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twig-tea · 7 months

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Cherry Magic Thailand Exceeded My Wildest Dreams

This series really surpassed all expectations I had for it. I've already yelled a few weeks ago about how this series righted years-long wrongs both with TayNew and with the Japanese adaptation, and encouraged everyone to watch this show. I'm so happy that the finale didn't let me down, ending its run as a near-perfect series!

The series as a whole did so many things right and only really stumbled slightly on one of the mid-series filler episodes that didn't affect the arc of the main characters or the story overall, so it was forgivable. Everything else in this series is a joy.

Cherry Magic Thailand has perfect character arcs, with relationships that all champion communication all the way through. There's a reason why Kurosawa and Adachi experienced the penultimate episode breakup in the Japanese adaptation but Karan and Achi did not; Karan and Achi worked so hard for this relationship all the way through this series, and that makes them feel so solid that a breakup would not have felt believable or true to them.

I loved how quickly and fully Karan embraced Achi's magic, and used it to be as embarrassing as possible about his feelings. This worked so well in the Thai version; For a man who is not super worried about homophobia, and is not as worried about being seen as less than perfect (the way the Japanese version's Kurosawa was), but who instead is mostly certain that he's Too Much, finding out that his every thought has been heard by the man he loves and that he fell in love with Karan because of those thoughts must have been the hugest relief. Karan's energy after the confession scene is consistently: I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have this.

And that's why it's so critical that Achi already has a ring in his pocket in this finale when Karan proposes. There are of course the reasons why this works as an ending to Achi's arc; The story starts in a way that feels like Karan is leagues ahead of Achi; Achi struggles with feelings of inferiority at the beginning of the series, just like he did in the Japanese version.

I already wrote in a response to @lurkingshan's ep 11 post about how Achi's arc on this was so good, he managed to gain enough self-confidence to build a workplace friend group, move forward in his career, and proactively move forward his relationship. For Achi, proposing is a perfect end to his arc of coming into himself.

But Karan was already self-actualized. If anything, his fear in this relationship has been that Achi would never love him the way Karan loves Achi. Before they ever get together, Karan organizes his day at the office to Achi's schedule, making sure to reduce minor inconveniences and discomforts without ever expecting to be noticed, never mind reciprocated. Karan lies to Achi all the time about how far out of his way he went to do things for Achi (from buying drinks to braving Songkran crowds to bring him medicine). When they first start dating Karan over-plans their first date, and Achi has to remind him that small moments are also good. During the dreaded episode 8 confrontation with their boss, Karan takes the responsibility of their relationship on himself alone. When they were preparing for Achi to be leaving for a month, Achi straight out told Karan he was worried about Karan's ability to handle the separation. He hung out outside Achi's house secretly, and designed a new krathong for them to release at Loy Krathong, but was willing to let go of their Loy Krathong date at the first sign Achi might have to skip it.

This is the first time Achi really steps up in their relationship, but it's still following Karan's lead--he knew celebrating Loy Krathong was important to Karan, so he prepared a surprise for a different day so that they could still celebrate together. While Achi is on his work secondment, they both prioritize staying in touch, but Karan takes a surprise trip out to see Achi before the month is over. And they have sex, and so Achi can no longer hear Karan's thoughts.

This means Karan is able to keep secrets from him again, like a proposal. And so Karan buys a ring, retaining what he thinks is his position as the one who does the work to move their relationship forward. But Achi surprises him by asking him to meet his parents as soon as he comes back from his secondment. And then he overhears Achi tell Karan's mother that he is making sure Karan isn't the only one putting effort into their relationship.

And then Karan is so overwhelmed with happiness that he can't hold back and asks Achi to marry him, and because he's Karan he has the ring already and is carrying it with him. And Achi tells him yes.

And this is the critical bit: Achi then tells Karan that he was also planning to propose to Karan, and proves it by pulling out his own ring. This is physical evidence that Karan is not alone with the intensity of his feelings; that Achi is doing what he told Karan's mother he would, and is putting effort into their relationship himself outside of steer from Karan; that Karan is allowed to love as hard as he does and he will be met halfway by a partner who is a partner in every sense of the word. When Karan says to Achi "I really love you, you know?" And Achi says "I do", it's not just about Achi knowing the depth of Karan's feelings intellectually, but about him knowing the depth of Karan's feelings by reciprocating them. It's about Karan knowing that Achi won't just coast on Karan's love, but will make sure Karan is being taken care of too.

[The part that breaks my heart about that is that Achi's kindness is the thing that attracted Karan to him in the first place; but Karan is so used to not being taken care of that he never expected Achi to turn his caretaking skills on Karan, even after they started dating. Quietly devastating, nbd]

Let's talk about happier parts of this last episode I noticed instead. The parallels in this last episode are so stacked on top of one another that I find it almost overwhelming; We have the two Karan/Achi bench scenes in CMT, from when they become a couple and when they get engaged; there's the proposals between Karan and Achi and between Jinta and Min, and how complete opposites they are (in the contrast between each individually having planned rings and having them on their person even for a mutually unplanned proposal, and how that contrasts to using a pen to draw on an engagement ring because neither of them had prepared at all); there's the use of pens as a proposal tool in Jinta and Min's story and in the Japanese adaptation's Kurosawa and Adachi's story; the perfect reverse parallel between the heat levels of the couples in the Japanese adaptation and the Thai adaptation--I love that Thailand flipped this rather than keeping them both moving faster, it makes the universe feel more balanced somehow--and (as @liyazaki illustrated in her post) that final fake-out parallel that ends the Thai and Japanese versions.

Love the decision to honour the Japanese adaptation while keeping to the manga on which it's based by giving Pai a story that has a clear aroace read while building the foundation for a start to a relationship with Rock that is believable and one I can root for.

I can't talk about Jinta, Min, Rock, and Pai without talking about how much I love these ride-or-die friends that Karan and Achi have acquired. The way Pai drops everything to get Achi to the airport; the way Rock kidnaps Karan without knowing why; the way Jinta and Achi talk to one another using their powers; the way Jinta looks at Achi and Karan when they have dinner together. All of these things warm my heart so much. The way Duj is the most intense busybody in the office but it comes from a place of caring.

And I cannot end a post about this show without talking about just how funny it is. Karan's internal scream, Jinta being able to hear the cat's internal voice, Pai's shipping constantly being misinterpreted by Achi and Rock, these jokes landed every time.

This post got out of hand, again. TL;DR I LOVED THIS SHOW. I loved the humour, the friendships, the relationships, the character arcs, and the scenery. I loved seeing Tay and New absolutely slay on my screen again, I loved seeing another adaptation of this stellar source material, and I loved watching something so well put together week to week. It's been such a good run of shows!

#cherry magic thailand #bl meta #typed so that i can stop thinking it #long post

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the-passenger-if · 4 months

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hi Pime! Is it too early to ask questions about your new project yet? ROs and characters and setting and stuff? Sorry if this sounds pushy, that’s not intended!

Not at all! I enjoy talking about my IFs <3

Since I'm working on two projects I'll give you a quick rundown of both of them. First,

❆❆❆Leesangre❆❆❆

This game is set in the southernmost tip of South America in a distant future after a cataclysm wipes out most of humanity and the Earth turns into a big snow globe.

The main character travels in a caravan along with their family/clan which are also the only people they have ever interacted with, 1. because there aren't a lot of human beings around, just small settlements, and 2. because their family doesn't want other people to know about the main character. The lack of contact with other human beings and their constant dependency on their family has made the main character very sheltered.

The game starts after the death of the matriarch of the clan just as the main character's big brother becomes the new leader and everyone is feeling very uncertain about the future. The family consists of the main character's father (a huge mother-hen to everyone but mostly to MC and MC's niblings); the main character's brother (who has a strained relationship with MC); the mechanic of the caravan (the best mechanic in the world, or at least that's what they proclaim); the "shaman" of the caravan (a woman the caravan adopted when she was nine, she's in her late twenties at the start of the game); the main character's nephews, two teens who are also the clan's hunters, and the preteen nibling who has yet to find what role in the clan they will fulfill (these three were given to the clan when they were six, five, and one year old and they are presumably children of another big brother MC has never met); the main character's five-year-old niece and four-year-old nibling (they are the children of MC's brother and the mechanic). The clan also adopts a guy they find passed out in the snow at the start of the game (something neither the clan nor this guy really wanted but is forced onto all of them after he finds out about the main character).

The romantic options are:

Heco (they/them) — the clan's mechanic. They are thirty years old and they prefer to be maintaining the caravan than interacting with others but they don't mind people sitting in a corner and watching them work if they aren't too distracting and promise not to touch their tools. They're also the parent of MC's youngest's niblings, but they aren't in a relationship with MC's brother and never have been. It's a bit complicated.

Mo (she/her) — the curandera or shaman of the clan. If Heco is the hands of the caravan, Mo is its soul. It's impossible not to know where she is at any given time because she's a talking machine and also the type who loves to make people laugh. Of course, her jokes are hit or miss now that everyone is mourning the clan's matriarch but Mo's sense of humor can be like a runaway freight train if she isn't paying attention. (Mo is also my attempt at the friends-to-lovers trope)

Gil (he/his) — the guy the clan saves from certain death. He's in his early twenties and speaks a language that's more common in the north of the continent, so what was he doing completely alone so down south? Even though not much is known about him, he is friendly and quick to adapt to his new life in the caravan.

This game is a trilogy and I will add a few more ROs in the next books.

Project 2 is called,

˚.༄˚.༄A Song of Sirens and Soulmates (ASOSAS)˚.༄˚.༄

ASOSAS is set in modern times (2024∼) in an alternate timeline where Sirens appeared in the fifties changing the world forever. The game starts in New York but the main character and their buddy are thrown into the Siren realm around the first or second chapter so don't expect a lot NY lore.

In this alternate timeline Sirens are considered THE beauty standard with tall and toned bodies if they are male and petite and graceful figures if they are female. Also pointy ears, cavernous black eyes, and wide mouths full of sharp teeth.

Although they prefer to live in their own dimension it isn't rare to see Sirens as movie stars, runway models, and musicians. Most humans won't ever interact with this larger-than-life creatures but a few lucky ones will get claimed by the Song of the Siren, a red dot that shows up just above a person's belly button and marks them as a Siren's soulmate. Sure, leaving the human realm means never coming back but most people will take the opportunity if it means marrying and forming a family with these impossibly beautiful (and rich) beings.

Unfortunately, the main character of this game isn't interested in any of that and has been on the run since they were twenty and they were claimed. Seven years later, their betrothed finds them in a prison cell after they and their road buddy are detained at a punk show. MC is able to convince the Siren to bring said road buddy along and off they go into the Siren realm. Now MC and their ally must come up with a plan to escape before MC's wedding day befalls them.

The romantic options are:

Spook (ze/hir) — MC's ally in this mess. They met a month before the start of the game and decided to travel together for the time being. Spook is a thirty-three year old crust punk that can't stand Sirens and the power they wield over humans. Ze's also half-human and half-Siren, something ze carefully hides behind masks and dark shades. (Non-binary RO)

Verna/Vernon "Vern" Harley (she/her or he/his) — Twenty-four year old Vern is on the same boat as MC; they are a Siren's soulmate who has just arrived to this realm. Unlike MC, however, they've completely bought into the Siren fantasy and can't wait to marry and form a big family with their betrothed. Vern might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but they are a sweetheart and painfully candid. They are a breath of fresh air among the sneers of the Sirens. (Gender choosable RO)

Camille Abadi (she/her or he/his) — In their mid to late thirties, Camille has been married to their Siren for a longer time than they've been single. They speak with the tiniest trace of a french accent, which is hard to notice when they so seldom speak. They are very polite and attentive but a hard person to get to know on a deeper level. (Gender choosable RO)

#ask #hope my blurbs make sense xD #leesangre #asosas

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yzafre · 1 month

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thoughts on tmnt 2003

I finally finished watching 2003 for the first time! I've been compiling thoughts as I go along, so here they all are, for the "I like hearing what new people think of my favorite things" crowd (and also just to give myself a place to put them).

Spoiler alert: it's mostly positive, and forgiving of the less-than-positive. This gets long, so I put it below a read more:

Okay, so I saw everyone talking about how different Rise was from 2012, and how it jarred people, and some people couldn’t stomach it, but I never saw anyone mentioning 2003’s place in this discussion? Because I didn’t realize just how much 2012 pulled from 2003, and I feel like the expectations that set about what it means to do a new iteration of the franchise definitely had a place in how people received something different

On that note, I kind of want to do a “who wore it better” post about all the arcs 2012 adapted... (although 2003 probably also pulled its ideas from somewhere else – I've heard the comics, maybe? I barely know anything about those, so have no idea how closely they’re connected.).

The City at War arc (good series of episodes, btw) really clarified a point of difference for me in how I understand 2003 and 2012 Raphael. And by that I mean I think 12!Raph would agree with 03!Leo? Not on the honor/it’s our fault point, but on the “the gangs are out there hurting people, and we should do something about it”. I’d need to re-watch some episodes to check my work here (I think the episode where they meet Murakami sticks out most in my head?) but 12!Raph seemed to have – at least verbally – an investment in the idea of stopping bad guys simply because they were hurting people.

Okay so obviously Same As It Never Was is agonizing, BUT. Leo in Usagi’s world was SOOOOO funny to me. omg. Everyone just being all “ninja deceit”! “Dishonorable ninja”!! With Leo’s whole... deal. Like from the beginning of the show I was like “isn’t bushido a samurai thing?” when Leo brought it up, so to see it being highlighted here is. Mwah. Even Usagi being “bluh bluh you’re turning me into a ninja with all this sneaking around >:(". SO funny. I was dying.

I’ve talked several times on how 2012 invested in inter-connected, long-form plots rather than being purely episodic, so it’s interesting to see 2003 move that way as the seasons go on! I don’t think it ever quite reaches the level of ‘12, but you can definitely see how the writers were inspired by the plot work going on here, and went “okay, can we do that but more?” The differences between how the two shows do it is interesting, too, but that would be a whole other conversation.

Similarly, I can see how part of Rise’s inspirations might’ve been some of the weirder world-building stuff going on in ‘03. Everything about the underground city/ the Y’Lyntians, the idea of the Utrom/Kraang being here since long ago, all the more mystic stuff that ‘12 only sometimes dabbled in. ((I also think part of the way Rise was written was to be in dialogue with the themes of ‘03 and ‘12, but that’s also a different conversation.))

I was aware of Grudge Match before watching the show, but given what I knew about it I honestly expected Mikey to be much more obnoxious about it? Like yes he wouldn’t shut up about it in the multi-part immediately after the Nexus arc, but after that it seemed like he only mentioned it, what, once every couple episodes? Grudge Match implies he was louder about it off screen – which would be in character – but given how good the show usually is at “show don’t tell” for setting up characterization it stood out to me.

Okay this is petty but. I am getting very tired of the constant movie quotes. Stop that.

Okay so on the topic of “show don’t tell” characterization – Leo's ptsd arc was good. Like this was a thing I knew about before starting the show but everyone was right it was goooood. Like obviously within the limitations of a kids show, but a wonderful amount of nuance for that audience. It tracks so well start to finish, even from season 1 where Leo was shown to have this. Really strong but devastatingly rigid sense of identity? Like what it means to be a warrior, and who he has to be because of that. Like the thing with his identity being tied to the swords, and then the reason why he was tempted by Shredder’s initial (lying) offer. It all tracks to like. Okay when he fails. When he can’t live up to it. Of course it shattered his mental state and threatened his sense of identity. Of course it did. And then just several arcs of different plots but with this other character story woven through them. Just in how he was approaching it. This is the shit I was wanting from ‘12 the whole time.

And Usagiiii. Usagi. I love him so much, and this was such great use of him. Building up a solid, believable foundation for a very enjoyable relationship between him and Leo, then bringing it back at this critical juncture in Leo’s character. FUCK their conversations in Samura Tourist were so good. Amazing. Fantastic.

Actually just all the work that’s done with the turtle’s allies is great. The homeless/junkyard people. The super-heroes. Leatherhead. Usagi. The Daimyo. Just... all of it? I love it? It makes the world feel more alive and the turtles grounded in it as like. Real people. Who make connections and upkeep them and. Yeah I love it.

I reached Tale of Master Yoshi and noooooo it’s. It’s the 2012. It’s the 2012 backstory. The inspiration for 2012’s whole thing… its right here… ((Although is it just me or,,, does Yoshi (our hero) look a lot more western compared to Mashimi (our villain)? There’s something about that.... hm. Hmmmmm.))

Hello season 5! A!Ni!Me! Bullshit!!! Very accelerated anime bullshit. Obliviously this is a huge inspiration for Rise, though I appreciate that that show took more time for the powers to build up. Also the ninja tribunal are assholes and very questionable teachers. Would it kill you to actually explain anything ever.

Huhhh okay so I am picking up a LOT of Rise vibes not just from the mystic powers/glowy lines, but from Splinter’s deal with the ninja tribunal, and how they wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice the boys, and how the brothers need to stick together. VERY reminiscent of Rise!Splinter’s deal with the Hamato.

Noooo not Oroku Saki getting possessed by a demon. Hello Rise backstory. I see. It really all comes back to 2003 doesn’t it? Rise was definitely made by people who looked at S5 and went “okay, can we do that but more?”

Have I talked about how much I love that from the beginning the show was just like “oh yeah also actual superheroes exist in this world, it’s just an accepted thing”? Because I do. Love it a lot. Having most of them be really old/kinda retired/people are forgetting about them was a good idea though because otherwise. Their spotty presence at cataclysmic events would be much more noticeable.

Dragon fight is cool. That is all.

The fact that at this point Stockman is just straight up like “Let me die. Please let me die” is. Well it sure is something!

I’d heard the last two seasons weren’t as good and… yeah. Like it’s not bad, it’s just… less good. I miss the world and characters of the previous season. Though hey did the Rise gear designs steal some inspo from this season?

HOWEVER. The episode introducing the dark turtles. Where Leo’s like “if you’re really my clone, you should value honor and the code of bushido!” and his counterpart just... stares solemnly for an extended time before being like “lmao yeah nope” and sucker punching him was hilarious, and got a sharp laugh out of me. Favorite moment in this season. I actually liked this episode overall, too.

So. Hm. Mikey has always been very un-serious – a jokester, (verbally) a bit of a coward at times, easily distracted. But as this season goes on it really feels like they’re amping it up/exaggerating those traits, to the point of stripping away anything else at times. Similarly, his brother’s willingness to indulgence/reactions to his silliness seems to fluctuate wildly, but on a downward trend - they always razzed him, but in this season... well they paired his increased goof-offs with increased put downs/jokes about it. This, while a bit annoying to me as a characterization choice, does track on a more meta-textual level. By this point it’s 2006-2007. 2007 is the year Big Bang Theory aired, which I find to be, uh…. Tonally representative of the cultural attitude in the US between 2008 annnnd… 2013-ish? There was this extra-concentrated feeling of, like… snideness and sarcasm that I remember around that time period. It’s also very prominent in TMNT 2012 – especially in Season 1 (when binging that show I was hit by high school memories so viscerally that I said, out loud, “oh, GOD, we really were all Like That, weren’t we?” only a few episodes in). Similarly to my post about the increasing frequency of the “Gibbs slap”, I find it interesting to see the way the changing attitudes are reflected in the same show as time passes.

LET STOCKMAN REST jeZUS

Overall, I see three kinds of episodes in season 6: mediocre, good, and what I call “good but out of order”. What I mean by that last bit, is like… okay, the Graduation episode was good in theory, but felt very strange coming after Season 4/5, you get me? Things where the concept is solid, but seems to be placed in the wrong position in their arcs, which I think is a knock-off effect from the lightened tone of the season.

Oh. I just got to the second episode of S7 and. I don’t…. hm. So, I could deal with the simplified designs in Fast Forward, because they got some cool new gear stuff added in as well, but this is. Uh. Worse. But even beyond that – the dynamics also feel sort of off. If Casey has been going to this gym for a while, why is April only now doing something about it….? I don’t feel like she would have let this go just because the guys weren’t there. Also I'm putting it down here now that I think the whole digital world thing is kinda dumb

I do think 2012 looked at a lot of the ideas for S7 and went “interesting idea, we can do it way better”, which I commend them for. Admittedly, these can also be stock tropes: April getting possessed also reminds me of Ghost Busters/Zuul, and mind control is a pretty standard trope, but… well, you know. 2012 took so much else from 2003, you can’t help but wonder if they pulled inspiration here, too.

Oh they are wayyyy over-using the Shredder/Foot Clan sting/motif this season and it is getting,,, annoying,,,

I kept waiting to see what they were doing with it, but they did not handle Donnie’s guilt arc with anywhere near the finesse they did Leo’s. It wasn’t… horrible, I guess. It’s just notably lacking in comparison. They didn't even have Leo really sit down with him to talk about his own experience like???

I did appreciate them bringing back all those side characters in the finale. I’ve already mentioned I love the plethora of allies and friends they gave the turtles in this iteration, so obviously that was going to please me, though they could have gotten a little bit better showing in the final fight.

Lmao the guy I thought was gonna be rat king!!!! He’s there lurking and watching in the distance???

Good show! But yeah I’d agree with people who say that the heart of the show is really in the first 5 seasons. After that the characters and stories feel a bit… flattened? The more I pushed through the last two seasons, the more I was missing the first 5, which I really, really enjoyed. Ranking on my personal tastes of the series I’ve watched so far, meeting each show where it's at, it goes Rise > 2003 > 2012. Rise and 2003 are really close, with Rise just beating it on account of “it was my first show” and also “I REALLY like anime bullshit”, although there’s potential for that to shift or fluctuate as it marinates in my brain. That being said, 2012 is the one that makes the creative part of my brain go crunch-crunch, so take that as you will. Continuing to go backwards puts me at the 1987 series, so I suppose that’s next. I have plans to watch the new TotTMNT with family during the holiday season, so unfortunately I’m up for an (agonizing) wait on that one.

#tmnt #tmnt 2003 #yza talks about a thing

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gillyweedgrl · 9 months

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You should be watching Pit Babe! - A Brief Review

Saddens me to think how many people are missing out on a great show because they think it’s not worth more than a trash watch, if that.

I mean, realistically, is it the most amazing cinematic work of all time? No, not unless pretty-boy power bottoms with daddy issues are your thing, which in my case they are, so let's talk about Pit Babe!

Note: I've tried to keep the spoilers to a minimum, they're mainly in the tags and links so follow them at your own risk, you've been warned.

Honestly, Pit Babe is a pretty damn good show, especially if you A) pretend the Omegaverse factor doesn’t exist and take the show for what it is and B) you don't mind not knowing what's going on half the time, just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

Overall, Pit Babe has got a good production value, a slightly absurd yet entertaining plot, a great choice of cast with amazing chemistry and pretty decent acting skills amongst the mix of seasoned actors and newbies.

For a totally biased fair and balanced review: There are some details that are left vague instead of being explained in depth or at all (yet), but that’s to be expected when you adapt a novel into a movie or series. It would get boring for the audience if the pace was interrupted to explain all those little details that we’re likely to find out along the way anyways (shout out to those who've watched the latest episode; finally!).

There are also some scenes that feel like they’re not as necessary and some background/plot devices that made a little more sense in the novel but I personally don’t feel like they detract too much from my viewing experience.

Babe (played by Pavel) and Charlie (played by Pooh) as the main leads do a really good job at shouldering a large percentage of screen time. Charlie comes across as happy-go-lucky, a bit clumsy/goofy, entirely fearless and a little naive, which is mostly true, but there's clearly more to him than that. Right from the start Babe is clearly someone guarded, detirmined and skilled at what he does (racing cars and having sex) and he has a very tight cirlce of people he trusts. There's a winning combo right there, quite tsundere/sunshine from the outside but definitely more breath the surface that gets exploded as they go.

Way (played by Nut) is Babe's best friend and racing companion, they've been racing together at Team X-Hunter for years but there's clearly more than friendship on the mind for Way, though the feelings appear to be one sided.

Alan (played by Sailub) is the owner of Team X-Hunter and an all-round cool Uncle (which the whole team call's him (despite barely being in his mid 30's). He's kind but firm, he cares for his team like they’re his family and it does seem as though they’re his only family.

And the rest of the cast consists primarily of:

Team X-Hunter:

Dean (played by Lee); a junior racer with slight douche vibes

North and Sonic (played by Michael and TopTen); everyone’s babies, they’re junior racers and content creators

Jeff (played by Pon); the newest member of the team, he’s a part time mechanic and full time conspicuous

Pete (played by Ping); the money guy Alan brings on board to sponsor the team

Team Red Racing (the rival team):

Winner (played by Pop); the guy who never seems to win against Babe

Kim (played by Benz); the new racer they hired to beat Babe

Tony (played by S Vorarit); Red Racing's newest benefactor and *shock horror* Babe's former foster father (try saying that ten times fast)

Kenta (played by Garfield); Tony's right hand man

Then, there’s the 🌶🔥🤯

I, personally, enjoy a little spice/heat in my shows. It’s not necessary for every show, of course, but I do think that when it serves a purpose to the story and it’s done well then it can be quite enjoyable and this cast/production team is doing it really well.

As I said, the chemistry between the cast really is amazing (both on and off the screen, if you're interested in that kind of thing) and although the spicy scenes aren’t nearly as abundant as they are in the novel, there are some really good ones. I decided to bite the bullet and binge read the novel over the past couple of weeks, I blame @pharawee’s breakdown posts for those sleepless nights, and it was worth it for me but not necessary for watching the series.

Lastly (as if this post isn't long winded enough as it is) there are a handful of things in this series that we don't see too often in BL's and make it worth watching even more:

It's got race cars, murder attempts, mafia influence and supernatural powers (at least half the characters have one).

There's no evil ex-lover out to get revenge or get back together with one of the mains (thank the BL gods).

It's got a Soft Top/Dominant Bottom dynamic where the title character is both super masc and a pretty princess.

And we can't forget, it is technically an Omegaverse series (or rather, it's Omegaverse-lite) which none of us saw coming!

Anywho, to conclude; yes, you should be watching Pit Babe. No, you don't have to read the novel to understand what's going on because none of us understand what the hell is going on at any given time. Charlie and Babe are fucking around and finding out, the rest of us are just long for the ride, Alan and Jeff are having a whole ass rom-com-drama in the corner, the babies are making their content and having a blast and the others aren't quite on the map yet (or are they? *wink, wink*), but I sure hope they will be soon!

If you made it this far, thank you and are you okay? Do you need to have your brain checked?

#pit babe #pit babe the series #pit babe meta #watch pit babe #please #do it for my mental health #hell do it for your mental health #charlie x babe #babe x charlie #alan x jeff #pete x way #north x sonic #kenta x kim #winner x dean #this took way too long #but I kinda loved it #seriously. if you read all of that you're a legend #that was a lot. even for me

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originalaccountname · 1 year

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There are some posts I've seen floating around that at the start Dazai may not of known that Chuuya wasn't a vampire which I kind of agree with. I'm at work currently so I cant double check but when he goes "that's a nasty trick you've pulled fydor" im pretty sure its in his thoughts?? To which why would he think that if he knew the whole time. I think dazai must of caught onto the fact Chuuya was faking it at somepoint but not sure when that would of been. Also at the end of the ep Dazai said he didn't have a plan. (I did watch the episode at just after 2am my time when it came out and then fell asleep afterwards so my memory could be not correct). I do think chuuya not being a vampire at all is a little disappointing tbh but this idea softens the blow. Would like to know your thoughts on this idea if you are open to sharing?

I'm in that category too, yes. I've left a few tags saying basically the same thing on some posts.

First, there are a few things the anime didn't answer (more than failing to justify Chuuya faking it since the start, there's Sigma's case about needing to help the ADA, which... didn't happen at all) so either we haven't seen the repercussions of this arc yet, or we got the shortened version of what the manga will offer. Which could work either way. (not ideal necessarily, but besides huffing what can we do huh)

Dazai not knowing though! Dazai did admit to his "plan" being to mostly adapt on the fly and trust his allies to help him back. He implied this prison break was one big trust fall. But that's how I've always interpreted Dazai's way of planning! I even made a post about it a full year ago!

Since Dazai knows Chuuya slowed down the elevator (which I can accept, Dazai's ability shouldn't affect random objects he touches, and Fyodor had told Chuuya through a comm to go finish off Dazai because he wasn't in the room), I assume that by then he was aware. Maybe not before though. Definitely not at first. Because this?

I refuse to believe was entirely scripted. Why is he acting? For Sigma? For corpses? I'm of the opinion that no matter what is going on through Dazai's head, his expressions are always genuine (ex: he might react with surprise at something he completely expected, if only because of how sudden it was, or when/how it ended up happening. Here? genuine distress.)

And I extend that feeling to Dazai having an emotional moment, complete with flashbacks, while "drowning" Fyodor and Chuuya. He did say he wasn't expecting to kill them that way, but perhaps it really was a moment of weakness triggered by concern or guilt.

I can accept Dazai having caught on during his face-off with Chuuya. That's Mr I-know-your-breathing-patterns we have here, so if they didn't high-five after the elevator crash-landing (still broke Dazai's leg), I would say Dazai knows physics enough to go "hold on" and connect the dots. So yes, that baiting of Chuuya, the light taunting, the bratty attitude he only really has with Chuuya, the angry YELLING and insults when Chuuya shot him in the shoulder? The destiny talk? Yeah I can re-contextualize those as Dazai over-acting his part. And then not being able to shut up after being shot in the head.

Maybe there's some reaching here, maybe this will not be totally accurate to the source material. But Asagiri does have a habit to write scenes from an outsider pov while knowing whats happening in the characters' heads and behind the scene, but then not give us that input directly. Never before today was it confirmed that Dazai improvises a lot in his plans. And yet! That's something I've believed in for a very long time.

This all could very well be covering Asagiri's poor decisions, but between this being the adaptation and bsd being an unfinished story, I have a hard time deciding at the moment how much of a poor decision this was. Maybe it's worth a raised eyebrow. Maybe it deserves some criticism in hope the author takes notes. Maybe this was an anime-original resolution due to time constraints (think of the Fifteen final fight). I can only raise concerns for now, and wait.

#bsd being a monthly release is also detrimental to its pacing #the chapters in the last+ year were very short and suspense-heavy #which makes it look cheaper than if you took a break and read them all in one go #there's a balance in there #i don't know if asagiri really writes with our time perception in mind. maybe he just writes the story and then it's divided in chapters #and that's that. who cares if there's 6 months between those two entries.#bsd #bsd s5 #bsd spoilers #apparently i talk sometimes #ask answered

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thehopelessexception · 6 months

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is it just me?

i've been observing a tendency surrounding women —mostly between 20 and 26— where we can't find anything close to love (from men). women are not dating, nor living a normal life, developing a femcel-like point of view. and im saying this because i want to be loved just like anyone else, but are we the problem? or is there something wrong with boys? i mean, ofc there's something wrong with boys; but every year pass by and every time is harder and harder to find someone willing to put the effort to make you feel loved and understood. was it like this 50 years ago? 100 years ago? i am very much aware that our mothers and grandmothers suffered in the world they lived in, generally with sexist husbands and mandatory tradwife lifestyle. but i am also sure that there was some exceptions, way too many more than today.

and we tend to romanticize the past, probably there's something to do with our generation. nor millennials or gen z, the ones in the middle. the girls who grew up with enough technology but not so much. the ones that went crazy over boybands and fanfiction and hung up posters in our walls. the ones that went crazy in 2018-2020 with deranged feminism just to realise, later on, nobody really cared and it maybe was a little over the top. the ones that filled our beds with stuffed animals repeatedly every time we woke up just to throw them on the floor at night so we could sleep. the girls who spent their teenage years on tumblr writing code (before men took that away from us) and making playlists of marina lana and the 1975 so everyone on the internet could see how cool we wanted to look like. probably the ones that suffered some kind of bullying in highschool or some health problem related to how we didn't fit in or how bad we looked at ourselves in the mirror (yk what i mean). we weren't the cool kids in real life or it was just me?

now i'm observing how hard it is to adapt that teenager to adult years. and maybe it's me but i don't feel like an adult. i am a tiny ball of anxiety. i suffer too much stress. i am trying to finish my degree but i don't know if im worthy of anything because i dont have money, and i don't have time to work and study at the same time because i spend too many time thinking about it and feeling a fraud and a failure.

i don't know how to talk to boys either —nor girls, in that way—. and until some days ago i was quite sure i was willing and capable of spending my whole life alone. i've given up to anything because i felt it imposible to be loved. but lately my mind goes up and down with that scene of jo monologue in little women by gretta gerwig. and it also goes with the hot priest monologue of fleabag. and today i rewatched the classic he's just not that into you. are we condemned to be the tedious rule? am i?

i've seen all of my girlfriends suffering the same mysery. and i've seen the extremes. women giving up the love they deserve —because they accepted the fate of being the rule— by dating a jerk just because they are afraid of loneliness. and i've also seen women giving up everything else just because they are not willing to give up love. those are us. hopeless romantics who watched way too many romantic comedies and somehow still expect to find someone willing to die for us just like dicaprio in romeo + juliet. —or at least a patrick verona—.

what i've never seen was actual love. all the couples i met... they don't look happy. they don't look in love. they don't look like they enjoy their own company even. they look exactly like a picture of instagram. they exist just to make us feel miserable even when it's obvious they are not gonna last. i've seen couples of what? 7 years? gone. broken up. they grew tired of each other and of course they never looked like they had anything close to sparkles in their eyes. chemistry? none. and maybe it is my anxiety speaking but i don't want that. i refuse to have that. i want all or nothing. i want always and forever. i want everyone to look at us and think "if i don't have that i'll kms". i want family —even tho im not sure i want to get pregnant, what am i a childbride?—. i don't want to change anything to fit in with the standards of a boy. i want marriage even tho im not sure i want to be legally married. i want the posibility, the future. i want the emotions surpassing myself. i want to not know me anymore and then knowing me again. i want to doubt myself. i want my heart beating so fast i could kill someone for them. i want to believe god exists. i want to laugh of happiness without they making a joke. i want my sundays to not be deppresing because i can hang out with the love of my life and have fun. i want to be the "and yet" of someone willingly enough to fall for me every single day even if i am kinda insane all the time. i want someone who cares. someone who fantasizes with spending the rest of their lives with me and is going to put the effort to get to know every single thing about me and stay because he's blown away. and aparently that's setting the bar "too high" because we are the rule and not the exception.

people always assume that by being a romantic i expect flowers every day and cheesy comments about how beautiful i look; and that would actually make me want to puke because i can do that myself. i am confortable with myself, i like myself, i love myself, i have the ego. i am not really asking for that much i just want someone to love me with every single thing that's probably wrong with me. what i want is someone curious and smart. someone who pays enough attention or wants to. i want the chemistry off the roof.

and contrary to anyone's beliefs the bar is too low about everything else. every single girl probably wants the same thing. is it that hard for men to understand that women want to feel loved?

lately —worldwide— it's all a competition of genres as if humanity doesn't need us to interact to survive. it's a loop that opened up in 2013? with the tumblr-4chan gate and right now got translated to the real world because pick-mes are back and being a man is cool. and suddenly that's how nature works!! because apparently women are boring and just a hole. maybe they all need to go all alexander the great. but it's getting boring. and we as women deserve love as much as respect.

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keepthedelta · 5 days

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I'm feeling a little stir in the breeze that smells like a little curiosity for kimi (raikkonen, I hate that I have to specify because he's too iconic to need the last name, he should be like Cher, or Madonna, or Vale).

But I wasnt around to watch the earlier races, what was he like when he was actually racing. I've read about the level of skill and how he managed to fight and win from the back of the grid and how he came in a post schumacher era of racing etc, and then he won and things started sliding backwards. Even read somewhere that he was an alcoholic.

Since you're an actual race enjoyer who's been around for a while I wanted to ask what you think of him, or any interesting anecdotes that highlights his sporting mindset, was he a unique talent in any way.

honestly this is a really tough one because kimi is so difficult to truly define. in my opinion he is one of the greatest racing drivers who has ever lived. his talent and ability far exceeded the number of races and championships he won.

early kimi especially in his mclaren era was unlike anything else i've ever seen. he was so fast and so skilled, his car wasn't necessarily the best one on the grid, this was during the height of schumacher and ferrari's reign, but he pushed it to the absolute limit and performed to a legitimately insane level. his reaction speed was exceptional, if you ever see footage from early lap incidents where multiple drivers collided and kimi was able to navigate through insanity with ease you'll see what i mean. he was incredibly fast, incredibly adaptable, incredibly determined.

in my opinion, a lot of people mistake kimi's lack of fucks for a lack of care or a calm but i don't think that's necessarily true. kimi always said that he hated coming second, and his expectation for all drivers was to hate coming second. he cared so much about racing. so many of his most iconic radio moments are about him caring. he knows what he has to do and what he wants to do and he doesn't want anyone interfering with that. he was an absolute lover of the sport, and for all of his "it's just a hobby to me" towards the very end of his career, when he was in a race winning car he cared a lot. i believe he holds the current record for longest time between race wins, and he holds that record because he continued to care about racing and care about winning.

however, i don't think he cared about what people thought of him. kimi did what kimi wanted to do, and most of the time that coincided with what the team wanted, i.e. winning races, but he also liked to have fun. he was pretty famous for drinking and partying, and in what i'm told is fairly stereotypical finnish fashion he went from being fairly stoic when sober to being incredibly friendly/open. there's video of him completely hammered at the 2018 fia gala, one of the drivers who played the stig on british top gear said that he'd been standing in a bar in monaco when kimi collapsed at his feet, completely drunk, jenson button once said that kimi somehow broke into his house on a night out (and nico implied that kimi was not alone when he did so). i've personally never heard that he was an alcoholic but he was certainly a heavy drinker (as most famous drivers are tbh).

mclaren kimi was an absolute driving god, and i personally think he was a bit unlucky in not winning in 2003 or 2005, but the press began to say that it was his fault, that he wasn't focused enough and was more interested in partying. i personally don't think this is true, and kimi proved that when he finally won in 2007. 2007 is mostly remembered for what was going on in mclaren, the lewis fernando civil war, mclaren copying ferrari and fernando blackmailing ron dennis over it, and i think kimi's skill gets a bit lost in the retelling of that year. he was absolutely the best driver that year and thoroughly deserved his championship. he won more races than the others, had more dnfs, and when it came down to the final few races and he absolutely had to win, he did.

i can't say for sure that kimi wasn't to blame for what happened afterwards. maybe it was a lack of interest, although i personally don't think so, i think he experienced the ferrari cycle of blame. ferrari had a great car in 2007/2008 but the car wasn't amazing after that. but ferrari has never been fully capable of admitting their own faults. the car wasn't as good as it had been during their dominance eras, stefano domenicali was not as good a leader as jean todt, and instead of looking at their internal structure and the people who had left (or been fired in the case of nigel stepney, which was fair) they decided to blame kimi for not performing. mclaren signed jenson button over him and he spent some time doing rally before returning with lotus in 2012.

lotus kimi was also kind of insane. nobody thought that the car would be that good, and kimi supposedly had a clause written into his contract saying that he would receive something like 50,000 dollars bonus for every point he scored. he scored so many points that year that he apparently nearly bankrupted the team, and there's a rumour that he didn't compete in the final two races to save them money (i believe the official story was that he had a back injury).

kimi then eventually went back to ferrari, which is where he got his final wins. he truly was one of the most incredible drivers in f1 history. there are multiple drivers with more wins and championships than him that don't have half of his talent but got luckier with cars and competitors. i think he also proved to an extent that drivers could be themselves and still be popular. he said once in an interview that it was hard the first few years when the team and pr people were trying to force him to be something and someone that he wasn't, but after he refused enough times they eventually gave up. and the person that kimi was, blunt, self interested, uncaring of social niceties and pr speak, was someone that the public really liked and got behind.

however, i can't in good conscience talk about kimi like this without also talking about some very major faults. he has been accused of sexual assault by a woman (he in turn accused her of trying to extort him), and he has reportedly used nazi or neo-nazi symbols in his merchandising, which is something that i personally cannot ignore.

#delta help desk

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fbwzoo · 10 months

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I can't share the 30-some pictures I did with my FB post, going from last December to this December. So I'll just use this one - which I just took after a quick harness training session in which she bounced across half the couch to meet me & wagged for the first 15 seconds, and before she made me put my phone down for a bout of snuggle scritches. 😭🥰

This is such a long post, I'm going to put it under a cut. But today is the 1 year anniversary of Emma coming home to us, and I am FULL of emotions over this little dog. So if you want to read my rambling & think with me how far my baby has come in a year.... read on!

One year of my Emma. 💙💜 I didn't really expect to love this dog so much, velcro dog and all. She is definitively My Dog, and I never had a choice in the matter. I think that was just gonna happen, ever since I first saw her adoption post 1 year & 9 months ago. Every time I saw her posted again, I wanted her. It was meant to be! 🥰

And now I look back on the year & think about it all. We changed a bunch of things in our household for this little dog, and all year, we kept adjusting & improving where it was needed for her & the other animals. I love my family so much, and I'm so grateful to have found these other people who love animals & are so willing to adapt as needed for their happiness too. Everyone in the house agreed to take on a project dog, and everyone stepped up to help her settle in.

It's weird too, bc it often doesn't feel like we've DONE that much. But when I tell someone new about her, or spell it out for myself, I'm reminded that we've done the work, even if it mostly didn't seem like work. And we gave her what we knew we absolutely could, what she needed most - time and space. We went at her pace, let her lead us, and it's been truly amazing to watch her over this year.

Emma has gone from being very worried to terrified about any & all human movements, unable to be pet or touched, quick to be on guard at any small change in position. Terrified of loud noises and too much activity. Barking at Joel to try and make him go away. Pottying in the house on pee pads because outside is scary. Only laying in a lap if the lap was covered with a blanket.

All of that.... to a dog that spends 98% of her time relaxed, happy, and ready to be involved. She greets us with alert barks instead of guarding barks, tail wags, bouncing, and licks (okay, mostly me for some of that but still). Everyone in the house has been able to pet her. She actively loves to be pet by Jack in bed & me anywhere when she wants snuggles. She plays with her dog siblings and with me. She discovered the joys of yard zoomies early on & never looked back - she potty trained faster and better than Spring!

She knows and likes our household routines. She LOVES food, and it's the quickest way to her heart! 😂 But she's learned some manners too, like not snatching food with any opportunity! She's gotten more comfortable being on the floor. She still likes to chew more than our other two, and has gotten really great at managing big emotions by redirecting to a Benebone!

We're not the best at active training, but even so, she makes us & me look good! She's interested now, when the treats come out, and wants to see what to do to get some. She interacts with new objects, she is doing great with harness training.

She has opinions now!!! And she will tell you!!! Especially if they involve dinner time! 😂 I still can't believe she demand barks now, and it's been too cute for us to bother stopping for the most part.

I've thought about goals for her over the next year, and I definitely have some big ones. Continue harness training until I can put it fully on her & take it off. Leash skills & comfort with them. All of that slowly, so slowly leading up to trips out of the house - to do vet happy visits, check out some SniffSpots, and go visit her sister at foster mom's house. I also want to introduce some pattern games to help with all of that.

And we plan to start having people over to the house again! Not sure how often or how many, and we may have to alter pace based on how she does. But she's so often surprised us with her resilience, so I think we'll do okay! (And obviously all visitors will be required to follow rules around my pup, or face the mama bear wrath 😂)

But mostly....I just can't wait for another year with this extremely sweet, loving, exuberant little dog that is working so hard to find her confidence. We're all so very proud of Emma, and love her so much. 💜💙

I also included a thank you to both rescues & Emma's foster mom, for all of their time, work, and hoops to ensure that Emma would be safe. They genuinely gave us all the information we needed to make sure we were prepared, and I am even more grateful for that after seeing how rare our experience is in my fearful dogs group.

#dogblr #fearful dogs #rescue dog #Emma pup #fbw rambles #my pets #long post #i just.... can't believe how far she's come #especially when it feels like we've done so little #i didn't know what to expect in bringing home a half feral fearful dog #she was honestly easier than we were braced for #but i still would've been so much bigger a mess without the initial support of foster mom and the training rescue #and especially my dog discord #who I've leaned on even after we stopped pestering the trainer via text

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jenny-from-the-bau · 3 months

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okay here's some nice jemily thoughts to brighten up your rough day :) sorry this took so long to send, it took me forever to come up with an idea but then i got slightly carried away writing it. also i swear this is happy and cute at the end but it definitely starts off sadder than i intended

jj and emily start dating post-willifer divorce, while both of the kids are still fairly young. henry is 9 and michael is almost 3. they take it slow at first because as much as she likes emily, jj has enough on her plate between the job, being a single parent, and coordinating pick-ups and drop-offs with will, so a relationship is kind of the last thing on her mind. slowly, emily starts coming over to the house more often (jj kept the house and will got an apartment nearby). she comes over for dinner and watches movies with the family in the evenings, and she sometimes helps by making breakfast or doing homework with henry

she's nervous about this relationship. she doesn't want to screw things up with jj, and she often worries that she's not cut out for this. 45 is too old to be getting into a serious relationship, she tells herself, especially because jj has kids and emily thinks she doesn't know the first thing about being a mom. she doesn't want to overstep any boundaries so she never refers to herself as henry and michael's stepmom, especially since the boys are still struggling to adapt to their parents' separation, and she never thinks herself as really being part of the family. in her mind, it's always jj+henry+michael and also emily. it doesn't help that whenever she makes breakfast, michael will say he wants daddy's eggs and whenever she helps with homework, henry will complain that she's making it too hard and jj explains it better

so when mother's day rolls around, emily isn't really expecting anything. she makes a note in her calendar to call her own mother. she's not entirely sure what the protocol is for when you're kind of seriously dating a single mother, so she orders a bouquet of jj's favourite flowers to be delivered on sunday and a locket with her sons' initials engraved. she figures that will and the boys will have something special planned for jj

emily wakes up on mother's day morning with the sun streaming through the windows of jj's bedroom, which is weird because she had her alarm set to get up early, before the sun comes up. she checks the alarm clock, and sure enough, it's been turned off. she could've sworn she turned it on last night, and now she worries that she looks bad for sleeping in on mother's day when she's supposed to be treating jj. as she sits up in bed, the bedroom door comes flying open and two blonde-haired boys come barrelling at her shouting "good morning, emily!". she groans as michael lands right on top of her and henry squeezes her in a hug, but she smiles despite herself. it's really sweet. she looks up to see jj at the bedroom door, smiling at her and holding two mugs off coffee, and emily happily takes one from her

emily still doesn't understand what's going on until henry and michael leave the room almost as fast as they came in. henry comes back carrying a tray with a mile-high stack of chocolate chip pancakes and some bacon and eggs and a glass of orange juice, and michael shoves a piece of paper in her face. the drawing is mostly scribbles, but there's a crude representation of four tiny stick figures, three with blonde hair and one with black hair. henry's handwriting at the top says "happy mother's day!"

emily looks around the room at the breakfast in bed, the drawing of their family, and jj and her boys surrounding her, and she's so filled with love it brings a tear to her eye. it brings her back to a conversation she had with jj ages ago, years before they started dating: "you, kids. i could see it." at the time, emily thought jj was just being nice. she couldn't really see herself as a mom, no matter how badly she wanted it, but now she saw it from jj's perspective. emily sets aside the breakfast tray and pulls her three favourite people into the biggest hug ever. michael wishes her a happy mother's day in his cute little toddler voice, henry says that she's a great stepmom and he's lucky to have two awesome moms in his life when most people only get one, and jj simply kisses her on the forehead and whispers "happy mother's day, my love. you're a part of this family now, don't ever forget that"

-🐙

Stop this made me so emotional (positive!!!)

I love Emily not realizing that little things like kids complaining is part of being a parent and JJ probably hears that Emily does better voices during stories and Will hears that Emily does better at bath time lol She's a mom!!!!

#thank you ❤️#ask #🐙 anon

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duckielover151 · 6 months

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OPLA and Garp and Worldbuilding

Okay. I think I've finally figured it out.

I've seen some polarizing takes on Monkey D. Garp's character in the live action adaptation of One Piece. I generally like how they brought his character to life, but there was something that wasn't quite sitting right with me. It just took me a bit to pinpoint exactly what the problem was.

So for one: I do like his live action portrayal. The live action series remains goofy and faithful to the original in a lot of ways but does give everything a bit of a grittier feel, as would be expected-- and is almost required-- of a live action story about pirates. When you're seeing real people in front of you, as opposed to cartoonish drawings, your tale kind has to reflect the real world and its darkness.

Garp's character in the live action absolutely feels... not dumbed down, but simplified from who his character is in the original tale.

And I think that was necessary. The biggest change from one medium to the other was the pacing. The live action just could not have been done with the anime's pacing, (though there's honestly very little that was missed, even with how much faster the story moved). And the pace of your storytelling really affects how your characters get developed.

So yeah, live action Garp comes across as just the tiniest bit unstable... (he's still got a bit of a wild side) but mostly in control. And a lot more proactive about his goals.

The most important thing is that I think this storyline about him chasing around after his rebellious grandson... just to give him one final test before setting him free, accepting that he's ready to handle the dangerous life he's been dreaming of-- even if it will pit them against each other more seriously in the future!-- is just more accessible to an audience used to live action storytelling. It kind of makes sense. Quite a lot of the time, anime Garp's actions and choices regarding his family... just don't make a ton of sense. And the live action does not have time to explore that complexity properly. (Hell, the anime doesn't even always do the best job of exploring it in a way that justifies his actions and beliefs, but that's a tale for another time.)

But there's still a problem.

Garp's actions in this adaptation are fine for his character... but really bad for the worldbuilding.

One of the only real complaints I have about the One Piece live action is that they do not succeed in getting across just how corrupt the world government is truly supposed to be.

And a lot of that is because of Garp, following around and cleaning up after our heroes and acting like a responsible adult for once. (That alone is enough for some people to-- honestly, rightfully-- cry that live action Garp is out of character.)

Garp shows up and reforms Morgan's base in both versions... But the live action never really addresses how much of a tyrant Morgan was. That his own marines and even the people of the town, who he was supposed to be keeping safe, were terrified of him. Garp's derision and treatment of Morgan in the live action honestly seem a little unjustified. And it's even worse that he stepped in with Nezumi. Don't get me wrong, it was fantastic to see Nezumi put in his place... But that satisfaction was brief.

Live action-only viewers will never truly understand just how hopeless the situation in Coco village was. That Nezumi was the last line of authority. Their only hope for salvation and justice, and he was all too happy to accept Arlong's bribes and let the villagers suffer.

I recently watched the Honest Trailer for this series. And it was reliably entertaining... but you could tell the crew who made it was missing some key context for understanding the vision behind this show. They make fun of Luffy for not understanding what it really means to be a pirate. And it's not a terrible joke. They're kind of right. But I think what's missing from this adaptation is the understanding that the appeal of being a pirate isn't just the potential for riches. It's about freedom. It's about being strong enough and being in a position to protect yourself when even the people tasked with keeping you safe are all too happy to take advantage of you. It's that siding with the law in this universe is often the choice that makes you the bad guy. Honestly, Koby's got a harder path to walk, as far as morality goes, than Luffy-- or any of the pirates who live honorably.

But I try to remind myself that this is just the tip of the iceberg...

Nami's backstory is what a lot of people tend to pinpoint as the place where the anime starts to get really good. And I think that's because it's where the deal with this world starts to become really clear.

That yeah, it's totally reasonable to root for a group that would normally be the villains in any other story. The civilized half of this world really is that fucked up.

I don't feel like that point really hits its undeniable, no-going-back mark until we get to Robin's backstory and the tale of Ohara... And I cannot tell you how much I hope this adaptation gets to get there.

It's okay that the live action hasn't properly established a tale where an everyday person is going to want to root for the anarchists in this story, because the anime was barely there at this point also.

There is still time to redeem this.

#opla #one piece #monkey d. garp #worldbuilding

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athetos · 1 year

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I finally (after years of putting it off) watched annihilation and honestly I was pleasantly surprised because while I don’t think it was superior to the book in any way, it served as a nice complement. It took the main themes and vibes and made something enjoyable and unsettling that can stand on its own. I think the metaphor about refraction was a really nice addition, and the many (so, so many) changes from the book were mostly born from necessity as it would be impossible to translate them to a visual medium. I’m glad it didn’t try to just copy the book’s plot and characterization because it would never hold a candle to Jeff vandermeer’s writing.

However, with all that said, there are two glaring detractions. Firstly, the ending was disappointing. If I had the ability to change just one detail, it would be to make it ambiguous as to whether the shimmer truly disappeared, or if it advanced to encompass the entire planet. That alone would be much more interesting. Obviously I don’t expect them to tackle questions like “what IS the shimmer” because even the novels don’t really answer that question (I mean there’s a 4th book in the works so MAYBE but c’mon it’s Jeff vandermeer he’s not going to give a definitive answer).

The second major criticism I have is that there’s no tower or crawler! I know they kind of merged the tower with the lighthouse but it’s a pretty weird omission to me since the tower is the most significant part of the first book and whenever I think about them, I always picture the tower and the nonsensical but chilling scripture first. I do understand why it might not have been included for budget and set purposes but I’m so distraught over this…

I guess the last two, smaller criticisms I have is that they had to throw in a contrived affair (why does every other movie feel the need to do this) and that they didn’t explain what annihilation meant. I won’t spoil it for people who haven’t read it but it has a very specific meaning that gave me chills when it was explained. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t mention the psychologist using any type of hypnotism or mind tricks on them at all. It adds a lot more to Ventress’ character even without the backstory for her we get in the other two books, and it would play way more into the “are we being manipulated to turn on each other” question that arose.

Other than that I think most of the changes made sense from a filmmaking perspective. Lena is ex-military so they can show her shooting big damn guns. They let them bring electronics into the shimmer because finding a videotape left behind is way more interesting to the audience than reading a journal entry. They gave the other survey members backstories to make the audience get more attached to them. They let Kane live because they needed another ‘changed’ person for the ending. Kane (presumably the original) committed suicide because it was a great way to show the plot twist. Etc etc

I also want to address that there is whitewashing in this movie but it seems to come from a place of genuine unawareness. The main character is Asian and the psychologist is indigenous in the books however they’re both white in the movie, but their races are never touched on until the second book, which was being written and cast at the time of the script’s writing (the rights for the film adaptation were acquired before the first book was even officially released!) I truly don’t think anyone involved was aware of this information, as it just wasn’t available. I don’t know enough about the filming process to know if they could have altered it after the second book came out or if it was too late in the process, so that’s all I have to say, but I don’t think it was done with malicious intent at all.

TLDR: it was a good movie and I recommend it but I recommend the books way harder go read them right now

#southern reach #area x #annihilation 2018 #that’s the year it came out right?#I want to reread them but I just reread them in January. my woe is indescribable.#Jeff vandermeer #reviews

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kosmicdream · 4 months

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Ode to Togashi

Stream of conscientious incoherent rant about manga/hxh below, read at your own discretion as i AM NOT EDITING IT:

While I’m still in the mood to talk about art and what i love about manga, i feel like i wanted to share (some) of my thoughts on why HXH continues to be one of my favorite stories. Togashi’s writing method continues to be probably like, the closest one that i aspire to replicate in my own work, partly because i love to see how much it builds and learns from itself, reinvents itself, ect. But i DONT think Hxh is perfect, even if i wouldn’t change anything about it or togashi’s writing style.

When I first got into HXH, it was actually through the old anime. I watched that all the way thru before reading the manga, and when i was watching the anime it was during a period of time when i hated all shonen. I still kinda hate “the shonen” model, despite loving many shonen series, but something abt HXH pulled me in to give it a try and i was quickly hooked. I of course, already had experience with YYH growing up as a teen but i somehow missed HXH completely until my early 20s. I had already started trying comics by then, but it was EGGSHELLS and i had not started FFAK at that point.

HXH almost lost me at greed island my first round, ngl. I appreciate it now, andi still think the set up for Greed island was amazing but the arc itself.. I was not into it, mostly cause i think the villain for it was kinda lackluster and i didn’t really think the world of greed island had a strong design sense. There was interesting aspects, i enjoyed Bisque as a new character and she helped carry a LOT of the weight of that arc for me, but it was kind of a drag. IDK if it was also partly the adaptation for that arc, but i didn’t enjoy it much more in manga form either. It just went a bit faster. However, the end of that arc and the final fight was surprisingly brutal and enjoyable, which made me optimistic and helped me to continue. And then the chimera ant arc was the first arc i read ONLY manga first and i truly fell in love with it, obsessed even. That arc, as many readers already know, is probably like the closest thing to FFAK’s “Parent” for inspiration. Obviously, FFAK draws from a lot of things (Trigun is probably the 2nd strongest influence on FFAK) but it isn’t quite the same as HXH. As MUCH as i adore hunter x hunter part of me does cringe and laugh that like, in the end, a battle shonen manga still excited me that much but like.. As MUCH as i clearly love battle manga.. I am so over them. You know? Who cares. IMO. No matter how great it looks, i probably am never going to be more impressed (visually) with an action scene than the ones Yukito Kishiro drew. He did it, He won the action manga game to me. I have no idea what’s actually happening in Gunnm most of the time but as far as the visual spectacle of it all, it literally doesn't even make sense how good his action scenes look. (I could talk a lot about Gunnm too, but i’ll save that for another time IG) Like how the fuck does someone draw that good and it just made everything else by comparison just like, not.. Matter too much to me anymore. Which is great, because I can then look at other aspects for a work rather than just being drawn in by the visuals. And stuff.

Where i’m at now.. I dont want to read another, even if its drawn well and .. the powers are SO powering or whatever. And i love to draw action scenes, they’re really hard and i still have so much more to go to learn about them. At best, I think im okay at them. But even when i work, i just get tired now so i cut them down a lot. Thats partly because i jsut dont have the time to draw fighting scenes. So i kind of feel embarrassed by a lot of them that ive made, i know I was lazy. Lazy in a way I’m not proud of the result, but im proud of the compromises to get the shit done. Which is the most important think in the end, to juggle your own expectations and limitations with the timeframe you have to get somewhere you need to go. I will still read more action/battle manga in the future.. But im in no rush. And im certain, for the most part, they arent going to teach me anything I don’t already know. They might entertain me and i might be like “..huh!” at a few things, but my expectation for them to do more than that is pretty low. I’m delighted when im wrong, but i cannot deny the apathy towards them is super deep. Togashi to me, is one those authors, that makes me really wake up and realize there’s still a lot of unexpected territory out there.

He writes like an enthusiastic newbie, not a seasoned old timer that he is, who basically helped popularize the “tournament arc” and “dark edgy shonen” stuff with YYH. All his characters in HXH are geniuses, which is kind of a valid critique and can be annoying as hell too… Id say most readers dont really get how the hell nen works, yet somehow the story still functions so well in its character motivations/conflicts that it kinda doesn’t matter too much that.. It doesnt really make sense? We have to relearn what nen is basically every arc. Its not gonna stick. And yet im just so excited every time it updates and i really want to know what he wants to do with his new arc, if he is going to be able to do it. Nen to me is like a fake fantasy science that is tangible and real yet also you’re in a dream and you try to read the letters on a page, and you can read it but if you stare hard at it. The words are just blurs, or it doesn’t really connect. I like that there’s this malleable illusion that it functions in a way, that is concrete, but it isn’t really. But its enough that i can believe that for the characters, who are also not real, it is real for them.

The fact that i can talk about “”””NeN””” like this to me is essentially why it becomes the perfect shonen to me because it takes itself so seriously, so genuinely, yet it also is nonsense but not in the way where its like.. Irony poisoned, “gotcha” twists? Im sick of all these subverting shonens that arent subverting anything. Or even just the attitude that is what makes a good shonen these days is to subvert, diminish, laugh, ect at shonen while completely stepping inside the same footprints again and again. So much manga just wants to be dragon ball, but dragon ball was good cuz it was just a fun, well drawn action manga that wasn’t trying to BE dragonball. It was just dragon ball. (maybe now its trying to be dragon ball, which is why i dont care about whatever sequel attempt we’re at now, but that’s another story.) Its fun to me that i dont know if Gon is gonna come back in Hxh. like, maybe he will and his powers will be restored ect.. But at the time of writing this, and for YEARS we just.. Have the main pals of the manga separated. Their friendship has changed. There’s a great shift in it. Gon met his dad, who sucks, but that kind of was his main quest. Sure, we have kurapika’s arc, and many other routes to go - but in a weird way HXH is done and it isn’t done at the same time. I’m just like, what are we going to do now. TOGASHI said flat earth real and was like, the other half of it is UNEXPLORED AND SO DARN DANGEROUS and theres SOM BIGGGGG DINOSAURS THERE and it just feels so gleefully like.. You’re on the swingset and some kid just keeps having to up the stakes but in the most kid-like way possible. For serious. But Togashi’s 58. But he’s right too, the dark continent IS so cool.. I just imagine leorio going there and getting so sick and shitting mutant diahrea and dying the SECOND he sets foot there and its awesome. That’s NOT what’s going to happen but im delighted at the opportunity.

This is the point where I’m writing something when i take a pause and wonder how the hell i got here. I have skimmed the above written text. Whatever point i think i was going to make, wasn’t made, but i expressed.. good feelings here. This is how i write. I typed all of that in about 15 minutes with no idea where it was gonna go. Part of the process now would be to go back, organize, edit, ect. To *TRY* to make it a little more comprehensible, as with all writing. Believe it or not i have gotten better at editing my own work. But the true nature of it all is still the same. And its the same in the way that i dont want, no matter how much i improve at my craft, i dont want to lose that enthusiasm i feel when i reach 58. I think that would be such a triumph, id be so lucky to be able to muster that energy. When I think of togashi, i think he has that. He has that real artistic spark that no amount of time/experience has ever diminished and that’s why i think he’s truly my personal favorite mangaka. (maybe tezuka too)

#felt like sharing more of my journals #ive really cut down on these but you know what .. fuck it #togashi time #hunter x hunter #togashi #hope anyone enjoys this if you manage to read it #its kinda all over the place lmao

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vannahfanfics · 1 year

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One Piece Live Action: Review

Well, I came home after work yesterday and immediately binged the entirety of the live-action One Piece adaptation. Now that it's morning, I thought I would collect my thoughts (which I rambled to several friends and also into my handy-dandy phone notepad app) and write a review, for anyone who's interested. I'll be honest, it's mostly for me; I have so many feelings as someone who actually loves cinematography and the artistic analysis of film with regard to storytelling—because we all know how much I love my stories—that I just have to rave about this honest-to-goodness masterpiece of a show. Obviously, it will be very spoiler-heavy, so read at your own discretion!

So, I'll start with a blanket statement and reiterate that, again, I thought this show was a masterpiece. Given the history of live-action anime adaptations, I was cautious in not having terribly high expectations, even after learning that Oda was intimately involved in the production; I also went in looking to respect it as its own entity, though, and willing to look past certain things provided there were no egregious insults to the source material. And y'all, when I say I was blown away—I damn near had a smile on my face the whole night watching it. It wasn't just the nostalgia; it was the overbearing feeling that so much love was poured into this show, which I find to be unfortunately lacking in a lot of Hollywood films these days. I found myself thinking of the Peter Jackson adaptations of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Though there were changes, some of them large, none of them felt averse to the source material; in fact, the changes felt like they came from an admiration of the source material and a strong desire to bring them justice. I dunno, I was just amazed by the pervading feeling that each and every person involved in making this show had a dream to bring One Piece to life, and they poured every ounce of effort into bringing that dream to fruition—which is what One Piece is all about. This has set the standard for live-action anime adaptations, and I finished this show so desperately hungry for more, to see how they could go bigger and better when bringing the subsequent arcs to life in a nostalgic but refreshingly new way. Goda has delivered yet again, and honestly, I will never be the same. Words aren't going to be able to capture the depth of my feelings about this show, but I must ramble on nonetheless because I am just so awed and inspired and emotional about it.

Episode 1: Romance Dawn

First of all, it's a no-brainer to have the first episode of the series titled "Romance Dawn," but it still made me giddy. The opening sequence was sick. Michael Dorman absolutely sells it as Gol D. Roger; his absolute blitheness in the face of his impending death is so spot-on, and his rendition of the "Wealth, Fame, Power" speech was so rousing. I loved that they kept the fact that Dracule, Shanks, Smoker, and Dragon were in attendance, too, and though they were the briefest of blips, their appearances hinted at the personalities and relationships with Roger that manga/anime followers already know well: Dracule, simply intrigued and stoic; little Shanks, distraught at the looming death of his captain; young Smoker, mystified at the downfall of such a legend but not necessarily sad; and Dragon, who is shown only in his green cloak, shrouded in mystery as he is. I liked the inclusion of Garp at the execution, especially given his expanded role in this adaptation of the series, but also because of his close relationship with Roger in canon; it only makes sense that he would be there at the end. I was also pleasantly surprised that they showed Roger's death on-screen. It immediately established that the tone of this version of One Piece would be darker, with the stakes higher, and I honestly love that. Finally, the overhead scene of all the people rushing out of the square to take to the seas was so breathtaking; it really drove home the impact that this one man and his words had on the world, to the point that his legacy is still going strong twenty years later.

I loved the way we are introduced to Luffy, with this new scene of him rambling to the mail pelican while shoveling water out of his sinking dinghy. It was very Jack Sparrow-esque, which was a nice nod to another defining powerhouse of the pirate adventure genre, but also so Luffy. And I maintained that feeling throughout the show. I mean, even down to the little things, like Luffy smiling every time he was in a fight, him holding onto his hat while fighting to keep it from falling off, him cheering and screaming and crowing with glee—all the little nuances were just so Luffy! I'll probably say it a thousand times throughout this, but every single member of the cast is astounding in their roles and how they embody the characters. Iñaki is no exception; he is Luffy, through and through, even if not exactly the same as the anime/manga Luffy that we all know and love. Also, the CGI effects of his rubber abilities are really cool! I imagine that was so hard to pull off, but they really do a good job of trying to make it as believable as possible.

I will scream from the rooftops about how much I love the treatment of Alvida's character. There was not even one single quip of her being "fat" or "ugly"; everything pertaining to how she is "bad" was geared to her cruelty, and I love that we've broken away from that stereotype in this show. Also, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino slayed as Alvida. She was every ounce of strong, brutal, and callous as canon Alvida, and honestly, she looks gorgeous doing it.

Also, I lived for Koby and Luffy's friendship in this series. Morgan Davies did such a fantastic job portraying Koby and his growth, and his chemistry with Iñaki was just so... yes. Every time they are on screen together, I have the biggest, stupidest smile on my face because you can just see how deep their friendship is despite not knowing each other for very long. Their goodbye scene was so, so, so touching; with the lighting, and the music, and the expression on Koby and Luffy's faces... I got misty-eyed in a way I didn't reading the manga. Given how Koby's friendship with Luffy is such a defining part of his character in the manga, the fact that they evolved it after this initial arc made me incredibly happy. If this show goes on, I'd love to see how they continue to show Koby's growth alongside the Straw Hat's adventures, given the pivotal roles he goes on to play in the narrative.

Another thing I love is the fact that the Straw Hat's backgrounds are shown in pieces throughout the narrative at key moments in the present, such that past and present parallel. It's so good and so much more impactful than just having it shown as one big chunk. Since this is largely Luffy and Shanks' background, I'll focus on it. Peter Gadiot did such a compelling job as Shanks. His portrayal of Shanks carried a tenderness and care for Luffy that just tugged at all my heartstrings. Like, his expression when he realized that Luffy ate the Devil Fruit was just so amazingly haunting... The guilt, the horror, the realization that Luffy's life will never be the same, and there's nothing he can do... Simply spectacular. Also, I will comment again on just how amazing the casting was. Even the background characters, such as Shanks' crew, just shined in their brief moments. Like, even Makino—her minimal reactions with Luffy and Shanks were just so her! She and Shanks really had that "husband and wife" energy, and I lived for it. I also have to give a round of applause to the dialogue in the series. The small changes from the manga/anime defined these portrayals of the characters as distinct from those we've come to love, but in the best way. I was on the FLOOR when little Luffy yelled "Why didn't you get his ass?!" at Shanks because it came out of left field yet was so believable and so Luffy with what we'd been shown so far. Iconic.

I loved the introduction to Zoro's character! It was so him, but also, I was amazed by the inclusion of Baroque Works so early on! His fight with the previous Number 7 was badass, and the fact that, again, the show didn't shy away from on-screen death really highlighted how dangerous this world really is. And it contradicts so well with Nami's introduction, which is so playful, with her jaunty little theme in the background. It's just so One Piece, adrenaline-pumping action and high stakes balanced with lighthearted energy and fun. Then, the bar sequence was just... chef's kiss. I love that the original three came together in the first episode; I was so excited to see what it meant as far as changes to the story and how their dynamic develops. The way they wove in scenes from the manga/anime into this new narrative was so clever; we still got Zoro eating the little girl's rice ball off the ground, establishing how good of a character he is despite seeming so ruthless. But also, can we talk about the choreography of Zoro's fight scene against all those Marines? Just... The fact that he didn't even draw his sword once because he didn't even feel them worthy opponents, the languid nonchalance of his movements when he stepped away from the bar interspersed with his crisp agility in cutting them down, the guy he took out with the cup?! Amazing. Mackenyu read the goddamn assignment. Also, Nami using her wiles to flirt with a Marine, then knocking him out to steal his uniform as soon as he's distracted... Classic Nami. And then Luffy, getting super excited at seeing Zoro fight... while Koby immediately crawls under the table to hide, LOL.

Also, props to Aidan Scott for his portrayal of Helmeppo, like, he perfectly captured the whiny bitch energy. Crawling on his hands and knees away as soon as Zoro gets one hit in on him is classic Helmeppo lmao. I also liked that they didn't shy away from hinting at how terribly Morgan treats him, though I do wish we could have seen a little more of it, if only for the sake of rounding out Helmeppo's character to make his growth throughout the show more impactful (and I will rant and rave about his growth because, my gosh, I love what they did with his character!). I died at the infamous naked sword-practicing scene, but like, it was also so perfect? Like, it just gave even more depth to his character, showing that he does desire to be strong and taken seriously, and how much his mistreatment by his father affects him. The fact that Zoro is the one who gave him his curly-bob haircut sends me, though, just... so hysterical. I screamed.

Langley Kirkwood did a great job at playing Axe-Hand Morgan, too; he totally captured his swagger, self-confidence, and tendency to exaggerate his own accomplishments. I liked that they changed the narrative a bit to where Zoro ended up in the yard because he refused to join Morgan rather than just him beating up Helmeppo; like, it just added such a neat spin to his character, showing that he is devoted to being a bounty hunter simply because he is searching for strong opponents for the pursuit of his dream and nothing else.

I also loved the changes to how Zoro, and Nami, end up joining up with Luffy. My heart swelled when Luffy untied Zoro simply because he wanted him to be able to follow his dream, and that's all, not as a means of pressuring Zoro to join him. Then Nami, sneaking around the Marine Base and stumbling upon Luffy, who almost gets them caught time and time again. It's just so them. I was so overjoyed to see Nami get some action with her Climatact, too! It was so nice to not see her overshadowed by the guys, but right there in the thick of it with them. And, speaking of in the thick of it, the fight with Axe-Hand Morgan was so good! The choreography was amazing, and the music accompanying it just made it that much more heart-pumping. I literally starting pumping my fist and whooping when the bandana and third sword came out, like, iconic Zoro moment brought to life.

Finally, Buggy's introduction at the end was so spot-on. The drama. The excessiveness. The madness. It made me so pumped, alongside seeing that Garp going after Luffy was going to be put at the beginning of the series. Some people didn't like the change, but honestly, it made more sense to me that he would go after Luffy immediately, seeing as he was intent on testing Luffy to see if he was ready to take on the world. It's evident that Garp deeply cares for Luffy, and it just makes sense to me that he wouldn't wait.

Episode 2: The Man in the Straw Hat

Honestly, this is one of my favorite episodes, and all because of Jeff Ward's portrayal of Buggy. It was so amazing. But, I also like the beginning segment showing Zoro, Nami, and Luffy's dynamic. There really is tension among them; they are not a crew yet, and seeing them come together over adversities and genuinely beginning to see each other as a crew and a family just gives me the warm and fuzzies. Because trust isn't just immediately given; it's earned, and it takes time, and seeing them slowly realize how special Luffy is and become compelled and inspired to follow him is so special.

Okay, but onto the main act: Buggy. Buggy. BUGGY! I loved the changes they made to this whole thing, honestly. Setting it in a whole circus tent where the audience is kidnapped town members rather than just... a concrete slab in a ruined town, was so smart. Like, as silly as Buggy is, he is still a menacing pirate, and the way they set up this encounter really reminded us of that. And y'all, I cannot praise enough Jeff Ward's Buggy. So amazing. Like, he's so demented yet pathetic in that Buggy way that it blows my mind, and yet, he still brought his own spin to it by really leaning into the fact that Buggy is the way he is because of his insecurities, to the point that he is totally delusional about what really happened between him and Shanks. Like, the personality switch when he realizes that Luffy knows Shanks, and he full-heartedly believes that Luffy was abandoned by Shanks, too, and is an outcast like him, and offers to have him join his crew, but being so spine-chillingly twisted the whole time is just so, so, so good. Also, again, the CGI for his Devil Fruit abilities was so cool and slick. It captured that perfect balance between horrifying and comical that's so Buggy. Finally, again, I love the changes to the dialogue that came with the show. Buggy's "Surprise, shitheads!" is just so him but still had me rolling because I didn't expect it.

And, in true One Piece fashion, Luffy's perilous plight is countered with the relative light-heartedness of Nami and Zoro escaping to rescue him. Seriously, I love the sass that Mackenyu brings to Zoro. The "Yeah, that does sound like me" was just so perfect.

The water tank scene was... oh my gosh. I will say it again and again throughout my review, but it was so clever and symbolic of them to put the flashbacks in places in the present that parallel each other. I knew it was coming, but the scene where Shanks saves Luffy was just so emotional and raw. Again, Peter Gadiot brings such a softness to Shanks that I love; the tenderness when he hugs Luffy and tells him that he doesn't care about his arm, that he's just glad he's okay, looks like it really comes from the heart. I was in tears at the end of the flashback when Shanks bequeathed his hat to Luffy; it was so emotional, and the choice to have Shanks tell Luffy to "Be good" almost killed me. Because it isn't just him telling him to behave... It's telling him to be a good person, and that's the core of Luffy's character: he's just, he's compassionate, he's truly good in a world so corrupt. Literally, that one small moment took my breath away. Finally, just a small note, but God, did I love the way that they showed Conqueror's Haki! I was interested as to how they were going to do it, and it delivered.

Finally, Iñaki has Luffy's "Don't mess with my friend or I'll kick your ass" glare down pat. When he looked at Buggy, I lost my mind with excitement because I knew shit was about to get real!

Episode 3: Tell No Tales

I really like the title of this episode, too. Not only is it clever because it's Usopp's episode, but it foreshadows the horror movie-esque vibe that Kuro's personage brings to the show by bringing to mind the saying "dead men tell no tales."

I love that the episode starts off with another scene of Luffy, Zoro, and Nami on the boat to show how they are coming together. The banter is different, somehow, with an undercurrent of growing care and trust. Also, of course, I love that they kept the janky Jolly Roger and the details of paint splatter on Luffy's face. It was just a classic cute, funny Straw Hats moment. I also loved all their interactions in the mansion, especially the changing room scene. Like, I love that they kept Luffy's acespec overtones by having him totally not react to Nami asking for opinions on how she looks at all.

I love the changes they brought to Syrup Village! Like, it was so clever to make it a shipwright's town with Usopp having a job in the shipyard, which gives more weight to his abilities as a shipwright and inventor plus the deep bond he develops with the Going Merry. Also, I adore Jacob Romero Gibson's rendition of Usopp! He makes his character so funny, so charming, so lighthearted like the comic-relief Usopp we know, but with some slight changes that really define him as a distinct Usopp. His chemistry with Kaya is so good; I loved the treatment they got in this adaptation. You could truly feel the love and deep bond between them.

Again, the side character casting is amazing. Celeste Loots makes the sweetest, most adorable Kaya. Her look of inspired wonder when Luffy was talking about a pirate's love for their ship and how it's a home was so simple, yet so defining for both her and Luffy's characters. I also loved that she and Nami bonded! It was a clever way to give insight into both of their characters. Alexander Maniatis played such a great Kuro; like, the instant I saw him, I got chills down my spine because he seemed such a prim and proper butler yet had such an edge of malice about him. Also, he nailed the Kuro glasses gesture. Also, Sham and Rika were so well done; they really nailed that whimsical horror vibe going on. Finally, Merry was done well, too! Though I adore him, I was glad that they chose to actually kill him this go-around. First of all, from a medical perspective, it's hard to survive that kind of wound LOL; but also, it again showed just how high the stakes are and how frighteningly ruthless and cold Kuro is.

I was fascinated to see the addition of the Marines to this arc, but honestly, I loved it. The scene of Usopp running through the streets screaming for help was so heartbreaking; Jacob killed it, especially with the expression of disbelief, terror, and desperation on his face as he slowly sat down whispering "Why won't anyone believe me?" Again, so clever to superimpose this with the crux of his backstory, with the reveal that his chronic lying stems from the trauma of his mother's illness and believing that if he just kept up this ritual every day, his father would come home and everything would be right again in the world; sympathy for Usopp hit me more than it ever had. Then, for it to pan to Koby leaning over him earnestly saying, "I believe you," I got chills. Absolutely stupendous way to end the episode.

Episode 4: The Pirates Are Coming

This one is also one of my favorite episodes, for multiple reasons, all pertaining to character development.

The scenes of Zoro in the well will haunt me forever in the best way. It was just such an amazing choice, symbolically, to parallel his scenes of backstory with Kuina with him struggling to get out of this well, a deep, dark hole from which he seemingly cannot escape, just like the deep, dark hole of insecurity he struggled to climb out of with Kuina, and the deep, dark hole of trying to honor Kuina's memory that he struggles with early on. Him slipping each time he is defeated by Kuina or something happens to knock him down... Him climbing higher as his childhood self grows and bonds with Kuina... It was just so artistic, so beautiful, that I still get chills thinking about it. The amazing score that accompanies the scenes also has a lot to do with it. I haven't touched on the score much, but honestly, it's so amazing too. Also, shoutout to the actor who played Kuina's dad. Like, the way he delivered the news of Kuina's death to Zoro was so powerful; him trying to be the stoic sensei, but still crying a tear, and them embracing at the end... My heart hurted.

There is a lot of good Koby growth in this episode as well! This is where we really see him struggle with his sense of "justice" that he gains and grows throughout the anime/manga... Wanting to follow orders, but wanting to follow his heart, but not yet having the courage to stand up to authority, all foiled by Helmeppo, who is jaded by the reality of the Marines and lacks empathy for others secondary to his own self-hatred... It's so good, and a wonderful addition, in my opinion, because I hate that a lot of the growth of the other characters in One Piece happens behind the scenes sometimes.

Again, I love the changes to Usopp in this adaptation, and it peaks with him choosing to stay with Kaya in the mansion. It just gives a glimmer of the Usopp we come to see, the one who refuses to run away when the things he cares about are truly threatened, and drives home the fact that Usopp loves Kaya enough to face certain death for her, despite his cowardly tendencies. Just amazing.

But again, I have to give props to the actors of the Kuro crew, and the whole team behind this sequence. It was so creepy! Like, it had such a maliciousness and element of horror that the anime/manga just couldn't capture. I knew what happened in the end, but I was still on pins and needles the whole time because there was just so much tension! I did laugh at the Zoro and Luffy moment out in the woods, though, referencing Zoro's nonexistent sense of direction. And Zoro's fight with the lackeys was amazingly choreographed, as always, with Mackenyu really nailing Zoro getting enraged when Kuina's sword was stolen.

The ending scenes! What a way to end such a tense episode! I screamed at the UsoKaya kiss; it was so unexpected yet delightful! But also, the Straw Hats' reactions were so them. And then, the bliss and exhilaration as they sailed away on the Going Merry, while notes of "We Are" played in the background. Even the small details hit me, like Zoro finding a place to sleep and sleeping with Kuina's sword, and Luffy and Usopp arguing over who's captain, and all of them laughing together... just really captured the world I love. Then, an amazing cliffhanger with them being attacked by Garp and Luffy dropping the "Grandpa?" bomb. Perfect.

Episode 5: Eat At Baratie!

I was so hype for this episode because Sanji was my first One Piece love, and I was so excited to see the takes on his character and arc. I was not disappointed.

I liked howGarp's relationship with Luffy was given slowly over the course of the series. The flashback of him destroying Luffy's boat and hauling him off, with no regard to his dreams, really hit home because of how much value had been placed on dreams up until then. Garp as a character really started to shine here, with him hurling a cannonball with his bare hand, then laughing when Luffy bested him (because we all know how intertwined laughter is to the One Piece narrative, especially with regards to Luffy). The simple bit of Koby saving Helmeppo's life, too, and the look of bewilderment he gives him that heralds the change in his character and impending growth, was just so good, too! And of course, the interactions of the Straw Hats were great; they are coming together, but they still have a long way to go, and that just makes what follows in the Baratie arc that much more meaningful. They aren't a crew yet, but they will be.

So appropriate that Luffy's nose and gullet leads him to the Baratie. And, oh, I love what they did with this set! It's the most magnificent, in my opinion. I love the addition of a lighthouse, since the Baratie is supposed to be a refuge for hungry sailors of all kinds. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about the crew and how they interacted in the restaurant, too; it had so many good moments of them bonding. However, I have to take a moment to acknowledge Usopp, who just killed it throughout this episode; like, strutting into the restaurant tits-out? "I can't eat anymore, but it's so good?" The fishbowl? The dancing? The blabbing to a complete stranger only for it to turn out to be a legendary badass here for his captain? Iconic behavior. But, seriously, so many good character moments here. Luffy ordering milk like the innocent cutie he is. Zoro struggling to sit in the booth with his swords but refusing to check them. Nami being totally unimpressed with Sanji's flirting. The boys teasing Nami for Sanji's flirting. 10/10. And Zoro and Nami bonding by trying to learn more about one another! The shift in her character really is fantastic; Emily Rudd did a bang-up job of showing that Nami truly is a good person, but is so damaged by her childhood and is scared to get close to anyone because she inevitably hurts them. I loved that she called Zoro her friend while trying to dissuade him from fighting Mihawk, and the switch that happens in her debating on betraying them in secret comes from him rebuking her by throwing her own words back in her face.

Also, speaking of Sanji, I adore Taz Skylar's Sanji with all my heart. Like, first of all, I love that they toned down his flirtatiousness. It's still there, but it is at such a more tolerable level because it isn't overbearing or uncomfortable. Then there is his smile. My God, every time he smiles, my heart sings. Like, he just captured the essence of Sanji that is part dapper gentleman badass, part snarky, foul-mouthed asshole, and part pathetic wet beast of a man. I have fallen in love with Sanji all over again. I also loved his relationship with Zeff. It was so them; bickering incessantly, antagonism belying the genuine love they have for each other. Finally, I adore the relationship he gains with the crew. Like, it is so obvious how much he comes to care about Luffy after them talking about dreams and later while helping Luffy process what it really means to be a captain. Also, it's so badass that he did all his own stunts. Him fighting so screams Sanji! I just cherish this Sanji, I really do.

I knew going in that they condensed this arc, and honestly, I'm pleased with how they did it. I thought it was so clever to introduce Mihawk differently, with him absolutely decimating Don Krieg's crew single-handedly and calling it "Killing time." Also, he's so hot, it's honestly unfair. Again, the amazing casting shines through, because Steven Ward made such a spectacular Mihawk, totally encapsulating that devil-may-care attitude of his and his interest in powerful people. Phenomenal. And to pair this with more Koby growth, with him being appalled by Garp using pirates to do his business and that the World Government has the Warlord system. I had to laugh at Helmeppo's "You don't know shit about how the world works" because it was just a funny line in general, but funnier coming from him, who also doesn't know shit about how the world works in a different way. It was sad not to see Sanji shine in combat against the Don Krieg crew (though I loved the Gin appearance and that he lives this time!), I think it was a smart narrative choice to have this episode center around Mihawk vs. Zoro, given what follows. Speaking of, that fight was amazing. It was a dead ringer to how it goes down into the manga, down to the pose at the end when Zoro points his sword at the sky and vows never to lose again. I also love that Nami didn't flee in secret like she did in the manga; she stayed, and there was that tender moment of her holding Usopp's hand for comfort. I just think it does so well to illustrate how Nami is changing, but also, the sheer power that Luffy holds in making people who have given up all hope believe again. Nami stays because, deep down, she has hope that she can be a part of this crew, that she can have the courage to tell Luffy the truth and have him help her save her home, that she can be free of Arlong, and that is so powerful in a way that is different and new than the way things originally go.

Episode 6: The Chef and The Chore Boy

I love that there is so much weight in this episode on Zoro's injury. It was glossed over in the manga, honestly, but this adaptation goes into how grievous it is and uses that as the crux of Luffy's growth as a captain and how they come together. It's amazing, narrative-wise, enough for me to be content with the large plot changes they made to the Baratie arc.

The Mihawk and Garp interaction is so gold, honestly. It really captures Mihawk's thing about doing whatever he wants despite being a dog of the World Government, and the keen interest he takes in Luffy. Also, again, Garp laughing while losing his shit at the fact that his grandson is out there tearing up the East Blue as a pirate is so awesome.

Sanji's backstory is the only one told as a full, uninterrupted narrative, and the fact that it's different because of the circumstances and the fact that Sanji is telling it to show Luffy, who is obviously doubting himself, what it means to be a captain is again so clever. Again, Sanji is one of my all-time favorite characters, and his backstory was always the most gut-wrenching to me; seeing it come to life was so heartbreakingly beautiful and sad and inspiring. Props to the kid that played him, like, he did a stellar job. The way he attacked Zeff with unhinged rage over his food; the way he slowly unraveled throughout the time on the rock, starting out as determined to survive and having the optimism that only a child can have and slowly transitioning into the terrified little boy he is, curled up and sniffling as the days drag on; the look of shock, guilt, and disbelief when he realizes that Zeff gave him all the food and ate his own leg (especially with knowledge from the manga, knowing the way Sanji grew up and how he has never known any sort of love, so the idea that someone would sacrifice for him, especially as a stranger, just shatters his entire world view)... It's simply spectacular. And comparing that to the present Sanji, who is so full of energy and life and hope for finding the All Blue, is just so impactful.

But, seriously, I love the whole thing of the characters' growth revolving around Zoro and his recovery. I was touched by Nami reading the story of Noland to him (and also excited by another crumb for potential sequel seasons), and Luffy struggling with what to say because he is struggling with himself and his ability to captain.

Again, I really enjoyed how they handled the transition from Baratie to Arlong Park. First of all, I loved that they kept Buggy a part of the narrative. It encapsulates that spirit of One Piece in which events and characters hundreds of chapters back can still return to have profound effects on the narrative. Also, Buggy is just downright hysterical in this show, and I enjoy his presence. The fishmen are so intimidating, and I like how they used the Baratie to set that and Arlong's motivations up. Getting to see Sanji really fight was great, and when he lost his shit because Zeff got hurt... Yes, just yes. Finally, I love that Nami just "betrayed" them in person. The fact that it went down like it did made Luffy emotional intelligence and his belief that Nami isn't just a traitor that much more impactful to me. Emily Rudd did such a good job of showing Nami as someone who is callous on the surface but clearly has that undertone of hesitation and guilt about what she is doing, though she knows she is doing it to save their lives. Also, Sanji being shirtless while saving Luffy? Like, I will take the fanservice, but it was just so funny to me LOL

But the end of the episode was so hopeful! After everything going wrong, Luffy finally finds the words he needs to say because he knows now what it means to be a captain; he needs his crew as much as they need him. And Zoro waking up at that moment, and Luffy being so excited to see him that he crawls all over him and flings his arm around LOL, it's so Luffy. And I loved that we got official acknowledgement of Zoro as his first mate! It was so good! And finally, Sanji and Zeff's goodbye. It was so emotional, Taz's voice breaking as he thanked Zeff for everything and putting up with all his shit over the years... I cried. TT.TT And of course, ending it with the twist that Buggy will lead them to Arlong is just so exciting LOL

Chapter 7: The Girl With The Sawfish Tattoo

I was so ready for this episode because some of the scenes in the Arlong Park arc are still some of my favorites. I'll admit that this is the arc that had a few changes that I wish weren't there, but overall, I still like how it was handled, and it kept the spirit of the manga.

Again, I like how Nami's backstory is interspersed with key moments of the present narrative. The initial scene of childhood innocence with her and Nojiko and Belle-mere, so light and happy, and coming to a jarring end as she snaps to reality in Arlong Park... Perfect. Also, I thought it was cool that they turned Arlong Park into an amusement park; it's a clever nod to Arlong's twisted notion of making the world a "paradise" for fishmen. Again, I have to commend the casting. Arlong is so savage in this. He practically radiates bloodlust, and it's so good, even though I know what happens, I was worrying for Nami the whole time because he could so easily turn on her on a whim. Then, pairing the conflict of Nami having to go collect money from her village with the conflict with Belle-mere, her hating that she's poor and weaponizing the fact that they aren't a "real" family, as a frustrated child would... So clever. I will admit that this is where the changes that I don't like come in. I really don't like that they made it to where the town had no clue about the fact that she was trying to buy back the village the whole time, and they pretended not to know to try and keep Nami safe. Like, they kept the idea that Nami felt sh deserved to be hated because she felt guilty for not cherishing Belle-mere as she should have and somehow responsible for what happened to the town, but still, what was special about Nami's arc is that she believed that she hurt everyone around her and that she didn't deserve to be loved, but she had been loved the whole time, and this show completely abolished that. In the same vein, I hated the cuts they made to Genzo's character. Belle-mere was her mother figure, and Genzo was her father figure, and that was largely unseen here. They had the nods to the pinwheels (it was cute that they used the tangerine skills), but, again, I felt it was a disservice to Nami's story and character to make changes like this, and I honestly don't know why they felt the need to do it at all, aside from maybe driving home the fact that Nami felt she deserved to be hated and so let the village hate her.

Again, very interesting how they wove in the Marines here. I honestly loved the dinner with Garp and Zeff; them talking about the old days, and Zeff hinting at the times changing and the upcoming generation that becomes a crux to the overall One Piece narrative, is so good. Also, love the Helmeppo and Koby bonding. Their friendship has become so important to me.

But, seriously, props to Iñaki, and the scriptwriters, for just perfectly capturing Luffy's emotional intelligence. Because Nojiko has no idea that Nami is trying to buy back the town, the cast is left believing that Nami genuinely betrayed them, but Luffy just refuses to abandon his gut feeling that there is something more, and he won't stop until he hears it directly from Nami, whom he knows is not being honest with him. Though I don't like the changes to the story, I do like the scene of Nami and Nojiko's reconciliation. It's very heartfelt and heartbreaking, especially when followed by Nezumi arriving to take Nami's money away; everything finally seems to be going right for Nami, and then it all falls apart. I loved the cinematography of her running through the tangerine fields; it truly captured the desperation, all the way up until her falling to her knees at the sight of her village being razed to the ground. Emily Rudd and Iñaki truly nailed the next sequence, which is my favorite in all the manga; Nami's screaming with rage as she stabs her tattoo, Luffy standing there, waiting for the ask for help that he instinctively knows will come, Nami turning around and whispering a broken "Help me," and then, in a perfect parallel to the manga panel, the rest of the crew, despite still not knowing the full context, all immediately being there for her... It will live in my head rent-free until I die.

Chapter 8: The Worst in the East

A good conclusion to the masterpiece that is the adaptation, but again, I am starving for more. Despite my problems with the changes in the previous episode, I thought the condensation in this episode was pretty all right.

The battle of Arlong Park was much shorter, obviously, but I still enjoyed it a lot! I like that they kept Usopp's first solo fight, and all-in-all, it lined up well with the manga. I am, however, so deeply disappointed at the omission of Usopp Hammer and Rubber Band of Doom. Like, I remember the first time I watched this episode of the anime in dub, and I had to pause it for five minutes because hearing Usopp trill "Rubber Band of Dooooooooom!" had me in hysterics, on the floor, laughing until I cried. They kept him pretending to be dead with hot sauce "blood," but not that? How could they do my boy like that? I did laugh at the whole, "I did it! ... Aaaaaaaaaand there was no one there to see it." That aside, the Zoro and Sanji team-up fight was awesome. The ZoSan banter really begins, and it was gratifying to really get to see Sanji shine in a fight since he didn't get to in the Baratie arc as much, as well as Zoro clutching at his wound throughout the fight! Also, I love that the singular "fuck" in the show went to Zoro, and it was directed at Buggy, "that fuckin' clown." Like, so iconic, so perfect, 100/10 moment right there. And, of course, Luffy's fight with Arlong. The teeth-shedding thing was so horrifying and gross, but again drove home the savagery behind Arlong's character. Obviously, they made some alterations to the fight because it would be hard to replicate in live action, but I was more concerned with them keeping the core of the fight: Luffy bringing down Arlong Park because it was all built upon Nami's pain and sacrifice, and that was rendered beautifully. I loved the shot of Arlong Park collapsing. It was so devastating and destructive in a way the anime wasn't, so the horror of the crew looking on as it came crumbling to the ground, wondering if Luffy was okay, and Luffy emerging from the rubble to validate Nami as their friend and a member of their crew gave me goosebumps.

Of course, it won't be a Straw Hat story without a party. I love that they used it as a way to tie the loose ends of the story together. Koby not only reaches the crux of his character arc by finally standing up to Garp and what he believes in, but Helmeppo begins to, too, but joining him, really cementing their friendship. We finally get to the meat of the tension between Garp and Luffy, and I loved the scene where Luffy grins and laughs, and Garp sees Roger in his head. It's a recurring theme in the manga/anime, and to see it here was gratifying. Also, the fact that Luffy got totally bodied by Garp was a good reminder that Luffy still has a long way to go; he will encounter stronger and stronger enemies henceforth, but will face them with a smile and unshakeable confidence and determination.

I loved the ending. I cried tears of joy at Koby bringing Luffy his wanted poster and them hugging and saying their true goodbyes... Luffy telling Koby to be a good marine, and Koby telling Luffy to be a good pirate. It was just so satisfying, so powerful, so solidifying of the friendship that will persist throughout the manga. Then, of course, it was exciting to see all the little scenes with the poster: Makino reading it, Kayagushing over Usopp in the backgriund, Zeff hanging it on the "Employee of the Month" board, Buggy seeing it and voicing that he'll kill Luffy and Alvida chiming in, hinting their team-up... And of course, the scene where Mihawk brings it to Shanks and they all celebrate. So nostalgic, but also so dripping with the overtone that the adventure doesn't end here; that the Straw Hats are only beginning. And that's paralleled by Koby and Helmeppo, too, beginning their training under Garp. And all of it topped off with the crew sailing forth on the Going Merry, with their sail unfurling to reveal the Jolly Roger, them making their vows on the barrel with it flashing back to their childhood selves... I truly felt like I had been a part of something special and was setting out on a new journey with the Straw Hats, and I can't wait to see where they're taken next, even if that never makes it to the screen.

#opla #one piece live action #one piece #opla review #one piece live action review

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