#the pace in change and changed mindset took time and gave him a character arc spanning both games

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

we all clear on that point now? yeah? yeah??? good.

[brainlessbaguette]

Finished Fionna and Cake and I have some more thoughts, lots of spoilers below

So in regards to that Finn post I made after ep 1&2, apparently there was no more our Finn. In hindsight that makes sense but still a bummer that he didn't even get a cameo. I am absolutley stunned by the lack of Marcie mentions, especially in the finale. I am well aware that they wanted to branch out and away from the main cast for this one but this was very much a Simon story, despite being called Fionna and Cake. Your telling me we don't even get Simon recalling Marcie to talk or just a quick clip of them hanging, it felt wrong.

I did really enjoy the show. Like genuinely it was a great time, I recommend. I will say though it needed more episodes. Even just a "normal" 12, as far as smaller series go. They just wanted to do too much and didn't really get to stop and flesh out different ideas.

Now Adventure Time thrived at "dream logic" where crap didn't make sense, everyone in universe just excepted the most random ideas. It also had a sense of whimsy that it held while showing you some of the most gut punching stories. It was insane and the HBO stuff has felt more grounded I want to say? Like its lost that vibe. I didn't really notice it in "Together again" or "Obsidian" but "Bmo" definitely felt a bit off and "Wizard City" was... anyway after getting to see a full series it's just really brought that forward for me. Like its not bad it just doesn't fully feel like Adventure Time.

I will say for this series you could blame that on the fact we're following human Simon, who's here because he couldnt get behind that mindset and two outsiders. But thats not quite right. Its not so much a "how are the characters reacting to x" as much as it is "how is x being presented to we the viewer"

Its really hard to put to words. Uhh take Scarab I guess? In the original show you would've maybe had someone give Simon and the gang a quick explanation on who he is, a quick cutscene, or even just left it at what we see in the beginning. Not really going too deep. But instead they keep checking in on him and his little monologues, you even go to see his boss or manager dude. It felt like too much context for a character that did exactly as much as he would have regardless or whether or not we had that info. I feel like I know more about Scarab than I do the Lich and its weird.

It also, circling back, didn't work with how short the series was. They HAD to establish Fionna and Cake as actual characters and not just gender swaps, Simon needed to go through his whole arc. They then CHOSE to also establish Gary and Marshal in a B plot, Adventure Time really didn't have B plots so that was weird at first but it actually helped the Finale ep so they get a pass, and then added on Scarab with whatever he had going on, all while changing the setting and throwing in a new side cast every episode. They were working so hard to introduce everyone and get them through their stories that they really didnt have time to let the things settle. Like y'all remember in the Elements series how they took that whole (I think?)2nd episode to have Finn just sit down and process everything that had just happened and is currently happening. Was it the best episode? No. But gosh dang it did wonders for Jake's character, displaying how Finn has matured emotionally, giving the brothers a chance to connect(right before Jake disolves in some goo so that it hurts more), and gave the viewer a little break from non-stop action while also letting us catch back up all in a cute funny little Adventure Time way. Fionna and Cake NEEDED an episode like that. Because everything was so rushed they didnt really get to bond and grow together and grow away from the "owner pet dynamic." Finn and Jake had that line a little blurry in funny one off gags but they were absolutley brothers first, Fionna and Cake was on the other hand not that.

Anywho TL;DR, Show was good but pacing and vibes were off and would've benefited from at least two more episodes just to let things breathe.

I absolutley knew it about Simon's and Betty's relationship. I saw that coming from a mile away. That crap was so unhealthy and I'm glad they've made peace with that fact + Simon is getting therapy. Thank you Finn's mom.

Oh and last little bit, me being upset about my unanswered questions.

Uh how did Jake die? Cause Farmworld Finn's Jake is still alive and well, so its not of old age?

Why the heck did Prismo do a complete 180° so fast??? Your legit telling me that in 20-30 years(Idk how long but it's nothing compared to him) prismo, an immortal wishmaster, has turned into a washed up mess. Why? Where's cosmic owl, don't you guys still hang? Is it cause of our world Jake dying, if so back to question 1?

Not really specific to this show but Is PB still PB or just B? Cause she was living with Marcie in "Obsidian" and in "Together Again" Peppermint Butlers wearing her crown. Whose watching the candy kingdom, I'm just genuinley curious?

Is Farmworld Finn dead??? I genuinely don't think he is because Scarabs whole job seems to be keeping thing running smoothly and killing a reincarnated catalyst comet seems like it would be a big screw up. Also Jay and LD didn't seem upset, so I'm gonna go with no he's fine? But they also DIDN'T GIVE ME CLOSURE!

ALSO why are Jay and LD ditching they're families for Fionna's world? That seems out of character and overall just a weird choice.

DID THEY PUT BABY FINN BACK IN BABY WORLD??? Is there a baby jake without Finn??? I am devastated.

What was the point of sending Simon into Shermie's body other than the cameo? Like I love to see em, but we were pressed for time and they're could've been another way to do that right? It just felt weird.

Why did Prismo send Jay, LD, Baby Finn, and the tank peppermint butler anyways? There was definitely a different way to do that.

Lastly but most importantly

There was no Fionna meets our Finn??? Why it's all I wanted, even just a two second she bumped into him while chasing after Cake and neither of them realized. I would've been so happy and I'm a little salty now.

Very rambly as per usual. If you made it down here thank you for tuning into "me chucking my random thoughts about a very specific topic into the void of the internet because, regardless of whether or not people read, its surprisingly very thereputic to just write them all out there," we are currently workshoping that title.

[quaiids]

oh damn that was a quick response oop

What character arc did you enjoy but had some glaring flaws? (I'm guessing the arc with hughie in s3 had too many flaws for you to like, no? correct me if wrong lol) how would you have liked it to go?

i must say that off the top of my head i can’t really think of any outstanding character arcs tbhhhh like idk i really like frenchie & kimiko’s development but it happened kind of quickly iirc so 🤷‍♂️ plus i think they’re cute but i kind of wish they had more of a platonic bond or at least gave kimiko a closer platonic/familial bond with any of the cast PLEASEEE

i think that’s a problem that happens a lot in this show. they move things waaaay too fast and maybe it’s because of the limit of 8 episodes per season but having arcs that span multiple seasons isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

the fast pacing is most of what i hate about hughie’s season 3 arc. while i think him becoming distant and cold and a little more reckless was a long time coming with everything he’d gone through, it literally just happens in the blink of an eye. you can literally see the moment his entire mindset changes: after punching through the guy when it’s revealed he took the temp V and he looks at his own hand in disbelief. he goes from apologizing profusely to the guy and panicking like the hughie we know to almost immediately looking down at his arm and body in shock with a bit of an awestruck smile. it’s a jarring scene and i think it’s actually pretty well done but the way it changes hughie’s characterization SO fast is just actually insane to me

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Dino Watches Anime (Oct 26)

Recently Completed!

Tokyo Godfathers

Score: 10/10

There’s a reason why I gave this such a rare high rating. When I was watching it, I was internally like, “*excitement noises* I have not been this excited over an anime in such a long time, let alone for an anime movie. EVERYONE SHUT UP SO I CAN WATCH THIS EVEN IF I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY’RE SAYING.”

It’s not often that you come across really good movies, let alone masterpieces like this movie. The art is so good, the story made me feel like it was Christmas in October, and the characters really made me connect. 

I know the subtitles used a whole lot of gay slurs and things like that, but Hana (the trans character in this tale) is treated well if we get past that huge hurdle. She truly owns up to herself. She doesn’t care what she’s called. She gets mad at people who misgender her. She gets mad if she’s forced to go to a men’s facility. She wants people to call her “an old hag” rather than “an old coot”. She just wants to be a mother even if she isn’t “biologically a woman” who can bear children. So when she comes across this kid, she thinks, “I will finally be a mother!” These are issues that real people face. These are issues that cisgendered people take for granted.

Madhouse really knocked it out of the park. Satoshi Kon is one of the biggest creators and directors in anime history. He’s known for horror and psychological works like Perfect Blue, Paprika, and Millennium Actress. I never expected him to be this good at making a movie that could move my soul like this. The characters were so far from perfect, yet I wanted the best for each of them. The way it handled everything was masterful. The dialogue worked so well and was witty, the voice actors (despite the main three not being in anything else for the most part) were so good at giving life to their characters, and the art blew me away in 2019 even though this was released in 2003. The only thing I didn’t quite like as much was the score during some parts of the movie, but it was subjectively good and just wasn’t to my taste (the Noragami soundtrack wasn’t a fav of mine either). 

Just... watch the movie. If you can watch it around Christmas. It’s good for you.

Saiunkoku Monogatari

Score: 7.4/10 

Yes, I binge-watched all 39 episodes in two days, what’s it to ya?! In reality, I just boosted the speed of the video.

Me throughout this show: Why do you all have triangle heads? What’s with that?

Okay, it’s the art style, and a lot of shoujo anime go with the concept that it looks good. Once you get over the art hurdle making me believe this was created in the early 2000s despite it being 3 years younger than Tokyo Godfathers, this turns out to be a really nice show. I just can’t believe they’re BOTH from Madhouse. 

Remember Snow White with the Red Hair? Remember Akatsuki no Yona? If you liked those shows, you’re going to like this one... except it relies more on the political plot. It’s mostly about a woman wanting to pursue her dreams of being a politician in a male-dominated world. She’s entasked with helping this mess of a king to get his act together, and as much as I can try to prove that it’s surprisingly progressive (given the art and genre), I think that’d be spoiling it a little. The only character that actually bothered me was the prince who was voiced by Tomokazu Seki who honestly was a bit annoying and sounded so fake for me. However, this anime made me appreciate Hikaru Midorikawa’s voice as well as Houko Kuwashima who I’ve only heard voicing dead moms and only a few good characters here and there. Seriously, both of their voices are great. Toshiyuki Morikawa sounds good too, but we already knew that. I don’t like the OP or ED (or a whole lot of the music), but that’s the case for a lot of these 2005-era anime. Just like a lot of the anime on MAL, I do think this is an underrated show, but it does have its pitfalls if you’re just craving for a quick shoujo without any politics.

Full Metal Panic: Second Raid

Score: 7/10

I binge-watched this entire season while my parents were out for dinner and something else. It only took me a couple of hours because I boosted the speed.

I wanted to get a gif specifically from this season, so this one will have to do. So much wasted potential will this character (who’s one of two twins). I know they were trying to play the whole “twincest” thing, but I’m personally not a fan. They provided some cool fight scenes even at a certain cringe cost. The fact that Kyoto Animation animated this bumped the art from a 3 to an 8. It’s crazy how much the quality jumped after a new studio took over. Unfortunately, they didn’t take care of the next season. I know the main ship in the series is pretty clear, but this season made it closer to canon (too bad it took around 13 years to make the next season).

Kara no Kyoukai (movies: 5, 6, 7)

Score:  Part Five: 7.5/10 Part Six: 5.8/10 Part Seven: 8.2/10

Not gonna lie, I watched the first four movies over a year ago and retained nothing. I had to read the Wikia to assist me and to begin with, I watched this to get into the “Type-Moon” universe (which consists of this and the Fate nonsense stuff), Yuki Kajiura’s score, and Maaya Sakamoto and Kenichi Suzumura voicing a couple. The score would probably change if I’d watched them regularly, but I digress because I watched movies 5-7 in one afternoon. Ufotable was pretty good at animating this and the voice acting worked really well. Yuki Kajiura’s music didn’t hit well at first when I was first watching the first few movies over a year ago because it wasn’t what I envisioned the score being, but once you get into the mood and mindset, it adds so much to the story. Although, I still really didn’t like part six. I thought it was a complete flop because I just want to get rid of anyone who believes i*cest is an okay thing. This isn’t Alabama. Go home. Not else to say here because this took so much commitment that I doubt anyone would watch it.

Paranoia Agent

Score: 8.6/10

With spoopy month coming to a close (already?!) I watched this anime earlier this month, but I forgot to write about it. That’s partly because there’s so much to unpack here. This was a thriller, psychological, horror anime by Satoshi Kon. That’s right, the first anime above was also done with him in the director’s seat. This anime was smart. There’s a reason why Robin Williams likes it! It was scary in the best of ways. It revealed a part of society that we see all the time but don’t talk about (especially in Japanese society where emotions are better kept concealed). Just the opening alone made me feel uneasy. The OP and ED were simplistic yet worked. I binge-watched the whole series because it was that gripping. 

It was a little confusing at times, but that’s also because that’s just a common thing with horror anime. That suspense keeps us going. It keeps us on the edge of our seats. Who’s going to be the next victim of Shounen Bat? Episode 8 came out of nowhere for me, and I liked it. There were several scenes that sent shivers down my spine in the best way possible. It isn’t always “scary”, but it gives suspense.

Aoi Bungaku

This one is going to be reviewed a little differently. Since it has specific arcs, I’m going to review them as such!

Ningen Shikkaku: 8.2/10

We start off with a bang. Osamu Dazai was a man of suffering. This story really shows that. In this story, we see a man who’s desperate to know what makes him human. We see this through the eyes of a fictional character, but I personally view this as a semi-autobiography.

The art was chilling. The voice acting from Masato Sakai was surprisingly good. A lot of the time, voice acting from live-action actors just aren’t that great. Every time you think this character will get back on his feet, he falls deeper and deeper. It truly did make me wonder what made me human.

Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita: 3.9/10

That moment when the only thing that saves this arc is Nana Mizuki’s singing. Seriously, her jazz songs were awesome. Can’t say that about the rest. I mean, the art is good, but it’s Madhouse so most of their stuff is already good. The story wasn’t that original. Mind you, this was probably during a period where foreign influence was strong, and I haven’t read the original story, but... this is basically Salome (the opera) with some differences. Both have a crazy woman with a fixation over lifeless decapitated heads. Both have men that are captivated with her beauty so they give her what she wants because of that reason alone, they both murder religious people (monk/shrine maiden and a prophet), and both eventually realize that women can be crazy when they demand a lifeless head because you know, that’s just a red flag. Above all, it suffers from tonal shifts. You can’t have a woman turning moe then demand you bring her another head to play with. You can’t have Masato Sakai playing another main character that doesn’t fit him! Seriously, he doesn’t have the voice of a brute and just couldn’t do it. Overall, this arc was a mess, and I’m glad it was one of the shorter ones.

Kokoro: 7.6/10

This looked like a masterpiece compared to the last arc. I haven’t read Kokoro, but this made me go, “Huh, I don’t remember this happening.” That’s because they chose a certain part of the book (near the end apparently) and just went off that and created its own anime-original episode. Despite that, it was pretty good! There were some screaming discrepancies which did hurt its impression (because it made it feel out of place to the point where even I, as an uneducated anime viewer, could clearly see).

(I think this is from Kokoro but I might be wrong)

Hashire, Melos!: 8.9/10

Would you look at that? It’s the best arc of the series. Hashire, Melos was great. It had me going from beginning to end, and it’s the only arc that doesn’t have Masato Sakai playing the lead character. The art, the pacing, the storytelling, the story, the sound, the voice acting, and the art direction complemented each other so well. It made me far more interested in the original. 

The Spider’s Thread: 6.6/10

If you look really close, you’ll notice that the creator of Bleach took over character design for this! It was okay. I found that it was a little cliche and lacklustre. Mamo is around so much that you probably have to do more than that to keep my attention, and this had the art going for it too. It just wasn’t that interesting. A heartless murderer is sent to hell after being executed. Moral of the story: Don’t be an asshole. Alright. Nice. I do understand that Ryuunosuke Akutagawa was one of the main establishers of the whole “Japanese Short Story” thing, but after seeing it so many times, I just didn’t get that same chill.

Hell Screen: 6.9/10 

Another Akutagawa short story! This one had far more of an impact because this one hit closer to Akutagawa’s heart. Knowing the history of this piece of writing, you can see his desperation to stay relevant and true to his craft. It’s about a painter who wants to paint the town but finds out the city isn’t the bright light he sees in his mind. Everything goes ablaze. The art for this is stunning. I probably would’ve enjoyed this story more if it was placed in the middle of the series run rather than being the last story. 

Recently Started

Africa no Salaryman

The animation for this is terrible. There is no way around it. However, at least it’s funny. Still, close to being on the chopping block. It has the papa lion who’s played by Akio Ohtsuka, the straight-man middle lizard played by Kenjirou Tsuda, and the scumbag toucan played by Hiro Shimono. Yes, they all play Hero Academia villains. The jokes are pretty good for me.

Given

Oh, would you look at that? It’s a music anime. *inhales* Music anime is a double-edged sword for me. I like having music interpreted and portrayed through one of my favourite mediums, but I don’t like them playing off music as some sort of easy gimmick and a joke. It’s like a shonen montage. “Let’s just have this guy train for two minutes and become a demigod”. But when you put an instrument into someone’s hand and demand the same, it sends me to another plane of angriness.  So far, the romance is kind of cute... but Mafuyu kind of annoys me since his role in the BL dynamic is so clear just by his voice. Same with Uchida. You can only play so many thugs a season. Kyou? Good. Chika? Good. This guy? Good, but don’t do them all back-to-back! I don’t like the BL dynamic being so basic. However, my mind can be changed if done right.

Shinsekai Yori

Very interesting premise, their eyes are cute, and I’m a sucker for these so I’m gonna stick with it.

[creative-type]

The Justice of One Piece

So I was working on my next post in my ongoing analysis of Nico Robin and was reminded that this human stain existed, and it got me thinking about how justice is portrayed in One Piece

Justice is an abstract enough term that it can mean just about anything. There are connotations of fairness, righteousness, law, and goodness within the definition, but at the end of the day justice is giving someone what they deserve.

Since justice - especially Absolute Justice - is so important when analyzing Robin’s backstory I thought it would be good to do a write up on some of the various ways justice is interpreted and implemented within the world of One Piece. 

This isn’t meant to be exhaustive, because justice as an ideal is deeply personal and varies greatly from character to character. I will, however, try to hit some of the high points.

The Rise of Absolute Justice

Ideologies do not spring up in a vacuum. Most people don’t wake up in the morning murdering deserters and blowing up evacuation ships for fun (more on Sakazuki later) - certain events have to unfold before extreme measures are considered normative. In this case, the line of thinking that leads to Absolute Justice can be traced back to Gold Roger. Specifically, the Pirate Era that he kicked off

Just as there’s a difference between New Age and Old Age pirates, so also can there be a difference seen between the marines of Roger’s era and those who came after. 

While is some overlap between the two and the events at Ohara/Ace’s birth suggest that the root of Absolute Justice go far beyond Roger’s death, Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru all are portrayed as more moderate than Sakazuki and his followers. The seas were different then. The Grand Line had yet to be fully explored, the technological advances brought on by Vagapunk hadn’t been developed, and there were fewer pirates.

This shift in mindset can be seen in Franky’s flashback when we learn that Tom’s trail was somewhat unusual in that shipwrights aren’t normally prosecuted for building ships for pirates.

In addition, while Sengoku ordered the Oharan Buster Call we can assume that he was also provided order for evacuation as well. The bombardment was extreme, yes, but it was ostensibly targeting guilty.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the attack on Ohara was meant to be a warning to the rest of the world. The so-called enemy were civilians and academics, a group hardly known for their fighting prowess. A ground attack would have done the job just as easily without any of the collateral damage. In fact, Spandine’s Cipher Pol agents were able to subdue all the archaeologists by themselves and the only one who fought back was Olvia.

The Elder Stars respected Professor Clover and the scholars of the Tree of Knowledge. They - not Sengoku - gave the order to attack only after Professor Clover wouldn’t shut up about the Void Century, and they didn’t look too happy about the outcome.

Roger’s death and the destruction of Ohara take place in the same year. That’s an incredible amount of turmoil in a short amount of time. In the wake of so much uncertainty it’s little wonder that the rigid, unyielding ideal of Absolute Justice rose to the top. 

Sakazuki was already an extremist during the Ohara incident. What we don’t see is any change in ideology in the twenty year interim. If anything, he gets worse. When facing a deserter during the Marineford War, he kills him on the spot. There is no remorse or mercy, only the meting of punishment with himself acting as judge, jury, and executor. 

Aristotle postulated that any virtue in excess becomes vice. We see in Absolute Justice a justice devoid of mercy or compassion, where there is only the most severe punishment no matter the crime. It is justice without fairness, goodness, or even regard to the law (deserters are generally tried and dishonorably discharged/imprisoned. Battlefield executions are a no-no). It cannot be called righteous, as it targets innocents and ignores the greater moral issues of slavery and the cruel rule of the Celestial Dragons. Absolute Justice brooks no compromise and cannot be argued with, for to question it is to question the World Government itself.

And just like the events surrounding Roger’s death encouraged Absolute Justice, the popularity of Absolute Justice in turn encourages greater extremes in order to keep the peace, which brings me back to Spandam

CP9 and Dark Justice

The Dark Justice of CP9 is the logical evolution of Absolute Justice. It takes everything we’ve already seen and adds an emphasis on military might, with a hefty dose of pragmatism mixed in to boot.

Spandam is an utterly reprehensible piece of garbage, but I find him fascinating because for all his faults - of which there are many - he’s not stupid, nor is he incompetent. It’s easily forgotten, but it was Spandam who convinced the World Government to go after the Ancient Weapons in the first place

Where Absolute Justice seeks to squash criminals with the heel of their boot, Dark Justice fights fire with fire. It’s hard to say how much of this Spandam actually believes and how much of it is him angling for a promotion, but there’s no doubt that he thinks Robin’s first and greatest crime is simply existing. Absolute Justice says she must die, but that doesn’t stop Spandam from wanting to use her for his own ends first.

Spandam was going to keep Robin alive for exactly the amount of time it took him to extract all her “useful knowledge”, and we know that he wasn’t above torturing her to get what he wanted. After accidentally calling for a Buster Call against Enies Lobby he justified himself by saying if ten thousand marines had to die to cover up his mistake protect the world, then those ten thousand should die without question. 

So Dark Justice is all about using the end to justify the means, but it doesn’t end there. It’s not good enough to simply not be evil, you have to be strong enough not to let evil overcome. We see this a little with Spandam’s obsession to revive the Ancient Weapons, but Lucci displays it better in the form of his backstory.

Because of pacing issues, Oda only put a truncated version of Lucci’s backstory in the manga, although it was expanded upon in the anime. To make a long story short, when he was a teenager Lucci killed five hundred soldiers that were being held hostage by a group of pirates. Their weakness that led them to being captured was their crime, and they paid in blood for their mistake.

Dark and Absolute Justice meet at the Marineford War, where Ace is punished for the crime of being Roger’s son. Chapter 550 is very clear in this regard. Ace isn’t being publicly executed for his own actions as a pirate, the property he has destroyed, or the people he’s undoubtedly killed with his Devil Fruit, but for who his father is. By the World Government’s logic, it’s a case of nature over nurture - Ace was destined for villainy no matter what, so you might as well kill him for his original sin. 

Their logic is undone when the war continues well after Ace and Whitebeard’s deaths.

Here the marines have obtained their objectives and have bigger things to worry about than an insignificant rookie like Luffy. Their bloodlust doesn’t stop until the corrupt, twisted justice of the marines is tempered with a bit of sense, kindly provided by Coby.

Of course Sakazuki almost kills him for it, but, hey, it’s the thought that counts

This is one of the few times we see Absolute and/or Dark Justice challenged from within the marines, and one of, if not the only, time we see a more moderate position “win”. It marks the beginning of a “third wave” of justice ideology. 

Coby, Smoker, and Fujitora represent the counter-movement against the likes of Sakazuki and Spandam, and it will be interesting to see how they fit into the series going forward. I think I’ll cover these more moderate views of justice in another post. 

Until then, thanks for reading. I’ll try to get back to Robin next time, specifically the parallels between her backstory and the events of the Enies Lobby arc.

[ballpitarchive-blog]

Apparently the SAO fandom will never accept that this anime has fucking flaws so I’m gonna do an actual legit analysis as to why this show is TRASH.

I’ll start of with the fundamentals of SAO and how shit writing leads to a shit series. Because I think SAO could have been fucking amazing if it wasn’t written by Reki Kawahara who is just a general shit writer.

One of the most important parts of an anime is its main characters and cast. I don’t *really* consider Kirito a character, he’s more like a boring, brooding plot device. His motivations never make any sense and his actions never have consequences. Not to mention he is just ridiculously overpowered. Need I mention the 1v8 fight where Kirito won?

In the episode where all of Kirito’s lower level friends die, he says “My arrogance killed you.” And feels guilty. Yet he continues to hide his power level and dual wielding ability for no defined or explained reason. Additionally, the duel wielding skill just fucking shows up out of nowhere one day. The show hand waves it by claiming he is the fastest player in the game (I’m getting fucking Accel World flashbacks), and when he does end up telling his friends there are no consequences.

Overall Kirito is just an overpowered, plot device who’s actions never make sense or have consequences because he’s just a 12 year old wish fulfillment.

I know how people feel about using the term ‘wish fulfillment’ to describe Kirito, but a spade is a spade I call them like I see them.

Moving on the game itself makes zero sense. This isn’t a big concern for me, honestly I don’t give a shit because I don’t play MMOs but Sword Art Online as a game sucks.

First off, being trapped in an MMO is really just a plot device to set up the death game plot. After that no MMORPG aspects are utilized. There are no job systems, no classes like DPS or support, the mechanisms used in the game, Switch, aren’t properly explained, and it’s pretty clear Reki Kawahara has never played an MMO or just gives no fucks about making it realistic.

The Nerve Gear also has a ridiculous number of plot holes and inconsistencies, such as we still don’t know how much pain the characters can actually feel. In the early episodes of SAO it’s made clear that characters in game don’t feel pain, yet each time a person in game is dying they seem genuinely in pain. I’ve only watched the anime so I don’t know if this was just a failure to adapt the source material, but if the characters can’t feel anything then this makes Kirito and Asuna’s sex scene really awkward.

Moving on. The pacing and structure are abysmal. I’ve heard that the first two light novels were adapted into the Aincrad arc, but one was the actual plot and the other was just a bunch of side stories. So A1 Pictures decided to just combine the both in chronological order. Unfortunately this just kills all tension and loses the core focus of SAO’s appeal as a death style MMO. The second through seventh episodes don’t focus on the plot of SAO and rather on the side stories. Some may argue that this is also character development but I feel that a good anime could do both simultaneously without losing the tension. Plus, Kirito doesn’t grow or develop as a character. You could argue that the episode with his friends dying he learned a valuable lesson, but he continues hiding his skills and power levels so I’d argue otherwise.

Even after we get past these side stories, Kirito and Asuna begin their relationship and this takes up several episodes as well. It’s like they forgot the series initial premise and in the final two episodes were like “Oh fuck we have to wrap this shit up.” And just threw in every major plot point without rhyme or reason. Need I mention that Kirito and Asuna both almost die but come back due to friendship or whatever that shit Fairy Tail always pulls.

The second arc is so downright offensive in so many ways yet it’s played off as sensational to the viewer which is just fucking sick.

The main plot of the second arc is, after SAO’s servers shut down and everyone was allowed back into the real world, somehow another video game was able to program that 300 players would join its servers and would be yet again unable to leave. Don’t ask me how this makes sense or how it would even be possible because it’s just never fucking explained. Anyone noticing a trend? Anyways, Asuna is trapped in a fucking bird cage for like 12 episodes, being repeatedly sexually assaulted by this blonde fuck who’s name I don’t remember. When she does attempt to escape, she’s groped by tentacles for minutes on end. And in the finale the blonde fuck does everything short of raping her, including ripping her shirt off, licking her face, and probably a lot of other stuff that my mind has chosen to forget. Now some could argue that this makes the blonde fuck a good or hate-able villain, but you don’t need to degrade your female characters to make a good villain.

Now someone argued with me that Asuna was not “really raped” but this outright disturbing bullshit shouldn’t be dismissed because he didn’t go all the way. That’s such a toxic mindset.

This is what I seriously hate about Sword Art Online is it’s shit treatment to all of its female characters. The loli’s (who’s name I forget) entire character is just “loli who is raped by tentacle monsters.” Sinon ends up being fanservice material whenever there’s a dull moment in GGO. Asuna basically gets raped as a ‘plot point.’ And Kirito’s sister has no other traits besides 'in love with her brother.’ People also claim that Kirito’s sisters arc was about her getting over this crush on him, but it took like eight episodes for her to realize that he’s in love with Asuna and she can never have him while the viewer knew it could never happen from the moment it was a concept.

And finally, the villains. SAO has some of the worst explained villains I have ever seen. The creator of the game Sword Art Online “forgot” his motivations for making the game, and the other two major villains in the anime are both nothing more than what I like to call 'rapey guys.’ Additionally, in season two theres this really weird twist where the villain is like three different people, and they like inject some drug into people to kill them in real life as they simultaneously kill them in game. It’s really contrived and has a ton of plot holes but I’ll leave an analysis of GGO to another day.

Now I probably have to explain why I don’t like Re Zero too or else these fuckers will never be satisfied

@aincradknightnatlis now you know why I don’t like SAO. I gave you the 'facts’ you wanted. I’m not trying to change your opinion. I’m telling you to stop fucking attacking me for disliking this show.

[hitei-sei]

Orihime Analysis: W.I.P

We all know Orihime as the hyperactive young female who is loving, silly, horrible taste buds, and willing to protect anyone if it seemed like the right thing to do. She thrived to become stronger so she could protect her beloved friend, Ichigo, more than anything else. But there’s a lot more to her than meets the eye.

Dating back to when she was a child, it’s been noted that Orihime had terrible parents; they were involved with drugs and abuse, thus, her aunt and uncle took her, and her older brother Sora in. Orihime looked up to her older brother because she had no one else to look up to. We have no knowledge as to who her aunt and uncle are, therefor, it’s safe to assume that she has no real deep connection to them. Thus, she clung to her brother, seeing him more as a parent figure than anything else. And when her brother passed, it hit hard for the young female. Although the memory of his death isn’t suppressed, she doesn’t divulge into it, talk about it, or make sad remarks about it, which faces the main theme of the show Bleach; Death. Death is everywhere a person looks; Ichigo has to receive a fatal wound in order to get Substitute Shinigami (Death God) abilities. All of his enemies, asides from the Quincies, were those of the dead; facing other soul reapers, hollows, and in a movie, he even faced those that were from Hell. The theme carries throughout in deeper movements, seeing that characters died within the series towards the end, Ichigo’s mother dying when he was a child, and more.

Although she didn’t realize how this fantasy world (a make-shift of Heaven and Hell) known as Soul Society and Hueco Mundo exists, she’s always had a vivid imagination, almost as if she had some connection with the world of death even before she was able to truly see it for herself. When asked to do a homework assignment, she creates an image of herself in the future, being a robot causing destruction upon all (a complete 180 of her character, wanting to protect everything she loves and cares about because she never could before.) She saw the world as dark and gloomy, always surrounded by death and negative impacts, such as bullies for her hair color. Facing this psychological trauma as a child, being abused by her fellow classmates and losing her parents and brother, she wore a facade to hide the truth of her mind. She understood death all too well. Once gone, she’s not SUPPOSED to see them again. Orihime is known for her crazy imagination, and I believe it’s because of this trauma. She created her own world where she is safe and everyone is alive. No harm can be produced, except when she is around. When her abilities finally woke up, and Ichigo became a substitute shinigami, more destruction and panic entered her life. The female couldn’t deal with the loss of another loved one. If she were to, she’d most likely break and lose herself, the person she had built herself up to be.

The reason for her ad choice in food could be difficult to build a hypothesis on. So let’s say that growing up, because Sora was still young, and he wasn’t a parent, that she was allowed to do as she pleased with her food. Trying new things (and still wanting to try new things as she grows older), she acquired an adapted taste that’s odd to others, but it’s all she’s ever known. No one taught her the right mixtures of food to make. Of course, she can easily follow the ingredients of food, however. She prefers the mixture because it reminds her of her childhood and her times with her brother before he past.

Aforementioned, she faced trauma as a child, which brings me to my next very important point. Orihime acts like a child and has the mentality (majority of the time) of a child, not because it’s her intentions, but because a part of her never really got to live as a child. She was forced into ‘adulthood’ (facing death, not having parents around, being independent and self-reliant), thus when given the opportunity to be a child, she allows it. For example, within the first arc of Bleach, when Rukia is first being introduced, Orihime and her friends mention a concert they wish to go to, and they cross their arms over their chest, giving a childish laugh. It’s shown at the concert just how immature the ‘mascot’, shall we say, acted, making Orihime enjoy him all the more. Perhaps she didn’t grow up with a television (though hard to imagine she didn’t), but she got her attention pulled by the male. Her friends also enjoyed him, which made her act out even more silly. When Ichigo awakened his abilities, she saw him much like a savior. Someone she could trust and rely on no matter what. Ichigo could never be defeated (like a superhero) and he could do no wrong. This attachment to him as her savior is similar to how a child grows attached to their parents. “In the eye of a child, mother is God.” A mother can do no wrong and is supposed to protect their child and keep them safe. Alike this would be Tatsuki, Orihime’s childhood best friend, who saved her when she wasn’t able to protect herself. Tatsuki was a reliable friend that Orihime could always count on. Orihime could cry to this female over the most childish things, like a prick on the tip of her finger, or a scrape on her knee. These two characters play an essential role in Orihime’s life. In an opening scene of Bleach, we see Chizuru address Orihime’s large breasts, and flirts with the female. Of course, with the naivety in mind, Orihiime makes no recognition of the purpose and goals Chizuru has, however her savior, Tatsuki, recognizes these signs and fends the female off of Orihime, as if to protect this childish mindset Orihime had been forced into due to the realities of life.

Orihime worked hard to learn her abilities and her emotions are exaggerated within the manga and show when Yoroichi disciplines the female. We see this exaggeration of emotions throughout the entire manga and show to hold on to the fact that Orihime is ‘innocent’ and ‘child-like’.  Her whole purpose of going to Soul Society was to help save her new friend, though dear to her already, Rukia. A child tends to befriend people quickly and claim them as their best friend within hours of befriending them, as seen when Orihime befriends Rukia. Rukia, however, is much wiser and mature, and recognizes this childlike attributes of the young teen, and nurtures the female anyway she can; comforting her in her times of need (as well as later on in the show with Rangiku when Orihime has a break down realizing that she’s unable to help Ichigo the way Rukia is. She announces she’s jealous of the female, a sudden growth in her as a character.) When finally introducing this emotion, it wasn’t in a childish possessive manner because she wanted Ichigo’s attention, but because she knew at the bottom of her heart that she didn’t have the same connection with Ichigo as Rukia did, and felt nearly defeated, not sure she’d ever reach the same level of a bond with Ichigo as the two Soul Reapers has.

Children are famous for being pure and naive, which is represented in Orihime’s character many of times. Although exposed to death, she was still able to hold on to this innocent nature, featuring that of which may even be compared to as Jesus; basically perfect in total. Everyone treated Orihime like a child, making it difficult to mature. However, a change of pace occurs. When the arrancars appeared, she welcomely gave up her free-spirit and choices, acting as a martyr to protect those she held most dear. She cast her ‘life’ away in order to protect them when Aizen called for her to Las Noches. Orihime’s character drastically matures when she’s thrown head first into the water known as loneliness. She left a note behind reading, ‘Goodbye Halcyon Days’. Up until this point in her life, Orihime sees it as nothing but good, even if she said goodbye to those she loved. This was her final farewell. She believed wholeheartedly that she’d never seem them again.

When entering Las Noches, her innocent was completely corrupted by mental, emotional, and physical abuse by the living hollows. They cared not for her as a character, but as a piece of meat that could heal all wounds. Or as Aizen had described it, ‘rejecting the reality of things’. All of her life, she had rejected that she’d never see those she loved again. She rejected the constant life that occurred around her. And most of all, she rejected the idea that anyone would ever die again, thus, it’s easy to see how her abilities are based off of these facts of her acting as a child would, and rejecting the reality of life, and refusing to face the facts. It can be argued that Orihime did face her brothers death, however, a part of her still clings to his life. It’s as if he is still there with her, noted by the hairpins she is always seen wearing. Those hairpins signify the most important rejection in her life, and that is the death of Sora. Although we saw few scenes with her brother, we know that she has a frame of him in her home, and she spends time alone with the photo to pay her respects, as if she believes he is still with her, even in death.

Her caretaker is the one that has no connections to the world, he’s a montone man with no hold on life, and no care for anyone. He does as he is told and lives life as such. He is incapable, as he claims, to only believe in what he can see. Because he can not ‘see’ emotions with his own eyes, he can not accept them. He makes a point to break Orihime down and give her ‘soul’ to Aizen. By having her speak the words out loud, it was as if he had won a game. It was as if he made Orihime say she was betraying her friends and would not return to them. Even when she heard news of her friends being in Hueco Mundo, he constantly reminded her that she would not be saved. Each of her precious friends would be killed and there was nothing she could do about it. (Funny, for a man that can’t see or experience emotions, nor believes in them, he seems to care a lot about breaking the female’s belief system). At one point, we see the most out of character thing from Orihime and that’s when she slaps the male for his words. He claims that if he were Orihime, he would be angry with his friends for being ‘foolish enough’ to sneak into Hueco Mundo to save her. Although she had been accepting the abuse from all arrancars so far, this is the climax of her maturity. She is not okay with her friends being talked down on, especially when going to this new land to save her. They could do or say as they wished to her, but to speak ill of her friends was unacceptable. While in Hueco Mundo, she is more closed off, and rather than being chirpy and happy, she spends most of her time in silent solitude, praying for the safety of her friends during the war (and when learning they came to save her, for their safety in the upcoming battles they’d face to save her.) Her friends didn’t NEED to save her, she just needed them to survive. If they were to die, she’d never forgive herself and would always put herself at blame (much like a child would do). People seek reason to all things bad that happen in their life. It’s how we are raised. Bad things happen to us because we did something we shouldn’t have done. A person steals a cookie, then they are disciplined by no snacks for a week. A person dies in their life, then there has to have been something they had done to anger the God that made Him take away someone so dear. Thus, her decision to go to Hueco Mundo had to be the reason for the repercussions and the possible death her friends would each face.

That with an innocent heart is typically susceptible to corruption, seeing that’s how they grow as people and become who they are later in life. For the most part, Orihime showed no corruption. We do see a change in her character whilst in Hueco Mundo. She’s more quiet and less outgoing. Although abuses, she never wished anything ill upon the arrancars. In fact, even after Menoly and Loly attacked her, when they were obliterated by Grimmjow, Orihime went as far as to heal them. Not because she pitied them, but because she wouldn’t wish death even on her enemy. If she could protect someone from death, good or evil, she’d do so.

From Orihime’s friends standpoint, when they read her letter to leave the World of the Living, Soul Society claimed her as someone who betrayed (a common theme throughout the entire show, in every canon arc). However, one person in particular stood up for his friend, knowing full well that it went against her nature to betray those she cared for and that she had to be forced into the situation somehow. Going against the wishes of the Soul Society, Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu left for Hueco Mundo, with the help of Kisuke (who also believed in Orihime’s innocence) and made way to save their friend. More so, they believed she was still alive and that she could be saved. Additionally, Rukia and Renji team up with the humans to save Orihime. All in all, it’s clear to see that it was unlike Orihime to up and leave her friends. It was out of character for someone like her to possibly ‘betray’ everyone she had a bond with. But in her mind, if she did not go, they would be killed.

One of the people that best sees Orihime’s innocence would be Uryu. Throughout the entire show, while he was a bit colder and blunt to all characters, he was gentle with the adolescent female, and took care to not harm her feelings. Even in the Soul Society, Rukia Retrieval Arc, when Orihime was stripping in front of him, he spoke out to let her know he was still there and stop her from undressing before a man.

The entire arrancar arc had a huge turning point in the young female’s life. With her friends in Las Noches, battling the arrancars, and Espada, Orihime struggled with the concept of life and death occurring. She wanted to believe that they would survive, but little by little, Ulquiorra’s cold demeanor and words began to break through to her, for once possibly corrupting her. She fended off his words with her own, arguing that they’d be fine, but she’s constantly shown at the window, praying for their safety, and clearly worried about them, proving that she wasn’t as confident in their skills as she claimed to be. The first big event to affect her was when Ulquiorra (first) killed Ichigo. Grimmjow took her to Ichigo for his own selfish reasons (seeing it fit as he paid her back, protecting her from the jealous female arrancars for Orihime giving him back his arm) and forcing her to heal Ichigo. He told her she had to heal Ichigo so he could fight and kill him. Of course, she refused, not wanting to bring Ichigo back just so he could die. Yet, she still brought him back, despite all her protests of wanting to, and watched the battle unfold. She believed Ichigo was absolutely perfect…

Until his brought out his mask and used it in the middle of her battle. It triggered memories from earlier on in the first season when her brother came back as a Hollow and tried to kill her. She saw Ichigo as evil, and feared him for the first time in her life. Ichigo wasn’t as perfect as she believed him to be. Just like everyone else, even Ichigo had good and evil within him. It was a large mental barrier she had to surpass in order to reclaim her trust on Ichigo once more. With the assistance of Nel’s childish mindset (much similar to her own, thus able to break through and make sense to Orihime) and the possibility of Ichigo losing in this battle, Orihime overcame her sudden fear and cried for the male, shouting out to him that, “you don’t have to win, but please, don’t get hurt anymore.”

After the defeat of Grimmjow, for a brief moment, it was like Ichigo was impossible to defeat once again, until the next enemy came in line; the walking body of corruption, Nnoitra. He exposed Orihime, once again to the helpless feeling that Ichigo would not win in battle, that he would die, and that she’d be left once more without him. He went as far as to ravage her mouth with his long, slender fingers, showing the biggest sign of corruption to the female yet. Luckily, other’s of high power stepped in and saved Ichigo from the battle. As Orihime ran, Starrk appears and took her back to where Aizen would be. A man who found humor in the lack of power she contained. He used her to try and break Ichigo, and bring birth to new power. She, according to Aizen, would be the perfect tool to use to bring light to Ichigo’s abilities.

After leaving Hueco Mundo, Orihime was forced to deal with the worse thing yet to happen in her life. To see Ichigo dead with her very eyes, and watch HOW he died. Ulquiorra made sure she would see. Ulquiorra’s goal was to absolutely destroy any hope she had and to prove nothing in this world existed except for despair. She would feel the despair he felt. He was powerful, and they were nothing more than mere bugs. Even as she tried to heal Ichigo, she discovered it was an impossible feat. She could not bring him back. Ichigo was dead. Absolutely dead, thus began her chorus of cries, a repetition of his name. It was as if his name was the only thing that gave birth to his existence and reassurance to her broken, battered heart. And her cried, not her ability to reject reality, but her cries brought Ichigo back in complete Hollow formation. He was destructive and destroyed all in his way, except for the girl because he ‘must .. save.. her’. Hearing him say those words broke her more than any death possibly could. A man no longer containing even a conscious, was willing to take anything in his way out just to protect her. She had been selfish for calling his name and begging him to save her. And she realized this when she recognized that Ichigo was making no choices but serving a simple purpose; protecting her. Just as she had served a single purpose against her will, and healed Aizen’s injured arrancars.

The best thing to happen in her life was the defeat of Ulquiorra, and the defeat of Aizen. Upon returning home, after what felt like a century, she finally, truly, let herself cry with relief and utter joy for two main reasons. First, Ichigo was alive, and well, just like the rest of her friends. Second, Ichigo was losing his abilities to be a Substitute Soul Reaper, which would bring him back to the mundane life of being a human. She no longer had to worry about him getting into battles because he had no spiritual pressure to fight others with.

After the war between Soul Society and the Arrancars, featuring Gin, Tousen, and Aizen, a timeskip occurs and Orihime is able to revert to her former self. It’s as if she has a block in the way to protect herself from all the abuse she was forced to live through while in Hueco Mundo. Instead, after the timeskip, she was more childish than ever. The animation, and in the manga, exaggerated her features, making the female more pouty and childish than ever before. Where in the first part of the series, she had childish thoughts and ideas, and now, she reverted in further back with her childish behavior, and with her body language acted like a child. The Fullbring was short, and focused mostly on Ichigo gaining new abilities, meeting a new human foe, and regaining his Substitute Shinigami abilities. During this short arc, Orihime’s abilities grew, as she practiced on her own so she could protect those she loved better than before. When facing an enemy, Orihime went as far as crying because she was happy that the other was alive. Although Riruka made it clear that she wasn’t particularly fond of Orihime, the female wasn’t able to pick up on the clear dislike, and considered the female a ‘friend’.

Entering the final arc of the series, the Quincy War arc, Orihime had become an entirely new person. She was full of purpose and courage. She was stronger than ever before, and was able to depend on herself. When returning to Hueco Mundo with Kisuke and Chad, she’s shown going off on her own to search the vicinity. For what is unknown, however she was following orders from the respectable Kisuke. As the war between Soul Reapers and Quincies broke out, Orihime returned to Soul Society, this time with powerful previous foes on their side to wipe out the Quincies. Orihime was no longer a childish person, but a teen female attempting to get the attention and prove her self worth to the one she loves. Her attire was provocative, showing her stomach, arms, and much of her large cleavage because she had been convinced by Kisuke that Ichigo would enjoy it. Finally, as the entered the final battle, Orihime no longer needed to stare at Ichigo’s back. He recognized her abilities, and rather than asking her to stand back, he told her that he would be relying on her, proving to the female that she was now one of them (something she’d been trying to achieve all her life) and that she had finally served her purpose. She could finally be at Ichigo’s side… She deserved to be at his side.

Which brings us to the conclusion of the marriage between Ichigo and Orihime, as well as having a child. Ten years after the defeat of Ywach, Orihime was able to marry the love of her life, and even have a child with him. Her hair, in the manga scene, was much like Ichigo’s mothers hair when Ichigo was a child. I believe this represents Orihime’s growth as a person who is fully matured, experienced in life. She still holds on to her innocent charms, but she will no longer be the extremely childish person because she now has a child and a husband to look after and protect.