#show like mp100 is overall a fantastic show and I love all the characters in it but I don’t have one I specifically have strong feelings…

[fucktheroyals]

I think it’s so interesting how you can go into a show and be like “eh” for so many episodes and then seasons later cry about how much you love a character and have no idea where to put it and you’re crying because you have no outlet for the love you feel for that character. Like the show is okay but THAT CHARACTER(s)?!?!? I’ll die for them.

[eldritch-elrics]

this summer, me and my brother watched four whole shows. at long last, here is my comprehensive review of all of them!

in the order we watched them, these shows were:

avatar the last airbender (ATLA)

mob psycho 100 (MP100)

demon slayer / kimetsu no yaiba (KNY)

fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood (FMAB)

they were all very very good!

i’m not going to try to rank them, but, as is probably obvious by the state of my blog, my favorite was FMAB :) if i had to pick a least favorite, then, it would probably be KNY—not by any fault of its own, but just because it didn’t appeal to me quite as much as the others. still a very good show!

i will review each show by:

giving a quick plot-based pitch discussing the show’s hook or appeal

discussing one element that i believe it does better than any other show on this list—in other words, a quality that i think it stands out for

discussing one element that didn’t appeal to me or that i had issues with—a criticism

putting forth my favorite character and favorite episode or arc, just for funsies

including various other commentary. mostly positive, as, again, i did really like all of these!

(i’ve tried to make this whole thing free of specific spoilers, but if you’re planning on watching any of these shows and want to go in more-or-less blind, it might be best not to read this.)

first of all, i’d just like to discuss all four of these shows as a whole! it was definitely interesting watching one after another and noting similarities between them.

all of them have siblings in them! which is, perhaps, fitting, as i watched them with my brother

two include a pair of siblings in which one has powers and one doesn’t (at least at first), and part of the narrative involves getting better at using those powers (ATLA, MP100)

two include a narrative centered around a pair of siblings and something tragic that happens to them, resulting in the older one being traumatized and forced to train to become a soldier, and the younger one turning into something (arguably) inhuman. the protagonist’s major goal is to return his younger sibling to the way they were before (KNY, FMAB)

ATLA and FMAB are both fantasy political dramas, which is rapidly becoming a favorite genre of mine

most of these are historical, or historically inspired in some way, which is interesting!

all of these shows are really really good at character building. all the main characters are interesting and complex, and the relationships between those characters are similarly nuanced and very well written. they make you really care about both the protagonists and the side characters!

avatar: the last airbender

pitch: as the ever-growing imperial force of the fire nation threatens the earth and water nations, a kid from the long-lost air nation turns up and it turns out he can control all four elements and he has to save the world and all that. sorry i tried to write this pitch like five times and realized that well at this point i think everyone reading this will know the plot of avatar

stands out for: avatar has possibly the best worldbuilding i have ever seen in a show—it takes the time to introduce us to so many places and aspects of its world, both explicitly and subtly. the main highlight of this is the magic system. by creating a magic system based in body movement, the process of using magic and learning to use/control it better becomes immediately obvious to the viewer. combine that with the philosophy behind each type of bending and the way that characters take bending inspiration from types different than their own, and you’ve got a system that is complex, flexible, believable, internally consistent, and just plain fun! it makes action sequences a blast. i especially liked the moments when bending was stretched to its limits in totally logical ways (metalbending, bloodbending). not to mention the way that bending is seamlessly integrated into the world of avatar! the example that comes to mind is the earthbending-powered transport system of omashu. a whole essay could be written on that topic alone!

criticism: i know this is a sentiment shared by many people, but the first season was kind of boring to me. some of the humor and the plots felt hit-or-miss. of course, it needed to take that time to establish the world, and it does a great job of doing that. it just didn’t hook me until the second season.

favorite character: i love toph she’s so much fun :) iroh is a close second! and zuko is great, too, of course

favorite arc: i loved ba sing se a ton, especially the episode when they get there and everything feels off. it felt so resonant with real life, in a very fun way. there’s a reason “there is no war in ba sing se” is a meme…

other commentary: what can i say? it’s a classic for a damn good reason. the plot is tight, and it does a great job raising tension and introducing new elements and twists. i also love the care put into the antagonists, especially azula, who has a fascinating arc.

mob psycho 100

pitch: a middle schooler and a charismatic con artist team up to smite ghosts using extrasensory powers. thing is, only the middle schooler actually has ESP, and it happens to be really, really powerful. can he navigate the difficult world of middle school while also getting a better grip on his powers—and his bottled-up emotions?

stands out for: the way that MP100 uses animation is excellent. it takes a little getting used to but it’s just so fun, combining all sorts of different techniques to create an experience rich with drama and emotion. it’s playfully exaggerated and self-parodying, adding to the show’s fantastic sense of humor as well as its truly emotional moments.

criticism: the way that ESP works makes suspension of disbelief tricky. it’s a great feat to introduce a character who is essentially all-powerful and still make them interesting (even in fight scenes), but at times (especially the second season finale) it felt like a magic system with too much breadth and too few limitations. this might just be my bias for hard magic systems talking, though.

favorite character: other than mob and reigen? probably teru. he’s loads of fun AND all the season 1 episodes he’s in slap hard

favorite episode: the one where the girl asks mob out on a date as a dare.. it’s super cute

other commentary: thank you mp100 for being the leftist propaganda we all deserve <3

in all seriousness though, this show is a blast!! it does a great job switching between silly and serious in the blink of an eye. i also really appreciate the way that it balances comically huge stakes with much smaller, more personal stories. for example, the conflict between mob and reigen in season 2 is especially well-done. in general the emotions just feel so real? characters whose emotions tie into their powers are an excellent trope, and mob is a wonderful protagonist who exemplifies this really well.

finally, on a more critical note—there are so many characters in this show! and it feels like only a handful are fleshed out? however, this may be due to the fact that it’s not an adaptation of the entire manga (which i haven’t read). there’s a lot more to go! more characters to dive into! so i probably shouldn’t try to critique it in the same way as a finished work.

demon slayer / kimetsu no yaiba

pitch: demons kill a boy’s family and turn his sister into a demon, so he decides to try and figure out a way to turn his sister back into a human. what follows is a demon-killing adventure that’s in equal parts harrowing, poignant, and hilarious.

stands out for: there’s not much i can say about this other than “please just take a look” but the art and design is phenomenal. it does a much better job of integrating 2D and 3D than a lot of other animated series, and overall it is just so so pretty! all the character designs are complex, memorable, and fit the characters perfectly. the color choices are interesting and satisfying. i also really like the sound design? not often that i notice that in a show. i’ve watched so many KNY amvs by now lol it’s just amazing animation

criticism: the narration style leans too heavily towards tell instead of show. this is mostly an issue with the first few episodes, but i got super annoyed by how much the show would narrate every single one of tanjirou’s thoughts instead of letting us infer those thoughts through his actions and reactions—the latter, i think, would have been more emotionally impactful. sometimes silence speaks louder than words! tanjirou was also not the world’s most compelling protagonist in my opinion, though i think that mostly has to do with my own tastes.

favorite character: *holds up zenitsu* I Just Think He’s Neat. i actually kind of lost it when he first used his powers, like… damn i love characters with weird relationships with their magic like that. i also think the narrative about how having a solid foundation is sometimes more important than knowing a ton of different moves was really powerful. and he’s just funny! pathetic boy i love him

favorite arc: really just the whole spider arc. fucked up man… i love it. they pulled off that last twist so well, and all the family stuff was so weird and complex and emotional…

other commentary: it’s just a really solid and very well-written show! the team of tanjirou, zenitsu, and inosuke is so much fun… bro bonding :) i also quite like the horror elements; it’s fucked up but in a good way. finally, this is very specific, but the demon that can alter buildings/rooms through drumbeats? appealed to me very much. it’s a cool and unique power!

fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood

pitch: two kids do some fucked up alchemy and end up getting parts of their body stolen by god. now they’re on a quest to get their bodies back, but find themselves wrapped up in crazy government conspiracies and alchemy more powerful than they ever could’ve imagined…

stands out for: plot. by this i mean less overall concept (though the overall concept is pretty great too), and more that the pacing and progression of the story is extraordinarily tight. for the most part (the first few episodes are a little weak but i’ll let it slide), it does an excellent job establishing its premise and building on it logically, adding layers and layers that extend naturally from what we already know. everything has a reason for happening; everything is revealed in good time and all the twists are super satisfying. there’s great balance between exciting moments and quiet moments. it’s just very good at being a story!

(fun fact: i’m reading the manga right now and so far it’s even better paced than the show, which is super interesting! it’s especially good at how it lays out pieces of the backstory and then fills everything in later in a really satisfying way.)

criticism: this is incredibly specific but it’s what comes to mind as something that bothered me: winry’s character arc was really disappointing. for most of the series she’s a pretty strong character, but in the end it feels like she gets pushed aside, defined only by her relationship with ed. what happened to her wanting to take action more? that was a specific desire she expressed—wanting to be less passive! since she’s such an important character, i wish she could have had more presence in the last season other than as a sounding board for the elric bros’ emotions. (even though her one scene in the last episode was really good and emotional…)

favorite character: other than the elric bros, absolutely ling. he fits into multiple of my favorite character archetypes (fun, silly, bastard, gets possessed…) and he’s just overall a delight. plus his relationship with greed is really really good. bro bonding at its peak!! (my other favorite is pride. i will not say why because spoilers. but if you know me.. you know)

favorite episode: this is really really hard to choose but i’m gonna go with envy’s death because. holy shit.

other commentary: i’m a really big fan of the complex and nuanced way in which FMAB breaks down militaristic, imperial regimes from the inside. many of the characters have done awful things, and the story forces them to grapple with that and accept that all they can do now is be better in the future. the moral complexity is just really good! characters with flaws—we love to see it!

finally, parts of this story seem so so catered to Me Specifically that it’s no wonder i got so into it. like just the entire premise? the way that so much of the conflict is built out of identity crisis and exploring the nature of consciousness and human vs inhuman? beautiful. i love ed and al so much

*

if you made it all the way to the end, thank you so much for reading!! glad to have finally gotten this done (3 months late…) and put all my thoughts down. i hope this inspires someone to try watching one of the shows i discussed!

[kittykatz009]

5 Shows and Some Questions

Rules: Pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions. Don’t cheat. Tag 10 (or however many) people.

I was tagged by @icameheretowinry. Thanks again Nikki!

As much as I love FMA, I think I’m not going to include it in this go around lol

1. Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun 2. Sailor Moon 3. Shaman King 4. Soul Eater 5. Mob Psycho 100

Who is your favorite character in 2? Hotaru Tomoe/Sailor Saturn for SURE. I have loved her ever since I met her in the series when I was a little kid! 

Who is your least favorite character in 1? I’m not entirely sure? I think it may be Aoi? I just don’t know enough about her yet to have a real opinion on whether or not I like her. She’s a sweet girl and friend to Nene, but I just haven’t seen enough of her. 

What is your favorite episode of 4? I think it would have to be when Maka uses the black blood to fight Crona. That was just a fantastic fight scene that I adore. 

What is your favorite season of 5? I think I would have to say season 2. I love how much more impressive the animation got, and the mini-arcs that happened. Also, I love 100% ecstasy Mob with my entire soul. (Season 3 will be my favorite though. Whenever that will be)

Who is your favorite couple in 3? I really love Yoh and Anna. But, if I had to choose one who isn’t the main, I really love Li Pi Long and Tao Jun. I think their relationship evolving the way it does is very interesting.  

Who is your favorite couple in 2? Not a couple, but I really love Hotaru and Chibiusa. Those two are adorable together and I am glad they found one another. 

What is your favorite episode of 1? So far? I love episode 12 the most. Without getting too spoiler-y, I like that it is setting up for a possible season 2. 

What is your favorite episode of 5? I love the Teru versus Mob fight in season 1. I love how it becomes the turning point for Teru from being the conceited asshole he is to becoming an overall good person(TM). 

What is your favorite episode season of 2? I don’t know the episode specifically, but season 3 when Hotaru becomes Sailor Saturn!!

How long have you watched 1? It just came out lol.

How did you become interested in 3? My best friend thought I would enjoy the manga and when I read it, I became addicted and tried out the anime. Then, I remembered vaguely seeing episodes on Saturday morning on 4Kidz when I was in 4th grade lol. 

Who is your favorite actor in 4? I really love the VA’s for both Soul and Maka. I think both the English and Japanese VAs were really able to get into the characters and make them come to life.  

Which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5? Oh ouch. Why would you do this to me? It will always have to be 2. Sailor Moon is my dearest and oldest watched show. But I love all 3 so much. 

Which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3 3 since it is a longer show lol. It has like 70 something episodes where 1 only has 12 lmao. 

If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be? Soul. I would love to rock that pinstripe suit all day every day. 

Would a crossover between 3 and 4 work? Actually, it probably would! Shaman King focuses on ghosts and the supernatural, and Soul Eater is supernatural by default. I’m sure it would work. (I also may have started a fanfic of a crossover years ago lmao)

Pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple? Nene and Sakura I think. They both have their reasons for making their bonds with the supernatural, so I think they could really find a common ground. 

Overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5? If we’re going by the anime only, Mob Psycho 100 has a better storyline than Shaman King. Shaman King deviated too much from the source material and changed some very important things, whereas MP100 follows the manga almost to a T. 

Which has better theme music, 2 or 4? I love both of the openings of Soul Eater with my entire heart, but Sailor Moon definitely wins for me. It is such a classic that even people who haven’t watched Sailor Moon can recognize it!

Tagging: @wingsonghalo @toastytoaster22 @strawberrymilkmob @ittybittytoostormy @fffend and anyone else if you’d like!

[combustible-lemons]

ok to counteract my own initial negativity towards mp100 episode 5 for cutting out scenes from the manga, here’s a list of things I loved about it:

1) the creepy distorted school bells playing over the title card....chills

2) the character animation was incredible. all the little fluid gestures and expressions were a joy to watch

3) ritsu observing mob getting mugged from a bridge feels a lot more realistic than walking past him directly on the sidewalk and not intervening. that was a good change

4) loved that abstract top-view sequence after mob get’s milk dumped on him, showing the silhouettes of his bullies morph and surround mob as he becomes smaller and smaller until the screen cuts to black

5) DIMPLE MOB!! like I said the character animation in this episode is fantastic overall but the contrast of dimple’s expressiveness in mob’s body is so interesting. also for some reason I rly loved that bit where he taps his chest with 2 fingers as he says “[mob’s] sense of self will fall apart”

6) having mogami’s backstory be animated in black-and-white was a great aesthetic choice

7) mogami’s VA sounds just like the edgy lil bitch that he is. just the right amounts of creepy and insufferable

8) reigen just??? dicking around on his phone while he waits for mob??? amazing. it’s a great way to build up to the separation arc by showing that yes, reigen cares enough about mob to stay but he can still be a dismissive dick sometimes!!

9) GOD mob’s little laugh of disbelief after he gets whacked with a cinderblock...damn. such great subtle voice acting

10) THE SOUNDTRACK IS SO FREAKISHLY GOOD

11) mob reaching for minori’s hand... poetic cinema...

12) 100% courage mob is bae

13) this should be obvious but the whole fight sequence literally made my jaw drop in awe. it was fucking incredible

14) MOB’S SCREAM

and there’s probably more but i’ll stop there. mob psycho.... is good