#personalshy

[taocastleprincess]

nyc nights…

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[taocastleprincess]

another year, another birthday 🎉🥳

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[taocastleprincess]

did the jan vs dec trend on instagram stories just now and it’s so funny bc it is LITERALLY like night & day

i was literally in my dark energy/vampy bitch era and now i’m in a pink girly girl renaissance era lmfaooooooooo i love seeing the growth. you can also kinda see my grown woman weight??? hot hot hot

#personalshy #selfie tag

[taocastleprincess]

just left an advanced screening of Saltburn and it was sooooo good. i went JUST to see a glimpse of Ewan Mitchell (my lover) and left w an obsession w Barry Keoghan

#a win-win situation #saltburn #personalshy

[taocastleprincess]

it’s hard being a slut for aemond targaryen while also being team black 😭

the pro-team gr*en propaganda in the suggested posts that i get actually drive me crazy lmaoooo i jst want the aemond content plssss

#personalshy

[taocastleprincess]

friday night adventures

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[taocastleprincess]

SHAMAN KING IS GETTING A FRESH NEW REBOOT AND THEY WILL BE ANIMATING EVERY SINGLE ORIGINAL CHAPTER!!!!

SO I GUESS I WILL NEVER BE LEAVING TUMBLR BC I WILL NEED TO USHER IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF REN TAO STANS, HOROREN LOVERS, AND CHOCOLOVE AND MANTA PROTECTORS!!!

#shaman king #personalshy #shaman king 2021

[taocastleprincess]

last night 🌃

#nyc #selfie tag #personalshy

[taocastleprincess]

going to post an episode review/breakdown later this evening about ep 1 of Shaman King

also.... has anyone else read that the series is currently only slated for 52 episodes? 300 chaps in 52 eps..? i don't think that's possible.... here's to hoping that the first 52 episodes are only pt 1?

#shaman king #personalshy

[taocastleprincess]

shaman king (2021) ep 1

i said i was going to type smth up last night but teaching is literally so exhausting sooo i'm here now!! i have watched the episode like a million times since Thursday LMAOOOO i think i mostly have the dialogue memorized, that's how much i've watched it. i'm just so happy though, i've been a lifelong fan of SK, i was obsessed w it in my teens (still am but i was on a DIFF LEVEL in HS), and i'm just SO HAPPY we finally got a reboot!!! Shaman King deserves a canon adaption, so glad that Takei got it :)

this post got super long rambly so my thoughts/glows/concerns are under the cut!

gonna start w the GLOWS

-- honestly, i am in LOVE w the new OST!!! i have had it on repeat since it was released in Japan!! Megumi is a godsend and i feel like both the OST and the ED kept the same vibes as the og adaption OSTs and EDs. can't really explain why that is but the melodies and the feelings you get from the new OST are very authentic to the SK-verse.

-- the animation is absolutely beautiful and i could hardly focus on anything else the first 2 times i watched it. i was really scared about how the animation was going to look bc so many weird rumors about the animation team were circulating on twitter but it is nearly perfect. they stayed true to Takei's style and the background scenery is out of this world. i also think all of the characters look brighter and more... like them? like, i love the og SK but even as a kid i felt like the animation did not really capture any of the characters (especially Yoh, Ren, and Joco) in their true essence. Like, it was just very dull and didn't accentuate any of their key features. The reboot is beautiful and I love the way certain characters' eyes are drawn. I thought that the look of Ryu's crew was a great example of the animators highlighting and emphasizing defining features of certain characters. They aren't major characters at all but we know they are important to Ryu (and his story) so their designs are given their rightful due.

-- i know that a few people didn't appreciate the beginning scene of the episode for a myriad of different reasons and i find them all totally valid and understandable, tbh. however, i think the opening scene was really great. i had a few problems w it (i do think the 'chosen one' set-up for Yoh was heavy-handed and weird bc i don't think the source material really wants us to believe that Yoh is the stereotypical 'chosen one' and i think it pushes back on that trope quite a bit but i'm open to hearing diff opinions on that) but overall, i think it gives a very cool and mysterious set-up for the anime. i don't think it does much to spoil the eventual ~Hao is Yoh's twin!!~ reveal because, to me, personally, it wasn't that big of a reveal/plot twist. what i WILL say is that the opening scene was very diluted in comparison to the manga vers and that was a bit disappointing but i think they might revisit the scene/make it more dramatic later on in the series when there is more context around the events of that night so that may just be a little tease, you know?

-- this should not be shocking to read from an account that is named 'taocastleprincess' but... AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH THE ENDING SCENE WITH REN AND BASON WAS SOOOOO PERFECT AND I DIDN'T EXPECT IT!!!! ON MY FIRST WATCH I RAN IT BACK LIKE 300x!!!! THEY BOTH LOOK AMAZINGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

moving on from glows and to CONCERNS, i spy a lot of possible issues w pacing, character development, and authenticity. the series is currently only slated for 52 episodes, a whole 12-eps shorter than the OG adaptation, and the entirety of the series is supposedly being adapted so... 52 eps for 300 chapters? to me, that seems extremely rushed even with best-case scenarios. i have read opposing views on twitter, people think that 52 eps is just enough if they cut 'filler' and 'stick to the most important arcs.' i don't think i can agree with any part of that argument. i really think that it's a REACH to say that Shaman King has filler chapters or filler arcs. there is a purpose for each and every chapter/arc in the series. plot development, character development, foreshadowing, etc. those all hold distinct and important purposes and the love, thought, and time put into the SK manga is exactly why people love it. 'filler' does not have a true narrative purpose, it only serves to lengthen the story, so to say that there are scenes/chapters/arcs that can be glossed or skipped over you would have to make the argument that they have no narrative purpose or bearing on the story. i personally think it would be extremely difficult (near impossible) to make that argument for anything within the og 300chap work but, again, i'm open to seeing if anyone can change my mind.

the first episode of SK flew through and glossed over a lot of important scenes for character study/development. by the end of the first episode, you don't really understand or relate to Morty as one might have done after the first episode of ogSK. and although Yoh is supposed to remain mysterious/confusing/weird for the first couple of chapters/eps, at the end of ep1 there is no GRAND interest that has been developed about him. The first episode operated at a breakneck speed and to its detriment. the characters so far are extremely flat regarding everything beyond character design. the viewer is hardly invested in the partnership between Yoh and Amidamaru because there is (little to) no build-up of their partnership and both of their characters are... not real to us yet. even the scenes regarding Amidamaru's past and his friendship with Mosuke doesn't affect or interest the viewer at all because it is referenced, addressed, problematized, solved, and wrapped up all within 3.5 mins.... huh?

what REALLY destroys me, though, is that the anime seems to be foreshadowing that Manta's character will be playing a backseat role.... the first couple of adventures are from Manta's perspective. he asks the questions that we have, situates us in this very weird world and helps to world-build without it being obvious or heavyhanded, and we start to understand the nuances of his character. none of that was present in 2021 ep1. it kinda felt like Manta was a plot device instead of a character. granted, like i said, none of the characters feel real yet but Manta getting this sort of treatment so early on is dismaying. i really do feel like Manta and Yoh's (developing) friendship and trust in each other is the heart of the first quarter of the series (and is continuously referenced and exalted throughout). rushing through (or, really, just straight up cutting out) the first couple of subplots/mini-adventures that they have together feel really weird and detrimental to the overall tone and purpose of the series. those early adventures cement so much and really lay the groundwork for the rest of the story. it's disappointing that they didn't get their due.

this isn't a very organized review/breakdown, i'm just typing as i think, but to sum up what i am REALLY worried about is this: if the series continues at this extremely crazy pace, i'm a bit worried that the characters will never feel fully developed. not only that, but SK has a lot of heart-wrenching scenes and also a lot of scenes that are beautifully filled with hope and care. i just don't see how those scenes are gonna hit quite as hard or even as they SHOULD if the pace doesn't slow down and let us really sit with these characters and their feelings and motivations.

i mean, i know that this is only the 1st episode of a 52ep series but a lot of things don't look too promising... anyway, these are my initial thoughts/concerns/feelings. i'm way too busy to actually sit down and plan out all of my millions of thoughts but hopefully this was good enough!

#shaman king #episode review #yoh asakura #manta oyamada #personalshy #shy's sk thoughts

[taocastleprincess]

if we ignore how trashy my eyeliner is, we can rlly get into how hot i am

#personalshy #selfie tag #i’m procrastinating so i don’t have to do my homework

[taocastleprincess]

happy birthday to me!!

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[taocastleprincess]

ok so anyway school and work are winding down for me in a few weeks (yay, summer!!) so i’m thinking abt planning a few hororen fics??? and maybe i could commit to a mini-series (it would only last as long as my summer and i’d update once a week)

i’ve had fic drafts piled up for my boyssss that span the categories of romance, character studies, angst, and fluff.... i think i’m going to sit down tomorrow and make a plan for a summer of hororen fics. i love them so much and i also wanna pull others into hororen hell 🥴😩

#ngl i also wanna try my hand at sm*t 😳 #i think i can do it! #i wanted to add sm*t to my last hrrn fic but i chickened out #maybe i’ll do a pt 2 🤔 #shy's sk thoughts #personalshy

[taocastleprincess]

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[taocastleprincess]

dinner w freshman yr college roomies

#selfie tag #personalshy #nyclife

[taocastleprincess]

got into all three of the grad programs i applied to... including my first choice which is one of the top political science programs in the country

#it sucks that w the pandemic everything will probs end up online but... still excited #personalshy