#But yeah; I am debating using some icons cause their from the new season and I don't wanna spoil people

[siixkiing]

The struggle when you made new icons but because they’re from the new season you’re not sure if you should use them yet 

[theparanormalperiodical]

The True Story Behind The Amityville Horror (1979) And The 9 Other Times Paranormal Evidence Was Used In Court

I can hear the birds singing.

I can see a brilliant blue sky as it bathes my small Kentish town in the year’s first rays of light.

And I can feel the first thawe of February.

F*ck off winter, and hello spring!

As I sit on my bed, looking outside my window at the resurrection of the once-green landscape of my hometown, I am reminded of the true meaning of this season: life.

The mating season begins for most small, furry creatures, daffodils stand proudly as the first flower to mark their territory, and, like, there’s something about Jesus but I don’t think that had that much of an impact on the world, did it?

But I’m not the first person who was eager to turn their back on winter - the season of death - and look forward to a brighter year.

I’m sure the Lutz family, having fled their family home in mid-January, were just as ready to quash their terrifying experiences that were only darkened by the brutal winter months.

“Lutz… I know that name.”

Unless you were only until recently within a cult and decided to turn your back on Almighty Zarp Goddess Of Destruction, you’ll probably have heard that surname before. But who were they?

Well, to jog your memory, they were a small All-American family who lived in a small All-American town known as Amityville.

Yeah, there you go, now you know where I’m heading with this.

(Or you read the title of this post.)

Amityville is a town in New York which set the scene for probably the most famous haunting the world has ever witnessed. And with several families undergoing intense happenings - from murders to manic paranormal activity - this house has earned its place in the history books.

Oh, and on the big screen, too; 16 feature films have retold the story, including one film which featured Mr Pool himself, Ryan Reynolds.

So, as your favourite paranormal blogger, I thought I’d devote an article to the insanity that was Amityville, and dissect how real the reality shown in the films was for the 2 families that once lived at 112 Ocean Drive.

And I’m not stopping there.

What made this haunting so iconic was how it planted its paranormal feet into the legal system as a result of the murder case the hauntings are linked to. But the thing is, Amityville is far from alone when it comes to legal courts having to deal with the supernatural.

There are actually 9 other prominent legal cases from which the courts have had to debate and discuss the paranormal.

And I’m gon’ tell you all about ‘em.

*Bangs gavel*

Before We Get Spooky, Let’s Summarise What The Films Had To Say About This Haunting

(And they’ve got a lot to say.)

Like I said, there are 16 films that claim they document the events witnessed by the Lutz family in their short stay. No, really, they were there for less than 28 days.

From 1979 all the way up to 2017, we have a variety of films that explore what went down in that house, and, given they are horror films, we also get a few laughs along the way.

Like the 1992 classic Amityville: It’s About Time, which sounds like it might star Vin Diesel in a Fast and Furious crossover.

Or maybe how in the same year Amityville: Playhouse and Amityville: Death House hit the theatres.

And even the rendition of the Amityville Horror from which the realtor having shown the new occupants around the house died in the driveway when he attempted to leave the property!

So, to cut out that crap, I’ve decided to just recap what occurs in the 3 most popular movies of this franchise:

The Amityville Horror (1979), The Amityville Horror (2005), and Amityville: Awakening (2017).

The Amityville Horror (1979)

Sharing the same title as the book supposedly based on the real events witnessed by the Lutz family, this film was the first to share the story of the DeFeo family and the following inhabitants of the house. . The film starts by showing us the final moments of the DeFeo family, from which some bloke kills all of ‘em. From there we bear witness to a new family moving into the home.

And things get spooky quickly.

A visit from a priest gives us the first signs of the supernatural as he  experiences a variety of attacks from beyond the grave, whether its swarms of flies to a blistered hand when trying to warn Kathy, the mother of the family, about. An angry spirit then tells him to ‘get out’, triggering his complete mental breakdown.

The paranormal forces then encroach on the patriarch of the famalam - George - leaving him to split firewood to keep the constant cold at bay. Unexplained events begin to haunt the entire family:

The young daughter of the family mentions an imaginary friend, and a pig with glowing red eyes is seen by her bedroom window. The doggo then becomes cray-cray about the basement which is later revealed to conceal a small, hidden room that has red walls.

Things then get weirder. George begins to wake up at 3.15am every morning to check on the boathouse, and Kathy has nightmares which reveal details of what down in the first scene of the movie. A quick trip to the archives later, and she deduces that this house is built on a Shinnecock (Native American) burial ground, and that a satan worshipper - John Ketchum - once lived there.

If that wasn’t enough, she discovers the story of the DeFeo family, and notes that Ronald DeFeo - the murderer - looks uncomfortably similar to George.

It all comes to a head when blood oozes down the staircase and Jody (you know, the sweet adorable imaginary friend who is actually a pig) is seen through the window. Oh, and George tries to kill everyone with an axe.

Kathy brings him out of his trance, and they both get the f*ck outta the house.

We are told that they didn’t return for their belongings.

The Amityville Horror (2005)

For this modern retelling of the original film, the scenes are re-arranged, the hauntings are more minimalist, and just a dash of Ryan Reynolds is added.

And is he playing Ryan Reynolds? ‘Course.

But the major difference between the OG and this icon is that the basis for the hauntings is explored in a much more artistic and developed way:

We see the Native Americans that were supposedly tortured and killed by some guy called Ketchum, and we even see Ketchum himself! Well, for a very brief moment; he simply recreates his suicide and spews blood over Ryan Reynolds George.

This possesses him, and causes him to try and kill the rest of his family as they try to escape the house.

Kathy knocks Ryan Reynolds George out and takes him off the property to release him from Ketchum’s control.

Aside from the greater detail regarding Ketchum - that is, we discover that he was in a cult and was a reverend - we also see Jodie for the first time. No, she’s not the demonic pig we see in the first film. She’s a young creepy-ass girl instead.

What a trade!

The film ends just like the OG, with a title card explaining that they pissed off and never returned to the house. But once again, a divergence with the 1970s version is revealed. 

No, not the questionable hairstyles and cinematic style that looks like it was filmed with a toaster:

The final scene shows Jodie scream in terror inside the house as the furniture rearranges itself. She is then dragged beneath the floorboards by two hands, and the screen fades to black…

This confirms that this movie - alongside the later renditions of the story - don’t necessarily point to a specific haunting, but rather look at the house as the source of the haunting. In fact, they just skip out the DeFeos altogether!

This is down to the fact that the movies are directly based on the book of the same name which was released in 1977. Based off 45 hours worth of tapes from the Lutz family, this book wasn’t necessarily written with the family, but clearly had enough information to brew this highly controversial book.

The events charted in the book will be discussed later in this post.

Amityville: Awakening (2017)

The latest film in this franchise swaps out one famous face for another - Bella Thorne stars as a teen that moves into the infamous house with her family and brain-dead brother.

But instead of retelling the Lutz’s story yet again, it explores the power of the house as it slowly begins to possess the brother until he begins to carry out the murders that plague the house.

It is even revealed that the mother brought them to the house in the hope that the demonic energy would help the brother. But, with a gaggle of friends who know the story of the house - and even show the main character the 2005 film - they help her defend against the powers of the house.

The film ends with the sister dragging her brother out of the house and beyond the magic circle she drew, ending the power of the house over the brother after he begins murdering various family members.

The final scene notes that the main character is being questioned by the police, bringing us back to the main point of this post:

This haunting set itself apart by roping in the legal courts.

But how true were these films to the real claims made by the family? And what really happened on November 13th 1974?

What Really Happened At 112 Ocean Avenue?

Whenever someone mentions Amityville, someone gets sued.

Some guy writes a book? They get taken to court. Another bloke makes a film? Lawyers get pissy about the new details added in.

But obviously, this all started in 1974, when Ronald DeFeo killed all 6 members of his family at 112 Ocean Avenue. The courts definitely got involved then, and they are still are - he is currently serving time having been convicted of second degree murder in 1975.

The DeFeo’s deaths were rather peculiar though, mirroring an almost ritualistic scene; each victim was found lying in their bed, face down. At first he ran out of the house and reported that his family had been shot, only confessing days later that he was the killer.

The family had lived in the house since 1965, and thus spent a decade in what many presume to be a haunted due to the experiences of the Lutzes. Could this have caused the murders?

According to some, the paranormal forces could’ve been at the house before the DeFeos moved in as the insanity defense pedalled by DeFeo’s lawyers claimed that he heard the voices of his family plotting against him.

"Once I started, I just couldn't stop. It went so fast" - Ronald DeFeo 

I’m sure this mirrors the beliefs and actions of most murderers, but this sense of being out of control or maybe even not yourself certainly fits the bill of possession that the movies always pin on George Lutz.

The isolation of the George figure we see in the film and the voices heard throughout suggest this, but the DeFeo story is often skipped in the films and the books.  

Yet despite DeFeo’s confession, the murders are still bathed in mystery. The police were puzzled by the fact that the corpses showed no sign of struggle, and were confused by the sheer scale and speed that the killings would have required. On top of this, neighbours didn’t hear the shots despite the gun not having a silencer.

Even the motive was uncertain.

Sure, DeFeo did ask about his father’s life insurance very quickly following his death, but many didn’t think that was reason enough to kill one’s entire family.

DeFeo’s story has twisted and turned overtime, but one thing is for sure: no haunting is ever mentioned in this side of the story. 

None. Nada. Zilch.

This is why any retelling of Amityville focuses on the murders that took place there, but also tries to trace back the haunting to a satanic cause buried in the history of the house.

To this day the question still stands: what really caused the haunting of Amityville?

The book The Amityville Horror (1977) tries to answer this question, and charts each claim of the Lutz family. And unfortunately, it confirms that the films portray an uncomfortably accurate haunting.

The hauntings noted by the Lutz family are nothing short of incredible - however you interpret my use of that word..

The spooky goings-on reported include:

A priest being told to ‘get out’ and his subsequent telephone call warning the family to stay out of a room being cut short

George would wake up at 3.15am an check the boathouse - this was the estimated time of the murders

Flies would swarm the house despite their arrival in mid-winter

Kathy would have violent and detailed nightmares about the murders

The family members all began to sleep on their stomachs

Missy, the daughter, made an imaginary friend called Jodie, a pig with red glowing eyes

Green slime oozed from walls

Hoof prints similar to that of a pig were spotted in the snow

However, the most intriguing piece of the paranormal discovered at Amityville was that small room with red walls that was found in the basement - a room considered to be the source of the evil in the house. And, just like in the films, the family dog had severe reactions to it such as cowering and refusing to go near it.

It was only when they fled to a relative’s house and saw slime coming up the stairs towards them that they decided that they would not be returning to 112 Ocean Avenue.

Evidently the silver screen tapped into the nature of the hauntings, but the possession of George Lutz? According to the Lutzes, it only went as far as George noticing that he bore a resemblance to Ronald.

What about Reverend Ketchum? And the Native American burial ground?  

Doesn’t exist and didn’t happen. 

Well, okay, some bloke called Ketchum would have existed - this was a popular name for settlers from England. But there’s no evidence that he spent his spare time in a cult or murdered Native Americans there. And the Shinnecock Native Americans? Sure, they exist, but leaders claimed this was not a burial ground.

In reality, all we have is a chaotic level of activity.

Or do we?

The book has encountered a fair share of controversy, with most major details being overturned.

Hoof prints in the snow? It didn’t snow that day.

The red room? It was a closet, and it wasn't concealed.

The claims by the priest? He never said they were of paranormal origin.

"Nothing weird ever happened, except for people coming by because of the book and the movie." - The couple that lived there after the Lutzes.

The 9 Other Cases Of Evidence Of The Paranormal Being Used In Court

I love me a ghost.

The problem is, there’s a lot of ‘em.

You’d think Amityville was like the only case where the paranormal made their way into court cases, stamping the supernatural into legal files and sending shivers down the jury’s spine…

But unfortunately, that is not true.

It turns out that tales of haunting are actually clogging up legal archives. And no, I don’t mean cases where a woman would sneeze in the 16th century and they would legally have some right to burn her cause clearly she was a witch.

In fact, some of these mysterious mentions have founded laws!

“Alexa, play the Legally Blonde soundtrack.”

#1 - The Greenbrier Ghost

Woman dies. Husband acts suspicious. Husband acts more suspicious. Ghost tells mother the husband did it. Case closed.

No, seriously - that’s what happened.

Elva Zona Heaster was murdered in 1897 at the hands of her husband. Having broken her neck, he claimed complications with pregnancy killed her, and dressed the corpse to prevent people seeing the real cause of her death.

The grandmother was the first to become unsure of his story having washed the scarf that was tied around her daughter’s definitely-not-f*cked-up neck and being unable to wash out a blood stain. She began to pray, and her daughter’s spirit explained to her what occurred.

She even did an Exorcist and twisted her head round to confirm just in case her mam didn’t get the message.

She reported the sighting, and the deputies immediately questioned people of interest. The body was reinvestigated, and the husband arrested.

Boom. Ghosted.

#2 - The Hammersmith Ghost Murder

You’d expect most cases mentioned here to involve someone being murdered and their ghost being the problem, right?

This bad boy bucks the trend.

Its 1803, and we are in fair London town. A ghost is on the loose from, I don’t know, hell, and is wandering the streets. An armed patrol is in the area to protect the citizens when a figure emerges, wearing all white.

“Looks pretty ghosty to me, must shoot ghost” thinks one of the armed patrol guys. They shoot ghost, but ghost is actually a bricklayer.

F*ck.

The British courts thus debate whether attacking or killing someone out of a misunderstanding counts as a crime. It officially becomes a part of UK law that stands to this day that such an act is not worthy of a sentence as if the crime was intentionally committed.

#3 - Stambovsky vs. Ackley

Also known as The Ghostbusters Ruling, this takes us to the other side of the Pond, all the way to New York. Oh, and this time we aren’t in the 19th century, it's 1991, instead.

The story goes a buyer bought a house that was widely believed to be haunted, but they weren't aware of these claims. Thus, they asked for a recission of the contract and claimed that this sale was fraudulent as they concealed the haunting to avoid lowering the sale price.

The courts - after much mocking and deliberation - finally came to the conclusion that legally the house was haunted, and therefore houses that are supposedly haunted must be presented in this way.

#4 - The Devil Made Me Do It Case

This case does what it says on the tin, and is even set to be the basis for the next instalment of The Conjuring franchise.

The trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson has already been covered by this blog (that awesome post about The Conjuring 3),  but for those not up-to-date on all the amazing articles I do, I guess I’ll just have to fill you in:

The story goes that whilst clearing out a house they just rented, David Johnson encountered an old man - who we now believe to be a demon - that began to slowly possess him.

David was only 12 years old, so, to protect him, Arne (his father) asked for the demon to possess him instead.

However, it was during an altercation with their landlord, Alan Bono, that the demon reportedly influenced Arne’s actions and assisted in his murder. In fact, it was Lorraine Warren that was the first to go to the police and make the initial claim that it was the demon that caused the murder.

The legal team roped in lawyers who had worked on similar cases abroad, and exorcism specialists were encouraged to speak up and defend Arne.

Their efforts did not prove successful, however, and Arne was handed a sentence of 20 years. He only served 5.

#5 - Booty vs. Barnaby  

No, this isn’t the title of the next Cardi B album. Instead, it's another historic tale from my homeland.

Our story starts in 1687, when some bloke called Captain Barnaby is on holibobs in Stromboli. When he’s not busy shooting innocent animals, he’s watching his next door neighbour from London Town getting chased by a phantom into the mouth of an active volcano.

No, I’m serious.

The neighbour’s wife thought the story sounded ridiculous too, which is why she had him arrested for slander. But then 30 of his crew supported his claims, clearing his name, and leaving a rather peculiar tale clogging up our court records.

#6 - The Haunting Of Lowes Cottage, Derbyshire

For some reason, every person buying a house in the ‘90s was using the hottest new way to bag a bargain: just say it's haunted or somethin’!

And that’s exactly what happened in fair Derbyshire. The Smith family were keen to move into their new cosy ‘lil cottage, but the oozing walls, ghostly hands sexually assaulting family members, the pig faced boy and other strange occurrences were a cause for concern.

(Obviously.)

Having withheld payment for the property due to the events noted, they took the sellers to court, saying it should be reduced by £50,000. Even the vicar threw in his two cents, offering up the evidence which sounded a lot like a little house in a place called Amityville.

Ever heard of it?

The case was eventually thrown out of court by the judge.

#7 - Reed vs. King

Before the DeFeos were murdered, and before the Lutzes even made the mistake of telling their furniture movers to head to 112 Ocean Avenue, a court case regarding a haunted house first hit the legal scene.

Our story starts in Grass Valley. A family moved into a new home, but the estranged husband paid a visit one night, and murdered 5 of the family members and injured 2 others.

Many years passed, and the Reed family shacked up here. However, it was only when they were told of the true events that transpired that the new residents became concerned. Sure, no one mentioned a haunting per say, but they claimed that the house “retained an echo”.

Small bloody footprints, blood stains smeared on the walls - no, it's not the bathroom after I’ve emptied my Diva Cup - it’s what Reed began to see throughout the house.

Reed thus decided to sue the sellers of the house, claiming that they tried to conceal the murders to avoid a wowcher.com-esque deal. But, when the case went to court, Reed didn’t mention hide nor hare of potential ghosts - instead, the potential haunting was used against them to prove how ridiculous the claims were.

#8 - The Death Of Estefania Guitterez Lazaro

It’s been discussed, dissected, and even given a Netflix contract - the death of this Madrid teen in 1992 is  officially one of the most prominent cases of possession to date.

Despite slipping under the radar, this tale is known not for its rather simple story, but because it was the first modern-day haunting that was verified by police reports.

The story goes that Estefania died following a session using a Ouija board with her friends in school. When interrupted by a teacher for trying to contact the dead, Estefania became possessed. A strange vapour began to enter her mouth and nose, and from there her seizures and hallucinations began.

After her death in hospital, the family claimed there was a variety of paranormal activity occurring throughout the family home. From the picture of Estefania catching fire of its own accord, to unexplained noises and a rather slimy, broken crucifix, the police had seen enough.

A report was filed citing the unexplained events and confirmed it was the paranormal.

#9 - The Exorcism Of Anneliese Michel

This is one of the most tragic tales I’ve ever had to write about.

Anneliese Michel’s story has been detailed on this blog many-a-time, and has received its fair share of attention in popular culture, including in the film The Exorcism Of Anneliese Michel.

But the main reason it’s been recognised as possibly the most famous case of possession is because it brought the paranormal firmly into the legal courts. Due to Michel’s extremely weak state at the time of her death - including weighing only 68 pounds at the time of her death - the priests that carried out the exorcisms were charged with negligent homicide.

However, it's not the fact that they were charged that puts the supernatural spin on this case.

To fight their corner, the priests used tapes that recorded Michel’s exorcism to bolster their claims of her possession and had her body exhumed.

Their mere 6 month stint in jail was down to the jury’s beliefs that they didn’t intend to harm her, nor neglect her. And the suspension of their time behind bars confirms that their case was backed up by their claims.

But let it not be mistaken: the jury weren’t convinced that Michel was in fact possessed - they were convinced that Michel’s belief in her possession could only be alleviated by the priests’ actions.

*Bangs gavel* What’s your verdict?

Is the jury out? Are you pissin’ on my leg and telling me it’s raining?

Or are you still awake at 3am and waiting to see the glowing red eyes of little Missy’s childhood bestie?

If so, why not fill the rest of your evening with the rest of my awesome articles on real paranormal activity just like this... Don’t forget to hit follow, too, to get a new ghost story in your feed everyday!

[bestnoncannonship]

Alright..I'mma get in on this VC fancasting debate.

As a director, I often have a LOT of opinions on people's casting decisions. A LOT. (Someday, I'll write a novella on Ken Brannaugh's casting.) So as I see a LOT of fancasts casts based on how people look and few based on whether or not the actor can likely handle the role, I'mma throw my hat in the ring. (Warning....the more I write the less technical and more shitposty this is gonna get!) So here you go! The Vampire Chronicles series if I got to cast and direct it!!

The Brat Prince:

Most importantly....we gotta get us a Lestat. And the choice is clear:

Evan Williams: this fabulous shitposting aesthetic trash is as close to the one and only Vampire Lestat as we are gonna get on this plane of existance. He is all charm and quite light in his loafers and a complete mess.......but most importantly, he has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is able to play a character that does inexplicable and morally reprehensible things while still being read as highly sympathetic, likable, and even a hero. That's what I worry about most with Lestat. He really is a very terrible person who doesn't learn or face too many consequences. And he has to be very very very sympathetic. Not just "Oh I Stan that villain" likeable.....but a true hero. And it takes a very. Special. Actor. To pull that shit off. And this is it. This is the guy. He was hired to play an Iago-esque gay villain type in Versailles, STOLE THE SHOW OUT FROM UNDER GEORGE BLAGDEN (no mean feat as Blaggy was giving a hell of a performance) and made his character a beloved icon. Yeah....I trust him to lead a show. I trust him to be Lestat.

Nicholas L'enfant:

Okay not gonna lie I struggled with this one. There was someone else I wanted to see in this role....but I decided he was better employed elsewhere. And this is who I ended up with:

Yep. George Blagden. See...in the grand scheme of things Nikki is a very low-screentime role that has a LOT of impact on the story. And who better to trust with low screentime that the god of grantaires, who took a few small shots and lines and GAVE US A FULLY CHARACTERIZED GRANTAIRE in the Les Mis film. He is very sweet faced, and easy to like, can make being an on screen depressive fascinating instead of dull and has proven time and time again that he is the master of the complete mental breakdown, complete with horrifying but tragic crazy eyes. Also.....he bears a strong enough physical resembles to.....

Louis!!!!:

Our beautiful depressed dark angel with a vampire eating disorder who has no self esteem and is still in love with his abuser needs nuance. He needs soul. And he needs a sweet and delicate beauty. And so:

Alexaner Vlahos!!! The soulful eyes!! The delicate bone structure!!! The slight tones of simmering resentment!!! The ability to play a character that could have become VERY one note VERY quickly with goregeous amounts of nuance and sympathy!!! Vlavla has quite the varied resume. Mordred. Phillipe. Romeo. Captain Hook. To put it lightly he has a LOT of range and the one through line is he is NEVER boring. He plays a lot of roles that could very quickly become boring and one note (Romeo? Captian snooze right there!). But every second he's on screen or stage he is so completely alive in whatever he is feeling. I TRUST him to keep the entirety of Louis's brooding nuanced and fascinating for an audience and to physically and facially convey Louis's very important internal monologue that we will not be able to hear because this version is going to be from Lestat's point of veiw. I toggled with the idea of making him Nikki for a while....but ended up with Louis for 2 reasons. 1) he doesn't need the scripted plot drama Nikki has written in to make a compelling character and 2) he and Williams share such beautiful chemistry. Whenever they're together, even off screen, their focus shifts so that they orbit each other like bianary stars and any director can see that that's something that should be explored and exploited to add demension to the Louis/Lestat relationship and justify why they keep coming back to each other.

(And so ends the Men of Versailles segment of my fancast. So sue me. There's some incredible actors there.)

Let's return with

Gabrielle De Lioncourt:

The incomparable Alex Kingston, lately of River Song fame, though I met her as Elizabeth Corday, and Doctor Corday is driving this casting choice. I wanted an actor who was an appropriate age to play Williams's mother cause we don't fuck with that women are "old" at 30 shit in this house. And she can carry off the kind of "I will not hesitate to kill a man" BDE that Gabrielle requires without trying, but she's also proven herself comfortable and competent with the level of CAMP that VC requires. I can see her easily showing up on set for a few scattered episodes, slipping easily into the verse, and nailing the kind of woman who can put Lestat in his place then run back off to the jungle. Also....that De Lioncourt hair!!!!!

Marius "Daddy" Romanus:

Yep. This fuck. I can hear it now.... "Why isn't he lessssaaaat??? He's so blonde and prettttyyyyy????" Well....mainly because....I ain't sure this lil fuck can run a show as a very despicable but likeable hero yet. He's admirable. A good actor. A great villain. But not a hero and not heroically likeable. Personally, I'm of the opinion that in 10 or 15 years he will have grown into the ability to play something as complex as Lestat with likability....but for now.....DAMN is he a creepy imperial thing. He's got that "My house, my rules" vibe down. He's preditory. He's distinguished. He is Marius. And he's go the best Roman coin profile I've ever seen.

Armand:

N/A

Ok. Controversial decision....but I want to see a complete unknown as Armand. Send casting out to cast a wide net, scour the world for the Botticelli death machine. But definitely don't pull him from the pool of already famous younguns. Because your Armand needs to be deep. Skilled. And primarily UNSPOILED by the school of child acting that is forced upon child actors. (I was a commercial kid and child stage actor. It was terrible.) Go out and get some twinky fresh faced raw talent so you get depth.

Claudia:

N/A

Big old ditto on what I said above about child actors. A nice doe eyed unknown, preferably without a stage mom.

AKASHA:

Yikes. So many amazing choices!!! How do you follow Aliyah??

With literal human perfection Gina Torres of course!!! Again....I wanted to go with an older woman. Someone who would be seen as an authority to all vampires. Someone god damnned goregeous. And someone who I find intimidating. Also, since I'm skewing a little tall with this cast (at least as TV actors go) I wanted someone who comfortably stands among and above most of them! She's a seasond tested actor, and certified badass. And we know she can steal a scene. Besides if she can look regal as a queen in that weirdass dress they gave her in the serenity movie she can pull off whatever monstrosity costumes comes up with to follow the Aliyah getup.

Khayman:

Don't @ me but....I have a LOT of feelings about Khayman. I love his particularly breed of immortal insanity. I love the way immortality drove him mad into a childlike enjoyment and curiosity. And I knew exactly who has to be casted to play that combination of intimidating ancient and innocent curiosity:

This is Howard Charles. He is capable of playing both an intimidating giant and a sweet soulful cinnamon roll at the same time. I cannot sing this man's praises enough. Am I scared of him? Do I want to hug him? Both? He's also one of the best scene SHARERS I've seen on screen in a long time and that's very important in a supporting role.

Maharet:

Just because Anne Rice doesn't know shit about Mesopotamia doesn't mean we have to follow her in that. I wanted to pull from Middle Eastern or Indian populations for her to best reflect the look of the region in a time that's roughly in line with the pre-dynastic Egyptian mish-mosh associated with Akasha.

So I'm gunning for Indira Varma. When I say this woman has timeless beauty.....I mean timeless. She's as prehistorically hot as she is today. And she's such a strong actress, I want to give her a role that isn't 50% sex scenes. She's got both the warmth and the commanding strength to play Maharet. I would ideally like to get a dancer to play Mekare....someone who can handle the physical interp of the role. Probably an Indian dancer to match Indira Varma.

David Talbot:

In the newly declared tradition of Doctors playing Talbot:

This is the only current Gif I could find of Sylvester McCoy. Known to many as the Seventh Doctor. And to many as Ratagast the Brown. He embodies that sort of huffy aging britishness that David projects, but has the over the top personality that can give us those hints of the vitality of David's youth. Basically I can see this man telling stories about hunting tigers in India. Then when he gets the hot young Raglan James Body:

Luke Pasqualino. Swarthy young troublemaker. But for all the youthful good looks, he proved that he was able to play grace and gravitas as D'artagnion in the final season of the BBC Musketeers. I'd love to give him a chance to explore that deeper part. I also trust his ability to match the energy of a cast, which he did repeatedly on musketeers, and portray both the impulsive self aggrandizing Lestat in the Raglan James body and to play the DarkAU Musketeer type that is Raglan James himself.

That's literally all the Gifs I can put in a post. I know I skipped Daniel......but that's because I have surprisingly few opinions on Daniel.......he's very much a vanilla audience connecting character. I'd almost like to see an unknown in that role....just to see what we a new face could make.

And thus ends my casting of the Vampire Chronicles!!

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 3X01 - The Heart of the Truest Believer

Finally, I can start Season 3! It’s been so long that I can HEART-ly believe it!

...Did you miss the puns? I missed the puns. I don’t think Emma did, because I’m just hanging on by a thread! 

(Ha! Snuck two in!)

Anyway, let’s get under the cut and see what this episode has to offer!

Press Release Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, Mr. Gold and Hook enter Neverland to search for a kidnapped Henry, they’re greeted by a school of not-to-friendly mermaids who threaten to end their search before it begins; Henry finds himself on the run from the Lost Boys with another escapee from Peter Pan’s encampment; and Neal, recovering from his wounds, travels through the Enchanted Forest with Mulan in an attempt to learn the fates of Emma and Henry.

General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Neverland Seas ”I blame you.” Yeah, I disagree, Emma. For one thing, this plays a pretty small part of the overall story. For another, while they tried to convince her of what to do, it was Emma’s ultimate decision to do it. As she says, “We’re the same age. We have equal amounts of wisdom.” For a third, their decision, while endangering Henry, saved Regina. For a fourth, the only people’s faults for Henry’s capture are Greg and Tamara. *sighs* Look, I get Emma’s grief and worry, but this writing direction doesn’t feel genuine for her to deflect blaming Snow and David. It feels like a conflict was thrown in so that there would be more of a disconnect between her and her family.  I love Emma, but I can admit when a scene makes her completely unsympathetic despite the framing telling me otherwise, and this is a prime example. And here’s the thing: This never comes up again! Emma doesn’t apologize to them. This moment is utterly pointless!

The importance of teamwork is the big theme of this segment and once we get over that hiccup of a scene as I just mentioned, it’s delivered incredibly effectively. The conflicts between the characters, both internal and external, are incredibly real and no one is holding back. And the twist of those conflicts causing the storm is handled well! Rumple presents the bare essence of the theme, about Emma’s lack of belief, and because he chooses to go off on his own, the narrative has him fail by putting him into a traumatising position, whereas Emma’s belief in their abilities as a team and, in correlation with Rumple’s speech, herself, allows for the rest of the Nevengers to succeed.

Neverland Island So I have a nice bit to say about this segment, but it all applies to my “Favorite Dynamics” segment, so you’ll see that down there!

Enchanted Forest There’s not really much to be said about the story other than I liked it. That’s not to say that I didn’t like it or I didn’t appreciate the characters re-introduced or the interactions between them, but it was rather simple and that just doesn’t leave me a lot to talk about in terms of a breakdown of themes of major character actions. Still, the pacing was nice and the story was engaging!

Insights - Stream of Consciousness -So I didn’t realize that Emma giving birth to Henry was the first scene of the season. For some reason, I was under the impression that it happened at the start of “Coming Home,” but I honestly love it being here. Immediately, you get the sense that this arc was well planned so that it could return to this moment at the end of “Coming Home.”

-Also, I love that flicker of light as Emma gives birth! Such a special part of Emma’s life -- one filled with both joy and misery as she decides to give Henry away -- deserves the magical treatment!

-I seriously got choked up as Emma denied her chance at being Henry’s mother from the start. There’s so much love for him from the start and while it’s causing her so much pain, she’s doing what she thinks is best for him. And the gentle and yet powerful way the theme plays in the background just kills me. Swan Believer forever!

-Damn, what a cool way to go back to the present! We’re put right in the action, not missing a minute of the adventure.

-I will NEVER get over how much I love hearing Killian say “Neverland.” Whether in “The Crocodile” or here, Colin puts so much energy into the word, encompassing the danger and adventure to be found there.

-”It’s a good thing you guys don’t ask any questions.” My sentiments exactly, Henry!

-”More time than I care to remember trying to leave this place to kill Rumplestiltskin.” This provides some interesting insight into Killian’s character. It implies (to me) that he devised his Dreamshade plan with quite a few years to spare before his escape, whereas I always assumed that the planning took most of the time and that the escape was just a pinch of time towards the end.

-”Villains don’t get happy endings.” It’s incredible that this line, said by a character that left so little of an impression, is what follows Regina, Rumple, and Killian throughout basically the rest of the series.

-”That’s a great use of our time. A wardrobe change.” To be fair, Killian, Rumple’s not going to be in fighting shape sporting a Calvin Klein suit. This...honestly weird ass outfit makes the most sense.

-”You don’t believe in your parents, you don’t believe in magic, or even yourself.” Talk about a kickass line of foreshadowing of all that she’s going to overcome by the end of this arc!

-”When have you ever taken a real leap of faith?” Give it about a half hour, Rumple!

-So I must say, it’s funny that a lack of evidence is brought up as such a big story element here, but once Tink enters the picture, it’s her need for evidence as to the safety of their voyage back that secures it. A bit of dissonance, but nothing too severe.

-I love how Rumple spins his cane as he disappears. Rumple is the most beautifully extra person across the realms.

-I probably should’ve discussed this last time, but I love the design for the Lost Boys. They give off this air of being lost souls and their numbers stand to make them very intimidating.

-So going off of Greg’s death as well as the events of “Awake,” I’m gonna say that a shadow rip doesn’t necessitate death unless the shadow ripper wants it to mean death.

-”No time for questions.” I like that subtle line that’s in tune with Greg and Tamara’s line of no asking questions, foreshadowing the revelation about him.

-Damn! JMO is strong!

-The dialogue in the scene with Neal, Mulan, Aurora, and Phillip flows so naturally!

-”How long was he with you?” ”Long enough for me to know that I miss him, too.” I normally don’t make timeline jokes, but...come onnnnn!

-”I will not be capsized by fish.” This may be my new favorite David line.

-Also, any pretense that murder leaves any long-lasting effects of Snow and David go the fuck away when David tries to kill mermaids.

-Why didn’t Regina get rid of them earlier?

-”If Pan wants you, he WILL get you.” This line is delivered so well. Pan is not only just barely holding out from outright bragging, but is trying to deteriorate Henry’s belief and seeing that it isn’t working, cementing his part to play in Pan’s ploy.

-”Lead the way.” Am I the only one humming “Follow the Leader?”

-I like how, until Rumple enchants her, Tamara physically can’t talk. Very realistic.

-You know, everyone talks about heart colors when it comes to Rumple, Regina, Snow, and Killian, but does anyone notice how Tamara’s heart was pretty freakin’ red when Gold crushed it?

-Did no one read “Lord of the Flies?” Get the conch shell away from your enemies!

-”Filet the bitch.” I’m starting to think that all of my favorite character lines in this show have to do with aquatic life.

-”We need to think this through.” Emma, that why they’re shouting at each other. They’re discussing the matter.

-Okay, so I’m not the biggest Robin Sr. fan (And I’m hoping that this rewatch changes that for the better), but this was a solid entrance. It feels iconic, plays to the character’s power and good nature, and the more neutral yet noble tone that the scene requires plays well to Sean’s strengths.

-”See these markings? He was keeping track of me growing.” Awwwww!!! Papafire moment! That was necessary and beautiful!

-I just realized, this is our intro to blood magic! Cool!

-”I ruined YOUR life?” Regina, please. I thought we were past that…

-”Don’t call my wife a slag!” Yeah, Killian. You deserved the fuck outta that punch.

-I love the music that plays during the flying sequence! It’s gorgeous, distinct, and whimsical!

-CAPTAIN CHARMING BROMANCE!!! We have taken off!

-So I’m guessing that Rumple has encountered Felix at least one or two times.

-”Each of us have been too busy being at each other’s throats to be believers.” Those things aren’t correlated.

-”We need to do this the right way.” “No, we don’t. We just need to succeed.” YESSSS! Emma! That is my girl! She gets her tactics from her mama!!

-”It’s easier to get people to hate something than to believe.” That’s...incredibly accurate.

Arcs - How Are These Storylines Progressing? Everyone Working Together AND The Mission to Save Henry- ”It’s time for all of us to believe, not in magic, but in each other.” Emma’s speech took a sentence to get going, but once it did, DAMN did it get good! Now, as one gleams from this episode, these two arcs are one and the same. The only way Henry is saved is by working together, and this episode completely captures why that’s so important.

Emma Accepting Her Parents - This second-part-of-an-arc got off to SUCH a weak start, and that’s frustrating because I KNOW it gets better from here. But what I said above does apply.

Greg and Tamara - “We don’t ask questions. We just believe in our cause.” Holy crap. Tamara and Greg went from being two pretty intelligent and well designed villains into being total morons. I will say, part of me is glad that they did because if not, their conflict would’ve been way too close to a science vs. religion debate for comfort. But they also die here. To be honest, if anyone but Rumple was to find one of them, I’d rather it have been Greg who got the additional moments of life to speak and allow for Henry to get away. His story, well, was actually a story, whereas Tamara’s connection to Neal is loose at best.

Killian’s Redemption - Killian’s redemption takes an honest-to-goodness step forward. He’s acting on his decision to care about someone other than himself (And that shows through the two people aboard the ship that can stand him), but still has quite a bit of his verbal firepower and contempt (Towards David and Rumple) that reminds us of his villainous past and that his redemption won’t be all sunshine and rainbows.

Rumple’s Redemption - Rumple takes what is a realistic step back, though I’m not even certain I should call it a step back. Despite being his Rumple-y self, the narrative makes it very clear that his decision to dessert the group and chastise them beforehand are made on behalf of the mission to save Henry. And as we see the personal trials he’s already taken on in this pursuit with the confrontation with Pan’s minion, there’s so much power that grows with these decisions.

Regina’s Redemption - Regina also takes a step back into some of her more vicious tendencies: hating on Snow, defaulting to magic and violence for all her solutions. I personally like this because while there’s an understanding that these people are family, the anger and resentment between Regina and them is still present and in the heat of the moment, Regina won’t forget it. I will say, the Regina Blames the World trope is back and it still annoys me, though slightly less so here because the framing wasn’t going for sympathy in that moment.

Favorite Dynamic Henry and Pan. Pan’s dynamic with Henry sets up perfectly the kind of monster he will be for the rest of the season. He’s an incredible manipulator and plans out everything he says in order to activate Henry’s belief just when he needs to. Look at the way he set up the pixie dust and how that moment pays off! It’s makes for a triumphant moment that becomes terrifying in hindsight. But what makes this dynamic work so well is how it is set up. In the few minutes we see before Pan’s disguised appearance, Neverland has shown itself to be a cruel place. The location itself is darkly lit and the two villains of the previous season are violently murdered. Because of that, we as an audience clutch to Pan just as Henry does and because of that, for the first time, our belief causes suffering as the deception is exposed.

Writer Adam and Eddy, as usual start up the season! And I honestly like it. A lot of it is good! I’d compare it to the Season 1 finale where it’s a good mix of story and character moments (And just like in the Season 1 finale, has a completely pointless and aggravating moment, but thankfully, this one doesn’t mean a lot)! I feel like the characters were put in a solid place where they have room to grow and are put somewhere that keeps them intimate and gives them opportunities for great dynamics!

Rating 9/10. This episode is a great way to start off the season! The settings and themes have been set up well, and the characters are in good form! It’s exciting and adventurous, but nerve racking all the same. It makes me super excited for what’s to come!

Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Captain Swan - Look, season 2 was not Captain Swan’s golden time for shipping (For me, at least), but Season 3 is here and they are glorious! Killian is incredibly respectful of Emma, comforts her over her worries, addresses underlying grief she has for Baelfire, and supports her as she prepares for Neverland’s horrors. It’s honestly amazing! Also, Emma and Killian are sailing the Roger together during the storm!! They’re working together and it is the BEST!!! Ship of dreams...quite literally! Swanfire - And don’t think I forgot about Swanfire! Both Emma’s grief and Neal’s devotion to getting back to her is such a big presence in this episode. “Tell Emma I’m alive, and that I love her.” Letting Emma know that he’s both okay and loves her is Neal’s main priority and that’s just incredible! And I loved Neal’s scene with Mulan as he discusses his regrets leaving Emma. <3

-----

Woohoo! Season 3 is off to a solid start and I can’t wait to take the rest of Peter Pan’s Flight! Thank you for reading and to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales!

Next time...I don’t know. Reader, help me out, cause I’m lost...girl… ;)

See you guys then!

Season 3 Total (9/220)

Writer’s Scores: Adam and Eddy (9/60)

Operation Rewatch Archives

[smashingatsonicspeed]

FINAL BASE GAME DIRECT THOUGHTS

Well, we just had our last base game direct earlier this month for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It certainly was a doozy, and for most probably not nearly as hype as the August direct nor of course the Smash section at E3. But we still got some cool stuff. And I’m going to give my thoughts on much of what we got.

KEN MASTERS, RYU’S ECHO FIGHTER

Ken has practically been confirmed since September with the birth of the box theory. Regardless on what the fate was of many of the rumors/leaks it just looked like Ken was really the only true lock for the game. He looks neat, I won’t use him more then Ryu personally if I had to choose between the two to play as, But I get why he’s here, he’s pretty much the original echo fighter when it comes to fighting games. Sakurai even points this out later. Perfectly ok with Ken’s inclusion, but it is admittedly hard to get excited over someone you’ve practically known was already in the game since September. He does seem to at least to be the most different out of all the Echo fighters.

INCINEROAR, OUR FINAL BASE GAME UNIQUE CHARACTER

The other character nearly as expected as Ken though not quite as long. And not exactly as hinted since in terms of the unique fighter on the Box theory there’s no pattern hinting at who it could be. It could technically have been anyone. The character also got people to doubt it’s appearance after the “Grinch leak”, some people even saying Incineroar may have been Leaker bait sent by Nintendo. But nope, Incineroar was the real deal. And he looks fun! A pro wrestler type character I feel will endear him to fans who aren’t as into Pokemon anymore but can enjoy his personality in Smash. It’s also awesome to finally have a feline character in Smash.

BOX THEORY WAS CORRECT, GRINCH LEAK FOOLED A LOT OF PEOPLE

With Ken and Incineroar in we do need to mention how that it is confirmed in fact that Box theory was correct. The pattern was suspiciously there for Ken, and the Gen 7 Pokemon had not been known yet and while the Grinch leak may have put some doubt. It’s hard to see why the Pokemon Company would miss the chance to add a character. But yes, let’s just say everyone who had their hopes high after believing the Grinch leak just got their hopes crushed when the stuff being speculated about the box theory from September to early October came true. Heck, even though I was one who lowered expectations because of the Box theory, I admit at the very least the Grinch Leak fooled me in believing that some of the characters would become playable. I never believed the leak fully since my brain felt it was illogical for 7 characters to be announced with nearly only a month to go. But stuff like insider talk and that mysterious plant item shown at Wendy’s Tailgate had me thinking that at least say… Isaac made it or something. Props on a well done fake by the leaker, it’s not easy to make a leak that would cause the debates of the century in Smash discussions happen. Of course I do got to stop short of thanking the leaker because if it weren’t for the Grinch leak there were actually people who were bringing their expectations low and might of not taken this direct as bad as a result. There would of still been a meltdown sure, but the meltdown would of simmered over weeks of box discussion. it was only made worse with the Grinch leak.

SPIRITS

Spirits is kind of interesting. It’s kind of another sort of event mode kind of thing with images of characters that you’re able to level up like in gacha games (Just without needing to pay money like the ones on Mobile phones)

ONLINE MODE

I often only use online to play with friends. But some of the changes to Online are neat. Preferred rules letting you more likely find someone who likes the same sort of competition you do. But might not exactly be perfect. Feels like the friend lobbies will be most preferable for many.

ASSIST TROPHIES

And here comes the final painful deconfirmations. Even the first one came to a shock to many since it happened to be Shadow the Hedgehog. Who of course was seen ever since Richter’s inclusion as a lock as a new echo fighter. And then there was Isaac, who looked like he was doing so well in the Ballot back in the polling days since he was missing completely from Smash 4. But he’s back… once again as an Assist Trophy. Spring Man who was thought to be certain for DLC is just an assist as well. (Rex might have been deconfirmed as well with that Mii costume during the DLC section)

But it wasn’t all sad deconfirmations. There was also fun new additions that probably are just happy to be there. You have a Fatal Frame protagonist, the Black Knight from Fire Emblem (Can’t wait to get screenshots of him and Sonic just for the Sonic and the Black Knight jokes), a Thwomp, Dr. Wily, Guile, and Akira. All awesome additions to the assist trophy line-up.

DLC CONFIRMED

As expected, DLC will be happening. The question is if this Fighter pass will be the only season of it or not. Also interesting to note that each fighter+stage pack is the same price as Ryu, Cloud, and Bayonetta. Possibly meaning that all DLC characters in the pass will be 3rd parties. Might not be the case completely but until we get a Nintendo owned character from the pass itself I’ll speculate that.

Though uh… I gotta talk about the one Nintendo character they’re offering as a free bonus until the end of January…

PIRANHA PLANT IS THE FIRST DLC CHARACTER

This was basically the point the Smash Speculator has either been broken or completely left my brain. Because under no circumstances of any speculation question about characters getting into Smash does the Plant meet any standards. For the first time ever, this truly is a joke/WTF character given to us by Sakurai. Even the earlier characters that were seen as joke or WTF characters had reasons to say they deserved to be there. But this plant isn’t even the most iconic enemy. It’s very much like Sakurai chose a character that goes against all preconceptions of Smash inclusion. I can’t even be mad, I’m too broken to be mad. I was just confused and laughing when it happened. I just hope the rest of the DLC doesn’t fall-in-line with this. That this is just the one troll move Sakurai pulls on us and doesn’t try again.

One things for sure though, I will never complain about Dark Pit again after this.

WORLD OF LIGHT

And while it’s certainly not quite as robust as we’ve been told it’s mainly an overworld and more fights. But we have our closest thing to Subspace in a long while. That intro cutscene we got might very well end up being the only real cutscene (Though I wouldn’t put it past there at least being a final cutscene at the end after beating the final boss) but was still great to see. And man it was like they Thanos snapped nearly the entire Smash roster except for Kirby. Perhaps my favorite part is Sonic slowed down to try to save Pikachu before both were blasted. My current main since Brawl, and my former #1 Main in 64 and Melee are a canon Smash friendship! ^^

But anyway, yeah it looks plenty interesting. I wonder if this will be the “streamlined” way of unlocking characters that Sakurai mentioned? Which speaking of which I was kind of surprised that wasn’t really mentioned in terms of unlocking characters which is weird since you’d think that is important in a game where you start with only the original 8 and work your way to unlock the rest. There are still kind of some unanswered questions despite this being the final direct. But I guess that will have to be saved for news publishers to talk about as we get closer to release and the NDAs start disappearing. And then of course the launch of the game itself

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, while again the character reveals weren’t as hype as before. I am still very much excited for the game and in fact already have the game pre-loaded ready for me to play on the very first second once midnight strikes on December 7th. We still have 6 more characters to look forward to play as or at least find out about next year as well. So character speculation isn’t quite over yet. But it will be pretty tight with only 5 spots barring a 2nd season being announced at some point. But right now, the game itself is important. And it’s nearly just a month away! Can’t wait ^^

[surprisebitch]

Hi I'm new to anime & I trust and admire u!!! What do u recommend??

Hey there! and yeeesss, i’m so glad you’re gonna give anime a try! there are so many good stories and plots in anime which dont exist in western media so it’s a great mode of entertainment! so as for recs, lemme copy and paste my previous list and update it to answer your question!

Currently watching:

Neon Genesis Evangelion - i admit it has a slow buildup but be patient because you will really find it intense and see how it’s not your typical mecca anime. so far, i think it seems to be a deconstruction of the genre and has alot of psychological themes

Boku no Hero Academia - it’s a recent anime and it’s really good! i think it’s on course to becoming a really big anime that will last many seasons at this rate. the story is about a world where majority of the inhabitants are heroes cause they have quirks (powers).. and the premise is that the main character doesnt have one but he wants to be a hero so watch and see how the story unfolds!

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures (currently on Stardust Crusaders) - macho anime with an excellent plot! the guys are hot haha and many of the memes are in japanese so watch the original subbed but if you prefer not to read, the dub isnt bad. it’s very memey but the story is really entertaining and has unpredictable moments

One Punch Man - a parody of a superhero anime. tbh this isnt really binge-watch material cause it’s like a running gag and the story unfolds after episode 5 so i’ve just been watching this during my cardio days in the gym. but it’s really funny and a good anime

Hunter X Hunter - this anime is popular and it’s about hunters. so the beginning has the protagonist wanting to be a hunter and then he meets some fellow hunters along the way. it’s one of the highest rated anime in MyAnimeList (the RottenTomatoes equivalent of the anime world) so yeah check this out!

Recently watched:

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (Battle Tendency) - SONO CHI NO SADAMEEE JOOOOOOJOOOOOOOOOOOOOO the type of anime that’ll get you wanting to go to the gym and lift. that being said, it has a really amazing story

Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan - it’s the Game of Thrones of anime imo.. like it’s so GOOD.. it will just make you gag after every episode!!! it’s so intense and there are really badass characters. and the plot is really brilliant. like if you think season 1 was like WHAT THE FUCkk.. wait til season 2! this anime is crazy and exciting. not for the faint-hearted tbh cause it can be graphic and disturbing (also dont get attached. they could die!) but yeah, this anime is popular true and some say it’s overrated but that’s because it really deserves all the recognition and success it has for its amazing plot

Love Live! School Idol Project - i honestly just watched this like out of curiosity and just for kicks. i was not expecting to love it but after episode 3, i was like wait??? wasnt this anime supposed to be fun?? why am i crying?? so yeah, it’s super good, touching, entertaining and sweet! and the songs are really catchy and good.. TBH this anime is like so gay since there are no men (except Honoka’s dad) so yeah it passes the Bechdel Test with perfect score

Love Live! Movie - the conclusion to the anime! 

Love Live! Sunshine - i watched this like a few months after finishing Love Live! cause i loved the original girls and i was worried i wont like these girls.. but honestly, you will appreciate them. and it’s EVEN GAYER.. and is soo good too! 

btw tell me who your fave girls/best girls are after watching Love Live and Sunshine. my best girls are Umi Sonoda and Kanan Matsuura :>

Anime watched/finished:

Kimi no Na Wa - universally lauded and recently released! it’s the best film released in 2016 imo. i swear it’s really next level storytelling

Rurouni Kenshin - i think i watched this anime twice/thrice.. It’s so suspenseful. it’s about samurais. and this anime made me interested about Japan’s history. it’s kind of a period drama with amazing fight sequences. and it’s critically acclaimed. it’s my father’s all-time favourite anime

Rurouni Kenshin OVA - it’s a prequel. also more violent and tragic than its anime counterpart.. like it’s really different from the series. but it’s so good. you’ll find out how Kenshin got his iconic X mark from here!)

Ghost Stories - THE DUB IS A MASTERPIECE! THE SUBBED IS SHIT. TRUST ME. the DUB is the popular one too cause it’s the superiour version. You really have to see this one. the anime bombed in Japan so the english dubbers got all the rights for the anime and they gave the go signal for the dubbers to do whatever the fuck they want and the end result is fucking hilarious. it shits on the Scary Movie Franchise tbh

Puella Magi Madoka Magica - i swear do not be deceived.. it is a really intense and surprisingly dark anime with excellent plot twists

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - super funny anime. if you need a laugh, this will really lift you up. i watched the first two episodes in sub and dub back to back.. and i can vouch that the voice actors for the English dub are excellent. it’s actually even funnier.. but if you prefer subs, then that’s fine. it’s just the lines are more humorous, expressive and have more variety :) Nozaki’s voice is also attractive in the dub.. it’s still very Nozaki imo. this anime pokes fun at the shoujo manga yet still has romantic elements. it’s mostly comedy though

Jigoku Shoujo / Hell Girl - angst, tragedy, philosophical anime analysing humanity’s hatred, need for vengeance, and suffering. Futakomori or the 2nd season is my favourite but it’s worth finishing the entire series. 3rd season is very painful to watch though and you dont have to watch that one tbh if you dont want to lol

Yu Yu Hakusho - occult, spirit world, ghosts, and fighting. you most probably have heard of this

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - 1st series starring Yugi. iconic!

Digimon - can be very intense! better than Pokemon imo

Cardcaptor Sakura - this is also suspenseful. like the premise is essentially that Sakura has to catch all the “monsters” that were freed from this book. and it’s up to her to “capture” them and put into cards. magic, fantasy, and beautiful animation

Ranma ½ - this was so funny but the ending was disappointing cause it got cancelled apparently.. i really hope this will go out of limbo and give us a proper ending like InuYasha did but i doubt it

Danganronpa (murder plot twists, intense and despair-filled storyline. click this to know more about the premise. it’s like Battle Royale meets CSI meets How To Get Away With Murder. btw i highly suggest you play this game (it’s available on Steam) instead of watching the poorly condensed anime. so buy it on steam or you can download it how you like cause it’s one of the best games ever. and if you plan on watching this, there is no Danganronpa 2 anime so yeah just play the first game tbh. here’s a trailer of the game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwJeZPMhdUk. if ya dont wanna play the games then you can watch the anime. and after watching this, here’s a link of the playthrough of the 2nd game. it’s super fun, full of plot twists, and interactive)

Yuri On Ice - it’s a really cute gay anime. people will argue it isnt and its queerbait but i’m gay and alot of the things which happen are too much for just bros to do so yeah, i believe it’s canon gay or mlm. and i enjoyed it so you watch it and be the judge

Blood+ - vampires and sword fighting

Ghost In The Shell - it’s a sci-fi movie

Yakitate Japan - baking and cooking!

Getbackers - still up to debate if the duo are gay but if you google art of them, there have been official art released and it’s so gay lol. but yeah it’s shonen genre and it’s not canon gay

Cowboy Bebop - a CLASSIC. the dub is great!!

I don’t remember if i finished these but I watched a lot of episodes enough to recommend it and will rewatch them soon to relieve memories. I’m pretty sure I tuned in though and watched like 80%:

Fushigi Yuugi (i think this is shoujo but it has a nice adventure storyline)

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood  (i feel like i actually finished this. idk why my memory is hazy concerning this anime. this is so popular. you should’ve heard of this iconic anime somehow. i watched and tuned in but i don’t remember how or when i stopped)

Gundam series (i think i finished the first Gundam and the second)

Tsubasa Chronicles (it’s like a spin-off of Cardcaptor Sakura but they’re like all grown up and the plot is different)

Naruto

One Piece (i watched like the first four seasons)

Bleach (i remembered watching until episode 40 omg)

Great Teacher Onizuka (this is so funny tbh. i think i watched almost all of it)

Studio Ghibli films I watched:

Spirited Away

The Wind Rises

Ponyo

Tales from Earthsea

Anime I plan to watch (many suggested this to me and i plan on watching them so i’ll write them down here) :

Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice)

Anohana The Flower We Saw That Day

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Tokyo Ghoul

Re: Zero

Your Lie in April

Shin sekai Yori

Gintama

More of Makoto Shinkai’s movies like 5 centimetres per second, etc.)

More Ghibli films too

Final Fantasy XV: Kingsglaive (after i finish FFXV game im watching this one)

Persona 4

Here you go!!!! I know it’s an extensive list. I’ll probably make this a masterpost of anime recs and will update this list, and add more soon. If you have any questions or anything, don’t be shy to message me! :)

[last updated: 5 November 2017]

[spaceorphan18]

Finding Kurt Hummel: Makeover

Masterpost

4x03: Makeover

And here we are -- the lead in to the break up.  Where Kurt is going to learn that good things in life don’t always come easy or free.  

Kurt doesn’t get a whole lot of things to do in season 4, but what he does get is a lesson in growing up.  That things change a lot between 18-22, and that as much as you want things to stay the same, they really can’t.  

I also need to say that this episode is about Makeovers for a reason.  It’s not just about Rachel’s literal makeover -- it’s about the show, and season 4, and this is a way of the writers saying, hey, the show is different now.  Whether it works or not is debatable -- but I do believe early season 4 was meant to be a reset for the series -- hence a makeover. 

Skype Session

So - even though I should, I’m not going to go in-depth into Blaine’s story -- but thing we should know is that Blaine is kind of downward spiraling at this point.  He’s kind of a lost puppy.  While Kurt is more individualistic by nature, Blaine is not, and with out his ‘anchor’ he’s kind of at a loss.  

While all this is going on back at McKinley, Kurt is in New York -- enjoying his life, kinda of figuring things out.  It’s my own speculation - but I’m guessing there’s a lot of prepping for NYADA auditions (I mean, there is that tape of him singing an acoustic version of Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go that he sends to Carmen Tibideaux) but also, he’ll mention in season five that he spent a lot of time just exploring and getting to know the city.  While Rachel is at school, and drooling over Brody, that gives Kurt a lot of free time -- so I suspect he’s going out and seeing the world.  

Kurt and Blaine are still Skyping each other, probably every night -- but Blaine’s feeling the distance (both literally and figuratively).  Does Kurt feel it, too? Probably, but not in the same way.  Look, this is how I feel about it.  Kurt’s discovering his new life, his new world.  And that can be exciting.  

No - I don’t think he’s really aware of just how much Blaine is flailing.  I mean -- remember Dance With Somebody? This is kind of a blown up version of that -- where Kurt’s caught up a lot in new things, and Blaine’s going inward.  Whatever is going on in these Skype sessions -- it’s not discussions of how Blaine is feeling.  

Oh communication issues -- Klaine’s biggest obstacle.  

Meanwhile, they are talking about Treme how it’s awful.  (That’s pretty funny.)  

And look, I know that’s not how Skype sessions would probably work in real life.  It’s visually entertaining, though, so I’m not going to be hard on this particular moment.  

Vogue.com

This sequence actually begins with Kurt looking in the mirror -- trying to find something to wear to an interview at Vogue.com.  And it’s interesting, because there’s a hodge-podge of old outfits he’s worn during the series during the little montage.  

So - I’m gonna say this.  No. A high school graduate probably could not walk into Vogue.com and snatch an internship.  Real life does not work that way, and most of what happens during the College-esque years is so untrue it’s a bit crazy.  Any creative avenue is going to be tough work.  And Glee, in all of its plot lines -- Rachel and Broadway, Mercedes and a record (though she does get some realism in hers), Kurt and Vogue, general living in New York -- all of it is way too easy compared to real life.  

But -- it’s a little bit of magical realism. Interestingly, these stories are not about the ins and outs of getting into a creative field.  It’s about these characters.  Kurt’s vogue.com story is not about his fashion career (it’ll be a little about Rachel, in which I groan...) but it’s more so about his life in New York and his distance from Blaine.  And i’ll suspend my disbelief because I’m more interested in the story of characters than I am in how Glee gets all of the real life details right. 

Meanwhile - Kurt is the only one who doesn’t sing his way to New York, even if he gets to come up the magical staircase leading to Manhattan.  (He does this three times that I can think of in the series)  Does that mean something? I don’t know.  But it was interesting, and I thought I’d point it out.  

Kurt before his interview - as everyone tells him about Isabelle Wright.  It makes me wonder if they wanted to give this fearful Devil Wears Prada vibe about Vogue.com before we meet the sweet and not at all scary Isabelle. 

Anyway - we learn that Isabelle is from Ohio.  And we get one of my favorite jokes about Isabelle getting sick from Breadstix.  Lol. 

Ah - Kurt has put together a collection of all his outfits.  Makes me wonder if these were test shots used for the costume department, lol.  But - we learn a lot about Kurt in this bit.  He’s been blogging about fashion for years.  He reads every fashion magazine known to man.   As we know, he goes out of his way to create new looks.  He has quite the aptitude for it.  

(Wait -- why did Kurt not go into fashion again?) 

Kurt’s body language is interesting throughout this interview.  He actually comes off as shy and nervous - a bit different from that hard-as-nails persona he often gives off.  While I’m sure he would have been a little more forceful had Isabelle been more like Meryl Streep in Devil Wears Prada -- I think this Kurt here is one of the most genuine Kurts we get.  And, idk, it’s sweet.  

Anyway -- Isabelle has a lot of issues of her own, and apparently connecting to this kid from Ohio is helping her figure her own baggage.  But there’s a line that really sticks out to me -- 

Kurt: Like you said in Vanity Fair ‘I don’t trust anyone who hasn’t failed big at least once’. 

I just think it’s interesting because -- at this point, Kurt is counting his NYADA audition as his big failure.  But to me, I think he has another big failure lurking around the corner...one that’s going to affect him more than NYADA... 

We learn about about Kurt in this scene.  His fashion icons include Audrey Hepburn, Michelle Obama, and Isabelle.  And his future dreams are working in fashion and starring on Broadway.  

And Isabelle kind of adores his open optimism.  You know -- and it’s fascinating when I think about it.  Because I think in this moment, despite the fact that NYADA feels like a set back, Kurt’s come to New York with a new sense of determination.  And although realistic is not in his vocabulary -- Isabelle calls him a big dreamer, and that’s exactly what he is.  And I think just coming to New York feels like a step in the right direction.  If I can make it out here, I can do anything. 

So -- Isabelle hires him.  Because he’s young and naive and optimistic and bright.  And yes, New York is for dreamers.  But it also can eat you up and spit you back out.  And while New York might not do that for Kurt exactly, the time bomb of reality is about to go off. 

Unexpected Leather

Man, I always liked this look on Kurt -- it never really stuck around.  But I’ll appreciate it while I can.  

Also - Even more grown up Season 4 Kurt now looks like a bb, too.  Geez, we’re all getting older. 

Well -- Isabelle is a spiraling mess, mostly because she is an artist and not manager.  Two different skill sets there.  (I’m bypassing the whole meeting -- eesh).  But at least Kurt has enough sense to know how to play it, and is open and honest, while understanding that his place is an intern.  Though -- it’s kind of hilarious when he offers Isabelle a place to say if everything falls apart, and Isabelle just groans and is like - what is my life. 

Makeover

So - Rachel’s having issues again, cause it’s Rachel.  Look -- okay.  My season 4 Hummelberry issues are not going to be as whiny as they were in season 3.  I’ve made my peace with a lot of it -- especially since Rachel trying to be this new grown up Rachel and then kind of failing at that is what her season 4 story is all about.  

But I do have one big issue.  With the exception of the Klaine story -- all Kurt story lines are tied in with Rachel’s.  He doesn’t get /any/ individualism in this season.  I realize a lot of Kurt fans were upset at Blaine about this, but I just want to say I don’t blame.  I don’t even blame Rachel.  Why the writers decided to make Kurt a secondary character in this season, I don’t know.  But -- I will take the all the Kurt I can get in this season.  And I’ll play nice, I promise. 

Now -- I’m not so sure I agree with Kurt’s ideology here. Yeah -- there are elements about high school that don’t change in the real world.  But, I don’t necessarily believe that completely changing who you are is really the key, either.  And Rachel is going to take this kind of to the extreme -- more so than what Kurt probably, originally, had in mind. 

And it’s interesting, Kurt says that Rachel needs to change how she looks to feel differently, and I mean, I can see why he would say that, and I suppose that would explain the outfit he’s wearing right now and the slightly different hair style, but mostly he doesn’t need to change because he doesn’t need to feel that different?  Idk...

But -- I do think Kurt’s been itching to makeover Rachel for years.  I mean, anyone else remember Hairography? As he says here -- he wants to kill two birds with one stone -- give Rachel a new, adult look so she can feel better about herself, and help Isabelle land a project.  And it’s win-win for him (as in Rachel will stop ridiculous, and he’ll earn points with Isabelle).  It’s innovate if nothing else. 

(as an aside -- I swear, this whole plot line is here so that Rachel can look more like Lea.  **rolls eyes**) 

Oh Hummelberry and you’re little adventurous streak.  It cracks me up that this is the second time they decide to break and enter somewhere (the first time being the Broadway stage in New York).  And it’s not entirely breaking and entering since Kurt has some sort of key (my god -- they would not give an intern a key to the place, lol).  But they’re adorable because they’re always so fail at being rebellions.  

Well -- it’s a good thing Isabelle is a literal fairy godmother - and not an actual manager - because instead of getting in trouble, they decide to make a music video.  (At least Glee tries by having police officers with Isabelle.) 

So - Kurt decides to get a wardrobe change -- fascinating suit Kurt -- and now that it’s 1am-ish, Isabelle and Kurt makeover Rachel while singing The Way You Look Tonight/You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.  

I’m gonna be honest -- I don’t have a lot to say about the actual music in this one.  Sarah Jessica Parker - whom I actually like - isn’t the strongest singer, but she’s fun and lighthearted in the way this sequence needed to be.  Kurt and Rachel sound as lovely as ever.  And I adore that Kurt’s singing this little love song to clothes and fashion.  

It’s a cute performance, and very sweet.  I also love that Kurt has this kind of Tim Gunn-ish feel about him during it. 

I should also add Kurt gets a lot of flack for this when later he’ll complain that she’s this new and annoying Rachel later in Diva.  Here’s my thing about this -- Kurt’s intentions, besides wanting to overhaul her ridiculous wardrobe - was to help her figure herself out.  Only Rachel, though, can really do that.  And Rachel latching onto being this New and Improved Rachel, which is just an outer shell of a person (real change comes from within) is not Kurt’s fault.  

Skype Sessions II

First. On a shallow note.  A shoutout to this sweater -- which actually made its debut in season 3.  But man, all the fanfic this thing inspired.  Mine included, lol. 

Anyway - so Kurt makes his video.  And what does he do that night? He chatters happily about it to Blaine over Skype.  (You can’t tell in this shot, but he’s actually very giddy during most of this conversation.)  

I’m sad this is the best shot of this scene I could get, lol. 

Anyway -- I haven’t really mentioned Blaine’s story.  But - hey, Blaine’s doing all sorts of things over at McKinley, and go watch this episode as a whole, cause it’s super entertaining (and horribly heartbreaking).  

I kind of have two thoughts about this whole thing though. 

1. Blaine takes Kurt’s excitement over everything New York as vindication that Kurt’s happy now - but in a life that doesn’t involve him.  He feels his fears and worries about Kurt being done with him are true - and at this point, Blaine feels as though his relationship with Kurt is done. 

2. Kurt’s on a totally different page.  They’re so not done.  He loves Blaine so much -- he’s just (understandably) getting used to his new life, and it is exciting. And him telling Blaine about it is a sign that he still wants Blaine to be a part of his life.  However, his single-mindedness is totally causing him to miss the signs that things are very much not okay with Blaine.  And right now, he and Blaine are very much in two different places.  

The thing is - relationships are hard work, long distance or not.  As I said before, Blaine doesn’t have enough trust that the relationship will work -- and fears the worst without communicating to his boyfriend that things are wrong.  Meanwhile, Kurt has too much trust that everything is fine, and neglecting to check in and put more of an effort in (his dismissiveness of Blaine’s tie question is incredibly telling -- Blaine’s reaching out to Kurt as a way to be on Kurt’s level, and Kurt waves it off without a thought) is what’s going to doom this relationship.  

(Cheating was a symptom not a cause.  But I suppose I’ll talk more about that next episode.) 

I’m not going to say that breaking up is the best answer.  However, given that that’s how the narrative is -- I do think they each benefit from it.  (From both break ups actually) Blaine’s going to learn how to be himself as an individual, and Kurt’s going to learn how not to take his relationship for granted. But we’re a long, long away from that.  The story is getting rockier and darker, but it’s also about going from this nice and lovely fairy tale to this real relationship. And about how these two end up growing into an adult relationship.  And I kind of love it, even if it’s really going to suck for a while. 

Innocence Lost

Kurt’s idea of a fashion video apparently impressed Anna Wintour.  Go Kurt! 

Kurt finally gets a notch in the ‘win’ column.  However, because this is Glee, success always has a price.  It’s foreshadowing that Isabelle hopes that he never loses that wide-eyed Mid-Western optimism.  And, oh boy.  That’s so going to change.  Kurt’s world view, at this point, is so idealistic and romanticized.  It’s incredibly sad that this Kurt is about to be shattered -- and never really be back again. I think what almost makes it worse is that Kurt doesn’t see it coming.    But I mean -- all of these ups and downs of Kurt’s life have been so fascinating to watch, even if it’s heartbreaking.  

Meanwhile, Kurt, rightfully, calls Isabelle his fairy godmother.  And I enjoy her in that role.  I do agree, too, when she says he has an aptitude for fashion.  Oh this show and its rigidness about having all the kids be performers ultimately. 

Oh c’mon Kurt -- remember what happened last time you neglected your phone call? ;) 

Man - this moment is just loaded.  Kurt’s hesitation about picking up the phone is more of a metaphor than about the actual incident itself.  I mean, we don’t know that Kurt didn’t call Blaine back later (though you could have texted a quick note, Kurt!) But it’s more so about the decision to put his relationship on hold for his life in New York.  And no, I don’t think it’s wrong for Kurt to be enjoying his successes -- especially since landing this new internship, that could be a career forward option, is a big. deal.  But life is about finding balance, and right now -- as Blaine stated in the beginning, he and Blaine /are/ out of sync. And Kurt ignoring the phone call is also ignoring the issues that are going on in his relationship, whether he’s conscious of that or not.   

But I also like to remind people that these two are just 18-ish.  Which is still so young.  And they’re allowed to stumble and make mistakes, it’s how you learn. 

So yeah -- next up is The Break Up.  And I know that a lot of people wanted more set up than just this episode, but looking back, I think there was more set up in season 3 than we might of realized (or wanted to realize) at the time.  I’m not convinced, in hindsight, that it came out of nowhere.  But, ah, here we are, on the edge... 

[recentanimenews]

Learn About WIT Studio's Upcoming Anime GREAT PRETENDER in Our Interview!

  At Anime Expo 2019, WIT Studio surprised everyone with the premiere teaser of their upcoming anime, GREAT PRETENDER. This anime of con men really left a big impression on me, and I was honored to have a chance to sit down with WIT Studio after the panel and pick their brains about this exciting project. If you’re curious about who Dr. Google is, how Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Yoshiyuki Sadamoto got involved, where the jazz fusion soundtrack came from, and an interesting debate about the difference between short anime seasons versus long ones, read on!

Hello, and thank you for speaking with us today. Could you please introduce yourselves for our readers?

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto: I am Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the main character designer for GREAT PRETENDER.

Hiro Kaburagi: I am the director, Hiro Kaburagi.

George Wada: And I am George Wada, the president of WIT Studio.

Ryota Kosawa: I am Ryota Kosawa, the writer of the screenplay, including all 23 episodes.

One of the first things that I noticed about the GREAT PRETENDER is the scenes of LA. I remember that Kaburagi-san mentioned in the WIT Studio panel that details about LA were Googled, but how long did you research these locations for the series?

Hiro Kaburagi: It’s hard to say how many days. But in creating the scenario we really thought it was important to give a good, strong feeling of Los Angeles and, of course, we have the amazing resource on the internet! And so, I consulted with my… friend Dr. Google (laughs) and we kinda shared the information with all these different scenes of LA and thought: “What can we show to really give a feeling of Los Angeles and make people feel that that was the setting?”

There’s gonna be other locations all over the world, as well. Would you say the same thing for all the other world-wide locations? 

Hiro Kaburagi: Yes, of course, and in addition to researching, we will also be traveling to those places in person as a group and taking actual photos with our cameras. I think that actually going there and experiencing the place is important, as well.

There are quite a few anime about thieves and other types of underworld types. But the con man angle is pretty new. What caused the decision to be made for the protagonist?

Ryota Kosawa: I really just liked the concept. I liked the idea of a character that cons these bad rich people of the world. Not so much with just action or weapons, but through his own skill and his know-how. The idea of this con man that is taking advantage of these evil rich people around the world is something that was very appealing to me.

The water purification scam and issues with water quality were an interesting theme to see. Will that play a larger part of the overall series or will there be more of a variety of schemes that will come into play?

Ryota Kosawa: There are going to be many different scams and the scale of those, I think, is going to grow over the series in many different ways. So, please keep watching! The water purification scam was really the smallest and the most realistic, but it’s just the start!

I love when music is a big part of an anime’s image and the jazz fusion being used here seems really fascinating. What led to the decision of jazz for the series?

Hiro Kaburagi: Yamada-san is a very young and skilled creator. And it was actually Yamada-san’s proposal that jazz would be a very good fit when we’re talking about a story with con men. And so we talked about it and we thought: “Yeah this is a really good fit!” Of course, we’re going to have not only jazz but other popular genres like rap and genres of music. And the important thing, I think, is to give the music, a good feeling that feels cool but also fits the anime.

During the WIT Studio panel, Akira Shimizu and Yuichi Fukushima, from CloverWorks stopped by. Are there any potential hints that you could give us on what that might involve? Like any new possible projects?

George Wada: We think by creating bonds between the studios will give us the opportunity to work together in the future and sharing information that makes all of us stronger. So, next year, we will include MAPPA and creating these stronger intra-studio connections we think that this will bleed to more interesting projects and better work, which will give better quality and a better experience for everyone.

It’s a little unusual to see a long series like these lately, where most anime runs from 12 episodes to 13 episodes. What brought about the decision for GREAT PRETENDER to be 23 episodes long? 

Hiro Kaburagi: That was really the plan from the beginning, wasn’t it? (everyone laughs)

George Wada: 12 or 13 episode animes tend to be character dramas that are very focused on the characters. But in terms of this team format where we’re creating a team that’s going to have all these different adventures, we wanted to make sure that we were able to continue into the future and we really thought that 23 episodes were needed in order to tell that story.

Hiro Kaburagi: Don’t you think we need 23 episodes? (everyone laughs) It was hard but, I think it’s the right decision! I’m glad that we’re able to have that length, so that we’re able to have that story span.

Ryota Kosawa: We have a number of different protagonists, main characters, and this gives us the flexibility to show lots of different cons in the story, and this gives us the flexibility to tell all these different stories. And I think that if we only had 12 or 13 episodes, it would have been difficult to fit everything into that number of episodes. 

George Wada: So, they’ve put a lot of effort into portraying the characters as full characters and giving them time to develop, and so we think that the fans will fall in love with these characters and really enjoy watching them develop over the series.

I got a real crime noir vibe out of the story, from the music to the settings to the characters. Are there any films or other media that influenced the idea for the series?

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto: It may sound strange but I actually don’t spend as much time watching other anime series. But personally, I also watch lots of TV dramas. And so, recently in Japan, it’s becoming much easier to experience drama shows from all around the world via things like Amazon Video or Netflix. We’re able to see these TV series in Japan, shows like Game Of Thrones or Breaking Bad. I can’t say exactly how those drama shows that I’ve seen are reflected in the series, but I do think that there may be some influence there.

Sadamoto-san, you’re a very famous character designer with many of your designs from Neon Genesis Evangelion being iconic these days. What led to your involvement in this project?

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto: I really think that for this project, it was the strength of Kosawa-san’s screenplay, along with also knowing the strength of the studio that I would be able to work with and the quality that they would be able to produce that I really thought: “There’s no way I could turn this down!” This is something I have to do and see what I can contribute to this project. So, um, I really felt that this was definitely something that I needed to do.

Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today! As we finish up, is there anything that you’d like to tell our readers before we go?

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto: I’ve been doing character design for a long time with original works, but this is my first kind of unique chance to contribute to such a TV series and I hope that the characters that I’ve helped create will be characters that the fans can enjoy watching them grow and love these characters for a long time!

Ryota Kosawa: GREAT PRETENDER is a good series. Check it out and enjoy it! I hope that the fans will really enjoy the storyline; it’s really easy to get hooked with its involving and compelling story. Don’t miss out because it’s a life-changing experience. You’ll regret it if you miss it!

George Wada: WIT Studio has been involved in this project and they’re very happy to have brought their various strengths of their team, including Takeda-san from Bamboo Studio as the art director. This is the third in the series that they have started back in 2016 and they’ve really put a huge amount of effort into it, and so they hope that everyone enjoys this work.

Hiro Kaburagi: So, while this is a story about con men, it’s not a dark story. There are lots of laughs, there are places where you’ll cry; it’s a great story that will appeal not only to fans of Japanese anime but many other audiences, as well. And so, please enjoy going on these adventures with Edamame!

After our interview, I have to admit that I’m even more excited for GREAT PRETENDER than I was initially! Thank you so much to the WIT Studio team for sitting down with us and letting us pick their brains. I’m still quite curious what WIT Studio and Cloverworks might whip up for us in the future, so you can be sure that we’ll keep our eyes peeled for any interesting developments from this working relationship between two amazing studios!

Are you excited for GREAT PRETENDER? What are you looking forward to the most in the series? Let us know in the comments!

    ----

Nicole is a features writer and editor for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[unbearablylight]

Hi! I loved your AHS: Cult post, you summed up a lot of the thoughts I had on the wasted potential this season's premise has. I was just wondering what your thoughts were on the previous seasons? I find them to be really hit or miss in terms of tackling social themes and just storytelling overall and I would love to hear your thoughts! :)

Thank you! I liked your addendum, too; I hadn’t heard Adina Porter was coming back so I’m interested to see what she’ll add. And yeah, I agree a lot of it tends to be really hit or miss. I’m going to try to make this as brief as possible, because otherwise I could write an entire thesis on AHS and that’s probably too long for right now.

The best way to do it is to probably give my ranking of seasons and a short reasoning as to why. So, here goes:

1. Murder House

Granted it’s been a while since I’ve watched this season, but from what I remember it wasn’t really trying to be anything other than a really terrifying show. And it was great at that. The plot is sometimes a little confusing or nonexistent, but it terrifies in a way that no other season has really done to me since. There doesn’t seem to be much of a message or tie in to social themes, besides possibly Jamie Brewer playing such a large and beloved character. Ryan Murphy often has really great concepts for TV shows that then fade out over time, but since this is the first season, it was fun and exciting and something new on television.

2. Hotel

For a while, I’ve been debating whether or not Hotel beat out Asylum, but as I’m writing this I feel like it did, so I’m putting it second. This is largely based on personal opinion more than anything. Hotel felt like a rebirth for the show. It was creepy and twisted, had a decent plot and characters you could root for, and was actually scary where Coven and Freak Show hadn’t really been. I think the addition of Lady Gaga was an excellent one, and she was used just the perfect amount. I had feared she would become Jessica Lange’s replacement, and I think a lot of the downfall of Coven and Freak Show stems from too much of a focus on Lange, but Gaga was merely another member of the ensemble cast.

While I didn’t care much for Wes Bentley’s character, I loved the whole Ten Commandments murder thing (really anything that twists biblical stuff is fascinating to me for some reason). Denis O’Hare worried me at first, but I think the show did a good job at telling a heartfelt, honest story about Liz’s relationship with her son towards the later part of the season. I only wish they had cast an actual transgender actress. Again, I think what you said in your addition to the Cult post is right: AHS is better when social themes are pieces of the show, not entire concepts. This is another one that just seems to want to tell a story.

3. Asylum

The reason I rank Asylum lower is I really could not get into Sarah Paulson’s character for some reason, which sucked because she was most of the focus. I feel like I should go back and rewatch this season now that I love her as an actress, because when I originally watched it she drove me nuts. Other than that, I think it’s about equal with Hotel — decent plot (I think the story derails mostly with the aliens because, like, what?), a medium amount of scary, some good characters. Sarah playing a lesbian at first seemed out of place to me, but when it landed her in the Asylum I understood why they did it. Evan being in an interracial relationship kinda pricked me though. Ryan Murphy seems to have this weird thing for doing something mildly taboo (usually in a sort of socially forward-thinking way) and feeling edgy for it. “It’s the 60s and he’s with a black girl, gasp!” It didn’t really tie into anything with the plot, and the girl hardly appears throughout the season, so it felt like nothing more than a pat on the back for making a statement.

It does have one of the best opening credit sequences, though.

4. Roanoke

Roanoke had the benefit of being really goddamn scary a lot of the time, but the plot was an utter nightmare of writing. One show within a show was already kind of annoying, two was getting ridiculous. By the end we had like 6 and I just wanted it to be over with.

I honestly don’t remember a lot of what was going on, other than they were a bunch of idiots trapped in Murder House Part 2. I know you mentioned Adina and the racial subtext she faced throughout the season, but this would have been a lot more effective if she hadn’t been like... the actual worst. Being unfairly criminalized and vilified for killing her husband would have been far more effective if she hadn’t actually done it. I really just kind of hated her by the end and was furious she was the one that got to survive (although the very ending of the show makes it clear as to why it has to be her).

And speaking of surviving, Sarah Paulson should have walked away from all of this. She survives the entire night, only to get gunned down by a bunch of police officers. Which, just... it doesn’t make sense? She’s a white woman who appears to be in distress. If anything, I was surprised Adina wasn’t shot. It would have been terrible, but she was a black woman who already was widely disliked and who might have killed an entire house full of people (from the cops’ perspective, not knowing the truth of Roanoke). That whole scene just felt very weird and out of touch with reality to me, idk. I’m tired of seeing cops shoot first and ask questions later, so basically that scene just shouldn’t have happened at all. There are a hundred other ways Sarah could have died.

5. Freak Show

I am probably the only person I know who ranks Freak Show anywhere other than last, but I’ll get to why when I get to Coven.

It’s not good. We all know that. It wasn’t scary, the plot’s all over the place and uninteresting, and the amount of potential it had made it a real let down. It does have some saving graces, though. Murphy has experience with this sort of “god help the outcasts” narrative from Glee. Jessica Lange is a slightly more interesting character than she was in Coven, albeit they’re far too similar, Evan Peters is actually a person, and Sarah Paulson delivers one of (two of?) her best performances in my opinion.

The major downfalls: I did not care about Kathy Bates at all (tbh, I don’t think she’s had a good character yet, except maybe the Butcher). The last episode where they just shoot everyone dead was a major copout. There are far more interesting ways to end a show, or even to kill a large portion of the cast. Emma Roberts suffers the second most brutal death in AHS history, trapped in a box and sawed in half by Neil Patrick Harris. I don’t know what it is about this show, but it loves to see Emma suffer at the complete mercy of a man.

Also, it was just really boring.

6. Coven

Oh, Coven. Where to even begin with you. This post has already gotten really long so I’ll try to condense as much as I can, but just know I could probably write a novel on why Coven is The Worst. And I think at the foundation of that is the fact that a large portion (maybe even the majority?) of the fandom considers it to be the best, if not up there. Which is just really harmful.

You take a season full of really incredible actresses. Like there are a lot of them, many of them very well-known and highly acclaimed. You stick them all in a house together, in a pseudo-sorority type of situation. What you should get is one of the strongest arguments for how women can lead a show and hold their own without men.

Instead, what we got was Coven. In which every female character is poorly written, exists solely for a man, and/or is there to compete with (and often be bitchy to) the other women.

A bulleted list of further atrocities (because there are too many):

Emma Roberts suffering the most brutal death in AHS history. Watching her get choked out by Evan on that bed for like a full minute (despite the fact that she was a powerful witch who could have killed him in a nanosecond) disturbed me to no end, especially given their history.

Kathy Bates suffering from Murphy’s Law of No Character Development (patent pending). Ryan Murphy sucks at sticking to character development. Bates could have been a really powerful tool to show that ignorance often is the root of hatred, and her relationship with Gabourey Sidibe could have caused a change of heart, but one episode she was actually learning, and the next she was back to her shitty racist old self again.

Gabourey Sidibe playing the Race Card. And I don’t take that term lightly. I mean she literally said “You don’t like me ‘cause I’m black,” when a) no one had expressed any disdain to her at all (outside of Emma Roberts’ general bitching to all of them), and b) her weight probably got more comments than her race had. This line literally sounded like something written by a white dude who probably thinks reverse racism is real.

The race politics were a mess in general, tbh. Especially concerning their different uses of magic.

Lily Rabe dying??? For no reason??? Rude more than anything else.

Jessica Lange syndrome started to take over the show in this season, and this was her worst character. She shouldn’t have been so much of a focus.

The only good things to happen this season were Jessica and Angela taking out those business men (iconic, but from what I can tell — because I don’t remember exactly — the Axeman does most of the killing for them), the Coven chasing out the Axeman, and Sarah becoming the supreme (which I had unfortunately guessed like 3 episodes in, so it wasn’t that much of a mystery).

Anyways, Coven is pretty much a catalogue of the worst parts of Ryan Murphy’s writing, and there’s probably a lot I’m missing, but this is enough for now.

Sorry this is so long, yikes. But that about wraps it up I think. Honestly if you read all of this, congrats haha. And thanks for asking! I love to rant about tv (obviously).