#i've been pretty bad at keeping up with the anime and movie releases but i'm working on it now ^^

[hirazuki]

[kicks open the door, puts it back in place] Which Fate movies? I've been hyperfixated on Fate/FGO for like over a year at this point (help) and I'm always up for talking about them!

LMAO

I never got around to watching Heaven's Feel III, so I figured I might as well watch I and II again before III, for maximum hurt. After those, I watched FGO: Shinsei Entaku Ryouiki Camelot 1 - Wandering; Agateram and 2 - Paladin; Agateram.

Up next is FGO: Shuukyoku Tokuiten - Kani Jikan Shinden Solomon, and I want to check out the Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya movies (1, 2, and 3), as well as Fate Extra/Last Encore - Irusterias Tendouron (which I may have watched back when I watched the Last Encore series, but I can't remember, so on the list it goes!)

..................... but first I'm taking a break, because Fate is heavy and that is way too much at the same time XD

[tokiko220]

Noone talks about The Drummer and the princess movie enough and ESPECIALLY not about the people behind it. It puzzles me to this day.

Warning, extremely long post but i really wanna archive all this.

For those who don't know, in 2018 Angels Pictures released a teaser trailer( CZ EN) for this movie and it obviously looked shit for a movie made after 2000 ESPECIALLY when people were claiming it cost 80 million CZK to make (3.5 mil USD-ish) which is an insane amount of money for a czech production. Plus in the czech trailer they have an uber popular czech singer Karel Gott appear revealing he's voicing in it, they even have a super low res photo with him from the studio.

(honestly i'm pretty convinced they met him once for the recording of the trailer lines)

So allegedly 80 mil CZK 3D animated movie with a bunch of celebrities voicing in it! Wowza! Why does it look so shit? EDIT: CORRECTION! After going through some more documents this is in fact and estimate of how much they think the movie is going to cost- they seem very upset people get that wrong. But honestly I don't think anyone actually thought they spent that much money on it.

Immediatelly bunch of czech news websites started rolling out articles about it because obviously, it was ridiculous. It looked ass the trailer is pretty cringy and they have all that stupid self congratulatory bs about giving 4% of ticket sales to kids because its made for kids. With love♡ People are ridiculing the hell out of it, obviously, but then a rumour starts that it's a all a publicity stunt. Obviously noone would make something that looks this bad in the year of our lord 2018! Angels Pictures don't hesistate and start nodding their heads aggressivelly. They pat themselves on the back for coming up with this new cool marketing strategy they dubbed "The Spites and Envy Promo."

They post this stupid, self congratulatory post talking about how they actually intentionally made the teaser bad, saying they modified it with "minor technical imperfections" (MINOR??????? IMPERFECTIONS????). According to this interview some guy named Jeremy came up with this genius and "innovative" plot. But if you read the interview (in czech unfortunately) you'll also find out the teaser probably looks so bad because no, there isn't actually really a movie at this point! Which is insane, given they released the teaser in September and promised a winter release! They apparently work by recording the dub first and then animating for it. In the interview he says they have about 20% of that done. But whatever, they keep insisting it's all part of the plan dude! The movie is going to release in like 28 countries and it's gonna be huge. (if you speak czech i totally recommend reading that interview it is enlightening lmao) I don't need to tell you I think the "spite and envy" promo is a bunch of boloney because if you're looking to drum up views and popularity through controversy you don't turn off your youtube comments about it.

Back in 2018 I was having a riot following this and despite being convinced it is not going to come out, I was posed to see it day 1 in the theatre if indeed it did come out (afterall, they're giving 4% of ticket sales to kids ♡) They continued to flaunt their genius marketing strategy and even bragged their teaser became the most watched czech animated movie trailer on youtube! Which while true, it doesn't really mean anything, because they second most watched actually came out and made money, while The Drummer and The Princess entirely missed their initial release date with no explanation why! On their website the release year kept shiftin ever forward and in 2019 they added the "RIP Karel Gott" to the trailer, so I know you're out there GIVE ME MY MOVIE!

Spoiler alert, it's 2024 and we still don't have the damn movie! But ever since then I've been completely fascinated with these guys, so let me bring you towards the about us section of their website, because it's frankly hilarious. Meet Angels Pictures!

Starting with Alex Pieter you'll notice he proudly states he's the author of the "project" The drummer and the princess. The second thing he mentions is that he's a member of MENSA and makes sure to explain it is an association of people with high IQ because you wouldn't know anything about that. Underneath that he lists a bunch of things he did which really just reads like when you put literally ANYTHING you think is relevant and makes you look good on your CV, like that he cooperated with big names like Vin Diesel or Catherine Zeta-Jones or Gerard Depardieu. Generaly a bunch of jargon to try and make him look super cool.

There's also this guy but he's considerably less funny and really jsut looks like your regular marketing guy. He's not even in MENSA.

Back then I was still wondering whether this was all an elaborate joke, and I may even believe it if these two guys didn't sound like the most start up "trust me bro" marketing guys. That really marks the end of The Dummer and The Princess, but I'm not done with Angels Pictures quite yet! You see, I thought they got me all excited for this movie and then dipped but no, they were planning something even cooler.

A video game.

Honestly, you need to see it to believe it.

After seeing this, I genuinely started doubting myself again. Like this has got to be a joke right?? What in the mother of all asset flips...

It was supposed to be a VR experience (but also non VR) about .. uh.. well....... Flying aroung?? And there will be vampires.. and dragons?? Whatever they found on the asset store I assume. But not in the base game! You see, the clever MENSA head over at Angels Pictures came up with this new game monetization model called "Modular System". You buy the base game called "The Radix" and then you can buy additional packs such as "Oh, Look!" which adds interesting sights to this flying simulator (making me wonder what the base game even does have). Then we have "Vampires" which I supposed adds the Italian Vampire Palmira who does not believe in wearing pants. Also a bunch of other "modules" that add things to "duel with for treasures". Yay.

Those with a keen eye might notice this isn't actually entirely their idea, this has basically been The Sims 4 monetization scheme since literally forever, but as much as I hate to admit it, at least the sims actually like.... You know.. Gives you something? And isn't an asset flip. And ... exists. Oh yeah, spoiler alert, the No*1 game with the funniest flying object (whatever that means) never did come out, I know, we're all shocked an crushed about it. The actual website for the game went down (which is why I'm making this actually, everday I fear all of this will dissappear) but there's still stuff about the game on their company website such as;

The release Timeline. Lofty goals, per usual. I don't need to tell you none of that happened because if it did I wouldn't be writing this and I would instead be playing Magic Carpet game swith the Vampire and Space module.

Continuing the scroll we can find that they claim to be a studio of "roughly" (???) 30 artists.

Ah yes, nothing is quite as innovative as a VR asset flip game that gives vague description of what it's actually going to be about. Reminds me Dream World.

I don't know what kind of artists they are but whoever made that purple green logo should be fired promptly. Also as you can see they are still bragging about the huge success their marketing campaign was and using it to seem credible- never mentioning that the damn movie never came out. The kids are still waiting for their 4% (which btw they never quite mentioned what charities they are planning to give that to.)

Now let's check out Alex's updated profile for the game;

He's really come to his own since The Drummer and the princess. He's still a member of MENSA, a global association of people with high IQs, but I think it's adorable he updated his photo to be a picture of him holding a controller like he's a gamer girl on instagram. He's just like you, fellow gamers. He's a 3D artist now and an IT specialist and programmer! Is there something this handsome devil can't do?! though despite his newly acquired 3D art skills, the game somehow manages to look worse than the movie trailer.

I also wanna point to this, purely because I wanna archive it. "A game that simply isn't on the market" yeah but what is it ABOUT Alex???? It's honestly a hilarious read and a look into "the sicks brains on their team."

After all of that, what's the conclusion?? I dunno! I think these guys really missed their calling as MMORPG Fundraiser scammers, I think they really would have popped off with that. My theory currently is they try to set up these projects and websites and try to make themselves look as credible as possible to get investors for their stuff?? But I also cannot imagine it ever actually worked out? And obviously they never delivered on anything they promised so I just don't know! Besides they actually did work with Karel Gott and that's nothign to scoff at! I wish I could find out whether it was because they have an in with him or whether they paid him (if so, with what money? I can't imagine getting someone of his caliber to voice for you is cheap).

That marks the end of this insanely long rambling about this thing I've been obsessed with for years now and really wanted to archive in some limited way. Now I'm just waiting for them to come up with some new project that involves AI.

[gothicprep]

so, apparently marvel is in disarray. ahead of the marvels coming out this weekend, variety dropped a bomb on the studio's somewhat dire state of affairs, as the franchise has hit its first real rough patch since the release of iron man 15 years ago. among the issues: jonathan majors, whose domestic violence arrest continues to hang over marvel's plans to make his character the thanos-like heavy for the next sequence of movies, the weak box office projections for the marvels (which some have said is tracking lower than recent bombs like the flash), the unending flood of hashtag content on disney plus which is overwhelming audiences who are finding it harder to keep up with the interlocking stories that have served marvel so well over the years, shoddy visual effects, spiraling budgets such as the reported $25mil an episode for she-hulk, a show that looked terrible because of the shoddy effects work aforementioned, behind the scenes chaos as kevin feige works to slash budgets and kill projects that aren't coming together. one movie at risk is the forthcoming blade reboot with mahershala ali, which has gone through rewrite after rewrite including reportedly one draft in which blade was the fourth lead in, quote, "a narrative led by women and filled with life lessons".

that last line has provided a lot of laughs for people like jay gothicprep, and critics who insist that marvel's efforts to diversify the lineup have led to much of this disaster, indicative of disney's overall failure with things like indiana jones and the dial of destiny or animated projects like strange world or lightyear. while this is potentially true (i guess, it's possible) it doesn't seem true because this certainly wasn't the case when black panther and captain marvel were both cracking the billion dollar mark a few years ago. rather it just seems, more simply, that marvel has run its course. marvel was hit by a double-whammy of endings. the thanos storyline that'd dominated the first ten or so years of the project came to an end. at the same time, the pandemic began and disney plus started flooding the zone with content, creating a natural break point for audiences that had no desire to watch hours of tv to understand 1.5 plot points in whatever the next movie that's coming out is.

this preamble is getting kind of long, and i have a lot more to say, so i'm going to continue to thought dump about this under a cut.

first of all, i'm still laughing like a week later at the women led life lessons description. no one has disputed that it happened. that description is the funniest thing i've ever read in a trade industry report possibly ever. what in the hell, my friends. did a writer even talk to a producer about what blade was? it's a movie about a guy with a sword who kills vampires! it's pretty straighforward! that sounds like something i want to see! there were three of them already, and two of them were pretty good!

anyway, i think you can take that incredibly ridiculous description of a draft that maybe wasn't the main draft – this movie has been through tons of writers and directors – and see some of the real problems with marvel's creative direction, which is that they've stopped making movies that highlight the core concepts of their characters. there are other problems as well, but when's the last time they put out a movie that was like, "iron man. he's a guy in a metal suit and he fights a bad guy." or "spider man. it's a guy in a spider suit with spider powers. he's got girlfriend problems and he fights crime around manhattan and maybe there's dr octopus." they don't do that. their recent stretch of movies have all been these impenetrable multiverse stuff with ties to tv series that you haven't seen and maybe won't ever see. there was a whole 25 minute section in black panther 2 that was setting up armor wars and ironheart. and like. who needs that sequence, which was boring and looked like total garbage? and now armor wars is being redeveloped lol. they've just departed from a lot of the core concepts that powered their earlier films.

they have some other problems. they've leaned into a slate of characters that is not all that well-known or inherently super popular, even for marvel being able to deliver on making billion dollar films out of guardians of the galaxy and such. maybe with the exception of spider man, which they don't get a full cut from because sony owns the actual movie rights. then there's the fact that the streaming series, by all accounts, aren't great but you *feel* like you need to have seen them. they're all real big problems. marvel needs to go back to making movies that are named after a character who's a superhero with a clear concept. guy with spider powers fights crime in his neighborhood. even though those movies got kind of repetitive, they did well enough because they didn't stray too far from the character concept.

i think, too, as a viewer, when you have a studio churning out so much stuff that's not good, you get the impression that the superhero industry feels entitled to your time and entitled to your money while not delivering.

this summer also represents an interesting counterpoint to what's happened with marvel and dc. the sheer amount of stuff that you devote every waking minute to keeping track of the damn things got exhausting and made movies stop feeling like events. this summer we've had barbenheimer and the eras tour, and those have been both big events and felt exciting. barbie was a chance to be campy, oppenheimer was a chance to see something serious and cinematic, the eras tour was exciting for fans of taylor swift who couldn't afford to spend $3k on taylor swift. and they felt this way because they were all unlike anything you'd seen at the movies in recent years. they had a high standard of quality, and going, it genuinely felt like people were there because they wanted to be, not because they were being force marched by a cultural behemoth to be there. you can't summon that same kind of energy for a marvel movie when it both feels obligatory and you expect it to be bad.

it also feels like there's a certain contempt for the audience where it concerns quality problems. i mean, i don't think that this is the intention. marvel isn't saying "we can deliver this stuff that's garbage and people will see it anyway". but one of the things i thought was the most damning about that variety story was the fact that, on some of the marvel tv shows, the final effects were inserted after the shows were released. so if you watched the show on opening night, you probably didn't see the final effects work. the arrogance involved in that is insane. it speaks to a total vanished pride in putting out a good product.

even some of marvel's better regarded films were heavily edited and heavily worked on right until the end, in part because kevin feige would come in and fix things, so stuff would have to get reworked. that's why effects deadlines were super tight and people were always crunching at the very end of this. there was that incredible quote from sam raimi from a couple months before the second doctor strange came out where he was like, "i think it's done but i'm not sure. marvel, they work on their movies until the very end." the director didn't even know if his own movie was locked or not because he clearly wasn't the one making the decisions about what the final print would look like.

that can work if you're making two movies a year and have a supervisor that comes in during the process and says, "i need you to redo this, in this way". but when you stretch that out to three movies a year, plus god knows how many episodes of television, there's no way to do that and make it a high quality product.

an instructive lesson comes from the book "disneywar", which chronicles michael eisner's time at disney. and one of the things in this book was the development and deployment of "who wants to be a millionaire" in america. bob iger is head of abc at this time. the guys making this show do it for a week. audiences love it. it's putting up huge numbers. everybody is excited. it's crushing it in the ratings. and the people who made it wanted to keep doing special week or two week long engagements that people would show up for. and iger was like, "no. i want this every week, three times a week, forever." and audiences got burnt out on it quickly, because it was something that only really worked as a special that ran for a week and disappeared for a few months. that's what the disney plus strategy feels like with marvel.

[littlesislovesyou]

I'll thank you anyway because you deserve it~ And fuuuck I need you to be the one to give me that release...I need it so badly. 😩 And you deserve it just as much <333

Oh yeah we'd be all over each other. We'd be the type to be too horny to wait until we get home. We be fucking like animals feral and desperately in heat in the alleyways, blind spots in parks or even in the car. We don't care about anything else but making each other feel good and cumming for each other~ I love having a dangerous hold over your pussy, it belongs to me too after all...it's only fitting that I do <3333

I'm happy it does. I am an overthinker and perhaps worry too much about others than I do myself lol but you being safe or fine matters to me first and then anything else can come after. And don't feel bad. I'm glad to have moments of your time devoted to me. You should do what you enjoy and what makes you happy. Take breaks from Tumblr or any social media cuz that's normal and honestly healthy lol. Movies sounded fun I'd wish we could do a movie night XD and I'm happy you read them as soon as you can. Sounds like you look forward to seeing them and that makes me happy 💕

Oh trust me I am enjoying this as much as you...I think that's why our reactions are very similar when we both tease too much 😌 and if I'm ever uncomfortable I'll promise to tell!

Well I think we both hinted at that a while ago when I was being vulnerable lol I didn't want to assume though. But yessss we'll be insane and horny for each other and together always~ 🖤🖤🖤

I look forward to that day...and I'm excited to dm you too! I just wanna make sure I've got all the stuff bothering me done and dusted so I have not as much plaguing me and preventing me from talking. I feel really safe and comfortable with you at this point lol

And I'm gonna kidnap you one day and we're gonna have a session where I make you hump my leg or thighs and my cock while I go through all the fucked up shit you get off to and mocking you for being such a pathetic, perverted freak that can't help herself like the needy puppy you are...maybe I'll finger your cunny while I scroll and show you and see what makes you the horniest based on facial expressions, reactions...how soaked you become~ Helping you masturbate until you cum all over my fingers while my teeth are marking all over your neck and collar~ 🤭🔪

Oooh I like the sound of that...and trust me I always am thinking about you after I like your naughty posts~

You are an mischievous little thing aren't you...? Well if it was...and you confirmed that you were thinking about me when you reblogged it with your own irresistible, pretty lips...I'd probably cum then and there all over the pictures you have on here immediately after jerking off for a few hours 🥵

Anyways this'll be the last response for now cuz I gotta catch up on yesterday's too. But I'll be lurking for a while longer and then hopefully finally passing out lol

I hope you have a wonderful night and sleep well and have wonderfully lewd dreams (while I use your holes in your slee- I mean cuddle you; why not both? <3333) Take care of yourself and we'll talk more I hope as days get better!

Aweee aren’t you so sweet, already so addicted to me hm? ☺️💗 aghhh just the visual of us not being able to keep our hands off each other and not being able to wait till we got home, just pulling me into an alley because you’re throbbing for me<3333 pressing me against the brick of a building and bending me over, just to have me wrapped around you then and there🥰 going at it without a second thought<333 just giving pleasure to each other, all the time💗💗

God you seriously do 🥺💕 my pussy is just yours~

Hehe 💓👀 I won’t lie it took me a moment to answer because I’ve just been re reading it over and over again, especially the last one you sent;’) 💓 I have never rubbed my little cunt so much to something<333

And of course! Take your time<3 I just like reason you about it;’) just because I know I would probably be teasing you as much as I can in dms💕💕

I’m really glad you feel comfortable with me! I have to admit I do with you as well 🥺 and just so you know, you were the mutual;’) 💓💓 I was hinting at it but maybe I should��ve just told you were 👀💓

Ughhhhh listen if you jerked off to my pictures I’d probably marry you lmao<3333

WHY DO YOU HAVE TO TURN ME ON SOOO MUCH 🥺💗💗💗 god how much I would love and give to be your slutty puppy<333 fingering me while you read all the dirty posts I like and share<3 or maybe even reading some of the dms I get to me, telling me how much all these older men wanna fuck me<333

Also ps- I missed you💓💓

[misseviehyde]

BITCHY BODYSWAP

The psychologist had warned them not to wear each others clothes after the swap. He had told them to avoid even looking at themselves in their new bodies till a way could be found for the swap to be reversed.

"The more you see and visualise yourself in your new body, the more your mind will change and adapt. You must wear your old clothes and at all costs avoid ANY sexual activity. If the mental patterns lock, we may never be able to reverse the swap."

It was easier said than done.

The swap had been unexpected... a military experiment gone wrong at the nearby airbase, causing popular and pretty Rachel Grey and dorky Daniel Harland to somehow swap bodies.

The military were supporting each family and the rules were clear - but Daniel couldn't resist trying on some of Rachel's clothes. She was the most popular girl at school and owned so many pretty things. It seemed a shame not to try them on and experience how they felt.

He might never get a chance to wear her makeup, do her hair, feel her lingerie again. He loved how soft her body felt. He knew he wasn't supposed to, but he secretly spent hours staring into the mirror - gazing into those perfect brown eyes and touching himself.

Biting his plump pouty lips, he would stroke his pussy and fondle his breasts - crying out in Rachel's sexy voice as he orgasmed hard.

It felt so good to be rich, spoiled and popular. The attention was intoxicating. Everyone wanted to be his friend, everyone admired and desired him.

No one knew about the swap - the military wanted to keep it secret. It made it so easy to impersonate Rachel... to BE her in everyday life.

Meanwhile Rachel hated her new body - except for one thing. She couldn't stop masturbsting. It disgusted her to jerk off over girls, but her body seemed to only respond to female images and she needed the release so bad.

It was the only thing that could make her feel good now she was stuck as this loser. She knew she wasn't supposed to look - but she couldn't stop spending hours staring in the mirror and hating her new body.

Daniel's clothes felt more comfortable - she felt full of self loathing otherwise. The more she wore them, the more natural it seemed. She began to find other enjoyments... playing computer games, reading anime, going to the movies.

But still a swap back seemed possible. Then one day they bumped into each other...

They were both breaking the rules - they were both out in public pretending to be each other. Daniel was dressed in one of Rachel's most stunning blue dresses and heels.

Meanwhile Rachel was in a hoody and on her way to see a movie with one of Daniel's friends.

"What are you doing?" gasped Rachel in shock.

"Nevermind what I'M doing," laughed Daniel as he tossed back his perfect hair and walked intimidatingly close. "I can see you're adapting to being a nerd as much as I am loving becoming a bitch."

"What?" gasped Rachel.

"Haha - I gave up on that dumb pyschologist advice weeks ago. I've been trying to become more like you. I want this life and you're going to give it to me."

"N... no... that's my body," stammered Rachel.

"Not anymore," purred Daniel. "I'm Rachel now and you're Daniel."

Stepping close Rachel gasped as Daniel's manicured hands slid into his pants. "Noooo what are you doing?"

"Just giving you a helping hand. You know that when you cum, you'll forget all about the old you. Just let it happen... give up."

Rachel tried to hold on - she tried to remember who she really was - but it seemed crazy that she had ever really been this Goddess in a blue dress. As she cummed her pants she admitted to herself that she must be Daniel.

The new Rachel smiled as she saw the change in the dork before her. "Good boy. Now let's go tell the scientists that the swap seems to have naturally reversed and we are back to normal."

As they walked away together, both caught their reflections in a shop window. She was a Princess and he was a peasant.

Rachel giggled. "You must be crazy to think you were ever me..."

[thevondoom62]

Well, this has been a bit of a controversial one. From its very announcement to delivery date, the Marvel Legends Retro Venom has been one divisive figure. I've heard people praise this thing to high heaven and others who absolutely HATE it, calling it trash. Where do I sit on the matter?

First thing's first, wow! A Walmart exclusive where preorders were up for a long time and it actually shipped out! Incredible! Congrats for doing the bare minimum, Wally World.

Let's address the biggest issue upfront here: that neck. Right out the box, that head articulation is nigh worthless. You get some tilt, but the up movement is PITIFUL. I normally like to mince words, try to be nice, but it is actually just bad. I took an exacto knife to it and carved it up until it got better movement. Then I sanded it down to make it look smoother. I shouldn't have to do that. Hasbro seems like it just can't figure out the dumbell joint, except when they can. Like, classic War Machine, Baron Helmut Zemo, and NWH Green Goblin all have pretty good ones. Even movie/KiB Venom was passable to me. This, though? No good. Might be a safety standards thing, but if so, they're better off sticking with disc hinges.

With that fixed, the second biggest issue I've heard is that it's gummy. Well, mine doesn't feel that gummy. Certainly more solid than the Pulsecon Animated Venom felt. It's about par for the course with Hasbro, maybe a little softer but not by much. It's certainly no first release movie Ant-Man, that's for sure. That one felt like it was made of Twizzlers.

The paint has been another sticking point, quite literally. The logo feels thick and tacky, which... yeah. It does. My Pulsecon Venom and Retro Carded Symbiote Spidey had the same issue. Both of those eventually destickied and I can already feel the same happening to this one. It has to be the process they use to print the logo on so cleanly. However, I do have one major complaint with the paint! The inverted ab crunch clashes with the pelvis when pushed fully forward. This has resulted in paint damage on the logo, which I had to patch up. Now I can mod a figure no problem, but I HATE painting them. My hands are too damn shaky and the way the colors never fully match unless you mix, augh. Paint wear is inevitable, especially with how I handle my toys, but it would have been nice if they designed it with extra clearance between plastic.

Wow, that's a lot of words! A lot of this might seem negative, but I'm just addressing the current conversation. I've seen a lot of varied opinions on this one. I feel you can tell by how many pics I've taken that I fall on the very positive end of the spectrum. It is probably the closest I've gotten to that ideal Venom in toy form. He's so squat and chunky looking, while still being appropriately tall. Not overly hulking, proportions are juuuust right. Articulation is superb, neck aside. Everything feels fluid, even if I'll always want more movement at the hips. Sculpt is good. I wasn't crazy about the tongue lashing head at first since it skews so modern, but I kinda dig it now. The real prize is that grinning face, though! Looks like a mix between Bagley and McFarlane, it rocks!

I don't know if I've ever typed this much out for a toy before. I try to keep as brief as possible, but there was a lot to say. It's for sure got problems, but I can't help but love it.

[fujoreads]

Weekly Update (18/8/2024)

Hello hello, everyone! I was supposed to have published this a few hours ago as it's Monday here already, but alas! This will be a shorter post, just updating what I've been up to this past week :)

Surprisingly, I haven't touched a book besides finishing The Unwomanly Face of War. It was such an impactful book, and I think it mentally prepared me to finally watch Come and See which has been on my movie bucket list for years now. The things told there are brutal and will make you cry for these women who gave so much for their motherland only to be ignored after the war is over. Definitely a new favorite, 4 stars.

Speaking of reading! I finished 2 more Visual Novels, and dropped another. The DNF goes to The Fruit of Grisaia—it had everything to be good and keep me hooked, but the reliance in anime archetypes had me bored out of my mind. So sorry to all the Grisaia fans! Anyway, during the first days I also finished Sexcalibur: Knights of the Pound Table, which was another dumb smut, and one I deeply hated having to read. It was so lazy and in my humble opinion, not sexy at all. Would have DNFed it but I did end up skipping a lot of H-Scenes by the end of the game. 2 stars.

The other 2 VNs were Queen of Moths and un/FRAGMENT. Two very short reads, perfect for a weekend session! Queen of Moths is more of a Pixel Art Horror game. It plays a lot like those older point and click games but, as short as it was, it still makes you tense and ready for a scare. I enjoyed it! 3 stars. un/FRAGMENT. is another short game, more of a linear story this time. It was made for Nanoreno, so the dev only had 5 days to make everything. It was only 10-minute long and had the dev more time to develop the story more, I think it would have been a pretty decent work. The art is pretty nice, and the reveal was not all that bad, although my emotional connection to the character's feelings suffered from my short exposure to the story.

I also started Needy Streamer Overload and it's been so fun! It's definitely keeping me past my screen time limit but it's been a while since I've been this addicted to a game. It's somewhat dark and if you're not in a good space mentally, I wouldn't recommend it. I'm almost done with all the 22 endings! I can't wait for another game from the same devs called Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis to release. I'm SO excited for that one specifically, since I can properly relate to the protagonist's struggles more (though that's not a good thing, necessarily LOL)

As commissioned by @diowatcher, I've been watching Serial Experiments Lain and I'm currently on episode 6. It's getting extra trippy right now, and I'm enjoying it a lot! The opening is so gooooood, I can't believe I had never heard it before. I've also been listening to the opening to Revolutionary Girl Utena and aagh it's so good! I'm adding it to my anime list.

And finally, I watched the 2020's The Boys in the Band yesterday. It was SO GOOD!! I had no idea this was a cinema adaptation of the Broadway revival, but it makes so much sense; it reminds me of the Falsettos stage revival, though that one doesn't have a movie adaptation, as far as I'm aware.

Anyway, it was truly a queer movie—as depressing as ever. It was an open ending too, ugh! I have a love/hate with queer works, as they have only started to become a bit more lighthearted these past years. I love these darker stories, but they also leave me bleeding (figuratively.) This is going to my favorites!

And that is all for last week! Let's see what this one brings us~

[pteropods]

whats ur fav anime . atm

OHHH hard to choose. Ive been rewatching Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War (and watching s3 for the first time) lately and its def one of my faves. It's a comedy but it has a kot of serious parts fit into it really well (Sometimes in comedies rhe serious bits are totally ruined bt sticking a joke in the middle, or theyre just inserted into it reslly weirdly- I think love is war does it really well tho)

OH !!! Mononoke is also rlly good its probably my all time fav in its genre (Like I wouldnt pit a comedy against mononoke bcs you gotta judge them on different things yk?). Its also the onky dubbed anime that I watch the sub with. The dub aint bad but I thi jnk the sub is just rlly good.

In generalllll I'd say The Disasterous Life of Saiki K bcs its so rewatchable imo (I'm the worlds #1 rewatfher ever).

OH JAPAN SINKS 202O THATS ONW OF MY FAVES 100% i'm Science Saru's #1 dickrider but I really enjoy it in general for a lot of reasons. Bcs its SciSaru the animation has a really unique feel- When you get to watching so many anime you can lose interest in an otherwise good one if it has the standard, boring style every time yk? SciSaru tho has a lot of influence from western animation as well as eastern- The chief of animation is actually Spanish and worked in Ireland and France before going to Japan for SciSaru !! France is actually where one of the founders met Góngora (chief animator) and when he started his own abimation studio w/ Eunyoung Choi (other founder) he invited Góngora to join. Sorry I rlly like taljing abt SciSaru.

Anyway the studios animation is of itself is a amazing. I lije to describe it often as a more western feel with the actual animation, but a very Anime-y framing and bloxking if that makes sense? I could go on abt this for hours. anyway

As I said Japan Sinks 2020 is super good, so's a lot of SciSaru's other stuff. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken is also an AMAZING one done by them. iirc it was the first of their anime that I watched.

Sarazanmai and Stars Align are also great ones !! Yk how when you finish one rlly good media you immediately want The Exact Same Thing but Slightly Different? I like to rec those rwo together bcs it feels like that sorta vibe. Weathering With You also ig. If you were to watxh both of them I'd say go for Stars Align first tho, or else the wildness of Sarazanmai might make Stars Align seen like a bit of a letdown. idk

If I had to go for movies I'm always a sucker for Makoto Shinkai ones, and if you like his stuff then Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop might be down your alley too. I've been watching the Satoshi Kon fest and Tokyo Godfathers is AMAZING as well. Pretty different from the ones I just mentioned tho

Last years fall season releases had some gems too!! Hells Paradise, My Home Hero, and Heavenly Delusion were amazing. I havent finished those last two yet tho haha

Kotaro Lives Alone also came out last year I think? or maybe 2020-2022 idrr. Its a luttle sad but its rlly good. So sad that theres no more ToT

[synergysilhouette]

"Miraculous" film: Likes and Dislikes

Spoilers ahead

For those who don't know: the TV series released their first movie this month, which takes place in a seperate universe from the show, wrapping up the Agreste arc in one film. Here's what I thought.

Likes:

Adrien gets more screentime and development. I LOVED this! My only qualm with this is that they go the angle of "I shut people out because I'm afraid of being hurt." He doesn't really do this until Ladybug rejects him, despite saying that he was like this earlier.

We're REMINDED that Gabriel is a designer and Marinette wants to be a designer. Granted, it's mainly in the beginning, but I love that it's mentioned, since the show rarely draw attention to it anymore.

The romance is much more satisfying. No stalking, no hypocrisy, and it's glorious. Their friendship is also much better and not as cringey.

Tikki and Plagg show off their animal forms! I wish they did that more throughout the film.

Hawk Moth DOES NOT PLAY GAMES. The moment he could, he took the miraculous. Plus the fact that he's powerful enough to tear apart their suits is pretty amazing.

The villains aren't irredeemable. Chloe is a bully, but similar to her season 1 self, and her annoyance with Marinette was understandable--though she was excessive about it. Sabrina also had thoughts of her own (though the apologetic shrug she gave Marinette after Chloe said that she'd keep bullying her disappointed me), and Gabriel is a much more likeable character, since he actually cared about Adrien and wanted to protect him.

It doesn't seem like Adrien's an amuk. THANK. GOODNESS.

Dislikes:

The pacing is kind of off to me. There's a lot going on (the romance, Adrien and his dad's relationship, Ladybug and Chat Noir becoming heroes), and I'm not a fan of how it all happens in one film. Adrien telling off his dad was understandable from a story perspective, but I wanted more of their dynamic, more of Gabriel worrying about Adrien while shutting him out to really justify the concern. I'd have preferred the Agreste arc lasting about 3 movies. It just felt too rushed.

The songs were....okay? I've never listened to a musical made by a foreign country (I'm mostly a Broadway and Disney guy), and this wasn't the best introduction. The production and the lyrics just didn't feel unique; they just felt generic, like they were made for a TV special.

The plot wasn't very interesting. I was expecting more worldbuilding and complex themes, and if I wasn't a Miraculous fan to begin with, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it. I liked the film when comparing it to the TV show. I'd have enjoyed it if we got more standout villains like Clonika, Chat Blanc (which, admittedly could be saved for a later film), Volpina, Sandboy, the Collector, Evillustrator, or Lady Wifi instead of two random criminals.

The cliche "new girl at school" trope could've been avoided. I liked how the show allowed Marinette to already be acquainted to all her friends already, as well as her being bad at everything before she becomes a hero.

Hawk Moth accepting Emilie's death after Adrien told him to. Kind of connecting to the first thing I disliked, I wasn't a fan of how Adrien told him that he had to let Emilie go and he just did. I feel like that should've been a harder pill to swallow, something he'd push aside while holding Adrien.

Nit-pick: Adrien and Chloe's relationship is never established. Are they still childhood friends?

Lemme know what your thoughts were on the show!

[nin-jay-go]

Sending this from my kinda not main but I was wondering how ningajo had changed from after the release of the movie. The last season I watched was skybound but I don't even remember if I finished that😭 but what I wanted to ask is does the story remain the same as it was b4 then? I've been trying to pick it back up for maybe 5+ years or so? The change in character design def threw me off and I felt kinda lost. (Sorry this is so long orz)

no you're good!! i love talking about my favorite show :D

you're correct in saying that the movie changed a lot of things. the character design, the world design, and the tone of the story changed a lot after the movie aired, and another change is lloyd's voice actor changing from jillian michaels to sam vincent (also the voice of double d from ed edd n eddy fun fact)

dw it took me a while to get used to the new designs (i remember being PISSED at the fact that they changed them djkghdkjfhg) keep in mind that there's also a canonical timeskip between s7 and s8

the story is.... well it's ninjago dfgjkhdkfjgh the core story remains the same, aka its a group of silly colorcoded ninja fighting crime and saving the world from being destroyed. again. but seasons 8, 9, and 10, usually referred to as the oni trilogy, have a much darker feel because the writers noticed their more mature audience and wrote to fit, while also still being a kids show.

the main change really happens after animation studios switch from wilfilm to wildbrain. wildbrain era (seasons 11-16) have a different animation ... vibe? like, the animation remains mostly the same, but there's different textures (hair gets textured, you can see every little wrinkle in leather, etc) and faces are animated differently, as well as using different animation techniques as is standard for a different animation studio, but the story also gets a big change

a bunch of things get tweaked post-wildbrain. for instance, the series is just ninjago now, not the masters of spinjitzu. elemental masters are just elementals. missions are called quests. sensei wu is now master wu (though i'm blanking on if this happens s8 or s11). they sometimes have anime segments (don't ask). and uh. most of the plotlines from the previous seasons are kinda... ignored? like, wildbrain heavily prioritizes its own seasons rather than the previous seasons, meaning a lot of that stuff becomes obsolete. tragic, but nothing we can do about it.

the main change in the wildbrain era is that the episodes are all 11 minutes long now instead of 22 minutes. this is remedied by having More episodes per season, but the shorter episodes are an interesting factor in how the seasons play out. many say that the seasons feel too rushed because of that, and i have to agree on some cases. but theyre decently handled for the longer seasons (s11 and s16)

so... the story. is it the same ninjago as s1-10 was? hard to say. post-movie was the start of an era for sure, and wildbrain had some thoughts about where it would go, but i can't say it's all bad. the oni trilogy is a masterpiece of writing (though its not wildbrain, its still wilfilms), s11 is pretty good if you ignore the bigger flaws, s12 is . ok i'm not the biggest fan but it's a very fun season its just clunky dkfghkdjhg but season 13 is amazing and i love it. seasons 14 and 15 are also good :) seabound esp

don't talk to me about the finale. i WILL rant about it. too much. this is a threat.

but despite it all, it's still ninjago. the same fun cast, the same stories of the ninja being dumbasses and saving the world, they just look slightly different. if the redesigns really bother you, there's not much i can say about that unfortunately. it took me a very long time to get used to it and i was in HEAVY denial for a while, but you warm up to them. after all, they gave us superstar <3 and that's all that matters

also you do not need to finish skybound it is . it's skybound! watch hands of time (s7) tho its very funny

tldr: i can't say whether the story stays the same post-wildbrain (s11-16), but i heavily recommend watching the oni trilogy. if the new designs squick you out, there's not a lot you can do but get used to it. if you want to give it another chance, go for it!! the movie either scared people off or invited people in, so it's up to you how you feel about the movie and its effect on the show. all i can say is you gotta make your own opinion about it, and if you wanna liveblog or stream any more thoughts about ninjago, feel free to message me again!! my askbox is open (and so are my dms if anything :D)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

The Next Animated Blockbuster Heavies

In my 6-part series - of sorts - on animated movie blockbusters and how the Top 10 highest-earning animated movies of all-time changed rapidly over the course of 25+ years... I asked... What's next, then?

What cracks the Top 10 again?

Last year's MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU came close with over $930m, which was down from what the first MINIONS spin-off of the DESPICABLE ME movies made in 2015, in a pre-COVID world. Families have certainly become choosier with these movies, as not all of them can - nor should - be box office smashes. I'm glad that movies like THE BAD GUYS can make about $250m worldwide and be considered a success, not something to throw away.

In fact, we're seeing similar movement on the live-action front of things now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe behemoths are starting to dry up (note the abysmal legs on films like DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, and ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA), and there's value seen in small endeavors - many of which in the horror genre - such as BARBARIAN, SMILE, TICKET TO PARADISE, THE MENU, VIOLENT NIGHT, M3GAN, and COCAINE BEAR. Smaller series, like the CREED films, keep that train chugging. It's like we're in the '90s and early '00s again, seeing these little bread-n-butter movies being the real success stories.

Animated movies, depending on the budget, are in a similar frame. Universal has been smart with budgets: DreamWorks no longer spends more than $90m on what they make, Illumination has always kept costs below $100m, and yet their movies still look pretty darn cinematic-level. Sony Animation has done the same, along with Warner Animation Group and now Paramount. Most of the films coming out are doing fun things without a Disney or Pixar-sized budget, and it's no surprise that a lot of the profitable films are the likes of THE BAD GUYS and DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS. All sub-$300m grossing movies that are still fine because they didn't cost so goddamn much...

Disney Animation and Pixar, in addition to misjudged release strategies under the stewardship of former CEO Bob Chapek, have yet to see a genuine animated success I feel. SOUL, LUCA, and TURNING RED all went straight to Disney+. SOUL made sense because no vaccine was out in late 2020, and even LUCA made sense because mid-2021 was before the Delta and Omicron variants, and many kids still weren't vaccinated. TURNING RED... Even then... TURNING RED I still feel would've made BAD GUYS numbers at best. $250m worldwide against the typical Pixar $150m+ budget would've been a massive bomb. Again, that family hesitancy and peoples' money being very tight. Ditto the Disney Animation movies. RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON did the day-and-date thing; theaters for those who were willing to go, Disney+ $30 digital file (until it was free **three** months later). A company spat with Cinemark kept the film from playing everywhere across the country, so RAYA didn't do adequately as a theatrical title. I mean, it did fine for a film playing amidst an ongoing pandemic and the vaccines not being entirely out yet, but it was still a financial loss. ENCANTO made little more than $250m worldwide, not at all great against the budget. Huge hit on Disney+, though. Then they treated STRANGE WORLD, a movie that tested poorly (for whatever reason, be it the sci-fi story being too out of reach or the gay son) well before release, like an unwanted stepchild. Huge flop, but it managed to do okay enough on Disney+ from what I've seen.

It's telling that Chapek was booted right after that film came out, and soon thereafter, the returning Bob Iger drastically restructured the movie release strategy. The heavy pivot to streaming was viewed as a mistake. Many observers feel that future Disney animated releases, both from Pixar and WDAS, are cursed now. Disney+ is one of the most subscribed-to streaming services, movie trips cost a fortune for families and many others, and the release strategies for the last six or so animated movies conditioned families to just wait for a hassle-free movie night in the living room...

Maybe?

Universal is the opposite. They didn't pivot as heavily to streaming as Disney did, and it also helps that Peacock doesn't have as many subscribers. How many average Americans even know that there *is* Peacock? Disney and Disney+, far more recognizable as a brand I'd argue... Universal delayed movies, and sacrificed a few to streaming, but also experimented. TROLLS WORLD TOUR went straight to PVOD, but THE CROODS: A NEW AGE was given a theatrical-only rollout with a PVOD release down the line, and it paid off nicely. It also helped that the movie cost $65m to make! Delaying MINIONS Deux twice, SING 2 opened amidst Omicron and became the first pandemic-era animated movie to pass $100m at the domestic box office, beating RAYA, CROODS Two, ADDAMS FAMILY 2, ENCANTO, and hybrid TOM & JERRY. MINIONS Deux finally came out and made nearly a billion, despite the previous film being 7 years old at that point. Maybe the first DESPICABLE ME being a 12-year-old movie helped? Nostalgia, maybe? The suit memes? Whatever happened, something *worked*. Then there's PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH, which has almost relied entirely on its ludicrously strong word-of-mouth and record-breaking multiplier...

So that leads me to ask...

What are the next titan-sized animated movie blockbusters?

Currently, the top 10 looks like this.

1) THE LION KING (2019) - $1,657m

2) FROZEN II - $1,450m

3) FROZEN - $1,280m

4) INCREDIBLES 2 - $1,243m

5) MINIONS - $1,159m

6) TOY STORY 4 - $1,073m

7) TOY STORY 3 - $1,067m

8) DESPICABLE ME 3 - $1,034m

9) FINDING DORY - $1,028m

10) ZOOTOPIA - $1,023m

It's no surprise that... A LION KING prequel, FROZEN III, DESPICABLE ME 4, TOY STORY 5, and ZOOTOPIA 2 are on the horizon. Money talks, ya know. You'll likely see a third INCREDIBLES at some point, too, and a third FINDING Somebody movie as well. As such, I think all of those are definitely contenders for the Top 10.

So far... We have quite a few animated movies on the horizon... Here are the ones that I think have a shot...

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (Universal - 4/5/2023) - It seems obvious at this point. Mario is *the* video game, one of the most iconic, the video game industry is largely where it is today because of his success, cross-generational appeal going all the way back to people who first played DONKEY KONG in arcades in 1981... If SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 could take in $405m worldwide, this all-animated picture should easily make double that. Domestic projections alone are through the roof, the marketing has been great, the hype is all over... I think it could challenge the billion and maybe even make it into the Top 10. (6/11/2023 NOTE: Grossed $1.3b... Put up a good fight!)

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (Sony - 6/2/2023) - The first film, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, opened in December of 2018 with an okay $35m... And then it had fantastic legs, climbed like a webhead to a stellar $190m domestic gross and very solid $384m worldwide take. Nowhere near the takes of the live-action Spideys, but the animated Spider-Man movie won hearts over and lasts beyond its theatrical release. The hype for this sequel is totally there, and it promises to be huge in scope. More universes, several Spiders, higher stakes... I see this performing similarly to... TERMINATOR 2, AUSTIN POWERS IN "THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME", SHREK 2, DESPICABLE ME 2, and INCREDIBLES 2. Films whose predecessors were either sleeper hits or quite successful films, but built massive followings after their release, whom all turned out in droves to their sequels. I think ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE is going to be just that. As for the billion, that may seem steep for an animated Marvel movie and one that isn't in an established cinematic universe (the three MCU Spider-Man movies are the only movies featuring Spider-Man to ever crack $1b), but maybe INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE's staying power could make this one a surprise. (11/20/2023 NOTE: Grossed $690 million...)

WISH (Disney - 11/22/2023) - A real wild card, given that it's a Disney release, but both this and the summer Pixar flick ELEMENTAL are going to indicate going forward how Disney will market and release their animated movies post-Chapek. I'd imagine WISH, being the centennial celebration feature for the company, and an old-fashioned princess musical picture that's all about wishing stars (of course, the very PINOCCHIO song that became Disney's whole damn anthem) presented in a hand-drawn-esque look. This could all work in its favor, and it could perform similarly to FROZEN (helps that its director Chris Buck is back at the helm for this film), maybe not but still have those usual Disney Thanksgiving legs. Again, the whole "audiences now wait for Disney+" thing is an uphill battle, and it all depends on how Disney releases and markets the thing... But if they play their cards right, it could potentially be very, very big. A 100th anniversary picture doing okay-ish would look kinda embarrassing.

KUNG FU PANDA 4 (Universal - 3/8/2024) - The biggest KUNG FU PANDA movie was the second one, making a little bit more than what the first one pulled in... Without the aid of 3D and higher ticket prices. Both grossed in the $630-670m range, so in sense, KUNG FU PANDA 2 stayed flat and didn't increase, SHREK 2-style. KUNG FU PANDA 3 was the lowest-grossing of the three... Maybe an eight-year wait will make this one significantly bigger? Maybe if it's a reinvention of the franchise like PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH to the SHREK series, it could surprise? One of the least likely to me, but I included it anyways, because anything's possible.

SPIDER-MAN: BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE (Sony - 3/29/2024) - This one's performance hinges entirely on how ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE does, and what kind of a cliffhanger that one ends on. Keep in mind, this was original supposed to be a two-part film with "Part One" being in the ACROSS title for a while. Even appears that on the film's first trailer and on some merchandise. (11/20/2023 NOTE: Delayed indefinitely, but still...)

INSIDE OUT 2 (Disney - 6/14/2024) - The original made $850m+ worldwide, astounding for an original feature not based on any pre-existing IP. Usually Pixar sequels make more than their predecessors, or match the attendance of the original, making for a higher gross (such as FINDING DORY, or TOY STORY 4's gross in comparison to TOY STORY 3's)... Either way, a billion is very much in sight for this one.

DESPICABLE ME 4 (Universal - 7/3/2024) - The second MINIONS movie came close to a billion, DESPICABLE ME 3 crossed the big billion, the only DESPICABLE ME movie to miss $900m worldwide was the first one. I think the momentum is still there for this franchise, even if this one is Gru and the girls, and not those yellow tictacs.

MUFASA: THE LION KING (Disney - 7/5/2024) - This one is probably the least likely, but I included it anyways since the film this is a prequel to is the highest-grossing animated film of all time... However, this one's tricky because... THE LION KING was a remake of a beloved film that was also a record-breaking smash, and 2019 LION KING only did as well as it did because of the 1994 classically animated original directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. If this movie was made in a universe where that LION KING did not exist? Oh, Jon Favreau's film wouldn't have been anywhere near as big... Anyways, THE LION KING got a direct-to-video sequel in 1998 made by other animation divisions of the company, *not* Walt Disney Feature Animation. SIMBA'S PRIDE is not being remade, so there's no gauge there. Even if it was, it still wouldn't have the same drawing power. This is a prequel story, technically it's all-new here... And honestly? I see this one playing out similarly to ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS and MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL. Their predecessors did well, off of the iconic originals and familiarity... but the sequels did not command the same attention. ALICE 2 outright flopped, MISTRESS OF EVIL managed to eke out an okay gross... I suspect this will be the same for MUFASA: THE LION KING. Outside of some very curious people and those who happened to like the 2019 movie, who really gives a dang? I expect great foreign numbers for this all-CG animal picture, but domestic I feel is where it sinks. (11/20/2023 NOTE: Delayed to December 20, 2024.)

SHREK 5 (Universal - 2025/26?) - Back in 2004, SHREK 2 made $919m at the worldwide box office... Without the aid of 3D, IMAX, the high ticket prices of today (and in the past decade for that matter), and a much larger international market... That's where the franchise peaked, because the domestic grosses slipped... While the foreign grosses gradually rose. SHREK FOREVER AFTER took in the biggest overseas total for the franchise back in 2010, and PUSS IN BOOTS did excellently in non-North American territories a year later... 11 years went by, PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH legged it up something fierce here, and is doing great worldwide... SHREK also became a meme fountain this past decade, and that post-quadrilogy love remains a thing. There will definitely be a nostalgia rush for this one from people my age who saw the first SHREK in theaters, and several who grew up on the SHREK movies on home video. This will be massive, especially after the wildly cool reinvention of the franchise that we saw in THE LAST WISH... DreamWorks' first billion dollar movie, comin' up.

ZOOTOPIA 2 (Disney - 202?) - First one made a billion. Much like how INSIDE OUT made $850m+ worldwide, that's fantastic for an animated movie not based on any pre-existing IP.

TOY STORY 5 (Disney - 202?) - Given that the last two films grossed a billion, and despite the pleas of internet weirdos who insist that Pixar need not make this film (or have made TOY STORY 4 for that matter), your average joe is there for another round of the talking playthings. It only didn't work out for LIGHTYEAR, because Buzz wasn't a toy in that and that was a different iteration of the character. TOY STORY 5 is mainline, that's enough to get people coming. That is, if Woody and Buzz are back, or at least one of them.

FROZEN III (Disney - 202?) - FROZEN made a billion, FROZEN II made a billion, I think it's locked to do it. No matter how long the wait.

... and who knows, maybe a surprise or two along the way...

[silvertsundere]

Silver Talks AniManga (24/03/24)

like I said last week lotsa stuff ending this one so lots of yappin this time around, also a new series but summertime render's author which was p nice

also tons of s2 announcements right away which is wild to see

green - new series/new to me blue - finale/completed

Anime

Chained Soldier Ep12 (Finale)

well that certainly was something huh like I said in ep 1 I've known about the manga for years and years and have wanted to read it but just never got around to it, I would've been a lot better off if I did tho the anime did just the bare minimum. the animation wasn't ever anywhere near impressive and the art always looked weird like there was some weird filter over it for some reason. the voice cast slapped tho and the music wasn't half bad either but there's no reason to watch the anime when the manga exists, not just cause the art is way better but especially because they didn't announce or even tease a s2 so it's a safe bet that only with the bare bones animation this was just a quick way to promote the manga and not an attempt to make an adaptation. it's a shame but oh well, I've seen much worse and the great seiyuu line up made it pretty enjoyable despite the lack of any good action will certainly be reading the manga in the future so they succeeded in their goal, tho I was already gonna do it before the anime even existed so did they really 🤔

EDIT: the day after I wrote this they released a little teaser announcing s2 will be coming eventually™ so fuck me I guess

Sasaki and Peeps Ep12 (Finale)

the finale just ends like any regular episode would end??? HUH I guess that means s2 confirmed? but it's still very very weird but anyway, I liked it, it was a fresh take on isekai and it reminded me a lot of maoyuu with all it's economical and political talk (this is a good thing). otherwise it wasn't that impressive, animation and art were alright, tho a lot better than some stuff I saw this season (like chained or rings) and the music despite not that memorable was pretty enjoyable. one of the best parts was the sugita yuuki duo for the main characters for sure. I first watched this on a whim cause of a clip I saw of the voice yuuki uses in this and that one hilarious post about the credits of the first episode but it was worth it

EDIT: today (sunday) the s2 got announced which wasn't that surprising considering the first thing I said here but still

Undead Unluck Ep24 (Finale)

a great adaptation through and through, it certainly got the love it deserves. the shaft staff coming in and sprinkling that recognizable style through the show was very unexpected, but it fit UU surprisingly well and it also served to give it a different vibe from the manga. the only weird choice was cutting out the mob characters from a billion scenes. also some scenes just didn't hit as hard as in the manga like the fist bump from this episode, that I've been looking forward to since ep 1 but it was still pretty good looking forward to future seasons (LOVE spring arc so please) so I just hope they keep the same studio/staff and don't pull a OPM and ruin future seasons

Frieren Ep28 (Finale)

you think this is the one I'd talk about the most but funnily enough it won't be. don't really got much to say about it because just one word is enough to describe it: perfect easily AOTY for last year and also one of the best of all time and that's not even exaggeration or recency bias it really is THAT good it's crazy that this is just the director's second time directing, with the first being bocchi. really bright future ahead of him and someone to keep an eye on in the future I only hope that we get a proper S2 and not a movie like studios seem so keen on doing recently

Tales of Wedding Rings Ep12 (Finale)

honestly not much to say about this, cause all I said about chained soldier is directly appliable for this as well so just read that again and pretend I'm talking about this lol TL;DR: you're better off reading the manga really shocked it got a s2 announced right away like the other but I guess that's what you can do when you keep production values this low

Blue Exorcist: Izumo Arc Ep12 (Finale)

it's a shame how the adaptation is, s1 was really good, s2 dipped a bit but was still good but this one was p weak. it just coasted along and didn't take any risks. not a crumb of sakuga in all 12 of these episodes, but at least it looked a lot better than some of those shows I talked about above at a baseline also they already announced another season is coming, without waiting 6 years this time, with more news coming out for it tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. tho considering it'll prob be the same level of quality as this one, there's really no reason to get your hopes up. I'm looking forward to catching up with the manga in the near future tho, last time I read I was in vol 18 so got a decent bit to go through

Dungeon Meshi Ep12

yknow considering the amount of times I've seen that one panel of barefoot marcille starting the ressurection spell and how people talk about it, I thought the scene would be a lot darker and intense but it wasn't. good episode tho, lots of cute moments not just of farcille but also with the siblings. the cliffhanger was really good too, would've been a great end cour one tho the show isn't even taking a break but anyway, looking forward to hearing hayamin be a part of the main cast 🙏

Manga

Ghost Fixers Ch1

this is a new series by the summertime render, which I haven't either read nor watched but have heard many things about, so I was thought I should give it a shot and hey that was p good, went in completely blind without knowing anything about it and I enjoyed it quite a bit. the art is not as good as the colour page but it wasn't bad by any means and there was a lot of shots with cool composition and neat panel ideas it also did a good job of setting up the universe and teasing how things work without explaining too much yet. the characters and their banter were pretty fun too. I'll be looking forward to this 👍 tho I do gotta go back to summertime some day for sure

Blue Box Ch142

GREAT chapter, but it was also great cause of the whole build up of the match in the last few chaps. I already knew this was gonna be the outcome since chinatsu lost and haryu is a third year and the third year losing to their protegee and "passing on the torch" is the trope still miura did a great job keeping it tense and making you want to root for both players, she's a great author

[sparklingsteelprincess]

What is your history with the Pokémon series?

Art may be of the muse, but this is gonna be another mun spotlight!

"Wait but why aren't you working on asks?" I have tendonitis or my carpool tungle is acting up and idk which one it is/ It's bad enough I colored in an old doodle fdhjsbfs. Mostly here to be like hey! I'm not dead! Anyway...

I've been a fan of the series since I was a little kid, starting with the anime! I was like... 2 or 3? I don't remember exacts, but I used to watch the anime ALL the time as a kid. I'd get up at the asscrack of dawn to watch the DP anime when that was running and would literally commandeer the tv if there was a pokemon movie on a Friday night on cartoon network. My tv now. But it doesn't end there!

I have to pay a very special shout out to my older sister! She's the one who introduced me to the series and she's let me watch her play Fire Red all the time. I'd eventually get a copy of Leaf Green for myself out of a walmart bargain bin for $10 (thank fucking god), but that wasn't my first game! My first game was Diamond and it holds a very special place in my heart. It took me a while to beat it because I did the good ol' brute force everything with your starter cause I was like... 7 and barely understood how the games worked. Sister wasn't much help either cause she didn't know what the hell the physical/special split was (to be fair neither of us did). But I had an empoleon and a dream and somehow soloed Cynthia. Like legit I have max hours on Diamond. I played the FUCK out of that game. Contests were so much fun, I loved the battle tower, challenging the elite 4 for fun was great, especially when I actually started to get the concept of team building. My sister and I even sat down for like a week and I memorized the Sinnoh national dex by pokemon cries.

Black and White? Now those were the first games I took seriously. I was CONSTANTLY on the pokemon website keeping an eye out for news and counting down the days until release. I actually was able to convince my mom to take me to get it on release day! Bought it with my own money and everything! Black also has a very VERY special place in my heart and that's what got me dipping my toes into competitive! I am not ashamed to admit that it only took me three days to beat the game I was HOOKED on it. I played it all night that Sunday, and then the next two days I'd speedrun my homework and just play pokemon all night again. Black also got me through some pretty fucking terrifying events irl (aka two separate hurricanes, being Irene and Sandy). I actually caught coballion during Irene! I played Black a lot more than I did the sequels, but I did also VERY much enjoy BW2 and actually like the story for that better than BW!

Not to go on for fucking forever, so I'm gonna tldr the rest of this. I have played every mainline game since the release of DP, have played many and I mean MANY of the side games, went back and played the old mainlines I missed as a kid, did online comp for a bit, I still do comp sometimes on Showdown cause the team building tool is a blessing, my friends in high school banned me from using my cressalia because I'd stall them out with it, and I still play SwSh in 2024 because tbh it's my favorite of the modern games! I've also been an avid card collector since I was a kid (I don't play the TCG anymore, I just like the pretty cards :D). I wholeheartedly welcome any specific questions anyone might have for me!

[moveslikeanape]

ohh, that's too bad about your computer not being able to play dreamlight valley! i have heard that the game is supposed to have a mobile version, but i'm not sure if it's been released yet or not, so that could be something to look into. also, i can totally see that about tarzan wanting to dive right in and learn about everything around him. i'm sure that if jane were there with him she'd also be really excited to show him new things and help him with anything he didn't understand. oof, yeah, i didn't wanna be too harsh about wish in case you were still really looking forward to the movie, but i admit that my mixed feelings about it are more on the negative side. i like a couple of the songs, but they're riddled with strange and poorly written lyrics (for example, "i'm a star, watch out world here i are" or "i let you live here for free and i don't even charge rent") and some of them sound so generic that i just feel like i've already heard them before. after seeing the concept art and hearing about some of the ideas that didn't make it in, i ended up feeling like the movie had a lot of missed potential. it's a shame, especially since this was disney's 100th anniversary film. there is one other tarzan reference besides the shoutout in the credits, though, so definitely look out for that when you watch it! that's true about mark mancina, i see a lot of praise for tarzan's soundtrack that's specifically about phil collins, but mark created such a good score to go with his work. i'm really glad he got to work on moana as well. ooh i see, that does all sound pretty interesting! i love to read as well and pretty much always have a long list of things i'd like to read, and never enough time for all of them LOL. but i'll definitely have to add the tarzan novels to that list and try to check them out someday. are there any other tarzan movies you enjoy besides disney's version? -🌟

I looked, and is is available through Apple Arcade… but same problem, don't have a compatible device, lol. Not into computers/phones/etc enough to try and keep up with the latest. Would rather stretch my devices as long as I can and save the money for my collection. Oh well, maybe someday I'll play it. Would be so awesome to see more of Jane helping Tarzan learn new things though!

I agree with you on the lyrics, some of them are so bad!! I remember hearing those lines for the first time and feeling embarrassed for them. They sound like they're from a cheap bootleg ripoff, not from the most prestigious animation company in the world. They should be ashamed of themselves, they used to have incredible song lyrics.

That's awesome there's one other Tarzan reference though!! A very good reason to give it a watch!

Mark's score for Tarzan and Brother Bear are so beautiful. As soon as I saw he was doing Moana I knew I was going to love it!

Ah, the pain of never having enough time to read… and it always seems that when you do, you can't find anything to read! I'm currently halfway through the Asian Saga by James Clavell. I've read those books so many times I've lost count. I was about a third of the way through Shogun when I found out that there's a new FX series based on the book that's going to be on Disney+ at the end of February! Although I've finished reading Shogun since, I'm trying to finish reading the other 5 books before the series starts… I don't think I'm going to make it, lol.

I hope you enjoy the Tarzan novels if you get to read them!!

I haven't seen many other Tarzan movies, but I did really enjoy Greystoke with Christopher Lambert and Andie MacDowell. Of the ones I've seen it feels the closet to the books. And it has an unexpected connection to the Disney version… Andie MacDowell's voice was dubbed by Glenn Close, so it's like seeing Jane and hearing Kala!

Growing up I watched the Tarzan tv series starring Wolf Larson and Lydie Denier, which was my first introduction to Tarzan. It takes place in more modern times, and Jane was French in it. I watched it again a few years ago, and it was definitely not as good as I remember it being. But as a kid I found it thrilling, used to stay up until 3 am every Saturday to watch it!

[punderfulowl]

Top 10 Anime (That I've Seen) in 2020

Well now, it has certainly been awhile. I'm currently sitting at eight months too late for posting this, but, y'know, something something life happens. More accurately, I already made this list, but wanted to try out what response I'd get from Reddit. Turns out, they're not as cool as you guys!

Anyways, as the title states, this is not a list of my favorite anime that came out during 2020, but instead my favorite anime that I just so happen to see during that year. While it's fun to have an end of the year retrospective, I find that having a list in this format not only adds variety, but also helps bring attention to anime that might have been lost in the shuffle in previous years (I also don't have enough time to stay caught up in seasonal releases).

Honorable mentions:

Aggretsuko S3, My Hero Academia S4, Today's Menu For the Emiya Family, Interspecies Reviewers (yes, really), and I Couldn't Become a Hero So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job

10. Maid-Sama (2010)

In hindsight, I find it a bit funny that I wanted to watch something wholesome to kick off 2020. Anyway, Maid-Sama is about a high school girl that is also a no nonsense Class President and she kind of has to be at a school where, until recently, was an all boys school. While she kills it in academics and is good at shutting down any shenanigans from the male student body, her financial situation isn't the greatest and has to balance a job at a maid cafe along with her school-related responsibilities. She does her best to hide her employment there to keep up appearances, but is one day found out by one of the boys who happens to be a big flirt and, yeah, hijinks ensue. While this anime doesn't have too many surprises, our main leads bounce off each other well enough to keep me entertained. Nothing I haven't seen already in other anime Rom-Coms, but I think it has more than earned its place at the start of this list.

9. Haganai NEXT (2013)

It's a personal rule of mine when making these lists that I don't include sequels of shows that were in previous lists. While I DID see the first season of Haganai a couple of years ago, it didn't quite make it into the top ten at that time. Because of that, it meets the criteria for this year's list. While I found the characters were just as charming here as I did during the first season, the development of their relationships really took off. It's a shame that it will most likely not get a third season, but I'm happy with what ride this show gave me. But hey! At least I can read the light novels/manga to continue the story! Wait, nevermind, the Haganai fans on Reddit are saying that's a bad idea.

8. Engaged to the Unidentified (2014)

Based off of a Four Panel joke manga, Engaged to the Unidentified tells the story of a girl in high school suddenly getting some life changing news. As it turns out, her grandfather made an arranged engagement with her and the son of a family he knew. Next thing she knows, the boy in question, as well as his little sister, moves into her family's house! While the boy is unassuming at first, there may be more to him and his family than he lets on. Plain and simple, this anime has charmed me. There's a decent amount of drama and mystery despite the source material and I applaud it! Even though this also doesn't have much new to offer, even to the point where I would compare this to Maid-Sama, what made me pick this at the 8th spot were the color choices and animation quality. Give this a shot if you can!

7. Grimoire of Zero (2017)

It's a fantasy/adventure story starring a loli sorcerer and a huge, anthropomorphic white tiger man. I honestly can't say anything else. I won't be able to do it justice. That first sentence should intrigue you a lease a little bit. Read it, again. Please check it out. It's an underrated gem that no one is talking about.

6. ID: Invaded (2020)

Hey, here's something recent! Unfortunately, this is also not something I can say much about. There may not be too many deep characters and the secret bad guy isn't hard to figure out, but BOY is this anime cool! The best way to describe this series is that it's like the movie Inception, but instead of brain heists, it's brain murder mysteries.

5. Carole and Tuesday (2019)

A runaway rich girl has a fated meeting with an orphan and they decide to make music together...oh, this also takes place Mars. Joking aside, this show was something special with its music (a new song almost every episode no less), interesting setting (freaking Mars, dude), and endearing main cast. Shoot, the music itself would be top 3, maybe number 1, but what bogs it down is the show's second half. I can easily see myself watching this again someday, and maybe my opinion will lighten up, but for now, 5 is a dang good spot.

4. Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front - Babylonia (2019)

Part of me hesitates placing this high up on list due to this show being animated, fan service spectacle for Fate fans. However, that hesitation is overshadowed by the fact that I am a Fate fan myself and I can do whatever I want with this list. Even if you're not a Fate fan or play FGO, if you enjoy some solid fight animation, this is worth a look.

3. K-On S1 (2009)

I'll admit it, I might regret not watching the second season then putting the series on the list as a whole, but this how I've been doing these lists and I'm such a creature of habit. There's not much I can say about K-On that hasn't already been said. By itself it's an anime classic and one of Kyo-ani's biggest properties. It's a sweet and wholesome watch, but be sure to have some insulin within reach.

2. Princess Principal (2017)

Imagine you're working with a team of programmers trying to make a mobile game then all of a sudden someone asks to make a show out of it. You know, a show with different character motivations, plot, twist and turns and all that? Most might say that's just a shameless, shallow cash grab, but it turns out okay for Princess Principal. Sure, most might summarize this anime as, "cute girls doing espionage things," but with its cast, visuals, and interesting alternative timeline, it works! Apparently there's a new season or movie in the works and I am all for it!

1. Beastars (2019)

I was not expecting this to be number one, but with much deliberation (with myself obviously) this feels right. It tells a pretty unique story while showing itself to be the exception to the rule when it comes to 3D anime.....it being that it's actually good. While I acknowledge that shows like K-On are classics and deserves to be number one on many different lists, it didn't line up with my personal criteria like Beastars did. My biggest deciding factor is: Now that I've watched this, do I want more? It's true that while I'm excited to start K-On S2, Beastars intrigues me more and ever since season two was announced, I'm looking forward to that more.

Sorry again for this list being so late, but at least the silver lining is that the next end of the year list is about four months away (in theory)!

[sword-dad-fukuzawa]

You know what's on my mind?

Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. You know, that movie released a few years ago that won a bunch of awards for its gorgeous animation and soundtrack etc etc.

It's definitely not a usual topic for this blog. Or even my main. Mainly, I have a burning desire to complain about one specific scene and maybe Marvel in general, which you can chalk up to my not-like-other-girls complex /hj. Also, nobody has ever agreed with me about how I think it's is badly written.

Nobody.

I think this is hilarious, so I am going to subject you all to my opinion on why I dislike this movie.

The animation is pretty, I'll give it that. So's the soundtrack. My issue with Spiderverse is not the animation or the soundtrack or even the fact that it's a superhero movie, as much as I dislike superhero movies in general--no, my issue is with the writing. Please bear in mind that it's been about a year since I watched it and so my memory is a little bit fuzzy, but I have not been able to stop thinking about this scene. It makes me that angry.

It's the scene about halfway through the movie, when all the other Spiderpeople have showed up in the basement and Peter's all like "Hi hello this is Miles, he's Spiderman too," and then the other Spiderpeople take his measure because they're largely unimpressed. And by take his measure, I mean they start hitting him.

Like, okay, fine, they don't beat him to death or anything. But they whack him enough times that he's...he's literally on the ground. He's on the ground and he's hurt bad enough that he can't get up? And they're going "c'mon Miles, get up, get up Miles, you can do it," and then someone else smacks him down, and then they keep telling him to get up.

And he can't.

From what I've been told by fans of this movie, the scene, narratively, is supposed to be a sign that he isn't ready. It's supposed to establish that Miles hasn't understood the fundamental aspect of being a hero--that when the going gets tough, and when you feel like everything is punching down at you, you have to get to your feet anyway. It's supposed to set up for a later scene where Miles does get up, which is a very standard narrative technique of demonstrating a failure and then the hero overcoming it.

But it's done so fucking badly that this scene ruined the movie for me.

Zoom out a little with me. This scene is about a bunch of people who are experienced, trained superheroes. They've been doing this for a while, they've been fighting for a while, and they've got technical know-how and prowess in spades. What do they decide to do with these powers, when faced with an untrained child who's out of his depth?

Beat the shit out of him, naturally!

I just- what the fuck, guys. You're supposed to be the people I'm rooting for, the people who I want Miles to help get home. You're supposed to be sympathetic enough that I don't rejoice during the climactic battle when they're getting their asses handed to them.

But instead of, you know, training the kid, giving the kid tips, you decide the best course of action is to beat him so badly he cannot get up and then conclude he's to weak to help them out.

What the fuck.

This scene killed any attachment or sympathy I had towards any of the Spiderpeople with the exception of maybe Peter Parker, because he was the only person to speak up and say that they were going too far, maybe? Even then, he didn't stop them. No, he let them beat up a kid while telling him he should be able to get up.

I'm sorry, would any of you be able to get up, having gotten their powers a grand few days ago and being attacked by four competent superheroes?

This scene has been justified to me as Miles being a superhero and naturally needing more responsibility. He's not "just a kid," or so the reasoning goes.

The fact remains that I do not care. Miles, superhero or not, is at this point a mostly-civilian teenager. You beat the shit out of him while telling him that he should be able to take it. How fucked up is that? Imagine doing that to anyone else. It's this four-on-one free for all and he is on the ground, and you've just kicked him in the solar plexus, and you're telling him to get back up.

No, fuck you, I hope you never get back to your home dimension. What the hell.

God, I hate this movie. That one scene ruins it because it comes halfway through the movie. Miles never gets an apology for being beaten up like that. It's not framed as A Terrible Thing To Do. And maybe this is about ~critical thinking~ because people should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to like certain characters, but honestly, I haven't met a single person who thought that scene was fucked up. So who knows at this point.