#this was such an impactful scene in the anime and yes i compared with the manga. anime slays here

[akai-anna]

[hobiebrownismygod]

The characterization of Miguel as "the bad guy". News flash; He's not.

I keep seeing people talking about Miguel as if he's the villain of ATSV. Y'all. This is NOT true. People are paying too much attention to the train scene and not enough attention to his words and actions that are the main points of his characterization.

First of all, Miguel was NOT trying to hurt Miles in this movie.

The main reason why people think he was going to hurt Miles was because of the train scene, where he basically slammed Miles into the side of the train, but if you look into this scene more closely, Miguel wasn't genuinely trying to hurt him.

Miguel starts off with his claws extended, trying to climb up the train toward Miles. HOWEVER-

The moment he lunges at Miles, trying to grab him, his claws retract. Why is this?

Because he's not trying to hurt Miles. He's trying to catch him.

This happens again later in the movie.

See the difference? Miguel uses his claws to rip open the Go-home machine, but immediately retracts them as to not harm Miles. If you watch the actual scene, you'll see the claws slowly retract. Its not an animation error. It was purposefully done.

Sure, he was being aggressive. Yes, he was definitely gonna rage on Miles about this, but he was not going to hurt him.

Miguel is not the bad guy in this movie.

Miguel believes that canon events are real. He believes that he is really the only reason that the multiverse hasn't collapsed yet and he believes that he needs to stop Miles from saving his dad because otherwise, millions of people in his dimension will die.

Second of all, Miguel is not normally an aggressive guy.

Before I start, we don't know this for sure, but this is what I believe from what I've seen in the movie and online about him. I don't believe that Miguel is normally an aggressive person.

Since we're talking about the go-home machine, lets use that as the first piece of evidence that he's not normally an aggressive person.

Look at Peter's reaction to seeing Miguel tearing up the Go-home machine. He is petrified.

Now, if Miguel was normally the type of guy to do this, Peter would not have this kind of reaction to him going after Miles. The entire society stands back and watches Miguel demolish the machine because its never happened before. None of them have ever seen Miguel act up like this before, and its shocking. Thats why nobody reacts. Thats why they all stay silent when he's done.

For the second piece of evidence, we have how Miguel acts when explaining canon events to Miles. He is extremely calm compared to how he is in the chase scene. He is genuinely trying to relate to Miles and comfort him because he's not normally an aggressive person.

Look at his expression. Look at how his hands are up in the air, trying to calm Miles down. He's not trying to hurt Miles. He's trying to make Miles look at it from his point of view. Because from his point of view, the impacts of breaking a canon event are disastrous. He believes that every single person in Miles universe is going to die. And he believes that letting Jeff die instead, is the only way to stop it.

Miguel is a good person who's been through a lot.

To us, his ideas are ridiculous, but to him, someone who's lost so much, they're the only thing keeping everything together.

Miguel is not the bad guy in this movie. Miguel is not the villain in this movie. We already have an established villain, and its not him. Miguel is simply an antagonist. And he's definitely going to get the chance to redeem himself in the next movie.

This was kind of short. If I think about other stuff he does, I'll add on, but these are like the main two reasons I didn't think he was the villain when I watched the movie. It just wouldn't make sense for him to be the villain. He's literally Spider-man.

[genshinemblem564]

Genshin Isekai Headcanons

These can be sagau, but they don't have to be.

• Xinyan is stoked that you love her music, and is excited when you offer to play her some music from your world, but she's confused by some of the lyrics. She understands metaphorical lyrics, like the person described in the song isn't actually a rocket, but some of them don't make sense or feel like they were added just to fill a void. Aside from that, she kinda wants to perform some of these songs, now if only she had some band members.

• Tartaglia doesn't have much to say about the guns of your world. The pyro and hydro fatui agents already use guns of some kind, and the cryo fatui agent uses, um. What would you call an ice based flamethrower? No, what he's interested in is the immense amount of new weapons that Teyvat doesn't have, or they probably do, and we just don't hear about them. Like chain blades, I don't know what else to call them, essentially a flail, but instead of a mace, it's blade. I would write something about axes, but I feel like saving that for my crossover series. A scythe is often seen as a special lance, but you tell him that it's much more complicated than that specifically pointing out the blade, and depending on your own skill, you give him a demonstration. He is way too excited to learn all of these new weapons, like a kid excited about a new toy, you can't help but smile.

• Baizhu is perplexed when he first prescribes medicine to you, as you give him a list of allergies, if any, and are more than willing to go through proper examination to learn how resistant your body is to certain toxins. He's even more surprised when you tell him that his unique practice is actually common in your world, so that's why you don't bat an eye at potentially poisonous ingredients.

• Bennett is rather surprised. When you hang out, his bad luck seems to go away. It's actually just you using a bit of foresight, like checking the date on a flyer before rushing to a sale that had already ended, but seeing that glimmer in his eyes, you decide to let his imagination roam.

• You and Cyno are reference lords. You two reference everything, Cyno, his favorite book or book series, and you, your favorite media source. Now, if only people actually understood them, and yes, you do quote Yu-Gi-Oh when playing Genius Invokation.

• If you're an artist, then you quickly catch Albedo's attention. When he sees your drawings, he is quick to ask what you used as a muse, and your answer will have great impact on his reaction. If you point to an object or animal, his response will be normal. If you draw from memory though, he is astounded, especially if what you drew was a scene of some kind, with people, animals, or what have you. Drawing all that from memory is incredible. If you say it's something you made up, he'll compare it to when he's commissioned for his own art.

• Depending on your own interests, you'll be interacting with several different characters. I can't think of anything in depth for these few, so here's a general basis. Barbara is relieved that you're so open to different views. She knows how cruel people can be when they're closed-minded, and she's happy to teach you about the Church of Favonius and Barbatos. Noelle was lamenting not being a knight yet, which led you to bring up the seven chivalric virtues. Yae Miko and Xingqiu are very interested in the stories of your world. Xingqiu hoping to learn more about your worlds code of chivalry, but he ends up learning about justice's different forms. Yae is simply searching for new inspiration. She often calls on you when her old nemesis, writers block, appears. Nahida takes interest in you right away, wanting to gain knowledge from your world, and you seem fun. She knows better than anyone how dangerous knowledge can be, so she asks you to omit potentially dangerous subjects.

• Mona was shocked when you said that you only wanted to know the bad stuff coming your way, not that she could help you, with you being an outworlder and all. When she asked why, you told her "It's best to be prepared for all the bad coming your way, and if you know all the good coming your way, it takes away from life's natural wonder." Which was promptly followed by you asking "Where did that come from?"

___________________________________________

I'm thinking making more of that last one, like " Characters reaction to reader who is randomly philosophical" might need to work on the title a bit. Also, as stated above, these can be sagau, but can also be normal isekai, so I'll use both tags so they can be found more easily

[plinko-mori]

Why do I think this scene:

Is a horrible adaptation from this manga panel:

Dialogue

That's an important thing to consider, because we have a case of almost opposite messages

In the anime it is «That's right, what of it?»

It's a confirmation of what Yosano is asking to Ougai, almost immediately when she spoke to him. First point to consider

He's answering "yes" in other way, he's basically doing an affirmation of what Yosano said. While also telling her indirectly that he doesn't care and doesn't feel bad about it using a question, we have an affirmation and a question in the same sentence

We can interpret that easily because everything points to that option

«What you say is correct, why should I care?»

But in the manga it is complete different

We have «... Even if that's true, so what?»

It's a question in all the dialogue I'm analyzing, being that the first difference

He takes a pause, takes his moment to think of an answer and then he speaks, those details are important differences because it shows you how different they are

His questions is related to a possibility. In other way to say what Mori said would be «Even if what you say is true, what does it matter?»

We can't do an affirmation/confirmation if he cares or not, because what Ougai says makes us do multiple interpretations based in Yosano's reaction, his facial expression and character in general since the intention isn't 100% clear... Basically doing theories and more theories because everybody has their perspectives and own ways to interpret what happened there

Expression and feelings related

In the anime we can say Mori speaks self-confidently as if he were too superior to the others

Acting like that, he doesn't care, he doesn't even look at here

While he's just acting calm, a little grumpy maybe, fixing his clothes... The anime indicates that he cares so little about what she says that he does something else at the same time

I could add that he even looks disgusted and annoyed but I'm horrible at socializing and reading emotions-

And the scene is too different from the manga that he has his eyes closed in all the dialogue while in the manga they are open

In the manga we can't guess emotions at all since Ougai looks extremely cold! Those dark eyes, that expression, his words of not caring about the consequences, here we can do a confirmation about it

Something to add is that we can see Yosano's reaction, because in the anime we lost all of those expressions that it's so sad :(

Ougai in the manga is more cold, less expressive, gives more things to leave many to imagination

How does Mori's character work?

It's not like saying «Mori in the plot works in a specific way»... But a «Mori has this behavior that repeats a lot»

He acts when necessary, speaks and gives orders when he considers necessary, he's a rational character that is thinking most of the time (to not say all the time)

The fact is that, when he doesn't gives orders... He says things that are left to interpretation since he doesn't explain them deeply

Things that actually share the real life author, and we have seen it in many times in the manga that, since Ougai doesn't explain anything, sometimes it feels like he says something that doesn't make sense or contradicts himself

We can't deny that he's smart enough to understand, know and comprehend the impact of his words

Mori is a genius, is a fact that we can't deny... It's just that we don't compare him too much with Dazai, Ranpo and Fyodor, specially when they have more time that “we can see them being intelligent”

But if it counts as a proof... Mori was steps forward compared to Dazai, just one specific time, that Dazai ended up

Mori knows, and we have to agree that Mori is capable to do many things

Why do I say it reflects Mori's character?

The scene has specific things... That I will explain

✓Pause → The detail of Mori taking his time to think reflects his rational side that doesn't get carried away by his emotions when acting, something that we see in him a lot, that he knows what he does, is aware of this and tries to make it all work out in his "somewhat dirty way of playing"

✓Dark eyes → A fact that we forget is we don't know how he ended up being like that. He's cold He can be cold when necessary, and we can't read Mori at 100%, no matter how hard we try is like trying to understand a void that you can't see their begining and end

✓Even if that's true, so what? → Both character and author: Interpretation. The author was characterized by playing with perspectives, showing different ones, leaving things to interpretation and letting the reader draw his own conclusions from what he read... Something that is also seen in the character. You have to draw conclusions from how he acts and talks, it's hard to understand him 100%, he makes people have so many different perspectives towards him that matches his author. Ougai plays with the perspectives and emotions of the rest, the author to tell stories to the people around him, the character to act and keep on living in his world with all the danger around him, and around his organization

[ecargmura]

Cherry Magic Episode 11 Review - Good Progression For Both Couples

Good progression for both couples! I love how each of them revolve around the mind-reading magic, but use it differently. Adachi is reliant on it and eventually makes a positive change in his life because of it, but still has some ups and downs when it comes to himself and his relationship with Kurosawa. Tsuge, on the other hand, doesn’t really use the magic all that much—only in a few occasions—but it did help him develop feelings for Minato and eventually experiencing a world he never dreamed of until now.

With Kurodachi (or KuroAda in the Eastern fandom), they are dating, but are experiencing some issues. Fortunately, Kurosawa is reflecting on his behavior from the previous episode. I like how Adachi takes Tsuge’s advice and writes his heartfelt feelings in a letter. I think that letters are super underrated and I’m glad that he did so. Sometimes, words and text messages can’t convey feelings as well as a letter. The letter left such a huge impact on Kurosawa that he legit went to Nagasaki to meet up with Adachi. Talk about down bad. I do like that they did apologize. Adachi realizes that he really likes Kurosawa as he states some of the things he likes about him in order for his partner to not feel too regretful. The way they kissed afterwards was super sensual. I legit had to cover my face while still peeking because it was hot. If you’re wondering, yes, they did bang. That means Adachi’s magic is no more. Please don’t be upset over the censored sex scene, it’s mainly due to television regulations in Japan, I believe. The moaning, though… there is a reason why the BL genre is so popular because some voice actors know how to moan…Kobayashi is one of them…

Speaking of which, I learned from someone in the Cherry Magic discord that Adachi has a palmaris longus muscle on his wrist. It’s the little nerve/muscle thing that pops out on the front of the wrist. Only 14% of the population have it, apparently; I have it too! Apparently, the muscle can be a bit sensitive, when touched, so…think of that what you will.

On the Tsugemina side, Tsuge wanted to get over Minato, but couldn’t. He tried writing, but nothing came out. His feelings for Minato are just too strong. He eventually attended Minato’s concert where he gifted him a new pair of shoes, which caused Minato to rush out and find him. They eventually confess their mutual feelings for each other and it seems that they finally are getting together! Congrats! I really like how Tsuge’s so poetic, befitting an author. I loved his quote, “No story compares to the real you.” Man, that was SMOOTH. While Tsuge did have ulterior motives and it did bother Minato, Minato didn’t mind it too much as he likes Tsuge a lot more than he realized and even told the older man to not give up—words that Tsuge told him before. What I like about the Tsugemina pair is that Tsuge isn’t too reliant on the magic. While he did fall for Minato’s inner voice, he made his own effort to get closer to him as best as he can and it worked. The only time he used the magic significantly was to help Minato patch things up with Rokkaku. That’s about it.

This was the most romantic of the episodes by far, but the wonky animation does take some romantic value away from it, but it’s only noticeable in the non-romantic scenes. I wonder if next week is the finale. I do wonder how everything is going to end. There’s a lot of content for Cherry Magic, so I do wonder if there will be a second season planned. The day the episode aired was the day before  Adachi’s birthday, which is March 21, today’s date. Happy birthday Adachi! What are your thoughts on this rather romantic episode?

[victoriadallonfan]

Mistborn: Well of Ascension Review

Is It Good: Yes

Does It Have Flaws: A lot

Is It Problematic: Sometimes

Would You Reread: No

Would You Recommend: Yes

Spoilers below

I’ve listened to positive and negative reviews of this book to help formulate my thoughts

So overall, I think there’s a great book buried underneath a slog of really repetitive material.

Brandon is great at writing a mystery, but it’s hindered by the fact that we get incredibly uninteresting scenes that just have Elend, Vin, Zane doing the same song and dance over and over again.

I was 200% more invested in Sazed investigating the Hero of Ages compared to the political drama Elend and Vin dealt with. Or Vin dealing with “wanting to wear a dress” (more on that later).

I really love how Eldritch and Sinister the cosmology is, even as I knew from Stormlight Archives what it would be. It’s handled far more horrific here in a good way compared to Stormlight, which was a letdown imo, so this was enjoyable.

I also really love Sazed’s magical abilities. Allomancy is neat, but the story points out that Mistborn are just.. so powerful they make other Allomancers feel pointless, worldbuilding wise. But Sazed’s powers are more limited while also being far more interesting in applications, so I loved that we got to see that more in depth.

Most of the characters are good, and enjoyable, even Breeze.

Now for the bad.

Breeze and Allrianne relationship is just… disgusting. I really don’t understand the purpose of having a near 40 year old man having sex with a barely legal woman who just recently turned legal iirc. Why was this added as a story beat? Why are some of the characters that aren’t Vin and OreSeur not more grossed out by it?

And no, having the “she seduces me!” reveal does not help.

Secondly, none of the antagonists are good. Sure, they are hateable, but they all lack any sort of impact. Zane is the worst because he is quite possibly the most cookie-cutter CW Bad Boy stereotype in existence, monologuing like a bad anime character about how “we are different”/“why do we listen to them?”/“they just don’t understand us” ala Lysanderoth. And he dies from the worst “reveal” I’ve ever seen; it was so cool how Vin used pewter dust to blind the Inquisitors and improvised weaponry to bypass the skill gap. Here it’s just: “Lmao I just wait to attack bypass your precog, get good”, which I’m pretty sure does not track at all with what we see in the first book (or this one).

Despite Lord Ruler having little presence in the first book, he at least had PRESENCE

Finally, the way this book handles women and skaa is just so odd. It feels as if the story/characters/Brandon treat women as having a hive mind for being obsessed with fashion; in fact, it’s part of Vins struggle that she loves dresses but can’t find the “strength” to wear them. Meanwhile, no male character obsessed over fashion nearly as much, even Breeze who admits part of his design is an act for others. Likewise, there’s no woman who thinks fashion is stupid or just indifferent.

I don’t hate the idea of Vin struggling with newfound femininity vs her own biases, but it’s just so blandly set up that I can’t feel invested.

And I will lose my damned mind if I have to hear one more “you can never understand a woman”/“teenage girls aren’t rational” comment, even from other women characters!

Also, besides Tyndl and Vin, there aren’t any really any women in power nor is that explored. Even Allrianne - who is just… meh as a character over all - has no political power without her father and she’s basically a femme fatale cliche as well. None of the Skaa have female leaders, for example.

And speaking of Skaa, those poor guys. Going from brave freedom fighters and rebellions, even prior to Kelsier, to idiots who are treated as fools who need the privileged Elend and his like to guide them all to the right answer (or they become manipulated or are in fact corrupt). I don’t even hate Elend, but the way Brandon puts him in this position is just such a shame. The story doesn’t even let him explore his ingrained classism or racism/specism for the Skaa or Kandra

Like I said, there’s a great book under all this stuff. But it’s pulled down by - in my opinion - a lot of faults that verge on problematic.

Good but it could be better

[elendsessor]

SPOILERS FOR BOTH PERSONA 3 FES AND RELOAD’S EPISODE AIGIS AHEAD!

(don’t expect much persona stuff on this blog either i just found this interesting)

disclaimer: if you like episode aigis, more power to you. this isn’t meant to be an attack, rather a critique!!!

because a lot of discussion regarding episode aigis kept creeping into my recommended, i was genuinely curious about some cutscene changes and yeah reload absolutely fumbled the shadow mc’s death… but not in the way i think some discussions see it.

the common consensus with how it was handled is both tried to go for two different tones, which is true. however, the original scene is seen as strictly the horror of death, which is where i don’t think people understand what made it work.

that scene wasn’t only that. it was meant to represent the beauty in the macabre.

the original persona 3 played with visuals more than reload and that’s just a fact. compare the color choices, the openings, all of that. in terms of modernsona, it’s the most visually distinct game as a result, which serves as a much more interesting way to explore emotions. that scene serves as a testament to such.

disregarding the gorier elements of the original scene, how the visuals of letters peeling off the shadow mc’s skin just matched how uncanny it all is, the sudden use of 3d animation, and finally the burst of blue butterflies adds impact as it sort of shifts emotions.

notice how that’s the last thing that happens as the shadow mc fades away. there’s no struggle, blood, immediate reactions, any of that. it’s a quiet death.

and that’s why the answer’s worked. the skin peeling represents the mortality, fragility, and in some ways decay, yet the butterflies bursting gives life and peacefulness. you can find the chaoticness horrific, edgy, grim, saddening, any number of feelings.

there’s no right way to interpret the scene—it’s meant to be an emotional rollercoaster—but to say that there can’t be more than one takeaway aside from horror is objectively wrong.

however, with episode aigis, there is only one real way to interpret it. this isn’t just because all the shadow protag does is fade away, but the inclusion of character reactions actively hurts it because it tells you how to feel. you’re meant to be as distraught and sad as sees. aigis may be the most expressive, but you’re meant to be aigis, not the player, so the ultimate interpretation is it’s sad (and beautiful if you find it beautiful). there is no room for debate because there’s the fucking answer right there. death is sad and nothing more when in reality it isn’t.

it’s okay to add the reactions but not in the moment. afterwards leaves a better impact because by letting the death play for itself, the player’s feelings come first, not aigis’s.

in that sense i suppose, yes, both games were trying to achieve different results. however, those results are either up to the player’s interpretation or what the writers wanted, which the latter is terrible storytelling.

something a few writing teachers have said, at least in my experience, is once your story gets out there, it’s up to the reader to decide how they see it, not just the characters. if the author is telling the reader how they’re supposed to feel, in some ways it’s talking down to them. disregarding their feelings. leaving no room for experiences.

that’s the danger of the tell don’t show rule, which is why it has to be used sparingly or avoided if at all possible. if it’s used incorrectly, then it can result in media illiteracy and be an overall insult to the reader.

episode aigis is anti-reader as a result, making it genuinely awfully written. plus, that scene is honestly the best thing in the answer, so they fucked up the best part, making it actually worse in comparison.

i’m not here to call the answer a masterpiece or anything because it isn’t good. not horrendous, but it’s definitely the weakest storyline tied to p3, which is a shame because, despite all the issues 3 has, the story was the best thing about it.

reload did sanitize a bunch of aspects for a more wide appeal but it ultimately harmed the original message and interpretations. it genuinely hurts to see.

[eternal-echoes]

Just to expand a little bit more on this post

The filler scenes in the castle episode really elevated the emotional impact of the ending scene when Anya says that her life after leaving the orphanage has been exciting all thanks to her papa because we see evidence of that progressing toward to that scene

Whereas in the manga aside the fight with Yor the transition to that scene was really abrupt I think it just relied on previous chapters for us to remember how life has been exciting for Anya.

(Yes I skipped a lot of pages but it's not a whole of exciting pages compare to the anime aside for his fight with Yor).

So that's my hope for the bullet date chapter: they add a lot of filler scenes that would bring home the emotional impact of this scene:

Like I hope they add a lot content of their fun date that made Yor so grateful to Loid.

[throwawayforanaskcauseanxiety]

Some long thoughts on Angel Dust, "Poison" controversy and "Loser baby"

It's kind of incredible how divided people are on Hazbin. Two creators I follow for various animated media reviews have such different takes it's a bit surreal, but their arguments on SA and Angel Dust are wildly different, even though technically coming from the same place.

First things first, disliking a character, a ship, a song in the show or Hazbin hotel as a whole is fine. Yet, some arguments are better structured than others. There's a lot of discussion and some bizarre misinterpretations.

People who have been victims themselves have quite the different opinions on both "Poison" and Angel dust, and it's fine, as long as the topic is handled seriously and with respect. A lot of people loudly praise it and point out that "Poison" doesn't shy away from showing reality (coping via disassociating), while graphic, the abuse is shown in a 100% negative light, not pulling any punches (regardless of who was one of the storyboard artists). Others say it's gratuitous and uncomfortable. Regardless, Valentino IS an absolute bastard, the abuse is horrifying and its impact is immediately clear.

We can't have any kind of representation if we're too scared to be uncomfortable. Not everything has to be scrubbed clean and palatable, it can be nuanced. Hazbin hotel discusses some very adult topics in an adult way.

It's not "a weird choice for "Poison" to be a catchy pop song" or a mock music video, knowing most of what we were first shown as Angel's persona. Listen to the lyrics, he's literally having a breakdown. It's sugary catchy pop because Angel is trying very hard to disassociate. Just look at how "Angel Dust" acts throughout the series and how "Anthony" does, in most scenes he's scared, panicking or crying.

Secondly, "Loser baby" is very important to both Angel and Husk - it's Husk being both in your face honest, talking about himself, and playful (and self-deprecating). All bark and no bite, a taunt to drop the act cause Husk sees through it, worries about Angel and can relate. Angel doesn't have to pretend like everything's fine and he's this untouchable famous pornstar. I love how Husk is reaching out to Angel and then waiting for a response to take his hand, it's really all in the subtle details.

They're "both losers", however, Angel is not a loser for being assaulted and abused (Husk isn't a loser for being an alcoholic or a gambler), it's about identity. How others identify him, the mask he puts on, and how he should accept who he is on HIS OWN terms. Just as importantly, know that HE'S NOT ALONE.

The song is not comparing "their traumas, SA to a gambling addiction" (obv paraphrasing, still, what...?). Angel and Husk are in the same boat because they sold their souls to people who have disturbing amounts of power over them. They both have to dance to their whims, albeit in different ways, and come to terms with who they are in spite of it. Does Husk's silly song break away their chains? No. Does it help Angel find courage to stand up to Valentino and create some well-needed boundaries? I'd say yes.

Thirdly, twitter is a disease and media literacy is dead. In more ways than one, keeping in mind the countless debunked "accusations" and people getting harassed over valid criticisms (f.e., the pace, progress shown on screen and not or just not liking the show). Things are easily misinterpreted in worst possible ways, the mob mentality around it. Where people take the line "[Alastor] fled with his tail between his legs" and interpret it as "Alastor has a tail CONFIRMED". Goodnight sweet prince, rest in peace.

[kin-of-the-sea]

I just watched Children of the Sea last night and feel so incredibly changed. What a wonderful experience. I was glad to find a blog that still posts about it. I’d love to know what your main takeaways were from the movie — be they personal conclusions or interpretations of the on-screen events. Sorry if this is a weird ask, I’m new to tumblr and just very excited. xx

Hello there!

Sorry it took me a while to reply to this; welcome to Tumblr, I hope you're enjoying your time here(and this may be a bit random, but I recommend changing your profile picture to something other than the default images, that way other folks on here won't automatically assume that you're a bot cause there's been a lot of those lately).

I'm very glad that you came across my blog; I'm very passionate about this movie, it's always been my special interest since I read the manga way back when & this movie reignited it for me! I'm always happy to come across people who also enjoy this series!!

Now, with that being said, lemme answer your question & share some of my thoughts on this movie

As someone who read the manga series prior to watching the movie, I feel like this was as good as an adaptation they could get from such an esoteric narrative from the original source material. While I still would recommend the manga for any newcomers who want to have more info/context for certain scenes, both of these works are still open-ended enough for the audience to be mesmerized, confused, and have their own personal interpretations on what they just saw. It leaves you with more questions. and enough room to come up with your own answers, which is how I felt after reading the manga, and I'm glad that feeling was kept intact in the film.

I'm also aware that there were scenes from the original storyboards that were cut for time, which is understandable. But if they ever release those storyboards to the public, I will be preordering that immediately 👀 !!! I have a feeling that I know what scenes were cut, but I want to see the boards with my own eyes(here's a previous post where I mention one of the scenes I would've like to see happen on screen)!!!

I like that Dehdeh got a significantly larger role in the narrative in the film adaptation; while she still had importance in the original manga, she never directly interacted with Ruka. It was her that took Kanako out to search for Ruka instead of Jim. In this way, they gave her a slightly more active role & more screentime compared to the manga. I consider her to be the MVP of the story(yes, Jim & Anglade had great importance in the story, but I feel like Dehdeh gets less attention compared to those two).

In terms of on screen events, there's one that got me by the throat, especially since it wasn't in the manga(SPOILERS AHEAD): it's after Umi ingests & absorbs the meteorite and he & Ruka fall out of the sky; watching Ruka hold him closer to her & then he transforms into Sora as he shields her from the impact of the fall....I lost my mind(cause it just cements how important they are to each other and how they just want to keep each other safe, you know despite it all being doomed by the narrative 😭) !

This is the scene I'm talking about:

I hope this answers some of the stuff you had asked me here; you take care & have a wonderful day!!!

[originalleftist]

How Adam West's Batman Lit the Way for the Dark Knight

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but Adam West is 100% the best Batman.

Yes, he’s silly. Hilariously silly. Yes, he’s campy. Magnificently campy. He also has scenes that show he100% could have pulled off a serious Batman.

As the video notes, a big key to his success (and the 60s series’ success in general) is playing the absurd completely straight.

He’s an excellent actor, the perfect straight man to an absurd universe, and there’s a reason he’s still the most iconic version of Batman almost 60 years later.

Oh, and the show also introduced Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (and, the video notes, caused them to bring Alfred back in the comics). Which is a HUGE addition to all subsequent Batman. Of all the adaptations, I’d say probably only the Animated Series had a comparable or greater impact on the comics (for example by revamping Freeze’s backstory, and introducing Detective Montoya and, most significantly, Harley Quinn). 

I’d actually say the second best Batman I’ve seen, incidentally, is probably Robert Pattinson- and I think it says something about the versatility of the character that two of his best versions are the infamously campy one, and the extremely angsty one.

On that note, there was a Youtube video a while back* that edited West Batman into the Pattinson film a while back and... some of it was just silly, but there were moments where West fit eerily well into the modern film. Because Batman in any form is still, ultimately, Batman- and like I said, West 100% could have pulled off serious and edgy Batman if that had been the thing at the time.

*I won’t link it because the channel that made it, Corridor Digital, has (or had, not sure if they still do) ties to the hard core MAGA company Black Rifle Coffee.

[aciddaffodil]

Summer 2024- What I Dropped

Wistoria : Wand and Sword

I was so here for this anime; the animation is stellar and magic society interesting. A very simple concept of MC wanting to be with his childhood friend but doesn't have a lick of magic. Cool- until there's no likeable characters and it just feels like its showing off flashy sakuga fight scenes. Not to mention the fucking fantasy racism with the dwarves which is just...gross? Who knows, I may binge the rest of it once its fully out? I definitely want to try watching it again.

No Longer Allowed to Live in This World

A Dazai-like Sensei character does not successfully die by double suicide with his beloved and is reincarnated into a fantasy world. He constantly uses his power of negativity and absorbing sleeping pills/poisons as his ability against monsters. Everyone fawns over him, and he can offer some good advice...on occasion. I just didn't see the point to keep watching it and dropped it after 5 episodes.

Failure Frame

The Isekai(?) Overpowered MC who is dark and edgy and wants to cause ruin upon the Goddess who brought him to this fantasy world, and most of his classmates who abandoned him to die as a "low" ranker with skills that cause harm. What bothered me most was 1) the 3D CG shots just don't blend and make all the monsters look awful and its BLAUGH and 2) having to hear about men npc's wanting to rape a female npc character just is annoying and gross.

Plus-Sized Elf

I think the only thing noteworthy is all the workout advice in it- of which I won't retain anything of it and the plus-sized fanservice exists. I personally just didn't want to waste my time with it anymore even though the episodes are short.

2.5-Dimensional Seduction

It was a cute nerdy experience of them first meeting but honestly, I did not vibe with this show. I'm sure this show is enjoyable, as people have compared it to Dress Up Darling and like it.

The Ossan Newbie Adventurer, Trained to Death by the Most Powerful Party, Became Invincible

I gave this like 5 episodes? But finding out the dude is actually super over-powered and not just trained to death...was disappointing. For a trashy fantasy series, it was pretty good and fun to watch. I just have a habit of rage quitting if something frustrates me or if you listen to how cheesy and horrendous this opening is, that will do it as well lmao. Rick and Raenette's friendship is really sweet. I think him having the same dream as these S-tier adventurers is cool and I do hope they achieve their goals by the end of the series.

Why Does Nobody Remember Me in This World?

I attempted to watch this 3 times, but it kept putting me to sleep so I dropped it.

Narenare Cheer for You

The only P.A. Works anime I've ever dropped. It was because of how irritating the line art is in color and how ALL the outlines of literally everything is in color. And when it comes to specific scenes, it gets muddled and that's why I couldn't stomach it past 2 episodes. I'm sure it's a cute cheerleading anime but the style of it was awful to me personally. WHY CAN"T THERE BE CRISP OUTLINES WHYYYYYYY.

Tasuketsu- Fate of the Majority

Ah yes, death games premise and where deaths aren't permanent cause you can ask a question and have loopholes which take away from the emotional impacts some character deaths have. I.e., the protagonist's best friend who came to life again with no reasoning behind it. The rules are so dumb but the power system interesting, I just didn't care to keep watching.

____________________________________________________________

It is frankly terrifying how much anime I'm keeping up with this season...my count is at 26 and even the most mediocre I have brainwashed myself to not give up on cause they all have some sort of redeeming factor. CURSES.

[solarianvoidthearoace]

Okay, I need to rant…

Yuukoku no Moriarty

The discrepancies between the manga and the anime have some inherent controversy

I am not that far into the manga yet but in my re-watch of the anime (the Eng Dub is on crunchy roll) I‘m at the backstory episodes and

I want to say my piece, I actually think there are two main things these episodes do better than the manga.

First I want to say I feel the manga does a better job overall with the backstory, that it’s Albert’s agency and his drive and decision

But the scene where the original William is getting killed… I actually prefer the anime version in such that it establishes the dynamic between Albert and Will

"[Albert will] tell us what he wants himself. Though if this were a horse race, I'd be ready to place my bet now."

In the manga, it’s Will attacking/ killing the original William, in the anime it’s Albert

The dynamic I’m referring to is as such: in the anime our Will is the instigator, the mastermind. He offers Albert to rid himself of his brother. He provides the plan and the means of execution. But Will doesn’t interfere.

In my opinion that’s a double proof of trust, because Albert trusts in Will’s planning while Will gets proof that Albert is willing to walk the walk.

It’s more impactful, symbolically, because it shows their further dynamic.

I realise and am aware that Albert is just as cunning and just as much the mastermind behind James Moriarty – that’s how he is portrayed in the manga and I think that’s the correct way. It feels more natural than his just being the outside face we get in the anime.

However he has to proof to himself – and to Will – that he is capable of what it takes. That’s why Albert stabbing his brother is more significant than Will doing it. We know Will isn’t above getting his hands dirty. But establishing Albert’s own agency, showing his own drive as strong enough? Yes!

Especially with our Will thanking him after the fact. Because Will provided him with a chance and that better returns what Albert did for him, I think. Because as Will said, it is about exchanging debts and favours. So Will providing chances and the agency still being inherently Albert’s own is meaningful.

So I think that was/ is better in the anime compared to the manga.

The second thing I preferred from the anime over the manga is the house fire. Not the outcome or anything but the method itself.

Obviously both work, sure. But a gas explosion? Making sure the air is too hot to breath even if the inhabitants don’t immediately die from the explosion. It’s more efficient and elegant, in my opinion.

I understand both methods are valid and work well but the gas explosion, flooding the entire mansion with gas before setting up a timed trigger? That’s efficient, brutal, elegant.

I acknowledge accumulating the wax in the lamps took more long-hand planning but I still prefer the anime version.

Overall the manga is obviously better, I fully agree. Albert gets more agency, we get a different perspective on their entire dynamic. Albert founding the MI6 for the sole purpose of sharing those reigns with Will. It’s beautiful and it’s the superior version of the story.

I just have opinions on Will vs. Albert killing the original William and the way the house fire was set-up/ triggered

[ryukang1995]

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge is still watchable, but if I have to be brutally honest...

It is not better nor worse than the 2021 live-action movie.

Yes, the gore is very satisfying. Yes, the art style is very interesting, and it's easily the best look for MK since the digitized graphics from the klassic games.

But...for everything this movie got right, it also gets just as many things wrong.

I don't mind Scorpion/Hanzo Hasashi being the focus of the tournament story, and yeah, he was a great character here, but I really didn't like the fact that Liu Kang gets his tournament victory handed to him by Scorpion after getting his ass whooped by Goro.

Sub-Zero/Bi Han is barely in the movie, and he's supposed to be the driving force behind Scorpion's Revenge (as in the TITLE of the movie). Sure, Scorpion does get his revenge on Quan Chi, but still.

I fucking hated Johnny Cage in this movie. He was not funny, he was annoying. His whole schtick of him thinking that the tournament is a film set got old quickly, and I especially hated how they handled his "romance" with Sonya...and people wonder why I ship her with Liu Kang.

Kitana is barely in the movie, and how they set up her relationship with Liu Kang sucks ass too.

Quan Chi was a solid villain, but Shang Tsung was weak sauce. Kano was nothing to run home about either.

The rest of the characters are fine, but they don't leave much of an impression or impact.

The action is okay, but if you took the fatalities and x-ray effects away, you'd get some pretty basic fight scenes, especially when you compare it to something like Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie.

Sure, it's better than Annihilation, Battle of the Realms, and what MK2 is shaping up to be...but I still prefer the 1995 MK movie, even with the PG-13 rating.

If you love the movie? Then that's great. I definitely wouldn't say I HATED it, but I didn't really LOVE it either.

[wondermadeleine]

Thoughts on the Miraculous movie:

I'll go into details and spoilers under the cut but here's the meat of it:

Too many songs that weren't even that good

The dialogues often felt forced and empty

The animation was so pretty, like???? Their hair? All the time? So cool

We get it, the power of love and listening to your heart, you don't have to say it in every scene

Lots of changes compared to the show, some of them were great and it could have been even better BUT:

It was so fucking rushed wtf? Which kind of explains my second point

THEY ROBBED US OF THE TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCES

In conclusion:

I consider this movie as an alternative universe, a "what could have happened" simply because it derives from the TV show canon so much

I also would have enjoyed it a lot more if it weren't for the songs, they really ruined it for me

Spoilers ahead, I'm gonna tell you the WHOLE plot, you have been warned

The songs

Like... Why would they do that? Were they trying to give it a Disney movie vibe? Because it sure felt like it. Marinette/Ladybug felt very Frozen-inspired, and Hawk Moth's song (yes, Gabriel has a song, several in fact) was very Dr Facilier/Rasputin

And the songs themselves were just... Not Good. There were too many and they were so cheesy. We were maybe 20 in the room, most of us adults, and let me tell you after the first few songs the general reaction to a new one were groans. I ended up saying "please don't sing, please don't sing" several times during the movie but of course my prayers were never answered. And I usually love musicals

Cut out all of the songs, they have 0 emotional impact anyway, replace them with some dialogue and more interactions between the characters to make their relationships feel less rushed and it could have been a really good movie

The plot

We basically get a speedrun of 5 seasons in 1h40min: Marinette and Adrien get their miraculous, learn how to super-hero, we get a time skip with lots of fights against akumatized people, Hawk Moth loses his mind because of "the butterfly" (don't ask me, I don't get it either) and because he can't get LB and CN's miraculouses, so he akumatizes himself, which somehow makes him super powerful and he destroys Paris, manages to get Ladybug's miraculous and right as he's about to get Chat Noir's, he realises that that's his son under the mask and.... purifies? himself? because The Power of Love. So everyone learns who Hawk Moth is but they don't seem to realize who Chat is? That's unclear to me. They definitely don't know about Ladybug though, since the "last" scene of the movie is Marinette telling Adrien who she is and this surprises him somehow, even though Marinette de-transformed and re-transformed in front of everyone during the fight against Hawk Moth, but okay

In the background we of course get the love square, which doesn't stay as "CN/Adrien → LB LB/Marinette → Adrien" very long:

Chat Noir and Ladybug sing a whole ass duet together when he tries to confess but at the end she says no and then we're supposed to believe that she's torn between Adrien and Chat Noir all of a sudden. Marinette then tries to invite Adrien to a ball and he refuses (since he just got rejected by the girl he likes) so they're both dejected and heartbroken. But after the boss battle, as I said, Marinette reveals herself to Adrien and they kiss

Have I mentioned that this movie is 1h40min long?

HOWEVER. The scene cuts to Nathalie going into the basement where Emilie's body is because Gabriel asked her to, and we see that Emilie is wearing the peacock miraculous

So, I guess they're teasing a sequel? But Master Fu got the butterfly miraculous back so idk what they'll do and idk if I'll want to watch it if it's another musical

Also, about Hawk Moth/Gabriel: they tried to explain why he wants to destroy Paris by saying that the butterfly miraculous is evil and corrupts your mind the more you use it but... I don't buy it. I just don't. I'd rather have a Gabriel that is so hurt by the death of his wife that he's willing to hurt people of his own free will because he loves her that much and would do anything to bring her back than whatever the hell it is they tried to do here. It could have worked if I hadn't watched the show I think, but since I have...

[demonslayedher]

Things that ran through my head while watching this episode:

--Sad opening with slow music & slow motion was unnecessarily sad. No, scratch that, an appropriate amount of sad, this is the loss of Rengoku-san we're focused on here.

--I love how Ufotable was probably like, "sure, Fuji TV, we'll air the next season on your channel, but we want as much air time when and how we want in order to tell the story instead of just fit things into time slots, you must have figured out by now that we made enough money on that movie that no one expects us to follow the same guidelines as other anime" and Fuji TV was like, "yes, yes, anything, you got it, one hour premiere, you got it, but we will get some fluffy filler right? Please??" and Ufotable was like, "DONE. But don't expect us to make any big departures from the manga, the fans will be down our throats."

--So with the ability to take their time, I love how they accomplished both a satisfying follow-up to the movie with most of this episode being dedicated to the fall-out (complete with slowing down the Muzan intro and drawing us into the upcoming setting), and then a brief review of what's typical for Tanjiro & Nezuko in the Corp (raincoat Tanjiro, eeeee), and then get us off to an impactful start for the rest of this season.

--Those Yuukaku setting details, though! Particularly at the end of the episode it feels like, "hey, we put all the work into this 3D model of the town, you bet we're going to show it off" but then they turn around with details like a moth that got its wing sliced, presumably by an obi.

--One of the scenes which I loved in the stage play of Mugen Ressha was when Akaza appeared before Selim Bradley child!Muzan, because the actor had such a compelling physical performance which sold the idea that for as hard Rengoku worked to damage him, it's nothing compared to the ease with which Muzan beats him up, over and over. Here, in the anime, it's just one blast, a true statement.

--Akaza. Akaza. Akaza. A KA ZA.

--I love how Zenitsu has learned to be strategic with how he steals manju.

--With Tanjiro asking if Senjuro's even heard the news of Kyojuro's death, it really, really hasn't been that long.

--Show-offy animation moment: the sake bottle crashing against the ground

--Senjuro's horror at Tanjiro's impending doom is palpable. Shinjuro is still powerful and Senjuro knows it. I really love how Senjuro is performed, he's so brave and polite.

--Tanjiro makes a lot of great faces throughout this series. This face as he accept the tea is his worst face ever.

--Kinda drives my inner meta nerd mad how there had already been 20 Flame Pillars by the time the 21st one met Yoriiichi and learned Breath technique. They must die off as fast as Ubuyashikis do.

--Tanjiro's self reflection and determination to become a Pillar warms my heart

--Oh crap, there's the sunset tones and the slow music again as Senjuro gives him the tsuba, nooooo, my heart, it's burning

--I love how Haganezuka levels up every time we see him. I am so, so ready for the next season. And the silliness!! The seiyuu must have been given directions to make it sillier and sillier in every take, which makes me very, very excited for the Tanjiro & Kotetsu antics.

--Speaking of filler!!! Ufotable must had seen that Aoi & Inosuke are endgame and thought, "gee, we need to... leave, like... some kind of hints, somehow" and had Aoi knowingly serve Inosuke a heaping second portion of rice and smile fondly when he gets excited about mitarashi dango. They're taking that "he makes her smile" tidbit and slipping it in as best they can, because we otherwise never see her smile until all is said and done.

--This, as well as Aoi being the smart and brave one to rescue Tanjiro from Haganezuka, certainly endears us to her before her plight.

--Kanao!!! It has been 4 months since Tanjiro declared that she stop using the copper coin, but here she is in a moment of indecision, and with how her actions silence everyone else, this is the very first time she's made such a decision. Good girl, Kanao! That said, she leaves herself speechless too, and when Kiyo and Sumi are emboldened to shout and scream at Uzui, she's as mute as Nezuko. Actions speak louder than words, that's for sure.

--But Kanao's thunder is totally stolen by the entrance of the Kamaboko Rangers

--I love that Tanjiro knows right away that his words have no weight, which is why he very quickly changes tactics and switches to volunteering himself (and his bros) to action

--THESE TAISHO SECRETS ARE SO UNABASHEDLY SILLY