#not like they were bad and overall there were plenty of strong moments

[villainvillain]

maybe my expectations were too high but overall i feel a bit underwhelmed by those two episodes

[professorhayforbreath]

my blog probably gives the impression that i think the show is bad as a whole, but the reason this show frustrates me so much is because it's definitely NOT 100% bad

like... the movies are bad adaptations. everyone knows it. they have some great moments (an embarrassing amount of which are better than the show lol) but overall they are widely considered blatantly bad adaptations. it's easier to make peace with that

the show, however, is far less consistent and i find it much more difficult to wrap my head around. there are parts that are bad and i'm happy to say that with my chest, but underneath numerous questionable-at-best writing choices, there are glimpses of really, really good stuff. the first few episodes had so much promise—percy burning blue jellybeans and praying to sally, the consensus song. these are brand new additions but they're good, they capture the spirit of the story and characters successfully

and sprinkled throughout the rest of the show are other strong choices! for example in the last episode i really liked that they set the betrayal scene during the fireworks, it created a fantastic ambience. i liked that grover left camp at the same time as percy and annabeth so the three of them got to part ways as a trio on half-blood hill

there are good changes being made, but they're almost all small in the grand scheme of things. in my opinion, the bigger, more consequential things are where they missed the most marks, and that prevented me from fully enjoying the show as a long time book fan

when it comes to writing nothing frustrates me more than wasted potential. mediocre writing is one thing, but mediocre writing that could have clearly been so much better is INFURIATING. i don't dislike the show because i wanted it to be a 1:1 recreation of the book, i dislike it because it's just okay when it could have been great. it so EASILY could have been great and i don't get why it's not. a lot of the writing choices are just baffling in their mediocrity, and sometimes technical weakness, when compared to the well written and effective source material. i wish i could have been a fly on the wall in that writers room when they were making some of these decisions, seriously

the cast is phenomenal. their budget is more than sufficient. they marketed it as a "redemption from the movies", as the adaptation that would finally give fans book accuracy. and the show we got is... fine. it's all right. it's not all that book accurate even though it was advertised as such. there's plenty to like but it comes hand in hand with plenty to dislike. it's only natural for people to be disappointed

i know my critiques can come off as venomous but please never mistake my harshness as hating for the sake of it. i adore the original pjo books so i really wanted to adore the show as well, but unfortunately i can't get there yet. "yet" being the key word because there's still plenty of time for this show to pick up the slack, and for that reason i'm glad it got renewed. i don't have the most faith the writers will listen to the feedback but i'm rooting for them to prove me wrong

[where-dreamers-go]

“Adorably Okay” Bridge Carson x Reader

(A/N: Based on my Imagine: Bridge hearing your thoughts about him. I did not expect to do multiple revisions during and after typing it all up. Warnings: Reference to beginnings of a slight panic attack. Use of (Y/N). Word Count: 1,093 words)

Days could mostly be weird. It wasn’t their fault and it was mainly one��s perspective. Such was how people viewed each day in life.

Your day had been pretty average. Keeping a schedule. No big surprises. People, fellow cadets, around you were overall in pleasant spirits.

No big tests today apparently, you thought.

Sure, you weren’t on a path to become a Power Ranger, but that suited you just fine. There were plenty of other responsibilities. Ones you gladly shared with others throughout your time at Headquarters.

You saw enough of your crush, an actual Power Ranger, regardless of your job position. Lucky you. Your crush, Bridge Carson, was as nice as a dream. The two of you had talked before loads of times, but you hadn’t pursued anything beyond friendship.

Honestly, you weren’t sure how. But you were happy. Fully content to have a friendship with the most cute and intelligent person you knew.

And so darn adorable.

Walking from your room with a book of choice, you made your way through the halls, intent on returning the book to a friend. A cadet, busy as others.

Thankfully, the walk wasn’t far, even if S.P.D. Headquarters was enormous.

It was a wonder then, when a familiar pairing of grey and green caught your attention.

“Hey, Bridge,” you greeted as he started walking up to you with a smile.

That smile could brighten any day.

“Hi.” Bridge gave a short wave and quickly begun talking once he stood in front of you. “I heard your thoughts again. You think I’m adorable. How come—.”

A large book slipped from your fingers and dropped to the floor.

Everything in you seemed to go into a static mode, like you were somewhere between panic and complete shutdown. Worried thoughts trying to consume you.

He knows I like him? No. He can’t. What do I do? Why’s he here to tell me? Does he want me to stop?

“(Y/N)?” Bridge tilted his head. “(Y/N)?” His dark eyebrows pinched together in concern.

Upon Bridge’s announcement, it became impossible to function outside of your own mind. You were incredibly ill prepared.

He knows? Your vision hardly picked up details of the flooring. Worry started overtaking you. Pulling you away from your more rational thoughts.

Black-gloved hands grabbed a hold of your arms.

“Hey.” Bridge’s voice was gentle. “Can you hear me?” Thumbs rubbed small circles along your uniform.

He can’t just talk about my thoughts. Gah! Just…you can hear him. Answer him. Something. He’s worried.

Taking a moment or two, you were finally able to nod.

“Okay. Good. Uh.”

Just breathe, you thought. It’s okay. It’s okay. Don’t freak him out. He just wanted to talk. It’s Bridge not…something bad.

He took a step closer. “Here.” Bridge placed one your hands on the center of his chest. “Follow my breathing.”

Heat whipped through you in a confusing mixture of surprised panic and nervous excitement.

Okay?

“Breathe in.” His chest rose underneath your palm.

Staring where he held your hand to him, you copied his breathing. It went a little shaky. Yet you made progress.

“Breathe out.”

Exhaling, you felt the beating of your friend’s heart. Your crush’s heartbeat. Strong and uncharacteristically quick.

It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong. You closed your eyes and centered yourself. With Bridge as your anchor, you knew you were safe. No matter what surprising or intrusive thoughts made themselves known, you would be okay. Truly and honestly.

Out of all words to react to. He can’t know specifically how I feel from just that word. Goodness. And he wouldn’t be mean about it.

You swallowed.

“Please don’t surprise me like that.” You muttered, feeling calmer.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was soft. “Are you all right, now?”

“Yeah… My mind took a turn.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just thinking about you again.”

Your eyes snapped open. “Again?”

“Yeah. Thinking about what we ate yesterday, about what we were reading and which of your thoughts I’ve heard. You know.” His bright brown eyes could hardly keep steady eye contact with you while he spoke.

Glancing down to his chest, you focused on how the rate of his heart beat sped up. Neither of you made a move closer nor away.

“So, it’s okay that I think you’re adorable?” You asked, boldly keeping your hand on him.

Just breathe. This is new. Asking him is fine.

His other hand slipped down to hold your free hand. “Yes.”

Oh. Oh, he likes it?

“When I found you, I wanted to ask: how come you haven’t told me? Out loud. I wanted to know.”

The vulnerable conversation had opened. Both of you equally giving.

“I don’t know.” You answered truthfully. Sort of.

It’s not weird to call someone ‘adorable’, in general. If you know them. And he wanted to know why. Wants to.

“Do you want me to?” You asked quietly.

However empty the hallway appeared, sound carried. There was no telling who could walk by. Who might overhear or see.

The conversation curved closer to the heart.

Goodness and the universe knew how much Bridge meant to you. How much you liked him. Adored him. Even more so after he calmed you.

“Yes and I do like when I hear your thoughts too.” Bridge answered, his hand pressing yours more firmly on his chest. “And I really like you. I hope it’s alright to tell you now.”

Your mouth fell open slightly.

Was he truly telling you? Confessing to you?

Your feelings for him were reciprocated?

“Do you like me?” He asked timidly from your silence.

Those warm brown eyes pulled at your heartstrings. Tender and caring. Always attentive when you were near.

“I do. I really like you too.” You whispered.

Releasing both of your hands, Bridge held your face gently. His gaze and smile were just as soft. The speed of his heart was the only contrast.

He likes me. You thought happily, he’s adorable.

“So adorable.” You murmured.

Breathing out a small, delighted laugh, Bridge leaned forward and kissed you tenderly.

Your day had not gone weirdly nor had it been predictable. The day held warmth and good intentions.

A forgotten book.

Two friends standing in a hallway.

Tasks were on standby.

What was a few more kisses shared between two people?

“You’re so adorable and—”

He kissed you.

“—incredibly smart.” You continued and kissed him back.

Bridge smiled against your lips again as you played with his hair.

He was your adorable Power Ranger.

~~~

(If you love my writings and want to support me, I have a Ko-Fi where you can buy me a coffee. I would be eternally grateful. coffee

Best wishes and happy reading.)

~~~~~

DreamerDragon Tags: @

Bridge Carson Tags: @

**Let me know if you would like to be tagged in insert readers, either through replies, ask, or message.**

[h0ney-gl0ws]

Fire Emblem Boys! Parenting Headcanons!

Here’s a short collection of headcanons of how the fire emblem boys are as parents! Includes characters from fire emblem engage and three houses!

Characters are: Kagetsu, Ashe, Claude, and Diamant

Word Count: 896 (approx)

Kagetsu: I saw a video of a man doing this challenge to hang from a pull up pole for 100s, and he did it with a baby strapped to his chest, yeah, that’s Kagetsu

Kagetsu would totally give his babies rubber knives and stuff for fun. He wants his kids to be powerful fighters when they’re grown up after all.

Speaking of that, Kagetsu would totally sword fight his kids once they’re old enough and have at least learned the basics.

Kagetsu when his kids are older: “Finally a worthy opponent, our battle will be legendary!”

Kagetsu sometimes would go too far during training sessions, and his wife(you ;) ) would have to tell him to reel it back in. Kagetsu would feel bad and let his kids win after that. Pretending to be real hurt by their hits and all that. “Oh wow! Look at how strong you guys have gotten! You’re able to take even me down.”

Kagetsu’s wife would totally step in to have some fun as well with play fighting Kagetsu. And it turns into a real fun family bonding moment. “Aghast, my own love betraying me?! How could you!” Lots of giggles from the kids during and after.

Overall, very good dad 9/10.

Ashe: Oh, you know he would just be the sweetest dad ever. Ashe’s kids would just be the cutest little angels.

He’d teach them how to cook and all teaching sessions would end up being a giggle fest in the kitchen usually with flour all over the place.

Ashe’s kid: pours 90% of milk on the floor and 10% into the bowl. Ashe: Great job buddy! :D

You know he would teach his kids to have the same morals as him. In that everyone deserves to be shown kindness and to have a second chance. He doesn’t shy away his past from them, and wants to make sure they understand how his late adopted father’s kindness changed his life for the better.

He really cant resist when his kids come home holding bunches of kittens or puppies, and even on one occasion a snake, and you’ll have to step in to be the voice of reason like “no you cannot keep 12 cats in our pantry, put them back.” Lolol

Ashe would give you the puppy dog eyes too when your kids start to pout, and it definitely didn’t work and you definitely didn’t keep one of the kittens

In conclusion, cinnamon roll dad 10/10

Claude: Claude’s not a regular dad, he’s a cool dad XD

He wants his kids to be comfortable on wyverns so he takes them flying often. You worry of course, but he always assures you he is right there with them, and they are perfectly safe. Plus seeing the kids excitement as they try to explain to you how cool flying is, eases your worry plenty.

Claude’s kids would end up being little rascals, running around the halls of the palace, playing pranks on royal staff. Usual rambunctious kid stuff.

Claude has almost certainly assisted in their little tirades, especially on the ones directed at Lorenz. He once got them to replace all of the sugar in Lorenz’s tea with salt. Claude got quite the earful after from him, but Lorenz couldn’t prove anything.

That’s not to say that Claude can’t be a responsible parent when he needs to be. If his kids were getting involved in something that would put them or others in danger, you bet the stern dad voice is coming out and he’s teaching them why they can’t be doing that.

Very nice dad overall, his family wishes he could spend more time with them, but I digress 7/10

Diamant: This one is a difficult one for me, as I try to portray them as the best dads they can be, however I see Diamant’s best as…rocky.

I feel like he would be overprotective, he’s very worried about anything bad happening to them. As a result of this he can be a bit overbearing.

On the other side of the spectrum, when’s he’s not being overbearing he can be distant. His anxiety over running the kingdom, and his own insecurity about being a father can cause him to push people away, and as a result you would be doing a lot of the parenting.

Of course all of these tendencies come from a place of love. He wants to be the best father he can, he’s just not great at navigating his emotions.

Every night, however, when your kids are tucked into bed you can hear him whispering stories about how great of a king his father was, and your kids fall asleep hearing tales of how amazing their grandfather was.

You also see them showing interest in his training. They love watching him train, and often times want to join him. which is great because he wants to teach all of his kids self defense. He wants them to be able to protect themselves when he’s not there after all.

In the end, his kids adore him even if he’s not the greatest parent at times, and you know that this is just another chapter of life you will be able to work through together. 5/10

[oddygaul]

Godzilla Minus One

I’ve been going through something of a Godzilla crash course for the past year or so. When I was pretty little, I think I once rented a VHS of the original Godzilla from my local library. I don’t remember almost anything, but I think the themes and talking went over my head and I was mostly disappointed he wasn’t punching another monster. Then, I got a McDonald’s toy of the 1998 Godzilla, which was in my regular school backpack rotation for a while, and... that was about the extent of my experience with the guy.

Two of my best friends, though, are huge Godzilla stans who grew up watching just about every movie that’s ever released. After discovering my innocence, they’ve taken it upon themselves to educate me in his big scaly ways.

Most of these screenings were well before I started keeping this journal, so I don’t have deep thoughts on them. We started with Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla - wasn’t impressed by the robotic human characters, but Kiryu is sick as fuck, no getting around it. Next was Anno’s Shin Godzilla - as a lifelong Evangelion fan, I was really tickled by how much the entire movie felt like an extended, live-action Operation Yashima sequence, and the half dozen remixes of Decisive Battle were the icing on the cake. Final Wars, despite clearly being made by some folks who had just seen The Matrix and wanted in on that action, was exactly my kind of schlock and I honestly can’t wait to rewatch it. Tokyo SOS was kind of forgettable? …outside of the scene where the rival punches a fly out of the air one inch from someone’s face, which I now do weekly. And finally, All Monsters Attack was a wild fever dream of a movie; the plot is about a child vividly hallucinating Godzilla fighting giant crabs and shit in order to deal with his own growth and confidence issues, and that all works… exactly as well as it sounds like it would work. Overall, I’ve certainly enjoyed my time with the franchise, but it’s certainly in a more, I dunno, popcorny way.

So color me surprised having seen Minus One and being genuinely impressed on all fronts!

This is easily the most compelling human storytelling out of all the Zils I’ve watched. To be honest, during the long gap between Godzilla’s introduction and his reappearance in the plot, I got so fully invested in the characters and the story that was unfolding, it was a little jarring having a big monster show up. The emotional core of the story, based around a found family trying to find meaning in their lives in a devastated, post-war Japan, was genuinely engaging, well-acted, and absorbing. I guess Godzilla being there is what got my butt into the seat, but I honestly wouldn’t have minded a more grounded take on this scenario/era either.

I quite liked that Godzilla’s design in this movie felt focused around his aquatic habitat - he felt very lithe, crocodilian and deadly in the water.

Similarly, after spending so much time digging into the hopelessness felt at large by the citizens we see, and the widespread devastation of Tokyo after the firebombing, Godzilla coming in and attacking Ginza felt like a gut punch. Typically, in the Godzillas I’ve watched, at least, the moment where Godzilla finally shows up and wrecks shop is a moment for the audience to cheer. You recognize that the horror and destruction he’s wreaking is bad, of course, but for one reason or another the blow is usually softened tonally. In Shin Godzilla, for example, we watch plenty of montages of Japan’s well-oiled, calm evacuation plans being carried out, so we’re not worried as much about the human toll. In the more creature feature entries, like Tokyo SOS, these type of scenes are more WWE throwdown than human catastrophe - the city’s really just backdrop, and it’s time to get hype. Minus One even has some moments like this, in my opinion - the scene when Godzilla first engages the battleship and they cut off his iconic roar has strong “real done with your shit” vibes that make the film’s debut atomic breath a real crowd-pleaser.

But man, the Ginza scene? Absolutely devastating. Panicked, weary crowds, scores of people visibly trampled underfoot, the black rain calling back to Japan’s nuclear strikes… the entire scene is designed to be a nightmare, and I thought it was a powerful decision in a franchise movie to make the viewer squirm and wish the titular character hadn’t shown up at all.

“Godzilla, bro, look. My job? The job I’m working to feed this orphan who showed up on the doorstep of my dead parents' house? That job is shooting active mines out of the ravaged coasts of my country on a fishing boat at great personal risk to myself and my only friends. Did we really need this? Was this warranted? Could you just like, fuck off?”

Overall, I just can’t get over how strong the character work and theming was. There’s a lot of musing on the value of a life, survivor’s guilt, and people grappling with the aftermath of a lost war while figuring out how they can still make a difference in their community. In the opening scene, you can already tell from the conversation between the main character and the engineer that they both understand the war is over, and yet Shikishima carries guilt with him the entire movie about not committing the meaningless sacrifice his country asked of him. He’s absolutely wracked with guilt, feeling that he’ll be rejected by society for failing - and to a degree he is, especially in the first act. After that, though, time and time again, the movie shows a community coming together, refusing to let each other give in and succumb to guilt, and finding ways to rebuild their home and move forward on their own terms, rather than under the direction of a government that's abandoned them.

The standout scene for me was Shikishima’s trauma coming to a peak when he wakes up at night and questions if he’s been dead all along, wondering if his current life is just a hallucination. I feel like I’ve seen that exact scene or moment in other media before, but it always felt like empty words, unconvincing; here, the buildup and acting was just so stellar that I fully resonated with this broken man and bought every word.

[phantom-of-the-501st]

TBB Ep 10 Thoughts

Spoilers for TBB Season 2

Today on The Bad Batch, child slavery!

Let's get into it.

The way Wrecker stares at the part that fell off the speeder for a second and then falls back. 🤣

The timing of that cracked me up.

They're gonna try and fit all 4 of them on one speeder???

GONKY IS HOW THEY FIND THE MARAUDER?!

Omega being a smart bean. 🥰

Honestly, the amount of Gonky in this episode makes me so happy!!!

Excuse me, but Mokko is not the metal-handed guy that I wanted to see.

ALL OF THEM BALANCED ON THE SPEEDER HAHAHAHA

"That's our defective power droid"

Fuck yeah it is!

Don't mess with Gonky. The dads will come after you. 😠

Wrecker activated Intimidation Mode ™️

Okay, yeah, cool, we're all just gonna abseil down a chimney, sure.

That seems totally safe. 😐

"Plenty of time". Omega's so one of them omg. 😭 She's grown so much. 🥲

That brief slow-mo when Hunter falls forward. 😍

Than animation this season is so good!!!

Ngl, them all sticking their faces over the chimney stresses me out.

Smooth take-down from Hunter, there!

Mokko is a dick. 😡

I'VE JUST REALISED THAT THIS IS WHAT JENNIFER'S CRYPTIC TWEET WAS

Omega's head poking out from the oversized coat! 🤣🥰

Bitch, you did not just press that button. YOU DID NOT JUST PRESS THAT BUTTON!

Omega giving Benni her ration even though The Batch don't have much food. 😭

Wrecker hanging upside from the ship is one of my new favourite things.

Okay, I understand why Benni did what he did. I'm still pissed though. 😤

All the stuff about kids not being able to just be kids in this galaxy is so sad. 😭

Sorry, did Mokko really expect his "let's make the Batch work in the mines for a decade" plan was gonna work???

Although, he does say something about if they survive that long, so best bet is he was just gonna leave them to die.

Like I said. He's a dick.

ALSO THREATENING TO THROW OMEGA OF THE PLATFORM?! HOW DARE YOU SIR!

He's actually lying to the kids and keeping the ipsium for himself? How surprising (note strong sarcasm).🤨

OMEGA THROWING HERSELF OFF WITH THE DROID BECAUSE SHE KNOWS HUNTER WILL CATCH HER 😭

That scene might be my favourite of the episode. Especially with the altered Bad Batch theme over the top.

Ngl, the fight with Mokko was underwhelming.

The guy literally fell over a railing by himself. 😭

Although he was also a pathetic dickhead so a pathetic end is kind of what he deserves.

WRECKER HUGGING GONKY!!! 🥰

Even though they were all in competition with one another, when it comes down to it, the kids actually do all care about each other. That's sweet.

Wrecker is reunited with Lula! 🥲

TECH AND OMEGA THIS SEASON ARE GIVING ME SO MANY FEELS!!!

Was hoping the Echo and Crosshair convo would carry on this episode but oh well.

Also, we never saw Tech and Wrecker apologise to each other. 🥲

Overall feeling about this episode is that I think it might be one of my least favourites of the season. I didn't dislike it but with how good the others have been, this episode didn't stand out a whole lot to me.

There were specific moments that I absolutely love though! Wholesome Batch moments just hit me right in the feels. 🥲

And Wrecker's "I'm working on it" reminded me of Echo in Season 1. 😭 I still miss that man.

Weirdly, I don't feel like I have much to say about this episode right now. There's some more stuff delving into the idea of kids not being able to just be kids in this galaxy, so I'm happy they're continuing on that narrative. I maybe would've liked to have seen a little bit more from the other miners? I don't know.

Normally when I watch an episode, one or two particular things sticks out to me as something I want to talk about more but I didn't really get that much from this episode. Think I may just have to sit on it for a few days and see what comes to mind.

Still liked the episode, but I definitely think that the first half of this two-parter was much stronger. Very excited to see what Metamorphosis is going to be about though! My hope is to see Echo and Rex again, but that's more wishful thinking than me believing it's actually going to happen. 😅

Edit: This was supposedly a breather episode, so that may explain why it fell a little flat for me. I think I got really hooked up in the more high-stakes episodes and that swayed my judgement on this one. 🤔

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

SUPERHERO CHOOSINESS

It’s strongly being suggested that the superhero movie bubble is bursting…

There’s the more mixed critical reception of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s remarkably stuffed but hasty Phase Four, and then there’s the equally fast Phases Five and Six… whose ending feature AVENGERS: SECRET WARS is still set to open in the summer of 2026… Meaning that this Multiverse Saga only will last five years, compared to the eleven year span from IRON MAN to SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME… Like, wow!

And not only are there a lot of movies, but there were plenty of shows. So many from 2021-2022 alone: WANDAVISION, THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER, LOKI Season One, WHAT IF…? Season One, HAWKEYE, MOON KNIGHT, MS. MARVEL, and SHE-HULK: ATTORNEY AT LAW. In addition to those, you had the “Special Presentation” featurettes WEREWOLF BY NIGHT and the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL.

For me, it was starting to become homework to keep up with what was going on. And this is coming from someone who has seen all but two Marvel Cinematic Universe movies in a theater. The two that I missed were THE INCREDIBLE HULK, and BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER.

Then of course you have the DC movie-verse, which is being hard-reset in a few years under the new leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran. Prior to that, it was an always-changing mess of visions and intentions. Faithfuls kept up with the series, some left afterwards because of these changes, general audiences seemed to stick around for most of the movies. It’s a clustercuss of its own, and further discussing that will likely get me into hot waters… But what happened with The Rock and his apparent strong-arming of the DC movie-verse with his BLACK ADAM project and plans really shows just what kind of directionless mess the whole thing was for ten years…

So we’re now left with a few movies that were locked and ready to go before the Gunn/Safran take-over, the first of which, SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS… Opened with roughly $30m. A pretty blah take, and well below the $53m take the first SHAZAM! took in back in 2019. It’s been said before, but the whole “these won’t matter in the long run” attitude has probably deflated attendance… But many other things do as well… People being choosier with movies, ticket and concession prices being absurdly high… A statistic in 2014 stated that the average American family hits the flicks four times a year. I believe it. I’ve been working at a movie theater since August of 2015, and I see what I charge my customers… Both movies and for snacks… Yeah, I do not wonder why… Especially in the pandemic era, that people are choosier with movies. I feel we see the same thing with animated movies as well. Those are also usually four-quadrant family titles... And then around the corner, them being on streaming. Be it Disney+ for an MCU movie, or HBO Max for a DCU movie.

A month earlier, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA opened pretty great with $106m. That was way above ANT-MAN AND THE WASP’s mid-70s opening weekend haul, and an overall fine opening for an MCU movie... but the legs? Abysmal so far. It looks to barely score a 2x multiplier, which is pretty bad… It might be the first MCU movie to completely miss that. I don't even know if I'll make time for it, myself. (I've missed a lot of movies in theaters lately because of other lifestuff going on at the moment.)

What does this all tell me?

Is it truly superhero movie fatigue? Are audiences catching on to the perceived problems of these big budget shared universe movies?

Here’s what I think is happening…

Choosiness...

I, in true form, am going to relate this to animated movies… And I mean “animated movies”, because let’s face it… There’s lots of animation in your average MCU or DCU movie. QUANTUMANIA, from the looks of it, is an animated movie with some real people in it. Much like GRAVITY, AVATAR and its sequel, Jon Favreau’s THE JUNGLE BOOK, LIFE OF PI, etc. etc.

Once upon a time... $100m at the domestic box office was a magic number for an animated feature film. And I mean a $100m gross on the film's first ever theatrical release, not $100m via the original release and added theatrical re-issue totals (like classic pre-Renaissance Disney films, like SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS and 101 DALMATIANS)...

Only Disney scored $100m domestic totals for their animated movies. Hybrid WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, released through Disney's Touchstone banner, broke the barrier first and grossed $156m in the summer of 1988. Then, an all-animated movie broke the barrier nearly four years later in early 1992... That was Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, which got to its high total through strong word-of-mouth and legs throughout the holiday and post-holiday season. It was slow to start in November 1991, because back then... Theater-to-video release windows were longer. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was released in American movie theaters in November 1991, and the videocassette and LaserDisc release wouldn't be until... October 1992!

So, an unreachable number for everyone else. Don Bluth, former Disney animator and hot competitor, seemingly peaked with AN AMERICAN TAIL and THE LAND BEFORE TIME, both of which collected in the upper-40s at the domestic box office. His last box office hurrah, the 20th Century Fox-released ANASTASIA (now owned by Disney), grossed $57m by the end of its run in early 1998. Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes hybrid movie SPACE JAM came very close with $90m, two years prior. BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD DO AMERICA put up a decent fight, with over $60m in 1996/97. That was a record high for a TV-to-movie animated adaptation back then, beating out A GOOFY MOVIE, JETSON: THE MOVIE, DUCKTALES - THE MOVIE: TREASURE OF THE LOST LAMP, and plenty of others.

In fact, Disney *themselves* missed $100m on occasion. HERCULES, made up at Feature Animation, the mainline studio, just missed it with a $99m domestic gross in 1997/98. The Disney MovieToons GOOF TROOP movie, A GOOFY MOVIE, made less than $40m stateside. THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS made an impressive $50m back in the day, and became a massive cult classic through video and TV. Hybrid JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, which was also a Henry Selick-Tim Burton Skellington Productions joint, missed $30m.

Then there was a little movie called TOY STORY... The first-ever all-digital animated feature film.

By the end of its theatrical run in early 1996, TOY STORY grossed $191m domestically... No doubt helped by being a Disney release and being the first of its kind, and a genuinely really good movie that audiences loved. So in a way, the only movies to make $100m domestically *before* TOY STORY were Disney Feature Animation movies (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN, THE LION KING, and POCAHONTAS), and a hybrid movie made by Amblin and Richard Williams Animation but released by Disney...

So Disney still had $100m under lock and key, and TOY STORY was their first non-Feature Animation endeavor since ROGER RABBIT to get it...

Believe it or not, the first-ever animated movie that was a NOT a Disney release, to score $100m domestically... Was... THE RUGRATS MOVIE. No doubt getting there off of the show's sheer popularity at the time. Despite first airing on Nickelodeon in 1991, some seven years earlier, RUGRATS seemed to be at the peak of its popularity in the late 1990s, after the show was renewed for more seasons following highly successful re-runs and the few specials that Nick and studio Klasky-Csupo did after the show's early seasons. I was there. I was 6 when THE RUGRATS MOVIE came out, and I felt the hype. Everybody I knew back then watched and liked the show, I watched it frequently with my sister back in the day. RUGRATS was one of those cartoons that everyone knew and everyone watched. Almost as ubiquitous as THE SIMPSONS, I'd argue. Paramount released THE RUGRATS MOVIE, and it broke that barrier, in addition to being the highest grossing TV-to-movie adaptation animated movie... By a country kilometer.

THE RUGRATS MOVIE came out in November 1998, just one month before DreamWorks rolled out THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, the second animated movie to cross $100m domestically... Two months prior... ANTZ came out, and grossed an impressive $90m. Pixar's sophomore feature A BUG'S LIFE opened, infamously, amidst this four-movie fall shakedown, and won the race with $163m.

So two not-Disneys made $100m domestically, and two not-Disney Feature Animation movies made $100m domestically... This was a turning point in theatrical feature animation, and it would come to benefit - for a brief while - all CGI animated movies.

We'll focus on those now...

1999 saw the release of Pixar's TOY STORY 2, which broke $245m. That was above every Disney animated movie *except* THE LION KING. Wow!

In 2000, Disney released their hybrid live-action/CG feature DINOSAUR, which has been counted as a Walt Disney Animation Studios canon movie since 2008... While that movie didn't make enough money to justify a sequel or to keep the collaboration studio behind it (The Secret Lab) alive, it still broke $100m domestically.

2001... DreamWorks' SHREK and Pixar's MONSTERS, INC. break past $250m domestically. Paramount/Nickelodeon's pilot movie JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS takes in a respectable $80m. 2002... Newcomer Blue Sky's ICE AGE makes over $175m domestically. By this point in time, several hand-drawn animated movies... From all the studios: Disney, DreamWorks, 20th Century Fox, Columbia, etc. Largely losing money theatrically, with few exceptions in between. Many of them are missing the titan $100m threshold. For context, only Disney Feature's LILO & STITCH broke that barrier in mid-2002. CGI movies seemed foolproof. Guaranteed blockbusters...

2003 brought Pixar's FINDING NEMO, which became the highest grossing animated movie of all-time, unseating THE LION KING... Then SHREK 2 came out the year after, made that record look like nothing, becoming the first animated movie to break **$400m** domestically. In addition to SHREK 2, 2004 saw the release of DreamWorks' other CG hit SHARK TALE ($160m+), Pixar's THE INCREDIBLES ($260m+), and Warner Bros.' motion-capture pic THE POLAR EXPRESS ($160m+). In 2005, DreamWorks' MADAGASCAR came super-close to $200m, Blue Sky's ROBOTS cleared $120m...

So, unstoppable, right?

The one exception seemed to be the 2001 release FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN, a mocap feature based on the game series of the same name. That one puttered out at $32m domestically, and fell well below its hefty budget with all the worldwide take factored in... But this seemed like an anomaly more so than anything. You also had a few super-limited releases of foreign CG films, like KAENA: THE PROPHECY, which was a French film.

2005 was when it all seemed to be up... VALIANT, a British animated movie distributed stateside by Disney, performed quite badly... Despite it being a CGI movie and touting "producer of SHREK" cred. Disney Feature's first all-CG feature, CHICKEN LITTLE, managed to make more than $100m domestically, but its worldwide total didn't measure up to the budget. HOODWINKED!, an independent venture that only cost $8m to make, was released by The Weinstein Co. at the end of 2005. It made less than $60m domestically.

Then... 2006 happened...

The features that crossed $200m domestically: Pixar's CARS, and only CARS. ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN and Warner Bros.' HAPPT FEET came very close. ICE AGE 2 won the race worldwide.

The features that crossed $100m domestically: DreamWorks' OVER THE HEDGE.

Everything else... Missed $100m. Some movies got by on being lower budget, like Sony Animation's debut picture OPEN SEASON, and the Nickelodeon TV show launcher BARNYARD. But some of the big flops included DreamWorks/Aardman's FLUSHED AWAY, the Disney-released Canadian feature THE WILD, and Warner Bros.' THE ANT BULLY. CGI and celebrity casts and talky scripts couldn't save them. Then you had movies that just did abysmally, like Fox's EVERYONE'S HERO, and DOOGAL: the Weinsteinized version of THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT.

For a little while, computer animated movies were a novelty for audiences. No one had seen anything like TOY STORY when it first came out in Thanksgiving 1995. Like, this wasn't an episode of REBOOT or a glossy production company ident... This was over 70 minutes of fully animated 3D characters in convincing 3D environments, that stayed watchable the whole time, and on top of that... It was really well-written! Lots of people tend to make remarks about TOY STORY's more, dated, visual qualities... But it remains a classic because of the passion that went into it. And despite some of the aspects that didn't age well, it still *looks* appealing and watchable. Woody and Buzz and the rest of the gang have pretty much kept the same designs over the sequels and shorts/specials, only the human characters have seen slight design changes that matched the much-better rendering over time. (It's already a big difference with Andy and his mum from TOY STORY 1 to 2.)

But enough about that. My point is, audiences ate CGI up circa 1995-2005. Big time. It was the future, it was the **way** to make animated movies. Even with CG incorporated into them, hand-drawn movies failed to keep up. Whether the movies did actually appeal to audiences (TARZAN, LILO & STITCH) or not (TITAN A.E., TREASURE PLANET)... It just wasn't enough. $171m from TARZAN just didn't compare to, say, SHREK's $267m haul. When even your best isn't enough...

Capitalism, ya know?

But soon, audiences began choosing what computer-animated family movies they'd go to see, not seeing all of them each and every calendar year. In 2007, for every RATATOUILLE, there was a HAPPILY N'EVER AFTER. Even a good film like SURF'S UP that year had trouble. Release that movie in 2002, it would've made **bank**... In 2007, it had a hard time appealing to audiences. Let's apply this to 2008 as well. WALL-E and KUNG FU PANDA do great, THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX - a book adaptation - makes $50m and fails to double its budget. So every year, there are the family-friendly CGI movies that do pretty great! And then the ones that lose money.

And eventually, it caught to everybody. Even the heavies.

Pixar saw their first money-loser in 2015 with THE GOOD DINOSAUR, breaking an astounding 15-film hit streak.

Disney Feature Animation's CHICKEN LITTLE did so-so, MEET THE ROBINSONS two years later outright lost money. BOLT did so-so as well. They wouldn't have a genuine CGI flop until STRANGE WORLD, because we gotta mulligan RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON and ENCANTO. Ya know, COVID and release strategies and such.

DreamWorks suffered badly in the mid-2010s, with money-losers like RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, TURBO, and MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN... It was to the point where it seemed like the lights would go out.

Blue Sky's final film, SPIES IN DISGUISE, lost money. After a streak of successes (the ICE AGE sequels) and respectable hits (FERDINAND). That likely played a big part in its shuttering, after Disney had bought 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.

Sony Pictures Animation had some financial losses, too. The aforementioned SURF'S UP was one such flop, and there was also their Aardman collaboration ARTHUR CHRISTMAS.

So much, like a good hand-drawn animated movie, a competently-made CG film wasn't gonna cut it every single time... Even from a big studio. That's why many of those studios got smart with budgets... Especially Sony Animation and DreamWorks.

Now... Superhero movies...

Superhero movies have been around for a while. Serials, yes, all the way back to the Golden Age of Hollywood. Max Fleischer's SUPERMAN cartoons from 1941-42, every modern superhero movie owes it to those in particular. Long-form superhero movies, I believe, really got their start with the 1978 SUPERMAN movie... But you'd get a big superhero movie every once in a while, or a comic book action hero movie if you will. In the 1980s, you had SUPERMAN II - starting off the decade, and then Tim Burton's BATMAN ending the decade with a blockbuster gross. A big phenomenon. What else was in-between? Well, there was Lucasfilm's infamous adaptation of Marvel's HOWARD THE DUCK that tanked hard. You did see a brief boom in this kind of movie in the 1990s because of BATMAN '89, but plenty of those movies actually went belly-up. DC adaptation STEEL did poorly, movies like THE PHANTOM didn't make much of a mark, but you did have the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES movie doing quite well, ditto BATMAN RETURNS and BATMAN FOREVER. BATMAN & ROBIN's not-so-great performance in 1997 put the Caped Crusader's theatrical future in limbo. SUPERMAN puttered out back in 1987 with a badly-received fourth movie. So, this was a bit of a false start, if you will? Batman, Ninja Turtles, maybe something else that did okay-ish at best... That was about it, circa 1999.

Then along came BLADE in 1998, which would be the first Marvel movie to do pretty well. HOWARD THE DUCK bombed back in 1986, and the 1989 PUNISHER and 1990 CAPAIN AMERICA went straight to video in the states.

Then, X-MEN came out in 2000, that did even better.

Then, SPIDER-MAN came out in 2002, made a **gargantuan** amount of money...

After the release of X-MEN and SPIDER-MAN, both Marvel adaptations, you saw **some** action going on. More Marvel movies came along. HULK, an ambitious film from Ang Lee, opened big in summer 2003 but had trouble staying afloat. FANTASTIC FOUR did okay in 2005 despite poor reception. GHOST RIDER did okay in 2007. SPIDER-MAN 2 and SPIDER-MAN 3 made biiiig money, and there was also a FANTASTIC FOUR sequel that also did okay. The next Batman-inspired DC movie, CATWOMAN, came about in 2004 and bombed quite badly. The year after CATWOMAN came BATMAN BEGINS, Christopher Nolan's then-bold new take on the Caped Crusader *and* the superhero movie in general. It did pretty well, a sleeper hit that relied on strong word-of-mouth. Then in 2006, a year later, you had an attempt to reboot SUPERMAN with SUPERMAN RETURNS. While it made money, it wasn't enough to cover its then-titanic budget, so it seemed like a non-starter. The other DC adaptation released amidst this was CONSTANTINE, whch did pretty well (and is finally getting a sequel after all these years). Funnily enough, amidst these Marvel and DC movies, you had Pixar's THE INCREDIBLES... A then *rare* animated superhero movie, and it did great business. There was also HELLBOY, too. Non-Marvels and non-DCs had their time to do pretty okay, too. So, superheroes had a healthier time in the early-to-mid 2000s...

But where it really all took off was in 2008...

IRON MAN started the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a BANG! in May of that year, and BATMAN BEGINS sequel THE DARK KNIGHT - no doubt accelerated by the tragic passing of Heath Ledger, who gave his iconic performance as The Joker - was **massive**. It was the first movie since TITANIC to clear $500m at the domestic box office, and make the then-magic $1b worldwide... Only TITANIC, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING, and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST made that amount of money... Nowadays, it seems like there's one billion-dollar smash every year, excepting 2020 of course... Back in 2008, though? Magic number. Very few movies did **that** well...

And from there... Lots of hits. The MCU had barely a stumble, and their highest highs at the box office went very high. They had no trouble getting audiences to come out in big numbers for... Checks notes... Movies based on THOR, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, and ANT-MAN. Warner Bros. had tried very hard to keep a consistently successful DC movie-verse going, but despite the valleys (JUSTICE LEAGUE, BIRDS OF PREY), they too saw some big peaks: WONDER WOMAN and AQUAMAN. BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE and SUICIDE SQUAD made a lot of money, too, despite not meeting particular expectations. Animated superheroes brought home bacon, too! BIG HERO 6, INCREDIBLES 2, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, need I say more? Sony's own Spider-Man villain movies VENOM and its sequel did very well, too! Almost everybody was winning the superhero sweepstakes post-2008, with very few actual losers in-between.

But now... Well, with so many of them around, and both cinematic universes from the heavies... Again, Marvel and DC. Known commodities... We don't see any movie-verse for, say, Image Comics, no do we? Well, again, money is tight, theater visits are costly, and the movies aren't always delivering satisfying experiences when other endeavors are next door...

Last year, we saw TOP GUN: MAVERICK, a legacy sequel to a 1986 blockbuster that isn't a superhero movie in any way, mop the floor - domestically and even worldwide - with both Marvel and DC's most anticipated movies. AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER was in second place domestically, top dog worldwide. We're starting to see other movies have a say again, and smaller movies are having their fun again, too. ELVIS and NOPE did very well, as did BULLET TRAIN and THE LOST CITY. Bread-n-butter movies that used to fill up the yearly box office charts quite nicely. We see that nowadays in the form of things like WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING, THE BLACK PHONE, THE WOMAN KING, TICKET TO PARADISE, BARBARIAN, SMILE, VIOLENT NIGHT, A MAN CALLED OTTO, M3GAN, CREED III, etc.

So... With QUANTUMANIA and SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS past us... Here's what I think... Much like in 2006, where some computer animated family movies did great and others not-so-much... That'll happen with this year's crop of superhero movies.

I think the guaranteed hits are GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 and SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE. The former? Well, those two movies functioned well as a standalone story not connected to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. Like you had some things here and there, like an Infinity Stone or the presence of Thanos, but they're both self-contained, VOL 2 even more-so. They're genuinely good space adventure movies that audiences actually quite dig, the characters are so likeable, and the movies have director James Gunn's authorship all over them. That's a night and day difference from many of the other MCUs... SPIDER-VERSE... Need I say more? The original is beloved, it was a passion project for everyone involved. It was not just a great Marvel or great superhero movie, it was a great movie, period. Rian Johnson himself described it as "The Velvet Underground of superhero movies." That is *high praise*.

Those are both poised, I feel, to make beaucoup bucks.

Everything else? Well... The DC movies coming out this year are much like FURY OF THE GODS. They don't really matter, because the hard reset is coming up with SUPERMAN: LEGACY two years from now. I suppose THE FLASH could do well because of Michael Keaton **and** Ben Affleck's Batman returning, in a sort of NO WAY HOME-esque manner. I don't think much of the general public is in tune with star Ezra Miller's controversies and wrongdoing, so I think this one's appeal hinges on whether fans/audiences see it as pointless or not. I think the novelty of both Batmen being back, alongside some other DC faces (such as Michael Shannon's go at General Zod from MAN OF STEEL), could help it a bit. BLUE BEETLE? I couldn't tell ya, it'll probably come and go. AQUAMAN made over a billion back in 2018/19, and is the highest-earning DC film ever... But will fans and audiences be back for, again, a movie that seems pointless in the long run? Also at the end of the year comes the MCU film THE MARVELS, the sequel to CAPTAIN MARVEL and also a follow-up to the MS. MARVEL TV series... Plus you have Monica Rambeau in it as well, who - as an adult - was a major character in WANDAVISION. That all could help it, but I'm starting to think it falls quite short of CAPTAIN MARVEL's impressive take in 2019. CAPTAIN MARVEL had the benefit of opening right before AVENGERS: ENDGAME, the penultimate episode to the big climactic event... THE MARVELS is just, well, the sequel... With two other faces. I think it'll do pretty well, but not excellently. Disney and Marvel Studios were smart to delay the film from July to November after the CEO-switcheroo with Bob Iger this past autumn. I can only hope they delay all of the other movies, too. Like, two a year is fine, guys. AVENGERS: THE KANG DYNASTY and AVENGERS: SECRET WARS can wait. They don't need to come out in 2-3 years from now, in addition to like 10 other movies and 10-20 other Disney+ shows...

And next year, I think, will show as well where this is all going... Like, I don't see the likes of CAPTAIN AMERICA 4, THUNDERBOLTS, DEADPOOL 3, and BLADE hogging up the top slots anymore. I forgot to point out that these movies seem a lot more frontloaded. Big fans and those who were always going to be there *will* be there on opening weekend, but it collapses after that, as OTHER audiences save their money for other things that they'd rather see... Maybe the JOKER sequel, not really a superhero movie but still based on a DC villain that's tied to one of their most well-known superheroes, could repeat the massive surprise success of the original. Maybe not. BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE should do pretty great... I think other biggies are what's gonna surprise this year and next year, and take the Top 3 slots... A new INDIANA JONES movie, a MARIO movie, a two-part MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE epic, AVATAR 3, maybe even something like GLADIATOR 2. 2025 is when the DC hard-reset comes, so it'll be interesting to see how SUPERMAN: LEGACY does, in addition to whatever Marvel movies end up coming out that year. KANG DYNASTY or no KANG DYNASTY...

If anything, the budgeting should be smarter from here on out. Then these movies can come and go, make adequate amounts of money, give *other* kinds of movies the Top 3-5 for once, and then the wheels will spin. Something new will come along and spam up the top slots, even. Maybe we're in for an area of legacy-quels following TOP GUN 2's massive success. I really do think INDY 5 has the chance to somewhat repeat that, and GLADIATOR 2 even. How long till, say, another sequel to a beloved '80s or '90s movie drops? And then too many of those happen and they get tiresome?

All a cycle in Hollywood...

But yeah, I do see the parallels between superhero movies now and CG animated family movies circa 2006...

[elliepassmore]

Zhara review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: fantasy, multiple POVs, secret groups, humor Big thanks to Netgalley, Wednesday Books, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! While there are two POVs in this book, it's really Zhara's story. She undergoes a lot of development throughout this book and comes out stronger, and more herself, on the other side. At the same time, Han does play a major role in the story and has some of his own growth, it's just at a milder scale than Zhara. It's clear from the beginning that Zhara loves her sister and would do pretty much anything for her, even if it means dealing with her stepmother. That loyalty and sense of protection also carries through to some of the other people, particularly the kids, that Zhara comes across that are in need of help. She's also smart and fairly resourceful, despite her not thinking much of herself at times. Han is definitely a himbo. He works out a lot and prizes being in physical shape but is often one of, if not the last, person to put things together. Like Zhara, Han is also desperate to try and save his younger brother, though from a very different threat. He is fairly innocent (and as the synopsis says, easily flustered), which the other characters tease him mercilessly about, and makes him a fun character to read. Xu is Han's best friend and might be one of my favorite characters. I love how upbeat they are and yet at the same time they have their moments when they can be more serious. I also feel like Xu has a very strong sense of identity. They don't get a POV, but they have a lot of character to them that I enjoyed and I think it would be fun if we do get their POV at some point. I also really treasure their friendships with Han, Zhara, and Jiyi. Jiyi comes into the story a bit later and is endearing for different reasons. She's fairly straightforward about things, to the point of coming across as gruff, but it's clear that she's very knowledgeable about her field of study (and very accomplished) and that she cares about what happens if the worst were to come to pass. Yulana is also a late-comer in the story, but I absolutely love her. She's got somewhat of a mysterious vibe when she's first introduced, and things stay like that for a bit, but she's actually a pretty open person once we get past that. Like with Xu, I hope we get her POV at some point, and I suspect she's a more likely candidate for that than Xu is, lol. This book does a good job of including some lighter and more humorous moments amid the more high drama/stakes scenes. At times it did feel a but juvenile, but overall I think the effect worked. The funny moments allowed for relationships to develop between the characters and so we as readers cared when those relationships were put to the test or were in jeopardy. On the surface, magic is banned because magicians turn into abominations, but of course things are never so simple. Learning about the magic system and how things had gotten bad was interesting. The linguistic element of magic was definitely something that I enjoyed. There's a whole history and culture that's been driven underground or erased because of the abominations, but so few people know the truth of what happened, and what happened is very different from what people think it is. Of course there are allegories a plenty here, and a lot of aspects of the magical purge can be related to history or current events in our world in a way that's written very neatly without being overbearing. Overall, I enjoyed this book and that the high stakes were interspersed with lighter moments. I look forward to seeing the characters in the future books and am definitely hoping for more page time from Xu and Yulana in particular.

[lorz-ix]

It's a buncha DBZ movies

I don't need to go very deep into these. Quality varies, but you mainly go into them for the high quality animation, memorable setpieces and unique (?) characters. They're self-contained and about the length of a couple of anime episodes, so I dig them.

Dragon Ball Z (1989)

Neat early DBZ adventure, it has a distinct vibe to it. Action scenes were a highlight, but I also like the backstory and characterization of Garlic Jr. The climax is a bit whatever though.

Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest Guy (1990)

Found it to be one of the more boring movies. The start feels very slow, the fight scenes before the climax were a bright spot, but the climax is once again not great. Bland, with a forgettable antagonist that could have worked better.

Dragon Ball Z: A Super Battle for the Whole Earth (1990)

A personal favorite of mine, it already goes into the later saiyan saga/early Namek saga vibe, presenting a cool antagonist, plenty of great action, and a really solid, self-contained storyline.

Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiyan Son Goku (1991)

A bit of an awkward, relatively forgotten entry in the series, very unfortunate in its timeline placement, coming out right before the debut of the super saiyan in the manga. The titular transformation ends up being a "wait, that was it?" moment. That being said, I think the movie has a strong start and is not bad overall.

Dragon Ball Z: The Incredible Strongest vs Strongest (1991)

One of the better flicks in the collection, its easy emotional connection to the main story sets up a slam dunk for a short spin-off tale. While it's very simple, Cooler makes an immediate impact and works very well.

Dragon Ball Z: Clash!! 10,000,000,000 Powerful Warriors (1992)

Cooler worked so well, he earned himself the honor of being the first (and one of a select very few) movie villain to earn himself a sequel. There are some setpieces in the return of Cooler that I think are extremely memorable and impactful, like Cooler chasing Goku inside the instant transmission (how does that even work?), and the terror of watching countless Metal Coolers over the horizon after the heroes exhausted themselves trying to defeat a single one. It's a bit of a mixed bag though, since other than that iconic fight with the first metal clone, the rest of the film is a bit one-note.

Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Battle!! The Three Great Super Saiyans (1992)

One of the more middle of the road films, it does feature some well-loved scenes and a funny english dub, but I don't think it has the sauce to push it into the top tiers.

Dragon Ball Z: Burn Up!! Hot Fight • Fierce Fight • Super-Violent Fight (1993)

Love him or hate him, the first confrontation with Broly made for a very strong short movie. It has the added narrative and characters to get people more invested. The action is fantastic here. Contrary to this flanderized idea of him, Broly is a consciously devilish, smart guy. He is triggered by something goofy, but that isn't his entire motivation. Out of the 14 or so DBZ films, this is a must watch.

[amazildoessomethingstupid]

Chapter 84: Scenic Route

So with that out of the way ONTO THE NEXT CHAPTER: chapter 84 Scenic Route! Which if there was a runt of the litter for the Paulo Show, this would be it. Not to say that it’s bad or anything, it’s wonderful and really sweet, and much like all the other chapters it has a really strong and memorable character moment in it.  The problem is… this chapter has a certain heavy weight attached to it that… It just couldn’t shake off. Even back then when I read this chapter I couldn’t fully appreciate it, because of the unshakable knowledge that this… would be the last time Tess got to hang out with the gang. And worst of all, even here she wasn’t allowed to shine.

The chapter is centered around Tess inviting the gang (minus Sue) to a picnic to a familiar riverside park. With callbacks a plenty for old readers to enjoy! Look!

They’re gonna race along the trees, just like that one time when-

Oh… yeah… Well thankfully that doesn’t happen here! Instead we’re treated to some nice subtle nods to Abbey and Daisy’s relationship being a little shaky still with Abbey seeming to be absentminded throughout the chapter, if not a bit negligent towards Daisy.

Honestly a most of this chapter is just the kids goofing around and… well… acting like kids.  Which is refreshing! I really like it, the chapter serves as a sweet reprieve from the heavier chapters that we’ve had and it’s nice seeing the gang just have fun.  And yes, that does include you…

Mike… And before you ask, no I am not going to have a gush session over Mike.  He hasn’t EARNED it yet.  I may have accepted Mike’s failures as a decent human being, but that does not mean he is FORGIVEN! It is nice though, and I wish to reiterate that yes.  Inbetween all these skipped over pages, THERE IS GOLD HERE!

Oh that Paulo~ So the set up is paid off as Abbey’s negligence ends up getting him left behind, meanwhile Daisy does accidentally get hurt, which leading to her staying put with Paulo as company while the rest of the gang goes to get Abbey leading to the actual meat of the chapter as Paulo and Daisy sit and talk, thinking about where they are in life and what the future may hold. It’s a really nice and sweet scene… So nice they did it twice but we’re not talking about that. POSITIVITY! So overall this chapter is solid.  On its own, it serves as a great nothing chapter that shows that the kids are alright and looking to a brighter future, although for some it’s not so certain.  If this chapter came out now, one could argue that it’s shipbaiting for Paulo and Daisy, but to me their dialogue came across more as siblings that care about each other, with both seeing the best in the other with a bittersweet tinge of sorrow as they see how they’re both headed on different paths. It’s really nice, but

But I would be remised if I didn’t bring up the one gripe I do have about the Paulo show that this chapter just happened to fall in line with an anecdote I have.  Because, while I was going through my 2 years of illiteracy I did actually take a look at a page just because I heard grumblings over the art style.  And I figured I’d take a glance and see what all the hubbub was about, and it just so happened to be this page! I remember it because, my exact words were, “Wow! This is actually pretty neat!  Y’know the proportions did make the characters’ ages seem a bit older and ambiguous, but this is actually pretty cool!  These proportions, the washed out colors… This is a really good way of artistically showing a flashback without just blatantly using cloud panels!  This is great! Good job Taeshi!” and the old dogs I talked to at the time just went:

And sadly the chibification of characters was the one thing that actually did carry over from The Paulo Show. But… I’m forgetting something aren’t I?  Did you notice there was something missing from that summary?  Oh yeah, TESS!

Despite her technically being in it the whole way through aside from the Paulo and Daisy scene, Tess really didn’t get to stand out here.  Sure, we get a nice heartfelt bit where she says how much she enjoyed just being there with the gang, but all it really does is remind us of the unfulfilled promise that this character gave.  And it makes my heart ache as I knew this was the end for The Rich Girl, the OG Golden Girl, my favorite lie… Tess. For context, Tess was a PIVOTAL supporting character in Volume 1 for BCB.  In fact, a number of great character moments, chapters, and arcs can be traced back to her involvement. From the Christmas Chapter

To setting up the Acapulco Arc!

Her purpose in the toolbox of characters in BCB, was very versatile.  Setting up adventures, new conflicts, and at times, serving as an audience surrogate to ask questions about the other characters’ history and allow exposition naturally.

 She had a spunk to her that made her likable, a complicated history that made her sympathetic, and a perspective on life and drama that set her apart from the rest of the pack. As the oldest member in the group she brought a more mature perspective to a lot of the drama and scenes that the kids would get into, but she also had this childish excitement and eagerness to be involved with the gang.  She wanted to see them grow and help them become better people.  And that falls right into the biggest involvement she had, when she had her relationship…

With Paulo! Serving as a positive force in his life, Tess dating Paulo was a perfect match as two punky kids trying to make it in this cruel world.  And with Tess’ maturity being a great opportunity for her to build him up to follow suit, it was perfect. Absolutely perfect!  Except for one liiiiiittle snag, a small chink in her immaculate armor, and no it wasn’t that she wanted more out of Paulo that he couldn’t understand. You see, Tess was afflicted with a terrible, debilitating disease when she was born into this world.  An awful condition that she had to deal with early in her life… She was a Fan Character.  A death sentence, for most cursed with such a cruel fate.  But she showed so much strength in what she was able to do in those early chapters, that we all hoped that maybe she could beat her condition maybe she had one last trick up her sleeve, one last hurrah, one last adventure, one last send off to carry us through and remember her by… But alas the damage was already done, and in this chapter we see her succumb to the bitter sudden end.

The promise of suspense in Volume 2.  Setting up Tess’ final year with the gang to be a senior year to remember would sadly only lead to her being muscled out in favor of more heavy drama.  Her presence becoming less and less, as she was forced into irrelevance.  From being a powerful force in moving these characters, with deep connections to all them, to being just a shadow of her former self as she would become nothing more than a side-note in Volume 2, and an occasional speedbump in Volume 3. The fact was the fireball, take charge, punk rock girl we all once knew and loved was dead.  She died years ago.  And this chapter just shows…

She was the last to know. 

9/10

Gone but not forgotten;

Replaced, but forever remains

[gotta-get-back-to-hatchetfield]

My overall opinion on this is obvious from my profile pic and url but I do think it's good to have this conversation because I think it is important and is probably something a lot of us in this fandom are very aware of at the moment

Firstly its worth noting how far removed financially starkid are from JKR. If anything I think coming across AVP might make active HP fans more likely to buy starkid merch instead of actual HP merch (Warner brothers certainly thought so or they wouldn't have bothered suing). Given this I don't think AVP gives any money to JKR which she could use to fund nefarious groups.

The second argument for full HP content boycott (Inc AVPM) is that keeping HP in the zeitgeist gives JKR a microphone. I don't personally think this is a particularly strong argument in general because it is still a fact that JKR was the author of one of the best selling series of books of all time that had a total hold over the cultural zeitgeist for over 20 years. That fact is unfortunately immutable and is what gives her her megaphone. Even if we could snap our fingers and stop 100% of all support for anything that even mentions the word 'harry' in it starting today unfortunately she would still be a figure of great cultural relevance. Even people not clued into progressive politics agree that the fantastic beast films were bad and pottermore was unnecessary and yet she still has the microphone. But even if you don't agree with this more general argument I think it's clear that AVP is such a small and insignificant thing relative to the Harry Potter empire at large that such that I think this definitely doesn't apply to starkid. I feel like one single channel 4 showing of chamber of secrets (which seems to happen at least once a month) does more for keeping Harry Potter relevant than the entire existence of the AVP trilogy.

Then I think the third and final argument for boycotting it is in order to show a general sense of solidarity with the trans community. This one is I think more complicated and I'm very respectful of the fact that people will come to different conclusions on this. I think my personal view on this is that I haven't seen any calls from trans people for AVP to be boycotted and I know plenty of trans and nonbinary people who love AVP and are very active in this fandom. But I do think this is the more difficult one because even if these calls did exist I don't know how I'd feel about boycotting something that i don't believe does any practical harm on the basis of defending a principle. Indeed there's definitely a lot of things that I still do (like eating dairy) that cause a huge deal of practical harm but I still do out of a desire to protect my own comfort.

Hey so today is the 14th Anniversary of the live performances of A Very Potter Musical and therefore in a lot of ways Starkid itself (!!). I was gonna make an excited post about it because it really is important to Starkid (and it's still one of my very favorite shows, plus Quirrellmort remain the All-Time Greatest). But then I stopped to (maybe over)think. While personally I have no problem separating AVPM from JKR, as it's so different and Starkid has nothing to do with her, not everyone may feel the same. Thoughts?

[amostimprobabledream]

I finished Season One of The Boys. *SPOILERS*

Thoughts!

HoLYSHIT. THAT CLIFFHANGER. I knew about some of it because of spoilers, but jesus christ it was fun to watch. My god.

Hughie's a sweetheart. As much as I wasn't sure how much I'd like him (I tend to find the MCs of shows like this boring), I actually really love him? Even though he does Bad Shit there's this adorably dorky core I can't help but find super endearing. His and Annie's relationship is like a backbone of sugar to keep this show getting too dark.

STARLIGHT'S MY BABYGIRL. Ugh. I love her so much. Her powers are rad, her costume is so cheesy in a cute way and the way she manages to balance being a nice girl at her core with plenty of flaws and badassery is just *chefs kiss*. The show never lets her get too perfect, so when she does win it's so much more satisfying.

I'm back and forth about whether I like Billy or not. Sometimes he's cool and other times I get sick of his cliched "waaah my wife is dead so I'm gonna be an angry cunt to everyone" schtick. I guess he does a good job of showing that humans contribute to the cycle of corporations, Supes and civilians, but I couldn't bring myself to care much about his angst about Becca. Idk if it's her actress but her doe-eyed face and "ooh I'm so vulnerable" thing got really sickening. Not saying she deserved anything she got but I didn't like Becca. She's just a plot device in this season. I mean, so was Robin but she came off more like an actual person and not just a victim.

I love Frenchie and Kimiko!! Their ship is just so adorable by itself but overall I just love them both, Frenchie's so cool and then such a soft boy for her and Kimiko learning how to be a human again with his kindness towards her is just so SWEET. That scene where she brushes her hair and paints her nails and comes out of the bathroom, I was like, "I know Frenchie's going to compliment her!" and when his eyes lit up at the sight of her I about died.

I don't have any particular opinion on MM, except his nickname is dumb. He's just kinda there.

Okay, okay, OKAY. Let me add a disclaimer: I don't condone anything the character does, I KNOW he's evil and he gets a lot worse, and that is BAD and so forth. Okay?

BUT.

HOLY FUCK I CANNOT GET OVER ANTONY STARR AS HOMELANDER. JESUS CHRISTMAS. HE'S SO TALENTED. I don't think I've been this blown away by a TV show villain since Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders, and me being the gigantic Tommy simp that I am, that's a big compliment. Homelander's just so fucking INTERESTING. Yes, he's a total psycho, unstable and narcissistic and petty af, but god does the man know how to work a room. The charisma! The way he smiles and shows too much fang! When his hair gets all messy when he gets mad! His crazy-af mood swings! The way he fucking purrs his lines when he's feeling especially powerful or sadistic? How he's basically canonically a Yandere?? The EYELASHES! The way the other characters shit themselves when they hear Homelander is coming! GOD, it's so, so fucking entertaining. (And YES, I find him hot, OKAY?! I know he looks like a waxwork figure sometimes and I know he's a violent manchild, but I'm such a villainfucker and you give me a good-looking, intensely charismatic but eerily unsettling villain with a fucked-up backstory to rival Mewtwo and powers that mean he treats being shot at like a mild drizzle? What was I meant to do? I am but a mere mortal!)

I'm very smug I figured out how The Boys were going to kill Translucent before they did it. The ol' Man on Fire treatment. As soon as he bragged that his skin was impenetrable, I knew it was already over.

I don't really have any strong opinions on the rest of the Seven? A-Train is meh, Queen Maeve and Black Noir barely do much all season and The Deep is just a fucking creeper and he doesn't even manage to be cool or scary like Homelander, he's just like a fishy date-rapist you could find in any old nightclub. I know Black Noir get some cool moments and I admittedly like his costume and how he's kind of an evil counterpart to Kimiko, but I just don't have much else to say. And I thought Maeve was kind of whiny.

Homelander killing Madelyn Stilwell was so fucking satisfying. I already knew he was gonna beforehand and how he'd do it, but I was still smiling when it happened. Maybe that's fucked up but she'd been annoying me all season and tbh she deserved it - she helped make Homelander the way he is and was grooming him to boot, so fuck her.

I can't wait for Season Two now!

[batwritings]

Here me out. (Take this as either a request or just my rambles.)

Pure FLUFF.

Having a long day of just traveling around, trading and such - nothing went your way, people seemed snappier than normal and overall your day wasn't great. But when you get home, a warm hug and black fluffy wings wrapping around you as Phil cheers you up and reminds you that there's always tomorrow.

... is it obvious I want a hug from Phil?

-🃏

Listen, if that man (c! and cc!) doesn't give the BEST dad hugs, I feel like this is the wrong timeline. Enjoy~!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seeing the lanterns of Phil's house in the distance was honestly the best sight you'd seen all day. Everything just seemed to be against you as far as you were concerned. You didn't know what deity or entity you'd pissed off to deserve a day like today, but wow was it rude.

Before you could even lay hands on the cold wood door, it swung open. Pitch black feathers like the night sky the followed you enveloped your body. Warm, strong arms held you tight as they pulled in you inside, out of the cold.

"They were watching again, huh?" you mumbled into his chest. It was so warm and welcoming, you'd nearly forgotten how terrible your day had been, just sitting here in his arms.

"Just a bit," Phil chuckled, pulling away to look at you proper. "Someone's gotta keep an eye on you when I can't." He took in your messy visage, a few new cuts and bruises that mingled a little too well with the dark circles under your eyes. As much as he wanted to scold you for being reckless, he knew there would be plenty of time for him to go dad mode. "C'mon mate, soup's on."

You followed without complaint, your weary steps gaining more life as they adjusted to the warmth of Phil's cabin. Anything was better than the frigid tundra outside now that night had fallen. You flopped into a chair as Phil slid a bowl of stew in front of you.

"Was today as bad as they were saying?" the blond asked as he fixed himself a serving. You stopped mid bite to look at him with the most serious look you'd had in a long while. 'Oh boy,' the hybrid man thought as he watched you set down your spoon and cracked your knuckles loudly.

Phil was patient as he listened to you tell your tale of your absolutely horrid day. Strays found your hideout early on your way back when you first started your day (which explained the new tears in your cloak) and then the portal wasn't working right so you had to go mining for more flint. The piglins were absolutely horrendous in their evaluation of the gold you had, lending you to have less than ideal trades. Some of the farmers threw an absolute fit when you were trying to haggle with them to the point they almost had you in tears.

"And THEN--," you gasped, on the verge of a breakdown. Phil knew he had to intervene, for your sanity.

"Alright mate, settle down a minute," he hushed gently. You swore it was a dad thing because immediately you settled, your rage quelled for the moment. "C'mere." the bird man pulled you to your feet, leading you to the small little nest he'd built in front of his ever-going fireplace.

You settled yourself beside him, his good wing wrapping itself around your slightly chilled form. "Today sucked," Phil started with a sigh. "That's an understatement. But the nice thing is, this isn't every day yeah? And you made it through. There's always tomorrow to try again."

You let Phil's wise words settle in your brain. They were so simple, so seemingly minuscule, but you could feel the weight they carried. Maybe it was because it was who it came from, maybe it was because you knew the experience that the blond had so his words had to have some form of knowledge behind them.

Regardless, as you leaned into your feathered friend, you somehow knew tomorrow might not be so bad.

[ploppythespaceship]

Superman & Lois Season 2 - Thoughts & Review

If I had to pick one word to describe this season, it would be uneven. The overall plot is excellent and the story beats themselves work for the most part -- if you just read the Wikipedia summary of this season, it would sound absolutely incredible. It works on a macro level. But on a micro level, it’s something else entirely. There’s too much going on and not enough room to let things breathe, leading to quite a few characters and plotlines getting let down.

The season is not terrible. The show still has incredibly strong characters and good performances, with a lot of great plot twists to keep me engaged despite the mess. But it did wind up disappointing, because all the pieces were there to make something incredible, just assembled wrong.

So I want to talk about it all -- the good, the bad, the could have been better. I want to stress that I adore the show and these characters, which is why I find it so disappointing that this season was a bit of a mess. These criticisms are made with love.

This is a lot longer than my usual ones, so strap in. Heavy spoilers for all of season two under the cut.

What I Liked

The overall plot is just a lot of fun. There are great twists, nail-biting moments to keep you on your toes... despite my many complaints about this season, I was consistently engaged and never bored.

Tyler Hoechlin’s performance as Clark remains the single best part of the entire show. He’s just so refreshingly good, finding that balance of being a god-like alien with the weight of the world on his shoulders while also being just a guy trying to raise his kids. I also loved his little arc of losing his powers in the last few episodes, and having to deal with being helpless for once.

Jordan gets to become more of a hero this season, and it’s excellent. I love watching him come into his own with his powers, and try to take things on for himself. This was probably the strongest arc of the whole season, building up consistently and believably with plenty of good payoff. (My favorite scene of the entire season was Clark giving Jordan flying lessons up in the Arctic.)

Lana Lang is just a powerhouse this season, and Emmanuelle Chriqui may have surpassed Kristin Kreuk as my favorite version of the character. I saw a fair amount of hate for her, but I just could not disagree more. Watching her handle learning that Kyle had cheated on her, then turn that pain into triumph to become mayor, and then finally entering into the world of secrets that the rest of the characters have been dealing with... hers is one of the few arcs this season that rarely wavered.

Sarah is also great this season. Again, I saw a lot of hate for her, which I have to assume largely stems from her being a bisexual latina teenage girl who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Apart from a small goof at the start of the season (more on that later) I thought Sarah was another character whose arc rarely wavered. She’s a girl figuring out her place in the world while everything she knows and love shifts around her, and she’s just doing her best. Inde Navarrette did an excellent job with some tough scenes, too.

John Henry and Natalie are just so good. John is the unsung hero of the series, and I loved him briefly settling into more of a co-parent role with Clark and Lois at the start of the season. And Natalie is such a badass. She brings a breath of fresh air to every scene that she’s in.

I adored the direction that they took Tal, even if it happened so quickly that it gave me whiplash. Transitioning him from powerful villain to weird uncle is the best possible choice. I also like that he’s used sparingly, helping out but not taking over the story.

I really liked Anderson at the start of the season. I love the idea of Clark coming into conflict with this soldier who just has a very different ideology. Neither of them is wrong, exactly, they just have different priorities and can’t see eye to eye because of it. It was a much more interesting and nuanced take on an antagonist role, and excellent while it lasted.

Jon-El, my beloved. Whoever decided that the Bizarro version of Jonathan should be an emo mess of a villain is a genius. He’s just so fun, and such a fascinating parallel to the original Jonathan. Jordan Elsass absolutely killed it.

I liked Jordan and Sarah’s relationship drama... eventually. The stuff at the start of the season didn’t work at all (again, more on that later). But after that it transitioned to them struggling as a natural result of the characters and their roles in the story -- Jordan is always off doing things with his family, which he can’t tell Sarah about, but Sarah can tell that he’s lying to her and feels like he’s not trusting or supporting her while she’s struggling with her own stuff. Like everything else in the season this was extremely rushed, basically only happening over the course of one episode, but it was still a great development for the relationship.

I love that the Bizarro world is just stupid fun. The concept is inherently ridiculous and I’m glad that they leaned into the camp rather than trying to play it completely straight. It’s a parallel world where the earth is square, everything is tinted red, things are backwards, and everyone’s emo -- it doesn’t have to be serious.

I love the creation of a new Fortress, with Clark stressing that it’s for all of them. It gives me hope that Jonathan’s character arc isn’t entirely lost.

And lastly, my hot take -- I am completely fine with the show not taking place on Earth-Prime with the rest of the Arrowverse shows. I actually think it’s for the best. Trying to slot this into the rest of the canon, especially with Supergirl, was getting very confusing. Unshackling the series from anything pre-established gives them more room to just focus on these characters and these storylines, and I genuinely believe this can only be a good thing moving forward. (Also, the Arrowverse is basically dead at this point. The only series still standing is The Flash, and most people think it will end soon. I’m glad that this show won’t be sinking with the rest of the ship.)

What I Didn’t Like

By far the worst aspect of this season is simply the sheer amount of plotlines the writers tried to tackle in only fifteen episodes. There’s so much happening, all the time, that everything is overcrowded and plots don’t have room to breathe. So things wind up rushed, or dropped entirely when there just isn’t space for them. They desperately needed to either extend the season to give everything more time to develop, or just trimmed a few plotlines -- possibly both.

If there is any one plot that I wish I could remove from the season entirely, it’s the Sarah/Aubrey plotline. Right off the bat, it’s kinda gross to introduce your only bi character as bi by having her cheat on her boyfriend with a girl. And then the aftermath is handled so strangely, putting the impetus on Jordan to fix things rather than Sarah, the one who actually did something wrong. Besides that, there was more than enough cause for them to be struggling in their relationship without this arc, with Jordan starting to become a hero more naturally leading to him being unable to balance things with Sarah. Frankly, that’s a far more interesting way to introduce relationship drama that feels real and understandable for both characters, and doesn’t rely on biphobic tropes. The few scenes with Aubrey could have been easily reworked for Natalie instead, as Sarah and Nat had a great friendship developing that I would have loved to see more of.

Lois feels like a bit of an afterthought this season, like she’s just supporting everyone else’s storylines rather than having her own. I thought her driving force for the season was going to be investigating the Inverse Society and taking down Ally’s cult, but once the Bizarro world was introduced, that pretty much disappeared. Her behavior in the first episode was also very pointless and strange. I feel like they only included it to get some convenient out of context clips for the trailers.

Ally is a fairly meh villain. It’s an interesting concept, and I think the actress did a fairly good job, but she doesn’t have that personal connection with the characters or quite the presence to pull it off.

I said I liked Anderson at first, and I did. But the end of his character was very strange. His abrupt turn to join Ally felt unclear and unmotivated, and he became much less interesting as a result. Then he has an equally abrupt turn back to Clark’s side. I think they were trying to say that he pretended to join Ally to learn her plan, or something, but this was extremely unclear and didn’t make much sense. His heroic sacrifice lacked a lot of punch as a result of that, and the character ultimately wound up being sort of incomprehensible.

I adore the decision to have Clark finally tell Lana his secret. But it desperately needed more buildup. Clark comes back from the Bizarro world, and everyone suddenly acts like his secret is the worst thing that’s ever happened and actively ruining their lives -- some of them have good points, but it still feels incredibly forced. Then Clark decides that Lana deserves to know the truth because she’s in danger, and he owes it to her. I think the season just needed more moments where Clark’s secret was actually affecting Lana, such as him needing to dash off suddenly when she needs him for something, and it was genuinely putting a strain on their friendship. Then the decision would feel more satisfying and like more of a payoff.

Also, while most of Lana’s reaction was understandable and well-handled, her choice to blame Lois was just strange, especially when Lana was the one primarily pushing for their friendship in season one. I could have accepted it as Lana lashing out and not really thinking clearly because she’s hurt, but then having Lois apologize and say that Lana was right? No. Lois is not a terrible person for being a friend, and it’s ridiculous for the show to claim otherwise.

The decision to tell Chrissy was very odd, too. I think the idea was to show her relationship with Lois struggling because Lois couldn’t confide in her, with the reveal being the payoff. But Chrissy’s presence was so inconsistent that it just wasn’t established enough. I’m honestly not sure why Chrissy got promoted to the main cast when her role feels even smaller than last season’s.

While I adore the Irons, I do think they were handled inconsistently. They would often just disappear for episodes at a time. It was set up that Lois and Natalie getting to know each other would be a big part of the season, but that arc basically disappeared after a few episodes. And the small arc of Natalie learning to trust Clark despite him looking like the man who killed her mom happened way too late in the story -- why is this only coming up now? Months after you’ve been living with the man with zero issue?

Not to mention that Natalie becoming a hero was incredibly rushed. She builds a suit and tells Jonathan he can use it, but it’s clearly custom built for her and the idea of him wearing it never comes up again. She then gets to work as a hero alongside her dad and is immediately the coolest badass of the entire show. Don’t get me wrong, I adore this development for her, but it felt very strange watching Jordan have to train and work to become a hero and get his ass handed to him repeatedly, while Natalie just puts on a suit and is suddenly amazing in a fight despite having no experience. They should have either introduced the suit sooner and let her start training for most of the season, or just put this plot off until next season.

Tal had a very steady arc that gradually turned him from enemy to reluctant ally -- and then suddenly in the finale it was like he was Clark’s best friend, with him even claiming that the Kents are the only people on this planet he cares about. Sorry, but that development happened way too fast for me. I can buy him showing up to help, but statements of that level need at least another season to be believable.

There were quite a few scenes were people with powers beat the shit out of someone, and the other characters just stand around staring and occasionally yelling. And while it’s probably realistic -- if you don’t have powers you’re not gonna get between two Kryptonians -- it’s not very engaging to watch. And I refuse to believe that Lois would watch someone beating the shit out of her son and not do something.

It also felt odd to me that at no point did any of the characters arm themselves with weapons to fight Jon-El and Bizarro!Lana. They have an arsenal of Kryptonite weapons, and some of them can probably be reworked to use X-K instead. When you know that superpowered villains might show up at any time to try and kill you, would you not arm yourself? Jonathan especially, who has shown no hesitation to arm himself before now and whose arc revolves around feeling unsafe and unspecial... why the hell would he not have taken one of John Henry’s weapons again?

But speaking of Jonathan... he definitely got the short end of the stick this season, with his character getting the worst of the rushed and overcrowded storylines. There was so much potential for him to have a truly phenomenal arc, but the writers completely dropped the ball every single time. I have a lot to say here (no really it’s a lot), which is why I’ve left him for last.

Let’s start with the X-K arc. The development of Jon taking X-K is very good and well-motivated. But then the writers decide to overcomplicate things -- instead of simply being caught for taking the drugs, which is the most straightforward, Jon is caught trying to cover for the seller, his girlfriend Candice, and is briefly believed to be selling the drugs. The setup for this is so bad that I actually laughed out loud when I first saw it. Cops are in the school with drug-sniffing dogs, and when Candice freaks out that she’ll be caught, Jon says he’ll get rid of them for her and that no one will check him because he’s a good kid. All of this happens while the cops are in clear view, maybe fifteen feet away down the hall -- and literally seconds later one of the dogs catches Jon. When this happens, no one suspects Candice, despite her being directly in front of him looking extremely worried. I swear everyone involved in this scene had to drop twenty IQ points.

Then we get to the real crux of the plot, which is Jon refusing to name his supplier because he wants to protect Candice, prompting his parents to get very, very upset with him. Again, this makes no sense. We as the audience don’t know Candice nearly well enough to buy that Jon cares about her this much -- she has no development outside of being Jon’s drug-dealing girlfriend. On top of that, Jon was not the only person buying from her, as it’s established that several other team members were as well, including several that were also caught. Are you really telling me that no one ratted her out? The entire plot falls apart under the lightest bit of scrutiny.

The worst part is that very little of it winds up mattering. Sam gives Candice full immunity, so she escapes all consequences -- and hilariously disappears from the show almost entirely once this happens, all but confirming that she only existed for this one plotline. And Jon gets back into school, negating most of his consequences as well. The only real lasting consequence is Jonathan’s strained relationship with his parents, primarily Clark, and his feelings of inadequacy and helplessness being brought to the forefront.

But then the season refuses to actually resolve either of these. Ever. I’m still kind of in shock that none of this ever got conclusively wrapped up. While Lois takes the time to sit with Jon and listen to why he did this, Clark never gets to have that same moment. When Jon acted out in season one, Clark decided against punishing him and instead focused on why he was struggling, addressing that instead -- where the hell did that empathy go? I wouldn’t go so far to say Clark is a terrible parent, as others have done, but it definitely feels odd that we never got a clear moment of Clark just hearing his son out.

Clark does get one heart-to-heart with him, which takes the form of “you’re gonna recover from this and I’ll always be there for you.” That’s only half of the conversation they need to have, though. No one ever address Jonathan’s feelings. Not to mention that Clark immediately ditches him to go fly around with Jordan. Jon does call him out on this, but the plot intervenes before they can talk about it, and it doesn’t come up again. Jon spends most of the finale not doing much of anything, just sort of standing around being sad and scared while the story happens around him.

It’s like they just forgot to finish his storyline. Jon’s arc this season is about feeling inadequate and helpless -- and this is resolved by making him inadequate and helpless. Literally, what the fuck? Did the writers actually think they’d addressed this in a satisfying way? Cause they weren’t remotely close. Ideally I would have loved to see Jon face off with Jon-El to really explore the parallels and differences between them. But barring that, they still could have done something with him. Given him some role in the finale that plays to his strengths as a character, like the season one finale did.

For resolving his conflict with Clark, the answer is painfully obvious. Clark loses his powers during the finale and has to deal with feeling helpless -- which is how Jonathan feels every day. This would naturally lead to Clark having a better understanding of what Jonathan’s going through, and realizing why he feels so unsafe and unheard. This is so obvious to me that I genuinely thought this was how the finale would go.

It’s just such a shame. Jonathan was such a standout character in season one that watching the writers completely drop the ball with him hurts a bit more than the rest.

And very lastly, I know this isn’t really anyone’s fault. But the constant hiatuses made this season feel strange to watch. They’ve said it shouldn’t be as much of an issue going forward, but I can’t deny that having so many big breaks soured my enjoyment somewhat.

[sardinesandhumbugs]

It takes an ecosystem...

A/N: Thank you @fan-of-my-fandoms for getting the boat moving on this with your enthusiasm for this idea, and also to all the anons who dropped by to throw yet more fuel on this au fire. This is a oneshot based on the “Portia gets adopted by all the Wild Wooders, several Riverbankers, and Mrs Otter Copes” au. 

This particular oneshot is set from Badger’s POV, since it felt the easiest POV to get an overall impression of this mess, and is meant to give a gist of the vibe I had in mind. 

x

In the wake of the retaking of Toad Hall, a strange sort of truce had settled between the Riverbank and the Wood. 

This wasn’t because, one might expect, either side had offered any sort of apology (and there were plenty owed to go around) but rather that a peculiar double-booking of parenthood had occurred. Because while Portia’s (the eldest daughter of Mrs Otter) kidnapping had begun as an attempt to provoke the Riverbankers, what it had ended in was Portia gaining at least two new weasel uncles and one extremely strong-opinionated stoat aunt. 

And honestly? Badger didn’t really see what all the fuss was about. (This was mostly because if he did see what the fuss was about, he’d be obligated to Help, and the retaking of Toad Hall had been enough excitement for one season.) 

But regardless (and possibly courtesy of the new truce making it easier than ever for even the Riverbankers to appeal to his aid) animals kept turning up on his doorstep with the latest saga. 

“She’s doing it again,” Mrs Otter grumbled, before Badger had even finished opening his front door. “Undermining my authority.”

Badger motioned for the Riverbanker to see herself in. “I take it the ‘she’ in question is the stoat you spoke of before?”

“Portia asked if she could go ice skating with friends and I said no, because there’s no guarantee it’ll be thick enough to stand on, and the last thing I want is to lose my daughter to the river after the year we’ve had,” Mrs Otter griped, making herself thoroughly at home in the way that one does after a too-long day. “And then the moment that I turn my back, that stoat sweeps in and takes her out onto the river anyway!” 

The weather had been bitterly cold recently and, from what Badger had been hearing, most animals had ventured out onto the frozen river. There had even been races, with the only injury incurred that from a bad slip.  

“Was there any trouble?” he asked. “On the river, I mean.”

Mrs Otter glowered. “She twisted her ankle.”

“That happens to pups her age.”

“It wouldn’t have happened at all, had she not been out when I said no!” Mrs Otter snapped.  

“It mightn’t do her any harm to be out and about,” Badger told her gently. “To have some fun - or normality.”

She snorted. “Normality? What could be possibly normal about having the same Wild Wooders who kidnapped my daughter hanging around the Riverbank like it’s nothing?”

“Does Portia seem distressed by their presence?” Badger asked, already knowing the answer.  

 Mrs Otter glowered again. If the term ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ had been about, she would have swung the diagnosis like a baseball bat. As things were, however, all she was left with was a daughter who cussed more creatively than a sailor, and a gaggle of Wild Wooders who kept getting under her feet. 

“She’s also picked up all sorts of foul language,” she added belatedly. 

Badger grinned. “I seem to remember another otter who had to hastily clean up her language when her first pup came along.” He poured a mug of tea and handed it over to the grousing otter. “She’ll grow up. You did, after all.”  

“I was never that bad.”

“You regularly threatened to run away to join the Wild Wooders whenever your mother made you eat your greens,” Badger reminded her, with only the barest edge of teasing. “You forget, I was around when you were Portia’s age.”

Mrs Otter didn’t have much to say to that. 

x

“Yer an insecti- insecurei- insect-e-vore...” 

Badger waited patiently for the weasel to find his way to the end of his sentence. It wasn’t unheard of for the Wild Wooders to seek out his advice, but in Badger’s experience, it tended to be for the more life-threatening situations - someone had caught pneumonia, or broken a rib, or eaten something they really, really shouldn’t have... 

It generally wasn’t for whatever... this was. 

“You eat worms, right?” the weasel finally settled on. 

Badger observed the weasel. The animal wore a red-stained tie (made all the clearer for the unfortunate - or short-sighted - choice of a white fabric) and, as far as Badger could remember, was one of the Chief Weasel’s sidekicks. The name Lesser rang a bell. 

“I do indeed eat worms,” Badger conceded. “When the mood takes me.”

“Do you know how to make worm broth?” 

“I have been known to make it, on occasion.”

“I need some.”

 “I do not,” Badger added, “have any on the go at this exact second.”

“That’s okay, I’ll wait right here.”

Badger gave the weasel another look. He believed the animal would just wait, too. He was probably going to regret asking this, but: “What do you need worm broth for? I wasn’t under the impression it was a favourite among your kind.”

The weasel squirmed. “It’s for the otter pup.”

“The otter pup.”

“She went out in the snow the other day and - uh, well...”

“Twisted an ankle?” Badger offered.

“Something like that. And, see, one of the other pups said that their mum always makes them worm broth when one of them’s sick, only we tried to make what we thought’d be worm broth, and it came out...” Lesser declined to describe it. “So, you see, we thought you’d know how to make it-”

“I do,” Badger said, “and I’m not going to.”

“But-”

“If you’re needing an expert in worm broth, I suggest you appeal to Mole’s nature,” he continued. “He usually has some on the go and, if not, you’ll do a lot better convincing him than me.” 

x

It was not two days later that his door was subjected to yet another round of knocking. And he would have told his would-be guest to stop abusing his hospitality except - well - it was Ratty. 

He ushered in the water rat, relieved to discover that Ratty’s previous visits hadn’t been mere outliers, but perhaps indicators of regular occurrence. 

Regular occurrence, he quickly discovered, as long as there was chaos on the Riverbank. 

“Are you quite sure we can’t do anything about the Wild Wooders, Badger?”

Badger pushed a steaming mug into Ratty’s paws. If Mrs Otter’s visit was anything to go by, then this was not going to be a quick turnaround. “Have they done anything worth doing anything about?”

“It’s not about what they’ve done, but what they’re going to do.”

“And what is that?”

Ratty mumbled something into his drink.

“Yes?”

“They’re dragging Mole into... whatever they’re up to,” Ratty muttered. 

“I doubt Mole can be dragged into anything he doesn’t want to be,” Badger replied, entirely honestly. “What nefarious schemes are they enrolling Mole into now?”

“One turned up on our doorstep, asking for worm broth.”

“Ah yes, worm broth. The most heinous of meals.”

Ratty’s whiskers twitched self-consciously. “That’s not the principle of the thing. The principle of the thing is-” He faltered, and that flicker of righteous outrage faded. “The thing is that the first time Mole crossed paths with the Wild Wooders, they scared him half to death.”

“Animals change, Ratty.”

“These lot don’t.”

“Then circumstances do.” 

Badger watched the son of his late friend fret, and marvelled at how, even though father and son differed in such ways (he never remembered the previous Rat getting quite so caught up in his own mind), he could still read Ratty the same way he had his father. Ratty’s paw ran along the back of his neck, coming to a stop at that hand-me-down hat, just as his father had done in his rare moments of discomfort. 

“Ratty,” Badger said, “you’re not to blame for what happened that day.”

“I never said I was,” Ratty replied, just a little too curtly to be wholly at ease. “But...” and here, Badger could hear the truth cracking, “it’s true, isn’t it? If I hadn’t let him go off into the Wood alone...” 

“Then things would be different,” Badger said simply. “As is the case with most choices. Now, Mole’s a grown animal; if he wants to help the Wild Wooders prepare a little bit of comfort food for a sick otter pup, then I think there’s nothing you can really do to stop him.”

x

By the time the next door knock arrived, Badger wasn’t even surprised. 

He was, however, surprised to see the duo in question. 

“I see you’re back on your feet, Portia,” he rumbled.

The otter pup shuffled from foot-to-foot, but kept her paw steadily over her nose, a bloodied handkerchief pressed into place. “Fell outta tree,” she mumbled around the makeshift compress. 

“Are ya gonna let us in, or are ya gonna leave her to bleed all over your porch?” the Chief Weasel demanded. 

Badger raised an eyebrow but gestured for them to enter. Portia bustled herself in with no reserves, but Badger didn’t miss the way the Chief gave him a wary look-over before following after the pup. The unease didn’t let up, even while Badger was seeing to Portia’s nose. 

“So, fell out of a tree, did you?” Badger prompted. “Last I checked, otters weren’t an arboreal species.”

“A what-species?” Portia asked. 

“Tree-dwelling.”

“Oh.” Portia tried to wipe the blood clear, and Badger firmly - but not harshly - slapped her paw away before she could smear it across her fur. “That’s probably why I fell out then.”

Reassured she hadn’t broken her nose, only given it a shock, he passed her towel to ease the blood. “So what were you doing up one?”

“Fetching a kite. One of the weasel pups’ ones got stuck.” 

Badger glanced to the Chief in a ‘and you left the otter pup with the recently-twisted ankle to get it back’ kind of way. 

“She said she could do it just fine!” the Chief snapped. “Ain’t my fault if she didn’t tell me she couldn’t climb!” 

“S’true,” Portia mumbled.

“Well, there’s not much more to be done,” Badger announced. “And what have we learned from this?”

“That I need to get better at climbing trees,” Portia replied instantly. 

Badger decided that was the best he was going to get. He let the odd duo out, but not before he saw the Chief Weasel pat the otter on the head in a decidedly paternal manner.  

 x

Badger quickly resigned himself that it was going to be at least a month of odd duos. 

“My front door hasn’t seen this much action... well, ever,” he announced to the mole and weasel on his doorstep. Both looked suspiciously sheepish, and Lesser was fiddling with the arm of his glasses. 

“I don’t suppose you’ve seen an otter pup?” Mole asked. 

“I suppose the otter pup in question would be Portia,” Badger made the educated guess of. 

“You have seen her then?”

“No.” Badger let the seconds pass before eventually caving to curiosity. “Why-”

“No reason!” Lesser announced, and dragged the mole off. 

Badger shut the door and headed back inside. With the way this season was going, he didn’t doubt that he’d discover what was going on before long. 

x

“Hide and seek in the Wild Wood!” Mrs Otter bemoaned. “Who thinks that’s a wise idea for an otter pup?”

“Probably a Wild Wooder,” Badger replied. He’d gone to the trouble of making his visitor a cup of tea, and his hospitality had been duly rewarded by watching it go cold in her paws. It was, however, making a good prop for Mrs Otter to wave about whenever she needed Emphasis. “And they did find her, I presume?”

“Up a tree. She stayed up it for a good hour, just to make sure she won the game.”

Badger made a mental note that apparently Portia had made good on her promise to get better at climbing trees. “Safe?”

“Unharmed, if that’s what you mean,” Mrs Otter muttered. 

“Then I really don’t see what has caused your distress.”

“It’s not safe for a Riverbanker!”

“Then it’s just as well she’s also under the care of Wild Wooders,” Badger replied tiredly. “Anyway, from what I heard of it, Mole was also keeping an eye on her.”

Mrs Otter grumbled again, in such a way that made Badger doubt that her eldest was going to be under the care of a certain mole any time soon. 

x

At this point, Badger thought, he probably should just consider giving out keys to his front door and save himself the hassle of having to answer it. He opened his door to see - briefly - two soaked animals, before both dashed inside. 

“HiMrBadgerHaveyoumetmyAuntieCheryl,” Portia blurted as she scooted inside. 

‘AuntieCheryl’  turned out to be a stoat and also the Chief Weasel’s other second-in-command. She made a cursory attempt at a glower as she passed the badger, but was hampered somewhat by her chattering teeth. 

“Pleasure as always, Portia,” Badger returned. He raised his gaze briefly to the thick rain beyond his door, before shutting it firmly out, and following after his impromptu guests. Portia was quick in claiming the chair closest to the fire but not, it had to be said, for herself; rather she had bundled the stoat into it and was already introducing a blanket to the mix. 

“It’s rather wet for a walk through the woods, wouldn’t you say?” Badger hazarded. 

“T’wasn’t raining when we started,” the stoat grumbled. It sounded like she was aiming for a growl, but had again been hindered by the shivers. 

“It’s really raining buckets out there,” Portia said, and Badger understood this to be the closest she was going to give for an apology for barging in. “Auntie Cheryl would have caught her death of cold if we’d tried to make it back to the Wooders - or the Riverbank.”

“I’m fine,” the stoat muttered. This would have been a lot more believable had she not been retreating steadily further into the blanket. 

“You’re not fine, you’re shivering,” Portia said. 

“Little bit of rain never did anyone any harm-”

“Auntie Cheryl,” Portia said, and - to Badger’s amusement - she had her paws on her hips in the spitting image of her mother; “you are going to sit there and concentrate on not catching a cold while I get you something to warm you up.” Portia leant over to Badger and whispered, “Where’s the kitchen?”   

“That door.”

“Thank you.”

With the same busyness that Badger recognised from Mrs Otter, Portia bustled into the kitchen, leaving him alone with ‘Auntie Cheryl’.

‘Auntie Cheryl’ eyed the badger warily. 

“I’ll be out from under your nose before you know it,” she deadpanned. “Until then, I’ll try not to drip too much on the furniture.”

Badger sighed and pulled up a chair from the dining room. “I wouldn’t worry too much about the furniture,” he said. “It’s seen its fair share of damp guests.” 

“Mr Badger!” Portia hollered from the kitchen. “Where do you keep your pots?”

“Second cupboard to the right!” Badger called back. 

 He didn’t entirely miss the way the stoat’s form stilled at his booming voice. 

“So,” he said. “You’re the Auntie Cheryl I’ve been hearing all about.”

The stoat bared her teeth. “I suppose that worrywort of a mother has been talking your ear off about me,”

“Oh, I’ve heard about you from several quarters,” Badger replied, honestly enough. “But yes, the elder otter certainly does have her qualms about you.”

“She has her qualms about everything,” Cheryl snarled back.

“She has her reasons. After all, she did believe she’d lost her daughter only last winter.”

“But she never went looking proper for her, did she? She, what, scurried around the edge of the Wood for an afternoon, and then proclaimed her daughter a lost cause?” The stoat’s lip curled. “No Wild Wooder would ever give up on a pup so easily.”

No, Badger believed they wouldn’t. And he could read the anger in the stoat - this animal, who had somehow gained the mantel of aunt, and now simmered in the ire that her newfound niece would ever be abandoned. 

“Things aren’t quite so simple as that.”

“It is!” the stoat snapped. “You either care enough to fight, or you don’t. She didn’t.”

He regarded the stoat. She was younger than Mrs Otter, but carried the years she did wear with a sharp sort of pride. Time had not yet dulled her claws nor tired her senses, and both were buffered by a quickness to clash. 

“You’ve never lost a fight that truly mattered, have you?” he asked. 

“Toad Hall--”

He held up a paw. “Toad Hall was a place, a thing,” he said. “You held on to it because you wanted it, not because it was precious. I’m talking about fighting for someone, and losing.”

Cheryl didn’t answer, but her face twisted as she searched - fruitlessly - for a reply to prove him wrong.

“It’s not a failing,” he said gently. “Merely an observation.”

“I don’t get what this has to do with anything.”

“Mrs Otter has,” he said.

“Then she should’ve fought harder.”

“We don’t always have that option.”

“Yes, we do.”

“Then what would you have done in the wake of a hunt?” he asked. “Defend your mate or protect your young?” He waited merely long enough for the stoat to realise she had no easy answer. “Like I said,” he continued, “fighting harder isn’t always an option.”

“Auntie Cheryl, Auntie Cheryl, I made you tea!” Portia came running in, wafting in the faint aroma of burnt... something from the kitchen. “Well, I tried, but Mr Badger’s stove is weird, and the kettle boiled over, and I might’ve knocked a bit of onion into the water from one of the garlands - sorry, Mr Badger--”

“No problem.”

“--but it looks like the right sort of colour, and you like onion in your food normally, so it’s probably okay–”

‘Auntie Cheryl’ dutifully sipped her onioned tea and didn’t reignite the conversation for the rest of her visit. 

x

A/N: Aaaaaand I’m gonna stop there because this is getting long. I was intending this to have more of a narrative focusing on the Mrs O & Cheryl dynamic, but it mostly became “animals keep turning on Badger’s doorstep thanks to Portia”. I was aiming for both Mrs O and Cheryl to have valid points (Mrs O can be over-protective, while Cheryl isn’t always the most careful) and for them to be dealing with the side of Portia installed from the other guardian (Cheryl being mothered, and Mrs O dealing with recklessness) and I hope I got some of that across. 

I might do more of this? This was fun, but I can’t really add much more to this post without it becoming A Lot to read. (3K. Oof. If you got this far, I’m impressed!) 

If you did read and enjoy this, please leave a comment or nice tags so I can bask in their light and be energised for more writing! 

[love-sapphirerose]

10 Shonen Anime That Disappointed Fans

Shonen anime aren’t always a smashing success with fans. Some fail to meet expectations, while others are poor adaptations of the source material.

BY CHELSEA STEELE

Shonen is a massive category, filled with countless titles, and it’s home to some of the most popular and influential series in anime history. With so many incredible franchises under its belt, it almost feels like every shonen series is an instant hit. However, plenty of titles have disappointed fans over the years.

Sometimes, a new series is hyped up so much that it fails to meet expectations. Other times, a popular series gets a poor anime adaptation that leaves the audience underwhelmed. For these reasons and many others, shonen anime aren’t always a smashing success with fans.

10 Soul Eater's Ending Is Confusing & Strays Far From The Manga

Soul Eater is one of the most unique shonen series to come out of the 2000s. Nevertheless, it's easily one of the most disappointing. It started out strong with its first season, but things started to go wrong soon after. Because the Soul Eater manga was still ongoing at the time, the anime ended up creating its own anime-only ending, and fans were not happy with it at all.

It took the series in a very confusing direction and strayed far from the source material, leaving out key moments that were critical for character growth and progression in the plot. Nowadays, the Soul Eater anime is seen as a complete disappointment, and many long for a reboot that does it justice.

9 Future Diary Turned Out To Be An Overly Edgy Story With A Messy Plot

The hype was real when Future Diary was first released, and many fans were expecting it to be the next great shonen series. Unfortunately, the hype train crashed and burned very quickly with this series, thanks to the messy and ridiculous plot, unlikable characters, and overall edginess of the story.

In fact, Future Diary became infamous for being edgy, and most can't help but cringe at the toxic relationship between Yukiteru and his yandere girlfriend, Yuno Gasai. For a series with so much promise, it really disappointed fans in almost every way and is now considered one of the worst modern shonen anime.

8 Fullmetal Alchemist's First Adaptation Doesn't Give Fans The Happy Ending They Want

By now, the first anime adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist is infamous for how disappointing it is. Though many admit it nails the feel of the series, fans just can't get behind the depressing anime-only ending and consider it too far removed from the manga.

When the manga's iconic ending came out, this only strengthened the disappointment fans felt toward the anime. Luckily, the series was rebooted, and this time, it followed the manga faithfully, from beginning to end. With the release of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, fans finally got the happy ending they longed for.

7 Seven Deadly Sins Is Ruined By Low-Quality Animation

Seven Deadly Sins is a series that fans either love or hate. Many adore the manga and consider it a masterpiece of modern shonen, filled with depth and lovable characters. However, many fans have been unable to look past its tasteless fanservice and bad humor, instead seeing the series as lowbrow and crass.

No matter fans' opinions, it's clear to everyone that the Seven Deadly Sins anime is a massive disappointment, thanks to its infamously bad animation and poorly translated subtitles. Its quality dips so low at times that it completely ruins some of the most iconic moments in the series, causing many long-time fans to give up on the anime adaptation.

6 Fairy Tail Is Just Another Generic Shonen Series

There was once a time when Fairy Tail saw incredible popularity among shonen fans. It was a promising new series that many believed could even match up to the likes of the Big Three. However, it quickly fell off, and the hype died out entirely.

While the series has a solid storyline and likable characters, it simply failed to bring anything new to the table. Many felt that Fairy Tail was just a boring and generic shonen series, and even if it wasn't bad, it just wasn't good enough.

5 One-Punch Man's Second Season Fails To Live Up To The First

With its hilarious comedy mocking all the classic tropes found in a typical shonen, One-Punch Man quickly stole the hearts of fans everywhere. It was a breath of fresh air among the usual generic stories and adventures, and its first season saw amazing success.

When Season Two was announced, fans were ecstatic. But this excitement wouldn't last, as the series' continuation failed to live up to expectations. With a dip in the animation quality and a dull storyline, much of what made the series so good in the first place was lost, disappointing most fans.

4 Yashahime Gave Fans An Underwhelming Next-Generation Story

When a beloved anime series gets a "next generation" sequel, it's often hit or miss. Unfortunately for Yashahime, it's widely considered a pale imitation of the classic 2000s series. Many were excited when it was first announced, ready to finally see a continuation of Inuyasha after its conclusion over a decade ago.

But when the sequel series was released, many were unable to connect with the new girls like they could with the original cast, and much of the series was a let-down. With its poor pacing, weak characters, and bad storyline decisions, Yashahime has failed to resonate with fans like its predecessor once did.

3 The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya Made A Grave Mistake With Its "Endless Eight" Arc

Back in the 2010s, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was one of the most popular anime around, taking the anime world by storm. But as quickly as it rose to fame, it all soon came crashing down. The series lost most of its popularity, all thanks to the infamous "Endless Eight" filler arc of Season Two.

It consists of Kyon, Haruhi, and the rest of the gang repeating the same summer vacation over and over, for a span of eight episodes. Many gave up long before this monotonous arc could end, but even those who stuck it out eventually lost interest in the series afterward. With just this one arc, the Haruhi Suzumiya empire crumbled, and just about everyone came to despise the series.

2 The Promised Neverland Ruined Its Momentum With A Horrible Second Season

The Promised Neverland saw immediate success among fans, and it was poised to be the next modern classic. However, that all changed with its disappointing second season. The series had been very faithful to the manga up until this point.

However, Season Two of The Promised Neverland suddenly took a turn for the worst. It left out many major arcs and characters, cutting out much of the lore that made the manga so beloved. Instead, it gave fans a hurried and flat conclusion that failed to satisfy fans despite its happy ending.

1 Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Fails To Live Up To Naruto's Legacy

When Naruto finally came to an end back in 2017, it was huge news. Though fans were sad to see it go, many were hyped over the oncoming sequel series, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. The idea of the original cast settling down and starting families sounded great. Unfortunately, it failed to live up to fans' expectations.

Boruto and the gang turned out to be pretty dull compared to their parents, and they were even bratty and annoying at times. Many fans have since struggled to get invested in their story, and even the original characters have lost their former appeal. While in recent years, Boruto has started to see some improvements, many are still disappointed in the way it's played out and have all but lost interest.