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btwitsgoku · 2 years

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Top 10 Most Overrated And Underrated Anime Series

Today, we’ll recommend the top 10 most overrated and underrated anime series. There are many anime series that have a huge fan following and are extremely popular all over the world. Some of them are well-deserved, while others have been just over-hyped.

Most people only watch the hyped-up series without paying attention to the plot or themes. As a result, bad anime series are overrated while good anime series are underrated. In this article, we discussed the top 10 most overrated and underrated anime series, as well as the reasons behind them. Here, you can also find out if they are really overrated and underrated or not.

So without further ado, here are the top 10 most overrated and underrated anime series.

10. The Seven Deadly Sins

Overrated

The Seven Deadly Sins is an adventure fantasy anime series that was based on Nakaba Suzuki’s manga of the same name. It has 5 seasons, consisting of 100 official episodes, 3 OVAs, and 2 featured films. Its first three seasons and first film were created by Studio A-1 Pictures, while the latter two seasons and second film were created by Studio Deen.

The Seven Deadly Sins tells the story of the Seven Deadly Sins, the deadliest group of warriors. Every member of this group represents each of their sins. Meliodas is the leader of the group that rebels against the Holy Knight in order to liberate the Liones Kingdom. Later in the series, the series takes a tragic turn, revealing Meliodas’ true identity as a cursed son of the Demon Kings.

This series, in my opinion, is one of the most overrated anime series due to its bad animation and unchoreographed action sequences in its third season. I know its plots and themes are intriguing, but the only reason I think it’s overrated is because of its animation.

9. My Hero Academia

Underrated

My Hero Academia is a superhero and adventure anime series based on Kohei Horikoshi’s manga of the same name. It has a total of 113 official episodes, 6 OVA episodes, and 3 long feature films that were created by Studio Bones in 2016.

This series depicts a fictitious world in which nearly everyone is born with a superpower. Some people who use their superpowers for good are known as heroes, while those who use them for evil are known as villains. It primarily follows the story of a young boy named Midoriya, who lacks superpowers but still aspires to be a hero.

My Hero Academia is the best modern superhero anime series, with incredible art and animation. I don’t understand why it is the most underrated anime and doesn’t have the same level of popularity as other Shounen series. Its animation and storytelling are unlike anything else in the shounen genre. Believe me when I say that it deserves more love from us than it currently receives.

8. Fruit basket

Overrated

Fruit Basket is a romance and slice of life anime series based on Natsuki Takaya’s manga of the same name. Its first season is made up of 26 episodes created by Studio Deen in 2001, and its second season is made up of 63 episodes created by Studio TMS/8PAN in 2019. TMS Entertainment also created one long feature film for this series, which was released in 2022.

Fruit Basket tells the story of Tohru, a young high school girl, and her relationship with the extraordinary Sohma family. Every member of the Sohma family has a curse that causes them to transform into animals based on their zodiac sign whenever they are weak, stressed, or embraced. Tohru assists this family by attempting to heal their emotional wounds.

Fruit Basket is the most anticipated anime series of 2019, but it is not as good as everyone claims. It’s a slow-paced story with some overly dramatic moments, but I enjoy its saddest parts. Every character in the series is excellent and mature. However, I believe that people may overestimate it and make it one of the most overrated anime series.

7. Kokoro Connect

Underrated

Kokoro Connect is a supernatural and romantic anime series based on Sadanatsu Anda’s light novels. It is made up of 17 episodes that were created in 2012 by Studio Silver Link. It is the most underrated anime series and deserves more credit for its mind-blowing story.

This series tells the stories of five high school students and the supernatural and sense-altering problems they encounter on a daily basis. Heartseed, an unknown person, uses these problems against them to put their friendship to the test. The more they are exposed to this phenomenon, the closer their bonds become.

Kokoro Connect has some of the best psychological components, a twisted plot, incredible character development, wonderful animation and so on. This series is well worth watching and deserves more attention than it has received.

6. Vinland saga

Overrated

Vinland Saga is a historical and adventure anime series based on Makoto Yukimura’s manga of the same name. It consists of 24 episodes produced by Wit Studio in 2019. It is one of the best anime series, but it is also one of the most overrated anime series because the anime adaptation is not as good as the manga.

Vinland Saga tells the story of Thorfinn, a young boy who is the son of a Viking Commander. After his father is killed by Askeladd, he joins his crew to exact vengeance. He always challenges Askeladd to duels, but he can never defeat or kill him.

This series has a great plot, but it becomes unrealistic after a few episodes. Thorfinn appears to be an overpowered character in some parts of the series. The main reason for its popularity is its incredible manga series, but its anime series does not deserve such a large following.

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#anime #manga #television #anime recommendation #otaku

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appleb18 · 4 years

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Why Modern Cartoons is Not Great as it Used to be in this Decade

As 2010′s draw near to the end and begin a next-generation, cartoons have changed from being a fun episodic adventure with a meaningful message and can get dark sometimes to a story-driven show with deep messages. While cartoons have a great start in early 2010s such as Adventure Time, Regular Show, Gravity Falls, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, however as time passes cartoons are becoming less interesting and not many aren’t talking about it. So what the hell happened with modern cartoons? Let’s get to the bottom of what happened to this decade of cartoons and why isn’t anyone talking about it anymore

The Animation Quality

The quality of the animation of cartoons back in 2000′s were amazing, so many variations of animation styles that look very appealing such as

Samurai Jack

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends

Recess

Proud Family and so many more

But now in modern cartoons, most cartoon shows are using a similar style of animation which many people called it “Calarts style”. Most cartoon shows are using because it’s cheap however it takes away creativity, more detail nor being organic. Look at Infinity Train, compare from the pilot to the release

It looks very boring having most cartoons look the same. Then there’s artistic freedom where creators let them draw whatever they want such as Steven Universe and OK KO. That sounds good but really though it just looks lazy and unprofessional. This is very distracting that most characters go off-model every scene like why Rebecca and Ian-Jones Quarry think it was a good idea!

Great to Below Average

So now let’s talk about the three shows that were once popular Steven Universe, Voltron, and Star vs The Forces of Evil. The trope I’ve been seeing as of late about these shows that it was pretty hype and they deliver on that. All they need to do is conclude it and call it a good cartoon but then crash and burned in later seasons.

Steven Universe didn’t get popular until “Jailbreak” and that was when everyone was watching it. It had character development, an interesting world of gems, a gorgeous background and has one of the best soundtracks. This isn’t surprising because the creator is the same person who wrote Marceline episodes in Adventure Time which was Rebecca Sugar that created the series. Then season 4 and season 5 happened which the show drop in quality like mostly the show prefer showing filler which makes the plot go too fast and made arcs underwhelming, crystals gems and Lapis Lazuli and Peridot aren’t being used that much in the show and having each villain being beaten by simply talking to them. While there is Steven Universe Future but that hasn’t gotten interesting in my opinion.

Star vs The Forces of Evil is a show used to be interesting for the two seasons and “Battle for Mewni” arc but then shipping drama got out of hand and that resulted to fell from grace

Then there’s Voltron and we all how that turned out for the last two seasons

What these three have in common that they set up this interesting premise and world in the first few seasons but they all went downhill. Awful character writing, insane plot twist, and terrible pacing. I did wish that those shows would get better like how Adventure Time and Regular Show had one bad season but after that, they both got better but they didn’t and it went from being great to disappointingly average.

Comedy Over Messages

Now that’s got the most hype shows, let’s talk about shows that not many people talk about because the premise and world aren’t engaging enough to watch and which they are We Bare Bears, Craig in the Creek, Clarence, OK KO, and The Loud House. While I’m not saying they aren’t bad but it is just not interesting to watch, it's just that it’s too tame and too comedic. The main issue I have it doesn’t really teach viewers like they used to anymore

OK KO was about to talk about gun violence but they turn it into a comedy. In “Let’s Not Be Skeletons” people overuse the gun and resulting everyone to turn skeletons and KO tries to stop it but fails. By the end of the episode, it was a dream and calls Congress to stop it from happening. I really hate how writers of this episode of making a serious issue turn into comedy and that’s a pretty awful way of doing it.

Look at Static Shock and Fat Albert, instead of making Gun Violence a joke, they talk about how serious it is by having someone shot and that devastated the characters a lot

Then there's Hey Arnold, it really dives into serious issues such as

“Pigeon Man” showcases that some people are meant to be with other people while others like Pigeon Man are just different and can’t be with other people.

“Helga on the Couch” showcases Helga's anger issues and those issues manifest because her family ignores her because of her sister. Never truly cares for like no makes her lunch for school and no one brought her to school when she was a young girl. The only person that cares for was Arnold.

Then there’s my personal favorite, “Arnold Christmas”. Mr. Hyunh is always sad at Christmas and this episode revealed that he had a daughter and all he wanted was to see her grow up but there was a war coming near his village. In order to do so, he had to give her up so she can have a better life. It took 20 years to get out of the country and he almost gave up hope to find her until Helga helped Arnold to search for her and be reunited with her father.

Modern cartoons don’t show those kinds of messages anymore and there’s something worse than that and I hate how cartoon shows keep doing this.

Today’s Villains

I” ve been seeing a lot lately that the main antagonist isn't handled well in cartoons as of lately. Most villains have been getting redeemed lately and not paying their crimes. While show creatures try to make them sympathetic and the victim however it doesn’t excuse them for their crimes.

White Diamond who caused multiple mass genocide on worlds, brainwash any gem that stands in her way and shatter gems gets easily defeated by simply getting talk to and just not gonna do it anymore because Steven said so.

Mina Loveberry and her Mewni soldiers wanted to destroy monsters. When her and her army magic depleted, she just goes in the wilderness and no one stopped her.

Moon Butterfly helped Mina create her soldiers so she can retake the throne from Ecipsa. Instead of having the monsters and her surrendering the throne that she was attending to do, however, her plan backfired when Mewni Soldiers and Mina wanted to kill all the monsters. Why didn’t Moon saw that coming, they were clearly racist against them. Then by the end of the show, she never once apologized for what she has done.

Starlight Glimmer created a cult that no one has cutie marks until the mane six defeated her in “Cutie Map” She returns and her revenge on Twilight by going back in time and making sure Rainbow Dash doesn’t perform the Sonic Rainboom. After multiple going to multiple timelines, she finally catches up to her and then her tragic backstory been revealed and it was very disappointing. The reason she caused all of this because her friend moved away and that’s it. That’s not all, instead of her facing her crimes like most villains such as Tirek or Queen Chrysalis, she gets off the hook and she became friends with Twilight in a matter of minutes

A good example of a good antagonist is Aku from Samurai Jack. When he first appeared in the show, he’s pure evil, destroying anything that stood in his way and ruling over the weak but as the show progresses, the serious villain became more comedic villain but that doesn’t mean he’s a silly character, he’s far from that. He’s still all-powerful and should be taken seriously. This is what I want from a villain. He’s powerful, he’s truly evil and has a personality.

Villains can be sympathetic and relatable however shouldn’t be forgiven so easily. When a character crosses the line by taking multiple innocent lives should never be redeemed, even if they have a sad backstory

Cartoons lately have become less popular in this past decade, the glaring problems about cartoons are its animation, comedy over messages, messy plots, and terrible villain. People will only talk about cartoons from the late ’80s to 2012. I’m afraid that this day of age that it isn’t appealing anymore than in previous years. The only animation that people will talk about is anime shows which I can’t lie, is far superior to cartoons as of now. I feel that the only way it can make it back on top is it needs something like Adventure Time or Gravity Falls moment that reinvent it more relevant and view to modern audiences. I really do like to watch cartoon shows for animation, message, and characters but I keep seeing issues in modern cartoons and I hope that it will change in the future.

#Adventure Time #My Litte Pony: Friendship is Magic #MLP:FiM #Regular Show #Gravity Falls #Steven Universe #OK KO Let's Be Heroes #Craig of the Creek #Steven Universe Future #Star vs The Forces of Evil #Voltron #Clarence #Infinity Train #She-Ra #The Amazing World of Gumball #We Bare Bears

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rachelbethhines · 4 years

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TTS Songs Ranked Worst to Best

Someone asked me to rank my fav and least fav TTS songs a while back, but I’ve since then relistened to the soundtrack and there’s a whole bunch of songs that just forgot about, so here’s a more accurate ranking now that the songs are more fresh in my mind

32 . Life After Happily Ever After (Reprise)

This song is infuriating, because the finale is infuriating. Listening to this song just makes me angry all over again because it reminds me just how unsatisfying the ending to TTS was. I wanted to turn it off at several points. I barely can get through it despite it being so short. It doesn’t help that the soundtrack leaves all the dialogue in there and fails to actually end the song. It just cuts off before the final note.

31. Hook Foot’s Ballad

Does this even count as a song? Why is it here on the soundtrack but not the Hurt Incantation? Did Menken really waste his talent writing a joke and did the showrunners really waste money and limited resources on this?

30. Friendship Song

Bland, boring, and pointless. It was clearly written as a marketing stunt for the radio disney charts and not as anything to do with the plot of the series. They just throw it up on screen to fill out the running time and don't even let the whole song play through. It’s pitiful.

29. Waiting in the Wings (Reprise)

I didn’t think much of the original song one way or the other, but the reprise is soooo dumb. The plot twist it introduces winds up ruining the whole show and sabotaging both Cassandra’s and Rapunzel’s characters. It’s not even a nice sounding song on it’s own. The kid’s voice is irritating (who I’m sure is doing her best, but really little kids shouldn’t be made to sing professionally as a general rule) and the melody just as bland as the first time it was played. The only reason to like this song is if you’r a mega fan of Cassandra’s or her VA, which I am not. (Note: this is not a criticism of Eden Espinosa, I just don’t happen to follow any of the VAs in this show)

28. Through It All

I like the instrumentals in this song, and that’s about it. Everything about this song is wrong. It doesn’t fit the story, it’s a misuse of the cast and songwriters, it’s a waste of valuable screen time, the melody is dull, and the dang soundtrack had to throw in that lame dialogue about ‘greatest threat ever’ at the beginning. If you want a pump up song in your story then you got to earn it. You can’t just tell us things are bad, you got to show it. A joyful horseback ride and everyone sitting in a bar safe and sound isn’t threatening or depressing enough to warrant a cheering up session. Plus the song itself doesn’t add anything to the overall story.

27. The Girl Who Has Everything

Sometimes I think the writers were willing trying to sabotage themselves. It’s as if they were determined to make the only two main female characters in the show unlikeable bitches in season three. Don’t believe me? The creator Chris has said this song only exists to highlight how much easier Rapunzel has things than Cass and went onto say that Rapunzel was in the wrong during their conflict because ‘she held Cassandra back’. (Oh yeah she totally ‘held back’ the grown woman who left on her own accord, returned on her own accord, and then assaulted and tried to murder a bunch of people for no reason of her own accord.) But this song does succeed in furthering season’s three narrative that Rapunzel is a spoiled selfish brat. Shame the story fails to address this setup and never has Rapunzel learn to be a better person. Rather the narrative bends over backward to tell us how special Rapunzel is without any sense of self awareness and this song falls into that same trap; making it both irritating and pointless.

26. Listen Up

Yeah, I talked about this on my salt marathon, but I just don't like this song very much. The melody is fine but the lyrics are a real miss in my mind. It doesn’t help matters that the song is indeed pointless in the grand scheme of things.

25. Livin’ the Dream

This is much on the same level as Listen Up as it features the same problems. It doesn’t add to the narrative and the lyrics kind of let it down. I placed it higher just because I like the melody a little more.

24. More of Me

This song is a lot like the Friendship Song in that it was created to be an end credit song for the pop charts and you’d be forgiven in forgetting it even exists. However, it at least got to actually play all the way through. I think this song was a real missed opportunity. I honestly believe that it should have been the opening theme song of the show instead of Wind in My Hair. It’s more built to serve such a purpose and it’s a waste of resources not to actually use it. Alternatively, I would have accepted it being reworked into the actual series as a character song. Especially since we’re missing a song in season three due to budget cuts.

23. Wind In My Hair

Speaking of theme songs, I think I would like Wind In My Hair a lot better if i didn’t have to listen to it every episode. On its own it actually has a lot of things going for it; a nice melody, interesting instrumentals, good singing, ect. Unfortunately it’s just over exposed, and none of those elements lend themselves naturally to an intro song for a tv show. In fact the theme song feels really out of place and is edited oddly to fit the shorter intro.

22. Wind In My Hair (Reprise)

Honestly the theme song is mostly comprised of this reprise, but it has the opening instrumentals from the OG song frankensteined onto it. This means that the version that plays before every episode is on fullblast all the time to keep the energy up, but that’s not how the song is suppose to go. The actual reprise that plays in the pilot builds to a crescendo, starting soft and melancolony and getting louder and more hopeful and determined. It sounds a lot better in full because of that. It’s still too overexposed though. Both these songs would probably be higher on the list of not for the theme song version.

21. With You by My Side

This song is fine. It’s nothing special, but it’s not bad either. What knocks it down the list is the fact that Lance isn’t in it, despite Lance being right there. Like don't bother hiring a famous Broadway singer if you’re not going to have him sing! But that speaks more to the poor writing of season two than anything else. This song also doesn’t really add anything to the narrative as, contrary to what the writers intended, it doesn’t actually enhance the emotional impact of Cassandra’s betrayal later in the episode. The song itself is just tacked on and doesn’t take the opportunity to lay down any foreshadowing for that plot point.

20. Next Stop Anywhere

Another perfectly serviable song. It’s not bad but nothing outstanding. It gets the job done. It’s also really ho-hum and the soundtrack keeps all the unneeded dialogue, which is a pet peeve of mine.

19. Waiting In the Wings

Despite it’s hype, I never thought much of Waiting in the Wings. It’s got nice instrumentals and Eden Espinosa gives it her all in the singing department. The problem is it’s too generic. It’s a bare bones basic ass ‘I want song’. Cassandra's movations are weak and unsupported by the narrative, the melody is boring, and it honestly doesn’t add anything to her story. I mean it should, it’s her character solo, but because she’s written so poorly the song just winds up undermining the character in the end. All I’m saying is that, this is not the song from season two that I would have nominated for the Emmys. But it’s still Alan Menken, it’s still nicely performed, and given the rest of the competition for that year, it did deserve to win.

18. If I Could Take That Moment Back

This song is also pretty generic, but it’s less boring than I See the Light, (yeah, I said it, I See the Light is boring) so that’s a win in my book. Ergo this holds the title of the only New Dream duet that I enjoy. But there’s better stuff on this list.

17. Next Stop Anywhere (Reprise)

Well no, I take that back. The reprise of Next Stop Anywhere is also technically a New Dream duet. It’s still not anything amazing, but it works for what it is. Plus, Adria’s opening dialogue in the soundtrack version doesn’t bother me quite as much as some of the other dialogues choices that were kept in.

16. Stronger Than Ever Before

I really enjoyed this song in the moment. It’s catchy and fun, and it finally has Lance doing something rather than ignoring his existence. However it is borderline unnecessary in terms of story placement, and I’m slightly mad at it now that I know that we could have gotten a Rapunzel and Varian duet but it was scrapped for this instead.

15. Crossing the Line

Keeping with the theme of ‘songs I have conflicting emotions about’, we have Crossing the Line. This song is confused. It starts and stops, the melody isn’t clear, the orchestration is playing tug of war with the singers for dominance, and it’s basically Alan Menken and the show’s creators ripping off Frozen. (I guess he’s kicking himself for leaving that particular project?) But it’s interesting. I never heard anything quite like it. It’s memorable even if it doesn’t fully work. It’s got these interesting bits and pieces to it that just never quite comes together as a whole. Some of the lyrics are some of the best Glenn Slater has ever wrote and is far better than the story actually surrounding the song. Yet there’s other lines that are total cringe. Sometimes the song is bold and catchy and gets you all hyped up, and then other times its limp and staggering and feels so awkward to listen to. Yet it’s not boring or generic and so I have to place it higher than the rest of the songs that’s come before. (Also, there’s some amazing orchestral covers out there that really pulls together the various parts really well, just fyi)

14. Nothing Left to Lose

I really don't like this song. I’ve been one of its biggest critics ever since it was leaked by the marketing team earlier this year. And yet... I can’t in good conscience place any lower on this list. All of the problems I have with it are the exact same problems I have with Crossing the Line. It’s confused, the various pieces don't line up, the instrumentals are competing with the vocals, the song’s progression is weird with it’s constant key changes, some of the lyrics are good while others are absolute shit, ect and so forth. It also actively works against the story it's trying to tell. The song wants you to sympathize with Cassandra, but her lines are as shallow as a puddle and makes her look like a sociopath. Especially when she’s physically attacking Varian through out for no reason. Also neither character learns anything from the exchange and it fails to impact the story. By all accounts this is a bad song. But I’m Varian trash. There I said it. You happy? Varian’s parts in the songs are fine, good even, and the song is anything but bland. I would rather listen to a mess then be bored to tears by a competent yet standard four chord pop song.

13. I’d Give Anything

This song is nice to listen to. Story wise it absolutely sucks and shouldn’t have been in the finale at all. But it sounds pleasant. This is one of those songs that could pop up randomly on the radio and I would just think it it a nice sad break up song. I can’t say that about some of the other misplaced songs in the show. This one however, you can very much, absolutely divorce this song from the narrative and it would be fine. Now that’s not good writing, and it’s very much a waste of limited resources, but I’m rating the music here first and story second.

12. Buddy Song

The Buddy Song also absolutely did not need to exist but it also sounds nice. Plus, it makes use of Lance so I’m a little more lenient towards it. I can’t however place it higher since it really is just Alan Menken ripping off Alan Menken. Like, I would not be at all surprised to find out that this was originally a deleted song for Aladdin or something.

11. Bigger Than That

What can I say, Lance just gets good songs. When the show bothers to give them to him. Unfortunately, it’s not the best placed. It kind of interrupts the more important drama of Be Very Afraid, and probably should have been saved for a later episode. Especially since it hinges on a plot point that is contradictory to Lance’s character. We should have gotten a Varian and Rapunzel duet here and given Lance his own episode in the second half of season three. This song could have easily been refitted into being a bonding moment for him and the girls. That would also have filled out the season’s original songs to the usual eight instead of only seven.

10. Life After Happily Ever After

Now we’re getting to the good stuff. The top ten. The best of the best. This song makes the cut for three reasons. 1. It lyrically and musically interesting 2. It does the job of furthering the story and the characters and 3. Eugene’s part is so damn good. Like this song could have easily fell down into the ranks of ‘fine but generic’ if it wasn’t for the bridge with Eugene. That puts it over the top and to my mind makes it better than anything from the OG film. (well almost anything, Mother Knows Best is still great) This is the barometer by which I measure all of the music in the series. Is it better or worse than Life After Happily Ever After? Because this is the level that I equate good musicals with. What keeps on the tenth spot and not higher is the dialogue that still left on the soundtrack and the lack of a Cassandra introduction. That and also the rest of the songs are just flat better.

9. Hurt Incantation

Hurt, Decay, Reverse, whatever you want to call it, this was such a cool fucking concept. One that was utterly wasted by the show. I place this so high because it just sounds awesome! It looks good too, and it offered up so many possibilities from a story perspective. What lets it down is the lack of follow up for it and it’s too short. There’s needed to be another verse. It also should have been on the actual soundtrack instead of Hook Foot’s Ballad. (The Heal Incantation also was sung in What the Hair, but I’m not counting it since it was written for the film)

8. The Girl Who Has Everything (Reprise)

I hate the initial song and the set up that it took to get here, but I love this reprise. It’s perfect. This is what the story needed more of. Rapunzel taking her life into her hands, and her proposing to Eugene would have been the perfect capstone for her arc. In fact I’m angry we didn’t actually get that. There’s absolutely no reason why Rapunzel couldn’t have done so and we could have had her and Eugene engaged during the second half of season three. How much better would have it been if Cassandra threatened their wedding plans and that’s why they couldn’t go through with it until after the series ended? So much more tension that way.

7. I Got This

This is a really good song that actually futhers the characters and the narrative. Moreover it’s refreshing to see the heroine not be perfect and to fail sometimes due to her own inadequacies. It’s just a shame that the series didn’t follow through with this set up, but I appreciate the attempt all the same.

6. Set Yourself Free

This is the only song in the series that’s an actual satisfying pay off for anything. Music wise it’s nothing too special, but in terms of context it just works. We were sorely deprived of such resolutions and songs with actual meaning in the show.

5. View From Up Here

This song is too good for the episode it actually appears in. We needed something like this back in season one to introduce Cassandra with. It also sadly doesn’t fit with the wider narrative after season three. However I shall still appreciate it as a ‘what might have been’ type song.

4. Let Me Make You Proud

The only reason why this song isn’t higher is just overexposure and I’ve no one to blame but myself for that. I’ve listened to this song way too many times. As such it tends to alternate between this, View from Up Here, and the next song on the list. But make no mistake it is glorious. Fantastic instrumentals, set up, and of course amazing vocals.

3. Everything I Ever Thought I Knew

Yes, I know this plot point didn’t lead anywhere, but it works for this song at least. Also Eugene’s VA is a really underrated singer. He sounds nice and he emotes really well. Though I’ll be honest, this jumped up to third place because it was fresh in my mind after listening to the soundtrack before making this list. I’ve always liked the song and I do rate it highly, but it can change places with Let Me Make You Proud and View from Up Here at anytime depending on my mood.

2. Let Me Make You Proud (Reprise)

This song is heartbreaking! Story wise it probably shouldn’t exist because it gives away the twist too soon, but who cares, it’s awesome! Varian’s arc is the most compelling in the show and the only thing that saves TTS from falling into mediocre obscurity; and it’s songs like this that help make the arc stand out even more than it already does.

1. Ready As I’ll Ever Be

I said it before and I’ll say it again; Ready As I’ll Ever Be is the greatest thing Alan Menken has ever written in his entire career! If you know anything about the multiple award winning songwriter then you know that is no faint praise and I do not dole it out lightly. This song is the reason why this show even has a fanbase. People are still getting into the series because of this song. And no matter how many times you listen to it just rocks! It’s complex, layered, moody, and with a fantastic beat and energy. The performances are wonderful and the instrumentation glorious. It belongs in the hollows of Disney’s greatest hits and not regulated to a spin-off tv show that failed to make its money back. I weep for the lost potential that this song and this show had. It hurts to know that so many people will never see this flash of brilliance that has come out of the House of Mouse, will never know the wonderfulness that is Varian. Ah, ‘c'est la vie’, I suppose. Tangled the Series got what it deserved, but it's crew did not. While I can not in all honesty recommend the series in full; I do sincerely urge any Disney fan to check out the songs at the very least. Especially this one. And that’s it. There’s my official ranking of all the songs, and I hope those of you read my Tangled reviews appreciate the hours it took into making this.

#tangled #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #varian #rapunzel #eugene #cassandra #lance #alan menken #Disney #disney music #disney songs

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tirorah · 3 years

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Road to Berlin – The Strike Witches Magnum Opus?

Hello! It’s been a long time. I don’t plan on returning to Tumblr long-term—it simply stole away too much of my time and energy, and I had to do what was best for myself. However, I thought I’d pop in for a very special message.

You see, Strike Witches’ third season, Road to Berlin, has now reached its halfway point. And I need you to watch it.

“Strike Witches?!” I hear you say. “That weird show about girls with no pants that you’re obsessed with for some reason?”

Yes, exactly! Hold on, don’t run away yet! Sit with me for a spell and allow me to explain my boundless love for this silly, emotionally gripping show. Allow me to tell you why it might affect you in the same way, and why Road to Berlin may be the best offering yet.

Welcome to the 501st Joint Fighter Wing

If you’ve heard of this anime, you’ve undoubtedly heard of (or witnessed) its rather infamous claim to fame: a group of teenage soldiers fighting strange creatures in an Alternate Universe World War 2 Europe, flying around with guns and magic-fueled leg machines, and none of them are wearing any decent trousers.

That takes some getting used to, doesn’t it? I’m not going to deny that. But while Strike Witches’ rather peculiar design decisions are inescapable, there’s one thing you need to take into account: Season 1 aired all the way back in 2008. And over those thirteen years, it’s evolved into an experience unlike anything its roots would suggest.

Strike Witches has always been a strange beast. It has a large cast and divides its activities evenly between (light) war drama and slice-of-life shenanigans. And there’s fanservice, lots and lots of it! But the show’s emphasis on risqué camera work, and how that camera work is handled, highly depends on which entry you’re watching.

You see, Strike Witches is strangely ambitious. It could’ve easily taken its bizarre concept and pushed that to its limits, bringing in as much fanservice as possible and playing a simple story in the background as window dressing. But it was never satisfied with just that. Even early on in Season 1, the show deals with heavier themes like pressure, trauma and loss.

And then there are the characters, the undisputed stars of the show. Twelve strong and all with different backgrounds and personal quirks, they may at first seem like TV Tropes come to life. And certainly, sometimes they are. However, as the series progressed, things started to change. Even Season 2, arguably the lightest and silliest of all entries, featured material that built on character development and character growth earned in its predecessor.

With the movie and a trio of OVAs to round out the cast a bit more, the stage was set for Road to Berlin.

The Difficult Road Ahead

When this season was first announced back in 2018, two things stood out to me. First of all, the key visual and promotional video released along with the announcement were much more similar in style to the movies and the OVAs, featuring serious-looking characters and stormy clouds. Secondly, for the first time in Strike Witches history, an entry received a subtitle. Yes, the OVAs were named Operation Victory Arrow, but that was merely wordplay to spell out “OVA.” It wasn’t wholly serious.

Road to Berlin, however, is deadly serious.

Let’s start with an overall theme. The vaunted 501st Joint Fighter Wing has had some major victories, but much of the continent is still under occupation by the Neuroi. The Hive over Berlin is the Wing’s new target, but the journey there is fraught with obstacles. Plans are thwarted and delayed by Neuroi more powerful and far craftier than their 2008 counterparts.

And as the opening song tells us: “We all have flaws.” The Road to Berlin isn’t an entirely literal road; it’s also a metaphorical one. The push to Berlin is their hardest battle yet. Victory can only be achieved if the characters face and overcome their weaknesses. But they’re not alone.

Friendship Is Power

As the characters have long since been established, there’s greater room for growth not just in one character, but also in how that character interacts with others. Road to Berlin chose the best possible route and decided to emphasize character dynamics. Episodes don’t focus on a single character anymore; they focus on relationships, and those relationships are at their peak here.

There’s a newfound maturity to the writing in Road to Berlin, a gentle touch that allows the characters to breathe and be more than their foremost traits. You get a sense that the characters have grown from their experiences; they feel different, more well-rounded, but they still behave exactly as they should. This is difficult to get right, and while I’m sure there might be a few eyebrow-raising moments here and there, the overall result is a cast that continues to improve every week.

Chekhov’s Gun

Underpinning the character work is a highly intriguing execution. Road to Berlin delivers subtle setups and satisfying payoffs in every episode. The pacing is also seriously tight. No moment is left unused, every opportunity for additional development is taken. Even the script itself doesn’t like to waste time; it explains things here and there, but it rightly assumes you know who the characters are and what everything means, so it doesn’t bother with many unnecessary lines.

On top of all that, this season is reaching new heights in confidence and sheer audacity, and it uses that to deliver something truly special. There are interactions here that I never could’ve imagined, twists that genuinely caught me off-guard, moments where I had to sit back and digest what I’d just witnessed.

Not a single episode has been predictable thus far; I’ve had more surprises than I can count. In fact, before I started watching I made a bingo card on a whim, filling it with trends and running gags I’d spotted over the course of the series. Some of those bingo spaces have already been proven wrong, and others are in question. Road to Berlin has done such a spectacular job at simultaneously defying and exceeding my expectations that I honestly have no idea where this journey will take me.

The Fault in Our Stars

Okay, hold up, stop the hype train! I admit, I’m a massive sucker for Strike Witches. One could say this somewhat clouds my judgement. Shocking, I know. So, to make this enthusiastic recommendation fairer, let’s dig into something that I hope to see an improvement on.

There is some terrible imbalance in screen time going on here. I know I said earlier that the cast is great, and it is amazing, but some characters have definitely been favored over others. Yoshika is the main character, of course, so it’s not unreasonable for her to have a large role. Similarly, characters like Minna, Gertrud and Shirley have more experience and higher ranks than the others, which means they have an easier time fitting into scenes.

So, who’s gotten the short end of the stick?

Let’s start with Lynne. She hasn’t had as much of a presence as I’d hoped. The primary reason for this is Shizuka, who’s taken up the role of newbie to the squadron and is often paired with Yoshika because they’re working together. As each episode focuses on the relationships between a select few characters at a time, the others are often relegated to minor roles, and poor Lynne hasn’t had an episode to highlight her yet. I’m sure her moment will come eventually.

I don’t know if the same thing applies to Minna. She’s mostly stuck behind her desk again, it seems, and while she’s definitely had some scenes, her role as Wing Commander hasn’t allowed her as much wiggle room as some of the others. What I want to see from Minna is more time to be a nurturing mom to her girls. The thing is, I’m not sure how they’d accomplish a Minna-centric episode. I suppose they could pair her up with Mio, but even then, I’m uncertain where to take her. It seems redundant to have her be worried out of her mind over Mio again, and she seems to be keeping it together pretty well so far anyway.

In a trend so merciless it’s almost comical, Sanya and Eila seem forever doomed to the peanut gallery. They started out with few lines and have pretty much remained in the background since. Of course, a big factor to it all is their role as the night patrol, which naturally separates their activities from everyone else’s. It’s my current prediction that their relationship is next in line to be showcased. The quality of that episode will likely hinge on how their personalities are tuned, but there’s potential for something great.

And most shocking of all, Mio—She Who Has Practiced Plot Armor Ten Thousand Times—has had the most infinitesimal role of all. I’m of two minds on this. It appears that Road to Berlin has realized that having Mio fly into battle without a shield or Striker Unit is silly, and this is good. On the other hand, Mio is an iconic and beloved character. She deserves some screen time as long as she doesn’t overshadow the others. For now, she seems to be relegated to strategizing and logistics, although I have a hunch that a way to circumvent her newfound vulnerability has already been set up. Time will tell if this ends up being utilized.

Journey’s End

In closing, Road to Berlin highlights the best of what Strike Witches has to offer. It’s striding boldly forward, eager to dazzle us with its animation and audio, grinning as it challenges our preconceptions about where its characters can go and what they can do.

The path to this greatness can be tough. Watching Strike Witches means accepting a number of strange concepts, which can give quite a few viewers a rough start with the series. However, if you made it all the way here and haven’t given Strike Witches a try yet, I sincerely implore you to make the attempt. If you allow the characters to sweep you off your feet, then Road to Berlin could be the apex of a most satisfying viewing experience.

Especially if its second half is as impressive as the first. I, personally, have high hopes. There’s no sky this show can’t conquer.

#strike witches #road to berlin #anime #yes I made a bingo card in Excel #I'm a passionate fangirl with ample Microsoft experience #oh right #I should point out that I changed my name from NeandaFFnet to TirOrah #as I don't use that old handle anymore #sorry for any confusion caused

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theshoddypenmen · 3 years

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2021 spring spotlight: Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s song.

Each anime season, us fans of the art are showered in a torrent of titles every few months. Some are titles that are continuing that we love. Others are new works looking introduce its story to the viewers in hopes in capturing new hearts. While each is unique, there are some that emerge and separates itself from its peers and demands the attention of the community for its quality. Vivy: Fluorite Eye's song is a work that offers high tier entertainment on all levels for the viewer. A candidate to be considered for anime of the year as well most certainly best of the season, This piece not only has all the components that make A great anime, but all those components are elite and should be something others in the industry should aspire to. Plot and Premise Our adventure takes place in A futuristic setting where artificial intelligence technology is at an advanced stage and is growing rapidly. The story is centered around a female android Vivy, whose program is to sing for humans and make them happy in doing so. One day suddenly a virus, that has over taken an android teddy bear (gosh i love anime) approach's Vivy and reveals to her that in 100 years there will be an AI uprising that will kill all humanity. That virus was sent back 100 years to find Vivy and together change key events in history to avoid the genocidal war and save the world. The story is actually a topical one, exploring the idea of Artificial Intelligence in similar ways we are in real human life. Taking a look at moral questions like " should AI's have rights" and " how do we feel about Ai's and human relationships?". Human beings becoming dependent on these artificial beings is another fascinating concept this piece touches upon. Truly a fun fascinating story, especially for Sci-fi fans. While the premise of the story isnt necessarily unique, what makes this piece great is the way the story is told. The progression episode to episode unveiling the story is perfect. The changes in the environment and technology as the years and episodes continue is excellent and while the time travel aspect could be considered a weak point for the story ( how does a virus travel back in time?) your interest in the plot is still maintained throughout. In order to stop the future crisis, the characters are challenged to make difficult life or death decisions to change the past story line. Having that task not be clear all the time, or changing that particular event not having the precise expected outcome is a fun aspect of the series. Characters The story is centered around the pop star singer android VIvy. What makes Vivy such a fascinating character is that she is some how A lifeless emotionless being, but still remains full of emotion and depth. At the heart of her character she is just designed to sing and entertain humans, which on its surface isnt at all deep. But during her journey you begin to relate through the idea of everyone and everything has its purpose. Everyone wants to know what there purpose in life is. Like a lot of people in real life we believe we will find fulfillment in finding that purpose. This is a layered concept that will resonate with astute audiences. However, there is a parallel idea that we are not a monolith and we are capable of many different things, and just like Vivy, things we had no idea we were capable of. Vivy is strong. Dedicated to her mission and both grabs the heart of the audience through her love and kind nature, and garners respect through her actions. complex, likable protagonist. Throughout the story Vivy and her virus companion Matsumodo meet various characters, and each of these characters are used to discuss the questions regarding humanity and the future of artificial intelligence. meeting a scientist who falls in love with an AI. dealing with terrorist groups that are anti-Artificial intelligence and carry out operations to destroy the industry. Vivy interacts with politicians who lobby for policy regarding the humanity and rights that the machines are entitled to. Each encounter is a fascinating look into the possibilities people may have to deal with going forward with the technology. Vivy meets a variety of other AI models. Some of the models are even directly descended from Vivy's technology and the piece takes looks at Inter-AI relationships and the complexities of them. music and visuals Vivy: Flourite Eye's song has some of the most compelling music of the season. This fact is only rivaled by having some of the best fighting scenes and just visual designs this spring as well. The music is high quality throughout the story. The singing is beautiful and strong in every character. The scores that play under the scenes are always on point and really sells the moment to the audience. The scores are noticeably great and adds to the overall viewing experience. The tracks under the fight scenes really get you pumped and are real jams. The tracks under the more emotional scenes are beautiful and brings out the type of response that is appropriate for the scene. Having a nice pop song that jams as its opening, and a absolutely beautiful piano ending the music in this work is just elite. Fighting scenes are the easiest way to get your audience hype and frankly i was really surprised at the level of those scenes in this show. VIVY KICKS ASS. The action can feel really intense watching and each moment is animated very well. The way Vivy's super speed and strength and quick super human reflexes is conveyed in the fights are really exciting to watch. Also lets just be honest, i will always love super android robot fights with explosions and lasers. That's kind of the whole reason we are all here right? Either way the fight scenes in this are incredible. They grab your attention and do not let go. The scenery drawn is top notch. The futuristic backgrounds are cool and sure to please sci-fi fans. Vivy is a solid project all-around. Great music, good protagonist, fun story, beautifully drawn fun action. Anime of this quality are not common. especially ones with female leads that don't make me feel like the show has been overly sexualized. I don't leave this anime feeling like i watched the female lead sexually objectified at all. meanwhile, Vivy showed she was strong, brave, kind and strangely relatable.....for a robot. Highly recommend this piece and kudos to its staff all-around.

#vivy: fluorite eye's song #vivy #anime #anime / manga #manga #music #spring #2021 #artificial technology #artificial intelligence #science #sci fi #television #internet #story #books #comics #comic

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scratchface · 3 years

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Sorry if this bothered you, but I'd like to hear your overall thoughts on Vrains.

No bother, no bother! Sorry this took awhile to answer, I wanted to slowly put together my thoughts.

I know I’ve been kind of distant from the fandom for awhile, but I still love Vrains, and those days in the fandom were really fun! Even if things got a bit wild (I like wild, I like discourse, and I especially enjoy pissing certain individuals off). And I’m really grateful for everyone I met and befriended through Vrains, especially the DS discord crew. It was a blast, through and through.

As for my final, hindsight thoughts on Vrains, have this sort of pros and cons like ramble:

I really loved the core characters—Yusaku is by far my favorite YGO protagonist, and the most refreshing. I love his independence, his ferocity, his tenacity, and so much more. His backstory is incredibly interesting, the Lost Incident is a really gripping concept, and not the kind of thing I expected from a YGO series. Not to mention Yusaku has the best play style and the coolest aesthetic. Ai always managed to walk the line between charming and ominous perfectly, always leaving questions regarding his motives and true intentions while being genuinely entertaining and likable. Ryoken is my favorite YGO “rival”, thanks to the depth of his character, the complexity of his role in the story, and the development he undergoes. Not to mention his design is probably the best to come out of modern YGO, well worth the long wait it took for it to be revealed.

That said, the minor characters ranged from mediocre to practically nonexistent to outright detrimental to the development of the plot and the show as a whole. Some of them, like Ema, were decent, interesting additions that added a bit of flavor to the setting and the storyline. Others may as well have not been in the show at all, and others I can only wish were so unobtrusive. Whenever Aoi was involved in an episode, the writing, particularly the dialogue, would notably and painfully dip in quality, sometimes becoming near nonsensical or outright contradictory to what was happening on screen. As I’ve pointed out before, a lot of Vrains’ issues arise from the writers trying to force the same minor characters into being relevant to the story instead of inventing new ones or switching in other characters that would make more sense thematically. They kept trying to push the same four circle shaped characters into square shaped holes.

Season one was very strong and remains by far my favorite. It had its weak moments, aka the Anothers arc, but otherwise had an engaging storyline, an epic revenge plot, and a poignant ending with some great, standout duels, concepts, and execution.

Season two had its ups and downs and rock bottoms. There were parts I really enjoyed!…Probably. Hanoi/Revolver’s comeback kicked ass at least. I was very excited for the other Ignis and lost kids and extremely disappointed when that went pretty much nowhere. Takeru was alright, though I kinda wish early fan theories had panned out and he did get a villain arc or something, because that would have been sick as hell. In comparison to the hype, what we did get from him was kinda bland. The oscillation between SB being a cocky challenger and a fanboy was weird and not executed well, and outside of the SB persona, Takeru himself could be kind of boring. Still, SB had an awesome design and I liked Flame and the other Ignis, especially Earth and Windy. Earth’s death still gives me a pit in my stomach. Bohman really struggled to fill Revolver’s shoes as primary antagonist and boy did it show, and Aoi’s weird virtual identity crisis was clunky and tiresome.

Season three was…not what I wanted? I was dying for a villain arc for Ai, and he had his moments! But mostly everything that could have been awesome fell kind of flat. It really lost momentum and suspense. But I enjoyed the exploration of Ai and Yusaku’s relationship that we got and found the ending interesting enough. I wish more characters actually had to, like, suffer or pay for all the horrible decisions they made. Not just the KoH, but SOL characters like Akira and BS too should have had to at least start over from scratch or something. Thematically it felt like the writers completely lost their grip on what was set up in season one, which was probably the biggest disappointment to me.

So yeah, in the future, if I rewatch Vrains, it’ll probably just be season one. Nevertheless, I’m very fond of the show and immensely glad they took the risks they did with Yusaku’s character, backstory, and motivations.

Also, Playmaker’s flawless duel record FTW. May it live on forever that Yusaku is an undefeated beast.

#ygo #vrains #yugioh vrains #vrainalysis #is that the tag i used to use i cant remember

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the-mercurial-star-o-vesper · 4 years

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ITS EYE AGAINST I

... And me against You. Hello random people of the internet, and the select RvB audience I’m intending to talk to. Time for millions to ignore my existence, while a select few look at my fancy garbage. Now, with no sense of decorum, or tact... I present to you. That Red vs Blue seasons 15 through 17 are continuity breaking and noncanon. To be honest, I’m not overly fond of the over all plotlines and more than a few handfuls of episodes were just... dull. And that’s saying something for a series I’ve been attached to for the last decade. That isn’t to say there weren’t parts I didn’t like. There were plenty of things that were just fantastic and launched perfectly. But let’s get to the whys and hows. Let’s set out the point system: First point. The Blues and Reds, our blue visor assmonkeys... were unnecessarily stupid. They were a copypasta team, with a poor excuse to be there, that not only doesn’t fit what is already established but breaks continuity by being there. If we were to take the rest of the 15-17 series, it’d be easier to make them into alternative universe counter parts or what-ifs, from different timelines caused by the series later use of Time travel. Rather than this blessed mess. They spit in the face of Agent Florida’s workhistory. And while you can see where the idea came from, the execution and establishment was lacking. The very fact that it includes Doc already tells you that we’re not with Agent Kansas anymore, and that it utterly destroyed Doc’s history prior to coming to Blood Gulch. Second Point. The Time Travel. [frustrated exhausted ugh-ing] The best I can say is that the series analysis of Time Travel was fantastic. It acknowledged that the inclusion of Time Travel is meant to break continuity and reshape it. The difference here, is that it only broke continuity. In fact it shattered it so badly that we’d have to ask the Homestuck Fandom to pick the remaining pieces back up, and classpect it for good measure. The fact that Human History was so severely fusterclucked by our Teams already shows you how much respect Continuity got in these last seasons, as well as how much respect to Canon. And then there were the “Gods”. Just... Introducing someone for the funny designs and the fantastic graphic and digital movements is nice, but it doesn’t do anything. See every pitfall CGI and 3D ran into for the last few decades. See, RvB is meant to run along side Halo without destroying one another in an “Upstoppable Force meets Immovable Object” sort of way. And if nothing else, its already established that RvB also has ties to Marathon too (which, while muddled up, still works). And while plenty of the shenanigans were fantastic (Loved that Cyclops scene), the reason they got there was Weak, and it just utterly detonates itself like Church and his stomach bomb... Surrounded by people you hate, and being hunted down by the world’s worst player at a knock-knock jokes. The Third Point I despise Jax. ... I kid, that isn’t the third point. But I still don’t like the Jax. His growth into a terrible director was funny, but it doesn’t really save him or his purpose in the series. I digress. Its what I dub the “Super Hero Ex Machina”. In a “Super Hero Ex Machina” situation, reality crashes in, breaks both Narrative flow and rules, for drama. And example is with Spiderman and his web shooting. In his narrative, he can save someone easily from falling with his web shot. But if the Drama Machina Maker is introduced, then the reality of the situation crashes down as the force of the fall would completely shatter the victim’s skeleton if Spiderman caught them. As this is not already established as happening before, its only there to cause drama and not meant for any serious development or character arc. Or if a show adheres to keeping the status quo at all costs. Things that would realistically and permanently mess up the status quo are solved in 1 or 2 episodes. But if Reality crashes because Plot said so, it breaks the established rules of the Narrative (and pacing). Especially if said plotpoint could have already been solved in prior episodes easily. And that’s what they pulled on Agent Washington and his throat injury. Washington is an established survivor. He has survived some pretty messed up stuff, both mentally and physically, and he’s come so far as a character. To a point where he’s almost unrecognizable from when he was first established as the “Noir Detective Soldier Mercenary Man who plays by corrupt rules but still shines that hurting heart of gold once in a while”. Some of the stuff he’s had to survive, and potentially had to survive would’ve killed normal people. Even his writers had to take a step back and say, “No he can’t survive getting cut in half by a car”. RvB is good about changing status quo, and keeping to a rule of “actions have consequences” in order to both forward character and story. So it isn’t like they’re above permanently messing someone up (... Church.) But there are Rules on how its Handled. Story will establish and evolve said rules over time, this is true, but its a “more things change, more they stay the same” situation. And Washington’s injury... breaks that. For easy reason; For one thing, we already have a Freelancer with throat injuries, and he got them in a far worse scenario. Agent Maine was bloody machine gunned in the throat, then tossed off a freeway stories up from a ground we never even saw. And all he got was a messed up voice. There isn’t a good reason to give Wash that injury, realistic as it may be, besides playing it for Drama. And while such a circumstance should be given both the realism and seriousness it deserves, this only works if, you know, don’t play it to make a person or people suffer for Drama. Does this forward Character? No. No it doesn’t. The seasons retreat everyone’s character arcs. What little it does show is how far everyone has come... By making them take 20 steps back, and 5 steps forward. An ultimately useless gesture that neither show cases the human condition of “repeat until you finally get the lesson” or “sometimes shit happens”. Does it move the story? Only for drama. Which is a very weak reason. Even worse, as the series has already established that it can think deeply and use drama as a tool and not a plot point. If not for character or story, is it meant to be a metaphor? Metaphor for what. RvB doesn’t do metaphors. If not metaphor, is it supposed to be informative of the condition itself? RvB has bloody PSAs. No. A story is decent enough if it can mix those questions up without one consuming the other. But there wasn’t a point to do it. Just to see Wash or Carolina or the guys to suffer? To show that sometimes people get injuries they don’t bounce back from? Are you Kidding? We just permanently lost Church, and they set out to find the possibility of his existence again! That right there already Tells you that sometimes folks don’t Bounce Back. There was an entire Arc for Caboose, fer the gods’ sake, talking about it. CABOOSE. What the flyin Fu-- Ahem. There was already a ruling about Actions have Consequences. It was apart of the status quo that went as far back as the Blood Gulch Chronicles. Its filed under “The More things change, the more they stay the same”, and even throughout the Reconstruction series, there were plenty of characters pulling permanently changing stunts that affected them through the rest of their lives, or caused their death for it. [deep breath, lets it out] So. Inspite of my many problems with S15-17, there are things I adored about it. - Donut and Caboose’s arcs. Fantastically done. Caboose getting to the understanding he got in S14 about losing friends was heart breaking and beautiful. Donut’s may seem like retread and flanderization, but that is actually easily explained. When you’re under sufficient stress, your coping mechanisms will boost out from 10 to 100, and just because you’re now fully aware of it doesn’t mean you have the power or development yet to stop. It was a fantastic look into his character. - Sister. They made her into more than just a gimick and Grif’s Sister, which was a problem I had with her in Blood Gulch. Good patch up there. - The Background info and the details in Background Info with our main characters. Ye Gods, we got some backstory! The humor works, the seriousness works, its a beautiful set of puzzle pieces that fit snuggly into both canon and continuity. - Chrovos. Inspite of the time travel plot pitfalls, I actually really liked Chrovos. Wish they did more with them (Him? Her? I don’t remember if they established their pronouns). Did not like Jenkins, inspite of him being created out of a cut character. The Gods didn’t work very much either, and would’ve been better suited as characters that weren’t “gods”. It doesn’t help that they just... had inconsistant rules. - The Freelancers. I love the introduction to the Freelancers and all their nice armor designs. Too bad they’re all feckin’ dead. - Temple. I actually really liked Temple and the idea behind him. However, instead of the malakey we got, and the Time Travel Nonsense that could be theorized afterwards. It would’ve worked better if he had been the leader of a Cult of Personality or sorts, purposely and badly mimicking the hype of the RvB teams’ fame and gathering surviving former stim troopers. The terrorist thing could work, and so could the Church plot. Everything else was stupid. Remove the Time Travel, this isn’t Homestuck Hour. Thanks for you for your continued reading. ... oh Right, I forgot. As awesome as it was to see Locus again, the uselessness of Wash’s throat injury and how he was reintroduced makes him more into a Deus ex Machina (and not that Halo 3 Machinima from way back). Its like fitting a circle peg into a square hole... But getting it stuck halfway and ruining the children’s puzzle toy. ADDENDUM (edited) I hate Hate HATED how Vic parodied Church’s epilogue speech, and I just about wish Church would come back just to beat the shiznet out of him for it.

#rvb #Red vs Blue #Analysis #The Shizno #rvb season 15 #rvb season 16 #rvb season 17

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roxstarash · 3 years

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Naruto Shippuden Season 17 episode 373 – Dainanahan, Shuketsu! (Team seven assemble!) - Episode review

Naruto fans everywhere are surely in for another treat from this episode. Because team seven is finally back together! We can recall from the previous episode that big surprises for everyone were in order. The hokage joins the battle against the Ten-tailed beast. As of that moment, this was the main priority and not Madara. Then, Sasuke, along with Jugo arrives in the scene and everyone is shocked. Even more so as he announces his new goal: To be the Hokage! Sasuke prepares for battle alongside the allied Shinobi forces and Konoha. What an epic reunion!

If you are like me, who follows the story of Naruto, the young ninja boy who went after his wayward friend and rival, Sasuke, this is something to be really anticipated! Many years during the run of the whole Naruto series revolved around this story and it seems like it is finally coming to fruition. (This is apart from Naruto’s dream to be a Hokage.)

I will now proceed to give more details and possibly spoilers with regards to this episode and even the later episodes. All views that are expressed here are all my own and do not represent opinions of any entity, organization, whatsoever with which I have been, am now or will be affiliated.

Now, as I have said earlier, many surprises were revealed on the previous episodes which made this arc particularly exciting. We are coming to the near end of the anime after all. Which meant the fight scenes are bound to be exciting and worth the wait. Naruto is partly an action-themed Anime after all. Which made it one of the top popular anime of its time. The development of the story from comedy, drama, and action never failed. Even more so for this episode. On the said episode, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are united to take a stand against Madara and his forces. It is only right that the team seven will be the ones to personally take down the main antagonist of the anime. All the ninja history of this anime is pointing to him. (Later on, though, there will be a bigger antagonist but that’s not what we’ll be focusing on right now.) What I am talking about is the hype on the team being reunited. Another satisfying point here is one of the main team’s individual character growth. For instance, Sakura’s highlight. Many people may debate over her being in the team in terms of power and usefulness. A lot of people like her, but a lot of people happen to dislike her too. More often than not is because of her personality and that many do deem her as “useless.” But in this episode, that is evidently not the case. As the new team seven battles the multiplied nine tail beasts, Sakura was highlighted as she flashed back to the past with regards to trying her best to be as strong as her team mates. From her Chuunin exams and training with the fifth Hokage Tsunade regarding medical ninjutsu, it is evident that Sakura really has grown. It is a given that both Naruto and Sasuke are the main rivals and that they are the main characters but it just goes to show that Masashi Kishimoto really has plans for her character development. From being the protected “weak” girl, here comes the student of the fifth Hokage, ready to show everyone what she learned from years of hard training, missions and battles. Yes, even in the beginning of Shippuden, her great physical strength and wide knowledge of medical ninjutsu was already shown even. It massively contradicts the” uselessness” other people claim. All her life, wanting to be in line with her team mates, and being the one to help them instead of being the damsel in distress is finally coming true. As the battle ensues, Sakura finds herself ready for one of the most powerful medical ninjutsu that only fewcould do – The one hundred healing mark or also known as the strength of a hundred seal. Apparently, Sakura has unlocked this ability too! Shizune, Tsunade’s assistant, even claims that she could not achieve the said ninjutsu! What’s even more great is how Hashirama acknowledged Sakura’s strength as she unlocked this and he witnessed it too. He even said that Sakura’s strength might have surpassed Tsunade’s! And that’s coming from Tsunade’s own grandfather! This technique really is something. It’s actually a jutsu that is known to be the pinnacle of chakra control and passed down to only those capable of it. According to Shizune, it takes years to completely fill the right amount of chakra and great control to do it at the same time. It’s a technique that creates a rhombus-shaped seal usually on the forehead as chakra is stored over a long time. Once the seal is ready, the user can perform techniques without wasting any energy. That is, if you can master the control for it. In later episodes, she’ll even use the said technique to summon Katsuyu to assist in her healing of all the other people of the allied shinobi forces remotely. That’s how impressive it was. Yes, it was Sakura’s time to shine this time. Sakura became as confident as her mentor. A little bit cheeky even, to say that she didn’t need to use her medical ninjutsu in keeping a youthful appearance, as opposed to what Tsunade does. She later even jokes to both the surprised Naruto and Sasuke that she might snatch the hokage’s title. You go girl!

Some minor highlights are that other teams from Konoha were fired up in seeing the new and stronger team seven. It seems that even Sai has taken notice of this and felt that he too is actually part of team seven. He tried to attack one of the beast’s clones but failed in doing so but still was helped by Naruto. The episode ends in a really interesting punch as the team seven used the summoning technique, mirroring the great legendary sannin. It seems as if they were the new generation sannin! It’s to be expected that there will be more action in the next episode because they literally ended in such a manner. It was a cliffhanger and would make you want to watch the next episode immediately. Overall, I think it was satisfying to see team seven united once again and ready to kick butt. I think the inclusion of Sakura’s growth was also a nice touch because she is actually one of my favorite characters in the whole series. It was a nice touch of feminism and girl power coming from a Shonen anime.

Note: This is one of my handwritten review that I submitted last Nov. 18, 2020 to Aniradio+ for my anime reviewer application. Unfortunately out of a rough estimate of 2,400 applicants, I am not one of the 20 who were chosen.

Star Ashley Cruz

#anime #manga #review #contentwriting #writer #writing #journalism #journaling #naruto #narutoshippuden #SAkuraHaruno #sakuraisnotuseless

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westallenfun · 4 years

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An Unexpected Christmas Vacation

An Unexpected Christmas Vacation, Part 1

WestAllen secret santa gift

From: @babyish14

For: @cpflashfan

Note: Happy Holidays, CPFlashFan! I hope you like your gift! This story is a part of a series of Christmas fics for WestAllen Secret Santa over the years!

This story follows a few years after a Home For the Holidays! Found here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17181491

Iris West-Allen finds herself frustrated in the holiday season. Barry Allen, always there to support his wife, plans an unexpected and unique Christmas vacation.

In this story, Iris and Barry have been married for about 10 years; living in their new house in Central City. The twins are already born and are four years old.

____________________________________________________________________________

Iris West-Allen stood in her bedroom with tape along her arm and a pair of scissors in her hand. The matriarch of the West-Allen family had spent the afternoon wrapping gifts for Christmas.

During her teenage years, Iris spent the holidays wrapping gifts at the local mall. Since then, Iris was the queen of the perfectly wrapped gift. It was normally the easiest task of the holiday season; however, this year was proving to be quite difficult.

“You gifts are really trying to defy me this year.” The gift on the desk looked misshapen and nothing like the usual Iris West standard of gift-wrapping. She ripped the paper off the gift and threw it across the room.

Iris took a deep breath and placed her head in her hands. “Not now,” Iris mumbled from behind her hands as she heard the sound from her phone. Her hand raised from her head to look at the message that currently required her attention.

Allegra: Got a tip on the current story. Do you have time to go over it?

Iris was happy that there was a tip on the story. It had been weeks since they had started investigating and the trail had gone cold. She was to the point of bringing in Ralph or closing the story completely. The boss reporter looked at the time and date on the wall. It was 7 pm on December 23rd.

It was barely two days before Christmas, and she had no gifts wrapped; and a few gifts were still missing. Iris wouldn’t normally fret about gift-wrapping, but one glance at all the used wrapping paper on the floor and you would understand her anxiety.

Iris: Sure girl! Send over the tips to my email.

Allegra: Will do.

As Iris waited for the email, she returned to wrapping one of the gifts. When she heard the email tone emitted from her laptop, Iris smiled. It appeared as if one thing was working out for today. The half-wrapped gift now laid temporarily abandoned didn’t look too bad itself.

Iris clicked open the file and her smile disappeared. There was only one piece of new information. The witness that they needed was found dead. The story they wished to develop was dead now too.

As Iris went to retrieve her phone, she saw a notification from Amazon shipping pop up on the laptop. The notification read: “Package delayed. New delivery expected Dec.27th.”

“Great,” Iris mumbled sarcastically as she closed her laptop with a thud. The phone rang as expected with Allegra’s caller ID appearing on the screen.

“Hi, Iris. I’m –”

“It’s fine, Allegra. We tried.”

“Maybe we can dig into a bit more tomorrow. Susan and I were thinking…”

“No, no. It’s late. Make sure everyone heads home and tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I appreciate everything all of you do. Tell Susan thanks as well and I’ll see you both after the holiday.”

Susan was one of the newest reporters that had been added to the Citizen. The newspaper had grown heavily over the past few years. The Central City Citizen now had over 50 employees and moved to a larger office. The newspaper had been named as one of the top 10 growing publications to look out for in the coming year. It was the highlight of Iris’s year, but also came with the mounting pressure of living up to the expectation and hype surrounding the Citizen.

Allegra sensing the disappointment in Iris’s voice didn’t argue. It had taken a few years, but Allegra began to have a better understanding of Iris and also began to shape herself into a true reporter.

“I will. Happy Holidays, Iris.”

“Happy Holidays, Allegra.”

Iris placed the phone down on the desk and took notice of the half-wrapped gift. She felt like it was taunting her to finish it.

At her frustration, she left the bedroom and headed to the upstairs lounge of the house. It appeared as if the weather wasn’t even cooperating with the holiday, either. It was bright and sunny outside with little to no chance of snow.

Iris loved a white Christmas and the sight of this warm weather was quite disappointing. It was quickly shaping up to be one of those Christmases in which nothing was planning out as expected.

“Iris?” A small voice rang out from behind where Iris sat on the window seat.

Iris smiled. The sweet voice of her little sister could cure a thousand problems. Iris turned away from the window.

“Yes, Jenna?”

Jenna stood before her big sister with a game of Candy Lane in her hands. “Can we play?”

“Of course, we can love.” Iris moved off the window seat and onto the floor. She patted the seat next to her for Jenna to join.

Jenna happily ran over and sat on the ground. The youngest West child opened the box and carefully laid out the pieces and set up the board.

Iris watched as her baby sister set up her favorite game; especially this time of year. There were times she couldn’t believe that Jenna was eight and her twins were four. Time seemed to be flying and she was determined to enjoy every minute of it.

Iris and Jenna had made it to the end of the game when Barry made it upstairs.

“I won!” Jenna exclaimed!

Iris made a mock frown. “Aww! Well, there’s next time.”

Jenna giggled. “Yeah right, Iris. I always win.”

Barry laughed. “West girls are always competitive.”

Iris looked up at her husband and joined in on the laughing. It was honestly the thing she needed right now.

“Yes, we are.” Iris motioned for Jenna to start packing up the game. “I’m going to assume you’ve come to tell us dinner is ready.”

Barry leaned down on the ground and started helping his sister-in-law pack up the game. “Yes, it is.”

He looked up at Jenna. “Sweetheart, why don’t you get washed up for dinner? Iris and I will finish up here.”

Jenna handed the pieces to Barry and headed towards the stairs. As she bounded down the stairs, she yelled out: “I’ll help the twins get ready too.”

Iris smiled. “Sounds great, sweetie. Be careful.”

Barry picked up the game and placed it on the side. “She takes being an aunt very seriously.”

Iris laughed. “That she does.”

Barry watched as Iris rose from the floor and glanced out the window. He noticed as her joyful expression dropped. He knew how much Iris looked forward to snow on Christmas.

He rose from his own position on the ground and started caressing Iris’s back. “We’ve got two more days. Hopefully, we’ll get some snow by then.”

“Yeah.” Iris managed to mumble as tears began to track across her face. She attempted to shield her face away from Barry, but she knew the effort was worthless. Barry always knew when something was wrong, even when they were far apart. It was the connection the two held between each other since youth.

Barry turned her face towards him. This was more to this than snow. “Talk to me.”

Iris feigned a weak smile. “It’s stupid. Don’t worry about it.”

“If it’s making you cry, it’s not stupid, Iris.”

Iris leaned into her husband’s shoulder. “It’s just…you know I like things to be perfect for Christmas.”

Barry continued to place caresses down her back. “It will be perfect, Iris.”

She looked up at him. “I don’t even have gifts wrapped yet. And you know..”

He interrupted. “I can do that.” When she didn’t say anything, he continued on. “I may not do as well as you, but I can do it.”

At the mention of her gift-wrapping skills, she continued to break down. “That’s the thing, I can’t seem to get it right this year. And to top it off, I don’t have all of your gifts.”

Barry continued to listen and used his thumb to brush away some tears. It was clear she was more frustrated than she was letting on. This release of emotions was a long time coming.

Barry responded in some attempt of comfort. He knew this was beyond Christmas, but he didn’t want to push. “It’s only Christmas. The kids will appreciate anything we give them.”

The tears had begun to slow down. The warmth of being in Barry’s embrace was always the best source of comfort. “It’s not just Christmas. People have grown to expect so much from me. I just don’t know if I can do it all.”

It was at this moment that Barry pulled her into a kiss. “This kiss is to remind you that I’ll always be here beside you, the same as you are with me.”

He kissed her again. “This one is to remind you that you, Iris West-Allen, are capable of anything that is thrown your way. You will always find a solution.”

Iris couldn’t help but smile. They had been married for over five years and she didn’t tire of hearing him call her by that name. “I love it when you call me that.”

Barry grinned. “I love hearing it.”

The parents suddenly heard a thrust from downstairs and padded feet headed towards the kitchen.

Barry pulled her back into his chest. “I think it’s time you go get washed up for dinner.”

Iris managed at a laugh. “I guess it is my turn now.”

Barry placed a kiss on her forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Iris turned towards their bedroom. “Don’t wait for me.”

Barry gave her a smile. “Take your time. Dinner will be there.”

Barry headed down the stairs as Iris closed the bedroom door. He realized when she needed a little alone time. She strived so much to make life perfect for their family, and he hated it when it caused her this much stress. He wished she knew that her just being here was perfect enough.

Iris needed a break before Christmas and he was about to find a way to get her one.

Part 2 will coming very soon (between later today and tomorrow) Hope you enjoyed Part 1! Gave you something to look forward to lol!

Here’s a sneak preview:

Iris still remembered the Christmas in which Barry showed her the house. She remembered imagining the large Christmas tree that struggled to fit in the loft, sitting in front of the living room window.

As Iris headed down the stairs, she glanced at the Christmas tree that sat in the living room just as she had imagined. …

Iris’s focus shifted from the tree to the lack of lights and people downstairs.

‘Where was everybody?’ Iris thought to herself.

She turned the corner to find a trail of candles and rose petals along the floor.

“Hello, Iris.”

#the flash #westallen #westallen secret santa #submission

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jokerxtreme36 · 4 years

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Thoughts on Zero One and Kiramager so far + extra (Spoilers)

Man it has been a while since I’ve done this. I was a bit uncertain to really come back and speak my mind on these since I feel what I say doesn’t really matter, I tend to fear what I say could be an unpopular opinion and get flack for it. I’m still hesitant on writing but I felt like wanting to write again after so long. I don’t know if I’ll bring this back but we’ll see. A lot has happened with Toku that’s surprising, I’m surprised how much Toku has been slowly getting itself up to be official over here thanks to various services like discotek and Shout Factory, in an age where you can officially watch the original Kamen Rider series and Kuuga online, If you told me that 5 years ago, I wouldn’t know what to believe.

Recap:

Been three years since I’ve done this iirc, but here’s My thoughts on the seasons I never wrote my full thoughts on.

Kyuranger: This was an up and down series for me. When I first started, I was hating it, due to awful pacing and was doing an awful job of establishing characters, especially Lucky who was hitting the marks of why I disliked Right and Takaharu, thankfully the series picked itself up around the second quarter with Scorpio’s arc and introducing Tsurugi. Would later go down and up with each arc but In my opinion, ended on a decent note. It does suck it never had a crossover with Zyuohger but I did enjoy the Space Squad crossover, which utilized the strengths of the characters really well and was ultimately satisfying.

Ex-Aid: Ex-Aid was a series I was a bit skeptical by but was one over by the end. I enjoyed Emu and his adventures and I give props for the show having two female Riders (Nico counts, fight me!). If there’s an issue, it’d be that I wish they’d just end with the crossover movie cause I feel the V-cinema’s felt like tacked on alternate endings, I do give them credit for trying to connect it to other films.

Lupinranger vs Patranger: A series I’ve seen that’s either enjoyed or disliked. I’m in the former and do like that they experimented with the concept of two different teams. I dig the idea that the Lupins are influenced by more modern Sentai that get the gimmick of the episode while the Pat’s are more akin to classic seasons where they just focus on the Monster, also doesn’t help that Japan has very low views on their justice system so the Lupins are more favorable. Plus I loved the way it ended on an open note, much like how Sanjo tends to do in his writing.

Amazons: Another divisive series and I’m leaning towards those that dislike it.On its own, it’s alright but as a series that uses elements from a classic series, it mostly is superficial in how it uses it cause the original series was remembered for how violent it could be, but there was more to it than just mindless violence. Also doesn’t help the producer’s comment on how “Recent Rider’s aren’t interesting, this series will give it it’s fangs back” saying the shows before it were not good when they were enjoyed by a lot fans. I do give the series credit for trying to write a gray moral type of setting but its flimsily written that it can come off as irritating,, especially around Season 2. Though I’ll give the movie credit for ending the series on a decent note.

Dino Force Brave: A miniseries that caught a lot of fans by surprise, since Korea commissioned a miniseries/continuation for Kyoryuger given how popular it was. It seemed promising, then I saw who was producing and writing it, instead of Sanjo returning. we got Ninninger’s writer. it retcons things like Torin’s not dead and Devius isn’t mentioned (the latter I don’t mind). The series is short which is both its strenght and weakness because for a miniseries, it isn’t given much time to flesh out the new characters, since they only have 12 minutes for each story, shows like the Ultra Fight series work since its serialized and can work as a movie, this not so much but unlike Amazons, I consider this harmless, its nothing too bad and there’s some merit to it (even if they tried saying it was canon in the last Taisen film)

Build: Now this was a series I was actually surprised by, this series is probably my third favorite post Decade Rider series. The series blends the right amount of silly and mature moments. It has a lot of memorable characters and one of my new favorite villlains in the franchise, Evolt was a great villain that really brought the stakes and made you think how this series was gonna deal with him. I remember the ending being divisive but I was ok with it since it does give an explanation for how Build could interact with the other Riders in future crossovers with how the previous seasons (minus Amazons) could connect. plus the V-cinema’s were well handled from an ok one like Cross-Z to a surprisingly Amazing one that is Grease’s V-cinema, now this is how you do a continuation.

Strongest Battle: Now this was a miniseries that caught me by surprise as well since they brought back returning actors to lead up to the next season. Seeing Arakawa still got it and made me hope to see him return writing someday (hint hint).The cast they got surprised me, some I was glad to see return and some I wasn’t too happy with like Takaharu and to an extent Kagura (but too be fair, she wasn’t as bad as Right), but I was intrigued to see what Arakawa would do with them and I was ok with how they were written here though still dislike Takaharu as a character.

Ryusoulger: Ryusoulger is a series that I’ve seen that is pretty loved from what I’ve seen but sadly I’m on the opposite side, I don’t think it was that terrible but more or less disappointing and somehow boring. Strongest Battle setup a lot of things for Ryusoul to follow up on that it felt like a downgrade, like Gaisorg being underutilized that you can tell they didn’t know what to do with him. The writing was all over the place that it was hard to be invested with the characters, who did their best with what they were given but their wasn’t much stakes. If there’s one thing I enjoyed, I really loved the ending arc for giving us not only a Female big bad but also blowing my expectations and breaking status quo, with Red not being the one to finish off the main villain. The ending arc was great yet at the same time was upsetting that the rest of the series wasn’t up to par with it. But now its gonna be the next adaptation after Beast Morphers. With Hasbro in charge, I’m intrigued to see what they do with it.

Zi-o: From the same minds behind Dino Force Brave and Amazons comes what is meant to be a big celebrate/closure of the Heisei era, but threw logic out the window for what is ultimately a fun kind of mess. I don’t mind continuity but I was iffy on how Zi-o retconned the previous seasons as not connected since that’s what they were trying to do until this series went (rip paper) whoops it broke. The series does have some merit with the idea of the Another Rider’s and showing the development of our protagonist and his attempt to defy fate. I also enjoyed when the series stopped time travelling but instead met the characters in the present day cause then the arcs were written better like in Blade and Agito’s tribute episodes. I haven’t watched Geiz’s V-cinema yet but also heard from the producer’s twitter that Woz’s V-cinema isn’t happening, which sucks cause there’s potential in it.

Now that those are done, here we go.

Kamen Rider Zero One:

Now with the start of the Reiwa era, I was hyped since we had Ex-Aid’s writer returning and we got not only a cool awesome secondary but a surprising Female Rider early on and is our third Rider. The first arc starts off strong with Aruto wanting to save the Humagears from Metsubojinrai. Things were looking good until things went downhill thanks to a certain Gold turd known as Thouser, before I get to my issues, I love his suit and how his finishers have a trademark, but that loses its charm when you see him everytime as he’s a very arrogant and obnoxious about his views on how “Humagears aren’t necessary” almost every time. There’s character’s that are meant to be hated, but then there’s characters that you just want to see go away. Once the arc ends the series thankfully pics up with Fuwa getting Rampage, Yua quitting and the return of Izakuchi and Naki. I’m interested to see where things go from here.

Mashin Sentai Kiramager:

Now this was a series I was cautiously optimistic by, since Arakawa returns to write a new series and after my disappointment with Ryusoul, I was nervous but thankfully this series is off to a good start, was surprised we started with episode 0, which does a good job setting up the main 4 before the red shows up. I was a bit skeptical on Juru since he screamed a lot of traits that they could’ve easily screwed up. Thankfully they’ve been doing a good job with Juru, he’s cheerful and imaginative but not a total idiot (what Right should’ve been) and the series has been doing a good job giving everyone their own center episode while not being afraid to take a few risks. I also enjoy the villains like Garza and his rivalry towards Juru due to having a similar ability to his brother that he despised, especially the fight in episode 4 being a highlight. I like that Juru wasn’t sure if he was qualified into being the leader but saw that his passion could help the team in his own unique way. Another thing I love is the Monsters with them going for a Showa aesthetic on mask based Kaijin but with an added twist of a Kaiju counterpart for them to fight, it’s a nice change of pace from just having them grow. The series has done a great job at bringing back an old style and breathing fresh life to it. Was scared hearing what happened to Juru’s actor but thankfully heard he’s doing ok and I’m excited to see what the series brings next.

#JX36 says something.

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pockethep · 5 years

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Fandom Be Chill

I’ve seen a lot of people in the fandom, or at least Catradora shippers, doubting everything. (Both redemption and the ship) To which I say...WTF. You’ll never survive the winter with those weak opinions. Be like the theme song. Be Strong. Be Brave. Now I don’t mean to suddenly become an SPOP blog (I literally repost as my fandoms come and half of my blog is misc.) but I’m here to say some shit. Since ATLA is the one thing I’m sure everyone here has watched I’ll relate some stuff. (Sorry I don’t have direct quotes I’m tired and S3 has got me stressed)

Ready? Alright. Leggo!

Just to put it out there...Season 3 is probably my favorite season thus far. In terms of story, hyping up a threat, learning more about who we thought was the main villain, etc. It fulfilled all my needs. I can’t wait to see how all the relationships (Glimmer w/o her mom, Catra and Adora, and the Princess Alliance without a commander commander) play out. Even more so now that Shadow Weaver is chillin in Brightmoon.

That being said the dynamic of my ship is changed forever now.

There is nothing more dangerous than a character that has nothing to lose. Catra, who has thrown away all her connections and now fully severed the bond she has with Adora and the few people that actually liked her, has her fit that part perfectly. To relate her to everyones favorite redemption arc, Zuko, you could say this is her, for lack of better terms, Azula/Aang choice. When Catra pulled the switch it was possibly her first real choice. This is not to be said that every choice given to her was not a real choice but this was probably the first one with major bearings. (Though it could be argued that it was giving the sword back to Adora) Catra has been, for the most part, manipulated while she tries to manipulate other people. She is a tool. Even when she is doing what she thinks is her plan it ultimately serves to help Hordak or Shadow Weaver.

Going back to atla Zuko has the choice to help Aang or Azula just as Catra can pull the lever or not. It was likely that, for both cases, whichever side the characters help will triumph in that moment though for Catra it doesn’t seem to be the case. While Aang is gravely injured the portal causes massive destruction as it unravels reality, helping no one really.

This brings us to a major plot point for Catra: Failure. (Just look at her Crimson Waste speech! Like go off but...) Just as Aang and Zuko are the two characters who the series is shaped around Adora and Catra are too. The pairs are foils to each other but are very similar. Adora chooses her compassion for life/peace and her duty as She-ra over the Horde. Catra chooses the only place where she feels she’ll get any recognition and love over helping the Princess alliance/the world. While Adora’s “selfish” choice is framed as good, Catra’s “selfish” choice is made to be a bad decision.

Catra’s “betrayal” and choosing to open the portal is very much about Adora but it also isn’t. It isn’t about Hordak or any alliance or army. She is angry. She is confused. She is hurt. Everything always goes back to Adora. (The one who she can never beat and, when she does, causes her to lose the bigger picture. The one who Shadow Weaver, someone she put all her faith into, went back to. The one who was always put above her.) So she chooses an external force to try to cope and feel better. To screw the world over if it means winning one thing. Catra made her choice because she is flawed, like very very very flawed and “selfish” but she is human. (Well a magicat but you get the point)

It should be noted the horrors of abuse. Both of the most important figures in her life were abusive, Shadow Weaver more so as Hordak treats everyone as a pawn to get what he wants. Catra both projects it onto others, her manipulative nature and snarky/defensive comments, and internalizes it, her body language and what comes out everytime SW and Catra speak to each other. Adora does more internalizing, she holds it deep in herself and it is the source of her doubts and fears. That also being said Scorpia was her last rock, the one thing holding her in place because ultimately she does care for our favorite Scorpion girl. Now that Scorpia is scared of catra, or at least wary, Catra will be alone.

Zuko Alone.

Alright so finally. “When we reach our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change.” ~Avatar Aang

Now do you think, as season 3 took its course a sudden “Holy shit! Let me undergo a change in six episodes,” would’ve been fulfilling? Especially when Catra went through the best change possible this season. Now this is purely opinion but it is more fulfilling once a character has hit their lowest point for them to be redeemed. There are 4-5 more seasons left. Catra has hit rock bottom now and Hordak is not stupid, he may very well realize that she tricked him but, in his weakened state, I doubt he can/will kill her. As Entrapta said she is too useful. We may be seeing some Zuko Alone type stuff. My hopes is she leaves. She goes on some journey to find herself and about her magicat history, perhaps Beast Island as intended.

At the end of the day, like Zuko, she is an abused teen. She makes mistakes and does things that she will learn to regret. By the end of the series she will realize her mistake and seek to rectify all she has done, starting with her relationship with Adora. Or so I hope and and so I trust the SPOP Crew.

Few more things:

1. Glimmer saw what SW did to Catra. What do you think was going through her mind? Did she realize that Catra is hurt or did she just go along with it? Will she ask Adora about it?

2. Go stan Angella. Real MVP of the season.

3. Catra X Therapy comes before Catra X Adora.

4. Please trust the showrunners and Noelle especially and also don’t turnt his fandom into Voltron. For the love of god don’t. They are not responsible for making all your ships happen and you shouldn’t drop the show because a season didn’t turn out how you wanted it. There’s still more left, lots more. Keep trying in the least.

I might do more Spop stuff not sure. This was fun to get off my chest.

#she ra #spop #she ra season 3 spoilers #catra #adora #catradora #im going insane

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wackygoofball · 5 years

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Hey, I’d just like to thanks you for staying positive though these Braime angst times because almost all the other blogs I follow went cRAZY about him “leaving Bri for Cers” and your posts gave me new hope and reminded me of all the wonderful things that happened in that episode, so, thank you so much💗💕💕💗💕

Glad to hear it, anon!

People have their feelings, they are entitled to them, but so am I and I am a very happy customer right now because I am a thirsty bitch for drama. And we are getting it! JB being at the very center *all of a sudden* (*coughs* biggest romance of GoT/ASoIaF *coughs* *coughs*) of the relationship conflict front tells us so much more than having to feel the angst. It tells us to feel the HYPE.

They are finally where we all wanted to see them… I guess ever since Harrenhal??? One of the producers called it something along the lines of “the most reluctant romance in TV history” in his commentary on the Red Tent Scene back in season 6. And I think JB is still living up to that and it’s beautiful and dramatic and I friggin’ love it. They *are* reluctant, have been for so many seasons (books, respectively). Because they are so caught up in self-doubt and for Jaime in particular self-loathing, feeling unworthy of a good kind of life, the kind of life they wanted to have or grew to want to have, feeling unworthy of love and affection and fearing that it could never truly be reciprocated.

I could start crying at the sad beauty of this right now, but my tears can suck it because I am way too much in the HYPE.

Because yes, anon! We were given so much goodness. Brienne smiled so much. Jaime smiled so much! Can you remember the last time he smiled like that?! I mean, we are all hyped to finally see Brienne smile, but think about how often Jaime only ever had a smile to spare only for shit to hit the fan all over. He didn’t have a time to ever truly have a breather and just be happy and fool around with his brother, and he got that, and Brienne got that, too. And they shared that happiness. It was so heart-warming that I felt like Jaime, wanting to nibble off my shirt lol.

Their first time (albeit a wee bit shorter than I as a shipper would have loved it to be, but you know, wishful thinking is one thing, and the rest can be filled with smutty fanfic :) of which our wonderful fandom provides plenty!) was awesome-sauce. The glow, the tenderness, the hesitance, the awkwardness, there was a purity to this encounter that it still has me shooketh.

And even the angst-filled goodbye… LOOK AT THE GUY! LOOK AT HIS FACE! LOOK AT HIS BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS, HANDSOME FUCKIN’ FACE! LOOK AT HOW HE BREAKS ON THE INSIDE SAYING THOSE THINGS JUST TO MAKE SURE SHE STAYS PUT!

BTW GIVE NIK ALL OF THE AWARDS! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! THAT GUY HAS A REPERTOIR OF EMOTIONS HE STUFFS INTO THREE SECOND BIGGER THAN THOSE OF SOME ACTORS HAVE IN THEIR ENTIRE CAREER! *waves fist in the air*

Sorry, had to get that off my chest. Back on topic:

Jaime has, ever since their roadtrip started, protected this woman. Nikolaj once commented about how Jaime sending Brienne out of King’s Landing back during the Oathkeeper episode was also fuelled by Jaime’s fear that Cersei may be on to something with Brienne after he saw her talk to Brienne and her walking off with a scared kind of expression (not knowing what truth bomb Cersei actually dropped on Brienne during the Purple Wedding aka that she loves him). The show changed the dress to an armor, a type of clothing literally meant to protect from bodily harm. He gave her Oathkeeper. And a squire to keep her company. Jaime has, at every step, tried to protect that woman to the best of his abilities within the constraints he found himself in. Do I believe that suddenly changed? Not for a fuckin’ second. This is Jaime Lannister as he lives and thrives. That guy is as hellbent on protecting the people he loves as Brienne is. Brienne is part of that circle, so of course he protects her, even if that means hurting her.

That is Jaime’s modus operandi alongside looking way too hot for me to handle. Or for him to handle, as last episode proved.

And just never forget him rubbing his thumb against her wrist. That shit still has me weak and whimpering at the beauty of it. That was just... poetic cinema!

The whole scene was a thing of beauty with the visual callbacks to Ned/Cat (arguably one of the few considerably healthy, longterm and strong relationships the entire series has ever seen, despite the fact that Ned was a douche sometimes - more often than not - and kept things from her that clearly made her feel shitty but that’s a topic for another day).

Brienne appearing in a robe that made her look lady-like and womanly and like a fuckin’ goddess rather than having thrown on breeches and a tunic or whatever! It made it all the more heartbreaking to have her feel that way while dressed that way because it just highlighted her vulnerability, but the VISUAL IS AMAZING AND THE NON-VERBAL CLUES THAT GIVES ARE OFF THE CHARTS!!!

Someone made that post and I am totally plagiarising this: this scene of her cupping his cheeks and him holding her wrist was a fuckin’ RENAISSANCE PAINTING. And JB is about to be REBORN. I am telling you!

Nik and Gwen acting the living shit out of themselves in that scene, giving us the rawest of emotions, acting out all with their facial expressions, with their FUCKIN’ EYES! Nik tells us all that we must know the way he looks at her!

So yeah, he ain’t a hateful man. He ain’t creepin’ back to his sister after having realized that Bri was not his jam. He’s doing what he’s always done, what he always does:

Protect, no matter the personal costs.

Not just Brienne, not just his family, it’s his finest act of slaying Aerys and thereby sending his reputation down the drain so half a million people could live that’s on the line! Those people are on the line! And Jaime is not part of that whole castle-swap game Daenerys and Tyrion are playing. If the guy has proven anything, then it is that he, despite of what he may have others believe or tries to make himself believe at times, is one of the few characters who actually give a damn on the smallfolk. He ended the Riverrun Siege without bloodshed (Jaime, seriously, revisit that scene, it’s in supercuts, you clearly got some things mixed up there, hon). He killed one man so half a million could live. It was not without purpose that Varys gave us that callback to how those people matter as much as any of them and how even someone Daenerys claimed to be so much more important because he is so clever, Tyrion, is in the end just as important as any other farmer going about his life. They deserve to live, and I think Jaime’s upset about Tyrion being like “just give him the Reach, what does it matter???” is all the more telling as it reaches beyond his personal conflict. The Reach is the center of food production and we are just giving it up to a sellsword who has no fuck-o to give about either politics or the people who live within the constraints of these? Fuck no.

Jaime wants to protect people. It’s been one of the driving forces in his character all along, even before we got to know him, when we were still led to the conclusion that he was just a douche that needed to be killed off because EVIL MAN!

Jaime wants to protect the people he loves in particular. For them, he goes extreme lengths. That was his family foremost, but that certainly included Brienne long before they got intimate. He’s cared about her for so very long. So I do not believe for a single second that he’d just... forget that, be able to put that aside. Jaime can’t.

And he doesn’t have to. He just has to see that. And Brienne will make him realize that.

Because as much as Jaime wants to protect everyone, factors are now changed. He just doesn’t see it yet.

Because this time, he is in for a surprise as there is someone who will protect him the same way he is committed to that person’s protection. And that will make the crucial difference, it already does. He never had that with his sister. She literally threatened to kill him, literally sent an assassin after him for having the *effrontery* not to act the way she would have liked, not falling in line when she as Queen demanded it. Jaime’s never had anyone step up for him the way Brienne did. Jaime never had anyone protect him that way.

She stood up for him during the trial when Tyrion failed.

She saved him and he saved her during the battle against the living dead.

She certainly had conversation with Sansa to ensure he was welcome at Winterfell.

She will stand up for her man and will protect him - from himself if she must.

“Nothing’s more hateful than failing to protect the one you love.” - she won’t let history repeat itself with the man who finally loves her back.

She will protect Jaime.

Jaime will protect Brienne.

And that is and has always been the very core of their relationship.

And that core is beautiful and pure and no angst gets between that.

Thanks for coming to yet another TED talk.

#jaime x brienne #jaime lannister #brienne of tarth #got spoilers #anon #thanks anon #wacky rambles #feel the HYPE #and feel the JB love!

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lastgenpodcast · 5 years

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The Marvelous Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel is the latest entry in the MCU lineup, and my most anticipated of 2019. This is finally the first movie with a female superhero lead, though it still boggles my mind that Black Widow never got one, and takes us back in time with Carol Danvers origin story as Captain Marvel. After Black Panther’s break through last year and success with seven Academy Award nominations, this movie had some big shoes to fill. So, the question is, how did our lady do?

First, some spoiler free thoughts for those who are still pending a viewing of the film. As a woman, I was clearly on the train for a good superhero film. I enjoyed Wonder Woman immensely and felt that, while it had its own hurdles, the film was one of DC’s best in a long time. With that qualification, I can say that I actually enjoyed Captain Marvel more than Wonder Woman. I loved the 90s soundtrack in the movie, which I found more engaging than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The character development was done well, though there were no crazy twists and turns that were not televised. It was also interesting to see the “start” of the MCU - the pre -Avengers Initiative pitched by Fury at the end of Iron Man, which I still remember got a huge pop in the theater. The very opening of the movie will get a tear out of every Marvel fan. The colors popped when they really needed to and the special effects were gorgeously integrated into the movie that allowed it to feel grounded while taking you to the skies. The only issue that I had with the film was in the first half of the film - the camera work in the fight scenes. I don’t like that hand-held, close up view of a fight - pull back and let me see what’s going on. Other than that, I can confidently say that Captain Marvel did not disappoint and made me excited to see how they continue to use the character going forward.

Alright, now let’s enter into spoiler territory. From here on out, I want to dive a little more into specifics, but I won’t go into the entire storyline as I think that that’s not as important as some pieces.

First, I feel like I should say that, while I have dabbled in the comic book world and enjoyed my fair share of Marvel, I have not had the opportunity to read Captain Marvel and so I was not familiar with her, her story, or even the differences between the Skrull and Kree races - the only exposure to them was via the MCU films and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television series (which I have unfortunately not had time to keep up with for the past few seasons). However, even with my limited knowledge, this film did a great job of ensuring that no prior understanding was required. I’m sure if you had more familiarity there might have been some fun nuggets, but nothing was necessary for this viewer’s enjoyment.

As a movie that played around with timelines, there’s always the possibility of confusion on the viewer’s part. However, this movie, while giving us plenty of glimpses into Carol’s past, was never disorienting to the extent that I was taken out of the movie or had difficulty following the storyline. They did a brilliant job casting McKenna Grace, who you may have seen as young Theo in The Haunting of Hill House, as teenage Carol - she again shows great acting acumen and promise for great things in her future career. The sequence where we see the greatness that makes Carol superior than any Kree allows Grace to shine as brightly as Larson and cements the fact that it’s not how many times you’re knocked down, but how many times you get up that matters. Without that terrific young actress in this role, I feel that the movie might have not have had the impact it did, especially with younger viewers.

Ok, so, let’s discuss a bit more about our heroine. While Marvel loves to have the main character tied to someone that is already familiar to the viewer, I feel like it’s done in such a different way in this film that I don’t think it’s actually comparable to the prior situations. Usually, the new character, despite being the main character, can sometimes be outshone by the familiar face - or rather the familiar face is there to help our character because the main character has some weakness that precludes them from fully realizing their true potential and the familiar character acts almost as a guide of sorts. In Winter Soldier, Black Widow is there to help Captain America navigate the new world on his own and his dealing with what Bucky has become. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, you had Tony there to guide Peter in this new life as a superhero with all the fancy gadgets, though the scene in Civil War should have given it away that Peter was doing pretty well in his friendly neighborhood hero role. Many times, the films seem to force the main character off to the side while the familiar face walks them through their own film. Here, however, in Captain Marvel, Danvers is not overshadowed or pushed aside. While we have Fury as the familiar face, Danvers actually takes on the role of tutor to Fury’s young agent. He has no idea about the vastness of the universe and what is possibly out there that could threaten the world he is living in. Danvers never needs to rely on Fury, at most, they work as a team with both characters holding their own. And the fact that they did not brush aside our main character shows that the writers knew they could not do that to our female heroine - which is similar to Wonder Woman. Both of these heroines show that they do not need the male counterpart in their film to be successful or to get things done.

The writers also gave Danvers a great sense of humor - while she’s not as one-liner witty as Starlord or snarky as Stark - she has her own understated humor that hits when it needs to but doesn’t define her character. The other great part of Danvers is how she carries herself. One of the people I watched the movie with denoted that Danvers holds herself with confidence throughout the film, not cockiness. This distinction allows for the viewer to fall in love with her more than say the cocky Iron Man or Starlord, who come off as somewhat obnoxious at times. I love that there was no typical woman discovering her strength or beauty - Danvers knew she was strong but once she realized how strong she was throughout her life, she became even more powerful.

Speaking of strong women, Danvers counterpart Maria Rambeau is another character worthy of praise. I loved that not only was she Danvers flying partner, they had a deep connection that was clear despite the small pieces that the viewer gets of it. There was no typical girl fighting or competition that can sometimes tank female relationships. Both women had their own strength and they recognized the other’s. An important scene that needs to be called out is the one where Danvers shows up to Rambeau’s place after the years she’s been “dead” - there was no fighting or hurtful doubting that soured their relationship. It was acknowledged that Rambeau was deeply hurt that her friend had gone, but she didn’t need it explained that Danvers had no control of her disappearance. They did what the best of friends can do - they easily fell back into their friendship routine of jokes and taking care of each other. This is what true female empowerment is about - no bitterness or jealousy, just understanding and love. You want to embolden women - show this type of relationship more in movies.

Speaking of relationships, I need to point out the thing that was lacking in this film - but that was lacking in a good way. There was absolutely no love interest for Danvers. There was no time where she was put into that trope of female in love - the closest we get is her friendship with Rambeau, but this does not prevent her from taking care of what she needs to take care of, at the end especially. They didn’t do the love interest with Danvers’ teacher or some past love that she was trying to figure out. This film allowed Danvers to shine as her own independent person without being defined by someone or something else controlling her emotions. If anything, this film shows that being in control of your own emotions, while acknowledging they are there, is its own super power. Jude Law’s character, Yon-Rogg, is the one pushing Danvers to be less emotional - a clear parallel to how women are spoken to most of their lives. How many times do we classify a woman as “hysterical” while a man doing the same would be “passionate”? Yon-Rogg constantly tries to push Danvers to put away her emotions, but she finds out that there is power in harnessing those emotions and allowing them to work for her. Fighting them just leads to worse outcomes, while embracing them, along with her entire being, takes her to the next level and puts her above everyone else. She can truly do anything once she accepts who and what she is - all of it. I can’t think of a better message for all females.

While I’m sure there’s plenty that I missed after my first viewing, I can say that this movie did not disappoint. It lived up to my own internal hype and brought me a strong female character that I want to show off to everyone. Celebrate women and support this movie by going to see it on the big screen. Show Marvel that they should have done a female-centered movie long before this, but if waiting allowed this to be their first, then huzzah!

#Film #Disney movie #Disney #Film review #Brie Larson #Movie #Marvel #Carol Danvers #Captain Marvel #Movie Review

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junker-town · 3 years

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Western Illinois, Year 37, 2043-2044

Our Western Illinois dynasty has four seasons left in College Hoops 2K8. We need two titles to tie John Wooden’s record.

Welcome back to our simulated dynasty with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of this project + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. Check out the introduction to this series from early April for full context. As a reminder, we simulate every game in this series and only control the recruiting and coaching strategies. Dynasty mode runs for 40 years.

Before we pick up with the Leathernecks at the start of Year 37, here’s a recap of everything that happened last season:

Coming off a heartbreaking loss in the Final Four, Western Illinois started the new season with a young roster featuring zero seniors. We began the year at No. 23 in the preseason polls and had a solid run in the non-conference schedule before uncharacteristically dropping two games against Summit League opponents. We rebounded to win the conference tournament and punch our ticket to the big dance.

We earned a No. 7 seed to the NCAA tournament and beat Colorado State in the first round, and UNLV in the round of 32. We then lost in the Sweet 16 to NC State to end our season.

We had no open scholarships, so didn’t land any new recruits. We did lose center Filipe Hopes early to the NBA draft after the season.

Here’s a first look at our roster for Year 37:

Our goal is to tie or surpass John Wooden for the most national championships in college basketball history before the series ends after Year 40. With four seasons left, we have eight national titles to Wooden’s 10. We need to start stacking championships ASAP, and we start the new year with a team that’s good enough to win it all.

Everyone is back from last year’s team aside from center Filipe Hopes, who jumped to the NBA. With an intriguing four-man freshman class coming off their redshirts and set to join the rotation, we should have one of our deepest and most talented teams ever. We start the new year ranked No. 3 in the preseason polls.

Let’s meet the starting lineup:

PG Arvydas Hardy, 93 overall, redshirt senior: Hardy entered the program as our second-highest recruit ever (No. 12 overall), but hasn’t been able to fully live up to the hype yet despite some flashes of brilliance. Hardy is a huge lead guard at 6’4, 238 pounds, and he checks just about every box with his skill set. He’s blessed with a team-best 90 rating in three-point shooting, and he has A grades in passing and ball handling. Hardy’s only major weakness is that he’s often a little too passive offensively. We need to him to tap into his takeover scoring ability if we want to have a deep tournament run. Projected top pick out of Mesa, AZ with C- potential.

SG Augustine Bruthelieus, 92 overall, redshirt junior: Bruuuu is a tough 6’5 guard who can man either backcourt spot. While he’s not exactly a knockdown three-point shooter (75 rating), Bru plays a physical brand of basketball by getting into the paint on offense and forcing turnovers on defense. He has A- ratings in passing and handling for a shooting guard, as well as B+ ratings in both offensive and defensive awareness. Just a solid all-around player even if he doesn’t have outlier size or a signature skill. Former No. 42 overall recruit out of San Diego with C+ potential. Projected lottery pick.

SF Reece Mascoll, 93 overall, redshirt senior: A monstrous 6’9, 260 pound wing, Mascoll can play bully ball at the rim or stretch the defense with a high 70s rating in three-point shooting. We love that he has the versatility to play either forward spot, and can project as a primary scoring option at his best. After a big sophomore year coming off the bench, Mascoll’s tournament run as a junior wasn’t as dominant as we hoped. He decided to return for his senior year despite being a projected first round pick, and now should co-headline the team with Hardy. Former No. 40 overall recruit out of Riverside, CA with C potential. Projected top pick.

PF Al Reece, 89 overall, redshirt senior: Reece has tremendous size at 7’1, 277 pounds for a natural power forward. He has the best shot blocking rating on the team (90 rating) and can slide easily to the five. Reece checks a lot of boxes for a ‘Necks big man, but there’s one thing that holds him back: he’s almost too aggressive offensively. He shouldn’t be taking more shots than Hardy, but that has happened often in stream games. We need him to be a role player rather than think he’s our star. Former No. 138 overall recruit from Glendale, AZ with C- potential.

C D.J. Foster, 82 overall, redshirt sophomore: Foster is our lowest-rated starter in years, but we have no problem with that because he’s already proven to be a solid performer in tournament games. His best attribute is his size: at 7’2, 274 pounds, he’s able to protect the paint and rebound just by standing there. He also has more offensive game than you would expect, showing off a solid mid-range jumper last year. Former No. 173 overall recruit (No. 6 center) out of Chicago with C potential.

For as stacked as our starting lineup is, our depth might be the best asset of this team. We have the potential to go seven deep off the pine with no scholarships last season and four freshmen joining the rotation coming off their redshirts.

Redshirt junior Jerald Elliott (91 overall) is a 6’6 shooting guard with a ridiculous 99 rating in speed who also has A- ratings as a passer and ball handler. Elliott is our second highest rated shooter, but his slow release — similar to that of former guard Brandon “The Musket” Price — limits him some as a shooter. If Elliott is our ‘sixth starter,’ we have a group of freshmen and sophomores behind him who give us quality depth at every position.

Redshirt sophomore Ketshner Evertsen (83 rating) is a 6’8 shooting guard who we’ve moved to small forward. He projects as an elite shooter and proved he can be instant offense when he gets hot on our tournament run last season. Cam Kateley, a 6’6 redshirt sophomore point guard, and Bernie Doyle, a 6’9 redshirt freshman shooting guard, both provide size and floor spacing potential in the backcourt. We also have redshirt freshmen Floyd Keller (6’7 wing), Oscar Frye (7-foot power forward), and Brody Munoz (6’11 center) who could see time in the rotation in March.

Recruiting

We have four open scholarships this season. Since these players will only have three years with us before the series ends, we’re thinking about targeting some JUCO guys throughout the process. After scanning the available options, we decide to offer the following players:

SG Everson Fitch out of Peoria, IL: No. 14 overall player and No. 9 at his position

SF Kory O’Donnell out of Kansas City: No. 57 overall player and 6 at his position

PG Archie Howell out of El Paso: Five-star JUCO freshman

C Daon Whithers out of Cleveland: Five-star JUCO freshman

Fitch would go down as our third highest-rated recruit ever. O’Donnell is already massive at 6’9, 250 pounds for a high school small forward. Howell and Whithers are both five-star JUCOs, with Whithers profiling as a stud and Howell looking more gettable. We’ll see how it goes.

Reminder: WE’RE NO. 3 IN THE POLLS. Let’s do this.

How did the regular season go?

After a breezy season-opening win against Creighton, we faced No. 14 Oklahoma State in our next game and lost, 85-73. There will be no pressure to go undefeated this year. A few weeks later we lost to UConn and NC State, both talented but unranked teams, that dropped us out of the polls entirely.

We rebounded with wins over Kentucky, DePaul, and Lehigh to close out the non-con slate at 8-4. Not how we wanted to start the year.

Did we go undefeated in Summit League play?

No! We lost to Fort Wayne in our very first conference game of the season. An absolute shocker.

Oh my gosh, it happened again. This time to Southern Utah:

Two conference losses in each of the last two seasons, sheesh. This team was preseason No. 3!!! Are we even going to make the tournament at this point?

We won out for the rest of our regular season games and then entered the conference tournament. I am legit terrified we’re going to lay another egg and miss the dance entirely. After winning the first two games, we have a rematch with Southern Utah in the title game. They are rated as an 82 overall, which is about the highest you’ll ever see a team rated in this conference. We streamed the game here.

We won, and headed to the NCAA tournament. Man, this team doesn’t feel as good as I hoped.

Who did recruiting go?

Not well! We landed no one at the early signing deadline, and saw three of our targets commit elsewhere. The only original target we’re looking strong with is Howell, the 6’2 JUCO point guard, but he’ll still need a little more convincing in the offseason.

We’ve pivoted to big man Logan Polk, the No. 185 overall player and No. 11 center, in the front court. We also have offers out to five-star JUCO power forward Erik Stepp and four-star shooting guard Cornell Berry, who is rated No. 33 overall. Polk looks like the most likely to sign out of those three, while Berry is a swing for the fences. I figure we might be due for a little bit of good luck at some point here.

2044 NCAA tournament

We’re a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament, drawing MAC champion No. 9 seed Akron in the first round.

We’re rated as a 100 overall heading into the tournament at 27-6 on the year. The Zips are only rated as an 85 overall.

Before we get to the tournament run, let’s check in on the roster:

I know it hasn’t been the most dominant regular season, but damn, this roster is undeniably loaded. In terms of both top-end talent and depth, I’d put this squad up as one of my best ever. The reality is it won’t be remembered that way unless we run all the way to the national championship.

Hardy and Mascoll were big-time recruits with great tools who have had flashes of greatness, but have never put it together consistently. This is their chance as seniors. Reece and Foster, at 7’1 and 7’2 respectively, give us a major size advantage on any opponent. Bru and Elliott are versatile guards who feel like they could go either way in March. I’m really excited about our bench, with a few big wings who can shoot (sophomore Ketshner Evertsen and freshmen Bernie Doyle and Floyd Keller), some more size (freshman center Brody Munoz) and plenty of lineup versatility.

This team is awesome, but so far they have the underachievers tag. Let’s see if we can shake it. As always, we’re watching a simulated game between the computer. I’m not controlling the Leathernecks.

Let’s go!

twitch

***

Win, 105-70. We’re rolling into the second round.

That was a straight up blow out — we were able to hit ‘sim to end’ with 13 minutes left in the game as we held at 30 point lead. This one was never in doubt.

A few takeaways: Hardy was awesome, popping off for 23 points on 7-of-8 shooting. What a great start to his final tournament run with us. It was an ideal game for Mascoll, too, hitting a couple threes and dishing out six assists. Bruthelieus was great scoring the ball, and Elliott looked solid as our backup point guard.

We only hit two three-pointers in the first half and were still up 21. That seems like a good sign.

The win sets up a game with No. 1 seed Richmond in the round of 32

There’s nothing worse than getting a No. 8 or No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament, because it means we have to face the top seed in the round of 32. For us, that means a matchup with Richmond. I have to say, I’m shocked to see the Spiders are this good.

Richmond enters the game rated as a 98 overall. We’re a 100 overall.

It’s possible this will be our toughest game on the road to the Final Four. I guess we might as well take it on early. It’s not like we’re playing for Sweet 16 appearances over here. We need titles.

Massive game. The nerves are real. Let’s go!

twitch

***

Win, 111-99! We’re into the Sweet 16!

This was another ‘sim to end’ game with five minutes left, but in reality it was a lot closer than the final score would indicate. The first half was a dog fight, with Richmond using a zone defense to coax our perimeter players into taking threes. We attempted 27 threes in the first half (making 10), and 45 threes on the night (making 17). That has to be a record. Seeing as we were making them at a 37 percent clip, I was happy to let our guys keep shooting.

Bru was the biggest star, with 17 of his 22 coming in the first half. He finished 6-of-13 from three despite only being rated as a 75 in three-point shooting. That was huge, especially on a night when Arvy Hardy didn’t have it (1-of-7 shooting).

Mascoll (18 points on 6-of-12 shooting) was awesome again, and our sophomore center Foster (11 points, 11 rebounds) looked every bit of 7’2 out there. Major shout-out to Jerald Elliott as well, who helped blow this game open in the second half when we put him at point guard went with a full court press. He finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, and added a couple steals and a bunch of assists. It is an immense luxury to have a versatile guard rated in the 90s like him coming off our bench.

The win sets up a game with No. 4 seed Rhode Island in the Sweet 16

Rhode Island is rated as an 85 overall. They don’t have any super highly rated players, but it looks like they’ll have a formidable team for a stream game with a big small forward who can shoot and a couple veteran guards.

I’m starting to gain confidence in this team. We already knocked out the No. 1 seed, and I think we’ve found something with lineups that have Elliott at point guard. Let’s keep this run going. Let’s go!

twitch

***

Win, 94-71! We’re rolling into the Elite Eight!

Three games, three ‘sim to end’ blowouts. I had a good feeling about this one when Reece Mascoll ripped a three off the opening tip:

twitch_clip

Those good vibes wouldn’t last long: nine minutes into the game, Rhode Island was up double-figures. We took a timeout, put Elliott in at point guard, turned up the full court pressure, and before you know it we were going into the halftime break ahead by 13 points.

Elliott is really becoming a stud. He’s a great shooter (86 rating from three), but his slow release handicaps him on the wing. That’s why we’ve mostly been playing him at the one, where his size (6’6) and uber-elite speed (99 rating) is a terror. He’s really solid as a passer and decision-maker, and that’s been enough to give us a boost when he put him in for Reece as our first sub.

Look at the speed!

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Hardy was also really good this game with 16 points, four assists, and a couple threes. We’ve been waiting five years for Hardy to carry us, but it seems like he’s just not aggressive enough to be a superstar. Instead, he’s really solid within a team concept, hitting open threes, dropping dimes, and never forcing his own offense.

Mascoll is starting to play like a star. He finished with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists, and five steals, just an incredible performance. Also: Floyd Keller got his first real minutes and scored nine points during a key stretch. Hell yeah. We are looking good.

The win sets up a game with No. 2 seed Louisville in the Elite Eight

We have our work cut out for us if we’re going to reach the Final Four. Louisville is one of the best teams we’ve ever faced in this simulation. Yes, they’re a 100 overall, and their roster is even stronger than ours. They have five players rated in the 90s, two players rated as 89s, another rated as an 88. We showed off Louisville’s roster at the start of the video below.

I’ve never felt more pressure as a coach. We need national title No. 9 if we want to match or surpass Wooden, and I doubt we’ll have a team as good as this one again before the series ends. We need a title, and Louisville is an enormous test in the Elite Eight.

One time, ‘Necks. Let’s go!

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***

Win, 113-95. We’re going to the Final Four!

We had some technical difficulties in this one, and by the time I resolved them we were well on our way to a fourth straight ‘sim to end’ game in this tournament. It is absolutely unbelievable that we were able to blow out that Louisville team. Just a great performance by our guys.

Foster was wildly good. The 7’2 sophomore center popped off for 22 points and 12 rebounds. He can score with either hand around the basket, has a decent face-up jumper, and is just so, so big. Louisville had no answer for him:

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Our depth also shined again in a big way. On a night when Mascoll (10 points) wasn’t taking over, we were lucky to have 6’8 sophomore wing Ketshner Evertsen, 6’9 freshman two guard Bernie Doyle, and of course our boy Elliott get hot and help carry us.

Elliott just rules at point guard, going off for 16 points and seven assists on 6-of-7 shooting. I swear the guy never misses, and rarely makes a bad decision. Doyle (nine points) got going attacking the basket, and I really think he can be a future star. Then there’s Shner, who broke out as a freshman in the tournament last year and remains a great weapon for us off the bench:

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Shner finished with 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three. I’m telling you, the wing depth is really what makes this team stand out.

There was also a kick ass Mascoll tip-dunk during our technical difficulties that was so good I had to pause the game and figure out the stream so we could make a clip of it as a replay.

We’re feeing it right now. On to the Final Four!

The win sets up a game with No. 1 seed BYU in the Final Four

BYU has had a really solid program throughout this simulation, and this looks like one of their better teams. The Cougars enter the game rated as a 97 overall, and they play a bit better than that because they have a ton of size in the front court.

We are one win away from the chance to play for title No. 9. Let’s go!

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***

Win, 94-88! We’ll be playing for the national championship!

There was no ‘sim to end’ in this one; instead, it came down to the final minutes. I really thought this was headed for a blowout, but a wild end to the first half set the table for the final 20 minutes. After Ketshner Evertsen hit a three with seconds remaining before halftime, BYU came down and drained a halfcourt shot at the buzzer:

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We were comfortably in control for most of the second half before BYU started to make its run. Up 14 with under five minutes left, BYU started making everything and suddenly we couldn’t buy a bucket. The Cougars made it a two-point game with under a minute left, but some clutch free throw shooting from Hardy iced the win. This was unquestionably the most difficult game we have had on our tournament run, and it has me thinking that a national title game win won’t come easy.

Jerald Elliot, the 6’6 junior shooting guard, was awesome again, finishing with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting and almost exclusively playing the point for us. Our dude might be making a run at MOP if we can win it all.

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Evertsen — aka Shner — was also killer again, going 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from three to finish with 15 points. It is so nice to have a 6’8 natural shooting guard on the bench we can go to for a jolt of offense. The starters also played well enough, with Hardy and Mascoll each scoring 13 points and Bru putting up 12 points.

The win sets up a game with No. 2 seed UCLA in the national championship game

We beat UCLA for our second ever championship, and we’re going to have to do so again if we want title No. 9. The Bruins have a loaded roster with four players rated in the 90s.

We enter at 32-6, they enter at 31-6. They’re a 99 overall, we’re a 100 overall.

Given that we’ve stated our goal is to tie or surpass John Wooden’s record 10 championships before the series ends after Year 40, there’s a case to be made that this is the biggest game in program history. This would give us title No. 9 with three seasons left. We aren’t catching Wooden if we lose.

Please, ‘Necks. One time. Let’s go!

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***

Win, 101-81! WESTERN ILLINOIS IS NATIONAL CHAMPIONS FOR THE NINTH TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY!

This game was tight for the first 33 minutes or so, but our SECOND HALF TEAM came through when it counted. In fitting fashion, it was a true team effort with five players scoring in a double-figures and bench player being named MOP.

Jerald Elliott finished his amazing tournament by putting up 16 points, seven assists, five steals, and three blocks in the natty on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. He was deservedly named MOP. Elliott came into this season with a nice rating but major question marks about what role he would play. It turns out he was the point guard we needed all along, and that let the rest of the team fall into place.

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It was also great to see Hardy have such a good title game performance. He finished with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with three assists and just one turnover. It was a quintessential Arvy Hardy effort: he picked his spots and was efficient with every shot attempt. I’m going to say he lived up to the hype as our second highest rated recruit ever.

We needed this one:

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And then there was Bru. We once recruited Bruthelieus and Elliott together as shooting guards in the same class, and that couldn’t have worked out any better. Bru finished with a game-high 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting and might have pulled a full DiVincenzo by playing his way into the NBA draft.

This three off a pin-down screen was the dagger.

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Reece Mascoll also went out as a champion in his last game. While he never became a monster scorer like Jitim Dupree, Skip Clemmons, and Nic Cummings before him, he was one of the best players on this team the last three years and an invaluable contributor to this championship. His ability to play either the three or the fourth was an incredible dimension for us that we won’t have next year.

He also had a big dunk, if you’re into big dunks.

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One last shout-out to Hardy for using his final game in a ‘Necks uniform to .... take our first ever charge!?! I honestly can’t remember this happening before.

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From the moment we brought in the Hardy-Mascoll-Reece-Hopes group that was named the fifth best recruiting class in the country, we always thought their senior year would be our moment. While all of those guys were great, I think I’ll instead remember this team for having so much versatility and such great depth.

Pretty much everyone played two different positions for us on our run. We had size, we had shooting, we had size that could shoot. If this wasn’t our best team ever, I really do think it’s damn close.

Let’s see that hometown newspaper. Print lives in 2044!

It feels so good to win national championship No. 9. We’re one behind John Wooden with three seasons to go. All we wanted was a legit chance to match or surpass him, and now we have it.

So: let’s see who’s coming back next year.

Offseason

Western Illinois is your national champion. Feels great to say.

Hardy, Mascoll, and Reece all get drafted. We did lose one other player to the NBA: Augustine Bruthelieus. The man went out on top, having the best game of his career in the national title. Mad respect.

My record stands at 1,075-205.

I get offered jobs by NC State, Arizona, Indiana, and Arkansas, but turn them all down.

We lose an assistant and hire someone new with B- ratings across the board.

Recruiting

So just a reminder: recruiting isn’t going too well. We have four open scholarships and no one who is ready to accept.

The player we’re closest with is five-star JUCO point guard Archie Howel. After the second week of the spring signing period, he becomes our first recruit:

Howel is a 6’2 guard out of El Paso who we identified as gettable early in the process. He won’t redshirt and will be a senior in Year 40 because he’s entering school as a sophomore. The only position we didn’t recruit for two years ago was point guard (remember, we had no open scholarships last year), so filling this position was crucial. We’ve had a couple good JUCO point guards over the years in Damon Hendriks and Diondre Haynes, so hopefully he can be the next one.

We also badly need a center and have been chasing Logan Polk since we lost our initial target. A week later, he becomes our second commit:

Polk is rated as the No. 11 center in his class, and the No. 185 overall player. His AAU numbers are incredible: 17.1 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. He’s ranked a tad bit lower than the guys we usually get at his position, but he should be a solid three-year big for us before the series ends.

We have two more open scholarships, but our two targets — four-star shooting guard Cornell Berry and five-star JUCO Erek Stepp — both sign elsewhere. We need a big guard and wing, but we also just have to take what we can get. We decide to offer the top international player, 6’2 point guard Christano Ngoundu out of Cameroon, because he projects as the top player available. On the last week, he signs with us.

Our last scholarship is offered to 6’8 small forward Ivan Adler out of Bellflower, CA. He’s only rated No. 192 overall, but his AAU stats were awesome — 13.3 points per game on 44 percent three-point shooting — and we love his size. We were his only offer going into the final week, but unfortunately he did not commit. We’re going to have to roll over that scholarship to next year.

Now it’s time to set next year’s schedule:

@ Richmond, Maui Invitational, Vanderbilt, @ Providence, @ Duke, Northwestern, @ Penn State, Saint Louis

Year 38

Here’s a first look at our roster for Year 38:

Two thoughts:

This team has a chance to be very good

The lineups we play in the regular season will not be the same ones I’m playing in tournament games as we try to win national championship No. 10

None of the freshmen are redshirting. Here’s what they came in:

Christano Ngoundu, 77 overall, B potential: I was hesitant to offer Ngoundu because oftentimes international recruits take five years to get good, but I’m so glad I did because he’s easily our best get. The 6’2 guard should get backup point guard minutes from the jump.

Logan Polk, 76 overall, C potential: Probably about as good as we could have reasonably hoped for given that he was only ranked No. 11 at the position. He’ll likely earn spot minutes as our second big man off the bench.

Archie Howel, 71 overall, C- potential: This one hurts, but he does he have a 75 rating in three-point shooting, so maybe he can be a depth piece and a weapon in tournament time if nothing else.

We’ll have three scholarships to recruit for this year.

We’re going to be streaming Year 38 on Sunday, May 2 at 8 p.m. ET on my Twitch channel. We’ll be recruiting and simming through our regular season, and then going into the tournament. If we have a long tournament run and can’t complete the season in one night, we’ll finish out the tournament run on Wednesday, May 5 at 8 p.m. ET on my Twitch.

Watch Western Illinois in Year 38

What: Western Illinois Year 38 season

When: Sunday, May 2 at 8 p.m. ET. If necessary: continued on Wednesday, May 5 at 8 p.m. ET

Where: My Twitch stream

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