#such an action packed episode and wonderful animation as always!

[inkz123]

Ok ok i watched it heccccc that was amazingggg!!!!! So many good scenes! And and...a certain someone ehehe qwq💕💕💕

The squeee i let out when he was on screen wahaha what have i become😂😂😂

Aaaaaaaa Underverse 0.7 part 1 is available to watchhhhh

But but but, if i watch it im gonna be all itchy for more afterrrr aaa

[userpeggycarter]

COLORING + SHARPENING TUTORIAL

someone asked for a coloring tutorial and my sharpening settings, so here it is! there are also a few tips to achieve more HQ gifs. :)

tutorial under the cut!

FOR HIGH-QUALITY GIFS

FILE SIZES

it doesn’t matter what your sharpening settings are if the file you’re using to gif is too low quality, so i tend to look for the best that i can get when downloading stuff. 

usually, movies (+2h) look better if they’re 5GB or more, while an episode (40 min/1h) can look good with even 1GB. the minimum definition i try to find is 1080p, but i gif with 2160p (4k) when available. unfortunately, not every computer can handle 4k, but don’t worry, you can gif with 1080p files just fine if they are big enough. contrary to popular belief, size does matter! which means sometimes a bigger 1080p file is better than a smaller 2160p one, for example.

SCREENCAPPING METHOD

this can too influence the quality of your gifs. as a gifmaker, i’ve tried it all: video frames to layers, directly opening video clips, loading files into stack, and i’ve finally settled down with opening screencaps as an image sequence. with bigger files, it doesn’t matter much what technique you use, but i’ve noticed with smaller files you can do wonders if you screencap (either by loading files into stack or opening as an image sequence) instead of using video clips. for example, this gif’s original video file was only 4GB (so smaller than i’ve usually go for), if you can believe it!

here’s a tutorial for setting up and screencapping with MPV, the media player i use to screencap. again, you can keep using video clips for bigger files, but you’ll find this useful when dealing with dire causes. i don't file loads into stack, though, like the video does. i open as an image sequence (open > screencap folder > select any image > click the image sequence button). just select OK for the speed. this will open your screencaps as a video clip (blue bar) in timeline mode (i'm a timeline gifmaker, i don't know about you). you will need this action pack to convert the clip into frames if you're a frames gifmaker. i suggest you convert them into frames even if you're a timeline gifmaker, just convert them into a timeline again at the end. that way you can delete the screencaps right away, otherwise you will delete the screencaps and get a static image as a "gif".

ATTENTION if you’re a Mac Sonoma user, MPV won’t be an option for you unless you downgrade your system. that is, if you have an Intel chip. if you have M1 Max chip (or even a better one), here’s a fix for MPV you can try while keeping that MacOS, because nowadays MPV is skipping frames in its latest build. or you can use MPlayer instead for less hassle. here are two tutorials for setting and using MPlayer. Windows users are fine, you can use MPV without trouble.

FOR EVEN MORE QUALITY

ADD NOISE

here’s a tutorial for adding noise as a way to achieve more HQ gifs if your original material is too low quality.

REDUCE NOISE WITH CAMERA RAW

instead of adding noise, you can reduce it, especially if your gif is very noisy as it is. 

the path is filter > camera raw > detail > nose reduction. i do this before sharpening, but only my video file isn't great to begin with. because it’s a smart filter, you can reduce or increase its opacity by clicking the bars next to its name in the layers panel.

TOPAZ AI

i use Topaz Photo AI to increase the quality of my screencaps when i need to. it’s paid software, but there are… ways to find it for free, usually on t0rrent websites. if someone’s interested, i can make a tutorial solely about it in the future.

SHARPENING SETTINGS

here are my sharpening settings (filter > sharpen > smart sharpen). i sharpen things twice: 500% 0.4px + 10% 10px. here's an action for it, for more convenience. here's a tutorial on how to use Photoshop actions. for animated stuff, i use this action pack.

COLORING

here’s the gif i'm gonna use as a base. it’s already sharpened like the way i always do it.

LIGHTNING THE SHOTS

half of the secret of a good coloring is good lightning. i always useCurves (layers > new adjustment layer > curves) and Brightness & Contrast (layers > new adjustment layer > brightness & contrast). the settings depend on the scene you’re giffing, but i always try make my gifs bright and with high contrast to make the colors pop.

CURVES

besides lighting your scene, the Curves adjustment layer has four automatic options that will color-correct it for you. it’s not always perfect and it doesn’t mean you won’t need to do further coloring, but it’s a great start. it’s a lifesaver for most ridiculously yellow scenes. look at the difference! this gif uses the 3rd automatic option (the screenshot below isn't mine btw so that's why the fourth option is the chosen one), from top to bottom. what automatic option you need to choose depends on the gif.

sometimes i like to tweak my Curves layer. not everybody does that, it’s not that necessary and if you’re not careful, it can screw your gif up. to modify your layer by hand, you will need to click and drag points of that straight line in the position you desire. this is the concept behind it:

basically, the lower part of the line handles the shadows, while the upper part handles the highlights of the image. if you pull a highlight point up, the image’s highlights will be brighter. if you pull it down, it will make them darker. same thing for the shadow points. you should play with it to get a grasp of it, that’s what i did when i first started giffing.

BRIGHTNESS & CONTRAST

then i added a bit of brightness and contrast.

CHANNEL MIXER

the scene looked a bit too yellow, so i used the Channel Mixer (layer > new adjustment layer > channel mixer) adjustment layer. here’s a tutorial of how it works. not every scene needs the Channel Mixer layer though, i mostly use it to remove heavy overall tints. in this particular case, the Curves layer got rid of most of the yellow, but i wanted the gif to be just a bit more blue so the Channel Mixer tweaks are very minimal.

SELECTIVE COLOR

now, this adjustment layer i always use: Selective Color (layer > new adjustment layer > selective color). this is THE adjustment layer to me, alongside the Curves one. this is how it works:

ie, you can separately edit a color this way, giving it tints. for this gif, i wanted to make the colors more vibrant. to achieve that, i edited the selected colors this way:

for the reds, i added even more red in them by moving the first slider to the right, making the color more vibrant. for his hat to have a more warm tint, i added yellow to the reds (third slider, moving it to the right). finally, to make the reds stronger, i moved the last slider to the right (more black).

for the yellows, i made them brighter by adding white to them, thus making the tile wall and Paddington more bright as well.

for the cyans and the blues, i just added the maximum (+100) of black that i could.

i wanted for Paddington's nose to be brighter, so i added more white to the whites.

lastly, i added depth to the blacks by increasing their own blackness.

you should always play with the Selective Colors sliders for a bit, before deciding what you want or need. with time, you will automatically know what to change to correct the color grading. it all takes practice!

HUE/SATURATION

i don’t know if you noticed, but there are some green spots on the blue wall behind Paddington. to correct that, i added a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer (layer > new adjustment layer > hue/saturation) and made the saturation of the greens 0%, making that unwanted green disappear from the background.

while the green spots on the wall are specific for this gif, i use hue/saturation a lot to tweak, well, hue and saturation. sometimes someone’s skin is too yellow, i made it redder by tweaking the reds and the yellows, or vice-versa. the hue bar follows the rainbow bar, so the maximum settings (+100 and -100) give the selected color to change its hue to something more red or pink (the rainbow extremities). changing hue can give pretty whacky results, like turning someone’s skin tone to green, so you will need to play with it to get the hang of it. you can also tweak the opacity of your hue/saturation layer to further improve your gif’s coloring. i didn’t do it in this case, the opacity is still 100%. the reds and the blues had their saturation increased to make them pop just a bit more, without affecting the other colors.

COLOR BALANCE

the highlights of the gif still had a green tint to it due to the automatic correction of the Curves layer, so i used Color Balance. this is how it works: instead of giving specific colors some tints, you can give them to the shadows, highlights, and mid-tones. if your shadows are too blue, you counterbalance them with the opposite color, yellow. same thing with the cyan-red and magenta-green pairings. in my case, i added a bit of magenta.

B&W GRADIENT MAP

now, if this gif was a dish, it’s time for the salt and pepper. i always add a Gradient Map (layer > new adjustment layer > gradient map) (black to white gradient) with the Soft Light blending mode, thus giving my shadows more depth without messing with the mid-tones and highlights. it also doesn’t “deep fry” (you know those memes?) the gif too much by adding even more contrast. usually, the opacity of the layer is between 30% to 70%, it all depends on the gif. it always does wonders, though!

COLOR FILTER

finally, i like to add Color Filters (layer > new adjustment layer > color filter) to my gifs. it’s very handy when giving different scenes for the same minimalistic set because it makes them kind of match despite having completely different colors. in this gif’s case, i added a “deep blue” filter, opacity 50% density 25. you can change the density and the opacity of the layer for further editing, again, it all depends on the gif.

VIBRANCE

if i feel like it, i add a vibrance layer (layer > new adjustment layer > vibrance) to make the colors pop. this can ruin your coloring sometimes, especially when regarding skin color, so be careful. i didn't do it in this gif because i felt i didn't need it.

TA-DA! 🥳

AN OTHER EXAMPLE

the color grading of the original scene it’s pretty good as it is, to be honest. let’s see a worse scenario, a VERY yellow one:

no channel mixer this time because the automatic curves option dealt with the yellowness, but you can see it made the gif too green. i needed to correct that with the following adjustment layers:

curves (automatic option) (gif 2) >> same curves layer (tweaks) (gif 3) >> brightness & contrast (gif 4) >> hue/saturation (tweaked cyan+blue+green) >> selective color >> color balance (gif 5) >> b&w gradient map >> (sepia) filter >> vibrance (gif 6)

i added a hue/saturation layer to remove the blues & greens before my selective color layer because i thought that was more urgent than tweaking the tint of all colors. color balance (gif 4) was the real hero here, though, by removing the green tint. the selective color layer was meant to make the red pop more than anything else, because the rest looked pretty good, especially her skin tone (despite the green tint). you can notice that tweaking the curves layer (small gif 3) also helped A LOT with the green problem.

tl;dr 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

here's a list of my go-to's while coloring and lightning gifs. it's not a rule, just a guide. there are gifs in which i don't use all these adjustment layers, or use them in a different order. it all depends!

1. curves (automatic option + tweaks) 2. brightness & contrast 3. channel mixer 4. selective color 5. hue/saturation 6. color balance 7. b&w gradient map 8. color filter 9. vibrance

i'll suggest that you study each adjustment layer listed for more info, either with other Tumblr tutorials or YouTube ones. the YouTube ones focus on images, but you can translate what they teach to gif making very easily. you can ask me to further explain any adjustment layer, too! i was brief to keep this short (which i kinda failed lol).

feel free to ask me for clarification or something else about gifmaking wise, i always like to help. ❤️

[yumeka-sxf]

After the epic and emotionally packed previous episode focusing on Yor, things are a little lighter this week, with the focus being on funny Anya antics, plus some Twilight spy action on the side! The key visual for today's episode is fantastic - they all had a role in saving the day!

The scene where Anya attempts to dramatically throw Yor's stiletto, only for it to drop unceremoniously onto the deck, always cracked me up in the manga 🤣 The music in the anime scene didn't make the humor come across as well as I'd hoped (silence would have made it better) but it's fine, lol. The part where the guy tripped on the stiletto was still funny!

And of course, the scene where Anya tells the officer about the bomb 😂 I'm gonna say she brought that disguise with her on the trip for just such an occasion! (also very convenient that Anya was the only kid at the daycare...if there were other kids, the lady wouldn't have been able to leave them to look for her 😅 It was late at night so not a popular time for parents to drop off their kids I guess? Also love how the lady misinterprets Anya's comment about the bomb as her needing to take a big dump 🤣)

After the comedy and suspense, the episode wraps up on a bittersweet note with Yor saying goodbye to Olka and Gram. I love that, despite the fact that Olka repeatedly pointed out to Yor that her family is just for show, she wishes that Yor and her family can find peace...yeah, she definitely knows that the underworld life doesn't suit Yor and she loves her family, even if she herself doesn't realize exactly how much.

We also (finally) get to see a slightly softer side of McMahon. He's been totally serious and unemotional the whole time, even more unwavering about his mission than Twilight. So it's nice that he allows Yor to spend time with Loid and Anya (right after he tells her that they're nothing but foot soldiers...does he really feel that way deep down? 🤨) I also wonder if the big bad Hapoon that they keep talking about will ever make an appearance.

The anime added some additional scenes in the episode's conclusion, which I adored! ❤️ Really great for setting up the next episode (though seeing Yor alone in her room tending her own wounds made me kinda sad 😢 It's okay, she'll get to be with her family soon!)

In addition to Yor's epiphany chapter, the other chapter I was really looking forward to seeing in the anime is chapter 56, in next week's episode! Can't wait 😭

[rory-multifandom-mess]

Hi! Hello! I hope this ask finds you well

Glorious day be today for the finale of Murder Drones has dropped! I was wondering if I could get your opinion on it, aside from a lack of Thad.

I personally think that the animation was phenomenal but I would have liked more talking.

Have a good day.

WUSGDFSDS.. Yes, lack of Thad is horrible 0/10 </3 nah im kidding

BUT!! You are very much correct! The animation was absolutely phenomenal, and the music was amazing!! And the comedy that was interlaced was just. MMMM. Liam has always done comedy so well during intense moments. Lizzy, Thad, and Khan with the sentinel <3

TBH the lack of talking isn't too horrible considering the gravity (hah, get it?) of the episode. It was action packed, and when the characters did talk, they were good lines! Thad's "GO LONG, UZI!" lives in my head rent free. Yes, you go man, use your funny football words!!!!

GOD! such a good finale. best finale in indie history. And the best part about it is that it still leaves a lot for interpretation and shenanigans! Who needs definitive answers when you can be creative, right? Idk that's just what I think LMFAO

[ecargmura]

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Episode 19 Review - Bird Hunting

Stille hunting continues as the episode gives more focus to the other mages of this exam, rather than Frieren and her teammates like how it was in the previous episode. I really liked seeing the different kinds of mages and what sort of spells they are capable of. I also commend the author and animation staff for designing and drawing so many different staves for the mages.

I do like how this episode showcases each mages specialities and if they can work cohesively. For example, Fern’s team don’t really cooperate well together as each member take on another member of Wirbel’s team individually. For Frieren’s team, they all can cooperate in order to catch a Stille and to bring attention to themselves for their crazy methods. It makes me wonder if they can cooperate when in combat. Their specialties are showcased here with Fern’s speed casting basic spells being her strongest suit while Frieren’s mana manipulation was key to capturing their bird.

While there are so many mages, the ones that are most focused on, aside from Kanne and Lawine, are Fern’s teammates, Ubel and Land, Wirbel’s team, and Denken’s team. I don’t think what Land can do is shown, but Ubel is a mage who likes physical fights as well as Wirbel, who was a member of the Northern Lands�� Magic Corps army, as stated by Ehre who is supposedly the strongest in her team. Denken is actually the mage that intrigues me the most as he knows the ins and outs of the exam and knows that Frieren is a noteworthy mage. Denken is wise, so he tells Laufen about what they should and shouldn’t do in their current situation. For example, they shouldn’t fly as avian monsters lurk about, which can kill mages. It’s crazy how these exams are dangerous and life-risking, but it makes sense as the monsters in this show are crazy and feral creatures. One false move and a person’s life is forfeit. If Denken is so wise and informative of this exam, why hasn’t he become a First-Class Mage until now?

I feel like this has been the most action Frieren has since like Episode 9 during the Fern and Stark vs Lugner and Linie fight. While the slower, slice of life scenes have been the story’s biggest charming aspect, it’s not bad to have some action once and a while. It is a fantasy show, after all. This show has 28 episodes and since it’s episode 19 right now, this means there will be 8 more episodes of action packed mage action. I don’t mind the slight change in shift because it gives world-building to the mage system and an influx of new characters that audiences will definitely enjoy or hate.

I feel like I don’t talk about Frieren’s flashbacks with the Hero Party much in my reviews, but I do like them! I always like how she uses her memories of experiences she had with them to understand and connect with the people of the current timeline. Eisen was scared and Himmel was surprised to hear that. Heiter then says that methods of calming down fears differ from each parties, which helps understand Frieren understand that people are all different.

Will Fern and Frieren’s party survive the first stage? I’ll have to wait until next week for the answer. I feel like they will. I now wonder if there will be an instance where Frieren and Fern have to fight each other. If so, who would win? What are your thoughts on this episode?

[solarsonicsoda]

Rating 500+ Theme Tunes - #8: Samurai Jack

I don't know about you, but when I hear the name Genndy Tartakovsky, my first thought is always Samurai Jack. More than Dexter or his Star Wars series, this is the Tartakovsky show to me. To the uninitiated, Samurai Jack follows a prince referred to only as Jack as he fights to return to his time and defeat the evil demon who flung him into the dystopian future. He's also a samurai, just in case you were wondering.

Despite being widely considered as one of the greatest shows to ever grace Cartoon Network, there's a reason Samurai Jack has a certain "cult classic" quality to it. The show never received all the backing it needed from the network, being cancelled before its story could be concluded as intended. Fortunately, its fifth and final season was able to release 13 years later and put a cap on this story and unique show. The show is hailed for its focus on animation and visual storytelling compared to its dialogue-heavy contemporaries.

Now, I mentioned the "cult classic" nature of the show to justify the following: I have never seen an episode of Samurai Jack. I was definitely aware of it growing up, and it looks pretty cool, but by the time we got CN on our TV, the revived Season 5 was closer than the original run's end. I feel like it was on late some nights, but that was a rare time to have unrestricted television access. I would love to check it out sometime! For now, I'll just check out the theme tune.

Samurai Jack Theme Tune (Seasons 1-4)

Samurai Jack Theme Tune (Season 5)

For the first four seasons, we are welcomed by an evil monologue from Aku, the aforementioned evil demon. He's voiced by the late Mako, who also voices Uncle Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Following his passing, Greg Abbott would succeed him, which I wanted to mention as I never would have noticed if I hadn't read it. This narration is suitably informative and of course well-performed, setting the more serious tone the show can take on. In Season 5, this is replaced by narration from Jack which I feel takes on a much less fun tone given the perspective.

As for the music, that remains the same across seasons. It's a relatively simple song, incorporating both hip-hop and Asian inspirations. It definitely drives home Jack's single-minded goal to return to his time, though it isn't a particularly engaging tune personally, largely due to its short length and repetitiveness. That's not to say I don't like it though, I think it's a pretty cool intro and paired with the monologue it makes for a decent primer for some Samurai Jack action.

Taking all of this into account, I have to look largely at my own gut feeling. This intro is largely unique which I have a great deal of respect for, though the end product doesn't exceed beyond the pack in my opinion. Still, it does what it needs to do, and I know my thoughts are definitely in the minority. For me, this intro gets a C. I do feel like watching some Samurai Jack now though.

Stay tuned for more and be sure to send in any suggestions for other shows you'd like to see done (after the 500 already in the pipeline that is). Check out the intro to this series here, and check out the tier list.

[padawansuggest]

Guess who’s watching the Young Jedi Adventures???? It’s me!!! Okay I am gonna admit now, I need a full sized 30 minute episodes series right this fucking instant. It’s not even just how cute it is, but this show is massively full of world building!!!

200 years before TPM Yoda lived on Tenoo in the temple there. I was literally screeching when I realized that okay 1: the only place we get other Jedi temples on other planets are one or two episodes of Visions, and otherwise in the Extended Universe, otherwise the movies and ‘official’ canon pretends the Coruscant temple is the only temple to the point where a LOT of fic writers and people on here believe that Coruscant was their only temple, and not their main temple. And 2: that means Yoda wasn’t always on Coruscant and that means he might not have even been RAISED there. I wonder if he sorta just flits around for a couple generations to any temple he feels like at the time??? It’s wild.

So already I am screaming over that amazing world building it’s so good!

And then. I’m on episode 2. We got to see the tooka kitten which I paused just to write this already that has so more lore stuck in it too. 1: they called it a tooka and not a lothcat. I think we’ve only seen lothcats in live action so far because so far they always seem very territorial and sorta skittish, where as the tooka kitten (if you say ‘it’s cause it’s just a kitten’ I will angrily point out that that is actually when cats are MOST feral is as a kitten they are so feral and yelly and growly as beans) was so cute, gave the sweetest little meow and nuzzled into a pet.

She also seems to have much thicker fur in her ears than lothcats in the live action shows have, and even the lothcats in Rebels are somewhat feral little pack animals that have thinner fur.

But then!!!!!! She opened her cage!!!! With her little hand!!!! While trying to catch a bug, the tooka managed to hit her button to open her cage! And when she was trying to get the bug she didn’t just bat at it, she full on grabbed her little baby handsies at it!!! Tookas and lothcats have raccoon handsies canon confirmed!!!!!!!

But then! The final world building aspect I have been screaming about since I saw it! When we first see Lys (the Pantoran girl) the very first thing I noticed was how BRIGHT her cheeks were. She’s got markings like a pantoran but specifically, the area around her eyes and at the top of her cheeks and over her nose are a very dusty shade of purple, unlike her otherwise blue skin. She’s too young to wear makeup and I don’t think Jedi really do makeup as a whole anyways, so that would be a specific skin marking. It never fades either so it’s not a flush, it’s a skin shade! Which means that pantorans have the ability to have facial purples on their faces!

Also she has the most elaborate little hair style lmao I wonder who helps her with that.

[tuliharja]

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Separation episode 11 (short) review

What an exciting episode! We finally got to see Zero Squad on action, plus, that little bit of past at the beginning of the episode? It was a very nice addition the animation team added as it didn't happen in the manga. It actually explained very well the stand of current affairs of Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and World of the Living and the reason why Yhwach started the whole war. However, because of the knowledge I've thanks to manga and somewhat light novels, might play a part in this all as some things that happened at the beginning are foreshadowed events...

However, I must admit I was a bit surprised by how openly Ichibe admitted he more and less ruled things. While yes, he seemed to act like a spoke person of Soul King, that whole scene made me wonder if that is true. Especially when Yhwach stated how his father is at the moment. So, who is the true ruler? The one who guards or the one who is guarded? Not to mention, the fact Yhwach wants to bring peace...I've always found that concept interesting as most in fictional works it means eternal peace. Is that truly a good thing? Not to mention, 'the world was before one before Soul King separated it and installed fear'. Such things always give me massive religious vibes, not to mention wanting to bring 'eternal peace'...

Anyway, moving on~. Senjumaru was so, so, so cool! (Yes, I'm her fangirl.) I really loved how sassy she was against Yhwach and his posse. That brief battle against Nianzol Weizol was quite a wicked one. Not to mention it was nice to see how Senjumaru all but dominated that battle.

However, when Yhwach brought his Schutzstaffel (Elite/Imperial guards) and Lille Barro attacked Senjumaru, that scene made me feel really bad for Senjumaru. Even though it turned out to be an illusion, for a moment it felt very bad. And the whole scene of Pernida Parnkgjas turning Senjumaru's remains into a ball? That made something in my stomach twist and not in a good way. Dx But it was very wicked when Senjumaru revealed her trick which was a combination of effort with Ichibe. Though, considering the future...it felt a bit odd, as while Kirio's Cage of Life seemed quite OP...well, like we saw, it wasn't fully seal-proof. After all, Yhwach got away from there rather easily.

But even so, it was nice almost every Zero Squad member got to show their skills when came to battling. First the two ladies and then Oetsu. I'm sure in the next episode Ichibe will get to show his skills against Yhwach, but I also hope we'll get to see the rest of the Zero Squad going against Jugram and Uryuu. After all, Oetsu brought down quite quickly Yhwach's elite guards...or did he? But yes. I can imagine the last two episodes will be super action-packed!

Not to mention, we'll probably see how Ichigo and company arrive at the scene and maybe go against Yhwach. If not anything, I hope this season won't end up with a too big cliffhanger, or if it does, it'll at least be a thrilling one!

[justahopelessaromantic]

It's not even light out (but you've somewhere to be)

Fandom: The Cuphead Show AU: Canon Divergence AU Ships: Cupcest (tho its written ambiguously enough you could read it as platonic too) Summary: "The moment I said it / The moment I opened my mouth / Lead in your eyelids / Bulldozed the life out of me" (An AU where Mugman doesn't allow himself to be rescued by Cuphead so easily.)

You are flickering, leisurely (Very little to do today), banging into your container every now and then. You flutter under the winds of the slamming door, knocking the points of your flames against your brick confines. They dig, into the crevices and warming the plaster.

It's so rubbery and fitting to the touch, you wonder if the only reason it doesn’t melt, giving the bricks way to toppling over and snuffing you out, is because of some enchanting property of sorts. You’ll have to ask the smiles on the floor planks if the magic comes from you or the furnace (Always good to learn about your heritage!).

By the time you upright yourself, the travelers inviting the breeze in are already hanging up their keys and comically large souvenirs on the hooks, along with their gloves.

As if the old man’s heart hasn’t suffered enough close calls.

The smiles have a tendency to lay by the radio and listen along to his shows, snapping at his loafers just to burst out into creeks and giggles as he groans, scratches, and stretches only to find his new shoe shine gnawed clean off. You scold them for wasting the nickel he must’ve spent on that and they recap each episode as if none of them caught you peeking out from your opening every once and a while (someone’s gotta make sure they don’t scuff each other up too bad). Though you’d snuff your flame before you bother to remember a single line of that “action-packed” drivel (They expect you to buy dragons that live lifetimes in forests without burning the whole place down? Preposterous!), not everything goes over your head.

Apparently (and you are paraphrasing here), once the gloves…“come off”, so to speak, “it” is, in some way or sort (again, you do want to stress that this is paraphrasing)...“going down”.

The sight of Elder Kettle’s snores flying right over their own heads, bubbling milk splattering a few of the z’s, does not assure you otherwise.

“I can’t just believe you. The gall, the absolute nerve of you to embarrass me like that!”

“Oh, I’m sorry! I’ll try for a more cordial entrance next time I save your butt from the clutches of the devil himself!”

Those last two words generate an actual blast of wind, a few straight lines indicating its direction. You sink back into the cracks of the logs for protection. Being a magical talking fireplace and all with no real ability to spread to the other room, you can only pray to whatever god or animator is listening that the storm brewing here be weak enough not to put you out.

“You know darn well that’s not what I’m talking about, young man!”

“Oh, goodness me, of course not!” The red one (26 episodes just isn’t enough time to care enough to learn their names, alright?) presses a bare hand to his chest, throwing his head over his shoulder. You’re surprised the damn thing doesn’t go flying across the room with how dramatic he’s being.

Somewhere under his breath, the blue one spits a similar sentiment through pursed lips. As always, he’s trying to keep this argument somewhat civilized, though there’s only so much prodding at the insecurities a man can take. Oh, sure, the red one can backtrack as much as he wants, insisting that those southern belle-like tendencies suit his brother “far better than any ol’ dame around these parts!”, but the blue one’s smarter than that. He knows a brotherly lie when he sees one.

If he didn’t, they wouldn’t be having this fight.

“I’m sure you’ve some perfectly reasonable reason for playing the silent treatment all the way to the fair, just to nag me with the pettiest arguments I’ve ever heard, aaaaall the way home, as if you haven’t been pulling this crap since we was stumbling around in diapers, and crushin’ each other with those toy pianos!”

“Telling you to quit risking your soul at carnival games is one of the least petty-”

“I’m sure. Absolutely, positively, sure! That you’re standing here, nagging me, instead’a planning out how much time we have to play kick the can before bedtime on your maticuleress little chart, because you-

“Actually, I believe you’ll find it's pronounced ‘meticulous’-”

“You quit changin’ the subject!”

“I am not!”

“Are too!”

“Are not!”

“Are too!”

You are unsure how much more of this you can take.

“Fine! You wanna know why I’m so furiously belligerent with you tonight-”

“Oh, here he goes, folks!” You’re hiding away in the furnace, who the hell is he talking to- “Whipping out the big boy words so he can feel so much smarter and wiser and respon-”

“It’s because you didn’t learn jack-[BLEEP]”

Silence sorta settles onto the room somewhere. You wish the fight hadn’t moved the blue one out of your sight by this point. This entire night has been a headache, and a nightmare, and a fire-extinguishing hazard, but this…

Well, you’re almost curious now.

“...But…But, I apologized, a-and everything! You saw me!”

“I saw you make a fool out of me on an impulse.” 

“You said you weren’t going back with me unless I said I was sorry and I proved to you that I learned my lesson, and I-”

“You…took my hands,” The blue one clamps both hands around the others. You wonder about when the last time they’d held hands like this, porcelain against porcelain. ”Got down on your knees,” The red one winces. The shove must’ve irritated the already blooming bruises. “And said that the day you stopped looking out for me is the day you land in hell for good!”

…

…

You suppose he must not be very strong, physically speaking. The red one looks so much more pained as he’s slighted by his own words of love and devotion.

“We were getting chased by the monster that’s been after your hide for the past…however long! And you had to go…implyin’ things!”

…

“...Things you got no right implyin’.”

…

“...That’s the part you’re worried about?” You are not buying that shaky grin. Neither is the blue one.

“...Lucifer himself, caring about that sorta thing?”

The force of the crack is enough to blow you out.

By the time their grandfather lights you again, the two are in timeout, facing the ends of the wall. The right side of the red one’s mouth is lined with a sharp crack and specks of dust.

You cannot see the blue one’s hand. You can’t see his face, either.

[twistedtummies2]

Year of the Bat - Number 19

Welcome to Year of the Bat! In honor of Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and Richard Moll, I’m counting down my Top 31 Favorite Episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” throughout this January. TODAY’S EPISODE QUOTE: “Hit me, Riley! Maybe I’ll wake up and be a millionaire, too!” Number 19 is…The Forgotten.

Much like an earlier entry, “Christmas With the Joker,” I’ve always been surprised by how little appreciation this episode gets. For a long time, all the reviews and responses I found for this particular episode were typically negative ones. It hasn’t been till more recently that more positive reactions have started cropping up, as far as I can tell. Interesting, because this has honestly been one of my favorite episodes since I was still a kid. It’s a great example of a story where the power of it comes not from Batman fighting some supervillain, but more from the internal and external struggles of the characters, in a more unnervingly real kind of adventure than most. The story begins with Bruce going undercover as a down-on-his luck thug by the name of Gaff Morgan. Why is he doing this? Well, it turns out that all across Gotham, various poor and homeless people have been disappearing. Batman wants to find out why, so he figures the best way to do this is to make himself into bait. The plan works too well, however: in a battle with some ne’er-do-wells, he’s knocked unconscious and ends up getting amnesia. “Gaff Morgan” wakes up and finds himself working at a forced labor camp in a remote gold mine. The kidnapped people all act effectively as a slaves, serving under a cruel and slobbish gold baron known as Boss Biggis. Morgan must find a way to save his newfound friends in the camp, and bring the disgusting Biggis to justice…but in order to do that, he must first remember who he really is. This episode plays out less like a typical Batman story, and more like a prison film. Bruce/Gaff makes allies in the mining camp, and has to get by through the trials and tribulations working in harsh conditions, with horrible punishment hanging over his head if he displeases his superiors. As the episode goes on, Bruce starts to have flashbacks and regain memories, and the dream sequences that result from this are both surreal and at times deeply unnerving. My favorite is a scene where Bruce has a vision of his old self, laughing inside of a mirror…then, as he gets closer, the reflection transforms into the Joker, who grabs hold of Bruce and drags him through the looking-glass, the pair plummeting through space. It’s a haunting moment, and by far the most memorable scene in the story. Once Batman regains his memories, we get all the action-packed shenanigans we’d hope for, as he chases Biggis and his cronies through the mines and ruins the camp. While much of the story is either bleak or bizarre, there is some humor to it, as well. Most of it comes from Alfred: there’s this wonderful subplot where Alfred has to play detective a bit himself, to try and figure out where Bruce has gone, and it’s easily one of the character’s best moments in the show. The scene where Alfred has to fly the Batwing is particularly entertaining, and another major highlight of the episode for me. Again, this isn’t one that a lot of people talk about or seem to consider with great acclaim, but it’s definitely a personal favorite for me. I’ll confess it has dropped somewhat on my rankings than where it would have stood, say, ten years ago, but it’s still worth watching if you haven’t seen it. And if you have, give it another look; it may be better than you remember.

Tomorrow we move on to Number 18! Hint: “Some thought I had gone mad. Others thought I always had been, until they put me where I belonged.”

[animebw]

Short Reflection: My Hero Academia Season 6

I try not to be too smug when talking about anime. Discussing media always works best when you keep an open mind to all perspectives, so if someone has an opinion I disagree with, I do my best to disagree politely and present my side of the argument fairly. I’m not always successful, but I always make the attempt. Today, though? I feel justified in being a bit of a smarmy jackass. So allow me to present a couple of quotes from my review of My Hero Academia’s fifth season, back when everyone was calling it the worst show in the world because it made a couple arcs 50% less bloody.

“All this is to say, don’t be surprised when My Hero Academia once again becomes the most beloved shonen on the planet heading into its final stretch. Because this show has far from run its course yet.”

“Season 5 may be a low point in its history, but the fact that its low point is still so damn high is a testament to why this show deserved to conquer the world in the first place. My Hero Academia is still good, and I’ll be happy to say “I told you so” when the final seasons blow everyone’s socks off and make them fall in love with it all over again.”

Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, allow me to state, on record, that I fucking called it.

God, do you know how long I’ve been waiting to get that off my chest? I’ve suffered through years of mediocre actioners being worshipped as the new best thing ever, watched as bottom-of-the-barrel crap like Tokyo Revengers and Fire Force tricked everyone into liking them, listened to a flighty, tasteless fandom turn their backs on one of the modern era’s greatest shonen because their lizard brains couldn’t concentrate without a thousand particle effects popping off every second. But no more. No more do I have to carry the torch solo as I have for far too long. Because at long last, after two subpar seasons that still blow most of its contemporaries out of the water, the second anime I ever watched has clawed its way back to the front of the pack and forced everyone to remember why My Hero Academia remains one of anime’s greatest modern standard bearers. The king is back on top, and I look forward to apologies from everyone who ever doubted it deserved the crown.

Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh. It’s not like My Hero Academia has ever been a perfect show, despite its self-evident excellence. Even in this fantastic return to form, plenty of its old issues still carry over. There’s the stupid unnecessary title cards all the characters get every episode, like the show thinks we’re so stupid we’ll forget everyone’s name in the week’s time between episodes. There’s the comedy that never quite clicks as well as it needs to, often disrupting otherwise fantastic scenes. The cast has grown overstuffed enough to officially qualify as a problem, with some characters frustratingly underutilized and some given way too much attention (seriously, who thought Best Jeanist was interesting enough to take over the tertiary protagonist role this season?). And it has a bad habit of stopping at huge moments and pausing the action for unnecessary flashbacks that we didn’t need to understand how the characters got where they were. If you’re the kind of shonen-head who just wants to turn your brain off and enjoy a bunch of flashy fights, it’s no wonder you’d be seduced by the sakuga-laden likes of Demon Slayer and JJK, despite their far more glaring issues in the story department.

But if you’re someone who actually appreciates a good story as a backbone to all those fisticuffs? Then you already know why MHA stands head and shoulders above its competition. And after five seasons watching this pressure cooker of a society boil hotter and hotter, it’s finally time for the lid to pop.

Season 6 is an explosion, plain and simple. It’s over a hundred episodes of peeling back the layers of hero society finally coming to a head and bringing the whole damn house of cards crashing down. The season’s first half is entirely taken up by a massive heroes vs villains war, a war in which everyone is pushed past their breaking point and forced to make climactic decisions about who they are and who they want to be. Characters die, self-actualize, rise to their ideas and shatter beneath them, on all sides of the conflict and sometimes all at the same time. If the All Might vs All For One battle back in season 3 was the end of My Hero Academia’s first act, then this barn-burner brawl is the climax to its second act. It’s the destruction of the status quo, an inflection point for all its characters, and as definitive a no-going-back mic drop as you can imagine. This is the end of the world as we know it, all the mistakes and hypocrisies of heroes past finally coming home to roost as Shigaraki puts his master plan into motion and the foundations of the earth itself tremble in response.

And once the rubble has finally settled, the season’s second half turns to tackle the aftermath. What happens when the world falls apart? What happens when everything people believed in turns out to be a lie? The heroes they put their trust in failed to protect them, and many revealed themselves to be little better than the villains they were supposed to be fighting. Fear and hatred compound, safety nets fails one after the other, and this society that once seemed so perfect reveals itself for the sham it always was. And Deku and his friends are caught right in the middle of the chaos, thrust far too soon into the role of the world’s hope for the future. They always wanted to be heroes: now, it’s time for them to come to terms with what that really means.

There’s a level of moral complexity to these developments that I don’t think any of us could have predicted. My Hero Academia started out as one of the most outwardly inspirational, optimistic stories on the market, but it’s proven itself more than capable of deconstructing its own premise. Heroism in MHA isn’t a static state of affairs; it’s a question that must be asked, re-asked, and asked again through the contradictions and imperfections of the real world. What does it mean to protect? To save? Where does the responsibility lie when we fall short? Is it ever too late to fix your mistakes and start over again? A lesser show might shy away from those questions, but MHA relishes in teasing out their intricacies. And it makes this season- especially the second half- some of the most captivating drama we’ve ever gotten from this genre. Watching the world come undone, and watching the heroes struggle to face the new task before them, results in not just some of MHA’s best moments, but some of the most hard-hitting resolutions in all of shonen history. The Deku/Shigaraki parallels! The return of You Say Run! Uraraka’s climactic speech re-cementing her as one of the all-time great shonen love interests! Payoff for not one, but two of the best goddamn redemption arcs this side of Zuko (and with Shigaraki, that number may climb to 3...)! Twice! Hawks! Lady Nagant! Season 6 is a portrait of a world falling apart, but it’s also a portrait of what rises from the ashes it left behind. As Deku himself says at one point, the world is far more complex than simple black and white, but that only makes it even more important to stand up for what really matters when the chips are down.

I’ve been watching My Hero Academia for a while. I started it back when there were just two seasons out and everyone was still riding high on the hype train. I’ve experienced its highs, its lows, its brilliance and its stupidity (Mineta has done nothing pervy this season and I am SO HAPPY YOU GUYS). I’ve been with this show for a long ass time. But no matter how its perception has shifted over the years, no matter how much anime I’ve consumed since then, I keep returning to the simple fact that MHA is really goddamn good. I don’t just like it because it was one of my firsts, or because of sunk cost fallacy, or anything like that; this genuinely is one of the smartest, richest, most emotionally resonant works of shonen storytelling to ever appear in Jump’s pages. And watching so many of its threads come to a head in season 6 has only confirmed that it’s going to stand the test of time. I can’t count how many episodes left me weepy, how often I was left astonished at the courage and intelligence of Horikoshi’s writing. This isn’t one of those stories that squanders its potential along the way and leaves you indifferent by the end: this is a story that’s going to fulfil every last promise it made, pay off every last idea it set up, and bring it all together in a complete package that makes the entire show better in hindsight.

Because even in its slowest moments, this show was so much more than a mindless punch-em-up. This is a story all about the nature of heroism itself, and what it truly means to be a hero in a seemingly perfect world that actually has more cracks in its foundation than a log cabin built atop the San Andreas fault. This is a story about what happens when golden ideals run up against reality, how good intentions go awry and send an entire society down a path to ruin. This is a story about what drives villains to be villains in the first place, and why they deserve our understanding even in spite of their crimes. And it’s a story about how to rediscover and reforge hope, learning all over again what it means to make the world a better place. Unlike so many of its contemporaries, My Hero Academia actually has things to say about our modern world, ideas it wants to convey that run deeper than “just believe in yourself!” Demon Slayer can lavish as many pretty lights and spinning cameras as it wants atop its cardboard world and stick figure characters, but that momentary flash is nothing compared to this slow-burning tale of what it takes to rediscover heroism in a world that’s forgotten its true form.

Season 6 of My Hero Academia is phenomenal. It’s a lightning-bolt payoff to a story years in the making, sending it hurtling into its final act in as staggeringly brilliant fashion as I ever could have dreamed. It’s not just a new high water mark for this show, finally surpassing the bar set by season 3; it’s cemented this show’s status as one of anime’s all-time classics. When we look back on this period, it won’t be the vapid flashiness of Demon Slayer or the agonizing stupidity of Tokyo Revengers that stand the test of time. It’ll be the story of how a crybaby with green hair became the greatest hero... and how the entire world became the greatest hero right alongside him. And for that, I’m more than happy to give it a score of:

9.5/10

We’re almost at the end now. Bring it home, Horikoshi. I believe in you.

[disneycomplus-begins]

Discover the Wonderful World of Disney+ Originals

Disney Plus has given access for all age fans to a wealth of engrossing entertainment since its launch. The streaming service has grown into a portal to a magnificent world of Disney Plus Originals, containing everything from cherished classics to intriguing new releases. In in addition to giving popular subjects a fresh perspective, these high-end performances have also exposed audiences to enticing new stories. Let's click at Disneyplus.com/start enchanted world more thoroughly to find out about the wonders that lie ahead.

Disney+ Originals' capability to transport viewers to fantastical and vibrant worlds is among its most impressive features options. From the nostalgic charm of famous show "The Mandalorian" to the whimsical adventures of "Wanda Vision," these shows have captured viewers with their deep plots and stunning imagery. Despite the differences in each series' own styles, they always give outstanding experiences.

"The Mandalorian" has emerged as a most popular series on Disney Plus, attracting fans with its captivating blend of space opera and western influences. The show, that is set in the Star Wars galaxy, recounts the adventures of a lone bounty hunter and the cute extraterrestrial known as "The Child" or, more often, "Baby Yoda." The series has won praise from critics for its engaging characters, action-packed scenes, and capacity to perfectly encapsulate the first Star Wars trilogy.

"WandaVision" is another ground-breaking series that takes the online streaming industry by storm. The popular Marvel Cinematic Universe characters Wanda Maximoff & Wanda Vision come together in this outlandish series, which presents them in a distinctive manner modelled around sitcoms. This show explores themes of sadness, love & identity as it dives further into the individuals' psyches with every new episode. "WandaVision" demonstrated the imagination and audacity of Disney+ Originals, demonstrating which is a possibility for experimentation even within widely recognized properties.

Disney+ Originals have a specialty of being good at telling gripping tales for younger people. Its popularity is attributable in significant measure to their ability to appeal to nostalgia and draw on the world that Disneyplus.com login/begin has created over the years. An animated show called "The Owl House" incorporates magic, adventure and fantasy concepts. The story follows Luz, a little girl who finds out a portal & enters the Boiling Isles, a place where witches, evil spirits and other fantastical creatures live. The Owl House has very famous among viewers of all ages thanks to its wide range of characters and positive messages.

Movies & TV shows like "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" and "The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers" pay tribute to well-known properties while presenting unique and compelling plots. While engaging a new generation of viewers, these shows arouse a sense of familiarity. To start your Disney+ journey then visit Disneyplus.com/begin and log in using your account credentials and Enter the Disneyplus.com login/begin 8 digit code to unlock the magic!

[falconlord5]

Only A Dream, Part One

Hello all you happy people! Tonight, we're celebrating New Year's Eve in style with a live blog marathon of the DCAU!

Kicking off this action-packed evening is Only A Dream, i.e. the one where they really should have had Morpheus.

If you're going to imagine yourself as a supervillain, wouldn't you imagine a better costume than prison greys?

Lex would never, ever, congratulate somebody else on defeating Superman for him

And the Joker would just shoot you if you tried to beat Batman instead of him

I'm shocked, shocked that the episode entitled Only A Dream starts with a dream sequence!

Dun dun dun!

Prison experiments are never a good thing

Written by Stan Berkowitz

Directed by Butch Lukic

Just think of the potential! Says every mad scientist villain ever

It's kind of shocking to me how heavily armed these cops are. In today's climate, we'd never see militarized sci-fi cops as the good guys.

On the other hand, this show does show why our cops got so militarized. There are only so many ways to deal with violent criminals who are hellbent to do you harm, and all of them involve substantial risk. I'm not saying our current system is the right answer (and Canadian cops are substantially better than American ones) but there is a certain logic to it. Especially in a world with superpowered individuals running around.

No shit, John

I wonder if somebody on the DCAU writing team had experiences with a stalker. 'Cause this is the second time one has shown up and they're always some of the creepiest villains

...Says the career criminal

At least Doom attended college. This guy's a toilet scrubber at the local prison!

No shit lady

There's a reason she left you, Dee

That'd give anyone claustrophobia

Shoulda listened to Copperhead, Grundy.

I don't remember Copperhead being quite so chicken last time out

You'd think, on a team with Green Lantern, the League'd be less surprised by a guy with hard light tech

Fly?

Flash, how do you not get insta-diabetes with that kind of drink?

Power, man. Nothing but power.

Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Batman created by Bill Finger

Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston

Animated by DR Movie Co. Ltd.

[animasti]

Animasti: Unleashing the Fun in Anime and Animation

Welcome to Animasti, the ultimate fusion of anime and masti! Here, we dive into the vibrant world of animated storytelling, where every frame is a burst of color, creativity, and pure fun. Whether you’re a seasoned otaku or just starting your journey into the animated universe, Animasti is your go-to destination for all things anime and animation.

The Magic of Anime: A World Beyond Imagination

Anime isn’t just a genre; it’s a cultural phenomenon. From epic adventures and heart-wrenching dramas to slice-of-life comedies and supernatural thrillers, anime offers something for everyone. Let’s explore some must-watch series that capture the essence of anime’s diverse charm.

Epic Adventures and Fantastical Worlds

Naruto: Follow the journey of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja with dreams of becoming the Hokage. With its deep lore, intense battles, and heartfelt moments, Naruto is a classic that continues to inspire. Attack on Titan: In a world where humanity is on the brink of extinction due to giant humanoid creatures, the story of Eren Yeager and his friends is a thrilling ride of suspense, action, and unexpected twists.

Heartfelt Dramas and Emotional Journeys

Your Lie in April: A touching tale of a young pianist who rediscovers his love for music through an unlikely friendship. It’s a beautiful exploration of love, loss, and the healing power of music. Clannad: After Story: This series delves into the complexities of family, love, and life’s challenges. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions that will leave you deeply moved.

Light-hearted Comedies and Slice-of-Life

My Hero Academia: In a world where nearly everyone has superpowers, or "Quirks," follow the journey of Izuku Midoriya as he trains to become the greatest hero. It’s filled with humor, action, and a whole lot of heart. Daily Lives of High School Boys: A hilarious look at the everyday antics of three high school friends. It’s a perfect blend of absurdity and relatable humor. The Animation Revolution: Beyond the Anime While anime holds a special place in our hearts, the world of animation extends far and wide. From Western animated series to global hits, let’s celebrate the creativity and innovation in animated storytelling.

Western Wonders

Rick and Morty: This sci-fi comedy follows the misadventures of an eccentric scientist and his good-hearted but easily influenced grandson. It’s a wild, irreverent ride through space, time, and existential crises. Avatar: The Last Airbender: A beautifully crafted series that blends elements of various cultures and philosophies. Follow Aang, the last Airbender, on his quest to bring peace to a war-torn world. Global Gems Maya and the Three: A vibrant, action-packed series inspired by Mesoamerican mythology. It’s a visually stunning journey with strong characters and a rich cultural backdrop.

Wolfwalkers: An enchanting Irish animated film that tells the story of a young hunter and her unlikely friendship with a girl who can transform into a wolf. It’s a tale of magic, friendship, and the clash between tradition and change.

The Spirit of Animasti: Fun, Creativity, and Community At Animasti, we believe in celebrating the joy and creativity that animation brings into our lives. It’s a space where fans can come together, share their love for animated stories, and connect with a community that values fun and imagination.

Engaging with the Community

Fan Art and Cosplay: Share your creative expressions through fan art and cosplay. It’s a great way to showcase your talent and connect with fellow fans. Discussions and Debates: Join discussions about your favorite series, characters, and episodes. Whether it’s a deep dive into the themes of a show or a fun debate about the best anime of the season, there’s always something to talk about.

Celebrating Creativity

Creator Spotlights: Learn about the artists, writers, and directors behind your favorite animated works. Understanding their inspirations and processes adds a new layer of appreciation for their creations. DIY Animation Projects: Get inspired to create your own animations. From storyboarding to final edits, explore the basics of bringing your animated ideas to life.

Embrace the World of Animasti

Animasti is all about embracing the joy and creativity that anime and animation bring into our lives. It’s a celebration of the art form, the stories, and the community that makes it all so special. So dive in, let your imagination run wild, and enjoy the ride in the wonderful world of Animasti!

[yoihino]

You know I wanted to like the pokemon cartoons so bad but it just, it has gotten so bad. Like in the first seasons of all you had your villains and your battles and Ash was bad but that was the point you know? He was a newbie with a big dream and the point was this was his journey to learning about the world and getting better at battling and living and making friends and taking care of and training pokemon.

But just watching the last season, he si so terribly incompetent. He is always failing when it doesn't matter and it will bring a few laughs and always winning when the show calls for it, nevermind whether he deserves it or not. So because I have been dragged to watching all of the new journey series with my little sister all of you now get to hear me complain about it. Warning this is a rant and a vent so if you like the pokemon cartoon you might prefer not to read this.

First of all, the battles. I don't remember how they were in the first seasons because it's been a few years since I last saw them but let me tell ou the ones in this season are just atrocious. No sense of tension, no sense of timing or strategy or what majes battles actually fun to watch.

Tension from wondering whether Ash will win or lose? None, because he is just that good in the early battles and because narratively he can't without finishing the season right there in the later ones.

But what about the enjoyment one can get from a fast-paced, action-packed battle-scene, akin to those in one punch man where even if you know Saitama will win are still enjoyable? Well, the momentum is continually lost because the writers/animators believe their audiemce can't handle having two things happen at the same time, and so the pokemons take each one action at a time, or their trainers call out one after the other as if they were taking turns, the pokemon just sitting in waiting for the orders without moving. There's barely any battle coreography and if not it doesnt' have to have been much thought put into it, with how clumsy and staggering every move feels. At most you have flashy lights and some 'oh' s and 'ah' s from the audience (which are always interrupting to comment on what has just happen and say how cool the characters are, which is tiring but also typical for the genre so I won't comment). Aside from that, Ash doesn't really startegize, aside from some 'spur of the moment' ideas that are treated as genious, and while they tend to be cool in concept and good at their job, are undermined because of how Ash, as a character, is generally treated.

As I mentioned previously, Ash was a character which the kids watching the show dhould have been able to relate to, both from playing the game as well as kids in general. Nevertheless, those characteristics (being childish, oblivious, enamoured with pokemon, excentric in his treatment of pokemon) have been maximised to the ridiculous. This leaves a stupid character which sometimes has good ideas in battle (which are then executed poorly in terms of battle choreography) but is otherwise quite useless and even more oblivious and unaware of the world than he was in the original series. This particularly clashes when battles occur, as he is supposed to be practically a veteran in terms of pokemom battles, and yet he fails at the most basic tasks and battles and must be taught 'lessons' by his opponents. This worked in earlier seasons as he never managed to win the league and his earlier travels were always ignored, but bow these are being actively akcnowledged and brought up constantly, making it much more difficult to believe that a champion could be so incompetent (moreover when the other, much stronger and competent and mature champions also appear alongside him).

Moreover, there's the matter of Ash's team as well. Training is barely shown in a casual manner (as in letting the viewers know that training is a daily occurance), only appearing in dedicated episodes. The choice in having almost all the components of the team be their final evolution when caught is also detrimental, as compounded with the lack of visible training and new moves learned, ends up in feeling as if there is no growth at all. Most of the training is instead centered around special techniques, which lose their awesomeness and newness from overuse soon enough (as they tend to be use in a similar manner each time they appear) and for secondary characters who won't battle at all.

Finally, the villains have also been ruined. Team rocket, once an undoubtedly evil group (even if they were comical and mostly ineffective) have also been reduced to charicature of themselves, rarely attacking or having any plans at all and mostly appearing as background characters or as an outsider point of view. One of the only factors that saved them in the Alola region, their relationships with their pokemon, has also been eliminated, as now (aside from the typical members) they only have a machine which gives them random pokemons for each battle that they then give back (making impossible to form any form of attachement or relationship) and a rodent pokemon (pikachu's newest clone) that when in camera only eats or annoys team rocket, leaving them out of money and food, and that they never even trap or train and only exicts as an obstacle for them, fpr some reason, and that the animators love to show eating for no apparent purpose, as well). As an aside, now at the end of the second season of journey, I can barely remember the last time they actually fought the protagonist.

So all in all I hate this series and I know it could be so so much better, but instead all it has is won battles that feel unearned and are incredibly boring to watch, and characters that don't give the viewer any reason to want to continue watching. I know this doesn't matter and that it is just a kid's show but if you are going to make it anyway the least they could do is make it good.

PS: In the last battle, between Ash and Leonel (aside from being unbearably long at 4 full episodes), has a moment in the confrontation between their last pokemons where the animation triples their budget and while normally this is a good thing it looks so out of place in comparision with all the other battles (and the same battle that had been happening until just a moment before) that it just looks like they are trying to hype you up because they know that otherwise the battle that was supposed to top any and all others is just mid. Pathetic but kudos to the animators because it was really pretty and I wish they had been payed to do that to more battles.

[ecargmura]

Buddy Daddies Episode 2 Review: Parenting Isn't Easy

If you want to read this in my blog, click the link here. If not, continue below!

The second episode is still filled with the zany, quirky action comedy that the first episode had and continues where it left off. I think there seems to be a formula of sorts. Both episodes had a mix of real life mixed with insane action. The first episode had more of the action sequences while this episode had more of the real world sequences to balance out what the previous episode lacked. If the rest of these episodes are like this, then I’d be onboard with it. I don’t want anything too dramatic and too action-packed—I don’t think it would work for an anime like this.

Kazuki and Rei are adjusting their abrupt new life with Miri and it’s not going well for either of them. Miri is a menace who isn’t potty trained and likes to ruin everything from Rei’s games to Kazuki’s plans; she also destroyed the entire house like she was a newly adopted puppy. Are they enjoying this? Not at all.

The beginning portion of the episode gives us some further details about the two MCs. First off, the house they live in belongs to Rei. Kazuki freeloads in the house, apparently—which is something Rei needs as he’s a slob. Second, Rei sleeps in the bathtub. Why? How? I assume it’s because he doesn’t understand love that he prefers the cold, flat surface instead of soft warmth.

Kazuki’s a bit of a perfectionist. With the way he makes plans and such, he’s definitely the brains of the duo compared to Rei who’s the brawn and prefers plans that involve charging head on and attacking. He’s also someone who hates getting his plans ruined, which is shown in this episode.

I like the fact that their mission failed in this episode. Usually, in these kinds of shows, characters always are shown to succeed in their missions. However, in this episode, they experience failure right off the bat and it doesn’t seem to be their first time either. It’s as Kyutaro says—they are replaceable; it’s a message that is so in tune to reality. Any person who works is just a pawn that is replaceable; have you ever seen the same person working at the restaurant you frequent whenever you go there?

The interactions between Kazuki and Rei are a lot more civil in this episode. Rei’s still aloof, but he’s talking a lot more in this episode than in the previous one. It makes you wonder how they met and why they are living the way they are now.

It does seem as if Rei does enjoy Kazuki’s company. In the previous episode, he’s shown buying Santa outfits for Kazuki to wear. In this episode, he’s seen protecting Kazuki twice. First is when they get back home; Rei gets a gun out from his pocket and scans their messy house. Second is when Kazuki and Miri are surrounded by their target’s men and Rei shoots the man closest to Kazuki first before he launches his assault. I’m sure that their backstory is going to be a moving one; someone like Rei doesn’t get attached easily and there must be a reason why Rei and Kazuki became friends.

Miri shows realistic aspects of children that not many anime do correctly. She’s cute, lively but a huge gremlin. She throws tantrums, cries and just causes havoc wherever and whenever she pleases. Kazuki legit lost 10 years of his life during the moment Miri found him a the target’s house. Kazuki may like children, but he’s not ready for fatherhood yet—maybe that’s the reason why he separated from his wife. Underneath all that cuteness is a girl filled with mysteries. Kazuki tries interrogating her, but she’s unable to give him a proper answer. I love how she’s like “Juice? Yes, please” after Kazuki was asking her address/jurisdiction (creative choice of subtitles; whoever wrote that deserves an applause).

Miri’s mother is most likely going to be introduced next episode, so we can finally get some answers on why Miri was walking around unsupervised. The only information we know about Ms. Unasaka is that she’s good at singing and her Hamburg steaks taste better than Kazuki’s. Poor Kazuki—I laughed at that scene.

We see a mysterious new character in this episode. He shows up after our dynamic duo leaves Kyutaro’s shop. He’s definitely an assassin—and a lot more brutal as shown in the post-credits scene. From the opening, it seems that he’s someone who has a connection with Rei. All we know is that his name is Ryo Ogino—but it’s unknown if that’s his actual name.

Speaking of which, the opening and ending are revealed in this episode! I love the rather jazzy feel to the opening; it matches the fast-paced action comedy this show presents. The ending is slower and relaxing, showing a sort of downtime from the excitement. Miri’s clothes are all super cute and there’s a sequence where she’s seen cuddling both her dads.

Hopefully, the rest of the anime will keep this structure of real life and then mission time stuff. I like it so far. I just hope it keeps on doing what it’s doing so far and not drop a bomb and lose its quality over time.