#if not the writer than some hero at the animation studio or something

[tanjir0se]

^^^^ this because I am so fucking fascinated by the writing choices that led to this train wreck of a television program

I am now approximately 450 episodes into Naruto (OG + Shippuden) and the SasuNaru moments are. Uncountable. They aren’t even moments!!! it’s literally just the long running Plot of the show that Sasuke is so in love with Naruto despite his trauma, despite being brainwashed and groomed, that he understands he cannot go on with his self destructive plan while continuing to love him like he does. And Naruto is so in love with Sasuke that he Cannot let him go no matter what Sasuke does to try to end their obsession with one another up to and including fucking killing them both. That’s it. That’s the whole plot!!! It’s not subtext, its not a fan theory, it’s just plain as day right there in the text of the show. It’s just CANON

Meanwhile in all those 450 episodes Sakura loving Sasuke has only EVER been shown to be own sided. Sasuke has shown one (1) nice gesture to Sakura specifically, and it was thanking her for being his friend JUST PRIOR TO KNOCKING HER UNCONSCIOUS and LEAVING HER ASS. Even the one side is weak; Sakura is so poorly written she essentially has nothing to do when she isn’t with a male character, so she never really expresses any strong feelings about Sasuke UNLESS it’s because she’s standing next to Naruto, who is currently having a homosexual crisis about him. At which point she’ll be like ‘yeah I love him too’. THATS IT.

Granted I still have 400 episodes of shippuden to go but Sakura and all the female characters are so butchered by the writing that like 80% of the male/female relationships come off this way. The two with the most chemistry quite honestly are Naruto and Sakura, because in the writing men’s emotions are seen as significantly more valid than women’s. Women are simple, stupid creatures, who obviously could never understand the depth of emotion Two Bros have for one another. All the admiration, devotion, obsession, and respect a man in love with a woman would afford her cannot exist because the show does not admire and respect women, and therefore the male characters have no choice but to afford it to one another.

At the end of the day it’s not Sakura who closes her eyes in the middle of any random episode and pictures NAKED Sasuke and sighs tenderly, missing him so much it aches. Naruto does that. Its not Sakura Sasuke is thinking of when he realizes he must sever the bonds of love that keep him together and whole and himself if he’s ever going to go through with his self destructive plan. It’s Naruto. It’s not Sakura who is so devoted to Sasuke that she refuses to let him go even within her own thoughts, not Sakura who feels so possessive of Sasuke that she ripped her own skin off when somebody else called Sasuke theirs. That would be Naruto. ITS NOT SAKURA WHO HAS DIED FOR HIM, WOULD KILL FOR HIM, WOULD GLADLY RIP HIMSELF APART JUST TO SHOW HIM HOW MUCH HE MEANS TO HIM, WHO HAS KISSED HIM ON THE MOUTH. THATS NARUTO!

A N D Y E T—

Naruto: I just have to keep thinking about him, no matter what anyone says. If he really has nowhere else to go……I’LL be the one he can come home to

Me:

[synergysilhouette]

10 Disney hot takes/unpopular opinions (Part 8)

As usual, these opinions of mine are something that the Disney fandom may or may not agree with. I think some things here might poke a nerve or two. If it does--see title of this post. Check out part 7 here.

The fanbase is kinda overrun with toxic nostalgics--Probably my most argumentative hot take. While I disagree with Disney doing live-action remakes for most of their films and would LOVE to see a return to 2D animation (without neglecting 3D animation), I feel like some people just dislike remakes and 3D simply as a concept. I've ran into people who say a Disney movie would've been better as 2D, and while that's up to personal taste, I never really understood why they say it like it's a fact, like having 2D automatically makes for better storytelling. And I remember talking with people who say Disney "isn't as good as the renaissance." I think it's VERY clear that we're not gonna get another renaissance, but that doesn't mean successive works aren't as good (plus the renaissance did have flaws, imo; still one of Disney's best eras, though, if not the best). While Disney has had some creative issues since the 2010s with writers/directors/songwriters, when they're allowed to explore and create, they soar.

2. Disney should make another superhero film--I know superhero fatigue has been present since the mid-late 2010s (ironically, this is also the time when some people fell out of love with Disney Animation), but making it animated would probably get some attention. Given the success of "The Incredibles" and "Big Hero 6," Disney making another superhero film has great potential--though it should probably be an original film, since BH6 was a rare case of a short-lived, mostly unknown comic (as far as I know). And personal bias, but I'd prefer they have superpowers; it's more engaging for me, personally. And a unique and distinct costume is a must!

3. Kingdom of the Sun could've prevented the end of the renaissance--When "The Emperor's New Groove" was still being planned as an epic musical called "Kingdom of the Sun," it was noted that Disney execs were iffy about the concept. They felt like doing ANOTHER epic musical would've made the studio feel redundant after the 90s, as well as "Pocahontas" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" not making as much as they hoped and making them feel concerned about undertaking another one. Post-renaissance Disney films ended up staying away from musicals, and were either underperforming serious films or comedic kid films that most people stereotype with animation. That said, if KotS had been released as intended and brought successful musicals into the modern age, I think the trajectory of the post-renaissance would've changed, with some films never being made and others being changed to ride the successful coattails of KotS. Can't say how or where it'd stop, though.

4. "Brave" should've either been moved to WDAS, or at least kept Brenda Chapman--As many Pixar fans will tell you, "Brave" felt more in-line with the fairy tale/medieval fantasy stories that are made by Disney. It doesn't feel ENTIRELY Disney to me, but I do agree that it felt more Disney than Pixar, especially keeping in mind that Brenda Chapman said it took influence from the Brothers' Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson stories. I definitely would've enjoyed seeing Disney accept this project over Pixar, though the odds of Disney accepting it and it not being a musical nor having a love interest at that point in time were kinda unlikely (to be fair, "Frozen" came out the next year and Elsa was single, but Anna had romances; we didn't get a non-musical, single-at-the-end Disney princess until Raya in 2021). Or at the very least, I would've preferred Pixar kept Brenda Chapman on the film as sole director, rather than bringing in Mark Andrews, who removed a lot of fantasy elements because he felt it affected the environment.

5. Petty vendettas shouldn't affect creative output--I'm talking about two situations in particular, even though I'm sure there are more: "The Prince of Egypt" and "Tam Lin." Originally, Disney had Stephen Schwartz doing the music for "Mulan," but when Disney discovered he was working with Dreamworks on TPOE, they gave him an ultimatum of working on their film or working on Dreamworks'. When Schwartz refused, Disney kicked him off the project, and while I LOVE the 4 songs we got, I do wish we'd gotten to see what he would've done with the film. Then there was the situation of "Tam Lin," where the director of "The Lion King" pitched the fairy tale to Disney, but CEO Michael Eisner rejected it since he was in a corporate struggle with Roy E. Disney and saw the film as Disney's baby. Such a shame that their quarrel resulted in a film being rejected despite it being pitched by the co-director of their most successful film (at the time). Ironically, the film did move to Sony with Brenda Chapman working on it, but it didn't end up being made.

6. Pixie Hollow was a missed opportunity for a theatrical film--While I'm not saying we need to directly connect this with Peter Pan, it astonishes me that Disney hadn't decided to make an animated theatrical film about fairies. I'd EASILY take this film over "Bolt" (which came out the same year as "Tinker Bell"), and with some polish, it could've definitely been a memorable epic film, perhaps something nostalgic with 2D animated like "The Princess and the Frog."

7. Disney should look into more (grown) adult leads--This is kind of the crux of my other issue that major animation film companies in the west don't really cater to young adult/adult fans of animation, and this is something that ties into it. I really wish we'd get more Disney adults, perhaps some in their 30s. Life doesn't end at that age, and you can still have an epic adventure (and you don't need to already be married/have a family, but there's no shame in depicting the lead as such).

8. Disney needs to stop shoving comedy into their films--I'm not saying every film needs to be dark and brooding, but it does feel like they just use comedy for the younger audience, and they don't do it well. The only time I really enjoyed their comedy was when it was with "The Emperor's New Groove." It's almost like comedy is a prerequisite for Disney, Dreamworks, and Pixar. NGL, even some of Disney's classic films have comedy that I either don't care for, or I like but suspect it may be tied to nostalgia (like would I still like it if it was made now?)

9. Disney needs more serious opening songs--I CANNOT stress this enough. I feel like "Wish" really showed me this. Upbeat opening numbers can be very addictive, ie "Where You Are" (If you count that as the opening song instead of "An Innocent Warrior") and "The Family Madrigal," but I feel like some of Disney's musicals could've been better-suited for a more serious vibe. I rave about the openings for the "Frozen" films, but it's true; I want something haunting, something soaring, something that sets the scene for an amazing tale.

10. Disney making a new movie every year isn't helping them right now--They've done this for decades now, but I don't think it's helping them to make a new film almost every year now, seeing how so many films seem to be sabotaged during production. I feel like it'd be less stress on their teams to have a bit more time between movie releases, especially if feedback can be used to better the next movie.

(Oh, and don't get excited about this image; I pulled this off of Deviantart, and Penelope/Bluebeard have just been rumors for a few years now. Of course, Jennifer Lee said in 2023 that 10 projects were in development, so they could be possible--but "Bluebeard" is SUPER unlikely to me unless they massively change the story. It'd make for a good parody film, but I'd prefer we get a "Rumplestiltskin" musical; it fits with Jennifer's desire to make a Disney movie about a mom.)

[geode-crystal]

Writeblr Interview tag game!

Wooo thanks for the tag @tildeathiwillwrite this looks like fun!

Open tag for anybody else who wants to answer these :)

Short stories, novels, or poems?

Yes, yes, and yes lol.

I tend to write novel-length things purely because I just... keep going XD I usually get more ideas than a short story allows. I do need to work on keeping things to the point sometimes!

But I have written short stories and one-shots (mostly as responses to promts) and I am very technically a published poet, since a few of my poems were published in a collection thanks to a writing competition back in high school .

What genre do you prefer reading?

Fantasy, full stop. I also love books that play on fairy tales and folklore.

Are you a planner or a write as I go kind of person?

I usually like to have a general idea of where I'm going, and figure the rest out along the way. Sometimes I make full outlines when projects get Really Big.

What music do you listen to while writing?

I either put on one of my incredibly random playlists or go to youtube and look for "relaxing [insert video game here] music." Pokemon soundtracks are actually really nice to write to.

Favorite books/movies?

Soooo many lol.

I'm a big fan of Disney and Pixar movies (as one of my previous posts made pretty obvious lol), particularly the Disney renaissance. Adore The Princess Bride. Love Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Love Studio Ghibli movies, personal favorite being Castle in the Sky. Of course, we have the classic Muppet Treasure Island as well. And I love every version of Scott Pilgrim out there, the movie, Netflix anime, and graphic novels are all amazing.

And for books... oh my gods there are too many to list here, but shout outs to Catherynne M. Valente's Fairyland series, the Chrestomanci books by Diana Wynne Jones (as well as Howl's Moving Castle), Raybearer and Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko, and the Hero's Guide series by Christopher Healy. Percy Jackson, too.

A lot of my favorite whump moments come from the good old Deltora Quest series by Emily Rhodda and The Mage of Trelian by Michelle Knudsen.

Any current WIPs?

So many. Too many. I need to escape lol.

Do you like incorporating actual people you know into your writing?

I've based a few characters off of people I know before. Mostly my close friends. One of whom I write with a lot, so we've used each other as inspiration several times lol.

Are you kill happy with your characters?

No no no no no, not at all lolol. It's exactly the opposite. I have so much difficulty permanently killing off characters, to the point that my first novel-length project way back in my first year of high school ended with the villain getting polymorphed into a fish instead of dying. XD

I only do permadeath when it is absolutely necessary for the story. But... well, to quote The Return of Jafar: "You'd be surprised what you could live through."

Coffee or Tea while writing?

Don't usually drink or snack while writing.

Slow or fast writer?

Completely depends on the project, but I would say fairly slow. Especially compared to my writing buddy they're an absolute speed demon lol

If you were in a fantasy world, what would you be?

Depends on the fantasy world, really. Definitely some kind of musician and/or storyteller, like a troubador or something. Maybe some kind of minor nobility, with all the "fun" I've had with the burden of expectations. I would love to have some kind of magic, especially if it's music-based. So..... basically a bard!

I'd also be very likely to be something not fully human, be that an elf or fairy or mermaid... or even a changeling.

Most fav book cliche:

There's a long list! But I really like Found Family stuff, and any time magic comes with A Price.

Least favorite cliche:

Characters getting pointlessly killed off just for the sake of Extra Drama.

Favorite scene to write?

Hurt/comfort, both ends! I especially love anything with added Guilt for one or all parties!

Reason for writing?

To paraphrase Brian David Gilbert: stories come to me in my dreams like a prophet receiving visions from an angry god.

I write because I'm always coming up with different ideas. I write because I was basically designed to study and create stories. Even if I don't physically write anything down, I will always find a way to tell some kind of story, be it just piecing together ideas in my head or through singing Broadway-style songs or even just attempting to draw a character. I write because it's just what I do!

[nkatr84]

My Adventures with Superman : Season 1 thoughts

So if you’ve been following me, you’ve might have noticed that I have chimed in now and again with a few jokey observations about the show My Adventures with Superman. But now that the show has wrapped season 1, I wanted to give my overall thoughts on the show.

Now I haven’t watched any DCAU movies or shows since the 90s Batman the Animated Series and Superman the Animated Series. From what I’ve gathered it’s mainly been offshoots of those original shows anyway. This show however has its own take on Superman’s origins. And what I’m about to state may be a controversial stance in the DC fandom.

I think this is probably the best adaptation of Superman since Christopher Reeves and Richard Donner brought the character to life. And the way they have written this Superman is possibly better than the Reeves/Donner version.

Let me explain. The way they wrote and the way Reeves played Superman is almost flawless. But this show has made me realize that most adaptations of Superman fall into the trap of treating Superman and Clark Kent as two different characters. Usually where Superman is his real personality but Clark is an act. Like Reeves plays Clark so goofy and comical (he was best friends with Robin Williams, no surprise) so that Superman seems like a different person to make it make sense why no one especially Lois would figure out the truth.

What makes this show stand out is that Superman is the hero he is because he’s Clark Kent. This show analyzes Clark as a person who just has to help. He has to be kind. He feels guilty if he doesn’t because he’s been given these powers and clearly the Kents have raised him to be kind and helpful to others because that’s what farming communities do when times are tough. They help each other.

He even exhausts himself when he develops super hearing because he can’t ignore a plea for help. (I had to save the cat!) He’s so honest that he’s actually bad at keeping secrets. Jimmy figured it out when they met but because he got to know who Clark was as a good person he waited until Clark was ready to tell him. (Jimmy rocks BTW. He deserves that $5 million and I hope he invests wisely.) This Lois figured out his secret faster than any of the League of Lois did. But the truth only frees Clark to be even more himself and allow Lois and Jimmy to get close after a childhood where he was afraid of getting close to anyone for fear of hurting them.

Speaking of the way his powers developed over time and how the writers have kept his origin a mystery to Clark himself is perfection. Jor-El’s consciousness in the hologram not speaking the same language only adds to the mystery. Like a DC fan is screaming at Clark in the finale going, “no! He’s your Dad! He sent you to Earth to save you!” (Me. I’m that fan.) But the language barrier has made Clark think he was born to be a weapon. A thought that terrifies him. But like the Kryptonite, Clark is going to take what should weaken him and turn it into a strength by resolving to use his powers to protect the Earth. He’s choosing to be Earth’s champion not because the ghost of his birth Father is telling him he should, but because it’s who he is.

My only criticism of the show is the pace. Like everything is fast forward in the show because I’m sure the creators were like, “okay we know we might get two seasons but we’re only getting ten episodes a season. So if we want to tell the story we need to tell, we have to skip the usual story beats.” Because current studio executives (especially Warner Brothers) hate animated shows for some reason.

But the fact that this show not only understands Superman perfectly but the main trio is adorable and the show is funny and charming and beautifully animated. To a point where my main criticism boils down to I want more means that they are doing something right.

[thessalian]

Thess vs The Media Machine

There are three upcoming things that I just ... do not get.

Cruella 2: Yes, the movie that mostly only got talked about because it literally established Cruella de Ville's origin story as "Dalmatians killed my parents" and became a meme ... is getting a sequel. Why? How? I mean, I thought a Villain Origin Story Prequel for Cruella de Ville was stupid to begin with, riding on the coattails of Maleficent (who had a much more compelling origin story, thanks), but a sequel? Disney, if you have to give us Villain Origin Story Prequel Movies? GIVE US URSULA THE SEA WITCH FROM THE LITTLE MERMAID! Don't give us a sequel movie of the origin story of a woman whose sole motivation was supposed to be, "I want a spotted white fur coat and snow leopard's too expensive so I'll make it out of puppies".

How To Train Your Dragon Live Action Remake: Oh, come on. Half the beauty of that series was the character design. And you want to make it all just ... live action people? Do you have any concept of how boring that is by comparison? And I still don't get why. Like ... the movie's right there. I have it on DVD. It's still awesome. We don't need live action remakes of everything, for fuck's sake. Half the time, the live-action (or at least photo-realistic) version is just ... this soulless husk of the animated one. See for example ... Aladdin, The Jungle Book, The Lion King... (I'm not sure how I feel about The Little Mermaid but ... lemme put it this way. I don't care what colour skin Ariel's actress has, but if they make Ursula some slender waif, I'm going to be pissed. I mean, I get the issues involving villains being fat or otherwise conventionally unattractive, but the Ursula in the cartoon version owned her deal and made it ... frankly, sexy. So really, no, leave her fat and living her best life.)

Watchmen: The Animated Series: ...dear. Fucking. Gods. The Zach Snyder version was ... okay, but they really did tone Rorshach down. Like, a lot. But from what I saw of the trailer for the animated version? They put him as a centre-stage hero in the style of Batman. Did the jackasses who wrote the premise for this even read the comics? Sure, some guys decided that Rorshach was the GOAT from the comics, but they had a tendency to be ... well, in the same basic family of incel that Rorshach himself was as a character. That got whittled all the way down in the Snyder film, and now they've got Cartoon Rorshach acting like Batman. No one needs, wants, or asked for this. Alan Moore must be spinning in his grave. (No, I know he's not dead, but have you met Alan Moore? He's totally the type to sleep in his own grave.)

Gods, no wonder studio execs think they can replace writers with AI. So much of this seems to be entertainment by marketing committee while good shit gets cancelled Because Reasons. Though I guess they're at least somewhat less obvious about "Give us something that we can get a merch line out of" than they were in the 80s, because no one is getting a line of action figures out of Watchmen because there is only so far they can sanitise it. (I think. The trailer gives me some concerns in the "We animated just enough of the Zach Snyder film to get people watching and then just turned Rorshach into Batman" sort of way.)

[nitewrighter]

Have you watched the Suicide Squad Isekai ED? If you have what did you think of it?

Not yet, I'm a little scared to. Batman Ninja was such a mess that like--while I know MAWS has a kajillion anime references in it and was animated by Studio Mir--I'm still a little wary at DC going whole-hog with anime adaptations of superheroes--especially ones that are seeing more saturation these days. It's not that I don't think an overseas writer can't write DC heroes, there's definitely international appeal there, but I do worry about like... the cultural quirks being more of a gimmicky selling point than something that actually enriches the material, if that makes sense? But again, that's coming off of Batman Ninja.

I did see the intro with Amanda Waller serving some Jojo Villain Cunt so it has piqued my curiosity though.

[dark-nimbus]

Welcome to the Void!

About Me

I’m Nimbus (they/them), but I’ll answer to any of my other names and users. I’m just a giant fuckin nerd with no idea how I ended up here. Also a broke sleep-deprived college student with raging ADHD but we vibin’ ✌🏽

Enby Panromantic/Demisexual (if you’re bothered by that statement this blog is not safe for you)

Polytheistic pagan witch

East Asian transracial adoptee (transracial as in adopted and raised by people of a different race)

Aspiring artist and writer

If it wasn’t already clear from the college student mention, I am indeed an adult. No age number because 1.) I don’t actually know it and 2.) people for whatever reason act creepier when I do put a number

General Blog Info

You know how some people have an art dump account? This is my nerd dump account. Enjoy this dumpster-fire of a blog lmao, I post what I please without rhyme or reason

Possible content you can expect to see:

ThePandaRedd memes

Nerdy fanart

Essay rants on nerd shit and mainstream media

Fics? Maybe? Eventually? Idk y’all are gonna need to request shit I already got my hands full with my own writing projects

Blog Warnings

I am. The most inconsistent bitch on this Earth. I’ll more often than not appear for a time then randomly dip. I promise I didn’t abandon this blog I just have ADHD 💀

While I’ll never go into sexually explicit content on this blog, I do talk about other controversial, mature, and potentially dark topics. I’ll always have content warnings at the top of those posts, but please be aware of your own triggers and mental health

Minors are welcome here, but keep the above note in mind and be respectful

DO NOT INTERACT IF YOU ARE:

Antisemitic

Racist

RCTA/ECTA (aka the racist/misappropriated kind of transracial)

Xenophobic

Zionist

Queerphobic (including transphobia, homophobia, biphobia, acephobia, etc)

A TERF

Sexist

Misogynistic

Fatphobic

A “MAP”

Pro-life/anti-choice

A trump supporter

Ableist

Anti-vaxx

Islamophobic

Antiziganic

Support cultural appropriation

Support AI

Publicly advocate for piracy

Tags

To be added

Notes About Rant Essays

I try to choose my topics based on what problems I notice and what I have a deep understanding of or affects me directly. If I myself don’t experience it I speak based on the communities I’ve surrounded myself with and my own in-depth research. That being said while I am many things, being omniscient and having every experience in the world is not one of them. If I speak on something directly relating to you that isn’t completely factually accurate or is offensive/insensitive to that community you’re a part of, please let me know. I have an ask box and my DMs are open, and I’m open to conversation and criticism as long as you’re respectful and have constructive intentions. I try to educate myself as best I can, but I am still human and still learning. However I will not accept any conversation that vehemently insists on defending anything or anyone listed in the DNI section above. There’s no excuse for bigotry, ever

Nerdy Interests

More will be added to this list as I remember them or find more interests. If you don’t see something but want to know if I enjoy or will make content regarding it, feel free to leave something in my ask box

Also: if there’s anything problematic about any authors or things listed, please let me know. I try to ensure what I enjoy has no negative content within or attached to it, but my awareness of such issues is nowhere near perfect

D&D

Critical Role

DC Comics

Batfamily

Mr. Miracle

Titans (not HBO)

Young Justice League

Marvel Comics

Cosplay

Video games

Assassin’s Creed

Skyrim

Overwatch

Until Dawn

Manga/Anime

Arslan Senki

Boku no Hero Academia

Shingeki no Kyojin

Studio Ghibli

Vinland Saga

Fullmetal Alchemist/FMA:B

Books/Authors

Ranger’s Apprentice

Adrienne Young

Margaret Rogerson

Ready Player One

Lord of the Rings

Not Even Bones

The Witcher

Webtoons

Purple Hyacinth

Subzero

Cape of Spirits

Reunion

Midnight Poppyland

Loving Reaper

Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell

Third Shift Society

Crumbs

Wolfsbane

Spell for a Smith

Movies

To be added

TV shows

Castlevania

Arcane

Avatar: the Last Airbender

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts

[thefloatingstone]

Do you have a favorite anime studio or creator

Not particularly. I tend to like individual shows and MAYBE franchises.The most I do is check if a studio who is tackling something I like has a good track record or not.

For instance, the studio behind the new Sailor Moon movies is studio DEEN which would explain why the animation in the Sailor moon movies, despite being MOVIES, looks so clunky and mid-level TV quality. Studio DEEN does not have a great repertoire. Most of their shows on MAL are somewhere in the 6/10 range with some dipping to 5 which is VERY low for MAL.

On the other side, the upcoming anime for Kaiju No. 8 (which is a manga I love) is Production I.G. which has a much better pedigree in terms of quality even if you ignore them doing every Ghost in the Shell ever. Most notably they're behind quite a few animated versions of Ultraman which makes them a good fit for Kaiju.

KyoAni probably has one of the best track record for animation quality in TV animation, even with the extreme loss they recently suffered due to an unhinged fan murdering 30 of their staff. But I am not actually the biggest fan of KyoAni as they tend to focus on Light Novel adaptations. And I don't enjoy the writing style of the kind of Light Novels KyoAni likes to take on as projects.

But the king of animation at the moment is probably studio Trigger, the spiritual successor of Gainax who are set to tackle Dungeon Meshi which means the Dungeon meshi anime is probably gonna be fucking amazing. Trigger's biggest problem is they lack restraint, and need projects that can pull on their reins a big to stop them from going overboard. This is why Edgerunners worked so well for them as it forced them to work within certain parameters.

Bones is a lot like Trigger in terms of the level of quality they put out, but Bones is currently stuck in My hero Academia hell which eats up most of their time and focus. That being said, their work on Mob psycho 100 shows they are still a top contender when it comes to animation quality when given the opportunity.

As for Creators, I'm not a big hanger on of anyone. Usually I just end up noticing patterns between the shows I like where I suddenly realise the same director or writer or storyboarder worked on several shows I like but that's about it. I like Ikuhara for Sailor Moon and Utena, and I enjoyed what I've seen so far of Mawaru Penguindrum, but I don't go out of my way to seek out work specifically by him.

I focus more on individual creators when it comes to manga. And that extends to anime. So if I see a manga author I like has a new anime adaptation coming up, I'll check to see what studio is working on it because I am interested in that manga author's work.

I tend to be this way with music for the most part too, especially growing up. These days yes there are individual bands I like, but for most of my teenage years and even early adult years, I was more interested in individual songs I liked rather than a band or singer.

[ptbf2002]

My Hated Animated Shows From Each TV Network

Here's The List Of My Hated Animated Shows From Each TV Network, Such As Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, And Disney Channel.

Cartoon Network: Teen Titans GO!

Oh My Fucking God! There's No Words To Describe This Shit! Want To Know Why Teen Titans GO IS placed on The List My Hated Show On Cartoon Network? It's Because That Show Ruined Teen Titans From 2003. But Good Thing I Watched The Live Action Titans On Netflix, I Find It To Be Better Than Teen Titans GO! And Even I Find DC Super Hero Girls Better Than This Shit! Speaking About This Shit, These Stupid Super Heroes Don't Seem To Be Super Heroes Seriously! DC Comics Is The Universe Of Super Heroes, And That Show Fucked It Up! And They Keep Wasting Cartoon Network's Time On Focusing On It's New Shows Produced By Either Cartoon Network Studios, Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, TeamTO, Or Even CAKE Entertainment, You Know Teen Titans GO Was Going All Over Again And It Needs To Stop, And It Needs To Get Cancelled! I was Waiting For this show to Be gone after the merger of AT&T And TimeWarner, Into One Company, WarnerMedia, Which That Merger Was Successfully, But It Failed To Get This Show Gone, Then I Have To Wait After The Merger Of WarnerMedia With Discovery Inc. Into One Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, And It Failed Again! Shame On You Zaslav! Shame On You For Keeping Teen Titans All Over Again And Wasting Cartoon Network's Time.

Nickelodeon: Baby Shark's Big Show

Are You Kidding Me?! Are You Fucking Kidding Me?! That Stupid Is So Annoying, And Now It Has A Show On Nickelodeon?! Merciful Neptune! That Stupid Shark Is Getting On My Nerves, And Thank God I Don't Listen To That Song, Otherwise It Will Stuck In My Head, And I Had To Listen To Other Songs, I Say That Baby Shark Should Get Banned, And It's Show Should Get Cancelled And Banned From Nickelodeon For Fucking Good! You Know watching this TV show millions of times Can Give the heartache, I'm Glad I Didn't Watched This Show, And I Never Will.

Disney Channel: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

No, I Do Not Feel Ashamed Of Hating Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, I Recently Watched Some Of The Episodes Of The Show On Disney Channel, And What I Think About It?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?!!! Miraculous was harmless with its showing of certain episodes with some morals and pretty graphics. But lately, not only has the show has poor writing and little to no character development, but it's a bad influence on the children who watch it. Miraculous encourages sexual harassment, sexism and abuse of power. The show is encouraging the main character's behavior of stalking, stealing, home invasion and constantly gets away with it with no Any Punishments whatsoever. In the fandom community, children in the age are encouraged to follow her example. Speaking About The Fandom! The Fan's Behavior Is Completely Unacceptable And Toxic! As They Ship It's Main Characters Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste As A Couple, Keep On Begging The Creators Thomas Astruc, Jeremy ZAG, And Even The Writers As Well.

Gordon: Disgraceful!

James: Disgusting!

Henry: Despicable!

The show is enabling bad behaviors and the networks Which Includes TF1 From France, Nickelodeon, Which Thankfully Was Taken Off The Channel In 2016. Disney Channel, EBS 1TV From South Korea, are allowing the show to continue to set this as an example for our future generation. For the sake of human rights and privacy, i say that this show needs to be cancelled at its current point before it reflects something worse for children to actually take action of this behavior. For Me, This Is An Anti Hero Show That Airs On Disney Channel, It Just Goes On, And On, And On, And On, And On, And On, And On, And On, And On, And On, And On, And On, And On, And On, And On, BOOOORING!!!!! screw this show, i'd rather stick to the MARVEL And DC Comics Superheroes Rather Than This Garbage! And No, I Do Not Feel Ashamed Of Hating This Show, It's Just My Opinion.

Original Template: https://www.deviantart.com/lucasdacartoonboi06/art/My-hated-animated-shows-from-each-Network-template-932610901

Teen Titans GO! Belongs To Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Bardel Entertainment, Inc. Copernicus Studios Inc. DC Comics, Inc. DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation Inc. Cartoon Network, The Cartoon Network, Inc. Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Baby Shark's Big Show! Belongs To Gary "Doodles" DiRaffaele, Tommy Sica, Kim Min-seok, Lee Ryan Seung-kyu, Bin Jeong, Titmouse, Inc. Pinkfong, The Pinkfong Company, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Nickelodeon Productions, Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon Group, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. And Paramount Global

Miraculous: Tales Of Ladybug & Cat Noir Belongs To Thomas Astruc, Jeremy ZAG, DQ Entertainment, DQ Entertainment International Films Limited, Assemblage Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. Symbiosys Entertainment, Artage Studio Private Limited, In Efecto Atlantis, ZAG Heroez, ZAGtoon, Method Animation, ON Animation Studios, ON Kids & Family, Mediawan Animation, Mediawan, Toei Animation Europe S.A.S. Toei Animation Co., Ltd. SAMG Entertainment Co., Ltd. AB International Distribution, PGS Entertainment, SK Broadband, Inc. DeAgostini Editore S.P.A. DeAgostini S.P.A. Gravity Animation Inc. The Walt Disney Company France, TFOU, TF1, TF1 Group S.A. ABC ME, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, EBS 1TV, Korea Educational Broadcasting System (EBS), Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon Group, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Paramount Global, Disney Channel, Disney Branded Television, Disney+, Disney Streaming Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, Family Channel (Canadian TV channel), WildBrain Ltd. Gloob, Canais Globo, Globosat, And Grupo Globo S.A.

[tiredelirium]

D.10

I think my favourite stories are ones that have it all. Action. Romance. Tragedy. Loss. Joy. Humour. All in one package. I think any story that relies too heavily on one of these factors and ignores the rest misses something crucial.

It’s one of the reasons why a lot of action movies don’t appeal to me, of a lot of rom-coms don’t either, because they tend to miss out on one or more of these other factors. They can still be a good (or bad) watch without, but they’ll never be truly satisfying.

But what is a satisfying story?

There’s lots of shows I’ve watched that have ended on… less than stellar finales. Sometimes thats because the studio fell through, or the viewership wasn’t there at the time of production, or because greedy execs see the show as a flop. They’ve left those who did watch void of satisfaction. Some people seek out their satisfaction in other ways - talking in forums about plot points and episode lore, or writing whole ass non-canon fanfic of their own. Hell most of the expanded universe of star wars can be described as non-canon. Just extrapolation of existing elements given stories by those interested in making them.

There are shows I’d wished could’ve continued, even if they had what others would call a satisfactory end. The lovers unite, live happily ever after. The baddie is defeated or caught and imprisoned. The hero becomes a legend for all time. Such shows often leave a deep well in me that feels as if it’s overflowing with a desire to see that story continue.

I’m sure countless others feel the same, everybody loves a good story. Whether that story takes the form of a soap opera full of plot holes or an animated monster of the week show. Stories are a shared experience, but everyone experiences their own tales in different ways. Some are hooked on the drama, others the cool fight scenes and epic music, others are caught unawares by their own simple attraction to a particular character.

One of the few things I actually despise in media, no joke, is sex scenes. A movie or show always goes down in my joy of it with the presence of one, especially the ones that overstay their welcome or that are flagrant fanservice. Though I’m not a fan targeted by that particular demographic.

I’ve always preferred a fade to black between two obvious lovers. Make out on camera sure, but I don’t need to see violent lovemaking between two actors, or animated individuals, that in the moment of depiction or description isn’t forwarding the plot in any helpful way.

I get it. Some people like seeing that, for their own reasons I’m sure, but I ain’t one. And good stories that use those tactics for viewership end up worse off in my eyes, a story sullied, time wasted, screentime that could’ve been better utilised.

Reading that you may think me either a prude or asexual, but I’m neither, I just don’t care for it.

Plus, I feel like my imagination would’ve done these scenes a million times more justice than any actor or writer could’ve displayed in video or animation… though that also might just be confessing of a deviant mind.

I’m screwed either way.

[martinkhall]

Like Pretty Cure (a magical girl anime by the same studio) and Super Sentai (another Tokusatsu show better known in America for being hacked apart to use the fight scenes out of context and with different dialogue to make Power Rangers episodes - also made by the same studio as Kamen Rider and Pretty Cure) Kamen Rider is an anthology show where mostly each season is set in a different universe that just happens to have characters who transform into superheroes known as Kamen* Rider.

Each transformed character is usually known as a Kamen Rider or some variation on that, even the villainous ones although the head bad guy is often called something else, although their transformed state is usually very similar to the main hero (and often a prototype or refinement of the main hero's transformation). Kamen Rider can vary between silly comedy and dystopian thriller. Sometimes during the same season. Or episode.

Pretty Cure instead has a cast of mostly young girls (usually. There have been rare instances of the occasional transforming grandma or boy but these are never main characters of the show and usually only transform in one or two episodes of the series they appear in to give the main characters a helping hand.) transforming into Magical Girls collectively known as Pretty Cure while Super Sentai has young adults transforming into a squad of costumed heroes with vehicles that combine into a robot.

Sometimes one season of Kamen Rider or Super Sentai, or Pretty Cure will cross over with another season of the same show and characters will meet. Usually this is the result of two universes colliding. There are also sometimes crossovers between Kamen Rider and Super Sentai.

I am not aware of Pretty Cure crossing over with either for two reasons: Firstly, Pretty Cure is targeted to young girls while Kamen Rider and Super Sentai are targeted at young boys (Pretty Cure and Super Sentai I think have roughly the same target age demographic while Kamen Rider targets slightly older boys). Secondly, Pretty Cure is animated while Kamen Rider and Super Sentai are live action.

The differences between Kamen Rider and Super Sentai are that Kamen Rider is usually more serious and usually has more complex plots and while there is often more than one Kamen Rider and they often team up Super Sentai usually has larger teams and a greater focus on team work while Kamen Riders are as likely to fight each other as cooperate. None of these are always true though.

I would say that all three shows are worth checking out. Just check with the fans to see which seasons are considered good because they vary in quality wildly between soulless cash grab to sell toys and absolutely amazing television where the writer has a well thought out message they're trying to convey through the show that also happens to be a cash grab to sell toys.

Super Sentai is often not what one expects from the show that gets turned into Power Rangers and as much as Pretty Cure is about the power of friendship, love, justice, magic, and sparkles the girls are as if not more likely to deck the monster of the week in the fucking face with a magically enhanced punch as shoot it with a sparkle beam. So not liking Power Rangers or the stereotype of magical girl cartoons isn't necessarily a deal killer if you get a good season depending on what it is one doesn't like about those.

Good luck finding any of them dubbed though. You can usually only find subs and usually only fan made ones at that. They are usually very good subs though, they tend to be done by mega fans who want to do a very good job to do justice to their favorite show.

*Translators note, Kamen means masked.

I'm here to FIGHT for Shinji! He didn't relive the entirety of this show twice for you to not vote for him. He almost died in an office fire and that's the part of this show that WASN'T about super natural combat. cmon. he's just a little guy.

Tangentially related; I've been wondering a few things about Kamen Rider. Since there's a subtitle in Shinji's show name I assume there are multiple shows and this one is just one of them. But is Kamen Rider like... the same guy in all of them? Like how Batman is (most of the time) Bruce Wayne, is Kamen Rider's civilian identity a constant guy or is it a title held by a lot of different people? Is Shinji one of those people?

Also since there seems to be several non-Kamen-Rider-characters, do they also have super suits based off bugs? Or are they just normal people who happen to be friends with Kamen Rider?

Last question: does Kamen Rider get big? Cause I know fighting giant monsters is common in the genre (Ultraman, Power Rangers, etc) but I've never heard of Kamen Rider having a huge mech or being able to grow, so does he fight non-giant monsters? Does Kamen Rider even have powers or just a motorcycle?

I could Google all of this but I choose to ask you instead.

[epickiya722]

"EXPECTATIONS? I DON'T HAVE ANY!" 😐

IN RELATION TO THIS POST!

I didn't want to take up too much "space" on the other post, so I made my own. And no, this isn't to bash anyone or whatever!

Honestly, I never have high expectations for anything. What if I do get disappointed? I don't have any low expectations either. What if I am very satisfied? So guess what? Kiya here doesn't have expectations at all.

I feel like if I expect something to be good or to be bad then that's what I'll look for. Perfection and faults.

And I don't see the fun in that. How can I enjoy something if the first thing on my mind is to critique it?

This applies to BNHA for me.

What made me get into BNHA was a meme and then I learned it was a story about superheroes and I was "Oh hell yeah". Watched a couple of episodes, read some of the manga and I got hooked.

Does it have the manga and anime have faults? Yes. But does the manga and anime also have their good points? Also, yes!

Everything does!

Having expectations is the last thing for me. I'll notice faults, yeah. I'll notice good things, yeah. And yeah, I don't ignore them. But I'm looking to be entertained foremost and if I'm entertained then I'm good. After all, it is fiction. Fiction I can drop anytime and continue on with life.

So yeah, people can do whatever they want. I agree. Studios, the fandoms, Horikoshi. Whoever.

I don't look to change opinions or dictate what people do, just voice my own opinions and do what I want. I engage in what I like and block out what I don't.

If people don't wanna read the manga, then don't. If they do? They do. Same for the anime. Watch it, alright. Don't? Okay!

Applaud BONES for their work? Okay! Still hold them accountable for any faults? Alright.

Like how I like both villains and heroes, I both see amazing work and bad work from BONES. At the end of the day, they're just doing their job. Animating the manga.

The thing about having expectations is, if you don't have them, it leaves room to being surprised. Happily surprised. That I look forward to that.

When episode 2 aka Miruko's episode came out, I was indeed impressed with the animation of her fight scenes. By far, it's my favorite animated fight scene next to Deku vs Kacchan 2 (excluding movies).

That's the feeling I look forward to!

So with Volume 29 getting possibly animated. I am excited! Do I expect it to be good? Do I expect it to be terrible? No! I'm just excited. Whether I think the animation for it is good or bad will come at the moment it's animated.

I may have mentioned this before but one of my biggest pet peeves with this fandom is how quick people will have judgements. (For any fandom really...)

When we get leaks, "this chapter is boring". It's just leaks! It's not the whole chapter yet, damn!

Season will just have two episodes up, "this season stinks". Dude, we only just got 2 episodes out of the possible 24.

Still an ongoing manga, "I don't like the manga, is sucks, it has so many lose ties, the villains are done, the heroes are done, Todoroki's fight with Dabi isn't going how I like it, Iida won't get his chance, Toga---"...

OH MY GOSH! It's still an ONGOING story! Well, damn, can it be completed yet? There are some arcs that are unfinished, but if you be patient enough then you can get a conclusion!

I know a lot of you think you know how Horikoshi or any mangaka, writer, artist, any creator thinks but you don't.

Can we get final results first before we have overall opinion?

I feel like a lot of you are just bored and looking to start some discourse and complain. If things aren't going your way than you'll make it terrible for everyone else.

[synergysilhouette]

10 Disney hot takes/unpopular opinons (Part 6)

Check out part 5 here. (Should I just use roman numerals instead of the actual numbers?)

Disney doesn't need to change their 3D animation style--I've heard people say Disney should change up their 3D style, similar to how their 2D films had different styles while still feeling like Disney. I disagree, since I quite like their default style, especially compared to Pixar and Dreamworks (who, at worst, feel too cartoon-y and thus like they should've been 2D instead).

2. I wasn't a huge fan of "The Princess and the Frog"--While I love the characters, the animation, and Tiana/Facilier's songs, I'm not a fan of jazz music, so the soundtrack never stuck to me, and I've never enjoyed animal-centric movies (save for where they're in a humanoid environment). That said, this film is SO underrated.

3. Even the good guys kinda did Quasimodo wrong--While I love Phoebus and don't hate the gargoyles, the writers make them look bad by being inconsiderate of Quasimodo's feelings. After being sheltered his whole life, he becomes humiliated (through no interference from the villain, which I appreciate) on his first outing and "ruins" everything. Phoebus doesn't understand how manipulated and hurt Quasimodo is by pressuring him to help him find the Court of Miracles, and the gargoyles telling Quasimodo that they thought he was made of something stronger than stone was hurtful considering his involvement with Phoebus accidentally led to the Romani people being imprisoned and Esmeralda about to be burned at the steak. There's a better way to motivate people than "they're you're friend/I thought you were stronger than this."

4. "Big Hero 6" is the most deserving (modern) Disney movie to have a sequel--Action movies are the most likely to get sequels in the live-action world if they make enough money, and the world of San Fransokyo is so interesting as a Japanese-American hybrid. I think this is more open-ended and structured for more storytelling than the fairy tale films. BH6 only made slightly less than "Moana," so the audience is there, instead of moving it to a tv show like "Tangled."

5. "Wish" should be on the Disney remake list--I don't need to explain myself. The movie was average at best, awful at worst, and if Disney ever decided to remake it (unlikely since it bombed, unless they're gonna remake EVERY animated film in their studio), they could use the OG concepts and give Julia time to rewrite her songs and make new/better ones.

6. "Why Me" isn't better than "Prince Ali (Reprise)"--I felt like WM was a bit too showtune-y, and while it provided more insight into Jafar's motivation, it should've done more if it was going to bring it up. Why wasn't he appreciated? Why was he looked down on? Don't give us a last-minute insight into the villain and then be vague about it. It could've been a cool way to flesh him out.

7. Jennifer Lee was made to take the fall for "Wish"--This is kind of an ignorant thing to say since I don't have all the details, but a theory I've considered is that Jennifer Lee, who was the CEO of Walt Disney Animation from 2018 to 2026, was removed from that position due to the failure of "Wish," which she co-wrote and co-directed. Given that "Wish" likely had exec interference, I think Disney wanted to show audiences that they were reacting to the poor box office performance by kicking off someone who was a big part of the creative team. To be fair, a Disney movie takes about 5 years ("Wish" was conceived towards the end of production of "Frozen 2"), meaning she could've only had a major hand in "Strange World" and "Wish," while "Raya and the Last Dragon" and "Encanto" were already underway with production when she became CEO--unless we get some production insight into Raya's last-minute crew/story change and if anything went amiss at "Encanto." Given that she worked significantly on "Wreck it Ralph" and "Frozen," Disney probably thought she was one of a kind (not saying she isn't), and thus promoted her quickly thanks to the movie's successes, only to panic when their 2022 and 2023 films bombed, especially when they had big plans for "Wish" as their anniversary film. As a result, they took her out of the equation and replaced her with Jared Bush, who is in a similar situation to her (only worked significantly on two films before being promoted), though he hasn't hit a snag in his films yet.

8. Disney should make (another) parody movie--Enchanted was a hybrid film, and "Frozen" was meta, but having a smartly-written comedy that parodied Disney films would be a good way to get the audience back on their side, particularly since many people think we're in a dark age now. HOWEVER! While "Enchanted" was made to parody all of Disney's eras up to the 21st century, it felt mostly derived from the classic Golden, Silver, and Bronze ages of Disney. I'd rather the new parody be influenced by the renaissance to revival eras.

9. Sequels should be discussed IMMEDIATELY--When I say "immediately," I'm not just slamming Disney opting to change the "Moana" series into a film 10 months before release (and giving them little wiggle room for alterations). By "immediately," I mean once the film's final box office is recorded, that's when the company should discuss franchising/sequels, rather than it feeling like a spur of the moment thing. Plus you can plan according, rather than them happening in quick succession (as the case with 2024, 2025, and 2027).

10. "Hocus Pocus" should've been an animated musical--I would've loved seeing a New England setting that took place only 100 years after the Sanderson Sister's death instead of 300, allowing for a medieval (well, technically Early Modern) setting, and I'd have loved to hear what the soundtrack would've been like. Plus Disney didn't have any animated releases in 1993, so that could've worked out.

[clonewarsarchives]

TAYLOR MADE (#129, NOV 2011)

James Arnold Taylor can make the prestigious claim of having played Obi-Wan Kenobi longer than any other actor. With Season Four of Star Wars: The Clone Wars taking the show in exciting new directions, he tells us why the character is the rock at the center of the drama. Interview: Jonathan Wilkins 

Why do you think Obi-Wan is so popular?

His accent! And his charm! Actually, I think that the biggest reason is the prequels. The prequels kind of turned Obi-Wan into a leading man, even though the story is about Anakin and Darth Vader and the Skywalkers. I think that he had a new grace with Ewan McGregor, and now The Clone Wars has taken the character even further.

Obi-Wan constantly attempts to keep everybody on track, but he also tries to be realistic. You saw that in The Citadel episode in Season Three where they’re losing clones left, right, and center. I remember when we were in the studio voicing that stuff, Dave [Filoni] kept telling me that Obi-Wan is the one who says we must move forward and we have to keep going. I had to strike a balance when recording those lines to show he has sympathy and heart for the clones, but at the same time he knows the mission. I think that sort of sums up the character. He’s strong when other characters don’t necessarily know what to do, and he’s a voice of reason.

What can we expect from Obi-Wan in Season Four?

There are some things in this season that took me by complete surprise. It’s going to be an awesome season for Obi-Wan and the fans who follow him. The fans on Twitter and Facebook always say, ‘More Obi-Wan! More Obi-Wan!’ Well, I think they’ll definitely get a lot more Obi-Wan this season. Oh, there are a lot of things I want to tell you, but I just can’t!

The drama got pretty intense last season. Is that something you anticipated when you signed up to do the show?

You know, I think it’s something I hoped for. Star Wars is essentially about a dramatic series of events: they’re fun and exciting, but there’s also a lot of intensity to them. Even if you go back to The Empire Strikes Back when Han Solo’s put into carbonite-that’s dramatic and compelling. As a kid I was like, “He’s gone! He’s dead! They’ve killed Han Solo!” I think with the way filmmaking has progressed, we’re able to push things so much further now with The Clone Wars. The drama in it feels real, and it also goes back to Dave Filoni and George Lucas’ vision, which tells us that life is sometimes filled with challenges but if you keep on the right path, you will always prevail. They’re made The Clone Wars into exciting, compelling TV that you want to go back to.

Do you think it’s unusual for an animated series to be that deep?

I never would have expected it on any other show. Even if you compare it to a film like [2007’s] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, where we did get pretty deep, The Clone Wars has taken it to a whole new level. It’s like those sci-fi adventure shows that I love, such as Lost, Battlestar Galactica, and Heroes, which have that level of drama, realism, and characters you care about. Well, the makers of The Clone Wars have created that in 22 minutes every Friday night! I think that not only goes back to the writing, but also the artistry of it all.

Has it been important to have people on board like Christian Taylor who have a background in live-action?

When he did the “Mortis” episode, my reaction was, “Wow, this is something we haven’t ventured into before!” I really admire Christian’s writing and storylines. The writers take it from a viewpoint that it’s live-action. And with the technology they have now, the animators can do that—they’re making live action in a virtual world.

When do you get the script during the recording process, and what kind of work do you do before you even start recording?

It’s changed a bit over the last season. Some of that comes from working on such a tight schedule, but it’s also due to the top secret nature of it. Generally speaking, you’d get scripts 24 hours in advance, but now we get them when we go to the session.

But we do get a chance to go through everything before the session starts. Dave sits down with us all as a cast and goes through the story, and then talks to every person there, whether it’s a guest star or whether it’s Matt [Lanter], Ashley [Eckstein] or myself, who are there every week. He takes his time with each person and gives us pictures or descriptions of what’s happening, and provides background on the episodes either side of the one we’re recording. It really helps.

That approach also adds to our ability to change things. Dave might go, “Oh that doesn’t really feel like Obi-Wan. What if he said this instead?” Or I might say, “This is a great line as it’s written but when I say it, it doesn’t come out right.” There’s a freedom for us all to act as we might on camera.

The process of recording is intense, though. As voice actors, we really have to think on our toes. We run through a scene three to eight times on average, and try to make it different each time.

Prequel producer Rick McCallum says that a hint of romance between Padmé and Obi-Wan was cut from Revenge of the Sith. Is that something you’d like to see in The Clone Wars?

(Laughs) Cat [Taber, who plays Padme] and I are such good friends and we always joke around with Dave and say, “Come on, man, we’ve got to see a [romantic] episode like that!” In Episodes I and II, Obi-Wan thinks she’s a politician like Palpatine, and doesn’t buy what she says. But then somewhere down the line there’s a connection and a bond that’s made between them. In the show, we do get a chance to explore what happened and why they’re closer by Episode III.

Obi-Wan is quite straight-laced. Do you ever wish you could play more comedy with him?

Ewan [McGregor] did have some great moments, especially in the elevator scene in Episode III; Obi-Wan was having fun! You could see that playful nature in his relationship with Anakin-you could see they’re like brothers, not father and son. We do get some of those moments in The Clone Wars now and again, too. Several times each season, Obi-Wan has a quip that just cuts through and you’re like, “Oh behave, Obi-Wan!” So it’s definitely there, but it would be fun to see a bit more.

I play Plo Koon as well as Obi-Wan, and they’re very serious parts. I’m so honored to play these two Jedi because they hold such weight in the storyline, but it would be fun to have a character who could go a bit more crazy every once in a while, as well!

He has an intriguing relationship with Asajj Ventress.

Oh yes, there’s a lot of playfulness between those characters. I mean, they really get to flirt! Fans often ask me: ‘So what’s the deal between Obi-Wan and Ventress?” [Adopts Obi-Wan voice) “Well,I can’t possibly say....”

Also, Nike Futterman [who plays Ventress] is such a fantastic actress. In fact, the very first scene we recorded was the one you see in The Clone Wars film, where she and I are having our battle. She brings me up to a different level as an actor.

You also had some great banter with the Duchess Satine in the “Duchess of Mandalore.” Was that as much fun to play as it was to watch?

It was. Anna Graves, who plays the Duchess, is such a talented actress. She and I have done promo work in the past, and for us to have a good old battle of words is great!

I love the comedy in their relationship. Like that bit in the second part of the story, when Obi-Wan is hanging upside down and about to be crushed, and he says: “I’m a little tired up here!” But there’s also a love between those characters, too. I think that’s the main thing—we joke with the ones that we Love. Obi-Wan has a heart for all of the characters, and I try to keep that in mind when I’m doing it, so it doesn’t come across as too mean or snarky.

How do you think Obi-Wan’s relationship with Anakin is progressing? Do you think he’s at all aware of Anakin’s dark side slowly coming to the front?

I try to keep that in mind, especially in the last season when Mortis appeared. It’s one of those parts where you’re like, “How do I play this?” Because right now we’re in between Episodes II and III: I know what happens in III, but I can’t let that affect how I play him here. I think that he feels—and this is the way I play it—that [the attraction to the dark side] is always going to be a part of Anakin and any other Jedi. But Obi-Wan knows the strength of Anakin and thinks he’ll overcome it. 

I don’t think Obi-Wan expected anything that happened in Episodes III to V. I think he was so trusting in Anakin and the Force: he had hope and faith. I really don’t think he expected the dark side to be so heavy and actually take Anakin away from him. And of course that’s a pain that we see in Episode III.

And it also reflects his trust in Qui-Gon.

That’s a good point. I always think about that. I mean, we always think of Yoda as his teacher and instructor, but really the father to him was Qui-Gon. When we had the surprise of Qui-Gon appearing in the “Mortis” trilogy, I was like, “Oh this is so awesome!” And what a great honor to have a scene with Liam Neeson!

When we did that scene, I actually, very subtly, youthed my voice up a little. I went back to The Phantom Menace, watched that a lot, and gave the voice a slightly lighter and softer tone. Because Obi-Wan reverts back to when he was younger. I thought he would be very off-guard and revert back to when he was with his master.

Did you get to meet Liam Neeson?

I didn’t. He was in New York when we did it, and he recorded his part there. It’s funny: that is such a heavy part of voice-acting. I’ve been able to work with just about everybody in showbiz today, but usually the scenes are recorded completely separately so I never get to meet them. Take Patrick Stewart and Samuel L. Jackson—I’ve been in five or six projects with each of them, and yet we’ve never met. Even though most of our scenes feature the two of us having conversations! One of these days it would be fun to meet them, but alas, that’s the work of a voice actor!

If you could play a character from the movies who we haven’t seen yet, who would it be?

I’d love to see a young Han Solo, but I know that’s not possible! It would be interesting doing Uncle Owen—we haven’t seen him [in The Clone Wars], but we know he’s kicking and right now. That’s a voice that would fun to explore. I’ve always felt that the character goes deeper than we ever got to see. I’d love to learn more about exactly what he knows. That would be fun!

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

WDAS' Next Film After WISH...

As of now, only one Walt Disney Animation Studios movie is on the larger Disney company's massive movie slate... A Chris Buck/Fawn Veerasunthorn-directed centennial celebratory picture called WISH, which was first revealed to the world at this past D23 Expo. It will, as usual, be a Thanksgiving week release.

No other WDAS film, titled or untitled, is dated for anywhere beyond that. Pixar, in addition to this summer's Peter Sohn romantic comedy ELEMENTAL, has two features dated for release in 2024: Adrian Molina's spacebound tale ELIO and Kelsey Mann's INSIDE OUT sequel. The former is a March release, the latter a June release. Given the usual pattern, the 2024 WDAS movie should be a Thanksgiving bow...

When Disney announces this release date, I do not know...

What the movie could possibly be? Well, let's see...

A while back, it was announced that the likes of Josie Trinidad (previously writer/director on ZOOTOPIA+), Marc Smith (story artist and animator whose work dates back to THE LION KING), and Suzi Yoonessi (a live-action director with no previous WDAS or animation credits) were set to direct their own pictures. At the time of that announcement, fall 2019, Carlos Lopez Estrada was also in the running to direct his own original feature. He eventually got pulled over to RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON - which he directed with Don Hall (previously co-director on MOANA, and director of BIG HERO 6 and WINNIE THE POOH), and was set to head up a "live-action"/CG-laden remake of their 1973 all-animals ROBIN HOOD film, with his own WDAS picture still on the way... Until he left last year...

Since that announcement, we've had two Don Hall pictures (RAYA and STRANGE WORLD), and a Byron Howard picture (ENCANTO), with a previously-unannounced Chris Buck/Fawn Veerasuntorn picture on the way. So does this mean one of those three directors are up next? Are they even still set to direct their own features? Given how things go into development and then get cancelled so easily, we may never know until Disney themselves announce what's coming... That is of course the usual in big-time animation, and scarily more so than ever before these days. Just look at what's happening with Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery's animation output.

So it could be one of those three directors' projects, or something never before heard of... At least by the public. We used have to very reputable blogs that got a hold of some serious juicy insider info (Blue Sky Disney, for starters), but it's not much of a thing anymore. Anyone remember those "leaks" that said an adaptation of BLUEBEARD would be announced?

Another possibility is a sequel to something. Walt Disney Animation Studios' history of avoiding sequels has many explanations. For decades, Walt himself resisted making animated feature sequels. Then in the post-Walt years, the upper brass seemingly sought to honor his aversion to such projects. Any serious idea of doing a sequel, such as a brief period of time where THE RESCUERS was to have Cruella de Vil as its villain, usually didn't last past development stages. When the outside world took over the tight-knit enterprise, namely big-time Hollywood executives like Michael Eisner and Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg, then sequels to animated movies weren't so forbidden anymore... But their stab at this, the 1990 release THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER, was financially unsuccessful... This of course lead to nearly every sequel to a Disney animated feature being a direct-to-video affair produced at another animation house.

That was, until Eisner stepped down in 2005, Bob Iger took his place as CEO, and appointed Pixar's John Lasseter and Ed Catmull as heads of Disney Animation, Pixar, AND Disneytoon, the latter the division that made all of those direct-to-video films. Lasseter had them cease production on all sequels to the classic Disney animated films, and until their shutdown in 2018, the studio made CGI Tinker Bell spin-off movies and the PLANES spin-off of Pixar's CARS franchise. Walt Disney Animation Studios in the post-Eisner/post-DTV sequel age made WINNIE THE POOH, RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, and FROZEN II... There hasn't been a sequel from them since, nor the hint of one happening. BIG HERO 6 and ZOOTOPIA saw their "official" continuations in the form of Disney+ shows: BAYMAX! took place after BIG HERO 6, and ZOOTOPIA+ was a "midquel" where all the segments were happening within the plot of the movie itself. The TIANA and MOANA series they're deep in development of will be following up from their feature-length predecessors. I bet in a little while, we'll hear about an ENCANTO series next.

However, FROZEN and FROZEN II were both billion dollar smash hits, so FROZEN III is likely happening at some point. A ZOOTOPIA sequel is feasible as well, given that that film made a billion worldwide as well and is set in a world that's ripe with possibilities, BIG HERO 6 even. However, animated movies take a while to make and Walt Disney Animation Studios only gets out one feature a year in this day and age. And that doesn't count how in 2016, ZOOTOPIA and MOANA both debuted, ZOOTOPIA probably would've been a fall 2015 release had Pixar not taken up both the summer (INSIDE OUT) and fall slots (THE GOOD DINOSAUR) that year. Pixar, meanwhile, does two films every two years. Following 2015 and 2017 (CARS 3 and COCO), 2020 had ONWARD and SOUL, 2022 had TURNING RED and LIGHTYEAR, 2024 will have ELIO and INSIDE OUT 2.

But WDAS sticks to doing one a year, that is... when other things don't happen. WDAS had to miss 2020 because of COVID-19, RAYA was originally set to be that year's Thanksgiving release, it ended up opening in March 2021 instead. So... With theaters back in business, they're back to doing one a year. I feel that if they were successfully doing two pictures every year or every two years, you'd probably see more sequels.

So... The candidates... Those three directors, a sequel to one of their recent success, *or* hear me out...

What if they were to announce something that was supposed to come out ages ago, but for whatever reasons... Didn't?

Like, imagine if Walt Disney Animation Studios sometime later this year blew your minds and said... Our 63rd feature, releasing in Thanksgiving 2024, is GIGANTIC...

GIGANTIC is perhaps, of all the films that were in development at the studio in the 2010s, the one that lots of folks online want the most. A musical adaptation of the familiar Jack and the Beanstalk tale that was about a world of giants living up in the clouds. It had a lot of potential for sure, and it got the axe under Lasseter and Catmull's tenture, its director Nathan Greno (previously director of perennial favorite TANGLED) left the studio for Skydance. (Is he still directing that POWERLESS/POOKOO movie over there?) Which, ironically, Lasseter now heads up. Its other director, Meg LeFauve (who coincidentally worked on a TV show called GIGANTIC), is still working in animation-land, having written Nora Twomey's Cartoon Saloon film MY FATHER'S DRAGON, and INSIDE OUT 2 as well. Perhaps they can get her back, or in typical animation studio fashion... Restart and reinvent the whole thing from the ground up with a different director/team, if they can't get Greno and/or LeFauve back. I'm surprised there's no movement on reviving this one, given what it was promising, and how it had such a big presentation at the 2015 D23 Expo. Its cancellation in fall 2017 came as a real shock...

If not GIGANTIC, then I'd love to see them take a crack at other scrapped features that didn't last past the mid-2010s... Such as KING OF THE ELVES, based on the Phillip K. Dick fantasy tale, that at one point could've been the studio's Christmas 2012 release. Baffling how they couldn't make that story about a bunch of tiny elves who are at war - LORD OF THE RINGS-style - in a massive fantasy world but also live at a modern-day gas station work as a feature film. Or what about that COSMIC 3000 picture that reportedly involved teenaged aliens participating in thrilling space races? Hey, maybe they could take a crack at Terry Pratchett's DISCWORLD again, but this time not opt to adapt one book in the series.

Just a thought...

We shall see, maybe come later this year. We are in Disney's 100th year of existence, so I suppose we shall learn what comes out after WISH from Walt Disney Animation Studios...

UPDATE: JANUARY 20, 2023

Well looky here...

The Walt Disney's Company new and updated release schedule contains the following dates for UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION;

11/27/2024

11/26/2025

11/25/2026

One a year, as per usual. Pretty sure this is the landing strip for all the big updates and news set to drop at this year's D23... Monster Mouse, planting the flags.

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

I'm am completely tired of people crapping on villians and not trying to understand their perspectives I am really sick of the fandom doing all this

Me too, anon, me too. That's exactly why I create this blog.

I've said it before, but if someone decides to ignore the villains and their narratives through the manga, that person is not going to be able to read correctly the main arc.

In bnha / mha, the villains are not simple side characters. Shigaraki Tomura has the same relevance as Midoriya Izuku, for example. They are direct parallels and together they work as the representations of the theme. If my speculations and metas are correct, you have all the main characters directly interacting with the villains to reach the climax of the series.

Besides, it really frustraste me that people are unable to appreciate a character and how that character is written just because that said character is not "good". It completely takes the depth of the characters and the complexity of their buildings and create a shallow storyline. Even the characters in kids TV shows have different degrees of good and bad traits, because we are in an era of writing where we're exploring how real a character can get.

People can say "I like shallow, simple characters with very explicit plots that don't challenge my comprehension or my mind" and that would be perfectly fine, there's no shame in liking simple stuff. Instead, they invent every type of excuses to hate characters? And I mean, you can hate a character for your own personal reasons, but instigating a crusade against that character and the fans?

Also, many fans are unable to understand that there are not universal rules to judge characters WITHOUT the context. Lately I've seen so many people bringing things out of context and directly violating the original material not in rational ways (admitting something is fan modified, fan made, personal takes, etc) but in harmful serious ways, by telling others that what they see is the only possible point of view on the matter.

For example, I'm totally able to say that I hate Overhaul in the canon for what he did but I'm pretty much interested in the implications of his writing. I can write many aus about Overhaul without liking the character in a sentimental way, just because I as a writer want to explore the possibilities within this character. I can totally say Boku No Hero Academia is not the best written manga and still entirely love and rant about the worldbuilding daily.

When it comes to the villains, it is simply annoying to me how people refuse to acknowledge that they are some of the best written characters in the manga. Toga is one of the best written female characters in mha / bnha, Dabi has an intricate personal arc that involves the values of the hero system itself and Shigaraki Tomura is— I don't even have words for the amount of dedication Horikoshi put in Tomura. He's been driving the plot along with Izuku this whole time. I can even argue that Shigaraki is better written than Izuku, because he is way more deep in terms of motivations, psychological traits and way of acting.

People is free to hate the villains, but to refuse to see the greatness of their writing? And even then, it's incredible the amount of issues I've seen within the fans regarding the villains.

For example: Spinner as a character represents the racism within the bnha / mha world. He is an incredible character, he narrates the MVA arc, he's been there for the almost every arc of the villains... And yet he lacks popularity. Why? I know studio bones tends to take him out of the anime, but this also has a reason. Why studio bones thinks Spinner is not as relevant or popular as the others? It's safe to assume a group of fans don't care about him only because he "doesn't have the look".

Sometimes when I point out that the League is right about MANY issues within the hero system, some fans go great lengths to defend the heroes and shut down my arguments. I don't personally understand how people likes to ignore the fact that pro-heroes in bnha / mha are a mixture of the police-the army with the celebrity world. In the real world, we're right now living a whole situation regarding the values behind the police existence and the negative side of putting celebrities like they are gods. You can clearly see it reflected on the bnha / mha universe, the villains clearly point out the privileges of the pro-heroes and why the system promoting and manipulating such privileges has created the catastrophe they're going through. But apparently fans don't want to read that? Because heroes are supposed to be good and villains are supposed to be bad, I guess. They don't understand the hero-villain narrative has been dehumanizing the characters and the main arc of bnha / mha is working on it to show that more than heroes and villains and citizens, there are complex humans who don't fall into an absolute.

I'm sorry for ranting about this anon, but every time I read "villain fan" as in derrogatory, I laugh because I'm baffled. Most stories need a good antagonist for it to work. There are MANY types of antagonists and MANY types of villains and they just– they just ignore it? Like it is nothing? And then they pretend to judge the villains by only taking tiny parts of their personalities and stories and they pretend to say that is accurate?

I don't know what to say to that. I can only write meta to help people understand the villains better and show them why they are so important and impressive. If they don't want to acknowledge it, that's their problem.

I love to talk and discuss people with different points of view as long as we're able to keep things respectful, but the minute they start attacking me without even listening to my arguments, good bye.

I thank God for the block button every single day of my life.

Well, I hope you're having a great day, anon. Please remember to drink water, take your meds, eat enough, sleep enough and don't forget to breath deep and use the block button and the content and tag filters as much as you want.