#season 2 remake of one of my older posts

[shuffleoflove]

me when heartstopper s2 comes out and i get to watch the paris squad be cute and have fun in paris:

me when i remember all the shit that goes down after the paris trip i'm about to witness:

[madame-mortician]

Random Evil Dead Fun Facts!

Because I'm hyperfixated on it :P

Originally, Ash was supposed to lose an eye in Army of Darkness, but this was scrapped.

Currently Evil Dead (2013) has the most fake blood used in a film, with 50,000 gallons being used. This isn't that suprising considering that during the final 10 minutes of the film, it is raining blood non-stop.

Freddy Krueger's glove is in the workshed in Evil Dead 2. This is a reference to how in A Nightmare on Elm Street, Nancy watched The Evil Dead. Ironically, that was a nod to how Wes Craven's "The Hills have Eyes" poster was in The Evil Dead. That in turn was a nod to how in The Hills have Eyes a torn Jaws poster is seen on the walls. Very confusing easter egg.

Ironically, Ash actually does say the correct words during the Necronomicon scene in Army of Darkness, but it's hard to hear due to Bruce Campbell coughing his way through it, which sounds like something Ash would do honestly.

Speaking of that scene in Army of Darkness, it is actually established that Ash isn't good at remembering phrases, shown by the scene in The Evil Dead, where Ash tries to recite a greek quote but fucks it up.

Evil Dead Rise confirms that the original trilogy takes place in the same universe as the remake and Evil Dead Rise. For one, they confirm there are three volumes of the Necronomicon, being the ones seen in Army of Darkness. The first Necronomicon, Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, was found by Prof. Knowby and read by Ash and his friends. The second book, Naturom Demonto, is the one Mia found in her family cabin and the final one, also named Naturom Demonto, is the one locked in the bank vault in Evil Dead Rise.

Each deadite in Evil Dead Rise has different eyes referencing the older ones. Ellie has unique silver eyes, Bridget and the neighbours have golden yellow eyes (like in the 2013 film) and Danny has pupilless white eyes (like in the original trilogy.)

The character names in Evil Dead (2013) start with letters that spell the word "DEMON" (David, Eric, Mia, Olivia and Natalie.)

Similarly, the building in Evil Dead Rise, the Monde, is an anagram for Demon as well.

A reocurring theme in the Evil Dead films, is a sister getting possessed and tormenting their sibling. This is shown with Cheryl and her brother Ash, Mia and her brother David, Ellie and her sister Beth and Bridget and her siblings Danny and Kassie.

All the characters in Evil Dead Rise are named after actors from the Evil Dead films, which I elaborate on here.

Originally Army of Darkness was named "Medieval Dead."

The original ending of Army of Darkness showed Ash waking up in a post-apocolyptic future, but it was changed to the more optimistic ending. Despite both Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell preferring the original ending, the redone ending was used to continue the story with Ash VS Evil Dead.

The original ending was also supposed to lead into Evil Dead 4, where Ash would've fought deadites in the future with robots and other futuristic tropes, but because the ending was changed this never happened. Ironically, the same thing happened to Ash VS Evil Dead, when Season 3 ended on a cliffhanger so that the next season could be in the post-apocalyptic future, but this too was cancelled.

The German version of Army of Darkness incorporates both endings. It starts with the deleted ending, where Ash incorrectly takes 7 drops instead of 6, but as he sleeps it cuts to black and says Ash began dreaming over the centuries. Then it cuts to the regular ending where Ash is in the supermarket and is hailed as a hero before cutting back to him waking up in the post-apocalyptic future. Ironically this is my favourite ending, but it's not-canon.

Evil Dead (2013) had a bunch of different endings before settling on the, supposedly, canon one. One ending had Mia simply leave and the film ends, another had her go to leave before being jumped by a demon (like in The Evil Dead's ending), another had her collapse on the road and get rescued only to reveal she was still possessed and another had her go to leave but start floating before she exploded. The canon one is likely the theatrical ending where she simply walks away, and since we never see Mia again we have nothing to confirm or deny this.

The Abomination from Evil Dead (2013) is inspired by the poster of The Evil Dead, which depicts a woman being dragged into a grave. The Abomination even does the same pose when it rises.

Speaking of The Evil Dead posters, the promo images for The Evil Dead, showed Bruce Campbell and Bridget Hoffman being attacked by a skeleton prop, and defending themselves with a chainsaw. Despite being in all the promotional images and being on the literal cover, Bridget Hoffman was not in the film, though it's likely she is supposed to be a stand-in for Linda. She also played a cameo role as a sword fighter in Army of Darkness, and the voice of the Lori doll in Ash VS Evil Dead.

In The Evil Dead originally it was written that the characters would be smoking weed whilst listening to the tapes, perhaps as a way to explain why they would willingly play the tape, and as a way to rationalise the characters dumb decisions for the rest of the film. This however, was scrapped when the actors did smoke weed for the shot, but got too high and became uncontrollable.

The opening shot of The Evil Dead was filmed by Sam Raimi who stood on a boat, whilst Bruce Campbell pushed him along.

One of the demon passages in The Evil Dead translates to "Sam and Rob are the hikers on the road" a reference to the fact that the two hitchhikers at the start of the film are literally Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert.

During The Evil Dead, a cameraman slipped and dropped his camera onto Bruce Campbell's face, which caused several of his teeth to fall out.

Apparently during filming for Evil Dead 2, after one of the slapstick scenes Bruce Campbell heard somebody making funny noises above him and thought they were making fun of his performance, only for it to turn out that guy got electrocuted. I say apparently because even though Campbell said this himself, he could've been kidding.

Originally the idea with Evil Dead (2013) was that it would get a sequel, similar to Evil Dead 2 but with Mia, and then Ash's story would get a sequel with Army of Darkness 2, and then a third sequel would be made that would have Mia and Ash's stories merge and have the two characters meet, explaining the random after-credits scene in 2013. For some reason they never made the sequel to Evil Dead (2013) and the sequel to Army of Darkness was scrapped for Ash VS Evil Dead instead. The 2013 sequel was replaced with Evil Dead Rise, and Bruce Campbell has since retired as Ash in live-action.

In Japan, Army of Darkness is called "Captain Supermarket" probably being in reference to how Ash works in retail.

So far Evil Dead Rise is the only Evil Dead film without Ash's yellow delta, though apparently the chainsaw used by Beth is the same exact colour as the delta, being a double-reference.

Speaking of the delta, Ash's car appears in Evil Dead (2013), sitting abandoned in front of the cabin. It is most likely just an easter egg and has no lore implications.

Mia and David are half-siblings with different fathers. Originally it was intended for Mia to be Ash's daughter, but this was changed by Raimi. Ironically Ash did end up getting a daughter in the TV show.

Speaking of, Mia was supposed to appear in Ash VS Evil Dead, but it’s likely she wouldn’t have fit since her movie and experience was way darker than Ash’s, and she wouldn’t fit the tone.

The canonical reason Evil Dead (2013) is so similar to The Evil Dead is because the Necronomicon can cause history to repeat itself and likely lured the 5 friends to the cabin (which could also explain why some of the randoms are even here). This is why the 5 characters play very similar roles to the original film, Eric is Scotty, Natalie is Linda, Olivia is Shelly, and David is Ash whilst Mia is Cheryl. The reason Mia survives instead of David, and becomes more like Ash in the finale is likely that when David saved Mia, which Ash failed to do with Cheryl, the Necronomicon decided David should die and Mia should take Ash's role instead. It's also possible that David took the role of Annie in the finale, with him helping before being killed last second, but this is a bit of a stretch.

Bruce Campbell has two cameos in Evil Dead Rise. First is his voice being heard on the first tape Danny plays, where he plays a priest yelling “It’s called the Book of the Dead for a reason!” The second is simply the biting noises when Ellie bites Gabriel’s eye out, being Bruce Campbell furiously biting an apple.

Lee Cronin (Writer/Director of Evil Dead Rise) stated that Bruce Campbell’s cameo was intended to actually be Ash Williams himself. His reasoning was that Ash has found himself in the wrong time period a lot, and it would make sense for a time-displaced Ash to try and get rid of the Necronomicon in the past, before shit hits the fan.

Chet Kaminski was invited by Ash to go with them to the cabin. He chose not to come because Cheryl was also going and he didn’t want Ash to find out he was dating his sister as he feared it would end their friendship. This ultimately ended up saving his life.

In the Evil Dead films, the only characters to be possessed after they died were Scotty, Eric, David, Danny and the neighbours (Evil Dead Rise).

Shelly is never mentioned ever again after The Evil Dead. Scotty is mentioned once, in Ash VS Evil Dead.

Whilst shooting the recap scenes in Evil Dead 2, originally it was intended to have The Evil Dead be more closely followed, with Scotty, Cheryl and Shelly being there with Ash and not just Linda. Sam Raimi himself was going to play Scotty, but it was scrapped in favour of it being only Linda. It’s this recap that led to many fans and viewers being confused and assuming Evil Dead 2 was a retcon or remake when it was not. They couldn’t simply use footage from The Evil Dead due to licensing issues.

[bookishbrewer]

⚠️ CW: Suicide, Toxic relationships, depression, mention of self-harm

Why I believe that House's story ends with tragedy post season 8 - an opinion piece:

Hello everyone, this is a remake of a post I did a couple years ago on an older blog. If you find it familiar, I'm sorry if this one is a bit messier than the original. It's been longer since my last rewatch.

So, let's recap the finale of House MD: Treating a drug addict patient results in House examining his life, his future and confronting his own personal demons.

As we know, House ends up faking his death in this episode, after going on a 2 day drug fuelled bender with his drug addicted patient. The patient ends up overdosing & dying, and House remains to confront his 8 seasons worth of demons. At the end he escapes the firery scene & fakes his death by switching his medical records. After all of that, he runs away with Wilson to spend his remaining 5 months to live.

Before House replies to what Wilson is saying, he thinks for a moment. I want try & piece together what was going through his head at that moment evaluating his life:

1. Every romantic relationship with House ends in heartbreak

Stacy

Season 2, Episode 11

Cameron

Season 3, Episode 8

Lydia

Season 5, Episode 23-24

Cuddy

Season 5, Episode 6 // Season 7, Episode 23

Dominika

Season 8, Episode 13 // Season 8, Episode 18

Every single one of these relationship was ended because House either deliberately behaved in a way that would push the love interest away or by breaking their trust. House was never actively malicious towards his partners, but he was not a very good partner. He was self centered, self loathing, very much focused on himself (even when trying to be as supportive & caring as possible) but at the end of every relationship, the women understood that they could not remain in a Healthy relationship with House. Either because he refused to tackle his addiction, his psychological distress & trauma or be honest with them and respect them as equal to him in their relationship.

2. House's relationship with his family

House was severely abused by his father, a military man, both physically & emotionally. His mother did not protect him from said abuse (probably because of feeling deeply guilty about her affair that gave birth to Gregory), which lead to him growing in an abusive houshold that was built on lies, dysfunction & distance (which partially explains his behavior in the show, especially his approach to human nature: "Everybody Lies"). House was never really close with his parents, so it would make sense that he would not rely on them for support in any way, not even in a life or death situation such as him feeling at his lowest in every aspect of his life. In addition to that, he may even doubt how much his loss would effect his parents if something were to happen to him.

3. House's suicidal ideation

House is shown numerous times in the show to not reject the option of ending his life. He actively tries to commit suicide twice during the show (Merry Little Christmas, season 3 episode 11 // Simple Explanation, season 5 episode 20), ponders it in the season finale (Everybody Dies, season 8 episode 22) but decides against it, choosing to fake his death instead.

In addition to that, he also indulges in self-harm in the form of cutting himself (also "Merry Little Christmas" & "Nobody's Fault"), intentionally hurting his limbs (leg - "Under My Skin", hand - "After Hours").

Like Wilson said, House cannot go back from that decision (similarly to how you can never come back from suicide). He can never have access his addictions: puzzles (medicine) & escapism (Vicodin & other drugs). We know how House gets without his meds, he becomes... A shadow of himself. Sometimes it's a violent dark figure, sometimes it's an apathetic & silent husk, sometimes it's a dark creature screaming in agony, sometimes it's just House, but something is off. Without constant puzzles, dissecting human nature & feeding his ego & emotional needs, he's lost.

Unlike other characters, like Dexter Morgan from the Showtime series "Dexter" House never treats suicide like it is somehow "beneath him":

Dexter speaks to Sg. Doakes, Season 2 Episode 11

Compare & contrast that to House's reaction to Taub pleading with House to try & understand Wilson's decision to discontinue his cancer treatment & to die with dignity:

Season 8, Episode 21

Just the thought of Wilson passing away before his time triggers House's suicidal thoughts. He disregards the patients & visitors in the background, the colleagues that may hear, Taub himself, everyone. This, in my opinion was the start of the "nothing else matters anymore" mindset. House was already at the end of his rope, and losing the person he loves more than anything else in the world was just... Too much.

4. House doesn't see a future without Wilson

In season 6, Episode 10, House refuses to be present during Wilson's surgery at first:

Wilson: I want you to be there

House, after thinking: No.

Wilson: Why?

House: Because if you die, I'm alone.

House cannot fathom the possibility of witnessing Wilson die. He cannot even consider for a moment to stand before Wilson's lifeless body & realizing that this is it, he is completely & utterly alone in this world.

We see multiple times that House not only cares deeply about Wilson, he is also dependant on him, to the point of the relationship often becoming toxic for both of them (hurting other relationships, sabotaging new ones, need for validation of both the relationship itself & both of them of each other individually, indulging unhealthy behaviors towards others etc).

But we all remember how that situation concluded:

House watching over Wilson as a big bright light washes over him as he loses consciousness. To me, this seems like foreshadowing for what's to come after the season finale, after those last 5 months.

Another thing that caught my eye was him stating "I can live without Kyle" (season 8, episode 20) when referring to a guy that stole Wilson's prom date when he was in highschool. He wanted to immitate said 'Kyle' for the entire episode, trying his best to act uncaring, aloof, "alpha". Essentially, to act out of character. But numerous times in said episode, Wilson still displayed the very same characteristics that both House and the audience love so much about him. So House affirms that he cannot live in a world without Wilson, just the way he is.

5. House is willing to preform a "mercy kill" for his close friends

In the episode "The Dig" (Season 7, Episode 18), House assures Thirteen, who's diagnosed with Huntington's, that he is willing to euthanize her when her Huntington symptoms worsen (this happens after Thirteen confides in House, telling him about how she killed her own brother after his Huntington symptoms worsened. House's reaction left Thirteen shocked, hurt & disappointed, as it seemed like he did not care at all. But we know he did, very deeply).

House gets a positive reaction from Thirteen, which is later also approved to the audience & the people in House's funeral when she states in her eulogy: "He was willing to kill me". Wilson, as we know, is also in the audience. He then knows that House is willing to preform a "mercy kill" on a loved one. He also mentions it in the finale:

Wilson: When the cancer starts getting really bad-

House, putting a halmet on: Cancer's boring.

I want us to return to the "I'm dead, Wilson" scene:

House is at a point in which he feels like he has nothing left to lose. He has no close friends that give him meaning besides Wilson, no family to rely on, no romantic relationship seems to last, he feels powerless when it comes to his addiction to drugs, he is facing jail time after accidently breaking an MRI machine with Foreman's ticket gift which he flushed down the hospital's toilet (which may as well cause him to be fired & lose his job and/or license to practice medicine, in addition to the fact he faked his own death).

We already know that House is prone to depression, self harm & suicidal ideation (including attempts), we've covered that he is willing to end a loved ones life if there is no medical solution to their health related state, we know that Wilson is not (to our knowledge up to the last episode) willing to go through any other treatment & we know that House cannot live without Wilson.

Adding all of this up & remembering the foreshadowing of Wilson's health related issue & House's course of action (watching over him as a bright light covers the screen as he loses consciousness) I believe that after those 5 months, when the cancer gets really bad, House will take Wilson's life... And then, his own.

This is essentially the end of the post, but I would like to add a few things:

Disclaimer: this post is not meant in any way to promote, encourage or agree with anything that supports one taking their own life, self harming or any other kind of self inflicted damage. This is just a theory based on how I've precieved House's character.

Short fic based on this post:

[inimoose]

what's the pili(?) stuff you keep reblogging?

as far as i see, it's a stop motion doll story, set in china(?)

and it kinda looks like the modao zushi my sister reads

霹雳 or Pili is a Taiwanese glove puppet drama that’s been airing since the 1980s and currently there are over a thousand episodes. The plot varies across its many seasons but it’s basically about martial arts, sword fighting and lots of drama between the many many characters of the show. (It's not stop-motion btw, it's filmed live with the puppets)

There’s always some bad guys or groups stirring up trouble. But bad or good the characters always look damn good I mean...

Beautiful :')

Anyway its been a special interest of mine since I was about 16 Cartoon Network aired a horribly edited dubbed version of it before quickly pulling the plug on it (Wulin Warriors… only look it up if you want to cringe)

As much as I love the series it's rather hard for people to get into if you don't know Chinese. BUT if you are interested you have some options!

Thunderbolt Fantasy:

It's not Pili but a new series, a collab between Pili, Nitroplus, and Good Smile. If you like anime you'll love this! There are 3 seasons, 2 movies, and season 4 is in production I believe. You can find it on crunchyroll or any site that uploads anime.

Pili Fantasy: War of Dragons:

A remake of an early Pili series made to appeal to a global audience. It was on netflix, which was a dream come true for me.

Literally.

But since all my dreams are meant to die, netflix removed after a couple years. There's no legal way to watch the subbed version, but there are other ways if you know what I mean 🏴‍☠️

There's another 2 seasons of Pili Fantasy but they are sadly not subbed.

Lastly Studio886 on youtube is currently posting subbed episodes of older Pili series. I will post them in chronological order

Pili Totem:

Pili Anomalous: The Dragon Domination:

Pili Sealed Spirits Island:

Pili Military Conflagration:

Even though these are older series they're still very good! I'm working my way through The Dragon Domination currently.

I know this is probably way more than you wanted to know but if even one person watches Pili because of it I will be happy. Thank you for the question!

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

Before this week's GMMTV announcements, I thought it was a good time to review my bingo card from Part 1, and do some manifesting for what we haven't gotten yet.

What I got right on my bingo card from Part 1 (which in hindsight, I did better than I realized based on announcements):

- Enemies to lovers, Pond in a comedic role, and if you squint, sort of AouBoom as leads because it's an ensemble cast - all covered by We Are.

- BL series with new actors - a safe bet, yes, still counts, Only Boo (which is actually turning out quite cute).

- Workplace romance - The Trainee

- GemFourth in something cute & innocent - My Love Mix-Up

- Paranormal romance & Gawin in a new lead role with a new partner - My Golden Blood, now to be joined by The Vampire Project for the paranormal part

- I'm also pretty sure I picked ViewJune as a side couple before they were confirmed as one for 23.5, so I'm gonna take credit for that as well.

What seems likely in Part 2:

- Mark Pakin in a lead role. He kind of spilled the beans already, plus it would be fucking dumb to not give him a lead at this point.

- 2 GLs in 2024. Pluto takes one spot, and based on rumors of a particular author posting about the event, another seems likely. (Pluto might also technically qualify as my secret identity romance pick but it remains to be seen).

- FirstKhao romcom. We want it, they want it, it's basic math. Give it!

- Neo paired with someone new and in a non-comedic role. I haven't heard much rumorwise, but I got the impression that Mark may be partnered with someone else. Which I think is good! They worked in Only Friends, but I think it's good to have a roster of flexible BL actors. I know Neo will be in My Golden Blood, so that sorta already counts for a serious role, but I assume he'll get more as well. (Omg, what if he hooks up with Mond as villain boyfies).

Less likely but not impossible:

- Remake of a Korean series. But after mining Japan so successfully, they might want to attempt more (especially if Korea is more flexible with airing rights).

- BL series with actors over 30. Their actors and audience are all getting older, let's bring in some maturity (Yes, of course this is about Papang making out onscreen for my enjoyment, I apologize for nothing).

Not gonna happen and I will be salty about it:

- JoongDunk vampire series. The Vampire Project is right there. Joong as a serial killer is also acceptable. (But of course I will watch them in whatever they get. I would just love for them to not be in university once again.)

- Midnight Museum 2. You give me such beautiful weird chaos and a perfect BL setup for season 2. And we won't get it, because god forbid that Gun ever get to kiss a man who isn't Off. Let him make out with other people, goddammit!!

Not in my card but manifesting all the same:

- Something worthy of Perth. Look, I like Chimon. He is very talented. And I had fun with Dangerous Romance. But I can't deny there was a chemistry problem. I think they can get past it, I really do, but they need the right series, the right coaching - heck, hire Saint to come do a one-on-one class of "how to make out with Perth like you mean it".

- Keep breaking out of the predictable BL settings. They've started to, and they need to keep it up. I'd love a strong sci-fi.

- More trans characters. More gender diversity. More breaking stereotypes.

[absolutebl]

Hey! So I'm watching destiny seeker and it's so cute that it makes me want to watch more university bl. The problem is that i think I've already watched most of the known ones. Are there some lesser known uni bl that you'd recommend?

( Off the top of my head, ive atleast checked out sotus, bad buddy, we best love, kiss me again, 2gether, futs (I can't remember if that was high school or uni tbh), semantic error, tharntype, lita, blueming,eighth sense, stay by my side (I don't remember if this was uni or high school either), theory of love, his:2 crossing the line, and be my favorite if that counts. Oh and I've never been able to make it through oxygen)

Exhaustive List of University BLs as of late 2023

This list is by my ranking off the Spreadsheet of Doom. Best (by my standards) first. I treid to pick only those that are set in university and revolved around it as the primary drivers. He's Coming to Me got knocked off, for example, but UWMA stayed on.

Title - Country & Year

MY FAVORITE UNI BLS - WATCH THEM NOW - 10/10

Semantic Error - Korea 2022 Until We Meet Again- Thai 2019 We Best Love - Taiwan 2021

THESE ARE PRETTY GREAT TOO - 9/10

Bad Buddy - Thai 2022 Blueming - Korea 2022 Oxygen the series - Thai 2020 The Eighth Sense - Korea 2023

THESE ARE GOOD BUT TROUBLE ME IN SOME WAY - 8/10

2gether & Still 2gether - Thai 2020 Be My Favorite - Thai 2023 Between Us - Thai 2023 Dark Blue Kiss - Thai 2019 (prequels = Kiss Me Again et al, watch guide here) Destiny Seeker - Thai 2023 Hidden Agenda - Thai 2023 HIStory 2: Right or Wrong - Taiwan 2018 (teacher/student) Love By Chance - Thai 2018 (Mame warning) Love Class - Korea 2022 Love Class Season 2 - Korea 2023 Mr. Unlucky Can Only Kiss AKA Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai! - Japan 2022 SOTUS - Thai 2016 Star in My Mind - Thai 2022 Stay By My Side - Taiwan 2023 TharnType - Thai 2019 Theory of Love - Thai 2019 Why R U? (Korean remake) - Korea 2023 Why R U? - Thai 2020

IT'S FINE 7/10

2 Moons 2 - Thai 2019 2 Moons The Ambassador (2 Moons 3) - Thai 2022 En of Love: Love Mechanics - Thai 2020 Enchanté - Thai 2022 Future the series - Thai 2023 Love in the Air - Thai 2022 (Mame warning) Mr. Heart - Korea 2020 My Engineer - Thai 2020 My Type - Taiwan 2021 Nitiman - Thai 2021 Private Lessons - Korea 2019 (teacher/student) Secret Crush On You - Thai 2022 Silhouette of Your Voice AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru - Japan 2017 Step For You - Korea 2018

I HAVE CONCERNS OR MEH - 6/10

2 Moons - Thai 2017 Ai Long Nhai - Thai 2022 En of Love: This is Love Story - Thai 2020 En of Love: Tossera - Thai 2020 Friend or Lover - Taiwan 2016 Gen Y - Thai 2021 Love By Chance 2: A Chance at Love - Thai 2020 Love Mechanics - Thai 2022 My Secret Love - Thai 2022 Starstruck- Korea 2023 Together with Me - Thai 2017 Tonhon Chonlatee - Thai 2021 You're My Sky - Thai 2022

WELL IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO - 5/10

4 Days - Pinoy 2016 Don’t Say No - Thai 2021 Friend or Lover - Taiwan 2021 Gen Y 2 - Thai 2022 Itsuka no Kimi e - Japan 2007 Like Love 1 AKA I Love You As A Man: Part 1 - China 2014 With Love - Thai 2019

YOU MAY REGRET YOUR LIFE CHOICES

4/10 Fish Upon the Sky - Thai 2021 Nabang Spark - Korea 2011 Our Days - Thai 2022 Pastsenger - Thai 2023

3/10 Coming Out AKA Kamingu Auto - Japan 2014 Melody of Our Love AKA Bokura no Ai no Kanade - Japan 2008 Our Memory - Taiwan 2020 Reminders - Thai 2019 The Cupid Coach - Thai 2021 Together with Me the Next Chapter - Thai 2018

2/10 From Here to There - HK 2012 The Effect - Thai 2019

1/10 A Round Trip to Love - China 2016

Here's an older post I did:

Slightly more recent:

[llavender-prince]

Bokumono Survey Results

hello, a little while ago i made a bokumono survey and posted it to the ranch story discord, and then a while later i posted it here to tumblr! it received 102 responses! wow! check under the cut to see the results from it! it's a long one.

Age: 79.4% of responders were 19-30, 16.7% were 31+, and 3.9% were 14-18. No responders were 13 or under, which makes sense, given the survey was posted on two places that require you to be 13 or older. Mainline Games:

Wow that's a lot of bars! The most interesting pieces to me are the most played games and the least played games. The most played game is DS/DS Cute, followed by the Friends of Mineral Town remake, and then a tie between the original (More) Friends of Mineral Town, all versions of A Wonderful Life, and A New Beginning. And the least played is Hero of Leaf Valley, by a very notable amount. Only 12 people out of 102 played it! The next least are Harvest Moon 2 and 3 for the Gameboy Color.

Spinoffs:

Not many folks have played any of the spinoffs! Only 48 of 102 played at least one of them. The most popular is Puzzle de Harvest Moon, and, as expected the least popular were the Japan only Satellaview version of the first game, and the Japan only free to play browser game, with one person each. (Two separate people by the way! It wasn't just one person selecting everything) A note, Doraemon Story of Seasons 2 isn't here because I actually set this survey up and started taking responses before it was even announced! I just brought it to tumblr rather late.

Rune Factory:

Rune Factory 4 (or Special) has been played by more responders than every Bokumono game other than DS/DS Cute?? This was wild to me!

Natsume Harvest Moon:

Unsurprisingly, the first Natsume Harvest Moon is the most played. From my memory the attitude at the time was a cautious "Well we can give them a shot?" The least played is the mobile only entry.

Favorite Game: The graph for this is almost useless with just how many slices it has. Only 4 games weren't picked as at least one person's favorite, those being Harvest Moon Gameboy, Harvest Moon 2, Hero of Leaf Valley, and Grand Bazaar. The most favorite votes goes to Animal Parade, with 20.6%, followed by Wonderful Life with 14.7%, and Trio of Towns with 11.8%.

Least Favorite Game: Another graph with too many slices to be at all legible. Only 3 games weren't picked as someone's least favorite, those being Harvest Moon 2, Harvest Moon (More) Friends of Mineral Town, and Hero of Leaf Valley. It's amazing to me that 75 responders played (M)FoMT and not a single person said it was their least favorite. The most least favorite votes were given to Harvest Moon A New Beginning with 19.8%, followed by Story of Seasons Pioneers of Olive Town with with 13.5%, and Harvest Moon Magical Melody with 11.5%.

Favorite Bachelor: Almost everyone gave a different answer! Wizard from Animal Parade had 11 votes! Gray had 10 votes and Cliff had 9, though many specified different games for them in which they liked them more, since they've both been in many.

Favorite Bachelorette: Again, almost everyone gave a different answer. Muffy had 12 votes, Nami had 11 votes, Celia had 8 votes. Yes, the top three were all A Wonderful Life Girls. No, Lumina did not get a single vote.

Favorite Part: Mostly different answers, but a whopping 39 people listed the social mechanics or characters as one of their favorite parts! 12 people said farming.

Least Favorite Part: Mostly different answers, but 7 people said fishing, and 7 said mining. Though some specified they only dislike mining in certain games, no such specification was made for fishing.

Rival Marriages: I figured this would be an interesting question as it's a mechanic that's been removed due to people not liking it. However, at least for these survey responders, that doesn't seem to be the case. 75.2% like the rival system, 15.8% like it in concept but haven't liked the execution or pairs in previous games, 6.9% would be okay with it as long as they can turn it off, and only 2% outright disliked it.

Special Candidates: 68.7% of responders like special candidates (such as Jamie, Inari, Wizard, etc), 25.5% don't mind having them around even if the special candidates aren't for them, 5.9% dislike the extra requirements that these candidates come with, and 1% don't like having special candidates in the game at all. There were also two write in answers, one saying they love them and their ridiculous requirements, and one saying that they love them but would like their genders to stop being changed to make the marriage straight (ie, Jamie and Inari) and yeah both of those are a mood.

Game Ending: 62.7% of responders are okay with Bokumono games having an ending as long as they can either keep playing afterwards or just avoid the ending, 14.7% are okay with it as long as it provides a new game plus option, 10.8% like the idea without caveats, 4.9% are neutral about it, and finally 2% dislike the idea no matter what.

Other Games: Finally, we have people listing what other games share the same charm as the Bokumono series to them! If you can believe it, the response that was put the absolute most was Stardew Valley, with 40 people saying it. 2 people specified that Stardew Valley did not share that same charm. 21 people said Animal Crossing. Some other semi popular responses were Fantasy Life for the 3DS, Spiritfarer, and interestingly, Fire Emblem. Oh and to the person who said Moon: Remix RPG Adventure, you win the survey /lh

So that's all! Thank you all for responding, and for the little jokes and whatnot you all wrote in. This was a lot of fun, and some of the responses were so kind out of nowhere and really made me smile. My favorite thing about Bokumono has always been the community, and this survey just put that into sharp focus. It's such a kind group. I hope this was as interesting to you all as it was to me.

[osakafromazumangadaioh]

(This is a post I made on my cohost a lil while ago, I lightly edited it for clarity)

You've seen this post about Hidamari Sketch right? It's kind of famous, at least it is to me. If you can't click through to see the link text here it is.

Remember how Hidamari Sketch aired during the DTV transition, and SHAFT knew exactly what to do with the new real estate for the widescreen version?

This was a fact that bounces around in my brain like a DVD screensaver. Hidamari Sketch aired in Japan between January and March 2007 during the DTV transition and they prepared two versions for broadcast, one that was HD 16:9 and one that was SD 4:3. I've heard of things going wrong during this transition like the shot of Mugi getting cropped out in the 4:3 broadcast version of K-On but this time period isn't super well researched in the admittedly small digging I did.

So it makes sense that a studio during this time would make these changes right? Your show is going to appear in two very different formats, you're going to want to make sure it looks fine in both. Anyway I was reading the replies of this post one morning and I read one that gave me pause.

This started me researching the analog to digital transition in Japan which I won't get into here but long story short, yes it did air during the analog to digital transition. There was an analog digital simulcast of both signals in Japan that started in about 2003 and ended in 2012 when all analog transmissions were shut down. So there was a period where broadcasters were putting out both HD 16:9 and SD 4:3 to serve people/areas who had not made the jump to the digital signal.

But it got me thinking, some people in the replies were talking about not being able to find proof that it aired in 4:3. Chances are they just didn't know where to look. Anyway I just looked on nyaa and lo and behold.

So I had the original broadcast versions of season 1 and 2 in 4:3. (i was unsure what the second torrent would be, it didn't have any information in the description and "TV broadcast" could have been the 16:9 broadcast bc there was a simulcast but it was the 4:3 version).

Anyway I was curious if there were any other changes, I kind of doubted that there were since it's already a lot of effort to produce two different versions of scenes but maybe there was something that the person that put together the original comparison missed.

If you, like me, believed the truth of that original post I'm about to tell you Santa Claus is not real. I compared these with the BD and found 2 of the frames from the original post. (the other I presume is from the first episode of season one also). And, they're,,, cropped from the 16:9 version.

In hindsight this makes perfect sense, I know sometimes they will redraw or reanimate certain scenes for the blurays because production is sometimes very fucked and they don't have the time to make things to their usual standards but if you're working for TV schedules why would you give yourself more work to do?

I'm sorry im sure this is interesting only to me but "Shaft redrew the wide character shots for HD during the DTV transition" is something that had the same veracity in my brain as, water is wet and i thought about it about as often. Two things make this very funny.

The image is cropped from what I assume is the original which makes it more obvious that it was a joke.*

the person that made that edit (presumably on 2ch or a/ on 4ch) didn't like, make the entire image 4:3 they popped the background out so it wouldn't appear squished. Which is such an insane effort post that you still see people go, oh yeah no it has to be real no one would go to the effort to do that. (read this post, people go to insane lengths for zero reward all the time)

I cooked up a very quick comparison in photopea to show what I mean. At this point it's trivial to remake the background, it's just a repeating pattern anyway.

*I would love to tell which is older but google recently changed how reverse image search works and it doesn't show you pages with the list of dates of when that page was last crawled so it's a little hard to figure out and I don't want to spend a bunch of time figuring out an alternative. So whoever cropped out the obvious joke part is one of histories greatest pranksters in the relatively small pond of people that give a shit about slice of life anime. tl/dr two people, the person that made the original image and the person that cropped off the obvious joke part have combined their efforts to fully prank me 10 years later and I don't think anyone else I've told about this has felt owned or surprised to the same extent as me so I feel like histories greatest fool here

[commanderjuni]

[ OUTDATED ]🦋CHARACTER TALK | MESMER SRABBA

ok to anyone who knew laff for like. upwards of just a few days. IGNORE HER. HER NAME IS BENCHED FOR NOW. in her place i'd love to introduce.... drum roll please.....

MESMER SRABBA! (or well. personal story through living world season 2 srabba anyways)

as i mentioned in a previous few posts, srabba actually was an older character that has the prestige of being my FIRST toon i levelled, pain stakingly, bowls of apple sauce and crafting balls of bread dough and all, from level 1 to level 80. i remember trying to spec virtuoso on her, but for whatever reason not even i know i must've gotten fed up and deleted her

over time i was a little upset about that choice so i tried. MANY MANY MANY TIMES to remake srabba. she's been through

being made an inquest lab rat (failed)

being made a thief (not really a fail but she sure aint one now)

being made a thief. again. (i wanted a pink spectre. didn't work out.)

positive i made her a necromancer at least ONCE.

being made a ranger? i think?

and many few other attempts. but by some declaration of fate, srabba is back and here to stay as my mesmer and fated commander.

however, since i'm going through story in chronological order and haven't gotten past living world season 4, she very much so has some growing to do! (literally, kinda)

i've also picked and tossed a few things about laff out as to give myself some more creative freedom with srabba: i've realized recently i have this weird habit of constricting myself and forcing myself to go with the same idea, but for now i think it'd be better for me to just. do whatever! improv! toss things in and fish things out!

I'm mostly pulling elements from Laff's story, since she's kinda being repurposed into Srabba! Thus don't mind any parallels yaknow /lh

aaannnyway....

MAJOR RAMBLE BELOW THE CUT!! no spoilers whatsoever, but it's gonna be a long post x)

Srabba, during Personal Story, is about 13 years old. Like most asura her age, she is smart, crafty, and markedly intelligent. Before applying to the College of Dynamics in LWS1, Srabba is a ward of the Progeny Protective Service.

Her parents perished in the infamous Thaumanova Reactor meltdown when she was only four years old; Srabba only escaped after they had to yell and urge her to run away to safety with the masses fleeing to escape, which she did, and it is still something plaguing her to this very day.

Srabba not only faces the challenge of lacking a direct guardian to care for her, but also has to navigate the difficulties of being hard of hearing in a society that revolves around discussing and debating scientific theorems and gizmos… Which isn't exactly easy to do when you can't hear much below normal talking- and all the background noise: the buzzing and humming and clinking of asuran society- it makes it even harder to understand what someone is saying to her.

Srabba relies mostly on lip-reading and making educated guesses to understand what others are saying to her. Although she had experimented with hearing aids in her younger years, as she approached her teenage years, she grew less interested in the idea of being "dependent" on the creations of others.

Instead, she aspires to create her own hearing aid device to assist her. This challenging project is a main motivation for joining the College of Dynamics. She is eager to improve her creative thinking skills and enjoys the freedom of starting from nothing to bring her own ideas to life, which is quite different from the, in her humble opinion, dull livelihoods of Statics students who merely tweak existing designs.

In regards to her personality, Srabba is best described as the following:

Witty

Smug

Crafty

and Stubborn

Very, very, very stubborn. Srabba is a very independent person, who finds that despite not having a primary caregiver, she has strong footing when it comes to operating solo, and takes great pride in it.

... Perhaps too much pride.

Because of this, Srabba never has been the most inclined to working with others or, Eternal Alchemy forbid, collaboration. The idea of having to depend upon others is... a frankly scary thought, and one she doesn't like submitting herself to. If she can do it herself, she'll do it herself- no matter how long it'd take.

And the 'Mesmer' part of her name isn't just for show. Srabba is a certified, bonafide mesmer.

Her abilities sprung to life very recently, when she was about 11 years old. She's had only two whole years to really acclimate herself to the intricacies of mesmer magic, but she has a surprisingly great grasp at it. It may or may not have something to do with, oh, y'know... Being born on top of an Inquest lab experimenting with chaotic energy and all. It happens!

Srabba primarily follows the Chaos specialization. As the quote goes: "Where some see chaos, I see opportunity". Srabba views the tragedy of the Thaumanova Reactor as a unique proposition. Although the reactor exploded, it showed the potential using chaos energy actually had. It could transport people place to place, it could disorient and befuddle one's mind, and most important to Srabba: it could bend time and space.

Because of her close connection with chaos magic and energy, Srabba finds that among other factors, she'd fit in well in Dynamics. Her project aside, Srabba has a bright passion for studying chaos magic and energy, and seeks to be the "big leader" on the subject. She not only wants to know how to use it, but how to conserve it, and contain it, and master her own control of it so well, she could figure out how to either revert or lessen the damage in the Thaumanova wreckage.

As for Srabba's actual manipulation of mesmer magic, she's adept in confusing people: with or without actual conditions. She can be here, or she could suddenly be there. She could be right in front of you, or you could just be talking to a clone of herself and you wouldn't be too much the wiser unless you paid close attention. Her illusions are fueled by her innate psychic ability like most mesmer's, and her innate psychic ability is... frighteningly powerful for her age.

Let's be thankful she doesn't know too much about her potential at the moment.

Between the three signature mesmer masks, Srabba follows the Phantasm of Sorrow: she doesn't actually brandish this mask, but rather wears it on her face. Her sad, droopy eyes and thin-lipped frown and big, down-turned ears makes it easy to think she has something troubling her... But for all we know, she actually could be laughing in her head about how moronic some of her peers look. Nobody is the wiser to what goes on in her head, and she very much so likes it that way. It fuels her ego a little. (Light-hearted)

While she rarely finds herself in need of physical altercations, she always keeps two swords at the ready. She finds manipulating her magic through them surprisingly easy, and she is currently studying the art of mantras and phantasms. She especially hopes to start learning all the cool space and timey wimey magic, too.

She's a girl with a lot of plans, aspirations, and irons she wants to start putting in the furnace.

[talesfromthebacklog]

Random: A gamer’s diary entry for October 2023!

While I finish writing, and playing, my next backlog games I’m excited to add to the wishlist ‘Little Goody Two Shoes’. Which looks like it’s going to be getting a physical release. (Which I won’t be picking this game up until the physical drops. I already know I’ll like it.)

One of my favorite YouTube channels called Nostalook worked on the trailer (and I think the in game cutscenes as well) and their work is stunning as usual. It really captures the 90s anime look. It deeply reminds me of Princess Maker.

Also it’s a shoujo yuri. Female romancable characters only! (And they’re all so ✨ PRETTY ✨) I can’t explain how HAPPY that makes me. I just hope it stays in an innocent direction.

You know, because in majority yuri isn’t made for women. 😐

I get it, but at the same time I feel locked out of the content because it’s so obviously not for me. But that’s a complaint for a different post on a different day! Makes me wonder if men feel the same way about yaoi.

I was very bad this month. There were a lot of physical sales. And then my preorders for new games rolled in. I always prioritize my physical games over my… “digital” games, so those will be in the front of my backlog!

Let’s take a look at what I picked up! (I paid full price for nothing on this list. I am wickedly good at finding deals and coupons. Which upon review I will attempt to pass onto you!):

Traumatarium

Dredge

Omori

FaeFarm

Inescapable

Sonic Superstars

Coffee Talk 2

Moon A Remix RPG

I’m already playing a few of these games, so my reviews on those should be out next week!

I decided to skip this month’s two biggest releases altogether until about next year. I want the GOTY Spider-Man 2 when it comes with all of the DLC for $20. The first one was amazing. I’m just willing to wait on it. Which is a similar story for Mario Wonder. I mostly use the fall season to get all the titles I’ve been wanting for a freaking sick deal. Why should I have to pay full price?

The older I get, the more I feel like I appreciate weird games and indie titles more anyway. I feel like those other projects have the freedom to take more aesthetic risks than the big companies. Not because of the creatives inside (They tend to always have good ideas), but the stockholders. 🙄

I adore some of these triple A titles to my core, but I crave to see more new things too. Different things.

Dave The Diver is a good example. That seems rad. I like ocean games. I like that we get more of them now. I’m gonna wait and see if that one gets a physical as well. You collect fish to go back to your restaurant to make sushi? Sign me up!

Don’t even get me started on Limited Run’s releases this month.

While ‘Persona 4’ and ‘This Way Madness Lies’ are no brainers for me; I was EXTREMELY on the fence about ‘Persona 3 Portable’. (I did pick it up reluctantly)

The remake of Persona 3 will be upon us soon and I don’t know if I’ll want to play P3P again. The problem lies in the fact that most of these games become much more expensive later. Buying it on “launch” from Limited Run usually IS the cheaper option.

That shit annoys me so bad. I don’t like picking up games for value. But because the game might be value I have to be ahead of the scalpers and pay for it at its maybe cheapest.

I collect games because I like ‘em. I want to play them and love them. I want to use my stuff. I don’t give a fuck about the “value”. I respect the folks that do care about that stuff but I plain just don’t.

But that’s also just kinda life. Not much can be done about other people. You can only truly control yourself. 🙄

Overall October has been an exceptionally excellent month for gaming! We’ve had so much good stuff come out this fall season. I’m excited for next month as well! Super Mario RPG will be making its re-debut and I can’t wait to talk about that one!

[zeena-athena]

watched the new trigun because of your posts, it was fantastic im so glad i watched it

No problem! Trigun is my favorite anime so I'm really glad you gave it a shot and enjoyed it! C:

While I initially was really hesitant with trigun stampede, having been burned by remakes previously, the dub actually ended up pushing me over the edge to loving it. The dub feels a lot more like the original series run than the sub does funnily enough, and frankly I think it's because of Johnny Yong Bosch's acting as Vash. His character just feels right in the dub whereas in the sub everyone felt slightly out of character from their original incarnations. Not by much, but enough to where it put me off from the show until I gave the dub a last chance view.

If you haven't seen the original series yet, and only trigun stampede, I highly recommend watching it also! It's an older anime, but it is number one on my list of favorite animes and if you are craving more vash or wolfwood its absolutely required viewing. :) (if you dont want to, don't worry too much; from where it left off it seems stampede season 2 is going to cover the same ground trigun did. So you'll get to see a lot of the same upcoming story beats :D)

[nowoyas]

assuming they'll keep remaking the older harvest moon games, which would you want to see next? also which of the games on steam would you recommend to a newbie, including rune factory?

Ohhh man. Logically, their next remake will almost definitely be Magical Melody, as the next release and least intensive remake, and I think it'd actually be the best suited to the kind of remake treatment they've been giving the older games! The more recent, cutesy, doll-like style would take only a little adapting for a Magical Melody remake while also being the shortest departure from the original.

BUT the one I want to see? Honestly, I'd like to see remakes of any of the DS games. DS and DS Cute hold super fond memories for me (in general Forget-Me-Not Valley, which the DS games are also set in as in the Wonderful Life line, was my second home as a child), and Island of Happiness was a personal favorite. BUT more keyly, I want to see how they contend with remaking the DS games, all of which made notable use of the DS touchscreen. For that reason I also think they'll probably skip those games for a while, but I Would Like To See It.

For someone new to farm sims, I cannot stress enough:

1. Don't touch any games on steam called "harvest moon" for the time being. All of these are post-schism (more on that in another post) which long story short means they're not what any longtime fan of the genre is talking about when they say Harvest Moon. Some are still decent games, but if you only ever play one game in the genre, it shouldn't be any of those. (ESPECIALLY NOT HARVEST MOON: ONE WORLD OH MY GOD I NEED A SEPARATE POST IF I WANT TO GO INTO HARVEST MOON: ONE WORLD I HAVE A LOT OF VERY STRONG OPINIONS ON HARVEST MOON: ONE WORLD BUT UNTIL YOU KNOW WHETHER YOU LIKE THE GENRE DO NOT PLAY IT.)

2. That being said, I'm approaching the question of which to start with that way: if for some reason you only ever end up playing one game in the genre, which do I think it should be? And THAT is a super super easy question.

If you can bear the wait until September, start with Rune Factory 3: Special.

Generally speaking, I think everyone should play rune factory at least once. The rune factory games were a spinoff to the original Harvest Moon line, adding more RPG elements but most importantly creating this love letter to farm sims in a more fantasy-inspired setting than you'll see in mainline Story of Seasons/Harvest Moon. There is so much care not only in the mechanics, but in creating interesting, lively characters who you actually feel like you're having an impact on in tangible ways. I have been playing and loving and being consumed by farm sims as a genre since I could read, and I've always believed that at their core, they are never about the farm: they're about community, and Rune Factory does that gorgeously.

Why Rune Factory 3: Special over Rune Factory 4: Special or Rune Factory 5, even though RF3S isn't actually out yet?

Simple.

Rune Factory 4 is everyone's favorite. When people say they've played Rune Factory, they almost always mean 4, especially if they only mean ONE game. RF3 is routinely overlooked, even by longstanding fans of the series: not because it's less good (I would argue that the story of RF3 is very close to the core of the genre and generally better than rf4, although both are very good) but because RF4 was the first rune factory game to let you pick between genders for your protagonist. (Tides of Destiny complicates this sentence kind of, which is keyly why I didn't say "the first rune factory where you can play as a girl".)

The big reason is that I think everyone should play Rune Factory 3, and Rune Factory in general is best enjoyed moving forwards, chronologically speaking, as each game is slightly more refined on mechanics and if you move back you're liable to get slightly frustrated with loss of QOL.

If you're wanting to play a farm sim for the first time right now, though, go with RF4. It is the darling of the Rune Factory series, and Rune Factory is the star of the genre. Rune Factory 5 is a good game, but Rune Factory 4 is a great game. You have the option of masc or femme protagonists, a story that (while I prefer rf3's story for many reasons) is absolutely beautiful, and refined mechanics which will absolutely fucking butter your biscuit. Rune factory 5 IS worth playing eventually, but it's not the ideal starting point.

If you're looking for a more laid-back, less combat-oriented farming experience, however, don't go to Rune Factory just yet, as much as that hurts to say. In that case, start with A Wonderful Life. If you must save money, Friends of Mineral Town is a great choice, too, although I think it doesn't work as well as an entry point to the genre. It's a very good core game, but both FOMT and AWL are basic in specific, different ways, and I think AWL is basic in a specific way that better lends itself to new players.

[neospokenworld]

ANIME SEASON SPRING 2024: FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ANIME I'LL BE WATCHING

I'm gonna be seeing a few anime this season and since all of the ones I'll be watching are new (nothing that's continuing since I'm not keeping up with any of those lol) I just decided to make these posts about my first impressions of everything I'll be starting. I'll be making another one besides this to keep the post from going on for too long, so without any further a do, let's begin! (Keep in mind I didn't saw any trailers for these, so I'm going 100% blind here)

Shuumatsu train doko e iku

If I'm not mistaken this translates to ''Train to the end of the world'', honestly when I saw this earlier this week I had a really heavy headache so it took me like half of the episode to be on the same page as the anime lol, when I could fully grasp what was going on I ended up kinda liking it. The main squad seems to be interesting and the world feels weird enough to make me come back to it lol, not a bad first episode at all

Bartender: Glass of God

I think I heard this was a remake of an older anime, I haven't seen it though so I'll be going in blind here lol. This feels like it's gonna be a highlight of the season for sure, the animation was spectacular and the chill vibe it has it's extremely good. plus the way they made the drinks makes you wanna actually have one irl lol, I really liked it overall and I'll be surely keeping up with it

Highspeed Etoilé

So... this was something lol

Honestly I've never seen 3D anime before so it feels kinda weird that I'll be watching 2 of those this season (I'll talk about the other one on the next post), the only thing I heard about it was that it was like F1 but with waifus, and as a somewhat F1 fan I wanted to see it, the results were... there lol

The racing was nice and all but the rest of it was kind of okay at best, wasn't really interested outside of that, I'll probably continue it for a bit to see if it improves but this first episode wasn't very good imo

I'll be making a part two in a bit with the other 3 anime that I saw

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

The Next Animated Blockbuster Heavies, CONTINUED...

A little while ago, I made this post. A sort of culmination to my retrospective on Top 10 animated features at the box office over the years...

Three of the movies I listed and made predictions for, all 2023 movies, came out...

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE unsurprisingly put up a hell of a fight, making $1.361 billion at the worldwide box office. This places it, currently, at #3. Behind THE LION KING (2019) and FROZEN II...

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE opened pretty big, and had some solid legs from there, but that picture was definitely more frontloaded than MARIO was. Overseas, it did okay at best, not matching its domestic total. Still, $690m+, excellent.

WISH is not going to make all that much... Not the heavy it could've been, like director Chris Buck's two FROZEN movies...

So, 2023 is pretty much over, unless MIGRATION really surprises. But I don't see that happening. $500-600m maximum, methinks. Possibly SING numbers. A leggy Christmas season movie, but not among the biggest ever. Why would I expect that out of a modest duck picture?

Some delays happened, too, between back then (early 2023) and now.

KUNG FU PANDA 4, INSIDE OUT 2, and DESPICABLE ME 4 are next, as BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE was delayed indefinitely due to it being faaaar from ready for a 3/29/2024 release a little after the release of ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE. Like, it was very clear that the two movies were NOT in production in tandem.

My guess is that the third SPIDER-VERSE movie debuts sometime in 2025. At the earliest... 2026 seems likelier now, which is fair. We waited about 4 1/2 years between INTO and ACROSS, so...

The other 2024 movie that I thought had a shot at getting into the Top 10 is the sequel/prequel to the #1 movie itself, THE LION KING (2019). MUFASA: THE LION KING recently vacated the summer for the holidays, as it now opens December 20, 2024... While I don't really see this movie making anywhere near what the first one did, it's still possible? Maybe? I dunno, I think it performs similarly to ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS and MALEFICENT 2, a follow-up to a remake that I don't think too many folks were clamoring for.

That rounds out 2024... I think INSIDE OUT 2 is the likeliest candidate of those four movies to make the most moolah. Maybe not take home "highest earning animated movie" champion status, but the biggest of the year period... and DESPICABLE ME 4 has a very good shot at it considering how many years it had been since the last mainline movie, and how well MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU did. Heck, the long gap between KUNG FU PANDA 3 and 4 could really boost KUNG FU PANDA 4 as well. Characters/stories people love, long wait for the new one, the kids who loved them being nostalgic, etc.

Who knows, like I said in the earlier piece, maybe there will be some surprises along the way? Watch, THE GARFIELD MOVIE ends up breaking the Top 10... I mean, I don't see why not? Garfield is a god, a titan whose power we just cannot comprehend. This may be to the 2004 live-action/CG GARFIELD movie with Bill Murray what the SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE was to the 1993 SUPER MARIO BROS. film. Certainly having "The Movie" in the title and the picture being all-animated solidifies that! GARFIELD the comic strip debuted in 1978, 45 years ago. That predates Mario's first appearance as "Jumpman" in DONKEY KONG by three years... You could argue Garfield is older than that, even. Jim Davis debuted Garfield in JON, essentially an early version of GARFIELD that run from 1976 to early 1978 in a single Indiana newspaper. Okay, so I'm largely being facetious here, I don't think THE GARFIELD MOVIE cracks a billion... But who the heck knows! A movie like THE WILD ROBOT or the next WDAS movie could do it, haha.

However, I think a lot of the Q3 and Q4 animated films could be up in the air, release date-wise, should the animation strike happen when the Animation Guild contract is up.

2025 is a little spottier. A few movies have concrete release dates, none of them I feel really have a clear shot at the big billion and the Top 10. 2026 is just some dates without titles. Still too early in the game...

So, we do know that the likes of SHREK 5, ZOOTOPIA 2, FROZEN III, and TOY STORY 5 are on the horizon. Entries in beloved franchises, some of which whose movies are on the Top 10 or are very close to the Top 10. It's also obvious that a SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE sequel *will* happen, and possibly just obliterate the first one in sales.

THE LION KING (2019) is at #1, FROZEN II is #2, FROZEN is #4. The first MINIONS is #6, TOY STORY 4 is #7, TOY STORY 3 is #8, DESPICABLE ME 3 is #9, ZOOTOPIA is #11...

FINDING DORY is at #10, and there seem to be no plans for another one of those Pixar fish movies at the moment. Ditto THE INCREDIBLES, as INCREDIBLES 2 is #5... But you just know they'll happen, because Disney likes money, and if TOY STORY 5 can exist despite how both 3 & 4 ended... Yeah, there will be a FINDING Somebody 3 movie and an INCREDIBLES 3, and they're sure to tear up the box office.

But again, something that isn't a sequel to a beloved favorite could make a splash. After all, Walt Disney Animation Studios got the big billion out of FROZEN and ZOOTOPIA individually. Both movies were not expected to do anywhere near as well as they did. I remember, back in mid-to-late 2013, that the scuttlebutt was that FROZEN would be lucky to make TANGLED numbers... And that ZOOTOPIA looked like some "CHICKEN LITTLE/DreamWorks" thing.

Sometimes Pixar got close with a not-sequel. FINDING NEMO back in 2003 - without the aid of 3D/IMAX/premium formats and with much lower tickets prices compared to now and a smaller international market - nearly made $870m on its initial run. INSIDE OUT and COCO were big 800s, too. Most Pixar originals hover around $600-750m on a good day. The likes of THE INCREDIBLES, RATATOUILLE, and UP. You know.

Outside of Disney and Pixar, you've got Illumination, whose biggest original movie was THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS, which made over $800m worldwide. No original since got there, though SING did pretty great for itself. I'm not sure where MIGRATION can land, but who knows. Is the public gung-ho for funny ducks at the moment? You can never guess where the zeitgeist will be. Only when the movie comes out, you find out.

DreamWorks' highest-earning not-sequel movie is KUNG FU PANDA, which made over $630m worldwide back in 2008. No 3D, no IMAX, lower ticket prices, adjusts to something a lot bigger today I reckon. Behind that is THE CROODS, which made $580m+ in 2013, and then MADAGASCAR, which made $530m+ in 2005, and then THE BOSS BABY made $520m+ in 2017. Nothing after BOSS BABY did that kind of money: Not ABOMINABLE, and certainly not the post-Omicron BAD GUYS. Maybe THE WILD ROBOT, from Chris Sanders - who directed THE CROODS and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON as you likely already know, becomes the studio's next big not-sequel smash hit.

Sony Animation's biggest not-sequel was THE SMURFS with $560m+. INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, for an all-animated film, is second at $380m+. No original movies are on their theatrical slate at the moment. FIXED is finished and rated by the MPA, but is without a release date nor any indication of where it'll play: Streaming or theaters? K-POP DEMON HUNTERS is to be a Netflix release. Everything else, like BUBBLE, TUT, TAO, etc.? Up in the air.

Paramount Animation, can't say. All of their not-sequels went belly-up or got re-routed to streaming/VOD: THE LITTLE PRINCE got offloaded to Netflix, WONDER PARK bombed hard in 2019, RUMBLE, UNDER THE BOARDWALK and THE TIGER'S APPRENTICE all skipped a wide theatrical release. No not-sequel movie has a release date, the only things close to that are still parts of franchises: TRANSFORMERS ONE, THE SMURF MOVIE, the untitled AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER movie, etc.

So, we gotta see where everything's at by the middle of next year... But I'll be curious to see how KUNG FU PANDA 4, THE GARFIELD MOVIE, INSIDE OUT 2, and DESPICABLE ME 4 - the movies that I think are guaranteed to meet their release dates - will do.

[animebw]

This anime season, I’ve made myself a promise: I’m going to drop shows that I’m just not into. No more desperately clinging to every show I start watching out of some weird sense of completionism. If it’s not good, or at least interestingly bad, I’m not wasting my time with it. And it turns out this was the perfect season to start that on, because good fucking lord is summer 2022 looking thin.

Shows I’m Dropping:

Prima Doll: Turns out, Key without Jun Maeda is everything people unfairly accuse Jun Maeda of being. One of the most insipid, emotionally manipulative first episodes I’ve ever seen.

When Will Ayumu Make His Move?: At this point, I’m starting to think Takagi-san was a fluke.

Bastard/Spriggan: As much as I appreciate Netflix continuously adapting older manga for modern audiences, these shows are proof that some things are best left in the past.

Shows I’m sticking with:

Call of the Night: If you watch one new anime this season, make it this one. A better Shaft show than Shaft itself has produced in years.

The Devil is a Part-Timer Season 2: Sorry, but I think those of you with nostalgia goggles on for this show might be in for a rude awakening.

Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer: God, I wish I was more of a manga reader.

Lycoris Recoil: Cute girls do assassination and cafe management, and it somehow makes sense together. If you watch two new anime this season, make this the second.

Made in Abyss Season 2: GOD THE NEW OP IS SO GOOD

Phantom of the Idol: The production values are kinda butt, but it’s still able to make me laugh, so that’s something.

RWBY Ice Queendom: The mere fact that this even exists is the single coolest thing going on all season.

Shadows House Season 2: Clonecest Round 2, here we go!

Shine On! Bakamatsu Bad Boys: This is just Akudama Drive: Feudal Japan edition.

Shine Post: Will this idol thing turn out good? We’ll have to wait and see. What I can say is that the animation is drop-dead gorgeous.

Tokyo Mew Mew: Never saw the original, but this remake is looking like a good time.

Yurei Deco: No idea how this new Science Saru original will turn out, but it’s Science Saru, so it’s by default worth sticking with.

[nhkamira]

MY ANIME WATCHLIST FOR WINTER 2021☃️❄️✨

Finally got some time to do this. Winter is here and we got a marvelous season ahead! Here is my watchlist for this season + the ongoing series i’ll be watching. I already watch every episode that came out, but I’ll do a proper first impression in different posts.

Horimiya (堀さんと宮村くん) I can’t believe this one is finally getting an adaption TT. Yes I’m part of the manga readers group, and I’m really really excited! CloverWorks is in charge and so far they have shown an amazing work! just look at that poster. Genres: Slice of Life, Comedy, Romance.

Dr.Stone: Stone Wars (ドクターストーン ) If you haven’t seen season 1, go and do yourself a favor. Been waiting for this so bad, season two is finally here, and hopefully is going to be even better than season 1. As a women of science this story really gets me excited. TMS Entertainment is working again with this series so im expecting the same amazing job. Genres: Sci-Fi, Adventure, Shounen.

Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki (弱キャラ友崎くん) This one looks interesting in a weird way, i was really excited that this season got more than one romance anime, so im looking forward to this one. Project No.9 is the studio in charge, their anime has never been that iconic or memorable, hopefully this is a different situation. Genres: Drama, Romance, School

Kemono Jihen (怪物事変) Honestly i saw the poster and thought “this probably going to be a really good but underrated one”, the sypnosis catch me right away and im really curious about the mc. the studio working on this is Ajia-Do, they brought us the marvelous Kakushigoto last year so i have high expectations. Genres: Action, Mystery, Demons.

The Seven Deadly Sins: Dragon’s Judgement (七つの大罪 憤怒の審判) I love Nanatsu so bad, i hated the way they animated last season. Studio Deen normally does a great work but damn, las season was awful. I REALLY hope they do the proper work this anime deserves. This arc is so amazing to be ruined like the previous one.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (無職転生 ～異世界行ったら本気だす～) As one may say, there isn’t a good season without the typical Isekai story. But this one seems to be like everything good from an average Iskeai. The trailer gave me the thoughts that this probably would be the surprise of the season + the studio working on this one is Studio Bind which is apparently new since i couldn’t find any previous work. Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Magic.

Wonder Egg Priority (ワンダーエッグ・プライオリティ) Oh this one looks so beautiful. CloverWorks did such an amazing work with the design an animation. It looks like a movie. Sypnosis didn’t makes sense and was kind of confusing but I got excited and i can’t wait to see more. Genres: Psychological, Drama, Fantasy.

Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World Season 2 Part 2 (Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活) Man, I love Subaru so much, Re is amazing everyone should watch it. Its seems this part is really important for Subaru’s development, and it would probably get really fucked up as always. WhiteFox keeps working on this amazing story. I can’t wait to see everything that’s going to happen, because last season was really good but so crazy and hard. Genres: Psychological, Thriller, Drama, Fantasy.

BEASTARS 2期 This series is back and I’m dying of excitement, i really don’t know whats going to happen, and what new challenges Legoshi would have to confront but everything tells me is going to be amazing + Orange is bringing again the best CGI work on an anime ever. If you haven’t watch season 2 go and do it you won’t regret it! Genres: Slice of Life, Psychological, Drama

The Promised Neverland Season (約束のネバーランド) I’m really dying of excitement this season. FINALLY Yakusoku is back and with nothing more that worries and uncertainty for me. My kids are back and out of the farm and I’m really nervous to see whats going to happen next. Genres: Mystery, Fantasy, Psychological, Thriller.

Ongoing series from last season I’ll be continuing watching:

Jujutsu Kaisen Next arc is reallyyyyyy good.

Shingeki no Kyojin My slowly death till the end, manga ending got a date now and I really don’t know how this is going to end.

Digimon Adventure 2020 nostalgic and all time favorite.

Black Clover This arc looks insane and animation looks so good in that latest episodes, please keep it like that TT

One Piece I still need to catch up but always one of the best things to watch.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, I’ve always love this series, though i still prefer the old animation, I loved this remake, everything is making more sense now (maybe because I’m older🤣) and explanations feels less confunsing + horror is amazing.