on. The framing, design, movement, colors, etc. I can just keep singing the praises of this film. Miles’ street art is taken full advantage of. The use of the dimension clashing is rendered in some gorgeous design. The City at Night is rendered in some gorgeous neon colors and the costumes pop. I love how some of the characters from other timelines come in their own distinct art styles. The visual storytelling here is also amazingly done. The scene where Miles leaps from the skyscraper as a full Spider-Man, yet glass sticking to his fingers is an amazing scene. The comic book aesthetic of displaying internal thoughts and backstories is also super nice. I could keep going on but basically it all boils down to YES! YES! YES! The only real complaint I can muster is I noticed when the frame rate would change and that was kind of jarring. 

10/10, Why would you do something in animation when live action is more accessible? Because you can get art design like this!

SOUND: I went in expecting the movie to look as good as it did, I didn’t expect it to sound this good. The music track is full of bops, and not just the non-diegetic tracks but the diegetic ones too. This movie makes near perfect use of both diegetic and non-diegetic music for some absolutely amazing effect. I want this soundtrack! The voice acting was also on point. Everyone sounded great and it all came together nicely. Specific shout-out to John Mulaney as Spider-Ham for sounding the Loony Tunes part. The sound effects flowed perfectly, this isn’t a movie to just see, but to listen to.

9/10, the only faults I could really come up with are things that I’d have to set aside for an album review of the OST, and that’s one hell of a compliment.

FINAL SCORE: 9/10

This isn’t just another Spider-Man movie. It’s a Spider-Man movie for those who’ve seen too many Spider-Man movies. It’s one of the best comic book movies in a world too full of them. Not only that it’s a case study in aesthetic utilization, the art and sound design are beyond on point. It takes full advantage of the animated medium to be as visually unique as it can be in the best of ways. It’s a full recommendation not only for superhero and animation fans, but for any fan of film. While this could be your first spider-man film, I’d definitely recommend watching it with more familiarity of the character and his lore. All in all one of the best animated films in the west, and one hell of an entry in the repertoire of a character dominating the media world. PS: This movie wishes you a Merry Christmas! 

[bieddiediaz]

endgame thoughts (spoilers!!)

the good

this movie was perfect fanservice. it was the most beautiful way to end the past 11 years of the mcu. it paid homage to the fans who had stuck by it through iron man (the clanging of tony’s hammer after the credits!!! the start of the mcu and the end of an era) to the snap, through twenty two movies. the entire sequence of everyone going back in time was for us, for the fans who had kept it going - the first avengers (i’ll have that drink now), hail hydra (that was so clever, honestly), frigga!!!, gamora and nebula as sisters!

clint and natasha again! this was the first time they showed their relationship properly since avengers 1, and by god did they do it justice. also! nat choosing to sacrifice herself! the agency!! this movie was honestly peak natasha and i t  b r o k e  m e.

tony calling everyone out on not listening to him! honestly, i was satisfied with thanos has been inside my head for six years because i never thought we’d get better. but! this was. ultimate. validation. purely c a t h a r t i c

nebula. nebula my love. nebula telling her past self that she can and does get better! the torture stops! nebula telling gamora that they become sisters! i died. i honestly wanted nebula to kill thanos (because i maintain that she deserved it most) but i’m okay with how it turned out. because nebula healed. before the snap, she found a family with the guardians. with gamora. after the snap - nebula and tony! tony showing her the gentleness that thanos never did. tony teaching her games like a father should his daughter! having nicknames for her! her dressing him and putting him into the seat when she though he was about to die k i l l e d me. also - nebula and rhodey! nebula being comfortable enough with him to call him rhodey. them bonding over being broken!!! perfect victim survival story. i love nebula okay

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE. i have been waiting for this line since aou. steve getting ready to face thanos alone! with a broken shield! the avengers - all the avengers - as a team. against thanos. what they should have been the first time. such 616 feels

i know people are upset carol didn’t have more screentime, but i wasn’t that bothered by it honestly. this wasn’t her moment to shine. her story is just starting. this movie is homage to the heroes we’ve known for ten years, to tony and steve and natasha and clint and bruce and thor, whose stories are closing. they deserved to be the ones who saved the universe. this movie was theirs.

special mention for carol’s comics-esque lesbian haircut.

scott and cassie single-handedly broke my heart and healed it back together again.

sam being the new cap! it’s everything he deserves! (i do what he does, only slower)

and

and

of course

tony

tony stark

tony my love. tony my boy. i love you 3000 okay. you were the shining star of this movie. you are the shining star of my life.

how do i even begin to describe this. tony’s arc was perfect. (i once though cacw was peak tony, and then i thought iw was peak tony, but this movie outdid them all)

of course i’m mad that he died. i don’t think there’s a universe where tony stark deserves to die. tony stark, the futurist, the heart and soul of the mcu, deserves to live. with pepper and peter and morgan and rhodey. he deserves all the happiness in the world.

but

if they had to kill him, if i had to pick one way for tony to die, i couldn’t have picked a better one. he died saving the entire fucking universe. they were losing. thanos had the gauntlet. tony is the reason they won. tony wielded the fucking gauntlet. tony killing thanos and his army (tony dusting thanos!) the same way thanos killed trillions of people - also extreme catharsis. tony stark couldn’t protect the universe, but he damn well avenged it. (tony stans, we got ultimate validation. anyone who dares say tony is selfish or tHe reAl vILLaIn oF tHe mCu now is completely invalid.)

tony being bitter about being right! all this time (a suit of armour around the world), and no one listening to him when he tried to warn them. tony realising they lost because they were split apart (i needed you and you weren’t here. liar.). he found his second chance with morgan and pepper. he didn’t jump back into the fray because his ~teammates asked him to, but because he had a chance to save everyone. to save peter. peak. selfless. tony. stark. tony forgiving steve (giving him the shield that he! made!!) because he knew they had to do this together. i was afraid it would happen too quickly, or the stevetony conflict would be brushed under the rug for ~universe reasons, but they handled it really well. it took five years of moving on and healing for them to reconcile. steve trusting tony (since steve not trusting tony was the thing that started the entire shitshow in the first place) and tony forgiving steve (steve left. steve abandoned everything the avengers stood for). i loved it okay.

tony’s funeral absolutely ended me. i burst into sobs at proof that tony stark has a heart. everyone was there. proof that tony stark was fucking loved and respected by literally everyone. (also, that funeral seemed like a private thing. people who had known tony stark. which means - either friday or pepper let harley in. which means - tony told pepper about harley and how important he was and/or they kept in touch!! excuse me while i go cry even more)

okay

now

the bad

i honestly didn’t have many complaints with this movie, it was such a perfect ending. just two major things -

team as family. they really tried to lean into this trope, but it fell flat after not establishing it over the past avengers movies. i could have bought it if they showed some bonding moments when they were preparing for their missions, but they tried to tell us instead of show us. jokes and quips are fine, but emotional bonding moments/conversations needed to happen more. nat was the only one who seemed like she really considered the avengers as her family. (tony did at one point, but i think that illusion was shattered for him after cacw.)

i… don’t even want to talk about this. this is exactly what i was dreading. i can’t believe the same directors who gave us catws gave us this. steve’s ending was disrespectful to peggy. to sharon. to steve himself. peggy made a life for herself. it’s super disrespectful to suggest that peggy motherfucking carter would settle for anything other than the very best, whether it be her job or her life or her husband. why retcon all that to make her dance with this guy she knew for a few months. it’s super unhealthy for steve. for all the preaching about moving on he did, he himself admits that he hasn’t. a logical, healthy conclusion to his story would be to have him finally do it. instead, apparently he hasn’t moved on from something that happend thirteen years ago, let alone the snap. ugh. what do i even say. (and there’s the tiny little matter that this implies steve made out with his niece. unless he created an alternate timeline. which he clearly didn’t. since he’s there. in the same universe.) of course steve deserves to be happy!! but his arc - which began in catws - should be him moving on. finding a new family. not regressing back to things that should be done and gone.

also, it doesn’t make sense plot wise. did steve hide from the rest of the world? did he live in secret? if no, why would howard keep looking for him in the ocean? he wouldn’t. he wouldn’t have found the tesseract. or dethawed steve’s body in the future. did he hide his name from his family? no, right? then sharon knew?? that she was kissing her uncle? idek man

[bewareofchris]

@chamiryokuroi, i have so many feelings and so few of them are good that i almost don’t want to go into it on the internet.  but,

(This turned into a dissertation) OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE INFINITY WAR SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT.

first off let me say that I walked into this movie with the expectation that marvel was going to behave in a predictable marvel way.  and what exactly is a predictably marvel way to act?

Cap is the Hero, Tony tries but fails, Thor can’t understand that reference but he’s super powerful, for reasons unknown powers that worked yesterday fail today, a critical part of the plot hinges upon a relationship or a decision that the audience hasn’t had enough time to form a bond with and so the critical emotional peak of the movie falls flat

so what happened in Infinity War?

Lets get started by saying that I don’t honestly care if Loki dies, but I am 100% disappointed that he didn’t have a better plan, more action or a real shot at doing anything.  I mean.  This little shit is basically a cockroach that’s been alive forever and he’s done all kinds of shit in that time but the BEST IDEA he had was to try to stab Thanos right in his stupid face?  

I see that the Bifrost works however it wants now.  Good to know.  

WOULD YOU FUCKING MAKE UP YOUR FUCKING MIND ABOUT TONY FUCKING STARK’S GLOWING FUCKING CHEST MY DUDE.

Look, I don’t think its a leap for Tony to wear nanobots and a hoodie that turns into a suit.  I think that’s 100% in character, but Marvel you’re a bunch of morons that took the shiny thing out of Tony’s chest several movies ago you can’t just show up now and act like that didn’t happen because he looks better with it.  This is like 0% relative and 100% nitpicky but it’s part of a greater Marvel Realized That Was Silly So They Changed It and Acted LIke We Wouldn’t Notice issue.

Bruce exists in this movie basically as a cheap joke and a town crier.  THANOS IS COMING, THANOS IS COMING.  Its like someone in the group writer meeting was like: dude, the Hulk is too much.  We’ve literally seen the Hulk take on everything.  We’ve established he’s undefeatable.  We can’t go back now.  How are we going to deal with the Hulk being a thing?  And the guy sitting next to him, balancing a pencil on his nose was like IDK what if we just like, inexplicably and for no reason we ever need to explain, make the Hulk not show up?  What if the Hulk gets hurt or scared by Thanos?  And he doesn’t show up?  OH DUDE then Bruce can use an Iron Man suit and we’ll do the trailers and make it look like the whole group is there!  

You know else is too fucking powerful to let loose too early in the movie?  Thor.  You know they did this in Age of Ultron too, they were like: lets give him a vision of Ragnorok and send him to a sparkle pool to take his shirt off and see things, so he could not be present when Cap was fighting Ultron.  Here they send him off with a Rabbit (this genuinely amused me no lie) and Groot.  And Thor speaks Groot.  A language he learned in high school.  He’s 1500 years old.  How does he remember high school Groot?  but that’s not important, what is important is that he’s off on a side quest waking up some dead star to forge some Thanos-killing weapon because as we see in the final battle as soon as Thor shows up looking hella fine, the show is basically over.

COULD SOMEONE PLEASE SLAP THE FUCK OUT OF STEVE GOD DAMN ROGERS.  Look, I understand that its upsetting when someone randomly suggests that killing themselves is the only way to save the planet but Rogers, if you aren’t the single most annoying hypocrite that ever walked the earth.  (At least the movie did point this out.  At least it did that.)  “We don’t trade lives?”  FUCK YOU STEVE.  It was ONE FUCKING LIFE versus HALF THE FUCKING UNIVERSE.  Everyone can do that math.  One Life < Half the Universe.  SEE, THE OPEN MOUTH GOES TOWARD TEH BIGGER NUMBER YOU SANCTIMONIOUS FUCK.

Honestly, Steve at the end, collapsing as he said ‘oh God’ is the only part of the entire MCU wherein Steve seems to sort of grasp that just because he wants the world to work a certain way doesn’t mean it will.  I hate to be a petty bitch but I’m 100% okay with everyone dying because at least Captain Fucking Rogers was wrong AND THE STORY CANNOT DENY IT.

This is going out of order, I’m sorry.

Lets talk about Thanos.  I actually liked Thanos.  I bear him no ill will.  He’s completely insane, but he’s doing what he thinks must be done for the greater good.  (*COUGH* THE SAFEST HANDS ARE STILL OUR OWN */COUGH*)  He is consistently insane which is nice.

but honestly.  I mean, honestly, if this bastard was this set on doing this shit and this capable of it, why the fuck didn’t he show up earlier?  Was it because he didn’t know where all the stones were?  I feel like it’s been a couple of movies now that he should have known where most of them were?  Why not collect them one at a time?  Why not send out his assortment of assassins to collect them individually?  He could have gotten all of the not-earth stones and then shown up to the party like HAHA BITCHES GUESS WHO THE FUCK I AM and 0 people would have known.

but this way is good too.  I guess.

This plot hinges entire on a string of inconveniences.  If not for bad timing, this series of events would not have unfolded in this way.  I try not to get bitchy about conveniences because things happen in real life that would seem a lot like the cosmic writer whose dictating our lives never took a writing class, BUT if it progresses your story and makes things easier for you (the writer) to accomplish what the plot (and not necessarily the characters) needs/wants to happen next it’s lazy.

The iris mechanism breaking?

Thanos having already found the reality stone?

Gamora secretly being the only thing he loves?

Nebula only escaping after it’s too late?

Cap’s abilities being literally ‘whatever the story needs, is he mortal, is he not?’

Bruce and Hulk’s domestic issue

Dr. Strange apparently being able to not only tolerate 14 million alternate futures but also remember them with enough confidence to make decisions for everyone without consulting them

Everything that happened when Quill found out about Gamora

The end part where the axe to the chest didn’t stop Thanos

the convenient core-member survival of the Avengers

I truly believe in my heart that Marvel decided to kill Black Panther before they realized how popular that movie and character would be and fuck them.  

While we’re at it.  Fuck them for that whole thing.  Like I get that T’Challa was leading his people, but the movie is framed in a way where he’s kind of an afterthought?  

They definitely underestimated him, that’s all I’m saying.  And Shuri.

THEY MISUSED THEM.  THEY DID NOT TREAT THEM FAIRLY.

Look, I love Tony and I”m super happy that the MCU finally, finally stopped treating him like he was insane.  Don’t get me wrong here, having Thanos show up and having Tony be like I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS is great.

What’s not great?  Is the fact that Tony who literally has been waiting for this this whole time suddenly had very little back up plan?  He had enough time to send Peter Parker a suit but he didn’t have a trove of alternate suits, or weapons, or anything that he could have sent along with it?  I know he had a few minutes to think but ALIENS ARE INVADING IS LITERALLY THE THING HE’S BEEN FRETTING ABOUT SINCE AVENGERS 1.

I’m just saying, they could have had him be slightly more prepared.  

Having said that, Tony was amazing.  

One of the best parts of the movie is that twenty seconds where it looks like he’s having a stroke when he realizes he’s working with idiots.

WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU LET THEM GET THE GAUNTLET OFF IF YOU WERE JUST GOING TO HAVE QUILL FREAK OUT?

No I’ll tell you.  Because it’s Marvel.  

Honestly that fight V. Thanos in space was amazing.  10/10.  Until Quill.

I have never been more furious about anything in my life than I was about Thanos trying to smash Steve Rogers into the ground and being unable to.  Like, even his face seemed to be conveying some kind of ‘what is this bullshit happening before me’ 

(IS HE MORTAL?  IS HE NOT?)

I also hated Steve’s shields, but I appreciate that they went with a pointy design so that he could more directly murder his helpless victims in combat.  Someone needs to introduce Steve to Jeff Goldblum because I feel like he’d either invite Cap to join the harem or the gladiators or both and it would be glorious either way.

Gamora’s death shouldn’t have won the soul stone because Thanos is a piece of shit.  He’s nuts.  The Soul Stone should have just thrown her back up there while laughing hysterically something like “AHAHAHA MY MAN, YOU’RE A PSYCHO, HAHAHA, YOU DON’T LOVE ANYTHING.”

That moment when you realize that if even one thing had changed in this movie the entire sequence of events would collapse.  That moment.

Also, how the living fuck did Tony live through getting impaled?  How?  HOW.

Dr. Strange: LET TONY LIVE Thanos: like, aren’t you a medical doctor? Dr. Strange: yes, but that’s not important Thanos: I’m not a medical doctor, like I’m just a crazy man, but he is definitely definitely dead. Dr. Strange: ok, yes, but. Thanos: no wait, I’m just--you’re really going to give up the time stone, a stone that as of this moment is basically impossible to get off you, just because you want Tony to live?  He’s definitely going to die.  I stuck this whole sharp thing through him. Dr. Strange: I KNOW IT SEEMS UNLIKELY BUT ROBERT DOWNEY JR SELLS MOVIES, OK.  HE’S ADORABLE. Thanos:  ...whatever dude.  Give me the green glowy thing

NO HUMAN BEING CAN COMPREHEND 14 MILLION ANYTHINGS.   This isn’t a number people can relate to.  It’s meaningless.  Why do all these movies have to overact?  Lets blow up a whole planet, lets kill half the universe, lets act like a human mind can comprehend 14 million alternate timelines

The fanservice in this movie was incredible.  Like, I’m now convinced there’s a whole team of interns at Marvel scouring the internet for more jokes.  

“Hey boss, they seem to think Rocket trying to steal Bucky’s arm would be hilarious.  So should we do that?” “GREG MY BOY WHAT A FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC IDEA.”

I loved Tony’s whole outfit.  I loved the nano bots.  I even loved at the end when he was running out and he had to redistribute them.  It was amazing

“Home” says Steve Fucking Rogers, the international war criminal that was like ‘but he’s my friend’.  BITCH THAT ISN’T YOUR HOME.

I’m actually 100% furious just at the fact that Rhodey who supported the accords immediately didn’t give one fuck about them as soon as it was convenient to want to be on Cap’s side instead.  I’m FURIOUS that the Accords didn’t matter.  They never did, but the fact that Rhodey was the last man standing that believed in them and he handwaved that shit away as soon as he laid eyes on Steve’s gruff unshaven face, its just like getting kicked in the nuts.

I just looked it up apparently Black Panther and Infinity War were filmed back to back which meant that Marvel had 0 idea how well Black Panther would do in theaters and honestly that must have been why they were like “ah yes you guys remember T’Challa?  Well. basically he just gives Steve some shields and that’s fucking it.”

(I know he did more than that, but he was still treated like a convenient secondary character who had convenient abilities, like Groot who couldn’t be bothered to do anything until someone needed an axe handle.)

C O M M U N I C A T I O N.  It really could have solved so many things. Dr. Strange: 14 million alternate futures Tony: cool.  how many did we win? Dr. Strange: 1. Tony: wait what?  TELL ME EXACTLY WHO DID WHAT Dr. Strange: I’m sorry I can’t just tell you the plot I’m not Mark Ruffalo.

Peter Parker did break my heart.

this is just personal preference but since I don’t find Chris Pratt funny at all, basically all the minutes that were put into his character were wasted on me

This movie cannot stand on it’s own.  That’s not a negative.  You don’t go see a movie like Infinity Wars if you haven’t already spent the last decade on the others leading up to it.  

but, my dudes, you did not set up Wanda/Vision well enough.  And so much emphasis was put on this.  SO MUCH.  She’ll have to destroy him, it’ll have to be her.  Ok.  Cool.  So lets get to it.

I may be heartless.

Gamora crying when she though she’d killed Thanos felt more authentic than Wanda’s entire crisis about Vision.

But, hey, I’m sure in the next one they’ll do something stupid as fuck that’ll make the emotional punch of this movie completely fucking worthless.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Thor: Ragnarok review

Thor has had the worst track when it comes to the MCU. His first outing was an okay-at-best adventure that took place with a cast of boring, unfunny humans instead of on Asgard where cool shit happened. When you start out your trilogy with someone like Kenneth Branagh directing and even he can’t make it cool, you know you’re in trouble. Then we come to his appearance in The Avengers, where he does decent but still gets outshone quite a bit by the rest of the cast. Then we get to Thor: The Dark World, one of the worst superhero films ever made… the less said about it the better. Then comes Age of Ultron and Thor’s overall role is negligible, especially with his weird cave dream sequence which doesn’t amount to too much. All of this build’s Thor up as one of the least-interesting Avengers, which is a damn shame, because Chris Hemsworth plays the role with such charm and enthusiasm, it’s sad to see his efforts go to waste…

...And then comes Thor: Ragnarok, and it blows all that bullshit out of the water by doing a soft reboot to the whole Thor series. Sure, the bullshit before is still canon, but Thor got dumped by his human girlfriend so we don’t need to put up with those fucks anymore, the movie takes place mostly in the cosmos which were the best parts of the other Thor movies, and best of all we have a director who knows what we want to see and gives it to us with cheesy 80s and Jack Kirby aesthetic: Taika Waititi. More than anyone before him, he seems to really GET what makes Thor so cool in the first place, and what makes comic book movies cool in general. The other Thor movies are naught but a whimper to this film’s epic Led Zeppelin metal scream. But how? How did this film fix the fatal flaws of the films that came before?

First let’s give you a rundown of the story: It has been two years since Thor has left Earth. His girlfriend has dumped him, he has found no Infinity Stones, and as soon as he returns to Asgard he finds out Loki has hijacked the throne and hid his father, Odin, on Earth. And just when things don’t seem like they could get any worse, Odin dies and releases the wicked Hela, his firstborn child who was banished long ago for being an evil bitch. She makes it to Asgard and starts trying to dominate everything, while Thor and Loki end up on the planet of Sakaar… though Thor is stuck fighting in gladiator battles while Loki, who through temporal bullshit showed up a week earlier, has sucked up to the grandiose ruler known as the Grandmaster and landed himself in a cushy position. Soon enough Thor is up in the gladiator arena against his old pal, the Hulk, and from here Thor tries to figure out how he can get back to Asgard and whoop Hela’s ass. Can the mighty Thor manage this impossible feat, or is Ragnarok finally upon him?

The reason this movie works so well is that the film has moved away from dull Earth settings and into cosmic realms with a heavy 1980s sci-fi and Jack Kirby influence. Earth was not a very interesting setting for a character who is supposed to be a mighty physical god; the earlier films never really played to his strengths, as evidenced by the main villains being meek and unimposing in comparison to a swaggering viking like Thor. This is not much of a problem here, where all the foes Thor matches up against are more than able to measure up. Over the course of the film he does battle with the fire demon Surtur, his evil death goddess sister Hela, and of course the not-so-jolly green giant himself, Hulk. These are foes that actually give Thor a realistic challenge, and while there are obviously still scenes of Thor fighting mooks, there are actually antagonists that can put up solid fights themselves. It’s a real breath of fresh air!

Speaking of the characters, and continuing on with how moving away from the structure of the old film’s was a good thing… the previous supporting casts of the Thor movies were one of the greatest weaknesses. They were good actors (and Kat Dennings) in awful roles. But in THIS film, we get a supporting cast worthy of Thor! Gone is the dull Natalie Portman and the horrendously unfunny Kat Dennings characters that have bogged down the films in the past! Say hello to the new supporting cast of characters, with the badass Valkyrie and the charming goofball Korg! Valkyrie is an awesome, badass, worthy partner for Thor, who has a solid backstory and good characterization for her first film. Korg is just an absolutely lovable doofus; played by Taika Waititi himself, he exists mostly to add a bit of levity to the proceedings, which is easy to do as he is a hulking rock monster with a very soft, pleasant voice. These two are highlights of the movie, worthy newcomers and allies to Thor, and I hope they pop up more in the future. The interactions they could have if they meet up with the Avengers would be astounding.

Of course, we also have villains to take into account here, and it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Not in terms of quality mind you, because the performances are all well-done, it’s just that the villains tended to be underutilized. Hela is the chief example; yes, she has plenty of scenes where she’s badass, Cate Blanchett is perfect as her, and by fucking god that scene where she kills all the valkyries in flashback is one of the most gorgeous scenes I’ve ever seen in superhero cinema. But she’s a bit underutilized and barely deals with Thor until the very end of the film after their brief meetup. Still, she gets some cool fight scenes, so it does even out a bit, I just feel she deserved some more attention, especially with her interesting backstory. Surtur is quite a victim of this problem too, as instead of serving as a big bad, he’s relegated to a plot device after his defeat in the opening – a plot device I shall not reveal any spoilers on. Needless to say, he’s cool in his appearances, but he could have done a lot more. Thankfully, these two characters could possibly return, as their final scenes do leave things a bit open-ended.

But there is one antagonist who I can heap nothing but lavish praise upon: The Grandmaster. This is Jeff Goldblum dressed in the gaudiest clothing imaginable just… Jeff Goldbluming it up. He is absolutely perfect, hilarious, delightfully weird… it is everything I could have wanted from Jeff Goldblum in a Marvel film. There is not a single scene he’s in that’s unenjoyable, and I can’t wait for him to show up again so he can potentially interact with his equally scene-stealing weirdo brother, The Collector. Benicio Del Toro and Jeff Goldblum weirding it up onscreen together… It would be the stuff legends are made of. But yes, Goldblum, he’s a highlight of the film.

Now on to the returning characters: Odin is okay. Anthony Hopkins does a great job playing Loki pretending to be Odin, but his death scene is a bit rushed when taken out of context of the Thor series as a whole. It starts so near the beginning and wraps up the arc from the previous Thor film so quickly I just ca- oh, wait a second, Thor: The Dark World sucked ass, so why do I care if it’s stupid plot points get thrown out the window? Then we have Loki, who here just goes through the heel-face revolving door so many times it’s hard to really tell whose side he’s on at any given moment. As usual, his interactions with Thor are fantastic and enjoyable; they really do feel like bickering brothers who deep down do love each other, and Loki also gets some of the most hilarious moments during the Thor vs. Hulk gladiator fight. He’s solidly done, and Tom Hiddleston also gets a few scenes where he gets to ham it up, which is a big plus.

And then we have Doctor Strange, in a very brief cameo appearance that builds off the stinger of his film… and this scene is fucking awful. It’s supposed to be some goofy, lighthearted jokiness but it’s just so forced, awkward, and shoehorned into the film; it’s clearly only there to beat you over the head with the fact this movie takes place in a shared universe with other heroes. To be perfectly frank, the entirety of Thor and Loki’s trip could be cut out of the film with zero effect on the plot. It is just utterly irrelevant fanservice. The joke about Loki falling for thirty minutes though, that was funny, and it almost makes the scene worthwhile. Credit where credit is due, I laughed.

And now, the big one: Hulk. This is Hulk’s absolute best film appearance yet. He talks, he gets some personality to him, he gets good chemistry with Thor, and all his fight scenes are a blast, finally pitting Hulk against worthy foes (hey, he and Thor both finally get to fight people who are a good match)! And if you think Hulk’s the only one getting in on the fun, Banner shows up too and gets in on the fun; after two years stuck in Hulk form, Banner is a bit loopy, and gets tons of goofy, manic lines and great chemistry with Thor. Ruffalo is at the top of his game here; let’s see him keep this up in his next appearances.

Every fight scene is awesome, the score by Mark Mothersbaugh is awesome, every time “Immigrant Song” kicks up it’s the absolute peak of awesome… there’s nothing about this film that doesn’t scream “AWESOME!” Okay, well, there are a few things, as I’ve mentioned, but the pros heavily outweighs the cons. The awesome 80s Saturday morning cartoon sci-fi aesthetic fits Thor like a glove, giving him an enjoyable identity rather than the gloomy, overwrought, and often half-baked tone that has plagued his films in the past. This is a Thor film worthy of being a Thor film, and while I can’t say this is Marvel’s best film yet (I still like the Guardians of the Galaxy films and Civil War more), this is easily top ten best Marvel movies material, and one of this year's finest superhero films, and this is a damn good year for superhero movies! This one gets a recommendation for me, especially if you love throwbacks to the awesomely trashy and cheesy 80s sci-fi of the 80s… and boy fucking howdy do I love that shit.

This is science fantasy at its most fun, and I pray to all the gods of Asgard that Taika Waititi gets to keep the reigns of Thor for the foreseeable future. This man knows how to show us a good time; let’s let him keep doing it for a while longer. We need a bit more making up for the first two crappy Thor films, y’know?

[8bitsupervillain]

The Disappointments of 2017: Danganronpa 3 (Side Future, Side Despair, and Side Hope)

I know that Danganronpa 3 (the anime) came out in late 2016, but I didn’t experience it until September 2017. Be forewarned: There will be spoilers

Side Future:

Of course there would be repercussions for Makoto Naegi absconding with the Remnants of Despair. Of course he would have to face the consequences for stealing them away and taking them to a facility that could rewrite their memories so they forgot their time as Despair. But the fact that a group dedicated to the restoration of Hope, and bringing back order to a world in anarchy would decide that the person WHO KILLED THE LEADER  OF DESPAIR had to be executed was one of the more ridiculous notions Side Future suggested. Who within the Future Foundation was working with Tengan to take the Branch Leaders to the secret Future Foundation headquarters? If his goal was to force Mitarai into completing his brainwashing anime (don't worry I'll get to that) why did he make there be a forbidden action that would kill him if he used his talent? Was this somehow due to Yukizome being a Remnant of Despair? Was Yukizome pulling a fast one on Munakata and making him believe for some reason Naegi is in fact a secret despair agent even though he killed Junko Enoshima? How did Kimura somehow create a drug that causes you to Hulk-out? Why was she allowed to keep those drugs when they were taken to the facility?

Why did Munakata think Naegi was a secret Despair agent when he's been fighting against people who are on the side of Despair and knows they act in a very specific way? How did Tengan get a copy of Mitarai's brainwashing anime so he could play it during the times when everyone else was knocked out? Did he just always have it since he used to be a higher-up at Hope's Peak Academy? More to that point was Tengan using his people's deaths as a way to try to spur Mitarai into action when he should know that Mitarai considers himself responsible for Junko et al. becoming Despair thus driving him to not do his anime anymore? I know that he didn't plan for Mitarai to be there when he enacted his plan to kidnap the Future Foundation high command, but he was able to set all the other parts of his plan into motion without a hitch? Why and how did Monaca get into space? Did the rest of the Towa group get away with what they did in Ultra Despair Girls without a hitch? Did Haiji Towa get away with his plan to kill EVERY CHILD IN TOWA CITY scot-free? So they killed a bunch of random nobodies no one knows or cares about, why didn't they have the guts to actually kill Kirigiri? So who exactly is funding the Future Foundation that they're able to have a fleet of warships, and soldiers to boot? Is it like a global military type of thing? A special-forces multinational force? Are they team Rainbow? Do they have any sort of oversight since you can just send off your random fleet of ships to go attack a random island chain? Did Togami point his megaphone out the window and just call everyone a bunch of punk-asses to get em to not blow up the island?

So if Sonja Nevermind is able to incite a inter-country war how was she able to just leave to join the other Remnants of Despair for the events of Danganronpa 2? More to that point, if the world is in complete anarchy as the games and flashbacks in this very show suggest why didn't Munakata or whatever head of Future Foundation just line them up against the wall and shoot em? How would the brainwashing anime work in this anarchic hellhole world? I also don't understand the whole every two hours you get injected with sleeping drugs thing. At least with Battle Royale it's just a bomb in the necklace.

Although I like Hagakure there was really no reason for him to be in the show whatsoever. His story was neat in the post game novel in Ultra Despair Girls though. Were Fukawa and Komaru trying to just help rebuild Towa City? I know they were basically just there for fanservice, but I never really understood why they were there post Ultra Despair Girls. How did Monaca manage to get her android version of that Future Foundation branch leader into the building in the first place? I know they reveal that they found the real body, but when and how did she get her android in there? Was the person she replaced also wheel-chair bound? If not, how come no one brought up the fact that their comrade is now suddenly in a wheelchair they'd never seen her in before?

Or did they just sort of shrug their shoulders at the fact that someone they know, and presumably worked with many times in the past is now suddenly in a wheelchair and speaking exclusively through a laptop that just so happens to have an avatar based on something from the Neo World Program, that kind of looks like Monokuma? Why did Tengan bother bringing her chair to the killing game he'd set up? Why not make her be the first person to fall to the suicide brainwashing video? I'm pretty sure I recall that since she's an android she wasn't susceptible to the drugs that put everyone else to sleep. Did Tengan not notice this? Or did Monaca decide to act like the android was asleep... just cause?

Side Despair:

My problems with Side Despair though mainly are due to what I think are just some really odd pacing issues. For the first few episodes it tries to play it as some type of slice-of-life thing with the class that would become the Remnant of Despairs. But it would also try to show Hinata's by comparison crappy life as a reserve course student. Then it would try to shoehorn in the plot point about Yukizome, Munakata, and eventually Sakakura trying to find out the secret truths behind Hope's Peak. They advertised that the rest of the cast of Danganronpa 2 would be characters in it but then hardly get any screen-time. This might also just be a personal thing, but when I played Danganronpa 2 back when it came out for the Vita I never really thought that Nanami was an actual person. I thought she was just an AI construct that Naegi or whoever made to try to help control the simulation with Monomi. So when the show has her appear I was like "oh! Okay, fair enough." But then the show decides to shove it down your throat that everyone loves this pure and perfect angel and you will too damn it!

Then in episode five they bring out Junko Enoshima, and gets the despair train rolling, when really she should have been there since episode one, and the story should have been about her seducing the class to Despair. When the show decides to get dark, does it ever decide to get dark. Episode seven when she forces the student council to take part in the killing game has to be one of the most dire and unsettling things I've seen in a good long while.

However there's the rest of it, Enoshima and Ikusaba kidnap Yukizome to force her into becoming their agent for despair (as a means to kidnap Nanami?), and it's one of the biggest eye-rolling moments. Somehow, without rhyme or reason, Enoshima and Ikusaba just happen to know how and where to insert needles into her brain to fully bring her to Despair (this is also tied in to making her watch the video of the student council killing each other). Around episode six or so Enoshima meets up with the real Mitarai and uses his talents for anime(?) to create a video that is so filled with despair it brainwashes people into committing suicide. In what realm or reality would that even remotely be possible? Sure anime can manipulate your emotions, but enough to cause the mass suicides of the entire Reserve Course (I may be mis-remembering, but weren't there well over five-hundred in the Reserve Course? I wanted to say the deaths of thousands, but that seems dramatic).

The stuff with Enoshima and Kamukura was never particularly interesting to watch, and I feel was a massive missed opportunity. Kamukura was built up so much in Danganronpa 2 and in the scenes he shows up in in Ultra Despair Girls, and the fact they did basically nothing with him is a shame. There was just a bit too much fluff and filler in Side Despair, I'm not saying it should've just been an adaptation of Danganronpa Zero, but they could've used some of the material from that book. Hell they could've made every episode be about the individual students of Class 77 and had them get twisted by Enoshima, you know show them get corrupted and become evil. The way the show tells it, and is the canon way it happened is that Enoshima kidnapped Nanami and forced her to run through a death-maze that led to her getting viciously killed while making Class 77 watch. Seeing this happen, and apparently having the brainwashing anime spliced into the footage(?) causes the class to fall into despair. It was pathetic, and really just annoyed me at how slipshod the writing for this "Side" was.

Side Hope:

In the grand finale Side Hope both plotlines come together, Mitarai is going to use his brainwashing anime to make everyone on earth become slaves to Hope. Except it doesn't happen, Naegi is running to try to stop him from using the anime, and when he gets there Hinata is there instead giving Mitarai a big peptalk about how you don't have to have talents to be happy. A fine message, your personal talents shouldn't define who you are as a person, but why is it Hinata telling him this? The two never met at any point in Side Despair, so why is Mitarai driven to tears and overcome with awe at some random schmo telling him "hey buddy, life's okay." Is it cause the rest of the class was there to basically give him a thumbs-up and say "yeah?" Then after they defuse the situation, all of Class 77 (and Hinata) hop on a boat and head back to Jabberwock Island with Mitarai. To live out their lives as wanted terrorist leaders. And this is a good thing, the anime assures us. They make a video to basically shake their fists at the Future Foundation for besting them at "their new killing game" cause otherwise the world will fall to pieces if it's revealed that the director of Future Foundation tried to brainwash the planet.

Side Hope really exemplifies the problems I have with a lot of the characterization (or lack thereof) in this whole affair. The show would've got by just fine if Asahina, Hagakure, and Togami just straight up weren't even there. They contribute next to nothing to the plot, and except for Kirigiri "dying" and Asahina's death fake-out (which lasted all of three minutes, it's teased at the end of an episode, and revealed to be a misdirect immediately next episode) they have no bearing on Naegi's plot at all. Like the rest of Class 77 I suspect the returning characters are simply there just for fan-service. They survived the games so they must be there for all the fans of the games, it's pointless. Just include some throwaway line about how they would be there, but instead Asahina, Togami and Hagakure are off helping out with some raid on a Despair base or some such. Or they could have had them be actual characters in their show instead of... fucking Bandai. Or the stupid confection girl and her blacksmith boyfriend who contribute fuck-all to the plot. Either have new characters and keep the returning cast to a minimum, or just make a show with the original characters, you can't do both, it just doesn't work.

There's a scene where Mikan is able to take a bit of the drugs that Kimura had and somehow synthesize an antidote to the poison that is killing Kirigiri. In the span of roughly ten minutes the Remnants: 1, got to Future Foundation HQ; 2, subdued however many Future Foundation agents are present on the whole island; 3, found dead Kimura; 4, found dying Kirigiri; 5, fought to the broadcast tower Mitarai plans to use his anime; 6, Bring him over to their side; 7, synthesize an antidote for a poison that has a 100% fatality rating. 8, Make their terrorist video saying that they're still out there. Then, after all is said and done, the cast of Danganronpa 2 have left for their island, and the rest of the gang... re-establishes Hope's Peak Academy. For some reason. Even though the whole rest of the series (including the second game, and some of the novels) go to great pains to explain why the school was basically a shithole that was doomed to fail. But Makoto Naegi is the headmaster so I guess it'll all work out.  Until the next main Danganronpa game that takes everything this anime did and throws it out the window. But they wouldn't do that. Right?

[hicyj]

some thoughts about the concert before my adrenaline slips away!

so this was the first time since january of 2017 that i was able to snag a very close spot! the previous 4 times that i was close, i was always on the very right so i always got a ton of my maknaes but for this concert, my friend and iwere on the left, AND GUESS WHO IS ON THE LEFT?? YOUNGJAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! i guess he was our designated spot cause he was in front of us soo much i still can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!! and jb was hella close too which on a normal day would kill me BUT YOUNGJAE!!!!!!!!! i did miss seeing my maknaes have fun in front of me but after 3 years i finally got my top two!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! jinyoung always casually walked right past us but that's fine.. prob would've died if he danced in front of me. he looked SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD with his permed hair and tanned self. everytime he brushed his hair back with his head i was like.. lemme brush it for u boo (i consistently swerve into jinyoung's lane at concerts. CONSISTENTLY.) we also had a bit of markson on our side! more so mark than jackson but i'm glad they came close a few times so we could see that muscle definition! protein mark was out in full force!

the crowd: initially a lot more subdued than the brooklyn concert but right around when the concert started transitioning from its insecurity theme to its security theme, the crowd livened up dramatically! i mentioned it but it really felt like 'just right' was the point that happened!

the performances: honestly maybe the best i've ever seen from them!? they were very sharp, rarely blocking the moves and even with a really long setlist of perf heavy songs they killed it! their energy as usual was infectious and i'm so glad they kept it up and gave us like 3 encores ;_; consummate performers!!! my favorite overall performances- 

just right - i was IN SHOCK that they did it and so i was v excited to see it after 3 years  

save you - i LOOOOOOVE this song and the choreo was excellent. when i realized it was going to be jb that'd be closest to us for the solo dance i literally had a kai/artificial love flashback and yelled an "OH NOOO" that was filled with both anticipation and dread bc i wasn't sure if i'd survive BUT I DID!

page - I LOVE THE CHOREO TO THIS SONG!!!!! i hope in the future they add it as an encore song so they can just run around and scream jackson's refrain with us!

come on - again REALLY fun choreo and they balanced having fun with being sharp with their moves!

teenager - honestly i just remember thinking they were just really hot lol. full on thirst mode lol

paradise - a fan favorite, i saw their backs for most of this one but still had fun screaming along!

hard carry remix - can't deny the power of this song on the audience!! it was def one of the energy peaks of the show!

one degree & sign were both unbelievable because of how good their vocals were. obviously have youngjae vision but he was PARTICULARLY excellent, jjp too!! the intensity of jaebeom's gaze during one degree was a LOT for me. it was what we would call smoldering lol

thank you & miracle were very sweet. i am normally completely unaffected by these songs but i surprised myself with the little well of love that was bubbling up in me during both of those songs!

fanservice wise (i can't guarantee these were directed to me so i'll just say these were all directed towards my general area.. it's only the last one that i'm absolutely sure was directed to me lol)

i don't really call to the members but jb was extra interactive with the audience tonight so i have a lot of fun clips of him on my phone.. i think we made eye contact quite a few times but again...you never know with the lights and stuff who they're actually looking at. he was really in it to win it with his cutie/sexy duality.

mark gave his trademark flirty grin and i'm always amazed how quickly he goes from cute!!! to HOT!!!!!! in person. it's different from jb cause mark stares u the hell down lol.

youngjae's transparent back of his shirt was a major plus.. esp cause that's all i saw when they moved to the extended stage

youngjae ALSO sprayed us with water and you can literally hear me screaming "OH NO!!!" right before he did it lmfaooooooooooo. but i saw the light and now realize it was Blessed water

HE ALSO DANCED IN FRONT OF US, GAVE ME A HEART, AND I JUST SCREAMED, DUCKED MY HEAD, AND FORGOT TO RETURN IT LMFAO.

ments thoughts:

when bambam bullied jb into choosing between jjp and jus2!!!! i thought bam wouldn't survive the rest of the night (LOL) but we chanted jb's name when everyone paired up without him and he was fine

speaking of pairing up...

jackjae.... are everything..............................

jjp and 2young were hella cute too!!

yugbam weren't close enough to me for me to see any moments but i look forward to watching every clip of this concert ever to find it

bambam was having the time of his life during this concert.. all his ments ("HEYYY LADIES") were hilarious and the security guards were all his fans by the end of the concert. his remixes of never ever and ssi were amazing!!

ALL THE MEMBERS' MENTS WERE IN ENGLISH!!! youngjae was visibly nervous bc he was right after jinyoung but he did SO well. i'm so grateful they took the time to learn and practice it. jinyoung said so himself by stating that he wanted to get better w/ english in order to expand globally and communicate more with us. it’s a pragmatic approach from a pragmatic individual but my immense appreciation is there nonetheless!!

jackson seemed particularly filled with emotion during the last ment. when said his "respect everyone, fear no one" line i was like AYYY YESS but at the same time i was like.. is that from a rick ross track???? lmao. he keeps saying he'll work harder and you know what- it's really paying off. his feature on rumble was by FAR the best he's ever sounded. keep working (as a solo artist and within your group!!) and we'll support you as gently and as constructively as possible!

they kept promising they'd be back next year and i would love for that to happen but i really hope they announce it farther in advance so that we can get filled venues!!!!!

there's more but i haven't rewatched the ments so i may edit this later!

other thoughts:

the unit stages were fun - nearly blacked out during youngjae's but of course i have ZERO audio for it cause of my ridic phone. 

amerithaikong went hard with the autotune but it's usually the most lit (i aged 30 years typing that) part of the concert lol 

sharpest choreo award definitely goes to i am me! they were ON IT!

the last chorus of eclipse when they're on their knees had me really emotional ughhhh. i could feel them putting everything into that move.

THE DENIM OUTFITS!!!! I CAN'T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE ULTIMATE BOYFRIEND LOOK I LITERALLY ASCENDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (when u know parasocial relationships can only be reasonably healthy if you keep your distance but then they GO AND WEAR BOYFRIEND LOOKS WHAT ARE U SUPPOSED TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

SO MANY ENCORES!!!!!! gotta be honest i think shopping mall is the antithesis of everything i love so when they were like- ANOTHER SONG?? i was like YESSSSS!!! but then bam said shopping mall and i was like damn ok.... i guess!!!!! LOL. but we got fly remix (which was awesome!!!), go higher, and a repeat of come on!!

i'm just so happy and so grateful (the word of the day!!) to have seen them again so close. i won't forget this experience <33

[serahne]

ive been seeing a lot of stuff saying how problematic and gross dr3 was but no actual descriptions, and since your analysis is thorough, evidenced, and trustworthy, i was hoping you could explain why dr3 is so taboo? thank you if you do!

So much pressure, haha. Well, my main reason for loathing dr3 is the terrible writing, the retcons, the plotholes, the characterizations of characters, the plot in general that runs on stupid, so not exactly the ‘problematic part’.

However, as always when writers didn’t care that much about writing something that makes sense, they didn’t care either about the subtext. That is to say, things that aren’t explicited by the plot or the characters, but are there not matter how you look at it. For a funny exemple of text VS subtext, I already made a semi-serious argument about Nanami being a sociopath in the anime.

As for the rest, I’m scared that I’m going to let my years in sociology take over…

             - The anime supports an ultra-liberal point of view when it comes to society. Which is a surprise, considering that dr1 and especially sdr2 were really clever at showing that human being’s behaviour has nothing do with some kind of ‘human nature’, and people just react to their environnement they are put in and the one they grew up in. This is not something revolutionnary, but it still asks the question of someone’s responsability in their own acts, and the difficulty to become someone you want to be despite the society putting you in a case.

Hope’s Peak treats his Students as Ultimates ( or Reserve Course ), and not as human beings, totally neglecting to deal with their complicated past, or their particularities. And the anime, by making the whole sdr2 classe completely cartoon-ish, by erasing these particularities ( everyone becomes despair for the same reason, none of their past is ever brought up… ) and by re-opening Hope’s Peak Academy at the end, the anime promotes the idea that it’s a good way to see things. That people being defined by the fact that they are talented is enough.

             - More generally, the anime is a lot more conservative. The entire blame of the Tragedy is put on Junko, as if nothing bad would have ever happened without her coming to Hope’s Peak. Which is ridiculous, or Junko is just the match that lights up the oil that has been poured all over Hope’s Peak for years. She is the unstoppable force meeting a still object. She makes the thing goes boom, but she wouldn’t have succeed without the state of corruption Hope’s Peak was in.

Hi, girl you are literally describing any system where elites dominate the society. Eventually people who managed to take the ‘social’ elevator wants to keep their position and we assist to a elite reproduction, where elites are the ones who runs the systems and chose themselves the next generation of elites - which, again, encourages the corruption.

Going back to the subject of Hope’s Peak, the school was doomed, no matter what. The opening of the Reserve Course was probably a last try to sustain the elitist system from Hope’s Peak, but it blew up in their face. They created their fate, and they tried to avoid it by playing God, by creating Kamukura ( which is pretty funny, by the way : trying to go back to the way things were at the beginning by creating another ‘Hope’, as if themselves realized that something had been lost in the process ).

The anime is infuriating by trying to say that Hope’s Peak is the ‘good guy’ defeated by the ‘bad’ guy, Junko, and it’s emphazised by the ‘happy end’ where Naegi, elite from Hope’s Peak and FF, and Kirigiri, elite from Hope’s Peak and FF decides to re-open the school. Which the anime is trying to tell us is an happy ending. But will eventually fall exactly the same way, realistically.

           - The anime doesn’t recognize opression. This one annoys me a lot. I mean, yes, we kinda have Hinata and Natsumi being sad that they are in the Reserve Course Student, but we have nothing about the systemical opression that RCS goes through. Their motivations are always personnal ones ( Hajime wants to be proud of himself and to be Chiaki’s friend, Natsumi wants to be with her brother ) and almost… irrationnal. Again and again, characters who are portrayed as the ‘wise ones’ like Chiaki and Chisa - and who, unfortunately, are themselves opressors - claims that there is nothing bad with being a RCS, that it’s actually even better, and that it gives them so much freedom. Which is basically like someone being super wealthy talking to a homeless person in the street ‘damn, but at least you don’t have to work, you’re free to do whatever you want !’. Sure, jan.

Even when Hinata confronts Juzo and he is violently treated, we are always reminded that the Main Course is actually kind and nice, and caring and without any class prejudice, for the only reason he was rough with Hinata was for his own good, to keep him away from the building.

I’m going to make a point about sexism later, so I won’t stay on this one for too long, but Nanami being the Ultimate Gamer is problematic in itself, since we never get any hint of sexism being directed at her. In a similar way that Yuri On Ice! is a world without homophobia so straight fangirls won’t need to reflect on their behaviour in real life, Nanami lives in a ‘world without sexism’ where she obviously never met an annoying guy ever, who would put her down because of her talent. Fetishizing a cute gamer girl is okay, targetting the main audience for the anime ( straight gamer guys ) and trying to make them think about their behaviour in real life ? Nuh-uh.

        - Talking of homophobia, the way the anime treats it is… terrible. Everyone rejoiced when Sakakura was confirmed as gay but… at the end of the day, he was forcibly outed as supreme humiliation, and then went right for the ‘bury the gays’ trope. It’s not respectful. It’s not positive representation. It’s lame. Obviously, Komaeda and Tsumiki were given a shitty treatment too, with the anime going to hell and back to erase their sexuality/canon feelings. Komaeda being apparently… turned on by Hope ( which makes me think that the writers may have read too much fanfictions from the old fandom ), and Tsumiki only falling for Junko as a result of brainwashing ( when her ‘normal self’ would have been so much cuter with the Imposter, right ? ).

They also turned the little joke from the Twilight Syndrom Murder Case into… Sato being yandere for Mahiru I guess ? Ugh. All that while force-feeding literally any straight couples they could. In 24 episodes where we are supposed to get a plot somewhere we have 8 straight couples being teased. None of them being even remotely well-written (Ruruka and Izayoi is at least interesting but that’s it). The only gay couple being given some attention is Tokomaru in one (1) episode.

        - Finally, sexism and misogyny. Something that I’m honestly really tired of when it comes to Danganronpa, but that has never peaked as much as in dr3. where do I start off ? Maybe with the terrible treatment of Mikan someone who has been canonically emotionally and sexually abused and being turned into a joke, before being sexually humiliated and used for fanservice, again and again. Or the way female characters can fall into the ‘good girl category’, the category where girls have rosy cheeks, no personnality, and are devoted to their man, and dies for their character development because that’s what good girls do. These girls have to be very good-looking but absolutely unaware of it, for fetishized innocence and childish attitude is cute, even in a grown-up adult. Obviously

Obviously at the moment where they are aware that they are good looking, they become “bad girls’ who manipulates men, aren’t good waifus, and deserves to die, too, of course, but alone and in despair because how dare these girls having personalities and their own agendas ? Ruruka and Junko falls into these categories.

And uh… other females characters don’t really exist. Peko becomes a poor little thing for Fuyuhiko to protect, Sonia seems to give absolutely no thought to her kingdom, Ibuki is a comic relief, Mahiru lost all her temper. Asahina is bicycle for Naegi, I guess. They are 100% irrelevant for the plot, for only men are allowed to further it in any way.