#but Most redesigns are done out of genuine love for the series

[floralovebot]

Sometimes I don't understand this Winx fan's mania of wanting to redesign everything Winx, the characters... even the planets. I understand that each one can have their own headcanon, but there are already incredible designs in the animated series!!! You just have to expand them!!! Don't redesign them to suit your personal taste!!

Sometimes I wonder if these people really like Winx Club, or they just like it because of what it made them feel in their childhood, and nowadays they don't like it very much but the nostalgia is so strong, that that's why they make these redesigns, they change everything about the characters, so that it is more to personal taste.

I understand that art is an expression... but sometimes so many things change, I don't know what to think.

I've even seen them for rewrites... do they know that I'm going to imagine the story with Winx's designs and not theirs?

Sorry for the rant.

I mean,, I don't think it's fair to say that all redesigners hate winx and just have strong nostalgia. As much as I bitch about the fandom's racism, I'll always be incredibly supportive of the amount of creativity and freedom of expression that fans have here. I've seen some fandoms where every little headcanon and redesign gets scrutinized for literally no reason. Not to bring up hp in the year 2023 but I once saw someone bitch at an artist for drawing hermione with dark brown hair. Like. The winx fandom is honestly one of the only fandoms I've been in where people are encouraged to share how they would change things. (not the only fandom of course, but it's definitely not a thing that every fandom does).

That being said,, I do see your point with some redesigns feeling like it's just hating on the og winx. I think most, if not all, of the people who are really active in the fandom, have a winx sideblog, or just post a lot of winx are very much doing their redesigns out of love. But every now and then, you'll see a redesign where the poster just,, shits on winx for no reason. Like,, I've especially seen a lot of outright misogyny and internalized misogyny about the winx wearing skirts and dresses and being princesses. Like sorry you can't imagine strong female characters with personalities who also wear skirts sometimes. deal.

And again, I have no problem with people just redesigning things for fun and wanting to see how things could be expanded or even improved on, but I've definitely started to notice more of an,, ego complex where some people act like their redesign is the absolute pinnacle of society and the og winx (and occasionally other redesigns) suck shit. Like no dude you're in the same camp smoking the same weed as the rest of us calm the fuck down.

I mean,, I'll always be more in favor of redesigns and headcanons. I think it's a really special part of the fandom! But I also understand why it can be jarring and even upsetting to see people take these characters and places and just,, get rid of every canon aspect to make it what they Want instead of just expanding on what's already there. At that point, it definitely feels like someone just wanted to play in the winx universe but didn't care for any of the actual aesthetics or lore. It also feels like a slap in the face when people completely change a character's entire personality and call it a headcanon like no babe that's not stella winx club, that's generic blonde girl #3. Literally just make your own oc at that point.

I mean again, I'm never going to just shit on someone's headcanon or redesign just because I Personally don't vibe with it. But I am going to call out racism. Always. And someone spending hours creating something doesn't absolve them of being racist.

[starrclown]

☆ Redesign Time: Nifty, the lovable and SUCH A WASTE OF POTENTIAL ☆

(Sorry that title got aggressive. New series though! I now have, Have Tea With Me and Redesign Time.)

Ahoy Matey's, we are here to talk about my favorite Hazbin Hotel character. Yes, Nifty is my favorite. I've loved her ever since she stepped into the pilot. She's just so fun and silly and God I love her so much. But litteraly no one cares about her and that bothers me SO much. Like no one talks about her unless Alastor and Husk are involved. There is little to no merch of her. It's just so depressing man. But I love this little bug alien and I wanna rewrite her a story and redesign her cause her design is just not it.

(Also I wanna clarify something. With any redesigns and rewrites I do, they can change. Hazbin hasn't come out yet as of time of writing so Nifty may actually get a story. Maybe. I severely doubt it. These designs are for fun and fun only. I do genuinely like Hazbin Hotel and want it to succeed. This also isn't a attack on Vivziepop or SpindleHorse productions. Vivzie has been accused of alot but I'm not touching up on that. These designs are for fun and my own personal spin on things. Please don't harass me. Seriously artists have been harassed for redesigns and it's actually sickening. These are for fun, don't take it personally. ALSO!! DO NOT TRY TO ANIMATE THESE. I don't want no comments about how these are not animation friendly. I know. These are just showing of my level of art and a coherent story. Cool? Cool.)

☆Nifty's Redesign!!

Nifty's cannon design is just not it. Let's play a game. What is Nifty?

Nifty, Wiki confirmed, is supposed to be a reference to bugs and aliens. Where? Besides her arms and legs Nifty has no bug features. Nifty also died in the 50's. Can you tell? No, you can't. Nifty is nothing like what she is described. That's the issue with most of the designs of Vivzie. They are nothing like how they are described. I've seen a couple of times that people didn't know that Alstor was supposed to be a deer, Vaggie is a moth, Charlie is based of dolls and goats, and Angel is a spider from the 40's. Nifty's design needs touching up, so let me show you my design!!

(I'm iffy on this. I think there are things I can improve)

She's a little lady!! Let me explain certain parts of my design.

1. Hair. Curled hair was a big thing in the 50's. Nifty is cannonically Japanese so she would probably curl her hair. I wanted her hair to be this messy curly/wavy mop. Why is Nifty's hair fire colored? I thought it was so cool when Nifty came through the fire. In my rewrite I want fire to be a part of Nifty. (You'll see in a little bit.) I also gave her antennas.

2. Face. I changed Nifty to green to give her a bug/alien type feel. I gave her small little bug choppers and red rosy cheeks. I kept her one eye cause it makes her face stand out.

3. Clothing. I might have to change her clothes but I think I did a decently good job with her clothing. I gave her a apron with stitches to symbolize her obsession with chores. I gave her gloves because she's also the cook. I made her dress blue instead of red to contrast her hair and it makes her dress pop.

4. Bug features. Nifty now has antennas that move along with her emotions. She has her bug choppers, I gave her more bug like legs and arms, and finally, wings. There small so I imagine she can fly for small amounts of time.

I just wanted Nifty to feel more bug like. I also wanted her 50's background to shine through!!

(I cut out a whole section on her human life cause I want to save that until I get the main cast done.)

Feel free to leave criticism in the comments. I actually really like certain parts if the design!! Nifty deserves SO much better than Hazbin has given her and I'm here to deliver it!!

(I don't know what will be next. It could be tea time or another redesign. A fic if mine is almost is finished though so if your interested check it out)

😘🫶

- ⭐️StarClown⭐️

[thenightling]

Review of Season 1 of My adventures with Superman:

I just got done watching the season finale of "My Adventures with Superman." I really under-estimated this show when I saw the first teasers for it. I thought it would be a version of Superman for little kids. And though I think children can watch it, there is some very mature writing in this, the kind I haven't seen since Disney's Gargoyles. It's wholesome, well-written, and most importantly it FEELS like Superman. It's not the cynical deconstruction that Zack Snyder did with man of steel. This is the traditional boy scout version of superman, the sort of hero I'd missed. The art style resembles a Japanese anime but this show is actually American made. The movements of the characters are very fluid. There's a beauty to this animation. Superman's movements in flight are realistic and fluid. He appears like he's swimming. Some of the antagonists have changed origins and are redesigned but these don't detract from it at all. I love what they did with Jimmy Olsen, especially the nonchalant little twist they gave to his character at the end of the season finale. This is probably my favorite depiction of Jimmy Olsen in any Superman incarnation. I was relieved that the show allowed Lois (and Jimmy) to learn Clark's secret identity pretty early on (Jimmy actually figured it out first). It wasn't drawn out. I think everyone was tired of Lois not knowing Clark's secret decades ago. There is on-going story progression. And it's so wholesome, so hopeful and warm, it's strangely comforting. I hadn't seen a superhero show like this in a long time. Though I liked the mid-90s Superman animated series, this has fast become my favorite version of Superman. Neil Gaiman was right when he had said (over in Twitter when it was still Twitter) that Superman doesn't need to be changed for "modern audiences." You just need to let superman be superman in a modern setting. And that's what this show did and it works. No one is bored with the classic Superman when he is done right.

I'm not even that big of a fan of Superman (in general). But I an genuinely loving this show. It's so good.

I am not sure why Cartoon Network shows it during Adult Swim (It's adult content evening timeslot). It FEELS like a well-made version of Superman. And it's not overly mature with themes too intense for children. No, far from it. This is a GOOD version of Superman. It keeps you on your toes. The main characters like Clark, Lois, Ma and Pa Kent are all true to the cultural collective idea of who they are and yet the show is different enough that old school fans of Superman won't get bored. It'll keep you on your toes because it deviates just enough. Also people who aren't old school fans of superman should be able to follow it just fine. This cartoon was surprisingly good. And it deserves more attention. I dare say that this version of Superman has the potential to become as iconic as the 90s Batman the animated series.

[rewritingrobinhood]

Click HERE to download the script for S03E04!

This is the fourth episode in our Series 3 rewrite, based on the fifth episode called "Let The Games Commence." We have retitled it "Thicker Than Water," to reflect what became a near-total overhaul of the plotting and character arcs. Read more below:

Lindsey and I affectionately call this episode "The Lion Episode." If you have seen it, you know why (and if you haven't, I thank you for visiting what must seem like an extremely niche and unnecessary project blog - because, of course, it is). The entire episode building up to Guy unleashing the saddest, most emaciated, jowly old lion onto the Gang is possibly the single most ridiculous stunt the show ever pulled, and not only makes Guy look stupider than usual, but also doesn't jive with the new, high-production-value, slightly less tongue-in-cheek vibe of Series 3. It always felt like a Series 1 stunt, but obviously all of the Series 1 budget went to endless duplicates of cargo pants and pleather trousers, and possibly also Marian's single acceptable red dress.

So, the lion had to go. We have also done away with the subplot of Little John befriending the orphan children and Bertha. So, what is left? The answer, of course, is Isabella.

Isabella, to us and to many fans, is a very painful sore spot, and one of the most annoying and frankly insulting character arcs I've ever encountered. I've previously mentioned that we are discarding her villain arc and romance with Robin – and thankfully, mostly due to Lara Pulver, there is still a complex and engaging character beneath the misogynistic, lazy writing. A survivor of abuse who has escaped her captor, but also a Gisborne through and through, ready to work the angles when the opportunity presents itself in following episodes.

Guy's new arc is also something very precious to me and Lindsey personally. We were not only disappointed when the series continued to handle his redemption badly (or not at all), but also are aware that Richard Armitage felt very negatively about how the character was written following Marian's death – without dignity, or growth, or kindness. Our rewritten arc is our offering to what could have been – a man in a position of power who has done selfish, damaging things, who begins to take responsibility for his actions and understand the role he plays in a system of injustice – and who will eventually make the selfless choice to help tear it down.

In terms of Guy and Isabella's relationship, we have scratched out – with extreme prejudice – the plotline in which Guy sold his own sister to her abuser as a teenager. This was yet another nail in the coffin of any potential redemption for Guy – a character they still wanted us to feel bad for and want to be redeemed! It seems Mssrs. Allan and Minghella leaned quite heavily on Richard Armitage's greasy-haired sex appeal to sway viewers to his side, and…it worked. Of course it worked. Because we are here writing him to be a good guy because we feel bad for him. Well...shit. Regardless. It feels good to write something genuine and plausible as a love letter to Richard's passion for this show, and this character, and – in a way – for Marian, whom he loved.

Robin is also struggling here, not with feelings of attraction for Gizzy's long-lost sister in a horrible yellow velour renfaire gown (if i may shill my own redesign here...), but with feelings of purposelessness and impotence. What is the point of their work if it cannot sustain itself past Robin's own lifespan? What good is a hero, or a legend? Or a leader, for that matter, if he is the lynchpin without which everything falls apart? What does real, revolutionary change look like? How can he build it from a place of selflessness, rather than personal redemption?

Finally, I realized it's been six years since Lindsey and I embarked on this ridiculous project (four since I released the last script…whoops). I also realize that, even if the first episode script has 759???????????????????????? downloads, the audience for this is extremely small. And I'm honestly okay with that. This has become a project where I, Abigail, can learn and flex my writing skills in a very safe sandbox, and have a bit of relaxing and satisfying creative time tinkering with something I know can be done better. I thank everyone who's stuck with us so far, and I will make no promises – but I do hope to keep going with this as long as I can, or until the series reaches its end, even if it takes years. I enjoy coming back to Rewriting Robin Hood. And while it's probably high time I stepped out of this comfort zone and worked on some original things, I love having it on the backburner. I've grown a lot as a writer even between the scripts I've released, and I hope you've all enjoyed reading them and stepping into this idyllic little fantasy world where the show………was actually good?

This Has Been An Ambush...

Love,

Abigail

[biomic]

well i've now watched all the child's play movies (minus the remake because lol), clearly one of my finer achievements. here are my thots

child's play - didn't actually rewatch this one just bc i've seen it multiple times in the past and the major plot beats are still fresh in my mind. it's a classic, we know this

child's play 2 - was kinda blown away by how much i was nostalgic over this one. i've never thought of it as an iconic movie of my youth, i don't even know if i saw it more than once or twice, but i was remembering every scene super clearly. super fun movie to revisit, anchored by andy and kyle's genuinely sweet bond and brad dourif getting to chuck it up from the start. the final showdown in the toy factory? utterly iconic in the genuine sense of the word

child's play 3 - this movie was so aggressively nothing. apparently they rushed this whole production out in under a year and god does it show. it tries to differentiate itself by being set at a military school but those tropes bore me to tears. chucky's settled into more of a comedic character, but the story's still playing itself serious, so his one-liners just come off as corny and lame rather than campy fun. and my GOD do the kills suck complete ass in this one. half of them are chucky killing people indirectly, like replacing paint guns with real bullets. that'd be a scary idea if this were a normal military movie, but it's not the kind of the thing that keeps me on the edge of my seat in a killer doll flick. it's just a very uninspired sequel, the only one in the franchise i'd call stale

bride of chucky - MASTERPIECE. the screamification of late 90s horror did this one a lot of good, and jennifer tilly as tiffany is the best thing to happen to this franchise. i wasn't even annoyed by katherine heigl in this movie! a feat i thought impossible in a post-grey's anatomy world. it's definitely my favorite of the bunch, seeing chucky and tiffany bounce off each other as the world's most dysfunctional homicidal couple is just way too fun

seed of chucky - they literally named this movie Chucky's Cum. so this wasn't as bad as i was expecting, but i can't really say it's Good either. a big sticking point for a lot of fans is the portrayal of glen/da's genderfluidity, and while i get why people felt it was in bad taste, i wasn't personally bothered by it. i mean, for a gross-out horror comedy about killer dolls from 2004, certain parts felt almost progressive in a weird way. i dunno, depends on how much you can line up with this movie's wavelength i guess. still, i could've done without a lot of the piss gags and chucky jerking off. this movie's saving grace? jennifer tilly playing herself acting alongside tiffany as a doll. i was losing my shit the entire time they interacted, huge brained shit truly

curse of chucky - if bride is how to do a revamp, this is how to go back to basics. this was the first chucky movie i had never seen before (most of the other ones i caught on tv 15ish years ago), and damn was it refreshing. going back to a more suspenseful horror tone where chucky doesn't talk for the first half of the movie was a huge risk, but it really paid off. im not scared of dolls, but the redesign they gave him genuinely hits just the right level of uncanny valley to freak me out for the first time in the entire series. don mancini's skill as a director got a huge upgrade from last time, and the end result is a really cool gothic horror movie featuring chucky. loved it. nica pierce best final girl 2k13

cult of chucky - THEY MADE CHUCKY A HOT WOMAN :( this film is absolutely fucking BONKERS and i completely dug it. i was a bit hesitant about the movie being set in a psychiatric hospital, but aside from a few dodgy portrayals i think they managed to mostly avoid the whole "ooooh aren't mentally ill people ~scary~" deal. this one for sure had the gnarliest kills in the whole series, im not that affected by gore in horror movies but i was wincing and looking away multiple times in this one. by the time you get to the multiple chuckies and nica getting possessed, you can just tell they were having a blast making this one, and it's infectious

when i started going through these i didn't know how i'd feel about them, i just wanted to be caught up for the show, but the experience has been pleasantly surprising. with don mancini having creative control over every film since its inception, there's a level of consistency here that can't be said for, i don't know, whatever the hell texas chainsaw's been trying to do since the original. but he's also not afraid to experiment and try out new things, so the series is able to maintain its identity without getting stale. this was a great time, and im super excited for the show now!

[ponett]

Welp... it’s over. After nine years, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is over. I just got done watching the series finale with Anthony and, just like I knew I would, when the credits rolled, I cried my eyes out

I should probably say something, huh. I’ve been sharing thoughts like this mostly on Twitter lately, but I started using Tumblr to blog about MLP, so I don’t think it would be right to post this anywhere else

I have a complicated relationship with MLP:FiM. It’s a show that got really hit or miss after the second season, and it has a fandom so toxic and so full of edgy libertarians that it scared me off from formally participating in fandoms for the rest of my life. But it’s also probably my favorite TV show of all time. There are other shows that are much better written, that have more to say, that are more consistent, even including several other cartoons from the same decade. But I think I’d be lying to myself if I said it wasn’t my favorite show

No other piece of media has had as massive of an impact on my life as My Little Pony

I grew closer to some of my closest high school friends because of our shared enthusiasm for the show. I started PonyPokey with Jake and Derek and made a bunch of bad videos and got invited to be on a wildly disorganized BronyCon panel with Jenny Nicholson in 2012. (We went on stage immediately after Lauren Faust’s panel. I barely said a word due to stage fright.)

After years of being too afraid to share my art online, I started putting more effort into learning digital art so that I could draw ponies. It started out rough, but with the drive to improve, I quickly got better. I started Fluttershy Replies. For the first time, I had an audience. I had people who cared about my work and supported me. Even as times have changed, many of you have been following me since way back then

Around the time I came out as bi in 2012, I got really into MLP shipping. Writing sappy comics and drawing sappy art became an outlet for my years of pent up feelings, and helped me sort out a lot of stuff. My Little Pony also completely changed the views on femininity that had been beaten into my skull since childhood. Suddenly, it wasn’t this strange, alien thing to be afraid of. MLP, at its heart, is a show about how there’s no wrong way to be a girl. That’s an incredibly powerful message. Rarity wasn’t a vapid snob. Fluttershy wasn’t a background character who got made into the butt of the joke. Pinkie wasn’t a ditz. These were characters written to be empathized with. And writing about my own feelings from the perspective of Fluttershy felt... right. It took me a few years to fully process those feelings, but eventually, I realized the truth. I was a trans woman. And a cartoon about horses was the first step on my path to realizing this

In 2013, one of the roughest years of my life, I decided to download RPG Maker on a whim to give myself a distraction. Naturally, my first instinct was to make a game where Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash kiss. What was initially supposed to be a short, Fantastic Game-esque playground of silly little jokes spiraled out of control and became Super Lesbian Horse RPG, a game that I poured my heart and soul into over the course of a year. And then, a couple years later, my desire to preserve the ideas from my copyright-infringing fangame also spiraled out of control, as all my creative projects do, and became SLHRPG’s successor: Super Lesbian Animal RPG. SLARPG isn’t really a reskinned MLP fangame anymore--it’s more like a new game inspired in part by my old project. The story has been drastically rewritten, the characters changed, the levels and gameplay redesigned. Most of the cast of the new game wasn’t in the original project in any form. There’s much, much, much, much, much more new content than old left in the game. And the original game had already strayed so far from the canon anyway. But I’m also not sure it would exist without MLP

I made a bunch of friends online, including close friends I still have to this day. I met the people like Bee and Thomas who I’m still working with on SLARPG. Most importantly, because we both blogged about MLP and had some mutual friends, I met Anthony, the love of my life. We’ve been together for five years now and supported each other through good times and bad. This is the lamest, corniest, stupidest thing I will ever say in my life, but he’s the Rainbow Dash to my Fluttershy

...

So what about the finale itself? (spoilers, obviously)

I have... mixed feelings on the finale. There were some things that really annoyed me in there. But also, like I said, I cried, so I think it’s safe to say they did good overall

I think the thing that stuck in my craw the most was Discord. Which I guess shouldn’t be surprising. I’ve been saying for years now how I hate Discord, how he spits in the face of everything the show stands for. He’s an obnoxious elderly manchild who constantly causes problems on purpose and torments his so-called friends the second they stop paying attention to him. But they have to put up with him and give him infinite second chances, because he’s a god and Celestia said they had to reform him

The overarching plot of the final season is that Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, Tirek, and Cozy Glow (a Darla Dimple-esque filly villain from season 8) had teamed up with Grogar, a “new” villain taken from G1. While this goes on in the background, Twilight is making her preparations to become Celestia’s successor, as we’d known would be her destiny since the day she got wings six years ago. The villain team-up stuff was genuinely fun, and a highlight of the season for me. But then, in the three-part finale, it’s revealed that Grogar was actually Discord in disguise, and that he’d been intentionally trying to orchestrate a big attack on Twilight’s coronation so that she and her friends could save the day and get a big confidence boost going into her reign as princess. This is like... one of the most bafflingly stupid plot twist of all time. It’s literally the end of the show, and Discord has learned nothing. He’s “nice” now, but he’s still intentionally causing huge problems and putting everyone’s lives in danger to solve his problems. He freed four different villains they’d already defeated just so Twilight could beat them again, and in the process they literally blew up the goddamn castle in Canterlot and nearly killed everyone. And yet... they still forgive him, because they have to

I did, however, think that the last two-part adventure episode was fun overall. It tied a nice bow on much of the series, bringing back a bunch of old friends (including cameos from the movie cast!) to band together and save the day. Of course, in the end, they beat the bad guys with a big rainbow laser and sealed them in a statue. You know, even though a previous season finale was all about how solving their problems with a friendship laser and sealing the villains away never worked. Also, Cozy Glow might be evil, but she’s still literally a child? And now her petrified body is on display in the center of Canterlot? What the fuck????

I’m complaining a lot, but again. It was fun overall. It was nice to have one last big adventure, and to have the mane six reflect on how they’d grown since Twilight moved to Ponyville

...

And then we got the actual final episode. And boy did this one hit me HARD

I’m so glad that they ended on a quieter episode about the main cast’s friendships, because that’s what the show is actually about. The two-part adventures to save Equestria every season are fun, but that’s not the real show. We all came back every week for Twilight and her friends

There are things I can complain about here, too. Spike being a buff adult dragon with the voice of a child is fucked up. I’m still not used to seeing Twilight be Celestia’s size. But more than anything, I was always worried that we’d get a Harry Potter ending, where all the characters are paired off into arbitrary marriages so they can all have kids. Thankfully, this didn’t really happen. The only one who had a kid was Pinkie, who apparently got married to Cheese Sandwich (Weird Al’s character) at some point. Like, they literally shared two episodes together, with no hint of romance? But then they got married and had a kid off-screen??? What the fuck???? A lot of people also think that Fluttershy ended up with Discord, and I know I’m massively biased against that ship, but... I mean, they teased the FlutterCord shippers, but there wasn’t really any actual textual evidence that they were any closer than they had been previously. Y’all weirdos who ship Fluttershy with an obnoxious elderly man can interpret that as being “canon” if you want, I guess, but it’s not

The other relationship that shocked everyone in the finale was Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who... appear to be a couple? It’s definitely hinted at. I have... very, very mixed feelings about this. I mean, okay, obivously I’m the big FlutterDash fangirl. But I think AppleDash is cute, too! The problem is that, like... they’ve barely interacted in years? Like, they had a lot of episodes together in the first two seasons, but then the writers barely ever had them interact past that point. I can’t even remember when the last time we got an actual episode focusing on them was. And no, the one where Rainbow takes Granny Smith to pony Vegas doesn’t count

Like... yeah, it’s cute. It’s a nice gesture. Lyra and Bon Bon getting married in the background was also cute. But we can do so, so much better in 2019. We have so many explicitly canon lesbian couples in cartoons. Couples that actually kissed, or got married, or showed feelings for each other. Rainbow and AJ barely even fucking talked to each other in the final few seasons. I dunno, it just feels very hollow to me. Even the Equestria Girls crew admitting they were pushing RariJack felt more substantial to me, because at least they were given on-screen chemistry and lots of canon interaction

But in the end, complaints aside, the finale was about Twilight moving back to Canterlot, and worrying that her friendships would fade because of it. Honestly, I think this is what the finale of the show always would’ve been. It was the perfect story to end on. And boy, it hit really close to home

And then the last song happens, reflecting on how things have changed, but how they’re all still friends. And we see all the other friends they made along the way. And the camera zooms out, and the book from the opening of the very first episode closes, bringing the entire nine-year saga full circle

And then I started sobbing really hard in Anthony’s arms

...

I dunno. I just got done nitpicking a lot, but I still think that the last episode was a good and very emotional ending for the show

I’m going to miss this show dearly. I know it will be back in a new form, and that the leaks indicate that it’ll still star slightly different versions of the Mane Six. I’m also used to shows like this getting rebooted. Hasbro cartoons are honestly lucky to last past three seasons. FiM, on the other hand, got over 200 episodes, a theatrical film, a few specials, some shorts, a bunch of comics (which I still need to read), and a spinoff human AU series that was also really great. There’s no shortage of content, and I’m sure I’ll be returning to the series for years to come. I’m also glad that the show managed to go out on a high note

But still. It was a constant presence in my life for nearly nine years. Even as the quality got really hit or miss, even as they took the premise in strange directions, even as the crew of the show grew more and more dominated by men, it was still a show I could rely on to always be there, 26 episodes a year. I’ll miss it. I hope what comes next is just as good, if not even better. I also hope it’s gayer

I was going to end my ask blog, Fluttershy Replies, around the time the show ended. I’m not sure if I’ll do that just yet. I don’t know. I think that might be a bit much for me to process emotionally. Too many doors closing in my life in quick succession. But I do want to do more with it. These characters will be special to me for the rest of my life

I mean shit, I haven’t even drawn StarTrix yet. I’ve still got a lot of work to do with these horses, folks

[babycharmander]

With Disney Plus now released, a lot of people have access to much of Disney's content that they've never seen before, be it 90s cartoons they were born too late to see, Pixar shorts they missed, or obscure movies they hadn't known existed until they saw their titles listed among Disney Plus's catalogue of films.

Because of this, a lot of people now have access to my favorite movie of all time, Return to Oz. So now I would like to present you...

Reasons Why You Should Watch Return to Oz

It's about Dorothy, six months after she comes home from her adventures in Oz. While she loves Oz, the tornado and some of her experiences she had there left her with a form of PTSD. In particular, she experiences terrible insomnia, as well as a feeling that things are not right in Oz. Her aunt and uncle are at a loss for what to do, finally turning to "modern medicine"--which is to say, shock therapy. She manages to escape this, and eventually finds her way back to Oz, only to find that indeed, things aren't well there. Her friends are missing, most of Oz's citizens were turned to stone, and she must band together with a group of new friends to find out what has happened to Oz, how she can save it, and how she can get back home again.

It's a charming 80s fantasy movie, that has just about everything you can expect from hearing the term "80s fantasy movie" (well, minus any amount of crudeness--there's no swearing or violence or off-color jokes here).

As far as English adaptations of Baum's books go, it's quite possibly the closest in spirit to Baum's original Oz series. (And, yes, I do mean series--for those unaware, the original Wizard of Oz was not a standalone book, but the first of fourteen Oz novels Baum himself wrote--a series that was later expanded to forty novels by other authors, and even more after that.)

It features (mostly) incredible practical effects (among the occasional cheesy 80s effect), including puppetry by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Brian Henson (one of Jim Henson's children) voices and puppets one of the major characters in the film (and my personal favorite character), Jack Pumpkinhead.

This is Fairuza Balk's first film appearance! (I... admittedly have seen no other movies she's been in, but some people like this actress, so here you go.)

A really fantastic soundtrack, with two of my favorite tracks being The Flight of the Gump, and The Return to Oz Rag March. (I'd link them, but Tumblr, being the way it is, probably wouldn't let this post show up in any tags, so go ahead and check them out on Youtube if you're interested.) On top of that, it also features the sort of music that uses different instruments to represent each character (Peter and the Wolf style, if you're familiar with that). Listen closely when different characters interact, and you'll hear their themes mix together!

A dark, but truly wonderful and heartfelt story. It also doesn't pull punches in terms of scariness or the seriousness of some of its situations (particularly the shock therapy clinic), and the villains can be quite terrifying at times and still give me chills to this day.

Genuinely sweet, wonderful characters: Dorothy's sarcastic pet chicken Billina, Tik-Tok (a robot who runs on clockwork and claims to not experience emotions), Jack Pumpkinhead (an incredibly tall but childlike scarecrow who just wants to find his mother), and the Gump (a reanimated hunting trophy--it's nicer than it sounds). And... of course, Dorothy herself--probably my favorite depiction of the character, and how I always imagine her to look when I read the books.

Some really emotional scenes that I don't want to spoil for you.

Scenes that truly show the people who worked on this film absolutely love Oz and Baum's books.

this is overall such a good movie and I love it so so so so much

Now... all that having been said, let me go into...

Things to Keep in Mind BEFORE You Watch Return to Oz

THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL TO THE JUDY GARLAND MUSICAL. I don't care what you've heard about this movie or what people have told you about it--it is not a sequel. It has a handful of references to the musical--nods to character echoes (characters seeming to appear in both Kansas and Oz) and use of the Ruby Slippers rather than Silver Slippers--but it is not a true sequel by any means.

It... it doesn't look like the cover Disney made for it in recent releases. i have no idea why the cover looks like that. it's awful. why does it look like that.

Dorothy is actually a child in this. For some reason Dorothy is older in the Judy Garland musical for whatever reason, but in this one, she's closer to the actual age she's supposed to be in the books! So no, she didn't "de-age" or anything.

The characters were made to look like the original illustrations from the books. So if you don't want to be startled by how different, say, the Scarecrow looks from his counterpart in the musical, check out the John R. Neil illustrations of the characters and you'll get a good idea for what to expect in this movie. (Exceptions being Tik-Tok the clockwork man (who was given a mild redesign to make his costume even possible), and the Nome King and his Nomes (who were interpreted completely differently from how they appear in the books.)

This movie GETS DARK. Get ready for depictions of shock therapy, as well as some genuinely creepy (and book-canon) creatures. If you're thinking of watching this movie with kids, be aware that this does get genuinely scary, so if they're the kind of kids who get nightmares from scary things in movies... maybe wait a few years before showing them this. (On the other hand, I saw this movie when I was pretty young and did fine--I still loved it in spite of the fact that it scared me, so it's hard to say for sure.)

That said... while it's dark, it's (arguably) not a horror movie. I have seen some fans argue how this could be considered a horror/fantasy movie, but IMO, don't go into it expecting a horror movie, since I've seen that shade people's perceptions of the film in bad ways.

Oz is not a dream here. While, again, it does indeed have nods to the way the original musical was done, unlike the musical, Oz is not a dream, as is proven in a few moments in the film.

I... think that's just about everything. If anyone thinks of something I missed here, please let me know.

This is genuinely my most favorite movie of all time, but it's also a very commonly misunderstood movie, so I wanted to write this post in favor of it, and encouraging others to give it a try (with the right mindset).

[drops-of-moonlights]

The Specialists plus 2 plus Roy retouched! Thoren will be handled in a different post. More on them below!

Not many big changes on the guys, their Specialist outfits got a slight retouch and the two magi got their full transformation line.

Sky, Riven, Nex, Brandon and Timmy share a dorm and are Team 3Q, and they’re all in their second year at the start of the series. Riven is older than them, as like Stella he failed his first year, though out of aggresion and an accident than just an accident like Stella. Nex is now a specialist from the start since I have specific plans for the Paladins in the AU. Riven has longer hair because his turnip ‘do was Bad, and Sky also has longer hair specifically to spite his S5 haircut. They still have the wings from the previous redesign in their armor, I just didn’t draw it. On each of them individually!

Sky Calem Beaufort: Crown Prince of Eraklyon, pretended to be his squire Brandon for 2 years when entering Red Fountain due to the recent assasination attempts done on him when he was still unknown to the public by the rogue team of Yoshinoya. He’s sweet and courageous, and has formal training with swords and shields, but he has a habit of procrastinating important stuff and not wanting to talk about royal duties, which is the root of the issue with him, Bloom and Diaspro in S1. Was betrothed to Diaspro since they were both kids, but neither loved each other and was purely a political agreement.

Brandon Ortiz: Squire of the Crown Prince, second oldest son of 5 siblings. He’s a very jovial person and prone to crack jokes and flirt, but he’s also the most responsible of the team and will hold them by the neck as if kittens if they misbehave. Son of a teacher and a guard, he’s a good cook and agile with his spear, and is one of the main frontliners alongside Riven. While he sticks with Sky due to his job, his friendship with him is real and he’s usually the first one to find out about his issues.

Riven Altamura: Held back a year, he’s a grumpy Orc who’s trying to adapt to the situation. He got along horribly with his previous team, and he’s trying to see how his relationship with the rest will develop. While his face is almost always stuck in an annoyed look, he’s more experienced than the other 4 and tries to guide them whenever they seem to fail, but since he’s prideful and with a short temper, it almost always ends up in a small argument. His father died when he was little, and enrolled in Red Fountain to give some relief to his mom once they started to run into monetary problems. He’s the main frontliner of the team, and favors sabres and other curved swords to fight, though he also has a good handle on maces. He’s a Solarian, and being of age, as a tatoo of a red comet on his back.

Nex Arancelle: a particularly cocky half-elf, Nex is their second midliner alongside Sky and mostly fights with daggers or axes. He’s equally prideful as Riven and likes to argue, so they butt heads most of the time. He’s a genuinely nice person despite this, and will be the first person to try and defuse a potentially heated situation alongside Brandon when they arise. Everyone in his family are performers or actors, and has inherited their dramatics, which tend to bother everyone else. He translates his gymnastics and gestures into battle, however, and becomes a competent and flexible warrior. He’s from Magix, especifically from the Soraia District.

Timothy “Timmy” Ayton: A somewhat shy elf, he’s their main gunslinger and long range fighter. Timmy is very smart and confident in his intelligence, and will gleefully correct everyone else once in a while, but he’s insecure in his social skills and sticks to his team most of the time, only occasionally talking to other classmates. He’s their fastest fighter and has a decent skill with daggers, but he sticks with his guns most of the time as none of the other guys are good with aim, especially aim from a distance. He comes from Dolona.

Helia Saladin: he’s the grandson of Headmaster Aure Saladin and is a dropout of Red Fountain. He’s a fervent pacifist and has been since a young age, but went to Red Fountain out of obligation and left the school after a heated argument with his family after the first semester, which he had passed with great scores. He works as a small-time traditional artists and lives in Magix City, but occassionally helps the guys whenever they ask him, thought only as support and healing. He’s the Witch of Alloys with powers over minerals and metal and appears as a Glamourix fairy from the start, earning Enchantix behind the scenes in S4 and getting Altheix at the end of S4. Lynphean-Esperian.

Nabu Grant Daithe: an Andrian noble, he was born and conceived with the sole purpose of marrying the soon-to-be-born Princess Aisha, and was raised since his youth to be king consort. He vehemently opposed the marriage, however, and shortly before their scheduled meeting, he ran away from home and went undercover as Ophir, a young performer working in Magix. We meet him at Charmix level, and earns his Glamourix near the end of S3 when finally confronting his parents alongside Aisha. He gets his Enchantix at the end of S4, and then gets Onyrix during S6. His title is Fairy of Midnight, with power over shadows

Roy Sean: he works for the Andrian Royal Family as their boat driver, and has known Aisha since she was a little girl, when he was still in training. He’s 6-7 years older than the rest of the guys, and makes his first appearance in S3 when ferrying the Winx to Mareia to save Ligea and the merfolk. He’s also a merman, and is a Sorcerer - the Sorcerer of Sea Brezees, with power over wind. He remains in Energix the entirety of the series, since he doesn’t take a very active role unlike the other guys.

[venus-says]

Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart Episodes 01-23

*insert Mayumi Gojo's voice here* MAX HEAAAAAART

(yes, I know I'm late, these past few weeks have been really messy, bare with me please)

Max Heart is a season I never had a lot of memories of, a huge part of the events of this season mixed with the events of Futari wa, for the obvious reasons, so coming to this was a new experience almost like it was my first time, and I enjoyed it.

Everyone knows sequels are very difficult, they rarely surpass their predecessors. I think Max Heart is a good exception to this rule, of course, it may be kinda unfair to affirm this since Max Heart isn't all that different from Futari wa, but I see it as a good improvement to the original. It still has the bad points that Futari wa had, but they managed to pick on the good stuff and bring it up a notch.

I think one of the things Max Heart does better than the original is its overall theme. When you look at Futari wa it's kinda difficult to pin-point what is the main theme it's trying to work, is it good vs evil? is it hope? is it friendship? is it just a nice story of two girls growing up? Maybe it's just to me, but this was never cleared in my mind. In Max Heart, however, I could find a pretty clear theme, at least for this first half.

Max Heart it's a show about emotions, actually, it's a show about people's feelings and (on a pretty small scale) how to understand and empathize with them. And in these first 23 episodes, it has done a pretty decent episode in showcasing different situations where the girls had to stop and think about not only their feelings but in the feelings of the others as well, good examples of this are Episode 13 with Nagisa and her Mom, Episode 17 with Honoka and the members of the science club, Episode 19 with Hikari and Nagisa, and episode 21 with Hikari and that random boy running away from home that appeared in the episode.

The plot this time around feels a bit weird, I don't know if this is the impression the general public has BUT, to me, it felt like they were a bit lost. For example, in the first half of Futari wa, you could clear arcs being made and you could pin-point when an arc started and when an arc ended, in Max hear (much like in the second half of the original season) I couldn't make this distinction. This isn't a problem per se, but the plot does feel wonky at certain times. However, I still like it more than in season 1, there the plot was basically there's this villain trying to end this magical dimension, go defeat that villain. While in Max Heart the plot resolves around trying to revive the Queen before that the villains could resurrect the Dark King, it's simple but it works, it's a more objective goal than in the first season and I think this is the reason why I liked this first portion more than I liked this same period of Futari wa.

The cast of the show has pretty much remained the same, Nagisa and Honoka are still the same characters from Futari wa but you can sense that they've grown and matured a little, a good part of that can be seen as they play the leading roles of their respective clubs and what I like is that they didn't make them magically smarter or more efficient just because they became older, they are there in inspiring positions but they both have their doubts and insecurities that makes it all more real, relatable, and interesting.

Hikari comes as the only new addition to the recurring cast and she's great, she's a bit robotic at times, which is comprehensible after all she's probably an existence that only came to life after the Queen perished, but she still is very cute and a pretty good character. What I love the most is that we're seeing her on a journey of discovering her own self which is something that is always exciting to see. I always had in mind that Hikari was a boring character, but she's actually pretty interesting and a great plus one in the show.

The fairies... are the fairies. Mepple and Mipple didn't change a single bit, they're still the same as they were in episode 1 of the original show. I'm very annoyed at how they reduced the Guardian and the Elder to two game-addicts that exist only to make jokes and give exposition, especially after seeing in the past season how great of a character the Guardian could be. Though I think it evens things when you consider the Heartiels exist in this season and even though their roles aren't all that big they all still have lots of personalities and is a joy to see them, from the ones that appeared so far my is Intelligen because she's a savage and is very fun. The other fairy that helps to balance things out is Pollun, that surprisingly has been the best fairy in this show so far. Since the events of the last season and since him becoming Hikari's partner he has grown quite a lot, the whining is still there, but it feels less annoying because we can see how genuine he is especially when it comes to his relationship with Hikari. I never imagined I'd say this, but Pollun is a good boy and he deserves a pat in the head. XD

Now, if there's one thing the characters department leaves to desire is in the villains. First, we're again going against the Dark King and his followers and that's boring, second their designs are even more generic than the seeds of evil, at least those could work well if you tried to sell them as a co-ed idol group, these ones just look like a mess, none of their designs stand out, THERE'S A GUY WHO'S BASICALLY SHADOW IRUKUBO, THEY ARE THIS LEVEL OF UNIMAGINATIVE I don't even remember their names, it's sad. The only thing they have going on for them is the butler Zakkennas that retain their greatness from season 1, also sometimes it's fun to see the evil guys babysitting the boy that will become the Dark King. Other than that? They're boring as hell.

But if the villains' department has let us down, the visual department was in their best shape! I looooove all of the new designs and updated visuals the sequel got over the original. To begin with, the toys, while none of the devices, collectibles, and miscellaneous items from season 1 awakened my consumerist spirit, most items, if not all of them piqued my interest. From Mepple, Mipple and Pollun new commune forms to even the copy of that notebook they had in season 1 all toys got a very charming design, I think my favorite is the Queen Chairect, I love how extra that thing is and how it both looks like a vanity mirror and the Queen's throne, that's genius. Another thing that was upgraded and I really like are transformations and attacks, I love Black and White's transformation for Max Heart, it's so vivid, so powerful, so dynamic, it's everything their original transformation wanted to be AND MORE. Luminous transformation is quite good as well, is a very good contrast to NagiHono's more active transformation and it's pretty beautiful as well. While we're on this I love the redesign Black and White got, it's not that different from Season 1 but it's enough to make it stand out, I also love that even with Luminous addition they didn't lose this sense of unity in their costumes, they're still very different from each other but there are enough similar elements to tell that they are a team. Whoever was in the design department for precure in 2015 was on top of their game, for sure.

I'd usually end these with a portion dedicated to talking about the episodes in specific, but I already mentioned everything I had to comment on specific episodes here and there during this post so I don't think it's necessary. Instead, I wanna highlight something that I'm not sure if I mentioned in either of my posts about Futari wa that is the music! Sadly there was no insert sing in these episodes and the BGM is more or less the same as the one in the original anime, however, I would feel very bad if I had posted this without mentioning that the Max Heart version of the opening is the best version of DANZEN Futari wa Pretty Cure and nothing you say will make me change my mind. Also, while I still don't like the ending song (both endings are probably the most dated thing out of these seasons) I do think this one is an improvement in comparison with the ED of Futari wa.

In conclusion, Max Heart is a pretty solid sequel, at least up until this point, and I'm very happy I'm rewatching it now, much like with original series I've found a new admiration for this season that I didn't know it existed inside my evil heart, I hope the second half won't drop the ball and make me regret saying these things. XD Anyway, what are your thoughts on Max Heart? Have you rewatched it recently? What were your impressions of it? Let me know down in the comments. If nothing happens the post closing the book on Futari wa must come on Friday or Saturday and I'll be back on schedule for Splash Star on February 5th, let's pray things to go my way in the next few days. I'll see you, folks, around, bye-bye~

[a-animestar]

Latest Anime Series To Watch

6. Violet Evergarden

'Violet Evergarden' is a champion among other anime to turn out recently. It is ostensibly captivating, because of the better than normal craftsmanship and development work. The character plans are unbelievable also. It is connecting with and will catch you till the last scene. The story is OK and the characters are extremely fascinating. Violet Evergarden is a youngster who was raised as a gadget for doing combating in the Great War. She was set up to kill people and wreck foe lines. Regardless, by and by the war is done and Violet doesn't have the foggiest thought what to do. Living with another guardian family didn't work out for her and she starts working in postal help. There she sees an Auto Memory Doll working. Made by the doll fuses deciphering people's thought onto paper. Violet is genuinely moved by this and starts filling in as an Auto Memory Doll herself. This considering takes her on endeavors which will finally prompt self-disclosure.

5. Troll Slayer

If you like you dream anime to be diminish and having heaps of violence and indecency by then go for 'Troll Slayer'. From the principle scene itself, you will recognize what the show will take after. A young priestess needs to transform into a pioneer and hoards a get-together of people to go on her woman experience. Nevertheless, a lot to her consternation what lies past. As the social event starts their experience things turn out gravely as a ton of Goblins attack them. This scene gets savage as the Goblins hack them and attacks one of the people. Regardless, by then a man by the name of Goblin Slayer acts the saint and crushes the mammoths. He is a man who has vowed to kill zombies in any case, with no lament.

4. Sword Art Online: Alicization

'Sword Art Online' is a notable foundation in isekai kind including games as a theme. If you are a fan of the foundation, by then you will value this latest extension to the foundation, 'Sword Art Online: Alicization'. The saint of this anime is Kirigaya Kazuto who winds up in a virtual game-like fairyland. In any case, he has no memory of how he ended up here regardless. In like manner, he doesn't seem to have the choice to log out. As he starts examining the spot checking for specific snippets of data he meets a child by the name of Eugeo. Eugeo is an in-game character anyway he shows emotions like a normal person. Additionally, our legend starts reviewing cherished memories including Eugeo which should not be the circumstance since the latter is a NPC in a game. Moreover, he reviews a blonde youngster by the name of Alice whose name he should not ignore.

Also Check: Bleach Filler List

3. Megalo Box

'Megalo Box' is an uncommon games anime about boxing. The craftsmanship and structure of the anime will give you a lovely vibe. IT has a hip hop sort of vibe to it. The characters are exceptionally charming especially the legend. In case you were scanning for a wonderful games anime which has piles of movement and is in English by then go for 'Megalo Box'. The story turns around boxing which has created as a game and has now become Megalo Box in which players wear extra mechanical assembly to redesign their quality and agility. Follow the life of an underground contender, Junk Dog, who enters the significant relationship with desires for conquering the legend who squashed him in an underground match. Trash Dog isn't equivalent to various warriors be that as it may. He doesn't wear any improving gear.

2. Pixie Tail: Final Series

If you are a devotee of the 'Pixie Tail' anime plan then you will be happy to understand that the areas of the last time of the course of action which is starting at now going on are directly open in English. So far the course of action finale looks incredible. For people who have not seen this anime yet then it is emphatically recommended that they do as such since 'Pixie Tail' is extraordinary among other dream anime out there stacked up with charm, action, and experience. It pivots around the endeavors of the Fairy Tail Guild which is a get-together of mages with mind blowing aptitudes who take on various occupations.

1. Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken

Scanning for an isekai anime in English. By then let me propose you maybe the most sizzling thing in the market right now in that sort, 'Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken'. The story is exceptionally new in spite of the way that the explanation is nothing not exactly equivalent to various other such anime. Satoru Mikami is a standard man in his late thirties. He takes part in a dreadful event where a leaving thief wraps up.

[nealdanderson]

I actually really liked Samus Returns. What were your issues with it? Also, there's always AM2R to fall back on. It's on the Internet forever, whether Nintendo likes it or not

I’m glad you liked it!I have a lot of issues with it, so prepare for a lengthy answer, haha. And just a disclaimer to everyone- I played through the entire game and beat it 100%, so no one can say I didn’t give it a fair shot. Since it is a remake, it can’t be judged as entirely separate from the original, so here goes. Spoilers ahead.1. It largely misses the point of the original. Metroid 2 for the GB is far from a perfect or even great game, but it is an ambitious sequel as far as tone goes. M2 is easily the most ‘horror’ feeling entry in the franchise, and it directly correlates to how to the game treats your objective and how the map is laid out. Metroid 2 doesn’t feel like a heroic quest- you’re playing a character committing mass genocide of a species incapable of intergalactic travel and as she travels increasingly downward through the planet, the more desolate, lifeless and lonely it gets. Upon killing the Queen and finding the Baby Metroid, it is a somber moment and retroactively, the most unique ending in the franchise(no thrilling escape sequence, no enemies…etc.). Samus Returns abandons most of these unique aspects and paints your quest in a generically heroic light, the darker atmosphere is completely done away with, and the ending is totally botched. These tonal problems may only be a problem to a few people, and may come across as nitpicks to many, but I think it’s worth mentioning. 2. The map and item placement doesn’t make for an enjoyable experience. The original Metroid/Zero Mission, Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion have maps that are designed in a clustered fashion, meaning that traversing from one major area to another and backtracking to get previously unobtainable items feels organic and convenient. Metroid 2 on the other hand has a directly linear path descending through SR388. Due to this linearity, the designers didn’t implement the backtracking for items that the series would go on to be known for. I know this is a criticism Metroid 2 often receives, but this approach makes sense given the game’s map design. Samus Returns instead tries to encourage more backtracking, but due to the map not being designed for it, it always feels tedious to go back and find these items(usually normal missile packs that are extremely useless so late in the game). The teleporters only further illustrate the lack of organic interconnectivity the map has and feel like a lazy solution(this is something AM2R handles much much better). Basically, Samus Returns tries to make the original Metroid 2′s map do something it was not designed to accommodate.

3. The enemies and bosses are extremely repetitive, boring and/or tedious to fight. This is definitely a valid complaint and massive oversight on Nintendo’s part–Samus Returns’ enemy variety straight up sucks, which is made more pathetic due to the fact that its 25 year old gameboy predecessor and even the NES original have way more. The parry mechanic is cool to start out with, but after a while, it really becomes the only way to dispatch of enemies, and it is used the exact same way every single time- wait for tell, parry, kill enemy in one hit.  The Metroids, well, let me say that they’ve always been the weakest aspect of Metroid 2- they’re boring, silly looking and really only serve to be an irritation. Samus Returns gives them a much needed visual facelift, but doubles down on how much of a chore they are to fight. Meeting a new Metroid form for the first time was pretty neat, but after fighting your 20th gamma, each fight taking longer than it should, it isn’t any fun. Each encounter is basically a tedious game of waiting for the Metroid to be parried, but if you miss that parry window, it makes the fight drag on way too long. And then to ‘mix up’ the experience a bit, the designers decided to have Gammas run away like cowards mid fight, only for you to play a very irritating game of hide and seek with the damn thing. The few bosses Samus Returns has aren’t that memorable or enjoyable, the robot in particular spends most of the time in a state that can’t be hit(like the Metroids), reducing the fight to being 90% running away and dodging. Ultimately, these boss fights and Metroid encounters don’t feel challenging and feel more like a test of patience.    4. The graphics are rather subpar or inconsistent and the overall aesthetic feels rather uninspired. Some rooms look really cool, while others are just ugly. Samus’ Redesign looks too edgy, haha. I love Super Metroid, it’s my favorite game ever made, but lately, most Metroid games just try to recycle moments, areas and music from it, and it really annoys me. Metroid 2 has a very unique soundtrack, but inevitably, they replace its tunes with more upbeat or heroic remixes, and and its worst, replace tunes with Super Metroid themes. 

5. Ridley. Why. 

—-

So yeah, I’m not saying I don’t like Samus Returns just to be a contrarian, I genuinely found the entire game to be a rather tedious and unenjoyable experience. I will commend the few things it does well- actually implementing different abilities in boss fights(like the spider ball), implemtning new uses for old abilities(spider ball+power bomb), the DS being a perfect fit for Metroid with its map and inventory screens, and the overall engine having a very solid and fluid feel.AM2R handled everything better, and the few things it misses the point of regarding the original Metroid 2, it still handles much better than Samus Returns. Just because AM2R exists and will continue to do so doesn’t make Samus Returns exempt from critique. Even if I thought that Samus Returns’ announcement was badly timed after Nintendo’s DMCA on AM2R(which was completely unnecessary, learn the difference between trademark and copyright), I was still excited that Nintendo, after 13 years, was finally making another 2D Metroid game.  I’m more just disappointed that the company who created this genre, a genre that may be more popular than ever, generally refuse to capitalize on it, and when they do, it’s a sub standard effort. I may be harsh to Nintendo, but they’ve objectively treated this franchise like crap over the past decade, and I have a very hard time trusting them anymore. To those telling me to ‘lol, calm down dude’, like, I’m perfectly calm, I was never planning on ever buying a switch anyway, but Nintendo should seize on the opportunity to mend fences with the gaming community outside of their devoted fanbase(I’m a Metroid fan, but I’ve never been what you’d call a Nintendo fan). Since I’ve never been a Nintendo fan, E3 is really the only gaming event I’m fully aware of, and I felt it was a wasted opportunity for them to even merely mention that Prime 4(which isn’t even it’s final title, lol) was still being worked on.   I highly recommend watching The Gamer’s Toolkit and Gamingbrit’s videos on Samus Returns, they illustrate the gripes I had with the game in ways more eloquent than I could. 

[celtrist]

I actually like how this came out, she was pretty fun to draw. Besides her stupid dress, had difficulties with it for some reason. The funny thing here though is that I wasn't going to continue drawing this until I did her hand, because it looked so darn good, I couldn't let it go to waste. I actually plan on doing a redesign of her for fun, so maybe keep a look out for that. So little talk here. I was talking to my sister one day and we got onto the topic of Sonic 06, a game famous for it's glitches, confusing story, and just bad game play. Although I will admit it's pretty bad and one the worst games in the sonic series, I did enjoy playing it. And I was by myself playing it mind you, which really tells about my low standards. I myself encountered few glitches and kinda RP'd in my head instead of acknowledging the actual story. I mainly remember RPing the Rouge and Silver levels the most for some reason. Anyway, getting back on track, I mentioned to her that I wanted to write something as to how the story could've been better in the game. There was also something about making a comic or story of my take on Sonic 06, and maybe I'll get to it someday, but not today. No, today we'll be taking a look on a character who, many agree, has a weird relationship with the blue blur himself. I'll be looking into her personality/character as well as her relationship with Sonic since, you really cannot gloss over that when you're talking about her. Now I will talk about what I think of the character here and there, but I plan a majority to be on just improving this character, that is to say she needs improvements. So let's start with looks I guess. Which, this will be something that is my opinion. And my opinion is that I enjoy her design. It looks very nice. I mean, one could say it lacks color, but elegance is primarily used with the color white. And Elise is supposed to be elegant. There's really not much to say here. At worst, I just don't think the outfit is exactly interesting. And Elise as a character looks kinda bland. Like, just take her out of those clothes and put her in something else, then she'd just look like an average citizen. I guess you can't do much with human characters when you're comparing them with multicolored creatures. Okay, now that's over, let's get into her actual character. So, instead of saying what her history/personality/etc. is, I'll just direct you to Fandom Power where they explain her personality in detail. All done reading? Your noggin full of information? Alright! So I actually want to address the whole dead parent thing. I don't particularly have a problem with this seeing that they would be pretty pointless to have in the first place. Like, what would they do? Stand around telling Sonic to "Hey, get our daughter back", wow, parents of the year. And it doesn't really effect Elise's character, she isn't going around moping about her parents' deaths. If she is, she better dress up like a bat. With her history leads us to probably her most important moment in her life, having Iblis sealed within her. I, along with plenty, find this stupid. But maybe it's not Iblis being sealed within her is stupid, it's that she cannot cry. Like, that is just something you do not have control of. If you're gonna cry, you're gonna cry. No way around it. Especially when this happened when she was a kid, and kids cry quite a bit in their childhood. I mean, she can't even see some movies because of this probably. I am saying here and now that she probably has not seen The Lion King. But what can we do to fix this? Well, she does have to have some importance besides carrying around a chaos emerald, which she doesn't actually do for too long. I think that sealing Iblis within her, even though it sounds ridiculously dark, should stay. I mean, there really isn't anything else you can do with that. If this isn't it, then Elise is practically useless. I mean, another thing is that Iblis is sealed in like a box or something and Elise is somehow the key. Yeah, really uh, really doesn't sound as interesting. I mean, the only ways she could be 'the key' is either some kind of body/voice scanner or she has to sing a certain song or something. Really, what else is there? But instead of having "she cannot cry" rule, how about we have the "she cannot die" rule. Because one can see how that probably males a little more sense than crying. And y'know what would be kinda cool? Maybe Iblis cannot go 'full form' yet and takes over Elise's body when she's dead? Like, it's just a walking force of destruction with it having SOME powers. Think of the confliction Sonic would have fighting it? It would be interesting I think. Or maybe not, maybe it should just be Iblis just being released and not taking over Elise's body. And here's another thing, don't have her know about Iblis. Just let the 'Iblis being sealed in Elise thing' be uncovered as the game goes on. Why does she need to know? Well, she needs to know in the actual game because of crying and all that, but if the whole crying thing wasn't a problem, why tell her? She has no need to know. It's stated in her personality that she is 'like any typical confused and anxious young woman.', well, things trying to kill her and Eggman going after will make her confused. And hey, she can still get captured by Eggman! He won't know how to release Iblis after all! But hey, let's go back to that personality tid-bit! Her personality, in short, seems uninteresting for this type of character. The whole "She fakes her happiness but is secretly always sad on the inside" seems WAY too edgey. Like, I get it, but come on. But the whole "kind-hearted, sweet, and genuinely cares about her country and its citizens" thing is rather bland as well. Don't get me wrong, I think you can do these characteristics well. It just seems bland to me for Elise. Not to mention, always sad? Did she never have a good birthday party or watch any good mov- oh yeah, she can't watch those. I do like the idea of her having a somewhat unstable mind. I mean, for the Elise in the game, makes a lot of sense. She is the one thing that, with a single tear, would end the world. I'm pretty sure that would make anyone's mindset a little off. But what about for OUR Elise? Well, the off mindset, admittedly, would not make very much sense. Those would be visions where she would have no clue what's going on. But, Iblis could always try to show these images and do other things to her mind to make her, and be aware for a quick mention on a heavy topic, suicidal. But since this is a Sonic game, at most this would be an implied idea. I mean, Sonic games can get dark and metaphorical from time to time, but they don't get into heavy stuff about mentality. Though, seeing Sonic go into an unstable mentality would be interesting... oh, um, m-moving on. I do think her little visions could be optional as they wouldn't effect her character too much besides just being really confused by them. But hey, we never talked about her ACTUAL personality she should have! So, maybe it could just stay with the nice, loving her country personality still, excluding how sad she actually is on the inside part. Or we could have a more... quirky princess. Nice, loves her country, blah, blah, blah, sure, we can keep that. But let's ADD. Elise, maybe, shouldn't be as elegant as she looks. If her time with Sonic was the happiest she has ever been, let's make her crave adventure. She doesn't want to sit on the throne, no! She wants to go and do things out there in the world! Maybe she should act relaxed! And yes, I meant act as in acting. She is an heir to the throne of an entire nation, she'd probably be worried and anxious about all those responsibilities and her image she would have to keep. And as said earlier, maybe she doesn't want to rule? She can still love her country dearly, even giving herself up to protect it, but it doesn't mean she wants to rule. That would give us a bittersweet ending where she still ends up becoming the queen, which she would NOT want, but the world is safe (plus she wouldn't know Sonic, but that's besides the point). Her happiest times would still be with Sonic sense he's taking her on an adventure, something she would have wanted a long time ago. And hey, her time with Sonic would also be the time she finds she doesn't want to be the queen. Maybe she would talk about something she actually wanted to do in her life. Going around the world, maybe something involving a hobby of hers like dancing, singing, writing, drawing, or really anything! Is it that important to the overall story? Well obviously not, but it would be important to Elise's character. Let's move onto what Elise is most known for, crushing on the hedge- I MEAN... actually, that's pretty much it. So I'll start with my thoughts on it. I, admittedly, find them as a somewhat cute 'couple'. What I mean is that I like their relationship going in three ways: - Sonic and Elise and good friends - Elise crushes on Sonic, but sonic doesn't feel the same way - Or the opposite of what I said above, Sonic crushes on Elise, but Elise doesn't feel the same way Have no clue why, but I always like that one-sided love scenario. But allow me to actually defend the duo being in a relationship. So, in our standards as humans of THIS world, animals and people should not go together, which they really shouldn't. Bestiality is very wrong. BUT, think of THEIR world. A world filled with both humans and mobians, animals that are essentially human. I'm sure, in their world, there have been plenty of couples made up of one mobian and one human. It may be weird to us, but think about it. Would it be specieist/racist to say "Those two shouldn't be able to be a couple legally?" They are BOTH sentient beings who act the same. Just, one has a tail and ears. In fact, I'm sure there's debate on this topic in their world. But, that's a WHOLE other topic we can discuss later. I will say that, in no way am I supporting bestiality. It's not right, and it's just really gross and- ugh, I don't even have the words. But I'm thinking in terms of the Sonic world, it's fairly normal or at least there's sides that say mobians and humans should not go together while others say its fine. Plus, they are video game characters. But I'll just go ahead and drop that topic here. I feel like I talked about it more than needed. But to make this short, I think the best decision would to be just keep them as friends to avoid, well, what happened with the complaints and such. I personally am fine with one of the three relationships I like, but that's because I like all three of those scenarios. But um, maybe no kissing at the end. That was really weird still and doesn't make much sense. Plus, she'd be too dead to kiss Sonic if we're going by the Elise we made. Now, this WAS going to be the part where I actually would talk about some possible gameplay for her! Yes, I imagine our Elise to be somewhat playable! But, I'll save that for the redesign I plan because this is getting LONG.  I know I left out somethings like "If Elise is dead and/or possessed by Iblis, how does she reset the world?" or "Should the aesthetics change?", which to that last one I'll answer now. I imagine our Elise, and essentially our Sonic 06, wouldn't answer the question of "What would it be like if sonic was in our world?" I already know that, they would be terrifying. I think it would be better to maybe go off on a more Sonic/cartoony look, maybe like Sonic unleashed. But, what about your thoughts? I'm sure I could've done her personality better, maybe give your thoughts on that or any other part of the Elise I described? Or maybe you have YOUR own idea for how Elise should be, go on and share it then! Or maybe Elise is nonredeemable to you? Why don't you tell us why? Or, is Elise already great as is? I'm sure you all have your own opinion on the relationship between her and Sonic! I can't wait to read what you all have to say and will try to respond as best I can!

[akumageist]

Gonna Analyze all the Devilman Media

You can totally ignore this, I'm just comparing elements I liked and didn't like. The good news is they all contain both, so it's an even playing field!

Devilman Manga (1972):

Alright this is the original core story, and I really adore Mr. Nagai for writing such an intense and powerful story. EDIT: Apparently Ryou wasn't even supposed to be Satan and was supposed to DIE and THEN Devilman was born, so all the foreshadowing/plot twist was total bullshit and frankly that really crushed me. I respect Mr. Nagai in a different way now, but..... man, I really liked it better as this huge intense plot....

Akira was portrayed as a crybaby in the manga, so I'm happy to see that change in character! But unfortunately once he became a demon he lost that intense compassion and became a sort of basic hero in my opinion, so that was a little disappointing.

I liked how Mr. Nagai also mentioned real life problems. There was an an entire page of humans accusing each other of being the next to become demons, and it was exactly as you expected; choosing eachother based on evil hate that had nothing to do with actually becoming demons. I liked how Nagai had humans react, clearly portraying how evil humanity was, and exactly what would happen if something like this happened in the real world. I fuckin love super heroes, but goddammit humanity would never come together as efficiently as we (and Akira) hope.

I LOVED how Akira realized humans weren't worth saving. I loved how he saw that humans were destroying each other and were just as bad as demons, and that Akira literally said he was ashamed to be trying to save them, and that there was truly nothing in the world left to save. I'm always a sucker for a hardcore optimistic character getting shot the fuck down, so that's also a factor, eheh.

I disliked Miki. She was funny as hell, but she was an absolute fuckin useless character. She didn't care for Akira until he demoned out, so she only genuinely liked him for being so "manly". She could have been cut clean out and it wouldn't have changed the story. I did like how she fought back, though. Less Good Little Christian Girl, and more able to stand her own ground. She fought literally to death.

I disliked that Akira acted as though she was so great, she was so important, but we never had any basis for this because of her lack of character, and therefore were going off of Akira ~~suddenly~~ caring about her deeply when everyone else was dead.

I disliked Jinmen's victim was some random girl that suddenly showed up and supposedly meant a lot to Akira. We never knew her because she died on the train two fuckin pages later, and again, had to take Akira's word for how much she mattered.

I LOVED how Satan repented, apologizing to Akira for doing exactly what God had done to the demons in his rage, trying to defend the demons against God. I didn’t like that Akira’s death was so lackluster. His last words are “the moon...”, but you never see how he died. And when Satan reacts, he’s clearly sad, but seems... still too calm about it. But it could simply be the outdated manga style.

Devilman TV Series (1972):

Sorry folks it just doesn't follow the actual story at all and I can't say I liked it all that much? Basically just Miki being a damsel in distress and Amon, who is possessing Akira and falls in love with her, rescuing her and fending off demons who are mad he's protecting and staying with humans.

BUT it gave us Devilman No Uta and for that I am forever grateful. Plus it was entertaining, so I mean!

Devilman OVA (1987-1996)

Went pretty much by the manga, so the same factors kind of stick for a bit. With Jinmen, however, it was his mom, who was killed in the ice caverns they resussitated the demons from. I LOVE JINMEN. He is my favorite Devilman villain, because of this scene. He taunts Akira because the faces are still alive, and Akira would be the one to kill them. Akira must fight his own morals to know that they are suffering.

It is a tragic scene when Akira is crying naked after he defeats Jinmen because of what he had to do. No other Devilman media has given such a powerful potrayal.

I didn't like Miki's weird interactions, they made her out to be in love with Akira but Akira... not really like her again...? It was a little more weird and perverted in this version on both sides.

Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman

This is heavily based on Amon: Darkside of Devilman but goes on a totally different tangent! I'm really gay for Amon so this was a treat to see big red fuzzy demon boy (who looked arguably cooler in the anime than the manga, whoops)

It was still kind of random and you really would have to know everything else about Devilman to een follow this one, because the entire thing was the first chapter of DOD, revolving around Akira being trapped in Amon.

I LOVED when Akira saw Miki dead HE FUCKIN OBLITERATED THE ATTACKERS BY HAND and the scene cuts to him just dropping a body part into a fuckin lake of blood surrounding him. It was powerful and angry and raw emotion, and it made Miki's death more powerful to the viewer in this version, because you saw just how angry Akira was over it.

That being said, I didn't like how Miki and Akira's relationship was in this, with Akira seeing a weird in-school dream with Miki, and him telling her it was all his fault she was dead. She kisses him and idk something about it wakes him up? It was powerful but random, because it really insinuated there was this whole love story that wasn't actually there..?? I think everyone remaking Devilman just really wanted Akira and Miki to be a bigger thing than it was...?

The Amon vs Akira fight scene was wayy extra too, he legit just kept fucking punching him and there was no build up AND THEN IT CUT TO AMON BEING DEFEATED that was dumb af not gonna lie

Again, only loosely based on DOD so I really dunno what they were going for in this.

Amon: Darkside Of Devilman:

Arguably my FAVORITE Devilman media, even if it’s more of a “behind the scenes” edition. I really liked the fact it hyper focused on Amon and Satan's past, building their characters and giving you a soft spot for Satan. It also painted angels as not "good" but just obsessed with purity, and all in all, makes you question God's authority.

It made me fall head over heels for Silene, who I unfortunately did not care much for at all up until this point. It also portrays demons as just as emotional as humans, and is very important for the reader to understand demons aren't the sinister barbarians they were painted as in the other versions by humans.

The only downfall I suppose was a kind of confusing main antagonist. And maybe that was deliberate, so I won't go too much into that.

I LOVED Satan actively defending Akira against Amon, and admitting again his love for Akira “Do you love someone so much you would destroy the world for them?” This version of Satan is my favorite. A lot of it is him sulking over Akira not loving him back, and being tender towards Akira. As mentioned, it really expands him as a character.

Devilman Crybaby:

Aaaandd last but definitely not least!

I liked how Akira was portrayed as a tiny baby child who ran fuckin, track and field and no one gave a damn about him. Even in the small amount of time, he was portrayed as a sweet kid who would defend any of his friends at the blink of an eye. He's such a good boy in every version, but this version of Baby Akira takes the bait for #glowup but remaining pure.

I liked how Akira was still a big fat crybaby, crying for others and seeing straight through emotion lies. He was still a good boy despite being all demoned out, and stayed confident in humanity till the very end, which I adored because it made you feel it 10 times harder when you saw everything be ripped away from Akira and watched him crumble, but hold strong.

I LOVED how Miki was his friend before everything, and that throughout she was constantly reassuring Akira she was there for him. It made her all the more important to the viewer, because we fell in love with her! Not to mention her innocence and naïevity but strong belief in humanity made you WANT to root for her. She was so genuine.

I liked how Miko was a huge character in this, seeing as the only other time was in DOD and AOD, which she was the boob-hole chick they showed in the very end of Crybaby. I liked how they redesigned her so majorly, bringing light and giving you yet another character to fall in love with even if you weren't always sure of her intentions.

I LOVED Taro's death in this. It was the most powerful, and the most heartbreaking. I wasn't sure if you were supposed to like Akira's parents personably, but I didn't because they had a child and proceeded to travel the world and leave him with family friends, hardly knowing him aside from occasional visits. Akira's finded fucking memory with his mother was her teaching him how to TIE HIS SHOES!

It did in fact make Jinmen a slightly more powerful villain, dealing with the possession of his father and the murder of his mother, however I was disappointed Jinmen didn't have that "they're still alive... i didn't kill them, you are!" Factor to him as he always did. It really ruined the 

It was still hard, but easier for the viewer to not care, seeing as they were telling Akira they were already dead anyway. Jinmen was also a slightly bigger feat in the other ones because of this.

I hated all the sex scenes. Unnecessary and uncomfortable, the first 3 episodes make you want to turn it off. The first episode I was in love, but the second, I began questioning if I should keep watching if this anime was always gonna be a sex fest. Not because I’m such a prude, but jesus christ we get it already.

It was in no other media, and I really think it was just for a weird sort of "sex and gore" shock value. It was offputting for Akira, kicking his sex drive into high gear and almost portraying him as a creep to Miki, AND RAPING SILENE?? She was in fact asking for it, and she was evil, but that was uncalled for and once again not based off any other Devilman media.

I HATED Silene's arc, in no other media was she in love with Amon, in no other media did she fuck Akira. I legit skipped the scene because I didn't like the fact they randomly through more and unecessary porn, especially between a 17 y/o and a clearly much older demon who was in love with his demon not him ??? which was hardly a canon fact, but rather, a joke other Devilman media played off of insinuating that’s why she was angry at Akira. It really put a damper on Silene as a character too, you saw her as this big pervert instead of just absolutely hating Amon for no clear reason as she always had in the past.

I always love Kaim and Silene's story, but I liked how Akira actively pointed out to Ryo that they had been in love, and had felt love. This was a great refefence to Ryo and Akira towards each other, but also a good character build.

I liked Miki’s death in this one. Really gripping and tragic and close to her original death. I also loved Akira’s choked sobs when he saw her head on a stick. That hurt.

I understand a hero to the end is tragic in and of itself, but I much prefer Akira losing his faith in humanity. I didn’t like “they were frightened, Ryo!” But I did like Akira saying he wanted to cry for Satan, but couldn’t.

[holydragon2808]

Thoughts on The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars (Part One)

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything original on my blog about The Legend of Korra (or just anything original period). I’ve reblogged several Avatar related posts and art (as well as things from other fandoms), but I haven’t posted hardly anything myself since the Book 4 finale! I’ll just take a moment to wave hello to anyone still following this blog and my fellow Avatar buddies (Waves enthusiastically!). S’up Peeps! OH and if you’ve yet to read the Comic, don’t read any further than this because SPOILERS! I’m pretty sure most in the fandom have read them but just in case.

 I’m a bit late to the party I know, but I wanted to get my thoughts together before I posted anything. I have to say that I was really happy with this comic book overall. They’re off to a fantastic and engaging start with this story. With the ATLA comics I felt like those were just side stories or expansions. Interesting side stories/expansions granted, but really not just vital to anything (just IMO). ATLA concluded pretty soundly overall in its own right. With Turf Wars taking place immediately after the last scene with Korra and Asami walking into the spirit portal (and TLoK having far more loose plot ends to tie up than ATLA in general), this actually didn’t feel like just a comic book. It felt like it could have been a real animated episode. They seriously could have added “Book Five” to the title and gotten away with it.

Korra and Asami’s little getaway was exactly like I was hoping for with the two of them having a good time after everything they’ve both been through. From their friendly competitions and playful ribbing at each other, to their first shared kiss (Korrasami shippers squeal lol) to the two of them confiding in each other on exactly when and how they both realized they loved the other, and so on. That Spirit Mountain or whatever he was acted kind of bitchy though. It’s okay though Korra. In your own words about the Dragon Bird spirit “ I think it can sense where I am. Not EVERY spirit hates me” lol.

 Anyway, thanks to the grumpy mountain, Korra and Asami are forced to cut their vacation short and return to Republic City because they lost their supplies in all the chaos. Before that though, Korra wants to take a trip to the South Pole via the Southern Spirit Portal to visit her parents and tell them about their official romantic relationship and their “sounds fun” lol vacation. Asami has a few reservations about all of that but Korra is just too excited to really pay attention at the moment. So Korra and Asami “come out” to Tonraq and Senna. They’re surprised at the unexpected news (from their perspective) at first, but then were all “Yay! That’s cool! I’m so happy for you both! We couldn’t be more proud!” etc., which is pretty much how the fandom expected them to take it so no real surprise there.

 I do like that after the argument that took place between Korra and her parents, once Asami pointed out a different perspective on the matter (and provided a better understanding for Korra on what exactly Tonraq and Senna were really trying to get at), Korra was immediately able to step back, admit she was wrong to not take Asami’s feelings into consideration (and admit that Tonraq was right about her overly excitable nature leading to rash outbursts at times) and apologize, a FAR CRY from her Book 1 and Book 2 (pre Avatar Wan) days when she had difficulty accepting criticism/other perspectives until she was neck deep in trouble.

 I’m hoping we see more of both the positives and negatives of Korra’s overly excitable, openly passionate nature paired with Asami’s more reserved, patient and logical one in the future (as well as Tonraq and Senna making more appearances and Korra getting the chance to reconcile with them) and how they will work through it overall. Notably, Korra doesn’t just rush off to tell anyone else either without making sure she and Asami both are on the same page about it. They sort of well….”out” themselves to their friends near the end but more on that later lol.

Anyway, the minute our favorite couple steps out of the new spirit portal in the middle of Republic City, the world wastes no time reminding both of them (as well as the audience) of their responsibilities as well as the devastation Kuvira’s attack on Republic City had on the populace. Then this greedy guy named Wonyong Kuem is trying to seize his property back from the spirits. He may be technically right LEGALLY but at this point, he’s hardly the only one who’s life has been uprooted by the unexpected new spirit portal and he’s hardly the only one who’s lost property because of it so he just comes across as a greedy sleazebag (which was basically intentional so yeah lol).

Not to mention that while I do agree that the Spirit World in general should be more welcoming of humans (Heck, before Kuvira’s attack the citizens of Republic City, with Future Industries leadership, completely redesigned the city’s infrastructure just to accommodate the spirits better and welcome them. None of them have done the same for their own world nor did they bother to help with the Kuvira crisis either), a tourist attraction with people like Kuem is not the best way to go about it…Good on Avatar Korra for showing this guy who’s boss, though as she and the Airbenders suspect, he’ll probably be back.  His type always comes back….

It also was somewhat satisfying that the spirits are getting some well-deserved karma thrown back at them. They hate the spirit portal and try to urge Korra to close it but she’s quick to point out that had they helped out with Kuvira to begin with, the spirit portal may not exist right now. They realize that they can’t make her close the portal so in Korra’s own words, they’re just going to have to “deal with it”. Korra seems to believe from the bottom of her heart that Spirits and Humans can one day live together in harmony and she’s willing to stand her ground. I’m hoping the Spirits in general will one day stop looking down on humans on principle and put more effort into making both worlds a place where they can all belong or at the very least be civil. Turf wars (in the plural) indeed….

Meanwhile, even more trouble is brewing on the horizon with the Triple Threat Triads, The Creeping Crystals, the Agni Kais, and every other Republic City gang is on the rise with the Triple Threats gaining ground as we’re introduced to the main antagonist for this trilogy: Tokuga. Let me just say that this guy can seriously throw down (Hooked swords make a reappearance in addition to chi blocking) and is an awesome (but somewhat frightening) reminder that a person does not have to be a bender in this world to be a ruthless and cutthroat badass. I’m glad that the antagonist in question isn’t another bender. Nothing against them (we’ve had some good ones from both series) but it’s just great to finally break the mold here in a way that works. The Triple Threats finally getting a serious chance to shine and show just how badass they can be is a welcome plus as well. Two-Toed Ping is worried about his life being in serious jeopardy just for name-dropping Tokuga during Mako and Lin’s interrogation.

Speaking of the police force, I’m happy that Bolin joined along with his brother. It gives the police force some serious raw power at their disposal with Bolin being a Lavabender and it gives him a chance to truly shine without all the drama of his previous job with Kuvira (and shows he’s earned back his good will with his friends and family). Nice to see the bending brothers back together again. Loved both of the brothers’ interactions with Two-Toed Ping as they were taking him back to the station. Ping is genuinely proud of both of them for making something of themselves. Bolin being Bolin thanks him in stride while Mako just tells him to shut it lol. Good to know some things never change.

Back at the refugee camp we get yet more evidence of the sheer devastation Kuvira’s weapon (and Team Avatar’s attempts to stop it) having irreparable damage on the city and leaving hundreds of people homeless. About the only humorous thing taken from all of this is that President Raiko’s approval rating is -3. That’s too funny! I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m SO voting for either Poki or Zhu Li (or both they should team up!) for the next president lol. Just think of what they could do for the city! Gotta love Raiko’s new campaign slogan “Vote Raiko! He’ll wallop tyranny with a knockout blow! (I’m like Korra….wut? lol). But credit where it’s due. At least even he admits to his campaign manager that the slogan is ridiculous lol. He’s still pretty incompetent though. When you’re required an explanation on how  rebuilding homes for the populace would restore your own good will to the common folk after they’ve been rendered homeless…yeah…he’s more concerned with keeping his job rather than actually doing it….I’m seriously hoping for Poki. Zhu Li for a more practical candidate but Poki’s good too. Meelo can be the advisor. Republic City would either have absolutely NOTHING to worry about with this trio in charge, or EVERYTHING to worry about with this trio in charge. There would be NO middle ground whatsoever lol.

It’s also nice to see that despite their newfound hardships, the refugees aren’t blaming Korra for everything this time like during the beginning of book 3. They’re grateful to be alive and know it’s all thanks to Korra and her friends and they’re happy to see her again. She offers to help the displaced refugees in any way that she can and quickly begins to find herself overwhelmed. Just when it seems like she’ll be forced to leave (and they begin to riot or something), she doesn’t want to leave as Tenzin suggests. I’m going to post what she tells the refugees because there’s no way I can say it better and it deserves recognition in its own right:

Everyone! Please Listen! I feel for all of you. You’ve all been through so much and I’m sure you’re all tired, frustrated, and angry that you’re homes and neighborhoods have been destroyed. This is a time for great change for all of us in Republic City! But a wise man once told me that change could be good or bad depending on your point of view. So maybe we could all look at this as a chance for a new beginning.

I promise to work my hardest to make sure everyone has a place to live soon. My hope is that the rebuilt Republic City will be full of new possibilities for all of us. Together, we can forge a bright future, living in balance with our planet, evolving into our best selves, and becoming who we truly want to be!

Cue the audience cheering for her and the future.

This girl….no. This young woman…I just can’t right now. As I said before, she truly believes in this vision of unity and balance between humans and spirits with all her heart and soul and she is willing to work and fight for it. We saw shades of this Avatar Korra in the book 2 finale when she gave the speech about the Southern Water Tribe being independent and forging a new path for the future. But to see her now after the hell she was subjected to in the book 3 finale and 3/4s of book four…Avatar Korra has come a long way indeed both with her own struggles and being able to truly inspire people. And we get to see that here with her words spoken with an eloquence we haven’t heard in over two seasons. Just beautiful and Tenzin’s expression as if he’s holding back tears just seals the deal. Couldn’t be more proud of her.

Anyway, after the refugee camp visit, Korra and Asami are back on Air Temple Island standing in a very familiar gazebo admiring the sunset. Kya’s “officially” out as a lesbian in the actual universe (rather than just Word of God) but of course we already knew that. It’s also nice to note that a few characters in the canon suspected Korra and Asami had feeling for each other either before the vacation or shortly after. Good to know that they’ll have an older confidante. Kya also gives us more insight on how homosexuality is viewed by the Avatarverse at large with the official canon more or less matching up with a lot of fandom speculations before the reveal. The Air nomads didn’t/don’t give a shit (which well, duh element of freedom and all), the Fire Nation didn’t care all that much either until Sozin came along and outlawed same sex pairings. Guess we can add that to his jerkbender list….The Water Tribes don’t disown people for it but are private about family matters in general. Interestingly enough, it’s the Earth Kingdom that’s the most openly against it though maybe things are a bit different now than in Avatar Kyoshi’s time who was revealed to be bisexual and couldn’t really change things on that front. I think Kya said it best regarding Korrasami, it’s ultimately their story and they’ll know when the time will come to spread the news.

Speaking of spreading the news, Mako and Bolin come by to visit them. The core Team Avatar is back together! Korra and Bolin hug a bit while Mako and Asami hug (the Borra shipper in me squealed a bit lol. Those two always had an easy friendship. More Borra friendship moments please lol). However, this time Korra asks Asami if she’s ready to tell the boys (to not have another situation like what went down with Korra’s parents and not taking Asami’s feelings into consideration), showing that Korra does indeed learn from her mistakes. Just when they’re getting ready to tell them Jinora interrupts via astral projection because the Triple Threat Triads are threatening the new spirit portal (Dammit Jinora! Dammit Triple Threats I wanted to see the boys’ reaction (particularly Mako’s) was my initial reaction).

But I instantly forgave it with seeing Team Avatar’s first confrontation with Tokuga (as well as seeing how Korra and Asami out themselves to their friends anyway but again, more on that later lol). Ghazan’s signature Lava Shuriken makes an appearance! Well done Bolin! It was awesome to see this move return, but even more awesome and heartwarming was that this truly being the moment where Mako accepts Bolin as an equal partner rather than just his kid brother he feels he has to watch out for.

Things really get crazy when the spirits show up and start attacking people because apparently Korra and her friends weren’t doing a well enough job protecting the portal. Korra tries her best to reason with the stubborn (serpent, snake?) spirit but before she can gain any ground with that, Asami is overwhelmed by a group of benders and Korra immediately rushes to her rescue. Though, by choosing to aid Asami, the wrathful snake spirit goes after Tokuga and gives the audience a rather frightening call back to the Avatar Wan episodes.  Spirits can enter a human body and reshape their anatomy to where they take on physical attributes of the spirit in question. We saw that twice in the Avatar Wan episodes (with Yao and that unlucky hunter). This spirit really screws over Tokuga but it’s not like he didn’t have it coming. Though needless to say, Korra (understandably) choosing to aid Asami and not being able to stop that spirit from turning Tokuga into a mutated freak is probably going to come back to bite her in the ass. The Triple Threats end up retreating afterwards and Korra checks on Asami and they share yet another kiss but this time in front of their friends. They all reacted pretty much how I expected. Bolin being happy about getting his “gossip” fill (and calling for double dates already lol), Opal and Jinora being supportive and Mako being a bit awkwardly out of sorts with it but not against it. Don’t worry Mako. You’ll find your special someone someday. (I’m hoping we get more comics after Turf Wars. Would like to see him paired with the Fire Lord’s daughter as originally intended as well as seeing the Fire Nation and the fractured Earth Kingdom).

Anyway, apparently the Triple Threats and Keum (again his type always come back) were working together. The latter was trying to reclaim his land by getting the Triple Threats to intimidate the Airbenders to leave. Tokuga is rightfully pissed about what happened to him and takes over Keum Enterprises as retribution. Mutated or no, this guy is not one to be tried. Looking forward to seeing where all the plot threads will meet.

Overall, I’d say Mike and the rest of the team here are off to a great start with this comic. Korrasami is prevalent, but without pulling focus from the main threat/plot (THANK YOU). They clearly learned from the Book 1 and 2 days. Everything seems to be tying together and paced rather evenly and everyone is in character. Korra is depicted as the inspirational Avatar she was born to be if still a bit impulsive at times, Asami is the calming, rational presence in their relationship and out, Bolin is still the loveable goofball (but badass Lavabender), and Mako is still the socially awkward but competent cop (even with a bunk arm right now) and so on. The artwork is incredible to me. Irene Koh outdid herself IMO. The vibrant colors, the characters, (the spirit world pages were some of my favorites), it really does feel like a legitimate continuation on exactly where the show left off. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m looking forward to part two.

[walrusguy]

okay i was just writeing my thoughts on bionic commando and i accidentally made a rough draft for my video so uh yeah sure ok (big post worning)

bionic commando (arcade): obviously props to this game for introducing the whole grappling concept that defines the series but there’s nothing enjoyable here, and really not much to talk about. a classic example of unfair mid-80s arcade quarter-munching gameplay

bionic commando (NES): incredibly unique and genuinely challenging game for its time, and still manages to hold up somewhat well. controls with the bionic arm grappling are very nice and the level design is absolutely fantastic. i might also add that for 1988, this game has surprisingly good presentation! very good colors and music, though enemy sounds often drown out some of the better tunes. :/ despite bad translation, none of the dialogue is ever misleading or cryptic, which is a huge plus for an nes adventure game. i love the subtle open-ness you’re given with the area map, as while you do have to complete a chunk of stages to progress further, you ARE able to tackle each stage in that section in whichever order you please, allowing you to plan your route around prioritizing items to make certain stages easier or just play in a straightforward manner. i think the way the health system works in this game is genius even if it does require “grinding” in some fashion, but i’m not a big fan of how few extra lives there are in the whole game (luckily it’s super easy to get continues from the overhead levels) i also honestly have no big problem with the fact that you have to pick one weapon and item per stage except that the rocket launcher and health recovery pills make every other weapon and item obsolete with how early you obtain them, effectively nerfing what should be a largely important mechanic. also should probably note that most of the enemies in the game can be a pain in the ass sometimes, and there aren’t many “real” boss fights, sadly. overall i think this is a very good and very challenging game, but i’d mostly recommend it to retro game fans, as it can be a little overwhelming at times.

bionic commando rearmed: essentially the “zero mission” of bionic commando, this game is a well-done remake that removes many of the features from the original seen as “clunky and slow” in favor of just having a fun platformer. most of the level design is kept the same from the original game, but with added obstacles and secret areas, which works in its favor for sure. the grappling mechanics aren’t too heavily changed from the nes original, but they do feel a lot smoother and you won’t make as many mistakes during long platforming sequences as you swing from one end to the other. another thing that wasn’t changed much was the general aesthetic, as the stages take the same neon colors as the nes game and it honestly looks beautiful. many of the enemies are redesigned and given new ai, and you don’t take damage from simply touching them anymore (thank god), making them still formidable obstacles, but not frustrating and annoying to deal with. the new mechanic of items being passive things which are always equipped once you obtain them rather than having to be carried one at a time is something both good and bad, as i like the concept of upgrades that simply strengthen your character as you move a long, but the original concept of strategizing around the items is completely gone. also of note is that weapons can be switched between while playing through stages, which i actually welcome wholeheartedly as the weapons have been made much more unique and balanced, and are now attributed to an enemy weakness system (robots are weaker to a plasma rifle whereas people are weaker to bullets, etc). the health is another thing which has now been streamlined, becoming a simple lifebar as opposed to incremental level-based health, making the early stages quite a bit easier (a needed change imo) and removing the need for grinding of any kind. finally, the bosses in this game are fantastic, actually requiring the player to swing around the environment or grapple onto the boss itself, something which really only happened once in the original. while many aspects have been dumbed down from the original BC, overall i think this is a great game in its own right and i recommend it to anyone who likes 2d/2.5d platformers. Good game

im not even g=nna bother writing about 2k9 right now fuck i didnt realize how long this was

[booksandchainmail]

banner redesign, aka whats new in queer girl genre ya!

Its been a good late winter/spring/early summer for scifi/fantasy ya with queer girl protagonists! Five novels plus a novella that I’m counting for this because i am willing to stretch any and all self-imposed categories to their limits in order to have more books. In personal order of enjoyment, they are:

The Edge of the Abyss: the sequel to TASU, which is one of my all time top yasffqfp books. This really followed up on the (spoilery) situation established by the first, and elaborated on how the pirate society works. The increase in pirates and sea monsters was appreciated, the romance was compelling, the morality was gray and nuanced. I honestly can’t say much about this without spoiling the first book, so I’ll just say that it’s a worthy sequel and brilliant book in its own right. 

Dreadnought: superhero story! The third ever queer ya superhero novel, the second with a female protagonist, and the first with a trans protagonist. The superpowers were well done, even those that could have been overpowered. The world was also interesting, with the gap between the official superhero team and street level vigilantes. The book also was split nicely between character development, personal challenges, detective-work/worldbuilding, and big action scenes. A lot of the story deals with the transmisogyny the protagonist faces, and the lack of support she is given, so it can be hard to read at times, but the narrative fully supports Danny standing up for herself/finding freedom and safety, and theres a happy ending with hints of f/f romance and a sequel on the way. One of the major themes of the novel was that you are entirely justified in setting boundaries and standing up for yourself, even when it’s not convenient for others, which was nice to read. By no means a fluffy/feelgood read, but an excellent book with a compelling protagonist and character arc.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones: where to even start. This is a companion to Every Heart a Doorway, and can be read in either order, though they both spoil each other. I went in knowing the basic plot and how it would end, but it still blew me away. The whole book is sort of tragedy-horror, and the way the emotionally abusive and neglectful environment the protagonists grow up in is presented as a horror story is chilling, as is the later vampire. The writing is absolutely amazing, and both the worlds are portrayed beautifully. This book has one of my all-time favorite mad scientist portrayals (which is a weirdly large category for me). The only reason this isn’t higher on the list is because it’s a novella rather than full novel, and because the f/f romance doesn’t end happily, though it’s rather open-ended, especially if you’ve read EHaD. An incredible coming-of-age story with a bi protagonist with OCD (both #OwnVoices) that expands perfectly on both the characters of Jack and Jill and the worldbuilding of EHaD. 

Island of Exiles: A well done deathworld complete with cultlike religion, universal military training, lots of weaponry, exciting fauna, and destructive weather. Surprisingly for a ya novel, the main character’s stated primary motivation being her brother wasn’t dropped the minute the love interest stepped on page. A genuinely mysterious mystery, consistently likeable and engaging characters, plot twists i didn’t see coming, a male love interest I didn’t hate: all bars that most ya novels dont meet. The central romance is m/f, but the protagonist is canonically bi (though I would have appreciated it being mentioned a bit more, as it ended up being the literary equivalent of blink and youll miss it), and the fantasy society assumes bisexuality as default, has three genders (with major nb supporting characters, and recognizes and accepts ace/aro people, so in general good rep, and a fun and compelling read. 

The Cursed Queen: This is a companion to the following books, and can be read independently, though it spoils some parts of its predecessor. A solid f/f romance with plenty of character development as the protagonist has to reconcile truths about her love interest, her culture, and herself. If you ever wanting lesbian/bi fantasy!vikings they’re here, as well as an examination of the morality of raiding cultures and conquest, plus reflection on the position of those adopted into a violently dominating culture. Even as the protagonist made bad choices, it was always clear how she was coming at them from a very different worldview than the readers. The world building and magic system remains solid, the morality is interesting, and the only reason this isn’t higher is because this was an exceptionally strong season. 

The Imposter Queen: It was a hard call putting this last, but in the end the world of this series engaged me less than the others, and I felt the plot dragged a little in this. Objectively, this is probably a stronger novel than its companion, but the main romance is m/f, which brought it down a bit. That being said, it’s very clear that the protagonist is bi, and she gets to talk about her sexuality and have it be respected. The magic system was interesting, and the whole novel worked as a sort of anti-chosen one story, and showed the damage that not being selected for something you’ve worked all your life for can do. One of my favorite things about this series is that the protagonists are given time to feel and process trauma, which is rare in ya. 

Still have to get my hands on a few other new-ish releases, but then there’s at least one more yasffqfp coming out this summer, plus several more in the fall, and several more due sequels in the next year or so, so things are looking good!