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felikatze · 2 years

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HI IT’S ME AGAIN I JUST FINISHED S5 IT IS A BANGER

i have A Lot to say about this one because it’s very really good

i looked at the cast credits only on episode 10 and promptly found out that morro and lloyd have the same VA (at least in the dub i watched lmao). congrats julien haggege on the range because i geniuenly had no idea

SOOOO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT.

ok let’s start with what a great kickoff episode 1 was. everything went batshit RIGHT from the start. i love the scene w the possessed museum guard posing with a hammer behind lloyd. i loooooove how much they leaned into the whole ghost shit and horror tropes with morro’s introduction and lloyd just getting fucking possessed.

morro has like, more.. menace? than the previous villains (as much as any of them can be menacing for having little lego faces) because of his first appearance and also just. again the lloyd thing.

which is DELICIOUS btw to just take lloyd out of the team dynamic after he’s been so throuroughly integrated into it. holy shit man. it’s sooo good how the main four have to struggle without lloyd and how they each try to be the leader and fail horribly at it.

how this is resolved is great too!! the four of them work best without a leader. after cole gets turned into a ghost (also holy shit they really just did that), they kinda just stop picking fights over which of them is better and just stay a team. this is reflected beautifully in the episode 8, grave danger, where each of them takes charge when it’s best for them to do so. zane decodes the patterns on the doors, cole gets everyone to give up and fall, jay spots the light in the ground that gets them out of the labyrinth, and kai makes the final call to rescue lloyd. that’s some good shit.

ALSOOO this season is so good to nya!! i heard abt morro and nya’s water ninja thing and cole being ghosted on my ventures through the ninjago tag, but i didn’t expect it to be... all the same season. i did not.

i like a looot how nya’s weakness got cast here, because she’s always been just. good. at everything. and THAT’S HER WEAKNESS IT’S GIFTED KID SYNDROME. if she can’t get something right first try she gives up and that is an accurate weakness for her to have without betraying the strength she’s had throughout the show. she’s soo set on being a samurai that she Cannot fathom being a ninja and she has to get over herself. it’s so good. i like that one scene after cole gets ghosted where the two bond a bit over how their lives got turned upside down suddenly at the same time, and i also liked how she picking up on ronin’s laidback nature (which wu calls a bad influence) is actually what helped her out. she needed to take things less seriously so she can allow herself to fail without getting frustrated. THIS SEASON IS SO GOOD TO NYA FR.

ANOTHER THING ABT NYA i love how her development kinda mirrors like, the boys in season 1, with how everyone’s harping about her true potential, because that’s where she’s at, elemental powers wise. she is at her own personal season 1 right now, and it’s treated as such. sooo poggers. she had a lot of moments where she got held back by wu again (a recurring trend prior boooo wu) and she always had frustration at this (the only reason i accepted this) so i love love love how it’s SHE who sinks the. preeminent? is that the english name. (german dub calls it the Ur-Evil because it likes being stupid like that). it’s soo cool nya you’re cool again after s3.

THERE’S JUST. A LOT OF SEASON 1 PARALLELS IN GENERAL LIKE. morro’s obsession with being the green ninja is exactly like the boys in s1 and esp kai i think. like in s4 we saw that he’s still not entirely over that jealousy so morro feels in a way like a bad end kai even though he’s mostly played as a foil to lloyd. abandoned by fate vs chosen by destiny ysee ysee.

i get why so many people like him he has a LOT of potential esp since like his past connection to wu is just. haha wu you fucked up my man.

it SLAPS how morro just kept lloyd for Eight Whole Episodes. all ghosts can do possession and SOME of them do but for the most part it’s Just Morro who does which makes him stand out and the ninja not wanting to hurt lloyd in fights is fun. adds to him being so Goddamn Angry all the time. again same VA which i

morro as a villain also really adds to the whole theme of this season which is teamwork (as it often is) but this time in particular it’s how you can’t do everything alone. morro has his goons yeah but he ultimately is a loner and that’s capped off by him refusing to take wu’s hand in the final episode and going under. sayonara my man.

teamwork as the theme also came on strong again with (gestures at the main four struggling without lloyd and only moving forward once they work as a unit without a set leader). and maybe how ronin only manages to truly save his soul once he starts supporting the ninja without ulterior motives.

ronin was a rlly good supporting character imo! i think it’s funny how he’s introduced as having a past with the ninja who hate his guts meanwhile i’m going “should i know who this guy is?????” he’s not a bad guy necessarily just greedy but then the reason for him being greedy is introduced (sold his soul to a ghost and is trying to buy it back) and like it’s cool how his arc ends with him dumping all his money over morro’s head. it’s cool! also again his lil thing with nya which i’m sooo happy isn’t played romantic. nothing in this season is played romantic actually even that one scene i talked abt with nya and cole i’m so glad. love triangle is WELL AND TRULY DEAD AS IT SHOULD BE. let nya exist without a romance subplot for a season so epic so pog.

is it just me or did the lighting in the animation get wayyyy better this season? i was rlly impressed with the lighting on some shots this season which i haven’t been before. it’s way more realistic and when i first saw the waterfalls in nya’s training area i was stunned by the water physics in this. generally this season just looked really good by ninjago standards.

the set design was good too i liked the different locations. the ghost aesthetic clichees carried this i like that. wang’s house or the city of stiix or the cloud kingdom all vry cool good looking sets. i love how ham they went with the aesthetic too like also sound wise. the ost on this season is BANGER i love the remix for the intro. welcome to scooby doo: masters of spinjitzu.

MORE SEASON 1 THINGS I WANNA TALK ABT. there were some nice callbacks to the pilot eps i appreciated like the guys visiting the caves of despair where they found the scythe of quakes in the pilot. like if you didnt watch the pilot you’re not missing anything but if you did then you know and it’s nice <3 also hello morro’s skeleton. in any other show discovering a ghost’s corpse would be shocking but with the lego skeletons it’s just kinda goofy. it’s very goofy.

another callback i loved is in the final episode!! because morro tried to ditch lloyd in the underworld which is an amazing callback because it’s so thematically appropiate with the whole s1 parallels and that being where garmadon was sealed in the pilot and lloyd being ykno that guy’s son and the object of morro’s envy. it’s vry cool.

some cute things in the final two eps!! lloyd wearing his dad’s robe!! that’s so cute what the fuck!! i’m gonna gloss over the logistics of that just for how cute it is. previous cute thing is kai actually wearing the headband cyrus made for him even though he was bummed out for not getting a mech. everyone crashes their mechs and kai’s the one getting real utility out of his gift it’s cute. i thought the scene of ronin hanging out with skylor was also cute because like. skylor was in a veeery similar position to ronin where she betrayed the ninja for stupid selfish reasons but turned a new leaf and her giving him tea on the house is nice full circle stuff because her extending forgiveness on behalf of the ninja is what motivates ronin to go back and help out in the finale. and it’s tea specifically too because of the wu’s tea house subplot. that’s just so nice.

I DIDN’T EVEN PROPERLY TALK ABT GHOST COLE YET BECAUSE. THAT SURE HAPPENED. like i KNEW it was gonna happen cuz spoilers cuz i jzst wanted to look at fanart but. dang that’s kinda funny. like there is cole expressing sadness over it with the twice mentioned nya scene and many points where he tries to grab someone and fails but i think it’s nice how it’s not all bad and if he hadnt been a ghost then nimbus would’ve def killed the ninja right. i love how cole regularly like... forgets he’s a ghost. he forgets he can walk through walls and stuff now and possess things like ykno a ghost because it just kinda feels. in character for him to forget once he figures out how to make himself tangible. it’s funny. my favorite is in the ice labyrinth where he throws himself through a wall and slides across the floor to knock morro over.

he and kai got a lot of milage out of both being afraid of water this season. real bonding moment to make the guy who cant swim and the guy who will be vaporized if he touches water consistently the ones closest to water. kai gets a new gimmick to be grouchy about every season and i love that for him <3

talking abt kai again actually. love how he’s the one who ultimately saves lloyd and cheers on nya bcuz he’s. their big bro. he’s the first person who vowed to protect lloyd and by god he’s STICKIGN to that. i love that.

okay i think that’s everything i wanted to talk abt here. this is def my longest season review so far. because this season just SLAPS i understand now. i understand. this season fucks.

#Feli speaks #ninjago posting #SEASON 5 SLAPS. IT'S BALLER OKAY #this is a very long post huh

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animecreator3000 · 3 years

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About the Boueibu iceberg

@delphoxqueen asked me to explain about my list for the iceberg so here it is. I might update this from time to time with links and stuff if I stumble across the original posts. This is all from what I know so feel free to add new info. Also, spoiler warning for RobiHachi and the Boueibu manga and novels. (This is like a masterpost it’s very long)

1. There’s a theory in tumblr about which decade the series is set in, using data like the friday the 13th calendar in s2 ep11. In HK we got a second number for when the next monthly Pretty Boy Contest was happening and using the one from Love it was theorized that around a decade had passed since then, which ended up being true.

2. The stage play had a few original songs and characters exclusive to it so unless you watched the full performance, you probably weren’t able to witness all of them. One of the characters is called “Robato Deniro”, as romanized in the stage play booklet I own.

3. The nurse and the cafeteria staff from the s1 mobile game appear in the background in around the first half of s2 ep3.

4. S2 had an unfinished manga that was only available online and was never released on physical format; it was centered around the defense club and sometimes the conquest club and Beppu brothers. All that’s left from what I know are the scans linked on magicalgirlsandcerulean’s blog.

5. This isn’t that obscure because it’s talked about in the anime, but I’m mentioning it because I think many people dropped it before the ova, where right at the beginning it is revealed that the alien that resucitated Mr. Tawarayama twice was, as described by Io, a “mulberry-colored naked mole rat-looking thing”, and was nicknamed “Moley-san” by Yumoto. At least in the anime, we had never heard before of who this was and it never appeared on screen nor was mentioned again.

6. In HK ep8, Karurusu promises the knights to grant a wish if they show him how earthlings spend summer. Kyoutarou reveals at the end of the episode that he wished that summer lasted one more day so he could spend it doing nothing, which prompts Ichiro to theorize that it’s the 32nd of august, and the next day is the second 1st of september.

7. The stage play was was held from march 10th to 13rd, of which the latter is Ryuu’s birthday. There’s an additional recording of a small celebration with cake focused on Ryuu and Io.

8. Atsushi mentions his older sister in the flashback at the beginning of s1 ep4, but she never appears or is mentioned again.

9. There’s a few posts on tumblr theorizing about what happened to the Hakone parents since Yumoto only says in s2 ep3 that according to Gora, “they are busy with their hot springs tour”. En mentions that it’s a bit suspicious, but it’s all the information we have from the anime. Posts talk about the parents perhaps passing away from an accident or an illness, thus the reason why Gora was so worried about Yumoto’s cold in s1 ep10, but from another post I think it’s implied in the second novel that they actually left their home when Yumoto was still a toddler.

10. It’s no secret that the surnames of the characters are all real onsens in Japan that even the seiyuus have visited, but apparently the Arima onsen has two different kinds of water, “kinsen (gold hot spring)” and “ginsen (silver hot spring)”, with different properties each, and the Kusatsu onsen water also has certain properties, both that were used to build the characters. Additionally, Ryuu’s favorite food are Sato Nishiki cherries, which are grown in the same prefecture, Yamagata, as his onsen, Zaou.

11. The press club lose relevance after s1, with only Kinosaki and Tazawa reappearing briefly in s2 ep2 to interview the Beppu twins after they arrive at the school. Tazawa doesn’t even have lines. Hireashi is mentioned by Zundar in ep11.

12. What the heck

13. Exclusively in the manga we see that Arima met Kinshiro and Atsushi when they were little and they were good friends, but when they met again as adults, Kinshiro seemingly didn’t remember Arima. Atsushi, however, stated that Kinshiro’s talent is remembering people’s faces and names, so Arima wonders if he’s just trying to distance himself from him. He also explains to Akoya that he follows Kinshiro and obeys him because as a child, he was fascinated by his radiant smile. This is never talked about in the anime.

14. Like the previous point, the anime never shows Akoya being bullied, at most just a slight dislike of his full name, but the manga shows that he was made fun of for it and how he actually hates his surname, to the point of introducing himself formally to the president and vicepresident of the student council as “Holy Angel Akoya”.

15, 16, 17, 19. Batonama lives were the livestreams done through the franchise by the defense club seiyuus on youtube and niconico. They’re all on youtube, without any kind of translation.

Love-ko is a girl with a shell bikini drawn on a piece of cardboard that was used as a girlfriend in the Batonama Love! lives, acted by the seiyuus themselves.

RobiHachi has one episode full of official Boueibu artwork and a parody of the series too, a Love-ko doll appears, and Wombat appears as well, named “The Don”. It received an english dub, so for a bit, people were excited that Wombat was going to speak in english too. Also, various mechas appear in both Boueibu and RobiHachi.

18. The director of Fairy Ranmaru (Masakazu Hishida if I’m not wrong) revealed in an interview that he was inspired by Boueibu and aimed to make a show like that.

20, 21. The website super-groupies.com has results for defense and conquest club lingerie sets, dc and VEPPer tote bags, the Beppus’ scarf rings, dc bath sets and the pumps magicalgirlsandcerulean mentioned. I’ve found the s1 Loveracelets and Caerula Adamas’ ring on different sites, the True Loveracelets on TheChara’s twitter and the Happybraces (apparently called “Hapibure”) on broccoli.co.jp but I’m not sure where exactly they were all announced and sold, so I’ll just drop that.

22, 33. Boueibu was originally pretty much a copy of Sailor Moon, I think they were all going to be called “Lackluster Moon” and that stuff and be literally Sailor Moon genderbent. They were all different from color palettes to physical features (except Yumoto’s), and Ryuu was a shota, even smaller than Yumoto. Their names were also very reminiscent of the five Sailor Senshis’. Even if they made it more original, the show is still clearly inspired by Sailor Moon (just look at Caerula Adamas lol) and Pretty Cure. It has also referenced, very blatantly, animes like Doraemon, Detective Conan, Aikatsu and even Vocaloid, when Kyoutarou tries to guess what Karurusu is saying with ““Just Google It, Asshole”?” in ep1.

23. Wombat’s real name and the name of his planet sound like gibberish to the earthlings and ends up being named after the Earth animal, but Zundar, Dadacha, Karurusu and Furanui all have original names. And I think Hireashi means “goldfish”?

24. If you google “zundar technology”, it’s actually a company in Shanghai, China. Aren’t Wombat and Zundar always talking about “advanced alien technology”?

25. Zundar and Dadacha are siblings, so are Karurusu and Furanui, and so are their father King Kamopapa and their uncle minister Wao, but neither are the same species and, except the first two, not even the same color. But they are supposedly related because they share birthmarks or something like that...

26. Everyone who’s in this fandom knows about the pixel blur and voice pitch censor from s1, but I’ve added it anyway because it’s so rare for mahou shoujo and shounen animes to explain why the heroes aren’t recognized when transformed.

27. A good while of s2 ep11 is spent discussing Zundar’s ex-wife and his problems to give child support. Naturally, he gets mad at this.

28. “Money doesn’t betray” (s1 ep6) and “The despair hidden behind your smile that comes from not being understood” (s3 ep11) are sentences that came out of nowhere and implied that the people they were said by (Io) or about (Taiju) respectively had some kind of angst going on but were never explained at all. They’re famous for just that.

29. The Beppu twins’ house in Andromeda shown in flashbacks had strange green circles that apparently are from another anime I don’t know but honestly I didn’t get it very well... It was revealed on a tweet from Takamatsu.

30. Alien language mostly appeared in s2 due to the many flashbacks of Aki and Haru in Andromeda, but in Boueibu s1, it appears on the Zundar Needle before it is shot on the human. It appears a lot through RobiHachi as well, due to being a story about travelling through space. There might be an alphabetical chart somewhere, but I can’t assure it exists, I might even have dreamed it.

31. Hikaru Midorikawa as the melon monster, Kousuke Toriumi as the bishounen monster, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as the kotatsu and panda monsters and Takuya Eguchi as the remote controller monster in s1 and 2, before going on to voice the main cast in HK. Keisuke Koumoto voiced Hatchi Kita in RobiHachi as well as Akihiko in Boueibu, and the characters look similar.

A new addition is that so far Boueibu is the only anime I’ve seen where children weren’t voiced by female seiyuus, but by actual children. Personally, it’s charming and makes it so much more realistic, specifically since no women appear in the franchise at all either (not counting Protag-chan in the game).

32. Speaking of seiyuus, Can I Destroy The Earth? had a dub shown in ep11/12 (?) that made Gora the villain that wanted Earth to stay the same and not progress, against the monsters that supposedly wanted to bring good things to earthlings. Aki and Haru quickly dismissed this dub as fake. (I made a mistake in the title in the previous post btw)

34. As seen in the glossary in the Boueibu Mook (I think, but might not be the mook), Caerula Adamas’ speeches are based on an old japanese detergent commercial that went “Gold, silver, pearl, gift”.

35. In the manga there’s a short parody of the first chapter of Sailor Moon with “Pretty Boy Guardian Gakuran Akoya”. The conquest club manga was released before the anime, so I remember reading somewhere that a fake website appeared for the Gakuran Akoya manga, before turning into the conquest club manga website in the day of its release.

36. Cgi was used a few times in the anime: s2 ep10 for a short sequence of the defense club on a rollercoaster and the carousel monster, ep11 for a cenital shot of the Battle Lovers singing, and HK ep12 for the Honyalaland soldiers and the Wao mecha.

37. The toothbrush incident in s1 ep7. (It’s definitely well-known but it’s so weird lol)

38. “We hope we can see each other again someday!” Something along those lines was the last text to appear in the last episode of HK, implying a s2. We all know how that went.

#boueibu #new post bc i didn't put a readmore in the other one and it was getting too long #msorry #long post #speaking of the robihachi eng dub... sarazanmai has one too...#so many animes like those get dubs but not boueibu?! HOW UNFAIR #at least we got the funimation subs #is the game even canon??#i mean with stuff like how everyone is apparently straight in there #even yumoto who pretty much came out as gay in the anime #that's very inconsistent #i mean. it is canon but maybe it's like an au? idk #also we need gakuran akoya to be real lmao #also no prequel with gora or hk s2. WHYYYY #i think this took me four hours

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shoichee · 3 years

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My Thoughts on the KNB English Dub (entire S1)

Of course, I prefer watching sub over dub for anime series, but I’m no stranger to the English VA industry, as I’ve played huge RPG games with fantastic English dub casts! I guess I’m mentioning this here to let you know that I’m quite impartial to the dub vs sub fiasco, and if it sounds good or not I’ll say it as such

- Kagami: he’s a mixed bag, a lot of times he sounds dry/douchey, but the other times he sounds nearly identical to the og VA?? like i am conflicted. mega conflicted😭

- Seirin teammates: they sound fine, I have no complaints

- Kuroko: SOUNDS SUPER GOOD BUT MAYBE IT’S BC IM BIASED TO KHOI DAO...... but he really suits Kuroko

- Riko: I LOVE HER VA MWAH CHEF’S KISS

- Teppei: he especially sounds good in english!

- Shutoku’s coach: HONORABLE MENTION BECAUSE HE SOMEHOW SOUNDS COPY-PASTE LIKE THE OG VA I’M SO SHOOK??? he even got the HMMMM down 100% exactly the same?? what sorcery is that?

- Kise: sounds great (no one can beat Kimuro Ryohei though); the Kurokocchi pronunciations can need improvement but I won’t fault them because we don’t have any nicknames like that in the English language

- Midorima/Takao: they sound super good, they managed to capture the same dynamic together like the og VAs did I mention Takao sounds especially good? and i LIVE for Midorima’s dubbed insults it’s SO FUNNY HELP HIS NEANDERTHAL LINE WAS TOO IN CHARACTER

- Aomine: sounds very identical! I dig his voice

- Momoi: I love her, she sounds so adorable please marry me 🥺

- Murasakibara: voiced by Robbie Daymond, one of the most talented VAs right now (think of Akechi Goro from P5), he does capture the childish surface personality, even without the iconic drawls the japanese VA did! the OVA “Tip-Off” where Murisakibara was pissed about his yummy sticks REALLY showcased his ability to voice him! very excited to see him in the Winter Cup match 👀

- Akashi: we don’t see much of him other than that OVA, he sounds a bit older, but he still has the calm and calculated quality to that voice, so I will give that a pass for now

- TLDR; i think the castings are done alright! except like.... probably Kagami but it’s odd because he sounds great in certain moments, but so jarring in normal conversation

SEASON 2? I’m antsy to see who they have for Hanamiya ngl and I’m a little apprehensive to hear more of Akashi

#knb #kuroko no basket #kuroko’s basketball #the basketball which kuroko plays #kuroko no basket dub #english dub #knb english dub #akashi seijuro #aomine daiki #midorima shintarou #kise ryota #kuroko tetsuya #murasakibara atsushi #momoi satsuki #kagami taiga #takao kazunari #shoi-talks

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prophecydungeon · 2 years

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watched the haikyuu S4 dub this week(end) and it was super good tbh!

it sucks in general that dubs get a bad/weird reputation in the US, and it also sucks that anime VAs are so sorely underpaid, but imo all dubbing (not just anime) is deeply undervalued in the US (see recent articles re: dub VAs being paid $150-$300 total for their work on a season) because the US does not consume foreign media and it really shows

it’s bullshit on a lot of levels but especially on the level that everyone in the US just magically expects everything to be in english, and when it’s not, then you get fuckos reacting like they did to parasite requiring people to (gasp) read subtitles. anglophones have never had to watch a movie with a lektor and i, for one, think everyone should have that experience BUT this is a larger conversation on anglocentrism and monolingualism and i’m here to talk about the volleyball anime

so first off i want to say that i’ve watched the entire series over in japanese a slightly embarrassing amount of times, so my first impression was mostly just that jarring feeling of “wait, different voices” even though i watched bits and pieces of the S1 and S2 dub, but once i got past that, everyone’s voices were really fitting.

my biggest fear was that the S4 newcomers were going to be underwhelming since they’re some of my faves in the series, and this was a slightly founded fear considering that ushijima’s dub voice just does not work for me and the S4 cast has some. like. energies. HOWEVER, hoshiumi’s VA knocked it out of the fucking park and 100% matched the level of unhinged™ that was necessary there, and sakusa’s voice was very different but not terrible by any means; a bit low-energy and raspy as opposed to, like, the “you’re not worth raising my voice” energy in japanese, but the “WHO ARE THEY, WHAT YEAR, WHAT POSITION” bit was really fucking funny because it veered straight into, like, a snooty/mocking tone, and that was that for our boy’s (checks notes) five whole lines in this season

i’ll get to That Bastard in particular in a sec but i truly cannot express the SHEER VINDICATION that i was given by inarizaki not having southern accents. this is legitimately going to fuel me for YEARS to come. the thing about regional accents is that there is never, EVER a one-to-one comparison because. like. languages and cultures are different. you can’t just map one regional variety onto another. it fundamentally does not work like that. overwhelmingly, a “vague” southern american english (i.e., ain’t + -ing-dropping + hodgepodge of other features) is used for “insert non-english regional variety” purely because it’s a highly marked form of american english and it’s done without any regard for the broader american social perception of the overall group of varieties, and without any regard for how the original variety (kinki group of dialects) is perceived among its matrix society. tl;dr IT SUCKS, IT’S LAZY, NO ONE (me) WANTS THIS, and it leads to fandom branding characters like this (all of inarizaki in this case) as “hicks” and [screams into hands]

(firstly: you know who’s canonically from BFE? all of karasuno. they are literally, textually (affectionately) called country bumpkins. they did the equivalent of looking at an office building and going “holy shit is that the empire state building”)

(secondly: inarizaki vs karasuno was called an “east vs west showdown” so what it should have been was karasuno repping western massachusetts and inarizaki with the most obnoxious and incomprehensible socal broness.)

so inarizaki’s voices: all good. VERY good. kita was soft-spoken in a different way from the subs, but really good, and the one thing in the entire dub that really gave me pause was that aran was localized as alan -- and i didn’t realize that in the jpn manga his name is actually アラン so... that really just makes me wonder why it’s aran in the english manga when it was clearly meant to like, actually be alan all along. (fucky-wucky on their part ig??) suna had really good “you can’t make me give a shit” energy that was a truly incredible contrast to atsumu in particular, aran was just as excitable as the subs, very good all around.

the twins knocked it out of the park. i literally have nothing more to say. they were both SO fucking good. i’ll get into Bastardo in a bit but osamu had a particular type of intensity that really worked, again especially in contrast to atsumu, and vibed well alongside aran and suna as, like, the Normal Ones.

localization is obvs not and should not be one-to-one, so i expected some changes to the lines even aside from, you know, what must have been changed while translating the manga to english, AND SO here is a selection of the moments that i really liked (scraped from discord) for reasons including (but not limited to): clownery, Good Words, idiocy, vibes, etc.

kageyama: i’ll see you from the top.

this one made me Feel Something. the implicit assumption that hinata is gonna meet him at the top is. Something.

tsukishima: how stupid are you?! hinata: well, i didn't wanna get arrested.

tendou’s hyena laugh when hinata says he crashed the camp

when hinata goes 🥺 and goshiki falls in love with him

kindaichi: why are you like this? hinata: 👁👁 like what

kageyama: so, uh, tell me something - what was it you meant before, calling me goody-two-shoes? atsumu: hmm? exactly what it sounds like. you're serious, obedient, and a real good boy.

reader, the delivery on this.

in the subs, atsumu’s response is kinda matter of fact, and “hey don’t overthink it, it wasn’t a diss, we’re cool” and this was. 😳

kageyama: if you want to, you can fly even higher.

it’s something about the “if you want to” that just (clenches fist) you know

kageyama: so when you jump, it's like [very high-pitched] bo-boing~! hinata, in response to further explanation: [thinking] not that this is new, but his sound effects game is super weak.

they don’t even have the capacity to share the brain cell.

kageyama: if i know you, you can jump even higher.

once again: it’s something about the “if i know you”

komori: [extremely nonchalant] he's hiding over there, absolutely hates crowds, surprised he hasn't fainted yet

bokuto: well, well, seems like my number-one pupil made it here, after all! akaashi: hinata, when he's an ass, you can tell him to shut up.

extra: that's bokuto from fukuroudani... he seems like kind of a nutjob.

atsumu: interesting... that's not the look [kageyama] had back at the intensive. some scary stuff. and then... [lowers voice] who is this guy?

again. delivery. my good dude.

atsumu’s horrible little gremlin laugh when he stuffs the kagehina quick

ukai: ginger and not-ginger, settle down! don’t get so worked up!

every time in this season that kuroo looks at kenma with the most wrenchingly adoring look on his face

yaku: 😒 this isn't the time to be reminiscing about how much your underclassman has grown. kuroo: whatever, yaku, y'ever heard of feelings before?

atsumu: man, doesn't it feel great to get an ace on a serve? especially against strong players! 😌 aran, suna et al: 😶 suna: ...there it is. atsumu: huh? what? suna: i'm talking about how you can be... the way i'd put it is "shockingly inconsiderate," sometimes. atsumu: [150% energy] WHAT? EXCUSE ME? HOW DARE YOU-

atsumu: what's wrong with calling a piece of trash a piece of trash? osamu: look in the mirror some time, dumbass! atsumu: oh just go live in a dumpster where you belong—

atsumu take your own advice challenge

also, suna cackling in the background

osamu: when it comes to skill, we're equal. atsumu: [loudly] naaaaah, everyone knows i'm better— osamu: would you let me finish?! it's just- you love volleyball. (quietly, firmly) you do. and you love it more than me.

ok this is one of the changes i really, REALLY liked. in the subs (and manga) osamu says “you love volleyball more than i do” in a kind of... jokingly grudging way? like he’s loath to admit that atsumu does something More than him, but his meaning is clear anyways. whereas the way it’s phrased in the dub (and the delivery!!!!) just came off as a very sweet sibling moment and i really loved it

suna: i'm really amazed that you set a ball from that low. you could just go underhanded. atsumu: [slightly frustrated] no i couldn't, because i'm a setter, and it's my job to set. i'm responsible for getting the ball to the best spot. suna: ...so? atsumu: so, underhand, i only have my two arms. (growing more excited) overhand, i've got ten fingers. i want the most contact points to get better support. (audibly excited) 'cause i'm a setter!

i think this is about my favorite change -- i love the way that this is a frustrated rebuttal (i know what you’re trying to say and you’re wrong), and it really works for atsumu as a character

inarizaki’s coach: if yesterday satisfies us, what happens tomorrow?

ALSO a change i really love -- i can’t remember the original word for word rn, but this change is just so good in light of “we don’t need memories”

osamu: he plays volleyball like he’d starve without it.

again, good change. original was (iirc) “he plays volleyball like he’s eating a good meal” but something about this phrasing just feels so much more... primal?

atsumu: ha! osamu: hmm? what's up? atsumu: [audibly worked up] it's not because he believes in the setter, he just knows - he knows that the ball will come to him. he just assumes they'll get him the ball! atsumu: [thinking] you have my condolences, kageyama. that is one. terrifying. partner. you've got there. osamu: and what's so weird about that? atsumu: [groans loudly] all of you need to stop and think some more about other peoples' feelings! osamu: [scoffs] that's funny from a heartless bastard like you. atsumu: I WAS NOT MAKING A JOKE.

idiots.

the delivery on “one terrifying partner”

atsumu: i promise you this: i’m gonna be setting to you one day.

[lies facedown on the floor] it’s fine

akaashi: you can't underestimate january. bokuto: what? it's january?!

in conclusion i still want to crush atsumu like a tin can (derogatory) (affectionate) but somehow it’s even worse now

#haikyuu!!#i never made a fuckoff huge post about this series when i first read it so i was truly overdue #me: (sits down to work on fic) let's make a quick Poast first

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drops-of-moonlights · 3 years

Note

What are your issues with S3 of Winx Club?

Okay, so. I am going to get long and ranty and annoyed overall on this post. I shouldn’t even have to preface this, half of the people that follow me have critical thinking skills I hope, but you can have whatever opinion on S3 and all the things I’m gonna touch on this post, I do not care and you should not either, live your life however the fuck you want yadda yadda yadda. Now:

The first thing that comes to mind is the pacing, and just how fucking terrible it is. Every single event takes so long and its so slow for the first 18-or-so episodes (a lot of situations really did not require two episodes), only to be suddenly kicked into high gear and have 7 different “final” battles one after another. It felt like it was just happening to end the season already and so they could keep working on SOTLK, and like I get you’re working on both and all but you COULD have afforded to at least PRETEND you gave a shit, Rainbow.

Next topic is Valtor, who is my absolute least favorite villain in the series, and yes, I am including the S5-S7 villains on this. This is where it’s not much a fault of the character itself (well. not ENTIRELY a fault of the character), but a fault of both the narrative and (and for this I am petty) the fanbase. Valtor, to me, is the most generic villain in the franchise, a different flavor than Darkar but by no means less bland - Valtor is your standard “hot” prettyboy villain who tries to charm the protagonist to his side with the empty promise of answers, and THAT COULD HAVE BEEN INTERESTING... if the show ever bothered to do anything with it other than Valtor creeping on a senior highschool student for 26 episodes. Because it’s all a farce, there’s not an actual connection between them outside of Valtor feeding her lies about her retconned parent’s backstory (we’ll talk about this more later) and both of them having God’s power inside them. My second point on Valtor is that he singlehandedly ruined the Trix’s characterization to simply be your standard evil henchwomen that thirst after Valtor’s dick because truly they all have terrible taste in men, and nothing else, and it’s annoying as all fuck, ESPECIALLY when you compare the Trix as Darkar’s lackeys a season earlier, where they stayed mostly the same personality-wise and only allied with the Phoenix out of necessity and survival. And the worst part? Valtor doesn’t do shit in the season! Like, at all! He only ever gets Chimera, Cassandra and Diaspro on his side, blinds Aisha and that’s literally it as far as confrontations with the Winx go - outside of fighting them when they get the Water Stars and the three last battles, he spends most of the show’s time fucking around random planets getting weird magic and sitting broodily on a chair, and apparently this makes him a good villain???? Okay, sure.

And since I mentioned them, let’s get on the Water Stars for a bit, and while yes, this is the one part everyone agrees on that was weak as fuck, it still brings attention because WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT. All this time there was this antithetical force to the Dragon’s Flame, super-mega-ultra powerful little thingies that could douse the Flame’s power almost permanently, AND YOU ONLY BRING THEM TO ATTENTION NOW AGAINST VAMPIRE AESTHETIC. Do you have any idea how fucking useful they could have been against the Trix in S1???? If they had gotten the little squishy motherfuckers two seasons earlier the War of Magix would have been over quicker. And it’s not like Bloom would have been in much risk, she barely had any Flame left in her.

In a similar situation, we have Enchantix, which is my second most-hated form after Tynix for similar reasons. One, where in the fuck were all the Enchantix fairies during S1? Fairy Dust is supposed to be this OP magic, and could have also been very useful against the Army of Decay. Two, the way to earn Enchantix, for what is retroactively just the final base fairy form, is far too obtuse and complicated for the average fairy, not to mention incredibly limiting - you just have to hope someone from your realm is in a dangerous situation so you can fling yourself into danger and probably die, and all you get for it are some opera gloves and a pair of barefoot sandals. Like sure a super powerful magic upgrade also happens but still, it’s such a specific situation to find yourself in that it’s no wonder no one ever graduates Alfea, it’s literally borderline impossible unless you like traveling. My last point on the transformation, and this one is a bit YMMV, 3 of the 6 Winx did not actually earn Enchantix. Bloom counts for this, but it’s an actual plot point (though it was terribly handled) so I let it slide most of the time, but Musa and Tecna? Musa didn’t even get to sacrifice anything, she just suddenly got the form and that’s it, GALATEA was doing more of a sacrifice to let everyone leave the burning library without her than Musa was. Tecna also got Enchantix without saving anyone from Zenith, and before you even type it out, no, it was never said Tecna saved the entire universe by closing the Omega Portal. None of the three English dubs nor the original Italian ever say this. That’s entirely just fanon. I have headcanonned it away as “some of the prisoners were Zenithian” to justify it for myself, but overall it was very obviously just shoehorned in because as always, the writers don’t know what to do with Tecna.

“But Drops! What about Nabu???” I can already hear you type, and no, I do not like Nabu. I don’t hate him either, outside of the fact I reject the idea of Aisha being into men in any way, shape or form, but he is very much worshipped as the Golden Child in the fandom and I’m tired of it. You can see a better description on my feelings about Nabu (as well as how the fandom loves to demonize Sky for the shit he pulled in S1 but hold nothing against either Brandon or Nabu, who pulled the same shit) here.

There *is* a part of S3 I like, that being the Solaria Usurpation arc, but it’s the one sole thing that I legitimately enjoy in the season and I’m not gonna stick around the fuckton of episodes that interrupt the arc just for that.

But what I hate the most about S3, above all this, is how goddamn irrelevant it is. Outside of getting the Winx Enchantix, NOTHING about the season is remotely relevant lore-wise or plot-wise, and the show itself acknowledges this! Even SOTLK pretends S3 never happened and the girls just got Enchantix somehow! Because of the drive Rainbow had to end the franchise’s original arc with fancy shitty CGI, they ended up making the original last season of the show, what was supposed to be the best thing before the movie, into the biggest waste of time instead. You can really just watch the episodes each girl gets Enchantix and then the final episode and you wouldn’t miss anything at all.

So the TL;DR for all this is “I hate S3 because Valtor sucks, Enchantix sucks, the pacing is garbage and there’s really nothing nice in it outside of like 3 episodes”, and I refuse to rewatch it ever again.

#Drops's rants and ramblings #Drops screams into the abyss for Winx #Winx Club

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uni-colyon · 3 years

Text

v force episode 1 (part 1)

finally got around to watching the first episode, so here are some Thoughts™ and Initial Reactions™! also i am watching the english dub so i am referring to characters w/ their dub names.

first off, the opening didn’t change at all which was. a little weird imo? i’ve got nothing against the song (it’s a banger) but why didn’t they change the visuals?? it’s so jarring to see the season 1 style in the op and then being slapped in the face with the s2 art.

my roommate said maybe they’ll change it for the next ep but still. i’m not a fan.

roommate: ah yes, i devoted myself to studying the blade, and now i’m going back to school!

jokes aside, i think it’s good he’s going to school. let tyson learn how to read it can only help him

okay HERE is where i rip on the s2/3 art style a little bit. i really, really do not like it. i hate how flat it looks, and i’m not a fan of how similar some of the characters look. it’s still beyblade, but in all honesty, i’m VERY attached to the s1 art style. it looks a lot more unique and really gives the characters space to stretch out and have unique designs, whereas this season doesn’t do that to the same extent, at least from what i’ve seen.

i’m not above being proven wrong or having my mind changed about this but. it’s gonna be a no from me thus far

also, the way they do the eyes in this season is just. no. the skin lightening isn’t a fantastic look either, i will say.

1, 3d dizzy looks Bad™. 2, what is this lineup??? why are they all so small??? why didn’t they keep THESE designs for this season?

kai is rocking that crop top tho. good for him!

“it’s only a local competition. it’ll be a piece of cake winning it after all, since i’m, you know, the world champ!”

...so he’s going to lose. granted, it is the first ep and the writers need to set up some tension somehow (tyson can’t go in swinging right off the bat, obviously), but this just made me laugh. i’m interested to see how he loses, though.

i just thought this looked nice!! beyblade has some very excellent bgs in some of their eps. the wall from ep 36 (??) of 2000 lives in my head rent free

aaaaaand here’s hillary! i’m not clear on what exactly she’ll be doing in the main group (is she just supposed to be the voice of reason?? chief already kinda does that, though), but eh. it is only the first episode after all, so maybe i’m jumping the gun (again).

roommate: she’s like the amy of beyblade. everyone hates her but loves her at the same time.

WHOMST????????

this is giving me abbey vibes. already don’t trust these guys. their suits are immaculate, though.

HMMM!!! okay here’s another gripe i have with s2/3. 3d beyblades were a terrible idea. there’s no sense of weight, they’re not grounded in the slightest, they literally look like they’re FLOATING like????? who gave this the green light. who decided on this i just want to talk. i get wanting to include 3d elements in an anime to make some things easier, but this just looks like shit. and how much easier was it??

not to keep being like “in season 1...” BUT in s1, the beyblades looked unique. they looked like they had power and weight behind them. they were grounded in the stadiums and actually WORKED within the backgrounds. and it looks incredibly jarring when the REST OF THE SHOW IS ANIMATED IN 2D.

this is bad. i will not change my mind about this. art style, maybe. 3d beyblades? terrible. horrible. very bad idea.

“how’s this? is this good enough for the wicked witch of eighth grade??”

I’M SORRY, THEY’RE IN 8TH GRADE??? were they TWELVE in the first season?? why do they look so much younger now?? no wonder kai was such a sourpuss all the time, having to look after twelve year olds. i get it now.

jokes aside, this makes no sense. granted, it’s a show for kids so i get making them still be in middle school but man!! that’s such a shock.

#beyblade #v-force #snick's v-force liveblog #tyson granger #hillary tachibana #episode 1 #bladebreakers

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edorazzi · 4 years

Text

It’s the post everyone’s been waiting for!

It’s taken a little while for me to get around to this, but it’s worth it for being able to make a full reaction post. This is really long so I’ll put it under a cut, but check it out for my complete scene-by-scene reaction of Miraculous’ “Felix” episode! (´∀｀)♡

Okay, I’ve been putting this off for days now so it’s time to finally get to it. I’m comfy and undisturbed and have my supplies ready to go.

I know next to nothing about what I’m going into. I’ve seen a little bit here and there because some people haven’t tagged their content properly, but I haven’t watched either of the trailers. I haven’t even looked directly at the images of Felix which have been going around. I’ve tried to stay as blind as possible, so as a result I’m pretty excited but also very anxious. I’ve taken two beta blockers today and I’m considering taking a third.

I usually liveblog episodes on our Ladybug PV Discord server (message me for an invite!) but this time I’m making a proper post out of it. I’ll be typing up my reactions as I go then cleaning everything up a little bit afterwards. I think it’s the first time I’ve done something like this on my blog so here goes!

- “Script: Thomas Astruc” NO. HE REALLY COULDN’T JUST STEP AWAY FROM THIS EPISODE GRACEFULLY, COULD HE. HE HAD TO GET HIS HANDS DIRTY. I’m not going to say “fuck this man” but, you know, identical sentiments. I’m opening my chocolate bar.

- God, Emilie looks more like ET every time I see her. Such an awkward model.

- Oh but wait, Sébastien Thibaudeau was on the script? That does actually give me some hope! Next to Zag himself he’s the only writer on this mess of a show I trust. HE FIXED WAYHEM, CAN HE DO FELIX A SOLID TOO? PLEASE. PLEASE SÉBASTIEN OL BUDDY OL PAL OL FRIENDA MINE

- Does Gabe have anything else to say to his wife other than monologuing his Miraculous plan over and over? They say people in comas can still hear things but Emilie’s probably double unconscious from how boring her husband is.

- DON’T LIKE THAT KNIFE SOUND EFFECT FROM THOSE RINGS. Am I supposed to find it sweet that Gabe’s taking such good care of their wedding bands or is he about to use them for evil? Also where’s Felix.

- ADRIEN SWEETHEART. I maintain that it’s weird to have a statue of your wife/mother/self in your own garden but it kills me that he’s just sitting there in front of it like a lost kitten.

- “Of course, someone will get you right away.” IS THAT FELIX. WAS SHE ON THE PHONE TO FELIX. WHERE’S MY SON, NATHALIE HAVE YOU SEEN MY SON

- That wide-eyed look Adrien turns up towards the window is killing me even more. I’M SO SAD. I see he also hasn’t noticed he’s sitting in the middle of a giant butterfly circle, unless he’s so used to it being Gabe’s logo that he’s just not paying it any mind. When was this all built? Has Gabe always used a butterfly motif even before he got his Miraculous and it was just a great coincidence, or did he commission this whole garden area after Emilie went missing? I guess you could pass it off as eccentricity but in the real world that would be a HUGE red flag that Gabe murdered her. I dunno man.

- DON’T WAVE AT HIM LIKE THAT, NATHALIE. YOU RATTED HIM OUT IN 5 SECONDS IN THAT THEORETICAL FUTURE WHERE YOU DISCOVERED HE WAS CHAT NOIR. YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT THIS BOY. >:V

- “It’s been one year.” HAS IT? Hasn’t Adrien been at school for at least a year now? Didn’t his mom vanish two years prior to that?! Maybe she’s talking about how long Gabe has been fighting Ladybug and Chat Noir but knowing this show’s messy timeline it could be anything. WHERE’S FELIX.

- That’s the song from Chat Blanc! Was that something his mom taught him? OH NO, I’M EVEN SADDER NOW. This is what I mean about Sébastien’s writing, we’d never get this kind of focus on Adrien from Garbage Man Astruc. This kind of character exploration does wonders for ML whenever it’s brought up so I hope this is consistent.

- SHIT, GABRIEL’S OUT OF THE HOUSE. SOMETHING’S WRONG. THOSE EXPENSIVE LEATHER SHOES HAVEN’T TOUCHED ACTUAL GROUND IN YEARS. ADRIEN GET OUT OF THERE.

- I do like that Adrien doesn’t get up when his dad comes to stand right next to him like that. It’s just informal enough. He’s waiting for Gabe to make the first move this time and that’s nice development considering how stiff and cold their relationship was in S1.

- OOOOH GABE THAT’S AN AWKWARD CROUCH. Any lower down and his back is going to go. He’ll be stuck there. I do LOVE that he’s trying though, I don’t even know what he’s going to say to Adrien but this is already SO good.

- “There’s something important I have to talk to you about.” Finally time for The Talk, huh.

- GABE PLEASE. ADRIEN’S WAY TOO CHIRPY TO HAVE ACTUALLY CAUGHT ON TO WHAT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY. HE THINKS YOU’RE TRYING TO SAY YOU LOVE HIM OR SOMETHING ELSE RIDICULOUS

- “I’ve noticed how close you and Nathalie have become!” CLOSE ENOUGH. Still in the ballpark of Adrien thinking his dad has real human feelings!

- “HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK SUCH A THING??” I GENUINELY LAUGHED OUT LOUD AT HOW ANGRY GABE WAS ABOUT THAT. I’m not sure what to think of the “Nathalie replacing Emilie when Emilie’s technically still alive” plot either but GABE’S DECIDED FOR ME. Also good job yelling in your son’s face when you were JUST having a moment, good luck getting back up off your knees in order to storm away, old man.

- Oh alright, he did get up, but it was with a strange angry bow-legged prance. I think he still had trouble.

- I love the way Adrien just kinda wide-eye-blinks at him, like Gabe’s emotional outburst is going totally over his head. He’s been dealing with akuma FAR too long to be bothered by this.

- Guests, plural? I’m guessing Felix is one of them but is he with someone else? That makes sense given he’s (as far as I’ve gathered) the same age as Adrien so he wouldn’t be running around far from home unchaperoned, but OHHH this is so interesting.

- So they ARE claiming it’s been one year since Emilie vanished! This just doesn’t work as a Season 3 episode, especially with Nathalie and Gabe’s romantic development being as far along as it is. Emilie’s been gone for at LEAST three years by this point! Read your show bible once in a while you horrible garbage man!!! Also ADRIEN SWEETHEART THAT’S A LITTLE PREMATURE. You can say “went away forever” when you’re three years into her disappearance, the anniversary of one year really isn’t long enough to claim she’s never coming back!

- OH NO, IT’S THE GIRLS. I’m already bored. Unless Luka is here I really just do not care what they’re all up to. I haven’t missed Marinette at ALL in the first two-and-a-half minutes and I don’t want to see her now. WHERE’S FELIX.

- I’m sorry, how are Lila, Chloé AND Kagami all on a video call together without any blood being drawn? Also for god’s sake PLEASE leave Adrien alone, you want to ask first if he’d LIKE some company or if he’d prefer a quiet personal day to think about his mom? OF COURSE NOT MARINETTE, YOU WOULDN’T WOULD YOU.

- Okay, a video message is definitely a better idea than trying to break into his house AGAIN. At least then he can watch it whenever he feels up to it. The first good, safe, noninvasive idea Mari’s had for SEVERAL episodes when it comes to Adrien.

- I’M REALLY TORN WHEN IT COMES TO THE ENGLISH DUB. On one hand I hate how little screentime Nino has when he’s not just being Alya’s fashion accessory, but on the other hand I’m so glad they switched scenes the moment Nino started his video because I CANNOT handle his dub voice. Nino just deserves better in general really.

- HE WAS CRYING. MY BOY WAS CRYING AGAIN. I’M NOT COOL WITH THIS. IT’S NOT ABOVE YOUR PAYGRADE TO GIVE HIM A HUG, NATHALIE.

- ALRIGHT HI ELSA. IS THIS HIS AUNT? THAT’S SPOOKY.

- Her name is Amelie? So their parents had twins and named them Amelie and Emilie, and they turned out the same right down to the over-the-shoulder Dead Anime Mom hairstyles? That’s lazy parenting down to a tee, can’t mix your twins up if you never have to learn the difference between them in the first place! But that’s INTERESTING that Felix is (I assume, still haven’t seen him yet) from Emilie’s side of the family, I’ve always had the impression he was a petit Gabriel.

- OHHH THAT’S MY BOY! I CAN SEE MY BOY IN THE DOORWAY!!! OH MY GOD GIVE HIM TO ME. GIVE ME FELIX. GIVE ME MY SON.

- ADRIEN IMMEDIATELY JUMPING ON HIM IN A HUG IS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. WHILE FELIX’S HAND IS STILL OUTSTRETCHED FOR A HANDSHAKE. I know this episode is going to go downhill because there’s no way it won’t, but this one single moment is EVERYTHING I WANTED. I should just close the tab now and leave it at this, I really should.

- “Do you remember when they used to have so much fun pretending to be each other? Once they had you and Emilie fooled for a whole weekend!” WHERE HAS THIS BEEN FOR MY ENTIRE ORDEAL GETTING THROUGH THIS SERIES. I don’t even care if this Felix is a stone cold bitch, it’s enough to know he and Adrien were besties when they were kids and Adrien still wanted to hug him the second he walked through the door. AMAZING.

- “I WON’T BE FOOLED A SECOND TIME.” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, GABE. THEY WERE PROBABLY TODDLERS. ARE YOU JUST SO USED TO GETTING YOUR ASS HANDED TO YOU BY CHILDREN THAT YOU’RE SUSPICIOUS OF EVERY SINGLE ONE NOW

- Aww, Felix is American (dubbed, anyway). I was really hoping he’d be British with all the references to London over the last season. He does have a nice voice though! I can tell he shares Adrien’s actor but he’s got the softness I’d have expected from his character. There’s kind of an interesting look about his face though, I wish they’d tweaked it a bit to give him a sharper look but I guess he IS like 14, he can afford to still have a bit of baby-cheeked roundness. I’m going to find the positives in every part of this because I will NOT give Garbage Man Astruc the satisfaction of being disappointed like I know he wants me to be. It’s been a fucking war from the moment I saw his name in the writing credits and my best weapon is being pleased about everything in this episode.

- Okay, he looks a little better in the following closeup where his eyes are slightly narrowed. I think it’s the slightly-below-the-chin angle which doesn’t really work for his character model with his soft cheeks and high collar. FELIX IS A BABY.

- WHY WILL NOBODY SHAKE HIS HAND. Adrien hugged him instead and Gabe is ignoring him completely, Felix is clearly so perplexed and I love it. He’s fourteen! He’s fourteen and doing his best with social graces but NOBODY WILL HELP HIM.

- “Felix, you know your uncle’s never been the physical sort!” HE KICKED HIS OWN SON RIGHT ACROSS PARIS IN THE LAST EPISODE BUT SURE, IF YOU SAY SO.

- “Oh, how sweet! You’re still wearing your wedding band!” YEAH? IT’S BEEN LIKE A YEAR?? Again this would make more sense if it had been around three years like we KNOW Emilie’s been gone for, but picking someone out for still wearing their ring after 12 months?! And why isn’t Amelie more emotional about this anyway, isn’t it her sister who’s missing? I wouldn’t be poking fun at MY sister’s husband for keeping his ring if SHE went missing. No wonder Felix seems like he turned out weird.

- I CAN’T MAKE OUT THE NAME OF HER BRANCH OF THE FAMILY AND IT’S KILLING ME. SOMEONE LET ME KNOW WHAT THAT WAS. Graham de Vanily? I can’t place the words. I mean I’m going to keep calling Felix “Agreste” no matter what but I’d like to know what canon is trying to get at.

- “It’s been a long journey from London” I KNEW IT, I FFFFFFFFFUCKING KNEW IT. SO THEY ARE BRITISH?! BUT THEY HAVE AMERICAN ACCENTS?! I mean I guess they’re French first and foremost, but what the fuck is with the American accents if you’re making a POINT about them being from London?! I can’t wait for the French audio to be released, I really want to know what Felix sounds like there. Regardless AAAH MY SON IS FROM MY CITY, I’M SO PLEASED.

- “TakeFelixtoyourbedroom.” EASY GABE THEY JUST MET, ALSO THEY’RE COUSINS

- Poor Felix looks so depressed being saddled with Adrien. Sweetie it’s okay, think positive! You could be stuck with Marinette and THAT would be a true nightmare.

- Now why does Felix keep glancing at Gabe? Is there something going on there? Is he suspicious about what happened to his aunt? I can’t imagine he knows anything about the Miraculous so what’s the deal here?

- UuuuuUUUUGH we’re back with the rest of the gang. I’M NOT INTERESTED, SHOW ME MORE FELIX.

- “Help me Tikki! What would you tell a Kwami friend who’s lost their mom?!” You’re talking to a 5000-year-old demigoddess, Mari, I don’t think she’s gonna relate.

- MARI YOU CAN’T CONFESS TO ADRIEN. NOT AFTER CHAT BLANC. GABE WILL LOSE ALL HIS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TO WRECK THE LOVE SQUARE AND ALSO THE MOON’S GOING TO EXPLODE. WHY ISN’T BUNNIX HERE TO SLAP THE TABLET OUT OF YOUR HANDS

- Should Tikki really be encouraging this?! I have no idea where in the timeline this is supposed to be. Maybe this is at a stage where she doesn’t know Adrien is Plagg’s chosen so there’s no reason to steer Marinette away from bonding with him. Or maybe every episode just plays by its own rules and there’s really no such thing as continuity in this series. I want to see Felix again.

- YANKING AT AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE ON THE OUTER EDGE OF A BOAT ISN’T GOING TO END WELL. DON’T. I do love how :D Alya is about it though, if nothing else I love what a supportive friend she is.

- Oh, the tablet didn’t go into the water! I’m genuinely surprised by that. Though I imagine Felix is going to fuck things up in some way so he’ll probably be the one to destroy the video somehow. We all know the relationship development isn’t allowed to move forward so SOMETHING’S going to happen to it.

- Thank god we’re back to the mansion. I’m surprised and pleased that (for now at least) we’re only getting the girls in small doses and the plot is mainly focused around the Agrestes. Gorizilla is my favourite episode to date and it did a similar thing with allowing Marinette to be a side character for once along an Adrien-centric plotline, so hopefully this episode will be similar. I’m liking its odds so far but who knows what Horrible Garbage Man Astruc has up his sleeve.

- “I’m really sorry I didn’t come to your dad’s funeral.” I’M SORRY WHAT? PARDON ME? THAT’S AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM I DIDN’T EXPECT. As a side note I love Felix being killer at basketball for some reason, he doesn’t look like the athletic type at ALL but he still made that net over his shoulder without even LOOKING. Goddamn. Can everyone please appreciate how cool my son is!!!

- “My father thought it would be too hard on me, considering everything that’s happened this year.” So Felix lost his dad VERY RECENTLY. OUCH. DON’T LIKE THAT. Or I DO like that because it’s already giving his character some extra depth when we’re still only just getting to know him, but on an emotional level I don’t like that.

- “He’s very... protective of me.” CHAT BLANC REALLY WAS A HOT MESS OF AN EPISODE WASN’T IT.

- Now Felix is giving Adrien a hug?! I didn’t see that one coming. My canon Felix would mean it but I don’t quite trust this new Felix yet, he’s probably up to something.

- WHAT A JARRING PIANO TRANSITION. Also why?! What does he have to gain from swiping Adrien’s phone? He’s probably got a terrible roaming plan on his own mobile, that’s always my problem when I go to France. If you truly loved your cousin you’d let him browse Reddit on your phone, Adrien. This is worse than not coming to his dad’s funeral.

- PLAGG KNOWS SOMETHING’S UP. He ought to, in another life he and Felix are STILL dealing with each other.

- Okay I take back what I said about Felix’s voice. Bryce Whatshisface isn’t doing a very good job separating the tones. I can buy that Adrien and Felix sound very similar but their delivery should be completely different! I really do want to watch this in French, I get the feeling it’ll sound much better.

- AH YES, HERE WE GO. I’m getting the feeling this is Garbage Man’s part of the episode. Squished cheese aside, I do like the implication Felix does (or did) card magic and karate. I’m thinking of that Mickey Mouse episode where he vanishes Donald’s car keys with a hand trick except it’s Felix vanishing Marinette’s phone when she’s about to text Adrien or something. I’ve got to draw that.

- “Mind if I take a shower?” WHY, FELIX. I mean I’d probably want to shower too after the London-Paris commute (and I’m sure he’s only going in there to wreak havoc, put food colouring in Adrien’s shampoo bottles or something) but what a weird time to ask!

- I mean Plagg has a point about difficult home situations not justifying bad behaviour (and I feel like that’s not what’s going on, with how he was glaring at Gabe I think he’s behaving like this for some other reason), but Felix’s dad LITERALLY DIED. Like they had a funeral and everything. Emilie is just “missing”. They’re SIMILAR but that’s still a false equivalence because Adrien’s got hope to hold on to and Felix doesn’t.

- So we’re not going to talk about how Felix got into Adrien’s passcode-protected phone? I guess he could have done the fogging-up-the-screen trick from Oblivio. Standing around in a steamy bathroom in three layers of clothing is a great way to sweat yourself out and ruin your hair though, way to get even more gross than a five-hour commute between countries.

- “Of course that idiot has a crush on a superhero!” EASY THERE, MR HOWLING-ON-A-ROOFTOP-BECAUSE-HE-SAW-THE-GIRL-HE-LIKED. WE’VE ALL SEEN THE PV.

- I’ve just noticed Felix has a ring too! I don’t know how I missed that before this scene! That’s NICE. He’s still not allowed to have it on his middle finger (LET HIM SWEAR) but that’s a nod back to Chat Noir which I really appreciate!

- ROSE HAS BEEN ON THE HELIUM. SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT THERE.

- FELIX KNOWS CHLOÉ! THAT’S NICE, THAT’S GOOD. I LIKE THAT. That’s also a really nice little video from her, I love the few small moments we’ve had that affirm she and Adrien really ARE friends, whether she wants to date him or not.

- OOOH HE DELETED THE VIDEOS. I’m curious about him borrowing Adrien’s clothes too, are they going to dress the same? You’d think Adrien wouldn’t give someone an exact copy of the outfit he’s currently wearing but I genuinely don’t know if he owns anything different. I hope they don’t just use two Adrien models for the rest of the episode, please let me see Felix properly :/

- WHY. HONESTLY, WHY. CAN I PLEASE GET AN EXPLANATION FOR WHY FELIX IS DOING THIS.

- OOOH MARI YOU’RE NOT GONNA LIKE THIS. I can imagine Felix is going to say something nasty and that’ll set the girls off and bring about the akuma of the week. I’m mildly entertained but I’m still not engaged with this idea without any proper explanation. We’d better get something by the end of the episode which justifies what’s made Felix do this, because “he’s just evil lol” would be a reeeeally low move from Garbage Man Astruc.

- MARI SWEETIE. YOU’VE GOTTA LEARN TO CHECK A ROOM IS EMPTY BEFORE YOU RUN INSIDE AND START FREAKING OUT VERY LOUDLY. LUKA’S HEARD ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING.

- Luka is such a nice character. Why does he get to be so high quality when Felix has been turned into a cheese-smashing phone-stealing gremlin? I mean I KNOW why, but I’d like to think the showwriters are better than this. They’re not, but I’d like to think they are.

- WHAT A VIDEO MESSAGE. I love how Luka’s just sitting there grimacing while Mari speeds off into battle, he doesn’t know what she’s about to do but he knows better than to try stopping her.

- Back with Gabe and Nathalie. Is this what was being foreshadowed when Gabe claimed he wouldn’t be fooled by the boys’ identity switch twice? Is he GOING to be fooled again or will he be the one person who can tell immediately that this isn’t his son?

- “FELIX.” WOW, HE REALLY WASN’T FOOLED TWICE. RESPECT. He may have trouble getting up off the ground if he sits down too low but he can at least identify his child in a difficult situation like this, props to Gabe this week.

- “All this disappointment might just help us get rid of our unwanted guests!” SHUT YOUR MOUTH, FELIX IS A DELIGHT. The only unwanted guest here is Astruc on the writing team.

- “Felix... I told you that you couldn’t fool me twice.” Way to blow your identity in five seconds Gabe. I guess he hasn’t sent out the akuma yet so this might just be a personal monologue, but he starts addressing his victims directly so often at this stage that I’m really not sure what they can or can’t hear. SHIT’S RISKY.

- OH OKAY, SO HE’S SENDING THIS TRIPLE AKUMA AFTER FELIX? AND/OR ADRIEN, DEPENDING ON HOW HARD IT IS TO TELL THEM APART? I guess that’s what he means by getting rid of their guests, if the house is attacked by a monster (or monsters?) they aren’t going to want to stick around, but I REALLY HOPE YOU’RE TAKING ADRIEN’S WELLBEING INTO ACCOUNT HERE GABE OL BUDDY :/

- “TIKKI, SPOTS ON! MNUURGH” ME TOO MARINETTE. I’M REALLY ONLY 12 MINUTES INTO THIS.

- I’m gonna be honest, I’m not really interested in the girls. I was hoping for a real triple akuma (like Oblivio was apparently Alya and Nino together) but they’re all just villains we’ve seen before. There’s stuff I could comment on here but I just want to see more of Felix, that’s what I’m here for.

- “Nathalie, get Adrien to a safe place far from his cousin!” YOU’RE REALLY JUST GONNA SACRIFICE FELIX LIKE THIS. I guess that makes sense, I WAS complaining during Chat Blanc that Adrien is Gabriel’s weak point, so all things considered I’m not surprised that he’ll protect Adrien but just flat-out wants Felix dead. Fair enough.

- WOW. I THOUGHT ADRIEN WAS GOING TO BE HEROIC AND DEFEND FELIX BUT HE WANTS HIM DEAD TOO. Or was that a double bluff to make the akuma think he MUST be Felix so he can lead them away and keep his cousin safe? He’s just run off with a wild cackle so I’m thinking it’s the latter. HE’S A GOOD BOY AND A TRUE HERO.

- I also find it kind of funny how Nathalie will jump in harm’s way to defend him when there have been INNUMERABLE other episodes of Gabe just setting an akuma directly on Adrien for the hell of it. Maybe because there isn’t really any ‘harm’ here to start with; the three girls’ powers are probably the least violent of all the akuma we’ve seen so far.

- AM I REALLY ABOUT TO SEE FELIX DRESSED AS ADRIEN DOING KARATE. I HOPE HE’S GOOD AT IT.

- OH MY GOD HE IS GOOD AT IT. That’s cool! I was expecting him to totally flop considering how badly his imposter trick went down a few minutes ago, but it’s nice to see he’s as capable at fighting as he is at basketball. When do I get to see his magic card tricks?

- YEAH I FEEL THE SAME PLAGG. WHAT’S EVEN HAPPENING. Not that I think Adrien shouldn’t save Felix, I just want to know WHY Felix felt like he had to do this in the first place! I feel like “can I PLEASE get a waffle” except instead of watching the employees fight I’m watching this episode careening away with no pauses to explain what’s going on.

- FELIX C’MON. STOP CAUSING PROBLEMS ON PURPOSE. I can tell Garbage Man Astruc still has the reins here because causing even MORE trouble even AFTER Adrien saved his ass is a completely illogical course of action. PUT SÉBASTIEN BACK IN THE WRITERS CHAIR.

- “WHICH PART OF THE WORD ‘NO’ DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!” Oh perfect, great, can’t let this episode end without accusing Felix of not respecting consent! That’s a hot button issue and if Garbage Man Astruc can get him on that bandwagon then fans HAVE to hate this character! Great move! Fucking pillock!

- WOW CHAT THAT’S MEAN. I guess accusing Felix of having no friends is justified in the context of the episode but yikes :(

- Was that a flash of humiliation from Felix there? God will one of the writers PLEASE save this character, PLEASE don’t let this episode end without someone getting him out of the Garbage Man’s big meaty claws.

- Excuse me WHAT? Felix is talking directly to Papillon?! So he knows about all the Miraculous stuff?! Oh NO, is this about getting his dad back? I don’t know whether the One Wish is common knowledge (I don’t think it is?) but maybe Felix put the pieces together on his own back home, so all his behaviour here has been trying to incite an akuma that he can take advantage of to appeal to Papillon?! Or he could just be a bitch all on his own, which is probably what the Garbage Man would prefer, but this makes a lot of sense all of a sudden.

- BRO HE NEARLY DIED. BRO. BROOO.

- “I hope you’ve learned your lesson!” YOU’RE NOT EVEN GONNA ASK ABOUT THE PAPILLON THING? YOU CAN’T JUST TREAT THIS AS A REGULAR DISTURBANCE, FELIX KNOWS SHIT ABOUT THE MIRACULOUS YOU GUYS--

- FELIX’S MOM IS REALLY GOING TO BLAME HIS DEAD DAD FOR THIS? HARD YIKES. NO WONDER FELIX IS WEIRD.

- I’m expecting this isn’t over, because Felix still clearly wants something specific that he didn’t get, but I’ll take this cute hug for what it is. He didn’t have an evil expression behind Adrien’s back this time either and the music is all soft and nice, plus he FINALLY got a handshake from Gabe, but I absolutely do NOT imagine this episode will end without getting an extra shot in at the PV fans somehow. We’re not getting off this easy.

- Why doesn’t Gabriel want Adrien to go after Felix? Is he scared he’ll try to run off, or ask them to stay longer when he really wants to get rid of them?

- AHAHA FELIX STOLE GABE’S RING. WHAT A BRAT. Was that the “jewelry” he mentioned wanting in return for helping Papillon? I figured it was a Miraculous thing but maybe not.

- OHHH, look how much Felix loves his mom! This is such a sweet scene. I particularly like the idea that Amelie was trying to get the rings back to give one to Felix because the way she was speaking to Gabe made it sound like she wanted them Just Because. But you can’t mention some wild story connected to the rings and then not explain it! I want to know what that is, I want to know why Felix is so fascinated with it!!!

- ALSO, FELIX GETTING A BIG KISS RIGHT ON THE FOREHEAD. EXCELLENT. I’ll fucking BET this is another scene Sébastien sneaked in because it’s such an emotional quality shift from the whole clone mess. Like what the fuck even WAS that.

- Yep, Felix is still evil! WHY THOUGH. WHAT’S GOING ON. CAN I PLEASE GET A WAFFLE

- I was expecting a worse ending, but “Felix can’t ever come back to Paris because Gabriel will kill him with his bare hands if he does” is decent enough. If there’s no further confirmation (and NO, anything Garbage Man Astruc tweets later on does NOT fucking count so don’t try me) I’m going to take it that he WAS actually sorry for what he did to Adrien. That’s better than nothing.

WELL THAT WAS AN EPISODE. That actually wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be - it could have been a lot better but it could have been a lot worse too. The beginning and end were nice enough even if the middle part was Garbage Man Astruc’s usual atrocious mess of self-service, though I do particularly despise the hamfisted consent issue shoved in there just to generate extra reasons to hate the character. WE GET IT, YOU DON’T LIKE FELIX. OFF YOU FUCK.

I’ve slept on this next paragraph to give myself time to formulate some concrete thoughts about the plot, so... Well, it was a mess, that’s for sure. They spent way too much time establishing how oH sO eViL Felix was and not nearly enough time actually explaining his character.

Why is he acting out like this? What has he got against Adrien in particular? Is he really sore about Adrien not supporting him at his dad’s funeral or is that just what Adrien thinks is his problem? What was his relationship with his dad before he died? Was his troublemaking all about trying to provoke an akuma and ask Papillon to help him get his family rings back (which he was clearly trying to steal from the moment he walked through the door, only Gabe wouldn’t shake his hand the first time), or was that just a side effect of causing shit for no reason? Did he mean his apology to Adrien at the end? WHAT was the deal with the rings and the story attached to them? There’s a whole interesting story buried in here which just got completely overlooked by the emphasis on how terrible he was and that’s really disappointing.

I did like his damaged-but-still-good relationship with Adrien though, there’s still hope there and maybe Felix (if he ever shows up again, which I only hope he does if it’s NOT another excuse for Garbage Man Astruc to shit on the PV fandom again, for the love of FUCK don’t give this guy multiple opportunities) will start coming around and making the effort to be a better cousin since Adrien’s given him a second chance. I don’t know. What I liked just as much was Marinette actually barely being in this episode at all, for the first time since Gorizilla she’s ALLOWED to be the supporting character again and that’s GREAT.

I don’t really know what else to say. I’m exhausted. Adrien’s a darling and I think I prefer my Twin AU, though canon Felix being a delightful little gremlin who causes problems-on-purpose is something I can work with in the future too.

Thanks for coming on this... interesting journey with me! I posted a set of tweets last night which I’ll leave here to finish up:

#josie's art #josie talks about things #miraculous ladybug #felix agreste #this can go in my felix tag for organisation's sake #and NO i'm not going to start calling him felix vanillagrahams or whatever his canon name is; leave me alone #anyway here's the post everyone wanted; it got VERY LONG but i ain't even sorry #i usually liveblog on the PV discord server but i felt this deserved its own post of basically-the-same-thing-but-neater

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simplylove101 · 5 years

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Influential TV Shows

Okay this is kinda random and why I prob won’t tag the shows I list cuz this is more just something I wanted to get out of my head after watching J&J’s latest podcast where they were talking about this topic. They kept it to 7 shows each and while that would certainly be interesting to try, that’s kinda hard. lol I went about grouping some of them - shows that shaped me growing up, shows that impacted me/stuck with me, comfort shows/watch with the family, taught me about fandoms, etc. And saying something about each of them. Anyway, this is stupid but here we go lol:

The Shows Growing Up:

Sailor Moon: Okay, nobody make fun of me. lol This is the first show I remember really watching as a kid that wasn't Barney or whatever, something I decided to watch by myself and it actually had an ongoing story. And ofc it took time for me to realize that this was just an English dubbed version that they would play on Cartoon Network. Looking back on it, it’s a little cringey (the voice readings, Serena being a bit of a crybaby) but seeing girls, even if it was animated, kicking ass over evil as a group made an impression on me so it’s no wonder I would watch it religiously after school and was sad when they stopped airing it. And ofc I watched all the movies too. I was a shameless fan. lmao I also eventually read the manga and appreciated it.

Hey Arnold: As a kid, I would watch Cartoon Network & Nickelodeon (& eventually Disney when I got a little bit older), and I think one of the Nickelodeon shows that really stuck with me as a kid, like Rugrats, was this one. It had a wide range of really distinct characters. It was genuinely funny. And I did love the dynamic between Arnold & Helga (who was interesting & sometimes they would let her be the protagonist of an ep instead of him, like the therapist one which is a def fave) even if her crush was kinda as stalkerish as you can get why maintaining innocence. lol And you know what? I did totally watch the recent movie they did where it tied up loose ends like getting these two together and allowing her to grow as a character. Gotta say it was rewarding after all this time. lol

All That: I feel like I gotta put this here because I watched this show all the time as a kid. And I think it’s something that really taught me about comedy. I had seen things from Saturday Night Live growing up cuz of my parents but this was my Nickelodeon version with people that weren’t much older than me at the time so I could really get what was going on/enjoy it. It’s also the first place where we saw people like Amanda Bynes & Kenan Thompson & Kel Mitchell (which is partly why I later watched things like The Amanda Show and Kenan & Kel) What can I say? As a young person, it was just really cool seeing kids being funny. Yeah, there was some cheese but I didn’t care. It stayed with me.

Boy Meets World/Sister, Sister/Lizzie McGuire/Even Stevens: I kinda cheated here and bundled these shows because these are four of the shows I watched on Disney growing up (Disney showed reruns of Boy Meets World & Sister, Sister for the record) There were others like That’s So Raven, Suite Life, Wizards of Waverly sort of, Proud Family to name a few but these shows I picked have such iconic episodes that I still remember well and love. Like Even Stevens - musical episode hands down Idc. Boy Meets World - Scream-inspired Halloween ep for sure. Yes, there was cheesiness with all these shows. Sometimes very after-school special, but they shaped me I think. Also gotta mention, I remember thinking of Hilary Duff as my idol. lol

The Ones I Watched With the Fam:

That 70′s Show: Now the thing with my family is that we were one where for a time we would watch tv while eating dinner and my dad would have control of what channel we watched. It was always this way, which meant it would either be Law & Order or Seinfeld (the second one I was cool with and I almost included it on here cuz it’s such a staple comedy but eh,,, I appreciated it more later on. It felt more forced on me at the time) This is probably one of the only shows I can say my whole family truly agreed on watching all together tho, including my sister who generally watches trashy reality shows. This show will always remain one of my faves, because it was hilarious. It got a little weaker towards the end (We do NOT speak about Season 8) but I loved how it was a true ensemble sitcom where everyone brought something to the table and enjoyed the different dynamics between the group. The funny running gags, Jackie & Hyde still remain one of my all-time otps, and Kelso is probably the funniest & lovable dumb character I can think of (If nothing else, Ashton Kutcher was meant to play this part ok) It was nice to have something my whole family could enjoy together. It was a rarity so this show has a special place in my heart for that alone.

Joan of Arcadia: Another show that has a place in my heart, despite it only lasting 2 seasons and it ending on a bad note (major cliffhanger, still never fully making things right w/ Adam after destroying his character, ultimately S2 was problematic but still) because this is a show that I watched religiously (pun not actually intended here lol) with my mom every Friday it was on. What I loved about it was that the concept is centered around Joan talking to God yet it generally wasn’t being preachy. Joan wasn’t always willing to do what God wanted her to do, and things didn’t always turn out how she wanted. It was a kinda perfect blend for me and my mom to watch together. After this we were more willing to watch stuff as a pair cuz we were close but this started all that. I remember always being curious how God would appear to Joan cuz it was always changing, but there were some fave recurring ones like Cute Guy God, Goth God & Old Lady God to name a few. heh Joan was played wonderfully by the awesome Amber Tamblyn who could always make me cry (naturally she played my fave Tibby in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies too lol) and she had awesome friends in Adam & Grace (who were my faves) and family. I rewatched this show and you know, I’d say S1 holds up and even the first half of S2. Heck, the episode where Joan & Adam break up towards the end of it, while totally heartbreaking and PISSES me off cuz bad writing for Adam, was solid simply for the acting so there’s that. lol

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Putting this show under this category because this was a show that I mostly got into because my sister loved it growing up. I was really young when it came out so I mostly remembered bits & pieces when I later watched it when I got a little older. It stuck with me tho cuz ofc the awesome Sarah Michelle Gellar playing badass Buffy (she was my sister’s idol) and it was a genuinely funny and smart show. It also got dark too. It wasn’t always solid towards the end, but I think it mostly nailed the actual ending (why Anya had to die tho... Spike I got but ugh) Anyway, this was kinda a big deal cuz it was the only thing my sister and I really watched together that wasn’t bad reality television or me barely paying attention to Dawson’s Creek at the time lol This showed that my sister could have taste when she wanted to (lmao sorry)

The Carol Burnett Show: I had to mention this show because this is one that got me, really my family, through dealing with my mom’s dementia. We chose to care for her at home instead of putting her in a nursing home. We did this for 2 years until her death. And the one thing we (excluding my sister cuz her & old stuff don’t mix) could always count on cheering us up was this show. My dad told me that my mom loved this show growing up and that’s why we turned on for her. So luckily memory or no memory, she still had a sense of humor and she knew when to laugh. And with good reason. This show is hilarious. So iconic. Carol Burnett was/is rightfully loved dearly for this show. I wish I had more I could say, but this was truly a comfort show when I desperately needed it so I am forever grateful that it existed.

Honorable Mention: Young & Hungry - another show that got us through that dark period, my dad actually really enjoyed this, despite seeming skeptical, and eventually started calling it the “Josh & Gaby Show” lmao Only thing is we never finished it together so oops. Not so much influential maybe but worth mentioning it felt like since it was underrated, got me thru a tough time, was hilarious and I loved that cast a lot. Emily Osment deserved to be the lead of her own show. Comedy queen.

The Ones That Brought Out the Fangirl In Me AKA The Teen Years:

The O.C/One Tree Hill/Gossip Girl/The Vampire Diaries: Another category where I’m just grouping them up together cuz ultimately it wasn’t about high art with these shows. They were the staple teen shows that everyone was watching and well, I was one of those people. lol It all started with The O.C. It was one of those ‘at the right time’ kinda things cuz I just went into the 6th grade when S1 started and it was such a big hit that everyone was always talking about it and there were even shirts involved (I never went that far lol) but this is where my need to explore YouTube came and then I was making fanvids. Gossip Girl is the one where I actually inserted myself into a fandom for the first time. My goodness the cringe that came with it but it gave me two of the longest online friendships I’ve ever had so I don’t regret it. (Shoutout to @backtothestart02 here as one of them) And well, three of these shows taught me the toxicity that can come from fandom. So I’ve been less vocal/more aware with other shows because of it. There’s problematic stuff in all of these but they were entertaining most of the time despite frustration (lol)

Honorable Mention: Teen Wolf - Had to mention this one cuz this was a show where I had a group of friends who all watched this together and we talked about it til the end (even when we weren’t happy with it lol) I was never really vocal in the fandom cuz by this point I was wary of them (fandoms I mean), but it was nice to share a show with people who felt similarly about it. As a show, I truly loved it up to 3B. Some of my favorite episodes were the ones that almost felt standalone-ish (3x06 AKA Motel California still remains my fave to this day) Lastly, it’s because of this show I was introduced to Dylan O’Brien who I always refer to as my ‘always & forever’ guy so yeah lol

Maybe Superhero Shows Are Worth Watching lol:

The Flash/Daredevil/Cloak & Dagger/Runaways: So I’m someone who growing up, beyond Spider-Man and Batman, never really jumped at superhero movies. I still don’t to an extent but I’m more willing to watch stuff now. I think because when it comes to TV, I’m willing to check out at least an ep. I got into The Flash because my friend Lauren was really into it (and still very much is now) and wanted me to check it out so I did. I sorta watched Arrow before it until a point so I’d seen Barry’s appearances on it and remembered thinking he was precious so I wasn’t surprised that I liked him as a main character. I do think these later seasons have lost some quality but I think the earlier ones were very solid and Grant is perfect in the role. Daredevil... R.I.P. That show was so high quality so the fact that Netflix cancelled it is just rude. Now... Cloak & Dagger has been one of those surprises for me cuz it was such a slow burn that when it really got going it left me wanting more. That S1 finale was so solid. Cannot wait for S2. Love the dynamic between Ty & Tandy. Now Runaways isn’t perfect but it’s my biggest fandom right now and I’m proud of that fact. It’s a show that highlights diversity with 4 PoC leads & 4 kickass ladies (Nico & Gert are my bb girls), healthy ships including an LGBTQ couple currently as the main one (tho it is Gertchase that owns my heart), and overall a pretty great cast that meshes well like the thrown together family they portray. It even got me back into writing fanfic again. A miracle tbh. lol

Overall Just Amazing:

This Is Us: I just think that this show pulled me in the second they revealed that first plot twist in the pilot. It surprised me and then they kept doing that a bit after. Now it’s more about how it has the ability to make me cry every ep and feel things. It doesn’t always touch me the same it did in that first season (it was an emotional year for me tbh) but it does have a class act cast who can always pull at my heart strings.

Boardwalk Empire: This technically could have went under something I sort of watched with my dad, but it is kinda a weird show to share I guess. We didn’t usually watch it together (saved some awkward convos sometimes lol) but always talked about each episode weekly and it was kinda fun cuz it was usually in-depth. My dad still quotes things from it to this day. He also once said that he considers S1 the best TV season he’s ever watched. I agree that it was great. For me, the first 3 seasons are solid while the last 2 felt different but still pretty good. There was such quality to it. Great acting headed by Steve Buscemi. What can I say? I have a thing for gangster stories. I could say more but I’ll stop. lol

Stranger Things: The show that really turned me into a binge-watcher. I had just gotten Netflix and what show did I decide to watch on my birthday? This show. I had seen things in the media about the kids from it and I was like, they’re adorable!! And ofc I got hooked when I actually watched the show. It just has everything in it that I like: mystery, thrills, humor, hint of romance, awesome acting, music moments, nostalgia. This was my obsession for a while until I got into some other things but if you don’t think I’m totally pumped for S3, then you best believe I’m watching it all in a day if I can. lol

Community: This is a show that reminded me how a show can think totally outside of the box and still have a lot of heart with its comedy. I love situations where a group of misfits come together and become a family. I love that this show celebrates being different. Troy Barnes remains one of my favorite TV characters ever (& omg his friendship with Abed is pure goals!!) and Donald Glover played him perfectly. And Alison Brie is just adorable as Annie. Love this group of weirdos. The quality was different after S3 but I still adore it.

Into the Badlands: Have to mention this show because what it has been doing action-wise is just incredible. The fighting sequences are out of this world. I’m always excited to see how they top it. Also, an Asian male lead? Go dude! The whole cast is wonderful and everything is just high quality, ok? Also, that cinematography!! Can’t believe it’s ending when it comes back. Sadness.

One Day at a Time: This is more of a recent discovery for me (had friends who watched it and knew it was good but only decided to check it out not too long ago) but it’s already made its impact on me. This show has so much heart to it. The writers put so much care into their work when they bring up these controversial issues in the episodes. All while being totally hilarious (but also trust me, I manage to cry at least 1 or twice an ep lol) A show centered on a Cuban family, plenty of good rep for LGBTQ/non-binary people while also handling things like depression/anxiety, addiction, immigration, etc. It’s definitely making its mark on TV. Also, Rita Moreno is a living legend who I adore. I love this cast so much.

12 Monkeys: I. loved. this. show! I still think it had the best series finale that I have seen in a while. It wrapped up things so well that I was smiling for a while after watching it. I couldn’t believe that of all shows this one gave me a happy ending. lol Casserole remains one of my all-time ships because they were truly epic and pulled at my heart strings so many times. Jennifer Goines was my queen. But seriously, a show about time travel that managed to make sense? So impressed. And the visuals? gahhh

Friday Night Lights: Last, but most definitely not least, this show is just up there as one of the all-time bests IDC. The fact that at first glance the show seems centered only about football and it got me to keep watching definitely says something. lol This show had so much heart, the cast was excellent, an ending that was pretty much perfect. Coach & Tami Taylor were relationship goals. Honestly one of the best portrayals of a married couple I’ve ever seen because they were very much a team (while yes there was the occasional bickering that you gotta love) and it just felt real, you know? Also, it’s a show that proved that you can come back from a sophomore slump (yeah S2 was the worst season) and continue to be great.I can’t decide if it’s my favorite show of all-time but it’s certainly one of the first ones to come to mind. So glad I decided to give it a chance.

There’s probably a couple other shows I could list here but some I haven’t finished yet and don’t feel ready to put them on here yet. This is just what I could come up with.

#about me #influential tv shows

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lliaq · 6 years

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I’ve been thinking about this for a while and I guess it’s finally time to make some changes.

TL;DR: not purely a SPN blog anymore, ‘not spn’ tag goes away, not going to turn multifandom but you might see more animals, nature pictures and random shitposts (basically what it’s already been for a little while now), gonna be cleaning up my dash and unfollowing some people (nothing personal)

horribly long winded explanation below

A few weeks ago I opened tumblr, as one does, and scrolled for a bit and saw some spn related news and the only thing crossing my mind was “huh I really don’t care anymore” and that was kind of a bittersweet realization.

This show has been with me for literally half of my life. I started watching when I was 12 and I’m 24 now. That’ actually crazy to think about. Without getting too personal, my teenage years were pretty turbulent and SPN was the one thing that was always there, the only solid, steady thing that didn’t change - and I honestly don’t know where I would be today without it, or if I would be here at all.

You know, looking at it now it’s hilarious, but I was actually a Sam!girl in the beginning - how the times have changed. I mean I was 12 and thought he was cute lmao, but then I get older and more observant and I started seeing myself in Dean a lot more, and he’s always going to have a special place in my heart. I mean, personal feelings aside, he’s such a great and multi-faceted character. For someone who loves stories that’s always something I’m going to be drawn to.

Supernatural also taught me English. Obviously, I didn’t learn only through SPN, but it did help a great deal. I actually remember, 4x05 was the first time ever I watched something in english without german subtitles and I was so confused. I could barely keep up lol But I stuck with it and eventually got to the point where I could just watch the episodes as they aired, instead of waiting for dubs and being like 2 years behind - so hooray for that

It also led me to video editing back in the day (good ol’ windows movie maker days), and then again many years later. It inspired me to learn how to make graphics and gifs and draw. It’s given me a way to express myself through a variety of mediums, something that I’ll always be grateful for.

I actually kind of stopped watching once. Like, I was still watching, but it was more of a “it’s running in the background while I’m doing other stuff” kinda thing, you know. So I just missed a lot, but it was still there in my life, still present. I don’t remember exactly when this was, but I think it was somewhere around the end of S7/beginning of S8, and I didn’t get really back into it until early S11. I was going through a rough patch - and guess who was there, just like all the times before? Yup, SPN. So I rewatched everything from S1 and then I binge-watched convention panels and that was the first time I’d laughed in months.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to properly put into words how important this show has been for me throughout such formative years of my life, and later when I was struggling. The way I used to watch Baby when I was feeling anxious because the way it was shot made me feel like I was there in the car and it made me feel safe during a time when I didn’t even feel safe in my own home, or the way Carry on My Wayward Son hits me with a full blast of over a decade worth of emotions every time I hear the opening chords. It’s a lot of little things like that that have accumulated over the years into something beyond words.

But - things change, they always do. And look, I don’t want this getting into wank territory, but I also want to be honset. The direction that Dabb has taken the show is too far removed from what it used to be. I think he’s an okay writer, and I think he’s a bad showrunner. Those are two completely different pairs of shoes and I don’t think the second one is right for him. But that is just my opinion. At the end of the day, it is what it is, and whatever Dabb is doing - it just isn’t for me. So I’m taking a step back, maybe two.

Keeping up a blog solely dedicated to something that I’m barely interested in anymore just seems like a collosal waste of time and energy and I just don’t want to do it anymore.

As a result, I’ll no longer be tagging things as “not spn”. I will still tag other shows/movies accordingly, altough I don’t think you’ll be seeing that much of those anyway - I’m not really active in that many other fandoms. Most likely it’ll just be less Supernatural and more pictures of cute animals and scenery, shitposts and some other odd things here and there. Basically, I’m going back to what this was before SPN took over. Either way tho - if that is not your cup of tea, or if the tag change is an issue for you, feel free to unfollow me, no hard feelings And speaking of unfollowing: I’ll be doing that as well, because I just want less SPN on my dash (especially stuff that isn’t Dean). So if we’re mutuals and I unfollowed you: it’s nothing personal. I just want to be happy with the content on my dashboard again. As far as content creation goes, I’m not sure yet. Frankly, SPN has been the very opposite of inspiring for me for a while now, but we’ll see what S14 brings, I guess.

Okay, this got way longer than I intended (not that I’m surprised) but I guess it was nice to just say this all before I move on.

It’s been a wild ride, Supernatural, and you’ll always have a place in my heart, but it’s time. Thank you for everything

#me: just make a short post #my brain: okay so a 12 page essay right?#me: ...#anyways #I'll keep the name (for now)#maybe I'll change the cosmetics when I have time #but I thought it was time for a PSA so people can get out if they want lol

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5-pp-man · 2 years

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ok yknow what im actually making a post this time.

here’s some upcoming animes im looking foward to (in order of how many other mal users have added it to their list);

Summertime Render I love a good mystery/supernatural story, although my watch history might not reflect it, I’d say it’s my favourite genre combo. I guess I don’t really seek out anime like that because I like giving the impact of a story some space on it’s own, rather than oversaturate myself with it. I will, however, jump on stories like this when they catch my attention. Besides that, the animation for this also looks very nice, and the music they had in the pv also sounded promising. Tomodachi Game This looks like something 12 y/o me would’ve really been into. Like it’s either going to be surprisingly engaging or hilariously bad. Dance Dance Danseur Looks kind of bisexual. The art style is throwing me off a bit though (giant eyes...). Also the music in the pv sounds absolutely gorgeous.

Gunjou no Fanfare FINALLYY!!! BIG FUCKING SLURPIE LETS GOOOO No but seriously, this doesn’t really look like it’s going to be good. No, let’s keep it real, it’ll most likely be shit. But me and a friend have been talking about the possibility of a horse riding anime for years, and now it’s finally here. The animation looks bad. The art style and the colours are bland. But just think of the possibility of combining sports anime drama and horse girl drama. It could be so good. But it’s not going to be. Also Takahiro Sakurai is voicing thE FUCKING TEACHER AGAIN AAAAAA Ya Boy Kongming! Why’s this the only one I’m using the english title of? Because it’s hilarious. This’ll be my beloved subpar comedy of the season, which is mandatory for any respectable anime season. Tiger & Bunny 2 The one I’ve been waiting for the longest. My beloved. I fucking hate that they’re just dumping it on Netflix, that’s the easiest way to kill any anime (fe; jojo part 6). Interested in the new characters, but very worried they’re not gonna be able to juggle this many characters in total. Well, I’m not technically worried because I already know they won’t be able to. Source? Season 1, which had even less characters. Vampire in the Garden Looks to be a bit military focused which is my least favourite genre ever, BUT it has vampires AND it’s animated by Wit so you KNOW that animation will be on point. Also I think this is the only one on this list with only girl leads. Kaitou Queen wa Circus ga Osuki What can I say. I love phantom thieves. I love clowns. I love trans people. 3 hit combo. Odd Taxi Movie: In the Woods YEAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH All jokes aside though, after that ending there was some much needed conclusion (well, the ending was fantastic actually, but seeing a followup will be so so interesting). Free! Movie 5: The Final Stroke - Kouhen This will be the end of an era. God. I’m gonna miss this series. First anime I ever watched (fully). Inu-Ou Looks like a very (visually) interesting movie with a banger soundtrack, BUT judging from the description it might have some ableist undertones...? I’ll have to see it to know though. That’s it for spring

now onto summer;

Shadows House 2nd Season I really enjoyed season 1 so I’m excited for more! :) I heard some stuff was cut from s1 but that they’re going to reintegrate it in s2, fingers crossed on that going well. Tokyo Mew Mew New ♡ I’ve actually seen the original (albeit the dutch dub) on tv when I was little, so I’m interested to see if this reboot’ll be any good. It looks fine so far. Also, since this is an anniversary anime, I wonder if it’ll get crazy popular and just keep going on forever, like a certain other commemorative anime... Kami Kuzu☆Idol Mandatory subpar comedy of the season. Yurei Deco Looks interesting, it’s got fun looking environments and characters! And I really like the song they used in the teaser :) Sasaki to Miyano: OVA The actual title for this is way too long lmao. This show just ended but it was cute, so I like that more has been confirmed so soon. Osomatsu-san: Hipipo Oh boy another movie! It’s like this franchise just won’t ever end huh! Anyways, I loved the previous movie, season 3 bored the shit outta me, this movie looks like it’s going to be racist. So all in all the prospects aren’t looking great. That’s it for summer

now onto the stuff with no set season yet; Kumichou Musume to Sewagakari Obligatory subpar comedy of the season. Also I love yakuza stuff. High Card The style for this oughghh. It looks so good. Also the concept sounds very cool, hope they can execute it well. Eternal Boys Middle aged idol anime. Need I say more. Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu 2nd Season This was my required comedy of the season, and now it’ll be just that, again :) Opus.COLORs 3 childhood friends drama. What more could you want. Shiguang Dailiren II Literally one of if not the best anime(ted series) I’ve ever watched. Beyond hyped for this. Ani ni Tsukeru Kusuri wa Nai! 5 This show is never gonna end and I don’t want it to. Yuri!!! on Ice The Movie: Ice Adolescence Is this movie ever gonna come out or what. SK∞ (Shinsaku Anime Project) What is this gonna be. Is this still a thing or what. Sasaki to Miyano (Shinsaku Anime) Even more of this! And so soon too! ok thats it that was way too much. I skipped most popular animes because I like those but also I don’t really care enough to mention them because everybody will be watching them anyways.

#tompost #tomtalks #spring 2022 #summer 2022 #interest stacks

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squirenonny · 6 years

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Clone Shiro Theory in Season 5

Okay, so this mess was inspired by talking with several people on Tumblr and discord about the Clone Shiro Theory in the wake of Season 5, as well as seeing posts in the fandom tags. And...I’ve noticed some common themes in arguments against this theory.

Please note that this is not meant to be a direct rebuttal to anyone, more... working out for myself why I’m so convinced that Shiro is a clone because I’ve got all these nebulous thoughts running around in my head and I need to organize them somehow. So feel free to read, respond, reblog, ect, but also feel free to ignore this completely if Clone Shiro isn’t your thing.

Season 5 spoilers and a very long post under the cut.

I’m going to break this down into three parts:

I. Why a clone and not something else (mind control, magical spyware, ect)

II. Why I won’t accept anything but clones at this point without crying foul

III. Clone Shiro vs Galra Keith

I. Why a clone?

I think at this point there’s no way to deny that something happened to Shiro in Operation Kuron. We’ve seen Haggar spying through him, the headaches are a recurring theme, and his behavior has changed to the point that he’s going behind his team’s back and lashing out at the team in ways he hasn’t before.

With most of the proof, you can make several arguments. Haggar’s mind-controlling him directly, but he still is Shiro. Haggar’s spyware is giving him headaches that’s making him more testy than usual, but he’s still acting under his own free will. Ect. But I think there is enough evidence to give the clone theory specifically an edge over other explanations.

Shiro’s hair grew roughly a foot during his captivity between seasons 2 and 3. There’s no clear answer on how long this was, but it seems like a fairly short time period. At the start of the season, Keith is still raw over Shiro’s disappearance, and though they’ve done a few missions without Shiro, they haven’t run up against anything that required Voltron. Which... considering how often they form Voltron both before and after this period, suggest to me that we’re talking a time frame of weeks at the longest. Then episodes 1-3 happen in pretty quick succession, with the lion switch and Keith immediately charging off, almost out of spite. We pick up with Shiro a day or two before episode 3 (which is where Shiro finds Voltron and then loses them.) He spends another week chasing them before Keith and Black find him. All told, this is probably in the realm of one month since his disappearance, maybe two. For reference, human hair grows on average half an inch per month. Shiro is shown to have significantly more hair growth in this time frame than anyone else gets in the entire series--even people who have been prisoners for extended amounts of time. Matt and Sam each get maybe a few inches, and Shiro’s hair was kept short during his stint in the Arena. This tells me that Shiro’s hair growth for The Journey is not an artist’s exaggeration to show that he’s had it rough. If it is, then it’s sloppy, and the animators on this show are typically pretty attentive to detail. If this is intentional, I can only conclude that Shiro has been in captivity for far longer than the timeline allows and/or the clone was grown in a short time and the accelerated growth also affected his hair.

Calling attention to the difference between Shiro(s1-2) and Shiro(s3+). These, I’ll admit, are more suspicious than damning, but they’re worth mentioning. The animators made a deliberate decision to give Shiro a new look after his return. We’ve seen people in different outfits, and Allura has a few different hairstyles (up, down, mice poofs), but no one has changed their “default” outfit like Shiro has, only their armor or other special outfits (pajamas, swimsuits, ect), and no one has gotten a new haircut, except Pidge (in backstory, as a plot point) and Sam and Matt (compare to Shiro on the Kerberos mission vs post-escape in s1.) They want you to be able to tell the difference between Shiro 1 and Shiro 2. At the same time, they call attention to this change by having Shiro comment about his “weird headache.” The writers also made a point of having the Galra refer to Shiro differently in the context of Operation Kuron (Subject Y0XT39 vs Prisoner 117-9875.) From a writing standpoint, this is a strange choice--not necessarily significant, but likely so because both designations are mentioned in passing and without context, so tossing both out there without reason is more confusing than world-building. And in-universe, it tells us that the people in charge of Operation Kuron couldn’t or didn’t want to refer to prisoners by their already-assigned number. Possibly this is for internal organization--i.e. if not all subjects were prisoners or if they had completely random prisoner numbers. But if it is clones, they would need new ways to identify them, since they’d all have the same prisoner ID. Again, not proof, but suspicious.

Shiro appeared in the Voltron bond. And it seems as though the Shiro with the team didn’t. Not just his head is fuzzy about it. He wasn’t there. Did you notice how Shiro-in-the-bond was translucent, only seen from a distance, and almost completely lacking in detail in the head area? Maybe to obscure the fact that he has his old haircut (both from us and from Lance)? Did you notice that he didn’t appear with everyone else, and how desperate he was to communicate with his team? There are two Shiros. The only question is whether the distinction is physical (clones) or mental (mind control with the real Shiro’s mind completely suppressed by Haggar’s persona)

Following up on this point, Shiro himself is questioning things. If this was a case of mind control, of Haggar taking over Shiro’s body, there is no way she would allow her puppet to question his own identity. If she has direct control, she certainly wouldn’t mention it to Lance, and if the real Shiro is still in there waiting to take his body back, she absolutely would put safeguards in to make sure her controlled personality stays in place.

And of course, the single biggest argument in favor of Clone Shiro: Operation Kuron = literally, “Operation Clone.” This can’t be a coincidence. It can’t. With everyone working on the show (how many of whom are anime fans and have at least a rudimentary familiarity with Japanese pronunciation?), and with Lauren Montgomery having talked about how Laith is a much better ship name for Keith and Lance, because Laith means Lion, I do not believe that they accidentally chose a name for this major plot point that means “clone” in Japanese (which is either Shiro’s native language or at least connected to his heritage.) I also don’t believe that it was chosen as a red herring to make us think this is all about clones when it really isn’t, because the target audience (which is, what 8-12 year olds?) will not pick up on that hint. It fails as a distraction for the core demographic, which makes me think it’s far more likely that it was meant as an easter egg and the writers didn’t necessarily intend for people to pick up on it. It’s like... This post about English name symbolism in FMA. It’s a clever nod to character traits for people who are in the know, but then you give that same name to an English speaker and it’s almost laughably on the nose. For people who don’t speak Japanese (most of Voltron’s audience) and don’t have social media to point it out (unfortunately, comparatively little of the fanbase), “Operation Kuron” is a subtle nod. In a novel, where people likely won’t engage with the fandom until they’re finished, it would work. Hell, for people not actively engaged in fandom, it works. The problem is that we’ve had months upon months and the power of the internet, so now everyone knows that JK Rowling named her werewolf Wolfy McWolfenstein the Galra named their secret clone project Project Clone. That isn’t bad writing. It’s perfectly fine writing tossed to the wolves of a global fandom that loves to theorize.

(Also, I was curious, so I checked, and “Operation Kuron” is called the same thing in the Japanese dub, so lol if it’s not clones, Dreamworks is going to have some explaining to do.)

II. Why having the answer be “Not Clones” at this point would be bad writing

Okay, see, this is way more subjective than part I, which was already pretty subjective. But here’s the thing. Dreamworks has set up Clone Shiro, almost blatantly so. I can forgive the fact that this twist is obvious to the Tumblr fandom, at least, because (a) the show is for kids, so the foreshadowing has to be a little bit more obvious, and (b) you cannot judge subtlety based on thousands of people working together to figure things out. Most of the fandom figured out Galra Keith before season 2 dropped. Some people hated it, but then, some people were incredibly resistant to the Clone Shiro Theory--still are. It feels like everyone and their grandmother figured these twists out way in advance, but if you took away the part where we all screamed about it and laid out our arguments? If you somehow reached out to the viewers who aren’t involved in fandom? I’ll bet you good money that a lot fewer of them have picked up on the hints. (And if they have, they aren’t nearly as certain about it.)

But if we get to season 6 and suddenly find out Shiro has been Shiro all along, just with magic in his head letting Haggar watch him? I’m going to be disappointed, because that resolution is almost guaranteed to leave plot holes. How did Shiro get recaptured/how did he disappear from the Black Lion in the first place? Why did his hair grow so fast? What’s with the change in behavior (I’m not talking about the snappishness and arguing with Keith and Lance, I’m talking about directly undermining the very teamwork he’s been the single biggest proponent of from the start by going behind the team’s back again and again)? Why didn’t Black accept him at first? Why did he have to prove himself to her again, after they’d been more closely bonded than anyone? Why was the project named Operation Kuron? Why did Shiro see another, hollow-looking, him on the exam table in that flashback? Why hasn’t he used the bayard yet?

The show might explicitly answer some of these, but I think we all know by now that it won’t slow the pace long enough to explain all of them. The clone theory explains or implies answers to almost all of these (especially if you couple it with “the original Shiro is stuck in the astral plane” or some such.)

So, no. Clone Shiro isn’t a twist at this point. Maybe it’s just me, because I’m usually pretty good at picking up on foreshadowing and figure out most twists ahead of time, especially if I’m given time to ruminate. But I’m fine with not having big, shocking reveals. Something doesn’t have to be a surprise to be interesting. I don’t have to feel like I was clever for figuring it out. I can’t wait for season 6 because I’m desperate to know that both my sons (Shiro and Ryou) are going to be okay--because I think, at least, that the Shiro with the team right now is not being set up as a villain. He may become a martyr, but he’s meant to be sympathetic, regardless of where he came from.

In the end, I don’t mind that the Clone Shiro Theory seems obvious, because the foreshadowing is aimed at kids and the adult fandom is bound to pick up on those hints faster. And clones explain everything so well that I honestly don’t think any other answer would make for a satisfying conclusion to the Kuron arc.

III. Clone Shiro vs Galra Keith

Okay, now this is interesting, because these are the two main theories that the fandom swarmed. One turned out to be true, and I honestly think the other will be proven right in June.

Also interesting is that, in terms of episode count, they both are paced about the same. It’s just that the Galra Keith plot happened over the course of 1.5 full seasons, while the Operation Kuron plot is going on 3.5 half seasons. Same number of episodes, but more spread out and with more breaks in between. Galra Keith was dropped into a single seven-month gap with a growing fandom and then confirmed immediately with the next batch of episodes. Operation Kuron was introduced in August, fans jumped on it, season 4 dropped, the fandom was split on it (because, admittedly, s4 didn’t add anything to the argument that couldn’t be explained by trauma and/or mounting pressure on Shiro), fans wrote a shitton of Ryou hcs/fic and drew a lot of Ryou art, season 5 dropped, with major new developments but no confirmation, and now we’ve got another break. At the earliest, it will be confirmed or debunked in June, a full ten months after it was first hinted, and with three season breaks for people to theorize, create fanworks, and otherwise dig into Camp Clone.

Can you imagine if the first two seasons had been done like that? (Note: I know I’m fudging the midpoint of season 1 a little bit, but bear with me here. I want to do a thought experiment.)

Season 1: We get hints of Keith’s knife and the major red flag of Keith opening doors that have been implied to be species-locked, so Hunk has to use a Galra arm to get past one door in the same episode Keith uses Galra tech with no problems. There’s also the word of god that says Keith is an orphan, so speculation runs wild. The fandom is split, with a small but vocal group on Team Galra, a vocal opposition, and a whole bunch of people on Team “Can’t we just wait and see what the writers have in mind, guys? We don’t have to fight!”

Season “2″: Little movement on Galra Keith Theory specifically, and both sides have arguments for what little we do get. Are those purple patches the effect of Galra heritage or is that supposed to tell us Quintessence does freaky things? Does Zarkon’s, “You fight like a Galra soldier,” mean anything (and is there a comma there/does that change the meaning? I can only imagine the comma drama if that had been one of the only new points for debate after three months.) The only major development is explicit confirmation of the species lock on Galra tech. All this is exacerbated by growing concerns in the autistic fanbase who worry that Team Galra Keith is starting to twist the legitimate autistic traits to support their own theory. (Believe me, I was there, and I was scared of Galra Keith for a good long while because of this.) The debate starts to turn bitter.

Season “3″: Ulaz shows up, we see Keith’s knife, we have Keith worrying that Zarkon “imprinted” on him, and though nothing comes of that, it still says something that the writers are even willing to acknowledge the theory. The season ends with no clear answer, but by now most of the fandom is on Team Galra. There’s been fic. There’s been art. There are headcanons and metas galore. The evidence is all laid out, and there’s really no denying it at this point. Some people are angry about it, and lots of people are hoping for Altean Keith or something, just because it would still be a surprise.

Season “4″: The Galra Keith reveal happens in episode one or two, and literally no one is shocked. Some people are angry, everyone is pissed that there wasn’t more fallout after four seasons of buildup. But we all knew it was coming.

Think, in contrast, how the Clone Shiro Theory might have gone if we hadn’t switched to half seasons. (In a hypothetical world where the theory is true, and it’s getting revealed next season.)

Season 3 now covers everything through Naxzela. Operation Kuron is huge in fandom discussion, but it’s partially overshadowed by everything else that happened--Keith joining the Blade, Lotor’s offer of talks, Keith’s near sacrifice, Matt’s return... Fewer people are as adamant about the clone theory because we’ve already seen Shiro back in the Black Lion and fighting alongside the team. There are lingering doubts, and people still lay out all their arguments, but it’s less splitting hairs and more the broad range we saw with Galra Keith, from adamant arguments on either side to a broad, casual fanbase in the middle who doesn’t know if it’s gonna happen and honestly couldn’t care less but sure as hell likes to play around with the idea. Like with Galra Keith, there is some evidence that’s either straight-up confirmation or lazy writing (Keith opening doors vs kuron meaning clone) but for the most part people are still uncertain.

Season “4″ drops and hits us all hard with new evidence. People are getting behind the Clone Shiro Theory in earnest now, but somewhere near the end of the season it’s confirmed, forestalling another round of theorizing. Lots of people are caught off-guard, lots of people are edge-of-their-seats “Holy crap, is that actually true??” The major, irrefutable pieces of evidence (Ulaz, Keith’s knife, his nightmares vs Shiro lying to the team, Haggar’s spying, Shiro calling out to Lance in the bond) are immediately followed up by confirmation.

Can you see how the spacing of the episodes drastically changes the perception of the theory? In all honesty, Galra Keith and Clone Shiro feel extraordinarily similar in terms of pacing, evidence, and alternate explanations--it’s just that Keith’s story happened much quicker, in fandom time. I can’t fault the writers for that. I just think half seasons were a bad idea, especially when the show was clearly written with full seasons in mind.

TL;DR Version:

There’s enough evidence that specifically points to clones that I’m 99% convinced that Shiro is a clone at this point. That last 1% is reserved for skepticism because, while I don’t believe the writers could provide me with a different explanation that fits as well as clones, they might try in the name of pulling one over on the viewers.

Galra Keith and Clone Shiro are set up in a very similar manner, and the latter suffers primarily from half season releases and a fandom who knows what tricks to look for.

The fact that the show is geared at a younger audience and so isn’t going to be super subtle is not a mark against it, but unfortunately if you’re active in the fandom, there’s a good chance you’re going to see a solid argument re: upcoming plot twists that spoils the surprise.

#voltron #voltron season 5 #operation kuron #shiro #kuron #voltron meta #voltron spoilers #season 5 spoilers

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mytrumarareviews · 7 years

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Nostalgia Glasses: Sailor Moon (S1: Episodes 10-19)

It’s been a while since I did something for this. Well I have the stress of school and somebody else in my group is writing up our report (I did most of the research for said report, I got a free pass), so i guess I’ll do this for a bit.

I also want to give a small reminder that I will be skipping past any filler episodes, giving a small summary of what their plot is, especially if I remember them in great detail.

Episode 10 (7 in the dub) - An Un-charmed Life

This is the episode where I switched to the subs because of some of the background voices and some of the terrible lip syncing in the dub. This will be a great choice later in Season 3 when we meet

And after having watched the first half of the episode dubbed and then moving to the sub I’ve noticed a lot of massive character differences. Beryl is a lot more aggressive when it comes to her follower’s failure. She outright tells Jedite to kill Usagi and Ami. As for Ami, her character is so much more, well, developed by this point in the anime. Where as in the dub she’s just a smart person, in the Japanese she pushes herself harder in her studies than she was before so she could be a better senshi. The dub really messed up in the writing department and I’m honestly really glad that I switched over to the sub. And in the dub Usagi just kind of puts her homework off where as in the sub she simply states that the bus isn’t even there yet. Furthermore, in the Japanese they’re talking about getting a charm to ward off evil whereas in the dub their talking about charms to get boyfriends. The Japanese makes the female characters in this scene seem human (showing that they’re afraid of potential evil, and rightfully so) where as the dub completely changes their characters to be single dimensional rather than having any actual individual personality traits. Both Naru and the other girl are animated in such a way that they can go from being distraught to hopeful, an aspect that is taken out of the English version with the little bit of poor dubbing they did.

Another changed aspect is that Rei’s grandpa is teasing young women, or more so hitting on them in a non-aggressive way in the original Japanese, in the dub he forgot his glasses so he’s mistaking the Usagi and her friends for the girls he’d seen before. In the same scene Usagi’s wording alludes to her saying that she finds Rei attractive, in a way she’s hitting on Rei the first time she sees her. Yeah, in the original Japanese Usagi was comfortable enough with her sexuality that she will subtly hit on other girls. She’s heterosexual though, as shown later in the series.

Overall this episode is actually a pretty solid episode that heavily develops the relationship between Rei and Usagi in only a few moments.

Episode 11 - Nightmare in Dream Land

This episode is filler, there are other episodes, including Rei’s introduction episode that do the same thing as it but better, so I’m just going to have to skip it.

The episode revolves around the main cast at this point going to an amusement part they suspect has something to do with the Negaverse. It turns out they were right and the amusement park is being run by Jadeite, who is trying to steal life energy from children. They stop him again and aside from a bit of relationship development between Rei and Usagi there isn’t much to this episode. Unless you have fond memories of the episode from your childhood I’d suggest skipping it.

It’s also coincidental that this episode shares a name with a Kirby game that came out a year later in Japan.

Episode 12 - The Luxury Cruise is a Trap

This episode more revolves around Jadeite’s sexism and his willingness to use women to create get what he wants, even if it means that he’d have to start a relationship with them after. Not much else happens in this episode other than Usagi teasing Rei about the cruise being romantic. Though it does do something that not a lot of other episodes do in developing the relationship between Rei and Ami for a bit. It also introduces us to Tethys, somebody who was on the same level as Jadeite who had a crush on him. It’s kind of interesting that in an episode about stealing love energy from couples, the villain of the week was after Jedaite’s heart, doing this work out of her own initiative instead of just following orders.

Overall this was a decent episode and I really liked the design of the villain of the week in this one.

Episode 13 - The End of Jadeite

So, I didn’t write any notes during this episode because it was a very good episode. It’s the final episode that we’ll be seeing Jadeite as a villain due to this being his final chance but at the same time his sexist speech during this episode makes him all the more unpleasant.

It’s an episode that really show why I think this series is very progressive rather than being regressive and enforcing female stereotypes like a lot people seem to think it does. Yes the skirts are short and their legs are overly long as far as design goes but at the same time they’re strong female characters who don’t require the help of a man. The only time Tuxedo Mask shows up in the series is when they’re about to die and even then he never finishes the fight for them, he simply stops them from dying while they defeat the main villain. I’ll get to it later in this series analysis but the final season completely lacks Tuxedo mask, in fact the entire final season is a flipped damsel in distress type of plot.

All in all I think this is where the series originally took off for me.

I also like how Jadeite’s more aggressive approach to fighting and the fact that his sexist views caused him to underestimate the senshi was his eventual downfall. At this point Beryl doesn’t even give him another chance to prove himself and freezes him for eternity, it shows a merciless side to character.

Episode 14 - Nephrite’s Evil Crest

This episode serves to develop the villains character a bit more while giving us a peek at Zoisite, a villain that we’ll see later on. Now Zoisite is a man in the original Japanese but a woman in the English dub. This is due to his more feminine appearance and homosexual relationship with Kunzite that will be established later on. The dubbers of the time didn’t really think that the American public was ready to have a homosexual relationship in a family friendly show, regardless of if it’s a villain or not. I mean this logic would be considered bullshit now with shows like Modern Family that prominently stars a homosexual couple raising a Vietnamese girl.

This episode is also the start of Naru’s character arc. We start to see a more vulnerable side of her than we’ve seen before in the series. She’s starting to open up and and become a much more important character, and there’s reason for that for at least the next couple of seasons. But I’ll get to that later.

This episode also shows how Nephrite takes the energy, instead of taking energy from a mass amount of people he’s taking it from a single person at who’s at peek effort. He’s much more calculated in his approach than Jadeite was and that’s due to his lack of sexism.

At this point I’ve started to question why they don’t just leave Japan and collect energy elsewhere but I guess that would make for a really boring series.

Episode 15 to18 - All the filler you can handle

So I won’t be covering any of these episodes in any detail because they don’t really give anything to the show. They only really serve to drive it home that Usagi and Rei are friendly rivals, Nephrite and Zoisite are not so friendly rivals, and that there might be a connection between Mamoru and Tuxedo Mask. They serve to show that Nephrite can’t handle this as well as he thought he could and that maybe Jadeite was actually having trouble defeating them.

Episode 19 - A Love Letter from Tuxedo Mask

This episode serves to do a couple of things.

It develops Naru’s character quite a bit more than before and pretty much makes it so that the last bit of filler we had was completely unnecessary by directly referencing episode 14. She’s a teenager who’s infatuated with a handsome man and doesn’t realize that her infatuation with him isn’t actually real love. This is something that a lot of people, both male and female, experience.

Nephrite is realizing that the power of love creates a lot more energy than any negative emotion he can conjure in other people, this allows him to gather her life energy and actually get away with it in this episode, which is very different for an episode of Sailor Moon. I wouldn’t actually say that there was a villain of the week this episode, instead we get a better look at Nephrite’s powers and get to see more of Zoisite’s jealousy toward him.

There’s also a pretty large amount of relationship development between Tuxedo Mask and Usagi, showing that he does, in fact, care for her even though he doesn’t understand why. It’s also officially revealed that Mamoru is Tuxedo Mask and that he transforms when Usagi does.

#sailor moon #season one #nostalgia glasses #part 2 #episode 10 #episode 11 #episode 12 #episode 13 #episode 14 #episode 19 #review #good #anime #nostalgia #feminism

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