#i would not usually give anime of the season to a series in its second cour

[crehador]

hey what the fuck did they put in slf ep18

that was like. sincerely. without exaggeration. easily one of the best fight scenes i've seen in years. maybe one of the best i've seen ever. what started as "oh silly vrmmo show but looks pretty good" has gotten better and better, week after week, to the point where i can hardly believe how good it is

the animation was downright stellar in ep18, but the whole wethermon fight was excellent to me. i feel like i can say i watch A Lot of battle anime, and this was seriously among the best of the best. from start to finish the energy just never faltered (and the build-up in terms of lore was basically flawless too)

i'm just. completely blown away by how i had no expectations whatsoever for this series and it's quickly turned into one of my favorites of this (and last) season. it is silly, sure, but it is gripping! it doesn't take itself too seriously, but it's earnest in a way that just works so well

like the return of the stupid bird mask? epic fucking moment. even though it is objectively a silly ass map, it was such a !!!!!!!!! hype sequence when it returned. kickass nonsense is the best way i can think of to describe it. like sure it's nonsense, but it absolutely kicks ass

really really really hoping for another season now, 25 episodes won't be nearly enough

[epickiya722]

I love the teaser image we got for the Culling Games Arc for season 3. I know, I know! It's just a teaser image but I saw it and immediately felt so much meaning behind it. So I'm gonna ramble here, you don't have to read this. I just had thoughts that's been plaguing me for days now.

First, I want to point out that the scene is actually from 138 is added here at the bottom.

It was actually a scene I was looking forward to for the end of season 2. However, they cut it out and skipped right to Yuji clapping to bait the Curses. I was a little disappointed, I won't lie, but I got over it really quickly in two seconds since I figured that transferring it to maybe the beginning of season 3 would be better.

Wouldn't be the first time MAPPA moved a scene (the first half of episode 6 of the second season actually takes place BEFORE the Pre-Hidden Inventory arc in the manga but it still works in the storyline the way it's done in the anime).

Anyways, what I find important about that scene is Yuji being at the point of solidifying himself into a role of a cog and isolating himself from the others. He feels he's a danger to be around, especially to Megumi who he knows at this point Sukuna has plans for.

He says that he's killed too many people, referring to the Shibuya Incident. As we know, Yuji didn't kill all those people. Sukuna is the one responsible. However, Yuji harbors that guilt, feeling he's at fault for a situation he couldn't control.

Visually, the poster gives that. At least, to me. Yuji is alone in the poster, reflecting his self-chosen isolation. He looks defeated here, giving up on himself. It how he feels. Yuji chooses to keep pushing forward, going on to exterminate curses. However, Yuji gives up his connections to the others as well as his former self.

I love that the center piece has Yuji in his (nearly) all-black hoodie outfit. It's a darker version of his usual school uniform which is brighter. He's in mourning of his old self.

This is evident with the colors.

Five colors I think of when it comes to JJK is black, white, purple, red and blue.

The two colors I'm focusing on here are red and black.

『Colors I picked from the poster.』

As I mentioned, Yuji wears a darker version of his school uniform. It's still a hoodie with loose pants, his usual style but black and with just hints of red, the most coming from his signature red shoes.

When you think of black, maybe one of the first things you think of is death. It's the usual color one would wear to a funeral to mourn someone.

Again, back with the mourning here. While I think Yuji is in mourning of his old self, I also believe he mourns the lives lost in Shibuya. Nanami, Nobara (presumably died), the Hasaba Twins and everyone else who had been caught in the crossfire. Deaths he feel guilt over, as mentioned before.

Another meaning for black is misfortune. Yuji thinks of himself that way. A misfortune brought onto others and that's why he chooses isolation.

Oddly enough, Megumi, who Yuji is trying to protect, is also associated the color black. His technique is shadows, his hair is black and part of his family name, "guro (黒)" translates to black.

Taking in account of his first name, Megumi, that means "blessing" and the irony of it, the misfortune meaning of black aligns here.

Now, with the red!

We know it's Yuji's signature color. His hair is pink, a color born between red and white. He wears a red hoodie and a pair of shoes.

Red is often given to the main character of a series because usually they are the big good and it plays into the "red is heroic" trope. And Yuji is definitely heroic. Red also reflects that character as the energetic type. Again, Yuji is that. However, the choice of red for the poster and just with him in general does have its negative meanings.

Let's think about what Gojo's power move, Red does. It repels and like his Blue and Hollow Purple, it's destructive.

Yuji here is doing just that. He's destructive and is also is trying to repel others. The irony though is like Gojo's Blue, he attracts people and even curses.

Let's go for other meanings, specifically negative, for red and how they relate.

Red is also the color typically used to alert for potential danger. Yuji, again, sees himself as a danger to people. As Sukuna's vessel solidifies that feeling. Yet, even before the Shibuya Incident, Yuji while not a violent person and has a sunshine personality, he isn't really gentle all the time. We see even in a flashback (shown later in the story) Yuji will take down bullies with just a punch. With Yuji's fights, we see he goes all out in them. "Hold back" isn't a phrase he doesn't seem too familiar with.

There's the love meaning. I know, love is usually seen as romantic when it comes to red, but red is an universal color and there are different kinds of love. Yuji is someone who holds love in his heart for people. Because of that love, he tends to put himself last, sacrificing his own well-being to protect the people he cares about. He holds love for humanity and sometimes that love leads to him being angry, another meaning for red.

Yuji may not express his rage all the time, but he does have his moments that show he is quick to anger. We see in comedic moments, but that rage of his is also seen in more serious moments. A lot of it being in his fights he has. Unlike other people, Yuji doesn't really express joy when he fights. He has a face of displeasure.

Again, he isn't a violent person, but he will fight.

With fighting, comes with blood. What color is blood? Red, right, right.

And Yuji feels that he has blood on his hands.

So there's that!

The one piece of the image I'm still trying to figure out is the hand on Yuji's chest. I'm not too sure of what's going on here, but I do think it's important.

It reminds me of when Sukuna heals Megumi, which is an action that Yuji does recall in his talk with Choso.

The similarity here could just mean nothing, but maybe it does?

Again, this part I am unsure about, like I can't think of a complete thought of it, but! If I were to say something about it I would say maybe this hand is doing opposite of what Sukuna does. Maybe whoever's hand this is may be harming Yuji.

But it could also be doing the same thing. "Healing" him, which I'm a little more leaning towards thinking about it. I say this because of what the poster is teasing for. The Culling Games.

Long story short, the CG was for sorcerers to strengthen themselves for the ultimate plan Kenjaku had in mind. Yuji is one of the players and throughout it, as he has been, he gets stronger.

With healing you strengthen. Given Kenjaku is responsible for the CG and Yuji (if you know, you know... it's a lot) I wouldn't be surprised if the hand here is meant to be Kenjaku's.

Yuji is could be seen as slumped over here as the hand is holding him up. Which could also mean that the hand could be seen as Choso's. Why? Choso is one of the characters that stick by Yuji's side. He's his big brother and he does influence Yuji's character in some ways, including his growing strength.

Rewinding back to red -> blood. Choso had the Blood Manipulation technique and it's fitting for him because he is someone who holds high value for family, especially for his brothers (Yuji being his youngest). So with that, I also see the hand as being Choso's.

Overall, it's a teaser image, but I love it. I'm not saying that everything I said here is a definite or whatever. Just my interpretation of it and some thoughts I wrote for fun.

[road-rhythm]

I love your SPN fic so much that I think I’d get into any new fandom just to read your fic for it. I notice you write for Critical Role, but I have no idea what this is, where this media is, or how to get into it. Is it something you watch? Something you listen to? Do you think you can give a brief summary of why you like Critical Role and its characters, and how one should go about consuming this media? I’m curious what made you get into this particular media after writing exclusively for SPN so long. I’d love to be able to read and understand your Critical Role fic, so any navigation for how you think this media is best enjoyed would be helpful.

Nonny, you know how to get me. I cannot pass up an excuse to try to get more people to watch (or listen to!) Critical Role.

As Matt Mercer would say:

"Welcome to Critical Role, where a bunch of…nerdy-ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons and Dragons!"

And, well, yep. That's what CR is. It's a stream of professional voice actors playing DND.

You do not need to play DND to enjoy the show. A lot of fans do--hell, a lot of people started playing because of CR--but maybe just as many fans don't.

There is a lot of CR, and a lot about CR. Getting into it for the first time can be overwhelming, so I'm going to try to streamline what I say about it here.*

(Try.)

Where to find

You can watch Critical Role videos on demand on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@criticalrole

Alternatively, you can listen to Critical Role as a podcast. CR is its own podcast now, but you'll find the early episodes under Geek and Sundry's Critical Role, a separate podcast. LMK if you have any issues finding it.

Campaign 1 has also been adapted into an animated series, The Legend of Vox Machina. But for reasons I'll explain below, this post focuses on Campaign 2. An animated series is in development for that, too, but I don't think we have a release date yet. Due to the different medium, there are likely to be substantial differences from the original story, as there are between C1 and LoVM.

Finally, you can find all things Critical Role on the dedicated platform the cast launched last year, Beacon. They do have trial memberships available, but if you're brand-new to the show, checking it out on one of the free outlets probably makes the most sense.

Where to start

There are a lot of Critical Role episodes, and yes, they are long. The average is probably something on the order of 4 hours. If you're reading that and thinking, "No way in hell I ever fuck with that," all I can tell you is, the first time I heard of it, I thought the same thing.

Because CR is a dnd game rather than a scripted show, it's broken up into what are called campaigns instead of seasons. There are 3 so far, usually abbreviated as C1, C2, and C3.

I highly recommend starting with campaign 2 (C2), The Mighty Nein.

>>>>> Watch it on YouTube <<<<<

C2 is where I'd recommend any CR newbie start. For one, C1 picks up in the middle of an ongoing game and had various production issues in its very early days, because it's a project that gradually took shape. But the biggest reason is that the cast intentionally crafted C2 to stand on its own.

The second campaign takes place in the same fantasy world as the first, but on a different continent and 25 years later, with entirely new characters. The cast wanted people to be able to watch it without having seen a single episode of C1, and you can.

And a reason why I would recommend that you, specifically, Nonny, start with C2, is that all of my Critical Role fic is for C2. C2 is my fucking jam. I love the characters, I love the story, I love the setting, I love this stupid fucking show so much oh my god

What it's about

When you've got a show that runs for hundreds of hours per season, there will be a lot of answers to that question. But roughly, and with an intentional emphasis on what draws me to CR given the context of your ask:

Campaign 2 is the story of a disparate group of adventurers who eventually come to call themselves the Mighty Nein. (Mighty Nein--difficult to translate that faithfully from the original Zemnian! Some translators have suggested "the Big Nope"; others, "the Hard Pass." Both have merits.)

The seven members of the party come from different nations, cities, and backgrounds on the fictional continent of Wildemount, but they first converge in a small town in the strict, powerful, and insular Dwendalian Empire. After an adventure there upends what stability some party members once knew, they all decide to stick together.

At first, each is mostly concerned with their own agenda, and traveling with the group is just a convenient way to pursue that. But things begin to shift when the party witnesses a catastrophe they don't understand--something frightening, dangerous, arcane; something for which they have no context--and suddenly the Dwendalian Empire goes to war with its eastern neighbor, the Kryn Dynasty. Borders start locking down, the party find themselves holding a mysterious artifact that powerful people will kill for, and all they know for certain is that what's happening is bigger than they are.

Because it's a dnd game, CR's story is heavily improvised and collaboratively told. That doesn't mean there's no direction or intentionality to it, but it does mean that it's sprawling and expansive and sometimes turns on a dime. I love that about it, personally. As someone who was brand-new to dnd when I got into the show, I cannot express the way my mind got blown. But if you're looking for a tight, crystalline narrative, for sure this is not that. Then again, if you made it through any amount of SPN, that probably is not a deal-breaker for you.

Who it's about

The members of the Mighty Nein are disparate. Some are happy-go-lucky; some are shifty motherfuckers. Some are literal vagrants; some were born to privilege; some come from places with a class system so different that they can't be easily sorted into such boxes; some don't even know where they're from. All of them have a metric fuckton going on under the surface, but it's not always under the surface because they have Big Secrets or even secretive personalities. I mean, sometimes it is that. But sometimes, it's just that they're people.

The character I write the most about is probably Caleb Widogast, the party wizard. Without straying too far into spoilers, here is how Liam O'Brien, Caleb's player, introduces his character in c2e1, "Curious Beginnings":

LIAM: I'm pretty filthy. I have a mess of reddish-brown hair, and really filthy road clothes. I wear a long coat that I slept in. I slept about 20 hours last night. Jeez. Unshaven, a bit of a mess…. It was a rough day yesterday.

Or, as Caleb himself puts it a couple episodes later:

LIAM: I'm a dirty hobo and I reek like yesterday's garbage.

Why is a literal, actual wizard who does literal, actual magic a hobo who sleeps in ditches? Read Watch and find out!

Here's Caleb's starting portrait (level 2):

The character I probably write the second-most about, by a slim margin, is Beauregard Lionett, the party monk. Here's how Marisha Ray, Beau's player, introduces her character in c2e1:

MARISHA: Simple girl, simple needs. Just wearing nice, baggy clothes, some monk vestiges. They're in nice blues and greys. You notice I have a blue sash around my belt. Got a nice shave going on, little undercut. Looks like maybe I put on makeup two days ago, and I'm like, "Yeah, it's still holding up. It's fine. I can work with that."

Why is a literal, actual monk hanging around taverns in two-day-old makeup acting like a shit-kicker? Read Watch and find out!

Here's Beau's starting portrait:

Caleb and Beau have a contentious, complicated, loving, infuriating, brother-sister-like relationship that leads to them sometimes being dubbed the Empire Siblings in fandom and makes me personally insane.

There's another character you may see me write about a lot, too--Essek Thelyss. But Essek is an NPC, and his first appearance isn't until almost 60 episodes in. Since he first appears so far in, I won't get into spoilers. But he is a significant presence in the campaign.

Critical Role is also about the cast having fun. That's an unavoidable, distinctive part of telling a story by playing a game. So everything is happening on (at least) two levels at any given time--in game and out of game. There's a net of relationships and interpersonal dynamics between the characters in the foreground, and a set of cast dynamics and interactions in the background. I'm not very interested in the CR cast beyond the story they're telling, but I still enjoy the vibe, and that is a big part of the draw for me.

CR is also canonically queer as fuck.

And the credit music fucking slaps.

What the fuck is happening why are so many dice rolling what are these numbers oh my God what the fuck

Like I said, you don't have to play dnd to enjoy the show. Here are a few basics I knew going in that I think did help me, and may help you. (If you know this stuff already, apologies.)

The cast consists of 7 players, each of whom plays a single character (PC), and 1 Dungeon Master (DM), who narrates the game and plays all the non-player characters (NPCs) the players encounter.

Characters belong to certain adventuring classes. Each class has different abilities, strengths, limitations, and so forth. Some rely mainly on casting spells, others on physical abilities (in or out of combat).

As the party gains experience and progresses toward its goals, player characters advance in levels. In general, 5e dnd offers player levels from 1 to 20. At level 20, your abilities are near-godlike; at level 1, you might lose a fight to a chicken. Campaign 2 runs from levels 2 to 15.

Much of what happens is determined or influenced by dice rolls. E.g., if a player tells the DM that they want to try to pick a character's pocket, the DM will tell them to roll a die to see if they succeed (and if they get away with it).

Combat is turn-based. If a fight breaks out, everyone involved will roll initiative to determine in what order they act, and then each will take a turn in that order. Combat continues through multiple rounds until the conflict is resolved (which doesn't always mean killing the enemies).

If you're interested, the specific gaming system used is 2014 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons.

Why should I spend a billion hours watching this?

For one thing, it's really good.

For another, you don't have to spend a billion hours watching it. Though I eventually wound up watching most episodes, my first run through the campaign was listening to the podcasts. I don't watch a ton of TV or movies because I am absolute shit at paying attention to anything for that long if I can't move or at least do something with my hands. I first listened to the vast majority of C2 in the car, doing chores, or walking outside. (I also listened on 3x speed, but that's personal preference in how I process audio, generally.)

For another, it has a delightful fandom with, bar none, the most insane volume and variety of fanart I have ever seen. (Some of which people drew for a fic of mine and I still can hardly fucking believe my luck or the sheer amount of talent in this fandom????? what the fuck) Like, be careful of spoilers if you can, but man, oh, man, the hours I spent searching up CR fanart just before bed back when I first got into the show. I'll never be over it.

For another, it's really good.

------------------------------------------------

* Yes, I know I'm leaving out a lot, but this post is already so much longer than I meant for it to be. Please feel free to add things in the comments, but don't come for my ass because I omitted [detail], or [character], or [thing]; I know

† Case in point: yes I know session 0 was a thing but close enough

[x0401x]

Hi! I've only watched the anime for Tsurune and I LOVED the first two seasons but after reading some of your Tsurune posts it got me curious. How different is the anime adaption from the source material? It sounds like an entirely different thing! I really liked the first season, but apparently it was a disaster? In what ways, if you don't mind me asking? Should I read the novels instead? I'm sorry for so many questions or if you've answered these already

Oh.

Oh, holy shit.

This is not the kind of ask I was expecting to get in the year of our lord 2024.

I’ll start by saying that you’re totally right. It sounds like an entirely different thing because the original work and the anime adaptation are, in fact, almost entirely different from each other. If you ever look for reviews of volume 1 on Japanese sites, the comment you’ll see the most from people who also watched the anime is “it’s so different from the novel that it might be best to just view the two as separate stories”. If I had to estimate how much of the novels was actually included into the animation, I would say 5% to 10%. I’m being pretty generous here.

You’re also right about the first season being a disaster. I remember that when I first watched the first episode of S1, by the moment that the series title came up, I immediately thought to myself, “This won’t sell well. 3k DVD copies, give or take”. And turns out I was wrong. It actually sold around 2.7k, which is even worse than what I had predicted. It did so infamously bad that many fans were worried about the second season before it came out, and some people were being rather foul-mouthed about it, which was a shock for me because you don’t usually see Japanese fans not following fandom etiquette. However, there was much more effort put into S2 than S1, thankfully. There’s also the whole thing with the arson attack, which pulled in people’s interest and support for the series. Overall, it did fairly well, I believe. I would never say that S2 does the novel any justice, but it was light years better than S1. That’s something everyone agrees to, even those who enjoyed S1.

Still, though. Even with S2 being far more successful than S1, that’s technically not so big of a deal, considering S1’s tragic underperformance. The series is known here in Japan mostly because of its association with the arson, but not many people are really into it. I would say that it has a niche audience consisting of 1) people who were already fans of KyoAni to begin with, 2) novel readers and 3) people who practice Japanese archery. As for the overseas audience… barely anyone has ever even heard of Tsurune, be it the anime or the novels. Many people who do know the anime have dropped it by S1, and the reason I see being pointed out the most is that it was “boring as hell”.

Other than this, I’ve noticed something in common when reading comments on S2 from Japanese Twitter. One thing people say a lot (and I do mean a lot) is that they didn’t like S1, but after watching S2, they were able to see that “KyoAni was, in fact, taking this franchise seriously”, so they gave it a second chance. This is meant as a compliment, but although it’s not backhanded per se, it’s kind of underhanded. I mean, who wants to be told, “Thank God you got your shit together this time around”? It’s good that S2 changed people’s opinions on the series, but the fact that it had to be changed speaks volumes about what people thought of S1.

Now, as to whether you should just read the novels, I would say yes. It’s literally the only way to know what Tsurune is truly about. But I have to warn you that, if you loved the anime, you might have to prepare yourself to see the things you loved about it either not being in the novel or taking a completely different turn in it. If you’re able to handle that, then by all means, go ahead and give the source material a try. It’s honestly one of the most unique novels I’ve ever read, and I’ve read just about every light novel out there. The depictions of Japanese archery and Zen go way deeper and you’ll learn much more about the characters, so I’m sure you’ll have a fun time!

[jakesuit0]

Season Two Overall Review

In my season one review, I said that it’s not the show I think of when I think of Adventure Time, nor did it make me fall in love with the series. I thought it was good (gave it a B), but rough around the edges. Season two isn’t really an evolution of the series. It’s a much more polished and grounded version of the first season. I still don’t think it's fully found its footing, but the show is much more confident in its identity. The show takes its stories more seriously and they are more streamlined. The characters are less cartoony, with less exaggerated expressions. The climaxes feel like a natural progression of the plot, unlike my biggest criticism of season one: some of the climaxes came out of nowhere. The only exception this season being “Crystals Have Power”. Season one often felt like it was putting absurdity and randomness before the story. Season two takes an absurd concept, like Finn and Jake going to the underworld to retrieve the soul of a plant, or helping a pathetic slug find romance, and commits to telling a traditional three-act story with it. It really increases my investment in the episodes. 

The stories are more creative. Season one often fell into a formula of Finn and Jake helping “minor character x” solve their problem, to mixed results. Season two’s main return to that well is in “Slow Love”, which falls flat. Season two focuses more on the main cast, and the adventures themselves. Finn and Jake go on adventures in much more interesting locations like in “The Other Tarts”, “Guardians of Sunshine”, and “Death in Bloom”. They break away from adventure episodes with more mundane and sitcom-y episodes in “The Eyes”, “Her Parents”, “Go With Me”, and “Video Makers” to great success. Finn and Jake are strong enough characters to not need a wacky plot to carry an episode. Oftentimes, the more mundane, slice-of life stories allow them to shine even more. The season excels at comedy. The humor comes more from how characters would react to a certain situation given their personality, than just non sequiturs that aren’t derived from the story, such as the three funniest episodes of the season, “The Eyes”, “Mystery Train”, and “Heat Signature”. On the other hand, there is an emphasis on raunchiness in episodes like “Storytelling”, “Slow Love”, and “Crystals Have Power”, which usually ended up being more off-putting and creepy than funny. 

Season two gives hints to the true potential of Adventure Time in its best episodes. “Susan Strong” shows how building on the lore of the Land of Ooo can create intrigue and meaningfully impact the characters. “It Came From the Nightosphere” shows how a strong interpersonal character drama can elevate the series to new heights. “Mortal Folly” demonstrates that Adventure Time has the ability to tell a truly epic story that leaves you on the edge of your seat. The second half of the season is also much better than the first half. Almost all of the worst episodes are contained in the first half, whereas the second half only has “Belly of the Beast”. While “It Came From the Nightosphere” and “The Eyes” start the season on an unbelievably strong note, “Storytelling”, “Slow Love”, and “Crystals Have Power” are three of the worst episodes of the season. They come almost back to back, with “Power Animal” being the only good episode breaking them up. The second half has many more of the season’s best episodes, and the episodes in general are more interesting.   

The season shows a clearer interest in continuity, despite being in the background. Marceline has a clear arc running through, “It Came From the Nightosphere” brings back minor characters and locations from season one, we get our first real sequel episode in “Crystals Have Power”, “Mortal Folly” builds on lore established in “His Hero” and contains references to other season one episodes, we get our first two parter, and our first season finale cliffhanger. I thought “Crystals Have Power” handled the continuity sloppily, but in general, it was done well. Season two casually drops important details of the world and characters such as Princess Bubblegum’s first name and the first mention of The Great Mushroom War in a way that feels really satisfying. “It Came From the Nightosphere”, “Susan Strong”, and “Mortal Folly” drop good bits of lore as well. The series feels like it's slowly opening up mysteries begging to be explored.

Finn is a little less juvenile and the show treats him a little more seriously. His hyperactivity is toned down, helping him feel a little more real and a little less like a cartoon character. While season one had Finn struggling to live up to his desire to be a great hero, “It Came From the Nightosphere” and especially “Mortal Folly” have Finn face his biggest foes yet. He approaches them with no hesitation or self doubt. As he enters his teen years, his feelings for Bubblegum continue to boil in “The Real You” and “Go With Me”, something that he struggles to accept, until he has a moment of clarity in “Mortal Recoil”. Jake gets more focus episodes this season in “Power Animal”, “Crystals Have Power”, “Her Parents”, and “The Limit”. He doesn’t have a consistent theme, each of these episodes focuses on a different aspect of his character. His love for romance is played up in episodes such as “Go With Me” and “Video Makers”. Jake is less lazy and plays a more active role in his adventures with Finn. Finn and Jake continue to be a great dynamic that still carries the series. Season two plays around with Finn and Jake being oblivious and downright stupid more often for comedy, and it works well, especially in “The Other Tarts”, “Death in Bloom'', and “Heat Signature”.

Ice King is again the most prominent character not named Finn or Jake. While there’s really only two true Ice King episodes in “Loyalty to the King” and “The Chamber of Frozen Blades”, he plays pivotal roles in “The Eyes”, “Mortal Folly”, and “Mortal Recoil”. We get to follow Ice King’s POV in act one of “Loyalty to the King” and in his own subplot in “The Chamber of Frozen Blades”. It was nice to see Ooo from a different character's perspective for just a little. This, along with seeing his sympathetic side in “The Eyes” shifts him further from being a villain. “Loyalty to the King” is the only episode where an evil Ice King scheme is the main conflict, and even then it’s nowhere near as bad as anything he did in season one. Ice King generally has more respect for Finn and Jake after last season's ���When Wedding Bells” and “What Have You Done?”. The two part season finale pushes Ice King to stop seeing Finn and Jake as his enemies, and decreases Finn and Jake’s animosity for him, setting up their dynamic for next season.

Princess Bubblegum gets the short end of the stick. I didn’t mind her less active role in season one, partially because it being the first season gives it more leeway, but by season two I really expect the series to be exploring her a little more like they are with Ice King and Marceline. Outside of a gag here and there, her quirks aren’t played up as much as season one. There aren’t really any Princess Bubblegum centric episodes. The most she does is give Finn and Jake quests in “The Other Tarts” and “Mortal Folly” and be used as a plot device to explore Finn’s feelings in “The Real You”, “Go With Me” and “Mortal Recoil”. Bubblegum’s poor showing is easily season two’s biggest weakness. 

Marceline has a pretty freaking great showing. While unlike PB and Ice King, her roles are pretty much entirely contained to her designated episodes, that’s pretty hard to complain about when she has three episodes pretty much entirely dedicated to her. That’s a big step up from season one, which only had two Marceline episodes, with her being absent for the middle portion of her introductory episode. All of her episodes are really illuminating for Marceline and push her character forward. Her appearances continue “Henchman’s” trajectory of Marceline becoming closer to Finn and Jake, with Jake slowly warming up to Marceline a little more in each appearance. Marceline gains back a bit more of her moral code by “Heat Signature” and realizes how important Finn and Jake have become to her. She has a great variety of episodes too. She has two episodes more focused on emotional drama in “It Came From the Nightosphere” and “Go With Me”, and one more focused on comedy in “Heat Signature”. “It Came From the Nightosphere”, in which Marceline is basically the star character, develops her more than any other episode in the first two seasons has developed a character besides Finn and Jake. It’s also easily the most emotional episode in seasons one and two. Her episodes are a great break away from the usual character dynamics and always prove to be among the season’s best. Season two is easily the best season for the relationship between Marceline and Finn and Jake, and she’s obviously the MVP of the season.

While season one had focus episodes for Lumpy Space Princess, Tree Trunks, and Lady Rainicorn, season two doesn’t spotlight Adventure Time’s secondary cast. However, it does a good job giving them supporting roles and cameos, which is a fine place to be in a show’s second season. After doing almost nothing in season one, BMO rises from obscurity in increasingly prominent roles in “Slow Love”, “Video Makers”, and “Guardians of Sunshine". He no longer feels like a prop. Finn and Jake are often at their dumbest this season, and BMO is at his most mature. He acts more like their parent in “Video Makers” and “Guardians of Sunshine”, the opposite of their dynamic for most of the show. It is weird that Lumpy Space Princess doesn’t have a major episode after season one’s “Trouble in Lumpy Space” considering LSP episodes are a staple for here on out. I would have liked one, but she provides great comedic relief from the sidelines in episodes such as “To Cut a Woman’s Hair”, “Video Makers”, and “Heat Signature”. Tree Trunks and Lady Rainicorn are mainly relegated to plot devices in one episode each, which is fine, even though I don’t like Tree Trunks’ portrayal in “Crystals Have Power”. Cinnamon Bun gets a funny role in “The Other Tarts” and ditto Gunter in “The Chamber of Frozen Blades”. Peppermint Butler’s dark side is established and stays consistent throughout three of his appearances, and he gets a great supporting role in “Death in Bloom”. Unlike last season, season two doesn’t introduce a lot of recurring characters. This makes sense, as season one is the introductory season after all. Susan Strong is the biggest character introduced in her titular episode. Hunson Abadeer enters as well, but he is only relevant in a couple more episodes. While season one technically had the first appearance of The Lich, season two deserves credit for properly establishing such an important character.

Season 2 is a moderate step up when it comes to its music. BMO’s song in “Video Makers” is very cute but not on the level of season one’s “Housing Hunting Song” and “Billy’s Song”. “Fries” is just as catchy as those two while being emotionally resonant. Finn’s song in “Susan Strong” makes for my favorite song of the first two seasons, being the catchiest and most interesting.

Pendleton Ward was awarded more creative freedom this season and worked on the story of each episode. Creator Pen Ward, and creative director Patrick McHale, being the two constants in the writers room all season, made the show more in line with the vision of the creators’. Kent Osborne joined the writing staff halfway through the season, after being hired as a storyboard artist in season one. Season 2 feels much more consistent with Adventure Time’s identity in large parts to Pen, Pat, and Kent, who would define the trajectory of the series for years to come. Steve Little (voice of Peppermint Butler), along with Merriwether Williams and Flapjack creator Thurop Van Orman (further infusing Adventure Time with Flapjack DNA), joined the writers staff for the first half of season 2. Williams is the only crew member who worked consistently in season one’s writing room to return. Mark Banker joined the crew during the season’s latter half. While not a defining voice of the series, he made his impact, working on the series through the end of season 3.

Season two had a more consistent team of storyboard artists. Kent Osborne and Somvilay Xayaphone had a great run of episodes, boarding seven total. While “Belly of the Beast” was middling, their work on “The Eyes”, “Loyalty to the King”, “Mystery Train”, and “Video Makers” resulted in some of the most fun episodes, with “The Eyes” and “Mystery Train” standing out as particularly hilarious. Adam Muto and Rebecca Sugar easily made for the best pairing. Not only did they not produce a single weak entry, they boarded the three best episodes in “It Came From the Nightosphere”, “Susan Strong”, and “Mortal Folly”. They know how to build on the world of the show and write genuine emotional moments for the characters that resonate. This makes Adam’s second MVP win in a row! Rebecca Sugar was promoted from her work as a storyboard revisionist in season one, and is highlighted as one of Adventure Time’s all time best storyboard artists. She wrote the two best songs of the season, and her music is infused in the DNA of the show itself. Ako Castuera joined the series full time, after only boarding season one's "Gut Grinder". Ako and Tom Herpich, despite having a poor working relationship and creative conflict, were a really good team that boarded six episodes. They boarded the season’s second worst episode in “Storytelling”, but were also behind two great Marceline episodes in “Go With Me” and “Heat Signature”, and two really fun Finn and Jake adventures in “The Other Tarts” and “Guardians of Sunshine”. Cole Sanchez was promoted to creative director and continued storyboarding with a decent episode in “Blood Under the Skin” and a mediocre episode in “Slow Love” with Benton Connor. These are the only two episodes of the series that Benton Connor ended up working on. Cole Sanchez moved to become partners with Jesse Moynihan. Cole and Jesse worked on five episodes. They got off on a rough start with “Crystals Have Power”, the only downright awful episode of the season, which also suffered from Jesse Moynihan not yet getting a feel for drawing the characters. Luckily, the rest of their episodes ranged from good to great. Other than Ako's and Tom's one-off gigs and Cole's two episodes, Adam and Kent are the only returning regular storyboard artists from season one. Season 2 really has a clean slate of boarders. Adam Muto, Kent Osborne, Cole Sanchez, Ako Castuera, Tom Herpich, Somvilay Xayaphone, Rebecca Sugar, and Jesse Moynihan's styles are embedded in the DNA of Adventure Time and the way they write the characters and approach executing stories have an ever-lasting influence on the franchise. Andy Ristanio joined the series as lead character designer, who would work on the show in various capacities for years to come. In many ways, season two is the first season of Adventure Time proper, written and produced by the people who shaped its identity. 

Top Ten Title Cards:

10: The Real You

9: Guardians of Sunshine

8: The Chamber of Frozen Blades

7: Crystals Have Power

6: The Eyes

5: Go With Me

4: Slow Love

3: Mortal Folly

2: Storytelling

1: Death in Bloom

Episode Rankings:

26: Crystals Have Power (D-)

25: Storytelling © 

24: Belly of the Beast ©

23: Slow Love ©

22: Blood Under the Skin (B+)

21: Power Animal (B+)

20: The Limit (B+)

19: Her Parents (B+)

18: The Pods (B+)

17: To Cut a Woman’s Hair (B+)

16: The Chamber of Frozen Blades (B+)

15: The Silent King (B+)

14: The Real You (A-)

13: Death in Bloom (A-)

12: Mystery Train (A-)

11: The Other Tarts (A-)

10: Loyalty to the King (A-)

9: Video Makers (A-)

8: Heat Signature (A-)

7: Guardians of Sunshine (A-)

6: The Eyes (A)

5: Go With Me (A)

4: Mortal Recoil (A)

3: Susan Strong (A)

2: It Came From the Nightosphere (A)

1: Mortal Folly (A+)

D- (1/26)

C (3/26)

B+ (8/26)

A- (8/26)

A (5/26)

A+ (1/26)

Season Overall Grade: B+

[theanimeview]

Anime To Look Forward To – Spring 2024

It is now the start of the Spring 2024 season, and we’re finally returning from our long hiatus. As we return, I thought it would be nice to start off with something a little easy–like a few quick recommendations for those watching things this season.

In upcoming/ongoing works to consider watching this season, I (Peggy Wood, Editor of The Anime View) recommend:

Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken 3rd Season

That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime is a personal favorite of mine. The anticipation for the upcoming third season is truly exciting, and I look forward to seeing where this story will continue now that we’ve had a movie which seems canonically related. If you’re already a fan of this incredible series, you won’t want to miss the upcoming season either! I hope we get to see some further character developments too, as they’ve been hinting for a long period about the summoned children and the expanded role the older “children” will play in Rimuru’s story. A definite must watch!

Ookami to Koushinryou: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf

I watched Season 1 of Spice and Wolf years ago (2008). It was a very cute romance then, with an interesting approach to merchant life in a historical fantasy. The second season as also pretty good.

Judging from the trailer, it seems like this upcoming season will serve as a reboot for the series. So, if you’ve been contemplating giving it a try, now seems like an excellent opportunity to dive into the fandom!

In general, the series revolves around an older-looking merchant who embarks on a journey with a wolf spirit. The romantic elements build slowly, the business strategies are practical for the story, and the overall progression is delightful. Throughout much of the early series, it maintains a historical slice-of-life vibe that I believe many viewers will find appealing. Don’t miss the chance to explore this engaging world and join the Spice and Wolf fan community anew!

Kuroshitsuji: Kishuku Gakkou-hen

Black Butler holds a special place in my heart, and one of the standout arcs that I wholeheartedly recommend is the Public School Arc that is getting an animated adaptation this season. This particular storyline showcases Ciel Phantomhive navigating challenges independently, a departure from the usual dynamic where Sebastian Michaelis takes the lead in many situations. Witnessing Ciel’s problem-solving skills and collaboration with others in the absence of Sebastian adds a unique and compelling layer to the series. For fans who appreciate character development and intricate plot twists, I believe that this arc is a true gem in what has been published of the series thus far.

Lv2 kara Cheat datta Motoyuusha Kouho no Mattari Isekai Life

I’m thrilled that this series is getting an anime adaptation. Having read about the first 20 chapters, it appears to be a highly promising work. The narrative introduces a “hero” summoned from a world with slight similarities to the one he finds himself in, yet he doesn’t fit the mold of the anticipated hero—at least, that’s the initial belief, though I suspect otherwise!

While there are elements of fan service, the series offers a thought-provoking exploration of a world where a country depends on individuals from other realms. Additionally, pay close attention to the summoning number—it introduces intriguing details that spark theories and contemplation. Overall, the storyline provides a fascinating twist on the isekai genre, centering around a progressive-minded merchant who seamlessly adapts to his new environment. So, for those who haven’t added this to their watchlist yet, I highly recommend it!

Dekisokonai to Yobareta Motoeiyuu wa Jikka kara Tsuihou sareta node Sukikatte ni Ikiru Koto ni Shita

This one is new to me, but it definitely caught my attention with its promising premise. The protagonist is a reincarnated hero aiming for a more laid-back life this time around. Despite possessing hero skills, these abilities go unnoticed during appraisals, and the absence of the “gift of God’s bounty” results in his family deeming him a failure and subsequently casting him out. However, things take an interesting turn when he’s taken in by his (former?) fiance, who recruits him as a bodyguard.

The storyline seems to promise an entertaining comedic twist within a fantasy world and I am excited about the potential. It looks like a delightful blend of humor and fantasy, making it a show worth checking out. With that said, I’m planning to pick it up this season and wholeheartedly recommend it here!

Tadaima, Okaeri

This is an Omegaverse BL story, and as far as I can discern, it’s the first of its kind to be adapted into an anime. Having previously explored the series, I can confirm that it comes with several expansions, including a sequel(s), doujinshis (djs), and at least one spin-off. If you’re on the lookout for an Omegaverse BL narrative, this one seems like a reliable choice, offering a complete and well-established storyline with a dedicated fanbase.

While the story might not align perfectly with my personal preferences, I believe it has a well-crafted narrative, complete with clearly defined rules for the world it presents and a harmonious blend of slice-of-life elements. If you have a penchant for slow-burning romances and heartwarming family dynamics, this series might be a perfect fit for you. It has certainly piqued my interest, and I’m eager to see how the unfolding narrative captivates viewers this season!

Code Geass: Dakkan no Rozé

Calling all fans of mecha and socio-political narratives, brace yourselves—it’s Code Geass time once again! As an avid enthusiast of mecha stories, the allure of colossal robots engaged in epic battles never fails to captivate my attention, making any series featuring giant robots an instant addition to my watch list. However, Code Geass stands out prominently, even overshadowing the iconic Gundam series in terms of its ability to grip my interest.

With great anticipation, I await the unfolding events involving Ash and Rozé, eager to see how their roles contribute to the overarching storyline. Code Geass has a proven track record of offering thought-provoking plots, and this season is hopefully one of no exception. Fingers crossed!

[justkeepwalkingnothinghere]

The Owl House: A show that has changed my life in a way nothing else has.

It’s been over a week since the finale aired. Over a week since we’ve had to say goodbye to a show that has more than likely changed animation. Saying goodbye and coming to terms with it has been painful, but I’ve been doing fairly well since the 8th, since the most emotional night of my life in recent memory. The finale has really made me reflect on these last 6 months. The last 6 months since I had watched the first episode, and changed the course of not just my life, but my brain chemistry as well. I have at last found a way to put my thoughts and love for this show into words, and have realized just what this incredible series means to me and what it has done for so, so many people. It makes me feel a certain happiness nothing has ever managed to give me, or at least nothing in a very long time, and I can’t wait to tell you all.

This is the story of my discovery and journey through a series like no other, and just how my life has changed because of it.

The Owl House. I still remember that rainy afternoon in mid-September when I watched my first video about it. I had heard about it before, but hadn’t really been too interested in it. Hard to believe, looking back. But on this fateful afternoon, my YouTube recommended would show me an out of context video, introduce me to a magical adventure, and be my first step on a path that would alter the next 6 months of my life and counting. Not the first time this has happened, and certainly not the last. First one video, then two, then a few animatics and Lumity compilations, and maybe one or two videos of Luz being the biggest bi disaster ever. All of them being from season 1, of course. No spoilers for me, thank you, YT.  The seeds of my obsession and hyperfixation were planted that day and already began to grow.

A few days go by, I watch the first episode and start dying from laughter from the first 30 seconds, and when I went in only for Lumity, I quickly knew I was going to experience so much more than that. A week later, I finally put my foot down and made my mom and I watch the first 6 episodes one day after school, and we never watched a single new episode without each other. We spend time with season 1, already on our way through a magical realm full of possibilities, we blow through season 2 with unbridled amazement, we cautiously watch Thanks to Them, the newest episode at the time, knowing it was the beginning of the end. We had already been through so much, and we were about to see much more.

I hop onto the fandom, excited to interact with fellow fans who are just as dedicated to this show than I am, excite to see all the fanart and the fics, the theories and the memes, the comedic mayhem that is fueled by a burning passion and love for a series, for a wide cast of characters, for a world so so special to most. I spend time on the subreddit, I join Tumblr and make some pals, and my love for The Owl House grows and grows and grows, bigger and bigger and bigger without restraint. I find my favorite characters, my favorite ships, my favorite episodes. Raine rises through my list of characters and lands their spot as favorite and the one I go to for comfort, right alongside Luz. Raeda and Lumity tie for the spot of my OTP, I slowly start shipping Gustholomule, I start writing my first TOH fic about Raeda, I found my people. People who are just as crazy for this fictional world and its cast of goofballs and weirdoes.

People that I can relate to, in a fandom that, for me, is unbelievably warm and welcoming, a million times better than nearly every other fandom I’m in. My love keeps burning brighter and brighter, I manage to connect with a few folks irl and find a Discord server full of wonderful people, all through this series. Never have I been this attached to anything before, never have I experienced something incredible like this. Usually, the shows I watch either ended years ago, still have years left in their lifespan, or I’m never that emotionally attached to hold onto it for long, or have any sort of reaction to it ending outside of “Oh well. Guess that’s it. Sad to see it go”, only to be fully recovered a couple of days later.

But not with Owl House. With TOH, it’s so, so much different, almost as if it’s a whole different species. I’ve latched onto it for months, not intending to let go for a long, long time, I spend hours and hours on Tumblr, the subreddit, and Discord every day talking about this show and info dumping to friends. The Owl House captures a happiness that not even Friends or SpongeBob can achieve, both being shows that have been special to me and always will be. Friends for just being a great show and playing a special part in my relationship with my mom, and SpongeBob for being such a major part of my childhood, a part that holds a large amount of nostalgia. That’s not to say that Friends and SpongeBob don’t make me happy, they really do, without a doubt, but don’t stand a chance against Owl House.

I was never able to pinpoint why Owl House is as special and important to me as it is, until after the finale. After Watching and Dreaming, I realized, it’s because it makes me feel seen. I relate to Luz more than any other fictional character in existence. I’m weird and nerdy on a daily basis, bisexual, neurodivergent, and have never felt like I fit in. I’ve always felt out of place in this world, even in places that are basically made for you to be like this, even in spots where my friends and I can hang out and be weird together. I’ve always seen her as a cartoon version of me, I see myself in her most of the time, and it’s why I cling to her a lot. Same thing goes for Raine, though it’s not as much, but still important, as a person with a crapton of social anxiety and a passion for music and the arts.

I feel seen through all of these characters, whether I see myself in them, or the situations they face and the emotions they feel. It’s incredible, really. And it’s not just me, I’ve seen this in practically the entire fandom. This world, the Demon Realm, makes all of us feel seen, and it’s amazing that a show is able to do that. That a show is able to make us feel in such a way that makes us come together to find and bond with each other. And then I realized something else. Everything about this series makes me unbelievably happy for one reason. It makes me happy and warm inside, like a place I know. Like a place that lets me be who I am around my family, no questions asked. This fandom and everyone in it makes me feel comfort.

It feels like home. Like I belong. It feels like a warm hug, like a kiss to the forehead, like a hot meal on a rainy day, like a nice bath or shower, or the smell of freshly washed bed sheets, like the warmth of clothes fresh out of the dryer, like cuddles after long day, like a nice piece of chocolate, like warm cookies from the oven, like a cup of coffee in the morning, like every single comfort you can think of. The music embodies this perfectly, the end credits more specifically. While the opening more or less feels like “Let the adventures begin!”, the end credits feels like coming home to family and friends, like a hug from the entire cast, like 2 simple words that, although simple, mean a lot to not just me, but many others: “Welcome home”.

In short, The Owl House is a legendary show that has changed history in many aspects, a show that has made millions of people feel seen and find who they are, made many feel like they belong, and has filled millions with a feeling of comfort. A feeling of comfort so strong, it’s the first thing plenty of us reach for when we need something to lean on, or a shoulder to cry on. When we just need a pick me up after a hard day, or when we just need a smile on our faces. It’s a series, a cast of wonderful characters, a magical, fictional world, and a massive fandom that welcomes us with open arms, and makes us happy like not much else can.

And if that isn’t an achievement to be proud of, then I don’t know what is.

[ladyelainehilfur]

Ooooh thoughts on Nice to Meet You's ending?

bruv....real life image of me entering the comment section of the last episode:

I know a lot of people feel very strongly about Nice To Meet You's ending. And well, I also have ✨opinions✨

For one, I'm not the kind of person to assume that just because a male character is on the cover, that he's going to be endgame. I had no real expectation that Daze was fated to end the series dating Mew.

Frankly, I barely found Daze engaging as a character. His most memorable moment to me was that scene where he helped Mew walk through the murder of crows to the phone booth. Butterflies ✅ invested in him as a character ❌

He's sweet enough, but overall, I thought he was kind of boring. Don't @ me but I'm pretty sure a lot of people only liked him because he was hot.

Does that mean I was Mew x Wyn shipper? Nah. That entire first season, I was extremely convinced Wyn was aroace. I should've known it was too good to be true. An equally attractive best friend to the male lead with NO interest in the female lead? We could've had it all.

I adore Wyn as a character. He's cute, fun, funny, good-looking, and supportive. His mullet is sick. His outfits are slay. He's basically perfect...but not for Mew, imo. Him falling for Mew was startling.

However, Mew is very lovable in the typical clumsy anime girl way. I just thought the story would become about her journey to self-actualization and idk...following her dreams or something. Not knocking on the romance, but season one was just so strong and handled her character so well. I was impressed that she rose above expectations and handled the theatre crush situation on her own, more or less.

But season two...girlie what even happened. It became all about her having to decide between Wyn and Daze. That would've been fine if it wasn't so heavily focused on her crushing and blushing and looking down at her shoes shyly. I didn't think Mew was weak or annoying, but the writing did her a major disservice in the second season.

One thing I'll say is that I really liked that neither Daze or Wyn were competitive or possessive of Mew. I despise love triangles, usually because they treat the female lead like an object to win, or they resort to bullying and pulling each other down to end up with the girl. It's like "guys, GUYS, why are we fighting over (1) girl when there are so many fish in the ocean".

But Nice To Meet You hopped right over that trope and had Wyn and Daze mutually agree to let Mew choose. They literally let each other have moments with Mew at their own expense. It was really sweet. I liked it.

But the ending still flopped 🙊 what do you MEAN a 3 year time skip????????? I feel like I'm the only one who was genuinely flabbergasted by Mew's painting of Daze. Was it supposed to mean something?? And if so, why did we never get an explicit answer?? Mew crying tells me nothing.

As I said, I ship neither Daze nor Wyn with Mew. I wasn't disappointed that she chose Wyn, but I was confused about why. I had so many questions.

Why did Daze give up on her? Why did Mew need to take a trip for that long? Where did she go? Why did she she cry while painting Daze? Was she letting go of her feeling for him? Did Daze never find someone else? Did Mickey just keep his unrequited crush on Daze for 3 more years? Why was Wyn willing to wait that long for an answer? What's Mew's brother up to? Did Simon follow him? Was Mew so hesitant to start a new relationship because her last one was abusive? What even happened to her ex? Why doesn't she talk about him more? Is Daze's dream to run a coffee shop? What's Wyn's career? Are they all still in college?

A three year time skip is just way too long.

More importantly, I do not like Wyn with black hair!!

I wasn't a ride-or-die Nice To Meet You fan, but I still had all these questions. I can't imagine how its biggest fans felt about the ending. Well, no, I can. That comment section on the last episode is brutal. I'm sure the creator had a reason for rushing the series to a close, but I feel the fans are equally justified in being very frustrated by the unanswered questions and Mew suddenly ending up with Wyn when I think most were lead to believe the painting meant Daze was endgame.

6/10 ending, what a bummer ending for a series with such good art and characters.

[lyrical-lovely]

Anime Review - Love Live! School Idol Project (S1)

I have a very deep connection to the Love Live franchise, but the original anime was actually kind of disappointing... This is the first anime I've reviewed on this page that had a second season I declined to watch. I might come back to it down the line, but I'm gonna take a break for now.

Watch Love Live! School Idol Project if:

- You enjoy music and anime about music

- You like the premises of sports anime but got tired of baseball/basketball/soccer

- You like women (seriously- there's no voiced men in the entire series)

Do NOT watch Love Live! School Idol Project if:

- You are sensitive to the usual 2010s anime nonsense (minor sexual harassment, sexualization of minors, insensitive discussion of weight and diet)

- You want a cast of likeable characters (don't worry, I'm gonna touch on this below)

- You like anime with tidy endings

SPOILERS below, I have to talk freely about this, sorry.

Nobody here knows this yet, but I've been into Love Live for about 10 years now, just before Aqours debuted. And let me tell you- based on the cards and stories in the game, I was a big fan of u's because I thought their characters were much more complex than they are in the later seasons. This is still true, but after watching the anime, I hate basically all of them. But let's go back to the beginning.

Love Live is an anime about a girl named Honoka who finds out her school, with a history so extensive that her grandmother and mother both attended, is closing due to a lack of applications. After seeing another school's successful idol group, Honoka decides to recruit her friends Umi and Kotori to join her. She runs into opposition at just about every possible point- struggling with getting venues, a difficult student council president, troubles with advertising, arguments within the group, et cetera.

In order to fully understand Love Live, you need to have a grasp of the context- Love Live is actually a sports anime! Many of the issues that Honoka and her friends, which make up the group u's, run into are based on cliches from sports anime, and the characters are also based on sports anime cliches. For example, Nico ran the old idol club before all the other members quit because her demands were too high. Eli is the overzealous student council president who thinks the idol group is giving the school a bad image. Hanayo is shy. Maki is moody and difficult, but a real talent. Do you see it? Replace those names with male names and you've got the ingredients for a perfect baseball club.

Anyway, I had very high hopes for this anime, so it's my own fault I was disappointed. The number of main characters, combined with the sheer volume of hurdles that the group faces on their way to stardom, means that the complex characters I had gotten to know so well through the games were largely left undeveloped. Instead of the cool, calm, and collected traditional woman that Umi's character wants to be, we get a frazzled mess who's being dragged into antics that really don't seem to suit her at all. Instead of deeply struggling with her relationship with her own femininity, Rin just says "nya" a few times every episode and that's literally her entire arc. Seriously, it's a shame because I know she gets development in the second season, but she adds nothing but wasted time to the first season. And as a result of these failed complex characters, most of the Love Live idols to come would ultimately be shallow. I could go on and on about the failed character arcs in this show, but that ultimately brings me to the plot.

Nothing. Goes. Right. Absolutely nothing can be easy or insignificant. Each performance is for the fate of a school, and each hurdle seems nearly impassable. This would be great if the anime was supposed to be a thriller, but its target demographic doesn't want that from it. What young girls wanted to watch was a cute anime about girls wearing dresses and singing, and what we got instead was just a barrage of struggles. There was almost zero downtime, no cute little interactions between the characters that had no significance to the plot. Forgive me, but I think those mundane moments that develop relationships between characters are part of what makes an anime, specifically an idol anime where the emphasis is supposed to be ON the characters, good. In the end, they end up withdrawing from the competition because Honoka collapsed (cliche) and that's where they leave it. Fortunately, I think by this point the anime had been approved for a second season, so I think the dramatic ending was a ploy to draw viewers back for next year.

That's enough complaining, though, because there were some highlights. The music is wonderful (despite the lack of variety between the songs, ALL of which are about doing your best and following your dreams) and the costumes are cute by 2010s standards. They're a little campy now. Furthermore, this series was one of the pioneers of 3D idol performance animation integrated with 2D closeups of the characters. The 3D animation has improved significantly since then due to better software and computing power, but for the time, the animation was good. I also think the color palette was well chosen for this anime, and the voice acting was stellar.

Anyway. This turned into a rant about all my problems with Love Live, but I think any potential viewers should be aware of its shortcomings before investing ~5 hours into it. Overall - 4/10. Amazing for the idol anime genre and I really love Love Live as a franchise, but man, this anime was not for me. Thanks for listening.

[crehador]

summer 2023 wrap-up

anime of the season: much as i enjoyed ugmf this has got to go to zom100, even with its last three eps still in limbo

not only did zom100 have ones of the strongest pilot episodes i can remember ever seeing, it stayed consistent and kept its quality up through the next eight episodes. the delays don't bother me or hinder my enjoyment in the slightest; i just hope it's a sign the studio is taking care to avoid becoming the real life version of the horrorshow company depicted in the first episode lol

i would say undead girl murder farce is an extremely close second place, and it was certainly my personal favorite of the season. the core trio have a fantastic dynamic that leaves me wanting to see more, and most of the side characters are massively entertaining as well (i'm sorry i just do not care about old man moriarty like at all)

the first two mysteries imo outshone the third, which felt just slightly weaker. i did still enjoy the third mystery, but felt like it might have been better served as a movie. so watching the episodes of the third arc all in one go, rather than one per week, might make it an overall better experience

(as usual the caveat here is i don't put sequels/continuations in the running for my personal aots or aoty picks, otherwise bleach would've squeaked into second on nostalgia alone lmao)

op of the season: lots of bops but i gotta give it to kana-boon for song of the dead, it is the banger of the summer and the opening sequences (which change throughout the series! ep9's is my current favorite) are incredible

ed of the season: nothing stood out super much to me in this category but i have a real soft spot for helck's ed, statice by saji

[ridley-was-a-cat]

Fall 2022 Anime Roundup

Somehow yet another season has completed, and this one was a doozy. Not only were there multiple sequels to major franchises like Mob Psycho and My Hero Academia, we got a sequel to Bleach 10+ years after the last season ended. On top of that, there was the highly anticipated debut season of Chainsaw Man, and four adaptations of shoujosei works, which is more than we usually get in an entire year. There was just a ton of stuff on offer this season, and almost all of it was good.

Completed

Anime of the Season: Mob Psycho 100 III

In a season as packed as this one, choosing a favorite was no easy task, and I went back and forth between this and Raven of the Inner Palace. As good as they both were, I'm going to have to give this the edge for pairing its moving story about adolescent turbulence with an absolute spectacle of art and animation. I really can't say enough good things about how Mob steadfastly rejects violence or subjugation as displays of strength or power. The show never gets preachy about it, Mob just sees people's appeals to use his power in destructive ways as pointless and unappealing. ONE said that he set out to write something kind when he wrote Mob Psycho, and I have to say that he definitely succeeded in writing one of the best examples I've seen of positive, non-toxic masculinity. 9/10

First Runner Up: Raven of the Inner Palace

I didn't really know what to expect when I added this to my schedule for the season, and basically only watched it because it had a shoujo label, and I reflexively support shoujosei anime. What I ended up with was a fantastic drama that used one to two episode-long vignettes about various people and spirits around the imperial court to tell a larger story about who the main characters are, and how the events of the past affect them today. The slow development of the relationship between the Raven Consort and the Emperor was extremely satisfying to watch, as was seeing her learn to open up to the people around her. Many of the characters' backstories were tragic or traumatic, and the show handled them with the right amount of thoughtfulness. 9/10

Second Runner Up: Akiba Maid War

I nearly dropped this halfway through the first episode thinking that it was going to be just another P.A.Works original about humbling an idealistic young woman at her first job, and then a gang war broke out. A committed and affectionate parody of gangster movies with enough heart to avoid becoming a cheap joke. 8/10

Bocchi the Rock! - I didn't plan to watch this because the manga runs in one of those lolicon magazines that skeeve me out, but luckily the hype got to me, and I didn't miss out on this spectacularly animated and directed comedy about an introverted girl chasing her rock and roll dreams. 8/10

I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss - This tried to squeeze three light novel volumes into twelve episodes, making episodes 4, 8, and 12 into arc-concluding speed runs, but our villainess was so charmingly spunky and her demon lord boo was so damn fine that I was having too much fun to care about its flaws. 8/10

Spy x Family Part 2 - I kept waiting for the plot to kick back in before finally accepting that this series apparently is more of an episodic comedy than the first cour let on, but it's still plenty entertaining. 8/10

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - I liked, but didn't love, Bleach's original run, and this sequel retains many of the story writing traits I didn't care for, but the visuals got a major upgrade, everyone is smoking hot, and they played "Number One" at the end of the last episode, so I can't help but feel the hype. 8/10

Chainsaw Man - I can both see how skillfully directed and animated this was, and how the characters and story would be appealing to a lot of people, while also disliking the decision to mimic live-action movies, and acknowledging that this story full of misery is just not for me. 7/10

Do It Yourself!! - A cute girls doing cute things show that broke through my exhaustion with the genre by having an unusual activity like carpentry, and mixing it with distinctive character designs and lively animation. 7/10

The Little Lies We All Tell - The visuals for this didn't appeal to me so I didn't pick it up until the season was almost over, but it ended up being a really charming little comedy about four friends with bizarre secrets. 7/10

My Master Has No Tail - The rakugo performances left a little to be desired, but the character interactions in this light comedy about a tanuki taking up rakugo in Meiji era Osaka kept things entertaining. 7/10

Reincarnated as a Sword - If this wasn't a light novel adaptation, and it didn't have so much monologuing from the sword, blah visuals, or mediocre shot composition, this would make a pretty fun story despite the goofy sounding concept. 6/10

Bibliophile Princess - I've read the manga adaptation, so I was really looking forward to this, but some combination of poor animation, questionable story adaptation choices, and an annoying tendency to rehash the same conflict made this a bit of a slog to finish. 6/10

Ongoing

Golden Kamuy S4 - I'm definitely looking forward to watching this when it comes back from hiatus in the spring, as the action was really starting to get interesting, with our competing gangs of charismatic scoundrels about to get back on their bullshit. 8/10

IDOLiSH7 Third BEAT! Part 2 - This part continues with the corporate drama instigated by the extremely hateable villain, while completing Trigger's transformation from antagonist to loveable underdog, and giving some very satisfying character development moments. Looking forward to the concluding four episodes in February. 8/10

One Piece - While I'm definitely still enjoying myself, and this really is the best One Piece has looked during its run, I'm kind of ready to be done with Wano already. 8/10

Play It Cool, Guys - You've heard of cute girls doing cute things, now get ready for the new hotness: cute guys doing airhead things. Just pure, unadulterated fluff that brightens my day. 8/10

My Hero Academia S6 - On the one hand, this was kind of an exhausting anime season for seeing the good guys get the stuffing beat out of them, but on the other hand, seeing Mirko rip a monster's head off with her thighs was some peak content. 7/10

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun S3 - This season still has most of its charm, and I still love all the characters, but this contest arc is really dragging. 7/10

Dropped

The Eminence in Shadow - This was sold to me as a satirical take on power fantasy isekai, but it was playing all the tropes pretty straight, and the atrocious fanservice in episode 10 made me decide I had better things to do. 6/10

[absolutebl]

Hey! I have two questions to ask you if you don't mind! Sorry for pestering you with kinda stuff but you are real insightful and help me to sort out my own internal feelings on things!

Is it just me or do very, VERY few BL's ever manage to stick an engaging,solid ending?

Out of all the BL's I've watched, the only ones I can name that truly nailed the ending imo are:

- HIStory 3: Trapped (imo. I know the ambiguity isn't appealing to you.)

- Bad Buddy

- My Beautiful Man

- His (The Movie)

- Blueming (The series itself is rife with pacing issues to me, but I think it stuck the ending really good.)

- Gaya Sa Pelikula

Some can come close enough for me;

- Theory of Love (yeah, yeah, I hate Khai too but the ending was nice imo)

- ITSAY/IPYTM

- TMS1 (suffers a bit from the HDS's consistent struggle with pacing towards the latter end of all her work )

- Old Fashion Cupcake (so close!!!)

- Restart After Come Back Home

- Cherry Magic

Most BL's introduce nonsense conflicts towards the end of the series with the Epsiode 11 drama (shivers in 2gether). I can't stand it when the final conflict comes out of LITERALLY nowhere instead of having been a continued issue that is resolved towards the end (think Cherry Magic, Utsukushii Kare, Bad Buddy, etc.)

Going further, they never seem...satisfying for whatever reason and I can't pinpoint why that is. I'm not necessarily left wanting more but feel like what I was given was unsatisfactory. Think a more subtle version of the feeling of seeing Vee/Maek end up together in the En of Love version (or Khai/Third for you I guess).

I wonder looking at it now if my hatred for the seme/uke trope has spoilt so many couples for me that I find any ending where they get together as unsatisfactory (I love The Effect btw. Can you guess why lmao?). All the shows in my best list are either very low on Seme/uke dynamics or have a very soft seme archetype (Blueming) / very unique seme archetype (MBM).

God I should just get over this contempt of seme/uke fuckery. Its ruined so much for me (from WBL, to UWMA).

Know how? Also, is there any particular reason you see as for why BL's fail to stick the landing? Or am I making this up?

Second question is simple. Why do BL couples often become boring when they get together and are happy? Is it just that the chase is over? And if so, what can be done to keep such a story engaging if anything at all?

Now that I read this back, it definitely isn't two questions as much as a set of compound ones but eh, here goes nothing.

Is my unhinged ranting coherent at all?

Honestly you named a lot of ones that I dinged points specifically because I didn’t like their endings. Old Fashion Cupcake and Cherry Magic would probubly have been 10/10 for me if the characters had just kissed at the end. And I say this totally aware of Japanese cinematic traditions that dictated why they wouldn’t, I’m just grumpy. 

To answer the second question first:

Why do BL couples often become boring when they get together and are happy? Is it just that the chase is over? And if so, what can be done to keep such a story engaging if anything at all?

Yes. This is the problem every romance series contends with. This is why most romances end with the couple getting together (sex, engagement, marriage), This is why I don’t like second seasons, they usually have to separate or break up the couple to give the story tension. 

And now... your unhinged ranting!

It makes perfect sense, and I think you either 

don't really like 3 act structure (did you watch a lot of anime growing up, per chance? maybe not so much (or really dislike) Disney stuff?) or, 

more likely, you don't actually like romance.

Not the idea of romance, but the classic romance novel beats and pacing. The Taiwanese and Thai stuff in particular tends to stick to that consistently. (Hence the ep 11 crisis of doom, AKA the unnecessary break up.)

Korea has a western romance aesthetic but they often shoe-horn in 4 act structure, which is why we get that (to me) super weird disjointed thing in Kdramas where they break up the couple (or separate them with time/distance) in the last 1/3 of the final episode and the rush this odd reunion thing in the last 10 minutes. I find this maddening, but it does mean that their non-BL billed and early gay short stuff might appeal to you. 

You don't mention it but Thousand Stars is probubly the most classically paced and executed romance novel in BL form that we have ever gotten. How’d you feel about that ending. I’d also be interested in your thoughts on Seven Days (of course) as that’s Japan’s version of the perfect love story. 

I think you probubly like more experimental narratives and arthouse cinema styles. I’d encourage you to check out short form BL, especially those from Strongberry (Korea) on GaGa. Also Dark BL depending on your squick factor. 

But honestly from what you said it seems like you’re a prime candidate for the following:

Moody Arthouse Smackdoodle

Your Name Engraved Herein (Taiwan 2020 Netflix) - this movie is fantastic but it is also seriously depressing, it’s a self acceptance journey, but if you wanna wallow in high quality acting and serious gay drama, this’ll do it. It’s nto a super sad ending, it’s not happy either. 

Goodbye Mother AKA Thua Me Con D (Vietnam 2019 Netflix) - like YNEH this is a great movie but it deals openly with homophobia, bashing, family trauma and social acceptance.

The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese AKA Kyuso wa Chizu no Yume wo Miru (Japan 2020) - obsession, cheating, breakup, reunion, then break up again, explicit, grey characters and grey concepts including morality. 

Pornographer movie series - AKA The Novelist, Mood Indigo, Pornographer Playback (Japan 2018-2020) emotional manipulation, cheating, obsession, seduction, May/December (age gap AKA younger/older), kink, touch of necrophilia, explicit, complicated but ultimately... not sad.  

Method (Korea 2017) - May/December, actor idol pairing, that should have been everything I wanted in life but it’s more about the actor cheating on his wife and their weird “artsy” relationship and frankly, I hated this. And I don’t say that lightly. The chemistry and acting can’t be faulted though and the story is... interesting. 

His the series AKA I Didn’t Think I Would Fall In Love (Japan 2019) - boy goes to visit his absent father ends up kinda homeless on the beach gets adopted by local family falls in love with the boy working and living with them. Lots of long drawn out glances. Wistfully pretty. 

Innocent (Taiwan 2021 GaGa) - mental health, childhood trauma, actually kinda sweet.

Does the Flower Bloom? (Japan 2018) - this is a May/December romance about an artist student and the house he inherits from his recently dead parents and all the people around him who are obsessed with him, including an older man. 

Dark Blue and Moonlight (Taiwan 2017) - maybe? You like some of my least favorites, so this might be your thing. I sure as shit wasn’t mine but also it HAD ME HOOKED even though I didn’t want that. It’s the warped version of a CEO romance. 

Also the “it’s a BL but I make no case for it” category: 

Life: Love on the Line (Japan) - you would probubly NOT like the directer’s cut (which I prefer, of course) that ending is too saccharine, so go for the original. 

Silhouette of Your Voce (Japan) You are one of the few people I think would really like this one. 

Not Me (Thailand) - you don’t mention it but I assume you’ve seen it 

Manner of Death (Thailand) - same 

3 Will be Free (Thailand) - same, if not, watch this next  

What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Japan) - there is not plot, so yeah, maybe that’ll work for ya? 

Long Time No See (Korea) - SO GOOD, but edgy and twisted too 

DNA Says Love You (Taiwan) - maybe. This one is... odd and oddly paced. 

Joujou Pure Heart (Japan 2010) 

Great Men Academy (Thailand) 

Oh right and the bromance dirty half dozen:

Untamed

Word of Honor 

The Guardian 

Devil Judge 

SCI Mysteries 

All of these have ambiguous ends, and ambiguous (cough cough not gay)  relationships. 

[matt0044]

I don’t think I fully agree with this discourse against “shorter seasons” or “less filler.” Don’t get me wrong, these are aspects I defend in series like Miraculous or Amphibia but only because that was the direction set for them.

However, with the likes of Wizards: Tales of Arcadia or each season of Stranger Things, I feel like said discourse is unfair to them because we judge them more on what they’re not and less so on what they are.

Specifically, in how they are much like novels in visual form but without them needing to be movies. They’re usually one big storyline divided into chapters/episodes that you can pace yourself to. Even with more lighter parts, they contribute heavily to what’s going on so it feels like we’re getting someplace.

I don’t blame others for having preferences in how they like their stories told not unlike how they might prefer their eggs done. However, we should less so be enforcing a standard of how said storytelling is done and more so try to understand what it’s trying to do, picking it apart from there if little else.

Now it’s not like one can’t express that they felt a mostly linear story could’ve been more episodic to let it’s concept breathe more. Or that an episodic plot could stand to pick up the pace.

A criticism I have of BNA would be how it has a solid plot but a rather cramped flow to its twelve episode run. Something like a two cour twenty six episode run like with Little Witch Academia from the same creative team before would’ve helped it all breathe better.

More time to develop the secondary cast of Anima City, explore Shiro’s case, actually expand on whatever was up with Alan in the final showdown, give us a better sense of Michiru and Nazuna’s tense relationship.

Buuuuuut these things also could’ve worked in a twelve episode run had they trimmed the fat. The Silver Wolf Cult felt like something that would’ve been a good basis for a second season while the first focuses on Shiro’s beef with the Silvasta Family and the Beastman-itis. It would also naturally show Michiru coming into her own after mostly figuring out her powers and being Shiro’s Dr. Watson.

I got a tag full of how Miraculous makes good use of its episodic slowburn but I can see how someone would prefer a more active narrative with far more toying with the Status Quo. Even so, I’m still impressed by how an episode like Party Crasher can be totally stand alone only to drop a brand new hero so casually, one who comes up often.

I guess it’s just my frustration with this, “I don’t like how this story was told and that’s everybody else’s problem” mentality in animation circles. I wouldn’t be watching SGT Frog again if I only appreciated the tighter narratives of, say, Eden of the East.

I also find this desire for filler springing from a case of the “You never know what you have until it’s gone” blues. Filler episodes or what seemed like filler was always disliked by fans of any age.

I remember wishing that they’d materialize Aelita on Code Lyoko during Season 1 or figure out that she was really human in Season 2. It’s only with hindsight I can appreciate better.

[lilover131]

Heading towards the end for Clear Card...What does this mean?

So...as some of you already know, Ohkawa (the writer of CLAMP) announced in a Twitter Space on 1/2 confirming that Clear Card is starting to head towards the end. It appears that the prediction I and others have made in regards to the current events seeming to gear up for the climax of the story are indeed correct. 

So, now that we know this...what does this mean? Many of you probably have a lot of questions about what this entails, so I’ll go point by point on my predictions, opinions, and thoughts as a long term follower of CLAMP manga and my familiarity with following them particularly while a manga is still being serialized. My thoughts under the cut!

When will Clear Card end? 

Personally, I think that even though Ohkawa has announced that it is gearing up towards the end, I do not think this will happen quickly. I believe what she means by this is that it is entering the final arc of the story. In terms of pacing, I doubt that we’ll even see the end of the story this year as the entire story would have to be resolved in basically 8-9 chapters with the occasional breaks CLAMP takes. 8-9 chapters I don’t think is suitable to end the series, especially considering how short these chapters usually are. We also have SO many questions that need answering, and at least one flashback that is in my mind guaranteed for Kaito, so I’m thinking it’s more likely going to end in 2023. 

Are we ever going to get a Season Two for the Anime? 

Unfortunately, there has still been absolutely no news on this. However, based on how well the Clear Card anime was received (I gauge this based on the sheer amount of merchandise and games they are still pumping out as a result), I can’t imagine why Clear Card would not get a season 2. I feel like financially, it was a success, so it seems foolish to not make another season when the odds of making money seem so much like a sure thing. The way season 1 ended was a bit abrupt and without any answers, and even as vague as CLAMP can be with some endings, it seems too odd to end it there. Personally, I think there are and have been intentions of making a season 2, but that they had to wait until more manga material came out before they could even have the possibility of starting it. I think this is a smart move as I have seen countless anime die due to the pacing moving faster than the manga and having to rely solely on fillers to keep going (or god forbid air on a channel that can’t support the themes of the plot and the animation studio decides to just change the most important plot points to make it work *cough* Tsubasa *cough*) . The reason the fillers worked so well in the original anime of Cardcaptor Sakura was because Ohkawa was right there to help them write the scripts, so everything was still canon. However, I doubt she has all the time to spend doing that right now with a manga still ongoing and other projects too probably in the works (not to mention the ladies of CLAMP are getting older and can’t be expected to do as much as they did 20 years ago). 

My hope is that with the confirmation that we’re nearing the end of the story that they’ll finally give us some news about a second season. I feel like there really isn’t any better time than this year, and they should strike while the iron is still hot. I know some friends of mine and myself tend to look for big news around April 1st of every year as this is CLAMP’s anniversary (and Sakura’s birthday!), and it’s not uncommon for them to give us big news on this day. I certainly haven’t lost hope as I have now seen proof of other series getting another season several years later (like ‘The Devil is a Part Timer’), and Cardcaptor Sakura itself is an example of a series getting more content twenty years later. That speaks volumes as to how precious this series is to so many people, including CLAMP, so I just know it’ll get what it deserves. 

What will CLAMP do after Clear Card is over? 

Back when Tsubasa Nirai Kanai was being serialized and reached its final chapter of the arc several years ago, it became apparent, at least to me, that CLAMP was gearing up for something big on their end. The way Nirai Kanai ended seemed to lack in actual answers and really implied that there was more to come (hey, sounds familiar to our situation with the Clear Card anime, now doesn’t it?). Back then, I had felt deep in my heart that CLAMP was putting Tsubasa and XXXHolic on pause for something big. It was very shortly after Nirai Kanai had it’s last chapter that they announced a new Cardcaptor Sakura project.  CLAMP I believe even confirmed themselves that they would continue Tsubasa at some point and this was not the end. So I firmly believe that once Clear Card is done, they will continue with Tsubasa and may even tie it together somehow with Clear Card (no need to panic for those of you who are freaked out by possible Tsubasa connections. I think Clear Card will remain untainted by this and keep true to its main themes). It’s also entirely possible Tsubasa and XXXHolic were placed on pause simply due to time being a factor, but considering how far in advance I’ve seen them plan some things out, I’m a bit more inclined to think that this was decided ahead of time (with Clear Card in particular, I had theorized that it was being planned since at least 2009). 

We also can’t forget that CLAMP is likely still working on finding a new animation studio for the Tokyo Babylon project after the plagiarism scandal with the first studio. I know this is a project they told fans they intend on still going forward with, so this is probably going to be another focus of theirs in the future, and I’m personally very much looking forward to it! I’m happy that it’s so important to them for it to be done right, though I’m bummed that we didn’t get it last year as expected due to absolutely atrocious choices by GoHands (good on CLAMP and King Records for backing out of that one! It was the right choice 100%, and I believe there was even mention of CLAMP themselves being involved in that conversation). 

What will WE do after Clear Card is over? 

Well, I know there are plenty of people who have really struggled to keep following the story and will be grateful when it is over. As for me, it will be very sad. Of course every story has to come to an end at some point, but I love the characters and story so much that I often find myself never wanting it to end. So whether it is a relief for you, a sad parting, or a bittersweet moment filled with feelings from both sides, everything will surely be all right. Be grateful that we were so fortunate to have this extra time with Sakura, Syaoran, and all the other amazing characters, including brand new ones! Be grateful for getting to share this moment with other people who grew up with CCS just like you (I personally have made so many new friends that I might have not met otherwise). Be grateful that so many are being exposed to Cardcaptor Sakura for the first time, some old fans getting to enjoy this alongside their children. Be grateful to love a series so beloved we got more content two decades after the creators said it was done and they didn’t plan on making more. Be grateful that when they made a Clear Card anime, they managed to get nearly every single original voice actor, director, music composer, singer, and more to come back 20 years later to reprise their roles. Everyone’s love for Cardcaptor Sakura is what made Clear Card a reality. So really, when it comes down to it, the magic was in us all along. What we have here is so incredibly special, and I’m going to enjoy every moment of it. 

[chernobog13]

HAPPY STAR TREK DAY!

(although if you live in Canada, “Star Trek” day was two days ago, because the show was broadcast there first)

Today marks the 55th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise.  Premiering on the NBC network at 8:30 pm, the country encountered most of the crew of the USS Enterprise for the first time in the episode The Man Trap.

Although it was the first episode broadcast, The Man Trap was actually the sixth episode produces.  However, it was a good choice as a premier because it  included most of the main cast as well as many of the elements that would become staples of the series.

First and foremost being the USS Enterprise, a ship unlike any other ever seen.

Ah, the old NCC-1701!  She is a thing of beauty!

The episode, of course, opens with the familiar voice over “Captain’s log,” which was a wonderful storytelling device for setting the narrative.  But even though we hear Captain Kirk’s voice first (although we don’t know his name yet), Spock is the first major character we see.  The log entry informs us that Spock has been left in charge onboard the Enterprise.

We also get our first glimpse of Lt. Uhura, seated at the navigator’s station.  It won’t be until a little later that we learn that she is the communications officer for the ship.  But this quick scene establishes that the Enterprise’s crew is very diverse (an alien and a Black female both on the bridge), which raised more than a few eyebrows back in 1966.

Next we get our first view of the transporter effect.  There is no explanation given as to what is happening, other than Kirk’s voiceover stating that he and Dr. McCoy are “beaming down” to the planet’s surface.  Star Trek, especially in the early days, decided the audience would be able to figure out what was happening.

Then we get out first look at Captain James Kirk and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy.  The scene immediately establishes the friendship between the two, with Kirk’s gentle teasing of his ship’s doctor.  Also note, this is the shortest you’ll see Kirk’s hair in the entire series.  He’s got a proper military cut here; by the end of the third season he almost looks like a hippie.

There’s also a great bit later on, when Kirk and McCoy are speaking to each other on the ship via viewscreen.  McCoy tells Kirk he’s having trouble sleeping.  Kirk’s reply: “Try taking one of those red pills you gave me last week.  You’ll sleep!”

Throughout the episode we’ve seen Kirk as the tough, no-nonsense, by-the-book captain who commands the respect of the people he leads.  But these bits with McCoy show his humorous, human side that makes him a great character.  I truly miss first season Kirk, especially the first part of the season, because that’s my favorite version of him. 

Peppered throughout the episode are shots establishing many of the other characters  who will become regulars on the series.    Here we have Yeoman Janice Rand, who we learn is the captain’s yeoman and quite popular among the male crew members.

Unfortunately, Yeoman Rand only appeared in eight episodes spread across the first half of the season.  

Rand delivers the tray of food at the botany lab, where we meet Sulu for the first time.

Since this is the first time the audience see Lieutenant Sulu, it would be understandable if it was assumed that he was just a botanist.  Actually, Sulu had a few different positions in the first season (he was a physicist in the second pilot Where No man Has Gone Before, which would be broadcast 2 weeks after The Man Trap).

Surprisingly, Lieutenant Uhura seemed to get the most screen time of all the secondary characters. (not that I’m complaining; Nichelle Nichols is absolutely gorgeous!).  Earlier on the bridge she was flirting with Spock (with Spock subtly tugging on his shirt collar, indicating his discomfort), and then chastising him for his apparent lack of concern when he learned that a member of the landing party is dead.  Here she is being the queen that she is, teaching two other crew members proper turbolift etiquette: you let the person in the lift get out before you get in (same goes for elevators, just in case you didn’t know).

Two other recurring characters, Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott and Nurse Christine Chapel, are the only two not seen in this episode.  Scotty’s voice, though is heard on the communicator responding to Kirk from the transporter room. As for Nurse Chapel, she was not introduced until The Naked Time, which was the next episode (#7) produced, but the fourth to air.

One thing which I didn’t notice until I rewatched this episode just now (or maybe I did notice, but just forgot) is that Kirk is carrying a phaser almost the whole show, even while on the bridge.

Sharp-eyed viewers may also spot various crew members in older uniforms, like those worn in the two pilots, The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before.

Some people may call these continuity errors, or chalk it up to the wardrobe department recycling costumes for the extras.  But anyone who’s been in the military knows there’s always a transition period when new uniforms are introduced.  For example, my Basic Training class was the absolute last in the Army to be issued the old olive drab green fatigues.  The next class was issued the new woodland camouflage BDUs that became the standard for the next ten years.  I was given six months to purchase a full set of BDUs (you read that right: I had to buy them with my own money).  However, unless BDUs were specifically designated as the uniform of the day I was able to wear the o.d.green fatigues for another two years until they were phased out completely. I imagine these crew members are in a similar situation.

A few more Star Trek “firsts” from The Man Trap:

Kirk (or any crew member) using the communicator.  Kirk is on his communicator a lot this episode.

The Enterprise on red alert.

A gun - or, more correctly, phaser - battle.  Here we see Professor Crater armed with an “old style” phaser, but really just them same type that was used in the two pilots.

The very first phaser shot, as Professor Crater snipes at Kirk and Spock.

Kirk firing his phaser.  Don’t worry, it’s set on “stun.”

Professor Crater getting struck by phaser fire.  Don’t worry, it was set on “stun.”  He’s going to talk like he’s drunk for the next few minutes.

Kirk and Spock planetside, establishing that the two highest ranking officers will beam down alone to handle a dangerous situation.  It’s not like they have an entire Security Department on board the ship.

The very first meeting in the Briefing Room.

The crew at various stations on the bridge, although Uhura and Sulu are not at their usual posts, which just shows that this crew is highly competent and can handle multiple duties.  Oh, and two of them happen to be women, and tow are people of color.

Sulu chiming in on the meeting via viewscreen.

And then, because it was a science fiction television show in the 1960s, the network insisted there be a monster.  So we got the salt vampire, the shape-changing creature that had been killing all sorts of people by sucking the salt out of their bodies.  Not too scary by today’s standards, but I wouldn’t want to run into it in a dark alley.

The first time we get to see Kirk make that face as he screams in pain.

And the first time we see a dead monster/alien on the Enterprise.

The, finally, the what will become familiar denouement with everyone on the bridge as Kirk gives the order for the Enterprise to break orbit and proceed to its next assignment.  Notice that Sulu has finally managed to make it to the helmsman’s station.

Headed off into space for another adventure next week!

1966 was a great year.  It gave us Ultra Q. Ultraman, Ambassador Magma (aka The Space Giants), The New Adventures of Superman animated series, the Slurpee and, of course, Star Trek.

55 years later Star Trek is more popular than ever, with several new television series available, and another feature film in the works.  Here’s hoping for another 55 years of exploring the galaxy!

[thatonecoryosimp]

The Devil's Mercenary Part 9. Technoblade X reader. Love Locked

I'm finally getting the next chapter out, I'll be updating and writing some things today cause I'm not at school, I'm sick. I'm waiting for the meds to kick in right now so it doesn't feel like my head is imploding. This is a Dream chapter, wink wink, nudge nudge.

I've been rly sick the last week or so, and my relationship status is now complicated, so y'know.

Warnings: Smut, Mommy kink, Dom reader, Sub Dream, words like "baby, pet, whore." Beware.

Date: 10/5/2021

Series Masterlist

I was going about my day, as usual, my shoes crunched along the ground as I watched the colored leaves shake in the wind. Fall was such a beautiful season, everything sparkled in such a way, one that could melt the heart of even the most brutal of people.

The crisp air made its way through my hair, I could swear I could see it, dancing in its mysterious way, moving to its own tune.

The birds were heard chirping and I watched as small critters ran along the ground, basking in the sun's warm light.

And while fall was a very beautiful season, it was also very melancholy. It, like everything else, held two sides. While the land and the trees and the animals rejoiced in the cooling temperatures, and they turned to magnificent colors.

The thought arises that even if they are beautiful, they're still going to die. This was the leaves' last blaze of glory, its final bow. Some fell sooner than others, and in a few weeks, the rest would join. Dotting the Earth in their colors for a short time before losing them. Going brown, then to fall into obscurity.

It could almost make me sad to think about, but right now I could still enjoy the wonder the beginning of fall brought.

I felt the timber basket swish in my hand and I looked down to see a songbird, it had landed on the lid of the wooden container and started to peck at the whisker.

A chuckle formed as I stared at the gray and yellow bird.

"Well hello, little guy," I laughed. The bird's eyes met my own and it started to twitter. Its beak barely opening in closing. I grinned as I looked at the small animal.

"Aren't you just a little cutey?"

"Are you talking to a bird?" My eyes shot up and the basket jolted with my body, this had startled the bird causing it to fly off. I huffed as I watched the flurry of gray and yellow fly off.

"What was that for?" I glared at him.

I could see the blond stand up with a laugh, his emerald eyes blazing as he looked at me.

"I'm sorry I scared your little friend away," he walked closer to me with an almost loving smile on his lips, "Maybe we should eat to take your mind off it?" I felt him take the handle from me before putting one of his hands on the small of my back.

I slightly leaned into his side as I let myself react to his touch. My eyes closed again and a breath left my lips. I felt my nose scrunch slightly, this was only a deal, that's all it was. It wasn't anything else. This wasn't cheating, I wasn't even officially dating Wilbur.

I felt bad, I really did, but whenever I looked at him or was around him, I felt so right.

My eyes opened and I looked up at the man that caused my problems.

"I think this should be a good place, hmm?" I lost eye contact with him as I glanced around. The sight of the autumn trees brought a smile to my lips, it was so enchanting. The sun was setting in the distance, still peaking out over the treetops.

"Yeah," I answered breathily, "this is nice."

He sat the basket on the ground and pulled out the blanket stored in there. He unfolded it before ruffling it through the air, I watched it unfurl before it was placed on the slightly bumpy grown.

I sat down first, soon to be joined by the man that called me here.

I was the one to start unloading the food, taking out tasty concoctions Niki and I had made the night before, she hadn't questioned why I had wanted to bake so late, just happily obliged to help me.

As I sat out the last of the food I looked at him with a questioning stare, he was already looking at me, his eyes flickered in the last rays of sunlight, he had a dopey smile on his face.

"Why did you ask me to come here today?" I asked. I could see him slightly falter before picking up one of his favorite treats, it was a double-stuffed chocolate loaf cake, I had baked it for him before, and he constantly begged me for more.

"I wanted to tell you some things, I'm going to be talking to Wilbur tomorrow but I knew you'd want to be caught up." My eyebrows furrowed as I picked up a sandwich.

"Go on."

He smiled at me and took a bite of his cake, "I wanted to offer L'manburg their freedom."

My eyes widened as I looked at him, "What's the catch?"

"That there would be an election, an old friend of mine offered me a proposition. That I give L'manburg their freedom, if he could run for president, all I would have to do is be his endorsement."

I looked at him with widened eyes, if Wilbur agreed, he could win, I know he would win.

"Who's your 'old friend'," I questioned, still slightly skeptical.

"JShlatt."

The name sounded slightly familiar, I just couldn't put my finger on it. I nodded my head, my eyes were unfocused as I looked at him.

Before I could say anything else, he interrupted again, I could see him take a quick inhale of breath, "There's one more thing I would like to run by you." I stared at him, but he was looking at the ground.

A hum fell from my lips as I continued eating my food.

"I would like to temporarily put the killing part of our deal on hold."

That definitely caught my attention, "So we would just be fucking?"

He paused a minute, looking at me, then at the ground, I could see him struggling to find the right wording, "Yeah..."

I could hear his voice trail, there was something else there, but at the moment I didn't feel like pushing.

Other thoughts were swimming through my head at that moment, so many questions that would be left unanswered for the time being.

That would make it cheating, wouldn't it?

I could tell he noticed my hesitancy.

"Hey," he mumbled, scooching closer to me, his hand cupped my jaw as he looked at me.

"How about we take your mind off it?"

I looked at him with slightly glazed eyes, "How?" I saw him smile. The moon started to rise from the other side of the trees, I could see fireflies winding through the trees as I stared at the man in front of me.

He stood up and grabbed something out of his pocket, and as the moon rose I saw lanterns turn on all around me, light illuminated his features as he stared down at me with his hand held out.

I heard music start to play, it was low, almost like a wedding song.

"Would you dance with me?" my hands were placed in his as he pulled me up.

My body was swirled into his body. He held me close, his feet finding a rhythm with the melodies. His smile was sweet, and the way he held me with such purpose made my heart melt.

He twirled us around the open area. My head rested on his chest. My eyes were closed as one of his hands was wrapped around mine. My arm was rung around his neck.

The mood was made better when I accidentally stepped on his foot, both of us started laughing as I kept stumbling.

His body shook as he buried his nose in my hair. The arm around my waist tightened around me.

"You're such a klutz," he mumbled.

It was a jab, yes, but it was soft. He was kidding. I could hear him mumble something else under his breath.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it, gorgeous."

I felt him press his lips to my forehead as the music slowed to a stop. We stood there for a few seconds. It was peaceful, standing there with him, away from everything. He made me feel loved.

He pulled away and guided me back to the picnic area. I could see a squirrel ruffling through some of the food. A laugh tumbled from my throat as I watched Dream panic.

"My cake!" he bellowed as he ran over. The critter raced off as the large man stumbled over. He looked over the picnic area and whined as he saw the crumbs of his cake. He sat back dejected, head held low.

My heart slightly sputtered as I looked at him, something came over me as I walked over to him. My pointer finger hooked under his chin and I pulled his head up. He looked at me with big puppy dog eyes.

"Do you want me to make you feel better?" with that the mood shifted, it was charged, electric. His eyes widened before he nodded

"Yes, please."

I smiled and bent down and pressed my lips to his. I broke the kiss and sat down on his lap. One arm got thrown around his neck and the other got placed on the middle of his chest.

I connected our lips again with a smile, I felt him whine again as I began to put pressure on his middle, he leaned back on the blanket so now I was straddling his hips.

I once again pulled away, he looked at me with such big eyes as I sat upright completely.

"Please..." I heard him mumble. A smile pulled on my lips.

"In a minute, baby. You'll get what you want."

I pulled my shirt off my body as I looked back at him. His hands went to my bare hips but I pushed them off.

"Not yet pup, mommy's working still."

he nodded and tried to sit still, watching me with hungry eyes, I stood up for s second to take off my pants. I knew he was watching me, and I was going to milk every second.

I pulled off the pants and hooked my thumbs in my underwear. I slowly started pulling them off. I slipped them over my feet and sat back down. I grabbed his hands and brought them to my back.

He unhooked my bra and pulled it off, throwing it to the side. I began to palm him through his pants, a groan tumbled from his lips at the sensation.

It was rather easy to pull them off, just a quick tug and they were down to his thighs. I crawled the rest of the way down his body and took him in my mouth. I felt his hands land in my hair.

"Mommy," he moaned, "oh please, mommy."

My head started to bob faster as I felt him tug at my hair. His thighs clenched a bit and I pulled off him.

I looked up at him as his hands fell from me, he had a look of confusion on his face.

"Don't worry baby, mommy's gonna take care of you."

I quickly placed my entrance over his shaft before sinking down. A loud moan fell from my baby's lips as he grabbed my hips. His head was thrown back as he bit his lips between his teeth.

I gently started to rock back and forth, before starting to slightly bounce. Leaning forward so I was resting on his chest. I could listen to him as so many moans fell from him. His hips sputtered as I started a little faster.

His hair was messed up, his head was thrown back, his face was flushed, and his eyebrows were scrunched up.

"You look like such a little whore." I moaned, watching as my words had an instant reaction. His hips coming up to meet mine.

"Are you mommy's little whore, huh? Huh, prince?"

"Yes-" there was a break where you could just hear his panting and skin slapping together, "Fuck, I'm such a whore for you mommy."

A moan sounded from my lips as I continued to chase both our highs.

"Am I being a good boy, mommy? Please tell me I'm being a good boy," I heard him moan.

"Yes baby, you're being such a good boy," I paused for a moment, my own breath becoming ragged, "Such a good boy for me."

It wasn't long before I felt his thighs clench up again, "Mommy, I need- I need to cum, please."

I nodded, "Cum for me, come on, baby."

My hips sped up slightly, just enough to tip him over the edge, I felt my own high tumble over me as I stopped, I felt him fill me up with warm hot ropes.

Our breathing slowly regulated as we laid there.

"Do you feel better now?" I asked.

"Yes, so much better."

~Jules

~~~~

I got kinda tired towards the end so I'm sorry if it's kinda shitty, I think I should lay down for a bit. Have a nice day lovelys, take care of yourselves, drink water. Love you guys.