#liveblog with blu

[blu-wingz]

less than a minute into watching someone's slay the princess video and i clocked Johnathan Sims' voice IMMEDIATELY

200+ EPISODES OF THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES WILL DO THAT TO YOU BABEEEEEEY

[blorbologist]

want stick? Got stick bekAY lemme smASH-

it’s like an SOS written in sand. except it’s a tinder profile. must smash.

[cough-droplet]

I have so many Doctor Who posts in my mind that I just haven't written yet because I've been in the fansubbing trenches for days and can't be bothered to take the screenshots

[wild-battlebond]

digimon adventure (sub) blu-ray will arrive at my location next week 😏

[supersaiyajopping]

winter soldier dvd menu already got me incoherent

[unhinged-snake-jaw]

i got the iliad a day early omfg

[duhragonball]

Neon Genesis Evangelion 01

Not a hoax, not a dream, not an imaginary story, and it's not an April Fool's prank! The Neon Genesis Evangelion liveblog begins here!

Man, it feels surreal to actually be doing this. This is one of those bucket-list anime series that I thought I should watch just to understand all the pop culture references. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure was one, Revolutionary Girl Utena was another, but those were a lot easier to track down. Hell, RGU was free on YouTube when I watched it. But Eva was a little tougher to get ahold of. There weren't a lot home video releases, and streaming services weren't carrying it. I think that's changed in the last few years, but I'd heard the Netflix version had some changes to the subtitles, and besides, I was busy with other things.

So a few years back I just said "fuck it" and paid too much money for the old ADV DVDs. I think it's out on Blu-Ray now, but I can't take screenshots from Blu-Rays so this is the play. But that's all prologue. We're finally here, and I'm finally watching this thing, so it's time to see what this thing's all about.

Ah, so it's a historical drama, is it?

I could gush about the theme song, which I've enjoyed for years, even without watching this show, but nah, let's just move on to the show itself. You know the words, and if you don't, go look up "Cruel Angel's Thesis" and prepare to rock out.

There's a little backstory in this episode, but the important stuff is pretty self-evident. There's some giant monster thing that emerged from the water, and a big UN military force is desperate to destroy it before it attacks. Conventional weapons are completely ineffective, and a big chunk of Episode 01 is spent on watching this thing shrug off missiles and shells as it strolls towards... someplace. I'm assuming it's a city or a base.

It's fast, strong, and agile, as seen here when it catches a missile in one hand. The missile explodes in its face and has no effect.

While this is going on, a woman named Misato Katsugari is trying to pick up a kid named Shinji Ikari. The monster attack hits right before she finds him, and he almost gets killed when she pulls up in her car. On their way to the base, she sees that the U.N. is deploying a nuclear weapon? It looks like a nuke, but I missed that line, so maybe it was something else. Anyway, it doesn't work either, but it does blow over Misato's car.

When the dust settles, they push the car back on its wheels and continue. Misato calls for some sort of train to pick them up and take them the rest of the way, and it's like some kind of car-carrier train, I guess. Not important.

Since the nuke didn't work, the UN hands things off to the NERV agency, headed by Shinji's father, Gendo Ikari. Okay, so in brief, they call the monsters "angels", and if I remember right, they said there was an attack fifteen years ago, so this is an ongoing thing. NERV was established to combat these angels, but I guess the UN wanted to see if they could hack it on their own first.

Misato works for NERV, and she introduces Shinji to Ritsuko Akagi. They discuss Shinji as being the "Third Child", so it's becoming clear that Shinji didn't just come here to visit his dad.

I kind of glossed over all this technobabble, but I already know where this is going. There's big robots that can fight the angels, and they must need Shinji to pilot one of them, and he must be uniquely capable of doing so or they wouldn't have bothered sending for him.

The ladies give Shinji a NERV manual to read, but when they show him the robot, they tell him it's not in the manual. So why is there a manual at all? I mean, there's not much else to this operation besides the robots, right? Maybe that's why the manual looks so short.

I guess they were going to slowly introduce Shinji to the job, but the angel is attacking the base, so they kind of cut to the chase. NERV needs Shinji to pilot this specific robot, Evangelion Unit 01, to fight the angel. Shinji is obviously untrained, but his dad insists that he only has to sit in the pilot seat. Shinji still hates this idea, and his dad stone cold doesn't care. Shinji clearly doesn't trust his dad, and his dad stone cold doesn't care about that either.

Misato is the only one here who's even a little sympathetic to Shinji's predicament here, but even she pressures him to get in the robot, because they're all going to die if the angel gets any closer. She says something about how Shinji needs to "confront" his dad and himself, which Shinji seems to understand, like he's known for a while now that this day was coming. He still can't bring himself to go through with it though. So Gendo goes with Plan B.

Plan B is Rei Ayanami, a girl about Shinji's age who piloted another NERV robot, Unit 00. I guess she fought an angel recently, which is why she's so badly hurt in this episode. They have to wheel her in on a gurney. The NERV staff are somewhat incredulous about this, but as Gendo puts it "She's not dead", and if Shinji won't fight, this is all they have left. Despite her condition, Rei agrees to do it, although it's pretty clear to everyone that she's in no condition for this, if she ever was.

While Shinji is still processing the implications of sending Rei in his place, the base is rocked by the angel outside, and it's enough to knock over Rei's gurney and send some stuff crashing onto Shinji... until Unit 01 raises its hand to mimic his own instictive motions. Improbably, Shinji is so in tune with the robot that he can control it from the outside, without even being conscious of it. So this sheds some light on why Gendo wanted him to pilot the thing so badly.

So between this and the pathetic state Rei's in, Shinji agrees to pilot the robot and defend the base. There's a lengthy scene of him getting put inside the robot and sending the robot outside, but I'm not going to do into that.

Gendo's second-in-command asks him if he's sure about this, and he points out that if they don't defeat the angels, then they have no future. As cold and indifferent as he seems, he does have a point. If Rei and Shinji are the only ones who can pilot the robots, what choice do they have? But I'm pretty sure the rest of this series will show that it's not that simple...

And that's the episode. I'm a little surprised they're saving the actual fight for episode 2, but at this point it seems like a foregone conclusion. If Shinji can't win, they all die, and I have a feeling the kaiju battles are kind of secondary to the rest anyway.

The way I understood it, this show started out like a fairly typical Sentai/Kaiju/Whatever-You-Call-It TV series. Kids in colorful suits, they hop in giant robots, which are the only thing that can stop the giant monsters, it's been done a million times. But as the series progresses, it turns into this introspective psychodrama or something. Also, it plays up how messed up it is to send teenagers into a war zone like this, but I think we just saw that happen already, so it looks like the social commentary hit the ground running.

I don't really have much more to say here since we're just getting started. There's not much point in trying to figure out Gendo, even though that's clearly the guy we're supposed to be wondering about. Better to wait for more information and go from there. So I'll see you next time.

[trillscienceofficer]

btw I didn't mention it during the Picard liveblog but the subtitles in the blu-rays were full of misspellings and straight up got names wrong at times, not to mention being very weirdly synced. It was so disappointing because we rip so often into the DS9 and Voyager dvds for their abysmal video quality (for our current standards) but at least the subtitles in those work, in my experience!

(Then again I'd been talking to people who told me that the Voyager DVDs were sold over here for 99€ per season around 2003 so uh. That was also one hell of a cash grab)

[darkmasterofcupcakes]

I actually have watched the rest of Season 1A before coming back to this liveblog - I got the blu ray set as a Christmas present. But I never actually noticed that Anya apparently showed Loid a recording of an episode of Bondman to let him know what she wanted for her reward? I just remembered it as her turning on the TV and showing him an episode that was currently airing.

Side note - does anyone know if there was ever a time when things like television episodes were recorded on devices like that? I mean, I'm old enough to remember when VHS tapes were still commonly sold in stores and when DVDs were new, but I don't remember anything like that being used for recordings.

[mygreatadventurehasbegun]

Here’s the rest of my Phantom ‘43 liveblog notes...just too tough to do tons of individual posts when I actually want to watch the movie....taking notes is much easier...though I still had to pause a few times because I just can’t type fast enough, lol.

~The Tenor in Marta has an amazing voice.

~The side eyeing between Raoul and Anatole has begun!

~M. Villeneuve looking almost amused when he comes across Christine being told off by M. Vechers.  I’ve always loved how in Christine’s corner Villeneuve is.

~I love M. Villeneuve’s speech about artists, and them needing to be around people who understand it.  And choosing between art and “a normal life”.

~NOT CLAUDIN RIPPING MY HEART OUT DURING THAT FOYER SCENE.  

~The fact that they just held on Claudin’s face while he’s playing The Lullaby of the Bells shows just how good of an actor Claude Rains was.  You can watch an extreme closeup of him, not speaking and still be enthralled.

~There is so much vulnerability when he says “what am I to do, Maestro?”  He’s so vulnerable, and yet still dignified....and I love that they didn’t make him beg.

~I love the random cat outside the window of Claudin’s apartment.

~THE WAY HE BARELY PAUSES AND LOOKS AT THE BUST, I CAN’T

~Not me crying when he almost cries while playing the piano

~I love the dress Christine wears during her voice lesson.

~The camera shot that reveals Claudin hiding from Christine is fantastic

~Before Claudin tells Signor Piretti about being dismissed, you can see his hands fidgeting in his lap...either from nervousness or the pain of his arthritis, or both.

~Speaking of Piretti, his “Italian” accent always makes me laugh: “The girl means nothing-a to me”

~The way Claudin’s face falls when Piretti starts laughing about the concerto.  Hasn’t this guy been through enough?  Jesus.

~As a kid, I always used to think the guy walking into Pleyel’s at the beginning actually was Pleyel...but it’s just an extra that look like him.

~M. Pleyel is such a dick

~I could watch that scene with the murder/acid throw a hundred times in a row, and still not be bored.  Just watching Claude Rains’ face change just before he snaps...also, the fact that they included Pleyel actually gagging is pretty intense for 1943.  And of course, Claudin’s screams are probably the best horror screams I’ve ever heard, especially coming from a man.  It’s so visceral.

~I do find it odd that he gets the acid thrown onto his entire face, but it’s only the right side that actually gets burned...maybe it was only supposed to hit the one side, but the take they went with was just too good to not use...

~Claudin, how did you manage to survive that long after throwing sewage on your burnt face?  

~Lecours reacting to the food that was stolen is hilarious.  In the script, it’s revealed that his “troubles” mostly boil down to indigestion...so when pickled pig’s feet and ham are mentioned, he grimaces and reaches for his 19th century Tums.

~The look on Anatole’s face after Aunt Madeline says: “please remember you’re speaking to a gentlemen”.  It always makes me laugh.

~I love that Christine says she encountered Claudin in the foyer, onstage and outside the opera...I wonder how many “surprise” encounters Claudin arranged just so he could see her?

~Time for something I never noticed before!  When Anatole presents the theory that Claudin probably fell in love with Christine, he says to Raoul: “You admit that is possible, no?”  And Raoul does a friggin’ double take.  I cannot believe I never noticed this before...It is hysterical and I rewound the blu-ray three times to rewatch it.  And even though the shot is on Raoul, you can totally see Anatole smiling at that reaction.  Maybe it made Nelson Eddy laugh or maybe it was in character, but either way, I love it.

~Is Anatole suggesting that he wants to do a bust of Raoul next?

~Just noticed that there is one woman in the orchestra who’s playing the harp.

~Anatole opening a conversation with “You’re going to be a great and famous singer, I’ll help you” is kinda odd...couldn’t say hello first?  lol

~Nelson Eddy and Jane Farrar’s voices really work well together.

~I wonder what the reason was for Christine to not be onstage during the first scene of the opera?  Other than to create suspicion for her drugging Biancarolli...though she was never actually accused...Biancarolli assumed it was Anatole...hmmm.

 ~M. Villeneuve being so proud of Christine as he conducts makes my heart melt a bit

~I always wondered what happened after Christine and Anatole’s duet?  Did Christine finish the opera or did Biancarolli push her out and finish it herself?  They’re only in Act I when she’s drugged, so there’s at least two more to go!

~I love the shot of Claudin listening to the thunderous applause for Christine.

~”Hearsay is not evidence Madame!”  Nice to see a police officer doing his job.

~M. Villeneuve is pissed when Biacarolli wants them to tell the press to ignore the fact that Christine sang.

~I love how Claude leans into the gravelly part of his voice after he dons the mask.  And that shot of him opening the curtains is so creepy!

~I don’t think I’ve ever actually mentioned how much I like the design of the mask...I like how it feels sort of sleek, and the deep-set look of the eyes.  And making it pale blue is such a cool choice.

~I would like both Claudin’s and Anatole’s capes, thank you.  Also love how they color coded them, with Anatole in white and Claudin in red (hero vs. villain)

~Every single thing that Anatole and Raoul do and say in the final scene at Christine’s apartment makes me smile.  The talking in sync, the side eyeing...everything.  I think this is the scene that makes every person who watches this movie ship these two characters.  The honestly have the best chemistry in the movie and I’m sad that these two actors didn’t make a series of buddy comedies.  WE WERE ROBBED.

~Nelson Eddy looks so good in that brown suit when he meets Franz List.

~I love that Hume Cronyn is in this movie.

~I need Christine’s pale blue dress in my closet now, please.

~The shot of Claudin coming through the curtains is genius.  I mean, it’s the officer’s fault for standing with his back to an open hallway...but it’s so creepy the way he appears out of the shadows.

~I love the third Opera sequence...I mean, it is Tchaikovsky, so that helps.  And Nelson sounds incredible.  And I’d still love a translation of the Russian...apparently, his pronunciation is really good.

~There is only one good bit of trivia that I got from the podcast I listened to yesterday: the set was reused from the silent film (I knew that), but the chandelier was actually in too bad of shape, so they rebuilt it, but built it in such a way that it could be dismantled for after the crash and put back together so it could be reused.  They said how much glass and crystal was used, but I can’t remember what they said.

~That shot where Claudin snaps his head back towards the camera before he begins sawing the chandelier chain always used to scare me as a kid.  On VHS, it looks like he’s looking directly into the camera

~I wonder how Raoul knew to go up into the catwalk to follow Claudin...was he dropping breadcrumbs?  Also, Claudin must have flown to get backstage and find Christine that fast, holy crap.

~He calls her “my little one”...how could anyone think that his love was anything but paternal?  Also, that “yes, what?” is such a parental thing to say...

~This Christine is so smart...thinking on her feet to try and get him to take her back...also, the fact that Susanna Foster is actually trembling is amazing.  I wish she’d had a bigger film career.

~I kind of love the fact that they are playing the concerto while the chandelier is still laying there.  Hope there aren’t any bodies underneath!

~Christine looking like she might make a run for it before Claudin helps her sit...good for her!

~God, that first look he gives her when he’s playing the concerto.  He can see that she recognizes the melody, and he thinks this crazy scheme just might work...he hasn’t started willing her to figure it out yet, but that look of recognition is incredible.  He looks down at the keys three times just to compose himself.

~I love how determined Christine looks when she goes over to grab the mask.  She knows who he is, but she just has to see his face.

~The shame on Claudin’s face after the mask is removed....whyyyyyy?  And then that quick snap to rage when Anatole and Raoul burst in.

~I love the look of panic on Anatole’s face when Christine says she’s always felt drawn to Claudin.  He wonders if she’s figured out the truth...more evidence of what was cut!

~I like how Christine has redecorated the leading lady’s dressing room.

~When Christine suggests they have supper...is she really suggesting a threesome?  LOL

~Anatole and Raoul walk off into the sunset and live happily ever after.  

THE END.

[blu-wingz]

Me, who has read the manga and seen 1998 trigun, already knows about the horrors to come, watching Trigun Stampede ep8:

I JUST WANT VASH AND KNIVES TO BE HAPPY IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK

[mofffun]

hi my name is yuki, unwavering rita's age. main over at (= replies/likes from) @meandmyechoes. inbox/dm always open.

Nitiasa live crowd. knows enough japanese plus hardwired kanji to understand 60-70% raw. all #kingohger spoilers. I stan the whole team but Rita/Yuzuki the most. i eat any ship but not enthusiastically. Am watching Boonboom weekly but lazy to post.

Directory:

gifs

translation for Kingoh extras / youtube @/moffuns

rita manga

my thoughts / headcanons / meta

weekly liveblog

trips to japan

kingohger movie (summary)

kingohger: cast / merch / reference / bts

Posts:

Kingohger:

Blu-ray 1 bonus: Prelude to Chikyuu Dance Party: [Gokkan][Shugoddom] [Bugnarok]

ep28 Body Swap ep cast commentary (King Chan #8)

Racules and Suzume's post-wedding dialogue (official snippet by Takano Minato)

Kings' ringtones

Moffun's Song

Rita OP dance solo ver.

Chikyu Language Guide/alphabet table

Yuzuki:

Yuzuki Hirakawa filmography

Debut audition clip

king chan sp: yuzuki vs ace geats

Yuzuki doing the Moffun voice onscreen

other toku stuff:

toku filming location tour (2019)

G-rosso guide

Watch list:

First toku was Ryuki at 8. relapses every 3 to 5 years since then. Now prefers Sentai to Rider.

Fave Rider seasons: OOO, Ryuki, W, Blade, Ex-Aid

Fave Sentai seasons: King-Oh, Zenkai, Kyuranger, Shinken, Time, LuPat, Gokai

Toku blorbos: Kido Shinji, Ankh, Hino Eiji, Rita King-Ohger, Stinger Kyuranger, Stacey Zenkaiger

OTP: AnkhEiji, KenHaji, RenShinji, PhilipSho, KairiKei, KaitoStacey

My first contact with Ultras was as a crying baby 😭 remembered at 7 really loving the humor in Max and running home to see it every day after school. For modern ultras I've only seen Geed and R/B plus a lil bit of Mebius and X. Want to get into Blazar this year. Minatures rule.

Another fond childhood toku is Gransazar!

[neutrallyobsessed]

EPISODE 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY'RE BACK!!!!!

there in school again and Jesús hates it lol speaking of, everyone hates Joan~ lolol

AHHH THE BLEACHERS CREATURES NOTE!! Oh shit- its funnier than i expected heh, reminds me of Mikitaka honestly~~

Wait, so this guy isn't Malcom X? Then who tf is he? fr i didnt catch a word he said when he said his name..... I guess i'll be calling him Malcom X for the rest of this liveblog and when i finish ill check what his name really is lol, i really dont wanna spoil myself on this!

POINT! attention whore confucius my beloved~~, but let's see what this professor is all about...

Abe and JFK friendship! That sounds lovely and I sure don't care! But wish the best for them shippers! I'm also crossing my fingers! Teehee :3c

INTRO!! IT'S THE SAME AS BEFORE!! eh okay, kinda wanted it to change to reflect the current relationships but the only thing that should change is the parts with Joan, JFK and Abe so.... yeah its ok...

And Candide is the sole member of the board, yeah that makes sense lol, she also took vacation, haha "tanned"

GANDHI!!!!!! SXTREAM BLU!!! BEST DUDES 4EVER!!!! KNORK!!!! G-SPOT!!!!!! RAISINS!!!!!!! wait the retainers are actually Joan's...

THE EAR PIERCING!!!!!!!!!!!

they were right, they really are teasing our cocks with gandhi what the fuck

HE'S HERE!!

YEAH GIRL INTERRUPT THAT MUSICAL, NOBODY LIKES THAT SHIT HELL YEAH!!! and there are better people out there that can explain why Jackie is epic yoo

I just want more points jsksjksjksjsjsks

yeah "well funded" but............. oh cool a rocket! so it is true that theyll send them clone to space? :D

Wow Harriet being non-conformist by being conformist thats punk as hell man!

wait book burning? lmao- NOOOOO NOT THE FUCKING MAGNETS PRESENTATION AAAA BUT THE POINTSSSS NOW WE WILL NEVER KNOW HOW DO THEY WORK!!!!

oh but harriet/not malcom x apperantly? thats looking good so far ey

Hmm i still buy the theory that Exclamation! is in Nebraska

OH umm Mr B had a very smooth animation right there.....and yeah this whole scene is funny lolol glass ceiling

JFK being a jerk ass bully!!! Hell yeah!!!! :DDD

omg this is so funny cause like JUST THIS WEDNEDSDAY! JimmyHere did his ylyl vid of the week and in that vid he went to fact check about what happens if you eat a magnet! The answer being well yeah it wont kill you but ahahahha DONT DO IT MMMMM :))))

OH MOTHERFUCKER- QUE CONCHA DE SU MADRE JJAJAJJAJA me cae chistoso este profe, con que se la andara?

OYO THE TENSION! THAT YOUTUBE SOUND EFFECT!!

I LOVE IT!!!

HE'S BACK!!

I mean yeah, it makes sense that you choose a good color when you paint a wall, specially for vandalism purposes but ey look! a canon couple passed by when Joan and Topher were in close proximity to each other! that MUST mean something right?!

MOPED!! That's SO cool! they're going Downtown babey ;3 with- the massive helmet eheh WOAH THATS TIGHT ALRIGHTTT

BILL NYE THE SCIENCE LIEEEEE JSKSJSKJSKSSKSJKS ES EXCELENTE

NADA QUE VER BOLUDAAAA NDEAAAAHHHH JSKSJKJSKSJKJS

AH BUENO EYE SEX REAL issss is this something the big mouth writers put on? ahahahhahhhhhh i want a word with them-

but does your eye got a boyfriend? WELL YEAH..........

.........

... eye got a boyfriend :v

sooo y'all just spray paint a wall? hmm ok, expecting future mischief to be more lethal next time~~

Oh so she call the feds first? hehehehhe

OHIO MENTIONED! IT HURTS TO BE THIS HIP

OOOHHHH ACCUSATIONS OF AFFAIRS~~

i love intentional animation inconsistencies uwu

OH NO ITS NOT SUNDAY OR HOLIDAYS!!!!!!

funny pose, and she's default posing lol, its kinda like the t-pose of flash/vector/2D animaion ;v

and the idea of having the idiot clone killed by their own idiocy is brilliant! BUt... his moment is over! a self contained story, what will happen next~?

oh so the sachel bleeds huh..... yknow itd be a lot funnier if humans didnt bleed but inanimate objects did, a bit of absurdist humor~~

lol suspect

Yaayyy Joan is part of the group and has friends and one of them is Topher, super important :D!

Rating: an aight start ^^/10!

Topher Bus has appeared on screen for 1:23 minutes (I'm not counting recaps or the intro)

[cina-full-moon-xanadium]

And... that’s it!

It’s a very short and very weird little time the 90s was for Kamen Rider. Marking the longest period of time Kamen Rider was off television screens - almost a decade - which is almost unthinkable next to how much of a media juggernaut it is right now in Japan, there’s very few things that really happened for this series between RX and Kuuga. You’ve got a few movies in Shin, ZO and J; and then a couple very minor specials in SD, World and vs Ultraman. Fun fact by the way, I actually didn’t do it in order; vs Ultraman came out between ZO and J -- I just figured it would be a much nicer note to end on than, uh. World.

Like most franchises that go on breaks like this with no guaranteed safety net of money it meant it was a very interesting time of experimentation -- you’ve got a comedic SD anime, you’ve got a gorey adult spin-off, you’ve got movies that delve into a far deeper realm of practical effectswork than ever before, you’ve got J being pretty far from the usual themes of Kamen Rider. It’s the kind of stuff that even with how abstracted Rider gets from the original basis of the series with things like Geats and Saber you just can’t imagine getting made today; and I love every bit of it! I’ve had my criticisms of each 90s movie but they are in my opinion some of the standout works of Kamen Rider and some of the ones I most want on Blu-Ray; they seriously show what Tokusatsu is capable of and get to some of the deeper themes of Kamen Rider that the shows just can’t do sometimes. There were at points plans for Shin and ZO to spin-off into their own full television series, and many lament that that didn’t happen... but I’m honestly happier with it this way. I’m happier we’ve instead ended up with a lot of one-shot unique takes on Kamen Rider and some special stuff to the side. It’s a fun era to look into, and I’m glad we have it. 

It also marks all of Showa Rider finished for me!! What a wild trip, huh? I’ve been liveblogging a whole marathon of this since Kamen Rider’s 50th anniversary on April 3rd 2021, and long as it was... it feels so weird for it to be over. That I’ve seen all of it. The weird, kooky old days that basically no modern fan looks into beyond maybe Black and the movies; that often gets met with... a bit of scorn, I guess? Or just completely overlooked? For obvious reasons, but I’m glad I undertook this because there’s so much thematic weight to look into; between V3 and Riderman’s drama and Kamen Rider’s distancing from humanity and Amazon’s overcoming communication barriers in the name of bonds and Black and Shadow Moon’s legendary conflict... there is so much in here, guys. You either need to really connect with the style of the time or have a lot of tolerance for it but I swear you will be rewarded if you give it a chance.

[shihalyfie]

Honestly the Frontier stage drama is anything BUT “disposable material that shouldn’t be considered canon.” Given the character arcs from the main series, the drama script itself, and the tones and voices the VAs used on stage (Tomoki’s deadpan tones rank #1 on that list, and it was a joy to hear), it’s very much something that could fit into the canon perceptions we have about each character. After all, this takes place just two years after the story, while the drama CD takes place (as you or someone else mentioned) several years later when everyone’s much busier and gotten used to being close with each other for some time.

Also, that fanart from Twitter was so delightful and perfect, and never have I seen something that so aptly conveyed exactly what would have happened had this script been animated (still holding out for more Frontier official art)

Trust me, when I was lazily scrolling through Twitter reading liveblog reactions from people attending the event, the entire timeline was just full of people going "how dare you put this kind of quality content in a vanishable stage reading?!" To give a frame of reference about what kind of content you'd normally expect from stage readings:

A silly crossover skit from 2003 with Adventure through Frontier characters discussing what constitutes a Digimon protagonist (cute, but basically just for fun as a crossover special)

The one tri. one from 2016 where the boys talk about how to hit on girls (this one actually did get on Blu-ray, but 2016 was a bit of a special case)

The Kizuna one from 2019 where the Digimon debate on what to give their partners for August 1 (cute but also canonically inconsequential compared to the official media from the movie)

The Tamers one from last year (which...I think most of us would like to forget if possible anyway)

...and, well, Frontier material is so scarce that anything is valuable, but at the same time they really just barraged us with a whole wave of extremely important material all of us were dying to know. In a vanishiable stage reading. That really is offensive. Thankfully, even questionably legal stuff aside, we had multiple people like the above-mentioned fanartist liveblogging and keeping records and summaries of what happened, but...!

(Actually, the thing that revealed these apparently aren't supposed to be canon is from a certain writer from last year being extremely salty about the fact he couldn't make any long-lasting additions to the Tamers timeline, due to the fact the official stance was that anything that goes into a stage reading is to have all records wiped. The reason is that these events tend to be rights nightmares, so other than 2016 being a special case they usually can't clear the rights to have these on preservable media and therefore don't want to have future canon depend on temporary things like this. But it's not like Frontier is all that likely to have media that contradicts any of this in the future, let alone much canonical media at all, so as long as we all agree that we have enough records of this story to acknowledge it for the time being...)

Given the way they've been handling anniversaries and based on the dates the Tamers one spanned and the Frontier one started, it seems like the air date in April is actually being used as the start and end date instead of having it be January to January, so we actually have more than six months left in the Frontier anniversary. I wouldn't rule out more new art or merch!

And that artist's work (referring to this) is super lovely, isn't it? I really appreciate attempts to preserve and visualize the contents of it, and that artist's passion for Frontier is super clear and passionate. They've been liveblogging their rewatch with fanart, and I definitely recommend checking going to their profile and checking it out.

[gatheryepower]

hi im blu (they/he'm) welcome to my anime/manga blog. currently i am very into one piece, but posts may be sparse as i am trying to avoid spoilers! i liveblog it here so warning for that. i am currently in the Fishman Island saga!

this blog it dedicated to gather ye power and RTVS, which is what motivated me to finally get into one piece. RESPECT ‼️

MY FAVOURITE CHARACTERS from things:

cube (GaYePo)

enrico (GaYePo)

nico robin (OP)

chopper (OP)

usopp (OP)

rock lee (NRT)

gaara (NRT)

beerus (DB)

broly, cheelai, and lemo cannot separate them (DB)

gamma 1 and 2 (DB)

my main is..... @shades4dogs !!!! i do ART. ... @twinvenus !