#if i was a time aspect i'd freeze time so i could fully animate all 13 minutes of this scene

[chrisrin]

ohhh i’m thinking SO hard about them. (audio from here)

[regaliasonata]

I've been meaning to make this post for a while

So Power Rangers has 30 years of lore and stuff packed into it and this made me analyze a few things pertaining to the ranger powers.

See every team is different in the sense that their abilities can be labeled into various categories, like some characters using mystical energy or technology but there's a bit more to it. Tokusatsu has a full list of different power sources and it made me think a bit here, btw this is just in a general sense when it comes to ranger powers and not fully the individual ones each of the teams have.

Basically I decided to place them in depending on the themes and overall potential of their powers.

Each team is covered under one of the following five, Technological, Elemental, Spatial/Temporal, Spiritual and Magical

1.)Technlogical powers such as RPM, SPD mainly rely on the usage of advancements and mechanical assets to their abilities. Though however capability wise it's reach stagnates as the tools and powers depend on how advanced the tech is(like if you have futuristic stuff that can access universal energy, can be on par with some top players in the PR multiverse)

2.)Elemental, like in Samurai, Lost Galaxy and Ninja Storm specific rangers in this category can manipulate or even conjure specific aspects of nature at their disposal. In my mind however the capabilities can also be somewhat limitless as the specific way elements are applied factor in( like if fire is associated either creation and light, being able to make life or even spark heat in the universe)

3.) Spatial and Temporal, specifically relating to teams like Time Force. These powers mainly orient around the control of dimensional or time like aspects, from freezing and speeding time, controlling dimensions like the Triassic Dimension with Conner in DT, or just anything you can think of there. This one is definitely up there because there isn't really a limit, I mean Conner controls reality with the triassic shield and time manipulation is already busted. Time Force rangers are a problem in fight match-ups.

4.)Spiritual, my favorite btw. Connects mainly between Wild Force, Jungle Fury and probably Zeo. Spiritual powers such as aura projection like utilizing animal spirits or having abilities attuned to one's soul are a few ways of using this, however depending on the person and overall situations the spirit can do a lot more. Say releasing your inner might and having a strong willpower may result in your abilities being able to transcend beyond most things(think a bit like HXH with Nen or JJK's cursed energy). Like the phoenix with Camille, if she developed it more then the power to revive or even give life would be broken as hell.

5.) Finally we have Magical, hello Mystic Force. Magic in general is just busted, applications all around depends on what type you're using and there are three main sources, Good, Dark and Neutral. In the show the rangers were given magic from the townspeople due to their beliefs within it as well. This basically cements that as long as you believe in magic then you have an endless source of it...which is just overall crazy and places this high on the list as well.

Now I can't really choose which powers would rank over each other as all of them could overpower the other depending on who uses it but this was nice to analyze. I'd love a full on special with the seasons fighting each other or being able to full amplify their capabilites to see what chaos ensues. Wonder what you guys think?

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Here's a show I've been watching on the side without mentioning. This is Galilei Donna - an A-1 Pictures original anime that I'd literally never heard of and which turned 10 years old while I watched it. I came across it because my friend was watching anime he found using the random button on anidb, this turned up, he reacted to the first episode for a youtube channel we semi-unseriously run, I thought it actually looked kind of awesome, and then I watched the rest of the show myself. So let's talk about it!

Galilei Donna is a cool original action show in which three sisters descended from Galileo Galilei are framed by a multinational corporation and a corrupt police force and are forced on the run, branded as international criminals, and being hunted by said corporation, the law, and even air pirates for good measure. It exists in a setting which seems like a near-future but largely contemporary version of modern day earth, although as the series continues it becomes clear that it's almost better considered a different timeline version of earth altogether, using different energy sources which have resulted in different versions of transport including armoured metal airships which see civilian use (strangely normal cars exist but are all just destroyed and abandoned on the streets?), and also this earth is downright pre-apocalyptic, with the show calling attention to a sort of global freezing suggesting a new fucking ice age. The show's moment-to-moment largely consists of our main characters going from place to place seeking the treasures of Galileo to potentially avert their global energy crisis, all the while escaping from their would-be-captors. And of course during all this we laugh and we cry and we meet new people and say tragic farewells, the characters learn a little bit more about each other and a little bit more about themselves, all that good stuff.

I'd fully say that if all that sounds good to you, then just go and watch the show. The series by and large follows through on the majority of the good you'd expect from that premise, and in terms of sheer fun, yeah it's all there. But here's where we get to the caveats. The buts. The if only this was differents. The biggest and kind of just the main one, plain and simple, is that the show absolutely doesn't have enough time for how ambitious it is. The cast is big, the show has a lot of moving pieces in the plot, there's multiple villain factions, the future of the world is questionable and yet pieces of the past are relevant too, there's a global travel aspect in there, there's a criticism and takedown of capitalism and the elements comprising it, thematically it's going for a lot of stuff, there's just a lot here. And it has 11 episodes to do all of that. 13 episodes would've been a bit more breathing room, ideally it could have an entire additional cour - but the 11 that it's left with is downright suffocating. The show doesn't really attempt to downsize its narrative to fit within the final episode count, so we end up with even main characters having little to no development whatsoever, and majorly significant pieces of the plot happening completely off-screen, only becoming relevant in the final episode, itself a courtroom drama episode of all things? Every single aspect of this series is begging to be fleshed out and explored more and the overwhelming majority of it just isn't given that chance. Eldest sister Hazuki's worldview is majorly challenged only to be relegated to a background gag argument. Middle sister Kazuki is defined by a love interest who doesn't even have a name. Youngest sister Hozuki takes until the semi-final episode to have any development whereby she acknowledges herself as socially out of step with other people despite the events of the rest of the show suggesting otherwise. And that's for the literal main protagonists of the show! Once you move onto supporting there's a major recurring anti-villain into anti-hero whose name I don't even remember the show telling me at any point, I just know it because of MAL! Like all in all this is a show that desperately wishes it could be more, and it just wasn't given that opportunity.

Also this one doesn't fit into the last paragraph anywhere but this show's music is Scooby Doo-core and the tonal whiplash is cracked.

This is one of those shows where I watched it, I liked it, and when it was all said and done I was bummed out that there wasn't more of it. And I think that was probably true of Aniplex as well - whom I am singularly attributing the production of the show to for the sake of brevity, but obviously more companies and people were evolved, yadda yadda, just ignore me. But a quick glance at the series' still-alive website reveals a series attempting to push a solid amount of goods out for a random original series, and a look at the twitter seemingly suggests there was even a life-size statue of Hozuki on display for some Noitamina Shop thing? Which is like, kind of a big deal, to some degree. Certainly this was a show that I have to assume had some pretty heavy marketing push if it's getting stuff like that. And yet for all that, absolutely no western presence or even really awareness of the series, and total blu-ray sales under 1000 volumes. Galilei Donna is a flop, a flop that wanted more and wasn't given it. A flop that several companies wanted to make them a gajillion dollars while themselves not pouring enough resources into the series to let it see its artistic vision through to the end. Maybe. That part's absolutely just speculation and I'd need to do a deeper dive into whatever knowledge of the production is public - although even saying that I have to assume if anything like that exists it's purely in Japanese and I don't speak that language soooooooo

But hey, all in all, if you asked me "how was Galilei Donna?", I'd respond by saying that it was just

[inessencedevided]

The Untamed, episode 43 - watching notes

The sun is setting on this show for me and I'm not ready to say goodbye yet 😔

(As if I will! Ha. Imma blog about nothing else the next ... probably years)

Last time on Sophie watches the untamed: We're still in the restricted section. The twin love-struck idiots of lan and wwx found the Collection of turmoil and suspect Jin Guangyao of intentionally bringing about Nie Mingjue's qui deviation.

As much as I love the "hihi. Wwx is wearing his boyfriend's underrobe" aspect of this, I also like the visual incorporation of lwj's colour scheme into wwx's clothes. (Not just through the undertone, his black tone also has slight grey seam.) It's as if now that they are finally fully committed to each other, wwx is displaying it for all the world to see

Jin Guangyao tore out a page to hide the evidence. That's not how to do that!!!

My heart is breaking for Lan Xichen. He looks like a man standing on a train track and watching the light speed towards him in horror while he's unable to move away

Feels like exactly no one on this show is getting their happy ending

*thinks about yi city and cries forever*😭😭😭

"Wangji, Jin Guangyao,in my eyes, is a totally different person from how you and other people see him." And we all know that lwj knows exactly what that's like

PARALLELS! 😭

(Sorry, I have a thing for those)

And lwj looks so pained

Thinking about it, it's now the man lwj loves against the man lxc loves (in whatever way. I still ship them. Not sure if its "canonically" romantic though). They can't both be right, so ... one of them is going to get their heart broken

Great, first the Yunmeng brothers, now the lan brothers are breaking my heart 🥺

Lwj says he's visiting "Grand Master", that's Lan Qiren right? What happened to him anyway? Haven't seen him in ages

I love how, even though it is wwx's word against jgy's right now, lan Xichen is still genuinely kind towards wwx

The whipping scars! I hadn't even thought about those anymore 😳

I'm probably going to get my heart ripped out soon, but before that

"You are not qualified to talk to me."

Sickest. Burn. Ever.

Also, no disrespect to the actor, but that's a backpfeifengesicht if I've ever seen one

(Backpfeifengesicht: "German compound word for a 'face that should be slapped'. Ex:. When GWB smirks on TV, my German friend Uwe tells me that he sees a 'Backpfeifengesicht'." Urban dictionary)

He went to burial mount after wwx was killed??? 🥺🥺🥺

I've noticed something with lwj. When he's distressed, he won't look people in the eye or not even at their faces, just in their very general direction. To me it seems like he almost... can't? Any thoughts on that? Cause I'm intrigued but I can't think about it too much right now cause I'm already writing half an essay in this commentary again 😅

Oh fuck YOU Jiggy!!!

Holy shit ... holy shit

Lan Wangji 🥺🥺🥺

He fought against everyone?

This is how he showed his grieve???

He went to the place wei Wuxian had called home and ... what? Protected or ot so they wouldn't desecrate it? To search for him? To ... what?

Oh god, Wangji! 😭

That image... I'm speechless. It's so powerful

He's half-mad with grieve and kneeling in the ruins of his dead loves home, having fought himself to exhaustion and I'm... not okay 😭😭😭

He had to repent for THREE YEARS??

Oh no, you don't

Holy ...

Holy shit

How can my heart break and be so full at the same time 💔🥺

Lan Wangji ... my love

I'm ... so proud of him and yet so sad

Here he is at his lowest, finally standing up to the orthodoxy he knows to be wrong

This is inhumane 😳

The corporal punishment of the lan sect always was but THIS

Fuck them

Or Lan Qiren specifically

That's his nephew. How can he even look at himself?

"Eradicate evil. Establish laws. Than goodness will be everlasting."

IT'S NOT THAT FUCKING EASY!!!

WHAT EVEN IS "GOODNESS"? WHOSE VERSION OF GOODNESS? DEVINE EVIL! HOW FAR REACHING INTO THE PRIVATE SVERE SHOULD THUSE LAWS BE? DOES IT STOP AT "DON'T STEAL FROM PEOPLE OR AT "DON'T PICK YOUR NOSE AT DINNER"?

what I'm saying is: there are about 200 ethical question ls being raised by this rule alone!

And now lan Wangji had 3 tears to contemplate them

Wwx asking "why would he bother ...?" BECAUSE YOU ARE LOVED YOU GODDAMN IDIOT!!

Ohhh! We're getting their parents' story 😱

Oh this IS a Lan episode 💙

So another Lan falling quickly and never looking back?

I'm sensing a pattern here 🤨

Wait what?

Let me get this straight:

Their father loved a woman who DID NOT love him back and then killed one of his teachers

(And I hope we find out why. That sounds like there is a REALLY interesting story there)

Then he takes her to cloud recess and DESPIT HER NOT LOVING HIM, marries her, fathers two children with her (um... how voluntary was that????) locks her up (as punishment for the murder?) then locks HIMSELF up and then fucks of and leaves his children with their uncle

What kind of disaster human being was their dad????

Did he do the right thing WHEN HE MARRIED AND PROBABLY RAPED A WOMAN WHO DIDN'T LOVE HIM???

NO!!!

The fuck kinda question is that ??

If you have to marry her against her will and then lock her up, guess what? That's not love, that's wanting to possess someone

I hope that maybe the connotation is different in the og Chinese,but I'm not holding out much hope

That explains why Qiren is such a lovely character through 😒

But god, my heart breaks for lwj and lxc :'(

Little Lan Wangji!!! 🥺🥺🥺

Oh darling ...

Oh no ...

Look at him look at his crooked little headband😭😭😭

He went there every month!!!

Oh Wangji 💔💔

Stubborn, steadfast, loving Wangji!

That seals it. I KNEW why he was my favourite character

He isn't so passive all the time, because he feels too little! He feels entirely too much!!! 😭😭😭

And that explains why lwj was so worried about wwx's demonic cultivation harming him!!! 😭

Oh god, it was such an old hurt for him. I had no idea 🥺🥺🥺

All of these characters need a therapist

Lxc playing the flute to what ... deal with his emotions? Express his grieve? Remeber their mother? (And god, do I want to know more about her!!) Either way, It's making me tear up 😥

"It's so difficult to determine others personalities depending on our perspective." Welcome to the human condition, my friend 💙

And that's love

I ... wish I could show you my face right now

I'm smiling through tears right now

It's so utterly beautiful

He looks so vulnerable here! With his hair (almost) down

And given what we've just learned, that's remarkable!!!

He closed himself off became the immovable stone-faced second Jade of Lan and yet, somehow, wwx wormed his way into his heart and sure, both of them needed to overcome a lot, but here they are, vulnerable and open,not letting their parent's fate decide theirs

I'm... *sniff*

I can never get enough of lwj with his hair like this!!

It's so domestic, so soft

And look at his face! 😭

And mister "alcohol is prohibited" is now serving it 😭

Oh my god this scene is so beautiful

I'm speechless

Was the second flute Jin Guangyao as well?

At this point I'm just expecting more plot-twists

He looks so young! 🥺

Both of them are exhibiting so much growth in this episode!! Wwx realising that the fact that the cultivation world had always looked for a scapegoat and that he himself was just the most convenient target, that it's not to any personal failing of his, that's HUGE!

And I'm so proud of him :')

Lwj starting to play in the distance :')

This is so utterly peaceful

My heart is bursting 😭😭😭

The music, the scenery ...

Also, both thinking they have a clean conscious!!! 😭😭😭

Again, it's them holding the same morals that's important! I cannot tell you how happy that makes me!

(But wwx still cannot drink like a normal person :D)

The contrast to lxc sitting alone couldn't be starker 😔

Wait, why are there puppets at burial mounds again?

Are we going back to burial mounds? I'm weirdly excited 😅

Aaand Jin Guangyao just proved to them that he's lying. Poor Xichen

Yup, I'm pretty sure his heart just snapped in half

Little Apple!!! I've missed him 😁

Gosh, they're laying it on thick with the domestic husband bliss this episode and I'm here for it.

I love lwj's soft smile when he looks at bunnies so much!! 🥰

Bunnies, bunnies everywhere

It's the invasion of the bunnies

Who ever is the show runner *banging pots and pans together* IT'S GAY!! cab you all hear me? These two love each other! It's G - A - Y!!! Gay!!!

Probably

Lwj's shocked look when wwx says that he's not popular with little animals, as if to say "how dare they!" :D

Holy shit ... HOW MANY SCENES CAN THEY INCLUDE IN THIS EPISODE THAT MAKE THEM LOOK SO GODDAMN MARRIED???

Is wwx sitting side saddle?

Wwx plays wangxian :')

He finally remembers how lwj recognized him :')

Sneaky, show, very sneaky :D

Wwx about to casually steal some melons, lwj *wordlessly takes out money* ^^

MIANMIAN!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHH!

I'd given up hope that we'd see her again!!!

I'm so happy I could burst!!!

Lwj's little exasperated head-shake before he stands up from crouching behind some hay 😂

Aww, look at her family! 😍😍😍

She build her own live :')

And look at this badass woman protecting the ones she loves!!!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME WEI WUXIAN??? You don't remember her???

You better remember my wife!!!

Aaand another freeze frame. But I'm willing to forgive it because THIS EPISODE WAS SO GODDAMN BRILLIANT!

It made me realise why I was so drawn to lan Wangji as a character. Of course he is mu favourite character! He ticks every single box

Let me explain. My favourite characters almost always share the following characteristics: seems either cold and distant or ethereal and aloof, as if they are above such puny human things like feelings™️(bonus if they're actually not human and their argument is "I'm [insert species]. We can't feel [insert emotion they are definetly feeling very strongly]"). then, over the course of the story, we (along with they themselves because they were in denial) discover that it's not that they feel too little, they feel entirely too much. They're a sea of emotions so deep that the surface is calm, but don't you dare be near them when the storm is coming because all hell will break loose. (extra bonus point if that storm involves them rebelling against the oppressive society they were born into and adhered to until then because they realise their consciousness won't allow it any longer.) afterwards they realise that making themselves vulnerable once in a while is actually a good thing and they proceed to fuck the Rebel™️ who they've secretly been in love with the entire time, a feeling they only now allow themselves to act on

The last part sadly isn't always canon, but who has ever had time for that?

You know what this episode made me realise most of all? The Lan sect are just as human as the rest of them. In fact, they seem to be especially prone to acting rashly on strong emotions. (I don't remember the exact story, but didn't the founder of the Lan sect also have some kind of tragic love story?) It should be obvious, but the impression you get is that they are so detached from their wants, so rigorous and disciplined in their righteousness, that they are almost super-human. But no. Thise 3000 and some rules? They weren't born out of some enlightened mind that had the secret of live figures out, they're a crutch. Abiding by them without question rids one of responsibility to make even the tiniest moral choice for oneself. But that won't work because a) they're bounty to contradict each other at some point and b) that's not how human beings work. They're messy and unpredictable and beautifully complicated. The way Lan Qiren choses to apply them, he completely disregards that. At that point, the rules aren't there anymore to grant a harmonious society, but simply for their own sake. (Or maybe as a wall to hide behind)

@sweetlittlevampire @fandom-glazed @elenirlachlagos @allhailthedramallama @luckymoony @kyrrahbird @i-love-him-on-purpose

I think this liveblog has been the longest so far. I'm sorry for going on so many tangents, but lwj's backstory hit me really hard. I hope you guys weren't too bored 💚

(I also apologise for the mountains of typos that probably accumulated in this post. I'm too tired to check.)