Tumgik
#i haven't been watching a lot of anime recently to be honest
444lpblue · 2 months
Text
The Witch and the Beast #1 - The Witch and the City of Blazing Red
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Screenplay: Yuuichirou Momose Storyboard/Episode Direction: Takayuki Hamana Chief Animation Direction: Hiroya Iijima Animation Direction: Kei Tsushima, Yuri Hashimoto, Guonian Wang, Kazuharu Tada, Miyoko Shikibu, Asuna Imahashi, Shinya Segawa (Monster AD: Shouya Gotou) Key Animation: Mana Azumaya, Noa Kawamura, Shigenori Taniguchi, Yoshihito Narimatsu, Yuki Uejou, Hiroyuki Kamura, Mitsuyo Tsuno, Kouichi Hayamizu, Kazunori Ozawa, Shouya Gotou, Yoshiko Nakamura, Studio Maf, Yuka Hayashi, Takuya Nemoto, Maru Animation, Yeong-Nam Ko, Su-Jin Oh
A bit late on this, aren't I? But no matter what, I was going to write about this, and I will write about every episode too – don't worry about it!
If you were in the know how of Yokohama Animation Lab's recent animes, much like me, you were probably very nervous about The Witch and the Beast adaptation. I mean, I made a whole write-up on the outlook, which mostly hinges on director Hamana's consistency in terms of quality and his tendency to bring in specific animators. Well, now that the episode is out, how do I actually feel?
It's… surprisingly very well done. Of course, I'm not saying it's perfect; the biggest issues are likely the limited animation and a bit of off-modelness. But I'm not going to lie, guys. Maybe I am biased because The Witch and the Beast is one of my favorite mangas, but I genuinely had a lot of fun with this debut, and I kind of loved it. It felt like it had the soul of the manga I love despite some production hiccups.
First, let's talk about what you probably felt but haven't been able to confirm. The episode was indeed better than the PV. I got a sense of this as I was watching, and I was really kind of confused about why I didn't feel like the PV looked this good. When I looked back, it was very interesting to see how many differences there were and the improvements that made the shots so much better.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
The obvious improvement in the shading of Guideau and Ashaf is apparent, but I also love the addition of the impact gust that they added to Guideau's stomp. Personally, it was something I noticed in the PV as feeling a bit too still. The only effects in the PV were just simple camera shakes, which didn't really sell the impact of her stomp that much at all. Seeing improvements like these from the trailer to the actual episode fills me with a lot of hope for the production. I feel like it shows that, unlike more recent Yokohama productions, they are trying a significant amount more.
If you couldn't already tell from some of the close-ups I've provided in this post, while the on-modelness of some farther away shots can be questioned, the close-ups in this show are absolutely gorgeous. I wasn't super sold on Iijima's character designs initially, but after seeing the improved shading and the various shots they kind of hid from us in the PV, the designs are freaking gorgeous up close. The Witch and the Beast, the manga, has always been a visual spectacle that relied a lot on its art direction, aesthetics, and of course, character designs. While it's nearly impossible for the anime to match it, I think they came very close. The characters' eyes are so pretty; I love the compositing effects they applied to them. It feels like it gives them a lot of depth and kind of like an otherworldly blur, which I think looks great. The features are sharp; they're so pretty. Everyone has their premium eyelash extensions on, and it's just about as aesthetically pleasing to me as the manga. To be honest, it might be my favorite character design for the season.
And since I also briefly mentioned the compositing, I have to apologize to Natsumi Uchida. I specifically pointed her out in my social media rambles as someone who was making me worry a bit. And that mostly stems from her recent effort in The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World, which, to be frank, I thought was terrible. The effects looked cheap, just due to how bright and almost neon at times they are. They don't fit in with their environments; it just wasn't pleasant to look at. However, her work in The Witch and the Beast is so much better. While some effects are somewhat questionable, like the smoke and Ashaf's crow appearing when he was saving Guideau, I would definitely say the compositing was a highlight in this episode. It really puts a stamp on the character designs with the beautiful compositing over them. It makes every scene paired with the art direction feel so dense, like everything is just so in-depth.
The art direction in this show is probably its best visual element. It absolutely shines. I mean, if you had to pick something out from this production as a major highlight, it has to be one of the undeniable biggest pros of the show so far. The series is a dark fantasy, but it's not a dull one. A lot of adaptations, I feel, confuse this with each other a bit. A dark fantasy doesn't have to mean dull colors or a realistic design; after all, The Witch and the Beast is all about its aesthetically gothic yet fantasy appearance that is quite grandiose and beautiful in nature, and the art direction covers that perfectly. So huge credit to the art director, Hirotsugu Kakoi and his crew at Kagoshima Ramecahirim.
One of my biggest worries for the anime adaptation, when I first saw the trailer, was actually, believe it or not, kind of its color palette. I genuinely thought they didn't get a full sense of Satake's style. It felt a bit too plain to me when I always imagined the colors in the world in this series to be very solid and strong, while not bright. I think the series functions on its boldness, and the backgrounds are a perfect example of it. The opening, I think, is a great example of this too, just them surrounded by those buildings in the midst of the night feels almost overwhelmingly dense. It really serves as the main appeal in many of the show's shots and ties everything (the compositing, the character designs, and the aesthetic) all together. The buildings and architectures, a mix of 2D and 3D, blend in so perfectly. You can take so many of those shots and make them your wallpaper; honestly, it's so pretty. It's also not just the buildings; the flowers in the room where Guideau and Ione fight were stunning. I also love the visual of the flowers always fluttering up due to impact; it just created such a magical experience for me. It's such a simple addition, but it was great. That, paired with the great soundtrack which goes from almost Persona-like music to soft notes of somberness that build up to the release of a monster, just all goes together so well.
At the beginning of this write-up, I already noted its production issues in terms of sometimes limited animation and a good bit of off-modelness in farther away shots (which I hope they'll fix in the Blu-Ray). There are many instances of very solid animation, which you can just look up on Sakugabooru if you want an example. I'm very impressed by Hamana's ability to manage this level of quality and a very strong self-identity of the show's visuals.
His direction in this episode, while some people might not like it due to its reminiscent of older styles, is noteworthy. Many of his shots rely on simple zoom-ins and zoom-outs, which I would say was a more common technique around 2008 or so. His way of transitioning is also a lot less focused on smooth transitions than most styles nowadays. For example, in Ghost Hunt, Gungrave, or Library of Bantorra, the flow of the storyboard is much less smooth and flowing than modern ones. Hamana's boards feel much more jumpy, I suppose? There's a larger gap that isn't covered by anything, which seems to have given many reviewers the impression of a slideshow. Personally, I don't mind it too much, as I think he still has some pretty interesting ideas. The transitions to Guideau getting stabbed and then grabbing Ione, I thought were really well done and mesmerizing. All the choices for the fluttering flowers were probably directly from him.
And hey, normally I don't like his openings, but the opening for The Witch and the Beast is badass, and I might write an individual write-up for it this week. However, I would also love to see other storyboarders and episode directors on some episodes to compare, especially for future episodes like for Johan and Phanora. I would love to see somebody like Shinj Itadaki give it a try, who I really hope to see in this series at some point. I think it's very possible due to the fact he's worked with Hamana before, and he's worked with Yokohama Animation Lab before. Much like a lot of the key animators here, he was also on Ancient Magus Bride S2, which, if you guys didn't know for some reason, contains an oddly large amount of staff that Hamana worked with before across the years, and they're also appearing in The Witch and the Beast now.
As you can tell, I really enjoyed the debut, despite its issues. I could ramble about it all day; there are so many things I want to talk about. However, I think it would be best to save that for when we get to future episodes. In this write-up, I've already spent a lot of time discussing more of what I like about the general direction and visual appeal of the series. Hopefully, in future episodes, I will be able to go more in-depth on specific storyboards, direction, and visuals that the upcoming episodes will showcase. I'll see you guys next week for the next episode of The Witch and the Beast.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
16 notes · View notes
blysse-and-blunder · 6 months
Text
in lieu of a long weekend
10pm, sunday, oct 8, 2023
it's canadian turkey-day tomorrow ~ it's windy and grey outside ~ there is pumpkin pie in the fridge and i'm wearing an extremely pleasing wooly sweater my housemate was going to give away. we've turned the heat on for the first time this season. the cozy season of the year has arrived.
reading finished victoria goddard's whiskeyjack, book 3 in the greenwing & dart series! reading this series for me is an exercise in noticing the easter eggs that tell me it was written by a medievalist, and an academic, and a medievalist academic with a degree from the program i'm currently in. there's so much in this particular volume about poetry analysis. she came so close to using the word 'semiotic' and actually did use the phrase 'exoteric.' while i might have quibbled about things like pacing and plot and how i still don't always think first-person is a good fit in the hands of most authors, these books are like tailor-made for me. i can't not enjoy them.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
and then on the other hand, i spent some extremely happy hours this past week with patrick o'brian's post captain. when i first read the aubrey books, i was probably in high school, fresh out of racing through the hornblower series. because the aubreyad is-- i'll be honest-- better writing, but also demands more of you as a reader, i fully didn't appreciate like 80% of this book. i knew the series, as much by osmosis as by actual time spent reading, and reading it now? felt like coming home. especially since i now have the attention, and the ability, to read between the lines. to pick up on the irony, the allusions, the humor, the misdirection! the women oh my god how did i not appreciate sophie, diana, or mrs. williams before now. i didn't mind before how little of the larger world and society made it into the movie, but i actually understand the griping now. but even more than that, i found the ship action and actual, like, battle extremely tense and interesting this time; i was up well into the night at one point just to see what would happen next, because i was nervous for my dear boys.
watching friday night double-feature with @hematiterings where we enjoyed the first three new episodes of Our Flag Means Death and finished with another two of netflix's Arcane: League of Legends, which we're probably going to finish fairly soon so i'll focus on that one. just quickly though, had a great time with the first new ofmd episode, just extremely good work from all involved, and then was weirdly not as into the second two-- though the end of ep 3 was back to grand. i think in general i like where the season is going, and i'm going to withhold further comment until we've seen some more.
Tumblr media
i was not expecting to like arcane as much as i have been. didn't have a clue what it was when we started, but the art style has absolutely blown me away. here's a quick run-down of the animation, which is a mix of hand-painted digital, 2D, and absolutely gorgeous. it looks like a video game and a painting at the same time-- not in the same way spiderverse combines animation and illustration, but with some familiar elements. people's eyes have this amazing jewel-like depth and clarity? scenery that made us go 'oh, paris looks so nice!' and 'man i love cyberpunk' and other such witticisms. but seriously, if you like good animation and also art nouveau-inspired steam-punk aesthetics, there's a lot here. plus a good (dare I? could league of legends be good, actually?) tragic story-line, and enough twists that i haven't seen coming, to really get me curious about what comes next.
Tumblr media
listening a long time ago, probably back in 2021 around the time of the most recent album, i think @mankillercalledbunny was sharing playlists or links that featured The Amazing Devil, and at roughly the same time i had a spotify playlist include a track or two for me, and now here we are. had their two albums "ruin" and "the horror and the wild" on all week, which made it a bit hard to read at times because i would get caught in the lyrics. this is exactly the kind of music two people who met at the RSC would make, it is dramatic, sort of gothic, sort of folky, sort of theater. the contrary motion, the interweaving voices, esp. in the chorus of "marbles", is where i've been living recently. i like knowing this about joey batey, i like that he has this extra dimension now when i see him as jaskier! i hope he can find a way to come back to it again, whenever.
youtube
playing i finally (after how long!) got the wizard's ink well - witch's pendant - goblins (??) quest in stardew! not a hard one at all, but so satisfying to be able to use that hint that had been hovering there in the library for the past, oh, real-world year or so. i'm like 50 pieces of hardwood away from getting the ferry up and running too, and i'm excited to move off of the plateau i've been on and open up the next level of the world.
Tumblr media
making i mentioned the pumpkin pie up top, and it did turn out well this year despite a distracted me happening to leave out the butter when mixing the filling-- i noticed before it got into the oven, luckily, and was able to add it in! but...while it was in the pie crust, which was kind of sloppy. no nicely pinched or braided crust for me this year. and then, since the size of can of pumpkin you buy here is always a little too big for the recipe, i tried out the smitten kitchen pumpkin bread that many friends have recommended before, and that has been a delight. moist without being dense or heavy, but still very substantial? a little bit less sugar than the recipe called for, and no freshly ground nutmeg, but we did have fresh ginger and overall it is very nice. it also rose architecturally, which was maybe a function of it being on a higher rack? or of me miss-counting scoops of baking soda? anyway, hilarious.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
working on working on consistency. working on momentum. working on not getting in my own way. draft of this conference paper due 10/26, slides and notes for this guest lecture due 10/25, and the chapter abides. the conference paper serves it directly, however, which i feel good about. i keep finding new things to read about, and keep being glad i've continued researching, since i'm coming up with excellent (it feels) material to work with, but i can't let that get in the way of actually. writing.
15 notes · View notes
quindriepress · 10 months
Text
Tumblr media
This week's spotlight is on NORRIE and his comic Flesh & Flora. NORRIE is a comics creator, illustrator and character designer from Scotland. He lives in Dundee, drinks coffee and watches the birds from his window. He has no complaints.(@prehistoricfrog | website | instagram | twitter)
"Flesh & Flora follows two synthetic characters, Gen and Hare, who are doing their best to hold onto their humanity in a strange new world, prompting them to question each other's mortality. The arrival of an unknown species puts their differing perspectives to the test and may jeopardise both characters' very existence." 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Read the spotlight below the cut!
NORRIE's goal with Flesh & Flora was to create a book that if he saw, he'd want to pick up straight away. "I love the feeling of picking up a book and that being all I talk about for about six months. That's the essence of comics! I've always been interested in themes of identity and the human consciousness, especially when they are placed onto seemingly non-human characters, and I wanted to use those themes to think about very human concepts like ego and in particular the fabrication of responsibility. to make us feel important and in control of our world.
"I'm also fascinated when people describe the world as a character, like what does that mean? So I wanted to really run with that to an extreme: the world in Flesh & Flora is a character in the way that as nature, it is living and breathing but it's also an amalgamation of undulating flesh and a tangle of pulsating wire, flourishing amongst the flora. I primarily wanted it to be an uncanny image but also work as a sign that this world is evolving and that evolution is a process that takes such a long time, what would it feel like to be amongst those who haven't realised it's happened? This is the position I wanted to show Gen and Hare in really wanting to be able to explore this idea and their reaction to being left behind."
Tumblr media
NORRIE's love of sci-fi, particularly robots and mechs, is clear throughout his work. "Look, I'm a simple little guy. I've got no shame in admitting that. I like cool robots, hot babes and bananas sci-fi. I've spent a lot of time reminding myself it's fine to indulge in these things artistically but basically, I grew up watching Anime vhs's like Bubblegum Crisis, Patlabor, Dominion Tank Police and Ghost in the Shell, and obviously there's a strong Cyberpunk vein running through these films and shows that's very exciting on a visual level to a kid. Once you grow and you revisit these stories there's much more going on, usually these questions of what makes us human, etc. than just the surface level Cyberpunk motifs that are plastered on everything these days.
"I love Headlopper by Andrew Maclean and Apocalyptigirl has had a big influence on me. Homunculus by Joe Sparrow is an incredible comic. I'm constantly thinking about SOMA by Frictional Games and more recently SIGNALIS by rose-engine really struck a chord and has already got me thinking about future stories." 
Tumblr media
For aspiring comic creators, NORRIE has this advice: "Focus on what you love. Comics are hard so you should make sure that you are passionate about what you work on, don't try to please other people – there's no pleasing them anyway. If you want to be a creator, you should create for yourself. You'll always have an audience that way. I think people that appreciate good comics can see work that's honest, you don't have to be the best at drawing or be the next flash in the pan creator, just be yourself and don't be intimidated by others. There is always a place for you."
You may also be interested in some of NORRIE's other upcoming work! "I'm currently working on character artwork for the amazing video game AERO GPX. It's a futuristic anti-grav racer in the style of F-Zero but very much with its own twist. It's roughly scheduled for a 2024 release, it looks amazing and you can wishlist it on Steam now!"  
 You can pick up Flesh & Flora, alongside the other three comics in our 2023 collection, right here on Kickstarter! 
15 notes · View notes
anukkuna · 27 days
Text
Oderbruch
Tumblr media
As many people, I too get new TV recs from my Tumblr Dash (among other places), so i watched "Oderbruch".
Find my thoughts and potential Spoilers under the cut!
First of all: my overall conclusion is that I really liked the show. It didn't captivate me as much as, say, the first season of Dark, but it was an entertaining February watch for me.
I also went into the show completely unspoilered, I didn't know anything besides the mystery crime genre and who the three lead actors were and I think, for me, that was a good thing.
So, if you enjoy mystery-crime as a genre, liked shows like Dark, with some supernatural elements and intergenerational conflicts, I'd recommend that you watch the show first and without spoilers.
For everyone who is ready to be spoilered, I made lists of things I liked, didn't like, what I found ambiguous, things that surprised me etc.:
I liked:
The vampire rework. I'm not an expert on these, but I like that the vampires age when they don't consume blood (or only animal blood). Also you can't turn anyone, you have to be born a vampire.
The main plottwist that our protagonist is a vampire too. I didn't see this coming.
How they set this in eastern German no man's land.
That the series started with a bang, with not just one dead body but with a biiiiiiig pile. A mount. Bring it on!
Many connections the characters had. It's very villiage-y. I liked many of the intergenerational conflicts as well.
The ensemble cast. I knew some faces from Tatort, Polizeiruf, Das Boot, Dark and other German TV productions.
I liked that Maggie and Roland were past lovers and recent friends with history. Roland was helping an old friend with whom he shared a lot(!) - but he is portrayed as honest and faithful and never questions his loyalty to his wife and kids. Romantic relationships are not the main focus and not needed between the main characters.
All of the Chekov's X turned out to be relevant to the plot. Give us a close-up and we'll be sure to look out for: mom's flask, numerous weapons, even glass shards and side characters.
The voice change of "Adrian". Omfg, well played!
I didn't like:
The vampire "ethics". Maybe because I thought about this not so long ago... but: were there any? What message were they trying to bring across?? Is this gonna turn out as a questionable pledge for naturalistic morals (aka the Right is with the Strong)?
Kai says about the leeches: "nobody likes them, though they're good for the eco-system"... considering what these vampires do and to whom... are we supposed to think this about them as well? That's it's good that they feed on people who won't be missed? That it's justified how they treat the kids in the school?
Also, the whole shaky wolves-and-sheep-analogy: "the strong eat the week. It's simply our nature. You can't fight against this." I know it's mostly Stoian... but still. I guess, my final verdict on this depends on season two.
That Maggie didn't thoroughly finish Stoian off. I mean... come on! Cut him in half with your sword, as you did with the other one ffs!
The vampires' focus on finding a female to breeeeeeeed. WTF happened to the female vampires? How long haven't they been around that these guys write very old poems about it in their "code"? Is there really such an overall lack of vampire? Doesn't it seem kind of a bold assumption by Maggie's mom that they are supposed to be "the last two"?
Ambiguous:
With regards to the last point I made: maybe this is the line where you have to suspend disbelief. LeavIng some of these Story bits unexplained and not everything has to be logical, cause it's mystery... it's up to you if that's a premise you'll feel satisfied with and ethical implications you know what to make of.
The show is mostly SHOW and very, very little tell. That means: characters are harder to get because often they will just stare, maybe grind their teeth, frown, etc. That leaves room for interpretation but also for uncertainty and some of the characters thoughts and motives. Depends on you, if it's something you like (I did).
My overall recommendation still stands though: watch it, but be prepared.
Alright, so long for this one, people!
5 notes · View notes
infernia-inferno · 7 months
Text
One thing that I've noticed recently that's been pissing me off is when people who try to make a part or feature announced for a game before it's finished
I'm talking the "I made Minecraft tales and trails update in a week" shit, the fanmade deltarune chapters that pass themselves off as "Chapter 3" or whatever and the FNF mods of weeks that were leaked or announced
Admittedly the first one in that list doesn't piss me off that much because usually it's just an excuse to speculate on new features and at least the ones I like watching are usually "here's this update but I horribly bastardized it" which I genuinely love
But like
Straight up just making content devs have announced? No parody, no speculation, no nothing?
It rubs me the wrong way
Like, The deltarune example
Imma be honest I'm outside the loop of the fanmade chapters and shit, But I've seen certain characters that advertise themselves as bosses or characters of certain chapters, and I'm dead ass sure they're not the bosses of said chapters, unless there's some really weird aspect of this I'm missing. I think I've seen fangames or fanmade chapters. Toby is hard at work making his game and that's not the character of the chapter. If you're making a fanmade character for a fanmade chapter, or several, then make that clear. Don't just say it's like, chapter 3 or chapter 4 or something. That is something actively in development, and making a fanmade version of it that ends up being completely different is likely going to end up confusing a bunch of people
Now admittedly I might've got some things wrong with that, because again I haven't been paying attention much to that side of the fandom
But the final example pisses me off the most, or at least it did back when I still played it. People making mods of Friday night funkin of announced weeks or announced characters. Like, yeah fanmade stuff is cool, but when you're just straight up taking leaked game assets and creating the week before the devs have time to make it, then that probably feels like a kick in the stomach to the devs because they wanted to make their version as good at it could be before they released it, but you had to go make a version of it regardless of its quality. They're making a whole ass game with whole ass animations and everything, cut them some slack for taking so long to get it right. They shouldn't be punished for taking their time to make their game the best thing it can be.
A lot of the things I said in each of these apply to each other, I'm just listing my scattershot examples
I myself am an aspiring game dev who would sure as hell be pissed off if someone made a fan version of the story I was trying to tell and passed it off as what happens next like in my deltarune example
I'm not talking what ifs or anything by the way, I'm just talking straight up advertising it as what's next
Fan projects are cool but make it clear it's separate or it's own continuity or parody or whatever
Don't call it the next part or just outright make the next part from what's been announced
It's kinda scummy
Also to be clear, this isn't "fan content bad" this is "fan content that tries to make something before the original creator can is bad"
I hope I got my point across to some extent here
You could probably make a similar argument about people trying to compose the rest of a song after hearing a small teaser of it, but that's not my field. If you are a composer though I'm curious how you feel about that. Probably some other similar fields like that as well, like that dude who used an AI to finish someone's picture before they themselves were done with it, although not sure if that's even remotely comparable because that is just unarguably a dick move
5 notes · View notes
sasha-on-the-side · 3 months
Text
Tag Meme
Thank you for the tag, @banachtarskiparadox! I don't do these memes often bc a lot of them make me go "and why do you want to know this about me?" but I'm always up for screaming about some of my favourite pieces of media!
A scent you love:
Grapefruit. My current signature is Zara Vetiver Pamplemousse layered with Kerosene Summer of '84.
Something you're looking forward to this week:
Been watching Arcane with some of my besties who haven't seen it, and we need to go through the last three episodes.
A book you are currently reading:
I've been AWFUL at reading books as an adult ;_; I've had This Is How You Lose the Time War, Gideon the Ninth, and TAZ graphic novel (The 11th Hour, my favourite arc) sitting on my bedside table since summer and I've barely made a dent in the former. I need to get to them sometime soon.
A game you're currently playing:
I've been on a bit of a gaming tear lately and got through some really good indie titles!
Outer Wilds - the game I beat and then made everyone I know play it too because I needed someone to talk to about it. This is one of those games that everyone reccs as "don't look up anything about it just play it blind trust me" and I find it to be a bit unfair to people who are not into certain types of gameplay, so I'm gonna recommend it to you in a way that's equally honest and non-spoilery:
It's a space exploration game in which you are a budding astronaut setting off on your first journey in your small solar system. It's entirely non-linear and you are welcome to craft your own path in visiting several distinct planets and other celestial bodies, while trying to uncover the mysteries of a civilisation that inhabited the system before you, through collecting pieces of written lore. You have to fly a ship to get to places, and while it takes some getting used to, it is very intuitive. And, if you like time loops, this game has one. If any of what I said sounds attractive to you, I implore you to play it, it is quite genuinely life- and/or game-changing.
American Arcadia - it's The Truman Show meets Severance meets Defunctland: the game. A 2.5D runner/puzzle game with a neat 70s aesthetic and a story that takes a pleasantly unique direction.
Chants of Sennaar - a game about being an interpreter in what is essentially the tower of Babel. It's a really novel but well-executed concept that doesn't get old during the course of the game and makes up for a (imo) rather basic storyline. It's the kind of game that has you take notes as you go, except the note-taking mechanic is already build into it.
Cocoon - a very neat puzzle game with a lovely art style and inception-like mechanics that may leave you stumped for a minute or to but then make you feel like a genius when you finally solve the puzzle.
Night in the Woods - a story-heavy game about coming of age with light puzzle, platformer, and rhythm game elements, fantastic dialogue and the most charming art style and animation.
All of the above titles also have great soundtracks, OW and NitW especially.
The most recent movie you watched:
Oh man, I don't watch that many movies. It has to be The Killer, which was remarkable in its mediocrity. It's fun as you get through it, and then it ends and makes you go "wait that's it?"
A show you've been watching or listening to:
Now here I can recc you some good ones! I got really into Taskmaster this past year and have been watching the New Zealand version, after being a bit reluctant to get into it. Fortunately it's just as funny as the UK version, it its own "man, they get wild on kiwi tv" way.
Another show I really liked lately was Culprits! Heist is my favourite genre of media, and this show delivered on the "someone in the crew is a traitor" storyline and then some. It also has a diverse cast, with a queer black lead, and a lovely wrap to the fist season that won't leave you without answers should it suffer...you know, that thing that happens to all shows these days.
I will also take an opportunity to plug Dungeons and Daddies*, a rowdy, horny, violent podcast for grown-ups, and my favourite audio show for the fourth year and counting. It's a real play podcast that's light on the rules and heavy on "yes and", and in its first season tackles issues of toxic masculinity, generational trauma, and what it means to be a father. If you liked TAZ Balance, give it a try.
*Not a BDSM podcast. Occasionally a BDSM podcast.
Your favourite season:
Early summer. The night air in my hometown has a scent I wish I could bottle up and put as the first answer instead.
Something you've learned recently:
Whatever it is I did, I have forgotten it by now.
Have you had any water recently?
Just now, to wash down my meds (this is your reminder to take yours.)
Tagging @canonicallyshort @orangeykay @joybones and YOU!
2 notes · View notes
writer168 · 10 months
Note
I don't even know Leon Kennedy since I never played the game or seen the movie (if there is) but I am so down for him! He's such a marshmallow! I liked how a dose of reality that his father probably won't approve of Sakura only made his resolve stronger. (I am bracing myself to be honest!)
i actually got into the series pretty recently! when the re2 remake came out my friend (who'd already been a fan of the series) got me to play the game with him and i've been spiraling ever since
and if we're talking about movies, well, here's a list and my short opinions on each if you or anyone else wanna take a deep dive into surface lore! (the games i get if no one's interested in those, they take a lot of time to get into but any playthrough is accessible on youtube! my favorites are the streams by ray narvaez jr)
(feel free to ignore my ramblings if you so choose <3)
Resident Evil film series (2002-2017): live action movies, main character isn't in any of the games. there's cameos from game characters, but i'm not really into these movies
Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008): animated movie, mains leon and claire and this leon's... fine. character consistency isn't resident evil's strong suit and let's just say we're not watching any of the animated movies for their A+ quality
Resident Evil: Damnation (2012): animated movie, mains leon, definitely a step up from Degeneration but still not my favorite leon! i'd say it's a pretty solid installment tbh
Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017): animated movie, mains leon and chris (and rebecca who i haven't mentioned in my crossover), HOT DAMN my favorite movie to date. the quips, the action scenes, the stupidest gun-kata you ever did see - 10/10, i've watched it too many times
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness (2021): animated netflix miniseries, mains leon and claire, definitely the best visuals i've seen just because of the natural progression of how these kinds of animations go. leon? love him. plot? slackin. still watched it multiple times lmao
Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City (2021): live action movie... we don't talk about her. no, seriously. my friend (same one mentioned above) and I watched it in theaters, almost left at multiple points, then sat in the car for a solid 10 min after just in shock over how bad it was. but i've heard that it's a pretty good movie if you're not attached to the lore (even if the SELLING POINT WAS THAT IT FOLLOWED THE GAMES)
Resident Evil (2022): netflix live action sesries, whole new cast of characters, lost interest after ep 1 tbh so i can't give much here
Resident Evil: Death Island (2023): coming out in july and I'm HYPED
but in terms of mint limeade - brace yourself even harder! because it's the Mr. Kennedy vs Sakura stand off next!
9 notes · View notes
bonesandthebees · 4 months
Note
Hi!! I just reread starman waiting in the sky last night and I forgot how good it was, honestly the way you write crimeboys is fucking epic, I admire a lot of your writing lol, it actually inspired me to write as a hobbie :D thanks for that :))
Anyway I saw you've watched at least a couple animes and I was wondering if you have any suggestions? Trying to get into it but so far I've only really watched a couple studio Ghibli movies, some of bleach and weathering with you +your name
-🐦‍⬛ anon if that isn't already taken :D
aww thank you so much!! man it always means so much to hear that I inspire people to write. seriously that's wild to me, writing is something I've loved ever since I was a little kid so giving someone else the drive to try it out is just aaaaa ty <3
oooo okay I definitely haven't watched a ton of anime or anything but I definitely have a solid amount of shows ticked off my list
(this got long surprise surprise so I'm putting it under a read more)
so based on what you said you've watched so far, you mostly seem to be into anime that's more of a mix of slice of life with vague fantastical elements. the only thing off the top of my head I can think of that fits that vibe is fruits basket, which I'll be honest I only got a couple episodes into but didn't end up completing. that's not because it was bad or anything, I actually really liked the characters, it just didn't grab me. but I've heard amazing things about it! also, when I'm talking about it I'm referring to the more recent remake from 2019 as I've heard that's the better one (?) but also I've never watched the og version (which is like from 2001) so I can't say that for sure that's just what I've heard people say
now onto recommendations of things I've actually watched
I haven't seen bleach but from what I know it's a shōnen manga, so if you like action/adventure kind of stuff the best anime I have ever watched (and tbh one of the best pieces of media I've ever seen hands down) is the anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. like, it's widely considered one of the greatest of all time and for good reason. the series is so well-written. all of the characters are so interesting and well-formed, their relationships are nuanced, the story itself deals with a lot of very heavy topics very skillfully while still keeping a lot of moments for humor. and also if you like my crimeboys fics, the center point relationship in fullmetal alchemist is between two brothers who love each other so fucking much just aaaaaa Ed and Al my BOYS. seriously I would not have the crimeboys brothers brainrot today if I hadn't been obsessed with fmab as a teenager. now fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood is on the longer side (like 5 seasons I think) but it's so so worth it I promise. also, if you do watch it make sure you're watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. like with the aforementioned fruits basket, there's an older version of the series that was made in 2003 (just called Fullmetal Alchemist) and the plot of it deviated from the manga, and from what I've heard it isn't considered to be as good as FMA: Brotherhood. Brotherhood was made in 2009 and follows the manga completely, and while I haven't watched the 2003 version and can't say for sure if it's worse, the general consensus is Brotherhood is the far superior version.
okay that's my one long ramble the rest of the recs I'll give quicker blurbs for
Death Note (yes I know I'm basic but I love it ok): great if you like watching two guys play mental 4D chess. one guy basically has the power of a god to kill people with so he decides to execute criminals with it, the other is the investigator trying to find out who the dude with magic powers killing people is. very fun on the mind games front
Ouran High School Host Club: COMPLETELY different tone to the rec above. Ouran is very goofy and silly with a surprisingly nuanced take on gender for being made in 2006. it's genuinely such a funny show but the characters also have real heart and you really do love watching the relationships that form. it's such a classic I'm pretty sure most people who like anime have watched it. just trust me on this.
Madoka Magica: magical girl anime except, uh, it's not all fun and sparkles. saying anything more will ruin the twist so I won't tell you too much, but I will say this show has very fascinating relationships and GORGEOUS animation like holy shit. if you like my fic starman I feel like you'll enjoy this. if you do decide to watch it try to finish at least up to ep 3 before deciding if you'll continue with it or not, bc that's when the show 'properly' starts imo
okay that's all I'll say for now! hope you find something you like out of these!
5 notes · View notes
flownintothesun · 4 months
Text
𝐓𝐀𝐆 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑!
Tumblr media
𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑(𝐒): Seaglass blues and greens ; summer grass green. Blues and greens in general.
𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑(𝐒): I like spicy / savory foods a lot. I enjoy food a lot and don't have a ton of food aversions - so I enjoy everything from time to time and like variety rather a lot. Also, I like lemons. Both the writing kind and the flavor.
𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂: I am one of those odd ones that really likes at least a handful of things from every genre. I have pretty eclectic taste in music though if I had to pick one genre it would probably be Gaelic/Celtic folk? Or more modern folk music? I like showtunes a lot, too and 00's rock / punk rock. But a little bit of everything (all of the time). I haven't gotten much of a start on my 2024 playlist, but here's 2023's.
𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄(𝐒): Moulin Rouge! (2001), Thumbelina (1994), Cinderella (2015), Big Fish (2003), Patch Adams (1998), The Pebble and the Penguin (1995), The Last Unicorn (1982), Lord of the Rings (2001-), Hunger Games (2012-), Howl's Moving Castle (2004), basically all of Ghibli tbh, Elemental (2023). Honorable Mentions: Les Miserables, Moana, Matilda, Robin Hood, Princess and the Goblin, Onward, How to Train Your Dragon, Love Simon, Red White & Royal Blue, The Greatest Showman, The Little Mermaid, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Labyrinth, The Princess Bride, Maleficent + many, many more...
𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒: I don't have a current favorite, if I'm being honest? Things I've enjoyed in the past: Many anime/Ghibli as a wee one, Disney, Harry Potter way way back when, Lord of the Rings, X-Men: Evolution, Dexter, Game of Thrones, Reign, LOST, Supernatural (RIP), Our Flag Means Death, Good Omens (still only seen s1), Sense8, Doctor Who, YOU, Anne With an E, Yuuri!!! On Ice, The Walking Dead, Glee, and probably many more that I'm forgetting to be honest.
𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆: Get in the Water (Morgan Clae cover) I am OBSESSED. Big sea god Westley vibes.:)
𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒: Hmm...Our Flag Means Death? I have seen every episode but the last with Havu and have started a rewatch with Nonny.
𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄: I binged the Lord of the Rings trilogy last weekend. :) Most of the movies I watch are comfort and feel good movies with Nonny though. I really enjoy our movie nights and it's something we've been doing since the early days of our friendship. Sharing media both ways with loved ones is a love language for me.
𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆: I recently finished the Rise of the Empress series, which I highly recommend. I am tentatively about to start the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I'm trying to ease myself back into reading after a rough year without putting too much pressure on it. ♡
𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆: Started The Great with @smokedanced Thanksgiving week but we've not watched in some time and should pick that up soon! I've had a hard time consuming most media this year which is a crying shame.
𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍: Not losing my mind? Hehe. Um, honestly just getting organized in life and getting through this little bit of a hard spell. I've been writing a lot with Nonny and not doing a whole lot else other than adulting and managing my illnesses as best as I can lately. But I hope to work toward being more active here again soon. :) ♡
Tumblr media
Tagged by: @realmyths (thank you! ♡) Tagging: Everyone? There are too many people I don't know as well as I'd like to yet. Tag me so I can read!
4 notes · View notes
tieria-erde · 8 months
Text
tagged by nika @pianofish ty!!! :3
last song i listened to:
im being honest it was summer buzz by nika...! go listenn please their music is always so beautiful. i wanna do a cover of this song sometime soon... (probably not acapella this time bc i like the percussion too much) i have vague ideas for an mv that i am not sure i have the skill to execute but i wanna try anyway. i need to lay down some thumbnails but i see it in my brain it's similar in style to iyowa's imawanokiwa mv
alsoo this wasnt the question but im recommending this vocaduo song because its really pretty and i like it a lot
currently watching:
i watched spirited away for the first time this past week it was soo lovely...! a while back i went on a mall date with a friend and i bought a cute spirited away button down just because it was purple and i said to myself "well i haven't watched spirited away but if i watch it and like it that'll justify the purchase right?" and then forgot to watch it... but now i have, and i liked it, so i can wear that shirt without a heavy conscience 👍
currently reading:
not really "current" but i recently read the storytelling animal by jonathan gottschall for one of my classes next semester and i liked it! some parts i found irritating but it was still a fun read to pick apart. ive also been meaning to get back to reading the insomniacs after school manga... the anime was so so so wonderful but the only scanlation i've found for the manga doesn't look all that high quality ;w; i still wanna read it though
oh also JUST last week finished rereading heir's game by suspu, beautiful beautiful comic. andd last month i reread when the day comes by omyo which is my favorite webtoon of alllll time ever. sorry for being a webtoon guy i promise i do it with a distinct theme-understanding air 💜
current obsession:
i have been working for like a month on english translyrics for eimin no susume by narumiya. this isnt my first attempt at writing translyrics (i have tried so many times to write translyrics for itte by yorushika but i think that song's just impossible to translate well in general) but it is the first time ive gotten anywhere close to finishing them... im not as mindblowingly depressed as i was a few weeks ago so im not actually sure i'll still want to cover the song by the time i finish these lyrics but i wanna see it through to the end! and its a fun song to sing anyhow (speaking of covers ive been sitting on this 90% complete cover for a while that i just need to finish recording harmonies on..... maybe i'll go do that after i post this)
also my mom made egg tarts yesterday and they are so awesome and tasty. obsessed with those for sure as well
this isn't really an obsession but i also want to mention i started gnosia a week or so ago at the recommendation of a friend, i kind of got off on a rocky start with it because it wasn't what i was expecting (i am a diehard fan of hidden role games but the singleplayer gameplay just does not scratch that same itch for me) but once i got past that i really started liking it...! i haven't played in a few days but i wanna get back to it
tag 9 people:
umm i dont know that many people ^_^ do it if u wanna do it! no pressure @larnax @vivi-mire @neildylandy @thebeggarlover @ptolemaiios @sunnymatsu
3 notes · View notes
carrie-tate · 1 year
Text
Top 22 of 2022 End of the Year Game Tag
Well, as I understand it, I, too, have been drawn into this tag game. At least I was to mention @otomiya-tickles and @happyandticklish, thanks for that, in any case, I'm glad to join)
Part 1: Fandom Faves
1. Favorite new fandoms of the year You know, there are no exclusively new fandoms this year. Rather, my love for a couple of old fandoms caught fire in a new way. Like Mob Psycho 100 or Psychonauts. Oh! Milo Murphy's Law, Kaitou Joker, Inside Job, Super 4 (this two actually new…) and Percy Jackson too btw! Balan Wonderworld is deserves a mention too Okay, okay, that's all, otherwise I'll just go into the enumeration of ALL fandoms in general, because I don't know how to choose my favorite
2. Favorite new ships since this year If I lower my impudent ships with s/i, then I will say: Milo/Amanda (Milo Murphy's Law), Annabeth/Percy (Percy Jackson) Well, obviously Terumob and Shoritsu (Mob Psycho 100), haha
3. Favorite anime/TV show of the year Oh I also started watching Supernatural this year and I should keep watching (while I'm stuck on the first episodes of season 4), I definitely like this show Speaking of anime - Mob Psycho 100 and Kaitou Joker, I haven't really watched anything else huh
4. Favorite movie of the year Complicated question, yet I watch a lot of things, but at the same time I remember a little… Only Klaus (2019) and Rise of the Guardians come to mind, which I'm going to review closer to the holidays
5. Favorite character of the year Shigeo Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100), Rasputin Aquato (Psychonauts), Mini-Mini-King (Kaitou Joker), Stoll Brothers (Percy Jackson), Brett Hand (Insider Job)… *mumbles in enumeration*
6. Favorite soundtrack of the year The Meat Circus from Psychonauts (this tune haunted my mind for a month while I was playing the second part and actively sat in the fandom, haha) Crazy Necross from Vangers GO GO REIGEN! from Mob Psycho 100 which I just found but I love it and want to set it as my ringtone lol The whole Gris ost (the ending of the game makes me cry when I need to…), the whole Beetlejuice east… I guess that's it, heh.
7. Favorite book/manga/comic of the year Percy Jackson book series (honestly, I promise myself to still find time and read the Mark of Athena from the second cycle TwT)
8. Favorite game of the year Psychonauts 2, this game literally became the first platformer (well, in general, a game where you need to run, jump and beat enemies) that I went through completely And Little Inferno too
9. Highlight of this year to remember Entrance exams and college admissions, god it was this summer but it feels like it's been YEARS
Part 2: Community Review
10. Favorite Tumblr moments of 2022 To be honest, I haven't been as active on tumblr this year, so I have no idea what happened here in a year. That is, perhaps I know, but most likely I do not attach any importance to this.
11. Favorite fan art of the year Oh, there were two memorable fanarts that come to mind here and here
12. Favorite fic of the year Can I just say that ALL of Kanene's MP100 fics are my favorites at the moment? Like, so much so that I can't remember anything else lol
13. Favorite ask game of the year It's not like I'm involved in a lot of that, is it..? Maybe that recent fandom thing? This was fun
14. My top achievements as a writer/artist/creator/blogger The fact that I was able to get out of the shell and start interacting with really cool people from tk community, and the fact that I literally carring the mp100 fandom with my sketches, lmao
15. My own best fic/post of the year If we talk about the post that I am proud of, then this is one of the last posts with the Kageyama bros. I think I did a really good job on the poses this time
16. My most underappreciated fic/post of the year My posts are related to mp100 Beetlejuice!AU, because I want to develop this idea, but I think that people are not very interested in it
17. A post of mine that got more popularity than expected I'm still surprised by the popularity of that art with Shoritsu, which was one of my first posts on mp100 here, and probably one of my most popular posts in general…
18. Something I changed on my blog since this year Well, my blog is only a year old, so I can't say anything definitive…
Part 3: Next Year
I have such a spontaneous lifestyle that I don't have anything planned for next year huh, so I can't seem to answer the questions below…
19. Something I didn’t post this year but would like to do next year 20. Goals for next year 21. 2023 releases I look forward to the most
Part 4: Spreading Love
22. Shoutouts to people who made my 2022 a better year Well, then I'll throw everything under keep reading
@candyheartedchy, thank you for the fact that formally it was with you that my acquaintance with the existence of such a thing as s/i and f/o began! Your art is amazing and inspiring! @kanene-yaaay, I am sincerely grateful for every reblog of yours, like, this is one of the main incentives why I draw now. You are so emotional and bright, it's just amazing! @misaki-just-doodles and @we-dont-talk-about-potato-nonono, yes, we haven't talked in a while, but I'm really grateful to you two for supporting my work this summer. It was a great time and I hope you are doing well! @otomiya-tickles @ssnicker-doodless @vqler @thecomfortable even if it's still a little embarrassing for me to tag you, I want to say that I admire your creativity and you are like those cool older comrades that you look at and think "I want to be like this when I grow up", thanks for that!
7 notes · View notes
desultory-novice · 1 year
Note
Compared to other Nintendo series (and possibly others if you feel like talking about them), how would you rate Kirby lore? While I'm aware that there are some other series with more groundbreaking lore, I feel that lore in Kirby is just as well-balanced. If anything it leaves us fans to crave more of it and with each game it gives us more answers as well as questions.
:hopes this shows up:
I was going to immediately jump to saying "Kirby lore is great! The best!" but then I realize I've never played Splatoon (I'm sorry! I have an aversion to online battle games!) and that series seems like it has lots going on in it. And I could spiral off into a dozen other franchises I'm not familiar enough to rate them against Kirby lore. (And the only Mario "lore" video I've ever watched was the Double Cherry off a cliff one. Which is probably my favorite Mario video ever.)
I do feel like Kirby has become famous in recent years because of its lore. It's almost sad, though...? Like, people prop up the lore (which IS great) as a defense against all the people saying Kirby is a kid's franchise.
(It is and has always been an "all-ages" franchise. To say "that's the same thing as saying it's a kid's franchise" is, imo, very narrow-minded.)
"Hey, it's got "plot" so you can feel safe playing it!" But you should ALWAYS feel safe to play Kirby, whether you enjoy it for the lore or the characters or the gameplay! (People who want to make you feel bad for enjoying Kirby are the real jerks. I don't have a very high opinion of people who just write it off for the lowest common denominator jokes, either - looking at you, Honest Game Trailers)
This reminds me that I was just in a conversation with my SO about the gameplay "hints" in GoW Ragnarok and how intrusive and annoying they are and comparing them with Kirby's "say nothing" puzzles that I'm very fond of! I mean, people don't have a lot to say about puzzles in Kirby because they are "obvious" but what they actually are is puzzles that provide the solution via observation. Do you know how hard that is to get right?! That's why modern games HAVE those side characters telling you want to do left and right!!
Err.... I got off on a tangent.
To be honest, I'm not sure I can say for sure "ground-breaking lore" is? Are we talking Braid, where the whole game is either a metaphor for a) abusive relationships that ignore your partner's will to put them on a pedestal or b) the construction of the Atom Bomb?
I think the bits we get with each Kirby game are worthwhile. Look at how much we've built up this far over the course of dozens of games! Squeak Squad may be considered the most lore-lite title in the franchise, but when you think that Daroach was an early reveal for the FL animal kingdom, it becomes more interesting! (And who knows! Kumazaki may revisit Dark Nebula down the line, ala Triple Deluxe rescuing Amazing Mirror's plot!)
In that sense, I do agree with you that it is well-balanced! I haven't been "in the fandom" for a long time, but it seems to me there's always been enough cookie crumbs so we don't have a long dry spell between games. One of the longest (I believe?) was Star Allies to FL, but Star Allies also gave us three years of content to talk about, so!
11 notes · View notes
Note
Hi, goodnight
Just out of curiosity.
Which other anime/manga you watch/like?
I know about Yuumori and
Jeweler Richard? (Not sure about the name). But I am curious of what else.
(It's The Case Files of Jeweler Richard)
I haven't been watching as much anime as I'd like to have lately, and trying to list off all the anime I've ever watched would take forever and also be largely useless because I'm old (no) and have been a fan of anime for a long time, but.
Let's see. Stuff I like but don't really like in a fandom-y way that's easily bloggable:
I started watching Dr. STONE the other week became very enamored with it. I've caught up on the anime and am waiting for the next season while I debate getting the manga.
I'm currently keeping up with The Devil Is a Part-timer, but I liked season one many years ago more, tbh.
I also watched Science Fell in Love so I Tried to Prove It recently, and it was...okay? Kind of got worse as it continued, so I ended up feeling mostly mediocre about it.
I love Tiger & Bunny and am waiting for the second half of season two.
I love Noragami, although the pandemic massively disrupted my ability to read the manga because I'd been getting it from my library.
I, of course, adore Yuri!!! On ICE, although I've fallen out of the fandom for it of late.
I spent a lot of time in Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic obsession, but whew boy is that one a problematic fave. Gurren Lagann is sort of in the same category although I like it more and complain about it less.
I watched Banana Fish. Liked it a lot. Kind of have mostly negative opinions about it, but there's still some good stuff in it.
I like Kyo Kara Maoh even though it's old these days. It still holds up, in my opinion.
Eden of the East was one of the first series I went to a convention panel on to listen to a discussion of the philosophy of the series (I'm sorry, I'm a nerd; it's a good series, okay?)
I've historically enjoyed Free!, although let's be honest: season three was pretty trash.
I saw Sk8. It was a fun 6 hours or so. Kinda over it.
One of my longtime favorite manga is Dragon Knights, which no one ever seems to have heard of.
And a lot of other stuff I have enjoyed over the years! I just don't blog about everything I like. I don't have time, frankly, and not all of it would make interesting blog posts.
And, look, the way I engage with fiction is very deep and energy-consuming. I don't have time energy to keep up with as many series as some people.
9 notes · View notes
transxfiles · 2 years
Note
What are your thoughts on the latest additions to the Scooby Doo franchise?
while i haven't seen all of the post-2010 movies, from the ones i have seen i think they can be really hit-or-miss and if i'm being honest i genuinely have no idea why? i feel like there was at least a pretty consistent quality to scooby media pre-2010s, and although it would shift slowly over time depending on animation studio, budget, producers, voice actors, and writers, the works produced per decade all seemed to have more or less a similar feel? all that is to say that i've had mixed feelings about more recent stuff, mostly bc i feel like the quality of newer scooby doo stuff has been all over the place.
as far as movies go, i actually really enjoyed "scooby-doo! and the curse of the 13th ghost" (2019) because i feel like it was a welcome addition to scooby lore - after all, the series "the 13 ghosts of scooby-doo" never actually came to a close bc it was cancelled before they found the 13th ghost (which was really distressing for me in elementary school) so it was nice to get closure and revisit some old characters - and to see velma and fred along for the ride this time, too! that being said, there were still aspects of the movie i didn't really agree with? it feels like in more recent scooby media the writers are simultaneously trying to retcon as much as possible while refusing to acknowledge significant character traits and plot points from past movies, which can be very whiplash-y for me as someone who feels very familiar with lots of scooby-doo stuff? but other than that writing thing (which has been pretty common in most scooby-doo movies as of late) i really liked this movie!
as for "return to zombie island" (which came out around the same time as the 13th ghost, and which was written in a similar vein) i kinda hated that film, to be honest - unlike 13th ghost i feel like it didn't actually fulfill any need, and just completely defeated the entire purpose of the original zombie island film? god i could go on for actual HOURS about how it completely undermined the thesis of zombie island, but i'm going to put a pin in that and just say there were a lot of things i really hated about this movie. similarly, "the sword and the scoob" just didn't click for me either? i was so excited to see a scooby-doo film that was completely wacky and fun-looking - i mean, time travel, magic, daphne as a knight? sign me up! but when i actually sat down and watched it all of the characterizations of the gang felt wildly off. i think the biggest thing about the newer scooby-doo movies is that instead of sticking to the (albeit vague) preexisting personality traits of the gang, every member of mystery inc has suddenly become fred jones; by which i mean the writers just keep throwing random character traits at EVERYONE and trying to make stuff stick. but that doesn't work, because the gang members all have character traits already - ones that have been established for decades, built upon, and workshopped over the course of endless incarnations of scooby doo. this is also why i think the only character who i've really consistently enjoyed watching in newer scooby media is fred - because he didn't really have an established personality trait (other than being pals with everyone else, saying "let's split up, gang!", and driving the van) it doesn't feel as weird watching his characterization change left and right, because he was kind of already written like that anyway.
i've loved what i've seen of "be cool, scooby-doo!" so far, though i've only caught a couple episodes of it. the animation style was hard to get used to at first but after that i loved seeing how it leaned into the spirit of scooby doo. in the same vein of televised scooby media, i've seen scoobynatural which i think counts as recent scooby doo stuff? and i hated it! god it was hard to get through it's the only episode of supernatural i've seen and while some parts of it were fun and made me laugh overall i feel like they kinda butchered characterizations of the gang.
bouncing back to movies, i also had mixed feelings about "scoob!" (2020)? like if i'm being really honest i actually did get a major kick out of it bc i watched it while i was locked down and it was really fun to see as a hanna-barbera fan! but by the end i just sorta felt empty because, like... it really wasn't a movie, but more of a cheap nostalgia fest? like, mystery inc didn't even really get to solve a mystery? it felt like just another scooby and shaggy friendship story, and let's be honest, i feel like that's been done a billion times and in so many ways that were just better? i've never been a big fan of the scooby-doo/blue falcon crossovers, so that's also probably another reason i didn't really click with the film, but i think it's just kinda like.. idk i wish it had been advertised as a hanna-barbera film (a la wacky races style) instead of a scooby-doo film. bc it was DEFINITELY a hanna-barbera movie! but scooby-doo? not so much. it didn't fall into any of the narrative beats of a standard piece of scooby media, not to mention that i feel like any piece of scooby media in which the narrative relies on separating or completely removing members of mystery inc is inherently bad (as in hard to watch, poorly written, or not in line with scooby canon - if such a thing could even exist).
sometimes i do feel like kind of a snob because my favorite scooby-doo films are still consistently the ones that were produced from 1998-2001, but i love scooby-doo so much and i've seen so many of the newer movies and i've just kind of come to a conclusion that a lot of the newer stuff just isn't the same. i definitely have newer movies i enjoy, and i have a lot of fun seeing what new scooby stuff comes out every other year, but a lot of it is stuff i'll watch once or twice, and then not return to.
side note: i still haven't seen a lot of the newest additions (like the courage crossover or even some of the mid-2010s movies) because i can't find them online anywhere (at least, anywhere safe/easy to watch) and the dvds haven't cropped up secondhand or at the $5 wal-mart bins. so i definitely have a bit of a gap in my scooby knowledge, and there are some movies i've heard good things about from other scooby fans that i still haven't seen.
9 notes · View notes
3rdsday · 1 year
Note
📋 OSTs of media you like
Willow I LOVE you for asking this. Thank you for giving me permission to talk about this because holy shit.
S tier:
She-Ra. My god is that soundtrack just absolutely gorgeous. I could rant about how incredible it is just in terms of things like leitmotifs and thematic usage for hours but it's also just incredible to listen to in the first place.
How to Train your Dragon. Yeah it's probably not a surprise since everyone knows how good the soundtrack is, but the hype is well deserved.
Shrek, actually! There are some really beautiful pieces in the score (which was co-composed by the same person who did HTTYD) and people mostly just focus on the pop songs in the movie or the memes. Listen to Fairytale and feel emotions right now.
Doctor Who: Specifically the stuff done by Murray Gold. That man never failed to compose incredible music for the show and the fact that he left was a large part of why I struggled to keep watching starting at series 11.
A tier:
Sonic 06: That soundtrack is so pretty and is by far the best thing to come out of that game. Eggman's theme that was introduced in 06 was so recognizable and iconic that it was reused for every game following 06 (except Forces) and the fact that an instrumental version of All Hail Shadow was used as Shadow's theme was an incredible decision.
Minecraft: I'll be honest the only reason why this isn't getting an S is because I've just listened to it so many times. Aria Math is underrated btw.
Deltarune: Spamton's theme goes hard. I love basically every part of the soundtrack, and My Castle Town is such a fun tune that I just wanna stay in that part of the game to listen to it more.
Fullmetal Alchemist: (both versions) beautiful score to go with a beautiful anime. Not much else to say about it except Brothers (from the 03 version) being sung in Russian is so cool and unique.
Guardians of the Galaxy 1 and 2: Wow Marvel actually did something right for once! The fact that the themes and leitmotifs established in the first film were carried over and expanded upon for the second movie was such a treat.
B tier:
TMNT 2012: The score isn't officially released which upsets me. Some of the reused stuff can get repetitive, but there's also a lot of things that I wish I had an official version to listen to. Like the scene in season 3 when they're going back to NYC.
Stray: I recently played it and the music is so fucking cool. I think that the way it set the tone and atmosphere of the world was done incredibly well. Good music to write to.
Undertale: Not as good as Deltarune, which is to be expected since it came out first, but still iconic as always. I don't find myself listening to it frequently though.
The Adventure Zone: Started off a bit rough when the music was first introduced, but as Griffin became more confident and skilled in his composing abilities the music started going hard. Really started adding to the emotional beats of the story. Also the Amnesty theme is so good. I haven't listened to the podcast further than the end of Amnesty so I can't say anything about the more recent stuff though.
C tier:
Ironman 1 and 3: Both are decent and I listen to them sometimes, but not my favorites. I feel like if the themes established in the first movie had been used in subsequent films, for example, it would have made things a lot better.
Moon Knight: I think that the score is cool but can sometimes be repetitive. There are some moments that are really cool though.
D tier:
Sonic X English dub: enough said.
2 notes · View notes
jungwnies · 2 years
Note
hello darling ^^ my birthday went pretty well! i ate some korean food, cake, brownies and it was all soo gOOD my dad sent me some flowers and money (haha yes dad for the win), my mom bought me an ariana grande perfume and omg so cute like she’s been nagging about wanting to buy me a perfume so I literally only once mentioned that i liked the way one of ariana’s smelled and she retained that information for i don’t know how long like cute 😭
my sister bought me a shirt with a design painted by hand of (you guessed it) ariana grande hagshgs i swear i do like ariana but i wouldn’t consider myself the biggest fan yet here I am, (whatever ariana slay I guess yuh) it was either ariana or harry styles and my sister is more of a harrie than me so :3 (also fun fact, we call harry styles “uncle harry” in this household lol)
a friend bought me a skzoo plushie ㅠㅠ but it arrives til september :D
this week i've been making good use of the money my dad sent me and bought a lot of stuff I’ve been wanting for moNTHS (i swear im not buying compulsively i actually needed most of these stuff), this week also kinda sucked cause I wanted to watch avatar and its no longer on my disney+ 😭🤬 idk if just on my country but man that’s a bummer what am i supposed to watch on a daily basis cause it became my comfort film? 🥺
besides that everything’s been great ^^ slow but great <33
how has your week been?
sending you lots of hugs and kisses maeby baby 🤧💓
-🧸 anon
i'm so glad to hear your birthday wen't well, also yes! who doesn't love some money here and there 😝 when i was in the 5th grade about i got an ariana grande perfume and the one direction one (it's a memory i'll never forget) and they both smelled amazing, ariana never misses with her scents LOL atm i don't have any more since i used it up since then, but recently i've been wearing this nice dior perfume because my mom buys it quite often LOL
» more under the cut
i have a feeling you love grande, but i used to love her too when i was younger, ever since i was immersed into the world of kpop my ari addiction has died down HAHA i actually never really keep up with american pop culture, but harry styles just performed in new york and i'm pretty close to the stadium so that's all i know, everything else i find out from like tiktok lOL! ?!?! also, yeah i heard the removed avatar off disney+ because the sequel is coming out soon, it's probably some PR stuff for profits and what not, but since avatar is no longer an option, then i would totally recommend watching any tim burton animation on disney, his movies have become my comfort movies for i don't know why
my week has actually been pretty good but school coming up still has me super stressed, ughugvhbdk but that's me every year to be honest... school is always something to dread for me
but i went shopping, and hung out with family, i'm also hanging out with family again later today so i'm superrrr excited since i haven't seen half of them since last year
sending you lots and lots of love as well !
2 notes · View notes