#maybe I'll make another post after I've seen a few more eps but i wasn't going to commit to a Pat post for every episode im afraid

[sepyana]

Jjba Diamond Is Unbreakable Ep 18-29 Thoughts

Ep 18-19

I feel like this arc would have worked just fine if it was a single episode. I think it drags a bit too long.

Our new character for this arc is Shigechi. I think his design and stand is way too good and it's a shame he is only in a few episodes before he dies. Characterwise he needs work, the show tries too hard to make you feel bad for him in the end. But that's because he only has like 2 episodes to build his character. I can't help but like him though. He is a prick but in his defense he is like 12.

Design wise they are both simple and unique (in Jojo). Which is a hard combination to find in jojo I think. Plus they are really goofy, especially Harvest. Onto the episodes:

It's funny that Josuke has a stronger reaction to having no cash on hand compared to Red Hot Chili Pepper almost killing Okuyasu. If I had Crazy Diamond my whole life I would be the same way too probably but It's still funny to think about.

Okuyasu is quickly becoming my favorite character. His expressions, his voice all come together to create an absolute goofball.

I will never forget jojo fans for what you guys did to Kakyoin. He says one awkward line and the jojo fans won't shut the fuck up about it for years yet Okuyasu -who called someone's mom hot when he first saw them on multiple occasions- flies under the radar somehow. I am thankful for it, I wouldn't want Okuyasu to get the same treatment too.

Speaking of him, I've been looking thru sdc stuff and wow do people want him in part 4. Making "What if they were alive?" AUs are a common thing obviously but I've never seen it be this huge. Sometimes I'll see part 4 posts where Kak (Sometimes Avdol and Pol too) will be in it without acknowlegding that they are dead (missing in Pol's case). They are just there.

I do get why, Morioh is brimming with stand users and most of them aren't trying to kill people Kak's whole thing is that he is lonely because he can't find other stand users like him. Also I've read CDDH and apparently he is from Morioh. I think we don't need another crusader when Jotaro is part of the main cast already but the thought of Kak with heart shaped sunglasses is not lost on me.

I was gonna use another screencap but this is funny out of context

Do they don't know they can jump high with their stands? Maybe it's something you have to learn.

Ep 20

Wow...... I wonder what the message of this episode is.

It's generic and subtle as a brick to the face but for someone like Araki? who only stumbles onto themes on accident? This is huge.

It makes a lot more sense for Yukako to be still be with Koichi, instead of, "Just being able to like him is enough for me" act she had going on.

Our stand user for this arc is Aya. She speaks like she has low blood pressure and she like invading people's personal spaces.

I laughed out loud when I first saw her stand. Those are not boobas those are kikis. I do like her stand. It might just be my bias towards pink.

He brings Koichi with him everywhere because he is the only person that can tolarate him. He is just some guy. Josuke is suppose to be the type of character you wanna be friends with but everyone loves Koichi cuz he is just a guy. The funniest thing is that is the exact reason Yukako gives as to why she likes him. He is like the token cishet of JoJo.

Honestly? I like Yukako. I wasn't really expecting it cuz I hate yandere/tsundere or whatever type characters but she is entertaining just because of how off of her rockers she is.

My favourite part of the episode is when Koichi tells Josuke and Okuyasu he and Yukako kissed and Josuke almost falls from the window from shock while Okuyasu looks like he has died.

And then Josuke goes "What did you say she did to you?!? That girl never learns" because of course he would think she forced him to do that, considering her track record and all.

Josuke's reaction after hearing Koichi say he likes her to says everything. Like girl what.

I love how Josuke is just casually talking all the while Okuyasu is crying in his arms. Later Josuke still has one hand on his shoulder while Okuyasu cries but he is also completely ignoring him. Love that for them.

It's so wild that Koichi tells Aya to fucking *blind him* just so Yukako won't feel bad. Both of these people are insane and they deserve each other.

Nice attention to detail that he asks Aya to blind *his stand* since he can see through his stand's eyes otherwise.

Ep 21

While I was watching this part i was like there is no way he is gonna li- ohh noo

One thing I really like about Kira is that we will sometimes see what he is up to from his perspective. It's partially here but really shows up in the Stray Cat arc. He is not the type of guy to be plotting or thinking about the heroes all the time so it's just Kira's adventures. His silly adventure. And he is being incredibly pathetic about it with the most smug expressionsyou've ever seen.

Plus it's fun seeing the heroes from an outside perspective for the entire episode.

They say your stand reflects your soul. I have no idea what a wrestler cat with a thousand yard stare is suppose to say about Kira.

Killer Queen is the best stand btw. I will not debate on this. Just look at her. Kira doesn't deserve her, she is way too good of a stand for a guy whose whole thing is wanting a quiet life (besides the murders) (ignore the murders).

Ep 22

Araki reeeally wants to make you feel sorry for Shigechi. How am I suppose to believe people will just ignore a fellow student on the verge of death just because he is ugly. If it was some strangers down the road then yeah sure but this just looks stupid.

Shigechi going to heaven in the exact same state he was in when he died. Crusaders also get stuck in the same expression when they get their souls ripped out of their body. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not.

"I doubt he'll come to my shop but I'll keep an eye out." Girl you have NO idea

Seeing Koichi next to Jotaro you'd think he is around 90cm or so but apparently he is suppose to be 157cm. I was looking at the Jojowiki and noticed that earlier. The canon weights for the characters make zero sense btw.

Koichi:"Rohan always forces me to go to places" Andkasjskdshsjs??

Ep 23-24

What the fuck happened here.

Sheer heart attack is like the world's most evil roomba. If I was kire I would simply tape knives on that thang and set it loose inside my house.

I hate Koichi's shieking so much it's unreal.

I think the remote control stands are a really cool concept. Kira functionally having two stands though? Ehhhh... I not a fan of that to be honest. Sheer Heart Attack is basically it's own stand, sure, it's gimmicky but it's also really strong if you don't know how it works. I understand why Araki would want to break the rules for Killer Queen, It's hard to make her look like a threat compared to Star Platinum or Crazy Diamond.

Sheer Heart Attack bring completely neutralized by such a simple trick is why I love stands so much. Hamon is like if everyone had Mew but with different levels and moves. Stands are more like "everyone has different Pokemon but they are all at the same level". Some are obviously stronger than others but even the strongest ones have some sort of trick or Pokemon that counters them, or at least checks them.

I think Act 3 is less interesting compared to act 2 design and ability wise.

You know, I thought Kira's theme was too goofy for me to take seriously at first but it did hit pretty hard here.

I did say I don't like Koichi's VA very much but his confontation with Kira was pretty good.

Fucking christ.

Can we take a moment to appreciate how good the English dub is. Especially Kira (and Jotaro but I already talked about him during part 3).

Ep 25

The way they handled Kira's new identity is genuinely cool. As mentioned in this episode, Kira doesn't have anyone he is even remotely close to. Not having any dynamics with other people could definitely work for a character but it could also make them boring.

Kira now has to deal with Shinobu who is in a full marridge feeling love for the first time when Kira replaces her husband, and Hayato who is definitely knows something is up because he has never seen his parents have a positive interaction before, ever.

This is before Araki had the most horrible case of same face syndrome so Kira's new face does look slightly different. I like that his pitch black eyes get a pink glow whenever he summons Killer Queen.

I don't have much to say on this and the next few episodes. The Hand doesn't get a change to do anything, again, god forbid.

Ep 26

Rohan jumping in front of the bus Jesus style was pretty funny and I liked Rohan and Joseph's interactions. I also like Shizuka otherwise this episode sucks I don't wanna talk about it more

Ep 27

This episode and the one after it straight up confirm aliens are a thing and knowing Araki, I doubt this will come up again ever.

Mikitaka is actually just like me for real because I too lose my shit whenever I have to hear sirens and alarms (Misophonia)

I think he is a bit too generic, I also don't like how mamy symbols he has on his outfit. Also someone buy him brown contacts.

It's really funny that the first thing he does with an alien friend who can shapeshift is: take Rohan's money in a bet and piss him off.

Ep 28-29

Love that the op starts right after Rohan stabs himself.

He knows that Josuke wouldn't leave without healing him. Also because he is insane and willing the hurt himself and let his house burn down just to know how Josuke cheated.

I like the interactions between the two of them a lot. Josuke annoys him sure, but Rohan is a petty and stubborn asshole who gets upset just at the though of Josuke being happy. He is mad at Josuke for beating him up even though he knows Josuke beats the shit out of people who insult his hair. There is no way that isn't written in Koichi's files. He is just upset that he is experiencing the consequences of his actions. He is beefing with a 15 year old.

The action for this arc is pretty good.

I normally don't mention this because they tend to be brief but the sniffing and the walking noises Highway Star makes annoys me to no end. I am really bad with this stuff.

I especially like the addition of Koichi. He can be a piece of shit sometimes, like in the lock guy episode. I find that pretty funny personally.

It's been a while. I was on vacation for 2 weeks so I didn't have much time to write this.

I don't think I am going to do these posts for part 5 because I will not be able to finish the show otherwise. I don't watch new episodes before I write these (except for maybe a few) since I prefer it that way. I still might do something similar for part 6. We'll see. The issue is I wanna write all my thoughts but I am not good at being coherent.

[mittensmorgul]

Mittens, you are in the TNT loop watch, right? Is it true that they keep skipping episode S15E09? Someone commented on Bob Wess latest Destiel video that 'in the last few run-throughs, they'll have "The Trap" listed in the channel guide on TV but are actually showing another episode in its place'. Bob also mentioned that WB keep pulling out his video because of The Trap footage. He had to put elaborate watermark and elevator music in that portion of his video for it to be on YT after 3 tries.

Hi there! I'll start by saying that I know about Bob Wess's videos, but as yet haven't had a chance to watch them. I fully intend to, but I think maybe I should start with this one... eep...

I DID make a post the last time 15.09 was on the TNT schedule: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/651446540445024256/dear-the-tnt-loop-i-thought-i-was-having-a

because the schedule said it was to immediately follow 15.08. Instead, they showed 15.08 TWICE IN A ROW. I thought I was going nuts... I was like... what... what are they doing?! I even checked the website (not just my tv program guide) and the TNT schedule page even said it was 15.09 The Trap. It just... wasn't.

For those living in the US (I believe it's region locked), this is the official TNT schedule page https://www.tntdrama.com/schedule. Unfortunately, you can't go back two weeks to see it still, but for next time it comes up (probably August, considering they're only up to 2.05 on Tuesday morning-- no eps Monday for the holiday). They average about a season a week (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less... the number of eps they show per day, Monday-Thursday, varies).

The first time or two they show a "new" season (I've ben watching the TNT loop since s7 was the "new season" so I've seen this happen nine times now), they used to skip a "filler" episode here and there, but I'd argue that 15.09 is the furthest thing from a filler ep there could be. It sets up the final conflict with the ultimate big bad of the entire series, after all! It sets up the players in the game and the stakes, and shows them everything they have to lose, and shows what they're willing to do to fight for it. Like... this is not fluff.

And it was the ONLY episode from s15 they skipped in this run through the loop. I honestly don't remember what they showed in the previous run through the loop (it would've ben January, maybe?)

But if you go through my tags for the TNT loop, you'll notice that occasionally they do something truly baffling. Like this: https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/650906557530472448/dear-the-tnt-loop-yall-done-fucked-up-today-the

In s14, they showed 14.15 and 14.16 in the wrong order, even going as far as swapping their episode numbers. 14.15 is Peace of Mind, and 14.16 is Don't Go In The Woods and yet...

[ID: a screenshot of the TNT schedule from May 11, 2021 showing Don't Go In The Woods labeled s14e15, followed by Peace Of Mind labeled s14e16. /id]

(just check the superwiki episode page for the actual episode numbers and original airing order.)

So that made for an odd viewing experience.

I went back through my tag to January, the last time I watched s15 on the loop, and either didn't notice they messed with 15.09, assumed they were dropping episodes like they usually did with new seasons (if it didn't air), or else it was one of the eps that I just wasn't home to watch. Sometimes, as an adult, I have to adult, unfortunately...

That is wild, if WB was messing with *just* that portion out of all the videos he's put up, but since I haven't seen his show yet, as I said, but I have been meaning to watch it. So I can't speak to why WB would've attempted to have it taken down regardless of Fair Use of the clips for the purposes of discussion and review (which is what I believe Wess's show does, if what I've heard is correct). For reference, here is a link to his youtube channel. Now that I have it open again, I suppose I should sit down and watch some of them...

I also have no idea personally if this is just some oopsie on the part of TNT-- like if the copy of the season they were sent for broadcast is glitched or if this was a programming error on the part of the person who sets the schedule, or what. I try not to assume bad faith because sometimes these glitches do happen. But if it is specifically happening only for this one episode, it kinda makes you think there's something more to what's going on. I have the blu ray of s15 now, so I guess I'll be watching that if they try to skip 15.09 again... but again, that wouldn't be until probably August. They only post their airing schedule two weeks in advance, so right now Supernatural listings only go through 4.01 on Thursday, June 10.

[bronyinabottle]

In a recent post on I Dream of Twilight Sparkle I said that I noticed asks that were not in my inbox the last time I decided to read through my entire ask box. So I did the same for my mod blog. And while there were some also that I didn't see before. Most are questions I feel either I feel like I may have already sufficiently answered enough with my thoughts on an episode and/or it'd be weird at this point to answer something that's obviously years after the fact.

But there is two I found that I feel like I may want to respond to. The person who sent it was someone who used to discuss the show with me almost all the time, though obviously they must no longer be on Tumblr as all their blogs are deactivated. But I still want to answer since it is sort of relevant to recent stuff. Particularly in their 2nd ask.

By the way, I'm always open to questions on the show or even non-pony topics here on my modblog. I still do love talking about G4 ponies and I wouldn't mind some questions if any of you would like to know my opinion on anything. Now that the show has been over for nearly 2 years , I can have a perspective on many topics about Friendship is Magic that I wouldn't mind sharing. Maybe some things have changed here and there, though I think I still generally have a positive attitude towards most things for certain. I stuck with the show until the very end, and was satisfied with how it ended. And I still have interest in doing more in G4's world even as G5 approaches. (Though I'm sure perhaps once that movie has aired that may be the focus of any questions sent here)

((My answer and more after the break))

For the most part, I think I still generally agree with what I said in my initial thoughts about the Season 6 finale. It's a solid episode with some great interactions between Starlight, Trixie, Discord, and Thorax. Though the way the ending is executed is a bit of a headscratcher. Maybe somewhat less so since thinking about it now, like even if Chrysalis did keep some things loyal. What would stop them from eventually seeing what Thorax's changelings did shortly after.

But I suppose I wanted to answer this mostly about Starlight. Since while the Season 6 finale made HomerJ get over some remaining feelings about Starlight. I'll admit it took literally until writing Secrets of the Dragon's Tear (A year after the show was over) to realize the sort of potential that Starlight had. The baggage from the Season 5 finale always felt like a cloud above her for the entire rest of the show's run. And I consider Season 6's largest mistake is not trying harder to endear us to Starlight. That's what that season's entire job was, to try to make us feel a little better of how rather rushed Starlight's redemption was by giving us a more expanded look into Starlight's character. And unfortunately, I feel like it failed at that in my opinion. Thus I basically disagree (Though respect the opinion of) with those who would say the Season 6 finale was when Starlight finally won them over.

Don't get me wrong, I like how Starlight is portrayed in the episode. But it would of been stronger if say the season had explained more about Starlight's past. How did Starlight get her cutie mark, and given her opinion on Cutie Marks how did she feel at the time?

Instead, we mostly just got Starlight reuniting with Sunburst that didn't exactly give any more details to her rather vague reasons for turning to darkness from him moving away other then finding out Sunburst's personality and how his side of the story went. And from there we had Starlight befriend Trixie... in an episode I still don't really like to this day.

Ironically, the character in the Hearth's Warming episode that casts Starlight as the story's version of Scrooge (Snowfall Frost) is given more reason to sympathize with then Starlight herself.

Starlight then just about disappears up until the episode that introduces Thorax. Where she doesn't do much other then be among the crowd that Spike has to convince that Thorax is not evil.

The next time we see her is Every Little Thing She Does. Which is something of a controversial ep from what I hear, though ironically despite my skepticism of Starlight at the time. I actually sort of liked that episode since it was basically Starlight's own Lesson Zero. Though I get why Starlight deciding to hypnotize all the Mane 6 besides Twilight against their will would not be approved of. Though it does feel like at the very least Twilight and the rest give her enough of a piece of their mind at the end.

And that's how things stood before the Season 6 finale happened. Even though I do think Starlight has good moments in said finale, nothing earlier in the season really dispelled many of my feelings about the Season 5 finale's ending. So despite a good showing, I could hardly care for it. I wasn't convinced yet we were given a satisfactory answer about the many questions that Starlight's sudden redemption prompted.

Another part of my thoughts I feel still applies is when I mentioned that Starlight's a "Diet Sunset Shimmer" (Which considering what I did to link the two for SOTDT, is a bit funny in hindsight). It took just one movie (Rainbow Rocks) for the fanbase to turn a 180 on Sunset. While an entire season with Starlight as one of the good guys goes by and she remained just as divisive as before if not more so by the end of Season 6.

Come Season 7, and Starlight appears quite a bit more often though under the assumption that the Season 6 finale was enough to warm you up to her. There were many complaints during the first half of Season 7 that she was appearing more then she should (Even in an Equestria Girls special where she got to meet the character she was so often compared to). Though another thing about Starlight in Season 7 in hindsight is besides from her meeting a few more friends like Maud. Starlight isn't actually given much to actually work towards. They dropped the whole student aspect so it's not like she was doing friendship lessons under Twilight anymore (Though I suppose on the bright side for the detractors, it lessened worries about her becoming an Alicorn). Season 8 and 9 does somewhat fix that by having Starlight employed at the school, first as a counselor and ultimately ending with her as the school's Principal as Twilight herself got promoted to sole ruler. Which I'm still unsure about if fans of her character feel that was a proper ending for her. Though probably the best that could of been done in context of not much having been done with her over time.

Still, at least for me personally it felt there was alot missing about Starlight and as time went on it became obvious I wasn't going to get the satisfactory answers about her that I wanted. So as a result, I only had lukewarm reactions when a new Starlight episode was coming up. It also didn't help that there were two episodes that raised my hopes of at least one interesting aspect that would of been cool to see. The first being the episode "All Bottled Up" which I had hoped would mean it would be an episode that's somewhat genie related. And then there was Road to Friendship where Starlight and Trixie try to travel to Saddle Arabia (which is an important location in I Dream of Twilight Sparkle)... and yet never actually get there. So even on the few times that I was hoping to be excited about a Starlight episode, it dropped the ball. Partly my fault for getting so hyped about something that wasn't promised, but I would of loved to at least SEEN canon Saddle Arabia.

I'd never say that I hated Starlight back during the show's run. But she was a frustrating character for certain back then. I couldn't hate Starlight as much as some others did, but at the same time I couldn't like her as much as others. She was in likability limbo. For every fun and or good moment that included her, it's brought right back by either lingering problems that arised from the Season 5 finale or otherwise dropping the ball in some way.

In some ways, she's still a frustrating character. Though that's just how it'll always be with the canon Starlight. It's up entirely now to fanon to give their approach on Starlight that was never done in Canon. With SOTDT, I obviously did a bit of a "Fine, I'll do it myself" when it comes to making Starlight a more satisfactory character for me. Though I'm sure there are many interpretations that are vastly different from how I approached it that can satisfy others and probably be more popular and better written then mine. (My interpretation might be understandably controversial just for Starlight being put back on a path where she'll likely become an Alicorn eventually. Something Starlight detractors feared the most. Though I think I at least try to explain as best I could that makes sense with the story, her cutie mark moment being similar to Twilight's, and the identity of her mother. And I myself sort of feared Starlight becoming an Alicorn might happen, so for me to actually write it so that it might be inevitable. That's just how much of a 180 I've taken on Starlight because of writing SOTDT)

I think I mentioned this before, but I can pretty much say that in a way that I can actually say I like Starlight now. But sort of in a "FiM's biggest missed opportunity" sort of way that it becomes sort of sad to look at how canon Starlight was done. Rather then me simply shrugging her off back when I didn't care so much about her. I also understand it's a bit cheating to say I like Starlight now after doing my own sort of fanfic that had her in a major role since that might be me tooting my own horn a bit.

Though I will say as much as necessary that I am very aware alot of what happens in SOTDT would have been impossible to do in canon and I don't plan on pushing what I did to expand on Starlight's backstory as gospel. It only applies to what I'm doing on the blog, I will not be making a case that my interpretation is the only correct one. I'd actually welcome seeing some different interpretations on things such as who Starlight's mother is, what they feel her past was like outside of the Sunburst leaving incident, and/or especially how Starlight originally got her cutie mark. (I've even said my personal guess is different then how I did it in SOTDT, as my guess is she got it the first time she discovered the cutie mark removal spell). Cause if nothing else, I've realized Starlight is a very interesting character that I think would be fun to explore all the possibilities with. It certainly could be something for those still on the G4 train to talk with one another about.