#which literally animated the units main storyline into mini episodes

[kawaiichibiart]

If I had a nickel for everytime Wonderlands x Showtime had their main story shown/referenced by an official video made by the JP server (2DMVs and other animations), I'd have three nickels.

Which isn't a lot, but it was funny that it happened twice, surprising but not surprising that it happened thrice (Gunjou Sanka 2DMV, Mr. Showtime's puppet show, and Journey to Bloom).

[darkpoisonouslove]

Ranking the Winx Club Finales

I recently finished my rewatch (and first watch of a season and a half) of Winx Club and wrote out my thoughts on all of it. However, to send off a year that was in experience a lot like watching this series - meaning, generally frustrating and downright disappointing whenever I got excited over a thing with a few highlights that actually stuck the landing - and to get out any remaining feelings over the series, I have decided to rank the finales from least to most favorite. I just have a lot of rage to spare over season 8′s finale and needed an excuse to do so. Plus, I am being thematic here goddammit! Here we go:

8. Season 8

Yeah, I really spoiled that already. To sum it up:

But let me elaborate. Like I already said, this finale enraged the living fuck out of me. I just cannot comprehend whatever possessed them to write a finale so, so... excruciatingly devastating... to a season that started out with a lot of promise and had some extremely solid decisions (except for the art style, which is just NOT IT). This finale is an absolute disaster in every way. First, there is a new plot point introduced mere minutes before the finale and it is never tied into the overall narrative of the season which doesn’t do it any favors, especially after the two halves of the season already have trouble connecting together into one overarching story. The reason they brought in the creatures from the Dark Dimension was to distract Valtor while Winx make their attempt at stealing the stars which could have very well been a role filled by Arken confronting Valtor in an opportunity to clear up all the muddy details around their partnership and bring together the two halves of the season. The Winx’ plan had potential that was completely wasted by their own interruption instead of seeing each girl (provided Layla was playing Icy, Stella - Darcy and Musa/Tecna - Stormy) doing her best to pretend to be the Trix she’s posing as to give the Trix the due role they should have had in this finale. Instead, we get an Icy that is a complete opposite of the character we’ve known her to be for seven seasons all for the sake of a wish she doesn’t even get fulfilled despite her decision to help. Her motivation is a direct contradiction to the original plan of the Trix and disrespects her character from all previous instances of her being on the show for absolutely no reason as she is left with nothing in the end and the whole backstory they invented for her out of nowhere and couldn’t fit in any way with anything previously known about her was in vain because it was never resolved. Winx essentially manage to defeat Valtor once they wish for their own power-up and are gifted powers they haven’t really earned only to be pronounced great heroes who even get their own constellation in the sky. Come again? There was no narrative tension in this episode, no big climax to resolve what is supposedly the biggest threat in the universe at the moment, and no actual emotional conclusion to the season. It can’t even be called a messy wrap when so many threads were left hanging in there. A true disaster on every front.

7. Season 6

Even if you count both 6x25 and 6x26 as the finale of season 6, the structure is still lacking big time. Acheron who is the main drive of the entire season is defeated before the end of 6x25 and the Trix who are the other main villains were also more or less neutralized at that point to leave absolutely no stakes for the last episode so they had to pull some bullshit to fill it. The Winx are useless for the entire episode, including Bloom whose battle with the Trix is an absolute joke. Like, they can’t even think of syncing their attacks so that she can’t protect herself from all three of them with her ridiculously small shield and Bloom couldn’t even bother to actually buy herself enough time to leave the Legendarium. The only saving grace of that fight is the little emotional moment it causes for Bloom but that was also not really set up at any point of the season so it was just out of the blue. Selina changing her affiliations permanently even after the imminent threat for her life was neutralized made about as much sense as her turning evil in the first place and the fact that they needed her to lock the Legendarium made everything 1000% shittier because of how convenient it was that she just decided to turn good again without any justification for her course of actions. That coupled with the lack of consequences for any of her actions (she nearly killed Flora for heaven’s sake and no one even brought that up?) plus the dreadful info dump monologue they gave her just brought the whole thing down. The wrap-up of the season was also underwhelming after they had an entire episode that was mainly free of villains in order to close the other storylines... but, of course, there were no other storylines. Pretty disastrous.

6. Season 7

Just like in season 6, Winx were pretty useless here as they really didn’t do all that much for the plot. Luckily, the fact that the Trix were brought in allowed for the villains to have a battle that was more intriguing and provided some action as for a finale. The other key elements of the season (fairy animals, Trix, wild magic, Kalshara and Brafilius and the time travel) were actually woven together pretty well to make for a pretty satisfying finish to a season that really lacked any solid plot. The mini worlds and the Tynix transformation did not have use in the last episode but that wasn’t too catastrophic. There was actually a pretty emotional moment between the fairy animals and Winx that would have been even better if their relationships had been better developed throughout the season... You’d really think that since fairy animals were the main point of the season and there was no solid plot to account for, they would have taken the time to pay attention to Winx bonding with their fairy animals but nah. I am still impressed with how touching their goodbye was given the fact that they didn’t really have all that much time to actually become close so bonus points for that. The very last scene is a little generic but what else to expect from a season that has sung all its songs already (thank god that there were no musical numbers in this because I have a feeling it would have been even worse)?

5. Season 5

Season 5 could at least pat itself on the back for dealing with the main villain of the season even if there were a couple iffy things about the whole deal. I’m taking away consistency points for a) the fact that the Throne was supposed to be activated with the seals from the Pillars of the Infinite Ocean, yet suddenly stealing a random Sirenix would do, b) Tritannus being defeated by simply having his trident taken away even though he literally grew in body mass implying that the power of the Emperor’s Throne had seeped inside of him (also confirmed by Mystery of the Abyss) and c) the mutants inexplicably turning back into people once Tritannus lost his powers even though they never turned back during his times of relapsing back into a human thanks to running out of pollution. His defeat was just ridiculously easy and Bloom got to do it even though Layla was the one with the personal connection to Tritannus and the one most directly impacted by his actions as her family fell prey to him. Instead of getting to shine in a season that focused heavily not just on her home world but on the environment from which her powers come, she got benched in favor of Bloom getting to do everything again with only mild assist from Layla’s cousin. They should have kept it in the family and left Layla and Nereus deal with Tritannus. The Trix were blasted out of the narrative extremely conveniently and the rest of Winx were saved twice by the mutants just turning their back on them instead of destroying them right then and there and then being turned back into their original form as well. There wasn’t the usual teamwork of the whole Winx unit which I am still salty about despite being sick of all the time they reached for convergence in that season. Theredor fighting alongside Winx (different from his own daughter) was a nice touch but the king and queen of Andros coming off as so helpless (and apparently the only people in the castle unless you admit that everyone else drowned) was frustrating. Where was the Andros army? We only got Tressa, Roy, four of Winx and a handful of mermaids. Is that the whole population of the Heart of All Oceans? Additionally, the finale left no time for any emotional resolution of the season’s events, especially considering the big deal that Daphne’s revival was. Instead they opted for a musical number at the end. Not the best form.

4. Season 3

Season 3 had a finale and then another finale. Granted, better than season 6 that had a finale and then filler but there was not a lot of glory to the ending of a story with such a strong opening and emotional moments that send you bursting into tears. The spell of the four elements was pretty decent in its first appearance in 3x25 but the way Valtor lost it all was a real let down after the climatic confrontations between him and the Winx girls throughout the rest of the season. His return was more or less a desperate last attempt at personal revenge against Winx as his goal was mostly out of reach at this point. The spell of the elements was brought down in both its use to create clones of Winx’ boyfriends and in its power as it was much easier to undo in its reappearance. The saving graces of this season’s finale are the couple emotional moments sprinkled through both 3x25 and 3x26. Bloom’s willingness to sacrifice herself for her friends and the world was the thread that the finale hangs on as she is mostly the one resolving the whole conflict which was a bit dissatisfying after the emotional damage Valtor inflicted on all of them directly or indirectly. There is a few moments left to recover from the emotional intensity of their battles against Valtor but nothing that really addresses the seriousness of the trauma they had to survive because of him. The Trix didn’t even get to have a last stand of their own in either of the last two episodes despite the position in which they started the season but that was more or less unnecessary anyway since we’d already seen they can’t hold their ground against Enchantix Winx even with a boost from Valtor. Overall, the finale is pretty weak, especially as a follow-up of the dynamic and strong experiences that the season put them all through. It was the first finale that was confined to a single episode (or rather two separate battles spanning over an episode to end the season) and there wasn’t enough tension building in the confined storyline an episode told.

3. Season 4

The season 4 finale is overall a solid conclusion that delivers both a final battle with the Wizards and enough time left to address all the other storylines left unfinished. The final battle was pretty short but there was enough intensity in the previous couple episodes to have covered the action demand that the season had already set up and it also provided the opportunity to have Winx come back together as a team after Layla split up. Not only that, but Nebula and Roxy also get to play their part while the Wizards make their last desperate attempt to regain the upper hand. It’s pretty climatic for something that length that also left about 15 minutes of the episode still to fill. Everything that had to do with the closure of the Earth fairies storyline was emotional beyond belief and gave more depth to all of them and Layla’s decision to join them. Winx had to face all of the separate responsibilities they have on their shoulders and find a way to balance them all so that they can pursue their dreams. There was a plethora of emotional moments and a deserved spotlight shined on Layla’s situation and how she’s dealing with it, plus the others’ feelings. It was a really touching finale and also an inspiring one to see Winx stand behind their dreams while still balancing their responsibilities. It seemed to achieve the initial goal of the season to have them adapting to the adult life they were shifting into.

2. Season 2

I’m gonna be honest, I had a very hard time deciding whether this would be number one or two because the season 2 finale had a lot more character moments that were very moving. It really corresponds to the season since it was more character driven than the first one and the finale suited that. However, ultimately I decided that it would take silver because of a couple minor things that bring it down. To get that out of the way, the second portal to Realix that led Winx there was imo a copout that destroyed pretty much all of the tension that the entire season spent building around the search for the Codex. It just felt so wrong for there to be another way to enter that dimension and to me it was a big disappointment. Especially since the key to activating the copy of the Codex was the color riddle that was a ridiculous panicked attempt on the writers’ part to show that Stella isn’t useless and has what to give the team but it only made her look worse in my eyes. Also, minor gripe for the fact that there wasn’t that much of a final battle since everything ended with a single convergence. Of course, there were several battles across the episode between different sides that made for good action and tension and there was magic involved in more ways than simply the convergence in order to defeat Darkar but it was still a bit of a letdown to never truly see him put his everything in battle. And the fact that Griffin and Faragonda held him off for as long as they did on their own actually hurt his credibility as a threat as well. But hey, on the plus side, remember when the teachers actually helped and did not leave the fate of the whole universe in the hands of 16-year-olds? Good times! The MegaTrix and her? their? battle with Darkar was epic. 20/10 on that concept alone, plus it really brought a great feeling of vindication after the number Darkar did on them and felt so satisfying even if they were also part of the villain team of the season. They were portrayed as three-dimensional and weren’t cast out of the narrative without care just because they were villains and that was actually probably the most solid moment that the Trix have ever had on the show (just minor gripe for the fact that they were supposed to be trapped in Realix when the dimension was sealed forever but they were later somehow brought out of there which was never explained). Sky’s speech to Bloom was actually a pretty emotional moment and the payoff from it felt earned and allowed for Bloom’s victory against the darkness to feel natural and in place. It was probably one of their best moments as a couple. Plus, the cute little interactions that we got during the celebration party to send off the season on its merry way made for a great finale. (And a shoutout to the Musa x Riven scenes both in 2x25 and 2x26 because that was some good shit and some cute shit and it was exactly what we deserved).

1. Season 1

Season 1 reigns supreme with its finale. There is just no other finale that can rise to the level of the first one that was built for about one third of the season so that the last episode could dive right into the action without wasting time on setup. This is also the only place where we truly and fully get to see each of the Winx and the Trix (well, minus Layla who hasn’t been introduced yet) showcase their powers but especially Bloom and Icy. It is the longest battle we have seen and it builds a lot of tension on top of what was already there to leave you on the edge of your seat. The exploration of magic in this episode makes it so iconic and such a great watch even on the 300th time. There isn’t really much more to say than simply “It is epic”. What makes it even better though is the fact that there is enough time left in the episode to wrap up everything else and not in a rushed way. The battleground is extended to the locations that have already suffered the previous battles to show the full extension of the action and to setup the wrap-up that comes at the end. They even find the time to let some of the minor characters have distinct and touching moments as well and thus expand the universe of Winx further than just the main characters. Speaking off, they all get their moments, too, and the Specialists aren’t left out of that (you will never catch me not fangirling over Sky and Riven fighting back to back). The finale also doesn’t forget about the overarching story about Bloom’s origin which is commendable considering the constant lack of consistency the show suffers. This is really the only finale that isn’t lacking in any of the departments and manages to provide a truly fascinating story that keeps you entertained and in suspense while at the same time does not discard the emotional payoff or the logical continuation of events. It just excels in every way.

Well, this is my analysis on the finales of Winx Club. What started out as a bitch fest actually left on on a positive and uplifting note to make for a great ending to a harsh year. Let’s see what beginnings 2021 will bring! ;)

[recentanimenews]

How Hamtaro Made Me A Hardcore RPG Fan

Hamtaro and Sepiroth might be worlds apart, but in the world of role-playing games (RPGs) they couldn’t be closer to my heart. See, the Hamtaro franchise is no stranger to video game adaptations — originally published as a series of children’s books by artist Ritsuko Kawai, the iconic character has seen been seen in a variety of media. Hamtaro’s anime adaptation, however, remains the most popular redinition, which originally aired in 2000 and was produced by Shogakukan. And if you're looking for an anime theme to get trapped in your brain forever like a haunting spectre of the early 00's, please feel free to listen to the American Hamtaro ED. 

Hamtaro’s game career spanned several handheld titles, most famously the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance with Ham-Hams United!, Ham-Ham Heartbreak, and Ham-Ham Games. These weren’t the only Hamtaro games, but they were the only ones easily accessible to the US audience. And they were, most importantly, solid introductions to the role-playing genre for dozens of kids just getting their feet wet in story-driven games.

    Little World, Big Adventures

  Ham-Hams United! was developed by Pax Softnica and released in 2001 on the Game Boy Color. As a role-playing game, it was basic: you control Hamtaro in an open-world map from a tiny hamster’s perspective and learn commands to interact with non-playable characters. Every day objects like a cash register or a backyard become massive fields for exploration, adding a sense a wonder to the tiny hamster's point-of-view. When talking, Hamtaro is able to collect “Ham-chat” words, giving him new dialogue options and progressing the story. This premise of exploring a massive human world and speaking to characters was the essential premise for Hamtaro RPGs, and exactly the kind of soft gaming introduction that hooked me as a kid.

  I was vaguely familiar with games like Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, but I didn’t have the attention-span to sink hours into their intricate plots and combat mechanics. To put it plainly, Sepiroth and Nobodies kinda freaked me out when I was in grade school. Hamtaro, on the other hand, was easy and cute with its bright graphics and familiar characters. In 2002, Pax Softnica released Ham-Ham Heartbreak, which refined the formula of a big world and collecting “Ham-chat” with all the technical polish of the Game Boy Advance.

  Ham-Ham Heartbreak also introduced a second playable character, Bijou, and a story about rescuing the broken hearts of upset hamster couples from a devious character named Spat. With the help of a hamster angel named Harmony, Hamtaro and Bijou explore haunted houses, theme parks, and beaches — this time all scaled down to actual hamster size. Ham-Ham Heartbreak resembled more of a dollhouse, a far smaller world than most role-playing games, but still brought with it the hallmarks of previous Hamtaro titles. It was open-world, with little to no pressure to level-up, fight monsters, or solve complicated puzzles: literally a child-safe hamster utopia.

    A series primarily fixated on collecting vocabulary words and overworld exploration rather than combat — making the Hamtaro series a traditional role-playing game only in name. Problems were solved, for example, by winning a mini-game where you won hats, or by connecting a battery back to a toy speed boat. Other than the occasional lover’s spat, the Hamtaro world didn’t take the world-changing, life-risking angle of most popular role-playing games. And it worked. Hamtaro’s colorful aesthetic and unique characters were enough. Sadly, around this time, Hamtaro's broadcast ratings were sinking, and it was becoming harder and harder to catch episodes on US cable networks. However, little did I know that the Hamtaro universe was much, mucher bigger than anything we'd seen in the US.

  A Hamtast Time For Everyone

  Between 2003 and 2004, AlphaDream developed Rainbow Rescue and Ham-Ham Games, two very different games with a very different cast of Hamtaro characters. However, to fully contextualize these games requires understanding that the Hamtaro anime never received a complete dub. In fact, Rainbow Rescue was only ever released in the PAL region, meaning it wasn’t properly formatted for US consoles.

  The dubbed anime episode "Rainbow Rescue" was only aired in the UK and Canada — weirdly leaving the main character Prince Bo, the hamster prince of rainbows, a total stranger to US viewers. The subsequent dubbed episode "Ham-Ham Games" re-introduced Prince Bo without any explaination, airing in the US to promote the AlphaDream game. Unfortunately, it was also the last dubbed episode to broadcast.

    Rainbow Rescue was a bizarre crossroads for Hamtaro. While the game was fully localized in English, it was never released in the US. But that didn’t stop younger me from bugging my mom to import the PAL version from overseas. Although the save function didn't work on US handhelds, it somehow worked on the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Player — which led to me sinking hours into the game like a classic console role-playing title. Full of locations to explore, vignette storylines, minigames, and collectibles, Rainbow Rescue felt like a homecoming for the franchise, the perfect realization of everything the previous games were striving to be. The Hamtaro world was rich, but Rainbow Rescue made its simple characters and story feel truly alive like all the best RPGs do.

    Although I never got my feet properly wet in mainstream RPGs until I played games like Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, the elusive nature of Rainbow Rescue and the sense of accomplishment I felt playing it as a US fan made me a lifelong lover of the genre. The simple premise of Hamtaro RPGs promising a big world with tiny characters sincerely made me feel seen as a kid. Without big swords, guns, or magical powers, the Hamtaro games infused the basic building blocks of RPGs with a loving, pacifist touch that truly set them apart.

  The mystique of seeing characters in Rainbow Rescue and Ham-Ham Games that never appeared in the dub anime intrigued me the same way seeing Final Fantasy characters did in Kingdom Hearts. I didn’t know these characters or their stories — but they resonated with me with their brief dialogue and unique designs. Game adaptations of popular kids anime often aren’t seen as serious forays in their respective genre, but the Hamtaro RPGs genuinely cared about how their content mingled with their medium. Even if Hamtaro never swung a gunblade, we can still thank a little hamster for redefining what a good, anime-inspired RPG looks like.

    ------

Blake Planty is a writer who loves his cat. He likes old mecha anime, computer games, books, and black coffee. His twitter is @_dispossessed.

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