#like it takes a lot of skill as a creator to convey emotional beats in children's lit where the dark stuff is a lot more subtle

[reachfolk]

the way people talk about children's media is so bizarre to me bc they judge adults who watch it by saying "it's for kids" and like buddy...... who do u think makes children's media? hint: it's not children

[x0401x]

“Hanako-san, Hanako-san, are you there?”

Happy anime release date! (staff and cast comments translated under the cut)

Author, AidaIro

“Hanako-kun” continues its serialization while borrowing the strength of several people, but this time, we received the terribly fortunate help of even more people and a TV animation was green-lit! It was blessed with extremely brilliant, passionate and best-ever staff members, so I have the happy presentiment that it will turn out as a fun anime! AidaIro and Mokke are ready to cheer for and watch it at full power, so please, let’s all enjoy the Hanako-kun anime together!

Voice of Hanako-kun, Ogata Megumi-san

I was extremely happy! After I received the offer, I became obsessed with the charm of the original work the very instant I read it. It was almost as if I had swallowed those mermaid sca… oops, please see the actual story for the rest (laughs).

This is a series where “School Mysteries” – which shine within the heart of anyone at least once, regardless of what generation they belong to – are portrayed endearingly, sensibly and captivatingly. I will do my best so that I can sharply raise my synchronization ratio with Hanako-kun, who is a big sadist that has nothing but cuteness to him and is also a little perverted despite being floaty and soft.

Together with these creators and staff team that I trust, stellar young members and skilled fellow veteran voice actors, I shall take you all into a tremendously exciting and thrilling whimsical world. Please have expectations for it.

Voice of Yashiro Nene, Kitou Akari-san

I am the one voicing Yashiro Nene, Kitou Akari!

I purchased and read the first volume of the original work “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun” during the time when the paperback was released. I would never have imagined that I would be selected to do Nene’s voice! When I passed the audition, along with happiness, I also had a surprise, like, “I was selected to voice this adorable Nene-chan…!?”, but as a fan of the original work, I think it would be great if I manage to finely express the image I have of Nene and that wonderful worldview to my utmost! I will also do my best with all my effort so that both the fans of the original work and the people who will be seeing it for the first time through the anime may enjoy it!

Voice of Minamoto Kou, Chiba Shouya-san

I read the original work during the audition, and amongst the fun touches that had many parts to laugh about, the sensitiveness and empathy towards emotions that make your breath halt pile up, so I was very drawn-in. I was extremely happy to actually have been put in charge of voicing Kou. I feel a charisma from his straight-forwardness and kindness. Amidst his middle-scholar-like liveliness, there are youthful activities, filled with sagacity. As a guy, I think it is really cool how he can make you feel that there is a possibility of growth for him even when he is confrontating something. I am performing to the best of my abilities so that I can express his goodness. I am also exceptionally looking forward to seeing Kou and the others moving around energetically. May the anime “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun” reach many people. We will be in your care!

Voice of Minamoto Teru, Uchida Yuuma-san

I am the one playing Minamoto Teru, Uchida Yuuma!

I read “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun” for the first time during the audition, and I was able to keep reading without getting scared thanks to the eerie existence of so-called apparitions being drawn with a sensible touch and pop colors. The story also has a comedic tempo, so I am looking forward to the dialogues!

The one I voice, Teru, is Kou’s older brother. He is normally gentle and cool with anybody, and is also the object of Kou’s much esteemed admiration. I hope to enact this reliable Onii-san successfully. Please do enjoy the suspicious and adorable animation of “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun”.

Voice of Akane Aoi, Satou Minako-san

I was the one chosen to play Akane Aoi-chan, Satou Minako!

When I was first told that I had been approved as Akane Aoi-chan, I could not believe it at all and my head went blank. I want to love Aoi-chan, who is the number one popular girl in school and adorable no matter from what angle you look at her, enough not to lose to Akane-kun, and keep voicing her!

This is my first time performing in an anime, so I am filled with anxiety and nervousness, but I go for the challenge during the recording every day while being helped out by the kindhearted cast members and the people from the production.

Hanako-kun is the best series, as it overflows with love, is warm and interesting, and makes your heart throb! I will put my soul into it to my utmost and do my best in order to develop together with Aoi-chan!

Voice of Nanamine Sakura, Anzai Chika-san

I will be the one playing Nanamine Sakura. This is Anzai Chika.

I believe people have interest in the Seven School Mysteries once in childhood. When I read the original work, I remembered for the first in a long time that feeling from childhood, where I had suspicions about your daily life and my heart raced at thinking about hypotheses regarding apparitions.

This is also a kind of romance…!

While drawn with comical cuteness, it sometimes makes your backbone freeze and sometimes suffocates your chest with feelings… This world-building and story soon stole my heart. While looking forward to watching it as a spectator, I am happy to engage in it as Sakura.

Sakura is still an individual with many mysteries surrounding her in the original work, but I will do my best to be one of the people who will invite everyone into this story and make you all its captives.

Please support the anime along with the original work!

Voice of Hyuuga Natsuhiko, Mizushima Takahiro-san

This time, I will be playing the role of Hyuga Natsuhiko!

If anyone ever made a “Mizushima’s tendency and countermeasures” quiz, and if it had the question “What role does Mizushima play amongst the ‘Hanako-kun’ characters?”, he is the kind of character that makes you firmly hooked on him in a natural way, enough that you would be able to answer “Natsuhiko” without missing a beat! Therefore, I want to perform him enjoyably, anyhow!

Director, Andou Masaomi

I enjoy scary stories and adore school ghost stories, but I like bizarre yet delightful mysteries even more. No, I like Mokke. I also adore Hanako-kun, who lives in the girls’ toilet despite being a boy, the cute Nene-chan, who has fatty ankles, that guy who has super lame communication bias, and everyone else. And also Mokke.

We will soon be able to meet them, who are amusing yet somewhat miserable, in the world of animation as well. It is currently in the process of production! Mokke, that is!

Look forward to this heartfelt toilet horror comedy! Please! Mokke!

Series composer and scriptwriter, Nakanishi Yasuhiro

As someone who sensed the so-called Seven School Mysteries as something romantic during grade school, Hanako-kun felt like a nostalgic yet new existence to me. Sadly, there was no such thing as coming across school mysteries back then, so I am happy to have now met the Seven Mysteries of Kamome Academy in this fashion. I am enthusiastic about conveying them to the fans of the original work, in which Aida Iro-sensei draws obscure yet lovable mysteries, and to the people who will come in contact with the series from now on.

Character designer, Itou Mayuka

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun, congratulations on the TV animation being green-lit! I am the one in charge of the character design; my name is Itou. I am working on the production while wondering everyday… about how we can draw out the unique worldview, wonderful color usage, the cuteness and coolness of the characters that start out from Hanako-kun and Nene-chan, amongst other things, to their maximum. I will be drawing with all my might in order to please the fans of the original work, so please wait while looking forward to the airing date!

Animation producer, Higa Yuuji

When I first read “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun”, since my staple foods are traditional Japanese style, youkai, mysteries and ghosts, an image of Hanako-kun and the others talking and moving immediately played out inside my head. “This is great!! We should totally make it into an anime through Lerche,” I thought, and soon suggested to Square Enix that I wanted to make it into animation. Several comrades gathered up thanks to the power of the original work as well, and we made it to this point soundly. We fellow staff members are doing our best so that the images I pictured may be conveyed to everyone, so please cheer for us.

ANCHOR (from ZiNG)

I managed to make a cool ZiNG-like composition by borrowing the strength of lots of people, such as my great senpais, Ooishi-san and Ikuta-san, and everyone from ZOC. It goes without saying for the singing voice and the performance, but I would be happiest if I get to support the series as a fan with this song, of which the lyrics I put all the love I have for “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun” into.

Ikuta Youji (from PENGUIN RESEARCH)

I am always singing either in a band or as a voice actor, so it was my first stump singing with someone as a vocalist. And the other person was Ooishi-san, who I look up to, no less! I would be happy if the coolness of the OP hits home, of course, but also if the joy of making a composition together with everyone could be conveyed too.

Ooishi Masayoshi (from PENGUIN RESEARCH)

This time, I am doing a duet with Ikuta-kun and a chorus with ZOC was also added, and for me, there were many first-time challenges such as rap parts and singing with several people, so it was a very exciting recording. I hope everyone can listen to it with a fresh sense of taste!

[animepopheart]

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (Review)

Feature films from long-running anime like Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, and One Piece share some common traits: They ramp up the animation to levels exceeding the television series, create a rousing atmosphere by setting the heroes on a rollicking adventure, indulge fans by letting favorite characters have a shining moment, and feature a one-off story with one-off villains, some of whom are more memorable than others. A coherent plot is unnecessary, and events that permanently affect the landscape of the series are unwanted. But every once and a while, a movie will attempt to do it all—to give fans the fun experience they crave and create a story that has some significance, one that stays with the audience well after the watching is complete. My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, the second film in the popular shounen franchise, attempts to do just that. It’s a bombastic adventure, hyperactive and non-stop, but is imbued with an emotional core and features a climax that could change everything about the MHA universe.

The movie, though, begins on a confusing note. After a mundane opening sequence involving the League of Villains (who are protecting a package that may not be connected to the remainder of the movie—I wasn’t clear on that point), the scene shifts to an island where the Class I-A students are at a call center of sorts responding to requests on behalf of “U.A. Hero Agency.” As the students run around serving as lifeguards and doing more menial chores, like fixing farm equipment, the picture becomes clearer: The class is partaking in a special project, helping out on a sparsely-populated, low crime island that recently lost its local superhero to retirement. The villagers are happy to have Class I-A around to assist, with the exception of Mahoro, a girl who tries to convince her little brother, Katsuma, that the students aren’t particularly helpful, and especially Deku. Little does Mahoro know that she and her brother will be counting on those same heroes to save them from the villain Nine, who wields extraordinary powers and is supported by a group of powerful subordinates and the League of Villains in his plan for social cleansing.

While the film’s setting and context are conventional, they also create conditions for an exciting showdown. Trapped in a closed space full of luscious geography, there’s nowhere to run for either hero or villain and no grown-up to come and save the day. The kids must rely on their powers and training to figure out how to counter Nine, whose abilities far exceed most of the villains they’ve faced thus far. But the heroes of I-A are likewise stronger than we’re used to. If you’re an anime-only viewer like myself, the power demonstrated by both the heroes and villains may surprise you: Nine and his gang, especially Chimera, surpass the strength of Overhaul, the main antagonist of the anime’s most recent arc, while the students have ramped up their own quirks with some revealing skills hitherto unseen. The upscaling in power, combined with plot points related to the Overhaul arc, places the movie at some point in the future (perhaps a couple arcs ahead of where the series currently is). The time jump is a little disconcerting, but also great fun; watching all the I-A kids (and I mean all of them) progress with their potential is thrilling, especially as they blow lots of stuff up.

Indeed, once it gets to the main fight sequences, Heroes Rising become an absolute adrenaline rush. While some characters are still relegated to support duty, many get to battle, and do so while paired on really interesting teams. Think Yaoyorozu and Aoyama are largely weak and ineffective? Think again. Wonder who would best be suited to work with Uraraka and her gravity power? Wonder no more—it’s definitely Sero. And what do you get when you put Ashido and Tokoyami together? Pure, superbad awesomeness, that’s what. These teams are as enthralling as the actual combat, leading to content that’s lush and full: character dynamics are explored, relationships are developed, and fight sequences unroll in all their glory, all at the same time.

And the stakes feel extremely high as well. I’ve sometimes been critical of My Hero Academia for what I perceive as a fear of providing consequences befitting of extraordinary storylines. That problem isn’t addressed on a substantial level in My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, but an edge is brought to the proceedings by way of the big screen; the feature film provides viewers with something unexpected, that which is never animated on the TV series (perhaps due to censoring): blood. The kids get beaten to a pulp and no one is left unscratched or unscathed. It only takes a touch of red for the fights to suddenly feel more real, for the movie to become more exhilarating. The grittiness is welcomed, though it does occasionally create a dissonance when the realism of battle scenes intermix with shounen convention, as when Midoriya and Bakugou exchange banter instead of, you know, beating a vulnerable bad guy to the ground.

Speaking of Midoriya and Bakugou, they are the central characters on which the movie pivots. There’s one particular scene in the climax about which fans will be buzzing, a dramatic moment that is a most glorious idea come to life. When Kouhei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia’s creator, explained that this sequel is a “finale” of sorts for the franchise, implementing ideas he once thought would close the series, I believe he was referencing this specific event. I would have applauded such an ending, and imagine audiences will feel the same. I certainly know that they won’t only discuss this particular scene, but the perceived fallout of it as well, which though not unexpected, creates a denouement that impedes the momentum of an incredible second half, once again supporting the main issue I have with the series.

That MHA’s weaknesses ultimately peeks through, though, doesn’t fundamentally detract from the marvelous spectacle that is Heroes Rising. Shounen series are a paradox: They pour in action and emotion that create an atmosphere of ferocity and unpredictability, but are at heart the safest of series, too often unwilling to take risks in storytelling and be different. Their movies convey these facets even more mightily: bigger, louder, safer. My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising may not reinvent or add anything new to the genre, but it is fun, fan-pleasing, and above all, meaningful, a heightened and focused tale infused with the characters, superpowers, and heart that series fans have come to love. And indeed, viewers’ heart will be moved—that is, if the action doesn’t make their hearts stop first. Plus Ultra!

Rating: A-

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: The New Pokemon Music Video is an Explosion of Animation Talent!

  Hello everyone, and welcome back to Why It Works. The fall season is in full swing at this point, though to be quite honest, one of the anime I’ve been most impressed by isn’t actually a full show at all. While the season proper is offering plenty of delights that I’ll surely get into soon, I’ve been busy fanning out over a music video, and its absurdly talented key staff. I’m talking, of course, about "Gotcha!," a Pokemon-filled music video directed by one of my favorite creators in anime, Rie Matsumoto.

  Image via BUMP OF CHICKEN

  First off, you’ll probably recognize the tone of this song even if you’re not actively keeping up with anime music. Bump of Chicken has been providing a steady stream of high-profile opening and ending themes for years now, like their terrific opening and ending songs for the original March comes in like a lion. Heck, this isn’t even the first time their music has scored a Matsumoto production; they also provided Blood Blockade Battlefront’s “Hello, World!” opening song, setting an appropriately manic-yet-uplifting tone for her last full-length production.

  But while it’s hard to avoid Bump of Chicken if you’ve been watching anime for the last few years, Rie Matsumoto has unfortunately been a lot harder to find. Matsumoto developed her skills within Toei’s massive standing workforce, eventually working her way up to the position of directing the Heartcatch Pretty Cure film. At that point, her cachet within Toei, along with the possibility of tie-in toys, afforded her the space to develop her first original anime: Kyousogiga.

    Kyousogiga is an incredible anime and one of the few shows I’d consider a true masterpiece of the last decade. Centered on a family of abandoned deities living in “Looking Glass Kyoto,” the series explores grief and the meaning of family in thoughtful detail, while also luxuriating in its exploration of a dazzling, magical new world. With Matsumoto on board as director, storyboarder, episode director, series composer, and scriptwriter, the show could not be any more her baby, and it demonstrates all the strengths that would come to define her work.

  So, what does define Matsumoto’s work? First off, in terms of narratives, she’s definitely preoccupied with the nature of family and legacy — after all, when she was asked to direct the adaptation of Blood Blockade Battlefront, she literally added a pair of characters that, along with providing a sense of narrative cohesion for the first season, very clearly mirrored the familial concerns of Kyousogiga. She also obviously likes spunky young heroines, as Kyousogiga’s Koto, Blood Blockade Battlefront’s White, and Gotcha!'s braid-headed young hero clearly demonstrate.

    But more than her narrative preoccupations, Matsumoto’s works are defined by their signature beauty. Matsumoto developed her skills as a storyboarder and assistant director, not an animator, and so her own works are defined by intricate layouts that take full advantage of the full camera frame, rather than simply acting as a window into animated action. Her works often look like picture book fables, using ornate framing devices, rich colors, and dramatic geometry to visually convey the emotional intent of her narratives. As "Gotcha!" readily demonstrates, she also possesses a digital native’s comfort with post-processing effects, meaning her works often look like a kaleidoscopic collage that is somehow also working harmoniously in service of clear emotional intent.

  But even though Matsumoto is more of a layout-driven director than an animation-driven director, developing her skills on the Pretty Cure franchise has clearly left her with a great appreciation for the power of animation in the abstract, particularly when it comes to endearing character acting. Kyousogiga’s Koto is an incredibly expressive heroine, with the show’s layouts frequently taking her own character geometry in mind, in a way I’ve rarely seen outside of Gainax productions like FLCL. This trend continued through Blood Blockade Battlefront, which frequently balanced its grand, Shinji Kimura-designed exteriors (another legend, with credits running from Children of the Sea to My Neighbor Totoro) with lots of goofy, expressive character beats.

    For "Gotcha!," Matsumoto has teamed back up with her Toei-era character design and animation director Yuki Hayashi. Hayashi’s work on "Gotcha!" and elsewhere is stunning in motion; the man’s character designs always feel like they were built for free-flowing, energetic movement, while simultaneously looking dynamic and appealing in virtually any still frame. Hayashi’s talents are so great that he actually handled chief animation direction on My Hero Academia’s second film, a film which contains some of the most spectacular action animation I’ve seen in years. Matsumoto and Hayashi have been working together since their Pretty Cure days, and I hope to see many more of their collaborations.

  That’s a whole lot of words to describe what makes "Gotcha!" special, but it’s certainly not hard to see that it is. Matsumoto and Hayashi are both tremendous talents, and though Matsumoto hasn’t directed a full-length production, music videos like this and her prior Lotte-funded video demonstrate that her talent is still as impressive as ever and that at least a few producers in this industry understand her incredible worth. I hope you enjoy "Gotcha!," and can’t wait to see whatever Matsumoto works on next!

  Let me know your own favorite Matsumoto and Hayashi productions in the comments!

      Nick Creamer has been writing about cartoons for too many years now and is always ready to cry about Madoka. You can find more of his work at his blog Wrong Every Time, or follow him on Twitter.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

    By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[beneaththetangles]

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (Review)

Feature films from long-running anime like Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, and One Piece share some common traits: They ramp up the animation to levels exceeding the television series, create a rousing atmosphere by setting the heroes on a rollicking adventure, indulge fans by letting favorite characters have a shining moment, and feature a one-off story with one-off villains, some of whom are more memorable than others. A coherent plot is unnecessary, and events that permanently affect the landscape of the series are unwanted. But every once and a while, a movie will attempt to do it all—to give fans the fun experience they crave and create a story that has some significance, one that stays with the audience well after the watching is complete. My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, the second film in the popular shounen franchise, attempts to do just that. It’s a bombastic adventure, hyperactive and non-stop, but is imbued with an emotional core and features a climax that could change everything about the MHA universe.

The movie, though, begins on a confusing note. After a mundane opening sequence involving the League of Villains (who are protecting a package that may not be connected to the remainder of the movie—I wasn’t clear on that point), the scene shifts to an island where the Class I-A students are at a call center of sorts responding to requests on behalf of “U.A. Hero Agency.” As the students run around serving as lifeguards and doing more menial chores, like fixing farm equipment, the picture becomes clearer: The class is partaking in a special project, helping out on a sparsely-populated, low crime island that recently lost its local superhero to retirement. The villagers are happy to have Class I-A around to assist, with the exception of Mahoro, a girl who tries to convince her little brother, Katsuma, that the students aren’t particularly helpful, and especially Deku. Little does Mahoro know that she and her brother will be counting on those same heroes to save them from the villain Nine, who wields extraordinary powers and is supported by a group of powerful subordinates and the League of Villains in his plan for social cleansing.

While the film’s setting and context are conventional, they also create conditions for an exciting showdown. Trapped in a closed space full of luscious geography, there’s nowhere to run for either hero or villain and no grown-up to come and save the day. The kids must rely on their powers and training to figure out how to counter Nine, whose abilities far exceed most of the villains they’ve faced thus far. But the heroes of I-A are likewise stronger than we’re used to. If you’re an anime-only viewer like myself, the power demonstrated by both the heroes and villains may surprise you: Nine and his gang, especially Chimera, surpass the strength of Overhaul, the main antagonist of the anime’s most recent arc, while the students have ramped up their own quirks with some revealing skills hitherto unseen. The upscaling in power, combined with plot points related to the Overhaul arc, places the movie at some point in the future (perhaps a couple arcs ahead of where the series currently is). The time jump is a little disconcerting, but also great fun; watching all the I-A kids (and I mean all of them) progress with their potential is thrilling, especially as they blow lots of stuff up.

Indeed, once it gets to the main fight sequences, Heroes Rising become an absolute adrenaline rush. While some characters are still relegated to support duty, many get to battle, and do so while paired on really interesting teams. Think Yaoyorozu and Aoyama are largely weak and ineffective? Think again. Wonder who would best be suited to work with Uraraka and her gravity power? Wonder no more—it’s definitely Sero. And what do you get when you put Ashido and Tokoyami together? Pure, superbad awesomeness, that’s what. These teams are as enthralling as the actual combat, leading to content that’s lush and full: character dynamics are explored, relationships are developed, and fight sequences unroll in all their glory, all at the same time.

And the stakes feel extremely high as well. I’ve sometimes been critical of My Hero Academia for what I perceive as a fear of providing consequences befitting of extraordinary storylines. That problem isn’t addressed on a substantial level in My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, but an edge is brought to the proceedings by way of the big screen; the feature film provides viewers with something unexpected, that which is never animated on the TV series (perhaps due to censoring): blood. The kids get beaten to a pulp and no one is left unscratched or unscathed. It only takes a touch of red for the fights to suddenly feel more real, for the movie to become more exhilarating. The grittiness is welcomed, though it does occasionally create a dissonance when the realism of battle scenes intermix with shounen convention, as when Midoriya and Bakugou exchange banter instead of, you know, beating a vulnerable bad guy to the ground.

Speaking of Midoriya and Bakugou, they are the central characters on which the movie pivots. There’s one particular scene in the climax about which fans will be buzzing, a dramatic moment that is a most glorious idea come to life. When Kouhei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia’s creator, explained that this sequel is a “finale” of sorts for the franchise, implementing ideas he once thought would close the series, I believe he was referencing this specific event. I would have applauded such an ending, and imagine audiences will feel the same. I certainly know that they won’t only discuss this particular scene, but the perceived fallout of it as well, which though not unexpected, creates a denouement that impedes the momentum of an incredible second half, once again supporting the main issue I have with the series.

That MHA’s weaknesses ultimately peeks through, though, doesn’t fundamentally detract from the marvelous spectacle that is Heroes Rising. Shounen series are a paradox: They pour in action and emotion that create an atmosphere of ferocity and unpredictability, but are at heart the safest of series, too often unwilling to take risks in storytelling and be different. Their movies convey these facets even more mightily: bigger, louder, safer. My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising may not reinvent or add anything new to the genre, but it is fun, fan-pleasing, and above all, meaningful, infused with a heightened and focused tale about the characters, superpowers, and heart that series fans have come to love. And indeed, viewers’ heart will be moved—that is, if the action doesn’t make their hearts stop first. Plus Ultra!

Rating: A-

[comicteaparty]

June 1st-June 7th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from June 1st, 2020 to June 7th, 2020.  The chat focused on Phantomarine by Claire K. Niebergall.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Phantomarine by Claire K. Niebergall~! (http://www.phantomarine.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until June 7th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

copperine

Ooh I'll answer a few asap!

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

As another creator/reader, I feel Phantomarine has a lot of good parts: 1. So it starts off thrusting us into the middle, which is unique. Even though we are underwater, the creator gives delightful warm palette. You can identify the spooky 'evil spirits' from the protagonist without the page looking cluttered. 2. I quite enjoyed Ch 2 (The Horizon Child) where I'm presented with more world building and how the story ties with the Red Tide King's lore. My favorite part is the Fracture Day Festival, the colors and the clever plot tactics written. 3. As for character(s), I love Phaedra's noble character. She is a future Queen and has a heroic presence. I also like Vanna, seldom I see great parent writing as her. She is both nurturing and an intelligent doctor. I admire how Lady Lazuli ties her job to Paval's condition. I have a soft spot for silly Paval, his character is both silly yet wholesome (he's not bratty <3) 4: So far, I enjoyed Cheth's interaction (in Ch 1) it told alot about his character; his tendency to shapeshift into different forms. I like his unusual character, hitting my nostalgia buttons for a good villain.(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

For themes, it seems to explore family grief and sacrifices within the chapters I read. To have a stable life, one has to endure hardship such as Phaedra taking on the burden of her father's role. I enjoy reading that life philosophy theme not often explored in web comics. Also Vanna and Paval's interaction gives me good family vibes 7-8. I feel Phantomarine storytelling is intricate and expresses the vibe of an experienced creator. Tackling multiple plot points, stringing them into good beats; is tricky but Lady Lazuli pulls it off almost effortlessly. Initially chapter 1 left me with questions and it starts to reveal itself as the story progresses. I came into the story following Phaedra's adventure and will be in for the ride. 5. I have some favorite illustrations: this one http://www.phantomarine.com/comic/the-horizon-child/2-27-the-maritime-fair/ I love the colorful festival. and also the opening page was quite impressive with the crowds of souls, where they become silhouettes, yet convey enough visuals. I LOVE this page in Ch 3 (Fata Morgana), the way the words 'RUN' echos through http://www.phantomarine.com/comic/the-fata-morgana/3-33-the-dark-shoreline/ There's alot of things I like about it: pacing, the plot progression and as I struggle with stringing multiple plot points, I marvel at this skill in the comic.(edited)

Miranda

1. I love that the stakes are high after just a couple pages. There's no dallying and it draws you in so well. Also Cheth is just fantastic and his introduction is so well done! 2. I really loved Pavel eating pancakes and Pavel hiding in his stuffed animal hammock nest to point out a few scenes. It's so hard to choose a favorite moment, but sadly I'd have to say the end of Chapter 3 and just how that all unfolds. 3. GAH! Pavel? Ya...Pavel. Cheth is wonderful, but I feel like Pavel is so young but already has such an interesting personality and I love his spirit. 4. I really enjoyed Pavel and his Mom. But Cheth and Phaedra's interactions were very entertaining. But Pavel and Vanna are just so close and supportive it's just heartwarming sniffle because I know what happens And the warmth and love there stands out a lot against the harshness of the "convent-like" place and Halea's temple, etc. 5. OMG. where to start? I don't even know. I love it. I love the colors. I love the designs. I love the pages with all the tiny little details, they are wonderful. But I think one of my favorites is: http://www.phantomarine.com/comic/the-fata-morgana/3-34-the-prayer/ because I love the contrast between Pavel and Cheth and I think there's just a whole bunch of emotion in this page. 6. This might not be a purposeful theme, but in general I've caught a theme of how danger and bad stuff is handled and I love seeing such strength in all the characters. Phaedra with he just outright defiance, Pavel with his positive outlook and Vanna with love and compassion but also with a analytical mind. They all handle tragedy and loss in their own ways and it's very well done. 7. Everything. This is a very difficult question. 8. Use of color and characters that all stand out from each other.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

cracks knuckles Alright, let's GO! 1. I loved how we immediately know the stakes. We see Phaedra's personality in the challenges Cheth offers, and we know that she's well aware of the situation she's in. It gives it a mythological feel, of the hero in the underworld fighting to the surface. Only this time, there's a caveat; she's still technically an underworld denizen, but allowed to roam the land of the living. The colours set the mood very well too; I loved that the Red Tide King's ghosts were all rimmed in red, while the protagonist were either yellow or blue (diametrically opposed to the red.). And of course, Cheth; he's a wonderful villain opposed to the protagonist, and they have great rapport.

2. Oh dear, there are several to choose from. My favourite one so far is when Cheth asks Phaedra how many people were made into orphans after the war. It was that scene that immediately made me hooked onto the story; a story that went there and isn't afraid to go to that deep, dark place will always get me to keep reading. Another more minor moment was when Eddy was revealed to bully Pavel due to not having his family visit him; it's a great way of having an antagonist show that they are not truly all dark; rather, it's a morally grey area that the characters are in. Even an antagonist can have layers and it makes them seem more human. Finally, Vanna's passing into the Fata Morgana. The scene where she said that she was glad to have saved him, and where they said their goodbyes made me cry. As someone who's had to say goodbye to my own mom as she goes abroad....and not knowing when she'll be back, it hits a deep part of me. I really thought Vanna would be one of the main protagonists.....but alas, it was not to be.(edited)

3. CHETH! Hands down, CHETH! Notwithstanding my bias for underworld cthonic deities, I LOVED his personality. The fact that he reminds me of one of those deliciously personable villains from Disney helps a lot. And I loved how he never let's Phaedra forget that he is a threat, a blue/orange morality villain throughout; he uses his collection of souls to yell at her to be quiet, points out that she's a monster like him, and impersonates her dead father. But he also shows signs of not being a completely inhuman god; like when he shows a slight look of pity/sympathy for Phaedra mourning her father, or when Pavel mourned his mom's passing into the otherworld. Also, I don't see a lot of deities who fluidly go between genders like he does. It makes him so much more interesting, that he shifts into different identities that way. One of the best portrayals of a death deity I've ever seen.

4. Cheth and Phaedra. There's an interesting power dynamic going inbetween these two; on one hand Cheth is a literal god, and he holds a lot of power. On the other hand, Phaedra has shown time and time again to outsmart him both mentally (e.g. winning the questions) and physically (e.g. cutting off his hand). And yet Cheth recuperates from those injuries fast enough to go against her again. It's a back and forth game of David and Goliath. Interestingly enough.....Cheth seems to hold some measure of interest with Phaedra, as if she is an entertainment to him. However, there's also his slight contempt with where she came from, and it's as if however entertaining she is....he'll never forget that. Meanwhile, Phaedra outright wants to kill him....which I don't think anyone can blame her for. It would be interesting to see how their relationship evolves throughout the story as foes.

5. THE ART. IS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. The colours balance each other well, the painting style gives it a soft feel, like going into a new world. But I absolutely, absolutely HAVE to give kudos to the details LadyLazuli gives in the backgrounds and the world in general; worldbuilding wise, it shows strong potential for show and don't tell. Several of these pages can be standalone posters themselves!

http://www.phantomarine.com/comic/king-of-the-red-tide/1-1-king-of-the-red-tide/

Several. http://www.phantomarine.com/comic/king-of-the-red-tide/1-31-the-echoing-graveyard/

I mean it http://www.phantomarine.com/comic/schooner-of-the-moon/4-1-schooner-of-the-moon/

6. One theme I'm really interested in and noticed is the idea of paranoia of the vulnerable/sick. Cheth has brought up the idea that a living soul is needed to help Phaedra; however, as she is a seaghost, many people would either be too scared or repulsed by her to aid her. And the seabitten were generally treated as needing to fear or be ashamed of their own "afflictions". Pavel and his mother, however, seem to take exception to that rule and are more interested in helping or accepting these afflictions, trying not to let the fear and paranoia prevent them from being charitable. It would be interesting to see how this theme develops more, as Pavel and Phaedra eventually meet. Would Pavel still keep to these views? Or will society....or....something else, convince him to fear them even more. Or worse, would his mother's death make him more frightened of the seaghosts?. I can see a lot of parallels with this theme to the lepers and other people with diseases; people were scared to even interact with the lepers and they were considered "dirty". It is a common and sadly still very prevalent theme in real life to this day.(edited)

7. I have to say....everything. It just sucks you in very easily.

8. The strength is that it reads like an epic, and not just any epic....a true to life one. The story and dialogue flows amazingly and the colours are vibrant. Overall, it's exactly how I imagine a perfect seafaring mythological story; sometimes I feel like I'm watching a film. I will note that one thing LadyLazuli nailed is pacing. She knows which panels to have dialogue and which ones to not. Sometimes we get dialogue and other times we're just....enjoying the atmosphere and the beautiful backgrounds. Hayao Miyazaki once clapped his hands slowly, making sure to leave a pause inbetween. That was ma, the emptiness, where there is no noise, but just the peace to enjoy and savour. Where there is no action needed. I think Lady Lazuli nailed the concept of ma perfectly. Because she lets the readers enjoy her world.

SkewricArt

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it! The backgrounds and color choices are stunning every single time. The page where we first see the fata morgana, with the off whites and ethereal blues looks absolutely haunting to me and it's a favorite (The Archer, 3.26) and the context makes me wanna CRY but that page is so incredible zjsfskf(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Wow, a mountain of words after the first day And all of them extremely kind. Thank you all so much! This has seriously lifted my spirits today

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

You are welcome, Lady Lazuli! I binged in 3 days. oh dear I feel like I was writing a book review more than a Q&A at this point (edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

These honestly feel like book reviews! Extremely passionate book reviews It’s a wonderful sight. And it helps me know what people respond to, and how they respond to it. I will be going back and reading these like direction notes, ohoho~

RebelVampire

What I like about the beginning is kind of how much world lore is snuck in. We learn a lot about Cheth, the state of the sea, how death works, get name drops of other people like Cheline. So without having this long narrative about the world, we get to know a lot about it in the conversation without that necessity. For favorite moment, it's probably when Pavel and Vanna met Halea. Cause I've never seen a scene scream danger at the top of its lungs or feel a child was so threatened by anything. My favorite character at the moment is definitely Pavel. Pavel is just a cute boy who wants to heal the ocean even as most of the adult's around him say "Nah bro dat bad." I also just think it's cute how much he takes after his mother in regards to his appreciation of science. I also just in general like his design. I enjoy(ed) seeing Pavel and Vanna interact the most. They had a super cute parent-child relationship. I like how Vanna kind of balances keeping Pavel in line while also acknowledging that he's ultimately kind of the odd man out both in regards to his physical situation and his beliefs that he shares with his mom. Just all around I love the artworks color. There's a lot of great palettes, a lot of atmosphere, a lot of great contrasts, etc. All around it's just beautiful colorwork that really knows how to make the mood of each scene and character work. As for themes the comic explores, definitely for me science and the opposition scientific pursuits science can face. It's easy to say "But science", but when people are afraid of science or just don't like new ways of doing things, it can become hard no matter how much promise your work has. And I think the comic captures this really well, while at the same time combining more fantasy elements that still blend together really well.

What I like about the comic's overall story insofar is, as a personal bias, the high stakes political plot where people are getting assassinated, souls are being bargained, and so forth. I am a sucker for that since even if it's not the main focus, it adds a sense of danger and high stakes that otherwise would not be presence. For overall strengths, I refer back to the art question. It is definitely the entirety of the beautiful artwork.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Once my work day is done I'm going to comment on some bits of feedback - before other questions come out soon! These observations are tickling my brain. Some are things I haven't even considered before which is extra fun as an author.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Something interesting is that... right now, I'm not entirely sure Cheth is the bad guy? Like, Pavel noted that the red ghosts don't actually attack people. And Halea is definitely all sorts of suspicious, despite being a follower of Cheline. Yet if Cheth isn't a bad guy, he sure didn't make any effort to convince Phaedra of that. So there's a question of who's actually responsible for all the stuff that's going down (all the assassinations, all the attacks, etc).

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Good point! Not only that.....but did you notice that the Fata Morgana has feathers? Kind like how the followers of Cheline do...

mariah (rainy day dreams)

I think the page where Pheadra reveals it's the year of the bonefish was the moment where I was like "oh, I don't think Cheth's bad. I think he's a lonely jerk trapped essentially by himself at the bottom of the ocean with a bunch of soulless dead people." Just the look on his face on this page and the second one make me think that it hasn't been his year in a long time. Or maybe ever XD which would probably turn anyone into a jerk. http://www.phantomarine.com/comic/king-of-the-red-tide/1-10-mark-of-the-bonefish/

And it maybe have also been that I had just finished rereading His Dark Materials when I originally read this but I very much hope at the end all of the Seaghosts are released from the ocean and balance is brought back to death. And I'll stand by my original comment at the end of the chapter still. Still team Phaedra as a Persephone figure at the end XD

I'm looking forward to actually meeting Cheline. Currently I'm pretty anti-Cheline (because I'm a Cheth apologist lol) but I imagine she will also be complex and neither 100% good or bad.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

@mariah (rainy day dreams) so it was YOU who made that persephone/hades comment!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

And it maybe have also been that I had just finished rereading His Dark Materials when I originally read this

@mariah (rainy day dreams) HDM is one of my favorite series ever so this pleases me MUCHLY. Absolutely a big influence!

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

It’s an amazing book series. For quite a while I imagined what my daemon would have been when I was younger.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

@mariah (rainy day dreams) so it was YOU who made that persephone/hades comment!

Lol yes, that was me XD

@mariah (rainy day dreams) HDM is one of my favorite series ever so this pleases me MUCHLY. Absolutely a big influence!

@LadyLazuli (Phantomarine) It's so good has definitely left big marks on my own writing and I love seeing it's influences other places :3

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I feel Phantomarine storytelling is intricate and expresses the vibe of an experienced creator. Tackling multiple plot points, stringing them into good beats; is tricky but Lady Lazuli pulls it off almost effortlessly.

@Joichi [Hybrid Dolls] This is very kind! This is my first experience making any sort of long-form story, and my first-ever comic but I think my background in animation has given me a crash course in storytelling - how to convey information as simply/quickly as possible while still being impressive and fun to watch. I watch a lot of storyboards all day, so I'm sure that certainly helps! And I don't have any other stories in my head right now, so I guess I'm throwing everything I have into this one. There are still things I’m discovering as I go along, too. I know all the major destinations, but the paths between them are sometimes still a mystery to me. It's like a puzzle I'm solving slowly

6. This might not be a purposeful theme, but in general I've caught a theme of how danger and bad stuff is handled and I love seeing such strength in all the characters. Phaedra with he just outright defiance, Pavel with his positive outlook and Vanna with love and compassion but also with a analytical mind. They all handle tragedy and loss in their own ways and it's very well done.

@Miranda I like this very much. One of the main themes I wanted to cover in the comic is the idea of brokenness. The circumstances that break people, how they react to it initially, how they react to it as time progresses, and how they try to solve it... if they can, or want to. Being threatened by danger and darkness is absolutely a source of fear, and can lead to a broken feeling, so this lines up!

2. Oh dear, there are several to choose from. My favourite one so far is when Cheth asks Phaedra how many people were made into orphans after the war. It was that scene that immediately made me hooked onto the story; a story that went there and isn't afraid to go to that deep, dark place will always get me to keep reading. Another more minor moment was when Eddy was revealed to bully Pavel due to not having his family visit him;

@shadowhood (SunnyxRain) YES. I'M SO GLAD.

4. Cheth and Phaedra. There's an interesting power dynamic going inbetween these two; on one hand Cheth is a literal god, and he holds a lot of power. On the other hand, Phaedra has shown time and time again to outsmart him... It's a back and forth game of David and Goliath.

@shadowhood (SunnyxRain) I never thought about it like this, but that's absolutely the mood I wanted. A pair of characters in constant conflict, and even though one seems far stronger/scarier, there is more of a balance between them than expected.

6. One theme I'm really interested in and noticed is the idea of paranoia of the vulnerable/sick.

@shadowhood (SunnyxRain) A lot of the big emotional segments of the comic are drawn directly from my experience with an illness I developed in my early 20s. I felt like I had lost not just my strength and health, but everything I had worked so hard for. There was also a risk of being physically marked by the illness, so everyone would be able to tell I was sick, and therefore write me off as unreliable or broken. I never meant to write a whole story about that feeling, but it seemed to happen on its own

I will note that one thing LadyLazuli nailed is pacing.

@shadowhood (SunnyxRain) I think my pacing is incredibly fast in chapters 2 and 3 but it's only because I wanted to get back to the main story SO badly. But maybe the things I had to cut were unnecessary. I do like to keep the plot moving; with how long the pages take, I don't have much time to lose!

Miranda

(I have to second that pacing comment. You do it so well!)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

For favorite moment, it's probably when Pavel and Vanna met Halea. Cause I've never seen a scene scream danger at the top of its lungs or feel a child was so threatened by anything.

@RebelVampire WELL, GOOD By the time this story is over, I wanted people to feel physically ill whenever they revisited that scene, knowing everything that will happen. I hope I eventually succeed... (edited)

As for themes the comic explores, definitely for me science and the opposition scientific pursuits science can face.

@RebelVampire Ooh! This was unintentional from the start, but is absolutely something I'm exploring as I'm planning the rest of the story. I like where it started to go on its own, so I'll be doing more of it for sure

And it maybe have also been that I had just finished rereading His Dark Materials when I originally read this but I very much hope at the end all of the Seaghosts are released from the ocean and balance is brought back to death. And I'll stand by my original comment at the end of the chapter still. Still team Phaedra as a Persephone figure at the end XD

@mariah (rainy day dreams) I actually have a couple different potential endings in mind, depending on how the plot goes and how audiences react, so... nothing is out of the realm of possibility here for better or for worse!

I'm looking forward to actually meeting Cheline. Currently I'm pretty anti-Cheline (because I'm a Cheth apologist lol) but I imagine she will also be complex and neither 100% good or bad.

@mariah (rainy day dreams) Can confirm no one in this story is 100% good or bad. That is all I will say. As I scream internally.

Okay, that was a lot. More than good enough for now

Deo101 [Millennium]

Okay, so I finally managed to get caught up on this one. I've been meaning to for a while! I don't do very well with questions so I'm just gonna kinda ramble on about how much I absolutely love this so far. The worldbuilding is seamless, it never feels like infodumping even though a ton has been revealed to us. I'm also endlessly curious about everything that's been brought up. The kinds of themes being covered; Light and dark, Death, Nothing being quite as it seems (Cheth being sympathetic, and Halea seeming like she has some dark secrets...), The trickery, The need to do what's right, Just all of it! This comic is making me think, and that's really pretty rare! (For something to get me to think about it and theorize, I need to not get caught up on anything else... The pacing, the visuals, the way the dialogue is written and arranged, it's all very clear and easy to follow. I might not remember all the names, but I know who is who and I know who is being referenced) It made me cry, and I am so excited to see where it's going. It's really hitting everything I love about a good story so far. Really this is incredible. I'll be trying to keep up with the discussion this week!

I only read it once and I went through it pretty fast so forgive me if this is a crazy theory but I wonder if Halea died, and won back her soul? Or, if she was seabitten and traded more than just her eyes so she wouldn't die. I notice all of the seabitten people have red eyes, and hers being glass would certainly hide that. She also specified cremating phaedra, rather than burying her, and I don't know if that's customary or just cause it took so long to find her, but I wonder if it's partially to try and make it harder or impossible for phaedra to return... Not sure if that would do anything but hey why not spill all my thoughts while I've got the chance?

(now after having said that it's time for me to backread and see if i've embarassed myself)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

does mental calculations No, no. This checks out with what's been stated so far. Theory is legitimate! And... is focusing on all the right things

Deo101 [Millennium]

phew lol

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Ayy, you finally read it!

Was it as good as we hyped it up to be :p

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah, Ive been meaning to read it i didnt need to be so thoroughly peer pressured... ;)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Sorry I haven't participated in this book club yet ;; I will before the end of the week, I promise

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Also WOW what incredibly kind words again. Thank you!! And did it really make you cry?? I'm always so confused when people tell me that - I keep thinking there's too little story there yet to cause tears

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah ;a;

I work with children

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Maternal love resonates very strongly with me

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Ohhh god. Um... okay... then.... checks notes Have a bucket ready after chapter... six, ish??

Deo101 [Millennium]

so just the line "I didn't know how much it would hurt. How... how did you handle this pain...?" really got to me

(sorry had to go find it so I could get the qote)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

AHHHH

Yess

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

That scene was a slog to get through. Every penstroke hurt.

Deo101 [Millennium]

and yet you say "I'm always so confused when people tell me that"

-_-

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

for me it was these lines

the obvious ones lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

spoiler that

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Maybe I don't think people are getting as hurt as I am

Deo101 [Millennium]

you dingus

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i did...

Deo101 [Millennium]

oh my god I must have clicked as soon as you sent it

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

you-

Deo101 [Millennium]

sorry I obsessively click while I'm reading things

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ugh what even is the point of spoiler tags when there are people like you around

Deo101 [Millennium]

people who click every spoiler tag even if they know they dont want whats underneath? or people who click with reckless abandon

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

BOTH

(sorry off topic i will stop now)

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah so anyways back to my theories. I need to remember them now, you DISTRACTED ME.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

your theories were too good, i didn't want to be shown up

Deo101 [Millennium]

ugh. I don't remember but it was something about what must have been used to save pavel. It must have been some kind of a relic like the one phaedra needs (which can complete her and her friends souls, again, This would be assuming that being seabitten involves a part of your soul being taken which I assume to be true), something like phantomarine which repels the seaghosts (This would be assuming that seabiting as a disease is akin to being a zombie, which I am less convinced of because it turns you into a fata morgana- not a seaghost, but there could be some reason for that difference), or something with a sacrifice (goes along with my other theory)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

It's similar with me, I don't often see good parent writing with indie comics. (I'd love to read more on good family writing) So Phantomarine convinced me of Vanna's believable maternal nature. I was counting the pages, and you have a good pacing, it has a good balance of world build with showing in pieces. I'm impressed because I've drawn comics for afew years but it's always a learning process whenever I draw a new series, explore new themes. So I admire your skills(edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

Also, Cheth suggested that there is not really a way for souls to come from nowhere. They are consumed by the ghosts or him, And in Phaedra's case she had to split her soul among her friends; they couldn't get theirs back, they were gone. I'm at least partially convinced that The relic will be a way to steal someones soul to restore your own, or that there will be some kind of moral dillemma with needing to feed on other's souls to bring yourself back. I don't think it will be a "and then everyone gets out scott free" sort of deal

again I read it once and really fast so I'm assuming a LOT here sorry if im like. way off base

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

WOA

I love that. I felt like there would be something about relic that was too easy

I really like that theory

Deo101 [Millennium]

continuing the last little bit, I think that there is potential, if it was a sacrifice on his mother's part that he is alive now, that pavel is going to start deteriorating and his seabite will begin to spread. I think I could imagine phaedra giving up the part of her soul she has to restore his or something.

okay im getting crazy now sorry GASJDGKLGJSKLGD

depends on what's gonna happen in chapter 6 that rips our hearts out I guess, doesnt it?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

hm, i'm not sure phaedra would do that. i think she has too much of an obligation to her country to give up her soul to a random kid?

Deo101 [Millennium]

well theres a lot of development that would happen before then :/ Just a thought!

im not saying "yeah this is what its gonna be"

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i know

Deo101 [Millennium]

but I think phaedra does have a lot of growing she needs to do, in many directions

and. she's also clearly compassionate towards children. who have lost their parents. just. as an addition

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

@Joichi [Hybrid Dolls] My brain is a web of red threads connecting random pieces of paper The first chapter took me about 2.5 years to complete (I was slow... and Photoshop is slow... and work was overtime-y... and crowds are a terrible idea, please don't do them) so it gave me lots of time to build up the story beyond it. And I didn't post it publicly as I went along - I went back and changed a lot of things as I came up with new ideas. It's only now that I feel comfortable enough to say the machine is 'rolling' But there were some elements that I only came up with, like, a week before posting a page?? The Fata Morgana didn't exist for the longest time, for example, and now they're crucial to the plot. But you don't see me mention them at all in the first chapter I'd go back and change that if I could.

Deo101 [Millennium]

not a random kid I thought it was p obvious that hes the living person who would be willing to work with a seaghost

and then they'll get to know eachother and phaedra is gonna be changed by his big heart.. obviously...

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

yes of course

wholeheartedly looking forward to them meeting

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

wholeheartedly looking forward to them meeting

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) ...THIS SUMMER

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ayyy

Deo101 [Millennium]

coming soon

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

FIVE YEARS IN THE MAKING

literally

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

STARRING!

A bunch of people who all don't know anything!

Join them in not knowing anything!

Deo101 [Millennium]

hey! all the time and effort more than shows

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

it's a reference to all the dang mystery and complexity in this webcomic!

like dang, claire, why you gotta make us think?

was trying to relax, geez(edited)

not even your characters know what's going on

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

only one does

...sort of

......ish

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Cheline?

Deo101 [Millennium]

probably whoevers doin the dang murders(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

...Keep thinking

Deo101 [Millennium]

omg

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

someone we know so far?

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

nods

...Claire STOP NODDING

IT'S DANGEROUS

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

second guess would be halea, but i don't think she knows about phaedra or about the specifics of vanna's research. third guess Vanna(edited)

hey

Deo101 [Millennium]

guy who died I forget his name and hes not in the cast list(edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

maybe that's why you got rid of her(edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

wait he didnt die my b he was silenced(edited)

thats my guess

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I still need to read the most recent chapter ahh

Deo101 [Millennium]

im so sorry. fish you lulled me into not spoilering. I'll go edit

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

oop

oh claire left

did one of us get it right

Deo101 [Millennium]

probably me

imagine us elbowing eachother trying to get through the same doorway, here(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Everyone wins. You all get candy.

But no answers

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

cool mail it to me

my address is 2938..

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah i noticed all my theories didnt get answers either... damn. waiting is hard.

fish you've got my address too can you just pass it along, thaaaaanks

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

it'd be cool to read the book club back in like

a year or two

:0

finally a chance to doxx someone

what i've always wanted

Deo101 [Millennium]

I feel like this is implying i'll forget my theories. I wont. they live in my brain now.

literally forgot them in the middle of this conversation

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

yeah but i might forget your theories

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Go put 'em in the theory channel where I can't see them. Even though I've seen them now OHOHO

I am literally not allowed in my own theory channel

Deo101 [Millennium]

wait WHAT? you made a channel you couldnt see...????

I would die

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

oh what you can't see the theory channel? always just assumed you lurked there

Deo101 [Millennium]

we are polar opposites I will go off about all my plans if someone even hints at me that they want them

maybe i could learn a thing or two from you.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i would too but no one ever asks

Deo101 [Millennium]

I wont. but I'm sure I could

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I do not! I don't want anyone thinking I've stolen their idea, and I don't want my original plans to be changed... so... Off-limits

Deo101 [Millennium]

That's fair ^^

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i thought you had several plans :0

how are you choosing between them?

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I have told the full story to... um... three people so far? And by told, I mean... screamed at them

I have minor changes I can make to the ending, but the pathway to them is pretty much the same!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

woah, okay!

i don't think anyone would think you stole their idea though

if anything, i think they'd feel smart for getting it right!

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah I'd just be like yesss I was right

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I think, before the theory channel opened, I saw one theory that was spot-on

And I was like you children are smart

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

time to look through chat logs

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

HAHA. Best of luck

Deo101 [Millennium]

but there is a history of some people having literally been sued for ppl stealing their ideas from their fanfics and whatnot

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i've heard if you send an unsolicited pitch to a big studio they will always return unopened partially for this reason

Deo101 [Millennium]

so its safe for you to not see them.. but I would be sad in your shoes. but I can tell that you're definitely not like me in this aspect. Plus your story is really pretty clearly woven very tightly to be a mystery and I have a feeling you want it to unravel in a specific way, where spoilers would actually change how it's percieved.

vs. yknow. spoilers don't change how ppl read my story. so I get it! I hope to one day write a story i need to keep secret tbh

n youre doing a good job of it, clearly

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

yee. It's "aaaaaa" now, but I can't wait to be "WOAH" when secrets are finally revealed!

Deo101 [Millennium]

and then the re read party

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

THough to be honest, I'm looking forward most to character interactions, not worldbuilding details

Deo101 [Millennium]

I'm not, I want to know the mystery!!!

I mean im looking forward to the character interactions and all that yadda yadda

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

even just like, "pavel and phaedra meet" is enough to keep me engaged :)))

yeah for me, i don't usually care as much about world details

I'm more like

I wanna see what happens to Vanna!

I wanna see Cheth sad

I want to meet Phaedra's friends

And I want to know everyone's backstories

which is probably not possible to piece together from present plot details

Deo101 [Millennium]

Anyways phantomarine kicks ass and I've already sent it to someone asking them to read it.

also full disclosure I thought that phaedra's name was phantomarine for like a long time

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I am absolutely fine with this.

By Twitter naming conventions she will be Phaedra Phantomarine anyway

Deo101 [Millennium]

I was literally just imagining. one sec.

I need to do an edit. one moment please.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Zelda is a cute boy\

love playing as him

Deo101 [Millennium]

I was gonna edit her introducing herself as phaedra phantomarine but I'm struggling to find the perfect page for it

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Well I'll just have to draw more of her then

I really haven't drawn her looking happy or confident very much yet

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

She always looks so cheerful and sure of herself in concept art

and then in the comic it's like

">:(" "D:"

Deo101 [Millennium]

the range

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

She's just... stressed

A very stressed character

Deo101 [Millennium]

Lord do I feel that

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. In what way do you think Pavel’s story will with connect with Phaedra’s? How might the two help or hurt one another as they pursue their individual goals?

10. Do you believe that Phaedra will succeed in her quest to restore her and her friends’ life? What challenges do you think she will face along the way? Also, what do you think will happen to her even if she does succeed given the shady origin of her death?

11. Why do you think Pavel and Vanna were attacked? What does this have to do with them being given Phantomarine? Also, what might this all have to do with their chance encounter with Halea and the coincidental Fata Morgana attack?

12. What do you think Cheth’s ultimate goals are besides collecting souls? What do you think caused Cheline and Shoshana to banish Cheth during the Fracture, and what might all this backstory have to do with the seaghosts and potentially fixing everything?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Miranda

9. Well I definitely think they will work together to help restore souls...in some way....and I'm thinking Cheth might guide Pavel towards Phaedra, either knowingly or not. Or Phaedra will come to save Pavel. But I think they will work together for the most part and be able to commiserate over their lost parents. Once they get the relic, there might be some tension regarding how it is used. 10. As people mentioned, her soul is split between her friends. I think she'll be able to restore her own soul, but likely at the cost of her friends dying. I agree that the relic Cheth told her about can't be as easy as he made it seem. There has to be some trick to it. I think she's already facing her challenges of trying to help and get help as a partial sea ghost. I think there will be a bigger challenge once she gets the relic for the afore mentioned reasons. I think her coming back will upset certain people significantly. But I don't think know enough about Halea's plan to know just how upset she'll be at that. 11. Possibly, sea ghosts are drawn to Phantomarine, but are unable to get close enough. So they swarm because it's a beacon to them. So while the Phantomarine protected them, it also put them in the line of fire. I'm liking the idea that Halea was seabitten and that ties in to why she has glass eyes, so discovering another seabitten that's survived is going to be very interesting to her. I'm not sure what it had to do with the Fata Morgana attack besides drawing the swarm towards them. From what we've seen, Fata Morgana seem to appear where there are a lot of sea ghosts. But they very well could be Halea's assassins.

12. I think he wants to return/go on land (as he been on land before) and return to his "rightful" place. Maybe they banished him because he was preventing people from passing on properly, so they banished him thinking he would be less able to meddle with the passing on of souls. But obviously that didn't work. I would imagine if Cheth leaves the sea somehow, the souls he's gathered would be able to roam the earth as well, and that could just cause chaos for the living. But maybe it would also require him to leave his souls to pass on finally, leaving the ocean at peace?

Deo101 [Millennium]

I keep thinking about how the sea keeps being referred to as being "broken", and I wonder so much what that means. Could have something to do with the nature of cheth being banished off shore, and perhaps the existence of phantomarine itself? It seems to be linked with the seaghosts and him, and we've already seen prices being paid to gain power, and I assume the price that a god would pay is far steeper than what humans do... And then that leads me to thoughts about why cheth would have been banished. I think he knows something, or his sister wanted more power, or something like that. The people very obviously are dead set against hating cheth and loving everyone else, and I can't help but think how history is written by the Victors..

RebelVampire

My friends, just as a reminder, even if you spoiler tag here (which is fine for the chat), spoilers cannot be hidden in the archives.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Are we not supposed to talk about them? I'm a little confused sorry

RebelVampire

No you can. I'm not gonna stop it. Just saying it as a reminder.

Miranda

I was just spoilering for people that maybe aren't caught up that wanted to read in this channel.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I guess if people read everything after the fact, spoilers will still show up in the conversation's archived state but hopefully no one reading it will be unfamiliar with the comic. At least I hope so. Dunno why they'd be reading the archive and not the comic

Deo101 [Millennium]

Kinda what I was thinking, I was just worried we were being like, edged into "hey maybe stop doing this thing in particular" but idk what that thing would be

RebelVampire

I have no clue why anybody would be reading an archive before the comic, but sometimes people be crazy? XD But again, just as a reminder in case there's super secret information that reveals all.

Deo101 [Millennium]

My theories are too good apparently

I'm kidding. thanks for the reminder!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Your theories are indeed very solid. I didn't intend to write a mystery, but here we are

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

Alright! my turn to give this comic more love! 1. The absolute Tension that was created between Cheth and Phaedra, and the fact that we jump right into this conversation involving SO MUCH! It's an incredible way to start off with so much intrigue and suspense as to what happened with Phaedra, her crew, her father, her family- and to have it all tied to a challenge set by Cheth to essentially put all the pieces together- sublime! What a way to kick off! 2. My fave is probably the beginning of chapter 2, with Pavel and his wee adventures and curiosity about the sea. It really gives that light to show just how much potential Pavel has about uncovering those mysteries of the sea he so lovingly interacts with (and on the same hand the one who gave him his pain and purpose). 3. Vanna. Hands Down. She's loving, she's fast acting, and she's someone who holds that ground for characters. I also really love Fata Morgana for her design and her energy. Super chaotic and mysterious hunter of death for the red tide king? sign me up. 4.Lady Halea and Pavel! That was such an interesting moment of her being knowing and foreboding at the same time. I can't wait to see what more of a role she plays in the future! 5.http://www.phantomarine.com/comic/the-horizon-child/2-1-the-horizon-child/ This is my favourite panel, along with the entirety of chapter 3's colour vibe. Claire has an incredible way to create and lead with atmosphere and design- the characters and world feel so well lived in and alive. Each page is given breath and love, it's astounding to see! 6. I love the theme of honour and accountability that Phaedra leads with in the beginning. Her drive to defeat the wrongs done to her by the red tide king, and her perseverance to do more for those also affected. Pavel and his themes of hope, light, and a second chance also really strike such a chord with me. He's a character that has the power to alter the decisions of those around him for sure!

7. Phenomenal and wonderfully put together. You can instantly tell that this story is going to be a classic with the way it's set up, and with the care and thought of each chapter reading like an epic, Phantomarine has a lot to offer! 8. There are so many to point out, but I definitely want to re-iterate the design. It's insanely solid and so recognisable on it's own. I love the lore and the thought that was out into making this world as alive as it is!

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

9. I think Pavel is more or less a 'bringer of light' I think his decisions will cause major rifts in the story, and help Phaedra through looking at her situation with a different perspective. I think he's a really strong character! 10.I do believe that there is going to be loss and love along the way, like any long journey. The amazing thing about this is the possibilites of their actions, and where Phaedra may actually end up in the end. Her firey personality certainly can be her down fall to a degree, but I think that her goal will be reached in the end, though perhaps not in a way she expected ! 11.Vanna certainly knew more than she let the readers know, and Fata Morgana (and cheth) knew of that potential on that island. Im also feeling like Lady Halea, shady as she is, knew about such a possibility of an attack (but that is based on my own personal hunches !) 12. Cheth misbehaves and he's ready to make some waves in the water (literally ) I think he's ready to strike against his imprisonment, and Phaedra and Pavel are his 'potential pawns' along the way. I don't know if he is really behind a larger part of the plot, tbqh, and think that he's more so an opportunist who's ready to get out of time out. Halea and the gang on the other hand strike me somewhat differently

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Krispyyy these are all so lovely AHH

And some your readings are spot-on I’m so glad

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I think peoples’ reaction to Pavel is such a pleasant surprise. I was very unsure of adding him initially, and some people have said that seeing him right after ch 1 made them worried to keep reading... but he’s absolutely the link between the two conflicting sides of the world. I honestly tried to think of kid characters I liked in various forms of media, and ones I DIDN’T like. I considered him a challenge, and I wanted to do right by him. If Phaedra is the brain of the story, and Cheth is... whatever Cheth is... then Pavel is absolutely the story’s heart. He’s so important.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I did find Pavel as a good refreshing take on the 'energetic boy lead' or deuteragonist in this case. At first I thought he was that usual rascally boy who does what he wants. I think of Hogarth in Iron Giant. But the nice bits of sympathy you put into him, made him a stronger character.(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Hogarth is pretty much a perfect child character in my mind. Still learning, still reckless, but capable of understanding deeper concepts than most would expect. His naïveté drives the story, but not in a bad way.

Deo101 [Millennium]

I absolutely love Pavel. He rings true to the kinds of children i work with, rather than the endlessly annoying types that are for some reason more typically depicted

Granted some kids are annoying but not usually how they're shown to be

Miranda

Oh Hogarth. I love that movie

But yes. Pavel is such a great character. There's so much to him and he's only a child but it doesn't make him seem less childish...if that makes sense

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Yes or you didn't run into the issue of him making adult choices even though he's a child. He feels like a geninine child character. I second with loving Vanna(edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I admit at first I thought, oh no, unrealistic child character, but I kept reading to see Phaedra. But then you really proved my first impressions wrong as the chapter went on

Also, Vanna

Vanna's great too

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Pavel has actually skewed a lot more toward Aang from AtlA. He doesn't have this grand destiny on his shoulders, but in terms of his maturity, and trying to see the good in things, that's absolutely him.

And yes, Vanna is absolutely essential to his character. I specifically wanted a scene where she had to turn on the mom face. Pavel's not perfect, even if he's well meaning. He still has to be careful.

Miranda

ya, maybe that's it. He doesn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders like most kids in shows these days. He just has kid problems.

copperine

I love Pavel, he feels very genuine to the world and his life

copperine

He feels very confident and naive at the same time, which is something I relate to (from when I was a child anyway) but I don't see portrayed as well and real-feeling that often

spacerocketbunny

Ok FINALLY JOINING THIS TEA PARTY, here we go: 1. Phantomarine has an incredibly solid start, from foundations to characters to motives, everything is so concrete and CLEAR. We enter in with huge stakes and high tension, it's immediately gripping and very effective! 2. So far is the introduction of the Fata Morgana! The chapter starts pretty tense and it goes from "can we trust Halea?" to "OH NO WE CAN'T AND EVERYTHING JUST GOT 100 TIMES WORSE" Wonderful execution on this scene, it's tragic and all the heavy hitting moments and spot on! Plus I love the FM's design it is just so GOOD 3. My favourite would have to be Halea so far! There's a lot of shifty mystery behind her and I'm super intrigued to see what her business is all about. Also would it be fair to say that the Fata Morgana is an instant favourite at this point? might be soon but have I mentioned that I love that design yet? LOL 4. Cheth and Phaedra I think is just a no-brainer there.The tension, the drama, the high stakes, Phaedra's conviction and Cheth's underhanded tricks, it's all there folks 5. The art is so fluent and feels like a beautiful whimsical puzzle that all fits together so perfectly. The environments are solid and thoughtful, the character's expressions are clear and amusing, it all just goes together wonderfully

spacerocketbunny

There's so MANY strengths for this comic, it's fun, it's beautiful, the pacing is impeccable and the characters are so strong and unique to each other. Everything about it is just so MEMORABLE, there really isn't anything I don't like about this comic. it's the kind of work that you can see getting easily adapted into animation/movies/WHATEVER it just has everything going for it honestly!

I'm not super great with speculating about events and all that but I will stand on top of a mountain to SCREAM MY PRAISE FOR IT

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

SPACEEEEEE

Would you actually like to know something fun about the Fata Morgana? TOO LATE I'm gonna tell you anyway

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

TELL US

copperine

YES

TELL US

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

So just before I had finalized the design of the Fata Morgana, @FeatherNotes(Krispy) had sent me this guest art for the hiatus

And I was like........ that's a freaking awesome motif I haven't thought of. Like a cursed halo.

copperine

a cursed halo.

@LadyLazuli (Phantomarine) yes

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

So... I had the mummy/bandage motif already set, but I knew it needed more. So I slapped some of those rectangles all over the fata morgana as... like... cursed jewelry that evoked the same mood as those divine bands.

SPOILER

ET VOILA

copperine

Omfg

That's incredible

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I couldn't do a full halo, but I could do lots of smaller ones

I loved that idea so much. Like... black bone jewelry, mourning a dead king

And I was like SOLD

So congratulations. Cartridge directly influenced a major design in Phantomarine

copperine

God, I aspire to that kind of thing

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Ditto......damn

and it's one of the best designs too....

okay...gonna try my hand at round 2

spacerocketbunny

YAY OH MY GOSH THAT MAKES ME HAPPY

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

9. I believe that Pavel will be that living soul that helps Phaedra find the relic. But here's the thing....he just lost his mom to sea ghosts. The question is that while he's usually really helpful....would a part of him be scared of the seaghosts, and in extension, Phaedra? Would Phaedra be positively influenced by Pavel too?

Furthermore, Pavel and Phaedra both lost parents in violent ways; Phaedra lost her father last year, while Pavel just saw his mom seabitten and vanish. I think they can gain solace/a sense of camaraderie from that common factor.

10. Even if she does succeed, she'll always have people try to kill her. I wonder....I really wonder....if she'll consider abolishing the monarchy in place of a democracy for the islands. Phaedra seems to want to save everyone, but like other people have mentioned.... what if she can't? I think she's going to lose someone....and if it's not her, it'll be someone

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

Ohhmyy gaoihhhgs that is so cool Claire!???? Im so happy that that inspired u to make....the Bae even Bae-er

copperine

@FeatherNotes(Krispy) you're famous

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

11. Halea seriously....she gives me the creeps. And I think the Phantomarine was supposed to protect Pavel and Vanna from being attacked or seabitten. But unfortunately, someone wants to silence them....and Vanna wasn't close enough to the phantomarine to be protected. I think as soon as she saw Pavel was still alive, she didn't like that....that someone who was seabitten hasn't been taken yet.

If she IS in control of the Fata Morgana, or specifically, CHELINE, wouldn't she want more to flow through the ranks. What if they found a treatment, or worse, a CURE for the fata morgana? Doesn't that mean their assassin army could be diminished? What if it meant, I don't know.... less power for Cheline? If there's one thing that the gods in Phantomarine don't seem to like, it's their power being questioned.

12. Deo made some VERY good points. Cheth strikes me as a trickster god....but he's also not stupid. What bothers me is that he's not an omniscient god; he is only tied to whatever the ocean tells him. But like Deo said...what if that's the point, to prevent him from knowing more? Was he banished because he wanted more power? Or was it because he knew too much AND opposed Cheline?

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Man... I have a theory for something that might happen later down the line, but it makes me sad

Vanna returns as an assassin

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I wonder if Cheth/Cheline have had an arms race and they are trying to outcompete each other....somehow. And thousands of years ago, Cheline won. Because she had a mortal on her side. But this time....maybe Cheth is trying to use Pavel/Phaedra as his mortal champions now, just like how the Greek gods used their champions in the Trojan war. Like someone said....Phaedra and Pavel may just be pawns in Cheth's great scheme of things, and maybe he ultimately wants to be free of his chains.

Also....who said that the relic ONLY brings back seaghosts? What if it can bring back Cheth too? Maybe Cheth is just using Phaedra to bring him the relic so that he can escape the sea. Food for thought.

@snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights) with how the panels introducing the Fata Morgana seemed to mirror Vanna's face.....I think you might be right. And she'll try to kill Pavel.

It's a lot easier to kill someone if they're frozen in fear.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

ok I've only read chapter 1 so far but I'm just bowled over by the sheer beuty of the comic. Going to try for the first round before going on to the next chapters just because I want to gush about it a little.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Snuffy... I had the same thought

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

1. The opening scene is an instant win. The challenge and how the dialogue naturally reveals the stakes and the strengths and weaknesses of both Phaedra and Cheth make for one of the best openings I've ever seen in a comic, print or web. Just amazing. 2. Favourite moment in Chapter 1 was the turning point- right after Phaedra won her bet, and how she crossed a line that leads to a pretty underhanded emotional attack on the part of Cheth. Master strokes. 3. As a favourite character I have to go with Cheth, though I like Phaedra as well. he's just so deliciously sleek and evil, and his shapeshifting and soul possessing are very entertaining- thanks to the wonderful art that illustrates it. Great work. 4. I haven't seen more characters yet than Cheth and Phaedra but their interaction is superb. I will be surprised if I get to prefer another set and not those two interacting going forward. 5. The art shines the most when Cheth does his thing with the various shapes he takes and souls he wears. Going to hold on answering the other questions until I've read some more.

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

Finished reading through, but it's 2 am and I won't be coherent answering questions. Gotta wait till tomorrow but I had to say, what a compelling tale. So glad I got to read it. Bookmarked to stay on for the ride. Congrats!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

You're very kind. Thank you

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

6. I think there's nuance on and about a wide range of issues. From religion and faith to politics and bias, discrimination and the fear of death. Complicated, fascinating stuff. 7. I like how characters feel alive, each with their own agency. I also like how it might come down to a competition on who actually is the villain- don't want to spoil anything. 8. The comic's strengths are many- art, plot and dialogue deliver an engaging story with good suspense. I'm a sucker for suspense, so I'm hooked (edited)

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

9. It seems Pavel might be the living person Phaedra needs, with enough quid pro quo to keep them on the same team at least for a while. 10. I'm not actually sure. I'm leaning towards 'yes' but the story might surprise me. If she resurfaces alive, she will have to deal with plotters in her court for sure, and perhaps uncover truths about their clergy that will be ...let's say at least uncomfortable. 11. I think the attack has everything to do with their chance encounter with Halea, considering the warnings they were given. I also have this inkling that their connection to the throne might be a bit more complicated that the average islander's there, which is why they were told to run and hide. 12. Cheth reminds me of Loki a lot (including the male/female ghost wearing) so I'm assuming he pulled a prank or attempted something that potentially would break the world, or some such thing, which got him banished. I'd expect his goal is to escape his banishment, which might then make him more likely to be a big and deadly threat. The seaghosts I think are connected to him directly which is why he knows everything in the sea, or some such thing. But I'm still forming my own theory on that so I can't say I feel confident making any kind of guess on that!

Once again, congratulations @LadyLazuli (Phantomarine) I thoroughly enjoyed this.:)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

7. I also like how it might come down to a competition on who actually is the villain

@Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight) Ooh. Maybe there are still two! And it’s just a question of who is worse

12. Cheth reminds me of Loki a lot (including the male/female ghost wearing) so I'm assuming he pulled a prank or attempted something that potentially would break the world

@Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight) The Loki/Lady-Loki similarity was something I realized far later than I should have. It’s totally true! Might have been a subconscious influence. I always thought the idea was awesome

And thank you very much again for checking it out!

RebelVampire

Given that Phaedra is basically a ghost and Pavel is basically the only person who likes them, it is destiny he will be the only living person who can help her. However, my impression of Phaedra was that, at first at least, she may be overly concerned with her own goals and kind of forget that Pavel is just an adorable boy who needs help. So I kind of feel why Pavel will help her at first, it won't be a two-way street for a while. I definitely think Phaedra will succeed, but I also definitely think that won't be the end of it. Cause there's clearly a conspiracy to kill her. So sure, she may succeed, but then whoops have to stop corruption and the work is never done. As for challenges along the way, I'm sure there's gonna be some occassional Cheth's appearances of mocking. Mostly, though, I think it's gonna be protecting Pavel from the various dangers of the sea. I'm just gonna go definitive on this one with my theory. Halea is the one who had Phaedra assassinated and Halea somehow controls the Fata Morgana. And when she saw that whoops, maybe no more minions, she had Vanna and Pavel attacked cause they were clear threats of power. Cause Halea's power is entirely derived from the fact the sea is broken. If you unbreak the sea, no more power. So gotta maintain that status quo. As for the Phantomarine, I think it's more that in order to escape the dangers, Vanna and Pavel would probably have to travel far away from the safety of the lighthouses. I think Cheth just wants to be not trapped. I kind of feel like there's some unfairness going on here and that while maybe Cheth wasn't the greatest person, but also probably didn't deserve to be cast into the sea forever. And if I'm honest, I think it probably is what made the world worse than anything else.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Solid answers, all of them. Sometimes the strongest theories are the simplest ones

boogeymadam

Oh nO these ended up so long asdfg my bad 9. They’ll probably be connected by a shared-quest. They can help by retrieving things for each other they couldn’t otherwise. We know Phaedra’s gonna need someone to go on land for her and retrieve that Sacred Relic capable of reviving the dead, so I’d be curious to see if Pavel would need the opposite for some reason. Whatever the case, my vague theory on how they’ll connect revolves around Katja! Simply because she seems like the perfect friend for him (and tbh, anyone). And because Pavel seems to like quite a few Seaghost animals like Salty Joe..... and because petting and playing with a fluffy sweet dog is exactly what Pavel deserves Hurt?? Is a more difficult question. I would imagine it’s Cheth related. So far Pavel has shown a lot of sympathy for Cheth and could almost be considered a fan of him based on the costume he wore to the maritime fair. Meanwhile Phaedra has very personal reasons for despising him. 10. Hmm.. Maybe… All the twists and turns in the story so far have taken me by surprise so I really don’t have a clue what kind of challenges she’ll encounter next, or whether she’ll end the story alive. LadyLazuli doesn’t seem to be afraid of breaking reader hearts (and i say that with love lmao). Almost certainly Phaedra have more challenges involving her dad. I’m very curious to know more about him and if he’s as honorable as he seems. If she succeeds, assuming she learns about Vanna’s Seabite cure from Pavel, perhaps she’ll make that a more widespread thing so Seabitten children aren’t abandoned at the aquifier. However, seeing as she was assassinated (or at least Halea claimed she was) she’d probably have to unravel the mystery of whoever is out to get her before she can safely return to the living life, or risk ending back where she started.

11. My interpretation of the exciting latter-half of chapter 3 is this: The instant Halea learned that Vanna cracked the code to curing or at least strongly delaying Seabite, she made up her mind to have her and Pavel killed. For some reason she doesn’t want knowledge of the cure to spread. Perhaps so she has more Fata Morganas under her control? So meanwhile, knowing how Halea operates somehow, Garth gave Vanna the Phantomarine a means of protection, one that a Fata Morgana would not be able to destroy with a bone arrow perhaps. His reasonings for summoning Cheth are very mysterious to me, but I think someone Garth once cared for, this “Snowbelle”, may have had a positive-enough interaction with Cheth that Garth thought “yeah okay I’ll trust you to help my friends” :0c 12. I haven’t picked up on a clear indication of Cheth’s goals, so I’m pulling this mostly out of my bum, but I think it has to do with his skull. It’s on an island so he can’t reach it (unless the lighthouses go out apparently, http://www.phantomarine.com/comic/the-horizon-child/2-21-golden-feronia/ ) and Vanna makes it sound like something terrible would happen if he could reach it. His manifesting and wearing all these other souls, but never appearing close to any of the bonefish imagery makes me think he can’t assume that form without his skull being in the water, but maybe that would unlock some other powers too. Maybe that would undo the banishment, and he’d be free to leave the sea. Which is really funny to me that only once he unlocks fishmode, can he go on land lmao. What he’d do once he’s got that freedom tho, who knoooows I kinda think the relic Cheth told Phaedra of could be the skull, but it’s so... huge… Phaedra and her friends would have no means of getting it into the ocean that I can think of. Maybe they don’t need to in order to revive themselves though?

WAIT i sent that and it just clicked for me that seaghosts can go on land but Cheth can't so whether or not the lighthouses go out, that skull's off limits. but still.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

boogeymadam

13. most looking forward to meeting Phaedra's friends and learning more about the world they live in. Every place we see is dripping with character and a unique atmosphere and unexpected purpose, like the aquifier vs. the venue Vanna and Pavel were in at the end of the maritime fair. 14. It's just such an absolute treasure of a comic, one that is immediately so intriguing that I couldn't have stopped after the first page if I wanted to. (And with a premise and style like this, who would want to!) Its tone is whimsical and a wonderful balance of heartwarming and heartbreaking. Makes me feel nostalgic for old animated movies. Also the pacing great! Phantomarine can pour so much progress and into a single bubbly page and then others have thoughtful pauses that allow for plenty of breathing and digesting of that information. Aside from it being just overall enjoyable, it's also great learning material~

Miranda

13. Honestly, right now I’m really excited to see Cheth and Pavel interact. But besides that I’m looking forward to Phaedra and Pavel uniting 14. KEEP IT UP YOU BEAUTIFUL PERSON YOU! WE LOVE YOUR COMIC AND IT BRINGS JOY TO OUR HEARTS. But seriously. It’s a work of art and you are telling an amazing story in a spectacular way.

Ryccomics

I eschewing the prompts I cannot find them anymore. Good: First, love the art, and color scheme. Second, probably the best backgrounds I have seen in a webcomic, they useful for the telling the story. Love the crowd shots, and the people in the crowd being detailed and different. Pavel’s design quite unique. I really adore the self-contained story of chapter 1, it set up main character, their goal very efficiently, and at least temporary villain (we’ll see about that later). Chapter 2 and 3 I was little less keen on, now we are focussing a different set of characters, and I am waiting for the stories to re-converge. Although, the Vanna death(?) scene was very well done. Most of dialogue has this will matter later tone to it. I feel confident the story has a direction, and a route to get there (this very important given the nature of web comics).

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

13. I'm looking forward to Phaedra and Haldea interact. That should be juicy. 14. Just keep on going. You're doing great!

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

13. I can't wait to see the lore unfold in Phantomarine. It's a world that I want to keep exploring along with the protagonists. And I do want to see how the crew would react and cope to being seaghosts and what that would mean for their relationship with Phaedra. And of course, Cheth. I want to see more Cheth. 14. Claire, your webcomic is amazing, and just want to say that you're doing a wonderful job with it. Please keep up the good work, and I look forward to reading and drawing shitmemes for it

eliushi [a winged tale]

Everyone has already said so much more eloquently of what I wanted to say! I also love the very creative use of typography and background art as Pavel ran through the house to escape in the last chapter. Excellent suspense and tension! As always, looking forward to more!!

Jiblish

Ahhhh I’m late but 13. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the threads come together and seeing all the tension that has been building up unravel. It’s always cool, in stories with different viewpoints happening simultaneously. to see them all crash into each-other. More specifically with Phantomarine, there’s so much we feel like we know and don’t know so it’ll be exciting to get more pieces to the puzzle about people’s true identities and intentions as time goes on. Oh, also, I hope my man Garth is doing okay haha 14. I’ve said this before, and people have said it here, but you can tell this story was crafted with love and somebody with the intense desire for good storytelling. It’s wonderful. Keep doing what you’re doing! We’ll be excited for whatever you cook up next

RebelVampire

I am looking forward to learning more about Cheth cause I really feel like there's something deep just under the surface that's waiting to burst out and scream surprise. As for final words, this is all around a beautiful comic with some really interesting lore with lots of detail and thought put into it. And I think that along makes it worth a read even if it's not your cup of tea!

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

Im looking forward to seeing how Pavel really develops. I've said in my questions before that I believe he's a character that has the power to alter and change the course of events-! I think he's going to really turn Cheth on his head with these next new pages too. Also, Fata Morgana is DEF a fave, i want to know so much more of her purpose in the cogs and gears that turn the story U-U All in all, i cannot express how much I truly love this comic. I discovered it a while ago and was instantly hooked with the visuals, characters, and power of story. There's definitely a sense that Phantomarine will easily become a classic amongst the webcomic medium, and that it's certainly a work of art to keep tabs on!

eliushi [a winged tale]

I love the comic layout, the colours and the theme of Phantomarine! It really feels like I’m watching a show since it’s so polished with great movement between each panel. I’m super looking forward to all the character developments and unraveling more mysteries

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I wanted to thank everyone for your kind words before this Book Club officially closes up. I've jumped into the webcomic community without much prior experience or exposure, and I've been amazed by the outpouring of kindness and guidance from everyone I've met, including the people here. Thank you for all the encouragement this week - to me, Phantomarine's story is just barely getting started, but to know it's already this well-received is very affirming (and a little overwhelming!). I consider it my duty to deliver a satisfying story from here to the end, and I'll keep aiming for that goal until my job is done. Big hugs from me, and thank you very much for the feature! I'll have a blast looking back on this in the future

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Phantomarine this week! Please also give a special thank you to Claire K. Niebergall for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Phantomarine, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://www.phantomarine.com/

Claire’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/phantomarine

Claire’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Phantomarine_

[luwaonline]

VI. The Smart City: The Other Side of the World

Before the smart city project started, I had planned a holiday with family to New York. Although I was excited about the prospect of leaving London to relax, recharge and explore what the big apple had to offer; I had a newfound excitement to look at the city through ‘smart city lenses’. Given that I was on the other side of the world away from my team, this felt like the perfect opportunity to flex my image-making skills as a form of visual research, to generate evidence of and communicate my lived experience (Rose, 2015). This medium of research helps to convey a meaning that would otherwise be missed using text alone. This reminded me of a beautiful TED talk I watched a few years ago about pen pal communication between a London and New York without words. This beautiful project has been documented through a website and a book.

Tuesday: I arrive in New York at 7pm (midnight New York time). Exhausted, but trying to beat jetlag I watch TV and surf the net, planning my week’s activities.

Wednesday: Home to a museum that “fuels creativity, ignites minds and provides inspiration” visiting the Museum of Modern Art was paramount (MoMA). MoMA's exhibitions were vast, spanning 5 floors with installations, video and art. On the4th floor, I was drawn to the New Monuments exhibition that looked at the future of buildings in terms of shape, purpose and material. The conceptual buildings hung, drooped and oozed mimicking their material, the unpredictable effects of the process of creating them, but most interestingly reflected the political climate of the time. The hanging city reflects the warfare of the Vietnam War, feminism, the oozing designs feminism. What would our possible world be made of? What do we want it to reflect? The monuments use materials not only for efficiency, but to add a new layer provocation.

New Monuments Exhibition - Hanging Cities of War

New Monuments Exhibition - Oozing Cities of Feminism

On the 3rd floor, I explored the Taking a Thread for a Walk exhibition - a suspended macrame knot sculpture creating a woven textile exploration, featuring combinations of natural and synthetic fibres. 

Thread installation

On a plaque nearby, its creator was quoted: “just as it is possible to go from any place to any other, so also, starting from a defined and specialized field, can one arrive at a realization of ever-extending relationships … traced back to the event of a thread.” This piece felt so poignant, echoing the literature of Haraway and Ingold using threads and metaphors of cats-cradles to represent the infinite relationships between seemingly unrelated things. 

Thursday: After our group discussions and speculation about the juxtaposition between new and old, abandoned and repurposed spaces and visible vs. hidden, I thought it important to visit one of New York’s most prominent monuments - the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

Outside National September 11th Memorial & Museum

Re-designed World Trade Center Station

9/11 Memorial with freshly laid roses

When I saw these roses, something Chris said last week popped into my mind - tiny monuments. Despite the atrocity that happened here 19 years ago, the names that surround the repurposed space act as a memorial, and each rose I saw a woman place stand as a tiny monument representing loss, hope and simultaneously the pain and beauty of death and renewal. Being in this repurposed space gave me time and space to reflect. Where was I when this happened? I was 11 and just got home from school to see a plane crash onto a tower on the TV. Where was Edward Francis Maloney III? Where are his family now? Without this repurposed space, I may have never known he existed or peeked into his life. As Kidd writes, “Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here.”― Sue Monk Kidd (2001).

Friday: As I moved around the city my eyes couldn’t help but dart between towering skyscrapers. I found myself looking up a lot until I saw steam rise in front of my face. I looked down to see the heat from the subway escaping through a grate. It brought me back to our project. I knew about New York’s famous subways, but what else was down there? It turned out the ‘concrete jungle’ is a city built on water.

A plaque at Two 5th Avenue to remind city dwellers of the waterways that once were

Under Manhattan's streets lie the remnants of one of New York’s 101 lost waterways. Once one of its largest, Minetta Brook used to wind through Lower Manhattan’s farmland before being paved over in the 1820s. For centuries, it was visited by Native Americans for angling due to its abundance of trout. In the 1600s, Dutch settlers arrived along with their slaves, who were eventually emancipated, making the area home to one of New York's first African-American settlements. As the population increased, the large roads surrounding it were renamed to reflect its people. 

However, as Manhattan became more metropolitan, Minetta Brook became an inconvenience to city planners and developers, and in the 1820s, it was physically buried using land from nearby hills, and eventually paved over. Its past was overwritten.

This trip was eye-opening. Although these experiences were outside London, it was beneficial to look to other cities for perspective. It showed me just how intertwined the themes of time, space, nostalgia, memory, loss and monuments really are, and the dangers created when a community has no way to embrace them. A few weeks ago, I was unsure about Dunne and Raby’s cone that referred to a preferable world. I didn’t understand how the decision on what a preferable world was could be made without bias. I now understand that a preferrable world is one that gives its citizens freedom and space to feel, whether the emotion is positive or negative. It adds rather than taking away, bringing us closer to a sentient city.

As always a trip gives you the chance to be open and gain a new perspective, but too much time away opens up thought to the objects, customs, processes and uniqueness of your home that you come to miss. I’ll go back to London jet-lagged, but with new stories to tell. 

(1053 words)

[margaritalevievablog]

I haven’t gotten to see the early showing of the first ep yet (if it’s still available) but here’s a promising review! :)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/deuce-review-1032504

James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal lead the remarkable ensemble of David Simon and George Pelecanos' entertaining and substantive HBO drama about sex and power in 1971 Manhattan.

In many ways, The Deuce represents the logical and satisfying culmination of David Simon's HBO journey from The Corner through The Wire and Treme. Long fascinated with the way that institutions grind down individuals and the citizenry, turning people and neighborhoods into statistics and commodities, Simon and co-creator George Pelecanos are able to use the New York City sex trade in the early 1970s to explore the exploitation of the human body itself.

A gritty, grimy (but rarely grim) tapestry of pimps and hoes, cops and pornographers, feminists and misogynists, crusaders and deadbeats, The Deuce has a lower intimidation threshold than Simon's last HBO project, the tremendous and tremendously wonky public housing miniseries Show Me a Hero, but it still balances the salacious with the journalistically inquisitive. It's another Simon drama that's a discipline-spanning sociological treatise on one level and a showcase for dozens of memorable, colorful characters on another. After watching the full eight-episode first season, which premieres on September 10, most of my complaints boil down to wishing The Deucehad at least five more episodes in which to let rapidly unfolding storylines breathe a bit more.

The show's initial point-of-entry is twin brothers Vincent and Frankie Martino (both James Franco). Vincent is ultra-trustworthy and responsible by standards that allow him to be a little bit of a progressive white knight, while also abandoning his kids and philandering wife (Zoe Kazan) early on with no serious audience repercussions. Frankie is a hot-headed vagabond who thinks nothing of running up gambling debts that fall on his brother. Their respective skills quickly make them valuable to Rudy Pipilo (Michael Rispoli), a Gambino capo who brings the Martinos into an ambitious, morally murky business plan for the 42nd Street area involving bars, massage parlors and sex shops.

The "James Franco plays twin brothers in a '70s porn drama" hook will lure some viewers in (and scare a few viewers off), but The Deuce is an ensemble and Frankie and Vincent stand out because they're played by the cast's biggest, most easily marketable actor and not because they're the show. To put it in The Wire terms, they're double-McNulty, a good star surrounded by countless juicier character roles. Vincent and Frankie share a mustache and Franco differentiates them effectively in small ways, via the wild glint in Frankie's eyes or the weary disapproval in Vincent's mien. Perhaps because Franco also had to be behind the camera directing two episodes, you never feel like the Martinos are dominating the screen and, as such, it's a perfect performance; you're glad when he's around and rarely miss him when he isn't.

There's too much happening in The Deuce to give more than a cursory plot summary. Maggie Gyllenhaal is probably the second lead after Franco as Eileen, who walks the streets under the name Candy, suffering indignities in order to support a son who lives with his grandmother. Eileen takes an interest in the pre-Deep Throat world of adult cinema and the greatness of Gyllenhaal's performance is in the contrasts she's able to convey between Candy's fatigued-but-talented professionalism, Eileen's growing desperation to change her life and her captivated zeal for the world of adult movies and the control she thinks it might offer her.

Candy works without a manager, which frustrates the various pimps, including Larry (Gbenga Akinnagbe), Rodney (Cliff "Method Man" Smith) and C.C. (Gary Carr), and makes her a curiosity and inspiration for the sex workers, including fresh-off-the-bus Lori (Emily Meade) and inquisitive Darlene (Dominique Fishback).

And then there are the police officers, going between benign neglect, superficial enforcement and criminal collusion at a moment when the NYPD was under scrutiny for corruption. Officers Alston (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) and Flanagan (Don Harvey) are central to that storyline, especially once Sandra (Natalie Paul), a reporter with an interest in the call girls, catches Alston's eye.

Some viewers will find the nudity, sex and, in particular, sexual violence to be barriers to entry for The Deuce, but like most Simon stories, the series is about power; the intermingling of sexual power and financial power is the text of the show. An early conversation between two pimps comparing their workplace approaches to Richard Nixon's carrot/stick incentivizing sets up a juxtaposition between how those with institutional clout and those who work outside of the system exert control in similar ways. The same is true of figures of authority, with law enforcement and criminal elements meting out punishment and offering protection in comparable fashion. As always, it's the exchange of money that drives everything, whether enterprises are entirely legitimate, organized rackets or in a state of flux because the courts are deciding minute-by-minute what is and isn't allowed (and the smart operators are the ones preparing to capitalize on every new loophole or opportunity). The characters in The Wire made cool, glib references to "the game," even as viewers were aware of the life-and-death stakes of the drug trade — and The Deuce is similarly enticing when it comes to documenting the swagger and glib cleverness of jive-talking pimps and sassy hookers, without ever ignoring the parasitic repugnance and frequent human misery of it all.

The world of The Deuce is often only a step up from the sewer, and led by pilot director Michelle MacLaren and cinematographers Pepe Avila del Pino and Vanja Cernjul, the show avoids being one of those period pieces in which every car looks new and every costume seems straight off the rack. The aromas of body odor, cheap cologne, garbage, cigarette smoke and inconsistently used disinfectant pervade every frame and unlike Vinyl, which will probably be a frequent point of comparison before people watch The Deuce, this new drama only sometimes becomes excessively enamored with nostalgic glamour. There's some nerdy excitement at the quality of the movies on the various marquees or the name-dropping of the occasional pre-iconic band, but this isn't a show that forgets the disillusionment of the moment for the low-income characters struggling to make ends meet and to be heard in a variety of civil rights struggles.

It's a show about exploitation and it's a milieu that runs the risk of being treated exploitatively, but with MacLaren directing two episodes and Uta Briesewitz and Roxann Dawson directing others, you can see the effort to not leer at the frequently exposed skin or, at the very least, never lose the context in which the skin is being bared. Anything that threatens to be sexy is only sexy to the point at which you spot the mildew on the walls, hear the sirens out the window, recognize the scary hunger in a john's expression or get any other reminder of the business transaction at hand.

The cast is tremendous, pulling from every corner of Simon's repertory company with the previously mentioned names plus the likes of Chris Bauer, Anwan Glover, Michael Kostroff and Chris Coy. Standouts in a group with no bad performances include the sweetly vulnerable Fishback, amiably well-meaning Gillard, darkly intense Akinnagbe and the spectacular Carr, whose suave-but-chilling C.C. may be the show's breakout character. David Krumholtz steals scenes as a limitedly artistic adult filmmaker and Margarita Levieva, whose student-turned-barmaid Abby is one of the show's more conventional characters, burns up the screen. Meade, Method Man, Jamie Neumann, Mustafa Shakir and even, beginning what may be his great comeback, Ralph Macchio all shine.

There are too many great things in The Deuce for them all to be serviced in eight hours and that's the show's weakness, such as it is. When a storyline like Officer Alston's arc with reporter Sandra feels rushed, that's a minor disappointment. There's a lot of hasty narrative here. It's worse when you sense that a couple of emotional beats with different prostitutes might have landed harder if we'd gotten a few more establishing scenes with the characters in earlier episodes.

That need for more is pervasive. We've only begun to get names, much less backstories and motivations, for some characters. The mob stuff is very familiar and needs more depth if they want me to think it's essential. At times I felt like I only understood what was happening with the cops because I'd seen The Wire and I've seen Serpico. Coy's character, a bartender who was at Stonewall, keeps the show's focus from feeling exclusively heterosexual, but the still-criminalized emerging gay underground is underserved.

Simon and Pelecanos are just beginning to put the machinery of The Deuce into motion in these eight episodes. As an opening act, the show's first season is substantive, provocative and entertaining. It's a journey through a certain kind of hell, but I'm already eager to return.

[barbosaasouza]

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch)

It is clear from the first moment of Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time that the creators were very aware of the special place its multi-award winning source material holds in people’s hearts. If it had turned out poorly, there would be a lot of disgruntled fans. Luckily, this game has been crafted to meet all the expectations those fans could have.

It takes place after the climax of the show, but introduces the new plot so it doesn’t change or detract from the existing finale. At the moment of Jack’s triumph, Aku breaks through the magic returning the samurai to the past. You play as Jack reliving the most intense battles from his legendary feud with the evil wizard.

The game strikes a really good balance in establishing the story for anyone who isn’t familiar with it in a way that isn’t boring for those who are. All the information you need to orient yourself is clear from the opening cutscene, which beautifully injects fans who already know what’s going on with a shot of delicious nostalgia.

Like its cartoon counterpart, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is gorgeous to look at. The art is stunning and the animation is incredibly fluid. The world is magical, with intensely rich colours and so much depth and detail that it’s impossible not to get sucked in.

The game also maintains the show’s great sense of humour, incredible soundtrack and brilliantly playful approach towards dark topics. All the original actors returning to voice the characters gives it all the personality that made the cartoon so intoxicating.

The controls are easy to pick up. You run, jump and perform various styles of attack. Menus allow you to change your equipped weapons and check your inventory. Enemies drop gold you can use to buy items, train with Da Samurai and repair weapons that have taken damage. They also drop various magical fires you can use to power up special moves or, outside of combat, develop your physical and spiritual skills.

The story is a classic hunt-and-defeat-the-biggest-bad-guy tale, with hordes of minions paving the way to tough boss battles with characters from the show. Even if you don’t already have a connection to Jack and his companions, the cutscenes are performed and animated in a way that conveys real emotion. The story beats are swiftly communicated and pack just the right punch.

Alongside primary goals that drive the narrative, you have many simple objectives – such as talking to the Scotsman a certain number of times or destroying a specific amount of one type of enemy. If the sheer beauty of the setting isn’t enough, these are great incentives to explore every corner of the game and smash every vase in your path.

You are graded after each stage of the game and there are four difficulties to unlock, so you have plenty of opportunity to go back and challenge yourself to beat your high score.

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time has all the elements of an excellent action platformer, with the addition of the sheer quality that Samurai Jack has always been known for.

The post Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[recentanimenews]

The Wild and Wonderful World of WEBTOON Series

  Many anime fans are familiar with manga, with lots of classic and modern anime being adapted from the medium, such as Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, and many more drawing on their graphic novel counterparts. But this season, a different comic tradition is responsible for starting a new anime trend with the adaptation of Tower of God: Korean manhwa, specifically, WEBTOON series! But what are WEBTOON series and what makes them so unique? Aren’t they just Korean comics? Well, you may be surprised to learn that WEBTOON series are a global phenomenon, with readers and creators all over the globe! And furthermore, they’re a wholly unique digital platform that relies on the screen of your phone to help tell the story. If that’s got you curious, then read on!

First, it’s probably important to specify that WEBTOON series and manhwa aren’t the same word. Much like manga, manhwa just means “comic” when translated from Korean. WEBTOON series are a type of comic, but a very specific digital medium—compared to print comics, there are a lot of differences! WEBTOON series occasionally get printed as paper copies, but these are mostly collectible items rather than the regular way to read them. Instead, WEBTOON series are designed to be read vertically on screens, most specifically smartphone and tablet screens. If Tower of God made you curious enough to go check out the WEBTOON series, you might already be aware of this verticality, but for new readers, WEBTOON’s approach to reading style is very unique and can take a bit of getting used to—but it's certainly rewarding when you dive in!

Unlike manga or American comics, WEBTOON series don’t generally rely on panels and gutter layouts on single pages. Instead, WEBTOON series use an “infinite canvas,” with readers scrolling vertically down as they read chapters. WEBTOON series chapters vary in length, but many of them are pretty long. If you were to try and print out an entire chapter, you’d find yourself printing 30 plus pages or more for most titles, and a lot of those pages would be blank! When I started reading WEBTOON series, this negative space was something that really caught me off guard—at first, I kept thinking my screen wasn’t loading. I realized that titles used this white space (or black or gray!) to space out story beats and big reveals, making tense, dramatic moments even more hair-raising as my own reading speed affects how quickly I’d see what happens next. (This may come as no surprise, but WEBTOON series are really, REALLY easy to binge read!)

In fact, this use of vertical reading space and chapter size makes another aspect of WEBTOON series somewhat shocking in comparison to manga: they’re in color! While many WEBTOON series use negative space to help with that burden, it’s still quite impressive to think about how much work goes into creating weekly chapters with full color, and these vibrant comics really make their unique worlds pop on the screen. In many cases, WEBTOON series will change their background colors from white to black, or some other variation, in order to transition between things like time changes (night and day or even past and present) or to really ram home emotional moments. Watching all of the color drain out of even the page you’re reading can make the gut punches in some WEBTOON series really hit hard!

Similar to manga, WEBTOON series cover almost every possible topic. You’ll find WEBTOON series about school life, professional careers, sports, fantasy, sci-fi, and almost everything in between. On the off chance that you catch up on a long-running series, you’ll find plenty of other titles to take their place. When I first started reading WEBTOON series, I only read about five stories. Now, my subscription page is up to fifty titles! Let’s just say they can be addictive and leave it at that! Perhaps something that fewer people know, though, is that WEBTOON series artists aren’t just Korean. There are many creators from all over the world publishing WEBTOONS series and the variety of art styles and storytelling really make the platform something unique and magical to explore.

In 100 percent honesty, I was actually a pretty late adopter to WEBTOON series, as I always preferred reading physical mediums over digital and never found reading manga on my phone very entertaining. Something about "turning" pages digitally, waiting for them to load, and other things just made the experience less desirable than picking up a volume and reading it. During a layover on a flight earlier this year, I found myself stuck without much to entertain myself with except my phone and remembered that a friend had suggested I check out Tower of God. Five hours and one flight later, I had nearly drained my entire back-up battery and read my way through most of Season 2. Since then, I’ve been hooked. If you’re like me, and skeptical of digital media, I really think you should give WEBTOON series a try. In fact, I’ve got a few personal recommendations ready to get you started! All of these can be found on Naver’s WEBTOON website or app check (here for Apple or here for Google)and you can start reading them right away!

Tower of God

This is the WEBTOON series that got me into WEBTOON series, and from other Tower of God fans I’ve spoken to, that seems to be par for the course. The series has been running for nearly ten years now, so you have a LOT of reading to catch up on if you’re only just getting invested thanks to the anime this season! The adventures of Bam, Khun, and the rest of the Regulars sucked me in with it’s deep, unraveling story and I found myself having to force myself to stop reading “just one more chapter” before bed. Creator SIU has stated he’s had the story planned out from the start and it really does feel that way as you read through it, seeing little details you didn’t think about before suddenly become relevant, or small bits of dialogue or art that you didn’t understand before suddenly rushing back and making you go “HEYYY, wait a minute!” as some new development unfolds. SIU manages to follow a large, diverse cast of characters throughout Tower of God and the series absolutely deserves the attention it’s getting right now. If you’re curious to see what happens to Bam and company after the anime ends, there is plenty of Tower of God waiting for you in the WEBTOON series!

  GOSU

I’ve always been a huge fan of martial arts movies. I fondly remember how I used to watch badly dubbed martial arts flicks with my grandma as a child. GOSU, by Giun Ryu and Mun Jeong Hoo, takes me back to the magic and excitement of martial arts stories. GOSU might be the most gorgeous WEBTOON series I’ve ever read and the authors really know how to let visuals do the storytelling—there are some truly breathtaking moments in GOSU that are conveyed solely through still, almost unchanging landscapes. Protagonist Gang Yong is really quite something and there have been times when I’ve audibly gasped or yelled at big moments in this series. With the wave of WEBTOON series titles getting adapted into anime, I’d absolutely put GOSU on my list of series I’d love to see get an anime. If you like martial arts stories, or just really gorgeous art, GOSU is worth the read!

Lore Olympus

Rachel Smythe’s Lore Olympus was a series I frankly never expected to read, let alone love. Talking about Greek mythology usually makes me think back to college humanities classes or playing God of War, and while both of those were great, they weren't usually my cup of tea. I’ll admit that I actually ended up reading this one because I kept seeing it so highly ranked on the WEBTOON app—seriously, it’s number one in like, every demographic and overall—and finally gave in to the not so subliminal message that I’m obviously missing out on something here. And boy, was I! Lore Olympus is a simple concept: reimagining mythological Gods and Goddesses in somewhat “human” situations. This story is a bit mature and dramatic, but the romance and suspense in it are really something, and the art is colorful and gorgeous. Persephone and Hades’ story has never been so gripping and I find myself always waiting for the next chapter to drop.

The God of High School

Yongje Park’s The God of High School was an easy sell for me since it evoked memories of classic school battling anime like Tenjho Tenge and a hint of fighting games. Since the anime is about to begin, I won’t spoil anything, but the action in this series is top-notch with gorgeous art to match! Like Tower of God, this WEBTOON series has also been running for quite a while, meaning you’ve got plenty of material to get through. Jin Mo-Ri is a pretty deceptive protagonist, too. At first, I just assumed he’d be the usual battle-crazed fighting style character, like Goku, but he’s got his own unique personality that helps set him apart. A lot of my enjoyment of The God of High School comes from the supporting cast, which Park has really done an amazing job with. The main trio of characters is fun and strong and it always feels exciting to see various martial arts and skills used in this series. 

Sweet Home

If you like horror or zombie movies, this series might be right up your alley. I got quite a few friends into reading WEBTOON series by getting them to read this relatively new title that features some of the creepiest and imaginative monster designs I’ve seen in a while. Sweet Home’s authors Youngchan Hwang and Carnby Kim really manage to hit that survival horror itch, and in terms of using the WEBTOON series medium, I can’t think of many other titles that take advantage of the vertical scrolling pages like Sweet Home does to deliver some absolutely bone-chilling moments. As a monster horror series, it is only fair to warn you that it can be a bit gruesome at times, so please keep that in mind if you decide to check it out!

  WEBTOON series are becoming a global phenomenon. The market for them is estimated to be over 300 million USD a year currently, and with anime adaptations and even larger potential audiences about to learn of them through Tower of God, The God of High School, and Noblesse, I can only see those numbers going way up! If you’ve never tried WEBTOON, then now is absolutely the time. I guarantee you’ll find a series you’ll absolutely want to read, and then another one, and another one, and another one… Uh oh! How did that queue get so huge?! Anyway, happy reading, and I hope this helped get you interested in the wonderful world of WEBTOON series! 

Are you a WEBTOON series fanatic? Is this your first time hearing about them? Let us know what titles you like and what you think about WEBTOON in the comments!

➡️ Catch up on watching Tower of God today! ⬅️

    Nicole is a frequent wordsmith for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[barbosaasouza]

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch)

It is clear from the first moment of Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time that the creators were very aware of the special place its multi-award winning source material holds in people’s hearts. If it had turned out poorly, there would be a lot of disgruntled fans. Luckily, this game has been crafted to meet all the expectations those fans could have.

It takes place after the climax of the show, but introduces the new plot so it doesn’t change or detract from the existing finale. At the moment of Jack’s triumph, Aku breaks through the magic returning the samurai to the past. You play as Jack reliving the most intense battles from his legendary feud with the evil wizard.

The game strikes a really good balance in establishing the story for anyone who isn’t familiar with it in a way that isn’t boring for those who are. All the information you need to orient yourself is clear from the opening cutscene, which beautifully injects fans who already know what’s going on with a shot of delicious nostalgia.

Like its cartoon counterpart, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is gorgeous to look at. The art is stunning and the animation is incredibly fluid. The world is magical, with intensely rich colours and so much depth and detail that it’s impossible not to get sucked in.

The game also maintains the show’s great sense of humour, incredible soundtrack and brilliantly playful approach towards dark topics. All the original actors returning to voice the characters gives it all the personality that made the cartoon so intoxicating.

The controls are easy to pick up. You run, jump and perform various styles of attack. Menus allow you to change your equipped weapons and check your inventory. Enemies drop gold you can use to buy items, train with Da Samurai and repair weapons that have taken damage. They also drop various magical fires you can use to power up special moves or, outside of combat, develop your physical and spiritual skills.

The story is a classic hunt-and-defeat-the-biggest-bad-guy tale, with hordes of minions paving the way to tough boss battles with characters from the show. Even if you don’t already have a connection to Jack and his companions, the cutscenes are performed and animated in a way that conveys real emotion. The story beats are swiftly communicated and pack just the right punch.

Alongside primary goals that drive the narrative, you have many simple objectives – such as talking to the Scotsman a certain number of times or destroying a specific amount of one type of enemy. If the sheer beauty of the setting isn’t enough, these are great incentives to explore every corner of the game and smash every vase in your path.

You are graded after each stage of the game and there are four difficulties to unlock, so you have plenty of opportunity to go back and challenge yourself to beat your high score.

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time has all the elements of an excellent action platformer, with the addition of the sheer quality that Samurai Jack has always been known for.

The post Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch)

It is clear from the first moment of Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time that the creators were very aware of the special place its multi-award winning source material holds in people’s hearts. If it had turned out poorly, there would be a lot of disgruntled fans. Luckily, this game has been crafted to meet all the expectations those fans could have.

It takes place after the climax of the show, but introduces the new plot so it doesn’t change or detract from the existing finale. At the moment of Jack’s triumph, Aku breaks through the magic returning the samurai to the past. You play as Jack reliving the most intense battles from his legendary feud with the evil wizard.

The game strikes a really good balance in establishing the story for anyone who isn’t familiar with it in a way that isn’t boring for those who are. All the information you need to orient yourself is clear from the opening cutscene, which beautifully injects fans who already know what’s going on with a shot of delicious nostalgia.

Like its cartoon counterpart, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is gorgeous to look at. The art is stunning and the animation is incredibly fluid. The world is magical, with intensely rich colours and so much depth and detail that it’s impossible not to get sucked in.

The game also maintains the show’s great sense of humour, incredible soundtrack and brilliantly playful approach towards dark topics. All the original actors returning to voice the characters gives it all the personality that made the cartoon so intoxicating.

The controls are easy to pick up. You run, jump and perform various styles of attack. Menus allow you to change your equipped weapons and check your inventory. Enemies drop gold you can use to buy items, train with Da Samurai and repair weapons that have taken damage. They also drop various magical fires you can use to power up special moves or, outside of combat, develop your physical and spiritual skills.

The story is a classic hunt-and-defeat-the-biggest-bad-guy tale, with hordes of minions paving the way to tough boss battles with characters from the show. Even if you don’t already have a connection to Jack and his companions, the cutscenes are performed and animated in a way that conveys real emotion. The story beats are swiftly communicated and pack just the right punch.

Alongside primary goals that drive the narrative, you have many simple objectives – such as talking to the Scotsman a certain number of times or destroying a specific amount of one type of enemy. If the sheer beauty of the setting isn’t enough, these are great incentives to explore every corner of the game and smash every vase in your path.

You are graded after each stage of the game and there are four difficulties to unlock, so you have plenty of opportunity to go back and challenge yourself to beat your high score.

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time has all the elements of an excellent action platformer, with the addition of the sheer quality that Samurai Jack has always been known for.

The post Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch)

It is clear from the first moment of Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time that the creators were very aware of the special place its multi-award winning source material holds in people’s hearts. If it had turned out poorly, there would be a lot of disgruntled fans. Luckily, this game has been crafted to meet all the expectations those fans could have.

It takes place after the climax of the show, but introduces the new plot so it doesn’t change or detract from the existing finale. At the moment of Jack’s triumph, Aku breaks through the magic returning the samurai to the past. You play as Jack reliving the most intense battles from his legendary feud with the evil wizard.

The game strikes a really good balance in establishing the story for anyone who isn’t familiar with it in a way that isn’t boring for those who are. All the information you need to orient yourself is clear from the opening cutscene, which beautifully injects fans who already know what’s going on with a shot of delicious nostalgia.

Like its cartoon counterpart, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is gorgeous to look at. The art is stunning and the animation is incredibly fluid. The world is magical, with intensely rich colours and so much depth and detail that it’s impossible not to get sucked in.

The game also maintains the show’s great sense of humour, incredible soundtrack and brilliantly playful approach towards dark topics. All the original actors returning to voice the characters gives it all the personality that made the cartoon so intoxicating.

The controls are easy to pick up. You run, jump and perform various styles of attack. Menus allow you to change your equipped weapons and check your inventory. Enemies drop gold you can use to buy items, train with Da Samurai and repair weapons that have taken damage. They also drop various magical fires you can use to power up special moves or, outside of combat, develop your physical and spiritual skills.

The story is a classic hunt-and-defeat-the-biggest-bad-guy tale, with hordes of minions paving the way to tough boss battles with characters from the show. Even if you don’t already have a connection to Jack and his companions, the cutscenes are performed and animated in a way that conveys real emotion. The story beats are swiftly communicated and pack just the right punch.

Alongside primary goals that drive the narrative, you have many simple objectives – such as talking to the Scotsman a certain number of times or destroying a specific amount of one type of enemy. If the sheer beauty of the setting isn’t enough, these are great incentives to explore every corner of the game and smash every vase in your path.

You are graded after each stage of the game and there are four difficulties to unlock, so you have plenty of opportunity to go back and challenge yourself to beat your high score.

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time has all the elements of an excellent action platformer, with the addition of the sheer quality that Samurai Jack has always been known for.

The post Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch)

It is clear from the first moment of Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time that the creators were very aware of the special place its multi-award winning source material holds in people’s hearts. If it had turned out poorly, there would be a lot of disgruntled fans. Luckily, this game has been crafted to meet all the expectations those fans could have.

It takes place after the climax of the show, but introduces the new plot so it doesn’t change or detract from the existing finale. At the moment of Jack’s triumph, Aku breaks through the magic returning the samurai to the past. You play as Jack reliving the most intense battles from his legendary feud with the evil wizard.

The game strikes a really good balance in establishing the story for anyone who isn’t familiar with it in a way that isn’t boring for those who are. All the information you need to orient yourself is clear from the opening cutscene, which beautifully injects fans who already know what’s going on with a shot of delicious nostalgia.

Like its cartoon counterpart, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is gorgeous to look at. The art is stunning and the animation is incredibly fluid. The world is magical, with intensely rich colours and so much depth and detail that it’s impossible not to get sucked in.

The game also maintains the show’s great sense of humour, incredible soundtrack and brilliantly playful approach towards dark topics. All the original actors returning to voice the characters gives it all the personality that made the cartoon so intoxicating.

The controls are easy to pick up. You run, jump and perform various styles of attack. Menus allow you to change your equipped weapons and check your inventory. Enemies drop gold you can use to buy items, train with Da Samurai and repair weapons that have taken damage. They also drop various magical fires you can use to power up special moves or, outside of combat, develop your physical and spiritual skills.

The story is a classic hunt-and-defeat-the-biggest-bad-guy tale, with hordes of minions paving the way to tough boss battles with characters from the show. Even if you don’t already have a connection to Jack and his companions, the cutscenes are performed and animated in a way that conveys real emotion. The story beats are swiftly communicated and pack just the right punch.

Alongside primary goals that drive the narrative, you have many simple objectives – such as talking to the Scotsman a certain number of times or destroying a specific amount of one type of enemy. If the sheer beauty of the setting isn’t enough, these are great incentives to explore every corner of the game and smash every vase in your path.

You are graded after each stage of the game and there are four difficulties to unlock, so you have plenty of opportunity to go back and challenge yourself to beat your high score.

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time has all the elements of an excellent action platformer, with the addition of the sheer quality that Samurai Jack has always been known for.

The post Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch)

It is clear from the first moment of Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time that the creators were very aware of the special place its multi-award winning source material holds in people’s hearts. If it had turned out poorly, there would be a lot of disgruntled fans. Luckily, this game has been crafted to meet all the expectations those fans could have.

It takes place after the climax of the show, but introduces the new plot so it doesn’t change or detract from the existing finale. At the moment of Jack’s triumph, Aku breaks through the magic returning the samurai to the past. You play as Jack reliving the most intense battles from his legendary feud with the evil wizard.

The game strikes a really good balance in establishing the story for anyone who isn’t familiar with it in a way that isn’t boring for those who are. All the information you need to orient yourself is clear from the opening cutscene, which beautifully injects fans who already know what’s going on with a shot of delicious nostalgia.

Like its cartoon counterpart, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is gorgeous to look at. The art is stunning and the animation is incredibly fluid. The world is magical, with intensely rich colours and so much depth and detail that it’s impossible not to get sucked in.

The game also maintains the show’s great sense of humour, incredible soundtrack and brilliantly playful approach towards dark topics. All the original actors returning to voice the characters gives it all the personality that made the cartoon so intoxicating.

The controls are easy to pick up. You run, jump and perform various styles of attack. Menus allow you to change your equipped weapons and check your inventory. Enemies drop gold you can use to buy items, train with Da Samurai and repair weapons that have taken damage. They also drop various magical fires you can use to power up special moves or, outside of combat, develop your physical and spiritual skills.

The story is a classic hunt-and-defeat-the-biggest-bad-guy tale, with hordes of minions paving the way to tough boss battles with characters from the show. Even if you don’t already have a connection to Jack and his companions, the cutscenes are performed and animated in a way that conveys real emotion. The story beats are swiftly communicated and pack just the right punch.

Alongside primary goals that drive the narrative, you have many simple objectives – such as talking to the Scotsman a certain number of times or destroying a specific amount of one type of enemy. If the sheer beauty of the setting isn’t enough, these are great incentives to explore every corner of the game and smash every vase in your path.

You are graded after each stage of the game and there are four difficulties to unlock, so you have plenty of opportunity to go back and challenge yourself to beat your high score.

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time has all the elements of an excellent action platformer, with the addition of the sheer quality that Samurai Jack has always been known for.

The post Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch)

It is clear from the first moment of Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time that the creators were very aware of the special place its multi-award winning source material holds in people’s hearts. If it had turned out poorly, there would be a lot of disgruntled fans. Luckily, this game has been crafted to meet all the expectations those fans could have.

It takes place after the climax of the show, but introduces the new plot so it doesn’t change or detract from the existing finale. At the moment of Jack’s triumph, Aku breaks through the magic returning the samurai to the past. You play as Jack reliving the most intense battles from his legendary feud with the evil wizard.

The game strikes a really good balance in establishing the story for anyone who isn’t familiar with it in a way that isn’t boring for those who are. All the information you need to orient yourself is clear from the opening cutscene, which beautifully injects fans who already know what’s going on with a shot of delicious nostalgia.

Like its cartoon counterpart, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is gorgeous to look at. The art is stunning and the animation is incredibly fluid. The world is magical, with intensely rich colours and so much depth and detail that it’s impossible not to get sucked in.

The game also maintains the show’s great sense of humour, incredible soundtrack and brilliantly playful approach towards dark topics. All the original actors returning to voice the characters gives it all the personality that made the cartoon so intoxicating.

The controls are easy to pick up. You run, jump and perform various styles of attack. Menus allow you to change your equipped weapons and check your inventory. Enemies drop gold you can use to buy items, train with Da Samurai and repair weapons that have taken damage. They also drop various magical fires you can use to power up special moves or, outside of combat, develop your physical and spiritual skills.

The story is a classic hunt-and-defeat-the-biggest-bad-guy tale, with hordes of minions paving the way to tough boss battles with characters from the show. Even if you don’t already have a connection to Jack and his companions, the cutscenes are performed and animated in a way that conveys real emotion. The story beats are swiftly communicated and pack just the right punch.

Alongside primary goals that drive the narrative, you have many simple objectives – such as talking to the Scotsman a certain number of times or destroying a specific amount of one type of enemy. If the sheer beauty of the setting isn’t enough, these are great incentives to explore every corner of the game and smash every vase in your path.

You are graded after each stage of the game and there are four difficulties to unlock, so you have plenty of opportunity to go back and challenge yourself to beat your high score.

Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time has all the elements of an excellent action platformer, with the addition of the sheer quality that Samurai Jack has always been known for.

The post Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

Review: Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time (Nintendo Switch) published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/