Funko's Problems

 

Despite my problems with Funko, I don't have any problems with people collecting and 

There's news of Funko restructuring and laying off employees due to the debt they accrued. 

If nothing else, they need to go back to the basics that made them famous in the first place.

What Funko needed to do was:

• Drop the 3-liter Sodas
• Scale down the regular Sodas to make them limited and obscure. Be more creative with the Chases. A 10k or less than 7k count is best and Sku counts need to drop. 
• Throw away the Blockbuster Rewind completely. It has the potential but its size is less than a regular Funko pop negating it. Make them con-only if you want to keep them. Keep them only if you want if limited.
• Throw away the Big Pins too. Standard pins are fine but big ones are a big waste. 
• Scale back the Pop announcements at conventions. Stick to at least 20. Drop sku count and introduce limited pops again. No big announcements every year, just go back to the March lineup announcements and smaller ones throughout the year. 
• Sell stuff better in certain countries
• Have products that people want and love rather than have millions of commons with Chases and other unique Funko varieties here and there. 
• Spend more on licenses that Funko never had like Top Gun, Roadhouse, Days of Thunder, etc. 
• Tighten up the licenses too per year especially with flexibility with movie/TV tie-ins when a project is delayed 
• No puzzles and board games
• No more Deluxe Albums and Gold figures
• Be more selective with Comic Covers so that way it would make the price reasonable for the right one. Keep them con-only if you want to keep them. 
• Drop Battle Scenes and Sports Cards too. If want to keep, limited only. 
• Drop Snaps and Poppsies 
• Keep commons limited to a few for each license. 
• If you are redoing a character, do them once and move the fuck on. 
• New pops for big licenses like MCU shouldn't be full and do people need like ten pops? If it's a character that hasn't been done before, do that and if a character has been done before, keep it limited. 
• If it's a big franchise, go for obscure references while the movies and TV should get smaller lines. 
• Get rid of 25k legacy pops and die-cast
• Drop or keep NFT pops limited at con-only.
• No more ornaments and plushes. I understand that a seller, they needs to diversify to attract those who want the same thing but something else. Again, for the ornaments, keep them con-only or holiday releases only if you want to keep them. 
• Drop the Pocket Pops. 

The itty-bitties pops are doing fine and no need to change there. Keep the minis and keychains. 

A basic problem was just words exclusive, limited, and common that Funko lost sight of due to greed and their want to be the next Hasbro and Mattel, not knowing those companies succeeded due to focusing on several licenses and doing it well. Fuck, Pokemon and Magic of the Gathering was able to recover post-pandemic. Funko is doing well or decently but they are throwing anything at the wall and hoping it sticks. A major problem is oversaturation. Largely, they need to trim the fat.  

They are already pulling back on ten-inch Funko pop production. Keeping it limited and for larger characters would make more sense than having every character have this. Well, not every character but enough to have Funko cut back. 

In stores, pops might as well warm the shelves before going into the clearance section. That's brutal. 

I applied to a recently open Funko store in the mall and it’s a lot of pops in there with a life-sized Luffy Gear Four Funko at the window beside the entrance. At this point, I didn't care I would be near Funko as long as I was working a full-time job. 

I know at the cashier were the limited ones or the autographed ones I think because the back of the cashier showed autographs on the plastic for the respective pop. 

As for other stores, I remember in one shop that sells Japanese items, the pop section had actually sold pretty well as I recall only a few on the back by the time I was exploring the shop. The Funko pop shelf in that store is the only pop shelf there that has considerably sold. The anime figures section is still relatively big with those going up by a lot. The plushies were still considerable too but those are fairly expensive. Then again, it's a huge retailer that is primarily Japanese products that for someone who loves Japanese products with the occasional Korean products says a lot. If I get a job at the mall, then during my breaks outside of eating would totally go into the Japanese shops to buy. 

Those pops are exclusively animanga though I did see some Marvel then and there. 

Anyways, the oversaturation means that the bigger franchises would be staying on shelves for a long time. Do we need that many Darth Vaders and Spidermans? They are popular IPs and characters surely but not every Funko collector would pick them up because they're common and neither will the casual or the impulse buyers who just like the product. 

Making them limited again would not put them into the clearance section or worse a landfill. 

While anime figures are coming over here with too costly a price for prize figures and while popular figures should have the same price as the ones sold in Japan typically, I'm usually wary about it since I'd rather pay how much it would cost typically than more than I should have. There is still a variety in prize figures though regardless of the cost here. 

In Funko, differences are so minuscule that a regular person would wonder why they want to buy another when they could have the figure anyway. Why do people want a repeat figure with little change regardless of glitter or chrome? 

I know commons have been argued as a point for why Funko was able to make so much money but at the same time, too many commons for too many figures cannot be offset by that. The issue is that they are making too many pops that nobody wants and it's wasting away on shelves and clearance. There has to be a line. 

Funko has licenses that not every license will dole out to others hence its accessibility. Commons made that work because now everyone can have their own figure from their favorite show that won't likely be made in other merchandise. 

Do people expect figures made for Twin Peaks or genres people don’t expect merchandise from? Considering Squid Game’s merch goes against the themes and messages, capitalism overtakes anything. 

Funko is easily the most accessible thing to make figures of. I am not hammering them for having figures for licenses that people didn't expect too much merchandise from. If anything, that's a boon when Japanese figures that do have DC and Marvel figures that are high quality are often relegated to the higher tiers of figure making; very rarely do I see prize figures made for the DC and Marvel figures because I know Q Posket is often a prize figure that I do see but I don't see outside of that. My Hawks figure is about the approximate cost for those DC and Marvel figures I see often in the Japanese figure makers on the side of things. 

Funko just needs to trim the fat of what's not working and focus on what they do best with limited to several per license per year announcements big and small. 

I can't believe I'm advising a capitalistic company that, unlike the artists I support through their small stores, wants money hence all the problems they have. 

If nothing else, if fans of Funko want to have them without the newer ones taking up too much space and costly and too many that it's warming the shelves rather than have customers actively buying, then have at it. 

Funko, what you are running isn't the Disney Pins trading business. Disney can release pins every single day and not suffer any setbacks because it's a Parks activity just as much as Figment remains strong. Even outside the parks, Disney pin trading still happens with people buying Disney pins from various companies such as Loungefly and BoxLunch. 

While there is trading in Funko pops and pins, commons do not afford much trading. At least pins are made limiting numbers due to cost. Popular activity yes but it’s not so common even as a regular site in the parks and other certain communities. 

At least anime figures aren't that common as it's regarded as an otaku activity just as much as any train otakus. Funkos unfortunately have the problem of commons whereas prize figures are typically won via game or retail for a low price. 

When most of their stuff is going into landfills whereas anime figures are getting distributed even if it's upped for a slightly unreasonable price in some places, doubling what it would cost in Japan originally, it says a lot that while Funko does have to go back to the basics given its oversaturation. 

Moving it into landfills because it's not selling says everything about capitalism really. Instead of donating it, they filled up trash with these plastic and cardboard boxes. Sure, it can be funny like the case of the ET Atari game in the landfill incident but it's still pretty bad to just dump it like that instead of dumping excess into charity for positive PR than for the cost. 

That’s getting into a conversation about capitalism and the larger aspects. 

While we are discussing a capitalist company with their capitalistic desires, that doesn’t mean they are the true evils of the world, the lesser evils against extremist nazis. I’ll take Disney’s side over Ron DeSantis because one wants money but the other wants me dead. Criticize we will about Disney but taking the side of a Nazi who wants us dead in the end will kill me and other people like me. Capitalism wants our money but would you take the side of people who wants the queer community dead just because you are criticizing the choices of a mega multimillion company with the current CEO trying to fix his own mistakes and decidedly anti-SAG-AFTRA and anti-WGA strike (it’s the summer of strikes heading into autumn but I’ll rather have Hollywood shut down until these guys get their dues, no competition who gets the worst treatment or deserve more because it feeds into the Hollywood narrative when the visual medium demands so much collaboration in the first place)? Hell no! I’m admitting I’m taking the side of a capitalist in the fight against nazis who are targeting them now or at least Disney but if Disney is using their scary lawyers then what about the others? but I’ll never side with Bob Iger on the strikes. This is the issue vs broad activism again that people in the strikes are combating with the leader of SAG-AFTRA being anti-vax. We are fighting for better pay and treatment but we won’t agree on other particular issues. 

Well, you know my piece on that without a huge post about it. I’m not part of either nor am I pro-Hollywood. Hollywood going woke and Oscars So White are the symptoms of the larger systematic injustice but at least they’re trying even if their tries tend to be toothless and at worst perpetuate stereotypes. I can ignore all the remakes even though they are stirring up worthless controversies. Again, I question people trying to stir up controversies over the live-action Disney remakes given its track record. The Snow White after the Little Mermaid is repetitive at this point. 

Mini-Review: Penacony 2.3

 

Mihoyo isn't that terrible with writing. They have great ideas but on the rate of 10 stars, the execution is often at a 4. 

I just wish they didn't focus on the waifu writing so much. It's downright expected given their audience for Honkai 3rd. 

They are fully capable of writing complex women. At least Arlecchino and Furina do impact the story. I'm not collecting either as that would ruin my budget for other stuff. Maybe if PSS makes a Arlecchino Tarot, I'll think about it. 

For Penacony 2.3, it's an epilogue but an epilogue with little substance. What substance it does have are character moments and interactions. 

If 2.2 was just misogyny in full, since Robin is literally a plot device for Sunday and little much is done to Firefly,  Acheron only managed to escape the misogyny. 

Acheron was so good. Her writing was consistent and grew in each patch. 

Robin has a little better this round alongside Firefly. Robin lost her sibling relationship with Sunday, now eternally separated due to her giving up her precious memory to Jade to free him. What little we have is just a little better than what we got. 

Firefly got to be the girl rather than the girlfriend this time! I enjoyed her with the rest of the Stellaron Hunters and so much more. It's disappointing that in the past patches and even in the new event, they're still pushing her as the waifu, especially with whatever depths are in promo material rather than the actual story. What little we got here is probably the least interesting part of the entire patch. The third death was just weird. 

It would've been better that the TB having lost memories had vagueness regarding Firefly. Firefly probably knew TB since they were created but nothing was done there. 

Aventurine wasn't there much and what he got was adorable. The problem is that his relevance to the story of Penacony was not much there if at all. Old Oti didn't even react to Jade and Topaz telling him Aven's part in the whole thing making me think that 2.1 as beloved as it is just not that relevant. 

In attachment to Robin and parallels to Aven, Sunday took the spotlight of 2.2. Aven should've been there at that fight and beat the fuck out of him for what he said. This isn't the case of Akechi in Maruki's reality. Why? Because Akechi was our foil and thus have no need to fight Maruki in this case when he's an illusion. 

We should've seen more of the true reality of the dreams if they are just gonna throw that away. Nihility but death seems like the case at first until nope. 

I mean people can die now in the dream. I mean they can be hurt if Aven not appearing much is the case. 

What's worse about this other than the lack of connective tissue is that the relevance of things like Aventurine's part of the story, Dreamflux Reef, Argenti, Firefly, Sparkle, Boothill, and the whole Ena/Order is not given its dues and depths that it should've gotten. It felt like it was thrown out now. 

The goodbyes are very nice. The chatfic nature is cute and funny. Argentill and Golden Ratio are so much fun. 

At least Oswaldo plot point will be given at some point when Aventurine and Boothill wanted him dead. It's disappointing that we don't see it at all, just what it's implied. 

Sparkle's actions make sense but it felt like it was there for Firefly's part in the end which felt unnecessary. 

2.3 has some fun parts and some parts that I do care about but it's just nothing of much overall. 

I mean 2.3 is just the opening ceremony of the Charmony Festival. 

It just feels weird if the 2.4+ leaks are true. Either way, the writing takes a blow and it would've been better had Penacony be extended just a little bit more considering how much it does need rewriting. 

The crew in charge of HSR's writing has a major problem with giving relevance from character stories to the overall story, connecting tissue cohesively. 

It was unsatisfying how they ended Aven's relevance to the story. 

Is it bad that I just want depths and connective tissue? 

While we aren't done with Penacony completely, there are loose ends that we're probably coming back but in the immediate, these loose ends felt like it's there. 

If only two worlds are left whereas we still have areas to explore in Teyvat, I think the intention for this story is more self-contained to these worlds. 

Loufu's problem was just vagueness. While written by the same guy who did the Inazuma arc, at least the female characters are done decently whereas Jing Yuan and Dan Heng IL are the main characters. 

It seemed like people trusted Shaoji. While there are some great parts, HSR’s problems remained marketing of hype characters first and whatever dominos fall afterward. 

HSR might seem like Mihoyo cared more about the feedback than Genshin but all their games regardless of its newness is still suffering one way or another and not because of surface level evaluation that somehow one have more care than the other. Both of these games have their own problems regarding storytelling and Mihoyo's focuses on them. 

Genshin has every character being part of a cog of a machine that is the larger storytelling. Even in their worst stories, you can't say that Sigewinne isn't unimportant. It's lore-heavy at the expense of the gameplay and what people have been asking for years to the point that it's hard for newcomers with the overwhelming lore. 

This is the total opposite of HSR where characters' stories balance with the overall stories prioritized differently based on the marketing. 

That’s so big a problem that it’s interfering with the story and its execution that overall the score remains 4 out of 10 but when they pull off the 10, it's great. Boothill was so useless and Aven and Argenti’s relevance was nil in its weight. 

Yes, I will still grip about that when by comparison while Loufu suffered from vagueness and digging deep whereas Belelog is just okay with the male characters as window dressing, Penacony suffered so much when it built up to something that should be reasonably satisfying. 

I understand plot threads should be extended such as the whole Oswaldo thing but my Arceus would the foils of Sunday and Aven be satisfying at this point? When Aven’s weight was nil?

This is why I raise my eyebrow toward anyone who said Mihoyo cares more for one game than another. Honestly, Tears of Themis is just chill overall for them and I’m pretty sure that despite any outward facade of care, there will be problems, especially in regard to Mihoyo. 

I have my preferred character types (Hawks, Kaveh, Aventurine, Satine, etc) whereas my cousin has her husbandos in TOT. 

I commend Camden’s first outing as a VA. His voice acting as Aventurine was very star-making just as Zeno’s role as Hawks. The potential for future roles beyond other Mihoyo games is strong here as he’s an actor who didn’t choose the route of television. 

Voice acting for video games and anime is really low-paying in the States. They aren’t treated like celebrities in Japan and do not even have a role in the biggest movies to showcase their talents. Only animated shows and video games are the future roles here. 

He’s still a beginner VA playing off experienced VAs. Even his future convention appearances rely entirely on conventions banking on him via fans asking. 

He shows a deep love and appreciation for the character and the art of voice acting. If he keeps at it, he could build up quite a resume. 

Yes, he has a big game under his belt but it’s his first and only role so far. We don’t know how many auditions he sent in for multiple others at the moment. For right now, he’s only known in the Mihoyo circles as his acclaim is getting around worldwide in the niche even if it’s just thirsting and cuteness going around.

Maybe in the future, he’ll get roles in anime, western cartoons, or video games as long as he’s under the guidance of the voice actors he collaborates with. 

I mean he sure is commissioning artists, spending on anything Aventurine he can get his hands on, and spending a whole lot on HSR gacha pulls. 

He has a Twitch as well as a YouTube so I guess it’s some additional money. 

All in all, Penacony and overall HSR have much-needed work to make something great out of it. 

That's not to say they aren't bad storytellers or have great characters. There are so many flaws in the finale of this part of this story, the story that gets more eyes on them than anything else due to word of mouth for incredible characters. Even if overall the Penacony has more problems than jsut the finale. 

It's just that either that potential is not fulfilled in the same way that it should've been done or not at all due to the insistence of waifu. Even if that was lightened in the finale just a tad, there was still the Firefly dating event. 

For all the love the characters have from the writing team, the writing suffered a lot. 

It's par for the course for Mihoyo games that the writing will be mediocre for all the character writing. Gacha games rely heavily on the characters. Heck, Twisted Wonderland has some 30 characters compared to Gacha games with stories and worlds that involve over a hundred playable characters. 

On a side note, the boycotting Mihoyo for the Natlan rep is just… You understand that these people won’t affect the bottom line, right? It’s better to attack that because, for a multimillion business, Mihoyo is more swayed by their Chinese community than their overseas, especially for Genshin. There are good intentions for the boycott but it’s not as easy as that. If that were the case, then that HP game would’ve suffered far worse. I don’t think these people who have good intentions are going with a clear mind of what to do than boycott when they should’ve understood the nuances that it’s not as easy. I refuse to support HP in any capacity as I know the money will go to the face of a hate movement they fund and successfully harm the trans community. Mihoyo based in China has so many issues with colorism but Natlan shouldn't have been the ticking point. For fuck's sake, Aventurine is basically Turkish-Romani and the depiction of the Romani equivalent isn't greatly handled at all at any point in the actual canon so to have Natlan be the last straw is just crazy. People know well before Sumeru that Mihoyo has issues with colorism and that no boycott is going to stop a multi-billion business. Why the fuck isn't Aventurine's Romani heritage didn't have this much response?? Honestly, with how many people were anticipating Snezhnaya, Natlan wouldn't stop the train for that region people have been anticipating forever. 

Journey into Pin Collecting

 

I never expected to fall down this rabbit hole. 

After experiencing things that are normal to pin collectors in the community, I'm still learning. This glossary here is useful. If I never need help regarding designing pins, I refer to this to achieve the best I want.

While I spent over a thousand at this point, I considered myself still pretty decent. I think I gave up a lot of potential pins because I could live without them or put them off till later. 

Honestly, with the pin collecting, I’m getting to know myself as to what themes I subconsciously lean-to. 

I love Nuwa’s art but I wasn’t intending to get any Disney fantasy pins at all until I laid my eyes on the Evil Queen. It's too lovely not to have and now I’m building up a Disney Villain board with Nuwa Yzma being my first FTD preorder. I mean who wouldn’t get Yzma? 

I still like glittery diamonds enough. I still like light designs of my favorite designs in a particular series. 

However, I noticed I tend to pick the goth and dark designs even with the cute and girly designs is a theme even with the theme of characters representing darkness death, and destruction. 

My first Patreon reward was Nuwa Sakura for November. My second and third were Mamobot Dragonair and Califlair's new theme series that will be delivered in February. I refuse to leave those three pin clubs particularly not letting go of Califlair's pin rewards after seeing the two so far. My third was Califlair’s Angel & February reward. 

FTD Yzma is my first ever FTD preorder whereas my first ever Patreon discount was the three Fashion Gardevoirs I've wanted. I haven't exactly had a true Patreon early access preorder from Mamobot just yet. Moon Prism Project Saturn is my first Patreon exclusive preorder as all I seen from the series it’s all in the pin club shop. I don’t think it was ever in the public shop. 

Neuvi Tarot is my first PSS pin whereas the Childe PoP I refuse to give up is my second PSS pin, both preorders. 

My first-ever group presale is the Silvy Moonie Saturn and I need to buy it the moment it releases. I do not know how many spots are there but it’s probably 40-ish given the previous full presale; surprisingly only two so far managed to get full: Riftan and Saturn. I scored a spot as soon as I got the confirmation of the group formation and now awaiting the date. 

I have seen the Mercury presale and already taken off after the first day and probably all of the group members paid already. I have seen early access members paying by other means than this. 

As much as I will be in pin jail for that, as long as I don't spend way more than I'm expecting, I'm okay. Honestly, as long as Mamobot doesn't fail me now by releasing the Eeveelution Crossbreeds Wave 1 in February, then I'm fine. 

Thank god I mostly stick with Saturn and Moon, but the only sometimes is because there is so much that I would buy at one point. 

Getting access to pin clubs is like getting crack to be honest. Nuwa's FTD series and Mamobot releasing early access Patreon open preorders are so bad to me but I know when to pick and choose. I feel like I'm being forced to pick and choose the Eeveelution Crossbreeds but I have to get the ones I know I need as February will be the hardest obstacle to get over. 

Because I'm actually spending not that much by comparison to others, in fact, I think what I'm spending in February alone is comparable to one of my cousins spending on a Kickstarter bundle that included add-ons of specials, I'm only focusing on designs I wanted. Sure I follow over a hundred artists on Instagram, but I'm only focusing on what I can do right now. Heck, I haven't spent anything on Mamobot in January other than getting the monthly reward. 

I'm investing in Califlair as I plan to stay all year. I'm staying in Mamobot and Nuwa's Patreon for obvious reasons. I don't plan to join any Kickstarters even for any ita bag once I manage to scrouge enough to buy an ita bag for my liking. I only joined a DC Kickstarter once and I've fallen down the rabbit down to not join a Kickstarter at the moment. 

Even if the creators are now limiting the LE so as not to create any dead stock, creators are still upping their game all over the place. I have seen pin designs that are just so good and there are some I know I can't pass up comes the preorder date like Silvy Moonie Saturn that I refuse to let go. 

Sure there are some stray pins I'm eying like from PSS and if a design I really love pops up in Discord Instagram or Patreon, it's all up in the air. The only designs that I know I want are up on Mamobot 

And I was right. Mamobot threw my intended budget out the window with the release of Eeveelution Fusions Wave 1 and Moon Prism Project Saturn. I was just lucky I only spent 109 previously including the pin clubs I stayed in but Mamobot revealed the Jirachi one and I really like this reward.  

In February alone, I will wound up preordering two Saturns, one from Mamo and the other from Silvy. They are going to look great in my Saturn shrine anyway so no regrets. No regret buying Wave 1 either. 

I already have two boxes at this point with the Wave 1 plus Saturn and the other was six of Wave 2 Fashion Gardevoirs. I'm pretty sure my 212 order that comes with a freebie pin and a free Mamocard essentially brought up the total to 15 items in total all of which are two inches with one 2.85 with the card being a card so it has to be a Mamobox. 

The start of February and the tail end of January already have been one bad financial decision after another. But those are designs I don’t regret. I cannot regret the upcoming Childe PoP that I have been waiting a long time for. At this point, after February, I’m gonna stick with planned purchases. 

Though with Mamobot’s sets I’m eying, some surprises that would set me off to get the earliest and cheapest pricing I can get. The Saturns could be counted as impulse purchases but they are also planned ones as I told myself that I only want Moon Prism Project Saturn and that PoP. I told myself Saturn and maybe Moon and haven’t stepped out since. 

I prefer to get them at the early bird price rather than later. I’m still spending badly but less. 

Since my budget is way off now, I will see if the Dabihawks zine leftovers and Dark Miku will be released in February to budget for the reward and the other Saturn. Honestly, I also need to see Nuwa's March reward and her FTD release to be sure too. At least I'm gonna score the Childe PoP. 

Mamo and Nuwa usually do open preorders for an entire week with an early bird discount is what I will try to get even after work. PSS always did a 48-hour preorder period only extending if not getting preorders to justify production; she only recently did the IF series as a week-long to have more than one character per month. I hope to see Itto and Kazuha even Tomo. 

I also have to take into account future waves of the Eevee Fusions because I need to buy them as well as Wave 3 of Fashion Gardevoir. I already completed Moon Prism Project Saturn, I just need to focus on Pokemon for Mamobot. I can’t afford another Moon Prism Project when the Eevee Fusions are calling me; I promised myself Saturn and that's it on the Moon Prism maybe with the possibility of Moon/Serenity. 

Again, other than Mamobot and Nuwa, I’m looking at PSS and hopefully, Zupins, the latter of which I hope to open an OP for a design I really want. 

There might be stray designs that would come up that are going to be hard to pass up on my budget. Silvy Moonie Saturn ended up being that and Nuwa Yzma. 

I know PSS will be plenty hard on my budget and no less following over a hundred Instagram accounts when it pops up a design or an in-hand sale I've been wanting for a while. 

To save as much money as I can, I have to see what Mamobot aka the Dark Miku and Nuwa aka the FTD and the monthly reward have to offer as well as any news on the Dabihawks zine leftovers to get certain designs such as PSS' Zhongli while still retaining one paycheck for a design I joined a group for. Mamobot already threw me off budget. Though after the eyeliner weirdness on the finished IF one, I’m wary and now aimed for a Zupins OP. 

I want the Zhongli but have to give up the Jirachi and if Mamobot releases the Dark Miku in February, I would likely have to give up the Zhongli for the time being or even look forward to the in-hand release of it or find another Zhongli. Again, it all depends on so many factors at this rate that the only thing I know I can spend on is the Silvy Moonie Saturn and IF Childe PoP. I refuse to give up the Dabihawks pin and now a Wriolette pin. Those will do great on my OTP board. 

I can give up that Zhongli for Midnightmoon Zhonglis. If there is a Zhongli open preorder for Zupins, you bet I’m gonna buy it. I mean there's a new series supposedly with Kaeya open preorder in January, I don't know what is coming next now that I finally followed her at last. 

Push comes the shove, I have to sell some pins. I'm considering the freebies I don't like and impulse purchases. I'm only going to sell some of my personal collection if I'm gonna make something from it. I'm likely going to sell the Nuwa Cinderella and focus entirely on villains for Nuwa. 

I can just sell the Nuwa Link and Nuwa Cinderella next month or this month for some quick cash. Unfortunately, I have to sell them but it’s for funds and I can part with it. 

I didn't want to sell the Nuwa Link after seeing the sample but if I have to. 

I am cautious about Silvy now, especially after seeing the Sakura, Syaoran, Venus, and maybe Riftan. Pluto did turn out great as does previous turnouts like Luna and Serenity. The skin for Sakura and Syaoran turns out too dark and the coloring is off from the original art so it didn't translate the shadowing and bright lights as it should've done. As for Venus, the hair splays to the side whereas the flowers on the left are on two levels. 

I know pins are artistic interpretations of the original art and aren't one-to-one but at least try matching. The worst I saw was somehow just changing the colors outright and UV printing exclusively to the exclusion of everything that could be done to make look good. I have no idea what happened to that pin in particular because it's so changed and so disappointing that it didn't try to match. 

Mamobot is great with Pantone and his pastels always turn out great. 

All I know about Sakura is that when presale buyers in the group noticed the darker skin, it was too late to ask her to change it because she already put it into mass production at that point. What I can say in the end, the pins are pretty but overbaked or have slight inconsistencies that might detract if noticed just enough. 

They are still pretty pins but I just hope that she doesn't stray too far from the original art to match it in some way in her later pins. I have not seen a production sample of Mars yet.  

Her style of shadows and bright lights can work but not always so I hope Saturn turns out great. I know that she always uses effects to raise the price extremely that she and her business partner exclusively sell expensive pins. 

At least her other series are doing fine. 

Pin mails have been a pick-me-up treat. Finally receiving the first pin mail of February certainly makes me happy. I’m waiting for the Dragonair and Fashion Gardevoirs to arrive especially putting the Dragonairs side by side. In March, it’s the Nuwa Link and Califlair again. Unless the largest Mamobot preorder comes in late March, I’m happy. In April, there would be a lot of packages. 

Again, preorders and pin rewards. 

I don’t know about in hands yet but I hope I get the Dark Miku and Dabihawks pin. Those are priorities at the moment as in hands. Maybe the Wriolette pin but that’s not a priority. 

Future preorders would be Eevee Fusions Wave 2 and 3 complete sets (since there are 9 in total, there’s gonna be three waves about 185 at early bird pricing so two more to go) and Fashion Gardevoir Wave 3 some pins (I must get Mew and Florges). It’s very rare for me to want to have the whole set and the Eevee Fusions put me over the edge because every design is too good not to have. 

I knew one of these days I would be spending close to 200 or just a little 200 on Mamobot as I will use the discount codes when I can if only to save money. 

I really like freebie stickers. It's either of the designs I didn't like enough to get as pins like the two Fashion Gardevoir stickers I have of the original and the Butterfree design. I actually like the Butterfree sticker well enough but does it ignite a feeling of FOMO? Just a little but not enough especially in the month I'm prioritizing certain pins. I've seen the pins I didn't buy in better lighting and it looks good but not enough for me to buy it and keep it for life. To be honest, I'd rather get the Sylveon Fusion with Beautifly rather than the Butterfree Gardevoir. At least that would fit in nicely with the Goth Pokemon board I'm basically designing. I tend to be drawn to the relatively dark designs of Mamo's art because it's for my inner Goth lolita soul hence the Dark type Miku. With some exceptions, I'd prefer some Shiny designs over the original. 

Even if the Dark Miku isn’t going to be released in February, I still have to go and basically practice for its eventual drop so I can grab and go but without buying the practice item. 

Pokemon will always be my biggest collection by far. Again, Mamobot is piling that up. 

I haven’t collected CCS and other magical girls in a while. I’m considering MonocacyBottomPins’ upcoming Syaoran or Tomoyo whereas I bought two Saturns in one month. However, there’s Meg I’m looking forward to. I am keeping my Disney collection as small as I can with Nuwa, Mamobot, and maybe some extras. I’m hoping that Nuwa doesn’t release an FTD I want in February because for Mamobot, I am focusing exclusively on the Dark Miku for in-hand drop whereas focusing on preordering for the ones I wanted even if again it would set me back 185. I haven’t heard anything about the Dabihawks leftovers as the last round of shipping batches has yet to be announced nor have the leftover sales been announced; all I know is they were shorted an item. In fact, I have no idea which item was shorted and there is still no news of delivery batches sent of the remaining packages. 

My Digimon and shounen collection is so tiny. Disney is only inching just as much as Sailor Moon through Saturns and whatever comes up. I'm keeping an eye out for any interesting Saturn/Hotaru Tomoe designs that might come up from reliable pin makers. I love Saturn's OG costume though so I kept an eye out for that too. 

My love for magical girls is mighty but I haven't decided on any CCS lately, only Saturns. Pokemon is my priority more so than anything interesting that might be up for Nuwa's FTD series. If it’s like Jasmine a design I can live without, I can skip. If not, we shall see. If it’s Alice, I’m in trouble because she can do youthful characters. I preordered Yzma so quick as it’s the quickest I did for Nuwa notwithstanding the drops for Mamobot because I will be fighting. I can’t be cart swiped for the Dark Miku. 

Like I collect and love Moulin Rouge, but I don’t collect all Disney crossover with it. I prefer to see Satine and Christian than having characters in those roles.

Thankfully I'm not trying to collect that much Disney, only the designs that interest me though I would love a Yzma from Mamobot. 

Honestly, it helps that I'm already picky so I usually just pick up designs I actually want to keep forever. I aim for preorders from very reliable pin makers who fulfill orders and preorders in an orderly manner. Honestly, Mamo and Nuwa are like machines more Mamo as his customers get preorders earlier, and if something is late, he’ll let us know as it took nearly two months for me to get the Dragonair. Even then, getting the rewards is still timely as we can get it the month of or within one to two months. 

Califlair is also reliable because her pins are tiny and single-layer unless they are on the bigger side. Unless something comes up, she gives news in the newsletter. 

The drama with Different Distractions with Jessica admitting to it was just awful, especially with the rumors against reliable pin makers or those who make so many orders in a month but barely show the manufacturing process. 

In fact, one creator I’m following had a lot of uploads on pins that people haven’t seen yet on the updates. The only thing missing is the Mars pin. 

I don’t follow scammers or those that take years. Unlike Hederahelix who has artisan pins made, they are always on time and never ever take as much time as Man on the Moon or Nyxxi. I would like a HederaHelix pin one day but I feel justifying one hundred for a pin is too much for me. Still, if I somehow scored a preorder because I can trust them, others I feel I can’t lest it falls through as one case I saw where it took a year to refund. Hederahelix can take up to two years for their most complicated pins but will give updates. 

My rule of thumb is to affordable as long as I'm willing and able to be selective for creators. At the moment, I'm a dedicated customer of Mamobot foremost with Nuwa closely behind. I cannot afford Califlair unless I spend a bulk on her once a year so it's best for my budget that I stay in her pin club. 

Most designs I do want are concentrated on Mamobot with some stray designs that are often out there.

I prefer to stay in Mamobot and Nuwa's pin clubs for the foreseeable future as they are often the most affordable and accessible. The open preorders they do are like heaven for a newbie like me. 

Honestly, thank god I'm not a massive Sailor Moon and Disney collector. I never bought from Different Distractions and thank my lucky star I did not when I have been eying others within my budget. I didn’t have any thought of buying from Silvy and Lavender until I saw Saturn. 

Seriously, again Saturn especially if it's a design or a line that I would've like such as Mamobot's Moon Prism Project that is Patreon pin club exclusive then I have to get it. I have zero clues about Mamobot if he's going to release the second wave of the Eevee fusions next month because late March at the very least will be the preorders sent out for Wave 1. 

I know that Sailor Moon, Disney, and Pokemon are enough to create a whole category for pin/sticker clubs. Silvy has a whole Moonie Club while Poroful has Pokemon Food tier club as examples. Noddiart has SM and Disney categories as well as Ghibli is another example of a dedicated fandom club. 

If you really like the artist and you really like the characters of a particular fandom in their style, then go for it. 

Though considering some pin club tiers sometimes have limited spots so there will be spots to essentially fight for. 

Of the creators I'm currently buying, Mamobot and Nuwa are basically crack for a newbie. Again, relatively affordable if you can be selective. I can't afford to stay out of planned purchases now. Nuwa creates great designs so I would like to set aside money for them but it depends on the design. Yzma won over my heart less so her Jasmine Red. I love Yzma so I have to get her never mind that Nuwa drew her absolutely gorgeous. Her art on Alice is nice but no dice in keeping it forever. I can see myself keeping the Evil Queen, Vanessa, and Yzma forever. Yzma has the honor of being my fastest FTD and in general pin preorder yet. To be fair, getting the Moulin Rouge pins was fairly fast too as I want to keep those forever. 

As for ita bags, I’m even more pickier. It was only recently I wanted an ita bag and it was a Mehrak ita bag too. My Genshin pins which are still in the production phase are limited to three. I love Kaveh and it should be appropriate that I should get another Kaveh pin. My first Genshin preorder was Kaveh amusingly so it’s fitting my first ita bag is Kaveh-themed even if it’s gonna be a Genshin bag in the end due to my pickiness even with my OTP pins. Getting Velkia pins is a must and obviously go great with the bag. Now the pins turn three to five with the Velkia pins that I have to get both of. My second Kaveh and first Al-Haitham. I haven’t gotten a Zhongli yet! I don’t know if that’s comical or just haven’t found the right one. 

I still haven’t done up my goth Pokemon board mostly because I don’t have the centerpieces and lots of others. They are Mamobot-only designs. For example, my much-needed Dark Miku and the darker colored Eevee Fusions (Sylveon fusion with Beautifly for example is such a need especially would look great on the goth Pokemon board). I can't build a board just yet without those and their specs. 

The Disney board is what I'm trying to keep relatively small. I have no clue why I had a Disney Villain board even when the Evil Queen started out that Disney collection. Still have no clue how to go about that especially when I don't know if Nuwa is gonna release more designs I like. Yzma was the last FTD I liked so I hope to see more. Again, I'm not planning too big a Disney collection. It was Nuwa who kicked it off. 

As always, there are artists commissioned or otherwise who won’t do certain fandom stuff. David J Brunson, an exclusive artist for the Pin Hut and Pinchantress, refused to do anime after only doing 2 Demon Slayer designs for the former, as he considered the medium perverted; what to note was his outburst to someone asking about them was unwarranted and really shouldn't be said to make anyone feel unsafe in the community so Pin Hut and Brunson apologized in a post acknowledging he knows nothing about anime with the latter taking down the story itself. He took time off after that to reevaluate himself and from what I saw, he doesn't have many stories other than previews of his art. Penguchan refused to do any Hazbin Hotel designs as she dislikes the show. 

Just because they are well-respected artists in the pin community does not mean they will get on every trend or like everything. There are other fish in the sea. 

However, as anime is very popular as well as any current hot topic fandom that arises from anything popular, there are other fish in the sea. If you want detailed hot waifus and husbandos, you can look elsewhere. Heck, some shops have NSFW artwork for pins. 

Just a heads up and really a sensible thing though these artists have to say that. Anyhow, Mr Brunson is the permanent artist for two people so his commissions are coming in great for his profits as he’s primarily a Disney fantasy pin seller. 

I still have no clue why I got myself into an expensive hobby. Combined with ita bag/display case/shadowbox, my spending on pins is considerably less than others. I would know considering the pin discord server I’m in prominently, it doesn’t even scratch the surface. My big money spenders usually goes to four people now: Mamobot, Nuwa, PSS, and MintyxPins now that I joined her HSR club. 

There are designs I simply cannot leave thus it had planned even before my bank account is treading closer below the needed amount that I would have to pay a waiver. 

Sure, there are pin makers I follow so I can get varied art of characters. Been eying a couple Genshin pins from Putorblue. If anything, those threw me off. 

Like Genshin, I’m trying to narrow down characters I like. For Genshin, it’s Kaveh, Childe, Neuvilette, Zhongli, and a little bit of Alhaitham and misc characters. Yeah, female characters in Genshin have potential but it’s really hard to when I’ve been burned too many times by it even when these ladies can be well-written at times. After Signora, I'm just waiting for Arlecchino to get me the bad crazy villain with potential that can be fulfilled. After Raiden Shogun, I felt too burned to get future Archons including Furina and Nahida which didn't convince me enough to collect them. Genshin, can I get my evil villains or morally ambiguous women like Ruan Mei or Sparkle, I'm begging? I don't want waifus, just my villains. 

For Honkai, it’s Aventurine, Dan Heng, Dan Feng, Blade/Yingxing, and a bit of Dr. Ratio and maybe Firefly and Acheron. Again, the ladies can be well-written but it’s just hard after being burned by Genshin’s writing of women and unwillingness to take potential. 

Hunk designs I’m not drawn to since hunks aren’t my preferred type. Any Haitham and Ratio pins are under that many hoops for me to consider. I think what got me was Ratio’s weirdo and fan service combo whereas Alhaitham as a foil got me. 

Choosing to collect ORV after getting the Dabihawks pin is for my sanity. ORV became one of my favorite pieces of literature ever. It’s just best for my sanity and wallet I get it after I get my only MHA pin. 

I'm already planning to collect lots of Honkai pins after all. I'm not collecting Boothill in the same way as I will not be collecting Itto. Genshin has a whole lot of likable characters but I'm going to specifically aim to collect only characters I know I'll keep forever. I'm just hoping to see more Ratio and 

Getting pins of one of my fave books of all time is a thing I need to have because I don't know if ORV is going to get the MXTX treatment with the books translated. The webtoon is made into comic books that you can buy and translate so I would take what I can get. 

New Snow White Films 2024 and 2025

I wasn't going to make a comment on this. When both films are straight-ass from the get-go (do you really think Daily Wire would make a good movie? With Ben Shapiro there? Who is untalented as fuck in his career as a filmmaker?), do you really think I would have more to say? 

These two films are lining up to be the worst yet. The Daily Wire's version is of course reactionary bs to Disney's live-action bs. 

Of course, Daily Wire can say whatever they want to say but it's clear they don't care about that when it's reactionary bullshit that is their MO. I snorted when I read their statement about making this movie. Why the hell should I believe them? 

If they really care, they really shouldn’t be reactionary to Disney live-actions that are criticized for adding nothing to the table. It’s only with Snow White, that they produce their own instead of the other times or even when the BATB LA whole thing. Really, reactionary to the poor publicity the two main leads from SWLA and that Disney will take bad publicity to drive up interest which Daily Wire doesn’t seem to care or even think of. Fuck, since the CGI dwarves' revelation after the grandstanding of different characters as the dwarves' counterparts, the SWLA is a subject of bile fascination more than it already is. The Daily Wire version has no legs to stand on their grand plan to supposedly think they can do better when I know Daily Wire never produces a good movie in their entire lives. The Daily Wire as always is reactionary to a product that after TLMLA barely broke even or even lost money. Of course, Daily Wire has a tunnel vision when it comes to the woke media but they don’t seem to think that Hollywood losing money now has nothing to do with woke. Do you really think they would really care that Hollywood is losing money due to spending too much when that's not necessary and pumping out those films every year that the term blockbuster loses its meaning? All of Daily Wire's arguments boil down to a narrowed argument to the bigger picture. 

Wokeness in their definition means it’s the core of everything bad when it’s performative activism and not doing their due diligence as well as knowing when to have fun as well and not leaning so hard into trying to be progressive that they turn right back to conservative are the main problems. Look at the Puritanism bs in fandom spaces. 

Godoka, these guys never expressed interest in anime. What would they think about Bon Clay coming next season in OPLA? Yeah, they’ll reveal themselves to be false with no knowledge but their own ignorance. 

Honestly, given how people complain that Snow White isn't the right race, they haven't heard of Snow White Fairest of Them All starring Kristin Kreuk, a mixed-race actress of Chinese descent? 

It's just awful because I've seen people complain about the casting of One Piece Live Action's adaptation. Have they not heard of the SBS?! If they are OP fans as they said they were, they should already know this. I haven't caught up with One Piece since finishing WCI and was waiting for Wano to finish and even I knew that the entire cast of One Piece is supposed to be diverse. Luffy being Brazilian or Mexican is supposed to be canon. 

Why the fuck is that wannabe star Lucas Amorim, a Brazilian actor, going so hard with the money even though nobody is auditioning in a middle of a strike? He hasn’t shown an acting reel of the capacity of emotions needed for Ace or what he likes about Ace or attempting to act out lines from the original. All he got is cosplay and a previous audition for Luffy no less. 

Wannabe actors for Ace are annoying. Ace is a popular character but for the sake of Arceus, they aren’t doing any more than showing they are unfit to be Ace. 

The casting crew and Oda reject cosplayers and are looking at actors who are natural and can encapsulate the character whether they know the material or not. Jacob Gibson’s audition for Usopp exemplified this; it’s natural and exudes Usopp. 

Oda didn't expect to find a real-life Luffy willed into reality by the universe just walking around Mexico as a largely unknown actor waiting to be discovered. He laughed because it's fucking Luffy right there! 

With the strike ending, these wannabe Aces can attempt to audition or for Lucas Amorim, audition as a different character. If he doesn’t get Ace, would he audition as another character the next season showing his desperation? I don’t want him in OPLA and should be let down gently but if he tries again, he’s going to be mocked. 

I don't mind actors of different ethnicity playing these fairytale characters but at least they know what they are. 

The two Snow Whites don't know who they are but one is misguided but mismanaged due to the dwarves' issue (really it’s Disney about overpromising or attempting a grand statement by sticking to their guns) and the other is reactionary and does not have good intentions (why the fuck are they caring about Disney remakes targeting specifically one aspect?! There are tons of problems about the remakes but wokeness is not the problem. I am not associated with those people whose only criticism is saying that it’s woke, a common criticism from them unless it becomes popular, and even then they twist themselves into a pretzel just to explain that it’s woke anyway). 

Seriously, do you really believe the right wing would actually go all the way with the iron-hot red shoes that the evil queen would be forced to dance in at her stepdaughter's wedding? How about the fact that the prince liked the dead princess and asked the dwarves to take her to a proper burial at his palace until the poisoned apple was dislodged from Snow White's throat from a bump? 

Their cognitive dissonance as well as their hatred in general made it pretty damn clear they hate women as a means of power. 

Even Bentkey’s better shows, by comparison, Mabel Mclay doesn’t have Shapiro’s overseeing eyes as opposed to Chip Chilla and still lacked the awareness that Mister Rogers, Sesame Street, and Muppets are political as fuck back in the day. 

I’m saying original shows here not whatever rights they secured. 

Had their best shows been shown elsewhere, I wouldn’t feel that Daily Wire insists they are the right everything with the 100-dollar registration subscription. That they are the best alternative when everything they do that they are the overseers of is uncreative. 

They aren’t the best alternative when their mentality of Disney’s queer rep is to be an absolute zero when almost zero rep seems to be enough for them to scream wokeness. It’s hilarious and sad. 

I'm crying...crying from laughter because the right wing is intentionally hurting others while doing what they don't preach. 

Sound Horizon's Marchen under Revo's songwriting has Snow White with all the sheer horrors that were known in the original fairy tale. Snow White was actually dead! Snow White gave an evil laugh as she watched her stepmother or mother if you care about interpretation die! It's implied that this Snow White didn't take care of the dwarves and is implied to be vain that like her stepmother/mother, she will end up envying her own daughter and trying to kill her, repeating the cycle of violence! It’s heavily implied this Snow White had been sexually assaulted or raped by her dad which led to her deteriorating sanity to think her mom is her stepmom! As a bonus, since it's not originally from the fairytale, the prince is necrophilic. Just to let you know, the rock opera Marchen has metaphors for the Black Death and has a connection to other Sound Horizon works. Note that all interpretations are valid in Revo's words for his Sound Horizon's discography so all of these I just mentioned is just one interpretation of the many. 

I doubt the Daily Wire would go all full Grimm on us. Even the Brothers Grimm movie starring Heath Ledger and Matt Damon is far more competent in using the Grimm fairytales than anybody in the right-wing conservatives who we know have poor media literacy skills. I'd trust Steven Sondheim and Revo to use the Grimm nature of the fairytales to tell a story well with all the interpretations that are viable to tell the story to them. Daily Wire has no such compunction to tell a story of their caliber because their Snow White product is reactionary to Disney and the overall woke they fear. They don’t want to honor the original fairytale or take inspiration from it. They are unimaginative and lack creative vision other than woke Disney is bad with no thoughtful nuance. Do you really think they would consider Lindsay Ellis’ video at all? Hell no, they refuse to watch her.  

I would recommend Sound Horizon's Marchen, Snow White Fairest of Them All, and the original Disney classic over these two movies. Even foreign adaptations that aren't from America are better than these two films. 

Sydney White, Tale of Terror, Huntsman, and Mirror Mirror are far better than these two movies. 

Will they actually go up against the worst of the worst Snow White animation films with these two films? Well, these films are still going to be shit and so are those films but I feel like those two are of a different beast because of the reactionary bs in one and the indecisiveness and lack of imagination in another. 

Of course, I refuse to comment on the whole Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, and Greta Gerwig's mess regarding the whole film. I ignored anything regarding the Daily Wire's version; the only thing I did was confirm who was on board and went off my merry way after confirmation because I didn't need more. 

Ah, Greta Gerwig. A talented director but has some failings. I do take issue with her seeming siding with the studios with her wanting to work with them on bigger-budget films. Certainly, directors do need a line of work too but does she need to? She certainly wants to with the Narnia. 

Talented but still a point of criticism because she doesn't need to work with them. Working with A24 is far better because at least they were literally exempted due to the fact they agreed to everything. 

As for Gal Gadot, while her accent would definitely make her not a solid actress in English, her politics didn't really mesh well because never mind Wondy is a hard character to capture, she is just hard in general in terms of everything due to the ever-changing writing. I'm not talking about adaptations here but the original source. 

I love Wondy, I love Wonderfam, I love Donna Troy and Cassie Sandsmark. You bet your ass I would scoop up Laropins and Nuwa’s ladies I want. I’m waiting for Wave 5 from Nuwa that you cannot imagine my anticipation. As much as WW1 is the better film of the two with the sequel just being sheer badness, I want Wondy and the rest of her family to be depicted faithfully. Donna and Dick's friendship in Titans the show was undeniably the best out of the many, many terrible choices. 

As for Rachel Zegler, she really is talented and her career shouldn't be torpedoed because of one bad movie. All I can say about her is just pure naivety. 

Never mind the movie was pushed back three years post-production after they wrapped. Reshoots, anyone? 

The Daily Wire version isn't much better. Even if it's going to be released this year, it's not gonna be good by any means. 

I'm pretty sure that after I see it on a pirating site, I will go see a better Snow White or adaptation right afterward to wipe the sour taste out of my mouth after that horrible experience. 

I'm a fairytale lover. I have been subjected to terrible adaptations of fairy tales forever. The live-action Disney films are nonsensical as they are performative as they don't want to rock the boat too much but at the same time, they are still better than the Republicans and the entire right-wing radicals any day of the week who want me dead. All Disney wants is my money but Republicans want me dead. 

I'd rather be subjected to the Disney live-action remakes over the Daily Wire version any day of the week. Lindsay Ellis had already spoken at length about Woke Disney in her dedicated video about just how they utterly ignore the racial implications rather than acknowledge or do something more about it. Performative and full of shit but at least there are hints of talent even if stifled by corporate. Sideways has spoken at length that the corporation doesn't trust the actors to sing their versions with proper training. Emma Watson wanted to learn but yeah, nope, not Disney. People shouldn't blame Emma Watson for her bad singing when so many circumstances don't let her sing as well as her peers Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. I fully accept knowing the TWST Tapis Rouge event was purely to promote the film which is funny and not at the same time because of course as a Disney product, it should be promoting an upcoming movie but at the same time, TWST feels more like it has more effort in it. 

I am going to pirate the shit out of these films and never look back at them again after that. I can look back fondly on the other adaptations and even grew to like the adaptations I mentioned. I'm not the biggest fan of Huntsman but it's still far better than this shit. 

Really, the way the reactionary conservative people saying woke about these works featuring POC characters and stories, it says a lot that they didn't seem to remember the period before the Disney remake where we got Huntsman or other turnouts that attempted to make the protagonists more proactive. 

Even Sydney White had her try to be the school president or whatever position the Evil Queen counterpart was supposed to be. 

Is it because Kristen Stewart was white? Because that's really the problem they don't seem to remember it. 

The Daily Wire version is utter bs as is the Disney live-action counterpart. 

At worst, the live-action Disney counterpart could tarnish the original animated movie that started it all or dissolve in the background. It could either be forgettable or so bad it's not going to be good to watch. 

At least we know the Daily Wire version will die a horrible death due to the sheer fact it's gonna be terrible under the awful handling of those guys who have the same mindset of the Christian media that we have seen at their worst. 

Outside of Critical Drinker and other conservative media reviewers who always complain about woke Disney, I haven't seen shit from others I usually see like Smarty Pants or ModernGurlz ever talk about that. 

And really why should they when they are well aware the movie will end up being shit anyway? 

I never liked the Critical Drinker in the first place but sheesh. 

You would think the association with Daily Wire is a red flag that the movie will be shit. The people behind the movie that I have seen so far don't have good records about making a good movie. Ben Shapiro's movies are awful and you can just look at Jose ripping apart all of that. 

If Jose is gonna rip apart that movie, then I'll gladly watch it. I know that Jose knows even if I don't actually know him that the movie under Ben Shapiro's eye (executive producer) is gonna be bad. 

Just look at those I mentioned. They are far more worth your time even if some I did mention are mediocre but putting it in contrast the time they were released with the time the woke material is made because of consciousness of experience of color is exponential. 

The irony that I have a Disney fantasy pin (a fanmade pin as it is used in the pin community to refer to) is a Nuwa FTD Evil Queen that the fact Snow White adaptations are coming is funny. It really wasn’t my fault that I love that FTD pin in particular. She was just lovely in her art style I fell in love with her. As much as I love Disney, I don’t collect Disney. Whatever Disney merch I do have, they’re gifts from others whereas the Nuwa FTD is mine alone. All I’m begging is that my designated girls don’t sell out. I heard LE Meg sold out 2 minutes flat. The reason why the FTD is in the secret shop is because they are Disney. It makes the stock last longer not that it had Yzma and Winter Belle selling out fast. I’m anticipating future designs so this is the only Disney pins I ever will have. Not that help much considering Yzma sold out fast. 

I don’t participate in Disney pin trading. Sure they are nice to look at but it either looks like they took the official art or barely changed much when designing new things that look new. I understand the point of recognition but I would love to see more. I’m generally a picky person hence why the traders (either from commitment groups or freebies; I'll likely just give all Sunday designs to gift my cousin who is a massive Sunday fan eventually. I like pretty art but I can just give those to my cousin.) I do get is eventually going to be sold. 

Zines

 

Zines, you heard about them. 

In the past, they were cheaply produced and distributed for free or cheap. There is rarely ever any merch added to them. 

The point was to spread the word and to reach the community in a way that is easily distributed. 

Nowadays, less so. I feel that unless the fic is uploaded into AO3, I cannot read shit except excerpts. I want to take part in the community that I dearly love but because of the priceyness, I can't buy it easily. 

Okay, so zines nowadays are essentially booklets instead of cheaply made and distributed. 

A reasonable price for a zine is 5 or less. More than that is not a zine. In fact, it’s best to get it free even as I read free zines before. 

This isn’t gatekeeping or imaginary semantics. It’s about the exploitation of punk amateur production values to induce creators to work for less and eschew of formal guarantees and protections they are entitled. Best of all, they are accessible to the community for cheap. 

I made the exception of getting the Dabihawks Lunar Flare zine because multiple of my favorite Dabihawks writers and artists are on there and not much more. The creator was out front admitting it was for profit. If it wasn’t for the sheer fact that they gathered the best of the best of the Dabihawks community, I never would’ve looked at it twice since I prefer to read mine for free or cheap. 

Once leftover sales opened up, fanfics and fanart that were created for it began spilling for free so yeah, these people want the fandom to at least have that much even if they can't pay for it. I wanted the zine and the pin and that's it. I can look at the pretty art on social media. 

I do not plan on creating a MHA or a dedicated specific pairing board. Having OTPs is enough for me as well as having an expensive Hawks figure. Just putting one Dabihawks and multiple SatoSugu is enough for me whereas I’m putting the Timkon pin with the other DC pins because of how rare I found Kon. 

Fuck, I’m not creating a Haikaveh or a Ratiorine board entirely. I rarely get sets unless I really like the art of them. Hunky guys typically aren’t my cup of tea (still don’t get when Touya got the time to work out?? I wasn’t planning to collect MHA that only a zine pin satisfied me but even from a story standpoint, why the hell is Touya that way?? I get Hawks but not Touya.) so it will take something interesting for me to collect them. I want emphasis on Ratio’s weirdo behavior for one thing. I love Haitham and Ratio but they are buff guys and buff guys aren't something I usually collect or bother to collect. I've preordered a Haitham (a Velkia one but that's one required and I wanted a Haitham for a long time that Velkia is perfect) so I'm just waiting for Ratio pins that just make me want to make their forever homes. Even Itto suffers from this. Buff guys aren't for me, only bishies. 

My primary focus is Kaveh and Aventurine with sprinkles of Haitham and Ratio. Love Zhongli, Childe, and Neuvi but I’m even more pickier. I collect other miscellaneous characters so they are there but cluttered. Kaveh is just growing a collection at this point because I really love his character so much that is not healthy. It’s about 3 preordered pins with one Haitham and an upcoming Haitham from Putorblue. I got about 3 Saturns and an upcoming Saturn preorder in June. Need to see cutematter Saturn and others in order to make it since I’m planning to get the Aventurine anyhow. I only got 3 chibi PGSM pins and that’s all I have to declare my love for PGSM. 

I collect every single character of ORV because ORV isn’t that popular and small by comparison. There’s a difference. I can find lots of Genshin and HSR’s popular characters whereas I can only find the main three and their incarnations and Biyoo and Uriel. With the exception of Punisher which I cannot find a pin of, ORV just makes me start a collection later due to that fact. 

I don’t collect ALST and Solo Leveling no matter how much I like the series. My priority is one of my favorite books of all time. At least fans have food, ORV fans likely won’t have the chance of their fave book officially published for a while if at all. Would we see an upward of pins once the movie comes out in 2025? I hope so. Korean movies are well known to be good so I hope the ORV does go over well. 

I'd rather have all of the fanfics and fanart that are supposed to be free and cheap for zines to be available to see and read after everything is done and over rather than having to pay for that is not really a zine in the end. 

Again, the only reason I got the physical zine is because of the sheer fact that the zine itself gathered the best of the best of the Dabihawks community. 

They are essentially art books that aren’t accessible to the rest of the fandom. Fans are either building a shrine of manga or figures rather than having an art book of their fave OTP. 

Worst yet, they also have appealing merchandise. Finding pins of ORV is so slim I was forced to rely on zines. I was also lucky that ORV pins are still available as overall ORV isn’t Solo Leveling popularity. I can only find two ORV kickstarters and that’s it. Starting the ORV collection with that scene is a great banging start. 

Very rarely do I see a zine pin be presold separately from the bundles. 

I was freaking lucky that I managed to find a pin maker who was willing to make ORV pins due to me following as many creators as I can. I was damn lucky that I managed to get the Velkia Haikaveh pin set (ordered separately but are a set regardless because they were supposed to be released during Valentines' but pushed back to March and April. Really, because I was collecting Kaveh as a major point at this point, I hummed in interest but kept an eye out for the story just in case. When I recognized Velkia's art style, it went from tiny interest to need because I've been trying to get Velkia's art as pins for a while now. It's definitely in my forever home pins though most of my pins are typically.) as much as I did due to following a prominent pin maker that allowed an open order on those pins. 

Preorders for pins are taken as nicely for me since I'm so used to fanfiction not updating for a long time. At least fanfiction is a hobby whereas pin businesses are small businesses and thus I have to research businesses that sufficiently fulfill my order reliably. It does help that I have a Mamo discord which is my main pin discord. 

It's preferable for me to secure a spot and I have a tendency to hyperfocus on a pin preorder period so I can get it. 

It was a bloodbath during the Dabihawks zine release but I secured what I wanted due to my quick training from Mamo's in-hand releases. 

Now popularity in a general fandom does not always translate to the pin community. There are famous anime that are talked about that rarely if ever get pins. Take Monster but you hardly ever find fan-made pins. 

Anime pins are expensive with Shounen being regarded as the stock market hilariously. Disney and Sailor Moon pins are more expensive than others. 

CSM pins aren't as in demand now as during its hype. The fandom all but died but there are still people who are fans who collect stuff from it. 

What I paid for my expensive pins typically would give me looks. Had they been sold for retail, they would've averaged from 30 at the very least. Even official Disney pins are around that frame upon release; it's only after everything's sold, that it's upsold for much higher due to its scarcity. 

I really don’t want to pay over 100 for one hunk of metal. Unless it’s really worth it or I can work up my feeling to get a HederaHelix pin, I usually don’t spend that much unless I really want the pin. 

My family is already judging me for my purchases. What I purchase doesn’t scratch other pin collectors’ collections. 

I’m usually picky and buy to keep therefore I usually judge by whether I really want it or not. For example, I was considering Witchxing Chimera Falin but decided against now the release of other Falin Chimera pins. I’m just going to wait to see future musical installments since she did Phantom of the Opera. The only musical I ever collect is Moulin Rouge so hoping for that. 

My monthly purchases do not scratch even those who buy at a higher rate than I. The sets I buy are typically from Mamobot so it’s rare for me to get them. I got the Velkia HaikAveh because it’s Velkia. I’m very happy to get the set not just because of Velkia but also because of 4.6, it felt right. Now I’m on the hunt for another set or a pin that got both of them. 

From the beginning, I only collected what is best for me, concentrating on my planned purchases from Mamobot which took up a lot of my budget frequently. The final set of the Eevee Fusions and another of the Fashion Gardevoirs as well as the Project Voltage until later this year. I’m still debating getting which of the new Pika Spooky designs outside of getting the stickers of the old designs. 

The small businesses have that much pricing due to the effects, size, etc that it raised its price up. Mamo and Nuwa are far more reasonable with their pricing but still I followed pin makers who have daily 100 or just scraping 85 for the lowest grades. Really the highest I ever spent in one month was just a little over 500. 

Nowadays because of the economy, people aren’t spending too much on pins and focusing on certain characters. Even in the previous fandoms and outright medium of anime, people are focusing on what they want. 

Yeah, there are pin makers who focus on extremely detailed PoPs and large pins with lots of detail effects and mechanics that are costly still. The Venn diagram of pin makers who throw effects at the wall to see what works and pin makers who don't really think what looks good on enamel pins vs printed art is a circle. 

In fact, I only read zine fics after the fact when they are uploaded on AO3. If they were uploaded at all. 

I refuse to get a Twitter X account for the sake of my sanity. I got myself an Instagram if only because I need to see accounts. In the end, I end up participating in pin community like C2C groups. 

However, in the pin community, due to small businesses and how easily they can be ripped off or lose money, it’s easy for people to feel personal. In all my nearly two decades-long fandom curation, I never witnessed more arguments and boiling unreasonableness to the point of hatred almost, dragging innocent people into the crossfire. I’m mainly just there trying not to read the stories. In the end, good intentions have the road to hell, and unreasonable anger is felt in the pin community. Due to my research, I know which shops are definitely to avoid and to make sure I get into something that is reliable and gives updates. 

I have seen way too many pin makers complain about customers' complaints. It's too commonplace to see these rants alongside the rants of people who felt they were ripped off or lost money and weren't even refunded. Customer service is part of the deal of business. Why are you treating your customers so poorly when you could just have highlights or a separate account for progress alone? So unprofessional and mental gymnastics that it's fine to be unprofessional in what the end is a business that concerns money and products that can lead to fraud and thievery in the worst case.  

Considering how pins exploded during the pandemic, it's much easier now to see when a pin isn't put into production or not paying the rest of the money for the pins they made where delays can't no longer be blamed on the pandemic. The issues of cut-and-run makers are rampant with so much theft and fraud that these guys are either unprepared for the workload of a pin maker and overwhelmed due to excessive preorders or just shut down or criminal fraudsters thieves just made it clear there is a thin line to prepare for this line of work. Apparently, it's much easier to take money rather than make pins. 

The other ones that got overwhelmed and just disappeared are unprepared which the buyer usually doesn't see. All the cost for production and other additional effects is overwhelming. They treat it as a hobby and not an actual business with customers who need to see where their money is going and when they are going to receive the product. 

I have seen this even in a previously well-respected Disney fantasy pinmaker no less. He used to create pins that go for a lot in the pin community. Now after his divorce, he just vanished and doesn't respond to customers' concerns at all to the point that customers at this time could freely discuss now. 

If you are planning to go into pin-making, just understand there is a workload that we buyers don't see at all. Be prepared to spend a lot of money or lose a lot of money if you do pay for production for official arts and the like. 

Since I don’t collect P4P outside of ORV, I am decidedly not the best person for that due to my own pickiness. I’m too picky. Because there are so many Kaveh to choose from, I only pick out the ones I know I cannot live without. I’m still gonna collect him even after I fill up the ita bag. 

Y’know after getting into the same hyper fixation levels since Kaveh with Aventurine and noticing my link with Hawks, yeah, give me blond self-destructive morally gray or in Kaveh’s case good at the very least alignment with issues and a complicated relationship with their foil. While I don’t think Aventurine is Ratio’s foil, there are still some parallels to be made such as the god’s eyes on them and such. 

I’m a sucker for foils complicated relationships hence shooting up to OTP levels quick. I know when I see a foil relationship. Even without the popular Dabi is a Todoroki theory, I just know Dabihawks is like Shizaya and Suzululu from the flashback alone. I know my preferred ships well. Heck, when I finally got to Sumeru, after meeting Kaveh and Alhaitham's story quest, I knew immediately that this was the ship for me more than Zhongchi which I still read. Just to note, I missed how the fandom reacted to Haikaveh so Ratiorine is just what I needed. Considering my obsession with ORV, it's understandable about that too. Give me self-destructive fictional men who don't know love or have felt love but fear/feel they don't deserve it now. 

I’m getting way off-topic. Zines!

There are cases where a zine is just stopped. Back when I was able to access Twitter, I remember an infamous case of a mod using funds gathered for a Genshin gacha and was kicked off as a result. 

Zines need a lot of care at least in the days of not cheaply-made ones and there are loads of scandals more than misused money. 

It’s a great way for popular fan writers and artists to get together to create an art book really. Again, it’s not a zine if it isn’t as cheap as dirt. 

Again, there is so much money at stake if these things don’t go into production correctly. 

In the current zine time, too much money is poured into this since it’s a for-profit generally. 

At least they are upfront about that. 

At least the creators have some claim of power instead of their shitty entitled fans who cared more about their own profit. 

Sometimes zines might be the only chance you can score a merch from a popular fan merch maker. 

I think I’m just gonna get the Ratiorine merch for the zine precisely since it has both Velkia and Lushiette, the latter of which is hard to secure. It was difficult scouring if Velkia had any collaborations with pin makers so it’s a relief that I got the Insomniapins Velkia Haikaveh set. 

It's better for peace of mind that if you are planning to get some merch from a fan artist who just quickly sells out. If there is a zine out there that has them on there on the merch front, get theirs! 

Zines are often preorders til a certain month. So yeah, if you want to get a creator's work, then it's better to get it that way. 

The zines of today are not zines but artbooks with accompanied fics. There is great merch that went with it. 

Zines demand so much time and effort certainly in these times when it could’ve been solved by giving to the community in its free state at the cheapest. 

While I would like some physical zines then and there, my main preference would be the merch. I’m getting Lushiette’s merch one way or another. 

I would like zines to go back to the cheapness so that it can be easily accessed. Sure, everything will be released after the leftovers but it'll be a year at least. That is nothing compared to fanfics updating after so long. 

If it was a year at that, I heard cases where the printed zines weren’t produced in over two years. I was lucky enough to be near zines that have dedicated parts to show everything. 

I’m so used to fanfics not updating for a long time that preordering pins and waiting for 3-6 months from reliable pin makers (or pin makers who used to be reliable and big in the community backed out due to stress and just ran with the money; since it’s a long time now, Pin it on Magic and Archibald pins are just disappointing considering their pins are now sold for cheap now or DSS in comparison to how they were sold before they left a disappointed base of customers). 

I'm not hammering against these artists who want to make artbooks of their fave ships and characters but it's not truly a zine if it's that expensive and only applicable to release to the wider fanbase during leftovers for the entirety of the reveal. 

Beginner Friendly Anime

 

This has been on my mind since watching that video and remembering someone I know hating anime because of the sexualized dolls as they say. 

At that time, I didn’t know how to agree and disagree with a nuanced argument. 

On the other side of the argument that the Japanese and Asian people don't need to comprehend much of American culture considering how much American culture has been more widespread from Hollywood and sitcoms, it's understandable that the other side doesn't need no introduction when they have seen it albeit dubbed but the culture is still there. I mean China even used Hollywood-style posters for their own so it's not as if it's not known. 

The difference is that Americans are unwilling to go. Even with the K-dramas which at this point people only know as romance dramas for the most part with the exception of other genres like thrillers, at least people understand what is there. 

While romance is understandable through culture albeit differences, anime is slightly a niche and seen as some devilish thing. I mean Pokemon was seen as a work of Satan at one point although a portion of Christians still want their kids to see media that is not secular in any form. 

I think in anime's case, the fanservice and all the negatives about it regardless of the fact it's still animation made it more off-putting since the doses are not as manageable as a movie. 

And even then there's still the imperialist view towards a country's animation which does not help anything. 

Please I saw Western imperialist analyses on Japanese issues that were purportedly taking place in Japan presently and it's hard enough on that front. 

I mean the K-pop industry was seen as something so bad from the western perspective that it’s a blight against their music industry. I’m not saying the K-pop industry is not without the dark underbelly or outright pure but the K-pop industry bad thing is ripe with Orientalism just as much as people criticizing the J-idol industry in Japan. 

I’m far more willing to see the Japanese and Korean criticism of these industries than I will the orientalist west. Oshi no Ko is a hit and I prefer to see that than the tired K-pop industry bad that everyone knows at this point. 

For all of the anime’s accessibility now at the cost of poor decisions on the part of the localizers and the push for more including movies based on canon events and popular figures, it’s hard to recommend a first-timer.

Not only do we have to consider a basic title that is easy to remember, an interesting premise that doesn’t go too weird, genre, length, seasonal releases, fanservice, and development on women but this depends on the levels of which characters got it, and some that just don’t because it ruins their fanservice nature or pushes the ideals (to note, Japanese feminism is wholly different from western feminism which people still don’t understand), and cultural gaps.

How to introduce Japanese culture without alienating them? Technically all anime is weird.

My beginner anime are Pokemon, Yugioh, and Sailor Moon. 

We’re mainly talking about anime only here, whether they read the manga or not is their choice. Although there will be a push if I tell them the original author does not like that and would prefer the reading of the manga although the use of animation has been noted to set up things that were missed and give a better appreciation of the manga, however imperfect both are. 

As many have noted, there are so many different animanga with wild premises that wouldn’t be greenlit here. 

Seriously, something as unique as FMA wouldn’t be created here. 

FMA, both versions, have an interesting premise with interesting characters as the manga expands on the female characters more than the 2003 version. Both tackle the same themes but 2003 deconstructed and more cynical. For the love of Godoka, just read the manga and save the trouble of watching the first episode. FMA is my favorite but I’ll not take the first episode of FMAB or anything that seriously didn’t begin how the manga actually started and introduced the world as it is. This is why I’d rather have the manga over the physical DVDs of FMAB. 

Anyway, there is still so much weirdness to get through no matter how constructed and natural they are. 

Would a good story make them take the weirdness? What is a good anime that provides those in doses? 

There are flow charts out there. 

However, these flow charts still don’t allow an easy grounding of what an animanga can have at its best. We have to respond with as little fanservice as possible. 

While it is nice to introduce all the gems and underrated gems, it’s best to start off with what kind of anime they would like, judging by their preference. It’s great to expand their horizons but best to do it slowly. 

People in the West might prefer to see an anime based on the West like any particular century. Even something familiar with superheroes or anything resembling Western culture in the zeitgeist. 

Violet Evergarden and Attack on Titan are good Western-based entries. 

Because for better or worse we’re introducing them to the better ones, they likely see and want the best. That is if they understand 

Jujutsu Kaisen is a good beginner anime as I list that requirement. Honestly, skip that since it’s better to watch the predecessors to understand the genre conventions JJK is subverting and deconstructing. 

 If you can stand fanservice, particularly for the minors on the heroes' side, then MHA is also a good choice erring from Bakugou's S6 beginning moments and cuts to the MVA arc. 

Perhaps Hunter x Hunter and YuYu Hakusho are good ones. Watch this then watch JJK. 

I do not like the author now but look at Rurouni Kenshin. 

As much as it pains me, SAO is a good choice. I'd prefer they go see the Progressive films than the original series but Godoka, it's such a beginner anime. 

As basic choices as they are great, Cowboy Bebop and Trigun are excellent choices. These are notably Western based so it’s a plus there. 

What about Psycho-Pass? I know the police is a hot-button but this is a good show. 

If people like or are willing to take a chance with different art styles, One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100 are definitely good choices. 

Hmm, Persona 4 the Animation and Persona 3 movies will at least be decent introductions too. Notice I did not say P5 the Animation, just watch Proof of Justice and The Day Breakers OVA, the only P5 the Animation things I will recommend. 

While it does little fanservice with Thorn Princess Yor, Spy X Family is also a great beginner anime. In addition, it's a great adaptation of the manga on top of it too. 

For an underrated series, Katekyo Hitman Reborn is a good one. It started as a gag manga but into shounen territory once hit the Varia arc. There’s little fanservice there albeit women on the sidelines though there are some women on the battlefield. 

What about Shoujo, aiming toward the Kdrama crowd? Fruits Basket is a great choice. Ouran High School Host Club is also a good one even if it's not that faithful. However, these choices just aren’t quite there even if they are good. Classic shoujou is better to understand the new entries so Inuyasha is a better choice. 

Magical girls are somewhat easier as Puella Magi Magica Madoka is renowned. However, CCS is a good choice for good old-fashioned magical girls. The 90s Sailor Moon is also one if it weren't for the fact it's long and not very faithful to the manga. Crystal is more faithful. 

I’m trying to recommend classic magical girls here so you can understand the deconstruction. 

I love Kamen Rider Gaim and Fate Zero but those are deconstructions within the series itself. 

Sports anime is easier to understand and get across the Japanese culture. Haikyuu is a good choice. Yuri on Ice is also a good one but it does require a bit more how sports anime work. 

As for gag, Katekyo Hitman Reborn started out as a gag manga because there was initial controversy about it transitioning into shounen. 

If they are willing to suspend their disbelief even further, then SK8 the Infinity (the first skateboarding and not just a scene or a hobby!) and Kuroko no Basuke (if you are willing to see superpowers and rule-bending). If you really want superpowers in your sports and defy gravity for the most part, this is the way to go I suppose. 

Harems get a bad rep even outside. My Next Life as a Villainess is a good one. Re:Zero is also a good one but it’s a deconstruction. Konosuba is also a good one but it’s a parody. I really should recommend classics so you can work your way up to the newer entries so 

Let’s see about LGBT and BL. Notice I am trying to differentiate so that people know what to look for. Yuri on Ice is LGBT and best recommended. Sasaki and Miyano is the BL choice. If you want one of the better written of the entire BL, go for No. 6. I still have a fondness for the show as it and Tokyo Babylon introduced me to BL. Seriously when I was a kid, I wasn’t shipping guys together until I was starting to question myself. I was too busy with heterosexual ships to even consider which is ironic when my first complete manga was Tokyo Babylon. It was part of my CLAMP needs at that time but I know for certain I read all 7 volumes. 

Now that I mentioned Re:Zero, isekai are oversaturated but it should still be the best beginner anime. 

As for Mecha, I want to make it clear that Mecha has been anti-war expressively from the start. There are lots of politics but the point is anti-war. Yeah, there are child soldiers but Gundam is fully aware. EVA is a deconstruction but focused more on mental health as this is Hideaki Anno's mental health on full display here. The End of Evangelion was written by a person not in a good place at the time. Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans is a good starting mecha. If fanservice and the development of women are only doable, Code Geass is a good one. This is why VLD was such a bad mecha because it was never mecha in the first place as it was created and written in the USA, the glorification of war and not even thinking of the casualties of war from the other side was never bought into question and the 'war' part was skimmed through that none were able to feel the impact in the final seasons. It’s sci-fi but bad sci-fi. Honestly, why am I mentioning VLD when it’s not even a Mecha series but a sci-fi series that tried to be ATLA but worse because it's a series that don't know the basics of writing? 

Anyway, Macross Frontier is also a good choice. 

While Mecha can be easily explained when we got Pacific Rim which also understands the point of the mecha in the first place which is anti-war, Moe is harder to explain. Bocchi the Rock is obviously a great choice. 

I'm trying not to recommend deconstructions. MDZS is a deconstruction of the xianxia genre so really it isn't a good starter to knowing the genre. 

Madoka is a deconstruction just as MHA is a recon-deconstruction old-school callback of both classic shounen and superhero tropes of both the West and Japanese variety (super cops basically as they are always depicted as an auxiliary/paramilitary force in Japanese media. See also Tiger and Bunny and some Super Sentai entries). Death Note is a deconstruction of the Shounen formula. Evangelion is also a deconstruction which makes it ironic because EVA was my introduction to mecha which was crystallized with Code Geass. I watched Gundam and Macross way later. 

It's not that you can't enjoy the deconstruction of a genre at first taste. It's a deconstruction of a genre in which these genre conventions are already in place; complaining about not knowing the genre conventions is stupid when it's a deconstruction. 

I love Princess Tutu, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Mawaru Penguindrum but they are staunch examinations. These are arthouse and require lots of brainpower with all the metaphors. PT is still better off though as it used fairytales and ballet. Still, these are deconstructions though Utena is both common anime and fairytale tropes. 

In a similar manner, just don't watch Gintama until you see enough of animanga. Gintama parodies a lot. 

And those are on series. Movies seemed to be better introductions. 

Studio Ghibli is the obvious choice. I really don’t want to recommend The Wind Rises because imperial Japan to Korea is there. I’ll take the 3D film over that even when the 3D film is not that great and lifeless. 

Makoto Shinkai and Satoshi Kon are directors I recommend checking out their filmography. 

Ghost in the Shell and Akira are great choices to dip toes in tentatively. 

Non-canon films from popular franchises are standalone. Maybe knowing the characters is not enough but I could still recommend it if the movie was interesting enough to seek out the franchise. 

Baron Omatsuri and Red are definitely good films to look into for One Piece. Red is the closest to canon that you can get. 

As for Detective Conan, I would say Phantom of Baker Street, London VR before the actual London arc in canon. I’m hesitant to use the Black Organization/FBI/PSB ones. 

Each Lupin film is standalone as Lupin III is a folk character, malleable to an interpretation needed. The Castle of Cagliostro is a good one as it's also Hayao Miyazaki's film too. Lupin III The First is also a good one as well as having CGI that puts Pixar to shame. Seriously, it showed CGI can be used for more cartoon fare that is told in a better story with better purposeful cinematography.