#Voltron season five spoilers | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

drowninginblox · 8 months

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Season one

Season two

Season three

God.. this season… so much in so little time fr. B u t. I am a committed woman, and I will continue what I started.

So. Let’s get into this.

Keith’s heritage

I’m beginning to take back what I said in one of my prior posts about how I want to redo Keith’s heritage. Specifically about it being a secret to everyone on the team. I’m learning to love the way the show reveals that fact about him to the audience. Truly.

But I think he should know. Not everything, just that he's not fully human. And I still stand by the fact that his galra side should be more physical. Fucking love the galra Keith HC so much wE WERE ROBBED MEN-

Growing pains- Heavy spoilers. Watch Voltron already if you haven't bc I will be talking about (arguably) the best arc of the series

This is going to be something.

As of starting the third season, I really like the change. Purely because of how uncomfortable it is for everyone involved. It’s gonna be painful. The best kind though. Because even though we aren’t expecting it, we know that through the context of the show- this could’ve happened at any time, to any of the paladins

Voltron is out here saying actions have consequences, and that is very compelling. Both in concept and in execution.

I think this plot point is fucking amazing.

The question of where tf Shirio is after the season 2 finale is great, the natural progression of the lions is a stark but needed change (love prioritizing the narritive, I hope this keeps happening in the future), hell- the character growth is fucking phamominal (will talk about that after this point)

WE ALSO GET THE JOURNEY FUCK I LOVE THAT EP-

Also- THE INTRO CHANGES WITH THE CHANGING OF LIONS SO YOU DON’T KNOW WHO THE BLACK PALADIN IS- UGGHHH!!!

I fucking love it man. I'm rocking with what season 3 is giving me. But I'm afraid of what season 4 has to offer. I remember how Shiro's missing/dead arc resolves itself (in season 4ish) but i dont fully remember the indetween bits and the stigma of Voltron falling off by that point is blarring through my mind

Looking forward to that Shiro/Keith fight tho!

Now let’s take some time for the characters during this transition

Keith... god what can I say about him that hasn't already been said? probably nothing honestly. His responce to all of this is so natural and realistic. Of course he doesn't want the responciblity of the Black lion. Shiro was qualified to be leader, not him! Just because this is what Shiro wanted, dosent mean it's what he wants for himself. The struggle is delicious!

Lance is really mature about this AND I AM LIVING FOR IT. Its moments like this that reminds me that Lance is a wonderful addition to Voltron. A needed addition even. (I really wanna ramble about the five man band dynamic, but I'll link a video about it when I find it again right here) I want to see more of this!!!! Give me serious Lance for more than just a minute!!

Hunk and Pidge are bystanders. I’m sorry but other than comic relief and voices of reason, they are secondary to Keith, Lance and Allura. Bless them both. They deserve better. I can feel it as soon as the first episode- they are slowly being ushered into the background. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth with hindsight.

Allura is radiating vibes that I can’t describe other than- “o k a y girl I see you.” In all honesty, the more I watch the show the more distain I have for Allura comes out. That bratty privileged princess that acts on impulses rather than thinking things through is grating. Now this could easily be fixed with intervention in the form of someone more mature than her- for the first two seasons, it was Shiro. But now that he’s gone, that aspect of her is showing more and more and no one is actually going against her like Shirio did. When it was at its worst, Shiro was the only one to put himself in danger as a kind of surogate bodyguard while the rest of the group is on standby. But ever since Keith became leader, there’s this mentality of “if the princess is going we’re all going.” And it’s Stupid. Stand your ground man! Be the stuburn dude you are!! Pleasae, ctually think about this for a moment! The worst part is that if anyone brought up Allura's implusivity then it would be amasing character development to the person that dose and to Keith and Allura as well! Keith would have to repremend/ talk to Allura about how dangerous that is to her and the team and Allura would have to learn the consequences of her actions!

Coran, Im so sorry that you are given crumbs my man. I love you so much- You are THE FUCKING FATHER FIGURE WE NEED!!! IM SO SORRY YOU ARE TASKED WITH LORE DUMPING, YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST A PLOT TOOL

Forming voltron

Bitches got this down too quick ngl. More team bonding rather than trauma bonding please

FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK COLOR COORDINATE!!!

Make LANCE RED

MAKE KEITH BLACK

M A K E ALLURA B L UE

It’s fucking irritating

And yes, I think it’s cool that Allura wears pink and pink is a color that Alteans used to honor those who fought for them. That’s cool. But it pisses me off to see Allura with a freaking blue bracer, and in the blue lion wearing pink like it’s Wednesday. Get with the program bitch. There is a uniform.

IF ANYTHING- give these bitches highlights for the lions they used to pilot. For example, give Keith a black uniform with red highlights along the shoulders or arms

Lotor

Mans said reading is fundamental 💅✨

I love his introduction. Manipulating the people into this unification that’s obviously distinct from his fathers but at the same time so traditional. Dude knows what he’s doing and he is going to do it for as long as he can.

This man also having combat prowess is fucking scary. He feels like more of a threat than his dad.

I also love his task force. Having a entourage that is distinctly other from the majority of the population is such a bold choice, whether it be from an audience or in universe point of view, it shows that the prince isn’t like the king. He is willing to make use of what's given to him with little public fuss.

Only critism I have is that I don't know any of these bitches names. Yall have them- please use them?

Allurance

Believe it or not, I can see more groundwork for the ship at the start of this season

With the passing over of the lions in Shiros absence, it’s allowing more neuance given the current plot.

Even though Keith and Lance don’t like it, they have to change because they’re in a time of change. War forces change.

I wish we can see that bleeding over to Coran, considering that his surrogate daughter is now on the front lines. But c’est la vie ig

Im rambling- Allurance

I can see this ship being built up but I don't know how to feel about the foundation yknow? I understand that the lion change would force Lance to mature. I love that shit. Good shit.

The slight role reversal Lance has with Alurra is refeshing. Love serious Lance

But like I said before- I don't like Alurra this season.

It also doesn't help that lance is still on his loverboy shit. Wich is fine! I have nothing against the trademark! I swear! It's just annoying that Lance has a specail place in his heart for Allura but continues on to swoon to/over every pretty girl he sees.

For the love of god- say dedicated Lance!! If you did maybe you'd get the girl!!

“Hole in the sky”

Desusex Machina the episode but I kind of like it

I hope someone made a fanfic out of this episode

The other reality is honestly v compelling it’s such a waste we only see it once

Shiro

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

FUCK THE JOURNEY WAS SO GOOD-!!!

Honest that whole episode makes up for the fact that dDeamworks had a Shirio bias my GOD

That episode was such a good lesson in (mostly) show don’t tell

And it still leaves the question of WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO SHIRO MY GOD

All of this to say, I’m torn.

Part of me wants the finality of Shiros death but the idea of Shiro clones is so good to me

Eh, I’ll figure it out.

So babes, rather than ramble about how long it’s been since I’ve done this I’d like to get an opinion from y’all.

Anyways that’s it. Take care of y’allselves

#voltron #voltron rewrite #voltron season 3 #TW voltron #voltron shiro #Shiro discussion lol

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just-antithings · 1 year

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Iirc, one of the issues with Voltron’s finale/last season was kind of a shipping one but an entirely valid shipping one in my opinion (without going into too many spoilers: one of the main characters is confirmed to be gay, only for his fiancée to be killed off unceremoniously, him to mourn for like, five seconds and then never even mention the guy again and finally he ends up marrying some rando he never interacted with before at the last minute)

yep yep I remember hearing a lot about that

#mod erin #ask #voltron mention

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rjmhereunderprotest · 1 year

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I Survived the "Voltron: Legendary Defender" Fandom Ship Wars

I've seen my fair share of fandoms, and the subsequent warring that can go on within them. Shipping tends to be the primary focus of a lot of it, and that was no more true than "Voltron: Legendary Defender" and I'm reliving my experience with it because shut up.

I literally was only in this whole thing because, as the Megas XLR theme song states, "I dig Giant Robots", which is true of pretty much everyone. I wanted a fun space opera quest with giant friggin robots that was done better than the anime from the 80s. The prospect of former members of the crew of Avatar: The Last Airbender being on the project sweetened the deal. And for a time it was good... and then it all imploded because idiots had to ruin it.

This was honestly the dumbest dip in fandom engagement I've ever seen and it was all over shipping and seriously stupid fucking people. A series if idiotic actions that led to compromises at the creative level that severely undercut the end product. Everything that transpired in the run up to the series finale, from the 7th Season onward, perhaps even before that, you can trace to one thing... the Shipping War between which dude Keith, the Red Paladin, should fuck. His older mentor Shiro, who turned out to already be in a same-sex relationship, or Blue Paladin Lance... the literal Lancer of their five man band.

Oh it got ugly fast, Shiro was too old for Keith, they were reading too much into rivalry of Lance and Keith, accusations of pedophilia, nasty screaming about whether they'd LET these characters be gay, I watched it all and rolled my eyes thinking "Who gives a flying fuck?" Let's not even get into how the fandom treated the potential female rivals for Lance and Keith's affections. Allura and Lance shippers were a lesser front in the war of words. The main screaming matches were between the slash ships, but there was always a little ire reserved for anything hetero. I remember how desperate they all were to find a way out. To prove that Space Azula, Acxa, was not into Keith, maybe even his sister.

For a while it stayed like this, angry fans on reddits and twitters and tumblrs and forums of all sorts. Then the shippers did the big No-NO, what EVERY fan sooner or later seems to forget. You bring this drama to the attention of the creators... and you involve them in it. Suddenly it's no longer about preferences, it's about fans making demands of the creative team. "Make us Canon or die!" And it probably wouldn't have been so bad if the Voltron Team wasn't so active on social media, but they were! Poor sweet summer children, were they ever.

Any tacit support for one side over the other was seen as damning condemnation. How DARE the creatives speak about their own preferences? Or ideas? Or lend credence to that side over the others! Maybe they're pedos too if they seem to want Keith and Shiro to be together. How dare they dismiss all this evidence of Klance and ruin their whole super important character development that is clearly integral to the story about the intergalactic war against an even empire utilizing a giant robot.

I just did not care for ANY of this. I was paying attention to Pidge exclusively at this point as her story was far more engaging and or interest than over some stupid romance most people had made up in their head. And I felt that getting on the asses of the creators to bend to one side of the other was becoming more and more fucking disrespectful. Let them tell their story, ya jerks, stop trying to force them to tell what you want. Just write fanfics if you're that desperate.

Then... someone did something VERY stupid. Well, two someones actually. During a tour of Dreamworks Animation, someone thought it would be quite "corking" if they allowed their fellow "high school chums" a look at some classified storyboards and sketches. A few neat little spoilers online that they snuck out of the tour on a hidden camera. Clever little scamp, posted it online... and instantly drew the ire of Dreamwork's legal department. Net wide, Dreamworks demanded the removal of the spoilers. But one moron thought it would be a brilliant fucking idea to keep them up... unless demands were met.

"Make Klance Canon and I'll take the spoilers down!"

The idiot's understanding was, since other sites had the pictures, that they couldn't be liable for stealing anything. They didn't take the pictures, they just had them. So really, if the other sites were going to be pressured into removing the material, they could keep it up and use it as a form of protest. To make their stupid ship real.

Other people told them, that's fucking blackmail, that's illegal. And eventually that thought stuck.

Yeah ya did, Sunshine. People thought these two fans were one in the same, but from every indication it seems like it really was two people with the "blackmailer" likely being a really stupid kid who took advantage of a situation without realizing that their plan was gonna potentially land them in a ton of legal trouble. But the damage was done at this point. Because once fans start threatening to ruin ALL of your creative plans, that's when the higher ups get involved. That's when shit has to change and drastically.

To summarize what happened, from what most people have gathered, a lot of story points, ideas, plots, etc. got up ended by all of this. They had to alter their original ideas because the fans had fucked it up by going overboard. Now, whatever plans they had for the series were basically thrown out the window in favor of a new direction that NO ONE LIKED!

Allura and Lance get rushed into a relationship, Shiro's husband dies and he finds a new one some rando background dude. Any potential Keith romance is just thrown out because both sides are already losing, might as well not anger them more, oh and then lets kill off Allura next just as quickly as we finalized this relationship. EVERYBODY LOSES and it's all because a bunch of shippers could not fucking chill!

And I just laughed, I just had so much fun watching the rest of this trainwreck slide into the on fire tire fire on the garbage scowl before sinking into the sea and hitting an unexploded atomic warhead from a sunken sub! They all went ballistic, every single fan just fucking went off at once in a screaming angry tirade of abject total failure. But I was mostly cool, because Pidge got a great ending and I didn't care about anything else at that point. So out of ALL the fans of Voltron, I won. I won along with every Pidge fan and I was more than happy to watch the rest burn. And fuck'em anyway, they did this to themselves. Let them all shriek and screech and run around mad at the creators. They made themselves so fucking toxic, so goddamn impossible to deal with that I'd have probably done it sooner were I in charge and probably worse.

I'd have had Auxia kiss Keith full on the lips while she lifts one of his legs to lightly straddle her while both Shiro and Lance look on giving thumbs up and hugging close their own significant others. Shiro's would've been a dude at least because I'm not so cruel as to throw away LGBT representation. But still, totally would've done that shit in like season 5. Trust me, I would've drunk the angry screeching of everyone because they all deserved it at that point. ALL OF THEM. I have no sympathy.

Voltron: Legendary Defender is a lesson for fans the world over. Shipping is all fun and games when you keep it that way. Write fanfics, share your headcanon, create all the racey sexually explicit dude on dude, girl on girl, human on tentacle monster, etc. art you can paint or sketch to your heart's desire... but leave the creative team out of it. It's ultimately their story, not yours. And believe me, most of you here and Tumblr played RIGHT into all that shit because I know at least a few of you fucking did this.

As for me, to prove I'm not completely above it all, I'll pony up. I had one Voltron Ship, one I actually liked, supported and was totally cool with knowing it was never gonna happen. And it's not any of the ones you think... I wanted Lance to get with one specific person. Well, not person, fish-person.

Plaxum! That's right! I wanted Lance to end up with the Mermaid Revolutionary voiced by Mae Whitman! Because fuck it, Mermaids are fucking awesome and you can try however you fucking want to ruin the fantasy of mermaid love under the sea with your fish biology lessons, I know for a fact you're all wrong because if anything, mythical mermaids are more akin to sharks than regular fish and SHARKS actually DO have sex. The males have TWO big fat ones down under in fact, so what does that say about mermaids?

So in conclusion this has been a very long winded way of me justifying my mermaid fantasy and possibly grossing a lot of you out. I have no regrets and if any remaining Voltron Fans want to take issue with it, tough. The show's over I can make up whatever I want. Namely that Lance eventually returned to Mermaid world and had a hundred or so babies with Plaxum, because I live in fanfic land and you can't drag me out of it if you tried!

I have now thoroughly wasted ALL of your time. Good day!

#voltron legendary defender #shipping #Lance #Keith #Shiro #Fandom Entitlement #Lance/Plaxum Supremacy #I'm still Winning

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smokeybrandreviews · 1 year

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Smokey brand Select: An Old Weeb's Thesis

These last three seasons of anime have been absolutely amazing. Bangers, he lot of them! I discovered brand new shows which have found their way into the upper echelon of my all-time favorites and others which had already made their claim, came through with a resurgent fury. Obviously I'm speaking about Overlord in that regard but where would it fall in a top tn all-time list for me? What does my top ten all-time anime list even look like? Would i be able to stop at ten or would this be riddle with titles sharing spaces. I decided to actually take the time and think about this thing, really sus out where the chips will fall. I have been watching anime since the late Eighties so, with my catalog of completed narratives, this might be a long f*cking list! But a fun one to put together, i think. Spoiler alert, EVA is number one, that is for sure.

10. Voltron

This is the first anime i remember ever seeing. I was VERY young when this aired and super into robots at the time. Transformers was my sh*t, still is, so when i stumbled upon the bastardized version of Go-Lion airing on US televisions back in the late Eighties, i was all over it. Understand, Voltron is bad. It’s an incoherent mess that chopped and screwed several space robot anime into one show. This was kind of the flavor at the time, see Robotech, so the version of Go-Lion i got was an absolute quagmire. That said, i was, like, four or five hen i first saw this show and the toys were AMAZING! When i got older, and anime became far more mainstream, i finally got to see the original Go-Lion and it turned out to be a solid f*cking show. While i absolutely enjoy that version, that old frankensteined version from my childhood, will always have a place in my heart. It also instilled a love for giant robot anime, one that left a clear path for EVA to top this list.

9. Sailor Moon

Yes, i love Sailor Moon. I have since i was in the fifth grade. I was all over this thing as a kid. Back then, i was already full Weeb, we were called “Otaku” back then, and out anime offerings were slim at best. When i found out that one was airing on TV regularly, at the ass-crack of dawn, i was all over it. I used to wake up at five am to watch that sh*t. I had tapes, upon tapes, upon tapes, recorded on the little TV/VCR combo i got when i was seven years old. Interestingly enough, this was my Dragon Ball z before i actually watched Dragon Ball Z. I adored Usagi and her misadventures in love. Sailor Moon was so ahead of it’s time in terms of representation and LBGTQ+ content, a fact that wasn’t lost on my ten year old self. I remember that first season vividly, Queen Beryl sending Zoisite and Malachite to wreck on the Sailor Scouts for reasons. as an adult, i appreciate it’s place in the annals of anime history but back then, i was just keen on all the magical girl and super sentai elements, both of which would become foundation blocks for my tastes going forward. Sailor Moon directly influenced my love for things like Power Rangers and Kamen Rider. For that, I'll love Princess Serena forever.

8. Chobits

Chobits was a surprise for me. It was a bonus addition from a bootleg DVD site i used to buy from. I didn’t pat for it at all but it ended up being my favorite thing from that company and immediately entered my top ten. You have to understand, i was re-evaluating so much of my life at that point. I had just graduated high school, started listening to other types of music, watching other genres of film, playing RPGs seriously for the first time, so giving Chobits a shot was just a whim. Up to that point, i had kind of written off the lovey-dovery, slice of life, romance anime as “Girly sh*t”. I didn’t think there was anything there for me. Like, Clamp, in general, was a whole enigma to my sensibilities back then. And then Chobits happened. Literally blew the doors of my ignorance. I fell in love with this show. I mean, the second those first few notes of Let Me Be With You hit, i was hooked. Without Chobits, i would have never given shows like ToraDora, My Dress-up Darling, A Silent Voice, or My Love Story; All of which i count as favorites.

7. The Guyver: Bio-Boosted Armor

Yo, Guyver blew my mind when i first saw it back in the mid-Nineties. I as old enough to trawl the anime section of video rental stores and stumbled across this pure, Golden Age, gem. I as aware of The Guyver because of the live action adaption “starring” Mark Hamill but i was not prepared for experiencing the wildly visceral nature of the source material. My goodness, was this everything to me! The violence, the brutality, that detailed gore. Man, watching Guyver literally melt into a pile of meaty sludge after Enzyme tore out his Control Metal, haunted my dreams for days after. Up to that point, i had seen brutality in anime (Literally watched Wicked City not a year before) but this was different. This was meant for teenagers. I wasn’t much younger than that, around twelve i think, and it made me realize that Japan was on something completely different. Guyver as the first uncut anime i remember seeing and it was f*cking visceral. I loved it so much! Blood, tits, unadulterated violence, adult themes; Everything a pre-teen would want and i wanted it all! Guyver set the stage for me almost always searching out the purest for of anime, the one which aired in Japan rather than the US. This single show is what made me seek out the alternative narratives for everything that came after.

6. The Big O

If Tim Burton wrote and directed an mecha anime, you’d get The Big O. This show is amazing! I loved the story it told, the ambiguity of it’s nature, and the general vibe of artificiality that makes up Paradigm City. The Big O was the first anime i recalled, being absolutely incoherent but, at the same time, wonderfully endearing. Roger Smith, or as i like to think of him, Anime Batman, really left an impression with his Art Deco adventures. Giant robots, a former bank being his Batcave, awesome adventures, a solid monster-of-the-week formula for the first season; The Big O was tailor made for me. Even his Robin was dope. Or should i day, Nightingale. The Big O showed me what could be done with enigma and an eye toward character in study in anime. The first season of Big O came through and blew my mind. I waited with baited breath for a second season, a conclusion to the narrative i had become so invested with. It would take three years but that wrap around ending was a brilliant choice, allowing me ( and the denizens o f that world) to live in Paradigm City forever. The Big O immediately became a show i would cherish. Hell, the first gift my kid sister ever gave me was a Big O boxset.

5a. BLEACH

It’s weird to have BLEACH at this pot on my list because i absolutely adore this show so much. Seeing BLEACH for the first time, and reading it for that matter, caused a quantum shift in what i understood Shonen anime to be. Up to that point, it was all Dragon Ball and Yu Yu Hakusho and then BLEACH came through and gave me something better. BLEAH was the first Shonen anime i remember to actually have a solid f*cking plot. Like, those first two arcs are top tier storytelling and i was captivated by them Aizen’s machinations were everything and, even though the following arcs were considerably less in quality, i chock that up to Jump forcing Kubo to prematurely extend his manga a la Toriyama after the Freezer saga. Even with Kubo's drop in passion after the Soul Society arc, BLEACH continued to live rent free in my head. That art style definitely informed my own, becoming a huge stepping stone in how i draw the human form. For that fact, alone, BLEACH would make this list but the world Kubo dreamed up is so much more than that. Mans is on record as to wanting to just draw dope sh*t and BLEACH is one of the dopest things out there!

5b. Overlord

Way back in the year 2015, during the height of the Isekai boom, i stumbled across this weirdly designed take on what i could only intercept as Skeletor from He-Man. As an Eighties kid, i was well verse in Masters of the Universe, though i didn’t really like the show. I did like the ideas behind, the world crafted and, more to the point, Skeletor, himself. I often wondered what Eternia would be if Skelly-boy actually took it over. Well, Overlord answered that question for me and I've been a fan ever since. This thing wasn’t like any other “Reincarnated into a fantasy world” i had ever seen before. Indeed, the world, itself, was the draw. It was planted with awesome characters, but the overall detail in the rules of that world were amazing to me. Maruyama really put a lot of effort into the lore of his anti-He-Man narrative and i am a sucker for ore. It’s why i enjoy things like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Overlord is up there for me in terms of epicness and easily slotted it’s way into my top ten, even if it shares this spot with two other entries.

5c. That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime

A few years after Ainz blew my mind with the potential of world building, Slime came through and did it again with law building. I’m not going to sit here and deny that Slime is every bit the series as Overlord and BLEACH, it definitely is, but the magic system in this show is so much better, it’s insane. Fuse really put time into weaving this system together and it shows. I love the nod toward the RPG style narrative, building upon skill and magic levels like an old Final Fantasy title. You can definitely feel a Squenix influence in there, which is right up my alley because i am a straight up FF shill. More than that, i find the character work in this story to be incredibly strong. Like, i care about these characters WAY more than i should. All of them, even the borderline background cats. They all get time to shine and i can’t wait to see where this story goes. Honestly, i actually spoiled myself a bit and kind of know where it ends up, but seeing the ride to that conclusion is going to be fantastic. All three of these entries at five still have always to go for completion but they have definitely proven worthy to make this list.

4a. Fate/Stay Night

I struggled with this one. I struggled with just adding the entirety of the Fate franchise. I’m talking Apocrypha, Unlimited Blade Works,Grand Order, Zero, Extra, and especially Heaven’s Fell. In all honesty, this spot should be for Heaven’s Feel. I loved those movies. I loves that route in the game. I love Sakura Matou. She's my favorite Master. But i also love Mordred. That’s painfully clear if you have been frequenting this blog over the years. Mordred is from Apocrypha. Then there’s Nero, Gilgamesh, and Kiritsugu; All from the aforementioned series. Plus, Prototype got an OAD and I've heard rumors of a Strange Fake adaption in the works. I love the entirety of the Fate franchise but, none of these entries would even be a blip on my radar if not for the 2006 adaption of arguably the weakest route in the entire game, Stay Night. Fate/Stay Night makes it on this list, and at such a high spot, for what came after. I liked Stay Night, don’t misunderstand, but everything, and i mean everything, which came after, has been superior. None of it would even be a thing, however, without this first attempt which is why it’s one of my all-time favorites. Plus, i like this route more than UBW in the game, anyway.

4b. Bakemonogatari

Bake is in the same situation as Fate. I wanted to put the entire franchise on here but there is one, specific, story which stand out more than the others. Kizumonogatai. Shinobu or, rather, Kissshot, is an arguably top three all-time favorite anime character for me and it was Kizumonogatari where we got the most of her. i actually own all three Kizu films and even the novel, itself, I loved that character but i wouldn’t know anything about her without Bake. I’m not slighting the first entry into the world of Monogatari, mind you. Quite the contrary actually, I love Bake. It’s my second favorite story after Kizu but that’s by degrees. In terms of character development, i think Nekomonogatari (Black) is superior than Bake in almost every way. Kabukimonogatari went a long way to fleshing our Koyomi and even gave us a look at an adult Mayoi, as well as solid Shinobu content. I can go on and on about the other Monogatari series and how they do the narrative better than the first, but Bakemongatari WAS the first. Without it, i wouldn’t even know the other stories were a thing. That’s why it’s here. That’s why it deserves to be here. Just like Fate/Stay Night.

3. Dragon Ball Z

Listen, DBZ is not “good”. The narrative is all over the place and the plot is paper thin, at best. The “story” is basically there to frame the battles and, my goodness, were those battles straight up spectacle! I remember, vividly, watching the first beam clash between Goku and Vegeta. A full power Galick Gun against a Kaioken x 4 Kamehameha? God, that clash was brilliant. That entire scrap was brilliant. The Saiyan arc set a pace for that show which became the blueprint for Shonen anything going forward. The story was trash, though. So why do i love this sh*t so much that i would put it at three in my all-time list? Influence. Dragon Ball Z introduced me to my second favorite anime character (again, this is a 1a/1b situation) after Rei Ayanami, Vegeta IV. Vegeta is one of the most complete characters ever brought to life through the anime genre and i loved witnessing every second of that journey. By the time he sacrifices himself to Buu, i was in it for life. It made me happy to see that development continue in Super. More than that, Toriyama’s art style influenced my own, for years, until i caught wind of Tite Kubo.

2a. Akira

It was hard trying to place this one but, when i thought abut it, Akira had to sit here along with GitS. I saw Akira, long ago, on cable. the Sci-fi channel used to have these specials very year, one was Godzilla and the other was Anime. It was called Japanimation back then but one of the first films i remember seeing during one of these marathons, was Akira. The thing is, though, i remembered seeing this movie BEFORE that. Watching it on TV like that just reminded me of everything had already witnessed in a time i had long since forgot. I don’t know when i first saw Akira. I can’t remember. But i had to have seen it before i was seven years old. What that mans is Akira has been with me for as long as i can remember. It’s no the first anime i have ever seen, that’s probably Go-Lion (Voltron here in the States) but it had to be one of the first ten. How can it not be number two on my all-time list with that level of pedigree?

2b. Ghost in the Shell

Look, i love cyberpunk. That sh*t is easily my favorite genre of anything. You can write a sappy, cliche, uninspired story that would usually bore me to death but slap a cyberpunk skin on top of it? Yeah, I'm down to suffer for the cause. GitS is not that. Shirow built a whole ass classic with his tale of existential inquiry, wrapped with some of the staunchest political intrigue I've ever seen in an anime, outside of Gundam. More than that, his take on cyberpunk absolutely informed my own. When i think cyberpunk, i think Tachikomas, Ghosts, the net, and full cyborg bodies. Blade Runner was also a strong influence but that’s a much more stylized take on the genre. For me, GitS gets it right. It is the perfect balance between grounded reality and sci-fi magic, and that’s saying a lot because i grew up in the Eighties. Cyberpunk was almost exclusively the only genre of anime we got here in the States back then. Don’t misunderstand, i still enjoy those takes, Night City being the most recent to capture my heart thanks to Edgerunners, but the world of Major Kusanagi will always take the pole position. Along with Akira.

1. Neon Genesis Evangelion

EVA is my top anime, all-time. I’ve never been shy abut this. I love this show, man. I love this franchise. Anno crafted a goddamn masterpiece with this thing. I enjoy the Rebuild films and the manga adaption is a quietly superior telling of the story based strictly on the fact it had nine years to tell that story, but the OG anime is the best of that lot, for me. I had never seen anything so fluidly animated outside of Akira and GitS, let alone a mecha anime with this level of detail. The EVAs, as mechs, are top tier design, only beaten out in my heart by Gundam Epyon and, even then, it’s more a 1a/1b situation. EVA informed so much about my taste in anime going forward, it’s insane. Never mind the eternal Waifu battle shenanigans (Rei is best girl), but just in terms of overall storytelling, EVA raised the bar for me. I have no patience for flat characters or bland worlds because Neon Genesis Evangelion set the bar that high. Also, A Cruel Angel’s Thesis is the best goddamn opening an anime will ever have!

Honorable Mentions: Battle Angel Alita, FLCL, Erased, Goodbye, Mr. Despair, Perfect Blue, Deadman Wonderland, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, One-Punch Man, Ruroni Kenshin, Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, ToraDora, A Certain Magical Index, A Certain Scientific Railgun, A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, My Dress Up Darling, Bubblegum Crisis, Devilman Crybaby, Darling in the Franxx, Code Geass, Angel Beats, Re:Zero, Nausicca, Cromartie High, Blue Exorcist, Paranoia Agent, Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, Saga of Tanya the Evil, No Game No Live, Please, Teacher!

#Smokey brand Select #anime

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smokeybrand · 1 year

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Smokey brand Select: An Old Weeb's Thesis

10. Voltron