#you see the foreshadowing in the previous episodes it's crazy

[videogamelover99]

I remember watching Arcane's S1 Act 1 ending and realizing this is probably one of the best animated shows of all time. They gave this huge setup to fulfill a very typical coming of age story and subverted it in the most devastating way. Kid's adventure story turns into a Greek tragedy.

And they did it again. THEY DID IT AGAIN.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Bobby, Buck and Brad: In 8x7 Brad will be one of the “Wannabes”

He's obsessed with Bobby; he wants to be like Buck and his antics will likely lead to another Buddie and Bathena Parallel

I believe he's going to be the reason for the above call that will mimic when Buck was struck by lightning in 6x10 and I've included my speculation underneath the cut.

Before continuing, I need to make a point about the "Hotshots" storyline. Reminder, it's Bobby's arc therefore, whatever happens with it will be centered around him. However, Buck was enthralled in his own problems with Bobby's replacement (Gerrard) after Bobby left the 118 at the end of season 7. At the time, it was difficult to see how these things would be related later on but I think I figured out how things might play out.

Please note: these are my interpretations and observations and it's completely ok if someone doesn't agree because everyone interprets media differently. Two opposing opinions can coexist.

Now back to the regularly scheduled program...

Brad is a “fake” fire captain on the TV show “Hotshots” and he idolizes Bobby. Based on everything that was included in episodes 1-4, it's evident he didn't want Bobby to leave the show and go back to firefighting. It appears he has a "Hero Complex" and it's possible he's the one who fixed it so an actor will be hanging from the aerial like Buck was in 6x10.  He reminds me of Jonah but I don’t think he’ll be after everyone at the 118, just Bobby and Buck.

I did a post yesterday (linked here) about the similarities between 6x10 and 8x7 with regards to the lightning strike and I believe Brad is the one who's continued to STUDY Bobby’s past (he said he was going to do it in 8x1 while they were sitting at the same table) and he considers Bobby to be a "hero."

In episodes 1, 2, 3, and 4, he proved how mesmerized and captivated he was along with his fixation on Bobby and it was kind of weird.  He asked him to do a bootcamp with him and his friends in the mountains or at his house in Malibu but Bobby’s facial expression said, “Hell No” but Bobby always treated Brad with dignity and respect. He never belittled him and this fact will be reviewed again below. 

Furthermore, when Brad saw Bobby and Buck working together in 8x2 and 8x3, he was IMPRESSED and he tried to be like them during the airplane rescue. When he saw Buck commandeer that motorcycle and ride it to stop traffic, he called Buck, Bobby's boy.

He lied to the soccer player and said he was a firefighter but when she showed him her injured leg, he fainted.

Two things happened that intrigued me and reminded me of things that happened in previous seasons and they led to my speculation about him.

5x18 8x2

First, when I saw the way Brad followed Buck in the sneak peek video for 8x2 and the way he positioned himself right behind him, I figured he was crazy since he was already fixated on Bobby (related post linked here). And it reminded me of something I saw in 5x18 but it happened with Bobby and Buck. At the end of 5x18, after Eddie returned to the 118, Buck was walking in step with Eddie and within seconds, he was behind Bobby and you couldn’t even see Buck anymore (I did a post about what I believed it meant back then [linked here] and I still believe LD was there to do something to Buck but they changed her storyline and tried to make her a good person 🙄. Reminder she was friends with Jonah). But now it’s Brad who wants to be like Buck because Buck is Bobby's protégé and mentee and he will be captain of the 118 one day and it's been foreshadowed since season 1.  In 8x2, Brad did the same thing Buck did in 5x18 except Brad walked behind Buck and he was almost invisible until Buck stepped away and Brad got in the truck behind them.

5x3 8x3

Second, in 5x3, Buck was sitting in the captain’s seat when Bobby and the 118 went to go and help Athena so she could arrest Jeffrey.  In 8x2 and 8x3, Bobby and Buck were sitting exactly like they were in 5x3 with Buck in the captain’s seat and Bobby driving but reminder, they were in a FAKE fire engine.

Brad HATES Gerrard and in 8x4 it was easy to see especially when Gerrard told him that he doesn’t watch firefighter shows. He said, “ALL I SEE IS WHAT THEY DO WRONG.”   Also, he likes doing things the old school way and it was proven in 8x1 when he was talking to Buck and he doesn’t do things the way Bobby does them.  Therefore, it’s likely things on the “Hotshots” set aren’t going well and Brad wants Gerrard gone and he wants Bobby to come back.  I’ve included a video so the things Bobby, Brad, Buck and Gerrard said can be heard (GIFs are great but IMO, sometimes it's better to hear what's being said than to read it). 

Additionally, Brad thinks Bobby’s like “God” on set and he wants to be like him, so if Gerrard is pulling the same $hit he was pulling with the 118, it's likely Brad will try to get him fired.

In 8x7, I believe Brad will be the one to stage the scene to be like the one from the lightning strike and I think he’s doing it so that Bobby will go back to “Hotshots” and so that Gerrard will leave.  But I also think something’s going to happen and based on the narrative, Buck will be the one to get hurt and Eddie’s going to be the one to save him.

Bathena and Buddie have been paralleling each other for years but in season 7, Bobby and Athena had an NDE on the cruise ship and they had another one at the end of the season when their house burned down and Bobby died for 14 minutes.  But that was before TM (showrunner) changed the scripts after they got an early renewal for season 8.  I think if things would have remained the way they were supposed to, Buddie would've had an NDE too but it would have been both of them at the end of the season so they could have told each other, "I love you" like Bathena did when they were trapped inside of that room on the ship. 

Fast forward to season 8 and the opening disaster was of Bathena again but this time, Bobby was on the ground and Athena was in danger.  I think whatever’s going to happen at the end of 8A, it’ll be Buck in danger because of something Brad did and Eddie will have to use his medic skills and remain cool under pressure like Bobby had to use his firefighting captain’s skills to save Athena by shutting down the I-110 to create a runway for her.  Now all of this could change but reminder, Buck and Athena always parallel each other the same way Eddie and Bobby do so if this holds true then, Buck’s next up for another NDE with Eddie set to save him like Bobby saved Athena.  Bathena and Buddie Parallel posts linked here and here.

The purpose of this post is to offer speculation on why I believe Brad and the “Hotshots” are still around.  They’re there so that Brad can cause chaos to get Gerrard fired so Bobby can go back to the TV show but it’s going to end up in a cluster f~ck and Buck will be the one to get hurt.

[lej222]

Supernatural Involvement and Ominous Signs in ASLFUA

For a while, many readers have theorized that there is some kind of a higher power/higher being in ASLFUA, and looking at the latest episodes it seems to have been confirmed. With this post, I've tried to gather every instance of the higher power's implied presence and all the ominous scenes in the story. I also included foreshadowing scenes that could have made Miae aware of certain things if she had paid attention because coincidences are important in the story, and certain moments that were defining in the plot.

Episode 2 :

Miae is reading a book in the library about how the last day of 1999 will be the end of the world: "'1999, a terrifying overlord is coming...the end of the human race.." -> this might be a reference to the famous prophecy of Nostradamus in which in the 7th month of 1999 a great king of terror would descend from the skies (which makes me think...is it July in the story right now?)

The Hwang family's phone stops working

Miae's dresser breaks and therefore she has to take out the trash, where she sees Cheol crying

"This boy is about to be this girl's most special person, someone whom she will never be able to forget."

Episode 3

Miae and her mother visit the Buddha statue and Miae's wish is not to be in the same class with Cheol - it doesn't come true.

Miae, Cheol and Jisu all become classmates in their last year. Miae and Cheol become deskmates by coincidence.

Episode 4

Cheol's furniture becomes Miae's, along with the contents of his dresser, something only he knows about

Episode 5

Yunhui calls Miae on their new cordless phone, the line is interrupted by another conversation, "Did you get the present I sent you?" - it sounds like a message to Miae from the higher power about Cheol

Episode 8

Miae ruins her bangs, her mother says she should do something about her hair - the first time we are told Miae should go to a hairdresser to fix it

Hwanggeum Academy uses corporal punishment - might be relevant later on?

Miae has to go to karaoke so she gives up on going to the hair salon (this foreshadowing is super crazy btw)

Episode 9

Cheol is compared to the protagonist of the comic Miae reads, 'My First Love Next Door Is Number 1' - gets into trouble and transfers, fights the school bully and wins, nicknamed Lucifer, has a facial scar, lives next door

As Miae is thinking about Cheol, her thoughts are interrupted by a cockroach in the classroom

Episode 11

Miae notes how strange it is that she keeps seeing Cheol while they didn't bump into each other the previous year (just like how Jisu later keeps commenting how strange he keeps meeting Miae) - Miae acknowledges the higher power

Yunhui's pager says "between friends goodbye"

Episode 12

Miae has a weird feeling when she's talking to Cheol's shoe as if it understands what she's saying

Episode 15

In her dream, Miae remembers Cheol crying and her making a wish with a stone tower about how she wants to be his friend. The phone suddenly rings, the TV becomes static and there's a storm outside despite the weather forecast not saying anything about it. The other end of the phone is silent and the lights go out.

Episode 17

Cheol's shoe gets smudged with ink so Miae cannot give it back to him. She cannot concentrate on her practice test, foreshadowing her involvement with Cheol's academy.

Episode 21

Miae again remembers some memories about Cheol saying he doesn't want to be her friend while she's sleeping

Side note: while Soonkki is a great writer, there's some inconsistency about Jisu's seating arrangement. I think she always meant him to sit in Block 1, that's why we got limited panels of that area of the classroom, but his position kept changing until his official introduction. Here, he should have been sitting in front of Seonghan, but there's another boy in that seat. In episode 23, we get a panel of Block1 again, and there's a boy who looks like Jisu from behind in that.

She again remembers her time with Cheol while sleeping on the bus

Episode 24

Daebak Academy notebook says "The teacher is spoon-feeding you, so why can't you pass" -> the higher power is giving hints to Miae, why can't she understand them?

Episode 29

Miae thinks about how she doesn't bump into Cheol as much as before, we get a close-up of the shoe and the Daebak Academy notebook

Episode 37

Miae falls on Cheol while playing soccer

Episode 39

Miae and Cheol are arguing but still bump into each other because of their parents

While Miae thinks about how Cheol should smile at people, she almost gets hit by a ball but Cheol saves her.

Episode 40

Cheol goes to Miae's house to do their homework. Miae's mother says she wonders if it will rain before she leaves. Cheol tries to change the lightbulb in Miae's room, but the lights go out because of the storm. Miae thinks "again?" and they fall on each other. She tells Cheol they should be friends.

Episode 41

Cheol agrees to be Miae's friend and we see a flashback of young Miae wishing they would be friends. While they are doing their homework the rain stops. Miae says planes even fly in the rain and Cheol replies that airplanes fly above the clouds.

Episode 42

Miae answers their phone and the line is interrupted again. Someone thanks their boss for the present and says they will do well on their own from now. -> is it a sign Miae should do well on her own after the hints?

Interesting to note that every time Miae might be involved with the higher power, certain objects in her room are highlighted - Cheol's shoe, the lamp, the notebooks. They all give signs to Miae that she keeps ignoring.

Episode 43

Cheol and Yonghui point out that Miae should get a haircut. Miae ends up cutting it herself instead of going to a salon.

Episode 45

Miae wishes upon a star instead of a plane so that the presentation in class will go okay. This actually comes true, as also noted by the narrator in ep 46.

Episode 46

Daebak Academy booklet says "nothing comes easy"

Episode 47

Something I've noticed is that throughout the story Miae keeps thinking she forgot something, and there's usually a situation that seems like the answer to it. Here, it turns out she forgot about Jinseop's homework. And Taekwang's song is about how someone cannot do both things at the same time. It was the same when she forgot about her homework while playing soccer. Forgetting about things is a recurring plot point for Miae, which culminates in the Jisu subplot where we learn Miae completely forgot about his existence even though she didn't have many friends who were boys.

Episode 50

Cheol's father wants to take a picture of Cheol and Miae, but Cheol refuses

Episode 51

Miae again cuts her own hair and wonders if she cut it too straight

Episode 55

Cheol kicks Miae's pencil into Jisu's chair (side note: you can see here again how Jisu's seating arrangement was inconsistent, he should have been closer to the window)

Episode 56

Miae gets sent out to the corridor with Jisu

Miae's friends talk about handsome boys and someone mentions the number1 student (Jisu)

Episode 60

Jisu becomes Miae's folk dance partner - the first time Cheol and Miae are not doing something together

Episode 61

Hwanggeum Academy booklet says "there's nothing you can't do if you put the work in, do not expect a miracle" when Miae is struggling with the dance

Episode 65

Cheol's father takes a picture of Cheol and Miae after the sports festival

Episode 66

In Miae's dream, Cheol's sister says for a while means 5-6 yrs, Miae counts she will be in middle school by then. There's also a memory of Miae running after Cheol, saying "wait for me".

Miae's mother tells her to get a haircut but Miae replies she needs a bigger allowance for it.

The narrator says Miae should watch where she's walking after she bumps into Cheol.

Episode 67

Miae loses her name tag and Jisu finds it

Episode 70

Miae wonders how her wishes never come true, but remembers she also made one with the stone tower as a kid, but cannot recall what it was about.

Episode 71

Miae's mom notes their phone keeps ringing since yesterday. The day before Miae wanted to tease Cheol with how she heard him saying he "loved her" in the shop and she saw him shirtless the same night.

Miae doesn't realize it was Jisu who called her a pervert

Episode 72

Miae notices someone wearing her name tag (Jisu), but doesn't find the culprit

Episode 75

Cheol wants to ask Miae something, but the homeroom teacher interrupts. Miae and Jisu get called to the teachers' room and have to do cleaning duty together for a week.

Episode 76

We see Miae's mom at a hair salon - could the lady in orange be Jisu's mother? who knows

Episode 77

Cheol stands up for Miae, but when Honggyu asks if they are dating, they both vehemently deny it. It suddenly starts raining.

Episode 78

Miae and cheol promise to be friends for real, forever. The narration comments, "But will they end up regretting their promise?". The rain stops. "1999, the final year of the century is half over" -> Miae's story is half over at this point. I have pointed out this before, but the series seems to be about the transition period between childhood and young adulthood, symbolized by the last year before the new millennium. Hence the title, 'green apple academy'

In her dream, Miae remembers asking Cheol if they are friends. She is awoken by their phone. the Daebak Academy notebook says "you are in danger if you are relaxed" and we see a girl talking to Cheol.

Episode 81

Cheol and Miae fall on each other and almost kiss, but the phone rings. Later, they do end up in the same position with an accidental kiss.

Episode 82

Miae wants to confront Cheol about the kiss and gets embarrassed, but her actions are interrupted when the trash bag she gave Jisu splits open, spilling its contents. Miae runs to him to collect it.

Episode 83

While Miae talks to her friends, she thinks back on her memories with Cheol and the narration says "I always liked.." and Miae looks surprised by it.

Episode 86

Interesting detail that Cheol doesn't know why Miae keeps looking at airplanes. If we assume she has a reason for doing it from the past, it's likely not related to Cheol.

Episode 87

Miae uses the trashbag as an excuse to run away from Cheol, repeating how she has to throw it out. All of a sudden, Jisu appears and takes it out of her hand, giving her a chance to run. It's just my personal theory that the trashbag here symbolizes Miae's vulnerability and reluctance to face her feelings, and Jisu takes it from her hand. It makes sense when we remember how his words made her think about her actions when she wanted to interrupt the confession. It's a great early foreshadowing that Jisu might play an important role in Miae's growth story as her voice of reason.

Episode 89

Cheol and Miae take photos together in a photo booth, first with Jinseop and Song-I, then the two of them alone. We don't know if Miae still has her pictures, but we can assume she somehow lost them during running around from the bullies because we never see them again. Cheol gives her a new name tag in the next episode.

Episode 95

Cheol gifts Miae an airplane model for her birthday. I personally believe this episode marks the end of the first part of the story and it's a turning point, but more about this under ep96.

While Miae leaves for school, their phone suddenly rings and her mom answers it. Miae sees posters about love on her way to school. For the first time, Jisu arives early for cleaning duty.

Episode 96

The series has had 2 symbolic illustrations at the end of 2 episodes. The first one was at the end of ep2, when Cheol and Miae's story started in the present:

Miae is offering a green apple to Cheol - a biblical allusion, here, the green apple probably signifies how Miae helps Cheol in the first part of the story to mature and grow as a person with her own knowledge.

This illustration comes at the end of ep96. Like I mentioned, I believe this marks the start of the second half of the story which focuses on Miae's growth as a person. Space is an important concept in the series, Miae also has planet stickers on the wall of her room,has a charm on her bag, etc.

"16 years old. An age much like the universe." "16 years old. An age where it's like you're thrown into space." - highlights the narration.

But why is it compared to space? We have the illustration right after Jisu splashes water on Miae's face and Cheol wakes up from his dream. In my opinion, it's because this is where these kids' limited worlds start to expand. In part 1, Cheol and Miae were mainly together, but as you grow up you start to feel like you're just one insignificant part of a greater whole. You might feel like you're the center of the universe when you're a teenager, and that the world is ending when you experience negative emotions, but as the illustration shows us, it's not just Miae and Cheol standing alone in the universe. There are other people, facing different directions, but they are all interconnected by an invisible force. Miae is looking at Cheol, but Jisu is standing in her shadow- because even though she was not aware of him, Jisu had his own life happening parallel to what we saw in part1, and this is where he starts to have an intersection with Miae. If there is a higher power in the story, it is aware of all these connections and talks about youth in a nostalgic way. The sense that these moments are fleeting is always present in the story, however, connections formed between individuals will always have a lasting impact, just like how the universe will continue to exist. Being thrown into space might feel like losing your footing, but here it's the personal relationships that ground these teenagers and make them stay close to Earth.

Episode 98

The teacher tells Miae to cut her hair after Jisu takes the blame for ruining the plant.

Cheol is acting strange because of his dream, and while Jisu looks at Miae the narration box says: "16 years old. An age riddled with the unknown, just like the universe."

Episode 99

Miae's hair gets stuck in the zipper of Cheol's bag and he pulls it out, ruining her bangs in the process. They go to the infirmary after Miae gets scratched by the zipper.

Episode 100

At the countryside, while Miae picked a flower she thought how nice it would be if Cheol came to her school - and it became true. She thinks how it was so strange -> Miae again unknowingly acknowledges the higher power when it comes to Cheol

Episode 101

It's raining and the TV is not working in Cheol's home. He remembers taking a picture with Miae in the countryside. He asks his father about the picture on the sports day -> the data was lost. Miae gets grounded by her mother and she wants her to quit the academy.

Episode 102

I've mentioned symbolic objects in the story, but this one was noted by other readers as well: in ep 101, Miae accidentally drops the chalkboard eraser out of the window and Jisu fails to catch it - but Cheol does. However, in this episode Miae tosses it back to Jisu before saying she hopes they'll never see each other again (it's the first, but not the last time she declares it).

Cheol fails to convince Miae's mom about the academy -> Miae's mom points out Miae's grades have been dropping since last year. She makes her stance clear - she wants Miae to study.

Episode 103

It's raining and Miae cannot open Cheol's drawer in her room.

She tries to cut her hair, but the phone rings. On the other line, Miae hears someone saying "I only did what I did because you wanted it so bad, but you screwed up that chance! You don't deserve that project, I'm going to hand it to someone else." -> the first time the higher power tries to directly say Miae is late

Miae's mom cuts her hair instead of sending her to a salon...

Miae loses the name tag Cheol gave her

Episode 104

Jisu says "see you again" to Miae (and will keep saying for a while lol). Miae points out she never wanted to see him again.

Episode 106

After the teacher discovers their conversations in class, Miae and Cheol get separated and Miae becomes Jisu's deskmate. Miae and Cheol are not allowed to interact until the final exams are over.

Hwanggeum Academy's notebook remarks "Do you regret it now?"

Episode 107

Miae dreams about the flower from the countryside and a voice says she should hurry up and do what she wants about her wish if she remembers. She doesn't remember and the voice gets angry, Cheol appears and crushes the flower, telling her if she doesn't remember she should just forget it. The voice remarks Cheol is angry because Miae is late.

Episode 111

Jisu, who has also become aware of the coincidences, tells Cheol he's not the only one having something special with Miae.

When Miae calls Jisu her friend from the same class and tells him he should learn for himself, Jisu tries to say something, but he is interrupted by Cheol.

Episode 112

Miae thinks about their bet and how she should ask something serious, something more than friends do from Cheol, and we get a bunch of error messages. Cheol's dream is all fuzzy.

Jisu wins the bet, but we never get to know his wish because Miae gets angry at him.

Episode 115

The narration points out Cheol has changed and matured a lot, is it Miae's turn?

Episode 116

We see some posters about a summer festival, the forest in Midsummer Night's Dream and how everything is the product of coincidence.

The forest in Shakespeare's play is dominated by the supernatural - what we have in common with this story is the forest Miae and Cheol played together as kids, and obviously the involvement of a higher power. The coincidences poster is possibly a reference to Carl Jung's Synchronicity, a concept that states that seemingly meaningful coincidences have a deeper meaning, they don't have a rational explanation - almost like destiny, a deeper order in the universe. It's a connection between one's psyche and the material world (so you have to notice and acknowledge the deeper meaning of these coincidences in order to experience synchronicity). Jung used this to argue for the existence of the paranormal. For example, if you cannot decide something, you might come across a book on the topic. What a coincidence, right? In this interpretation, everything is interconnected in the universe, and we are a part of this web of connections. So those coincidences...were actually not coincidences. -> Hmmmmm.....I wonder.....meaningful coincidences, the universe, connections...why do they sound familiar??? BECAUSE OUR STORY IS EXACTLY ABOUT THIS NOTION! Who notices these coincidences? Miae about Cheol, Jisu about Miae....One has to be open to the possibility of the connection between our inner world and the outside world, only then they can start to notice the signs the universe is sending them. Soonkki, you deserve my applause! Because it was exactly what I said about the art at the end of ep 96 and the placement of the characters. Mind? Blown!

Miae thinks that she feels something is wrong

Yunhui's pager says friends goodbye

Jisu gets involved in the Yonghui-Yunhui storyline by coincidence

Episode 117

We see all the coincidences from Jisu's perspective and how he became aware of them. And what does he say about them? That they are fascinating and kind of funny! My boy Jisu got the synchronicity message.

This is the 3rd time Miae and Jisu didn't hold hands. The first time Miae pretended to help him up, only for him to fall back. Then Jisu held out his hand after the exam, but she didn't take it. Here, he again reaches out and Miae doesn't take his hand. Remember this later!

Episode 118

Someone steps on Cheol's bag, and he's worried it might be Taeuk

Jisu wants to join in another bet in exchange for his help

Episode 119

Jisu gets involved in the Shim storyline, and as we know from later he picks up the cigarettes to get revenge on him

Episode 122

Miae learns that Cheol rejected Seonyeong and the lights flicker in her room

She cannot remember her dream. The narration says that she should have realized that something changed.

Episode 123

Miae notes that she experienced the kiss in the comic book with Cheol

Jisu almost catches her, but Cheol pushes him away

Episode 126

The parents are having dinner together at a pig feet restaurant and toast for the future of their children. The TV is not working, and a boy who looks like Jisu tries to fix it.

Miae kisses Cheol

Episode 127

Miae has a dream again in the white dress. As she realizes she might like Cheol, the voice says she's too late and there's no use regretting it.

Episode 129

Miae remembers that they took a picture in the countryside together and wants to take one now. She makes a wish to an airplane about how she just wants one photo, and remarks that the planes never granted her wish before. Spoiler, they won't this time, either.

Miae chooses to take the picture with Cheol. The narration box says "she's always done whatever she sets her mind to. That has always been one of her better attributes. But Mi-ae, it seems as though you keep forgetting something. I told you, you're too late."

The pager's message means idiot, cancelled and it suddenly starts raining. Maie and Cheol cannot take their photo and Cheol cannot give her back the hairpin she dropped a few eps ago.

Episode 132

Graduation photos were postponed until the second semester

In Miae's dream, the voice says she's all over the place and cannot decide what she wants from Cheol. In her memory, Miae wishes at the stone tower that Cheol would like her back. The voice angrily remarks how it must not mean much to her.

Episode 133

While Cheol and Miae are looking at each other, Miae is smacked in the face by a flyer. Later while they are riding the bike, Cheol almost says she looks pretty but he is hit in the face with a flyer that belonged to Jisu.

Episode 134

Miae takes the cigarettes from Jisu and puts them in her backpack

While Jisu and Miae look at each other, the narration box says "Well. this is what we would call fate. What do you think?" Miae can sense the voice and dismisses it.

Jisu again says "see you later" and Miae answers let's not, but Jisu replies they never know and it would be fun.

On the radio in Miae's room there's a voice speaking, asking if it was a success and how there is something you can't stop thinking about. "A friend? The fact that you weren't wrong? Whatever it is, I don't think it's such a bad thing to obsess over it a little bit. I hope you have no regrets about it."

Episode 135

Miae's eyebrow and bangs are so ruined she has to finally go to a hair salon. Yunhui gives her money and says there's a cheap place where she can go. It turns out Jisu's mother is a hairdresser and after realizing she is Jisu's friend, she doesn't ask for money. So if anyone ever wondered why Miae kept ruining her hair in the story, here's the answer....

a little bit of strange wording here:

The narration says "Now that I think about it, this was about the time..wait,no, it was a little bit earlier that things started to go wrong, little by little. You two were completely oblivious, though. Just you two."

Miae's mother goes to the academy. One theory I can give on this is that Miae's family might be moving. She wished for it at the start of the story, mentions it in a later episode as well. Who knows ~

Episode 138

Miae doesn't tell Cheol her feelings because of her pride as she feels like she would lose first

Miae has a feeling as if something is trying to make her look bad in front of Cheol and her gun suddenly starts working

Everybody forgot to buy the picture they took together in ep 139

Episode 140

After conveying their feelings indirectly to each other, Miae tells Cheol they cannot date right now because her mom wouldn't allow it. She plans to go to the same high school, university, everything and thinks there's no one to stop them so nothing can go wrong.

Episode 141

Cheol imagines high school together with Miae and their friends

Every time Cheol is flustered, he accidentally drinks his sister's coffee and he cannot sleep at night..in a story where dreams are relevant I'm sure this is just a coincidence, right???🧐🙃😏

Miae says they should not be obvious before the entrance exam and they start to think of it as a competition

Someone watches them from the street

Episode 144-145

We get everything from Cheol's POV

Cheol got his scar because he wanted to give Miae the romance book she liked before they left and he fell on the stone tower

The picture his dad took of them is about a young Cheol accidentally kneeling with flowers in his hands, the same flowers from Miae's dream, in front of Miae. This picture was in the book Cheol and his family kept.

Cheol realized the book was in his dresser that is now in Miae's room, the one she couldn't open before

Episode 146

Miae sees two flyers in the newspaper, one is about how a student still didn't give it up, the other is about changing one's car

On the street, the same car ads keep flying after her in the wind

Miae goes with Yonghui to wait in a line and the same flyers are all over the place

Episode 147

Miae wants to call Cheol, but Jisu stops her. Miae notices how often they have met during vacation, and Jisu says these coincidences are fun. He remarks it's almost like as if some higher power is involved (!!). Miae is standing on the car ad, they look down on it with Jisu, then she kicks it away. Jisu tells her he has a feeling they will meet again, but Miae hopes they won't.

The academy is also full of the car ads and Miae falls on them

Miae thinks that for a while she's had a feeling as if something wants to get between her and Cheol, but brushes it off

Miae ends up with a bubble gum in her hair and goes to Jisu's house to fix it. Jisu tells her she should stay because he is bored, and there is a car ad on a stool.

Episode 148

We see some of Jisu's childhood memories and he was called a magpie by Miae which was a symbolic choice (I also made a post about it). Jisu in this story is the grateful magpie.

Miae and Jisu "touch hands" for the first time when they high-five (I wrote about how their hand hold never happened before)

After spotting some men smoking, Jisu tells Miae to go inside (one of them might be his father?)

Episode 149

Miae finally remembers Jisu

the narration boxs keeps saying how Jisu is cool and showing heart-thumping sounds and Miae is confused about these strange things

Miae not remembering Jisu was an important plot point considering she recalled everyone else from her past. As I theorized, memories and fate seem to be intertwined, the synchronicity theory also supports this. Synchronicity happens when seemingly unrelated events coincide and they become significant to you. It's easy to see why Jisu was aware of this notion, but Miae was not - because Miae had no idea about those coincidences other than meeting Jisu randomly. Him being her classmate, being the one who found her pencil, who helped her in the crowd, found her name tag, etc. - only Jisu knew about these. But right now, Miae was made aware that they knew each other in the past - a pretty big coincidence.

So now that Miae might have kickstarted her own fate, the question is whether she will be able to fight it or if there are certain things bound to happen no matter what. Is the narrator omnipotent and omniscient? So many questions that will hopefully get answered.

Episode 150

For the first time, Miae says she and Jisu will see each other again sometime. Before this, it was always Jisu who said it and Miae would reply that she didn't want to meet him again.

Miae remembers Jisu transferring, but doesn't know why he singled her out (so she will probably recall more memories later)

As Miae leaves Jisu's house, the car ads are flying in the air around her

Jisu enrolls at the academy and for the first time he says it's not a coincidence

Episode 155

Hwani tells her mother it would be great if they could keep being neighbours with Miae because she's fun. After a pause, Cheol's mother agrees.

Jisu keeps telling Miae she's a "traitor" or "bat" (depending on the translation, meaning she keeps secrets from others like the Yonghui Yunhui situation and the fact that she went to Jisu's house) and she might get into trouble because of that

[mandy-asimp]

Ok so now that I've calmed down and can actually think (by think I mean I talked to my brothers who are also watching the show and have a little more marvel knowledge than me) this is a little take on Alice and then more yapping

Yes in disregard to the last theory I reposted, if Alice is dead it makes sense. Her character already kinda developed from her trial to this one. She was the first to get her powers back and then she blasted Agatha. Now I hope she comes back later on because home girl deserves some more justice served, but her being the first death makes a little sense. I also want to think the Ouija board foreshadowed a death. When it quite literally spelt out 'death' and Rio laughed. It would also kinda fall back to we don't see Rio come out the trial space. If Rio is death (which atp is so obvious) that would be the start of her bodies. Now I think if she were to come out of that trial with everyone else, the ending would not have happened. So this also now leaves the setup for her to be like 'yo where tf my wife at?'

Also another thing we talked about was Billy. Not Billie eilish being the outro song (will not be adding you should see me in a crown to my witches season playlist no sir) but the true like tiny things that now click from previous episodes. I brought to mention how he always seems to be lurking on Agatha. Like whether it be he's the last one to look away from her or like he's always trying to get her to confess something. And nothing wrong with it in the long run I would assume, but it just sticks out to me a lot. It could literally be something, or it could've literally been me over analyzing. Especially after this episode. But now we looked at it as he's been lying about his intention.

Now idk I'm not a crazy smart marvel fan to know too much but I'm trying my best. But this is what we have gathered as a group (we spent an hour almost on the phone discussing theories and meanings)

Also they believe mephisto soon be coming🙌 I believe Wanda soon be coming too (literally delulu she ain't dead and stg lizzie been mentioning marvel and struggling to answer some questions)

All I know is, seven days to rock back and forth waiting the next episode😕 take what you will with this or don't I'm ranting on here because I have free will tonight!

[alcalystrasz]

Here's the list of all my theories about Stranger Things 5 (not in order):

-Robin dies -> either to sacrifice herself (for Vickie or Steve) or she gets killed by Vecna.

-Max dies -> she doesn't wake up of her coma (episode 6 or 7, preferably after Robin's death).

=> After everyone starts to lose hope, they all get the courage to read her letters and they get determined to avenge her and the other deaths (even from previous seasons, such as Barbara for Nancy).

-Jonathan dies -> by saving Nancy or Will.

=> causes an emotional damage to Will, losing his big brother, the only one who knew about who he was.

-Mike and Eleven break up because Mike wants them to be just friends.

-Mike finally tells Will he's in love with him (episode 6 or 7, preferably after Max's death).

-Mike and Will go in the Upside Down (no reason in my mind right now, except it could be to find something).

=> They find Eddie alive (not dead because or the following reason: it's impossible to get killed in the Upside Down if you're not killed by Vecna himself -> Barb was killed by Vecna in the Upside Down since we see her in the pool she died, trapped like Chrissy, Vecna's mother etc. This could explain why Vecna didn't die when Nancy, Steve and Robin tried in S4). ((This theory is the least possible one in my mind, just so you know)) => he really dies though in the end.

Then, mostly everyone becomes a target of Vecna. Here's the list and the causes (why are they a target) and the characters that saves them (in order):

-Dustin is a target -> cause: Eddie's death, as he feels guilt for letting him go back in the Upside Down without him -> Steve or Lucas saves him because of their strong friendship.

-Lucas is a target -> cause: He feels guilt for not saving Max before Vecna takes her -> Max (if she doesn't die) or Erica saves him.

*Robin dies at this moment before the others gets targeted*

-Steve is a target -> cause: He feels guilt because he couldn't save Robin from the hands of Vecna -> Nancy saves him.

-Nancy is a target -> cause: She feels guilt because of Barbara and Steve being a target, but mostly of Barb -> Jonathan saves her by dying = she feels a second guilt and Steve feels guilt too.

*Jonathan dies at this moment*

-Will is a target -> cause: Vecna shows him his old memories (with his mom, Jonathan, Mike and the Party), but mostly bad memories to show him how his life is miserable. He asks Will to join him but refuses -> The music "Should I Stay or Should I Go" gets a door to open (just like Max when "Running up That Hill" started), and Mike's voice gets Will to escape Vecna's lair. He crushes his left eye before escaping (foreshadowing from Eddie during the DnD campaign in S4).

-Mike is a target (endgame, mostly end of episode 7 or beginning of episode 8) -> El saves him by fighting with Vecna but she still doesn't kill him. She gets hurt because he got stronger.

Now, the most crazy theory:

-Everyone finds a plan: Time travel.

=> They think, if the time in the Upside Down stopped the day Will got into the U.D, maybe he's the key of the U.D. Why? Maybe Vecna gave him this "power" because they're alike (sensitive, lonely, and good drawer). So they think if Will goes back inside, they can come back to the day he got kidnapped by Vecna and kill him when he was less strong.

And the Endgame theories (so episode 8 or end of episode 7):

-The Party finally gets back together and are going to be the leaders of the last episode.

-Eleven saves Hawkins by killing Vecna.

=> Parallel with the first season: Eleven gets Vecna on the wall, being ready to kill him but before that, she turns her head to Mike or the Party and says "Goodbye" one last time just like in the final of season 1. She then kills Vecna inside of the U.D creating a sort of supernova (because she erases him like the Demogorgon in s1, but since she did that outside of the U.D and she teleported them in it, and this time she's inside, this world can't support it and it makes a sort of supernova). This causes the U.D to get closed forever and Eleven dies, closing the possibility of interacting with the U.D from the real world.

That's it!! Tell me what you guys think about this, it's the main theories in big lines, some things a more precise obviously.

[princeasimdiya12]

What do you think will be the happy outcome for the teacher at the cat cafe? Doesn't seem like he's okay this episode what with how he's become obsessed with Jasmine-chan, unwilling to let anyone have her.

In all honesty anon, I'm not really sure what the outcome will be anymore. Episode 9 teased us with a happy reconciliation only for Episode 10 to provide some conflict with Jasmine being too busy to see the Teacher. And with the twisted development of the Teacher wanting to keep Jasmine all to himself makes this feel like the outcome won't be a happy one. Worse case scenario is that the Teacher will cut ties with Jasmine.

And while we're on the subject, I might as well analyze what's going on in the crazy world of Nyan Nyaight Love.

Episode 11: The Outstanding Darkness of Night

Part 1: Someone Get the Manager

So the Customer aka the Teacher is back at NNL. But the biggest and most concerning of changes, is his lack of comedic reactions. In all previous segments, the Teacher was always a jittery mess who struggled to go into the place and only went in because a passing character scared him in. But this time, he goes in without a reaction regardless of the Siguma Squad boys passing by. He's not even phased or freaks out when the Receptionist welcomes him in.

Something to note is how the Receptionist has turned back to his usual chipper self when welcoming the Teacher. He does the same song and dance he's done since the first Episode like nothing's changed.

Relating to my previous interpretations, this comes off as a defying the parallel of the delinquents the Receptionist normally represents. He's back to his welcoming self while the bad boys are experiencing their Darkest Hour. If only he was there when the red flags popped out.

The downward spiral, the grim tone of the Teacher, the dark lighting of the establishment sign. All of it fits well with the new dark tone of the Episode as it lacks the usual comedy or light-hearted moments to focus more on the intense drama of Matakara's corruption.

The downward spiral of the sign gives the impression that everything is going out of control and the world is falling over it's head. This could parallel the current status of the three gangs that were featured in the story. All three were introduced as powerful, influential and fully of life and debauchery. But after everything that's happened, the once prosperous gangs have started to lose their power and came crashing down.

The NG Boys are no longer a functioning gang after the Gang War mixed with the Emperor losing his status among them. They're not even shown doing anything to keep their gang alive despite some casual hang outs.

Siguma Squad was gravely shaken by the loss of their leader Marito with several flunkies even worrying if the gang can still function without him.

And Minato Kai is at an absolute loss not only for Kenichirou losing to Matakara but by the fact that one of their own would turn rogue and brutalize everyone. And just like SS, there's no doubt going to be a power struggle over Kenichirou losing to one of his disciples.

All in all, the established order of the gangs is losing control and changing for the worst. While some of the bad boys are willing to endure the change (like Outa promising to keep SS afloat) there are some who aren't taking it very well (everyone else).

Part 2: Don't Lose Your Waaaay!

As for the Teacher's grim and creepy demeanor to Jasmine, it's the most puzzling to figure out and what it's supposed to represent/foreshadow. But in this case, I think he's supposed to parallel both Arajin and Matakara.

In regards to Arajin, it could be him showing concern over Matakara fighting the other banchos in the recent episodes. Though he isn't losing his mind over it, it is something that's worrying him and driving him to intervene to keep Matakara from losing his body to Ichiya. He doesn't even think about Mahoro or how badly he'll get hurt if he tries to intervene.

But the losing his mind could be a possible reference to him accepting the consequences of merging with Senya. While Senya did promise to give his body back to him, there's a high probability of death with Arajin using his full power to save Matakara from a similar fate only for it to happen to him at the battle's end. Something about giving up his body and soul for someone he loves and what not.

And for the Teacher is paralleling Matakara, the creepy and unsettling demeanor could fit with Matakara . While the Teacher was always seen as a sad, strange little man, he was ultimately a harmless guy with a kink for cats. But now he's become an obsessive creep who longs to make Jasmine his and his only. The same fits with Matakara once being a friendly sunshine puppy boy who only fought when provokes only to become a ruthless Punchy McFisticuffs who's driven to be as strong as possible in order to beat his former friend Arajin. Making Arajin "all to himself" fits with Matakara being driven by defeating his old friend once he finishes beating every delinquent in the area. And thanks to Ichiya's influence, he's equated Arajin as the source of his weakness that he must destroy to defeat the darkness.

He can't get him out of his mind/

Part 3: Together Forever Theory

As for you and me forever line, this actually feeds into a personal theory I have on how the story will end. Basically, Arajin and Matakara will become Honki People themselves. I say this for the following reasons:

Both boys shared a childhood dream training to become Honki People together. And with the series having such a tragic undertone, their original wish will be granted with them becoming Honki People being allowed to live for eternity and work on their respective issues. Paralleling Senya and Ichiya who've existed for thousands of years and still pursue each other (albeit for reconciliation and revenge). And while it's a stretch to say how two ordinary boys can become genies, it's worth mentioning that the series itself doesn't go into specifics with how they're made so it's always a possibility.

They have nothing to lose by becoming Honki People. There really isn't anything tying them to Honki City or having them want to continue being average high school boys. Arajin hasn't made any serious friendships with anyone on the show, he finds his mother to be a nuisance, and he has no dreams or aspirations apart from losing his virginity. While he would be saddened by leaving Mahoro, he'd be able to deal with it down the line. (Also remember that line in Episode 8 on how he expects Matakara to take responsibility for driving Mahoro away). As for Matakara, he doesn't have his older brother anymore, his adopted relatives don't really watch over him, he burned his bridges with Minato Kai and also has no long-term dreams past high school life. There isn't anything tethering them to the normal world so they'll eventually leave it to be "together" or have the time to find each other again. Kinda like that one fairy tale show with the gay leads.

If they do ascend to become Honki People, not many people would care about their disappearances or look into it. Siguma Squad viewed them as worthy adversaries and acquaintances at best. But they wouldn't be emotionally distraught if they were to disappear one day. While Zabu and Minato Kai would be saddened by Matakara's disappearance, he and the others would still move on and try to reconstruct MK. Especially since it's brought up that Matakara wouldn't have a place with them afterwards. They'd remember him fondly but would carry that heartbreak within them. And I'm sure Arajin's mom would just roll with her son leaving since he's giving his life for someone he loves/cares about. Plus she can always adopt the other Minato Kai boys as her children. She wouldn't mind the company and they'd definitely appreciate her more compared to Arajin. Another thing to bring up is how none of them know about Senya or Ichiya or what truly became of the boys after their final battle. They'll just think they were once old friends who had a fight and left as a result. Though Akutaro knows about the genie lore, I doubt anyone will care what he says nor will he make an effort to reach out to them or the original Honki People.

I'm reminded of Banana Fish, another BL anime that Hiroko Ustumi directed, and how it ended on a tragic note. No spoilers but many did not call it a happy ending. So it wouldn't be farfetched for Utsumi to create another tragic ending for the two leads that defies the status quo.

As for what will happen to the Teacher himself, the only thing I can think of for the last NNL segment is him deciding to call it quits and leave Jasmine for good. If my Honki People Theory turns out right, then it'll parallel the Teacher saying goodbye to Jasmine and moving on with his life. Though it could be argued that this can reference Arajin and Matakara ending their friendship, it can end on a hopeful note that they'll find a way to reconcile during their eternal lifetimes. I just can't imagine that the Teacher would still be wanting to come despite openly declaring that he doesn't want Jasmine to see any other man. Either he'll recognize it and make himself leave or the Receptionist will call security on him and regrettably ban him for being a threat to NNL's top workers.

And those are my thoughts on this segment and what I think can happen in the final episode. I hope it's to your liking anon. And what did you think of this? If you agree or disagree with anything I've said, please feel free to reblog this with your comments on the subject. Especially when it comes to how you think Arajin and Matakara's fairy tale will end and what will become of that wacky teacher and his love for Jasmine.

��Do you know? Do you know? Do you know how this ends?”

[ep2nd]

@anxious-anon-time sorry for being late, was really busy this weekend

I'm very sorry this is 2 weeks late, had to board a plane, then was relaxing on Vacay, then had to catch up in school the next week

"What do you think of the Ink Scroll arc"

I absolutely stinking loved it.

Now here's the essay you ask for (or didn't, I just want to write an essay)

1. Love the foreshadowing/self awareness. Ex. When MK says "Maybe this the part of our journey where things get DARKEE" the poor boy- also love how the word Journey was used, foreshadowing how it was about the Journey to the West

2. Everyone had good arcs, except Pigsy? Like, MK beautiful, Meis opposite nature to Ao Lie, lovely, Sandy fighting the monster allegations, been his trauma since the beginning (when he references he's changed since meeting Pigsy last), showcasing the difference between Tang and Tripitaka qns for Tang to get more development?! Woo!!! But Pigsy?? Having the same plot/character development of Sandy, where being a monster doesn't matter Yada Yada Yada, it just didn't make sense.

There was no part beforehand where Pigsy EVER questioned that part of him, unlike Sandy who's been afraid of hurting someone, yes I enjoyed the episode, the Cook references from previous (and also Freenoodle crumbs) were amazing. What I wish they had done was something like Pigsy questioning his family, or chosen family in this case. THEY EVEN WENTOF THEIR WAY TO MAKE THE "MONKEY KINGS NOT MY DAD PIGSY IS" MOMENT. Like- I just Pigys arc was more family/friend centered, definitely would compliment whatever jumbo shrimp mess MK had going on

3. Talking bout MK- the trauma and angst were GORGEOUS we love it. My boy been through so much. And we learned more of his past?! The theorists were going CRAZY. Love the Sunburst and Soysauce moment, MMMMMMMM, this boy needs to stop trusting people so quickly oh my gosh AZURE WHEN I CATCH YOU-

4. Really good villain. Love how they went with a villain who thought HE was the hero, and main character I guess lol. Was he a turned villain? Yes but he was a good one! Kinda wish the foreshadowing was better, instead of that one episode where Tang just watched and realized it. He's a complex character, who just wanted to help people, and yeah his ambition wasn't even bad, the Jade Emperor isn't great even, but he took it too far

5. Great job yall, you guys made a character everyone hates, Peng, Revalis brother from another mother

6. Yellow Tusk was ehhh, wish we saw more of his character, seemed interesting, loved his loyalty

7. Now LMK is very special from other shows I've watched he'd because well, I'm willing to rewatch many episodes, even if I know what will happen, I tend to not rematch ANYTHING because of this problem, but LMK is just different. For some reason the Scroll arc is the exception, I like it, but for some reason I don't see myself rewarching it, don't know why

8. Ink MK was a beloved, his voice?! Design?!? DIALOG AND SPEECH PATTERN!?!? BRILLIANT. really love all Ink people moments, mostly just Ink MK, and Wukong.

9. Glad Wukong got development, man is facing the consequences of his actions and its really getting him, I'm glad he's getting really good development.

10. Master Subodhi. Do I need to say more?! Loved him dearly. Wish he and Wukong remet. :( liked his character very much, I like how he wasn't even real in the Scroll and still had omniscient abilities. My only question was what else did he know?! On that note, is anyone going to talk about how the girl is just, like immortal?! The Acolyte as yall call her. Now I don't think Subodhi just GIVES out immortality, I feel like he saves it for special people, like Wukong, no I have theories and headcannons for her but that's another day.

Also I'm a suckered for any JTTW character appearance. LMK GIVE ME ERLANG SHEN, GOLD STAR OF VENUS, GUANYIN, ANY OF NEZHAS BROTHERS, AND MY LUFE IS YOURSSSSS

11. The only thing I can think of left is how in the world did the Scroll worked?!? Like, it didn't teleport them to the past, I've been making a simulator almost? But then why does the characters inside feel so real, and how did Wukong trap Peng and Yellow Tusk, and where and hwt have they been doing?! AND HOW DOES THE OMNISCIENT POWER OF SUBHODI WORK. MAN CANT HAVE THAT MUCH PLOT REASONS POWER. AND FOR GOODNESS SAKE HOW DID THEY GET THE OLD PILGRIMS WEAPONS LAST TIME I CHECKED TRIPITAKAAS STAFF WSS IN WUKONGS CAVE

[subwayfloorlicker1978]

tadc works better in the medium that it unintentionally conveyed itself as

okay. you’re probably reading this title thinking “but subwayfloorlicker1978… what IS the medium in question????” okay the medium in question is being a lore filled mysterious series with twists and turns and having an emphasis on twists and turns just as much as its characters.

now. this baffles me a little bit bc even though one could get that exact idea of tadc just by watching the first episode (and the fandom ITSELF literally got that impression. i mean its even evident in the fanmade aus.) gooseworx made a twitter post a few months ago that apparently tadc is made up of. and i quote. 95% character depth/stuff/etc and like 5% of lore. which is… hm.

which also baffled me! because my GOD was there a lot of lore foreshadowing and spooky (if you want to call it that.) stuff throughout episode 1. like WAY too much of it, especially if your main goal of tadc is to have it be a series centered heavily on the characters. not saying you can’t have background plot things going on, but like… 95%? seriously? i’m definitely praying she hadn’t entirely thought out that ratio before pressing the post button.

and that’s why tadc unintentionally comes across as a series with super deep lore, literally to the point where i’ve seen certain people unironically call it a horror series (which is wrong btw. even if you’re taking the c&a scenes + caine’s suspicious moments into account). it quite literally spends like 1/3 of its main scenes in episode 1 putting SO much emphasis on the c&a lore and the abstraction and everything else.

and the thing is. i dont entirely blame gooseworx for this. obviously it would be very important to flesh out the environment/world that the characters are in during the first episode (LITERALLY your first impression), which obviously includes locations like the lore office area pomni was in or the cellar where caine banishes all of the crazy people to go to. (oh and also even the topic of abstraction itself via kaufmo) but like..... there’s a reason why tadc has a game theory episode.

i’ve said this before and ill say it again. tadc and the entire “digital circus” thing and the implementation of vr headsets + lore into the story is ONLY an excuse for gooseworx to tell a compelling story about compelling characters in a cartoony wacky environment. its basically a guaranteed way for the viewers to actually see these goofy characters in a humanoid manner. however… you can’t just implement characters with these vr headset backstories and existential themes without it sounding entirely ominous. AND you can’t just drop a huge bombshell regarding the lore of the show and WHY the vr stuff happened and then go on twitter and say that its 95% about the characters.

and with the direction of the cellar and office scenes.. im not sure if it’s even possible for someone to make a clean cut resolution to the lore tidbits while still fulfilling the “5%” lore thing and not having it come off as giving off the wrong expectations. the direction of these scenes is SO intense like. some of these camera shots clearly put emphasis on small little details and the tone of these scenes pale so much in comparison to previous scenes that it catches you so off guard.

which is what makes them very well written! however they pack so much content and foreshadowing into themselves that its such a far fetched thing to say that only 5% of lore will make up tadc. that combined with the prospect of past lives. and also with the clear foreshadowing of jax being a morally corrupt person. what about the extremely heavy motifs of exit doors? there’s no way THATS going to just be gone after episode 1. goose, what do you MEAN there’s going to be corpse imagery? all of this ties into each other. lore and tone tie into each other too. come on.

but these aspects can definitely be used to craft a great story. WITH character arcs and character deep dives throughout episodes. gravity falls literally nailed this. and theoretically tadc could too. emphasis on theoretically.

also if the “memory loss” thing was actually canon and not something the fandom thought was canon (again reasonable misinterpretation because obviously if you hear pomni say “HOLY FLIP I FORGOT MY OWN NAME!!!” you’re going to assume she forgot everything else.) that would also work well along with the theoretical lore stuff if it was more emphasized. literally think of the vast opportunities for foreshadowing. maybe pomni finds out something about the other characters via revisiting the office that THEY can’t remember. maybe do something with like… reflexes and muscle memory or something related to “the mind forgets but the body remembers”. maybe use it as a plot point in relation to jax’s keys or his weirdly implied secret or something. IDK! i just think a lore and plot driven story in this environment combined with character things (50/50…) would be marginally more interesting than what we will be given.

okay one more pet peeve in relation to this before i go. deep breath……. i really hate the cartoonish body language of the main human cast. GO AHEAD BOO ME. THROW TOMATOES AT ME. LET ME EXPLAIN OKAY.

one piece of media that i think does a GREAT job when it comes to utilizing body language in storytelling is duck season. it clearly humanizes the guy in the suit by giving him certain habits that seem undoubtedly human and make him feel very… alive. like whenever he smokes a cigarette but then quickly puts it out when the player gets near him bc he’s startled and needs to keep up a facade. like THAT. that’s what strikes me as a human behavior.

so if goose’s goal would be to humanize these “cartoon” characters… realistic body language that clashes with their digital circus designs would be a perfect way to make them stick out in comparison to the npcs or caine and bring out the fact that they’re humans in an environment curated by nonhumans. it would also help a little more with tadc’s target demographic problem i think? the characters having little humanoid habits would make it seem a little more mature i think and would also go well with my idea of theoretical lore-focused tadc. not saying 20 year olds CANT be into pieces of media that have bright colors and are very cartoony. im just saying. there’s a reason why there’s so much content slop of tadc.

[tdciago]

Having read your and @thefutureiswhat's season 5 finale theory I'm curious to know your thoughts on this shot:

Is it possible that one of these potential endings could involve both Dot and Roy making it out of the farm during the events of the raid and he, with nothing else left to lose at that point, attempts to take her again? She's wearing different clothes so I'm betting that she's home, or at least on her way there. Plus her seemingly shocked expression and the lighting suggests that something's happened, possibly something burning...?

What do you think? Could this be the ending scenario that "Dot prepares biscuits for"? (Maybe even the her poisoning him theory?)

Sending you both the ask because you each have really compelling ideas and speculations.

it's funny, because I was just thinking about this scene and how we probably aren't going to see it, because Dot is clearly wearing different clothes.

Your suggestion of how we might still see it is excellent, but the one thing working against it is time.

The run time for 5.10 is 49 minutes, which seems impossibly short. That's why the idea of 3 alternate endings being strung together as one continuous narrative seems more plausible than showing each ending separately (assuming there actually are three). It also fits with the way the story has been told so far, with strange inconsistencies between scenes and episodes.

I think there was a tremendous amount of footage left on the cutting room floor this season, maybe too much. There are also a lot of tantalizing clues that deserve to be paid off, including Roy saying he'd let Dot go if she begged to stay and meant it. We also have things like the flamethrower; the tank and Wink's foreshadowing of a tank battle; the windmill blades that look like matches; the Trojan horse; all the stag imagery and a guy named Buck Holt, which means "forest deer"; Witt Farr and his 100-pound backpack; Oedipus and the right of way, etc.

From what some actors have indicated, the finale is crazy. So maybe they can pull off including this scene, which always felt to me like Bluebeard's wife discovering the bodies of all the previous wives. But we've basically covered that ground.

Roy did say the options for killing the tick were suffocation or fire. "The Tiger" also mentions suffocation. And Roy is covering Dot's mouth.

I think there is going to be a huge potential for fanfic about this season, because of all the stuff we didn't get to see, some of which was teased in promos but never happened. There are a lot of gaps to be filled. I hope we do get to see this somehow.

Meanwhile, that new spoiler regarding Roy has me thinking of the biscuits in another context.

[dododan]

Last part <- my previous thoughts

Here is the final part of Alastor's analysis~

It's time for the final episode! And in addition to the analysis there will be my little crazy theory at the end ;)

By the way, don't you think Alastor as a nun has a strange power to attract hazbin hotel fans? Lately where I don't look whether it's Instagram or Tumblr everyone is drawing Alastor as a nun XD

Is it time to open up the cult of Alastor The Nun?

And now for the serious part!

There are spoilers here!!!

To start with, something that only occurred to me a few days after watching the finale. What if Alastor had it all planned out? I mean Charlie will have to recruit the cannibals to fight the angels. During a gathering with the Overlords, Alastor managed to taste the angel's blood from its severed head and commented that it was tasty. Could it be that he was already preparing a plan for himself if Charlie's idea of convincing the angels to call off the extermination failed?

Alastor has given Charlie his microphone again!

I think he's doing it to show his support for her somehow, looking back after the 'Hello, Rosie' episode.

I think the conversation between Alastor and Niffty is very significant in this episode. As we know from Vivzie, Al is very fond of Niffty. You can see in this scene that Alastor is relaxed as he talks to her. No one is watching him now, so he doesn't have to hide his intentions.

Alastor himself admits that he finds the other residents of the hotel delightful and their company satisfying. This could be interpreted to mean that Alastor has grown to like them to some extent by helping them and staying with them (regardless of his contract). He has become accustomed to them and you can see that he is telling the truth by his smile as well as the fact that he is talking to Niffty.

As we also know, many some episodes give us hints of what might happen in the future - e.g. Vaggie and Carmillie's song 'Whatever it takes' foreshadowing their reunion; or Dazzle's sacrifice scene in the song 'Hell's greatest Dad' foreshadowing his death in the finale.

Could Alastor's scene with the crown of cockroaches be of any significance?

Certainly the fact that she gives it to him by Niffty could mean that she values Alastor very much by giving him such a gift. But I think it also shows his desire for power himself. We also see Alator laughing sincerely together with Niffty. Which confirms their intimate relationship.

I don't know how true this is, but I noticed that on the Hazbin Hotel Wiki in the description of Niffty that Alastor is a father figure to her. You can actually see this a bit in the series, as Alastor somehow looks after Niffty and she is very attached to him.

In my opinion, the fight between Alastor and Adam was very strange. I'm not saying it wasn't fantastic in terms of animation or how it looked in general. But didn't you get the feeling that something was missing?

Alastor seemed to enjoy the carnage that was to come, as well as his fight with Adam. The barrier he created was amazing and very powerful. This barrier managed to fend off the angels, meaning that Alastor's strength could match them when not taking demonic form. Alastor himself also managed to kill several angels using tentacles that emerged from the barrier. It can be seen that he was the main point of defence.

Only Adam destroyed Alastor's barrier.

Alastor also seemed to have the upper hand against Adam from the start, and took him seriously - as evidenced by the fact that Alastor cursed. Adam also annoyed him, probably because he was a powerful personality, and such annoy Alastor because they can be a potential threat to him (e.g. Lucifer).

Al exploited his weaknesses - Adam's overconfidence and the fact that Adam probably had no experience of fighting, having only killed fleeing sinners before. Adam knows how to fight weaker people who don't even put up that fight. And Alastor? He kept Adam at bay with his attacks, seeing that Adam's weapon is a guitar - presumably used for close combat. Alastor himself also mentions Adam's other flaws (his lack of discipline or consideration in fighting or how chaotic his movements were). Alastor exploited this.

Adam also, like other angels, did not defend himself after an attack and did not expect that someone might hit him - just as Carmila said when she showed Vaggie the angels' weaknesses. Still, Alastor kept a safe distance, always out of reach of Adam's guitar. This is not how someone who is powerful fights. Alastor was cautious from the start and assessed Adam and his chances. Alastor was convinced that he was capable of winning.

The destruction of his microphone took him by surprise. Presumably Alastor was convinced that he would be able to fend off Adam's attack. Someone who fights so carefully and plans his next move should not make such a mistake and get hurt so easily. I think Alastor's contract is affecting his powers somehow, weakening him and he may not have realised it until this point.

Alastor's radio voice disappears as soon as his microphone is damaged. I think Al deliberately uses such a filter on his voice so that emotions cannot be read from the intonation of his voice.

Alastor ran away because he was badly injured, yet the smile remained on his face. For a moment before Al gathered his staff and disappeared you can see him looking furiously at Adam. Alastor did not expect to lose. I doubt he would have judged his skill level so poorly against Adam. After all, Adam was human, so in theory some sinner could match him in power, but not in experience. I doubt that Alastor, got it so wrong, unless he didn't know that his arrangement limited his powers - his freedom.

We get a small glimpse of Alastor's photo being snatched. You can see Vox there, even though the photo is hijacked you can recognise him. Which shows that Al and Vox had a common past and were probably close colleagues/friends. You can also see pictures of other characters like Charlie and Lucifer. You can see that the Vee's may be planning to take over Hell since they have angelic weapons at their disposal. The massacre that Carmila sang about when she wanted to hide how she killed an angel may come true.

And we have our radio demon and his worship song. Alastor admits how close he came to death, that he is at the bottom - symbolised by his abandoned office, somewhere far away. The moment when he describes himself as an altruist, and that he looks like he'll die for his friends shows how terrified he was by this vision. The question is why?

It could have terrified him that the deal he made forced him to act in this way. But he could have escaped. If there had been something in his contract that he had to protect the hotel and Charlie at all costs, he probably wouldn't even have had the option to escape. It's just that he's worth more alive than dead.

Additionally, it might have terrified him that he would be capable of dying for them, since he had admitted earlier in his conversation with Niffty that he had become accustomed to the hotel's inhabitants. Alastor may have been horrified by the conflicting feelings within him.

On the one hand - since he admitted that he likes the hotel and its inhabitants - he may have wanted to fight for them and protect them, while on the other hand he desires power and authority at all costs. These are two contradictions that he may not be able to cope with internally.

Nevertheless, his desire for freedom ultimately wins out.

He doesn't want to be remembered that way - as an altruist. Alastor wants freedom, which may mean that he may have felt chained and controlled for most of it. We don't know exactly what he experienced during his lifetime, or his details of life in Hell. What we do know is that he appeared and killed several Overlords. It is possible that he seeks power because only it - in his mind - can give him freedom and security.

He also admits for the first time that he has made a deal with someone. You can see the desperation on his face at this point. Alastor does not consider the scenario in which this deal is impossible for him to break or get away with. It's puzzling that Alastor sings about spreading his wings - they could be a metaphor for freedom, compared to when he sang about escaping the deal early on. Seemingly it fits together, but I wrote to you earlier about how the episodes contain little foreshadowings of what's to come?

Then it's time for my crazy theory!

What if Alastor is an angel, but so not really. We know and have it confirmed that Alastor is human and lived on earth as a serial killer. What if Alastor is a nephilim - a being born of a human woman and an angel? For me, that would fit. Alastor was defined by an anomaly in terms of his powers. Sinners didn't normally have such power and didn't become as strong as Alastor so quickly. He was a phenomenon. If one began to treat him as a nephilim then his power makes sense. Additionally, nothing is known about his father. All that is known is that Alastor is a mummy's boy. Maybe Alastor never met his father because he wasn't human? Maybe it was during his stay in Hell that he discovered who he really was or even before that, which is why he had to constantly control himself and hide behind a smile so that no one would hurt him. Maybe the fact that he wants to discover how to unleash his wings is about his true wings and the potential he has in him because of his angelic blood? Alastor craves power. Why?

Maybe it's the only way he feels he has control over a situation and it gives him a sense of security?

It may sound strange, but Alastor was a murderer when he was alive. Maybe killing gave him a sense of power by deciding who could survive and who couldn't. Here in Hell you can't take someone's life so easily, the situation has changed and he had to adapt.

And here is the end of my crazy theory~

I am not going to go into here whether Eve took Lilith's place and at what point, but there is definitely something wrong with these two. I also don't know which one was actually on that beach. There's a little plot twist brewing with these two, that's for sure.

Who Alastor ultimately makes a pact with will determine his character development and role in the next season:

The pact with Lilith - if she's the one he made the pact with, it could be more about protecting Charlie. Lilith doesn't seem like a bad person after Charlie's introduction to her in the beginning. It was Lilith who made Inferno develop and grow in power. The family portraits seen in the background, also indicate that she was very close to her family and sincerely loved them. She must have been a support for Lucifer, because when she left he broke down and was unable to pull himself together until his daughter was in danger. In this case Alastor, may want to break the pact, mainly because of being on someone else's leash and the sense of danger this creates.

Pact with Eve - We know virtually nothing about her. The only time we get a chance to find out anything about Eve is in Charlie's song in the first episode and a brief mention in the finale. Eve was Adam's second wife, who was tempted by Lucifer with an apple. And we see her rather peculiar face with a very wide red smile when she accepted the gift from Lucifer. It looked quite sinister. Additionally, Lucifer declared during the fight with Adam that Eva had also given herself to him. Nevertheless, Eva was Adam's wife and he makes no mention of her. It is possible that since Adam was the first man in Heaven, Eva was the first sinner. Disrespected by Adam who wanted to subjugate her, possibly also abandoned by Lucifer who fell in love with Lilith, Eve was left alone. Possibly accused of bringing evil into the world and banished from Paradise. She may have wanted revenge on Lucifer - and not just on him, perhaps on the angels too? If Alastor made a deal with her, it might involve being close to Charlie and ultimately killing/hurting her so that Eva could get revenge on Lucifer. If this were the case then Alastor may crave the power to get out of this deal - because he has become attached to Charlie and knows that this deal could kill him (or rather Lucifer, if Alastor did indeed hurt Charlie).

The last thing is that Alastor would have to be in a really bad situation to make a deal with someone himself. Which is also hard to imagine, how much trouble did he get into to trade his own soul? It also kind of makes me wonder if Alastor isn't nephelian and the vision of the deal was to keep him safe, but something went wrong.

And such loose thoughts as came to mind:

My theory about Charlie's transformation came true! She had to be pinned down by the death of Sir Pentious and the spectre of Alastor's death in order to take action.

From the official first episode of Hazbin Hotel I had a bit of a problem. This series gave me a sort of familiar vibe, but I had a lot of trouble figuring it out. Seriously. It wasn't until the finale and seeing Charlie's outfit as well as her demonic form that made me realise what I associated this series with. Star vs. the Forces of Evil (by Daron Nefcy) and Gravity Falls (by Alex Hirsh) Simply put, Charlie reminded me of Star! That enthusiasm of theirs! Being positive and eternally happy, but as time goes on learning that the world is not so simple and colourful. It has its shades of grey. Hazbin Hotel is such a Star Butterfly for adults for me. In particular, I feel the atmosphere from the Star Butterfly season where Eclipsa appeared. Plus linked to Gravity Falls when it comes to looking for any clues as to future episodes!

Why was it Sir Pentious who got into Heaven? → Because he changed the most out of everyone, I think. From a person who craved power and approval, a person who didn't trust anyone, Sir Pentious won friends and sacrificed himself for them. He probably redeemed his sins in this way. Nor was he killed by an angelic weapon that destroys souls but by Adam's ray. Added to this is the symbolism of the appearance of the serpent in heaven. Sera may not necessarily have feared that Sir Pentious had rehabilitated himself, but she may have feared the defilement of Heaven. The serpent (Lucifer) had already destroyed Paradise once, and now another serpent appears before her….

Why doesn't Adam return as a demon? → He was killed by Niffty with a dagger of angelic steel. And this steel destroys the soul and is the only one that can hurt angels. Since the angels' weapon wiped out the souls of sinners, it rather wiped out Adam's soul too.

Why did Lucifer delay during the battle? → Probably so that no one would suspect him of being the one to break the pact between Heaven and Hell. Adam was the first to attack Charlie and almost killed her, which violated the terms of the agreement because Charlie was born in Hell, which gave Lucifer a free hand to kick Adam. It could also have been about Dazzle, but in his case it is difficult to say whether he was born in Hell. Besides, Lucifer openly admits that he came here to fight Adam because he hurt Charlie.

Did you notice that Charlie's blood is red? → Could this be relevant? Charlie is the daughter of a fallen angel, so in theory her blood should be gold, but it's not. Does it have to do with the fact that Lilith was human when Charlie was born and later became a demon? Because demons/sinners can't procreate, so going by this line of thinking Charlie couldn't have been born when Lilith became a demon.

[bee-the-whovian]

My thoughts on "The Artful Dodger"

1st, I haven't read Oliver Twist or know anything about the story except the very surface level.

2nd, this isn't going to be HEAVY spoilers, but also not spoiler free so if you are wary... ok

So I just finished it, 3 sittings or so to get through 8 episodes. I was *iffy* after the first but each subsequent episode I did get more invested.

The Good:

The vibes are good. Victorian Era Australia, very nice. Medical drama, Crime/heist show, bit of a romance

Thomas Brody-Sangster is a gem (he's the reason I watched it in the first place, sue me. I have a thing, ok?)

Jack and Fagin's relationship is very interesting

As is Belle and Jack's dynamic

They are actually very cute on several occasions

I thought the story issue from the first episode was going to be the entire plot and it wasn't and the show was so much better for it. TIME PASSED and that's so important for character growth

All of the characters were good or pretty good in their developedness, even/especially the side characters. I understood nearly everyone and they feel like people and I understand their motivations, which is quite the task for a show with this size supporting cast

Good through line story without feeling like "this is a very long movie." Each episode was its own story, but they did all tie together well

The foreshadowing about Belle was well done

The... something

The gore is a lot so if you have gore issues, definitely not the show for you. It didn't bother me since it was plot-relevant. Victorian surgery, yes it's a bloody mess. It wasn't slasher movie gory. But if you're messed up by any blood, period. Yeah not it fam.

I don't know much about Oliver Twist, as I said, but I do know he was the protagonist of the original book. I intend to go and read it. In any case, pretty sure this was a disservice to him. In a few ways. You can have a story that focuses on a former antagonist, and show their redemption without making their former adversary an idiot or worse.

The costuming was kinda strange. The gentleman looked really nice most of the time, but varied, (Jack was a whole vibe, and I liked Fagin too with his fun patterns) but the lasses were weirdly distracting. I liked some of Belle's dresses but a good few looked like costumes. They looked fake. Outrageous colors and patterns. The colors, ok, maybe, but a lot of the patterns were just, lol, no. Fanny... her costumes seemed relatively era-appropriate, from what I know, but them being so gaudy on purpose... thanks, I hate it. Insert the same for that one suitor and for Oliver Twist. That collar the mother always had... oof.

Its streaming on Hulu only so if you don't have Hulu, you're up a creek. I've got access through a friend, with ads, and the ads along with my initial misgivings made me almost give it up.

The music is fine. Not bad. But nothing stand out. I read something about Australian rock and... cool. The music sure is there. I'm willing to give it another go, but good music makes a name and I just didn't feel anything here

A couple episodes end in the middle or right before something crazy happens, and the next episode just cuts to later and... ok I might have liked to see that, at least a bit (notable, Red in the cemetery)

The Bad

As most television has now-a-days, quite a bit of language and innuendo. Sometimes it's tolerable, sometimes it's completely uncalled for.

2 scenes I had to skip through, one very bad (episode 3? I think)... at least the main characters waited until... no, no it was just bad, and took away some of the importance of their conversation in the previous episode. The "not just the last in a long line" thing. It felt pandering and disrespectful to Belle as a character, and to the audience... well, me. I know the creators know there is an audience for that, which is a problem in itself.

The feminism was... weird. Fanny and Belle are talking and it's just... they are not from the same century. Their dialogue is a Frankenstein of two wildly different scripts. There is nothing wrong with women who fight for things but the way they show us in ep 1 that "look Belle is a strong woman" felt so gross and hamfisted. The misogyny was pretty heavy-handed too, not that I believe it's far from realistic for that time (people are the worst and have been for a long time) it was also very weirdly implemented.

Everyone was cheating. All over the place. Not one health relationship in the whole show. Just... rough. Also, very few if any of the characters are good or nice people. They have their moments (Belle is actually not terrible past the 1st episode and Jack is pretty inconsistent, which when it comes to wibbly morality is actually a blessing rather than a curse) but in general, yeah not really any straight up role models. Is that too much to ask? Character don't need to be perfect, in fact they shouldn't. They'd be rubbish characters. But having clear cut flaws and labeling them as flaws is important. I think the best arc in the show is actually Fagin (not to say Belle's and Jack's are useless, they're just not GREAT. I actually also liked what seemed to be a bit of an arc for the governor... it had a bit of hope.)

The depiction of religion was upsetting, though not surprising par for the course. It was catholicism so... ok, understandable, but the frequency of faith being the butt of a joke irked me

So, overall....

There is enough ill in here that if I knew what I was getting into, personally, I might have skipped it. I know my triggers and issues and this isn't great. But, since I did watch it, I will acknowledge it's good parts. I am glad I watched it. I'll probably watch a 2nd season if it comes out since I'm already invested in these characters. But at the same time, I wouldn't recommend it to friends without heavy warnings. I have plenty of friends who would deal fine with this content, but personally... it's a very caveoted recommendation, if that. More of a, I watched it and it won't kill ya or anything. There is stuff to enjoy. But bad stuff up to your ankles to wade through, too.

Thanks for reading all that if ya did. Cheers.

[silvertsundere]

Silver Talks AniManga (05/11/23)

I forgot to say on last week's post but having caught up with yozakura now I have finally achieved my goal of reading everything on WSJ* which is very fun. with that out the way I can finally start catching up on some other stuff I've been behind on too and then finally start new stuff but still gonna be a while for that

blue - finale/completed

Anime

Frieren Ep9

very pogged up ep, I already knew it was gonna have sakuga cause I saw mappa posting the keyframes for some scenes on twitter but actually seeing it in action is a whole different thing

Undead Unluck Ep5

good ep as usual, despite being basically all exposition it was still fun finally hearing how everyone in the union sounds and is characterized, and also getting to see some early foreshadowing that makes a lot more sense nowadays 👀 also the shaft style with all the fast cuts and their signature angles is really fitting for episodes like this so that helps too which I do gotta say, despite being a sakuga slut (and the previous episode being crazy) my favourite thing about the anime so far has been that shaft style, since I didn't know beforehand about the involvment of their staff, it gives it a really different feel from the manga but it's still very good in it's own, shafty, way

Imas Million Live Ep5

good episode like usual, I thought this ep would be all preparation and the event itself would be the next one but it was half and half, which is good, not really wasting too much time. we also got to see tsumugi and kaori so that was fun too. next episode looks like there's gonna be some drama with poor shizuka so good luck to her

Manga

The Ichinose Family's Deadly Sins Ch478 (Finale)

that's all I should say about it. it really doesn't deserve anything else, but I won't be like that. I already knew the author's previous work takopii was needlessly edgy too but since I hadn't read it I didn't let that sway me and started this anyway. I can tell you that I'll never read anything by taizan, be it in WSJ or not. ofc it's not actually a 1, it's more like a 3, but I hated it so much I couldn't give it anything higher than that. from start to finish it was bad. none of the characters were likeable, the plot was confusing and hard to follow with it constantly switching between the "dream" and reality, every family member's plotline wasn't interesting and just an excuse to have more edgy things happen and at the end of the day it ends with "well despite everything that happened nothing changed and we're all still the same" so it was just a complete waste of time. it's sad we live in a world where something like this can get almost 50 chaps but series that are brimming with potential get cut short, and even in that short time are better than this could ever be. "oh if you hated it so much why didn't you drop it then?" simply put, I didn't ever think it'd last too long, and by the point where it had been going for a while I was like "well might as well see where this trainwreck ends up at" like I did for agk anyway. good riddance and see you never again taizan

Kindergarten Wars Ch52

when they said earlier in the chapter the brothers had died I believed it cause I expected it to happened at the end of the last chap they showed up in so seeing this at the end was a pleasant surprise

Show-ha Shoten Ch23

great chap, not only was their performance great, they also spent a buncha time in the last few chaps talking about how the group that goes first is doomed and can recieve and high score just for it to turn around like this. I figured they wouldn't just get dropped right away since they've actually gotten screentime before unlike a buncha the pairs that showed up just for this arc but still nice to it actually happen

Blue Box Ch124

good ol classic sports festival but with a bit of drama throw in to shake things up I figured this was gonna happen eventually but not in the very same chap they set up the seeds for it, poor taiki and chinatsu tho I'm fairly sure taiki will say yes but not who but we'll see next ch

Martial Master Asumi Ch20

mma's been struggling with ratings recently but this chap was GREAT, I hope it's enough to bump it up a bit, it's very cool to see this side of nito and him going off like this

[canmom]

NieR Automata Anime ep 4-5

Continuing commentary from [part 1] and [part 2-3].

The NieR Automata anime continues to be... really good actually! A really good companion piece to the game, and even if you encountered it in isolation you’d probably get quite a bit out of it. I am increasingly relieved I didn’t judge it solely on the first episode.

As before the focus on this commentary will be looking at how they adapted the game, how it relates to the broader NieR context, references (e.g. books being read by the characters), and also the cool stuff the anime does to take advantage of the new medium.

Episode 4

Episode 4 covers the Amusement Park area and the machine lifeform Simone, aka ボーヴォワール (Beauvoir) in Japanese.

This episode was delayed, with the rushed production of the anime as a whole unable to cope with a COVID outbreak. Given that it’s kind of crazy what an impressive action sequence they deliver.

The episode opens with Machine Lifeforms watching a play. In the game, if you return to the Amusement Park some time after defeating Simone, you can watch a group of machine lifeforms perform a play called ‘Romeos and Juliets’ which has to be seen, seriously...

In the anime, we open with a less absolutely destructive play, although a machine lifeform still gets stabbed. We see a machine couple with painted-on eyelashes holding each other... and behind them we see a crucified android.

...followed by a rapid montage of her and other androids decaying.

The setup is pretty clear: this is a horror one!

At the Resistance Camp, 2B and 9S are receiving their orders from Lily and Jackass. This serves as exposition that normal androids only drink water...

...and YoRHa androids don’t. (Because their Black Boxes come from Machine Lifeforms, but we don’t know that yet!)

They do a great job of distinguishing the body language of Lily (cool, reserved) and Jackass (excitable, broad motions) which wasn’t really possible in the game. Poking and prodding 9S, wiggling like a worm...

The YoRHa recap the previous episode, and Jackass speculates that with the machine lifeforms evolving this way, peace might yet be possible. As we’ll see, 9S’s genocidal streak is really emphasised in the anime; here, he refuses to accept anything other than total annihilation of the machines and foreshadows his ‘I’m going to kill every last one of them’ break from route C...

The Japanese is actually quite plain: すべてを、破壊するまだです。It is perfectly valid to translate to “every last one of them” and it fits the dramatic finality of 9S’s line, but you could also just put “all of them”.

Next up we have a scene of the Commander in the bunker. This calls back to the YoRHa stage play, where the Commander pleads to send reinforcement to the YoRHa test squad, and is flatly denied.

Visually, the “Council of Humanity” is here represented by a moon with a segment taken out, resembling an eyeball. It’s a cool visual!

And in closeups, we see a circuit board pattern, which kind of foreshadows that the Council of Humanity is not human at all...

The Council declares that Adam, Eve and other unique machine lifeforms are all part of the plan, and to continue to use the Resistance as decoys.

YoRHa’s plan is completely nuts honestly. Not surprisingly since it was concocted by a traumatised android shortly before he blew up, but seriously. The primary aim of YoRHa is propaganda, to motivate the resistance to fight harder to overcome the machines on behalf of a phantom humanity - but they treat that same resistance as worthless and disposable constantly so who’s even supposed to spread the legend of YoRHa? They sacrifice endless units to goofy experiments to try to find the most efficient personality types, even though they’re planning to sacrifice the whole army in the end. They spend a huge amount of resources on attempting to squash security leaks among the androids, such as the Executioner type units, but their base security is completely useless against the machines.

But that’s the point, right? YoRHa is irrational bc the huge forces that we are caught up in are just as irrational. And thinking of this as a purely rational military operation, rather than something happening for religious reasons, is a mistake.

After this, we lead into the main plot of the episode, with 2B and 9S on their way to investigate the Amusement Park region. Before that, however, they see a supply launch to the moon; further foreshadowing.

Later, 9S will discover that the shipments to the moon contain only water, indicating that the moon is only populated by androids and there are no real humans. So the beginning of this episode has all been setup.

We get a message from from the crucified android. “Ah, what a beautiful stage...” - setup to the dichotomy of beauty and death that is going to be the theme explored in the rest of this episode.

Like in the game, the route to the Amusement Park from the City Ruins passes through a sewer. We get a brief montage of painted scenes from the game, including the rabbit boss...

...and the rollercoaster...

But we’re not going to dwell very long in the Amusement Park before going straight to the stage.

A Beautiful Song begins in a music box version, and we see the machine lifeforms from the play earlier professing love. Pod 153 explains the concept of the theatre to a dismissive 9S; then the players explode and Simone enters.

The outset of the fight is fairly close to the game, although there’s some small differences.

Like with the Engels fight, Simone is a 3D model, while 2B and 9S are 2D animated into a 3D scene with 2D effects animation. The CGI still doesn’t look great, but broadly it’s executed much better here. There’s some seriously impressive mobile camerawork.

In the game, you don’t get much of a sense of what Simone’s deal is in your first playthrough as 2B, but then as 9S you get visions of her motivation. She wants another machine, named after Jean-Paul Sartre and goes to increasing lengths to ‘become beautiful’ - returning to a constant refrain of ‘he won’t look my way’. (In real life, Sartre and de Beauvoir had a polyamorous relationship; Sartre was the one jealous. I gotta actually read de Beauvoir to get a better sense of what NieR is riffing on, if it is).

In the anime, the emphasis is less on Sartre, although we do see him...

The flayed, still-living androids on posts come in to open what will be a parade of ero-guro imagery...

Things really get going with dat psychosexual imagery, though, once 9S hacks into de Beauvoir. As we’ve seen, the anime presents hacking as a kind of full-immersion VR where 9S dives into the memories of the hacking target. Inside de Beauvoir, he first finds a huge space full of images of feminised machine lifeforms, the plates shattering as he walks past...

The hacking space is indicated by letterboxing a cinematic 2.39:1 aspect ratio.

He finds a mirror and then is confronted by an array of photos of the same machine in a red dress and various kinds of makeup. The floor transforms into a huge made up face.

9S shatters it with his sword. Outside the hacking dimension, 2B is holding him in a pietà pose. Simone explodes her dress and goes into bitey girldick mode.

Back in hacking space, 9S finds himself in a misty swamp containing a giant statue of an indifferent Sartre. With a Dutch angle to make it look extra big.

A representation of Simone with smudged makeup shows up in a wedding dress.

9S stabs her, she turns to sludge, arms drag him underwater, and he finds himself arm-bondaged to a wall in a bedroom full of discarded dummy/doll parts.

Simone, here a generic Small Stubby, discards parts until giving up in frustration, with scribbles all over her face, and comes to 9S where she starts trying to rip off his arm.

Abruptly she is pulled into a giant metal mouth. (Check out those bendy smears!) A match cut identifies this mouth with the big girldick dentata menacing 2B.

In the hacking world, a huge grinding wheel appears inside the mouth, reminiscent of Marx. Simone now stumbles blindly around the fight arena, bouncing off the walls. 2B orders Pod 042 to let her hack, despite the risk of a B unit attempting hacking.

Given how coldly she has treated (this incarnation of!) 9S until now, this might underline that there’s more going on with her feelings about him. If the first episode didn’t massively tip its hand there lol. Anyway, she arrives just in the nick of time to save 9S from getting ground up.

...kinda Utena-like framing there maybe?

This prompts Simone to charge atop the spinning wheel, giving 9S an opening to throw his sword into her face. The effect of this is to explode the metal covering.

The inner structure of her head suggests that 9S has actually smashed the teeth as well and gone straight into her throat with his sword. Hmm. HMMMMMMMMM. Yeah ok.

This gives 2B and 9S an opening to destroy Simone’s core with the pod laser. We get a final shot of her catching the attention of Sartre at last...

We see Simone’s core disintegrate - further setup for the eventual reveal that YoRHa Black Boxes are built from Machine Cores.

After the battle, the two machines from the opening come in to see the play and give flowers to Simone, one of them referring to her as ‘mum’! Suggesting that maybe Simone and Sartre went further in their relationship and adopted some Stubbies as kids in this version? 9S tramples the roses to mercilessly cut them down.

The puppet show this time is pretty brief and the ‘ending’ is basically that the commander pushes the bunker crew too hard.

So, to comment on this episode: in the game, the Simone fight is extremely cool - bringing to mind the Intoner fights in Drakengard 3, but considerably better executed! - but ultimately you just defeat Simone the same way you would defeat any normal enemy. If you hack her as 9S, I don’t believe you get any special hacking zones.

Here, they’re going all Silent Hill with the sexual imagery. I’m still not entirely sure what I make of the whole Simone episode of NieR Automata. There’s definitely something of the transfeminine monster angle in the whole ‘massive bitey schlong’ thing, the “Buffalo Bill” pursuit of feminine beauty by destroying someone else’s body (in this case, the androids that Simone uses as adornment). They’re mixing together a whole lot of images here: we already had the stage itself, gibbeted corpses, Wagnerian opera, the usual YoRHa doll imagery; now we can add the big juicy mouth stuff and a bit of bondage too. The Machine Lifeforms are generally trying to explore different ways of being human, and Simone represents insecure vanity leading to an obsession with aesthetics that can never really be satisfied. But there’s a reason ‘unrequited feelings’ is such an enduring subject for stories.

In the game, when you defeat Simone, there isn’t much of an immediate followup. The final scene with 9S killing the two childlike machines is a good one for setting up the later developments, and also for creating more of a contrast between the affects of the two MCs. 9S is interesting because he has much more access than nearly anyone to the inner lives of the machines, but also he is one of the most insistent that the machines don’t have real subjectivity, and they’re playing that up here in the anime.

Episode 5

Now we get Adam and Eve for real! In this episode we get a couple of their rooftop scenes from the game. The anime has more room for character animation, to express Eve’s fidgety boredom.

We see a lot of books in this episode. In the first scene, Adam is reading Being and Nothingness, by Sartre. Later, in Pascal’s village, we see his bookshelf contains Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and five volumes of Republic, presumably Plato’s.

In the final scene of Adam and Eve, Eve is grumbling about having to read a book titled Natural History, possibly the one by Pliny the Elder. Adam is reading a book titled Vice Amply Rewarded, which is the subtitle of the novel Juliette by the Marquis de Sade.

OK, the plot of the episode proper! This one’s kinda great! We finally get the introduction of Pascal and the pacifist village, but rather than simply reprise the game, we add some cool new elements...

We open with 2B and 9S making their way across the ravine to the department store.

They changed the geography a bit here. In the game, you meet the pacifist machines right after defeating Simone, and their area can be accessed by a series of bridges from the Amusement Park; later it connects to the City Ruins and the Forest zones. The department store is very small, and it’s a route to the forest zone, but it is notably where you first meet Emil, who bursts out of the inside of a Machine Lifeform’s head which really underlines the similarity. It’s also where Emil made his underground monument to Kainé, full of Lunar Tears, where 2B will eventually be buried. But the above ground part of it is pretty barebones, just a large room.

9S excitedly picks over toothbrushes, plates, pans and even a PS4 - the first platform that NieR Automata was released on.

He asks 2B to call him ‘Nines’, but she refuses. (She knows she’ll have to kill this 9S eventually, and she’s trying not to get attached.)

The department store is much larger in the anime...

9S explains how he wants to go shopping with 2B and buy her a T-shirt after the war. His body language is really cute. 2B shuts him down with the usual ‘emotions are prohibited’.

They meet the Machine Lifeform village, where they’re all waving white flags. The Machine Lifeforms in the village are a mix of 2D animation and cel-shaded CG, and the first half of the episode is 9S getting over his skepticism that there could be peaceful machine lifeforms disconnected from the network, and deciding to try to learn more about them.

One interesting difference from the game is that here, the Stubbies actually come in a variety of sizes...

...cementing the roleplaying of ‘parents’ and ‘children’ in the village. We see various machines in outfits either painted on or made out of scraps of cloth; there’s a couple of cameos of sidequest characters from the games, notably the pair of sisters with pink and blue bows:

Sadly the part of the dynamic where the Medium Stubby was the big sister and the Large Stubby was the younger sister seems to have been dropped.

After this montage, things diverge from the game in a really interesting way. 2B and 9S see a ravine by the edge of the village, and descend, where they find...

...a tree with an Emil in it! 9S determines he can hack this Emil because something something radio waves, and dives in to find memories of NieR Replicant while Emil (Sacrifice) plays:

The desert outside Facade.

The garden in the Shadowlord’s ‘castle’, the last thing the gang saw before Devola and Popola’s betrayal.

Devola and Popola’s library, with the roof broken open by the Shadowlord’s attack; a highly traumatic location for Emil since this is where he was forced to use his power to turn Kainé to stone to protect the village.

Kainé and Grimoire Weiss; likely the scene where Kainé was revived after the time skip. Kainé acknowledged Emil immediately despite his changed form.

Devola and Popola in the library, their faces obscured, representing their deceit. The one time Emil entered this office, they told him and Kainé to sleep outside the village.

Nier himself, taking care of Yonah. Not entirely clear when Emil would have seen this!

Emil forcibly discconects 9S, but 9S pulls up some data about him.

This is very different to what happens in the game, where 2B and 9S don’t have the first clue what Emil is and almost attack him on their first meeting! The pane on the left shows Emil’s mansion and the fountain which conceals the entrance to the hidden lab; the pane in the middle shows the multiple-Emil head form he adopts during the optional battle in the desert before changing to Halua chained up underground; the pane on the right shows Emil and Halua in their human forms before the evil child experiments. 9S refers to Emil as a weapon, an ‘it’.

At that point Pascal arrives and explains the pacifist village worship Emil(!) and that’s why Pascal stopped fighting. We get a flashback which uses a high contrast saturated colour scheme reminiscent of Takashi Koike, one of the coolest sequences in the whole anime.

Just like P-chan/Beepy did when rising from the mountain, Emil says one word: 生きて (live!) The magical force of this command causes Pascal to awaken. We get to see an older version of the Machine Lifeform army, where the fundamental modular unit is a Pascal-like chassis:

Pascal is given the ability to fear death. And he’s terrified by his indifference to the lives of his comrades. だから。。。

...he becomes a pacifist, and founds the village.

As Pascal is pulled back to the other machines, one of whom has found a music box (from an earlier sidequest at the resistance camp... I have so much useful knowledge in my brain lmao), 9S retreats to a nearby rooftop and derides them as selfish as it starts raining in a big old pathetic fallacy moment.

He says separating from the network and yet forming a village is a contradiction. 2B and pod 153 reply that it is impossible to live alone. 9S’s vision flickers with a glitch, showing the department store briefly...

He awkwardly tries to cover for it by making a kinda childishly flirty comment towards 2B - one that underlines the distance that still exists between them and 9S’s sense of loneliness. 2B gets it and instructs Pod 042 to mark the department store so that one day in the future, they really might go shopping there...

But we end the scene in an indirect mirror shot of 2B looking after him with a grim expression.

She knows that isn’t happening. (Don’t think too hard about the perspective of this shot lmao.)

As 2B and 9S return to the village, they see one of the machine children trying to keep the music box to itself...

Pascal is hopelessly ill-equipped to stop the conflict and the children fight; inevitably the music-box is broken.

The androids observe that, even in the pacifist village where there is no war against the androids, conflicts still break out just due to conflicting interests. 9S almost intervenes, but is interrupted by a message from Operator 21O.

Finally we have the last scene with Adam and Eve.

The post-credits puppet show omake scene depicts the effect of the self-destruct input, which causes 9S’s shorts and 2B’s skirt to get blown up ingame. This leads to sexy illustrations of both androids...

Unfortunately Emil gets the same idea.

We get ending Y from the game, where Emil kills everyone on Earth. I think this would be incomprehensible if you haven’t done Emil’s mission in the game.

All in all, a really cool episode. I loved the style of Pascal’s flashback and it’s cool to flesh out his character a bit more. Creating a connection between Emil and the pacifist machines is fascinating. The game definitely intimates towards a connection between Emil and the Machine Lifeforms from the moment Emil is introduced, and given that Emil was fighting the aliens, it seems very likely that they built the Machine Lifeforms in his image. But I don’t know of anywhere this is actually spelled out explicitly (and it’s kind of contradicted if the old model of Machine Lifeform looked like Pascal). Still, if that was true... in a sense you could even say the Machine Lifeforms give Emil - the last surviving human, permanently kept in this child state by his magical immortality - a way of growing up!

Also it’s nice to see anime Kainé lol.

I had a lot of doubts about this adaptation at first, and the conditions it’s being made in are pretty dire honestly, but despite all that, they are genuinely managing to add something that makes the adaptation a worthwhile addition. They’re being reasonably judicious with the action, which lets it be really flashy when they do show it; I’m really looking forward to seeing what they do with characters like Gruen and the Forest Kingdom later. Most importantly, they seem to be getting the tone right.

If we’re up to episode 5 and we’ve only just met Pascal, I can only assume they won’t cover the entire game in this one anime. I suspect they’ll probably just take it up to the end of Route A/B - at least, I hope they don’t try to cram the whole of Route C into a couple of episodes.

Anyway, really glad this is turning out to be good after all. I still need to write up NieR Automata on my NieR guide pages and I’ll definitely be including this anime when I do.

[misqnon]

hi, i just read all of ur posts tagged as misqnon's one piece liveblogging and it was so much fun T-T. im here to rant about one piece and im sorry.

i really love seeing people react to content i am caught up with and hold close to my heart.

i got into the 800s in the anime and stopped watching, took a break and then read the manga up to around 1060. but last month i decided to read the whole thing from the beginning and it is genuinely SO WORTH IT.

after u have caught up completely its super rewarding to go back and look at previous chapters bc its constant "oh my god look what was foreshadowed here??" and "now i understand the context behind this!!!" and "this interaction is so much more meaningful now that i know their relationship!!". yes it did take me a whole month of nearly nonstop reading to catch back up but i have 0 regrets.

wano and the arc after it are both super fun and interesting and i think ur gonna love it. the lore is crazy. i hope u dont see any spoilers bc going into it completely blind will probably be way more exciting, especially with the most recent arc since its kinda suspenseful and mysterious,,.

anyways thats all i have to say how do you end these things.. take care!!

AAAAA ANON THIS IS SUCH A FUN MESSAGE TO RECIEVE THANK YOU...

I ended up talking a lot so I'll put this under a cut lol

I used to be the person who said I would never watch one piece 😭😭 I've been into anime since I was like 12 and I'm almost 24 now (fuck . That's like half my life) and obviously it's always been on my radar but I always thought it was 1. Too popular 2. Too Long 3. Hated how oda draws women lmao so I was fine ignoring it and only knowing the basics from just Being On The Internet

I think sometime early on I caved and attempted to watch it- I got to alabasta and stopped bc the anime pacing wasn't doing it for me (though I liked it up until then, but didn't LOVE it)

cut to high-school where a couple of my good friends liked it but we never really talked about it, it was a lifelong interest for one of them bc he'd started reading it on like 4th grade

Well I'm still friends with them (shoutout to sam and seb) and they convinced me to watch one piece film red with them in like July or August of last year bc they were showing me the songs and I, ado fan bc I'm a retired weaboo and a vocaloid Stan, was like "haha that sounds like ado" and they went "IT IS!!!!??" so I had to watch it for her.

again, I was like oh this is fun I like this :^) but no IMMEDIATE interest, more of a passive thing... until the live action came out a month or so later and I watched it just because and DAMN I FELL IN LOVE FAST

I went back to the anime and rewatched the beginning, then skipped back to alabasta where I had left off years and years ago and now I'm Here 🧍

I watched up through part of dressrosa before I started reading the manga, and now I'm doing that while watching certain episodes of just the parts I really wanna see animated

It's been. So Fun

I am now that person who's like Hey You Should Watch One Piece. I get it now. I so get it lmao. And you know the weirdest part is that with it being divided up into arcs like it is I find myself thinking it really doesn't feel that long!?!? Am I insane,

anyways. It's been a while since I was in an active fandom or even in a fandom at all - ESPECIALLY such a big one!?! (I was in college for 4 years and Busy).

but it's. Crazy. I'm writing fanfics and joining discord servers and I've never done that before. it's been very fun and rewarding tbh...I don't like a lot of things about oda and aspects he included and ofc one piece isn't perfect or unproblematic but it IS a really awesome epic of a story about friendship and found family and anti authority and its just.

I'm also a person who's always loved reaction videos or just even seeing otherppl react to things I like so I RELATE AND IM SO GLAD I CAN BE THAT FOR U...

I'm ngl as I've been reading I've been wanting to look up some old one piece forums dated the time certain reveals happened bc I want to see how people felt as this shit came out holy Shit....

it's additionally funny bc this blog is about 10 years old and has amassed a decent amount of followers over the years who were just into some of the other random stuff I've been into but I know a fair amount of them were thinking we were on the same page of not being into one piece and now here I am. Ruining that. And with the pervert character as my favorite no less. lmao SORRYYYY YALL <3

I'll leave u with this message I sent into the discord I share with some friends the other day, none of which really watch op, when asked to explain something about the show. In fact, I think the reasoning for this message was BECAUSE I was explaining to a friend just how much oda foreshadows things!! jinbei, kaido, haki, sanjis backstory, ALL being mentioned by name or referenced DECADES/YEARS BEFORE APPEARING ON SCREEN...HUNDREDS OF CHAPTERS APART....I could rant on more but I'll stop for now.

thank u for the message and feel free to dm me to talk about this silly show anytime bc its sunken its claws into me 😭

[chirpsythismorning]

People saying that Mike being oblivious would mean that he’s stupid and just leaving it at that, are grossly oversimplifying something that the story has literally touched on to foreshadow this.

‘Only love makes you that crazy, and that damn stupid.’

We got that line above in s1 and then in s2 we get the crazy together scene with Mike and Will, and then again in s3 when Mike refers to the word crazy as like a synonym of love to try to tell El he loves her without using that word.

So we see that they are trying to tie these moments together to potentially hint at a greater significance than what we are assuming.

And when it comes to the stupid aspect of it, we see the same thing. 

We see Hopper tell El that she is not stupid in s2, and we then see her repeat it again to herself a few episodes later in that season. Then in s3 when Will and Mike are fighting, Will accuses El of being a stupid girl, with Mike denying that. And then Nancy a few episodes later tells Mike that El is not stupid. 

Whereas Mike and Will have gotten some links to the word stupid with their character, with them both muttering the word stupid, first when Mike tore down the fort in his basement in s1, and then in s3 when Will tore the picture of the party in half followed by tearing down castle Byers.

So it’s almost like being crazy and stupid are not meant to be insults, but if anything are evidence of being in love, whereas not being stupid, is being presented as the opposite. Because only love makes that crazy, and that damn stupid.

I also think that what complicates this whole debate of, either Mike is oblivious or he has to know for sure everything he is feeling, is that most times in movies and tv shows, that moment of realization after being oblivious is very common. It’s a very common trope for someone who has had the signs presented to them for years, to continue to be clueless, only to connect everything in the end and have this grand realization that gives all those previous moments more meaning.

Like in a movie where let's say enemies to lovers start out enemies, only to realize they love each other in the end, you see that they did hate each other at the start, and yet there are moments in between hinting at that not being the case forever. Although they don’t realize it while it’s happening, in the end they connect all of those previous moments once they finally have that realization. 

We can try to pinpoint when exactly Mike had certain realizations or say that he’s never had any realizations, but regardless, those past moments are going to hold more meaning once all is revealed, because finally Mike, whether he has realized it yet or not, will eventually confront all of it in the end. And that's when it will click into place for everyone, especially when rewatching and seeing all that setup foreshadowing it.

A 14 year old kid not having a clear idea about his own very complex feelings doesn't make him stupid and it's perfectly normal and plausible especially seeing said boy lives in the 80s with almost no education about queer culture, lived through some big traumas, has been shown on screen to act before he went back and examined his own feelings and reached a conclusion about how he acted previously and why he did that (the fights with Lucas and El etc), doesn't have a family that makes him want to talk about his own feelings because they dismiss his emotional needs... One person can also be very intelligent in a logical way but not very fast in understanding emotions/feelings and why they are acting in the way that they are day to day with the people around them, they can know how to talk about their feelings once they have a grasp of what they really feel deep down and still, before that, they can be genuinely unaware of what is causing them to act like that and are just reacting immediately without much thought behind it

I want to also point out that seriously saying that a 14 year old kid should know their feelings or otherwise it means that they are dumb if they don't... is basically insulting all the people that did not know they were queer until their 20s because of heteronormativity, me included 👍

[adventureofchia]

We Are One Piece

One Piece is a great adventure series, with a lovable cast of characters. This series follows the adventures of a boy named Luffy whose goal is to become “King of the pirates”. This series has one of the best world-building in fiction, every island they journey on is packed with information on geography. I've started watching one piece since the pandemic. It has many episodes that a normal person won't even try to watch it. It has more than a thousand episodes with almost 15 movies that are not canon and the series is still airing one episode per week. The air of its new episode is always on Sunday. So, I always wait until night so I can see the new episode but sometimes the airing of it is delayed due to some reasons like when natural disasters happen in their country.

The first time of watching it, the series animation is not that good cause you know it's old it was aired in 19's year. Despite its old animation, it has been one of the best-selling manga. Well, as you progress on watching it you will see that the animation in the series is improving which makes it more interesting. After the Marineford arc, the animation is now different, it is not like the old one cause they improved their animation. I am not into animation I'm more into the story but I miss the old version of how they animate it. The story will make you laugh and cry, and sometimes it even makes you crazy about it. One piece has a very strong character and a very interesting protagonist. Each arc in the series gives you a payoff that will leave you fulfilled. Some of the most impactful moments in anime I have ever seen are in One Piece, scenes will leave you in tears and run shivers down your spine.

One piece continues its journey with its new animation and style. I think Oda the author of the series has planned from the very beginning and you can see it with all the foreshadowing that he leaves in his writing. even moments that are not planned he can integrate them into previous plot points and make them connect with the previous chapter and arc he makes. For me, One Piece will fulfill anyone's need for it has many genres all mixed into one but it doesn’t affect the theme of one piece in any way. As it is a great spectacular series one issue that might be jarring to readers is the length and pacing of One Piece, it is a commitment in itself, watching and reading one piece won’t be easy but the storytelling in this series is like no other. What are you waiting for? If I were you, I will start watching it right now and add it to my list. I am waiting on you in the Wano arc series. See you there Nakama!!