Just a fan who like to put her thoughts into words. Design will vary depend on me. Not spoiler-free. Discourse-free. Ship hate/shipping wars-free. No AI usage for writing here. This is my thoughts written with no AI machine help to describe or anything. We have done it before AI.
I'm primarily an animated movie reviewer so yes, I will go see Illumination, Dreamworks, Laika, and misc studios' movies. Just not Disney and Pixar because unlike the smaller studios, they do have the money to make future movies so I won't even go watch any of their animated movies with the exception of live action...and even then, I try to avoid the shorts.
Sing is basically an American Idol-esque show with a ragtag group of talented singers and performers. The mouse, ringleader of the whole shebang, is trying to save the theater really.
It's a story anyone would hear before. Hell, Glee is one of them to the point they will have villainous antagonists that does horrible things in the name of getting a place at Nationals. There are literally no villains if you count the shutdown plot.
I can't believe I'm saying this but watch Glee instead. It's not that Sing is genuinely bad at storytelling the same level as Glee but if you want a better story of a ragtag of talented singers banding together to have the best performances of their lives, then Glee it is....the first three seasons. People would have varying ideas where Glee started jumping the shark but in my opinion, it's Season 4. There are bad moments and legit bad writing in the first three seasons, I admit that but it felt like they are trying to say something rather than let it rot.
This Illumination film is trying to say something but it got lost in failing development for the characters. The gist of the characterization is there in their establishment shots and potential of interesting plotlines like the gorilla and his dad. Hell, there could've been more development with the entire group. We are meant to see the entire group as a family...and well they are more separate and only connected. Each character has an 'arc' I guess, some not even there or elaborated upon. The lady pig and Scarlet Johannson have something - restrictive lifestyle and the want to be more - but it was not developed. It just comes across as underdeveloped. Something is there but it's not focused enough. Even Glee focused on not only individual development but also group development...although there will be bad writing in both regards. This film, however, seemed to focus on snippets of characterization and there are interactions among the cast...it's just so little. Something is there but not elaborated. Unlike Frozen, however, I think this film is trying to say something but got lost in their vigor for music.
Surprisingly the character I like the most turned out to be Gunter. Everyone else was bland and uninspiring.
As for the singing, I actually do like Scarlett Johannson's, Seth McFarlane's (great voice but an awful creation of shows under his belt although Family Guy before Season 6 was not awful...there are bad moments certainly but in comparison of S6-present...), Tori Kelly's and Taron Egerton's. Reese Witherspoon's was okay as well as Gunter's actor.
The music is, unfortunately, the taste of the creators. Not that the songs that played are bad or anything, it's just that the music doesn't seem to have much importance story-wise beyond performance. I understand they are performers but sing songs that are in-line with their characterization like the songs in the finale. The rest of the movie that has songs doesn't have the same gist. Do the same as Glee's Pilot auditions....do what Season 1 of Glee did with the music, intertwine the music and the plot to get a better depth. There are the tastes of your characters' music and then there are the creators. I'm sure the latter is influencing the latter but please make them their own characters rather than mouthpieces for your taste of music. It's one thing if you are in the music industry but it's another when you are making something that has music integral to the plot.
The movie is harmless for the most part. It's not the worst animated movie of the year or even deserves a Razzie on par with Happy Madison's level of amazing storytelling. It's just average and not really notable.
So for the joy of music lovers, I would give you Susan Boyle's audition for Britain's Got Talent.
And besides, if you actually want to see a good musical, a feel-good one to boot, go see Legally Blonde. It's honestly great to listen to and I consider it a great improvement over the film. Not that the film is bad because I do like the film but I love the musical more the film. The musical is available on Youtube.
PS: I am watching Ace Attorney the anime and Sailor Moon Crystal finally! I did watch the live-action of the former and the latter and love them both. Seriously, the adaptation of Ace Attorney into a live-action movie was one of the best video game adaptations I ever was seen and rarely that ever happen. Look at Assassin's Creed warily. Even the Dead or Alive movie is surprisingly better adapted from the material than expected and that movie just comes out mediocre.
I want to make this a short review. This would be the equivalent of a vlog, I suppose.
Yes, I will have a say with the dub. No, it's not a bad response like I had with Free! dub. Seriously that dub is hilarious (in a bad way, unfortunately) although the way the script is rewritten is horrible. This dub, while not great, is surprisingly good.
Sports anime have always been one of my favorite anime genres. I can handle a sports movie but a television show of sports is not something I would incline to see. Even martial arts films might be added due to the how strenuous the activities are except I can handle shows of them. I just like sports anime because they are interesting to watch these team or person overcome their issues and become better in a form of sports. It does help that the sports anime make me watch sports I had passing glance.
...People have been arguing about the genre for this. I hate it just as much as I hate the pointless debates the rings and the kiss/hug. There is interpretation and then there is arguing who is right when they are all valid. This is a sports genre alongside with genre-busting. Considering the show have a large josei audience with seinen threads. There are sparses of shoujo and shounen. Please listen to me when I mean that this is not a yaoi/shounenai. I love Venio Tachibana's Seven Days and I will say that it belong in the shounenai genre. YOI does not because it's clear that the romance is a major plot and treated much like any other het romance.
Before anyone can say YOI have unconventional storytelling, I would say that the story follows sports anime conventions...with freshness. For western animation movie counterpart, How to Train Your Dragon. It's a story we heard thousands of times before but it's fresh. It's new from the way the story was presented; it's even handled by Lilo and Stitch directors Chris Sanders and Dean Dubois. Both stories are simple but still well-done with its attention to detail. The writing and direction are simple but grand in execution.
It's not unusual to now have sympathetic human characters as rivals nowadays. Kuroko no Basuke, Free!, Haikyuu!, Oofuri, Daiya no Ace, Baby Steps, I can name so many other sports anime/movies, hell even Pokemon and Yugioh right now all have their sympathetic rivals. They are treated as humans who simply got lost in their own issues and did come out better, treating protagonists and treated their loss gracefully while still having the determination to beat the protagonist or to win next time; it's not a new trope that YOI revolutionized. Get that damn idea out of your head. Seriously, Rei confronted Rin and Kuroko himself challenged all his former teammates to get their love for basketball back just to name a few. Before anyone says that they were butthurt, I will say that their assholish behavior is not condoned in any way in-universe and these characters grew in the end. Each player in YOI has their own motivations and human failings just like Rin, Sousuke, Narumiya, Akashi, Himuro, etc. I really like just how fresh they are written; these rivals are antagonistic but for different reasons. Even Yuuri and Phichit fell into this. Again, it's not unusual to have sympathetic human rivals with their own issues but YOI's skaters are more focused on themselves and obviously knew better than to take out their stress on others...with the exception of Yurio (kid, you really are acting like a brat). Hell, knocking down pegs off of rivals who are arrogant is not an unusual trope; for god's sake Pokemon and Yugioh does this. Do not think for a second that having human rivals are a new thing that YOI revolutionized. It's as if saying that Disney pioneered realism in CGI despite the history. Do not negate others' work beforehand; it just makes you ignorant. Just because one series have proper representation does not mean that other stories are now bad just because they don't represent this, even though they don't have that romance as part of their plot. I could get rid of Wakana's crush on Eijun and it will still make the same story.
...Yes, I said that because I have to worry about those who said that YOI broke grounds and is unique because of treating rivals with sympathetic human traits. I mean have you even see any of the sports anime or characters I just mentioned? Please don't make YOI more unique than it already is. Do not glorify YOI. Do not invalidate previous sports stories that had already done sympathetic human rivals as well as nice rivals in general. I have already seen glorified stuff that left me wanting those to die in a fire, just, please. What I do like is that Kubo is not intentionally making her work the best anime ever and glorifying it. Unlike Jennifer Lee who seems to pat herself on the pat whenever she praises herself, Kubo-sensei isn't making YOI more groundbreaking than it already is and does it with the glee of having her work being enjoyed by others and just let her work be the work that it is. YOI is special, that is true, but do not glorify it by saying things that other sports anime had already done, fans. Just don't.
The story itself is very layered. Just Ep 10, Holy Moly Mother of Man and Woman of the Beginning! There are subtle touches then and there. The music intertwined with the plot that how can you not? The unreliable narrator had always been there right from the start with the actions declaring things to be exaggerated or just wrong. Just look at the details in the background. I wish I can say more but I want to keep this review short. Seriously, it's better to discuss how something doesn't work as something that does work. Just look at my review of Frozen versus my review of Zootopia.
The soundtrack is great. Each song featured in the programs are catchy and could belong to an orchestral piece, opera, hip hop/rap, etc; it does help they bought in songwriters and performers. "Shall We Skate" is such a catchy number on par with Disney musical numbers. Even when I read the summary of The King and the Skater - I totally understand why skaters in-universe chose to use the songs in the movies because well ice-skating is involved! - I think I would enjoy an animated snippet with Phichit as a fanboy.
Speaking of the characters, they are fun and likable. They each have their own flaws that they have to work with; they have to learn what they want as opposed to what others expect them to be or not expect them to be. For Yuuri Katsuki, it was strongly implied and shown by actions that he does have an anxiety disorder and represented well enough. I'm willing to say he also have depression too.
The only sensible narrative sense for Yuuri not to win gold is a season 2. And here we are with a greenlit season 2. I'm going to explain this: Yuuri's story arc will be completed if he wins gold which is the point. Even if he chose to still compete despite his win due to Yurio convincing that there is more to be done, his story arc will still be done. My grievances of the last episode, when the last 11 episodes have been pitch-perfect, is... *sighs* Please be aware that the next paragraph is a wall of text. I don't like to say the word "salty" but rather disappointed because it is a legitimate concern for writing. Just don't brush it off just because we are going to get a second season; it came at a price of bad, sloppy writing. It's legitimate writing criticism.
I do have a problem with the finale - not what you are thinking though because I literally have no problem with the Victuuri pair-skating because it is honestly too beautiful although it's admittedly still too short because the team has to cut for time. It's really glaring to see they changed the ending with the most obvious sign is Yurio's no-show gala performance and it doesn't feel like a fanfare celebration and hell even Yurio's win of the gold and the medal ceremony was just weirdly mute, like reallyglossed over; show Yurio crying, then cut to them on the podium and then skipped right over to the Victuuri which then obviously became the huge focus. The impact of Yurio's win wasn't there; the narrative was weird. It's not like I didn't want Yurio to win; he won because his SP is unconvincing. It's like the event is just there then suddenly moved to Victuuri, rushing to the most important parts. And even prior to the ice dancing, there are issues with Victuuri: mainly they didn't really discuss their future plans, mainly letting the other do what they wanted and not to mention Victor's condition... wtf, it just becomes less cute once you know Yuuri has severe low self-esteem and anxiety and that he thinks that they would get married only if he won gold which is bad. It's especially bad since Episode 12 was meant to resolve that but it just becomes horrible in the end because Victor and Yuuri suddenly became manipulative and didn't really talk. The only thing I could of is drama for the sake of drama when realistically the two of them really have to be forced down to talk and they didn't really talk as much as they misunderstanding the other; personally though I thought Victor only got back to skating because he thought Yuuri need someone to chase after despite his own happiness and Yuuri's anxiety and self-deprecation is far too loud and decides what others should do rather than let them have a say. The emotional beats of the episodes are now off their notes, shoehornedprecisely because a season 2 is now greenlit; we didn't even get more peeks into Yurio's minds about his win other than his face on the podium and his tears. I think the show is trying to draw out time until Yuuri wins gold because Yuuri winning gold is everything. The story has been building up for Yuuri to win gold. It makes no sense otherwise because every other character's story arc doesn't need a gold medal, even Yurio. Yurio beating him by an inch just feel out of place in the emotional buildup in the entire episode, not to mention his stamina issues (the Rostelecom Cup? Where it was mentioned that Yurio has issues with his FS because it demanded a lot? From his coaches? In Episode 9?; Yurio can convince Yuuri to keep competing even with a silver medal); it's just taken me off and doesn't make me suffer or cry for anyone and that is bad considering my reaction to Zero 2 finale; it's a fucking deus ex machina. It just makes me upset and bitter; the emotional buildup, in the end, was abrupt. dropped by an anvil. It's an unpredictable show but there are hints that we will get Yuuri winning gold. That is not unusual because Teen Wolf did the same too with Season 5 being the supposed finale but it was greenlit for a final season so Jeff Davis is working on resolving because well why the fuck did Stiles turn to look at a dying Derek multiple times; who knows when you are going to greenlit or demands of a sequel to commence if it got popular enough. Considering that YOI was only meant to have one season and the demand, the rushed storytelling is all there; there is still good writing in there like JJ's story and PHITCHIT ON ICE. The season finale just felt rushed because they have to accommodate the second season and last-minute additions. Still, the finale is unsatisfying because it is rushed (the pacing which you will hear complaints about), anticlimactic (the important Victuuri talk; there are some parts that are good and hilarious despite how awkward the pacing panned out) and unconvincing characterization in Victor's part (it was enough for me that Victor wanted to retire but didn't seem to be emotionally satisfying for others so Kubo-sensei, do your best writing a complete arc why Victor needs to retire to your Japanese fandom and others who thought it was cheap or not as satisfying. You didn't build up Victor returning to competitive figure skating satisfying for a lot of people including me so please correct your writing next season and hopefully show just how complicated the choice was for Victor because really that all I saw). I am still proud of Yuuri nonetheless for getting a silver and importantly breaking a world record - even though he should have gotten gold precisely because of narrative sense. I'm sorry but it makes no sense for Yuuri not to win gold.
It's not that I hate it; I'm tiptoeing on the fine line of satisfying/unsatisfying. I understand what they have to do. It's really sloppy and I certainly wish they could have done better; like not showing the other competitors in their free skates and only focusing on the important parts. Sure it came at a price of a broken narrative, even more broken scoring (wtf JJ with a bronze!? Otabek makes more sense!), there are still silver linings in little pieces where I can see the original ending's beats and small characterization that pretty much says that Episode 10 is not invalidated. It's wasn't ruined forever for me because I know unfortunately there is much more to be done. It's just that I hope that YOI finally delivers on its promises.
While the cast is human and likable, I do have a problem just how extra the rest of the cast from the Nishigori family to Guang-hong. We do see personality, all personalized which is a big thumb up for me. As long as characters are personalized, then it's a-okay for me; just make them people, play around with stereotypes, make fun of it too; Hetalia does a great job with the stereotypes, playing around with them and making fun of them while the Nation-tans clearly have their own feelings separate from their nation. I just hate repetitions of characterization when you don't do anything with the expies; Glee, Moffat's Doctor Who, Sherlock are one of the few examples I can name off the top of my head. I want to know more about them, see more through their eyes than just POV shots. Now I wouldn't say that they are background characters; the equivalent would be the Social Link system for the lack of a better term. The way these characters are presented is good but not as great as it could be.
The writing can be dubious at times particularly when Episode 10 changed everything. I am working on perspectives here but we never got many elaborations like Yakov and Celestino's comments on Victor coupled with Victor's behavior around them. The writing makes the characters feel incomplete and poorly written. I know the show is well-written but there are some spots where the story doesn't seem to match up or just fell short, particularly in the finale...
Figure-skating wise, it's unrealistic to a certain extent. Twenty-seven Victor gave 4 quads in a single program (I'm super invested in this guy being a skate god; for god's sake, it's implied in episode 10, he got an Olympic medal on his trophy shelf. I mean he been competing since he was sixteen and you think he wouldn't go to the Olympics? That's insane. Even his inspirations, Johnny Weir, Evgeni Plushenko, Yuzuru Hanyu all went to the Olympics so why someone who had been declared the Hero of Russia not goes the Olympics?); in figure-skating, I know he's basically geriatrics in a youthful sport. Look at one of his inspirations, Evgeni Plushenko who retired at 32. Not to mention the scoring system; I don't know if Kubo-sensei is going to leave that up for interpretation (like what she did with the Victuuri Kiss/Hug and Rings) or going to answer. There are a lot of controversy of calculations, the impossibility and improbability of it. We just don't know what is the exact scoring system; is it a modified ISU scoring system or is it a certain year of ISU scoring? Seriously, I don't know much of figure-skating aside from watching the Olympics sections of it.; all I got is the gist of it alongside with names and terms.
Although who can boast they got professionals interested in their work? Blades of Glory and Disney's Ice Princess is what I don't think pros would look for. Not only Oda Nobunari appeared, Stephene Lambiel appeared. Anything is possible now; Johnny Weir and Evgenia Medvedeva could even appear! We got a lookalike of Evgeni Plushenko appearing too although not the actual skater himself. Seriously, who can boast they not only got pros loving their work but wanting to join too even late into the production? Regardless of anime, movies, telly, who can boast about pros making a cameo who want to make an appearance? Pros have to be called in first if they wanted to make a cameo in the work, movies or otherwise. I know there will be Big Name Fans but someone of a profession wanting to make a cameo when the work is far too ahead of the plot and everything?
YOI was not perfect; I will make that clear because really perfection is boring, even Star Wars, which I love a lot, still have their problems. There is Season 2 to go because we need to see Victor's further thoughts on the matter of competitive figure skating, his backstory, and hopefully his complete arc, Yurio's further growth too because he just pulled an Evgenia Medvedeva and now have to defend a title especially since Victor is now in the running again. I didn't get a feel of excitement from Victor about returning; it's almost resigned. I don't feel invigorated about seeing what's to come because the season finale just felt so off in many ways, not just Yurio's win and medal ceremony and Victor's choice to go back. It's lackluster and sloppy from previous episodes and I wish they could have taken it differently. Yes, I will still be tuning into Season 2 because I want all the plot threads still left hanging to be concluded and to see Victuuri get married and to see the characters again with a hopefully conclusive ending. I really want YOI to finally deliver on their promise that yes Yuuri will win gold and Victuuri will get married. Seriously that is the only reason despite the season finale being so poor. Yes, I will still listen to the music because the music is genuinely good...but I don't think I would want to watch episode 12 repeatedly as I would watch the previous 11 episodes. I would only watch episode 12 for analytical reasons, unfortunately.
The dub was not horrendous. It's not as bad as the Free! dub or the Hetalia dub (considering how much I truly hate the latter English dub, that is saying something when I personally dislike the CCS dub with the exception of the Sealed Card English dub). There are moments where the English script deviates from lines of the original but it's very little (it practically translate the lines from the Japanese to English basically, correcting Crunchyroll's subs) and it appeared that Funi learns that this is a story where there is a romance between two men that is a major plot point considering they just make the lines flow smoother than no-homoing it (which is what they did with the Free! dub) and even made their own AMV too. The Russian accents are distracting (ironically, I personally like Micah Solusod's and Caitlin Glass'; Jerry Jewell got better as time goes on which is hilarious he voiced APH Russia considering how much I dislike the annoying accents present in the Hetalia dub; Daman Mills' and Monica Rial's are bearable surprisingly while Dave Trosko's true and tried accent was nonsensical) while Chris' lisp is fine. Josh Grelle as Yuuri Katsuki is so good and deserves all the praises. Minami's English VA doesn't sound great at all and I feel my brain breaking whenever I heard the lady's voice trying to make it sound childish teenager when the Japanese seiyuu, who voiced Hinata Shouyou, did it so much better. It's not a great dub that I would watch over and over again like the FMA 2003 or even 4Kids dub of Pokemon. It's a good for a Funi dub, especially their current dub jobs aren't as great as they used to be.
If I were to rate the entire thing as a standalone, I'll give a C+. Seriously, that wiped out 3 whole levels of points because of how awkwardly, rushed, weird and anticlimactic the finale is and other flaws including LGBT representation. It's not perfect at all and I'm willing to discuss. Who knows how the rest of the series will pan out.
Now time for Arcana practicing!
Yuuri Katsuki - The Chariot
Viktor Nikiforov - The Wheel of Fortune
Yuri Plisetsky - The Justice
Phichit - The Magician
Yakov - The Hierophant
Otabek - The Hermit
JJ - The Emperor
Mila - The Strength
Sara - The Priestess
Michele - The Tower
Emil - The Temperance
Georgi - The Lovers
Guang-hong - The Sun
Leo - The Star Seung-gil - The Hanged Man
Minami - The Star
Yuuko - The Empress
Minako - The Empress
Mari - The Priestess
LGBT Representation
Ah, the LGBT representation. For Japanese queer representation go, it's as good as it can get. If it gets any explicit (the show instead uses actions, subtle but it's still very romantic and considering how context-sensitive the Japanese language is...) or risque, then the show will have to be listed as yaoi or shounen ai. I am sorry but it's true. The fact the show has a normal healthy gay couple, normalized to boot, then that's wonderful. Yaoi perpetuates harmful stereotypes and portrays gay relationships for girls and the occasional boys to get their rocks off. Homoerotic tension in Japanese media is different because, from a western point, queerbaiting is between two men or boys where we know they'll never get together narratively like Dean and Castiel, Merlin and Arthur, Sherlock and John; the Japanese uses homoeroticism to get the audience they want. Free! is, unfortunately, such an example. Hell, even though Tiger and Bunny are progressive in its own right, there's still the ambiguity of Barnaby and Kotetsu's relationship. If there are any queer romances or hinted at, then it's subtext. I am of the opinion that subtext is still a valid reading of the text and should still be read as legitimate. Slash fans are allowed to have their subtext; do not put them down just because you don't see it. Get it out of your damn head about Japanese 'queerbaiting'; do not preach wine and drink water; I already have enough of people saying Japan 'queerbaiting' when they are using faulty cultural values into someone else's culture; DO NOT. Even Doug Walker and Lewis Lovhaug brought up Japanese societal expectations. Even JesuOtaku only concentrates how the story and characters are told rather than Japanese Progressive movement. Yes, I will keep this until people will stop being cultural imperialist, unwitting or not. There is one thing to be progressive but there is another when you are ignoring cultural context. Do not ignore cultural contexts of anything. Even now, I am watching Miraculous Ladybug and I am trying to research as much as France as I can possibly get including whatever lost in translation. Yes, I am that bad about culture. It had become my berserk button.
Normally, I'll say ignore the ranting but do not ignore such an advice. Just don't.
Before anyone can say that Kubo is the first to have a non-homophobic world, I will tell you that she is not the first to do. Jeff Davis in his writing for Teen Wolf made it explicitly clear that there are no homophobes allowed in there and if they are, they are rightfully called out for it. Steven Universe, the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra, hell even include Sailor Moon since nobody is batting an eyelash that beautiful women of stature like Michiru and Haruka are in a relationship; it's not a NEW trope nor did Kubo codified it. It's simply that the fact that Kubo is determined to protect such a world is what makes it admirable. Basically, do not glorifyYuri on Ice, which is already special enough on its own; do not give it credit for something that already been done. I already saw Frozen getting overrated as a result of glorification, which did not sit well with me. Glorification of any kind does not sit well with me at all in any fashion because I know there will be flaws.
Speaking of such non-homophobic world with non-labeling, this is a controversy about labeling and not labeling relationships. This is a can of worms I do not want to open. I am just going to just not analyze but rather just put it here. Of course, a gay couple is completely in love like Victuuri or Young Avengers' Billy/Teddy. Hell, Korrasami is unlabeled. People argued which character is gay/bi/demi/pan/ace on a whole wide of the spectrum, not just in YoI but also Legend of Korra and other works out there that I couldn't think of the moment. People felt that labeling a relationship makes a better impact. Now both arguments are legitimate. I might be implying that YOI is flawed in their representation here because they aren't labeling their characters... So a flaw in YOI, then.
Then again, I am not expecting a perfect representation of all spectrums...and I meant that in Japanese contexts. I am not anti-YoI at all; I do like YOI, it's simply the fact there are flaws when put in narrative perspective and Japanese context. YOI is certainly ambitious but even Kubo will have missteps. Just like this blog, I am willing to discuss positive and negative thoughts on YoI, FMA, Persona, Pokemon, etc.
Now I heard there are LGBT people hating on straight people just for liking YOI... OI, you are no special snowflake just because you are a part of the LGBT community. What the FUCK is wrong with you people?! It's as if saying guys can't enjoy romcoms and my brother enjoys them. Suddenly, I'm a woman who can't enjoy shounen and seinen just because I'm a woman. Get off your damn high horse and let people enjoy regardless of their sexual orientation. Kubo clearly makes her work with love and she clearly wants her work to be enjoyed by people of all spectrum of age, gender, sexual orientation, and all the good stuff.
Speaking of Japanese LGBT, please support them over there. Read up sources and send money for their cause. Read actual Japanese LGBT works by Japanese LGBT like anime, manga, novels, etc. because they do exist. They are simply not mainstream which I think play a part in YOI as a sleeper hit. YOI as a mainstream anime; It's more accessible therefore people will get word faster than manga/light novels/novels. I'm not saying that Kubo isn't an LBGT supporter; she is, judging by the likes and retweets. I think I am treading waters at this point, nearly going to open a can of worms about LGBT supporters' works versus LGBT people's work. I am just going to put it here.
I got into a major rant there... Let's move on to the discussion of the Victuuri relationship.
The relationship is very healthy and clearly shown to be pure love; both men played both the lady and men fluidly yet they are in love immensely with or without the gender roles and I already mentioned this, not fetishized. The couple might be in different pages due to not yet discussing their future plans. I mean I get that conversation because it's the talk of most relationships if those are going to last. I know it because my cousin and her husband had discussed marriage prior to their engagement. I feel they both made choices, knowing they have each other's love; I just don't think they talked enough of what they want, though. The finale made it seem anticlimactic, particularly since we didn't get a gold win for Yuuri. I do like that it's a realistic couple with fights, conversations, and just normality. I'm pretty sure they will still have sickening sweetheart moments but also relationship angst. I just like Victuuri is like my parents and every couple I see in my daily life.
It's so romcom. I have a soft spot for romcoms and shoujo. I mean there is one fanfic I am writing a Final Review for has a shoujo-like story too: Shizuo and Izaya met as kids; Shizuo was interested in the nameless kid but forgotten about it as he got older; the two met again as teenagers and remain fixated; in the end, their relationship becomes better by the end of the story with tad romantic implications although Izaya is the tsundere of the two. Yes, that is how much shoujo I read that I was practically squealing when I read the text.
...Okay, since I don't want to say that this saved 2016 because those horrible things still happened. I won't name them because I think people will know of them either way. I'm sorry; as much as I would like to say it especially since I got the Japanese copy of Persona 5 and doujin, movies, manga/anime with me to cope, I know that this year would still have some seriously horrible turn of events. I love YOI and Persona but I don't think it would save 2016. It simply helped me cope with the situation at hand that there is still hope on the horizon for progressive well-written art and storytelling and well the future. I just to put it out. Yes, I use my fandoms as escapist fiction but really.
Again, please don't glorify YOI. Negating others' work and their storytelling are ignorant. Just because one series is representing the LBGT does not automatically make the others look bad just because they don't have the representation; how about the fact that these stories aren't necessarily about romance and focused on friendship? Their age demographic? Their storytelling? Their own uniqueness? Do not give me crap that YOI is the best of the bunch when you have no idea what you are talking about when I have seen so many anime/manga/Japanese fucking media. There will always be new things coming out and making their own thing; do not glorify something you don't understand from a Japanese standpoint as well as media standpoint. Look at its cultural contexts and do not preach wine and drink water. Do not practice cultural imperialism. Japan is not America in any way. I have to repeat this again because I saw some bad things in the YOI fandom that are just so ignorant and I saw honestly bad criticism of YOI's representation just because it's not explicit enough; for god's sake, I wanted to throw my phone away when I read it because they don't understand Japan at all. Again, it's my berserk button that you are practicing cultural imperialism. I studied Japanese society, history, language, etc in my free time because I am a Japanophile. I am so much of a Japanophile that my cousin even invited me to go with her to Japan. My mother is aware of this even.
I'm going to make mini-reviews of Yuri!!! on Ice and other fanfics. I've been really busy constructing Final Reviews of honestly big fanfics.
I will say this again. When it comes to Japanese media, analyze with Japanese knowledge. Not even superficial knowledge like food. Cultural contexts must not be ignored.
Edit: Just a heads up, I will only be uploading my review next year after the dub is finished.
Also, I will be ranting at parts of the YOI fandom who seems to think YOI is revolutionary in having human rivals... Have you fucking seen past sports anime/manga? Do you even understand these rivals' own reasoning and character growth? Their character arc? That their assholish behavior is not condoned in any way? Did you see their behavior after their loss sometime after their character development? Rin's character development is not winning because he saw that he's not special; he has to regain his love for swimming with friends back. Does that make Seidou Baseball team butthurt for losing against Inashiro just because they were so close to winning? Hell, no. They are all devastated and Sawamura himself crumbled and developed yips. Are they suddenly butthurt? Hell, even Gary Oak, Paul, Harley, Jessie, and James are depicted as clearly human during the Pokemon Contests and Pokemon Performing. Do not think for a second that YOI revolutionized human rivals, sympathetic in their own right. Human rivals with sympathetic human issues are no different in YOI as it is in Free!, Oofuri, Baby Steps, Giant Killing, and I can list here all day long. Do not glorify YOI. Love it, enjoy it, do not ignore the Japanese contexts despite being an international show, analyze at it from a narrative standpoint.
I want to repeat this. Respect others' opinions even if you don't like the thing. I hate seeing slash fans being put down just for shipping two guys together just because you don't see it. Even if there are slash fans who would pour down the throat what they ship doesn't mean that they are dong anything horrible. Tell them what they are doing is wrong to force something down your throat and also make it clear that you just don't see it and/or ship it; be polite about it too. Notice I said slash fans: why is the word 'fangirl' come across as such an insult beyond being a girl simply passionate of what she loves? What about boys too?
There are such thing called I don't know queer reading. There is a difference between the queer reading of the text and queerbaiting. Hell, there is a difference between queerbaiting and fetishization of LBGTQIA relationships particularly the G part to get the audience you want.
There are people who don't ship at all and I'm becoming one of those people recently. Just for the love of somebody upstairs, do not be condescending just because people see something you don't. There are people who see Destiel as a bromance, romance, brotherhood, friendship, family, or anything really. Do you see me hating on people not shipping them? NO!
Hell, I don't hate Shizuorona shippers at all! I disagree on the ship for various reasons but hating purely for the sake of interfering with my ship is stupidity and petty hatred. Just so petty.
I dislike Jim x Ariel and Jack Frost x Elsa but you don't see me hating on fans who loves the ships with a passion. Hell, I don't dare to make fun of them because I don't see the purpose of making of them because what are they doing is so terrible beyond shipping? As long as they are aware of bad things in the ships (like codependency and incest in Wincest, abusive behavior from both ends like the Twilight ships), then everyone would be happy.
Don't generalize yaoi shippers as figures to be avoided. Ships are practically free advertisement by fans. Hell, I got into Supernatural purely because I heard of Destiel. Why are het fans prioritized above other shippers? Beside the heteronormativity which is bad enough but seriously what about potential other ships that would be great on its own? In Hetalia, the Nation-tans could have an orgy and I wouldn't blink an eye at it because well there are just so many potential ships in Hetalia, Hell, I don't even mind Pokemon ships to have one big orgy too!
Shipping is meant to be fun and that's it. Respect others; have you been taught this by your teachers or parents? Just don't hate or be such petty assholes just for people shipping things you don't like. Be polite and be kind to others.
...I snapped after seeing horrible comments on Destiel shippers and seeing those people seeing themselves as better people than shippers who are just having fun... Yeah...
EDIT: Do not lord your opinion on a relationship over those who ship it, saying that these characters hate each other or calling them bros. It's one thing that it's your opinion but it's another when you force people who ship them to your opinion. Do not deny their reading of the manga nor deny their ship. It makes you look stupid and completely arrogant. I saw a review of a MiSawa fanfic and.... yeah I really do not like what the reviewer is saying regarding the relationships, being willfully ignorant how the relationship is a huge part of the story. It's romance for a goddamn reason. The author is a Misawa shipper for a reason.
I utterly hate people who force their opinions on a harmless ship that hurt nobody. How about make them aware of the bad stuff in the relationships like Stockholm Syndrome or abuse? Be aware than discourage people from shipping two people altogether. Have writers rewrite the mess of the relationship.
This not only corresponds to shipping but also to media works. JesuOtaku doesn't like RWBY and there are others that do. Just respect others and don't spread vitriol. I don't even hate Frozen as much as my cousin do but she and I respect the other's opinion and we spent a couple days ranting about Frozen's potential. Hell, even DCCU is one of these things as I really want Warner Bros to have their own MCU but with Synder and Goyer at the helm... I just don't want them near the projects anymore. I am well-aware of the behind of the scenes things such as Synder still at Justice League director chair due to filming right after BvS release....which followed by a huge disappointment by DC and moviegoers alike.
Note there is a difference between telling somebody you don't like a type of food/media. But it does not excuse any form of racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and all those phobias and -isms. There's a difference between "I hate coffee" and "I hate black people". The latter is unsettling and hatred filling.
I don't know people who voted for Trump because every one of my friends and family wanted Trump out of office. There are people who voted for Trump because of what he said he would do but there are people out there who believe they need change.
I have another comment: When one wants to critically analyze what it to be progressive in Japan, please study Japanese LGBTQIA+, feminism, and the likes from actual Japanese people who experienced the oppression. Do not patronize the Japanese when you are practicing cultural imperialism. The Japanese media are made for the Japanese market. There are people who are making steps forward in Japan and most people in Japan did not know there is even a market here in the West. Just please for the love of god, just enjoy rather than critically analyze if it's queerbaiting or not when it's in a totally different country with different sensibilities. Just please understand the Japanese struggling in their own country, wanting their country to be progressive just as much as we want America or any other country to be just as progressive in their own country's right and well-being.
That might come off contradictory when I said about shipping earlier. Now shipping I don't mind because that is just enjoyment. Just as media apparently given an open text to people with different opinions. Just do not patronize people that your preferred reading of a ship or text is correct; just that the other interpretations are just as valid as yours. Be polite and kind to others; spread positivity than hatred because what is the point of the main fandom when it is not filled with love?
Be the fandom you guys were meant to have; love, respect, understanding, drawn together by a common interest, being a community on the internet. There's a reason why I hardly interact with fandoms precisely just how toxic Tumblr, Reddit, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, and other social media can be. There can be some good but there will always be the bad in fandom. Spread what I said and you can have a community. Seriously the only community I ever stayed infinitely with is Pokeani and Hetalia whereas I left Persona temporarily (because fans apparently want spoilers without context and accuse homophobia/sexism, again without context and without knowledge of Japanese sensibility) and left FMA fandom altogether. The very last one is particularly bad because FMA is my favorite anime of all time and I just can't return to the fandom after meeting people who did not understand. I'm still with other fandoms I can't bother naming but seriously just be kind and respectful. There is a reason why Cinderella 2015 is one of my favorite adaptations.
Canon is the gateway of fandom. There will always be subtext, unintentional or not, and different readings of the same text. I'm an English major; we have to be open-minded and I do plan to be a literature editor on top of being an English professor. There will be disagreements on how the media is presented for it to be progressive like feminism and redemption arcs for characters or relationships...just as long as it remained infinitely with right media such as Japanese progressivism with Japanese media. Show vs tell; show, don't tell. There will always be an imperfect work out there and as long as you tell civilly directly to the person instead of insulting that person for liking something you deemed unfeminist despite that person is feminist. Take directly to the person because that person might listen to you point-blank with lots of people backing you up. Also, point out to the creator whenever he or she tried to push the blame off the character he or she created; the character may be fictional but the creator is the one who made the character come to life and responsible for the character. That and the character's writing. Looking at you, Stan Lee for Invisible Woman and Jennifer Lee for Frozen.
Fanon is whatever you choose but can respect canon; headcanons, fanart, fanfiction, fan videos. It meant to be a fun and wonderful way to be together in making dorky headcanons like funny selfies that Allison got in her phone in Teen Wolf. I may not like Glee canon much due to its many, many issues but that does not mean I don't respect it for changing telly just as much as I don't hate South Park for changing adult telly.
Oh and creators, don't insult your fandom. They are your free advertisement through their ships and readings of the text. They might or might not recommend your product but they might enjoy their product and as long as you understand that you can't please everyone, then it's okay and be welcoming to fans. Look at MCU where fans and critics are treated with respect.
And fans, don't overreact once it appeared that your ship or reading might be invalid. Look at the actions carefully. Sterek fans were afraid that Sterek might be shut down when it, in fact, it hasn't. There are many easier ways to shut them down like outright saying that they are no longer seeing each other as lovers but brothers and sister, arguing like siblings. Making the couple apart would develop tension. Many meta writers point out the easier paths and that Sterek, heavily alluded in visual and text, is still going on. Again, look at the show carefully you are watching until it is decided that your ship or reading is not there anymore. You guys can still ship no matter the in-show text shut the pairing. Look at Destiel fandom which kept going on despite the show itself shut down the pairing and the show itself is a zombie. Even if the show did have interesting ideas and characters. Look at you, Timothy Omundson, King Richard, Cain!
...After the new Yuri on Ice episode that came out, people are saying that Japan finally quit queerbaiting and made history. I wanted to scream and tell them that to view the show with Japanese sensibilities. Remember what I said about the queerbaiting versus getting an audience you want. Japan does the latter! Additionally, we don't know if Victor and Yuri are actually gay or bi. If anything, that kiss could blur the lines further. Merlin queerbait, Yuri on Ice does not because, under Japanese sensibilities, it's fetishization of LGBT relationships to get the audience you want. Either way is still bad but make this clear: do not in any circumstances, put your western sensibilities on a show that is made specifically for Japanese audiences. I am already fucking pissed off I have to say it again.
I am happy about the kiss. And I wonder how the show is going to be handled overall. I will make my judgment when the whole show ends...with Japanese knowledge on deck and no Western knowledge to make any kind of cultural imperialism. I made an entire essay about cultural imperialism for god's sake and you don't know just how pissed I was just even writing the damn thing. And I brought it up in class discussions when we were discussing Conrad's Heart of Darkness. That is how bad a berserk button it is for me.
I also want to make the remark that the show is not a shounen-ai/Boy's Love/Yaoi but a sports anime...which is bubbling with its own homoeroticism. Again, view it with Japanese lens and do not for the sake of the Japanese living there in Japan, input your Western views on LGBT which includes queerbaiting into a show by Japanese people for Japanese people.
...Okay since it had been confirmed by the creators that yes Victuuri did share their first kiss with a tweet from one of the creators Kubo. Since it had been confirmed, I am still going to approach it with a Japanese mindset. I know that there will be people going to be progressive in Japan which means I have to look at it from the Japanese progressive set of mind particularly that of their LGBT. Their LGBT is a whole different beast than America's. Please understand that you don't ignore the LBGT Japanese. Just please for the love of progressive Japan.
Ah, the first portion of DnA before everything literally fell down the drain. So much goddamn potential for the manga and well... you could still write metas but you have to deal with many frustrating developments like Furuya taking credit again just because he has the ace number. Ace does not mean you score everything; it's just like Kageyama before his character development. Look at Haikyuu! and Kuroko no Basuke for examples.
Fairy tales, myths, and fables are one of my loves. I got into fairy tales because of Disney particularly that of Cinderella and I already read The Little Mermaid before even watching the Disney version. I will read the more horrific versions of fairy tales like comeuppance for the villains. I love Sound Horizon's Marchen for example.
Now, what kind of fairy tale should I use for this one fic? Snow White, Snow White and Rose Red, Donkeyskin, Sleeping Beauty, Frau Holle and so much more. But I want a fairy tale that I can allow to develop the characters to show canon in an alternate world. That is what I am doing with my Sterek Cinderella. I would add elements from other fairy tales like how Cinderella 2015 added an element of Beauty and the Beast and other versions of Cinderella like the tree branch & Snow White: Fairest of Them All added elements of Snow Queen and Snow White and Rose Red. I would at least try to get some of the baseline of a fairy tale at least.
Cinderella should be the easiest but I want to do something different. While I am using adaptations of Cinderella for my Sterek, I am adamant about having parallels to canon up to what is needed for the current situation. That means that the first chapter might be long. Because it might be some time before they can achieve their happily ever after.
So, Slow Burn/Build. I always wanted to try one and I will do it. Besides I always thought it's best to show development of both the troubling and the best kind to earn your ending.
There will be antagonists but not in the way you think. Antagonists, not villains. There are no villains in DnA, simply antagonists and yes Furuya counts as one. Scott counts as one.
Regardless canon will be implemented (that I approve of that is; I do not like Glee canon at all while I very much love the canon of Teen Wolf) and yes Eijun Sawamura will come up on top as likely either prince or king of whatever country the Miyuki family is ruling, a rank far beyond Furuya and all others. Simply because Japan in-canon isn't ready for Sawamura who would blow them away thanks for his limitless potential.
Yes, it would still be Sawamura Eijun and Miyuki Kazuya as the main ship. In this fairy tale series, there will be only one big ship per fic with ambiguous minor pairings, one or the other or both sometimes, on the side (seriously in the Cinderella fic, I will not only be hinting Marrish and Allydia but also Janny, Dethan, etc).
Because of my simple love for crossovers, these fics might crossover with their tales becoming famous (like Stiles' famous glass shoes or a poisoned apple from a particular kingdom or Eijun's donkeyskin cloak) where magic is known just like in our world, the Fair Folk and all.
As for historical accuracy, this is mostly for self-indulgent purposes only. so.... no research will be put into. Everything from mercenary to aristocracy rankings are just there because I need parallels. The best you can think of such ranking or anything involving aristocracy, knights, soldiers, etc are really taken from the Tales series.
I might write a sequel for each of these stories because I love the thought of political intrigue for these characters.
Part I: Sterek Cinderella
Part II: Miyusawa Donkeyskin
I haven't set the parts yet but there will be varieties of pairings.
Who knows what other parts should I do including the semi-sequels?
Okay, an opinion is an opinion. Respect it. The basic concept to grasp is respect. Don't they teach you that in school? By your own parents too? If you don't like a show is going, then it's not to your taste, don't watch it anymore or go to another fandom altogether; if you are just going to hate on it, spreading vitriol like the Black Death, you are just a hater. I personally don't like how DnA is going by its huge focus on Furuya no Ace but that doesn't mean I hate DnA in entirety. I personally feel disappointment is worse than hate. Constructive criticism is better than trolling. Maybe it is because of how I was raised by disappointment rather than let myself consumed by hatred for my parents. Seriously do you see me hate on Rowdyreviewer for hating Teen Wolf (wholly disagreeing with him) or Doug Walker and Lindsay Ellis for loving Frozen to the point of making their favorite film list or Lindsay Ellis for hating The Little Mermaid? No! I disagree with them, hell I'm disagreeing with lots of internet reviewers nowadays and only focusing on how they execute their comedy. Doug Walker is a hit-or-miss in his new era of Nostalgia Critic with a couple gems then and there. Do you see me hate on DRRR? I consider Baccano! superior but I do not hate DRRR. I have friends who love DRRR and Frozen. Think of it like food. My brother loves spicy while I can't stand spicy of any kind except really mild or barely there. We still get along. What is the difference between food and fandom? Fandom is meant to bring people together with their love; isn't that the point of being a fan? Not to spread hatred for something you now dislike yet somehow you still stay on?
Respect other opinions. Do not let fandom toxicity devolve you.
To be honest, I don't know what to feel about this drama. This show had been airing on my TV for awhile now. Overall, it just feels cliched (and lazy) but again I am hoping for execution rather cliche so I am keeping on that. Korean dramas aren't my thing (I only saw like three Korean dramas in its completion so far) so I'm not an expert on that.
On, one hand, there are interesting enough characters including the sociopath father Tae-sung. There is the good family, the Na's and then there's the really toxic family, the Lee's.
When the comical events like the big sister of Young-ja, Young-jin and the mother of Ye-ra Mi-ran are really funny, hell even the fighting between Mi-ran and Tae-sung were quite funny.
However, as time went on and as people started to get more information (sometimes be omission; there are still lies by omission like by the main girl protagonist or just straight up lying like the sociopath father) and really starting to go into this big chess game, I kept seeing that things will explode.
Ye-ra is really setting up herself for what was Nurse Song's word again "laughingstock" with her unprofessionalism. She can't separate her work from personal life at all; inserting her business into others is just another sign of her spoiled brat behavior all just for her hatred for Young-ja, for the jealousy that her fiance Ji-wook is more impressed by that girl rather than by her. Even when she was repeatedly told off for her behavior (up to deliberately changing the menu of the beauty class), she still doesn't understand and learn from her mistakes. Ji-wook and Sung-jae told her off about her behavior yet she still can't understand and take responsibility. All she acted to her father is the messenger of what everyone else is doing...giving him a tracker albeit not a really reliable one because she has the tendency to act out in her bubble of jealousy and hatred. Even when she was told off by even the President, she doesn't understand what she does wrong because to her, her life is more important than any other person, not taking in consideration of why people kept calling her rude.and horrible or even why she does horrible things because it's unacceptable; she won't even admit that it was her own damn fault that she nearly lost her head in jealousy when forging the damn document for the beauty class. Young-ja made it explicitly clear to Ye-ra's intended Ji-wook that she is not interested in him and the interactions I saw between Young-ja and Ji-wook are simply friendly (must be because Ji-wook already confessed to her and he saw how uneasy she got after the love confession but he will still care for her like a decent human being) that are sometimes misinterpreted by Sung-jae, Young-ja's love interest, and Ye-ra herself. To be fair of Sung-jae, he is at least reasonable and keeps his head on straight unlike Ye-ra's impulsiveness regarding her love interest.
She was sympathetic at first (because of unrequited love) as Ji-wook rejects her advances and his insensitivity but grows increasingly unsympathetic as time goes on (like the aforementioned forgery) as Ji-wook continues to grow as a person and as a leader. Their upbringing and personalities are drastically different but they are foils. Both suffered from unrequited love and makes many mistakes (although none would be as bad as Ye-ra's forgery and tendency to lash out when she doesn't get her way) but when one listens to people's comments, the other makes it incredibly clear it will be all about her, refusing to see her wrongful actions as wrong but as just.
Tae-sung...He really is setting up himself for such a fall. More and more people are coming out to the woodwork to confront him on his betrayals, greed, pride, etc. because he really is such a dbag. His general abusive nature to those he hates (like the Na family) is not surprisingly based on his own treatment of his son, wife, and sometimes daughter; I really do think it's a miracle he even chose to marry Mi-ran and reproducing. On the moment he said that it's frustrating (It's all your goddamn fault in the first place!), the next he is happily destroying and ruining people's dreams and lives. Even his Romeo son, Sung-ho is one of his many victims. From an omniscient narrator, the person he is most afraid of is the President (who is quite reasonable authority figure) because with them exposing everything he had done (up to harassing her at every turn) would leave him with nothing...which would happen. His casual manipulation to destroy the Na family and Nurse Song (like the reveal of Song's baby) was to induce in-fighting so they can destroy themselves.
Really, these two from the way they are going and how they are avowing to destroy the lives of other people they hate, I cannot see their futures as bright, going to jail.
Now, the Romeo and Juliet, Sung-ho and Young-ji respectively, really do love each other of the two families who really do hate other (and it's not a petty feud as it was in the play because the mothers legit hate each other, the sisters legit hate each other, the fathers really legit hate each other, the son-in-law legit hates the father, everyone in the Na family (with the exception of toddler) hates Tae-sung) has far too many external forces keeping them from together. Even the main protagonist allows her vicious hatred for Ye-ra gets the better of her and would not allow her sister to be married just so she cannot be related to Ye-ra. Mi-ran even tried to bribe her son's love. The Na family really does regret how their family's hatred is getting in the way of their love because the father Bong-il can see that the son really is a kind person from a family of temperamental horrifying people. Even Young-ji was shocked to see how could a kind son be produced by such a man.
Edit: I am crying about the show's laziness. When they want characters to know something (albeit limited due to not getting the whole conversation), they will make Ye-ra learn it and be the one who spills the beans. Literally. She is just so impulsive and not really that calculating unlike other characters in the show like Nurse Song and her father, Everything is escalating until Mr. Kang, the president, will learn just how complicated and stupid the entire situation is. Not even Mrs. Na is rather shocking given her actions. I am still sympathetic to her but she and Mr. Na is not answering what Young-ja is increasingly learning. She may be a foster baby they took in but she is raised as a Na.
Also, y'know sterile Sung-ho... yeah, he got Young-ji pregnant. I'm just... not speechless but it's just so lazy. I thought they can do without the pregnancy thing. Even eloping is better than a pregnancy plot. Because a marriage between the two from two opposing families would make more drama because one] it is the consented decision of the married couple and two] the families would come to blows faster than a jet, leading to more drama escalating. Baby drama is just stupid at this rate. Look, I know the drama centers around an OB/GYN, babies. The series is called Start Again and what is the symbolism of babies? New life, beginnings. Having an unplanned pregnancy for a couple who we already know is perfectly fine without them and even Young-ji even admitted that she would adopt, for a man who is sterile. To see a relationship that doesn't need to have pregnancy involved but a couple who can adopt (regardless of how long it would take) in a show that had a pregnancy from a selfish greedy man and a kind but incredibly cunning nurse (her daughter definitely inherited her wit and kindness although she was also taught that by her foster mother and father). I thought the show could think outside of the box rather than be lazy. Bend what it means to "start again". Marriage? Fine. Babies? Regardless of your symbolism, be flexible and show that the couple doesn't need to have babies to be together. It is their own choice to be forever, dating for seven years now. Marriage for them would cement what they have been feeling for years now, not a baby that the two already know they can't have and suddenly have.
How I would love to discuss the villainous family of Lee.... Jesus, almost all of them are spoiled and temperamental, even Sung-ho. However, the only saneSung-ho realized his mistakes (of forcing Young-ji) and tried to prove himself as worthy. Even Bong-il, who hates the Na family, realizes that this boy and his daughter's love is getting collateral damage from their feud. The second sanest I supposed would be the comic relief mother Mi-ran who runs into the situation, her head's off (a trait she shared with her children) who at least tried to help her son (but at the worst possible way possible; bribing and threatening his son's love, threatening the Na matriarch after working with her to find her son...which she did find but drag him away from the happy sphere he had with his love in the worst possible way). Tae-sung and Ye-ra are the most insane of the lot; Tae-sung just for all the evil stuff he is doing and Ye-ra who is deliberately harming her chances at both love and at the workspace although to be fair she doesn't understand why people keep calling her out because of her upbringing. Ironically, her brother ends up the sanest (up to seeing that his sister faked being injured just to gain sympathy points).
The two families and Nurse Song has this confidante to go to. She may not have all the details because they are lying by omission to her or just not telling her the bubbling mess. She's wise and just allowed somebody to talked to.
Edit: As it turns out, Young-ja turns out to be the biological daughter of Nurse Song and Tae-sung, therefore, half-sister of Ye-ra and Sung-ho. The execution is just so...tired and lazy; I don't feel the emotional beat in it unlike how I love the emotional beats in You From Another Star; in that drama, the sincere love story coupled with well-written character development is one of its good points, it's just so sincere. So Young-ja isn't a biological daughter of the Na family after all.
Ji-wook is great. His character is developing from a meek and sweet boy to a leader of his own right. He starts taking initiatives regarding the Tae-sung's continuous incidents and his love life. He can be a little insensitive at times and makes many mistakes but he is using Young-ja and his best friend Sung-jae as a model instead, learning from his mistakes. His relationship, if there were any, with Ye-ra is doomed to fail. She may continue to love him (and I do think she does love him) no matter how unrequited it might be but most of the time her thought process is MEMEMEMEME rather than actually take Ji-wook in consideration of his feelings and why he told her why her actions are so horrid.
Sung-jae... The actor does a great job with his reasonable authority figure and his own issues regarding his wife's death. He was horrified when his wife's death was used as blackmail and a bargaining chip in the escalating mess because he knows that his wife would not like that at all. He was moving onto a second love in Young-ja and that is the point: moving on. He doesn't react with jealousy (maybe a little given he mistaken interactions between his best friend and Young-ja and Ji-wook did say he confessed to her). At least we know why he got a wife first well before everyone else in the main cast did; his kind and gentle treatment of other people as well as how reasonable he can be.
Young-ja is growing so much into herself. At the beginning, she is a hardworking and intelligent doctor-to-be (all her life she had been studying to be a doctor for the past six years) and now she is growing more confident and standing up for what is right, using her intelligence to defeat the two insane Lee's. She is growing into her kindness and genteel to help others.
Overall, there is nice characterization. It's more character-based as characters' actions directly influenced the situation around them, worsening it by every second.
Plot-wise, I can see why people call it cliched. I worry more about execution though because cliched is cliched...let's see how they do what they can with these cliches; for example, HTTYD movie does a great job with the cliches. Teen Wolf does a great job playing with tropes.
A horrible execution of cliches would be Frozen which did a bad job subverting tropes (if ever...just look at my review). It doesn't even examine tropes at all but just say it. Saying it does not mean they are examining. They have to show. Teen Wolf does a great job with show vs tell whereas Frozen tell a lot.
If you really want me to pick between Jeff Davis or Ryan Murphy, you will see me pick the former every time. Both are not perfect which is why I never buy into authorial worship in the first place, even William Shakespeare. Murphy did create American Horror Story and Glee (whether or not you like it, you have to admit it did change society in a way) after all and Jeff Davis was the creative brain behind Criminal Minds (before he was fired and have his show up for adoption; seriously he was planning to have Reid be bisexual and would be likely coded to be bisexual just like Stiles and really the fact there is a similar dynamic between Derek Morgan and Derek Hale & Stiles and Reid up to age differences, bisexuality, sexual abuse that the older man suffered, Moreid would have likely been endgame should Davis had his way and the network had not chopped it because Reid and JJ never went anywhere, just remaining a "pack", not a clique like the McCall "pack" but a pack like the Hales, all the other alphas for heaven's sake. Hell, the reason why I think the flirting that had been going on between Garcia and Morgan is because that is likely set up similarly to Draeden/Stalia and they would not end up together anyway in a long-term fashion as opposed to Moreid which would have likely something similar to Sterek. As a writer, there are things one would cling to and never let go, using it for other stories too just like how I often parallel with canon and use of fairy tale/myth/fables so for Davis, it is the slow build homosexual romance with age difference, bisexuality for one of the males, sexual abuse for the other man, trust and saving each other with a relationship where the sexually abused man is able to find himself at peace and the quirky hyper-smart man is growing up and becoming into himself. Yeah, had Davis was able to get his way and be the showrunner of the show he created instead of being the creative executive, we will see that the BAU would be full of jerks and it's best displayed in the pilot too. All of Davis' characters are assholes one way or another with awful character traits and flaws and exceptionally well-written. Hell, I think Criminal Minds would likely end early should Davis had his way because now that Teen Wolf is on its last season, it's going out with the bang with the Wild Hunt, something that had been foreshadowed as early as S2.). The main difference between them is that at least Davis is utilizing everything he knows from media (Teen Wolf is best compared to an anime, an acquired taste because the show has a lot of critical thinking you need to have) like anime and video games to the point he forgets to signpost whereas Murphy, while he does love his job, is as subtle as an elephant dancing to Eurovision music, the bad kind, not the decent or okay, just literally bad like France's "Mustache" bad. He's like Eurovision, to be honest.
Not even close (both in location and situation) to their first kiss in one of the fanfics but nonetheless it was Derek who initiated it.
Teen Wolf:
For that matter, did you know the face-casts for Derek Seigerson and Spencer Willis are also Jackson Whittemore (Colton Haynes) and Stiles Stilinski (Dylan O'Brien)? It doesn't help that Colton is hot (why are the good ones gay or taken? While it's not like I will be meeting him anytime soon but Colton is drool-worthy and he's gay. Francisco Lachowski and Hunter Parrish are married, the former have children for god's sake. And yes I mentioned the face-casts for Julian Larson and Logan Wright; ironically, the latter two in Daltonfic are LGBT (and would get together in the coming chapter) whereas Derek is straight and in love with Casey) and Dylan is more adorable (with his buzz-cut) and then really handsome with longer hair. Now that I mention hair, it's funny that Dylan's hair was what kept him from getting the role of The Maze Runner's Thomas.
Summary: Scott liked to call it the Great Pack Divide of 2012. Derek liked to call Scott an idiot. (Or the one where Derek kidnaps Stiles to teach Scott a lesson and ends up learning a few things himself.)
Review: To be honest, I do not know what to expect because it has kidnapping for Godoka's sake. Not even going to touch on. But the author certainly did.
Not only did she went into repercussions and whatnot regarding the issues with the characters in mind especially with the events they have to go through. Coupled with the resolving issues left in the show following the S2 finale and analyzing certain characters and important relationships, it's certainly an experience. It's like watching the show with all its subtleties.
There is still some humor in the angst-fest. I found it amusing that characters seeing the Derek X Stiles thing to be nothing surprising; I bet they can see UST from Danny to even Scott since Scott and his mom didn't even act surprised by the first kiss, more freaked out than actually surprised.
I wholly recommend reading ALL her fics on the Teen Wolf section. I really would love to continue seeing her update Equal and Opposite just for the character analysis of Stiles especially when two people (Lydia and Peter) can see his potential and why the current gang should not underestimate Stiles because for all their powers, Stiles can be considered the most dangerous, happily playing mind games and his dark side not tempered. I would have to repeat that Stiles and Lydia are the team's strategists and therefore they're steps ahead of their peers who are out of their depth when it comes to playing mind games.
In the first fic, yes, Stiles won an Oscar by age 25. Julian Larson won at 17 for the same category too; which makes me wonder if Dalton-verse was the same in this AU, I wonder if Stiles ever gotten a role along with Dolce and Julian and worked with Travis Armstrong. I wonder if he ever acted in Something Damaged.
Summary: Stiles becomes an actor and gets the D. Or, uh, the specific D. D's D, if you know what I mean.
Review: I really do like this one a lot. The way the author makes actor Stiles believable woven with Dylan's background before his gig as an actor. Web series to getting larger roles except for the largest role I think Dylan ever had was the lead for The Maze Runner while Stiles, on the other hand, has important leads in many Hollywood movies and accolades if the summary was any indication.
I like how the author dealt with the characters and their lives. How Derek going to therapy and being a deputy. How the Hale Pack deals with their newly famous best friend who has so much on the other end of his life, having awards and famous movie titles under his belt; especially Derek who wants and be more than just a fling because Stiles have to return to Hollywood.
Original characters tends to have a bad rep and sometimes it's deserving. There are some really bad names and some really badly written ones. Very rarely I will pair specific OC's with a canon character because of how badly written the OC and relationship is written. I cry a lot that it is badly written.
The idea of Mary Sue/Gary Stu, I feel already is moot. When I see people call empty slates characters that players like the P3-4 protagonists AKA the one we plays Gary Stus, I drink hard alcohol and muttering "WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!"
What I want for me to accept OCs are them to be personalized. Place them in situations and let them react and cope with their personality in mind. Do not letting events fully define that character; it may impact them, yes, but really do not let that character define himself by that event and say that character is brooding because of it.
Julian Larson of CP Coulter's Dalton (the author herself doesn't seem to expect her story to explode in popularity at all judging from the original intro notes in the first chapter in FFNet... Just to put it out there, it's a simply innocent fanfiction like any other fanfiction; you are allowed to dislike it just as I am allowed to dislike this Glee fic Hunting the Unicorn (as well-written as it is, I just don't like it; I will not deny its well-written state, okay? I just don't like the story); it's the matter of opinion and respecting that opinion; seeing that I personally regards Frozen as flawed yet enjoyable while respecting those who like and dislike the movie, you see where I am going yes?), while in love with Logan, has his own life and friends with the cast of Something Damaged and family he does care for. His love for Logan does not fully define his character but his love does impact his character and show his selflessness in regards of his love interest. Even his fling with Sebastian Smythe (Grant Gustin goes onto to be Barry Allen so good choice there, Glee actor! You too Marley Rose, Melissa Benoist as Supergirl! Both of you portray your new roles well and certainly better written than Glee's) does not define his character. Likewise, Neko of Fox Face and Flames is a big sister-type influenced by the trials and CASCO but also by her beloved friends and family.
To let them be their own characters. Do not let them be mouthpieces to spew out some notions like Creator's Pet favoritism (lookin' at you, Terajima) or beliefs that the characters would not share (for the love of Godoka, everyone in Glee; they're unrecognizable by season 4; it's like watching the world burn by then. Season 3 was like a train speeding towards its demise. S5 and 6 is like the world decide to obliterate itself repeatedly after coming back to life repeatedly in little moments of sanity and goodness, especially the sanity part because everything in Glee by then I want to throw a wretch at).
Author Avatars are fine as long as they too remain characters. Himapapa does a good job with Estonia/Eduard von Bock, being his own character while still fitting in with the Hetalia-verse. M. Night Shyamalan unfortunately has author avatars that are badly written and obviously so self-absorbed it's embarrassing to just watch when his reputation is in shambles at that point.
So I want characters to be their own characters with their own beliefs on stuff influenced by the world they grew up in. Not to be mouthpieces which will irritate me or to be pointless overall. While a great plot can be ideal, what I look for the most are characters, the ideas of Mary Sues/Gary Stus be damned. Much as I dislike My Immortal by Tara, it is fascinating to watch the character Enoby.
I wonder if he ever met movie stars and other top designers' children. I'm sure he travel a lot due to his work though. Due to the limited budget and recycled animation for clothes (I honestly expect Adrien to dress in loads of designer clothes, being a son of a rich fashion designer.), his clothes are rather limited or those are just his only casual clothes which can't be possible because he goes to school publicly. Speaking of which, I honestly expects paps to scoop him out or stalkers out to get him due to the level of fame he got. He's no movie star but he is featured a lot on magazines and admittedly good-looking.
This is simply a headcanon, nothing more.
I just can't help but see Adrien Agreste as bisexual. This is in no way influenced by me being bisexual. I just like the idea of Adrien being bi.
I mean he gotta work with this guy, Francisco Lachowski.
This is Julian Larson's face-cast, the OC I mentioned previously. He's gorgeous, isn't he? Too bad he's both a husband and a father already. And Julian Larson is about to be taken by Logan Wright. And yeah, Julian Larson is bisexual as well and in love with Logan Wright.
Seriously I saw LBGTQIA+ headcanons for characters before. Just as long as they stayheadcanons, it's all fine and good. For example, the Trajectory of Laughter fic I read and mentioned previously had the main couple Miyuki Kazuya and Sawamura Eijun be homosexual, especially the former since we got a point of view from him. It does help that the team members who knows (indirectly or directly due to accident or observation) are supportive of their relationship even after Eijun got amnesia.
Unless they are canon that is like Glee's Kurt Hummel being gay.
Ah, Eurovision, the Hunger Games of Europe. It is a fitting nickname for it. Underneath its campy fun and snark, there is a political game of subtle and not-so-subtle jabs where judges can be politically corrupted.
I don't care about the songs (I do and I'm not a music critic but I certainly do enjoy music)...although the live performances of the songs can be questionable. All I care about is the fairness of the thing. We don't know for sure if people purposely voted Conchita for the fact she's a man in drag or because of her song. Music is subjectivein the first place; it's just music. If there are people who genuinely likes "Rise Like a Phoenix", then so be it. Just don't attack Conchita Wurst, okay? The person is sweet and kind and overall gracious to the criticisms; she is certainly a great vocalist, powerful and clean, just right for Austria to send her in. Just don't generalize people as LGBT supporters or to get back on Russia by supporting Austria's Chosen Lot; we don't know for sure. There are people who genuinely likes ESC, those who watch it for the opportunity of mocking, and those who watch for the political jabs. While the latter is annoying to just watch the politics play out in an innocent contest, it's just stupid to watch whereas it's great to watch the better performances and fascinating to watch the weird and catchy ones. I just watch it for the songs really just to see what Europe is sending to their annual contest.
When the clearly political songs play, my brain just shut down and I...I just went to cry into my BL books.
I am aware that political lyrics or anything indicates politics would not make it through but sometimes they do make it through the subtlety of the song. I personally found Jamala's "1944" not that great and certainly not my favorite and not either the juries & popular favorite. That would be Russia. Nothing against Ukraine but the political mess of the whole game is just stupid and brain-breaking more than the outright stupid ones like France's "Mustache" and Greece's "Alcohol is Free". It literally broke my brain when Jamala won. At least "Waterloo" and "Heroes" are vague enough that they either talk about love or standing strong. At least the weird songs and downright awful songs fit right in with Eurovision. Yeah, I personally dislike how the Eurovision was handled on their last contest (politically speaking not comedic when you have Mans and Petra's hosting). It just shuts down my brain, okay, when I see a song that clearly has a political message is shown; arguing that the song has to do with her grandmother does not lessen the fact she is still talking about war that Ukraine had greatly impacted with; it's still a war song no matter how much you twist it; at least "Waterloo" is talking about love and "Heroes" are so vague and I heard "Rise Like a Phoenix" is Austria's apology to Poland which I can't tell when the song itself is vague enough to talk either about LGBT or war or you as a person; "1944" is about war with a clear political message and that's what pissed me off and I utterly refuse to watch the next opening of Eurovision with the winner song because that's how much Eurovision pissed me off with the 2016 contest, skipping to the damn beginning of the contest. I just wanted to scream at each and every person who thinks it is a good idea to send it in when the point is to promote peace, not to get more divided.
I really want all the politics gone from this stupid competition. Making sure lyrics and music indicating politics is not enough. Be more strict about it to make sure there are good songs, weird and somehow catchy songs, etc. Get rid of juries that are clearly political based and get music critics. Make the popular televoting the clear winner. Just do something to make sure no winner is politically based when the point of the damn contest was to promote peace, not talking smack about each other through song. Just make a song that proclaims you winners or something like Lithuania. Toris, Liet, Lithuania, dear, you tried but Finland's Lordi stole the show.
While I am not sure if you would win had Tino not send in Lordi, I'm sure you'll win someday in the future. I may always root for Italy but I want a fair result. Look at UK and France who sometimes sent in good results and I am quite surprised by their placement because I thought those deserved better. I thought Sognu to be good and deserved better than the fifteenth place.
UK and France either tries too hard or not try at all. Italy certainly does well such as the above video of "Madness of Love" and "Grande Amore". Sweden does great with "Euphoria" and "Love Love Peace Peace". Austria has that great opening for their hosting; just watching the classical musicians play just makes me laugh because of course, Austria would make sure he have the dignity and grace as host...even though he certainly failed that year with nul points. And poor Germany and Prussia too with their nul points. Good job to Sweden with their sixth win! One more and you would have the same number of wins as Ireland!
...Much as I do not want to hate on Jamala's "1944" in spite of my ranting of how political it is and how the last contest was handled, congratulations to Ukraine. I may not like the song as much and not that great a song when Russia sent in a good song that the people are willing to put aside their hatred of the country. You buxom lady, I hope you handled the contest well and just hopefully not be heavily political. The last thing I want is to go and cry and ruin my perfectly good books.
I am still skipping your opening though because I will rant when Jamala's "1944" comes on. While hugging my Hetalia dolls. While keeping a pile of doujinshi and BL books by my side in case any political songs come on. And club soda on the other side.
Like every other series or thing, there will always be good as well as bad. I just want Eurovision to be free of politics and be what it was intentionally designed to be.
But keep the camp. Eurovision is already campy and I don't think you can get rid of it after many years of humiliating performances and unlikely be completely serious. Camp makes it fun.
That's just my two cents into the Eurovision mess.
