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wits-writing · 3 hours
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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Quick Review)
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Director: Adam Wingard, Screenplay: Terry Rossio, Simon Barret, and Jeremy Slater
Resurrecting this inactive blog and copy pasting this from over on my Letterboxd because I need to spread the word about this movie as much as possible!
No Spoilers, fwiw:
Well...
This fucking owns!
Easily the best stuff from Godzilla vs Kong was Kong journey to discover more about himself and his connections to the Monsterverse's delightfully bonkers lore around The Hollow Earth. Positioning him as a member of an honorable line of warriors.
The New Empire effectively triples down on that by making Kong this movie's actual protagonist over any of the human characters (who are pretty fun to watch and play their support roles in this plot damn well.) The giant ape's story playing out as a quest for purpose within his new home in the Hollow Earth. One he discovers once he comes across other apes like him living under the tyrannical fist of the Skar King. Kong's challenge becomes figuring out how to get his rival Titan, Godzilla, on his side for the inevitable showdown with this new threat.
It's a highly fantastical tale, made better by the fact that this movie trusts the audience to follow along with it as plays out wordlessly. Only having the human characters directly commentate on it after the important actions have played out.
And all of this would be enough to leave me satisfied, but this movie actually has a fair amount of surprises up its sleeve that none of the marketing gave away.
So I'll just say, if you've been enjoying the Monsterverse up to this point, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is more than worth your time!
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wits-writing · 8 months
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This was the Wacky, Looney Tunes, crazy anime battle ever!
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wits-writing · 8 months
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The anime has finally shown Luffy hitting his peak!
So figured I’d bump this essay if mine from last year covering why Gear 5 is a culmination of every theme One Piece has ever touched on
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My Favorite Panel in One Piece (or, "Why I'll Happily Reread These 1054+ Chapters Any Time!")
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At the start of April this year, I actually decided to do one of those things I always tell myself I’m going to do but rarely get around to doing.
I reread/caught up on One Piece!
By late May, I was officially caught up… Just in time for Eiichiro Oda to announce a month-long hiatus that concluded this week.
Which left me with a whole month to percolate on every possible thought I could ever have about One Piece and what it means to me; Favorite moments, characters, arcs, etc., plus the recurring themes that One Piece has been built on from the beginning.
Within those thoughts, especially ones concerning the about-to-conclude Wano Arc, I kept coming back to one favorite in particular…
My favorite panel in all 1054 chapters of one of my favorite comics of all time. The one panel that sums up what One Piece means to me, what makes it worth reading even stripped of all the in-depth worldbuilding that’s kept it fresh for 25 years as the Straw Hat Pirates voyage from one island to the next. 
[MAJOR SPOILERS from here on]
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wits-writing · 9 months
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Next Day Reblog!
[Patreon] [Ko-Fi]
“A Wonderful Experience”: Why Transformers: EarthSpark and Nightshade Matter
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I’ve been a Transformers fan to one degree or another for as long as I can remember. Whether it’s early memories of watching Beast Wars, renting the G1 animated film on VHS from Blockbuster, or reading the numerous excellent comics that have come over the years, I’ve always found something to love about this franchise. So, I was probably going to find time to check out the 2022 CGI animated series Transformers: EarthSpark eventually no matter what. But one little bird changed that from an “I’ll get around to it eventually” to “I need to make watching this show a priority.”
A little bird by the name of Nightshade (voiced by Z Infante)!
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I’d already heard from people I trust about EarthSpark’s quality as a series, but finding out about the franchise’s first prominent, explicitly nonbinary Transformer got me eager to dive in. I’ve discussed characters I relate to and read nonbinary themes into in the past, but getting a chance to see a show in a franchise I love feature that kind of representation with intent was exciting. Given the fact I’ve written 3000 words analyzing the character of Nightshade now, it’s easy to say I wasn’t disappointed!
The topic of gender and how it relates to the Transformers as characters has been one of many long, exhausting fandom debates over the franchise’s nearly four decade history. I’m not here to relitigate any of that, so take it as read from here on out that the Transformers as characters do have and express gendered identities throughout the history of all its incarnations. 
To give a quick primer on EarthSpark as a whole (and why it’s great) before digging into Nightshade’s character in specific:
The series is set fifteen years after the end of the Autobot/Decepticon War. The bots that managed to survive the fighting and remain on Earth are presumed to be the last of their species. All of them are stuck in a holding pattern where the only options currently viable are a life in hiding or working alongside the government-funded alien threat detection/response agency GHOST. Optimus Prime and Megatron head up the latter efforts, in the hope of finding some peaceful balance between humans and Transformers going into the future (though neither of them are fully at ease with the situation, as GHOST clearly has ulterior motives of their own.)
The grim outlook for the Cybertronians takes a turn for the better with the birth of two new Transformers. The Earth-sparks of the show’s title (called “Terrans” throughout the series), Twitch and Thrash, who are bonded to the human children Robby and Mo Malto. Helped by Optimus, Megatron, and the Malto kids’ parents, GHOST agent Dot and her husband Alex, the decision is made to keep the Terrans a secret until the extent of what their existence could mean for the Transformers future as a species is fully understood. The Terrans become an official part of the Malto Family (lovingly referred to as “Malto-bots” by the other characters.) At the halfway point of the first season, in the episode “Age of Evolution”, this unconventional family unit expands further with the birth of three more Terrans, including Nightshade.
Between puzzling out the Terrans’ existence, hiding from GHOST, and fighting threats like the human mad scientist Mandroid, there’s a lot of thematic meat on the bone of this series’ setup. The main one I’m interested in digging into through the lens of Nightshade’s characterization is how the Terrans are written to feel like kids figuring out who they want to be as they grow up. Transformers has a history of designating one or more bots in its series central casts as the rookie/kid character, not insignificantly the Terrans’ primary mentor, Bumblebee, has been traditionally positioned as that very rookie. EarthSpark adding the narrative weight of representing a potential for all Transformers, particularly in how they’ll relate to humans while living on Earth, onto these characters gives more meaning to them being under that role.
The Terrans learn lessons about who they want to be and who they can/can’t trust (not always determined by old alliances like Autobot/Decepticon) from the older Transformers and humans alike. Also proving through their actions everything new they’ll have to offer the world they call home through the gift of their existence. Each Terran has been given the appropriate space so far to have their characters develop, each in their own directions, through this theme. 
Nightshade is exemplary of this, best understood through looking at how they’re characterized before/after their first focus episode “Missed Connection”, about them forming a bond with Decepticon scientist Tarantulas.
[SPOILERS for EarthSpark beyond this point]
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wits-writing · 9 months
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“A Wonderful Experience”: Why Transformers: EarthSpark and Nightshade Matter
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I’ve been a Transformers fan to one degree or another for as long as I can remember. Whether it’s early memories of watching Beast Wars, renting the G1 animated film on VHS from Blockbuster, or reading the numerous excellent comics that have come over the years, I’ve always found something to love about this franchise. So, I was probably going to find time to check out the 2022 CGI animated series Transformers: EarthSpark eventually no matter what. But one little bird changed that from an “I’ll get around to it eventually” to “I need to make watching this show a priority.”
A little bird by the name of Nightshade (voiced by Z Infante)!
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I’d already heard from people I trust about EarthSpark’s quality as a series, but finding out about the franchise’s first prominent, explicitly nonbinary Transformer got me eager to dive in. I’ve discussed characters I relate to and read nonbinary themes into in the past, but getting a chance to see a show in a franchise I love feature that kind of representation with intent was exciting. Given the fact I’ve written 3000 words analyzing the character of Nightshade now, it’s easy to say I wasn’t disappointed!
The topic of gender and how it relates to the Transformers as characters has been one of many long, exhausting fandom debates over the franchise’s nearly four decade history. I’m not here to relitigate any of that, so take it as read from here on out that the Transformers as characters do have and express gendered identities throughout the history of all its incarnations. 
To give a quick primer on EarthSpark as a whole (and why it’s great) before digging into Nightshade’s character in specific:
The series is set fifteen years after the end of the Autobot/Decepticon War. The bots that managed to survive the fighting and remain on Earth are presumed to be the last of their species. All of them are stuck in a holding pattern where the only options currently viable are a life in hiding or working alongside the government-funded alien threat detection/response agency GHOST. Optimus Prime and Megatron head up the latter efforts, in the hope of finding some peaceful balance between humans and Transformers going into the future (though neither of them are fully at ease with the situation, as GHOST clearly has ulterior motives of their own.)
The grim outlook for the Cybertronians takes a turn for the better with the birth of two new Transformers. The Earth-sparks of the show’s title (called “Terrans” throughout the series), Twitch and Thrash, who are bonded to the human children Robby and Mo Malto. Helped by Optimus, Megatron, and the Malto kids’ parents, GHOST agent Dot and her husband Alex, the decision is made to keep the Terrans a secret until the extent of what their existence could mean for the Transformers future as a species is fully understood. The Terrans become an official part of the Malto Family (lovingly referred to as “Malto-bots” by the other characters.) At the halfway point of the first season, in the episode “Age of Evolution”, this unconventional family unit expands further with the birth of three more Terrans, including Nightshade.
Between puzzling out the Terrans’ existence, hiding from GHOST, and fighting threats like the human mad scientist Mandroid, there’s a lot of thematic meat on the bone of this series’ setup. The main one I’m interested in digging into through the lens of Nightshade’s characterization is how the Terrans are written to feel like kids figuring out who they want to be as they grow up. Transformers has a history of designating one or more bots in its series central casts as the rookie/kid character, not insignificantly the Terrans’ primary mentor, Bumblebee, has been traditionally positioned as that very rookie. EarthSpark adding the narrative weight of representing a potential for all Transformers, particularly in how they’ll relate to humans while living on Earth, onto these characters gives more meaning to them being under that role.
The Terrans learn lessons about who they want to be and who they can/can’t trust (not always determined by old alliances like Autobot/Decepticon) from the older Transformers and humans alike. Also proving through their actions everything new they’ll have to offer the world they call home through the gift of their existence. Each Terran has been given the appropriate space so far to have their characters develop, each in their own directions, through this theme. 
Nightshade is exemplary of this, best understood through looking at how they’re characterized before/after their first focus episode “Missed Connection”, about them forming a bond with Decepticon scientist Tarantulas.
[SPOILERS for EarthSpark beyond this point]
Before “Missed Connection”
Something that genuinely impressed me going back through EarthSpark for the sake of writing this piece is how immediately Nightshade is fully themself from their earliest bits of screentime in “Age of Evolution.” While the other two members of the second batch of Terran Transformers, Hashtag and Jawbreaker, have their names confirmed upon them by their connection to Robby and Mo, Nightshade actively introduces themself with a bow and a flourish (“It is a delight and a surprise to meet you all!”) This beat quickly establishes their self-assuredness in their identity and that, while they’re later shown to have occasional introverted tendencies, they are anything but shy. I’m also fond of how the scene establishing their pronouns as Optimus lays out their plan of attack also foreshadows their eventual alt-mode, since they ask to be represented by an owl-bobblehead during the planning. The one scene serving as a contrast to their outgoing demeanor, as they recoil at the sight of Mandroid’s cruelty, gives the first hint towards their eventual desire to protect those in need.
There’s only two episodes between Nightshade’s debut in “Age of Evolution” and their first focus episode; “Hashtag: Oops” and “Outtakes.” Since neither is their focus episode, there’s not much to say about how they’re portrayed in either one (in fact, Nightshade’s entirely absent from “Outtakes” as anything but a brief visual cameo.) “Hashtag: Oops” does still manage to establish some key parts of Nightshade’s personality. Firstly, their comfort in themselves as they proclaim they don’t need an alt-mode (“I like who I am as I am.”) Secondly, their inclination towards tech and engineering as they secretly build a new underground base to surprise their family and give everyone more room to operate within. The latter also indicates their “better to ask forgiveness than permission” approach to their tinkering and scientific work. Which comes back around in a big way during “Missed Connection.”
Which finally brings us to the episode that’s the primary reason I’m writing this piece at all!
“Missed Connection”
Being Nightshade’s first proper focus episode in the series, their current state as part of the ensemble cast gets reestablished in short order. Namely, how they feel out of place around their siblings. Their affinity for science and technology leads to them making their own fun separate from the rest of the family. A pattern that gets highlighted by Nightshade working to perfect a new training drone while the rest of their siblings are playing a game of tag outdoors in celebration of Robby and Mo having the day off school. When later questioned by Alex and Dot about why they don’t spend more time with the rest of the family, Nightshade says it feels like their siblings treat them like they’re “speaking another language.”
This sense of isolation informs why Nightshade is so eager later in the episode when they find a connection with Tarantulas’ own work with tech. Simultaneously providing an opportunity for Alex to offer them something they can connect with while trying to figure out how to connect with others. Like any good nerdy dad, he does it through the magic of reading. He offers Nightshade a copy of his favorite book from when he was growing up, “Winged Sentinel”, an in-universe fantasy/sci-fi series they immediately connect with and find new aspirations. Which we hear as they repeatedly call back to the books like about its hero “protecting those in need.” Their connection to this book quickly leads to the one they find working with Tarantulas, as they were in the local cemetery since it was the “last known address” of Winged Sentinel’s author.
(Quick aside: First time I watched this episode, that detail had me thinking the show was going to do a “Nightshade learns about mortality” type of story. I was relieved when not only did Nightshade grok what happened to the author pretty fast, but the episode in turn swiftly shifted to the dynamic between Tarantulas and them.)
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“Missed Connection” finds its central theme in Nightshade and Tarantulas’ discussions on identity and finding one’s place within that world rife with conflict that can be directly hostile to those like them. There’s a recurrent motif in the dialogue of Tarantulas’ cynicism born from eons of experience and Nightshade’s youthful enthusiasm. Though cynicism is far from all the elder Transformer has to offer, as he also provides Nightshade with a new perspective on alt-modes they hadn’t considered and ultimately guides them to their choice.
Nightshade: Aren’t I sufficient as I am? Tarantulas: Alt-forms aren’t meant to complete you, as though you have a missing part, they further express who you already are.
Combining that with Tarantulas’ frustration at the “constrictive labels” of Autobot/Decepticon adds to the resonance this episode has with the nonbinary experience. The concept of “passing” gets explicitly evoked by him while discussing his plan to create a hard-light hologram projector so he can live freely as a human while evading GHOST’s forces. Which is the first proper disguise Tarantulas has taken in his life. While his giant spider alt-mode may provide plenty of utility, it’s anything but discreet.
His plan and attitude informing on it connects back to the broader central theme of EarthSpark as a series of the Transformers finding a new way to live on Earth among humanity with the Terrans representing the way forward. He can’t see a way forward besides hiding who he is and the only safety he can think to offer Nightshade is to join him in that life of discretion. His outlook’s best emphasized by his assuredness that the Autobot/Decepticon War resuming is inevitable, alongside that eventuality dragging him out of whatever peace he does find.
However, cracks in Tarantulas’ bleak worldview show as he begins to admire Nightshade’s exuberant demeanor and determination to be a protector. That admiration for a Transformer with the potential to live unburdened by all the hardships he’s seen leads to him delivering the best, most resonant line in the episode:
“It is a gift to know yourself so well, so young. Take pride in that.”
A beautiful sentiment aimed directly at members of EarthSpark’s target demographic on their own journeys to express their identities.
Unfortunately, the bond these characters have found can’t last. When Tarantulas recognizes Dot as an agent of GHOST, he acts rashly under the assumption that she’s holding Nightshade prisoner. He kidnaps Alex and her, planning to erase Nightshade from their memories so they can go into hiding with him. As a fight between the bots eventually breaks out, Nightshade commits to acting like the protector they aspire to be and chooses the alt-mode of a green armored owl, based on the hero of Winged Sentinel. (Alex’s proud declaration of “You read the book!” while witnessing this is great.) A form that isn’t a disguise but expresses themself as they are and what they want to be going forward.
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Nightshade and Tarantulas’ conflict has grown intense enough by this point that the elder Transformer’s admiration for the young bot doesn’t come through in his reaction. Rather he flips it into an insult providing Nightshade their opportunity for a sharp, direct retort (and other best line in the episode):
Tarantulas: You’re still just the lost protoform I first met! Nightshade: You’ve just proven you don’t really know me, because I was never lost!
When the fight ends with Tarantulas’ hologram projector destroyed in the skirmish, Nightshade reflects on words Dot offered them earlier about how everyone deserves a second chance and convinces their family not to hurt Tarantulas any further. However, it seems to be a decision out of their hands as GHOST is drawn to their location by the fight. Tarantulas, finally understanding Nightshade’s situation as well as who they are, offers himself up as bait to lure GHOST away from the Maltos. Running off into the forest as Nightshade reflects on the broken hologram projector the two of them made.
Multiple rewatches of this episode, as well as the first season of EarthSpark as a whole, has reaffirmed it as my favorite episode of the show so far. The tight focus of the dynamic between Nightshade and Tarantulas, alongside the deeper meaning that can be taken from pretty much every exchange between the two, is exemplary of what makes this series standout wonderfully as part of the vast Transformers canon.
After “Missed Connection”
Since there’s not that much of the first season left after “Missed Connection”, Nightshade’s once again mostly off to the side doing their own thing. But there are small bits that show how their experiences in that episode have changed them. They actively spend more time around the rest of the Malto Family, like helping Bumblebee train for an upcoming race and showing that they’ve formed a bond built on mutual tech-obsession with their sister, Hashtag, as they work together to further upgrade the underground headquarters. 
We also get a fun minor bit of their “better to ask forgiveness…” way of operating when they add some high tech bells and whistles to Dot’s prosthetic leg as a Mother’s Day present in the episode “Bear Necessities.” A plot point that later gives the show an opportunity for Dot and Nightshade to have a nice mother-child bonding moment as she explains to them why she liked her leg the way it was in terms they can understand (“something like this is personal”) while not completely shutting them down over it (“I’m open to some small changes, but they’ll have to be ones we come up with together.”)
Though the biggest moment post “Missed Connection” moment for the character, as well as my personal favorite single scene in EarthSpark so far, comes from their subplot in the season 1 two-parter episode “Home.” As the Malto kids and the Terrans go into Philadelphia to see more of the wider world, we get to see Nightshade continue acting as a protector for those in need as they save a young person named Sam from getting mugged in an alley. Nightshade notices a pin that says “SHE/THEY” on Sam’s handbag and tells her their pronouns in return. The two end up having a conversation about how the things that make them who they are can also make them targets for intolerantly minded people. This interaction ends with Sam affirming they feel safe around Nightshade and giving the young Transformer a simple but effective explanation of what being nonbinary means.
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This not only gives Nightshade further context to understand themself, but also has the important touch from a metaperspective of having a human character be the one to explain the concept. An effective dodge of what’s frequently cited as a pitfall of using aliens/robots to explore these facets of human identity, making it as clear as possible for anyone watching (especially the target demographic of kids) that Nightshade’s nonbinary identity is in no way just a product of their being an alien robot. Rather, it's an identity that simply feels right for some people living in the world. One that people who identify with it and explore their connections to it can find immensely fulfilling. 
Or, as Nightshade puts it at the end of this conversation:
“What a wonderful word, for a wonderful experience.”
(Before I dive into my conclusion, I want to say I deeply hope this isn’t the last we see of Sam in the series. Both for representation’s sake and because I like seeing the Terrans bond with humans outside of their immediate family circle.)
It would feel wrong to end this look at Nightshade’s character and how that reflects on the best qualities of EarthSpark as a series without giving proper credit to the creative voices involved in bringing them to life. Namely, writer Mae Catt (she/they) who wrote the episode “Missed Connection” and one of the three writers on “Home”, the other two being showrunners Nicole Dubuc and Dale Malinkowski. While fundamentally I believe anyone could write any kind of story, authenticity comes through stronger when writers from the same background are involved. Catt’s passion for writing this show comes through beautifully in these episodes and in how they’ve discussed the show on social media.
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Her understanding for what these characters and stories can mean to the young people watching gets clearly reflected in recurrent elements of EarthSpark’s story. Aside from Nightshade’s admiration for the main character of the Winged Sentinel novels, we also see moments in other episodes of their siblings trying to figure out what being a Transformers means through in-universe Transformers comic books telling the story of the Autobot/Decepticon War. 
It’s also what drove me to write this piece. I see Nightshade in all their creative, expressive glory and it makes me happy for the kids watching Transformers: EarthSpark, seeing them, and relating to them. Every story has the potential to be a guide someone out there can use to move closer to their heart. Nightshade’s being that guide to nonbinary kids now in a way I never could’ve dreamed of growing up is, simply put, wonderful.
Happy Pride! 💛🤍💜🖤
If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”
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wits-writing · 11 months
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We Just Got a Letter(boxd)!: Star Wars Sundays
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Back at the start of this year (as in the literal first thing I did on New Years Day) I decided to start up a weekly rewatch of all the live action Star Wars movies in release order.
Called it my “Star Wars Sundays”
It was intended to be something I did just for fun and just for myself. The further I went along into the series I found myself with more to say as my enthusiasm for this universe hit in a way it hasn’t in a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. That enthusiasm came through in what I was writing as I logged each movie into my Letterboxd profile, giving insight into whatever stood out to me (for better or worse) with each film. Mainly in the form of whatever about the movie was most immediately on my mind after watching.
Do I think anything I had to say is a particularly hot take on Star Wars? Somehow bringing something new to the discussion of one of the most thoroughly discussed film series ever made?
Not really.
But even as what I was writing about this movies got more detailed as I went along, I never lost the sense of fun I was having.
So since it’s The Day the Internet Drives a Star Wars Pun Into the Ground, I figured I may as well compile everything I wrote about those movies over those eleven weeks in one place.
Let’s get this started
Star Wars (Watched: 1/1/2023)
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Starting a weekly release order rewatch of these movies, my first full look back at them in a while.
There’s an argument to be made that this original is still the weirdest of all the movies in a wonderful way!
[Note from the present: If I’d known I’d be posting these all together here, probably would’ve had more to say about this one]
The Empire Strikes Back (Watched: 1/8/2023)
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The willful denial of closure by making the followup to one of the greatest crowd-pleasers of all time a story where the bad guys win and the heroes are stuck with their backs to the wall set a precedent that all "darker sequels" since have been trying to emulate.
Though the imitators often miss how character focused everything leading up to the downer ending of this movie. All the big spectacle action here is front loaded into the battle on Hoth before the scope focuses down for the rest of the movie on Luke's training with Yoda and Leia/Han's romantic back and forth.
Return of the Jedi (Watched 1/15/2023)
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As a kid this one was always my favorite and the parts that made it that still hold up; escaping Jabba's clutches, the speeder bike chase, Luke's final confrontation with Vader, and plenty others.
But you can feel this one stretching out at the seams in a way the previous two did not. The narrative momentum those movie's benefited from is conspicuously absent here until the story's final third. Plus the ways Lucas was exhausted from managing these massive productions at this point shows in certain story decisions, like the hasty retcon to turn Leia into Luke's sister as a way to pay off the "No, there is another" tease from Empire. Thus closing off the original outline for the sequel trilogy, which would've focused on Luke's non-Leia twin sister.
All that said, by the time this movie is over and everyone's celebrating their victory together I can't help but feel my spirits being lifted as a smile winds up on my face.
The Phantom Menace (Watched 1/22/2023)
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To say a few nice things; when the storytelling in this movie is purely done through the visuals, it's actually pretty great. That's probably the reason the Duel of the Fates sequence is so fondly remembered, no bit of story telling is stronger in this movie than the body languages of Qui Gon, Obi Wan, and Maul while the three are trapped between force fields.
The thematic groundwork this lays out for the rest of the prequels is also fairly interesting. Presenting the pristine style of the systems under the Republic in contrast to an Outer Rim territory like Tatooine. Which also speak to the misplaced confidence the Republic has in its own operation with hints laid that this is more a Gilded Age than a golden one, with corruption and greed laying just below the surface.
The problem is that everything around those elements of the story and even some of those used to communicate it are so stiffly delivered. Either through the pacing or the delivery from the actors. Plus this movie sucks at communicating its stakes, we hear so much about how Naboo is suffering under the Trade Federation's occupation but are shown no evidence of it even once. We spend so much time among aristocrats, politicians, and Jedi that this movie forgets to consider portraying the common people in any form besides the occasional line here or there.
This was the Star Wars movie I always felt like revisiting the least when I was a kid. While there are ones I dislike more now (we'll get there in the coming weeks), this rewatch made me remember why that was.
Attack of the Clones (Watched: 1/29/2023)
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There's definitely something to be said for how this movie chooses to be about the birth of the Galactic Empire. Obi-Wan's plot following the machinations and conspiracies that are literally manufacturing the armed forces for both sides of the upcoming Clone War drives our view into that aspect of the story. Genuinely love the way it culminates in Dooku flatout telling Kenobi what's happening with the Republic in the lead up to this war. Whether the Jedi believes him or not, it strikes a division between the Jedi Order and those they serve regardless.
Anakin's side of the story, on the other hand, has to rest a lot of its substance on George Lucas' (self-admitted) lackluster dialogue. Since the Prequels started with Anakin so young and innocent, this movie needs to sell us on Anakin both as a noble Jedi Apprentice in his own right and as someone on the edge of falling to the Dark Side. It winds up in a place where his journey to evil feel rushed and underdeveloped as it gets left off in this entry.
Revenge of the Sith (Watched: 2/5/2023)
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The Prequel Trilogy's central trio of characters is clearly meant to be Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme. A big problem this movie has is that one member of that trio is given no agency or story to speak of for themselves. Padme's entire character gets reduced to "worried about Anakin" and her utility in the plot down to "gives birth to Luke and Leia." I can't argue with the fact that she gets the best line in the movie with "So this is how liberty dies... with thunderous applause." But one good line does not make up for every other misstep this movie makes with her.
Those problems with the part Padme plays in this movie are in line with the problems Revenge of the Sith has in its overall plotting. It's in a rush to get everything to where the audience remembers it being at the beginning of the 1977 original film. Which gets in the way of the good things this movie does have going for it.
I enjoy the opening 20 minute long set piece's role in this narrative as a last "just for fun" adventure for Anakin and Obi-Wan. It create the necessary dramatic contrast to how they end the movie on opposite sides. This movie is also dramatically playing on what I said about Attack of the Clones, the Republic was already the Galactic Empire in all but name by the time that movie ended. What we see here are simply the last steps Palpatine has to take to make sure there are no more obstacles in his way.
Purely from a broad plotting standpoint this is a perfectly tragic finale to a trilogy that was always building to tragedy. But the rush it's in to make sure that tragedy can happen within its runtime ends up failing several key elements that could've made this a stronger movie.
The Force Awakens (Watched: 2/12/2023)
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I love how effectively this movie sets up its two leads in Rey and Finn. The first chunk of this movie dedicated to setting up each of them as fundamentally lost people, but in inverse ways.
Through the village massacre by the First Order that opens the movie and helping Poe escape, we see Finn realize he wants no place in the fascist idea of "order" he's been raised/trained in. He decides to start running and that brings him right into the path of the people that are going to start changing his life for the better, Poe and Rey.
While Finn's defined by how he's running from danger, Rey's established as someone determined to stay put despite dreaming of adventures like those in the legends she's heard. A character trait acutely visualized when she takes time out from eating her dinner to put on an old Rebellion pilot helmet as she watches starships leave Jakku. Coming across BB-8 puts her on a path that winds up crossing with Finn's and winds up forcing her out of her desolate situation as a scavenger gathering scraps of tech in exchange for scraps of food. Waiting for people that are never going to come back for her.
The journey this movie takes them on together culminates when they reunite. Finn chooses to run towards the First Order for the sake of his friend after spending the whole movie determined to run away. In doing that, he winds up proving to Rey that she now has people in her life that care enough to come back for her.
Rogue One (Watched: 2/19/2023)
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(Note: I haven't watched Andor yet and fully intend to at some point)
I deeply wish this entire movie was as well executed as its final act.
Up until the mission on Scarif, Rogue One is fairly scattershot in terms of how it executes on the ideas it presents. A nature reflected in the narrative structure provided by the films editing. A problem that starts early on as we quickly jump from Jyn as a child in the prologue to her as an imprisoned adult for all of thirty seconds before jumping directly into Cassian's introduction. We don't get to know how Jyn is living with her current situation and only get told about it later when she meets with Saw Gerrera.
The majority of the titular squadron don't really get much breathing room for us to get to know them. Their personalities mostly communicated through quick inferences. Ones that all make me want to know and see more of them, but still simply inferences.
One character who is incredibly well developed that I've loved since the first time I saw this movie is Ben Mendelsohn as Imperial Director Orson Krennic. A figure who wields what limited power he has in the Galactic Empire's structure with great pride and takes it incredibly personal when that power doesn't grant him more reward than his superiors are willing to deal out (or even actively deny.) A perfect balancing act between menacing and pathetic.
Which brings us back to this movie's final act on Scarif, because Krennic's position within the Empire plays in parallel to the position of the rebel soldiers that make up the unit of Rogue One. While Krennic longs for recognition at any cost short of himself, Rogue One fight to make the Galaxy a better place even if they're never recognized for it. The ideological division, mixed with some of the best on screen action in a Star Wars film makes this movie's bittersweet conclusion strong enough to make up for the messy way the movie gets there.
The Last Jedi (Watched: 2/26/2023)
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Despite the hell of modern Star Wars discourse, despite what followed in this trilogy, despite everything...
This is still my absolute favorite Star Wars movie!
A movie that says hope isn't just something to believe in, but something you can create for yourself and others
A movie that says it's never too late to learn from your failures and that those failures don't define you
A movie that says our place in the world and among those we love are not preordained but the product of our choices
A movie that to this day reminds me of why I fell in love with Star Wars to begin with!
I wish I could be more elaborate and articulate about this, but in the immediate aftermath of this rewatch, the fact that it still has the effect it did on me when I first saw it in the theater is overwhelming.
All coming down to the great action, fun characters, spectacular visuals, and the perfect final shot!
Solo (Watched: 3/5/2023)
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I'll take this over a hundred deep-faked Luke Skywalkers!
Alden Ehrenreich plays a character I can believe grows into the smug scoundrel we all remember from the original trilogy. Trying to act like he's not flying by the seat of his pants at any given moment, improvising his way around every new dangerous scenario.
The action set pieces here are a nice, varied series of heists across the various parts of the criminal underworld of A Galaxy Far Far Away. My absolute favorite being the chaos that gets unleashed on Kessel.
Feel like some people never gave this one a fair shot, but I still find it a pretty damn delightful space adventure.
The Rise of Skywalker (Watched: 3/12/2023)
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A large part of why this movie still rubs me the wrong way is that I can tell it is trying so hard to be a satisfying, high-energy, action-adventure that also brings some form of thematic closure to the "Skywalker Saga." (A term for the nine "Episode" movies in the film series that was invented for the sake of marketing this movie.)
But I would've been fine with a movie that just brought a satisfying conclusion to this trilogy as its own thing. The only story line that does feel like it's prioritizing the weight of this trilogy's themes in this movie is Poe's character arc, picking up right from where we left him in The Last Jedi. An arc that asks whether the spark of rebellion will in fact come through to light the fire that will burn the First Order to the ground.
Culminating in a moment that I should, in theory, absolutely love, where those ordinary people gather up to join the final battle and turn the tide in The Resistance's favor. All the while the villains are baffled that the ones out maneuvering them are "just people" rather than an organized fleet.
But I can't feel what that moment's going for because it gets buried in The Palpatine of It All, which drags everything this movie could've had going for it down. The presence of the classic Star Wars' biggest Big Bad winds up being the main thing to override what the previous movies in this trilogy built up, especially with Rey. Her arc in this movie requires her to push away the very bonds she spent the previous two movies building after a life in isolation, but it feels so... forced (for lack of a better term.) To the very last minute this movie doesn't actually seem to care about those bonds, because where we could've ended on the shot of Rey, Finn, and Poe hugging in relief in celebration, we instead tack on a lazy callback to A New Hope where Rey is back where we first found her, alone on a desert planet.
Going through these movies on a weekly basis throughout the year so far, I've tried to find stuff to like in each of them no matter what my preexisting opinions of them were. Even in the ones I don't necessarily like, I managed that. But with The Rise of Skywalker, even finding those things (I genuinely think the fight between Rey and Kylo on the Death Star wreckage is the most interestingly choreographed fight in this trilogy) didn't make up for what it lacks.
If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”
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wits-writing · 1 year
Text
Next Day Reblog!
[Patreon] [Ko-Fi]
Five Miscellaneous Favs of 2022
Felt like doing quick looks at five pieces of media that caught my eye during 2022. 
Not a ranking nor limited to any specific medium, just five things I loved last year that I wanted to talk about with a focus on things I felts were lesser discussed overall in the year.
Because while I could talk about how great Everything Everywhere All at Once, Cyberpunk Edgerunners, or RRR were, I also wouldn’t be bringing that much new to the table by discussing them.
Let’s start with something that hit towards the end of the year:
Matilda the Musical:
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What a delight this turned out to be!
The engrossing stylized visuals of this film adaptation of the musical stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s original children’s book grabbed me from the word “go.” A stage director moving on to direct the film adaptation of their own theatrical work, as is the case with Matthew Warchus here, can and has led to mixed results in the past but here those theatrical instincts shine. Each musical number manages an appropriate scope to get across the emotional impact of the scene and make sure the viewer can appreciate the stellar moments of choreography from the ensemble of child performers. A visual language that lives up to the nature of Tim Minchin’s music and lyrics for the story.
Major highlight of the cast is Emma Thompson as the despicable Miss Trunchbull, performed and presented in a way that makes her the perfect villain for a movie that’s essentially “Baby’s First Antifa Uprising: The Musical.” An authoritarian running her school as a surveillance state who will change her own supposedly sacred rules on a dime in order to never appear as if her power is starting to slip.
Representing the kinder adults of the world in this movie is Lashanna Lynch’s Miss Honey. Any take on Matilda as a story will live and die on how much you buy into the found family aspect of the relationship between the title character and Miss Honey. This film playing into that handily as Alisha Weir’s Matilda finds the first adult to see what’s remarkable about her love of learning in her teacher and Miss Honey finds a reminder of what it means to stand up for yourself and others in an unfair world in her new student. A mutual sense of inspiration beautifully summed up in the new-for-the-movie finale song “Still Holding My Hand.”
youtube
Mad God:
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Okay, time for a bit of a mood shift…
According to my Tumblr Rewind for 2022, my personal blog’s most popular post of the year was a screencap from a Slash Film interview with Mad God director Phil “You had one job!” Tippett.
This one:
Tumblr media
And in that post I described it as a “beautifully blunt” summation of why Mad God paints such a bleak picture of its world and those inhabiting it. Later in that same interview he specified by relating it to how when there’s a tragedy, American news media shoves it in people’s faces on repeat. A process that normalizes the pain and horror of these events and limits people’s ability to imagine a world without any of that. A depressing downward spiral where terrors can never be escaped, only recreated ad nauseum until the end of time (and even beyond that.)
Anyway, I found Mad God to be a ton of fun and it was easily my favorite animated movie of the year!
Probably feels bizarre to go from the previous description of the movie’s world to calling it “fun.” But that’s the balance Tippett managed to strike after the multi-decade process of getting it made. A sickening, compelling contradiction to entice a niche stripe of viewer, because this was certainly anything but a movie made with broad appeal as a concern.
A playfulness comes through in moments like the mindless homunculi that keep this dystopian society running trudging along until a piece of the machinery they work around splats them against a wall, Wile-E-Coyote style. Monster designs that genuinely disturbed me exist alongside ones that are oddly charming in their unconventional designs and mannerisms. The most purely playful elements of the movie take the form of easter eggs to VFX filmmaking history that are featured among the apocalyptic landscapes of some shots, like a statue of Robbie the Robot that features in one shot.
Some stories get by more on a vibe than a carefully constructed narrative and Mad God’s vibes are unlike anything else you’re likely to see.
Bee and Puppycat: Lazy in Space:
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Speaking of vibes-based entertainment but on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Bee and Puppycat finally returned this year with a new season on Netflix with an abundance of lo-fi chill at its disposal!
The season, subtitled “Lazy in Space”, has three episodes retelling the story of the original Cartoon Hangover season in the new animation style followed by 13 episodes of original material.
In a universe filled with gorgeous pastel space-fantasy scapes, what keeps the series compelling is everyone in the main cast trying to live the best life they can. One bizarre circumstance after another happening in the periphery of their personal journeys. Exemplified by the show’s approach to doling out information with regards to worldbuilding, everything delivered in pieces tangential to what the focus of a given episode is actually about. This goes doubly for the backstories of the titular characters. Even when we’re given an episode to explicitly flesh out Puppycat’s mysterious past, it turns out to be a nonlinear narrative more concerned with the roots of his attitude than in being a lore-dump. Meanwhile, everytime we get new information about Bee there’s always another layer or three yet to be dug into beneath her unassuming appearance and general ADHD tendencies.
Delivering all that in a balance between high concept scenarios and low-key, chill presentation will keep me coming back to this show for any and all future seasons.
Goodbye, Eri:
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2022 was could reasonably be argued to be The Year of Tatsuki Fujimoto
Aside from Chainsaw Man Part 2’s manga beginning and season 1 of the anime hitting it big, the mangaka released two one-shots through Shonen Jump in the past year; one was Just Listen to the Song which was written by Fujimoto with art by Oto Toda and the other was Goodbye, Eri, wholly done by Fujimoto.
And it was the best comic I read the entire year.
The story of high schooler Yuta taking the gift of his smartphone as the first step on his path to becoming a filmmaker. His first project being a documentary about the last days of his mother’s life, followed by a narrative covering his artistic evolution as he’s called on to do the same for his classmate Eri.
But a plot summary doesn’t get across why this was the best piece of sequential art I read all year. Fujimoto’s talent at using manga as a form to deliver stories elevates Goodbye, Eri as the narrative framing at hand reflects the premise itself. Every single panel is in the aspect ratio and point of view from Yuta’s camera with Fujimoto’s art emulating novice camera work along the way. One of my favorite recurring details is certain panels clearly meant to represent Yuta having shaky hands as he’s filming.
Like any comic, art and writing feedback into each other to maintain this narrative conceit, as characters will stop on occasion to ask if they should redo a lineread or we’ll see bits that were filmed but not included in previous sequences. It’s playing around with the diegesis of the story to craft Goodbye, Eri’s main theme about how we choose to remember our lives. What bits do we hang onto and what sort of impression do we want to leave other people with after we’re gone.
A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society:
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You know the feeling when you find the right band/album at the right time in your life?
That was my experience with Tobias Sammett’s Avantasia two years ago as songs from their album Moonglow were in my youtube recommendation. Even after listening to a decent chunk of the band’s discography, Moonglow remained my favorite. Tackling themes of alienation and creating one’s self while running a full gauntlet of the many forms of Metal. I find a lot to love in the rest of the Avantasia catalog, but none of the albums as complete works topped what this one had to offer for me.
Set all that up for the sake of saying…
A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society exceeded Moonglow and became my favorite album of the year (and possibly my favorite piece of media from 2022, period.)
This even being a possibility was something that gradually built up in my mind as the singles began to roll out. The first release, “The Wicked Rule the Night (feat. Ralf Scheepers)”, was a good hard metal track but it wasn’t until the second single, “Moonflower Society (feat. Bob Cately)”, hit with its amazing animated music video, directed by Jess Cope, that I knew I was in for something special.
youtube
The narrative set out by the music video, along with the lyrical content of the song itself, put into focus what Paranormal Evening was about. Especially in how it interacted with its predecessor in Moonglow. If that album was about alienation then this one was going to be about choosing where you want to belong. Whether it’s a conventional path or one that seems off-putting from the outside but could ultimately offer wonders in a future once thought unimagineable. A theme set even more into focus with the third single from the moment I saw its title, “Misplaced Among the Angels.”
A central conceit that reflects Avantasia’s virtue as a group, Sammett assembling performers from across all walks of rock/metal to create something beautiful with each album. New and returning guest performers for the group enhancing what Paranormal Evening has to offer. 
I have lost count of how many times I’ve listened to A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society. Enjoying it more with each playback. Each track lifts up the others and puts me in a state where the album closer “Arabesque” hits as hard as any song I’ve ever listened to has!
youtube
If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”
18 notes · View notes
wits-writing · 1 year
Text
Five Miscellaneous Favs of 2022
Felt like doing quick looks at five pieces of media that caught my eye during 2022. 
Not a ranking nor limited to any specific medium, just five things I loved last year that I wanted to talk about with a focus on things I felts were lesser discussed overall in the year.
Because while I could talk about how great Everything Everywhere All at Once, Cyberpunk Edgerunners, or RRR were, I also wouldn’t be bringing that much new to the table by discussing them.
Let’s start with something that hit towards the end of the year:
Matilda the Musical:
Tumblr media
What a delight this turned out to be!
The engrossing stylized visuals of this film adaptation of the musical stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s original children’s book grabbed me from the word “go.” A stage director moving on to direct the film adaptation of their own theatrical work, as is the case with Matthew Warchus here, can and has led to mixed results in the past but here those theatrical instincts shine. Each musical number manages an appropriate scope to get across the emotional impact of the scene and make sure the viewer can appreciate the stellar moments of choreography from the ensemble of child performers. A visual language that lives up to the nature of Tim Minchin’s music and lyrics for the story.
Major highlight of the cast is Emma Thompson as the despicable Miss Trunchbull, performed and presented in a way that makes her the perfect villain for a movie that’s essentially “Baby’s First Antifa Uprising: The Musical.” An authoritarian running her school as a surveillance state who will change her own supposedly sacred rules on a dime in order to never appear as if her power is starting to slip.
Representing the kinder adults of the world in this movie is Lashanna Lynch’s Miss Honey. Any take on Matilda as a story will live and die on how much you buy into the found family aspect of the relationship between the title character and Miss Honey. This film playing into that handily as Alisha Weir’s Matilda finds the first adult to see what’s remarkable about her love of learning in her teacher and Miss Honey finds a reminder of what it means to stand up for yourself and others in an unfair world in her new student. A mutual sense of inspiration beautifully summed up in the new-for-the-movie finale song “Still Holding My Hand.”
youtube
Mad God:
Tumblr media
Okay, time for a bit of a mood shift…
According to my Tumblr Rewind for 2022, my personal blog’s most popular post of the year was a screencap from a Slash Film interview with Mad God director Phil “You had one job!” Tippett.
This one:
Tumblr media
And in that post I described it as a “beautifully blunt” summation of why Mad God paints such a bleak picture of its world and those inhabiting it. Later in that same interview he specified by relating it to how when there’s a tragedy, American news media shoves it in people’s faces on repeat. A process that normalizes the pain and horror of these events and limits people’s ability to imagine a world without any of that. A depressing downward spiral where terrors can never be escaped, only recreated ad nauseum until the end of time (and even beyond that.)
Anyway, I found Mad God to be a ton of fun and it was easily my favorite animated movie of the year!
Probably feels bizarre to go from the previous description of the movie’s world to calling it “fun.” But that’s the balance Tippett managed to strike after the multi-decade process of getting it made. A sickening, compelling contradiction to entice a niche stripe of viewer, because this was certainly anything but a movie made with broad appeal as a concern.
A playfulness comes through in moments like the mindless homunculi that keep this dystopian society running trudging along until a piece of the machinery they work around splats them against a wall, Wile-E-Coyote style. Monster designs that genuinely disturbed me exist alongside ones that are oddly charming in their unconventional designs and mannerisms. The most purely playful elements of the movie take the form of easter eggs to VFX filmmaking history that are featured among the apocalyptic landscapes of some shots, like a statue of Robbie the Robot that features in one shot.
Some stories get by more on a vibe than a carefully constructed narrative and Mad God’s vibes are unlike anything else you’re likely to see.
Bee and Puppycat: Lazy in Space:
Tumblr media
Speaking of vibes-based entertainment but on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Bee and Puppycat finally returned this year with a new season on Netflix with an abundance of lo-fi chill at its disposal!
The season, subtitled “Lazy in Space”, has three episodes retelling the story of the original Cartoon Hangover season in the new animation style followed by 13 episodes of original material.
In a universe filled with gorgeous pastel space-fantasy scapes, what keeps the series compelling is everyone in the main cast trying to live the best life they can. One bizarre circumstance after another happening in the periphery of their personal journeys. Exemplified by the show’s approach to doling out information with regards to worldbuilding, everything delivered in pieces tangential to what the focus of a given episode is actually about. This goes doubly for the backstories of the titular characters. Even when we’re given an episode to explicitly flesh out Puppycat’s mysterious past, it turns out to be a nonlinear narrative more concerned with the roots of his attitude than in being a lore-dump. Meanwhile, everytime we get new information about Bee there’s always another layer or three yet to be dug into beneath her unassuming appearance and general ADHD tendencies.
Delivering all that in a balance between high concept scenarios and low-key, chill presentation will keep me coming back to this show for any and all future seasons.
Goodbye, Eri:
Tumblr media
2022 could reasonably be argued to be The Year of Tatsuki Fujimoto
Aside from Chainsaw Man Part 2’s manga beginning and season 1 of the anime hitting it big, the mangaka released two one-shots through Shonen Jump in the past year; one was Just Listen to the Song which was written by Fujimoto with art by Oto Toda and the other was Goodbye, Eri, wholly done by Fujimoto.
And it was the best comic I read the entire year.
The story of high schooler Yuta taking the gift of his smartphone as the first step on his path to becoming a filmmaker. His first project being a documentary about the last days of his mother’s life, followed by a narrative covering his artistic evolution as he’s called on to do the same for his classmate Eri.
But a plot summary doesn’t get across why this was the best piece of sequential art I read all year. Fujimoto’s talent at using manga as a form to deliver stories elevates Goodbye, Eri as the narrative framing at hand reflects the premise itself. Every single panel is in the aspect ratio and point of view from Yuta’s camera with Fujimoto’s art emulating novice camera work along the way. One of my favorite recurring details is certain panels clearly meant to represent Yuta having shaky hands as he’s filming.
Like any comic, art and writing feedback into each other to maintain this narrative conceit, as characters will stop on occasion to ask if they should redo a lineread or we’ll see bits that were filmed but not included in previous sequences. It’s playing around with the diegesis of the story to craft Goodbye, Eri’s main theme about how we choose to remember our lives. What bits do we hang onto and what sort of impression do we want to leave other people with after we’re gone.
A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society:
Tumblr media
You know the feeling when you find the right band/album at the right time in your life?
That was my experience with Tobias Sammett’s Avantasia two years ago as songs from their album Moonglow were in my youtube recommendation. Even after listening to a decent chunk of the band’s discography, Moonglow remained my favorite. Tackling themes of alienation and creating one’s self while running a full gauntlet of the many forms of Metal. I find a lot to love in the rest of the Avantasia catalog, but none of the albums as complete works topped what this one had to offer for me.
Set all that up for the sake of saying…
A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society exceeded Moonglow and became my favorite album of the year (and possibly my favorite piece of media from 2022, period.)
This even being a possibility was something that gradually built up in my mind as the singles began to roll out. The first release, “The Wicked Rule the Night (feat. Ralf Scheepers)”, was a good hard metal track but it wasn’t until the second single, “Moonflower Society (feat. Bob Cately)”, hit with its amazing animated music video, directed by Jess Cope, that I knew I was in for something special.
youtube
The narrative set out by the music video, along with the lyrical content of the song itself, put into focus what Paranormal Evening was about. Especially in how it interacted with its predecessor in Moonglow. If that album was about alienation then this one was going to be about choosing where you want to belong. Whether it’s a conventional path or one that seems off-putting from the outside but could ultimately offer wonders in a future once thought unimagineable. A theme set even more into focus with the third single from the moment I saw its title, “Misplaced Among the Angels.”
A central conceit that reflects Avantasia’s virtue as a group, Sammett assembling performers from across all walks of rock/metal to create something beautiful with each album. New and returning guest performers for the group enhancing what Paranormal Evening has to offer. 
I have lost count of how many times I’ve listened to A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society. Enjoying it more with each playback. Each track lifts up the others and puts me in a state where the album closer “Arabesque” hits as hard as any song I’ve ever listened to has!
youtube
If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”
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wits-writing · 1 year
Text
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So I just put up a post about how I regret not writing more this year and mainly had one thing in mind while putting that together.
I had intended to post something for Welcome to Night Vale's Tenth Anniversary in June (and when that date passed me by I was thinking by Halloween and then... yeah.)
The one in question is Episode 42: Numbers
youtube
An episode with central themes that are very personal for me and have been since I first listened to it. Which was why I had trouble writing about it.
I wanted to have some visuals to include in relationship to the episode to go with the analysis, so I commissioned art of the character Fey (who debuted and had her only major appearance in this episode.) Posted up top.
Art by my friend @bobbytriesatlife
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wits-writing · 1 year
Text
On What I DIDN'T Write in 2022
So this year has been kind of a stressful shit show for me that left me with very little motive to write much of anything.
I am happy with what I did manage to post on here, but regrets about what I didn���t seep through regardless. I’d love to make a statement as clean as “but just you wait for what’s coming up soon” but I’m about to move house and that’s bound to eat into the personal time.
What I want to say to the people that follow me here is simply this:
Thank you!
Whether you’ve only read one thing I’ve written on here or dozens, I’m happy you considered my words/thoughts worth your time.
And now a short rundown of what I did on here this year:
My Favorite Panel in One Piece (or, “Why I’ll Happily Reread These 1054+ Chapters Any Time!”) - Biggest thing I wrote this year and some of the most fun I've had while writing in a long time!
Cross-posted three retrospective reviews from my Letterboxd account: - The Emperor’s New Groove - 22 Jump Street - One Piece: Stampede
Guested twice on the School of Movies podcast to join in their discussions on: - Obi-Wan Kenobi - Thor Love and Thunder
I have one big essay I regret not finishing, but I'll save that for a separate post
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wits-writing · 1 year
Text
About Wit’s Writing
Okay, got a few new followers who migrated from Twitter
Time to write up a proper pinned post for this place
Around late-2016 I started writing regular movie/tv/comic reviews over on my main Tumblr profile @wcwit​ but because I wanted people who came across those to be able to find more without digging through everything else on there, I established Wit’s Writing as an alternate profile in 2017.
Kept the regular reviews chugging for a while, but eventually between the exhaustion caused by living through the pandemic and my current job being full time, I’ve put a stop to those for the time being. (Not writing off the possibility of them ever coming back just yet.)
So now this blog is for long-form essays about media I like that aren’t necessarily traditional reviews and the occasional cross-post of something I wrote for my Letterboxd profile.
And now, a bunch of links to help y’all navigate this place:
For my old regular reviews:
Movie Reviews
TV Reviews
Comic Book Reviews
Misc. Writing
Recent Stuff I’m Proud of:
What’s so Funny About Vengeance, the Night, and Batman? – Two Superhero Parodies in Conversation - A thematic comparison between StarKid Productions’ Holy Musical B@man and Warner Bros Animation’s The Lego Batman Movie
The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals and the Roles We Play - A semi-followup to the previous piece about why TGWDLM is my favorite StarKid musical
My Favorite Panel in One Piece (or, “Why I’ll Happily Reread These 1054+ Chapters Any Time!”) - That time I caught up on One Piece and used a single word balloon as an excuse to gush about the series as a whole
Complete Episode by Episode TV Reviews:
Earth’s Mightiest Retrospective - A complete recap/review of all 52 episodes of the animated series Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes done in the lead up to Avengers Endgame
Ultraman Z Reviews - A breakdown of all 25 episodes from the Seiun Award Winning 2020 tokusatsu series
Times my writing/voice was featured elsewhere:
School of Movies - My favorite movie podcast and one that has been nice enough to have me on as a guest on multiple occasions
Two Cents - Cinapse’s currently defunct movie-book-club where their columnist and guest could submit thoughts on various movies
And as of right now, that’s everything worth mentioning
Hope y’all enjoy it here!
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wits-writing · 1 year
Text
About Wit’s Writing
Okay, got a few new followers who migrated from Twitter
Time to write up a proper pinned post for this place
Around late-2016 I started writing regular movie/tv/comic reviews over on my main Tumblr profile @wcwit​ but because I wanted people who came across those to be able to find more without digging through everything else on there, I established Wit’s Writing as an alternate profile in 2017.
Kept the regular reviews chugging for a while, but eventually between the exhaustion caused by living through the pandemic and my current job being full time, I’ve put a stop to those for the time being. (Not writing off the possibility of them ever coming back just yet.)
So now this blog is for long-form essays about media I like that aren’t necessarily traditional reviews and the occasional cross-post of something I wrote for my Letterboxd profile.
And now, a bunch of links to help y’all navigate this place:
For my old regular reviews:
Movie Reviews
TV Reviews
Comic Book Reviews
Misc. Writing
Recent Stuff I’m Proud of:
What’s so Funny About Vengeance, the Night, and Batman? – Two Superhero Parodies in Conversation - A thematic comparison between StarKid Productions’ Holy Musical B@man and Warner Bros Animation’s The Lego Batman Movie
The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals and the Roles We Play - A semi-followup to the previous piece about why TGWDLM is my favorite StarKid musical
My Favorite Panel in One Piece (or, “Why I’ll Happily Reread These 1054+ Chapters Any Time!”) - That time I caught up on One Piece and used a single word balloon as an excuse to gush about the series as a whole
Complete Episode by Episode TV Reviews:
Earth’s Mightiest Retrospective - A complete recap/review of all 52 episodes of the animated series Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes done in the lead up to Avengers Endgame
Ultraman Z Reviews - A breakdown of all 25 episodes from the Seiun Award Winning 2020 tokusatsu series
Times my writing/voice was featured elsewhere:
School of Movies - My favorite movie podcast and one that has been nice enough to have me on as a guest on multiple occasions
Two Cents - Cinapse’s currently defunct movie-book-club where their columnist and guest could submit thoughts on various movies
And as of right now, that’s everything worth mentioning
Hope y’all enjoy it here!
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wits-writing · 2 years
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I once again joined the folks over at the School of Movies podcast to discuss the tonal mess of Thor Love & Thunder
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Next Day Reblog!
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My Favorite Panel in One Piece (or, "Why I'll Happily Reread These 1054+ Chapters Any Time!")
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At the start of April this year, I actually decided to do one of those things I always tell myself I’m going to do but rarely get around to doing.
I reread/caught up on One Piece!
By late May, I was officially caught up… Just in time for Eiichiro Oda to announce a month-long hiatus that concluded this week.
Which left me with a whole month to percolate on every possible thought I could ever have about One Piece and what it means to me; Favorite moments, characters, arcs, etc., plus the recurring themes that One Piece has been built on from the beginning.
Within those thoughts, especially ones concerning the about-to-conclude Wano Arc, I kept coming back to one favorite in particular…
My favorite panel in all 1054 chapters of one of my favorite comics of all time. The one panel that sums up what One Piece means to me, what makes it worth reading even stripped of all the in-depth worldbuilding that’s kept it fresh for 25 years as the Straw Hat Pirates voyage from one island to the next. 
[MAJOR SPOILERS from here on]
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wits-writing · 2 years
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My Favorite Panel in One Piece (or, "Why I'll Happily Reread These 1054+ Chapters Any Time!")
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At the start of April this year, I actually decided to do one of those things I always tell myself I’m going to do but rarely get around to doing.
I reread/caught up on One Piece!
By late May, I was officially caught up… Just in time for Eiichiro Oda to announce a month-long hiatus that concluded this week.
Which left me with a whole month to percolate on every possible thought I could ever have about One Piece and what it means to me; Favorite moments, characters, arcs, etc., plus the recurring themes that One Piece has been built on from the beginning.
Within those thoughts, especially ones concerning the about-to-conclude Wano Arc, I kept coming back to one favorite in particular…
My favorite panel in all 1054 chapters of one of my favorite comics of all time. The one panel that sums up what One Piece means to me, what makes it worth reading even stripped of all the in-depth worldbuilding that’s kept it fresh for 25 years as the Straw Hat Pirates voyage from one island to the next. 
[MAJOR SPOILERS from here on]
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Hold up! I’m getting ahead of myself!
Because my actual favorite panel in all of One Piece happens a bit before that. Specifically, Chapter 1044 - Page 6 - Panel 1:
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Yep, my favorite panel is all of One Piece isn’t some epic full-page-spread, moment from a fight, grand transformation, character reveal, nor major tearjerker moment. Instead, it’s a single speech bubble that informs what Luffy’s Gear 5 transformation represents beyond being the power that lets him finally defeat the despotic Kaido. It represents who “Straw Hat” Monkey D. Luffy is, why he fights, and what the fights he gets into represent.
As much as I don’t want this piece to get overly bogged down in The Lore, some context is necessary before I get into the thematic meat of that panel. Starting with the other name of Luffy’s iconic Gum-Gum Fruit, the Human-Human Fruit - Mythical Zoan Model: Nika.
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Nika, aka “Joyboy” and “The Sun God”, is a figure in the massive history of One Piece’s world that has been hinted at by name since the start of the post-Time Skip story of The New World. First big one came from the Fishman Island Arc, where Robin translated an apology Joyboy wrote on one of the mysterious poneglyphs to an ancient mermaid princess for not being able to achieve their goals within their lives. The poneglyph in turn links Nika to One Piece’s’long fabled “Void Century”, i.e. the time before the tyrannical World Government was formed and a period in their history their leaders are so terrified of they’ll work to kill anyone who so much as thinks about it.
Nika’s reveal as the true origin of the Gum-Gum ability marks Luffy as the carrier of his will (among other notable wills Monkey D. Luffy was already carrying.) Emphasizing many things that have been core to Luffy and One Piece as a whole since the start, putting them into sharper focus than ever before. In the two pages leading up to The Panel, the elders of the World Government discuss why they’ve feared the Gum-Gum, and by extension Joyboy’s, power for so many centuries. Special note is made of how Nika fought “in whatever way he fancies” and naming him as a “Warrior of Liberation”, an obvious threat to a government that thrives on its use of slave labor.
Which brings us back to my favorite panel and the complete quote that’s the reason I wanted to bring attention to a single speech bubble:
“It is said that in all the world… THERE IS NO POWER MORE RIDICULOUS!!”
I want that phrasing to sink into your mind like a Devil Fruit user in the sea.
One Piece takes place in a world where people have powers that let them command the elements, turn into monsters that can wreck entire townships (or even nations!) in minutes, and bend the bodies/minds of others to their will. Not to mention what we’ve seen Haki users be capable of with no Devil Fruit abilities to their names. Then there are the devastating weapons the World Government themselves develop thanks to Doctor Vegapunk. All of that exists out in this world, but above all of those powers in the hands of their allies and enemies alike, these tyrants who have modeled themselves as gods, as “Celestial Dragons”, view “the most ridiculous” as the biggest threat to the power they’ve accumulated.
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Which comes back to the two things highlighted by Nika’s other names: the sun as a symbol and joy as a concept.
Since it’s less connected to the panel/quote that got me to write this, I’ll briefly go into a non-comprehensive look at the use of sun-imagery throughout One Piece first. Starting with the literally-named “Sun Pirates”, the grand pirate crew of Fishmen formerly captained by the latest official addition to the Straw Hat Pirates (at time of writing), helmsman Jimbei. A crew founded by liberated Fishmen slaves who adopted the sun as their insignia, practically to cover up the slave brand of many of its members and symbolically standing for how they fight for a world where the Fishmen can live in the light of the sun without fear of persecution.
To go several steps further back, there’s the first mention of a “Sun God” in One Piece (now pretty clearly meant to be Nika) during the Skypiea arc as a figure worshiped by the Shandorians. Their culture linked via a poneglyph to the Lost Century as well. Skypiea at several points in the arc features images of a silhouetted joyful Luffy, most notably after he toppled another self-styled god, arc-villain Enel. Where his shadow is made massive by the rising sun in a moment that signals liberation to all the people of Skypiea and a revelation of true history to their friends on the ground.
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Before moving on there’s a foundational example of sun imagery in One Piece’s history. The fact the pilot chapters of the manga and its first proper arc are both called “ROMANCE DAWN”
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If the journey of One Piece is also the journey towards the Romance Dawn for this world, then let’s look at how Luffy has been bringing about that dawn at various points throughout his journey (intentionally or not.)
A typical One Piece story arc follows the Straw Hat Crew as they get swept up in the conflicts, however large or small, of whatever island they’ve most recently arrived on. While most of the other Straw Hats usually do something to actively seek a better understanding of wherever they are at the moment, their own Captain Luffy has next to zero interest in broader history or politics. But what he has always had instead to make up for that is a keen eye for cruelty that needs to be stamped out. An instinct he’s honed over thanks to the first lesson Red Haired Shanks taught him all the way back in Chapter 1, to discern which fights will be worth it in the end.
The thing is… The world of One Piece provides no shortage of fights worth getting into!
From minor pillaging pirate crews of the East Blue to Emperors of the Sea in The New World to the Marines and Cipher Pol enforcing the oppressive will of the World Government. While the scale of villainy may vary, they all have one thing in common; they’ve all gone far too long without someone decking them right in the schnoz. A service Luffy readily, inevitably, supplies them.
Two classic One Piece arcs especially exemplify that in Luffy’s confrontation with their villains: Arlong Park and Alabasta. 
Arlong Park often gets cited as the place where the manga first truly kicks into high gear in terms of emotional payoffs in the story and with good reason. It’s where the initial five Straw Hats first truly come together as the quintessential Found Family they are in a way that speaks to a big part of the story’s core appeal. A point punctuated with a Gum-Gum Bullet by one line from Luffy to Arlong: “YOU MADE OUR NAVIGATOR CRY!!!!”
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A similar moment comes in Luffy’s final confrontation with the Warlord of the Sea, Sir Crocodile, during Alabasta. Crocodile pontificates about how all his evils done to Alabasta represent the failures of people like Princess Vivi, who had been traveling with the Straw Hats for over a hundred chapters by this point, and her failure to protect her kingdom from people like him. In that moment, Luffy thinks back on everything Vivi ever said to him about wanting to save her kingdom and lets Croc know what he thinks: “If this were really her kingdom… She would be laughing a lot more!!”
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At the intersection of these emotional themes and sun imagery lies one of the most iconic storylines in all of One Piece; Water Seven/Enies Lobby. After over 300 chapters of building up the Straw Hats as one of the ultimate found family units in all of fiction, this period in the story comes closest to irrevocably breaking the foundations of those bonds. Whether through circumstances out of their control or long-simmering emotional tensions coming to a boil, it’s where the crew almost falls apart beyond repair. Only to end on them coming back together and better than ever.
Water Seven/Enies Lobby putting the weight of all this on two Straw Hats in particular: Usopp and Nico Robin. Arriving at Water Seven winds up confronting both of them with the idea that, from their perspective at least, their times as Straw Hat Pirates are over. Robin’s life as a fugitive catches up to her in the worst way. Meanwhile, Usopp’s low self-esteem bottoms out in the face of the sheer scope of the Grand Line, paralleled by the literal bottom breaking out from the Going Merry, the Straw Hat Crew’s original ship (and gift from Usopp’s childhood best friend.)
Robin leaves to surrender herself to the World Government and protect her new friends from their wrath.
Usopp physically clashes with Luffy, the rest of the crew leaving him behind on the damaged Going Merry.
But bonds don’t break that easily when Monkey D. Luffy is involved. As the world at large gets to see for the first time the lengths this crew will push themselves to for each other’s sake. The assault on Enies Lobby to rescue Robin features Usopp returned to the crew in the paper-thin disguise of Sogeking (or “Sniper King”), notably wearing a sun-shaped mask. Which leads to two iconic back-to-back moments.
Before those scenes happen, the readers are finally let in on the full reality of Robin’s backstory. Her turmoil began when she was eight-years-old, a target placed on her as the last survivor of her home island where scholars were studying the Void Century in secret. All of them were wiped out by the World Government’s forces with her left as one of the few people in the world with the skills/knowledge to discover their true history. A life that left her, from that formative age until meeting the Straw Hats, with no chance to form connections beyond the purely practical with even those often leaving her more hurt than before. Creating her own nearly nonexistent sense of self-worth, to the point she framed her initial intent to travel with the Straw Hats as something that would punish Luffy: “I wanted to die and you made me live. That’s your crime.”
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Robin, like Usopp, saw herself as a hindrance to the crew. Yet she started to care about them despite herself. Only to find herself, at the precipice of the end of her life as a free woman, standing at the center of the World Government's authority and confronted with unconditional love.
Usopp finds his own strength beyond utility throughout the assault on Enies Lobby. Under the “disguise” of Sogeking he acts on everything he’s learned in his time as a pirate. Finally finding himself standing proud alongside everyone he never thought he could measure up to during that same confrontation to save Robin.
Finally leading to those two consecutive moments:
Usopp is the one to make the Straw Hats’ mark on the world stage by shooting down the World Government Flag at Enies Lobby.
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And Robin boldly, tearfully rejects the deathwish she’s held onto since she was eight. 
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Though for all that bringing the crew to reunion, there was still one member lost after giving it her all to save them one last time: Going Merry
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Through life and loss, the Straw Hats came out of this understanding what they mean to each other at levels some of them never expected. A new era that dawns for the crew with the maiden voyage of Merry’s successor: The Thousand Sunny.
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The focus on tears and laughter in the examples so far at the baseline reflects the highly arch emotional storytelling typical of the Shonen Battle manga/anime genre. But the way the story has developed in its twenty-five years gives notions that seem simple on the surface more weight with each passing chapter. Especially during the Straw Hat Crew’s adventures in The New World.
The previously mentioned Fishman Island Arc serves as a transition point where the Straw Hats (but mostly Luffy) need it explained to them by future-crewmate Jimbei that the eyes of the world are on their crew now, so their actions carry that much more consequence. Especially if they plan to be seen as heroes by the people they help, which is where Luffy draws the line because of all the things he wants to be, a hero isn’t one of them because heroes have to share their meat.
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A ridiculous way to look at the world, but also one that further puts what Luffy stands for in contrast to the World Government emblazoning the word “Justice” on the Marine’s uniforms, all the while using that military might to commit dozens of ongoing atrocities. Worldbuilding used to literalize how actions speak louder than words.
The New World since then has been stuffed to bursting with villains that pervert the notions of joy and laughter. Something that’s also often been tied to images associated with childhood, starting from the first official New World arc in Punk Hazard with the literal children mad scientist Caesar Clown experiments on. Developing later into more symbolic uses of childhood imagery, like the horrifying truth behind the living toys of Dressrosa, the candy-coated terror of Whole Cake Island, and the Super Sentai aesthetic of Germa-66’s emotionless assassins.
Which brings us back around to Wano and the way all these ideas coalesce within this arc, culminating in The Panel. Every evil that was made apparent to the readers throughout the New World has a consequence that either took root in Wano long ago or eventually comes crashing to its isolated shores during the main body of the arc. Most relevantly, this is where the concept of sinister forces twisting the concept of joy takes its most potently devastating form. An evil first introduced in Punk Hazard, Smile Gas, and how its used to despicable ends by the two main arc villains; Kaido, leader of the Animal Kingdom Pirates, and Orochi, the usurper Shogun of Wano.
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When we were first introduced to Smile Gas as a concept, the name didn't appear to have a deeper meaning and its utility as the chemical used to create the artificial Devil Fruits (called “Smile Fruits”) was the most important aspect of it. Later we see how the aptly named Animal Kingdom Pirates have been using it to boost their ranks with animal abilities, which largely take the form of some of the funniest character designs Oda has ever committed to paper. 
Then we get introduced to Ebisu Township and their leader Yasuie. All of them eternally laughing through the pain Kaido and Orochi’s rule has put them through, from starvation to violent raids. First simply appearing as a philosophy/coping strategy to deal with the realities of life under these inhumane conditions. As the old song goes “Gray skies are gonna clear up! Put on a happy face!” 
But we learn the full, painful truth after Yasuie is executed for conspiring against Orochi. The Smile Fruit giving power is a rarity. Everyone who doesn’t not only still gets the standard Devil Fruit weakness of a lost ability to swim, but also lose their ability to physically express any emotions beyond joy and laughter, a rictus grin eternally stretching across their faces from ear to ear. Side effects that still apply even to what remains of the Smile Fruit after the potentially power granting bite has been taken.
So, as yet another touch of cruelty against the starving people under his thumb, Orochi threw the leftover Smile Fruits at Ebisu and let the people think it was an act of charity.
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And that, above every other example listed so far, is the ultimate twisting of joy to villainous ends.
However, there’s another example of when characters in the Wano Arc couldn’t help but laugh. One that ties back to the foundations of One Piece’s entire narrative. The segment of the extended flashback to martyred Wano Shogun Oden’s time aboard the ship of the original King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger.
The moment they discovered The One Piece:
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In that sequence, Oda gives a powerful hint to the reader about the nature of the very real One Piece, that it involves the absolute truth of this story’s world and that truth brings with it great, genuine joy.
Which, to me, says the nature of One Piece the Treasure and the heart of One Piece the Story are one and the same. 
A beautifully ridiculous nature that circles us back to the beginning.
Earlier I brought up the first lesson Luffy learned from Shanks all the way back in Chapter 1 of the manga; knowing which fights are worth it. In that specific context, the fight not worth getting into was another pirate trying to humiliate Shanks and Shanks laughing it off.
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Luffy was unable to internalize that concept in the immediate aftermath, leading to the chain of events that ended in Shanks sacrificing his left-arm to save young Luffy’s life. The story has made it clear Luffy has taken this lesson to heart since, like when he refused to fight against Bellamy the Hyena in Jaya during a near identical sequence of mockery to what Shanks went through in Chapter 1.
Which brings together a couple ideas mentioned here so far; that lesson from Shanks and Luffy’s definition of a hero. As well as bringing us back to the moment where the panel hits and everything in Wano that led up to that. 
Food as a symbol recurs in Wano and as Luffy makes friends in the nation outside of the group that led him to their nation to overthrow Kaido and Orochi in the first place. He sees these new friends starving, whether it’s the villagers he meets during Act 1 or his fellow prisoners in Udon during Act 2.
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Leading into Wano Act 3 where Luffy has two key declarations he keeps making during his fight with Kaido: “I am the man who will surpass you and become King of the Pirates” and that he fights for “A world where my friends can eat as much as they want.” In turn speaking to what each of those ideas means to Luffy. He wants to be a pirate rather than a hero, because the world he fights for wouldn’t require heroes who have to give up their meat just so innocent people won’t starve. Which fits alongside Luffy’s idea of being King of the Pirates meaning he will be a person with the freedom to live in whatever way he fancies.
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Before I bring all this back to The Panel, I want to take a brief step outside of the vast world of One Piece. There’s a song by indie goth rock artist Aurelio Voltaire, “Captains All”, with lyrics that hit at a similar theme to everything discussed up to now:
“Long ago when I was just a lad The other boys hated me, said I made them mad Guess I didn't fit in with the norm I'll never know why people are so desperate to conform
Then I remembered something that you said Those 9 words of yours stuck inside my head You said "Prince Charming, ridicule is nothing to be scared of" So I took it as a rule
I slipped on my finest suit Shined up my pirate boots Put a medal on my lapel I thought of you and gave them hell
We're captains all and we run this show And we only sail where we want to go And we live at ease doing as we please Like pirates drifting out at sea”
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Those lyrics reflect Luffy’s definition of freedom, both for himself and what he wants for every friend he’s made along the way in his journey across the Grand Line. 
As Luffy fights Kaido in the fully awakened state of Gear 5, Luffy becomes everything and more of what we’ve been told about Joyboy. Fighting with no limitations in a rubber hose-cartoon manner straight out of Popeye. A laugh echoing throughout the rest of Kaido’s fortress and a heart that pounds with excitement as the Drums of Liberation. Multiple rereads of that section has earned its place as my favorite fight in all of One Piece, in part because it’s absolutely hilarious.
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During their fight, Kaido describes a Devil Fruit’s awakening as the point where the user’s body/mind finally catches up with their powers. But also talks about how “ability alone can’t conquer the world.” Citing Roger’s rise to be the original King of the Pirates. The Emperor of the Sea also taunts Luffy with how even winning their fight won’t stop the chaos of the battle in the fortress below them. Luffy assuredly lets his opponent know that he doesn’t need to worry about that, because he left his friends in charge down there. Because even at his most free and powerful in Gear 5, Luffy’s greatest strength comes from an unshakable faith in his crew.
That’s what freedom/strength look like to him and knowing that brings him the joy he needs to keep fighting. The World’s Most Ridiculous Power and the liberation it brings fully awakening in tandem with a mind/body that believes in the strength of bonds forged through sharing joy in others, rather than stealing/perverting it the way so many One Piece villains have. Luffy’s power, both the literal Gum-Gum abilities and spiritual power forged through his friendships, can bring genuine laughter to see the fight through to the end and give people back the freedom that should never have been taken away in the first place.
All of this has been crucial and apparent throughout the story Eiichiro Oda’s been telling since 1997. 
What began with the foolish boy that needed to learn why a strong man was willing to laugh at himself rather than pick a fight. A boy who has taken a journey to grow into a man who laughs at his own ridiculous power as he stands against oppression on behalf of the people worth picking a fight for.
The man who will be King of the Pirates!
Who will bring the Romance Dawn!
Who makes this story a Laugh Tale!
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(Originally was going to end on the following link to “We Are!”, but those panels from Chapter 1054 lined up too well with everything I’ve discussed to not include!)
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If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”
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The folks over at the School of Movies podcast invited me back on to chat about a star war
And not just any star war!
My favorite star war in years!
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We Just Got a Letter(boxd)!: One Piece: Stampede
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Director: Takashi Otsuka, Screenplay:  Atsuhiro Tomioka & Takashi Otsuka, Story: Eiichiro Oda, Original Release Date: August 9, 2019
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Two months ago I began a journey!
After over a decade of falling behind on one of my favorite manga from my youth, I made the call to catch up on the massive shonen pirate epic of One Piece!
Starting over from Chapter 1 and reading up to the present with (as of writing) chapter 1050. It's been a hell of a ride as I engaged in the nostalgia of the pre-Time Skip chapters and newly discovered the wonders of The New World Saga. Going through Monkey D. Luffy's journey to gather and fight alongside his crew, The Straw Hat Pirates, on the journey to find the legendary, titular treasure of One Piece.
Once I'd gotten through the manga I was eager to get more of these characters and their richly detailed world as soon as possible. Leading me to dive into the movies for the first time ever. Gathering info on what the most recommended One Piece movies are to keep the cruise going.
As of right now (and until Film Red releases later this year) that path through One Piece's cinematic outings has come to an end with 2019's One Piece: Stampede!
While there are One Piece movies I feel could work well as standalone adventures for someone unfamiliar with the manga/anime to experience as an introduction (including the three preceding this one; Strong World, Film Z, and Film GOLD), Stampede is intentionally the exact opposite of that. This firmly stands as a "only fans need apply" affair, stuffed to bursting with fan service, fights, call backs, and comedy. All of which is built on the back of the series' central lore. A pre-existing knowledge of how every character that shows up here relate to each other is the only way any of it would make the slightest bit of sense. Which makes sense as this movie was meant to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the One Piece tv anime.
Coming into this type of anime movie after going through the rest of the story makes it the perfect dessert to the lengthy meal of the central narrative I'd spent two months going through. There's a lack of even an attempt at thematic substance beyond the most basic version of one of One Piece's main themes, that the journey is more important than the destination. Stampede is fun to sit back, relax, and have fun with the movie-level production to the animation as all the fights are playing out.
It was a nice way to unwind after how much of the story I'd experienced recently. It got me emotional when they busted out "We Are!" as an insert song during the climactic battle between Luffy and the movie's main villain, Bullet, and as a bonus there's a fantastic moment for Usopp thrown into the very same fight.
Getting back into One Piece has been one of my favorite decisions I've made in a while and eagerly look forward to what the future of this story will have to offer!
If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”
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