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iamafanofcartoons · 1 year

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Rabbit Debunks Hbomberguy’s “RWBY is Disappointing Video” and explains why the Critics are wrong about RWBY. Part 1 of 2

Making a thread reacting to the hbomberguy RWBY is Disappointing video.

Mostly as a refresher and also because there’s been a lot of dissension regarding it so why not.

Intro Calls it R (Rue) By lmaoo.

You’re not supposed to pronounce the W So the gist of it, is that he feels like it has great concept that could be interesting, but fails to execute it in any meaningful way???

Like overall it’s bad but there’s few good glimpses-

Of what could be a great show.

I guess for now I guess I can give it the benefit of the doubt and assume good intentions so far.

No words on the History of Monty Oum and RT history.

I mean it pretty much all checks out

Though immediately admitting your bias against the show takes the validity of some of your criticisms away ngl.

So he loves the Red Trailer but brings up the views it gained and then brings up the views of the episodes (Vol 1 ep 1 and 2) as a sort of gotcha like “oh see the trailer is more popular than the episode like look at the 15M to (episode 2) 6.8M ratio!!!”

Like those are two- Wildly different things my guy

But what’s up with that “Red Like Roses Part 1 is the best composed music Jess has ever done” take?????

That’s wild asF fr.

Like no way you listened to the soundtracks of V1-3 and still have that opinion.

Like it’s amazing but????

“Does she get the scar from the fight or from something else, oooo mysterious”.

Is this a bit????

She so obviously gets the scar from the fight so I hope it’s just a bit lmao.

Also the complaint about Adam is so weird?

“He’s so obviously a bad guy that it doesn’t make sense”

“Since there’s already wolves set up as the baddies in the series”

Like, it’s not word for word what he said but that’s the gist of it?

It’s a bad and very nitpicky complaint since there are many series with more than 1 antagonist and antagonistic force.

I don’t know.

Saying “it’s coming from a well meaning place” but then saying it’s extremely bad, followed up by an intro song saying that RWBY is lame and it sucks all while dedicating it to Monty is…. So disgusting??? And very disingenuous???

Using the ending of Vol 2 as a point in your “they don’t know their story” when Ruby is laying down all the things that they have yet to solve (leading into the new volume and this laying down the groundwork for it)

It’s obviously in your face my dude.

Ah damn, a little out of order, but is there instances where Miles or Kerry acknowledges good faith criticism? Panels? Deleted tweets? Anything?

Mainly just curious if it’s true that they haven’t and he just didn’t do the research by saying he “has a hard time finding any”

Another thing. Forgot to mention.

Really wish he prefaced his complaints about the voice acting and writing that he understood that the studio itself was amateurish and small with not a lot of budget to work with. (Unless that’s true) not that there isn’t criticism but that- There are TANGIBLE reasons why it’s the way that it is.

Where Do We Even Start?

Uhhh they never dropped the Dust Theft plot line????

Volume 2 was literally the culmination of the dust theft and the reason is because of Cinder’s plans.

Another thing that’s in your face but just, weirdly you gloss over???

“The intro doesn’t set up the story properly… leaves out the fragile peace between the nations…. Leaves out faunus… leaves out semblances…”

Quite literally, the intro talks about things that weren’t even revealed until Vol 4 to 9. The intro is good and sets up what it NEEDS-

Like sure you can say “oh but it’s only added till later when they got the story that they wanted to tell straight”

Mate, a pro tip for a lot of writers renowned/acclaimed have admitted that some of their works or some of their best writing decisions were made by the seat- Of their pants.

You think Naruto, one of the most iconic and popular anime of all time would have spun into how it is just off the intro of the first episode?

What about Bleach?

ATLA?

One Piece???

There are so many instances where the intro just isn’t all encompassing bc- That just isn’t how story writing goes.

You can have the best most rigid outline in the whole world, but at times you’re gonna go off script because there’s something you want to expand upon more or explore.

Ends off this segment by saying that RWBY’s story is interesting and it has neat ideas (backahandedly by adding “to write a wiki about”) but the storytelling only gets worse.

Which, I sort of disagree with???

It’s not stellar by any means, but I chalk that up with them- Not having the sort of resources available.

However from what they managed TO put together it was coherent enough to convey what they were meaning to portray.

Though I do have my gripes with certain aspects of the first two volumes.

But from V3 on? It’s only gotten- Stronger.

Yes I harp on V5 a LOT and it’s still one of the weaker volumes, but the conversations and character dynamics where stronger than they’ve been.

It was mainly the animation in the last few episodes of the giant fight that I just, wasn’t vibing with at all.

Worldbuilding and Conveyance

So next he talks about how aura was explained.

Bringing up both Harry Potter and ATLA and how they tell it as an example.

Following it up by making a rwby edit to make it seem as if it was mundane and boring.

Which isnt the case at all.

If you- Actually take the time to watch the scene.

It's about 1:20 long and while the explanation of what Aura does is being told to the viewer, it shows Ren taking down the King Taijitu with his aura.

It's another valid form of story telling because it's not just two characters talking on screen.

it's also giving us an insight of how it would be put into action.

"No one just happens to have full on speeches prepared in case anyone is to ask"

Uhhh, have you met Weiss?

Even the examples you gave literally is Hermione and Katara.

"Why does Jaune not know about this?

When he came from a long line of hero's and monster Hunters."

Idk, how does Naruto not know about Chakra despite 8 years as a academy student.

He probably just skipped out on it or didn't take it seriously enough.

He never went to- A prep school like Signal either.

His transcripts were faked, so you could easily say he went to Beacon with nothing more than a Dime, A old Rickety sword and a dream lol.

Also Pyrrha is super smart and also a really great battle tactician.

Of course she would be able to- recite what Aura does word for word.

It's not mischaracterization.

You just want to twist that narrative against her.

And not just that, I feel a strong mischaracterization of Jaune.

If Jaune is played off as an idiot for jokes, that's cool. But if he's shown to just not- Understand or doesn't know about the world at large, then that could hint at the fact that Jaune is more than just an idiot.

He's probably born in the sticks/boonies.

A country bumpkin if you will where Hunters aren't all that well known nor pop culture.

It doesn't dumb down the other characters.

Because Weiss is frustrated herself that someone so famous isn't recognizable by anyone and everyone in the world.

Same thing with her and the SDC

For Christ sakes, he only knew Pyrrha from a cereal box be fr

Well he brings up the Jaundice thing and yeah that's fair, a lot of people have gripes with that (i'm not one of them) and brings up how Pyrrha is only really a character for Jaune's development as a fighter and romance option but not much else on her own.

Which... Yeah I kinda- get that too.

Like, I liked Pyrrha too, but I do wish she had more to do in V1 and 2.

But in V3 is where she shines.

Hell there were so many people who did cry and got shocked by the end of Vol 3 even with the amount of screentime she gets.

"Praise RWBY for being feminist and progessive cause most of the mcs are women... But Jaune has 4 episodes dedicated to him, and has the coolest girl in school flirting and helping him become a stronger warrior."

Jaune isn't the main character.

How I've always viewed RWBY and JNPR has always been: RWBY as the protagonist and JNPR as the deuteragonist.

They hold about the same amount of importance because of how close their teams are.

So of course you're going to want to give the deuteragonist development and screentime to.

And yes Jaune had Jaundice.

RWBY still has an ABSURD amount of episodes dedicated to them as well so the balance/ration will always be in RWBY's favor regardless of how you feel about Jaune as a character and Jaune's importance to the story.

Same goes for the rest of NPR

"The writer's dont know what Yang's semblance is.

It goes from her being angry, to it being her taking hits and she transfers that energy back to them by hitting them again, and then temper tantrums, and then re-xeplain it as a redirection of energy stored from hits."-

Uhh, no.

Her semblance has always been about redirection of stored energy from attacks and aiming them back at the opponent.

Every single time we see her use it, it's always after she's taken several hits.

It's probably still possible to use it without taking hits, but its more than- likely less powerful.

He goes on to talk about how semblances are abstract and only gets mentioned 14 episodes later.

Which sure ok, but the gist of them and how they work are still easily within the story.

Could they have expanded upon it more earlier on? Yeah they could.

But to sit there and say, "When Pyrrha used her abilities and Ruby and Weiss look at her like she was weird and surprised and confused she has powers too"

no no no no no, that is grossly misreading the scene.

Pyrrha has kept her semblance a secret from anyone and everyone.

No one knows what it is or if she even had one.

They were just confused by what she did, why her hand glowed black, and why her hand was out.

It had nothing to do with them being confused about why someone else had a semblance, but more so they never knew what Pyrrha's was.

and also, the reading of Semblance = magic is both meh and eh.

Like if you looked at any and every single semblance that exists in RWBY, every single one of them have to do with concepts that has nothing to do with earth, wind, fire, and water.

Whereas Magic in the series- has Maidens throwing storms, lightning bolts, fire, ice, etc. at any enemy they choose.

That's the major difference between magic and semblance.

Magic is divine, naturalistic. Semblances are more man made if that makes sense.

Man he really does not like how semblances are portrayed/exposited.

Like it's been just as long as he harped on for Pyrrha expositing the aura scene.

like the exaggeration that he's going to, to explain this is kinda crazy

It's not a semi complicated concept at all, like he said it was.

It's very easy to follow and very easy to understand. he brings up Emerald and Cinder knowing about it, but doesn't bring up the fact that Pyrrha had to have put it in her application for Beacon or her personal- record that only Beacon has track of.

A record that they broke into with the helps of Watts, but not just that.

But Mercury also figured it out because he's an intelligent fighter just like Pyrrha is.

You can just say that Pyrrha's opponents were all just dumb for not figuring it out.

But no, it's just bad writing I guess.

Brings up WoR as an example of not being able to tell the story completely and labels it as homework.

It's not necessarily out of the norm though.

There are lots of character guides, extra material that expands on characters, worlds-

nd ideas that you can't really put the time in the show to do.

Like let's look at the first 3 volumes and how most episodes where 12-15 minutes long.

And even then they were still trying to get the hang of writing for something so massive as RWBY.

Having extra material so readers can get a better understanding of the world around them isn't bad. because even then, most everyone knows who Faunus are.

How Aura works, what a semblance is. all of these on a surface level.

If you want to dig deep, thats what WoR is for.

Unless you just wanna insult the show and embrace ignorance?

Some Positive Examples

Such a nothing complaint really.

Just Miles and Kerry's writing vs Monty's character acting (in terms of how he conveys the four in a team fight (example being Team RWBY vs Mecha Roman)).

I mean, I dont know what to really say here.

"The writers are so busy writing drama and wacky skits to explain why they're friends while Monty is putting in the REAL work with the fight scenes and showing how close they are and how far ruby has come at becoming a leader."

Yeah... Cause that's what writers and animators do

Briefly touches on Ships and how Monty, Kerry, and Miles referenced them in the fight. (also decided to call it creepy since Ruby is 15 and the other girls are 17...

Which isn't that bad??

Like Sophomore and Senior in High School really).

Wasn't Ichigo Kurosaki 15 and Naruto not even 13?

Also says they didn't make a name- for Ruby and Yang because of the certain fans that ship those two together so they avoided that one altogether

.... Which yeah??? Did you want them too lol??

I can't seem to see his point of bringing this up because on one hand it feels like he's admonishing them for it, but on the other hand he seems... like he's a little upset that they dont have a team attack name?

Maybe just at the inconsistency of it. Which i can understand.

I would have maybe came up with one that isn't fandom made so they can have a cool SISTERS team attack, like Rose Dragon!

Ends off this segment talking about more Miles and Kerry vs Monty (with Shawn being added in).

Another example of writing vs character expositing through animation by using the Pyrrha vs Mercury fight as well as the exposition between Emerald, Cinder, and Mercury.

Lots of talk about animation being weird and how he's seen worse animation but the stories were good enough to overlook it.

I'd be a broken record by stating this again and again.

But just look at what they had to work with. Look at how divided the writing and the animation- really were with Monty coming up with new characters that the team had to shove in last minute.

Look at Poser even and how the engine was something really only Monty and Shane (oops I made a mistake in that other post) could work to the level that they did.

Look at RT and even CRWBY at the time.

And now look where they are now.

You can't tell me that they've gone downhill when most of your gripes that you've complained about are/have been fixed in the later seasons.

Gonna end it here and make it a 2 parter. This thread is-

Long enough and I'm tired extremely lol.

I'll do a QRT tomorrow and start it back up.

If anyone has more to add or correct me on, feel free to QRT anything you feel i didnt do a good job of explaining or just missed in general.

Any help is appreciated.

https://twitter.com/PhonyMangaka/status/1653898140678856704

#rwby #rwby analysis #rwby is enjoyable #rwby is a good show #rwby is good #just give rwby a chance #all we're saying is give rwby a chance #give rwby a chance #phonymangaka

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coderiderr · 2 months

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9, 22 and 27 for you good friend!!

09. personal bias aside, who do you think is the best written character and why?

regarding MCD oh katelyn absolutely no question. plot threads and arcs can get a little all over the place but katelyn has a consistent motiv/arc she follows through on s1-2 with her defection and everything, we love you katelyn <333 ugh queen

For mystreet well tbh. uhh. s1-3 zane is the only one who had a solid like. arc (?) about opening up and making friends. (not that he should be opening up to these ppl theyre all assholes to him lmfao) so much happens in mystreet and the quality, ranges. s1-3 was like a sitcom but then s4-6 were so much idk.

22. who's the character that you most identify with and why?

i dont think i identify with any of these guys honestly. theyre all very different from me,. mystreet liochant ig, bc he does nothing <3

27. what's something really interesting that you wished canon decided to explore more? alternatively, what's something interesting that you wished the fandom acknowledged more?

OH THERES SOSOSSOSOSOS MUCH goign on mystreet concepts first uhm s4-6 i dont like ghost but her concept is so insane but the fucking execution but like she literally cant remember anything about her life other than the name zane & like love. which she interprets as oh he must be the love of my life or smthin so shes obsessed with him but extremely strongly implied (or outright confirmed id have to rewatch) this is the ghost of emmalyn from mcd and the reason she remembers zane is bc MCD zane literally killed her husband in front of her its so crazy. thinking the reincarnation of the guy who killed your soulmate is your one true love bc you cant remember why you know him AHHHHHHH

s1-3 mystreet im blankin on a lot of it. idk garroth repsect ur brothers boundries more or smthin </3 wish they leaned more into the hilarity of zane being part of the homeowners association. wwe only got the ep where he judges christmas decorations for a competition. ohhh wait they shouldve leaned more into zane being an outcast and why bc theyre kinda like hes a dick ig? even tho like. he reasonable defensive and shit bc the people around him are like. constantly making fun of him. i think he deserves to be a little bit of a dick.

MCD JUST LIKE>> TRAVIS IN GENERAL HIS CONCEPT GOES SO INSANE AND THEN THEY JUSARGHHH like his dad is the demon lord and he grew up solely with his mom and is extremely outcast at the village he protects FROM HIS DAD bc of his parentage and the dude literally spends all his time alone after his mother died he has so much compassion for people who hate him it goes so crazy. and hes so ashmed of his demon side im ahhhh. hes always lurking in ym brain

and dante and gene dante and gene. pov youre orphans and your big brother is doing something terrible so you report him and he winds up being hanged for it and he comes back as an undead monstrosity and kills literally everyone in your hometown ((i realize i have misremebered it was a memory wipe not killing but so many village wipes happen in this series can you blame me)) but you and you are haunted by the guilt you feel. its hard but you end up finding a new place to call home and new people to call family until one day theyre gone and you do your best to help your little struggling village and you perservere until one day 15 years later theyre back and havent aged a day. you thought they were gone.

also just fucking getting to see dante age and get married and become a father while gene is stuck in the same 20 y/o body goes crazy. what happens when you outgrow your big brother

also hmm i dunno. i think we should all aprreciate brenden more. also kiki & zane are so we need to talk about that more

#asks #THANKY OU AIDEN!!!!!!!!!

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kinjkihu-s · 1 year

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so i already went on a tangent abt how good the acting was in ep. 5 so lemme just gush abt the prosthetics for a hot sec because wowwww i'm absolutely obsessed

if you haven't heard already, they got barrie gower as prosthetic designer (he's the guy behind vecna on stranger things and the night king on game of thrones). his shit's been amazing. i cannot recommend following him on insta (@barriegower) enough (plus he recently posted some clicker concept for the show!). the props team also reportedly consulted some naughty dog concept designers who worked on og tlou for both creating the infected prosthetics and set design which (if true) fucks soooo hard.

everything abt how they tackled bringing the infected to live action is insane. it feels so meticulously done from concept to execution.

there's the obv. practical effects/ prosthetics/stuntmen over cgi which i love. i'm sure that with the budget hbo gave the team, cgi infected would've still looked fine, but going the practical route is *chefs kiss.*

kudos to the actors underneath all that make up as well! that terrifying clicker kid was played by 9 year old contortionist and self proclaimed "rhythmic gymnast" skye belle cowton and the bloater was played by stuntman adam basil (@adam.basil on insta. totally recommend checking him out there bc he posts a lot about his acting gigs). they ended up using a good amount cgi for the bloater's movements in the end but the suit they made still looks so cool.

even where the designs deviate from the game it's still done within respect to the og design aesthetics and what makes tlou tlou. the tendrils didn't just come out of nowhere; they were in the early concepts for the og game.

there's a lot more i can say about this but shdkshdj take my adhd rambling aight gn.

#the last of us #tlou #the last of us hbo #practical effects #prosthetics #behind the scenes #bloater #idk when this account became a tlou stan account but here are #something something back to my middle school roots

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yangxiaolongprotectionsquad · 1 year

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Some stand out things to me that were DEFINITELY overshadowed by the most tender, soul-restoring, gorgeous, stunning confession to ever be conceived and executed, in no particular order:

1. I know some ppl are unhappy abt Weiss being down bad for Jaune now but I personally think it’s fucking HILARIOUS and the way RBY were all 🤨 was amazing. Jaune fr looks good…. “MATURE” LMFAOOO Weiss really put on her clown shoes and I love her for that

2. I don’t think anyone thought Alyx’s story was going to be totally accurate but DAMN. Writing her kind brother out of the story entirely, sacrificing him to return to Remnant, poisoning Jaune? What a twist.

It shines an entirely new light on her interactions with those in the Ever After. The Crimson King ascended into a colossal shithead because of how she beat him—no wonder he resents humans so much. I think it’s likely that she cheated to win, so when he came back it was with a vengeance. I wonder at how she and Louis were raised to become opposites?

3. The Curious Cat is basically Ozpin. A helpful if eccentric guide at first, that eventually is forced to confront a painful reality. What really makes the connection stand out is how the Cat deflects by saying things like, “You never asked,” regarding the brother. They both technically don’t lie outright but they do withhold crucial information that would change how the others would perceive them and the world.

I fucking LOVE the parallels man. The nail in the coffin was when the Curious Cat left after admitting Alyx played them. I’m certain the cat will return in some way or another, like Ozpin.

4. Ruby. Oh dear, Ruby. She’s been lost ever since she fell. Literally of course, but mentally, too. She doesn’t know her purpose, her role, her reason to keep going when Salem is out there with two relics and the situation appears hopeless. Volume 8 was a massive pill to swallow, and her plan failing has had horrible consequences. She’s at a crossroad, (lol), because she needs to be a leader.

She can’t doubt herself, she can’t fail, she has everyone relying on her and that burden has never been heavier than it is right now. It’s crushing her, so she’s trying to lighten that load by erasing pieces of herself. Ruby gave away her emblem. Penny’s sword.

Her beloved Crescent Rose, a PART of her, at least symbolically, being given back to her by Jaune, offers ZERO reassurance. Worse still, just looking at it fills her with dread. It’s a symbol of every burden she’s shouldered and every battle she’s fought.

Jaune returning Crescent Rose is akin to him saying, “We need to keep going, to keep fighting.”

And Ruby Rose, the optimistic hero and legend straight out of a fairy tale, wishes she could just disappear.

SO YEAH. That’s my incoherent analysis. I think volume 9 has already become my favourite, and EDDY RIVAS. It cannot be said enough how amazing the script was. Truly. The animators went ballistic. The concept and background designers? They served us a 5 star meal. Miles is SLAYING as an older Jaune, who is both familiar and yet distinctly different. Lindsey, Kara, Arryn, and Barb continue to give us incredible performances.

HOW COULD I NOT MENTION CASEY AND MARTIN??? Banger after certified banger. Give me the album.

Thank you, CRWBY. For everything. I knew you’d deliver but you’ve outdone yourselves. That’s all I can say for now, but I’ve deadass had a smile glued on my face since I watched the ep, and you should know that.

#SO. I WONDER HOW EP 7 IS GONNA PLAY OUT.#I’m on mobile so idk how minimize the text to do the show more thing #im sorry #ill probably figure it out #rwby #rwby spoilers #analysis #rwby9 #rwby9 spoilers #crwby #ruby rose

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boypussydilf · 9 months

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retching. i feel like i need a rewatch of the whole series of f&c in one go to fully cement my opinion without the weeks worth of 'over' hype and theorizing for the finale eps but at the same time the ending soured me so much do i. do i want to? but also i dont /want/ to dislike this thihng i enjoyed so dearly up to this point. man its so sad. a part of me knew that there's no way the finale could satisfyingly wrap things up in two eps but given how the series had gone on so far, 1/2

MANNNNNNNNNNNN 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

i gladly accept my inbox’s position as “support group for people frustrated and unsatisfied with the f&c finale”

Yeah like………. i could tell they were struggling a Little with pacing and being able to fit all the important parts of the story in. ep7 especially like, was a great episode but also some of the plot beats felt like they weren’t built up to properly, or they didn’t linger long Enough on important stuff - like, we only dedicate 2 seconds to the thing abt the star beinf like that bc shes a marceline who didnt have simon…… But i could forgive all that, bc they had a LOT of stuff to fit just into that one episode, and they still hit all the beats they needed to and told a sensible story.

So I thought….. even if they don’t have time to execute the ending perfectly, they can still get their idea across and have everything happen that needs to!

But then they decided to. Like. To some extent tell the wrong story. And DEFINITELY told it badly. There’s good things about the finale episodes, and some of the plot points are What Should Have Happened, but there’s …. just……… Fundamentally they failed to continue telling the same story they had been telling the entire show!!!!!!!!! fionna and cake writers sweeping the subject of simons mental health off the table at the last second to tell a story exclusively about 1 specific aspect of his relationship w betty as if the Life Lesson He’s Learning here has aaaaaaany fucking thing to do with what his story has been about SO far in the series

uuuuuggghhhhh yeah the ending just. soured the whole fucking thing for me. at the same time i still love the first 8 episodes theyre great but theyre better if you don’t know that THAT was what theyre building to. emotionally i dont want to rewatch eps 9&10 in full ever bc the concept of them makes me so upset but also it would be good to revisit the series and look at it from the perspective of knowing what they’re intending to do. i still definitely will never agree with most of the things they did. but i can at least look at it more analytically when im not seeing it for the very first time and dont know where its going. not yet though im still pissed LMAO

ifeel you man. i feel you. so much. we are in this together

#basilask #fionna and cake spoilers

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voidify333 · 11 months

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Got a lot of OFMD vibes from Good Omens s2???

BIG spoilers for both GO S2 and OFMD S1 under the cut

Like, this isn’t a situation for the copied homework meme format, I believe it’s just same braincell on a really juicy story beat to create drama in a high concept romance, but I find the similarities fascinating so I’m gonna post about them. (What’s funny is that the thing that actually got me to watch OFMD in the first place is the promise of Stede being like aziraphale and blackbonnet being like A/C…)

The main thing is how the ending of ep 6 reminded me of OFMD ep 9.

The central pair kiss for the first time— letting any remaining oblivious audience members know this isn’t just a bromance, and alienating any homophobes in the audience who weren’t already alienated by the queer supporting characters. (That last bit is actually the biggest other “ofmd vibes” thing I picked up— how the very queer supporting roster served both to let homophobes know the show isn’t for them, and to reassure the queer audience that they’re allowed to hope for the main pair being Outright Canon)

But they also enter their divorce era— specifically, what happens is this:

The sunshine bookworm has a scene with a character the audience recognises as antagonistic (completely different scenes though— Stede’s traumatic experience with the bully in the woods vs Az being emotionally manipulated by metatron into thinking coming back to heaven is a good idea)

This scene, combined with his existing insecurities, causes him to return to a life that he won’t even find fulfilling (we know this bc he stepped away from it in the first place!) but he’s been convinced that it’s The Thing He Has To Do

In the process, he abandons his black-clad true love and breaks his heart

But here (in addition to all the obvious differences in context and execution), the season cliffhanger cuts away BEFORE “episode 10” as it were.

And… I don’t think “episode 10” is going to happen immediately for Aziraphale when lights go up on s3. Like, the “love epiphany” part may come in an early episode (we saw the way he touched his lip), but he’s certainly not getting the “plan to leave” part until some time further into s3, because the life he’s mistakenly gone back to isn’t with a Mary figure who cares about him but wants him elsewhere as much as he secretly wants to be elsewhere— instead, it’s with Heaven, an abusive cult that is planning to use him to destroy Earth, and has the power to destroy him on a whim.

Aziraphale’s key insecurity is his need for authoritative reassurance that he is Doing The Right Thing. This is what allowed metatron to use the offer of heaven to manipulate Az into hurting Crowley’s feelings and then abandoning Crowley. The tone demands an eventual happy ending (my faith in this is why the ending of e6 didn’t even make me mad), but Az is going to have to work through those issues before the happy ending can take place— Nina basically spelled this out.

The next place this comparison led me was to the thought “can I connect a red string on my cork board between post s2 crowley and ep10 Ed?”

There is an important difference between them, and it’s in kind of the opposite direction as the difference between Az-when-we-cut-away and Stede-when-we-cut-away

Ed has closed himself off to vulnerability completely after his heartbreak, and lashes out horribly, and we all know the reunion in s2e1 is not going to go smoothly

Meanwhile, although Crowley is heartbroken and mad… he is ultimately like Maggie on the “I hope she’ll be there when I’m ready but there’s no guarantee—” “there is” front. Aziraphale needs to work through his issues, and the plot needs to get to a place where The Real Big One is foiled and neither of them are in imminent danger of destruction, and once Az stops being an idiot he will need to do a great many “you were wrong” dances, but once all those prerequisites are fulfilled, we’re getting our second kiss (and I’m fanning myself just thinking about that hypothetical scene hoooooboy)

Maybe there will be a period of “angel I can’t forgive you. not yet”, that would be juicy drama, but the tone of the story demands that any such moment will be temporary

However, I do have a vivid mental image now, inspired by e10 Ed, of post s2 crowley standing in the bookshop and saying to himself out loud “oh, nothing lasts forever, is that right, angel?” and then going on a bender of destroying or giving away books (I lean towards giving away as it would leave less permanent fallout for later, and also be funnier, while still being just as potent a gesture of spite in the moment)

Anyway when OFMD S2 comes out and we get a better look at the blackbonnet divorce arc I’m going to try to use it as a divination tool to predict the events of the A/C divorce arc

#good omens #ofmd #good omens spoilers

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basementrituals · 7 months

Note

1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9

1. fav song? its soo hard to choose, maybe the jordan lake sessions version of in league with dragons, or the great gold sheep. but ive also always thought that the hot garden stomp and feed this end are really great, unusually good compared to the rest of the cassette songs. also quito

2. fav album? getting into knives is a flawless album, i think its like absolutely perfect in concept and execution and it means a lot to me

3. fav single or ep? the jam eater blues ep👍easily

7. fav lofi album? full force galesburg or hot garden stomp

8. fav hifi album? i already said getting into knives so i'll go beat the champ as a second fav. it also means a lot to me. i wish jd knew i feel the same way about him as he felt about chavo

9. fav unreleased song? YOU WERE COOL

#THANK YOU I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!#tmg

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jancys-blue-bayou · 2 years

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Well, for how I feel about the Jancy of s4 and the gross and unnecessary Stancy shipteasing, see previous post (ask response). For s4 in general I’ll say... vol 2 was better than vol 1. S4 was better than s3. But it’s really not good, I think.

There’s just way too many locations and characters. It sidelines a bunch of characters which I ranted about here before. The Cali crew (sans El) barely got do anything at all to do with the plot. We got some nice character moments, esp between Jonathan and Will in vol 2. But plot wise they had nothing to do. Jonathan just got to drive for 9 episodes. Mike got to “be the heart” aka yell encouragement to El. Will got to... tell Mike to do that. And together they got to do a rehash of the sensory deprivation tank in s1. And at the end Will got to have a little UD tingle moment. It’s ridiculous that main characters who were at the heart and center of the show before was reduced to this in s4 while walking Russian memes and new mains like Eddie got more to do.

The bigness in terms of abundance of characters and locations also throws the pacing off. Especially in ep 9 when there’s so much stuff that’s supposed to happen simultaneously but bc they go from Nancy/Robin/Steve to El/Max vs Vecna to Cali crew to Russia gang to Lucas fighting the jock to Eddie and Dustin with the odd sprinkle of Erica too, there’s like at least a half hour between Nancy/Robin/Steve getting choked by vines to us seeing them again... still being choked. I get they’re very proud of their big action sequence and in theory I think them all fighting the Hive Mind on different fronts is a neat idea but the execution is lacking, I’m just like how are the guys in the Creel house not dead yet El is taking her sweet time doing anything in the Mind Scape etc.

There’s other pacing problems too but this was where it most jumped out to me. I think it worked way better in s1 and s2 when they also had simultaneous plans going into action but not to this scale and it worked better then I feel.

There’s some interesting UD and Vecna stuff though idk if it makes sense really but hey, maybe they’ll pull it all together in s5. But right now I still have a lot of questions about why Henry is who he is, why he had powers and why he decided “i’mma be super evil” like are we gonna get more of a motivation than “I hate 9 to 5 eat work die lifestyle” lol? Also why did he tell Nancy everything? I suppose they’re saving that for s5 but. The border between the real world and the UD disappearing is a neat concept, I think that can be really cool. On the other hand I’m having trouble wrapping my head around the logic of one dimension overtaking another but I’m willing to run with it.

As an aside, I’m not wild about turning to using another test subject as the big bad, just on principle I always thought the test subjects would be innocent victims. But how they changed up all that background about the Lab and retconned a bunch of stuff in s4 turned into... yeah. Idk. On the other hand I totally see the appeal of Vecna as a villain, I’m just torn.

Also I don’t see the point in the Russia stuff. Yeah I get it, the Cold War was going on. But I think they could’ve just used Russia as a looming but unseen threat, it’s enough with the supernatural threats + the US government as a threat.

Speaking of, the portrayal of the US government from s2 and on is really weird. How they humanize it with Owens and now have turned into internal conflicts, Owens vs Brenner vs Sullivan, it’s really weird. Esp Owens part of it, why is there randomly this super friendly uncle in the shady covert government operations and why is he so completely selfless and willing to sacrifice and save El and her friends, why does he care so much?

Btw goddamn what a choke hold Coca Cola has Stranger Things in, that product placement at the end with El spinning the bottle. I don’t get why she had to spin a bottle at all was it just to get a prominent COKE logo in there?

Positives uh... aside from cute Jancy reunion:

Jonathan and Will talking and hugging and Jonathan clearly knowing Will is gay and seemingly Will knows Jonathan knows, that was all nice but eh couldn’t they have let Will say it please?

Nancy being a fucking badass.

The little Nancy and Max scenes we got in s4 was great, why couldn’t we get more of that instead of all the needless Stancy shipteasing moments? Stancy is long dead, you could’ve just focus on Nancy and Steve both having a lot of nice bonding with everyone else in their plot (and be completely fine, platonic and not weird with each other).

Joyce got to hug both her sons this time lol. Still can’t believe Winona asked the Duffers if she could hug Jonathan too at the end of s3 but got “there’s no time for that” as answer. There was time for the most overlong, unnecessary, excruciating musical moment in tv history, but not for Joyce Byers to hug both her sons.

Lucas and Max was great this season both individually and together. I’m never into kid ships but Lumax might be an exception to the rule, they’re very sweet together.

#stranger things 4 #stranger things 4 spoilers #st4 vol2 spoilers

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dramashii · 1 year

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A 2022 Recap: A run through of all the dramas I’ve seen this year

2022 is finally coming to a close. Just like any year, there were some great dramas, while there were also others that should have never left the drawing room.

I laughed, fell in love, got frustrated, and cried many times for the past 12 months. I had some epiphanies and learned some new things (e.g. the best way to solve your problems is to live in a coastal town).

I consider 2022 a decent drama year for me. I have managed to finish 44 dramas which helped me reached my goal of completing 300 dramas before this year ends.

I wished I could write longer reviews about each drama but I genuinely forgot about most of them by this time of writing. Anyways, here are the 44 dramas I watched and my short commentary on them. (Disclaimer: This list is subjective. These are only my opinions based on my experience while watching these shows.)

1. Melancholia (Kdrama, 2021)

You+Me=Love. This drama made math really interesting. However, I wished this wasn't romance at all.

2. The Red Sleeve (Kdrama, 2021)

The most heartbreaking part of this drama was knowing the lead characters at some point existed in history.

3. Our Beloved Summer (Kdrama, 2021)

Everything about this show was amazing: the aesthetics, music, and the chemistry between the leads.

4. Twenty-Five Twenty-One (Kdrama, 2022)

Iconic.

5. A Business Proposal (Kdrama, 2022)

Reminded me so much of old-school romcoms therefore, I was obsessed.

6. Reset (Cdrama, 2022)

Interesting and unique time travel/time loop drama.

7. The Bad Kids (Cdrama, 2020)

Watched this for the hype but I was kind of confused at the end.

8. Soundtrack #1 (Kdrama, 2022)

Friends to lovers supremacy.

9. Shining for One Thing (Cdrama, 2022)

Tries to answer the question: "If one thing had been different, would everything be different today?"

10. Dali and the Cocky Prince (Kdrama, 2021)

Solid romcom where both leads were rich.

11. Crazy Love (Kdrama, 2022)

Everything about this drama was crazy: the leads, the side characters, the plot but I didn't like this kind of crazy.

12. You Are My Heartbeat (Thai Drama, 2022)

Expected my heartbeat to go crazy watching this, but it really didn't.

13. The Oath of Love (Cdrama, 2022)

The key takeaway from this is that Xiao Zhan looks really good in modern clothes therefore he needs to do more modern dramas.

14. Sword Snow Stride (Cdrama, 2021)

Wuxia.

15 Who Rules the World (Cdrama, 2022)

Okay but the second half went downhill. Yang Yang needs to do more costume dramas.

16. Tomorrow (Kdrama, 2022)

Too simplistic approaches to mental health.

17. A River Runs Through It (Cdrama, 2021)

The one-sided love story went on for too long.

18. Love All Play (Kdrama, 2022)

Cute but it dragged.

19. Sh**ting Stars (Kdrama, 2022)

Interesting concept of having the story set in the entertainment industry but this was boring.

20. Woo Ri the Virgin (Kdrama, 2022)

I haven't watched a drama this bad for so long.

21. Bloody Heart (KDrama, 2022)

Bloody amazing cinematography but the story dragged because they kept replaying the same scene in different angles. Rooted for the villain.

22. Kiss Sixth Sense (KDrama, 2022)

They need to cast older actors and actresses in romcoms because the chemistry here was great. I didn't really like the ending though.

23. A Dream of Splendor (Cdrama, 2022)

One of my favorites from this year!

24. Dear M (KDrama, 2022)

Waited long to see this, was disappointed in the end.

25. Link: Eat, Love, Kill (KDrama, 2022)

Incorporated too much genre in one drama that the execution failed.

26. Love Like the Galaxy (Cdrama, 2022)

Red flags everywhere the biggest one being Li Bu Yi.

27, Love Between Fairy and Devil (Cdrama, 2022)

Xianxia drama of the year!

28. Big Mouth (Kdrama, 2022)

The second half wasn't as good as the first half. The ending was awful.

29. Today’s Webtoon (KDrama, 2022)

Should have been a 12 eps drama instead.

30. Animals (Jdrama, 2022)

Short but enjoyable.

31. Love in Contract (KDrama, 2022)

Got me out of a drama slump but this was a train wreck.

32. Lighter & Princess (Cdrama, 2022)

Objectively not the best, but I was obsessed over this during its whole run that I bought a Youku subscription.

33. New Life Begins (Cdrama, 2022)

Cute.

34. Bulgasal: Immortal Souls (KDrama, 2021)

Interesting concept but the writing just didn't make it work.

35. Snowdrop (Kdrama, 2021)

Decent.

36. Cheer Up (KDrama, 2022)

Went into this thinking it will be a cute youth drama but that weird mystery-thriller and love triangle ruined my watching experience.

37. May I Help You (KDrama, 2022)

1st half>2nd Half.

38. The Day of Becoming You (Cdrama, 2021)

Good body-swapping romance drama.

39. Summer Strike (Kdrama, 2022)

I was promised healing but the last 1/4 of the drama had a different tone from the rest.

40. Love In Time (Cdrama, 2022)

Interesting concept but mediocre.

41. She and Her Perfect Husband (Cdrama, 2022)

I wished they continued to show that mature relationship the leads had in the beginning until the end, but alas the last 10 eps happened and it just wasn't it.

42. Extraordinary Attorney Woo (KDrama, 2022)

An extraordinary drama about an extraordinary lawyer trying to find her place in the world. One of the best this year!

43. Rainless Love in a Godless Land (Taiwanese Drama, 2021)

The best thing about this drama is the title. Also, very unique and thought-provoking.

44. Alchemy of Souls Season 1 (Kdrama, 2022)

Might be the most interesting Hong sisters' fantasy drama yet.

#drama recap #drama review #asian drama

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absolutebl · 3 years

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This Week in BL

Sept 2021 Wk 5

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Don’t Say No Ep 9 (Line) - It’s my corny af hurt/comfort soap opera that I watch at 1.5x and skip all the sex scenes and Fiat crying, but I like it that way, so there. Yes I am one of those people who only eats the outside of the peanut M&Ms, why do you ask? Episode recaps here.

Bite Me Ep 5 (Viu & Viki) - sometimes I feel like this show is skipping all the important bits, or having them occur off screen intentionally, like some ancient Greek play. Still, the depth of the feeling understood between the two leads is clearly transferred to us despite that. Are they dating? Sure seems that way. Without anything being actually said about it. It’s oddly magical. I talked a bit about the north/south divide and food as a love language with regards to kao soi in this post.

7 Project Ep 5 The Breakup Zone (iQiYi & YouTube) - another het installment, so I skipped it. Nash.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Peach of Time Ep 10 fin - A Korean BL (maybe not BL tho) featuring Thai talent that really went beyond a lot of tropes into interesting territory and allegory in a way only Korea does. I hope we get more collabs like this, perhaps happier than this one next time? RECOMMENDED only if you are prepared for The Sad. Because it is quite sad.

x Friend or Lover (YouTube) Ep 6 - still waiting on the final of this Taiwanese indie series.

Love is Science? (BL sub plot on Viki) Ep 14 (aired ep 15) - Taiwanese drama finally got subbed yesterday, so those of us who are waiting seem to be on a week’s delay. The BL couple actually has the most interesting story arc and the most unusual character growth. I’m enjoying how unpredictable these two are. Honestly, they could have gotten their own series with this much story - and now I really want that for after the baby comes. I’m a little sad we didn’t get the coming out in the skate park sequence (LOOK I love coming out drama, especially with sporty friends, it’s a THING), but I also get why the writers are doing what they are with these boys. And the actors sure can handle it. Taiwan at it’s finest.

Love Is the series (YouTube) Ep 5 - continues to be fine for a V-BL but not all that actually good.

See You After Quarantine? (Viki) Ep 6, 7 - Taiwanese gameboys with Japanese talent stuck in, what more could we ask? AND THEN they gave us some *thirsty boi* action, great kisses, and charmed the pants off... well... everyone. Taiwan, we don’t deserve you. Honestly, you spoil us. Turns out Aaron Lai is the best wingman any gay Japanese man in quarantine could ask for. Everyone should be watching this. It’s utterly charming.

The Tasty Florida (Viki) Ep 3 & 4 - this Korean BL so fucking cute. Look it’s formless and too short but simultaneously aching and kinda special-sweet. But Korea has got to settle into something a bit longer for their BL for everyone’s sake. It’s time. Light On Me proved it was possible. I’m not asking for much, just 15 min+ of fresh content with at least a 10 ep arc.

Read more about it here.

GOSSIP!

Rumors of OhmFluke to star in new Thai BL Oh! My Sunshine Night. It’s from Newsinfinity Entertainment who announced the casting and showed the couple in workshops. This is this (small) production house’s first BL and they aim to “appeal to to general audiences* with a “broader view of BL that everyone will watch.” Which is code for LOW heat, light gay, soft boys. If this happens I think we can expect this to be Thailand doing Korean-style BL.

* GENERAL AUDIENCE? Let’s be clear no piece of media will EVER appeal to everyone. Here is the USA “general audience” is code for “families with socially conservative values and children who are still minors” AKA what used to be prime time TV watchers AKA suburbia.

The concept is analytically old fashioned and so fractured at this juncture (socially economically spatially politically) that “general audience” is actually impossible to target and it doesn’t really exist. But try telling that to the publicity department.

We also call this the “Disney live action demo.” (Think Pirates of the Caribbean.) I occasionally refer to them as “the Simpsons.” And they’re about as realistic. All that to say I am VERY suspicious of Oh! My Sunshine Night‘s production house.

To My Star does seem to be getting a second season, same director, same mains. Korea is much better about executing on its promises than Thailand, but until I see proof of filming or an honest trailer, my favorite boys are staying in the gossip section. I don’t wanna get my hopes up. (Honestly now, how many of you also want an alt reality with these two as a couple but Kim Kang Min playing his long suffering cardiologist intern character from Hospital Playlist? Just me?)

I reported on Unforgotten Night a while ago. It seems to have been fully cast now, I still think the publicity stills make it look like a joke. But with this line-up I guess it’s even more of an alt answer to KinnPorsche.

You know that thing that happens in media when suddenly we get multiples of the same style of movie or show at once? It’s now happening with BL. Love triangles. Restaurants. And now mafia.

Cutie Pie (our arranged marriage Thai BL staring Zee) dropped some wardrobe fitting photo ops. Also... fancy pants sexy suits that fit, so that’s exciting.

Starting Soon

My Mate Match from Starhunter should be starting on Line TV next Saturday. Usually, Line has subs relatively quickly and is available internationally. However the fact that the trailer is not subbed and the show is not listed on Line’s site has me nervous. No idea on length of run either.

Starhunter studio doesn’t have a great track record in general for narrative arcs and this one is not based on a y-novel so could get waffly. This is a roommates love triangle BL about a boy who is looking for one roommate and ends up with two vying for his home and his heart. Stars Jet as the uke lead which I’m pretty happy about as he’s got great comedic timing and is accustomed to BL. He’s opposite two friends/co-actors from Gen Y and other projects, so we know they’re comfortable with each other. They could do great things... if they get a decent script.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International subs accessibility reasons.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

This week’s best moment?

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benandstumpy · 3 years

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REWATCH: s1 recap/ranking

quick intermission before hopping into s2! just going to talk about the overall impression of this season and my personal episode ranking, since there's not really a better place to do it.

season one is short but memorable. some of the episodes are on the weaker side since it was still early in the run and, as with most shows, it got better before declining again. s1 does have a number of greats though and was fundamental in cementing the show's impact and influence on audiences and the animation industry as a whole

i think s1 did a really good job of establishing these characters and that it led to s2 being able to build on them in interesting ways. while i haven't watched all the way through in a while, i remember s2 having a lot of the best character moments (i guess we'll see.) "stimpy's invention" is kind of a great gateway into that, while the episodes preceding it do well to lead up to that episode's character payoff. i'm not going to talk too much about individual episodes here but it's worth reiterating i think.

as for the ranking:

UNRANKED: "big house blues"

i don't think this episode can really be compared to the others due to its nature as a pilot. if i did have to choose a place for it, it would probably be at the bottom, but that's only because of how rough it is. i really enjoy the art style and i do think it gives due focus to the dynamic between the main duo.

11. "black hole"

i actually think this episode has gone down in my personal listing since i last watched through the show. i don't hate it by any means, but it does feel repetitive and i was a bit bored watching it this time around. i think it really would have benefitted from greater variety in its environments, but i do love the alternate universe in concept and even in some areas of its execution.

10. "fire dogs"

this suffers from the same issue as the previous ep in that this episode can be pretty slow/dull. there are jokes that make me laugh, but i also think it's one that's aged more poorly than some others. ren & stimpy is often said to be a product of its time and while there is some truth to that, i think it's often more timeless than people give it credit for. there are many episodes that haven't aged well though.

9. "nurse stimpy"

mediocre execution on this one, but i wouldn't consider anything about it to really be bad. i think it has a couple of the best jokes from the season as well.

8. "robin hoek"

another episode that tends toward the mediocre, but i like the premise and there are some good jokes in this one as well. not much more to say about it tbh.

7. "the boy who cried rat!"

this is a good episode up until the chewing scene. the pacing grinds to a halt and while i appreciate the cartoony tom and jerry-esque slapstick juxtaposed with the signature grotesquery of this show in concept, the execution just isn't very good. i like everything else about it though.

6. "the littlest giant"

the pacing in this episode is a little slow but i like the humor enough that it makes up for it. i also like the premise for this one.

5. "untamed world"

this episode is a pretty straightforward nature doc parody so there isn't a whole lot for me to say about it, but it gets a higher spot because i like the "animals" and it's always nice to see r&s themselves in a chiller mood, since we don't get that too often. that characterization wouldn't work if it happened too much, but it gives a nice breather here, and they still feel in-character.

4. "marooned"

big fan of the psychedelic environments in this one. i find them very visually distinct and well-made. the episode is a little lacking in terms of plot, but i like the alien planet so much that it earns a high spot on my list anyways. i'm just a sucker for that kind of thing

3. "stimpy's big day/the big shot!"

very wonky animation in this one, but it earns a high spot because of what a strong beginning to the series and introduction to the characters it provides. it's one of the most memorable episodes for me because of the storyline and characterization, even if the visuals are lacking.

2. "space madness"

REALLY good episode. very solid in terms of structure and some of the best animation the season has to offer. the gradual build with ren's space madness and the ending with the history eraser button are iconic for good reason. also a very funny episode, lots of great expressions!

1. "stimpy's invention"

second-best episode of the show imo, only beat out by an episode i will be covering ~next season~ (it's "stimpy's fan club" lmfao i'm pretty sure most of you guys already know by now.) so it goes without saying it's my favorite of s1. this episode has many of the best visuals in the series and arguably the best tonal choices and balances. it's peak dark comedy and has excellent characterization on top of that. well-remembered as one of the best for very good reason.

#ren and stimpy #cartoon #rewatch #op

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dustedmagazine · 3 years

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Dust Volume 7, Number 9

Les Filles de Illighadad

Another collection of short reviews closes out this week at Dusted, with selections ranging from avant garde classical to free jazz to whacko punk to an unusually gender-inclusive guitar band from Niger. Writers this time included the usual stalwarts, Bill Meyer, Ray Garraty, Jennifer Kelly, Jonathan Shaw, Bryon Hayes, Tim Clarke, Andrew Forell and Chris Liberato. Enjoy.

All Set — All Set (RogueArt)

youtube

In 1957, serialist composer Milton Babbitt’s All Set applied his language-transforming compositional tool kit to the sonic resources of a jazz orchestra. Six decades and change down the road, such ideas haven’t exactly infiltrated the mainstream of either jazz or orchestral music, but they’ve become as handy for some music makers as hammers and nails are for carpenters. So, when saxophonic colleagues Ingrid Laubrock (who sticks to tenor here) and Stéphane Payen (playing the straight alto) needed to come up with a framework to make music together, out came Babbitt’s notion, which they did not play straight, but used as a suggestions for writing their own tunes, and for good measure named their band after the Babbitt’s piece The formative influence manifests in zig-zagging intervallic leaps, but instead of treating these of ends in themselves, the saxophonists carry on constant overlapping dialogues. The rhythm section of Chris Tordini (bass) and Tom Rainey (drums) can’t help but swing, but they do so in a shifting, discontinuous fashion that occasionally leaves it to the saxophonists to play the gaps as well as the horns they use the fill them.

Bill Meyer

Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio & Alexander Von Schlippenbach — The Field (No Business)

The Field by Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio & Alexander von Schlippenbach

Motion Trio is one of tenor saxophonist Rodrigo Amado’s more enduring combos. But it’s not one that has played often in the years preceding this concert, a consequence of the growth and success of its members; Amado, cellist Miguel Mira and drummer Gabriel Ferrandini all keep busy with other projects. So, this encounter with pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, which took place in Vilnius, Lithuania in 2019, was not just a reenactment of the trio’s favorite tactic of improvising with a strong fourth musician, but a reunion of the trio itself. This means that the process-oriented can listen for three comrades finding reviving a common language at the same time that they confront with an outsider’s efforts to deal with it. Schlippenbach’s playing brings an unusual harmonic density to Motion Trio’s music, which seems to coax an especially dynamic and at times reflective response from the saxophonist. Ferandini, on the other hand, proposes shapes and timbres that seem to build out from Schlippenbach’s intricate constructions, while Mira keeps up a steady, almost subliminal stream of contrapuntal commentary that is simultaneously assertive and nearly subliminal. But some of the concert’s most exciting moments come when the pianist lays out for a second, and you can hear Motion Trio’s members responding to each other.

Bill Meyer

BangGang Lonnie Bands — H2K On the Way (TF Entertainment \ Anti Media)

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Lots of artists have watched small projects intended only as appetizers grow to surpass their grander efforts. BangGang Lonnie Bands’ recent work, especially his King of Detroit albums, contained a few gems but were bloated in length. There was an ironic twist, as Lonnie’s claimed the throne to the city where he no longer resides. While it remains to be seen what the rapper brings after H2K On the Way, this 15 minutes long EP is his leanest work in years, leaving a long list of LPs behind. Lonnie no longer flirts with scam rap and returns to murder music, fusing gutsiest Michigan-style punchlines with no hostage Californian approach to verse spitting. He’s the naughtiest when he’s trolling the music industry: “Copped a 100 pounds of crank \ should have bought a verse from Drake.”

Ray Garraty

Buffalo Daughter — We Are the Times (Anniversary)

youtube

Buffalo Daughter always caught in the cracks between mainstream and experimental, layering vocal sweetness over chopped up blippy beats, not as wildly original as OOIOO, but not exactly girl pop either. This latest album comes after a long break and a slightly less lengthy COVID lockdown, and it’s got some prickly, dreamy jams, part dance, part pop, part funk, part inscrutable. “ET (Densha)” is the mad, moody single, full of low-end synth blasts and thundering drums, but leavened by high whispery vocals. It’s like Shackleton sound-tracking a Hello Kitty movie. “Global Warming Will Kill Us All” is similarly ominous, with vocoder chants and trippy pop choruses and blown out by phosphorescent blots of synth, but I like “Don’t Punk Out” the best, because it struts like an animatronic James Brown, the funk percolating through gleaming futuristic swells of sounds. If disco’s going to come back, can it be this weird and disorienting?

Jennifer Kelly

Fashion Pimps and the Glamazons — Jazz 4 Johnny (Feel It Records)

Jazz 4 Johnny by Fashion Pimps And The Glamazons

This new EP from Fashion Pimps and the Glamazons manages to fit into the tradition of whacko punk records from Cleveland (and what a tradition that is…) and to comment on the problematic nature of tradition itself. There’s a decided No Wave vibe to Jazz 4 Johnny: listen to it, and you’ll flash on Buy Contortions and on Robert Quine’s attempts to channel Miles Davis and Pharoah Sanders through his guitar. At points you’ll swear there’s a sax somewhere in the buzz and thunder that the Fashion Pimps create — but that’s just Richard Glamazon’s skronky guitar tone, which does Quine one better by not only aping the cadences of a free jazz solo but also the sound of a brassy axe. That’s fun, but we should also recall No Wave’s sharp antipathies for concepts like “tradition” or “perpetuity.” A lot of those bands wanted to neutralize their own existence and thus evade the ultimately conservative action of canonization. Other tunes on Jazz 4 Johnny are more engaged with the later Downtown noise rock scene. The guitar on “Dream Police” gestures toward early Sonic Youth—but even there, the band can’t quite help themselves. Vocalist Steve Chainsaw shouts, “Show me your DNA!” Most of those references are based in Manhattan, so what about Cleveland? The city often recedes into the background when conversations turn to rock-n-roll history, which is too bad. Fashion Pimps and the Glamazons don’t sound all that much like electric eels or Pere Ubu, but the band is tuned into a similarly feral, post-industrial ethos and an avant-garde sensibility that makes anti-art into art you can dance to. Or break things to. Or both. Which may be the best response to the wild and smart tunes on this record.

Jonathan Shaw

Les Filles de Illighadad — At Pioneer Works (Sahel Sounds)

At Pioneer Works by Les Filles de Illighadad

The entrancing At Pioneer Works documents the American touring debut of Niger-based Tuareg ensemble Les Filles de Illighadad, specifically a pair of shows at the eponymous Brooklyn venue. Travelling as a four-piece ensemble, the band created a swirling three-guitar maelstrom, as captured on this pristine-sounding recording. Founder Fatou Seidi Ghali — the first known woman Tuareg guitarist — and her cousin Alamnou Akrouni were joined by Fatimata Ahmadelher, the only other known woman Tuareg guitarist, with Ghali’s brother accompanying on rhythm guitar. Blending the traditional calabash drum and call-and-response vocals of the tende song form with the electric guitar, Ghali and company steep the communal origins of their sound with a gentle clangor. The music is simultaneously hypnotic and driving, the four performers acting as one multi-limbed, multi-throated being. For the most part, Ghali is content setting the pace and playing along with the melody. One exception is the trio of deftly executed solos during “Chakalan,” where she demonstrates her prowess with six strings. Reports from those Brooklyn shows indicate that the band completely enraptured their audience, and if At Pioneer Works represents only a fraction of how powerful Les Filles de Illighadad are live, this writer doesn’t doubt that at all.

Bryon Hayes

Henri Guédon — Karma (Outre National)

Karma by Henri Guédon

You don’t have to be a big fan of R.E.M. to feel overly familiar with “It’s The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” In dire times, it’s such an easy go-to tune that even adherence to lockdown prescriptions won’t keep it out of your ears. So, deejays, we’ve done your research for you, and found a new tune to soundtrack defiant frugging in the face of disaster. It’s called “Fin Di Mond,” by Martinique-based singer/percussionist/sculptor Henri Guédon. It, and eight more similarly motion-motivating tunes, can be found on Karma, a predominantly celebratory set of retro-futuristic, Franco-Caribbean grooves. Mind you, this music wasn’t retro when Guédon recorded it 46 years ago; the synth lines that swoop through its massed percussion were probably the height of modernity back in the day. Heard now, this music is just the thing to put time itself on pause.

Bill Meyer

HTRK — Rhinestones (Heavy Machinery)

Rhinestones by HTRK

Rhinestones is a sneaky one from Melbourne’s HTRK, a slight but incisive release that seems minor compared to their previous albums but cuts just as deep. Running to a brutally economical 26 minutes, most of the album is built around delayed guitar, drum machine and Jonnine Standish’s ghostly, dejected voice. To a world laid low by the pandemic, Standish sounds startlingly apposite for these times, and track titles like “Sunlight Feels Like Bee Stings,” “Real Headfuck” and “Straight to Hell” signpost the vibe clearly. This is sad, skeletal music, sure to offer a degree of solace if you’re weary, wrung out or wasted — 2021 in a nutshell.

Tim Clarke

Matt Jencik — Matt & Lyra (Trouble In Mind)

Matt & Lyra by matt jencik

Matt Jencik is a member of doomy, spacey Chicago band Implodes, plus he’s released two solo guitar albums: 2017’s Weird Times and 2019’s Dream Character. For his latest, Matt & Lyra, part of Trouble In Mind’s Explorers Series, Jencik focuses on the thick, fuzzy tones of the Russian-built Lyra-8 synthesizer (hence the album title). Having said that, he does pull out his guitars to add some acoustic strumming to “Cmellow Ayellow,” and builds 16-minute closer “Clandestine Half Pipe” around electric guitar drones before the Lyra begins to dominate the frame. Jencik apparently made this music to help him sleep, and while this music is suited to nocturnal listening, with an all-enveloping warmth, there’s also the sense of something looming in the darkness. Whether this presence is reassuring or threatening probably depends on the frame of mind with which you approach this immersive 35-minute release.

Tim Clarke

Joakim — Second Nature (Tiger Sushi)

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French producer and Tiger Sushi founder Joakim’s Second Nature is a reflection on the state of the world. It combines samples of whales, elephants, toads and other wildlife with the kind of pop facing ambient techno from aughts chillout compilations. It is testament to his skill as a producer that the record doesn’t wear out its welcome despite the occasional lapse into the anodyne and the associations this kind of gentle background music evokes. When Joakim disturbs the tranquility on tracks like “Sferics & Whistlers” with its crackles of static and breakdown of discordant notes, Angel Bat Dawid’s klezmatic clarinet on “Waves Ahead” and the komische roll of “Kepler-39” that one is jolts from reverie and pays close attention, but at 16 tracks it feels like Second Nature needs more such moments.

Andrew Forell

The Killing Popes — Ego Kills (Shhpuma)

Ego Kills by The Killing Popes

Thank god this unfortunately named combo isn’t someone’s absurd scheme to crossbreed the sounds of Killing Joke and Smoking Popes. Instead, the Berlin-based project exists at the crossroads of jazz and electronics. I know what you’re thinking, and no this isn’t a modern take on acid jazz; this crew makes a jazz-on-acid sort of racket. The core Popes are drummer-percussionist Oli Steidle and multi-instrumentalist Dan Nicholls, who together conjure up a brew with a myriad of ingredients. Their genre-defying fusion of disciplines does have a center, however. Steidle’s dextrous drumming and the elastic band bass proffered by Phil Donkin serve as an anchor point for the other elements — both melodic and bizarre — to revolve around. The addition of vocals inserts the sense of narrative, creating a gravity that tugs at the sounds and prevent them from spiralling out of orbit. As zany as Ego Kills may be, it’s jazz-like enough for afficionados to appreciate. On their own, each of the instrumentalists demonstrates a mastery of their craft; together, they create an uncanny sort of magic.

Bryon Hayes

Norman W. Long — BLACK BROWN GRAY GREEN (Hausu Mountain)

BLACK BROWN GRAY GREEN by Norman W. Long

Chicago soundscapist Norman W. Long walks his southeast Chicago neighborhood, listens deeply and records the ambient sounds of nature, the echoes of railyards, wasteland and industrial sites both working and abandoned. Adding subtle electronics and treatments to his field recordings, Long conjures atmospheres that speak to space, atrophy and the delicate symbiosis between nature and humanity. On BLACK BROWN GRAY GREEN he immerses listeners in the often unnoticed aural richness at the intersection of the built, neglected and the natural. His choices about when to augment or to present his sources as are forms a narrative of associations, displacements and tensions. Long’s is also a story of reclamation and recognition, a rumination on the situation of the largely minority and migrant populations who live in the neighborhood, many of whom toil as essential workers across the city in the face of ongoing prejudice and hostility. Site specificity is integral to Long’s art but his themes are universal.

Andrew Forell

Andy Moor — Music For Safe Piece (Unsounds)

Music For Safe Piece by Andy Moor

Music For Safe Piece is the antidote for every piece of children’s music that’s ever made you want to not hear another played or sung note, ever again. Electric guitarist Andy Moor (the Ex, Dog Faced Hermans) and dancer Valentina Campora have included their sons, Elio and Milo, in onstage performance ever since they were so young, they had to be swaddled and strapped to one of their parents in order to participate. The recorded results of this shared adventure are raw, unpredictable and exhilarating. Moor’s guitar, occasionally augmented by a child’s vocalization, a foot pounding the floor or some choice tune fragments on a cassette tape, blazes a trail of reverberations, scrapes and wobbles. In performance, the boys are known to get in on the act, helping pop to make his sounds while mom handles the movement. This music isn’t particularly pacific, but it’s pretty close to the way kids actually play when no one’s stopping them. The technologically adept will find a QR code inside the CD’s gatefold, which unlocks the short film, “Safe Piece.”

Bill Meyer

RXM Reality — Advent (Orange Milk)

Advent by RXM REALITY

Long-time Hausu Mountain dweller Mike Meegan has relocated to the Orange Milk abode, taming his frenetic brand of electronic mayhem in the process. The blown-out, off-the-grid beats are still plentiful, but with Advent Meegan injects his tunes with melody. He’s also allowed himself to slow down and relax. The vast expanse of “Character Limit” literally breathes deeply as Meegan allows it to swirl around. He drinks up the pleasant melodic aromas of the track before switching gears and unloading burst after burst of explosive beats. “These Days” comes off as an electro-shoegaze hybrid, with gauzy synth pads that float effortlessly among bouncy percussion clusters. Of course, the signature RXM Reality sound — a hybrid of 1990s video game and blockbuster movie — is present and accounted for in tracks like “Allure,” “Screaming,” and “Grip of Evil.” Yet even these balls of energy are tempered with shades of consonance. Having blunted some of the jagged edges of his frantic brand of electronic music, Meegan fits in nicely among the kooky ranks of the Orange Milk imprint.

Bryon Hayes

Macie Stewart — Mouth Full of Glass (Orindal)

Mouth Full of Glass by Macie Stewart

You might already know Macie Stewart as one-half of the complicated indie rock duo Ohmme or for her regular appearances as violinist of choice in Chicago jazz and experimental music scenes, but this solo LP shows another side. These eight songs are lushly, intricately arranged with strings, orchestral instruments and brass, recorded with precision and clarity, but nonetheless personal and introspective. “Garter Snake” sheathes flaying honesty with baroque instrumental flourishes. Stewart’s voice is bare and unaffected as she confides, “I am addicted…to indecision,” but she makes riveting choices in framing the melody. Old-fashioned movie strings swell in the spaces between talking-right-to-you verses; agile guitar chords mark time. “Finally” begins in bare, Bahian guitar play, as Stewart’s voice flutters and floats an unpredictable but fetching tune. Strings swoop in at the end of the phrase, lavish and lucid. The title track unlooses massed, harmonized vocals on the spare architecture of picked guitar, a shock of extravagant sung beauty in an otherwise restrained palette. Like Wendy Eisenberg, but with different instruments, Stewart weaves post-modern complexity into the delicate fabric of pop songs. The difficulty — combined with the beauty — makes this music memorable.

Jennifer Kelly

Stingray — Feeding Time (La Vida es un Mus)

Feeding Time by Stingray

In places where heavy music is played and endlessly debated, 1982 might be most strongly associated with English street punk — see the ersatz “genre” of UK82, which enshrines the year and ties it to acid green liberty spikes and scuffed Doc Martens. Fair enough. But street punk was thoroughly informed by the dirty working-class metal being made by bands like Motörhead and Venom, and this new EP by Stingray celebrates those noisy intersections of influence. Of course, Stingray’s version of celebration likely involves several cases of Bass Ale, an eightball of something white and a fistfight or two. Or five. The English band features members of other current hard-driving acts, including Subdued, the Chisel and Chain of Flowers, but Stingray doesn’t prize currency. The songs are short, hard and nasty, landing their punches like a “Bomber” and also like a bunch of “Death Dealers.” The guys in Stingray understand the past they’re drawing on, but does music like this have a future? Fuck knows. Do any of us have a future? Does the earthball? The tunes are less interested in such flights of existential angst, and more intent on their rapacious appetites for speed, sweat and raunch. It’s Feeding Time. Get it while you can.

Jonathan Shaw

Nick Storring — Newfoundout (Mappa)

Newfoundout by Nick Storring

You’ll miss some towns if you blink. The ones that have given their names to the compositions on Newfoundout might confound both eyesight and your GPS, since they are all ghost towns in Ontario, Canada. The music that Nick Storring has made to go with these titles is correspondingly elusive. Performed entirely by the composer, using strings, percussion and whatever bric-a-brac happened to be at hand, it is by turns lush, staccato and propulsive. “The sounds are never particularly difficult, but they rarely telegraph where they’re going, so if you listen passively, sooner or later you’ll look up in dismay, wondering how things got from where they were to where they are now. “Khartum,” for example, starts out sounding a lot like “In A Silent Way,” and finishes up sounding like a respectfully paced conference of grandfather clock chimes. So, put your head back and your ears forward, and let Mr. Storring do the driving.

Bill Meyer

Ten Ka — Sonic Geometry: Structures, Patterns And Forms (Jersika)

sonic geometry: structures, patterns and forms by TEN KA

Ten Ka is experimental side project of Deniss Pashkevich, a Latvian woodwinds player. The album title’s invocation of mathematics is apt, since this music is produced by dissimilar musical values acting upon each other. Pashkevich’s sound on tenor sax is full and soft around the edges, which is probably what it takes to be a working musician in a part of the world that doesn’t have much of a jazz tradition; on flutes, and especially the Bansuri, he hints at a far Eastern vibe. He also plays Fender Rhodes and prepared acoustic piano, bringing in further elements of user-friendly jazz, but also some sharp, Cage-y edges. But most of the nine tracks on Sonic Geometry: Structures, Patterns And Forms feature modular synths, which provide a foundation of pulsing bass patterns and some intriguing disruptive, acidic sizzles. It all adds up to something simultaneously familiar and out of the ordinary.

Bill Meyer

Luis Vicente / Vasco Trilla — Made Of Dust (577 Records)

Made of Mist by Luis Vicente & Vasco Trilla

Not many improvisational settings are more exposed that the drums and trumpet duet. The two instruments are sufficiently different in timbre and frequency range that you can’t help but hear everything each player does, and also how those actions fit together. Trumpeter Luis Vicente and percussionist Vasco Trilla approach this situation with a combination of relaxed consideration and wholly earned confidence. Vicente can power-play when necessary, but for this session, he exercises restraint, using mutes to extract the most lyrical and vocal sounds he can muster. Trilla likewise seeks out the extremities of his kit, drawing continuous ribbons of widely differing characters, such as the alarm clock-like clatter and low-scrubbed drumskin heard on “Swirling Mist.” Their interactions are not just sonically novel, but trusting and deeply intimate.

Bill Meyer

Simon Waldram — So It Goes (Self-released)

So It Goes by Simon Waldram

Simon Waldram’s refrain-heavy eighth solo album, So It Goes, is a song cycle on love, loss and acceptance influenced by classic indie pop bands like The Field Mice, The Fat Tulips and The Go-Betweens. Indeed, it was the Grant McLennan-channelling “Don’t Worry,” a plaintive reassurance to a past lover, that initially caught my attention. But “I Miss The Sun” betters it, really laying on the Hammond, and squeezing in something noticeably absent from the other songs: a bridge. “When will we see the lull again/Feels like these dark days will never end,” Waldram sings, reestablishing buoyancy as it winds down repeating the title phrase. There’s promise elsewhere, like on the 1960’s-flavored psych strummer “Boats In The Sky,” before it lifts its bow in harmonic repetition a few too many times without checking its fuel gauge first, stranding itself in the firmament. “The Wild Wanderings of Wildebeests” is another one with potential, but its flawless first verse’s worth of strum and fuzz just recurs instead of building towards something of greater impact. The record hits its lowest point on the nearly nine-minute “Windswept,'' a “Primitive Painters'' rip that goes nowhere productive. When Waldram starts repeating ad infinitum “I miss you so much/ I can’t let go of this dream of ours,” you wish you could step in and save him from himself. A pleasant enough acoustic instrumental with birdsong follows in the form of “One May Afternoon,” serving as a much-needed palate cleanser and bridging the gap to the album’s closer. However, “Shimmer” is another moaner that never quite rounds into shape and instead fades out and then, unremarkably, back in. There’s an EP’s worth of good material on So It Goes, but as an album it only ends up burning itself with the flame its carrying, leaving the listener wondering, “Who hurt you, Simon?”

Chris Liberato

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