fandom-thoughts389

[fandom-thoughts389]

Digimon Ghost Game Rant

Its been awhile since Ghost Game came and ended, but this has been on my mind so I thought I'd just write it out.

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I think we can all agree that the overarching narrative that unfolded in Ghost Game was pretty lackluster, if not outright sucked. It basically went nowhere till the last 3-4 episodes where they wrapped up everything with a half-assed ending.

It sucks because I think the show had a lot of great moments and episodes throughout it, so for it all to just go nowhere is disheartening.

At least with previous series of the anime they had overarching villains, arcs, and occasionally a shift in the setting/status quo. Ghost Game just didn't have any of that other than the dead-end mystery around GulusGammamon.

I know they wanted to keep the same sort of format for each episode, with an unknown digimon causing havoc that the gang need to investigate and resolve. And I think that format does only work/work best in the human world, but they still could've made focal villain digimon for the gang to take on. Like a string of episodes could've been them dealing with the underlings of a boss and then have a big final confrontation with all of them.

Just something, Anything that'd shift things up or mark a new segment of the show.

Other little pet-peeves I have with the show is that throughout the show the concern for keeping digimon a secret is steadily forgotten about. Like Hiro is so vigilant on not letting anyone touch Gammamon in the beginning so no one realizes he's not actually a hologram, but by the final stretch of the show the gang are just nonchalant about their digimon being out in public and just casually use the excuse of them being 'really advanced holograms' and everyone's okay with it. Like I figured they would've kept that up till the digimon problems were more public/blatant.

Another little issue is sometimes the show just rug-sweeps some digimon's actions and reforms/pacifies them too quickly. Like some of them could've done some pretty serious/heinous things and they're instantly forgiven. Like Frozomon trying to freeze the gang to death. Clockmon was probably the best example of a bad digimon reformed with Hiro and Gammamon showing him mercy, though I think he probably done a little more atonement.

As for the gang's new evolution moments,

I think all of Gammamon's main ones were pretty fine/okay. Given that he's the main protagonist's partner I'd say he didn't need anything too profound beyond emphasizing the strength of their bond. I also like that they gave him an episode for him to figure out how to draw out which champion form he wants to evolve into. As for Gulus though, obviously they didn't do anything with him. Like many others I thought that something about Gulus would have to be overcome/resolved in order to reach a higher stage. They even had BetelGammamon seemingly fighting off his influence before he evolved into Canoweissmon for the first time, but nothing ever came of it. Aaand obviously it was a let-down that the show never used Arcturusmon and Proximamon.

I'd say Jellymon's evolutions were all pretty great. For TeslaJellymon, it was Kiyoshiro finally standing up to really join the fight for the first time. For Thetismon, it was Kiyoshiro facing a battle/problem alone without Hiro or Ruli leading the situation. Amphimon's moment, I'm a little ambivalent about. They have a great recollection of their history together but their realization that they like people/humans feels a little odd. It still falls into the general idea of bravery/them making a stand to fight though. Maybe its just the wording of the moment, cause otherwise it does fit for both of them.

(Also, before seeing Amphimon on screen I though she'd be much larger than the other two megas cause all three together feel like a parallel to the tamer's trio: Draconic knight/warrior, Human with animal motif and masked upper face, and Robot/cyborg/mechanical)

Angoramon's were all kind of off for me. Like none of them hit very hard compared to others. For SymbareAngoramon it was Ruli taking the risk of revealing Digimon to her friends to get them out of danger, but like I mentioned earlier that 'secret' just eventually gets forgotten about. Personally, I think the episode with Reppamon should've been Symbare's debut. It has Ruli and Angoramon strengthening their bond by learning to trust each other more. Lamortmon's is pretty okay, with Ruli declaring that they'll never back down or give up, but it kind of feels off/one-sided when Symbare just got his ass knocked through several trees. Again I think there's a better episode for this debut, or at the very least the setup. The cursed sword/Musyamon episode has Angoramon fighting off losing control/going berserk, so I think that could've been a nice parallel to Lamortmon's more savage behavior and Angoramon keeping control of himself for Ruli. As for Diarbbitmon, I think his moment was pretty good with the two of them reflecting on all the things the enjoy about the world and their desire to keep exploring and protect it.

(Also Espimon and Hiro's Dad are completely pointless, though I guess that works for the show they're in. Aaand the reasoning of evolution limiters were stupid too.)

(Also Also, why don't the have partner digimon devolve into their in-training/Baby II forms anymore? The original adventure canon did it pretty well, otherwise we don't get to see those forms.)

GulusGammamon,

His episodes are a mixed bag. His debut is great, a traumatized dark evolution over the death of friend and its that same memory that stops Gulus dead in his tracks. From there the Arukenimon episode revealed that his personality is always lurking under the surface, or at the very least capable of emerging when Gammamon is unconscious. In the Oboromon episode Gulus emerges when Gammamon is pissed-off about Hiro being taken and Gulus essentially fights on his behalf, even noting that Hiro took a step towards him. The ShogunGekomon episode and ending basically showed that Gulus' main goal was for Hiro to sync with him to gain greater power.

My take,

I think, in all honesty, that Gammamon should've been a big-bad villain digimon in a previous life. (or at the very least a henchman to one)

I mainly think that cause there's a handful of episodes that emphasize digimon death/rebirth, one of which is GulusGammamon's debut. The even had an episode about trying to circumvent the rebirth/loss of memories in the Shadramon episode.

So the Gulus personality within Gammamon could've been a remnant from a past life. Hiro's dad could've been the one to have defeated him in the digital world and sent him to Hiro for safe-keeping and give him a better life.

That could've lead to an overarching narrative of Gulus' past allies/underlings coming to the human world to try and restore him in some way. Maybe it even works somehow and Gulus is separated from Gammamon, leading to the opportunity for their Proximamon fusion?

Overall, The show was pretty good, it was just lacking anything meaningful for a narrative.

[fandom-thoughts389]

Miraculous Ladybug Critiques (Rant)

I followed along with the show pretty much since its debut, but I fell off on caring for it somewhere in the middle of the fourth season. I still kept tabs on it though cause by that point it was like a dumpster fire and I had to know what dumb decision they made next.

I will acknowledge though that looking back I now realize the show and its creators never had any intentions of making something compelling or with any depth to it. It was just show to be made and they'd continue it for however long they could.

So, I felt like listing out the various problems I have with the show and what I personally thought would've created a better narrative/story.

1. Powers

I can really appreciate the lore and origins of the miraculous/kwamis being concepts of the universe, but beyond that there's too much going on. Having way more miraculous exist beyond the 19 the show originated loads the show with too much going on.

-The Zodiac

Heck, the 12 zodiac miraculous overcomplicates the number of powers the show has to juggle. Not to mention that the concepts and powers some of them weald are either too broken or too redundant. The rabbit can just freely time travel with seemingly no limitations. Plus time travel just always complicates things in any media. Meanwhile, the dog just allows you to retrieve an object back to your person. There's no balance here.

There should've been a hierarchy to their powers, or at the very least the zodiac could've individually been weaker in some sense. Maybe there could've been combinations that form greater powers. The snake allows you to rewind a short window of time into the past, but another miraculous could've been about prediction or seeing the future, so when used together they could've allowed for some level of controlled time travel. Like how creation and destruction come together to form reality the zodiac could've been other concepts broken into pairs (or heck maybe even trios?).

-Power-ups

These were completely redundant. They alluded to 7 power but have only ever used 3 of them (2 of which are very situational with water and ice). The zodiac could've been better used in place of there since they were more about adding additional transformation sequences, that's really all they were.

-Other Heroes

The New York special feels so stupid introducing a justice league knock-off roster of superheroes. They make no sense existing cause why the hell wouldn't the come help Paris when they're literally dealing with a domestic terrorist with superpowers daily. By that point I knew the creators didn't care what they added to the world they made.

-The main 7

I just think these guys needed some balancing to fit alongside each other.

The ladybug and cat do well for their main powers of creation and destruction, but the extra powers of the ladybug needed to be mirrored by the cat. To restore/fix any damages should've been a combined power of the two used in unison. As for dealing with the akumas maybe only the wielder of the cat can break/destroy whatever they're in.

As for the other 5 I feel like they all should've functioned the same. Like all of them imbue their power into something then bind it to an object and manipulate it from there. The fox would have a focal point for its illusion. The bee's stinger could be what's implanted and I think they should have control over the person's actions. As for the Turtle, idk? a protective charm of sorts?

The butterfly and peacock a little much though. The butterfly can just bestow ANY sort of power, I fell like it should be limited in someway. And the peacock can apparently just straight up create fully functional, living beings/humans as well as monsters? Probably should just stick to actual monsters.

I'll also say that I think they were suppose to the 'five Chinese elements' (Wuxing)? Given their number and arrangement(?) in the original box. So maybe there could've been a flow/balance amongst each other where they can either boost or counteract the others.

2. Love Square

Marinette and Adrian's relationship just became another trait to drag on and perpetually extend the show's life. They did everything to keep them from starting a relationship and when they finally shoved them together (halfway through the 5th season?) they didn't do anything meaningful with them afterward.

I think the initial set up of who they love is good. Marinette only loves Adrian, while Chatnoir loves Ladybug. Creating a cycle of them pining for each other. However, that cycle should've been broken at some point way earlier to progress their dynamic.

I honestly think they should've had Marinette and Chatnoir start a relationship. Its an inverse of their crushed and to me they feel/act most like their real selves. Marinette isn't under the responsibility of being Ladybug and she's not falling over herself and stuttering like when she's around Adrian. Meanwhile, Adrian is expressive and outgoing as Chatnoir and uses that time as an escape from his restrictive life.

I could see this relationship starting after they confess to their respective crushes, but of course get rejected. Afterwards though they fine solace in the one they rejected and decide to give that person a chance, maybe thinking along the lines of: "Hey, this person liked my other identity, why don't I give them a chance".

I also think that the dynamic of Ladybug and Adrian should've been used as a 'Superman&Lois Lane' or 'Spiderman&Mary Jane' sort of situation. Ladybug saves him every now and then and the media blows it out of proportions. It’d be cute and funny and a nice nod to comics/heroes before them.

As for Kagami and Luka, I could see them dating the protagonists for a bit of time. An alternate choice to get their minds off their crushes that don’t work out and breakup later. Just not LITERALLY THE NEXT COUPLE OF EPISODES AFTER STARTING TO “DATE”. Geez.

3. Characters

I really don't care for how this show handled most of its characters, especially Chloe and Gabriel. I'll also say it's annoying that they inflated the roster of heroes/important characters with the rest of the class with the zodiac miraculous.

Marinette

My main problem with her is that the show is solely fixated on her. They never really divide the attention with Adrian's side of things, so the narrative weight of everything is always dependent on Marinette. She's always the crux of every situation with the Ladybug's powers being so inflated on their role/importance.

Also, I think everyone can agree with me on this one: They needed to turn down the creepy, obsessive stalker behavior of her towards Adrian. I could understand learning the times of some of his afterschool activities to watch/fawn over him, but how the hell does she know his entire monthly schedule?! It's all way too much.

Adrian

Like I said, they hardly ever do anything narratively with him. Heck, they give him no role in the main finally of everything! More episodes should've been centered on and followed him to give some balance between him and Marinette.

Also, I think it might've been a better idea to keep him as his original concept of Felix. Or at the very least lean towards it with a bit of a reclusive and abrasive personality. I think it could've involved him a lot more in the story if he was the cause of more akumatizations. It could've lead to a lot more character growth with him bettering himself after each experience. It also could've aligned him more with Chloe as friends and let them develop together.

Chloe

I still don't understand why they had her better herself so much just to turn around and regress her back to her stubborn self in an instant. I understand the idea of a "failed redemption arc", but somehow they failed at doing that. There just wasn't any proper build-up to it.

Honestly, I would've had Chloe be used vigilante/anti-hero if they didn't have her out herself immediately in the show. She's doesn't want to give up the bee miraculous, but she wants to prove herself as a hero.

She could've been a novice that inserted herself into every situation and got in the heroes' way or complicated things, but eventually got better at heroics. She could've learned that not every situation calls for her immediately and she could stay on the sidelines watching over the heroes in case they needed a save/backup.

All that development could build up to her making the tough call of her losing her miraculous to Hawkmoth in order to save Ladybug and Chatnoir. Then with the Bee miraculous in Hawkmoth's possession, fights with future villains could be harder if their perfectly under his control with the bee's venom ability.

Gabriel

Dear God this man should've been written as a father first and foremost. He's too much of a 'Saturday morning cartoon villain' when there should be a lot more depth into the weight of his actions.

The man wants to revive his wife and restore their family but he throws his son under the bus any chance he gets to use/manipulate him. In the end though they want him to be seen a sympathetic but flawed villain? They actively ruined and perception of sympathy.

I would have loved for him to actually be a sympathetic villain given his motivations and him being one of the heroes' parents, but they actively had him choose the most malicious and batshit ideas. They could've made him immediately concerned for Adrian's safety if he saw he was around one of his villains, ordering them to stay clear of him.

Him succeeding in the end isn't even that bad of an idea too. Maybe he should've been unaware/ignorant of the wish's price though. Like he brings back Emilie but at the cost of Marinette or Adrian's life. Ultimately encouraging him to reverse his wish, let go and move on. Also, there was no need to make it look like the world was ending when a wish is made. Felt a little over dramatic.

Also the tech rings were way too random for the narrative in my opinion for a fashion designer to have made?

4. Fashion

What ever happened to the show's fashion emphasis? Wasn't their school an arts school? or am I just misremembering that?

Anyways, there should've been more (and a better use) of fashion in this series. Like come on, the main villain is a renown designer, and the main leads are an aspiring designer and model.

The villains Gabriel created should've looked like they were designed by him. I can understand/appreciate the occasional abstract one but most of them just looked ridiculous (utterly ridiculous). Plus the superheroes' outfits are just mostly spandex suits, barely anything unique or involving their animal motifs. Not to mention the combos between a few of them are either bland or clunky.

I also think they could've had their outfits change occasionally, like after every season. If its suppose to be like sentai/magical girl transformations then new outfits over time is the norm.

Rant. Done.