#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

[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!

[deluxewhump]

The Scry: chapter II

CW: not a lot. tentative reassurance and comfort. building trust. series warnings for human trafficking, whumpee with exploited powers.

He decided he’d rather bring this Carlo boy home with him than leave him in the building overnight.

It wasn’t just that Ingrid asked to see him. It was a new and sudden sense of responsibility, even if its contours were rough and undefined. All day he felt a tug between the professional aloofness he usually liked to maintain at work and the desire to be a source of comfort for the precog boy they’d given him.

He was clearly abused before. By whom, for how long, and in what ways was not clear. The fact he was so concerned if this business was a fully legal venture or not made Max think for sure he was one of the repossessed precognitives that had been used in day trading and investments, or even the less subtle art of ripping off casinos and lotteries. Who needs risk management when you can see the future?

Which is exactly how he was supposed to use the poor thing, except with the green light from the United States government.

…At least for now. Carlo didn’t belong to him (the thought was jarring anyway, now that he saw the precogs were flesh and blood). He belonged to Spartan, and only because recent legislation had made it possible. It could always go the other way. Spartan could decide they weren’t worth it, sell them to another company. Or the winds could change in Washington (or the state of Maryland? He didn’t know. His mother would know), and the feds could demand the precogs back.

Five o’clock came. He knew it without checking the clock by the shadows on the office wall. The sun dipped behind the neighboring buildings, winter-orange rays cut by symmetrical blocks. He heard people talking in the hallway on the way to the elevators.

Carlo was curled in the armchair by the floor to ceiling window, dozing. He startled awake at the footsteps outside the door, confused for a moment as to where he was. He looked at Max and Max smiled gently to put him at ease.

“Hey.”

Carlo yawned sleepily, trying to stifle it.

“I’m gonna head out in a few minutes. You wanna come with me or stay here?”

Carlo looked at him closely, a quick up and down as if seeing him for the first time.

“My girlfriend is at home,” Max said as he began to gather his things, powering off his computer. “We can make some dinner. Probably watch some TV. She likes these really trashy shows, reality shows and competitions and whatnot. Honestly, I’m really into the one we just started. It’s like the reality show version of Clue. I’ve got a spare bedroom. We can make it up nice and warm for you.”

Carlo watched him slip his laptop into his briefcase. He felt like he was coaxing a wild animal out of a thicket.

“Or you can stay here. They have a spot for you downstairs I guess. I haven’t seen it. I imagine it’s like a dorm or a barrack situation. Who knows, maybe they went all out and it’s the Four Seasons down there.”

Does this kid know what the hell you’re talking about?

He busied himself by checking his smartwatch. It was a weird for him, saying this kind of stuff to this boy he’d just met, handed off to him so absurdly.

“The things I said to you this morning… all that still stands if you come home with me. I’m not gonna hurt you. It’s safe. I promise.”

—

Ingrid was way ahead of him. By the time they got home she’d been home for an hour and started dinner. There was a load of laundry in the wash, and she was talking to her mother on the phone. She saw them in the doorway and blurted a quick gotta go before hanging up.

She only stared for a second, to give her credit. He had too, when Cissy first dropped him off.

“I really don’t know what I was expecting,” she said when he was upstairs. “But it wasn’t that.”

She treated him like a guest, but there was a reservation behind her smile, the same as Cecelia had. It was in the eyes. Carlo held out a hand for her when they met, and she took it gently, giving it a little dip more than a shake. For some reason it made Max’s heart ache to watch.

When dinner was done and cleaned up, they sat on the couch to watch Ingrid’s new reality show. He and Ingrid both thought the best way to go about it was just to continue their normal routine and add him in, not make a big deal out of it.

Carlo was in the wingback chair next to them, his feet tucked underneath him and a blanket tucked up close. He was always cold, Max noticed. When they’d left the office the December wind had seemed to physically pain him, and he had trouble warming up, even inside.

Ingrid lifted her head from Max’s lap, shifting upright into a cross legged position. “Carlo?” She asked. “Can you… can you see your own future?”

Max’s head snapped away from the TV. She was always telling him he was too blunt, too pragmatic and state-your-purpose. And yet he hadn’t dared ask the poor thing something like that yet.

Carlo looked at Ingrid with those big doe eyes of his, bruises like shadows on his face. “No ma’am,” he whispered. Max read his lips more than actually heard him. He cleared his throat. “Sometimes it happens, but it’s not good.”

Max could understand her curiosity. They didn’t know anything about these things. There was almost nothing on the internet. It’s like they’d been kept in Area 51.

“Why isn’t it good?” she asked cautiously. Her copper-red hair was pulled into a bun, her eyeliner smudged from laying on a pillow over Max’s lap.

“It’ll hurt me,” he shrugged, like that was something not entirely unexpected. “It’s not supposed to be used for that. It’s against the code of conduct.”

Ingrid’s eyebrows knit for a millisecond before she relaxed her face again, cool neutral. “Whose code of conduct?”

Max pinched her calf where Carlo couldn’t see. Her knee twitched towards him a centimeter, but she didn’t bat an eye in acknowledgment.

Carlo looked from Ingrid to him, unsure if he should say. A commercial for dish soap ended and their show came back on, the cliffhanger middle of a reality show challenge.

“Hey,” she said, picking the remote off Maxs thigh and turning up the volume on the tv. “Shelly’s gonna win this one again, look at her.”

—

He brought Carlo extra blankets from the linen closet. One was an old family quilt, hand sewn by his great grandmother or something, he couldn’t remember exactly, but his mother always mentioned it.

The spare room was a little dusty, and there were some cardboard boxes in one corner— things of his fathers he hadn’t gone through yet. His parents divorced when he was in college. It had been coming for a decade, the spaces between sentences and looks growing wider by the year until they were more like roommates, strangers with a grown child who shared their DNA.

His father lived out in Phoenix now. He had a girlfriend Max and Ingrid’s age. His mother lived downtown, closer to the true love of her life, the law practice she and her business partner ran. Sometimes, even now, he would feel a twinge of annoyance at his mothers seemingly bottomless devotion to her practice.

She’s like one of those German Shepherds that carries rocks around in its mouth til it bleeds, he’d said to Ingrid in a particularly ungenerous moment. She’d been too kind to point out it was maybe a twinge of jealousy, but he felt it in her sympathetic little downturned mouth.

That possibility was too immature and borderline Oedipal for him to want to contemplate. After the divorce finalized, he inherited the old family Victorian at twenty four, and had lived in it these seven years since until it felt like his house and no longer his parents’.

Carlo got gingerly into the single bed, made up with fresh sheets earlier in the afternoon by Ingrid.

Max laid the heavy extra quilt at his feet. “It's a little chilly upstairs at night,” he admitted. “Can I get you some socks or something?”

“I’m okay,” Carlo said politely. Max went to the dresser anyway, pulling out a thick pair of socks folded into a ball.

“Just in case,” he said, and set them on the bedside table.

“Max?”

He paused in the doorway.

“Are we going to start tomorrow?”

Something in the tender innocence of the question stung. He couldn’t tell if it had been asked out of fear or curiosity, though he sensed both on the boy almost constantly.

“Yeah,” he answered truthfully. “We should take a shot at it, if you’re ready.”

“Okay.”

“You think you can get some sleep?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Just let him keep doing it, if that’s what he wants to call you. Maybe it’s a way to keep it professional, keep some distance. Let him have that.

“We’re right down the hall if you need us. Ok? Anything at all.”

In the dark of his bedroom, Ingrid turned to him restlessly. He could feel her eyes on him, the blue glow of the digital clock just enough to see the outline of her shoulder.

“I’m sorry I asked him that.”

“It’s fine.”

Ingrid could be impulsive, but her regret and introspection later was always twofold. She’d drink a few glasses of wine at dinner with their friends and worry for a week she’d been too candid, laughed too loud. She thought she’d been accidentally rude to their waiter once and asked Max to turn the truck around so she could go back and explain her mistake. He didn’t turn the truck around, of course. He told her she was way in her own head, to learn to let it go.

He felt for her arm in the dark, followed it down to her hand and held it loosely. She turned her palm up to reciprocate.

“I wonder, too,” he told her. “I wanna know who hurt him like that, for one. And the elephant in the room— could he see our futures, if he tried?”

“I don’t think I wanna know my future.”

“Me either. And if you do know it, could you inadvertently change it? Is it set in stone? Does him having precognitive sight mean free will is an illusion after all?”

Ingrid groaned. Both as a lapsed Baptist and devout atheist, she didn’t like that.

“Sorry, kid,” he grinned in the dark. “We don’t need to worry about free will before bed.”

“Tell me how it goes tomorrow. I don’t wanna know my own future, but I wanna know what he can do. What it’s like.”

“I will,” he promised, squeezing her cool hand. “I’ll tell you all about it.”

Scry taglist;

@whumpsday @distinctlywhumpthing @pumpkin-spice-whump @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi

[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+

[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.

[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

[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.

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2022 - Best TV Show

There’s certain shows I wait to watch with a friend who never really watches TV. So if there was a specific miniseries And/or television season that you expected would make this list and it didn’t, that may be why. Here are the Aarons for Best TV Show:

#10. A Friend of the Family (Miniseries) - Peacock

A Friend of the Family is related to television’s ongoing proliferation of true-crime, but the show stands apart for two reasons. The first is the almost farcical facts behind the real-life kidnapping of Jan Broberg; the many maddening developments feel barely contained by the nine-episode miniseries rather than ever stretched thin. The second is its uncommon association with the victim of the crime: Broberg herself, now an actress, produces and introduces the show as a chance to tell her own story. Family gathers together an assortment of all-star actors to do so, including Colin Hanks, Anna Paquin, and an unexpectedly dark turn from The Office’s Jake Lacy. It’s the always-impressive McKenna Grace as Jan who fulfills Broberg’s intentions though, giving survivors a powerful portrait of resilience and recovery.

#9. The Afterparty (Season 1) - Apple TV+

The Afterparty’s success is no mystery: the ambitious show was assembled by one of the genius architects of The Lego Movie, Christopher Miller. His whodunnit sees a who’s who of comedy actors - Sam Richardson, Ben Schwartz, and Ilana Glazer, among others - reinterpreting their witness statements through the lens of unique movie genres. Episodes may be animated one week and a musical the next but Miller directs each and every one with aplomb. They’re all precisely placed pieces in the show’s larger puzzle, one content with giving its audience all the clues rather than being determined to outsmart them; the season’s satisfying conclusion gives The Afterparty another reason to celebrate.

#8. Our Flag Means Death (Season 1) - HBO Max

In hindsight, it’s not surprising that Our Flag Means Death stole viewers’ hearts last year: the pirate comedy had an impressive pedigree in producer Taika Waititi, director Nacho Vigalondo, star Rhys Darby, and creator David Jenkins. Still, the emotional impact of the historical-skewing series sneaks up on one over the course of its first season. Flag is planted in the strange-but-true tale of Stede Bonnet, an 18th Century aristocrat-turned-incompetent-pirate. It’s a premise that proves to be a treasure trove of not just humor, but pathos. In another authentic but unbelievable event, Bonnet eventually crosses paths with the notorious Blackbeard; the evolution of their relationship shivers one’s timbers in all the best ways. 

#7. Reservation Dogs (Season 2) - Hulu

Taika Waititi-produced comedies usually reserve at least one slot in this category each year; this time, he earned two. Reservation Dogs expanded its characters’ horizons in its sophomore season, taking them on several excursions away from home and pairing them off into new dynamics. Not lost along the way was the biting humor and big-hearted nature that first made the show a breakout hit. While Dogs is led by a pack of highly talented young actors, the second season also built out its strong staple of side characters in spotlight episodes. Fostering more perspectives furthered the versatility of the inclusive series; its single guarantee is that each episode will be a doggone good time.

#6. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Season 1) - Paramount+

Breaking with the serialized nature of its contemporaries Discovery and Picard, Strange New Worlds boldly goes back to what the Star Trek franchise was before: episodic adventures that spotlight its diverse crew. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise years before James Kirk took the helm, and, while familiar faces like Spock and Uhura play a role, the competence and camaraderie displayed by Captain Pike and his crew make them every bit as likable. The standalone format affords the show time for the type of Star Trek shenanigans lacking in recent years, like Vulcan body-swaps or a conscious nebula trapping characters in a fantasy storybook, but the nostalgic show doesn’t just rest on its laurels. Strange New Worlds is home to state-of-the-art special effects and set designs that opens up the franchise to many new frontiers. 

#5. Evil (Season 3) - Paramount+

While creators Robert and Michelle King ended their Good Fight last year, Evil is only picking up steam. After towing a line of plausible skepticism for two seasons, the show finally gave itself over to baser instincts, escalating the supernatural’s presence within its spiritual warfare. This opened the book for even more zany creature designs, and, odder still, cheeky takes on cryptocurrency and the creative process. Its soul, as always, remained with its trio of intrepid investigators, each put through their toughest trials yet by the eclectic collection of demons. The only beings eviler may be the showrunners themselves, forcing viewers to wait an indefinite amount of time for the story’s next chapter.

#4. The Rehearsal (Season 1) - HBO

Comedian Nathan Fielder generously gifted the world with its greatest TV show, Nathan for You, yet that masterpiece may prove to be just a dry run for something even better. HBO’s new quasi-reality series directly markets Fielder’s business acumen to individuals, offering them a chance to rehearse difficult life events before they happen. His plan? Naturally, it involves blowing the budget on precise soundstage replicas, an ersatz family of rotating child actors, and an elaborate scheme to implant trivia answers in an unsuspecting host. In a meta moment, these early enterprises are just a precursor to the show’s real content: a vivisection of its own immoral tactics and of Fielder’s on-screen persona. Though it’s been renewed for a second season, The Rehearsal so far gives viewers no clue of what to expect next.

#3. Barry (Season 3) - HBO

As the show goes on, the ‘comedy’ label ascribed to it bears less and less of an indication of what to expect from Barry. That’s not to say the story of a hitman-turn-actor trying to escape his past isn’t frequently funny - its shots at show-business certainly earn big laughs - only that one doesn’t go into the Bill Hader series expecting such a brutal exploration of toxic masculinity and cycles of abuse. While shows centering anti-heroes aren’t all that unique, few are so unequivocal about the damage their characters do. With that undiluted darkness and a game-changing season three finale in hand, Barry takes aim at toppling television’s greatest works. 

#2. Atlanta (Seasons 3 & 4) - FX

After a four-year absence from the airwaves, Atlanta returned as peachy as ever. The Twin Peaks-inspired sitcom delivered twin seasons last year, a one-two punch of peak TV that let the series go out on top. The third season followed both a European tour and detours away from the regular cast. The fourth reunited its four stars in the eponymous city before sending them off to even greater adventures. Neither was lacking in the absurdist humor and acute commentary that made the show worth waiting for. Even if stars Donald Glover, Zazie Beetz, Brian Tyree Henry, and LaKeith Stenfield weren’t already all embarked on successful big-screen careers, their immense and incomparable talents would always live on in Atlanta. 

#1. Better Call Saul (Season 6) - AMC

Saul’s final call upheld its standing as a worthy successor, and perhaps surpasser, of its parent show Breaking Bad, which previously set the bar for concluding seasons. Going into the closing chapter, one’s investment was mainly in the fates of the spin-off’s original characters. Those were resolved in satisfying states of shock, but the show broke free of prequel predictability further by setting its last few episodes after the events of Bad. While the calculated conflict between warring drug cartels was certainly intense, nothing was as heart-stopping as watching the relationship between lawyers Saul Goodman and Kim Wexler spiral to its denouement. After years of guessing and distressing over the outcome, fans couldn’t have asked for a better end.

NEXT UP: THE 2022 AARONS FOR BEST TV EPISODE!

[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

[arabellaflynn]

Advent Calendar 11: Into The ~THIRD DIMENSION!~

Greetings, and welcome to Advent Calendar 2022! This year we're being self-indulgent and rambling about video games.

As usual, the Advent Calendar is also a pledge drive. Subscribe to my writing Patreon here by December 15th for at least $5/mo and get an e-card for Ratmas; subscribe for $20/mo (and drop me a mailing address) and you'll get a real paper one!

I hope you're all having a happy winter holiday season. Let the nerd rambling commence!

Video games from the very start have made creative use of two dimensions. The ancestor of the video game as we know it was a Pong-like amusement that involved creative misuse of an oscilloscope, a device meant specifically for graphing electrical signals on an XY plane. But almost as soon as they had worked out how to draw pictures on a flat surface, game makers set their sights on the magical, mystical THIRD DIMENSION.

The first attempts actually mimicked the nascent processes of computer animation. The earliest way to get computers to understand the idea of 3D objects was to define them as a series of flat polygons, attached to each other at edges and vertices at specific angles. The classic example was a still render of the Platonic solids (tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, icosahedron), as well as a model of a Melitta teapot that was affectionately dubbed the "Utah teapot" or "teapotahedron". Arcade and console games, with their limited computing power, could handle a handful of vertices, but couldn't keep up with filling in the faces with color or shading -- the result was a distinctive 'wireframe' look, which was emulated as a 'high tech' effect in movies like Star Wars, Star Trek II, and TRON. A lot of famous wireframe games from as far back as the Star Wars arcade game in 1983, are genuine 3D renders, just extremely simplistic ones. Many of them made use of vector graphics, where the electron beam in the monitor draws directly from point to point on the screen, rather than having to draw the entire screen on ever field, line by line, top to bottom.

Simulating a three-dimensional space with color and shading on a 2D plane is an interesting problem, and largely makes use of cognitive tricks like size cues and relative motion. As long as the viewport is restricted, you can use some fairly simple transformations to mimic depth of field. Most of these tricks have been widely known and used since the fad for linear perspective art in the Renaissance -- what they were waiting for, with respect to video games, was for computing technology to advance to the point where these transformations could be applied to the picture in real time. Gamers today are snobs that would refuse to open their actual eyes if life ran at any less than 60 frames per second, but realistically you can at least give the viewer the idea of movement in 3D space at 10-15 FPS, as long as your graphics aren't mud. Coding Secrets below gives a pretty concise explanation of how you can create the illusion of movement in space just by careful color manipulation.

Mickey Mania was not the only game to use the technique, which was achievable to some extent on any console that combined tile-based backgrounds and sprites. Slightly more sophisticated on the computing end was the Super Nintendo's infamous "Mode 7". While this was still not a true 3D rendering system, it allowed the programmers to automate the process of those perspective-mimicking distortions, using affine transformations. Retro Game Mechanics Explained gives a good overview, if you dig the technical language.

True volumetric 3D would have to wait for better computing power, and its popularity had to wait for a bunch of geeks who wanted to shoot Nazis from a first-person perspective.

from Blogger https://ift.tt/36FgIYz via IFTTT -------------------- Enjoy my writing? Consider becoming a Patron, subscribing via Kindle, or just toss a little something in my tip jar. Thanks!

[katy-133]

[Just when I think I'm done adding to this, some more stuff appears. Going down the rabbit hole and past the centre of the Earth. Imma bout to be destroyed by a literally 823 year old song.]

Existing in Multiple Places Part 2

During Prime's introductory scene in his lair, he brings up the idea of cloning.

Prime: "I shoot the first monitor too. Listen, I'm not here... Or am I? There's the clone you found. Or maybe it's me all naked. Just a little Keyser Söze."

It turns out that Prime is bluffing and that the figure in the escape pod isn't a clone, and is in fact the same Prime that kills Jerry.

But what if he really is a clone, and in fact is one of many Prime clones? That would explain how he can be detected in multiple places at once.

In season 5, there's an entire episode (Mortyplicity) devoted to the idea of C-137 creating "decoys" to avoid getting killed by his enemies. So what if Prime had the same idea?

Keyser Söze Parallel

Back to this line:

Prime: "I shoot the first monitor too. Listen, I'm not here... Or am I? There's the clone you found. Or maybe it's me all naked. Just a little Keyser Söze."

The shooting the monitor comment is possibly a reference to the Portal games, wherein the player, trapped in a lab facility, can break cameras and screens the antagonists use to speak to you, much to their annoyance. Because of the funny extra dialogue you get, players are tempted to "shoot the first monitor" out of spite on each level.

This tells us that Prime, like early-season C-137, likes to drop pop culture references.

Keyser Söze is the main antagonist in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects and is a name used to describe a villain who is highly feared, ruthless, and elusive to catch, often using a plot twist or misdirection to escape.

An example I remember of its previous use is director Jordan Peele talking in an interview about a twist in his horror film Get Out, where he last-minute decided to withhold key information about a character's involvement with the antagonists of the plot, instead of revealing it earlier like in previous drafts of the film, saying, "At some point I realised, wait a second--If you could pull some Keyser Söze shit, why would you not pull some Keyser Söze shit?!"

For The Usual Suspects, the name Keyser Söze was picked by screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, settling on "Söze" after learning about the Turkish idiom "söze boğmak," which means, "to talk unnecessarily too much and cause confusion" (literally: "To drown in words").

Evading his enemies through complex gambits (sometimes involving identity confusion) is a major part of Söze's character, so Prime referring to himself as a Keyser Söze fits.

The identity confusion aspect is important, since that also fits with the theory of Prime kidnapping Morty using a disguise (see: Prime's Plan Part 2 header, above).

The Serum (Addon)

Thank you to @tredlocity for helping me confirm through a post that the serum's purpose was spoken about by co-creator Dan Harmon, and is therefor "Word of God" not "Word of Dante." The exact quote in the audio commentary is transcribed as:

"You know what I think that fluid does? I think it synchronizes all of your possible versions. I think he wants to kill all of himself." - Dan Harmon (From the 203 DVD Commentary)

Circling back to the clone theory, this serum could also be the silver bullet C-137 needs to kill every clone of Prime, leaving no duplicates of him that could escape. He would be tempted to use it, but ultimately decide against it, because using the serum on Prime to kill him would also kill C-137.

Prime's Leitmotif (Music)

A favourite of mine to talk about: Leitmotifs.

A leitmotif is a piece of reoccurring music that is associated with a particular person, idea, or situation.

Because of how animated tv series are produced, giving each episode a new and unique soundtrack is hard because of the limitations of time and resources. So series will often reuse music and start to create patterns and associations (both on purpose and sometimes by accident) that the audience will start to pick up on. These patterns and associations become leitmotifs.

You can even use leitmotifs to do things like create foreshadowing, remind the audience about a previous idea, and to give a previous scene a new emotional perspective that changes its context. There's a great video on how motifs are used in the musical Hamilton by music theorist Make Stuff that includes examples you can listen to.

Rick and Morty uses various leitmotifs throughout the series.

For example:

For the first episode Evil Morty is introduced in (season 1 episode 10), the ending song that plays is "For the Damaged Coda." It's a very recognisable song in the show because of its unusual use of the piano and vocals. It stands out. (YouTube clip)

It's never reused again... until The Ricklantis Mixup episode that reveals Evil Morty has taken over the Citadel (season 3 episode 7). This establishes the song as "Evil Morty's theme." (YT clip, at 1:25)

Then it is used a third time (this time it's remixed as an epic orchestral version with strings) when Evil Morty escapes the Central Finite Curve (season 5's season finale). (YT clip)

So, does Prime have a leitmotif? And if so, what does it say about him?

For the first question: The short answer is yes. It plays during the scene where Prime shoots Jerry. Right when he fires:

This theme also plays:

During the beginning of the scene (more subtly).

When C-137 and Morty are in Prime's lair (remixed to sound more like an action sequence) in season 6 episode 1. (YouTube clip)

During the end of the season 6 season finale (during C-137's rant about hunting Prime down).

On the second question, the longer answer is:

Dies Irae.

As in

THIS mf:

So, this was something I didn't realise myself, but 4shame pointed out in this video (at the 15:04 mark) that Prime's theme uses a variation of Dies Irae (the go-to music to introduce a villain or kill off a character). Thank you to @fanbun for introducing me to this video in a post.

You have likely heard this motif, even if you didn't realise it. Dies Irae is used in the darker moments of The Lion King, Home Alone, The Shining, Jurassic Park, Frozen 2, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Good Place, and Star Wars, just to name a few examples. (YouTube compilations: 1 , 2 , 3 )

Dies Irae was originally a 13th century (circa 1200) Gregorian chant created by Catholic monks. For more information on its history (and more examples of its use in media with on-screen note visuals), here is a video about it by Vox I watched 3 years ago:

For the purposes of this discussion, I'll sum up the Dies Irae ("Day of Wrath") motif as a set of 4 deep notes that are about the Catholic church's belief in a day of judgement (where God judges the living and the dead and decides whether they go to heaven or hell).

Dies Irae was used specifically for funerals and has an association with death, facing a grim reckoning, and an overall sense of dread.

It's also worth noting that historically, some more stuff happened to this song prior to it being used in film:

French composer Louis-Hector Berlioz took Dies Irae and removed the words (the version we recognise, since the vocals are rarely used in film--The Hunchback of Notre Dame is the only example I recognise that included the monk chanting). This resulted in the movement (a self-contained part of a musical composition) "Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" located in "Symphonie Fantastique" (1830 symphony), which is about a man whose past lover comes back to torment him.

The music is associated with obsessive love.

4shame's video points out that Prime's theme ALSO uses a variation of the Rick and Morty opening theme song (aka C-137's theme), removing only one note and slowing it down to make it sound more sinister. You can actually hear this best/clearest when Prime's leitmotif is played during C-137's rant in the season 6 finale, near the end, because the scene has to transition to the ending credits music (C-137's theme), which is cut off in this clip, but you can still hear the beginning of it:

The Rick and Morty opening theme is blended into Prime's theme.

So in conclusion, Prime's theme is an evil-ifed version of C-137's theme, making the two characters very very linked. More linked than any other alternate version of Rick. Using a very specific set of notes that represents death, obsessive love, and facing a day of judgement. Something C-137 will have to reckon with when he reunites with Prime.

Prickcest Speculation Masterpost

I wanted to gather together all of the little screenshots, gifs and hypothesises surrounding C-137's backstory, particularly in relation to Rick Prime

Comparisons

On the left is the Season 3 Deceptive memory that our Rick used to trick the federation. On the right is the scene from the memory Morty sees when he opens Rick's downloaded brain in season 5. Both are screenshots of C-137's final line before Prime leaves. In S3, C-137 says "A different kind of Rick, I guess" and in S5, we don't know what he's saying

C-137 looks very sad in the S5 memory. Prime's face looks stunned, rather than angry. If they had a previous relationship, we can guess that maybe C-137 is cutting Prime off in this scene or 'breaking up' with him.

On the left is the S3 screenshot and the right is S5. Both show Prime holding the portal gun out to C-137

In the S3 memory, it's shown to be the apparent first time C-137 has seen inter-reality technology like this. When Prime enters at all in this memory, C-137 looks completely shocked. In S5, Rick doesn't look taken off guard or surprised at all. This implies it wasn't the first time he'd seen the technology and the conversation wasn't likely centered around the creation and usage of it. Maybe Prime was offering to take C-137 with him on his travelling of the multiverse.

Left is S3, right is S5. Both are the scene where Prime is walking away.

While not as significant as the other differences, we can see that C-137 doesn't turn to look at Prime while he's leaving in S5. He doesn't need to watch as he walks away because he's seen the portal tech before, or maybe he can't bare to watch him leave.

Lines

Rick Prime talks about not teaming up anymore when talking to hermit Jerry in S6E1. In S6E10, C-137 goes on a rant to Morty about how when you let people in they stop respecting you and "kill your family". It's implied that Prime is the one who dropped the bomb that killed C-137's family, and it's what C-137 himself assumes, so he's clearly talking about Prime. This means that he and Prime definitely knew each other before the inciting incident, otherwise what C-137 says doesn't make sense.

In S6E1, we see a hologram C-137 used to help identify Prime in his search of revenge. We see this small clip matches up with what we see in S3. We do see that Prime says "Ricks don't pass on this", however we dont hear the rest of the conversation, so we don't know if it's actually about accepting portal travel or that it was the first time these two met.

Parallels

We know that it is confirmed that C-137 was in love with Birdperson. We can see from Rick's memory of the Battle of Bloodridge, his argument with Bird Person very clearly parallels his falling out Prime, with both holding out a portal gun and then one leaving through a portal. This could imply there was a romantic or sexual connection between the two of them.

We also see a parallel between Space Beth + Domestic Beth and Rick Prime + C-137. Domestic Beth and Space Beth fall in love with each other. Domestic Beth doesn't do any grand adventures, she's a horse surgeon and has a family, like C-137 did. Space Beth had adventures and travelled the universe, like Prime did.

In Bethic Twinstinct, Space Beth says "You're the housewife, and I'm the space lady, and yet you're the one who chewed me up and spit me out?"

As I mentioned earlier, if we assume based off the body language in the season 5 memory that C-137 was most breaking things off with Prime. So Prime was also 'chewed up and spit out' despite being the epic space adventurer and not the family guy.

Beth also asks C-137 if he's "forgotten the ice cream before" (had relations with another version of himself), and he says "drill me for details when I'm drunker". Which, to me, implies he very much has.

The fact that rickcest was confirmed with this line in the same season we see C-137's "they kill your fucking family" line and Prime's "I don't team up anymore" line seems to be foreshadowing something.

Other Ideas

The "Cult" One

I first heard of this one in this video

Lonny proposes the idea that Prime was in fact going around and giving Ricks portal technology in order to recruit them into joining a group of Ricks. They points to Prime mentioning he specifically MANAGED people ("managing people is such a headache"), which implies a group of people.

They also bring up the wall of Ricks we see in the S5 flashback that C-137 uses to find more Ricks to kill. It may have been Prime's little cult following.

It doesn't explain a lot of the stuff that implies a previous relationship with C-137, so I believe that the two ideas probably go hand in hand.

It's also worth pointing out that the wall of Ricks has what appears to be a citadel symbol. The only thing is, C-137 is apparently one of the founders of the Citadel, but we see him kill a large gathering of Ricks, and we see this citadel symbol pre-citadel.

I am literally only realizing this as I'm writing this post, so I don't have a put together idea of what it may mean. I think it's possible that maybe Evil Morty was involved in that original Rick Cult, because I don't think that symbol became the Citadel's until after he was elected. That's off the top of my head, though.

The "Time Travel" One

This one isn't one with much backing, however I think it's neat. Credit for this one goes to this Tumblr post.

This person suggested that maybe the reason C-137 hates time travel so much is because Prime might've lied and said he was C-137 from the future. He hates it because it was used to manipulate him

Misc.

In S6E10, we briefly see a hologram of Prime that doesn't match with any footage we've seen of him before.

I don't have any clever comments about how this could fit into prickcest as I'm writing, but I would like to include it in case someone else has something to say about it.

My Personal Ideas

My take away from all the evidence I've presented has lead to my current idea of events:

Prime and C-137 had a healthy, romantic relationship. However, with C-137's wife and daughter, guilt started to eat away. He tried to talk to Prime about it and Prime's response was "run away with me and travel the multiverse" and C-137 just couldn't bare the thought of abandoning his family, so he broke things off with Prime. Prime was upset, "Rick's dont pass on" the opportunity to travel the infinite cosmos. "Rick's don't pass on" the opportunity to be with someone they love.

I hope you found this post to be comprehensive, and please PLEASE add on stuff in the notes!! We need to gather evidence! /lh

[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. 

[fullscoreshenanigans]

#Introduction Arc #Escape Arc #<-- I'm still new to all the arcs #(Apparently my brain liked the way the first season/first arc of the manga went and decided to hyperfixate on just that #and maybe I'll start the post-escape arcs later?? #IDK

You, a decent chunk of the fanbase, and TPN Committee with how much of the merchandise focuses on that lmao

A number of things about the TPN Wiki are contested, but I do follow its lead on how it splits up the story into eleven arcs, including the designation between the introduction and escape arcs for my own organizing purposes, though for simplicity the majority of people will refer to it all as the escape arc. With how short the introduction is and how similar it is to the escape arc, the distinction is pretty negligible.

Let it never be said that I hide my biases on this blog.

(And Krone was definitely my least favorite part of the series, she was a good antagonist… and she helped showcase a few other important worldbuilding details, but she got a bit annoying to me?)

With Krone purposely being portrayed to contrast with Isabella and hype her up as the more terrifying foe, I can understand this, though things like the inclusion of her doll in the anime I didn't see as her being annoying so much as "oh great this is going to be a quick cheat to play up fears of mental illness because CrEePy DoLl to converse with since the anime did away with internal monologues 🙃" that came with the added bonus of playing into racial stereotypes of Black women being more masculine and brutish than white women. My mind is unable to separate that aspect of her depiction from the meta conversation around it, but even without getting into the extensive sordid history of poc's portrayal in Western media, it does make me more sympathetic to her. All that internalized rage at the systemic injustice she and countless other children experienced while knowing she as an individual is powerless to end it; a deep self-loathing of buying into said system that we comparatively only see surface briefly during her conversation with the kids in chapter 20/episode 7 and in her final moments in chapter 23/episode 8 but must have always been present in the very back of her mind. An awful, agonizing existence, without excusing the cruelty she perpetrated in the name of it.

AND THE ISABELLA NOVEL??? I DIDN'T KNOW THAT EXISTED!

I don't think most people on the English-speaking side of the fandom do unless they're really in the thick of the brainrot so you're good lol

But yes, there are four light novels for the series! I've talked about the first one here, the second and third ones here (spoilers for post-escape), and have a very brief general overview of most of the stories in all four here (more spoilers). You'd probably get a lot out of Isabella's story in the second one and the stories in the first one.

It lends sooo much to Emma and Isabella's dynamic, which I found just as heartbreaking as Norman's 'death'. Her whole 'you should give up' speech seemed genuine from her, and Isabella attempting to get Emma to conform to the system she couldn't beat>>> amazing character writing.

The dynamic and complicated balance of Isabella wanting to empower her daughter and provide her with the tools she would need to survive while also wanting to squash out her hope of upending the system to both save her from the wretched heartbreak of attempting and failing at a nigh impossible feat, and for petty reaffirmation that the choice she made to survive over a decade ago was the only one she could make; the optimism and stubbornness of her own youth reflected in Emma simultaneously so endearing and so painful. Beautiful stuff, and a large factor in what endeared the series to me so deeply.

AND YES RAY'S LACK OF INFANTILE AMNESIA WAS KIND OF WEIRD. I assumed it was one of those 'suspend your disbelief pretty please' sort of moments. And usually I'm willing to ignore any plot problems if I love the characters (which I do) and yet, Ray's whole reveal was completely off-putting and weird. If I were to try to rework that plot point, where Ray would still know about the farm beforehand, but it wouldn't be soo... 'dues es machina'?

The dmotta3 "ooo I'm Ray I'm not like other boys I remember when I was a fetus" quote lives rent free in my head klfdgjkdsfj

For me the weight of the suffering and sacrifice he endured is commensurate with how incredibly lucky him lacking that was. Combined with the fantastical nature of them inhabiting a world with demons is and how egregious later beats happen toward the end of the series (but especially in the penultimate arc, oof), going back to it doesn't both me too much (and I also just really love the way the anime portrayed the reveal in general), though it could have been strengthened if it had been explicitly emphasized in relation to certain aspects of the ending.

I would do something where Isabella tries to slowly leak the information to Ray, as an almost 'last, fleeting hope'. She might see his high scores and wonder if she could save anyone, it might as well be her biological child. (Not entirely sure about this, it might oppose her characterization of validating her decision to comply with the system. Perhaps a better motivation would be Isabella wanting to love him normally. And thus, she wants him to know. This could create internal conflict, because she would also want to keep him ignorant, for his ~amazing brain~) For example, Isabella could mention to Ray that 'this child would only do x if they died. How silly, you know this child isn't like that' When that child is shipped out, they are forced by Isabella to do x, and Ray pieces it together along with the other clues. It breaks him for a while. He pours over books in the library and stops playing with the others as much, becoming more withdrawn. Isabella fears that Ray might have become ~traumatized~ and his brain might not be good anymore, and this might be a mess- Ray instead offers Isabella a deal. (IDK, something like that)

I'm firmly in the camp that if Isabella had to pick a favorite and prioritize the survival of one child, it would be Emma. Again, seeing so much of herself in her, so much potential, but without the extra reminder of one of the worst horrors visited upon her under this system. Ray's relationship with Isabella receives the most amount of focus within the fandom, and I'd be lying if I said it doesn't grip me too (hence the entire existence of the Isabella and Ray's Incredibly Fraught and Complicated Relationship Tag on this blog lol), but I get very hung-up on her consciously prioritizing his survival on the basis of their biological connection.

To plagiarize myself from this post:

I continue to debate how much of her maintaining her deal with Ray was strictly for pragmatic reasons and how much was due to wanting to keep him close out of some painfully complicated mess of emotions that was constantly oscillating between a tainted affection and spiteful hatred. Any time she would find herself falling into the former, forgetting the circumstances of their relationship, him being the living, breathing reminder of one of the worst things HQ forced her to endure would resurface and how they chose to put him in her plant as if to silently mock her and unknowingly rub in how pitiful the life of a Mom would always be under this system. To openly love him would be one step further in giving in than she’d already done by accepting the Mom position and loving all the other cattle children she raised for slaughter, and she hated to give that much more of herself than she already had when she wasn’t aware of his origins. So she would dutifully do what was tasked of her, but on her terms, as petty as they were. And once Ray was gone, hopefully she could finally put these turbulent feelings to rest.

But that constant oscillation between wanting to know him and wishing he didn't exist factoring into how she would drip feed information to him in your scenario is interesting.

The Promised Neverland Caves In

~ The World Caves In || The Promised Neverland AMV ~

The edit audio I edited into the song:

Emma's screams>>>> everything else /j

(This is the depth of my hyperfixated frenzy, I was supposed to do schoolwork today and instead speedran this in a day)