#i mean i get that they've got a lot of plot lines to juggle this season

[otakween]

I'm Standing on a Million Lives - Volume 16

This volume took me a long time to get through because I found it mostly boring and put it off. This arc is just kind of overly complex to the point of being fatiguing. Also...it seems like they keep dipping back into the "defeat the dragon bishop" plot line over and over again. I think dragon bishops are a cool concept, but since they all have the same blood ceremony motive, it's starting to feel repetitive. Oh well. Let's see where things go.

Ch. 75

-Oof, the overall message of this chapter was very familiar. They basically were explaining that you can't just wipe out a dictator and expect everything to be sunshine and rainbows afterwards, things are more complicated than that. Politics are the pits...

-Yusuke got called dumb hehe, that was satisfying. Also, Ling called him evil too. Love moments where the mangaka isn't afraid to cut Yusuke down.

-So the Sotagan warriors dress skimpy because they need to be lightweight for their insect jet packs, but then Yusuke points out that the captain's sword is super heavy? So what's the truth....?

Ch. 76

-More politicking. I feel like there's so many groups being juggled here that I've lost the plot a bit. It's interesting that the quest is a little more subjective this time. They're supposed to improve the political environment of the area they've ended up in, but that means something different to different people.

-Was kind of surprised to see Yusuke disturbed by the deaths he caused. I guess he still has a conscience.

-Probably should have seen the Kahvel connection coming with Rapcella. I don't think Kahvel was as great a character as the mangaka thinks she was lol.

Ch. 77

-Wow, really didn't expect a mini essay/history lesson from the mangaka at the end there. He wrote a 3 page blurb about the eco-terrorism incident in 2022 (the soup thrown on the famous artwork) and the Taliban's destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan which I had never heard of. I generally agree with his stance that people should universally cherish world heritage sites, but it felt kind of weird to read what felt like an informative Twitter thread in the middle of this manga lol.

-I like that they (mostly Glen) are using a lot of "out of the box" thinking here. Using infrastructure to improve crime, health, and farming conditions and intercepting enemy communications to make their battle easier. Brains are definitely more handy than brawn in this world.

Ch. 78

-Ugh, I swear they've introduced like 15 different factions with hard-to-read fantasy names at this point. I'm barely hangin' onto the plot TT_TT

-The only thing interesting in this chapter was Glen trying to avoid magical brainwashing while also not quite knowing how the mechanics of magical brainwashing work. I guess they need to ask the Gamemaster some questions about the magic system.

Ch. 79

-I feel like this chapter was pretty contrived. The explanation about the dragon bishop's plan to move the battleground was good, but Iu figuring out which body double was the dragon bishop seemed far fetched. Like I don't buy that she solved the mystery with such little evidence.

-Tearing out your eardrums to avoid brainwashing is cool and all, but not only did Iu not display any discomfort whatsoever but there was no blood? Like during the reveal they even zoomed in on her perfectly fine looking ear! I call bullshit. That's gotta hurt...like a lot, no?

[uisceb]

Y'ALL ALEX DANVERS GOT HER MEMORIES BACK AND I HAVE WHAT IS PROBABLY A VERY UNPOPULAR OPINON ABOUT IT SO I'M HERE TO VENT MY GRIEVANCES INTO THE VOID AND POSSIBLY GET DRAGGED FOR IT BUT HERE I GO ANYWAY.

(ALSO I'M A LITTLE HOPPED UP RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I JUST SPENT THE LAST 5 HOURS STRAIGHT CATCHING UP ON THIS SHOW WHILST UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A LOT OF COLD MEDICINE SO MY THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ARE MOVING VERY FAST AND LOUD BUT I NEEDED TO GET THIS OUT OF MY BRAIN, DON’T MIND ME)...

On the one hand, Alex getting her memories back, THAT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SCENE. All the tears. Even the weird "grass" line worked just because it highlighted how at a loss Alex was. And you KNOW I'm a sucker for a super emo flashbacky montage of the Danvers sisters, and Chyler acting her heart and soul out, that shit is my JAM. It is my JAM, it is my BREAD and BUTTER, it is my FAVORITE THING. Give me all the dramatic Danvers sisters moments, I live and breathe for them.

BUT, on the other hand, I'm...? I was really hoping this whole memory thing would be more pivotal to the overall storyline of S4. Like, regardless of who your favorite characters are, the Danvers sisters have always been THE indisputable core relationship of the entire show (anyone who didn't watch season 1, any disagreements you have aren't valid on this front, sorry, go away). So why go after that core part of the show if the whole journey to reclaiming it and making it stronger again is going to fix itself up in a 2 minute long scene that doesn't really have any lasting overall effect?

And on that note - WE SHOULD HAVE SEEN ALEX STRUGGLE FOR THE PAST SEVERAL EPISODES. All we got was throwaway lines about how she "doesn't quite feel right" but we never ever got to see her truly struggle or experience these inconsistencies in her memory, or how they would affect everything from her personality, to the choices she's made, to the relationships she's had...as an example, when she was talking to Kelly about how her mom always made her feel so loved, that's not true! She and Eliza have an amazing relationship now, and they probably had a great relationship when Alex was little, but as soon as Kara joined them when she was 14, Alex had an INCREDIBLY contentious and damaging relationship with her mother that took years to mend and grow from.

So having said that, when J'onn wiped Alex's memory of Kara-as-an-alien, did that complicated relationship she had with her mom vanish? Because that played a HUGE role in Alex's insecurities and her temper and her obsessions with needing to be perfect no matter what, which led her toward all her self-destructive behavior, most notably her drinking, which led to her fucking up what was going to be a medical career. And that's just one example of something that might have been altered, forget about the rest! There are just so many nuances that could have been explored with this whole idea of omitting Kara's secret from her memory, that would've strengthened and added depth to her character, but instead, the whole thing ended up being pretty pointless in the long run.

Like, yes, okay, her getting her memories back technically saved Kara's life this episode and that's obviously super important, but that was a very brief plot thing that started and ended within 5 minutes. Alex and Kara's bond is not a plot thing, it's the very core of the show, and the recovery of that bond should have been so much more central to this season.

Just the whole storyline of having Alex's knowledge of Kara as Supergirl/an alien wiped was SUCH A GOOD IDEA in theory that could have brought the focus back to them once Alex got her memories back and actually breathe life back into her character...but it kinda fell flat for me in the end. Alex was reduced to a plot device yet again, instead of being given any actual exploration. She's literally the second main character after Kara, but she hasn't been treated like a real character at all since the end of season 2. Every single other character in the show right now, aside from maybe James, has had more development and exploration than she has in the longest time, and this storyline was SO PROMISING, it really looked like it was going to redeem that. But as it happened, the whole thing seemed rushed and pointless and I can't help but think that they're just going to shunt Alex back over into the corner now.

I just...ugh, it was a great scene, but I'm a little disappointed in the fact that it was reduced to a bandaid solution rather than something that would add some real depth to both Alex and Kara.

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Iirc pq2 and the dancing games were being developed the same time as p5, so I dunno if it's a case that they weren't thinking, more likely they didn't care lol (might've been due to p5 being delayed so much or something)

I can tell they aren't thinking, they still aren't. 8U If it's them not caring.......that's annoying then. If you aren't gonna care then leave imo. Or, they do care and are thinking, but aren't as good as Hashino or Tadashi when it comes to coming up with ideas (*cough*except Kido*cough*)

Kinda, for P3/5D at least. As you can see here, it was at the tail end of, P5's development. And PQ2 right when they finished P5.

It's just....so odd. Why not have more people start working on new entries earlier than that? Was it really all hands on deck? I mean it's not like they can't juggle entries, we literally saw them do it before!

I know they said they had everyone focusing on P5 releasing but.....it really feels like poor planning. I mean they even stated they had to rush PQ2 because of the Switch! And yeah I can see the rush, you really screwed up your lore-*inhales* Breathe Silly.....breathe. *exhales*

Tbh PQ2 probably should've been in development not long after PQ1. At least had it on the back burner, slowly simmering and being worked on. And then by the time P5 came out, we'd have a game line up for at least 2017. It's not Atlus' fault for the Switch release (actually maybe it is, I'm sure nintendo must've told developers about it much sooner than the general public.....IF that's the case...and IF it is then that's even.....there was a lot of stupid going on at Atlus with the planning then).

If they did know about the Switch AND/OR were planning for some sequel earlier on, then this would've been the best timeline:

2014: After the release of PQ1, Atlus starts on PQ2 with the rough scenario we already have in progress (aka they iron out the wrinkles compared to what we got)

Late 2015/early 2016: they work on doing the PS classic on PS4 and porting the PS2 vers of P3/P4 (at least, maybe PS1 vers of P1/2 too) and maybe begin the planning of P5S (rather than pussy footing around since they had been doing talks, assuming it was just Atlus being like "oh maybe we'll do it" instead of "oh we have to wait till this time to start doing it cause of KT/legal reasons"...if it's the latter then nothing we can do....except maybe have a separate P5 spinoff/sequel in the works)

Mid 2016: P5 releases, P3/5 crossover game begins development (this is not the same game we got, instead it's a legit crossover where there's dance battles and plot+more character interactions).

Late 2016: P3/4 are dropped on PS4 classics, PQ2 announced for late-early/mid 2017

Tail end Early/Mid 2017: PQ2 drops. P5S (if talks began) announcement is dropped, if not a separate spinoff/sequel game is announced, if not that then P3/5D crossover game is announced.

That's roughly how I'd (in this scenario with this info, I know I've restructured this 1000 times but c'mon) structure it for maximum usage outta all the entries.

If we have to shift all the games (including P5) like 3 months later that's fine, at least that means all the titles will be released in a better timely manner. P5 fans get to familiarize themselves with P3/4 in time for some crossover games, and maybe even a spinoff/sequel.

That being said, it could be some of the new blood too, atm I'mma just blame them hiring Yuta Aihara and Hirokazu Tohyama. so far they've only worked on titles I don't like so I'mma blame them for what happened to PQ2 >8U

P3/5D has a lot of vets iirc, so I'mma blame them being just money hungry 8U