#i just don't stan that many groups okay xD

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x50 - A Woman's Fight! LadyDevimon / Joe's Battle

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Hikari freed the slaves from Mugendramon's undercity and then consumed them all for a power boost.

...hang on, did the English title really change 女の戦い on'na no tatakai to "Joe's Battle"? Women can't have anything in America, I fucking swear.

In any case, only one Dark Master left to go. Taichi made a promise last episode and he intends to keep it. Piemon, you're next.

We open on Mimi's crew. Since last we saw her, she's added Meramon and Yukidarumon to her ranks. They stand at the edge of Piemon's territory, watching the city stripe recede from Spiral Mountain.

Mimi: The city is disappearing! Jou: Taichi's group must have defeated another Dark Master. Gomamon: Agumon and the others are pushing through. Palmon: That makes three now, right? There's only one left. Ogremon: That last one is Piemon. The last Dark Master who governs the darkness. Yukidarumon: Rumor has it, he's the strongest of the Dark Masters. Jou: Okay, then. In any case, we should build up our nakama more before we meet back up with Taichi.

If you're wondering, yes, Gomamon's line was a ganbaru. We stan ganbaru around here. "頑張ってなアグモンたち Ganbatte na Agumon-tachi!" They are persevering through their hardships with gusto.

Meanwhile, Jou coming in with nakama, a tight-knit group of people united around a mutual activity or goal.

In the dub, Mimi starts narrating as soon as we see the city receding.

Mimi: Boy, just when you think it can't get any weirder! It's like the whole city is moving out of town! Joe: And I thought it was tough packing for camp! Gomamon: Tai must have defeated another Dark Master. Palmon: There can't be too many of them left. We're almost home free! Ogremon: You think so, huh? Well, the toughest one's still out there. Frigimon: Piedmon, the worst of the worst. Meramon: He's the darkest of the Dark Masters. Mimi: Well, like, rain on our parade, why don't you!? Joe: They're right. We'll need all the help we can get. I wonder if superheroes are listed in the phone book? ...let's find some friends, Mimi. Piedmon (V.O.): Kehehehehe! Round up as many as you want! The more, the merrier! It's nice having friends around to share your last moments with. UHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Not sure why Piedmon needed to butt in here. XD Guess they thought things weren't already tense enough. But it works. We know he's spent this entire arc spying on everyone through his impossible magic telescope and giggling to himself so this fits right in.

If Pinocchimon needed friends, then Piemon needs to get a life. QUIT PEEPING, IT'S CREEPY.

In any case, the quipping here seems pretty forced. Not the dub's best gags. But they still cover the key details: Tai's team defeated Machinedramon, the cities are receding, Piedmon is the strongest Dark Master, and Mimi's team intends to recruit more before joining back up.

From here, Mimi and Jou's nakama sets out. Though not without some friction.

Yukidarumon walks behind Ogremon, causing Ogremon to start shivering.

Ogremon: (shivering) Hey! Back off! You're too cold!

While foocused on yelling at Yukidarumon, Ogremon nearly walks right into Meramon. He flinches when he feels the heat, backing off and raising his club defensively.

Ogremon: ATATATAT!!! You're too hot! Ugh, what is wrong with the both of you!?

While Ogremon makes friends, Mimi becomes exhausted from all this walking and drops to her knees.

Mimi: So tired.... I can't walk anymore. I'm sleepy... and hungry.... Gekomon: The princ-- I mean, Mimi is hungry geko! Otamamon: Wait right here tama! We'll be right back with food tama! Mimi: Ah! I didn't say that because I wanted you to serve me! Gekomon: We know geko! Don't worry about it geko. Otamamon: We just want to make ourselves useful tama. One moment, please tama. Yukidarumon: Hey! I'll come with!

Gekomon, Otamamon, and Yukidarumon head off into the woods to forage.

In the dub, Gomamon kicks off the complaining.

Gomamon: Joe, why is it that we're always walking uphill? Ogremon: Yeah, yeah! It's freezing! (to Frigimon) Hey, do you mind!? I'm starting to get numb back there! Give me a little room, will ya!? (Ogremon almost walks into Meramon) Ogremon: You too, you walking barbecue! Joe: The walking uphill, I can deal with. But I sure could use a pair of earplugs. (Mimi drops to her knees) Mimi: I'm hungry. I'm tired! And my feet hurt! Joe: Mimi, I don't know what to do when you're like this! Gekomon: Did you hear? Princess Mimi just said that she was hungry! Otamamon: Don't worry, Princess! We'll be back with food before you know it! Mimi: Don't put yourself out. But if you're going, a chili dog with fries would be great. Gekomon: And, of course, the Princess will be wanting something to drink! Otamamon: That's right! Don't you worry about a thing, Princess Mimi. We'll be right back, okay? Joe: NO, WAIT!!! COME BACK!!! Frigimon: Not such a bad idea. I think I'll tag along.

We're climbing a mountain, Gomamon. How much downhill do you think there is in mountaineering? :P

Anyways. So. This sucks.

The original remembers that Mimi forbid Gekomon and Otamamon from treating her like royalty anymore. Not calling her Princess was specifically a condition of their admission into the nakama.

The dub has completely forgotten this detail. They pepper their dialogue with "Princess", which Mimi allows unquestioningly. In fact, Mimi is more than happy to take advantage of their subservience - offering only token resistance before placing a food order for her minions.

They are flat-out ignoring Mimi's character growth so they can portray her as a self-indulgent burden. This is driven home when Joe's given three lines of extra dialogue to sternly disapprove of everything that's happening in this scene. He didn't say a word in the original.

While Otamamon, Gekomon, and Yukidarumon set out, Mimi sits and ponders their kindness.

Mimi: Everyone's being so nice to me.... Palmon: It's because they're all fond of you, Mimi. Right?

Palmon's question embarrasses the shit out of the boys. Ogremon and Meramon both turn around, scratching their heads awkwardly and pointedly refusing to answer the question.

Meramon: It's still early; I should try to get a nap in. Ogremon: Yeah, me too. Gomamon: Jou... Your face is red. Jou: GYAGHANANA!!! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?!? YOU MUST BE SEEING THINGS!!!

Jou's face is, indeed, beet red. His flailing overreaction gets both Mimi and Palmon laughing.

In the dub:

Mimi: Wow, everybody's being so nice! So sweet! Palmon: It must be because of your charming personality! (The guys stand around blinking, then Ogremon and Meramon turn away and scratch their heads) Ogremon: Something tells me we should just nod our heads and go along. Meramon: (sarcastic) Yeah, right. Gomamon: Come on, admit it, Joe! Say it! She's charming. Joe: SHE'S NOT CHARMING!!! I MEAN, SHE IS!!! I'M... NOT GOING TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION!!!

Yeah, they still can't resist shitting on Mimi even in a scene that's specifically about how much everyone adores her. Though they do keep Joe's ship-tease in there.

If anything, the dub version is shippier than the original. In the original, Palmon made all of the guys embarrassed about admitting affection, a thing that is generally considered unmasculine to do. Everybody here has a soft spot for Mimi but none of them want to fess up about being soft on her.

Swapping that out for her "being charming" feels a bit more romantic, at least to me. But moreover, singling out Joe as the only one who actually finds her charming when the other guys can't stand her makes the scene incredibly shippy.

The other version was shippy too, but this version is super shippy.

Before long, the foraging team returns with an incredible spread.

Gekomon: Mimi! Thank you for waiting geko!

Gekomon and Otamamon return with a feast's worth of packaged goods. They definitely raided an abandoned supermarket for that stuff. Though, given the way the Digital World works, they might have just stumbled upon a random Convenience Fridge that had more than eggs in it this time.

Either way, Otamamon and Gekomon are way better at foraging than the Chosen Children have ever been.

Digging through their collection of picnic goods, Mimi holds up the soda bottle.

Mimi: OH MY GOSH!!! THERE'S EVEN COLA!!! (sudden disappointment) Oh... It isn't cold. Yukidarumon: One moment, please.

Yukidarumon takes the bottle, presses it against his body, and chills it for her.

Yukidarumon: There you go. (hands the bottle back)

This moment is a callback to the original Monzaemon episode way back when. Back then, when everyone was sharing what they wanted to do when they got home, Mimi's desire was simply to have an ice-cold Cola.

Meramon returns from his "nap" with two roast fish.

Meramon: FWOOSH! These are nice and roasted. (Ogremon glances back and forth from Meramon to Yukidarumon) Ogremon: Isn't begging a little much?

Yes, Meramon makes sound effects with his mouth to indicate he cooked the fish. His line starts with meramera, the onomatopoeia for which he's named, which is the sound of a roaring fire.

Not 100% on the translation for Ogremon's line, but I think he's accusing Meramon and Yukidarumon of trying to show off for Mimi's attention.

In the dub:

Gekomon: YOO-HOO!!! WE'RE BAAAAAACK!!! (Picnic) Mimi: I don't believe it! Wow! (finds the Cola) HEY!!! MY FAVORITE--Oh. (disappointed) This root beer's warm. Frigimon: Not for long! (Frigimon chills the bottle) Frigimon: How's that? Meramon: There we go! Come on, get it while it's hot! Ogremon: Okay, okay. I'll admit it. Guess you guys are kinda handy.

The main difference between the two versions is that dub Mimi has better taste YES I SAID IT

Following dinner, Mimi's crew settle in for a rest.

Resting against a tree, Jou flashes back on the conversation he had with his brother Shin, back when they were inspecting the ensorcelled adults together.

Shin: Jou... You don't have to force yourself to become a doctor. Jou: But... I want to be like Dad.... Shin: Dad is Dad. You have to find your own path for yourself.

I've dinged the dub multiple times for flashbacks that do not shore up with the original lines from what they said back then. I'd be remiss not to ding the original for it here, too. Shin and Jou never had this conversation.

What Shin had said was that Jou doesn't have to live the life his parents want him to live, and also that Jou is ill-suited to be a doctor because he can't handle blood.

Additionally, Jou's motives have subtly shifted here. Originally, he was trying to become a doctor under pressure from his father. But in order to fit in with the "Find my own path" thing that's happening with Mimi and Yamato, Jou instead indicates that he wants to follow in his dad's footsteps, so Shin can tell him otherwise.

The vibe is nonetheless similar to their original conversation. But they never said these lines. Though the fact that Jou's dreaming can probably excuse both the inaccurate flashback and the subtle context shift to be more relevant to Jou's current troubles.

Jou: (wakes up) A dream....

Jou notices Ogremon standing watch and approaches him.

Jou: Um, Ogremon? Ogremon: Huh? Jou: Are you on watch? We can switch. Ogremon: With you? You think you can handle watch duty? Jou: (offended) Yes, even I can handle it! Ogremon: You sure? Okay, all yours.

Ogremon leaves Jou at the perimeter and heads off to get some sleep. Now alone, Jou thinks again about the conversation he and Shin, uh, didn't actually have.

Jou: Find my own path for myself? Yamato... Did you ever find it? Your own path....

In the dub:

(Flashback) Jim: You know, Joe, let me tell you something. You don't have to be a doctor if you don't want to be. Joe: Easy for you to say. Try telling that to Dad! Jim: It's your life, bro. You have to live it. You have to follow your own path! (Joe wakes up) Joe: ... (Joe approaches Ogremon) Ogremon: (muttering) Two plus two is four... four plus four is seven.... Joe: Hey, Ogremon! Ogremon: (startled) BLEEGH!!! Joe: Take a rest. I'll stand guard for a while. Ogremon: YOU!?!? You, uh, sure you can handle it, little guy? Joe: (offended) WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?!? I CAN HANDLE IT FINE!!! Ogremon: You can't even handle combing your hair. But I could use a little break. (Joe thinks back on Jim again) Joe: Jim's right. I'm a doormat. Good for a laugh. A joke. Yeah, good ol' Joe; You can always rely on him to fall in the mud or off a cliff. Well, not anymore! It's time for a brand new Joe!

The stuff about following his own path gets brought up in the flashback, but then dropped at the end. Instead, an embittered Joe rages about his indignity, which does not connect at all to what the scene's about.

Ogremon secretly trying to learn arithmetic poorly was funny, though. XD

Probably goes without saying but the flashback in the dub was not accurate to the original conversation either.

Meanwhile, up at the summit of Spiral Mountain, Hikari and Takeru say farewell to the most recent casualties of this war.

Hikari: All of the Numemon-san.... We won't forget what you did for us. Takeru: We'll work hard and persevere (ganbaru) so that you can be reborn safely in the Village of Beginnings.

Just like Hikari said she wanted to do last episode.

The fact that Taichi's not throwing a fit over this shows either character growth since his argument with Mimi... or special favoritism towards Hikari. Either explanation is consistent with the episodes that have transpired since then.

In the dub, our first commercial break separates "brand new Joe" from the summit. Piedmon kicks this scene off, continuing to spy on everyone and giggle about what's happening.

Piedmon (V.O.): How delightfully entertaining this is! I always get so excited before tragedy strikes! Kari: Thank you, Numemon. We'll never forget you. You'll always be in our hearts and our memories. T.K.: And don't worry, we'll make sure that you get reborn at Primary Village.

Amazing how comfortable the dub is with death as long as the scene assures audiences that they're coming right back to life. Apart from Piedmon, this gravestone scene is 100% faithful.

While Hikari and Takeru are tending to the dead, the rest of the team climb a nearby hill, spying out Piemon's observatory in the distance.

Taichi: What is this place? Sora: Hey, look!

Sora points to the observatory in the distance. Changing perspectives, we see the children on Piemon's telescope monitor.

Piemon: Hmhmhmhehehehe.... How delightful to see the Chosen Children come so far. I should give them a nice reward for their efforts.

What is unmistakably the titular LadyDevimon emerges upside-down from the darkness above.

LadyDevimon: Piemon-sama, I could fill that role perfectly. Piemon: We wouldn't want to be rude. Treat them to the highest standard of our hospitality. LadyDevimon: As you wish. Ahahahahaha!

With that LadyDevimon heads out to roll out the red carpet. I wonder what their reward is going to be? Ooh, maybe she's bringing them advance copies of the Virus Busters V-Pet, which is based on the Chosen Children's lineup. It has Agumon, Gabumon, and Tailmon's evolution lines, plus Leomon and Angemon for good measure! And it's on sale next month, March of 2000! The kids are going to be so hap--

Oh, wait, no. It's death, isn't it?

(•̀⤙•́)

Nightmare Soldiers are mean Santas.

The dub opens with an echoed gag.

Sora: Ever notice how we're always walking uphill? Tai: Okay, nice view, but what are we looking for? Sora: THAT, OVER THERE!!! If that doesn't look like a bad guy's hangout, I don't know what does! (The DigiDestined see Piedmon's observatory, and Piedmon sees them) Piedmon: Hmph! (bitterly) Remarkable little specimens. I'm really rather embarrassed that they made it this far. LadyDevimon: Oh, please. Please, Lord Piedmon. Let me punish them. Piedmon: Very well. But try to make it quick and relatively painful.

Sora issuing the same complaint as Gomamon is funny, though I do wish her gripe was acknowledged by one of the other characters. They worked Gomamon's version in with the extra Joe lines, but Sora's remark goes without comment by the others.

Significant tonal difference in Piedmon and LadyDevimon's scene. The originals had an air of wicked geniality to them, playing things up like the Children were their "guests". Piemon sounded downright pleased to see them.

Piedmon is just mad that they're here and wants them dead. More direct and to the point.

(Still hasn't forgiven Tai for calling his script trash.)

Returning to Mimi's crew--holy shit, I know that lake.

It seems Mimi and the others took their picnic and sleepy time at what appears to be Seadramon's lake from File Island. Reshuffled to be part of the new Spiral Mountain geography, of course, but that is definitely it.

In any case, they're now up and moving.

Mimi: Now, then! We've had a very restful sleep and our bellies are unreasonably stuffed! TO A BRAND NEW DAY!!! Palmon: Hooray! Hooray! Mimi is cheerful again!

Unfortunately, Mimi may be revitalized, but Jou's still in a slump. His arms hang limply by his sides as he walks. It doesn't take long for his Partner to take notice.

Gomamon: Huh? Jou, what's wrong? You look pretty serious. Jou: N-No, it's... It's nothing.

In the dub:

Mimi: Okay, I'm rested and ready to work off that snack so let's GO GO GO!!! Palmon: You know, when Mimi's in a good mood, it's hard to be around her and not be happy too! Mimi: Oh, it's just my little gift to the world! Gomamon: Huh... You're awfully quiet, Joe. What's wrong? Joe: Nothing. Gomamon: I don't believe you.

They fit a Mimi Quip in there but nobody yells at her for it so I'll take it. The exchange is shallower, but doesn't feel mean-spirited.

Unfortunately, the mood is instantly soured as we come upon our destination.

Mimi: ...what... is this place...?

We pan over the familiar giant play block architecture of the Village of Beginnings, now turned to black.

Ogremon: This is the Village of Beginnings as it is now.

Mimi's team silently walks through the village. Everything is dull and lifeless. Silence reigns within the village, and the ground is littered with unmoving Digitama, never hatched.

Mimi: It's awful. Even the Digitama....

Suddenly, a sound rings out through the village. A harmonica playing a familiar tune.

Jou: Huh? Mimi: What's wrong, Jou-senpai? Jou: Just now, I thought I heard.... (Harmonica plays again) Jou: IT IS!!! (takes off running) Gomamon: HEY!!! JOU!!! (pursues) Mimi: Could that have been.... Palmon: Yamato... Mimi: LET'S GO!!!

Mimi takes off after Jou and Gomamon, with Palmon, Gekomon, and Otamamon trailing behind her. Elsewhere in the village, Ogremon, Meramon, and Yukidarumon suddenly notice the Chosen Children running off and chase after.

Ogremon: HEY!!! WHAT'S HAPPENING!?!?

Ogremon did warn them that the Village of Beginnings is dead. But it's another thing entirely to see it for themselves.

Piemon's stripe, the domain of darkness, seems to just be... Like. Death. Everything here is simply dead and destroyed. The Village of Beginnings got carved out for Piemon's territory, and so it sits in lifeless silence.

A stark contrast to the domains of the other Dark Masters, which lived in servitude to the dictator governing them but were still full of life. In Piemon's realm, there's only emptiness here.

In the dub, Mimi kicks this scene off by shrieking from offscreen, interrupting Joe and Gomamon's conversation. Solid segue.

Mimi: OH NO!!! JOE!!! THIS IS!!! AWFUL!!!

Though once the camera pans over and she's onscreen, the break in her lip flaps from asking "What... is this place...?" doesn't really work so well with different punctuation.

Joe: Looks like an old Twilight Zone episode. Ogremon: I told you not to expect too much. Mimi: The color is all missing! Joe: Pretty depressing, unless you're a big fan of charcoal. Mimi: I can't believe anybody would do such a terrible thing! Smashing all those poor, defenseless DigiEggs. It's terrible. (Harmonica) Joe: Huh? Mimi: What is it, Joe? Joe: I heard... something.... (Harmonica plays again) Joe: OVER THERE!!! (takes off running) Gomamon: JOE, WAIT!!! (pursues) Mimi: Was that a harmonica!? Palmon: You think it's...? Mimi: MATT!!! (Mimi's group chases after Joe) Ogremon: Where are they headed? HEY!!! WAIT FOR US!!!

Joe and Mimi burn some time commenting on the greyscale color scheme, but Piemon's whole stripe looks like this. It's the domain of darkness, it's nothing but black and gray and muted colors as far as the eye can see. You'd think they would have noticed by now, but at least someone's mentioning it.

Mimi also claims that the DigiEggs have been smashed, which... doesn't really hold up when we see intact DigiEggs as far as the eye can see. They aren't broken, just lifeless.

There is one shot of a DigiEgg which has what might be a crack in its side or might just be coloration, which may be where the dub team got the impression that the eggs were smashed.

Brutal imagery, though. Even darker than what we see onscreen.

Cutting back to the summit, Koushiro plugs his laptop into Andromon.

Koushiro: (plugs in the cable) Good to go. Taichi: Koushiro, what are you doing? Koushiro: By all means, have a look. If you would, please, Andromon? Andromon: Very well.

I guess Taichi was not paying attention when Koushiro and Andromon hammered this plan out offscreen. Maybe he was off fetching Hikari and Takeru from the gravesite.

Andromon presses his palms to the ground and begins to scan. A map of what's left of Spiral Mountain appears on Koushiro's screen.

Koromon: WHOA!!! Piyomon: It's Spiral Mountain! Tentomon: Yeah! Nothing less from Koushiro-han! Koushiro: And our current location is... Right here.

A blinking red light appears at the summit.

Taichi: Hey, that's.... Hikari: We're all the way up at the top! Takeru: Do you remember what Chuumon said? The Dark Masters live at the top of Spiral Mountain.

Taichi and Sora turn their attention to the observatory once more.

Sora: Then what we're seeing over there is.... Taichi: Where those jerks live.

Glad we confirmed that rather than strolling up and knocking at the door, but I'm surprised by how surprised everyone else is to be at the peak.

We left off last episode in the air, flying outside of Spiral Mountain. Did we not fly straight up to the top to get here? I assumed we flew straight up to the top.

In the dub:

Izzy: (plugs in the cable) That's it. We're ready. Tai: That's great, Izzy, but ready for what? Izzy: Hang on a second and you'll see. Okay, Andromon, show us your stuff! Andromon: Engage heat conduction!

It takes almost fifteen seconds of watching the kids silently watch Izzy's screen for the map to appear, so the dub fills this space with some silence-breaking dialogue. They give us a fair five seconds of silence and then Tai gets impatient and bridges the remaining ten.

Tai: I don't get what's happening. Izzy: It's really rather simple. Andromon acquires geothermal energy directly from the ground. Koromon: WAY COOL!!! Biyomon: Hey, that's Spiral Mountain, isn't it? Tentomon: This is like having our own portable microwave! Izzy: There, look. That's where we are right now. (Red light appears blinking at summit) Izzy: Right on top. Tai: That doesn't make sense! How did we get up there? Kari: I'm sure glad I can't see down. I don't like high places. T.K.: It's like Chuumon said; The most powerful Dark Masters live way on top of Spiral Mountain! Sora: See? I told you we were close. Tai: (sarcastic) We'll give you a medal later.

Dub Sora will remember this.

Honestly, I assumed Andromon was using the scanning abilities established last episode, but with the cable letting Koushiro's laptop visualize the scan.

Andromon "pulling geothermal energy from the ground" to create a map is... confusing? Either I'm too stupid to realize this is scientifically very clever, or Izzy's pseudointellectually making things up to look smart again. Either is completely plausible.

That Tentomon calls it a "portable microwave" only heightens the Huh? of it. Microwaves are not generally well-known for performing advanced cartography.

Though he goes ignored, Tai asks the real question here. If they didn't fly to the summit, which the original implies they did not, then... How did they reach the summit without realizing it? Seems like a very difficult rock climb from the bottom of the big heavenly platform to the the outer edge of the plateau. You'd have to be aware that you were doing that.

At least God's Temple in Dragon Ball has a ladder on the underside.

There's also a minor error. T.K. says "the most powerful Dark Masters," plural, live over there. I think they conflated the two ideas, "The Dark Masters live here" and "Piemon is the most powerful Dark Master".

Suddenly, Andromon detects something.

Andromon: Someone's coming. Be cautious! Taichi: Huh?

Thank you, that is much more useful than "Incoming."

Before they can say anymore, a classic noblewoman cackle echoes through the area and LadyDevimon ascends from behind a crater in front of them.

LadyDevimon: OHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!! A warm welcome to you adorable little boys! Taichi & Koushiro: (startled gasps) Sora: (glare) I have a bad feeling about this Digimon. Hikari: (glare) What do you call this Digimon? Andromon: She's one of the Nightmare Soldiers. LadyDevimon. LadyDevimon: You must be tired! Why don't you lie down and rest... FOR ETERNITY!!!

(•̀⤙•́) Oh good, she's one of those. No, I don't mean, "A Nightmare Soldier". Put my frowny face right there next to Sora and Hikari.

In the dub, LadyDevimon's opening laugh is more of a standard evil villain laugh.

Andromon: Intruder Warning. Interloper detected. Izzy: Huh? LadyDevimon: Ehehehehehe WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! You pile of recycled scrap metal, you spoiled my entrance! Tai: Huh? Sora: (glare) We should have known there'd be a welcoming committee. Kari: (glare) She looks like a witch. Andromon: She's worse! She's one of Piedmon's Nightmare Soldiers. LadyDevimon: No hellos? Well, I'm sure you're tired, you poor things. You need a rest. (menacing) A nice long rest!

The dub offers no explanation for why Sora and Kari look offended by this woman's very existence. Those are extremely grossed out faces. That is, however, an unavoidable consequence of having her not... (sigh) ...flirt with the prepubescent boys.

Digimon Adventure, why are you like this?

Also, they actually said it! The dub said the words "Nightmare Soldier"!

Provoked by LadyDevimon, Koromon lunges for her. He evolves in midair so he can hit her with his best shot.

It does not go well.

She doesn't even flinch when his point-blank Baby Flame hits her in the face. Tanks the hit and counters, slashing him across the face with her claws and sending him right back down to the ground.

Agumon lands on his back, bounces once, and flips over onto his front from the momentum.

Overconfident errors have been made. Time to start the fight for real.

Piyomon, Tentomon, and Patamon evolve to their Adult forms, while Tailmon becomes Angewomon. Together, they surround LadyDevimon.

LadyDevimon: Hahaha! Very well. I'll take good care of you! DARKNESS WAAAAAAAAAAAAVE!!!

Twirling in place as if she were dancing, LadyDevimon releases a similar bat swarm to Vamdemon's Night Raid. And with that, we go to commercial.

In the dub:

LadyDevimon: Puhuhahaha! You just made my job a lot easier. DARKNESS WAVE!!!

Presumably, she means that by clustering around her, they've clumped together in proximity of her impending radial attack.

First they actually used the phrase Nightmare Soldiers, now they're keeping the original names of attacks? Color me shocked.

The dub usually lines its second commercial break up with the original's commercial, but they forego that here and keep the fight going.

Returning from commercial, LadyDevimon fires her Darkness Wave again.

Her bats hit everyone around her, pushing back all four Digimon. Down below, out of range, Andromon sends up his Spiral Sword; A crescent-shaped projectile launched from spinning his hand like a drill.

LadyDevimon slaps the projectile out of the air with her claw-like left hand.

Having recovered, Kabuterimon and Birdramon follow up with Mega Blaster and Meteor Wing, but she deflects those shots too.

LadyDevimon: Ahahahaha! So this is how it's going to be?

In the dub:

LadyDevimon: I'm sorry, are we just pretending? Let me know when you're ready.

Though unimpressed by these attacks, LadyDevimon seems to change her tune when the angels step in. Angemon fires his Heaven's Knuckle and for the first time, she dodges rather than trying to stop it.

She's not so lucky with Angewomon's Holy Arrow, which strikes a glancing blow across her midsection.

For some reason, in the dub, it makes a metallic echo sound on impact. I think they're trying to imply that it struck her chain or some sort of armor, because they also swap out the pained grunt she makes for an angry growl.

Enraged, LadyDevimon goes straight for Angewomon's throat.

Flying straight up at Angewomon, she swings her giant claw in an uppercutting slash. It honestly looks like a hit, the way Angewomon's head jerks back, but a wooshing effect clarifies that Angewomon narrowly evaded the swing.

Down below, Agumon's eager to get into the fight.

Agumon: Alright, I'm going in! Taichi: Wait, not yet!

Taichi slaps his hand onto Agumon's mouth to hold it shut.

(To stop him from saying "Agumon SHINKAAAAAA"? XD Does it actually work like that?)

Taichi: Agumon, hang back. Agumon: Why, Taichi? This scumbag can't compete with my Ultimate form! Taichi: Koushiro, can you look up her data? Koushiro: Y-Yes.

Again demonstrating his character growth, Taichi's trying to think tactically about this situation rather than running in headfirst.

LadyDevimon is a Perfect-stage Virus-type Fallen Angel Digimon. Like Angewomon, LadyDevimon is a stage above her male counterpart because, as everyone knows, becoming female gives you an immeasurable power boost. NOBODY let Vegeta know that he can surpass Goku with this ONE NEAT TRICK!

(From the existence of Holydramon, we can further conclude that women are the intermediary stage between men and dragons.)

As Andromon said, LadyDevimon comes from the Nightmare Soldiers lineup. She originated in the Sega Saturn's video game V-pet, right alongside Angewomon, before being worked into the 0.5 version of the Nightmare Soldiers. She replaced Vamdemon as Devimon and Bakemon Dokugumon's Perfect evolution.

We're not going to see a lot of Nightmare Soldiers in this arc, as I recall, because Vamdemon's arc already covered quite a lot of them. But here's at least one that he missed.

Narrator: LadyDevimon. A female-modelled Fallen Angel Digimon. She's Perfect-stage. Her special attack, Darkness Wave, releases countless bats that consume her opponents as if by fire. Taichi: (considering) Perfect level...?

Taichi mulls over this information, his eyes fixed on the other Chosen Children in his crew as he thinks over what to do with it.

Visceral description of how the Night Raid/Darkness Wave bats work, thank you. @_@

Interesting note that they don't call her a female Digimon, but rather "female-modelled". This is, of course, because Digimon gender is strictly aesthetic.

In the dub:

Agumon: It's my turn! Tai: No, wait! We'll keep you in reserve! Agumon: Let me Warp Digivolve and I can take care of this black-and-white nightmare! Tai: Izzy, what's your Digimon Analyzer say about her? Izzy: Let's see.... Izzy: (rundown) LadyDevimon. Programmed to be the ultimate fully-Digivolved fighting soldier, she serves as gatekeeper and bodyguard for the last Dark Master. Tai: Seriously nasty.

Izzy accidentally reads off LadyDevimon's plot synopsis rather than any interesting information regarding her background or attacks, but this is information that the kids didn't know since she just sorta ambushed them.

So it works; His rundown is certainly more interesting than "She is woman shaped and does that one attack we just saw."

That he calls her "fully Digivolved" again despite knowing goddamn well that there's a stage beyond Perfect/Ultimate makes me want to throw things, however.

Taichi considers his options, then forms a plan of attack.

Taichi: Sora and Takeru, you take Birdramon and Angemon to go bring Yamato and the others back here. Sora: Eh? But they're fighting right now. Taichi: No, our other Digimon should be able to defeat her. If worse comes to worse, we have WarGreymon as our trump card. Agumon: Hehehe... I'm a trump card! Taichi: More importantly, if this really is their home, then we're close to confronting the last Dark Master. Koushiro: Piemon. Taichi: Right. He should be in there. Unfortunately, we don't know when he'll come out. What we do know is that his strength is outrageous.

Taichi flashes back on the first Dark Master episode, when WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon tried to jump Piemon together only to be brutally outfought.

In the dub, Tai's tone of voice is different. Taichi gives these orders in a cold, methodical voice. He lays out his plan matter-of-factly, with no emotion in his voice.

The dub's interpretation gives Tai a lot of energy and gusto.

Tai: We've gotta do this right! Sora, you and T.K. take Angemon and Birdramon! Find Matt and bring him back! Sora: What!? You want us to leave right in the middle of a fight!? Tai: Go. We'll manage from here. We have no choice, and if worse comes to worse, we always have... our trump card, WarGreymon! Agumon: Oh! I'm a trump card, huh? Tai: The time's come to stop acting like a bunch of children! We're facing the last of the Dark Masters! Izzy: Piedmon. Tai: Right! We don't know where he'll strike... or when... but it will be somewhere close by... and soon. (Piemon fight flashback) Tai: And he's strong! We know that. Real strong. This won't be just another fight. This one's for keeps. We've got to be ready for him.

Fuck Joe and Mimi, I guess.

This one's... ambiguous. Taichi tells Sora to go find Yamato-tachi. The suffix 達 -tachi is a pluralizing term, meaning a group of people that includes the word I just said. This group, for instance, can be referred to as Taichi-tachi. And often is; "Taichi-tachi" is a term we've heard frequently throughout the anime.

It can also be used for other descriptors. The Chosen Children, for instance, are 選ばれし子供達 Erabareshi Kodomo-tachi. Chosen Child (group).

Why they chose a four syllable DigiDestined to replace a ten-syllable 選ばれし子供達 when they knew they were gonna have to match lip flaps is beyond me, but I digress.

In any case, it can be vague as to who the others in that pluralized group are. Taichi and Agumon together, for instance, are often referred to as Taichi-tachi.

Taichi here tells Sora to go get "Yamato-tachi". The group of people that includes Yamato. This could mean Yamato, Mimi, Jou, and their Digimon. Or he could mean Yamato and Gabumon specifically. It's unclear from the simple phrase Yamato-tachi what his intent is.

From here, Takeru clarifies the plan to make sure he understands.

Takeru: So before Piemon shows up, you want us to bring Onii-chan and the others back here, right? Koushiro: It's as Taichi-san says. I'm surprised he thought that far ahead. Sora: (surprised) Taichi.... Taichi: It's just like soccer. Sora: (faintly) Eh...? Taichi: I realized it after Yamato, Mimi-chan, and Jou left. It's no good to fight like Yamcha.

Wait. Hold on. That word was がむしゃら gamushara, not やむちゃ yamucha. But goddamn do they sound similar. Fucking startled me.

Taichi: It's no good to fight recklessly. We can't make any more sacrifices.

The camera lingers on the Numemon gravestone as he speaks.

Sora: (smiling) Taichi....

In the dub:

T.K.: So that's why you want us to go! To find my brother and bring him back before Piedmon shows up! Izzy: Yeah! Tai's looking at the big picture. It's not about this fight but the next one, you see? Sora: Sorta.... Tai: Bases loaded, two out, and we need a slam dunk! Sora: Huh!? Tai: All we've been doing is meeting each threat as it comes. Barely holding on. Now we've got to put it together as a team! That means Matt, Mimi, and Joe too! We've let enough Digimon sacrifice themselves for us; It's our turn now! Sora: You're right.

Tai is an athlete. He would not mangle a sports analogy like that. Into the locker with you, nerd.

Also, it's our turn... to sacrifice ourselves? I get what you mean but maybe workshop that boast.

The context that this is a seemingly out-of-character swerve for Taichi demonstrating the character growth he's been undergoing through this arc doesn't quite make it into the dub version. We get "Tai's being really smart!" instead of "This is uncharacteristically smart for Tai."

He does mention the sacrificed Digimon, but he's more focused on his masterstroke against Piedmon instead of the somber reflection that Taichi's doing.

Up in the air, the battle continues to rage.

Angewomon drives LadyDevimon back with another Holy Arrow, forcing her to dodge away. She turns momentarily towards Angemon and Birdramon.

Angewomon: I can handle this! Angemon: We're counting on you!

As Angemon and Birdramon turn to leave, Angewomon hangs there and. Just. Watches them. Smiling.

Taking your eye off your opponent in the middle of a fight for an extended period of time is generally inadvisable. LadyDevimon merrily capitalizes on her distraction with a hard kick to the back of the head. The hit smashes Angewomon downward, slamming her face-first into one of the stony spires littered around the plateau.

LadyDevimon: (triumphant) Wahaha! Angewomon: (picking herself up) DON'T CELEBRATE YET!!!

Angewomon flies back into the brawling distance, exchanging midair punches with LadyDevimon. While they duke it out, Birdramon and Angemon pick up their partners and make for the edge of the plateau.

Sora: Those words you spoke, Taichi! I'll make sure to pass them along to Yamato-kun, Mimi-chan, and Jou-senpai! Taichi: Great! Try to do it quickly!

We can now say with certainty that Yamato-tachi meant all three of them. The dub rolled the dice and gambled wrong.

In the dub:

Angewomon: Go, Angemon! Angemon: Alright! Come on, Birdramon! Angewomon: (smiling) ... (kick) LadyDevimon: Oops! Sorry, blondie. Ahahahahahaha!

The dub keeps in LadyDevimon's kick, but cuts the rest of the action that follows. Both Angewomon impacting the spire and the subsequent fistfight are gone. Angewomon simply recovers and briefly glowers.

T.K.: See you soon, Tai! Sora: Don't worry! We'll find Matt and Mimi and Joe and be back before you know it! Tai: Try and hurry! This is kind of important! Sora: I'll do the best I can!

Godspeed, Sora.

Meanwhile, at another lakeshore, Jou and Mimi follow the sounds of Yamato's harmonica back to him.

Wait, that's not Yamato.

Jou: That was you? I thought it was someone else. Elecmon: The Village of Beginnings has is gone. I'm tired and there's nothing left for me to do. Oh, how are Takeru and Patamon doing? Are they well? Jou: U-Uh, yeah, they're great. Both Takeru and Patamon are! Palmon: We're just going a different way than they are. Elecmon: I see. I'm glad to hear it. Mimi: Hey, why don't you come with us? Elecmon: Eh? Mimi: Unless the Dark Masters are defeated, the village will never go back to normal. Neither will the Digitama. Palmon: That's why we're forming a nakama to do just that! Elecmon: D-Defeat the Dark Masters!? That's an amazing idea that you're thinking of! Jou: We're not just thinking about it. We've already started fighting them. Gomamon: Takeru and Patamon are fighting too. Elecmon: Takeru and Patamon too...?

Mimi invites Elecmon to join her nakama, and he needs a moment to consider her proposal.

In the dub, Piedmon chimes in following their second commercial to segue us to the new scene.

Piedmon: Well, well. Let's just see how our little drama is unraveling. HA!!! (Mimi's team finds Elecmon playing the harmonica) Joe: Oh, so it was you? We thought it was someone else. Elecmon: Yeah, I'm sure you did. It's always the same thing. I'm just a constant source of disappointment to everybody. ...hey, how's Patamon? And T.K.? They alright? Joe: Yeah! And I know that both of them will be really happy to see you, Elecmon. Palmon: Yeah! Not that we're not, of course. Elecmon: Yeah, right. I'm sure. Nice try! Mimi: Hey, I know! Why don't you come along with us? Elecmon: Huh? Mimi: Yeah, we're gonna defeat those creepy Dark Masters once and for all, and fix up Primary Village too! Palmon: We need all the friends we can get! I know we don't look like much now, but maybe with your help, we can do it! Elecmon: Take on the Dark Masters!? I think I'll pass! I may be down, but I don't wanna be out! Joe: (snippy) For your information, we've taken them on! In fact, we've already defeated most of them! Gomamon: T.K. and Patamon have really been incredible! Elecmon: T.K. and Patamon? Those sweet kids are mixing it up with the Dark Masters!?

Mimi and Palmon don't have nakama to lean on so their invite is a lot less formal. Palmon tries to compensate by puffing up Elecmon as a potential game-changer which.

I mean. He's a Child. So.

Joe...

Let's be real, he's using an awfully liberal definition of "we" in both of these versions, seeing as he and Mimi were not present for two out of three Dark Master showdowns thus far. But Gomamon makes it worse by not just saying T.K. and Patamon are there but claiming knowledge of their performance that he does not possess.

All three of them are lying through their teeth to get Elecmon to enlist.

After some consideration, Elecmon comes to a decision.

Elecmon: Very well! Then I'm not going down so easily either! I'm coming with! Mimi: (pleased) Ehehehe! Elecmon: Besides, you guys look like you need all the help you can get. Ogremon: (defensive) What was that!? Jou: By the way, that harmonica you have...? Elecmon: What, this?

Elecmon stands up, approaching Jou so he can have a closer look.

Elecmon: I found it lying on the beach. Jou: You found it? Can I have a look?

Taking the harmonica from Elecmon, Jou inspects it. There's no mistaking it.

Jou: It's definitely Yamato's. Mimi: Eh!? Then he's probably close by! But... up ahead is....

Mimi looks out at the lake ahead of them.

Gomamon: Maybe he swam? Elecmon: Now that I think of it, I saw a swan boat leave from here last night. I just assumed some of the Nightmare Soldiers were out goofing off. Mimi: A SWAN BOAT!?!? Jou: Then there's no doubt about it! That was Yamato!

Because who else would ever use a swan boat?

...in the lifeless realm of darkness... where joy is dead....

Yeah, okay, that checks out

The geography here isn't entirely clear, since they napped at a lake and now they're at another lake. But I'm pretty sure that other lake was Seadramon's, while this one is the lake from the PicoDevimon sub-arc. The one that Digitamamon's diner would be beside if Spiral Mountain hadn't reshuffled it into Mugendramon's urban stripe.

In the dub, Elecmon doesn't do a lot of considering. That last line about those "crazy kids" takes up the space his contemplation would have filled.

Elecmon: Okay, if they're crazy enough to fight them then I am too. You twisted my arm. Mimi: (pleased) Ahahahahaha! Elecmon: Frankly, you guys are lucky to have gotten this far without me! Ogremon: (defensive) Oh, is that right!? Joe: By the way, Elecmon, where'd you get that harmonica? Elecmon: This thing? (Elecmon gets up, walking to Joe) Elecmon: I found it on the beach. Somebody must have dropped it. Joe: Can I take a look at it? (Joe inspects the harmonica) Joe: Oh, yeah. It's definitely Matt's. Mimi: That means he must be around here somewhere! Or he was.... You think he might have gone across? Gomamon: That's a long way to swim. Elecmon: Now that you mention it, I saw somebody cross the water last night. I thought it was one of those Nightmare Soldiers fooling around but, come to think of it, they probably wouldn't be using a boat shaped like a swan. Mimi: IT WAS A SWAN!?!? Joe: That settles it! It has to have been Matt! I can just picture it now!

Very faithfully translated. Again, this episode shows no hesitation in calling them "Nightmare Soldiers", in stark contrast to the Deep Savers and Metal Empire.

I don't think Pinocchimon's crew were ever called Wind Guardians in either version, come to think of it.

Thinking about Yamato, Jou makes a decision that's been weighing on his mind.

Jou: Hey, Mimi-kun.... Mimi: What is it? Jou: We've built up the nakama quite a bit. You'll be okay without me and Gomamon around, won't you? Mimi: What do you mean? Are you going somewhere? Jou: I'm... going after Yamato. Mimi: Then we should all go! Jou: No! Only Gomamon and I are going. Mimi: Eh!? Why!? Jou: We all need to find our own paths. Mimi: Our own path...? Jou: Yours is the path of building the nakama. Taichi's group have the path of fighting. (reconsiders) ...I mean, we can't make Taichi's group do all the fighting, though. I have to fight too. But... I'm not very strong and I can take Gomamon to his Ultimate level.

We close up on Gomamon for a moment, watching Jou sympathetically. Jou finally comes clean on why he wanted to go with Mimi.

Jou: That's why I thought we would hold the others back if we stayed with them. But there must be some things that only I can do. I'm sure Yamato realized that too. That's why I'm going after him.

Jou's words parallel what Gomamon told Yamato back during the Jureimon arguments: Taichi's cool in his own way but there are also things that only Yamato can do.

Jou: Uh... that's what I was thinking, anyway. Do you think it's a good idea? Gomamon: Of course it is! It was your decision, after all. Mimi: Jou-senpai.... Ogremon: Let him go. That guy's got a sterner spine than he seems to. Mimi: (smiling) Mhm....

Jou came with Mimi because he felt like the team would be better off without him.

(He was clearly not paying attention to how mission-critical Zudomon ended up being for the entire MetalSeadramon sub-arc. Just because Zudomon wasn't a match for Pinocchimon, that doesn't mean he was useless!)

Alright, let's see how the dub handles this.

Joe: Listen, Mimi. Mimi: Yeah? Joe: You've got a lot of friends now. Will you be okay if Gomamon and I go off for a while? Mimi: Hmm? What do you mean? Go off for a while? Go where? Joe: I don't know. I guess wherever Matt's gone to. Mimi: Okay! We'll all come with you and help you find him! Joe: Not this time! Just Gomamon can go. Mimi: Come on! What are you talking about? Joe: We each have our own path to follow. Mimi: What does that mean? Joe: Tai knows what he's doing. He knows where he fits in and so do you. So do the others! But I don't. Look, I know that we're in for the fight of our lives and part of me knows that I should stay and help. But I... I want you to count on me. Gomamon: ... Joe: If I'm unreliable, then Gomamon can't fully Digivolve. We're like circus clowns. We'd just get in the way! Don't look at me like that; You know that it's true. I'm gonna figure this out. They don't call me Old Reliable for nothing! Gomamon: But they don't. Joe: I'll ignore that! I think Matt was searching for the same thing when he left and I want to know if he found it somewhere out there. ...then again, it might be a total waste of time. It's just an idea. Gomamon: If you feel that strongly about it, it's gotta be the right thing! Mimi: You sure about this, Joe? Ogremon: Let the kid go his own way. Gomamon: I'm with ya, buddy! Ogremon: He's stronger than he looks. Mimi: (smiling) Mhm....

This is mostly good but Joe's speech derails somewhere between "Tai knows where he fits in" and "Gomamon can't fully Digivolve". The way Joe phrases it sort of implies that once he figures his shit out, Gomamon will be able to hit Ultimate/Mega. That is not where this is going.

Joe also tries to cut the tension with that quip about circus clowns and Old Reliable, but this is an impassioned speech about a major decision he's making for the sake of his own personal growth. It's not really the time for tone-shattering quipping.

Still, he covers the key point: He needs to leave to go find his own path, like Matt did. And finding his path involves finding Matt.

Meanwhile, back at the fight, LadyDevimon unleashes another Darkness Wave on Angewomon.

Angewomon blocks the bat wave with her hands, which weirdly enough works.

(It's hard to make out but I think she's actually making some sort of light barrier.)

However, while her attention is on the bats, it is once again off of her adversary. LadyDevimon grabs her by her long hair, swinging her around in a circle.

LadyDevimon: HORAHORAHORAHORA!!!

Kabuterimon super-evolves to join the fight, right as LadyDevimon lets go of Angewomon. He catches her in his hands.

AtlurKabuterimon: Are you okay? Angewomon: STAY OUT OF IT!!!

Okay this is going to take some explaining. The word ほら hora basically means "Hey! Look at me! Watch! Check this shit out!" etc. etc.

The term おら ora is, to my understanding, a tough guy slang version of ほら hora.

Screaming おらおらおらおら ORAORAORAORA at the top of your lungs while doing intense violence is a popular action trope in Japan. The internet tells me it was popularized by JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, whose titular character would shout that while lobbing rapid-fire punches? But that's the internet.

LadyDevimon is doing that, but with the original ほら hora terminology because she is too classy and ladylike for tough guy slang.

Part of me wants to say it comes from sumo, but I can't find any evidence of that so I may just be remembering things wrong.

In the dub:

LadyDevimon: Round and round we go! (Kabuterimon Digivolves to MegaKabuterimon) LadyDevimon: Never did like that bleached look! (LadyDevimon tosses Angewomon; MegaKabuterimon catches her) MegaKabuterimon: Gotcha! Angewomon: LET ME GO!!!

MegaKabuterimon releases Angewomon, who furiously charges at LadyDevimon.

Angewomon: IT'S ON NOW!!!

Angewomon flies back in and gives LadyDevimon a hard slap across the face.

LadyDevimon: YOU THINK!?!?

LadyDevimon returns the slap. Their brawl devolves into a slap fight while the children below watch in bewildered uncertainty.

Taichi: I'm lost...! Koushiro: ...women are terrifying when they get mad. Hikari: DON'T LOSE TO HER!!! GET HER!!! GET HER!!!

Well, the boys watch in bewildered uncertainty. Hikari's out for blood.

In the dub:

Angewomon: LET ME AT HER!!! (Angewomon slaps LadyDevimon and the slapfight begins) Tai: Wow! Look at them go! Izzy: I know I shouldn't watch this, but... I can't take my eyes off it.... Kari: GET HER, ANGEWOMON!!! THAT'S RIGHT!!! KNOCK THAT WITCH'S BLOCK OFF!!! GO!!!

Rather than confused and disturbed, Dub Tai and Izzy seem to be perving on the fight instead. Also, surprisingly, none of the slap fight is censored.

Fed up, LadyDevimon twirls in the air, building momentum for a spin kick across the face.

LadyDevimon: WHAT'S SO CHARMING ABOUT YOU!?!?

She lands a direct hit, sending Angewomon hurtling into the ground below.

LadyDevimon: I'VE GOT YOU NOW!!! DARKNESS SPEEEEEEEEAR!!!

Her massive clawlike left hand morphs into a lance and she lunges. AtlurKabuterimon throws himself in the way, blocking the spear with his hard shell. It breaks off on impact.

In the dub:

LadyDevimon: ENOUGH OF THIS!!! (spinkick) LadyDevimon: THIS GAME IS OVER!!! YOU'RE GROUNDED, GOLDILOCKS!!! BLACK WING!!!

A lot of this is just fight-o fight-o dialogue in both versions, but I have no idea why stabbing someone with a lance is called "Black Wing".

Breaking off her Darkness Spear causes LadyDevimon to recoil in pain, grabbing her arm.

LadyDevimon: AUGH!!! CHEAP SHOT!!! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!! AtlurKabuterimon: Oh, u-uh... sorry about that.....

Awkward though AtlurKabuterimon feels about it, his intervention here is a game-changer. Angewomon gets her second wind, rocketing out from under his shell and back up into the air.

LadyDevimon: Huh!? Angewomon: Playtime is over. Prepare yourself!

A great holy light erupts from behind Angewomon. LadyDevimon recoils in pain, shielding her eyes as if the light itself is harmful to her.

LadyDevimon: WHAT ARE YOU SO EXCITED ABOUT!?!?

LadyDevimon regenerates her Darkness Spear for one last-ditch effort. But before she can close distance, Angewomon lets loose with Heaven's Charm. LadyDevimon lets out a bloodcurdling scream as the energy wave disintegrates her into pixels.

LadyDevimon: P-PIEMON-SAMA!!!

In the dub:

LadyDevimon: AUGH!!! YOU BROKE IT!!! MegaKabuterimon: (snarky) Aww, send me the bill! Angewomon: (rises again) You're right, LadyDevimon! This game IS over! (holy light) LadyDevimon: AUGH!!! NOT YET!!! DARKNESS-- Angewomon: HEAVEN'S CHARM!!! (Heaven's Charm kills LadyDevimon) LadyDevimon: AHHHHHHH I'M MEEEEELTING!!!

Okay, I super love the way Angewomon interrupts LadyDevimon calling an attack, like a quick-draw battle.

LadyDevimon references Wizard of Oz as she dies, paying off Kari's repeated accusations of her being a witch.

Once LadyDevimon is dead, the two Perfects degenerate back into Tailmon and Tentomon.

Hikari catches Tailmon as she falls out of the air, while Tentomon rushes to Koushiro for inspection.

Tentomon: (wailing) Koushiro-han! You don't see any marks on my back, do you?

But, while they're having this moment, Taichi's focus is on the distant observatory.

Taichi: (firmly) Incoming. Hikari & Koushiro: Eh!?

Taichi draws the group's attention to a distant figure walking from the observatory towards them. He uses his mini telescope to confirm.

Taichi: It's Piemon. Koushiro: The final Dark Master. Taichi: Agumon, get ready! Agumon: Okay, Taichi.

Agumon warp-evolves into WarGreymon for this final battle.

Piemon: Hmhmhmhmhm.... Taichi: Be careful. He's tough. Narrator: The last of the Dark Masters has finally appeared. Will Yamato and the others return in time?

We cut to Sora and Takeru flying out in search of the others. Mimi and her crew still searching for others to join them. Jou on Ikkakumon's back crossing the lake. And then close WarGreymon and Piemon preparing to face off, with Piemon laughing menacingly.

In the dub:

Tentomon: (wailing) How's my back!? Can you see anything!? I hope it didn't leave a scar! Agumon: (excited) Tai! You see what I see? Tai: It's him! Izzy & Kari: (startled gasp) Tai: It doesn't look good, that's for sure! (Tai uses his mini telescope to confirm) Tai: Piedmon....

The dub puts its final commercial break here. Right at the very end. We come back to Tai looking at Piedmon through his mini telescope again.

Tai: The last of the Dark Masters! Izzy: The guy's not exactly in a hurry, is he? Tai: Suit up, Agumon! You're on! Agumon: It's about time! (Agumon Warp Digivolves) Piedmon: Hmhmhmhmhmhm.... WarGreymon: I'm ready! Tai: Remember, he's strong! We don't even know how strong! WarGreymon: No problem! At this rate, I'm only worried about dying of old age! Tai: It's okay. The longer he draws this out, the better for us!

They slide in some quips about Piedmon's slow, ominous approach. Then Tai fills in for the narrator's part during the shots of the rest of the DigiDestined.

Tai: No offense, WarGreymon, but you can only hold him off for so long. We're gonna need everybody for this one. T.K. and Sora! Mimi! And our Digimon allies! And Matt! And good ol' reliable Joe! I say, let him take his time! WarGreymon: Okay, okay. But this waiting gets on my nerves! Piedmon: Hmhmhmhmhmhm..... Narrator: Are the DigiDestined ready to face Piedmon, the most powerful villain in the Digi-World? Tune in to the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!

You know, it's fair that the dub would think that.

But no. In a given set of Four Heavenly Kings, there's usually one more deity above them all. The Dark Masters are no exception.

Assessment: Honestly, LadyDevimon's kind of a throwaway villain. The real meat of this episode is two-fold: Mimi and Jou's scenes, and Taichi showing his character growth by making long-term tactical decisions with the soldiers under him.

It feels like they needed to be fighting somebody for that, but it didn't really matter who.

Speaking of Jou and Mimi, there's something interesting in the fact that we're back at this lake. Only this time it's Jou making the decision to go find Yamato, instead of Yamato making the decision to go help Jou.

I feel like there's something to that. But I can't say for certain until we see where this is going.

[destinygoldenstar]

☀️🎵Can We Just Talk?🎵☀️ - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 1 Episode 7 “Spit It Out”

Yeah, I'm back already...

Again, I'm aware of Season 3's finale airing. Didn't watch it obviously.

But I will say, it's kinda difficult to not be sick to your stomach when ALL you hear about something is HATE.

Like, I have not heard a single positive thing about Season 3 and I'm kinda nervous now. (Is it really THAT bad?)

That's why I'm just doing my own thing with the first season and reacting to it in my "Just enjoy it" way. (It's not same as "Turn your brain off" because "Turn your brain off" implies not paying attention)

I will remind everyone, I was NOT recommended this show. The people who replied to me asking if I should watch it said "NO. Don't watch it. It's awful."

So I CHOSE to do this at my own will. I have no one to blame but myself.

I'm enjoying this season so far and I don't want that to be spoiled by people telling me not to.

Cause while criticism is okay, it always is, spreading nothing but hate and spite and nasty threats to anyone involved does a lot more damage than you think. You get a RWBY fandom situation where the only thing going on is harassment and bullying and it drives everyone away and leaves no room for air on takes that aren't majority. I DON'T WANT TO BE A PART OF THAT. ESPECIALLY NOT DEATH THREATS. THAT IS NOT OKAY TOWARDS ANYBODY.

So yeah, hearing any hate towards Disventure Camp about anything, I'm NOT part of it. I am not to blame for anything. I just want to stay in my corner and say what I want to say. (As long as it's not threats, like I said, I can't do that either)

*deep breath*

I just wanted to get this off my chest. NOW THAT THIS IS OUT OF THE WAY,

We're back with Season 1. I beg that there is no double elimination for a THIRD TIME IN A ROW. I'll lose my mind.

Okay, let's get into this, shall we?

Oh we're starting right where we left off last time.

IT'S A TEAM SWAP.

...again...

"My whole team is going to reGRETT voting for me."

"They're going to wish they had never crossed me."

Go off queen!

OH GOD-

What a kind greeting XD

Not the Purple Team becoming the VILLAINS Team!

"I hope that Ellie doesn't have any hard feelings."

Be thankful she isn't Jake, who DEFINATELY would.

OH YAY THEY'RE TOGETHER!!!

We get to see more of them!!

It sucked we couldn't because they were on opposite teams before. BUT NOW WE CAN!

And she immediately goes to Jake to introduce herself.

I have no idea why she'd pick that. But you know what? All for friendships.

"If we lose, we can vote for her instead of one of us."

HOW. IS. DAN. STILL. HERE?!?!

Like, I'm genuinely really tired of him now.

I made a post (that got a lot of hate) about screen time not being problematic for characters so long as they're DOING SOMETHING with that screen time.

Dan is not that. This is my least favorite character in this group. I'm sorry Dan stans.

Everyone else has something to do. All Dan does is push a non-existent alliance and make sexist comments and otherwise has no personality.

GET HIM OUT. I'M SICK OF HIM.

"Gabby is a psychotic backstabber, Jake and Tom are a toxic couple, Miriam is a useless old lady, and Dan is a dumb kid who pretends to know things."

OH GOD, NOT THE SLANDER

She do be right about Jake & Tom though...

"How'd they win so many challenges?"

Because they have numbers.

VILLAIN TEAM

"If you promise to never vote for us, we'll help you."

What if your team loses?

Do you vote for the VOID?!

"Okay, I'll read the votes... WHY ARE THEY ALL SCRIBBLES OF FLOWERS?!?"

"Something about the other two makes me feel at home, that's something I haven't really felt before..."

AW, VILLAIN BONDING. SHE FOUND HER PLACE IN THE WORLD!!

They're still beefing.

I've been eating toxic yaoi two days in a row now. It's junk food, I'll tell you that.

Is Ellie gonna reason with Jake? Awww

"Gabby told me you and Tom are close, but it doesn't look that way anymore."

They had a fight. It happens.

"Are you mad?"

"Yes I am! Tom has been lying to all of us since we got here! He lied to me like everyone else does!"

OH GEEZ THAT LAST PART

I was gonna say "I'm interested in this impulsive and petty anger issues version of Jake"

But that "LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DOES" part. OOF.

Like, my god, how can you blame him though?!

Yeah he wasn't right. But his POV.

"I don't want to bother you with my problems."

Ngl, when I was younger I would vent to strangers all my petty problems and yeah, that's a version of me you should be happy isn't on Tumblr. I grew up, I got in a better environment, and I'm in a better place now.

"It's okay, after last night I know what it's like being betrayed. Everything you say is safe with me."

I like this. I like Ellie being nice to him.

"I like Jake, he's a good guy, even if he's a bit dramatic."

That is MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY

"Honestly, a five minute conversation could probably solve this issue."

Yes. Yes it would. But is it that simple with these two?

"I wanted to thank you..."

Oh?

"For not voting for me yesterday."

Oh...

Yeah no I want you eliminated this episode. You're selfish.

"You'll wish I'd just gone home."

"We already do."

😂

I love Miriam.... oh my god.... 😂

That had no right being as funny as a burn as that was!!

This sounds like a VERY complicated challenge. I'm gonna have to see it in action.

"Is everything okay between us Ellie?"

"What do you think?!"

"What do you think Alec?"

She said exactly that XD

This does NOT look safe!

"Can you help me Jake?"

"I don't think so."

You're STILL salty?

OMG, TALK. IN PERSON WORD ON WORD.

"I took water polo, lacrosse, cheerleading, and even debate."

Debate's not a sport, is it?

Maybe it is and I'm a dumbass.

"What? Debate not a sport? I could debate that."

OKAY THAT WAS HER TALKING DIRECTLY TO ME

"Golden, I can debate on your words!"

This looks like a nightmare to ride

"Things are a bit complicated with Jake, aren't they?"

"That's one way to put it. I know it's my fault but he's exaggerating with his attitude."

Yeah, Tom is right here. But I LOVE that he acknowledges he's at fault for it.

"He's just an immature kid, don't take it personally."

"It's hard not to."

"He'll get over it."

Will he though? Will he?

Grett and Alec are trying to DROWN the child at this point.

"Fiore can't collect water if she's dead!"

Even Alec says it!

Is Grett actually gonna develop from this experience?

"Have you calmed down a bit yet?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, it's just... I can't forget how he lied to me and how that made me feel."

"And have you thought about how that made him feel?"

Ooh, yes. I love that. Call him out.

"I'm just saying it must have been hard for him too."

Yes. Yes it was.

I get both sides. I do. Tom was trying to do a job and got revealed lying about it and didn't consider how that would hurt his friend (for understandable reasons). And Jake got some flashbacks of bad events and overreacted as a result.

"He only used me to go undercover."

"How do you know?"

"Well, I... Grett said so..."

"Did you hear Tom's side? You should ask him. People are... complex. You can't jump to conclusions."

👏

GLORIOUS. THAT WHOLE THING.

Talk to Tom. Hear his side. Apologize. Make up. Be friends again.

It'll all be fine. I still have my hope.

...and maybe this is why I called their dynamic junk food...

GABBY'S TAKING CHARGE LIKE THE QUEEN SHE IS

Also not Tom wearing TWO masks now! That looks so awkward.

Knew that would happen.

NOT GABBY LAUGHING AT JAKE'S EXPENSE. COME ON.

Welcome to SLAPSTICK THE EPISODE.

NUT SHOT.

Though this time it was a block.

NO WAIT I SWEAR I'VE SEEN THAT ON A SURVIVOR CLIP BEFORE-

Oh that's just straight up sabotage.

HELL YEAH!!!

Fiore told Grett to SLAY yet again.

Really? NO ONE on the team is good with puzzles?!

I say that like I'm good at them, but I'm not either.

Purple Team wins!

It's been HOW LONG since Purple Team won?

"Our team was on a winning streak but suddenly Ellie joins our team and we lose?"

I'm sorry, HOW was this her fault exactly?

OH MY GOD HE'S TALKING TO HIM. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

"I want to ask you something..."

"Did you really just approach me because of your job?"

Good question.

"You're asking me this now? Where was this question yeaturday?"

"So you're just here for your job!"

"And our friendship, was that just to blend in too?! Did you ever care about me at all?! Was any of it real, HUH?!"

...I mean, TECHNICALLY he DID ask this already?

It was a bad wording of asking it cause he was mad, but he DID ask it.

"Yeah, I'm sorry..."

Aww. At least he's apologizing.

See? He recognizes he made a mistake!

"Jake... I'm going to tell you the truth."

YES PLEASE. OMG THANK YOU.

"...I really like you."

😲

💗

*I'm gripping my heart from that*

UM... OKAY. I DID NOT EXPECT THAT ANSWER. *Giddy again*

"And the days we spent together fishing, gathering supplies, or just talking at camp... it made me rethink some things."

💗

"Yes, I'm here for work, to investigate someone. My agency doesn't allow me to have contact with anyone here after this investigation is over. But... meeting you felt like we quickly had this connection and I thought... am I really willing to risk everything? My whole career? So we could... be something more?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH 💗

THIS IS GOING SO MUCH BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD. OMG.

That's such good insight on Tom's character too! How long was he a spy? I'm curious. Cause if his missions are all like this, then does that mean Tom has no one? No relationships of any kind? Platonic or romantic?

Cause DAMN that makes too much sense for him to act like this then.

"But the way you've behaved in the last few days made one thing clear to me. I don't really know you. And I can't risk everything for someone who acts so unpredictably."

💔

AAAAAANNNNDDDD it's gone.

I do understand that though. At the end of the day, they knew each other for how many days? And if Tom's career is that serious, then of course he can't.

"Tom, I'm... I'm sorry..."

AW COME ON. HE SAID HE WAS SOWWY.

"But I said I was sowwy! And I meant it!!"

"I was so selfish thinking only for myself! I had no idea!"

This is why I love Jake! He actually ACKNOWLEDGES he's in the wrong and owns up to it!

"That's correct. You had no idea. You never bothered to ask."

And Tom doesn't even coddle him and say "No no, it's okay." That wouldn't be in character, I feel.

"Yes. You screwed up. I hope you know you screwed up. Know what you did was wrong and there's not an excuse for it."

AND HE JUST WALKS AWAY AFTER THAT?!

💔Goddammit...

I LOVED that scene though. Maybe they will be alright after all.

"See? We CAN talk it out! We're not Gwen and Trent!"

"I think the decision is simple. We vote for Ellie."

No. What did she do?!

"She is the only option."

Do you still have blindfolds on?

"As for Ellie, who even is she?"

She's a wannabe college student with a life of bad labor and debt and has passions to be a designer.

"Gabby, trust me, it's for the best."

"FOR YOU IT IS!"

YES! CALL HIM OUT!!

"You always do what's best for you and you don't care what anyone else thinks!"

YUUUUUUSSSSS!!!! DAN SLANDER!!!

Oh god it's Blabby! She's back!

"That boy wants to control you just like Grett did!"

Yes. Yes he does.

"I think I need a hug."

Awwwwwwww 💗

These two are such besties, I love them!

"Uh... I have to go... clean my socks... or something..."

XD

Best excuse ever.

Tom, how did you even become a spy? You suck at your job.

"I'll be back later!"

*Jumps in a bush*

XD

And Miriam just walks away from him XD

"Nah, I'm too old for this shit. I'm out."

"Agent Smith, I wasn't expecting your call at this time."

Smith? His name is Tom Smith?

What happened?

Is the guy he's after planning something worse?

Oh come on Jake. Why Gabby?

Yeah, we know this one.

I thought Gabby and Ellie would convince Jake to vote with them and tie it or something. But no.

WAIT SO THAT MEANS ELLIE IS SCREWED.

"WAIT!!"

"I have an immunity totem and I want to use it."

OH MY GOD THE IDOL. OH MY GOD SHE'S SAVED.

"I want to use this totem to nullify the votes against Ellie!"

YEP. ELLIE'S NOT GOING.

Gabby, SLAY. Successfully reading the room, saving her only ally!

GREAT PLAY.

The subtitles XD

"Any votes on Ellie will not count!"

'ELLIE' *DOESN'T COUNT*

There's three, right?

So this was a successful idol play?

'ELLIE' *DOESN'T COUNT*

'ELLIE' *DOESN'T COUNT*

YEP. SUCCESSFUL IDOL PLAY.

'GABBY'

That's Jake throwing his vote.

'DAN'

OH MY GOD, PLEASE. IS HE GONE?!

PLEASE NOT GABBY.

It's gotta be Dan. He's gotta be gone!

YES! HE'S GONE!!!!

"Why would you waste your totem on Ellie?"

Dude, Ellie was Gabby's ONLY ally in the game. She didn't protect Ellie, then they'd both be screwed.

"I didn't waste it. I saved her cause she treats me like a person."

That too. 💗

WHAT A TRIBAL COUNCIL!!

I like good idol plays, what can I say?

And Dan's finally gone!

I'm sorry, but he was the worst character of the cast.

Lasted too long, no personality, and the only thing he did with all his screen time was talk about an alliance that didn't exist, and be sexist.

And before you say his actions and dialogue weren't sexist: GUYS alliance. Is only seen targeting female characters. Downplays Gabby's problems over his own wants.

He rubbed me off the wrong way and I don't regret bullying him.

At least everyone else on that team was interesting in one way or another, but Dan had nothing.

I GUESS the only thing he did was be the foil to Grett for Gabby's development? As he was someone who also tried to use her but was nicer to her so it left her conflicted? But really, you could've given that role to ANY character. You could've had, idk, Tom do that and not much would change.

Actually, that would add onto the 'Tom is only here for work' plot.

BUT HEY, AT LEAST I DIDN'T JINX ANYBODY WITH THE HEADING THIS TIME! THAT'S A PLUS!

Still, THANK YOU GABBY for slaying this show as usual! You are a GIFT, sweetheart and we're so happy to have you!

GABBY FOR THE WIN!

Anyway, idk if this will get any attention because of the Season 3 finale, but hey, I can continue these if you guys seem interested and entertained by them.

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals: Boy Bands In 5 Minutes (post 2/2)

Part 2! Let's get right into this! (For part 1 go here)

...There's a lot going on with the outfits here, but I'm assuming it's decade/era-appropriate? (I learned from one reaction video that apparently the poncho/jumper/hoodie thing that Geoff is wearing is something that people used to wear to the beach a lot or something?)

Geoff used to wear a bowtie a lot when he had shorter hair (apparently, though I don't watch a lot of VP's older stuff), but this is basically the only time that we see Geoff wearing a bowtie since growing his hair out (well, wearing a tied-up bowtie anyway)

I did a study/analysis thing on the varying positionings/line-up orders of the group during this video (haven't bothered to psot it though), and fun fact: Geoff spends the majority of this video on the left side of the screen!

This guy is Rek Dunn, who was a production assistant and friend of the group for many years, before he sadly passed away in 2021 (the Halo theme cover that Voiceplay did that year is in honour of him)

The only outfit change done phyiscally on camera and not via quick cuts. Pay attention to Layne!

The absolute drama. Iconic, we stan 👌😂

Backstreet Boys time! The outfits are similiar to what they started the video wearing, but with a few changes. E.g. they're wearing white pants rather than black, Eli's wearing a white fedora, and Geoff is wearing a singlet/tank top (one of the first times (if not the first time) that Geoff has been the only one with bare shoulders in a Voiceplay video, and certainly not the last (hey, if you've got it, flaunt it!))

Back to NSYNC, this time for the song "pop". And yes, if you haven't figured it out already, this section is filled with scenes relating to "pop" and all its meanings/connotations. So in this shot the guys are playing with balloons (which can pop), then they're tossing around bubble wrap (which people often enjoy popping), then they're eating bubblegum (which you can blow bubbles with, which can then pop), then dancing in bubbles/using bubble guns (see previous), and then doing a toast/cheers with cans of soda/soft drink, which Americans sometimes refer to as "pop".

This section alone must have taken a bit of time to set up and film each scene for, but I bet they had a really fun time with it (must be a ton of bloopers/outtakes)

According to commenters, Voiceplay are in fact doing the same choreography for One Direction's Best Song Ever as was used in the original music clip.

(Also I saw part of a 1D music video on a public TV screen a couple weeks ago and I was like "okay but why is Harry Styles' appearance here giving me Geoff vibes? 😅" (I think it was partially the hair, and partially the fact that Geoff lives rent-free in my head))

Geoff flossing XD (he also did it at the end of his Monster Mash video, or one of his selves did it at least)

Earl, Eli, and J are absolutely killing it with the fashion here! (I wanna know how many of the clothes used were already owned, and how many were acquired just for the video?)

Eli back at it again with the sunglasses-as-fashion-accessory (without wearing them), and also I just realized his pants are the same that he was wearing in the Pop section of the video just a bit earlier. Also J's shirt reminds me of the blazer/jacket he wore in the Queen Medley.

Also it's about time I acknowledge those light bars/poles that have been in the background the whole time and changing colours for the different scenes. Eli's the lighting whiz of the group, so they were likely his idea/doing (and he is credited with lighting in the description), and they're definitely a brilliant addition to the video!

I don't know how much rehearsal time went into this whole thing, but Voiceplay did an overall fantastic job at the choreography.

(Maybe I would have been fine doing this video as just one post, but better safe than sorry imo) So yeah, amazing video, amazing arrangement, amazing performance. What more can I say? They might not be boys (anymore), but Voiceplay is definitely my favourite band! 😁

[drawnaghht]

This 2021 SDCC panel is also one of the reasons I couldn't agree with some of the stuff tumblr posts last year had stated... which was mostly made up! ie "Stan didn't actually work on the show" or

Like you can see the joy emanating from their faces when Stan and the cast and other crew explain their parts in the show... I can't believe any of them would hate it, whether this was a promo video or not xD Like... you don't go to a SDCC panel of the show you made if you... absolutely hated working on it. idk, it just doesn't make sense. I get that seeing a show or characters from a fandom lens makes people hate that show/characters make stuff up about the show later (i.e. other fans hating on Yuichi Usagi, just as a concept, bc of the ship/shipping, I get it) but it just seems... so strangely petty. Plus non-shipping fans might have been mad that this was not a direct adaptation.... Again I get it! I've been there with other stuff. But whether a show is good or bad, it seems mean-spirited to just lie about the crew or creators of it. It's okay to admit that you had different expectations about it. Yes, it's aimed at a younger viewership and does not directly adapt the darker aspects of the comic, but, that's wholly because of circumstance (Netflix show) and the show is good despite that. Your view of it can simply depend, well, on your view on spinoffs and animation in general, when you watched, what mood you were in. Whatever opinions fans might have, this panel seems to suggest the cast and crew had a mostly good time on it. Unless everyone here is some sort of pathological liar.

More press coverage of the Samurai Rabbit SDCC 2021 panel:

IGN, Polygon (a few pics), Animation Magazine, Geek Network, AIPTcomics (I'll add any more I find if I find smth new)

Screenrant (announcement of the Comic-Con @ home lineup) longer article on AWN (2022, about the premiere with more pics)

also, Stan's interview with the SDCC blog in 2022

"UBLOG: Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles debuted its first season on Netflix, and has already been renewed. What was it like finally getting to see your characters come to life in that way, and how pleased are you that it was so well received? Sakai: We at Usagi Studios are very pleased with Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles. The protagonist Yuichi is a direct descendant of my Miyamoto Usagi who is featured very prominently and with a twist that I thought was brilliant. We worked very closely with Gaumont and Netflix, approving/adjusting scripts, designs, suggesting voice actors, etc. I even calligraphed (by hand) the logo for the series. Samurai Rabbit expanded on a mini-series I created titled “Senso” inspired by HG Wells’ War of the Worlds wherein the martians invaded feudal Japan instead. Japan took that alien technology and developed it, adding their own cultural elements. Samurai Rabbit takes place in the future with Yuichi a young samurai in training who worships his famous (or infamous) ancestor, Usagi. Like my Usagi stories, Samurai Rabbit is very character driven and the first season tells of Yuichi meeting what is to become his core group of friends as they battle yokai, the haunts and monsters of Japanese folklore. I’m so glad that a second season is coming up."

i cannot imagine Stan Sakai Lying. like. LEGIT i cannot so i don't get why ppl make stuff up abt the show. it hasn't been very egregious so far, just stuff in tags and reblogs, but still. weird. fandom is weird abt stuff like this lol! I also do not get the hate that the show itself and the character of Yuichi Usagi get for basically. Not being what people imagined in their heads of an Usagi Yojimbo spinoff. I kind of get that part, because when Avatar: LOK was previewed in 2011, I imagined such a vast and colorful version of the show based on just 2 art pieces, I was caught a bit off-guard by the 1st season's premiere, and completely let down by the 2nd season. So I get that part at least. Many articles seemed to suggest that this show would be an adaptation, and I am guessing this is where people's expectations rose ten-fold in a similar way to my 2011 self. From interviews, I sense that the crew had similar expectations when they joined: a Usagi aniamted project with Stan Sakai directly involved! I'd be asking to be on the show too if I'd been a Gaumont studios member at the time.

The mountain is high and it is hard to surpass. When Netflix ordered the show to be about a younger Usagi and gear it for a younger audience too, I find that perhaps the Gaumont and Usagi Studios crew also saw this. In a fan's eyes, almost no one could match Stan Sakai in his storytelling, and the crew are big fans of his work. So it would make sense that they started to see the show they were developing differently. Instead of something like the 2003 adaptation of Miyamoto Usagi, where they make him younger and change his story a bit, the SR crew saw an opportunity. Lets make it about a descendant and a whole different setting, yeah? So the show becomes something quite different, but more manageable now. The mountain seems more like a long trek than an unpassable task.

But it also seems from every interview and official release I've seen that most of the people working on the show really liked what they made and liked working on it, even if it wasn't a direct adaptation of Usagi Yojimbo, something most of the crew were a fan of already themselves.

also, the series was worked on at least since 2018. Yeah, it's aimed at a younger audience, but a lot of effort seems to be put into it anyway, from writing, acting and art aspects all-around, so it just doesn't seem like something that people would feel the need to lie about. it's a good show. It is just not a direct adaptation of the comics, that people have been wanting, or something "style adjacent" to the comics, e.g. what people expect of the comics (that it's only dark and gritty).

A 2019 comicon.com article sharing a facebook photo at Gaumont studios with Stan is the perfect example of this - "This studio is known for their work on the original Redwall animated series. Judging by the key art shown above and Gaumont’s location in Paris, I hope that the animated series will remain faithful to the darker tone of the comics." - of course an article by a reader of the comic would have something like this, but we can see as early as this, the writer is setting themselves up for higher expectations for the series. Which I don't find fault in, who doesn't want a cool animated adaptation of their favourite comic? But comparing a studio now to what the studio was 15-20 years before is like setting the reader up for expectations that are too unrealistic. Redwall is a beautiful adaptation, but each show/series will almost always have a different team of people working on, so from an animation work POV, it just seems like something unrealistic. Animation industry, both western and otherwise, has always been something that can't always cater to all interests.

not-so-hot take but: it's actually good that it's not a direct adaptation!

The expectations people put on any adaptations/projects based on an older thing, is probably also a huge factor in why both younger and older fans (both shppers and the fans of the comic) feel so terse about the series, when in reality, it's possibly the best result we could get for a netflix adaptation (if I look at any anime/manga live-action adaptations for example, netflix has sort of "dropped the ball" on many of these). The series having loose and not-so-loose connections to the comics canon basically ensures that nothing about the comics canon is ever changed much, or that Stan is never obligated to change the comic for the show. The comic and show are allowed to be separate, but the show is also an homage and open fanart to the comic.

This also means that whether viewers hate or love the series, perhaps having a non-adaptation og series based on the comic... means they will actually read the comic itself now. I see this with both liveaction and animated adaptations, but ppl usually don't pick up the og source material based on just one adaptation, and if the adaptation is good or faithful, they still won't - thinking of TMNT 2003 but also Rise series haters who insist Raph doesn't use Tonfa, when that was a og comics reference lol - there's no trust that the animation folk working on your favourite properties adaptation are ALSO FANS of the same thing. So the chances for that might be similar. If people are happy with an adaptation, they might be less likely to seek out more of it. But I just find this series an interesting attempt from that POV. It almost feels similar to what Transmedia Storytelling is explained as a technique - of telling a story across multiple platforms, adding something unique each time.

A direct retelling is different from an original piece or continuation set in the same universe. Imagine that Usagi Yojimbo, the original comic, is like a tentpole that readers gather around. As time grows on, different animated adaptations occur, some tabletop games, a theather play etc. Different media for Usagi to inhabit as a character and a concept. And then comes along Samurai Rabbit, wholly not an adaptation of the comic's stories at all, but something inspired of it, building on it, not changing it much, but still adding to the canon in its own way (the existence of the Ki-Stone in this show). It's different but it's entirely a work made out of love for the comic, and you can see it in the different aspects it adapts from the comic (the 2D sequences, the skull-death-bubbles, the references to the comic, how it shows Miyamoto Usagi) and how it approcahes the characters as a cast.

So because Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles is not a strict retelling of any of the comics narratives, it allows itself room to explore and grow as its own thing, while also loosely adding to the canon in an interesting and unique way.

I hope phrasing the show from that vantage point gives other existing a different view on it.

this show also credits everyone in the production, including even the 3D animation company (a lot of animated shows only credit the company itself, or at least used to do this a lot) so I think that speaks a lot about how the production sees the show itself. The people making the show are valuable and did well, whatever the reception is going to be. And genuinely, I hope it was actually a good experience working on the show for all of the cast and crew.

[budapestalloveragain]

here let’s just do a tag now lmao why not

okay so marlon @snowflakebenny tagged meeeee thanks hehehe ilysm and i hope you’re having a good time in poland ^-^ (i know u are lmao bc you’re sPAMMING ME IN THE GC but it’s fine i love u both u know that)

rules: list 10 biases and they can’t be in the same group!

(before we start y’all should know i’m like the most indecisive person ever so pls know that i love every single member of these groups and it took me like forever to do this tag lol)

(also tbh i really only know the top 6 groups well enough to have biases; the others are like groups that i like but don’t necessarily stan u know? plus i kinda cheated for 9 & 10 whoops lmao)

1. jungkook (bts) 2. yugyeom (got7) 3. jeonghan (seventeen) 4. changkyun (monsta x) 5. yixing (exo) 6. jiwoo (kard) 7. amber (f(x)) 8. yoojung (ioi) 9. sunmi (wonder girls) 10. hyuna (4minute)

okayyyy i don’t really have anyone to tag lmao the people i usually tag don’t like kpop ? sooooo just do it if you feel like it !!! i always like to know what people are into/who they like ^-^

[peanutpinet]

Figure It Out - Lee Jeno (college bad boy) x Reader

A/N: this is another Jeno fic because if you can't tell, there has been a bit too much Jamal (Jaehyun's Indonesian name) and I'm trying to not make this blog a Jamal blog XD also, my friend is a Jeno stan so this is also for her :)

Sentence idea: 71) “No one can ever know about us, okay? If anyone finds out they’ll try and hurt you.” - will be altered a bit :D

Warnings: a bit of angst (?), fluff, Jeno using his inner strength, maybe some threatening (?) - if you can't tell, I just write whatever is in my brain XD

Honestly, you had no idea how you got in this mess. One day you were just hanging out with your friends and by the end of the week, you were confronted by so many people at once.

At the beginning of the week, you were just studying in the library, waiting for Jeno to finish with his practice. Once Jeno texted you that he was done, you decided to head to your usual spot where you would meet Jeno go have lunch or dinner together.

Because you arrived first, you decided to just sit down and scroll through your phone until you saw the campus' Instagram Story and saw Jeno laughing with some of his team members and the popular girls on campus. Sighing to yourself, you decided to exit the social media only to find Jeno's close friend group, Haechan, Jaemin, Renjun, Yangyang and Shotaro along with some of your friends coming towards you.

"You alright babe?" your friend asked

"I'm good, don't worry about me" you lied, putting a fake smile

"Pretty sure she saw the campus' story. I mean, I heard whoever handles their social media is a big fan of Jeno" Haechan bluntly mentioned as Renjun smacked him

"It's fine guys, really. It's not a big deal. I've gotten used to it" you replied as your friends took their seats next to you

"You should really talk to him, let him know how you feel. It's unfair for you to always put up with this. Like honestly, I dunno why he won't make your relationship public" your friend advised

"How about we get a mini revenge on him? Have some guys go up to you and be all over you?" Haechan suggested, earning a glare from everyone

"Treat others the way you want to be treated Haechan" you replied, giggling as you all heard a crowd which Jeno was with

"You're too nice (Y/N). Sometimes he needs to be smacked. Like I don't really get what's on his mind sometimes" Haechan sighed as Renjun smacked him again

"What Haechan is trying to say is, let us know if anything else happens alright? We'll see you back at the apartment" Jaemin advised, giving your shoulder a light squeeze as you nodded, smiling at him

"Thanks Na. I really appreciate it. All of you. See y'all later!!" you smiled, grabbing your things as Jeno called for you

Saying goodbye to everyone, you went up to Jeno who immediately kissed your head, putting his arm over your shoulder as you both walked out of the campus and headed for dinner.

During dinner, Jeno told you about what happened at practice, some of his teammates got pranked during practice, how he managed to score from the center of the field. Sometimes during these talks, you would laugh with Jeno or reply to some of his stories with your own but this time, you decided to just stay quiet and listen, wondering what it'd be like to be able to see Jeno at practice and to actually get to spend more time together rather than just keep it all hidden.

"Hey, you alright (Y/N)? Did something happen? Did Haechan say something?" Jeno asked, worried

"Hmm?! Oh no, it's just, swamped with assignments, that's all" you replied, going back to eating your dinner

"Are you sure? You seemed spaced out when I came to pick you up. Do you want to talk about what's on your mind?" Jeno asked while you shook your head

"Okay. But please talk to me if anything is bothering you, alright?" Jeno mentioned, grabbing both your hands in his while you just nod

On your way back to your shared apartment with the others, you and Jeno decided to step by a mini-mart to get some snacks and drinks since the other guys wanted to have a movie night. While the both of you were getting the things, some of Jeno's teammates came and Jeno told you to stay where you are for a moment whilst he goes greet his mates. You decided to just go up to the cashier and paid but as you were doing so, Jeno eyeballed you, to make sure that you were alright and all.

Right when Jeno's mates left, Jeno immediately went to your side, apologised for leaving you alone, grabbing the groceries with one side of his hand while the other one was put around your shoulder, pulling you closer to his body as you both when back to your shared apartment.

After that night, Jeno thought that you might need some time on your own because of stress. Even so, Jeno would still show his affections here and there by leaving some sticky notes on your books, on your laptop, making Jaemin and Haechan hand you some snacks or even leave some snacks in the kitchen with his notes; making you a bit guilty to stay quiet for several days.

Because that Friday there was a game night, you asked Jaemin/Haechan if they think it's alright for you to go and watch which Haechan of course agreed on while Jaemin said that he thinks it'd be best if you'd ask Jeno first since he wasn't sure if the other guys would be able to come since they had other things to do. But regardless, in the end, you and your best friend decided to just go to the game cause you really wanted to surprise Jeno.

It was the game night and you and your friend went right next to Haechan and Jaemin who were already at the bleachers. Seeing you and your best friend coming, Haechan shoved Jaemin a bit to make room for the both of you.

"Yo!! (Y/N)!! Glad that you could make it!!" Haechan shouted since the crowd was so loud

"I'm just glad that the both of you are here" you replied, smiling

"Did you ask Jeno?" Jaemin asked as you shook your head

"No. I'm planning to surprise him" you mentioned as Haechan hyped you up whilst Jaemin looked at you a certain way which you brushed up, thinking that he was just worried that you might get lost or something

Throughout the game, your eyes never left Jeno's figure. Every time he shot a goal (which is the majority of the game), you could feel the adrenaline rush coming and unconsciously shout. It wasn't until the final second of the game and Jeno making the final shot, winning the game that you basically got up from your seat and cheered him, actually catching his attention.

The second Jeno hear a familiar scream (despite the loud crowd), he whipped his head, meeting your eyes that were filled with happiness and cheerfulness. But unfortunately, for Jeno, his mind was blinded by confusement and anger as he looked right into Haechan and Jaemin who were next to you; as if he was questioning them as to why you were there with neither of them telling him.

Not caring about having to go back to his team after the crowd started to disperse, Jeno stomped his way to where you and the others were. Once he was finally in front of you, he held your wrist a bit tightly, trying to pull you away from the crowd.

"Jen-jeno...wh-where are you taking. Jeno, it hurts" you pleaded as your best friend, Jaemin and Haechan rushed

"Lee Jeno!! Stop it!!" Jaemin shouted, holding his best friend's arm that was tightening around your wrist

"You of all people know that she can't be here without saying anything. Why didn't you say anything? Cause I know for a fact that Haechan likes to not say anything. But you? I trust you" Jeno argued, his tone getting angrier with each sentence

"You're blaming me for her coming? Maybe if you didn't neglect her in the first place, she wouldn't have come here on her own. Maybe she would've asked first. But you never consider what she wants" Jaemin argues back

"Jaemin...don't..." you tried to voice out

"No (Y/N). It's not okay for you to keep following whatever Jeno says. She's a human being, Jeno. You care for her, we get, we all do. But that doesn't give you the right to track her every move, restrict her from doing the things she wants to do. She literally came here to surprise you. Did you ever consider that she wants to come and support you?!" Jaemin scolded, making you jump a bit

But before Jeno could even argue back or even comment or anything, the opposing team that Jeno's team fought came to the scene, gaining everyone's attention, especially Jeno who pulled you behind him as Haechan did the same with your friend and Jaemin standing right next to Jeno.

"Well, what do we have here, the Lee Jeno hiding a certain someone?" Jax, the opposing team, confronted with his gang

"It's none of your business. Leave. Unless you want to lose something else besides the game" Jeno warned, his hand never left yours

"Well, one wouldn't lose without putting a fight, would they?" Jax provoked back, standing right in front of Jeno

"If you know what's best for you and your gang, you better back off Jax. Some of them are newbies, aren't they?" Jaemin commented

"So what they're newbies? Are you going to call your hyungs to come and help you? You three? Against some newbies? Scared? Oh right, your little girl there doesn't know anything" Jax snickered but Jeno immediately throw a punch across his cheek, sending him to the ground with a bleeding nose

"Listen carefully, Jax. You and your little gang can try and provoke me, my friends or even our hyungs as much as you like. But the second I find out you or your gang comes near her or her friends, stalk them, touch them or even just talk to them, I'll tear you all apart limb after limb with my own bare hands and I'm going to enjoy it. Now leave before I actually do it right now" Jeno kneeled to Jax's height, threatening him and his gang as they all immediately left

After Jax and his gang left the scene, Jeno told everyone that they should all head back which you all did. But during the entirety of the car ride, not one of you dare to speak about what happened. Heck, you and your friend just sat in the back seat with Haechan whilst Jaemin was driving and Jeno at the seat beside the driver.

Arriving back at your shared apartment, you were thinking of just going into your room and let Jeno have a moment alone. But the second everyone entered the apartment, Jeno held your hand, asking you to come with him to his room because he said that he wanted to talk. Not even trying to fight, you just allowed Jeno to drag you into his room.

Once the both of you were in his room, he told you to sit on the bed softly, completely different to the Jeno that you saw at the field after the game. As you sat on his bed, Jeno closed the door to his room and grabbed a chair, sitting right in front of you, grabbing your hands in his.

"I'm sorry" was the first sentence you heard from Jeno since what happened back at the field

"I'm sorry for not telling you about why I never really want our relationship to be known. I'm sorry that I never once considered how you felt because of that. I'm sorry that you always had to force yourself to follow what I say. Jaemin was right. You're human and you have your feelings and I never even considered letting you talk from your side of the story. I, I was just scared. The reason why I don't want a lot of people to know about us is that, if they find out about you, about us, they might try and hurt you and I can't live with myself if that ever happens. I can't say much, I'm sorry. All I can tell you is that I, we, uh, Jaemin, Haechan, the others I'm close with, including our seniors like Ten, Johnny, Jaehyun, the others, we're sorta part of a gang. But I promise you that we mean no harm. We sorta do the opposite; we try to put down the actual bad ones. But that still shouldn't be an excuse, what am I even saying at this point?!" Jeno groaned

"Jeno. I'm not angry. I'm disappointed, yes. I'm hurt that you didn't tell me or warn me or anything. But I can never be angry at you. I always figure that you have your reason why you don't want to make our relationship known. I just wished you had told me sooner. We, we could've worked something out" you replied, giving Jeno's hands a light squeeze

"I swear, what did I do to have met you and for you to accept my confession one year ago? I hope that you'd be more open to me about your feelings, okay? Scold me if I'm going too far. I'm dead serious. It's unfair if you just keep following what I want all the time. Like you said, we can work something out. I mean, there's a reason to why I dated you in the first place, (Y/N). As cringey and disgusting as it sounds, I can see my future with you because of how mature you were" Jeno confessed, coming closer and kissing your temple, making you feel the butterflies you had the first time Jeno confessed to you

By the end of the night, you and Jeno just cuddled up in his bed as you finally let out all your thoughts about everything while Jeno just listened to you, giving you his own thoughts. Because no matter how much you guys would disagree, in the end, you both would always find a way to figure it out :)

A/N: I'm finally finished with my internship and actually got a freelance job as an editor/proofreader for a story :" I never imagine I would get that kind of job just by writing fanfics and even publishing my work. Yea, I'm getting emotional cause your girl is also on her period :" but for reals, thank you to everyone who has been reading, liking and even reposting my story :" it means so much to a shy grass (czennie) like me :" I hope you all have an amazing weekend and remember to stay safe and practise good hygiene!! :) xoxo Vinet

[jung-koook]

Hello sky!! This is the monbebe anon, I am here to reply to the anon who asked about how did we survive changkyun and his piercing haha. Hmm I want to say the first like two months everyone was going ajdjakdjaj *passes out* after that we got used to it but that didn't mean we didn't fanboy or fangirl over the sight each time we saw it. Alas it only lasted a year so Eyebrow piercing you will be missed, never forgotten. (As to why, I sadly don't know as I don't believe he answered this? And if yes I am sorry, I sadly am not too deep within the fandom, it is hard to be an army, monbebe, and many other at the same time haha.) I believe it also was a fake one or we all assumed it was fake until we saw a selfie and cue chaos in the fandom.

But you think that was the END of chaos from this man? Oh no, then came some tattoos in between (he has a few? I want to say like 4 if memory is correct. One on his wrist and the rest are on his back) , him posting without a shirt in photoshoots, his rap lines making us go KO (he legit confirmed he likes making fans go crazy over his lyrics so make that with what you will) oh and his long hair. (He cut it recently so it will be missed as well). All while giving us a lovely first mixtape as well! So all in all, it is like the meme where it is a dog sitting in fire saying 'everything is fine' what's funny to me is both jungkook and changkyun are the youngest for both of their groups? XD so like is this like a maknae thing? Lolol

Also to finish up this ask because it is getting long, again jungkook and his piercing is real. The bar proves that but as I said, I think due to how he placed it and his Eyebrow shape might make things look a bit weird for some people. Even if it is true, let's not pressure him to talk about it. If he wants too, he can or if not then that is also alright ya know? Also, also, thank you to the anon and also you sky for like, not slapping me with a fish for mentioning somone that isn't bts. I know it can be annoying but I only brought it up as an example of another idol that I knew who had an Eyebrow piercing and was a bit worried some would think I'm doing this for drama or something. So again thank you for being all chill, I am sending you all cookies for being awesome sauce! Have a nice day or night as well

changkyun still have long hair? i was breathless after i saw his gifset with long hair ALSKASKAS i can imagine how much his stan suffered when they saw him with long hair for the first time 😆 yes, we can already imagine how the comments will be on the next live solo he do right :/ and please, dont worry ok! its okay to mention another artist or group like you did. you just wanted to show an example. theres nothing wrong with it ♡ you're so adorable askllkasl thank you sweetheart. and you too please ♡

[sleepylixie]

And I shall remain very anonymous! Until I start posting the series in like a month lol (I'm guessing owo)

80K?????? If you added up everything I've written in the last 2 years or so I don't think it would be 80k. 2 months.... Girl tf.

Ahhhhh so many ideas 😭. I'd love to give them to other people but they have their own ideas and some random thing I had mind wouldn't be included LMAO, I'm so annoying ghgjr.

oml I will feel inspired and sad about how much better than me he is 😂. I was a major carat for like 2 years hehe, what a time. Casual fan of Samuel who was going to be in the group too, which was honestly a coincidence 😛

-🖌

HUUUUUUUUU CHANLIX POLY IN A MONTH WOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Yo- I was heavily inspired ok >.< I haven’t written much lately TT The only reason I managed to write so much was coz I was riding off the high that newly stanning SKZ brrought to me xD And also the fact that the concert posters and concert happened around that time, plus award show performances and also All In promotions ( and I was also looking for reasons to procrastinate studying and writing essays :D ) 

Honestly, I’d love to just give my ideas away, like- I have so many on a daily basis and it never comes around to being written or have anything done about said ideas iS THE WORST- If like, a content generator was hooked to our brains and every time an idea turns up, it immediately does something with it so all we have to do it read nad maybe edit *_* 

OOOOOOH - Okay, i must ask, did you watch the Kingdom performances of SKZ and ATZ? Coz I’m still screaming from the top of the mountains about it i Honestly can’t get over any aspect of both the performances and SEONGHWA LITERALLY SHOOTING A KRAKEN I’M FUCKING DECEASED HUUUUUUUUU ( As you can see I have a lot of feelings ) 

( Edit: I left this in my drafts and forgot to fucking post it I AM A FUCKING MORON- I’M SORRY BEAUTIFUL LOVELY HOOMAN BEING ) 

[kpopfromtheblock]

Okay so did as you said and looked up those three. Liked what I saw. Really liked Seventeen the best maybe? They seem like good upstanding gentlemen so I'll definitely look into them a bit more I have Don't Wanna Cry stuck in my head now so that must be a thing XD I just have the issue of getting into new music like I did with BTS and this sound insane but I'm afraid of getting into another group and leaving BTS? A stupid thing to think but that's why I've stuck to the shallows so far with KPOP

I’m glad you like SVT! they are amazing and I understand what you mean about not wanting to leave BTS behind but i think about it like this: my heart is way too big to just give all my love to one group so why not share it, yakno? i have more than enough love and support to give! and honestly, it’s impossible to forget about BTS (for me anyways) when they have so much amazing music in the universe and they are constantly supplying us with content so our souls never go hungry lol i think you can stan as many group as you’d like and equally support them all! you’re heart is big enough to do so! believe in you and i love you!

[cigaretteparfum]

Hiyo, Secret Santa here.

Oh man what a way to get into this group! Jongin's first album was so amazing, I'm still obsessed with it. And he's such a talented dancer, you can tell how much he loves it. I was lucky enough to see him perform live, and I swear you can't keep your eyes off him. Yixing!! He is such a stellar artist, the music he creates, how creative he is, it's just so freaking admirable. He always brings such awesome music, not just lyrically, but visually. Would you say he's your bias?

Monster... there will never be as powerful of a song as that one. You can make any non kpop fan into one with that song alone. That's how I got into them. A friend was posting the KoKoBop teasers and I asked her about them, but she had me listen to Monster first. I was hooked in 20 seconds and have been a fan since.

Is there any group or solo artist, kpop or not, you'd ever want to see work with Exo or one of the guys?

~SS

hi, secret santa!

holy shite, you got to see jongin live?? must've been incredible! that's prolly one of those memories you'll keep forever, no matter how many years have passed.

and yes, yixing is definitely amazing! i think i got into him through Lit? it's quite hard to pin-point an exact moment when i became his fan, but i do remember his lit mv was one of the first (if not the actual first) song and music video of his that i listened to/watched. i'd definitely say he's my bias out of all nine, even though initially that spot was occupied by jongin. XD yixing went from bias wrecker to ult bias real quick, ngl.

oh! you wanna hear a fun story? all throughout junior high and high school, most of my friends were into kpop already. the major reason they couldn't got me into it alongside them was because i already got too preoccupied with western bands. i don't remember if any of them stanned exo as, like, their main fave, but considering how big and popular the boys already were at that time, someone must have showed me a few of their songs/MVs because when i heard monster, it felt so familiar. and you're so right, that song is so powerful! i wholeheartedly believe that if i wasn't so obsessed with All Time Low, the first time my mates showed me monster, i would have started stanning exo so quick.

okay, so i don't know if this is kinda cheating or not considering technically they're still part of the same group, but i kinda do want to see baekxing duo collab. just the two of them! i hear from other exo-ls all the time that those two were basically inseparable besties, and i want to see their dynamics play out musically. would that be acceptable? 😅 another collab i'd love to see would be: italian composer emiliano ercoli (if he's still actively making music, that is) making something for chen, i think that'd be interesting. or yixing with early-to-mid 2000s agnes monica (now known as agnez mo). oh man, am really all over the place with this one, ahahaha. sorry about that! ^^;

[ongnable]

Okay I think I need your help! I started following Wanna One few weeks ago and I don't know what to watch to know them better! (I discovered them after being forced by my friend to watch Master Key 😂) so yeah I went around YouTube but if you can direct me to "worthy" content I'll be glad! ((especially with Ong cause it was kinda love at first sight 💕)) thanks and love your blog ✨✨✨

Ong being loved is honestly such a mood

I’ll put everything in order so it’s easy to go through, and list mainly the OT11 stuff + links to eng sub! ^^

M/Vs

Energetic

Burn It Up

Beautiful (Movie ver.)this is not the full version which is almost 15 minutes long (and i’m still salty about the unequal screen-time); to fully understand the story - watch the ’prologue’ too!

Beautiful (Perf. ver.)

I Promise You (I.P.U.)a personal favourite; it’s honestly such a blessing for soft stans!

Boomerang

Shows (2017-8)

Broduce –is definitely more than ‘worthy’ since we not only got to meet W1 in their pre-debut states, but also a bunch of talented boys/men. I think that the main reason our ‘core’ fandom is so strongly bound is mainly because of PD101 and how well you get to know them since it’s filmed over such a long period. you can only fall deeper in love, and appreciate their hard work more and more each time you (re-)watch broduce~

Mnet Present –this was kind of an ‘intro to W1′ type of thing from Mnet before unveiling Energetic, but it’s kinda precious how you can tell that the boys were still a little awkward with some of the others they didn’t perform with during broduce and how being in W1 still hasn’t really hit them since it was filmed before they started promotions. not a must-watch but it’s lovely to look back on.

Wanna One Go S1 –season 1 only has 2 episodes, but it quenched the thirst for content before they’re debut! XD if you’ve seen the legendary ongniel date gifs, this is where it’s from!! the boys were paired with their ‘main ships’ from back in Broduce. This is also where we were first introduced to the legend that is Sungwoon’s grandpa!

Return of Superman! 194-195 –not OT11, but i love boys that play well with kids, so it can’t be helped XD be prepared to melt into a puddle of goo watching the kids play with mom-Jisung, the uncles, and big bro-Jihoonie~

Weekly Idol 315-316 –gave birth a myriad of inside jokes (including the X-thigh dance which brought out all the Nu’est W x W1 broduce feels). Daehwi also cemented his status as a girl group dance machine whilst the boys were just their normal meme-worthy selves

Happy Together (510-512) (521-522) (531-?)–this wasn’t OT11, but there are sooo many moments from HT (Minhyun’s text-hwang status and Ongniel making headlines for their ‘couple drama’? yaaaas)

Wanna City –Mnet knows that variety shows are very much where W1 belong, so of course between Wanna One Go S1 and S2 we get a lil something special XD Hyung vs. Maknae line interactions are always hilarious, and Ong’s losing streak from Master Key basically begun here X’D If there’s one cut to watch from this it’s ‘Annyeong Cleopatra’! 

Wanna One Go S2 –the one true mecca of W1-variety. the ‘must-watch’! if theres one thing on the list to watch it’s W1 Go S2!! Most of the gifs/moment videos you’ll see floating around will be from this~

Amigo TV –just the boys being their normal memey-selves with a lot of food involved!! (Dan was busy with It’s Dangerous Outside of the Blankets while this was filmed - which is also a must-watch for soft-Dan)

Outrageous Roommates –only ongnielhwan, but since you like Ong I’m rec-ing this!!!! Justice League team interactions are my fav and when you put the ultimate comedic trio of W1 together with other hilarious people (aka. Yook joongwan from Rose Motel); it’s just a great ‘feel good’ show to watch after a long day!

Other OT11 shows:I Can See Your Voice (OT11) // SNL (personally not a fan of SNL, i just get loads of second-hand embarrassment from their skits >

A few other recent shows with Ong:K-RUSH // Radio Star // Hello Counselor

Comeback-shows (+ debut)

1x1=1 (To Be One) Premier Showcon –a legendary debut showcase~ they debuted in Gocheok Sky Dome which is a first! they made history just by debuting

1-1=0 (Nothing Without You) Comeback Show –basically we watch the boys eat at the beginning, do a hidden camera and then we appreciate all the hard work they put into filming Beautiful even though so many of them got so little screen-time T^T

0+1=1 (I Promise You) Comeback Show –another bts of m/v filming as all comeback shows require~ W1 also prepared an event for fans (even tho Ong was Mc-ing and unable to attend the same time as others); which was super super sweet. Also- Wanna One karaoke + more Sungwoon’s adorable grandpa! XD

Other Performances

A Summer Story x Nayanahonestly speaking I’m not the biggest fan of this mix, but it’s OT11 and they looked really cute and the summery outfits suited them well since it was reminiscent of their 1x1 album Pink ver. outfits ~

Jaehwan’s Immortal Song Perfs (20170930) (20171118) –I have a weak spot for rocker!Jaehwan so I personally like the November perf more, but Mnet likes promoting ballad!Jaehwan >

“Comes And Goes” - Terius (aka. Hwang Minhyun) –woop, the mask fooled no one, naver blew up as soon as this ep (and the ep before) aired cuz everyone knew if was Minhyun X’D it’s even funnier because Daniel was on the panel!

La Dolce Vita –is a recent cover they did on Sugarman 2, and to me it is definitely worth watching if for nothing but them saying ‘señorita’

[bowieisworried]

Good very late morning and a happy sunday i hope you can relax today!

Ah it's always sad when you stop keeping up with a group you really like(d) but then you find a new one to get excited about and that's always a great boost of serotonin so i guess that's just the circle of life .. or kpop or sth haha

My very professional google form tells me 44.8% of my biases are still rappers and 37.9% are vocals i wasn't expecting it to be so close lmao

The hand prints!!! i always love broken wing imagery and that one Really did it for me

good storytelling is always the thing that draws me in the quickest. That's the biggest reason i got into kpop starting with bts because back then they still had these overarching plot lines in their mvs and they were so well done and it was so much fun coming up with theories... i miss that a lot tbh

but at least txt is doing an epic magical story! and i can always go back and watch old mvs...

oh have you ever watched monsta x All In mv? it's an absolute masterpiece and the storytelling is amazing!

watching rtk i didn't think i'd ever get into tbz but then i also watched kingdom (legendary war blabla) this year and now i know all their names idk what happened i blacked out for a month or two i think lmao

As for my favourite rtk performance you Know i have to say come back home bUT that's too easy so i'll say LIT simply because they gave seoho a rap part and i started screaming when i saw it for the first time

i'm a simple rap stan as we have established, it's very easy to get me excited

how about you?

That gifset!!!! yEs i know how he got u haha gosh that mv is so Powerful and the choreography is insaneee

i shall debut was A Lot i'm not gonna lie but i always use variety/reality shows to get into the groups and learn their names so it was okay. tbh it had nothing on the confusion of watching Going Seventeen when i only knew like 6/13 members dhdjhh it's fun also always gives me an excuse to watch the same stuff again later because i know i didn't understand all the inside jokes and stuff yknow

do you have a favourite way of getting to know group members?

I think you'll be happy to know i spent yesterday on the couch showing a friend Every oneus mv and she absolutely loved it.

We Got One Folks!!! i started with tbontb and come back home (obviously) and she was Hooked from the first 10 seconds it was so much fun!

Have a lovely day <33

~ santa

Hello! It's evening for me now because I've spent all day packing for a move lol

Yeah, I don't really know why it happened either. I liked the two comebacks since I got into them, but I just ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Oh that is actually pretty high for the rappers!

Ah, I know someone else who got into kpop for BTS as well. Same as you, they miss the quality plot and whatnot. I'd never seen (or even heard) All In, but I just watched it, it was great! Monsta X actually had one of the first kpop MV's that left an impression on me when my mate was sending a bunch of stuff to me. The 'Find You' MV. It was brilliant.

Oh my god xD The Boyz really rocked it on RTK, shame they couldn't keep the momentum on Kingdom. I have no idea how you've managed to get all their names down though, there's too many of them for me lol.

Ooooh LIT, yes! Loved that Seoho got his rap part, honestly he needs more, he's so good at it. My favourite... either Be Mine or the collab stage they did (cannot remember the name). I'm a massive Shakespeare nerd so Be Mine hooked me, and then their collab stage was just really touching.

Hahaha, they really can be a lot in the beginning but they are good for getting to know folk, especially their personalities and stuff. Seventeen are another group that I 100% will never get down. I can point out Scoups and... the American dude. Vernon? Apart from that though, nope. I think the second a group goes above 8 my brain just says "Nah man, leave them be." lmao

Hmm... sometimes I'll watch one or two of the silly "guide" videos on YouTube, they're a decent starting point when trying to get to know them. After that though, I tend to just pick up what YouTube recommends like variety show stuff, behind videos and things like that.

Yass!! Can't wait until they land up digging themselves deeper into the black hole that is Oneus content lol

Oh, just thought, do you have any Oneus (or kpop in general) albums? Would be cool to know who you pulled!

Have a good one :D

[winterchild-loves-sunshine]

thanks for being realistic. the fact u think of the % of how many real ships we might have within 7 guys got me. honestly, i ship km really hard, but sometimes the reality hits me harder. like i know many shippers are actually overhyped a specific km youtuber, but for me, half of her stuffs might be a little reach. don't you think jm is a little hard to read. i totally down for jk, but sometimes jm makes me think he's doing fanservice, or maybe not, bcz he's such a tease and unpredictable.

hi anon~, welcome back (I guess you’re the one who asked about that particular ask) ^-^~I’m sorry for my late reply again, I’m so wrecked today too and I needed time to think about it.

Okay~, I dunno if it helps, but here is what I tell myself a lot (as much as I love them, ship them, basically root for them, want them to be happy together if possible of course): “My ship ain’t real until they confirm/say it themselves that they’re real”. And even until then, there’s still sth to consider, called “marketing strategy”, since this is the Kpop world we’re talking about (there have been idols dating simply for promoting their groups). However, with all my honesty, and my (biased) belief, BTS and Big Hit will never go that far. The members treasure the members themselves, and the members also treasure us fans.

This is getting so heavy somehow so lemme insert a gif to make things a little bit brighter 

Okay I’m good to go. So does that mean they don’t do fanservice at all? Of course not. But they’ve toned it down throughout the years. I don’t follow other members as much as Jimin (it’s the truth, I’m a Jimin stan afterall), so I can’t really tell you about it. But for Jimin, I agree with some other people, that the Jimin now we see is more like the real Jimin, not less than the Jimin back in 2013-2014. That, by no means, implies that he was fake either. He could’ve been himself, but at the same time, he had to push himself outside his own norms too. It’s nothing unusual, since they just debuted, plus he was young, they needed attention, they needed to be entertaining, as rookies, they needed to do a lot of stuff. 

Back to our babies Jimin and Jungkook, to be honest and realistic again, of course 100% things they do to each other can’t solely be on their own accords, without being driven by what we call fanservice. However, honestly again, has Jikook/Kookmin always been a popular ship? No, not until recently. Imo, the more popular ship has the tendency to do fanservice more. I think Sajeon-nim also talked about this somewhere in her asks. And one more important thing, Jikook/Kookmin is mostly known for being subtle (but probably not until recently, thanks to our Jeon Jungkook-ssi being so whipped and seems to have no intention of hiding it or toning it down. Well, not that I don’t encourage you, keep up the good work, baby bunny ♥). Like you really have to pay attention to it to actually know it, but once you notice it, you notice it all the time, it’s like a pattern, a series that never ends.

All the “I got my (heart) eyes on you” here, here, here and there:

Most of the time, there’s basically no reason for them to do fanservice at all, because it happens too fast (for a few secs, or not even 1 sec), and basically no one is really watching, they’re not in the center of attention etc. …

All the time Jungkook made fun of himself simply just to make Jimin laugh, and he even checked if Jimin actually laughed…

The time they got caught walking together in the back in Bon Voyage, ate with the same spoon (I’m sure they have plenty of spoons in airbnb houses) even tho Jungkook tried not to drink directly from the same bottle with others (no offense to any ship really, I just can’t find more examples in my rusty mind)

I mean, there’re plenty of Jikook/Kookmin shippers out there have talked about them being subtle much much much more better than me, so I guess I don’t have to go too deep into this. I suck tbh xD, but I do hope that you understand my point.

And yes, exactly as you said, I also think that Jungkook is like an open book, it’s all written on his face (pretty much) and in his reactions, but Jimin, yeah not so much.

Imo he’s one of those extra careful guys with whatever he does and says. I mean, can’t blame him when he’s got tons of shits for things he didn’t even do. And as much as an angel he is in my eyes, that angel is still dangerous. He knows what he wants, what he does that will make (most) people fall for him (those constant hair stroking, body rolls, shoulder flashing), and he IS a tease, as you said. Remember in ASC, he didn’t wanna say I love you to the fan so he said I liked you. In the Vlive when fans told him that his beanie was cute he just took it off… (Taehyung and Jimin are kinda similar in that perspective). But regarding our Jungkook again, like Sajeon-nim said, he has Jungkook wrapped around in his small hand. He triggers where it’s ticklish for Jungkook.

Who always exposes Jungkook? Isn’t it our dear Jimin? Saying all stuff like he comes to our room everynight, he brushes his teeth in our room, he doesn’t come when I call him etc. etc. Jungkook doesn’t expose Jimin in relation to himself at all, from what I remember.

It’d be nice if you could give me some specific moments when you think that Jimin’s doing fanservice, then we can discuss about them together. Since I have a memory of a goldfish, I can’t really remember anything TT_TT.

So my point is, and also what I do is, just for us to be on the safe side, I don’t take what they do on-camera too seriously. One example I can tell you is their part in 21st century girl. As much as I love watching it and await what will be next, I don’t put too much thoughts into it. Even tho it seems like it wasn’t planned on Jungkook’s side, it was still planned on Jimin’s side. As a perfectionist he is, he sure thinks carefully what he’ll do before carrying it out, even if it’s just a small tiny little action. On stage, he is a performer. So I strongly believe that he didn’t do it out of nowhere, spontaneously. However, no one, you or me can tell if it was fanservice, except for Jimin. But one thing I know for sure, he KNOWS us fans like it (and  perhaps Jungkook too xD).

Still cute tho…

Well, that doesn’t mean that we should disregard their on-camera moments either. So it really depends… But yes, to answer your question directly, I do think that Jimin and Jungkook do fanservice once in a while too.

However, one thing we can rely on without solely focus on our main characters, is looking at the other members’ reactions. Hobi is one of the most obvious (how quickly Hobi retreated his hand as soon as Jungkook turned around)

How Namjoon knows about Jungkook’s Ph.D in Jiminology so he asks Jungkook to confirm about Jimin’s facts instead of Jimin himself, one example is in the MAMA stage reaction

You can tell these aren’t scripted/planned at all.

And yes, about that specific youtube channel, I know exactly what you’re talking about, I feel the same way as you do. There are times I’m like omg that’s such a small detail how they noticed it adlasfdshfsgh yayyyy my ship is sailing and there are times I’m like oh…okay…okay…how did we reach this far? So yeah, *high five*. But we can’t control what others actually perceive and take in the info they’re given. 

The thing is this ship gained a considerable amount of shippers thanks to that channel. But I just hope some new shippers can be a little bit… chill (somehow stuff I’m talking about is always offensive, but I mean no offense). Yes we have every right to express our own opinion, but it’s sad seeing things like “Jikook/Kookmin is so real how can people ship …?” and start talking bad about that ship constantly… I mean, each person has their own preference. Just because you see it this way doesn’t mean another person will see it that way too. Lemme tell you an example, this moment to me

Jungkook closed his eyes leaning on Jimin’s shoulder is like it’s his most peaceful place in the world and he could forget about his surrounding just for a little bit, but to my friend who is a non-shipper, she told me he was just posing for the camera, there’s this type of pose that you close your eyes, and I’m like TT…

What I mean is that I don’t wanna see Jikook/Kookmin shippers become arrogant and aggressive when people don’t agree with us. We all know how Jimin got attacked and trashed by some shippers from a particular ship, and we really, really don’t wanna get there. So instead of wondering why people can ship other ships when our ship is so “real”, we can just sail our own ship and appreciate their moments, be flustered, fangirl/fanboy about it with other shippers, like try to be positive instead of being negative?

All in all, I’m sorry anon, for kinda going off-topic and can’t really give you a clear answer at some point. But I really did try my best. Just that my memory is really not as good as other shippers’, and I’m really not good at expressing what is going in my mind either. I hope that you can somehow understand me. Thank you so much for sharing your opinion with me, anon. Love 🌸🌺💜

🐥🐰💞

[budapestalloveragain]

hiii so pixie @omfgbts​ (aka my mom) tagged me to spell my url using only kpop songs a while back and i have a shit ton of drafts to go through but i wanted to do this one first lol so here we are! (thanks mom u know ily) i’ve done this before with like just songs in general i think butttt as we all know i’m like 100% full kpop trash now so this’ll be fun (especially bc my url is long as fuck) ^-^

B: blood sweat & tears - bts U: u - knk D: devil - super junior A: autumn leaves - bts P: paradise - got7 E: eureka - zico feat. zion.t S: swimming fool - seventeen T: the eve - exo A: anti - zico feat. g.soul L: lotto - exo L: let’s not fall in love - bigbang O: oh nana - k.a.r.d V: view - shinee E: eyez eyez - victon R: really really - winner A: all i wanna do - jay park feat. hoody & loco G: gee - snsd A: aiya - changmo feat. beenzino I: i need u - bts N: never ever - got7

ummm tbh i don’t have that many mutuals that i talk to that like kpop (that i know of lmao) besides pixie & marlon & loren (and pixie already tagged them) so i’m gonna tag lia @buttonjimin (if u want) + then i’ll leave it open for whoever wants to bc it’s p fun & it took me way too long as usual lmao

[lost-midnight-flower]

Ooh, if you don't mind me asking, what kind of internship do you do? (If you don't feel comfortable answering that, it's okay XD). I'm okaay, just stressed with the end of the semester being next week so I have a tonnn of work and tests to do :/. Besides Jeonghan, do you have any other biases or groups you stan? -Jeonghan Valentine

I’m doing internship as a pharmacy technician ^^ ooh good luck with the tests!!! my next test is in May so I don’t have to stress that much, although I’m stressing for my thesis I have to make :p I stan a lot of groups haha, right now I’m really into VAV and Panic! At The Disco :p my bias changes every few weeks haha since I stan so many groups :p what about you?