#adaptation sometimes it just sucks that the most popular interpretation of one of my favorite books is so so different and just…

[recentanimenews]

The Most Memorable Anime Dance Sequences of All Time!

Anime is an amazing medium because of the way things flow and look on screen, like when action sequences suck us in with amazing animation and quieter scenes can stun with captivating visuals. Perhaps one of the least appreciated parts of anime, though, are the amazing dance sequences that can pop up in our favorite shows and even in their opening and endings. Dance can really be an amazing medium on its own, and with the right animation and music, anime dances can seem almost magical! But which ones are the best? I’ve gathered what I think are the 10 best overall anime dance sequences, and I’m ranking them based on their style, choreography, and their overall ability to stick in our minds. If you’re looking for a new dance to try out with your friends at a cosplay gathering for this year’s con circuit, or maybe you just appreciate a good dance as much as I do, hit the dance floor and get ready to show off some sick moves!

10) Kill Me Baby Ending Dance Sequence

    Coming in at number 10, I’ve got the dance from the Kill Me Baby ending theme “The True Secret of Our Feelings.” This unique duet encapsulates the odd mood and style of the series, with a unique blend of comedy that is wholly its own. While it is a unique and quirky dance, that’s the reason I found it so memorable! Seeing this dance at the end of every episode was a great way to cap off any episode, as well as a great little bit of music and dancing that captured what Kill Me Baby was all about: weird, cute comedy! One of the things I really appreciated about this dance was the way that the moves keep specific timing with the beat, which really showed a level of though similar to the sometimes subtle punchlines of the show.

9) Sgt. Frog Ending Dance Sequence

    Fittingly at number 9 spot is the 9th ending song of Sgt. Frog, “Spinning, Turning, Once Around!” When this song hit during the anime’s broadcast, it became a huge sensation online, spawning lots of people doing their own group renditions of the dance. At first it might seem like the song is more memorable and catchy than the dance, which is why it’s a bit lower on our list than others, but the dance itself is quite fun and actually very subtle! Much of it is focused on specific, timed movements between a group, and keeping up that manic pace as the song’s tempo increases is part of the fun. The parody videos people have made are almost as entertaining as the original (especially to see how people interpreted Tamama’s entrance into the ending!), so for that reason alone I knew I had to put it on this list.

8) Free - Iwatobi Swim Club-'s Ending Sequence

  Free! -Iwatobi Swim Club- certainly made a huge splash (sorry, not sorry) when it hit the scene a few years ago, and people were instantly sucked into the sports and non-sport drama of the swim club boys. But perhaps one of the most memorable parts of the series was it's absolutely off the wall ending sequence, featuring cast members alternating between dancing in a night club and an Arabian themed hunt for an oasis! While some might argue that certain viewers were more interested in the amount of abs on display in the ending, I’ll say that while that was great, the oddball dance sequence and fun visuals of the ending are what really caught our attention. Free! itself seems to have owned up to the silliness of the first ending, as the recent movie had the guys creating a themed recruitment video in something of a fun callback to the original season’s ending visuals. The night club scene was so popular, it even inspired some neat merchandise for fans to buy! And while fans will probably argue over who the best Free! boy is, I have to say that Haru’s hair flipping to the beat in this ending is pretty show stealing!

7) Carnival Phantasm's Opening Dance Sequence

  The TYPE-MOON series Fate/Stay Night and Tsukihime have spawned countless fans between all of the various versions of anime spin offs from the original games, but none perhaps captured the madcap silliness the fandom had invented better than the Carnival Phantasm series. A selection of comical shorts featuring characters from both the Fate and Tsukihime series, the show kicked off each episode with a high energy and catchy theme song that was accompanied by the main characters of each series dancing along in time. Seeing Saber, Rin, Arcueid and many others dancing cutely was enough to get this on our list, but the huge group dance scenes in between those really helped cement this one in place. Carnival Phantasm was filled with callbacks to events in both series, their anime, and even long-time in jokes, and the opening copied that as well, with odd little easter eggs for careful viewers to spot. Although Carnival Phantasm never got an official release outside of Japan, the opening song was popular enough to inspire some fan reactions. If you take a look at it, let us know if you can spot the Assassin cut-out…!

6) JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable Opening Dance Sequence

  As much as I would like to put this next entry on the list with “Koichi pose” and leave it at that, there’s definitely more to be said about this one. Our number 6 spot goes to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable’s first opening song, “Crazy Noisy Bizarre Town,” featuring cast members dancing along to the song as they introduce themselves. Diamond is Unbreakable really exuded a specific bouncy charm and vibrancy to it that made it different from previous JoJo seasons, and this opening song really helped to sell that mood. Starting off with Josuke, Koichi, Jotaro and Okuyasu on a stage like a boy band, the song kept up that high energy throughout, making it a catchy tune with somewhat even more memorable dance moves. Although it isn’t as thoroughly choreographed as some of our other entries, it would be hard to really forget certain scenes here, and the way it fits the series is a huge plus to us.

5) Blood Blockade Battlefront Ending Dance Sequence

  Blood Blockade Battlefront was a series that dripped style from the way it was animated to the character designs, and the ending theme, “Sugar Song and Bitter Step,” had an amazing segue of dancing scenes that really helped cement that in our minds. Much like Sgt. Frog, the ending of Blood Blockade Battlefront spawned lots of homage videos from fan artists and cosplayers recreating the dance steps with their own unique takes on it. Perhaps one of the most memorable bits of the whole sequence, though, is the way in which it helped sell character interactions and relationships even in the ending song; watching the various ways Zapp interacted with people, for example, or the little cues to season one’s major plot points in various parts was a hidden treat that rewarded keen viewers attention. The song itself matches the jazzy dance steps and costuming as well, making it an overall catchy and fun sequence to watch over and over again!

4) Uta no Prince Sama Ending Dance Sequence

Considering that it’s a series about handsome idols doing amazing song and dance routines, it probably doesn’t surprise you to see Uta no Prince Sama’s “Maji Love 2000%” make it onto our list at number 4. The dance is so fluid and stylish that you could easily see a real idol group easily perform something similar, and the accompanying fan screams during specific moments really made the whole scene amazing. Plus, as the pay off to a tense and dramatic season finale, the whole dance really felt like an amazing reward for viewers to see. I’ll be honest with you all: there are a few scenes in this dance that I enjoy quite a lot, and it probably isn’t hard to figure out why! If you like your idols handsome and with good rhythm, you should consider checking out Uta no Prince Sama!

3) Vegeta's Bingo Dance from Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods

  This next dance caught us so off guard when I first saw it that I think you’ll agree it deserves a high place on our list: Vegeta’s bingo dance! First seen in the Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods movie and then again in the Dragon Ball Super anime adaptation of it, Vegeta’s desperate attempt to distract Beerus from destroying Earth was perhaps never so apparent as it was in this madcap dance sequence. Vegeta’s improvisational song and dance are pretty amazing on their own, but perhaps the most memorable thing about them is what it meant for the Dragon Ball series as a whole: a marked shift in Vegeta’s character and personality. Super really focused heavily on Vegeta’s growth early on, letting us see his change from the cold hearted and distant “Prince of all Saiyans” of Dragon Ball Z into a man who, while still surly, really cares for his family and other people enough to throw away his pride and put on a ridiculous dance to save the day. I love Dragon Ball Super and I love Vegeta, and this dance really just put a big bow on why!

2) Torture Dance from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind

  A relative newcomer compared to the rest of the list, our number 2 spot goes to that torture dance scene from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind! One of the best things an anime adaptation can do is take things that it’s source material did, and give it a unique spin that only an animated series can do, and David Production really knocked it out of the park with this! Changing a single page set of panels into a minute long visual trip was amazing! It also gave us a little fun insight into the relationships of the Bucciarati gang; we see goofball Narancia start off, only to have the slightly more serious Mista join in, followed by the extremely high strung Fugo working together in perfect harmony as their torture target suffers in the background. The original song, “Canonzi Preferite,” created to go along with the dance is another great touch, as are the trippy visuals between dance steps. It’s a real treat to watch this dance scene over and over again, and it’s something that really helped me find my love for Part 5 immediately!

1) The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Ending Dance Sequence

If you’ve read this far and asked “Where is it?” you’ve probably already predicted what's in the #1 spot: the famous “Hare Hare Yukai” dance from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya! It may be hard to imagine that it’s been over 13 years (ohmygod, it’s been THAT LONG?) since this song first hit the anime world like a tidal wave, and it’s dance soon became a convention staple for groups of cosplayers! It’s hard to deny the memories of seeing fan renditions of the dance pop up on the early days of social media, and the enduring popularity of the dance sequence really says all there is to say about why it’s my number one pick. Even if we discounted the history now attached to the dance, it’s hard to argue that there’s a stronger contender on our list; the song is matched perfectly by the movements of the cast, and it gives off an air of natural movement that’s hard to match! Many other dances on our list are broken up by other strings of animation stills or cut aways, Hare Hare Yukai got an entire minute of pure dancing down the line, with impressive choreography considerations for its age. It’s pretty hard to deny: Haruhi is still on top when it comes to dancing!

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this collection of amazing anime dance sequences, and if you feel so inclined, maybe you can dance along yourself at home or at your next convention outing. Just remember to limber up, practice, and dance like the blinds are closed; after all, dancing is about having fun, so hit the floor and get to it!

Have a dance that you think should be on this list? Let us know in the comments!

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

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[soloragoldsun]

My Review of “A Wrinkle in Time”

Okay, so I just got back from “A Wrinkle in Time,” and I want to talk about it while it and my most recent reread of the book are still fresh in my mind. I’ll list the pros and cons, and give my overall review at the end.

 Spoilers ahead!

Pros:

-Meg and Calvin: Both of these characters were portrayed perfectly! Meg is an unsure, suspicious, awkward kid who hates herself and isn’t sure why she was chosen for this quest. Calvin is a kindhearted person who sees the beauty in Meg, and is a kid who is forced to hide behind his popularity and success from his abusive home life and the pressures he feels due to his position in school.

-Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which: These two were completely true to their book counterparts, with Mrs. Who quoting other people because she can’t verbalize thoughts on her own, and Mrs. Which being more of an immense entity, and rarely adhering completely to a human form. Mrs. Which was especially good. Kudos to Oprah!

-Alexander Murry: Chris Pine did a great job as Meg and Charles Wallace’s father. He has always been a great actor, and he was perfect as the loving, but goal-oriented father in this. His best moment was probably when Meg found Dr. Murry and he realized that he was on Camazotz for four years. Superb acting!

-The cinematography: Visually, this was a gorgeous film. The CG was used to its fullest potential, especially when they were on Uriel. The scenes taking place on Earth were also well-shot.

-That scene in the film when Meg asks if it’s possible to tesser back as someone else, and Mrs. Which tells her to think about all the choices, all the circumstances in the universe since the beginning of time that led to her being born exactly as she is. As someone who struggles with feelings of self-hatred, this was a very important and beautiful scene that I think everyone should see.

-The chemistry between (some of) the characters: I’ll get to why some of it didn’t work in a moment, but where the character chemistry worked, it worked! Meg and Calvin, Meg and her father, Meg and Mrs. Which, Calvin and Mrs. Who, Meg’s parents... Through most of the movie, I strongly believed in the bond between these characters and in what they were saying and doing while interacting. Most of the people in this movie acted out their parts very well.

Cons:

-Mrs. Whatsit: Two of the three ladies were flawless, but I’m sorry to say that my favorite of them, Mrs. Whatsit, was utterly ruined. In the book, she was the youngest of the three, but that manifested in a charming way, with her talking too much and getting over-excited about things. In the movie, she acts ditzy, snarky, and downright mean sometimes.

Also, she expresses her disbelief in Meg throughout the plot, when book Mrs. Whatsit was her strongest ally. She believed in her from the beginning, and they had the strongest bond out of all the bonds between the humans and the ladies.

-Charles Wallace: I can’t believe they ruined Charles Wallace so completely. I’m not sure why they decided to make him adopted in the movie, first of all. In the book, it’s stated that both he and Calvin are “biological sports,” meaning that they carry qualities that their families don’t possess, despite their blood relation to them.

Also, he was meant to be an introspective child who could read his mother and Meg. He never talked to anyone outside the family and the ladies. Calvin was the first other person he talked to. In the movie, he’s loud and obnoxious, and his abilities, along with his mental connection to Meg, aren’t properly explored.

He gave in too quickly to IT, as well. In the book, his pride is what causes him to get absorbed. He thinks that his mental abilities are strong enough for him to go into IT and figure out what IT was, so they can then defeat IT. Instead, he is overcome. In the movie, he just recites some multiplication tables, and is taken over in an instant.

-Sandy and Dennys: Or rather, the complete lack of them. The twins weren’t major characters in the first book, but they are important in their own way throughout the series, and even get their own book later on. I guess this means we won’t be getting a Many Waters adaptation any time soon...

-The removal of the star scene: Not only was Mrs. Whatsit’s character ruined, but her backstory was removed from the movie. In the book, while they are with the Happy Medium, the ladies show the children a star defeating a portion of the Darkness before going out. It is revealed that Mrs. Whatsit used to be a star, but she died in that form in order to keep the Darkness at bay. While she can manifest in other forms, she can never be a star again. That act of sacrifice adds a whole new level of tragedy to her character, while showing the children that the Darkness, while strong, can be defeated.

-The Happy Medium: I don’t know what they were thinking with this interpretation of the character. The Happy Medium is supposed to be a cheerful entity who uses a crystal ball to view the good things in the universe, and expresses reluctance at showing the unpleasantness of Camazotz and the Darkness engulfing Earth. The Happy Medium in this movie isn’t cheerful at all. While he’s certainly empathetic and good, he’s too stern and sarcastic overall to really be what he’s supposed to be.

Side note: In the book, the Happy Medium is a woman. I’m a bit disappointed that Ava DuVernay, who wanted this movie to have a diverse cast, missed a perfect opportunity for lesbian representation. When Mrs. Whatsit first referred to the Medium as “cute,” I got super excited. Oh well.

-Camazotz: So, imagine a world that used to be like Earth, a world where individuality and emotion have been forcibly sucked away. Imagine a world where a pulsing beat overcomes everything and everyone, even the children at play. Imagine a great, gray building that is the center of it all, full of workers dressed exactly the same, processing the same paperwork under yellow lights that turn their faces a sickly green color. Imagine rooms that are used to reprogram people who deviate from the norm, including a little boy who dares to bounce his ball outside the rhythm of the pulse. Imagine a world where, if you become sick, you are killed so that you won’t be an inconvenience to anyone. Imagine being in the center part of the gray building, in the presence of a brain that is just large enough to be truly repulsive, where a pulsing light goes into you, making even your breaths and heartbeat adhere to the unrelenting rhythm that permeates everything.

Now, look at the movie, which briefly shows the scene of the children playing in rhythm, followed by a random beach scene, and the man with the red eyes, who almost immediately takes over Charles Wallace. There’s no talk about what IT has done to the planet, no look into CENTRAL Central Intelligence. No scene with the little boy. Not even a look at the fear that fills the inhabitants of Camazotz. No, they just make the planet a magic place that changes forms, and throws tornadoes at our main characters. The hell?!

Also, the climax when Meg is fighting IT is too loud and overblown. IT isn’t supposed to be an Eldritch Horror that tosses her around and physically attacks her. IT is literally a brain sitting on a dais. IT enters the mind and destroys you from within, not by throwing you around with tentacles and bashing you until you’re unconscious.

-The removal of Ixchel and Aunt Beast: Arguably one of the most important scenes in the book is after Dr. Murry tessers Calvin and Meg away from Camazotz, leaving a possessed Charles Wallace behind, and they arrive on Ixchel, a planet inhabited by blind creatures that can detect the very essence of the world around them, seeing not what things look like, but what they are like. During this time, Meg, who was nearly overcome by the Darkness, is in the care of a kindly creature who she calls Aunt Beast. She has to fight the Darkness in her, and overcome her feelings of betrayal and anger toward her father for leaving Charles Wallace behind. It’s here that the ladies return and inform her that she’s the only one who can return to Camazotz and save Charles Wallace.

In the movie, she just refuses to tesser, and we go right to the climactic showdown with IT. Her father leaving without Charles Wallace isn’t addressed, and Meg isn’t properly able to overcome her grief and her realization that her father isn’t perfect.

-Mrs. Whatsit’s love: Again, Mrs. Whatsit is unfairly shoved to the side. In the book, when Meg is sent back to Camazotz, Mrs. Whatsit tells her “You have my love.” Also, Mrs. Which tells Meg that she has something that IT can never have or understand. When Meg is trying to get through to Charles Wallace, IT tells her that Mrs. Whatsit hates her. This causes her to remember Mrs. Whatsit giving her her love, which leads to her realizing that her love for Charles Wallace is what separates her from IT and what allows her to save her brother.

~

Overall, I was disappointed. The movie did come close to grasping the essence of the book several times, especially in the scene with Meg and Mrs. Which, and most of the actors did a great job. However, too many vital scenes were cut out, taking away from the overall meaning. Also, the ruination of Charles Wallace and Mrs. Whatsit, two of the most important characters in the book, convinced me that enough time was not paid to actually reading and understanding Madeleine L’Engle’s masterpiece.

A Wrinkle in Time is about many things: love, the fight between good and evil, the bonds between people, overcoming your own demons, and forgiveness. Several of these things were touched upon, sometimes very well, but it unfortunately fell short of what it could have been.

That being said, I hope this movie will end up being successful enough to allow for an adaptation of A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. I hope that Ava DuVernay reads the reviews of her movie and is able to do better, because I do think she, and the cast she has put together, can do it.

In the meantime, if you want to see a more faithful adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, check out the 2003 movie, also done by Disney. I think it did a much better job overall.

[thessaliah]

What are favorite and least favorite portrayal of Servants in Fate?

Uhh, there’s a lot?  I’ll assume with portrayals, you mean how legends or historical backgrounds were adapted and reinvented and if I like them?  Keep in mind there are a lot I like and a lot I’m lukewarm I don’t mention here. Some get me more passionate than others. 

Favorites (in no particular order).- Arturia, Merlin and most Round Table. You can tell that Nasu adores Arthuriana stuff and knows it deeply to come out with twists that make sense. Arturia and Mordred are one of the few genderbends who aren’t inherently lazy in Type Moon (unlike others made to just cash in Arturia’s design popularity and get no effort to explain why nobody thought they were women or ignored this - note, this doesn’t mean I dislike them, because I’m fond of Nero and the rest too, but it’s a strike down when you want to talk about this subject). Camelot is, to date, my favorite thing Nasu wrote next to Garden of Avalon because he has such grasp in these characters to make them unique, flawed and tragic. He isn’t afraid to make his female characters here in the wrong, something I deeply appreciate because makes them more sympathetic. The Lion-King was a gift. Yes, sure sometimes isn’t perfect (the characterization switch of Saber Alter from cooly angry tyrant to kuudere), but he usually takes a great care about their portrayal in a serious manner.- Oda siblings, Nobunaga and Nobuyuki:  Guda Guda 2 was so good to turn Nobunaga from a joke character to a serious one with layers, she along with Arturia and her son, became the third serious genderbent, where she suffered the consequences of being a woman and it explains her ascension to power as damyo through Nobuyuki’s sacrifice who she found out later, in the event, never rebelled against her but was trying to expose her detractors and with his sacrifice, he was showing nobody should defy his sister. They hurt my heart.- Solomon: He’s a departure of the Judeo-Christian Solomon, but because a lot of him seems taken off the Islamic version (where he’s literally the world most perfect ruler ever, literally Godsent to build an ideal kingdom which would only last as he lived). He follows Nasu’s most complex king character of the recent years (I like Nero but she lacks ‘something’ for me to see her as a ruler character) to stand next to Arturia and classics, addressing old Fate questions about rulership, humanity, and heroism. I appreciate that, just like Arturia, Nasu obviously knew what he was doing and only adapted his background to Nasuverse to keep it creative but fresh.- Asterios: This is how you write a classic mythological monster and keep him sympathetic without erasing what he was, just give an explanation, and not try to portray the hero who slain him as a ‘loser’.  Theseus was the first one who saw Asterios as a human being in his short published backstory and tried to comfort him when he died. - Leonardo Da Vinci: Her portrayal isn’t perfect, but it’s refreshing to see old theories come to life about Da Vinci (homosexuality, transsexuality). Da Vinci has the honor of being one of the few characters who actually has a love life that doesn’t involve sucking up to the main character or their love interest in life, goals that don’t involve the main character as the center of their lives, and has an exploration of her issues with loneliness and isolated she feels without involving the main character in her interlude (it’s a monologue). In other words, she’s allowed to be more than just Servant arm candy which is rare for a FGO original.- Florence Nightingale: I absolutely love Nightingale portrayal as Berserker, not so much without ME (we see her in Dantes event), but this asexual, aromantic, completely madwoman, in a good and bad sense, who is focused, intense and eloquent when she wants, intimidating men and women with her one-track mind mission to heal and purify, shows a bit how war takes the sanity of even the most saintly of people and yet they still remain themselves to the core.- Edmond Dantes: Nasu told everyone to watch Gankutsuou one day and said “come up with a Count of Monte Cristo who is nothing like that one”, and they did it. They did it and managed to make him iconic in portrayal too, without the stigma of having to compete with the Gonzo show classic. Against all odds, like poor publicity, limited event, Daganrompa design, he became one of FGO’s most popular originals, because they explored his entire personality and issues in a character-focused event, plus his backstory fits in with Nasuverse, expanding on the character without erasing any of his classic elements.- Most Victoriana characters: Sherlock Holmes, James Moriarty, Frankenstein,  Nursery Rhyme, Jekyll&Hyde, Helena, etc. I’m putting them in the same bag because they got a creative twist for Nasuverse characterization that was well handled, IMO, and were changed for setting purposes and to explore a concept rather than pander a fetish.- Lobo: Great adaptation and portrayal. A literal wolf got more development and introspection than the majority of Epic of Remnants appearing characters. This will never cease to be funny.- Tomoe Gozen: I don’t care much about her character, but gets a honorable mention because they actually keep her true to her legend and background instead of removing it to make her a pure sword waifu who loves the protagonist as they did with a number of characters.

Least favorite (controversial talk and triggers ahead):- Sherezade: I can’t even bring myself to explain how much they botched her and how much I absolutely loathe her. Any other characters in this list annoy me or irk me at very worst, but this one makes me angry. Her entire character is so offensive I can’t articulate it now or this would become far too long. She was one of my favorite childhood heroines, so it makes me extra salty. Let’s just say that they took one of world’s most memorable feminism icons as a nerves of steel creative woman who earned her happy ending and got everything in life to portray her as a mix of broken coward (and a joke after Agartha) full of misandry and internalized misogyny, who kidnapped and brainwashed people, including women, to be murderers and rapists to live her twisted fantasy, but wait, she was ‘cured’ by a good man’s spinning rainbow giant drill while she was told her purpose in life was to make babies. And her happy ending was the result of that man’s wish. Yes, she could have been a take of a broken pedestal who actually overcame her issues and became heroic after a growing up process (even if I disliked that interpretation), but instead of that, she was saved by boy Fergus, and this action is even referred on her profile: her happy ending has resulted of his wish. This is a thing that happened. I have no words to say how utterly crushed I feel regarding her. How they destroyed the core of her character appeal, twisted it and didn’t even allowed her the agency to earn her happy ending.- Altera: Or how to take a fairly interesting warlord and historical figure, remove everything that makes him Attila the Hun to pretend a bland robotic alien weapon waifu was him, even though all her struggle and ‘arc’ isn’t even focused on it, it just becomes an excuse to make her a Servant. Imagine if Arturia’s struggle in Fate wasn’t about her King Arthur related stuff and Camelot fall but about “oh my I’m a dragon hybrid who sided with humans in the end of the age of mystery, Shirou!”, something Nasu could have done since it’s also an aspect of her character, but had the good sense to focus on the fact she’s bloody King Arthur. That her arc is a literally a rehash of “robotic waifu becomes a person, goes against her program” which was already done by Sakura and BB (and Arc a decade before them) masterfully not so long ago, in Fate/Extra CCC, but they were actually well written (in comparison to Extella) so it makes her look extra bad. She was also inserted into the story out nowhere, just like this Velber thing which it’s not even mentioned once in all Extra (the Beasts were, ironically!) and stole the spotlight of characters who were your allies and Servants before, like Gilgamesh and Archer. When Sakura and Gilgamesh got added in CCC, Nasu never removed the focus on the three originals, rather he worked to give everyone their own routes. Extella was a reminder of those fanfics that retcon previously established canon to warp the plot focused on a new OC Mary Sue character who is more special than others with the entire plot orbiting around them, and you can’t escape this. Fortunately, she underperformed so badly as a main heroine of Fate in Japan that Nasu might think twice about pulling this again.- Medusa: I have a hate/love thing with Medusa, because as a character on her own, she started ok, beyond the gross sexual assault thing they never acknowledge as bad and irks me (but this is common in most female characters of TM, and some male ones like Shiki). I like her in FHA, her relationship and devotion to Sakura. However, yeah, she’s Medusa my all-time favorite Greek figure whom I adored since I was a child and her portrayal as a version of Medusa leaves a lot to be desired: removing her sexual relationship with Poseidon (which some versions involve rape, but in most of them they were lovers) to make her ‘pure’ and then portray her as ‘seductive’ was the worst decision Nasu could take in FHA when she was meant to parallel with Sakura’s domestic and sexual abuse, in FSN, so the character became kind of confusing to me. It just feels her character was overwritten to appeal purity-waifu lovers and twisted a bit. Her design (the BDSM outfit) is just ridiculous too. I can’t forgive there weren’t snakes, but with the appearance of Gorgon, this is salvaged that a bit (enemy gorgon is better looking than the playable one too, fff). Gorgon is what I wanted Medusa to be, but sadly that kitty-hood wearing “Ana” comes along with Gorgon (with her dog collar!). I don’t hate her, I have some kind of complicated relationship because my standards for Medusa are higher than usual and her character got overwritten as much as Gilgamesh with the years so it gets confusing (but without giving the attention Gilgamesh got too, so makes it harder to grasp what Nasu is doing now). The Perseus-bashing stuff also get me because, like Medusa’s portrayal, isn’t consistent. See, Medusa was originally Perseus, Nasu just genderbent him in FSN because he needed more girls. Their personalities are extremely alike based on what we see him in Prototype and he’s called like Shinji in FHA when he wasn’t at all (just to make her more sympathetic than the hero who actually killed her was ‘bad’ See why Asterios is a good example and why Medusa isn’t about how to handle this, it’s like she was a test run, IMO)? But in leaked FGO lines reveals Medusa is fine with Perseus now, except for Gorgon who wants to kill him, but she wants to kill everyone even the protagonist. This “characterization marches on” makes it all muddy and confusing. Gilgamesh has a similar problem, but I wasn’t attached to him, so I don’t care much.-Artemis (and Orion): Does this need an explanation?-Fionn and most Irish heroes, but Fionn is the main offender: From a mix of Irish King Arthur and Merlin in legends to a complete joke character whose entire kit and powers get stolen by you know who. Fionn is a disgrace to his legendary counterpart. Diarmuid was ok in Zero (not in FGO tho), Cu is fine (and even gets his noncon old habits called out in FHA!), Medb is one of the few female villains who don’t get whitewashed (though she loses a lot of layers of her mythical counterpart), the rest is… eh. -Kiyohime: Not the worst offender, but becomes a proof how the obsession with “pure” waifu-ideal for insecure otaku ruins a potentially interesting character and makes her super gross and problematic without owning up what she is by the fandom and, sometimes, canon. In legend, Kiyohime was a scorned woman whose lover, a monk Anchin, abandoned her after he regretted their relationship (which includes sex, several times). That’s the thing: they were in a relationship with a promise to stick together and he dumps her and runs off. She becomes enraged by his actions that become a serpent who chases him, but she was the one wronged, even if his death was extreme, it portrays her as a tragic character who lost it after a real betrayal. What does FGO does? Oh boy, FGO Kiyohime is just a crazy stalker creepy yandere who killed a monk (who was gay, by the way) who rejected her when she nightcrawled to his room (in case this gets lost in translation, google what is “nightcrawling” to get the extra disgusting implication), but because she insisted as the creepy obsessive woman she is, he promised her to meet her again to get her off his neck and escape, even though he had already made clear he wasn’t into her (or women) at all. She gets offended when he, the victim, runs away, chases and kills him. Now imagine if Kiyohime was a creepy stalker guy who slipped into a lesbian nun’s room when she sleeps to demand sex and a relationship and she tells him to sod off, but he doesn’t get the memo and chases after she escapes and burns her to death when she’s hiding because he was jilted. Now you get why her character is beyond gross. I shouldn’t even need to genderflip the story, but it seems some fans are too easily mislead by a cute waifu antics teehee. It’s fine to like her as long as you’re aware of her a problematic character and not a “cinnamon roll”. She rubs me wrong because it’s obviously an attempt to cash in with yandere-fans by twisting a story of a scorned woman who is lost in grief and anger which causes a tragedy. But it seems that otaku would take a gay man-burning crazy stalker over a nonvirgin. On the other hand, I REALLY love her design. It feels like a complete and absolutely tragedy of a waste character because I love her VA, her Art and classy design (summer and normal version) and NP, but the change made to her character was really appalling. -Beowulf: I don’t have strong feelings about him, but he’s one of the most world-famous heroes and yet he’s a footnote whose appearances consist on lose the fight to some of Nasu’s favorites (Li Shu Wen and Martha). He feels less than a character and more “That guy Nasu uses to show off how tough his favorites are in a fist fight”. Also his design sucks, his art is good but I just dislike the ‘modern’ look unless you’re going all hammy about it like Kintoki.-Caligula: He’s not a character, he’s just Nero’s accessory and blind worshipper for no reason. If they bothered to keep up with his historical background, he’ll be more into his horse and Iskandar, and, maybe, Iskandar’s horse. He has no real personality beyond NERO NERO NERO. Kind of a shame because his design is ok, and he is potentially interesting as a gross unhinged emperor.-Siegfried: Siegfried is… a good boy, but he became an unfunny joke that I can’t longer take seriously as a character thanks to FGO. He’s in serious need of a makeover. Introducing Kiemhild and Hagen could be a good start, he’s savagable, just not so fond of what he is now.-Elizabeth Bathory-Carmilla: Not so much that I dislike them as characters, but it kind of rubs me the wrong way the one that should be an older woman with a torture fetish is portrayed as a dragon idol while Carmilla, the one immortalized as a young girl by Le Fanu, is the older woman. If they switched designs, and made Carmilla a catgirl instead of a dragon girl, preferably, but I don’t mind them at all, just this kind of irks me because they kind of switched their usual thing? It’s not dislike, just confusion.- Mephistopheles:  Or let’s take a famous devil in a classic to make him a murderous clown. What could go wrong? What’s even the point of this character, really? I love his artist and his VA, but this takes the cake of the most wasted character in FGO and has zero to do with his portrayal. I mean, I get the adaptation about homunculus stuff, but it was kind of too jarring switch because none of his traits are like Mephistopheles, like AT ALL. Erik was kind of wasted and made a bishie cosplaying Freddy Krueger, but at least he keeps the Christine stuff and a mask, to say “Oh right this is the Phantom of the Opera.” Nothing about Mephistopheles makes me think “This is Mephistopheles!” It’s like Nasu and his boys were talking about character concepts and one was “Hey, guys, I just rented It, and I want to add an evil clown in FGO!”, “Sounds great, but who can be? We can’t just steal Pennywise, he’s copyrighted.” “I know, let’s make him Mephistopheles!” “Why?” “Er, it sounds like how a devilish clown would call himself” and boom. Something like that.