#i welcome discussion

[susansontag]

studio ghibli ranking list let’s go

(will include nausicaä and the red turtle)

the these-are-actually-bad section:

24. earwig and the witch

actually the only one I haven’t watched so it’s cheeky to put it here. but I won’t be watching it and no one will blame me.

23. ocean waves

who sincerely cares about these teenagers they’re so annoying. if the boys had been gay it would have honestly been homophobic.

22. pom poko

this film is about shape-shifting raccoon dogs waging a war on humans and there’s copious jokes about their testicles. so on paper a perfect film. execution wise it’s so long and so boring and you care about none of them.

the cure-for-insomnia section:

21. tales from earthsea

hayao miyazaki was right to walk out of this one even though he probably is a terrible father for having done so. some of the animation was really nice but these protagonists made me yearn for the ocean waves cast because at least they have semi-personalities.

20. castle in the sky

proof miyazaki was judging his son too hard for earthsea because this is basically his version of the same thing: a nice idea with good animation and the most boring boy/girl protagonists imaginable. has got that whimsy he does so nicely however.

the passable-films section:

19. the cat returns

but should he have? was that really necessary? has a scene of cats walking in a procession on their hind legs though so that’s a plus.

18. arrietty

visually gorgeous but otherwise a very run-of-the-mill adaptation of the borrowers, which in something that should feel wondrous is less than ideal.

17. my neighbors the yamadas

some harmless and inventive fun that you can put on in the background whilst eating lunch or doing some light yoga stretches.

the don’t-harm-me-I’m-right section:

16. howl’s moving castle

yes I do in fact understand the intricacies of the plot and I still don’t care. this is one of ghibli’s messiest films for sure, it can’t decide what it wants to be or focus on and the plot just seems to happen and then not happen for no good reason. I also think howl’s a whiny bastard and hate that sophie has to mother him and endure his contemptible man tantrums. a shame because she’s actually cool.

15. grave of the fireflies

it was sweet but I’ve watched more moving animated films set in war-time, even. I don’t have much desire to watch it again honestly but maybe I will at some point.

the this-is-getting-there section:

14. the red turtle

I liked it! an acquired taste but I really felt the harshness of the elements and the cruelty and the love. it's also very beautiful to look at, one of the most visually arresting ghibli productions.

13. only yesterday

a tale of two films with this one. the parts where she's a young girl are much more interesting, but if this had stuck the landing and it'd been more even overall, could have potentially been a favourite. alas.

12. the wind rises

a genuinely weird one in ghibli's lineup, in which miyazaki meshes two different stories together (one of inventive 'genius' and a doomed love story, respectively) in a likely attempt to try and grapple with his having chosen his career over all else, including family (noteworthy is that his wife was not able to retain her career as an animator). as a piece of art it's less whimsical and more mature than many of these films, but I struggle to not let my distaste for what it potentially represents get in the way of my appreciation for it as a film, but it's so blatantly personal that it's impossible.

the that-was-just-a-good-fun-time section:

11. nausicaä of the valley of the wind

aesthetically one of the coolest films on this list but I don't remember the story as well. great protagonist too. must have been great to experience when it first came out in the '80s.

10. porco rosso

I love this film about a tomboy mechanic and some pilot guy who went off to war and was so changed he is now a pig. watching it feels like if the mediterranean was so small it fit into your back pocket and was also populated by all your friends all your enemies and your ex-lover also.

9. from up on poppy hill

I found this one boring the first time I watched it but it really grew on me with subsequent rewatches. I really like her predominantly female household and the community they share in the backdrop of the rest of the drama is sweet. the bit of drama midway through is still batshit though but in a loveable, disney-would-never way.

the near-perfect section:

8. the tale of the princess kaguya

probably takahata's magnum opus with the studio, if slightly overlong. folktales are tricky because they tend to feel moralistic and the characters one-note if you're not willing to build on them but kaguya herself feels very spirited and alive. the prettiest on the list too I'd say.

7. my neighbor totoro

cozy late summer comfort film. perhaps even more special now because I was able to see the london production. cute!

6. when marnie was there

surprised this one has ranked so high for me but that's the power of tomboy lesbians heck yeah etc. also the fantastical element of this one is so up my alley and touches upon a particular kind of childhood nostalgia I have of being in old houses and imbuing them with magical qualities. the image of anna facing the house across the marshland is burned into my retina.

the I'd-die-for-her section:

5. princess mononoke

aesthetically too cool for school and has one of the best ghibli villains and female characters (lady eboshi). they really said all the spirits of the forest are going to die in this one but well it was a nice thought.

4. ponyo

my comfort movie of all-time! heartwarming! with another great female ghibli character in lisa, sosuke's mum who is legally allowed to drive like that apparently. also one I actually watched for the first time in my childhood when I was around 7 or so at an after school club. the subtitles taught me the useful and now underused gem of a phrase "bog off".

3. kiki's delivery service

asks the important questions such as: what if you were a young witch from a dying tradition who moves to a gorgeous town in sweden? what if your remarkable gifts were no longer appreciated due to rapid advancements in aviation technology? what if you could live in a bakery?

2. spirited away

when you're just a timid child who is scared of admittedly a lot and your parents manage to mess everything up spectacularly so now you're forced to work at the age of twelve for people who steal your identity. still one of the best honestly they may never top this as the peak of their artistic achievement.

1. whisper of the heart

have you ever been a struggling artist? have you ever been in love? have you ever been obsessed with john denver's take me home, country roads? in all seriousness love a story of two artistically inclined people inspiring each other and this has a unique feel compared to other ghibli films forever favourite probably. it feels like basically no one has watched it and that's a shame. rest in peace yoshifumi kondō.

[anyanary]

I present to you: fem wangxian

[iphigeniacomplex]

it’s very easy to tell the good satires and pastiches from the bad ones because the bad ones are too afraid to live within the form. like if you are doing work with fairy tales and you are refusing to look closer at the underlying logic and unspoken rules of what can seem at first to be a senseless form, you are not going to create meaningful work. to borrow a turn of phrase originally used by maria tatar, if you refuse to enter “the house of fairy tale” as anything more than a gawking tourist, you will miss the particular order to the way the table is set, the rooms that are locked vs the rooms that are simply difficult to enter, the set of the floorboards and the position of the furniture. whatever you build will then be a gilded imitation of how you believe the house of fairy tale ought to look, the table set according to your educated specifications and every door open. there can be no interrogation of themes from a writer who views the form as beneath them!

[teapetal44]

TW: ABUSE, CHILD ABUSE

“He wants to air this dirty laundry to the world does he…? Dabi, you fiend…you’ve been waiting for this moment…when they couldn’t prevent mass destruction…and faith in heroes is wavering.” - chapter 292

I truly, wholeheartedly, believe that MHA as a story upholds the myth of the perfect victim. I do not want to discuss if Horikoshi did that on purpose, or subconsciously because of inner bias – I find no meaning in doing so. For me the execution of an idea, in the grand scheme of the narrative, holds more value than the intention of the author. I’ve also had my fair share of people infantilizing Asian authors in the anime community for their poor writing decisions for one lifetime. It’s patronizing to both the author and the people reading it. Whether or not Horikoshi intended for his themes of abuse to paint the picture they did does not matter, because that’s how it reads as.

MHA puts victims of abuse in narrow boxes and softly dictates what’s an acceptable reaction to said abuse. Victims are continuously walking a tightrope between being deserving of compassion and sympathy and being unredeemable monsters who are too far gone and are only good for martyrdom after being put down.  

Eri fits the clean cut depiction of abuse victims that media usually gears towards. She is untouched by the cruelty around her - she preserves her innocence and kindness. She isn't assertive, but rather meek and passive. She doesn't fight back with force. And when offered help, she is receptive to it. That is not to say that Eri's depiction doesn't have a place in fiction, or that her portrayal can't be representative of the experiences of some - as we all deal with trauma and the inhumanity people throw at us differently. We see the same thing in the portrayal of Fuyumi, who shares many of the qualities discussed above. The same thing applies to her - i personally love the idea of all the siblings having different reaction to their childhood trauma and abuse. It shows that victims are not some type of monolith.

But the narrative treats the "forgiving" or "receptive to help/support" victims of abuse with more grace and with much more kindness. if you are willing to forgive, or the very least be quietly tolerant, the story grants you a happy ending. Forgiveness isn't a bad thing, it is an individual choice - but an abuse victim shouldn't have to do it for them to have a happy ending.

In a vacuum Eri and Fuyumi's character arcs and depictions of abuse are good but it becomes a problem when that's the only experience and type of victim we ever hold in high value or recognize as valid and deserving of compassion. Which the story reinforces.

Touya and Tenko's backstories aren't pretty nor comfortable or easy to sit through. Their responses to abuse aren't either. Reactive abuse is very much real.

[rimatsu]

setting pessimism aside to daydream about my ideal bucktommy makeup scenario and i just... keep oscillating between buck extending an olive branch and tommy reaching out first. there's merit in both. yes i'd love for buck to discard passivity and fight for this salvageable relationship — for buck to look tommy straight in the eyes and tell him that his sharp edges and his vulnerable insides don't make him any less deserving of love. that he's not blinded by the excitement of novelty or misguided admiration — even without the full picture, buck has seen enough pieces of the puzzle that makes up tommy's whole to know that he loves the entirety of him, unspoken faults and past sins included. that buck can't guarantee forever but he sure as hell can try to build the sturdy foundation of a shared life based on the hope for more. that sometimes you just luck out on the first draw and there's nothing wrong with good fortune.

but it would also be extremely healing if tommy knocked on buck's door to chase after his own second chance. to say "i want you more than i'm scared of hurting" when buck asks him what's changed in 4 months — because tommy would rather live with scars than be haunted by regrets and what-ifs. because buck is worth the risk of never recovering from having loved him

[cosmicdreamgrl]

𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴: (113/?)┃𝘤𝘳: 0613𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢

[azzayofchaos]

@embers--and--ashes

Here's that Convex lore you were curious about...

Thanks to @queseresere again for some bits a pieces!

So.. The Vex Problem?

While rumors of the mysterious Convex are floating around, and Skizz has become quite suspicious of what exactly this mysterious group entails-- he'll soon learn it's not quite as strange or occult as he first thought!

The Convex is essentially one of those super secret Gentlemen's clubs that rich people like... they play golf on the weekends.

Vex are demonic, but they're vermin, easily summonable nuisances and unfortunately their clubhouse has an infestation. Not all that surprising considering how much of a bother Scar tends to be to the PET Demons.

Scar Goodfellow:

The captain of Hermiton's police force, and an all around shady guy.

He tends to come off as a bit incompetent, even a buffoon, but he's much sharper than most people give him credit for. He catches onto the nature of the disappearances and advises Cleo to lend a occult-knowledged hand in the ensuing investigation.

Grian is under a debt to Scar for the duration of Scar's human lifespan since 'the incident' and Scar can pretty much summon him at will --Scar mostly makes him prank people-- though Grian technically works under Cub at the Permit Office as Cub is just about the only person Grian listens to.

"Cub":

Manager of the Permit Office

He probably used shady means to help put Scar in a position of Power

knows a thing or two about the occult but he is genuinely just a guy...

or like, maybe 0.1% primordial, either way he terrorizes Grian a bit.

He and Scar have that weird Bromance...

More Permit Office stuff:

Cub is the only person who doesn’t seem to mind Grian, Grian definitely minds Cub. 

Grian only willingly  listens to, and is mortally terrified of Cub. He swears Cub is not human, but something else. 

The permit office is Grian’s domain, and has thusly become infused with backrooms vibes. It has that uncanny atmosphere.

Cub refuses to acknowledge that anything is wrong with the office or his one(1) employee. “Others have passed through, and I’m happy to hire, but they never end up staying for long. I mean, I get it man. The work is dismally  boring and the pay isn’t great. Might be nice to get a change of pace, though" "It’s alright though, not like there’s much more work than what Grian and I can handle. We make do”. 

(Everyone in town will tell you just to straight email the permit office higher ups rather than bother with the office at all… honestly, just skip the permit, this is a lawless town…)

The permit office is definitely maybe a front for something, Cub knows what though. (It's illegal fireworks 0_0).

[dancing-lex]

I was immediately struck by this panel in the manga in which Light is thinking about the effect of Kira's judgment on how average people across the globe interact with each other.

This is well known and well examined in the fandom but it really never ceases to amaze me how much of an influence Soichiro has on Light's values and thinking patterns. The modern police state rules with fear as the primary method of control. Light takes the enforcement of law-abiding behavior under threat of violence to the extreme by giving any criminal the death sentence. Being raised by a cop, he would be inclined to believe that this is the best or only way to attain peace.

I think this panel reveals something about Light's character; he thinks to himself that it's a GOOD thing that people are afraid, that the fear of getting killed by Kira will prevent them from doing bad things. Fear = good. Now that I think about it, I bet Light is of the opinion that if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear, so he probably thinks that anyone who is afraid of Kira would be guilty (but that's another can of worms).

The thing is, sure, fear is a great motivator, but that also effects other parts of your life. Light mentions that people have begun to treat each other better (citation needed, anecdotal evidence?) but consider. If you're afraid of your neighbors snitching on you, you're less likely to want to interact with them. You don't know who you can trust; best not to have any close personal conversations. You might be overly (inauthentically) friendly just to make sure people don't plaster your face on the internet for Kira to judge. Otherwise, you might avoid interaction as much as possible. Lie if you have to, if it preserves your safety. Conform, appear normal, be a good person, try not to draw too much attention.

And this is what gets me the most, because isn't that how Light behaves? He's taking his own fear of people finding out the ugly parts of him and imposing that on everyone else. He essentially standardizes how all the people in the WORLD interact. Can you imagine the impact of Kira's rule on communities, friendships, relationships, families, not to mention diplomatic relationships and politics?? Light is singlehandedly breaking down the networks between people.

And the fact that HE is the one doing this is just so fascinating. I'm under the impression that Light believes he's actually doing something good for the world, but what he can't see is that he's actually vaporizing something so vital to society - the genuine connections we need to survive and lead fulfilling lives. And because that's not something he's really, honestly experienced, he doesn't even realize what he's doing. He wouldn't get it anyway.

[for-lovely-things]

Do i have a lot of thoughts regarding lore after playing veilguard (and replaying inquisition now)

Literally everyone tells the inquisitor that he's herald of andraste and even if he thinks he isn't he essentially has to lie to keep up the reputation and you just gotta start believing that lie yourself eventually

[tenderjock]

My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.

[faggotry-enjoyer]

yknow what i think it's pretty fucked up that my instinctual reaction to hearing any mention of the holocaust is to brace myself for antisemitic talking points. in discussion about a jewish genocide.

holocaust inversion, universalization, minimalization, and denial are inexcusable in any context, and the fact that they've become this common is appalling on every level.

[gooch-cancer]

i feel like the infantilization of lisa throughout the movie was very very real. coming from someone who did deal with being outcasted due to their oddness and mental instability i did deal often with my peers treating me like i was younger than them, acting like i wasn't smart and i saw myself in lisa during those moments. for example, michael and doug calling lisa "kid" or "kiddo" when talking to her or her dad not taking her seriously when showing obvious signs that things are getting worse for her. i often see the adults treating her like a misbehaving child who wants attention instead of a person going through a very rough time in life. they only cared when she passed away. something about the only good victim being a dead one etc.

[royalarchivist]

Wilson took over Rubius' setup today and refused to let him move the camera, going so far as to grab his arm with his tiny little paws MULTIPLE times so Rubius would keep petting him 🥹💕

Wilson is my favorite streamer.

[vigilskept]

i just want to say i saw your tags and i do agree with most of them!! i just think we also cannot overlook the role of racism in that, because of how many of those people who walked away with more attachment to assan than davrin talk about that exact sacrifice. it is a recurring problem in the dragon age fandom that many other players do not LOOK for depth in Black characters, then complain about its absence. So I am much less generous about it personally! But thank you for your thoughts, they were interesting to read. (Sending as an ask cause I don't want to reblog and make a whole post about it in case anyone gets aggressive, feel free to answer me privately if you want too at all - no worries about doing so! But I made the post partially because of my major frustration with how racist a lot of people were being about davrin and that choice, so it was something I took into consideration while writing the thing up)

i do know what you mean, fandom has been terrible with reading any depth into characters of colour in this franchise... there's a tendency to assume they have no more complexity than whatever image of themselves they're projecting outward (see: zev, bela, vivienne)

and based a lot of the discourse around wyll in bg3 over the last couple of years, i don't think we've seen much change in fandom when it comes to this. it's still a big issue, and that kind of bias (consciously or not) factors into how a lot of people have been interpreting davrin's character/arc for sure

i just think that the writing also plays into this a little

that first scene where you welcome him into the lighthouse struck me as particularly off because davrin's literally just lost two friends in the wardens before joining us and we don't even get the option to ask him how he's feeling. the whole conversation is about assan, the grey wardens and the griffons

now assan's isolation from his siblings is being deliberately paralleled with davrin's isolation from his clan (and now the wardens), but on it's face this conversation comes off as though rook is more interested in the griffons than in davrin. especially when you compare it with the other early-game lighthouse conversations! just 1 more dialogue where you actually get to check in on davrin could've mitigated that, if only a little

the heart of davrin's quest isn't buried between a dozen layers of metaphor or anything, it's not hard to find the parallels with assan when you put some time/thought into it. but the writing elsewhere in veilguard is so unsubtle, and the opportunities to talk to davrin directly about himself are so much fewer that it becomes much easier to write off his character than the other companions...

[carrioncider]

bastard's box more like bastard's Ball