#i wish there was a third arc where she was the antagonist but alas…

[peachiseas]

“How dare they insinuate that I, a perfect echo, do not have this right?”

Drew my lil headcanon design of Echo/Null Zelda… this scene was so cool-

[catgirl-catboy]

I agree with you. And you called me good friend, I'm honoured.

Kokichi as a character both fascinating and quite.. half baked if the intention was Nagito. His only compared to Nagito thing was fucking chapter 4 but it was just the fanon interpretation of Ougoku dynamic which is meh, he isnt even the scarier antagonist in the game, Angie despite killed off in the same chapter way too much scarier than him as an antagonist. Wish she would be the main antagonist if you want to continue the Nagito legacy, she would be very scary antagonist and major threat like Nagito does.

I love Ouma to death, he is fascinating but as an antagonist who often compared with Nagito he lack the threatening aura he had.

But I want to get back to the topic why Komahina works but Saiouma doesn't;

1- Shuichi as a character is quite tricky. Hajime definitely needs Nagito to the get the arc he does, I do not think Shuichi needs Kokichi like that.

2- The overdone effect. Like they tried to milk the dynamic they create but well this is the first truth vs lies introduction. They couldnt work the same

3- The plot twist in drv3 doesn't even make them great foils because the truth doesn't exist in this game.

4- Ougoku exists. Thanks

You've talked about Danganronpa with me so much I'd tell you where I hid the body, but alas I have done nothing wrong. ;-; The closest you can get to dirt is my Danganronpa OCs!

I hate fanon Ougoku so fucking much. Its like the fandom version of the Tournament Nexus. To whichever translator decided to keep Gonta talking in the third person: hit me up. I have words. :)

I'm going to politely disagree with you that Shuichi's arc would be possible without Kokichi. I feel like compared to characters like Kaede and Kaito, his influence is more passive, but it would definitely be motivating to have someone in your group that you do not trust and do not want to be like.

I'd agree with your take that truth doesn't exist in this game, but I don't think Kodaka would. The fact that Shuichi ends the game looking for truth implies that it's something that exists when you strip away all the lies. Honestly, I'd lean hard into being pro-lie if I were v3, but the game tries to strike a balance so the ending is a weird mix of ambiguity.

Also, the Kokichi and Angie thing, YES! I found a cool fic about it. Do I read every character study on Danganronpa that exists? ...maybe! I'm a comp-sci enjoyer, you know I'm on the web 24/7!

I imagine it'd be like Aleheather from Total Drama. "hey! what are you doing manipulating my friends! Thats MY job"

Honestly, Angie should have been a Kanade figure if you don't want Kokichi being a full villain from the start.

[goutheswimqueen]

thoughts on free! s3? what do you think went wrong/right/what you wish it would’ve went etc

I could quite literally go on FOREVER about season 3 and y’know what you asked for it so I’m just gonna ramble until I feel good about it lmao.

Now first I have to say that I wholeheartedly love season 3 with the deepest passion in my bones. I genuinely didn’t think that we were ever going to GET a season 3 in the first place, so the fact that it exists is just... so meaningful to me as someone whose favorite franchise is Free! and someone whose life was saved by these dumbass swimmers. 

I will say that season 3 isn’t what I wanted from it. I wanted it to be centered on Nagisa, Rei, Gou, Sousuke, Ai, and Momo. I love Haru with my entire being but I really really REALLY wanted to see a series centered on the Iwatobi trio. They’re so underrated and I felt like they were lowkey sidelined in Eternal Summer so I wanted to see them shine and grow together in their third year. But of course Kyoani has just been setting them aside more and more as time has gone on so I feel like that was nothing but a hopeless dream lmao. I have a lot of headcanons and AUs about what went on with everyone who was still in Iwatobi while the rest of the gang was in Tokyo. The little bits that Kyoani gave us of them were beautiful, I will admit. Episode 11 is my FAVORITE episode of season 3. The fact that Rei WON A NATIONAL RACE??? Like, come on. I wish we could’ve seen the work that he put in to even be able to do that in the first place. That moment where he ponders what he’ll be doing after high school really gets to me too because I would love to know what the fuck he and the others are gonna do. I wish we could’ve seen the moments in their third year that led to whatever decisions they will make. I wanted to see the Iwatobi trio go through the absolute wringer together lmao. I wanted angst I wanted to see their journey that led them to where they are now. I wanted to see more of them growing with the new trio too. I wanted to learn more about Gou and Sousuke’s past through their interactions in her third year. If the season was longer I feel like they could’ve had it be half the Iwatobi arc and half the Tokyo arc, y’know what I mean?

Nonetheless, I love season 3 for what it was. I’m so beyond happy that they brought in Asahi, Ikuya, Natsuya, and Nao, you have no idea. The High Speed! characters hold such a special place in my heart. I wish Asahi would’ve had more of an arc/character development though, and I wish Nao was more included. I think Natsuya’s character arc was my favorite of the whole season. Seeing the trash traveling man that he had become and his interactions with Rin and Sousuke really stuck with me for some reason. And that line that he had when he was talking to Ikuya and fucking crying like, “a dream to fight for my strength and pride, plain and simple.” That shit fucked me up bro. We all meme about Natsuya a lot but I feel like there’s a lot of deeper shit there that’s yet to be explored. When we met Ryuuji I was genuinely convinced that he was Ikuya and Natsuya’s father because it would explain a lot about Natsuya’s behavior. A trash dad who wasn’t really there for his family and just kinda fucked off to travel the world training swimmers until he found one that met his expectations? That would’ve added so much to Natsuya and Ikuya’s background stories and their character arcs. Like can you imagine? Natsuya not initially going into professional swimming because the fact that his father LEFT to find a swimmer to train instead of training his own damn son because he didn’t see that potential in him??? Natsuya being inspired by Ikuya to work hard to prove their father wrong??????? Nao punching Ryuuji square in the nose the moment he sees him???????????? A fucking gold mine that Kyoani could’ve dove into, but no he’s related to Shizuru lmao. 

I could go on forever about Natsuya in season 3 cuz I just really, really loved his arc but I’m gonna keep rolling haha. Hiyori was probably the most unexpected thing from season 3 and I just... love him so much. Like his absolute snakey behavior gave me the same chills that that scene of Sousuke pushing Haru against a vending machine in episode 2 of Eternal Summer gave me. I LOVE that shit. The Free! antagonists just keep getting bitchier and bitchier lmao. I also relate to Hiyori on a deeper level. I too have been selfishly protective of my best friends in a way that... really just wasn’t the way to go. Like jeez Hiyori I understand how you feel but maybe let them talk to Ikuya at least once??? Chill with the possessiveness? Idk I know Hiyori is the source of a lot of discourse lol, but that’s just how I feel because of my own similar experiences with myself and others who’ve acted in a similar way. I do wish his beef at the other boys wasn’t solved by just fuckin... swimming with Haru lmfaoooooo. Like I wish they just would’ve added more to his conversation with Ikuya when he asked him to join the relay with him.

I was quite satisfied with Rin’s arc in season 3. It just like, made perfect sense to me I guess lmao. I know he wasn’t there much but I don’t know what else they could or should have done with him, if that makes sense. The fact that his coach is Ai’s uncle is just the best thing ever too lmao.

I was also very happy with Haru’s arc actually!! Seeing how much he has grown makes me feel like a proud mom. Ya boi is tired of the bullshit and the miscommunication haha. Of course I’ll always wish he didn’t go into pro swimming but alas, gotta deal with it I guess. I love his dynamic with Ryuuji and the way that he has dealt with pro swimming though. And his decision to go into the individual medley absolutely made me lose my mind. I didn’t know I needed to see him swim the other strokes until it happened and I just, I loved that so muchhh. 

I alsooooo enjoyed Ikuya’s arc. Seeing someone from your past again like that can 100% have that effect on you. I just kinda wish we understood more about like, why he just randomly faints while swimming sometimes? I feel like they didn’t solidly explain it? Cuz I don’t think it was always from overworking himself. Idk maybe I’m just a dumbass and remembering incorrectly.

Kisumi deserved better. YOU CAN’T TELL ME THIS BOY DOESN’T HAVE UNDERLYING ANGST THAT KYOANI HASN’T DELVED INTO. He gave us that line of “We’ll never make friends like the ones we had back then” and then him worrying about whether or not there was anything he could do to help with the Ikuya situation. This boy feels left out and you can’t tell me otherwise and it is 100% because of the fact that he’s not a swimmer. Someone give this boy a basketball team that he can experience that kind of bond with PLEASE. I AM BEGGING ON MY KNEES!!!

Makoto also deserved better. Like, okay, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved his arc with the kids and Nao and all that. I love his new dream. BUT!!! Kyoani has yet to go into depth with his insecurities with Haru. I’m still not over that damn dream he had on that bus. All we got in season 3 was Makoto’s aNGSTY looks when it came to his relationship with Haru lmao. GIVE MAKOTO A BIGGER ROLE AND A BIGGER ARC DAMMIT. He’s one of the most popular characters I’m surprised his angst hasn’t been touched on more. This dumbass just needs to stop holding things in i SWEAR TO GAWD.

I thought the inclusion of Albert was kinda weird, dunno what the point of him is aside from making Haru shake in his bones. Kinjou is definitely interesting. He scares me lmao, but I am here for that. Give us an antagonist who is just absolutely unhinged at this point LMAO. I have some headcanons about him too but I feel like the new movie coming up is going to crush my dreams soooo yeah.

Isuzu is a goddess. I’m so happy she’s finally here and she has a name and a FACE. We learned that the Mikoshiba bros had a sister before we even knew that Momo existed lmao (Sei mentioned her in a drama cd from season 1). I almost thought they were never going to give her to us but she’s here and she’s beautiful and she’s everything that I wanted her to be. I’m so happy she thinks Gou is cute and that GOU LIKES HER and I just ugh yes thank you so much Kyoani I never expected that we’d actually get this but I’m so happy we have it. I hope she goes to Hidaka Uni and gets to race Haru like she wanted haha. And I’m so happy we got to see her swim! Our first in-anime female swimmer with a name. I love her.

Speaking of FEMALE SWIMMERS. Sighhhhhh.... My biggest disappointment. Aki Yazaki. Where is she? We deserve her!! I promise we do!! She was SUCH an important character in the High Speed! novels and kyoani decided that she just doesn’t exist anymore lmao (biggest reason why I’m not the biggest fan of the Starting Days movie). At this point I’ve lost hope that she’ll ever be included in the anime, and it makes me so sad. I love her so much and there’s so much potential for an amazing beautiful story arc with her if she reunited with the boys. I don’t think we’re going to get a season 4, (the new movie is scaring me making me think it’s the end of the series with the way it’s been advertised...) but if we DID get one I imagine it beginning with Haru walking through a snowy day, huddling close to himself to shelter from the cold, when he passes by a tall figure and catches a glimpse of familiar caramel hair with a loose little braid peeking out from behind one ear and a large scarf that has gotten quite messed up over years of wear and tear, a memory clicks in his mind like a light switch and he stops in his tracks to turn around and let a long forgotten name slip from his lips: “Yazaki Aki?” ... cue opening sequence. LIKE WOULDN’T THAT BE SO AMAZING???????? I WOULD FUCKING SHIT MYSELF OKAY YOU DON’T UNDERSTANDDDD. Aki is one of my favorite characters I’m so mad she wasn’t in season 3. I’m also mad that Satomi Nii wasn’t there either like!!! She would make a great trio with Ikuya and Hiyori that’s all I’m sayinggggg. I would probably start crying if either of them showed up at some point like genuinely I would just be a mess sobbing on the floor. ALSO I FEEL LIKE GOU AND ISUZU WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM LIKE PLS GIVE ME THE GIRLS THAT WE DESERVE!!!

The art style of season 3 was pretty good. The only thing that bothered me about it was how fucking WIDE the characters’ shoulders were sometimes. Especially with the big bois like Makoto and Sousuke. Like please god no stop that. I’m always gonna miss the art style from season 1 tho, the crazy expressions n shit that were there were just too GOOD lmao. I feel like in season 3 they kind of attempted to bring that back but it just wasn’t executed the same and done to the same extent. R.I.P. the comedy from season 1, it will be forever missed.

I love the opening and ending themes, always. So fucking good. I’m so happy all the characters were included in the end theme animation sequence. I’ll never get over Gou and her BEAUTY.

ANYWAYS. Those are my thoughts in the general sense. Idk if I forgot anything because I have so many thoughts that’re all unorganized haha. If anyone wants me to talk in more detail about anything specific I am soooooo down! Thank you for sending in this ask, talking about this show makes me happy hehe.

[thebraxiatelcollection]

Finished the Alternate Universe cycle from the Virgin New Adventures and thought I’d share my thoughts with you all - what a fun set of stories! (Spoilers ahead!)

Bloodheat by Jim Mortimore-5/5 After a run of perfectly serviceable titles, we suddenly erupt into a proper story-arc (for the first time since the original set of NAs) and this first entry is a cracker, positing an alternate universe in which the Silurians apparently unleashed a world-changing virus as a result of the Third Doctor's actions in the original series (although this explanation is rather skimmed over.) There are a couple of wonderfully chilling moments near the start, especially the entry of Jo Grant into the story, and the slow build-up of tension until the war erupts. Alas, the plot structure lets itself down badly at times, notably in the excursion to London that turns out to be merely cover for a different mission just feels wrong, and the utterly ludicrous way Benny gets out of the impossible doomed submarine scenario near the end. But otherwise, everyone is mostly true to character, although this time it is the changed Brigadier and Liz Smith who get to dominate proceedings which they do most effectively. And there's no doubting the excitement of the action sequences. They genuinely do meet that brief of doing things that could never be done on tv (even in NuWho!) whilst barely sacrificing plausibility. Overall then, this is a fine entry in the series. Dimension Riders by Daniel Blythe- 2/5 Not sure how to rate this one. It was okay? Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it. It was slow to start with as it usually is with most vnas but then I started reading my PDF format of the book on my computer and kept swapping between that and the physical copy and it made things easier to read. I didn’t understand the purpose for the villains the Garvond or why the doctor helped to create them. Epsilon Delta was fun to read in some aspects but again felt like Daniel was trying to hard for them to be the master. Once i got going, i ended up finishing it quickly. This isn’t essential on the list of reads. Poor writing and at times Ace and The doctor felt out of character. The Left-Hand Hummingbird by Kate Orman - 5/5 There is a LOT of trigger warnings to go with this book should you wish to read it. TW include: Drug abuse, suicide, body horror and PTSD.  Before I read this, I’d heard a lot of impressive reviews and positive thoughts around it. Therefore, as I always am with fan-favourites, I was reluctant to read, thinking that I would be underwhelmed. I’m very happy to say that I was wrong - the action, the myths, the fantastic character of Cristian. It reminded me of an Aztec, Doctor Who version of something like the DaVinci Code.   Fascinating and complex story. It gets a tad confusing at bits for me, especially with the Aztec god names and Kate manages to create such a wonderful and desperate situation where you truly don’t know what’s going to happen next and you’re wondering how they’re going to get out alive. Also, I love Kate Orman writing for Benny in this. She knows Benny absolutely. 

Conundrum by Steve Lyons- 4/5

I've always enjoyed Steve Lyons stories and he wrote one of my favourite Gallfirey stories so I had high expectations for his novel. It didn't disappoint. Doctor Who is known for breaking the fourth wall and doing wild, whacky ideas and this really did it. It was clever, witty and all about stories within stories which I loved. I got to say, Ace did grind my gears in this one and there were times I felt like hitting her on the head a little, especially to tell her to leave Benny alone but otherwise great stuff :) I love the breaking of the fourth wall. Total Doctor who story!

No Future by Paul Cornell- 4/5

A good romp of a novel! Featuring one of Doctor who's least favourite monsters the Vardans and the conclusion of the alternative reality arc featuring the meddling monk and Artemis! I loved the Benny teaming up with the Brigadier and Benton and Mike Yates and I love how she joined a punk band which is a very Benny thing to do. Also, Romana and the Doctor meeting David Bowie? Paul Cornell, you can't leave us hanging like that! Danny pain got on my nerves a bit, and where he was a razor blade necklace around his neck was stupid af so I was glad he didn't feature too heavily. Also, Ace surprised me in many ways and I glad we got to see her grow towards the end and stray from her terrible attitude from before. But still, Ace pissed me off quite a bit in this book which normally I do love Ace but the way she treated Benny even if it was all part of being undercover was a no go for me.

On top of that, he delivers a genuine character-based story. We finally meet the antagonist who has (theoretically) been behind the whole recent story arc, and even though most fans will have guessed that it was the Meddling Monk, one of the first other Time Lords encountered in the original series, there is room to explore his character properly, and for us to almost sympathise with him (unlike "Epsilon Delta" from The Dimension Riders, who was merely a plot device.) And Bernice (who Cornell originally created) gets her own fifteen minutes of fame too. But this story is all about Ace. And it delivers in spades. Like a good whodunnit, all the clues are hidden in plain sight, so that when the showdown finally takes place, it all works even though it still seems properly surprising. And she gets proper closure to the story that Cornell himself started back in Love and War.

[mediaeval-muse]

Video Game Review: Assassin’s Creed Revelations (Ubisoft, 2011)

Genres: action-adventure, third person, open world

Premise: Ezio Auditore travels to Constantinople to unlock the secret of Altaïr's vault in Masyaf, battling Templars who also want the vault’s contents. In the present day, Desmond Miles is trapped in the Animus and must find a "synch nexus", a key memory that links him with Altaïr and Ezio, to reintegrate his splintered subconscious and awaken from his coma.

Platform Played On: PC (Windows)

Rating: 3/5 stars

***Full review under the cut.***

I am evaluating this game based on four key aspects: story, characters, gameplay, and visuals. I will not be evaluating the multiplayer mode because I don’t like playing video games with other people.

Content Warnings: violence, blood

Story: The main premise of Revelations’ story is that, following the end of Brotherhood, Desmond has fallen into a coma. The stress of being controlled by Juno has splintered his subconscious, so in an effort to save his life, Rebecca Crane and a mysterious figure have placed him back in the Animus. In order to repair his mind and escape, Desmond must “play out” the remainder of Ezio’s memories, so he follows his ancestor as he travels to Masyaf in search of Altaïr's vault, which requires five “keys” to open. These keys have been hidden around Constantinople, and Ezio must race against the Templars during the political conflict between Şehzade Ahmet and Selim I.

Desmond’s plot follows a somewhat natural progression. Though I missed his interactions with the Assassin team, it makes sense that his next big adventure would involve being trapped in the Animus and learning more from Subject 16. I liked that gameplay in Ezio’s world unlocked some puzzles in Desmond’s world (even though he’s trapped in the Animus, he inhabits a little island where he can be himself) and that these puzzles told us more about Desmond’s past. I did not think, however, that Desmond’s past was related in a compelling way. Most of it is told to us through Desmond monologuing as the player completes puzzles that are somewhat reminiscent of Portal. I thought Desmond’s past could have been done better, perhaps by having flashback scenes like how Altair’s past is related.

Ezio’s plot felt like it was lacking, and I think the reason is that the past 3 games have focused on finding and controlling the Apple/Piece of Eden, whereas this game is about opening a vault/library.  Ezio’s story also lacks a strong antagonist to tie things together; instead of battling the Borgias, Ezio is competing with general “Templars,” and even though there are some prominent Templar figures, none of them had “stage presence” like Cesare Borgia did. Though I liked the political backdrop, I think Ezio himself was ill-suited for it. It sort of feels like the creators wanted to extend Ezio’s story rather than start something new with a protagonist who was more connected to the setting, and though recovering Altair’s library is a fun goal, I think the story should have revolved around someone who grew up in the region.

I did like that we got to delve a little deeper into Altair’s past and learn more about him. Unless you play the portable Assassin’s Creed games, you don’t get to learn much about what happened to Altair in ACII and Brotherhood, so it was nice to see some exploration of his life in a game that was centered on uncovering his work.

Characters: Ezio, our protagonist and player-controlled character, is a little older in this game, and while he’s still likable, he’s much more serious and down-to-business. I’m a bit torn as to whether his demeanor fits the setting of the game - on the one hand, I loved that the European character wasn’t presented as someone who comes to the Middle East and takes charge. Ezio definitely has much to learn, and his skills are seen as having value without being superior. On the other, I do wish the protagonist had been someone who lived in the area - I got the feeling that Ezio was made the protagonist because of his popularity rather than his suitability for the setting, and while I appreciate that Revelations closed out his arc, I don’t really think it was needed.

The major supporting character in this game is Yusuf Tazim, leader of the Turkish Assassin Order. He shows Ezio around and provides much-needed instructions and lore, and he’s incredibly charismatic and personable. Ezio also encounters historical figures such as Manuel Palaiologos and the future Suleiman the Magnificent, which were fun treats for history enthusiasts, but not extremely commanding personalities. Instead of courtesans appearing throughout the city, there are Romani people seen hanging about, and though I liked that they were included and talked about their oppression, I do think their visual design and function during gameplay were somewhat stereotypical.

Ezio furthermore gets a real love interest in this game in the form of Sofia Sartor, an Italian traveler and book collector who helps him locate the keys. I thought the interactions with her were sweet, but she was a kind of damsel in distress and she didn’t have much personality other than liking books for a large part of the game.

Desmond, for his part, doesn’t get a lot to do, despite this game being about reconstructing his psyche and digging into his past. I liked that we learned more about him, but I do wish the stakes of being trapped in the Animus were higher.

Gameplay: Revelations uses almost all of the same mechanics as Brotherhood. There are armor and weapon upgrades, treasure stashes, upgrades to the city of Constantinople (which stimulates the economy and earns the player more money), etc. Art merchants are replaced with book merchants, so instead of buying paintings, players can purchase codices, but functionally, they were the same. Similarly, instead of freeing areas from Borgia influence, players liberate “Templar dens” and turn them into “Assassin dens,” and while they’re thematically different from the Borgia towers, they’re functionally the same. Players complete assassination missions in which you kill the captain of the guard responsible for overseeing the Templar den, but instead of blowing it up, you trick your enemy by signaling Templar retreat, allowing the Assassins to move in and take over the area. You can also recruit assassins and make use of thieves, mercenaries, and courtesans much the same way as in Brotherhood, though courtesans are replaced by Romani people. There was a moment in Sequence 2 when Ezio had to defend the Assassin safehouse from a Templar attack, and gameplay involved placing barricades, commanders, archers, riflemen, and cannon fire. while balancing morale and damage. I kind of liked the strategy involved and it could have been an interesting mechanic for the rest of the Templar dens/Assassin safehouses, but alas, this moment only occurred the one time unless you’re not paying attention to your infamy meter (which was easy to take care of).

The major weapon upgrade in this game is the introduction of the hook blade and various types of bombs. Bombs ranged from simple noisemakers, to stink bombs, mild explosives, smoke screens, and other useful ranged attacks, while the hook blade enabled faster climbing as well as traveling along zip lines. These weapons were fun, but because so much of the other gameplay was the same as in Brotherhood, they felt like cosmetic patches to an otherwise repetitive gameplay experience.

Visuals: As always, I adored the look of the historical setting. The artists and developers beautifully rendered Constantinople, and I loved seeing more rich colors and details on the buildings and clothing of NPCs than when playing as Altair in the first Assassin’s Creed. I also really loved the look of Ezio’s armor, which forwent the classic white and red palette and opted for a more somber grey. The grey blended with the surroundings a bit better, in my opinion.

What really threw me off was that the facial models for some of the returning characters were altered. Both Ezio’s and Desmond’s face shapes are a little different from how they appear in Brotherhood, and though I do not doubt the change was in service to testing out advancements in graphics, I couldn’t quite shake the uncanny valley vibe.

Animations were up and down; upon starting this game, I encountered a horrible glitch that made the screen flicker and movement impossible, but luckily, I was able to fix it easily using instructions from other players who had the bug. There were some really satisfying combat animations, including finishing moves that upped the level of Ezio’s epic skills, but sometimes they lagged or a bug would make them not connect to an opponent. While not the end of the world, it was noticeable and sometimes took me out of the immersion experience.

Final Verdict: Despite repeating much of the gameplay from Brotherhood and unnecessarily extending Ezio’s story, Revelations presents a beautiful atmosphere and fun adventure to unlock some much-desired background to Altair’s narrative.

[ultraericthered]

Underrated Bad Guy Blurbs - The Regans

This time, I’m talking Eliza and Neil Regan (or Legan). AKA, two of the characters that make Candy Candy worth watching whenever they’re in an episode.

- The writing for these two in the anime...is not the best. The first arc that features them as frequent antagonists early in the series is based on the first of the three original Candy Candy novels, where they’re at first depicted as devil children because that’s exactly what they come off as to Candy’s perspective, only for them to devolve into just being bratty spoiled rich kids who barely have lives beyond cruel pranks ‘cause that’s what they really were all along. Their portrayal is fairly two dimensional in a way similar to Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter series prior to Book 6, it’s kind of just what you’d expect of kids from a rich elitist family. Then they reappear in the St. Paul’s Boarding School arc, where they evolve into the main antagonists, particularly Eliza, who turns into an extra cruel, spiteful, Machiavellian bitch. But after that, the anime forgets about them until they start shoving them into anime-original story arcs that weren’t lifted from the source material. This in theory should give the writers a lot of freedom and room to do interesting things with them and maybe add more depth and dimension to their characters..BUT they didn’t do that. If anything, they made the characters even flatter and more cartoonishly evil, using them for some cheap, easy conflict whenever life wasn’t beating poor Candy down hard enough. By the time the show finally got the final arc where the Regan family took their final stand against Candy and Neil in particular was acting as an insufferable Nice Guy stalker towards her, there was no chance they’d come out of this story as characters who mattered to anything other than drama. And this turns out to be true to the point where there is literally no on-screen resolution for their part in the story. No closure, no comeuppance, no burying the hatchet, no nothing. So yeah, they’re just nothing by the end.

- So while watching Eliza and Neil is usually a strictly “So Bad, They’re Good” affair, there are some glimmers of actual competent writing and humanizing characterization for them here and there, mainly in the first 50 episodes that cover the first two novels. Never are they ever portrayed as good people, but they are portrayed as at least semi-believable people. Well, when they’re not being written as one note cartoon villains that is, which is frequent, but fun. 

- Eliza in particular has notable fleeting moments of showcasing humanizing qualities. Aside from her friendship with Anthony and the crush on Terry she develops, she’s friends with Beta Bitch Louise, to the point of having practice dances with her, she’s a BAMF when put under pressure, she’s averse to the idea of murder, she perceives things differently as to not place blame on herself for anything that blows up in her face, the horrors of war unsettle even her, and can even sometimes do the right thing even if for the wrong reasons. And she and Candy even seem to have an unspoken sort of twisted affinity towards each other due to their many encounters and shared experiences with each other. This might be a carryover from the third novel, where Eliza actually ceased to be an active tormentor of Candy following St Paul and became just this bitchy side character whose few interactions with Candy call to mind how Harry and Draco interact post-Book 7. I wish the anime had gone all out with that instead of resorting to always writing and using her as a one dimensional bully but alas, it didn’t. 

- Neil is as campy and cartoonishly villainous as his sister, and also super irritating right down to his voice, but what’s interesting about him is that not only is he as awful human being as his mother and sister, but when he acts of his own accord, he is consistently a lot worse than his sister despite being the Beta Sibling between the two of them. He’s a spineless coward and a louse, but when emboldened or pushed to it, he goes to lengths that make Eliza looks soft in comparison. The worst thing Eliza ever did on her own was the whole business with the hospital that led to Neil playing loan shark. All of her other solo acts of evil were really just stuff that mean kids tend to do and those tended to be less awful than her acts shared with her brother and/or their mother. Neil, however, is a nightmare when left to his own devices.

- If Candy Candy was ever rebooted (slim to none chance of that happening since the creators resent the series now), I’d love if it went the full Voltron: Legendary Defender route in modernizing the storytelling and characterizations. Eliza and Neil could be two halves of a full Prince Lotor - Eliza being the scheming strategist with a charming facade (making her more like Rosemary, really) and Neil being the one with the romantic attraction to Candy, which like VLD Allura and Lotor in contrast to their original incarnations, Candy would actually start to return the attraction only for him to end up betraying her trust and feelings. There’d be more depth and development of both their characters and their family background, we’d have some redemption for Eliza by the end, and a semi-redemption for Neil too. I even have an image for how their designs might look in the Studio Mir art style:

[themattress]

Pokeani: The Evolution of the Villains

In the original Pokemon video games, the villains were Team Rocket, a criminal organization of thugs led by mafioso Giovanni who used Pokemon for profit and, in Giovanni’s case, attempted world domination.  Their actions made the plot exciting, but their personalities were anything but - they were all the most generic of bad guys who were evil for the hell of it.

In making Pokemon: Indigo League, Takeshi Shudo naturally avoided doing the same thing. Instead, he kept Giovanni as a shadowy, distant force up until the last third of the saga where he came into play as the major antagonist of the Mewtwo arc, giving him more charismatic style and personality than he had in the games and even providing him with a backstory. The central villains of the show, in the meantime, were a duo of original creations within Team Rocket, Jessie and James, along with their talking Meowth companion.  They ended up being very complex characters, running the gauntlet from being sinister, efficient and unlikable to being funny, incompetent and lovable, and somehow it all gelled together perfectly in a set of three-dimensional personalities.  They even each had their own sad backstories explaining just how and why they came to join Team Rocket and why they are so loyal to their cause.

Occasionally, there would be other villains too: Sabrina the psychic and psychotic Gym Leader of Saffron City, Daario the cheating racer, Keith the young con artist, and even another Team Rocket duo, Butch and Cassidy, who served as rivals to Jessie and James.

When the Johto Saga (Pokemon the Series: Gold and Silver) came along, the usual Team Rocket trio, while still endearing, were beginning to wear out their villain cred, becoming totally harmless and much more predictable due to the new episodic formula that had been established.  Shudo wanted to make a new story arc centered around Celebi that would have brought Giovanni back into prominence and potentially new Team Rocket agents along with him, but it was not to be, so he instead made a special concluding the Mewtwo arc which included a particularly cool new Team Rocket operative named Domino at Giovanni’s side. The anime also introduced a new set of silver-uniformed Rockets - the solitary Tyson and the duo of Atilla and Hun, all serving under the sociopathic Professor Sebastian. These villains would have been great lead antagonists for a story arc, but instead they only briefly appeared and then never showed up again, the threat they posed never being resolved to the point where one of the Pokemon movies showed that they were still at large in its opening scene.

In Advanced Generation (Pokemon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire), the show adapted Team Aqua and Team Magma from the current games and their storyline. The problem was that there was absolutely no passion in doing so. Usually we only ever got to see Aqua Admin Shelly and Magma Admin Tabitha, who were cool but not particularly well-characterized, and the leaders, Archie and Maxie, literally only appeared in the two-part finale of the arc, which meant that they had no memorable presence whatsoever. None of the other occasional villains were interesting either, and the Team Rocket trio now officially sucked as villains.

Diamond/Pearl (Pokemon the Series: Diamond and Pearl) attempted to do better.  Not with Team Rocket, they sucked ever harder now, but with the other villains. Team Galactic had more effort put into them and their story arc than Aqua and Magma did, and while all save for Charon were mischaracterized when compared to their game counterparts, it was at least some form of characterization. Less excusable was the group’s goal, which was just to destroy the world and make a new one for only them to be in, with the leader Cyrus actually wanting a new world for only him to be in. This is a severe misrepresentation of what their goal was in the games, which was far more altruistic and truly done for what they saw as for the good of everyone. The anime’s version is more like Team Flare in the XY games. And their three-part finale ended in a massive anticlimax, as there’s not even a semblance of a final battle, Dialga and Palkia are freed easily, Cyrus essentially kills himself, and the total destruction of Sinnoh is literally prevented by Ash, Dawn and Brock praying really hard.

Then there was Pokemon Hunter J, a recurring villain who got attention due to how purely evil and shockingly violent she was for the anime, putting Pokemon through some heavy torture and routinely trying to kill the child heroes - at one point, she set fire to an entire forest in order to burn alive all the people and Pokemon that were in it!  She was so vile that she even got killed off in her final appearance, her airship sinking and then exploding! Damn!

The only major problem with this villain is that she was an absolute waste of potential. In a 191 episode series, Hunter J only showed up in 7 episodes - two of them being a two-part story and two others being the first two parts of a three-part story, so really she only showed up five times in total.  There was no excuse for this - Hunter J was not in the games, she didn’t have a single evil plot to adapt, she was purely the writers’ creation and they were free to use her as much as they wanted.  She could have made a great Big Bad-type figure for the DP series, but instead, she disappeared for such a long stretch of time between her third and fourth appearances that it was pretty easy to forget she existed. Worse still, her final appearance and death happened as part of the Team Galactic arc finale, and was treated as just a footnote.  Ash, Dawn and Brock were not even present to see it happen, and nobody ever talks about it afterward. This was an absolutely criminal waste of a good, well, criminal.

Like with many things, I believe that Best Wishes (Pokemon the Series: Black and White) was where a big, important turnaround was made. First off, the Team Rocket trio received a promotion and new militaristic training in order to become a serious, competent threat and a bigger force within their organization - still the central villains as always but now operating on the scale that Aqua, Magma and Galactic did previously.  As such, the writers ended up discovering something important, something that even Takeshi Shudo never grasped: you don’t need Team Rocket in every episode, nor do you need them in a major role if they’re in one. They now got to sit many episodes out, or they appeared in episodes for just a few scenes (sometimes even just one scene) where they made some small advancement in their current overarching plan. After so many years, a little Team Rocket can go a long way, and spacing out their appearances this way was something that was desperately needed. 

Team Rocket’s story arc of attempted Unova conquest went through five different major operations: the mission to secure the Meteonite and combine it with Dream Energy to produce a threatening new energy flow, the mission to steal all the Pokemon from the Nimbasa City Pokemon Center and escape through the subway system, the mission to draw out the Weather Trio on Milos Island and capture them, the mission to resurrect a Pokemon fossil and use the revived Pokemon to open the Time Gate into the ancient past at Twist Mountain, and the biggest mission of all, “Operation Tempest”, to record Meloetta’s song and then capture it in order to unlock the Reveal Glass of Abyssal Temple that would grant Giovanni control over the Weather Trio. All of these were engaging and you could see a slow advancement of Team Rocket’s presence in Unova as a whole through each one, particularly due to the continuous presence of Giovanni and/or the stand-in Big Bad figure of Dr. Zager.

The evil team from the games, Team Plasma, didn’t fare quite so well. Intended to be a running presence through the show’s Myth Arc, the combination of an unexpected natural disaster and an unexpected development of sequels rather than a third, special edition of the games caused these plans to change, so Team Plasma only showed up as the villains of a 14-episode story arc after the Unova League, in their less ambiguous B2/W2 incarnations. The stories of the original B/W and B2/W2 were hastily cobbled together, and the team leader Ghetsis had an even more minimal presence than Cyrus did, being outshone by the more active Dr. Colress. With that said, the story wasn’t a bad one at all (it got especially good in its second half), Team Plasma was effective as a threat, and Colress was an excellent villain, maintaining his science-obsessed amorality from the games while having a hammier edge. 

For the first two years of XY (Pokemon the Series: XY), there wasn’t much to talk about in the way of villains - various one-shot villains weren’t the worst but nor were they the best, and Team Rocket was schizophrenic: they still kept out of many episodes but were still in more than they needed to be, and sometimes they were competent threats ala BW while other times they were harmless villains ala AG/DP.  The most intriguing villainous presence was Lysandre in the Mega Evolution specials, because he wasn’t portrayed as a villain, and thus gradually and successfully began to manipulate the hero Alain over to his side, and there was definitely the sense that he had big plans for Kalos that he was slowly but surely advancing.

In the third and final year, XY&Z, we got the payoff. Team Flare, the secret criminal subsidiary of Lysandre Labs, launched a plan to capture an infant Zygarde and use scientific means (chiefly Mega Evolution energy that Alain obtained for them) to forcibly alter the state of its being and its powers. This resulted in an explosive, action-packed five-part climax immediately following the Kalos League, and Lysandre secured his place as being on par with Giovanni as the best major villain the Pokeani has ever had. His backstory, motivations and the tragic nature of his villainy was maintained from the games, but the forced sympathy other characters tried to get the players to feel for him was excised in favor of emphasizing just how far gone he truly is. And in the end, he actually gets killed off, falling headfirst into an explosion and being vaporized. It was a suitably epic conclusion to a truly epic villain.

Team Flare had the best regional evil team villain arc to date, with none of the issues that plagued Aqua/Magma, Galactic and Plasma to be found. They were also portrayed better than they were in the games - coldly scientific and believing that they were doing things for the greater good - basically, the anime swapped them and Team Galactic around in terms of characterization.  My only minor quibble with their arc would be that it’s pretty obvious that head writer Tomioka tried to fit in stuff from B/W Team Plasma that he never got to do in the BW series: the evil team attacking right after the League transpires is straight out of B/W’s climax, and sometimes you might as well call Alain and Lysandre “N and Ghetsis.” Also, saving it all for the third year in preparation for the expected Z game ended up pointless, there was no such game.  Other than that, the writers did an unexpectedly excellent job.

With Sun and Moon (Pokemon the Series: Sun and Moon), Team Rocket has undergone a major return to form. Like in BW, they have a new status quo with new supporting characters (Mimikyu, Bewear and Mareanie all feel like unique individuals in their own right, and even Wobbufet feels like a character again and not a cheap joke dispenser) and a higher level of competence than usual, plus no more “blasting off” (thank you, Bewear!)  But unlike BW, where their personalities were flattened into serious professionals in order for their villainous arc to work, this time around their personalities have been brought back to how they were in the Original Series!  They’re not the exaggerated caricatures they were for most of AG and DP, nor the interchangeable zany lunatics they were for most of XY - they’re the three-dimensional characters they were when Takeshi Shudo was around, which is something I never thought would ever happen.  I seriously feel like a kid again when watching them now!

Beyond them, we have Team Skull, represented in the trio of Tupp, Rapp and Zipp who, true to the games, are even sillier and less competent than Team Rocket ever was, and the two trios share an entertaining dynamic as respectful rivals.  And in the Nebby arc, we get Aether Foundation Branch Chief Faba, a self-serving weasel who is usually pretty humorous but can occasionally be pretty twisted and despicable.  He also has a great dynamic with Team Rocket, which may lead to some interesting things down the road if the US/UM games are of any indication. A source of contention is that he replaces the human Big Bad of the games, Aether Foundation President Lusamine, in the role, and Lusamine is portrayed as a good person instead. While that kind of sucks, thanks to Faba’s meddling it looks like we’ll be seeing Lusamine in an antagonistic role yet, even if not a truly evil one of her own choice.

In short, the Pokeani started off good with its villains, got increasingly bad with them, but recently has gotten back on track with them. Who knows what the future will bring?  I don’t know, but personally I’m holding out hope that we’ll find gold at the end of the rainbow.

[irraydiance]

1. No specific fandom, do whatever you feel like 2. I just really like salt, you don't have to do all of them if you don't want to

It’s cool anon, I’m just pulling your leg. All in good fun!

I’ll stick to Assassination Classroom because it’d probably be too much salt if it was a fandom free-for-all.

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?*

I see why people ship Karma with Asano – it’s the same reason people ship rival pairs, which is something I don’t get – but to me, they’re always going to be the rivals who find one another insufferable and don’t get along. It’s a personality clash as I think they’re fundamentally different people.

2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?*

Karma/Nagisa and even then, their friendship is just kind of…”meh” to me now. In the past, I would’ve called it a BroTP of mine but I’m just indifferent now. Yeah, they’re close and there was that schism/survival game arc and all – I recognize that, but I’m just tired of seeing it everywhere even when it’s actually presented as strictly friendship.

I’d rather read about the Nagisa/Sugino BroTP to be honest. Or better yet, the Karma/Sugino BroTP. Hell, give me some Sugino/Kayano friendship.

3. Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?

No, but that might also be because I generally only follow fandom-specific blogs. I also only follow one AC blog, so…

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?*

Yes, I have a NoTP – it’s Karma/Nagisa, and yes, it’s the goddamn most popular pairing in the fandom no matter which side of the world you’re on. Just my fucking luck, right?

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?*

A pairing that I actually liked? No. A pairing I was indifferent to at first? Yes.

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?*

Hahaha. No.

If I hated it to begin with, then I probably had a solid reason as to why, and my opinion wouldn’t change so easily.

7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?*

Not a one.

8. Have you received anon hate? What about?*

Never. That might change after this. But I did get an annoyed anon one time when I said Karma and Nakamura aren’t actually close. They were actually pretty civil though so no offense taken. I never heard back from anon but I hope they read my response!

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why?

Takaoka, probably… Yanagisawa was a scumbag but as a villain, Takaoka was more annoying as far as motives go. Like a goddamn cockroach, he just won’t go away (see: Karasuma’s 2-page manga in Grad Album Time). He also felt like a cartoon villain…but I can’t complain too much as the target demographic for AssClass definitely skewed younger.

There aren’t really any characters in the series whose guts I absolutely hated though.

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

Oh hell. The space arc right after the schism/survival game arc. Yeah, it’s AssClass we’re talking about, but I can only suspend my disbelief so much. Also, the lull in-between that arc and the final arc where nothing really happened was kind of a chore to read. It was the calm before the storm, but not much happened.

11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

The fandom doesn’t hate him as far as I know, but Sugino doesn’t get nearly as much love as anyone that isn’t a member of Utatan, Nakamura, or Asano. Is it because he’s just a regular nice guy and people think that’s boring? Because he’s super ordinary and apparently heterosexual? I guess that’s Tumblr’s least favourite combination.

I’m kidding. Don’t kill me.

12. Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

I don’t know if it’s unpopular but I enjoyed the baseball arc with Sugino. He’s just very likable to me. The themes of friendship and teamwork were recycled constantly, like in the sports festival (Isogai’s) arc and the culmination of Karma’s character development in the second semester finals, but it really began with Sugino’s baseball arc, and to me, that one really exemplified the themes best out of them all. They felt like a real rag-tag group of guys working toward a goal together.

13. Unpopular opinion about XXX character?

Karma is not a flirt and he’s not a slave to his hormones.

Stop writing him this way.

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

Outside of the Ace Attorney fandom, I’ve never been in a fandom that hates on het pairings so much. I’ve seen all the common ones insulted and just trashed in general for the most inane reasons, and the Nagisa/Kayano ship has it the absolute worst, but I digress. The only het pairing people don’t seem to shit on is Chiba/Hayami – probably because they mostly only ever interact with one another. Go figure.

Also, this is a thing in every fandom, but seriously, you’ll have two characters interact, and even if it’s a completely regular conversation, people suddenly just start shipping it. It’s like people will ship any character with another character as long as they have even some kind of small connection. “These characters hate each other? Yeah, let’s ship ‘em.” “This character complimented this other character in an offhanded way but they have no other interactions? Yeah, I ship it.”

I’m not saying “stop having fun, guys,” but it’s a mentality I don’t follow.

15. Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?

Some of the villains felt a little too cartoon-y/flat for my tastes, like Takaoka, but as I said earlier, I think AssClass skewed younger despite such a focus on assassination and the entire nature of “killing” – most of the time, not literally, of course. They had basically zero redeeming qualities as opposed to antagonists like the Asanos, who were ultimately sympathetic, or even Korosensei’s apprentice.

16. If you could change anything in the manga/show, what would you change?

I’m terrible with these questions. My biggest complaint is that in a series with loads and loads of characters, most of them didn’t even get fleshed out so I really would’ve preferred there to be more alternate points of view – make it really feel like an ensemble cast because outside of maybe 2-3 characters, the rest of them only ever got one-and-done chapters. There are so many characters that I wish got more time in the spotlight, but alas.No offense to Nagisa and his fans – I like Nagisa, but especially in the second half of the story, it just felt like the scope narrowed way too much on him and/or Karma when Class E is actually supposed to be treated as a single entity where everyone feels equally important. Kind of like in the problem Karma solved for the final exam.

17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

I wouldn’t have had Kayano die only to be brought back to life right after. I get that it was a parallel with Korosensei not being able to save Aguri, and now being able to save her sister Kayano. Still, the whole she’s dead lol psyche! angle went beyond cheating death; Kayano straight up died and got revived.

At the same time, in the entire series where they had a death fakeout like what we got with Lovro, if Kayano ended up being the only one killed off for real, I would’ve been upset.

So I would’ve not had that happen at all. I would’ve settled for Kayano getting hurt, or being about to get hurt when she tried to help only to have Korosensei cover for her, but not have her literally dying.

18. Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?

Whether you ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ a pairing is down to preference.

There are plenty of pairings in other series that have strong evidence behind them and even then, there will be a handful of people from the more popular ship that twist facts to suit their narratives because they don’t like opposing pairings. They’ll even bend fiction into fact to deny actual facts. That’s being biased, but I can’t even say these people are “in denial” because a lot of those people honestly do believe they’re 100% right. Even if you throw a fact in their face, they have some kind of warped excuse ready.

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

Obnoxious, toxic shippers.

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom?

You’d think that on a salty ask list, the question would be what the most vile ship is, not the purest one.

Come on, guys. Karma/Okuda is obviously the purest. Sarcasm aside, I really do think Karma/Okuda is the purest. It’s very sweet and genuine. The very guarded Karma can completely drop his walls and open his heart to Okuda and in turn, she watches out for Karma and really wants what’s best for him.

Putting aside the deadly pranks they can unleash on others, Karma and Okuda’s relationship is definitely pure.

21. What are your thoughts on crack ships?

I don’t mind crack ships at all but I would prefer that there’s something logical that connects the characters involved, even if it’s a crack ship.

22. Popular character you hate?

I don’t hate any of the popular characters, but I find that I’m much more mild about Nakamura than a lot of people in this fandom. I like her, but clearly not as much as everyone else.

23. Unpopular character you love?

Sugino is one of my favourites. No love from the fandom, sadly.

He’s referred to as Nagisa’s “best friend” by official material but it seems the fandom completely buries this. He’s always written off as a goddamn third wheel to Karma and Nagisa no matter if it’s shippy or just platonic and that’s such a pet peeve of mine. Official material indicates that Nagisa/Sugino/Karma get along well as a trio, but noooo, fandom seems to have this perception that Karma and Sugino only see one other as a friend-of-a-friend (Nagisa).

I feel that they might not have been friends if not for Nagisa, but after they got to know each other, Karma and Sugino would still be good friends even if Nagisa’s not around.

24. Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not?

I’ll say yes. For a weekly Jump series, AssClass is a lot more off the wall compared to the usual stuff, but it has your standard life lessons/morals for not just kids, but anyone. Plus it’s short and sweet at ~180 chapters.

25. How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX?

I wouldn’t change the ending. Korosensei had to die or else it would cheapen the meaning of the story.

26. Most shippable character?

The fandom would say it’s Karma, but I will say it’s someone with a welcoming and adaptable personality like Sugino. Isogai works too.

27. Least shippable character?

Outside of actual villains, probably Asano. This isn’t meant as an insult, but it’s hard to find a match for him because of his personality.

I didn’t have great answers, but I tried, lol.