I love Kuroshitsuji for many reasons, Sebastian being one of them. I love the good writing with its complexity and nuance and of course the moral ambiguity. I'm pretty sure Ciel crossed the Moral Event Horizon somewhere in the manga.
When I heard a live action cut for the film, I was worried. Rightfully for many reasons.
Live action adapted from anime/manga/cartoons had always been not well-done. Visually shot and effects well-done but story-wise there's the struggle of adapting the source material, Adapt means "to make something suitable for a new purpose/use".
Dragon-Ball Evolution takes too many liberties with its source material where it's unrecognizable and so did Frozen where you can't even tell it's the Snow Queen. I wouldn't even mind the latter if it hadn't been slapped on the 'inspired' garbage. Anyway, the Last Airbender where it's just a wiki put on the big screen will be the last victim before I go on a rant about how comic translate to film.
Kuroshitsuji the Live Action Movie has the same type of problems of the previously mentioned film does but in a different kind.
Lazy writing in part of the Hanae who is meant to parallel Mme. Red's but failed due to boiling to the woman scorned rather than the complexity that is Mme. Red's tragic life and the convenient crime realization at a time of crisis and the Deus Ex Machina. There are several within the film and that is where the film failed where the manga and even the anime succeeds juggling plot threads.
supporting characters have little presence even Rin who is supposed to be Mei-rin for all her badassery is just passive and even her back story left, even more, plotholes. It at least has the thumbs up for having not too many focused and unnecessary characters, unlike TS3.
Shiori who is obviously meant to be Ciel's equivalent. Sometime in the film, I even forgot she was even female since she was dressed like Ciel most of the time. It's glossed over and quite problematic in itself. Most of the damn time, I just wanted to scream "FIND AN ACTOR FOR CIEL!" when I watched. I would love a female Ciel but I have seen better written by fans in fanfiction. I just want her to be her own character.
The makeup on Sebastian is downright hilarious. It didn't seem natural in comparison to the actual Sebastian. Acting-wise since there is little range when acting Sebastian (he's the perfect servant! Although his beginning stint as a butler when we see the beginning between Ciel and Sebastian were quite less than perfect...), the actor Mizushima Hiro make a good Sebastian but the make-up is just laughable.
The chemistry between Ciel's actor and Hiro Mizushima. This one was where it fall in terms of the ambiguous relationship. It appears they didn't spend much time together and just came across less natural. I mean the Ciel and Sebastian never bothered with personal space
Setting for the whole story. I know it takes place in Japan but most of the time I was thinking modern day London. I know they moved (and unlike Frozen, it explains stuff even if it's convenient) to Japan but they kept referring the Phantomhive family as the Queen's Watchdog. It left, even more, plot holes ridden in the story. Hey, at least this is far better than Frozen any day.
It adapted okay-ish mostly in terms of the large organization of evil that killed the parents of Ciel (I am going to call her Ciel!), superficially complex plot (whereas the original source has a real complex one), and of course the tease of Ciel and Sebastian's kiss (the original source definitely flirt with shounenai tropes but as a byproduct of the gender bent, it's overtly romantic) and the action scenes. Wonderfully shot in a noir-like style which I like best of the film.
However, it's still far heck better than Dragon Ball Evolution and Last Airbender because at least it kept the face of sources despite its struggle with the original source's nuances.
Really as a whole, the movie could have been more a solid and exciting film but failed in writing department of how to adapt the nuance and unnecessary changes. It really could have been more. At best, revisions could be done and I have seen better in fanfiction. Yeah, sometimes fanfiction can be better than whatever was churned out like Sherlock S3, Frozen, Naruto...
I haven't gathered all ends of my research though and made a general outline of how I want it to go. Since I am more of a specific person, I need details to go in-between and develop. Coupled with the fact I need to know how I would tell the story (I already decided Third Person Limited with the date similarly to the framing device in the Persona series) and real life, it's still in Development Hell. Still in hell...
Since I haven't written a dang thing yet, not even in Emerald which I have to changed loads of stuff mainly ridding how my original was told and presented.
The following new posts (Story Preview) are mainly to energize me to get working on these fics. While yeah this is partially for me, but it is also for my readers (mainly the Jim X Melody shippers who had yet to see my story and the HTTYD fans who read my poorly told story). My stories are really poorly put together which I freely admit.
Now, I am mainly giving some background and liberties I would take with history. It would be accurate (to an extent...) and be respectful to the cultures in the fic itself. I would repeat this information when I post my first chapter in both the beginning and the ending for the readers who read either footnotes first, some reading the beginning footnotes and skip the latter and visa versa.
Let me get this out of the way first: It's a crossover between Disney (only a select few films)...and Code Geass. Yes, Code Geass of all things.
History and Code Geass
Since I was rather hesitant how to tell a historical fiction but then there is Disney's complete lack of historical research. So in order to actually combat that while staying accurate to history, I chose Code Geass which has a really confusing back story for the grounds of Britannia and the other superpowers the EU (which I am primarily focus on) and China.
Basing on scraps on how Britannia came to be with the conflicts with Europe, it's officially an alternate history. Because of it's alternate history, societies may change, civilizations rise and fall, and cultures vary radically. The calendar for CG is radically different where it's fifty years behind our time. See this post to see how it's like in CG universe.
Let me give an example: It's 2017 in-universe which is already modern world (think our technology...but with giant robots used in military) but it's the sixties. Yes, this is an actual example from the series...and when the actual series kicked off its plot...
So in the time in my future fic was around the 1830's but the American Revolution are occurring or about to end somewhere in some time. Which is also according to Code Geass wikia article...
While strictly confined in the world of Code Geass, I would still respect the cultures I am presenting in the fic including the POC's which Jim would befriend. Yes, people of color will be in it so it will be historically accurate. Historical Domain people will be there but I hesitate for them to actually appear since I fear I wouldn't capture the spirit of them especially Napoleon and Elizabeth I.
Historically accurate but liberties will be taken with the timeline and a bit of a mishmash. I won't be Disney when they literally don't give a damn about historical accuracy. The only (princess) movie I can recall which is historically accurate is BatB and Lilo & Stitch.
No Code Geass characters will be mentioned but here's the thing this is also an alternate Code Geass universe... fine, this is part of Walk on In. I don't need to ask permission anyway since the story doesn't even have anything to do with Walk on In, just exploring the history of EU if it had happened in the original anime.
Disney
Onto the Disney portions, the films featuring in this fic are The Little Mermaid, Tangled, and Frozen. The latter would surely surprised you, knowing how much Frozen just annoys me right now. It took a lot of self-convincing on my part because I wanted to give Melody a social life among the royal court.
However, the only magic that will exist in this world would be only mermaids (too bad they would only appear in the first part of the story) and Geass (this won't appear either). No magical flower from a sun drop light and absolutely no powers for Elsa. However, I am thinking of the magical flower being in it since that magic seemed to be to me at least a kind of trial and error magical use. It seems more of a legend that seemed to be confined to Corona in general. So magical flower might be in there but remained in Tangled's kingdom.
I plan something else for Elsa and Anna...which meant I will develop in-story unlike the film which never ever went deep into these characters. Again, we never actually see their mindsets just what we were told rather than shown like just how the hell Elsa didn't maintain a confident 'who cares' after her song? Why Anna seemed to be stuck in her own little world that her personality played up for humor and quirkiness rather than for loneliness? Which means that these women won't be the same women we know from the movie, well know in the loosest sense since we don't know much of these women as they are horribly written as the rest of the characters and the movie they starred in. I would only take the deleted scenes and whatever scraps I like from the movie and expand on it. Yeah, this would only be Frozen in name-only...well with very little scraps I like from the movie and it's very little now since the movie would only spark a fit in me a la Shizuo Heiwajima.
But I digress.
Melody will be a political leader but as for influence, you just have to see.
I planned something else for Jim and Amelia during their time in this alternate Earth.
So to discuss this universe I am playing on, I will have to put a head on that Space Academy thing since one of their cadets and captains, best and dedicated (?), are stuck in one of the worlds.
I am changing a lot of stuff around, not just having no magic with the exception of Geass and Triton's powers. Upping the technology aspect of the ships for one thing to make it more Gummi Ship-like. How their military works. How the space community dealt with issues that will be coming up.
I had to account for multiple things such as how their friends would react to Jim and Amelia stranding in a place where they would have no connection to and would have difficulty trying to find a universe full of different worlds and different Earths.
Yes, this is Kingdom Hearts-esque except there is no Kingdom Hearts since this is a mirror dimension primarily so it had a CLAMP tinge. In another dimension, Jim never met Melody and visa versa...and obviously Atlantis is a totally different world from Arendelle and Corona. If Arendelle ever appeared in a Kingdom Hearts game, I will speedily get through it, completely ignoring everything that happened! If I didn't get through it, I ignore any Frozen world whenever I see a let's play or a walkthrough that went back to the world. Yes, that is how bad Frozen got to me.
See how amazing it is that Frozen is even in this fic...after many self-arguments... Given how much I want Frozen to be thrown under the rug already, the fact I am helping with the Frozen takeover led me into a huge BSOD. This is the first and last time I am ever writing Frozen.
But I digress.
So accounting for many factors that will keep my story afloat and hopefully doesn't drop any plot holes since I am avoiding that. Changing stuff up to match up the story in canon. Like with history, I will be taking liberties but unlike history, I can take full access and make up the government and military for this space and time.
I can make things up since the entirety of how the universe works in accord to Treasure Planet is different, particularly the different worlds aspect. Again taking into account loads of stuff.
Crossover
I had long since began a love hate relationship with Pixar and Disney; the former since TS3 and the latter since Frozen. I genuinely want Big Hero 6 to be better put together than Frozen. Just see my review for Frozen. Big Hero 6 better be good even though the movie still whitewashed when it had no need to. If that was the only flaw and how poorly promoted it was, Frozen should have been thrown into the shelf already and BH6 should have been the one promoted heavily today not a movie premiered a year earlier.
But I digress.
Aside from the obvious Disney crossover within, I was thinking add some other crossovers.
Since this is a mirror universe, there will be alternates that I had chose to live in the time period but they won't made any impact. They'll be mentioned in a passerby that will help in the overall tension. Because these are alternates, they grew up in different circumstances so if I were to add say add a Kyo Kara Maoh character then he with all the circumstances around him would change him but not at all change him at the same time.
Also I am quite disappointed with Haru's choice to go to pro swimming in Free! Eternal Summer. It's nice that he chose to go on his own will but like Rin, it's after one epiphany (which doesn't have the best of writing repeated again in S2) but on the other hand, it just didn't fit him. Remember Haru swim freely. Haru swims for fun, not for competition like Rin. I am all for Haru choosing to go to college and decide to be either a chef or an artist while he can swim anytime he feels like it. Sorry, just giving my criticism for the ending. The final episode wasn't exactly fulfilling for the character (who experienced realistic anxiety issues) especially when I recall that Nagisa remarked that Haru is good at something different from swimming and there was S1 with Haru's artist skills to the point the art club wanted to take him away.
Free! getting an English Dub long since the anime ended... I hope they dub the first season as well.
Here's a tentative list of potential series (within that the characters) that I might be adding. Only one or two characters or perhaps more depending if I could get it in. However, I won't add too much in one scene else it would get distracting. I don't want to depend too much on these miscellaneous characters but they will play in some hand of political power in some Hero of Another Story. However, they will come together in the end. They are after all politicians, nobles, peasants in other countries as well to unite the EU.
And that's all for the preview. Part 2 is likely to be well whatever I would decide. It might be a confirmation or some more data, playing around with some ideas I had yet to confirm or just playing and cackling. Who knows? *shrugs*
I am a very neutral person. I often want to reach a compromise and really don't like getting into fights. I prefer civil debates but even then I would try to reach a compromise.
Shipping is subjective. Subjective dealt with personal bias and whatnot. Opinion.
That doesn't matter as much as the author's. Yes, Word of God certainly do make remarks for what is canonical but there are few perceptions like how a pairing work is completely for others and the author. Shipping is serious business and I personally feel that it should not be like that. I personally hate the shipping combat and so on about the shipping fandom of all fandoms.
Shipping are purely opinion-based. Don't feel insulted just because someone doesn't share the same views. Just go read your doujinshis and fanfiction that are to your liking. What you ship doesn't hurt what others ship.
Shipping is just a smaller part of the bigger picture, the story and the characters. Shipping doesn't even matter when it comes to that. Just because your OTP didn't get together doesn't mean you can't enjoy the rest of the damn story. I mean I was disappointed with Suki and Sokka but that didn't matter much to me because the story takes priority. When it comes to story and characterization and how the canon couple get together, one must be objective how it's executed and told overall.
There are a difference between objective and subjective. Objectively, Frozen isn't incredibly horrible. Some people can view it as such because their perception of objectivity differed. However, subjectivity like Confused Matthew would obviously confused their subjectivity (what they want) versus objectivity (what is being told).
Frozen has contrived and rushed storytelling. Code Geass has contrived events.
Masashi Kishimoto of Naruto has some issues, writing women. J.K Rowling need to improve her writing on Snape and some of the character's romances. Take into account different values of the societies living in and how it could be progressive. See through different lenses of societal values.
These are criticisms.
These on the other hand are opinions.
I prefer this character to be single. I prefer Code Geass over Frozen. I prefer anything over Frozen. I hate Frozen. I dislike Frozen. I like Frozen. Frozen's okay.
See the difference. Please take into account into what is objective and subjective that includes shipping.
