#i guess it's behind the English dub then

[diseasedcube]

OMG TYE GERMAN DUB CAME OUT

[flame2ashes]

I'm finally watching the Night on the Galactic Railroad movie, but first I wanted to watch the scene where Campanella leaves the train and it's just. The way he looks out the window and says "There's the field of the true Heaven. My mother is waiting for me there" while Giovanni looks out the window and sees just a void. And it's like he keeps trying to look at what Campanella's looking at while saying "We'll always be together, right...?" and when he looks back, Campanella is leaving the train. And Giovanni can't do anything but watch him walk away into the void

And then when he gets back and finds out about what happened to Campanella, Giovanni looks up at the sky and says, "I know Campanella's out there. At the edge of the universe. I know because we explored it together."

Anyway I got emotional and thought about the Jane and Garrus drawing again

[u5an5]

Just watched Deadpool & Wolverine with polish subs based on dub and I have to be honest, there's much more funny stuff than I expected, considering that the rest of it made me glad I'm not watching it with actual dub

So, things that picked my interest:

Instead "207 when I watch Gossip Girl" he straight up says "207 when I watch porn" (Gossip Girl isn't especialy popular show here so reference wouldn't mean anything for majority of audience anyway, but to straight up say it instead replacing it?)

"Ok peanut, 'guess we're getting that team-up after all" got replaced with "Okej ptysiu, nie ma to jak seks grupowy", which translates to "Okay cutiepie, nothing better than group sex" (??? we're still in the first 5 minutes of the movie)

"you know what they say, when one door closes, your locker at work opens" translated to "Jak to mówią… Jak zamykają od przodu, to ładujesz się od tyłu" which translates roughly to "Like they say... when they close the front, you get in the behind" which I find kinda funny

Peters line about seeing Wade in suit comes of gayish cause he doesn't say he wants to see him in the suit again, he wants to LOOK at him in it again, you know what I mean

intead "This guy looks ready to throw it all away for me" he says "This cutie would gladly get hugged by my bowels" which is a lot more straightforward than I expected

Wades spiel to comic acurate height Wolverine is much more insulting and instead being all "what a cwute short king you awe" translates to "Oh fuck, a furball dwarf? Was there even dwarf like that? Furballs mommy drank lots of booze when she was pregnant? Maybe daddy was a ratferret? Don't even come near me, 'cause you surely have ticks"

"I need you to come with me, right now" to "Zapraszam cię na randke, i to natychmiast" meaning "I invite you to a date, and I mean right now" (Logan replies with "Złotko, nie kręci mnie to" which translates to "Sweetie, I'm not diggin' it" and by "it" I'm honestly not sure if he means Wade himself, the fact that Wade said he's only here because he's the Wolverine just a second ago, or because his suit looks like fetish gear)

"It's quite common to Wolverines after 40" to "It's normal when going trough menopause, I get it"

they replaced "peanut" to different endearments to not be repetive but the most often used one is "ptysiu" (ptyś is a choux pastry; if I had to translate it as english endearment, I'd go with cutiepie). its cute imo

Logans "bub" also got replaced by endearments/insults losely fitting situation but the stupidest one has to be Logan calling Johnny "misiu", which translates to "little bear" and let me tell you, it's HILARIOUS cause it's equvalent of calling a random guy "sweetie" but in the "your grandma asking if you want seconds (yes you do, no you don't have any say)" way

"my boy's wicked strong" is translated to "mój chłopak zna się na rzeczy". It's slightly like the papi situation from spanish dub cause yes, "chłopak"'s direct translation is often "boyfriend" but it is also used as "boy", "guy" or "dude", usualy towards guys younger/about the same age as you. However, the addition of "mój"/"mine, my" makes it much more angled towards boyfriend, wherever they wanted to or not. There are at least three different ways to translate it and make it less gae I know and the've still chosen this one.

They made, in my opinion, the "its a common curtesy to ask" "Its good thing I don't give a fuck" lines better by translating them to "you shoud've ask, thats polite thing to do" "and you can politely fuck off"

they replaced Star Trek reference with Star Wars one, using Han Solo instead Spock and idk. on one hand they did it to THE spirk moment but on the other they made, and I may be reaching, but it seems like covert reference to "I know" scene so ??? (star trek is nowewhere near as known as star wars here so they would probs replace it either way but it also can be just "star trek and star wars sound so much alike, they have to be basically the same, right?" haha joke)

them instead innuendos using the most over the top forms of insult that no one ever heard is kinda funny but only because I only had to read them; if I ever heard somone call somebody "kutasina" irl I would find a way for at least one of us to not be able to hear anything ever again ("cockleter" is my best attempt to recreate this horseshit)

If you guys want to share some treasures from your native dubs/subs, feel free to

[puffyducks]

Puffy's Really Comprehensive and Cool Review of PK Out of the Shadows for the PS2 (not emulated guys I didn't emulate it I bought a really legal copy for my PlayStation 2 console that I own)

Ok guys I just did a really epic playthrough of the Paperinik video game (that was streamed on Discord thank you to everyone who watched me scream and struggle for like 6 hours) and I'm here to give a review for the other PK fans or perhaps even people who really like playing old niche PS2 games for some reason (get a better hobby)

First of all this game gets a 10/10 rating from me because this game has Paperinik in it and there are no other games with Paperinik in them.

Paperinik's English name is "the Duck Avenger" but I guess there was too much PK logo branding in this game for them to bother to change it so they kept his name as just PK and tried to explain it by saying it stood for "really cool duck" or something in Latin. Which I'm pretty sure was just a fucking lie.

I'm really happy that Uno was there, I love him and he's my best friend even tho he was FUCKING USELESS like this whole game. Sorry he just kinda grabs Donald, turns him into a superhero, then throws him into an Evronian base with 0 explanation and is like "go kill" and like who am I to say no to the giant floating orb?? Like he gave me a gun which is really nice but I'm out here getting fucking jumped by the Evronian empire and Uno isn't even there to cheer me on or NOTHING. He only occasionally shows up to explain when you get a weapon upgrade like FUCKING DO SOMETHING UNO THEY'RE BEATING MY ASSSSS

The little collectibles are just tiny floating Uno heads so that also gets a 10/10 from me I really enjoyed running around and collecting my army of Uno PNGs. The SECOND collectible however- Ok so there are like these scientists that are tied up by the Evronians and you're supposed to save them right? Well for whatever reason (they don't really explain why this is happening) every time you get close to a scientist it starts a big menacing countdown in the corner and you're supposed to save them before the timer goes down or else THEY JUST FUCKING DIE?? I THINK?? LIKE I SAID THEY DON'T EXPLAIN IT SO I CAN'T REALLY TELL WHAT'S HAPPENING, BUT IF THE TIMER GOES DOWN AND YOU REACH THEM TOO LATE THERE'S JUST LIKE A PILE LEFT BEHIND FROM WHERE THEY USED TO BE, I THINK THEY GET FUCKING VAPORIZED OR SOMETHING? AND LIKE I WAS REALLY BAD AT SAVING THEM BECAUSE I GET REALLY STRESSED WHEN THE TIMER STARTS. I HAVE SO MUCH BLOOD ON MY HANDS. anyways.

I like totally didn't get stuck on the same section for 10 minutes because I kept comedically sliding PK directly into a big pool of evil pink goo. Like evil Evron goo I guess, don't remember THAT from the comics. If you so much as touch it with your little pinkie toe he dies instantly, it's very troubling. Like I said um that didn't happen to me though because I'm really good at video games. Idk if you knew I'm level 102 on Wizard101 which is like pretty high. Like it's not max level I'm pretty sure max level is like 180 right now but it's still cool I'm still cool and also really good at video games.

Oh yeah also something that was really amusing to me is the way that PK is just fucking Stanced Up the entire game. Like he's always kinda menacingly crouching and shuffling around everywhere he goes like a little superhero cockroach. Love him.

Can't believe I haven't mentioned this sooner but for the English dub of this game (which is what I was using because I am, in fact, an English speaker) they made the huge brained decision to get Rob Paulsen to do Donald's "superhero" voice. Rob Paulsen of course from Yakko Warner fame... and Steelbeak 1991. Donald sounds goofy as shit the whole game it lowkey kills me. I guess they assumed people wouldn't wanna sit through his regular scratchy voice for however many hours of gameplay but trust me, I would WAY prefer regular Donald over the weird 90s protagonist Crash Bandicoot wannabe thing he has going on. Uno sounds great tho, zero complaints.

At one point PK walks out of the level and he's like "haha who knew this superhero stuff would be so easy!" and I took that as a deep and personal insult. That was not easy Donald I was fighting for my fucking life in there. You have like 13 bullet wounds and I dropped you into Evron goop like 6 different times. Stop making me look bad.

I got stuck standing around like a fucking idiot for 10 minutes because I got an upgrade for the X-transformer and Uno was like "you see that hole? Go over and press □ to send the X-transformer through it!" and I was like oh ok. Except there was no hole I couldn't find the hole. I was only able to progress past this part because I pulled up a youtube video of someone else playing the game, and the guy in the video ALSO proceeded to get stuck in the same spot before realizing you have to backtrack to find the hole like 15 feet away from where Uno gave you the instructions. I can't tell if it's bad game design or if I'm just stupid.

I'm ngl I got to the end and heard Zondag start talking and he lowkey sounds hot as fuck. I mean WOAH that's crazy who said that??? (he's also British for some reason)

Wrapping up my final thoughts with some simple questions:

Does this game have Paperinik in it?

Yes.

Is it a good game?

No.

What's the best part about the game?

Uno is in it.

What's the worst part about the game?

Everything else.

Would you have been able to beat this as a child?

Absolutely not.

Why did they think it would be a good idea to get Rob Paulsen to do the voice of PK for the majority of the game?

Hell if I know???

Would you recommend this game to other people?

Probably not.

It took me a total of 6-ish hours to beat the game (it can be beaten in like 2 hours I'm just slow) but in that amount of time you could read PKNA chapter #34 "Nothing Personal" like 6 times which I think would be a way better experience.

Anyways like I said 10/10, would maybe think about playing again. On like a really depressing rainy day where I have literally nothing else to do.

[i-guess-im-into-this-now]

The Apothecary Diaries

S1E24 First Watch

Here's where I watch The Apothecary Diaries for the first time and give my thoughts, analysis, predictions, and occasionally I stumble into a joke.

If you want to start at the beginning:

Episode 1

My character/locations cheat sheet:

Master Shishou - Lady Loulan's father

Suirei: court lady who tried to assassinate Jinshi

Final episode of season one let's go!

Lakan: Fengxian. I wanted to be with the daughter we (she)* left behind. That was my only wish.

*There is a mismatch of the words being spoken in English dub and the English subtitles.

Oh does he think Fengxian is dead? Shit. Do I need to retract some of the mean shit I said about him last time?

We see Lakan sitting in the brothel staring at the dried rose that Maomao left for him, and the severed fingers that he treasures. He's thinking of seeing Maomao as a child

Lakan: It's natural for her to hate me, but I still wanted her close by.

So he did try to come and claim Maomao at some point. And why couldn't he? Did the ladies at Verdigris House prevent him from taking her? Did Luomen? Did Lakan ultimately decide he couldn't raise this little girl for some other reason?

Lakan: But that despicable man. I'll never forgive him for placing his hand on my daughter's shoulder three times during our match.

First of all, we are still seeing these creepy game-piece-headed nightmares in this episode. When will it end?

Second of all, I didn't notice that Jinshi was touching Maomao in the last episode. I'm fairly certain it was not shown, which to me indicates that it happened but Maomao didn't take notice of it. Is casual touch so commonplace that it doesn't warrant notice, or was she so focused on the game that it was irrelevant.

Lastly, WTH Lakan? Wasn't he the one cracking jokes about Jinshi and Maomao last episode? And, can no one in this show read the fricking room? Obviously, there is something happening between these two. I suppose Lakan has an excuse with his face blindness, but honestly I expected better from him.

Lakan: The question is how do I exact my revenge?

Well Lakan, I think you'll have to choose between your two goals of having Maomao close by and exacting revenge on Jinshi, because those two goals are in opposition. If Lakan ever wants to have a relationship with Maomao, he will have to leave Jinshi alone, because Maomao is not going to tolerate Lakan screwing with her man employer.

Granny comes to talk to Lakan about picking a courtesan. I had this all wrong apparently. I thought Maomao was intending for him to take care of her mother. It seems he can pick any courtesan that he wants.

Lakan approaches Meimei, who says she would be glad to accept, though her body language says otherwise. She opens the doors to the courtyard where Fengxian can be heard singing. Granny is not happy, but Lakan takes off running towards the sound.

Lakan: A withered flower still retains it's beauty. If that was suppose to be a message... it can't be!

So he didn't know Fengxian was alive then? Which means I can't blame him for not stepping forward to care for her in the past.

Lakan runs, frantic, to where the singing is coming from. He enters Fengxian's room. She's turned away looking out the window, but she's singing a song that Lakan can't forget. And he's stunned. Like seeing a ghost. He's staring at a woman he thought was dead. A single tear falls down his face.

Ah shit. That's some good drama right there.

Lakan picks Fengxian. He'll pay any amount. Granny can't believe this. She's not happy. It doesn't make sense. Did she forget about the history between these two?

And what was granny's role in all of this anyway? Did she give Lakan the impression that Fengxian was dead? Why would she do that? Couldn't granny have taken advantage of Lakan's interest in Fengxian and sold off the otherwise worthless Fengxian? My guess is that Fengxian hated Lakan so much at that point, that Granny thought she needed to protect her from going to him. She's not as avaricious as she would make herself seem.

Fengxian is spacing out. To get her attention, Lakan places some Go pieces in her hand. When she finally turns to him, he asks her to play a game with him, then full on ugly cries.

It's a beautiful moment. After all the problems that kept these two apart, they are finally reunited.

They play on the bed, without a board, but it seems that at least this part of Fengxian's mind remains, because she's making cleaver moves. Lakan reminisces about how they used to play and credits Fengxian for Maomao's strengths. Does she deserve that credit...

Meimei is overwhelmed. She cries. She blames Granny for keeping these two apart.

Lakan says he will buy Fengxian's contract, and when he sees her he sees her as she was in her prime. Beautiful, without the bandages or the disease, or the any of the changes that time has wrought. Does he see her this way because of his love for her, or because of his face blindness?

I wonder how much of Fengxian's mind remains. How much does she understand about what is happening? How much, if at all can she consent to this? Perhaps that is Granny's concern as well. For someone so out of their mind, and at the end of their life, I can't see what Lakan's presence can do to benefit Fengxian. Perhaps he improves her legacy, by giving her tale a nicer ending, but as far as her experience of it goes... he's too late.

This is all for Lakan's benefit. He is reunited with the woman he loved, he get's to finally buy out her contract like he wanted to so many years ago. He gets to erase some of his regrets, correct some of his miscalculations. It's a redemption for him, though a selfish one since he is the only one who benefits from it. Arguably, Verdigris House benefits as well, but he sure as hell ain't doing this for them. I could listen to an argument that he is doing this in part because he believe Maomao wants him to, but primarily, I think this is all for himself.

(I'm sorry Lakan fans. I will try harder on the rewatch to unearth some love for your dude)

Maomao is returning from the Verdigris House with ray-of-sunshine, Basan! They oversee Lady Loulan and her father conversing, and Basan calls the two of them snakes. Maomao, rightly, thinks that's a pretty dangerous thing to say. She doesn't want to lose her head just because Basan can't keep his nasty opinions to himself. And though Maomao always avoids gossip, I very much want to know what Basan knows about Lady Loulan and Master Shishou.

Maomao is dead tired, she has been working her ass off for the last month to grow those roses for the Garden Party, and now she just wants to sleep, but Basan informs her that Jinshi wants to see her first.

Jinshi: You must be tired. Maomao: Not really.

Why lie about this? My guess is that Maomao doesn't want anyone to fuss over her. Her wellbeing isn't important anyway, so why mention how she feels?

But Suiren does worry over Maomao, mentioning how much weight she's lost since the last time she saw her. Good. I'm glad to see this more obvious show of care for Maomao. I really just want everyone to love on this girl and take care of her.

Oh and she's "Xiaomao" to Suiren now too. ❤️She gets a nice big meal and is told to eat up.

Jinshi wants to know what the deal is with Maomao and her dad. Maomao explains that she doesn't hate Lakan.

Maomao: Afterall, I would not even be here if he weren't able to land his shot so to say. ... No courtesan bears a child if she doesn't want one.

And that makes a lot of sense actually. Maomao explains how women can prevent pregnancy, abort unwanted pregnancies, predict their fertility... it all points to the conclusion that Fengxian wanted to use Lakan to get pregnant.

Last episode we saw how Fengxian's plan all came crashing down by unforeseen circumstances. In her rage she cut off both her own finger as well as that of her infant.

Maomao explains to Jinshi about Lakan's face blindness. Jinshi, who has no issues with empathy, thinks that's unfortunate. Luomen was the one who told Maomao about Lakan's condition, and he also thinks the condition is quite sad. I wonder if Maomao knows that Luomen is Lakan's uncle? Maomao thinks that Lakan's obsession with her comes from the fact that she is one of the very few people whom Lakan can recognize.

Jinshi has kept a large vase of the blue roses that Maomao grew for him, because he's in love with her they were just going to be thrown out otherwise, and Maomao reflects while looking at them. She wonders if her meaning was clear enough when she sent the withered rose to Lakan.

She claims again that she doesn't hate Lakan. She's grateful to have been born and have been raised by Luomen. Jinshi pushes back, recalling her intense reaction when Lakan's name came up before.

Maomao: No offense, but you've got a lot to learn Master Jinshi.

You don't know me. Yet.

Maomao is also grateful that Lakan helped her interrupt the ceremony that would have killed Jinshi.

Maomao: It's like he had a feeling something bad was going to happen too.

Gee, almost like he knew somethin about it, or had figured it out already?

Maomao explains that Lakan doesn't need evidence to form his conclusions. He can pick up on subtleties that aren't even conscious, to use gut feelings that are rarely wrong. Maomao regrets that Lakan can't be depended on to actually act on these feelings. She believes she could have stopped Suirei from escaping if Lakan had gotten involved earlier and she would now have the secret resurrection drug that Suirei hinted at.

Maomao is jealous of Lakan. Luomen praises Lakan without caveats, something she can only wish for. Friends. I know you all think I'm too hard on Luomen, and it's probably true. And I feel compelled to say that I don't hate him or even dislike him. I know Maomao loves Luomen and he's done all he can for her. But she's still hurt by his lack of praise. It's had an effect on her emotional and psychological development.

Maomao warns Jinshi not to underestimate Lakan.

Gaoshun adds that no father wants to be disliked by their children. Okay Gaoshun, are you projecting here? Some dads are dicks, and absolutely deserve to be disliked whether they like it or not. Does Gaoshun worry that his children don't like him? Is it because Basan is his son? He really shouldn't take Basan's pissy attitude personally, he's like that with everyone!

Meimei sends a package with a beautiful shawl and news from the brothel. She hopes that Maomao will dance for her when she is bought out. Maomao actually picks up the shawl and spins around with a soft sigh. Does Maomao enjoy dancing? Something she picked up at the brothel perhaps?

Maomao seems inspired by the gift. She sits down in front of her makeup and a beautiful outfit that is on a rack in her room.

Cut to Jinshi watching the sunset. Is the sunset just a transition to a night scene or is it symbolic of closure in the story? We are coming to the end of not just this episode but this entire season, so a sunset is certainly appropriate.

Maomao stands atop the wall of the palace, dressed in her finery, looking out to the bright city beyond. We get a glimpse of Maomao's yet unhealed leg, her freckles, her lovely courtesan's dress, her beauty. An amalgamation of all the different parts that make up Maomao. She is here to dance, as Meimei suggested. Here on the same wall where two other women have stood earlier in the season with drastically different results.

The show revisits a recurring theme from throughout the season: for women who live in a cage there are only two ways out, freedom or death.

First we had seen the concubine who danced atop the wall as she waited for her lover to return and secure her release. Freedom.

Later we saw the servant girl who plunged into the moat to end her life. Death.

And now Maomao, who often walks the line between the two. Over the course of this season we've seen her struggle with both. When the servant girl died, we heard suicidal ideation from Maomao. We've also seen her ingest deadly poison. Always flirting with death, not sure if she should welcome it or fight against it.

And freedom. We've seen her at the crossroads of her life, with decisions ahead of her. Particularly, with whether she should remain in the Pleasure District or return to the Rear Palace. And Maomao struggled with freedom, caught by indecision.

In this moment, under the stars, she doesn't have to think. She's feeling. A deviation from her usual modus operandi. Perhaps with Meimei's letter she can let go of some of the turmoil from her past. Fengxian is with Lakan now, that knot that has finally been undone. Her sisters in Verdigris House are safe and happy for the moment, with hope for each of their futures. Maomao is in the Rear Palace to watch over Lady Gyokuyou and the ladies of the Jade Pavilion. And Jinshi is safe, after both an attempt on his life by Suirei and an attempt on his reputation from Lakan. So for the moment the people Maomao loves are safe, and she can stand on top of a wall and dance under the stars and just feel.

Of course the practical reason behind it is that she's practicing to make sure she remembers the steps. Meimei asked her to dance for her after all.

And Jinshi is here. It's the end of the final episode. I'd be disappointed if he didn't show up.

She's so surprised to see him, she nearly falls off the roof. Maomao... I know you are an anime girl but isn't that a little cliché...

No matter, it offers Jinshi a chance to catch her. He always will.

Jinshi: I got a report about another weird woman who was climbing up the outer wall.

It's a recurring problem in this palace.

Jinshi: You're always causing me trouble.

And you fricking love it. Shut up.

Maomao was recognized by the guard that saw her go up the wall, and the guard was wise enough to go directly to Jinshi. Of course Jinshi came himself.

Maomao explains that in the Pleasure District, that when a courtesan is bought out that it is customary for the others to dance in her honor. Ahh, so she's dancing for her mother then.

That Lakan has bought a courtesan is big news in the Pleasure District, and even in the palace. The number of lamps on the street, as well as the number of banquet days, indicate that a courtesan of the highest status was bought out, though the public never sees her. We get a glimpse of Fengxian in red. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe red is the color of wedding garments. I'm not sure if that's intentional here or not. But in any case, no one, not even me, can mistake Lakan's grand romantic gesture in treating Fengxian with so much respect.

Jinshi questions who Lakan may have bought out at the Verdigris House, and Maomao plays dumb, which is not fooling Jinshi.

Jinshi: Just who did the strategist buy out any way? Maomao: What? As if I should know. Jinshi: Yes. Without a doubt. Maomao: No matter how beautiful she is, she would never be a match for you. Jinshi: That didn't answer my question.

She doesn't want to say. And he's not going to push her. She tries to deflect, and he lets her. He once again is asking her to open up to him, and she is still saying not yet. But Jinshi never gives up on Maomao. He will simply let her have her secrets for now. But he's so steadfast in his pursuit of Maomao that the audience can have no doubt that he will continue to try.

Fengxian won't last long. She's in the end stages of her disease. Maomao reflects on how her birth affected the reputation of Verdigris House. No one spoke to Maomao about who her mother was, because Grams tried to protect that information, but Maomao discovered it anyway. Prideful Fengxian couldn't recover from the shame of her failed plans, her loss of reputation, and she always chased Maomao away. Maomao claims that none of it matters to her. She's just happy being Luomen's daughter. I don't believe she's so unaffected, but that's an issue for a future season!

Maomao's macabre fun facts are not in fact fun for Jinshi, as she explains that you can cut off the tip of your finger and that it will grow back. I'm glad she didn't lose this part of her that was taken by one parent to curse the other. Instead it grew back. She may be scarred from the experience but she is whole. A metaphor.

When Maomao collapses, Jinshi demands to know what's wrong to which Maomao rambles off a list of horrifying truths. Maomao's leg wound won't heal. It has opened up again. She didn't notice it because she has a high pain tolerance. Probably due to all the drugs she's taken. No problem, she can just plop down and stitch it right back up.

NO. That's not happening. Jinshi has fucking had it with this girl. He then picks her up and leaps. off. the. wall. It was a little hot. I'm so used to Jinshi simping and being generally uncool, that I get caught off guard when he's actually being hot. Maomao does too. Especially since he switches to a princess carry.

Maomao gets deadly serious for a moment. She stares Jinshi in the eyes, touches his face and leans in. Jinshi is thinking this is it. It's finally happening. Only for Maomao to ask if she can now have the ox bezoar. Is she trying to provoke him? She gets headbutted for that one. I'm typically against physical violence, but I have to say, this seems justified. Maomao is happy about it too, because now she knows she's dealing with the real Jinshi.

Lady Gyokuyou pays for premium so she gets front row access to her favorite romcom. Jinshi has come to see Maomao. This final interaction is just basically this whole show in a nutshell. The ladies of the Jade Pavilion are teasing Maomao, because they love her, and they know her boyfriend totally platonic employer is watching. Jinshi says something interesting has come up and he thought of Maomao, which of course peaks her curiosity. We don't get to hear what Jinshi wanted to ask of Maomao, but we get the impression that things will carry on much as they have been until we can see these beloved characters again.

The storytellers promise us a second season. So yay!

Thanks to the like 10 people who enjoyed this blog. It was very fun for me to write. Your comments, likes and reblogs gave me life.

I loved getting to know these characters and trying to get inside their heads. The characters are so well written, and the plot is so big and juicy. There seems to be no end to the layers of the story. It's truly fantastic.

The Apothecary Diaries is a new favorite of mine now, and since I've made it to the end of this season, I'm looking forward to not having to scroll past JinMao content on my feed to avoid spoilers!

I haven't decided if I should hold out for more of the show and continue to watch it with fresh eyes like I did for this blog, or if I should just jump into the light novels or manga. Does anyone know, are both of those things complete with a good English translation?

This won't be my last content for The Apothecary Diaries. I'm known to compulsively shit post in the fandoms I follow, so I'm sure I won't be able to resist doing that. But, perhaps once I've had some time to think on this I will have some more meta analysis to offer. I do plan to rewatch the entire season. Though I won't reblog to this degree, I may jump back in the comments on some of these blogs and add some new insights.

If you like this kind of thing and want me to do it for another one of your favorites let me know! My recommendations box is ever open. I love any kind of engaging story, in any format, and am happy (unable to stop myself) to post about it on the internet! Just tell me what you love and where to start.

Until then I guess I'm into this now.

To start at the beginning:

Episode 1

[april-bandu-embata]

Give in

Okay this is the first fanfic I ever publish. I had a dream last night and it is the foundation of this. Just a short little thing. :)

Note; English is not my first language, sorry for any errors that may pop up.

Pairing: Outpost! Michael Langdon/You

Warnings: Light smut (not really), I guess it could be considered dub-con to a degree as well because of the situation and... well, Outpost!Michael being Outpost!Michael...

Anyway, here goes.

I am tied up in the middle of a dimly lit room, my hands above my head. I am naked except for a silk nightgown. I try to rustle the chains to get free, but it's no use. I whimper, my wrists are in pain. I don't remember how I got here. The room is dark, and I try to look around, but it's no use. No lights are lit. I feel helpless, my chest heaving, nervous.

My head dart towards the large doors as they suddenly open. A tall, beautiful man with long, blonde hair, clad in black, steps in, hands behind his back, head tilted slightly to the side. Michael Langdon. I tense up. He boldly looks me up and down, a cocky smirk plastered on his face. He then let outs a "Hm!", smirks and brings up a finger and does a flicking motion with it. I gasp as I feel my nightgown come off and fall to the floor. I shiver at the sudden change of temperature, but it soon dissipates as I look at the man. He has something strange about him... It's almost like he radiates warmth, in a weird way. I study him, his smirk, his beautiful face... But I can't avoid feeling aroused by his mere presence.

His smirk grows wider, more cruel, more predatory as he lowers his gaze again. A minute or so pass where he just stares me in the eyes. I try to look away, but I can't, it's as if I'm spellbound.

He moves closer, and starts circling me. I feel like prey. He says nothing. He just circles, looking at me. It feels as if he's taking in my scent, measuring me, figuring me out. It is uncomfortable and arousing at the same time. This goes on for a while, until he stops behind my back.

I feel his breath on my neck, and I turn around to see that he's now very close. I startle a bit and let out a small whimper.

"Hush." He whispers, voice soft, brushing my hair to the side, caressing it gently. "You..." He pauses for a bit, leans his head down so he is on my level, and brings his nose close to mine so that they barely brush against each other. "...want this." A soft moan escapes me. There's no way I can hide how I react to this man's proximity.

He lays his hands on each of my shoulders, leaning closer, breathing into my ear. "Give in..." He trails a finger down from the top of my head, down my spine. "...to me."

I shake, aroused, trembling, aching for him. But I know he plays with people, and thus I am stubbornly holding back, a defiant look on my face. Finally he moves again, now stepping away a bit, and stops when he stands in front of me. Very close. He puts a finger under my chin and bring it up so I'm forced to look at him. I tremble, letting out a small whimper again. I feel myself fading, my will faltering. I want to beg.

He looks at me with a look I haven't seen from him before. He's still seductive, calculating... But there's also a hint of something else there. Unreadable. Vulnerability? Is this what makes people finally fall?

He looks me intently into the eyes.

He breaks away and swiftly moves to the door. He flicks his wrist, and I feel the chains release me. He turns around to look at me, lying in a heap on the floor, stroking my sore wrists.

"Come." Hands behind his back again, he moves his head towards the hallway, motioning for me to follow him. Then he turns around and walk out. I hesitate a bit. What just happened? Where is this going? What does he want with me?

I stand up, legs shaking, not knowing what to do...

I hear his footsteps recede out in the hallway, and I feel a sense of urgency, pressure to reach a decision fast. This could backfire. But it could also be my only chance. Hastily my feet move in the direction he went.

---

Let me know if you liked it :3

... and if you'd like a continuation!

(I'm open to suggestions abt the continuation btw!)

[moony-daydream]

tw yapping about bertholdt hoover in 2024

(I'm absolute shit at spelling, sorry in advance)

so I was just parousing along on the interweb trying to find a script for the "Someone find us" monologue/speech (Whatever you want to call it), and I came across a 7 year old reddit thread asking what exactly Bertholdt meant when he asked that. Which totally inspired me to have a complete ball here.

All the comments were saying basically that he meant: find the other warriors in Marley and save them from the fate that we (Bertholdt, Reiner, and Annie, also Marcel but obviously the 104th don't know who Marcel is) had. while I think that's a good guess, and it maybe makes a little sense, i just dont agree at all.

I dont speak japanese so i cant really understand what he meant in the original diologue, even with a translation. The culture of the language is important in knowing implications behind what he's saying outside of the words. My interpretation goes off of the english dub. This whole thing is just me assuming that whoever translated it had some grasp on the cultural differences in language arts and was able to properly convey what was said in japanese to an english audience. If they did it wrong then fuck me. sorry.

in the english dub he says:

"I'm not stupid, I know I have no right to ask for forgiveness, but please, I beg of you. If we were comrades someone find us"

In his monologue he made sure to point out multiple times that he considered every one of the 104th cadet corps to be his actual friend, even though he was a traitor the whole time. Him saying "If we were comrades" is very important in my interpritation of this line, and i have noticed that he doesnt say anything like it in the manga or in the japanese sub. I'm grasping at straws here. I only speak english.

Point -> I think what he was tyring to say is "someone find who you thought we were in the people we actually are"

On the tree with eren and ymir, reiner says something along the lines of "the people you thought we were are dead, they dont exist" but what bertholdt says (also just the actions of the two of them throughout the course of the show) implies that's not exactally the case. hense, "we're not who we said we were, but it wasn't an act".

He's not telling them to find out about what's happening in Marley and stop it, he's not asking them to understand where he is coming from, no.

Find us (reiner and bertholdt) in us (armor and collasal, honorary marleyians)

does this make any since at all . .

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x36 - Break Through the Barrier! Zudomon Spark! / City Under Siege

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Vamdemon's invasion of Odaiba met an unexpected snag when he underestimated the fury of freaked-out parents afraid for their children's lives. A furious parent revolution unfolded in his midst, and also Keisuke was nearby.

Now Phantomon, Vamdemon, and their Bakemon forces are struggling to bring things back under control so their plan can get underway.

We open on Lilimon's fight with Vamdemon. She hits him dead-on with her Flower Cannon. Vamdemon tanks her shot, not even flinching. Guess all that gorging on Shibuya women paid off.

Vamdemon: You'd be cute if you were quieter. Heto Scream!

Vamdemon unveils a third attack like a fucking cheater. Everyone else has had two moves max up to this point.

Okay, this is one I'm kinda shaky on. All sources I can find on Vamdemon's moves say this attack is called Dead Scream, which is also what the subtitles say as well. But that's not what he says when he's calling the attack. The two syllables I can make out are "Eh Toe" followed by the english word Scream. Which is not how you would pronounce shinda.

I think Dead Scream is a pragmatic translation because I think the word he's using is heto. It's the onomatopoeia for the sound of total exhaustion: hetoheto.

But I may be wrong. Vamdemon is difficult to translate because he uses a lot of archaic language. So the experience of translating him is roughly akin to only knowing English as a second language and trying to make sense of Shakespeare.

It could also just be "Dedo Scream" and he's not pronouncing the first 'd' for some reason. But the hard 't' sound in the second syllable is unmistakable. I think it's Heto Scream.

Whatever it's called, the attack seizes up Lilimon's body. Her colors darken and she screams, fitting the name. Then she falls from the air, seemingly paralyzed.

Over in the dub, Myotismon avoids creepily flirting with Lillymon in the midst of his taunt so good on him.

Myotismon: Do you expect to beat me with geraniums!? NIGHTMARE CLAW!!!

I don't know why his attack is called Nightmare Claw. At no point are claws ever involved in it. A shadowy face emerges from his cloak and then the target darkens and goes limp. There are no claws.

We cut briefly to Sora and Toshiko up on the ledge. With Bakemon bedsheet in hand, Toshiko's preparing to sacrifice herself for Sora.

Toshiko: Run away, Sora! Sora: But... But Mom.... Toshiko: HURRY!!!

Cut to Vamdemon following up his Heto Scream. Now that Lilimon's defenseless, he releases Night Raid to finish her off. Mimi sprints upstairs to the second floor where Lilimon fell.

Mimi: Lilimon! Hold on!

Mimi doesn't know what to do, but reinforcements are already here. Birdramon blows past her, obliterating the Night Raid bats with a shot of Meteor Wing before snatching Lilimon up from the ground.

Mimi: SORA-SAN!!! TAKE LILIMON AND GET OUT OF HERE!!!

Cut back to Toshiko, who is violently swinging her Bakemon blanket at the Bakemon to keep them at bay. This is working because, as last episode demonstrated, Bakemon are kinda pathetic when they aren't Bakemon-sama.

Toshiko: What are you doing!? Hurry!

Finally, with tears in her eyes, Sora moves. She leaps over the railing, grabbing onto Birdramon's talon.

Sora: MOM!!! MIMI-CHAN!!! I'LL COME BACK AND SAVE YOU!!!

With Sora hanging on to one talon and Lilimon clutched in the other, Birdramon flies off over Odaiba, away from Big Sight convention center. Leaving behind Toshiko and Mimi, who are quickly taken into custody by the Bakemon.

In the dub:

Toshiko: Get out of here, Sora! Now! Sora: But what about you, Mom!? Toshiko: Just GO!!! (Myotismon fires Grisly Wing at Lilimon) Mimi: Oh no! They're gonna get her! (Birdramon vaporizes the bats and grabs Lilimon) Mimi: Sora, get out! He's way too strong! Toshiko: Christ, what are you waiting for!? Sora: ... Toshiko: (to the Bakemon) Get away, you things! (exertion noises) SORA, GO!!! (Sora jumps, grabbing Birdramon's talon) Sora: I'LL COME BACK JUST AS SOON AS I FIND THE OTHERS!!! DON'T WORRY, MOM!!!

I guess Mimi's allowed to worry. Only Toshiko gets a call-out in Sora's English departure.

I had to go back and re-listen to that like a dozen times and I swear she says "Christ, what are you waiting for!?" They try to drown out the "Christ" in Bakemon squawking because they don't do second takes of anything, but I swear it's there.

Using "Jesus" or "Christ" or my favorite "Jesus Fucking Christ" as an expletive is a thing in English. So the line parses as Toshiko getting frustrated that Sora isn't listening to her and running. But. Also. You're not allowed to do that on American children's television.

I feel confident that they did not script her to say "Christ". I think the actress may have accidentally ad-libbed that while getting too into the role, and then the editor tried to bury it under Bakemon squawks when stitching the scene together.

Or I could just be hearing things. But I swear it's there. It's even accurately timed to her lip flaps.

Cut to the building under construction where Yamato, Taichi, and Hikari are holed up. Hikari ties a bandage around Agumon's claw.

Hikari: Does it hurt, Agumon? Agumon: Nope, thanks Hikari. Hikari: Ehe!

Then Hikari notices the much more tense conversation going on between Taichi and Yamato.

Taichi: What did you say!? The whole Odaiba area's been isolated!? Yamato: Yeah. Vamdemon must be behind this. Taichi: It has to be him. He's blocked off all of Odaiba so he can get to the Eighth Child. Yamato: He's even taken all of the adults and children hostage. Taichi: DAMN IT!!!

Taichi furiously kicks a soda can that's lying on the ground.

The dub opens this scene with a silence-breaker from Kari.

Kari: Poor Agumon. You're always getting beat up. (Kari ties the bandage on Agumon's hand.) Kari: There! How does that feel? Agumon: You're getting good at this. Kari: Haha-- Tai: NO WAY!!!

When Hikari turns her head to start listening in on Taichi and Yamato's conversation, she isn't provoked by anything. She suddenly looks concerned and decides to listen in. The dub adds Tai's "NO WAY!!!" exclamation to give her something to react to, which I think helps pull the scene together more.

Matt: WAY!!! It's true! I saw the whole thing. Tai: That creepazoid! He's cut off the whole entire district! Matt: Mhmm! It's that crazy fog bank of his! Tai: This is insane! Holding thousands of people prisoner just so he can find the Eighth Child! Matt: And there's no telling what he'll do if he doesn't find her! Tai: UGH!!! (kicks the soda can)

There's a tonal difference here. The Japanese Taichi and Yamato have more of a "Holy shit he did what?" freak-out vibe while the American Tai and Matt are on a "THAT SON OF A BITCH DID WHAT!?" fury meltdown. The American kids are, as usual, more aggressive than their Japanese counterparts. But they still hit the important points.

Though Matt inexplicably claims to have watched Myotismon do it. Uh. No, Matt. You were at home trying to get the TV to work and then you went to bed. You missed everything.

I guess he's just embarrassed to admit to Tai that he needed his dad to explain the plot for him.

Unfortunately, the growing atmosphere of despair in this construction site has not gone unnoticed. Hikari approaches, stopping just short of where Taichi's kicked soda can landed.

Hikari: Is this my fault? Is this happening to everyone... because of me? Even Mom? Taichi: (gently) No, it's not, Hikari. This is not your fault. It's Vamdemon's.

Taichi kneels down to get on Hikari's level.

Taichi: Listen to me, Hikari. Your Onii-chan is going to take care of everything. All you have to do is wait here. (Taichi stands up) Taichi: Yamato! Yamato: Huh? Taichi: Can you look after Hikari for a while? Yamato: Sure, I can do that.... Taichi: Hikari, I'm going to go save Mom and everyone else, okay? Hikari: Onii-chan, save Tailmon too. Taichi: (thumbs up) Yeah, I've got this!

Taichi checks the time on his Digivice. It's 7:30 A.M.

Taichi: 7:30. If I'm not back in two hours, take Hikari and get out of here. Let's go, Agumon!

Taichi starts running without another word to the others.

Yamato: Whuh-- Taichi! Taichi: TAKE GOOD CARE OF HIKARI!!! (gone) Hikari: Onii-chan....

Honestly, if we have to split up, this is a good separation of duties on paper. Throwing Taichi at the enemy like a ballistic missile while Yamato babysits plays to both of their strengths.

However, Agumon hasn't had a lot of time to rest. Remember, he degenerated from MetalGreymon mid-fight due to fatigue just last night, and he got that claw injury while trying to have a Greymon fight this morning.

Gabumon's not in that much better shape. WereGarurumon was throwing hands with Vamdemon last night too. But he got a full night's rest after that and didn't have to evolve again this morning, so I'd feel more confident sending Yamato into the field right now than Taichi. Agumon's been pushed hard lately.

I have logistical concerns with Taichi's plan and feel like he could use some backup.

In the dub:

Kari: This is all my fault, isn't it? Tai: Huh!? Kari: It's all happening because he's looking for me, right? That's why Mom and Dad and everybody are-- Tai: (gently) No, don't say that. It's not your fault. It's just the way things are. It's called destiny. (Tai kneels down) Tai: Don't you worry. I'm gonna bring Mom and Dad back home safe and sound! Hehe, and your little buddy Gatomon too! (Tai stands back up) Tai: Hey Matt! Do me a favor and look after her 'til I get back! Matt: Uh, sure... No problem. Tai: Kari, I need you to be a big, strong girl for me while I'm away. Kari: Okay. Please be careful. Tai: (thumbs up) Hey! Aren't I always? (Tai checks the time on his Digivice) Tai: Okay. It's 7:30. Give me two hours. If we don't make it back by then, you guys get out of here. Let's go, Agumon! (runs) Agumon: Okay! Matt: Be careful, man! Tai: SEE YA SOON!!! EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT!!! (gone) Agumon: WHOA!!! Kari: ...I hope so.

When Taichi and Agumon depart, they drop off the edge of the screen, jumping down a level from this construction site we're at. As a joke, the dub adds a zany wibble-wobble sound effect to their drop and has Agumon shout "WHOA" seemingly to imply that they tripped and fell.

Hence Kari's concerned punchline of, "...I hope so."

In this version of the exchange, Kari doesn't have to tell Tai to get Gatomon too. He volunteers that himself while trying to raise her spirits. This leaves her with nothing to say in her later line beyond wishing Tai well.

I can see merits to both versions. In the English version, Tai recognizes how important Gatomon is to Kari and frontloads his investment in her wellbeing into his speech. He wants Kari to know up front that everyone she loves will be protected.

In the Japanese version, Hikari recognizes Tailmon's otherness to Taichi and the others and wants to make sure he doesn't forget about her. She knows there's hostility there and wants to be sure Tailmon will be saved too.

They're different takes but they both work for the characters and situation.

What doesn't work for me is Tai's reassurance that this is not Kari's fault. He waxes poetic about predestination and the immutable nature of things for some fucking reason. Like, he seems to be implying that nobody is at fault and life just sucks sometimes.

Taichi's reassurance is to the point: It is not Hikari's fault that Vamdemon is doing this. It's Vamdemon's fault that Vamdemon is doing this. He is the fucker here, and nobody else. The perpetrator of this crime is the only person who holds blame.

Cut to Koushiro in his room. He pops open his computer and sees Chibi Gennai strolling around on his desktop.

Koushiro: I have an email from Gennai-san. Gennai: Hello! Oh, there's no time for small talk. Tentomon: Right! Gennai: Because this is an emergency, I'll start with the important news. First, put up a Digital Barrier at once. Koushiro: A Digital Barrier? Gennai: Download the program I sent you into another machine.

Koushiro slides over to his desktop computer, which has been slightly offscreen to the right every time we've seen his room before now. XD

Gennai: As long as the Digital Barrier is up. you should be safe.

Outside the window, Tentomon can see the Bakemon gathering people.

Tentomon: Koushiro-han! You have to hurry! They're almost here! Koushiro: I know!

Of note: "Digital Barrier" is in English, like most Digimon attack names.

Also note that, as with the Radar notification from a few episodes ago, there's no indication that Chibi Gennai is actually conversing with Koushiro. Koushiro calls this message an email and at no point does Gennai respond to anything he's saying. It's just a cutesy animation to go along with the correspondence.

In the dub:

Izzy: Look! Email from Gennai! Gennai: Greetings! Salutations from Cyberspace! Tentomon: Oh, get to the point! Gennai: But this is no time for pleasantries. You're in a tight spot, eh? The first thing to do is put up a Digital Barrier. Izzy: A Digital what!? Gennai: You're probably wondering what that is. Well, download the program and I'll explain. (Izzy slides over to his desktop) Gennai: If you can put it up in time, the Digital Barrier will protect you. (Tentomon sees people being gathered outside) Tentomon: (wails) Ohhh! The Bakemon are getting closer every second! Can't you go any faster, Izzy!? Izzy: I'm trying! I told Dad I need a quicker modem!

Dub Gennai doesn't mention that the Digital Barrier has to be installed in a different computer, so it's not clear why Izzy doesn't just pop it open on his laptop.

They did, however, nail the fact that it's a prerecorded message this time around though. As with the original, Chibi Gennai never responds to Izzy, though there is the comical "A WHAT" "You're probably wondering what that is" bit. That's fun. ^_^

While Koushiro works on that, we move outside Odaiba to Hinode Pier. Takaishi Natsuko seems to have had the same idea Jou had for circumventing the trains.

A man with a megaphone tries to explain things to the upset crowd.

Announcer: Though we don't know what's causing it, none of the water buses will be able to depart at this time. Angry Person: When will they be working again!? Announcer: We apologize for the inconvenience! Natsuko: This isn't good. What do we do? Not even the ships are working.... Salaryman: I have to be in Odaiba by this afternoon!

Do yourself a favor and look up a Tokyo water bus. They're fucking cool. Man, mass public transit is amazing. I sure wish Americans were allowed to have some.

In the dub:

Announcer: Uh, we're sorry but because of fog conditions, no ferries will be running in the district until further notice. Angry Person: What do we do in the meantime!? Announcer: Please bear with us. We're doing everything we can. We just have to wait for the fog to lift. Nancy: I'm getting a bad feeling from this crowd. I think maybe we should be going, T.K.... Salaryman: Hey, what do you suggest I do!? My family's in there! Other Person: Mine too!

I don't think Nancy's as committed to getting into Odaiba as Natsuko is. Though she's not wrong to feel like this could turn into a dangerous mob at any moment. Because. Uh. It does.

Suddenly people start shoving and crowding and mobbing.

Furious Person: Yurikamome Station and the Rainbow Bridge are closed too! DO SOMETHING!!! Announcer: Please calm down! Don't push! Takeru: (separated from Natsuko) Mama!? Natsuko: TAKERU!!! (more shoving disorients everyone) Takeru: MAMA!!! MAMA!!!

In the dub, the announcer has some advice for the crowd.

Announcer: Please stay calm! Furious Person: YOU stay calm! Other Person: YEAH!!! Announcer: In cases of emergency, you might try renting a private boat down at the harbor. That's all I can suggest for now! I'm sorry! T.K.: (separated from Nancy) Mommy? Nancy: T.K., where are you!? (more shoving disorients everyone) T.K.: MOMMY!!!

I... honestly don't know if there would be private boats to rent along the Tokyo Bay coastline. Huh. That might be an option. Though you'd still need to find someone willing to let their boat be taken into weather conditions so hazardous that all forms of public transit have been shut down.

If I was a boat owner, I wouldn't rent out my boat for use in a fog bank so thick you will not see the shoreline until you've already crashed into it. But maybe that's just me.

Back in Odaiba, the Bakemon have begun pulling people from Koushiro's complex. They have, at this point, abandoned the pretense of last episode's bakemono guises. Phantomon is slicing doors off apartments, and then the Bakemon enter and grab the occupants.

Koushiro has the Digital Barrier at about 50% install. But time is running out. Quite understandably, the Izumi parents want to get the fuck out of here.

Koushiro: Hurry... Hurry.... (Koushiro's parents burst into his room) Kae: There's trouble, Koushiro! Masami: We have to leave! Koushiro: No! We'll be safer if we stay here! Kae: What are you saying!? The bakemono are almost here! Koushiro: Just a little longer! Please just give me a few more seconds!

Of course, lacking context on what he's doing, what Koushiro is asking for sounds absolutely deranged and no reasonable parent would go along with it. Kae bolts across the room and grabs Koushiro by the shoulders, trying to physically extract him from his computer desk.

Good mom. Wrong, but good.

Kae: Koushiro! Come! Come! Koushiro: Mom!

Outside, the Bakemon continue their sweep of the complex.

Koushiro: Wait, Mom! Kae: You have to leave the computer behind! We have to leave quickly! Quickly, Koushiro!

Kae's statement here is revealing. She thinks this is about the family drama. About Koushiro shutting them out and hiding himself away in his room with his computer. She thinks that's what he's doing, and it's going to get him hurt or killed.

She has tears in her eyes when she begs him to leave the computer and come with her. She doesn't know how to fix their problem and she doesn't want her inability to understand how to connect with her son to get him hurt.

But there's something about this situation that clicks with Masami. He realizes that whatever is happening here, it's not about the family drama. He puts a hand on Kae's shoulder.

Masami: Let's have faith in Koushiro. In our son. Like we always have. Kae: ...honey....

Kae stands aside and allows Koushiro to finish whatever is so important. Trusting that he understands the danger that they're in, and that he knows what he's doing.

In the dub, Phantomon opens us up with a silence-breaker.

Phantomon: Come out, come out wherever you are! (Cut to Izzy's room interior) Izzy: Come on... Come on.... (Izzy's parents burst into his room) Kae: It is time to go, Izzy!

Kae's delivery here sounds frustrated, as if Izzy's been telling her "One more minute!" for a while now.

Masami: We've got to get out of here! Izzy: No! Believe it or not, we'll be safer here! Kae: What are you talking about, Izzy!? Those creatures will be at our door any minute! Izzy: Trust me, I know what I'm doing! Just give me another couple of minutes here! (Kae runs up and grabs Izzy) Kae: No! You are coming now! Izzy: Wait, Mom! Let me go! (The Bakemon get closer) Izzy: Mom, you don't understand! Kae: No, you don't understand! This isn't the time! Now will you please leave that computer alone and come on? (Masami puts a hand on Kae's shoulder) Masami: Dear, maybe he knows what he's doing. Let's trust the boy, alright? The kids seem to know more about it than we do. Kae: You're right. Masami: Go for it, son!

Kae mentions the computer but the problem is her tone of voice. When Original Kae asks Koushiro to leave the computer, her voice is cracking from desperation and terror. She's panicking. Dub Kae delivers it as more of a scolding; She's telling him off for his failure to adequately prioritize in a crisis.

The meaning behind the computer doesn't really come through in the dub's version.

Then the rest of the scene is a tactical discussion? The original Masami takes a leap of faith and chooses to believe in Koushiro because he acknowledges and respects his son's intelligence and decision-making skills.

Dub Masami makes a calculated tactical choice to let Izzy handle this because he was watching the last episode and saw how cool Mimi and Sora were. "The kids seem to know more about it than we do." Yes, but how do you know that? You have met zero DigiDestined outside of Izzy. This scene, this scene happening right now, is your first encounter with any of this.

Finally, Phantomon and two Bakemon approach the Izumi residence.

Koushiro: Digital Barrier: ON!!!

A bright blue light erupts from the monitor, filling the room. Just then, Phantomon slices down the Izumi family's front door. The two Bakemon comb the apartment, with one looking in on Koushiro's room.

From their perspective, we see no humans inside the room. Only a mysterious floating golf club. Fucking weird, but not what we came here for.

Bakemon: Nothing here. Phantomon: Alright!

The bakemono leave, moving on to the next apartment down. Koushiro's parents breathe a sigh of relief, collapsing to the floor together. Tentomon is also relieved.

Tentomon: KOUSHIRO-HAN!!! IT WORKED PERFECTLY!!!

No longer relieved, the Izumi parents about have a heart attack from the startling reveal that the ladybug toy by the desk is, in fact, another monster. Koushiro facepalms while Tentomon scrambles to introduce himself.

Tentomon: I-I'm called Tentomon... Nice to meet you? Kae: (faints) Masami: Honey!?

That's a whoopsy-doodle.

The dub again gives Phantomon a silence-breaker as he approaches the Izumi door.

Phantomon: Trick or treat.... (Cut to Izzy's room interior) Izzy: Done. Digital Barrier coming on... NOW!!! (Bright blue light, followed by ghosty invasion) Bakemon: (confused by the levitating golf club) That's funny... I could have sworn.... Phantomon: There's no one here. Let's get moving! (The ghosties leave) Tentomon: IT WORKED!!! The Digital Barrier is in place! (Parents freak out) Tentomon: Oops. Well, now that you know I can talk, my name's Tentomon. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Kae: (faints) Masami: Dear!

Bakemon's line feels a little off. Nothing wrong with this scene, but I'd tweak it to have him comment on the golf club rather than indicate that he somehow previously knew people were home. Still, it works great as is.

From here, we move back to Big Sight convention center. The captive adults are miserable and frustrated except for Mimi's parents; In an easily missed visual gag as the camera's panning over, Satoe and Keisuke remain cutie-patooties who love each other dearly.

Those two are winning at life. Not even Vamdemon can stop them from enjoying every second they have in one another's presence.

Taichi's father Susumu stands up suddenly, yelling at their captors.

Susumu: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO US!?!? Random Woman: GIVE US BACK OUR CHILDREN!!! PicoDevimon: Hehehehe... You'll all become a meal for Vamdemon-sama. Go to sleep until then.

PicoDevimon knocks out the entire crowd by radiating hypnotic waves from his eyes.

...uh. Hey, PicoDevimon? What the fuck? How long have you been able to do that? Seems like it would have been a lot easier to fight the Chosen Children with that ability than your fucking Pico Darts, my dude.

Man, everybody on Team Vamdemon went down to the Tokyo Skill Shop to buy some new attacks, I see.

In the dub:

Susumu: Well, what are you going to do with us!? Random Woman: NOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN!?!? PicoDevimon: Hehehehe... Well, if I told you now, it would simply ruin the surprise that's coming up! In the meantime, why doesn't everybody take a little nap?

I guess the prospect of Myotismon ravenously devouring all of the adults was a little too much for the dub.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the convention center, the filtering of Odaiba's children is officially underway.

Tailmon: No. (Next child) Tailmon: No. Bakemon: Alright, next.

Vamdemon suddenly appears behind Tailmon, causing the children to start screaming and crying even harder than they were already.

Vamdemon: You understand, of course: If you lie to me, all of these children will die!

That doesn't help, either. Honestly, they're kinda fucked no matter what Tailmon does right now. He can't validate whether or not she's lying. He doesn't know the answer so how is he supposed to fact-check Tailmon?

He's going to kill them all when he reaches the end of the list without finding the Eighth Child, regardless of whether or not Hikari is here.

In the dub:

Gatomon: It's not him. Bakemon: Next. (Next child) Gatomon: It's not her. Bakemon: Okay, next. (Myotismon appears) Myotismon: Beware, Gatomon.... Gatomon: Huh!? Myotismon: If you lie to me, I will simply destroy them all!

Slightly more consistent on the dub's part to have Bakemon say "Next" for the first kid too, not just the second.

Then we return to Hinode Pier, where someone else is caught in the same angry mob as Takeru and Natsuko.

Jou: Excuse me! Everyone calm down!

Jou escapes from the station, taking cover outside the door and catching his breath.

Jou: (to his duffel bag) I thought I was going to die in there-- Takeru: Jou-san! Jou: Takeru-kun! Takeru: Jou-san, why aren't you in Odaiba? Jou: I was in cram school when this all began. Takeru: Hey, that fog must be.... Jou: Yeah. It's probably Vamdemon doing it. Odaiba must be in a lot of trouble right now. Takeru: Onii-chan.... Jou: I'm going to do whatever it takes to reach Odaiba. Takeru: I'll come with! But how...? Jou: (holds out his duffel bag) With this!

Jou puts his duffel bag on the ground and unzips it, letting out Gomamon. Gomamon pops out making a loud noise, as if trying to startle Takeru and Patamon for funsies. The little shit.

Gomamon: (pops out suddenly) WHAAA!!! Takeru: GOMAMON!!! Gomamon: Ahhh, I was dying in there. Patamon: Yay! Jou: I'm counting on you, Gomamon. Gomamon: Okay! I'm on it!

Jou has now fully given up on any man-made method of entering Odaiba. It's time to do what worked for us the first time we were stranded outside the district and forge our own path.

In the dub:

Joe: HEY!!! SLOW DOWN!!! (Joe escapes the building) Joe: (to his duffel bag) I thought we were gonna be goners! T.K.: Joe!? Joe: HUAGH!!! (realizes) Hey, T.K. T.K.: I thought you'd be in town with the others. Joe: No, I was across the harbor when the power went out. T.K.: So we're both stuck out here... While everyone else is in there.... Joe: Yeah. Who knows what Myotismon is planning to do inside that evil blanket of fog. T.K.: Not so good. Joe: Alright, enough talk. It's time for action. We've gotta get there. T.K.: I know. What'll we use to get across? Joe: (holds out his duffel bag) This is what! The answer's right here. (Joe opens the duffel bag) Gomamon: (pops out) TA-DA!!! T.K.: GOMAMON!!! Gomamon: Ah, fresh air. Joe: Are you ready to give it a try? Gomamon: Sure, if you are.

Joe has no explanation to offer T.K. for why he was outside Odaiba. Which is probably because the dub has no explanation. Remember that Joe isn't going to cram school to prepare him for entrance exams. He's just studying for fun, to get a jump-start on next year's academics.

So it's a real question. What the fuck was he doing out there?

The funny thing is that he says he was "across the harbor", which is a bald-faced lie. He spent all night trying to get a train before walking down to the harbor as a last resort. He was much deeper into the city than he wants T.K. to think.

What are you hiding, Joe?

Once Gomamon's out, Jou puts his plan into action. Um. Without consulting one person in particular who should probably have a say in this.

Still inside the station, the crowd has calmed down and Natsuko frantically searches for her son.

Natsuko: TAKERU!!! TAKERU!!!

Outside, Gomamon evolves into Ikkakumon and hits the bay in plain sight of everyone.

Ikkakumon: Now, hop on! Takeru: Right! Bystander: WHAT IS THAT!?!? Other Bystander: ARE THOSE CHILDREN!?!?

In the commotion, Natsuko notices the passengers riding the bizarre sea monster and sprints out along the dock to catch up.

Natsuko: TAKERU!!! Takeru: Mama! Jou: Huh!? Natsuko: IT'S DANGEROUS!!! COME DOWN FROM THERE!!! Takeru: I'm okay, Mama! This is Ikkakumon! He's a friend! Jou: Uh, it's nice to meet you! I'm Kido Jou from sixth grade! I'll take good care of Takeru-kun, so don't worry! Natsuko: TAKERU!!! Takeru: Don't worry, Mama! I'm going to be fine! Natsuko: TAKERU!!!

Nothing the boys say does anything to dissuade Natsuko's abject parental terror, nor should it. But eventually she runs out of pier, while Ikkakumon has plenty more bay ahead of him. Natsuko's left behind, unable to do anything but watch in horror as this sea beast takes her son away.

Takeru: I'll tell Onii-chan and Papa that you said hi! Natsuko: Honey... Please protect these precious children....

Then Ikkakumon disappears into the fog. And the sound of a roaring sea monster can be heard.

Hey, remember when Jou was flipping out about stealing eggs from a fridge? Uh. Nobody tell Jou but. Um. Uh. Legally? This is a kidnapping. Legally, he just kidnapped Takeru.

Guess he doesn't need to worry about his bad test score keeping him out of a prestigious school anymore; He is officially a delinquent now and that seems worse for his academic career.

In the dub:

Nancy: T.K.!!! T.K.!!! (Gomamon evolves) Ikkakumon: All aboard! Bystander: Look! It's another one!

The crowd murmurings from there are unintelligible. However, when Joe and T.K. climb up onto Ikkakumon, one person can clearly be heard saying:

Other Bystander: What are they doing? Nancy: T.K.!!! (runs out onto the pier) T.K.: Uh-oh.... Joe: Huh? Nancy: T.K., what is that thing!? Get down from there! T.K.: Oh, it's okay, Mom! By the way, this is a friend of mine; His name's Joe. Joe: It's very nice to meet you, ma'am! I was in T.K.'s woodworking class at summer camp! He nearly cut off one of my fingers but that's a whole different story; I won't go into it right now. Nancy: PLEASE STOP!!! I DON'T UNDERSTAND!?!? T.K.: Don't worry! The saw slipped but I missed him by a mile. He wasn't hurt. Nancy: THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!! (Nancy reaches the end of the pier) T.K.: So long, Mom! I'll be back with Matt and Dad by dinner time! Nancy: Oh no... I've lost all of them now....

There is no ominous sea monster roar when they disappear into the fog. As usual, the dub overlooks pieces of the story-craft that are baked into the sound effects rather than the dialogue or animation.

They fucking.

They fucking gaslight Nancy to buy time for Ikkakumon to outrun her. XD I honestly don't know if I love or hate this version of the scene. What the actual fuck, boys!?

Back at the Izumi residence, Kae wakes up in Koushiro's bed. Koushiro is at his laptop, receiving another message from Chibi Gennai.

Gennai: It looks like the Digital Barrier is safely in place. Koushiro: Yes. Gennai: Now, listen. The mysterious fog surrounding Odaiba is really a magical barrier created by Vamdemon. Koushiro: I knew it. Tentomon: We're trapped like bugs in a basket. Gennai: The source of the barrier is located here. (A map marker for the FCG Building appears, followed by a picture) Gennai: If you destroy the source, you will destroy the barrier. Koushiro: It's the Fuji Television building! Let's go! Tentomon: Right!

I just want to take a moment at marvel at the fact that this cartoon, which aired on Fuji TV, has now given Koushiro instructions to go fuck up Fuji TV.

In the dub:

Gennai: So Izzy, if you're still listening to me, that means the Digital Barrier must have worked. Izzy: Like a charm! Gennai: The cloud barrier surrounding the entire district is not a natural phenomenon. It's Myotismon's doing. Izzy: Well, duh. Tentomon: Yeah, but what do we do about it? Gennai: You're probably wondering when I'm going to tell you what you can do about it. The source of the fog is here. (FCG Building) Gennai: Attack its source and you should bring down the barrier. Izzy: That's a TV station! Let's get moving! Tentomon: Aye-aye!

Dub team did not have the nerve to localize Fuji TV into the FOX network. Pity. I would love to see Japanese Sean Hannity terrorized by MegaKabuterimon.

Now that he knows what to do, Koushiro packs up his laptop.

Koushiro: Dad, Mom, I don't know when they'll come back. Please stay here in the house for now. You'll be safe as long as you're in here.

Koushiro runs for the door, but Kae calls out to him.

Kae: Koushiro.... Koushiro: (stops) Kae: Be careful... Come home safe, okay? To us....

With tears in his eyes, Koushiro chokes on his own words. Shaking. Struggling. But then he forces a smile and looks back at his mom.

Koushiro: Of course. I'll be back! (Koushiro bolts from the apartment as fast as he can) Tentomon: Wait for me!

Tentomon scrambles to catch up to Koushiro, who is now fleeing from this conversation as much as he's going out on mission. While Kae leans into Masami and starts crying out of fear for him.

In the dub:

Izzy: They might come back. The safest thing you guys can do is to stay right where you are. In here, the Digital Barrier will protect you. I'll be back as soon as I can! So long! (Izzy runs for the door but stops when Kae calls out to him) Kae: Wait! You've grown so much, Izzy, and it's obvious you can take care of yourself but you will always be my little boy. So please son, be careful. (With tears in his eyes, Izzy shakes and scowls, then fakes a smile when he turns back around) Izzy: I will. Don't worry about me, Mom. (Izzy bolts from the apartment as fast as he can) Tentomon: I'll make sure he's safe! (Kae leans into Masami and starts crying)

The subtext in this version isn't quite as evident, but you can still read it in if you know it's there. It's easy to mistake Izzy as simply getting emotional because of how much his mom loves him. But you can make that mistake with Koushiro as well.

Sneaking around town, Taichi and Agumon spot opportunity. A lone Bakemon is relaxing on a bench and complaining about his job.

Bakemon: I'm so tired. The Bakemon have it rough....

Sensing opportunity, Taichi fucking jumps the Bakemon from behind, pinning him to the ground by surprise and wailing on him. Agumon joins the fray shortly after.

Taichi: Where is everyone being kept!?

Suddenly, Sora flies in overhead. I can't imagine she can make him out very well from as high as she is, but how many people would be jumping a Bakemon like this? Taichi is his father's son.

Sora: TAICHI!!! Taichi: Sora! You're safe!

The Bakemon takes this opportunity to run for it, costing Taichi his chance to interrogate. Fortunately, Sora has the information he needs.

Taichi: (to Bakemon) WAIT!!! Sora: Big Sight! That's where Vamdemon is keeping everyone! (Birdramon sets Sora down on the ground) Taichi: Big Sight? Sora: Yeah. Mimi-chan is there. And your parents. Taichi: Damn that Vamdemon... Sora, I need you to go find Yamato. He's with Hikari in Aqua City. Sora: Right. Can do. Taichi: Let's go!

Sora and Taichi head off their separate ways while I marvel at how poorly Taichi planned this.

We now know exactly where Yamato's hiding out. The building under construction is Aqua City, a huge shopping mall right by the FCG Building.

Sora and Birdramon take off, but Phantomon briefly reveals themselves to the audience. They've been tailing her.

...I'm not sure how Phantomon can be tailing Sora and leading the abductions at the same time. That doesn't make a lot of sense. Were Koushiro's scenes supposed to be taking place prior to the adult revolt last episode? The chronology here is confusing.

In the dub:

Bakemon: Never a moment's rest. It's always "Seize her" or "Grab him" or "Go terrorize that old lady". Ugh, I am one pooped spook.... (Tai jumps Bakemon) Tai: Ya! Okay, start talking! Where are you keeping everyone, you little creep!? (Sora flies in overhead) Sora: HEY!!! TAI!!! Tai: SORA!?!? SO YOU'RE ALRIGHT!?!? (Bakemon escapes) Tai: Hey, come back! Sora: The Convention Center! Myotismon's holding them prisoner there! (Sora lands) Tai: Everyone in the whole district!? Sora: Yeah. Including Mimi. He's got your parents as well. Tai: Huh!? I've about had it with this guy.... Okay, Sora, you go hook up with Matt. He's in the warehouse by Aqua City. Sora: I'm on my way! Tai: Let's go! Sora: Aqua City, Birdramon! Step on it! (Phantomon appears as Sora and Birdramon fly off) Phantomon: Huhuhuhuhuhuuuu... The plot thickens....

I love Bakemon's angry rambling. "Go terrorize that old lady", huh? That one had to have come from DemiDevimon. It has nothing to do with the actual mission, unlike "Seize her" or "Grab him". This poor pooped spook. And then he got punched in the face a bunch.

I like how we're doing the proper noun dance, where we danced around saying Big Sight and we danced around saying Odaiba. Nothing wrong with that; Tai keeps the information that's relevant to understanding the story, even as he's dropping the geographical references.

But then Tai suddenly drops "the warehouse by Aqua City". That one made it in.

Inside the FCG Building, Hiroaki's trying to get the satellite communications going. But he's thwarted there as well.

Hiroaki: The satellites won't work either! (pounds the console) FUCK!!! There has to be a way. Some way to contact the outside world!

Meanwhile, down in the streets below, Mission: Vaporize Fuji TV is underway and Tentomon's animators are eager to get started on the demolitions.

Tentomon: This is too much for me to destroy in this form. Should I evolve? Koushiro: Please wait! There could still be people in the building. Let's take a look inside first.

Koushiro leads Tentomon into the building to make sure they aren't killing anyone when they level this structure. I'm sure Hiroaki will appreciate his courtesy.

In the dub, Hiroaki makes sure to keep his language PG when he angrily slams the console, of course.

Hiroaki: The satellite dish won't respond! (pounds the console) RATS!!! Come on, there's gotta be some way of communicating with the outside world.... (Outside, Izzy and Tentomon approach) Tentomon: Whoa, I had no idea TV stations were so big! If I'm going to destroy it, I should Digivolve. Izzy: Hold on for a minute. For all we know, there might still be people inside. We better check it out.

Back at their hidey-hole in Aqua City, Yamato's watching out for Hikari. Not an easy task, because she's quite reasonably spiraling from everything that's going on.

Yamato: Wizarmon? Is that your Partner Digimon, Hikari-chan? Hikari: No, that's Tailmon. Wizarmon is Tailmon's friend. But... Vamdemon killed him.... Mom was taken away.... (gasp) What about Dad!? Do you think they got my Dad too!? Yamato: Eh? Hikari: He's okay, right!? ONII-CHAN'S GOING TO SAVE EVERYONE, RIGHT!?!? Yamato: Uh... I don't know... With Taichi by himself....

Wrong move, Yamato. Hikari was looking for reassurance, not blunt honesty. Yamato's words send Hikari into a total breakdown and she weeps openly in sheer terror.

Hikari: Tell me it'll be okay! Gabumon: Yamato! Don't make her cry! Yamato: (sigh) ...Takeru....

The dub does some more rearranging of scenes here. We're gonna come back to the scene they put next when we hit it, but know that they moved a scene between Izzy at the FCG Building and Matt making Kari cry.

Kari's a lot calmer in the dub when we start this conversation. She calmly and matter-of-factly explains things for Matt.

Matt: Wizardmon, huh? Is that your Digimon's name? Kari: No no! Mine is Gatomon. Wizardmon is like her best friend. But he's gone now. He got captured by the bad Digimon. It must be awful losing your best friend. My Mommy got captured by them too. (gasp) But not my Daddy! Do you think maybe my Daddy got away!? He's alright, don't you think? And Mommy will be too 'cause Tai's gonna rescue her, right? Matt: Uhhh, sure, he will, Kari... But let's remember, Tai's just one kid and he's fighting hundreds! Kari: T_T AHHHH I WANT MOMMY TO COME BACK!!!! Matt: Huh!? Gabumon: Nice work! Have some compassion! Can't you see she's worried about her family!? You're worried about yours, aren't you!?

Kari's eeriness returns here. She's so calm and matter-of-fact in her description of Wizardmon's execution and Yuuko's abduction. She's also more hopeful than Hikari; Convincing herself that Susumu escaped capture based on nothing.

She honestly seems like she's fine. Or would be if Matt didn't suddenly decide to Um Actually at her. In the original, he's thinking through the question out loud. He doesn't have a chance to properly answer because he's still trying to figure out what to say. But the things that escape his mouth are enough to strip Hikari's hope away from her.

Here, he goes full on "EXCUSE YOU, Tai's going to get his ass whupped!" Like, he's not being mean; He's trying to ground her expectations so she doesn't get her hopes up too much. Which, in this situation, proves to be the wrong move. It's a different mistake, but still a mistake.

We do lose Hikari yelling at Yamato to reassure her better. Which isn't a big deal but it's a funny line and I'm sad it didn't make the jump.

Finally, it's Gabumon who provokes our scene transition to Takeru, rather than Yamato's thoughts wandering.

We hop over to the Tokyo Bay, where Jou and Takeru are making their way in to Odaiba.

Jou: When we pass under the Rainbow Bridge, the fog will be at its thickest. Takeru: Okay!

Ikkakumon turns, taking them into the part of the bridge that's shrouded in fog. Suddenly, they hear the sound of metal creaking.

Jou: Huh? Did something just move? Takeru: Where? Jou: Look, somewhere over there....

The colossal sea dragon now wrapped around Rainbow Bridge moves again, letting out a high-pitched roar. Well, now we know how they're keeping private boats out.

MegaSeadramon is a Perfect-stage Data-type Aquatic Digimon. From the Deep Savers line, MegaSeadramon is the evolved form of Seadramon, obviously enough.

Yet another kaiju-sized sea monster. Tailmon, what exactly did you think the mission was? This is the first glimpse we've even had of MegaSeadramon in her ranks. I don't imagine their search for the Eighth Child at the bottom of the bay went very well.

Patamon is the first to see through the fog well enough to recognize the peril they're in.

Patamon: MEGASEADRAMON!!! Narrator: MegaSeadramon. An Aquatic Digimon who evolves from Seadramon. He uses lightning-shaped blade to fire his special attack, Thunder Javelin.

He's a sea monster that shoots lightning into the sea. That's way worse than Seadramon's frost breath. What a dick! I'm glad Takeru's mom isn't around to see the part where her 8-year-old suddenly got attacked by a lightning dragon. It's okay, though; He has a sixth grader with him.

In the dub:

Joe: There! Once we get past the bridge, we'll be through the barrier! T.K.: Right!

As usual, the dub has trouble with plot points delivered through sound effects. The ominous metal creaking from a colossal kaiju serpent gripping the bridge in its coils that warns Jou they're about to be attacked? That doesn't make it over. But they did realize something is supposed to be here, so we do get... a noise.

It's MegaSeadramon. They go "Gyarrgh" as the kids approach.

MegaSeadramon: Gyarrgh. Joe: Is your tummy rumbling or did I hear something? T.K.: Huh? Like what? Joe: Wait! What's up there by the bridge!? MegaSeadramon: Gyah! Patamon: I knew this was too easy! Patamon: (rundown) That's MegaSeadramon! The regular ol' Seadramon was bad enough but compared to this fully Digivolved version, it was just an angry guppy!

The regular ol' Seadramon was just defending themself. No I will not let that go, they were the victim in all of that! I am getting a lawyer and we will be defending Seadramon against the libel and slander of--

Oh, right, MegaSeadramon. MegaSeadramon is not the victim in anything. MegaSeadramon is doing terrorism.

Tightening their coils, MegaSeadramon breaks the Rainbow Bridge. The bridge twists, suspension wires snap, massive chunks of debris plummet into the bay around Ikkakumon and his passengers. The bridge itself snaps in half, with the chunk connecting to Shibaura sinking into the water.

Jou: WHAAA!!! THE RAINBOW BRIDGE!!!

R.I.P., you majestic structure of public transit.

Joe has other concerns on his mind as he watches the bridge collapse into the bay.

Joe: Oh great. We'll probably get blamed for this!

...you know what, that's fair. A lot of witnesses saw Ikkakumon take off towards the bridge shortly before its destruction.

Shame we can't see what's going on at the train station and pier right about now. I'd love to see the look on the faces of the "TURN THE TRAINS BACK ON!!!" crowd as they watch the Rainbow Bridge collapse into Tokyo Bay.

After MegaSeadramon drops half the Rainbow Bridge on their heads, Ikkakumon returns fire with a Harpoon Vulcan. MegaSeadramon pushes through it and hits Ikkakumon with their Thunder Javelin. A direct hit upends Ikkakumon, sending Jou and Takeru plunging into the bay.

Patamon: TAKERU!!! JOU!!! TAKERU!!! Takeru: (surfaces, flailing) HELP ME!!! I CAN'T SWIM!!!

Patamon grabs onto Takeru's fingers, desperately trying to keep him above the water. But he loses his grip and Takeru sinks.

Takeru: (thinking) Help me... Onii-chan....

An image of Yamato flashes in front of Takeru's eyes. But then Jou scoops him up, giving him a small plank of wood that he can hold to keep himself above the water.

Patamon: Takeru! Jou: Hold onto that! Takeru: Jou-san! Jou: I promised your mother... that I'd keep you safe.... I have to keep my prommmbmlmm.... Takeru: Jou-san! JOU-SAN!!!

Jou loses his strength and sinks into the water, cutting off his last line. Even though he doesn't have the strength to keep afloat, he uses what little strength he has left to get Takeru to relative safety. Even giving up the little board, sacrificing his own ability to survive this situation for Takeru's sake.

This is all mostly the same in the dub, except Joe never promised Nancy that he would take care of T.K. They gaslit her with the woodworking story instead. So for his big line, he says:

Joe: I wouldn't want your mom to worry about you! You're just a kid! I-I'm responsible for you.... (sinks)

Joe, she's going to worry either way. You don't want her to grieve for him, is what you don't want.

As Jou sinks beneath the waves, this ultimate gesture of his seijitsu, his faithfulness, his moral honesty, activates his Crest. Ikkakumon CHOU-SHINKAAAAAA!!!

Zudomon is a Perfect-stage Vaccine-type Ocean Beast Digimon. Like MegaSeadramon, he comes from the Deep Savers line. His name comes from zudon, the onomatopoeia for a loud banging sound, like a gunshot or a hammer strike.

Narrator: Zudomon. A Power-type Digimon who evolves from Ikkakumon. His special attack, Hammer Spark, releases sparks from his strongest weapon, the Thor Hammer.

Yes, his hammer is not Mjolnir, it's not Thor's Hammer, it's the Thor Hammer. XD I don't know why that's funny but it is.

Zudomon lifts Jou and Takeru out of the bay; Jou's Crest still glowing with holy energy.

Takeru: Jou-san! (gasp) Look!

A ray from the Crest is shining into Vamdemon's fog bank; The holy energy clearing it away.

Jou: The fog... It's clearing up!

Over in the dub, Patamon handles Zudomon's rundown.

T.K.: WHOA!!! Who's that, Patamon!? Patamon: (rundown) Don't worry! He's one of ours! That's Zudomon; He's the fully Digivolved version of Ikakkumon! I was wondering when he'd finally show up.

"About time he got here," says a Digimon who only hit Adult-stage three episodes ago. Where's your Perfect, Patamon? I don't think you get to talk shit about late bloomers.

T.K.: Joe! Huh? (T.K. notices the light) Joe: He's cutting an opening in the fog bank!

The dub continues their trend of trying to nix as many references to the holy energy of the holy devices as possible. Despite the fact that a ray of light coming off of Joe's Crest is clearly what's peeling away the barrier, Joe credits the effect to something Zudomon is doing.

Of course, MegaSeadramon isn't going to stand by and let us break through like this.

MegaSeadramon fires off another Thunder Javelin, but Zudomon's horn acts as a lightning rod to absorb it. Zudomon counters with Hammer Spark. Or. Says he's using Hammer Spark and then whollops MegaSeadramon really hard on the top of their fucking head with the Thor Hammer.

(You can see MegaSeadramon's hair in that hit. It could only have struck the back of their head. Zudomon's reach is incredible.)

One hard bop with the Thor Hammer is all it takes to end this fight.

Fun fact: That wasn't a fatal hit. MegaSeadramon falls unconscious into the bay, uncoiling from the bridge, but does not disintegrate into pixels. This is, however, the last we'll ever see of them, so I guess they're still out there somewhere in the Pacific living their best life.

There is a MegaSeadramon in 02 as well, but I'm not sure if it's the same one. I guess we'll see when we get there.

Takeru: We should go before the fog closes back up! Jou: You're right! Let's go!

Capitalizing on the opportunity, Zudomon slips through the barrier right before it seals back up. At last, Jou and Takeru have made it Odaiba. While Natsuko is probably watching the Rainbow Bridge crash into the bay and screaming panicked obscenities about her son.

The dub, of note, has MegaSeadramon call their attacks. This is another case of a Digimon who just makes beast noises in the original, but gets to speak in the dub strictly within the context of attack calling.

MegaSeadramon: THUNDER JAVELIN!!! Zudomon: I don't think so!

Dub Zudomon refers to his own attack as Vulcan's Hammer, a reference to the Roman fire god Vulcan. I don't know why they swapped Thor out for Vulcan when the attack is electricity-based.

T.K.: Hey, we'd better get going before the fog bank closes again! Joe: You've got a point! Engines ahead full, Zudomon!

Does he? Couldn't Zudomon just open it back up if it does?

Cut to the FCG Building. For the sake of his continued employment, Koushiro's workshopping a better plan than vaporizing Fuji TV.

Koushiro: The main source of the barrier should be around here somewhere. If we strike that--

Rounding a corner, he suddenly sees a patrolling Bakemon and ducks back around.

Koushiro: This is bad. Let's head back the other way.

Koushiro turns and sees another patrolling Bakemon over that way. They're surrounded.

Koushiro: Oh no! They have us cornered! MMPH!!!

The closet door behind Koushiro opens and Hiroaki grabs him, pulling him inside. Tentomon grabs onto Koushiro's leg to try and save him from the sudden attack, instead getting pulled in with him.

Hiroaki: (whispers) Stay quiet.

Outside, the two Bakemon pass the door, neither suspecting a thing, and continues on their way.

Koushiro: ...who are you?

In the dub:

Izzy: Okay, keep your eyes peeled. Now, if I were a fog barrier generator, where would I be? (Izzy sees the first Bakemon and hides) Izzy: Get back! Back up. We'll go the other way. (Izzy runs into the second Bakemon) Izzy: Not that way either! They've got us surrounded--GOHH!!! (Hiroaki pulls Izzy into the closet) Hiroaki: Keep quiet. (The Bakemon pass) Bakemon 1: Pretty boring, huh? Bakemon 2: You said it! Izzy: (gasp) Who... Who are you!?

Pretty faithful, with the addition of a cute couple of lines between the Bakemon as they pass in the hall.

Meanwhile, in the fog, Jou and Takeru come upon an unexpected discovery.

Takeru: It's all white! Jou: I can't even see where we're going.... Wizarmon: Take me to Tailmon.... Patamon: Who's that!?

Wizarmon surfaces, clinging to a log and proving Vamdemon stupid for his terrible execution method.

Wizarmon: My name... is Wizarmon.... Take me to Tailmon.... Jou: Aren't you one of Vamdemon's minions!? Takeru: He looks hurt!

Wizarmon reveals Hikari's Crest.

Wizarmon: P-Please... This is for Tailmon.... Takeru: LOOK!!! IT'S A CREST AND TAG!!! Wizarmon: This... is the Eighth Child's... original.... (passes out) Jou & Takeru: WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!?

Well, shit. We have to save him now, don't we?

In the dub:

T.K.: I can't see anything in here! Joe: I just hope we don't end up going in a totally wrong direction. Wizardmon: Take me... to Gatomon...! Please...! Patamon: Huh!? Who's there!? (Wizardmon surfaces) Wizardmon: I'm Wizardmon... Must find Gatomon... Important.... Joe: Not so fast, there! Aren't you one of Myotismon's henchmen!? T.K.: He looks beat up pretty bad! Wizardmon: Gotta give... Gatomon... This.... (Wizardmon reveals Kari's Crest) T.K.: Look, he's got somebody's Crest! Wizardmon: Yes! It belongs to... the Eighth Child.... (passes out) Joe & T.K.: AHHH THE EIGHTH CHILD!!!

Wizardmon doesn't mention that it's the original, but that's fine. The kids don't know about the copies anyway. Only Taichi and Hikari learned that plot point, when Tailmon and Wizarmon explained it to them.

Back at Aqua City, Yamato checks the time on his Digivice. It's 9:30 A.M. Taichi's two hours have run out.

Yamato: Two hours are just about up. Where is Taichi? Sora: (distant) YAMATOOOOO!!! HIKARI-CHAAAAAAN!!!

Birdramon lands outside Aqua City, letting Sora down and also dropping the paralyzed body of Lilimon. Yamato and Hikari come out to meet her.

Yamato: SORA!!! Sora: YAMATO!!! Taichi told me you'd be here! Everyone's being held captive at Big Sight! Yamato: Big Sight!? Phantomon: Hehehehehe!

Phantomon reveals themselves on an overpass overlooking the entrance to Aqua City.

Phantomon: It doesn't matter if I find the Eighth Child or defeat you!! This ends here! Attack!

A beastly green Digimon with two huge horns erupts from the ground in front of them. Apparently this one's been Bugs Bunny tunneling beneath Tokyo this whole time? Tailmon's mercs are getting weirder and weirder.

In the dub:

Matt: Your brother should have been back by now. Where is he? Sora: (distant) HEY, IS ANYBODY THERE!?!? (Matt and Kari run out to meet Sora) Matt: Sora! What's up? Sora: Matt! Thank goodness! Myotismon's rounded up the whole district! He's holding everybody at the convention center! Matt: So what do we do now!? Phantomon: I have a suggestion. (Phantomon reveals themself) Phantomon: You see, I've never understood why the master is wasting all this time searching for the Eighth Child when it would be so much easier just to... DESTROY YOU ALL!!!

Dub Phantomon asks valid questions. It's pretty clear at this point that Vamdemon/Myotismon's obsession with the Eighth Child has driven him to questionable decision-making. He's so terrified of Hikari that he's even passed up opportunities to press the attack against the other kids for the sake of pursuing her.

He crossed realities to reach her. He gloated that the kids can't win without her, but then went to such great lengths to involve her when he could have let her stay in Odaiba where a cosmic mistake left her. He is single-mindedly obsessed with the Eighth Child and it's tactically costing him.

Hey Vamdemon? Why haven't you killed Mimi? She's in your custody right this fucking second, and has no Partner to protect her. Why is she allowed to chill at Big Sight?

It's because she isn't the Eight Child. She's one of the seven. He doesn't care about the seven. He delegated PicoDevimon, of all Digimon, to go deal with them. They do not matter to him. Only the Eighth does. Only Hikari matters to Vamdemon. He has tunnel vision for her.

So. Yeah. Phantomon's over here like, "I mean I'm basically the Death to his Dracula at this point, and I'm making an executive decision that maybe we should just fucking kill the other kids. I don't know why that isn't a priority for us."

I really like the dub's line here.

In addition to Tuskmon, Phantomon conjures up a second Digimon to attack as well. Summoning this one out of a portal in the air.

Tuskmon is an Adult-stage Virus-type Dinosaur Digimon. They're from the Pagumon tree. A poorly cared for Gazimon or Gizamon will become Tuskmon if they're well trained. Their name, Tuskmon, is something if a misnomer given that their distinguishing feature is a pair of giant horns.

Snimon is an Adult-stage Vaccine-type Insect Digimon. Their name comes from the English word "sniper". Snimon would not debut in the V-Pet until Digimon Accel, years after their appearance here.

Narrator: Tuskmon. A Power Digimon who breaks through any obstacle. Their special attack is Panzer Knuckle. Phantomon: NYIIIIIGH!!! (summons Snimon) Narrator: Snimon. Resembling a praying mantis, this Insect Digimon is cruel and vicious. Their special attack is Shadow Sickle. Sora: AHHHHH!!! Yamato: GABUMON!!!

I have no idea why a Vaccine Digimon is "cruel and vicious". Attributes are weird sometimes.

In the dub, Phantomon handles the rundowns.

Phantomon: (rundown) Say hello to Tuskmon and watch out: Avoiding his razor-sharp horns is no easy tusk. Ahaha, sorry.... Phantomon: And here's the second member of our tag-team! (summons Snimon) Phantomon: (rundown) Snimon! A deadly praying mantis Digimon, which is so appropriate because you're all about to become his prey! Sora: WATCH OUT!!! Matt: GABUMON!!!

The fucking puns. Goddammit. XD I love Dub Phantomon. Dad Joke Death over here is gonna kill 'em with comedy. And violence. Mostly violence.

It takes no time at all for Garurumon and Birdramon to leap into the fight. Tuskmon lands a good hit, sending Garurumon over the building behind him, but Garurumon will be back. This is nothing they can't--

OH WAIT THIS IS NOT A POKEMON DUEL

That's not a diss at Pokemon, that's on me. As the kids and Phantomon queued up their fighters, for a moment I legit forgot they could do this. XD I was feeling pretty good about our chances and then this was a total "OH SHIT" moment for me.

While Garurumon and Birdramon are busy with Tuskmon and Snimon, there are absolutely zero eyes on Phantomon. He goes straight for the jugular, revealing his scythe to be a fucking kusarigama.

For those unaware, a kusarigama is the coolest Japanese weapon ever created. It consists of a sickle or knife attached by a chain to a metal weight. The weight allows the chain to be used for swinging and throwing; The intent being to tie up or incapaciate your opponent from a distance, then close in with the blade for a killshot. The chain can also be used to disarm their weapon.

It's a very versatile piece of equipment and is, frankly, the coolest "medieval" type weapon ever designed.

Even if you aren't familiar with it by name, you've probably seen kusarigama in anime. And if the person in the anime threw the knife instead of the weight, you saw it in bad anime. :P Sorry, I've seen that and it's a personal peeve.

Left completely unblocked by their Partner Digimon, Phantomon goes on the attack. Swinging his chain, he wraps Yamato's neck in it before Yamato even knows what's happening. Then he moves in quickly for the kill, closing distance and bringing his scythe down in a downward arc.

The dub cuts the moment the chain wraps around Matt's neck. I guess that part was a little too violent. We still see the chain around Matt's neck throughout the rest of the scene; Just not the moment it happens.

Yamato manages to roll out of the way, escaping his fate temporarily. Sora comes in with what appears to be a broom or hoe, or other wooden pole tool she picked up nearby. Phantomon slashes upwards, splitting the tool in her hands and knocking Sora backwards with the force of the attack.

All the while, Hikari watches this violence unfold in silent horror.

Phantomon is going to kill them.

Birdramon super-evolves to try and even the odds, but the fight is still going badly. Phantomon has Yamato by the throat and is choking the life out of him. Tuskmon's standing by, waiting for Garurumon who hasn't returned yet. Sora's laid out with Lilimon, helpless.

Dub Phantomon's still making Dad Jokes.

Phantomon: Kinda chokes you up, doesn't it? Ahaha!

Imagine being murdered by this guy. XD The shame.

And Hikari watches. Helpless. Terrified.

Hikari: Please... STOP IT!!!

Out in the fog, Hikari's outburst causes her Crest to shine in Wizarmon's hand.

Jou: Oh! Takeru: The Crest!

Hikari walks out to face Phantomon.

Hikari: I'm the Eighth Child. I'll come with you quietly. So please, stop hurting everyone. Phantomon: The heart of a child. So be it!

Hikari's offer is accepted. Tuskmon and Snimon withdraw. Phantomon unwraps his kusarigama from Yamato's neck. An editing error causes Phantomon to be visible with kusarigama already withdrawn as Tuskmon departs, before he unwraps it from Yamato's neck in the next shot.

In the dub, Kari starts speaking before her lip flaps begin to move because she needs more time.

Kari: STOP IT NOW!!! THAT'S ENOUGH!!! (Kari's Crest starts shining in Wizardmon's hand) Joe: Oh! T.K.: What's it doing!? (Kari walks out to face Phantomon) Kari: It's me you want. I'm the Eighth Child. If you'll just stop hurting my friends, I'll come with you quietly wherever you want! Phantomon: What a refreshingly helpful attitude. It's a deal.

Phantomon wraps Hikari in an energy bubble and takes her into custody. At long last, the Eighth Child is within Vamdemon's grasp.

Phantomon begins to take Hikari away.

Hikari: Thank you. (Phantomon levitates Hikari) Sora: DON'T, HIKARI-CHAN!!! Yamato: Ugh... YOU CAN'T GO!!! Sora: HIKARI-CHAAAAAAAN!!! Narrator: She could no longer stand to see other people hurt for her sake. Revealing that she was the Eighth Child, Hikari fell into enemy hands.

We cut to Koushiro and Hiroaki up in the FCG Building behind Phantomon, watching Hikari's sacrifice helplessly. With zero context for what's happening here, but Koushiro can probably guess.

Then to Jou and Takeru, still riding Zudomon with Wizarmon and Hikari's Crest.

And then Mimi in Big Sight, held prisoner with all the other children.

Before finally cutting to Taichi. He's arrived at Big Sight, infiltrating carefully to avoid being seen by the Bakemon.

Narrator: But Taichi and the others had no way of knowing what just happened. Taichi: Wait for me, Hikari. I'll save everyone!

Taichi has an admirable if foolish optimism. He is his father's son.

In the dub:

Kari: I'm ready. (Phantomon levitates Kari) Sora: HURRY, MATT!!! STOP HER!!! Matt: NO, KARI!!! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!! KARI!!! Sora: Oh no, Matt! What are we going to do? Matt: I don't know! Tai is gonna be so mad at me! Narrator: Will the DigiDestined find Kari before it's too late? Find out on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.

The dub cuts it here, as Kari rises into the air. The shot of Koushiro and Hiroaki watching from the FCG Building gets cut, along with that final shot of Jou and Takeru with Wizarmon on Zudmon.

As for the last bits with Mimi and Taichi? Well. Do you remember when I said the dub moved a scene? You probably don't. It was before the MegaSeadramon fight, when Yamato made Hikari cry in Aqua City.

This ironic final shot of Taichi still thinking he can save everyone before Vamdemon reaches Hikari was put all the way back there, between Izzy and Tentomon entering FCG and Matt making Kari cry. Mimi's shot made it there too, though the only line delivered is:

Tai: Hang in there, Mimi! I'll get all of you out! I promised Kari!

Tai made it to Big Sight much faster than Taichi did and has, I guess, been faffing about ever since. My favorite part is his call-out to Mimi because for some reason they snagged her shot too and they need some reason to justify why we're seeing her onscreen.

This scene hits way different when Tai still has a chance of success.

Assessment: The dub title is right, this city is under siege. Things are moving so fast now that Vamdemon's done fucking around. Digimon are popping out of the woodwork that I'd forgotten were even in this show. We are moving quickly towards the final confrontation with Vamdemon.

This is another episode where there's a few nagging bits in the dub that bother me but for the most part it's pretty solid, and even injects some fun personality and the mix. One of the better episodes for the dub, easily.

[magadauthan]

Ep 9: Murder Machine

Aaaaand now for the @trigun98watchparty, we get into what makes Trigun, Trigun. Come for the dumbassery, stay for the trauma.

Cue the entrance of Nicholas D. Wolfwood, wandering priest, and his gloriously bare chest.

--Vash can dish out the whining, but he can't sure take it. Milly is the champion, as the baby of the family. "Pay for our bus fare or I'll hate you! and btw can I have ice cream?"

--oh my lord, Meryl, you are so mean to that poor man. Punch count: 3; insult count: 2 - and then you and Milly steal his water.

--WW's Kansai accent is usually coded in English as Southern. It's probably a good thing the dub didn't tackle that, because it would have been distracting, but wouldn't WW with a Boston or a Chicago accent have been amazing? Come on, the Blues Brothers are right there! (hmmmm... there are an awful lot of similarities between Elwood and Wolfwood...)

--Ah, the portable confessional. Add another notch to the "items seen once and never again" tally.

--Boob shot!

--WW's cold read regarding Vash's empty eyes and hurting on the inside is less impressive when you consider that he has more information than he lets on.

--look at his stupid dress shoes, Tristamp nailed that shit, didn't they lol

--"Why doesn't anything nice ever follow you?" F*ck around and find out, Meryl

--"Did we just become best friends?" "Yep!"

--even the kid thinks you two are a couple of dipshits, seriously

--All of this worthlessness is what Tristamp was missing. Vash and WW have to have adventures where they shoot things, get into trouble, and insult one another. This is what's called "male bonding."

--This is one of the clearer looks we get at how the Plants do their Plant Thing. Push the button and a spider robot comes out. Um, okay. Guess that one was less useful than the Tuna Fish Plant or the Canned Salmon Plant.

--Why was it left behind again? Aren't Plants irreplaceable?

--Vash has a pretty good idea that WW's full of shit and takes a risk on him anyway. He knows how to force a hand.

--they're so cute as a team, aren't they lol

--And there's the second gun. don't ask about Knives' third gun lmao

--Milly gets to be best girl again. WW does take a shine to her right away, doesn't he. That, and he probably thinks it's amusing to make Vash and Meryl sit together. It's so third grade. (it's okay, Meryl, you can admit you don't mind that much)

In light of later events, it's interesting to note what parts of WW's cover story are true and which are fabricated. WW has been handed his orders from Chapel, so his encounter with Vash was no coincidence; WW has to case the joint before making a move. The girls helpfully confirm that WW has made contact, and he has to get Vash to trust him. Not too hard, though Vash isn't quite as naive about WW as he puts on. Everyone's got their act.

WW figures out quickly that Vash is a big softy, or maybe he has info; nevertheless, his generosity towards children (which Vash shares) isn't false. The part about the orphanage and protecting the kids is true, though the circumstances of WW's departure have nothing to do with money and everything to do with a hostage situation. WW's amazement at who he's going to be dealing with is also genuine; he knows Vash is legendary, but seeing Vash wipe out all the mechanical mooks while injured is next-level.

And, at the end of it all...

WW certainly didn't expect to like Vash as much as he ends up doing. (cue the conflict, and a zillion angsty fanfics.) That's going to make everything a lot more complicated.

[pinkprimrose05]

SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED YUGIOH ARC-V

So yesterday I decided to start rewatching ARC-V (for the second time, at the behest of a friend who just got into the show), and, well... shit.

There is a hint of foreshadowing I missed, and it's in Episode fucking One to boot.

Unfortunately, this hint is entirely lost in the English dub (edit: I stand corrected, it's still there, just not as explicitly obvious), and I can't seem to find any source for the Japanese dialogue of the episode (not that it'd help much, in the end; I can't read Japanese for shit and am mostly going off the romanization of structures I only barely understand). But why is this relevant here, you ask?

Well, allow me to explain.

There are several ways of referring to oneself (or one's possessions) in Japanese. You're probably already familiar with first person pronouns 私 (Watashi), 僕 (Boku), and 俺 (Ore), all of which mean "I" in English, and each of which is used by different sorts of people in different sorts of situations.

In the context of ARC-V, Yuuya normally uses Ore when referring to himself, and Ore no for possessions. But being the expert performer he is, he puts on a faux-formal persona for Entertainment Duels, so in addition to giving extra flair to...literally everything he says, he switches to the more polite Watashi and Watashi no for a more, ah, charming impression.

(In comparison, Yuzu already uses Watashi, as it is also the most common pronoun for girls. Gongenzaka defaults to the "manly" Ore, and Sora uses the softer male pronoun Boku and its derivative).

Now the kicker here is that, from the moment Yuuya acquires Pendulum until the end of his Duel with Ishijima, he uses none of the aforementioned pronoun sets. Instead, he switches to the first person pronoun 我 (Ware) and possessive pronoun 我が (Waga), which are now considered a stiff, archaic, and outdated way to refer to oneself, mainly used in fiction by characters with a strong sense of dramatic flair.

But Pink, isn't that basically Yuuya getting really into the entertainer persona?

... well yes, but actually no. I would have written this off as another flashy quirk of his, had it not occured to me that:

1) This is not a one-off occasion, and it only repeats in specific situations. I mean, we don't see this particular pronoun switch making another appearance until the tail end of Episode 39... when Yuuya goes into the Awakened state for the "first" time.

He doesn't talk much when he's like that (which, yeah, fair enough; I can't focus on talking and doing full combo at the same time either), but you may notice that his Pendulum summoning chant changes from "Appear now, my monsters!" (Arawareyo, ore no monsuta-tachi!) to "Come out, my monster servants!" (Ideyo, waga shimobe no monsuta-tachi yo!)

And guess what? The same happens in Episode 1, when he does the very first Pendulum summon.

2) The personal pronoun Ware is not only used by melodramatic characters, but also by those that view themselves as distant from, and/or superior to everyone else. Ancient spirits, magical entities, you get what I mean here...

And it sounds kinda familiar, doesn't it?

An egotistic crackhead with a strong superiority complex, who still strives for drama and entertainment despite his twisted ways. You know him. I know him. Everyone knows him.

He's been trying to hijack Christmas for six years now, after all.

...God fucking dammit.

Yes, Zarc is the only character with enough theatre kid energy to use Ware as his default personal pronoun. And yes, Yuuya copies that aspect every time magical Pendulum fuckery is involved... which, admittedly, would not register as foreshadowing until you have context for what it's supposed to be foreshadowing in the first place.

.. And it still flew over my head entirely in the first rewatch. So much for a resident theorist, lmao.

Seriously though, I think this is pretty brilliant. Sure, it's a niche linguistic detail that requires prior knowledge of the ending to understand, but it hints towards a great mystery behind the origins of Pendulum summoning, which is very damn cool, if I do say so myself.

It's worth mentioning that I also watched Episode 2, which doubles down with the more obvious, but no less neat hint of placing Yuuya on the "antagonist" side of the Duel screen against Yuzu in their exhibition match thingy.

See, this is why I love ARC-V so much. One of the greatest joys of watching this show is finding all the hidden puzzle pieces and going "Oh, so THAT'S what they meant when they did this!", and it never fails to amaze me every time.

This has been Volume 1 of Pink's ARC-V Highlights™, and I'll definitely be back with more... whenever I find another dumb tidbit to hyperfixate on.

'Till then, my Duelist friends!

[ultraviolet-cello]

I'm gonna be honest guys, I looked at today's episode and was like Oh No because Episode 9 is my Achilles heel. not that there's nothing to say about it. But that there's so much To say abt it lmao. While 6 & 7 are my favourites, Knives is a character that I see soooooo much like. I need to put him under my microscope.

Anyway, today's analysis/detail watch/@tristampparty is episode 9 - Millions Knives.

Spoilers for Trimax and Tristamp, CW for uh. Knives in general, and enjoy!

It's probably just the angle here, but Knives does look marginally shorter in this shot, and it's extremely funny to me

Okay I did just get jumpscared by being in dub for some reason I was looking for the subtitles and heard English and had The Most dramatic reaction. okay we're normal now.

Knives,,,, Knives Knives Knives,,,, so I, once again, think that the narrative is working against him. It's interesting, then, I guess, that he's the only main character in Tristamp who doesn't get the portrayed-as-younger treatment in Tristamp.

Knives here is experiencing things that Trimax Knives only did way way later; the last run in particular. Trimax Knives witnesses a last run and starts fusing with other Plants midway through Trimax. This scene in Tristamp, however, takes place just 5 years after the Big Fall.

Trimax Knives ends up like he does by spiraling very very quickly after he starts fusing (And he was dead/in a coma for 20 years!); Tristamp Knives, however, has had at least 145 years to build up his power, build up his hatred, go down that spiral. No 20 years of being dead, just alllll that.

In that respect, Tristamp Knives is Trimax Knives taken to the end of that spiral, the extremist endpoint that Trimax Knives never quite achieved because of Vash - he never really had the time to reach the end of the spiral and settle in it, whereas Tristamp Knives has had that going for again, 145 years.

It's a fun inversion of what's going on in Trimax actually - the 20 years between July and the present are what gives most of the main cast their development and personality - They've had the time to develop those coping mechanisms, trauma responses, their characterizations past all the traumatic things that have happened.

Trimax Knives isn't present for those 20 years, he's down and out for the count. So that 20 years of Important development does not apply to him, making him the least Progressed character in Trimax actually.

So to have Tristamp Knives be the inversion of that is really fascinating, because it applies to how extremist he's willing to go, and how,,,, Bad[tm] the actions he takes are.

Some Knives characterization things that I see criminally overlooked are that,,, well, Vash struggles with empathy sometimes, but Knives often feels things far too much, as in a hyper-emotive or overstimulated state (he's autistic ur honour), which is what contributes to his overall spiral - he's so emotionally driven that he doesn't recognize the emotional weight behind his decisions anymore. I don't think he knows quite how much his grief and anger contributes to how he says he hates Rem. He doesn't really explore that but instead just turns it into motivation for himself.

Anyway him feeling things Way too hard is an entire mood and Studio Orange did an incredible job with his expressions.

Like for example, in this sequence he looks like he's about to physically Gag in response to seeing the Plant die

Or this one, where he looks like he's about to cry but shoves his hood over his face hurriedly in case he does. Daily reminder that Knives was the kid who cried a lot

So Vash steps in in the middle of Knives' little breakdown, but he hasn't really Seen that breakdown. To him, Knives is immediately just spouting about how humans are so bad, but from Knives' POV he just watched his sister die while the humans who surround him are unapologetic and uncaring. And that's gotta be devastating for Knives, because Vash really does not understand the context of the situation here. I think that gets to Knives a little bit, and unpauses his breakdown.

The other thing that really cements the Absolutely God Awful Time that Knives is happening is the guards going to grab him. We've already seen Knives be relatively adverse to touch (looking uncomfortable when Rem grabs him), and now he's having a really bad day, he's experiencing Trauma^2, and people just Grab him? Not to be dramatic but I understand the urge to start killing

But he also,,,, doesn't resort to violence first. He literally appeals to everyone's sense of heart, he points out that the Plants are crying out, can't you hear it? And then nobody listens, nobody comes to help him, and at this point there's probably a lot of fear.

A bunch of humans have turned up who are,,, apparently happy to exploit plants, conrad knows he's a plant, and he's being restrained by several people. That's a really scary position to be in, especially if you happen to have seen what happened to, oh, I don't know, Tesla?

Self-defense, in this case, would surely be justified to him.

Also the scene of Knives attempting to get Vash to shoot someone with a gun is a 98-only detail which I love actually - 98 has its moments, even if it's only 3rd in my Top Triguns list! (I love 98 to be clear, I just like Trimax and Tristamp more)

Vash tells Knives that he lost Rem because Rem was protecting Vash, and That's Not A Great Thing To Hear. Knives loved Rem very much and now Vash is telling him that yeah, she's dead because of him. Which he'd definitely known before, but it's such a gut punch to hear your own brother say that, scream it in your face even. Your mother is dead because of you. She was only protecting Vash.

And again, that too much emotion spills over into just inescapable grief and rage that goes into violence and taking it out on Luida which. Yeah. Yeah.

Tristamp fascinates me in that Knives actually has a genuinely good reason to amputate Vash's arm - he's in a haze, and he needs to think quickly, nobody else can do anything, and if that arm goes off it could evaporate everything in the immediate vicinity. So yeah chop chop. It's not a great solution, of course, but it's the quickest one he's got, and also starts desensitizing Knives to violence he commits against Vash. Because, of course, if this one piece of harm had saved Vash's life (which it probably did), then everything else that Knives does is also saving him, right? Right?!

Why does Vash get like. B cups in this scene and only this scene. Top ten questions science can't answer /j

Godddd okay Meryl and Roberto's reaction to seeing plants is,,,, It's nice, actually. I like that Roberto gets to see hope and flora before he dies. I like that the last positive, lovely thing that he gets to experience is the hope of the world. Even if he denies it.

God, Knives telling Vash that he's the reason for the big fall really did a number on him huh. The man is powered on 17 guilt complexes, CPTSD, and bisexuality

worms took her tights can't have shit in noman's land

Roberto also cracks a lot of jokes all the time I miss him. He's so deeply unserious half the time and the other half he's mysterious as fuck. Love this guy. But also the fact that he does try to,,, make the situation better for Meryl by joking with her is very sweet.

Wolfwood has. 0 experience in riding a Thomas because he was never given transport again,,, Why waste fuel and animals when the Punisher can just walk the desert himself? He's not human enough to die of it. ghrngrhgnrgrngrnnnnn

God that's gonna be so good when he gets Angelina though. His own transport,,,,

Zazie doing the lord's work by putting Aotearoa New Zealand front on the Worm Globe, we're so often left out of maps lmao

Alright I have spent some time condensing that Knives rant and it's still. a Lot lmao. Anyway that was my Normal-About-Knives episode, next is my Normal-About-Roberto episode, which I'm super hyped for! yippee!! yay!!!

[thank-heaven-you-asked]

Subs Over Dubs, Except... Huhh

I've watched Stampede subbed a number of times that I have enough dignity not to specify, and I've never consciously had any issue with its translation or localization -- not knowing Japanese, I can only complain about a translation when it can't be understood, so I guess this is more about localization. So I've been fussing with my Hulu account this week and I ended up putting Stampede on in English because why not. You guys... is it just me, or is the dub better?

This is pretty specific -- I don't mean the performances are better. They are very good! It's 2024, most dubs with a budget behind them are good these days. And I have a bias in that I'm extremely familiar with the Japanese performances, so my frowning at lines with different inflections is not a criticism, it's just my face doing a thing. And again, I can't speak to the translation at all (I've read within the last few days that there is some debate over which translation is more accurate vs which is is more palatable -- because, yeah, Knives 's whole... thing is toned down a lot in the dub -- but to this English-speaker they are mostly the same in way of communicating meaning. mostly) I mean that the dub script is considerably better. Easier to follow, the jokes land better, and yeah, it's occasionally translated or least wrestled into understandable English better. I have never encountered this with a dub versus its sub before!

I should have examples. This post is pointless without examples. Um. I've been awake for 25 hours and didn't retain much of what I noticed. I'll follow this up with more, but one example that stood out was Wolfwood's half-improvised prayer over the graves in episode 4. Lemme just pull those up...

Here is the sub's version:

"Okay... O father in heaven... forgive us our sins as we forgive our neighbors. May you accept our fallen brethren and welcome the departed to your... What is it? Welcome them to your... dinner? No, that's a meal. Deliver them unto your... design? No, nobody's talking about fashion. Uh, give us a drive... He's not your chauffer, you idiot."

Meryl interjects with, "Are you really a priest?" Wolfwood says, "I'm no priest. Just an undertaker. Now back off, you're ruining it."

So it's mildly inexplicable that Wolfwood is speaking actual nonsense here, but I've been taking it as a semi-accurate translation of plays on words/puns/cultural jokes about Christianity that Westerners wouldn't be in on -- you know, typical translation nightmares. Not a big deal. And as Westerners, we're more familiar with Christianity, and I kind of figured the joke wouldn't land anyway.

And here's the dub's version:

"And... there! Uh... Heavenly father, who art in heaven... Forgive us our sins, Oh Lord, as we forgive those who sin against us. Please welcome their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed into your, into your.. What is it? Welcome them into your humble abode? Into your pearly gates? Nah, that sounds off. Deliver unto them deliverance? Not quite, but I'm getting there. Um, make sure there's some empty chairs. They're 'kingdom come'-ing, so..."

Now Meryl interrupts with, "That's enough. You're not really a priest, huh?" Wolfwood says, "No, I'm not. I'm an undertaker. Scram, will ya? You're messing with my mojo."

Side by side, you can see that these are recognizably translations of the same lines. The dub isn't really taking a ton of liberties; "give us a drive" is clearly at least in the same ballpark as "they're 'kingdom come'-ing." It's just that one is cleverly worded in English and therefore funny, while the other makes no sense. And the one that doesn't make sense is the sub, where you'd expect more breathing room with word choice and comic timing.

I kept noticing this -- again, I'll follow this up with lines that made enough sense in the sub that the dub went as far as to change my understanding of the exchanges they're in. And in those cases, the localization is clearly what's making the difference. I don't know which is more accurate, just which are more understandable and just better written. In my opinion!!! Obviously a lot of this is subjective. I just... again, I have never really seen this role reversal before. There have absolutely been dubs I liked better their corresponding subs, but never due to the dub being more fun and making more sense. Usually in those cases I just like the VAs' performances better. And yeah, you can't do a lot better than Johnny Yong Bosch, even if some of us are going to hear that voice and feel an inexplicable urge to call the police.

[theflavorofmyautismisspicy]

I want to yap about the Finnish dub of the series so here’s some random facts about it I’ve learned.

The voice actors for the main characters haven’t actually done much work besides this show. Like their resume is just “side voice in one Horrid Henry episode” and that’s it. Expect for Leon’s voice actor, he’s the only one who has done a few other notable voice acting jobs. Also the voice actor for Markus has acted in musical theater a lot so I guess that’s interesting. He also went to the same high school as my sister lmao. On the other hand, the “not main characters but play a more or less major role” such as Willi, Hadschi, Michi and Natasha are all voiced by like very talented and critically acclaimed voice actors?? Like the people who are carrying the entire Finnish dub industry on their shoulders and have played like 50 different roles. Especially Willi’s voice actor caught me off guard cause he’s also an actor and his most well known role is a very iconic character in Finnish popular culture from a very iconic and very long lasting soap opera TV-series. Like what do you mean the actor of Seppo Taalasmaa also voices Willi in the Finnish dub. It breaks my mind.

Also some kinda interesting random facts about the translation (or atleast I find them kinda interesting). They weren’t allowed to say the word “hell” in the dub, which like I get it, it’s a kids show, but there’s so many cool euphemisms to the word hell in Finnish language so the fact that they used none of those is such missed potential. Also when choosing the setting for the series they just like,,, did an almost direct translation of Grünwald?? Like it takes place in a town called Viherlaakso which is an almost direct translation of it. There does actually exist a place called that but it’s like a small and irrelevant section of a bigger town, I honestly think they just went with the almost direct translation and didn’t mean the actual real life place with that name to be the setting cause it just feels so random. Honestly if it was up to me, they would be living in Kerava. That’s a much more accurate setting for this series. Also the s1e10 just never got dubbed. It was just straight up banned for showing “the kind of bullying they didn’t want to show to kids”. Which is kinda weird to me cause yeah Jojo got almost killed but that’s just kind of an average episode of the show. Like why specifically that one was deemed too inappropriate for kids. We will never know for sure.

But yeah all in all, all though the Finnish dub has some miscastings and translation errors I still think it’s honestly pretty good. Idk maybe nostalgia is affecting me but there’s some real talent behind most of the voices and it’s definitely better than the English one. They also did the thing, that for example the Swedish and Italian dubs of the series also did, aka dubbed the opening theme song and honestly, I like the Finnish opening more than the original, it’s such a banger.

[fuzizeze]

While I'm trying to draw a new answer for ask, I suggest you take a look at the old one

Q: Honestly. How does this door work?... Why do you sound like an old man from there?...

Q: Why did you have a different voice behind the door, and then, when Edna ran away, the voice changed?

(How do I know...)

- Well, I guess I should start by saying that..

+ Flashmob: Breaking the fourth wall! :р

- ..I have no idea myself

- I mean.. Seriously! Both in German and in English dubbing, I have a normal voice. Surprisingly, by the way, especially considering that English has a lot of mistakes!

- Well, at least take my name, “Jeffrey Babbitt”? Are you kidding me? But the voice is normal!!

- In short, these are all mistakes of the Russian voice acting and the door has absolutely nothing to do with it! Jepp...

(IF YOU LIKE THE ENGLISH VERSION OF THE GAME, I DO NOT WANT TO OFFEND YOU OR HURT YOUR INTERESTS IN ANY WAY, I SORRY IN ADVANCE🙏🙏🙏)

[bandagegirl]

do any of your characters have voice claims? or, how do you imagine their voices sounding like?

I am really bad with voices? In my head, the characters don't really have different voices when they talk, they kinda just have the inner voice/thought equivalent of Eigengrau. I do try to give the idea of an idea when characters talk by having them all have different fonts. Some fonts are chosen due to the name, others due to vibes.

For actual voice claims? The best I got is Advent sounding like AM from "I have no mouth and I must scream".

With Midas, I keep saying he has a very deep voice? I enjoy viewing the SynthV Asterian as an example but people don't really use his deeper voice settings all that much.

God Hunter, God Hunter, God Hunter. She has an interesting way of speaking where she seperates words like Can't and Won't, saying Cannot and Will Not. She pronounces/enunciates her words loud and clearly. English (or the in-universe equivalent in Cult of the Lamb) isnt her first first language, it isnt for many characters, I can imagine. And yet? The best comparisons I can make are uhhhhh. This fucking gif of Draculaura saying "WITH. Large soda" and Kanaya Maryam from the Voxus Homestuck dub (not in the way the voice sounds but how she talks? Carries her voice? Cadence? I dont know how to describe it. The vibe).

Fortuna has a voice that I imagine kinda stumps people at times. She is Lady Luck because people decided that she's female ages ago. But her voice is deep, people unsure whether to call her a god or a goddess if they don't know who she is. A Gigantic eel made out of gold isnt really what people would associate with any gender direction really. No voice example for her. She, Midas and Kallamar also speak german but none of them have "zat annoying zing where ze person cant do ze Th sound" because I cant fucking stand it. Instead, they'd pronounce it either as "Oh, w/vats not nice" or "Oh, dats not nice".

Gustav's voice, when written, does this really annoying thing where upper and lowercase letters are somewhat random, somewhat within reason. He tries to stay consistent during a "textbox" but its not set in stone. He does keep names consistent, Fortuna is "MoTher" for example. So I guess his voice would be interesting to hear to say the least?

Funny enough, the idea behind Thog as a character initially came from listening to "Living in the Light" from Binding of Isaac. In their youth, Thog was very.... lets say loudly devoted despite constant moving and jumping from religion to religion to cult to cult. They've calmed down though now under the care of Midas and the Golden Gods.

[tozettastone]

re: australian localization, i feel like it could work for zabuza or maybe other kriri nin? (not all of them) but they to me have the vibe of someone who would call me a cunt affectionately - but also i second Hidan, it just feels right

It used to be pretty common for old US voiced anime dubs to choose to have one character sound, like, English or Australian for no really obvious reason. That's just a thing they do, I guess? ( @mixelation showed me one from Yu-Gi-Oh earlier today when I was talking about this, actually, that was... I think... trying to be both? It was pretty bad.)

I've put my vote behind Gai as the token Aussie voice, but I can see Zabuza too. That would be one way of making him seem foreign to the main cast. 💀