#these are both filler episodes so don't take this too seriously

[sassypantsjaxon]

Zoro about somebody else calling him names:

Zoro about the name Sanji calls him:

[mixterglacia]

So here's my general opinion on Hazbin Hotel.

First and foremost, YOU ARE ALLOWED TO LIKE THE SHOW. MY VIEWPOINT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T ENJOY IT.

Alright? Let's not string Logan up because he doesn't like a show.

Spoilers under the cut obviously.

To start, I absolutely think Viv is talented. I'm not going to pretend that she has no skill whatsoever because that would be disingenuous. I think that she's got an amazing gift for music videos and one-off episodes.

However that doesn't translate to an eight episode series.

When it comes to both of her shows, I find that her characterization, plots, and tone are very inconsistent. It becomes extremely clear when she really likes a character because she starts rewriting them to be this tragic thing that the whole plot needs to revolve around.

I'm not saying that a comedy series can't have depth. I'm an RvB guy, there's absolutely a way to strike a balance between snark and serious. But so often the dramatic parts of Hotel feel like they're fighting -against- the humor, not using it as a foil.

You can't expect me to take you seriously when you have half an episode dedicated to an absolutely stellar performance by Angel's VA, then make a rape joke in the next episode.

Beyond that, for a show about rehabilitating sinners, you spent all that time on Angel and his arc, only to have Pen' be the one who dies and goes to heaven? Are you honestly telling me that doing one grand gesture, one -singular- act of sacrifice is all it takes to get in?

Don't get me wrong, Pen was literally the only thing I consistently liked about the show. But his temporary death felt like nothing more than a tool to shove the plot along.

I believe a lot of this show's faults stem from having WAY too many characters. You have eight episodes that run for roughly half an hour each. You have to make some sacrifices to make things work. I'm not even sure having full hour eps would make it better, but it definitely wouldn't hurt things.

But Viv should be able to make those tough calls if she wants to be considered a good writer.

The three Vee's were almost completely wasted, -especially- Velvette [sp?]. You've got too many random antagonists in such a short season. Them (mostly Vox) interjecting during the big fight was jarring and more distracting filler/haha dick nonsense.

The only one I find was used in pretty effective way was Valentino. He's honestly a really nasty piece of work and I mean that in a positive way. He's charming until he isn't, he's predatory, and makes my skin crawl every time he's on screen. Good, kudos on that front.

But for the show that's supposedly the girl-show to Helluva's boy-show? THE GIRLS ARE BARELY FLESHED OUT. It feels like Viv can't decide who her main character is. (Likely a side effect of the bloated cast) Angel could be considered just as much of the lead as Charlie.

Speaking of Charlie, she comes off like an extremely flat and frankly obnoxious character for more than two thirds of her screen time. Why does her relationship feel like an after thought when it's canon? If it was meant to be a will they won't they, it could have made more sense. But it felt like we were constantly being reminded that they were together rather than showing us outside of the (i think) second to last ep.

The pacing is also totally out of control. The first episode was one big plot dump, then nothing moved the main story along for four and a half episodes, then suddenly everything is happening all at once? It feels like being in bumper to bumper traffic, then taking an off ramp.

Again, they really needed to streamline the cast.

As a final note, I really, REALLY hope Lilith is going to be more than just the evil bitch exwife. I already find Stella to be a total waste of a character. Please don't do the same with Lilith because I'm already sick of the "uwu misunderstood dad with his cunt ex" in Helluva.

I guess I'm extra annoyed because I really truly want to like this show. When the writing hits, it's absolutely amazing. But the overwhelming majority of the time, it's just -boring-. I know she can do better which makes it all the more frustrating.

You're allowed to like it. I'm allowed to dislike it. I'm glad so many people find joy in it.

I just wish I could.

[shittyelfwriter]

ALRIGHTY here we are at weeks three and four for the santa clauses series! I did not rewatch a second time because genuinely, these melted my brain. anyway, lets get into it below the cut!

So apparently according to the tsc tag, episode 3 that I missed last week is a sort of filler episode? OH BROTHER REALLY

Normally I would not complain bc I miss old format, 20-23 episode series but because I know this Isn't That? DREAD. how are you going to plot well and good in 7-8eps if some are filler? that is just SO condensed, my guy

Counterpoint to people who were sad about it but: I thought the teen romance was annoying and I'm GLAD they ended it even JUST for a bit (it will come back to haunt again, trust. It’s a disney series ffs.) Whoever is writing this needs to ask a teen about how they talk nowadays. This is not it.

I also think we're driving the whole "Buddy is terrible at everything" punchline WAY past its breaking point. Which I would argue was last season entirely, but. At the very latest, last episode with how heavy on cringe it was. Yes, EVEN for kids/teens.

Again, they are not antagonizing Magnus Antas enough for me to hate him. waaaaay too funny to be a villain. I can't take him seriously and DON'T want to

The way that Noel keeps sideyeing the Betty cutout as if to say "do you see this shit?" during his brunch with the Clauses SENT me tbh. That's bernelle coded and I love it

I do not know why Disney gets OFF on the Clauses being absolutely inept parents but I wish they would stop

SHOUTOUT JUDY OMG JUDY'S ACTRESS THAT’S JUDY JUDY IS HERE YOU GUYS (SCREAMINGGGG)

LOVING the exterior shots of the workshop and Elfsburg. As someone who has POURED over all available screenshots from the movies of those I am LIVING for new angles (even though I do NOT think bernelle would live that close to the Workshop, but it doesn't seem like Betty and Noel can POOF like Bman and Elle can (and do))

I don't know why there are TWO instances of a "misspoken turn of phrase" in this episode but neither were funny and TWO OF THEM was REALLY bad

CHUBBY BUNNY DID NOT EXIST THAT LONG AGO. NOT IN MAGNUS ANTAS' TIME. THAT WAS AN INTERNET FAD LESS THAN TEN YEARS AGO. WHAT ARE WE DOING DUDE. WHAT ARE THESE WRITERS ON (it's not good, I don't want some)

Crossing guard callback? For what? (okay, shrug I GUESS dot meme)

Why does this specific franchise always have to make EB SO WEIRD. WHY. Nothing about this is funny it's just off-putting. Just like the previous EB flirting with Carol's MARRIED MOM in tsc3

This Carol and La Befana scene was actually very good. LOVE it when they actually just let the characters be HONEST with each other. Women supporting women core. Even if Carol's reason for being mad at her was really shallow and obviously stems form Carol's lack of identity as Mrs. Claus because they just cannot wrap that plot point from last season up.

THE LETTERS DEPARTMENT. It looks dope but HATE the explanation for it. Half assed as hell. WARNING! Rant incoming: like from what I know a LOT of postal services have little lore stories about how they get the letters to Santa. WHY COULDNT WE JUST SAY THERE ARE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN SANTA AND OTHER ADULT PEOPLE WHO KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE FOR OTHERS AS WELL? Why is this series so obsessed with making everything only powered by magic and never by others (yes, humans) who want to keep the spirit alive as well? It feels like magic is being used as an "explain it all away" crutch narratively. Even in season 1, the "solution" to mass consumerism wasn't for people to be kind to each other and do little things to keep the magical parts of Christmas alive, it was to show the world that magic was real. Season 2 so far, the answer to everything is also just magic. I'm hoping that maybe the B plot with Kris will touch on this. Because as it stands right now, it feels like the writers are talking out of both sides of their mouth. Commercial Christmas is bad, but Kris is a loser for having a Santa theme park. Like?? Homogenization of Christmas is the Big Bad at large, but also up at the Pole they are trying to find ways to do the same thing to be "current". CHRISTMAS IS MULTIFACTED. It is both secular and religious! That is OKAY, I don't even think "woke" people are arguing about that. Sheesh.

Can't believe I'm micro rambling IN my ramble post. New achievement unlocked omg

The way Magnus Antas picks up on modern slang so quickly practically puts Scott to shame. Good for him

AGAIN, the misturn of phrase jokes. DEAD. Not funny. STOP

If they are going to make Sandra so op that she can just Wanda Maximoff chaos magic "I just say something when I'm mad and it happens, anything I want with no negative impact on me" I will not find that swag. That is in fact Mary Sue territory, lads

Sandra's little outburst @ La Befana was giving magical nepo baby for a moment there. Oof. "Too bad I'm just naturally more skilled than you even though I'm new and you've been a witch forever" girl SHUT. UP. You are like a little baby. Also that is so mad disrespectful like no WONDER La Befana is wanting you to slow tf down. You fly off the handle WAY to easily and we ALL know you lose control when you do! Okay loose cannon! Werk!

Riley. Girl. "we never see each other" you were just up at the Pole?? Like. OFTEN?? This is so stupid of a breakup but they are teenagers so go off kids, be dysfunctional or what have you. Rah rah, as Jack would say

Episode four now, lord help us. God has cursed me for my (loving this one Christmas movie series) hubris and my work (watching it's hellish series spin off) is never finished

"Reversing a transformation is never a guarantee" what is this La Befana? the Sims? Sounds like transformation ray odds. Magic is not THAT unpredictable, even by in-universe logic

CURTIS-ITIS!??? CURTIS FUCKING EXPLODED??

ARE YOU SO FUCKING FR RN. SO BERNARD IS MARRIED TO A SENIOR CITIZEN AND CURTIS. FUCKIN VAPORIZED?? FROM STRESS? WHAT'S NEXT? Lemme guess, Judy joined the circus. Quintin is a crypto investor or works for Tesla. WHAT ARE WE D O I N G

Not Scott moving the scissors like he's afraid Buddy will shank him or others?? SIR

SANDMAN AHHHHHHHHHH HELLO SIR /POS :D

So they just con him? As though that's a long term solutio-- OH MY GOD NOT SCOTT USING SANDMAN'S SAND ON SANDMAN HIMSELF?? that's ILLEGALE?? According to tsc3 lore: "We legendaries can't use magic on each other?" I am so bewildered by the level of retcon occurring before my very eyes at BREAKNECK speed

Sandra doesn't need magic she needs THERAPY for her ANGER ISSUES bruh. Damn. She doesn't need a rage room (in someone's house too I might add? okayyyy) she needs to learn to process like a normal human being wtf

Scott being able to look like his normal self whenever he wants and they just didn't tell him? For like. 25 years? Like its clear that by the series standards, the elves think he's a total moron. But it pendulums hard and fast between "haha funny joke" and "damn they really think he ain't shit, huh"

Edie being a fashion diva is such a serve she's grown on me this season ngl

"I had to teach him how to do all the Legendaries jobs" Scott I know you're waffling, absolutely FUMBLING but what the FUCKKKKK is that excuse??? What's Cal going to do? Be EVERY Legendary? TERRIBLE AWFUL HATE IT UNINSPIRED. Not to mention, SOME OF THE OTHER LEGENDARIES MIGHT NOT TAKE THAT NEWS WELL. Some might even feel THREATENED

"The man I die for in my sleep every night" UM? Noel? You okay there bud? Holy heck

THE PURPLE JACKET IS SWAG AND SCOTT IS A HATER. HE CANNOT SEE THE VISION

Do you guys think according to this new lore Edie made Jack's suit? because me thinks PERHAPS

Magnus Antas is kind of popping off, damn. Like I think if the gnomes hadn’t given him MAJOR delusions of grandeur and an ego trip, he could have stayed totally a vibe. But stop giving the Santas snow powers and reconning Jack holy SHIT dude. First Scott now him? HATE IT

The way they made Scott and Cal look when "invisible" is Not a Good Look heck. Its like a bad picsart filter

These Scott visions. I get why, its through the Santa magic, right? But dang its corny

So Scott knows Magnus Antas is back now. Okay. They got away from him. Lost visual on Olga, have a bad feeling she somehow sneaked into the sleigh. Weird cliffhanger but EVERY episode has been like that so far

Final thoughts: I feel like they're definitely trying to make this season take itself less seriously, but I feel like the trade off is that the writers are taking too many liberties for diversions from source material and are therefore, losing the plot entirely and retconning movie lore at will and convenience. Tl;dr, it's messy. Concepts are fun until things just become so irreverent they fall apart or lean into entirely unfunny territory. Which is just a hallmark of T*m All*n brand humor, tee em, but you know.

It feels like this series is doing everything and nothing. It wants woke points, but immediately doubles back and makes fun of those same things. It wants us to feel empathy for these characters, and immediately makes them insufferable. I am so confused as to what the takeaway is supposed to be. It all feels so poorly executed--the series retcons itself constantly, not to mention the movies. I want it to be fun, and to take it at surface value, but if you know literally anything about the movies, that becomes a challenge to do. I'm just so confused dude.

I will be shocked if this gets a third season. Truly.

Also, I miss Betty too, Noel. Wish this whole season was about HER shenanigans, instead.

So. See you all next week then?

[lyrical-lovely]

Anime Review - Idoly Pride (S1)

Idoly Pride. Idoly effing Pride. Where do I even begin to describe the emotional journey that this thing took me on? If you're here, you know that I LOVE idols, so do take that bias into account...

Watch Idoly Pride if: - You want to experience a state of true catharsis - You love idols and music - You have a sister

Do NOT watch Idoly Pride if: - You are not emotionally prepared for it - You don't like women??? - ??? It's 12 episodes you can do it

MILD SPOILERS below the cut- I'm only gonna spoil episode 1 plot points though so

Oh my GOD. Where do I even start? I guess we can begin with a summary. A young man named Kohei becomes an idol producer after being asked to do it by his acquaintance (at the time) Mana. Over the years, Mana goes on to become a legendary idol, but passes away in an accident just before the finals of the Venus Something competition. A few years after that, Kohei begins scouting for a new idol group, and he meets two girls of importance- Sakura, who has a voice that sounds just like Mana's and a heart that told her where to go; and Kotono, Mana's younger sister who took up idol training to follow in her sister's footsteps. The anime follows the story of the two girls discovering their own truth as idols and what the profession means to them. Ultimately, though, this is a story about forgiveness- both of others and of ones-self. That said, there are a lot of lessons to have pulled from this heart-wrenching story, and this is just how I interpreted it.

Love Live walked so Idoly Pride could run. Seriously, Idoly Pride does EVERYTHING right that Love Live got wrong. For example, character development. Sakura and Kotono are, of course, joined by a cast of fun and quirky side characters, who each get a somewhat significant plot point around them. For example, the sister relationship between Chisa and Saki is touching, and Rei's intensity being misinterpreted as cruelty helps her develop as a character, too. All the side idols are really great, and I think that in a second season there'd be a lot of potential for good plot points there.

Idoly Pride also succeeded in that things actually went right. Unlike Love Live, not everything goes wrong for Hoshimi productions, and as a result, the anime is a happy one, not frustrating to watch at all. The characters, for the most part, act as reasonable human beings would and usually make good decisions. They're a bit unrealistically emotionally intelligent- I mean, have you MET high school girls? That aside, I also enjoyed the balance of "filler" to "plot." There's a ton of cute little moments, like Suzu falling asleep and rolling off a bench while waiting for laundry, or Shioriko doing "ego surfing" on her phone between shows. I think this mundane aspect of it gives the characters a bit more realism and makes them so much more likeable.

Just to dote on this show a bit more- the 3D animation was like nothing I've ever seen before, and there were times when it was actually hard to tell what technique the animators were using. There were even times when you could tell they had rendered in 3D, then drawn over the idols in 2D to get an incredible 3D sweeping background with a 2D character overlay. A lot of love was put into repeatedly drawing the intricate costumes on even the side characters, and I really respect that.

The only crime this anime committed was not being long enough! Well, and there were a LOT of loose ends, and I wasn't completely satisfied with what happened at the finals of the Venus Something cup. The solo song performed at the end was absolutely beautiful, but the outcome of the cup as a whole was kind of confusing to me. Well, whatever. Fix it in season 2!

I'd like to bring up two more things before I go. 1, this anime portrays sisters really well. I love the way the relationships between the two sets of sisters are explored. And 2, the handling of the power dynamics between older, male idol producers and the young, often underage, female idols. I think this was presented rather well, and it's something I'd like to see them discuss more in the next season, specifically with Rui.

Overall, it's a 10/10 for me. I cried the last four episodes. Something about this anime knows exactly how to punch you right in the gut. It's beautiful.

[almadesarrollo]

things that could happen in MLB from S6 ONwards PART 1

Well, after seeing how the series works, I am watching it again and every day I discover new things, new clues to be able to better understand how the story is going to develop, in this case we are clearly talking about Felix and Marinette, the real story , and I have come to understand so far how at least the first 5 seasons could be classified, and don't worry, I know they have different names, I don't remember all of them, but I'm going to give them my own name, so that we can understand everything better, according to what that I have seen... to begin the plot is actually about 4 characters, Adrien, Kagami, Felix and Marinette, among these four where the mess or the move arises, so to speak, and based on that, each season helps us in some way to get to know each one of these better, so that we can better understand the story,and how the whole plot will develop:

-SEASON 1: introduction: THIS SEASON IS INTRODUCTION, IT PRESENTS US MAIN AND SECONDARY CHARACTERS, BUT THEY ALSO GIVE US THE FIRST CLUES OF THE SERIES, SO SAYING, SO THAT WE CAN FORM THE PUZZLE (WHY IT STARTS FOR A REASON, RIGHT?) They are all names of akumatized people, but don't be fooled, through the akumatized people they give us thousands of clues, this season it is vital to see it since, thanks to it we can start the story ourselves and see where the starting point is... you will find many clues related to Felix, and all, ALL THE CHARACTERS PRESENTED ARE IMPORTANT, THERE IS NONE OF FILLER, THEIR DESIGNS AND ATTITUDES, ALL GIVE US INFORMATION.

-SEASON 2: THE VILLAIN/ADRIEN, This season is well known for somehow knowing the villain, monarch/Gabriel, IN IT WE SEE WHAT HE CAN DO THAT HE CAN'T DO WITH THE AKUMAS, HOW HIS MIRACULOUS WORKS ETC...But what if it can be highly criticized for not being a great villain and so on, but it is also vital, do you know why? because to make a good villain you have to know how far he is going to go, and what he is capable of both physically and mentally, AND THANKS TO THIS SEASON WE KNOW WHAT THE REAL VILLAIN IS GOING TO BE: ADRIEN (that's why the first This season's episode begins with the revelation of Gabriel) through Monarch we know what Adrien is going to be like and what he is capable of, this season is full of clues about Adrien's future and his villainy, and this does include chatnoir, but not only that, this season makes it clear to you with several clues (very funny and graphic,They use a lot of puns with the "b") that Adrien is literally a baby and that he is not suitable for a superhero, he was created for a villain (what we have seen about Chatblanc is only the beginning ) That's why there is so much ridicule about him, that's why they nerf him... he's not a superhero, we don't have to take him seriously...

-SEASON 3 THE ICE QUEEN/KAGAMI, this season is also vital and it helps us to know Adrien's romantic interest, yes, Kagami or as I like to call her, the ice queen (haha, like with Adrien's baby too There are many clues to that in the series) another great villain, Kagami, was introduced in season 2, but this season 3 is dedicated to her, what attitudes she has, what her life is like, more about the tsurugi, etc.. yes, although I know shows us with someone who, well, has social and emotional difficulties, don't let this fool you, she is the daughter of the tsurugi, in the same way that Adrien is the son of the agreste, nothing is just because, SHE IS BAD AND in the future she will to make Marinette's life impossible, that's why in this season 3 their friendship begins, this season they give us clues about how she will break into Adrien and Marinette's love life, how she is going to be a tyrannical and heartless ruler and Ladybug will try to overthrow her (there's a reason they call her ice queen, a queen without emotions, very cold) and how she is going to betray Marinette, in various ways, we know that this season is Chloe's fall and let me ask you, doesn't it seem like a coincidence that Chloe is precisely nicknamed "QUEEN" AND THAT HER MIRACULOUS PARALYZES PEOPLE?, PARALYZES, FREEZES... BUT APART FROM THIS KAGAMI HAS another function, to give dynamism to the series, her name means "mirror", what do you look at? When you see yourself in it?, your reflection disappears and if you take the image of yourself out of that mirror, what do you have? an inverted image, therefore things and characters are inverted when they interact with it, (I already talked a little about this in my post where I talked about pretension and Felix being Adrien, there you have it).

-SEASON 4 THE GREAT GUARDIAN/MARINETTE, well, this is the official title that was given to this season, it is also ideal for what it foreshadows, this season is dedicated to our protagonist MARINETTE/LADYBUG, her emotions, her double life and her responsibilities both as a heroine and as a guardian, how she tries to carry out everything, it is one of the hardest seasons, because in some way it foreshadows everything that she is going to suffer, and part of this suffering is going to be because of Adrien, and The thing is that if the series makes something clear to you, it is that if Adrien is a baby both in civilian life and as a superhero, Marinette is the babysitter, as you can see things are uneven and Marinette/Ladybug is going to lose her nerve, (this season is just the beginning of What awaits her, Adrien will betray her. Marinette always helps others, but do others help her? This season is one of the most important because it gives us a clue as to how she is going to lead her double life, how she is going to rise, from all this, she is going to empower herself, and she is going to become that heroine that many of us have been waiting for, With great self-esteem and self-love, she will learn to love and value herself and she will heal, but in the midst of that healing she will have great support and help. Yes, Felix, if the daycare has more children (kagami), more babysitters are needed. No? Felix will be that companion that she really needs, her friend, and from friendship to love there is only one step, right? There's a reason Felix was created to protect Adrien, right?

-SEASON 5 REVOLUTION, FELIX Y ARGOS, this title is also official, and the truth is that it suits him perfectly, this season is a season dedicated to Felix, point of view, how he thinks and feels, and everything that his life implies, his past and present, that's why he debuts as Argos, in a chapter with the same concept as his name "emotion", FELIX IS ADRIEN'S TWIN COUSIN, A SENTISER CREATED TO PROTECT AND CARE FOR HIM, BUT APART FROM THIS, HE IS THE COMPANION , FRIEND AND LOVER OF MARINETTE/ LADYBGU AND FUTURE CHATNOIR, Yes ladies and gentlemen, he is THE FUTURE BATTLE COMPANION OF LADYBUG, and in the same way that Adrien was created to be a villain, Felix was created to be a hero, and a great hero , BUT ALSO TO be Marinette's perfect friend and boyfriend, and yes, I know, the feligami came out here but I'm telling you that it won't last, since as I just said, Felix was made for Marinette in the same way that Kagami was for Adrien, This season gives clues as to what the Felinette relationship will be like starting from the base of friends, then best friends and battle partners, lovers and finally boyfriends and even married people, and in battle her partner as Argos and later as chatnoir, the same way how the feligami is going to break and because (I'm following you, kagami is going to treat Felix very badly) how his relationship with Ladybug will be, in all its phases, but above all and the most anticipated, how it will be As chatnoir, Felix will be the chatnoir that for many many many years we have been waiting for, with things they will be serious and there will be no jokes, that is why in this season, chatnoir is more focused...Because through chatnoir / Adrien tells us about Felix with the MIRACULOUS OF THE CAT, but there is more Plagg will adore him, FELIX WILL BE EVERYTHING WE FANS HAVE WANTED BOTH IN THE WORLD OF SUPERHEROES AND IN LOVE, he will know how to listen and understand Marinette , and he will accept the relationship whatever it is, that she chooses, he will treat her as she deserves,HE WILL CARE FOR AND PROTECT HER, he will love her from the heart.

Well, now that we know a little about how each season goes, we will tell you how they come together, as we have said, each season helps us get to know each of these 4 characters in depth, now, well, each season adds extra information about what proposed the previous season, and that's how it connects.

For example, let's say there is a birthday party and Marinette wants to give Felix a gift:

Season 1 would give us some clues about the place (the wild mansion) and who Felix is ​​the birthday boy (but in a very subtle way) and some reference to Marinette's gift. So you see it but you don't understand it very well, because obviously you need clues.

then you get to season 2 and it adds more information about this, it tells you that the person throwing the party is Adrien and that he is a little jealous of Marinette's affection for her cousin, and you see how she decorates her house for him (I remind you, is an example, this is not real) and we see how Marinette knits him an indigo blue sweater for example, you are already understanding that yes or yes it is for Felix, but equally if you doubt, there is the clue of a jealous Adrien, you think about the possibility and also because of the color of the jersey, the decoration of the house.

Season 3 arrives and you see how Kagami is undecided because she doesn't know what to wear to the birthday and her boyfriend doesn't pay any attention to her, and there you begin to understand every time that it could definitely be Felix the birthday boy and that Kagami wants to look good for him because It's a special day and since you know that feligami is canon, you think more about how everything fits together.

season 4 arrives you see how Marinette is told about the party at Adrien's house for "someone very special to Kagami" and we see how Marinette is really excited and we see her design an indigo blue sweater for "that person" and she also proposes help Adrien with the decoration and, by the way, she takes the opportunity to ask him, since they are cousins, if he would like that gift, but she also tells Kagami that she looks beautiful and that her boy is not going to stop looking at her, you definitely sense that he is felix and that also the bond with marinette is special and that adrien is extremely jealous, and that the feligami is on its last legs.

until season 5 arrives and Felix says that it is his birthday and that he is going to celebrate it in the wild mansion, and invites all his friends, and when he sees Marinette, she hugs him and he reciprocates, unlike Kagami, which which ends in a fight with Adrien because he is very jealous and Kagami is sad.

It's crazy I know, well it's an example, but you see it, right? It was all the same, the puzzle was Felix's birthday and creating a beautiful moment Felinette, and each season gives a piece so that we can little by little put it together, with T1, T2 and even T3 we already knew that things were going for the felinette or feligami. That's the whole series.

[incesthemes]

final thoughts: supernatural season 8

oh my god i'm finally done. i don't even know why this season was so difficult to get through because honestly i liked it infinitely better than seasons 6-7, so what's up with that?

the beginning of the season was REALLY rough, but i think it found some footing toward the end. it had some pretty good plots, and i was genuinely so pleased to see them tying in original supernatural worldbuilding and plots to build this season. it felt like a return to its roots after deviating so hard in s6-7, so i greatly appreciate that. it almost made up for how often they disregarded established canon and retconned developments lmao (no it doesn't. i am salty about this).

as always too many episodes felt contrived and without consequence which annoys me to no end, but i think the god trials are a pretty good plot, and the emotional throughline of it was well done too. it had some good brother bonding and even some character development for them both: i love that sam and dean started the season so far apart and reaffirmed their undying love for each other in the end. it felt cohesive and well thought out.

imo the god trials should have started sooner. like, way sooner. getting to mid-season was a drag, and there was nothing acting like glue holding the storyline together for far too long. i really like what they did with benny and i will always love him and miss him (rip king) but i think conjoining the amelia/benny drama and the god trials would have been a better option. add some more trials in there or something idk, just give the show a leg to stand on.

but really i am actually genuinely impressed with how they handled benny. i think paralleling him with amelia was a smart choice, and it gave the entire season and undercurrent of tension between sam and dean that provided just enough oomph to make the finale hit hard.

and yeah the finale was good! actually i think the last three episodes were all pretty dang good. i had prepared myself to critique the angel trials in this write-up, particularly for being crammed in at the end, but i ended up really enjoying how that came to fruition, and the speed of it gave a particular tension and urgency to it that helped carry the resolution in the finale really well. i'd forgotten about the little twist ending, so i was pleasantly surprised!

thinking about it now, i think probably what made this season so difficult to watch was because too many episodes interrupted the momentum of the story. you have some cool trial episodes which are done pretty well and have a lot of tension, and then you follow that with... a random, unrelated filler episode. and that really does kill the mood, more so in this season than in 6-7 because 6-7 didn't really have very tense or coherent plots to begin with. there was nothing grasping my attention fully, so the plotty episodes and the filler episodes were more or less equals—not the case here. going from 100 to 0 every other episode was like breaking all the bones in my body with a wrench. seriously.

but i'm not gonna lie, the finale was so exciting and so well done that i'm almost tempted to start season 9 just to see the fallout of all that. SUPER excited about human castiel, i've been waiting for this moment since i started my rewatch. and finally sam and dean are un-divorced again. and isn't the mark of cain plot in season 9??? i remember enjoying that. i think. finally dean gets his time in the spotlight (suffering unimaginable horrors), thank god.

but i know objectively i need to take a break, so i'm gonna watch at least one season of hannibal next i believe. i keep getting torn between hannibal and black sails and then cursing myself for not watching hannibal when it was first airing, like an idiot. either way season 9 will have to wait for a little bit while i detox. holy shit.

[iztarshi]

I think the ending + movie of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is interesting from a Doylist perspective partly because of how rushed it was - sad as that is from a fan perspective.

In the same way filler and gecko endings came from anime being made from manga that hadn't finished yet, we're seeing storytelling happen under constraints of a) stories with ongoing arcs and character development being popular in western animation right now b) studios still cancelling them with no warning and leaving a minimal amount of episodes to wrap up. We're seeing a lot of slow build up to suddenly fast-paced endings.

So rottmnt goes from being halfway through the second season of a three season story to having six episodes to wrap up. Under those circumstances it does remarkably well! A lot of minor threads - Dr Noe's quest for Raph's tooth, whatever was up with Jupiter Jim's working movie props and yokai sidekick - simply get dropped, but the overall emotional arc of Splinter reconciling with his own mistakes and with his family both past and present comes through loud and clear. The tales of the hidden city episodes coming so soon before the end set up Splinter having reconciled with Draxum and his own feelings about being a mutant too, a good thing to get in before the finale.

Talking of tales of the hidden city, this also lands us on a fairly complete arc for Donnie, almost by chance. Witch Town both contextualised the issues he'd been having with mystic and let him move on from them. I think in a less rushed ending he would have starting working on getting used to mystic powers rather than gone straight to using ninpo with no problem having always used tech before - but on an emotional level it works. It means Donnie is going into learning ninpo without hang ups about it so the fact that he uses it with ease doesn't feel wrong.

Mikey's arc also ends in... kiiiind of not a bad place. We learn why he's so intent on redeeming Draxum, that he feels like he needs to justify his own creation, and he manages to make Splinter understand and get his parents to reconcile. We don't deal with whether Mikey really needs to justify his existence, or whether he's being too hard on the rest of his family by pushing this on them for his peace of mind. Worse, the movie can't even hint at resolutions here because Netflix wanted to focus on characters that were franchise wide and not Rise specific so Draxum gets at most a cameo.

Raph and Leo's hidden city episodes aren't as deep and we end with them in an interesting place because they're mid character arc. Season two was, iirc, meant to end with Raph and Leo as co-leaders. Maybe season three would have worked towards Leo taking leadership alone. The result is that they're in an emotional place where that would make sense as a solution but not yet in a place where the solution has even started to present itself.

Raph starts the series pretty gung-ho about leadership. It's a chance to boss his little brothers around! He gets comments about being "the guy who's always telling us he's our leader" from Donnie. Then the show wears on. Villains get more dangerous. Leo nearly dies in Bug Busters from a call Raph makes. The consequences of failing missions get worse, too. Raph starts taking it all more seriously, becoming increasingly anxious about his brothers and less able to trust that they'll be okay if he's not right there to pick up the slack. He also gets more resentful towards them for making him worry like this. Pizza Puffs shows it best. Raph's feeling trapped by the role he started out wanting.

Leo's behaviour meanwhile is getting increasingly wild. I wish we had had an equivalent to Donnie and Mikey's hidden city episodes where he explained what was going on with him, because it's hard to parse exactly where he's coming from. But he's picking fights with Donnie in a way he didn't in season one. He's refusing to communicate with the team, sometimes outright lying to them. If he's upset that they don't trust him he seems to be dealing with it by being as untrustworthy as possible.

I do think it's a set up for Leo moving towards finding a role on the team that a) makes him feel fully part of it b) requires him to behave more responsibly. Currently he's pulling away, trying to be better than his brothers instead of work with them, and that's what he needs to deal with.

Then the series ends and the focus is necessarily on wrapping up the plot, plus Splinter's relationship with his sons which has been shown as loving but somewhat broken throughout the show. We're rooting for them to understand each other better and pull through to win together and they do. In the most literal-symbolic way possible.

Raph also gets his feelings dealt with as part of the ending. We had him in a bad place and then - since we get no time for anyone, including Leo himself, to realise he's capable of leading - Raph has to remain the leader through the finale. We see him deal with his belief that he has to take care of everyone and how isolated it makes him feel, and learn to open up to his brothers more and rely on them too.

This does have the odd side-effect that the finale seems to show Raph becoming a better leader right before leadership is taken away from him. But the fact that Raph was overwhelmed and stressed by the job is made evident.

Then the movie gets used to tie up the emotional loose ends Raph and Leo's interrupted arc gave us.

One interesting thing about the movie is that despite a lot of its plot being based in this struggle over leadership and Raph and Leo's feelings about it no one ever mentions who the leader is. After seeing one of the deleted scene animatics I kind of get that, though.

The animatic has Raph claiming he never wanted to be leader and just felt he needed to take care of his brothers - which is very much a retcon of Raph's arc in season one. I think ultimately everyone's feelings about leadership were just too complicated to sum up in the movie in a way that wasn't reductive.

Or maybe Netflix just didn't want series specific plot points referenced. Especially since Raph having been the leader until recently is very much a Rise thing, whereas Leo and Raph having fights about Leo's leadership ability is very franchise wide. Even if it's not usually about Leo failing to take things seriously.

But the movie does, imo, a very good job of condensing the story and making the character arcs make sense despite the finale and the declaration of Leo as leader having happened in the middle of them.

Leo's wild behaviour - put on hold for the finale - returns, with the defeat of Shredder and being named leader now being added to outwitting Big Mama as reasons he's riding high. The degree to which it's driven by arrogance, insecurity, or a mixture of the two is still debatable, but it's the continuation of the arc he was on.

Raph's anxious resentment is still there, amplified by the fact that he should be able to get a break now he's not leader, but Leo won't step up and take the weight off his shoulders.

It moves things around. Leo gets thrown in at the deep end and has to realise that he's capable of being a good leader after he's already been leader for a few months. As well as learning that he has to work with his team instead of measuring himself against them and judging who did "better" at everything.

In the end I think it's fascinating how they told a good story around so many constraints.

[taohs]

Well.. I'm autistic. As a child, I was apparently more sociable but it did seem like I was more of an extroverted introvert. Like I had friends for the most part of my life, but I was also content living in my own world by myself. Like my own fantasy world. Which actually seems like how, y'know, I have always been as an introvert. But that's what I was told.

I could be around people if I wanted but I preferred being alone at the same time. So I might not mind friends. But I won't always be social.

~

I don't read webtoon series but I kinda want to though, since so many other the Korean shows and movies I watch are based on webtoons a lot of the time. Do you know any sites where I can read webtoons? I'm also enjoying a lot of different artwork from webtoon series whenever the artwork is really detailed, or at least detailed work to me anyway.

But if there is ever a possibility I'm watching shows or movies I might not enjoy for whatever reason, then the chance is because a celebrity I liked was part of the cast. Not the first time that happened to me.

I did hear that the webtoon for Sweet Home is scarier than the show.. I can't compare because I've never read the webtoon. If I'm being very honest, I was hoping the show would have been scarier? More violent if possible. The acting is fine. But I do wish the monsters were not too CGI looking, the monsters look overly CGI to me. That's my opinion in that detail for the special effects. I think season two is December 15 if you were going to watch it, since the updated article came out only a few days ago. I checked for other updates before sending my reply.

Yes! I'll have to take a picture for you the next time I watch the show... I knew there was painting of an anime character on the van, but I just never expected that character to be Roberta though. Especially since Black Lagoon isn't really a popular series to begin with compared to a lot of other series. But it was definitely Roberta in her maid uniform.

Bloodhounds and Extracurricular are definitely recommendations for now. So watch those shows when you can. Without spoiling anything, part of me hopes they also continue both these series too. But I really haven't heard any official news yet about those shows at the moment though. I won't say anymore than that. Because of spoiler reasons.

And for the most part, whether they are real or fictional, I always have a type of guy I'm attracted to. Most of the time... There's usually types I have. Attractive, tall, muscular, bonus if they have any modifications but aren't necessary though. And could kill many men with their bare hands, so it would be attractive if they knew how to fight. Obviously if I'm ever attracted to fictional characters who are murders, then that's the fictional character and not real people. Just to clarify that. Since I know there are some people automatically assume certain things any time you're attracted to people or characters. You know how they are.

As a midget, I tend to have a size kink. I don't mind if the man is short in any way at all (like Levi as an example), but they still have to be way taller than me. They can be short but still tall, but I also like really tall.

The perfect men exist. I might not be their type, but they are my type in every way. Doesn't help that they live on another side on the planet though. How is that fair?! That's seriously complete torture for me.

Yes. Sometimes I don't mind when a series as filler episodes, but then other times I complain because there are too many filler episodes any time you watch longer series. And.. Yeah. I would rather have the slow pacing of an author if it means they can create the endings they want for their story, rather than having rushed endings like other series did.

I'm neutral about Yuno. I don't hate his character, but I wish there was a lot more to his character at the same time. The same reason as you. But I hate the Silva family though.. I loved the mother, sometimes I do have mixed feelings about Noelle since I did hate her - with how she's this snobby brat but she is also becoming more human though, and I completely hate her siblings for the abuse they put Noelle through so that is also another reason why I'm trying to be open minded about a character like Noelle. But I do love how the characters, especially any female characters, have magical abilities that keep evolving into even more abilities. Like how Charmy is literally A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing.

And don't worry about spoiling me... I do need to start reading manga again. But I'm also impatient with stories. If I haven't already seen any spoils on social media, then I will deliberately search for spoilers that I can find out of curiosity to know what happens next. So there is that. I don't know about you, but don't worry about spoiling me.

~

Maybe I'll try again. So I'll send a instant message to you soon. Since I was having glitches when I sent messages, what, a few days ago? But I was having problems with messages. So I'll try again if I can then.

💋

i would definitely recommend checking out webtoon series! the artwork from many of the ones i've seen are really beautiful, and it's great to see how much work the author puts into them. if you enjoyed sweet home's adaptation, i would recommend reading it as well, since i liked the webtoon much more. the live action went off on its own direction after a while so it's not too faithful to the series past the beginning, and like you said some of the CGI ruined its scariness. if you’re thinking of another webtoon to start with, pigpen is one of my favorite horror/mystery story. the plot twists were amazing and there were many exciting cliffhangers, so me and a few friends binged it in a few days. if you like those specific genres, those would be definitely be the ones that i would start with (especially pigpen) ^^ i have the webtoons app downloaded on my phone so i read it on there, but i think you can find a lot of options on sites like mangakakolot too

ahh yeah, i've definitely seen people accuse others of liking bad people in real life if their fictional favorite is for example a villain 😭 there are definitely evil characters that i am attracted to in fiction, but that doesn't mean i'll be attracted to the same person in real life. i always find it a little exhausting when some fans give others a hard time for liking villainous characters. i can relate to you with being a fan of size differences, i like my women tall and muscular 🤣 lol but it's hard for me to go out and meet these kind of people since i am so busy with working and im too tired to go out when i do have days off. so fictional characters will have to do T_T i know levi way on the shorter side of the spectrum, but is there a height that you prefer in your faves?

i completely feel you on the silva family... honestly, i've disliked them since their first appearance because of their snobby and rude attitude. i did like noelle since the beginning though and I gradually grew to like her more, since she is kind at heart and works so hard to prove herself. her “i’m a royal” line can get old sometimes, but not something that bothers me too much. nozel though… he’s a character that i can't stand even if he had his "redemption” moment, because putting so much trauma on his little sister and then acting like everything could be forgotten just because he blushed and apologized??? he might have had his reason for acting the way he did but there definitely had to be a better way for him to go about it. he's also mature enough by now to know what was right and wrong to do, like the man is literally in his late 20s?? to think noelle would probably have continued to be isolated from her family if she didn’t grow stronger on her own 💀 he's a bland character to add to it too, so even more reason for me to dislike him also his hairstyle is ridiculous

[thesearchforbluejello]

We've been seeing your reblogs of SNW on our feed, and we gotta ask... Thoughts and opinions? Is it good? Would you recommend watching it to a trekkie who hasn't watched any of the new trek properties since the first few episodes of Discovery?

Oh man oh man oh man. I have a lot to say. If you don't want to read all of it, there's a TLDR at the end.

✅ episodic format: It's SUPER different from Discovery, so if you prefer the older episodic shows over the newer serialized format, it'll definitely check that box.

❌ season arcs: even though the older episodic shows have two partners and/or small (or large) season arcs, SNW doesn't really... There's one that connects the end of s1 to the beginning of s2, and it's a big deal, but it's not drawn out. I'm not even married to season arcs, but I do think that if they're doing silly filler episodes, ten episodes is too short for a season and thirteen would have been better for them. I LOVE silly filler episodes, so let's get that straight, but they're better when it's not taking up literally a fifth of the season.

✅ space hijinks and the risks of exploration: It oscillates wildly between silly and dark, sometimes between episodes and sometimes within the same episodes, but I see that as one of its strengths. It gets really goofy in a fun way, but it's also bloodier than older Trek... mostly just because they actually show blood. The crew commits so many hijinks and they're all friends and fun to watch together.

❌ character development: the actors are really carrying the characters alone for this one. The characters are all lovable and for the most part the actors are doing a great job, but frankly this is my biggest complaint about the show. We get very, very little development for any of the characters even over the first and almost complete second season. They're just still not well established. The writers seem to think "trauma" is the same as characterization... which like obviously it's not, so. I get very irritated (which you've probably seen in my tags) about the fact that there's often "development" for the characters that builds on a foundation that's basically just toothpicks. It still takes them a step forward, but it's always a stumble imo. I know some folks who are casual watchers who don't mind this though (I'm just neurologically incapable of casual watching). This is also apparently an unpopular opinion, but (spoiler alert) I also think Kirk is in it too much. He'll have been in at least 4/10 of the season 2 episodes, but he's not even posted to the Enterprise. I LOVE Paul Wesley's Kirk like he's my favorite Kirk nobody @ me but the show is about the SNW crew, not Kirk. They're struggling to even develop the seven major SNW characters, so constantly throwing Kirk in constantly is kind of annoying me. They also don't do full ensemble episodes, so often some of the major characters will only show up for one or two scenes and someone else will be the focus. This isn't my preferred format, but I don't hate it-- that being said, some characters are being seriously neglected because of it, but I won't fully rant about that.

✅/❌ Discovery tie in: you don't need to have seen Discovery to watch it. I watched s1 without having watched Discovery. HOWEVER, it will spoil the ending of Discovery s2 in SNW 1x01, just be aware (as in it will totally obliterate one of the big reveals in Disco).

✅Anson Mount: I say this as someone who's literally never seen him in anything else, but he brought his A game every episode and he's the absolute MVP of the series. Really great performances and he makes Pike an incredibly lovable character but also a really great captain.

❌ Discussion of disability: I have a lot of thoughts regarding the treatment of disability as a horrifying thing and equating it with death. Like, fear of physical injury is a very human thing because it's literally a survival response that's wired into us, but there's both some sloppy writing that equates physical disability with death and just a failure to actually explore what a disabled future means for a person. It's kind of hard to explain what I mean without obliterating an entire episode of Discovery and the whole first season of SNW if anyone else reads this, so I won't go into it but I will say this-- I didn't find this weak point to be bad enough to stop watching, and it involves TOS canon that they can't escape, so they're not doing something that's deliberately offensive and disrespectful, but they're not doing it particularly respectfully either.

✅ special effects: there aren't as many REALLY alien characters as Discovery, so there has been less major prosthetic design on display, but what there has been has been good and the CGI is great.

✅ Old school nods: there's so much campy scifi in this show. They do the bridge impact lean and shake thing and they have cool props and the uniforms are a little silly but also so well designed. The ship design is really 2020s and not classic Trek but there are still elements of that design and it's still cool as hell. Also, like, it's the fucking Enterprise, so I'm going to be feral over it regardless.

❌ CO and XO: Listen, this is such a personal taste-based opinion BUT I'm mad about it so I'm going to COMPLAIIIIIIIIIN about it. One of my favorite things about any Trek is the CO/XO relationship, whether it's on a ship or a station or whatever. I just find that a really fascinating dynamic, and it's so different every time. This show has a FASCINATING CO/XO dynamic and the actors have really cool ideas... but developing this at all would require the XO to ACTUALLY BE IN THE FUCKING SHOW. She's in every episode but often not for long. I have some major opinions on this, in case that wasn't obvious. They've done 17 episodes and this relationship hasn't been developed very much. We've had some good scenes and a good plotline, but my complaint still stands for reasons I won't spoil unless requested.

❌ Strange New Worlds: there are barely any new worlds, nevermind strange new worlds. Half the time it's just Star Trek: Doing Stuff in Space and the other half it's Star Trek: Hey We Found Something Weird in Space and Are Investigating It. Not a big complaint, just... not quite what it says on the tin.

TL;DR I love SNW a LOT. It's fun and it's silly but it also confronts the big philosophical questions of existence and morality that are central to Trek. I do have a lot of complaints, but honestly one of the reasons I have so many complaints is because I love it so much.

It's definitely Trek in flavor and it doesn't demand high commitment to watch it. Someone will inevitably yell at me for this, but it actually reminds me most of Voyager-- it's silly and the relationships of the crew are prioritized, but they do some really messed up episodes along the way too. It's a very different vibe to Voyager though, to be clear.

If you decide to watch it, let me know! I'd love to hear what you think :)

[otnesse]

To be fair regarding the length of Johto, a large part of that was thanks to both their deciding on a whim to change Celebi's GS Ball arc into a movie and thus drop the GS Ball into oblivion as a result, and also Takeshi Shudo's impending retirement due to medical problems.

That said, even some of the "filler" episodes still manage to have some character development overall for Misty and Brock, so they weren't too bad or skippable. The last bit of Johto certainly made huge strides for Misty regarding her goal, and an underappreciated bit about Johto is that it actually managed to EXPLAIN a bit about Misty's personal goal (we got hints at it during Indigo, and Orange expanded on it somewhat, but Johto was the time it was starting to crystalize). And personally, I felt the league turnout for Ash was definitely one of his better moments, something which most series don't quite come close to accomplishing.

One definite flaw with Johto, however, was the decision to prematurely axe Misty (and purely due to internal squabbling among the production staff, as they were trying to decide whether to keep Misty or Team Rocket. Brock presumably was exempt partly because of the events of the Orange Islands. And the one most at fault, surprisingly enough, WASN'T Takeshi Shudo. Yes, he did vote for Team Rocket and he did make clear they were his favorite characters, but more accurate translations of the blog implied that it was actually Masamitsu Hidaka who was gunning for Misty to be removed. It was all Hidaka's fault, in other words.). That if anything had REALLY long-lasting effects, including pretty much sabotaging a large part of Advanced Generation as a result (seriously, keeping Misty into AG if anything would have been a huge BOON to her development wise, and it would have at the very least provided Team Aqua with a major role), to the extent that Shudo later made clear he regretted keeping Team Rocket on after they were treated even worse than in Johto. In fact, to put it bluntly, Advanced Generation with its gross mishaps, ironically enough, made IT look like skippable filler as a result (namely, keeping Ash the same rank, mishandling the Brandon final battle to have Pikachu OHKO Regice and then having Pikachu be easily beaten repeatedly in DP, and also replacing May with Dawn just to have the latter do the same goal), especially compared to Johto where, for all its faults, it DID at least feature much needed growth in a more natural manner. I think the only other flaw Johto had was failing to capitalize on the newly-introduced breeding mechanic for Brock to promote it (it would take until DP for him to do anything even remotely comparable to breeding).

Pokemon Johto Journeys: Series Reflection

It’s hard to judge Pokemon Johto as a separate entity from the Indigo League, because, well, it isn’t. The shift to Hoenn is the first time this show does a hard reset; it hadn’t yet reached that point with Johto. Johto Journeys, JLC, and Master Quest are a direct continuation of Pokemon basic and Orange Islands, with the same characters, the same running subplots, and the same general sense of progression. They may be a different generation, but story-wise, they’re just a second part of the status quo set up by the Kanto era. As such, it makes the most sense to judge them not as a complete entity, but as the concluding half of a story we only got the first half of previously. The Johto Journeys were, above all else, More Pokemon. They were more of the same characters, more of the same adventures, and more of the same general vibe, just with a new checklist of critters to run down and fill out the space in between. And considering I enjoyed the first generation of Pokemon, it’s not too surprising I ended up enjoying Johto as well.

Keep reading

[lunarspiral1127]

So, I missed She-Hulk episode 6, so I'm just gonna say my thoughts about the episode. *SPOILERS*

Filler. That's what this episode feel like, and not the good kind.

Even though Jen got new clothes from that designer that's supposed to fit both forms, they still look a bit baggy on her.

Nearly everyone in the wedding is unlikeable. Like, they make her not be She-Hulk, they give more of a damn about her love life, they make her clean cause the bride's a total bridezilla who made the crew quit, and even make her iron all the guys' shirts cause they were playing on the Switch! She should've just left! The only exception is the cute dog (who I'm really concerned for his health cause the bride said that he was resuscitated before the wedding), Chet who's DJing the wedding, and Josh who likes not just She-Hulk but also Jen.

By the way, where the hell is the groom? Throughout the whole episode, we never see the groom at all. Why?!

Speaking of Josh, I don't trust him at all. This show has most of the men be jerks, sexists, idiots, or all of the above. I bet the show will make Josh unlikeable later on and have him be any of those categories or evil.

She-Hulk vs. Titania (oh yeah, she's in it too to get back at Jen). Honestly, it was a bit longer than their previous fight, but it was meh to me. Probably cause of the slomo being used that one time and the CGI. What I don't get though is that Titania gets punched in the face and doesn't get her teeth knocked out, yet she slips on some ice cubes, faceplants hard on the floor and THAT messes up her teeth. Hell, before that, Jen in her normal form gets punched in the face by Titania and her nose didn't break. There's no bruising or any damage on the face from that punch!

I don't like Titania. I don't like that she was turned into a Kardashian "celebrity" in the MCU.

Mr. Immortal jumping out the window to get away from Nikki and Malory is the most relatable thing and the best part in that entire episode.

Oh yeah, MR. IMMORTAL IS IN THE MCU....and he's butchered in it too. In the comics, he lost his parents, lived with an abusive foster father, his first love committed suicide, and he tried to end it all cause he couldn't take it anymore only to discover he couldn't die after many attempts. He was the founder of the Great Lakes Avengers and is meant to be the sole survivor of the universe and learn the "grand secret" that will reveal itself at the end of all things.  Also, Mr. Immortal would be the "appointed prince" by One Below All if Franklin Richards died. That's a big deal. So, what's his MCU counterpart? A guy who fakes his death to escape being with his wives and one husband because he can't confront them and be honest that he wants a divorce.....well, at least he's bi.

Seriously though, why would they make Mr. Immortal be like this?! It doesn't make sense when you read up on Craig Hollis and who he is. This guy lost his first love by suicide and tried to take his own life to join the ones he's lost! He wouldn't do what the MCU version would do!

It's also never explained how he and Titania got their abilities. I hope they're not gonna make them mutants like with Kamala. But, Craig has been around for decades, and SHIELD or anyone hasn't caught on that there's a guy who can't die? He killed himself multiple times to get away from his wives and husband and there hasn't been any footage or anything to show him coming back? It would've been better if the show introduced Craig as someone who recently discovered his powers.

Intelligencia is introduced in this episode. In the comics, it was a group comprised of some of the greatest and most sinister minds on Earth and they initially exchanged information between criminal geniuses. Members included Modok, Klaw, and Leader (who's gonna be in Captain America 4). Here, in the MCU, it's Reddit basically. And, someone going as Hulkking is the one who's after She-Hulk's blood. Some say it's Leader, but we won't know until later on.

As much as I like Malory and Nikki getting along, I just didn't care for this case compared to the previous ones. Just by how they acted towards their client and how Craig was ruined in the MCU by making him be another male character be a total jerk and a bad guy.

I think that's all I got from that episode. And in case you couldn't tell? Yes, I didn't like it.

[captnjacksparrow]

I don't know what you think about this, but given that Kishimoto didn't write Boruto until long after it started.

I think the arc focused on sarada and everything that has been dedicated to the father and daughter relationship, has only been to give SS fans something that unites Sakura with Sasuke.

Since sarada is the only one of the new generation who doubts her parents' relationship, and if it were her, she would too, since there is absolutely no love between them.

I've always thought it was only created so SS fans could say "Sasuke does love Sakura, since they have a daughter"

When it wasn't Sasuke himself who said in Shippuden "I don't love her and I have no reason to love her so I don't know why she does it"

And still there are people who say that I have loved her since childhood and was only blinded by revenge, when after leaving the village he did not show concern about what will happen to her.

Besides that I never treat her in a special way, and although now the relationship with Sarada has improved, the relationship with Sakura is still just as bad.

Sakura herself admitted to Ino that not only did their first date last two and a half minutes, but Sasuke didn't know it was a date. And also when Sasuke is out of the village he doesn't contact Sakura, but he does contact Naruto?

In the end I just think that sarada is a daughter who was born so that her parents would not separate and the SS fans would have something to justify the null love that Sasuke had for Sakura.

Well, All of these episodes which you've mentioned here are not in the Manga and they are all from full-on filler episodes. I mean it's not even from one of those extra scenes which were usually inserted in the canon episodes.

And Boruto production team is just dumb who likes to be friendly with every fandom. If you see SS fillers on a strech of 3 or 4 episodes, then they will switch onto NH for the next batch. This is the pattern they follow and I can't even take any of their episodes seriously.😐

35 chapters in... We learnt the core theme of Naruto Manga. That is, Understanding and Protecting an Important person. Until 699th chapter, that theme has never changed and yet still Kishi had managed to tell the same theme in various ways with interesting characters to the point of making us glued to the seat till the very end. Naruto tried to Understand Sasuke... And Naruto became stronger to Protect his important person, Sasuke. Plain and Simple.

But What does Boruto manga wants to convey honestly?? What's the core theme? It's been running for 6 years and yet nothing happened other than Kurama's death. What did this Boruto brat wants to do??? If this was simply about Alien destruction then I can go watch many well-made Hollywood Movies... not a manga with just pictures and words.

It's a very bad manga with no clear vision or seriousness or sincerity in this project which could make people take this series very seriously.

In the end I just think that sarada is a daughter who was born so that her parents would not separate and the SS fans would have something to justify the null love that Sasuke had for Sakura.

But isn’t this idea, very evident from Gaiden and Boruto movie itself????? I don’t think we need 250+ Anime episodes to say this message. The author has clearly established that both NH and SS happened because they have to spew out babies and make a series about them which would appease the shipping part of the fandom.

Since, Kishi shitted on SS in Gaiden, the Anime team is just doing a big damage control to satisfy SS. When in reality, Sarada don't have a big opinion about her Father. And Sasuke literally spent less than 15 pages with Sarada. I think it's best not to take these Anime episodes way too seriously.

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - So, What Did We Learn Children? ( A second half of S3 Recap)

So this is it. The last Salt post. It’s been fun. In a way I hate to see it all end, but I will also be grateful at not having to fight Tumblr for deleting all my work when making long posts all the time. I also will not miss slowly combing through episodes trying to find screenshots.  

More importantly though, I feel a real sense of accomplishment. I’ve done long review series/marathons before, but this is the first time I’ve fully completed one. This is because TTS, for all of its ups and downs, has one of the most amazingly supportive fandoms I’ve ever been in. I was only able to finish this series of reviews because of all of your wonderful feedback. 

Thank you. 

Now for those of you just joining us here are the past recaps to catch up on... 

To Filler or Not to Filler

Hey, What Ever Happened to That Varitas, Guy?

What Is the Point?

‘Whatta Twist’

“Rapunzel Knows Best!” 

As for this recap we’ll be covering these episodes...

Pascal’s Dragon

Islands Apart

Cassandra's Revenge Part 1 

Cassandra's Revenge Part 2

Race to the Spire

A Tale of Two Sisters

Flynnpostor

Once a Handmaiden (first half) 

Once a Handmaiden (second half) 

Plus Est En Vous Part 1 

Plus Est En Vous Part 2 

Plus Est En Vous Part 3 (first half) 

Plus Est En Vous Part 3 (second half) 

Chibi Tiny Tales & Ever After 

As always, what we discussed in previous recaps is still applicable here. I just don’t want to be repeating myself constantly, so before you say I skipped something please go back and read the other reviews. 

Mismanagement Of The Budget  

I understand that part of the agreement for even getting a third season, despite the show failing, was to introduce budget cuts. Which is why season three is shorter and has fewer songs in it. However, that doesn’t excuse the fact that what budget that was given to the crew was horribly utilized. 

Money was wasted on unneeded background models and stupid filler scenes that added nothing to the plot, while important elements like the incantations get underserved. That’s also not including the overreliance on reused character models in the second half of the show, nor the increase in animation errors.   

The Villains’ Fail To Have Competent And Coherent Plans 

Nothing Zhan Tiri and Cassandra do in season three makes any logical sense. Any plans they enact either actively work against their stated goals or wind up being pointless in the long run. 

The problem with this, is that it reduces the tension. Both villains come across as incredibly lame and non-threating because their actions appear to be scattershot and impotent. And in Cassandra’s case, it reduces her sympathy in the audience's eyes because her brain has been effectively stolen by the plot.  

Another consequence to making the villains so ineffective is that the heroes now also look super stupid and selfish at not being about to thwart them promptly. So in the end everyone comes out looking dumb. 

Pointlessly Pitiful Payoffs 

I’ve talked about the lack of setup and resolve in this show a lot. Too many setups don’t have proper resolutions and certain outcomes don't have the needed build up to make them effective. When we do finally get payoffs for things that were established beforehand, they're far too often too limp and weak of an ending to feel satisfying.      

Tonal Dissonance 

I’ve hinted at this before with the series’ lack of focus, but that covered a lot of various things. Now, I’m talking about tonal whiplash specifically. The second half of season three takes the series ongoing problem with tone and maintaining a certain mood and cranks it up to eleven. 

Nothing has weight because the jokes get in the way. You can’t take the story seriously because the writers aren’t above using humor to cover their plot holes. Characters get assassinated for the sake of comedy. And on the rare occasions that show actually tries to be heartfelt, the art direction works to undermined it with poor editing, layout, and lighting. 

A Broken Magic System, Weak Lore, And Poor World Building  

Part of why none of the characters’ actions make sense is because the series failed to layout the needed groundwork for the magic system that said characters are using. 

We don’t know what the two mcguffins everyone is fighting over are, where they come from, nor what is they even do exactly. The conflict is negated because we don’t why things are happening the way they are. 

The rules of the magic/universe alter and change on a whim for no rhyme or reason. Which makes the characters’ decisions seem contradictory in hindsight.

Basic things like geography and the passage of time is completely thrown out the window, which calls into question certain characters’ behaviors and reactions to things. 

We get hints at backstories, but there is no lore nor history in which to hang the characters’ motivations upon. What little insight we do get often doesn’t have any bearing on the plot at all. 

It’s frustrating because Tangled the Series had the building blocks to be something really special. The ideas are there. Unfortunately, incompetence and laziness means that none of these interesting themes had time and room to grow. 

One Character Steals The Story From All The Other Characters

However, beyond all this, the story’s core structural problems stem from last minute re-writes and the creator’s obsession with inserting his OC into parts of the story where she simply doesn’t belong.  

Cassandra is robbed of both agency and individuality as she shoved into everyone else story. She steals Rapunzel’s backstory. She mimics Varian’s villains schemes. She replaces Eugene in both scenes from the film and as the most important person in Rapunzel’s life. She’s forced to become the mother she’s never known and the mindless puppet to a lame daemon without any regards to what she might want or who she is as a person. All the while holding the idiot ball so the plot can move forward and wearing an ill-fitting catsuit so the creator can drool over her. 

No one is allowed to shine. No one is allowed to be themselves. No one gets any sort of satisfying character arc nor fulling ending. Not Rapunzel, not Varian, not Eugene, not Lance, not Red and Angry, not Zhan Tiri and Demanitus, not Gothel and the Disciples, not the Brotherhood, not Cap, not the King and Queen, not Willow, not Lady Caine, not Andrew and the Saporians, not Hookfoot, his brother, and Seraphina, not Faith, Vex, or Calliope, and most certainly not Cassandra herself. 

Misogynistic, Racist, and Classist Writing 

I don’t like to get up on my high horse and browbeat people for watching things with ‘bad morals’ because that’s overly simplistic and doesn’t address any real world problems. Not to mention that there are far too many toxic individuals on this earth that love to get on soapboxes for attention and shame people for not being ‘pure’ enough, for no other reason then to persecute and bully innocent people. 

With that said, not advocating for censorship and refusing to engage in purity culture bullshit, doesn’t mean ignoring problematic ideas and and toxic behaviors altogether. Especially when you see a pattern of disturbing themes being touted as normal or even ‘good’ by a multi-million dollar franchise that’s broadcasted to children worldwide.

So what’s the solution? 

Talk about it. 

Bring things up for discussion and breakdown why you find something to be morally repugnant. Sure, best not to give harmful ideologies a platform to begin with, but you will never de-platform a company as large as Disney anyways, so use it as a jumping off point to argue why diversity is needed behind the scenes, why economic equality is important, and how to tell real representation from stereotypes and tokenisms.      

I write these reviews not because I hate Tangled the Series, far from it. I enjoy the show immensely but I’m not blind to it faults either. The Salt Marathon has always, always been a starting point for discussion, education, and genuine analysis. It’s not simply hate watching for hating’s sake. And I hope, now that it’s all over with, you dear readers have walked away from this with a better understanding of ethics and legal theory, the pitfalls of media production and it’s school yard politics, and how to be a better storyteller and a better person overall. 

Conclusion

And there you have it folks, the final entry in the Tangled Salt Marathon. 

It’s is finally done. 

However, it’s not the end of my involvement in the fandom. 

I’ll be posting the results of Tangled Survey today in honor of the show’s anniversary, so be on the look out for that. 

Later on today, March 24th, I’ll be hosting the annual Varian Movie over on my discord for anyone who wants to join in. It’s a video edit of all of Varian’s scenes in the show. Stream will start at 9 PM EST. 

https://discord.gg/6GNMTTe49r

Speaking of streams I’ll also be hosting a little victory marathon on the Salt Discord that’ll run along side my newest review series. Every Thursday at 9PM EST, starting on March 31st, I’ll stream four episodes of the Tangled the Series. We’ll be watching in the intended production order to see how that effects the story. 

https://discord.gg/bt6KCaPDVN

As for the newest review series, as requested by popular demand, I’ll be launching the Tangled Bonus Marathon! A far shorter and far less salt filled series as I take a look at the books, comics, adaptations, and miscellaneous merch inspired by the show. 

First up will be a look at the Tangled Junior Novelization! 

https://archiveofourown.org/series/2410567

And finally, I am still working on my crossover fic. Which you can find here. 

Anyways, thank you for your support and for the fun ride. Happy TTS anniversary and catch ya later! Bye! 

[owls-den]

I'm binge watching Pokemon X and Y with my best friend (already 66 episodes in in less than a week WOOP) and here are my observations (obviously, spoilers for a, what, 8 years old anime series?):

Serena's arc is VERY similar to the arc I want to give Trip in my Trip as Coordinator fanfic (that I'll name "Chip on my Shoulder", yes I've decided AT LAST and it's finally in the making!! Currently 200 words in lol). So that was very interesting to see and I can't wait to discover how they handle it.

I love how "contests" are made in this and I'm 100% going to take some inspiration from it for my own contests in the fanfic to create a weird mix between the usual contests and Kalos'.

Episode 63 was the best one I've seen honestly. THE ROCKETSHIPPING CONTENT WE GOT!!! I just love when Team Rocket is portrayed with something other than just... villains of the day. They have a lot of depth and this really showcased Jessie as a character as well as James. They're just so made for each other why did no one ever write a soulmate au with these two lieksfhdjhf

Speaking of which: Team Rocket appears way too much. LIKE WAY TOO MUCH. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. But I did hear it got better in Alola so I'll just bear with it.

Every time they try to make me feel emotional, I cry. Unless it's Serena, then I'm laughing my ass off. I'm so SO SO sorry but when she started having flashbacks when Feneckin couldn't go across a puddle to save its own life and said "You've always defended me! It's my turn to save you!" I started wheezing like never before. Funniest shit I've ever seen. The contrast in tone with the obstacle being a puddle? Absolute comedy gold. Same for when she goes to cut her hair and sees her life flash before her eyes. I had tears in my eyes by the end and my stomach was hurting. I love you so much Serena but oh my god that's just hilarious.

JESSIE SHOULD HAVE WON THE FIRST CONTEST, I'M SORRY BUT THAT WAS THE MOST CREATIVE COSTUME EVER THAT WAS SO FREAKING COOL!!! JUSTICE FOR JESSIE!

Tierno is incredible. I didn't think much of him in the game but he got a GLOW UP in the series.

Once again, I LOVE Serena, but I am not much of an Amourshipper honestly. Like it's cute but I feel like Ash is just very much so uninterested. I ship her way more with Elle honestly. She's such a bi disaster man Serena my beloved. Seriously, Elle and Serena went more on a date than Ash and Serena went on a date in the episode... saying that they're going on a "date". Idk it's a cute shipping but I really don't think Ash is into her.

WHY IS CLEMONT SINGLE HE IS THE ULTIMATE MALE WIFE??? Seriously. Also had a shower thought that his robot having both his malewife aspect and Ash's battle determined spirit makes him their son, don't @ me, I'm right.

This is a genuinely cute series at time. I'll often say something edgy to my friend about it and then retract it because it's just cute.

James centric episodes are what dreams are made out of. James believes so much in his pokemons like his Inkay I cried... A lot... WHY AM I GETTING EMOTIONAL-

Oh my god the whole Malamar episodes are so eldritch in nature what the actual hell I was not prepared.

I have no real opinion on Bonny. She's ok and sometimes pretty adorable.

Hawlucha my beloved <3

I have the uncanny ability to predict everything the second before they happen. Choosing to bingewatch this with someone who has seen the series before is probably the best decision I've ever made.

My conclusions is that so far, well it's full of filler, but that's normal. The episodes range from pretty eh to actually pretty good and entertaining! I like the character dynamics, they're great. Can't wait to see the rest! I don't know if it's high compliment, but it's an awesome series to put in the background while cooking, chatting with friends, shiny hunting... We watch in japanese with subtitles and comment as we go through 10 hours sessions at a time. It has a lot of flaws but man, I forgot how great the anime was at making me care for pokemons. Pokemon used to be my comfort anime and now I remember why after taking a 11 years long break from it. Maybe I'll even rewatch Best Wishes once I've caught up to Journey.

[talkingtea]

The show lost viewers this season because it was insanely dreadfully bad. If they want any chance of a successful season 8, they're going to have to make some serious changes.

1) un bloat the damn cast. We do not need DP playing 2 shittily written mediocre characters with no plot taking up screentime when they can't even write 1 well. If they're not going to get rid of them both, I'll take Caitlin's blank face looking ass over white privilege Frost. Get rid of that dumbass Chillbean. Get rid of all and any Caitlin love interests forever bc DP has no chemistry with any of them. Cecile needs to be guest or recurring - she has no more use for the plot, esp now that Jenna is nonexistent and Joe is sharing scenes with Kramer. Unless they have a continued significant plot for Joe next season, he needs to be bumped down to supporting cast too and ACTUALLY support his pregnant daughter. Allegra doesnt need to be in episodes not focused on Citizen plots. Even if I dont mind her character, we don't need Sue back. She serves no purpose in the overall narrative. Why tf did they feel the need to bring her back and write for her when they can't even write their existing longterm characters properly?? Too many plates at the table. This focus on side characters has got to go. They didn't develop them well when they first joined the show which they should have done to make us invested. Trying to force in filler for that now after the fact is too late and disrupts the trajectory of the show. The only one they've done right is Chester.

2) go back to the roots of the show, with the Wests and Westallen family at its core and the characters and character dynamics driving the narrative, not the terrible and inconsistent plots. The show needs to stop being so invested in the spectacle and focus on the heart.

3) cool down the corny goofiness and gearing this towards kids bc I doubt the younger audience make up the majority of viewers at this point. This may not be a late time slot show but it is starting to resemble Disney shows with how "kiddy" and silly it has become. If s8 is indeed the last season, I hope they say fuck it and stop giving a damn about those (probably made up) constraints. Is it really that much to ask for the main couple to have some intimacy in bed? Even just cuddling under the covers? Steamier kisses?

4) let the writers who have experience writing the show and characters have more episodes because inconsistent characterisation and writing is ruining pivotal moments. And conversely, stop letting longtime writers with a clear anti agenda have pivotal WA/Iris episodes to write because again, inconsistent characterisation and writing is ruining it

5) they need to do right by Iris. Proper journalism story arc, proper pregnancy arc with her husband, proper investment in her vulnerability emotions and fears. Enough with the misogynoir.

6) a strong overarching villain with good, steady buildup and good motive who has stakes in the personal lives of every character, otherwise ppl are not going to get invested in the fight.

7) utilise their stronger actors more. They have significantly better actors with less screen time playing support like roles and keep pushing the actors who can't fucking act or carry episodes at the forefront and it is resulting in pretty bad episodes. A good actor can make bad writing tolerable. A bad actor just highlights all the flaws in the show. The focus on side characters exposed the show, bad writing, and how crappy some characters are this season, which we've been able to disregard in the past for the most part because at least there was fantastic acting and moments we could focus on instead.

8) they refuse to dismantle Team Flash at this point, so they need to make Barry a CLEAR leader. No more looking to others for decisions or having them in his ear all the fucking time. He's spent all seasons needing everyone's help for everything. How is he supposed to build his legacy as legendary if he needs everyone else to tell him what to do? He's about to be a father. They better have him shape up quick and learn to be a protector and leader in his own right. He's a muppet I can't take seriously at this point. If the titular character is written shoddily, the rest of the show won't hold up.

And 9) STOP PANDERING TO THE RACISTS AND DUMBASS WHINY BITCH FANBOYS. How hard is it to understand that whenever they do, the show suffers for it and has worse episodes, and when they don't, it thrives?? It's morons running this show I swear. How are fans of the show understanding the show more than the actual ppl who made the show??

It's not too late for the show; they can turn it around and end on a higher note but they seriously need to reevaluate the wrong turn they took after s4/s5ish.

🗣🗣🗣

[felikatze]

s11 half season write up cuz i WILL NOT remember all my thoughts for another 15 eps and this season is divided in two anyway right? fire chapter, was it? anyway

don't tell me a break in tension after the last three seasons wasn't needed. it really was.

I reaaally like how this season started! If you've seen my previous write-ups, you know I like when a season immediatly starts on the action, but this time, i think a slow, low stakes start was perfect.

i enjoyed the silly shenanigans! fighting a chicken, doing odd jobs, all while the ninja are idiots. even once they start heading toward the tomb or fight giant beetles, there's no world-ending threat. they're doing this for shits n giggles. i like that

it reminds me of early s2, and i really love early s2. it's just silly! i like when this show is just silly.

on the low stakes note. I LOVE THE FILLER EPS. the one ep about the paperboys and the one about the news. how'd ninjago know i adore outsider pov stories? and in-universe media? i just really really love getting that outside look from non-main characters, and the effects of the entire series on the common citizen is wonderful. ofc paperboys are cutthroat extreme cyclists. have you seen the mailman? if you deliver ANYTHING in this environment you'll end up like that.

and the news episode is really funny. i want five more seasons of gayle gossip trying not to punch her coworkers actually. it's neat how you, as the viewer, can understand this random side character's frustration at getting shafted because she's a recurring character, and her rival is not. just because you've seen her so often in the thick of things over the seasons, you get it.

on the note of recurring characters. "hey, here's that one kid who broke his legs in s6," is not what i expected but. hey. it works. like at first i didnt get it but then he did the purple ninja thing and i went NINJA OF THE DAY NELSON FROM SKYBOUND?? HI!!! cool. yeah.

those two eps also had amazing gags. i keep thinking about people filming ads during an invasion of flaming snakes.

speaking of snakes. aspheera. she's so cool. i love her design. i love snakes in general. (riu and i have realized we may both adore snakes specifically because of ninjago, but i've always adored reptiles).

also skales shows up for an epsiode again. hi man. ily.

aspheera is FUN i personally didnt take her seriously much but she's got panache or whatever. she's fun to watch on-screen. she tends to the simple motivations side of things like the average ninjago villain, but i like her motivation. from both her behaviour and various stories told about her, we learn she's just kind of selfish and refuses to acknowledge her own wrongdoings, so everyone else must be wrong instead. Simple, but it works!

Her motivation actually contributes to the more low stakes feel of these episodes because she doesnt want world domination or whatever, that's all collateral. She just wants to get back at Wu specifically. mayyybe she wanted world domination in the past though. sure sounds like it.

speaking of wu! actually really liked him and his conflicts here. ever since s7, the show has been incredibly willing to acknowledge the flaws of wu's character and the consequences thereof. Here, it shows that Wu was young and foolish once, too. His deal with aspheera for his own curiosity reminds me of lloyd freeing the serpentine in s1. Like!! They were both just dumb kids!!

It's Inch Resting to have kid garmadon refusing to keep a promise be portrayed as the better option. nice reminder he wasnt always evil ykno.

i reaaaaally like the emphasized element of guilt to wu's character here. it gives the sense that he does this whole "wise mentor" shtick to prevent the ninja from making the same mistakes he did. his mistakes still haunt him! that's why he's so secretive about them!! he feels guilty and doesn't wanna talk about it!! (hits wu over the head) didnt s7 tell you keeping secrets about old enemies who will come back to kill or banish you is bad. teamwork motherfucker.

additionally in episode 15 it really feels like. wu you have some self destructive behaviour going on. he seems to value his own life much less than the ninja, because again, he feels guilt over his mistakes. as such he has no qualms risking it, which recontextualizes his behavior in s7 and makes it way more depressing.

wu is not the character i expected to write analysis on tbh.

for other characters, i already said i appreciate the ninja being idiots but

1) why is this season so mean to jay what the fuck did he do he's trying (i've acknowledged that jay is my favorite now and am no longer in denial

2) having pixal be the one to send wu to the never realm as she has a flashback to aspheera and the shot fades out to pixal dropping the staff and looking at her own hands in disgust. OOF. and then wu tells her the ninja cant come back with the tea and she basically banished them forever just as aspheera did zane. DOUBLE OFF.

pixal my girl. pats her on the head and gives her a hot choco for her nightmares.

iconique of her to have her own voice for text to speech on her tech though. that's kinda funny.

also how she swooped in with the mech and just punted aspheera. very cool. good pixal moments this season overall 1000/10 i always love more pixal

3) kai really got whammied. like MAN. one episode's running joke is kai's unconscious body getting ragdolled around. he has an self worth crisis only mitigated when a little kid almost dies. geez. that scene of kai trying to weld the mech together only to realize his mistake and get a blowtorch. fucking ouch. lloyd had an arc about how to exist without his powers and be more than just the green ninja in s9 but i dont think kai really like. got the same effect. he just stays grumpy about it until presumably getting his powers back after zane ices aspheera.

on that note the final battle against aspheera was do fucking cool. the whole tag-team shtick with everyone getting a turn on the scroll was awesome, what can i say. it looked sick. i would've loved it at 13 and i sure do love it now. my tastes haven't changed at all since then actually. also rip kai again. he had to sit out. man. kai already has mental problems. everyone on this show has so many problems.

like zane. geez zane my man. zane ��� wu, believing their lives to be more expendable than others. again him just whooping aspheera was sick but GEEEEZ s3 much. zane my man zane. cmon.

this is gonna be. fun

overall, enjoyed a more low-stakes adventure to calm down from the previous high stakes seasons, this season made me appreciate wu more, lots of silly moments i enjoyed. tis good