#these are not boards by the way. i boarded the sequence and then created the animation ref that you see posted here

[jennerallydrawing]

an Anne vs. Andrias sequence that Matt, our post editor Andy, and myself brainstormed up during the post production process! Many thanks to Saerom for executing it so well ^^

[canine-economy]

On Swansea’s (often understated) role in Mouthwashing

I say this as a big swansea fan but I don’t rlly understand why ppl are acting like he’s not also complicit in what happened to Anya? AUs where “Anya tells Swansea” and he jumps to violently defend her don’t make sense to me because canonically she does tell him, as he admits to Jimmy. But swansea represents another way of interacting with the capitalist heteropatriarchy that ALSO harms victims: holistic jadedness and resignation.

Swansea is across the board unkind to the Tulpar crew. We can’t forget that he calls anya a “so-called nurse”

and says this to Jimmy, which (if unintentionally) reiterates Jimmy’s own warped perception of Anya’s usefulness and competence. This allows Jimmy to feel justified in his imagination of the nurse’s inferiority. Swansea’s clear lack of respect for Jimmy does less to hurt Jimmy than his lack of respect for Anya harms Anya, because at the end of the day, Swansea’s attitude is contextualized by the violent culture it exists in and he does nothing to reconcile with that when Jimmy becomes the captain. His resignation can thus be weaponized even by Jimmy, a man who Swansea disrespects but whose power he doesn’t try to meaningfully jeopardize, because his across-the-board disdain punches people already marginalized by the environment twice as hard as it does those with power.

Swansea doesn’t position himself as an ally, he positions himself as willfully uninvolved in everything, an observer to the shitshow ride to hell. Just because he dislikes Jimmy doesn’t mean he aligns with Anya. He makes it clear that he’s not on her side, either. After a life of doing what he felt was expected of him, Swansea on the Tulpar looks out for Swansea and Swansea’s comfort. In trying to situate himself outside of the politics of it all as an older white man, he simply allows them to play out. The toxic culture keeps existing, playing out in the microcosm that is this freighter, and Swansea in all his experience recognizes that shit has hit the fan and elects to coast through it, even explicitly numbing himself to it by breaking his sobriety. It is, of course, hard to force yourself to be sober—to see clearly. But had Swansea forced himself to get involved sooner, he might have set a precedent for Daisuke to recognize Jimmy’s abuse, which could have saved Daisuke’s life as well as created a safe space for Anya. But Swansea’s inaction forces both victims to confront an abuser on their own, unable to reap benefits from his privilege and experience.

Jimmy is clearly intimidated by swansea in a way he is not by Anya, Daisuke, or a post-crash Curly (Swansea, for example, physically manifests as an aggressor in Jimmy’s “responsibility sequences”, and Jimmy ties Swansea up to avoid what he sees as the real possibility of pushback that he doesn’t conceive of Anya being able to do). Swansea has a power he does not act on or with until it is far, far too late. In fact, he acknowledges in his final monologue that he was dissatisfied with the discomfort with opening his eyes and living an exemplary “good man”s life. The best days of his life are ones in which he’s belligerently drunk—days in which he didn’t have to hold himself accountable. He regrets the life he spent performing for higher-ups and we watch him reject it by scorning Captain Jimmy, but he also doesn’t want to be held responsible for helping other people when it’s their turn to endure the expectations and violence from similar (if not the same) higher powers. Tragically, he possesses the hindsight to recognize that how he acted on the Tulpar consequently wasn’t what Daisuke needed out of a role model, leading to Daisuke becoming a victim. His hands-off approach to emotional engagement with his young male intern (another symptom of patriarchal gender norms) may have been to avoid Daisuke turning out miserable and jaded like himself, but it doesn’t actually indicate to an already-confused Daisuke what the dangers of that attitude are. Swansea never admits his own shortcomings in a tangible way which, had they come from a man with experience and prestige like himself, may have shifted that culture that failed Anya. She comes to him with the story not because he has situated himself as any earnest friend, but likely out of desperation on a ship Jimmy now controls.

When we allow “the machine” (Swansea’s own words) to beat us down to the point that we don’t find it productive to challenge unjust power dynamics, we become complicit. I think too many people get hung up on his disdain for Jimmy and Jimmy’s fear of Swansea as a marker of allyship with Anya, but the truth is that Swansea. Is a bad ally. He’s hardly one at all. His long stint in the demanding capitalist environment molded a perfectly complicit result out of him, as it aspires to do, even if Swansea bitterly recognizes that. Jimmy’s overt violence from a position of power is a different and much more brutal approach to abuse enabled by people who have been left too tired and bitter to care that he does it. A man who could’ve intimidated and even threatened Jimmy is too resigned to try until there is literally nobody but himself left to fight for, which is an attitude carefully cultivated among the lower rungs of hierarchies to keep the top safe. Swansea in particular seems very unhappy with the capitalistic, patriarchal expectations laid out for him as a father, husband, and laborer. This becomes particularly resonant when you realize the symbolism of his role as mechanic: a job that can be deeply unpersonal, tasked with keeping the ship (the machine, if you will) itself going while other roles are more focused on managing the humans inside of it (e.g. nurse, captain). His decision to just stop trying and spare himself the grief instead of questioning why those expectations exist and how they would hurt the others onboard only delays him being directly targeted by Jimmy and doesn’t interrupt the latter’s violence.

Not a single man in mouthwashing is innocent in Anya’s victimhood. This is a statement tentatively uninclusive of Daisuke, because I think the game very deliberately positions him outside of manhood through his youth and thus struggling with the concept of “fitting in” to the patriarchy. Curly, Jimmy, and Swansea all represent different failures that ultimately perpetuate Anya’s suffering and force her to defend herself and finally take her life into her own hands. A holistic analysis of rape culture in MW necessarily engages with all three of them. Only not being a friend and ally to rapists and other male abusers isn’t enough, and Swansea proves it.

[kngstr]

Revisions from JWCT Season 2 Finale's Ending Sequence [boarded by Jiedi @tio-trile].

Recommended listen: Daniel Pemberton - Nueva York Train [ATSV] I had this on loop while working on the final sequences of this episode.

"We're not leaving without you..."

"... I'm not leaving without you."

"I'm not the same Brooklynn you knew."

I mentioned in a previous post that Jiedi did a magnificent job with the boards & I'm going to do it again here. Approaching revisions for these intense emotional beats felt very fluid as she had set us up for success with this final sequence (you'll find a few of her drawings in here).

Navigating my drawings for the airstrip reunion sequence was a whole lotta: "how is each member of the N6 feeling in this situation, after everything? How did Brooklynn's death affect them individually?" what relationship did they each share with Brooklynn and what does this discovery mean for them? What kind of acting here will create a satisfying & convincing conclusion to this long emotional arc?"

This season means a lot to me. There was a lot of shit going on in my life when I was on this show. I was often at my limit - mentally, emotionally, but I always tried to stay the course, remain composed/effective, and find ways to channel whatever relevant feelings/emotions that I had into our characters. I hope that our audience was able to feel some of that.

Bonus: "haha i win. fuck them kids" - Santos

[tiredmoonslut]

I saw someone else say it and I really do think this was meant to be Billy's trial, not Agatha's.

It just makes sense. Billy and Tommy were born in the 70s era of WandaVision. Their teen years WOULD have been in the 80s, hence the style of this episode. Agatha has no connection to the 80s. If it was really her trial I bet they'd all be in pilgrim fits.

The aesthetic was a teenager's sleepover. The only teen here is Billy, and of course he'd want to have a sleepover with these women. He's a huge fanboy for them. I bet Billy was the one meant to lead the seance. The board jumped out when he came near it, after all. He read the rules off for it. If he'd led the seance, then who knows, we may have heard from a certain red-haired woman he has connections to.

But because he didn't, the trial had to adjust itself. It created a situation in which the whole coven turns on Agatha, the exact opposite of what Billy would want. All unity and cohesion won was lost, the very thing he'd been most hoping to achieve with them. This puts him where the trial needs him, however. He's the only one opposed to what's going on, the only one (well, except Rio ofc) who's completely not listening to Evanora, and so he notices when Nicholas starts communicating through the board. The criteria successfully having been met, the trial ends, and Billy's sigil wears off, no longer needed. Cue the big ending sequence.

EDIT: Alternatively, it's also possible the trial's natural course couldn't be followed because Billy's sigil was preventing it, and so the trial had to occur differently and in a way that would destroy the sigil. If this trial was meant to illuminate new truths by speaking with the dead, maybe those intended truths were blocked by the magick of the sigil, and so it had to find some way to course correct. This would be especially interesting if the theory I've been seeing about Billy actually putting the sigil on himself is the truth. He's been tampering with this whole process without even remembering it was his doing. Maybe that's why the trials always seem to harm him. The first two drew his blood, and this one led to the sigil being destroyed. All very fascinating things to consider.

[maxwellatoms]

Have you ever regreted letting certain things go on air?

Like a scene in which you noticed something off that either could be improved upon or maybe something you just realized ruined the overall flow.

Oh yeah. All of the time.

TV Animation schedules are not for the weak of heart. Most of the time, by the time it's your turn to touch something, it's already on fire. I just told the story about how we had maybe two weeks and no resources to create our main title, and that's not unusual.

There were SO many times (especially in my early seasons) where something would go wrong or come back from overseas looking weird, and we just wouldn't have the time or resources to fix it. All of those Mandys smiling in Season One? I was having a hard time convincing board artists that Mandy should literally never smile, so they'd throw them in. I'd remove them, but I'd occasionally miss a panel and she'd come back smiling. Due to the vagaries of dealing with overseas studios, it fell to us to fix the problem and at the time we didn't have any actual animation staff.

Later in the series, I'd take stuff like this, screen-cap it, and reanimate it. There's an entire sequence in Big Boogey where I personally took two days to add burn marks to the characters. Is that something a show runner SHOULD be doing? Probably not. But when you're the last line of defense, you've got to do it yourself if you want it done.

TV Animation is a collaboration. But it's also (at my level) a compromise. There will never be enough money, time, or staff to really get things where you want them to, so it's all about finding the solution that gets you most of the way there.

[h50europe]

BUCK / TOMMY - HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A FANDOM SCORNED!

I did some thinking. Never good, but my brain can't wrap around the breakup that came out of the left field.

Recently, it was announced that a spin-off of "9-1-1" is in the works. While no locations have been finalized, Hawaii and Las Vegas have been suggested as potential settings. The showrunner is already working on the project, with filming set to begin in March 2025.

However, one of my biggest fears has come true: the focus of the showrunners is being diverted from the current show to concentrate on this new spin-off. All the energy runs in the new project. Also, at this point, we don't know if the mothership will be renewed. Without an early renewal, we must wait until May for the announcement. That is another reason why they are focusing on the new show. I wonder if this is why the plots feel rushed and repetitive. It's nice to revisit the past, but not ad nauseam. 9-1-1 does it too often lately. What's the point in bringing back Gerard and turning him into the butt end of a joke? What's the point in digging out Abby's Tommy and hanging it around Tommy Kinard's neck when nothing was ever mentioned in the past. The focus is clearly not on the current show. It feels like Tim abandoned the ship to board a new one. It's fresh, it's crisp, it leaves room for a lot of things. Even if the breakup was meant as a shocker. If your focus is somewhere else, you don't see it. Right now, the mothership is leaking and starting to sink. If Tim keeps his focus on the new project and isn't invested in the current show, the lights will go out sooner rather than later.

Bringing in an established character was probably the biggest mistake Tim could have made if he wasn't meant to stick around. Bring in Mary Sue or Marty Stu to be a LI but not a character with a history that connects to so many people on the show. You can't sideline them forever. Especially as Buck's bi-arc was announced as something big. And it was big. A bit too big to be treated the way it was. The fanbase that had built around TEVAN, or BUCKTOMMY, within weeks, was massive. It drew so many members of the queer community into the show. Suddenly, many of them felt seen. Tommy and Buck were different from the other queer characters out there. Different from what was represented on any other show. People were willing to watch to get the slightest glimpse of them. Because they felt real. Their chemistry shot into the stratosphere.

And then you go and end it on such a horrible note? I don't care if the haters call Tommy a plot device. Everyone on the show is one at some point—even Christopher, Eddie, or anyone else from the main or recurrent cast, Karen, for instance, the Wilson kids. You name it. Tommy Kinard came, saw and conquered. So why not give him more room? They did it with Taylor (yes, I know JLH was pregnant then, but that's reason enough? I doubt it). As I said in my other long post, you could cut in a sequence of 5 minutes and show a summary of Tommy's and Buck's life.

Tim makes the same mistake as many showrunners do. Cramming a shitload of plots into 42 minutes of airtime. Is it really necessary to tell that many stories in such a short amount of time? That feels like speed dating. You blink, and you miss an important scene. Every episode, you jump from plot A to B to A to C to B. We didn't have this fast pacing in season 1 or 2. Stop it. Make Quality plots over quantity stuff.

In Tommy's voice: And for God's sake, clean up that mess you created with that shitty breakup, or the audience will wither away.

I'm sorry. I could write a book about what is happening in my head. You'd get Super Brownie points if you made it here.

[elbdot]

I love your Pokemon comics so much! I've reread them a ton of times, EAA has become such a comfort read. I just adore how you make Alola feel so alive, and the characters all feel so much more complex and interesting. Out of curiosity, were there other comics (Pokemon or otherwise) that inspired you? And are there other Pokemon fan comics you like or would recommend?

AWWWW Thank you so much!! 🥹🥰 Actually, I wasn't really inspired by any other Pokemon comics at the time I began making my first short comics. Despite Pokemon having one of THE most MASSIVE fandoms on the internet, it's honestly surprising how little ongoing fancomics there are. I've seen many artists starting Nuzlocke comics but I only know of ONE artist who ever finished drawing one (And I'm ebarrassed to say I didn't fully read it yet and don't know the name of it anymore, it's been so long 😂)

I think if there was any comic inspiration at the time in 2016, it must have been the webcomic Avas Demon. Not in terms of STORY or genre, but in terms of how the story was told in a 16:9 format like a storyboard or color test for an animated movie. I took a lot of inspiration from that in the way I boarded the comic and wanted to make it feel like a movie sequence, making more individual panels with varying expressions. But that ALSO ABSOLUTELY blew my work-load on each comic out of proportion, thus resulting in VERY irregular updates due to how detailed my backgrounds and shading became plus A LOT of additional poses like here for example:

I'm proud of what I created back then, but after the most recent Arc I have decided to step BACK from this approach and have now heavily simplified my shading and am experimenting with reusing backgrounds and using new panel sizes and formats 😂 You'll see what I mean in the upcoming update this week. Surprisingly enough, I don't think the quality of art has dropped because of these changes! Also my love for adding additional expressions between panels has remained, they're just my favorite thing to do to bring life to the comic!

[ragnarokhound]

hey it’s me, the ole ball and chain. I’m making stir fry for dinner. can u grab a bottle of wine?

anyways i think i need to direct your attention to a roppiepop comic where Jason takes Tim on a date — and then tim freaks out because they’re retracing the steps of a murder case he just solved. This seems like perfect characterization to me: jason is wining and dining tim and cooking him fancy meals and Tim is overthinking everything to the max. Jason is shopping at the local natural grocery store for organic pasta and fresh lemons and tim is making a conspiracy bulletin board, red strings and all. jason is doodling “jason drake wayne” in his diary and tim is creating a computer program to analyze jason’s texts.

it all comes to a head when tim starts furiously interrogating jason about his motives after showing up at home to find a candlelit dinner and a bottle of wine waiting for him

Hey sweetheart, you got it. You want a red or a white, or dealer's choice?😘(Also, uh, hun, if you want to talk about including """balls"'" and """chains""" more in our relationship, then we can open the floor to that--)

!!! I think I know which comic you're talking about, and it's one of my favorites uwu as someone who, like Tim, also needs it laid on THICK to understand that someone is flirting with me fr fr and not just doing a bit with me (I did improv in high school, it is my curse to constantly 'yes, and' my way into misunderstandings 😔) I adore inflicting this particular brand of miscommunication on the blorbos ESPECIALLY with the batfam because they're so used to reading between the lines and anticipating each other's plans that it is HILARIOUS to me when they have enormous blind spots when it comes to mundane, non-vigilante related things, and especially with each other.

Like Jason thinks Tim knows it's a date because he accepted the flowers and smiled at Jason when he ordered the wine and seemed to be pleasantly surprised when Jason took him to this restaurant (because he'd seen Tim here more than once last month, so he must like the food here, right?). 'Clearly Tim is on board. Tim is pleased with this sequence of events. Tim definitely knows it's a date. Good job Jason, you've got this in the bag, you'll be kissing him on his front stoop by midnight'

Meanwhile Tim is in full mental lockdown, why did Jason ask Tim out in such a public setting, clearly there's something going on, clearly because he brought Tim a bouquet of the flowers found scattered at the crime scene of the murder case he was working last month, he knows something Tim doesn't; clearly because he ordered the red Jason is signalling that they're being watched and need to act natural; clearly because they're at the very restaurant Tim was staking out last month, where's the fire, Jason--

Tim being extremely suspicious of a legitimate attempt to woo him is everything to me, and I love it when Jason is only slightly more normal about it than him lmfao

[letteredlettered]

Stupid ways CQL changed the story from MDZS:

First on most people's list is gonna be the gay, and I agree on a political and societal level that this is an egregious change I can't get on board with. I will say though that on a personal preference level, I don't think the romance really adds much; the magic of this story is not the gay and I'm just as happy with WWX/LWJ have the intense, weird, unstated relationship they have in the drama as I am with the ultimately gay relationship they have in the book.

The Yin Iron plot in the drama is so bad, you guys. So bad. This includes a) there being multiple parts of the Yin Iron, b) WRH having some of it and creating puppets with it, c) LWJ/WWX going to search for it. Did they add this so WWX looks less terrible? So it looks like all he's doing is fighting fire with fire? I hate it. There was a knife fight, and WWX invented guns. That's literally the point of him; that's why he's terrifying; he invented something that was beyond his means to control and it got out of hand and everyone wanted the gun and there was only one. The plot in the drama is just SO STUPID. I like WWX and LWJ getting to bond when they search for it and the trip to the bunny cave, but you could really have them bond and get bunnies a different way.

The most egregious thing, imo, is how the Wen remnants are first portrayed in the drama. After the Wen Clan is defeated we see constant abuse of these prisoners, often pretty much in front of everyone's face. At one point they are even paraded in front of everyone and WWX is the only one who has a problem with it. I get that WWX is the hero, but it makes everyone else look super morally reprehensible. Like, how are we supposed to get behind LWJ if he can stomach that. Actually, forget LWJ, because I actually think the scene in the rain with the umbrella establishes that LWJ is simply unwilling to defy social convention/popular opinion, and while I think it is a slight twist on LWJ's character, it's not a big of one as you might suppose, given the novel. But Lan Xichen? The character who is supposed to be the absolute paragon of kindness, goodness, and compassion? It's always sat wrong with me. Anyway, the novel basically shows that the poor treatment of the Wens is mostly hidden from view of the public, and WWX only finds out because WQ goes to him for help.

Replacing NMJ's dismembered arm with an angry sword spirit was super confusing. Why does the sword spirit attack people's arms, and why does it ONLY do that at Mo Manor? It's stupid and confusing. I assume this was censorship as well? Unwilling to show some dismembered corpses?

Speaking on NMJ, the character is pointless in the drama. I think you really needed to show the way he helped and trusted Meng Yao and how utterly betrayed by Meng Yao NMJ was to really understand his character.

Speaking of which, it is so completely ludicrous that the Wen Clan attacks the Unclean Realm before the Wen Sect Training/Tortoise of Slaughter sequence. It does say in the book that the Wen Clan and Nie Clan are kind of in constant skirmishes, but that's why the Wen Clan heavily attacks Cloud Recess first and then goes for Lotus Pier; the point is that the Unclean Realm is too well defended. That said--I still find it outrageous that in the book everyone (except WWX, perpetually clueless) seems to know about the attack on Cloud Recesses but sends their children to the Wen Clan anyway. Like I get they're all intimidated but that is too much.

WWX falling off the cliff. So silly. LWJ never would have allowed that to happen. What was JC even doing? That said, the actual death in the book is so unclear; I get that it was the spiritual rebound, but what was JC doing then? What did it look like? I found it really weird how the book just did not illustrate a few very key climactic plot points.

Weirdly, JFM. I actually like the guy better in the drama, but that's a problem. He really is a terrible father to JC, and his terribleness really helps explain why JC is like he is.

[chrishoughton]

That a cappella scene at the end of Family Tree was so beautiful…

I love how that turned out. When we were talking about this episode in the writers room, our goal was to create an episode that felt meditative and relaxing. There's a mindfulness practice called the Five Senses Exercise. You simply ask yourself what you're currently seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting as a way to bring you back to the present moment.

We had each of the Greens represent a sense and I believe it was Shane who wanted them all to sing a simple a cappella song at the end. Jen Begeman boarded the sequence and when they pitched it, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Our composer, Jo Horsely wrote the final song which, as you've said, is absolutely beautiful.

[rileyclaw]

Hii! First off i just want to I'm such a big fan of your art and animatics! Your art is just so expressive and unique its addicting to look at 💞💞

I was wondering if you could go over how your process or tutorial in making an animatic? Whenever I try to start to make one, I get jumbled up and end up ditching it lol

I'm sorry if you get this question a lot 😭

So sorry it took me so long to answer this- I was in a Busy time (diseaseridden with covid and being punched by finals) when I got the ask and wanted to answer it with some stuff Im using for my next TOH animatic!!

I'll say one thing first: I get jumbled up and ditch so many animatics. For every one animatic I release, there are three to five more I have that have NEVER seen the light of day (yet). And that's okay!! It's fun just to make them for me, and I hope it is for you too!! Animatics are scary because if you're working on it alone, it can be really hard to be your own cheerleader to keep up the mojo to keep going. So that makes it really special when there is that project that makes it to the finish line- cuz you can look at it and go "holy crap I made this. holy crap i MADE that look how SICK that is dude!! all that work and look at the turnout!!"

The following stuffh is just my personal process and is by no means representative of a professional animation pipeline, but this works for me as a Lonely Artist! It all begins with the idea - whether it's a song, or just a story you wanna tell. In the case of the one I'm gonna demo here with , I wanted to animate Hunter's first day as Del's apprentice!

The first thing I did was write a script. Not fancy or AO3-quality, but enough that I understand the pacing and the visuals of each shot. I usually just put this in a doc or put it in a script format, if I feel fancy.

Then, I take that script and find music that I think would fit for it- and remix it (if needed) to fit the pacing/mood/etc! This is what this new animatic looked like before I began ANY artwork- this is a me thing because I'm super inspired by audio as opposed to visuals first. But you might be different- this is just how I like working personally!

Then begins the research! I find references for characters, background layouts, and create a style guide for the animatic that tells me how thick lines will be for characters, backgrounds, if there'll be tons of value or no. I make a turnaround for each character so I can refer to them because Im gonna be drawing them over and over a LOT and want to be consistent! Luckily TOH has no shortage of references, so I based my work off them.

THEN, I can begin drawing. I'm a little,,, (a lot) ADHD and may not always do this process, but if you're new to animatics or daunted by the task at hand, make beat boards of the entire project.

This is just a page of rough thumbnails that get your visual idea down - look how rough and quick these are!! I try not to spend over a minute on each beat board if I dont have to, unless it's a particularly complex shot.

When it gets to the stage where you're ready to begin the actual scenes, I personally tend to do backgrounds first because I like to set characters into backgrounds - and for every animatic, I have the Awkward Blue Sketch Stage which is basically my beat boards timed out as an animatic.

I used Storyboard Pro for this (Toonboom, not free ): icky), but the process can be replicated across most art platforms in whichever way you feel most comfy with! This is so I can time the drawings before I devote time cleaning them up-- which can make for some Pretty Funny looking little guys but theyre important!! trust!!

Once a big sequence of shots is cleaned up (I usually do 40-60 second chunks at a time), I export the .mov and send it to my editing program (which in this case is still Premiere Pro) - and then repeat this process again and again until.. it's done??

Here's like a TL;DR list of basically everything I said summed up:

• Make a loose script or bulletin of the idea! Do your research!

• Depending on what kind of animatic you're making, time it to music!

• Make a beat board of very loose gestures for your shots, and time them - then move on to refinement & cleanup!

• Combine all shots, refine music cues and timings, add any last needed VFX, and export!

There's no secret recipe or anything, it's just learning a pipeline that best suits you, whether it is for something professional or something you want to make for fun because you just love to make!!

[animehouse-moe]

A Sign Of Affection Episode 4: What Kind of Voice

Boy oh boy there is a lot to talk about with this episode. Incredible production, incredible boards, incredible plot and character developments- it's got it all. So much so that it's hard to really put it all into words, but I'll do my best.

First off, let me talk storyboards. Yuta Murano has been insane with this series, boarding every episode so far- and he's been killing it, hell, even carrying it on his back (since he's the series director as well).

Anyways, point being that Murano has been incredibly intelligent in regards to boarding with this episode. How, you might ask? Spacing. The whole episode really hammers home the idea of space, both around characters but also between them. Murano leans heavily into the wider layouts like you can see above, but similarly uses first person perspective to create a strong awareness of the space between characters to help provide more feeling to Yuki and Itsuomi's relationship.

One super easy example is Kyouya and Itsuomi's late-night interaction. The combined use of first person perspective between the pair, as well as the wider shots between to show the empty space around them, really highlights their nature as friends incredibly well. He also really likes using doors and whatnot to frame the characters, and I love it.

Hell, I'll take it a step further too. See how Itsuomi is able to see Kyouya's face, but Kyouya can't see Itsuomi's? That's intentional, and shows how open Kyouya is vs how closed Itsuomi is. Very very great work.

And then there's this example with Shin and Emma. It's really subtle, but we never get a first person shot from Shin within. Even with Emma's singular first person shot he's slightly off center. The whole interaction is framed as Shin being there for a reason other than what Emma feels he's there for. His body language and demeanor, the way he reacts to Emma's words, there's considerable distance between the pair, and that gets illustrated very easily with the table in front of them.

Of course, my favorite pieces of this are with Yuki and Itsuomi. No barriers, no space between the pair, all of their shots really sell the idea of the empty space that exists around them as a pair.

I also just love that Murano has Itsuomi's personality down so well. He always strikes the exact same pose when focusing on talking with Yuki

Speaking of him, I love how catty he got with Oushi earlier on in the episode. Really fun addition to his very playful but reserved personality.

But lets rewind and dig a little deeper into that whole sequence.

Oushi, once again, really shows off his true colors a little too blatantly when talking with Yuki. The easiest comparison to make is the fact that Oushi is hitting Yuki's head while Itsuomi only ever pats it. Combined with the sign language for "cute", you really get a grasp on the challenges that face Oushi. Does he not pat her head because he knows what it means in sign language? It's hard to say, but paired with how he plays with her hair I think it's pretty easy to say that he does have some awareness of those things, and it probably comes from Itsuomi.

Anyways, moving forward again. While questionable behavior that does highlight Itsuomi's more... challenging side, I might say, the interaction between him and Oushi is really really great.

Firstly, because Oushi tries to use his familiarity with Yuki and sign language to put down the people around her so that he can take the top spot, but also because Itsuomi claps back and completely destroys him.

Of course, when it rains, it pours, so there's plenty of other character interactions in this episode.

Really, it's something that I'm incredibly critical about with my slice of life and romance series. The world itself is very wide, and people have more than a few friends. Being able to express that while preserving the core intent of the series can be challenging, but it makes a massive difference in overall quality and breadth.

And A Sign of Affection aces that aspect. Kyouya and Rin, whatever Emma's got going on with Itsuomi, then of course Oushi as well. There's a solid cast of characters that exist to surround Itsuomi and Yuki, and even more that exist in the periphery. It makes it feel so much more alive, and creates far more interesting dynamics that can ebb and flow based on which characters appear and where.

Though obviously, the main focus is Yuki and Itsuomi here, so that's where the majority of the effort goes, and it's entirely worth it. Just even simple things like Oushi only being seen in a crowd today vs Itsuomi being isolated when with her.

You might say that's just how the visuals shake out, but obviously a Costco isn't ever going to be that quiet so the idea is that because of Yuki, the focus is on Itsuomi so we don't really see much of any background characters.

Add on top the incredible sound design, and in this episode voice acting, and it's just a flawless experience. We as viewers experience the world in a surprisingly different fashion to Yuki, and the episode highlights that with things like the tone of Itsuomi's voice.

Incredibly simple and small details pepper this episode and the story at large, but they end up insanely important to comparing and contrasting the viewer's experience against Yuki's, challenging us to think and view things through her (very cute) eyes.

Anyways, let's put the icing on the cake here with animation and other work.

We know that this production is hand-obsessed due to the sign language, but that quality extends to other aspects. Being a very reserved and casual series there's not a lot of room for impressive animation, but the episode still finds way to show off with cuts like Shin cutting hair here.

Similarly, 2D vehicles? It's really a whole other flex. The requirements for keeping such a detailed object on model, all while in motion is really really incredible. And there's a surprising amount of those cuts in the episode.

Overall, A Sign of Affection continues to hit home run after home run with each episode, and delivers an experience that is only possible because of the medium. Creative to the max, it does everything in its power to elevate the source and create and entirely unforgettable experience. Saturdays really have been great this Winter season.

[aihoshiino]

chapter 137 thoughts!

so sorry in advance for how long this chapter review is but anyone who has spoken to me for more than 5 seconds on the topic of oshi no ko probably saw this coming the instant they read the chapter

Picking up immediately where we left off, this chapter feels sort of like a pause to inhale and reiterate Themes and Ideas to really drill them into the readers' head. Technically, none of this is new information (especially as pertains to Ai) so I could see it being repetitive for people who are keyed into Ai as a character but like… I am STILL seeing people in discussions of the manga just flat out not understanding Ai even when the text lays it out so I kind of I can't blame Aka for just clobbering us around the skull with it at this point: There was no horrible dark secret or ZOMG SECRETLY EVIL AI reveal waiting in the wings. It was always just that Ai was a normal girl doing her utmost to live and find normal happiness in a deeply abnormally cruel and lonely life.

With that in mind, I can't help but wonder if the film crew's reactions to this Ruby adlib aren't, to some degree, a reflection of that willful ignorance in the text for the purpose of refuting it — similar to the way Tsukuyomi was used to shut down the "Reincarnator Ai" theories popping up in the wake of new fandom blood back in chapter 118.

Like, these are all people who knew what they were signing up for, who are aware that this is a movie about depicting the "real" Hoshino Ai and yet their reaction is alarm and even dismay - the same instinctive rejection of Ai's vulnerability we see mirrored in Nino and even Aqua to an extent. Even while filming a movie that's all about her pain, they still value and instinctively prioritize the clean and perfect image of the invincible idol, Ai.

By contrast, Gotanda won back a lot of my goodwill this chapter with the monologue that took up most of its first pages. As I've alluded to in some previous chapter reviews, I was having a lot of mixed feelings about Gotanda's role in the movie and 15YL as a whole, but this chapter has reframed things in a way I am tentatively on board with. In this new light, 15YL is about crafting a narrative of Ai's life that may not be literally the events that occurred - it may even take huge liberties with them - but is all in service of conveying a much more important series of emotional truths about the cruelty she was subjected to.

This is mirrored by the visuals that accompany Gotanda's words, a series of disconnected images that do not themselves portray a coherent series of events but paint an emotional narrative of the loneliness, abuse and abandonment that created Hoshino Ai. This honestly might be one of my all-time favourite sequences in OnK so far just on the strength of its imagery alone. Those final two pages especially are just breathtaking: the grotesquely detailed and toothy maw of a B-Komachi fan sandwiched between two pure, sanitized images of Ai, the sea of huge, grasping hands reaching out of the void, on the verge of swallowing her.

I especially want to highlight that final panel of Ai's eerie, perfect smile. I genuinely can't overstate what phenomenal fucking expression work this is from Mengo and once again, I think this might have jumped into my top 5 favourite panels in the series already. It's so frightening — there's nothing technically wrong with it, but it looks wrong, it feels wrong. Even in the confines of a still image, I still somehow got the impression of it being a mask, unnaturally frozen and fixed in place. It honestly jumpscared me a little bit when I first saw it. My friend Silvie (@relares) also pointed out that the panel is framed in such a way that Ai appears to be trapped — backed into the corner of a closed box, pressed up against a wall to cover her vitals like a caged animal. It's really genuinely unsettling.

On that note; scooting back a bit, something I was really gratified to see as a girlie who constantly reaches for this idea in writing for Ai elsewhere: referring to Ai as an animal brings into text something that had, prior to this, only really been a happy accident of associative imagery, where her role as B-Komachi's bunny brought to mind a timid, easily frightened and physically weak little domesticated animal. This chapter makes it very clear this is not accidental but an extremely intentional choice to further emphasize both her vulnerability and dehumanisation. Being a helpless prey animal, rolling over and showing her belly, is less scary than being human

The Japanese text of the chapter the text takes this dehumanisation a step further: Rather than the wasei-eigo term アイドル (aidoru), when calling her an idol, Gotanda uses the word 偶像 (guzou) - an idol by its original definition. It goes beyond just reducing her to an animal - it's objectification in the very literal sense. Ai is an idol, a ceremonial object of worship, an inanimate vessel for the dirty desires of the people around her. That's the nature of the "idolhood" that was inflicted on Ai and it was killing her long before Ryosuke ever picked up a knife

This is especially interesting to see in the wake of Ichibanboshi no Spica, which essentially depicts the moment that Ai starts down this road, committing herself to being an idol who will love and support everyone, even people who hate and scorn her. This is framed by the novel as being something of a breakthrough for her and being liberating for it but I came out of it feeling deeply unsettled in a way I don't think the novel wanted me to be. I couldn't quite articulate why at the time but I think this chapter has given me the language to do so: Spica depicts the moment that Ai goes from アイドル to 偶像 without seeming to realise that's what it's doing and thus does so in a way that is not just uncritical but wholly celebratory.

In a lot of ways, this makes sense - Spica, broadly speaking, is about the "oshi" part of Oshi no Ko: the emotional fulfillment of not just receiving support but in the act of giving support yourself, in cheering someone on and seeing them succeed. Spica depicts these sorts of relationships in a straightforwardly and uncritically positive light, even in cases of parasocial relationships between fans and celebrities but this chapter, by contrast, paints a much more honestly ugly picture, of oppressive expectations, fear and dehumanisation inflicted by the supporters on their "oshi'.

At least in terms of OnK's narrative as a whole, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle: the bad certainty outweighed the good in the end, but it does not erase the ways that Ai was able to find genuine joy and fulfillment in what she did as an idol. But as far as this chapter goes, this is as unflinchingly honest about idol and stan culture as OnK has been, honestly, since the LoveNow arc and maybe even the prologue. It decries it as ugly, visualizing it as grasping hands, drooling teeth and a quivering, terrified prey animal on the verge of being consumed.

This is why (if you'll forgive me for briefly jumping ahead) the RBKN talk at the end ultimately fell so flat for me, among other reasons: it felt extremely out of place to the point of being a little tone-deaf to go from a whole half a chapter so brutally tearing into celeb culture to Ruby brightly talking about her own celebrity ambitions. I don't need Ruby's arc to end with her giving up on being an idol or anything, but it nevertheless feels completely insane to go from the first have of this chapter to the second with absolutely no in-text acknowledgement of how incongruous these two perspectives are.

Given that this is paired with her declaring that she isn't going to be like Ai, I can only take this to mean that Ruby is declaring her intent to never cross the line of アイドル to 偶像 like Ai did but I think that ultimately just kind of misses the point. The only way I can make any sense of it is if the narrative itself is drawing a distinction between アイドル and 偶像 and trying to pretend that the former is something that can be purely good and wholesome.

This frames Ai's situation as being somehow unique to her and while it's true that Ai was a person pushed to extremes by many contributing factors, none of the pressures placed on her by idol culture were unique or unusual. Hell, I've even said before that the premise of Oshi no Ko is more or less the result of the friction of idol culture's obsession with purity and the fantasy it promises of an eternally virginial child-wife and the reality of Hoshino Ai as a dirty, messy human with adult desires and sexual autonomy. When you get down to it, what happened to Ai is really the logical end point of celebrity culture as a whole: dehumanisation, commodification and reduction of people to ceremonial objects of worship. Why else would we call them "idols"?

oh my god. i'm not even halfway through the chapter. i. sorry i';m like this. anyway.

This chapter also does a lot to reframe what 15YL even is as a movie, both through Gotanda's monologue and his take on Ruby's performance as Ai — rather than pure authenticity, it is a blend of Ruby's compassion for and understanding of her mother and her anger and disgust at the people who exploited her, an indictment of the public and all the people who were complicit in her suffering. The end note of the chapter even points out that aiming for "the real thing" is no longer the point of the movie if it ever was and this frees it, to an extent, of the hypocrisy of purporting itself to be a movie about "the real Ai" while dramatising and rewriting aspects of her life and identity to better suit its narrative

As good as this recontextualization of 15YL is, I do think its portrayal in this chapter feels a bit inconsistent with what has been leading up to it. Prior to this, there had been a lot of focus on contrasting the movie's supposed dedication to the authenticity of the real Ai with the number of changes and dramatizations it made of her life and character. This new framing of it is certainly not bad and honestly preferable to what came before, but it does still kind of feel like an overt overcorrection, as if someone finally pointed out to Akasaka what I've been saying this whole time about how fucking ghoulish this movie feels.

anyway. oh my god. moving on at last: wow! mid filming script rewrites!! historically always a great sign for the health of a production! … obviously, actors giving a character a different energy in their performance that contrasts the script and requires adjustment is not UNHEARD of and has resulted in solid movies but that Gotanda makes this decision so lightly and without consulting like… any of his cowriters does speak to Akasaka's comparative level of ignorance as to how movie making works Vs the much more real and in depth experience in TV and music production other parts of the manga reflect.

I do really like that the discussion here ends on a note of asking Ichigo for his thoughts because like… yeah, actually, of course Ichigo should have opinions about this! Even putting aside the That Is Her Dad of it all, Ichigo is the only person involved here who knew Ai before she became and idol and can properly speak to her early experiences. That said, Ichigo being involved here brings something else back up: BRO…. WHERE THE HELL IS MIYAKO!!!!

it is getting so beyond absurd at this point that she is not involved in things. I know people are probably so sick of hearing me harp on about this but her absence is so, so baffling and there really is no good excuse for it. Even if they just said some shit like "Miyako is busting her ass managing our other talents while we make the movie" I'd take that. But that it goes SO uncommented on when she was so involved in getting all this together and just had a whole chapter dedicated to her talking about how strongly she feels about the twins as their mother… it's so baffling!

This goes QUADRUPLE for the total absence of Aqua this chapter, despite him being right there and getting a dedicated reaction panel in 136. The lack of focus on him lately was something I was willing to buy into as an intentional choice that would make sense when viewing the arc in hindsight but at this point, his lack of engagement with the things going on around him is just getting ridiculous, regardless of its intentionality. This is the guy who spent over a month emotionally self harming to the point where images of Ai's face would give him a panic attack and now that he's at, arguably, the lowest emotional point he's been at in his life, we have no reaction to basically seeing her walking and talking in the flesh again?

Hell, given that this is Ruby of all people and this is coming so close on the heels of the GRSR reveal, I'd expect an even stronger reaction from Aqua than anyone else but… nope! Nothing. We've barely had any meaningful AQRB interactions and it all adds up to making that past life reveal and the tease of Ruby's feelings in the wake of it feel totally flaccid as a plot development because nothing is coming of it. I know we will inevitably have to circle back around to it given that the HKAI scenes are on the horizon but there were surely ways to weave this more organically into the ongoing conflict that didn't result in me feeling like I'm sat at a kantenzushi place and waiting for something to come back around on the belt. Gah!!

Speaking of conflict, I want to at last move onto the RBKN talk that makes up the back half of this chapter. As I alluded to earlier, this talk fell incredibly flat for me, both as a character beat for these two characters and as a conclusion to this chapter in particular. I already talked about why Ruby's resolution here didn't click with me but more broadly, I simply don't like this as the resolution to the RBKN conflict which is seems to be presented as.

To touch on the things I do like about it… thematically, I enjoy this as a continuation of the ongoing idea of the New B-Komachi learning from and correcting the mistakes of the group that came before them. In practice, though… have they actually done that? This talk doesn't meaningfully address or even really acknowledge all the ways New B-Komachi is repeating old mistakes or the way the group quite literally does exist purely for Ruby's sake and that her taking that for granted left both Kana and Mem feeling used, as if they were just accessories to decorate Ruby's idol career that her CEO mommy bought for her. Instead, they just touch on the very surface level issue of their staged argument and then move on as if things are resolved. There's obviously still room in the future for us to circle back to it with Kana's graduation concert set but as things stand now, it's an unsatisfying note to end this thread on.

Ruby is robbed of the opportunity to do any real introspection and we as readers don't even see the moment she realizes what Kana is doing and why, or get any real insight into her feelings on this fight outside of vouyeristically goggling at her in the immediate aftermath of her pain. There was some really great potential here for Ruby's behaviour during her Black Hoshigan arc to finally catch up to her and make her face the consequences of her poor treatment of Kana and Memcho. She could've had a chance to confront her own inner ugliness and her potential for buying into the same bullshit perpetuated by the rest of the industry that hurt her mom so badly. Instead, we get an endpoint in lieu of any real work necessary to get there without any indication that she has learned anything meaningful from this arc or that her relationship with Kana has changed at all.

Kana, too, is done exceptionally dirty here. We get a lot of great Kana introspection in this arc, digging into both her feelings of insecurity towards Ruby specifically and the sense of empathy she developed through playing Nino, who she saw as being in a similar position to her. Kana's jealousy towards Ruby and her sense of being Ruby's extra, an accessory, is something that's been brewing in the background honestly since the First Concert Arc and I initially found it incredibly cathartic to see her finally expressing that to Ruby and getting those feelings off her chest. I was looking forward to seeing how she would work through this and resolve it, confronting her inner demons and coming to have a healthier relationship with Ruby as a result. But again… it just doesn't happen. Kana gets no closure over the hurt she expressed in this arc — instead, she's once again used as a stepping stone to prop Ruby up and make her shine.

And like… what are we supposed to take away from this? That Kana — and Nino by extension — were correct? That Ruby is just The Most Special by default (never mind her CEO mommy explicitly favouring her for work and opportunities) and that the only way Kana can deal with it is by quitting as an idol altogether? I'm going to be totally frank: as both a Kana enjoyer and a Ruby enjoyer, I think this sucks shit as a resolution for both of them! It's not only unfair to Kana but it's also just so boring as a way of characterizing Ruby. I think there's a space in OnK for really interesting discussions about like, natural talent VS hard work and how much of someone's success is one or the other but this conflict absolutely is not that.

In general, this chapter just felt… uneven, I guess. The first half of it, as you can probably gather by my completely unhinged ramblings, was one of my favourites we'd gotten out of OnK in a long time but with the back half falling so flat for me, it just ends up feeling kind of jarring and a bit less than the sum of its parts. It's definitely not a BAD chapter by any stretch and it very clearly gave me a lot to chew on and think about. It's just kind of a let down that a chapter and a shared character arc I was otherwise enjoying so much ended on such an incredibly nothing note.

[loveselenade]

Madoka 1.5

Since I’m watching PMMM for the first time (with a lot of it spoiled due socmed lol), I figured it’d be fun to write my thoughts so far, 1.5 episodes in. It goes without saying, but don't send me any further spoilers, as this is only fun if I can manage to remain as ignorant as I am now.

Things I knew before hand:

-Kyubey is a bastard.

-It has Shinbo Akiyuki's artistic sensibilities all over it (reason I started watching, tho I'm unclear what exactly his involvement in this is lol). Also, Urobuchi Gen is the main writer for this lol

-Madoka dies.

-Madoka is the paragon of good.

-Lesbian Satan.

-Homura has catholic guilt??

-Someone's backstory involves a brother or something.

-Guns

-Time loop.

-Jewel seeds but evil (this only makes sense if you've watched Nanoha, sorry lol)

-Witches

-Madoka saved a cat

---

--

-

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Illusory motion.

[image id: top view of a monochromatic, distorted staircase that looks like a spiral.]

An upwards climb or a downward spiral? The irregular curving of the stories and the pattern alternance sure makes it look like it's spiraling inward. As our lace curtain lifts so the play can begin, this is our first look at the kind of world that awaits us.

[image id: gif showing a close up to Madoka's legs and then a panoramic top view as she runs through a monochromatic hallway with a chessboard pattern]

I don’t have a lot to say about the witches’ labyrinths yet, but I’m always a sucker for dreamscapes (I loved them dearly in Flip Flappers, where they had the incredible work of Studio Pablo strengthening the storybook look), and I’m assuming the labyrinths symbolize something about the interiority or the difficulties the witch in question faced. I don’t have a lot to go by with the two labyrinths in episode one, but I did love the glimpse of the one we get in the opening sequence. I love the effect that it creates when alternating between panoramic shots or extreme close-ups to Madoka’s legs and back as she runs—respectively making her look too small against this overwhelming set piece or claustrophobically trapped in her impotence. As the camera moves along, there’s a sensation that the different patterns in the floors are moving. Because of the way we perceive depth via ascertaining the apparent parallelism or convergence of lines and value/color contrast, among other things, the pattern alternance in this monochrome set piece creates illusions of either motion or that each row is a step more elevated than the other. It’s a properly trippy place. I enjoy it. The straight white for the lighting and tiles creates an artificial and alienating atmosphere. The uniformity of its looks is disorienting. Is Madoka going the right way?  It’s really a fantastic introduction to the world of Madoka Magica.

The path you must follow has been prepared for you.

[image id: A green, flourescent exit sign is centered in the screen, hanging above a dark path framed by silver chain fence]

Despite the disorienting feeling, Madoka follows mostly straight paths and there's a clearly labeled, correct exit. This brings to mind the predetermined paths present in Revolutionary Girl Utena's imagery.

Additionally, I find the way Madoka’s run is boarded reminiscent to Utena’s chase after Anthy in Adolescence of Utena:

[image id: gif showing a panoramic view of of landscape shwoered in sunset lighting and red, square pillars towering over the space. Utena, looking tiny, runs further into the place.]

[Image id: gif showing a top down view of a long monochromatic corridor with chessboard pattern that Madoka, a mere pink dot in the screen, crosses running. The corridor is right in the middle of the screen and surrounded by different equally black and white mandalas that turn slightly.]

We get panoramic overhead shots emphasizing the disorienting, geometrical maze and the impotence of our heroines' tiny figure against them.

Before reaching their destination, they both cross a stairs-bridges of sorts; Utena, towards the dueling arena where Anthy waits for her to continue the dueling cycle with Utena as champion; Madoka, towards the foyer where she can find her exit to where Homura is struggling against another hopeless, fighting cycle, one which Madoka choses to perpetuate when making a contract with Kyubey…

[Image ids:

The image to the left shows shows a stich of two Adolescence of Utena's screenshots: the one on top showing Utena crossing a bridge; due the top down angle and the inclination of the bridge, the planks on the bridge look like stairwells. The image on the bottom shows Utena crossing the bridge against the creamy, pinkish sunset sky. The bridge railing is shown a black silhoutte in the foreground.

The image to the right is a stich of two monocrohmatic Madoka Magika episode one screenshots: the on the the top shows Madoka crossing a corridor, the foreground is dominated by abstract geometric shapes. The one on the bottom shows Madoka going up an ample stair well, and the surrounding walls have a similar geometric patterning.]

Absolute Reality.

[Image id: Predominantly black and white screenshot showing a dark tree on the foreground and black debri flyaing around. A little to the right of the middle line stands Madoka, with Kyubey sitting on top of some fallen pillar. The subtittles are Madoka's dialogue and read: "Can I really do something to help?"]

The offer that tempts Madoka into a contract is the promise of agency. She can’t stand the reality where there is nothing she can do, thus it's the promise she does actually have power to influence the narrative and help others and stop their suffering what Kyubey dangles in front of her. Madoka feels deeply moved by the pain of others and has a strong empathetic response that makes it very easy for her to be preyed upon by our resident ugly cat here. It’s detrimental to her. Maybe Homura has a point in reversing her wish to be the divine embodiment of Goodness. 

It’s then interesting that she expresses disappointment upon waking up not only in the premiere but in episode 02, as well. Her waking up animation might as well become bank during this introductory arc (I’m betting it does, can’t wait to be wrong). When confronted with the thought the world her senpai Mami introduced to her, one of great danger but also apparently fulfilling and actualizing, might be nothing but an illusion, Madoka expresses disappointment. Even though she has a happy, easygoing life full of friends and family that love her and that she loves in return, there is something else she is looking for.

Confronting your own humble plainness again.

[Image id: Screenshot of Madoka's room dimly lit. Madoka is drawn towards the bottom left edge, hunching and hugging her huge body plush with a beleagered expression.]

Appearances, facades.

Trained confidence. 

[Image id: Screenshot showing makeup labelled with numbers, as if to indicate the order of steps.]

Following Madoka’s "dream", we learn about her homelife anchored around her interactions with her mother as they talk about the love lives of the people around Madoka, contrasted to Madoka's own assertion that no one has an eye on her. Their whole bathroom conversation could be characterized as "girl talk": they go on about love and the need to maintain an appealing image as means to reach it. I could easily accuse this scene of being sexist (and it did rub me the wrong way initially), but the dialogue is naturalistic enough to paint a trusting, warm bond between mother and daughter; plus the repetition of the make-up motif in the second episode while interspersed with Mami's explanation draws attention to themes of appearance and desire.

A remark that can easily be taken as reinforcing gender essentialism lol

[Image id: Screenshot showing the sinks at the foreground barely visible at the bottom edge, with Madoka and her mother in front of them. Madoka is holding her red ribbons with her left hand hesitantly, while her mother has her hands over her hips, talkig matter-of-factly: "A woman's appearance is the one thing she can't afford to get looked down at."]

The contrast in the way mother and daughter carry themselves is apparent. When Madoka relays her reports about her homeroom teacher's love life, her more experienced mother offers keen observations about the possible state of the relationship. Where Madoka takes things at face value, her mother can see deeper. The same applies to the image they project to the world— where her mother has a set (numbered) method to achieve her ideal image, Madoka fumbles and fusses about her ribbon choice and not being seen as too much. The frame pan showcasing the end result has Madoka standing timidly with her hands folded over her lap and her back reflection shown in three different angles in the background mirrors, as if she's being thoroughly scrutinized. While her mother confidently observes her reflection in the mirror, Madoka shrinks at being observed.

[Image id: Screenshot showing Madoka in the middle with a dopey and hesitant expression and her arms drawn close. Her reflections are shown in the mirrors in the background.]

I can't say that Madoka’s self-confidence is worryingly low given what we’ve been presented with—while she lacks the self-assurance her mother possesses, she doesn’t seem particularly self-deprecating. While her affirmation that no one looks her way reflects that self-consciousness, Madoka doesn't further put herself down. Instead, it could simply be that she's a teenager only now discovering her identity, what she's comfortable with, what she wants and what place can she carve for herself in this world. Her mother advises her to train the image and behaviors of someone confident as a first step to grow more certain of herself. The scene places emphasis on the process of purposefully building the image you project, which becomes relevant as episode two's layouts play with a reflection motif around talks of desire. 

While thinking back on Kyubey’s proposal of granting them one wish in exchange of risking their lives, Madoka ponders about what she wants. Her waffling contrasts to her mother’s immediate, cutting  response concerning pragmatic concerns from her work life when Madoka echoes the question to her. Although, of course, her mother lacks the whole context that makes the decision heightened, Madoka’s roof talk with Kyubey and Sayaka reinforces that there isn’t anything she wishes for that strongly. Yet. 

Additionally, when Madoka proposes a bigger ambition to her mother (“Wouldn’t you rather become CEO yourself?”), the image her mother projects into the mirror changes drastically into a more fierce and dangerous look, complete with the repetition of her labeled make-up symbol. This ties a connection between the image people project and what they desire. And just like Madoka has a rather inhibited persona, so do her desires appear mild.

This takes us to Mami, their helpful senpai.

A slightly distorted image seen from below the glass table totally screams trustworthy.

[Image ID: Screenshot of Mami drawn in a low angle, showing her sitting with her legs neatly folded under her backside and her hands resting on her lap. Despite the sunset light filtering through the windows, she's very dimly lit. Most of her image, from the waist up, is shown slightly distorted as its filtered through the glass of the table. The table legs curve outwards and frame her the image in a strange way. The subtitles present her offer: "You should see for yourself what it's like to do battle with witches."]

Knowing the spoilers that Homura is trying to save Madoka from death via time loops and preventing her from forming a contract with Kyubey has an interesting effect— that is, it casts suspicion over other characters. Mami is the helpful senpai that shows up in the nick of time to save them from the witch, heals Kyubey, explains the situation to them and even promises to protect them from Homura at school. She also offers to show them the fieldwork so they can make up their mind about whether to become contracted! The earlier, careful portrayal around purposeful appearances and the reflection motif repeating during their talk can’t be coincidence. Clearly, she wants to be seen as someone who’s dependable, and whether this has more sinister implications or is stemming from personal wishes is unclear to me yet. Mami feels more like Kyubey’s sales associate than anything else. “You can come observe” it’s the pitch you give someone unsure whether to join a club so you can lure them further in. She’s encouraging them to take on a responsibility that can have rather grim outcomes, despite her early assertion that magical girls don’t necessarily work together to reap the rewards of fighting witches—a statement that further reinforces the narrative of Homura as an antagonistic force to our young heroines. Mami either is very upstanding and thinks it’s a duty they should take on since they were chosen or there is something deeply fishy going on here.

For all intents and purposes, Mami is a completely separate entity to our young heroines, not unlike Homura. She’s the one who’s a magical girl already, they’re the uninitiated. They sit on the same side of the table, opposite to her. This shot emphasizes their separation through the black leg of that foreground furniture.

There’s clearly a lot we don’t know about her.

[Image id: screenshot showing Mami's living room. There's sunset light still filtering in, but the room is mostly dimly lit. Mami is on the side of the wall, so she's in the shade. They're sitting at the table, Madoka and Sayaka together on the same side and visually opposite to Mami. The black legs of a furniture are shown in the foreground, creating a strong visual barrier between Mami and her juniors.]

Isn’t it just so fun how this reflection shot obscures her face? Like she’s covering it with her hands in sorrow. Seems charged that it coincides with her explanation about witches causing suicide and murder, does she know of someone who was a victim of them? OR better yet, someone who became One?

I know that magical girls become witches in this series, which also poses interesting possibilities…

[Image id: Screenshot showing Mami's lap with her hands resting on top of it as she sits in front of the table. Because of the top angle, the reflection of her face shows dimly on the glass table. Her face overlaps her hands. The subtitles read: Many of the inexplicable suivides and murders that occur..."]

Are my suspicions on Mami’s intentions totally off-mark? I have no idea, but it’s incredibly fun to doubt her  lol

Speaking of despair lore, I usually raise my eyebrow—think it’s full of shit— when there’s worldbuilding that links suicide and violence to supernatural entities; it’s a run-of-the-mill battle shonen explanation, Noragami also uses it with Ayakashi as amalgamation of negative feelings and energy from the people of the places they haunt. Now, this could still work on an allegorical sense of how oppressive environments lead to such emotional outcomes, since most stories don’t engage with the structural causes of such problems… It can be that, or end up attributing a metaphysical cause as the source of all darkness without even so much extending understanding and sympathy to the people who suffer from it. Where does Madoka Magica fall, I wonder…

Blessed fools.

A pained smile framed behind by bars, a surefire sign that someone isn’t totally trapped. 

[Image ID: Screenshot showing Sakaya's back with her face turned in profile towards the right. She's smiling ambigously and her right hand is holding to the white chain wall that dominates the background against the bright daylight sky. The subtittles read: "Well... Maybe the pair of us are just fools?"]

Given our young heroines lack of direction, ardent ambitions or anguishing desires, Sayaka muses that perhaps the fact they don’t have anything they’d die for is a sign they’re blessed fools. This rings true for Madoka. She’s a happy kid with a supportive family and friends. Despite her longing for something more—her own agency? confidence? Romantic love?—, there doesn’t seem to be anything that is making her actively miserable. Her mild adolescent ennui is not necessarily something pernicious and would’ve likely resolved itself as she experienced and tackled more challenges in her life with the guidance and support of her family. This whole business paints more ill-fated for her (and I mean, I know it is. What a tragedy, hers).

But is this true for Sayaka? This brief shot with its ominous red sky and its bedridden figure shrouded in darkness begs to differ… The fact she feels guilty over being chosen, thinking there’s people who’d make use of a miracle much better than them makes me think it’s rather someone she knows… Is this her motivation to get into Kyubey’s magical girl agency? I don’t have a lot to go by…

[Image ID: Screenshot representing a short-haired person in bed shown facing right . Most of the shapes are represented as black silhouttes, sans the translucent curtains and the ominous red sky framed by the window. The subtittles read "We've been so blessed.."]

Sayaka and homoeroticism.

Welcome back, Shinohara Wakaba. 

[Image id: Screenshot showing Madoka, Sayaka and their irrelevant friend Hitomi at the park. Sayaka is hugging a slouching Madoka from the back, saying "You must be my bride, Madoka!".]

The Girl Talk in episode one continues as we follow Madoka’s commute to school with her two friends: the blue one, the to-be Magical Girl, Sayaka and this one random girl that I'm surprised it's even there. The banter and physicality to Sayaka and Madoka’s interactions is fun and warm, selling their chemistry as friends. And near the end, Sayaka playfully proclaims Madoka must be with her, which immediately brought to mind Revolutionary Girl Utena’s Shinohara Wakaba's own ambiguous, very physically affectionate date-play with Utena. 

Rather than being a maiden in the sidelines, however, Sayaka is positioned as Madoka’s protector against Homura. Given Homura is fighting to be Madoka’s silent protector herself, this is unbelievably funny to me. When Madoka finds Homura's staring off-putting during P.E., she hides behind Sayaka. When Madoka— with Kyubey in her arms— is alone facing the inscrutable, darkness-shrouded, threatening Homura, the one who shows up to save her is Sayaka. When they're alone within the creepy labyrinth, Sayaka protectively embraces Madoka. When Madoka is worried that Homura might try to attack them at school, Sayaka offers to punch Homura. This antagonistic placing of Madoka's two protectors is hilarious, and I'm curious to see if the dynamic fizzles out as we delve into Sayaka's innermost wishes and struggles or if the tension will boil over into something interesting.

'Get behind me, Madoka! I got the fire extinguisher!' 

Such a hilarious way to break the tension.

[Image id: Screenshot showing Madoka and Sayaka in a dark parking lot, with most of the background shrouded in shadows. Sayaka is holding a fire extinguisher that she's shooting towards the left, and Madoka stands behind her, holding Kyubey.]

Even their sitting order in class positions Madoka behind Sayaka lmao Does Sayaka have a thing for Madoka or just a hero complex? 

[Image ID: Screenshot showing Madoka and Sayaka sitting in their classrooom. Sayaka is shown sitting a row in front of Madoka, a column to the left. Madoka is holding Kyubey in her arms. The subtittles read: "If she tries anything on you, I'll punch her lights out!"]

The show acknowledges the homoeroticism between the two in a tongue-in-cheek manner during their commute in episode 2, when their normie friend feels put off by the apparent intimacy of their silent (telepathic) communication:

"You've been staring so intently into each other's eyes… What on earth did you do after I left yesterday?!"

This girl is too homophobic to become a magical girl, smh. 

[Image ID: Screenshot showing Sayaka, Madoka and their friend Hitomi drawn in profile at the park. Sayaka and Madoka are positioned on the left side of the screen, with a tree in the background subtly serving as visual barrier between Madoka and Sayaka. Madoka is slouched and halfheartedly reaching to Hitomi. Hitomi is positioned on the right side of the screen, with her hand to her heart and running towards the left. Her dialogue reads: "Don't you see that it's a love that can never beeee?!"]

Madoka points out that their normie friend's remarks sound a lot like what Sayaka tells to her on a regular basis, lending credence to my Wakaba comparison lol This gag could simply be an acknowledgement of the charged homoeroticism present in the series, but it still amuses me so far a lot of it has circled around Sayaka and Madoka. 

Akemi Homura

Her soundless, despaired scream as she catches sight of Madoka with Kyubey was so cinematic ❤️

[Image id: gif showing a zoom out of Homura's face as she screams. She's resting on a tree branch that's represented as a black silhouette, with debris floating around represented in the same way.]

Speaking of homoeroticism, it's time to talk about Homura. I actually felt a little sad that I already know about her motivations because she's so incredibly off-putting, I'd have had a lot of fun speculating about the meaning of her actions, the way she's framed and the meticulous way her micro expressions are portrayed. However, it's not like there isn't still some room to have fun reading into them. She enters the picture via the classic transfer student trope. From her introduction alone, she creates an awkward atmosphere with the way the standoffish silence lingers due her laconicism. 

Despite her aloof demeanor, and in pure transfer-student fashion, Homura still stands out both in academics and physical feats (she even breaks the regional high jump record lol!); as such garners the attention of her peers. Nonetheless, she couldn't be more uninterested in them, as the one she can't keep her eyes off is Madoka. Her taciturn, blank-faced and cutting demeanor can paint her staring as downright aggressive. This is further reinforced by being color coded with the darkest values in the cast so far: black and purple are her signature colors, classic villain palette. 

Her conversation with Madoka as she rehashes the "could you show me where the infirmary is" routine is the big standout of hers in episode one —the tropey nature of this encounter makes it very easy to imagine how their first interactions went down the first time—. The low angle that emphasizes her head tilt and the accentuated shadows on her face and body make her look haughty and intimidating.

She's literally staring down Madoka lol Worth noting this same framing is repeated as she warns Madoka in a few minutes, complete with rotating animation for gravitas, contributing to Homura's bad vibes. 

[Image ID: Screenshot showing Homura's face and shoulders slightly turned to the right side of the screen. The right side of her face is heavily shadowed and so are her shoulders. She's looking down on the viewer. Her dialogue reads: "May I ask you to accompany me?"]

While one could think that the reason she approached Madoka was to issue her warning, I'm actually not that certain. It could be due the way her anguished reactions to being around Madoka make her look quite erratic as she tortures herself with these distorted echoes of her memories—but I also have to point out the abrupt way she brings the interaction to a halt, stomping and suddenly turning. The way she behaves through the whole interaction feels quite impulsive, which gave me the impression of Homura purposefully trying to recreate the past (whether out of indulgence or to torture herself, I'm not really sure).

It's really fun the way this obscured close-up to her profile hiding her eyes— making it difficult to parse her emotions— paired to how the next highlighted extreme close-ups have her clenching her teeth led credence to the "Homura is a hostile party" narrative. Personally, the timing is what gets me. She reacts deeply upset to the fact Madoka politely yet impersonally addresses her as "Akemi-san" lol This girl was in the trenches. 

[Image ID: Screenshot showing Homura's shadowed profile facing left. She is holding her face up, seemingly imperious and her mouth is tightly shut.]

The way the timing makes it seem like she's really pissed at Madoka’s remark that her name is weird + subsequent fumbling is very funny lol I wouldn't say she's not upset from it, but mostly in the "it's painful to be around you" way. 

[Image ID: Screenshot showing a extreme close up to Homura's clenched mouth, as she lowers her face. There's heavy shading on the left side of her face and lens flare coming from the right side of her face.]

There's a lot of natural verticals in the panels of their classrooms and the windows they transverse that create visual divisions between the two. I found it particularly noteworthy that while there's a natural sense of distance and awkwardness between the them, Homura is the one who accentuates it and fully brings herself to the other side of the threshold when she suddenly skips forward ahead from Madoka. The idea she's intentionally cultivating a distance between the two is very intriguing and appealing…

[Image ID: Screenshot showing Homura and Madoka facing left as they walk through the corridor with blue window panes. There's a particular wide vertical division in between Madoka and Homura, placed more or less in the middle of the screen. Homura is on the left side of the screen, but closer to the blue vertical division. Madoka is falling behind, with more white space between her and the middle.]

Their sitting order reinforces this idea, situating Homura all the way to the front, completely out of reach. 

[Image ID: Screenshot showing Homura sitting in the front row, looking back at Madoka's seat.]

They look fully at odds with each other thanks to the high contrast between the bright windows and the shaded frames. The dark values to their visual barriers fully bring out the tension brought by Homura's sudden halt-and-turn as she issues her warning. Homura is framed as thoroughly oppositional to Madoka, and she herself doesn't bother to correct any misunderstandings. It's pretty interesting she's fine with being vilified if it might grant her any slight chance to get what she wants.

[Image ID: screenshot showing Homura and Madoka drawn in a symmetrical composition, separated visually by the regular window panes. Homura is drawn towards the left edge of the screen, facing right and standing imperiously. Madoka is drawn on the right side of the screen, towards the edge as well, slightly slouched and in a timid pose. Subtittles show Madoka's dialogue: "Yes, really! I couldn't lie about that."]

Homura's dead-eyed ominous warning vs Mami's personable, smiling offer of support, fight!  But this is truly why I can't trust Mami lol Should you really be tacitly encouraging them, Yellow Senpai? A cutting warning really seems more befitting here…

[Image ID: Extreme close up to Homura's blank left eye with the right side of her face being heavily shaded. The subtittles read: "Because if you do, you will end up losing all of those things.]  

Odd ends. 

There's a lot of small gestures that really bring out charm to the interactions and feelings, but if I pointed out absolutely everything, I'd never finish this lol 

There's one thing from the Madoka-wakes-up Bank I do want to point out, though: the odd feeling Madoka’s head turn with the hard shading gives me. Now, I know it's a Shaft™ thing, I've watched another TV series directed by Shinbo that was produced there and I've heard of it. But I still find the timing peculiar— after the opening sequence with her running to the rooftop in episode one and the brief recap with Mami's transformation in the second, just before she wakes up. Of course, this reinforces that sense of being at the verge of waking up from an odd dream, which Madoka fully believes, but it can also get a sense of deja vu. Typically, one would assume that Madoka’s run towards the rooftop is a glimpse to an event that will happen later down the line. But given the nature of this being a time loop and Homura's insistence on preventing Madoka’s death via preventing her contract altogether, which it's implied to happen in that sequence, I don't think there isn't any reason to think that it's not something that didn't already happen. If this ends up being the case, I'm curious how that'd affect further loops.

Tell me your secrets, you pink little one. 

[Screenshot showing a extreme close up to Madoka's eyes facing towards the left. Her face is drawn almost facing front, leaning towards the right. There's heavy shading on her face and a black background.]

Expectations for the rest of the introductory arc:

-Second half of episode 2 will end in a cliffhanger that'll destabilize routine while they fight a new witch. 

-Said cliffhanger will involve Mami (I HOPE IT DOES). I'm suspicious of her and hope she does something terrible, but I think it's equally, if not more, likely that something terrible happens to Her lol

-🤷🏻‍♂️

Hmm that's it. I'm not very good at imagining scenarios lol 

I'm also half-expecting to be wrong about nothing making Madoka miserable, mostly because I've been obsessing over Takamachi Nanoha, another seemingly well-loved, normal kid who turned out to have Important Baggage lol

[agentnico]

The Count of Monte-Cristo (2024) review

Je suis Batman!!

Plot: Edmond Dantes becomes the target of a sinister plot and is arrested on his wedding day for a crime he did not commit. After 14 years in the island prison of Château d'If, he manages a daring escape. Now rich beyond his dreams, he assumes the identity of the Count of Monte-Cristo and exacts his revenge on the three men who betrayed him.

I’ve been really enjoying this recent wave of French blockbuster cinema creating these lavish big-budget adaptions of their nation’s classic literature, with the recent highly enjoyable duology romp of The Three Musketeers (D’Artagnan and Milady respectively) and now taking on The Count of Monte-Cristo. I was a major admirer of Alexander Dumas’ novels when I was a kid, and by admirer I mean my father used to force me to read those books which at the time I hated him for, as I much rather would have spent hours on end on my GameCube, but now am forever grateful that I have the knowledge of storytelling which I gained from reading those pieces of literature. So I’m eagerly hoping that now with these expensive modern movie takes we will also get some of Dumas’ other great works get the contemporary cinematic treatment, such as La Dame de Monsoreau and The Black Tulip (though the latter may be difficult as there is already an older film version starring Alain Delon, and would be hard to recast Delon, let’s not kid ourselves!). As for Monte-Cristo, I’m not even going to sugar-coat it - this is a fantastic modern adaptation of a classic!

The sets are great and really invoke the post-Napoleon era of France; the costumes are gorgeous; the music score is grandiose and epic, really engrossing you in this decade spanning saga of revenge; the classic story is reinterpreted so well with the themes and the emotion, and the acting across the board is superb. Oh and the cinematography is to die for - wonderful long shot landscape sequences, great use of lighting, gorgeous shots of interior palaces - you can tell this film has been given all the money in the world, only unlike Amazon’s Rings of Power TV series that looks expensive but lacks any narrative depth, this film is both great to look at but also has a great story with awesome performance. Look, I really really liked this movie, let me rave about it!! Of course if you’re not French, you have to deal with subtitles, however don’t let that sway you, as this move manages to tell so much using its visuals and powerful music score that at times you don’t even need to read the subtitles to understand the emotion the characters on screen are going through.

Pierre Niney is honestly superb as the titular Count. From how he showcases him in his younger years as the excited young sailor wanting to prove himself to years later being this highly intelligent and driven yet calm presence, as well as taking on the various alter-ego’s of the Count using his different masks (very reminiscent of Fantomas) such as the dastardly Lord Halifax - Niney does such a stellar job here. What I also loved is how this adaptation takes the “superhero origin” approach to Dumas’ classic, with the Count being showcased as this cool dark vigilante like Batman/Bruce Wayne or Zorro, and even his dark menacing suit (which is dapper as f*** by the way!!) emphasising that. All the props to Niney, he adds so many layers and nuance to his performance, that even when he is super reserved as the Count, you can tell in his eyes the disdain and pure hatred he has for the ones that wronged him, but at the same time being able to showcase his guard dropping slightly when he is in the presence of his beloved lost love Mercédès (played gracefully by Anaïs Demoustier).

As for negatives, as even though I absolutely adored this movie, the inner critic within me still can’t help himself. This is a 3-hour long movie, and granted that is a result of the weight of the original book, however you do feel the length of this thing, but at the same time certain parts feel a tad rushed (due to the writers attempting to cram so much story and character development into the 3-hour frame) that certain side-plots and narrative build ups aren’t given their proper space to breath. One does wonder if this would have worked better as a mini-series, however on the other hand they probably would not have had the budget to make this thing look as good as it does. Secondly, certain details/plot-holes frustrated me which I won’t spoil, but one example is when Edmond and Abbé Faria are digging the escape hole from their prison chambers all those years, where the hell did they keep getting all those candles from to light their workspace?? I highly doubt in mid-1800s France prisons had little kiosk shops to offer inmates various groceries and household items. Happy to be corrected here, but honestly seeing those candles reminded me of Deadpool proclaiming “that’s just lazy writing”. And final complaint (before we can get back to raving about how awesome this movie is) is the ageing, or lack of it more. The tale of Monte-Cristo spans from 1815 and ends in 1844, yet the movie makes zero effort in making the actors look older the further down the timeline we go. The Count does look aged but that is due to the mask he wears, so when that’s off he looks like his younger 20-something self again. One of the main baddies Prosecutor de Villefort (played in true dick-fashion by Laurent Lafitte) looks exactly the same at the beginning of the movie and then right to the end. You’re telling me the make-up artists and hairstylists couldn’t give him a single grey hair or a wrinkle?

Again though, that was me with my critical thinking hat on. With that off, I want to reiterate how I truly enjoyed this new version of a classic tale that has been done so many times before, however this one may be one of my favourites. Truly engaging and epic in scale, with a ridiculously cool Pierre Niney in the titular role. He is… the French Batman!

Overall score: 8/10

[bestworstcase]

This is probably outside of your purview, but do you think the fights in RWBY have gotten worse, or just different from what came before?

i think there has been a shift away from tightly-choreographed showcase fights toward a more naturalistic approach prioritizing setting and character over rhythm and composition. whether or not this is aesthetically preferable is a matter of taste, but it is absolutely to the benefit of the narrative as a whole.

there’s this beat during the group fight vs tyrian in volume four where tyrian kicks ruby and her aura ripples out from the point of impact in such a way to create the illusion of deeper motion: it looks like her ribs buckling as that force moves through her body, it feels like we’re seeing this formidable new adversary break her fucking ribs after throwing JNR around like ragdolls. it isn’t shot with any particular artistry or stylistic finesse; the shot is instead lined up to emphasize the violence.

that serves a more important narrative purpose than aesthetics: it makes it believable that ruby just cowers in dread after taking this hit, it viscerally drives home how dangerous tyrian is, building tension, setting the stakes for the upcoming fight with qrow, and thus it also underscores the contrast between tyrian’s wild brutality and qrow’s discipline when they fight and qrow tips the scales not because he’s stronger but because he doesn’t let tyrian rattle him… it’s doing quite a lot of work for a mere handful of frames.

compare, say, the nevermore fight, which is beautifully shot and choreographed but doesn’t have a lot to say: ruby can plan elaborate tactics on the fly and communicate them to her team well enough to execute the whole thing flawlessly, and… that’s kind of it. RLR2 does all the narrative heavy lifting. and that’s fine, to be clear, because this is a point where the story is still setting up the board and introducing us to these characters.

but the nature of rwby as a story is that the fight scenes cannot stay that way. and this isn’t even a “monty/not monty” thing, you can see the experimentation with using fights as a medium to develop character and theme starting early in volume two: ruby calling out team attacks and narrating yang’s semblance during the mech fight, splitting up the team on the train so wby can each duel an opponent who represents their personal struggle*, doing the battle in breach as a sequence of character moments, etc.

(*weiss feels disgusted by what the SDC has become and wants to reclaim the schnee name -> she faces a white fang officer who loathes her for being a schnee; blake is torn up about not knowing how to solve all these big social problems and reeling with the emotional fallout of leaving adam’s white fang -> torchwick tries to push those buttons; yang feels rootless and hollow and worried her current outlook is unsustainable -> she has to fight somebody she literally cannot touch and her increasingly frustrated attempts to punch through get turned against her the instant she overextends.)

in early volume two it all feels a bit clunky and uncoordinated in part because the mech fight is still so stylized. the fights on the train and the battle in vale are less so; you still get those tightly-choreographed sequences, but balanced out with moments that are more raw and real—the fake-out “slow-motion killshot” that turns out to be just weiss’s time dilation catching up, followed by the lieutenant grabbing her face and yanking her out of the air, is a particularly effective example with the grapple being shot with the same intention as tyrian kicking ruby in the chest—and also just more grounded in who the characters are (weiss gets in trouble trying to be fancy, yang’s frustrated determination is both a strength and a weakness, blake takes torchwick down with brutal efficiency because she’s used to fighting people but she also lets him say his piece before knocking him out because that matters to her).

so like—waves hands—volume two sets the course that is followed in the latter volumes where the fights become increasingly less about style and more about substance. the style is very much still there, it’s just not The Main Event anymore. it’s garnish on fight scenes you can write robust character analysis about.