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amazildoessomethingstupid · 3 years

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Chapter 103: It’s all in the mind

BAM! Don’t call it a comeback! I’ve been here for years, damn it and we coming in hot. You thought I was gone didn’t you? You thought it was safe, well not anymore! I’ll be honest, I did actually read this chapter beforehand but for one reason or another I just didn’t make a rant for it as planned. Mainly because it was such a scattered mess of a chapter. But now that it’s been...

HOLY SHIT A WHOLE FUCKING YEAR AND A HALF. DISGUSTING, ABSOLUTELY REVOLTING! I can feel my honor fading. But, now that the time has passed, I’ve been able to get my bearings straight, and forget what I read in this chapter for the most part. So we can try this again fresh and new!

To start, we have Mike and Lucy praciticng Tae Kwon Do. Which is kind of surprising given…y’know…the whole….

Damn, not only did she recover from that with no lasting damage to her motor skills or body, but she’s managed to maintain a FUCKING BLACK BELT! I mean she’s so powerful and graceful she managed to break the wooden plank cleanly in half!

Just chopped through it like butter while Mike can only watch nervously.

Not that we have much time to spend on that, because we’re immediately thrown outside the dojo, to Mike and Lucy’s moms talking to each other.

And it’s pretty nice. We get some good dialogue and a peek into Lucy’s home life, and it’s pretty refreshing to see the adults’ perspective on the drama between our two protagonists. Honestly, I like this is a great set up for a chapter. Finally we get to see how the family feels, and what they think, or plan to do. I’m hyped!

Orrrrr Lucy’s mom can be swept aside, because who wants to hear about that stuff right? Oh man I thought we were going somewhere for a second there. Ya got me, Taeshi! Did I mention that this is the first three pages? Because it is. What is the premise of this chapter?

HEY DON’T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING WITH THIS?

So Lucy walks away from that actually interesting scene premise and bumps into…

THE MEME AMAYA! LET’S GOOOOOO!

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I DON’T EVEN CARE THAT IT’S A BLATANT SONIC REFERENCE, AND THAT’S CRINGE! It’s Sue hanging out with Amaya and there ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.

This joke on the other hand…

Oh that’s a paddlin’.

Can I just say, I kinda hate these Lucy nicknames. Like, it just seems weird. Just call her Lucy for fuck’s sake! At least she didn’t say Luce. That’s like far too close to a lewd insult for my taste…and yes, I still maintain that Jasmine is a narrative cocksleeve. Nonetheless, this page is just a nice little aside, with Lucy interacting with Amaya and Sue.

And hilarity ensues. Ho ho ho, excuse me for not laughing when last chapter left me feeling

…hollow.

Still this is pretty nice. The girls hanging out, and having fun. Talking about stuff, it kind of reminds me of what I was looking for from Lucy’s return initially (I would’ve liked to have it be more of Sue learning about Lucy, rather than Lucy learning about everyone else. But ehhh it is what it is, I can’t complain too much.)

It doesn’t take long though for the tone to get serious, and now we finally get into what this chapter’s about!

Yessssss! We get to dig into Susan’s perspective, and we can start to get a better understanding of how the drama has drained and affected other people. And maybe we can see some insight from Lucy, now that she’s forced to see that her lack of communication, and inaction has brought consequence to other people. I mean, remember Paulo?

Maybe this chapter we can see Lucy start to understand and get closer with her previous friends. Maybe open up a bit more, and try to talk about her situation, and…

OR WE COULD JUST NOT TALK ABOUT IT! THAT’S FINE TOO, I GUESS! JUST…BRUSH IT ASIDE! THAT’S COOL!

Still, this is a good scene. Finally getting more insight to Sue’s plight and mentality, all very good stuff.

And Lucy shows a bit of heart, consoling her old friend. It’s nice. It’s all very nice.

So why is she making that face…

Oh, don’t do that… Don’t make this fake character development. Please, give Lucy a heart.

Well I mean this is nice…but…

It’s all undercut by the fact that it’s a blatant deflection, and Lucy not telling the truth about herself.

YES YES WE GET IT. WE GOT THE SONIC MEME WITH THE COOL OWL AND THE SKATEBOARD AND THE HOWDY DOODIE FELLOW KIDS.

But anyway,

Susan tries to talk Lucy into joining the table, but she’s not receptive about it and-

Wut?

WHAT THE FUCK? What the fuck is he doing here? I thought this chapter was gonna be about Lucy bonding with Susan, or something nice. What the heck?

What the hell is going on in this chapter? So Mike was just choosing to stalk Lucy again after being told of by her before. And Why the fuck is Susan being the massive cunt in this situation? She’s trying to be Lucy’s bodyguard and it just comes off being an absolute bitch. Why is she doing this?

And WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!

No seriously, what the fuck is Daisy doing in this scene? What the hell is she going to contribute to this conversation? Wait…what is this conversation? WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS CHAPTER ABOUT?

Haha, funny joke. Lucy’s a bitch, haha never gets old. SERIOUSLY WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

Well now I get to start hating Lucy AND Susan’s characterizations! It’s a twofer! But at least we’re getting some insight to Daisy’s thoughts on Abbey now.

She wants everything to be alright, and cares about everyone getting along. But- HEY WAIT A SECOND!

WHY THE FUCK ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT THIS?! WE’RE ONLY 13 PAGES INTO THIS CHAPTER AND WE’VE BEEN GIVEN HALF-LIP SERVICE TO THREE DIFFERENT TALKING POINTS! WE STARTED AT THE DOJO, WITH THE PARENTS TALKING ABOUT MIKE AND LUCY’S RELATIONSHIP, AND THEN WE BUMPED INTO SUSAN AND GOT TO TALKING ABOUT HER THOUGHTS ABOUT MIKE AND LUCY’S RELATIONSHIP, THEN MIKE COMES IN OUT OF NOWHERE, AND NOW DAISY’S EXPOUSING ABOUT HER FEELINGS ON ABBEY! MEANWHILE, ALL I CAN THINK OF IS WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE DOING HERE? WHAT IS THIS CHAPTER SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT? WHAT IS THE CENTER OF THIS? WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS?!

Oh…

Oh you motherfucker.

THAT’S WHAT THIS WHOLE FUCKING CHAPTER WAS ABOUT?! THAT’S THE CENTRAL FUCKING TALKING POINT OF THIS CHAPTER? ARE YOU FUCKING F’REAL SHAKES RIGHT NOW?! SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT…

You started with Mike and Lucy going to Tae Kwon Do so she could walk away from Mike and her family to go home…

So that she could be outside and randomly bump into Susan…

So that she can point out the FUCKING MIKE YOU PULLED OUT OF YOUR ASS…

So that you could then bring in the even more ham-fistedly forced Daisy into this scene...

ALL SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE LUCY NONCHALANTLY TELL EVERYONE THAT AUGUSTUS IS STAYING WITH HER?! IS THAT WHAT YOU’RE FUCKING TELLING ME?! THAT HAS GOT TO BE THE MOST CONTRIVED BULLSHIT I HAVE EVER SEEN YOU PULL OUT OF YOUR ASS, AND THAT IS SAYING A LOT!

What the fuck is this conversation? Why the fuck are they talking like this?

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS CHAPTER?!

This is a very serious conversation. About a very serious topic, that can have nuance and give a deeper understanding to these characters’ feelings,

But it’s undercut by stupid jokes that just paint Daisy as a fucking idiot, who doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

It’s abundantly clear which side we’re supposed to be on here, but as I said before it undercuts Daisy’s character. It makes her seem like the attention-whore that she was made out to be in the earlier chapters.

Like, look at this. She’s full envious bitch-mode right now! She was stalking Mike a minute ago, and it all just undercuts what could be a very serious character moment for Daisy, and you know what?

I just realized why it took me so long to do this rant. At the time where I was initially going to write this rant, I noticed that we were about to hit a crossroad.

Because this was right at the time when False Idol was having the Augustus talk between Daisy and Lucy (and before you mention it, I would like to note that this scene was planned far ahead of time and it was not influenced by the canon chapter) but if you’ll allow me to pride myself, I wanted to mention what False Idol did right about this talk. And why I have such a problem with how the Canon has portrayed this scenario. So let’s take a moment to talk about False Idol, because this scene in particular is one of those scenes that I put a lot of thought and effort into, to do it right.

First of all, it doesn’t start with Lucy just flatly saying that she’s been seeing Augustus. It’s Daisy taking the initiative and talking with Lucy to get information on Agustus.

And much like in the canon, Lucy is very apprehensive (and rightly so) about Daisy pining over Augustus. But unlike in this chapter, Lucy isn’t being judgmental and controlling, telling Daisy that she’s an idiot for wanting Augustus. She’s bewildered, because why the fuck WOULD Daisy want augustus? He almost raped her in the comic…but there’s a twist…

We as readers (or at least those of us who had gotten a sneak peek at the BCI exclusive Another Chance when it was published) know, Augustus actually wasn’t going to rape Daisy. This was the twist and lynchpin for this entire scene in False Idol. And how, Daisy’s pining for Augustus isn’t that outrageous.

The truth is, Daisy didn’t really know what Augustus was going to do. She may assume that he was going to have sex with her, and of course Abbey would reinforce that Augustus was trying to rape her. But now that she’s away from Abbey, and able to think for herself she may look at the situation in a different light. She starts questioning what really happened at the carnival and thinking it may not have been that bad.

But even though she doubts that it was what it was, she still recognizes that it’s not a good idea, and thus looks to confirm it with Lucy who is the only other person who has been around Augustus.

But just like in the canon, Lucy is still very against Daisy going after Augustus. Even if he’s not a rapist, he’s not a good person.

The difference being that Daisy’s argument shows us she’s not stupid and gives a better understanding about her feelings, and what exactly makes Augustus special to her. He made her feel like no one else did, not even Mike.

It’s clear that Daisy’s want of Augustus isn’t just surface level attention-seeking. She wants to feel special. She wants to feel more than loved, she wants to feel confident, and the truth is there was only really one person in her life that made her feel free.

But it’s still reinforced that going after Augustus is a bad choice, much like how it is in the canon. However, there’s a part of this argument that the canon completely misses out on.

Slut Daisy, is a Free Daisy. Everyone has looked down on her as a child who needs to be protected, Abbey coddled her, Paulo wouldn’t touch her, Mike doesn’t want her like that, and she’s forced to watch everyone else have their own relationships and drama, get to make their own choices and mistakes while she gets to watch on the sidelines.

Daisy’s argument isn’t just about wanting to go after Augustus because he makes her feel good, or because she wants the attention that he provides. It’s about her wanting the freedom, the confidence, and the ability to act for herself. Because the alternative is being left wondering what could’ve been when it’s too late. A lesson that Lucy knows, all too well.

Daisy can be a very complex and interesting character. Yes, she is an attention whore, she’s needy, she’s naïve, but she’s smart. And to downplay or just push those traits aside and label them as just blatantly bad and not something that can be built upon, or used to grow this character into something more. Something stronger, better, but still DaIsy. The problem here though is, that that’s not what the canon is interested in. The canon doesn’t want Daisy to evolve to slut Daisy the free Daisy, or if so it wants it to be a clear black and white bad thing. But I digress, because that’s not what this argument in the canon is about.

No this isn’t about Daisy…

No… this is about Lucy.

Oh my god, she finally showed some emotion! This is what we’re gonna talk about. We’re gonna have her open up and talk about her feelings, and…

Say nothing…

Alright, I’m not heartless. I understand what’s going on, and what the implication is. About Lucy equating her abuse to Daisy’s and not wanting her to go through the same things that she did. It’s understandable, and I feel sorry for the character. The problem is, the way this is structured by having Lucy just go back to controlling Daisy after Lucy’s outburst and go back to being cold, and composing herself in one page makes this statement feel…wrong. It feels too cold, almost like the outburst was only used to forward the point Lucy was trying to make. It feels…emotionally manipulative. Not just on the part of Lucy, but on the part of Taeshi as a writer. She can’t be wrong, because Lucy’s a victim. There’s no argument for Daisy to go after Augustus, because Lucy knows more about it. There’s no growth, we just get a peek at the inner turmoil and damage that trauma has caused Lucy, and the conversation is ground to a complete halt.

There’s nothing to say, there’s nothing changed.

And the last three pages are spent just watching these characters we ham-fisted into this scene just to watch them leave.

Oh and Sandy’s not talking to Mike. There we go.

But that’s the end of this chapter. It’s All in the Mind, and my god… It’s hard to talk about this chapter because it brings up Lucy’s trauma to the forefront again, which is always a difficult topic. But let’s not forget that this is a fucking convoluted chapter. We spent the whole first half of this chapter so that we could force characters into place, and yell at them for a two page outburst. There’s a number of interesting conversations that it brings up, but it doesn’t spend any time working through them, and the one talking point that it does bring up is just a one-sided “my problems outweigh yours” argument, and that’s all that is accomplished. You could’ve done so much more with the characters, I mean for fuck’s sake Mike LITERALLY DIDN’T NEED TO BE HERE! The only reason he’s in this scene, is so that Lucy can tell Mike he’s worse than Augustus! It’s just dicking us around, and then punching you in the gut out of nowhere so that this chapter can seem like it has a point.

But it doesn’t.

We as readers are quite aware of how Lucy’s trauma is affecting her, especially given how that was literally right before this chapter. It’s just catching the rest of the gang up on that, in fact…

Didn’t we start this chapter with the adults catching up on what’s been going on?

And then the whole conversation with Susan catching Lucy up on what’s been going on?

Not to mention, we earlier had the jab to point out old traits like Lucy’s deaf ear.

And Daisy’s old attention-whore ways

AND WE LITERALLY STARTED OFF WITH THE KIDS PRACTICING TAE KWON DO, RECAPPING AN OLD PLOT POINT THAT PEOPLE DIDN’T REMEMBER.

4/10 It brings up a lot, but it doesn’t seem to do anything with it.

#rant #Bittersweet Candy Bowl

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sparda3g · 6 years

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Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma Chapter 261 Review

We have finally reached to this point; the end of the road. Erina has already amazed the top 2 Elite 10 members, but they’re not the one to judge, so it does not count. Erina’s dish is finally served in this 2-part judgment process (I think). This chapter is the first to present Erina and her true form of specialty; unleashing her special perk. Having said to be part 1, it’s no doubt we are slowly savoring a magnificent taste of victory.

It’s no secret that Erina stole the battle singlehandedly; arguably the entire arc. She has been on a tremendous momentum and the ride won’t end until she can get the last laugh over azami. The last chapter was so satisfying for her character to evolve, pairing love increased tenfold, and her killing spree keeps on going. This chapter is where she will finally get to claim her rights to live as a sole person and mark the end of her father’s reign.

The tension deepens from the very first page with many characters including the audience, preparing to be amazed by Erina’s specialty. You would think it’s the protagonist that is on stage, about to blow them away, but it’s Erina. Wait, I think I contradicted myself…The moment of truth keeps on building up and Erina never look so alive and confidence with that second page.

Tsukuda is likely aware of the hype because it was purposely stalled further with Azami getting his last words while acting like a father in a rare occasion before meeting his ultimate defeat. It’s all the merrier to hate the guy, trying to ruin the hype. It was strange to see him talking like a caring father, as if he decided to be concern of her. He points out how she was breathing heavily after improvising for 10 minutes. The problem is he’s more concern on the presentation.

Somehow, he deviates from his concern on her health towards the representation of a chef. According to him, if they improvise or try to cook something unusual, it would force them to work so hard; much difficult than what’s already established. He’s not wrong about that, but it’s not as inventive, hence lack of enthusiasm. Because of that, he finds her dish unacceptable. It comes off like a cheap excuse and act like sore loser; however, it actually does play a role and key to his character.

This is like a cooking series’ version of “any last word” moment. Think of a scene of when a character about to do something that will change forever, the other character would plead to do otherwise. Case in point, Azami tried to convince Erina that her dish shall not be served due to health and such; but Erina, the Queen she is, has decided. She will serve and thus, breaking all chains from Azami completely. I have been surprised plenty of times from the last chapter, and yet this one surprised me as well.

The special insert is none other than Furi-freaking-kake!

I forgot to mention in my last review. The part I like about the callback that this series does is how it is done in an appropriate timing that isn’t just nostalgia, but it serves a significant purpose. It’s hilarious that Erina used peanut butter and squid for her dish; however, it’s fascinating how it connects to the main theme of creativity. It was always portrayed as the worst dish imaginable, but Erina made it work. If it can be delicious, then nothing is impossible. It is this series’ version of “anyone can cook.”

In this chapter, it’s the furikake that amazes the judges with its transformation. The detail of how it slowly melts really made it look so good. Saeki went out of his way to zoom in a piece of meat with the cube on top slowly dissolving. There has to be a restaurant for me to try; it’s drool worthy. Decora more or less described my reaction just by looking at it. Finally, the tasting process commences and Azami activates Erina’s trap card. He look awed judging by his eyes. You have done that to yourself.

Surprise, surprise, Decora and Anne got foodgasm, now with tentacle…well, you know what (serious note: is there a better word than that?) Actually, instead of tentacle that wraps around the two judges, it’s the egg sauce or juice that engulfed them. Saeki really spent a lot of time in his early days as Toshi huh. If stripping isn’t the endgame, this could be it. The description of the taste favors towards to creativity because they are awestruck beyond anything. Never would they have imagined that there could be something more than what’s already considered “perfect.”

I do like the full picture of the foodgasm (not the wrapping) where they are once living in a good life with what they already have. Everything changes when Erina attacks. Her specialty is so blessing that the servants of God have arrive to carry them to the heaven heights. It’s a funny, charming, and delighting way to describe the taste in the nutshell. How adorable those little Erinas are; it reminds me of chapter 3 with Soma. Now it brings me to this point: Erina’s specialty.

The thing about her specialty is quite terrifying. She is like jack of all trades and now, she can master of all. Actually, it’s more like polishing or harmonizing for a unique balance. The reason why it’s amazing is because her choices of recipe are what they are considered as: low-class. If she can convert it and make it at least redeemable like with peanut butter and squid, she can make anything delicious like 5-star class; perhaps even more. It’s why the resemblance to Soma’s little servants happened here; it’s the same, only in its master form, at least in her own way.

Her specialty goes against everything Azami believes in. I don’t know if Azami was aware of her specialty to be this, but if so, it would make a lot of sense for his action to be painful that ultimately manipulated her. She has a gift that can influence anyone to cook the way they see fit. It’s like what she believed in: cooking is fun. She pretty much was his enemy from the get-go. If he can enslave her, he can twist it to his favor by converting her God Tongue into “there can only be one way” morale.

Erina completes her development against Azami. The days of his control over her are long gone. This is her farewell. She was the bird in the cage; now flying away towards freedom. She calls it “True Gourmet Flying Away from the Academy: Delinquent Daughter Style.” Looks like Yukihara rub even got to her in naming as well. How they won’t be together will be a war crime of the century.

It’s about time to see Azami losing his cool after everything. He finally reached to the tipping point; no longer put an evil smile to hide his actual feeling. Actually, I do recall him bit his finger after confronting with Alice, humiliated no less. He has bad luck against female Nakiri I suppose. In all seriousness, he does have a flashback that brings the light to why he said those words about “concern” before.

The flashback lasts a page and 1/3 but it’s enough to give you an idea where he established the problem he sought fit to eliminate. Before Jouichirou lost his love with cooking, he was experimenting different recipes with the dish that he won gold prize with. Azami didn’t understand why he tried to change something that is already perfected, but he told him that it fascinated him to see other possibilities such as flavors. It was his belief that Azami believed what got him “damaged.”

Azami was portraying like a killer from a case from Phoenix Wright the video game; nearly about to break and show his true color to everyone. It is filled with angry words that continuously deny anything else but his. It’s no wonder his character acted unusual when Erina was breathing hard. He believed Jouichirou gave up his passion because he tried too hard to find other means and because of testing many recipes, he burnt out. Worn out Erina probably resembles him in his view. That would explain his reaction towards his farewell; like he knew why he left Tootsuki.

It’s not the same with Tsukasa because his problem was to find the upmost perfection, even when he was getting great reception. Tsukasa could be manipulated to find only one path to cooking; that’s why Azami wanted him on his side. The irony is that even if everyone follows the way of one path, they will eventually be burnt out from little to no joy. Probably even at a quicker rate than what he could imagine because reality is it won’t work at all. There’s no escaping from fallout or a perfect solution.

The ending is…interesting. Well, more like the first impression because apparently the series took a dark turn with a bomb explosion. It perplexed the hell out of me that Erina became a complete antagonist. Soma was crying but later raged over her betrayal and said the line, “You traitor!” Okay, none of that happened, but the explosion did and that alone was still strange. Erina must have Plan B to secure her win.

Azami has a shock look in his face; again, another moment of slowly coming to his defeat. Judging by the yelling, it appears that his “blessing” has begun its effect to the audience. I don’t know if it will be a domino effect as in everyone will slowly get stripped away or the shock factor is how his blessing can spread out in far distance. The former is expected by fans, but I wouldn’t mind the latter one as well. Not sure about the explosion part but this is a cooking manga.

I just love how it ends with Erina about to make Azami her pawn. He has been the ruler for far too long; what goes around comes around. Erina can cook an amazing dish that can beyond any expectation. Azami asked for a death flag by announcing his technique to everyone; she would get her point across even stronger. If she can make a Nakiri or in this case her father to cause bursting, making everyone stripped, she can cook a dish with the snap of her finger.

*snaps*

…just like that…

It’s the first part of the thrilling conclusion. It may not end up as a 2-part judgment process, but it is certainly the beginning of the end of Azami’s ambitious plan. The artwork is nice, even with the foodgasm scene. Erina continued to be the most impressive person on Earth with her delighting determination and blissful touch to the dish that is already mouthwatering. It was sublime to see her development coming this far and now, she is about to rule the world. Grant us that win!

#food war #shokugeki no soma #shokugeki no souma #chapter 261 #review #erina nakiri #soma yukihira

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joyofcrime-elinorhigh · 5 years

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2017 Year in REVIEW: Part 2

Hello everybody, my name is JoyofCrimeArt and welcome to the final week of Deviant-cember! It's been fun ride, but it's time to wrap up 2017. And I'm doing by going over all the major animated series/animation related news that came out this year, ranking the shows from best to worse, and deciding which animation network "won" the year. If you haven't seen part one yet I suggest you check it out before continuing this part, 2017 Year in REVIEW: Part 1 But for those of you who have seen the first part, let's just jump back into things. Teen Titans Go! had another miniseries this year as a follow up to Island Adventures. This time, based off the episode "40% 40% 20%." one of the most popular episodes of the series. And to celebrate this event Cartoon Network decided to have a marathon airing nothing but Teen Titans Go! and the newly premiered O.K. For an entire week! I'm starting to feel numb to this. This is the "Night Begins To Shine" Miniseries, how was it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGIe8d9w8O4

Now before I get into this, I do feel like I need to briefly go over my opinion on the episode "40% 40% 20%" since that's the episode that this miniseries is directly based on. And my opinion on it is pretty much the same as everybody else's. The episode is great, and shows that Teen Titans Go! can be genuinely good when it wants to be. The episode featured a stylish art style, a story that focused on abstract visual storytelling, and a really catchy song. The episode isn't without it's faults, but it is one of the best Teen Titans Go! episodes, in my opinion. So how did this sequel do? Well let's start with the positives. The visuals in the music word are still really good, capturing the 80's aesthetic perfectly. It honestly reminds me a lot of Moonbeam City. Anybody remember Moonbeam City? No, oh. Okay... The covers of the song "Night Begins to Shine" by Fall Out Boys, CeeLo Green, and Puffy Ami Yumi were also neat to hear. Especially Puffy Ami Yumi, it was a nice throw back to the old show having them preform. However, I do wish that more time where devoted to these covers. However, the special does have it's fault. One problem, surprisingly, is that the special focuses too much on story. Complex stories are not Teen Titans Go's! strong suit. Part of the reason why "40% 40% 20%" worked so well was because of it's simplicity. It focused less on story and more on visuals and atmosphere. But by trying to stretch the story out to an hour, and giving the music world this whole backstory it takes away that simplicity. Also we spend a lot of time in the real world, away from the psychedelic visuals that we all came for. And while "Night Begin's To Shine," plus the new song they make are both extremely catchy, they aren't enough to fill up an entire hour. And since all the covers are all shoved in at the end, the song kinda get's old after a while. And visually they don't really do much new with the music world that wasn't done in the first episode. However, I don't want to be to hard on the episode, because unlike a lot of other episodes, you can really feel the passion that went into it. It feels like the people behind TTG were really trying to make something epic. And while I don't think it entirely works one hundred percent of the time, I do give them an A for effort. The special is better than Island Adventure from a technical standpoint, but it doesn't have the "so bad it's good" element that Island Adventure had. So it's kinda up to you're own personal preference to figure out which mini-series is more enjoyable. But that's not all CN did, as like I said before, It wasn't just a Teen Titans Go! marathon, but also a marathon for there new show "OK KO: Let's Be Heroes."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWyHZQARrnM

OK KO: Let's Be Heroes, created by Ian Jones-Quartey, follows the adventures of KO, a young optimistic kid who work's at a mall plaza. The twist however being that it's set in a world with the rules and logic of a shonen anime or a beat-em-up video game, and by working at the plaza he'll be able to fulfill his dream of becoming a hero. Already the show has a lot of promise with it's premise alone, but how does it succeed in terms of execution? Let's start with the characters. They're all pretty good for the most part. KO is a very likable character very reminiscent of the young hot blooded shonen protagonist that he is inspired by. Enid works well as the straight woman- But not to straight, ammiright!? Up top!

Oh man, we got ourselves a sad lonely lesbian up in in this hiz-ous! Quick, Somebody give this show an Emmy! Also I'd like to give special mention to Lord Boxman and his robot children, who are my personal favorite characters. Imagine Megaman's Dr. Willy and his robot masters crossed with Team Rocket from the Pokemon anime. The only character who I'm not super crazy about is Rad. He's not awful or anything, but his obnoxious personality can definitely become overbearing at points. Also his entire character arc is pretty much just Lars' character arc from Steven Universe, only not as well done. But he doesn't ruin the show for me or anything. The animation for the show is kinda hit or miss. The show has a very sketchy art style that people seem to either love or hate. Personally, it's not really something I gravitate to. Though I do admire that it has an art style that looks different from the traditional "CN" art style that we've seen so much of the last couple of years and also do like how it has a kinda "middle school doodle" aesthetic to it. It's not a bad art style, just not really my thing. However, what is a bigger problem is the consistency of the characters designs. And thus we enter the online debate that's been haunting the animation community have been having since Ren and Stimpy came out in the nineties. Is off model animation ugly or expressive? I feel like it can work in some cases, but I don't think it works here. Characters look off model so much that it just comes off as sloppy. Which is a shame because if we're talking just about the actual movement this has some of the most fluid animation that I've seen in any Cartoon Network series. I also have a bit of the problem with the writing. I don't know what tone this show is trying to go for. Half the time it seems like it's trying to be this super silly cartoon while the other half of the time it tries to be a serious lore show and it doesn't gel well. The comedic elements mix well with the lore, like having the big season one mystery revolve around a falling sandwich. I just couldn't find myself caring about it all. Also the shows main evil shadowy figure pulling the strings name is Shadowy Figure. I'm sorry I can't take this villain seriously. Coupled with some episodes with some really hammered in morals and a odd amount of gimmicky episodes, the show ends up feeling like a jumble of interesting yet disconnected ideas without any clear cohesion. But is the show bad? No. What I think saves the show is the characters. They are genuinely likable and I like just seeing how they interact with each other. It's defiantly an improvement over there last couple of shows (Ben 10, Mighty Magiswords, Powerpuff Girls,) but I don't think it lives up to some of there other modern classics (Like Steven Universe, Adventure Time, or We Bare Bears.) OK KO is Okay...KO. The unwatch button is down there. I completely understand. Meanwhile Disney decided to get into the reboot game with Ducktales 2017. And can i just say that I genuinely think that if they didn't use the old theme song everybody would hate this show. Like they could keep everything else the exact same, but if they cut the theme song down to say thirty seconds like most cartoons now of days people would hate this as much as they hate the Powerpuff Girls reboot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKSU82afy1w

Well the show doesn't have any of the original voice actor and the creator's different, so the show must be awful right guys? Okay cool, done. Next show- No, obviously I'm kidding. Let's talk about Ducktales 2017. No need to spend to much time on the plot, cause it's Ducktales. You all know the story. Three trouble making young ducks move in with there rich adventure loving Uncle Scrooge, and shenanigans ensue. They solve mysteries, rewrite histories ect. Disney hyped this show to hell, and even aired the hour long series premiere TWENTY FOUR TIMES IN A ROW! I really wanna know, was there anybody who watched ALL twenty four showings back to back to back? I mean someone must of, right? Now I don't know much about Ducktales. It was WAY before my time, though from what I can gather this is a pretty good series in terms of it being a reboot. It isn't just adapting the old show. It's combining elements of the old show, the comics, and new ideas and that's honestly the best way to go about a reboot in my personal opinion. I'm glad they just make it a rehash with all the still living cast members returning, and a ton of wink and nod references to the old show that new fans won't understand. I give the show a lot of props for that. I also want to praise the shows beautiful art style. I love how it looks like a comic book, not only calling back the series roots, but also giving it a unique visual identity. The show is also really funny, having a very clever wit mixed with a very comically exaggerated world. The world feels very comic book-y and has a real sense of fun to it. It's cool seeing all the creative shrines and temples that exist in this world, just waiting to be explored. The characters range in quality, though that may not be the shows fault as episodes are being aired out of order, and as such the amount of attention given to each cast member is not equal. But I won't hold that against the show. However, the show is far from perfect. It suffers a bit from what I call Milo's Murphy's Law syndrome. As in, the show is great on it's own but is so similar to what came before that it takes away some of the enjoyment. "But JoyofCrimeArt" I hear you saying "I thought you said that this show wasn't rehashing the original Ducktales cartoon." And it's not. It's rehashing Gravity Falls. Okay, maybe "rehash" is a strong word, but It's hard to not notice the similarities. I don't know if this show is borrowing from Gravity Falls or if Gravity Falls was actually just a ripping off the original Ducktales and it just took me five years to realize it, but just take a look at the similarities.

We got a group of tween age twins/triplets-

-who move in with there miserly jerk with a heart of gold great uncle.

And a socially awkward spunky girl with a grappling hook-

-Who are trying to solve a mystery involving a missing personal. All without letting the miserly uncle know what's going on.

With the miserly uncles dim witted older assistant-

-and a cool "older sister" like role model along for the ride.

With an antagonist who is a rival businessmen to the miserly uncle. Seriously, it's pretty blatant. And to be fair it's not an exact rip-off or anything. Some things are executed differently. The world and comedy of Ducktales is definitely a lot more cartoon-y and over the top than Gravity Falls. And there are elements in one but not the other for sure. But there are definite parallels, and judging by the marketing Disney is doing for this show it seems pretty clear that they want this to be their "new Gravity Falls." It's not that the show is bad per say, but it's hard for me to not compare it to Gravity Falls, and I'm sorry but Gravity Falls is definitely the better of the two series. In fact you could say that this show is basically...

Also can I just say that I don't give a crap about this shows lore. Like, at all. They try to do the big overarching mystery thing and I am just not invested at all. I like shows with lore, I really do, but this is far from a new concept at this point and if you're going to do it now you got to add something new to it But this is just the same beats. And I could be wrong, but I feel like I know exactly where it's going. Without going into to many specifics there's a character who mysteriously disappeared, and it looks like they did something really bad before disappearing. But I know their's going to be some explanation given to make their actions justifiable because I know they wouldn't make this character a bad guy. Their's another character who their playing up as working for the villain, but I know their going to give this character a redemption arc because that's what all lore shows like this do. Their doing that thing where they're solving this mystery but they don't want anybody to know about it, without any real reason why other than just the "we can't trust anybody" crap. Character's keep secrets from each other just so there can be more mystery. These tropes were new and innovated when shows like Gravity Falls and Steven Universe came out.. but that was a while ago and we've had a lot of mystery shows since then we've seen all these story beats in those shows, and nothing new is brought to the table. So yeah, I can't say that I love this show as much as most people. But that doesn't mean I hate it. Their are things I do really like about it. Like the humor, the cartoon-y atmosphere and the art style. But it is a shame when the mystery, the thing that's suppose to be the most enticing, ends up being the shows weakest element. I think if this show came out a couple years ago. before so may cartoons followed this kind of formula, I would of liked it a lot better. But hey, at least it's better than Marvel's Spider-Man. Ha-ha! Segway!

Yeah...this show doesn't really have a theme song... Now it's hard to talk about Marvel's Spider-Man without talking about the previous Disney XD Spider-Man series, Ultimate Spider-Man. I only watched a little over one season of USM before I dropped the series because honestly, it wasn't very good in my opinion. The whole show felt like it was made by a committee featuring dumbed down writing, obvious cross promotion to other Marvel properties, and a Spider-Man who came across less like a nerdy genius and more like an arrogant buffoon. So when this series was announced, with official press statements referring to it to a "back to basics" approach to the franchise, I was hopeful. How did the show turn out? Well...it's better than Ultimate. I think.... Honestly it seems odd that they cancelled Ultimate Spider-Man for this because the series feels like it has most of the problems that Ultimate Spider-Man had. Just slightly less so. The writing still feels dumbed down, but slightly less dumbed down. The series is less focused on cross promotion and mostly features Spider-Man characters, which is a plus as I though that Ultimate Spider-Man was a bit too "Marvel Universe Centrict." But that still hasn't stopped the show from already having an episode where Spider-Man meets Iron Man, and another episode where he meets the Hulk. IN THE FIRST FOURTEEN EPISODES. This version of Spider-Man is more of a nerd which is good, but they messed it up by going in the opposite direction by making him TOO MUCH of a nerd, with him constantly talking about how awesome science is at every possible opportunity. Also the animation of this show is really bad. Nothing is shaded properly, and it's very distracting. The only thing that I really like about this show is Norman Osborn. He's voiced by Josh Keaton, who played Spider-Man in the Spectacular Spider-Man and I was shocked to see how well is was able to pull off such an opposite character. He's just as petty and cartoonishly conniving as Norman Osborn should be. But other than that, the show doesn't have much to offer. It's clearly made for really little kids, and their isn't really much for adults. It's that bland kind of bad, where it feels like there just wasn't much passion put into this. I'm sure that's not true but that's how it feels. Speaking of reboots of 80's properties, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 aired it's final episode after five seasons and over one hundred episodes. Now like I said in part one, I've only seen the first two seasons of this show, so I don't know how good the last three seasons where, but I'm glad that the show got a good run. From what I saw, it was a pretty great show. However what does annoy me is that Nickelodeon moved it to Nicktoons with only TEN EPISODES LEFT! Like really Nick? You couldn't just air the last ten? Meanwhile at Netflix, not satisfied with just one anime-esq cartoon project they decided to make another. This is...(sigh) This is Neo Yokio. Or, another installment in my side series series, (Oh, the Cringe!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLNRZ_1WyzM

Neo Yokio, created by Ezra Koenig and starring Jaden Smith was a show that was originally pitched to the Fox ADHD block, but ended up in a state of development limbo after said block got canned. But someone at Netflix decided that this show was something that the world desperately needed and decided to pick it up themselves. The series stars Kaz Kaan, the most popular bachelor in the entire city of Neo Yokio. He's you're average millionaire celebrity dealing with all the first world problems that a millionaire celebrity have to deal with. But he's also a demon hunter...and..and...and... Jaden Smith is younger than I am. How come he has his own anime?! I want my own anime! Come on Netflix, pick up "Average Spirit Warrior" please! This show is odd. Not just odd, it's an odd kind of odd that's hard to explain. I don't know what this show wants to be, and so I don't know how to judge it. Sometimes it seems like it's trying to be an action show. Other times it seems like it's trying to be a straight forward comedy. OTHER other times it seems like it's trying to be parody of anime. And other other OTHER times it feels like it's trying to be a serious show about social issues like the wealth gap and the gender spectrum?! Is there just some rule in the Netflix contracts that says that every Netflix show has to tackle gender identity, regardless of it it fits the series or not? Is that why Bill Nye's show had a rap about a vagina? Is that why? It has a real adult swim vibe, like they bought the rights to some obscure early 2000's anime and decided to make there own dub. The animation even has the quality to it to, with lots of really bad lip syncing. The show's art is also not that great, looking like it's ten years older than it actually is. The show varies in quality from so bad it's good, to actually pretty dull. Unlike other over the top weird anime Neo Yokio has a very slow pace, which makes everything feel at lot more mundane. Also Kaz is a very hard character to relate to because he is so rich and so oblivious to the world around him. Though the show does definitely have it's stand out moments. The show is so bizarre that there are plenty of funny "WTF" style moments, like the running gag with the Big Toblerone bar and some of Jaden Smiths bizarre spiritual-isms. Jaden Smith, while pretty monotone as a voice actor, did surprise me a couple of times with some okay comedic timing believe it or not. The show also has some interesting world building that I wished they elaborated more on. There's sort of this alternate history element to this world's history that result in a lot of creative idea. It's a world with no 9/11, the Soviets are still around, Japan and Italy are somehow one nation... You know I bet if your reading this without watching the show first I sound like a raving lunatic. WHY IS EZRA KOENIG MAKING AN ANIME? He's primarily a INDIE GUITARIST! Do I recommend watching it? Ehh, I can say that I have never seen a show quite like it...I'd say watch the trailer. It's a good representation of the show, and if you find that trailer "funny bad" then you'll probably get a kick out of this show. If not, then you can skip it. Overall, to me at least, the show just didn't have much synergy... But hey, don't say you love the anime if you haven't read the manga...

And Teen Titans Go! is getting a movie and wait...what? NEXT JULY!? Shouldn't there be like a...trailer or something out then?! I mean Spider-Verse has a trailer and that's not coming out till December! But hey..."In general, if a traditionally animated film comes out in theaters I'll see it just to support the medium." Right? I mean that's what I said in the last part...rIgHt?1 Now all the stuff that I've previously mentioned we're all fine, but none of it was grabbing the cartoon community attention to much. Ducktales came the closest, but with Rick and Morty Season three about to end there needed to be another show to be the new big thing. Then...Big Mouth Happened. Or...another installment in my newly booming side series (Oh, the Cringe!) REAL WARNING: NOT SAFE FOR WORK! For Real.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8DlpO5UOnI

Now when I decided to watch this show in preparation for this review, I thought that I was going to be the only person in the cartoon community to really talk about it. I thought that this show would like "Legend of Chamberlain Heights" or "TripTank." An awful show, but a show that would fly under the radar just because of how "generically awful" it would be. That's why I was suprised when this show became the biggest hot topic in our community,and a widely debated topic at that. For real, I haven't seen a show this polarizing in a long time. People like Mr. Enter and I Hate Everything say that the show is awful, and one of the first cartoons ever, bordering child porn in terms of the content that the series shows. Other's like PhantomStrider on the other hand found the series to be a smart and deep dive into the lives of prepubescent adolescents and tackling the topic well. Which side do I land on? Ehh, somewhere in the middle I guess. I'll start with the pros of the show first. The show's biggest strength it's relatability. Being a show that tackles puberty it is almost impossible for you to not relate to this show on some level. This does help ground the world and get you into the characters easier because you see yourself in their shoes. The characters are fairly good for the most part, with Andrew being the most stand out character out of the main four kids. This I think was what surprised me the most, as most of these shows tend to make the characters assholes for the sake of being assholes but they stay mostly likable. Though the best character overall to me personally is The Ghost of Duke Ellington played by Jordan Peele. His performance is just so over the top and it's just such a random idea for a character that I can't help but kinda like it. Also there's this one gym coach character who I feel like I should be more annoyed by, but I kinda end up really liking. Though that might be just because he reminds me of Coach Z from Homestar Runner.

I show also covers a lot of topics that aren't covered in a lot of other shows, and covers them well. There is actual thought put into it. Honestly I think this show would be a good one to show somebody who is in puberty, as it gives a lot of informative info out in a much more personal way then most sex ed videos do. The internal continuity of the world is very hey wire. Sometimes people can see the hormone monsters, sometimes they can't. Sometimes they have the ability to effect the world around them, while other times it's kept ambiguous to weather or not they even are real, or just figments of the characters imagination. But I also don't think that it's really the point of the show. I think it's just whatever is funnier in the moment. There's a fluidness to the reality. However, there are definitely some problems with the show. Whenever the humor is trying to be crass or offensive the jokes tend to land a lot less. The show can end up becomes genuinely uncomfortable, and there were a lot of moments where I did end up changing tabs while watching. Being on Netflix they are able to get away with a lot, including showing full uncensored penis, vagina's, semen, and more. Often times involving the kids, and there is a real creep factor to it. I know the shows about puberty and that's the subject matter, but I feel like this is a rare case where "show don't tell" doesn't apply to storytelling. This is the shows biggest issue, and it's hard to ignore cause it's in almost every episode. The shows art style also isn't the best. It has this "Family Guy meets Klasky Csupo" look to it. And those are to properties that aren't most well regarded for there animation. Overall I can say that I did enjoy the show more than I was expecting to. Though keep in mind my expectations were "Brickleberry." I think the show is more good than bad though, with the comedy and the likable characters being the saving grace. But if you don't like ugly animation or gross out, then just pull out now. Meanwhile in the real world McDonalds released the "Mulan Schezwan Sauce" to the public for one day only. All in honor of a Rick and Mortyjoke from the first episode of season three. Fan's rioted as there was not enough supply to meet demand, leading to the story getting national coverage from major news outlets. Honestly, I have nothing to add to this, I just think it's funny. But forget about joy, it's time to become suddenly all serious and depressing! As the #MeToo movement happened several animators where accused of sexual misconduct. Some of the names of those accused include Loud House creator Chris Savino and Head of Pixar and Disney animation John Lassenter. I do want you to keep in mind though that these are just accusations. It seems like lately when a celebrity is accused of something like this people always decide that their guilty until proven innocent. Because they don't want to come off as victim shaming. However that doesn't mean they didn't do it either...yeah I have nothing else to really say here. Chris Savino was fired and John Lassenter was put on a six month leave, with rumors saying he'll be fired afterwards. Um...there's no non awkward way to segway out of this topic is there? Crap. Um, anyway Teen Titans Go! had there 200th episode. And guess how they celebrated. Go ahead, just make an educated guess. Well if you said an almost four day Teen Titans Go! marathon over Thanksgiving weekend, then you'd be right!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7MWNWJReqU

Okay well, at least this one was actually celebrating something! So there's that at least!

Meanwhile the same night Nickelodeon premiered "Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie." The finale thirteen years in the making.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfSPjRoQjCk

He's got a journal and a long lost relative. Y'know what that means, it's time for some LORE! Now, I've never really watched Hey Arnold before, outside of a few episodes- JESUS CHRIST! WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN?! -But despite that, I did find myself enjoying this movie more than I thought I would. The movie is fairly stand alone, and for the most part can be enjoyed without prior knowledge of the show. The biggest strength of the film is the cast, who are genuinely likable, and the comedy which is genuinely funny. I also like how the movie does have a bit of a darker approach to it. It's not Samurai Jack dark or anything, but the villain is genuinely threatening and there are some actual onscreen deaths. It's not bloody or anything, but it's pretty intense for Nickelodeon. This really gives the movie a since of stakes and danger that I really enjoyed. It earns the PG rating. There are some problems though in terms of the story telling. There are some forced conflicts that seem like they're just there to be there. Also the movie is actually pretty confusing in terms of what is magic and what isn't to the point where I'm still not one hundred percent sure if the ancient prophecy was true or not. Maybe I missed something, but it seems kinda muddled. Also the villain, while threatening, isn't very interesting. He's just the cliche "want's money" villain, with nothing making him really stand out. But most of these problems aren't TOO glaring and I was able to enjoy the film regardless. And if I enjoyed it then I'm sure people who actually watched Hey! Arnold probably loved it. And I'm glad that the fans finally got a proper ending after all this time. Unfortunately, despite trending on twitter the movies actual ratings were not very good, getting a 1.7 million across three networks. That might sound okay, but it only barely beat out The Loud House episode that aired right before and that only aired on one network. Even Teen Titans Go! 200th episode, which airs on a much less popular network, was only a couple thousand views less than it. I'm torn, because on one hand I liked the movie and wished it did better, knowing how long the creator and fans were waiting for it. On the other hand, I'm hoping that this might help Nickelodeon get out of their "90's kids phase" that they seem to be in. i mean there's Hey! Arnold, Invader Zim, Rocko. All these announced revivals really makes it feels like there kinda having a mid life crisis. And while there nineties shows where great, I think they need to acknowledge that it wasn't there only good period. If there's something to take away from this, it's that as much as you hear people talk about how much better things were better in the nineties, these people are the minority. Most of the people who watch these channels are kids, and kids don't care about old nineties and two thousands shows they've never heard of. They care about what's on now. Also, while this news effects much more than just animation, Disney bought most of Fox's entertainments rights for fifty two billion dollars. Which is an amount of money that I cannot even begin the fathom. That's enough money to buy everybody in the world five large McDonald's Soda. And that includes like new born babies and stuff. (Alternatively, that might be enough for about three Schezwan Sauce packets.) In terms of animation, that means Disney now owns The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob's Burgers, Archer, All the Ice Age and Rio movies, Allen Frickin' Gregory. I'm honestly a bit worried about this. Disney is become more and more powerful, and I feel it's only a matter of time till they monopolize entertainment. I'm also worried how this will effect other TV channels. For example, if Disney wanted could they pull all the Fox shows off of adult swim, or TBS? Only time will tell, as this deal will take about a year to really go into effect, but hopefully our new mouse overlord will be merciful. And to cap of f the year, Cartoon Network decided to celebrate Christmas by having an EIGHT DAY LONG TEEN TITANS GO! MARATHON! (with two episodes of Steven Universe sprinkled in.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc7hwNB4Cv4

Now I know what you're probably thinking. "Wait, if they just passed two hundred episodes, then doesn't that mean they only have enough episodes for about two days?' Well normally yes, but even though there's only enough episodes that last two days, through a miracle it was able to last for eight nights. And that's why we celebrate Hanukkah. For real though, I try to defend Cartoon Network, but this is just too far! We had JUST gotten a multi-day Teen Titans Go! marathon literally a month ago! While annoying, at least I understand that one. It was for there two hundredth episode. It's a big milestone that should be celebrated. But this is just Christmas! Cause who wants to watch Christmas specials on Christmas right?! And it's not just Teen Titans Go!, I'd be upset regardless of the show. As of the time of this being posted it's still going on. And it's not just CN. Nickelodeon had a last minute schedule change replacing several of there Christmas specials with Spongebob and Loud House reruns. Not all there specials though, and it was only for one day, so it's far less egregious. But it shows that when one channel falls they can all be effected. Ugh! Yeah, I hate to end on that note, but honestly I'm just happy that I didn't end on sexual harassment, which was a real concern at one point. 2017 was a wild ride for the animation community, and I'm glad you came along with me on this look back through it all. Now, it's time to rank the shows. Keep in mind though that this is just my personal opinion. Also I'm not very good at these list things, and my opinion tends to change all the time. This is more of just a "for fun" thing. Let's do this. 9. Bunsen is a Beast 8. Castlevania 7. Marvel's Spider-Man 6. Ben 10 5. Neo Yokio 4. Big Mouth 3. (TIE) OK KO: Let's Be Heroes and Ducktales 2017 2. Hanizuki: Full of Treasures 1. Samurai Jack Season Five Though that's just my opinions now. Who knows how they might change in the future. And keep in mind that there were a lot of shows that I didn't see or talk about that came out this year. Like these... (Apollo Gauntlet, Big Hero 6: the Series, Billy Dilly's Super Duper Subterranean Summer, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Danger and Egg, Dorthy and the Wizard of Oz, Hotel Transylvania: The Series, Legend Quest, Mysticons, Niko and the Sword of Light, Sex Swings, Strech Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, Tangled the Series, Tarantula, Tarzan and Jane, Tender Touches, The Jellies, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, Unikitty, Vampirina, Wacky Races 2017, Welcome to the Wayne, Wishfart) As for the grade, last year got a B-. Good, but could use improvement. This year...honestly I have to give a C. Just...average. Even not counting the shows I talked about this year there were several shows that I watched, intending to put into this review, that I ended up cutting cause I had nothing to really say on them. And honestly, even shows like Ducktales and OK KO, which are pretty high on my list have their problems. But I acknowledge that every year's quality won't be exactly even, so I'm not going to panic just yet. I still have high hopes for 2018. Now for the network that "won" this year. BTW since this is a new segment, I'll announce the winner for 2016 too. Last year I would say that Nickelodeon "won" the year for their success with The Loud House and for getting Spongebob out of it's seasonal rot. I've never seen the public opinion of a network to change so quickly. As for this year, I will say that the winner was Netflix, for really proving that their committing to animation. In addition to having the most shows I talked about this year (3/10) they also had other series that I didn't mention like Strech Armstrong Magic School Bus. Not to mention new seasons of Bojack, F is for Family, Voltron, Trollhunters and more. Sure not every show they had was great, but it shows initiative, and shows that they are a worthy contender in landscape of animation. So that was 2017 year in review. While not the best year, it did have it's some very memorable series and moments. And I can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for the world of animation. What did you think of any of the shows or stories that I talked about today? Are there any that I missed? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment down bellow. I'd love to hear them. Please fav, follow, and comment and have a great year. See ya in 2018! (I do not own any of the images or videos in this review all credit goes to there original owners.)

https://www.deviantart.com/joyofcrimeart/journal/2017-Year-in-REVIEW-Part-2-722602821 DA Link

#Ducktales #Neo Yokio #OK KO #review #ok ko let's be heroes

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afoolsingenuity · 7 years

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The Hate U Give // It’s A Must Read For Everyone

The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas

Published: 6th April 2017 Source: Bought Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction My Rating:

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice. Movie rights have been sold to Fox, with Amandla Stenberg (The Hunger Games) to star.

A book about fighting for what's right has never felt more apt than right now. I mean, the past few weeks has once more demonstrated that racial equality has not been achieved and it has never been more obvious than in the US. I would go into my rant about the racism demonstrated by the white supremacist nazis who were protesting but I don’t want to work myself up to rage about it. I don’t need to when this book will help fire up that feeling of outrage.

This book has been raved about and hyped up and I was so wary about picking it up and being disappointed so it is safe to say I am thrilled it met all expectations and firmly placed itself as a must read for YA lovers (and book lovers in general). It’s an eye-opening read that will hit you in the feels and it’s certainly one I believe everyone should be reading. I should have read it far sooner but it’s sad to see even after the Black Lives Matter movement has been alive and well for a while it’s a book we still need today as there are still people out there who hold racist beliefs and whose voices are still being heard and not talked down enough.

I wasn’t sure how to talk about this book. I’ve tried three times to write a review which fully captures why this book is important and how it packed such a punch and I’ve been failing epically. At first I thought about writing five reasons why you should read, but there are far too many good reasons to read than that. Then I tried to write my normal review and couldn’t find the write words to explain why this book is good. I kept getting drawn off into tangents and I began talking politics and it all went wrong then. And so I’ve been sat staring as screen with about three different takes on this book all in one post. I’m going to try and be concise. Wish me luck.

This book was eye opening for me. I was aware of the struggles which were on going in America (and around the world, race is not an exclusively US struggle) and I knew about the Black Lives Matter movement. I was even aware that racial profiling was done by the police. I know the statistics for the number of black lives taken by the police last year and I know that more black people are killed by the police than in terror attacks. I know the statistics but actually reading a book where this happens is very different.

Angie Thomas speaks from a place of knowledge in this book. As her acknowledgements say, she grew up in an area very similar to Starr and had similar troubles reconciling herself at home and that at school as she had two very different personas. She knows the struggle of getting out of a poor neighbourhood and making her way in the world and you can see her experiences shining through on the page. You heard it in the way that Starr is viewed by those in her neighbourhood as seeing herself above them as she doesn’t hang out with them as much now she’s at a private school. You see it how she modulates her own self to fit better with her rich, white friends at her private school. There are certain phrases and speech patterns she won’t use so she doesn’t come across as an angry black girl. She is viewed as inherently cool by her white friends simply because she is black she must know what is cool whilst with her black friends at home she isn’t cool. She hangs back. The perception of her in both places is very different. I wouldn’t have even thought about it but it’s something which people do to fit. I know it’s now the same but we all alter ourselves from at home to how we act in a professional environment, like work. We alter ourselves slightly to better fit in. Starr has to do that in everyday life. Seeing her reconcile her two selves into one through the book was interesting. Especially as it was triggered by her witnessing the police shooting a friend and it being a spoken about topic both at home and at school meant her two worlds collided when she had managed to keep them very separate before that.

The skill at which Thomas shines a light on everyday things you don’t even notice was amazing as well. For me, getting pulled over by the police would be nerve-wracking (it’s the police, it’s always a daunting experience) but only in the way you mentally catalogue anything you’ve done wrong and try reassure yourself you’re not guilty. Not because you fear how the police will react to you and whether or not you have to fear the police themselves. Not because you fear they will look at the colour of your skin and you will be at risk. The fact that this is a normal occurrence for many a person and they have a reason to fear not because they’ve done something wrong but simply because the colour of their skin is shocking. It was not comfortable to acknowledge that although we like to believe we are beyond such thing racism is still obvious in the everyday and people get treated differently due to the colour of their skin. That has been very obvious in recent weeks seeing white folks gathering with firearms in a public place and there has been no rollout of the army whilst when black people protested for the killing of someone from their community there have been curfews and a large police presence.

It is not always comfortable seeing Starr’s friends and the way which they act and some of the comments said. I wasn’t always a fan of Starr’s boyfriend, especially with some of the comments he made… but he was good at demonstrating incorrect beliefs and when being taught why they are incorrect. Like the comments about black names being weird and then Starr and her friends demonstrating that in fact white names are weird (different cultures people!) and white people insistence that they split up (fatal horror film choice you should never make and it made me laugh when this then happened in a book I was reading, guess what everyone ended up captured!). Those lighter moments which highlighted comments which are racist but made fun of them were great because those are the comments people are likely to make. That fun interaction of learning about different cultures was good and it was fun and it meant this book never came across like it was preaching at you.

This is just a brilliant book. It’s brilliantly written and it’s smart. It talks about relevant issues in the world and thus should be read by everyone. For me it gave a different perspective and it taught me knew things. It led me to question my immediate response to events like a police shooting and reminded me that there are people involved and now be too quick to believe everything being said on the news. It will make you laugh and make you cry and make you care about all these characters and want to keep them safe. You will rage at the injustices seen and cheer on the small moments of success. When a character learns they’re being racist and stops you will want to let out a small cheer. And when someone is being an idiot you will want to smack them upside the head for being dumb. It’s chock full of all that good stuff I like in a book and I will be trying to force everyone I know to give this a read.

Have you read The Hate U Give? What did you think?

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