#I feel like I'm in the minority of fans that doesn't necessarily want the original version brought back

[daydreamerdrew]

From Doc Shaner’s podcast interview with The Comics Cube:

Duy Tano: We've been talking about characters like the Golden Age Captain Marvel, Space Ghost, so we're going really old here, Flash [Gordon] is even older than the Golden Age Captain Marvel- what is the appeal of the retro stuff to you?

Doc Shaner: It's hard to say. Obviously I'm not old enough to have known those characters when they were most popular, or when they first came about, so it's not like I have legit nostalgia for them, per se. But, I think, certainly, it's got to be at least partially an aesthetic that I'm fond of, a lot of the art deco stylings and the simple bold choices made by Beck and Alex Raymond and a lot of those creators is certainly very appealing to me. I like the simplicity of the characters. And they're so big and broad that I think there's a lot of fun to be had and kind of boring down and getting specific with those characters.

Duy Tano: What do you feel about the fact that the Golden Age Captain Marvel was the biggest superhero of the 1940s? And Flash Gordon might have been the biggest "superhero," though the word didn't exist back then, before Superman? And what do you think about the fact that those are like kind of just lost to history, you know, people don't know that? They see a Shazam movie coming out and they're like 'oh, who's Shazam?'

Doc Shaner: It's tough because I think Flash Gordon, certainly, even with a movie in the 80s, that was set in the 80s, it's unambiguously supposed to be of its time, and then the cartoon and what have you, so much of Flash Gordon is caught in his original time period, just the whole notion of him being just a guy who's really capable, that's a very old-school notion. Even with like modern action stars and movies and TV and stuff, there's still something about Flash that feels of it's time. And I think, unfortunately, a lot of that's still stuck on Captain Marvel, too. My theory has always been that Cap got essentially taken off the stands during the Silver Age of Comics, he wasn't able to grow in a lot of the ways Superman did, and Batman and a lot of those characters did. A lot of those DC characters grew and thrived in the Silver Age. And he missed, you know, the advent of Marvel Comics, too. So when DC tried to bring Cap and the family back, he was still very much a 40s character. And I don't want to deny the charm of that because there certainly is. It's what drew me to him in the first place, was that charm. But I think it also stagnated him in a big way, that I think that time period let the greater audience, the greater reader, think of Superman and Batman as being a little more malleable than Captain Marvel. And because of that, creators and readers alike, I think we struggle to let Cap grow naturally, because we want him to be the way he was, cause that's what we like about him. I think after I did Convergence: Shazam! with Jeff, that was why I, for a long time, I think I'd kind of closed the book for me and Shazam. Because I'd gotten my feelings of retro Golden Age nostalgia out of my system with those two issues. Jeff and I knew that it was not an opportunity that was going to come along very often, so we did everything we could to pack as much of our Captain Marvel fanboyism into those two issues. So we put as many villains as we could in there, and the whole family, and Tawky, and even Mr. Morris, and Uncle Dudley. We did everything we could because we knew we weren't going to get another chance like that to work with that version of the character. But yeah, I think for a long time it made me kind of think 'no, I think I'm done with Shazam' because I don't know what we can do with that character and that world, first what DC'll let us do, and what the readers will let us do, because I think a lot of times those are at odds.

[yuyuconfessions]

"I've noticed that younger fans seem to have trouble connecting the dots that a lot of adults on this website were kids younger or close to the age of Yusuke when this series was originally airing back in the 90s in Japan and the 2000s in the west.

Although these fictional characters' stories ended for them at 18 it doesn't mean that Yusuke and the gang stop being important, interesting, or compelling to us. It also doesn't mean that we have to stop loving these fictional characters and their stories after we turn 19.

If you as a minor 14-17 or someone aged 18 - 25 thay feels comfortable shipping these characters, viewing art of them, and reading fic about them ESPECIALLY NSFW art/fic; but your skin crawls that people older than you are creating that content, then you need to sit down with yourself and ask yourself if fandoms that are literally older than your existence are places that you are ready to be socializing in.

Fandoms that are older than your existence will have fans that are MUCH older than you and they are making content and having interactive conversations.

Yu Yu Hakusho is not an Adult Only fandom but it is a fandom that is Mostly Adults.

I fell in love with this show when I was a pre teen. I'm in my mid 30s. The show's target audience is teenagers. But here is the thing: it's target audience was teenagers back in the 90s and 2000s and that's still most of its audience today because Togashi told a fun and resonant story that tends to stick with its audience.

If you can't handle shipping content or adult conversations (conversations about mature topics and themes not necessarily 18+/NSFW but these are definitely present also) about Yu Yu Hakusho then you should try to avoid adult spaces when searching for discussion or content and stick to spaces specifically for minors.

A space specifically for minors would have a ban against all 18+/NSFW content that is strictly enforced. It would not have an 18+/NSFW section at all.

Tumblr and most of the discord servers for YYH that I've seen are adult spaces. Because there is an expectation that while minors are allowed on the websites they must be over a certain age with parental permission because adult conversations happen here where minors could see them.

All of this to say: Unplug from the adult spaces if you feel uncomfortable with adult themes and content or 18+/NSFW content.

Talk to friends irl about Yu Yu Hakusho or find a minor focused space online to talk about it. Come back to the adult spaces in a few years.

This applies to the 18 - 25 crowd also. If you can't handle seeing someone ship these characters or if someone ships them in a way that you don't agree with and it's so upsetting to you that it's causing you a great deal of anger or distress then you need to consider if you really want to be in the Greater Online Yu Yu Hakusho Fandom at this particular point in your life. Or if maybe you want to filter tags on tumblr and drop sites that you can't filter to make your fandom experience more smooth.

If Yu Yu Hakusho has lasted 30 years then it'll last another 3 or 5 years while you get adjusted and engage with Yu Yu Hakusho in minor focused or safely filtered fandom spaces. Trust me. Yu Yu Hakusho will be somewhere on the greater internet when you're older and you've gotten better at self regulating your intake of content online and your response to seeing content online that you don't like.

Yusuke, Kazuma, Kurama, Hiei, Keiko, Botan, Shizuru, Yukina, Genkai and the rest will be here when you get back. That's the great thing about resonant media. It sticks around because people connect to it.

You can love them as long as you want to. They'll always be there. They're not going anywhere."

This mod would just like to add

No one shipping Yusuke x Keiko is sexualizing or exploiting minors; yes, even if the person shipping is 35 years old. These are cartoons, fictional, 2d drawings. If you want to play cute with "but they're 14!" No. Yusuke was created in 1992. He is 31.

If any of the above makes you, a minor, uncomfortable, then get out of adult spaces. Back in myyy day (que groans), any show I liked and looked at online had adult content, like Inuyasha or Naruto, even Teen Titans. I'd be 12 and see suddenly complete porn of Raven, and as a teen, I'd just exit out of it. Now, kids see things online, things they shouldn't see because the internet is NOT safe for kids without parental oversight, and their response is to... yell at the people making the content... for other adults.

If you wouldn't walk into Spencers and yell at the employees there for the vibrators, don't yell at adults drawing porn of Yukina and Hiei fucking. Exit out, or ask your mommy and daddy to put restrictions on what sites you can access. The internet is NOT your babysitter.

[prince-toffee]

So, I rewatched the trailer over and over again, I stepped back, organised my thoughts, and I think I get it.

So first the Bad, then the GOOD, because there's actually a lot to like here.

The Bad:

So, the trend of companies kicking actual voice actors onto the curb and replacing them with celebrities continues. I remember being really angry when they first announced the voice cast, and I still am. It's quite literally the most boring, generic casting possible. You can not get much more white bread, milk toast than a Chris and Scar - I want to play an Asian woman and trans man - jo. Also, why is Chris Hemsworth here? Do he really need the money? Did Thor 4 damage his pockets that bad? There are so many talented voice actors that could've been Orion, David Kaye is a prime example Animated Optimus and Beats Wars/Unicron Trilogy Megatron, beloved by fans, if he was announced people would've been over joyed. I love Brian Tyree Henry, and he actually has some experience with va work as he voiced Jeff Morales in Spider-Verse, my original criticism still stands.... And Kegan, oh Kegan, I love you so much, Key and Peele was my childhood, and the Toad performance was perfectly fine, endearing even. But as Bee? I'm sorry, but no, that's not BumbleBee that's just actor/comedian Kegan Michael Key, I can't hear anything else. And it doesn't help that he's handed the worst lines.

Which brings us to the comedy. First impressions are EVERYTHING. And if you fumble that that hurts your film, and the perception of your film. I think that's really the problem here, it's a bad trailer not necessarily bad content. Packing the trailer with jokes for the sake of jokes and having that samey Hollywood liscensed music cringey feel to it. Like the guitar riff that played when the 'This Fall' card came up just made me turn off the video immediately. That's why I recommend watching the trailer without sound. Bee's jokes don't really land for me, I'm sure kids with love it tho, and that's good. But I'm sure all the jokes won't be bad, the final door gag is actually really funny. So I think it was just a bad joke that soured out feel of the tone at the beginning, which is unfortunate because like I said first impressions are everything. Because this is Josh Cooly, of Up, Inside Out, Toy Story 4 fame, I'm sure the film will have an emotional core to it.

A minor thing I don't much care for is having Bee be in the same age range as Orion, in my mind he's always constructed during the war at like the half way mark or near the end, he's the little brother of the group, and now he's old enough to remember Op and Megs before the war. Also he sounds way too old.

Oh, also I don't like Orion's personality.

Good:

Now for the good; I think the animations style is gorgeous. Would have I liked something Spider-Verse/Mutant Mayhem-esk, of course, but what are you gonna do? The stand out here is the environments, a visual feast. This might already be my favourite Cybertron, it's so different yet reminisant of the Cybertron we know. The fact that the surface transformers and shifts and changes is genius, very IDW Phase 2 inspired. And the fact that Cybertron is a techno-organic hybrid world ala Beast Machines is crazy! I love that, and wildlife! I bet that's how we get the cassettes. The character models are great too, you can actually tell what emotion is happening on a person's face. Gone are the days of faces being made up of razor blades and mandibles BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT INSECTS FUCK YOU MICHAEL BAY. THEY'RE PEOPLE! There's the nose, the lips, the eyes, and I can tell where one begins and ends. The eyes are gorgeous and detailed, and the face surface detail has smuges, wear, specs of dirt, metallic texture. Like, you nailed it! It's a person but a robot, you got it!

We see what we assume are the 13 Primes, Alpha Trion being the only survivor, maybe they were killed by the Quintessons and they took over. D-16, a ref to IDW and his toys designation in the toy catalogue, he'll obviously name himself after Megatronus ala TF Prime. He seems to have the Decepticon insignia before meeting The Fallen so maybe Megatronus' face is some sort of religious iconography, the Primes are a religion on Cybertron after all. It's all so fascinating, I can't remember the last time I was so excited to learn more about a new TF continuity.

Orion and D-16 are both miners and or workers, that's a refreshing take, no coptimus here. They've suffered the same way together, I bet story will be about dealing with that pain, what justice means, how far one is willing to take it and where justice stops and injustice begins. I know people are mad that the origins are a little different, but I ask you, different from what? Which continuity are you talking about? TF has never had a consistent singular timeline, and that's what I love about this franchise! It builds on itself with each new continuity! Take a bit of the old, mix it with new ideas and create something fresh, then that old guard leaves and a new team takes over and does the same and the franchise continues to evolve or should I say transform. Like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get, and new incarnations always give second chances to improve apon what came before. No Reboots, no risks means no Skybite, or Nemesis Prime, no Stasis Pods, Sparks, Protoforms, Energon ore, no Star Saber, Hot Shot, Knock Out, Airachnid, no All Spark, no Sari, no Bulkhead, no old grumpy Ratchet, none of that. Reboots are a part of this franchise's DNA. I sense the people that are complaining are the people who only value one continuity and discard all others.

It's really neat this universe's version of The Cast System is lower class worker protoforms being denied a Transformation Cog, it seems like it's reserved for the higher classes, the very thing that makes their species special and unique is denied to them. Also I didn't notice it the first time, but Alpha actually pulls the t-cogs out of the dead Primes which kind of signifies a passing of the guard, the old Primes failed, now it's your turn, and of course history repeats itself with the downfall of Megatron.

I like how Trion is covered and intertwined with moss and vines and has a beast mode, showcasing that he's of an older era now gone and forgotten.

Some other smaller stuff:

The sun looks like a holographic simulation, which makes me wonder, Cybertron doesn't usually have a sun, but there's plant life now, so what's up?

The cave that the dead Primes and Trion are in kinda looks like a Dweller.

Megatron's black helmet is a ref to Marvel G1.

That spin kick where Elita twirls her entire waist around is sooo satisfying. I love it.

AIRACHNID!!?!!!! MY QUEEN HAS RETURNED!!!!!!!

I think that's a good point to end on. So, yeah, v excited.

[evelhak]

Hi Eve! Hope it's a good day! I'm curious to know about your art process, where does inspiration come from for you? Lots of love 😘, V.

Wow, that's a big question. Short answer is everywhere but obviously that doesn't really say anything. This is hard for me to describe, so thank you for asking such a challenging question. A key feature in inspiration for me is that there's something I need to exist that doesn't exist. Before I start my fan art and fan fiction, a new project especially, I typically have gone through a lot of other people's art, not finding what I'm looking for, and eventually ending up with the conclusion that I have to do it myself. Like, I would be happy just consuming if what I wanted existed in the world. Maybe it's not quite so clear cut, but I think it's heightened on the fandom side of things for me. Yes, in my original work my initial inspiration is similar but I think on that side I would still have the need to create for fun even if I didn't think I HAD TO bring something specific that was missing, to existence.

So, when an existing story and characters are my inspiration it's things that come together in my head from various threads that are sort of just hanging or floating there in the original material that I see no one drawing together, and I get a little frustrated typically, because I realise these things are not going to come together and then I NEED to draw those threads together, because otherwise it won't happen, and I need it to happen. So, it's things like "Why isn't anyone writing this character in these situations?" "Why isn't anyone paying attention to this underlying pattern?" "Why haven't I seen this joke made before it's literally on a silver platter, why does everyone pass by it?" "Why is this character so underappreciated?" "Why isn't anyone talking about the similarities between this series and that literary work or a fairytale?" So, a lot of times it's that I see missed opportunities.

That's not nearly enough for me to actually draw or write something though, because my projects are just usually big because my brain is like that somehow, so they really have to be worth my time for me to start what I know will eventually be huge. And I think that happens when the things that I see mentioned above tie into a bigger context, a bigger theme that I think is important in the world and that it should be talked about more. Of course sometimes I just have fun and giggles within those projects but it's rare for me to start unless there's something in it that I feel is meaningful thematically and psychologically. Basically something that has the potential to heighten people's self awareness and understanding of the world, and the feeling of community. I know this is so abstract and broad but I can't really help thinking these things. It's not like I'm fantasizing about having a big impact necessarily, it's more like awareness of these things just affects my small choices in art and life.

So, um, I'm trying to give examples to bring this a bit more to the ground level.

In my She-Ra comics one big theme was Adora's abuse because it wasn't on the screen the way Catra's was (for a good reason, I mean that's the point), and I felt like some people were missing how important part of the original story that was, so I felt like making the effects of it visible in a way that a children's show obviously couldn't have.

In KnB a lot of my inspiration is things like... "Fujimaki is unknowingly representing something he doesn't understand at all so he's writing accidental minority characters and then he's using those qualities for barely more than running gags, while so much more could be done with these things and this representation could actually make a difference in someone's life if the angle was shifted ever so slightly".

Obviously I already love these stories, I am a fan of them and I think they are doing so many things right, and that's why when I see something missing or I see fandom interpreting things in a way that I think is mischaracterising something, or even toxic, I just feel like I need to do something.

In my original work the process is similar, just less specific in a way. It's a bit broader. Like, I feel like something is missing in the fantasy genre, or some relationship trope is too toxic and overpowering, or detective novels are the antithesis of everything they stand upon, or "not interpreting this fairytale in this way in this time and age is so tone-deaf". Ideas like that come to my head, so then I have to do something about it.

So. In a way a lot of my inspiration to do things is sparked by something being wrong or missing, which is a bit ironic because in the end my fuel for art has always been joy. I can't really do things out of pain like some artists can, for me it's always happiness that keeps me going because really I see no point without it. I suppose that's why my art is also all about growth, even though it deals with heavy topics, the point of it is always overcoming your obstacles and becoming a better and happier version of yourself.

I guess I could conclude with how I have this love and hope for the human nature, and I easily see the best version someone could be, mentally. I see them loving themself and seeing their own good qualities and treating others with respect and opening up to other people, and inviting the world in. I always have hope because I see that so clearly in everyone, in a specific way that is all about who they are as a person, so it's like... I wish that if I could write characters that people love, in a way that demonstrates that hope, and growth, someone who is struggling could be inspired by those characters. That those characters could help them see the way out of their misery and also call people out when they are treating others or themselves badly. Because the power of example is way more effective than telling someone what to do, because the individual has the freedom and responsibility of interpretation when it comes to examples. And really, I believe that's how it should be because we can't influence anyone who doesn't want to be influenced, no matter the good intentions.

That's... my inspiration, in (not so) short? In the end I'm just a naive idealist with a need to butt in, but with the added benefit of an adult's self-awareness and complexity of thought, haha. And I'm aware I'm a weird, reluctantly obsessive fan artist, because really I want to focus on my original stuff and I want to be able to live by my pen and be an "original" artist, but I can never give up fandom because that's where I feel my specific skill set is utilized to its peak. Because my art process is so source based, that obviously the more specific, the more well defined the source is, the stronger the impact of the things I can bring out of it is too, because I know how to use the reader's expectations and viewpoints way more specifically than I can know them in a broader landscape, such as a whole genre I might be writing my original fiction in.

And this is why things like Sherlock Holmes becoming public domain is like a lottery win for me! That's a very specific but also huge and incredibly complex and popular source that inspires me right now!

Thank you again for the ask, and I hope my answer wasn't too overwhelming.

[theroyalmisfitmess]

Thoughts on 2x06 aka iBuild a Team

Gonna jump right in and say that the episode did not disappoint. The pacing was done right and the plot was both entertaining and essential to so many aspects of the show. I know Josh Peck is only set to appear twice this season but I’m hoping he becomes a recurring character who’ll show up about 3-4 times a season.

First, let’s talk about the main plot. I think it was good of the show to address the business of the characters’ lives. With Freddie’s start-up taking off, we really should ask if he still has enough time to help Carly with the web show. It has slight parallels to the original when they were trying to get help from others and the dynamic just doesn't seem to be working out. To add, even though Sam was not explicitly mentioned in the episode, I like to think that the importance of her presence in the iCarly team was hinted at. The team was always mainly the trio, so with them down to two, it really is more difficult for Carly and Freddie to brainstorm and have balance amongst workload.

Second, the subplot. Though really entertaining, unlike 2x05, I did not particularly enjoy this ep's subplot. While I did like to see it be a bit focused on Harper, it was simply all over the place. I think Harper deserves her own main plot soon enough because of how interesting her life is (from a trust fund baby to a barista to stylist). The mention of Dutch gave me a thought that she might eventually come back, which is exciting to see. However, Millicent being reduced this season is overly disappointing. I wish to see her have more agency like she did in season one eps—the one with Gwen, the Sunshine Girls subplot, and her helping Spencer convince Freddie in the finale.

Third, the callbacks to the original show. From the very first scene we saw The Sack! Again, Sam wasn't explicitly mentioned in the episode, but minor details such as these somewhat serve as manifestations of her presence and how the characters are remembering/thinking about her. I have to give it to Nathan Kress for fighting to keep the claustrophobia callback. Details like these were woven so neatly in the show in a way where old fans like me would have a fun time with recalls but new fans won't necessarily have a hard time understanding. Also, I liked that Mandy mention. I wonder if we'll ever see her again?

Finally—and I know y'all are waiting for this—let's talk about the progress of romantic Creddie. I love how things are being taken slowly. It seems as if Carly doesn't really have intense jealousy yet, which is okay with me as I want a build-up. On another note, it was good to get to see Freddie's side of their situation. So far, we have more hints on what Carly feels so it is interesting that despite the maturity and solid platonic relationship Freddie has with Carly, he still feels minor jealousy with specific aspects such as iCarly.

Now I'm not saying that Freddie necessarily feels jealous in a romantic sense, but iCarly is a familiar safety net for Freddie. Career-wise, he'll always have it whether Kevin fails or not. Love life-wise, and I am gonna steal this insight from someone on YouTube whom I forgot, the show was technically built by Freddie. He built it not only because he saw talent in the two girls who eventually became his best friends, but also because of his intense crush for Carly. That crush he had eventually turned into genuine love (both platonic and romantic), so his attachment to the show has a lot of factors and layers. We can see this hint through the tarot bit which, although was slight entertainment factor, showed a lot about Freddie. I still don't know how their romance will play out, but one thing's for sure, we have already established groundwork for the intense drama.

To end I just want to say that I'm really excited for what's to come with the show. Adding to that, my sincerest apologies for this late post. The elections in my country were in play and the presumptive results took a toll on me. Side-note, if you've read up over what's happening in the Philippines, please do. The whole world must know how the situation is right now.

[bearpillowmonster]

Yakuza 3 Review (Remastered PS4)

The story is the best so far but the gameplay was slightly better before.

I didn't play the original GameCube or PS2 versions of the first two games so I expected going into this system was going to be different for me, but other than some quality of life changes, I found that this game carries over a lot more elements than I thought. There's no sprint but honestly it's not that bad, he does a brisk jog most of the time. You can't save whenever but there are relatively frequent places as long as you're not engaged in something. You can't pause cutscenes but you can enable to skip them in the menu. You can't just change difficulty for some reason. Which is especially weird because if you fail an amount of times, it asks you if you want to lower it "temporarily" (if you're on normal). In fact, I'll just tell you what part I used it for. There's a part where the police chase you and it tells you to tap X if you get caught but tapping it doesn't do anything, I let it go and it had the exact same results. That's the thing, it doesn't matter how many times you press a prompt, sometimes you'll just fail anyway and I think that's stupid especially when it's a boss holding you in a chokehold or something. Same with quick time events, sometimes the timing is crazy fast, it's not fatal if you miss it but really annoying when you're trying to do a combo. Chasing in general isn't done as actively or relentlessly. In Kiwami, you could see them on the map but here they just kind of pop up and surprise you which isn't all that bad most of the time but it can get annoying if you just did one and then another comes straight after.

As far as the actual remaster aspects, Heat mode is activated by rapidly tapping R2 but R2 isn't an easily tappable button, it's a trigger. It loads before the menu and then loads again afterwards (not a load screen, the save data) then when you go to save it always saves twice, no matter what button you push, it saves and then saves again. Those aren't necessarily that bad but minor inconveniences. Holding R1 in a fight lets you play it more like a fighting game by having the camera swivel. Combat is really very similar, almost where we left off so you don't have to worry too much about downgrading. You still have to upgrade individual aspects but you don't have to do the skill tree of abilities, they're luckily just unlocked through level, it feels a lot more organized that way to me. As for story, it starts out with a flash forward revealing the catalyst of this game, the thing is, it backtracks. It doesn't need to have that flash forward, it could just be told linearly and probably have a greater effect. You don't even reach the same part from the beginning until you're already hours in. It's not like an out of context, only able to be understood at the ending thing and it's not even playable, it's just there. But after that we get some of the stuff I was waiting for. Now some people will be turned off by this but just wait and see. Kiryu moves to Okinawa to take care of an orphanage and you actually interact with these kids and help solve their problems. Sometimes it's the little slice of life stuff like that, that makes this series special for me. And because of that, I feel like we have some good characters. I've felt most of the Yakuza characters have just been mid in the last 2 games but this game has a good amount of good characters and I actually came to care about these kids. I think Nagoshi was finally out of the practice stage and the series fully started to blossom here. 🌸 There're problems that carry over from the past games but I'm not going to bother reiterating. It definitely has some of the best moments so far but there's a butcher scene...he may be a bad guy but I'm still not a fan of it and the graphics really didn't age well for the scene in particular, everything else isn't too much of a downgrade in my opinion though. You can use your phone camera for certain quick time events to capture little memes to put on your blog, I ended up doing those the most because I wasn't all that impressed by the side missions. I believe that's where certain special attacks come from.

^^ Two of the same character model side by side. There isn't a funeral chase sequence, luckily, but there are returning things like the Colosseum, which I personally don't care to see keep returning over and over. I've more or less accepted that Kamurocho is going to be a main stay but this series rhymes a little too much. I'd like to see something actually done with the Purgatory because you get there and what? Walk a hallway with all these buildings you can't interact with to get to one set location? When you have the potential for all these side quests? When I first saw it, I thought of Wall Market from FF7 and it has the potential to be like that but it just isn't. Sometimes there will be a big heavy duty guy holding a chair or something in your way and unless you have a weapon or special move handy, you're pretty much screwed and even then, you drop the weapon if he hits you and it takes more time to pick it up than it does for him to hit you again so it can get stuck at his feet so you're limited to just little punches here and there and more or less tanking his hits. I found Kiwami 2 to be the longest but this one was on par with my Kiwami 1 length, clocking in at 17 hours. There's also "premium adventure" which unlocks after you finish the game, adding more minigames, modes and costumes. A good game for sure, probably a 7 or 7.5/10, if it wasn't for some gameplay aspects, I'd say this was the best one so far.

[aros001]

Going in blind: Watching season 1 for the first time. Random thoughts.

This show is kind of nice because I have no memories of the original She-Ra show, or even any of He-Man, honestly. I'm not sure if I ever watched the original, so I have no frame of reference for how the series is "supposed" to be. I can just take it and judge it as is.

Of the bat, all I know is that supposedly She-Ra and Catra get together as a romantic couple later, but I'm also a huge My Hero Academia fan and the fandom around me ships every character with every other character, so for all I know that might just be shipper wishful thinking I've been seeing and hearing. Given fandoms for Gravity Falls, Thor, and Supernatural ship even siblings together, I've learned not to trust anything except for what I see in the series for myself.

By the way, this isn't a review, just random thoughts and comments I'm having as I'm going through season 1 for the first time.

Episodes 1 and 2: Right off, I really like Catra's "No duh" response to Adora about the truth of the horde. She knows they've been lying to them and have been doing terrible things, she just doesn't care. If she and Adora play their cards right they could end up being the ones in charge and then they'd have all that power. Not necessarily to make things better but enough to where they could do whatever and live however they want. That's a good build for an antagonist. Not ignorant to the fact what they're doing is wrong, just simply so selfish that they don't care.

Episode 3: It really feels like there was no good reason why Glimmer didn't just outright introduce Adora to her mother and every reason she should have known it was a bad idea to try and hide her for a surprise. Being a former horde soldier she'd probably get treated with hostility if Glimmer brought her to the front gate but you'd almost guarantee Adora would get arrested or outright killed if she got caught while no one else knew she was there.

On the other side, we have Hordak being pretty intelligent in promoting Catra. He probably knows Shadow Weaver already doesn't like him, so it's not like he's losing anything making her upset with him, and it's clear she favors Adora way more than Catra, so that little bit of advancement towards Catra probably goes a long way in earning her loyalty to him and a person on the inside with Shadow Weaver.

Also, I'm not the only one who saw Madam Razz and immediately thought Adora had found her Yoda, right?

Episode 4: I don't know how it was in the original She-Ra and He-Man series but I kind of like She-Ra being this title from legend. Adora is not the first She-Ra, given what Razz was talking about with a Mara, so instead of being something new, impressing everyone with abilities they've never seen before, and creating the legend, Adora is placed in a position WAY over her head where she's having to live up to what came before her.

Episode 5: Calling it now, as long as her personality is genuine I think Scorpia is going to be one of my favorite characters in this show. She's...endearing, I think is the best word. She's like a mix of Kronk and a nicer Shego.

For a little bit I thought Mermista was voiced by the same actress who played Poison Ivy in the Harley Quinn animated series. She's not but they do have the same kind of Daria-ish inflections, thus by confusion. Given the prom episode, Sea Hawk feels kind of like her Kite Man.

Episode 6: Okay, now it's between Scorpia and Entrapta who are likely to be my favorites by the end of this. She's fun and quirky.

Episode 7: Quite the lore drop. Shadow Weaver was once a Mystacor sorceress known as Light Spinner. I like to imagine we'll get more on that later. Her haunting Adora reminded me of the Teen Titans' episode where Robin was similarly haunted by Slade. This didn't go as far as that but that's probably for the best, since TT had two and a half seasons to build that dynamic up with Robin and Slade while we're only now halfway through the first season.

Episode 8: Well dang. Again, I don't know for sure if Adora and Catra do end up together but boy do I buy why they're shipped together after that dance. Also, good on Bow for standing up for himself. It's clear that he'll always be Glimmer's friend and this won't change that but that doesn't mean he has to just accommodate her. I understand where her issues stem from but I am still glad he gave her a reality check. It helps him feel a little more like his own character.

Also, another nice little bit of lore and worldbuilding. Scorpia's a princess, the horde landed where her people lived, and they seemed to join them willingly.

Episode 9: Surprisingly don't have a lot to say about this other than I don't buy for a second that Entrapta is dead (EDIT: She's not). This was mostly action.

Episode 10: Not going to lie, this one kind of annoyed me a little, at least the first half. The conversation between Glimmer and her mother saved it a bit. It was a bit of a trifecta. You have the alliance breaking apart, saying that the loss of Entrapta only happened because they were all together...even though Entrapta only "died" because of her own machine obsession that caused her to deliberately walk back into the purging chamber. You have Entrapta who might be turning to the horde's side because she feels abandoned by the other princesses...even though they thought she was dead, and again it was her fault they got separated. And you have Glimmer refusing to tell her mother that Shadow Weaver's dark magic has caused her powers to go on the fritz and is causing her great pain. It just feels like none of this would be an issue if most of these people would stop being self-absorbed for three seconds and talk like any normal person would. It feels very CW drama, like something I'd see in a bad season of Arrow or The Flash. The only person whose issues I buy is Adora, who is basically a soldier who was never properly raised to deal with emotion or loss and is already struggling with the burden of being She-Ra, the legendary savior. I get why she's beating down on herself for not being able to do more even if nothing that happened was her fault.

Episode 11: JEEEEEEEEEZZZZ, that was such a good episode! Focused entirely on Adora and Catra and their past together. Like, just showing someone this episode alone could probably get them to want to watch the series. That was everything you needed to know about their dynamic and history together.

Also, that moment when Catra and her past self are looking at each other, while obviously Catra takes the opposite lesson, it reminded me of this fanart I'd once seen of Jason Todd, the Red Hood, looking at his past self as Robin. The past says to the future "You ruined everything". Catra could be happy but, ironically for someone who hates Shadow Weaver, she's probably going to be a lot like her, sacrificing everything for power and ambition.

Given the way she looked, I'm guessing Shadow Weaver is either addicted to the power of the Black Garnet or she suffered some kind of past injury and its power is the only thing keeping her going. Or both.

Episode 12: I'll be honest, Swiftwind being able to talk kind of gobsmacked and I needed a moment to recover. What a great voice they chose for that character.

So She-Ra is kind of like the legendary heroes from Rising of the Shield Hero, coming from a long line of people chosen to wield the sword. I tend to dislike chosen one types of stories because I think prophecy takes a lot of weight out of the character's actions, so this and Avatar are more what I like. The MC is special but not the only one who's ever been special and they can still easily fail. Their destiny was only to be able to use the weapon, not that they would succeed in any specific purpose.

And dang, Catra's turn against Shadow Weaver happened faster than I thought it would but I'm not complaining. That great "This is what you've really been preparing me for" speech and Hordak, again, being an intelligent villain. "Oh, this experiment could net me a MASSIVE gain and all it could potentially cost me is this rock I already gave away to someone who lately hasn't been producing any results and has been consistently disobeying me. Yeah, I'm going to let this play out."

Episode 13: That was kind of a brutal fight between Adora and Catra. Not the worst I've ever seen even in other shows for this age range (Samurai Jack, for example) but those punches are connecting and those claws are leaving marks.

Also, maybe I'm just misunderstanding the exact situation but shouldn't the good guys' side be called the Resistance instead of the Rebellion? Being a rebellion would imply they are rebelling against an established power or rule over them, but the actual conflict we are shown is the established power and rule that is the kingdoms of Eternia resisting an outside force that wishes to establish a new order over them.

Season 1 verdict: I'm into it. I'm definitely more invested in the villains' side of things but that's not a fault of the series, that stuff is just way more geared towards me than the current princess stuff. I actively am at attention whenever the horde main characters are on screen. For the good guys it's mostly Adora and the She-Ra stuff I'm invested it. That isn't to say I have any real dislikes for that side. Bow especially I'm liking much more than I thought I might. He has kind of this gravitational pull around him. You will be his friend regardless of how much you might want to resist. He's definitely the rock for everyone else to hold onto.

Minor side note, kind of like Korra in Legend of Korra, I love how even when her powers aren't active Adora is shown to still be pretty strong physically with how easily she was lifting people up at the prom.

And I was right, Scorpia is my favorite side character.

On to season 2!

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/nyll2e/going_in_blind_watching_season_1_for_the_first/