#this review is solid

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged Episode 31 Review

Originally posted December 15th, 2015

Reflection and humble beginnings.

Last season, Team Four Star began with intensity and focus on the story they were going to tell. As Bulma blasted off towards Namek, there was a sense of determination she shared with her creators; while she was determined to gather the Dragonballs and bring her friends back to life, Team Four Star was determined to retell the Freeza saga with the appropriate weight such a story deserved.

They were burdened with a great task of satisfying the expectations of their fans, most of whom had already seen the original Freeza Saga and held it in high regard, and they let their viewers know that they were going to take that task seriously. Now, however, the Freeza saga is over, and it was pretty clearly a success. Imperfections aside, Team Four Star did an excellent job retelling this story, and that fact is something I’m sure they are keenly aware of.

It’s fitting then, that they choose to begin season three not with determination, but with reflection. While they tease at an ominous story to come with Garlic Jr., by the end of the episode they show that to be a red herring; the important story here is a simple but personal tale following Krillin and his new girlfriend, Maron.

Now, Krillin is not my favorite character in this series,1 but he is my fourth favorite character because, despite being constantly overwhelmed and afraid, he still persists and does his best to fight alongside people who are essentially gods. He’s also the most human character in this series, which is made incredibly clear in this episode as he struggles with whether or not Maron loves him because of who he is, or because of the money he obtained through insurance fraud.

This question keeps him up late into the night, and after having the most emotionally honest conversation of the series with a turtle, he decides that he’s going to tell Maron everything and see if she still loves him anyway. She never loved him at all, it turns out; she was investigating him for insurance fraud the entire time. Finding this out is heartbreaking, to be sure, but it’s also hilarious, and since Krillin’s wealth was obtained illegally, it feels like karmic justice as well.

The rest of the episode is also filled with small snippets of domesticity for the characters. Everyone attends a birthday party for Turtle, a talking turtle that everyone seems to care about and love for no apparent reason besides the fact that he seems pretty nice. Gohan and Chichi pound the tuna, in an attempt to take the place of Goku, and Piccolo chills on a mountaintop with Nail and Kami, talking about nothing particularly important. This is all incredibly refreshing, giving us a break from the intensity we just went through in the Freeza saga while still delivering a funny and entertaining episode.

Rating: 5/5

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Stray Observations

1My top three characters from Dragonball Z: Abridged are as follows: Piccolo, Gohan, and Vegeta in that order. Piccolo’s slightly too serious demeanor (which makes him feel perfectly out of place) and devotion to being Gohan’s father puts him at the top, Gohan’s bookishness combined with a will to fight (and anger/father issues) makes him second, and Vegeta’s superiority complex, devil-may-care attitude and excellent insults make him third.

Oh, Kanye, you always let us know when bitches be gold diggin’. (And then “American Woman” reminding us of that later.)

Kami: “Last time Mr. Popo had a booty call I found five corpses. He laughed when I said five.”

Bulma: “No one screws Yamcha but life.”

Krillin Owned: 29, because Maron isn��t just a gold digger, she’s a federal agent.

Maron: “I said I worked for the government, I never said I was a good person.”

Mr. Popo: “Oh don’t mind me Kami. I just had a bit of Italian for dinner.” Kami: “What does that-“ Mr. Popo: “’Cause it was nothing but Garlic!”

[kazz-brekker]

legit kind of sad about the my lady jane cancellation. it just really sucks to be living in an era of television where it feels like you can't get invested in anything new and interesting without constantly fearing that it's going to get yanked away from you and unceremoniously cancelled

[t-hirstreview]

[starcurtain]

What do you think Aventurine would be like as a boss?

Aventurine's first character story tells us that people both outside the IPC and internal to the Strategic Investment Department are explicitly racist toward him, so I would say first that I suspect Aventurine's team is much, much smaller than other Stonehearts like Topaz. For example, we constantly see Topaz's dumb "support squad" following her around in most of the events she shows up in, while we've never been introduced to a single "Aventurine support squad" member.

My suspicion is that, between the rampant racism and the undoubtedly common rumors about Aventurine's dangerous behavior, very few people are even willing to be put on his team in the first place. I suspect he's much more likely to be paired up with one or two "strategic partners" (like Ratio) and sent to handle things that way, rather than actually having a large group of underlings he directly supervises.

But just logistically speaking I'm sure he does have a few underlings, and I think... He's probably a very difficult person to work for, for a couple reasons:

He will almost certainly beat assholes to the punch. If a majority of the people who have been assigned to work with him don't want to be there, you can bet he's not going to wait around for new people to prove they are racist garbage. I imagine that, for the most part, he's off-putting and offensive to new people from the get-go. You ask which desk is yours and he just goes "Oh, feel free to set your things anywhere!" then turns around like: "Wowwww. Jim, this rookie is trying to steal the desk you've had for ten years! How inconsiderate our new friend is proving to be~!" New people on his team probably have the worst few weeks of their lives. (Because... If people are going to hate him on principle alone, he might as well give them a reason, right?) However, this has the effect of weeding out most of the people who are incapable of dealing with Aventurine's antics, so I imagine that the few who persevere through the hazing are probably genuinely decent folks. Those that make it past the initial "Let's see how much you hate Sigonians and disrespect me personally" vibe check probably end up on Aventurine's good side, and I think he eventually eases off his newbies after a while. (Not before they've proven their exceedingly high tolerance for shenanigans and even higher ceiling for shock factor, though. If a new employee makes it past the first month of working for Aventurine, literally nothing else will ever phase them. An elephant-sized Warp Trotter could warp them all six galaxies over and they'd just be like "Anyone got a working cell? I need to tell my babysitter I won't be back by 9.")

I think he's just never there. Absentee boss in the extreme. It's not that he ever slacks or doesn't do the work--it's just that he's constantly going off and doing the missions all on his own. It doesn't matter how many times the higher-ups assign him to do a team task, tell him he has to take the full squad... He just scampers off and does the deal entirely on his own, comes back covered in blood, and is like "Hey guys, I took care of the problem; enjoy some comp time on me!" I don't think he drags his average-level underlings into his dangerous gambles; I think he just does all the work with their clients by himself or with a high-caliber partner. You would think this would make him a great boss to work for, but I implore to put yourself in such an employee's shoes: You go into the office every morning only to see your to-do list is empty. Your boss isn't there to give you any new direction. After twiddling your thumbs for four hours, you find out the reason he isn't in the office this morning is that he's recovering from betting he could take an entire pack of Borisin in a fist fight. He's not in the hospital because of the fight (which he won). He's in the hospital because he was then promptly shot in the back by the guy he was betting with. Why is your life like this? Why must you be subjected to the soap opera of your boss's own self-destructive spiral?

Even when he's around, he's probably weirdly awkward. Don't get me wrong, I bet when he's in a good mood he throws all kinds of extravagant parties in the office, and his employees would never lack for bonuses and perks. But I think he has never really bothered to learn--or perhaps simply does not care--about normal managerial behaviors and boundaries. Like, you slip up and tell him your mother-in-law is in the hospital. He comes back five minutes later to tell you he's just bought six bouquets (sent from your address), commissioned a personally embossed card for her with your monogram, and contracted the services of the best-reviewed individualized medical team in Pier Point under your name. He's patting himself on the back for being an incredibly thoughtful boss. You don't know how to tell him that you haven't spoken to your mother-in-law in years, not since her last attempt to poison you. Every six months he buys the whole team new cars. You have no idea what to do with all these cars. It's too many cars. Put some cars back. He calls everyone his "friend," but even after working for him for years, you still have absolutely no idea about his likes, dislikes, or hobbies outside of the IPC. You could not name his favorite food if someone put a gun to your head. Does he exist outside of the workplace? You literally can't imagine him anywhere but on a mission or at a poker table. He's constantly bringing an "I am the party!" vibe to the room, but everyone else is a bored 8-5 worker who doesn't have a drop of enthusiasm left in their veins. It's like when a singer asks the audience to cheer along with a song, but nobody in the audience makes a peep. Absolutely no one in the IPC cubicles can match his particular freak. Aventurine's a smooth-talker and a street-smart cookie for sure, but something about the way his smile looks like it's made out of plastic when anyone tries to engage him in chitchat at the water cooler gives you the vague impression that he's probably never had an actual friend in his life. If "uncanny valley" was a vibe a workplace could have, Aventurine's office would have it.

Long story longer, I think Aventurine has very few people willing to tolerate him as a boss, whether because they are racist or simply because his quirks are just too quirky. However, I like to imagine the few who have hung in there are ride or die. You know they have an "Aventurine Protection Squad" group chat. They probably all wear peacock-teal and gold accessories in solidarity. They have definitely disappeared people for talking shit on their boss before. Aventurine has no idea how much they actually like him.

[citrusdevill]

shes pink!!

[stealingyourbones]

Just watched Deadpool/Wolverine. No spoiler review:

refreshingly good Marvel movie. Highly recommend

[anonymouspuzzler]

I just wanted to pop in here to say thanks for making Buck the way he is. He speaks to the “overly apologetic but a little freak(affectionate)” and “grandpa with hyper-specific interests” parts of my soul. I hope I can have a partner as good as Davey one day, you have raised the bar for me. I can’t wait for Villain Coded to be a comic, because I’m already having a great time thinking about the stuff we already have.

WAH.... THANK YOU... here's to love for all our gay little special interest freak soldiers out there. may you all be loved for exactly as you are...!!

[lichqueenlibrarian]

Oh damn

[fictionadventurer]

The worst part about reading in a genre where you have low expectations (in this case, Christian historical fiction) is that when a book impresses you, you have no idea if it's actually good or if you're just overly impressed because it was a fraction of a degree better than the usual garbage.

[minas-linkverse]

Feelings on Minish Cap?

Minish cap is a stellar game. Very much underappreciated and my top wish for what should get remade in HD. The soundtrack is marvelous and I wish I could listen to it all day but the ~bits~ of the good old gameboy just don't work well with my migraine prone head. I truly hope newer fans get to experience the game in all it's glory sooner than later and it get the attention it deserves!!

I think Minish cap has a very unique identity. It has a lot of familiar things yet many totally new and unexpected sights! It almost feels like a fan game, but in like the best way possible. It's got that indie pixel vibe of something made with love.

...asfjggsjkf sorry this is another love letter ramble. Minish cap has a special place in my heart. It was the first Zelda game I ever played, although at the time I didn't know any english and would just run around the few areas that are open before the first dungeon, and I'd slap grass for fun. I was easy to entertain back then.

Years later I found my old gameboy colour and finally actually played the game. It's a real solid entry in the top-down zelda game world, although it could be just a LITTLE bit tighter in gameplay. Link's awakening and Oracle of Ages just really keep you on the move in a way modern games don't seem to.

Also Minish cap just has the most iconic official art in the franchise.

Basically Minish cap to me is an image of childhood. We're currently in an era for the franchise that's openly pointing out the horror of it's lore. I think it's high time we remember the joy and whimsy of the series too. The games that bring back that feeling of being a kid in the backyard playing heroes! The hero trope exists as a tragedy, but also to inspire us.

PS. to clarify I think the game is incredibly solid as it exists right now and the reason I want it remade is not because the current version needs an overhaul, but because I know a remake would give more people easier access to a game that's marvelous and also I'd cry. If you have a way to play it right now like... Do it, yo. No need to wait for an imaginary product I invented in my brain.

[thefencebeetle]

I’m on a big quest to play catch-up on classic games I’ve never tried.

Played and finished Metal Gear Solid for the first time, as a part of the Metal Gear collection available on Steam, and played with a controller.

Absolutely stunning game, it has barely aged beyond the graphics, and even they don’t take anything away from the game’s qualities.

Challenging and thoughtful gameplay, good level design, compelling story and characters, just a master class in video game. Crazy to think it came out in 1998, and it’s leagues above many games that would come out decades after it.

Can’t wait to play MGS 2 next.

[t-hirstreview]

[hardcore-gaming-101]

Metal Gear Solid Mobile

Even in a series as prolific as Metal Gear, it is not immune to missing or lost releases, and there are blind spots in the series that many don’t know about or haven’t heard of. Metal Gear Solid Mobile is one such game. It is a ‘lost’ game in the series, released solely on mobile platforms & not widely publicized. It’s also unique in how advanced it was for a mobile game at the time. MGS Mobile reaches toward the level of the console games, despite a smaller screen & keypad controls, and it gets might close that lofty aim.

Read more...

[linesonscreens]

Let's Read Peanuts (Sponsored by “Snicker-Snacks”) – July 1957

There are lots of great strips I just don't have room to comment on. I strongly encourage everybody to read the full month at the official GoComics page. Today's month starts HERE.

July 2, 1957

Married? I legitimately can't remember a single interaction between them.

July 3, 1957

I really like this one because it's so rare that we get to see Charlie Brown and Lucy just doing friend stuff without one dunking on the other. It gives you a bit of insight into why they bother to spent time together.

July 9, 1957

Well they’re…

Um…

Hold on a moment...

~Googles~ 

They’re this part of a barrel, apparently.

Also while looking that up I also found this video on how barrels are made. 

Neat!

July 11, 1957

An interesting strip considering “getting called into the army” literally happened to Schulz.

July 16, 1957

The things Charlie Brown has seen will haunt him for decades.

July 26, 1957

I like Shermy’s shirt. It really gives you the impression that he has a personality of some kind.

July 28, 1957

New blog header image found!

Lookit how mad he is! :3

Thoughts

I don't ~want~ to dunk on Shermy. I actually feel kind of bad about doing it considering the way he gets unceremoniously sidelined into oblivion. But god damnit kid, get a hobby or something. Literally anything will do.

Here, I'll give you this stapler. You're the stapler kid now. You're welcome.

[hurtmemoreplease]

What's a cute cocksleeve like you doing walking around on your own two feet? Doesn't pretty little thing like you deserve to be strapped to a centaur's underbelly? Hey, hey, don't run, you know I'm faster than you. Stronger, too. There's a good girl. Oh shush, don't be such a drama queen. I'm sure you can take it. Hell, by next week I bet you'll be begging for a girl's horsecock to paint your intestines white.

[gristlegrinder]

my appointment where i’m gonna ask about T is next week and i’m so nervous. i have no idea what to expect