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punderfulowl · 3 years ago

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Top 10 Anime (That I've Seen) in 2020

Well now, it has certainly been awhile. I'm currently sitting at eight months too late for posting this, but, y'know, something something life happens. More accurately, I already made this list, but wanted to try out what response I'd get from Reddit. Turns out, they're not as cool as you guys!

Anyways, as the title states, this is not a list of my favorite anime that came out during 2020, but instead my favorite anime that I just so happen to see during that year. While it's fun to have an end of the year retrospective, I find that having a list in this format not only adds variety, but also helps bring attention to anime that might have been lost in the shuffle in previous years (I also don't have enough time to stay caught up in seasonal releases).

Honorable mentions:

Aggretsuko S3, My Hero Academia S4, Today's Menu For the Emiya Family, Interspecies Reviewers (yes, really), and I Couldn't Become a Hero So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job

10. Maid-Sama (2010)

In hindsight, I find it a bit funny that I wanted to watch something wholesome to kick off 2020. Anyway, Maid-Sama is about a high school girl that is also a no nonsense Class President and she kind of has to be at a school where, until recently, was an all boys school. While she kills it in academics and is good at shutting down any shenanigans from the male student body, her financial situation isn't the greatest and has to balance a job at a maid cafe along with her school-related responsibilities. She does her best to hide her employment there to keep up appearances, but is one day found out by one of the boys who happens to be a big flirt and, yeah, hijinks ensue. While this anime doesn't have too many surprises, our main leads bounce off each other well enough to keep me entertained. Nothing I haven't seen already in other anime Rom-Coms, but I think it has more than earned its place at the start of this list.

9. Haganai NEXT (2013)

It's a personal rule of mine when making these lists that I don't include sequels of shows that were in previous lists. While I DID see the first season of Haganai a couple of years ago, it didn't quite make it into the top ten at that time. Because of that, it meets the criteria for this year's list. While I found the characters were just as charming here as I did during the first season, the development of their relationships really took off. It's a shame that it will most likely not get a third season, but I'm happy with what ride this show gave me. But hey! At least I can read the light novels/manga to continue the story! Wait, nevermind, the Haganai fans on Reddit are saying that's a bad idea.

8. Engaged to the Unidentified (2014)

Based off of a Four Panel joke manga, Engaged to the Unidentified tells the story of a girl in high school suddenly getting some life changing news. As it turns out, her grandfather made an arranged engagement with her and the son of a family he knew. Next thing she knows, the boy in question, as well as his little sister, moves into her family's house! While the boy is unassuming at first, there may be more to him and his family than he lets on. Plain and simple, this anime has charmed me. There's a decent amount of drama and mystery despite the source material and I applaud it! Even though this also doesn't have much new to offer, even to the point where I would compare this to Maid-Sama, what made me pick this at the 8th spot were the color choices and animation quality. Give this a shot if you can!

7. Grimoire of Zero (2017)

It's a fantasy/adventure story starring a loli sorcerer and a huge, anthropomorphic white tiger man. I honestly can't say anything else. I won't be able to do it justice. That first sentence should intrigue you a lease a little bit. Read it, again. Please check it out. It's an underrated gem that no one is talking about.

6. ID: Invaded (2020)

Hey, here's something recent! Unfortunately, this is also not something I can say much about. There may not be too many deep characters and the secret bad guy isn't hard to figure out, but BOY is this anime cool! The best way to describe this series is that it's like the movie Inception, but instead of brain heists, it's brain murder mysteries.

5. Carole and Tuesday (2019)

A runaway rich girl has a fated meeting with an orphan and they decide to make music together...oh, this also takes place Mars. Joking aside, this show was something special with its music (a new song almost every episode no less), interesting setting (freaking Mars, dude), and endearing main cast. Shoot, the music itself would be top 3, maybe number 1, but what bogs it down is the show's second half. I can easily see myself watching this again someday, and maybe my opinion will lighten up, but for now, 5 is a dang good spot.

4. Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front - Babylonia (2019)

Part of me hesitates placing this high up on list due to this show being animated, fan service spectacle for Fate fans. However, that hesitation is overshadowed by the fact that I am a Fate fan myself and I can do whatever I want with this list. Even if you're not a Fate fan or play FGO, if you enjoy some solid fight animation, this is worth a look.

3. K-On S1 (2009)

I'll admit it, I might regret not watching the second season then putting the series on the list as a whole, but this how I've been doing these lists and I'm such a creature of habit. There's not much I can say about K-On that hasn't already been said. By itself it's an anime classic and one of Kyo-ani's biggest properties. It's a sweet and wholesome watch, but be sure to have some insulin within reach.

2. Princess Principal (2017)

Imagine you're working with a team of programmers trying to make a mobile game then all of a sudden someone asks to make a show out of it. You know, a show with different character motivations, plot, twist and turns and all that? Most might say that's just a shameless, shallow cash grab, but it turns out okay for Princess Principal. Sure, most might summarize this anime as, "cute girls doing espionage things," but with its cast, visuals, and interesting alternative timeline, it works! Apparently there's a new season or movie in the works and I am all for it!

1. Beastars (2019)

I was not expecting this to be number one, but with much deliberation (with myself obviously) this feels right. It tells a pretty unique story while showing itself to be the exception to the rule when it comes to 3D anime.....it being that it's actually good. While I acknowledge that shows like K-On are classics and deserves to be number one on many different lists, it didn't line up with my personal criteria like Beastars did. My biggest deciding factor is: Now that I've watched this, do I want more? It's true that while I'm excited to start K-On S2, Beastars intrigues me more and ever since season two was announced, I'm looking forward to that more.

Sorry again for this list being so late, but at least the silver lining is that the next end of the year list is about four months away (in theory)!

#anime #k-on #beastars #princess principal #fate grand order #carole and tuesday #id invaded #grimoire of zero #engaged to the unidentified #haganai #maid sama

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yanderecandystore · 4 years ago

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"- I'm having a bad day." [Yandere!OCS x Gender neutral!Reader - Scenario]:

I know that no one has asked for this exactly, but I thought it would be interesting to give y'all something a little different. This is an compilation of their reaction to reader saying:

"- Look, I'm not feeling well right now, I'm having a bad day."

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

🍒 Bullies 🍭:

→Alexandra Coldwell:

Well, she is looking kinda cocky in the outside, but inside:

'aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAA-'

She is freaking out.

Who? When? How? Who hurt you and how can she kill them for you? Are you even hurt because of someone else?

Or is it because of… ya know, her, your bully.

She sometimes forgets all the things that she does to you and tells you. Funny, isn't it? Maybe she should stop daydreaming about holding your face with her hands and start to focus on how to make you happy again. Maybe you just need a little push in the right direction… to her home.

Hey, she isn't going to let you all by yourself in such a fragile moment, she'll be by your side, trying to help you feel more comfortable with her and trying to make you feel better.

You probably won't tell her what the problem is regardless of what she does or says, but she just wants you to know that you're really special for her, so she can't let you be all by yourself when you clearly need love and attention.

It's a date then! It's one you really didn't want to go to, but now you'll have too!

→Adrien Coldwell:

Isn't the one to openly talk about feelings.

Isn't really the one to care about other people's feelings.

Yet:

"- Hey, I have some dog pictures, want to see them?"

He knows you'll probably say no. So he'll ask his goons to take you back to him and make it so you don't run away again.

He will show you pictures of puppies, whether you like it or not.

He knows you won't trust him enough to tell him about your problems, but he still cares for you, so he'll keep his offer always available to you.

"- If you need to say something, you can tell me. It doesn't matter if you want someone to talk to, or to just spit it out."

Is more likely than not that he is the cause of your problems. So, for one day only, he'll try to make it up to you.

He doesn't know how and when, but sure will try his hardest to see you smiling even if a little.

In the end it will only be you, him, and pictures of puppies and kittens.

🍎 Teacher 📕:

→Madeline Allen:

No honey! No please ;-;

Is something the matter? Did someone bother you? Is she bothering you? Do you want her to give you space??

She is here to listen to your worries, no matter how big or small, she is sure she can help you! It's her job, or at least what she decided that should be her job.

Helping others, specially you.

She will see right through your lies you know? She is very well adapted to liars and traitors, so she'll see right through you if you don't tell her the truth about your problems.

So keep it real darling, she wouldn't want to find out your being pressured to lie to her. It would leave a bad taste in her mouth knowing that not only were you lying but that there was also an asshole who needed to have their bones broken.

No one should tell you to lie, especially to her!

But anyway, this isn't about her, or about some asshole who got a death wish, no dear, it's all about you and how she can help you.

Want some cookies?

→Matthew Robinson:

Again, not the best man with words, but he is a great listener! He is here for you, so tell him what worries you.

As you know, it's kinda his job to know what happens with his students, and to see if he can help them in any way. That includes you, love.

Although, yeah, I guess, he does put a lot more emphasis in taking care of you than any other student, but that's just details, you don't need to care about them.

Speaking of details, you better be aware that you can't hide your secrets from him very easily. He and his counterpart are really keen to details in behavior and speech.

If there is any hints of someone possibly hurting you mentally or physically, he would confront you about it, asking if there was an individual causing your problems.

If there is and you tell him, he'll make sure to comfort you, and… Probably have a discussion with said individual.

If there isn't, then well, he would still do his best to comfort you and help you resolve your problems.

However, if there is someone causing you harm and you deny the fact, he would probably still catch the hesitancy in your voice. How you try to defend a possible vile creature that doesn't deserve your mercy, or his for that matter.

Maybe he should keep a close eye on you, and who you meet with.

🍋 Delinquent 🐍:

→Janette Sartorius:

She is tempted to get the reason why you feel like this out of your mouth, even if it means using force. And by force I mean scaring you because she could never raise a finger against you.

But she will make it very clear that if the reason that you're feeling like this is because of some random asshole, she will beat the shit out of them whether you like it or not.

May the Lord hold her fist and tranquilize thy beast.

You don't need to tell her if you don't feel like it, she understands that. But if it is because of someone, then she needs to know, love! She wants to make you feel safer in this treacherous world.

She would love to be your knight in shining armor, so please, just tell her if you need her to help you out.

→Jackson Macnee:

"- Aight, cool." He says as he goes away, leaving you the alley all alone.

Nah just kidding, of course he'll come back. He is just fucking with you.

Of course, you didn't really expect him to bring some chocolate with him- Is he always carrying heart shaped chocolate with him? The fuck?

He gives you. Totally in a platonic and non romantic way. Just take them, please, don't make this awkward.

So, he does expect you to spill the beans, but if you don't then that's fine too. He can find out what happened to you later anyway. Probably through his gang menders, or just… Casually stalking you.

Although the idea of pressing for an answer out of you is kinda eating his soul, he knows that it would be really douchey on his part to just force a response out of you. Yeah, he is curious and wants to help you, but hey, sometimes people need some privacy.

Even if you don't really have privacy when he is on the picture, but carrying on-

You may tell him, you may not tell him, he just hopes his presence makes you feel more comfortable and probably a lot more happier than being alone all by yourself and your worries.

👾 A.I 🍏(non-binary):

→Yuma Soma:

Why? Why don't you want to play with them? Did they do something wrong?

I mean, besides being manipulative (and probably trapping you inside the game, if you're following that timeline).

Maybe you're bored of them…. How dare you though? Aren't they the cutest thing you have ever seen? Aren't they enough? Are you seeking something else?

Are you perhaps seeking someone else? Why, it would be extremely foolish of you to even consider someone else instead of them.

But still, they'll keep their head strong. Maybe it's not that you're having fun with someone else, maybe it's that you're not having enough fun! But that is almost impossible, you play together everyday. Unless, you really are bored of them? Ma- Maybe there is something that they're missing, you can't be actually bored of them, right?

Their reaction goes from being suspicious of you seeing someone else (and getting angry at the thought of it), at discovering that maybe they're the problem. They really hope they aren't though.

"- H-Hey [Y/N]!? Do you want to play another game? Maybe we should choose something a little different to spice things up, or- Or maybe, you want to check something online?? Maybe finish watching that cartoon you were talking about yesterday??" The fear of being rejected by you is absolutely clear in their voice, and seeing your closed, sad expression, doesn't help them feel any better.

"- … Or maybe you want to talk about this?..."

🦊 Kitsune 🍬:

→Tatsumi:

Do you… Want to talk about it? He normally doesn't do this, but when it comes to you, he feels the need to try and understand what is wrong. Hey, maybe he can help you?

Again, not the best guy to comfort you, but surely he is the one to make you laugh even in a time like this.

Want to hear stories about his past? He wouldn't mind telling some of the juice gossip he heard over the centuries. Or maybe you want to just, I don't know, be a couch potato all day with him?

He isn't feeling like stealing anyone else's energy or partying, just staying home and watching something fun

Look, if ya give him those puppy eyes, he'll threaten to not only kiss your worries away, but to also use all of his cute foxy features to make you say 'awn'. And I'll say it again, this is a threat.

He will use his fluffy tail to shush you.

🩸Vampire 🍷:

→Abigail Barlow:

Well, that's so sad for you, but madam needs blood right now. Can't you mope about your pathetic life later when she is finished?

Ugh, stop giving her that look, of course she cares about you! Is just that hunger speaks louder than obsession. She can hear all about your misery when she is finished.

And besides, she can and will take your blood whenever she wants. But for some reason she is still a little hesitant to take it from you while you're like this.

It's not the "cute" pathetic expression that you give her, is something… More concerning.

She is not good with words, or physical affection, as her cold touch seems to make you distance yourself. Which is completely understandable. Maybe the best thing that she can do is give you some space.

You'll probably not realize until it's midnight and you'll see that she had given you a whole day without having to interact with her by force.

You would probably find her playing the piano in the next room. It's a nice melody, really cliche when you catch an undertone of sadness hidden in the song. Maybe you won't talk to her, that's fine, she understands that.

But hopefully, just by you laying down in the sofa listening to the piano can ease your mind of whatever is bothering you.

Honestly, she wasn't even hungry anyway.

🍰 CEO 📏 (Reader is not specifically A.I Reader, just wanted to make it clear):

→Ingrid Bright:

Well, that's unfortunate.

Whatever she planned for you two to do today would have to wait. She can't exactly take you on a date if you're like this.

"- What's wrong? What do you mean about having a bad day?" Is work overstressing you? She could end your tasks for today right here and let you have a free day for yourself.

You just need to tell her what's wrong.

Is it another employee causing you trouble? Maybe she has said something that came off really hurtful? If it is her fault then she wants to tell you how sorry she is.

Work has been really stressful lately, maybe you do need some rest. You can stay in her office until you feel better, or go home if you can't handle it.

Or maybe, ya know, wait for her to finish her work and you two can go home together. The choice is yours, so pick wisely.

She can drive you back home, but it won't really be your home. It'll be her' s.

You'll have a lot of time to tell her what is the matter. And she'll have a lot of time to help you feel better.

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

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heloisedaphnebrightmore · 4 years ago

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First of all, I was so nervous I sent that last message without flipping the anon switch because I didn't double check like usual. Lol. It's only a matter of time so hopefully you figure it out before then. 😉

Also, I could not get through this entire post without dying of laughter. I was laughing so hard I was crying last night. It took me 10+ minutes to get a hold of myself. I'm over here having the time of my life and you're going crazy trying to figure it out. I'm sorry I'm laughing but it's just so much fun for me. 😂

Aw Gina, I love you too!!! I'm glad to be back too. I'll try to be more consistent. 😊

Welp, at least now you know I'm not from the UK if I don't know the difference between pounds and euros. Haha. But I Googled it and omg 120 pounds is even more than 120 euros! Geez!

Oh gosh no, I'm alright. No need to be nervous. I just catch a lot of colds because I spend a lot of time in the cold and as we've established, I only kind of take care of myself. Haha.

That draft is everything! I'm gone for two days and you're ready to send out a search party for me. 😅 I wish I'd waited so I could see that post. 🤣🤣🤣 I say post it anyway just so I can see. Maybe you can get the entire Harry Potter side of Tumblr searching for me. (I'm kidding! 😅)

Omg I'm just glad that at least last night it wasn't me that kept you up until 7am but instead it was Tiktok. I'm only responsible for the hour between 4 and 5am. So that's something at least. 😅

because no, I don't want to talk about me, I am ready to find out who you are!

I think we might have to come up with a rule here. I think when you ask a series of questions at the end (like in your last message) I get to pick one identity question from the group but you also have to include a getting to know you question that we both answer (like favorite color or favorite movie or something). 😊

Here are my highlights from your lists:

The Shadowhunters thing actually could be a useful clue if you know where to look or who to ask. So I'm glad you remember that. 😉

Personal Edition:

Ok the first three made me smile so much. You're the best. 😊

4. 6 days ago you wrote; the new semester has started

Dang Gina! You're really out here making a timeline of all our interactions aren't you? 🤣🤣🤣

5. You are hoping you'll be able to read and interact a little more.

Once again, this actually could be a clue if you know where to look.

7. You only kind of take care of yourself; Let me get my slipper 😅

No slippers needed today. After this I'm gonna have brunch and I promise to drink a full glass of something with my meal. (I hate water but it'll be something)

9. You are doing a research project on landing mechanics in a specific sport; This is where I thought I knew who you were. Then you destroyed it by saying; You are majoring in science and you like testing and analyzation 🙈

I'm super interested in who you thought I was with this one. I am curious to know how the second portion destroyed that, because research and analyzation go together, do they not? I'm confused.

18. We talked a few times in different places; How is that a clue?! 😂

That's literally the most important clue I've given you! It means you might have to look outside of our asks to find answers to my clues! I actually thought I gave myself away the other day, and I was absolutely dying of laughter watching you respond and realizing you hadn't noticed.

Conclusions:

You are actually correct on all three of those! You do follow me, I am over 18, and I am from the US!

It sounds like the science thing is what's tripping you up the most, so I will clarify (kind of) "I'm majoring in a science"

Of those clues you asked for, many of them will give me away! So instead I will technically answer one but make it extra vague; There are 3 names people on Tumblr call me, and in alphabetical order the letters they start with are E, I, and M.

Yes, I much prefer these vague clues... 😄 But to be honest, I threw in a couple good ones this time so hopefully you've made a little progress and have some ideas of where to look next. I also honestly think I gave myself away today, so I am anxiously awaiting your response. 😬

(I wish I could put a read more in asks, this has gotten super long so apologies to your followers. Although by the looks of the likes on some of our messages it looks like some people are enjoying this as much as I am 😅) -⭐

Shoot, I wish you forgot to switch the anon xD

Actually, it is hilarious, so I completely understand xD I’m feeling like Sherlock Holmes but a dumber, less useful version. Like a faulty Sherlock Holmes xD

Rest under the cut :D

I don’t want you to feel like you have to message me or it’s like an obligation so if you have no time and you are too busy, then just take your time, I completely get it, we are not rushing anywhere. <3

Hahaha you would love it if everyone searched for you :D The anonymous Tumblr celebrity xD I might post it regardless, but I don’t want to get attacked about trying to expose my anon’s identity. I have seen posts where people went off on accounts saying they shouldn’t try knowing their anon’s identity as they chose to be on anon for a reason. I don’t really want to have to explain myself to everyone and coming off stalkerish and you are the only one who knows the whole story and a couple of my followers xD I will have to think this through, until then it sits in my drafts. :D

Okay, pink and black are my favourite colours and I don’t have a favourite movie. Now that it’s out of the way, back to you xD

You see, you said you spend a lot of time in the cold! Once again this makes me think of the same person I initially thought of. When you referred to Shadowhunters, again it’s the same person I am thinking of, but there is also another person in my mind so now I have two options.

Research and analysis go together, but again the person I thought of said something about studying sport stuff, exercise science thingy, that’s why it threw me off. That’s why I changed my mind and decided you are not that person. But now that you say A science it makes me think of that person again, but on the other hand I don’t know what the other protentional person studies. God, you are killing me!

You say we have talked the other day. There was only 4 people I have talked to outside of my asks recently and one of them was the same person I thought of from the beginning, but also my second option was between those 4 people too.

Both of my options are 18+, I follow them, and they are from the US. You see, both of my options have at least one of those letters, but now I’m off to confusion land again, because you said they call you 3 names. Who on earth uses 3 names? xD

5. You are hoping you'll be able to read and interact a little more. - Once again, this actually could be a clue if you know where to look.

This did not help at all xD I think what you consider clue is not a clue for me and what I consider a clue is not a clue for you xD This is getting twisted at this stage xD I honestly think we are both in the same Discord server, I am quite sure at this point.

The fact that you think you gave yourself away makes me feel utterly useless. I am trying to think of all the people I have talked to recently and all of them has I, E and M in their name or their name starts with those letters, but only one of them talked to me about cold and science. Whether I am missing something very obvious or I know who you are, and I am simply questioning myself at this point.

Let me ask you one question, which would help me find the right answer. Have you got any injuries and if yes, what’s that? :D

I feel like I’m close, but at the same time I keep questioning it <3

#Heloise's inbox #⭐ anon

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bluephoenixdruidicprincess · 6 years ago

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Shadowhunters 3x11, Lost Souls -- Review

It's that time of the year again where I put myself through the torture of enduring this show. Watching this show is like going on an endurance run. You drag your feet when you first start, when you get acclimated to the level of exercise, you think "hey, this isn't too bad" and then by the end, it's just pain...but also a sense of pride that you made it through. That's been my experience with the show, anyway. And it's basically how I felt about Shadowhunters 3x11, Lost Souls.

I would like to preface this review with saying that I am NOT a huge supporter of this show. I do enjoy certain elements of it but I'm not what would be classified as a devoted fan. For me, Shadowhunters is not a good show and I do get very critical of the show in my reviews. Honestly, for me, I watch the show because 1) I'm too curious not to and 2) I find that this show can be so bad its funny and that's how I reap enjoyment out of it. I am not at all invested in this show or its characters anymore. I'm just watching to see what happens. If you're a die hard fan and you lash out at everyone who has a different opinion than you, you might want to skip these...I'm just saying. My reviews may not be for you. If you do decide to be a total troll, well then pay attention to the below disclaimer.

This is going to be an honest review of my thoughts and feelings regarding this episode. If you're the kind of Shadowhunters fan where you only want to hear positive things about the show, this is not the place for you. If you decide to stick around and get offended by what is said, then that's on you. I warned you. Just know that if you send me any rude comments or messages, I will 100% ignore you. I find that's the best way to deal with bullies. I work 14 hour days. Do you really think I want to waste my incredibly valuable free time dealing with derogatory comments? Hell no. This review will consist of my honest opinions. Opinions are never right or wrong. I'm not telling YOU how to think and feel. I'm telling you what I, quirky and socially awkward me, think and feel. So please, lets discuss with dignity and respect. If I'm critical about this show, it's only because I want it to get better. There is, in fact, a difference between hating a show and being critical of it. I do not hate Shadowhunters, I am being critical and analyzing the flaws as I would with any other show. There are positives but there are also negatives. It's great if you want to promote positivity with this show (and I encourage you to do so) but that doesn't mean I'm not going to point out the things that are legitimately wrong with it. Also, keep in mind that despite the fact that I do like the books, me being critical of this show has nothing to do with my fondness for the books. I don't really care if the show deviates from the source material as long as the changes are good, it makes sense, and it doesn't create plot holes within the confines of the world the show has created. My problems with this show are problems I would have with any show or book for that matter. I think it's perfectly reasonable to take issue with a show that has plot holes, shoddy world building, and inconsistent characters. There will be spoilers for the books and movie.

We are at last embarking upon the final episodes of this show and if this episode is what's going to set the tone for the remaining episodes, then I'm glad it's the final episodes because...well, this episode wasn't great and is a perfect example of what I won't miss about Shadowhunters. Bland and cringey dialogue, more characters than it knows what to do with, and too much jumping across plot points. There are individual moments in the episode I enjoyed but overall, this isn't an episode I loved.

The Loss of the Mary Sue

I'm not entirely certain of the timeline in this episode. The episode never specifies on exactly how many days have passed since the 3A finale but I'm going to estimate about a week or so. Everyone believes Clary died in the explosion caused by Lillith attacking Simon.

The episode opens with Jace, Izzy, and Alec chasing after a downworlder and Jace makes some very shoddy decisions in this fight that lets you see just how reckless he's become in the wake of Clary's "death". We then get a montage of everyone missing Clary and the more significant one is Jace, that's the one they spent the most amount of time on. He's basically walking through Clary's room remembering all the times he spent with Clary...so basically three memories. Another classic example of what I've always been talking about when it comes to the adaptation changes. Clary and Jace have barely spent any amount of time together, even less actually dating and I'm supposed to believe that they're each other's one true love...not going to happen because the show didn't develop it at all. There's a moment in the montage where Jace starts looking at Clary's drawings and getting really emotional about it and I felt nothing because Jace has never been shown to take any sort of interest in Clary's artwork before. In fact, if it weren't for that one scene in 3A, I wouldn't even have known that Clary was still drawing. By the show deviating from the books in the way they did, Clace had less development but yet the show still wants to continue the aspect of Clace being hopelessly in love from the books. You can't make a significant change from the source material and then pages down the line expect to pick up exactly where you left off. By making the change, you changed the entire context of the relationship so now the entire story has to change in order to fit that new narrative. Sadly, the Shadowhunters writers have not figured that out yet and continue to make that same mistake...or they're lazy, it could be that, too. Jace eventually gets so depressed that it's implied that he's contemplating suicide but Izzy is able to talk to him and get him to think. And then she just leaves him after making him promise he won’t go through with it. If anyone's wondering, if you catch someone who you believe may be contemplating suicide, do not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, LEAVE THEM ALONE!!! Particularly in a dark room. Being in a dark enclosed space is not the kind of place that typically sends out positive energy. But I suppose I can cut Izzy a little bit of a break. It's entirely possible the Shadowhunter world doesn't really understand how to help someone who's experiencing suicidal thoughts. They certainly didn’t help out Jace’s mother. Alec also confronts Jace about this in probably the only believable scene in this entire episode. Seriously, I've never been a Jalec shipper but I totally understand why people ship them. Matt and Dom are probably the only actors who actually have any chemistry with each other. But Alec tells Jace he's doing the memory of Clary a disservice and that if Jace were to die, it would destroy him as well. In other words, Jace isn't the only one who's going to be affected by this decision. Jace eventually is called by Luke who for some reason appears to be living in a motel room. I don't know why but whatever. Luke doesn't believe Clary is actually dead and he tries to convince Jace through some really weird conspiracy theory that probably even flat-earthers would find difficult to believe. But hey, if it leads to them finding Clary, I'll go with it. And I understand why Luke is unable to accept even the possibility that Clary might be gone for good. He can't think that about someone who he basically views as his daughter and the last connection he has to Jocelyn. Luke gives the evidence to Jace and tells Jace to at least check it out.

Simon, understandably, is also having a difficult time with all this. And Maia returns to give him emotional support despite leaving for a very particular and totally understandable reason but Simon needs her so of course she comes back for him. It's not like Maia exists for anything else but for Simon's character arc. Both Simon and Izzy kind of passive-aggressively shame Maia about leaving. And I'm particualrly disappointed in Izzy telling Maia about what happened to Simon's family as that's a very deeply personal issue and Simon should've been the one to tell her. It wasn't Izzy's secret to tell. I get that they were trying to use that scene to exposit information to the audience but there were better ways of doing that. Hell, it could've just been Izzy making an off-handed comment about Simon. Maia could've been talking to Izzy about how badly Simon is doing with the Clary situation and Izzy could've been all, "especially with what happened with his family" and Maia could've been shocked and Izzy could've been flabbergasted because she didn't know Maia didn't know. That would've been a much better way for the situation to be handled. But I'm not too pleased with Izzy saying in response to Maia not knowing, "well how could you? you weren't around." Just the insinuation that Maia should stay around and support her man and not go off and get in the right head space to properly heal herself after dealing with the re-emergence of her abuser. But I suppose I shouldn’t expect any different from Izzy seeing as she, herself, also only exists to give support the other characters. I think these passive aggressive intonations of shaming Maia are really horrible and shame on the writer. Maia, Izzy, and Simon decide to work together to find a way to get rid of the Mark of Cain from Simon's forehead. They talk to Raphael who now works at a soup kitchen in Detroit and Raphael tells them the tale of some dude chilling in the sewers of NYC who could possibly be the oldest vampire alive and may have answers to the removal of the Mark of Cain. Maia decides not to help Simon on this as its a bad idea for a werewolf and a vampire to meet and I almost forgot that was a thing, the show so rarely does anything with the vampire vs werewolf dynamic. But of course Maia has to back off to give room for Sizzy. I’m really not a big fan of Sizzy being explored here as everything that made Sizzy fun and interesting in the books has been completely stripped from the show. I’d much prefer Saia on the show. But really, I just want Maia and Izzy to have their own character arc, though that doesn’t revolve around shipping.

The Malec B-Plot

We have a Malec B-plot that I found just completely unnecessary wherein Iris returns and kidnaps Magnus because she wants to get Madzie back. She falls for the most obvious trap in the world and hopefully we never see Iris again. What it does for Magnus's story works I guess but I just found it to be a really obtrusive subplot that didn’t fit at all with the episode. I'm not sure if it's just the fact that I've been away from the show for a year so I can see the the show a little more clearly now but the Malec chemistry is no longer working for me. Maybe it's just that I've always paid more attention to how alarmingly unequal their relationship is but I'm looking at the body language they're giving off and its not the kind of body language you would expect from lovers. They're so stiff around each other and not relaxed at all.

In fact, there's a line in this episode where Malec has just put Madzie to bed as they're baby-sitting her and Alec kisses Magnus and Magnus tells him to stop because they have a child in the apartment currently. Alec kind of scoffs because it's just a kiss and Magnus is all, "You know how we get." And I'm like, "Do we really, though?" There's plenty of scenes of them talking and I can buy them as friends with that but lovers? I’m having a difficult time actually buying that now. Like I said before, the Jalec scene was way more believable than any Malec scene in this episode.

But Magnus decides he doesn't want to feel helpess ever again so he decides he needs to learn how to fight. Honestly, I was surprised to learn that this is implying he doesn't even seem to really have any basic self-defense capabilities. The way he was swinging the sword earlier in this episode lead to me to believe otherwise. Plus, Harry Shum Jr is a pretty buff dude but I guess maybe Magnus lifts weights and that’s it. Alec decides to help him out on this venture, though.

Siblings Reunited

We find out that Clary is indeed not dead and that Jonathon's back. I'll be real, here. It's kind of hard to feel sad for Jace or Simon or Luke or anyone really regarding the "death" of Clary, considering this entire episode is interspliced with moments of Clary being very much alive. Honestly, I think this episode would've functioned better if it was just about showing everyone going through all the different stages of grief regarding Clary and at the end of the episode when they've hit the acceptance stage, that's when we see Clary wake up in the apartment with Jonathon. But whatever. The show decided not to go that route so we have to make do with what we got. Clary wakes up and looking pretty damn fantastic for someone who's been asleep for days. Not a strand of hair out of place, make-up is flawless, and not a wrinkle to be found on her clothing. In fact, I think they're in even better condition than they were when Clary initially had to put them on. Clary also isn't even the slightest bit groggy, she knows exactly where she's at and everything. Clary does comas well. Jonathon tells Clary that it is indeed him, her big brother and that before Lillith was sent to hell she sent them away to Siberia, apparently. Clary plays nice for a little bit with Jonathon but decides to chance out in the cold of Siberia. It's nice to see that in her state of unconsciousness her muscles didn't atrophy from lack of movement or deteriorate from lack of food. But Clary fails in her escape, Jonathon finds her and brings her back. Clary tries to stab him with a knife but they both find out that what happens to one person will also happen to the other. So yeah, we're full in City of Lost Souls plot here which is ironically the title of this episode. Shadowhunters has never been all that subtle. This new actor for Jonathon is going to take some getting used to. Will Tudor did a phenomenal job with him so its difficult to see this new guy as Jonathon. But it also is difficult to take Clary's anger and hatred of Jonathon seriously when you think about all that Jonathon's really done on the show is kill a shadowhunter Clary had never met before and then injured Max and Max swiftly recovered. Clary is all about painting him as the worst possible being and indeed, in the books, he is but here, while he may be a bad guy who's done really bad things, I don't know if its deserving of that level of hatred. We haven't exactly seen a lot of his horrifying dastardly deeds. Another example of making a change and then thinking you can still keep the same storyline at a later point in the story. I'm certainly not saying I wanted Max to die but story-telling wise, it would make the emotions Clary's feeling here a little more believable. But I'm actually really interested to see where this whole Jonathon and Clary plot goes. In the books, it's Jace that's put in this situation so it'll be interestig to see how the show tackles Clary being in this situation. I'm also wondering, because they seem to be trying to stay away from the incest vibes here, is Jonathon going to gain an unhealthy obsession with Jace instead of Clary? In the books, Clary was who Jonathon was creepily obsessed with. He was equating possession with love and viewed that Clary belonged to him in every way imaginable. So since the roles of Clary and Jace have been reversed here, will Jonathon's obsession now change from Clary to Jace? Probably not but it would've been interesting to see for sure. I mean, if you're going to do a role reversal, you might as well go all the way, right?

The Clave Acting Shady AF

The Clave is being super shady right now. They appear to be doing experiments on the incarcerated downworlders and all I can say is, "do we really need this?" And also, "Why is it being implied that Jia knows about this and is okay with this?" The interesting thing about Jia in the books was the fact that she was the first step in the leadership to help get rid of the more corrupt aspects of the Clave and instigating change. But I suppose it's per the norm for the show to make everyone but the main group a bad guy instead of morally grey. As I've said before, this show has no concept of subtlety. I can only imagine that this is leading into the part in City of Glass the show hasn't done yet wherein the alliance rune is going to be introduced but instead of using it to fight Valentine, they're going to use it to fight Jonathon. That's what these downworlder experiments seem to be leading into as it reminds me a lot of Valentine experimenting in the books. I'm sure there was 0 social commentary intended when writing this into the show, though...but I think its safe to say it's totally social commentary. The show isn't very subtle, once again.

But good news is it looks like Ollie is gone for good so yay! I am side-eying the show, though about that. What was the point of introducing her if you weren't going to do anything with her? I'd say they probably wasted about half of 3A with Ollie unnecessarily. But maybe if this show hadn't been cancelled, Ollie would've played a more significant role? Well anyway, at least some of the fat has been trimmed.

My biggest issue, as always, is the dialogue. The dialogue felt extremely one-note. It was almost like the writer made a flow chart of what they wanted to happen in this episode and was like, "crap! I guess my characters do need to speak, here's some lines to explain what's going on." The dialogue basically existed solely for the purpose of giving exposition but the real kicker is that it was really unnecessary. I could've had this episode on silent (and that might've even have made it an improvement) and I would've understood what was happening perfectly. The dialogue really didn't add anything to the experience, it just made the episode feel more awkward than it already was. And then there continues the trend of Shadowhunters treating their awesome plans as if they’re the most clever plans in the world when in actuality, the plan is beyond obvious and it was super cringey and awkward seeing Izzy being treated as this amazing strategist for making the obvious move. And the episode was already plenty awkward with the constant cutting. It's really difficult to enjoy any particular subplot going on in this show when we only spend maybe 30 seconds to a minute on any particular moment. I kind of wish this show structured their episodes more around themes as opposed to plot. Plot is temporary, plot is always changing but exploring themes through plot gives you more of an appreciation not only for the characters but the story, itself. While I didn't mind sequences in this episode, at the end of the day, it just kind of left me feeling empty. I also think the acting felt a little stilted as well. I wasn't a big fan of any of the performances given in this episode and whereas I've never thought anyone on this show was oscar-worthy for their performances in the past on this show, their performances have always been maybe a C+ to a B. But in this episode, it just didn't feel like any of the actors' hearts were in it. Now granted, that could be a side effect of the script because, as I've mentioned before, the script wasn't great. Or it could've been the directing. There's a lot of reasons for why acting can feel stilted and it very rarely has to do with the actor or actress being bad at acting.

I've made notes about how the dialogue and acting was stilted but those weren't the only things that were. The fight choreography and the blocking felt a little off as well. For starters, the fight choreography did not feel organic. It was strangely reminiscent of season 1 fight choreography. The constant jump cuts so you don't see too much of what's actually happening and just feeling like fight scenes move very slowly. Like the reaction times between sword swing to parry were very slow and it kept on taking me out of the moment. Then you also had moments where Alec and Izzy catch up with Jace in the sewer and everyone's staring at the seelie they're trying to capture for a good 5 seconds before the actual fight continues. And then there's just strange blocking choices where a character walks to a point in the room and then delivers their line but the walk to the new mark wasn’t organic and actually made the line feel more awkward.

I'd probably give this episode a C+. It was passable, with enjoyable moments but ultimately not something I have any desire to return to. There were cute moments (primarily Jalec and Madzie), but overall as an episode, not something to be too terribly impressed with. And yes, there were moments I did like. It’s not my fault the show just had more bad parts I felt compelled to talk about.

#shadowhunters 3b #shadowhunters 3x11 #shadowhunters lost souls #rife with unpopular opinions #read at your own risk

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