#one positive thing is that i love the artstyle is so pretty

[nexo-nex]

those mh comics are so ughhh where do i even start

[blossomthepinkbunny]

I wanna talk about the pride artwork for HB, because like a lot of other people I have some thoughts.

Firstly, positives:

It overall looks pretty good imo. The colours are bright and the picture has nice energy. I don't mind the HB/HH artstyle in general, it's mostly the designs that are the problem (the designs in HB are better than in HH). It is very cluttered, but I sorta learned to deal with that and I don't mind as much here.

Millie being there for Moxxie is cute and she looks amazing.

The outfits for some of the characters look good.

Sallie May being a Lesbian is nice (idk why, it just is).

Verosika looks great and very pretty (as always).

I like the idea of Loona taking Octavia to her first Pride parade. I like the idea of them hanging out in general and I want to see more of that.

Beelzebub looks cute.

I like the face Barbie makes (idk either).

Now onto the things I don't like:

Some of these sexualities seem kinda like they were just made up on the spot. Loona being Bisexual is nice, but she literally only ever showed interest in guys and there was never anything that could lead us to assume that she's Bi. The same thing goes for Mammon or Andrealphus. For Andrealphus it seems like they just made him gay to excuse the weird comments he makes about his Sister and especially since a lot of people started using their weird relationship to imply that Stella has some problems as well and isn't just a heartless bitch. Now they can basically just say: "Andrealphus isn't weird towards Stella, he is literally gay, why would he harrass her". I don't mind as much with characters like Bee or Barbie, because they only showed up once and it would've been pretty difficult to confirm their sexualities.

A lot of people mentioned Mammon being Ace just seems like an excuse to not put him in sexual merchandise or something. He is the only fat character in HB (who is actually relevant) and he is one of the two ace characters. It feels sorta disingenuous when the only two ace characters are a teen and the single fat character you have. Especially since, if I remember correctly there were a lot of people (including me) who found Mammon attractive and were looking forward to more sex-positivity for plus sized folks, especially when in Vivzepops shows theres only him and Mimzy (Adam as well maybe).

Why do a lot of the pansexual demons in this show feel stereotypical. Bee and Asmodeus are fine, the background demons as well I guess. Blitzø is super horny all the time and could fill a whole party just with people he slept with. Verosika and her followers are succubi who we saw sexually assault Moxxie. Barbie Wire manipulated a teenage/barely legal human to do what she wants by using her body. And Chaz is a literal and very open sexual harrasser/abuser. The only joke he has are making unwanted sexual remarks toward Moxxie and being horny. He has a sign that says: "I will fuck anything", which isn't what pansexuality is and the wording makes it really weird ("anything" not "anybody"). And he looks at Andrealphus weirdly. Him and Blitzø are also naked for no reason.

I would've loved to see some nonbinary/genderfluid/genderqueer characters. We don't have one confirmed genderqueer character. How about nonbinary Octavia or Vasago. Or genderfluid Moxxie. Or bigender Barbie or something. I just wished we had anything like that. Also a personal headcannon of mine, but Asmodeus should probably be Polyamorous. He is the incarnation of Lust and with how they wrote him in the show it's kinda hard to believe/doesn't make sense that he is in a monogamous relationship.

Where are Mayberry and Martha? They were confirmed to be sapphic and so far they're the only sapphic characters in an actually sapphic relationship we see in HB. Why does Wally get to be there but they aren't? Why is Vasago there instead of them, when he hasn't even showed up in an episode yet? Why is Vasago there in general? It's not like i'm gonna be happy with him being confirmed to be gay because there is nothing we know about him yet.

Why is Tex not there? Did they just forget him? He might be straight but he could still be there to support his girlfriend and isn't he literally Verosikas bodyguard. He was at the weird Blitzø hate party with her, but not here?

Isn't Chaz dead?

Why would Asmodeus and Fizz go to the same parade as Mammon, when the only episode with Mammon so far has dealt with how much he hurts Fizz.

You might say: "This isn't supposed to make sense, it's just a more interesting way to confirm characters' sexuality for pride month, so it doesn't have to make canon/logical sense". Which I would agree with, if they didn't excuse Stella and Striker (two pretty important characters) not being there by saying something along the lines of: "Do you really think they would attend a pride parade?". Maybe not, but I also don't think Chaz would attend a parade, being dead and all. I also don't think that Barbie would go out of her way to go to hell, just to attend a pride parade, especially since her brother is there too. I also don't think Andrealphus would go out of his way to go to a parade filled with imps and people he doesn't like. I also don't think Mammon would be there because it's nothing that brings him money or something. Stella might be straight and that's the reason she isn't here. But her brother (who she seemingly likes and confines in) is there and she could go to support him and her being straight isn't even confirmed, so she could very well be queer. And isn't Striker queer as well? Im sorta confused with that, because they try to make him a bigot (probably also homophobic), but the scene he has with Blitzø in "Harvest moon festival" seems very queer. His offense at sexual remarks could also imply that he is a very sex-repulsed asexual or Demisexual or something. Unless of course they want to use the fact that he doesn't like sexual remark from men as a way to make him seem homophobic (even though him reacting bad to unwanted sexual remarks doesn't mean he's bigoted, like that's well within his rights to be uncomfortable). It's not as if Viv shows restraint with making villians/antagonists queer in general. Mammon, Chaz, Andrealphus are all antagonists in HB and are also there. In HH they literally went out of their way to confirm Vox being in a relationship with Valentino, a rapist. It seems like being Straight/Bigoted/too much of an asshole to show up only applies to the characters who actively dislike Stolas and to the only main female antagonist.

[spiceynoodls]

Long, long post. Mostly me rambling. Have a lovely day :)

I watched 2012 tmnt when I was little so I got used to the vibe that one has, like the darker colors and stuff. So the first time I saw Rottmnt I was like

woah

It’s super colorful, there’s a lot of hyper activity, a lot more jokes, and it’s pretty obvious that it was made for the attention of little kids

so I didn’t watch it. It just didn’t really grab my attention, and I didn’t watch it until I saw a clip of the opening scene in the movie. And then I was like

woah

major character death

so I went ahead and watched the show. And it was amazing, and I loved it, and I’m a huge fan of Rottmnt. Not to mention the fandom (at least here on tumblr) is actually awesome to interact with, everyone is really excited to talk about the show and share headcanons and art and it’s amazing.

I’ve gotten into other fandoms and content through the Rottmnt original content creators too. I’m sure that a lot of people know the Cass apocalyptic series, which was incredibly written and drawn and had me coming back to read it over numerous times. And the comic also led me to read Casserole’s original content, Marble Sky, which is amazing as well by the way.

And the au comics are amazing, too. I read the Mutation Situation, I read Jacob’s Ladder, Two Arms Left, TizSepAu, Villan Leo, Kid Leo, Redline, Swanatello, Gemini Twins, Bloodbath au and a lot more I’m not mentioning.

Rottmnt is a kids show. Same as the Powerpuff Girls, or Paw Patrol, or any other kids show out there. It’s not for everyone. It’s catered to a target audience, which happens to be little kids who’s attention is caught by the bright colors, and hyper activity, and the 2D artstyle. It’s not for everyone, same as every other tmnt iteration, same as all content everywhere. I don’t expect anyone to go out of their way to watch Rottmnt, especially if it doesn’t interest them, and you don’t have to watch the show to interact with the community either. You can enjoy the community without enjoying the show.

You do you. Do whatever makes you feel good. I just hope that everyone’s experience with tmnt, and the tmnt community is as positive as mine is. I saw a post talking about all the reasons the blogger did not enjoy Rottmnt. I read the whole thing. It made sense, I understand why they didn’t like it, and I just disagree. I didn’t pick a fight. I just liked the post and moved on.

Recently I’ve seen a lot of people picking fights over disagreements a tv show made for kids. Not a lot are actually engaged in, which is good, but we really shouldn’t be picking fights at all. Basically, all this to say, you do you. Do what makes you happy. And if you disagree with people, just do that. Disagree. You don’t have to fight, or be rude, or anything. I’m all for debating, as long as it remains respectful.

I’m very aware that I can’t control other people and dictate how they interact with others, but I can suggest that we’re just nice to each other. Please.

Anyways if you read this far, thanks, and I hope you have a wonderful day.

[untitled-tmnt-blog]

Which of your TMayNT pieces were your favorites to do?

Do you have any favorite TMayNT posts you've seen from others?

As far as my own stuff goes -- I always have a good time with traditional art, so Day 16 and Day 21 were a lot of fun! And I also like making simple little animations, so I enjoyed doing Day 24 as well!

As far as others' art... I'm so awful at picking favorites, so I hope you don't mind that I'm just gonna have to list a whole bunch again! I'll put that under a cut, because it's gonna be lengthy. (And I don't really know if people like being tagged when I mention their stuff, or if they find it annoying... so, um... sorry if it's the latter!)

As an appreciator of traditional art, I really liked seeing @strawberry-ren's drawings -- especially Leo and April! They're beautiful drawings, and are colored so incredibly well!

@kesoyotes has a really pretty artstyle! It's very vibrant and clean, if that makes sense. I particularly liked April and Donnie!

@artsybun's art was all so good! I really liked this Leo drawing, this one of the turtle tots, and this one of 2012 Splinter... and THIS MASTERPIECE, of course!! I love that particular drawing so so so much!

@annaliearts also had some incredible pieces! I especially loved this '03 Donnie, and this one of '03 Splinter with the baby turtles. I mean, just look at Splinter's face!! And those precious babies!

And speaking of baby turtles -- there were SO MANY good turtle tot drawings for day 4! I loved this one by @cacutus, with the baby turtles sleeping all over their Dad! And this one by @sky317, because just look at Mikey's little face! And Raph in the teapot! I loved this one by @sad-leon, because I adore the way they draw their little expressions so much! And idk how to explain it, but like... their positioning, I guess? The way Leo's leg is just plopped down over Donnie like that -- it's the cutest thing! And I really liked this one by @sariphantom -- look at the babies' faces!! Leo sticking his tongue out, and tiny Donnie being so angry! I also really liked this one by @vdragon-creations (which was for day 11, but it does also include baby turtles)! The way '03 Splinter is looking at the babies -- ohh, my heart!! He loves them so much!!

There were so many good Aprils as well! I adore the way April is holding Mayhem in this one by @temva, and the coloring in this one by @just-another-tired-gay-artist is so cool! And I love both the perspective and background in this one by @matryoshkalex.

I love @frosteaart's coloring style so much! The lighting is beautiful, and it makes each scene so... is aesthetic the right word? Like, I want to flip through a whole art book full of it! I particularly liked the drill, Karai, and this Insane in the Mama Train redraw.

I also loved a lot of @heck-theo's art! If I had to make a short list, I'd say this one of Mikey with Draxum, and this one of Mikey with Splinter, because I just love the way he's hugging/holding his dads! And then this one of April, and this Evil League of Mutants scene, because they're both exceptional art pieces!

I also love anything that makes me laugh, so this tech-bo drawing by @hoodiehorizon, and this one by @cookieturtle26 are on that list! They make me smile!

I really enjoyed seeing all of the collages by @boxfullaturtles, especially Splinter, Shelldon, and Leatherhead!

I also loved the coloring on this Leo by @kurashikimisaki, the style of these Leos by @neon-mega-turtle, and this little Beebop & Rocksteady GIF by @jadetheblueartist... and probably a whole lot more that I just can't remember right now because there is just SO MUCH good art!!

[littleaipom]

Propaganda post about my fave medias time! [#1]

Hiiii, I just wanna talk about and recommend some things I like on my blog here! I don't always draw fanart for everything that I like and find inspiring, but I like sharing what I feel are gems with others. (the gifs im adding arent mine)

I've got a small handful of movies that involve animals and a predator+prey relationship, with plenty of cute moments mixed with heart-aching moments. They're all animated kids movies with the potential to hit pretty hard. There's something tragic to the way each movie acknowledges nature and has a character try and fight the standard order of things.

One Stormy Night

Over time, this one has become my favorite of these. This movie can provide such an unexpected comfort with how it approaches friendship as something that can transcend all else, and not need any complex reason to exist. It centers around a friendship between a wolf and goat, from how they first become friends and into how they have to fight to keep their friendship. The art style and protagonists are adorable and goofy, maintaining a delightful levity and earnestness throughout the whole movie. There is still plenty of drama surrounding their romeo-and-juliet-type relationship, and the lengths these characters go to to be friends is captivating. I rewatch this movie every now and then and it still manages to make me cry through it's earnestness and the truths it speaks to.

You are Umasou

The art style for this is extremely bright, unrealistic, cartoony, and adorable. The story is similarly cartoony, and yet it hits on some very grounded topics about family, facing difficult truths, and finding your own path in life even if it doesnt fit what's conventional. This movie gets bonus points from me for having two main predator+prey relationships that mirror each other. It's heartwarming and silly and has plenty of entertaining action moments with a good dose of drama. It's really charming and sticks with me.

Chirin's Bell

Heads up, this one is bleaker than the rest, and I love it for it's tragedy(behind the very cute artstyle for the sheep, no less). The protaganist sheep starts from an understandable position where he is tired of being the prey, the victim. His journey to do something about it pushes him to see and do things he never would have done otherwise. And it's this path he takes that has both impressive and unintended consequences. The film seems to pose questions like "is it better to live in ignorance if you can?", "how far will you go to ensure you can't be hurt again?", and "how do you reconcile with abandoning your origins?". The ending feels inevitable and yet haunting all the same.

Leafie: A Hen into the Wild

This one has held up for me perhaps the least, due to it's specific brand of cartoony-ness and unexpected gross factor(this ties into the original vs english/censored versions of the movie. arguably it's a personal preference thing in the end, but i'm actually glad i watched the censored version first.) However, it has still hit home for me several times before and deserves it's credit! The movie tackles the idea of remaining locked inside a system vs living free in the wild where there are many more dangers and mistakes to be made. It also focuses heavily on motherhood, where love and selflessness win in a fight against the uncaring and unmoving whims of others and nature itself. The protagonist's determination to be free and live the life she wants despite her ignorance and the pain it causes her is very moving to me. There is tragedy sprinkled thru the movie and yet it's underscored by how the protagonist is resolved see it all as worthwhile. The movie is often goofy, often dramatic, and overall bittersweet.

So yeah, check them out if any sound interesting! ^^

[amemenojaku]

Hisami and Zanmu for 1 on that ask game!

When I started shipping it if I did: Since day 1 when I read Hisami's dialogues, like most people I believe lol. I mean, how can you see her and not start cheering for her to get what she wants... Since it's still pretty recent I can add that two lines in particular made me seriously consider it and think about it beyond 'this is nice/funny': when Hisami tells Zanmu that she doesn't have to hold back around her, and when Zanmu tells Hisami that she knew Hisami would mess up on purpose, and that she'll give her a reward anyway - both are about danmaku obviously, but it got my brain gears turning >:]

My thoughts: They've slowly but steadily been going up my favorite ships, especially for the past 2-3 months... They work well together. Obviously I'd love the ship in touhou where one of them has a big fat actual canon crush on the other one, I've been in this hole since 2010 or something so Hisami's kind of a gift... but also in general I think it's a good spin on the boss/henchman trope when the boss is some mega charismatic chessmaster who could probably get anyone they want on their knees and yet their subordinate is one of the only people they can't fully predict/control. The wild card aspect is really funny to me and I love seeing fanworks where Zanmu's like... fondly sighing at Hisami's antics.

Things done in fanworks that annoy me: I think there's too many fanworks where Zanmu looks generally uncomfortable around Hisami despite never doing so even once ingame, and also too many fanworks where Hisami harasses Zanmu, sometimes to make very early 2000s jokes in very poor taste... I won't name anyone but there's a few big yuri artists on twitter who do that and it makes me want to bash my head against the wall when they get praised for it just because their artstyle looks good..... On a more positive note there's a few people who've been creating constantly good content of this pair and I think given a year or two nature will be healing!!

Also I'm of the opinion that Zanmu's fairly tall herself, just a bit shorter than Hisami, so I'm not big on the crazy size difference stuff (funny coming from a seishin fan, I know......)

Things I look for in fanworks: MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING!!! Getting to know each other past the infatuation (in Hisami's case)/the curiosity (in Zanmu's case) in deeper ways. I promise this isn't about sex lol (I do think about that too but not here rn) I really want to see how their relationship can grow and I especially want to see Zanmu enjoying it (as a petty reaction to the stuff listed above...). In their case I think physical intimacy would be a good setting for that kind of scene where their emotional bond grows, so that's what I'd go with if I were to create something like it, but anything can work if it's done in good taste imo. And in general I want to see Zanmu answering Hisami's affections with a positive emotion... whatever it is... I'm desperate.......

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: It's difficult for me to imagine Hisami with anyone else, although I do think she'd have physical relationships with a bunch of women while her feelings for her boss are still unrequited. Zanmu on the other hand I can picture being interested in a few other characters like Reimu or other onis or even the sages, but ultimately not as something she'd commit to and take seriously. The only real endgame is still zanhisa haha

My prefered future/ending for them: Whenever Zanmu considers them close enough to tell Hisami to drop the honorifics and overly reverent language when they're alone, and whenever Hisami feels comfortable doing that would be the ideal "endpoint" for me because of all the things it implies :) I don't care if at that point they actually consider themselves in a relationship or if they just aknowledge there's something going on. Though if they do get in a relationship proper I imagine they'd be very discreet about it. Also I think Hisami should get a promotion so she can directly work as Zanmu's prefered right hand arm man. woman. her everything. her confidant. her silly rabbi

What is their favorite activity together: Probably drinking. I imagine with how old she is and hanging out with onis Hisami's built up a decent hold on alcohol, and Zanmu appreciates it. They reminisce about their respective pasts and talk about the inner workings of hell and Zanmu gets a huge ego boost from showing off her 4D chess plans and Hisami praising her for it

[yaboirezzy]

Alright, here's an explanation (post version):

So this is something I wouldn't usually say publicly because I don't really like telling and sharing my personal stuff online, especially on social places like tumblr or others because of how people usually react to someone feeling or saying anything about themselves. Also because I rather vent stuff in rather than bothering everyone close to me online about it. But I feel like making an exception just this once because this is actually about my tumblr blog.

So on my blog I've been doing all kinds of stuff over the past few years, artworks (both digital and traditional), text post, memes, incorrect quotes, and so on. And don't get me wrong I enjoyed it, I was happy with it, but in recent times I really feel like I've done nothing but make some low effort garbage that people only viewed or liked out of pity and nothing else. I feel like I've slowly changed from a someone eager to share their love and interest for their favorite fandoms to an annoying little shithead that won't stop yapping about anything (be it headcanons, AUs, ships) regarding their fandoms.

Especially when the stuff they waffle about aren't even as good as to what other people do. Artwork? everyone else had done better artwork of their favorite hyperfixations, character fanart, ship fanart, you name it? then it's guaranteed that everyone else done it better. Text post? everyone has made ones that are much better than mine, some even I based or took inspiration from (which is pretty much stealing I think). Memes or meme redraws? again mine looks like something out of the early 2000s compared to others. Incorrect quotes? god I can't believe that these are what I started with and are what 90% of my blog is about, yet I can't even get them right or being good at least. And those are just the basics, picture this people usually make artwork to show their love towards something they like and usually show others why they like or spread the popularity of their favorite thing, well guess who fucking sucks at that aspect as well? Showing my love towards my favorite fandom though artwork or text or quotes? awful at it, you would think I was young kid who just got introduced to them, trying to increase the popularity of an otherwise underrated or unknown fandom of mine? suck at it, just showing an image of them would've done a better job promoting each series, what about trying to seem like an active fan and participating in trends or events within the fandom? well me not being able to follow an 'art week' thing and being late to a redraw trend should be a clear sign as to how that goes.

And that's the reason why I wanna end myself I've been feeling so terrible about myself lately, I feel like trash about not being able to do the stuff I wanted to do whether it's artwork, text post, or even interacting with others.

In terms of artwork and meme redraws I just wanna see my vision come to life be that in the artstyle, the position/posing, or look/quality, but I can't due to limitations and whatnot. That's why I'm always eager to see art from others, but I know everyone's got other things to worry about, it's also why I feel like an absolute leecher whenever I ask or even request any of my artist mutuals anything their art is so much better than mine and I hate how I couldn't even mimick a fraction of their quality. It just makes me feel sick that I considered myself the same to them, I have done nothing worthy like them yet I always try to fit in as an 'artist' among actual real ones.

In terms of text post and incorrect quotes, I don't even know why any of you liked those, or even reblogging them. I've seen people put genuine care and effort into their headcanons, AUs, fanfics, even incorrect quotes and yet here I am saying the dumbest ideas and thoughts ever. Not only are they so bad, so low effort, and so braindead to read for any rational human being, but they are just so not funny, like at all like please fucking make it stop, I mean from what you'd probably seen on others you'd at least expect me to be another one of those it's so bad it's funny kind of stuff, but no, I just keep making dishwasher slop over and over and people are liking them, why? why are you all doing this to yourselves? you'd have a better time watching the series my stuff is about than liking and reblogging it.

Again, this is really something I've kept hidden and I've only now talked about with one of my mutuals, but I feel the need to make this just so I can say from the bottom of my heart:

I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything I've said. I'm sorry for everything I've done, I don't care if they're good, bad, neutral, or means nothing at all. I'm sorry I couldn't done more or better. I'm sorry to all my mutuals and friends. I'm sorry that I'm broken, I couldn't be fixed. I'm just...I'm sorry that I exist here.

Please just let me be in pain alone...

[crystallizedtwilight]

Hey! Do you have a personal timeline for Sprace getting together in relation to the strike? I'm still trying to figure out mine and I'd love some inspa

Also... could you pretty please draw a little jatherine? Your artstyle is so awesome ansmd pretty, I just want more content 😭

Sure, I can do a sprace timeline below the cut!

Racetrack Higgins, orphan, grows up in the Manhattan lodging house and sells there until his teens.

Once in his teens he discovers the Sheepshead Races and starts to bet there, just now and then, when he can afford to.

Throughout his mid teens (15-17) he starts to bet there more and more frequently, earning him his name.

He realizes that if he can sell papes at Sheepshead he can be there DAILY, so by 18 he makes the commute every single day.

After a two weeks of daily selling at Sheepshead, Spot gets word that a Manhattan Newsie is selling daily on Brooklyn turf. Houses don’t necessarily have to sell on boroughs, but since this has become a daily occurence, Spot investigates to make sure that this claiming of a prime selling area isn’t hindering his own boys in any way.

Spot puts Race on probation for one month, checking on him daily.

They develop a rapport and after Race’s probation is up Spot allows him to continue selling there.

Spot continues to check on Race, even though he has no more reason to, and Race takes this as a positive sign. One week later, Race kisses him, and Spot kisses him back.

They continue this way without any labels or deeper admissions, just meeting now and then to kiss under the stands for another month.

THE STRIKE HAPPENS

Jack asks “Who wants Brooklyn” and Racetrack ducks his head. He’s the obvious choice to go and everyone knows it—Mr. Sheepshead Races. But his relationship with Spot, starting from the general understanding that they’re attracted to each other, is still relatively new at just a month old. He isn’t willing to use Spot’s affection for him as leverage. He’s also terrified that same affection had a limit which fell just short of saying yes…and then he’d lose so much more than just the strike.

Race doesn’t show up to Sheepshead that day. Instead, Jack does. Jack asks Spot to Join the strike, which Spot declines without proof that Manhattan won’t fold, which is the responsible thing to do. It makes sense that Jack asks him, not only because he began the strike, but out of respect to converse leader to leader, Manhattan to Brooklyn. However, when Jack relays the news, it guts Race because Spot knows full well that Race is loyal to Manhattan and still declines.

Pulitzer’s goons and the cops attack the newsies for striking and Race is injured. Race understands that his fate to either be thrown in the refuge or killed in another fight is sealed because he knows there’s no winning this without Brooklyn. Despite this, he cheers the other boys up with “King of New York" because he believes in the cause, is loyal to Jack, and knows it's the right thing to do.

Immediately afterwards, he goes to Brooklyn to tell Spot goodbye. Race, believing Spot never felt the same way as he did, prepares himself to go down with the strike. Before Spot can recover from being dumfounded and respond, Race has hopped another carriage back home.

“Newsies Stop the World” headlined be damned. Seeing Race injured is all the motivation Spot needs to join the strike.

Spot sends a kid over to tell Manhattan “Next event you can count on Brooklyn”.

The next time they see each other is at the theater rally and Race has never been so relieved, never so elated, never more in love. But they don’t have time to talk much in the chaos of Jack betraying the cause. Race retreats to the house with Davey to help calm the Manhattan boys and Spot returns to Brooklyn to regroup.

After Jack is back on board they then catch glimpses of each other in Pulitzer’s cellar as they help distribute The Children’s Crusade.

And by the time Race is looking up at Pulitzer’s window and Spot is staring down at him from it victoriously, neither of them have any doubt in their mind that they’re absolutely in love.

The first time they actually get a chance to speak privately is once the Newsies are celebrating at the Manhattan lodging house. They speak in the back alley and, for the first and only time in his life, Race cries in front of Spot, finally allowing himself to admit just how stressed and scared he was throughout the whole ordeal. Not just terrified that he’d lose the strike but that he’d lost Spot along with it. Spot assures him that as soon as he knew Race was committed to the strike, he was coming to help him win it. Racetrack tells Spot he loves him and Spot says it back.

That same night, Race goes home with Brooklyn after the Manhattan house party under the guise that they’re simply going to keep the celebration going. No one in Manhattan bats an eye because of course he was likely to make friends there given his selling location. But the truth is neither of them can be parted from each other right now, and once they’re back safe and sound in Brooklyn, Spot admits that he feels guilty for not joining the strike sooner, but Race never blamed him in the first place.

The same day that the Newsies won the strike, Pulitzer had offered Jack an illustration job. Race heads back to Manhattan to see if Jack will take it because, if so, Race will need to fill Jack's place as Manhattan’s leader. During this week, Spot extends the offer to Race that he can move into the Brooklyn lodging house, but Race tells him he has to wait to see what Jack is going to do as it will determine his own course of action.

Jack takes the illustration job. Race briefly becomes Manhattan’s leader so they boys don’t feel like they are scrambling, but Race actually takes this time to start training another trusted newsie to take over the house. Over the next three weeks, the transition is made smoothly, and Race finally feels that his duty to Manhattan is complete and can therefore follow his duty to his heart. The Manhattan house throws him a farewell party.

Race moves in to the Brooklyn lodging house that night and is welcomed with open arms. Together at last!

[ratlesshonret]

Things I LOVED About Pocket Mirror ~ GoldenerTraum & Little Goody Two Shoes (as a long-time series fan)

AKA, the long-awaited positivity post.

This is a direct follow-up to my posts "The (few) Things I Didn't Like About Pocket Mirror ~ GoldenerTraum" and "My (few) Issues With Little Goody Two Shoes"

Those posts trended very negative because, well, lists of complaints are inherently negative. However, despite my (honestly, kinda nitpicky) complaints, I do want to show that I still adore these games. And thus, I will be giving my list of things I think GoldenerTraum and LGTS did right.

Well, to be fair, these games did most things right. But I'll pick the ones I think stand out the most.

This post contains spoilers, as always. Rant below the cut.

Part 1 - GoldenerTraum

-The new lore introduced in this game, alongside the entirely new ending, are just great. Really solid ways to expand the section of canon that Pocket Mirror focuses on without changing the game very much.

-I love the convenience factor of this game versus the original. Less clunky required menu openings, less instances of "what do I need to examine to progress," and just generally smoother gameplay.

-I can't do this without mentioning the graphics. Complete and utter upgrade in every way. The original always looked great, but now looking back on it, its definitely not as polished as the modern style.

-(I know this is a positivity post, but I do wanna say I prefer the original Lisette sprite. I love the new one as well, but I think the new "heavy frills and detailed wrinkles" artstyle, while it generally works for the period and wealth the game is set around, doesn't fit Lisette.)

-Back to positivity now, the higher resolution theaters are really good. I originally wished they'd be changed/reanimated, but that was a mistake on my end. After all, why mess with perfection?

-GoldenerTraum and the accompanying anime opening are amazing. Full stop. Best intro to maybe any game ever. Everblooming Wild Rose Coronation is also great. (Though if I were to be fully honest, I kinda wish it only played after the Dawn ending instead of every ending. But that's a nitpick.)

-The removal of the bloat in the prologue is very much appreciated. On replays, the dance hall area feels very drawn out and unimportant, and generally a slog to go through. While I still don't like replaying this section, it is MUCH more bearable with the excess meat chopped off. It always felt like filler, anyway.

-The CGs that were updated look much nicer. No elaboration on this one, that's where my thought ends.

-Actually, yes elaboration. This is about the CG of Lisette coming out of the mirror before her first chase. The redraw is so pretty. I love Lisette <3.

-Improved visibility in many dark areas makes me a very happy person. While it maybe does remove some of the tension and atmosphere, it makes the game more accessible for new players who now won't need to feel around in the dark for ten minutes to find the candle in the Sugary Supper area, or whatever.

-Henri sprite.

-Finally, and I want to loop back to the character sprites, I love how they give an option to return to the original sprites. I love when remakes/remasters have some kind of "nostalgia mode" so that the original versions of things aren't lost.

Part 2 - Little Goody Two Shoes

-Music is great. I still prefer Pocket Mirror's OST, but holy hell some of the tracks in this game get lodged in my brain sometimes.

-Art is fantastic. I love the CGs, so many of them are so detailed and pretty. I might set some of them as my computer backgrounds, that's how good they are.

-Speaking of, the sprites are really good. I love some of Elise and Rozenmarine's sprites, especially.

-Strange Boy finally getting a name is nice. Now I don't need to call him Strange Boy. (I will still call him Strange Boy.)

-godiknowthisissupposedtobeapositivitypostbutholyshitiwanttopuntthatchildmuffyintothegoddamnsunsobaditsunreal

-In general the environments are beautiful. One of the few ways this game is a straight step-up from Pocket Mirror. The tiny waterfall in the river looks so pretty, especially during the day. And that's just one example of an environmental piece that really stood out.

-I want to praise Thursday Witching Hour, or as I called it in my last post, "the only one that's better than bearable." It is a genuinely tense section, and scarier than anything in Pocket Mirror. It was the only thing in either game to really make me aware that this is a horror series.

-I do generally like the mechanics of hunger/money management, and the minigames are fun (except Kiss the Rat.) The intense effort that must've been put into the art and design of these short games you only play to make money was not lost on me.

-The characters are charming (exceptmuffy), about on par with Pocket Mirror's believe it or not. Rozenmarine is the only one I can speak heavily on, since her endings are the only routes I've done, but she's so cute and I love her. Freya also seems very great, which is why I have her route lined up to do next. Elise herself is also much different from how I assumed, but I love her as a protagonist.

-The sheer amount of lore this game introduces, from how Elise's deal with Strange Boy went down, to how the Pocket Mirror made it into Goldia's hands in the first place, is downright amazing for a lore nerd like myself.

-While this game didn't make me as emotional as Pocket Mirror does at any point (both of Lisette's endings still make me sob like a baby,) I did feel pretty empty inside after sacrificing Rozenmarine during the "canon" ending. And games that put me into a literal depressive episode after finishing are the ones I remember the most and love the most.

-The sheer amount of endings does give this game good replay value. Of course, that is undercut by... literally the dozen things I mentioned in my last post, but it does give me reason to stick it out.

-The fact that even the background characters have consistent personalities is nice. I love when games pay that close attention to detail. Though I will say that most of the ones without large-scale speaking sprites did kinda blend together into one person in my head, and in some cases they may as well have been one person. But on my next playthrough, I'll definitely take the time to pay attention to who says what lines, rather than just skimming the text itself.

-The dates are really cute, especially the associated scenes. You do not know the scream I let out when Rozenmarine finally dropped the L-bomb on Elise. That scene was adorable, despite being undercut by my constant (and later proven correct) dread of her dying painfully soon.

-Seriously, just the fact that you are playing as a lesbian is great. I can't think of many games, other than ones explicitly marketed as "yuri romance" or "lesbian dating sim" that have this kind of casual representation. It warms my heart a lot to see it not fall to the pitfalls of "has to be a visual novel or dating sim" or "only hinted-at representation."

-My final compliment for now, I adore Rozenmarine in general. I'm a very character-focused person, and I now have a new character to rotate and hyper-fixate on in my mind.

Part 3 - Outro

I love these games. A lot. I don't want to ever give the impression of "GoldenerTraum is a bad remake" or "LGTS isn't a good sequel" because those things aren't true. Despite my complaints, my opinions on these games are 90% positive.

All of this to say... I'm not falling out of love with this series. While the original Pocket Mirror holds a special place in my heart as "maybe the best thing Astral Shift has ever made," I still love their newest projects all the same. And nostalgia plays a big part in that place it has in my heart.

I love you, Pocket Mirror. And I love you, Little Goody Two Shoes.

[eggs-and-autism]

a detailed explanation of every anime ive ever watched bc i feel like it

first of all no hate to ppl who like the stuff i trashed on here, same goes for ppl disliking the things i glazed. technically my first anime was pokemon -but thats everyone's first so ill be brief. my fav series was pokemon black & white, xy and xyz were pretty good but nothing compared to b&w.

as a kid i also loved glitter force and lolirock! not much to say i jst love cartoons. ok real post time:

in 4th grade i was really into animation story time youtubers; especially wolfichu. i NEEDED to have her artstyle. so around that time she among others had mentioned in passing tokyo mew mew, so i found a dub of it on youtube.

tokyo mew mew was okay, i wasnt invested in it i juast watched it to be more like wolfichu. i barely got like 5-10 eps in before i forgot ab it and moved on; deciding i would simply not like anime and draw in an anime artsyle in harmony.

and so i didnt watch anime for the next 2 years. i think i told people i did to be cool(i was not cool) but alas, i was a poser. in 7th grade i was online way more and saw ppl talking about anime a lot, so i made a big list of all the ones people told me to watch and decided i would watch them in the summer of 2021

a bit before summer my bff recommended i watch a silent voice. i really liked it, not much to say, its p fuckin good! i really like Shoko's design.

okay summer time-- first on the watch list was the promised neverland; i got though it in a day and felt mildly positive towards it. it was interesting when i connected it to my favorite comic at the time (space boy) but i didnt wanna rewatch.

then there was mha. my bff really liked it at the time so i did have motivation to watch it- but i felt nothing twords the plot and characters. i watched the first 3 seasons but i rember none of it bc i was so distracted and bord the whole time. no hate to mha fans!! i really wanted to get into it; but i once again came to the conclusion i am not a person who likes anime.

i focused on watching other cartoons for a while but my bff got really into attack on titan; so i said over and over i would watch it but never actually did. technically this doesnt count but i know the whole plot form he sending well structured wikipedia esc infodumps about it. so im mentioning it, sue me i dare you.

i also watched the first season of saki k. it wasnt outstanding but it was funny enough.

a good bit into 2022 i saw people on tiktok talking about watamote, it seemed interesting enough, so i watched it. i liked it more then any anime id seen before(spare a silent voice and pokemon). it wasnt really an interest, i had no further thoughts about it, it was pretty funny and the ending song is a fucking banger witch is still on all my playlists!

durring 8th grade i was also forced by my friend-at-the-time to watch komi cant communicate. now, at first i was told to watch the sub(as the dub wasn't out yet). i dont watch subs. i cant watch them at all, i read slow and there is no enjoyment for me and i dont care about the voice acting i need it out loud. but as mentioned komi had no dub for a while so i sat though the first ep and then gave up. months later; dub was out and i watched it. it was fineeee. standered. it was what i expected; i didnt really like it but i didnt hate it. i was just a person who didnt like anime. no changing that.

until-

around the end of my 8th grade year or beginning of my freshman year i saw someone on tiktok talking about school live club! it sounded really interesting so i watched it- and oh my god. i loved it. to this day i love it. SPOILERS!!: the other girls playing into Yukis delusions for their own peace of mind was fascinating. every characters personal story-- the twist with Megumi-- the depiction of ptsd with Kurumi-- the ending--- i loved it.

so naturally, i assumed it was one of a kind and i simply was not a person who liked anime.

during my freshman year i watched madoka magica. i was recommended it by a friend and it statemented itself as the second anime i turly loved. after madoka i started looking for anime i like again

bloom into you hit me on a personal level, it was like a truck that hit my face saying "hey, this is a kinda relationship that is possible", witch as of me figuring out im aroace has been more relivent to me then ever. i have trouble loving people so the idea of somone wanting a relationship because ill never romantically love them is smth i hope for- but obvi might not happen i just like that its possible.

summer before 10th grade-- i was at my fist con and decided if i couldn't find anything to buy i would at least network. i met a really cool artist and chatted with her for a while. she had a keychain i thought was cute so i asked her what it was from. thus my introduction to bochi the rock! and god, it i really wanted to like bochi. i loved guitar and wanted to learn it; i loved her design; the premise want miserably boring; i wanted to like it! but there was no dub, and god i cannot watch subs, its pathetic but i had to drop it.

during the first semester of my junior year i was still working on the future is blue. i mention this because apon seeing an anime with almost the same premise as my comic, i had to watch it. a lull in the sea was an interesting premise for sure, but i never actually finished it. the seris main theme is fish people face xenophobia, but what stuck out to me most was a pattern i noticed with how people treated the heroin. (this is from memory so i might get stuff wrong) i had BEEF with that way Manaka was constantly infanatalized by her friends. the main character constantly treats her like an idiot who is hopless without him. when she comes home crying after being cat-called by some old pos she is told shes being dramatic. like, no wonder she got close with the fisher boy so quickly, HES NICE TO HER!! still id rewatch it in theory if i have time.

and then there was talentless nana. the game changer.

♡ part 2

[renpimpiblog]

Yello..how are you guys doing today?

The next episode iisssss....

The one where they say nipple a lot, that is almost like, the entire point of the episode??? I'm not complaining either way, It's funny

I really like this one, the premise is pretty simple, Ren and Stimpy try another idea to get rich, they become door to door salesmen of rubber nipples, encountering a good part of the supporting characters, like the fire chief, Mr horse, and others, even though the idea of the episode is pretty mundane, they use it to twist and stretch the crazyness and insanity that characterizes the show so much, so many bizarre things happen, and it all encapsulates so well in Vincent Waller's artstyle, which is my favorite artstyle from these episodes from season 2 (you know, before him and others ended up quitting alongside John K's firing..buh)

Despite all, I think that the ONLY bad point this episode has is the ending, I get that it's supposed to be a reference to the Three stooges??? So it's supposed to be nonsensical and out of place, but I don't knooooowwww, maybe the could've made a ending that blended a lot better with the episode itself and still maintaining the reference?, but overall I really love this episode (bonus POSITIVE points goes to the Latin American dub..I love how Ren sounds so pissed off there)

I give this episode a 9/10, amazing episode, I recommend it greatly teehee

Join us next time where we'll be taking a look at "Sven Hoek" ooohohohohohhhh that one it's pretty well known so...I hope you're looking forward to it

[rainofbrasspetal]

Mashle: The Stitchy Review

Started Mashle May 26 2024.

Finished Mashle June 17 2024.

Stitchy's Score: 6/10

Shortly after finishing Inuyasha, I wanted something really straightforward. More importantly something short. At a crisp 163 chapters, Mashle really delivered on that. Mashle has a pretty good bag of jokes and a great artstyle.

A friend of mine, someone who does a lot of character design, always tells me that simple designs will always look better. Usually she's right and this time is no exception. I think Mashle really is visually appealing. As someone who also loves film discussions and film as art, it seems almost comical to say. Something that feels like it's such a surface level compliment, "The camera work was fantastic!" Of course it was! It's a movie! That's like the most basic thing you have to do! With visual mediums like movies, or especially comics and manga, you still have to point out when things look good. It's a luxury I think consumers of a visual medium may take for granted. Mashle having such a great artstyle also adds to the overall gag of the manga. There's even a lot of good fights with great scene blocking. Plus I love that it really is based around a dude that doesn't use magic and never will. Right, MHA? 🤨

The gags are, as with most comedy, hit or miss. When Mashle hits, however, it does. I also appreciate that the viz translation managed to weave words like "cringe" into the dialog without it really feeling like it's trying to hard. I'm sure this will be dated as time marches forward, but for now it's pretty charming.

Unfortunately, the gags also add to a couple of the negatives. I can't rate it that high objectively because Mashle really tries to be serious while making fun of itself. This is such a dangerous tightrope to walk. Mashle really tries to be a racism allegory. It feels like a little too much; have your cake and eat it too. The actual plot is also so incredibly straightforward. It can be a positive to save time that way, but it's also a negative in being memberal overall. The villain isn't set up all that well and while there are so many cool designs and fights, a lot of them aren't very engaging outside of a gag or the fact they showed up one time. A lot of the big badasses show up once and are kind of boddied offscreen as the endgame comes. They all show up for such a short time. Everyone has a sad backstory while the main character makes fun of them for wasting time with a sob story. It can be funny if it wasn't the thing every time. I don't know how I am expected to care about certain characters when their only joke at the end of the day is "sister complex freak" or villains who have a sad backstory before Mash looking at the audience like "👈😏 this guy, huh audience?" Serious moments are often overshadowed by these eternal gags.

In conclusion, Mashle is a fun and quick read. It stumbles a lot because sometimes it tries to drop the funny to look at you very seriously and tell you that an oppressive class in charge is not good and everyone should ever be treated as less than human (great message, but it doesn't feel like it does a good job). Despite it all, it's fun to look at and it's a nice "turn your brain off" kind of time. Like I said, some of these jokes are real zingers. I would recommend this to people but I would really caution them that you're not going to get much substance out of it. I don't know if I'd read it again myself, but I think it has it's moments and I enjoyed my time.

[booniesoil]

Deer in Rusty Lake might mean something else

A lot of people theorize that the imagery of deers in Rusty lake represents hatred / violence towards family, which is something I totally see with Nicholas Eilander and Albert Vanderboom, but I don't know why that would be applicable to Dale Vandermeer. He is perfect!! Actually, I theorize / believe that people with deer representations in Rusty Lake could mean something a bit opposite. First of all, I think the true reason the use of deer is so common and inconsistent is generally because it matches the style or Rusty Lake, so they reuse deer carelessly (sorry Rusty Lake, I LOVE YOUR ARTSTYLE I DO), but,:

I think a more accurate telling of deer for characters in the series would be reaching enlightenment. Between the three characters, they may be taking steps, and may be some of the only characters taking steps towards enlightenment in different ways. (I haven't played all the games in the series recently, so a lot of my information may be out of date or flawed, and it is not fully defined what enlightenment is, or how to reach it outside of possibly drinking the elixir, so I am making inferences). I don't fully know what the purpose of sacrificing Jakob is, but Nicholas had taken interest in using Caroline's memories for whatever reason he needs them for. Intentional or not, helping the lake or not, Nicholas may have been taking steps towards enlightenment.

Dale, to me it seems like the plans Aldous and Mr Owl are attempting to him is to get him enlightened (without his knowledge). He's already a corrupted soul, but as far as I know Mr Crow is attempting to change his negative memories into positive ones, changing memories gut keeping the past, it's all vague but he ends up with the golden cube, which might be a step to enlightenment. Ambiguous stuff I hope it all makes sense.

But most exciting, to me, is Albert. Albert may be unintentionally in the process of becoming enlightened. Seeing as Mr Crow is trying to turn Dale's negative memories into positive ones, seemingly to enlighten him?, Albert is ACTIVELY and unintentionally taking steps to enlightenment by personally changing his past, negative memories of his family into positive ones by. Murdering them all. Nice man! 

Ms Pigeon is the closest character I could think of that may be applicable to whatever I've layed out here, since she does take interest in extracting memories before she dies. I don't fully know the rules here, but maybe she's too side of a character to have an association with deer, or perhaps have not started her experiment, already has a harsh enough connotation with pigeons (although Albert has MANY connotations with many different things, Mr Pigeon can definitely have multiple, too) to provide a second animal connotation, or she may have already reached enlightenment.

William is a character that seems like he's massively failing at becoming enlightened! For being the one with the most work done, he got killed by drinking the elixir, took all the steps to reviving himself, and got reincarnated as Laura, who seems like she got, once again, doomed to a fate opposite to enlightenment. Laura has a ton of bad memories, as does Dale, but her bad memories are utilizing a lot by the lake crew, and ultimately she is not getting steps done to getting closer to enlightenment. She pretty much is held hostage at this lake by her brother to extract bad memories after bad memories to help enlighten Dale. If I am READING THIS CORRECT. 

I think I good way to see if this fits is to crosscheck if random deer in the games could also indicate this, but I haven't done that yet, I'm just keeping in mind Albert, Nicholas, Dale, and William.

I hope that all makes sense! I hope someone use understands this and gets EXCITED by it because I think it's a far more exciting theory with a bunch of potential than the previous one!

Edit: ADDING ON TO THIS. Playing through Paradox for the first time in years, Laura outright said that one of them will die and the other will reach enlightenment, and I absolutely do not see that being Laura. You have no hope I am sorry Laura.

[gauntletqueen]

You've talked positively about 2 before, but what about the rest of the Rayman series?

I have a long history with the Rayman series! So I'll put it under a readmore

I used to play Rayman 1 a lot when I was little, but never beat it because it is Bullshit. You need to 100% it in order to get the ending. Not the "good ending" or "best ending" but ANY ending at all. You're not allowed to fight the final boss unless you've collected every collectible and some of the levels later on get Pretty Bullshit afhhgasf That said, the visuals and music for it are wonderful! And most of the levels, with their slow, careful platforming, are very fun and unique even today. I think, anyway.

Let's also include Rayman 2: The Great Escape, which is one of my all-time favorite games! I own like over 10 copies of it across several platforms (PC and 3DS are the best ways to play it btw) and have beat it more than any other game, easily (Sonic R runner up) It more or less reinvented the world from the first game, giving clearer lore, and a more mystical, immersive feeling to the fantasy world. The characters are endearing, the gameplay is tight and makes it super enjoyable to run through the fluid level design. Also the soundtrack is REALLY GOOD!!!! (Some of this might be nostalgia speaking but also I think I'm right probably)

Rayman M is FUN I love the music and visual design of the levels. It's not like. Good. Per se. There's basically no way to catch up once you're behind in a race, and the arena mode is pretty awkward, but I have a soft spot for it :>

Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc (which I'll be streaming on the 21st for charity!!) retains a lot of the cool mystique and creative fantasy from the first game, along with expanding on the wonderful artstyle. It's VERY 2000's with making Rayman more rugged and quippy, but not to any degree that really ruins the character. I like it a lot!

Rayman Raving Rabbids makes me Sad. It was supposed to be so much more than just a wacky minigame collection. Many of the minigames are fun! And if this was just a little spinoff from the main Rayman series it wouldn't be that bad. However, this marked the beginning of the death of Rayman as I knew and loved him. From this moment on, we just got more Raving Rabbids games. each subsequent installment focussed less and less on Rayman, until he was removed entirely, and wouldn't appear again until many years later. I was extremely saddened by this and hated the rabbids for a long time as a result.

Rayman finally made his return in Rayman Origins, which is critically acclaimed and the first thing that comes to mind for many people when they think of Rayman. I was Extremely Excited when it was announced, and like the previous games, the visuals of the game are beautiful. The gameplay is also fantastic, but I actually hate the story and how it portrays the characters. The game sends many mixed messages about what it wants to be, where it fits into the series, whether it's a sequel of a reboot, it's a mess. I was worried about where the series would go from here.

Rayman Legends validated my worries, by being even nicer to look at, more satisfying to play, and even worse in terms of story. The most half-baked setup for a story with no payoff. But hey it does have the music levels and those are the best so. I guess it evens out. (fun fact even though I don't like the two most recent games, I still 100% them ashfhgaf)

(bonus round) Rayman Adventures is like random small Rayman Legends levels but on mobile, they did a great job of fitting the controls to just sliding and tapping the screen, it was quite fun actually

Thank you!! Hope this was fun to read cause it's a lot hsafhgafs

[soul-sparx]

RYU’S SFV COSTUMES RATED

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done one of these, but they were some of my favorite posts on my old blog before it got nuked, so I figured I’d do another just for fun, and who better to choose than the series main character, in his final outing in the role?

Default

9/10

Ah, Ryu’s typical look. What can be said about it that already hasn’t been said? Not a whole lot. Ryu has aged gracefully in the past more than 35 years, and is one of the characters least affected by SFV’s confusing, pseudo-realistic art direction. The only marks I have against this are the color of his gi, and his hairstyle. On the gi, it looks like he hasn’t washed it since the first SF game came out back in 1987. That thing crunches when he walks. I get they’re going for a worn, used look, but I feel like they pushed it a bit too far here. As for his hair, I was just never a fan of the black, spiked look. I much prefer the look from SFII-- dark brown and brushed forward, hanging over his bandana with some weight on it. Ultimately, though, these are small marks against an otherwise great take on an old look.

Story

7/10

“But Ava!” you may say, “Doesn’t this costume do exactly what you criticized the default costume for not doing?”

Yes it does, however a couple things make it far less appealing to me. To start with positives, the color of his gi and belt are much better, still looking worn and used but not outright dirty. This Ryu takes care of himself and his stuff. That said, in trying to replicate the Street Fighter Alpha look, they made some...odd choices. Lightening his skin makes him look paler, not sickly but...getting there. I’m not going to call it whitewashing, because I don’t think it is, but it is a strange choice. His hair looks...molded, rather than brushed, like a clay headpiece you’d customize a Lego minifigure with. Finally, they tried to apply an odd cel-shading look and, what little consistent artstyle SFV has does not work with cel-shading. Overall, I’d say it’s a good idea with less than stellar execution.

Battle

10/10

Now THIS is how Ryu should’ve looked by default in this game. Theoretically, Ryu’s story in this game is the culmination of his battle with the Satsui no Hado, and this haggard, worn-down Ryu comminucates that beautifully. The torn, dirty pants, the unkempt beard (which also shows him working to defeat the Satsui no Hado, bringing him closer to his master, Gouken, visually), the ramshackle sparring gloves made of nothing but tightly-tied sports tape, this is Ryu at his lowest, ready to reach his highest, and I’m so glad they based his appearance in SF6 on this costume.

B-Boy

9/10

Now look, I get it, this is goofy, this is out of character, this is just stupid. But... I kind of love it for that? Like, it’s so goofy and out of character that it becomes hilarious and I gotta love it for that. On top of that, it’s actually pretty solid? Functionally speaking? The silvery pants and coat mirror his gi, and the black shirt and black trim of his jacket keep the emphasis on his arms and legs, further emphasized by the red shoes, rings, and wristbands. Like...it’s stupidly fun AND doesn’t hamper gameplay. How am I supposed to get mad at this?

Halloween

6/10

Don’t get me wrong, this costume is VERY cool, but I feel like the everpresent stark red might betray its functionality. I feel like it’s at least inspired by Bishamon from Darkstalkers, but Bishamon makes up for his almost all-red color palette with gold trims and wide, open posing that makes every keyframe clear. This has the gold trims, but Ryu’s posing is very closed and guarded. I’m sure it’s still usable, but it’s not nearly as readable as, for example, the default or b-boy costumes.

Capcom Pro Tour 2017

8/10

I'll admit, my understanding of Japanese culture is limited, but this does feel like some kind of traditional festival attire, and to that end I think it's very successful and fairly in-character for Ryu. He strikes me as a traditionalist, and I'm sure he's very popular in the village that I'm certain lies just down the mountain path from Suzaku Castle. It also works well from a functional aspect. His exposed arms and red gloves contrasted against blue/white ropes bring proper attention to his arms for moves like the Hadouken and Shoryuken, while the black vest draws your eye downward into his blue, long, wide pants to prepare you for moves like the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku. I'm curious about the purpose behind the dragon on his back, if that serves as a cultural reference, but it looks cool without getting in the way of functionality, so I can't be mad at it.

School

7/10

I question the choice to make this costume in the first place, it seems odd, but it looks fairly cool and is perfectly functional between the rolled up sleeves, long coat, and tapestry lining the coats inside to keep the legs visible. Doesn't do anything for me, and is kind of weird from a character perspective, but it does what it sets out to do and I don't have any real gripes with it.

Arthur - Ghosts ‘n Goblins

5/10

I have nothing to say here that I didn't cover with the Haloween costume. I do appreciate the Ghosts 'n Goblins reference, but thst doesn't excuse bad readability.

Jin Saotome - Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness

4/10

Same as above, but I'd say it's even worse here. If you notice, his shoulders, elbows, knees, and feet are covered by a kind of metallic material. In artwork, as well as sprites in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (Jin's only playable appearance outside of a mecha), those metallic parts are a starker, darker silver color in order to make his posing more readable despite his all-white outfit. In other words, they actively made the design worse for...seemingly no reason.

Mega Man - Mega Man

9/10

This is so goddamn funny to me. Like, Mega Man is this tiny little Astroboy knockoff, he's not even 5 feet tall. Meanwhile Ryu is this hulking, muscular mass of meat. It's so funny to me how much this doesn't fit. As for readability, Mega Man is already one of the best designed video game characters ever made, so this is perfectly fine functionally.

Kairi - Street Fighter EX

8/10

I'm not particularly familiar with this character, as I've only played SFEX once, but it's very cool to see them referencing such an obscure piece of SF history. Not to mention, it just looks cool. Not much to say beyond that.

Track Suit

5/10

Eh....if you remember my old costume reviews, you know I'm not a fan of these. They're fine functionally, but I have no idea why every character has one, and they just get boring and tiring after looking at them 14 times over.

BCRF

8/10

It's pretty cool. It looks oddly tactical, and I don't really get the asymmetrical look-- why bring so much attention to one arm over the other, it's not like Yamazaki's right arm in Fatal Fury/KoF, which contains the power of a god. Ultimately, though, it was for a good cause and it works well enough. Not gonna complain.

[luffysus]

I need to talk about Cross Game - Part 1

Lately I've been feeling a bit nostalgic of the old anime/mangas I used to read, so I decided to re-read Touch by Adachi Mitsuru and that not being enough i needed to re-read Rough by the same author. And just like that I was like fuck it I just can't get enough of this author so I decided to give another one of his mangas a try and OMG I am floored. Btw I have some issued with the tropes Adachi overuses in his storytelling and his artstyle but that's for another post. Anyway, Cross Game is absolutely brilliant, this is Adachi at his best dealing with emotions, grief just like he knows. I actually haven't watched the anime adaptation so I'm just going to focus on the manga for now. I'll try to keep it short but I don't think that's even possible cause I have a LOT to say...

While looking for opinions on the series, I came across lots of reviews but mostly from anime watchers and I was often confused because a lot referred to Wakabe as Kou's girlfriend and I was just sat there like huh ??? Did i missread something in the manga that the anime captured lol ? I mean Kou did love Wakabe but the author from the very beginning of the manga went out of his way to show us their relationship was a bit one-sided. Wakabe loved Kou (mind you they were just like 10 year olds at this point in the story so i feel a bit weird calling it "love" lol) but Kou on the other hand was always more interested in her sister Aoba.

The instances are subtle a la Adachi but there are almost in every chapter. It's the way he sets up his panels, the dialogue or silences that sometimes can be so mundane but highlight obvious human emotions, like longing.

Starting from Chapter 1, Kou and Aoba are the first two characters we are introduced to and already in that introduction we have Kou staring at /taking interest in whatever it is Aoba is doing.

And mind you right before this, is a page of Kou staring at bathing suits, and when his father scolds him he basically replies he is a maturing boy so staring at things regarding the opposite sex is normal...almost like the author is outright showing us the what interests this hormonal pre-teen...

The first part of the story being focused on Wakabe and Kou's relationship actually highlights and cements the fact that Kou always liked Aoba differently. It's in the way he wasn't really intereted in keeping that tradition Wakabe wanted of them buying each other gifts every year.

It's the way he would almost always mention Aoba while with Wakabe (I started taking screenshots of the different instances but there were actually like so many I gave up lol I can't post all of them). I will however just touch upon imo the biggest giveaway depicted. It is when they are exchanging birthday gifts and Wakabe spots a newlywed couple. She's obviously emotional and she mentions how the couple will definetely be happy since they got married on a special day (her and Kou's birthday). When I tell you Adachi has a way of setting up his panels...because what comes next is kind of a brutal hint that only Wakabe was in "love". As she is mesmerised by the bride and imagines herself in that position...one day most likely with him... Kou is not listening and is basically thinking about Aoba and trying to emulate her pitching. You can't make this up...

Now this could absolutely be my head canon, but Wakabe being the very perceptive young girl she was, imo figured out Kou liked Aoba that's why she tells Aoba not to take him away from her when he grows up to be the kind of man she knows Aoba will like (aka a pretty damn good baseball player).

When Wakabe tragically dies at that young age, Aoba could never forget that request from her late sister. That's what makes Aoba's struggling to come to terms with her feelings for Kou as they grow up so poignant. Not only does she have to come deal with the grief of losing the sister she was closest to, she also has to fight her growing attraction for Kou so she literally forces herself to exgerrate feelings of hatred him because falling for him meant betraying the late sister she loved so much.

Kou too has some internal conflicts he has to deal with before accepting that he loves Aoba. While he was not romantically interested in Wakabe, he still loved her very much. She was the only constant in his life, always pushing him to become a better person. It's a love that's in a way so much deeper than romantic love. It's the kind of love you feel for a twin (and knowing Adachi this is exactly what he was going with, by setting their birthday the same day and place). Plus like I said because their relationship was bit one side he felt that much more guilt, that she was the one always loving him, always doting on him during their time together. On top of that his feelings for sisters just kept growing...

This is what makes Cross Game so damn heartfelt. The emotions the characters go through are so complex, so human it tugs at your heart. Seeing these two heartbroken people try to cope with the death of loved one while coming into adulthood and dealing with their survivor's guilt, growing emotions... Damn.

I titled this part 1 because I still have so much more to say lmao. I'll stop here for now. Well done to anyone who manages to read all this and if you did I hope this makes you want to watch/read Cross Game.