#Sam Reich Villain Arc

[gloriousmonsters]

Hey btw I absolutely want to hear that Yu-Gi-Oh propaganda. Hit me

*sam reich voice* you have until I cut you off to sell me a manga about a Japanese teenager being possessed by an Egyptian pharaoh

Honestly, recommending Yu-Gi-Oh is a bit hard just because of its multiple forms; the manga, the first anime, and the second anime. All of them have good points; some more than others, but there's a few things each has done that I prefer. If you got into just one, I'd rec the manga; if you go anime only, you HAVE to watch at least a few episodes of the original anime before the follow-up.

This is because Yu-Gi-Oh is two (or three. four?) stories stuffed in a trenchcoat and if you miss out on the story it was at the beginning, what happens later will not be nearly as good. I have a lot of other things I want to say but I'm going to put a short version after all my screaming so ctrl-f 'give me the short version' for that, lol

HIT ME WITH THE LONG VERSION. I WANT A TED TALK

Yu-Gi-Oh is a horror story that takes a swerve into shonen through the Power of Friendship, but never loses its horror elements. You might know the basics, but I'll lay it out--Yu-Gi-Oh focuses on a sweet, shy boy named Yugi, who has no friends and gets occasionally bullied by another student, Jounouchi. But when an opportunity arises to take revenge, Yugi passes it up, choosing to treat Jounouchi as his friend instead. Jounouchi turns out to be a golden retriever at heart and immediately becomes his ride or die for life (their names put together literally form the word for friendship. it's stupid i love them). Oh, and a dark personality takes over Yugi and engages the guy who hurt the two of them in an unhinged 'penalty game' where the guy's left tormented by visions :)

Yu-Gi-Oh does a few laps through the grubby teen horror genre, and it's amazing. People are in danger of getting stabbed daily at this school and ALL of them want to stab the protagonists (or beat them up, or steal their spot at the school fair, or--). The only thing that makes Yugi's 'dark personality' the good guy is that the people he tortures are so awful. Yu-Gi-Oh Season 0, as the first anime is usually called, captures this vibe beautifully, everything is dark shadows and bloody sunsets and glowing eyes. It pretty much went wherever while the manga struggled to catch up, so it really builds its own little world; not something you need to watch more than a handful of eps of if you want the overall canon, but delightful in itself.

The horror era doesn't end, but peaks before it really mixes with shonen, with an arc villain called Kaiba Seto, an unhinged rich boy who's taken over his adoptive father's company and is in the process of converting it from a vague business + military tech operation to gaming and theme park related stuff + vague business (king shit) and who after suffering a penalty game from Yugi's dark side proceeds to construct a revenge that involves a death amusement park where he tries really hard to kill all of them, and an attempt to beat Yugi('s dark side) in a card game in front of an audience. Yugi('s dark side) promptly wins and shatters his mind, shrugging that he'll pick up the pieces if there's anything left to salvage.

Then everyone starts playing card games all the time. 

The thing with Yu-Gi-Oh is that you have to buy into the central narrative, which is that this card game is essentially sacred. It's called 'dueling' for a reason; it's about honor and proving yourself and philosophical argument and Friendship and, rarely, about actually having fun. If you can buy into this, dueling is SO fun I promise. Although I'm always nostalgic for the wild west 'different game/toy every time' of early Yu-Gi-Oh, many of my favorite moments in the series are duels.

And when you've bought into the premise, Yu-Gi-Oh rewards you with ALL the juicy emotional moments and dysfunctional characters fumbling toward better things and gay shit you could want. I love it primarily from two angles--one, it's at its heart (especially in the manga and the last-ish arc of the anime) about becoming a better person in whatever way you can. It sounds cheesy, but I will go on record as saying that the Battle City arc is one of my favorite narratives about trauma and finding ways to move on from it.

The other angle is that it's batshit and LOADED with characters that are just. So fucked up in various ways. It's a kooky Ancient Egpytian fantasy narrative stuffed into a sports manga about cards continually being stalked by its horror roots, you can pick and choose your own elements of worldbuilding because shit does NOT make sense, and every villain is a GOLDMINE of not only delight but noncon opportunities (*mabel voice* noncoppurtunities). We've got somewhat hinged sadists. We have unhinged sadists. Combat sadomasochists. We have mind control that's actually pretty inventive and creepy. We have people with all-consuming grudges and pretentious depressed bitches who sublimate their trauma into murder. The more consensual ship options are just as varied and delightful.

Kaiba Seto also crawls out of his coma to become the third main character and trust me, if you like Kinnporsche you will almost certainly LOVE Kaiba, especially in the manga. He is a Kinnporsche-ass character. Narrative about trauma and cruelty and power and daddy issues up to here. Huge asshole. My sweet baby boy. Every filler arc the anime added is basically about him and he deserves it, even if they don't fit with the overall narrative.

Oh, and in the fourth season of the anime the writers do a bunch of drugs, watch Atlantis: The Lost Empire, notice that the censors have gone out for lunch, and rapidly assemble an arc where you put up with about forty-five combined minutes of pure stupidity in order to get a urban fantasy horror shonen fusion where we talk about the horrors of war and the fate of humanity and how cults pull vulnerable people in and radicalize them, and do some of the most glorious indulgent fanfiction bullshit ever. It's the horniest and darkest season and will probably punch you in the gut if you have depression and gives us the best filler villains in existence (one of whom was the guy I originally made that post about, lol). Despite its flaws, it functions remarkably well as a conclusion for the story, which is good because the last arc of Yu-Gi-Oh mostly doesn't exist? Like there's a little bit of content at the beginning of the manga arc but other than that it's just. Not there. Weird!

THAT IS A LOT OF WORDS, VIC

I apologize, I have a lot of feelings.

GIVE ME THE SHORT VERSION

Yu-Gi-Oh is a paranormal romance bundled with a story about friendship and personal growth wrapped in a horror story masquerading as a shonen manga and it FUCKS. There are so many little guys you look at and go 'wow! there's something incredibly wrong with you!'. If you can get into it it will Get You. Also I need more people in this fandom that aren't solely into my NOTP or twentysomethings that call ships 'illegal' please for the love of God. I will write fic for you if you get into it. Yes, this is a bribe. pspspsps

WHAT ARE YOU EVEN SAYING I SHOULD READ/WATCH

bare minimum is read the manga best minimum read the manga up to the end of battle city and then watch YGO season four and then read the beginning of the last manga arc as if it were a gradually fading ancient text that crumbles into the dust the moment you say 'wait, what the fuck' out loud. you can also just watch the anime with the background assumption that everything was 2x darker and 1.2x gayer in the manga

THAT SOUNDS DAUNTING, HOW DID YOU EVEN GET INTO IT

Honestly I don't know how I got into it either but this pit's great once you slide down to the bottom. 

WHAT IS YOUR PARTING WISDOM, SAGE?

I don't know if this needs to be said but never expose yourself to the English dub it's horrendous

[cavenewstimes]

Sam Reich Villain Arc

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[smokeybrandreviews]

Captain America and The Winter Soldier

Last episode on deck! Let’s get into it!

Hey, Falcon Cap! Sam finally getting his due. Costume is still mad wonky but seems to translate better to the big screen than i thought. Admittedly, i never thought much of it. It always looked wonky to me, even in when it was in the books.

That face mask callback was dope. Also, anti-Sharon in the house! Super curious if she is really going to be the Power Broker. It makes sense but is quite the character assassination if it’s true.

That Dam/Leaper fight was pretty okay. I watched this immediately after the new Mortal Kombat and it was legit refreshing to see good stunt choreography. And this show ain’t even a punch-out!

Karli going full villain is... uninspired? Look, i wanted to give Erin Kellyman all of the opportunity to shoe me something but she showed me nothing. Not a thing. I can’t say ma is bad at her job because I've only seen her in two things but she ain’t batting 1.00, that’s for sure. It’s frustrating because i though what they did with the Flag Smashers was brilliant. Unfortunate bit of casting here i think.

Bucky going full hero was fun to see. It’s about time dude stopped being so goddamn emo. I get the conflict, i get that’s been his entice character, his entire MCU run. I appreciate the growth.

John Walker is still a dick. I’m glad he got beat the f*ck up by a girl.

Apparently, Sam is the new Tony? TONS of little tech in his new Wakanda wings. I like how T’Challa just keeps giving away billions of dollars worth of Vibranium and proprietary tech. This sh*t has got to piss the US guv’ment the f*ck off. I mean, even if they are allies, Wakanda is a foreign country supplying unlicensed vigilante with tech that can only be matched by a dead-man? Fun!

Oh, no, she IS the Power Broker. Unfortunate... Nice play, though.

They gave Walker a redemption arc? Really? I mean, i guess, but scumbag Walker was kind of f*cking awesome.

That ending was anticlimactic. Besides, don’t Super-Soldiers heal? Buck lived. Cap lived. Bruce is on record as to being damn near immortal. is Karli really croaked or is this just, you know, for dramatic effect. Because, f*ck, was it dramatic.

Got a little preachy toward the end. As it should. That last monologue was legit the point of this show. Came across a little heavy-handed. but this is Sam at his best. This is who Sam as Cap is going to be. Honestly, he might be a little better at them speeches than Steve.

F*ck, that costume looks wonky!

Whoo, boy, that last talk with Isaiah? That’s the heat right there. Sh*t is going to ruffle some feathers. for sure!

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier went out strong. Of the two shows aired so far, this one is easily my favorite. Loki is definitely going to give it a run for it’s money because, i mean, Loki, but right now? This Black Falcon got the crown. I thought the plot was executed beautifully and actually dealt with the fall out of the Blip perfectly. More than anything, i wanted to see that world, the fallout from the most catastrophic event in universe history, outside of an individual character perspective or just a glib reference at the star of a Spider-Flick. This show delivered on that, for the most part. I wanted a bit more but what we got was enough to set the foundation going forward. Speaking of going forward, that Dark Thunderbolts Avengers movie is about to be stacked. We got our USAgent to lead the team, Baron Citizen Zemo waiting to get called up to Varsity, and a Power Broker mole waiting to be the Stark behind the scenes. With Black Widow on the horizon to add Black Widow II and Taskmaster, we have a solid squad that can give the new version of the proper Avengers a run for it’s money. This show did a lot to set up the next two Phases of the MCU and i can’t wait to see where we go from here. Now that the praise is out of the way, let’s get into the controversy and the big, fat, Black Falcon in the middle of the room.

I like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier because, aside from being an excellent addition to the Marvel juggernaut, in this sea of performative Wokeness, the MCU was able to genuinely capture the Black experience in America. With two characters, they showed the entirety of the Disney+ audience what it means to Us, here. Being young is idolizing Sam Wilson. Being an adult is identifying with Isaiah Bradley. One is the fiction, the propaganda taught to Us. The other the reality, the truth forced upon Us. That reality stings. Whether the less melanated want to acknowledge it or not, that sordid truth of Us, the sh*t you don't like being preached to about, is what gave you a country for which you can even have such an opinion. That is the truth of this America you love so much, even if you hate the stolen Black bodies that birthed it and, to this day, hold it up.

My Blackness, quite literally, historically verified, built this country. America would not be what it is today, if not for the slave labor my ancestors put forth. That's a truth. My Blackness, quite recently, saved this country. The fact that we came out in droves last November, historically numbers, across the nation, to vote out a would-be Fascist while a whole ass third of this country was okay with becoming the next Reich, is truth. We are the Super-Soldiers of this country, always have been, even if that makes you uncomfortable. Even if you don't want to acknowledge it. Even if you never recognize it. Everything you flag wave and tikki torch about, is a thing because of my Blackness. Because of my Black family. Because of my Black blood, sweat, and tears. We are the superheroes of this nation, which you do not deserve. But we are here, holding the line, since we were stolen from our homes some 400 years ago, defending this country that we built up from nothing.

We are Captain America.

[smokeybrand]

Captain America and The Winter Soldier

Last episode on deck! Let’s get into it!

Hey, Falcon Cap! Sam finally getting his due. Costume is still mad wonky but seems to translate better to the big screen than i thought. Admittedly, i never thought much of it. It always looked wonky to me, even in when it was in the books.

That face mask callback was dope. Also, anti-Sharon in the house! Super curious if she is really going to be the Power Broker. It makes sense but is quite the character assassination if it’s true.

That Dam/Leaper fight was pretty okay. I watched this immediately after the new Mortal Kombat and it was legit refreshing to see good stunt choreography. And this show ain’t even a punch-out!

Karli going full villain is... uninspired? Look, i wanted to give Erin Kellyman all of the opportunity to shoe me something but she showed me nothing. Not a thing. I can’t say ma is bad at her job because I've only seen her in two things but she ain’t batting 1.00, that’s for sure. It’s frustrating because i though what they did with the Flag Smashers was brilliant. Unfortunate bit of casting here i think.

Bucky going full hero was fun to see. It’s about time dude stopped being so goddamn emo. I get the conflict, i get that’s been his entice character, his entire MCU run. I appreciate the growth.

John Walker is still a dick. I’m glad he got beat the f*ck up by a girl.

Apparently, Sam is the new Tony? TONS of little tech in his new Wakanda wings. I like how T’Challa just keeps giving away billions of dollars worth of Vibranium and proprietary tech. This sh*t has got to piss the US guv’ment the f*ck off. I mean, even if they are allies, Wakanda is a foreign country supplying unlicensed vigilante with tech that can only be matched by a dead-man? Fun!

Oh, no, she IS the Power Broker. Unfortunate... Nice play, though.

They gave Walker a redemption arc? Really? I mean, i guess, but scumbag Walker was kind of f*cking awesome.

That ending was anticlimactic. Besides, don’t Super-Soldiers heal? Buck lived. Cap lived. Bruce is on record as to being damn near immortal. is Karli really croaked or is this just, you know, for dramatic effect. Because, f*ck, was it dramatic.

Got a little preachy toward the end. As it should. That last monologue was legit the point of this show. Came across a little heavy-handed. but this is Sam at his best. This is who Sam as Cap is going to be. Honestly, he might be a little better at them speeches than Steve.

F*ck, that costume looks wonky!

Whoo, boy, that last talk with Isaiah? That’s the heat right there. Sh*t is going to ruffle some feathers. for sure!

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier went out strong. Of the two shows aired so far, this one is easily my favorite. Loki is definitely going to give it a run for it’s money because, i mean, Loki, but right now? This Black Falcon got the crown. I thought the plot was executed beautifully and actually dealt with the fall out of the Blip perfectly. More than anything, i wanted to see that world, the fallout from the most catastrophic event in universe history, outside of an individual character perspective or just a glib reference at the star of a Spider-Flick. This show delivered on that, for the most part. I wanted a bit more but what we got was enough to set the foundation going forward. Speaking of going forward, that Dark Thunderbolts Avengers movie is about to be stacked. We got our USAgent to lead the team, Baron Citizen Zemo waiting to get called up to Varsity, and a Power Broker mole waiting to be the Stark behind the scenes. With Black Widow on the horizon to add Black Widow II and Taskmaster, we have a solid squad that can give the new version of the proper Avengers a run for it’s money. This show did a lot to set up the next two Phases of the MCU and i can’t wait to see where we go from here. Now that the praise is out of the way, let’s get into the controversy and the big, fat, Black Falcon in the middle of the room.

I like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier because, aside from being an excellent addition to the Marvel juggernaut, in this sea of performative Wokeness, the MCU was able to genuinely capture the Black experience in America. With two characters, they showed the entirety of the Disney+ audience what it means to Us, here. Being young is idolizing Sam Wilson. Being an adult is identifying with Isaiah Bradley. One is the fiction, the propaganda taught to Us. The other the reality, the truth forced upon Us. That reality stings. Whether the less melanated want to acknowledge it or not, that sordid truth of Us, the sh*t you don't like being preached to about, is what gave you a country for which you can even have such an opinion. That is the truth of this America you love so much, even if you hate the stolen Black bodies that birthed it and, to this day, hold it up.

My Blackness, quite literally, historically verified, built this country. America would not be what it is today, if not for the slave labor my ancestors put forth. That's a truth. My Blackness, quite recently, saved this country. The fact that we came out in droves last November, historically numbers, across the nation, to vote out a would-be Fascist while a whole ass third of this country was okay with becoming the next Reich, is truth. We are the Super-Soldiers of this country, always have been, even if that makes you uncomfortable. Even if you don't want to acknowledge it. Even if you never recognize it. Everything you flag wave and tikki torch about, is a thing because of my Blackness. Because of my Black family. Because of my Black blood, sweat, and tears. We are the superheroes of this nation, which you do not deserve. But we are here, holding the line, since we were stolen from our homes some 400 years ago, defending this country that we built up from nothing.

We are Captain America.