#i thought its character arcs were one of its best qualities

[mollypaup]

Sorry but Komachi was too absent from the story for too long for the ending to feel satisfying to me as is. Maybe if I did a full reread of the manga it would sit better, but following it as it released means there were literally years gap between the last time she was prevalent for more than half a chapter before the huge Komachi dump at the end.

Akira repeatedly supported Satsuki and was with her for multiple important developmental arcs and was over all a more interesting character on account of doing things and being on-screen

Komachi's deal feels like it wasn't properly set up and then was half-resolved by the other storytelling standards of the manga. Every other victory was hard won and Komachi's arc was open and shut with an honestly sort of underwhelming conversation on the roof.

The ending isn't bad, but it feels like there should have been like 3 more chapters in this arc to actually flesh it out and a full chapter at the end properly reintroducing Komachi into the group.

[ploppythespaceship]

Uglies - Movie Thoughts

On a whim, I decided to start re-reading the Uglies series a couple months ago -- so imagine my surprise when I found out it was getting a movie! Said movie is now out, and it was interesting to watch with the book being so fresh in my head.

Overall, it's... eh. It's not a complete train wreck, the way most critics seem to want you to think, but it is fairly bland and uninspired. It's a very watered down version of the book. It also has the misfortune of feeling like yet another a Hunger Games wannabe, despite the original book pre-dating that series by several years.

Spoilers for everything under the cut.

What I Liked

Based on reviews, I seem to be in the minority here, but I thought the cast was pretty good. People seem to hate Joey King as Tally, but I thought she was fine. Brianne Tju is easily the best in the cast, stealing the whole damn movie as Shay. Laverne Cox also gives an excellent performance as Cable, though I do think she should not have been given that role for other reasons (which I'll get into later).

I've also seen complaints that the characters aren't ugly enough. They talk about how ugly they are and point out their specific ugly features, when they don't actually appear that ugly. And I think everyone complaining about that is completely missing the point. The "Uglies" aren't actually ugly -- they're just normal people, who've been conditioned to think their imperfect features are hideous.

I was honestly unsure how the Pretties would be visualized -- in fact, I wondered if the book would just be fundamentally unadaptable because of it -- but they did a fairly good job. I think leaning on CGI and unnatural affectations was the right way to go. All the Pretties have this uncanny quality to them that suits the story perfectly.

The overall production design was solid as well. I like how Uglyville is all gray concrete and muted tones, while New Pretty Town is shimmering golds. Then upon reaching the Smoke, all the colors of nature finally come through. I do think that could have pushed that last one a little bit more, but it still works well.

Apart from that, I don't really have much to shout out. It's competently written, well-performed, well put together. I know it doesn't sound like I have much praise, but it is a competent movie.

What I'm Mixed On

By far the biggest change from the book is Peris becoming a Special. And I'm torn on it. On the one hand, it does make him a bigger part of the story -- he's honestly not much more than an inciting incident in the book. It gives him and Tally a unique arc that's probably the strongest through-line in the story. On the other hand, the Specials as a concept are so under-cooked (more on that later) and the actor is so bland that it still doesn't quite land the way it's supposed to.

What I Didn't Like

The pacing of this movie is by far its worst issue. We are flying through this plot. There is no time for anything to breathe, for characters to develop meaningful connections, for the bigger moments to feel earned. Some things do make sense to condense -- Tally's journey to the Smoke would have been incredibly boring without her internal monologue, so condensing most of that into a montage makes sense. But I do feel we lost too much. That's where a lot of Tally's characterization comes out, where we can see her bravery and ingenuity -- none of that comes across in the movie.

A lot of important beats are rushed. Tally agreeing to help Dr. Cable is over in a flash. It feels like Tally's in the Smoke for all of fifteen minutes. Tally and David barely interact, so their relationship has no real stake. Everyone is kidnapped by Special Circumstances, and then rescued immediately after. I almost think a 5-6 episode mini-series would have worked better -- but that might have introduced the opposite problem, where everything takes too long.

The movie also has frequent montages that don't really work. It seems like they were trying to show the passage of time, but it just makes everything feel even shorter.

The beginning of the movie has an exposition problem, as well. It opens with a montage explaining the entire setting... before leading into several scenes that also explain the setting through dialogue. We get fed the same details about the surgery and the Rusties and the flowers at least three times at the start, and it gets grating.

As already mentioned, Tally is pretty severely underwritten. In the book, she has a distinct personality and a unique presence. In the movie, she's just the main character because she happens to be the main character. Her intelligence and resourcefulness are pretty much gone.

I also think changing her motivation for going to the Smoke did her a disservice. In the book, Tally goes to the Smoke so she can have her surgery, and because she's convinced herself that Shay needs her help. In the movie, Dr. Cable tells her that the Smokies have a weapon, and she will be saving lives by helping to find them. I think giving her a more selfless motivation robs her of her character arc. She always comes across as someone trying to help, who wants to best for other people, rather than someone who had to consciously learn that.

The Specials are barely even a presence. I'm not sure they were even directly called Specials. People who hadn't read the book would never realize that there was an entire separate status of person here. You never see their disturbingly beautiful faces or their terrifying strength. Considering how pivotal the Specials are to the overall story, especially in the later books, it's really odd not to see them properly established here.

Like I said, Laverne Cox gives an excellent performance as Dr. Cable... but I think they should have thought twice before casting a trans woman. It's not necessarily that there's a trans woman in the villainous role, but that there's a trans woman in the villainous role who specifically wants to force people to have surgeries to brainwash them. Like... did the optics of that really not occur to anyone? At all? I think Cox could have played David's mother, instead.

[duckiemimi]

this was commented a while ago on my tiktok (it was about this post), but it’s so good, it’s stayed on my mind ever since. i’ve been meaning to talk about this for a while!

on geto & empathy.

let’s address the likely reason why people tend to see geto in this empathic light and through this lens that almost absolves him from blame.

the hidden inventory arc, especially towards the end, was written in a way that humanized geto; we read his mind, we saw his thoughts and how he processed them, we shadowed him as he went through traumatic event after traumatic event. we were placed in his shoes as he ran through a never-ending marathon—essentially, we were him in his moments. we’re supposed to empathize with him.

it’s why at first hand, his defection might’ve seemed like a logical conclusion to us. it made sense. (unlike how it was for every other character in the story, and especially how it was for gojo—geto’s decision came to them all as a shock.) this is what makes him a well-written character and an overall excellent villain.

it’s also probably why geto is such a personal character to many people, but this intimate association doesn’t make him faultless. yes, he was a victim of circumstance, but so was everyone else in the story. geto was also a perpetrator who inflicted harm on other people: a genocidal cult leader who had his eyes set on the greater good, someone who disregarded the means for the end. “well-written,“ in my opinion, also means multifaceted, complex.

now let’s talk about geto pre defection.

geto is gojo’s foil. at first read, he’s supposed to contrast gojo in a way that highlights specific aspects of gojo’s character. (and vice versa, but this arc is also called “gojo’s past arc” for a reason; gojo is our main character in this part of the story, he is our point of reference.) geto serves as a comparison to gojo, but he also stands as his own character. where gojo failed to empathize with the “weak,” geto succeeded. but what was empathy to geto anyway?

empathy, in its colloquial connotation, is seen as a virtue. it’s a community-building tool and it’s inherently human. it’s how we contextualize our place in the world and our connection to other people. in broad construct, it’s a “good” quality to have, to be empathic—but not all forms of empathy are the same.

geto’s empathy towards the “weak” was, in a word, paternalistic—like how a father would interact with his children, or how a deity or a king would interact with their subjects. it stemmed from his arrogance and his “well-meaning” saviorism tendencies: in short, “i am better than you, therefore i know better than you. i know what’s best for you.” this is especially true in regards to his patronizing attitude towards non-sorcerers pre defection (and it extends post defection, too).

geto’s sense of duty as a sorcerer manifested in how he assumed responsibility, and to a lesser extent, authority over non-sorcerers. it’s a type of benevolent prejudice; these people are powerless and weak, therefore inferior to him, and so it’s his job to protect them, it’s his job to care. while he had good intentions, he saw them as “lack,” not as humans who were ultimately just different from him. he saw them as helpless victims of themselves; which, given his occupation at the time, was an apt contextualization, but within the bigger picture, it ironically dehumanized non-sorcerers. it was underhandedly condescending, whether he was conscious of it or not.

the very root of his defection is this: he did not view non-sorcerers as equals to him in the first place. sure, plenty of other sorcerers also have this mindset, especially the very powerful ones, but geto made this the basis of his purpose, taking on the moral high ground by giving it meaning. after toji and after mimiko and nanako, he recontextualized and changed the meaning of what it meant to be powerful—but while his circumstances and his proximity to non-sorcerers changed (him revoking his empathy towards them), the patronizing way he viewed them (“monkeys” now) was constant; it was his pivot foot from charitable pity to resentment and hatred.

some things to consider: i assume geto was fairly new to the jujutsu scene in the hidden inventory arc, given his non-sorcerer family. i also assume he must’ve felt very alone prior to his enrollment, being the only one in his family to see cursed spirits, and possibly the only one in his childhood environment. this grand introduction to a some sort of a secret society must’ve felt special to him; it must’ve made him feel special, especially considering he was put on par with the kid who everyone thought was immensely powerful.

i can see why he thought himself better compared to the non-sorcerer background he grew up in. plus, it would be hard to not let your ego inflate when someone like gojo keeps referring to you as half of “the strongest duo.”

i also think that despite how black and white and consequential his outlook on life was before and after his defection, he probably still had his doubts and moments of wavering throughout his decade-long career as a curse user. i mean, he said it himself—his goal is only possible for one person only, and it’s not him. that could definitely be a factor, and it could also be some lingering sentimentality, too. he burned the bridge between him and his past and he just couldn’t risk the distance, but he probably thought of it sometimes.

i’ll end this post with a quote from him from the anime that made me really think. geto does care, but at such a young age, it was a juvenile and idealistic concept of “care.” had he stayed and grown up a little, worked through the trauma and organized with his fellow sorcerers (instead of assuming responsibility alone like he did, leaving to create a better future for sorcerers without including them in his plans), perhaps he could’ve made this a reality:

“survival of the weakest. that’s how a society should be. the weak help each other and discourage any who are too strong.”

[zeropro]

What are your thoughts on transformers prime and transformers one?

TL:DR I liked both! TFP was my first Transformers show that I watched all the way through and TF1 was a lot of fun! Opinions on Starscream under the break pfpfpfpfpfpf

Prime was literally my first Transformers experience (Okay that's not true, I did see the first Bay movie when it came out but lets not talk about that). It's really good! My favorite character was Ratchet, I loved that he's just a tired, grumpy, racist old man and he's a doctor. Knock Out was the best thing to come out of TFP and he really should be in more stuff. Really would have loved a fourth season but it wouldn't have been the same without the children around. I liked what we got!

Prime has an excellent Starscream, Steve Blume does an amazing performance with both his deep conniving gravel and his high pitched terrified sputtering. So much character in his animation too, especially in later seasons, and an incredibly compelling character arc. Prime Starscream is not a good person, but I would burn the world for him, and I like the small moments in the show that hint at something in his character that could be turned to good, but circumstance always works against him in that regard. He's just so pathetic, but also competent and dangerous, all the best qualities of a Starscream and a very unique design!

Transformers One was quite good, I was worried because of the trailers but I was surprised by how well executed it all was. None of the characters were annoying, and making Optimus Prime originally one of the oppressed class alongside Megatron was a good move. The scene where Orion gives Dee the sticker is so cute, I simply cannot. The ending felt a bit rushed but what can you do, it wasnt so bad that it's a problem for me.

I would have loved just a little more Starscream in the movie! Like, I knew he wasn't really gonna be in the movie much so i was prepared for it to be little more than a glorified cameo, but I loved a lot of what we did get and I feel like it was missing just a little bit more! Like, the whole High Guard turned rogue backstory he has is great, implies some honor to his character since he didnt keep serving Sentinal when the guy turned Cybertron over to the Quintissance. I think it's hilarious that Starscream is so much older than Megatron. Like, they gave us a lot of food to make headcanons out of, but then the rushed ending kind of left me with no real reason given for him and the rest of the High Guard to go with Megatron without a fight. Like, I think the reason given was that, because Megatron beat him up that one time, and then killed Sentinal, and since the High Guard became a might makes right society and hates Sentinal, I guess thats why they are loyal to him now. And I guess the one line where Starscream is like "all hail megatron" is supposed to indicate he's 100% behind Megatron now and not just a spur of the moment thing. And I guess them following his command to destroy the city is why theyre being banished. But like...idk, every other plot point was well established and properly played out, and the whole decepticons thing just didnt really feel like enough, and i kind of feel like it should have been more clearly communicated considering its an entire one side of a two sided war? I feel like we werent shown the high guard doing anything egregiously bad besides attacking people because megatron told them to.

Like, there's nothing in the movie to suggest that Starscream and the High Guard arent still loyal to the Primes. So when Orion comes back as a prime, like a proper prime, with the matrix and everything, which everyone knows will make the energon flow again, I'm surprised Starscream didnt at least try to make excuses or worm his way into avoiding banishment? My headcanon is he wanted to kill Sentinal as bad as Megatron and so when Megatron finally does what he failed to do for 50 cycles, he's like aite im ride or die for this guy. Maybe 50 cycles of living in the wilderness doing nothing but scout and pit fight all day changes a guy and they dont wanna live in a society anymore. Why dont they accept Optimus as the new prime? They helped him and Elita save their friends, and unlike Sentinal Optimus has the actual Matrix this time. Idk mang. Woulda liked a bit more.

Transformers One, not my favorite design for Starscream. The head vents going wide at the bottom look weird to me, and his legs are so long and flat.

Thems my opinions!

[ecoterrorist-katara]

Do you think that the gaang atla movie might make casual fans realize bryke are not the best writers? Like Everywhere they get praised but honestly if the writing in the movie is at the levels of the comics I could maybe see ppl turn on them a bit ( it also sucks bc I doubt katara and zuko will even interact in the movie)

Hi anon! I think people will almost certainly be disappointed in the new Avatar Studios movie, because nothing has even come close to the quality of ATLA after the original show ended. However, from what I’ve observed in the fandom, there’s always someone other than Bryke to blame. For example, when people rag on Korra, they blame Nickelodeon. When they rag on the comics, they blame Gene Yang (and incidentally I’ve actually seen a K/ataang shipper say that the reason the comics are so bad is because Gene Yang is a Zutara shipper — as if a grown ass professional would compromise his contract / reputation for a ship war). And when they rag on the first live action movie, they rag on M. Night. I’m not saying that Bryke are completely at fault for the shortcomings for these projects — collaborative creative pursuits are wonderful, magical things and it’s hard to know where credit and blame go when the whole point is that collaboration is beyond the sum of its parts — but the bottom line is that when certain fans are hellbent on not blaming Bryke, there are always other scapegoats.

I’m friends with many casual fans, and they were the ones who got me into the show. Honestly, I don’t think they even gave a second thought to Bryke until they left the Netflix production, which is convenient because now people can credit Bryke for the ingenuity of ATLA and blame Netflix for driving them away. I’m not sure casual fans will turn on Bryke for making a mediocre movie…BUT: if Zuko undergoes a character regression similar to his comics arc, people will probably get mad. Zuko’s redemption arc is widely considered one of the best on TV. You cannot find a Reddit thread about “best redemption arcs of all time” without Zuko being one of the top answers. From Bryke’s interviews, it kind of feels like they don’t really understand his appeal, and if they butcher his character in the absence of writers who got him more…well, I think people will be real mad about that. I mean, people got so mad about NATLA Katara, and she’s nowhere near as beloved as Zuko b/c misogyny and racism and many people found her annoying but that’s a whole other thing

And on a related note, I agree that Katara and Zuko will probably barely interact in the new movie, and it will seem kind of stilted and awkward. I remember an interview with Aaron Ehasz where he said that he’s not really a shipper and he doesn’t write stories with shipping in mind: what matters more is letting the narrative drive itself. That POV, undoubtedly shared by others in the writers’ room (including MVP Elizabeth Welch), is what was responsible for the development of the Katara - Zuko friendship in the original show in the first place. It’s very, very stifling to prioritize a ship war over the actual story. Antis claim Zutara shippers create convoluted fanfic plots where other characters and relationships are downplayed in favour of their ship, but that’s exactly what happens in the canon comics wrt K/ataang. I don’t know if it’ll seem so transparent to the casual viewer, but even if the motivations aren’t obvious, the decline in quality sure will be. For the sake of my love for all Gaang-related shenanigans I hope Bryke won’t go down that road for the new movie, but…well, they’ve done pettier things.

Thanks for your question anon, and please share any of your further thoughts!

[retrodesis]

Sorry but I really don't understand the Solar Opposites season 5 disappointment.

I thought we were all aware that it’s always been kinda… bad. I mean half the show is just sci-fi bullshit that sounds like it was made up by a bunch of writers “yes, and”-ing each other in front of a whiteboard. The other half is a constant barrage of quippy meta-commentary and pop culture references that I fear will not survive the next half-decade. (And the other, other half is a survival melodrama condensed to fit in between an adult-animated sitcom and the 8 minutes of ads my Hulu basic plan makes me watch for every 30 minutes of television).

There’s… never been a lot of emotional depth going on. Or satisfying character arcs. Or overarching themes and plotlines. But it works! (For me at least.) It’s stupid, but it works. And I think the reason this ridiculous show works so well is because it knows exactly how stupid it wants to be, and does that extremely well. It’s been that way since season one, I think, and hasn’t diminished in quality at all.

Actually, I was pretty thoroughly impressed watching this season. The voice cast has always been stellar but Dan Stevens freaking knocks it out of the park, I still can’t believe how much I prefer his Korvo to Roiland’s. The animation looks the best and most expensive it’s ever been. And personally, I think the further it drifts from its origination as Rick and Morty’s sister show, the more it really comes into its own. Solidifying itself as something so intentionally stupid and corny that it can’t help but be perceived earnestly.

And as far as the fan service. I mean, yeah, it’s there. I was a little surprised to see complaints about it on TUMBLR of all places though. (Come on, guys. We’re the fans being serviced here.) If it was being produced by a show that was trying to be even slightly more respectable, I think I would be annoyed with the pretty drastic shift in Torvo’s dynamic. But as is, the characters have always been off-the-wall and erratic. It changed their dynamic for sure, but I don’t think it changed Terry and Korvo’s characters much, if at all.

And I mean, COME ON. How often does a TV series intend for their two male (adjacent) leads to be completely uninvolved, see that people enjoy imagining a romantic dynamic between them, go “yeah, that does kind of work actually,” and then just fucking RUN with it in the way that Solar Opposites has??? Never. I’ll tell you that never happens. Look, I’m not gonna get on my knees and thank Hulu Streaming for giving us the saving grace of all queer representation, but I think the fact that we’ve come far enough where companies are willing, where Solar Opposites is willing to make gay romance into a joke but not be THEE joke is pretty awesome actually.

[littledigits]

thoughts on the cut episodes and ppls reactions 'n stuff

Since it was confirmed that a few more episodes of Hilda were written but cut, I do think the reaction of people finding this out is really interesting and not just because its fairly common in the industry and isint a sign of anything bad necessarily. I mean heck, in a weird way being behind the scenes and then seeing how people interpret things, what they take as important, what they think is a thread…all of that is interesting. When your job is basically trying to get people to pick up what you're putting down storywise its kind of a neat topic, because everyone communicates in their own way.

BTW before I keep going this is not a post to say dont crit/vent/complain/whatever about whatever the heck you want in hilda or any media, you do you. I think peoples honest takes are fascinating (said in victoria van gale voice) and even just people speaking their mind shows that they are interested and they care so that matters. Also not one singular post triggered this, its just been on my mind as I surface level read things so no stressies.

When It comes to the cut episodes, I'm seeing some people assume that whatever was cut would have fixed some of the crits they may have had about the season..and who knows, maybe yes? But I'd say ultimately probably not. Not because they dont include things that people want to see, or may have some topics people want expanded on ..but because thats just impossible in the grand scheme of things.

I mean this applies to shows in general, not just hilda. Every person who watches a show has their own idea of what the show represents to them. For some of its more of the surface events or characters where as others connect it with a deeper emotion. A lot of people respond to different tones of the episodes, which there are many. Some people prefer the one off adventures that stand alone as their own stories and others want to see more of a stronger through line. Some may see a new character and expect a new arc and thread, while others wonder why we couldn't've used a previously introduced character. Some may read between the lines more and others may take what is presented as very straight forward and literal …and no one is WRONG, because our big wrinkly brain meats all have their own tastes and ways of imputing information.

Television animation is rife with factors that actually futz with the quality and ability of the team to make a beautiful, amazing product like EVERY DAY. The script process and what goes into production is just one. The team is made up of many creatives all with their own varied experiences and voices just like the audience. In order for people to have their own voices and say, you are going to end up with some things that hit better then others, especially if the team is allowed to grow and experiment and play a little. Hilda has always been a show where we've been able to have a lot of creative say, and i think that sincerity comes through ! but with the sincerity and that humanity, it also means that there are going to be things that arnt going to make sense in the grand scheme of things lol. Even the writers and creators and producers have differing opinions on what to explore and dive into, probably more so then fandoms haha. Having more episodes may scratch some itches but not all, HECK, those episodes being cut could have re-allocated resources to other areas that helped elevate your fav ep of the season ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ who knows! Schrodinger's episodes! (also ngl I was having cold sweats over the scope of some of them as cool as they were. The season may have been shorter but it was intense..it takes a long time to do stuff that looks that clean and crisp)

Imperfect art is very human! Do the best you can at the time with the factors you have. I was given so much trust and freedom on my episodes, and I was just happy to do something fun that allowed me and my team to grow and learn. I was fucking STOKED to get a one off story because it was way less pressure for me to take my next step directing cuz just doing the thing is a feat. Any sincerity you feel cant come through if that means we're afraid that we cant make mistakes, or do a story choice ppl wont vibe with. All you can do is do the best you can, see if people are picking up what you're putting down, and grow from it for next time.

Anyway, just a thought ramble. Its not to say do or dont do this or think this way blah blah. I just love that storytelling is messy and complex and everyones gonna take it a lil differently, especially if you have a team where you allow lots of voices to have input. It is all just a big experiment to see if people leave with a particular experience by putting your resources into the things you have that matter, and try you best to distract from burnt edges or patched up holes that happened throughout the process of making the dang thing lol.

[daradiostarzz]

Okay Hiii me back!! Time to talk about Book Enzo (Honestly the best iteration of Enzo) and an insight on him because I feel people look at book Enzo so one noted and it's very frustrating to watch so okay.

Context: The Book was where Nicky's friends were mostly introduced (This was during a time when SN wasn't considered part of the lore so no Finch, no Ivan and no Delroy and Leader, Brave and Detective were separate cause like Maritza and Enzo were hinted to be dark skinned mexicans) Enzo in the books was also very different in the two books.

Yes he IS a nerd he HAS nerd qualities but he was also had a very sharp tongue and will opp out of a conversation when Aaron is brought in as a topic. And book 2 is where Enzo stole alot of the show cause of his arc and turnaround and also his argument with Nick in chapter 7 and the iconic:

"Have fun alone." While Jackson 5 is blasting in the bg

He also did something somewhat of a prick move which was: ditching Nick & Maritza to instead hang with kids whom he had zero platonic compatibility with and allowing them to walk all over him (Like them giving him an embarrassing nickname) and though in the end of the book he does have a turn around and make up with Nick. Alot of people by that time see Enzo as a prick/mean girl/idk whatever u wanna call him. Ik 14 year old me did at the time till I reread it and started to be charmed and eventually now I usually tend to defend some of his actions of book 1-2 (3 I'll tab in a bit l8r)

Okay, let's start w the easy one which is Enzo telling Nick off in chapter 7 about staying away from Maritza & Trinny: In book 1 Enzo told Nick "Oh btw your neighbor cornered my sister and told her about her dead friend flying" and to which Nick then met up with Maritza irl by book 2 and the two shared a bond over them losing a close friend while amidst Nick falling out w Enzo. So let's go back to that first sentence in blue: imagine a friend of yours is friends with someone who the adult figure in their life said something pretty horrifying to a family member, to which you tell them about it & instead of that friend backing off that friend with the scummy adult figure they instead put your family member risking their life for investigating on that scummy adult figure behind your back cause they thought you simply just want to hide behind your tail and not confront the situation, and mind you. You and the friend are both 12.

Now let me say this: Yes it was somewhat scummy for Enzo to try and avoid it at all costs especially when Maritza was hurt he did not take into consideration her feelings BUT the situation could've been bad had Maritza been closed off to the topic about her two dear friends & being thrust into foregoing to investigate a man who said creepy shit to you by someone you kinda met through your brother. Yeah, Enzo HAD a reason for what he said about Nick staying away from Trinity and Maritza two people who he not only cares about but HAS HISTORY. I love Nick but it is stupidly dangerous how he set up 2 other kids to investigate with him and doesn't think of how DANGEROUS that is especially since in the books it is HEAVILY IMPLIED THEODORE ABUSES AARON.

This isn't a case of unreliable narration or the author forgot to add it in it's a case where the POV doesn't understand why the character feels like that way, it's Nick POV at the end of the day he doesn't have all the answers but it's hinted.

They're meant to be a parallel to their own fathers' how-to approach to an article on Theodore except switched on its heads. So yeah how do you expect a bunch of 12-year-olds to react to someone being kidnapped?

Aaron & Enzo: Okay in general this is something I always kept in mind about the books especially cause this was intended by the author:

Enzo and (the rest of the kids too not just him.) Are meant to be flawed so it's not a surprise personally he doesn't want to be affiliated with something as macabre as Lucy's death or the Petersons anymore and is again trying to cope (He's 12 his mind is at the end of the day still developing) but it just doesn't work. My only complaint was I wished we could've seen a scene where Enzo realizes Ruben and Seth didn't care for him. But with what we have I much rather have it be implied through Enzo not making it to the basketball team and finally Enzo and Nick making up and going to Miguel for help. Nick & Enzo CARE about the people they love they unfortunately butt heads over how to approach it with Enzo wanting Nick to do nothing while Nick wants Enzo to do something. They don't HATE each other I do not understand where that is coming from especially cause Nick was so quick to forgive Enzo even wanting to hug him like... They care for each other, they just clashed about how to approach a very heavy situation that will likely get police involved.

And as for Enzo falling out with Aaron, obviously, it's the Maritza situation I want to irritate though that yes Aaron isn't at fault Enzo probably with the influence of Miguel shaped his mindset that Aaron and Mya are people he should stay away from in order not to be sucked in by Theodore's toxicity (Cause that book they were all 10 and had brains that soak up like a sponge)

Okay time to talk generally about book 3: It's a very weak book that forces the characters to be written out of a plot for the final scene which was planned out. And though yes Enzo abandoned Nick (with like also Trinity and Maritza)

Oh right I totally forgot HNVR exist despite how book 3 seems to have written them not wanting to do with anything w Nick! let's all actively pretend book 3 never existed:

Okay, I'll try my only defense for him in book 3 is: Everyone was written stupidly for a forced conflict but I think cause as a reader I was desensitized to Enzo being mean it doesn't come off as left field for me as Trinity and Maritza also he was the last one to opp which again says alot. Also HNVR says otherwise let's pretend they realize how stupid they were and then wanted to apologize only for Nick to be missing let's say that (or pretend book 3 never exist)

So yes this is my gushing about the book Enzo and why I believe he's the most well-written character in the books and what I think alot of people tend to miss out... I wish Enzo was more studied on like this on the same levels as Ted tbh lol

I love these four... I will talk about these four... Please let me talk about their book versions of them so bad you have no idea how much I will go the 7 seas to defend them like a soccer mom.

[ladyloveandjustice]

Winter 2024 Anime Overview: Updates on Frieren and The Apothecary Diaries

The Apothecary Diaries (Episodes 13-24)

See my review of the first half of the show here to see my thoughts on the overall series!

The second half of The Apothecary Diaries was somehow even better than the first half, crafting a compelling ongoing mystery and delving into MaoMao’s backstory. There were quite a few big thrills that made me gasp aloud. MaoMao pulled off some show-stopping feats, and she remains an incredible, endearing character. Especially now that we’ve learned she has a killer evil laugh. And as a bonus, Jinshi was a lot less gross in his treatment of MaoMao in this part and the bits where they bonded were actually pretty nice.

I wholeheartedly recommend this show, it’s one of the best and most compelling anime I’ve seen in recent years. Fortunately, it’s already confirmed for a season 2 next year.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Episodes 17-28)

See my review of the first half of the show here to see my thoughts on the overall series!

Frieren went into its Hunter Exam Arc (where Frieren and Fern have to get their first class mage license), which I didn’t find quite as compelling as the first half of the season. However, there were some interesting characters and good fights, so it was still pretty entertaining. The quality has stayed consistent, the animation remains impressive. And the demons did not return, for anyone worried about that. It was a solid show overall!

[fantasyfangirling4ever]

Spoiler free (some in purple with warning) The Prisoner's Throne thoughts

So The Prisoner's Throne as somehow the best and worst book I ever read.

I found the plot exciting, interesting and genuinely surprising (literal gasps were uttered).

And it had that great quality in a book where I like the author's voice and I keep genuinely laughing at a sentences and highlighting them, I love Holly Black's descriptions, jokes, world building and the light, irreverent, clever way she was able to talk to us through Oak.

But my god this did not feel like a final draft- what the hell? This book had an editor right? Because I kept finding really glaring and bad spelling mistakes, most with literal capital letters in the middle of a sentence. How were these not picked up? Surely plenty of people read this book before me, so why with one quick power read could I find so many errors? OH MY GOD MY PRINT VERSION CAME AND THE MISTAKES ARENT IN THE PRINT VERSION ITS AN EBOOK ERROR- HOW DID THIS HAPPEN???

However!! There were actual parts of the plot that didn't add up for me (SPOILERS FROM HERE IN PURPLE) like how did Oak jump from 'Madoc has Garret's real name' to 'Garret killed Liriope', like I kept rereading that passage and not understanding how he was supposed to have uncovered it, Garret told him Locke knew the name of the killer not Madoc. It just didn't make sense to me how Leander saying that Madoc knew Garrett's true name = Garret killed Liriope.

I'm excited for the next installment and excited to hear ever everyone else's thoughts

My review is: it was a thoroughly enjoyable, exciting and lucious read with the typical action and intrigue I expect from a Holly Black book along with her trademark genuine and thought-provoking messages/character development throughout. The characters of Oak and Wren were handled pretty well and their arcs were gratifying. And at the end of the day, no matter what character she's exploring there's nothing better to me than being back in such a fantastically indulgent world where Black never holds back from the fairytale and frightening BUT there are genuine criticisms that could be made of the book, some choices made may not vibe with eveyrone.

[ravenya003]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Prophecy Girl, S01E12

It has taken me SO LONG to get to this episode, so my bad. Maybe on some level I just didn’t want to finish season one, as there’s a unique vibe about it that disappears once we hit season two, and never really returns. Maybe it’s the grainy quality of the film, or the tinkling piano music, or the dodgy special effects, or the cute little baby-ness of the cast...

In any case, “Prophecy Girl” serves as a great finale for the seasonal arc, and would have made for a decent conclusion to the show in its entirety, had it not been renewed for a second season (which many thought might be the case at the time). It’s terrifying to think that these days, the show probably wouldn’t have advanced beyond this season before getting cancelled.

After the “previously on,” which namedrops the Master and the Codex and so on, we open with Xander trying to ask someone out. This is fitting considering his role in the episode (I’d argue it’s just as much his coming-of-age story as it is Buffy’s) and the reveal that he’s just practicing on Willow.

This also neatly sets up Willow’s arc across the episode. Although she’s given less to do than the other two members of this particular love triangle, her development from sappily pretending that Xander is talking to her, to turning down his invitation to go to the dance with him after Buffy rejects him, is an important stepping stone for her.

It’s also incredibly insensitive that Xander is using Willow in this way, as “The Pack” revealed that he’s not completely oblivious to her feelings for him, but hey – they have to start him in an immature place so he can man-up later. Heroism always shines brighter when it comes from someone you know is capable of being a lot worse.

Buffy is out slaying (at this point they’re still calling it “hunting” instead of “patrolling” which is amusing) and a little perturbed by the number of vampires that are out and about. Nearby, Cordelia and her latest toyboy Kevin are trying to make out in a parked car, but she can hear noises outside.

I’m not entirely sure what the point of this scene was, especially since nothing is done with the clichéd “hey, did you hear something?”/“it's nothing, baby” set-up (you’d expect this show to have the male character getting anxious and the female character getting out of the car to take a look around) but hey... Cordelia is here.

Back at Sunnydale High, Giles is studying the Pergamum Codex in the library. There I was, appreciating the moody piano music and the slow panning shot and the reading montage and thinking about how shows back then were confident enough to take their time setting the scene – and then I realized the emphasis on the skylight was to establish it as an important location that the Master will eventually be thrown through.

But that’s not until later; right now Giles is reading the relevant passages and not liking what they’re telling him. “The Master shall rise, and the Slayer shall...” We don’t hear what comes next, as this is the moment that an earthquake hits.

I recall earthquakes being used at least one more time (in season four?) as a harbinger of the end times, but this is really the only apocalypse in the show's whole duration that gets all the ominous signs and portents. I suppose after this, the end of the world became a little ho-hum given the gang were dealing with one in every season finale (and sometimes in the mid-season finale).

We get a montage of everyone reacting: Giles in the library, Buffy in the park, Cordelia and Kevin in their car, Willow and Xander amidst panicking patrons at the Bronze. Random note, but I love montages of character reactions to big events across a large area. Remember in the first episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, when people all over the world were reacting to the signs of Aang’s return? That was cool.

The best response comes from the Master, who is ranting and raving about his coming glory... and then asks the Anointed One: “what do you think, a 5.1?”

HAHAHA. I honestly think that’s one of my favourite gags in the entire show, and definitely a quintessential Master line. I know he’s considered one of the least interesting Big Bads, but I’ll always love that excitable droll humour.

That said, an earthquake that causes cracks and fissures to appear in the library walls would have been much bigger than a 5.1. Take it from a Christchurch girl.

Buffy arrives at the library the following morning and Giles reacts oddly to her appearance. Yup, whatever he read in that Codex was pretty bad. It’s kinda crazy to consider they were all worried about an invisible girl just last week.

Later that day the trio emerge from class and Xander makes his move, instructing Willow to leave. She really is a saint for putting up with all this nonsense.

His invitation to the dance ends about as well as you’d expect: Buffy lets him down as gently as possible, but it’s obvious (and has been from the inception of their relationship) that he’s just not her type. It hurts, but for my money, he handles the rejection reasonably well... until the subject of Angel comes up. DUDE. That is none of your business. The “I can wait” comment doesn’t go down too well with me either.

Now look, I’m not going to defend Xander for his behaviour here, but I do think what we see is a. the realistic reaction of a teenage boy, and b. an interaction that was not as bad as it could have been. He’s honest and straightforward with his intentions. Buffy makes herself clear, and he accepts it. Not very gracefully, but he does.

I’ve said before that I think Joss Whedon doomed Xander when he revealed that he considered this character to be the one most based on himself, which means that a lot of the later revelations about Whedon were retrospectively projected onto Xander. But Xander Harris is a much better human being than Joss Whedon, and it’s important on a narrative level that he feels the sting of rejection and responds with a level of petulance and entitlement. It serves as a contrast to his later behaviour when he seeks out Angel for assistance AFTER Buffy has refused him, without expecting anything in return. 

In any case, I feel bad for him in this scene, and I think he avoids the worst of the Nice Guy tendencies that are often attributed to him. If it weren’t for him bringing up Angel, I wouldn’t have had a huge problem with anything he does in the scene.

Giles is on the phone, and as we later find out he’s talking to Angel, I think it’s amusing that he identifies him as “Giles” and then clarifies “Rupert Giles.” Are we meant to infer that Angel knows more than one Giles? It’s also of interest to me that Giles knows how to contact Angel. Did they swap phone numbers at some point?

Jenny Calendar (yay!) listens in on the conversation, and rattles off a list of weird occurrences that she’s noticed on the internet: a cat giving birth to a litter of snakes, a family that were swimming in a lake when it started to boil, and a child born with his eyes in back-to-front. And again – what’s with all these crazy portents? Does shit like this happen every apocalypse? Because we never really hear about stuff like this again, even though that’s a LOT for a relatively self-contained averted-apocalypse that ultimately doesn’t even disturb the dance going on a few blocks away. For most of Sunnydale, it would have just been an ordinary night.

Another iconic line: “I’d say the end is most seriously nigh.” Classic Jenny.

She goes on to say that she’s receiving emails from a monk called Brother Luca, who is sending out prophecies concerning someone called the Anointed One (this is presumably the prophecy from the “Never Kill a Boy On The First Date” episode, about how “the Slayer will not know him, will not stop him, and he will lead her into Hell.”) Giles asks her to contact Luca for more information.

If you’ve been reading these reviews of mine, you’ll know that sometimes I fixate on minutia, and in this case: who is this Brother Luca? What did he know about the Anointed One? Why did he disappear? It’s kind of a shame the writers didn’t keep him in their back pocket, as it would have made for a cool bit of continuity if they’d ever needed an Exposition Guy.

We get a seemingly pointless scene in which Cordelia and Kevin act all cutesy-poo about the upcoming dance, followed by Cordelia spotting Willow and asking her to hook up the sound system at the Bronze, but it does set up a lot of plot-points: that Cordelia and Willow are on speaking terms (which makes her saving of Willow and Jenny less random), that Cordelia has got a good thing going with Kevin (which makes his death all the more tragic), that the AV room is a place that exists (where the massacre happens), and that Cordy is expecting to see Kevin at the Bronze that night (she won’t though).

So much is packed into a brief transitory scene – I mean, that’s actually kind of impressive.

Willow spots Xander in an empty classroom, throwing a ball against the wall. He’s stroppy, she’s mildly sympathetic, but when he pivots and asks her to the dance instead, she refuses him. No way is she going to spend the evening watching him wish that he was with Buffy. Good for her! And Xander, stop taking her for granted!

For some reason, the next scene takes place after dark. I say “for some reason” because the school day is over and yet a handful of students seem to be just leaving, including Buffy, who ducks into the bathroom and turns on the facet to find the sink filling with blood instead of water.

She heads into the library to tell Giles, only to discover him and Angel in a heated conversation. She catches the tail-end of the argument, which is that Buffy is prophesied to meet the Master, and to die at his hands.

Before we get to Buffy’s reaction, there’s a nice line from Giles in which he says: “some prophecies are dodgy; mutable – Buffy herself has thwarted them time and time again.” It’s clever because he’s presumably referring to the prophecy of the Anointed One and the fact that they all THINK she avoided it when she killed Andrew Borba... even though we the audience know that the Anointed One was never Borba at all, but Collin, and he’s still very much alive.

So for us at least, thwarting a prophecy is off the table. It has never actually happened.

This leads to a great scene from Sarah Michelle Gellar, probably the one that made everyone sit up and think – “damn, She Really Can Act.” She goes through hysteria, numbness, anger, tears, defiance. She rejects the call, throws books at Giles, and yanks off the crucifix from around her neck. It’s really beautifully done, and I think my favourite part is her quiet little: “do you think it’ll hurt?” That one hits really hard.

(Quick note: she dramatically throws away the crucifix in this scene, and yet I totally missed her retrieving it again, even though I noticed she was wearing it when she goes to face the Master. I’m assuming she picks it up from the floor when she clocks Giles?)

Her solution to the problem is simple: she quits. Screw the world, she’s saving her own skin. I can’t say I blame her.

A quick scene depicts the Master sending the Anointed One out of the buried church to fulfil his destiny (not that this destiny amounts to much, and it’s a bit premature since another day passes before Collin makes his move. What was he doing for those twenty-four hours?)*

Elsewhere, Willow tries to check in with Xander, but he’s not answering his phone – too busy wallowing in self-pity and listening to country music. Buffy goes home and starts thumbing through a photo album, and hey – remember these things? How each page had sticky lines across them which were covered in a clear film, and it was an absolute nightmare to line up the photos and then smooth down the film without crinkling them?

These things were THE WORST.

Joyce comes in and Buffy pitches a weekend getaway with just the two of them, only for her mum to open the wardrobe and reveal a surprise white prom dress. It’s all very virgin sacrifice, but Joyce encourages her to go to the dance stag.

(Another quick note: Sarah Michelle Gellar can still fit into this thing!)

In another good line, in which Joyce manages to unconsciously tap into the theme of the episode, she responds to Buffy’s insistence she can’t go to the dance with: “says who? Is it written somewhere? You can do what you want.” Then she shares a story about how she went to a dance by herself during college and ended up meeting Buffy’s dad. It’s all very sweet, and a reminder that things at least started out good between Joyce and Hank.

The following morning Cordelia is complaining to Willow about how Kevin never turned up at the Bronze last night to help her with the decorations for the dance, but is uncharacteristically okay about it. They reach the AV room and look though the window in the door to see a group of boys watching cartoons – but on unlocking the door, the reality of the situation is gruesomely revealed: everyone inside, including Kevin, is dead.

Willow steps inside as Cordelia screams, her eyes on a bloody handprint smeared across the television screen, upon which animated piglets are dancing around. That shot strikes me as very Whedon.

So, we need to talk about Kevin. The episode had only a very short amount of time to establish him as a murder victim whose death we would be sadder about than usual, and... well, it doesn’t really work. It’s mostly attained through Cordelia being considerably warmer and softer toward him than she has been toward her other boytoys (her biggest concern about Mitch being hit in the face by a baseball bat last episode was that he’d look terrible in the prom photos) but after Kevin's body is discovered she never mentions him again!

It's a wonder they didn’t just use Mitch, though I suppose he’d already been characterized as a douche and no one would really care if he’d been the one who was killed.

Buffy is trying on her dress when Joyce bursts in, saying: “there’s something on the news – Willow.” I know she’s frantic, but this some weird phrasing: it makes it sound like Willow herself was on the news, even though think the idea is that Joyce has seen the massacre on the television and Willow has just called up on the phone in relation to it.

We get nothing of the news coverage, nothing on the parents of the deceased, nothing from Snyder... yeah, I know the episode has got to hurry along, but sometimes you need to sit with these horrors for a while, or at least get a better grasp of their ramifications.

In this case, we only get to see Willow’s shock and grief, though Alyson Hannigan also plays it really beautifully. If nothing else, you do get a sense that this atrocity is different somehow: "I'm not okay. I can't imagine what it's like to be okay. I knew those guys. I go to that room every day. And when I walked in there, it was... It wasn't our world anymore. They made it theirs. And they had fun."

With that, Buffy’s sense of duty and responsibility comes surging back, and I like that Willow was the impetus for it. Until Dawn came along, I think Willow was the person most emblematic of the people that Buffy was protecting, and as she doesn’t get much else to do this episode, I like that she provides this push for Buffy to step up – and she’s not so distracted that she doesn’t hear the sense of finality in Buffy’s final words: “take care.”

*(Another aside: okay, so I watched the episode last night, but have been writing out this post while referring to the shooting script as well as my own notes. And as it turns out, THIS is the point where the Master sends out the Anointed One on his semi-pointless mission to lead the Slayer into Hell, which does account for his whereabouts on the night of the Master’s escape, eliminating the question of where he disappears to for those extra twenty-four hours.

In the final cut of the episode, he doesn’t leave a day early, though in the shooting script, he spends that time visiting Angel at his apartment, warning him not to interfere with the Master’s plans, and suitably cowling Angel into submission. This explains why he’s just loafing around his apartment when Xander goes to rope him in on the rescue mission, and it’s a shame that scene was cut. It helps explain a lot).

Back at the library, Jenny neatly sums up the stakes, but Brother Luca has apparently disappeared, leaving only a Bible verse as his final missive: “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.”

Giles makes the HUGE leap that this is referring to the Anointed One, and that he wasn’t Andrew Borba after all, but a little child. I mean, he’s right, but that’s quite a conclusion to draw on the basis of a vague Biblical verse from a monk he’s never met before. During all this, Giles has been gathering weapons, now determined to go and face the Master by himself.

But that’s Buffy’s cue to arrive, and we get yet another banger of a line. After she punches Giles in the face and knocks him unconscious, she tells Jenny: “When he wakes up, tell him... I don't know. Think of something cool, tell him I said it.” HAH! (Though it does make we wonder if Jenny did come up with something cool to tell Giles when he regained consciousness).

Jenny reminds her that if she faces the Master, she’ll die, and Buffy responds that perhaps at least she’ll get the chance to take him down with her.

Outside, the Anointed One is waiting with a pitiful little “help me,” but Buffy overheard enough of Jenny and Giles’s conversation to know that it’s a scam. She’s not fooled, and takes his hand to be led away.

And there are still so many unanswered questions about this kid. What if they’d never figured out who he really was and he actually had to trick Buffy into following him? How would that have worked? It could have been quite interesting if her compassion had led her into a trap.

Was this kid even a vampire in the end? If so, why doesn’t she stake him? There’s simply not enough time for a satisfying conclusion here.

Unsurprisingly, Willow noticed there was something odd about Buffy’s demeanour, and Xander is called in. They reach the library and not only find out about the prophecy, but that Buffy has gone off by herself to face the Master. As Giles testily states: “as the soon-to-be purple area on my jaw will indicate, I did not LET her go.”

As Xander rushes out with an idea to assist Buffy, Jenny reminds Giles and Willow that the Hellmouth is due to open with the Master’s release. (Why? Unclear. It’s just end of the world stuff, I guess).

On my initial watch of this episode, I was surprised to discover that Angel is just lounging around his apartment instead of keeping tabs on Buffy. Then (as mentioned above) I discovered that in a deleted scene, the Anointed One visits him and warns him off getting involved. With that explanation gone, I suppose it tracks that the last Angel saw of Buffy was her heading for the hills, so perhaps he just assumed she was safe and chose to wait for the end of the world in the comfort of his own place.

But Xander is here to relieve him of that luxury, demanding that he take him to the Master’s hideout. Angel is initially bemused by Xander’s determination to try and help... and perhaps a little humbled by it as well. This human kid is prepared to go after Buffy, so why isn’t he?

And we get the whole: “you’re in love with her”/”aren’t you?” exchange. As a teenage girl, that was a Big Deal, and we’re witness to the first of the show’s many, many unlikely alliances. They’re doing this for Buffy.

(Still, doesn’t Angel’s ability to reach the underground church negate the role of the Anointed One a little? “He will lead her into Hell,” or through the sewers to a subterranean cave, whatever).

Throughout all this, there’ve been scenes of Buffy following Collin through the expansive sewer system beneath Sunnydale. She’s wearing that white dress/black jacket combo which... look, I know it’s iconic, but it’s also so damn impractical. And she’s armed with nothing but a flimsy little crossbow? Takes some stakes, girl!

Topside, Jenny is asking the sensible questions: like where is the Hellmouth meant to open exactly? And it’s funny because I had totally forgotten that this was a reveal!! Part of me assumed that everyone always knew it was under the library, and that it ended up being a surprise twist was rather mind-boggling.

I like how it’s handled though: after Jenny points out that it has to open somewhere, they come up with the not-unreasonable conclusion that it’s under the Bronze. That’s where the vampires went to gather victims for the Harvest, after all. It’s a wrong but logical conclusion to draw, and as a result, Jenny and Willow head out to warn people attending the Spring Fling.

Meanwhile, Buffy and the Master come face-to-face. After some cat-and-mousing, “feeble banter,” and Buffy trying to get in a good shot, the Master reveals he’s got some hypnosis abilities (er, okay?) and gets her in his grasp.

I love a good old Prophecy Twist/Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, and this is a two-for-one! As the Master says himself: “Prophecies are tricky creatures, they don’t always tell you everything.” Before he drinks Buffy’s blood, he gleefully points out that if Buffy hadn’t come to stop him from leaving, he wouldn’t have been given access to her Slayer blood, which grants him enough power to break through the magical barrier that contains him. (How’d the Master know this though? Did he have a copy of the Codex lying around?)

But more importantly, the Master (and the prophecy) was not counting on the fact that Buffy doesn’t work alone. After the Master has taken his fill of her blood and drops her into a nearby pool of water, he leaves for the surface world... just before Angel and Xander arrive.

Buffy is certifiably dead. Somewhere out there, Kendra is called.

Ascertaining that she’s gone, but also that the cause of death is drowning, Angel announces he can’t give Buffy CPR – he has no breath in his lungs. So that’s Xander’s cue to step up.

Now, a couple of things. As people have consistently pointed out since this episode first aired, Angel does in fact breathe. It’s required in order to speak. Furthermore, there’s no reason why being undead can’t prevent a person from inhaling and exhaling, even if it’s not necessary for them to do so (as established in “Out of Sight, Out of Mind,” when Angel was able to enter the gas-filled boiler room without harm).

This has led some to presume that Angel simply didn’t know how to perform CPR. To which I say no – no, no, no. That explanation is to entirely miss the point of this scene, which is that only a living person can save Buffy’s life. More to the point, only her recently rejected friend can do so, over the superpowered vampire love interest.

This is like, the very crux of the show in its entirety. Friendship is what saves Buffy’s life, not romantic love. She is a special Slayer, who lives as long as she does, because she surrounds herself with worthy friends that care about her. In this case, Xander is a good enough person to rush to her aid after she’s rejected him (I mean, of course he is. He wouldn’t be a worthwhile character if he wasn’t).

And so, I am completely open to a bit of lore that prohibits Angel from performing CPR because he is undead, and therefore his breath has no mystical vitality or life-giving qualities to it. He could have hypothetically blown air into Buffy’s lungs, but it would not have brought her back. The only person who could have done this was Xander; her friend and not her love interest. That was the whole point.

(The whole thing also provides a very neat bookend with the very last episode of Angel, in which his vampirism is the only thing that allows him to get the upper hand over Marcus Hamilton after he drinks the man’s blood and imbibes himself with its power).

While all this is going down, Willow and Jenny have tried to reach the latter’s car, only for them to release that the Bronze is not the target this time around – it’s the school. They’re soon surrounded by vampires, though luckily it’s Cordelia to the rescue! She drives up in her car and they all pile in.

Another favourite trope of mine is when a bunch of characters scream at the same time – which is what Willow, Cordelia and Jenny do when a vampire lands on the roof of the car. Cordelia floors it and drives straight through the school entrance to the library, where they’re soon trying to bar the door against the onslaught of vampires.

Giles joins them (“what’s happening?” “GUESS!”) and they’re all so busy trying to fend the vampires off that they miss the tentacle sliding across the floor...

Above them, the Master steps out onto the school rooftop and looks out over lights of Sunnydale, his new kingdom.

Just when it seems hopeless, Buffy opens her eyes. What happened while she was “away”? Did she have an afterlife experience? I only ask because as she gets up, she states that: “I feel strong, I feel different.” It's interesting line, but not one that’s ever explained in any subsequent episode. Much like Obi Wan Kenobi’s “if you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine,” it’s never given any meaningful context.

(My pet theory is that like the snowfall in “Amends,” Buffy’s newfound strength and ability to sense the location of the Master is something of a gift from the Powers That Be, a little extra oomph that she needs to save the day. If nothing else, it explains why she’s not caught by the Master’s hypnotism a second time, whilst Kendra eventually falls to a similar trick at Drusilla’s hands. From this point on, Buffy is a special Slayer and not just because she’s surrounded by a support team).

There’s a great cut between Cordelia screaming “somebody help!” to Buffy marching towards the school, flanked by Angel and Xander, to the sound of her very own theme music – the first and only time this particular music plays during the course of an actual episode.

Things go from bad to worse when one of the tentacles of the Hellmouth demon wraps itself around Willow’s leg, the monster itself emerging seconds later. Three heads! Rows of teeth! Loads more tentacles!

Things wrap up pretty quickly after this, and I don’t want it to come across as anticlimactic, but... Buffy confronts the Master on the roof,  defies his next attempt at hypnosis, notices that a table leg is sticking up from the library floor where the Hellmouth beast has shattered it, and hefts the Master over her head, through the skylight, and down to his death below, impaling him on the conveniently-situated table leg.

The Hell-beast is sucked back from whence it came, the vampires disperse, and our heroes slowly convene on the floor of the library, looking down at the (unseen to the audience) remains of the Master. There’s a nice Buffy/Giles moment, when the latter acknowledges his Slayer’s tenacity, and Jenny is again the only one talking sense, asking what they should do about the Master.

Buffy looks very shaken and tearful, which is only to be expected, and we’ll see a great deal more of the aftermath of this experience next season. But then Xander reminds them there’s a party going on nearby, and they all opt for some cathartic downtime amongst the living.

They file out, chattering among themselves, and the camera slowly pans back to the Master... now just a picked-clean skeleton on the floor of the library.

Finis.

That was that: the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s a solid run of episodes, one that alternated between the “high school is hell” metaphor and the overarching story of the Master and his attempts at breaking free of his metaphysical prison. We were introduced to our five leads, as well as a supporting cast that will stick around for years to come: Angel, Harmony, Snyder, Jenny Calendar, Joyce Summers...

In the grand tradition of final episodes, the story has our heroes break up into groups and then all converge on a single location to fight off the baddies. With that, the seasonal Big Bad is defeated, everyone gets some decent character development (Xander pushes through rejection to do the right thing, Willow is less of a doormat, Cordelia helps out the Scoobies, Angel finds his courage) and the set is trashed.

Out of all the characters, Willow maybe fared the worst in what her character actually did in this episode. Alyson Hannigan got that great “I’m not okay” scene, but after that she just calls up Xander and gets damselled when the Hellmouth creature grabs a hold of her. Angel wasn’t that useful either, his contribution simply being to lead Xander where he needs to go.

But everyone else does great: Giles letting his paternal instincts show, Cordelia’s big rescue with her car, Jenny making important suggestions, and of course Xander’s crowning moment: saving Buffy’s life. Even Joyce gets a really sweet scene, though she remains oblivious as to what’s really going on.

There is an old-school charm to season one; I know a lot of people think it’s one of the lesser seasons, and yet for me, those first three years of Buffy when the show was set at high school was the show at its quintessence. Am I using that word correctly? You should know what I mean. The later seasons had their ups and downs, but those high school years were something special.

Miscellaneous Observations:

The show never again delves into the concept of fate and prophecy after this episode (as stated, none of the other apocalypses come with anything like this amount of omens and portents, let alone any prophecies) but it’s always interesting to see how any given story will handle the subject of “as it is written” destiny.

It’s essentially a golden rule of storytelling that prophecies must be immutable. You can find twists or loopholes in the wording (as they did here) but the basics of the prediction have to be accurate, otherwise what’s the point of even including it in the first place? If a prophecy states: “you will meet your destiny in London” and then the subject of that prophecy never goes to London during the course of the story, it had no narrative purpose whatsoever.

You have a prophecy so you can engage with said prophecy.

Even the Anointed One, which the gang thought Buffy had successfully dealt with back in “Never Kill a Boy on the First Date” ended up playing out exactly as the prophecy stated; perhaps as foreshadowing that this one was also unavoidable. And it was. Buffy died.

(Interestingly, she also dies at the Master’s hands in “The Wish,” which means that the prophecy was going to be fulfilled no matter what timeline Buffy was in).

But what the prophecy didn’t count on was that the Slayer would have a friend that followed her into danger and resuscitated her. And to me, this is the beating heart of the show in its entirety. It is the central theme and core subject of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In any other supernaturally-themed, fairy tale-tinged story such as this, it would have been the broody and tortured love interest that gets to administer True Love’s Kiss to awaken the sleeping princess in a white gown. But here, it’s subverted. It’s the friend who the princess rejected earlier in the episode who wakes her up, and it’s not a kiss that saves her, but CPR.

(There’s also a sort of poetry in the fact that Xander “kisses” Buffy in this episode - the proverbial kiss of life - but it’s entirely chaste and platonic. It reminds me of how Han Solo was the only one to never see Leia in the slave-girl bikini, because he was blind the whole time).

Somehow, this specific example of playing around with the familiar tropes and expectations of how a scenario like this usually plays out is the essence of what Buffy the Vampire Slayer is as a story.

Prophecy wins, because it always wins, and yet it doesn’t win, because Buffy does things differently and surrounds herself with friends that help her.

On that note, Buffy is also spurred to take action by Willow’s personal grief over the massacre and her mother (unknowingly) telling her: “where is that written? You should do what you want.” Again, it is Buffy’s human connections that push her into action.

But while we’re on the subject of prophecy, I’m left wondering (as I always am when it comes to prophecies) about who wrote them. Who was behind the Pergamum Codex? That Aurelius guy? Giles says it contains: “the most complete prophecies about the Slayer in the final years,” so... does it mention anything about Angelus or Acathla or the Mayor’s Ascension? Or did it just stop because it wrongly assumed the world ended with Buffy’s death?

Giles also states: “there is nothing in it that does not come to pass.” Like what? I would have appreciated a couple of examples! Does it talk about other Slayers in the past? And what happens to it afterwards? Look, I know that it’s just a plot-point, but I’m powerfully curious about this sort of thing!

As stated, this was a very self-contained apocalypse, to the point where nobody outside the Scooby Gang even realized it was happening. All those creepy portents, and for what?

Speaking of, I wonder how that boy who was born with his eyeballs in backwards is doing? I think about these things.

I know the Hellmouth monster makes a reappearance in season three, but I was always kind of disappointed that the activated Potentials didn’t fight it in “Chosen.” Tell me that would not have been cool, especially if it had grown exponentially bigger by that point. And yes, I realize it was probably a budgetary thing.

This is not the first or the last time that the subject of a Slayer’s blood and its innate power comes up, so I’m going to have to keep my eye on how it’s used regarding the creation of Dawn and the activating of the Hellmouth seal in later seasons. I’m pretty sure it’s mentioned again, but don’t think they ever delve into it all that deeply, which is a shame.

I liked that the hide-and-seek hunt that Buffy has with the Master in his lair was reminiscent of her dream in “Nightmares.”

So, what exactly was the plan when the vampires attacked the school? They were clearly heading for the Hellmouth... but for what purpose?

Xander confronting Angel in his apartment and brandishing the crucifix would have been a great place for a Jesse reference. Just saying.

I noticed that Cordelia namedrops Aura – she was the popular girl who discovered the dead guy stuffed into her locker in the pilot episode.

Xander tells Buffy: “I want to dance with you.” Be careful what you wish for, dude.

As mentioned, the shooting script had some interesting tidbits that were cut, most notably the Anointed One going to visit Angel’s apartment to warn him against interfering. There also would have been a rain of pebbles directly after Xander’s thwarted attempt to ask out Buffy, more details concerning Jenny Calendar’s litany of portents (notably, that the snake-birthing cat ate its owner, two people were killed in the boiling lake, and that they all happened within three miles of Sunnydale) and the Anointed One watching the Master die from a distance, and then head off into the darkness by himself. I wonder if any of this was shot, or if it was cut early on.

In a season where the tagline might as well have been “high school is hell,” the Master wasn’t really a metaphor for anything; just a Nosferatu-type vampire king who's big and scary and rather impersonal. Technically his greatest contribution to the show was triggering Buffy’s PTSD, which we don’t get into until next season.

Still, I thought Mark Metcalf nailed both the physical threat and the droll humour of the character, and for a Starter Villain, he was exactly what the story required. I’m always chuffed when he pops up in flashbacks later on in the show.

Probably the biggest letdown in the episode is the Anointed One, whose grand destiny (“he will lead her into Hell”) amounts to escorting Buffy down through the sewers. Heck, Angel could have done that. An entire episode was given over to the twist that the Anointed One was actually a child, indicating that he was going to be a big deal, and then... he wasn’t.

Also, the way in which Giles realizes they killed the wrong vampire was very weaksauce. A Bible passage emailed out by a random monk leads him to the conclusion that the Anointed One was a child? Really? They don’t even connect the dots with the bus accident and say: “yes, there was a child called Collin on that bus whose body is unaccounted for.”

If they’d played it differently, it could have been milked for maximum drama – like, say if Angel had figured it out during his little subplot in “Out of Mind, Out of Sight” and broken the news to Giles after he reads the Codex prophecy about Buffy’s death, confirming that prophecies are in fact, immutable.

(Except that the Anointed One prophecy said that: “the Slayer will not know him.” But she DID recognize him when he appeared to her as a lost little boy. Perhaps it was referring to the mix-up with Andrew Borba).

I loved the vibe between Angel and Giles. Even though Giles LOOKS older, Angel has a few hundred years on him, and they talk as equals and peers as a result. I really missed this dynamic when Angel headed off into his own spin-off.

In many ways, this episode belonged to Buffy and Xander. It opens with him trying to ask her out, and ends with him accepting that it’s not going to happen. His feelings for Buffy make him a jerk in the first half of the episode, and those very same feelings turn him into a hero for the second half.

Buffy and Willow are the most important people in his life, and this is an important stepping stone in regards to his relationship with each of them: the former has made her feelings clear, and the latter has decided to stop being a doormat around him.

That’s important for Willow too. At the start of this season she probably would have gone with him to the dance as his second choice – now Buffy (ironically, her love rival) has shown her that she’s worth more.

As for Buffy, I love the fact that even though she summoned her courage and did what was right, she’s not rewarded with moral certitude or a sense of “I did what was right” accomplishment. Instead, the next season takes the opportunity to demonstrate how badly shaken she was by the events of this episode, and the detrimental effect that has on her friends.

Best Line: SO MANY. I suppose I have to go with “tell him... I don’t know, think of something cool and tell him I said it.” A quintessential Buffy quote, though sometimes I wonder whether Jenny DID come up with something cool and passed it onto Giles when he woke up.

Best Scene: Again, so many. I think I covered most of them in the recap.

Best Subversion: Well, I’ve already been over it. When the “fairy tale” ambiance of Buffy’s death is flipped on its head, and it’s not the romantic dark prince but the dorky rejected friend that saves her life – not with true love’s kiss, but good old CPR.

Biggest Disappointment: That the Anointed One didn't really amount to much.

Death Toll: One on-screen vampire, Kevin and the other students (five in total) in the AV room, and finally the Master himself.

Grand Total: Twenty civilians, seventeen villains, one ally.

[doubleddenden]

The Epilogue dropped today: Mochi Madness. Its not a DLC, but rather an Event that's like a tad more complicated version of past events on the DS and GBA games- Such as how you'd obtain Victini, Darkrai, Shaymin, etc.

Although, I'll be honest, I wouldn't call it an "epilogue" because all it really does is introduce the friend groups to each other and then have a fun side adventure. Think of it like a fun, campy OVA or special episode to a concluded season. An "epilogue" would have done something to tie up the final loose ends of the story, imo.

But I'm not going to be a downer about it- This was fun, hilarious, and honestly what I've always wanted Events to be before they became mythical pokemon handouts. Although, I would have rather had some more to do, such as some of those strange structures deeper in Oni Mountain or just delving deeper into the connections between Ogerpon, Pecharunt, and the Lousy Three- although they were at least decent enough to provide small easter eggs to it, such as Ogerpon crying out when you bring her out to battle Pecharunt, Pecharunt crying out when fighting one of the Three, and Carmine talking about how Pecharunt and the Lousy Three were "definitely connected."

Its a campy little side adventure, and that's fine. I would have loved to see Carmine have more interaction with the gang, and to see the gang enjoy the festival or explore more of Kitakami, but as I figured with the end of Indigo Disk, I figured they just wanted to be done with Scarlet and Violet. Kieran had a great "redemption?" arc kind of, or at least we were able to actually work together with him and get some quality time with him in his right state of mind, and honestly I'm just thrilled to know that Arven considers us his best friend to the point he gets jealous of newbies.

Oh, and now Kieran and Carmine will appear randomly in the BB Club Room- it's a bitch and a half to get them to show up, but you can speed up the process slightly by using the system calendar to go forward a day until one or both show up. Nemona, Penny, and Arven are part of the coach system now, so all you need is about 1800 BP to get them all maxed out, and you can rebattle them on command. They also have fun interactions with each other and other characters, such as Arven learning about how "Toedscruel" from other regions can swim, Penny expanding on the facility Blueberry Academy is attached to, and Nemona actually offering up some more of her own backstory.

As for Pecharunt itself- I'll admit. I'm very let down. I thought the way things were played out before that it was building up to be this mastermind behind everything, but it's just a little runt. That's fine too, in the end, I love a good little gremlin bastard child. Its ability is pretty insane, too, automatically stacking Confusion on top of Poison status you inflict on your opponent.

Perhaps there was a much, much bigger story planned out involving it, Ogerpon, and the Loyal Three, but ultimately time, like usual, was something they sacrificed to get it out the door. Perhaps this was always the plan. Who knows.

As it wasn't DLC and it was just an extension of Indigo Disk's DLC, I'll just judge it a 7/10 for what was provided. It was fun enough, got some great laughs, some fun animations, I just wish there was more to it, and I'll always be a bit bitter that it wasn't the final answers to the story I've been seeking, nor was it more than just a gag Pokemon in the end. Still, I would love more Event Pokemon in this style. No more Zarudes or Zeraoras, give me Pecharunt all day any day.

[makeste]

BnHA Episode 122, a.k.a. NOBUHIKO YOU'VE DONE IT AGAIN

THEY CAN'T KEEP LETTING HIM GET AWAY WITH IT!

oh my god.

so first off, let's just get the one big major criticism out of the way: this episode was definitely not up to the same high quality standards as the first third of this season. and hey, I get it! you're doing 24 episodes in all, you're on a time crunch, and you've only got so many animators to go around. and the quality of some of these earlier season 6 eps (118 and 119 especially) was seriously some of the best this series has ever had. by contrast, chapters 284 and 285, while still easily ranking among my favorite chapters of all time, definitely do not go as hard with the visuals as some of the other War arc chapters (that very last 285 page being the one standout exception).

anyway so yeah, it was still a slight disappointment, but I'm fine with it. it does mean Deku vs Kacchan 2 will still retain its crown as my all time fave, but the real meat of this episode was never going to be about the flashy visuals -- it's all about that sweet, sweet character development.

two more very minor criticisms before I get to the OMG nonstop gushing part of this post! one, they did cut out this scene from ch 282 where Tomura originally had TWO quirk-be-gone bullets in his possession and Kacchan actually destroyed the second one.

YOU THOUGHT WE WOULDN'T REMEMBER, BONES. BUT WE DID. so for everyone who is giving Kacchan his well-earned love, praise, and admiration today, don't forget to also give him props for saving Aizawa's other leg, or whichever other appendage this doubtless would have hit. my boy out here lowkey saving his sensei from being ReDestro'd.

and then one final nitpicky little quibble, which is that the anime subtitlers declined to use the "Catch-A-Kacchan" translation, despite it being the single cleverest translation of all time, and by far Caleb Cook's biggest and most important contribution to the BnHA canon. alas, twas not meant to be. BUT ANYWAY NOW ON TO THE GUSHING.

okay so first off, we all know that Aizawa is an absolute badass and the most metal motherfucker in this entire series, and that Shouto has by this point all but perfected the art of swooping in to save the day at pivotal moments, and that the U.A. kids all need ALL OF THE THERAPY GODDAMMIT, and that Deku is a COMPLETE LUNATIC who thinks that HAVING FUNCTIONAL ARMS IS OVERRATED ANYWAYS. yes and yes and yes and yes. and if you wish, you can read all about my thoughts on these things and more, here and here and here and here.

but you already know what I actually came here to talk about today.

first of all, YOU GUYS. the music. THIS FUCKING MUSIC, THOUGH. they used the exact same OST track that was used for the "why was I the one who ended All Might?" speech all the way back in DvK2. THIS IS OFFICIALLY THE "TIME FOR NOBUHIKO TO FLEX HIS VOICE ACTING CHOPS" MUSIC. A TRADITION HAS BEEN BORN.

anyway so if anyone needs me I'll just be sitting here playing this scene on repeat until the end of time. no big deal though. I can quit at any time. not like I'm obsessed with it or anything. I definitely love this scene and this character a perfectly normal amount.

All Might talking about how Katsuki understood from the get-go about how OFA was a secret that could put other people at great risk really hits hard in hindsight. especially when you realize that Katsuki really did know right from the start, and he willingly accepted that risk with no hesitation, and he absolutely did suffer consequences for it (it was his knowledge of OFA that led to him following Deku and subsequently getting involved in this battle). and I don't doubt that he has absolutely zero regrets.

okay but can we seriously just talk for a sec about the way Kacchan's anxiety is practically boiling over when he starts to ask All Might about the Fourth's cause of death?? I feel like this is one thing that kind of got overlooked at the time in the manga because we were so completely distracted by EVERY SINGLE OTHER DAMN THING IN THAT CHAPTER lol. but hearing it again here, you feel how worried he actually is about Deku, and idk why but it all of a sudden just hit me so damn hard.

"I'm worried about him. you are, too." because that truly is what this whole conversation is really about. or at least that's the driving force behind it. behind this whole episode, in fact. it's simple, when you get right down to it: Kacchan is afraid that Deku is going to die. it's literally been the biggest fear on his mind ever since Deku unlocked SIXQUIRKS. right from the start, his mind was immediately going to the worst case scenarios. he immediately deduced that OFA might have a deeper connection to AFO than any of them realized (shoutout to Kacchan for being the original "Deku is a horcrux" truther lol. ONE DAY HORIKOSHI WILL FINALLY REVEAL THE TRUTH AND PROVE US RIGHT). he instantly zeroed in on the sobering fact that all of the previous OFA users died young. and as he reveals here, he took particular notice of the fact that All Might seems to be hiding something about OFA IV's death, and he is goddamn PRESSED about it.

and I absolutely LOVE the way that Nobu voiced this part of the conversation. when he starts to question All Might, his breathing starts to pick up a little, and his voice starts to get louder, and the words start to spill out faster and faster almost like he's in a rush to get it all out, and his voice starts to crack just a little, and he goes from not looking at All Might to hesitantly, almost fearfully glancing at him from the side, and then finally turning to face him head on with his eyes all wary and his teeth gritted like he's bracing himself for the very worst (because he is).

and then he finally just asks him, "was it because you realized something?" and then he takes in this achingly hesitant little breath before finishing with, "...about One for All?" and just. the whole scene is just SO well done. like, he's seriously so fucking scared about this, though. but at the same time he just needs to know, and just. oh my god. and Nobuhiko manages to emote all of this so clearly, and that is such a difficult line to walk when you're dealing with a character like Katsuki who's always so hesitant to show his vulnerability. he has to portray these two separate layers of Bakugou at the same time -- the part of him that is trying his hardest to be nonchalant and matter-of-fact in order to hide his fears and emotions; while at the same time also portraying said emotions which are clearly seeping through anyway, regardless of his efforts.

anyway so yeah. I could talk about this for eighty years and never get sick of it honestly but let's move on.

let me tell you guys, I've been bracing myself for this scene for two full years, and it still kicked my ass. THIS SCENE HAD NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE. literally RIGHT IN the feels. direct hit.

"he's always been that way." no, but guys. the regret when he says that. the way he states it with such simplicity and clarity. almost profound. this is just a truth of the world. this is just how Deku is. this is something that took him so long to understand, but now that he does, he can't fathom how he was never able to see it before. and then that ever-so-slight bitterness that creeps into his voice as he goes on to describe how he fucked it all up. ;_;

and then last but not least!!

"ijimeta." one word, in Japanese. it all comes down to that. and his voice gets so quiet. this whole last part of his speech is so quiet and so soft. but when he says this very last part, his voice wavers perfectly on that last word, and it just. sounds so resigned, somehow, but also just... almost faltering, for just a moment. you can hear the regret as clear as day, but you also hear the fear once again as he finally reveals this fact -- literally his biggest shame; the worst thing that he's ever done -- to All Might. his hero. just, damn.

anyway. so needless to say, despite my expectations being SKY HIGH, this scene absolutely met all of them and blew me away. as expected from the best fucking voice actor in Japan, according to me, a single lone person, whose subjective opinion is absolutely definitely not biased in any possible way.

back to the action! and Nobu getting to do his very best Deku impression lol.

can you believe this kid. one single nerdy analysis speech was all it took for him to start emitting such powerful Main Character Energy that even Endeavor got taken in and was just automatically following orders lol.

awesome choice of music here while Deku and Tomura continued to battle and Bakugou laid out his plan. you know it's good when they still manage to make you feel the tension even though this is basically just a generic action scene, and you additionally already know exactly what's going to happen.

I have no idea why, but that part with Deku's "Kacchan... my 'Deku' means 'you can do it!'" speech juxtaposed against the image of him going all out against Tomura with such fierce determination hit me like 100x harder than it did in the manga. I was NOT expecting that to be as powerful as it was. damn near gave me chills.

literally the only time I've ever been on board with the whole "FUCK YEAH, I'LL JUST BREAK ALL MY BONES AT YOU!!" deal lol. it literally makes no goddamn sense but this scene is just so raw.

THEN WE YEET THE ENDEAVOR!!!!

SO ON-BRAND. NO DEKU-INSPIRED PLAN IS EVER TRULY COMPLETE WITHOUT A GOOD YEETING.

and then the next few moments are some of the most legitimately unsettling of the entire series, as we have Tomura screaming at the top of his lungs while being burnt to cinders (and I mean, I love Tomura dearly, but I get it; he literally just Thanos'd tens of thousands of innocent people), followed by AFO's creepy fucking ghost hand reaching out all "LEND ME YOUR BODY~~~" which is a scene that absolutely NO ONE ASKED FOR but okay.

but then right afterwards though! when AFO finally did take over, and you hear that "TV shutting down" sound effect all of a sudden? and then the next few scenes with all the BKDK flashbacks are also weirdly TV-themed? I could not for the life of me figure this out at first, but now I'm actually thinking it could be a reference to the chapter 306 color page?

OR MAYBE NOT? I actually have no idea. anyway though it may have been random af but it worked for me, what can I say.

AND THEN THE MOMENT OF TRUTH AT LONG LAST.

THIS ACTUALLY IS SO PRETTY THOUGH?? LIKE I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT COLOR COMBINATION AT ALL?

AND IT HAPPENS SO QUICKLY!!!!??? YOU BARELY EVEN HAVE TIME TO BLINK?!?!!

oh. my. god.

THE WAY THE MUSIC SUDDENLY GOT QUIET. THE WAY HIS NARRATING VOICE CAME ON AND, PRAISE EVERYTHING, IT REALLY WAS DEEPER. THAT REALLY WAS THE ADULT HIM. SAME AS DEKU. MY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS ARE SO FUCKING MUCH RIGHT NOW.

AND THEN THE FLASHBACKS!! THE SCENES OF THEM IN MIDDLE SCHOOL!! AND GROUND ZERO!! AND THEN CUTTING TO THE TWO OF THEM AS LITTLE BABIES, AND THE TV SCREEN ALL OF A SUDDEN SWITCHING TO COLOR??? AND THE HANDS??? THE REACHING?!?!

AND THEN?!?!?!

"HEY MAKESTE, IF WE GO AHEAD AND ACTUALLY MAKE THE VOLUME 29 COVER CANON, WILL YOU FINALLY FORGIVE US FOR ALL OF THE HALF-BAKED PAINFULLY OOC FILLER EPISODES AND OVAS?" WELL, STUDIO BONES, YOU DRIVE A HARD BARGAIN, BUT HOW CAN I POSSIBLY REFUSE.

AND THEN THEY FULL ON MURDERED ME!!!!!

that's right bitches. DREAD IT. RUN FROM IT. THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ARRIVES ALL THE SAME.

holy shit. and then THE END CREDITS oh my freaking heart. words can't even describe.

Studio Bones out here not resting until they've succeeded in making EVERY SINGLE PERSON feel the MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF SADNESS THAT A HUMAN BEING CAN SUSTAIN. their callousness truly knows no bounds.

anyway so there we have it! part one of the spectacular season 6 Bakugou Katsuki Redemption Saga. I laughed, I cried, I cried, I cried, I cried a little bit more, and then I cried a little bit more after that. final verdict: yeah, it was pretty good.

[chocoplagg]

My thoughts on the Miraculous Seasons!

Yeah, I'll be talking about the Miraculous seasons, including it's specials and movie.

Maybe I'll do another post talking about my thoughts on the sixth season of the series. With the things we have.

Season 1

It's decent. It has it's good episodes (Stormy Weather, The Evillustrator, Bubbler, etc), and bad episodes (Pharaoh, Origins [specially the second part], Kung Food, etc).

The animation it's pretty good, and the characters are good too.

Season 2

The best season indeed!

Here we have the best episodes (The redemption arc of Chloe, Gorizilla, Sandboy and The Heroes' Day).

The characters have been really good, the plot was amazing at this point, etc.

It's funny because Thomas wasn't really involved in this season, Jeremy Zag was.

Season 3

And here the quality started to decrease.

The plot was trying to be more dramatic and serious (like Amphibia did later), but it was like "this show is family friendly, now it's really dramatic!".

The episodes have been mediocre (Oblivio or Feast), bad (Desperada or Bakerix), or garbage (Animaestro, Chat Blanc, Ladybug and the finale).

And of course, the characters have been really bad, especially Marinette and Fu.

Season 4

This season was amazing... I'm lying, in fact, it's really bad.

There was only three good episodes (Mega Leech, Guiltrip and Crocoduel), the rest were going to be bad, to cringey (Wishmaker), to... Qlin (one of the WORST episodes of the entire animation).

And the characters have been really annoying, like Adrien with his stupid "I feel alone" drama with Ladybug and the heroes. It's really stupid and useless.

And don't make me talk about Zoe Lee. I'm just saying that Aurore Beaureal is a character. She would have been more useful with the Bee Miraculous.

Btw, even the animation was horrible here (watch Simpleman, the most unbeta episode, and you'll understand my point).

Season 5

...

What the fuck?!

-Me watching the season 5.

This is the WORST season of the series (and take my words, maybe season 6 is even worse). It's like the pretentious version of Sonichu, but without the creepy instances that wouldn't be family friendly.

This season was so bad, that only ONE episode was pretty decent (Perfection, and it's thanks to Kagami), the rest was really, REALLY terrible (Derision it's a fairly odd parents retcon but even worse, Revelation it's stupid, Collusion it's the worst political episode, Revolution it's the perfect example of Thomas being Chris Chan with Chloe, Representation it's a really bad pretentious fanfic, and the final episodes of the season have been an insult).

Even the animation was horrible here too. The colors have been disgustingly saturated, and didn't help the episodes.

And don't make me talk about its "dramatic" moments... I CAN'T EVEN REFER IT LIKE "DRAMATIC MOMENTS" BECAUSE IT'S AN INSULT.

Bonus: SPECIALS

Miraculous New York

It's garbage, it's only a longer chapter of the series but barely during an hour.

Only one character was good (Sparrow), and it was eliminated just because of the "feminist subplot"...

I'm really missing Chloe's subplot for this special...

And Ladybug was really annoying, of course.

Miraculous Shangai

The best special, but still is bad.

The only good thing about this thing is Fei and the worldbuilding of the special. But the rest was really bad.

And no Thomas, I'm not going to sympathize with Marinette, literally she stalked Adrien going to Shangai and following him with an app...

Miraculous Paris

Here's where I'm going to be dead...

I think this special is really overated, and for me it's really bad.

At least the animation was pretty decent, but that's the only thing I can say...

But the AU concept was really poor, and it's like "we need to be like the Spiderverse".

And the characters have been poorly executed, especially Gabriel, Adrien and Marinette from the "reverse" AU (I can't define it as a reverse AU when only three characters change to be opposites).

Link to the post in Spanish

[dokidokitsuna]

Hey, have you watched the anime "senki zesshou symphogear"?

It's a very great magical girl anime and if you haven't watched it yet you definitely should! I think you would like it.

...This has got to be a trick. ^^; You already know, don't you?? I can't remember talking about anything remotely similar to Symphogear lately...I mean, unless you just really like the anime and want to recommend it to everyone, in which case 🆗

Anyway, short answer: Yes, I have. ^^

Long answer: I used to be a Symphogear SUPERFAN. I watched all 5 seasons of the anime and the OVAs, I read the S1 companion manga (and did some panel recolors~); I archived the whole S1 soundtrack, I memorized all the girls' activation songs, and I was an active contributor and later a translator on the FANDOM wiki. If the new people haven't completely rewritten everything, you can probably still find a few of my articles there. I focused mainly on episode summaries and the introductory blurbs for the XD Unlimited mobile game events. I'm pretty sure my song translations have all been edited out, unfortunately...=_=

Anyway, I also used to review the series as it aired on my DeviantArt account. ^^ It was a big part of my life for a while there, and I still keep tabs on it occasionally...nothing's really been happening lately, though. Even the mobile game is shut down at this point...I really hope all their recent attempts to keep the hype alive are actually leading up to something, because if not...I mean, either do something new with the series or just let it die gracefully, y'know?

Like, instead of getting normal promotional things-- merch drops, pop-up cafes, sponsorship collabs-- we're getting DJ shows and chiptune remixes (that weren't even that good...) with pretend videogame visuals...it's making me suspicious. If we're gonna do this, the 'cinematic production' they're talking about better be good. I don't want 90 minutes of 'grown-up Hibiki with long hair reminisces about her earlier missions (so we can fill the runtime with flashbacks)'...because if they do that and it flops, they're not gonna recoup the money they're spending on these...things, and then the series really WILL die. Sadly and un-gracefully...

...It probably shows that I have a complex relationship with the franchise. ^^; I have seen Symphogear at its best and its worst; I have loved it at times and I have hated it at times. I agree that it's a high-quality anime...unfortunately, I think a large part of the reason that I kinda fell off it is because its final few episodes were some of the most disappointing. I loved Season 5, but they really didn't have any creative ideas for the actual end of the series and by golly it showed. ^^;;; Left a bad taste in my mouth that remains to this day.

Because of that, if I ever do talk about it again-- maybe after that 'cinematic production' finally releases-- it's gonna be with a critical lens. Symphogear deserves its flowers for its consistently beautiful animation, A+ character design and action-packed story...but it also has a lot of problems that I've never seen anyone mention. Like its bad habit of "redeeming" villains with deathbed gestures...or its occasionally sloppy handling of trauma (*cough* tomato metaphor *cough*) that honestly got progressively sloppier over the course of the series. How do you start with Tsubasa's and Chris's incredible character arcs and end with Maria thanking her mother for abusing her...? o_O

Also, and this is a big one: there's a lot of fanservice, some of it honestly NSFW, and a some of it actively detrimental to the story. I don't mind bath scenes and pool scenes during the casual moments of the story, but I do mind gratuitous boob jiggles during the hyper-serious final boss fight. T_T Pick a tone, please. To Symphogear's credit, it handles its fanservice with a rare level of maturity-- now that I think about it, there's a lot of nudity in the series too, but they tend to do it so tastefully I never thought to point it out. But that means when it DOES start doing more immature stuff I can't really forgive it...like, come on; you're better than this.

^I say all of that because if any of you read this ask and want to check out the anime that changed my brain chemistry, you deserve to know beforehand. I really hate how when people talk about anime they only ever say "its good, it's really good!" without addressing anything that happens in it that might be uncomfortable or triggering (Symphogear is included there, just FYI: most of the abuse the characters have suffered is offscreen (like Chris being sex trafficked as a child) but it does get brought up, and you will see a bit of it occasionally). It's gotten to the point where I simply don't trust people when they recommend anime anymore; even if it's something as simple as having really excessive fanservice (for example: Mai-Hime. Great premise, fun characters, interesting story. Not watching it again, tho) I know they're not going to mention it. They never do.

As anime slowly becomes more mainstream, though, I'm hoping that culture is going to change. Action anime in particular routinely handles heavy, sensitive topics with graphic visuals, and not wanting to be surprised by that doesn't make you a 'tourist' or whatever they're calling people these days. Content warnings harm no one; they only help.

[quirkwizard]

Vigilante Pursuit: Looking at the Villain Hunt Arc

So for anyone who has followed my blog for any period of time, you know that I dislike the Stars and Stripes arc. However, that isn't the only arc that I take issue with. When I was first reading this arc, I had my issues with it, but I did my best to try and move past them. Unfortunately, my opinion of it has only soured as time has gone on and I have had more time to reread and process everything that happened in it. That being the Villain Hunt Arc.

Yes, I know its official title is the Dark Hero Arc, but that name is dumb, so I'm sticking with the Villain Hunt Arc. To be pretty clear, I don't hate this arc, and I still think that there are some good qualities to it. The fight with Lady Nagant is a dramatic challenge to Izuku's perception of heroes, the confrontation between All Might and Stain was a strong beat for their characters, and the Uraraka's speech is one of the highlights of the later arcs of the series. It is not without its problems, and I do feel a lot of frustration with those problems. So, after reaching nine thousand posts, I thought I would reflect on them and try to figure out how to fix this arc.

Unlike the Star and Stripes Arc though, the problems aren't exactly fundamental to the arc itself, more that there are issues in execution. Even then, it's more of one consistent problem throughout the arc and a few other bits with how things play out. So a lot of this will be more of the rewrite than me simply complaining about it. For the sake of this, I'm going to try to stick to as much of the canon structure and this arc as possible with the rewrites. I may have a lot of issues with Izuku's power progression, which is probably the worst in this arc, but such a thing would require changing whole other arcs or making new ones. And when I am writing this, the most recent Chapter 387. So if anything happens to counter my points, know that it hasn't happened yet.

Just Watch Us

Whenever I think back on this arc, I always think about the lack of character moments that weren't for the usual ensemble. The ones that stand out most to me are Hawks and Endeavor. I can understand why the characters would want to brush past that given their personalities and their circumstances, but it feels unsatisfying to not see them react to what happened to them or have the world change as a result. Endeavor says that he will keep pushing forward and tells people to watch him. Even though he has nothing to show for except his words after one of the worst debacles in hero history. And what he did has no real effect or reaction on anyone outside of the family. There isn't any pushback or reflection on Hawks either. Hawks murdered someone on live television, and the most we get is during the press conference. There's no time to think about Twice or the regret he has for killing. He's an optimist, after all.

And don't think that they are the only ones. So many of the students are barely given any time to process or talk about what happened to them. Mina and Kirsihima saw the brutalized corpse of their teacher. And we barely get anything on that. They just got out of a war, and all of them seem a bit bummed out. This is the worst day for most, if not all, of the characters involved. Why can't we see that tragedy and turmoil in them? This isn't only a thing with the war, either. Uraraka and Iida find out their best friend has lied to them for the better part of a year and has left them behind, with the two having no idea where Izuku is or what's happening to him. There isn't any time to reflect on how they're dealing with any of this. We simply have to assume that all this happened off screen in the month-long time jump, if it happened at all.

Near Miss

So when I said that I didn't dislike the Lady Nagant fight, there were a few asterixis next to it. I know it's a minor point, but it has constantly bothered me: why is Kai here? Now I understand why Kai is around. It's to set up everything with Lady Nagant and Izuku trying to save and help the villains, pairing him up with the most hateable villain that isn't part of the League of Villains. However, that doesn't explain why Kai is here from an in universe perspective. Lady Nagant seemingly brings him out of Tatarus on a whim. She says she wants to use him, but what use is a gibbering ex-convict with no arms? And when they get out, she wants him around to identify Izuku. Why on Earth would she need that? Are you telling me All For One didn't even give her any information on Izuku? Nothing like a photo or a basic description of her target?

My biggest issue with it is the introduction of "Fa Jin". Aside from the pacing issues of introducing so many of his new Quirks in such a short time span, "Fa Jin" is easily the worst of all the "One For All" Quirks. As an actual Quirk, it's fine. Nothing special, but has a unique gimmick. My problems lie in making it a Quirk for Izuku because it doesn't really add anything to his power set. It isn't an interesting expansion on Izuku's arsenal, basically doing exactly what "One For All" was doing before. It's obviously only there as a crutch to get Izuku to One Hundred Percent as fast as possible in the shortest amount of time. What's more is that it ruins the fun cat-and-mouse dynamic the fight had before. It's not something we've seen in the series before and would have given us a chance to see Izuku as the intelligent planner he's supposed to be. Instead, Izuku didn't win through some clever strategy, he won by making his number bigger.

Then there is how the fight ends. Lady Nagant blows up as a part of a cruel tactic by All For One. I understand what the story is going for, having all of Izuku's efforts destroyed to mentally break him, but there are some questions raised. Like how exactly did All For One use a Quirk that wasn't his? Why make it a Quirk he snuck onto her then? Why not simply be the effect of a Quirk he already had? How did Lady Nagant handle three Quirks when even two Quirks are considered extreme and potentially life-threatening? How was Lady Nagant not aware of this? Then following up with Izuku going to the mansion, which only results in All For One reinforcing what we already know and another egregious explosion fake out, just feels like such a limp and pointless way to end this entire segment. It's another symptom of All For One worming his way into every single plot as the big villain. You can't have a moment between a hero and villain without All For One twirling his IV tubes in the background.

How it All Stops

I know I have played up in the past how much I liked this moment. I did feel catharsis when Bakugou finally owned up to how awful he was to Izuku and apologized. But looking back at it with a critical eye, I'm finding a major problem with it: it's all about Bakugou. Don't get me wrong, this is supposed to be a big moment for Bakugou and how he's grown. But the other half of the equation is simply missing. There isn't accountability of what he did to Izuku. It's all justification about why he treated Izuku so poorly, only to then turn it over to how he has been acting in the past. There isn't any kind of acknowledgement or punishment for what he's done to Izuku. It comes across that Bakugou effectively Houdinied his way out of the actual consequences of his actions.

What's more is that there's nothing about how Izuku is processing this. Izuku, the guy who was hurt most by Bakugou's constant bullying and actions, doesn't say or think anything about this. Which is such a massive problem throughout the whole of the arc. There is so little time to give Izuku any moments to himself or thoughts on how he's feeling about everything. This should be a huge surge of emotions and the culmination of everything that's been building up with Izuku. But everything is more focused on the other characters, either through Izuku's own thoughts or writing focusing on them more. All that happens is that he collapses and apologizes to everyone else for insulting them. And this ends Rogue Izuku portion of the story. Did you enjoy the handful of chapters you got? I hope you did, because that is the end of that part of his character. One we barely got to actually see.

After all of that, there's barely anything following up on it. All the building emotions he had about himself and the arc over the years? Gone. A serious talk between Izuku and All Might about everything that has happened? Nothing. Any sort of real connection or follow-up with Uraraka and Iida? Not really. The most we get is simply in service of Toga and Uraraka's plot dozens of chapters later. There isn't anything personal about this arc that carries forward. As far as developing the characters, it may as well not have even happened. Bakugou still acts like a tool to Izuku, making it seem like he didn't really learn anything from all of this. We don't even get any proper follow-up with All Might. He apologizes to Izuku and then they move onto more plot beats. Which is so off the mark that it's downright insulting to both characters' stories. Take a bath and a nap, Izuku. It's clearly what you needed.

I know I keep harping on this part of it, but you need there to be a proper middle ground and payoff in order for the conclusion to feel satisfying. It feels like I'm watching a DVD with scratches on it, constantly skipping between major scenes, and the characters acting like they came to a conclusion without us seeing it. It's what attributed to a lot of rushed feeling for the last few arcs. While I always believed that these rapid plot points began back during the MLA War Arc, they have become so prevalent here. All the characters are being moved to their conclusion faster than the manga can handle in the number of chapters they are given. So a lot of them either feel forgotten in the sweep or have their characters and stories shorthanded to reach the end. Now, how would I fix all this?

Heroes of the Past

To start things off, Gran Torino will die in the hospital, potentially while talking to Izuku. I'm not one for suddenly killing off characters, but he really shouldn't have survived such a massive attack from Tomura and I think this would be a good point for him to bite it. More could be added from his death than from his life, especially if he's just going to sit in the hospital for the rest of the series. It would actually have Tomura kill someone that we know and care about, adding some more stakes and threat to this arc, but it would also start Izuku's spiral during this entire situation. From there, I would change the vestiges role as well for this arc. I would have them put more pressure on Izuku. He is there last shot at stopping All For One and they would try to push him more and more. Having the manifestations act as the voices of overwhelming responsibility would be a really interesting way to represent Izuku's thought process and the doubts he has. It's literally Izuku's power and the ghosts of the previous user wearing down on him.

With Hawks and Endeavor, I would certainly have them both interact on their own as characters away from the plot. Maybe Hawks could see some parallels between himself and Shoto as two young kids who were weapons for the sake of others because of their strong Quirks. Maybe Endeavor could talk about how much he had similar thoughts to Hawks, yet was always able to hold back in the end. You could give some more depth to their histories, like Hawk's life in the Hero Commission or who Endeavor was outside of hero work. And if nothing else, we need Endeavor's reaction to "One For All". The cornerstone of Endeavor's entire character was wanting to surpass All Might. After everything that happened over the past year for him, from becoming the Number One to finding out about Dabi, there should be something to him finding out just how truly futile that goal was this entire time. How much of his life was destroyed for less than nothing.

After that, there should be some external pushback and problems for them. Endeavor could be confronted by civilians and heroes, saying that they don't want to look at him and constantly throwing what Dabi did in his face. You could even have former heroes attack him, believing that someone like him does not deserve to be a hero and is simply a villain corrupting their role. Hawks could come across a scene where he finds a group of minor, but recognizable villains, like the Reservoir Dogs, all strung up on the streets. This could either be done by civilians or rogue heroes, finding Hawk's actions justifiable in killing villains, only exasperated by the extreme circumstances. How could those two possibly confront those circumstances? It'd give us some actual weight and consequence to their actions while fitting with the idea of how the actions of major heroes can trickle down into the rest of society.

vs Lady Nagant

This time around, Lady Nagant will bring Kai out of a sense of empathy for him given his condition, though she will hide it from All For One with the same excuse of thinking he'd be useful, which is technically true. Once she gets her mission, she will bring him along out of a need for information about Izuku. Not he knows what Izuku looks like, but because he knows about Izuku and how he fights. It could help explain why Lady Nagant is doing so well, aside from her simply being that good and give Kai more of a purpose. Instead of using "Fa Jin", just have Izuku uses the benefits of his other Quirks. Let him use his other powers and show off the benefits that "Black Whip", "Float", "Danger Sense", and "Smokescreen" provide for him. This provides a unique chance to have Izuku fight smarter and not harder.

And when the fight is over, don't make Lady Nagant the bomb. Make Overhaul the bomb. All For One could have attempted to take "Overhaul", but failed to do so since Kai's Quirk Factor is gone, which well say works that way for this rewrite, only to then sneak the bomb on him. Then you could have Lady Nagant make a move to save Izuku at the cost of herself. That still has the same kind of tragedy to it. The person he'd tried to save is dead or dying, depending on what Hori wants to do with him, and reigniting those heroic values in someone puts her in critical condition. Plus, I think if Hori wants to do any kind of redemption for Overhaul, people are going to want to see him suffer a little bit more for all the stuff he did to everyone in the Overhaul Arc. And skip All For One taunting Izuku, that simply wasn't needed.

After this fight, we are going to cut away from that part of the story. In order to get some breathing room for the rest of the characters, we need to push Izuku away from the spotlight for a little while. What's more is that gives the audience some tension and concern over what's happening with Izuku. Ideally, we start with Izuku and cut away once the Lady Nagant fight is over. It helps put us into Izuku's headspace some, focusing so much on everything that all the other characters feel so distant, only to cut back to them and feel the worry with them since we know how bad of a place Izuku is in. And could you imagine the reveal when we see Izuku and his monstrous vigilante look? Then, when that happens, we flashback to what Izuku has been doing before all of this happened. Plus, with UA, we could get a look at some of the other civilian reactions to what's been happening.

Back at UA

As for what this would be filled with, the first thing to come to mind would be Kirishima, Mina, and Momo. Look, I don't like how they handled Midnight's death. I think it was an incredibly cheap death, throwing a named character to the wolves to give the deaths on the hero's side some artificial weight without giving her any depth or connections outside of a side manga. But if you are going to kill her, at least do something with the characters it's supposed to affect. Have Mina bring up how much Midnight's classes meant to her, or have Momo think about some advice Midnight taught her. Sure, it's a retroactive fill-in for what should have been actual moments in the story, but it's better than nothing. Maybe let Aizawa come in and talk about her as well. Show us that the death of his friend and colleague of over a decade actually affected him and break down his walls some. Show us he is emotionally invested in someone other than Oboro, the Friendly Dust Cloud. You could even have it tie back into Aizawa's own experiences with Momo and how much they believe in her as a leader.

Then there are Iida and Uraraka. I swear, these two have been pushed so far to the back of the manga for what should be major supporting characters that it's insane. You could have Iida running around UA, trying to help everyone he can, wherever he can. It's all that Iida knows to do when he's stressed. It's all that's keeping him from trying to go against the school and looking for his friend. He needs to be here as the person who bears the name Ingenium, one of the oldest families in heroics, and the successor to his brother. Uraraka is helping as well, but clearly isn't as present. She keeps going back to everything with Toga and what she said. You could then have them both talk to each other, realizing how difficult it is to cope with all this, especially when their best friend is gone. It could play off the traits we know about them and set up stuff for later.

Finally, there is Bakugou. There is a lot that could be covered with him, though I do think that it would help a lot if he had a character to bounce off of. And while there could be a lot of characters to do that, I think that All Might would be the best option. Give the two another scene together, paralleling the one after the first fight between Izuku and Bakugou. With them together, they talk about what was going on with Bakugou and why he did what he did. It could do a lot to help build the bridge between everything that happened during the war and his apology to Deku. This could be where the card scene comes into play during Bakugou's death as well, or at least the set-up for it, like Bakugou holding the card in his hand before cutting away or him stifling his words. Once it's all done, All Might could be the one to spill the beans that they actually lost contact with Deku, prompting the class to want to go after him.

Viglinate Izuku

So with the Final War Arc, there are a lot of issues with society broguht up. Some of which are not as fleshed out as they could have been. Want to know what would help with that? Seeing it in action. We get a few montages of this, but I believe that it needs more time to convey how bad things have gotten. While Izuku is running around as a vigilante, he could be dealing with crisis situations that relate to all of the problems brought up throughout the season. Heck, the whole thing with the giant fox/shark lady is some of the most development we got for the Mutant Plotline in the story. Why not shore up some of the other issues with more evidence of that coming forward? The country degrades as all the nasty sides of society come up as the chapters go on. Izuku's goal of trying to understand only brings him more stress and heartache. Have him deal with something like Wash and Yo Shindo did. Carry over some of the issues that Endeavor and Hawks are dealing with. Have him let someone slide when they are committing survival crimes for their family.

Then we cut back to Izuku after the Lady Nagant fight and meet up with All Might after beating another assassin. He sees the damage done to Toshinori's windshield, realizing that he was attacked and nearly killed by more of All For One's goons. Before he can explain, Deku brings up Sir Nighteye and Gran Torino and how much he's learned from them, but that he's learned the most from All Might. He says that he doesn't need him as his mentor any more, implying that he's doing this so All Might doesn't die as well. After that, it's going to be more of Izuku trying to solve people's problems, and it's only going to get worse from here. It's going to be more difficult situations with less obvious answers, stressing Izuku out more and more, made even worse by the lack of self-care he has been doing.

The final point of this will be at the Hero Commission Building. You know that recording where Lady Nagant talked about everything she did? Well, that got out to the public somehow, maybe by All For One to sow more chaos and distrust. Now people want blood for everything that happened with Lady Nagant. Izuku wants to stop the rioters because there are still innocent people in that building, but the rioters aren't villains. They're civilians who have been hurt by the Commissions attempts to keep the peace. Then we come to the big dilemma: Izuku is stuck between protecting the epicenter of all the corruption in hero work and the people who have been hurt by them. A major moral conflict to punctuate everything Izuku has been dealing with.

It all comes to a head when the Commission demands he help, and the crowd accuses Izuku of not being a real hero. Just another goon of the Hero Commission. Izuku breaks and unleashes "Black Whip" to make a massive webby wall between the rioters and the building, telling the rioters to go home. This is when we get the reveal of the monstrous hero costume in all its glory. And the rioters are terrified, looking on in utter fear and running away. Before the Hero Commission has a chance to thank him, we see the cold eyes of the broken Izuku we see later before he leaves as well. Not only could this show the other dangers of Izuku not taking care of himself and taking on the burden, but his appearance only inspires fear in the people he wants to help, but it also works to punctuate everything that has happened thus far with the various problems.

Izuku vs Class 1-A

Before this fight starts, we are given a bit in the world of "One For All". This is where I would flesh out the vestiges some more and how they view things, something that would have been hinted at through their brief appearances in the rest of the arc. Like we have the Second User saying that what Izuku is doing is fine, but why not have something like the Fourth User saying they should hide while Nana tries to act as the voice of reason? When it comes to the Despot fight, I would add a few more high profile villains to the scene. In the manga, this doesn't feel like a situation that Izuku needed help with, which is the whole point of this scenario. It feels like there should have been more ways for him to deal with this given the tools he had, but he gave up because that's what Hori needed to happen. So between the massive number of civilians and the other villains making it all at risk to do anything, I think that would cement more how screwed Izuku is without other people around him.

And when the students show up, I would give some more time to them to show off their abilities some more. Something that can show both Izuku and the audience that they have grown some over the skip. Maybe show off some new techniques without making a big deal out of it or changing their costumes around to give them a new edge. And with more villains, it gives us more chances to see that. Once the fight is over, the students will then try to ask Izuku to come back. The fight will play out mostly the same, but I would add the bit about how "Danger Sense" doesn't detect certain entities as threats since the students are doing this to help him. I think it explains how they are doing so well in spite of Izuku having a power like that and makes the bit with Toga later seem like less of a contrivance.

After the fight, I would pass off the speech Bakugou gave about returning home to Iida. I think it just works better for him. As for the apology, while you could easily rewrite it, I think it would be better to keep it as is and then build off of it. Just because he's a better person now doesn't mean that he can say sorry and have everything be okay. I think we need some catharsis on Izuku's side and some atonement on Bakugou's part. Regardless, when Bakugou finally apologizes, Izuku isn't going to take it, at least not at first. You could say that's out of character for him, but between Bakugou's self-focused apology and how much Izuku has gone through in the past few chapters, I think you could justify it. This would give Izuku some time to talk about his own problems and how much suffering Bakugou put him through. Heck, a lot of Izuku's self-sacrificing mindset is because of Bakugou and that's what's killing him now.

Izuku is going to lay into Bakugou, verbally and potentially physically, as he tries to let out all of his emotions, as shown by "Black Whip" striking out and wrapping up around Izuku. He tells Bakugou to take everyone and go, saying that they aren't strong enough to keep up and are only going to get in the way. It's basically here to play up everything that Izuku had in his mind as a result of his role and insecurities. But because of the development he's gone through, that doesn't matter to Bakugou. He only wants to help Izuku and reach out to him. Before he acted on instinct, now he's reaching out with the express purpose of trying to save Izuku breaking through the "Black Whips" in order to make it to Izuku and remove his cowl. It's meant to reverse their relationship at the start of the series, both in their positions in dynamic as Bakugou is saving Izuku from something threatening to envelop his whole body.

Returning to UA

Once Izuku gets back, it will mostly be the same, only now the ensemble will be made up of the people who Izuku has helped so far in the arc. I would want a moment between him and Inko as well. Just something sweet and nice, like her using her Quirk to pull the cowl off him to see his face. After this, we'll get some breather chapters and spend more time on Izuku mentally recovering and slowly becoming more and more accepting of himself. How many? As many as we can get, frankly. Seriously, this is such an important time for Izuku and the rest of the cast that they're going to need all the time they can get. Now, while the other characters will play a role, it will fall more to Izuku to evaluate and heal. Like staying on his own some more before slowly coming back into the fold after a period of time.

As for any character interactions, there should certainly be a moment between Izuku and Uraraka. Uraraka stuck her neck out and poured her heart out in order to get him into UA. There should be at least be a thank you from him to her. Then some time with Shoto and Iida as well, with possibly each of them reflecting on their own arcs, like Shoto telling him to take his time with this or Iida saying that he always wanted to go out looking for Izuku since that's what he would do. Maybe would could squeeze in something with Aizawa as well. Who, maybe after scolding from, Aizawa tries to connect his own feelings with Izuku's predicament. How Aizawa kept trying to push himself so hard after Oboro's death and how that affected his life. And while he always wants Izuku to push himself, he never wants Izuku to end up like him.

There will be attempts by Bakugou to make things better, and there will be a notable change in how he acts around Izuku, acting more like equals rather than Bakugou barely tolerating him. However, Izuku is still working through it and makes it clear he isn't ready to truly accept him as a friend. Not only would this be more realistic, but it would also add some more tragedy to Bakugou's "death", making it seem like he died without ever making proper amends to Izuku. And if we go with the idea that the "One For All" visages are less helpful and more confrontational, then maybe we could have a scene with him confronting the vestiges as well. You could have Izuku tearing off the black covering around his body and fully speaking his mind, making it clear that he is certain of how he wants to be a hero and how things have changed since they were around.

Then there is Mirio. Not only would this give us some time to catch up with Mirio, someone who we have barely gotten to see outside of a fight scene since he got his power back, but it would also finish up the comparisons between the two. Now that "One For All" is out in the open, we could settle Izuku's doubts on whether or not he was the right heir. Maybe Mirio could say something about how it was a blessing Izuku got it instead of him because now there are two great heroes, or that him taking it on would have been pointless since it would have only killed him before he had the real chance to be a hero. Maybe even throw something with Eri in here as well. Just something that confirms that, no, Izuku's being chosen was never a mistake and helps on his journey to self-worth.

Finally, I really want there to be a moment with Toshinori and Izuku. The two people who would be most affected by this situation and understand each other the most. This would be a follow-up to the confrontation Toshinori had with Stain. Toshinori simply being there and helping the students is more than enough. He needs to assure Izuku that he is proud of who he is and that he never once doubted his decision. It would be a genuine moment between the two. Not as the Eighth and Ninth Users of "One For All", not as the once or future Pillars of Society, but as Izuku Midoriya and Toshinori Yagi. A fine young man with a good heart, and an old man who did well in rebuilding his life. It would be a good punctuation to both Izuku's journey to rediscovering his own personal worth and Toshinori figuring out how to live a life outside of All Might.