#kinda wish i had added more cyber elements to this

[starzknight]

Miiiiku!!

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[daantaat]

twu s2 thoughts even though nobody asked <3 just a brain dump and it’s quite long so I tried to separate my commentary by categories but it’s still a mess unfortunately. Spoilers under the cut!

General

Overall, I enjoyed season 1 more than season 2. I’ve watched season 2 three times now, and I do think it had some good parts that I definitely overlooked during my first watch (probably because I was preoccupied with Charlotte x Shona 😶😅). My initial reaction to this season was like ‘hmm so that happened and I’m not sure what to think’ but then I rewatched it and tbh I think my complaints are mostly to do with the time jump between seasons and the pacing...

Like yeah there’s only so much to touch on in six 25-minute episodes but!!! I finished the season wanting a bit more, because I thought that some of the things that were introduced were either not explained fully/well or they just dropped off completely and didn’t really have an effect other than me asking questions after the season was over, like it felt as though there were missing scenes— more on that later (though maybe they will be addressed in season 3??? If there is one? How soon do shows get renewed? Idk). Though I guess the audience does have to do some interpretation of their own but still... Idk! Idk. And the assumption that certain events/plot points mentioned in a character’s dialogue would be enough for context had me kinda “:///” y’know? Like don’t tell me, show me?? I’d like the full course please!!

Charlotte x Shona (+ Vish I guess)

I think it was really jarring to see their relationship grow from colleague/business partners to friends and then finally to something more in season 1 only to see them awkwardly handle their unresolved feelings in the workplace with nothing to show for their actual relationship besides a mention of “a week-long gay safari” + the brief flashes of a sex scene that was intermingled with Shona and Vish’s cyber sex session, which in itself is 😐😐😐 like yes it shows that Shona still thinks about/fancies Charlotte in some capacity, but if I were to choose between that sex fantasy/flashback or a flashback of Charlotte and Shona together (like Charlotte telling Shona she was falling for her!!!!)... I think I’d choose the latter? I was just disappointed that we didn’t really get to see Charlotte and Shona being all cute and romantic with each other this season :(

ALSO I wished we got to see more of jealous!Shona; I was super hyped to see that since that scene was included in the trailer. It was nice to see her want the best for Charlotte because she’s “great” but the jealousy part of knowing Charlotte is dating someone great got settled pretty quickly and instead we got Shona evaluating her commitment to Vish and considering the idea of having kids after learning she has a womb of a 39-year-old (😐) and it felt.... like a lot!! It was definitely different from season 1 Shona (”I actually don’t want kids” “I genuinely, I genuinely don’t, you know, it’s not a big deal. Just never have” in 1x04) but if this was to show her dealing with comphet or internalized homophobia or just simply running away from her feelings then... idk what to think of it! I really don’t. I think this is where things could have been written differently because using an affair with Charlotte like that (an affair that we didn’t even get to see besides the stolen kisses at the finance event) was so... ugh, I’m suffering here

Anyway, I think their office scenes were definitely highlights of the season, like Indira and Sharon really gave those scenes their all!! Even though it hurts to see Charlotte so heartbroken and Shona running away from her feelings and hurting Charlotte in the process, I live for the angst lol. I will say though, the 180 that happened after their convo outside Charlotte’s office was a bit “🤔” considering Charlotte had talked to her therapist about Shona for 4 months. Like one hungover feeling dump from Shona and they can move on? Hmm communication is connection, huh. And I guess they were just excited that the article got good results? But how cute that they got each other gifts of their picture in the article??? Wtffff I love my “unfunny and obvious” gal pals even though I’m in pain

As for the voice note... omg, so many questions. Like did Charlotte try to reach out to Shona after she abruptly ended their call to check if she sent the voice note to Vish?? Was that gonna be the first time Charlotte heard Shona say “I love you” to her? What was the reason Shona said “I love you” anyway??? Is she, you know 👀 Also do y’all think Vish will listen to the entire voice note since it was clear it was meant for Charlotte? And who knows maybe Vish’s phone died and he can’t turn it back on or check his WhatsApp or whatever. I’m in denial lmao. But also I think he's a pretty good guy, like when he sent biscuits over to the house when Shona wanted some and him saying what’s the point of having fun in New York when she's not there with him... :/ but he was also a bit weird about her putting a nail in a wall or leaving out the egg duck or whatever as a display item in their house though I suppose that’s not a huge problem so like idk man idk!!! I'm just saying season 3 better not have a time jump I need to see what happens and not just in exposition

Shona and Aine

Love them :) I wish they had more scenes together (if that's possible??) but I liked the somewhat change in dynamic seeing Aine a bit worried about Shona (asking her if she’s okay when she mentions she’s thinking of getting a fringe lmao and again asking if she’s okay when they’re unpacking in Vish’s house). And of course Shona is still very protective and worrisome but seeing Aine just miserably lounging around her apartment over the weekend and getting in her bike accident after Shona wasn’t too supportive of her and James’s business idea made me so sad :( like Shona was so shitty about her not typing up everything in the notes for the meeting! And not even reading James's CV... big yikes. Anyway I thought it was odd that we didn’t get a follow up on the voice note Aine left Shona after getting into the bike accident... like she sounded soooo shaky and out of it :((( what luck Shona was sick and didn’t see Aine with a missing tooth before she got it fixed

Anyhow, Aine was right when she said Shona needs to talk to her and talk about her feelings more!! AND this is part of where my complaint about the pacing and the missing scenes comes into play! I think we should have seen Aine and Shona fighting about Shona’s affair and leaving Vish the voice note. The audience knows Aine cares about Vish and I’m not entirely sure where her relationship with Charlotte stands since Charlotte told Freddie about her being in rehab (on the assumption that he knew, as Aine’s ex-boyfriend) but!!! Just cutting to them on the floor waiting for Vish’s flight to land was not as hard hitting as it could have been

Aine x Bradley (+ Richard)

OKAYYY. Cute!!! I definitely overlooked the signs during my first watch here but yeah they were definitely there during my rewatch(es)!! I quite liked seeing Bradley try to get Aine to stop talking negatively about herself and just try to treat herself better in general like exercising and actually eating off of a plate :’) and the comparisons between Bradley and Richard have me like 👀📝 Bradley saying he likes how much Aine talks vs. Richard’s friend Mark saying she talks a lot and how he wasn’t expecting a whole show to which Richard replies he thought that at first too but she “calms down” like brooo... alright. Anyway Bradley going with her to Tom’s funeral/service made sense since he actually met Tom (though Aine did vaguely talk about him and his drinking problem to Richard in 1x05) and the fact that she told Bradley about PACT and her time there but she didn’t tell Richard (to be fair she was thinking about telling him) hmm 👀 Also Bradley saying “Sometimes it would just be nice to be with someone you could just relax with as yourself” yeah I’m on board with them

Loneliness, COVID, Communication is Connection

Initially I thought these themes could have come across a little stronger but after rewatching... hmm. Yes, Shona was lonely in the house by herself; she even asked Anil to stay for dinner, had her own “pile of shit” boyfriend on her bed (which she did clear off), and told Vish that nobody had time for her. Also after the business meeting she asked Aine what she was doing during the weekend (which Aine also spent alone anyway), but I dunno... oh yeah her hen/bachelorette party was a bit lonely since places were starting to go into lockdown and not everybody could attend, but I think the COVID element entered a bit too late into this season? I’m not sure it really added much in terms of the loneliness. Maybe it did add to the uncertainty of things though

“Communication is Connection” was there but I thought it kind of fell flat as well, but maybe that was the intention— to highlight the mess that a lack of communication can cause? Shona apparently writing off Charlotte’s feelings and them not necessarily talking about their relationship/feelings until their convo outside Charlotte’s office... Shona talking to Seema saying she’s never really asked what Vish wanted (regarding kids) and Seema saying that’s a convo for her and Vish to have... Aine not telling Richard she overheard him and Mark talking about her... Richard not consulting Aine about telling Etienne about them and just getting a new tutor for him... hmm. What does it mean. What does it all mean

Other stuff I’m still thinking about/have questions about

Shona mentioning it’s “annoying” how Aine talks like she’s the only person to ever get sad in episode 1 but still telling Aine she’s fine and then in episode 6 Shona saying she only has two emotions or whatever so she doesn’t need to talk to Aine about her feelings as much -____- istg we need to get Shona to talk to a therapist in season 3!!!

I also liked that Shona, Aine, and Eileen talked more. I’m still a little disappointed that the fact Eileen leaving Shona for three months when she was a baby was not mentioned at all. Yeah it was a secret but when Eileen said “well, you should never lie. You’ll always get caught out.” I— HELLO? If anything, that secret seeing daylight could have had something to do with Shona's sadness + loneliness this season. Also could you imagine that becoming a fear of Shona’s, like what if she doesn’t want kids because she’s afraid of doing the same thing to hers if she has any??

Jim asking Charlotte if she’s straight and Shona immediately going “what does that have to do with anything” or something like that and apologizing to Charlotte after Jim left— I’m not sure how I should have read that??? Did Shona mention to Jim that Charlotte is a lesbian?? When he started to ask, he was still looking at Shona (yeah I’m reading too much into this I know)

Marcia figuring out that Aine and Richard were seeing each other (after he touched her hand on his way out to get a taxi)— what was the purpose? Other than Marcia obviously feeling bad for Etienne, whom I assume she sees as a son of her own (based on the Mom Instinct™ snooping when she was doing housekeeping + her convo with Aine when he came back from France). She didn’t talk to either Aine or Richard about it, just told Aine to have a good time when they were leaving the house to go to their “separate” events. I guess it wasn't her place to say anything, but hm. Speaking of Etienne, it was obvious he had a schoolboy crush on Aine (or at least he was vying for her attention) in season 1 and it’s really too bad we didn’t get to see his reaction to suddenly getting a new tutor or dealing with Aine and Richard’s relationship other than him looking at them hugging while the new tutor was teaching him. He deserved some more screen time this season :(

Hmm so that was all very incoherent but if you made it this far thank youuu <3 here are some last silly comments:

Absolutely loved Julie!! I want to know what she knows about Charlotte and Shona 👀 girl give me the scoop on the last 4 months at the office

Super sad we didn’t get to see Charlotte’s cat (I’m always gonna be vocal about this 🗣🗣🗣) or know who her new girlfriend was but at the very least we were introduced to one of the most important side characters of all: Charlotte’s stompy boots <33333 she really wore those around the office with a blazer/blouse/leather skirt! We love that lesbian attire

[struwwelzeter]

Because i miss your design themed rants (it is good word here) i would like you to rank Rammstein album covers from designers point of view.

Ah, I love you. This got VERY ranty.

This is kinda hard because I tend to judge the entire packagaing/notes, and when I count that into it the ranking would be ever so slightly different. I’ll mention it for each I have Opinions (TM) on, but yeah, this is solely going on cover. I’ll only do the studio albums, not made in germany or the DVDs, or this will get too big.

7th: Rosenrot.

I know lots of you are gonna hate me for this. It’s not that I don’t like it, I do, it’s beautiful. Unfortunately it’s ... slightly lazy. It’s I think their most obvious cover and obvious feels like it’s good design but never truly is. It’s got that first idea feel, if that makes any sense. There is always that project where you go “uh can’t think of anything, but this works.” It’s not a bad thing, they clearly still knew what they were doing. It’s just ... that typical photoshop post apocalyptic composit that lost of metal/alternative bands did at some point. They all did it because it’s cool. No argument there. It’s just that I expect a bit ... more.

6th: Herzeleid

I know it’s iconic, but. The execution?! Terrible. The colours of their skin and that flower?! Too different to feel monochromatic, to same same to contrast nicely. Too much texture. What is that?! The positive bit is the placement of the typography because, neat! Most people fail at that. I like the blue-grey there aswell, how about you’d added that to their skin a little? No? Ok.

Also, this (Richard speaking):

“The bloody sleeve! What a crazy situation that was. We approved the photos in a car park without thinking what we were letting ourselves in for. When we saw what the designer had done, we freaked! We looked so… gay! All of us stripped to the waist. It was like an ad for a gay porno film. So we had to say, sort it out. Make us look straight again. Change the sleeve.”

Who in the fuck works like this?! Nevermind, I know it was a considerably younger Dirk Rudolph, but fucking hell, have some self respect, all of you. I know they didn’t know what they were doing, they probably had the management/record company comission it, and that was still the time graphic designers were seen as just pixel pushers from that time it took 3 days to layout a poster. Still. What was that brief?! Could you have sat down for 20 minutes and talk, perhaps?! Also, I hope this is how Richie learned to be the nightmare client I know he is. Don’t approve layouts in a car park, what the fuck is wrong with you.

It’s a pity because the concept? Nice. Sculpted men infront of flowers, what else do you want from life. Why crysanthemes, tho? Too textured in that macro shot. What is that photo angle?! Might try and redo that if I ever feel like it.

5th: Reise, Reise

This breaks my heart a little, because it’s my lonely island album. And it isn’t bad by any stretch. Actually, their album cover game is ridiculous, can I have that established as a general benchmark? It would make for a lot less mental break downs. The thing is ... I like the idea. Make it look like the black box, cool. The problem is the type. It makes it look like “Flugrekorder Nicht Öffnen” is the album title. To be fair, Typesetting is my main thing, and album artists get it wrong (imo) 99 out of 100 times. I wish they would have comitted more and just left the titel off and solved it with a slide in, or a sticker or something like that. It’s just a bit ... weird. What works brilliantly is that it’s very memorable, stands out on the shelf, is unusual, all of that. It’s iconic. I do like it very much but I had to place something here.

4th: Liebe ist für alle da

Now the thing with that album is that it has two covers. If I’d gone by the original one, I’d have to place it behind Reise, Reise. Everything RR has in impact, this is missing. It’s too dark, has too many pieces, it won’t stand out on a shelf. Especially not in the CD age when it was on 12x12 cm. Even on a Vinyl, it’s ... just not that impactful. Sure, the photograph is beautiful but meh. Luckily there is a second option. And that - is almost like a logo. It works as a symbol, and that makes it so strong. Less is more. Brilliant. You can draw it from memory. It’s so iconic, the kind of stuff that starts showing up in subways, drawn on the back of a seat and sprayed on walls. Tell me you never wanted to paint that on a flag and take it to a pride parade. I am sure some of us have.

I do want to mention the booklet in this, because it does bump it up a little too, because where the panorama image fails as a cover, the inside is done so beautifully with the fold out, the type setting, everything. It’s special, and done with love and it shows.

3rd: Mutter

There is just something about this that is so, so, so memorable. Everyone recognises this. If you ask anyone over the age of 20 to describe Rammstein with an album cover only to someone less familiar, is anyone gonna say anything but “they’re the band with the embryo in close up”?! Maybe this is subjective because that’s how I first got exposed to them, but I don’t think so. It’s such a powerful image. It’s both beautiful and uncomfortable, the way Rammstein as a whole and that album in particular is beautiful and uncomfortable. It’s stunning. That’s it. Unfortunately, this one falls apart inside. The went too far with the whole Matrix inspired cyber elements. It’s trendy and trendy never stands the test of time, in that it has the same problem Rosenrot has, but much worse because it’s not even done that well. They could have just used the photos and kept it raw. The type setting on the cover is as good as it gets with albums tho, so I am happy.

2nd: Sehnsucht

Ah, Sehnsucht. The most perfect band shoot they ever had. Helnwein just ... did it. I don’t know, it both defined and summed up who they are aesthetically for the longest time. It’s the visual statement that says “this is Rammstein”. It ... just looks like a band that sings about heartbreak and necrophilia is supposed to look like. Don’t you agree? How else would it look like? Even that omniously coloured beach. It’s as if the predicted the mood of True Detective, only less Hollywood. That darkness we don’t want to see, that can happen anywhere. And where they fell short with Mutter, where they added too much on to these powerful images, they just added the type. Granted, it was the 90s so it’s slightly experimental type. But unlike most type in the 90s it stood the test of time. Add the whole variable cover versions and chefs kiss! Beautiful work. Makes me happy and emotional and ugh.

1st: The White Album

I’m just calling it that now. The Matchstick. You know, good design is made up from three components only: Concept. Commitment. Execution. The concept of this is so streamlined and clean. It’s the entire Rammstein story narrowed down to a single little thing. It’s small and ordinary looking but it can become dangerous and big. It’s underestimated. A little piece of wood with a head of phosphor and calium chlorit and yet you can commit the most legendary arson. It’s the personification of the thing that has become synonymous with them: Fire. It says so much with so little. And then they comitted to that. No useless typography, a simple but oh so well done photoshoot, the simple text on white. They didn’t ad too much additional ideas on to it, they trusted that one to carry and it does. They could have done without the black and white match stick arrangements inside, although I’m not even sure if that’s not just a limited edition thing, it’s a bit too much almost. They got scared a little there. The execution is also well done, I have very little to critique, only that I feel it lacks a tiny bit of love. The thing is, the more minimalist you go, the more love you have to put into each element. I feel like the spacing of the type should have been fixed in a few places but honestly that is being very very picky. Or not. Because if it wasn’t for that, and the teeeeny tiny commitment issue, this should have been a candidate for the packaging grammy. I mean it should be even the way it is, but we all know how those fuckers ignore our boys.

I’m done. Can I use this as application? Do you think if I send them a run down of basically tearing them apart they will hire me?

[sytycdinternational]

Eurovision 2021 Semi-final #1 Review

Strongest Semi-Final ever since I started watching this show. I’m fully prepared to lose faves.

1. The Roop - Discoteque - Lithuania 🇱🇹: Singing “There’ noone here, I feel safe to dance alone” in front of millions of viewers perfectly illustrates our current state of mass surveillance, change my mind. There were no major changes to their performance at the national final (why would there be when the underlying concept got them a record win at Pabandom iš naujo!), but the bigger stage definitely added another (violet/pinkish) dimension to it. I wouldn’t mind at all if the checkered flag background image forshadowed their win this year.

2. Ana Soklič - Amen - Slovenia 🇸🇮: Ana’s performance sucked me in like the black hole on the background screen at the start. Great gestures to enhance a rather static show and the staging, just wow. One half of planet earth on screen reflected on the floor, the big bang bursting beneath her feet at the climax, it was simply a presentation of galactic dimensions. I do wish her pronounciation was clearer, since every time I was tempted to sing along her words seemed to devolve into gibberish in my ears.

3. Manizha - Russian Woman - Russia 🇷🇺: DON’T BE AFRAID, DON’T BE AFRAID, DON’T BE AFRAID! OF MANIZHA TAKING THE WIN!!! Cause that’s where she’s headed for! That. Was. So. MINDBLOWING. It truly exceeded all my expectations. The charisma, the drive, the vocals, holy shit. I was close to bursting out in tears during the folklorish chanting segment. Like, there was just something swelling up in me that’s hard to describe. All while I’m head-banging like crazy. Perfect execution starting with the patchwork fabrics and clay art in the postcard melting my heart. Ana really had bad luck being stuck between two crazy (good) entries lol. 

4. Tusse - Voices - Sweden 🇸🇪: It seemed like Tusse was caught in a permanent state of crouching. Tbh I was warming up to the song, but then the key change happened and I just went nope. I think the song would have benefitted from incorporating the harmonica element at the start more. 

5. Montaigne - Technicolour - Australia 🇦🇺: The dancing condoms from Lena’s 2011 entry for Germany made an unexpected comeback. I feel so bad for Montaigne, especially now that it’s become apparent what a drawback not being able to perform on the real stage really is. Also, that “technicolor” effect every few moments did nothing but harm the entry.

6. Vasil - Here I Stand - North Macedonia 🇲🇰: Vasil seems to like rock-climbing, that interesting to know. It could not, however, prepare me for the disarmingly sincere performance that Vasil gave us. Nothing he’s singing is ground-breaking at all, but it’s the sum of its parts that makes it so special for me. How could I not fall for  someone who’s dedicating a song to his lover in front of all of Europe.

OMG I first thought Nikkie told Montaigne to stay away, instead of awake lmao.

7. Lesley Roy - Maps - Ireland 🇮🇪: I thought Jendrik’s entry was the most kindergarten-y entry this year, but clearly I was wrong. I think Lesley bit off more than she could chew. Poor thing was so visibly nervous I was almost having a nervous breakdown from all the anxious energy she was giving off. Also, was she crying at the end??

8. Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo - Cyprus 🇨🇾:   Tomboy Elena is not what I expected from the postcard. Hmm, some of the more questionable lyrics (taco, tamale...) suddenly became a lot more difficult to ignore. Still, surprisingly strong vocals for how much Elena is moving around, so major props for that6. Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo - Cyprus 🇨🇾:   Tomboy Elena is not what I expected from the postcard. Hmm, some of the more questionable lyrics (taco, tamale...) suddenly became a lot more difficult to ignore. Still, surprisingly strong vocals for how much Elena is moving around, so major props for that.

9. TIX - Fallen Angel - Norway 🇳🇴: The song gains another dimension when taking Efentix into account, doesn’t it... For some reason I don’t think this song got elevated by the new stage at all. 

10. Albina - Tick-Tock - Croatia 🇭🇷: I feel like accidently stumbled into a showing of the Starlight Express musical. I think I know what they were going for with the outfits but they made me go more aww than oof. Still fierce. In an endearing way. Which works btw. Also, some nice ideas like turning Albina into a quintuplet and her dancers raising her up above their heads. Damn, her being all excited to be on stage at the end was super cute.

11. Hooverphonic - The Wrong Place - Belgium 🇧🇪: I think I’d have preferred an even darker song if that’s the attire they wanted to go for. In the end I really think they were in the wrong place.

12. Eden Alene - Set Me Free - Israel 🇮🇱: I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an unnecessary outfit change. I really like how Eden went for a warmer tone for the beginning before turning up the sass. I love what she did with her hair. Queen vibes. Also, my favorite dance choreography so far, the guys can get it.

13. ROXEN - Amnesia - Romania 🇷🇴: It really feels like she’s lost herself, including her voice. Okay, that was mean. Dancing while executing such an intricate stage choreography can’t be easy. Still, I think Finland got upstaged when it comes to edge factor. I was not sure, but then the font on screen last-minute basically confirmed it.

14. Efendi - Mata Hari - Azerbaijan 🇦🇿: It’s official, the true successor of “Fuego” has emerged. Elena who? Albina who? Efendi slays them all. All hail the snake goddess from the orient who ensnared millions of men in her pit this very night. Whoever came up with the ring-around-the-rosy circle dance is a god damn genius. So many circle elemnts too like the revolving flower pattern on the floor, the golden pear and the revolving fireball of doom turning into an all-seeing eye at the end. I’m positively hypnotized. 

15. Go_A - SHUM - Ukraine 🇺🇦: Kateryna’s piercing eyes stare right into my soul. Not sure if I’m in the mood for some winter vibes but interesting cyber-druid look. Is that what people mean by technopagans?

16. Destiny - Je Me Casse - Malta 🇲🇹: I’ll definitely add this catchphrase to my dictionary.

Ranking: Obsessing over #1-2, adore #3-6,  really like #6-10

Manizha - Russian Woman - Russia 🇷🇺

Efendi - Mata Hari - Azerbaijan 🇦🇿

The Roop - Discoteque - Lithuania 🇱🇹

Go_A - SHUM - Ukraine 🇺🇦

Vasil - Here I Stand - North Macedonia 🇲🇰

Albina - Tick-Tock - Croatia 🇭🇷

Eden Alene - Set Me Free - Israel 🇮🇱

Destiny - Je Me Casse - Malta 🇲🇹

Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo - Cyprus 🇨🇾

Ana Soklič - Amen - Slovenia 🇸🇮

Montaigne - Technicolour - Australia 🇦🇺:

Tusse - Voices - Sweden 🇸🇪

ROXEN - Amnesia - Romania 🇷🇴:

Hooverphonic - The Wrong Place - Belgium 🇧🇪:

TIX - Fallen Angel - Norway 🇳🇴

Lesley Roy - Maps - Ireland 🇮🇪

Prediction of who’s not going to the finale:

Australia

Belgium

North Macedonia

Romania

Ireland

Slovenia

Nikkie dragging past Eurovision entires lmaoooo. The audacity. And of course they had to put Duncan’s ass shot into the promotion video I’m diiiieing. I don’t know what a double platinum disc is but I didn’t think someone would get it randomly handed to without pre-announcement.

Aaaand I was right except for Croatia instead of Belgium. Damn, that kinda hurts. But in terms of staging it had the least effective staging among the many bops in this semi-final so it makes sense in retrospect.

[botslayer]

Top Ten games of the 2010′s

This trend seems to be doing the rounds at the moment and seeing as I’ve been gaming for about as long as I can remember, It just feels right. So, let’s get into it. But first, worth saying: These aren't really in any specific order, it's just the games I've personally had the most fun with overall, but it's pretty hard to decide what the hard numbers on things you enjoy for different reasons are if that makes any sense. 10. The 2010's weren't exactly the best time for anyone, I think. For me they were a slog of finding myself and learning things I wish I didn't. Amid all those things I wanted some levity. The world needs something and stupid. We got a lot of it ion 2013 but I feel like we could have used it scattered around a bit more. In that spirit, allow me to show you one hell of a pick me up:

Saints Row 4

Saints Row 4 does not give a fuck. It is aggressively demonstrating that the entire time you play. It doesn't care in the slightest what you think or why, It just wants to show you cool, if juvenile, and interesting, if weird shit. It's the finer points of Ratchet and Clank's arsenal, SR3's humor, And superpowers that genuinely put Prototype and Infamous in a blender and tell you to go ape shit with them. The soundtrack isn't top shelf, it's the roof of the building the shelf is in. Saints Row Two had a better story overall but SR Four's was just plain fun and a solid enough story to still be invested.

The DLC was just as irreverent and madcap, Featuring everything from an evil Santa Clause to evil Gimps on Game of thrones chairs made of dildos Or Tropey-ass costumes and weapon reskins that I'd be genuinely surprised the game dev didn't get sued over. It has earned its place in my top 10 and I will die by that decision.

9.

2016 saw the advent of a new genre. They blended TF2 and MOBAs, and we got hero shooters in their first AAA forms, Overwatch and Battleborn. But neither of these games is on this list, much as I liked them. Partly because the whole time, I kept thinking of one simple question: "Why do I keep thinking of...?"

Anarchy Reigns

Anarchy Reigns is my favorite Platinum game. Full Stop. The Story mode is interesting and has genuinely good character moments, the characters themselves are completely mental, ranging from a mercenary with a bionic cat leg that secretly has a gun built into it to a giant cyborg bull-man with a jet-powered hammer. The soundtrack is mostly angry hip-hop, making every song a banger and fittingly speedy for things like random bombing runs from jet fighters that come from absolutely nowhere.

There are giant monsters, cars with mounted flame throwers, giant robots, and the online is still pretty sweet because even when abandoned, loading it up with bots still rules. I regularly have more fun with this than I ever did with Overwatch, and I don't care how insane that sounds.

8.

Some games want to make you feel something and fail. Some games make you feel some things accidentally, for example, a desperate need to laugh. This game made me feel like a human blender. Like a Chthonic god of mangled flesh and raw destructive power. Nyarlathotep ain't got nothing on me. I speak, of course, of...

[Prototype] 2

There's no end to the absolute destruction you feel like you're causing in this game. It feels more fluid than the first, the main character is a pinch more relatable, and all the body horror, superpowers, zombie hordes, and big old monsters make for some of the most memorable and fun moments and fights in gaming. The DLC is also pretty solid, adding new fun side challenges, and new powers and weapons that elevate you from "Flesh god" to "Screw physics, I made them" Omnipotent. Best god/monster simulation of all time.

7.

Sometimes some games are at an honest tie in your mind. Be it that you like them for essentially the same reasons, or for completely different reasons, but the overall total joy or entertainment they bring is roughly equivalent. Here, we have a case of the former:

Furi/Cuphead

Both games have a tight focus on giving players a unique, boss-centric challenge, both have interesting, somewhat minimal narratives, and both are absolute eye candy.

Furi has a more "Samurai Jack" Quality to me. A complete badass on a relatively simple quest with a somewhat minimalistic art style learning some things as he goes.

Cuphead on the other hand, nails that rubber hose animation style, and the fun levity of such animations while still making the player's ability to interact with the world damn impactful and fun.

They share a spot in my soul, games I love everything about but will never be able to finish. Hats off to both dev teams.

6.

Now here we have another tie. Mostly because the games are so close together, they need to be evaluated more or less as one product IMO, not enough changed for me to consider them separate games, fortunately, that is the furthest thing from an insult it can be in this situation. I present to you, my next pick(s).

Costume Quest 1/2

Now, This might seem pretty random considering my other picks, but honestly, I love Halloween, I love creative madness, I love subversion, I love good characters, and I love cool action, these games have all these things by the bucketload.

The first game is a wild ride through Halloween in multiple very lively locations and the second, slightly confusing as it is, is pretty awesome for the things it introduces, including time travel. Other elements, like the battle stamps, the truly epic forms of everything in the fights, The ability to customize your costumes, etc. they blur together in a pretty big way, but again, there's not a thing wrong with that when both games rock like crystal candy. 

5.

Now, if you hadn't noticed, all of the games on this list have had some hard action at their core, and while I don't HATE calmer games, a lot of the time, so many are kinda dull to me in that with the exception of easter eggs of some sort, most farming sims, for example, just have you doing normal farm stuff with very few twists, may as well start a real farm in that case. My most chill entry is a game that tosses that to one side, asks you to grab a suck cannon, and start harvesting gelatinous monster poop.

Slime Rancher

While you don't spend a lot of time actually interacting with other characters, they just talk at you, the story of the game is pretty effective, the player character of Beatrix has left Earth for a simpler life of Slime Ranching, which entails the raising of alien crops, delightfully derpy and colorful chickens, and going all around in an attempt to farm new breeds of slime for their genetic material to sell off or trade-in for the creation of gadgets while being surrounded by a cast of interesting characters. It's all very wholesome family fun.

The game looks great, has great ideas, and is genuinely the best farming game I have ever played. @ me all you want.

4.

The 80's are almost fetishized nowadays. Given all the property reboots, games that go for the vibe and aesthetic of the time, etc. It almost seems as though the eighties vibe train ain't gonna stop rolling any time soon. But we owe it to ourselves to remember the first big swipe of madcap neon-colored actiony B-movie bullshit and how mind-meltingly epic it was. Ladies, Gents, and whatever else, I present:

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Blood Dragon's story is relatively simple, you play Sargent Rex "Power" Colt (A name said in full so many times I thought his last name was "Powercolt" for the longest time), a former "Omega force" cyborg. Rex and his friend "Spider" were sent into a secret island base to investigate the supposed defection and treachery of their old commander, Ike Sloan. It turns out he has gone rogue and taken an army of "Mark 5" Omegaforce cyber-soldiers with him. What follows is a long story of betrayal, science fiction of the highest nonsensical level, comedy, and brilliantly cathartic action.

The collectibles range from data on animals, to research notes from a scientist, to literal VHS cassette tapes that have full descriptions of movies that I would legitimately watch if I could. "You may now kill the brides" is not a real film and I am angry for every day that that is true. Anyway, play Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, I dunno if it's on PS4 but it's one game I'd buy a new/old console for.

3.

A lot of superhero games NEED to railroad you. Your goals MUST be to save the lives of the people and help the weak and all that. But one dev asked the simple question: "What if it didn't?" "What if the player chose how to use their power? What if the player could be as evil or as good as they damn well pleased?" One game gave you the powers of thunder and lightning and asked what you'd do with it. It's sequel asked you the same, but against more... interesting forces.

InFamous 2

InFamous 2 is a game about making choices, just like the first one, also just like the first one, it can have an effect on gameplay. That effect went from "What does this particular power do in this allignment?" To "Which new set of NEW powers would you like?" The forces of the last game went from “Three flavors of gun-toting whackos” To “Possibly an allegory for the Klan, Swamp monsters, and Ice-powered super soldiers.”

This was, and still is, the best game in the whole series, The powers felt distinct from anything else and still do, the story is solid as a rock, and the enemy types were still varied enough to be interesting, I miss the Reapers from the first game, but that's about it. Everything else was a massive step up. If you have something that can run it, play it.

2.

Action is something I think we can all appreciate on some level. We can understand when it does or does not work, we can understand when we do or do not like how it feels when we are the ones partaking in it. EX: Any schlep can tell you when the weapons in your game lack impact, or when your character moves too slow for the game to be fun. The following game is something I can't say anything of the sort about. And it's kind of like Wolfenstein, when you have enemies this bad, who the hell cares how many you kill?

Doom 2016

Y'all are lying if you say you didn't expect this one. It's DOOM 2016. This game is made of hate and fuck. AND I LOVE IT. You move so fast, you may as well be half cheetah and half sports car. You slaughter the dregs of hell by the dozens and even the biggest, baddest things this game throws at you can be beaten with the starting pistol if you have the stones for it. It looks amazing graphically, the demons all look appropriately threatening, and even the Multiplayer is a great deal of fun in my book.

Something worth noting: The story presented by default is pretty barebones, but that's where supplementary material fills in the gaps, the difference between supplementary material in most games and supplementary material here is the material is till IN THE GAME. You're free to ignore most of the plot as it happens around you, and even interesting tidbits of the lore like how certain demons function. Not only are these things missable collectibles, prompting continued play to find them, they are also pretty interesting reads. So yeah, just about everything you could want in a sequel/remake, builds the on lore and gameplay very organically. 

1.

And here we are, the last game I'd put in this category. An entire decade, and here, we end on the last game that left such an impact I'd put it in my top ten. But first, let's talk about expectations and delivery: When you say a game is coming out, there are certain expectations you have for gameplay, EX: I say "Ratchet and Clank" and you expect a TPS with platforming elements and crazy guns. I say "Gears of War" and people expect something to do with lumbering about in big armor, dismembering things with a chainsaw gun and otherwise shooting them to paste. We might also expect changes to things, better graphics, innovations in grenade variety, something as that franchise goes on.

After the last game in this series was released, there were tons of people who felt let down and disappointed by it. Then they released the still somewhat disappointing special edition of it. They were both still fun, but neither really felt like the full next step in the series. After a failed reboot, they returned to the original story and the lot of us rejoiced. And when it finally came out? It was a step up in most, if not, all regards, to its predecessors. You know what this last one is. Please, give a warm round of applause to:

Devil May Cry 5

A game that was not only a return to form, but a major escalation in gameplay for one character, and a new style of gameplay all together by way of yet another new character. It didn’t exactly hurt that the story kicked ten kinds of ass and that the game looked spectacular in both the design of everything and the actual graphical fidelity.DMC 5 is, like DOOM, Like InFamous 2, Like [PROTOTYPE] 2, everything you want in a good sequel. It built very well on already solid foundations and it was generally just a fun, slightly goofy, massively stylish, and ultra badass ride. I recommend this, and all these games, to anyone.Good night everyone, have a great 2020. And the rest of the decade, for that matter. 

[the-creeping-shadow]

DOOM Eternal Random thoughts 3

I finally beat the game on ultra-violence today :D I suppose now I am going to focus on 100 % completion of my current save slot, finding the items I missed etc. and perhaps delve into battlemode.

With that said, here is my third list of random thoughts:

1. Somehow the Lost Souls spawned by the Pain Elemental seem kinda... buggy. They love to get stuck in the floor in my game, to the point where I had a Lost Soul breakdancing on the ground during the ending cutscene. I also had it constantly scream into my right ear during the entire credit roll and the after-credit scene. Kinda hilarious; became annoying though XP

2. The longer the Icon of Sin is on Earth, the stronger he will become.

3. Say what you want about the Marauder, but his introduction was absolutely badass. I personally find that once you get a hang of the game mechanics, he is not THAT awful as others seem to portray him. Difficult, definitely, but not too frustrating. Except for that one secret encounter which I have yet to beat.

4. On the note of “badass introductions” I wish the Archvile had one like during the reveal teaser. Otherwise it only had a hide-and-seek entrance in-game. The Phobos trailer was boss...

5. I still miss the unique player deaths from 2016...

6. Did you know? The longer the Icon of Sin is on Earth, the stronger he will become.

7. Why do the Maykr drones take more than one fuel of chainsaw when they are listed as fodder? Ok, I have an idea why but still.

8. I must know what happens in Urdak now. And I miss VEGA already.

9. I wonder how humanity is going to deal with the aftermath of the invasion with the terraforming having turned large parts of Earth’s environment hostile and the wanton amount of destruction. Rebuilding Earth shall be more fun than saving it?

10. ThE lOnGer thE icOn of SIn iS on eaRTh--- shut up, Hayden!

11. I think I have to attribute most of my deaths to Cyber-Mancubi now. (Not including boss fights). Blood punch their armour, sure, but their anti-melee attack is a major health drain...

12. I wonder when Empowered Demons and Invasion Mode will be added to the game?   

[cienie-isengardu]

Noob Saibot: Death, Darkness and Shadows

Generally speaking, Noob's main theme is darkness, shadows and death. He talks a lot about those in character banters, what only adds to the sinister impression of him. Yet despite the Wraith's way to describe himself (e.g. Angel of Death, Face of Death, Death's Hand ), his ambitions to form the deadliest clan and bitter disappointment in Kuai Liang, Bi-Han's relationship with death and shadows is not one dimensional.

Death is a constant part of Mortal Kombat. Characters were killed during fights, some were betrayed, others died – or would die in case of failure - as punishment. Add to that gruesome ways to end one's life, the fact that the Netherrealm (hell) is real place and souls of good people can be enslaved and twisted by evil magic, it's no wonder why death in Mortal Kombat is tied with pain, cruelty and fear. Even if some characters aren't afraid of death itself, there is plenty creatures that can consume and enslave souls and I think the fear of what gonna happen “in afterlife” may be very real concern albeit not spoken aloud.

Bi-Han was warned by Raiden that his soul was tainted with evil, but he didn't want – or couldn't – turn away from Lin Kuei. Soon after his adventure with Shinnok's amulet, he joined Mortal Kombat Tournament and here was killed by Scorpion. Quan Chi captured and changed Bi-Han's soul into Wraith, Noob Saibot. At core, it's still Bi-Han albeit his ability to feel (positive?) emotions – and maybe feeling pain too - is cut away or at least numbed.

Bi-Han's own death was cruel fate. Burning alive is an awful experience and even worse for cryomancer who by nature prefer ice over fire. Since Bi-Han died for a crime he did not commit in the first place and his soul was enslaved by Quan Chi (whose magic does not bid him anymore apparently) he has a lot reasons to be angry about and to seek revenge. Surprising, in contrast to Scorpion, there is little rage or grief in Bi-Han's character banters.

Noob claims that “Death is the coldest ice” and it may explain why he adapted into it so well – he was, after all a cryomancer and the colder temperature the better for his state of mind. What also may be relate to another statement, how “in death I'm even more deadly”. Of course, if Bi-Han meant his growing powers or just the fact that as dead person he is much harder to destroy is not specified. Most likely both, since Noob on another occasion said also that “[Death] gave me unspeakable power” and  “soulnado did not kill me” or “What is dead cannot die”, what refer to new and/or growing skills and benefits of being dead.

Adding to the mix information from older source like Mythologies: Sub-Zero that:

Sub-Zero learned of his ability as a young adult. It was passed on to him by his father, a fourth generation Lin Kuei warrior himself. The ability to harness the element of cold is one that takes years of practice. It's full potential realized only by those who've mastered it at the latest stages of life. Sub-Zero's skills have the ability to develop much faster than those of the other Lin Kuei. This was realized by the Lin Kuei Grandmasters who picked the young warrior to take his deceased father's place as the next Sub-Zero.

And this may be another reason why Noob considers his resurrection as a improvement.

To master ice ability one needs years of practice and the full potential is realized usually by those at the latest stage of life. So, the older cryomancers became, the better their ice skills are. Even though Bi-Han's skills developed much faster than of the other Lin Kuei, he was still in his 30s at best (old source claimed he was 32  around MK Tournament). What could means he never had a chance to reach the fullness of his potential. Death took away the chance, yes, but at the same time Quan Chi's magic bonded him with darkness of the world of dead. Thus in cold embrace of death, Bi-Han has endless time and means to satisfy his personal strive for perfection and/or ambitions.

That view of death, as a way to increase one's power and/or reaching the full potential, can be seen also in:

Sub-Zero: Time has revealed your true character.

Noob: My true power, Kuai Liang.

Sub-Zero: Which corrupts you, Bi-Han.

Or

Noob: Death will increase your power.

Skarlet: My power comes from life's essence.

Noob: You are still mortal, Skarlet.

What may be another part of explaination why Noob Saibot does not regret his own death and being Wraith the way Scorpion does. Death extended Bi-Han's natural abilities while Hanzo is fueled by hellish (unnatural for man) fire.

Talking about Scorpion, it's worth to look closer at the dichtomy of darkness and fire of Netherrealm. As far as the Hell was usually shown, this realm is made mainly of a fiery landscape thus rather barren land in general. Despite the harsh environment, local residents (demons, damned souls, wraiths) adapted into living there. Fire has a lot meanings, but in general symbolizes strong emotions, either good (love) or bad (rage). There is also important duality of fire – it may be a symbol of light (Liu Kang's Eternal Fire that banish darkness/shadows) but it may be destructive as well. In contrast, shadows and endless night usually refers to coldness.

Hanzo's hellfire is related to his emotional state – it represents rage and suffering. The man himself said on many occassion that he cannot escape his rage. As it was pointed out in game(s), because of such strong feelings, Hanzo is person easy to manipulate. Quan Chi manipulated his anger and grief, Kronnika used past!Hanzo in similar way ("Do not trust Kronika! She uses your anger to enslave you, as Quan Chi did both of us." ).

There is interesting connection between Hanzo and other (main) revenants like Liu Kang, Kitana or Jade. They all are driven by strong hate and/or resentment for what happened to them. Revenant!Jade talked to her younger self how being loyal to Kitana brought her to the doom (“Blame your loyalty to Kitana. It led directly to our death.”). Liu Kang was motivated by hate toward Raiden and seek a way to avenge his unjustly death ("I have mastered Shinnok’s sorcery. I will add your soul’s strength to mine, and finally avenge myself upon Raiden."), while MKX!Kitana refused to listen Sareena & Jax's pleas to change because, like she said herself “I am a victim no longer."

But it's not just hate and rage that drive those characters, but also the suffering. They resent their persecutor(s) and/or people guilty of their deaths – to some degree, they also blame those who are dear to them; a feeling of hate and resentment most likely strengthened by Quan Chi's magic and Netherrealm place but not without base in reality. To some extent Hanzo and revenants are all driven by the feeling of injustice done to them. They aren't reconciled with death. They lash out in pain and anger and I think most characters can see it; the suffering under their harsh words and act of violence. What may be a reason why our heroes, after so many years, still hope to save (heal) revenants. Even if the hope seems to be foolish at times and slowly dying with passing time, there are still characters wishing to find a way to help or at least to open dialogue with former champions.

Frankly, Bi-Han is the only one(?) Quan Chi's creation that is not motivated by anger (as a reaction to his own suffering and dying). In contrast to Scorpion, Liu Kang or Kitana, Noob is truly cold-hearted character, who accepted his new form without much complain. Who, in contrast to others, adapted into offered darkness and moved on.

(And maybe that is why Noob is called Quan Chi's masterpiece both by characters (Kitana x2) and in additional kosmetic (skins) while Hanzo is referred to be sorcerer's slave (D'Vorah) or puppet (Kitana) or servant (skins). Bi-Han is unique in the way his sense of pain and emotional connection is numbed. It is much harder to manipulate someone who does not feel. Maybe this is also why Noob is the only Quan Chi's creation that has bond with additional intelligent(?) creature like Saibot... who may or may not be sorcerer's way to control reborn Bi-Han.)

I like to think Hanzo's inability to escape his own rage is fueled by hellfire; an element of Netherrealm used by Quan Chi to bent Shirai Ryu ninja to his will. Him, and the rest (of main) revenants are tighly connected to strong but negative feelings like anger, suffering and desire for revenge. From  Hanzo's words we know, Netherrealm is wealthy in pain and suffering what only adds to the idea of dependence between emotional state of revenant/wraith and helplessness to escape their fate. Netherrealm most likely feed their endless rage and pain. MKX hinted in Kung Lao and Jin endings and Sareena's words to evil!Kitana that there is hope for damned champions – positive emotions and aid/support of close people is the best cure (ironically, Kitana accused Sareena she get “corrupted” by emotions but the Empress of Netherrealm is corrupted by her own rage). The support and I guess, coming to terms with their own brutal death or death of people very dear to them is key to heal damned souls. Older Hanzo still griefs the loss of wife and kid, but he is slowly healing knowing now Quan Chi's was architect of their pain and paid for that, while past!Scorpion is driven by his emotions and clearly is not mentally okay.

In contrast, the death / darkness to which Bi-Han's soul was bonded numbed his sense of feeling – to the point heroes (Hanzo, Kung Lao) claim death made Noob even more vile... even though in game he barely did anything that outstanding evil.

>> Working with Sektor & Cyber Lin Kuei? He did so in MK9 already and game(s) implies he was on better terms with Sektor than Kuai ever(?) was in the past. So, if anything, he simply renew his already existing bond with clan member of  Lin Kuei. Blaming Bi-Han for embrancing old traditions of assassins clan that shaped him from young age is kinda hypocritical, because Scorpion did the same and yet I don't hear people claim it made past!Hanzo more vile or anything else like that. And Hanzo has a bad habit to look down on anyone who is mercenery, thief and killer even though he himself is/was not a saint. Of course, one may say Scorpion decided to change for better while Bi-Han does not show any implication of that. But seriously, good or bad guys, in Mortal Kombat universe, all fighters have blood on their hand. Cassie killed dozen of Black Dragon thugs without second thoughs, Kotal wanted to murder Tarkatan people and yet many heroes still see him as honorable man. Morality in this universe really depend on one's point of view. Bi-Han is simply loyal to the teaching that shaped him as Sub-Zero the same as Kung Lao or Liu Kang are loyal to their White Locus teaching.

>> Bi-Han's lack of reconciliation with brother? Well, Kuai Liang is the one openly aggressive and be like “Netherrealm can have you” and  “I disown you in every way” and claiming his brother does not deserve forgivness, even though MK11 highly imply that for two decades he did not have an idea his brother actually survived Soulnado. Just look at Frost's wish to destroy Lin Kuei and her former master, she has more rage in her than Noob showed at any point. Two things Noob really wanted was A) to form/have the deadliest clan and B) Kuai Liang stop using Bi-Han's old codename he took without permission and by that breaking the existing tradition. The whole ruling the world and/or being Death was not intended plan of Noob and happened mainly in his own ending. Twisted ambiton and stubborn dispute over title is hardly that big deal when one look at the all big bad guys like Shao Kahn (to conquer all realms) or Shinnok (destroy Earthrealm and Elder Gods) or Kronika (to restore her fallen son by making timeline to her liking). Also, as much as the dialouges between brothers are far from the nicest, they are hardly the most hateful either. Let's just agree Noob and Kuai Liang relationship is complicated.

>> Serving Kronika? Older Jax and past!Erron did that too and I don't see people jump and claim them being pure evilness. Bi-Han's motivation was selfish, true, but so was Jax's (keeping family safe and not dealing with trauma well), Scorpion's (restoring assassin clan and his family), Erron's (money) or revenants (revenge and destroying Earthrealm). Noob does not show much evil intentions beside having his new (dead) clan and maybe reclaim lost title.

Hell, I wouldn't say Bi-Han was that vile to begin with in MK9. He saved Earthrealm once (though that was more like fixing his mistake, but to do so, he risked his soul on trip to Hell) and at some point most likely changed sides in MK Tournament (otherwise his fight with Scorpion would not have any sense in-universe). Was Bi-Han the nicest person to deal with? No. He was sarcastic and harsh, but he hardly did anything truly evil in the previous game and all what happened after his death, happened under Quan Chi's control. Actually, I would say Bi-Han, the cold, uncaring assassin had an interesting parallel with Raiden that of course will depend on personal interpretation. Still, if game put focus on such small detail, it may be a hint that elder Sub-Zero is much complex character than first impression would suggest.

So, why Noob is seen as the one that death made more vile while revenants (rulers of Hell) are more pited than really hated and only those who think there is no chance to “save” corrupted souls (Raiden, Hanzo(?)) claim them to be true evil? Well, I think it all comes down to simple thing – showing emotions. Liu Kang, Kitana, Jade, even past!Scorpion. They all lash out in anger, they are all deeply wounded. They are victims of lies and manipulations. Twisted poor souls of champions that were killed in brutal way yet can't rest in peace.

But not Bi-Han. There is so little anger or hate, like he truly does not care. That indifference – the impassivity – is hard to relate for characters. This is not really about how much evil being Noob is because compared to other villains, he is hardly the most important or cruel one in storyline. This is rather about his lack of human emotions; lack of visible trauma, lack of reaction to physical and emotional pain.

That reminds me MKX intro between Sonya and Kuai Liang:

Sub-Zero: You think me a Revenant still? Sonya Blade: You sure seem un-traumatized. Sub-Zero: You know not my pain!

In which Sonya “accused” Kuai Liang to be still revenant just because he did not show any visible signs of PTSD. Even though she knew his personal story of losing brother, saw him killed in brutal attack and helped bring him back to life and had evidence he did changed assassin clan into trustworthy ally, the lack of, well, human response to trauma was  too suspicious. And if Kuai Liang, who was more socially adapted (polite) than Bi-Han did not show much struggle with past trauma(s), how much more Noob is terryfing in such lack of emotions?

In contrast, Hanzo (and Jax to some degree) is fueled by rage and regrets, even decades after coming back to life. Such contrast seems once again imply Bi-Han adapted into his new form much better than other damned souls. Noob stated in MK9 and 11 that Quan Chi perfected him. Most likely in the sense of cutting or shutting down his human feeling. No loyalty nor love for brother or Lin Kuei or former allies, no emotional dilemma whom Noob should serve. Himself, of course, but Quan Chi may not think through the whole matter and its consequences... or maybe he did, which is why revenants are tied closely to their negative feelings the way first Wraith (Scorpion) is, rather than cold and uncaring like Noob.

There is also one more thing to consider. Death as a relief (escape) from pain.

Burning alive was painful and did not kill outright Bi-Han. But pain of dying itself is still a part of life. Death ended Bi-Han's pain and brought cold comfort. In contrast, Hanzo is filled by flames – the pain, grief, anger, all the emotions that drives him all the time. Scorpion said his “The pain [of losing family] burns” what may not be metaphor  but reality. What add to the dichtomy of darkness (cold, not feeling) and fire (strongly emotion, being in pain).

Remember the little bargain attempt between Noob and Raiden?

Noob: Offer me a new life and clan.

Raiden: I offer only freedom from darkness.

Noob: Kronika's deal is better.

When Raiden offers freedom from darkness, he usually means the evilness. For Bi-Han rejection of darkness could be getting back his sense of feeling. Not only emotions but also pain he does not need or want. Asking for new life is not the same as asking to be bring to life (pain) again, which is no wonder he stick to Kronika's deal. Because as far as I remember, she did not promise making him alive in New Era, did she?

So far, death benefits Noob with powers and durability, perfection (by Lin Kuei standards) and most likely, a comfort (being cut away from pain and emotions).

So is all nice for Bi-Han and it's no wonder why he does not act around in a violent and uncontrollable manner and blame everyone for his poor fate (like Hanzo & revenants do at times). Death is all good and fine, except... the first impression of Noob is build on so many lies.

For one, Bi-Han did mention that the change into Wraith (losing Sub-Zero's mantle) was not his choice:

Noob: Still trading on my name?

Sub-Zero: A name you forsook long ago.

Noob: Not willingly.

That he was killed injustly and there is no (real) punishment for the killer:

Noob: I was killed unjustly.

Raiden: For that, Scorpion lost my trust.

Noob: That is no justice.

(And yet, his banters with Raiden aren't nasty, I-blame-you-for-my-death sort of, even though Thunder God is somehow responsible for Bi-Han's fate. He is the one accusing him of being Lin Kuei assassin yet using him on two occassions. Accusing Lin Kuei of being evil, yet doing nothing to stop process of forcing children into clan and training to made them killers. And Bi-Han wasn't the first nor the last Sub-Zero that helped champions and Raiden. Yet there is no anger at Raiden, nor for his lack of punishment for Hanzo who promised to spare Bi-Han but broke the promise. Nor for fact that Raiden keeps Hanzo & Shirai Ryu under his protection. Nor for decapitation of Shinnok, the supposed god Noob is working for.)

For someone who is supposed to benefit from his own death, Bi-Han also made bitter statement about death:

Noob: Give in to death.

Kabal: How much does he pay?

Noob: Death only takes.

So, if death only takes but not give anything in return, how this relate to Noob Saibot? The increasing power & comfort of not feeling are a consolation prize, a side-effect of Bi-Han's natural adaptation to new situation and his cryomancer genes?

Interesting is the fact that Bi-Han share his “complaint” about being dead only with few people – his brother and Raiden while at the same does not lash out in heated anger at Scorpion, the murderer and even in one intro by asking about their former partnership shows will to work with Hanzo again.

Another lie about Noob is him being “perfected” by Quan Chi, as in: freed from ties to other people. Like I said already, Noob has complicated relationship with Kuai; he does not deny their family bonds (unless situation calls for that) while at the same time he claims time after time dead are his only clan and kin. Which means he is bond to other people (including current rulers of Netherrealm?), thus has obligations to someone else than himself. Also, the whole idea of forming / having the deadliest clan ever – clan must be protected and ruled, clan means emotional investing, being in touch with others. For a loner like Bi-Han/Noob, this sound like big thing. And mind you, he rarely (if ever) stated he wants to rule. Bi-Han wanted form the deadlier clan than (Kuai Liang's) Lin Kuei, true, but forming alone and leading is not the same thing.

There is also interesting character banter between Noob and Liu Kang:

Liu Kang: I'm not your leader, Bi-Han.

Noob: You will govern the Netherrealm.

Liu Kang: By my ancestors, I will not.

And with Kitana:

Noob: You will be Queen of the Damned.

Kitana: The honor is Mileena's.

Noob: There is a dark mark upon you.

Which suggests that Noob is tied somehow to rulers of Hell and at least to some degree accept Netherrealm hierarchy of power and revenant!Liu Kang's leadership. Dead are his clan and even family but Noob is one of few characters to mention (or maybe even spoken to) deads that have little in common with Netherrealm (Vera, Kung Lao's ancestors, ice bros' mother). If one takes Noob's words at face value, that is.

There is also the loyalty to shadows (darkness).  Partially, this may comes from Lin Kuei upbringing itself. As assassin and master thief, Bi-Han operated in shadows all his life (“We are the Lin Kuei, more stealthful than the night, more deadly than the dawn!”).

I joked how “darkness is my friend” could be interpreted as Bi-Han talking about Saibot, but looking how bitter he is about trusting anyone – this is really amazing there is something (someone) he claims to be his friend. What may means that despite Quan Chi's best effort, some sense (or need) of loyalty stays strong in Bi-Han after two decades of being dead.

(And hey, maybe Noob's  mirror match when shadow defies him 'cause he is not “original Bi-Han” is a hint that Saibot is truly loyal only to elder Sub-Zero? What makes the dynamic of Noob Saibot duo even more intriguing).

Like I said, Bi-Han's relationship with death and shadows is not really one dimensional. He adapted into darkness, yes and maybe even found some comfort in it, especially now when Quan Chi's magic does not bond him anymore. No emotional pain to push him into rampage (like it happen with Scorpion and revenants at times) but at the same time he is not completely numbed to feelings. He sees dead as his clan and kin, thus still belong to something bigger than his own self. Characters claim Bi-Han became more vile, that he is pure evilness, yet his character intros rarely gave the truly I-come-kill-you-in-painful-way vibe. He is passive-agressive at times, sarcastic or looking down on some characters, yes, but he also shows amazing (for an evil Wraith) level of... consideration.

Like, take Shao Kahn:

Noob: Quan Chi no longer binds me.

Shao: Now what will you do, specter?

Noob: Kill you.

Or Kano:

Noob: Time to die, Kano.

Kano: Come on, Bi-Han! Our bizzo's been good.

Noob: Good for you alone.

Noob worked for Shao Kahn and by proxity, with Kano twice. Once, as Quan Chi's Wraith (when the evil sorcerer's magic bind him) and second, as Kronika's servant. Yet, the intros suggest Bi-Han -  freed from control of others - would  kill the former emperor and leader of Black Dragons for whatever (personal?)  reason. There is not much emotions; no much explanation why. Just desire to kill both Shao Kahn and Kano even though they are the guys that damned souls decided to work with. Except Noob, apparently who wouldn't mind kill them.

Compare it to the way Noob is talking to Sonya

Noob: You have lost so many.

Sonya: No soldier think's she'll live forever.

Noob: Join your comrades in Hell.

Or  Jax

Noob: Join me again in death.

Jax: That'd be a hell no.

Noob: You have no choice, Jax.

Or Jacqui:

Noob: Return to your mother's arms.

Jacqui: She's dead, asshole.

Noob: And her soul is mine.

and

Noob: Vera's soul calls you.

Jacqui: Keep mama's name out your mouth, Revenant!

Noob: Revenant? I am Wraith!

Noob still is willing to kill his opponents, true, but there is twisted as hell yet still an offer to reconciliation.  To join him or lost comrades/family in death. Sonya and Jax make sense; they are his former allies from MK Tournament (if he switched sides, that is) but Jacqueline? He never met her nor Vera, as far as games are concerned, yet he still offers (ask) Jacqui to reunite her dead mother. And is offended not at her angry outburst but that she called him revenant (though I think Bi-Han is the only one person who cares about the technical difference between terms).

There is also something ironic how Bi-Han and Kuai Liang share similar “taste” when it comes to respecting people. Both brothers are respecful (as much as Wraith can be) for Sonya and Jax and Jade, while despiting Kano and having rather unfavorable view of Frost and not liking (trusting) D'Vorah. It's hard not to wonder how much Kuai Liang's feelings toward people affect Noob's opinion of them (is Noob even aware of that?) and how much brothers are simply similar to each other in that regard.

Bi-Han's relationships with other characters in not one dimensional. There are people he offer to join death (and by that become part of his clan / kin?) rather than wish to kill and/or enslave soul. The same can be said about death, darkness and shadows. Does he adapted into those? Yes, mainly because coldness was always his natural environment thus finding comfort in cold embrance of death comes much easier to him than to rest damned souls. But that does not mean there is no resentment for what happened to him or no strong feeling of personal lost (the stolen title of Sub-Zero). Noob is either better at controling (hiding) his emotions or, as assassin, he was for years already mentally prepared for his own death than, let's say Edenian princess or Raiden's sons/pupils could ever be.

[gameridernews]

Ex-Aid review: Overall thoughts on the show

The next LVUR review I have lined up won’t be posted soon, but in the meantime, here’s... a thing. 

With 11 months of anime eyes and blinding colors, it's time we bid farewell to our pink hero. This is a combination retrospective and review of the show as a whole, its strong points, its flaws, expectations and results.

The initial name trademark for Ex-Aid immediately brought to mind a rescue theme, and people were quick to point out how the Ex part was spelled much in the way .exe file extensions would be, so a computer-themed rescue hero sounded promising.

Once we learned a bit more about the story, things got interesting. Kamen Rider has done several things, but a hospital drama is not one of them. This could have gone many ways, especially keeping in mind it's a kids show, meaning they miiight not depict it in a realistic way.

That is largely the case here, at least in the sense that we hardly see them use a standard hospital procedure. Largely, it's about the Bugster virus and how they deal with that through combat. There are little things, like Emu going from an intern to a surgeon and a few notable surgeries that take place, so they met some kind of quota I guess. Depending on who you ask, it does however seem as though they speak hospital jargon during surgery that may or may not be gibberish.

The Cyber Rescue Center was a fun idea, a sort of singular hospital room below a hospital, though I think I preferred when it became public knowledge later on since that made it a little less hard to swallow as an idea. It's cool to have a secret base, of course, but this particular one didn't seem like it could remain hidden forever.

Here I'll give a quick talk about the characters relevant to the CR stuff. 

While he didn't get nearly as much use as I'd like, Hiro's father was a lot of fun, especially when he's reacting to all that happens when he's not around. And to just cut to the chase, people relevant to the Ministry of Health are not particularly standout but they fill their role. Genm Corp is largely about its comical number of terrible CEOs, but Tsukuru is a precious man. So glad he got to be the new CEO after all was said and done.

When it comes to Ex-Aid's plot, I guess next I'll tackle the other half of the hospital stuff: The Bugsterrrs. The Bugster virus makes this another one of those shows where we get a victim of the week in addition to monster of the week, and while I get that this format doesn't always work, but come on, it's a hospital themed Rider series - the patients are an important part of this.

In the same way that an actual virus is not actively choosing its target, the Bugsters mainly just have a goal of taking over and turning anyone into one of their own. Being data that is based on video game bosses, the motivations, at least according to Parad, come down to "We're tired of being bosses you defeat". Granted, he's also salty about losing some of his kind to the Riders, but you get the idea. Basing monsters on video game characters makes for a fun setup on the villains' side. It’s like the video game crossover you kinda want but terrifying. 

Collectively, I think the Bugsters are all fun. They have their own distinct designs, and giving them names of the game bosses was a nice added touch of worldbuilding. Not to mention little things like having Nico get excited when they run into a specific boss. I do wish that we got more info on the games aside from a single line - you don't always get even that. See Shakariki Sports.

I guess I'll also talk about the prominent Bugsters briefly? Graphite initially seemed like a nothing character, then they gave him some personality I could get behind in his final moments. Then we have Lovelyka, who is true to his name - great actor, too. The only other Bugsters I wanna talk about are Parad and Poppy Pipopapo, but we'll get to them... as we talk about each of the Riders!

So let's talk Emu Hojo, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid.

It's a standard element in Rider shows these days to have the reluctant hero, or at least someone subject to pratfall, and this is no exception. Hot off the heels of a previous show whose protagonist had a destiny to fulfill, it initially seems like Emu is gonna be more of the same, but there are two deciding factors that make Emu work for me: This isn’t a destiny so much as it is a discovery that he has a power to save everyone, and he doesn't feel like he's meant for the role initially - he has to grow into it. It felt more natural that way. 

I'd like to share a scene I liked about Emu: When he and Parad finally worked together, it was after a stern talking to where Emu is in full control. He isn't the naive young man we started out with by this point, he is a mature man who plans ahead and knows what he's talking about. By this point, when he says he'll change someone’s fate, it feels like he can live up to those words. 

If there's anything I might cite as a possible negative, it might be how the gamer aspect of him turned out to be a hoax due to Parad (we'll get to him), and I kinda felt like it was more human for him to be this pro gamer who’s not particularly good at anything else. But at the same time that turned out to be a fun little reveal. Dark, even - his path in life decided by the Bugsters and all. Really brings new meaning to changing one’s fate. 

Regardless, Emu grew, and I feel satisfied about that. I appreciate when a series gives you a character who noticeable mature - it was a selling point for Gaim when it was first revealed, and when Gaim ended, there were several things I wanted Toei to carry over to future shows. I am VERY glad that this was among them.

Speaking of character growth, let's move onto Hiro Kagami, Kamen Rider Brave.

Hiro was your standard secondary Rider from the start. He's the doubter who's opposed to the protagonist. In this case, Hiro is to Emu what the doctors were to Robin Williams in the misrepresentive Patch Adams movie - whereas Emu wants to form a connection to his patients, Hiro is a gifted surgeon who focuses only on his work. I praised this the moment Hiro was introduced because it's a nice and simple juxtaposition that makes excellent use of the hospital setting.

If that were Hiro's shtick throughout the show, however, it might get old. So I think it was wise for them to have initially described him as a tsundere! As the plot progresses, Hiro noticeably makes a subtle and solid transition from treating Emu like he's an inferior intern with the wrong opinion... to treating him as a fellow doctor who just has his own way of doing things - not right or wrong, just different.

He has some standout moments where he shows his respect, but the one I'd like to think back to is when Emu temporarily got amnesia. He's outright offended by how Emu has stopped caring about patients like he always did, and finally loses his cool when he tells Emu that he NEEDS to care because that's the Emu he knows. It's also in this episode where, in Emu's absence, Hiro actively tries to get involved with a patient in a way he never would have before meeting Emu. While the amnesia is a weird little subplot, it led to a damn good Hiro episode.

To your question of whether I'd like to talk about flaws here, I say "No thank you". But I will say, my opinion of Saki and Hiro's brief turn to the dark side are well documented in past reviews.

Then we have Taiga Hanaya, Kamen Rider Snipe.

Taiga was a character I wasn't sure how to feel about at first. They had a plan for him, a mystery that would be revealed over time (like in the blu-ray mini-series I've still not seen), and ultimately it comes down to him being a good boy that the world shunned after he got overzealous and let a patient die. He's got a certain edginess to him that can be a little cringe-y, such as his tendency to tell people that he's the only Kamen Rider we need... but I think they did an excellent job of showing what he's all about. They explain clearly what he means by that, and it's a selfless meaning.

Another scene I'd like to share with you: When Hiro becomes too injured to fight, he's rescued by none other than Taiga, who up to this point has been nothing but an enemy. When he tries to leave and continue fighting, Taiga stops him with a statement that explains why he's the only Kamen Rider we need: Hiro still has something to live for, Taiga does not. Without saying as much until later on, Taiga will keep fighting for what's right even when the world sees him as its enemy. And there's something damn heroic about that.

This has an added layer to it with Graphite, the reason for Saki's death, and the way it caused Hiro and Taiga to develop their hate. Specifically, I'm referring to how Taiga basically admitted that he forced himself into the enemy role so that Hiro had someone to focus that hate on. I'm not good at putting that subplot into words, but I think it's fascinating and a bit deeper than these kind of rivalries pan out. It truly is a testament to this show's strong characterization.

Next, Kiriya Kujo, Kamen Rider Lazer (Turbo).

I was sad that Kiriya got killed off just as he was becoming a favorite. I was into the idea of a character who lied because he thought it protected people from harsh reality. His way of exposing the identity of Genm (or, the black Ex-Aid) was cleverly handled, both in how it backfired and how it finally redeemed him. But then he got too close to the truth, and was ultimately killed by said Rider.

I've said it before, but in Gaim, there was a similar early death that happened. Likewise, it served to give the main character a new foe to focus on, but there's some key differences: The character was largely forgotten about until the finale. I was ultimately alright with how Gaim handled that, but I feel that Kiriya got the better deal, what with his legacy meaning something. Because of how deep into the truth he was, he managed to indirectly help Ex-Aid gain a new power to take down Genm.

Then he got revived! A scene I'd like to share involves when he and Emu are fighting and it seems like Emu's attempt to reprogram him had failed. He whispers something to Emu, which causes Emu to suddenly fight back. We learn later that what he says is "Just play along." It was a long con to get the upper hand on Cronus, and I love that as Kiriya's return. It’s a simple phrase that Emu understood because he knew what Kiriya was all about. 

I wasn't sure how to feel about his revival at first, but I think it turned out to be for the best. I like Kiriya as a character, and the obvious feelings he has towards Kuroto for killing him have never gone away. It leaves me looking forward to this Another Ending trilogy to see how that pans out.

Speaking of, it's time for Kuroto Dan, Kamen Rider Genm.

Man, Kuroto. I had a lot of fun watching this seemingly calm and collected businessman devolve into a mad villain. But I wouldn't really say he devolved - he just stopped hiding his true personality. The depths he goes to screw with everyone is amazing, and when people thought he would go on to become Cronus, I was a doubter. I said that they did all they needed to with him, he told the story they needed to tell and could go home. He's dead, and he doesn't need to come back.

... So he came back! And immediately, I and some others thought "Oh, redemption arc." And I was curious how they might handle that since it could be hard to watch. While Gaim also did a redemption arc that I was ultimately okay with, I would not defend it since you can only go so far with a character before they become unredeemable. Saying "They're sorry for what they did" doesn't always cut it, y'know?

But the thing that I will always be impressed by... Kuroto became a good guy but never stopped being a maniacal guy. He’s still selfish, he’s still got a huge ego, and his revival basically sealed him as a god among men in his own mind. 

The turning point is a scene I want to share: When Kuroto is about to be attacked, Poppy protects him in an embrace only a mother could give. Finally, his cold heart is shaken as he realized that his mother really does live on in this Bugster that was created from her dying body. And his reason for fighting off Parad over this? Not to show his true intentions, but to fall back on his ego, telling Parad not to harm one of his creations. That was the moment I said “Okay, if we’re doing a redemption arc, this is how it needed to be told.” 

He perhaps gets to the point of being a gag character, but I think that's my favorite part of it. Continue pipe is the best. 

Parad, Kamen Rider Para-DX. 

Parad was one of those characters I see in every Rider show. The one that makes me go "Okay, what's your deal gonna be?" - like Alain from Ghost, or DJ Sagara from Gaim. I suspected he had some connection to Emu, and it turned out to be true. Emu is patient zero, and Parad is the Bugster that's been building up inside of him. The reason he grew to love video games. The reason he could transform. Parad turned out to be extremely vital to him.

I feel that the July episodes really painted an interesting mental image for what Parad is all about. He's very childish, as someone who has never known limitation. When faced with his own mortality, in the wake of Kamen Rider Cronus' debut, he's downright spooked. I have to give credit to the actor on his performance. He’s done a good job of playing what was essentially a cartoon character brought into a harsh reality. 

A scene that really speaks to me, in that regard, is not only a scene near the end of the show but also its end result: Parad finally worked alongside Emu to beat down Cronus, and with how Kamen Rider shows usually go, that's basically the moment where everything is okay between them. They bonded and they can now work as allies. But Parad finds himself moping because he still feels like he's killed too many people to just be forgiven so easily. He WANTS his redemption arc. That ultimately leads to his sacrifice at the end, riding humanity of Gamedeus by making himself into the vaccine that will erase it for good. He became a good boy, in the end.

This is somewhat undone by his revival shortly after, but as I said in the review, I think me tearing up during that moment is a sign that it's okay to undo that one. 

Now, Poppy Pipopapo, or Kamen Rider Poppy.

Poppy is a character I was very torn on overall when the show started. I'm talking about both her identity as Poppy the Bugster, and as Asuna the nurse.

As Asuna, I felt there was too much similarity to Kiriko from Drive, basically just being the tagalong for the main character, except I felt like there was MUCH less character. She never felt like she offered much as Asuna overall, apart from being a hidden identity that really only serves its purpose in public. The only time Asuna was fun to see was ironically when she broke character and acted like Poppy.

As Poppy, I was certain people would hate her, and I felt she was too colorful and sweet for my liking. But I think I wamred up to her by the time we got to the Kamen Rider Chronicle stuff. 

Her shining moment is of course after Emu successfully removed her brainwashing, because even though she's one of the good guys again, the others (sans Emu) have decided they have no choice but to defeat her to save a patient infected by her. By the end, however, Emu proves that she doesn't want to hurt any human by forcing a weapon into her hand and aiming it into his heart. She can’t pull the trigger because she just wants to play games and make people happy - Emu knew that, and successfully cured the patient through peaceful means because not every Bugster represents a boss that needs to be beaten. It was clever, it was emotional, and it sealed her as a favorite character.

And by the time we learn that she was Kuroto's mom previously, she got some depth to her. By that point, she hardly even dresses up as Asuna, and I never found it weird because I grew to like her. 

Now we have Masamune Dan, Kamen Rider Cronus.

This was the man I was hoping would become Cronus. The moment we see him in prison, I thought "Okay, they want us to pay attention to this guy." His ominous appearances here were too specific to be throwaway scenes. And once he came back, he took the role of the main villain for the rest of the show.

I spoke a bit about Masamune's character in the review for August's episodes, but I'll say it again here: I loved Masamune up until a certain point. He talked in business metaphors, and de-humanized the Riders by referring to them as games rather than people. Even his own son! And with his powers, it was inevitable that a man like this would get too full of himself and start thinking on a global scale.

The moment that comes to mind with this guy is of course his debut. He steps into view dramatically and thanks everyone for their time, but decides for himself that the Riders aren't allowed to defeat the Bugsters since he deems Kamen Rider Chronicle a commercial success. He then transforms and shows off how overpowered he is, going so far as to deem Toki Meki Crisis a game with no further commercial value and Rider Kicks the Bugster while time is paused... which means that he cannot be revived, for he is stuck in a limbo where he no longer exists. It's a pretty epic debut, and had me hyped right away.

Mid-July is where things get a bit questionable. He's given an excellent defeat, and his Gashat is even broken... then his eyes glow and he unleashes a reset power that undoes the existence of Ex-Aid's final form, effectively keeping him in control. It was a major waste of time since this was undone in the very next episode in what I now realize was a confusing explanation. And to make matters worse, the powers that cause this reset, and the reset itself, never gets explained and never comes into play again. Mmmmakes me wonder if that pair of episodes needed that subplot because they had to make a specific number of episodes and needed to pull an idea out of their ass. 

In addition to that, he sorta went down in a similarly nonsensical and unexplained way, effectively killing himself by shoving his own Gashat into his chest. I’ve been corrected since then with the suggestion that he may have been taking away the ability to rescue victims, but it feels like it could have been explained better. Even so, his departure did not linger in the finale. 

Now that we've talked about the Riders, and by extension have talked a bit about games... let's talk more about games! And also just designs, aesthetics and everything else.

The motif of a video game Kamen Rider had me sold from the beginning. I got what I wanted, more or less, though if I were to nitpick I feel that the game-themed fights were not nearly around enough. Each Rider got a nice debut with a motif surrounding them, such as scores and racing maps, but they definitely did not stick to this for every fight - not even during special form debuts. I think it would have been nice to see them do this a lot more, but I also understand how that might be an editing nightmare to have to go through on every episode.

The designs are something else. I really like how each Rider basically represents the character on the game cover. While the bright colors on Ex-Aid in particular took some getting used to, I think I really enjoy this series' design aesthetic. It's a sort of fun I can get behind. Gaim warmed me up to bright colors. 

I really did not give enough of a listen to the music when the fights happened, but the recent soundtrack release made me realize how much awesome music was in this show. From the chiptune style Level 1 fight themes to the fact that just about every Rider gets their own set of tracks. 

It does however make me miss series like OOO and Den-O, where they would go out of their way to make vocal songs for a lot of things. Between the strong characterization and the game motif, a lot could have been done when it comes to vocal songs. But alas, that seems to be the current state of Kamen Rider. Nearly half the tracks on the vocal song collection are by Kamen Rider Girls.

Camera work is also something I wanna praise this time around, because whoever did most of the directing REALLY loves their slow-motion impacts and crazy camera pans during form debuts. The latter is certainly a thing present in the last few shows, but here it seemed especially prominent, and I love it. If you've seen my recent Ex-Aid tribute video, you can see how many times I used those.

It's hard to speak on the movies since I've only seen the first one so far, but it seems like some interesting ideas came up this time around. But when it comes to crossover storytelling and the impressive amount of returning actors, these are just compliments to Kamen Rider as a whole, and Ex-Aid just shows us that it’s a continuing trend. 

What’s certainly kinda new to Ex-Aid are the amount of spinoffs that focus on specific characters! Sure, W, Gaim, Drive and Ghost did movies after the show ended, but these occurred during the show’s run. And they even continue this with the Another Ending trilogy. This is a series where these are all very welcome because the characters are all so good - everyone has a favorite! 

I guess when it comes to the movies and bonus material, I’m just glad to see Toei is continuing to try different things. 

Then we get to this ending part where I talk about the overall show. Was it good, was it bad, could it have shined a bit more or was it rock solid from the beginning?

Well, I feel the need to be realistic first and say that perfection doesn't literally exist. Even the things you find the most fun, inevitably, will have flaws. And they're either flaws you aren't aware of until later, or you might be like me and can see the flaws but also like to make fun of them while still enjoying the good stuff. 

Ex-Aid had a lot going against it from the start. It was weird and different, so naturally most people hated it before it existed. It was focusing on a setting that a kids show likely wouldn't be able to depict in too realistic of a way. The colors are bright, the designs seem wacky, and you have subplots such as a video game company supplying gear to save lives. Which still seems weird to me by the end. 

Despite everything, I feel that Ex-Aid did pretty damn well. It had a lot to juggle and do right, and I honestly think it succeeded in delivering. While there are certainly flaws that I would nitpick... what else is new? You can't please everyone all of the time. What matters is that the flaws do not overpower the stuff I'm into.

And when I think of shows where I wish things could have turned out better, you know what the worst thing is? When a show has a cool idea for a setting or motif, and it does not explore its potential well enough. I wanted to love Wizard, I still do, but it got so damn focused on its constant toy reveals that it felt forced a lot of the time, and the really cool stuff never got a chance to shine. 

Ex-Aid, on the other hand, did just about everything I could’ve wanted from it as a hospital drama and as a video game-centric toku. I think the only thing they could do to satisfy me more... is to give me something I didn’t know I wanted. Like the Continue pipe! But in all seriousness, after more than one Rider show ended up pulling a Wizard, it is incredibly refreshing that Ex-Aid did everything it needed to. 

I like keeping a list of all of the Heisei era Kamen Rider shows, listing them from best to worst in how I perceive them. This is how the list looks right now.

Gaim - Solid story, solid characters, just a fun trip all around.

Ex-Aid - Great concept, good characterization, pretty solid execution.

W - Nicely written plot with fantastic monsters and memorible characters.

Den-O - Hilarious interactions with cast, compelling story.

Agito - Great story with memorible Riders, solid characterization, but has a slow start.

Fourze - Really fun story and cast who makes me smile, with some flaws here and there.

Hibiki - A great hero with a daringly unique premise, but weak second half.

Drive - Interesting story and good characters, takes a while to get into gear though.

Ghost - Good premise, fun characters, so-so execution.

Wizard - Great premise, fairly okay cast, so-so execution.

OOO - Fun cast of memorible characters, though the story is a bit shaky.

Ryuki - Intriguing story, great cast, monsters are an afterthought.

Kiva - Cool premise and cast, a bit too much drama for my liking.

Kabuto - Nice cast, well done Rider rivalry, decent but basic story.

Kuuga - Interesting monsters, decent setup, pace is too slow for too much of the show.

Decade - Not a solid story and most of the cast is forgettable, only good for crossover eye-candy.

Blade - Good ideas, decent characters, just barely acceptable execution.

Faiz - Some good ideas, unfavorable execution, way too much drama, really only like the protagonist.

Basically, Ex-Aid is waaay up there. There's also obvious sentimental reasons for why Gaim is still on top, but that should show you how well Ex-Aid did in my opinion. It's a solid cut above the rest.

As I said before, Build is a show I'm cautiously optimistic about, and you can follow me on THAT journey at @buildridernews - but naturally you will still be seeing activity from me here since I am all for these extra Ex-Aid stories. 

Thank you for listening to me ramble and mistranslate things over the past year - I look forward to continuing to do that with Build Rider News! 

[tdrcycle09]

Mini Challenge #2 - No Need To Adjust Your TV Sets...

This mini had our girls twisting and turning with their makeups, designing their best optical illusion makeups! Let’s see how they did!

Analyse Thropic

For this illusion makeup mini, I did a low-poly makeup look made of graphic triangles and quadrilaterals. The shapes are arranged and colored to mimic the placement of a standard drag beat, but the non-blended nature of these shapes gives the look a sort of computer-generated feel.

Lila: When you said you were doing a low poly look, I was so excited because it’s such a fun aesthetic. Now, I do like how you’ve set it out, it’s really intriguing and the effort into even the most minute areas, like how the hair and ears are covered. It’s just that your white line spacing is really putting it off the perfect-o mark for me. If you used a really, *really* thin brush the finesse your white spacing, it would honestly have made it look more low poly, because it’s coming across as mosaic rather than low poly. Good job with this, however! I hope you come back to this look in the future since it’s such an original idea.

Gluttoni:  Anal! This is a very cool optical illusion and I like your take on the facial anatomy. Can't say it's the most innovative of them all but I can tell you are listening and learning so I can really ask for more.

Letha:  I quite like the idea here, Analyse, its very “Your internet connection ain’t shit, so here’s some 144p playback”. The placement of the shapes, as well as the colors, make sense when deconstructing a face. Where you lose me is the white lines. They make everything too stark and disjointed, instead of just low-poly. I think had the shapes been connected while still holding their crisp lines, it might have been more effective. But good job, nonetheless!

Toni:I think this is a really interesting concept and I like that you went outside you comfort zone! Clearly you know your base paint because this style of paint requires you to know where everything goes. I would have loved to see thinner lines between the shapes to really drive home that it was all one image that was in low poly, as well as adding a few more triangles to add a bit more of the feel to it, but over all this is well done!

Antonina: Hey darling! I like what you’ve done here, it’s a great base for a future look. It just doesn’t feel like something finished. I think using this and adding more drag details, like more eye makeup, lashes and a fuller upper lip is something you should explore in the future, because it really is a good start. I’m not getting a super strong illusion from this, but I love the colors you have used and even tho the lines on your face could be sharper, I think they look good right now as well. You keep surprising me, keep it up!

Avana Noir

Hello Judges and TDR community.  For this Mini I was inspired by surrealism art. So i decided to paint myself with three faces. Since surrealism if very out of this world and very imaginative. I really wanted to push what i  can create with a makeup brush. This was kind of challegning but I think I did a great job. I was also inspired by the makeup used by the Japanese Geisha, hence the white face and uses of pinks. I hope you enjoy this look! Thank you!   

Lila: On paper, and in execution, this is a great optical illusion and I hope you indulge with it a little bit more since it sticks to your aesthetic really well. For what it is, however, I wish you could’ve blended the Ghost In The Shell-like real face a lot more to show that the face is beneath the illusion of a split. I’m getting a Kim Chi vibe from this and I really think you could use this makeup in your look again, just as a whole white face rather than the split, but if you were to do this again with the split, I would concentrate on detailing the looks to appear more consistent with your features, because its looking a little messy. Overall, I do enjoy this, good submission, Mom!

Gluttoni:  I was actually really surprised with your submission in the best way possible. This was ambitious and quite a cool illusion. I think this is probably the cleanest I've seen your makeup so honestly keep on this track.

Letha: This is a really fun idea, Avana, and the creativity really shows through with this concept. The illusion works if I don’t look too closely at it, but the details up close sort of spoil it. It would be more effective if your lines were crisper, and had more highlights/contours on the faces you added, as well as the perimeter of the middle face, to make them really pop. But still, good job!

Toni:Oh she had to show me she wore her nails, okay i see you! I really like this! I think it was a smart optical and for your first time atempting it I think it’s really well done. I do wish the lines were cleaned up more so it was clear that it was a clear split of the two faces and so that there arent just these huge black lines going down your face. I so think that you could have used a bit on the fine tuning of the fake faces. But over all this is a really cool look and something I think you should redo to go out in!

Antonina: You were one of my personal favorites this week! I’m getting Picasso meets Studio Ghibli from this. I don’t have a problem with the messy lines in this, because it’s supposed to be artsy. I got dizzy looking at your submission, and that’s a good thing when it comes to optical illusions, right? The line’s could be darker though, and the wig looks a little to plastic-y. A really dark line around the white face, and maybe a black wig would take me all the way to Spirited Away, but I still love this as it is. 

Daddie Dearest

Let me first apologize for the quality of this submission. I was on very constricted time this week, and I hope the judges know the quality of my work is better than this. Anyway, my favorite part of drag is the transformation, so I chose a look that displayed both sides of Daddie in an interesting way. The drag side was heavily inspired by my lovely boy-girlfriend, Ellie Dee. For the boy side, I wanted it to look like someone took a hammer, smashed my face, and removed the pieces. Thanks judges!

Lila: I think makeup is one of your strongest assets, and I love your beat a lot because it’s so creative already with the element of your beard. However, I know this mini challenge has thrown half of you off, but you could’ve taken the crack to the Nth degree here. It would’ve been fun to see some sort of skin peeling illusion or something like (this) where the paper would rip off. Although there is an illusion here, I wish it was a little bit more than it is. Nevertheless, good job!

Gluttoni:  Yo Dad, I'm just going to be honest and say I was expecting just a tad more from you. You are clear one of the more advanced makeup artist in the competition so a take on something you've done the previous week disappoints me slightly. I'm going to hold that against you because I respect you as an artist and this evidently still good work.

Letha: Daddie! The makeup is BEAT as always, and I love the contrasting tones/colors. That being said, if I haven’t seen this exact look from you, I feel like I’ve seen similar, and while it’s good, it’s not really pushing the creative envelope. I don’t get a big sense of an optical illusion, but still, there’s no denying your skills, so good job!

Toni: I know this week was really rough on you because you had to scrap your first idea and then quickly make something new out of nothing so I want to give you points for that because I know you were in a panic. I like this a lot, is it the most exciting thing out there? no but Its solid. I think you could have gone all the way and maybe blacked out some chips where it looks like pieces of your face had fallen off kinda like a cracked doll. Over all I think this is a good submission for your situation. 

Antonina: Hola papi! This is very pretty, it’s a cool submission, but it’s not the best match for the challenge. But you already know that. I think this was just another chance for you to keep practicing your makeup. You look great, but it was not one of my favorite looks I’ve seen from you so far. The gray part looks a little random and rushed. Maybe if the parts where your real skin tone was showing was white or at least a lot lighter it would give it more dimension. Keep on pushing papi, you got a lot of stuff to show us I can tell. 

Dotte Com

Behold the face of pixel perfection! It was difficult to mine my crafting skills when it came to this challenge, but that didn’t stop me one 8-bit! There’s more than just drawing squares, since your 3D shape has to appear 2D. It was one direction that I enjoyed playing with and I feel like I rose to this cyber-occasion.

Lila: I LOVE this, and I expect to see you continuing this type of experimentation. This was a huge risk and it is up there with one of the more creative choices of this mini challenge. Two things (because I’m nitpicky) that you could’ve enhanced our digital experience with, the pixels could be a lot smaller in some places, your nose contour is looking a lot wider than usual and it could’ve been shaped just to make it more narrow. And, instead of the wavy hair, you could’ve treat us to more of a squared off headpiece or wig, just to tie in that digital look you were trying to serve. This illusion was really exciting to wait for and you did such a great job with it, none the less!

Gluttoni:  Dotte! I am so proud of you for this one! You really took the theme and ran the fuck away with this. Not only that  you definitely tied it into your own persona to really seal the deal. It's a little rough around the edges but I think got good grasp on different hues and saturation that I wouldn't expect from you. Keep blazing a path like this for yourself and I think you may find yourself in the top way more often. Being tenacious will get you everywhere in life.

Letha: This is a really cool idea, Dotte, and totally fitting for your aesthetic. I’m not totally feeling the hair here, as something shorter or maybe with a blunt bang might have carried the whole “cybernetic technomatic” type vibe a little more. Overall, the pixels are in cool places and seem to mimic a face (as well as down the neck yas thank you for doing that), I would appreciate cleaner lines though, as it appears muddy in places. I love how you took this mini as an opportunity to both experiment with your makeup skills, as well as expressing who Dotte is, so Halleloo to that!

Toni: Dotte I was worried for you with this that it wasn’t going to be enough but I really love this. I think its fun and just enough of an illusion to really be interesting to look at. I love that you paid attention to the challenge and did everything from shoulders up because that was asked of you and not many of your sisters took that chance. I think if you were to do this again it would be nice to slow down and really make those lines hard and crisp, mostly around the eyes. I really loved that, good job this week!

Antonina: I think this is the  best I’ve seen you look! The colors are perfect for your face! Of course you shouldn’t do pixel makeup every week,but I think you could really use parts of this in your “normal” makeup. The dedication alone of painting your chest is great. I know hair isn’t part of this challenge, but a small comment on that anyway. I love this hairdo, I just want some more volume on top of your head. Great work this week. 

Ebony Boss

For week 2 I told myself I was gonna step it up majorly. I feel as if my cracked porcelain doll really did that. I wanted to do an illusion that is not the most well known for being an illusion. I think the look is one of my best and really does make me look like a cracked porcelain doll.

Lila: While I agree that this is the best you’ve looked in a while, this is a little safe for what we’ve received for the challenge. I do think you have stepped in terms of bringing us a stronger beat than you’ve done in the past, but I think it’d be much more impactful if you chiseled your contour to a fine point to try and create that porcelain perfection most dolls have. Try to bring in your contour on your nose a little bit more to make it seem more narrow. I wish the elements had a lot more, like adding really thin cracks in different shades, a brown perhaps, just to compliment the harsher cracks. Overall, this is a good submission this mini!

Gluttoni:  My dear Ebony, I am glad I got to see you start and finish this look because I can easily differentiate the growth for the before and after. You took my advice for cleaning up your line and might I say I think the overall illusion benefited from that greatly. You have a very stoic face which I think would be softened if you were a little more expressive. I want you to look as personable as you actually are. The concept of this look is good and extra points for making it a whole look but do you think this the most inventive idea you could achieve. Push yourself darling.

Letha: You really are improving with every mug you do, Ebony, and that is evident with this look. The cracks have believable shapes to them, especially on the forehead, and some shading/highlighting would sell them even more. The nose contour is a tad muddy and doesn’t really make your nose look thinner. The cheek contour could also be moved up a bit, as it is basically on your jaw. The contour color threw me for a second, but it does make sense with the story you’re telling, but it is a bit muddy/patchy in places (the forehead, for instance). I wish the lips had a more “dolly” shape to them, but the mouth lines are cute. I will say this for taking mug pics- find your lens and find an expression. A wide-eyed doll expression could have helped sell this look, but you look a tad over it, so keep that in mind for the future! Strong work!

Toni: I said this to you before but I’ll say it again, I think this is the best you’ve looked ever to me. I think that you should take what you did here and apply it to your normal makeup. I do wish the lines were a bit more clean and sharp, as well as maybe being a bit more, for lack of a better term, polished and flawless like most dolls are if that make sense. I think if you spent more times on your eyes as well to give us that doll eye shape would sell this more. Also girl, where is your lash going? what is she doing? over all I am really proud of you!

Antonina: Hey babe! Great step up, I don’t even recognize you besides that nose contour that still needs work! The look is very cute though. To really make it an illusion, I would have wanted you to make your skin look like porcelain. A lot of shimmering highlight might do the trick. I see doll, I just wanted MORE doll. Take it over the top, the concept is cute but needs more work to really fool us you’re a cracked doll. Keep on pushing doll face!

Judah Kiss

Hi judges! So we originally talked and this mini was going to be late due to personal circumstances around my new job, and I was very upset about it. Woke up this morning at 7am and couldn’t sleep; so I got right to work to submit something.

For this mini, i chose to attempt to recreate Bearonce Knowes’ negative face makeup, with the purpose of makeup turning my face into ‘camera negative’. With more time and more blending I think it would have come out better, but the idea is there, and I’m very happy to have submitted something on time.

Lila: I see a drive in you that is surrounded in a lot of passion for this competition, so I wouldn’t be so hard on myself! Now, Although there are elements that are slightly askew and rushed, I do like this. It’s a nice play on an optical illusion in the sense that it’s more of a inversion - bezold illusive where you’d have to manipulate the image to see it’s opposite contour-highlighting. I think you’ve said it best in your description that if you did have a little more time, you’d have been able to perfect this makeup job. Nevertheless, great job, I hope to see you come back to this idea and perfect it in the future because its a fun little makeup you’ve created!

Gluttoni: Judah, girl.... This is probably the opposite of what I expected from you. I know you have a keen eye for detail and this keep of makes me want to retract that idea I have of you. The idea itself it's definitely on par with the creative force that I know you to be but the execution leaves something to be desired. I think your proportions need to flesh out sometime during the competition.

Letha: This is such a cool look, Judah, and even though it is a replica of a look someone else did, it’s very creative.  I do agree that some more time on blending would have served you well, as well as having more time to make crisper lines. More work around the eyes, and perhaps some white lashes would also have been a really neat addition. I do think the bare neck reads as stark against the grayscale face and the dark shirt, so either painting it black or some sort of gray would have helped. All in all, strong work, Judah!

Toni: I’m glad you were able to get on in time and I see the clear influence. I do like this and think for your first attempt at it that it was done well but due to rushing there are issues with it that really shatter the illusion. I think if you had more time to slow down and focus on blending and making sure it was one flawless transition from dark to light then it would be a really amazing look! Good job!

Antonina: I didn’t need to read your explanation to understand your concept. It’s very obvious, and I like that. It’s a good thing that you have references and tries new things. I know your lines and blending is normally much more clean than this, so I hope stress won’t be your downfall in this competition. I see creativity and passion, so I hope you will have time to really perfect your next submission.I know you’ve got what it takes.

Klinker

I'm the Russian Window. The ruined country post war represented by Windows with their flag's color. 

Lila: I’m gonna be honest, I don’t see much of an optical illusion with this makeup. It’s more mondrian artsy fartsy than a head being taken off the body or an eye socket being pulled all the way down to the chin. With your makeup, try to set it so that it isn’t shiny with translucent powder, or even baby powder for that matter. I wish you gave this a little bit more dimension as well as the flat colours could’ve had that Phi Phi O’Hara look to them. Overall, its an alright submission.

Gluttoni: *Gluttoni’s Critiques will be edited in later, she apologises in advance!*

Letha: Heya, Klinker! This look makes for a cool photograph, but I’m not really getting “optical illusion”. Part of optical illusion is tricking the eye to seeing something that isnt really there, and the best way to sort of “cheat” new shapes is to have either a totally matte surface, or to have shine in very specific areas. With this paint, the colors aren’t “set”, so your skin sort of shines and the illusion is betrayed by the real shapes that are there. I would suggest powdering to make it more believable, but good job, nonetheless! 

Toni: Well dear I can’t say im too excited about this submission because it seems instead of doing an optical illusion you decided to give us a bit more of an art movement, something very “some body that I use to know”. that aside im glad you went out of your comfort zone but for next time you do this make sure you set your makeup so you dont look so dewy and make sure to have very clean and very sharp lines like an actual mosaic would have.

Antonina: As art photographs, I think this is really cool. As submission for this challenge, not so much. I don’t know how to critique this really, because I like it for all the wrong reasons. The photos are strong and feels almost political for some reason? You are so unexpected, and I love that, but for the second time in a row I can’t really connect your submission to the challenge. Don’t waste this chance to grow, because I see a lot of good in you that I want to see more of. 

Lexi Lamour

Well would you believe this shit?! I woke up from a well deserved nap after results were posted Monday and when I went to roll over and get comfortable my body moved....but my head didn't!!! When I went to reach for my head I found that it was detached from my body! In a PANIC I picked it up and ran to the mirror only to find out that my fear was true! I came to get my phone only to find a message from that witch bitch, Analyse! She was NOT happy about coming 2nd in the main for week one and while still in her witchy look cast a spell on me to sever my head! Only thing is there are 2 things that worked in my favor. 1) She got the spell wrong.....and 2) I don't have a soul....just a dark empty void of a shell. At first I was shocked, but then I decided I still looked good. I guess things could be worse!  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯Hi, Judges! I knew what I wanted to do as soon as I saw what the mini challenge was. This was a fun bit of makeup that I've always wanted to try and see how it looked. I really enjoyed doing it and taking a multitude of different pics. I couldn't choose which ones to do, so I picked 2 that fit in with the first part of my description. Now....can you tell Analyse to fix me.....before I throw my head at her!!!!!!

Lila: I am honestly happy with this. No, it’s not a full face of makeup, but it’s definitely an optical illusion that I was expecting to see. It would’ve been fun to see you in some face makeup, even if it was just like a little beat on, it would’ve been funny to even have some sort of like Toni face mask realness, like you were in the spa chair getting your facial done. Take care with how you draw the hollow part of the neck, I would’ve love to have seen some reds or whatever your drag character oozes inside, even if you stuck Lisa Frank stickers all over the inside area I wouldn’t have been mad! Nevertheless, I’m happy that you went down this route, and I like this submission a lot!

Gluttoni: *Gluttoni’s Critiques will be edited in later, she apologises in advance!*

Letha: Now THIS is an optical illusion! Even if I hadn’t read your explanation it would have made sense, which is always a plus. I’m guessing the “curse” aspect is why it’s such a clean cut, but I still think adding some things like a trachea or some arteries (not gore, just a cross-section) might have helped sell the illusion a bit more, as right now it’s just sort of a patchy gray. I do wish there was a little more going on on the face, even like a sleeping mask because you “just woke up”. Still, this is a great job, and you really sold it!

Toni: This is an illusion! I really am shocked by this because this is so cool and at first i was like “what the fuck?”. I would have loved if you had done more thought, because it is a shoulders up it does seem a bit bare, even a light paint would have added something to this submission. It was smart to ahve a balck back ground that way it would make sense to have the black in your neck. Over all this is a really well done illusion. 

Antonina: Hi Lexi! I’m gonna be honest....I don’t see it. Maybe I’m just stupid lol. The disconnected head is a good idea though. Without any face makeup, the neck is the only thing to look at, and then it looks a little weak. Maybe I’m just a little spoiled with your last main challenge submission. The top part of the neck makeup where it’s really black looks really cool though. The idea is good, it’s exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for. The end results just didn’t match my expectations because I know how fierce you are. 

Marcella Fox

Hello judges! Let me introduce you to my great Aunt Hortense - she was a model back in the 1980s, known for her high cheekbones and striking gaze. She felt out of the public eye after a scandal involving a grapefruit, and since then has kept a low profile. The menopause has been rather unkind to her, resulting in a more-than-barely-noticeable moustache and, as you can see, she is still recovering from her recent rhinoplasty procedure. Still though, she never steps out of the house without a face full of make-up - I’m sure you can all agree she still looks glamorous! I had a lot of fun with this mini challenge! I immediately thought of doing an upside-down illusion, and I was inspired by this cyclops I saw while googling ideas. I made an eye to put in my mouth, turned my actual eyes into giant nostrils, and hid my real nostrils with a plaster/bandaid. My eyebrows became a moustache, and I drew a giant pair of lips on my forehead. I wrapped a scarf around my head to look like, well, a scarf :p And held some hair underneath my chin to complete this fab 80’s look :]

Lila: SHOCKED. GAGGED. PULLED THE PAG. Marcella Fox, this is friggin’ CRAZY and I love it. The fact that some people won’t be able to establish you’re upside down and your eyeball is your mouth opened, I keep having to look back and do double takes because it’s SO interesting. I only noticed that you were upside down when I saw your hand holding the wig, and I’m just a sporadic mess because there’s no words to describe how you hit the nail on the head for me this challenge. One thing, and it’s a little nitpick, is if you had some sort of stand or piece of fabric tacked to your headwrap so that it looks like your character has a body, but like, honestly, the tiniest nitpick isn’t gonna take away how much I am impressed by this look. Great submission, Marcie!

Gluttoni: *Gluttoni’s Critiques will be edited in later, she apologises in advance!*

Letha: Up until this very moment, Toni had always been my favorite Cyclops from the 80′s. But NO LONGER, Marcella, it’s your Aunt Hortense! You managed to brilliantly combine camp/comedy with technique and the result is honestly so amazing. The lines are great and make sense, and the highlighting on the lips is so good. Your workarounds for hiding your natural features are also quite clever (though i would have suggested a bit more dramatic of a bandage for the rhinoplasty, as the beige of the current one gets a little lost in the shuffle of the face). These are honestly just nitpicks though, because I am still in AWE of this piece. Amazing job, Marcella!

Toni: YOU COME INTO MY HOUSE? AND MAKE ME LOOK AT THIS MONSTER?? I’m shocked, gagged, disgusted, horrified and I love every bit of it! This makes me so freaking uncomfortable to look at but in the best was possible. I think this holds truest to what a makeup illusion should be because this is so hard for my brain to process. If you wore this look out youd get tipped no question. Just make sure to have those really clean lines so that everything looks a bit more realistic, but over all im SHOOK BITCH.

Antonina: Wow! This is like a challenge: “How many faces can you find?”. I get so much backstory just by looking at your pictures, and to read your description was a joy. Keep taking every chance to be funny! The creature you created is so interesting and I can’t stop staring at it! I honestly don’t know what to say more than you did such a great job. 

Paprika

My makeup for the mini was inspired by 80s Patrick Nagel, in the way that he drew the features of so many of the women in his prints and the color scheme he used, as well as (obviously) miss Kim Chi. I love drawing on my face and doing creative mugs so for the opitcal illusion challenge I wanted to play off of that and BECOME a drawing.

Lila: You are so pretty and no matter what you do, optical illusion or normal face, you’re always gonna make me jealous. I would consider this an optical illusion because I’ve seen a lot of people try this with the Marilyn Monroe tutorials and stuff, so I’m pleased to see you go down this route! You look like a CD cover for an indie music band which I enjoy. I wish the black was a little more black than grey. I’m guessing you used either a black face paint or eyeliner, so to get that pure black just set the area with some eyeshadow of the same colour. However, great submission this week, Paps!

Gluttoni: *Gluttoni’s Critiques will be edited in later, she apologises in advance!*

Letha: This is a very cool look, Paprika, and beautiful as well. The colors are simple but the effect is still striking. I would suggest better lighting (I’m guessing that’s a window to your right, try facing it so the tone is more even all over your face) as well as a better backdrop, even hanging up a black sheet could work. I like the shapes of the face a lot, but I would recommend setting the black with shadow to help make it as opaque as possible. The hair is brown instead of black, which is fair if that’s all you have, but having a more solid (less flyaway) hairstyle would match this look I think. Overall, great job, Pappy!

Toni: As someone who has Nagels art hanging all over her drag room i am so glad to see you do something like this! I really think this is striking and true to the art style. I don’t think this is what would be considered a standard illusion but the way you did it really sells it for me. I think if you really darkened thosse shadows and cleaned up your lines it would be so amazing. Good work this week babe!

Antonina: I really like this. I wanna see a video of you in this look reading poetry in french. It looks really good, there are some areas that could use some more work though. For example, the crease lines are very different from eachother. If you’re gonna do this again, make the dark parts darker and maybe some cool collar bone shadows? I think you’re on the right track, keep it up. 

Phoebe St. Jefferson

For my mini I was really anxious about this, because make up is for sure one of my insecurities in drag. Despite this i chose to do something really ambitious and yolo my way through this. I decided to turn myself into a snake/reptile type creature, but also blend my hand into my face. For this I followed the example of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sekYblpNDAo But I also tried to make it a little more cartoony, something fun that will actually look like my kind of style. For the make up I primed, sketched out where the mouth was with clown white, then darkened the lines with a cheap eyeliner pencil. For the color of the snake I went in with clown white mixed in with a little black eyeshadow. The hardest part of this challenge was taking a picture where all the lines matched up. Anyways enough of me rambling. Hope u enjoy boos xoxoxoxo.

Lila: WHAT? Scared of makeup my ass! This is by far it’s one of the more creative submissions we received! I see an optical illusion in this, honestly. It must be a trend to have snakes on this cycle, so I cant wait to see who does a snake for the main challenge. One thing to watch is your positioning with this type of optical illusion. I can see a small shed of skin at the bow of your thumb and index finger, and you could’ve colour matched your hoodie and background to try and make it pop a lot more. Otherwise, great submission, Phoebs!

Gluttoni: *Gluttoni’s Critiques will be edited in later, she apologises in advance!*

Letha: This look is honestly incredible, Phoebe! It’s very creative, and you went outside the box by incorporating/camouflaging your hand into the illusion! Are the lines perfect and crisp? Not entirely, but the effect is still there. I would appreciate a bit more detail on the mouth itself, as it reads more of a flat pink, but it’s still really cool. One way I could see this look being elevated would be to have had the hand painted as a CLOSED mouth with maybe the tongue flicking out, then lowering your hand to reveal the open mouth, but I can understand the difficulty of trying to pull that off lol. You should be very proud of yourself, Phoebe, and I hope this mini helps you with your makeup insecurity, because from what I see, you can do great work!

Toni: Honestly for your level of makeup skills this is amazing and I’m so glad you went down this route and took my suggestions. I would make sure to pay attention to where you are taking your pictures and their position because they can alter how its viewed and I think if you had the opportunity to take it against a solid background it would have made this more striking but I really love this over all!

Antonina: Thanks for the nightmares Phoebs!! This creature is scary af lol. This is one of the most memorable submissions we got this weak! That paint must have taken you quite some time to do! If you want to do this look again, get some snake eye lenses to get the full fantasy, but for a week 2 mini challenge of TDR I think you’ve shown a lot of dedication already. All the blacks could be darker, but most imporantly around your eyes. It looks a little sloppy. But hey, whatever, this is a great sssssssssssubmission. 

Sugar Monroe

For this “optical illusion” mini, I was inspired buy a lot of color blocking makeup I saw and also stained glass? Idk. This is what I came up with. Lol

Lila: When I opened up the submissions, I got a little bit of an Indiah Ferrah / Phoenix 1st Episode Workroom vibe when I saw some of the other girls doing a similar look to what you’ve done this mini. While the whole mondrian-mosaic fantasy is kind of the go-to illusion, it’s not really optical, or for that matter original. a spin on this could’ve been following the natural contours of your face with the shapes or even doing your contours with the black lines and a blending of all the colours. It just doesn’t scream illusive to me. With your colours, try to add a darker and a lighter hue too, just to make them seem 3-D. Overall, this was an alright submission.

Gluttoni: *Gluttoni’s Critiques will be edited in later, she apologises in advance!*

Letha: While I do think the colors are very refreshing and vibrant, a lot of the critiques I had for Klinker apply here, Sugar. The black lines are generally strong and not muddy, but setting the areas with a corresponding powder (or even a translucent color all over) would have sold an illusion more. You lose opacity in some place, the white/purple most noticeably, but most of the areas pop quite nicely. I feel like the illusion aspect of the challenge could have been executed better, but I do enjoy the look you made. Solid work.

Toni:I know you had some troubles with this mini but i do wish you had worked more with the judges to find something you were able to do ebcause this is much less of an illusion and more just kinda an art style makeup if thake makes sense. Be careful on that babe. But I do want to give you props for going out side of your normal paint, if you were to do this again I’d say think out those black lines so that you can have more color showing as well as adding more shapes. Good luck this week love!

Antonina: The red and the pink looks really bright and good, but what’s going on with the purple on your forehead? All the other colors looks good, but you should have filled in the purple a lot more. It’s not my favorite submission this week, but that doesn’t mean you look  bad, it’s cute. I just wasn’t surprised by it. I think you did a good job for what it is, but I wanted more of a concept. Also, a little more color on the lips wouldn’t hurt. I believe in you Sugar, surprise us next time! This is alright, but give us more! 

[tumblunni]

For no reason out of nowhere, I’m gonna ramble headcanons/how to combine the dub and sub into a better dub ideas for the second digimon movie, Hurricane Touchdown! Aka the one that was awkwardly stitched on as part of the first movie in english, aka ‘that one where lopmon is fuckin terrifying and also american’ (oh and I know its a nitpick, but to me it makes sense to call it the second movie instead of the third?? the greymon/parrotmon fight bit wasnt a ‘movie’, it was the pilot episode for Adventure in japan. its more like an ova I think, but i dunno if the company ever gave it an official status in the movie listings...)

ANYWAY WHATEVER WHERE WAS I oh yeah Bunni Really Liked This Dumb Movie And Wished It Was Its Own Season And Kinda Wants To Make A Dumb Rpgmaker Game Of It So, ideas!

* Well... couldnt it have worked as its own season...? One of the only flaws I can agree was a significant problem was that ‘willis steals the spotlight’, tho i dont really think thats totally bad since I liked him a lot more than the 02 protagonists. But yeah, honestly you could kinda have the same movie if all the 02 characters were written out, or if Willis met with literally any group of digidestined from any series, or even completely new ones. The dub made it worse by writing out all of the scenes with the Adventure digidestined, thus writing out the 02 kids’s entire motivation for the whole plot :P And i think honestly this plot could have been a whole season if it was stretched out, and if it had original characters replacing the 02 ones. It would be unique and odd to have our protagonist be a super loner sassy asshole tamer who outright refuses to team up with anyone, fearing they’d just get vanished away by this giant terrifying digimon that’s stalking him. If the backstory was revealed slowly throughout the season it could be a very good mystery to keep us all hooked! And if there were more scenes about the other kids breaking past willis’s shell and becoming a team, rather than just ‘davis cries a joke, suddenly everything is over’. plus there’d naturally be stuff to pad out the season length if we had to be introduced to these characters and give them all their own amount of screentime and development. Or, seriously, if this was just like... a longer movie, or a mini season like Tri... Maybe we could have had the 02 kids in it and not had them feel overshadowed and useless? Maybe everyone aside from Davis could get some screentime too :P

* Maybe it could be an excuse to show off all the armor and jogress digivolutions that this series canonically has yet never used? I think it was budget constraints or not enough time in the season or something, but there was a HUGE amount of unused designs for every potential combination of crests! And all they ever got was to be trading cards and occasionally enemies in miscellanous videogames. (Oh and Lynxmon got to be an enemy in Tamers and Frontier, probably cos its the one that looks coolest animated lol!) Oh and it was odd how Cyber Sleuth seemed to retcon some previously-unrelated digimon into the Imperialdramon of Silphymon. Now Valkyrmon is something Silphymon can digivolve into, and shares the same character model even. Odd! But man it would be cool if it did get officially added to the 02 version of the evo line!

* Potential for giving Yolei and Cody a bigger plot role in the whole thing, maybe Yolei is trying to research into the mystery digimon cos she’s the computer expert? they almost never let her actually do computer stuff compared to how much izzy got to do in the first season :P It could also help thread the plot together a bit! Like, have various scenes of the different kids finding out that the Adventure kids have gone missing in different ways- Yolei could be freaking out cos she cant contact izzy, maybe Cody had a study session with joe and arrived to find his entire house empty.  And maybe have a lil plot of Yolei being like ‘oh god how can we do this without izzy’ and being able to prove herself and gain confidence instead of just living in his shadow. Also she’d just be useful in finding out stuff about mysterious dissappearances that happened in the past, via the internet, and maybe the gang could encounter willis in less of an accidental way and more like they were actively trying to track down wendigomon and THEN bump into him by accident? I dunno, just make them actually DO more. Do more to save their own damn friends. Not just the willis and davis road trip show where davis only exists to tell willis how to do various digivolution stuff :P

* I feel bad that my brain kinda defaults to calling him Willis, even though I still have no clue why they changed it from Wallace. ‘Hey this american name could be a different american name!’ I think its just stuck in my head cos i watched the dub version so much... So lol I dunno, smash them both into canon! Make him wallace but kokomon calls him willis since they’re this child-minded monster thing. (Could also keep calling terriermon gummymon and maybe even mistake the 02 kids for various people wallace used to know as a kid?)

* Dub-added stuff to keep and to toss out! I like the idea of Willis being the person izzy talked to on the internet in the previous movie. I dont like the idea that he somehow created diaboromon! You could write that out and still keep the scene, maybe even still have willis saying ‘its all my fault’ because he’s just recently lost his digimon partner to a mysterious virus and he thinks maybe the same thing is happening here/that kokomon is causing the chaos rather than diaboromon. Oh, and I like the idea of it being stated to be a virus corrupting a digimon, rather than just being... never explained wtf happened. A virus that’s the remnants of diaboromon would even make sense, though the continuity order in the dub kinda makes it impossible. (SO MANY PLOT HOLES lol)

* PLAYABLE FLASHBACKS YO and/or maybe an omake type epilogue thing after the ending like srsly give us a chance to play as willis with both his digimon and how not dead and not evil they are An epilogue would be good as a way to add some more fanon-y headcanons and ideas for what happened after kokomon came back. (or if he even did) I feel like a lot of people complain that the dub ‘changed too much’ by confirming that kokomon came back, and that somehow a happy ending is worse than an ambiguous bittersweet one. Which we didnt even have in the first place cos we saw kokomon’s digiegg in the sub anyway, even if we didnt see it hatching. BUT ANYWAY My idea for keeping that bittersweet element even if we have Happy Kokomon Is Alive Time! Its.... the dub! Or rather taking literally something that was actually just a shameless footage-chopping lazyness XD Cos the dub just showed kokomon in endigomon form in the added scene where he totally came back. Making it rather obvious even to kid-bunni that it was a dub edit, lol! BUT WHAT IF THAT! What if the bittersweet aspect is that kokomon is forever changed by the whole experience? Still having aftereffects of being corrupted, even though he isnt evil anymore. So his evolution line is still a super scary virusized one and he’s stuck unable to de-digivolve from champion level. So we could have funny/cute/sad scenes of Willis trying to live with this very large very destructive digimon, kinda like that one episode of tamers. How do I hide a seven foot tall cyborg rabbit man from my mom?? And it could also be bittersweet because kokomon’s spent so long frozen at the time when he was taken away, and now he has to cope with his two best friends having grown up without him. He’s still this childlike personality stuck in a scary body, even if he’s not dangerous anymore. And it could be very stressful for everyone involved, but also heartwarming! I mean imagine giant scary kokomon being all shy and holding his tiny big brother’s hand while crossing the street! Imagine him hugging willis and squishing him! XD So it could just be a short epilogue episode of willis and partners fighting some sort of villain of the week, and showing slice-of-life antics with them. Just establishing that their problems arent all over yet, but also that they’ll probably be strong enough to deal with it, after all they’ve managed to survive so far. And maybe some cute mini scenes of them still keeping in touch with the 02 kids as pen pals! And maybe even something like an emotional scene of willis finally introducing his digimon partners to his parents, after failing at keeping them secret? Itd be nice to see his parents tbh, i always wondered what they were like! (or does he have a single mother? since he was only talking about her during the movie)

* Random but: personality headcanons for terriermon and lopmon/kokomon! We honestly dont really get much of a personality for terriermon in this movie, he just seems like a sort of generic nice cute partner compared to the Tamers terriermon’s snarky personality. And, naturally, we dont really learn anything about kokomon’s real personality, considering the circumstances :P So! Headcanons! I always headcanoned kokomon as being a really sweet, kind and shy lil babbu before all this tragedy happened. Someone who always relied on his brother and his human friend, so being separated from them hit him extra hard. I feel like if terriermon was the one who was infected he would have had his eldritch horror take a very different form, whatever the virus is its something that feeds on the personal anxieties of the digimon it infected. Also, yeah, it’d just be cuter this way in my hypothetical epilogue fanfic ideas! Scaredy-cat wendigomon!! :3 And I kinda feel that maybe terriermon could stand out more from tamers-terriermon if he wasnt just the more level-headed equivelant, but if he was MORE OF THAT! Like... a more grumpy loner matt-type personality. After all the tragedy that happened to him ans willis he’s become quite toughened and determined to protect his tamer even though he’s too small to make an impact against his giant infected brother. And maybe like how willis has stopped having human friends, terriermon has become more cold too, and they could perhaps have more conflicts together because of it? And like.. the reason terriermon never digivolved to champion could be because of this rift between them, rather than just ‘literally the only reason the 02 kids are here is so that they can tell willis how to use his digivice’. Like seriously HOW DID GUMMYMON DIGIVOLVE TO TERRIERMON THEN?? Plus it’d just have more dynamic to their friendship and flesh the story out more. It could prove how absolutely fire-forged their friendship is, that these two grumpy sassmasters that even sass at each other still care so deeply even if they suck at showing it. Also the idea of a badass tiny terriermon is just aweome to me. Imagine him with a cape flowing in the wind, and sunglasses at night, and then imagine someone who feels like that even when theyre not wearing them. Thats how movie-terriermon always felt to me during the scenes of him fighting wendigomon! And I cheered a whole load at him digivolving and being able to fight toe-to-toe with wendigomon in the BEST FIGHT SCENE IN THE SERIES with the running up walls and GUN PUNCH TO THE FACE and just EVERYTHINGGGG the animation in this movie was too strong

* have i mentioned that i love this movie

* a lot

[ryanrazors-blog]

FaMniversary IV Reivew (Spoilers...Obviously...Scrubs <_<)

Alright… wait what am I doing and where is my webcam.. Wait what… I can’t do a live reaction?? Then how the fu- *sighs* forget it I guess I’ll just type… *sighs*

Hello there whomever is reading this. I have a lot of names in this community but for the sake of it just call me Ryan as I will be reviewing “The Biggest Show in WWE Games yet” FaMniversary IV. First off you really have no idea how pissed I was that I couldn’t watch this live let alone live react to it I haven’t done one since Survival but hopefully by CyberFaMday that’ll change but I guess if I can’t do what I do best might as well do the 2nd best thing and that’s write a whole review of this 5 hour extravaganza… that may or not come out before the Fammy Awards. But in all seriousness keep your hands and feet in the ride at all times as a bit of a disclaimer if I come across rude or bashing or “hating” I’m giving my genuine opinion of the show as a fan of the overall show and probably couldn’t even fathom the work that goes in to make a show like this from graphics, matches promos, etc. Its insane what you guys have managed to pull off and keep going. So if I say something that either didn’t really clear up any questions you may have had as you read or just feel like hitting me up and share your own opinions on the show you can reach me on twitter @RyanRazors2k16 depending on the timing I may answer it asap or after a day or 2.

Alright no more distractions! LAdies and Gentlemen This is the FaMniversary 4 Review!!

Kicking off the show with the Tag Team Turmoil match now going into it I thought it was just the 4 teams Britmen, Skilled Foundation, The Mafia, and the Resurrgence but come to find out the were other teams which I didn’t mind at all although it was obvious the 3 teams were the main focus on but adding Bryan Vore again was hilarious and letting the Review competition winner apart of it as well was a nice touch for the guy. Once The SF came in that’s where I believe “business picked up” with the story telling aspect and tag team psychology with The SF targeting Mexi’s leg which would come in handy later on to bite him in the ass as they were able to eliminate the Skilled Foundation but then had to deal with The Britmen and that was a freaking clinic after the regular performance we’ve seen out of the tag division since the Fammy Awards I knew it was going to amazing performance out of the Resurrgence if only it was a legit tag match between them it would’ve been even better but I hope there’s a rematch between the 2 teams sometime soon Mexi’s leg came back to bite him and they were just spent so of course Arik and AC would pick up the win but damn it was a hell of a fight. I usually do ratings but I’ve never really rated FaM shows before so I’ma just leave that be and if someone wants my rating yall can just DM me or something.

The Next Match was Darren Dastardly vs Frisco and personally this was a match I felt needed to be really really good considering the Rumble match felt extremely weird and rushed to the finish I really felt this needed to be a banger… aaaand it was good, better than the first match but it still felt a bit off to me because the match itself was mix between not just these 2 trying be full fledged member of FaM and also the overall rivalry between these 2 while I do think they did a decent job on trying to balance those two stories in the match I still felt more could’ve been done and I feel there could’ve been a better finish than what that was. In a ladder match it gives you the opportunity to use the ladder as uniquely as possible and I felt the finished could’ve been more creative and this match stood out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the matches on the card except the 7 on 7 between Cushnie and G&P & The Straight Edge Triple Threat hopefully something will change in the future I put those guys matches on a certain standard because of the matches I’ve seen from in past outside of FaM and knowing that FaM is whole other beast when it comes to matches I thought the matches in FaM would be even better but so far it’s felt either rushed or just not doing enough to make feel that excitement I get when I watch FaM. But again this is just my thoughts most probably liked it for what it was but from knowing these guys I know they’re capable of doing better. But good job nonetheless on the match.

Moving on to The Straight Edge Triple Threat match it was decent match. It had a typical psychology of a triple threat and had some really great moments especially with Sanders, Andy winning was too easy of a guess but it made sense at the same time so not much to be said on that.

We move on to the next match that I believe kinda revived the show for me a bit after the last 2 matches and that was Pandurhino vs Roberto match was just perfect to me honestly sparked back my excitement for the show is just what we needed and the match was just insanely entertaining by the way shout to who edited that fucking dive of the stage that was fucking insane. I like how after all that carnage from that match Darren found a loop hole and practically stole the Hardcore belt like a real heel. So that was a nice touch.

The Next Match on the board to follow up that awesome match is 1 of my FaM favorites Anarchymus vs Element. This match looked to be very interesting from the jump. Element being well.. Let’s be honest Diesel if he had quads and Anarchymus Russian Strong Style Cesaro I expected this match to be strong hitting and a little bit of big man little man psychology and it was exactly that with some early on targeting of the leg of Element and alot of hard hitting moves from Element in response this was really a Superman vs Superman match up that I enjoyed alot definitely a rewatchable match and I’d even say Title Match OTY for FaM in my opinion My personal favorite match of the show so shouts to them.

Alright soo the next match was… something else to say the least Darin vs Sean Nova… for a number of reasons I say this. First of the little intro for NoVa’s entrance was actually pretty cool. Now the match itself… I can’t lie I was caught off guard I was actually expecting a more drawn out match but nah I got Goldberg vs Brock at Survivor Series with the overall match being (and I timed it) 1:02.99 like holy damn I wasn’t even mad just like Goldberg and Brock I was laughing my ass off so yeah that was a cool moment glad to see NoVa confirmedly back in FaM now holding technically the equivalence to the IC title he held in the Cyber FaM Championship

Next Match on the board is GuNNz vs Rafazo now this story sparked my entrance from moment GuNNz returned and made Rafazo look like a “PUSSY” (If you read that in his voice Cool points for you) anyways I liked the rookie vs vet concept between these 2 and that finish was perfect honestly because in the sense Rafazo didn’t beat GuNNz but GuNNz beat himself.

Now this next match’s result was highly predicatable due alot of what was going on not only in FaM but outside of it from what I’ve heard and honestly as far just FaM concerned it didn’t surprise me since I’ve said from the jump Gin was going to be a big over character due to the fact of the character is unique and stands out it's obvious fans of FaM would be highly invested in Gin. Vikel has been champ since the title arrived so it was obvious in my opinion that she was going to lose it regardless of that little thing that happened with Vikel on twitter or whatever that situation was. Eve… honestly I don’t know why Eve couldn’t get the belt besides again Gin is arguably more over but even then in my opinion I wish Elle would’ve got in to this match because I felt it would’ve been a good culmination for Elle to become champ after all she’s went through but apparently there was a “bigger picture” that we would learn a little later. Now to talk about the actual match I actually enjoyed it the flowed well and there wasn’t really any dud moments to make it look bad also quick nit pick if you go to 2:51:19 on the show IN MY OPINON I think that crossbody edit could’ve been done a bit more clean I’m just saying that’s probably my one and only nit pick as far as editing for the show that I saw that bugged me. But anyways the match was great the finish was alright like how Vikel was protected and didn’t get pinned. Again only wished the result wasn’t predictable but it is what is. I have nothing against Gin always been a friend of mine so congrats on becoming Diamonds Champ.

Next Match is definitely in my opinion The Match Of The Night Black Heron vs 2 Twisted Merk now I had a good idea of how this match would go at least the ending because I had a feeling Eve would play a factor but they teased what I was thinking so well played there. Every moment felt like it had purpose

And it was definitely crazy shit implemented into this long drawn out story between these 2 and show how much they would torment each other putting the match stipulation “I Quit” on a whole other level. It was the perfect match to me from start to finish. Absolutely loved it if you could imagine my face / reaction to when BH kicked his eardrum in you would’ve been dying of laughing because I was hyped as hell shouts to my B-day twin Alex and shouts to 2TM and whoever else involved with making that match awesome.

The Next match I’m not gonna lie I didn’t really care too much for this was filler for me to settle and process the BH vs 2TM match the 7 on 7 between Team Cushnie vs G & P just didn’t get my attention. I watched it but it was just more of a “*shrugs* It’s there” type of match for me although I did get a kick out of that finish with Wrestle Talk honestly if you ask me G & P should just be apart of the tag team division I’d be a lot more entertained if they were doing their shenanigans for something that matters instead of little feud with Cushnie.

Now… The Co-Main Event for the FaM Championship The Rematch… Bury The Hatchet Part 2 Nic Virtue vs Cameron Bash. Now before I get into this I just want to say this. I’ve never considered Bash as babyface. Ever. Its nothing against Bash himself its just how I feel about the Bash character. It just seems more bluntly obvious he’s playing a character that you want to cheer but not exactly transferring that way that is considering how much you know about the CAW history and whether you’re a casual or hardcore fan / observer of the overall community. Nic on the other hand outside of twitter disputes has always looked like a babyface in his matches and the few shows he was on. The thing that made BTH so interesting was the fact that the story was so heated and from my point of view Bash was the heel in this and Virtue was the babyface. The thing with this match was that there wasn’t much story draw to the match besides just giving people a rematch that people wanted to see and that they respected each other but I feel they missed an opportunity to have a turn specifically for Bash because going back to my last few statements I’ve never looked at Bash as babyface and at this point Bash feels like a forced babyface so for him to have turned during those time periods of building up to FaMniversary but again this is just how I feel about it.

The match itself was for sure amazing without a doubt definitely was match to remember with the psychology the story the were telling but honestly I wished Virtue won only because after everything I think it was obvious Nic was brought in for this but my question would be why not give him the belt. Outside of him not wanting it or just wanted to get that match out of the way to “retire” or continue just on a new chapter for him. Who knows there’s a lot of unanswered questions with that finish which might’ve been the point for all I know for it to get answered some time later. But regardless it was a hell of a match Great work.

Now The Main Fucking Event… Rom vs Ranik. First off… Holy. Mother. Of Shit… that fucking match was brutal as fuck There was a lot of story going into this match and after seeing Ranik vs BH and then following it up with Rom winning the rumble and knowing everything that was in stake for this I really didn’t want to see Rom lose but it was really up in smoke to where this would really go and I’m glad Rom won and the match itself was just fucking insane in every way of the term being used with this match. The crazy no selling, the actual selling, the crazy reversals and edits I think me and the guys always described Ranik like a Big Boss you’d face in the Final Battle and every match he’s been in has felt that way. So when Ranik finally went down it meant alot towards the overall power grip story for Rom for the last 3 years. So with that being said Awesome Main Event. Even afterwards the moments where Rom collapse and couldn’t get back up was just perfect after a match like that.

Now to talk about what transpired after all of that… this AWOL thing I’m not against it at all as long as its now another power struggle story mainly because it’s been an ongoing story for 3 years so I would hope we’d go on a different direction basically looking to be a big tweener group and I only say tweener because they had babyfaces and heels attacking heels and babyfaces so its now 100% clear on which side their on if anything it seems like they’re on their own side hence why I say tweener. They attacked BH, GuNNz,Andy and Eve whom are safe to say are face now attacked Vikel, Rafazo, Ranik Sanders and Killswitch who have been the heels sooo it’s clear the agenda and it seem to be in affect just have to wait and see at this point where that goes Cameron being the head honcho of it doesn’t surprise as again I’ve never seen him as a babyface and if this is the closest I can get to him being heel then for now so it shall be.

If you manage to make it all the way to this point you are a hell of a person and must be a good reader or took lots of pauses and or skimmed through but regardless thank you for reading as I shall return someday to my Live Reactions I will leave you with this lengthy review of FaMniversary IV did you agree or disagree with anything I had to say comment or dm me my twitter is @RyanRazors2k16 and if you’re fascinated with the way how I think of shit like this you might like my podcasts on my youtube channel I’ll be sure to leave a link for that somewhere but anywho Shout out to everyone that worked on the big ass show definitely worth watching over and can’t wait to see what happens with the product from here. And on that note I’m Out! Peaces!

~RyanRazors2k16