Even I made previous posts about my disappointment with the series in general because it just won't take advantage of its potential and when it does, it was undone quickly by Astruc who is an incompetent writer who writes according to his personal feelings. Just look at my rants because I'm just disappointed in the show for not even taking the potential of anything and the abuse apologism which perhaps is stronger than my feelings about the writing now that I think about it more.
I'm trying to be diplomatic so that anybody who is saying that they prefer the show over the movie can just do their own thing and allow that opinion.
The movie has pacing issues and time constraints which means important information would be sacrificed.
The movie is not introductorily friendly. It required just a tad bit of knowledge of ML but not much more, just at least seasons 1 and 2.
For a newcomer, it's not friendly but for fans, it's a treat to see better execution.
Just to be clear, the show and movie's characters are different but the movie's characterization is far more logical and realistic while the show does not follow anything logically.
The movie is bare bones but when it does really well, it's really good.
The Agreste Family arc is far better this time around. Whereas Gabriel treated Adrien like a doll in the series, the movie had Adrien be an ordinary student albeit rich - think of the many anime-rich kids that attend school with the other middle class like Tomoyo Daidouji and Sonoko Suzuki. He's quiet and withdrawn yet he has a lot of energy as Cat Noir, finding the identity free from all his troubles.
Adrien was grieving after the loss of his mom and only found the Cat Noir identity freeing from his mental isolation caused by grief that he fell hard back on from rejection.
The downside is that there weren't any scenes that show Adrien's transformation or even a song for him to Gabriel. While the movie knows the final battle for Hawkmoth must be given to Adrien, it's still a major flaw.
Still, Adrien in the movie is still treated much better than the show as he was allowed his own agency and he did outright tell his partner why he's Cat Noir in the first place so it's just a tad bit better but could've been stronger.
However, there is so much controversy over Adrien showing flaws and his emotional needs taken into account in the movie when the show does show flaws but expects people to see him as the good boy to ignore his needs. Considering media literacy is so awful due to Twitter and binging and so many other factors, people did seem to fall for the perfect victim propaganda. It gets to the point they spew out abuse apologism as they side with characters unable to help each other emotionally due to the bad writing in unable to grow from their flaws and plain badness. No characters are able to grow from their flaws especially helping each other emotionally but only for one but even that one can’t grow either. I think people failed to realize that the show never developed the characters in a logical way. It isn't a fucking slow-burn, got it when people just want a satisfying conclusion when ML will never be satisfying with the abysmal S5 finale.
Gabriel is much more redeemable this time around or at the very least earned it. He was still distant but his love for his family triumphed. Though with the stinger, Gabriel might have given up but Natalie certainly didn't and the Peacock is out there.
Fuck, unlike the season 5 finale aka the end of the fucking Agreste family arc, Adrien gets to confront his dad in both forms! The movie has the decency to know the emotional weight belongs to Adrien, not to Marinette because it's his fucking father who needed to be confronted by his son!
Seriously, I was squealing when I realized that Dabi would get his confrontation with Endy in the final arc! That Shouto will save him at last with his family! Yeah, that fight only slightly dented Dabi but at least he called Shouto his brother! Dabi has to confront his dad prior to his saving!
Because that's the fucking point! That's just another example where it has to happen and the series refused to make that confrontation happen because 'Adrien must be a perfectly good boy well-behaved, no sneaking around, and he is so weak-willed even though there should be growth there for independence!'. At this point where magical boys were brainwashed in magical girls' shows, they at least grow!
Moving onto Marinette, her character is much better here as she is believably clumsy and not exactly proficient. It's only as time went on with her time as Ladybug blossomed her confidence and self-assurance. It was enough to have Chloe respect her when she did fight back. It was dizzying to see Marinette as Marinette ask out Adrien when I spent years just watching a girl who just can't do anything but be stalkerish instead just to get the boy she likes.
As for the Kwamis, they are literally gods who decide their users and don’t bend to the guardian’s will if anything the poor guardian has to play peacemaker for the argumentative ones.
Let’s get the bad out of the way first: Plagg is reduced to a fart joke, nothing to show a different dynamic with a much different Adrien. I understand that Adrien went out of his shell on his own but it was with the Cat Noir persona he allowed himself that. So Plagg being reduced to a joke doesn’t help.
I like Tikki in this one as she refused the refusal of the call and just downright won't take no for an answer.
Now onto the secondary characters that didn't have much of a role. All Alya and Nino done had shown that they're friends with the titular characters, and tried to matchmake, and it was hinted that Nino have feelings for Alya long before this and tried to make his move.
Nino was already Adrien's bestie at the start. Since Adrien is no longer a model for the Agreste fashion brand and is simply a rich kid, it's fine. It's not like we need to know that just as we know Tomoyo and Sakura are friends in school without knowing if they had met as cousins but given how Sakura reacted to Sonomi, the Daidouji mansion, and knew fuck-all about her grandpa, it's unlikely they met as cousins. The worst Nino did was just the well-meaning advice he gave to his bestie.
Alya became friends with Marinette at the beginning of the school year. While I don't think she's running a blog here, she is still a photographer.
Chloe has much better treatment here. We don't know if she's still the mayor's daughter or not but it's still likely she's still a rich kid. She's petty and she focused a lot on her reputation but she has a limit. A mean girl but not the bully Astruc always wanted her to be.
Sabrina got a spine too! She had the agency to know and let Marinette sneak away from Chloe.
The background characters are Luka and all of Marinette's classmates. We got a speaking line from Luka pointing at the rooftop and that's it.
I mean it's fine since we aren't getting Lukanette or Adrigami with the reveal. It's unlikely we're getting the jealousy tactic or moving on briefly when there's no need for it. It's unlikely Luka is ever gonna be a superhero as this isn't exactly going on forever because I think unlike Astruc who would push for more seasons instead of building any type of long game like One Piece, Bleach, and fuck even Naruto has a better building of the long game and have proper climaxes and themes than the mess Miraculous is, Zag knows when to stop.
The movie might've needed more time, preferably 20-35 minutes more to flesh out more and add more information for the newcomers.
Pacing is standard as movies tend to clock an hour or so while absorbing visual film language. Animated films didn’t go for the two-hour mark until ATSV. Now we don’t know if any future animated films made in the US will follow in their footsteps when ML Movie and anime films are doing well in their regional and international releases that are not streaming.
At the time being, the Miraculous isn't as bad as the series. When there are repetitive powers that are situation-only than anything creative, negating the supposedly powerful Miraculous, then it says that they are not thinking it through.
When I have been exposed to better magic systems, Miraculous is just plain weak.
Here, the Miraculous was distilled, and as the users grow more powerful, so do they. Cat Noir learning about Cataclysm is awesome as he knew he had the power of destruction but did not know what that meant. Likewise, the Ladybug is the power of creation that Marinette only learned what it really means at the end, and the Lucky Charm is not used for some quick-thinking problem-solving crisis of the day but instead of the original purification of the Akumas and its sentience; the Lucky Charm didn't reset everything just purified the Akumas, just Marinette using her Creation Miraculous Cure powers to rebuild everything but not reset everything back to normal.
Really, outside of that one purification, I don't think I ever saw a single Lucky Charm item that saves the day. Both Cat and Ladybug have to use their creativity to save the day such as the fair instead of the Cataclysm and whatever Lucky Charm item of the day it was meaning mostly the yo-yo and the staff.
Honestly, that's better as it raises the stakes and it's not quick and easy to just reset, just rebuild with magic.
The Ladybug and Cat Miraculous are far more equal, befitting the nature of the dual protagonists. Because that's the point that they are partners, not heroes and sidekicks like the show wants to say it ever was.
I believe the other Miraculous that we have seen so far are the Bee, Turtle, Fox, Butterfly, and Peacock. The Butterfly not only returned at the end but seemed to be used to make Akumas more than anything else. The stinger at the end with the Butterfly charm on Emilie's preserved corpse made it clear that it's now Natalie is to take up the mantle. I don't think I ever saw the Bunny - the time travel one - or any of the more repetitive powers which thank Arceus because in the original the time travel Miraculous was not even utilized to its full potential just to say that 'yeah Adrien is weak-willed therefore he can't know anything even though keeping secrets from him will break his trust'; why add the time travel one at all if you aren't gonna use it well? I have seen better time travel stories with said power.
I don't know how many movies will be but a sequel had already been written and announced. With the other known Miraculous shown in the intro of the first movie, it's best they shrunk it down to just five heroes and two villains rather than having an entire class be the superhero team.
As for the musical aspect, I didn't know what to do about it. I like musicals and at least the musical has the motive of pushing the story. it still feels weird. However, after the badness of the Christmas musical of the original series, these songs are actually better. Stronger Together is somewhat a lesser form of Rewrite the Stars but still pretty nice. You are Ladybug and Courage in Me is pretty nice. My Lady and Chaos Will Reign are a fun romp. There was actually a cut song too.
The issue is primarily the dissonance of Lou and Christina Vee's voices which still doesn't help much in the French version either from what I heard. Why is Christina Vee not able to sing whereas Keith Silverstein was able to? They aren't Broadway singers by any means but competent and should be able to fill it in. Lou shouldn't have to sing the English parts unless it's to spread her skills to a fanbase who have only been exposed to her singing the theme prior. Lou is a pop singer hence the pop songs flavor in the movie.
There are deleted scenes that should've made it into the final product such as Adrien and Marinette's conversation about Adrien's mother with him showing her the locket. It was instead cut into the montage instead but it could've been so much powerful. There's also Marinette's morning routine on her first day of school too.
For what it’s worth, it does seem to be based more on the anime 2D PV with Zag’s vision. What little of Astruc’s original vision only carried over in tiny doses because it’s only the initial promises made with some themes carried over.
It really does seem more based on the PV than anything.
The Mime in the series is a good guy while the PV shows that the Mime was a criminal which the movie runs with.
While Adrien isn't the Felix of the PV, he still has a bit of an edge and is a loner with a limited friend circle.
Marinette is actually a normal girl and isn't a rich girl too with a family that has generational wealth and a grandma who can travel around easily rather than say knowing the best deals with her budget and so forth. She isn't rubbing elbows with the rich, powerful, and famous. She is just a normal girl who happened to be friends with a rich kid. She isn't babysitting for Paris' prominent news reporter or doing anything that could even be said she had an in with any powerful fashion industry. Fuck, Chloe is definitely still rich from her attitude but I don't know if her family is running a top hotel catering to the rich.
It's just what I always thought about how Miracullus would handle it given its anime inspirations. All the middle-class friends with the rich as the big fancy houses in anime are shown off spectacularly. Given the space in Japan, it's understandable something like a big mansion like that would garner a reaction.
Heck, given the ball at the end of the movie, that is likely open to everyone since Marinette is actually a normal girl this time around. There is no Gabe around to help her or a rockstar asking for a commission.
The animation is amazing and yet still uses cartoon physics rather than realistic ones. The best animation is in its subtlest moments like glitter on the masks or chimes of the cat bell or emotions. It is after the most expensive French animation movie ever.
It’s like night and day with the animation of the movie and the show. The show has the dubious honor of multiple studios working on it and often it’s not consistent. I don’t hammer too hard on it because at least compared to other shows that had reduced episodes that are downright comparable to 12-episode anime series though it shouldn’t be the case over here, at least it had those episodes even if they don’t do anything with it. I am not letting that go considering how the story refused to do anything logical plot-wise, trying to have two cakes and eat them but failing to reach both cakes on the same table no less.
Yes, I seem to be hitting the show hard despite the diplomacy. I’ve been with the series since season 1 and it felt like the movie answered my prayers. Basic it may be but it fulfills the basics of storytelling. It’s really hard when ML has been in the lost potential pile with VLD, RWBY, and others I won’t mention. Genshin Impact seemed to have the worst repute nowadays despite its popularity and the merch here; it feels similar to its previous hate but with Sumeru, it escalated?? Gacha gamers are self-deprecating because they know what they are getting into. This feels different somehow.
Flaws aside, the movie is still one of the best things that came out of Miraculous's official canon that is not fanworks. It stands side by side with the manga version quite well honestly since that also fixed stuff and streamlined it into a cohesive story that has more thought and effort put into it than Astruc ever did. When all Astruc can think of is spite and just being bad at writing in general because he can't even write slow-burn correctly or even proper character development in any way when Jeremy Zag knows how; his old fucking boss knew how to write better than Astruc! or at least show-run better!
I apparently heard a lot of good things from the multiverse special featuring the bad guys version of our protags. Apparently, there's actual development that was not there in the last five seasons and specials for these guys. On one hand, it sparked hope there might be better writing for S6 but on the other hand, it could be an isolated incident just like the movie where it featured no behind-the-scenes shenanigans from Astruc.
For a longtime watcher of Miraculous and making my brain melt because nothing of the story is moving forward and if anything moved forward, it is quickly shot by Astruc. Astruc is the French Butch Hartman but he's milking Miraculous for all its worth instead of finishing everything else in one more season. Then again different times.
The movie and the manga were all I ever asked for when the series began. The series is white noise to me as I do chores but I will watch the movie as entertainment any day of the week if I ever grew frustrated with the series when I do watch the series.
I wasn't expecting gold but silver was what I came away with it. I'm far more satisfied just as much when I did read the manga version.
It's amazing when more competent people band together rather than be overseen by an immature manchild who cannot take criticism. Zag at least understands constructive criticism better than Astruc ever will.
Astruc is still gonna remain on the team even when he’s not gonna be the writer or showrunner in later seasons. So even with Zag’s better writing skills, he is still blocked by Astruc.
This is me ignoring any ego that either man has but Godoka, when Zag demonstrates basic storytelling while Astruc goes for twists without correct plot progression or just attaching to the themes because what is consistent is abuse apologism wrongness. Kishimoto and Horikoshi may have weird story events but the themes are tight with those weird dips. Astruc like Steven Moffat made plot twists without logic or even keeping with the themes. The reason why I let Kishimoto, Horikoshi, and Kubo slide is because they stayed consistent with the themes with the weird events that looked like they don’t make sense but they do with the themes in mind. They know the themes whereas Astruc and Moffat sacrifice narrative and themes for plot twists that don’t make sense with the themes if they even bothered or forgotten the themes in favor of surprise. Seriously, ML seemed to forget the theme is about love past season 3 if people like the finale anyhow. Even Code Geass R2 keeps to the themes even when the movie doesn’t except on a surface level. There is little that Zag can do with the specials with Astruc’s overseer even with his name on it so the best he could do is make the movie his vision away from Astruc’s grasp. It’s as if ML moves along, it forgets its core themes and values which is love because it seems to forget it even when breaches of trust and inability to grow up naturally are made often. Because while there are additional stresses, Marinette and Adrien did not grow from their flaws.
So yeah, with the ending of the Agreste family arc which ended with the villain winning even though the wish had always been said to be bad and should be prevented no matter what with no consequences to his image and his son looking up to him even though Adrien should know he was emotionally abused and the Butterfly Miraculous never recovered despite Marinette right there, Zag is fighting an uphill battle to have the next arc, the Butterfly Lila arc.
Which fans have been clamoring for but do you think even with Zag’s help, Astruc is still there? Miraculous Ladybug has been going on for far too long and didn’t grow with its audience nor it does slow burn correctly. Look, I have been exposed to long fics for years (I’ve followed two of them so far, maybe three. I’m discounting pre-written fics that update in a schedule, erratic or otherwise, and fics that had hiatuses that lasted years due to failing interest or lack of inspiration or real life or WIPs or writer’s block. I’m counting ongoing only that does have an erratic schedule too but it’s still updating.) that are the definition of a slow burn but even they have a clear purpose than whatever the hell ML is doing. Pokémon is a long runner but they have a clear purpose for the plot and characters. Unlike ML, they actually earn it as we do see growth, logic, and sticking to the themes.
Well, there is a clear purpose in the show but it’s never logical or worse characters act like idiots. There is no consistency where it matters.
Fans have theories Astruc runs with but he fails to consider the writing progression or logic. At the end of the day, they are just theories, and creators from the outside should observe. Theories may seem to be presented with canon evidence but in no way that’s planned as even creators admit that. Astruc seemed to play it off as ‘I totally planned that’ when the writing with its lack of logic and progression made it clear he did not.
Awful writer, awful magic system, awful story, awful characterization…
Magic Girl and superhero shows are better than this. Even though I was never a fan of Young Justice the cartoon that seemed to try for a Teen Titans spiritual successor, the fact the core four was ruined made me cry and SuperMartian remained one of my ugh ships that aren’t quite the level of my most hated but certainly an avoidance. And even then the show shows a better plot and characters than the mess that is Miraculous Ladybug.
Yeah, YJ the cartoon isn’t my favorite DC show when the DCAMU got Kon right but again no Tim! Not even the Titans show got them right not try to make them besties. Why is DC ignoring them as bestirs in other media? While Timkon is a popular ship, I don’t think it reckons this much change because Gotham Knights and Wayne Family Adventures still have them as besties with Tim dating Bernard. Damian and Jon get to be besties and so do Clark and Bruce. Why are Tim and Kon avoided in media just to be besties and not because Tim is usually adapted out? Even if you already paired off Kon with someone else, having them as besties is better than leaving Tim lonely when he shouldn't be even when he's dating someone else like Cassie in the YJ cartoon which is a why from me then again Tim is a non-character anyways so why does it matter who he's dating the cartoon when Cassie was dealt badly in the core four just as much as the others were. A major point of Tim's character is how he will help Batman and create a support system for him and he's the reason why the Batfam exists at all in its current form when in the past the Batfam were separated and out doing their own thing to tragic results as in the case of Jason but for Jason, that was many extenuating factors. Oracle was doing work not for the Batfam specifically but for the Sirens but only when Tim came along that she became a Batfam member that people didn't realize that she wasn't originally even though she was Batgirl.
Why isn’t the actual Young Justice animated because they have wacky adventures with an unhinged Robin? Imagine the YJ team the one teen superhero team that has no supervision ending with the Robin most likely to be a supervillain and they have a how many days since board to keep up with it.
I’m just in despair we’re never getting the wacky adventures and the crimes of an unsupervised team with Batman none the wiser because Robin lied to him proudly and got away with it.
No blowing up Mount Rushmore (honestly, the fact idiots think Naruto is somehow copying Barbie when Mount Rushmore is so famous as a landmark made me want to die. Mount Rushmore, one of the famous American landmarks to the point other countries know about other famous American landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and the Hollywood Sign somehow existed as a Barbie thing even though Barbie didn't exist when Mount Rushmore was created just a decade before Barbie was ever released) or invasion of countries, or baseball games to save worlds or war crimes. So unsupervised with two leaders.
Anyways, I would still watch YJ even if it’s not the YJ I wanted. It’s still a hell of a lot better than Miraculous. It actually has a consistent story and themes with the best episodes for example being the therapy and ethical nature of child soldiers inherently in child sidekicks or heroes like Captain Marvel. There is still some really bad stuff in it because of how it dealt with the core four. I didn’t care for SuperMartian at first but my opinion of it turned negative when the show excused the abuse.
Just go watch the movie. Read the manga. Read the fanworks.
If you can enjoy the show in spite of its horrid writing, you do you. There are better shows than Miraculous Ladybug out there that has better writing ML deserved to be thrown in the pile of lost potential with VLD and RWBY.
Fuck, if you want a superhero shoujo fix, go watch My Adventures with Superman. ML is definitely superhero shoujo but it failed to do shoujo right just as it does the superhero genre badly.
