Transformers: Okay, I do like the franchise enough. Like the Twilight series, the Bay films also make me laugh and mock them; admittedly, they're both my guilty pleasures...well except for the Breaking Dawn films though because it was not fun. As for the Animated series, I do like it. It's fun but it felt incomplete. There is good writing and then there's writing that makes me roll my eyes (the ladies for example). I enjoyed the comedy.
Let's move on quickly to the fanfic in question.
Battlesleep: Megatron escaping from prison was, of course, Sentinel's frag-up. What Optimus didn't count on was being kidnapped by the warlord on his way out. Now halfway across the galaxy, Optimus must discover the reason behind Megatron's reluctance to kill him, and with it a secret of his species' biology that may hold the key to peace between Autobots and Decepticons.
This is both a fic rec and a progress fic review. I wouldn't put on the blog in the first place. I'm already broke when I don't have the time for leisurely read books
Let's start with the easier stuff first. Normally I will put the positives and negatives in separate sections but this piece of fanfiction needed an explanation. Just the complications and the world-building.
The women bots are greatly depicted for what they are and should have been depicted. You would think that a Transformers show in the early 2000s would be more progressive but no. Competent just as their mech counterparts and just as wonderful. It does help that these femme bots are varied in personality too.
I love the buddy cop dynamic between Sari and Sentinel Prime, comedy duo. They are hilarious, playing off each other with their wit and sarcasm. Both are essentially bringing the best out of each other and I love it so much.
The fic also did a job, not ignoring and romanticizing the Decepticons' awful actions. If they want a second chance from their would-be breeders, they would have to earn a second chance. Don't romanticize horrible actions. In a way, the fic rebutted the fandom's sympathy towards the Decepticons. Seriously, this is not Star Wars, guys, where you can actually sympathize with the Sith and/or enemies where the Jedi are exceptionally complacent and self-righteous above good and evil. That was not fun, just watching the prequels and related media regarding the Jedi; if there was one thing that George Lucas and his crew made consistently, it was the hypocrisy and complacency of the Jedi. While Mr. Lucas was a Yoda stan, the other writers made it damn clear that with the exception of a few like Qui-Gon, most of the Jedi are clearly more hypocritical and lacked the understanding of the world they deemed theirs.
The world-building is awesome. Cybertron is usually depicted as some kind of dystopian society but the Decepticon is much worse. Some explanation is down below but certainly, the world-building aspect is one of the best parts.
There's also a nice reference to Steven Universe, implying that it might have the Gems and the Homeworld.
There is a lot of good things to look forward to. I love seeing the Autobots' side, the rescuers, the Sari and Sentinel Prime, and the Decepticons. And that includes the potential romances. Each perspective is awesome to look forward to. While I honestly love the Sari and Sentinel Prime interactions the most, the other sides of the story aren't half-bad either.
Now let's get going to the harder stuff. I would need a lot of good alcohol for this.
The world-building aspect, as I stated before, is utterly awesome. The parallels to human culture is a nice touch, providing social commentaries such as sexism (on both sides) and racism.
They are still alien robots, just to be clear.
Because they are aliens, this fic takes full advantage of its cracky nature and made a semi-serious fic. Like I said, this fic tried to tell how to not ignore horrible actions. I mean it's Decepticons here.
So this fic has mech preg where robots get pregnant. I think it's a Transformers-unique trope because AO3 only has Transformers in that tag.
Here's the gist: Long before the Allspark even came into the possession of these alien robots, the continuation of their species depending on a breeder/seeder society. Cyclonus also stated that injury and death in childbirth were common before he came into existence. When the Allspark made it possible without death and injury to streamline the process of life, the war began.
Now the current generations of Bots have no fucking clue of their ancestry (to the point even the most educated of the Bots have the idea they are not compatible) while those who are on Con space likely knew about that detail. The very old, like so very old Cybertronians knew about this fact; I think that due to the fact the war had gone on for so long, they don't see how the war would be resolved easily.
At this rate, it will become a Romeo and Juliet case with their leaders or former thereof with Megazarak.
Let it be known that the authors have no intention of basing the Cybertronian biology in human biology. It's similar but not really. According to the authors, it's complicated and no parallels are to be made to human reproduction. It's the closest analogy that most readers made but if the authors said it's complicated, then everything had yet to be explained in full detail.
C'mon, they are robots, which in this fic, can reproduce sexually. It meant all the works including childbirth apparently.
Now we don't know which Bot will be the first in years. It could mean Optimus or Minimus. Blurr doesn't seem likely since it's a subplot and Blurr clearly has issues with his former lover trying to kill him.
For right now as of the current update, not much of the biology is explained in too much detail. We got the gist of it when we got the explanation of the gender dimorphism,
And I think that's enough for now because I don't think a review would get enough of what a glorious read the fic is.
Just read it. You would like it or enjoy it.
...This dub is magnificent. It's right up there with the best dubs like FMA and Cowboy Bebop. I am not talking about the kind of quality dub those two anime has; I'm talking about the infamy of this dub that is so amazing.
Hikaru no Go is one of the best sports manga/anime I read; yes, it's still a sports anime/manga because the type of game is still a game, no matter how abstract. It's high on my list of recommendations for that particular genre. Hopefully, one of my cousins watched this series because I'm rewatching this again.
The manga abruptly ended with an open ending. Sure we got hints of the future (character development, conflicts, etc) but we know that Hikago would not be continued unless we have fanfiction or doujins. Seriously, the series ended with a match between Hikaru and Akira in the second round at the Young Lions Tournament. With no result named. The last picture was Hikaru slamming the go stone on the board. It was so abrupt that I felt that it wasn't meant to be an open ending. Even the anime ended just prior to the Hokuto cup with a montage. The Hokuto cup though managed all the way up until we even get the tournament itself. I wonder how long the series was supposed to be before it was canceled. I wonder if there is another world out there where Hikago continued.
It was strange. I personally thought there was a new arc brewing with Waya expressing insecurity, Hikaru's path in achieving the Hand of God and surpassing Toya and Sai, new insei, Honda's fear in the go pro world, Ochi's struggle for recognition, Akira's struggle to get out of his father's shadow, the New Wave and that's I can name off the top of my head. Something is there for new arcs and it abruptly ended. While there is closure, there isn't enough to consider the many things that had hinted beforehand.
I just wonder why it ended so abruptly. I heard disjointed theories like Korea didn't like how Japan seemed to prostrate themselves on a pedestal in a fictional go world. Did they read the manga? China and Korea are doing fine; hell, in the final arc, Korea won. Also, I heard it was because Sai not being there for another reason. I don't know the exact reason for its sudden cancellation but I wish there was an official canon following this because I know my narrative.
There are still flaws - characters, once Hikaru finished an arc, are almost never seen again (and if they were, they are mostly seen on side-stories or when we get peeks of them like we see Tsutsui's character development and I'm pretty sure he is popular in some way or another with a confident edge), not enough female go players (sure we got peeks of female pros in the official games in the epilogue and the games but no word on the female titles). Sure there are female go players (even a named figure, Sakurano Chieko, but we don't know whether or not she has a title). Then there's the abrupt ending that I couldn't help but feel it wasn't meant to be. Unlike Bleach and Naruto's endings which feel unnatural, Hikago's ending was just so...abrupt. There is no way of putting about it since we kept getting hints of a new arc. I mean it made little sense to end it like when we should have ended it not with insei (which I guess supposed to be part of the New Wave and emphasized that since the last chapter dealt so little with Hikaru and Sai). Hell, I understand you are trying to make both Hikaru and Akira as the head of Japan's New Wave.
Also, what is TV tropes spreading lies about Hikaru never winning against Akira? Do you know the narrative? Over and over again, we hear Akira wanting to climb so Hikaru would never catch up to him and his utter faith in Hikaru. Just because the current canon we got Akira always winning does not mean that Hikaru would not win in the future; in fact, his future was so very bright, gaining titles and already he is held on the same level his rival has due to his incredible performance at the Hokuto Cup. Hikaru's goal was to catch up to Akira and find the Hand of God. He was destined to find the Hand of God, which the gods led him to Sai and go. The gods would not waste efforts to have two geniuses. Kuwabara outright said they were geniuses and equals. The author made it a point of calling it Eternal Rivals. So to say that Hikaru would never beat Akira is like saying May would never beat Drew. Do you understand the narrative at all? Isumi or Waya or Ochi or Nase or Fuku wasn't meant to find the Hand of God; hell, it wasn't their goal because they wanted to be pros and make it there, not achieve something they have no interest in. Ochi's goal was to be a rival of Akira.
No, I don't ship anybody in Hikago. No, I don't hate the dub; some of the voices were pretty monotone but others do have a great job.
The Neverending Road by Leitbur: Hikaru's journey through the world of pros continues, facing opponents new and old as well as the challenges of the heart. It takes place after the series ends.
Review: It's been dormant for a while now, probably dead at this rate.
I like the love triangle execution in this one. Hikaru has two girls after him which none of his friends envied him for because they do not want to be in his place; they envied him for his impressive records as a pro but not in the romantic life because they are fine in that route, thank you. Even Waya has a girl chasing after him even though the girl is a pre-teen and poor Waya forced to pay for everything. At least the love triangle. It also helped that it also dealt with the futures of these girls in the Japanese cultural expectations. Japanese feminism is different from American feminism. And I'm not going to talk about that especially since Nase is a go pro in this one and I don't know Akari's future.
I do like how it takes the girls into consideration. These girls, while imploring interest in the MC, have their own goals and personality. They are mature girls who are friends with each other and didn't want to hurt each other. Hikaru didn't want to hurt them because he's oblivious to their love until they confessed. I actually like the chapter where the trio compared themselves to characters in Romeo and Juliet, identifying themselves as Rosaline. I actually think the romance actually enhanced the plot despite it being a subplot. If you want Japanese feminism, look at Persona 4.
This is more slice-of-life despite the pros and the amateurs. I mean we have Hikaru worrying about his love life along with the fact his desire to win and achieve the Hand of God. Then we have Waya and Ochi's insecurities besides the two Princes of Go.
The character development is really great. Each character wanted to surpass them or at least beat the two prodigies of Go, unaware that the two prodigies are under heavy pressure to live up to their mentor/father's shadow. Only one person knows Hikaru is Sai's student and that is the former Meijin himself, Touya Koyo. I really like the scene where he encouraged him. Hikaru still has character development to go through because he is still in stasis.
The overall drama is alright. I just wish it has more levity. Teasing Hikaru or Waya on their love lives don't quite seem to make an impression for comedy. I liked Waya's reactions to a girl's whims and the two Princes of Go's petty fighting. There isn't much levity or a balance of drama and comedy. Drama needs comedy to lighten the mood; this is why I really dislike the DCEU until WW.
At first, the chapters didn't have breaks on mobile. It was hard to see the change of POV/setting until you actually read it. Later chapters managed to have breaks thankfully. It was quibble since it could have something, anything to show breaks between a conversation between two pros, then a match. Admittedly, sometimes it's hard to see the difference when some chapters didn't even have breaks unless you read it.
I can appreciate how much thought the author put on the matches. It can get technical that the author's notes did their best to explain. I also appreciate the research of the Japanese in this. I understand you want to emphasize how the Japanese put so much stock on gender roles that the Japanese feminists are trying hard to break.
There is just an issue that bugged me in the story: I understand that Hikaru wants to keep his status as a student of Sai a secret although players who seemed his work and compared them to the Saint of NetGo have their suspicions, some more civilly than most but still. I understand that you want to keep Sai's memory alive in your Go, Hikaru. I just...can you just reveal that Sai is dead? It's not like he's coming back in this fic aside from mentioning his name by Hikaru and others. Unlike the other fic in which I can see Sai coming back, it's unlikely Sai came back to Hikaru via a new body. You could just reveal that he is dead on the NetGo site. Hell, you could have a new account on the NetGo site and just say in a memorial for him or something. This is why Ogata was so insistent on a game with Sai. Regardless, whether or not Sai trained you, Hikaru still managed to achieve a high level of Go comparable to the other Prince of Go, Akira Touya in just three years, the time you spent together with Sai. That is nothing to scoff at; even Sai would say you are a prodigy. Just because you haven't started at a young age doesn't designate you immediately as a prodigy. Akira is a prodigy and so are you, Hikaru. You still start out at a relatively young age and reached a level that only a prodigy can reach. I am getting off-topic but Hikaru, it's fine to reveal Sai is dead anonymously. It doesn't have to be your official NetGo account.
Unless Hikaru still hasn't come to terms with Sai's death, I don't see why he can't say that Sai is dead officially.
There are other flaws too. I mean it's not my favorite Hikago fic, not even the next one I'm recommending either. I deeply enjoyed the next one more than this one, to be honest. Both have their flaws and virtues and...
My favorite of the lot was the trip to China. These side-stories expounded or expanded on what happened when we're not following Hikaru. Sure we got POV shots from various characters but we're mostly following the titular Hikaru.
Paper Cranesbyspontaneite: Two years passed before Hikaru admitted, reluctantly, that possession by a spirit seemed to have long-lasting side effects which probably won't go away on its own.
So if a new chapter is uploaded, check the author's Tumblr.
Review: Think of this as a Natsume Yuujinchou just with Hikago. It's not xxxHolic or Blue Exorcist or any anime/manga that dealt a lot with Japanese mythology (and there are many) including Spirited Away. The closest thing I could think of to compare is Natsume Yuujinchou. In this, Hikaru is not only growing up but also dealing with his spiritual sensitivity. I just love Hikaru's BS so much, trolling his friends because they haven't picked up fully. Even Akari was able to pick up the pace of his BS to the point she just goes along with the flow. She's not his best friend for nothing, a position that nobody envied because, in their opinion, Hikaru is weird as fuck. Everyone is just trying to deal with this eccentric boy whose crazy antics made them feel they lost years of their life.
I really like the employment of Japanese mythology in here. It reminded me of a lot of the other Japanese shows that used Japanese mythology. I love mythology like no tomorrow. I will read fairy tales including the most obscure. Over the Garden Wall won my heart on the fairytale aspect. Anything resembling fairytale would make my watchlist I am always dying to take a class on mythology soon.
Right now, it's still ongoing. I can't say any more than just read it alone for its good humor.
The current fandom culture is...stupid. Trends invading spaces, with known fandom history (that is interesting to read), and overtaking to the point entitled brats to think they can control the space. What a mob mentality...
I entered fandom when I was 12ish, close to 13. A freaking decade I spent in the background; I saw shipping wars, a minor 'discourse' that doesn't take over the entire community, the insistence of shipping something you need to, fun theories, etc. The thing is that is internet space with fandoms being niches.
Before I even heard of Archive of Our Own, I read fanfiction on Fanfiction.Net. That had become my mainstay for a while until I moved to college. I mostly read Gen fics or the popular het ships since there are a lot more there than m/m unless they are popular fandoms like Hetalia.
On FF.Net, I have seen tags on summaries like Slash, Rape, and all kinds of kinks. They are warning you for a reason. I actually avoided all things sex (because at that time, I was still debating on whom I am attracted to) but I read a lot of violence. I didn't hurt the authors for even writing the thing; if they're writing in the first place, it could mean it was for titillation and for the enjoyment of others and just because it's fun to explore. It's 'problematic' but it remains on the internet with tags for all to see. Even Don't like (the summary explaining everything, the tags, etc), Don't Read say it outright it's your choice. I read long fics and anything to do with my ship. If the site doesn't have it, I go to another site to find it. I barely even read slash fiction there.
As for the anti 'movement', if you can call it that (seriously, they are only attacking fandoms just for having something fandoms has like being a bubble of exploration of problematic and fluffy material instead of you know teaching nuanced critical thinking of recognizing potential predators. That is more beneficial than protecting a hypothetical 'child'), I think I first saw them arise in 2013-14. The first anti-fandom I came into contact with is Anti-Freeze Team, an anti-Frozen group. This group does bring up legit points such as the unoriginal storytelling and lack of worldbuilding for example. However, this is also the same group that hates on ships like Elsanna, Hanna, Helsa, Kristanna, and Jelsa. Look I understand if your friend harass you into pairing a particular ship or you think the ship is disgusting, but don't hurt other people. Criticize all you want but stay in your lane and don't hurt anybody who actually used shipping for fun and exploration and coping because guess what? They're utterly fictional, belonging in a niche. While I do admit Kristanna does look problematic, the fact it is underwritten is the failure since Hanna seemed to have more development. So I took away from this group of antis is that they have legit grievances that are necessary to be talked about. Just they are taking it on the wrong people. Do they even know what shipping even is? They seemed to think canon is the way when not really fanon is called fanon for a reason. Jelsa is a crack crossover ship for a reason. People shipped Jack with Hiccup and you don't see that hurting Dreamworks in any capacity. People should also stop saying 'queerbaiting' too because it was thrown around so easily and to get caught up in your shipping is bad when you are dealing with canon and canon is not the end-all of all shipping. The argument I have seen was 'IT'S CANON!' - guess what? Canon matters so little to shipping, which is subjective. There is no reason why one should adhere to canon for shipping evidence. Sure, go ahead but don't confuse canon with your headcanons.
And that was just the start of anti's, folks. They gained more and more momentum from the mob mentality, negativity, SJW, and purity culture. There are literally antis for anything you can think of: Naruto, Bleach, FMA, Voltron, feminism, shipping, anything.
Purity culture is toxic. Purity does not exist. Even Shakespeare knew his character Bianca in Taming of the Shrew. Hell, depicting problematic material does not mean the person is in support of it. Are you saying that George R.R. Martin supported incest? He's a liberal. Fanfiction writers have a whole laundry list involving kinks, standard kinks too, and they're just sex.
Don't get me going into age gap relationships in fiction. Now, modern shipping culture seemed to mean that any age difference and I do any of them including two full grown adults like an 80-year-old with a 60-year-old and that's pedophilia. Um, they're both adults? Do you even understand the word, adult, or the word, pedophilia? Do you even understand the world is not America-centric? Are American teenagers and young adults that entitled and self-centered to not see that the world does not revolve around their morals or what they believe to be taught? Do you just confuse statutory rape with pedophilia?
Hey, no matter how much you criticize some fandom practices, be glad they are a niche and aren't as widespread. Seriously, A/B/O dynamics are an internet creation, similar to the Humans are Space Orcs threads. I doubt a lot of people actually know or care A/B/O actually means. Hell, as a whole, I cared as much as I do piloting a plane which is NOTHING!!!! Seriously, I don't care much for A/B/O at all. Sure we can theorize what made it popular or appealing; people are allowed to hate it or not care much for it.
Do you understand how reality works? Purity does not exist. The Victorians tried to push for that and guess what? It didn't work. People regarded fandom as a niche. Do I have to point out how people were surprised by Trekkies and Star Wars fanatics? Do I have to point out to you there are specific groups of people who go to conventions in cosplay (I still need to work on my Kaitou Kid cosplay) and panels? There are groups of fans who buy tickets or outright traveled to see them live? Does anyone remember how fans were even treated outside of the fandom sphere? And that's not getting into America's depiction of geekdom. Even with The Big Bang Theory's less than amazing depiction of nerds, at least they got right the fact that it is a niche. Their coworkers may or may not get the references but at least they get it was nerdy. Seriously, if The Big Bang Theory got it right, then you, the consumer, are doing it wrong.
This is why I don't get antis. Fandom doesn't have anything in reality. It's a niche. It's not as widespread as you think it is.
That makes them no different from sports fans. Sports fans are a niche. Sports had become a part of our culture to the point of almost a military ceremony beforehand. Sports is really just a ball bouncing around to person to person.
Back then, people ship whatever they wanted. Sure, there is ship hate then and the occasional ship war but none that overtook the fanbase unless they are popular in some fashion. Back then, fandoms have been toxic. Back then, fans expressed fanart regardless of what canon says. Back then, canon meant nothing to fans. It is called fanon for a reason! Back then, people celebrated their interests and just indulged. Back then, you don't need to reveal personal information to strangers just to allow you to even have your indulgence. I seriously hate that because these guys are preying on the vulnerable to release personal information. It's one thing, revealing age and zodiac sign but beyond that...yeah, you're setting yourself up for vulnerable situations.
That is more horrifying than an A/B/O fantasy. Seriously, at least those A/B/O fics don't hide they are basically sex fantasies. What these guys aren't hiding is that they are abusing vulnerable people who simply want to explore.
Now, it's canon is the priority regardless fanon still exists (seriously there is still the perception of a fanon character versus a canonical characterization. I mean it's hilarious in the VLD fandom where before Keith's Vlog, people see Keith as this arrogant boy who got everything on a silver platter despite his ancestral issues despite people saying that interpretation is wrong on all accounts. And this is a fandom that has all the modern fandom trends come together in a bad mess and a fandom that seemed to think they are the best in controlling others including thinking they can also police in AO3 including lambasting anyone posting mpreg in a supposedly pure ship....are you kidding? It is not called AO3 for nothing and do you not know the history of fandom and AO3?). Now, it's buzz words thrown around so easily that the actual people who committed the crimes slipped under the radar and crimes overlooked. Now, it's purity all over the place. Now, it's the normalization of abusive techniques and mob mentality over people who simply have different life experiences thus preferences. Now, it's a 'crime' to post things that are normal to humans even as far back as the great intellectuals like Plato arguing about Patroclus and Achilles. Seriously, this happened. Now, fanfiction seemed to be policed where safe spaces like AO3 are being attacked. Now, cathartic fiction should never be written according to stupid entitled children who only have a surface education of the world, who confused terms and laws, who failed to recognize fiction is a place to explore, unlike nonfiction.
Believe me, I began learning so many things about the world once I exited high school. I took a class in sociology. I learned reliable information from various sources to extend my learning if my classes or school of education did not teach such a thing. I am currently looking for a goddamn job.
Entitled spoiled brats of teens to the early twenties who think they can control other people are a major problem. Even older people who should know better than to bully to the point of creating multiple blogs to have 'receipts' of people who committed a horrendous crime of fanart or shipping something, designating them as disgusting people who committed those deeds despite the fact that they are simply fandom-based ships that will not hurt the canon. Not even caring to listen to criticism, they deemed themselves morally right to the point that sane people outside of fandom space called them out for their horrendous behavior from non-fans!
While I do consider Steven Universe enjoyable and its messages do need to be said especially in a time where hate and controversies are so easy to stir up especially when everything started to get political regardless of the author's intention to just have fun, the insane fans gave the sane fans a bad reputation. Harassing crewmen and artists (who have no say in the story but they can say which they ship) is disrespectful over a fucking fanon ship. YOU don't get a say in canon. YOU don't own it officially. You are simply creating headcanons that you confused canon for.
Steven Universe is made for everyone. How the hell does self-righteous POC, LGBTQIA+, and whatever identity and sex you identify with own that? In gatekeeping, you are making people force away something they'll enjoy and interact with people who share that interest. Avatar the Last Airbender comics outright mocked fake fans and gatekeepers, for Godoka's sake. Creators including those who aren't even involved in the final process are 'exposed' by these gatekeepers as these not great people who deserve none of the praise. I just...wow...
In VLD fandom, one of the youngest fandoms I was seen, these anti-shippers or at least a small percentage of them sent death threats over which is strictly fanon (Klance is fanon, guys. Shipping isn't canon. Sure we would love some canon backing such as intimacy and teamwork but those are interpretations. Unless something that is undeniably romantic like Kataang's continuous interest although admittedly getting LGBT media unless you are LGBT yourself regardless you is inclusive and treat everyone like equals are difficult to identify. People didn't see Korrasami or Solangelo but they will admit it is canon. They don't like it but they'll move on. They might criticize how it's handled and such and such. They are allowed to hate it. They are not allowed to hate people who are inclusive to even write them. Are you saying that the VLD supported pedophilia? No, Josh Keaton explicitly said they have to learn the definition of pedophilia. His friends particularly Shada and Bex are fine with their Klance shipping. And they're all friends. Montgomery and Dos Santos said that all ships are valid. And they are friends with the VAs. Alex Hirsch basically said that all ships are valid alongside headcanons despite his mocking of well everything really from shippers to Tumblr itself. I'll mock Tumblr myself and more like mock its purity no-boundaries sjw minority that pushed an agenda that is impossible to achieve because they have such little knowledge of fandom in general. Just because a ship is canon does not negate other ships; if people ship NH and SS, that means people can ship SNS or Narusaku. I will repeat this to death: you guys don't need canon for your shipping. Ship whatever you want; but if you seriously want canon, you cannot confuse canon with headcanon. Headcanon: Keith is Korean, Lance is bi. What is canon is something like this: Keith is Galra, Lance has a beauty routine, Hunk loves to cook.)
And this is the same fandom which has a strong anti-Shaladin policing community to the point that the anti-Shaladins who remained on their lanes look so bad. They would rather have a fanon couple like Shlav (which again they can ship; I personally don't care much of it) but refuse age difference relationships that are normal in high school and real life. I just don't get their logic here. They'll allow an obvious fanon ship but something that even resembled a real relationship between two people who even has just as much as two year age difference even though it's so freaking common in real life. My mom and dad have an 11-year difference. I have a friend who then was a sophomore dated a senior. Another person on Tumblr met her husband when she was 19. Other people even commented that when she was 18, her 16-year-old boyfriend abused her. So...yeah....age differences in relationships make no difference in reality. Sane people would call them out for their SJW agenda that no longer resembled reality and more like a fantasyland full of arrogant snot-nosed brats who know far too little of the world. They'll be laughed off in reality.
They are forgetting that people still ship SasuNaruSasu despite the manga ending or jumping the shark or anything really. They forgot that people still ship Pokeshipping despite Misty not appearing since her last appearance in AG. They forgot that people still ship Ichiruki despite Rukia not even appearing in the manga in years. They freaking forgot that people still ship Johnlock despite canon and creators pretty much shamed them for even liking them together. They forgot that Spirk is one of the oldest slash couples out there and had not hurt any movement in the real life like LGBT parades and protests in real life events that have an impact on the conscienceness. They didn't hurt the actual movement itself!
Seriously from what I gleaned, Matt is a discourse now for shipping. WTF, now it's Maladin and I just... We just saw a canonical Matt expressing a crush on Allura and now that's bad. What is wrong with shipping a guy who simply has a crush on her? Regardless of your preferences, it's a fucking ship on fandom. You guys can still ship Matt to anyone! Age is utterly meaningless in shipping fandom! Age them up or make them animals or put them in Amestris or cross them into the world of ATLA or gender-switch or bodyswap or make them pirates or put them in modern day! Ship Matt with Lance, Allura, Pidge, whoever the fuck you want! Just don't hurt anybody, you stupid fandom!
Also fandoms, please for the love of Shakespeare, do not put too much stake in theories and expect it to be canon. You can love a theory. I'm a lover of Wild Mass Guessing and love it when the writers proved me wrong or right or outright troll us. People can create lovingly detailed theories out of anything. Hell, there are crack theories like Miss Fizz from The Magical School Bus is a Time Lord. That's fun! Don't sit on a throne, expecting special treatment just because you have a theory you firmly believe to be true.
Shipping meta is best described as a reach at any point in time (even one of the Klance analyzers, who does not participate in meta much or fandom much admitted it was pushing it and she doesn't watch the show for the ships!) but just fanon fun. Don't get invested in fanon to expect things from canon. Because the creators hint at one thing does not mean that it is the thing you strongly desired. You guys don't need to pick canon. Canon is simply the backbone or not of all the backbone. Mycroft and Greg Lestrade were paired up precisely because of a passing comment from Greg. I shipped Sam X Mercedes and people shipped Sam X Blaine and Kurt X Puck? And you know what, it's all fine!
Fanon means to explore things that canon will not or would not or could not explain in great detail. You can literally explore anything. Coffee shops au's are so common you can literally find them in every fandom to date.
My headcanon for Suyin's father is Sokka. So by that headcanon, they're both terrible parents! Then again, they cannot be Kataang. Aside from me being a happy Tokka shipper, it's still a headcanon. The creators admitted that unlike Katara and Aang, the others' lives (i.e. Zuko, Sokka, Toph, Suki) are left up to interpretation. This was supported by the comics which the creators themselves have spoken to the writers. Hell, LoK made that pretty clear that we still don't know what happened to Suki. Katara could have at least mention Suki but literally none. Therefore, Sokka being Toph's daughter's father is still right in our books. Hell, aside from harassment from fans, the creators are pretty cool with the fandom using their material and encourage them.
How I wish all creators to actually see fanfiction as a creative writing medium? People aren't making money off of it. People are afraid of getting their asses sued off. While Anne Rice started to take a stance towards tolerating fanfiction, her actions in the past erred multiple people and made it into fandom history. Not even Stephanie Meyer didn't sue E.L. James (I never been so grateful. That will be so messy).
Seriously, fandom is a niche. It had not impacted anybody at all. In fandom history, fandoms in the past have been treated like it's an awful thing. Sure certain number of fans are awful and unrepentant about their doings. But there will be the sane fans and the casual fans who simply enjoyed the work. Fandom is voluntary. Either you join it or you don't. If a fan is being dumb for one reason or another, don't interact with them, just don't for your peace of mind.
I'm actively avoiding the VLD fandom and I feel guilty about that since I know antis are a clear minority to the point that even normal fans and casual fans could easily see what's wrong. I'm sure they're nice people to talk to in said fandom. I just wish that the vocal part of the minority doesn't warp fandom to the point fandom can't even do fandom anymore. Only fandom that these selfish entitled brats think they can police.
You know, before fandom adopted the word discourse, the previous word was wank. I guess discourse sounded more mature. Some topics they discussed may be nice like speculation of the hidden clues in Gravity Falls. Some might be so stupid like shipping wars. The Maladin and Shaladin discourse are so stupid I just cannot believe they think they are the police when they are the monsters of the night. Why the fuck would you care about ships when it doesn't even fucking matter outside of fandom space? People look at fandom ships as what fandoms usually do. Why the fuck do you think how the news circulate of a blackmail to the creators on a fucking ship to become canon? You do not own the work. All you do is stupid shit upon stupid shit.
Assholes in fandom will always exist. Trolling and G.I.F.T will always be on the Internet.
It is your responsibility to consume the Internet and its purposes. There is worse stuff than fandom shipping stuff you deemed incest, pedophilia, and abuse. There are porn sites out there that required no official account, literally easy access with no credit card and believe me when I say that. I even accidentally came across porn sites now and then, but I avoid it. There are videos out there that show awful stuff in history like says a filmed suicide.
Think what happened on Persona 5 where one guy died on public television. Those things will be posted on Youtube and circulate. That is far worse than any fanart that depicted a character having sex with a fucking towel or having fictional characters having sex in general, anyone. Imagine watching someone die onscreen in real life and it's not fiction. So yeah, don't think for a fact you're doing any good.
Representation doesn't really help LGBT rights and the movement. Sure we need inclusion in the western society and we need to see more marginalized people actually treated as equals from both ends. There are marginalized people who expect you to treat them as godsend just because of their sex and identity. We are looking for basic human decency here. There is a reason why people have such a backlash against the Steven Universe, Undertale, and VLD fandoms whenever they start to harass VA's and creators. Representation is helpful to the extent for people who want to see themselves in their shoes. Vietnamese people are so underrepresented in western culture; Vietnamese media is totally different because it aimed towards the people of Vietnam just like how Japanese media does to Japanese people. When I look at ML's Kim and TJ's Cheshire, I am relieved to see that I am at least represented in the west. Do you ever wonder why the Persona series are so successful in the first place? Even with its political messages? Even with its progressive thinking? I'm pretty sure people are outright reacting to what Persona 5 have to say about the society in question. P5 was radical, even having one of the villains being an expy for Shinzo Abe, someone that the crew at Atlus certainly disagreed with and hated.
Just you stupid young teenagers to barely young adults, you are not fighting for a good cause. If you want to fight for the good cause, go protest or donate or help actual nonprofit organizations or actually research stuff. There is a difference between fandom, a niche because seriously these cons are basically that a niche and actual porn. Porn that has actual children involved, the porn industry that actually affected society, porn that is easily found on the internet. Fanfiction and fanart are remarkably tamed because while shaped by society, it is not harmful to anybody. For example, Kylux is popular but it was influenced by racism and misogyny however unwitting. Anybody outside of fandom space knew that. People called out the insane fans who spit venom at the creators and fans for their actions. Why do you think the SU fandom has now been called a toxic wasteland by the public outside of fandom? Even the sane SU fans have that hovering over their heads.
Now Tumblr does have a problem that the staff desperately needed to work on, making sure to have no misinformation spreading - seriously, looking at you, antis - and SJW purity gatekeeping.
Why can't people on Tumblr get it through their heads that people aren't perfect? That their purity idealism is impossible to reach?
I don't see their 'movement' dying down anytime soon.
Seriously Reylo or whatever ship that had gained lots of hate from antis, go free, create your fanworks and enjoy it! For what character is called a problematic fave, go and have them as your favorite character! If your character is a villain, care less about what people wanted perfection when your interpretation counts just as much!
Now excuse me, I will be playing Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild. I want to explore the world they have to offer.
And to watch Miraculous Ladybug S2.
Because I'm a huge Pokemon nut, I'm going to buy Ultra Sun and Moon. Hey, it's the first game I ever played in my life and I remained playing the flagship games.
So I'm organized and decided to just do something similar to reviews. Now Reviews, Mini and Final, are basically that but while the Mini reviews are basically Final Reviews, only shorter. Final Reviews go into depth. Progress Reviews are essentially a point when the story reached a level of development basically or no development so far.
They are all read in my review tag.
First Impressions are based entirely on the first episode/season/whatever released. Typically, I would do an entire season if the plot is story-driven. Despite it saying first impressions, it can mean up to three episodes or more if I need to get a feeling. Depending on how much I need to see the feel of things. Pilots could mean either mean setting status quo or have yet to get a feeling for it. Either the show pre-planned or not; for example, ATLA and GF are pre-planned. I totally understand early installment weirdness like Glee which didn't have much planning involved...like ideas thrown about.
Now, this show is something I don't think Dreamworks has as part of their deal with Studio Mir. Lego was part of another studio altogether. Lego Elves may have aired on Disney Channel, basically telling you right there that it's a different competitor from Dreamworks-Netflix deal.
It just happened to be animated by the same guys who animated one Dreamworks show currently. We still don't know what kind of shows that Dreamworks is considering to make a 2D animated show. Other than Dawn of the Croods, Puss in Boots, and Dragons, those styles are not Mir's. I meanwhile they have less money than an expensive CGI movie, at least the CGI looks decent and doesn't look decrepit like in saying Norm of the North. VLD is Mir's artwork.
Let's start with the positives.
At the heart, it's a simple and pleasant story. Little cliched in character and plot, hell it started off with cliches. At this rate, there will be a Sokka for every series; if Lance is Space Sokka, then Farran is Elf Sokka.
The characters are silly and simple. Farran is basically Elf Sokka.
And Cronan is Goblin DOTU Lotor. Seriously, Lotor is a walking meme, a fucking loser in every way possible. He outright drinks a mean potion and no, I am not making that up though I swear I thought I have. He is trying to be the Lotor of 2017 (ace pilot, manipulative, mysterious) but he's actually the Lotor of old.
If I have to say my favorites so far, the goblins are the answer. Think of them as the snarky chew toy scared servants who had the displeasure to serve under a loser.
The voice acting is good. I doubt Andrea Romano was the voice director here. She is the Queen when it comes to her talent scouting, either of DC or animation in general. If any actor gets her vote, they would get a badge of honor and many are grateful for that from Mark Hamil to Wil Wheaton. Jensen Ackles of Supernatural fame has always been an incredible actor in comparison to his fellow cast members. I am not putting them down by any means because they are capable and talented in their own right. It's just he has been given notice by someone else but unfortunately, he is still on a show that is a zombie at this rate. There is a reason why Tyler Hoechlin and Dylan O'Brien had been scouted by Andrea Romano and Kevin Smith respectively and made a successful career for themselves with Colton Haynes. Mr. Hoechlin was Romano's offer for Batman just like Affleck.
If there is one thing I can consistently praise, the amazing animation from Studio Mir is something I will always appreciate. It's so fluid and their beauty is to die for.
But like Korra, the animation and voice acting jobs does not mean that the plot is left out of the open. I mean while Korra didn't start off with a good start although it did establish some stuff, it's just mediocre overall. This show overall is pretty much average.
I wouldn't write home about it.
I just feel there are passion and love in this than I do the Magic School Bus reboot.
Now the negatives.
It became quite clear that it had plot holes and come off more than a bit cliched. Certain characters might not connect as well as one might hope. Character development or depth isn't exactly deep per say. There is certainly characterization...which can lead to potential or outright stupid decisions. Looking at you, Naida.
Seriously, I can name the plotholes right here. For example, somehow these elves have creation powers for something, then why don't they create them to make their travel faster. If Ira or Iris makes an invention which I say is right there to make them travel faster than just running. Heck, they even made a freaking hot air balloon at one point. Yet they still travel on foot. Their method of travel seemed to depend entirely on the plot. Naida got there no problem, no evil Venus Flytraps or Shadowy creatures desiring the end of the world. However, Rosalyn previously mentioned that the Forest is entrenched with dangers that that Goblin King and his minions imposed upon. How about the goblins themselves? Cronan only has four main ones while his army, either having been forcefully brainwashed or just underlings like someone to serve the prisoner.
It's clearly aimed at a younger audience. I am not saying that is a bad thing when some great cartoons had came like Gravity Falls and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic are acclaimed despite the stigma that followed the latter.
As of now, I can't say if there is a story planned. We can infer there is a plan judging by the prologue and the first episode set up, but as of now, it's dubious. We do know there had been pre-planning in GF, VLD and ATLA, judging by the creator's word.
The ending just seemed odd. It's like the end of the first arc/adventure. I know Netflix has the habit of granting at least one more season unless there is a deal.
While the overall story is simple, I don't know what do they plan. Unlike how I know that Dreamworks struck a deal with Studio Mir to animate 4 75 episode/6 seasons, if split, then 8? run, this show is where I have no idea.
If anyone curious about any ships I might like, I have a liking for Cronan/Farran, Cronan/Naida, and Cronan/Rosalyn. I actively don't ship as much anymore but I still don't consider myself a non-shipper because I still ship depending on character interaction/potential/etc. I don't watch things for the ship and besides, ships are a free advertisement.
I don't have a problem overall with this show. Yes, there are plotholes and stupid decisions but it's beautifully animated and it's pleasant.
Just look at this mess. It looked like an app game.
It doesn't look like effort was made. I remember watching Magic School Bus when I was a child and this reboot is not doing any favors for any old-school fans.
Regardless of its edutainment value, the animation looks like utter complete shit.
Animation has grown so much and yet still underappreciated as a storytelling medium. I'm talking American here, folks because this stigma is stupid beyond belief. Like how I would fight an anti-Stratfordian on the side of the street, I will fight against anyone who dared to tarnish animation as a medium. Despite the efforts, Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks/Laika/Blue Sky/Illumination and so much more, the animation is regarded 'just for kids'. What irony when we got adult animation like Bojack Horseman, South Park, and Family Guy to consider. And that's not starting to get into Cartoon Network/Nick/and so many more studios from Korea, Japan, and good ole America.
Yet, the animation is still dismissed. Not just because Japanese anime have different values from America or that France has some beautiful movies, it's because it's animation. "It's for kids" is the common response and seriously, that is utterly disingenuous to the hard work producers, writers, and animators who pour their hours, spending years on this. It's disingenuous to the themes and emotions cartoons can push to the limit just as much as movies can.
When we already destroyed the idea that it's for kids the moment we created adult animation or give critical acclaim to certain movies, some less deservingly so. Seriously, Family Guy, American Dad, and South Park are animated and adults didn't raise much of an issue about that.
Yes, it's still an issue that animation is viewed just for kids when the animation is simply a medium that can tell a great story as epic as Exodus to sitcom like Bojack Horseman to stories like ATLA and Samurai Jack to breaking new grounds like Laika.
An animation is worth the effort, passion, and love that creators, artists, and animators threw into.
This show did not show the effort, passion, and love.
Lego Elves showed those qualities, even without the Studio Mir's artwork because seriously, if it was 3D like Trollhunters or Dragons, at least the qualities would show through.
Now, I kinda grew up on Liberty's Kids. Since my family don't have Disney Channel or Jetix (I usually watched those at my grandma's), we settled for PBS.
I remembered watching Liberty's Kids and loving it. You could even say it sparked my interest in history. Sure there are stuff they got wrong (I wouldn't consider Hamilton an abolition nor would I consider him the best of the founders. I mean he's a human being...with a lot of bad records under his belt. And Washington himself was famously neutral on abolition) but I would still consider it one of the best cartoons I seen on PBS specifically.
On Hamilton, I consider the story to be okay (because I know that they ultimately made an AU with little to no mention of other accomplishments of person of interests like Burr since most of the time, it's like a wiki page with a flourish of artistic license. And the characters they're focusing on is well...according to history aren't perfect. The history's inaccurate despite the accuracy. It's American history in broad strokes here). I prefer to listen the soundtrack. Hilariously, Liberty's Kids opening song have a rap verse that is funny now with Hamilton here.
Honestly, I prefer Hamilton in terms of music. In terms of honesty, Liberty's Kids.
That's just my honest opinion. And I'm not a huge history geek. I love and study history despite knowing things have been edited out or left out because of unsavoriness. Seriously, I didn't even know Hamilton has the first sex scandal of US history.
First and foremost, we are getting far more spoilers than teasers. Trailers and teasers are meant to give a sneak peek and/or give something without context to make it great, sometimes interjected with, of course, pre-reviews that rival companies take because of rivalry.
Why the Disney fanbase can't seem to take it when a Dreamworks movie had been compared? When the Disney does it themselves?
Anyway, I'm getting off-topic.
Just Zagtoon, what the fuck are you doing?
Spoilering the shit out of this will ruin the creator's vision as well as the fans' enjoyment. For all I hate about fandom in general, fandoms are excited by tidbits despite knowing that the teasers/trailers/hints they got from creators are ambiguous and without context. Just look at the Pokeani episodes where Brock and Misty returned. Hell, even now that the VLD S4/S3b now released, fans are trying to determine the context and know they might get it wrong. Hell, Pokeshippers got wrong that the hearts around Misty was from Ash's point of view; well, they did point out that Ash did not disagree alongside Lana. They, however, weren't expecting the Pokeshipping in the next episode though. I was in awe at those little moments and the implications that even with Serena's crush on Ash thing, Pokeshipping is still huge and prevalent.
But this. Giving out spoilers like they were candy is not fun pre-release. The creators won't be able to tell the story and the fans' theories will dim. It will be less enthusiastic.
Look at VLD pre-S4 release.
Creators and VAs hint at what might be happening. In a recent interview, Kimberly Brooks, VA of Allura, said that a lot will be happening in S4. People don't know what but it's making the fans worry who think Keith would detach from the team he meant to lead or whatever theory they cook up.
No, I will not say a word about Jeremy Shada.
No, I will not be talking about anything about race, sex, gender, and LGBTQIA+ anything at all. I will comment that we cannot put a media piece like VLD on a pedestal and expect it to give us the wonders of progressiveness we need in the world. We will take whatever progress we made for race, sex, gender, and LGBT to get the respect they sorely deserve and treat it as a step in the right direction. But we cannot put VLD or YOI on a pedestal just because they emphasize something the world needed to hear. They are media pieces that we can like and respect and also dislike and hate. We cannot hate needlessly something like who are there for entertainment as well as perhaps a telling piece about our society. You can enjoy problematic media just as long as you admit to them. I mean I love the Persona series and it is stepping in the right direction for a progressive Japan, but there are still flaws. Hating on something needlessly would not do any good at all. Seriously what is with the hatedom that sprouts out when something ends? I'm not talking about the sane fans who hate it because it disappointed them or have real constructive criticism because again they are sane. And I'm not talking about the antis either although that community can be aggressive (well certain members who picked fights and made discourse just to want to be proven right rather than you know let their post say themselves...as civilly and respectful as you always need to be). I'm talking about the vocal minority that has the power to potentially make a fandom toxic just from their aggression of their harassment and believing they are right in their opinion. What is with the negativity? Constructive criticism is alright but only in the right context like Japanese feminism for Japanese media.
The Paladin Vlogs. People, at this point, are thinking of a pattern and think that the vlogs might say something about S4, particularly Klangst.
The teasers and trailers we got. They are out of context and the fans certainly know that. They still trying to guess what is happening as far they can understand. This and also the fact that S4 is actually the second half of S3, a result of splitting up seasons to get more viewership.
So far, we only got the confirmation of Matt's appearance alongside rebels. Personally, I can't wait to see the rebels and Romelle.
No, I will not talk about the leaks which I heard Keith wearing Lance's jacket. Since I don't see them anywhere except Matt and Shiro on Kimiko Glenn's Twitter (Ezor's VA), I'm guessing Dreamworks and Mir worked it out. Even Tumblr, one of the many hellsites on the Internet, has little to none of the artwork that the one person unwittingly send online.
See, it's small and tentative. Fans are guessing and excited until the date arrives. And Godoka who knows, how long the fandom has to wait until the first half of the actual S4 is released.
There is a difference for a spoiler that has little impact on the story (for example, in VLD, Pidge is finally reuniting with her brother in S3b/S4 and I think it is allowed because I don't see it get taken down. Even a VA has on her twitter and it wasn't taken down. I think Matt will play an important role) and something that has devastating impact that would be lessened if given pre-release (just look at yourself, Zag).
Give the creators time for treatment because this is their work. You guys are in charge of PR just like Nick, Cartoon Network, and others are doing. Even when some of their shows got fucked over by these networks, at least these shows give the creators the job to troll just as much as you are able to create a trailer that does not show what the actual show does. Look at Teen Wolf, canon versus fanon/PR which feeds into fanon. Teen Wolf is essentially Twin Peaks. It's a serialized building tension a la an anime; think more Psycho-Pass or Ghost in the Shell. It's not a Buffy 2.0 or a Monster of the Week thing. Despite Davis' best efforts, he could tell as much as he could in his finale and his Sterek was still allowed.
Do you want your audience to get the best experience they have, watching the show you gotten revenue from? You will alienate the people you expect the most revenue from.
Just give Thomas Astruc the respect he deserves from you that he did from his fans. He is creating your story that is gaining you more money than you ever thought it would.
Do you want quality that the creators have the time to work out? Or would you want a movie right now? Regardless of quality? Your ML Holiday Special is horribly paced and just average. While the show itself is flawed, it wasn't this flawed.
So yeah, I knew that Alya and Chloe will get Miraculous of their own. Given how prominent they are, especially from the potential character development is quite evident. I already called it as far as I learned there were more Miraculous in the world, perhaps how Chloe and Alya's roles are. I also expect Nino to either get the Turtle or the Peacock one.
Because I know they'll be getting some kind of character development out of receiving Miraculouses (just look at our duo!), I expect some goodness, be it fast growth or just anything. Just to show that they are growing.
Now that Gabriel Agreste is not Hawkmoth (for the love of Astruc, look what you done, Zag, look what you have done!!!!), I expect great changes.
I see the great change in the story. The story dynamic and status quo will be challenged.
That is something I want. Challenge the status quo in your story and show that nothing is the same anymore. Character development galore here as well as unpredictability while making sense would be awesome. There is a reason why I love VLD S3 so much.
Who knows what will happen?
Will Marinette and Adrien have to reveal to each other? Will the new Miraculous users find each other? What will Hawkmoth do now that there are more?
Will Gabe do his best to support his son in his endeavors? What is his backstory with Mama Agreste? Could he possibly be a former Miraculous user himself? His wife has gotta be one too!
Ooo, what about Mama Agreste? I actually have a fondness for the abusive mother Mama Agreste headcanon but who knows why she left them?
It's not as concrete as I have with my previous Speculations post. Yet even the Persona series got enough. I mean I can have a Speculation post about that because Atlus doesn't advertise it to spoiler. Seriously, they made a point for those who already got their games to not spoil. They give out bits and pieces alongside with basic premise to a certain extent like the Phantom Thieves aspect. People theorized that he'll an anti-hero but in actuality, if you know Japanese portrayal of phantom thieves, they are not anti-heroes a la Punisher. Do you remember Kaitou Kid? That is how Japanese see phantom thieves.
I seriously wouldn't have a problem before Zag spoiled loads of it to the point I don't even feel the glee to speculate as much as I did in the VLD and Persona posts. Just what the fuck, Zag?
Because while there were spoilers and plot important spoilers at that, I really don't want to say anymore.
We got a least three potentially plot important elements spoiled... The rant is up there if you want to read it again. While I do expect things to not be the same anymore, I just didn't expect straight-up spoilers.
I want this season to have the quality and reach the potential it has. I know that Astruc wants to do that and I trust him to give the best story he could ever tell.
I just...don't like how Zag is promoting ML to the point of milking the franchise. Now, Disney milked their successful movies (seriously, I don't recall many Treasure Planet at Disneyland last time I went there and I love that film, not one of my top but love it enough to watch it multiple times) to the point of milking it dry. Disney had seriously let Frozen's milk run far too dry to the point people just want to move on and the stores that were stuffed full of Frozen merch did not have the merch that people want. Seriously, where are the Hans toys? You would think a villain would get his treatment like how Pete or Scar or Ursula got them. People love villains so why not give to them? Sure they might interpret differently but still let them have their merch. Dreamworks was in financial disarray so they couldn't promote Captain Underpants as much as they wanted; seriously, don't forget they bounced from distributor to distributor until NBC finally saved them from filing bankruptcy.
Just Zag, don't give out your information like Halloween candy. Learn the difference between teaser and spoiler.
Edit: ML is not perfect. The writing is hit-and-miss. The strongest point is the characters, no doubt. They are human, flawed and can learn from their mistakes. Now the show does have feminist and diversity and certainly good intentions. I never read the comics but I heard one comic is horribly racist and while Astruc was well-intentioned, the action itself in the book was not good. He didn't notice it himself and again, do I have to say this, he is still unfortunately still have society that shaped him. Do you think Rebecca Sugar and Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim dos Santos have perfect records too? The Origins booklet and VLD S304 have been criticized for its racist implications. And yeah, I am not touching that. Not the episodes and merch mind you or the justified criticism. I am not putting anything bad that said aside. Just pointing about something about purity culture.
I just want to comment there is a difference between constructive criticism - subpar writing, writing that has unfortunate implications for example - and purity culture. There is not such thing as a perfect work. I love FMA, both manga and 2003 anime, and I know there are problems. Perhaps this is a Tumblr self-righteous no-boundaries bubble spreading to the point that fandom is being confused. Canon is not fanon. Fanon and Canon get along like oil and water. Purity culture - the expectation that things must be untainted and perfect although such thing is impossible and futile - is toxic. Saying things must be perfect meant that creators have to be perfect themselves...unless the fandom they're in was so tainted that purity culture is outnumbered. Seriously for all the SPN fandom is known for, antis and purity culture barely exist there. I never been so grateful to see a fandom continuing to be fandom space in one of the worst fandoms I seen. You know what, fandoms go be depraved and explore possiblities that these people, well-intentioned, was stupid to force on fandom space. They are not fighting the real fight when they should be protesting on the streets or do anything that is beneficial to the actual movement. Representation is necessary but not for the sake of purity.
Good intentions does not translate to good actions.
There is not such thing as a flawless work. Criticism is a healthy way for both creator and consumer.
Do not confuse human actions and flaws as something needed for purity.
Purity culture is toxic and should never exist. We're living in neo-Victorian era in Tumblr right now with worthless crusades against fandom-based. There is a difference between thinking that fetishing same-sex couples are a thing among queers too and not taking consideration of all ends of the argument.
Someone, please make videos of VLD with PR themes, specifically PRIS. I have seen videos with trying with MMPR and PRLR but none with PRIS. Come on, In Space fits perfectly. Use MMPR or SPD for the Paladins of old. If the rebels appear, use hmmm.... Lost Galaxy.
I feel I have to post this first. The current trends in fandom are not good, to say the least. I just have to let these words out before I explode.
I know fandom is not a good place to be in. For all the words that say community and love with genuine criticism, then there is a minority that can gain popular circulation (like the Shakespeare authorship 'question') who is all out attacking everyone or well...just look down below.
I know not all fans are like this but this needed to be said.
I have seen the current shipping fandom...rather trapped in a bubble. I've been observing fandoms for over a decade now (I'm 22 turning 23 in several months from now). Shipping has always been a part of fandom since its conception. Seriously, the Holmes/Watson and Spirk are one of the oldest slash pairings out there.
However, the current trend is that "as presented in canon, this couple is the epitome of a healthy relationship".
...While there are people who certainly ships in that direction, people ship in many different ways like possibly seeing the change in the character, just wanting to have sex, domestic, alternate universe, and all sorts of reasons.
Shipping is subjective and should never be used as some kind of weapon. I hate shipping wars and ship hate with a passion. Stay in your lane and don't care about what others think about. I'm pretty sure the Shaladin pairings are in no way interacting with the fandom to a substantial degree, given the hostility. Shipping wars and ship hate is bloody stupid. There is no shipping in peace in the current day of fandom. Instead, these guys seemed to think that other people shipping problematic and/or nonexistent shipping should never ship it to the point of ship-shaming. I...just...don't...get...this... I understand that you want people to be more aware of the problems in the said ship like abuse or any another fuck-up but to the point of refusing other people to ship is utterly ridiculous. I don't hate on Bella X Edward shippers just because they love it. If they love it, cool. Just be respectful.
And it doesn't hate that even simple age difference with measly two, three, four is now considered pedophile. Do you see how broad people seem to take it despite in previous years this is nothing? Do you know what a pedophile entailed? The Otayuri shippers seemed to live in shame along with most SU ships while the May X Steven shippers are out and free. Even Wishfulshipping, where people seemed to argue about the ages of Iris and Cilan, are free. It seemed that in most fandoms outside of Pokemon, everyone seemed to prioritize age over chemistry. Instead, ya know...letting other people ship freely and peacefully without stupid discourse about this and that. Shipping is different from the actual canon material; you don't need canon to ship. In the present day shipping fandom though, it seemed like canon is basically the need to be. *Snorts* When people can ship something like Lance and Matt who so far never met in the show yet, I can't see why canon is basically the stickler when shipping is basically subjective and you guys can do anything in shipping because shipping is supposed to be fun.
Not this toxic waste.
There is something different between canon (something that is shown almost all over the world in different forms of media) and fanon (something that is through the internet, whether or not people can find through piles and piles of posts, articles, meta, etc that includes many sub-fandoms and trash. Even now, I still can't find a post I wanted to reblog on my post since I first saw it in high school). Otayuri is fanon and people are allowed to ship it just as much as people are allowed to not ship Solangelo, a canon ship. I still shipped Tokka even though the ATLA regarded that as a fanon couple. People are allowed to like Zutara. People are allowed to ship Shallura regardless of what other people have to say. Age is utterly meaningless in the shipping domain.
Nobody can police what people can and cannot ship. I honestly don't care about Wincest or Hidashi or Elsanna because I see why people would ship them. I don't even read fanfiction about these ships and I think that people are going overboard just trying to destroy the ships. Look if it was something like showing incest in canon is one thing (hell, Code Geass has subtext and ship teasing between siblings like Lelouch and Euphemia for example) but in fanon, where fans create and interpret what they want (either taken too far because of shipping wars/ship hate/pressuring other people to ship it too/harassment/lots of other bad stuff or simply wanting to have fun like creating ships for people in canon who met briefly or never met before in canon), it's suddenly a blight on the fandom... Even Code Geass is pretty laid-back on shipping the siblings and I don't see them trying to destroy the shippers or anyone who dared to ship them.
There is something called crack ships, ya know. Or crossover ships. It's like people seem to think that they have the power over a fandom when most people won't be swayed. It's a waste of time, trying to dissuade people from not shipping something. Despite efforts from anti-shippers against the ships I mentioned before, the ships are still strong, just not vocal and it's not because the antis are winning because it seemed like the antis are fighting to get their word out when people just don't care about shipping or because they interpret it differently. Shipping is by and large subjective and meant to be fun. Not serious business to the point of being policed.
If you hate the ship, avoid it. You have an all-out vent on something that remained in your lane. You are allowed to criticize it. You, however, are not allowed to harm other people who shipped a pairing you don't enjoy.
Shipping is not activism. Shipping is a niche in fandom, a subsection. It doesn't hurt nobody because people interpret differently and doesn't have the power to make it so. Yes, TV/movies/etc have the power to create representation that the world desperately needed and does have the power to hurt when writing does not do it justice. Shipping is entirely fandom-based. And I won't start getting into diverse media where people with different experiences consumed diverse media differently. Shipping does not mean that the person supported pedophilia or any of those -isms that starting to lose meaning by the way the internet kept throwing them around. I even threw away the Mary Sue/Gary Stu trope because the internet have been throwing them so much those words lost meaning.
The current fandom of shipping is stupid and the trends are not positive. Instead, it would likely push people away from pairing the couple or associating with the fandom in any positive way.
If fandom is supposed an all-around community of similar interests, then some people take too far.
Don't get me started on those who hate on characters who get character development when the show had shown character development and development in general from other characters. The current trends in fandom are bloody stupid because most people can't seem to think unless their fave is in the spotlight. It's like the current generation is full of entitled assholes who think their opinion is the best and cannot look at something critically because their favorite or it became a series that focused on one character is not given the spotlight despite evidence to the contrary. It is utterly disingenuous to the other characters who have been given development and just as much screen-time devoted to them alone.
I have problems with fandoms for a long time; I could rant about it for hours or make another post altogether. If you wish to enter a fandom, please tread carefully. Not all fandoms will have niceties though because even Pokemon have their toxic fandom, however small.
The clip displays one of my favorite ships, Suzaku X Lelouch. I have a special fondness for best friends turned enemies trope as well as the royalty and knight dynamic, the latter of which I love extensively. Like really bad.
One of my top tropes for a favorite couple of mine is the surprise. Not the surprise that you think of like a couple that is total opposites in different ways. The surprise I'm talking about is that they surprise each other.
I always love that detail so much that if a couple shows this at some point, they are either immediately higher on my radar or would make me board a ship with provisions to last an eternity. The pairings below are self-explanatory.
Viktor Nikiforov X Katsuki Yuuri
Sherlock Holmes X John Watson - of any reiterations, especially that of Canon. I utterly refuse to have the Mary Russell for one (If there is one thing Sherlock is now good for, is that the show is better than that series, aside from the incredible acting and chemistry from Ben and Freeman...seriously I think that's why the show is so popular is because of their leads' acting chops in awful storytelling) and I corrected in my head at least the many problems of Sherlock and the many other adaptations.
Suzaku Kururugi X Lelouch Lamperouge/vi Britannia
Miyuki Kazuya X Sawamura Eijun
Richard X Asbel
Barney X Robin
Kotetsu X Barnaby
Marinette X Adrien
Ash/Satoshi X Misty/Kasumi
May/Haruka X Drew/Shuu
Sakura X Syaoran
Stiles Stilinski X Derek Hale
Mogami Kyoko X Ren Tsuruga/Kuon Hizuri
Heiwajima Shizuo X Orihara Izaya
Yuuri Shibuya X Wolfram von Bielefeld - The surprising part would come from Wolfram, to be honest. I always liked how Wolfram, despite the odds against his favor of having a good marriage,
Yuzuru Shino X Seryou Youji of BL manga Seven Days
And these are just the many couples I ship happily, very much so. Notably that Suzaku X Lelouch and Richard X Asbel are similar enough for me to ship it hard. I saw platonic Suzaku X Nunnally (I really don't get them as a couple at all; I saw more of their interactions as less love-interest and more brother-sister) and the romantic Suzaku X Euphie (which I do like just as much as I like Lelouch X Shirley which is good. I don't hate either couple though because I have a higher opinion on that two couple than say Asbel X Cheria...which I don't ship at all. I have a hard time seeing Cheribel nothing more as a one-sided 'romance' when I know that Tales have done better with their romantic subplots...like Veigue and Claire & Luke X Tear & hell even Asch X Natalia).
Admittedly, when I used to ship, I think it would be cute for them to get together. I still do but it's more domestic now.
Notably, the ships I love have chemistry. Cheribel has so little chemistry and doesn't help that the F arc forced them together in ways that make me uncomfortable. On the other hand, Wolfram X Yuuri has chemistry due to the screentime they have including Wolfie's tsundere-ness.
While chemistry is certainly a factor, what I do want is a perfectly good couple I can go on board with. Yes, even with the most problematic unhealthiest of couples.
Now that would go against how I would go about with Cheribel. People can ship what they like; they don't need canon for it. All they need is their interpretation and that would go along merrily. I saw ship-shaming for problematic pairings like Emma X Hook from Once Upon a Time or Wincest. I rarely ever ship now. Seriously, the only couple I shipped strongly in VLD is Klance while everything else like Shallura (though I do love it) is pretty much okay or just don't care. When I was in the Tales of Zestiria domain, I'm pretty sure I only shipped Mikleo X Sorey just as strong while everything else is okay. When I got back to the ATLA fandom, pretty sure that I shipped Tokka strongly while having a liking towards Zuki while okay in everything else, even Zutara which I deemed just okay. In the BNHA fandom, I'm pretty sure I shipped TodoDeku while having a liking for JiroMomo and everything else is just okay like BakuShima. I'm actually crossing into the Lego Elves: Secrets of Elvendale one day ago so who knows what I ship there.
I do ship Barney X Robin after all. The pair individually is a fuck-up but they understand each other. The two of them can be unhealthy together. Unlike Ted X Jeannette which is unhealthy for a whole different reason altogether, this pairing has so much potential rather than Ted X Robin which is an all-out Nice Guy syndrome.
This is just an observation but Tales have been changing up the dynamics of the stories. Vesperia has an older man as a protagonist (not the first, though; Veigue) and the main girl and boy didn't have a romance despite them meeting first. Graces would be the first unrequited love between the main protagonist and supposedly main girl but that failed spectacularly since they forced the two together anyway. Even then, the main heroine is Sophie rather than Cheria. Xillia has two POV to pick, one of which is a woman but there are no childhood romances between Leia and Jude. Milla fits more of the Hero of Tales series type rather than Jude. Jude uses his fists in battle rather than swords although SeneSene had already done that. Xillia 2 has a silent protagonist for the first time ever in a mothership title and the main girl would be the love interest...except that love interest died and the real main girl was the little girl. In fact, it might be the first time the hero of a Tales title died. Zestiria would have Alisha be the main girl but the main girl turned out to be Rose or Lailah. In fact, there is no set heroine in Zestiria at all but there is a childhood friend that hit the same notes or the first girl meets boy meeting through Mikleo and Sorey. Berseria has a female protagonist and no romances at all with a team full of antiheroes (usually Tales has a few antiheroes per game and per party...and yes that includes traitors ).
So it came out. That thumbnail for this video seemed to show Light meet Ryuk for the first time...and it's hilarious. Just watch that scene in its context rather than the context you thought it would be...
Now the film is still whitewashing, not to the extent of Ghost in the Shell 2017. The film doesn't exactly justify the setting update and change to America. America has totally different ideals. It could potentially discuss the racism, social system, and much more that had become prevalent in the American society including white privilege. It could even discuss the American ideas of terrorism, domestic and international. Instead, well... style over substance.
Let's go into the good stuff first.
Aesthetically, it's macabre. While Death Note is a dark shounen and played with the common tropes, it is well-known for its over-the-top dark noir style. It has a lot of styles and I do appreciate that. I mean I still appreciate the style and cinematography of the anime...to the point, it's very funny. There is stuff in the anime that I found unintentionally funny. Yes, it has great cinematography and one of the few things I can praise.
I will give credit that it's ambitious and that the team behind this film are fans. They are trying so hard but failed to. While I don't consider myself a huge fan of DN, I am those who want to see the film for its goods and bads. I want to like this film; instead, I just considered it boring and tedious to sit through; the characters are dull and uninspired and the plot is all over the place and glossed over. When I said I was looking at my phone halfway in, I do mean I was already looking up Klance fan fiction. I want to call it good but it failed to entice me with its messy writing. The film genuinely does want to tell a good story but it failed as an adaptation and on its own merits. The Japanese films, where even the Light there can be either depicted as good (heck there is one that showed Light as a Misa fanboy...ironically, I didn't hate the show and just considered it fine and mediocre) or just plain horrible a person (the films). Why does those Japanese produced films and show managed to do what this film misses?
Design-wise, Ryuk looked utterly amazing. Think of the CGI Ryuk in the Japanese live-action and compared it to this. Ryuk looked so real. The acting for Ryuk is good enough and compared to the other actors and actresses, he's Meryl Streep. Both he and L's actor are freaking Meryl Streep in comparison to the other actors.
The unintentionally funny moments are the best parts honestly. They are trying so hard to make Light and Misa look and act badass without any kind of writing to back them up. Not when the first scene Light was so funny when he met Ryuk for the first time; it's hilarious when he screamed so loud that I thought anybody could hear him. Not to mention he certainly got detention... Just throw them in obviously evil clothing and try to make them as bad as they were in the original. It's funny because they aren't doing anything at all. These characters are sloppy to hell and back. The over-the-top gory deaths and the musical choices give me the tickles to think about because it didn't fit the tone of the darker and edgier; it's just more narmier.
Now for the negatives...
Look I understand the point of an adaptation but the film doesn't. The film was more like time-crunching as much as the mythos as possible rather than give the story and characters more time to flesh out. When they do flesh it out, it's either exposition without anything to back it up prior to that (like the bully thing but they pushed the bully archetype so hard that the fact that Light is now the outcast like in any high school dramas.). A bully is a bully and they don't seem to understand why people bully. The people in this universe really are stupid enough to take seriously.
The movie is just hilarious to watch. On the downside, it's dull for me to turn to my phone and keep barely half an ear and eye.
The writing did not seem to get Death Note's themes at all. The basic literary functions like foils are barely there (if they were there, then I would notice the contrast but these guys almost blended together) and movies move contrivances to contrivances like no tomorrow. It's like the director just made a checklist for the script. There's no unreliable narrator here to justify any of these. Seriously, the closest thing to foils in this film was Misa and Light. L was more of an irritation to Light than an actual threat. It doesn't feel like the cat-and-mouse chase that DN has at all. L is too good and Light is too stupid. The other characters are beyond help or stupid. I was laughing-crying when Light and Misa outright discussed the MacGuffin in the open. I would understand that you want to paint the world as apathetic but people with brains will worry when you want to kill people.
The setting update is less used, unfortunately. I thought from the trailer, they will go deep on the issues that America has from terrorism to the justice system to racism in that system. But not really... It didn't even go into that. It's like it's trying to reach a general audience that included kids but trying also to not make it too dark. Ironic when the original Death Note is unafraid to speak their minds about the then current issues and the human nature.
The setting is just a backdrop and just there. It's hey, we're America! We have nothing to do about this. They tried to explain Kira's nickname but it's glossed over and stupid. Why involve Japan? That meant that Light would have to know the Japanese high school system and the possible activities. And it implied that Light didn't even try to do that because the scene afterward pretty stated that the Japanese connection did not bother when there is the internet to worry about. How about letting the idea that the name Killer is going around but the Japanese Kira began to make way because it sounded cooler?
I thought they would use the internet to their advantage that the influence of Kira was far more extending. Fansites and discourse are galore on the Internet; barely even showing social media did not help the story one bit. Why would Misa's counterpart think to use a forum for more murders? Are you stupid? And as it turns out, these guys were, in fact, real criminals. I just...wow... Instead, the worship of Kira was glossed over in a montage. They could have developed it more. We see less of the Kira worship than even the character development.
Humor doesn't seem to mesh well. The original Death Note does have humorous scenes and integrated into the story like the infamous handcuffed scene. The film is trying so hard for humor than the unintentionally funny moments like I really can't take seriously the deaths or Watari's singing at all. Nolan did his humor well in his dialogue. Even the show I am currently watching, Voltron Legendary Defender, have transformed their childish humor into a much better-integrated one without lowering the values of the characters of those who got little to none development. This film's humor didn't establish as well as one would hope, especially since the tone tried so hard to be an adult and failing to be an adult.
The actors have so little to work with in terms of the script. Most of the time, I felt they were going through the motions and time-crunching out as much mythos as possible. Motivations aren't clear and jumbled. I find it hard to sympathize or understand the characters, no matter how I disagree with their method. Now Death Note, manga and anime and live action, are flawed and it isn't one of my top anime. I enjoyed the motivations and the deep characterization especially Light. Y'know that I found Light to be sympathetic because I can see his circumstances that led him to where he is.
This Light doesn't seem to know which direction he is going. The writing wants to make him sympathetic but the poor writing made him look like a sadist without any real thought of why he's a sadist (again gore over substance) or the pre-Light's sanity slippage or a whiny teen or the clever Light that I know of. Doing other people's homework doesn't exactly show that the guy is smart. You guys can make a genius, Y'all. They seemed to take Light's bending of the rules in the original from the very start rather than start out small like Light did. Why didn't they start with the heart attacks? It's simple and normal. The contrivances of his first victim, Kenny's death, was so hilarious I can't stop laughing; I just can't take it seriously at all. Hell, they don't seem to understand why Light jumped off the deep end. They want him sympathetic but he's so dull and clumsily written that the acting doesn't help matters at all.
Character development is something I strongly love in media. This is why I prefer the new formation in VLD because I want to see these characters embrace their full potential and grow as people. The character development in this film was so minimal and I could hardly see where any of these characters going because there are so predictable or unpredictable in Light's case. Normally, unpredictability is a thing I embraced but not so much here when it's clumsy writing.
Look, this Light was basically a dream come true for those who see Light as this martyr despite his piles of bodies. Never ever forget the bodies, buddy. Light was brought down by his perceived cleverness rather than the toxicity of the Death Note. The Death Note seemed to exacerbate the flaws of the holder and this movie does not do it justice. Every character is far too dull and uninspired. It's like the Death Note MacGuffin was dropped in a high school drama.
Misa is the one I have no freaking clue why she wants to do what she does. We know she's a bad girl but there's no motivation. She's just evil to prod Light in the direction. There's literally nothing to her character. There's no stalker or killer of her parents here, folks. Just evil. Forget her own cleverness in the original, just...evil without any rhyme or reason for her evilness. She's even duller than cardboard; she's not Lady Macbeth to no extent. I can sympathize with Lady Macbeth; I can't sympathize with Mia. I don't even feel an inkling of sympathy or why should I care about her? There is a difference when I can sympathize with a guy like Zarkon and Haggar who have the potential of tragedy and someone who is just evil for evil's sake.
The Misa and Light's relationship did not help. I can see why Light is interested in her but not so much Misa. Is Misa drawn to his bad boy look? Outcast? Why is she attracted to him before the Death Note mess?
The morality play doesn't play much. It's not the ideologies that clashed, just cargo lugging in the water. I don't feel any of the gray morality that Death Note is known for. Light is possibly the least evil...or stupid. Misa, as I mentioned before, was so evil that I don't bother her. She certainly has agency but I don't see the point of her relationship with Light at all. They're just together with no rhyme or reason. L was now suddenly so stupid and flying off the rails from the original L that I felt nothing for the guy but sympathy for the actor that he has to go through the motions.
The other characters didn't help at all. Sometimes these guys are just there just for the fact that they are from the original series and have any importance to the plot. Their motivations are just as clueless as the main protagonists. Soichirou seemed to be debating back and forth when the original series' Soichiro was the noblest of them all. His motivations are unclear? Look we get that in the original that Soichiro didn't believe Light is Kira and died believing that. But here? Sometimes, the acting of the Soichiro didn't get through and all I got was a debating father who knew his son is the murderer.
The film could use foils but it's awful to see they aren't even using the basic literarily techniques. They tried to do that with Light and L but failed miserably. I was laughing mad when I realized they aren't doing anything with the relationship. I'm not an L X Light shipper at all but I pretty much prefer whatever shipping that fans churned out than this mess of a relationship.
The relationship between L and Light is horribly wrecked. I always loved the mind games in the original series. This relationship is just awful overall. L is more of an irritation for Light than an equal. Instead of ideologies and foils, the diner mind battle seemed less like that and more a mess of miscommunication because L is too good and Light is too stupid. The two are foils and in this adaptation, they're not even foils. The potential of another layer of foil is right there but they don't even take it. Instead, they ignored it and just doing stupid stuff that I want to drink.
L... Ya think they would grasp the potential of having a black detective against a white son of a detective? Nope.
Overall, the film is dull. There is much potential if they could just see it. Instead, the prioritizing of style over substance is evident. Exposition over showing the events. If they were showing anything, it's not coherent. It's just stupid drama upon stupid drama.
So I heard that the creators of the original Death Note approved of the film? More power to you two! The Captain Underpants movie actually showed why the books are so memorable in the first place with the many things I recognize from the books. I recognize the spirit and themes of the books just as much I did with the HTTYD films. This film didn't have the spirit of the original series; the only spirit thing they got was the bare minimum of the plot in an American setting.
Personally, I don't see the point of the film at all with the lack of motivations and lack of development. It was all over the place.
It's better off as a live-action original series. I am still waiting to see the Percy Jackson and the Olympians as a Netflix original. If Lego Elves and Series of Unfortunate Events got it, then so can PJO!
Honestly, I have to indulge myself in VLD and PJO afterward because the storytelling there is coherent. Character development is always a thing for me, negative and positive.
Look at the character development and interactions! Fandom, let them develop to their fullest potential! We do not want stagnating characters; we need well-rounded and dynamic characters. Don't designate common traits just because people said so, just because it's easier! Allow character flaws!! Look at what is shown versus the telling. Show, don't tell is something you need to learn.
