#remember this is like the first time I'm watching these episodes

[chronicdelusionistsart]

AGUUGHGGHAUAUGGHHGGHHHHHHH

Okay so I just saw season 3. let's go bitches

I… didn't like that! For the most part. There were a few good episodes and ideas, and it was a fun romp, but what I think I liked about season 3 most was that it taught me all about the parts of 1+2 that I had previously taken for granted.

Danny Phantom prior to season 3 is a very continuity-driven, character-driven show. It's very good at remembering what happens and making that matter for future episodes, and leads to a surprising amount of depth in the intercharacter dynamics.

So I talked in my earlier post about how one of the show's unironic strengths is that it doesn't unpack a lot of moments and it makes a lot of implications without fully exploring them. What I missed is that the strength of those moments isn't necessarily that they're open to interpretation, but that the show is constructed in such as way as to have those unpacked moments exist in a state of truth in the background.

The out of pocket "WHOA WHOA GO BACK ARE WE GONNA UNPACK THAT" moments are genuinely part of the worldbuilding because the implications were, for the most part, consistent - a writer or the writing team clearly had notes down somewhere keeping track of them and using them as a way to slip more depth in than they might A) be allowed by the censors and B) be able to include without ruining the tone.

And, well. It felt as though as soon as I entered season 3 I felt the absence of this respect for continuity. The slow and logical build of Danny's powers, gone. The complex interpersonal dynamics between the characters, gone. The tonal and logical direction of the worldbuilding, gone and replaced by something much less afterlife-centric and much more myth-centric. Many of the extended cast, functionally gone or badly OOC. I AM SO FUCKING SORRY VALERIE AND MADDIE

It's no longer a horror show! There are horrific moments, but it's lost that side of it. They fell off the knife's edge onto the teen comedy side. And, uh, that finale… yeah…

Now, this isn't to say that I completely hated season 3! I actually thought the art and music chops were still fully online for most of it and a lot of the new ghost designs were pretty cool, even if they lacked the depth of the ghosts in previous seasons. And some of the joke writing was really on point, I laughed a lot. And there were one or two episodes I liked unironically. And they had some interesting ideas. And I liked the idea if not the execution of Danny finding more out about the ghost zone. And I think every time Dash came up I laughed (Why did all of them except Tucker have him in the friend group in their dreams in the nightmare ep lmao???).

But man. Man. It's just not the same show. It feels like it takes place in a different world. But I do still like corny superhero comedy shows. And it did made me feel like I could appreciate the first two seasons all the more, so, like! Not a complete loss. I'm glad I sat down and watched it.

Time to read 1 billion fanfictions. SEEYA

So I have been watching Danny Phantom for the first time ever with my friends and I'd kind of previously known about its reputation as a show whose fanbase dives a lot more into the lore than the show is willing to. And I guess I hadn't really understood why until now (I just finished Season 2!). Here's my sort of rambling thoughts on it.

Danny Phantom isn't a show about the horror of ghosts and the dead coexisting in the human realm. It's a show about dropping the most out of pocket lore implications you can imagine on people who in turn say things that would kill a therapist dead equally out of pocket, and then neither are addressed but the watcher has to live with the ghost of the plot that is right behind them but they can't turn around.

DP is a little hit and miss in places, but the very thing that drives people nuts about it is actually I think maybe its greatest strength: it really pulls off show, don't tell effectively. How much of that is intentional is up for debate, but the best episodes kinda leave you wondering, or sputtering like "UH, HEY, BACK UP - HEY BACK UP AND UNPACK THAT -" Is Danny's human body technically alive somehow, or is he a walking corpse? Does Danny have a door in the Ghost Zone? Were Vlad's clones feeling and sentient as they melted into ectoplasm, despite Danny's guess that they weren't? What does it say about Danny that he still erased his parents' memories after finding out they'd accept him as he is?

I think the genius of not answering these questions directly is that it's both funnier AND scarier not to. We can laugh about how fucked up it is and kinda hold our heads like "bro.... did they really just imply that, holy shiiiiiit", and that's really consistent with the emotional core of the show as this knife's-edge dance between teen comedy and horror superhero. Fully explaining the lore or being more direct about how the information is conveyed by and to the characters tips that balance and changes the show into something else, for better or for worse. And I really earnestly like it as it is, even if it's very of its time (sexism.......)! It's a really fun show with some depth to it.

Anyway, I can't wait to watch season 3! I sure hope all these wonderful qualities I like about it hold up!

[soyunpancito08]

Day 5, Kiss / Anniversary <3 Aren't they just adorable? I love them so much, VIVAN LOS NOVIOS!!!

The first time I saw the World Tour finale I was SO excited, I screamed a lot, I definitely didn't expect that ending, it's my favorite season. It may sound stupid but I honestly felt bad for Alejandro haha, he literally lost everything in an instant, YES I know he "deserved" it for manipulating a lot of people but I couldn't help but feel sorry for him lol (I was 12 ok!!?) the finale aired in 2011 right? I just remember watching the episode the next day it aired (thanksʸᵒᵘᵗᵘᵇᵉ), I also watched it in English and I didn't knew English at the time haha ​​(I'm from Mexico) it was pretty confusing XD

Btw I hope you like it :] !!

[goldenwitherphoenix13]

Throwing in my two pence here. This might get a little extensive and confusing, since I'm not great with words, so bear with me and trust me, ok?

First pence goes to this. Small thing on this being a non scripted series, yes, this is very true. None of the "curses" and stuff are planned, any references are usualy just thrown in for fun because the creators love watching us make our own stories and art, and Martyns lore is mostly his own AU that isn't connected to the main series.

But fandoms love making their own interpretations of stories, like Martyn does. It's why I have no problem with the "blessings and curses" of each participant. It's just the fan interpretations of funny coincidencs. The AUs we make. The fan content, artwork and stories, we make with the sturdy base of the life series. Jimmy and Martyn love reacting to fan made content, angsty or silly. They are loving it for the craft that it is! But they aren't canon, and never will be. Both sides know this. Scott's blessing won't always work, Grians widow curse won't always happen, and Jimmy's canary curse won't always play out quite the same as others expect it to do. Speaking of...

Time for that second penny. My interpretation of the Canary curse.

To me, the canary curse was NEVER about Jimmy being out first. It was NEVER about how he is bad at minecraft. It was NEVER about his permadeath being the the first one every time.

It was always about the chaos that came afterwards.

He wasn't cursed to die first, he was just the catalyst of disaster. When players would start to die left, right and center. It was a moment in every series where the red names would stack up and start to kill more and more, because now that a player had fallen, a sense of desperation falls across everyone. Dying first 4 times was just an unfortunate coincidence.

Jimmy is not awful at the game, he has some good skills. We can talk about that in a bit though.

The Canary in the coalmine might sometimes die to warn the coal miners of the poisons, but their silence without death speaks the exact same message.

Jimmy isn't cursed to die. Jimmy is blessed with a warning to everyone else that the end ic coming and discord wii be upon them soon.

And that warning is just his silence, through life and death.

He does not need to die for the Canary curse to come calling. Not to him. But to everyone.

Chucking in one extra penny, I would like to say that I very much think he can win. Genuinly, not having a laugh, not mocking it, and i'm not listening to anyone else. Session 3 gave me a scare, and i started doubting it, but i told myself (and Jimmy in chat) that i believe, and I was right to. Session 4 was amazing for him.

Jimmy is not bad at the game by any means. He can just be very unlucky. Events don't always line up for him so he ends up looking more incompetent than he is.

But when they do, well, just look at his 1v3 in dodgebolt and how he won the tournament for the crown in empires season 1, and remember how he spent the majority of Last life on YELLOW. And even episode 4 of wild life with how well he did in that session. I'm not saying he's the greatest minecraft player of all time because he does have his moments of lacking braincells like we all get, but he has got some skills. He just likes to mess about a bit to make things a little more entertaining for his viewers, he plays with his viewers in mind, but when he locks in, he very much locks in. And I love it.

I do still think he can win a life series. If not this one, maybe another one in the future. But I think he can do it. And if only one person in this universe believes that, then I am that one person.

Right, sorry if anything came off rude, im not the best at phrasing stuff so i might of misworded somethings here and there by accident. Again sorry if i did. I'm not here to change opinions, just to share my own. I'll leave now.

cries because everybody in this fandom sees the thought of Jimmy winning as a laughable impossibility and even people who say they're rooting for him only mean it as a joke and whenever you mention that he's doing good people have to let you know that it won't last long and inevitably he will die first because of some stupid self-fulfilling prophecy that got turned into my least favorite fanon ever. why can't he just be like a player who has a chance just like everyone else does. have you stopped to consider WHY he dies first so often? it's not a curse. this isn't a scripted series. it's because he's incredibly pacifistic and because people generally don't want to help him because they consider him a weak player. both of these things have been done away with this season, he has a taste for blood and an ally who is both incredibly underrated in his strength and has said he would never betray him. jimmy has as much a chance as anyone else.

[inkblotsonmyhands]

----------------SPOILERS FOR ARCANE SEASON 2 ACT I BELOW----------------

Alright then, hopefully no one who hasn't watched Arcane S2 Act I yet is reading this. I don't know if this has already been said or not but I was (like so many others) blown away by Act I last Saturday and literally cannot wait for the next two. Full disclosure in case I get any facts wrong (feel free to correct me!!), I have never played League of Legends in my life and know no lore whatsoever outside the show.

I'm fascinated by Isha and Jinx's currently nonexistent but gradually growing relationship. First of all, if I remember correctly, we know that this child's name is Isha only because of a subtitle—she never introduces herself, and no one ever calls her by name. Jinx only acknowledges her grudgingly, and until the very last scene of Episode 3, Sevika acts like she isn't even there.

I think there's parallels to be drawn between Powder and Isha, starting with what I mentioned—both of them are often ignored by the people around them. Of course, Powder was loved by her sister and adoptive siblings and father, most of them just rarely got the chance to really show it. I don't think Sevika or Jinx particularly care about Isha at all as of now, but we don't know much about her past. There's got to be some reason why Chross's men were chasing her, and there's got to be a reason why she apparently has nowhere to go. I would guess she's associated with either Chross, another chembaron, or perhaps a figure like Vander—relevant to the Lanes, but not a chembaron. I would also guess that, like Powder, whatever familial figure she has/had is either dead or has abandoned her.

She's small (although we do not know exactly how old she's supposed to be), does not appear to have much fighting ability, was scared the first time she saw Jinx kill people, and, despite it all, seems to be unnaturally resilient. From the little I've seen, she seems to be good at hiding and sneaking around. These are more traits that seem similar to Powder's. I'd like to add that her flinching when Jinx fired at Chross's men does not necessarily mean she's never seen violence before, but that she's probably never been in the direct line of it. I also think she has some emotional attachment to her hat. That could just be because it's useful, though.

The larger case I want to bring to light, however, is not her resemblance to Powder—but how she differs. There's two scenes where I think this really stands out.

The first is the Jinx and Sevika vs Smeech fight. The setting of the fight bears some similarity to the fight Vi, Claggor, and Mylo get into against some thugs at the beginning of Season 1. Obviously, Jinx and Sevika are much more experienced than the kids were at the time of their fight, but they're also fighting against equally powered opponents. Regardless, the two fights bear a resemblance in where they take place—the streets. Powder is present in one fight mostly because she goes where Vi goes; Isha is at the other because she was following Jinx. Powder, in an act of self-defense, tries to use the bomb she made, which backfires and results in her losing the loot and, in a way, nullifying the others' victory. Isha, in an attempt to help Jinx, throws the bomb that Jinx made—successfully distracting the thug, and allowing Jinx an easy kill.

The second instance is the Jinx and Sevika vs Vi and Caitlyn fight. There's no obvious similarity here, but I think, especially from Isha/Powder's perspective, this is a very similar situation to the fight Vi and everyone gets into against Silco's gang in the warehouse at the end of S1 Act I. Assuming Isha has very little context (just like Powder did, at the time), to her, it's a very big, very scary fight of the people who are "with" her—the good guys—vs the people attacking them—the bad guys. Powder, in an act of bravery, tries to intervene with a device she knows nothing about other than the fact that it explodes—and it does explode, and ultimately kills most of the people she was trying to save. Isha, in an act of bravery, tries to intervene with a gun, something she has presumably never held before, to save Jinx's life—and she succeeds. Another interesting detail is that in Powder's case, Silco's gang, armed with Shimmer, was blatantly and dangerously overpowered—Powder brought in the Hextech, which in theory, evened the odds, or even tipped them in their favor—but still cost them the fight. The fight Isha was witnessing was fairly evenly matched—Vi and Caitlyn had more Hextech weapons, but Jinx did have one Hextech weapon, and she and Sevika had the advantage of it being on their turf. Isha intervened with a simple gun, arguably the weakest weapon on the scene, but still succeeded. Lastly, Powder's intervention was from a distance, while Isha threw herself into the action. It should go without saying that I'm not trying to put Powder and Isha against each other at all—I'm just observing the situations they got put into.

To address the elephant in the room—I am aware that Powder and Jinx are the same person, but I'm drawing a distinction here because I'm examining the similarities between Powder (young Jinx, if you will) and Isha, wondering how Jinx would perceive them (if she perceives them at all), and how that would impact her relationship with her. I have no predictions as to what that may be, but I do expect Jinx and Isha's relationship to be an interesting one, and potentially, Isha may even play an important role in changing Jinx.

One last thing, although this is unrelated to the parallels—I mentioned earlier that Sevika acts like Isha doesn't exist until the very end of Episode 3. When Isha throws herself on Jinx, Caitlyn continues attempting to fire, and Vi attempts to stop her, I believe Sevika triggers the blast, ending that altercation, largely to save Isha. When she realizes that Caitlyn won't back away, she does the best thing she can to put a stop to the situation right there.

I could draw this even further into a Vander-Vi-Powder hold parallels to Sevika-Jinx-Isha theory, but that may be a stretch, even for me.

[greenbergsays]

It's been about fifteen or so years since the last time I watched Firefly and I saw Gina Torres' face on my TL this morning and said to myself, "I should do that."

Because Gina can be in a thousand shows between now and the end of time, but she will always be Zoe to me first and foremost. I look at her and I see Zoe and then after a minute, I remember the other stuff she's been in.

Anyways, I did the thing, and let Firefly play while I was working. It holds up better than I expected, honestly, apart from the casual misogyny and the fact that everyone is white except Shepherd Book. And I appreciate that they had actual sets instead of everything being CGI, that makes it better imo.

But the thing I forgot, right, the thing I forgot is how fucking much I love the relationship between Simon and River. I want to CLAW MY OWN FACE OFF because of how much they love each other and how soft they are.

Episode 5 (Safe) is particularly one of my favorites when it comes to that and that's the episode I'm on now, like. ugh.

I love them so much 😭

[shaunashipman]

Apologies, but I don’t get how fellow BT fans falling for this. The episode was filmed in Oct. They couldn’t take out the baity texting scene even if they wanted to because of how it was shot. But people need to take Tim’s direct quote as the truth. This wasn’t a journalist paraphrasing or pushing buddie. Tim was sent out to take the hit for the GA reactions and kill the possibility reunion of BT. Tim got to used to buddies blindly following and he thought he could do it again with BT. GA proved that wrong and ABC didn't want the negativity following the show into winter break. Tim could have given a vague answer, he didn’t. Same when Ryan says Eddie is straight. I’m taking Tim’s word. I have an opinion in OS role in this whole thing but that’s another matter. It’s the hope that kills and the showrunner stated don’t hope, believe him.

ok so for the record, i do not think we're "so back". any trust i had in tim and the show is gone, i extremely doubt tommy is coming back, the only reason i don't say i'm sure he's not coming back is that i'm so pessimistic i don't trust tim on anything lmao

now having said that, there's some thing to remember.

number one: tim doesn't know what the fuck is going on. he said before the season that there would be tension between the han's and the wilson's about mara, and is now claiming nobody said it. half his interviews have some sort of "idk" in there. yes he said tommy is in the past, but that could be some clever word play (unlikely, he isn't that clever) or he could be lying, or he could just change his mind down the line. from interviews with others, tim doesn't even really know what he plans to do for 8B

number two: the GA doesn't read the articles. not in large numbers. they might share one or two, here and there, but by and large the GA watches the eps and then either talks about it in their facebook groups or around the watercooler at work. sending tim out to kill the possibility of bucktommy getting back together in interviews does not help with the GA backlash, because the GA isn't seeing it. what the GA is seeing is a break-up that came out of nowhere, that read like a typical 3rd act break-up which romance movies have primed them to expect a reunion from, and buck has now been shown to clearly still want to be with tommy and tommy is clearly still thinking of buck. nothing on-screen has told them this is permanent yet.

and this is the problem, because the show is written for the GA. yes, the little easter eggs for the fandom ppl are fun, but collectively we make up less than 1% of the audience. and the GA is confused and frustrated, and if tim is telling the truth in the interviews, then the GA is being mislead by what's on-screen. they're already noting in their complaints about the break-up that the rest of the show is also frustrating them, with stories that are not allowed to breathe, and character decisions that don't make sense, and calls that are boring them.

that last one is important, because this is a first responder procedural, primarily fire and rescue. the GA watches cop procedurals because they want to watch the cops solve cases every week. they watch law procedurals because they want to watch lawyers in court every week. and they watch the firefighter procedural to watch firefighters fight fires and rescue ppl every week. the characters are important, yes, weak characters will kill a show, but they watch because they want to see those characters doing the thing the show advertises. and from their complaints, they are frustrated with both parts of the show. and if the show jerks their chain by writing the break-up as if it's reliably going to be followed by a make-up, and then just unceremoniously moves on from the relationship, that risks damaging the GA's trust in the show, which is the final nail in the coffin.

now, i know that sounds like i'm saying the show is going to turn it around, or that this really has been a fake-out the whole time. i'm not saying that. the show's writing has been bad for a while, we've just made excuses. first it was covid restrictions affecting things; then KR is a new showrunner and there's going to be some bumps; then it was well KR is just a bad showrunner proved by the show getting cancelled and then saved and KR getting demoted; then yay tim is back but also it's a short season and there were strikes and we have to make allowances.

well now we're back to the same conditions as s3, the last one that basically everyone can agree was good. and the writing isn't improving. it's declining, and they're about to hit the point of no return for the GA.

to bring it back around to bucktommy, we actually can't take tim's word as the truth, because he has proven to us that we can't. we also can't just take it as a lie. the fandom audience is stuck because we are seeing one thing happening on-screen and another thing happen in interviews. maybe next week will clear it up and fully close the door, maybe it will leave it open, and maybe it will get dropped altogether. but whatever conclusion they use, it won't fix the bad writing that brought us here

[nibbelraz]

3 Ships I Like: Moshang, FengQing and XiCheng

First Ship Ever: Finn and Marceline from Adventure Time

Last Song You Heard: Dannie May - “Don’t mind dance!”

Favorite Childhood Book: I cannot remember! It was something with about siblings being there for each other and fighting closet monsters but I can't for the life of me remember the name

Currently Reading: Golden Terrace! I'm on the start of volume 2 and it's really good!

Currently Watching: Dandadan, Love it a lot and episode 7 absolutely decimated me! I was crying SO hard.

Currently Consuming: Coffee ☕

Currently Craving: Lamb 🥩

Tagging:

@neatnete @harpieisthecarpie @lomlompurim @nekoning and anyone else you wants to join!

9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better:

Tagged by @goth-automaton yo! thanks for the tag :)

3 Ships I like: mannn jus' three? okay my favored children are Nemestine, Creva, and Weskertine

First Ship Ever: Freddy Kruger/Nancy Thompson. I am nothing if not consistant in my villian/final girl (heroine) pair supremacy

Last Song You Heard: "Renegade (We Never Run)" off the Arcane Season 2 soundtrack

Favorite Child Lichhood Book: "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak

Currently Reading: Still reading those Resi Novels by S.D. Perry whenever I get a chance to

Currently Watching: Arcane, Season 2

Currently Consuming: nothing, I ate [sou- redacted] before doing this, woops

Currently Craving: a good strong drink but that requires me to get up and pour a glass and I don't feel like pushing through the multiple layers of relity to grab a [redacted] to swig down my [also redacted]

Tags for 9 people pffh I tag whoever I want:

@naerwenia​

@coiled-dragon​

@s-dei​

@lmshady​

@depraveddove​

@the-bar-sinister​

@unchartedperils​

@sweet7simple​

@meltic-daze​

@meiguiuk​

and whoever else wants to I'm not your parental aid

[lol-jackles]

What is supernatural season episode or scene that you can't watch. From being just bad writing, acting etc. Or it just annoys

Wasting season 10 mid-season finale on introducing Claire Sue Novak of all people, holy shit 9 years later I'm still mad! First it was the Biggest Misleading Promo of ALL TIME FU SPN PROMO INTERN!!!!  They knew nobody was asking for Claire Sue so they baited us with Dean+Mark of Cain=BadAss mid-season finale and haha you fool it was actually all about the character you never asked for. A Thousand Flipping Birdies to You SPN! And then they keep bringing her back, she was the horror show monster that just won't stay dead. Then in an idea that is only sightly worse than the prequel-turned-sequel The Winchesters, they tried to inorganically create a spinoff for her just so Jeremy Carver can get his residuals.

That episode had it all: bad writing, bad acting, bad execution. Remember how I said good acting comes from the authentic self? Claire was supposed to be a street hardened edgy teen but instead she came off looking like a Mean Girl Regina-wannabe throwing a failed tantrum because her phone was taken away.  That's because Kathyrn Newton came from a family of old money and used her lived experience instead of her authentic emotion. She's gotten better at the acting craft and I liked some of her characters in her non-SPN projects, but she's not being casted in characters that require depths.

Also, whoever thought it was a swell idea for Claire Sue to have side braids should be shot.

[mirai-e-jump]

Animage December 2024 Issue Kamen Rider Gavv ft. Hino Yusuke Interview (translation below)

Publication: November 9, 2024

Letting his fighting spirit "melt" into his bullets

Even within the Kamen Rider series, which has enjoyed a history spanning over half a century, there are only a few who have been chosen to become a Kamen Rider with as much tragic resolve weighing on their shoulders as Karakida Hanto. Hanto's mother was kidnapped by a Granute when he was a child, and while investigating the Granutes, his mentor, Shioya Soji, loses his life. In order to avenge Shioya's death, he decided to accept the offer to undergo a life threatening remodification surgery from Suga Kenzo, someone who's researching a method to exterminate the Granutes. The result of his suffering is that he obtained the power to transform into Kamen Rider Valen.

Sometimes, he guesses a Granutes true identity based on the slightest bit of evidence, other times, he shows his kindness in order to support a girl who's chasing her dreams, and at other times, he shows his playful side by instinctively posing when the cameras are pointed at him……Being able to calmly consider the situation and remain open to one's emotions like that may be what's needed to confront the "monsters" that prey on people's happiness.

Although allies like Suga are currently present, Hanto's still pursuing information about the Granutes on his own. Will he be able to reach the enemy responsible for taking his mother from him? We hope you'll watch as Kamen Rider Valen's battle intensifies. _

-This also expands the range of Hanto's feeling-

"Since his first transformation in episode 6, Hanto's also been active as a Kamen Rider."

Hino: After the first transformation episode, I received heartfelt messages from tons of people, such as, "I'm looking forward to seeing what Valen will do going forward." I was also impressed by the response to the sequence of events leading up to the transformation, with comments like, "They're depicting a setting similar to a Showa Rider in a Reiwa Rider."

"It was a very unrefined first transformation scene."

Hino: It was my first transformation, and I was just trying to keep up with the flow of the performance, so I acted with conflicting feelings. I think it was because of the way Director Morota Satoshi said, "Let's make it this kind of taste," and created it on the spot that a sense of liveliness was born. This is one of my personal favorite scenes, as since I started this job, I've been working hard and doing my best, and I felt as though it connected me and Hanto.

"The avant garde exchange with Kamen Rider Gavv in episode 7 was also funny. He calls himself Valen, a name he associates with Valentine (laughs)."

Hino: That scene was fun to act out (laughs). I got into it as best as I could imagine, and the "In the end, the concept is still chocolate….." scene was given the OK with just one take. Still, I had a hard time at first deciding on which of the emotions from my previous performances to keep consistent. For everyone watching, a week has passed, but Hanto's just fought his mentor's enemy out of revenge, and he's still physically damaged. However, Sugi-san (Director Sugihara) told me to go all out, and since I myself like comedic scenes, I didn't hold back.

"Is there anything memorable from filming the transformation scene?"

Hino: For the fixed transformation pose from the second time onwards, I couldn't close the lever of the gun (Valen Buster) fully, or the Gochizou would pop out when I swung it downwards too aggressively, so I had to do alot of retakes until I got used to it (laughs). I remember having to work at it until I could make cool gestures and movements like a Kamen Rider. One of the Directors gave me some advice about the transformation, and it really struck me. It was, "It's a privilege for the chosen ones to be able to say "Henshin," and the word transformation must convey how the character is feeling as they fight." So, every time I transform, I'm conscious of how to convey my emotions in that moment.

"Once again, please tell us your impression of Hanto."

Hino: Hanto became lonely after losing his mother, met his mentor when he was acting like a delinquent, became his apprentice, and is looking for monsters in his work as a writer. He's someone who's had many experiences that I haven't had. I was conscious of this past before we started filming, and I thought that he was nothing like me. But as I talked with Screenwriter Komura Junko-san and Sugi-san, it was almost like Hanto came to me. While respecting what was different between me and him, I began to draw from my own clumsiness and roughness in order to become closer to Hanto.

"Considering he has a passionate side, and a serious backbone despite being silly, Hanto seems to have a wide range."

Hino: That's right. Shouma's pure and Sachika's a gyaru, but I think there are situations and relationships that are created by each and every one of Hanto's "faces." I'm challenging myself to widen my range, and not settle for, "This is just how Hanto is."

"You're thinking, "If this isn't Hanto, then this is," right?"

Hino: Yes. If I perform as Hanto, then I become Hanto, or to put it another way, it's my job to create Hanto, and I consider it rewarding.

"In episode 9, the most recent episode, we got a glimpse of Hanto's more mature side in a scene with Kirari."

Hino: I wanted to express Hanto's clumsy yet passionate attitude toward children in the scene where he consults with Kirari-chan in a friendly and helpful manner. In the scene before that, when the safety buzzer is set off, he's mistaken for a suspicious person even though he didn't mean it that way, which is typical of Hanto (laughs). I think it's a funny scene that shows off Hanto's cuteness.

-We hope that Hanto will be rewarded one day-

"What are your impressions of Kaji Kotaro-san, the Suit Actor who plays Valen?"

Hino: I feel that Kaji-san has a passionate kindness within him, and that he's pulling me along. Valen's actions are also broken down into a fighting style that's typical of Hanto, and I realized that we were creating one role together. We sometimes talk over a few drinks, and in a positive way, we have friendly competition, where we can say what we want to say to each other.

"What do you find important when doing post recording?"

Hino: Hanto has a wide range of expressions, but when he transforms into Valen, he's fighting a Granute, so I'm aware that he's in a state of hostility and wanting revenge. I try to avoid feeling strangely calm, I always act with the feeling that I'm risking my life.

"Maybe it's like you're switching over into battle mode."

Hino: That might be it. When I speak as Hanto, I go back to my natural self, so I think that this is fine.

"How's the atmosphere on set?"

Hino: Hide has a strong sense of responsibility as the main character, and thanks to his leadership, we were able to communicate with each other from the very beginning, and as filming progressed, the vibes between Shouma, Sachika, and Hanto were established. Hide and Miyabecchi tease me in a nice way, so I think we've established an equal relationship. In regards to Hide, I've always played younger brother characters, so I was alittle nervous that "the younger generation has appeared" (laughs), but he has a pure, brotherly cuteness to him that naturally makes me want to spoil him.

"Speaking of Hanto, we think the presence of his mentor, Shioya Soji, who was mentioned earlier, is significant."

Hino: Komatsu Toshimasa-san's performance gave me goosebumps…..! It's natural, subtle, convincing, yet very unconstrained. I feel a sense of respect for him and thought that I'd like to do a performance like that in the future. He's someone I truly want to call "mentor," and I think it was thanks to Komatsu-san that I was able to cry real tears in the scenes where Hanto cries thinking about his mentor.

"Now that Shioya's passed away, his interactions with Suga Kenzo at his lab are striking."

Hino: Suga's making a mess out of Hanto's life (laughs), but the scenes with Suga are also interesting to perform. The very beginning of the show is focused on Shouma and Sachika, and Hanto and Suga, but it was a valuable experience for me to be able to perform one on one with Asanuma Shintaro-san, as I learned alot from him. I'd seen some of the anime that Asanuma-san was in, but when I looked up his appearances, I was shocked and thought, "He was in this one too?!" I'm happy that we communicate with each other on set, talking about all sorts of things, from matters relating to personal life and acting.

"He's a reliable senior who's the complete opposite of Suga."

Hino: That's true (laughs). I think the gap between him and his role is interesting. I'm working together with him with alot of respect.

"Do you have a favorite anime?"

Hino: Most recently, I like "The Dangers in My Heart." Once I became an adult, I stopped watching romance series like that out of embarrassment, but when I watched The Dangers in My Heart for the first time in awhile, it made my heart skip a beat! I'd say that it gives off a sense of purity that only a middle school student can have, and injects you with emotions that we can't get in the real world….it's a really good series. I myself used to play soccer, so I watched alot of sports anime and manga such as "Haikyu!!," "Ace of Diamond," "SLAM DUNK," and "Major." Those are what got me addicted to watching real sports like the NBA.

"If you had to pick an anime that you especially like, what would it be?"

Hino: I love Kyoto Animation's "Beyond the Boundary," and not only have I seen the main TV series, but I've also watched the movie more than 10 times! I was in middle school at the time, and I used to imitate Kanbara Akihito, the main character who's obsessed with glasses, and say, "Pretty girls with glasses are nice, huh?" (laughs). I was so absorbed in it, that I even established a glasses research club at school using my authority as the student council president.

"Isn't that an abuse of power? (laughs)."

Hino: Of course, but it was an unofficial club, okay? (laughs). Now, I'll often watch live action movies and TV dramas in order to study acting, but before I became an actor, I was exposed to various works to the extent that I had a modest interest in them.

"In the future, are there any situations you'd like to perform as Hanto?"

Hino: Things like explosions are areas I haven't experienced yet. Falling into water……isn't a challenge I'm actively looking to take on (laughs). Personally, I'm interested in what would happen if Hanto were to experience something like love being directed toward him. Hanto lost his mother, and he's the type to have narrow, but deep relationships with people, so along with friendship and human affection, I think he's hungry for love. What I imagine is that in a peaceful world where he doesn't have to fight against the Granutes, Hanto will most likely develop a longing for family and a desire to overcome the trauma of losing his loved ones.

"Only painful things happen to him, so we hope it all works out for Hanto."

Hino: I really hope so. On the other hand though, there's something appealing about being unrewarded (laughs). While being the spice that enhances the excitement of Kamen Rider Gavv, I hope that Hanto will continue to be loved by everyone, and I too will continue to devote myself to Hanto with love and care every day!

[laughingwith-bluelips]

The ending of Living on the edge reminded me of the ending of RoB with the antagonist "training" a dragon, but more violent. Alvin trained that whispering death using Hiccup's methot, that is all about trust and bond, but Krogan is forcing the singetail into obedience by showing corporal domination. Idk if it's a callback, but I definitely thought a lot about it.

[mikimeiko]

The Expanse | Season 4 (2019), Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby

[astralhope]

This is a little project that I worked on in the last weeks, and I finally finished it.

The Japanese dub is my favorite, but the Italian one was the one that made me discover Zexal, and I used to watch the show in Italian until the third arc.

I watched the episodes from the first two arcs in this dub many times and I'm still very attached to most of the characters' Italian voices.

This dub is very dear and nostalgic to me, so I wanted to share some Astral's clips from it on my blog.

But I didn't want to put a bunch of Italian clips here without any kind of subtitles, so I decided to do the subtitles myself. But what should have been just a few clips became all Astral's scenes in the first two episodes, and it took me more time than I anticipated.

Just a few things before you watch the video:

- I tried to do this translation more literally possible (so I apologize if some lines sound weird), but with some phrases and expressions I had to translate them in a not literal way to keep their meaning.

- The edit of the video is a little rough because I favored the audio over the video and I tried not to cut the lines too much. And since I only used Astral's clips, some transactions between scenes are not very smooth, I apologize about that.

- I hope that the subtitles are easy to read, I never did something like this and I did my best to make them readable and not too fast.

- I rewatched it several times to check it, but it's very possible that there's still some errors or/and weird phrasing, so I apologize in advance for any errors.

After all those premises, here is the finished work:

Astral's clips from episodes 1 and 2 of Zexal in Italian dub (with English subs):

(I'm sorry for the bad quality, but not only the original videos were in a low quality, but I also had to lower it even more to upload it)

[july-19th-club]

giggling and kicking my feet and prancing into my armchair to watch this annoying guy do embarrassing things on my tv show with his hot friend . and also Tim is there

[girlwiththegreenhat]

hey when they wrote "knight behind bars" and they wrote kitt helping a couple get together and they gave him the line "Some day, it will be my turn" [to find love]. did they know what they were doing. did they know that in some 40 years some gay autistic robot-obsessed little freak on tumblr would not stop thinking about it for weeks and write literal dozens of paragraphs screaming about it on discord. did they know they were going to ruin Me, Specifically, with this concept that feels like the culmination of everything kitt has gone through through the show and such a fascinating thing to think about in regards to michael and kitt's relationship,

one of the themes of knight rider is kitt developing as a Person, developing a line between the Knight Industries Two-Thousand, and Kitt. discovering humanity, his own emotions, the joys of the seemingly and logically pointless, and often through the lens of his own driver, his partner, his friend, Michael - his primary guide through all these experiences, his reference for those human things he doesn't understand. and as much as he initially claims to not be capable of experiencing emotions, of understanding feelings, he learns to. he experiences a wide range of emotions through the show even while claiming he doesn't, he even learns fear and insecurity. perhaps it's only natural a robot would learn to love, or at the very least be terribly curious about it and wonder if such a thing could ever exist for Him

the majority of people are not exactly kind to kitt. they talk about him like he's not there, they talk about him like he's a machine, a novelty, some people are even scared of or disturbed by him when all he's trying to do is make polite conversation and company. he's always Othered - there's no other cars like him (at least not anymore), but there's no other person like him either, he doesn't truly belong among humans or vehicles. some of the technicians at FLAG don't even seem to fully respect him as a person, at least they don't based on my vague recollection of how they talk about him in Junkyard Dog. when Michael asks him after KARR is destroyed if it feels good to be one of a kind again, he doesn't say yes or no - he only says it's a "familiar feeling." it may be familiar, but it's surely also isolating, and i think that's something he'd realize as he slowly picks up this curiosity about love. where could he even find it when so few people see him as an equal person to begin with?

and then there's michael. oh my god, and then there's michael. no matter what flavor you choose to read it in, the whole show is about their relationship, they're a duo, a set Not to be separated, they're Partners. they work together, they worry about and look after each other (forever insane about when kitt was a melted shell, Michael stuck around the garage for hours, waiting for any news like a worried spouse, constantly checking on him every opportunity he got... encouraging him to recover, and even helping paint back on his protective coating... kitt always looks after michael, but for once, it's michael's turn to look after Him), in a way they were Made for each other - Kitt more literally, being programmed for Michael and holding his namesake, but Michael was also made in a sense for the pilot program, hand picked and given a second life to work for the foundation and with this strange supercar. and even if they had a rocky start, michael comes to view kitt as a person - car, TV set, or computer core, Kitt is his partner, his buddy. he helps him find himself, guides him and teaches him about these things that make us human, and in a way, kitt becomes human - but his entire experience is still through the perspective of an AI in a car, it's still very unique and isolating, and I think he sort of grows into his own limitations, he's finally brushing against the walls that define him.

he learns of love, and then he learns to dream Of love. these things he sees in the movies, that michael tells him about, that he so often sees michael Partaking in that he gets so oddly jealous of, doesn't it all seem so wonderful? he's very curious. but who could ever love steel and circuitry, who could ever see him as an equal let alone a partner in a romantic sense? who would ever love a car and all the limitations That comes with? it's a problem for a hypothetical hopeful Some Day, in the meantime stuck between two worlds where he doesn't perfectly belong to either, where no car Can love him and no human seemingly Would love him...

and michael loves him anyway. before either of them really realize or talk about it, in spite of everything, in any form, regardless of the fact it wouldn't be a typical relationship by absolutely any means, michael loves him anyway. kitt is as much a person to him as bonnie or devon or RC, and that person is someone he loves and cares for deeply. the feeling is mutual, kitt's world revolves around michael, he's one of the most important people in kitt's life, and he'd do anything to protect him.

and it is michael that will finally teach him to love, and what it means to feel loved in turn, to be loved as the person he undoubtedly is.

[tmntkiseki]

Reasons why later iterations worked to make the turtle designs more distinct from one another.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

scrolling through an old word document and I came across the squeeblin screenshots I forgot I took

why does it look LIKE THAT?! why does it have a human face?! why does it only look half animated?! why is it almost see through? it looks like it belongs in the Blackwood not Glipwood Forest!

Even before it opens its mouth it looks WEIRD

the HECK is this Wingfeather people? who forgot to finish animating the squeeblin?! I am CONCERNED for its health and wellbeing. I know you were in a rush but this thing is nightmare fuel please fix it