#duel masters cartoon

[goldstarknight]

Today I want to talk about Duel Masters. Specifically: The Duel Masters anime from the early 2000s.

For those who don't know: Duel Masters is kind of the little brother of Magic: The Gathering. It was also made by Hasbro and there is a lot of fascinating history between the games. You can listen to Maro talk about it here.

The thing about the anime is that it is a parody dub that gets more unhinged as it goes on. Feels like watching an abridged series on YouTube.

For some reason the official localization team was allowed to do a parody dub instead of a faithful adaptation that takes itself way too seriously for its own good. As a result the official version of the English Duel Masters dub (which was shown on childrens' TV programs in the early 2000s!) is closer to Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged than Yu-Gi-Oh! (which would be the most obvious comparison).

I mean it: they didn't just go for some light dialogue changes. No, they cut tedious, tropey dialogue, inserted pop-culture references, added some 4th-wall breaking jokes about common tropes in shows like this and sometimes even heavily edited the footage for comedic effect. There is a scene where they put a bad disco filter over the video and make a character sing karaoke. Seriously, I can't convey how weird this gets at times. The only thing separating it from an abridged series you'd find on YouTube in the 2010s is probably the lack of swearwords. And that's not really the kind of thing you'd miss anyway.

It gets even more unhinged in the final season. I assume they knew the English version wouldn't be continued since the TCG failed to catch on in the west, so they just went all out. There is a scene pretty late into the series where two characters are dueling and one of them summons a creature, but the wrong summoning animation plays. The characters then complain about the editor they hired on Craigslist. Again: this was meant for children's television. Not the internet.

A lot of jokes went way over my head as a child and I took it super seriously, but rewatching it with a friend last year had me howling with laughter at times. Maybe it's not your sense of humor, but if you like silly anime parodies, I urge you to check it out.

Also, if you speak German, I recommend you watch that version. The localization team did a great job of adapting the jokes and the voice actors really leaned into it. Can't speak for other European versions, but maybe there is something there too. :D

Here is a random assortment of my favourite characters to pay tribute and hopefully whet your appetite:

First we have best girl Mimi, Kokujo, an edgelord and Matrix-aficionado and Jimmy Three-Horns from Iowa.

Yumama, who had her name changed from Yu Fua just so the dub could make "yo momma" jokes and EXTREME BUCKETMAN.

Knight, one of the most pathetic mentor figures I have seen in all of anime (I love him for it) and Dr. Root with his weird crow-mouth (peak or rather "beak" character design).

And finally Tom & Stu (might be the same guy, depending on the localization).

Alright, got that off my chest. Hope this was interesting to you. :)

I usually stick to posting (pixel) art, but I really wanted to share this with the world.

[sepulchrypha]

A halo in darkness, reigned around the wrist--an authority wielded over one's opposition, her stratagem sharper than any weapon.

[searay-artist]

Contributing fanart, one dead fandom at the time

[sonicasura]

Martin Mystery

Chaotic

Slugterra

Street Sharks

Kaijudo Rise of the Duel Masters

Have fun!

[elijones94]

💥 Next to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kit Fisto is my favorite Jedi Master. The “Lair of Grievous” episode of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” is among my favorites episodes in the animated series. After witnessing the death of his former Padawan, Nabdar Vebb, Fisto duels General Grievous (my favorite “Star Wars” villain). It’s interesting that Kit Fisto can easily take on Grievous in a lightsaber duel. 🌊

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R-t9GlT9qmk&pp=ygUda2l0IGZpc3RvIHZzIGdlbmVyYWwgZ3JpZXZvdXM%3D

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uRnrAOOE05A&pp=ygUda2l0IGZpc3RvIHZzIGdlbmVyYWwgZ3JpZXZvdXM%3D

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f_4RWzwljl4&pp=ygUda2l0IGZpc3RvIHZzIGdlbmVyYWwgZ3JpZXZvdXM%3D

[destiny-in-the-universe]

remember that angst idea? yeah- I decided to share it anyway!

So, because I made a c.AI bot for my own personal uses- I was hit with a very wild idea of my own design… it’s sort of, well, set in the past using an alternate universe. The starring main duo are the First Ninja who will be getting a name soon and Human! Nomicon (for the sake of the au, they’re brothers! whether this is ‘canon’ to my lore is up for debate) - there is also an alternative version with Rei Izumi but we’ll talk about that one separately!

Here’s honestly my thoughts for the entire AU- (buckle in and hold on to your seatbelt, y’all! This one’s going to be a doozy-)

🗡️ The First Ninja and Nomi are the sole survivors of the Norisu Clan. Ever since the demise of their siblings- they have attempted to continue tradition. The First Ninja is now the sole protector of Norrisville (even though the Sorcerer has been dealt with, he can’t find it in himself to stop-). On the other hand, Nomi is still young and becomes a scribe but he also has ninja training

🗡️ Nomi becomes more reserved than he was previously. He can’t bring himself not to focus on his own studies

🗡️ The First Ninja also begins to act differently- (he still remembers the destruction and the fire, the screams as he was forced to helplessly watch)

🗡️ Somewhere down the line, Finja and Nomi decide to begin working on the NinjaNomicon - to create a tome to store the teachings and wisdom of the Ninja; for the future holder of the mantle

🗡️ Unfortunately- someone else becomes power-hungry and Finja is sent out to deal with the problem, undergoing a mission while Nomi continues staying in Norrisville but things inevitably… go south

🗡️ Due to still cartoon-based logic- and because this is angst- the Sorcerer manages to be freed from his prison and captures the First Ninja. He holds him hostage inside the depths of an underground cave, determined to make him suffer before killing him

🗡️ One of Finja’s allies manages to report to Nomi who immediately jumps ship at rescuing his brother- no matter what happens, Nomi is not about to let his brother die at the hands of the Sorcerer

🗡️ After a lot of searching- Nomi manages to find the cave and sneaks inside, startled to see his older brother weakened and bound by enchanted chains. (He does not take this well, at all-)

🗡️ Having learned magic, Nomi is desperate to cast a counter-spell but before he can fully free his brother- the Sorcerer and Nomi are now locked in a duel. The problem is Nomi’s not mastered his abilities yet- as he is a teenager and still learning

🗡️ Nomi is slowly weakening against the Sorcerer but he’s fueled by the determination to protect his brother and in a sudden act of rage- he manages to knock the Sorcerer back and due to the power of ‘I said so’ - the Sorcerer is sealed away back in his prison but Nomi is exhausted and barely manages to stay upright

🗡️ Unfortunately, Finja is also immensely weak- bruised and battered- and they hardly have the energy to do much. I’m going to ignore what actually happened with the c.AI and say either Rei shows up to get them out of there before they inevitably pass out or Nomi uses the last bit of his strength to escape the cave with Finja

🗡️ I’m not entirely sure what happens after this but let’s just say that the recovery period happens and eventually they manage to complete the NinjaNomicon and well, I do have a bad ending version for this because I’m mean but at the same time, if things play out well, everything goes back to normal

This is still being fleshed out! Nothing is concrete for the time being! I might honestly turn this into yet another fanfiction- I have constant brainrot and far too many WIP’s this is a problem, holy shit

This is for my own angst reasons

[comshipbracket]

Antis DNI

Comship Bracket 2 Round 1!

Round 1 is split up into 6 Segments, which are split into 3 smaller polls within them! These will be posted when I am able, with a 6-day voting time limit. Look out for your ships! Propaganda is both welcome AND encouraged, whether through the form of essays, art, fanfiction recommendations, or otherwise, All propaganda will be reblogged.

Round 1 Segment 1

Poll 1: Winterkov (The Winter King x Simon Petrikov), Fionna and Cake VS Beluz (Emperor Belos x Luz Noceda), The Owl House

Poll 2: ZorcRyou (Ryou Bakura x Zorc Necrophades), Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters VS Jodihan (Jodio Joestar x Rohan Kishibe), Jojo's Bizzare Adventure

Poll 3: Lammis x Boxxo, Reborn as a Vending Machine I Now Wander The Dungeon VS Coffincest (Ashley Graves x Andrew Graves), The Coffin of Andy and Leyley

Round 1 Segment 2

Poll 1: Blossom Utonium x Father, Cartoon Network: Fusionfall VS Paperhat (Dr. Flug x Black Hat), Villainous

Poll 2: Reimob (Reigen Arataka x Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama), Mob Psycho 100 VS Ganonzelink (Ganondorf x Princess Zelda x Link), the Legend of Zelda

Poll 3: Eugarian (Eugene Fitzherbert x Varian), Tangled The Series VS T.K.O x K.O, O.K. K.O. Let's Be Heroes

Round 1 Segment 3

Poll 1: Yaeona (Yae Miko x Diona Kätzlein), Genshin Impact VS KuroWolf (Lord Kuro x Wolf/Sekiro), Sekiro

Poll 2: Stridercest (Dave Strider x Dirk Strider), Homestuck VS Itacest (North Italy/Veneziano x South Italy/Romano), Hetalia

Poll 3: MegaStar (Megatron x Starscream), Transformers VS Chosenshipping (Blue [F] x Silver), Pokémon SPECIAL/Pokémon Adventures

Round 1 Segment 4

Poll 1: SayoHina (Sayo Hikawa x Hina Hikawa), Bandori BanG Dream! Girls Band Party VS Soushin (Sou Hiyori x Shin Tsukimi), Your Turn To Die

Poll 2: Niffany (Tiffany Valentine x Nica Pierce), Chucky VS Seymorin (Seymour Krelborn x Orin Scrivello), Little Shop of Horrors

Poll 3: Cletus Delroy Montfort DeMontblanc Bigglesworth Spuckler x Mary Wrestlemania Spuckler, The Simpsons VS Michael Kenmore x John Sheppard, Stargate Atlantis

Round 1 Segment 5

Poll 1: Despaircest (Junko Enoshima x Mukuro Ikusaba), Danganronpa VS SasoDei (Sasori x Deidara), Naruto

Poll 2: Shroudcest (Idia Shroud x Ortho Shroud), Twisted Wonderland VS Lapptex (Lappland x Texas), Arknights

Poll 3: Velphi (Velvet Crowe and Laphicet), Tales of Berseria VS Makoyuma (Makoto Kagutsuchi x Yuma Kokohead), Master Detective Archives: Raincode

Round 1 Segment 6

Poll 1: Rickorty (Rick Sanchez x Morty Smith), Rick and Morty VS Pinecest (Dipper Pines x Mabel Pines), Gravity Falls

Poll 2: Dottoscara (Il Dottore x Scaramouche), Genshin Impact VS Batjokes (Batman/Bruce Wayne x The Joker), DC

Poll 3: Moriarthree (Louis James Moriarty x William James Moriarty x Albert James Moriarty), Moriarty the Patriot VS Snow x White, Promise of Wizard/MahoYaku

This is the line-up for round 1, let's see who you all vote for to move forward into Round 2! Remember, propaganda is encouraged! Have fun voting, everyone! Our inbox is also open for propaganda - Mod Satou (She/Her Only)

[rpking99]

MASTER FRANCHISE LIST

This post has multiple lists. Broken down by medium (Anime, cartoon, ecetra) and in each Medium having their own muse lists. Pictures are with them to give visual representation

COMICS

DC

Batman

Titans

Justice League

MARVEL

Spider-Man

X-Men

Avengers

ANIME

Digimon Digital Monsters

Digimon Humans (Adventure, Adventure 02, Tamers, Frontier, Savers, Xross Wars, Digimon Video Games)

Dragon Ball (OG Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Dragon Ball Xenoverse)

Yu-Gi-Oh Humans (Duel Monsters, GX, 5Ds, ZeXal, Arc-V, VRAINS)

Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Spirits

Naruto

Ecchi Anime (Kill La Kill, Panty And Stocking, Rosario Vampire, Monster Musume, Danmachi, My Dress Up Darling)

Misc Anime (SSSS Gridman, SSSS Dynazenon, SpyXFamily, Ms Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, One Punch Man, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Bakugan, Dinosaur King)

CARTOONS

RWBY

Action 1 (Ben 10, Danny Phantom)

Action 2 (Totally Spies, Kim Possible, Powerpuff Girls, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Incredibles, Xiaolin Showdown, Kung Fu Panda)

Transformers (G1, Beast Wars, Robots In Disguise 2001, Cybertron, Animated, Aligned, Kotobokia)

Comedy 1 (Helluva Boss, Hazbin Hotel, Scott Pilgram, Scooby Doo, Loony Tunes)

Comedy 2 (Disney, Gravity Falls, Total Drama, Hotel Transylvania, Road To Eldarado, Fosters Home For Imaginary Friends, Who Framed Rogger Rabbit, Addams Family)

VIDEO GAMES

Persona Part 1 (Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona Arena Ultimax, Persona Dancing)

Persona Part 2 (Persona 5, Persona 5 Strikers, Persona 5 OC)

Megaman (Classic, Zero, Battle Network, Starforce)

Sonic

Nintendo (Metroid, Mario, Starfox, Bayonetta, Wii-Fit)

Action/Fighting Games (Mortal Kombat, Devil May Cry, FNAF, Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, Lolipop Chainsaw, Among Us, Tomb Raider)

RPG Games (Nier, Nier Automatica, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, .Hack//GU, Undertale)

Pokémon Part 1 (Trainers)

Pokemon Part 2 (Rich gals, Rangers, smart gals and professors)

Pokemon Part 3 (Gym Leaders, Elite 4, Champion)

Pokemon Part 4 (Evil Team)

OTHER

Tokusatsu Part 1 (Power Rangers, Super Sentai, Ultraman)

Tokusatsu Part 2 (Kamen Rider)

Horror (Nightmare On Elm Street, Friday 13th, Halloween, The Ring, Predator, Alien)

V-Tuber

Hentai (Kuroinu, Zone, Taimanin)

OC

Total Muses: 684

[popculturebuffet]

Okay, I just looked back at that ask on Hasbro cartoons and realized there's some shows not discussed that were Hub Network animated originals (since they weren't from Hasbro so I don't blame the other person who asked about them). I know you already talked about Dan Vs in that ask as a bonus so I won't bring that up here. So, favorite character from the following Hub Network/Discovery Family original cartoons outside of Hasbro and Dan Vs: The Adventures of Chuck and Friends, The Twisted Whiskers Show, Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures, Secret Millionaires Club, Care Bears Welcome to Care-a-Lot, Kaijudo, Blazing Team Masters of Yo Kwon Do, and Hanazuki: Full of Treasures?

I haven't seen pretty much.. all of these? I only really payed attention to mlp and dan vs and watched bits of GI Joe Renedgades and Transformers Prime. The one exception is Kaijudo which I still have cards for I bought later, as I fucking love the duel masters card game and gba games but kaijudo is cheaper despite slowly wittling away in avaliablity due to being long discontinued. None of these just.. intrested me at all. That also includes she zow which you forgot in the initial ask but emailed me as it's premise wasn't great at a time I was finding out trans people both existed and had it rough (It was 2010 and all. thank you degrassi).

Kaijudo though I feel is underated, an intresting monster taming show with a good hook: five civilizations in conflict with each other (Fire, Nature, Darkness, Light and Water), all building on the great designs from the original game and some newcomers, are in a dimension next to ours and a secret order of duel masters can summon them, with our heroes less taming monsters and more making friends with them, slowly showing the other duel masters forming bonds isn't a weakness in a way that dosen't feel overblown: it makes sense to actaully bond with a creature you summon constnatly especailly when most of them are intellgent beings in their own right. It had nice style, twists and was sadly short lived.

[animanga-bc-tournament]

THE TOONAMI CARTOON NETWORK/KIDS’ WB ERA (1997-2008) ANIME SMACKDOWN WILL SOON COMMENCE!!

In this tournament we will determine which series that aired on the Toonami block from 1997-2008 that tumblr users enjoyed the most. The one you always made sure to watch or that left the biggest impression on you. And if you didn’t watch Toonami, then vote for the series you liked the best! When vote then  vote in the name of nostalgia over what series you think is best *today*. 

How was each series chosen? 

I sourced the anime included in the bracket based on the well documented Wikipedia page for Toonami. However in order to keep the bracket manageable and even the playing field some decision were made: 

Pokemon, Dragon Ball, Cardcaptors, Sailor Moon, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh [GX], and Naruto are excluded due to their overwhelming popularity, so to even the field Yuyu Hakusho will be the only series with its high level of international fame to participate. These series will be included in another bracket [TBA]. However I chose to keep Dragon Ball GT due to how polarizing it was among fans.

For the sake of simplicity series that are in some way chronologically connected will go under the same entry. For example: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki, Tenchin Universe, and Tenchi in Tokyo are entered together Tenchi Muyo! in the bracket. Zoids: New Century and Zoids: Chaotic Century are entered together as Zoids. Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Enegron, and Transformers: Cybertron are entered together as Transformers Trilogy. Gundam is excluded from this ruling as just about every entry are stand alone stories or exist within separate canons. 

Japanese-international co-productions will be in a bracket of its own [TBA]. However an exception will be made for Voltron, G-Force, and Robotech. While technically considered adaptions because of the reworked scripts and footage, they’re re-broadcasts of early attempts at anime distribution in the US, rather than an attempt at making something for an audience who are already familiar with/fans of anime. The Transformers trilogy is also exempt from this ruling despite being produced by Hasbro as I view them the same as a Bandai produced anime.

 Hamtaro is not seeded but is in fact going up against G-Force: Guardians of Space. (I accidentally wiped the whole bracket 3 separate times while making it and i am not redoing it at this time, sorry)

Every series in the bracket are listed below the cut!

Voltron (An adaption of Beast King Go-Lion with some episodes using footage from Armored Fleet Dairugger)

G-Force: Guardians of Space (An adaption of Science Team Gatchaman)

Robotech (a frankensteined version of The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada)

Ronin Warrios (Known as Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers in Japan)

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

Tenchi Muyo! (Tenchi Muyo: Ryo-Ohki, Tenchi Universe, and Tenchi in Tokyo all go under this entry)

Blue Submarine no. 6 (1998 OVA)

Outlaw Star

The Big O 

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)

Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team

Zoids (Zoids New Century and Zoids Chaotic Century both go under this entry)

Gundam 0080 War in The Pocket

Hamtaro

Mobile Fighter G Gundam

.hack //sign

Yuyu Hakusho

Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier (2001)

Superior Defender Gundam Force (SD Gundam)

Dragon Ball GT

Duel Masters

Astro Boy (2003)

Transformers trilogy (Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon, and Transformers: Cybertron all go under this entry)

Gundam SEED

Rave Master

Zatch Bell!

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo

MÄR

Prince of Tennis

Mega Man Star Force

Bakugan 

Blue Dragon

[kitoral]

Your original illustrations are really fantastic. I dig the colors and the anime girls. I feel like I resonate with them well, so I am curious about what creatively influences you. Like... Why do you color as you do? Why are your illustrations of anime girls? What do you think of when illustrating? Are there artists, pieces of media, or events in your life that inspire your stylings? Sorry if that seems like a lot or if I'm being intrusive! I just really want to know why your art is the way it is, but I feel that if I ask that so simply, I may not receive an answer with nuance, which is what I'm hoping for.

no worries about being intrusive, if anything, i appreciate the ask!

there's no clear-cut answer for a lot of these, but i'll try to articulate as much as much as possible. i started drawing from a very young age (~5 or so), and my preference was always cartoons/games/anime. i always enjoyed heavy stylization - not that i disliked realism, it just felt as if i had already seen so much of it before? and this isn't to discredit such works, just that they werent something i personally gravitated towards.

as i got older, i realized i wanted to pursue my goal of becoming an artist. things started to change when i entered college, though. it's a choice i dont regret, but i often felt a bit lost in comparison to my peers - because i didnt really draw [or study/learn] the way they did. i still struggle with insecurities regarding technical skill or talent because of this - and i actually stopped drawing for a year or so after i graduated. i kept thinking "its just another anime style anyways." (which is discrediting in and of itself, as all art has value regardless of how subjective it may be).

basically, i did a lot of soul searching - and the reasons i wanted to draw started to resurface. i loved drawing incredibly cute, yet somewhat outlandish looking characters. of course there's a sense of nostalgia with this, but i always preferred the art used for older anime (90s and early-mid 2000s specifically). i'm also really into hobbyani, which is basically hobby/kids media (precure, duel masters, beyblade, etc). i love the sense of experimentation that comes from designers who intentionally market stuff to a broader audience within restrictions, if that makes sense? it just seems to resonate with me.

i'm also heavily into old tech/computer graphics. a big example of this is the old (and still running!) chat program known as worldsplayer. i discovered it about a decade ago, and while a lot of people found it ominous or strange, it felt... comfortable to me. reminded me a lot of the stuff i used to play as a kid, but beyond that, a sense of style/texture i wanted to replicate in my artwork.

(as a sidenote: i actually run a sideblog dedicated to old chatroom media called digitalspacetraveler!)

as for specific inspirations/artists? i love the traditional sketchiness of van gogh, rembrandt, etc. a lot of classical painters during the renaissance era + beyond come to mind. for more modern artists, id say yoshitoshi abe, shigenobu matsumoto (duel masters mangaka), yoshihiko umakoshi (doremi, heartcatch precure, casshern sins), hajime ueda, and a plethora of artists on tumblr/pixiv/twitter.

basically, i love the idea of combining ridiculous amounts of texture with otherwise cutesy and/or 'smooth' styles, such as those found in anime/manga. the end goal is pretty different from the initial sketch, but that's what makes it fun to me. mimicking traditional mediums while also incorporating digital processing, overlays, and filters!

[jimclassicstoycollection]

Masters of the Universe

Retro Play

“Buzzsaw” Hordak

by Mattel (2021)

Hordak is the main villain of She-Ra, and former master of Skeletor.

Hordak is the leader of the The Horde, and he’s bat/skull/cyborg-monster, and I’m not entirely sure how else to describe him.

He’s wearing his classic body armor, with the Horde crest on the breast plate, boots and arm band. The standard MOTU fury undies, and he’s got some decent articulation, though it is slightly hindered by the plastic cape.

Hordak comes with himself, classic crossbow, alternate head of him smiling, an grabby hand (L), and two types of yellow, plastic buzzsaws for the action feature.

Watch what you say in front of Hordak, he’s got his smackin’ hand ready.

He holds his crossbow well enough. It doesn’t really fire anything, or at least what does fire doesn’t actually go anywhere since it’s all attached together.

Hordak comes with two different type of duel-bladed buzz saws, however only one can fit with his chest cavety at any given time.

Once you press the button which is hidden behind Hordak’s cape he launches them.It’s a neat feature, and in the old She-Ra cartoon Hordak (being a cyborg) had all these crazy kind of attack gimmicks like that.

Hordak with his nemesis She-Ra.

And his former pupil, Skeletor.

Okay, let’s fight.

[go-see-a-starwar]

The vitriol against Hayden and his portrayal of Anakin was so strong that when the Clone Wars cartoon was developed, Hayden wasn’t even offered a chance to reprise the role and Anakin’s personality was changed to bear little resemblance to his version. A voice actor who sounded almost nothing like Hayden was hired and specifically directed to act like an entirely different character. Even George Lucas, who strongly defended Hayden’s performance during the prequels, agreed to making Clone Wars Anakin a Han Solo-esque hero with more ‘bravado’ and ‘swagger’.

Excerpt of Matt Lanter’s interview from Star Wars Insider

Rather than having an animated character that complimented the live action portrayal, TCW Anakin ended up almost at odds with Prequel Anakin, with plenty of people preferring the more ‘charismatic’ animated version over the ‘whiny’, ‘bratty’ movie version.

While Obi-Wan Kenobi helped show Hayden is and always was a far better Anakin than he got credit for, his part was based in his prequels performance and didn’t give him much chance to expand on his version of the character. He was still very much ‘bratty’ Anakin.

But in episode 5 of Ahsoka, Hayden finally gets to incorporate the "dueling" Anakins of the Prequels and TCW together while adding some all new facets. During his 10 or so minutes of screen time we get the full spectrum of who Anakin Skywalker is: he’s a wise force spirit with a smartass streak like his masters before him, he’s a cool, confident, loyalty-inspiring war-time general, he’s a reluctant but caring mentor (with a side of lovingly jerky big brother) to teen Ahsoka, he’s a conflicted soul constantly teetering on the edge of the dark side, and when he tips over he’s imposing and frightening and raw.

Hayden cycles through all these sides of Anakin/Vader with ease, often shifting multiple times in a single scene. His acting strengths have always been in his facial expressions and physicality, and you can see exactly what "stage" of Anakin/Vader he's in by looking at his face and posture. In his final scene of the episode, with just his expressions, we watch the fury and rage of Vader morph into the shame and sadness of Anakin, before he seems to release it all and take on a look of peace and balance, the things Jedi are always striving for but that Anakin could never achieve when he was alive. He finishes off with a soft prideful smile that his padawan has passed this final lesson, a look that feels somewhat more TCW Ani than Prequels Ani, but also feels like a whole new side we haven’t seen.

Twenty years ago Hayden was universally panned by critics and fans for his Anakin, his performance downplayed and half-way discarded by the franchise itself. Now he’s come in two years in a row and been the highlight of two major series, adding depth and range to Anakin/Vader that makes the character all the more iconic and makes it clear it’s his character. His power was, indeed, underestimated.

I don’t know if it can be properly conveyed how much shit was thrown Hayden’s way when his prequel movies came out. Just a metric fuckton of crap. After AOTC (and only in his very early 20s) he was swiftly made the Star Wars pariah, and ROTS did little to assuage that. A lot of the dissatisfaction with the prequels somehow fell on him, both his turns as Anakin got Razzie “Awards”, his name became synonymous with bad, wooden acting.

Over the years the opinion of his performance shifted to Hayden being an unfortunate victim of George Lucas' writing and directing, saddled with lines no actor could make work. But even that opinion still largely discounted Hayden's acting ability.

For him to come back after 17 years to the role he got so much flack for, have his big scene show not even half of his face (and have that face caked in makeup and prosthetic), have his voice distorted, and still deliver the way he did? Still convey all the rage and evil and arrogance but also pain and sadness within Vader? Show everyone this is why he landed the role two decades ago, because he can be frightening and vulnerable and devastating even with just one eye and the corner of his mouth visible? Show everyone he is Anakin/Vader, and make everyone consider he was good all along? Incredible, amazing, the chosen one indeed. Thanks Deborah Chow and Ewan for making this show, thank you Hayden for coming back.

[dasmuggler]

An Appointment in Samarra• for a Ninja.

In the wake of double failed raid and attempted escape from Cobra Island II•, Storm-Shadow learns and pays the penalty for betraying Cobra Command- with the Baroness to collect in the penultimate page to Marvel Comics’ G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero #47, “Sea Duel”.

With action filled scenes and the introduction of then new Joes Beach-Head & Wetsuit and the one time only use of the G. I. Joe Devilfish fast attack boats and Cobra Hydro-Sleds, odds are Nobody was expecting THIS scene to happen. Hopefully, Larry Hama never received hate mail from the more... emotionally invested Joe fans when they got to this point of the story.•

(To be fair, this issue came soon after Marvel Age Magazine #34 came out where, in an interview, Larry revealed that Four popular characters would die’, adding that they were characters fans ‘really liked’, and, the kicker, that there would be ‘no resurrections or come backs’ for these characters.•)

For the older fans, they would’ve been more pragmatic about Storm-Shadow’s fate, but given that Hasbro perceived that kids watched the cartoon and bought the action figures, odds are the younger fans were shocked at Storm-Shadow’s fate and most likely hated the Baroness.

Still, for the period Tomasiburo Arashikage was in the afterlife, the reason for his fate would be hammered home in the very next issue•. Oh, joy. Lets really twist the knife into the fandom.

Still, it was a reminder that war is Not a game and the Grim Reaper can come at any point for any person, regardless how high a fan following he may have.

• An Appointment in Samarra is a 1934 short story/folk tale by John O’Hara of a tale narrated by the Grim Reaper, with the moral being that nobody escapes death.

As Thanos of Titan would say, “I am inevitable.”

• The objective of Storm-Shadow’s and Snake-Eyes’ raid was to secure payback on Zartan for killing the Hard Master of the Arashikage Ninja Clan- that was a washout, as was the pair’s plans to escape Cobra Island via air or sea.

Thankfully for Snake-Eyes, Hawk subscribed to the James Tiberius Kirk doctrine, regardless what a Coastie like Cutter may think or say about it.

(Like Dr. Venom and Firefly, I’ve a long memory.)

• No Joke- its said Chris Claremont and John Byrne got flak from X-Men fans for killing off Jean Grey back in X-Men #137; Frank Miller caught fire from overzealous Daredevil fans when he had Elektra killed by Bullseye in Daredevil #181 (with the greenlight of then DD Editor Denny O’Neil; the death of Jean Grey was asked by then Marvel EIC Jim Shooter, citing that Jean Grey be made to face the consequences of her actions as Dark Phoenix; see Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe, 2012 Harper Perennial.)

• Those characters apparently meant Storm-Shadow, Billy & Candy (taken out by Scrap Iron with Firefly’s implicit approval in G. I. Joe #43) and the Cobra Commander later on in G. I. Joe #61; Storm-Shadow & Cobra Commander as popular characters I understand, maybe Billy, but Candy?!? Doubt that.

• Of course, Storm Shadow would return, but at the time, nobody was 💯% sure- and back then, the return of a supposedly dead character was done with an explanation how it came to be (see G. I. Joe #s 52, 55, & 98), and neither was a character blatantly killed off just to have a handy stand in on hand to conveniently reverse the scenario instead of dealing with the consequences.

• “Storm-Shadow made vengeance the sole reason of his existence and that’s what killed him in the end. You can’t base a life on hate. You have to leave room for love...”

- Scarlett to Snake-Eyes, G. I. Joe #48.

[sonicasura]

Hello, I was rewatching Kaijudo recently and while watching the episode where Infernus is introduced, and I remembered your Troll hunter crossover, so I want to drop a bit of an idea.

Remember how Infernus said to Ray that that the Monarchs gave themselves willingly to create the Veil? My thought process is that the Monarchs at some point took one look at where this war was going and decided it needed to stop. However, neither side would give up so easily, especially not with more bad blood on top of whatever original reasons that started the war. So they managed to get in touch with the original shamans to, firstly, arrange a few plans that could work to stop the war, and secondly, hopefully arrange a meeting with Merlin and the other races to agree to or make a better plan that they could all agree to. Of course, step number two didn't go so well due to the... disagreement between Merlin and the students.

But they thought they had time to let them cool down. They thought they had time to work things out. But something happened that made the Monarchs and the original shamans take drastic measures: the Veil. Something happened that forced their hand.

And that's why, and how, the Veil and the bad blood between the Masters and the Troll hunters was created.

That's one thing we never to get to learn in the show. What really happened to lead the Monarchs and original Kaijudo Masters to create the Veil? Only clue I can think is the last set of cards released for the game before it vanished altogether. It had something to do with a Creature who could revive the dead similar to a a zombie plague.

The fact the truth is unknown definitely makes sense why bad blood still remains between everyone. No one know really knows what led to the Veil being created and a massive forced relocation. It had to be big though.

[drspiral666]

So a friend suggested this to me as their question was "What would Dr. Eggman's pokemon team look like?"

Well I decided to make his team a combo of Poison duel and pure types and Steel duel types. 😊

And of course Dr. Eggman stole a bunch of master balls. XD

He has:

Arbok

Nidoking

Koffing

Metagross

Aegislash *Blade Forme*

Magneton

Credits:

The models for Arbok, Nidoking, Koffing, Metagross, Aegislash, Magneton, and the Master Ball belongs to Nintendo and Game Freak.

The model for Aegislash was ported to MMD by: NipahMMD on Deviantart.

The model for Metagross was ported to MMD by: MovieMakerX on Deviantart.

The models for Arbok, Nidoking, and Koffing were ported by: CelestCSilvari on Deviantart.

The Eggman chair was ported by: MMD-Tools on Deviantart.

Dr. Eggman, the stage/skydome, and the Master Ball was ported to MMD by: SAB64 on Deviantart.

Effects used: Autoluminous 4 x. Cartoon shader

Enjoy my baddies 🦇 💜