#i feel kinda the same way about norma but she actually fits the theme and has a proper place on the island as the obligatory farmer village

[gamebunny-advance]

Crossing the Animals

I've been playing ACNH a lot again recently, and I kinda hate what the new overwhelming power that the player has done to how I view my villagers.

On the one hand, I have given into the "creative player" mindset, where only the aesthetics of the animals really matters to me in terms of inviting them to live on Moonside. But on the other hand, I also still have the old "social sim" mindset, so I have difficulty letting go of animals that I've had a long time.

For example, I've had Raymond on my island since the game first came out because he was my mandatory smug villager, but tbh I don't really care for his businessman theme and was kinda put off from all the hype he had.

At first, I kept him because I felt bad throwing such a "rare" villager in into the void, especially when I knew others would really want him. My original intention was to pass him off to someone else when he got a thought bubble, but before that happened, I actually got attached to him for reasons not important enough to detail here. So ironically, even though this is the game with the (IMO) worst villager dialogue, he still managed to become a "character" for me, the same way Mint, Coco, and even Cole had in the past.

But even so, the bland dialogue and character interactions have kept him from becoming anything more than that, and the little affection I did have for him have started to fade.

So now, as I try to gather villagers that fit the aesthetics of my island better, Raymond keeps coming up on the chopping block, but I just can't bring myself to let him go, even though I know he really isn't going to do anything more for me. It's like I want to be able to say, "I've had this villager on my island since the very start of the game." even though a statement like that means literally nothing anyone, including myself.

And yet. I want to hang onto it. Even though it brings me no joy.

Ya know.

Now that I've written that out, I actually feel better about finally letting him go the next time he gets a thought bubble. I guess venting does actually work on occasion.

[topknotstrunk]

Review Everything 27 - Dead End: Paranormal Park

For the love of God can hosting sites PLEASE stop canceling shit before it has a chance to have an actual end?!

Like, come on, this isn’t even a “possibly the end”, it’s just very clearly a show that meant to have a third season it didn’t get. The show’s creator has said the story will continue via the books, so at least we’re getting crumbs [not saying books aren’t as good as cartoons but a story having to switch media, particularly unplanned, to get itself told is usually an unsatisfying way to wrap things up, at least to me].

On to the actual review: I really only have two complaints about the actual show itself, one that matters a little and one that matters not at all. The one that matters a little is that Norma was a pretty mean character when she was first introduced, which I feel is a pretty common and pretty unfair way to portray Autistic people in media. However she kind of gets over that as the show goes and and she learns to open up to her friends. The one that matters not at all is that I hate the Human nose designs in the show. It broke immersion for me at least twice an episode. XD

I feel like this is on e of those shows that someone made and then went, “Look, this is for YOU.” DE:PP centers around two of my most favorite special interests, the Paranormal and Theme parks. Even a bit of “pop culture understanding of the Bible” sprinkled in there for fun.

Lots of nice, smooth, frame by frame animation throughout, really saving the budget for important scenes without scrimping on the moment to moment stuff. Other than the noses the character designs are all really great. One good example is Courtney, the first time Angles were mentioned in the second season I was like, “Oh that’s why her horns are curved and also hollow, they’re meant to be a ring, like a halo.” She’s not a demon she’s a fallen angel which people often think are the same thing, this makes sense, I love this, good design, good character setup and payoff.

Also this magnificent beast is one of my favorite animated designs I’ve seen this year.

He is this meme personified.

Of course watching children’s media is “guessing the end before the end" on easy mode, but I did see all the major twists for the second season coming long before they happened. That’s never been an issue for me since it’s kinda just how I process media so I don’t really know what it’s like to watch stuff without that happening. To me it’s a sign of a story well told, it means the plot is making sense and that payoffs are set up correctly.

Loved seeing some Trans rep, some Bi rep, some gay rep. I also liked that Norma had to deal with the person she had a crush on being straight and not interested in her. Some cool character dynamics there, not something I’ve seen in a show that I can recall.

The pacing only really dipped once, the first episode of the second season felt squished, like they had too much to fit in to the run time. Probably because they did, they had a hell of a lot to both wrap up from the first “demons are the  Humans’ problem” arc to the second “angles are everyone’s problem” arc.

I am really quite sad it got canceled, and don’t understand this trend at all. Were the ratings that bad? The views? Netflix claims it was a “cost cutting measure” but like, does that mean it wasn’t making money, or? Who the fuck knows. I’ll just have to hope the graphic novels are as good as the series, that they do write an ending for the show, and be content with those unless and until some other company picks the show up for a third season.

In Summary: Even if it wasn’t geared to a lot of my own special interests I would have liked the show, but with those added, I love it. If you haven’t seen the two seasons I’d recommend going and watching, I bet it’s super bingeable now that both parts are available. 

Overall: 8/10