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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Dark”

Welcome back, everyone! Can you believe it's been six weeks already? I can't. Something something the uncomfortable passage of time during a pandemic as emphasized by a web-series.

But we're here to talk about RWBY the fictional story, not RWBY the cultural icon. At least, we will in a moment. First, I'd like to acknowledge that shaky line between the two, growing blurrier with every volume. A sort of good news, bad news situation.

The bad news — to get that out of the way — is that we cannot easily separate RWBY from its authors and those authors have, sadly, been drawing a lot of negative attention as of late. This isn't anything new, not at all, but I think the unexpectedly long hiatus gave a lot of fans (myself included) the chance to think about Rooster Teeth's failings without getting distracted by their biggest and brightest production. There's a laundry list of problems here — everything from the behavior of voice actors to the quality of their merch — but as a sort of summary issue, I'd like to highlight the reviews that continue to pop up on websites like Glassdoor, detailing the toxic, sexist, crunch-obsessed environment that RT employees are forced to work in. A lot of these websites requires a login to read more than a page of reviews, but you can check out a Twitter thread about it here.

Now, I want to be clear: I'm not bringing this up as a way to shame anyone enjoying RWBY. This isn't a simplistic claim of, "The authors are Problematic™ and therefore you can't like the stuff they produce." Nor is this meant to be a catch-all excuse for RWBY's problems. If it were, I'd have dropped these recaps years ago. I'm of the belief that audiences maintain the right to both praise and criticize the work they're given, regardless of the context in which that work was produced. At the end of the day, RT has presented RWBY as a finished product and, more than that, presents it as an excellent product, one worth both our emotional investment and our money (whether in the form of paying for a First account, or encouraging us to buy merch, attend cons, etc.) I'll continue to critique RWBY as needed, but I a) wanted fans to be at least peripherally aware of these issues and b) clarify that my use of "RT" in statements like, "I can't believe RT is screwing up this badly" is meant to be a broad, nebulas acknowledgement that someone in the company is screwing up, either creatively (doesn't have the skill to write a good scene) or morally (hasn't created an environment in which other creators are capable of crafting a good scene). The real, inner workings of such companies are mostly a secret to their audiences and thus it's near impossible for someone like me — random fan writing these for fun as a casual side hobby — to accurately point fingers. Hence, broad "RT." I just wanted to clarify that when I use this it's as a necessary placeholder for whoever is actually responsible, not a damnation of the overworked animator breaking down in a bathroom. Heavy stuff, but I thought it was necessary (or at least worthwhile) to acknowledge this issue as we head into the second half of the volume.

Now for the good news: RWBY has reached 100 episodes! For any who may not know, 100 is a pretty significant number in the TV world because, when talking about prime time programming, it guarantees syndicated reruns. Basically, networks don't want audiences to get burned out with a show — changing the channel when it comes on because ugh, I've seen this already, recently too — and 100 episodes allows for a roughly five month run without any repeats, making it very profitable. RWBY is obviously not a television show and doesn't benefit from any of this (hell, modern television doesn't benefit from this as much as it used to, not in the age of streaming), but the 100 episode threshold is still ingrained in American culture. Beyond just being a nice, rounded number, it is historically a measure of huge success and I can't imagine that RT isn't aware of that. Regardless of what we think of RWBY's current quality, this is one hell of a milestone and should be applauded.

All that being said... RWBY's quality is definitely still lacking lol.

Our 100th episode is titled "Dark" — keeping with the one word titles, then — and I'd like to emphasize that, as a 100th episode, it definitely delivers in terms of plot. There's plenty of action, important character beats, and at least one major reveal, everything we'd expect from a milestone and a Part II premiere. The animation also continues to be noteworthy for its beauty, as I found myself admiring many of the screenshots I took for this recap. There are certainly things to praise. The only problem (one we're all familiar with by now) is that these small successes are situated within a narrative that's otherwise falling apart. It's all good stuff... provided you ignore literally everything else surrounding it.

But let's dive into some examples. We open on Qrow starting, awoken by the thunder outside. Robyn has been watching him and makes a peppy comment about how none of them will be sleeping tonight, followed by a more serious, "Sounds bad out there." Yeah, it does sound bad, especially when they all know — thanks to Ruby's message back in Volume 7 — that this is due to Salem's arrival. I think a lot of the fandom has forgotten that little detail because people often discuss Qrow as if he is entirely ignorant of what is going on outside his cell. Even if we were to assume that he's forgotten all about the pesky Salem issue (the horror of Clover's death overriding everything else, perhaps) he still knows that Tyrian is running loose in a heat-less city with a creepy storm going on and, from his perspective, the Very Evil Ironwood is still running the show. So it's bad, which begs the question of why Qrow (and Robyn, for that matter) hasn't displayed an ounce of legitimate worry for everyone he knows out there. Thus far, their interactions have centered entirely around Qrow's misplaced blame and Robyn's terrible attempts to lighten the mood, despite the fact that a war is raging right beyond that wall. It's another example of RWBY's inability to manage tone properly, to say nothing of balancing the multiple concerns any one character should be trying to juggle. Just as it rankles that Ruby and Yang don't seem to care about what has happened to their uncle, Qrow likewise doesn't seem to care about what might be happening to his nieces. When did we reach a point where these relationships are so broken that someone can be arrested/chucked into a deadly battle and the others just... ignore that?

So Robyn's otherwise innocuous comment immediately reminds me of how badly the narrative has treated these conflicts and, sadly, things don't improve much from here. We are thankfully spared more of Robyn's jokes when Qrow realizes that what he's hearing can't be thunder. A second later, Cinder blasts through the wall — called it! — and Qrow instinctively transforms.

The only downside to this moment is that the whole ceiling falls down on Qrow and the others because APPARENTLY these cells don't have tops on them. Seriously. As far as I can recall we don't see the stone breaking through the forcefield somehow and this looks pretty open to me.

If it is... you're telling me these crazy powerful fighters who practice landing strategies and leap tall buildings in a single bound —

— can't just hop over this mildly high electric fence to get out? Qrow can't just fly away?

We're, like, two minutes in, folks.

We transfer to Nora's perspective as she wakes up, seeing Klein giving her the IV. He tells her not to worry, that "you and your friend are going to be just fine." What friend? Penny? Klein went upstairs prior to Weiss hugging Whitley or Penny crash landing outside. I had thought them bursting through the door with another unconscious friend was the first time he learned what the big bang outside was, but apparently not.

Penny is, obviously, a mess. While I now understand the choice to make her blood such an eye-catching color when that's crucial to the Hound's hunt, I still think it looks strange visually. Like someone has taken a copy of RWBY and painted over it. It doesn't look like it fits the art style. More than that, it implies some rather complicated things about Penny's humanity, especially in a volume focused around her being a "real girl." Real enough for Maiden powers, but with obviously inhuman blood that isn't even referred to as "bleeding." Penny "leaks" instead.

Toss in the fact that she's literally an android who is made up of tech — recall the running gags about her being heavy, or it hurts to fist-bump her, to say nothing of keeping things like multiple blades inside her body — yet Klein says that her "basic anatomy" is the same and he can "stitch up that wound."

I'm sorry, what? Whatever Penny looks like on the inside, it's not going to resemble a human woman's anatomy, and Klein might be able to stitch the outer layer of skin she's got, but that won't do anything to fix whatever metal bits have been broken underneath. Penny isn't a human-robot hybrid, she's a robot with an aura. Penny has knives in her back, rockets in her feet, and a super computer behind her eyes. When our clip introduced that Klein would be the one to help Penny, my initial reaction was, "Seriously? He's a butler and a doctor and an engineer?" But RWBY didn't even try to get away with a Super Klein explanation, they just waved away Penny's very obvious, inhuman anatomy. Yeah, I'm sure "stitching up" an android wound is just like giving Nora her IV. I hope the surgical sutures he used are extra strong!

In an effort to not entirely drag this episode, I do appreciate that Whitley is allowed an "ugh" moment about the non-blood covering his shirt without anyone calling him out on it. That felt like the sort of thing the show would usually try to make a character feel guilty about and I'm glad that, for once, he was just allowed to be frustrated without comment.

Then the power goes out and May calls, which raises questions about what state the CCTS is in and when scrolls are available to our protagonists vs. when they're not. But whatever. She's checking in because she just "saw another bombing run light up the Kingdom" and —

Wait. Bombing? Salem is bombing the city? I know we've seen explosions in the sky, but I'd always just attributed that to evil aesthetic. Why does this dialogue sound like it's from a World War II film and not a fantasy sci-fi show about literal monsters launching a ground attack?

May looks pretty against the sky though. I like her hair color against that purple.

I'm admittedly grasping at positives here because we finally return to her "You have to choose" ultimatum and — surprise! — May has pulled back completely. Ruby says that once they've helped Penny, "We'll...we'll do something!" which is once again her avoiding making a decision. Ruby still refuses to choose, instead falling back on generic, optimistic pep talks. They'll figure out how to stop Salem later. They'll think about the impact of telling the world later. They'll choose who to help later. Ruby keeps pushing these problems into the future where, she hopes, a perfect, magical solution will have appeared for her to latch onto. When that continues to not happen, others pressuring her to actually do something and stop waiting for perfection — Ironwood, Yang, May — she panics and continues stalling for time. Wait an episode and the narrative supports her in this.

Because initially May was forcing Ruby to decide. Now, May enables her desire to keep putting things off. "Don't beat yourself up, kid. At this point, I don't know how much is left to be done." That's the exact opposite of what May believed last episode, that there was still so much work and good to do for the people of Mantle. This is precisely what the show did with Yang and Ren's scenes too, having people call Ruby out... but then return to a message of, 'Don't worry, you're actually doing just fine' before Ruby is forced to actually change.

None of which even touches on May calling her "kid" in this moment. That continues to be a convenient way of absolving Ruby of any responsibility. When she wants to steal airships or Amity Tower, she's an adult everyone should listen to, the leader of this war. When the story wants to absolve her of previously mentioned flaws, she becomes a kid who shouldn't "beat herself up." I said years ago that RWBY couldn't continue to let the group be both children and adults simultaneously, yet here we are.

So that was a thoroughly disappointing scene. Ruby gets her moment to look sad and defeated, listing "the grimm, the crater, Nora, Penny" as problems she doesn't know how to solve. Note that 'Immortal witch attacking the city I've helped trap here' isn't included in that list. Ruby is still ignoring Salem herself and no one in the group is picking up where May left off, challenging her to do more than wring her hands over things others are already trying to take care of: Ironwood is fighting the grimm, May has gone off to help the crater, Klein is patching up Nora and Penny. Ruby, as one flawed individual, should not be expected to come up with a solution to everything, but she does need to stop acting like she can come up with a solution to everything when it matters most (office scene) and rejecting others' solutions when they ask for her help (Ironwood, May).

If it feels like I'm dragging the flawed, traumatized teenager too much, it's not in an effort to ignore those aspects of her identity. Rather, it's because she's also the licensed huntress who wrested control from a world leader and violently demanded she be put in charge of this battle. Ruby, by her own actions, is now responsible for dealing with these problems, or admitting she was wrong and letting others take the lead, without purposefully derailing their plans. She doesn't get to suddenly go, "I don't know," cry a little, and get sympathetic pats.

But of course that's precisely what happens, courtesy of Weiss.

During this whole scene I kept wondering why no one was celebrating Nora waking up, especially when Ruby outright mentions her. Have they just not noticed given all the Penny drama? Because Nora absolutely woke up.

Aaaand went back to sleep, I guess. What was the point of that POV shot? No worries though, she'll wake up again in a minute.

Willow arrives and announces that they can fix the power (and Penny) using the generator at the edge of the property. I'm convinced RT doesn't actually know what a generator is because the characters are acting like it's some super special device that only richy-rich could possibly have. Whitley says that it's the SDC executives who have their "own power supply" and that it's "extremely unfair." Now, don't get me wrong, a good generator powering large portions of your house can run you 30k+, but you can also get one that plugs into your extension cord and powers your fridge for a couple hundred. There's absolutely a class issue here, just not the one Whitley and Weiss seem to be commenting on. They make a generator sound like the sort of device that only a politician-CEO could possible have and it's weird.

Likely, it sounds weird because it's a choppy way of getting Whitley to bring up the wealth disparity so he can then go, 'That's right! We're crazy rich with a company housing tons of ships! We can use those to evacuate Mantle.' Awkwardness aside, I do like that the Schnee wealth is being used for good purposes, but... evacuate where? To the city currently under attack by a giant whale? In a RWBY that wasn't determined to demonize Ironwood, this would have been a great plot point during the office scene instead, with Weiss offering her services to Ironwood, even if the group decides that a continued evacuation still isn't possible.

Instead, we get it here from Whitley. Do I need to point out the obvious? That Whitley is the MVP of this episode? He's done more good in an HOUR than the group has managed in a year. Give this kid some training and make him a huntsmen instead.

We're given a (very pretty!) shot of the shattered moon because it wouldn't be RWBY if we weren't continually reminded that gods once wiped out humanity before destroying part of a celestial body... and absolutely no one talks about that lol.

Blake's coat might not make any sense for her color scheme, but it does make her easy to spot as she and Ruby run across the grounds. Oh my god, they're actually doing something together! It only took eight years. They even get a lovely talk where Blake admits how much she looks up to Ruby, despite her being younger, and once again I'm struck at how much more I would have loved this scene if it had appeared elsewhere in the series. It is, indeed, as sweet and emotional as all the RWBY GIF-ers are claiming... provided you overlook that this is the exact opposite of what Ruby needs to hear right now. She doesn't need to hear that she's more mature and reliable than her elders when she's functioning under a "We don't need adults" mentality. She doesn't need to hear that not knowing what to do is totally fine, not when that led to her turning on Ironwood, despite not knowing how to stop Salem. She doesn't need to hear that "doing something" — doing anything — is a strength, because Ruby keeps avoiding the big problems for smaller ones she's comfortable with, like standing by Penny's bedside instead of deciding between Mantle and Atlas. Blake's speech is heartfelt, but it's a speech that suits a Beacon days Ruby who is having some doubts about her leadership skills, not the girl whose impulsive — and now lack of — actions is having world-wide repercussions. Everyone is babying Ruby to a staggering degree. It's like if we had a med show where the doctor is standing by the bedside of a coding patient, fretting between two treatments. 'Don't worry,' their colleague says, patting their shoulder. 'I've always looked up to you. You'll do something when you're ready' and then they continue to watch the patient, you know, die.

Also: who does Ruby look up to? Everyone talks about how much they depend on and trust Ruby, but who does Ruby look to for guidance? A number of her problems stem from the fact that she has rejected the advice of everyone who has tried to help her improve: Qrow, Ozpin, Ironwood, even Yang. Ruby is presented as the pinnacle of what to strive for in a leader, rather than a leader who has only been doing this for two years and still has a great deal to learn.

Anyway, they get the generator on and the Hound shows up.

I am begging RT to just make RWBY a horror story. All their best scenes the last three years have been horror I am bEGGING —

Anyway, while Ruby waits to be eaten we cut to Willow and Klein, the former of which is reaching for her bottle, pulling back, reaching again, all while her hand shakes. This is good. This is what we should have gotten with Qrow. Which isn't to say that their (or anyone's) addiction should be identical, but rather that this is a far more engaging and complex look at addiction than what our birb got. Willow tells us that she doesn't drink in the dark despite bringing the bottle with her; tries to resist drinking when she's scared and ultimately fails. Qrow just decided to stop drinking after decades of addiction, seemingly for no reason, and that was that. Why is a side character we only met this volume written better than one of the main cast?

Blake manages to call Weiss about the Hound and she asks if Whitley can handle the airships without her. I mean, I assume so given that Weiss is looking at the bookshelves while Whitley does all the work lol. He makes a teasing comment about how he can if she can handle that grimm and she comments that they still need to work on his "attitude."

No they don't. Weiss stuck a weapon in her kid brother's face. Whitley made a joke. Even if Weiss' comment is likewise meant to be read as teasing, it's clear that we've bypassed any meaningful conversation between them. That hug was supposed to be a Fix Everything moment even though, as I've laid out elsewhere, it didn't even come close.

We cut back to Ruby getting thrown through a wall into the backyard and the Hound creepily coming after her. She's freaked out by this clearly abnormal grimm and Blake is weirdly... not? "It's just a grimm. Just focus!" Uh, it's obviously not. Have we reached the traumatized, sleep-deprived point where the group is sinking into full-blown denial? I wouldn't be surprised. They've been awake for like... 40+ hours.

Because the Hound knocks Ruby out with a single hit. Just, bam, she's down. "Focusing" is not the solution here.

Weiss calls to warn the others about the grimm, telling them to stick together. Willow (understandably) starts freaking out and flees the room (classic horror trope!). Klein is left alone when Penny wakes up with red eyes. Oh no!

Don't worry. You know nothing meaningful happens.

She shoves Klein before (somehow?) resisting the hack, her Maiden powers going wild in the process. Just when it looks as if Penny might cause some serious damage, Nora wakes up, takes her hand, and says, I kid you not:

"Hey... no one is going to make you do anything you don't want to do... It's just a part of you. Don't forget about the rest."

Okay. I want to re-emphasize that I love hopeful, uplifting, victory-won-through-the-power-of-love stories. Istg I'm not dead inside, it's just that RWBY does this so badly. I mean, what is this? It has similarities to the character shouting, 'No! Resist!' to their mind-controlled ally, but this is not presented as a desperate, last-ditch effort by Nora. She just speaks like this is the most obvious truth in the world. If you don't want to have your mind taken over... just don't! It's that simple. The problem definitely isn't that Watts has changed her coding and has implemented a command she can't override, it's that Penny has forgotten about the "rest" of her personhood.

And this works. Granted, not for long, but we leave Nora having successfully calmed Penny down and until her eyes unexpectedly go red again scenes later, we're left assuming that this is a permanent solution. That, imo anyway, is taking the Power of Love too far, overriding the basic reality of Penny being hacked. It’s not a personal failing she must overcome, it’s an external attack. I would have rather had Nora react to the scars she saw on her arm, or have a moment with Klein, or get some love from the group. Not a wakes up, falls asleep, wakes up again to save Penny with a Ruby level 'Just ignore reality' pep-talk, then back to sleep again.

So Penny isn't attacking her allies, or mistakenly hurting her allies with wild Maiden powers. Not that the group doesn't have enough to deal with, but still. Weiss arrives to help with the Hound and attempts a new summon, only to fail when two minor grimm burrow up into her glyphs. I really enjoyed that moment, both for the wing visual and the knowledge that Weiss' glyphs can fail if you break them somehow (which makes sense). Also, I just like that she failed in general? Weiss is, as per usual now, about to demonstrate just how OP she is compared to the rest of the team, so it was nice to see her faltering here.

The Hound tries to make off with Ruby and Blake does an excellent job of keeping it tethered. Ruby finally wakes, only to realize that the grimm is actually after Penny since it's staring at her power up through the window, no longer trying to escape. Moments like this remind me that there's someone on RT's writing team that knows what they're doing, at least some of the time. The assumption that the Hound is after Ruby as a SEW, the surprise that it's actually Penny, realizing it holds up because Ruby is covered in Penny's blood and Blake is not... that's all nice, tight plotting. More of that please!

The Hound drops her and Ruby's aura shatters when she hits the ground. I want everyone to remember this moment as an example of how strong the Hound is. The group may be tired, but unlike YJR they've been sitting around in the Schnee manor for a number of hours, regaining strength. We saw the Hound hit Ruby twice — once through the wall and once to knock her out — and then she falls from a not very high distance for a huntress, yet her aura is toast. That's the level of power and skill the Hound possesses. Decimating YJR, knocking Oscar out, same for Ruby, avoiding Blake and Weiss' hits, soon to treat Penny like a ragdoll. Just remember all this for the episode's end.

Blake tells Weiss she'll take care of Ruby, you go help the others. Yay breaking up the duos more! Bad timing though as the new acid-spitting grimm pops out of the ground and Blake is now left alone to face it.

Weiss re-enters the mansion, knowing the Hound is somewhere nearby, but not where. Suddenly, Willow's voice sounds through her scroll with an, "Above you!" which... doesn't keep Weiss from getting hit lol. But it's the thought that counts! Willow has accessed the cameras she's set up throughout the manor, watching the Hound's movements, and I have to say, that is a WAY better use of her separation from Klein than I thought we were getting. I legit thought they'd have Willow run away in a panic, meet the Hound, die, and then Weiss could be sad about losing her mom.

It does say something about RWBY's writing that this was my knee-jerk theory, as well as my surprise when we got something way better.

The Hound runs off, uninterested in Weiss, and she asks Willow to keep tabs on it. It heads for Whitley next (also covered in Penny's blood) and very creepily stalks him in the office with a, "I know you're here." Whitley is seconds away from being Hound chow before one of Weiss' boars pin it against the wall. He runs, then runs BACK to finish deploying the airships, before finally escaping assumed death. Goddamn this boy is pulling his weight.

I assume all these ships are automated then? I hope someone takes a moment to call May. Otherwise it's going to be super weird for the Mantle citizens if a fleet of SDC ships just show up and hover there...

I don't entirely understand how Weiss saved him though. She's nowhere to be seen when Whitley leaves and he runs a fair distance before he and Willow encounter Weiss again. We know her summons don't have to keep right next to her, but are they capable of rudimentary thought, attacking an enemy — and an enemy only — despite Weiss being a couple corridors down and unable to see the current battlefield? I don't know. In another series I'd theorize that this was a deliberate hint, a way to clue us into the fact that Willow, someone who we currently know almost nothing about, had training in the past and summoned the boar herself. Weiss and Winter certainly didn't get that hereditary skill from Jacques. Hell, we might still get that, Weiss reacting with confusion next episode when Whitley thanks her for the boar, but I doubt it. That scene with Ruby and the Hound aside, the show isn't this good at laying groundwork and then following up on it.

Case in point: Weiss says, "I didn't forget you" to Whitley after he gets away from the Hound, the moment trying to harken back to her promise to Willow. Key word is "trying." Because she absolutely forgot him! Weiss threatened and ignored Whitley until he proved his usefulness. I also shouldn't need to point out that, "Don't forget your brother" does not mean, "Don't let your brother die a horrible death by abnormal grimm." Weiss acts like her saving him is a fulfillment of her promise, rather than just the most basic of human decency. And also, you know, her job.

So that part is frustrating. The entire Schnee dynamic is a mess, from Weiss making a joke of her father's arrest, to Willow (presumably) fixing their relationship by putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Okay.

Then Weiss cuts off the Hound by summoning a giant wall of ice. My brain, every time this happens:

YOU COULD HAVE FIXED THE HOLE IN MANTLE'S WALL.

Moving on, Blake's fight against the acid... thing has some great choreography, including Blake using her semblance which we haven't seen in AGES.

I really like the fight itself, just not what Blake is shouting the whole time. "I need you, Ruby! We all need you!" This has really gotten ridiculous. Ruby is presented as everyone's sole savior despite failing time and time again. It's not that I don't think Blake as a character should have faith in her leader, it's that I don't think the writers should be crafting a story where everyone puts their unshakable hopes in an untrained, disloyal, impulsive 17 year old. I mean, Ruby is currently unconscious, yet Blake is acting like if she doesn't wake up — she, as an individual, if Ruby Rose does not re-join this fight — then all is lost. If Ruby doesn't save them, no one can. Which is, of course, absurd on numerous levels. Blake doesn't need the passed out, aura-less Ruby right now, she needs the still very healthy Weiss pulling out multiple summons and an ice wall! Use your scroll and call for backup again.

But of course, Ruby wakes up and kills the new, terrifying grimm with a single hit. It's a preview of what's to come with the Hound and it's just as ridiculous here as it will be there.

Speaking of the Hound, am I the only one who thought this was... cute?

I can't possibly be the only one. That head-tilt is exactly what my dogs do and my brain instinctively went, "Aww, puppy!"

Murderous puppy.

The Hound realizes none of the Schnees are who it's looking for and runs off. Penny, meanwhile, has been fully taken over because, well, that's just what's convenient now. She resists long enough keep Amity up, then succumbs, then resists to apologize to Ruby, then succumbs, then resists because Nora asked her to, then succumbs once it's time to knock her out. If RWBY was willing to commit to consequences, Penny would have been taken over and that was that. The characters would need to deal with whatever outcome happens as a result. Instead, the show very carefully avoids any of those pesky consequences by having Penny successfully resisting at key moments, despite no explanation of how she's managing that.

She shoves Klein again (Klein is having a Bad Time) and starts walking down the main steps. When Whitley wants to know where the hell she's going, Penny mechanically responds that she must "Open the vault, then self-destruct." I suppose the change Watts made was the self-destruct order? Ironwood obviously wants the vault open, though not necessarily Penny's death. Think what you will of his moral compass, she's a damn powerful ally — a research project, perhaps — and a Maiden to boot. At the very least, her death may give the powers to someone even worse.

God, please don't let them have brought Penny back and made her a Maiden just to kill her again.

The Hound arrives though and, as said, knocks Penny out. We're back to square one with her, then. Note though that this attack is near instantaneous. She grabs its hands one second, is hanging limply the next. Wow, the Hound sure is a terrifying antagonist!

Not for long.

"That's enough," Ruby says and one-shots it with her eyes.

Now, I want to talk for a moment about the implications of that line. "That's enough." Obviously Ruby is #done with this situation and emotionally unwilling to let the Hound kidnap Penny (congratulations, Nuts and Dolts shippers), but there's a meta reading here as well. Not intentional, but glaring to me nonetheless. Basically, the idea that the Hound has, from a plot perspective, done enough. It has served its singular purpose. It kidnapped Oscar and now it dies. Never-mind how insanely powerful we've established the Hound to be, never-mind how Ruby's eyes also work or don't work according to whether anything of actual import is on the line. From a plot perspective "that's enough" and the Hound can be disposed of instantly. It got Oscar and gave us an episode of filler creepiness. Move along now.

The idea behind Ruby's eyes isn't bad, but the execution absolutely is. RT has undermined a huge portion of the stakes by giving their protagonist an instant kill-shot that always works precisely when she needs it to. Starting with the Apathy, we have yet to get a moment where Ruby's eyes fail to save the day when she really needs them to, no matter how incredible the challenge. The Hound was very intentionally written to be a grimm outside of the group's current power level. It thinks, it talks, they literally can't touch it. This creates the expectation that the group will need to grow stronger — or at least become smarter — in order to surmount this new obstacle, yet Ruby's eyes undermine all of that. The group hasn't grown in years, the show just makes enemies weaker as needed (Ace Ops), or has Ruby pull out her eyes as a trump card. It wouldn't be that bad if we'd at least gotten a good battle out of it, one where the group gets close to defeating the Hound on their own, but needs Ruby's eyes to finish it off. Instead, she literally walks up without any aura, announces to the audience that this antagonist's time is up, and blasts it out a window.

Granted, Ruby's eyes don't completely finish it. The Hound pulls itself to its feet and we see this.

Yup, that's a guy and yup, those are silver eyes.

I would like to issue a formal apology to the "It's secretly Summer!" theorists in the fandom. I mean, I still think it would be ridiculous (and at this point highly improbable) that Ruby's dead mother has actually been a grimm mutant this whole time, just hanging out in Salem's realm while she waits for the plot to start before attacking the world, and then sends some no-name faunus dude after the group instead of their leader's mother for extra, emotional torture... but you all were definitely right about the “It's a person” part! I... don't know how I feel about this. Admittedly, it seems to be a logical continuation of the other grimm-human hybrids we've seen — namely Cinder and Salem herself — and it finally explains why Salem wants Ruby alive (even though it actually doesn't because WHY did she want more SEWs for Hound grimm when she wasn't even attacking back then? And already has all these other insanely powerful tools??), but at the same time, it feels like it's complicating a story that doesn't need further complications. The group fights monsters and has an immortal enemy. You don't need to add 'Some of those monsters are secretly human' to the mix.

It doesn't hurt that this twist is giving me Attack on Titan vibes, which, ew. A dark time in my fandom life, folks.

The Hound staggers a few steps before Whitley and Willow dump a suit of armor on it. That's all it takes to kill the most dangerous grimm we've ever seen: a single flash of silver eyes and some heavy metal. This also wreaks havoc with the implication that Salem wants SEWs alive because they create such powerful grimm. Obviously not. I mean yeah, normal huntsmen are going to have serious problems, we’ve seen that this volume, but any other SEWs nearby will take a Hound out instantaneously. For a villain with so many other powerful abilities — immortality, magic, endless normal grimm, her nifty soup — Salem would be much better served just killing SEWs straight out. Clearly, creating Hounds isn't worth the effort.

The Hound leaves some bones behind and Ruby collapses to her knees, overcome with the knowledge that this was once a person. Again, uncomfortable Attack on Titan parallels.

We finish our premiere with Cinder clearing away rubble to reveal Watts. Honestly, I like that we ended on this because her rescue is hilarious. She just slings him over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes and blasts off with her magic fire feet. Fantastic.

Note though that with this scene we've seen almost everything from the clip and the trailer. What's to come in the rest of Volume 8? No idea. Outside of Winter leading the charge with the bomb, we got it all here.

Time to update the bingo board!

I'm crossing off "Introducing new grimm that are quickly abandoned." Between the Hound and acid-dude both falling to a single blast/cut from Ruby, we've more than earned this square.

It doesn't look as if we'll get another Watts-Jacques team-up now that he's left, but you never know.

Maria's got me worried. I feel like her Yoda fight against Neo is the one thing she'll be allowed to do this volume, but given that we didn't see anyone except Ruby's group this episode, we don't yet know whether the story is now ignoring her and Pietro, or if they'll re-appear in another episode like YJR.

Qrow is free. Will he get a drink before trying to murder Ironwood? Perhaps.

Still no bingo :(

All in all, the episode was by no means horrible. I think there were lots of horrible parts, but also some legitimately well executed moments, fun action, and scenes that I can easily imagine as squee worthy if you lean back and squint. Everything is comparative and in the growing collection of bad RWBY episodes, this one isn't securing a top slot. Which doesn't mean I think it's good, just... not as bad as it could have been and primarily only bad due to long-running problems, not things this specific episode has done. That's my bar then, so low it has officially entered the underworld.

Still, RWBY is back and a part of me is eager to see where this volume takes us, for better or for worse.

Until next week! 💜

[Ko-Fi]

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #mymetas #rwby recaps #rwby dark

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bloodyshadow1 · 3 years

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just finished Alanna’s route and I gotta say, I’d give it a C, it wasn’t bad, but I didn’t see a lot of good either. There was so much crammed in as much as possible between the Society (that we barely get to see anything of), Time travel (which is fine but done pretty poorly with little buildup or fanfare or explanation), Immortals (like time travel, a decent story enough on it’s own, but only mentioned in the final 3rd of the story and barely talked about afterward), and Magic power stones (pretty vague power system that no one seems interested in telling the MC about) it feels like they accidently threw 4 darts at the idea board this time and never bothered to throw again. It’s such a mess that the MC has to take on faith without ever being given a real reason to side with the Circle over anyone else other than her ex girlfriend is part of it and they hate her dad. It’s so quick and it doesn’t ever feel like the right decision at least to me since you spend so little time with the Circle even as background characters to Alanna’s story.

Alanna as a character is kind of meh for me overall. Physically her design is fine, seems cute more than hot or sexy, but sort of bland and generic. there are other cute love interests that never felt this generic, she feels like she should be the sister or best friend character instead of the love interest of the MC. It doesn’t help that by making her the MC’s ex returned, we know little to nothing about her, so much of a romance arc is missing because even if the MC knows, we the player don’t know what’s so great about Alanna. All of Alanna’s character feels told instead of shown, the MC seems to worship the ground she walks on, but the actual story leaves much to be desired because we don’t really see her do anything super charming or amazingly skilled. She’s pretty, but she’s not even the most beautiful woman in her route much less London or the world. I could understand why the MC would love her since she’s still hung up on her, so I could believe it if I took the story with a grain of salt, but the fact that her personality seems to be she’s so charming and everyone loves her without every truly delivering on such claims makes her whole route fall even flatter than it’s plot led to. The fact that the MC slept with her right away as a ‘palette cleanser’ was sort of interesting, but it still felt like being told about her, nothing about what she and the MC had gone through felt like she was so irresistible that the MC would need to get her out of her system, because we don’t know anything really about her relationship with Alanna. And that’s a big problem to her selling points as a love interest

We don’t know all the stories the MC has with Alanna, especially if they only dated for 2 months, the audience/player/readers, need to understand why the MC is in love with their love interest besides the route being named after them, by making their entire relationship when they first fell in love we miss all of that and are left with empty feelings and gestures between the two of them. The little back and forths between them about their past are okay to start with, but nothing about Alanna as a character from her 12 chapters makes me believe that she’s so lovely the MC can overlook her massive flaws and go along with her very unpersuasive desire to have the MC join them to help the world. Her depression and feelings of helplessness after 200 years was interesting, but it felt like it came too late. I’m actually really glad the MC called her out on her bullshit, by the end of her first chapter, I get a bit of where she’s coming from, but what Alanna did to the MC was fucked up and she doesn’t get to just pretend it never happened.

Plot wise, the story is a mess, like Alanna, so much of the story is told to the MC and she’s supposed to take it on faith that the Circle is somehow more morally right than the rest of the Society. It fails because the Circle has barely any real character, they have interesting traits that if they were around more to make me care about them as something other than the vehicle to do the time travel and nothing more. In so many routes, you’re introduced to all your love interests at the same time and they’re already a group, while you spend the most time with your love interest, you get to know most of the characters as people outside of their routes, but the rest of the Circle is pretty bland. Not to mention that the Society is built up as this big maybe evil maybe just powerful and in the wrong hands thing..., but you barely interact with them at all. The only people tell the MC and her brother that the Society is bad is the Circle who are actively members of it and nothing about what they say or do makes me feel like they’re any more trust worthy than the rest of the society except most of them are going to be future love interests. In Alanna’s route, the only member of the Society not in the Circle that has a unique character portrait is Arabella and she’s kind of a more interesting character with a more sympathetic story than the Circle. We hear about how corrupt and morally bankrupt the higher ups in the Society are, and we know the MC hates her dad, who seems to be considered the worst, but aside from being a bit stuff and arrogant, (much like the wealthy elite of our world) we don’t see much evil, and it confuses me if the Circle wants to bring down the Society or try and take control of it for the greater good without much of a reason to trust them.

The Immortal plot point fell flat to me, like the story basically skipped over the time travel plot device by making it literally a this happens and barely talk about it, but adding the Immortality plot felt unneeded in a narrative that needed a lot more structure, not irons in the fire. I feel like if Alanna/your love interest was the only one of the Circle that was immortal other than the Elites of the Society it would have made a better route to go. Having an immortal character in your romantic story is fertile ground, they could be a tragic figure, a figure who is hedonistic and loving their immortality, etc, there are plenty of ways to go, an immortal character with a bunch of their pals who are already incredibly powerful and have a vague sense of goodness about them, makes it feel far from a curse or whatever they’re trying to portray it here. It could have also been introduced better to the MC by say meeting Arabella in the present day and being shocked by seeing her and needing confirmation from the Circle or Alanna, instead of Alanna dropping it in a mood to the MC.

Overall, it felt to complicated of a story to tell with all the moving pieces that didn’t deliver on any of them sadly. the whole story felt like it was a mix between Queen of Thieves and Astoria Fates Kiss, without the charms of either the story or the characters, replacing Greek Mythology with time travel. I will also say, it the plot made me kind of uncomfortable with how a bunch of mostly white young adults have decided to be judge and jury throughout time with the first antagonist being a powerful black lesbian in london 200 years ago, and we only have their word that something is afoot. I know that she actually was doing bad stuff, but the Circle is just a vigilante group with no actual authority and using time travel as their own means of policing people and if it wasn’t a simplistic romance story disguised as a scifi fantasy story, I feel like more nuance would have saved it.

The good parts: Alanna’s route for Immortal Hearts Society wasn’t all bad, I I will admit I am probably overly harsh since I just finished it. I actually really enjoyed the both the Female and Male MC character designs, they both were surprisingly interesting compared to a lot of MC’s. I really did enjoy the MC for the most part and I liked her relationship with her brother, most of the time I’ve seen sibling relationships in Lovestruck they’re fine but don’t tend to have much actual conflict, just superficial. But I like that the MC loves her brother, but burned her bridges with him to keep him safe, she regrets what she had to do but not what happened which is a pretty interesting take. Alanna was enjoyable as a love interest in the beginning, but as the story got more and more convoluted, it felt like she didn’t have much actual character. I do have a soft spot for the Circle characters, except for the two current love interests, I’m more annoyed that we didn’t get to see and interact with them more, especially since it looks like they’ll be future love interests if the pattern holds. It was a fine story and I know I’m being overly harsh, but it just felt underdone instead of bad, which tends to make it worse in my mind because the lost potential is frustrating.

I wouldn’t mind continuing if the writing got tighter next season, I’ll still give it a try. I would very much like an Arabella route before anyone else, she has such a gorgeous design and despite not seeing a huge amount of her character being a warm genuinely kind person stuck between a rock and a hard place for her family was an interesting take instead of making her one of the many false sweethearts in Queen of Thieves that stab you in the back. I also think that if she still is around in modern day she would have fit the story as a love interest better than Alanna.

Not sure if anyone is going to bother to read this but it feels good to get it out. Maybe you think I’m full of shit and I’m fine with that, maybe you love Alanna and she’s your favorite love interest. I’m sorry you read this because I don’t want anyone to feel bad, this is simply how I feel after reading the first chapter

#immortal heart society #ihm #lovestruck #alanna mckenna #immortal hearts society spoilers #alanna mckenna route #alanna mckenna route spoilers #ihm spoilers

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overthinkingkdrama · 4 years

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Jona’s 5 Worst Dramas of 2019

A couple words about this list. I’m making this for fun. If a drama you love ended up on this list, it doesn’t mean that I hate you or I think you’re stupid or have terrible taste. But these are dramas that inspired strong negative reactions in me for one reason or another, whether that be disappointment, rage or disgust.

I’ve only included dramas that finished airing in 2019 in my selection process. If you have some dramas that hated, feel free to share them in the replies or send me an ask. It’s fun to complain about things for some reason.

Also, I have included major SPOILERS in a couple of these. So read at your own peril.

Dishonorable Mention: Melting Me Softly

I sincerely tried to limit myself to only dramas that I--for whatever misguided reasons--finished in their entirety for this list. Mainly because I don’t think it’s fair to brand something as the “worst” of anything without actually giving the thing a fair shake. That’s the only reason Melting Me Softly isn’t higher on this list. But I felt that it wasn’t right to leave it off entirely, if for no other reason then out of respect for the fallen Ji Chang Wook stans out there who lost their lives trying to make it through this trash fire. Somebody needs to stand up for those brave soldiers, out their gifing trash dramas while people like me are safe and sound on our couches, watching the tag like it’s a train wreck.

I made it through only two episodes of this drama, and despite my goodwill toward the majority of the cast, they were two of the most bafflingly bad hours of television that I forced myself to sit through this year. From what I could tell while side-eyeing the drama on tumblr and twitter it didn’t improve much over the course of the run. There were a couple steamy kisses that I enjoyed in clip form, but I don’t think it would have been worth the brain cells lost to sit through any more than that.

Bottom Line: Painfully unfunny, overwhelmingly expositional with no character development, confusing pacing and sloppy editing. Two episodes was two too many.

5. When the Devil Calls Your Name

It pains me to put this on the list because it was just last year that a Jung Kyung Ho, Park Sung Woong collaboration (Life on Mars) ended up in my top 5. And giving credit where it’s due, the two male leads seem to have a great deal of fun working together and I believe that all the actors gave this drama everything they could and sincerely tried to make it work. That’s one of the things I like about Jung Kyung Ho, he picks unique, risky projects that either pay off in a big way or fall flat on their faces (like the amateurishly written and edited Missing 9) Unfortunately, this script just too messy and too bizarre to work. Ha Rip as has a deeply frustrating character arc. He’s such a self-centered jerk for the vast majority of the drama, which is fine for a Faust type story if it’s written with conviction, but every time you think he’s started to turn a corner or grown as a person he reverts back to his old ways. The writing and tone are whiplash inducing. Plus the vague “soul mates” relationship between Ha Rip and Kim Yi Kyung seemed to want to have it both ways, flipping between implied romantic potential and a father/daughter dynamic, which made me quite uncomfortable.

Bottom Line: This drama’s bizarre mythology and world building barely makes any sense at all, but at least they’re easier to follow than the character development. Attempted something unique, but couldn’t pull it off. The OST is super dope though.

4. Love in Sadness

When I watched the first teasers I got the distinct impression that this wasn’t going to be a good drama, or at best it was going to be a guilty pleasure, but at the time when I started it I was hungry for a melo and there wasn’t much airing to hold my attention so I started it on impulse. I think in this case I got what I deserved for continuing to watch something I didn’t think was very good.

The first few episodes were actually pretty gripping and intriguingly dark, but that petered of quickly and the drama became and infuriating wheel spinning exercise with barely any perceptible plot development from episode to episode. The protagonists in this are all so stupid that in the final few episodes the female lead gets kidnapped not once, but multiple times because she keeps meeting her unstable husband alone. Plus nobody in this drama seems to know how to call the police when a madman is waving around a gun. It probably wouldn’t have made me so very mad except that in the last few episodes the writer became unaccountably preoccupied with how sad the psychotic, wife-beating husband’s family life was and how lonely and pathetic his life was when he wasn’t allowed to stalk, assault, and psychologically terrorize his wife. Seriously, in the last leg of the drama the villain is the only character who gets any character development at all. The drama pulls out all the stops to try to make use feel sorry for him. It’s disgusting.

Bottom Line: When a drama about a woman trying to escape domestic violence becomes completely preoccupied with painting the abuser as tragically misunderstood, you’ve got some serious problems.

3. The Lies Within

If it wasn't for the last two episodes this drama would not be on this list, but that isn't because it was in any way an exceptional drama, or that it otherwise would have ended up on my best list. Without the last two episodes The Lies Within is a merely adequate thriller, somewhat heightened by the brutal nature of the premise. I picked this show up largely to fill the void that was left by WATCHER and it was more or less successful, plus it helped that I liked the cast. However even at the beginning this drama I felt like it had some pretty glaring tone problems. There were parts of the drama that were standard OCN dark and gritty thriller, and there were other parts that felt like a campy police sitcom. The humor, when it does crop up in this drama always feels super out of place. But then that last big twist happened and man...I can't remember the last time a drama made me that angry or cratered quite so hard with a twist.

[And this is where I spoil the HELL out of this drama...]

Before this drama decided to go all M. Night Shyamalan in it’s last two episodes, there seemed to be at least one, if not two really reasonable candidates for the kidnapper. Actually all the ground work they’d done up to that point would seem to have pointed to Young Min and if he had turned out to be the perpetrator, I would have completely bought it. Instead they decided to blow everyone’s mind by making the kidnapped husband complicit in his own kidnapping and dismemberment. Which might seem like a shocking twist until you think about it for even half a second.

What it winds up doing on a narrative level it makes everything the characters have done to investigate this series of crimes up to this point feel pointless, resulting in a huge anticlimax. It makes the ambiguous figure of Seo Hui’s husband not only hopelessly stupid, but also cruel and unsympathetic. Because he thought somehow simply sharing the information with her would put her in more danger than threatening and psychologically terrorizing her into investigating the very people he was theoretically trying to protect her from. The explanation that he was already terminally ill doesn’t to anything to mitigate the stupidity of his plan for me. Seriously, you couldn’t think of any solution aside from cutting bits off yourself and sending them to your wife in the mail? I could rant about this ending at length, but I’m going to try to stop here.

Bottom Line: As far as I’m concerned, if you choose to sacrifice the emotional and narrative coherence of your story for a cheap and dirty twist to surprise the audience, you deserve every ranty review you get.

2. Love Affairs in the Afternoon

I’m really not sure what possessed me to watch this drama to begin with. That I continued to watch it is on me. The fact that I watched it despite hating the shallow characters, the thin story and the abortive message at the core of the drama is simply a lapse of judgement for which I shouldn’t be forgiven. Why did I do it despite not having a single nice thing to say about this show? Well, there are two reasons. I was curious to see if they would do anything compelling with one or two of the characters, (specifically the serial adulteress housewife an the broody artist) and I was surreptitiously watching this drama at work and it was really easy to follow the plot while only actually keeping my eyes on the screen about half the time. I watched the last episode before the subs were available and had no trouble understanding what was going. Which could be a sign that my Korean is improving, but is more likely a sign that the writing was so predictable and simplistic that you could follow it if you didn’t speak the language at all.

[Spoilers beyond this point.]

It’s my understanding that in the Jdrama that this is based on all of the characters basically wreck their lives and end up miserable, pointing toward the emptiness of the lives of these people who try to find fulfillment through extra-marital affairs. If that’s how this drama had ended, I still wouldn’t have enjoyed the execution but I could have respected the intent. But in this watered down Kdrama-fied version all the couples’ issues are resolved in the whitewash of a last episode time skip that makes the suffering and bullshit that led up to it feel completely pointless.

Bottom Line: Maybe this level of trashy, uninspired tripe would be somewhat justified if the chemistry between the leads had been better, but somehow they even managed to screw that up. The leads are just bad, vacuous people, a fact which is rendered all the more unforgivable by them being utterly bland. Everybody needed to divorce, nobody deserved to end up happy. Please be wiser than me and avoid this one.

1. Memories of the Alhambra

Initially, I was on the fence about even producing a “Worst List” this year, because in the past few years I’ve tried to be better about dropping dramas the moment they start to disappoint me, rather than hanging on to them and winding up burning myself out. I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough material to write this list, or at least not enough material to make it worth reading. Then I remembered that Memories of the Alhambra finished airing in January of this year (2019 was impossibly long, wasn’t it?) and I thought, “Aha, I can make this work.” I knew at once this drama was going to be the shitty tinfoil star atop my Christmas tree of suck.

I’ve already written a full review of this drama, where I got about as mean as I felt I could reasonably be. You can go read that if you like, I’m not going to retread all my many complaints here. What I will say is that Memories of the Alhambra took my mixed-to-favorable opinion of the writer, Song Jae Jung, and turned it to a negative one. She’s someone who clearly has a lot of interesting high concept ideas, but the execution is just not there. You can hook an audience with a concept, but you have to keep them with craft and structure.

Maybe the industry can be blamed for that. Maybe she just has a hard time ending her stories, or maybe writing on a deadline doesn’t agree with her. Whatever the reason, I can no longer trust her to deliver a satisfying story. And that’s deeply saddening to me, because Queen In Hyun’s Man is in my top 10 favorite dramas.

To be front-to-back terrible is one thing. The joke’s at least half on me for bothering. But to have potential, to have an interesting hook, a budget, a cast, but then to be either unwilling or unable to live up to that potential feels like a con. That’s how I felt about his drama, like I had been willfully deceived by special effects and flashy editing, all orchestrated to disguise a narratively bankrupt, unsatisfying drama.

Bottom Line: Is Memories of the Alhambra objectively the worst drama on this list? No, it’s not. Is it the most disappointing? Absolutely, it is. And that’s the more heinous crime, in my opinion. And that’s why it’s my worst drama of 2019.

#kdrama reviews #worst list #kdramas 2019 #jona spoils #exit review

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itmeansapricot · 4 years

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Sorry to take this to a new post, the other one was just super long already.

The whys of fashion are frequently kind of circular. In this case ... body hair shaming happens because people have decided that body hair is bad, ugly, and unsanitary, and therefore if you keep yours you must be bad, ugly, and unsanitary, which is basically what Ajaka is saying deep down.

The origin of the idea that hairlessness is better just can’t be pinpointed. Something I don’t think people analyzing this issue look at enough is the hairless nude in art - if you look at art from now back through the late Middle Ages, female nudes just do. not. have. (visible) body hair. The exceptions are typically when a nineteenth-century artist is deliberately depicting a real sex worker as herself. Regardless of actual practices and views on hygiene, there has been a popular understanding in the west for centuries that the beautiful female body has only hair on the top of the head and maybe pubic hair, if it’s minimal.

Herzig offers the explanation that the idea that it’s not just unattractive but bad came in as the mania for making sure that everything was sanitary and hygienic did, in the late 19th/early 20th century. This is also the time when advertising really started, and with advertising you add a heavy message that “you are wrong and need to be fixed with our product” - your breath smells bad, your hands are rough, your cheeks are pale, your hair is lank, so buy our products! But I don’t want to sound like I’m saying “the beauty/ad industry invented this” because that’s way too simplistic - it’s just another factor.

#owlishbi #history

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kcwcommentary · 5 years

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VLD5x01 – “The Prisoner”

5x01 – “The Prisoner”

The Paladins are attacking a Galra moon base because of some intelligence they’ve been given. I still think Blue’s ice cannon is silly, and here Allura uses it to hold off some advancing magma, which I don’t think would work more than a couple of seconds, but whatever. They are in some huge shaft system built into the moon, and they form Voltron. And the animation of them forming Voltron is the same as it ever has been: In space. But they’re not in space, they’re underground. I understand the show is reusing the form-Voltron animation, but I’ve never understood why. Did they do it for the same purpose 80s shows used repeated animation: To pad time and not have to spend money on new animation? Or was it supposed to be some nostalgia thing? Regardless, the use of the form-Voltron animation here is super awkward.

Shiro orders them to “take down the factory machines,” which is a clunky line of dialog, and they blow up some stuff, and somehow that leads to the entire moon exploding. I really don’t think destroying a factory on a moon would destroy them moon, but whatever.

The Castle Ship is parked on Naxzela: I must say, that does not seem like a safe place to hang out. “Going on missions is a lot easier when someone gives you all the information you need before you get there,” Hunk says. Maybe you should have valued what Keith was doing back in 4x01 “Code of Honor” when he was nearly dying while getting you guys information. The show does this unnecessarily cryptic tone, as if it’s building to some unexpected reveal: Surprise, the source of their information is Lotor! But that’s not an unexpected surprise, it’s actually the opposite: It is expected. If last season’s ending was to be resolved any way other than some manner of cooperation with Lotor, then this season premier to this point would have been way too casual in tone.

Lotor states his motivation: “The Galra Empire is completely reliant on quintessence. Serve that need peacefully, and you have a complete paradigm shift. […] My plan from the beginning has been to find a way to harvest quintessence without resorting to the barbarism of the komar. Extracting quintessence from entire planets at the cost of every living thing: I think not.” The thing is, he’s not lying.

In the end, this show reduces Lotor into a cackling, cliché villain. At the end of season six, we’re supposed to feel surprised that he’s been a maniacal villain all along. The problem is that the show gives us stuff like this. His motivation, stated here, is not a villainous one. His wanting to preserve life matches up with his reputation of letting planets govern themselves that the two Galra discuss in 3x01 “Changing of the Guard.” He doesn’t want to abolish the Empire, but he does want it to stop being so brutal.

Upon hearing that Lotor has been trying to gain access to the rift, Allura responds, “Sounds like you are your father’s son.” Well, that’s overly simplistic of her. It’s expected that she would be particularly aggressive toward Lotor though. “This isn’t a zero-sum game,” Lotor retorts. “All I ask is to be judged by my actions rather than your preconceptions of my race.”

There’s a cute moment of Lance trying to be supportive of Allura, who’s worried about preparing for a presentation she’s giving to the Coalition. This is the part of Lance that I like. Allura gives her presentation via teleconferencing to four alien leaders last seen in 3x01 “Changing of the Guard” and to Kolivan (and Keith standing in the background behind Kolivan). Seeing these particular aliens again makes me wish we had seen more of them during the past two seasons. They are interesting character designs, and it would have given some continuity to the Coalition.

Allura ends the conference call with all but Kolivan and background-Keith. The Blades have been able to conduct many successful missions using information gained from Lotor. Pidge makes a very smart comment, “With all these successful missions taking place in such a short period of time, it won’t be long before the Galra realizes we’re using inside information.” That leads Lance to suggest that they should take advantage of what time they have left and hit as many targets as possible. This is some decent strategic thinking, which I’m not used to seeing characters have on this show. I am again bothered, like I was last season, that they have Keith just standing around behind Kolivan. They could have given the dialog Kolivan had to Keith, but this show would rather give dialog to a reoccurring character than to give it to a main character. It’s strange.

Lotor says any additional information he could give them would be more dangerous than the missions they’ve gone on based on his information before. He has information that he describes as “important on a more personal level” for the Paladins about a prison and a prisoner there. You can almost tell that he’s talking about Sam Holt what with the show then cuts to Pidge and Matt. They’re having a conversation with Nyma and bragging to each other about science and improvements they’ve made to rebel ships. I’m not sure I understand the locational logistics of this scene. Where is Pidge that Shiro and Allura have to contact her through the rebel ship’s communication system rather than through Pidge’s Paladin armor?

Shiro says, “We have a lead on Commander Holt, your father.” This is an aspect of episodic writing that has always bugged me. Realistically, Shiro would never have needed to say, “your father,” but the line was written that way to inform any new viewers who would not understand Commander Holt’s connection to Pidge of what that connection is. I understand why episodic writers write like this, but it always feels artificial to me.

It feels like a stretch that the Galra Empire, which has seriously advanced technology and spans the whole universe, would find a human scientist as being advanced enough to match the Galra’s scientific needs, but that’s apparently what the Galra have done with Sam.

Shiro says that “once the teludav is repaired we can all head over there.” Since when was the Castle Ship’s teludav damaged? And, since the Paladins have been going on a bunch of missions, at least someone one, even if not the Paladins themselves, would have had time to repair the teludav already. Someone like Coran. Where is he? Last we saw of Coran in the last episode, he was on the Castle Ship. He’s nowhere to be seen now and no explanation for his absence has been given.

Fitting her blind impulsivity, Pidge wants to go after Sam right now without the rest of the Paladins. Rolo tries to assure Allura that he, Nyma, and Beezer will serve as backup for Pidge. I’m still confused about the locational difference between where Pidge is at and where Shiro is at. The teludav is used to create wormholes, which the Lions cannot do, so for Pidge to be able to go to this prison while the Castle Ship cannot, wherever Pidge is has to be a long way away from where the Castle Ship is. It mostly just ends up feeling like this damaged teludav is a contrived way of keeping the Castle Ship and the rest of the Paladins out of the story for a while.

The prison is on some asteroid, and Green comes under attack by Galra fighters when they get there. Everyone but Pidge, skydives out of Green down to the asteroid. Matt’s jetpack, as a stand-in for a parachute, is a cliché and fails to function. Rather than anyone else using their jetpacks to maneuver to Matt and grab him, Beezer fires cables at Matt to lasso him. Eh.

They get to the entrance of the prison and find Galra guards laying all over the place. Someone else has clearly already been here. Other alien prisoners are still inside working. Sam is not there. Rolo loads everyone into a Galra shuttle and returns to Green, who’s still fighting Galra. The idea that the shuttle’s engines fail because of how many people are on board is nonsensical. Even if the weight of the number of passengers would prevent the shuttle from reaching the altitude where Green is, the engines wouldn’t cut off. And yet, off they go. Pidge comes by with Green and grabs the shuttle though.

Matt goes into the cockpit, Pidge asks if Matt found their dad, and Matt says, “I’m sorry Pidge.” Pidge reacts in an unbelievable way. She tries to run out of the cockpit, screaming, “Dad? Dad, where are you?” It is totally understandable that Pidge would be emotional, but that she would think Matt is lying to her and her father is hiding somewhere in the rest of the ship is not a believable reaction.

Axca contacts Zarkon. She and Lotor’s other generals “have something in [their] possession [they] think [he] would be interested in.” It’s not specified in the scene, but obviously it’s Sam. They want to “trade” him to Zarkon in order to be accepted back into the Galra. This is such a weird development to me. Since Sam was in a Galra prison, he was already in Zarkon’s possession. So, Axca broke into a Galra facility to capture someone to trade him back to the Galra as a demonstration of their worth and be accepted back by the Galra. It’s not like Axca is adding value to the situation, it’s not like Sam was somewhere outside of Galra control, and Axca captured him. This just doesn’t work for me.

The Castle Ship is now in space (so its having been parked on the surface of Naxzela at the beginning of the episode served no purpose). Found Coran: He’s standing in the background. Both Keith and Coran were relegated to barely visible, silent background characters in this episode; that really annoys me.

Zarkon contacts the Castle Ship. He’s offering to trade Sam for Lotor.

This season premier does not hold up for me on repeated viewing. I felt energy off this episode the first time I watched it, but this time, it seems just okay. I think the first time I watched it, I was caught up in seeing the show reintroduce Sam that I didn’t pay attention. Also, the first time I watched this episode was immediately after having finished season four, so the episode wasn’t functioning as a season premier for me at that time. Rewatching it now, I see it differently. The first half of the episode, focusing on the beginning of the Paladins working with Lotor, is appropriate follow-up to how last season ended. But the second half of the episode is so centered on Pidge’s character arc, that it feels like the episode is ignoring most of the main cast. For a season premier, you can’t ignore the main characters like this. I’m left feeling like a lot is missing from this episode, like the narrative skipped prematurely to this plot development. And given what happens in the next episode, these two episodes do not feel like the beginning of a season.

#voltron legendary defender #voltron #vld #voltron criticism #vld criticism #voltron critical #vld critical #vld season 5 #vld 5x01 #commentary

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acadeamic · 5 years

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Hi, una! (What a great name btw!!) I was looking through your posts and (I hope this isn't creepy lol sorry!) I noticed you're taking AP bio - I'm taking that class too! I'm like, super not doing well in that class and I was wondering if you had any advice/tips/resources on how you study for ap bio. Sorry if this comes across as stalkerish lol I'm just really struggling in that class rn. Thanks so much! 💛

hi anon!

first off, thank you so much!! you are SO sweet:') dw, it's not creepy at all, i don't mind a bit! it's why that info is there, hehe

as for AP bio, i can't say it's my BEST class, but i do have some tips & methods for both studying & exam-taking, which is how i'm going to split my answer here!

for general studying

focus on big ideas! my teacher often stressed which things the exam prioritized, and told us which things always showed up on the exam vs. what you only need to know a little bit of. as a general rule, i'd say make sure you know the basic concepts, even if you can't remember specific things.

don't rely too heavily on the textbook. there's a lot of information in there, which can be hard to absorb. not all that information is essential, either. if you have access to it, i would use the princeton review or the 5 steps to a 5 books. they're a lot more compact, succinct, and easier to study from.

find good ways to remember things! my teacher sometimes made these semi-elaborate stories that would help us conceptualize or remember particular processes. for example: the action-potential graph and process was given to us as a potassium party, with the sodium-potassium pump being the bouncer that only let in potassium up until a certain voltage, and so on. it's a bit simplistic, but i swear it works! another thing she did was have us make cutouts to explain the DNA to RNA process, so that we could act it out with the paper shapes. you may want to ask your teacher or someone who knows about bio to share one of these methods if they have one, or search it up online as something like "easy ways to remember [xyz]".

some things you really will just have to memorize. for example: the types of reproducive isolation. for me, what works best is note-taking and flashcards. i like to write things repeatedly until they stick, with intervals in between to see how much i can name & describe at the top of my head. there are other ways to go about plain memorization, but this is what works for me and it's nice to be able to look back at what i've written before tests to study!

albert.io has TONS of AP bio MCQs and FRQs. i would definitely take advantage of this resource if you can. the quantity of questions can be a bit overwhelming, so don't start from the beginning but rather where you need the most practice (albert also has practice questions for tons of other courses too, AP or non-AP, so check that out if you're interested!)

personally what i like to do before tests and some exams is, as i kind of said, rewriting my notes. not in as much detail, but key ideas, concepts or diagrams that i feel are important or are things that faded from my mind throughout the year and that i now have to relearn.

ASK FOR HELP! if you have any resource centers at your school, go to them! if what your AP bio teacher is saying doesn't click with you, try someone else with some teaching experience! watching videos and taking notes are great, but sometimes you just need another human being to give you some one-on-one help and explanations for things you're confused about. if you don't have some kind of science help center at your school, i would ask your peers! if there's something you don't understand, most students really don't mind taking 5-10 minutes to run through something with you.

for taking the exam

the AP bio exam is a reading exam as well a science exam. oftentimes you don't have to know exactly what's going on in order to get the right answer. things like drawing graphs in the FRQ or making educated guesses based on word choice in the MCQ are things you can do w/o remembering specific details. figure out what the question is asking first without worrying about the knowledge you have! for example: an MCQ may be about the ethics of a certain medical procedure. one answer choice will probably start with "should.... [xyz]" as opposed to "can/how does [xyz]" and you can immediately rule out the others because of the word choice, which is factual and not theoretical, without knowing exactly what the biology-related information behind the question is.

in the middle of the MCQ, they're going to have a LONG stretch of questions based off of a (series of) graph(s). they do this because it's where you're probably getting tired. you'll be burned out, and you'll want to either rush through it, or you'll be frustrated bc it's so long. LEAVE THOSE. skim through it and answer what you know, but if there's something that currently looks too unappealing, then circle it and come back. once you're done, you can come back to it with a set of fresh eyes and you'll often notice that they were less complicated than you initially thought.

on a similar note, don't be afraid to skip questions to come back to them. if it's taking you more than a few seconds the first time around and/or you have no idea what the question's about, circle it and move on. get as many questions bubbled in before going back and spending a bit more time on the questions you weren't sure about. again, you may be surprised to find that it wasn't too complicated after all. if you're feeling tired of MCQs in general, skip to the math portion at the end! do those, it's a different structure than the MCQ (which is the bulk of the section) and it may clear your mind a little bit.

for the FRQ, again, it's a reading exam. never leave a question unanswered. if you remember vaguely what they're referring to in the question, try and get down a sentence with some key words. the grading rubric doesn't care about eloquency, but about the relevance of the words you put on paper.

some FRQs are meant to be shorter and more detailed than the others. the first two questions are worth 10 points each and take more time to complete. if you're not sure, just draw the graph they ask you to and move on for now. the other questions are worth 3, 4 maybe 5 points? get through those and DON'T spend too much time writing for them. those often only require, like, 2 sentences. save your time!!

i hope this was at least somewhat helpful! good luck, anon, lmk how it goes💓

#ty for asking!!! i truly hope these provide a lil help:-) muah!!#ask #anonymous

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iamconstantine · 5 years

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RWBY CHAPTER 12: BLACK & WHITE (I SUCK AT COMMITMENT)

* Okay so we are leaping RIGHT into Sun and Blake talking together * Sun actually kinda-sorta sounds like Jaune with a deeper voice tbh but I’m sure it’s not the same VA * I was going to make a joke about Blake suspiciously sipping her cup while Sun smack talks the White Fang but then she actually did it * And there it is * I just noticed that Sun’s hair is yellow and his eyes are dark while Blake’s eyes are yellow and her hair is dark. Interesting contrast. * (Insert LOST flashback woosh) * YEEEESSS Different animation style! * The White Fang originally being a sort of “peace group” is actually way more compelling than just an all-out terrorist group. It’s a repeating cycle of hate of one side against the other. The things they do are way, way overkill, of course, but it’s also a reminder that things aren’t always b-- * I just realized why this episode is called “Black and White.” * ._. * Lil kitten Blake. Baby. * “And the New Leader’s first decree was that the old symbol wasn’t edgy enough, so we gave the animal fangs and claw marks and we made it red and people took us more seriously” * The image of the signs becoming weapons was very nice * The portrayal of prejudice and response and related topics are presented pretty realistically in the show, and honestly, credit to them for not doing some weird sugary stuff with it. Usually I see this kind of stuff as like “The other group had their fewings hurt so they hurt peopwe too but that’s not okay uwu” but here it’s just like “Yeah man we started being violent instead of peaceful and people started listening which was good but they were also afraid of us which is bad” * Blake’s explanation of why she left gives newer context to her fight with Weiss. It isn’t just that she has to once again experienced hatred just because she’s a Faunus, and it isn’t just that she has to keep her mouth shut about who she is out of fear. Blake left the White Fang because she hated how violent they were becoming, but after doing the right thing, she once again has to deal with discrimination just for being...Blake * No Sun she hasn’t told anyone but I think they know * Also HOW did Sun know she was a Faunus? Did I miss something? * The way Ruby hisses “Ugh...Weiss” was so acidic like she is 110% done with Weiss’ crap * Yang is trying to hard to be peacekeeper poor thing * Penny returns and everyone is scared * I’m assuming that either A) Penny actually SAW Blake’s ears, or B) Penny saw the bow and just said “yeah there some ears under there” which would kind of explain how Sun knew but not really * I didn’t hear what Ruby said at first but then I put on subtitles and “She does like tuna a lot” almost made me WHEEZE. Ruby’s VA has a really good grasp on comedic delivery * Ruby was like “fam?” but Yang and Weiss were like “peace” * Penny noting on how windy it is is funny but honestly is no one going to comment on the tumbleweeds? * Sun and Blake immediately teaming up is kind of heartwarming; I imagine Blake hasn’t met another Faunus who she could be open with in a while * That said isn’t Sun supposed to be hiding from police? Aren’t they just wandering around? * I still don’t side with Weiss but her line about how the innocent don’t run does remind me that she believes Blake is some kind of criminal. Yes, Weiss has a definite prejudice against Faunus people, but again, I think she’s been ingrained with the lie that all of them are dangerous terrorits * “Is she a MAN?” girl what * Ruby’s outlook on the situation makes a lot of sense. She’s not mad at Blake, not at all, and she’s definitely against Weiss in the argument. That said, she doesn’t know what to make of Blake just running off. I’m sure as the team leader she expects everyone to trust each other on top of being friends, so learning that Blake doesn’t trust her enough to talk to her must her. Of course, Blake has every reason in the world to keep her secret, but I get where Ruby is coming from * I admire Blake and Sun deciding to investigate but what is there plan there’s only two of them * I was fully expecting Sun to respond to Blake with some kind of cheesy pick-up line but him just clapping back with “Weren’t you in a cult or something?” honestly surprised and pleased me * Also Blake’s pout * Oh that animation isn’t...good...not bad, just...not good... * Speaking of animation I’m noticing a kind of recurring thing where characters are technically “walking” but they’re also sliding at the same time. I really, REALLY am not trying to nitpick but it is noticeable. * Speaking off the detail of Sun’s hair, his necklace, and his abs are all pretty good. Definitely a great character design * “See I told you our new logo was cool and edgy” “man u right” * I know I just commented on the whole slide-walk think but at least a few seconds ago it was kind of hidden by the ramp just now it was all up in my face * He’s baaaaaack * So is Blake implying that Torchwick might actually be a Faunus, or is something else amiss? * On the one hand I know Blake can take on countless robots and a giant bird monster but on the other hand I’m with Sun. What is she doing? * Was Torchwick about to drop the f bomb? * Blake talking to the WF as one of them is pretty clever * Torchwick’s VA is doing a good job but he still has that teeth-talk problem * I’m sorry did this guy just blast an actual star at her? * This once again brings me to my upcoming study: “RWBY: Everything is Gun” * Sun’s attack on Torchwick was animated very well, a definite step up from last episode where he seemed too restrained * Torchwick just spoke my thoughts. I do admire everyone’s bravery but come on. The bad guys WILL have backup. * Holy CRAAAAP Sun beating all the WFs with his bo staff is AWESOME and it is animated AMAZINGLY * On top of that Blake’s...I don’t know, “teleport” effect is really cool to look at * What I appreciate mostly about the fights in this show is that even though it’s all very energetic and fast-paced you can keep up with what’s happening. It’s not just trying to look “fight-ish”, it’s real and you can follow every movement * Sun’s bo staff splitting into nunchuks are really cool I wonder if it’s also a--

* There it is. * I also like that the fights make use of the environments * I felt like Torchwick laughing was a little too on the nose but the subtitles saying (evil laugh) just confirms it * Penny is not mad muffin * Let me guess Penny’s about to do a murder * Excuse me

* OH YEEEEAAAAH PENNY’S OFF THE CHAIN * SHE MOWING THESE GUYS DOWN LIKE GRASS * OH * MY GOSH * How is Ruby just mildly pleased and not losing her mind right now * Is Penny about to do a Captain America? * Ruby your question is legitimate but how is that your first one? * Bout time the police showed up * Okay. Moment of truth. How is Weiss going to handle this? * Gooooood. Good girl. * At the same time I appreciate (?) that Weiss almost slipped up on calling Sun something there. She’s going to turn over a leaf to accept Blake as a teammate but that doesn’t mean she’s cured, and she’s still super suspicious of Sun because, well, he is technically a criminal * Is Penny?? A criminal too? * “Hey Ozpin what cha doing” “Oh you know stalking students again; not getting involved or helping in any way” * Oh!! Qrow!! Ruby’s uncle!! * And so the season concludes! * Overall? Not bad. Did it blow my mind? Well, not necessarily. Am I impressed? Absolutely! * I still stand by what I said before about the pacing being a bit off for this first volume. * I do like Jaune. I like his arc and his relationship with Pyrrha and his struggle to be a leader. At the same time, the fact that he gets an arc before Yang or Blake, despite both of them being two of the titular characters, doesn’t feel right. If Weiss and Blake’s storyline had been running alongside it, I think that would have paced things better. Giving Jaune focus without stealing the spotlight from the leads. * Jaune’s arc also has the side effect of bringing things to a halt. It was an enjoyable arc, but following Ruby and Weiss dealing with their feelings on their new team, it more or less feels like a sudden roadblock than anything else. The fact that it really only includes Jaune, Pyrrha, and Cardin (who I wonder will show up again, creepy little sh*t) and not Ren or Nora is something I’ll get to in a second. * Yang herself didn’t get much attention at all, which is very disappointing to me. I don’t know very much about her other than that she’s a thrillseeker, a peacekeeper, and is just nice in general (as long as she’s not angry). I feel like she kind of got robbed here. * I also still believe that the lack of background characters, though explainable and really not that big a deal, is not a “good” thing. To me, it makes Beacon feel really, really empty, not the giant of a school it really is. Cardin’s team were shown, thankfully, but even then their designs are pretty bland and suffer from “Guess Who’s the Main Character?” syndrome * The animation has some highs and some lows, and I’m going to take a guess that most focus was given to the fights, which I will say again look absolutely fantastic. I completely admire the animation team’s work and direction, while at the same time I think other animations feel a bit rough and incomplete. It’s nothing that absolutely breaks my immersion, but there are times when it seems something is supposed to have a lot of energy and instead is too rigid or even too “smooth”, i.e. no sense of gravity or weight. * The designs of every character are always very nice to see--and I would like to once again reaffirm my opinion that character designs don’t always have to be realistically practical and “grounded”. I’d much rather Ruby be wearing see Yang wearing kerchiefs and short shorts than have her be in a completely unnotable outfit with muted colors. Each design also serves the character well. Even Jaune’s very simplistic design highlights how he doesn’t quite fit in at Beacon, and is just “average” compared to everyone else. * The VAs all did very well, even if I did feel at times that they were holding back. * Ren and Nora also did not get very much attention and more or less just feel like filler on Jaune’s team for now. Not absolutely boring, but they don’t nearly play as much of a part as everyone else. I haven’t even seen Jaune interact with either of them that much, which lessens the impact of his struggle to be their leader. * The backgrounds are a bit hit-and-miss at times. Beacon itself looks amazing and grandious, a fairytale castle mixed with a bit of a futuristic edge. Other times, the backgrounds are flat and textureless and don’t feel very real. * I really do wish the first season was able to do episodes of “average episode length” (18~ minutes), as opposed to snippets that could range from 3 to 15 minutes. Even though I felt that “The Stray” ended in a very nice place and set up the next episode well, the season finale doesn’t really feel like a season finale. It just feels like the ending of a typical episode. The only thing that tipped me off that it was a finale was the longer credits. * This is on top of the fact that a few of the episodes were very short and really only progressed one or two things. * I still don’t quite get Auras or what the point of them is. This is the first season, of course, but thus far I really can’t tell how Auras change anything about fighting. I guess it does kind of explain why everyone isn’t bleeding and bruised by the end of every fight, but still. Right now, it feels that if Pyrrha’s explanation of what an Aura is was snipped out, I wouldn’t notice a difference. * Just speaking broadly, even though I think RWBY has a lot of things going for it--design, fight animations, character writing, etc--they’re kind of like a bunch of different candies all jumbled into the same bowl. On their own, they’re good and I can appreciate them. Together, stuffed into the same season in uneven episode lengths, they don’t really work all that well together. * Anyhoodle I’ll be starting season 2 soon and I look forward to it.

#rwby #my thoughts

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sincerepinkhibiscusrightear · 6 years

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So, I finally watched Boku No Mirai. I wasn’t able to the day it came out because I was in class all day. By the time I got home I basically sat in complete exhaustion until I passed the heck out. BUT my feelings under the cut. Note: It is currently 9am, I am sleep deprived and slightly sugar high. It might get a little off track.

I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to watch this last movie or not. I, like the rest of you, am tired. So, so tired. I was afraid that it would make me angrier than I have been. It’s been three years. I just wanted it to end, but I was afraid of it ending.

I loved it. I cried five times throughout the movie. I was able to appreciate Meiko as a character. The thing that I was worried about the most and hated the most about Tri was rectified.

Does that mean I don’t have my problems with Tri? Heck no. But I’ve been angrier at Loss. But let me go through it.

I watched 4 of the 6 movies with my friend and fellow rp partner @spiritxgun and maybe he can speak of his own thoughts and feelings on the movies. We marathoned Digimon 01 together and went straight to Tri. We initially only meant to watch the first two movies. The first because I thought it was good. The second because it centred around Mimi, and she is the whole reason we watched. Since 02 barely has Mimi in it, there was little point in slogging through what I considered a terrible series just for 2 episodes where she was actually featured as a full character and not just seen for 3 seconds.

But Boku no Mirai crept up on us and I asked him to watch with me, and since we were going to watch the ending, why not the whole thing. Cue marathon. Anyways, sorry for the long sidenote.

Going back to the Real World, the kids have a quiet moment as they basically wait for what to do next. There’s a lot of unsureness and waiting. But there was a good scene with Yamato and Gabumon that I’m glad was there.

I’m not sure why Ordinemon preferenced going after Meiko on the pier and not Hikari in the bed. Ordinemon is 50/50 both their partners. Maybe Meiccoomon just held stronger influence. That’s likely it. Now it’s a desperate race to defeat Ordinemon.

I’m actually quite happy that Homeostasis wasn’t made out to be evil. Or that Yggdrasil necessarily went crazy. She was just doing what she thought was best, and I think it was rather kind of her to take the time to warn the children they were going against what she thought was against everyone’s best interests for peace, order and balance. Others may not see it as kindness, but that’s what I took away. These were her charges and while she doesn’t have a full range of human empathy, it is required, I think, to some degree to keep balance.

It just turns out the kids didn’t want her balance if it meant rebooting everything all the time. You know what? Good on them. I was starting to get annoyed that it felt like the kids were just caught between two feuding gods and had no business doing anything. So being proactive and fighting against her wishes was wonderful.

I also loved that Hackmon actually felt the most empathy toward the children. At least that seemed to be what was hinted with his words of ‘this isn’t what I wanted, either.’ Of course I can’t quote verbatim.

Actually, thinking of Hackmon and how James was surprised at Hackmon being Jesmon, I realized that we never saw Alphamon’s other forms. Any of them. Coupled with that, the mystery of the fake Gennai since Gennai was being kept with the 02 kids. Maybe Fake!Gennai is Alphamon?

Both of us wanted Fake!Gennai to die. Both of us thought at the same time how hilarious it would be if he got caught in the crossfire while gloating and just ceased.

I’m glad actually that one of my fears was proven wrong. I was hoping that Tri wasn’t just an excuse to establish the formation of the Royal Knights. That somehow Homeostasis wasn’t going to be overthrown for Yggdrasil, that constantly malfunctioning thing and get established a round table of knights that never seem to get along and always feud with one another and fall apart at the seems, replacing the concept of a Digidestined/Chosen Child for that.

I’m happy that the world isn’t idyllic and perfect like 02′s epilogue depicted. I hated it. Even as a child I thought it was too simplistic and fanficcy. Of course it sucks that everyone but the Chosen detest digimon now, but at best I expect an uneasy acceptance of digimon with fluctuating parts hate, neutrality and like for digimon as the world comes to terms with the idea of the Digital World existing alongside theirs.

I’m also glad that the memories of the digimon were restored. I know a lot of people hate the idea of their memories coming back. But it wasn’t the idea of the memories coming back that irked me. It was the status quo of the relationships not changing. At all. None of the digimon acted any differently or formed different relationships with their partners despite the lack of memories. Gatomon/Tailmon retained her Champion form despite the reboot making it so that in the new Digital World’s history she no longer had to struggle under Myotismon. But it seemed like the reboot wasn’t a complete clean slate. The history still affected the digimon in some way, and I think that was a hint that the memories would return. That something would be restored. I just wish there was a more visible contrast to there being a change in the first place. But I would have been just as angry if the memories had been returned in the same movie it was revealed they were definitely lost.

I’m sorry but Memory Loss for Drama/The Sads just is really a pet peeve of mine. I am who I am because of who I was, and my memories are a testament to that. So such a concept as one’s memories is important to me, personally. I don’t expect anyone else to share my feelings on the matter.

Regarding Wizardmon, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I think it was great how he was shown, but considering his hat was on the poster I would have liked to see him have more screen time. But seeing him there still made me cry and whisper soundlessly to James and somehow he still heard me through my microphone. How, I have no idea because honestly I was that quiet.

Since we’re talking about characters making appearances, I’ll also talk about the 02 kids. I am one of those people who don’t really give a fuck about the 02 kids. Sorry, but they more annoy me than anything. Except for maybe Iori and MAAAAYBE Ken. Maybe. If I hadn’t known that Tri was supposed to focus on the 01 kids I’d be more upset. But since it was very clearly established it wasn’t going to be on the 02 kids, I was satisfied with the idea that the kids probably wouldn’t actually be SEEN until the 6th movie and lo and behold I was right.

The movies do actually a good job with never letting us forget that the 02 kids are missing. But it was very evident we wouldn’t see them until the end. Why the 01 kids never wondered why they were absent, I’m not sure. I figured they moved to go to different high schools. An explanation just for clarity would have been nice.

The password for unlocking Meiccoomon’s memories was good, man. James was there speculating it would be Meiko’s name. But he figured that would be too simple. When he asked what I thought, I said ‘Ta much’ and TA DA! I win~

On Mimi, I was actually super happy that Mimi was so empathetic and passionate in this movie. I loved how she picked up Koromon. I wanted her to comfort him more. There wasn’t a lot of her in terms of screen time, but I was happy with what was there. It felt very ‘her’ to me, or how I always saw her to be.

The pacing was better than the last two movies. The animation budget seemed to be better, but I think there were a few quirks of what felt like a running-low-on-budget production, but it wasn’t as bad as that frigging montage of stills in Loss. That took both of us out of the story.

The second reboot itself felt a little iffy. Maybe I’d be more pissed if I hadn’t immediately thought of the concept that they already justified such a possibility with their more philosophical discussions previously. Plus it was definitely in line with Homeostasis and what she would do. Going back to Hackmon, I’m glad someone, even if it was Meiko, finally brought up the idea of whether or not Homeostasis even cared about them as people or was heartless, and going after Hackmon. Hackmon, likewise, I’m glad told Meiko to shut up about apologizing. But in a nicer way.

There was no repeat of conversations unlike Symbiosis, which started feeling repetitive. So that was good.

Both Maki and Daigo seemed to have died. Maki I stopped caring about, though I recognize the tragedy of her character. A Chosen fallen into despair and gone astray. She was abused and cracked under pressure of being a pawn. Daigo got his heroic farewell and I wouldn’t have been happier any other way. Even though he was the favourite of the newcomers. I just wanted him to be happy, but if he can’t be alive and happy, I’m glad he’s at least still happy while dead.

Orinemon’s ass shots were distracting. There’s no getting around that. Seriously who fucking flies like that? How is that natural looking in any way shape or form? It’s not aerodynamic by any means. Sure, her wings double as hands doubling as digimon n stuff but feetwings still need aerodynamic everything to fly properly. Legs down and bent over is not that.

I’m glad at least it felt like no other character got that treatment. Lillymon once with the flying I guess. But they could have been so much worse with Angewomon and Rosemon and they weren’t.

Yamato’s quip about shooting for space irked me. I’m sorry but why the fuck? Just a casual ‘lol I guess I’ll be random and quit my music career to 1-Up/Emulate Taichi’. You did NOT earn that! GTFO with it you are still a musician to me and always will be. Shoot for the stars in your music videos you absolute loser dweeb.

#boku no mirai spoilers #digimon adventure tri spoilers #thoughts #digimon adventure tri #our future

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microsuedemouse · 6 years

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Please tell me you're going to define Max's abuse in run away home? I mean from what has been described, his parents are harsh, far from abusive or neglectful to a point where he could be taken away.

Hey! Hi! Sorry for not answering this sooner - I totally meant to and then I guess it slipped my mind??

Here’s the deal with that: I’ve been pretty vague about Max’s experiences so far on purpose, for a few reasons. One of them is that while RAH has sad, stressful parts, the core of the fic is family and love and healing. It is very much a feel-good fic. Another reason - that I hope makes sense to you? - is that I think it would take Max a very long time to fully open up to David and Gwen about what he’s been through, if ever... and I want to validate that approach. No one has the inherent right to know, especially in detail, what an abuse victim has been through. These things may likely come out - if we’re approaching this as a fully realistic situation - in something like therapy, not to mention the court case regarding his custody. But no one needs to know what exactly Max has been through in order to support him and love him and help him heal. The people around him believe that he has been been through things he doesn’t deserve, and they help him on the basis of that belief, without pushing him to relive any of it. (This is a pretty simplistic explanation of a very complex situation, but.)

Also on the note of realism, since you make the point that from what we know so far, “his parents are harsh, far from abusive or neglectful to a point where he could be taken away”: I do make efforts to include enough realism for the world of the fic to appear to have some familiar logic. I haven’t gone the route of “David prints adoption forms off the internet and whisks Max away” that some people do because for me personally, that’s whimsical enough to break my suspension of disbelief, not to mention it just wipes away any potential for conflict within the story in a way that I don’t like to do. However, I haven’t been super-duper true to life. I think that much is evident. Part of that is because in-depth detail on procedures like the removal of a child from an abusive home or the placement of said child into foster care is hard to find simply via googling, and I’m not going out into the world to do hands-on research for something I’m not publishing. Part of it is also what I’ve already said: that’s not the point of the story. What I’m writing is ultimately meant to be a feel-good fanfic about David, Gwen, and Max making a family together and finding the love they deserve.

(Also, a side note: a lot of people experience abuse at home that isn’t ‘enough’ for them to be taken away. That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t abuse, or that they should have to live with it. In reality, the system for keeping children safe from abusive upraisings is very broken, and many, many children do not receive the care or protection they rightfully need. The world of RAH is obviously flawed, but someone in it recognizes that what Max has been through is wrong, and gets him away from it.)

Quite honestly, I’ve taken my cues for Max’s attitude towards his abuse and the way he talks about it from people I really know, and am or have been extremely close to, who experience/d abuse at home. Many of those people are very straightforward about having been mistreated, but very, very rarely - if ever - go into detail about how. Because no one wants to talk about that. It’s hard to do and it’s almost never necessary. There will be further implications or throwaway comments made by Max, and by the time the fic is over you’ll have enough info to understand why he couldn’t live with his parents any longer. But no, I don’t think I will be explicitly outlining his experiences - it doesn’t feel necessary to the fic, nor does it feel natural or appropriate.

#cc Run Away Home #sorry this response is so long #it's just a thing I have detailed reasoning for #Nonnies

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gotgifsandmusings · 6 years

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the way you guys handled the racism part of the podcast was just. awful i couldnt even finish the rest of the podcast bc i was so offput. expected better from you :/

I’m so sorry to hear that, seriously.

I don’t want to hide behind excuses; if our tone or words were hurtful, that’s the way of it, and all I can do is apologize for it and learn why. It was not our intent, and as we said at the start of it, we’re more than open to a dialogue.

I’ve received positive and negative feedback for pretty much every portion of the podcast, however (it’s not like “oh yay, person X agrees so we’re fine!” or anything, of course), and I do think there’s some value in digging into that.

Julia and I tend to be more forgiving of Martin, not that we’re asking anyone else to be. And given the virulence with which we go after D&D, I understand how hypocritical this can come across as, and how frustrating this can be too. But the reason we are is basically two-fold:

One is that we believe there’s a value to his books. Now, there’s also a value to the political discussion on Bill Maher’s show, for example, but yet amazingly, decent political commentary shouldn’t come with a side-serving of Islamophobia. I don’t watch his show, so why should I accept and praise books that don’t handle race well? That don’t handle female sexuality that amazingly, particularly in the cause of wlw scenes? That oftentimes do feel like the sexual violence could be easily toned down, or it’s unnecessarily gendered, or it does fall into unfortunate patterns with things like dead mothers?

The answer to that ties into the second reason, which is that his pattern is getting better. FeastDance felt more thoughtful, felt like there was more of an emphasis on female and other marginalized voices, and it felt like there was great intentionality on Martin’s part to do so. I haven’t read all his interviews; I can’t guess at what’s in his head beyond what his body of work shows us. But you can bet that if he was coming across as someone who was unwilling to reflect and engage with his own shortcomings, I wouldn’t be as invested.

I could be wrong about him. I’ve said this a lot before, but I could be really, really wrong. For now, he has my benefit of the doubt. I’m not asking you to bestow yours.

Back to the problems at hand though, and the value of his books. No, they’re not perfect at all. There’s a lot of issues, and these are issues that a more intersectional author likely wouldn’t have. To be perfectly honest, I think we’re starting to have a tendency of expecting perfection in every area from our media now. While I love that we’re finally in a place where our cultural dialogue is pushing for the change we want, and that storytellers are actually listening (look at like, Clexacon’s mere existence, for instance), I think this can easily become a double edged sword, where you’ve got the fandom raising pitchforks about Steven Universe not doing well with butch representation.

ASOIAF is no SU. It’s a book series written by a white dude in his 60s that spans twenty years. Which is why Julia and I put so much stock into the pattern and direction the books seem to be headed, because our social dialogue shifts so much. Well, depressingly not as much as it should, but I think it’s hard to deny that there is far less tolerance for bullshit in our media, and far more expectations of representational media that are not just once again glorifying the white male lens.

I don’t believe the book series simplistically does that at all. I find there to be feminist takeaways in Martin’s critique of the patriarchy, and in the way Martin holds up a lens to the bullshit assumptions by this society, which is one uncomfortably reflective of our own history (though certainly not highly accurately so). I wouldn’t say my willingness is to forgive the issues in the books, but more like say, “these are here, these are problems, but I still find this text valuable. I still find the close-POV different and worthwhile.”

I can’t speak for Julia, but I can at least say this is what we had hoped to convey in the podcast. I believe we failed spectacularly. I think our tendency not to plan or overly structure our episodes went heavily against us here. Everything we were saying was in a larger context of “and this is a problem,” but wow we really didn’t make that clear.

What we did was basically raise the problems in turn, talk about what we think his intent was and what its function in the story has been, and then conclude on “this could have been better,” which after you know…like ten minutes of what probably sounds like rationalizations was not exactly going to come across as particularly meaningful. Had we structured more, I think we could have been clearer about “and it did not land.”

Showing Dany as completely unable to comprehend the political situation she was in, and being over her head with the complexity, did *not* require a lack of Essosi POVs, even if we suspect that’s partially why Martin made that choice, for instance.

But of course that didn’t come across, especially when there were some downright flippant things said that we also didn’t clarify. Like Julia mentioning she didn’t want a Dothraki POV, probably because it’d be very close to one as distressingly violent and patriarchal as Vic, which is simply unpleasant to read (and I’m also not sure I agree; I would have loved Dany eating the heart from a POV of someone in the Dosh Khaleen, for instance).

We know each other well, and we know the intent and place we’re coming from when we’re saying something, so I think that led to us not explicating stuff that absolutely needed to be explicated. Again, there’s no excuse. I wish we had planned and presented everything differently, and it seems pretty obvious now how badly we needed to do that. I’ve learned a lot just in the past day, and all I can do is try to be better.

However, I will say…I suspect there’s also going to be content disagreements in the conclusions Julia and I land on. I’ve seen this with the fandom dialogue about the issues of sexism in the books before, and we’ve often received criticism for defending how he writes the patriarchy and women. Or for how women in the past basically are these pure, idealized victims, or they’re forgotten. We believe that’s to a point most of the time, that being one that provides a fuller picture of Westeros’s bullshit patriarchy (unnammed Mama Martell as an exception because there’s no reason for that at all), but we know it’s a point that doesn’t land.

Then there’s stuff like Arianne’s ‘hypersexuality’, which I simply don’t agree with. In my view, and something Gretchen and I were just discussing, Cersei is far more sexualized (she just tends to view sex from a manipulative standpoint always, instead of deriving pleasure from it, Jaime aside which is clearly unhealthy), and the degree to which this is a problem for a Dornish POV to have these traits (which I think is played up in the fandom) is one where I part ways with a lot of people. I can’t answer how I’d feel about it if I weren’t white, so I do my best to acknowledge that lens whenever I can. But in general, from what I can tell, my lens is also just a bit less Doylist than where some land.

And that’s fine, too. We’re all just engaging with the books how we like to do, and taking from it what’s there for us. There’s no objective takeaways, and not to belabor the point, but I could be so wrong about these books.

Why am I all Doylist with D&D? Because Watsonian analysis is useless in GoT, sure, but because they’ve violated my trust and my benefit of the doubt so thoroughly. I’m not there with Martin, and maybe that’s a problem. I suspect I might even be too Watsonian for my own good because of how engaged I find myself with certain aspects. Half of why we recorded that podcast was to kind of slap ourselves in the face with some Doylist realities, but I do now think the tone ended up being too dismissive, and I don’t feel good about it.

Anyway, this is just a super long-winded apology, as well as a meek explanation I suppose. Certainly not an excuse. This episode was requested a lot for us, probably because of how defensive of the books we get, and I feel like in our attempt to talk every angle of the issue, we ended up just coming across as doubling down on that defense. Moving forward you can bet your ass I’m going to be far more cognizant of this.

What’s funny is, feeling defensive actually wasn’t my experience at all recording it. Hell, even just pulling your asks for it, I was like, “wow this all really sucks,” and found myself getting a good deal more nervous for TWOW coming out. Because…god…I think I might be wrong. I’m back in that place I was in during season 5 where I was wondering if Sansa was going to get raped by LF (obviously a different context than the show), or if we’re not supposed to see Tyrion’s misogyny.

I’m not ready to give up on Martin yet, but I’m sure as hell not asking anyone else to forgive him. And if nothing else, I know now that at least a few takeaways we had were certainly not his intent, but the result of our own engagement and projections onto the media. I think I might be wrong (and where’s TWOW).

#I'm so sorry guys #asoiaf #got #anonymous #asks #rape mention tw

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purpleswans1 · 6 years

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My Favorite Hidden Anime Gems

I’ve been watching Anime for several years now, and I’ve watched a lot of really good series (and a couple of bad ones). Among them are some series that are a lot of great series that I believe don’t get the attention and following they deserve. Some of them may be more popular than I realize, or they were popular a while ago and just faded over time. But all of them are, in my personal opinion, definitely worth a watch.

Quick note: I tried to put down why I believe some of these shows aren’t as popular. More than one of them is because the original material comes form Light Novels, which aren’t a readily available to the western fans as manga and anime, which alienates those fans since they believe they are missing some of the story.

Now, on with the list:

1. Kemono no Souja Erin (Beast Player Erin)

I can’t express to you how much I love this show. The best way I can summarize it without giving to many spoilers is that it’s a coming of age story about a girl who wants to be a beast-veterinarian like her mother, and follows her as she grows up That doesn’t really go into the juicy bits though. It has strong women in positions of power and male-dominated fields, brilliant world building, and the main focus is on the relationship between mothers and their children. It’s very refreshing, and I think tumblr would love this.

Now this one actually has a lot of reasons why it is less known. First of all, the original source is a light novel. In addition, the anime’s art style is much more simplistic than most anime a fans are used to. Finally, although the plot is entertaining for all ages, the show is actually geared towards kids. As anyone who’s watched Gravity Falls or Steven Universe will tell you, this doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. This does mean though, that the audience that it’s intended for doesn’t have easy access to it. That being said, I definitely suggest that people watch this.

2. Saiunkoku Monogatari (The Story of Saiunkoku)

This one is a court romance, and a really great one at that. The story begins about a sensible girl who is asked to turn the king of her country into a decent ruler by becoming his wife, but the story grows into something greater, focusing on politics, the magic of the kingdom’s origin, and the girl’s dream of becoming a court official. There are several well-done female characters, some who take on traditional feminine roles and some who want to be in male-dominated fields. There’s a little bit of a reverse harem situation going on, but the main character is well-rounded and most of the boys are just supporting from a distance. the main focus ends up being on the political drama rather than just the romance.

The animation is a little old, and the original story is from a light novel. In addition, I suspect that the second season ends before the ending of the light novels so we still have some unresolved business that we’d have to track down the light novels to find out. One of these days I’m going to find and read them. Still, this is definitely worth it!

3. Zetsuen no Tempest (The Civilization Blaster, Blast of Tempest)

Okay, I’ll admit that this one is a little weird, and completely shifts narratives halfway through (which, now that I think about it, happens in several anime I know) but is still worth the watch. I swear the two main guys are kind of psychopaths, but they’re also very real and their relationship is a very interesting take on friendship and complex relationships. The story is set in a world where everything in civilization starts being devoured and people are dying, but these two guys get roped into helping a witch trapped on an island save the world because she promised to help them get revenge for the one guy’s sister. It’s also full of dialogue and plot references to William Shakespeare’s works (especially “Hamlet” and “The Tempest”) and who doesn’t love a good reference to the bard?

I… really don’t know why this anime isn’t that popular. Other than the narrative being a little confusing at times and some of the characterizations being incredibly unique (i.e. not cliches) It’s a really good anime, and you guys should check it out.

4. Guilty Crown

Okay guys, I’ll be honest with you: the first time I discovered this anime (back when my experience consisted mostly of Inuyasha and Code Geass) I described it as a Code Geass fanfic with a slightly altered preface. Which… really isn’t what it is at all. There are still some similarities though. The actual story is about a world where japan was decimated by an Apocalypse virus and has become entirely dependent on foreign aid, making it into a kind of military state. People are oppressed, so a terrorist group forms and a certain socially awkward boy gets a special power that was intended for the terrorist, and he gets roped into joining them. It has a lot of interesting characters and characterization, since part of the boy’s power is to reveal people’s hearts in physical form.

I’m not sure why this one isn’t very popular, other than having several troupes that are in other shows. If I had to guess, it might be related to how he narrative changes halfway, and how I swear the thing must have been funded by the band Egoist considering how much they are referenced in the show.

5. Seirei no Moribito

Oh man, this one… *deep breath* The main character is a spear wielding woman bodyguard in her 30s. She is tasked with protecting an adolescent prince, who after being infected with a magic egg (more significant than it sounds) is being attacked by his own country. They end up forming a mother/son bond over the course of the story and that is the main relationship focus. Oh, and the woman has a love interest who’s basically a healer with some mystic abilities, and they are so not subtle about the reversed gender roles.

The story is based on a light novel series by the same author as Kemono no Souja Erin. However, it only tells the story of the first book, so we end up with a well put-together story and maybe potential for season 2? someday? *goes and cries in a corner because that would be amazing*

6. Shiki

Kudos to @quasiplatonickarinhina for introducing me to this.

Okay, so you know how Twilight spurred a rise in popularity for vampire stories? Only, instead of being the Anne Rice and Bram Stoker bloodsucking-monster variety, they became excessively romantic good guys? Yeah, this isn’t like those neo-vampire stories.

By any chance, does anyone remember the first season of Supernatural? You know, back before it became a cult-followed soap-opera, and instead was basically a series of rural American horror stories crammed into an hour a week? THAT is what this story is like.

The preface is that a mysterious family moved into a small rural town, and gradually people start dropping dead mysteriously. Things gradually escalate, and the story dives into a lot of heavy psychology with some statements on humanity in desperate situations thrown in. If you like Tokyo Ghoul for the psychological horror, you’ll love this.

The series has a very slow build-up before the climax, so that might be the main reason why it isn’t very popular.

7. Shounen Omnyouji

You know that Abe no Seimei guys that will pop up occasionally in exorcist or historical anime? Well, this is about his grandson, who has resolved to surpass his grandfather as an Omnyouji and finally get out of his shadow.

I should also note that this is probably one of the only shounen protagonists I know of that actually shows respect to his elders and superiors (which probably says a lot more for the general trend of shounen protagonists than anything else, but it’s still refreshing.) Seriously, one of the biggest running gags is that he’s in his room yelling about his grandfather expecting him to do the impossible or having to big of shoes to fill, but he’s still very respectful when he’s actually around the guy.

Also, his love interest is… not annoying? Sorry she’s not really that awesome of a character, but she manages to be a traditional princess and not painful to watch. Which is unusual.

Oh, and there are all these super-powered Shikigami who gradually develop respect for the MC and have their own issues with one another. That’s always cool.

This series was originally a light novel series, and to be honest even I wouldn’t know about it if I hadn’t been looking for a different Omnyouji series. I should warn you though, this one has a kind-of-cliffhanger ending, and I don’t see much indication of a season 2. You can always hunt down the light novels though.

8. Arslan Senki

Not sure whether this anime is unknown enough to be here… No, it does. It hasn’t gotten the following it deserves. The light novel series has been going on for decades and that might part of the reason why the fandom has faded, but the most recent manga adaptation is by the Mangaka behind FMA, and apparently she’s done some changes to the original story. Which is cool.

Also, the whole thing clearly has some thematic and stylistic roots in the Crusades, and that’s got to appeal to western audiences right?

9. Tokyo Ravens

You remember those exorcist anime I mentioned a while ago? Well this is one of them. The short explanation of this series that that it’s about a bunch of high school students studying to be Omnyouji. Which makes it sound a lot like a Japanese Harry Potter, which admittedly it kinda is. Only not. There’s a lot of plot derived from the reincarnation thing and some family politics crossing actual politics.

This is another one where the original source material is a light novel series. It also ends in a sorta-cliffhanger, but I have a bit more hope for a season 2 for this one.

10. Rurouni Kenshin

Okay, this one probably doesn’t need to be on this list since it is still popular, just really OLD so the hype has simmered down, but It needs to come back because WE HAVE A NEW MANGA ARC!!!!! (Can you tell how happy I am?)

Now I could go on and on about how much significance this series has for me personally (I literally discovered online scanlations and the dark web for this series guys) but I’ll spare you the hour-long monologue. Elevator pitch: This is a historical fighting manga with a lot of interesting characters and themes and quite honestly a classic. I’ll admit that there are some issues with the story that weren’t as troubling to high-school-aged me, but overall it’s still a wonderful tale. I mean, the manga inspired a long anime series and 3 live action movies, so that should say something (I feel no urge to watch the OVAs, so let’s not mention them)

11. Silver Spoon (Gin no Saji)

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that i usually am not attracted to slice of life stories. But a friend recommended this series to me and mentioned it was one of Arakawa’s mangas, so I decided to check it out. A decision I do not regret. The basic plot has to do with a city boy who decided to go to an agriculture high school. Its chock full of culture shock, interesting characters, and a realistic take on the agricultural industry. I identify with this story on a personal level, both because i grew up in a rural area and know how some of the agriculture stuff works and also because the MC is searching for a direction after loosing his “dream.”

Like I said, this series is a slice of life, which generally doesn’t get as much attention as the action-adventure stories.

Got any other animes you think deserve a larger following than they currently have? Feel free to recommend them to me!

#I'M SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE THIS #I go distracted #and have been getting settled in the new apartement #anime #recommended

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