#i wanted it to be more of an ensemble cast

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Ways I can think of that “DanDaDan” differs from other shonen series:

* Female MC is as important as male MC

* Canon romance gets consistent development through the series. I think that’s part of the reason why the MC ships with the rivals (Aira, Jiji) aren’t as popular with the fandom for once. The main ship is actually getting good development, so the fanbase doesn’t have to make up headcanons to fill in the space.

* Flips the found family trope on its head by having the main group despise new people whenever they show up and they even actively try to kick them out. The new people only end up staying because they keep lingering around to the point that the main group just gives up and lets them stay.

* The rivals aren’t emo or angst-ridden. Aira is a delusional tryhard popular girl while Jiji is a himbo drama queen. I’d even go as far to say that the MCs are the ones who are emo and angst-ridden.

* Supporting cast is more than just important, they become integral to the story. I’d say that the further you read into DanDaDan, the more it becomes an ensemble cast where everyone is a protagonist in their own right.

* World-building is all over the place, but in a good way. Most other shonen are pretty consistent with what kind of world their characters live in. MHA is superhero-based, Naruto is ninjas and magic, Bleach is spirits, and so on. DanDaDan feels like the author just throws whatever cool shit they can think of into the story. That’s actually the reason why I wrote in a different post that DanDaDan reminds me more of Marvel/DC than any other shonen series, it manages to capture the catch-all insanity of those comics.

* Doesn’t rely on hidden power-ups. The main characters either have to outsmart the villains or they have to train to get better with the powers they already have.

* The pervert comic relief guy is actually endearing for once. Not because of his pervert tendencies, but because he’s so oblivious to how socially inept he is that it’s kind of funny. This is gonna sound strange, but he sorta reminds me of Thor in Thor Ragnarok. Full of himself and oblivious to how dumb he can be. He’s Thor without the good looks lol.

* Flips the “nerdy outcast loser somehow gets a harem” trope. Instead of making Okarun cooler than how he actually is, the story emphasizes that the women who fall for Okarun are as weird as him. Momo is a weird outcast, Aira has main character syndrome, Vamola doesn’t understand how to human because she’s literally not one, Rin thought Okarun was a vampire (and wanted him to be).

* Flips the “elderly figure in charge of the teenagers” trope. I don’t really get motherly figure vibes from Seiko Ayase, I get more “cool wine aunt who is stuck with her niece” vibes. In fact, there was the arc where Okarun showed up to her in spirit mode to get her help with fighting off the alien invasion and Seiko’s response was, “Well, I’m not in the area and I have other shit to do, so you kids figure it out.”

* The series takes the piss out of the trope of mystical/magical items that the group acquired to get their powers. I mean…the main mystical MacGuffin in the series are Okarun’s balls.

* Okarun was about to go into an “I’m weak / I wish I was stronger / I want to get stronger for my friends” breakdown, but Turbo Granny told him to shut up and keep fighting.

* Not afraid to put the “cool girl” in as many funny situations as possible. Off the top of my head, the series built up Momo as this cool, tough girl who doesn’t take shit from anyone…then several chapters later, Okarun found out she got a job at a maid cafe.

(Feel free to add to the list!)

[xxgothchatonxx]

Here's my non-spoiler thoughts on Wicked Part One.

This was a grand, epic musical fantasy spectacle in all the right ways. As a standalone film, it was an absolute marvel to witness in cinemas and reminded me why I love musical films in the first place. And as an adaptation of one of my favourite musicals of all time... you fucking did it, Jon. You brought Wicked to the big-screen and you absolutely nailed it.

The cast was pitch-perfect across the board. I have so much to say about our beautiful leading ladies but I'll just say for now that Cynthia and Ariana took such good care of Elphaba and Galinda.

And the music! Oh sweet Oz, it was BEAUTIFUL! Trust me, the singing sounds so much better in the film than it does in the trailers. And the choreography was amazing- that ensemble cast was putting in 110%, it was fantastic.

I cried three times - at the start, at the Ozdust scene (EXCUSE YOU, MR. SCHWARTZ! YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID, SIR!), and just near the end. Which, well, I'm an emotional gal, but for a story like Wicked, I really wanted to have this reaction. And I got it.

I am so excited to see Part Two next year. Speaking of which, while I had a lot of worries about it being split into two films, I am so glad they decided to do that. Cos I can't imagine the whole story being crammed into one film. It works on stage, but this is film. The pacing is slower but it works. There's more room to breathe in the film. Again, not knocking the pace of the stage version but I don't think that would work here.

Look, I had a wonderful time, and I can't wait to see it again.

I give it 5 out of 5 hair toss-tosses.

[pl0tty]

i was gonna do a tiny thing as my contribution to the draw drarry badly challenge and then it turned into a 4-page comic. that i drew on my phone. with my fingers. oh well!

thanks @julcheninred for organizing the challenge!! 😎

[egophiliac]

so have you heard about the ride kamens app game? seems like it's gonna be a twisted wonderland like game with all the riders being hot anime guys now, and it's also gonna be written by yuya takahashi and produced by naomi takebe (apparently it was in development before geats), with designs by the person who did sk8 the infinity, so take that for what you will

have you ever gotten the feeling that a piece of media came into existence just to appeal to you specifically, or

(brb preregistering immediately)

(as far as I can tell you play as an agent who maintains a secret superhero base for riders in the basement of the rider-themed cafe that you run with your butler, and there's some other plot stuff going on but honestly I'm way past sold at this point, this sounds amazing)

[asthedeathoflight]

Just chiming in as someone who works in theater. You actually wouldn't have to do that much crazy cross casting to do Warriors on stage. There are only 19 non-Warrior speaking roles. It's actually not that unreasonable to cast a 19 person ensemble and give them each a speaking role, and then just have them play background gang members in every other scene. The fewest i could see doing it with is 10 and double casting them, but that's pushing it bc there are 8 Warriors and it stops being believable that they're actually outnumbered. The single biggest issue I can actually see with doing this show is quick changes and costuming. But a total cast of 30 for a musical is really not that many.

[dragondawdles]

leif is doing his best

(tube link with subtitles under the cut:)

[nexus-nebulae]

every day i wish that Rats SMP was a cartoon bc it would make the greatest show ever i think

[kurokeip]

Happy birthday to my girlwifeguy. Kiryu.

In all seriousness though, I did go on a rambling analysis of his character arc through the years, that you can read down here.

I hope people can appreciate the surprising nuance that he holds, since he's not often discussed!

I wanted to talk a bit about Kuro's character growth through the years, as it is his birthday, since I feel like it goes unnoticed by people most of the time!

Kuro, as we know, is a character that is a reformed Delinquent. One of the running themes of his Character is his self-worth, his regret, and his complex feelings surrounding how people perceive him.

(I also want to pen down my thoughts on the gender aspect of this later)

His 'atonement' arc begins with him applying to Yumenosaki, a place where he could hopefully become An idol that would make his little sister smile. At the time of his enrollment, however, Yumenosaki was not a place of serious study and passion.

Already we can see his core character traits emergent in this decision: His love for his family, His rash decision making and, Most importantly, his desperate desire to change, something, anything.

(In the interest of keeping this brief I will not prattle on too much about Keito Hasumi's involvement. Another time.)

Kuro was, and kind of still is, grappling with grief. Not just for his mother, but Also for himself. He lost himself, in a way. He missed out that normal life, on being a normal brother for his sister, on being a good son to his Mother and a good friend to Shu.

All of his mistakes overwhelm him, he's paralyzed by how badly he's screwed up, and thus resorts to Passive self harm, in an attempt to tip the scales, somehow. If he lets enough people punch him, he might feel like he deserves to have anything.

I cannot stress enough how bad his self-worth issues are. They are arguably the worst in Akatsuki, and that is Saying Something.

Now, after he joins Akatsuki and the war reaches his conclusion, he's decided to swing in the complete opposite way.

This is what I feel is less discussed, his tendency to mask his discomfort and extreme adaptability. He consistently lowers himself, and by consequence, his Own preferences and needs in order to compensate for a variety of things, like:

- His appearance

- His natural temperament and behavior

- His masculinity (again, thoughts to chew on another time)

This is why I really like Kuro's FS1. It marks his growth in !! Era. In ! Era he was extremely ashamed of his past and actively swallowed down most of his irritation, because he was afraid of what would happen if he got angry. He channels that energy into sewing and Karate instead.

He's trying so hard, to be a perfect Senpai, to live up to his Own view of what a 'good person' is: Someone who is unconditionally loving, forgiving and kind, someone who is... Mother-like. I think about that time he said that a Mother is a transcendent being, quite a bit. It reveals so much.

In Unification By Force, we see him finally snap, lash out at Keito, someone who he had repeatedly reassured that he'd listen to, be obedient to. He immediately regrets it, but it also causes him to contemplate their relationship, and more importantly his relationship with his past.

Kuro is coming to terms with the fact he will never be A good, perfect, shiny person. That people like Keito, Souma, Chiaki and Nazuna, that he idolized in a way, are not good people.

You can never become a 'good person', because the only one that can truly evaluate that is yourself, and if you are predisposed to dislike yourself, You can pretty much kiss that title goodbye.

He... Isn't endlessly kind, or tolerant, or polished. His designs that got rejected, came from a suppression of himself, and it showed in his work. He's rash, stubborn at times, airheaded, speaks crudely and brute forces his way Through things frequently. Even though he hates them, these things are what make him Kuro, Even his delinquent past.

And the Kuro he is today, is loved by so many people, who remind him daily, and they wouldn't love him if he wasn't himself in the first place, blood on his hands and all.

He knows as much, when he acknowledges Keito and Souma's patience in response to his ugly side. The fact that both of them are easily able to forgive and remedy their relationship speaks volumes for how much Kuro means to them, and it finally clicks for Kuro.

He doesn't have to overcompensate. He can't pretend that he never made a mistake, but he can't let it control him. He has to come to terms with his past, and his own self and appearance.

The people that care about him are able to immediately identify when his Outfit concept is Forced looking. His final outfit design is him coming to terms with this. It wouldn't have been the same, had they decided to go with the cute stuff that most people wanted. It wouldn't have been Kuro.

In conclusion, I love Kuro Kiryu and his unending drive to be a better person and his care for other people and his journey through grief and self-love and think people should love him for more than just how wife-material he is! He is so compelling!

[whatyourehungryfor]

not another new document... new document is the mind killer...

[cabeswaterdrowned]

remembering on my circa 2017 booklr I used to tell people to read Gemma Doyle by describing it as trc but with an all girls boarding school / all girl group in a historical setting… I was trying to do the lord’s work she deserved tumblr fame

[sillimancer]

you see, Your Honor, you HAVE to pay me to live in Ireland, it's research for a magical girl series--

[perenlop]

its been said but man there was no reason why hau couldnt have shown up the moment hala was introduced in the anime

[callixton]

this is not just bc of my bias but i do think that to have such a strong ensemble cast they should’ve used all of the side characters more. again i think it was slightly satirizing the people at the top but. i don’t think that really gels with their storytelling style and i think a lot of it would’ve been more effective if they’d given them more fleshed out lives

[regenderate]

i have a tenrose figure skating au and i swear to god rotating the concept of fifteen and ruby as pairs skating partners is making me change the entire au. they would be so everything.

[fiovske]

have you listened to the original 2010 hadestown conept album? what do you think of it compared to the musical versions? :D

the one w anaïs mitchell? I have! I only listened to it after having listened to the Broadway recording but I genuinely enjoyed it! I think the vibe of it is much... earthier? like it isn't as urgent as the obr, and I love that the sounds are v distinct

I think she collabed w Bon Iver and a few other folks? i personally am betwitched by Eva Noblezada so even tho the 2010 version came first, I heard Eva's vocals first and the Impression they left on me is everlasting and ough. Amber Gray..... [incomprehensible noises] but I will say the folk-y vibe is stronger on the 2010 version so sometimes I do like to have it playing when I wanna sing along but in a slower tempo not like it's a big stage but a garage jam out sesh :D

[unproduciblesmackdown]

going "why'd i feel like it was monday for a sec" earlier & immediately answering it with "oh yeah b/c the summer stock performances 'weekend' is mondays & tuesdays off" and going Whoah just now refreshing myself on the exact schedule when this is the first wednesda & thursday of performances, like, kicking off both days w/2 pm matinees