#BUT EVEN IN THAT CONTEXT THIS SHOW IS LIKE REALLY GOOD. ITS STILL ENJOYABLE AND THE CHARACTERS ARENT TWO DIMENSIONAL

[whywoulditho]

guys. GUYS. watch carmen sandiego. like Right Now.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Okay I just need to say that I knew I'd like this Tailstube as soon as I saw the thumbnail (after all, I am a Sonadails enjoyer, and Tails is literally in the middle of them in the thumbnail)

But I think probably something that stood out the most to me when I watched it was just

The hints that Shadow and Tails have a relationship outside of Sonic??

The first thing that tipped me off to this was that not only did Tails convince Shadow to join in on his show, he also convinced him to stick around to its natural end?? You know, Shadow. The guy you can't force to do anything and frequently will just dip if he's bored or doesn't want to be there. But even while Sonic was annoying him and he made it clear he wanted the "interview" over with, he still never made a move to chaos control out of there because of any of this.

And the second thing that tipped me off was this:

When Shadow is both confused and annoyed at Sonic, he chooses to complain to Tails about Sonic. And so Tails steps in to try to "explain" what Sonic meant by what he said (i.e he told Shadow something much nicer in the interest of getting them to be on better terms). The fact that he looks to Tails to complain to about Tails' own best friend and possibly even to explain that which he does not understand in a social context tells me just how highly he regards Tails. And since both Shadow and Sonic are being childish here, it's amusing to see Tails regarded as something closer to a trusted figure with more power here.

From an objective analysis standpoint, of course this means they have their own friendship. And this is a prospect I enjoy (The idea that Tails and Shadow are good friends)! It actually means a lot to me that Tails could form a frienship or bond with Shadow outside of the context of Sonic (in terms of who initiates it and for what reason it's initiated).

But, my friends, from a biased standpoint, I'm shipping trash. And to me this Tailstube was a fun show for Sonadails fans. Honestly, Tails staging this episode to get Sonic and Shadow to talk and "bury the hatchet", as well as how he acts during the show, read a lot to me personally like a guy trying to get his two boyfriends (who happen to be rivals) to get on better terms, if not just tolerate each other. I quite like the idea of Tails dating both of these idiots and just trying to get them to play nice when they're all together (although frankly I think the ideal scenario for Tails in my biased reading is that Sonic and Shadow get together as well).

This is also not to mention the dynamics showcased here! Sonic and Tails as best friends, with Sonic assuming that he and Tails were gonna talk shit about Shadow behind his back, and Tails trying to get him to play nicer. Shadow and Tails as friends, with Tails trying to convince him why he and Sonic are in the perfect position to become friends and helping him out socially, and with Shadow choosing to do something he doesn't want to because of Tails, as well as looking to Tails to complain to when Sonic is annoying him or when he doesn't understand something. And then there's Sonic and Shadow. In short, their relationship in this episode reminded me a lot of the dynamic I plotted out for that Sonadow post I wrote up where the two just beat the crap out of each other. In slightly longer terms, I find interesting how Mr. Flynn maintained Sonic and Shadow's dynamic during SA2 (with Sonic bothering Shadow and trying to fight him, while Shadow is just annoyed that Sonic won't leave him alone) while also showing the audience that they are rivals. And in longer terms...Sonic was clearly seeking a fight during this episode. And the facial expression, the mocking, his tone of voice, it doesn’t really matter whether or not he actually dislikes Shadow and believes they could never be friends. He's trying to annoy Shadow and goad him into a fight because he wants to fight Shadow so badly it makes him look stupid. And we can tell by how he expresses his confusion to Tails that Shadow is just not getting this. To him Sonic is just being annoying and confusing. Sonic is targeting him specifically, and Shadow shoots back with his own words. And so it's also pointed that Shadow reciprocates/actually decides to fight Sonic when Sonic specifically challenges him. He doesn't respond to Sonic trying to goad him on, but when Sonic challenges him specifically he's much more interested in opposing him.

Anyways guys I love Shadow and Tails having a soft on the side relationship while Sonic flirts by convincing Shadow to fight him somehow😂💖

[itsmaferart]

About Yuri:

Funny thing is that most of us fans are expecting this arc to be the 'Yuri's redemption' arc…. And so…. was something like this…. or so. —I end up as a cry baby after being shot for saving the chihuahua girl- Honestly It's hard to expect that this arc was going to represent such an abrupt change. In SxF the characters suffer from a slow and steady process, at least the Forger's are like that…. So, Yuri will take a while to show the best (or worst) of himself.

One interesting thing about Yuri's character, —at least to me- is that you don't necessarily have to like him, in fact, it can be enjoyable to watch him squirm in frustration and pain when he fails (sabotaging Twiyor) because most of the time he's a huge jerk.

I think Yuri's purpose is to explore how negative country influences can brainwash vulnerable young people even if their intentions are genuinely noble. In the end they fill their brains with a bunch of propagandist garbage in exchange for them working for the government and helping them stay in power. That is, a person's genuine feelings about protecting a family can be severely influenced by the social and political context.

Seen that way, Yuri IS a victim of the war, and he is a rather weak prey, who instead of being seen as someone directly hurt by the government, works for them and is congratulated for his labor…. So, Yuri is not portrayed as a tragic being, with whom you feel sorry despite his bad actions (Like Billy with Red Circus), but on the contrary, you want to give him a good kicking.

However, despite all the negative things Endo exposes about Yuri (which is too much) he shows that he still has a good side to rescue: the love he feels for Yor (as twisted as it is) is a genuine love and superior to any order of the SSS. Because Yuri doesn't care about his government he cares about his sister, his only family.

The biggest problem… perhaps… is that the way Yuri sees his relationships outside of Yor, is very much influenced by the Ostanian mentality of gaining power, to supposedly protect his country (his sister)… when all he is really protecting is the stay of one group of people in control of a country

Endo always punishes Yuri for his bad actions, always looking for us to see him with a weirdo that causes heartburn because he....is very broken. But he also takes care to show us that underneath that mountain of awkward weirdness there is a good person…. even if he doesn't show it very often and so far it's only towards Yor

Yuri's head is full of garbage… governmental garbage and very wrong ideas about protecting

If we recall, a major basis for Yuri is his childhood, as he claims to "hate himself for feeling useless", for being a burden to Yor —Because, Yor doesn't work for her, he works for him— That's why he became obsessed with being an outstanding student and holding a position to repay all the work she did for him.

So Yuri's goal was to become someone important who has a lot of power to obtain the supposed power to protect his sister, (or so he wants to believe). But in Ostania the only way to be powerful is through economic and political means. Yuri and Yor were poor and orphans, therefore, being a military policeman gives him enough political and social power (from the shadows).

The lie is that the power of the SSS is not to protect its sister, not to protect its inhabitants, not even to protect a group of children imprisoned by terrorists. The SSS only protects the political leaders and their stay in power at the expense of the innocent.

Ostania's policy is repressive, violent and cruel -Violence is power, violence controls, intimidates and eliminates whoever crosses your path.. Creating the idea of the evil world outside and inside its borders, everyone is trash and that if something bad happens to them it is because they surely deserve it. The government is supposed to be the good guy, because it protects, but it only protects itself.

His intentions are genuine but his methods are going in entirely the wrong direction. Yuri wants to do what is 'necessary' to create a safer world for his sister but the power he has and is wielding does not create a more peaceful world, but a more violent, hostile and resentful one.

But he has not yet understood the difference

.

The most interesting thing in Yuri's possible evolution is to find the difference between what he actually protects and the way he does it. He can't make the world safer for his sister if he can't even make the world safer for a child...And the SSS way is definitely not!!

So Yuri is a huge idiot Yes! …. but he still has the capacity to change for the better (or worse). Knowing that he felt a shred of empathy for the slanderer because he showed he cared about his family, and especially... He genuinely went to help save Anya (for Yor), his will for his niece is very weak, but at least I think it's a little seed change for the non-favorite uncle

[lurkingshan]

Kinou nani tabeta/What Did You Eat Yesterday?

You should know that I attempted to start this write up about half a dozen times before I managed to get a single word down. Every time I tried I just ended up staring at the wall. I don’t think I’ve been this emotionally stunned by a show since I Told Sunset About You, and I don’t say that lightly!

So, is this a good show? My god, YES. What an understatement. Let me tell you, as my MDL can attest, I’ve watched nearly 300 dramas. I’m sure I’ve watched even more Western shows since I had a 30 year head start on those. And I can say confidently that I’ve never seen anything quite like this gem.

Kinou nani tabeta, or What Did You Eat Yesterday?, is a drama about two middle aged gay men living their everyday lives, making and sharing food, reckoning with their identities and expectations, and figuring out how to be together in a long term relationship. That’s it, that’s the show. If that sounds boring to you, I gotta tell you: YOU ARE WRONG.

We meet Shiro and Kenji when they’re in their mid 40s and already a couple years into living together. Over the course of the show, we learn more about their relationship - how they got together, how they differ, where they struggle, where they shine, what they are still figuring out - and we see them work through it all, together. We see them at work, with friends, with their families, out in public, and in the privacy of their own home - we get a full and complete picture of their lives. And we are invited in to experience it with them and get up close and personal with their relationship in a way that feels both cozy and thrilling.

Now, I am not going to go into detail about everything that happens in this show, or attempt to provide deep analysis about its story, its characters, or the various cultures it depicts. This show was released in 2019, the manga began its run many years before that, and there are folks on this website - like @isaksbestpillow and @bengiyo - who have been at this a hell of a long time and thus have a broader context and lived experience from which to critically examine the show and its messages as they relate to Japanese familial values, life as a queer man from an older generation, and building community while living in a culture that is actively hostile to who you are. I implore you to go read their thoughts and learn from their wisdom. But what I will do is mention a couple (3… no 4, okay 5!) things that really made it stand out to me, a lifelong romance reader, avid media consumer, and drama enjoyer (I’m going to keep plot stuff vague because I hope if you’re reading this, you will be watching very soon!):

Let me repeat: this is a drama about a middle aged couple in a long term relationship, and the ongoing growth and deepening of their relationship is the main plot. Do I have to tell you how unique that is? The romance genre is rarely interested in what happens after the couple gets together, and even in other dramas featuring a couple in a LTR, the plot is usually about something else with the relationship in the background. And I’m fairly sure this is the only show of this nature in the entire bl genre (@absolutebl please fact check me if I’m wrong). In this show, the relationship is the point. It’s a rare look at what it actually takes to learn to deal with your baggage and share your life with someone, and I found it deeply moving.

My god these actors. With all due respect to the many fine actors in the bl industry, these two are on another level. We just never get to see seasoned actors of this caliber headlining ql dramas. If I have one tiny critique of this show, it’s that I found the moments when they let us listen in on the characters’ internal monologues mostly unnecessary - every emotional beat played out in their faces and body language. There’s this one scene I can’t stop thinking about, where the main pair are fighting, and one of them says something he doesn’t mean, and you see the regret on his face instantly, followed by a quick aborted movement as if to take it back, but his partner has already turned away and doesn’t see it. Just perfection. And the acting was so good in the finale (@waitmyturtles informed me my absolute fav moment was improvised for fucks sake) that it actually laid me out for like an hour, I was just sitting there in a crying daze.

The writing is so fucking smart. What’s absolutely brilliant about this show is that it’s structured like an episodic slice of life drama, but there is a deeper long term emotional arc at play and the writers forget nothing. Just like in life, in each episode something will happen, it won’t really get fully resolved, and the characters will move on. But on this show, it always comes back around, usually when your guard is down and they can inflict maximum damage by sucker punching you right in the solar plexus. I can hardly believe how many times this show managed to sneak attack me with emotional realness (official Shan cry count: 8/12 episodes caused me to burst into tears, sometimes more than once).

This show will take you through every possible destination on the spectrum of human emotion. I was so emotional while watching this show, in every sense. Crying both happy and sad tears. Swinging wildly between giddy delight, deep sadness, low key anger, and belly laughing. Sometimes the switch happens literally one scene to the next! And yet, there is an evenness to the tone and assuredness to the filmmaking that makes it all feel smooth. You never feel jerked around by the narrative. This is a credit to the writing, acting, and editing all coming together with perfect precision. The people who made this show are masters of their crafts.

OBVIOUSLY I MUST MENTION THE FOOD. Every episode of this show features at least one instance of a character making Japanese food that looks like the best thing you’ve never gotten the chance to eat. I do not recommended watching this without feeding yourself first, because it will have you salivating. And they don’t just show you the characters making the food (even narrating the recipes for you!), they always show you the characters actually eating and enjoying it. Some real foodies were involved in this production and as someone who loves to eat and absolutely was raised to view feeding people as a love language, I loved it.

So now that you are obviously dying to watch it, you must be wondering: where can I find this show? Let me point you to this post on @kinounaniresource, where the amazing Siiri has compiled all the video files and English subs you need. If you’re not familiar with how to use these, you’ll find instructions on her blog (if you get confused come ask me, please don’t bug her about it). I know sometimes shows being a little hard to access is a big deterrent to watching them, but please trust me that this is absolutely worth your time and effort, you will not regret it.

[the-tmnt-ficfinder]

Ficfinder finds: Still...Beating...

Rottmnt Oneshot Summary: It's time to let go, now. The smell is overwhelming.

Still...Beating... : Appraisal and Ratings

(Don't know what fanfic "Appraisal and Ratings" means? Check out my explanation on my Main Masterpost! Looking for a different fanfic to read? Head on over to my Fanfic List Masterpost!)

Disclaimer: This fanfic is a oneshot, and is completed. This fanfic is written by @devotedtosadpoetry who writes compelling and dark fanfics! Go ahead, go show them some love and support!!

The fanfic ratings are not based on quality, favoritism, or how good I think it is, but rather, how intense a subject may be. Like a movie review, or the tags on Ao3, letting the readers know what to expect.

Plot: 💛💛💛💛💛

"Plot is five out of five!! This fic has minimal amounts of plot, due to the fact its a oneshot, though what plot there is, is incredibly intense and disturbing."

Suspense/Mystery: 💛💛🖤🖤🖤

"Suspense/Mystery two out of five!! The suspense and mystery in this oneshot are just prominent enough to make you wanna read further, curious as to what's going on, and what had happened.

Angst/Hurt: 💛💛💛💛💛

"Angst/Hurt is five out of five!! This oneshot is filled to the absolute brim with angst and hurt!! Everything is wrong, and nothing is right."

Fluff/Comfort: 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

"Fluff/Comfort is zero out of five!! There is completely no fluff nor comfort to find in this fic. This fic is clearly written to have the opposite effect."

Emotions Conveyed: 💛💛💛💛💛

"Emotions Conveyed is five out of five!! This oneshot messed with my head good!! Its filled with such a sense of disturbance, and dread, oh man it made me uncomfortable (but in a good way ^^)"

Drama/Tension Level: 💛💛💛💛🖤

"Drama/Tension Level is four out of five!! I'd say this oneshot definitely had a lot of tension in it. Tension between Leo and the rest of the brothers. For sure, things were tense and upsetting."

Triggers: 💛💛💛💛💛

"Triggers for this chapter are five out of five!! This oneshot is incredibly dark, and very disturbing. For context, in the beginning notes it says "The heart of an alligator snapping turtle can keep beating for up to five days after decapitation." So, with that in mind, please read through the tags, and know that this is a very dark fic."

Legibility (Reading): 💛💛💛🖤🖤

"Legibility (Reading) is three out of five!! Still... Beating... was really enjoyable to read, as the writing style was smooth, and read very well indeed."

Legibility (Audio): 💛💛💛💛🖤

"Legibility (Audio) gets a four out of five!! I'd say this fanfic was even more enjoyable to listen to, as it contributed to the stress and suspense factor."

Length: 💛🖤🖤🖤🖤

"Length is one out of five!! The listening length for this fic is about 4-5 minutes long."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Personal thoughts on chapter below cut (Contains Spoilers)

Mikey never stopped making food in an attempt to combat what leaked under the door crack, and once it was made, it sat out until it vanished from the table. One would think a magician performed a trick on the food (as long as they didn’t check the trashcan). It didn’t take long for the box turtle to give up making anything. Everyone stayed out of the kitchen. Donnie didn’t work on his tech, only scrolling on his phone to make his eyes sting from the screen instead of emotions. Video after video. Article after article. Information he would store in the back of his mind for later, because right now, it didn’t matter. None of it mattered. 

Oh gosh, this is just so dark and depressing. How the brothers are struggling, how they're desperately attempting to live a somewhat normal life. Mikey's baking because it makes him feel happy, but throws away each meal, because who's going to eat it? Nobody has an appetite anymore. Donnie's burying himself in his tech, using it as a form of escapism, to escape his life because its all gone down hill.

It was getting worse. Donnie covered his nose, wincing when he caught an awful whiff of what lay just behind the door. He heard mumbles from it��coming from a voice that hasn’t stopped talking in the last seventy-four hours. It was hoarse and weak now. Barely heard now. Barely forming syllables now. Donnie didn’t think about the things being said. It was only lies. Lies said to the evidence right there. 

Three days, and two hours. That's a long time to be awake. I don't know if Leo had been awake that whole time, but after 72 hours of no sleep, the brain looses the ability to think straight, and hallucinations begin to become frequent and complex. Not just little hallucinations, but big complex ones.

The distractions used never lasted due to the screaming. It came with a rhythm. When the heart started beating again. 

Part of the reason for this, is due to the fact that snapping turtles have slower metabolisms. The body can continue to function for extended periods of time, even when brain activity is disconnected.

Mikey was suddenly there, pushing Donnie back and shaking his head. He’d been crying again. Red rimmed eyes, puffy with the weight of one less brother. “Don’t…” he whispered. Although he was quieter, his desperation was the same as Leo’s. “Please, just…” The smallest and youngest brother hiccuped, “Leave them be. Leave them be…” More tears leaked out, Mikey wiped them. “You shouldn’t see…” 

Oh man... The amount of raw emotion packed into this paragraph is completely insane! The hurt, the desperation, the grief, the fear and terror. Its all so potent.

The scream was more desperate than the last. Mikey shook his head again, and Donnie pushed him away, taking a breath before opening the door to Raph’s room. The smell came in a wave. Decomposition and blood and sweat combined to remind Donnie of feces, powerful enough to make him gag. And Leo sat right against the thing, cradling the bloated body, holding it close. Fresh tears streamed down his face like he hadn’t done this several times already. The proof of that were the stains on his cheeks and his puffy red and bruised eyes. He was smiling like he’d discovered a wondrous thing, but saliva dripped from his mouth from his screaming. His voice sounded like it was rotting. Just like Raph’s body. “Donnie, where did you go? Why did you leave when Raph’s alive? He—he’s back!” Leo laughed, clutching the body tighter. “Raph’s alive! He’s breathing, Donnie! His heart is beating, Donnie! Come feel his heart, Donnie!” He placed his hand on the body’s chest. “Feel his heart, Donnie. It’s beating, Donnie…”

24-72 hours after death, the internal organs decompose. 3-5 days after death, the body starts to bloat and blood-containing foam leaks from the mouth and nose. 8-10 days after death, the body turns from green to red as the blood decomposes and the organs in the abdomen accumulate gas. I'd imagine that Raph's body is probably leaking and getting squishy. Like a rotting pumpkin. Its still somewhat solid due to not being that far along, and also, having a heart that still works, but its still clearly decomposing. Leo could actually get horribly sick like this, spending so much time with a decomposing body.

[panda-puma]

I'm a little baffled by your post about the one piece anime, because while I would also recommend people read the manga instead, it still is a vastly more accurate adaption than the opla? like, opla is lovely for what it is, but oda being involved in it doesn't change the fact that they took huuuge liberties that the anime just... doesn't? which is perfectly fine for an adaption, I'm just mentioning it because it sounded like you were focused on the character dynamics, which are just... vastly, vastly different in the manga AND anime vs the live action. I'm thinking about Nami and Sanji in particular (and Usopp as well to a degree), who all kind of feel like watered-down versions of their actual selves (Nami isn't greedy enough, Usopp not cowardly enough, Sanji... well, I'm not saying Sanji being different is a bad thing asdf). Again, perfectly fine for an adaption that doesn't mean to adapt its source material beat for beat, but it just leaves me really confused over how the opla is possibly a more faithful/a better adaption than the anime? Which, as far as I can recall, has severe pacing issues, annoying fillers and leaves out things like the cover stories, but still sticks waaaay closer to the actual story and dynamics as they are in the manga.

(First of all: you can like the Anime. As I said before, I've watched the entire Anime 3 times this last year. But you can enjoy something and still know it's flawed. Very flawed, even.)

Uf, I will try to make this as short as possible xD If i sound dry or "angy", sorry, English is not my first language ^^

What baffles me is that most people really think the Anime of One Piece is a faithful 1 to 1 adaptation, or that everything on it is canon (except the fillers), or that Oda approves the changes they make. For context: it was very common in the 90s/2000s to just take a manga that was doing good and make an animation that took the characters and story and did whatever they wanted with it. One Piece is not the only victim of this treatment.

I respect the animators and Seiyuus, they do their jobs good and are what makes the Anime enjoyable. But I really can not understand the Directors and the changes they decided to make to the characters (and this applies to the whole series, not only 20 years ago).

The changes you see in OPLA are necessary to translate a drawing (Manga) to a series acted by real people. Also, condensing 95 chapters of Manga in 8 episodes and trying to bring the essence of the characters to the screen, translating Japanese funny gags to an International Audience and also having the input of 25 years of Oda thinking "huh, maybe this could have been explained better" it's obviously going to make things change.

The Anime has none of those excuses. It's also a drawing so no need to tone down, supposed to have the same Audience (even tho they really tried to make it for little kids and it shows), they clearly don't have an issue with the length of the series and they don't ask Oda for nearly any of the changes they make!

Pretending Oda being involved or not doesn't matter is just so weird to me. You know all One Piece characters are Oda's OCs, right? He is the original creator of the characters. He knows them better than anyone else. He knows where the story is going, what is acceptable, what is on character and what is not. Just because they are very famous characters it doesn't mean they are not someones Original Characters. He loves them and cares for them. Not respecting him as the only one that can say something is canon or not is completely disrespectful and dehumanizing.

About watering down characters in OPLA: again, they are real people acting the characters. In the Manga they are exaggerated to a comical effect that wouldn't translate as comical if it's real people who do it, it'd just be weird. That's because it's different mediums and different audience. But the core of the characters is very present, just less cartoony. On the other hand, the Anime reduces the characters to just this comical effect, taking away nearly everything else of the characters, making them just gags.

Answering to the specific points you make about OPLA:

Nami not being greedy enough: Nami's greed before Arlong Park Arc is just her trying to save enough to free her people. We don't really see her greed until after she is free. We haven't reached this point yet in OPLA, apart of her wanting to dress nice and enjoy a bath.

Usopp not being cowardly enough: they can not spend 5 minutes of an 50 minute episode showing him screaming around or running away. But they did show him running as first reaction in Kaya's Mansion, twice. They showed him wanting to go back home after encountering Garp. He does say cowardly things all the time, like wanting to leave, stay on the Merry, not fight the Fish Men, running away the second Chu payed attention to him… It's just less cartoony. They are also not showing inner dialogue of the characters, it's just shown by their acting.

Sanji not being a pervert: Not only is Sanji's perversion waaaay exaggerated in the Anime, to an unpalatable degree, it's also a very Japanese Funny Gag that wouldn't translate good to an International Audience. Sanji in the Manga has, on top of everything else, a friendly relationship with Nami. He can talk to her like a human being. They are friends that can agree or disagree without drama, that join forces to fix things very often and act very calm around each other unless something "special" happens and Sanji is lovestruck, but even so, he usually comes back to being normal pretty fast. Of course he likes her and he is attracted to her, but he also sees her as a person... unlike the Anime. This translated to into the Live Action to a man that tries to flirt and has no success, but that can take a no as an answer without being offended. Also, Oda probably wanted to show on the Live Action that the real reason Sanji is on the crew is no other than him following Luffy (that is also a thing that the Anime waters down: Sanji's dedication to Luffy)

The main point is: yes, OPLA is an Alternative Universe where things are shown a bit differently, but the core of the characters is the same. You see them and you see real people, just like in the Manga.

And let's see about the faithfulness of the Anime... just because the Arcs are called the same and things kind of happen the same, it doesn't mean it's a faithful adaptation. The most important thing in a story is the characters and how they interact and react to the world. These are just some differences between the Anime and the Manga that I can think of off the top of my head, just from the East Blue Saga. (without any particular order)

-- Zoro's real backstory (Manga) is that he had been in the Shimotsuki Dojo probably since birth, practicing his 2 Sword Style and only starting the 3 Sword Style to carry Kuina's Soul with him. [((spoilers from Wano: now we know Zoro is also a Shimotsuki, so he was training in his family's Dojo. It also explains why Koushirou gave Kuina's sword to Zoro so easily: they are family, and Zoro would carry the Shimotsuki name to the top of Swordmanship))].

Zoro's backstory in the Anime is completely changed to make it look like he is a random funny kid that came out of nowhere and one day appeared in the Dojo. His signature 3 sword style is also made like he just "wanted to use as many swords as possible".

I don't think it's very necessary to explain why this changes are just... terrible for the character and continuity.

[Edit: the following is not correct! Check the reblog for the correction :D] The Anime also makes Zoro's departure from Shimotsuki Village like something he planned to do, saying goodbye to Kuina's Grave and Koushiro… when in the Manga he literally tells Luffy he was kicking pirates out of his village and he got lost and didn't know how to get back. [/end of incorrect part]

Changing Zoro's character at every turn is something they love to do in the Anime.

--

Usopp in the Manga wants Luffy&co. to meet Kaya, because he cares about her well being. He wants her to make new friends, to be able help them and feel useful doing it. Usopp knows what Kaya needs is contact with the world and tries to bring it to her.

Usopp in the Anime is jealous and secretive of her. He doesn't want the others to go meet her, even knowing they are good people. He'd rather have her to himself.

This is a fatal change to the character of Usopp. He is a kind hearted lovely man that wants what's best for his friend... but the Anime just shows a jealous asshole.

--

In the battle against Cabaji, Zoro cuts his own wound, so his opponent can't use it as an advantage anymore.

In the Anime, he lowers his defense on purpose and lets Cabaji cut his wound.

The first one shows how far he can go to prove himself, also shows he is not at all worried because he doesn't consider Cabaji up to his level. I'm not sure what the second one is supposed to show apart from "children can not see self-harm".

--

Also in Orange Town in Manga, Luffy is fighting as much as possible against the cage he is trapped in, biting the bars. And afterwards he is very worried asking Zoro to leave him and not carry him or he will get worse from his wounds. In the Anime he is just surprised that Zoro can carry him like that. He doesn't really fight his predicament.

The Anime usually shows Luffy as an uncaring friend, which is sad when he is a character that cares so much and has so much empathy.

--

In the Manga, Zeff cuts his own leg and eats it to survive after giving all the food they have to Sanji.

In the Anime, Zeff lost his leg because it got caught in the ships broken pieces, and he had to cut it to survive. (i guess he survived 80 days thanks to the Holy Spirit or something) (again with being palatable to children)

--

In the Manga, the first encounter between Tashigi and Zoro is brief, Zoro gives her back the glasses and carries on (even tho tilted by her looking so similar to Kuina).

In the Anime, Zoro breaks Tashigi's glasses with the shock and she proceeds to be the meanest person ever insulting him in many ways (isn't she supposed to be a good person?) and forcing him to work for her to pay her glasses back, even tho she has no need for the money.

The Anime shows Zoro as a pushover, when in reality he is not. He was "pushed over" by Luffy out of the blue because it is Luffy, not because Zoro would let someone random do that to him. This type of "Zoro gets messed up easily by anyone" is very repeated through the Anime, taking away the importance of his relationship with Luffy and the other few he pays really attention to.

--

In the Manga, Sanji wants to be famous and have his face seen in the Newspaper. That's why he gets mad when Usopp is in Luffy's Wanted Poster and he isn't.

In the Anime, he is already a famous cook. We can see it in one of the many filler in Loguetown, where another cook has been wanting to surpass him for a long time.

[((spoiler of Whole Cake Island: This collides directly with how his Wanted Poster makes his bio Family looks for him to use him, after knowing he is still alive.))]

--

Also in Loguetown, in the Manga Luffy goes directly to the place Roger was executed.

In the Anime they make him get lost a hundred times for comical effect. He also meets Smoker, Buggy and others on the way… taking away all the surprise.

--

In the Manga, Zoro and Luffy are pretty confused with Sanji's romantic reaction to Nami. They don't get why she's getting special treatment. Zoro even wonders if she bewitched him somehow.

In the Anime, as soon as Sanji starts flirting with Nami, Zoro gets irritated and Luffy gets uncomfortable.

In the Anime they try hard to make Zoro have a romance with any girl that shows up, adding reactions that are never present in the Manga.

--

And well, a huge one that needs more elaboration, because it is the core of the Manga: Luffy is shown observing and judging situations and people constantly. Every time something is happening that shows the true nature of people, he is specifically shown paying attention.

In the Anime this is translated as him being an empty headed kid that barely thinks or cares about anyone. He is a shell of a man, who only repeats that he wants to be King of the Pirates...

--

This is a very tiny list of examples that explain themselves without going into extensive detail…

I can go on and on about more changes that make no sense or change characters personalities, but if I do, I will dedicate its own blog to it to not clutter this one. I need bigger posts to explain the changes I see in dynamics between the characters xD

And as I said: if all of these changes were approved by Oda, I would be happy to accept them. But sadly they are not.

So to me, the One Piece Anime is just a fan-made adaptation that takes too many liberties. Or, as Animes are really considered in Japan: just advertisement for the Mangas.

On the other hand, OPLA changes were approved after negotiations and struggles and years of back and forth. Oda was very invested in it, trying to really show his vision and his world as good as possible. That's why i consider the Live Action as a faithful adaptation of the story.

Of course you may not consider these things important, but they are for me. In the end, you are free to enjoy One Piece as you wish! ^^

Anyways, thanks for reading so much! xD This ended up not being short at all, but i controlled myself as much as possible, i swear uvuU

[optiwashere]

A.5 Asheera and Shadowheart? i wouldn't know who would be gushing to who about the book though. SH has an obvious choice but what would Asheera read and be passionate about? Asheera must have some good reads!

Thank you so much for requesting this one, Bear! 💜 You're right, Shadowheart's enjoyment of books has been brought up a few times in my fics before, so why not...

---

A5. Character A gushes about their favorite book with Character B

"You can't be serious? These are your favorites?"

Shadowheart flicked through the pages of a rebound collection of poems that Asheera had taken with them from Baldur's Gate after they met with her parents. The years weren't kind to the original binding, and Asheera missed the poems within the one Shadowheart held. Tales of lost loves and longing were especially poignant when told by Asheera's favorite wordsmith of them all.

The books, collections of poetry and technical manuals of forges, now rested on a meager shelf in the sitting room of their cottage far away from the ravages of the past. Their home away from the hurt of the past.

"What's wrong with them?" asked Asheera. "They're beautiful."

"This one compares a woman's eyes to glowing blue orbs. And this one?" Shadowheart showed her the flowing script of one of Asheera's favorites. "Isn't the darkness imagery laid on a bit thick?"

"It is, but that's what's so good about it. Mournsoul really touched my heart with these poems," Asheera explained, carefully taking the book from Shadowheart's hands. "And laid on thick? There are so many comments I could make on that, but I'll spare you."

"Don't spare me anything. What kinds of comments?"

"Well, to start, one of us was a Sharran. And it certainly wasn't me."

"And?"

"It's a bit like the pot calling the kettle black?"

Shadowheart grimaced. "Fine, I suppose I have to give you that one. But the orbs? What's your stalwart defense of that, love?"

"Oh, but it's not so terrible in context, is it?"

"What possible context could there be to describe eyes like that?" Shadowheart asked with a short laugh.

Such an earnest little noise. It was joined by a smile that creased the scar on her cheek and showed off the laugh lines on her face.

Asheera countered, "The subject of the poem is a stunning enchantress. Don't wizards like magical orbs?"

Shadowheart laughed again, this time openly and louder until her eyes shone with the humor. It was a precious thing. Such a beautiful look on her face and Asheera couldn't look away.

She placed her hands on the backs of Asheera's and closed the book Asheera held. She stared up at Asheera with that smile still ghosting her face.

"If you ever compare my eyes to orbs," she whispered, "I'll really struggle not to drudge up some old Sharran interrogation techniques."

Even hearing her joke about something that sat unwell with her for years was its own beauty.

"Oh? Think you'll be able to hold me down long enough?" asked Asheera, setting the book down wherever she could. She didn't take her eyes off Shadowheart. "I've been known to overpower you, you know."

"I'll manage." Shadowheart still smiled, but a different light was in her eyes. "Unless you think you can stop me?"

Asheera settled her hands on Shadowheart's waist, broad palms covering so much of her body. Felt perfect underneath her hands like that. Shadowheart's found her hips, and they both dug in with insistent fingers.

"Shall we see?" breathed Asheera.

A particularly strong grip drew a gasp from Shadowheart, whose eyelids drooped to a lidded stare focused on Asheera.

As Asheera walked them back away from the sitting room and towards their bedroom, Shadowheart muttered, "Lead the way then, my Lady paladin."

[loelett]

sorry if this seems random but a little rant in response to what u reblogged about the new tv show.

TBH IT MAKES ME SO MAD THAT THEY ADDED *FORCED* RACISM (and by that I mean Louis taking lestat calling him his fledgling as "slave" like stop thats not what vc is about at ALL?????) AND HAD TO MAKE ANTOINE INTO ANTOINETTE TO SHOW HES BI 💀 I feel like the writers missed a lot of important points about the book and WHY Louis stuck with Lestat and was infatuated with him but hated him at the same time. they really changed character dynamics in it tbh. dont get me wrong, its a decent show, but I just can't see it as the same Louis and Lestat compared to the 1994 movie which I think did a good job in recreating what Anne wrote.

anyway hi 😍🥰😇...

I'm not really sure what forced racism means in the context of the iwtv show ngl. I mean I've really only seen the show through one and a half times but I do know that even Louis himself in the books labels himself as a slave to Lestat's whim (Claudia does as well; she also calls him a slave to Armand) (Lestat also does this in respects to Himself so even he agrees hrejgh) so even in the context of the books I don't really think it's forced or ooc for this connection to be made. Obviously the intention is different considering Louis' blackness in the show, but since this is a theme the show goes with (meaning the racism that Louis experiences in his time period) I don't really have a problem with that wording. I'm not black myself so this is just my opinion by the way, but I've always been pretty interested in the way they decided to change show Louis' race and backstory. It's probably the most interesting change they made imo.

Um yeah the Antoinette thing still sucks, I really don't know why they decided to go with that ?? Idk i always forget abt her so I guess I'm a hater. Agree 👍. We never needed to prove Lestat was bi esp in the first book so wharever? go off showrunners i Guess?? idk bout all that

Loustat's dynamic is completely different in the show and it's one I've rlly never been interested in. I know a lot of people enjoy it and I don't wanna take away from that, so no hate there idk do what you love. I'm just not an enjoyer of the abuser/abusee thing they kinda have going on. Um and the cheating stuff it's all just really exhausting to me. I just really like Louis' reaction to Lestat's actions in the book ! They aren't canon BECAUSE Lestat is abusive and controlling and manipulative and they don't even kiss until book 2, let alone express emotional/physical affection. Show Louis goes back to Lestat even after everything that goes on in ep 5 and. As a self proclaimed Louis self insert I just can't ever see him doing that in the books, at least not with Claudia still in the picture. IDK!

I'm really not a hater of the show, and I want all the Louis fans out there to really think about the way they react to the changes in his character from book to show. There are personality changes that I don't agree with either, but this is a different story and the original one has already been told. I don't have to like the show to respect it and its fans, and the whole pick a side thing between book and show is exhausting to me :/ there r things I like and things i don't like about both versions !

Sorry I know this goes really off topic HGFSHg.. love love

[limerental]

I recently got back into witcher brain rot but all the tags are filled with people saying how shit the show is and how Cavil leaving is the end times cause he was apprantly the only thing keeping together the entire story where he is present for like 30% of the time, And its legitimately making me question my sanity. Like im fine with being obsessed with media thats objectively shit, hell most of my favs are absolute trash, but like TWN isnt perfect by any means but its not that bad right? Has all my media literacy gone out the window? Am i wrong for thinking this show is objectively good to peak mid? I feel like I'm losing my mind.

Yeah, it's a little goofy silly that it seems like so many folks have forgot concepts like

a) enjoying questionably good sometimes bad sometimes good media mostly for the community that can build up around that media (see: spn)

and b) not posting constant hate within the tags of the thing you now hate

Personally, I came to the Witcher universe through the show and came to enjoy several show-only elements of the universe, even though I enjoyed and prefer the story of the books. I wouldn't prefer a book accurate Dandelion or Fringilla or even Yennefer. I've gotten attached to the ways that TWN expanded or changed several character choices I disliked from the books.

Because frankly. The books are great! They're also occasionally the worst. They're not some literary marvel of the ages. They're good books! Entertaining! Have some deeply interesting characters and commentary and are very, darkly funny and are my favorite books, but there are sure as hell things I would change if I were to adapt them.

That's not to say I would adapt them anything close to the way TWN chose to lol but it's just a little absurd and telling to me that so, so many people seem deeply invested in a book series (or at least in the idea of their fave meathead actor liking a book series) that they rarely seem to have anything to say about except in the context of bashing the show

Anyway sorry, tangent lol personally I loathe the witcher netflix and also, I enjoy it dearly. I'll be as grouchy as anybody when they do some questionable shit to my book blorbos and situations, but I'll still be having a good time because I choose to.

The only thing that's really ruined my enjoyment of the fandom has been people with constant bad faith takes, zero media literacy, and people slurping at hcav's boots

[cadyrocks]

So I know that CAD is often and widely considered a punchline in the circles I run in. And not without reason - the early stuff is all pretty terrible for a variety of reasons, Loss is a tone shift so stark and out there that it can't help but be funny*. The jokes didn't work, attempts at being serious didn't work, and it rarely rose past the level of "mediocre Penny Arcade knockoff" (and, let's be honest, I don't exactly think very highly of Penny Arcade).

But for some reason, I never stopped following that RSS feed. And... uh... I regret to inform you that at some point in the intervening years, CAD got pretty damn good.

Some context: the most recent run of CAD focuses on our longstanding protagonists, Ethan and Lucas, in new personas as superheroes. Lucas can make DDR arrows appear, and Ethan can respawn after death. They're not exactly A-Grade, but for someone who's as much of a complete moron as Ethan is, being able to die without consequences is a pretty useful power to have. A power which "The Troll" (a minor villain who he previously dropped off a building, with some ambiguity as to how hard he tried to save him), appears to have taken away at the conclusion of a genuinely pretty solid arc about overcoming his ego. Or maybe not! It's unclear. But, y'know, you can't exactly test whether or not your power of respawning after death works, and if you've spent your whole life living without any kind of mortal peril... It'll fuck with you.

This arc, which, on the whole, works really well. The tonal shifts between comedic violence and earnest superhero drama feel natural and earned; Ethan is relatable enough that we can understand his pathos and feel what he's like even as he tries to raise money for a new graphics card by draining all the blood from his body, getting annoyed when the blood "despawns" on his death. Lucas similarly makes a sympathetic and effective supporting character.

The art isn't exactly gonna take the comics world by storm, but it's professional and has a consistent style without simply copy-pasting everything, a huge step up from the early stuff we all make fun of. If you told me this was a DC comic... well, it'd be a pretty big stylistic shift from the usual DC fare, but it'd probably wouldn't be the worst-drawn comic on the shelves. To be fair, he's been doing this for 20+ years, so you can expect some growth, but some people wouldn't necessarily expect much growth from Tim Buckley, so that's a pleasant surprise.

In addition to this, there's a few other projects under the larger CAD banner, and most of them work pretty well. The Starcaster Chronicles is a bit bogged down with melodrama but is generally an enjoyable sci-fi romp with some neat ideas and character turns (I really love the reason why Cort, our main character, turned into an outlaw). Console Wars, while a very dated concept, is still pretty funny when it shows up.

All in all, CAD has matured and grown with its author, and can comfortably take up the mantle of "a pretty solid webcomic", and that's probably worth mentioning every once in a while if we're going to keep making more and more obscure Loss memes.

*Although, worth noting, it was apparently based on real life experiences of the author he was processing, so while it's still really bad, it does feel a little mean to treat it like a huge memey joke. That ship has very much sailed, but, uh, I get why he banned HBomberguy from his forum. That was, I think we can say in hindsight, kind of a dick move on Harry's part.

[kitkatnerds3]

BSD S5 EP 9

I have not finished the episode yet but I've just gotten to the Fukufuku backstory (specifically the part where they just met and its night and they're lying on the floor together) and, these two are fucking dark timeline Renga from sk8! 'The way of the sword is enjoyable!' and 'I'm going to master the sword alongside you' vs 'skating is fun!' and 'I want to skate with you infinitely' I swear Fukuchi even did the same hand movement that Reki did at some point. Energetic sunshine (at least at the moment) x calm and collected. I am getting such strong Renga vibes from that scene and it's driving me insane.

OK I JUST WATCHED TWO (2) SECONDS FURTHER AND NOW WE'RE IN A FUCKING SHOJO ANIME! BONES LOVES OLD MAN YAOI SO MUCH! THIS IS SO GAY! WHY ARE THERE SO MANY CHERRY BLOSSOMS!!? A CHERRY BLOSSOM PETAL IN THE SHAPE OF A HEART JUST FELL INTO FUKUZAWAS SAKE(?) AND THEN BROKE INTO TWO. THEY'RE NOT EVEN BEING SUBTLE WITH THE 'THIS (ROMANTIC) RELATIONSHIP IS ABOUT TO GO O SHIT' -NESS

DONT DO SYMBOLISM WITH THE FUCKING BIRDS YOU DUMB SHOW! I SEE WHAT YOU'RE FUCKING DOING! For context, they were having a conversation but the focus was on these two egrets? herons? anyways, and then one of them just flew off when Fukuchi said that he was gonna be promoted and sent to the battlefield , which is what separated these two. I'm going to die, I'm not entirely sure why but I am. /pos

Fuck it, I'm committing to the live blog. enjoy seeing my live uncut reactions folks!

The animation is so pretty bro, bones adores their old man yaoi.

Ok, old man yaoi backstory is over , and before I move on to the next thing I just wanna say, young Fukuzawa was so fucking cute! He was an old man even when he was a baby! he was adorable! and honestly so was Fukuchi! I'm very sad that he became the way he is now, war really does stuff to people, huh?

Ok I'm a little bit confused, I didn't realize that he had told that United Nations guy the half-truth. But whatever, that's on me I guess.

OK! JESUS FUCK THE MORE I HERE ABOUT THE WAR THE WORSE IT GETS. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE SOLDIERS HAD TO EAT EACHOTHER AND WERE SHOT FOR TRYING TO DESERT! MAYBE I SHOUD HAVE EXPECTED THAT IT IS WAR BUT JESUS CHRIST!

God, Fukufuku are so gay. I know that stabbing someone isn't exactly romantic but he Fukuzawa did the thing where you grab onto the other persons clothes and after Fukuchi stabbed him his head ended up resting on his chest. This is PEAK romantic tradgedy.

Teruko, I love you. She looks so pretty and she is so hecking smart and I just adore her. She let Atsushi go! Woohoo!! Also, Atsushi's hallucinations are really coming in full force, huh? He is seeing so many people.

Dazai and Sigma are so silly, I love them, Dazai stop flirting for two fucking seconds challenge. Also, it's fun to hear that Dazai is screwing around with Sigma while thinking of Kunikida! Truly every ship is being fed this season! Except sskk, but we did get Aku in Atsushi's hallucinations doing a thing so that's kinda a win for the gays!

Wow! What a nice elevator! I'm sure nothing bad will happen here!

Oh catgirl, you left us too soon.

I must say, I don't really have much to say on the Meursault section. It was good! The animation was great as it usually is for the Meursault sections, Sigma was so pretty I love him and! Dazai did the thing where he played with Sigma's hair! Woo! Fyodor was his usual level of kinda ugly in anime form, Dazai is showing emotions! more of the sillies, Dazai fucking stood on Sigma, which is delightful, aaaaaaand it's started to flood! Fuck!

Anyways, back to the very start of this episode before I was overcome by the homosexual-ness of Fukufuku, Aya Bram Kunikida and Tanizaki got yoinked! Fuck! I still have a theory that Tanizaki could be doing an illusion and I will make a post about it one day. And also, please excuse me for saying this because while I am still upset about Ranpo being hurt... watching Fukuchi pick him up by the scruff of his neck like a cat was kinda hilarious. Also, Teruko I love you. You're the only hunting dog that heard about Fukuchi's real identity and didn't immediately die. Girlboss fr. Also also, where are Lucy Kyouka and Yosano :D? W-where did they go? Asagiri please I need to see my girls.

And to once again revisit the old gays, Holy Shit that was so gay. Nobody told me that the Fukufuku backstory was a Sports Anime tm that turned into a war drama in the second season! I knew we said they were divorced but I never realized just how married they were before the separation! Wow! Fukuzawa smiled so softly at Fukuchi! They were such sweet kids! Aagh!

This was a good episode! I liked this! Excited for next Wungo Wednesday!

[beatcroc]

tl;dr+disclaimer: this is NOT intended as some kind overarching review or analysis, just my thoughts on various things, and while i am absolutely enthralled by nge’s narrative tone/style/execution, i dont really give a shit about what the narrative is actually saying. This is not a writeup on its plot or themes, but rather the way they are presented and explored. [actually mostly a lot of obsessing over small details and side characters].  the end of evangelion movie is not included here and will have its own post.

secondary disclaimer: apparently nge has a fuckload of cultural context and stuff about How it exists as a commentary or subversion of stuff of its time or whatever. rest assured i know neither jack nor shit about any of it, and am just seeing how it functions as its own thing in a vaccuum.  alright here we go.

earlygame evangelion was absolutely nothing like i was anticipating, and as a person who Generally Does Not Enjoy Anime, i cannot stress enough how much this was to its benefit. first thing i noticed was a distinctive Lack of those ‘anime visual gag’ type of character expressions/reactions; refreshing just for my own petty disdain for them, but also notably important to its overall tone. eva’s tone is absolutely one of the best things it has going for it; i’ll get into specifics as i go, but even before i would get to seeing how it strengthens both individual plot beats and the narrative at large, it was by far my biggest draw to the earlygame.

i think i can best describe it as “contemplative”. there’s very little real dialogue in the sense of characters having 2-way conversations. there’s a lot of emphasis on weighted silences, a lot of minor exposition delivered through background noise/chatter like radio broadcasts, a lot of just... the world moving around and contrasting with the characters as they Exist. The ep where shinji runs away definitely has the biggest focus on this, but it’s noticeable as a unique tonal thing right out of the gate. I feel like anime often tends to explain things too directly, whether it be story or lore; or a character's feelings or intentions. here, you rarely get more than a simple zoom in on a character’s face to denote They Are having Thoughts About This. No internal monologue rambling walking you through their whole thought process, It’s left to just their expressions and reactions. evangelion’s execution of “show, don't tell” still holds up pretty well in 2022 imo. maybe not the best out there these days, but definitely still effective. I’m far from well-versed in media like this, but i’d still say eva’s fairly standout, and anything that manages to do that after nearly 30 years deserves some kudos

Very related to that, “Doing a lot with a little” i think is the best way to sum up all of eva’s strengths. The subtleties and things left unsaid, as it were. Aside from the obvious jab at their making do with a nonexistent budget, this sort of thing comes through in its somber and down-to-earth tone, its character writing, and most especially, its support cast.

Both in the handling of the characters themselves and their dynamics with the main cast, the nge side characters are really, really good; like, probably the actual best i have encountered in any media ever. Each of them in their own way provide perfect backings and contrasts to everything the main cast has going on, they’re laser-focused efficient to enhance the others’ characters and arcs and the overall narrative messages--and yet they never feel like plot devices and are still really solid and wholly enjoyable as their own individual Characters, all without overstepping their boundaries AS support cast in terms of both screentime and narrative presence/influence. suzuhara and akagi demonstrate this best from very different angles and from here out this thing is pretty much just gonna be a breakdown of thoughts by character, but i’m doing suzuhara first because his being much more narratively dynamic means he gets to shine in a plethora of ways, so most of the Cool Narrative/Tonal Shit i wanna say about nge can be said by talking about him.

----------------------------------------------

you’d think the character whose introduction is “beating up the kicked puppy protag because he’s pissed” would be pretty one-note and uninteresting; i still wouldn’t really call suzuhara deep, per se, but….well, again, they do a lot with a little.

usually for this role you’d get something like “i’m gonna bully shinji because he’s stupid and lame ”, and it’s not like this would be misplaced because like... shinji IS lame, other kids DON’T like him, but suzuhara’s motivation being his hospitalized sister instead of anything with shinji himself changes the entire dynamic here to a pretty profound degree. it’s still a really simple and understandable motivation, but it lets him say a ton more than you usually could with this kind of role. the overt message still just sits at “we’re gonna make shinji hate himself life a little more“, but instead of just, like, making him feel shitty because there’s Mean People who will beat him up even though he’s trying his best or whatever, the implied message is more along the lines of “you’re hurting people you can’t see, but they’re still people who mean something to somebody, and they can damn well see you.”, and it’s for sure noticeable this is the kind of stuff that’s weighing on him the next couple eps. It’s not that he’s afraid of some random bullies that could jump him at any time, it’s that he’s now acutely aware the consequences of him messing up are exponentially larger than he can see.

it also gives suzuhara much easier room for growth! He doesn’t need some huge distracting character-altering event, he just needs to see that this is all way bigger than him and that he was out of his lane and being a shithead. getting caught face to face with an angel is a pretty effective way to do that, i’d say! Being saved by shinji specifically and having to see his trauma firsthand is an especially great note coming out of that too, realizing that shinji is neither a cocky asshole nor some incompetent coward, but that he’s really just. Yknow. Trying. I also think it’s a really…. Idk, cute? detail that while the scene in the cockpit clearly Affects him, he doesn’t apologize or offer comfort right away and just spends the next few days kind of sulking/angsting about it instead. Just a fun little humanizing err for him i think. 

not a lot happens with him for awhile from there but i do really like him and his little nerd friend as just background pals for shinji. Comic relief isn’t usually a very…esteemed title in terms of narrative value, but in this case he’s earned it. Which isn’t something you’d usually say about comic relief characters! So good for him i guess.

The Fourth Child stuff coming into play is what really made me pog at this guy and his handling though. Just like. the framing of it. not telling the audience directly but showing that it’s someone all the other main characters already knew+the persistent scene cuts to him after someone brings up or asks who the fourth pilot is.

The character familiarity is cool mostly because of how small eva’s cast is overall. Like there are really not any random passerby citizens ever shown, let alone given dialogue, that they could have tossed in to use. Everybody who could be considered even remotely important/main cast is already occupied, and seeing that both asuka and katsuragi recognize him, it’s gotta be someone they would have met fairly recently–most likely someone we’d already seen on the show–and not some random guy from their backstories or something.  They had my curiosity but i wouldn’t have guessed it! At least not without the scene cuts lmao. They do this like 4 times it’s really funny. Oh yeah the 4th pilot? Yeah we won’t say who but heyyyyy check This guy out.

my favorite bit from this is seeing the change in his demeanor in these cuts before vs. after he gets the news; his usual cheeky self in the first couple versus his going out alone to stare forlornly off into the distance in the latter few. I am like such a huge fan of this ok. Once again, things left unsaid: there’s so much he could be thinking about here and refusing to have him say any of it in itself speaks volumes.

What’s in there? Regret? Apprehension? Resignation? You’d need a monologue half as long as this damn post to really get into all the different angles of him unpacking the idea that he could now be the one unwittingly dropping a building on someone's little sister + reflecting back all the fears that he’d left shinji with after that little beatdown, but simply Not Saying It leaves a much stronger impression of the sense that it’s just A Lot for him to be thinking about. very cool in other characters’ reactions to it too; suzuhara himself never explicitly verbally confirms his being a pilot, but everyone notices he’s acting different. Hell, they even used SHINJI to point it out, and he’s usually the guy who’s worst at noticing these things.

small side note but there’s also a delightful bit of last minute  rubbing salt in the wound with how bad his nerd friend wanted to pilot eva….seems like that kid is about the only other one who didn’t realize suzuhara is the 4th pilot too, which. lmao.

anyway then he gets in the eva and doesn’t really get to do anything. i don’t have any comments on that it’s the pretty obligatory “oop we gotta have our Angel Encounter for this ep”+”gotta find a newer and more powerful way to traumatize shinji” quota. There’s really good character moments here for some of the other cast which i’ll get to later but uhhh yeah suzahara just gets his shit fucked.

ok now full disclosure here i’m actually a huge bitch about character deaths like this, it is quite possibly my biggest pet peeve when characters go through something that is 100% presented as fatal or a killing blow, only to Not Actually Have Died At That Moment; either so they can give some kind of Emotional Speech:tm: and then die anyway, or by revealing they actually only got wounded or something bc of some kind bullshit plot armor. i thought eva might possibly be the kind of thing that’s brutal and/or disregarding-of-dramatic-narrative-flair enough to actually just leave it at him being dead there in the mech, but to an even bigger surprise i think this is maybe the only thing i’ve seen that’s played “they didn’t actually die in that horrific scene” to a way bigger impact.

The following hospital scene is already pretty interesting just with neither shinji nor suzahara knowing why the other was there; Shinji never learned who the fourth pilot is, and toji shows no animosity for the fact that shinji[’s eva] just beat the shit out of him so apparently he just wasn’t conscious for anything after his mech got taken over? and it’s just kind of like, spooky, to have what has every right to be an emotionally charged character reunion amount to nothing more than vague confusion between them. They don’t even get to talk to eachother! i don’t often see the thing of “audience knowledge vs. character knowledge” used like this; usually it’s the Characters who are sad or angry beause of some knowlege they lack, and You know that things are actually better than it appears to them; in this case you know things are way worse than they look and the characters are spared that burden. it’s weird and cool and potent but it’s not even my biggest takeaway from this. You know the thing that really fucks me up here?

we never see suzuhara again after this.

he isn’t given any sort of real farewell, he’s just gone. not dead, but gone. i’ve never seen that done before!!! it’s like....haunting to realize a guy who had been a minor but consistent constant is just not part of the picture any more, and it’s an especially odd feeling since you can’t really notice until it’s too late. now yeah, part of it was also that the plot had kinda moved beyond having time for side characters, but most of them do still make brief appearances, and we’re also specifically shown a brief scene in the schoolroom where all four pilot kids are conspicuously absent. their friends comment about how the main 3 are missing, and suzuhara is still never mentioned.

i genuinely feel more strongly about suzuhara’s narrative death than anything else in the show. i dont even care that it doesn’t mean anything this is my hill to die on. i love this dude and i love how every single beat with him makes me ape my shit.

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rei is the other end of Stuff Eva Is Really Good At. i mostly want to talk about her Big Reveal here but i do also want to give kudos for their committing so hard to the whole uncaring/ambivalent thing with her. feel like a lot of stuff that tries to do ‘emotionless’ characters chickens out and still gives them like one specific personality trait or thing they’ll react to or care about, probably for the sake of still making them relatable or enjoyable or something. granted, the context for this kind of character matters all the more when they’re Supposed to be empty, but even so this kind of thing is usually done to show there’s something Off about the character; rei’s being so aggressively, blatantly nothing and nonreactive about literally everything is just like. oh there is something OFF with you. Her and asuka’s exchange of “i bet you’d even kill yourself if they asked“ “i would, yeah“-said not out of devotion or depression, but pure disinterest, is probably about the strongest extreme you can take this idea to. 

The whole series she’s such a powder keg waiting to blow and they let you smell its smoke in the flashback with akagi’s mom where it seems to be revealed that she’s 1-possibly a clone, and 2-apparently got killed the same day as she was unveiled, which obviously feel like pretty significant revelations but then they move on from it with zero fanfare and i was like huh. Wait. no wait hold on go back. i had actually intended to go back and rewatch that scene just to i’d actually make sure i’d clocked it properly because it was just that was chilling* and disorienting to have left it sitting pretty much unacknowledged for several episodes, but then it comes to ep23 after her dying for real in the eva and she says “i think i’m already the third one” as a soft confirmation and you’re like OH SHIT I WAS RIGHT but then theyre still not done blowing up everything with the actual reveal and it all comes out in the following scenes and it’s just like oh this is all so much worse than i could have imagined. all that was my peak of being Affected By Evangelion. i kinda just sat there In A State for a solid 30 minutes afterwards, just, rotating the series as a whole in my mind. man.

the scene with 01′s awakening is done with a pretty similar structure to this, and even though i actually knew about the twist of eva units being Literally Humans before going into the show, that scene was....hoo. like the knowledge does not prepare you for the presentation. I credit this mostly to its tone as well; there’s something really awesome about how evangelion can pull huge fucked up twists like this, yet the raw shock value of the scene itself [which should not be understated!] never outweighs the gravity of the situation as a whole. Like the takeaway from 01’s awakening isn’t just “oh shit!!!! The government is making fucked up mechs full of blood!!!”, it’s “these measures may be extreme but they are a necessary price to pay for survival[though is it really worth it?]”. And also maaaaybe a little “mankind is hubristic as fuck and we Love to fuck around and find out.” but that’s kind of just the deal throughout the whole series

Coincidentally, it’s also rei’s brief first couple appearances that i think initially help establish that gravity.  very often when a character is badly injured it’s only really used to change how either they or another character engage with a situation; usually to remove them from it and/or spur another to action, which IS exactly what her role in e1 was for shinji. Thing is, unless the injury itself is a plot beat to be built upon, it just sort of gets swept under the rug at soonest convenience -so seeing her still really beat up a few episodes later, for pretty much no real purpose other than to say “yeah no that’s gonna take her a bit to recover from” was defintily a striking moment to me.

*spooky, haunting, chilling, i’ve used these words for these turns a good few times now. I know it’s a bit repetitive, but there really is something just so… hollow, so empty about these scenes; something that you know should be there and just isn’t and it feels weird. nge is damn good at anticipating where its emotional beats should be, and then intentionally leaving you with nothing when they come up. You wanted hype? You wanted catharsis? No get fucked. In most situations this would feel cheap or like some kind of buzzkill but with eva’s tone being how it is it’s just sort of… humbling? i know this is a bit of a pretentious read, but eva seems to make it a point to never go to hard into this being A Story, rather than Just Life; in the sense that life doesn’t always have the satisfying narrative conclusions you can expect in a story. They know enough not to Always do this because then the whole show would be actually lame and unrewarding, but the times they choose Not to deliver definitely have…a palatable contrast.

Also i know i made the jokey post about this already but LITERALLY why did they make rei go to school? There’s no?? Practical advantage to this???  I mean obviously from a narrative perspective it’s just to help sell the illusion that shes a normal human child but like. In-universe. Whose idea was this. Shes not even learning or getting Involved with anything she’s just staring out the window the whole time. She’s regularly absent and they’ve always gotta have people go check on/cover for her, not to mention that she doesn’t retain memories between bodies and they have to cover for her deaths too so like WHAT is the goal here!!!! Literally there are nothing but downsides to sending ur godspawn kid out into the public. Ok anyway. Moving on

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why DO people meme so hard on ‘get in the robot shinji’?? coming into this i really thought it was gonna take him half the damn series to get in the robot and that that was gonna be some kind of Climax, but it actually just happens in the first ep, and no one ever really has to ask or force him do it again after that? yeah he tries to quit half a dozen times, but all it really takes for him to come back around for another go in the eva is a fresh perspective. it’s more or less always his own choice.

i’ve heard a decent bit about shinji being an annoying or difficult-to-like character, and i... don’t get that at all? hes literally just a dude. A fucking babychild. coming into this i understood that he was young but i didn’t know he was Literally Fourteen, good lord dude. he’s definitely not a ‘good’ or standard type of personality for an anime protag but that’s literally the point? Like that is entirely central to what we are doing with this show. I’m not gonna say i’m a shinji Enjoyer; he’s mostly only my fave of the pilot kids by default, since asuka is,,,,,,, well. i’ll get to her in a moment, and rei you’re not Supposed to have an opinion on; but i am a shinji Defender. he has a couple of fun and strong character moments, and doesn’t really do anything egregiously awful or obnoxious so like. Literally leave him alone hes doing his best???

do people dislike him for that little tantrum he threw when he threatened to destory nerv hq? that one i can understand, but personally that was his strongest character moment for me. i’m pretty much always in favor of characters taking bold action for themselves, even if said action is outright a terrible/destructive choice. i think he shoulda done it. i would have supported him. the fact that he didn’t get to though is so.... oof. his most impactful moment for me for sure.  Like he absolutely was not bluffing, and the ONE time he really gets it in him to take charge of his own life and surroundings and he just gets such a harsh reminder that he’s still not the one in control.

this is kind of just the whole show with shinji. A friend pointed him out as being “trapped in the narrative” and wow god yeah. It’s just a cycle with him. he goes out in the eva and something fucked up happens to traumatize him and hes like oh my god why am i doing this and then while hes out trying to sort that out something nice happens to make him accept whatever fucked up thing he had to deal with so he gets back in the eva again and then something fucked up in a totally different way happens and rinse and repeat. it’s pretty good at escalating the different types of trauma each angel inflicts on him; if i really cared about plot or thematic analysis it might be fun to pick apart what exactly each does, BUT i dont. The two final ones dealing with having to hurt other humans is definitely cool though.

the one part i felt his characterization was Questionable was when he was going up against the jaws sphere, it is like. Super not his deal to ignore orders and leap into action? Really kind of a ‘he’s gotta do this because the plot needs him in this position’ moment but it was ultimately pretty minor so whatever

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So yeah asuka……Hm. Asuka. good lord. i’m not a fan of the whole ‘tsundere’ thing in the first place, but that alone wasn’t actually grating just bc it plays up against the much more stiff shinji and rei in really fun ways, and it’s also extremely funny just knowing she’s The Progenitor for that whole Type. her concept is fine and she very easily could have been a thoroughly Fun character but uhhhhhhhhhhh. uh oh. uh oh. oh no.

as the unfortunate vessel for most of nge’s Awful Bullshit i can’t say i was ever looking forward to having her onscreen. in the beginning she wasn’t even instigating it they just loved shoving her ass in shinji’s face for no reason or doing the classic wind blowing up her dress and shit like that. now to be clear i know this wasn’t the first instance of Fanservicey Anime Bullshit in eva, but it was much easier to tolerate before because.. well, one, katsuragi isn’t fucking fourteen, and 2 even when that shit happened with rei she didn’t have a Reaction to it. I think its really the reactions that make it insufferable for me. the kyaa! pervert! nonsense and the self-conscious anime girl yelling and the characters being visibly humiliated, also the halting whatever else was going on at the moment to do all this. this also did not happen with the katsuragi ass shots since she was still just having a normal fuckin conversation and carrying on the plot BUT i digress. asuka did start saying weird shit of her own accord later in but i still didn't hold it against Her Character so much as just "the writers are being weird". Yknow like it would just feel so forced and arbitrary every time she made some comment like that. For the longest time the only thing i blamed her character for is being fuckin sexist all the time. ‘shinji youre a man arent you’ he is 14 and traumatized as fuck leave him alone you are making things worse >:| 

In the end though, and i cannot believe i am saying this,  i do think all of that was at least conceptually justified. Not in execution, because all that came through there is their insistence on shoving naked 14-year-olds in your face, but conceptually the idea of asuka’s desperation to be seen as capable and mature manifesting as forced aggressive sexuality is honestly really solid. She wants to be seen as an Adult, so she jumps to the first idea she has for Things That Adults Do, which i guess is sex. This is kind of a fantastic notion for her character because 1, it’s shallow-showing she’s A Goddamn Child who has no actual understanding of what adulthood really means, and 2, it’s loud-a very visible and hard to ignore thing which bolsters her all the more to stick to it. While portraying this is obviously a super touchy subject, i can’t help but feel it wouldn’t have been. All that hard to so without it being,,, this bad. Don’t show it to the audience? Literally just don’t show the audience. I get they need to make the other characters uncomfortable to land the concept but like. Dont put asuka herself onscreen while it’s happening jfc. i still would have been HARD side-eyeing at it that way too but just. anything had to have been better than this bro.

ANYWAY. that nonsense out of the way, she did end up being kind of fascinating for her own. i have never seen a character so extremely, terminally, self-damning as asuka. i hear a lot about shinji being hopelessly miserable, and like, sure, but asuka has it so, SO much worse??????? shinji is miserable because he’s directionless; he doesn’t know what he wants or how to get it, but he knows a glimmer of hope when he sees it and never squanders it. were he ever given direction or a way to Find his path to happiness–or to at least a way to care about finding his path to happiness, i’m sure he’d be able to chase it pretty easily.

asuka does not have a path to happiness, or at least not for the time presented in the show. While it’s true if half her issue here is just “being 14”, her “i’d rather be dead than pitied” ideology isn’t something that will automatically solve itself with age. It stays mostly out of the way as long as she never fucks up but as soon as she DOES make any kind of big mistake it becomes pretty much her entire character. damaged pride is one thing, but usually the remedy for that is just other characters lifting her up if she can’t do it herself. here, this is not only not an option but also actively detrimental. It’s already incredibly self-destructive on its own, but i still wouldn’t quite call it “damning” yet just because like. If you’re ride or die committed to your personal philosophy, you’ll still die, but there’s probably some kind of underhanded gratification in it to chase it to its end. The thing is though that she’s not committed to it, and it’s honestly kind of hard to say to what extent she even believes in it at all.

this, i feel, is asuka’s defining moment, especially after her extensive agonizing in previous eps about having to be rescued by both shinji and rei. She can’t live with being helped because she wants to be independent, and yet she can’t live without help- with being alone-because she’s desperate to be seen and regarded as worthwhile.  

both of these are damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t situations! this kid is damned 4 ways ‘till thursday and the only way to get around it would be her undergoing some kind of minor ego death, and she is extremely not interested in letting this happen. shinji takes a blow and goes off to sulk for 3 days, has one positive interaction/experience, and gets a whole second wind. asuka takes a blow and falls into a pit of self-loathing [or really everything-loathing by the sound of it], aggressively refuses positive interactions, and tries to kill herself. It’s just like. Very telling i think that even though “everyone's depressed and miserable and dealing with shit Badly”  is a running theme in this show, asuka is the only one who attempts suicide.

If my interpretation of all this seems a little weird it’s because  “i’d rather be dead than pitied” is uhhhhhh unfortunately an ideology i’m very personally familiar with, and even though characters with that general idea aren’t too rare in media, i’ve never seen it BASICALLY stated verbatim, so. needless to say seeing asuka’s arc go the way it did did some things to me. whoops! anyway.

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i have to talk about katsuragi now ok. Ok. katsuragi is absolutely the hero of this show for me and it’s a little baffling she’s not like, A Recognizable Eva Character in laymen’s circles? Like coming into this I knew the pilot kid trio and a handful of the angels just from seeing stuff floating around the internet, and i could least recognize gendo from memes, but katsuragi? Entirely new territory here. what gives! She’s an incredible character and people should talk about her more because i am NOT about to be out here being the foremost katsuragi enjoyer in 2022. Come on

anyway man where do i even start. she’s everything. she’s got a cool car. she’s fiercely competent. she’s the man with the plan. she’s a domestic disaster. she notoriously cant cook for shit. she has a pet penguin [?!?]. she adopts two kids. shes a little bit crazy. She’s the butt of a lot of jokes. shes a rogue agent. she fucked her ex in an alley [??!?]. She has a drunken breakdown and needs help to get out of it. she hates her father. she has complicated feelings about her father. she’s on a vengeance quest. She accidentally gets attached to the kids in her care. she fucked her ex for government secrets. She’s sick of the expectations on her. she’s petty and emotional and weird, and most of all, she’s allowed to do all this without ever undermining her skill and authority, and the respect other characters have for her. im going to be real i don’t quite think all of her traits and flaws were intentionally written to be enjoyable but damn if i didn’t enjoy them anyway. Katsuragi has this real edge of emotional roughness to her that i feel like most female characters aren’t allowed to get into, and i really just??? Love her for it???? I thought i was gonna have a ton to say about her but honestly it all just comes back to “i really really really like how her flaws are written/handled alongside the rest of her character”.

I don’t have anything to like dissect about this line i just really like it. Eva had built up a pretty good bit of goodwill through its first 7 eps, and this really put a point on it. unfortunately it would then be ruined immediately in ep 8 BUT i did want to bring it up just because it was like. an ‘oh ok i can be justified for liking these characters’ type beat.

Also as far as the series ending goes i do have to be an apologist about her sorry. She literally has not done anything [more] wrong [than any of the other characters]!!  they wanna go through and list out all these characters’ insecurities and flaws and they go after katsuragi to slutshame her like  “Oh you're lonely so you use men to chase simple pleasures” and like. no?

First of all, every character’s breakdown was “you're lonely and/or afraid so that manifests as x”!!!! if she wants to fuck about it that’s her business! There is nothing inherently wrong with that! this COULD have still easily been a fatal flaw, like they could have presented it as a bunch of partners she’d had in a sort of use-and-abuse fashion and i’d have been like ok yeah this is an issue for you but they didn’t do that! the ONLY thing they talked about  was her less-than-stellar relationship--and subsequent messy breakup with kaiji**. Even if said breakup was largely her fault, she already acknowledged this and recognized the issues that led her to it! She has already apologized and openly admitted her fear to him, and that fear was explicitly why she ended the relationship! That is not intentionally “using” someone!!! you cannot call this a fatal flaw without more evidence. she had one messy relationship and she likes to fuck. That's a normal human flaw, try again. 

**this is actually a blessing in disguise, as it’s most of why i’m willing to look the other way when it comes to interpreting the more, uh, questionable aspects of her dynamic with shinji in nge. Like if the possible sexual implications there had been a Serious Deal for her character/portrayal i feel like it would have been brought up here, but since it wasn’t im happy to sweep it under the rug so it doesn’t ruin a character i otherwise really love. i do have a decent bit to say on this, but i’m saving it for the eoe post because it’s more relevant there and because, unlike eoe, my feelings towards nge are mostly positive so likewise i want to keep this post mostly positive. 

only thing she doesnt get a pass on is the alley sex like come on at least ONE of you has to have more class than that?!?!? It’s gotta be cold and dirty out there you are ON THE CONCRETE GROUND and there is VISIBLY A TRAIN GOING BY someone one is gonna see you!!! You’d have been better off fucking in a goddamn bathroom at that point

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akagi is the other unsung hero of this show, but in an in-universe way. this woman is holding this whole damn operation together. i don’t have much to say on her narratively, she’s got a very small presence, but as with suzuhara i think her lessened involvement really shows how eva lets simplified characters shine. I’m not gonna break down all of her appearances like i did for toji, but she has the same general “every time she’s onscreen they make excellent use of it” thing going on. she’s known the other NERV mainstays pretty far back and they’re really good at showing that familiarity through her dynamics with them. they just Know Things about eachother, and it’s played in a very natural and non-exposition-y way to inform stuff about the other characters’ pasts or motivations or how they’ve changed through the years or something like that. it’s good. she’s good. Always a delight to have you ma’am

Also im gonna say it. She should have been a lesbian. she has the vibes and it would have saved us all from... whatever that lategame nonsense with her and gendo was. c’mon girl LITERALLY anyone but gendo i know you have better taste than this. also x2 her dynamic with katsuragi is already great but i think it could have been even more interesting with some Subtext:tm: at play, even if unrequited. also x3 there is literally official art for this.

its literally right there. come ON

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also on side characters i never learned suzahara’s little nerd friend’s name but he’s really good too. his scene with shinji in e4 is wonderful and i think his being a dweeb does a good bit to enhance suzuhara’s character too, again just showing suzuhara isn’t an indiscriminate bully going after people who are ‘weird’ or lame or whatever since he clearly does not share this guy’s interest in military junk. also him cheerfully apologizing while suzuhara beats shinji up is just a great dynamic.

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I have to bring up penpen real quick just because no one ever told me theres a fucking penguin in this. hello? shinji just opens the door and theres a fucking penguin there and gets told thats his other roommate and we just have to accept that. I was looking at his wiki page and apparently 1. He lives in a spare freezer [very funny], and 2. katsuragi “took him with her from her previous job”  HELLO??? Did she steal a fucking penguin???? and what IS this thing’s level of sapience anyway. he eats out of a little doggy dish on the floor and doesn’t seem to have much capacity for communication, but knows how to use buttons and switches around the house, takes his own showers, and is apparently LITERATE???? lots of questions here but nonetheless i am very happy he exists. little guy :)

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kaji is.....*through gritted teeth*...........okay.......i guess. He does a lot of shit i want to kill him for but he also behaved himself at all the most crucial moments [providing gentle support when katsuragi was at her most vulnerable, and flatly ignoring all of asuka’s advances] so that makes him better than a lot of other characters. there’s a lot about him that easily could have gone way, way worse so ill take what i can fuckin get here. i don’t actually care about his narrative involvement at all sorry. i’m taking a petty point on this one. kind of glad he died just for getting to avoid the painfully obvious cliche of being the love interest katsuragi gets together with in the end, especially after treating her the way he does most of the time, and her still being really into him regardless for some reason. Would have felt like a really cheap and bullshit way to “justify” all of that. the most frustrating admission i have to make with this show is that "well, i'd rather it be between misato's tits, but failing that i'm choosing to die right here in my garden" is kind of unironically a fantastic line...he can have that one. That whole gardening scene was just really nice in general, and i do enjoy him as a sort of guide for shinji but other than that jesus christ dude.

i think he’s probably the most messy and plot device-y feeling character, though i recognize at least part of that is my general distaste for him so i have nothing else to say here.

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The little trio of field operations tech type guys…. Listen i know my fawning over literally every minor character is getting absurd at this point but like. I literally enjoy them. Ok. i think it’s really cool having a handful of just Actually Normal Guys along for the ride on this; seeing how The Horrors affect just the average joe kinda guy. For everyone else their own emotional torment is on pretty equal footing with all the impending physical threats, but these guys aren’t already super traumatized and have a much more surface-level relation to the horrors. Idk !i just think it’s neat seeing a different set of perspectives with them that lacks the tint of the Personal stakes/involvement the rest of the cast has with the whole situation; even if their reactions are pretty “generic” and could have been done with any random passerby in the city, i think it adds to it that it’s done with recurring guys, however minor. they are freshly Going Thru It but they persevere and i love them for this.

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gendo is notable just for how much he sucks. like it’s truly astonishing. i dont even mean in the abusive shitty father way. or, well, i do, because he IS also that, but even moreso he is just. so lame? he’s SO lame. all he does is sit there with his hands folded and say edgy ominous shit. some of that was definitely intentional and i think they also just couldn't afford more than one pose for the guy, but also....come on. Get a life loser.  even the peppermints guy somehow has more personality and intrigue than gendo and im pretty sure his only purpose is to sit in the bg to be intimidating and to mediate between nerv and seele.

anyway in ep18 he CLEANLY crosses the line from “obnoxiously distant and uncaring/nonreactive” to ”oh this guy is Actually evil”, in a... not really unexpected, but still very brutal way. given his interactions with rei it’s easy to think he’s still a somewhat benign dude overall and just hates shinji for being a failure son or whatever, BUT turns out actually shinji is the rule and rei is the exception instead of the other way ‘round. which, given what rei is... lol. lmao. [you of course don’t know that at this point though.] but no yeah this dude is just totally down to physically destroy some random kid by mentally destroying his own kid. oh and he also killed his wife. literally just astonishing how awful he is.

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oh yeah and kaworu exists. i guess. evidently people actually care about this guy? don’t get me wrong he’s a hell of a plot catalyst, but like as a character? Theres nothing there dude. he only exists for like 1.5 episodes and has zero agency, he’s just there to once again fill the quota of “new angel+traumatize shinji”. To be fair he is very good at this. But yeah i cannot give a shit about him, even as an angel. If i wanted to talk about individual angels i think i’d legit have more to say on that glowing one with psychic beams than the guy whose role is “suck up to shinji for an episode to make it extra painful when he inevitably has to die” i do think it’s insanely funny he shows up in so much of eva’s promo art though, what an absurd way to do a red herring.

--------------------------------------------- ok thats all the characters. umm a few other random misc notes

I moved this part out of the intro bc it’s a longer sidetrack but another thing that hooked me about the earlygame was actually the coverup explanation of the second impact as a meteor strike. It’s the first one you’re given, and a devastating natural disaster plays perfectly to the Somber tone eva thrives on. something unavoidable and unprovoked…. perhaps it is simply the bio nerd in me but the idea of earth and its life just trying to figure out how to exist again in the wake of something like that is awesome to me and did a ton to keep everything down to earth despite the giant robots and otherworldly horrors and whatnot. Definitely kind of a letdown to hear that’s just the cover-up explanation though, sort of turned it into your generic “humanity brought its own end” post-apocalypse thing, which may have been more novel at the time but it’s become pretty overdone these days. granted, eva’s a lot less overtly About said apocalypse than your typical modern post-apoc thing, and the… circumstances for this cataclysm are definitely a bit different, but still. “You couldn’t have stopped this, you can only repair after the fact” is an angle i’m vastly more interested in, and also one i don’t see as much.

coming out of that, 8-17 are definitely the low stretch for me. the introduction of kaji and asuka their Anime Bullshit™, and the tone turning to a more standard monster of the week mech battle thing definitely killed my engagement there. whether there was actually more dialogue or i had just gotten acclimated to the Usual lack conversation i can’t tell, but all the aforementioned stuff put a pretty big hit on my enjoyment regardless. it picked back up HARD with the fourth child stuff though, and the plot motion of the Really Fucked Up Shit from there was plenty enough to outweigh my other gripes.

As far as the ending goes… yeah it’s good. It’s lame as hell in execution but like conceptually it’s fine and i can’t really be too mad about anything seeing as they were evidently Out Of Money. They stuck the landing effectively enough; really about as well as they could have given such strict limitations, and i do actually think it’s extremely cool that they were able to frame “removing backgrounds and colors and clean lines” and “we literally can only get this part out as storyboards” as a legit storytelling thing. Still sad about the dozen hanging lore threads ofc but getting any followup on those means acknowledging the movie so i’ll gladly cut my losses

I think this might fall under ‘fakedeep’ and ‘not actually good’ but i do genuinely appreciate that while nge looooves to have intentionally confusing presentation, when they Want to say something  it’s never really inscrutable and/or buried in metaphor and symbolism. This isn’t a narrative critique or anything i’m just not very smart so i like that it’s still pretty straightforward.

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Obligatory section about the angel designs. Yeah they’re good too. Anyone knows me knows i am allllll the fuck about creature design, and even though these aren’t as in-depth as what i usually go for[mostly due to budget stuff no doubt, judging by what they did with ramiel in the rebuild] [again i havent seen rebuild but hot damn rebuild ramiel my beloved], i still really appreciate just how diverse most of them are. They don’t stick to any particular type of design logic, and it’s rare to see something actually embrace an “anything goes” ruleset as well as this does. Like you got ones that are sort of just fantasy animals, ones that are a funky combination or suggestion of earth animals, ones that are just arcane imposing shapes, ones that are kind of abstract interesting shapes, some that are humanoid, some that are just and then like…whatever the fuck was going on with that dna halo thing. The humanoid ones do feel a bit samey but also anyone who knows me knows thats pretty much always the opinion i have on human/oid designs fdjsdjkfd. They have pretty funky and diverse sets of shapes which is rad, but their attack methods are all… Pretty boring. Pretty much all of ‘em just attack with their hands in some way and i feel like theres a million other things they coulda done there but oh well. Bland attacks are consistent across a lot of them though, like half were just “extrude something through the guy”, though i don’t think i can really be too mean about it because elaborate fight sequences would Also require money lmao.

Anyway my fave is the spider, followed by the weird fuckin orange splatter comet thing and the eel type guy

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i just have to say this as a standalone point but why do people not meme on the part where an angel starts fucking shit up and they just drop the hallelujah chorus oh my GOD. we make fun of the elevator scene and rightfully so even though that wasn’t the only instance of a single frame lasting over a minute, but like. idk maybe they thought the hallelujah chorus souned cool and dramatic or something but it just made me lose my shit when it came on. asuka is going fucking through it and the most sanctimonious singsongy music is playing.

another really funny thing is how every time they do a scene with an eva unit they’re like “oh no! something is going wrong! cut the power! aaah it’s not responding we can’t stop it!! oh no this is unprecedented!”. yes this is very precedented actually it happens literally every time. i know theres no suspense in an easy mission and they’re trying to drive that controlling the evas is janky as hell but you gotta have SOME standard of success/normalcy to compare to sjkdskdfdsf

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on the rebuilds....yeah no i don’t intend on watching them [unless it’s as a group with friends or something] If i’ve communicated nothing else in all this, i’d hope i got across that i admire nge mostly for the incredible efficiency of its narrative. It’s tight, focused, makes the most of that it’s got, and doesn’t go anywhere it doesn’t need to. i wouldn’t have been able to see a purpose for the rebuilds to have a new character in the first place, and after hearing a bit about said character’s evident production hell, uhhhhh. Lmao. i’d already think it loses something by not having by not having such tight budget restraints-since those no doubt factored into the way its tone was played here, but if they’re also adding shit just to add shit i Really don’t care.

that’s it i dont have a cool conclusion to all this or anything. i just needed to get all the thoughts out so i didn’t go insane. thanks for reading!

[hungry-skeleton]

hey question how do i get into red vs blue because im genuinely curious about it and want to watch it👀👀👀

Honestly the best way to do it is just watch it! Despite its length (currently 18 seasons with the last season on its way) it probably won't take you long to finish. The episodes themselves aren't really that long and you can finish a whole season in about an hour or two

Here's the official playlist of the whole series!!

Some things to note if you really wanna commit your life to rvb

The r slur is used a handful of times in the early seasons, surprisingly not as often as you might think for a series made by old gamers. They eventually stop using it though. Keep in mind this show started in 2003 which is older then quite a lot of people on this site so I think they can get a little slack for the early episodes having some out of touch humor (doesn't make it right of course but yknow, what can you do)

Series starts kind of slow but starts ramping up pretty quick, if you feel a bit bored to start don't give up right away! I recommend getting through seasons 1-2 first which should only take like 2 hours

The entirety of season 14 is a half-canon anthology series. I recommend not skipping it though, it's very enjoyable

There's a bunch of mini series that take place in random places in the timeline on the playlist too, DW about watching them in order they aren't even required but they're fun!

Everything after season 13 might not be canon actually we aren't 100% sure on that but it's also like... Kind of canon too.... We'll cross that bridge when we get to it

The series does have a fall out later on because of changing writers but it never really gets BAD just.. Not as good

Except season 16. Fuck season 16. All my homies hate season 16. And you gotta watch it for context in season 17 I'm so sorry it's so bad it's sooo bad

EDIT: I changed my mind skip 16-18 entirely they're gonna be non canon anyway and I swear to you there is literally no entertainment value in any of them don't fucking watch them they're so horribly bad <-is watching them

Now a lot of this stuff might sound discouraging but if anyone is actually willing to give this series a try I REALLY do recommend it! It's probably one of the best examples of adult comedy. Adult comedy shows (especially animation) sometimes fall into the trap of needing to be excessively violent and sexual and mean in order to be mature but that inadvertently makes the series feel very immature. Red vs Blue DOES make sex jokes and it is violent sometimes but it's never in an overbearing and childish way (except season 16 that's literally all that season is I'm so sorry) it executes its humor great, it relies a lot on just how insane the MCs are in a relatively normal world and it's so entertaining whenever we leave the bubble of the main cast and realize "oh these guys are just fucked up"

It has great characters and a story that really hooks you when you don't expect it to. If you're still willing to try it PLEASE do! It's an icon of pop culture for a reason!

[medievildead]

Cool Facts about GoW Hermes

I'm well aware that Hermes enjoyers are still alive or newly birthed and just as you all were I was very saddend by his abrupt death (lying) but good news is he's a sidecharacter in the novels. For those who don't own the novels or can't get your hands on them allow me to share with you every single tidbit about Hermes that the novels reveal

As one would assume he is so pompus and overly confident of himself. He's so proud of himself for no reason and he behaves like a spoiled rich kid

Secretly though (not really secretly) he's kind of a wussy. He's quick to egg someone on because he knows he's faster and can dodge crap and be a jerk, but if he were in a situation where his speed and cunning couldn't help him he'd end up getting his ass beat. But even after he'd still be a jerk about it

Most of his strength is in his thunder thighs (obviouly) and he loves his own body way too much. Like he's very proud of his body. He has no shame showing off his bare ass

The only person he's really afraid of is Zeus. He's cocky and mean to everyone except Zeus, who he calls Skyfather. He knows Zeus has the power to turn him to dust in seconds so he tries to behave around him. Tries

There are SO many instances where Zeus is horrible to Hermes and everyone else on Olympus frankly, but because Hermes is so devoted he just keeps trying to serve and earn Zeus' trust. Even after being banished to earth at one point because all Hermes did was tell the truth about Kratos being alive.

When Hermes is nervous or incredibly exiteable, the wings on his boots start flapping and he hovers. (:

When he gets really upset, he will throw a tantrum. And I'm not exaggerating or anything, he does throw a tantrum. Literally he starts stomping his feet and folding his arms like a toddler. and going WAAAAH WHY DOESNT THE WORLD REVOLVE AROUND MEEEEE like the spoiled adult brat he is

At one point he is referred to as "almost handsome" and its the funniest shit ever

He has hots for Athena. At least the reader assumes that with context. He tries to play it off as kidding constantly, but it happens so often that it just radiates the energy of a guy sending a creepy text and then saying "sorry wrong number" after getting rejected. Athena is chaste obviously so she keeps shutting Hermes down, but he is a persistent asshole.

Hermes considers Athena his bestie and even tells her so. She doesn't really feel the same way but she isn't a monster at this point in time so she does constantly try to help him because she feels pity for him when he's down. At one point Hermes begs for her help and looks at her like this 🥺 while tugging her arm and she's just like oh my god he is such a loser I can't leave him here

Despite being a god of so many social things, Hermes doesn't like people that much. He seeks temporary oasis in secluded places in order to be alone. Like the deserts of Egypt, which he claims to enjoy

He talks very highly of Perseus (i wonder why lol) and he was actually the one who sent Perseus to kill Kratos. Athena kind of made fun of Hermes after Perseus died. Was funny

[jeanmoreaux]

I want to understand so bad why so many people love Catching Fire 😭😭😭 idk why I remember getting bored send help I need to reread the series

Pls tell me what makes so enjoyable for you?

i think on my first read the story definitely managed to subvert my expectations; the twist and turns caught me off guard (which makes sense for a 13yo i guess but i like to believe that even for more experienced readers the story went ways they didn’t expect). to me the tension that this book creates is just something that draws me in (a tension that is created by an instability you can find in every aspect of the narrative). because the stakes rise—this is not just a story about an arena and 24 kids fighting to the death anymore. it’s about an entire nation and its people now. the internal politics take up much more space, you can see the oppressive system at work much more intimately because you see that it extends into every aspect of life in panem. it’s every and influences everyone. not even the capitol‘s citizen are exempt from experiencing the consequences of it in one way or another. you see how, intentionally or unintentionally, some are complicit in their own oppression while others, just as intentionally or unintentionally, rebel against it. and then you have the ones that actively fight it despite the threat of violence and death. you see how fear and propaganda are used to ensure obedience but it also clearly shows you how this method of control is playing with fire…. because desperate people have nothing to lose. for me, cf manages to but thg into a context that gives these games even more (symbolic) meaning. and ofc tensions also rise BETWEEN and WITHIN characters. the everlark dynamic is especially delicious to me in this book (some of these scenes are like bread and butter to me i‘ll never get over them). haymitch relationship with both peeta and katniss is so interesting ESPECIALLY when you know how he’s essentially betraying them both in different ways for half of the book. i also adore some of the side characters we‘re introduced to (finnick and johanna mean so much to me <333). and when it comes to katniss‘s inner world i think the tension collins creates shines the most. the first person narration lets you experience katniss‘s turmoil in a manner that has you realise how torn she is between different impulses and wishes and hopes and fears. and that makes so much sense given the situations she‘s finds herself in throughout the book. and ngl her reluctance to engage with this revolution and accept the role the rebels have assigned to her makes her such an interesting character to me. it’s so realistic how she deals with this entire situation. and what’s even more tragic is how realistic it is that friends and enemies and strangers alike us her for their own agenda without ever even really think about if that’s something she wants. because they can justify it as being ‘for the greater good’…..

the plot covers so much ground as well, from the victory tour to the quarter quell, and both just adds to add to our understanding of panem as a political entity. to have them back in the games again is exciting as well because technically things shouldn’t be different but they are, and they are not what you expect, which just adds to this feeling of instability that the book as a whole evokes in the reader. and at the same time there are light and funny and sweet moments this book that don’t feel out of place because they still have a space in this world that’s only at the brink of rebellion but not quite there yet. and these moments just make you feel for these characters even more because you want That for them. you want them to be happy and safe but you know that they won’t be because the scale is about to tip one way or another and you Know their situation is precarious.

idk there is just so much There from a textual analysis standpoint as well. it’s hard to explain why i love it so much tbh. i just think it’s really well written and very exciting almost in an anxiety-inducing way because you’re trapped in katniss’s head and she’s being drag in all these different directions by all these different people without really knowing what’s going on. like maybe my reread thread will give you some idea (it’s by far not everything that stood out to me. the post would have to be at least six times as long to come even close. i mean i don’t think i even mentioned some very basic stuff like the overpolicing and police brutality in district 11—a district with a majority of black citizens). there is also my VERY short goodreads review. i wish i could list you all the reasons this book is my favourite in the series but like you probably realised i am struggling to break it down even a little bit.

[sinkableruby]

So, how did you end up stumbling into Monogatari as a series? And who would you say was your Favorite character before Ougi filled that spot? I'd love to ask more about Ougi but, y'know, personal spoilers and all.

oh oh oh yes i have an answer for this one

actually the answer to both is nadeko!! you are right that ougi is my all time fave but nadeko was acc my fave before them and still holds my second place slot!! talking about it below with spoiler talks of otorimonogatari

similarly to you i stumbled upon it in my teens like a while back. my first impression was like the memes and stuff of course with renai circulation and what not. which led to me seeing a comparison video of renai circulation and mousou express, which is super interesting and cool even without context. and scary for that matter mousou express is kind of terrifying. it leaves an incredibly lasting impression, and it certainly did on me back then. of course it helped that i like the songs too. i also saw a clip of her in medusa form which was intriguing (and also i love the design of it). this on its own though was not enough to get me to watch. actually no wait i think i tried to watch it but the order was so confusing that i started with like nise by accident somehow and i had no idea what was going on so i quit lmao. but i was still curious about the series partly due to nadeko and partly bc it was like one of those big shows that you hear about yk

then fast forward a while, i hear the kizumonogatari movies r comin out so im like fuck it lets watch even tho i have no context. luckily they turned out to be prequel stories and my experience was not totally ruined by this move lol. of course, they were really good, those movies are amazing. so now i was like more invested in the story, but only by a little bit more. the final push i needed to actually try to watch (again) was ultimately because i was so curious about nadeko. tbh she was also the reason why i finished the series in the first place. monogatari on first watch for me was overwhelming and very dense (i mean, its a dense show), and before otori i actually wasn't enjoying it like a LOT, especially not with all the weird bits the series likes to throw at you. not to say that i disliked it, it just wasn't like amazing to me. of course now i feel differently and love the early parts of the series very much too, but first watch was slightly rough at times and took me a while to complete. learning what was gonna happen with nadeko was a big motivating factor for me.

but then when i acc got to otori i was like HOLY SHIT ITS ME lmao. i mean id already liked nadeko the best from the very little id seen of her and the fuzzy spoiler memory of vaguely what was going to happen in her arc. but man otori was so good and resonated with me so much, every single moment of it was so gripping to me. i loved the stark contrast in nadeko's perspective from araragi's (esp noticeable in how she sees her classmates), how it's already set up at the very beginning as a story where she Gets Worse so there's a feeling of profound dread surrounding it, her outburst at school (my jaw actually dropped at the "shut up!" i was so shocked and then hyped lol), just like everything about kuchinawa, the incredible ost (not to mention that op of course). ougi actually did contribute to the enjoyment bc she brought up such interesting ideas at the beginning and is generally such an enigma, but shes not the focus here right now i just cant help but bring up ougi in any situation. but yeah otori hands down one of my favorite arcs, one of the ones i still go back to rewatch frequently for the profound effect it had on me and the comfort it brings

its like what you were talking about with hanekawa. nisioisin truly did an incredible job with his characterization to make so many very true-to-life and nadeko is absolutely no exception, she is very relatable to me. i've got a lot of experience in life being shy, quiet, socially anxious, generally anxious lol (although not anymore!), and as 'the sweetheart who can do no wrong', so it's very much nadeko's specific brand of avoidance and like... 'outward-facing personality management' that resonates with me, if that makes sense. i was completely aligned with her during that whole watchthrough of otori in terms of feeling how she felt. i was seeing myself reflected back at me from the screen lol. of course we have lots of differences too but the similarities were really capturing to me on my first watch through and kinda catapulted me to finish the rest. her later appearances only added onto my appreciation of her too. i'll leave it there though since you don't know so much about that yet. when u get there ill probably have more to talk about. but shes a wonderful character love her very much.

also. ghh. i wish i could say more about ougi. you have no idea. im so curious to see what you will think of them. im practically vibrating with how much i want to talk about them (a constant state of being for me). but i wont say anything yet. i will be Hush...