#like comparing the original with adaptations

[todaysbat]

image description: a photo of the night sky, edited to show increasing levels of light pollution, from left to right. Each level is labeled as follows (with a description of what the sky looks like at each level added by me): *1 Excellent Dark Sky Site - No light pollution present. the Milky Way is visible, and the sky is full of stars. *2 Dark Sky Site - Very little light pollution present. Only slightly dimmer than the previous level. *3 Rural Sky - Little Light Pollution. Dimmer than previous level, but Milky way is still visible. Noticably fewer stars than level 1, though. *4 Suburban/Rural Transition - Increasing light pollution the more suburban it is. Milky Way just barely visible, fewer stars visible. *5 Suburban Sky - Light pollution beginning to really dominate the night sky. Only the brightest parts of Milky Way visible, signifigantly fewer stars visible. *6 Bright Suburban Sky - A lot of Light Pollution Present. Few Stars are visible, the Milky Way is no longer visible except for a handful of very bright points *7 City/Suburban Transition - Signifigant levels of Light Pollution beginning to be present, especially the closer to the city center you get. The Milky Way is no longer visible at all, and only the brightest of stars are visible (a very small number in all, with whole sections of the night sky completely devoid of visible stars). *8/9 City/Inner City Sky - The two highest levels of light pollution. The sky never gets very dark at all, with not even the brightest stars visible. Image Source: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/P. Horálek, M. Wallner, via wikipedia Additional Image Information: (copied from wikipedia) "This image illustrates the Bortle scale, which measures the impact of light pollution on the dark skies at a given location. It shows, from left to right, the decrease in the number of stars and night-sky objects visible in excellent dark sky conditions compared with cities. The illustration is a modification of an original photograph taken at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile, a place with excellent dark-sky conditions, perfect for astronomy. The image has been flipped left to right."

The Bortle scale was developed by amateur astronomer John E. Bortle in the February 2001 edition of Sky & Telescope magazine to help skywatchers evaluate and compare the darkness of an observing site. It has since seen wider use in other fields of science like biology to study the impact of light pollution on the environment.

further reading:

[katerinaaqu]

DUDE! You are praising me way too much! But I am so happy you find this consistent or understandable enough! ^_^ It really means a lot. (Dude not at all! You may say I am a yapper! Hahaha it comes as a power of habit really! And to be fair writing is always helping someone collecting their thoughts better)

I think you express yourself just fine! You do not need fancy words to mask some meaning! Sometimes simpler words work wonders (most of the time actually)

To be fair I would say it definitely helps to have some background information in regards to the texts and the era they were written. For example the theme of glory and how heroes want to achieve it (which ironically is not THAT much different than the spirit we still see today) or the customs of xenia and the way the ritual is presented and all so someone can see the differences between the one and the other but they are absolutely not necessary to enjoy the book for its literature value. But that being said I am beyond flattered! I wouldn't even dare to imagine that I have this kind of power! It feels unreal! Haha but I am honored that you feel so and obviously I want you to also see the text from your own point of view especially the parts that are subjective, ancient culture aside, your likes and dislikes for certain characters the way you would judge their actions or the motivations behind them etc it is definitely part of the process of reading these texts.

Hahaha maybe I love it WAY TOO MUCH and sometimes that shows that I might sound a bit stiff I guess but yeah I am one of those people who read the book and then they look disappointed if the book's greatness is not captured by the modern media! Haha! You are very sweet for saying that!

(Dude please! That's why I have the posts! For people to like reblog and comment to and engage with their thoughts!)

Yeah and as I said before I can actually SEE he is knowledgeable. It is not even a question. I know he knows the text and I know that he has read it. Arguably he is aware of some of the subtext too which is why I felt so sad and angry even how the original meaning of that was twisted as I said not just to some degree to speak on "loose adaptation" but to the point of the most basic parts of the plot being totally thrown out the window! And the sad part is that one could absolutely remain loyal to the original text and have the result they did and even if they didn't want to remain totally loyal and change some stuff (As I said similar to the first saga where we have Odysseus be given a choice which he follows. There is no hint whatsoever to the elements we have so far that it happened in the Epic Cycle for example Iliou Persis where we only have one lyric that Odysseus kills Astyanax by throwing him off the wall and that was all while in Little Iliad the murderer is Neoptolemous for instance) He took that small thing and turned it into a fantastic dilemma and arguably the most powerful song of his.

In the same spirit he could add small things (I know it makes no sense now given what a terrible mess the plot was compared to the Odyssey but) for example instead of whatever the hell we got with the "600 Strikes" which makes no sense neither in the story he created so far neither to the actual lore like yeah sure Poseidon could be defeated at any moment we only needed a freaking backpack full of wind... So instead of that let me throw ideas to the table here.

Why not have the actual scene with Leucothea!

Then we could have the whole thing of "Get in the Water" make some actual freaking sense like not show Poseidon like a boasting god that is all talk and no action! Odysseus ACTUALLY falls in the water. he is drowning! Leucothea comes to his rescue and gives him her magic belt (like whatever the hell he wanted to do with that goddamn sack of winds, was already in the freaking Odyssey! Leucothea gave him her magic belt so the dude could swim for TWO DAYS in a storm!)

Did he want to up the beat a bit? Make a song or a duet between Leucothea and Poseidon fighting each other! Leucothea be facing Poseidon with pleading or almost getting in the way of his trident, explaining to Poseidon that the gods decided his release. Give me a dramatic dialog between a sea goddess facing the ultimate sea god! Do you want to make it even more unnecessarily dramatic?!

THEN GIVE LEUCOTHEA THE VOICE OF THE SAME ACTRESS THAT WOULD PLAY PENELOPE!

Give that woman's talent more lines! Make the obvious connection with this whole "Penelope Penelope" thing that everyone sings every five seconds have SOME SORT OF VALUE since Leucothea will manifest the whole thing of Odysseus gaining power from his wife, his wife being a protective force, so she will have the same voice as the only goddess that actively helped him except of Athena herself. You will have your epic fight, be VERY LOOSELY adapting the help of Leucothea in the Odyssey AND at the same time not only give Penelope's VA more lines and song but also give more substance to the whole thing we had, daresay even connect it to the song we had during the 9 days he remained awake. Sneak in some of the lines of Penelope to the song of Leucothea like DO ANYTHING THAT REMOTELY REMINDS THE DAMN ODYSSEY and foreshadow the ending!

Anyways sorry closing parenthesis!

Yes I agree it sucks. In more way than one. I have nothing against people who even like the changes but I am not one of them. I feel we were robbed off a masterpiece of a similar respect to the source material as The Prince of Egypt. It was also insanely inaccurate compared to the Bible and yet it represented the time it was referring to and also following the basic spine of the actual story while this already from Polyphemus it was tripping at the changes but when I heard Circe I just knew...and the bad thing is that it wasn't bad till that point plot-wise...

Yes you get what I mean indeed. Sometimes when you see some books that at least follow the basic spine of the story they tell then you kinda feel ok but sometimes you just wanna scream to the heavens why on earth someone would choose that.

I understand. Although arguably we do see certain musicals be very good to the original material even with changes (one or two examples being Phantom of the Opera or Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde) but there are also others like Hamilton that is based on real events and that drove many historians to a state of confusion (some like it some don't because of the inaccuracies to the actual history) but ironically they follow the same direction lol. Like what the musical did with Circe for example in my mind is like my historian side see Hamilton say "Gosh I can't! Please don't make me do this!" to Mariah and then go and cry to her husband that "please forgive me!" and the dude goes "Oh sure I can understand dude! Ya have a kid! I had a kid too and I loved him so much so yeah you persuaded me..." That blasted "I can't!" in the musical with Circe gave me the exact same energy of this hypothetical twist! Like "oh yeah you don't say! I wonder why Homer didn't think of that being THAT easy! What happened to the sacrifice? What happened to the coercion? What happened to the blackmail where his men are literally hostages?" But yeah I definitely respect what you say and yes I see where you come from and as I said to my original point, I might love the book WAY TOO MUCH which is why the changes just drive me insane!

Plus the way it spread like wildfire similar to other retellings before it just doesn't feel right especially with misinformation inevitably following. And we already have been through with it at least twice; once with PJO and one with Miller's books and we keep going... So yeah that kinda reduced my openness to such changes even more than before... Sure we can definitely be grateful to the fact that many people got curious to the actual material thanks to any of them and decided to read but I think it did more damage than good at this point.

As I said before, and forgive me for my own yapping, I am happy to hear you like it and as I said I hope you shall enjoy it

I disagree! I think you brought some very good insights on your side of the spectrum!

Hello! I just stumbled upon your blog when I joined The Odyssey community! If it isn't too much a bother to ask, what things, reccuring themes and characterizations do you feel are most important and iconic within The Odyssey?

I am asking this mostly because I really do like your rants and opinions, I find myself agreeing to a lot of what you say, which sorta surprises me because of your clear dislike of Epic, whereas I personally adore Epic: The Musical. (I stayed away from it for a while -I was wary of retellings, adaptions and what-not- until I finally got into it like, a month ago and since, I have been listening non-stop)

So, when I came onto your posts, I was immediately drawn towards your Epic based rants and your translations. Point for point, you hit all the parts I disliked about the musical, albeit, my dislike is obviously much milder, since I still love it. I also completely understoond your stance on source material over so-called retellings since I have felt and still do feel the same about other (unrelated to The Odyssey) medias and fandoms.

If you'd like to talk, I love to hear more of your thoughts! Tell me all of what you loved about The Odyssey. Refresh my knowledge and give me your insight! I'm getting back into reading it, since I read it only once before a long time ago. I have always been more of a casual enjoyer, but now I'm really trying to dip my toes in.

(You don't have to say anything about the musical either, I just really liked your rants on it and the corrections you made on the misinformation rampant in the fandom due to preconceived notions... Sorry, I talk a lot-)

Why hello and I am quite honored you discovered me hahahahaha oh my, my once again being known for my runts huh? Hahaha XD I can see why though! I am really honored you decided to ask me such intriguing question! Hahaha how dare you! You know I am a yapper about this book! Hehehe!

I would say one reoccurring theme in the Odyssey that I rarely ever see in adaptations is the theme of seeking of knowledge. I find it so disappointing how it is literally one of the main themes of the Odyssey and yet I rarely ever see it happening. It is literally at the first lyrics of the poem:

πολλῶν δ᾽ ἀνθρώπων ἴδεν ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνω

He saw many cities of men and gained knowledge from them

(Translation by me)

Odysseus was not just experiencing his homecoming. It was a cognitive trip; a trip where he learnt things and he achieved things on his way.

He didn't stop at the cave of Cyclops because he had nothing else to do or no food to go by. It is clearly stated in the Odyssey that the island of the Cyclops was extremely fertile and had many wild goats and other animals they could hunt and feed on. Odysseus entered the cave because he wanted to meet the people that lived there. He ignored the signs that showed the residents were non-human because he wanted to give a chance to whoever lived in that cave to show that they were more than what met the eye.

He met the land of Aeolia next. His stay in that land for one month was share knowledge with Aeolus. He told them his story, they also told him their own experiences, thus Odysseus knows about how Aeolus arranged the marriage of his children and all

He sent scouts to the land of the Laestrigonians and their city, he was though more prudent this time and assured a safe passage even if his comrades didn't follow his prudent stance this is what costed them their lives but one ship.

He shared knowledge with Circe, not only on the part of his trip that he needed to move on but also gained knowledge from her. One example is the mention of a cunning knot he learnt from her which he used later in his adventures. Small details like that.

He gained knowledge from Tiresias not only on how to break his curse but also on what happened the years he was away from his home.

He had no reason to hear the sirens! The sirens is exactly the manifestation of his trip being of cognitive nature. He wanted to hear them. He NEEDED the knowledge they provided! Removing that concept from his trip in any shape or form shows to me someone who does not understand the Odyssey (I know it is harsh to say but I feel like there is one part of the Odyssey that is so iconic like the 12 axes challenge and that is the sirens passage)

Odysseus learns in every part of his trip and uses that knowledge to future adventures. But what I also fail to see is how CONSCIOUS this knowledge-gain is. Of course he learns things accidentally too but most part of it is knowledge he chooses to acquire for himself.

Another theme that I do not see much is theme of fate and destiny. Odysseus is not some idiot who doxxed himself as most people use the overused joke. In fact his trip is so thick of plot that one way or another something would have happened to cause this wandering.

Troy was destined to stand 10 years (from the Iliad),

Odysseus was destined to go home in 20 (hence he needed extra persuasion to go to the war).

Polyphemus was prophesized before that he would have been blinded by a man named Odysseus (he just didn't know who that Odysseus would be)

but we also know that Odysseus was destined to meet Circe (Circe mentions how Hermes had warned her for the prophesized man coming to her isle. She probably was unaware on the identity of the man or how that man would arrive at her doors)

Odysseus was also cursed by Polyphemus that he would either never return or return alone without his companions and find misery at his home

The true line between fate and destiny and human will is very thin in greek mythology. However we also see that Odysseus tries repeatedly to change fate even if it is inevitable (see my analysis here). It is this human part of his that is so relatable! Also the fact that oftentimes in the joke people forget that Odysseus experienced the absolute horror in the cave of Polyphemus for days. Exhaustion and anger took the best of him as well as of course his ego being inflated that he had managed to take down such a powerful opponent. And of course the reoccurring misunderstanding that Odysseus never cared for anyone else but as I have also analyzed there that is simply not true. It is even stated in the Odyssey:

πολλὰ δ᾽ ὅ γ᾽ ἐν πόντῳ πάθεν ἄλγεα ὃ�� κατὰ θυμόν, ἀρνύμενος ἥν τε ψυχὴν καὶ νόστον ἑταίρων.

He suffered many torments in his heart out at the sea, seeking to win his own life/soul and the return of his companions

(Translation by me)

The whole trip was always about Odysseus wishing to return them all safely home. Which is also part of his tragedy and shows why he went in so many lengths to save them etc.

I am honored that someone that likes this piece of media can still understand and even liking some of these opinions. I understand that for someone that genuinely like it might be a bit annoying or tiring but yeah I guess I love the original way too much! Hahaha! And okay I understand the songs are really catchy so it can be getting into someone's head easily but I am really delighted to hear you say that! And of course to be fair there are many things one can like about the musical for example the talent of the people related to it and their passion

However ironically that was the source of my dislike as well hehe I know it is paradoxical but when I see someone with obvious knowledge of the sources and passion for something, twist the original material to THAT degree...dunno I feel it even harder. I mean of course one does not expect it to be accurate but when I hear that and yet someone claim to adapt material I would expect of course these small details changing here and there for example adding dialogs with Poseidon (that is like a must in every adaptation minus the 1968 version I noticed...like Poseidon never interacted with Odysseus but that is something every adaptation adds!) or extra scenes with Hermes or whatever or even some of the details added. The problem is that the whole plot was twisted beyond repair, basic parts of the plot that made the plot unique and beloved were thrown out the window And BECAUSE I recognize the talent of the people involved AND seeing they had the chance as they did to make not only the Odyssey available to public but also influence more people to see it and they could do it by staying respectful to the material and yet they chose not to which increased as I said my disappointment. I was also very warm when I watched the first two sagas even if they were also inaccurate because they had exactly what I describe. So yes of course I absolutely understand why people would like it. Dang I absolutely do at least on the artistic department but the way as you brilliantly stated not only the plot but also the fandom of it has been at times it really got to me more than many things

So it is really a good change to see more people see this point of view too and I respect the fact that some people like it and yet do try to see the other view too. You are very kind for saying that!

Hahahaha dude you are asking a dangerous question! Hahahaha! I can talk about it forever! Hahaha Honestly what is there to me not to love about the Odyssey? For starters the fact that it is an ancient Greek poem, something linked to my country and my history and being loved in such a great degree and continue to inspire even almost 3000 years later, fills me with so much pride! Makes me inspired to do something similar! Like not caring if I will be a celebrity but someone see my work and admire it even if they do not know who I am...someone that can see this and continue to speak on it for generations to come... Of course many writers do the same as well like classical literature and all but for the specific one I feel so much pride!

The Odyssey arguably has everything! Romance, friendship and companionship, horror and peace, war and bloodshed and also tenderness of a family, drama and comedy, adventure and domestic life even daresay sci-fi details with the Phaeakes island that have literal robotic dogs created by Hephaestus for them. Odysseus is one of the most complicated personas in all literature history and earned that position in the hall of fame. Arguably even ancient Greeks and Romans could not handle the guy with so many different opinions that paint him from hero till villain. The same guy that held back from the battle till the proper moment and then abandoned his last escape to save Diomedes in the Iliad is now sailing to the seas. The same man that took Ismarus and slay the men and took women of it as his property and mentioning it as casually as he could was also crying his eyes out in guilt upon hearing a song about Troy and the way the city fell. The same guy that tenderly held his son and cried like a baby holding him and kissing him was also the same person that slaughtered 108 men in his palace and executed their allies in less than a day. The same guy who reigned the kingdom like a father; who embraced and kissed his slaves like equals, was also undoubtedly a strong leader and king who defended his authority with iron hand and he was ready to even slay his own brother-in-law when he defied him. The same man that held back from volunteering to face Hector in the Iliad and made sure he would be the last to be chosen, in the Odyssey he armed himself ready to face an immortal 6-headed monster all by himself. The man known for his mind and cunning and indirect ways is also known for being one of the greatest warriors known. Arguably even his age being one of the oldest kings in the Iliad and yet as Antilochus said he was also one of the fastest and more agile and one of the best in spear. The most pious and religious people to the gods, favored by one of the greatest goddesses of all, Athena, and loved by Zeus was also one of those who suffered a great deal from his hubris.

This man is the absolute perfection of contradictions in one body and the way he is portrayed by Homer especially in the Odyssey where he is the protagonist is a masterpiece of emotions. Arguably Odysseus is also one of the earliest male rape victims in literature for he was not just attempted to be raped and seduced but he had to literally sell his body once to Circe and then he was being forced by Calypso. A warrior that was absolutely powerless before the gods

The Odyssey is also a great allegory of the spread of Greeks to the Mediterranean sea before the official set of colonies and the way it provides us information on how they moved around. It is also an allegory on the dangers humans faced out in the sea, how they struggled and how the families left behind also struggled with the consequences. How the power of nature can bend someone but also how human with seer will can do incredible things Odysseus survived the impossible not because he had gods as parents or hardly any help from the gods itself with the exception of Leucothea in the last adventure and of course finally Athena to the final stage. Odysseus survived because of his seer will and his need to return home. Odysseus can be any one of us; a person who struggles every day; everything can hold us down and we might have no help or very little help from others but we must keep pushing through. The Odyssey also shows us the importance of companionship and family bonds, loyalty and trust. Odysseus didn't slay the suitors because he was a mary-sue all-powerful person. He had help from three loyal slaves (Euryclea, Eumaeus and Philoetius) and his son Telemachus. He didn't do it alone. He used the help of those who believed in him and quite frankly he faced a much less bad situation at his palace because of his wife's seer will and loyalty to not abandon the throne of Ithaca to anyone till he arrived.

The Odyssey is also about how there are many forms of strength. Penelope was not less strong than Odysseus because she didn't kill anyone with a sword. She was strong for keeping more than 100 men and several parts of the household that were betraying them with her seer will and mind. Telemachus was both a fighter and someone who tried to see the best in people and that saved his life (when he spared Theoklymenos at his return from his trip. Theoklymenos was a man who had committed murder. Telemachus chose to give him a chance and in return he received the prophecy of Theoklymenos that the suitors were planning an ambush) Odysseus also learnt forgiveness in one way when he was ready to start another bloodshed by the end of the Odyssey when the families of the suitors saught revenge but Athena stopped it, making sure both sides stopped the never-ending circle of violence. Nausicaa is an example of loving someone and yet you must respect their wishes and let them go. Telemachus is an example of self-discovery... The very realistic scenario of someone not recognizing the place they left for so long and people not recognizing you back. That you have to work yourself through the very same place you left behind! Even Telemachus as a character not even knowing what to believe anymore about the father he never met, not knowing whom to listen and whom not to etc. like a realistic scenario of absent veteran fathers who disappeared a long time ago...

Honestly...what ISN'T the Odyssey?! It is in my opinion one of the most complete pieces of literature that opens the way in many things! I am really happy you shall decide to look at it more attentively and I hope you shall enjoy it because honestly it's worth it.

(My friend I do not mind at all speaking about it. I am just not a fan so I am just asking the understanding of anyone that I am not gonna be very positive about what I mention and say. However I shall try not to be hater with no reason or logic, that I can promise to try)

[mokeonn]

Was anyone going to tell me that the 1954 animated adaptation of animal farm was actually funded by the CIA's Office of Polivy Coordination to be anti-communism propaganda? That they hired Brittish film directors because they didn't trust American animators due to the Red Scare and the Hollywood Blacklist? That they changed Snowball because he was "too sympathetic" and purposefully made the movie make a point that Jones is just a bad apple and other farmers aren't bad?? And that they (the CIA) specifically hid the fact that this is the CIA funding and overseeing the project from the film's directors and when they bought the films rights from Sonia Orwell???

Or was I supposed to find that out by googling Animal Farm 1954 and seeing the summary mention the CIA all on my own?

[summertimemusician]

Local Self Proclaimed Mythology Buff is Delighted by the Impromptu Renaissance of People Being Interested and Obsessed with Homer's Odyssey Due to Hit Musical Adaptation, more after 11

[thecoolerliauditore]

Well! This is probably better formatted as an ask than as a reply to your comment, so... tumblr user thecoolerliauditore! Whatre your "#thoughts" on adolesence of utena?🎤

oh boy. mic'd up. okay crazy

(oh my god i wrote fucking a lot im sorry)

So first things first. Enjoyable movie! I liked it and it's high point for me is definitely the art, cinematography and overall spectacle. And I'm always happy for more Utena, so I'm very glad I got to watch it!

But just from that you can probably gather that I. Might not have the highest opinion of the movie otherwise.

Don't get me wrong it's still a very solid and fun watch and I liked it but I just think it's vibe is very. distinctly different from the series? It actually reminds me a lot of what I expected Utena to be before I watched it, if that says anything. Very artsy and symbolism-y, but the characters felt distinctly less human than in the show.

Utena herself I actually think is the biggest downgrade from show to movie, maybe as a consequence of so much of it being mainly from Anthy's POV (not a bad thing Ily Anthy <33) but her motivations felt very. ??????? to me several times in the movie. Especially when it came to her relationship with Anthy and Touga. The car thing is like absolutely my favourite thing to come out of the movie and I rewatch that car wash sequence and chase scene sooooo much but I do think it's funny she Literally turns into a vehicle for Anthy's development.

Anthy is cool I don't have any beef with Anthy and I never will. Her flashback scenes are really awesome, the sound design in this movie especially in those scenes is sooooo‼️‼️‼️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 I personally don't really know what to make of the "sequel" read of this movie but I do think it makes the most sense for how Anthy acts here.

Mixed feelings with Akio. On one hand I think it's very fitting that Anthy-in-recovery would now see through his facade and see him as pathetic instead of menacing, but on the other hand he really just feels like a complete separate entity to show Akio. His scenes are really funny though.

I think my hater tendencies might have a strong basis in the fact that I think it. grits teeth. understandably considering the runtime sidelines my favourite characters from the show -- Wakaba gets reduced to the plot-irrelevant best friend role her Black Rose episode worked to challenge, Nanami is entirely erased and Shiori. Is maybe the one I have the most thoughts about because they essentially gave her an entire new thing to do independent of her plot with Juri and it's??Actually really awesome to me. Like she WOULD is the thing she WOULD do this and I've talked about before how hilarious it is that while she's literally having sex with a guy all she talks about is Juri.

But the plot treats her with this? Idk if I'm just not getting it or what but it feels like she's treated very unfairly and her comphet isn't acknowledged as comphet. It's almost like they needed someone to fill the mean girl role and they knew Nanami wouldn't go down well so they shoved Shiori in there and said good enough.

The shot of her license plate being run over by the remaining black cars is heartbreaking to me but like. Hey Juri hey so your crush is um Fucking Dead yeah uh you should know?

Idk just. very strange treatment of her character that feels very anti-utena to me. Her depth is hinted at but not explored, and what we're left with is kind of. Making me sad.

Speaking of Shiori the sex scene with Touga might be my favourite thing to come out of the movie other than the final car sequence. It's not only gorgeously animated but horrifyingly portrayed, I always read it as Touga forcing himself to focus on the butterflies to avoid having to acknowledge his rape and thus they're shown so significantly in the flashback. Idk if that's. Right but I think it's neat.

Touga himself is. Interesting I guess? Idk it feels again very anti-utena to me to even attempt at redeeming Touga or making him more sympathetic when the message I walked away from the original show was that his actions are horrible but they can't really be judged by me, an audience member, when he too is a victim of the system. No problem with the CSA, I think it makes enough sense in addition to the rest of the character, but turning him into literally an innocent child who died trying to play prince instead of acknowledging that he is 1. an abuser and 2. still a victim of the system who can one day move on from it makes me feel. Again a little sad. Out of all the characters he feels the most detached from the original to me and I honestly wonder what the intention was here, especially if we're looking at this as a sequel to the show.

I think other people might have stronger feelings regarding Touga and Utena's kiss scene than me. Personally I just umm. Good for them but thumbs down hashtag just my opinion

The other student council members are fine, I think. Cuts galore but whatever it's a movie. I do think it's a massive shame that they had Utena just straight up beat Juri when one of my favourite things about their dynamic in the show for me was that she never actually beat her fair and square. But whatever man. Kozue is Also Here.

The film is also like. I don't like using this word because wOw UtENa Is CoNFUsInG but it is genuinely like. Very incoherent? It feels like to me a a list of scattered unused ideas from the show and some semblance of an epilogue for Anthy that got mushed together with some really beautiful visuals.

I don't really get who the target audience is? If I hadn't watched the show I'd be confused and lost. If I have watched the show I'm still confused and lost but for entirely different reasons.

The scene where Utena chokes Anthy the fuck out and then the really beautiful iconic dance sequence embody this to me where these scenes are GORGEOUS on their own and make my brain tick but the first time I watched it I was like. ???? weren't you fucking her ass up a moment ago.

Utena with short hair is cool I like.

I think that's about it holyyyy. Okay awesome I'm sorry man.

[lollytea]

I do love the netflix avatar in my own way because it provides me with enrichment in the same way brain puzzles do for chimps. Like something is WRONG here and it's your very special job to figure out why! And then you will get juice reward!!

[arolesbianism]

Time for more eternal gales isat au, this time featuring Sier as Isabeau, creating a sprite I can never use next to Aris’ because despite my best efforts it would make them look tall

[ultfreakme]

I think the words "Ember Islands Players" should be retired from all of the ATLA fandom. All of it. Doing so would bring peace and balance to the world.

[lookninjas]

So I went ahead and watched the new Crow trailer

Yeah, it's exactly what I thought. Simultaneously too clean and yet extravagantly gory. The villains lack any kind of the weirdness we got from Michael Wincott and Bai Ling, who were both so spectacularly deranged. Going to be a lot of CGI (which -- absolutely, yeah, use it for the shooting sequences, please, but if the original production could afford some ravens, you can afford some fucking ravens). Not a fan of them making it so the attack on Eric and Shelly appears to be targeted, as opposed to the random violence of both the original comic book and the original movie. And using a line from the original trailer that was voiced by Brandon Lee is probably just an unwise move in general. (Edit: actually, I'm pretty sure it was the girl who played Sarah who said that line in the trailers. Still not a great way to set yourself apart from the original.)

As far as it being "inspired by the comic book, not the film" -- I mean, okay, it looks like they have the Skull Cowboy? Which did get cut from the 1994 version due to Brandon Lee's death. But again, the whole Shelly backstory thing is very different. The villains look very different. What the fuck they're doing in the whole scene when it looks like there's a prison and everyone's in pink -- I don't know what that is. It wasn't in the comics. This wasn't a girl who saw some stuff that a billionaire crime lord was doing and then they came after her and her fiance. This was a random, senseless killing out of the blue.

And that actually matters, right? Because James O'Barr lost his fiancee out of the blue, to a drunk driver. The Crow was his response to that loss. Changing how they died really does change everything that comes next. It can't be helped.

And it just looks like extruded comic book product. It's like... again, everything's too clean and everyone seems kind of vaguely rich for no real reason but there's also this really cartoonish violence with armies of NPC characters, and it's just extruded comic book product.

Which is unfortunate, because I do get the sense that Bill Skarsgård is legitimately acting his heart out. But it just isn't enough to make this feel like anything but a cash grab on the part of the producers with at least one good performance.

He deserves better. This whole story deserves better.

I just don't think it's going to get that.

[ishikawayukis]

i do find it hilarious when whoever is adapting a thing says that they're not gonna do it play by play but rather a reinterpretation of the story in a way, and then people get mad because it's not a play by play but a reintepretation of the story

[fraudue]

how are mappa doing ranma dirty?

my main problems with the new adaptation is that its so desaturated and undynamic compared to takahashi's original vision and even kitty film's adaptation... the character designs are flat and lackluster (just ugly imo), the direction for the trailers have been relatively uninspiring considering the studio its coming from, and considering the opening ive stopped hoping for more lol. idk whats going on behind the scenes but i wish they spent more of the budget on pushing takahashi's fluidity and charm into animation/direction instead of hiring the same voice actors from the original adaptations (i love megumi hayabashira as much as the next person, but their rates have definitely gone up significantly since the og and in ranma tradition they could've introduced a new talent to the role, no?). obv this has been a long list of what i hoped could be because i love ranma and i think any ranma 1/2 adaptation could be a masterpiece. tbh from what ive seen mappa didnt do an awful job and theyve put a lot of work in evoking elements of the original anime but im just a hater and im sad ranma has been relegated to another desaturated seasonal anime that is reliant on nostalgia baiting instead of introducing something fresh the way only an anime adaptation can do.

[soft-serve-soymilk]

Wow I love asshole gay people (things have ALIGNED in the ASTRAL PLANE and Pav is WATCHING SOMETHING?? 🤯)

[tragicclownwrites]

🤡

[snakedevour]

live action casting of yumeko is so good actually

[hirookouji]

my theory that (most) comedy anime r better in english dubs (as an english speaker) vs the absolutely stellar japanesa va casting for seemingly all comedy anime

[kerorowhump]

I discovered a very minor difference in a scene that I've been loving for days gjdkg

in italian kururu says "I kneeew it! That's the nerve." which to me makes it so funny because he sounds way more already sure of it (he didn't have to "guess", he knew, though of course he knows in both versions lol) and also sounds a bit more like he's having fun at keroro's expense and therefore it makes him look,, like,, more mischievous 😭 TO ME... (AND I LOVE BOTH VERSIONS)

the way he delivers this part, he sounds a bit more outwardly teasing n less methodical