#first a Jay villain arc and now we get an Arin villain arc?

[kawaiiiuniverssse]

Not me sitting here realizing that history has repeated itself.

Siblings, once the best of friends…

Until being torn apart by separate sides…

[kadextra]

LETS GO rambling and analysis time now that I finished part one

MAJOR MAJOR spoilers under the cut

KAI

NOOOOO how is he gonna get out??? I will say him as the first to use rising dragon felt extremely deserved, I clapped and cheered during that fight scene. but now he’s stuck in the netherworld with the remaining forbidden five and that’s scary.

I teared up seeing Nya activate her rising dragon style in her grief for him. in the next part she’s gonna find out Jay forgot who she is too… so much heartache for Nya 😞

Really enjoyed Bonzle in these episodes as well, learning about her origin of being a spell, her journey of discovering herself as a person and finding a found family :’) at least she’s with Kai now….

and I’ve felt terrible for Lloyd every episode. him getting slammed by those visions constantly, unexpectedly, even in the middle of a fight which sends him spiraling, that’s so rough :((

It’s obvious they’re a representation of panic attacks/he has developed a canon panic disorder- like Lloyd literally says it at one point. they happen suddenly, give anxious fear about present and future events, he gets scared about having another one so he tries to cope by not sleeping (unhealthy coping method) and is taught later on to try accepting the feelings and ride it out which is a way irl therapists teach. good to see some more exploration of mental health in this show!! I’m glad the other characters are taking notice and trying to help too in the ways they can

…speaking of mental health, Arin has been interesting to watch. he’s reading to me more as an autistic-coded character lately (like that line about not understanding social cues???) and we’ve been seeing lots more negative self-esteem issues and insecurity from him in these episodes. him making mistakes during the training sessions, getting scolded, then closing himself off was hard to watch

How Sora decided to hide the truth about Arin’s “object spinjitzu” that saved the day at the very end so he would feel proud of himself for achieving something hurt my heart. she is such a sweet friend who wants her bestie to be happy and feel proud of himself but like- keeping secrets is gonna have consequences down the line. especially when we all know this is a touchy subject for Arin right now. it’s just painful to see how deeply Arin’s self-worth is tied to what he’s capable of doing, what he can and cannot do for the ninja team. he can’t use elemental power he can’t do spinjitzu properly, he’s already insecure so how would he feel to find out ppl are lying to his face so he can feel happier? he’s a string that’s gonna snap one day and judging from that beatdown moment with Lord Ras it’s not going to be pretty. I sense some sort of villain arc approaching for our son

(someone send these people to therapy they’re so traumatized)

In another news: Cole and Geo gay love! homosexuals! maybe a QPR! I don’t care whatever it is, it’s clear they love each other

And it certainly wouldn’t be a ninjago season without the destiny’s bounty crashing and burning <333 was also nice seeing Jay for 10 seconds again <3333

Now my current question is what’s the source dragon tournament thing Lord Ras’ master is talking about??? tournament?? 👀 it’s basically implied that master is a source dragon or a being that rivals their power

can’t wait for the next part to release agugugsjkhkdbqjdpgsiduggjneosgktnalfhdiqkwkfjfialwkg

[taddymason]

not rlly sure if this has been asked but cuz ur the biggest jay fan i follow i wanted to know what you thought of jay in pt 2 of season 2 ( if you've watched it )

I talked about this before but in summary (DRS2 spoilers undercut):

I think the execution could have been much better. I get what they were doing, with Jay's presence being brief because there's no need to rush his arc and then Arin becoming increasingly frustrated with Lloyd's leadership and wanting to look for his parents since Jay left the tournament. I agree that it wouldn't make sense to resolve Evil Jay's plot this season, and I'm happy with things like not having him fall in love with Nya instantly just because or showing him recovering his memories.

The problem is that those five minutes of Evil Jay feel rushed on their own to jump into Jaya angst and there really isn't much content. It's not a good antagonist introduction because Jay doesn't feel like a threat since he was eliminated in his first round. It doesn't offer anything interesting in terms of the mix of new and old personality that Jay may have as a villain. His powers don't feel threatening either, all the interesting background of the Administration is explained in one line of dialogue. We don't see him interact with anyone on his own team. We don't even see a significant reaction from anyone else besides Nya.

Seriously, the only thing I can perhaps conclude about his character in these minutes is that his fighting style is more aggressive, but apart from that there is nothing interesting because it all came down to exposure time. And I think this is not just something that I felt, because everyone is talking more about his line of "I will always hate you" because that is the only notable part of his character in those minutes.

And I get it, his interactions with Nya were good, but if this is the introduction of him as an antagonist there should be something more substantial that makes me feel SOMETHING for him besides pity. The character is at his lowest point now (he's completely alone, with no memories, with his soul broken, with no job) and I haven't seen him make any active on-screen decisions to get there.

This isn't to say that the season is bad, I just think they wanted to jump to Jaya angst too early before giving Jay a good introduction as an antagonist.

[sparkanonymous]

Here we go again!

⚠️ Spoilers for episodes 6-10!

Episode 6: The Spell at the Waterfall

I'm having a harder time than I thought accepting Cole's new VA. I can't stop envisioning Shining Armor from MLP instead of Cole, which is super annoying lol

So this is an accepting of self story, kind of like Cole's "coming out" episode back in the early seasons of the original season. Kinda neat.

Ugh, Bonzle and Cole's relationship is enough to give you cavities. The entire Geo and Cole family is artistic and affectionate. I love them.

Ooh, Fritz and Spitz getting into trouble.

Zane joining the family by standing up to protect Geo and Bonzle.

Cole being so excited about the mech Sora made him is so cute.

Road trip to find Mysterium.

Why is Lloyd an expert at imitating Wu's voice lmao

See, I told you Lloyd. You're making him feel like he's letting you down.

Before Wu disappeared during the merge, he was anxious and uncertain about everything. You saw it first hand, Lloyd.

I don't think I've said anything, but I like the spinjitzu animations. They're really pretty.

I like that Kai and Nya are doing more sibling banter and fighting each other like siblings would. They bring out the competitiveness in each other.

Okay, but what did the master dragon guy think was going to happen by making an exercise into a competition for points?

Is Wyldfyre gonna go crazy?

Nice job trying not to recognized while wearing your ninja gi, Cole. At least Zane mostly covered his up.

The little mustache blipping up on Zane's face lmao

Oh, so that's where the screenshot of Cole holding a rainbow thing came from lol Awesome disco toaster.

I like how Zane dove to catch Bonzle. That's really sweet.

In a place filled with poisonous green clouds, would they even be able to survive? The clouds are clearly low enough to still be breathed in without interference. Bonzle and Zane might be okay, but Cole and Jiro... I don't think so.

Uh oh, Wyldfyre is gonna make this dragon master guy hate people more... or...?

Zane looking over at Cole knowingly as he calls them his family... his other family. He knows what Cole means and wants him to stay strong in his beliefs. (Glacier propaganda is at go.)

Zane's gonna beat up that snake shop guy.

The start of Arin's villain arc.

Everyone protecting Bonzle... this is so cute.

So even Zane's powers are weakened by the poison?

Ooh, Cole being beaten with earth, huh.

Why is Jiro walking on it's hind legs?

Cole and Zane not recognizing the magician guy from like episode 3 lol

"Has he always been this preposterous?" "Well, he is a professional actor." lol

An excuse to bring back Cole's performance lore.

Bonzle just... leaving lmao

I think with all of this, Cole will learn to put more trust into Bonzle and not feel as protective of her when he doesn't need to be, see how strong she is.

It all comes back to the monastery.

Episode 7: Fugitives From Madness

Bonzle trashing on the original monastery.

I like the colors of this monastery, and the cool glowing mushrooms.

Ooh, Jay and Cole fight flashback. Going from fighting to going out to each lmfao that's definitely the most canon relationship between these two.

The glowing orb being seen by someone not related to the ninja.

I really like Gandalaria's design. She's so pretty and funky!

I thought for sure Wyldfyre was making that whole thing up about her family telling her stories about the great dragon ninja, y'know to butter him up. But now I wonder...

Ooh, we get lore about the wasting disease that Wyldfyre expressed fear towards in the 2nd (?) episode of this season.

Wyldfyre making fun of the dragon guy for being irritable. I really enjoy her character; she's not afraid to say what's what, mostly because she lacks the understanding of social cues. But it makes her character more memorable. Plus, she's a little spitfire. She's softening like Kai did, and she understands dragons better than anyone else, even with how stubborn most of them are. She meets them head on no matter the consequences. She's not my favorite, but she's pretty high up there on the character tier list in my head.

Oh no, not the boring people.

Zane completely ignoring the fact that the administration called him property to brag to Cole the efficiency he gave the administration lmfao

They got rid of kid Kai's freckles.

Aw, Kai and Nya working together.

Wow, the blood moon came a lot sooner than I thought it would.

Lmao Zane throwing their logic at them.

Zane using his knowledge to be sassy is one of my favorite things.

Uh oh, Jay's gonna totally make everything way too difficult. That's why Bonzle was with Raz in Lloyd's vision, isn't it?

Episode 8: Secrets of the Wyldness

Zane being completely unimpressed by Cole's "permit in triplicate" quip.

Lmao Zane is just showing off how much these administration people are terrible at their jobs.

Bonzle pointing out Jay's lack of heart in this administration job. Okay, so correction in the Geo and Cole family traits; they're artistic, affectionate, and sassy.

Sprite showing Jay who he was before.

Why would you point out how easy it is, Cole?

Is that little guy that Zane took out of the administration's robot... why does it remind me of the androids that took over Ninjago City in one of the earlier Ninjago seasons?

Uh oh, Zane powering down in the middle of a fight.

With the direction that the wolf mask warriors were walking, they would have seen all of them try and hide, especially Jiro.

Uh oh, the main group being split up.

Great, another balance episode...

Lloyd, shut up.

Okay, but how did Sora think knocking the ship unsteady would help? Like... what?

The Bonzle box from Lloyd's vision...

Aw, Zane...

Poor Bonzle.

Episode 9: The Forest of Spirits

Raz episode?

So they're going to set fire to the Cloud Kingdom, which will most likely become a distraction for the ninja.

Cole immediately trying to get out to protect Bonzle... ugh, they're so sweet.

The disco toaster lmao

Arin and Bonzle meet up.

The little Legos doing tiny head shakes is so cute.

Gandalaria throwing everything behind her and injuring the ninja without realizing lmfao

Lmao the green slime stealing Cole's voice.

Cole being completely suspicious with Zane changing sizes.

Why would you smell that, Cole?

Aw, puppy Cole.

The little tail wag when Zane called him adorable. (More glacier propaganda.)

So with Sora, Kai, and Wyldfyre wearing the wolf masks, does that mean they'll be affected by gong? Will their goodness be erased?

Aw, poor Arin.

Uh oh, Raz is gonna drag Arin down alongside him.

Episode 10: Rising Ninja

Arin seeing Nya and Lloyd as his parents... hm...

How did no one notice the rogue wolf mask warriors?

Oh no, poor Bonzle...

The others managing to come back in time for the fight.

"Kai and I have this totally under control." *Kai is dead*

A game of keep away with Cinder will only do so much...

Ah, so this is where the epic fight animation with Kai and Cinder came from.

Ah man, Kai being drafted to the forbidden lands.

Encourage Zane harder, Cole.

Tiny Zane is so cute lol

Bonzle talking to Kai.

Sora, that's going to destroy Arin's trust in you.

So is Jordana like... now completely evil?

So i anyone gonna worry about Bonzle?

Poor Wyldfyre and Nya.

Is Kai gonna be tortured by the other forbidden 4?

Kai calling Bonzle kid despite her being centuries older than him.

"Like my friend Lloyd always says; 'Ninja never quit'." Is he only saying that Lloyd says that because Wu's not around anymore, or did he forget who instilled that lesson into him, Lloyd, and all of the other ninja?

Kai's gonna drive himself insane trying to find an exit, isn't he. Oh well; that gives Kai and Bonzle more time to bond.

So I was wrong on how I thought Arin would turn evil or whatever, mostly because I didn't have the correct concept in mind when making that theory, lol. I wonder how Kai, Sora, and Wyldfyre didn't turn evil, though, given that they had the wolf masks on when the gong was rung. Maybe it wasn't the correct hit or something?

I have to find another site to watch the other half of the season on; the one I have only shows the first 10. So that'll be fun.

No progress shots this time. I'm getting to close to finishing these pieces and I don't want to show off the final product too early.

Dragons Rising: Season 2

I'm a little bit more nervous to watch season 2; I like watching things that make me feel happy, and from the brief spoilers I've gotten about this season, this is probably gonna be more sad than anything... But I'll try.

I will be continuing to work on the two pieces I was working on before, so check the bottom of this post if you want to see my progress! (This goes for my season 1 notes post, too, by the way.)

⚠️ Spoilers for episodes 1-5!

Divider by cafekitsune

Episode 1: The Blood Moon

New Jordana look, huh? I don't really like it right now, but I can grow to get used to it.

So are the lines on her face just... permanent?

Good to know Raz has night vision.

Jordana is clearly scared about all of this... I wonder how long it will take for her to switch sides.

The bad guys always seem too distracted, intentionally taking their time to get to their targets. I kinda understand why it was that way for the little phone video in the beginning of the episode, since it's such a cramped space to work with and the movements might cause motion sickness. But with every other fight? No.

Wow, Ryu grew up quite fast.

Fugidove? In 2024?

Holy fuck, the news reporter remembered Pixal? Most of the ninja didn't even remember her. Actually, practically nobody in Ninjago city. He's either a super fan, or the writers completely forgot that fact for this season.

Is Intelligent George a parody on someone? I can't tell.

Did Sora really have to spell that out? Did they just... not think that that people watching the second season had already watched the first? I feel like spelling it out like that will make people not want to go back and rewatch the first season to see what they missed.

Also, with how much bigger Ryu is, I would've thought more time had passed. The way Sora had said that line makes it sound like she just unlocked her true potential instead of it being like... a few months ago or something.

Okay, so now we're on the "Arin really wants elemental powers" thing. He seemed mostly fine with that last season. What changed?

Arin, if you're looking for someone to be talking about those still lost in the merge, why the hell would you watch a Youtuber who only wants to talk about the ninja to sell merch? There are plenty of people that you could talk to; the people you're currently around would be far better to talk to about this. I know that they don't have the solution right now, but they are far more likely to come up with one before a fucking Youtuber.

Sora and Arin are such good friends. Even if their interests are completely different, they still partake in the other's activities, especially when the other is looking blue.

Poor Frohicky, lol

Zane would have already heard and figured out these figures of speech back in like... season 1 or 2. But he's still cute. I like that Kai and Zane are playing the video game together.

The layout of this game makes me think of the TMNT arcade game. Nice touch.

Hm... so Lloyd's getting more visions... or he's having a nightmare... or both?

So... Zane and Sora are gonna get taken down. Is Arin going to rebel, betray them? Beatrix is clearly coming back, which I figured would happen after she disappeared into that merge-quake at the end of last season.

Wu watching over his nephew is nice, but... where's Garmadon? Sure, Wu is probably more iconic and a better teacher, but Garmadon is Lloyd's father. I want to see him again... would he have the same golden glow that Wu's ghost does, or would he have a purple glow or be a purple void?

Also, where's Nya? I don't think I've seen her at all this episode.

Why is Arin's voice so soft now? It's like he's constantly whispering into the mic?

Kreel not even denying that she tried to make their mech explode back in episode 1 lol

Wait is the junkyard ghost Wu?

Wow, that was a small investigation montage.

I like Ryu's teenage model over the baby one, but he reminds me a little too much of Toothless.

That old lady shaming those throwing away a good dragon... but not taking the dragon? Oh, come on; she would've totally tried to take Ryu back home with her. It's an old lady thing.

Oh my god, Arin stop self-pitying; this is not the time.

Arin, they will be proud of you; you're a ninja.

Lloyd's gonna have a heart attack.

Woah, the camera during this fight is really wobbly. It actually feels like Arin, Sora, and Ryu are in danger.

The actual panic in Lloyd's voice.

Give me the smoke guy's name. I need it. He's really cool.

Episode 2: Shattered Dreams

Wait, the writers of destiny are still a thing? I would've thought that they would have disbanded after it was proven that writing the future didn't actually mean anything.

Their idea of fun is bagels? Yeah, I can see it.

Wait, so their entire religion isn't completely founded on made up bullshit?

Lloyd, why would you drink that?

Sora, you sound like Raven Queen.

Arin, that's robot-ist. In front of Zane? Really?

Y'all are in broad daylight. So much for being ninja.

Everybody judging Sora's graffiti, including Zane lmao

Hitting Zane in the head with a non-magic teapot lmfao

The Gong of Shattering is such a terrible name.

Poor Arin, lol

Oh, no. This is Arin's undoing. He's gonna hit the gong in order to try and get an elemental power, he'll turn evil, and then fight beside Raz. I'm calling it now!

I really enjoy Percival's character now. He's learning, he's helping out, and he seems to be kinder than when he was under Beatrix's rule. I think the rebellion was good for him.

The Master Writer was so scared, he didn't even try to run. Wow. Anyone will let the bad guys overthrow them, huh.

Euphrasia should seriously train with the other ninja; she's far too weak to be looking after a kingdom alone. (Yes, I know that they're making all the ninja really bad at fighting to make it look like the smoke ninja is way stronger than them, but still.)

It's not called the Blood Moon for anything good. Is it ever?

You're supposed to be sneaky; that glowing green spinjitzu is not sneaky in any way.

Why did Euphrasia have to say that? She could have looked relieved instead of saying that terribly said "Thank goodness your okay!"

Zane, that doesn't answer shit. A written language can't look evil. That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard.

Should Euphrasia even be here to save the Master Writer? She's using a crutch. Actually, does literally everybody have to be here for this? Bigger groups are hard to be stealthy with, and most of them aren't really being useful. They should've picked three to go in while everyone else stays behind as back up.

So Raz was the reason the worms turned evil last season. Hm...

I'm still not over it. Why is Ryu here? It should've been Lloyd, Arin, and Zane; Lloyd because he needs to confirm his visions, Arin because he's really foreshadowing something, and Zane to confirm the stupid language thing. Euphrasia would've been a good choice to bring if she wasn't using a crutch. Everyone else is just... here for no fucking reason except to just listen to the Master Writer. They're not really hiding, so any of the wolf-masked characters could easily find them. They didn't bother animating anyone except Lloyd and Arin going up the wall; they all just kinda teleported. This is bothering me so bad. (Not everyone has to be here to listen. The three that would've gone could've spread the information off screen so it didn't become too repetitive.)

See, I fucking told you. Now Lloyd's having another panic attack.

Why did the gong only affect the wolf-masks? Is the detail I missed that they have to be wearing the wolf mask to be affected by the gong? That seems dumb.

Lmao Kai

Woah, Zane glitching.

Episode 3: Beyond the Phantasm Cave

Wait, where did Kai's mech come from?

Of course when Lloyd asks for an answer, the source dragons come.

Wow, that source dragon from season 1 is so convincing, he convinced the other source dragons within seconds.

Why wouldn't Sora believe Lloyd after all of this?

Aw, Kai checking on Wyldfyre.

Nya, you trained under Wu for how long? You would know that, yes. He would bring you guys somewhere based on half-understood dreams.

Why is Zane always the one to keep an eye on the ship? Ugh.

"Now it sounds like the rotor sneezed!" Lmao Lloyd

It's sweet that Sora and Arin are talking to each other about fond memories, but... why? This came out of nowhere, and they just arrived at their destination. The writing here feels a little clunky.

Aw, now they all have grappling hooks.

Wow it sure took those snake things a while to come out to try and kill them.

Uh oh, Kai's powers not working very well...

Is this like the future telling ice thing in the original series?

Sora that is quite clearly static. How the hell did you think that was Kai?

Oh man, it's all their worst fears...

Oh, shit... The Jaya thing I've seen fanart for.

Poor fucking Nya... this is foreshadowing.

They have airjitzu. They could take the jump a lot more carefully.

Episode 4: Force From The East

Ooh, finally! Back to Cole.

God, Geo and Cole are so fruity.

That was a mouthful of exposition. They could've had a mini flashback of that moment from last season when Cole left and followed Wu. Sure, Geo didn't see that, but this show has never shied away from showing other character's perspectives during flashback sequences told by another character.

Geo being worried about Cole.

They're such an artistic family.

Bonzle is gonna make Geo panic.

Kai and Nya working together is sweet.

Me, too, Arin. Me, too.

The dragon speaking English instead of using telepathy or whatever.

"Should we... ask them what they want?" "Sure. What do you want?" *Gets obliterated* Lmao

Geo's so silly.

Finally; Cole comes to the rescue!

Bonzle's hiding something... I'm not sure what just yet. But she knew that they could leave when they previously couldn't.

Why does Zane have a Frohicky plushie? I'm so confused.

Why isn't Cole surprised to see Zane?

"- why do you have a frog-man-doll?" "It is a long and barely comprehensible story." I love them.

So that's why I thought the Glacier reunion was so... weird and terrible. They're in the middle of a chase scene.

I like how Zane tries to decipher what the problem is by examining his face... I'm so normal about this pairing, I swear.

I like how this episode is split into the stuff that Lloyd and crew were doing and Cole and family were doing, but I focus on just the Cole and family stuff. Mostly just Cole and Geo. They're family is really sweet and care about one another so deeply. Fritz and Spitz need more to do, though; they're kinda just... kids in the middle of everything, but they seem to be as strong and fast as the rest of their family, so... idk

Episode 5: The Spell at the Waterfall

Ah, the Zane and Frohicky side of the plot.

I understand what Frohicky is trying to accomplish, but Zane has already gone to him if he has a problem with the things he's doing. That's just the kind of guy Zane is. This tactic might have worked better with Kai or Lloyd.

Zane whacking the bad guy with the stupid fucking doll lmao

Why wouldn't Bonzle have told them earlier? Lmao what a mouthful.

Oh, so that kinda makes sense... kinda. For Bonzle to know when the could leave. But she would've sensed that opening a long time ago, and probably would have looked more worried throughout the beginning of last episode.

See? The entire Cole and Geo family is artistic.

Bonzle met Master Wu?!

Kai and Nya are so epic.

So, wait. i thought Wu would have taken her to meet the ninja, but I guess not?

Aw, Cole and Geo getting emotional about Bonzle's story.

"This reminds of the old days. Count me in." "That's what I'm talking about." Ugh... I love them too much...

So is one of the source dragons helping Raz? Or am I going crazy?

Of course, there are some critics I have. But I'm liking this so far, even with how often Lloyd was getting panicked and the amount of foreshadowing to future episodes I was getting. Still a little nervous about what's coming, though...

Current Progress:

[vanigrave]

Hey! Thanks for all of your work and your all doing so great! Howver, i wanted to ask you of your opinion on the sh manga so far. Were there any chapters you particularly liked or thought was executed well in any of the mangas?

Hello and thank you for the fun ask! Sorry it took a while to answer, but we thought it would be fun to get all of the members’ opinion on this :)

Murkki: I'm pretty much a lover of Torikai to my very soul, so definitely something from ShinYaku Märchen. The idea of adding to these stories the mangaka's own twist was great for Laurants already familiar with the stories, as well as diving deeper to the “villains’” stories. And oh boy have they been stabbing me in the kokoro a bunch of times.

Right now Bluebeard is fresh in my memory, but it was also originally one of my favourite songs in Märchen, so I initially looked forward to the arc. Wasn’t expecting to see a moe Bluebeard, so Torikai definitely delivered......

Haikara: I love that Torikai added the "villains'" point of view with extra chapters to Shinyaku Märchen! Storytelling within a 3-10 min song can be limiting, so seeing her ideas about what motivates the murderers is extra content I didn't understand I needed before we got it. I find myself waiting those chapters the most, as no one can truly know what we're gonna get.

Also I did enjoy the first few chapters of Kyuuaku Märchen! The storybook-like style shows best in those very first chapters, but as it goes straight into "action" I can't recommend them for someone who knows nothing about Märchen (but then again, who doesn't).

Putri: I pick the last Bluebeard chapter. The thing is that this is the only chapter that the villain was not actually the villain. The other chapter might have the "soft" side of the villains, but they still count as “killers” of the princesses, accidentally or not.

Sei to Shi is the runner up because Plague??

Arin: I'll go with the Hanataba chapter in Nein. Because Stella is my personal saviour and Jay's interpretation is beautiful.

Koeji: I’d say my favorite chapter overall was the Shokumotsu chapter of the Nein manga, since I’m somewhat of a sucker for body horror. That song has a really subtle but deep sense of horror and I really loved how the manga portrayed that. It walked the line between the optimistic cycle of life and death and the existential horror of Shokumotsu-ko letting herself decay over and over really well.