#he gets thrown onto stage like in the goofy movie

[jaypentaghast]

have we even considered the possibility that louis might be singing next season?

jacob's a singer, if i were them i'd use that to my advantage to create the most beautiful and romantic love ballad sang by both louis and lestat

[itsjustwhatfeelsright]

i wanted to touch on something about steven’s behavior in the su movie that’s kind of been mentioned form what i’ve seen but not quite... from this angle? this is bearing in mind that i basically only see what comes on my su dash so you know, someone may have pointed this out somewhere before and that’s okay--plz don’t come @ me.

but i remember when steven had his revelation about his missing piece, i was actually kind of thrown that it was ‘change’ and not ‘empathy/understanding/etc.’ now, i’m not at all claiming this doesn’t make sense in the overarching narrative. before steven would’ve been old enough to communicate, he would’ve been able to change. that was what pink/rose most wanted to impart onto her child. i have no problem with this so please don’t take this post this way.

with that said, it’s worth noting that at no point during the film do we see steven approach spinel like he usually does the villains in the show. even when she first lands, he assumes it must be a misunderstanding because he established peace--pointedly NOT because he’s looking to understand her and that he’s learned at this point that most things are misunderstandings or past traumas that can be resolved. so, already, because he feels his ‘happily ever after’ is being threatened, he tries to jump to talking it out, but doesn’t get to the heartof what i think his best power is, and that’s empathy.

this absolutely PERMEATES through the movie. once spinel has poofed his friends and reset them, he makes no attempts to understand her or her change once she’s reformed, either. in fact he straight-up jumps at her, being accusatory and angry and that’s a rarity for him, really. steven is older, he’s tired of this shit, he just wants to skip to the end and he’s upset that he even has to. his actions are undersandable, but they indirectly build up to the climax at the end of the movie.

next, we see him talk with bismuth, lapis and peridot about her. even after he gets the explanation of what has happened to the gems (and by extension, her,) he really does allow his bitterness towards her and more importantly his razor-focus on getting his friends (happily ever after) back block him from even considering maybe getting to the root of who spinel is and what brought her here. she’s in the background of this scene, referenced in the song, directly talked about in front of her face, and not even really addressed until she says something useful: “what if it’s like a puzzle?”

and then what happens next? steven shuts her up, and is fully prepared to leave her behind. granted, like his mother, he tries to do this kindly, and for a brief moment this brings out her repressed feelings. but this more like startles steven rather than lights up any lightbulbs. he begrudgingly brings her along because it’s the easy solution that keeps her happy and him moving, and then she proceeds to be basically ignored while he looks for amethyst and a third wheel once he finds her.

so then amethyst reforms. remember, at this point, steven knows exactly why spinel doesn’t remember anything. but he doesn’t really explains that she hit them with a rejuvinator and he hit her back and therefore she’s reset. he just says, simply, that she forgot. and he explains it like the frustration that it is to him right now. (and don’t forget, the “gag” of her trying to play tag but being ignored for the sake of catching amethyst up is going in the background of this scene.)

moving forward, we get to the part where the rejuvinator is explained. again, everyone talks about spinel right in front of her with no regard for how that would feel. (really--they’re lucky she’s as goofy as she is up to this point.) here, it’s suggested that steven return spinel’s memories, and although he’s complained about her lack of memory all day, his immediate reaction is “no way!” at this point, he doesn’t like her the was she was. and i think it’s kind of important to call attention to this. once he’s convinced that it’s really his only option, we move on to the rock show.

it’s obvious that this is the final trigger for spinel. she’s been being ignored and pushed aside all day, but being physically “abandoned” by all of the crystal gems so they could “play” on stage without her brought the flood of feelings back to her that obviously hurt like hell. but what does steven say to her once he finds her? “that’s good. i need you to remember.”

this is usually the point when steven would realize, even if he’s been kind of absent-minded the whole rest of the arc/episode, that something is really bothering this antagonist/gem, but here he’s still razor-focused on what he needs. there’s no empathy in this statement. he encourgages her to walk right back into her trauma because he needs her to know how to turn off the injector. (and maybe knowing her backstory would help a little.) and when he finds out it’s another ‘my mom fucked over a gem’ story, steven is just... tired. he can believe it. he’s tired of doing this. he just goes through the motions  but the real emathy isn’t there.  and this is immediately  revealed in the way steven eagerly walks ahead of spinel towards the warp, walks ahead of spinel out of the house, and doesn’t return any sentiment when she calls herself his friend, even after her transformation back.

like, at this point in the story, it’s hsrd not to understand why spinel doesn’t trust steven. he hasn’t been using the one steven power that he knows he has (talking to her) to its full affect because he didn’t just forget about change--he also forgot about “always putting others first”. you know. one of the things the diamonds praise him for in the intro of this very movie.

obviously, by the climax, he does eventually get through to spinel. but it’s more that she tires herself out and realizes that she doesn’t wanna be  this over the course of garnet’s song and steven’s song (which encourage her to partake in self-reflection) and a bit less that gives her the typical steven treatment.

BUT. knowing that elements from this movie are going to matter in the future... i wouldn’t count spinel out of future appearances. i wouldn’t discount the possibility that steven developing a real friendship with this gem would be a plot-point. we’ll just have to see..

really though, i’m not saying all of this to attack steven’s character or anything. it’s refreshing, honestly, to see him make this kind of mistake. he’s the most empathetic character we’ve ever seen, but even he has his limits--he wanted to be done so bad he forgot all of his powers. ALL of them. including this one.  and that only made sense for him at this point in time. i’m excited to see how he continues to change from here.

[zombiesbecrazy]

knowing his value

Summary: He didn’t have much to go on, this was his first kidnapping after all, but this all seemed a little bit lazy.

AO3

Being held hostage sucked, these guys completely lack originality, and frankly, Tim was bored.

He didn’t have much to go on, this was his first kidnapping after all, but this all seemed a little bit lazy. They didn’t have a guard in his room and the door wasn’t even locked to where they were were waiting for their ransom demands to be met. His wrists and feet were bound, but the knots were loose and simple and they were practically begging for him to escape them which was easy as pie for Robin, but Tim Drake had to sit quiet and wait for a pick up.

Or did he? He was clever and independent. Was there any good reason that Tim Drake couldn’t find his own way out of this specific kidnapping?

He was certain that this was a training exercise. To see what he could do if kidnapped in his civilian attire to see how he would be able to adapt and improvise in an undercover situation. It made a lot of sense.

Besides the chair he was sitting in, which he wasn’t even tied to, the room was empty and plain, with only the one door and the half window that was up high near the ceiling. It felt like it was a movie stage and not a real place and maybe the kidnappers had chosen it for that very reason, because they were rookies and hadn’t done this before so based everything that they knew off gangster movies and cop shows.

The first thing that he had to do was to get out of his ropes, but if he was Tim he couldn’t just undo the knots. It had to be sloppy with just a little bit of luck thrown in for it to be believable. Robin would have known to do his hands first and then just untie his feet, but Tim wouldn’t have considered that in the confusion, so instead he wiggled free of his shoes first, glad that he hadn’t bothered to tie them before he got snatched, and then worked his sock feet against each other, wincing a bit as the rope burned against his skin as it rubbed, but after a bit of effort there was enough give to slip one foot out, and then the other.

He then set to work on the ropes tying his hands. It was a more traditional material, not metal cords or cabling, but there was not as much give as there had been on his feet. so he tried to think of what he would do as a regular panicked thirteen year old who didn’t study the ins and outs of escaping from Riddler traps on a nightly basis would do. He bit the rope and started tugging at the knot, trying to loosen it from the tightest point with his teeth. He was making good headway when there was a sharp snap of pain, followed by a taste of blood in his mouth and he spat out of wire from his so-called-permanent retainer onto the floor.

That was unfortunate because he really didn’t want to have to go to the dentist at the end of all this.

He tugged a few more times until the rope went slack on one side and he was able to untie the rest of the knot. Now that he was free, he had to get out of the room. He couldn’t go out the door, because Tim Drake was sort of a scrawny kid who couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag, let alone through a room of armed men, which only left the window as an option.

It was small, but not small enough that Tim couldn’t fit through, and it was high up, but that was nothing that dragging the chair from across the room couldn’t solve, and he could reach the window as long as he stood on his tiptoes. The issue was getting the window open. The pane was double thick and had wiring between the layers so he couldn’t smash it, even if he didn’t have to worry about his captors hearing him. There a simple key padlock, easy to pick if you had the right tools, but Tim didn’t have anything in his pockets and the rest of the room was bare and he had to pause to think about what he was going to do next.

He chewed on his lip as he looked around the room, trying to decide if Tim Drake would be smart enough to detach one of the fluorescent lights to try and find out if any of the filaments were strong enough to try and pick the lock, with when he was reminded of the cut in his mouth, blood slowing, but still there.

The wire that had broken off from his retainer. It was still lying in the middle of the floor. It wasn’t perfect for lock picking but it would work in a pinch, as long as Tim had a reason to know how to do it.

Worth a shot.

Tim shaped the wire into a more useful shape than the curve of his teeth and set to work on the locks. He had to be more careful than normal, knowing that if it were to break he would be out of luck unless he had another brainwave about what to do next. Fortunately it wasn’t something he needed to worry about for long because he felt the family catch of the padlock and then with a snik it popped open.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Tim pulled himself out of the window, stomach scraping against the window ledge but otherwise fine. He was in an empty alleyway and he could see the faint echo of red and blue flashing from cars just out of sight. He hurried to the edge of the street, peeking out to see what the situation was. The building was mostly surrounded by police cars and tape, with a standard GCPD hostage procedure set up. Tim reached up and ruffled up his hair, slapped his cheeks a couple times, and stepped into the main street and made his way up to the closest police barricade, hopefully looking a little more like someone who had been kidnapped than just out for a leisurely stroll.

“Excuse me? Officer?”

The cop didn’t even look at him, just stood with his back to the barrier, watching the situation at the front of the building where it looked where most of the action was happening. “I’m sorry kid, but this is a hostage situation and you need to stay behind the line.”

“Yeah, but the thing is that I’m the hostage.” The officer whipped his head around and Tim gave him a little wave. “Hi. I’m Tim Drake.”

The officer stared at him for a few seconds, trying to sort out how that made any sort of sense and Tim sympathized with that. “Oh, uh. Hold on.” He fumbled with his radio on his shoulder, not taking his eyes on Tim, before hitting the button. “Commissioner, this is O’Royal. I have a kid here at the south perimeter who says he’s Tim Drake.” Tim could hear Gordon’s voice respond, and at the same time commotion broke out in the middle of the police set up, and then people started to move towards them.

“Tim?” Bruce’s voice was high and tight, playing the perfect part of the concerned guardian and he ran over with Commissioner Gordon right on his heels as well as a few more officers.

“Bruce!” Tim waved, and squeaked as Bruce picked him up in a big strong hug, the perfect performance of a scared parent. “I got kidnapped!” It was such a goofy thing to say, but in the moment it was the first thing that popped into his mind as he was crushed against Bruce’s broad chest.

Bruce put him down and made a big show of running his hands through Tim’s hair, down his arms and legs as if trying to reassure himself that all of his limbs were there. "I know. They called me for ransom. I’m so glad you are safe." His examination reached Tim’s wrists and he fussed over the marks that were criss crossing across the skin, light bruising already popping up, brushing them with a soft thumb.

"That explains all this." Tim chuckled and waved his arms around at the police set up in front of the building.

Gordon stepped up to do his job now that Bruce had done enough of pretending to worry in full grizzly mode, flipping out his notebook. "Why'd they let you out?"

"They didn't. They think I'm still in there." Gordon and Bruce both gave him a sharp look, probably for entirely different reasons. "I got out a window down there after I picked the lock." He jerked his thumb in the direction of the alley, and two of the officers ran off in that direction, hopefully to check out the scene to see if they could enter the building the same way that Tim had come out. He was doubtful; they were an awful lot bigger than he was.

"With what?" asked Gordon, raising an eyebrow in a questioning way.

"Part of my retainer." Right, Tim Drake was a normal kid who busted his own dentistry work and had to fess up to the person who was going to have to foot the bill to get it fixed. "Oh, Bruce. I think I have to go back to the orthodontist. I think that wire was important for something." Bruce said nothing, just put his arm around Tim’s shoulders and squeezed.

“How did you know how to pick a lock?”

“I saw it on YouTube and thought I’d try.”

That made Gordon stop writing in his book and stare at Tim. “You learned how to pick a lock on YouTube”

“Yeah. You can find anything on there. Did you know that there is a large online community of people who like to sculpt cheese? I knew about ice and stuff, but I had never really thought about how shapeable cheese is before a-”

“Timothy,” said Bruce quietly, the way he did when Tim went down rabbit holes in the cave and needed to get back on track and Tim blushed.

“Oh, sorry. Anyway, it wasn’t like I was going to get anymore kidnapped, so I thought I’d give it a go.”

Gordon went back to his notes, but huffed in what Tim hoped was approval. “You could have been hurt.”

“Really? Huh.” Tim grinned, and leaned against Bruce in a way that made him look that he was tired, exhausted now that the adrenaline had worn off and just leaning against his guardian. “I guess I never really thought about it like that.”

Gordon dismissed him to go and get checkout out by the paramedics, told him that he would be in contact later for a more comprehensive questioning if needed, but since it was still a live crime scene because the kidnappers hadn’t notice that they were without a hostage, that was all for now. The paramedics gave him a quick lookover, bandaging the cuts around his ankles before letting him go home with Bruce who paraded him back to the car with a firm grip on his shoulder.

Bruce hugged him again before they got into the car and started on their way back to the manor is silence. The buildings were getting further and farther between as they drove out of the city limits before Tim piped up. “Did I beat Jason’s time?” It was always a risk, asking about Jason and what he had done as Robin, but he was dying to know. “I know I didn’t beat Dick’s.”

“You,” Bruce swallowed deeply and tightened his fingers on the wheel, leather cracking under the pressure. “You thought that was a test?”

“Well, yeah.” Tim grinned as he inspected his wrists and ran his tongue along the back of his teeth, feeling the sharp edges of where the wire had been before. “So? How’d I do?”

Bruce pulled over to the side of the road and rested his head on the steering wheel, breathing in and out carefully before turning and pulling Tim into a tight hug, head heavy on his shoulder and body quivering with small shakes.

“Bruce?”

“That was not a test.” Bruce mumbled into his shoulder. “Not at all.” Tim thought back to the scene, the way that Bruce had run to him, checked out his injuries, had never not touched him once he had been back in his sight. The tremors that he could feel through Bruce now. That was all real?

“I was actually kidnapped?” Tim wondered, because that didn’t make a lot of sense. He was just Tim Drake. Even if it was a poorly executed kidnapping, it still seemed like a lot of needless work just for Tim. “Why would someone kidnap me? I’m not anyone important.”

“Not anyone important?” Bruce shook his head and pulled back, intently looking at Tim in the eyes, and Tim was now able to see the worry on the man’s face, not the outward public face that he showed to the world, but his true self that Tim only got to see on rare occasion and most never saw, and that man was dripping with residual fear and relief. “Tim, you are mine. You are one of the most important things in my world, and someone tried to use you to hurt me.” He shook his head and cupped Tim’s less injured wrist between his hands, hands that were possible of “And they did. Please know that I would do anything to get any of you back. I would travel across galaxies and punch a god in the face and I will negotiate with kidnappers who trap you in basements. No one gets to hurt you. No one.”

“Oh.”

Bruce stared at Tim for another moment, before turning the car back on and pulling back onto the road that headed into Bristol, silence filling the car again as they drove the rest of the way home, but Bruce’s right hand was still wrapped around Tim’s wrist and Tim wondered how long it would stay there until he had to let go.

It didn’t let go.

[btsbangtanreacts]

BTS Reactions, The Moment They Realise They Love You

Jin

You had known Jin practically forever. Your families were friends and often spent time together having family dinners and parties. It was late Saturday afternoon when Jin and his family arrived at a party your family was throwing for your Dad’s birthday. He quickly joined you in the kitchen to avoid all the young cousins and questions from the other adults. “What are we cooking, Y/N?”, he asked nudging your shoulder. “My world-famous triple-layered chocolate cake, complete with chocolate ganache and homemade truffles,” You were carefully stacking and icing the layers of cake, “quick hand me that spatula.” After 30 minutes of careful decorating and instructing Jin to assist you it was finally done. “I’m a baking god!”, you exclaimed picking up the cake, underestimating the weight of it. It started leaning to one side and sliding off the cake stand. “Y/N look out!”, Jin dove to save the cake but instead managed to get there just in time for it to fall through his hands to the floor. You and Jin sat on the floor next to the now destroyed cake. All you could do was stare in horror before you heard Jin burst out laughing. “Jin…..why the hell are you laughing?!! This isn’t funny!” “Sorry, Y/N, but it kind of is”, he hid his smile with his cake covered hands getting it all over his face in the process. You grabbed a handful of cake and lurched forward to rub it in Jin’s face, “Take that!”, you laughed. “Hey! No fair! Clean it off!”, Jin watched your eyes light up as you laughed at him. He’d never noticed just how much they sparkled before. You leaned into him, wiping some cake from his cheeks. Jin’s heart suddenly beat faster in a way it never had before. He reached up and took a hold of your wrist, “Y/N….I love you”, he whispered before his lips met yours.

Yoongi

You’d been hanging out quietly on the couch in Yoongi’s studio while he worked for hours. Frustrated he threw his headphones off and gave a deep sighing growl. “Everything okay?”, you hesitantly asked knowing how hard he could be on himself. Pushing his chair back and resting his hands behind his head, “It’s all trash. I give up.” “Talk to me about it. What do you hate about it?”, Yoongi sighed and played a section of the song for you, knowing you wouldn’t let up until he cooperated. “See, Y/N? I told you it was trash.” “Play it back again?”, you walked to stand in front of the piano. He stared at you without moving. “Come on. Just humour me for a second?” The music started and you let your fingers drift across the piano, singing a few lines to fit perfectly with the existing track. While you were playing Yoongi’s mouth dropped open and his breath hitched. He didn’t know you were that talented and it took him completely by surprise. Rolling his chair over behind you he reached out and placed his hands on your hips, pulling you down into his lap. He reached his hands forward and played the piano along with you realising at that moment how much you meant to him. He wrapped his arms around you and kissed your shoulder, “I really love you, you know.”

Hoseok

You were lying on the couch with Hobi on a cold, rainy day. The two of you had spent the day curled up under a huge pile of blankets watching movies and enjoying spending some much needed time together. You reached over and took Hobi’s face in your hands and brushed your thumbs along his cheekbones, ‘Urgh how come you have such gorgeous features?!”. Hobi blushed, “How come you can make me feel good about the things everyone else hates?”, he teased raising and eyebrow. “Oh come on no one hates how you look Hobi, we’ve been over this before. Don’t let the few crappy comments stop you from seeing all the good ones.” “No, I mean it, Y/N. Ever since I met you I’ve never felt ugly. Before you, I hated myself and hated how I looked but since the day I’ve met you you’ve done nothing but make me feel so good about myself. And not just with how I look either. You make me feel good about the things I have no control over like my laugh or my voice.’ As the words came out he realised it was all true. “You’ve made me start to love myself again. I love you.”

Namjoon

Namjoon and you were talking a stroll through a local park, something you did together often. You walked hand in hand in the Autumn breeze as the orange leaves fell around you. Looking up at Namjoon you noticed his content smile as he let his head hang back as he looked up to the sky. You slowly pulled your hand from his and tapped him on the chest, “TAG! YOU’RE IT!!!!!!” You took off running as fast as you could knowing that as soon as he realised what was going on your short legs would be no match for his. Laughing Namjoon started to clumsily chase you through the park kicking up the leaves as he went. It wasn’t very often these days that he just relaxed and had some fun but whenever he was around you, he couldn’t help but enjoy that playful side of his personality. After letting you get some distance on him, he easily caught up and grabbed hold of you before dragging you down onto the grass. He lied back looking up to the sky and pulled your head to rest on his chest. He lay there quietly catching his breath, lazily playing with your fingers in his, and thought of how much he enjoyed it when you were around. Scrunching his eyes shut and a sigh and a laugh he let the words slip out, “I love you, Y/N.”

Jimin

Big Hit had brought you in months ago as a dance partner for Jimin’s solo on tour. Both being perfectionists meant that you had spent hours every day in rehearsal getting the choreography just right and working on building believable chemistry for the stage. In the early days, you thought you had feelings for Jimin but pushed them aside because you knew contractually it was a big no-no to have any kind of romantic interactions with any members. It was hard though, especially considering the nature of the dance and how close and romantic you two had to be with each other. Instead, you had settled into your daily routine with each other – first meeting at the venue to run through the dance in a rehearsal space, meeting up backstage before the show to wish each other luck, performing, and then a quick hug backstage before Jimin ran to a quick change. Everything seemed business as usual when you walked into the rehearsal space that morning but as the dance went on the more tension built in the air. You were mid-way through the choreography, just at the point where Jimin pulled you into his lap and the rolled you over so you were lying on the floor and he was holding himself in an almost plank position just a few inches above you. Except for this time, the music continued and Jimin didn’t. He looked down into your eyes, his heart racing, breathing heavily. His heart skipped a beat and instantly he knew how he felt about you. Closing the small gap between you, just as his lips started to brush yours, he confessed, “I love you, Y/N.”

Taehyung

Relaxing and playing video games together had become a common past time for you and Taehyung. Well, relaxing wasn’t exactly the right word. Things got very competitive even though Taehyung kicked your butt every single time. Every. Single. Time. And to make matters worse each time that he won he let out his signature giggle and patted himself on the head as a reward. It drove you crazy to see him so smug yet so innocent in his actions. You had decided to resort to whatever actions necessary for it to not happen again, even if it was just once. That day you were lying on the floor on your stomachs in front of the TV playing Mario Kart. You somehow miraculously managed to keep pace with him through the entire Mario race but just as the finishing line was nearing Taehyung threw a blue shell at you and you were thrown off the course. Knowing he would win and yet again giggle in your face if you didn’t do something you resorted to dirty tactics. You jumped onto Taehyungs back so you were straddling him and started tickling him as hard as you could so he would drop the controller. He was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe as his character slowed to a stop just feet from the finish line. With one hand still tickling him, you grabbed your controller and finished the race, beating him for the first time. You jumped up and took a victory lap around the room. Taehyung rolled onto his back and smiled as he watched you enjoy your moment. He realised while watching you how easy it was to just exist with you and struggled to picture a time in the future without you there. He let out his signature goofy giggle and watched you celebrate as he said, “I love you.”

Jungkook

Jungkook had taken you on a date to your favourite place in the world, the aquarium. Moving through the darkened walkways Jungkook always walked a few steps behind you. He did this every time he brought you here because he loved to stand back and watch you. You ran up to the next brightly lit tank and started making up internal monologues and personalities for the aquatic life inside, complete with voices and backstories. Slowly sneaking up behind you Jungkook wrapped his arms around your waist and nestled his chin on your shoulder and giggled while listening to your ramblings. It wasn’t long before you were flying out of his arms and to the next window of the huge tank to continue making up lives for the fish inside. Jungkook stayed where he was and peered through the window across the tank to you. You didn’t even see him watching but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from you. He loved that you weren’t afraid to be a dork in public and as he looked at you puffing out your cheeks at a pufferfish he realised there was no other dork he’d rather be with. Moving to you at the next window he once again wrapped his arms around your waist, only this time he’d turned you to face him as he did. Leaning down he planted a very soft, long kiss on your lips. Leaving his forehead resting on yours you could feel him smile into your lips as he declared, “I love you.”

[the-only-universe-here]

So like Actor AU I guess

Okay so like, since I just started having a lot of thoughts about stuff with team KRML, I’m just gonna like,,,,,,,,

So, the team are the main characters of a show called Alteria Academy, a small series about four people who are pulled into a magical world and put into an academy while they try to figure out how to get back home. It was supposed to be a humor series, but after their first season the series exploded in popularity, and the plot has thickened considerably.

Kasten comes from a family of actors, his father was the one that got him into it, bringing him onto movie sets with him. He had his own debut on-screen with a commercial for an amusement park, and has now worked up to Hollywood level movies.

He ends up playing goofy sidekick-type characters, and is a master of funny improv

Desperately wants to get into a Disney movie, either live-action or voice acting

Ends up accidentally crushing on the people he acts with, all the time. His acting kind of shows that as well - many fan theories have been thrown into chaos by the expressions he throws his fellow actors when he forgets the camera is on.

He literally faceplanted the first time he saw Lilac, it caused a bit of panic with his crew before they all kind of quieted and watched her walk by... and then helped him up.

Maru, embarrassingly enough, started as an assistant to a YouTuber, usually just doing small, stupid skits that had an unfortunately high production quality. And then a producer for Alteria Academy reached out to her and her YouTuber friend basically forced her to go for it.

Doesn’t have a lot of experience to go off of but her characters in the skits were usually like, cliche tomboy girls.

If you look hard enough you’ll find a video of Maru online basically redoing one of those zumba exercise videos, complete with shitty early-2000′s word art. Don’t bring it up to her, upon pain of death.

Started out feeling really out of her depth on the set of Alteria Academy, but she’s been getting used to it.

Punched Kasten in the face the first time they met (thank god no one saw it). She was already wound up with all the stress of getting into an actual production stage and his stupid face was not helping. (The blood was explained away by him faceplanting over Lilac five minutes later, rip his nose)

Riley was one of the diaper babies in the commercials. You know the ones. The ones where the tiny kiddos smile and run around all happy in their clean diapers. He can’t help it but he kind of blushes whenever people mention it. His official start was through voice acting, a web series that someone hired him on to do after becoming an acquaintance.

You need a dark, broody character with that Deep Ominous Voice? Riley is your man, it’s why he was asked to start voice acting.

He lowkey wants to be casted as someone else as the broody person but like. At the same time he knows that he pulls the Dark Broody Boy very well (on... and off screen, lmao)

Felt suuuuper out of his element at first when he got to the set of Alteria, and he's still kind of awkward but. He's getting better, slowly.

He does actually enjoy working with the rest of the cast, he just didn't know what to make of them when they first met so. Oops, weird first impressions were made and Maru is still kinda weird around him.

Lilac was born into big money, and started acting more as a side hobby/something for her own income once she was officially taken in by her uncle. When she's not acting, she's working with her uncle at his wildlife sanctuary.

Everybody is at least in some way attracted to her. She just has this sort of ephemeral beauty to her that unknowingly has everybody's jaws dropping as she walks past because like. Is she actually human or like, a real life demigod?

Usually gets the part of the mysterious fortune teller/oracle that leads the main cast towards their next adventure, but at some point she played a sort of badass/hardcore villain and everybody got nosebleeds. She's too powerful.

Off camera everyone is shocked to find that she's a shy bean that struggles with her words, when she's such a flawless actor?? She just doesn't know what to say when she doesn't have lines set out for her

Carries a little white emotional support cat around set named Patel. He's spoiled, by both Lilac and Kasten. He once accidentally got caught on camera and just kind of became part of the show (the CGI people were not pleased with the additional work, but...)

[sarazanmai]

Stuff I loved in 2018.

Its that time again. The end of a year and a look back on all the stuff I enjoyed. Honestly I almost wasn’t going to write this because I feel these posts are a lot of effort with very little reward, but there was a lot I experienced this year that I think was interesting and worth sharing. So let’s go.

Roger Ebert once said “artistry can redeem any subject matter”. While I’m not sure any subject matter can be salvaged through an artistic eye, it can certainly help. If someone approaches a certain material with a clear vision and purpose to what they do they can create something truly fascinating. The Monogatari series is a very strange one. Its told in a non chronological order, there’s characters who say they’re one thing and reveal themselves to be something else, there’s a lot of references to other anime, the visual style changes sometimes radically, its incredibly meta, some moments of fanservice have a deeper meaning to them while others not so much. Me personally I think the series goes through periods of being brilliant as well as periods where it just is not up to the same standard as before. That said I kind of like that, I like that you go through so many different moods and style shifts. Not everyone will like that, some will get frustrated with the weaker seasons, but for me I think it all comes together and really made for something I won’t forget. I watched the entire series within a week and then later in the year I rewatched it all barring “Koyomimonogatari” which is one of those weaker seasons in my opinion. Despite its bulk, despite its tendencies, the Monogatari series just kept me hooked.

There comes a time where we all must accept certain truths. One of them is a lot of you don’t really understand mecha. I still see all of these reviews and comments claiming that mecha before “Evangelion” were all just light fluffy Saturday morning cartoon fare with little substance. This could not be further from the truth. The Gundam franchise from the very beginning was serving what I am going to refer to as a human element. It was not this soulless creation who’s only goal was to sell model kits. Whether it was Amuro’s PTSD from piloting the Gundam or Kamille and his tragic romance with Four or Char’s true motives during the original series there was always more going on than just giant robots shooting things. This isn’t even taking into consideration other installments like “War in the Pocket” where its a story of war from the point of view of a child and soldier. I have not watched every Gundam anime, I am sure there are some that were just there to exist as another installment in the franchise and didn’t necessarily push the franchise or genre into new areas. But what I have seen in “Mobile Suit Gundam”, “Zeta Gundam” “War in the Pocket”, “Unicorn”, “Iron Blooded Orphans”, and even the polarizing “ZZ Gundam” which I admittedly dropped were all very interesting and very unique experiences. Tomino really hit on something when he created the series and now we’ve come so far that we have a franchise so massive and large it needs an entire wikipedia article devoted to its cultural impact.

Once again, mecha that came before “Evangelion” were still displaying that human element many critics are convinced wasn’t there. In “Macross” its very prominent to the point where it feels like a driving force to the entire show as well as its film “Do You Remember Love”. We spend as much time with the characters and their developing relationships as we do with the mecha battles. The emphasis on music and culture as something that can create a change in the world is one of the themes synonymous with the franchise. While there certainly were times in the show where it leaned a bit into a comical area, I didn’t mind this. It was a show aimed at a younger audience and was trying to communicate these themes on their level so at times things can be a bit silly, but I appreciate what is being said so much that it does not feel like an issue. The heart is still there, the human element is still there. And more complex and serious sub plots are there too. Regardless when it comes to the film “Do You Remember Love” and the OVA “Macross Plus” things were certainly approached with a more mature voice, bringing the franchise to new places. I watched this prior to any Gundam anime in an attempt to get a better feel for the mecha genre. I wanted to expand my tastes and I’m very happy I did because not only did I love this I also want to really explore the genre now more than ever.

With the release of “Lupin III Part 5″ this year I was really turned onto that franchise. I ended up getting this massive itch to explore it when that anime wrapped and while not everything I found was a masterpiece it was a worthwhile endeavor. There’s something to Lupin the character and the series at large that manages to be both fun while also evoking a sense of coolness in spite of his goofiness. It was interesting to go through the various TV series and the movies and some specials and get a sense for how its evolved through time. Rewatching “The Castle of Cagliostro” I really enjoyed it a lot and other installments like “The Fuma Conspiracy” and “The Hemingway Paper Mystery” were hugely entertaining. I really liked “Lupin III part 4″ and “The Woman Called Fujiko Mine” too and the original “Lupin III” anime. I can still hear that voice singing “Lupin...he’s a nice man...but he’s cool...”. And objectively speaking green jacket is best jacket. I feel like this is a series that has undergone so much evolution through the various people that came in to work on it that there’s bound to be something that appeals to somebody. You just have to find it.

I spent a lot of time ignoring “Gintama” and its a bit of a shame that I did because this is a really fun series. Despite how long it is I really didn’t feel like it took me a terribly long time to finish it. And even though its goal is more on the comedic side of things, the series surprised me with how strong of an emotional punch it can provide. The cast of characters is one of the most likeable and fun that I’ve seen in a while and the seiyuu cast was very impressive. Everyone plays their character well and I get the sense they really enjoy working on it. Akira Ishida in particular seemed to really get a kick out of playing someone as ridiculous as Katsura when so many of his other roles lean more serious. And of coarse everyone loves Tomokazu Sugita as Gin. His voice just feels so right for a character like this and it was great having him for something this big when in other anime I’ve seen him in he’s only around for so long. I’ve also got to give the series credit for its female characters. There’s a really sturdy amount and they’re all occupying their own place in this world with distinct identities. This is something that makes this world feel more alive and expansive. Kagura is a character I need to applaud for the fact that she wasn’t there for some sort of lolicon fanservice or to have a really awkward crush on Gin or Shinpachi. No she just cares about food and her dog. What a queen. Speaking of Shinpachi he was the MVP of this series, good boy. And there’s our Shinsengumi boys and of coarse Gin himself, so many great characters. I am sure a lot of people look at how much there is to “Gintama” and get nervous at the size of it, but there’s really no need to. When it clicks with you then there’s no putting it down.

“Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju” might be one of the greatest anime in recent years. It takes you through so many periods in this man’s life and the people around him and manages to hold you the entire way. Once again Akira Ishida is someone I need to give major credit to. He’s a very talented seiyuu and in this anime his performance was so impressive I was almost beside myself. Given the performance style the series is built around the cast all needed to be really great at reciting these stories and articulating them. And for the scenes where the characters are not on stage, when the interpersonal drama comes out, everything just hits in such a powerful way. I can’t remember how often I cried during this anime, but it never felt like I was being manipulated. It all felt as if it came through organically and easily. Even more subtle scenes like a character finding out he’s having a child hit on just the right emotions. If you are in the mood for a fantastic character driven drama this is absolutely one I’d recommend.

Speaking of character driven drama “Sangatsu no Lion” is another one to tune into. It initially presents itself as a very intense and dark story, but as the viewer stays involved you find that this is not about wallowing in self loathing but healing. The family that has taken this very troubled young man in and helped him navigate through his mental illness is so likeable and endearing. You find yourself wanting to see him get better and hope that these girls, as well as the other shogi players, find happiness for themselves too. Its not always simple though. There are ups and downs to the characters and their arcs, but it never feels bitter or angry. It feels like reality. Over the coarse of its two seasons it manages to do what so many other shows about a character with depression fail to do. It never feels exploitative or like it has no sense of how to handle such a topic nor does it feel hopeless. As difficult as things in Rei’s life can become you know deep down this isn’t the end of the line, things can get better. It also does a very good job at holding your attention whether you understand the intricacies of shogi or not. You’re told what feels like the essential basic rules to the game and you aren’t thrown into a state of culture shock if you’ve never looked into the game before. I feel like what we have here is a modern masterpiece and more people have been watching it and celebrating it as a great achievement and that makes me so happy.

“Galaxy Express 999″, pronounced “three nine” because why not, is quite the space opera. I watched every episode of the original TV series as well as the two films directed by Rintaro and while they have some flaws or areas that did not age well, they’ve remained famous for a reason. The TV series did a really great job at pulling at your emotions and showing you different worlds. Some felt similar to others, but then there’s so much creativity in other areas. The concept of a space train was inspired by the popular Japanese children’s book “Night on the Galactic Railroad”, which would receive its own anime adaptation, and what Leiji Matsumoto did with this inspiration ended up taking on an identity all its own. You really feel for this bond between Tetsuro and Maetel. You spend so much time wondering just who Maetel is and what her goal in all of this could be. She’s kept just vague enough where I feel we were told all that we needed to. Tetsuro is someone I’ve seen reviewers describe as a little frustrating due to his naivete, but he’s a child. It makes complete sense for him to place his trust in the wrong person or make a mistake like he does. Masako Nozawa, the future voice of Goku and all his male relatives barring Raditz, voiced Tetsuro and I think she really brought a strong likeability to the character. We feel for him and also have a lot of fun seeing him travel through space. Its hard to say what version is stronger, I’d argue the show but know its not easy to recommend something that hefty. Whether someone watches the films or the show or both I think they’re still getting something great out of it.

And they say you can’t sum up a show in one image. So “Madoka Magica” what are we to do about you? Its kind of hard to explain, but I rather purposefully chose not to watch it for this long. Mostly because I was tired of the hype and the fandom basically pulling an “Evangelion” and acting like no magical girl anime or manga prior to this served emotions. But its presence never really died, this anime is almost a decade old now and people still care. And while I don’t regret not tuning in while it was running, I am very happy to have experienced it on my own terms. It gave me one of my new favorite characters with Homura, its visually stunning and marvelously directed. the music is so enchanting, and the story really is good. I think the show from start to end was a great watch and really kept me going and the bittersweet nature of it did work for me. As far as the movies go I did watch “Rebellion” and while I think its good it does complicate what the message to the series is in my opinion. Either way its just the same as “End of Evangelion” where I don’t see it as canon. I think the big question a lot of people have is if this lives up to the hype and I’m not totally sure how to answer that, but it is an anime worth your time all the same.

This will be easy. I have a review already written out for “Slam Dunk” so if you want my more expanded thoughts there you go. This really is a fantastic anime.

Last year I watched the movie “A Silent Voice”, but failed to put it in my year end review out of pure laziness. I am not making that same mistake again. “In This Corner of the World” is a film I am very grateful to have seen. Its a very interesting take on a WWII story. Not that we haven’t had movies about the war from the perspective of a civilian before, but there is something to the way its approached through our protagonist that feels especially powerful. She experiences so much during those years and tries her best to keep living with keeping her family alive as her main motivation and eventually is met with tragedy. Its produced by a studio called Mappa who’ve gained a lot of attention for “Yuri on Ice” and this year’s “Banana Fish. I did not like those anime very much, but I really loved this film and have to applaud them for trying different types of stories. I hope the projects they have lined up for 2019 are as enjoyable as this. I’ve heard the director has an interest in releasing an extended cut and if that happens I’ll be very interesting in seeing what it offers.

Again I will not make the same mistake twice. “A Silent Voice” was directed by a woman named Naoko Yamada. She also directed “K-On” and “Tamako Market”, two series that made it on my post for last year. She has an incredible talent and in my opinion is the director in anime to watch. After the success of “A Silent Voice” a lot of people wanted to see where she would go and what she gave us is nothing short of amazing. “Liz and the Blue Bird” is a film more people need to pay attention to. Those who’ve seen it adore it, fans have given it very high scores and glowing reviews. But I think this movie needs even more attention beyond that because compared to movies like “Doukyuusei” this feels like it made a smaller splash in the community. Yamada’s approach to love and drama is so effective without being forceful, you really feel for these girls and the longing between them. Yamada is a director who cares deeply for respecting the emotions of her characters which is why she has successfully created so many famous emotional scenes without them feeling melodramatic or feeling staged. This is especially clear with this film where she manages to communicate everything we need to know, but in very few spoken words. And the animation as one expects from a Kyoani project is just lovely. It also manages to work very strongly with its blue toned color palette. So many people make these blue toned movies look dreary, but not here. Things still have a brightness to them and even a warmth. I feel very lucky I was able to see this movie this year when so many anime films take so long to be made available elsewhere. When it reaches the US on bluray I am definitely buying it.

When it comes to the seasonal TV anime for the year, this was my favorite.”Sora yori mo Tooi Basho“ or “A Place Further than the Universe” is a very interesting installment in the “cute girls do blank” genre of anime. Here its cute girls go to the arctic. It sounds like a weird premise to a show, but when you see it put into practice its impressive how much you feel invested in these girls and what they’re doing. Its directed by a woman named Atsuko Ishizuka who was once identified as one of the great talents at the famed studio Madhouse. I think, like Yamada, she manages to work within these character heavy stories while avoiding any unnecessary melodrama. A lesser director would have made some scenes so cheesy or so over the top sad and that can take you right out of the experience. At first I was unsure of how big of a hit this anime would be given how many huge shows came out this year, but its managed to top the bluray sales in Japan for quite a while now. I feel really happy it became such a success. People say the cute girl sub genre is played out and that if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all, that is not true. Sometimes you need a talented director, an off the cuff premise, and you can get something fresh out of a genre that sometimes over saturates the market.

“Pop Team Epic” is an anime the like of which we’ve never seen before. And we will never get it again. A lot of people have said that in order to understand or get the jokes you have to know what it is they’re parodying and that really is not true. This isn’t referential humor like in “Gintama” where the impact of the joke relies on you knowing that material. If you don’t know "Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” you won’t get it when Gin references Joseph and Caesar’s training with Lisa Lisa. Here the approach to the comedy is so surreal that if you don’t know the reference it just registers as a bizarre thing they did. Sure I know they referenced things like “Hikaru no Go”, but someone who doesn’t would just think its “Pop Team Epic” being weird again. And if you do know what they’re referencing then you know the layers to the joke. The anime is also in a lot of ways very visually strong to the point of being almost avant-garde. It was expensive and time consuming to make even if people don’t realize it. All of these different animation styles, the mixed media approach to certain scenes. They even brought in Miyo Sato, the woman who does the paint on glass animation for “Mob Psycho 100″, to work on the show for a few segments. To a lot of people this show was a meme, but in a lot of ways I think it was doing more than that. We’re not going to get another season or anything out of it, but I’m happy something this strange was able to exist and grab hold of such a large scale audience.

I have an in depth analytical review out for "Berserk”, if you would like to read such a thing there it is. However it does contain spoilers. My unspoiled and condensed opinions are that its fantastic, with gorgeous art, well developed and amazing characters, and tons of soul. Its very intense and not exactly for everyone, but its definitely a masterpiece. Unfortunately it also has a very foul fandom which turned me off reading it for years. I genuinely expected my review to garner a lot of negative feedback given how this fandom is, to my surprise this never happened though. If you can remove the toxic fandom from the equation, which is surprisingly easy to do, then you’re golden. Also this is a romantic manga and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise because they’re cowards.

“Golden Kamuy” is fantastic as a manga. I watched the anime too, but I feel like that works best treated like a companion piece to the manga. I’ve best described the plot as “One Piece” meets “Silence of the Lambs”. This is also something that probably comes closest to evoking the same kind of strangeness that “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” has. The best way I can put it is that characters will say things that are weird, but nobody acts like they’re weird. There is also a lot of information fed to the reader about aspects of the Ainu culture and hunting and weaponry. At first it feels as if you’re being given a lot of information on topics that aren’t going to be important, but they end up having more significance than you realize. The same applies to the characters. I was surprised at how many characters I expected to be left behind were made relevant later on. And they’re memorable. Sugimoto, Asirpa, Shiraishi, Ogata, Tsurumi, Tanigaki, even that little girl Osoma was memorable. One thing the story really excels at is how you have a large amount of characters chasing the same prize, but with their own reasons. Nobody loses sight of their own motivation, some we still haven’t learned their true gain in all of this, and we see how this effects the flow of the plot. For such a large cast this would under a different writer feel very cluttered, but not here. And visually the manga looks amazing. Noda’s art is a little odd at first, but when you really look at it he’s got a lot of talent. Everyone looks distinct, the backgrounds look great, the animals look good (we’re not gonna discuss the anime’s CGI). If I had to recommend just one I’d say the manga as the anime does skip material, some due to networks being incapable of showing such things others honestly feel skipped because they wanted to streamline the plot at the expense of characterization and world building. I do still recommend taking in both as this sort of bundle deal though because the anime really is entertaining and has such a strong seiyuu cast it would be a shame to pass it by completely.

Takehiko Inoue is an absolute master at this stage in his career. In an interview with Akira Toriyama he was called someone with a real sense for manga and its amazing to see how he went from “Slam Dunk,” where he had not yet drawn a bare foot, to something like “Vagabond”. The art in this manga is deserving of all the praise it gets, its so detailed that it just leaves you stunned. The story also shows just how on point he is as a writer. I’m sure through the many movies and shows about Musashi Miyamoto a lot of Japanese audiences have a certain way they tend to view him and then here comes Inoue offering a different approach to the man. One where he is still working towards an enlightened state and trying to reign in an animalistic rage. Working in themes of being the strongest under the sun, what it means to live for the sword, how these choices effect the people left behind, its really fascinating stuff. There’s even an entire long stretch of chapters where we break away entirely from Musashi to focus on a young Kojiro and his adoptive father, its a very sudden break away yet it doesn’t feel random or jarring. I think because Inoue knows how to craft compelling characters so effortlessly it made that shift in focus work as well as it did. Its one of the most successful manga in terms of sales and with good reason, its a masterpiece. This is one of those manga that currently is on an indefinite hiatus and I can only hope Inoue is able to finish it. And if for whatever reason he can’t then at least we can say we got what we got.

Behold your new shonen king! Not Izuku, not Hinata. Open your arms for the next great shonen! “Dr. Stone” is a manga that at the moment doesn’t have the largest of audiences, but everyone I know who’s read it absolutely loves it. And with the anime being released next year I can only hope that will be the push that people need to experience it. The story is focused very heavily on innovation and discovery which feels so fresh compared to a lot of things Weekly Shonen Jump has been producing as of late. And the level to which things have been thought out really impresses me. In recent chapters it was revealed that in that period of time humanity was petrified the terrain has changed drastically and the maps from the past are now worthless. So that means finding a way to survey the land and get a better sense of the world. Its so exciting to read this sort of thing. And the characters are so fun. Senku is a very interesting character to place at the center of this story. He’s a genius and approaches things as logically as possible, sometimes he can be a jerk and self serving, but he’s always going to do what he can to further civilization because he just loves science that much. Chrome is a really funny character to bounce off of him. We recently were introduced to a new member of the cast that has great potential. I like Asagiri. Its written by the same mangaka behind “Eyeshield 21″ and while I have not read that I can say through this manga that he’s really got a great sense of story telling. I also really like Boichi’s art, he pulls out some hilarious extreme faces and also some really dynamic scenes. Next summer can’t come fast enough because I am so hyped and ready for this anime to start.

“Kimetsu no Yaiba” is another manga that will be getting an anime next year and I am extremely excited. If I had to compare it to anything I would honestly say its like if “Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood” and “Hunter x Hunter” got crossbred. Its mangaka Koyoharu Gotouge really feels very influenced by Yoshihiro Togashi in both her writing as well as some of her character designs. Togashi actually said this manga along with “Dr. Stone” is one of the ones in recent years to read which I’m sure made her thrilled to hear. I feel like this is something that does a lot of the things people generally want to see in anime and manga. You have a strong sibling dynamic at the center of the story (and it isn’t one of those relationships), there’s female characters that are involved with the action and its treated like a real fight, there’s themes of family that are always really endearing, aesthetically its very beautiful while still being able to pull off a more intense body horror style moment, fanservice aside from a couple moments is at a minimum, and it is also very funny. There’s a lot of personality to our main characters as well as the Pillars that we have gotten to know and it doesn’t feel crowded. She knows when to use a character and when to keep them out of a certain arc. She also has a lot of respect towards Nezuko who I feel another writer would have shoved aside in favor of her brother. But Nezuko is shown to still retain her autonomy in spite of her predicament, she fights and is sometimes vital to defeating a demon, and the more recent events in the story show a lot of potential for furthering her as a character. The anime is to be released for the spring and its made by Ufotable, based on the PV we have at the moment this show will definitely be gorgeous. I am very excited for what they’ve done with this material and I can only hope other people will be watching too because I do not want this to be a series people sleep on.

“Revolutionary Girl Utena” is a masterpiece. I have frankly a really complicated opinion of Kunihiko Ikuhara. A lot of people think he can do no wrong, I am not one of them. There’s things that happened with “Sailor Moon” that I know weren’t his fault, but there’s also things that happened during S where he had the most control over the project that still bother me. I can never know for sure if these were his ideas or things Toei forced onto him as he did leave the show because of a lack of freedom to do what he wanted, but that said when he really commits to a project he can produce something amazing. He has said many things over the years regarding Utena and a big takeaway from them is that he does not want to tell us what to feel, he wants us to decide for ourselves. I think what Utena fundamentally is about is deconstructing romantic tropes, analyzing chivalry, and the lies men tell women. The series gets more complex and symbolic as it progresses until we get to the movie “Adolescence of Utena” where its refusing to hold your hand any step of the way. Unlike with “End of Evangelion” or “Madoka Rebellion” the “Adolescence” movie is not an attempt at a different ending, but more of an alternative retelling of the story. Its a pure visual masterpiece and a movie that I honestly think deserves to be seen with or without the TV show. That said I would strongly recommend both of them as not only is it one of the greatest shojo ever, it is also Ikuhara at his finest. Moo.

[poppun-chan]

Poppun Live Blogs Mokku: Episode 3

And we’re back with episode 3, this is the last one I have the Japanese version of until episode 10. It’s also one of those episodes that is paired off with another without being part of an actual two-part story so the next episode will be posted in a few days. On a side note I’m never quite sure which name to use (especially for the three animals introduced here since they not only have different names between the Japanese and English version, but between the dub movie as well).

Either way, episode 3:

I’d like to take a moment to mention how amazing the backgrounds in this show are; I know T.V animation budgets tend to be a bit....lackluster, especially for newer studios, but they still managed to make the artwork really detailed. If you watch this scene you can actually see some animal tracks in the snow a few seconds after this, which is really neat (especially considering the look of some of the shows airing in North America at the same time).

I think Saban used their own bird noises for this and I have to wonder why....

Wait....Are his shoes just painted on?

“It’s all your fault that I’m having these problems this morning��

....I don’t think the bird put you in overly long night clothes that drag on the floor or made your foot turn backwards, but oh well

This part is a bit unusual; the episode takes a break to have spring explained, though some of the artwork is still neat

Wow, we're only three episodes in and they're already previewing the next series (No really, this is roughly how the first episode of Kerokko Demetan opens)

Believe it or not, Demetan has a scene like this too (You know, for tadpoles!)

So this is a bit weird: in the original version he says this incident happened last year, but in the dub he just says it happened once....I'm not sure why they changed it but for a while I thought maybe this happened to one of Geppetto's classmates when he was a child

Also apparently rabbit meat can carry a foodbourne illness called "rabbit fever" and you can actually suffer malnutrition if you eat it too often because of it's chemical make up, so trying to catch rabbits for meat is a bit dicey

Here's our first new character of the episode: This is Charlie the Mouse (In the original version his name is Akahige meaning Red Whiskers), right now he’s going through a bit of a “jealous older sibling” stage with Mokku. I picked a screen shot of him looking cute for the humans

This is something that's bothered me for a while, especially since the dub is a bit unclear as to whether he needs to eat or not (I don't have enough of the Japanese version to know for that one), but he can't taste anything. And it's mentioned in episode 9 with his Father knowing, but do you think he knew at this point, or is Mokku just pretending he can taste things to make his Father happy?

"If you were any good at helping you wouldn't be a ghost in the first place" "It’s not my fault that I'm a ghost, but maybe I can help keep you from becoming one and you need all the help you can get"

Actually, the back and forth between these two is surprisingly fun, which is a bit unexpected for me since my parents lectured me rather than punished; so I would have expected to get annoyed easily by these scenes, but they managed to give these two a nice dynamic, especially later on

Cricket himself falls into a good middle ground compared to his constantly present Disney counterpart, who gets along with his charge right away, and the more stern Cricket form the book, who appears a couple of times in the middle of the book and again at the end, but (pardon the pun) buggers off for most of the story.

In both the English & Japanese versions he promised the Fairy to look out for Mokku, but even in this episode we can see he genuinely cares about him and later in the series Mokku starts to warm up to Cricket.

I’m going to sidetrack for a moment to mention how progressive this village is

Now, I’m sure some girls went to public school in 19th century Europe (as opposed to the governess and finishing school wealthy girls had), but she looks like she’s about 11 and I know my Great-Grandmother (born in 1907) went to school all the way through 4th grade and by then most of the other girls her age had dropped out. Good on you, nameless anime village and parents we don’t really get to see.

In the original this is, presumably, the first time he's written anything (It’s also the first time we actually see him make it to school) and he's proud of Mokku learning to write so well. Either way, it’s a cute moment

More new characters! The Fox is named Jack, in the original his name is Kenken which has a few possible meanings; it can mean "reverently", but there are a few phrases where it means "noisy" or "boistrous", it can also mean hopping on one foot, but it's probably the second and he sometimes says it's the first The Weasel’s name is Willie, Hanaguro (black-nosed) in the original, in most versions his counterpart is a cat (and female in the book), but that’s actually a completely separate character who we’ll meet in episode 5.

Now this is interesting; Jack & Willie initially think pushing Mokku in the river so he goes over the waterfall to get his lunch is a bit excessive when they could just take it, and Charlie convinces them to since that’s what he really wanted. But then he’s the first one of the three to warm up to Mokku and be nicer to him (or at least not try to kill him).

Sweet goodness, even without any context you can tell from this one shot that this has the potential to end really badly.

Also, I know "Spring Mole Wrestling" sounds like a bit of goofy dub dialogue, but it's actually in the original....hm. Oddly one thing that was changed for the dub was that the sandwiches were originally corned beef, not egg.

“Here let me hold your lunch box while you stand really close to the river so the moles don’t try to steal it“

“That’s really nice, thank you“

....Oh Mokku.

“Stand on the bank and lean close to the water“

Oh dear

Ok....Now believe it or not this is sort of in the source material; the cat & fox try to hang him in the book....and apparently this story originally ran in a periodical and everything after that point was added for the book....so the story originally ended with the attempted hanging....wow....

So at this point the Oak Fairy shows up and the branch he’s holding onto turns into her arm and she helps him pull himself out of the water, I’m not quite sure how this worked but it’s still a sweet moment

And good for you Oak Fairy for taking the time to explain WHY he should listen to his parents

Wait, so he's missing two, possibly three senses but he can still get sick? That's a bit unfair

This scene is why I list the episode as tying into the next one, to summarise; Mokku has a fever from falling in the river and his Father has gone to get medicinal plants. The mouse realises that he’ll get in trouble if he wakes up and tells on him, so he decides to murder him in his sleep (you know, for saplings!)

But Cricket is watching and steps in, this is actually between two other attempts, after this the mouse picks up and swings the hammer and Cricket blocks it with a ladle

To be fair, a mouse’s teeth grow throughout their lives so even if his broke a bit here they’d grow back soon

So Charlie tries to cut Mokku’s head off (apparently using a knife instead of the actual wood cutting tools that are right there) and Cricket slips in a piece of wood he cuts through instead.

It’s also worth mentioning that Charlie can’t actually see Cricket, so to him all of these things are just appearing out of nowhere

So now Charlie has decided to just bite through Mokku’s neck (By this point I think it’s safe to say he’s gone off the deep end) and Cricket gets thrown into a box trying to stop him, and then the episode ends. It’s only the 3rd episode so we all know he’ll be fine (and wait until you see how it happens)

Join us next time life returns to normal and the animals burn down a building

[healthcaretipsblog]

There were many great films in 2017, and while most of these movies find themselves embraced as the end of the year rolls around, a few have slipped through the cracks. The following list will attempt to give these forgotten films their due, and also shine a light on some of 2017’s most interesting, challenging films that audiences (and sometimes critics) ultimately rejected. These are the Most Underrated Movies of 2017.

While most end of the year Best Of lists have a correlation that results in the same group of films ending up on multiple lists, there are outliers. These are the films that somehow have slipped through the cracks; the films that audiences and critics have forgotten. The following list of the Most Underrated Movies of 2017 does not regard a film by its arbitrary Rotten Tomatoes rating – that’s not what we’re focusing on here. Instead, we’re focusing on the movies that have somehow been rejected by audiences as a whole, or in some cases, films that have vanished from the public’s collective consciousness. There will be no finger pointing here; no blame, or shame. Instead, this list will seek to celebrate and highlight some excellent 2017 movies that haven’t received nearly as much attention or praise as they deserve.

13. Wheelman

Netflix apparently blew their 2017 advertising budget on the abysmal fantasy cop flick Bright. That’s the only way to explain why the streaming giant has done such a terrible job promoting their other, better films. This year alone Netflix released excellent original films Wormwood, First they Killed My Father and Okja, but good luck finding those particular movies when you fire up the Netflix app. That said, while those three aforementioned films have managed to receive acclaim and attention, Netflix’s Wheelman received little to no buzz.

Which is a damn shame, because it’s a highly entertaining, efficiently made action flick that’s better put together than most movies that choke up the multiplex. Like the bastard love child of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive and Michael Mann’s Collateral (with a little Thief thrown in for good measure), Wheelman has Frank Grillo as a getaway driver who gets in way over his head.

Wheelman spans the course of one night, and takes place almost entirely within the front seat of Grillo’s car. This may not sound entirely appealing, yet Wheelman is full of surprises that keep the premise constantly afloat. Also helping matters is Grillo, who turns in an intense, quick-thinking performance that channels a young Robert De Niro. Wheelman eventually shifts one gear too many in its third act, but these few minor sins are forgivable because everything that came before them is so much damn fun. Next time you’re scrolling through Netflix, try to find this film – it’s buried on the platform somewhere.

12. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage

We certainly didn’t need another xXx sequel. And I doubt anyone was clamoring for the return of Xander Cage, one of Vin Diesel’s least memorable characters. Yet xXx: The Return of Xander Cage is so gloriously goofy and unapologetically over-the-top that you can’t help but fall for this flick. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage opens with Diesel’s super spy skiing down a (snow-free) mountain to steal a WiFi signal, and only gets more ludicrous from there.

There certainly is some semblance of plot here, but it doesn’t matter, at all. Instead, The Return of Xander Cage is just an excuse to stage one stupid-yet-entertaining action set piece after another. You want a motorcycle chase sequence where the motorcycle wheels turn into jet skis so that the chase can continue across the ocean? You’ve got it. You want a scene where a sniper is thwarted by a DJ’s sick record spinning moves? Here you go!  You want to watch Toni Collette ham it up big time while likely collecting a big paycheck? Watch this movie!

Diesel’s Xander Cage is the least-interesting element here, but that’s okay, because the film surrounds him with super-cool supporting characters played by super-cool actors, including Tony Jaa, who gets to bob his head to music at a funeral, and Ruby Rose, who doesn’t have a whole lot to do but still looks incredibly badass anyway. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage is without a doubt one of the most entertaining movies of 2017.

11. Stronger

On paper, Stronger looked like another hagiography; a film that treated a real-life person like a marble saint, void of flaws, trotted out to wave a flag and provide little to no insight. But David Gordon Green‘s biopic focusing on Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman is a surprisingly honest, warts-and-all look at a flawed individual going through a traumatic experience.

Rather than present Bauman as a straight-up hero, Green’s Stronger instead takes care to reveal how ordinary, and even flawed, the real Bauman was before the bombing. After the bombing costs Bauman his legs, he suffers from intense PTSD that he at first refuses to even acknowledge. This decision begins to play hell with his life, and his relationship with his girlfriend.

Jake Gyllenhaal, one of the best actors working right now, plays Bauman, and he’s remarkable. This is an intense, difficult part to play, and Gyllenhaal nails every single facet of it, from Bauman’s working class Bostonite life before the bombing, to his traumatic recovery in the aftermath. Gyllenhaal is matched turn for turn by Tatiana Maslany, playing Bauman’s long-suffering girlfriend. Gyllenhaal’s performance, filled with big, emotional moments recreating painful scenarios, is the more front-and-center of the two, but Maslany’s subtle, sad performance still shines through.

It would’ve been very easy to turn Stronger into a cheap, sentimental, blemish-free portrait of Jeff Bauman. Instead, Green and screenwriter John Pollono created something far more interesting, and more realistic. Their film deserves more attention because of it.

10. Wonderstruck

I never thought we’d have a year where Todd Haynes would make a new movie and cinephiles would regard it with a shrug, yet here we are. I guess it makes sense that the hell year that is 2017 would be the one that has apparently no real time for Haynes’ charming Wonderstruck, but maybe folks in 2018 will give it the attention it deserves.

Haynes tells the story of two children from two different eras: Rose (Millicent Simmons), a deaf girl living in 1927, and Ben (Oakes Fegley), a boy living in 1977. Both children run away from home on their own individual quests, and little by little, Haynes and the screenplay by Brian Selznick (adapting his own book) reveal the ways these stories connect. This is a charming, gorgeous movie, with an altogether lovely score from Carter Burwell.

Haynes and cinematographer Edward Lachman portray each individual era with stark visual styles – a black and white, silent movie feel for the ’20s, a washed-out, grainy vibe for the ’70s  – making Wonderstruck a feast for the eyes. In addition to all of this, young actress Millicent Simmonds is something of a revelation – put her in more movies. ASAP. Honestly, I’m kind of at a loss as to why Wonderstruck has been virtually ignored. Is it too simplistic? Perhaps. But that doesn’t make the movie any less special.

9. It Comes at Night

While most critics reacted positively to Trey Edward Shults‘ haunting, disturbing end-of-the-world drama It Comes At Night, the film underperformed at the box office and earned itself a dreaded D Cinemascore. Most of the film’s failure to connect with audiences was blamed on the marketing: trailers for this A24-released indie touted it as a straight-up horror movie with supernatural themes.

While It Comes At Night is without question a horror film, its horrors are more cerebral and internalized than your standard jump-scare laden scary movie. The film is also unrelentingly bleak, with no real hope to grasp onto. In a year that already felt plenty hopeless to begin with, audiences were likely not in the mood for the misery that Shults was selling.

Now that the film’s release has come and gone, it’s time for audiences to give it a chance (it’s currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video). Yes, It Comes At Night is bleak to the extreme, but it’s also a finely tuned instrument of anxiety – a jarring, unnerving nightmare movie that’s highly effective and full of lingering existential dread. It’s not going to be for everyone, but if you’re willing to give in to It Comes At Night‘s unpleasantness, you’ll find one of the best films of the year.

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