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quranreadalong · 6 years

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#175, Surah 36

THE QURAN READ-ALONG: DAY 175

Hello brothers and sisters. I am Doctor Zakir Naik--a medical doctor, who has been invited to discuss the first half of this surah with you. And I will tell you of a story. Brother came to me and said I have question: the Quran is the perfect book. Yet some say “these are ravings of a clown from 7th century Arabia who had confusion over science, history, and theology, and also a clear personality disorder”. So how can it be perfect, this book, if it has all these issues? These are his words to me.

Brother ask a very intellectual question. As a medical doctor, I will provide you with answers. We will find that--not only are there no errors in our Noble Quran, but in fact it is a greater science textbook than any produced for a thousand years. As well, this fact has been acknowledged by Western professors. According to famous scientist Steven Hawking quote, “How can anyone deny the miracles of the Quran” end quote. (Source: islam-truth-religion.co.uk/praise.html)

We will look now to the surah Ya Sin, revealed in our beloved Prophet (SAW)’s mid-Mecca days. You see immediately that we begin with "YS”. Random letters, some might tell you, if they are uneducated. But if we examine them closer, we see that they stand for Yes Science. All scholars agree. The Noble Quran is a book of wisdom, sent to our beloved Prophet (SAW) and those with him on the correct path of Islam, from Allah who is God. This was necessary, because no prophet had been sent to the kuffar of Mecca before.

But if you note, brothers and sisters, we are then told in 36:7:

Already hath the judgment, (for their infidelity) proved true of most of them, for they believe not. Lo! We have put on their necks carcans reaching unto the chins, so that they are made stiff-necked. And We have set a bar before them and a bar behind them, and (thus) have covered them so that they see not. Whether thou warn them or thou warn them not, it is alike for them, for they believe not.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters? Why does God send a prophet (SAW) to a people who, in His words He says, most of them will not believe--or are incapable of believing, we should say, by His own orders? Why does He make a people spiritually blind, and then punish when they do not convert? Is this not bad and nonsensical, the earlier brother might ask me.

A very good question. But look closer and you will see the truth is already stated for us and in fact it provides much sense: God is bored and playing a video game, and He is giving himself a handicap so the game is not boring, you see now. If everyone in Mecca converted, you see, the game would be over too soon and He would have to go back to His sad daily life as a programmer at Alibaba. Those who have carefully studied Islam know this. Have you seen Sword Art Online, brothers and sisters? The kuffar will tell you that it is a terrible show, but in fact it is a careful depiction of the true faith Islam, as the creator of the show himself has stated (source: anime-invites-to-islam.org/testimonials).

But dear reader, you may think still “is this not unfair?” Think of your favorite MMO, or if you have social life think yourself to have a favorite MMO. Who decides what is correct, you or the creator of the game. Exactly, you are understanding.

Now that we have establish this truth we may continue. The Quran was sent only to those who believe in God, and they will be rewarded. God can bring the dead to life and records actions in his book.

[There is a very dumb backstory to this verse, according to al-Wahidi. The “book” in question is generally interpreted as the same thing as the “Preserved Tablet” or al-lawh al-mahfuz, which we will see later. It’s basically Allah’s record of everything everyone has ever or will ever do.]

Brothers and sisters, let us conclude this day with a story. God sent messengers to some people. He sent three to these people, in fact, because they denied the first two, yet also they denied the third. The messengers assured all that they were in fact conveyors of the true religion, yet in response the disbelievers threaten to stone them to death. Note brothers, note how yet again God cannot come up with a version of the persecuted-messengers story that does not involve this element. It is a technique designed to emphasize how evil the disbelievers are, called “repetition”. Islam invented this literary “repetition”, which the West would not emulate for a thousand years.

Another technique we the ummah have invented is the technique of “cliffhanger”. What will become of these mysterious three people and the rejectors? We must wait for tomorrow, like a story in One Thousand and One Nights, which invented literature.

NEXT TIME: Miracles of the Noble Quran as all believe, including Western scientists!!

The Quran Read-Along: Day 175

Ayat: 18

Good: 0

Neutral: 15 (36:1-7, 36:11-18)

Bad: 3 (36:8-10)

Kuffar hell counter: 0

⇚ previous day | next day ⇛

#ya sin #surah 36 #quranreadalong

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melissafoxmedia · 6 years

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Gender roles, witches, demons and Hereditary. A film essay and review.

An opinionated and biased essay ahead, perfectly imperfect. This writer is aware of said bias's and welcomes your ideas respectuflly. Proceed.

Halfway through his movie, I turned to my husband and said, “I think we might need therapy when this is all over.” I’d like to start with a caveat that we are a household that loves horror movies. In my opinion, horror is an under-appreciated genre. I'm not talking about franchise horror films, of which we are not a fan, with the exception of Insidious. I'm talking, The Shining, Blair Witch Project, Suspiria, Mommy, Let The Right One In, Babbadook. Classic horror tales and the like. Greek tragedies, even Shakespear. I have a lot to say about this one. So fair warning, this essay is long.

A QUICK BACKGROUND

I grew up reading Steven King, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelly, Edgar Allen Poe, Anne Rice and Mark Danielewski. I would argue that even my favorite fantasy and science fiction writers like Tolkien and George R.R. Martin borrow from the horror genre.

What solidified my interest in horror was actually a class in Chinese and Japanese cinema and art history. I enjoyed studying the nuances of the culture through the stories they told. Most of which were ghost stories. Ancestral worship is part of their culture. When visiting someones home, you might find a shrine to their passed loved ones. Ghosts are a normal, everyday part of their spiritual life. So too are their ghost stories.

This connection to the dead is apparent in many cultures. The Celtic festival of Samhain, The Buddhist Obon, Dia De Los Muertos, Chuseok in Korea and Gai Jatra in Nepal. All have ceremonies and celebrations that honor ancestral spirits. Essentially, the ghosts of your family. I joke that even the Bible is one long ghost story. Full of death, rebirth, angels, demons, spirits, voices and apocalyptic visions. But where eastern religions and ancient cultures differ is around the premise of fear. Specifically spirits.

Take, for instance, the Buddhist Obon and Del Dia De Los Muertos. Celebrations designed to honor the people who came before you. Essentially, one envokes the spirits of your ancestors come back to visit the living. One would light lanterns or lay a path of flowers to guide those spirits back to earth for the celebration. You are literally inviting ghosts to come and have dinner with you. These rituals are not fear based spiritual practices. You will find no children running away in horror from the ghosts of great granddad. They are beautiful rituals full of dancing, prayer, and community.

I grew up going to Church for a large part of my life, so my religious experiences of adolescence are based on my experiences with the Chrisitan church. Here notes my personal bias. I have no such memories of honoring my ancestors in a such a way from the Church. In fact, anything involving something seance-like would have been viewed as the devil. The dead are mourned in quiet reverence but one must be careful in creating any false idols. The only ghost that is ok to envoke, is the holy ghost. It's still very old testement thinking when it comes to this one.

I have a vivid memory of sitting on a picnic bench at Jesus camp, 13 years old, sobbing uncontrollably. I just listened to a fiery sermon about hell and I was truly conflicted. I was already "saved," having said the prayer and done the ritual at 8 years old. But my father was not. He was an atheist. I didn't want him to go to hell. I was terrified and felt guilty. My counselor at the time kept pressing me to call him. She wanted me to "get him saved," right now.

As an adult, I see how flawed that moment was. I did not call my father that night. I couldn't understand how my Christian peers thought less of me for doing so. I thought for sure that God would understand my compassion. My father and I had already discussed his feelings. He always respected my right to choose a religion, and I liked that, so I respected his. But that is not how I was treated by members of the Church. Needless to say, my relationship with the Church ended shortly thereafter and became an agnostic in my adult life.

I could give many instances of examples of why I feel that Christianity is a fear based religion, but I am not defending that point for this essay. Let's assume that it is.

I think it's interesting that our writer for Hereditary uses Goetia as it's religious influence. Goetia, an ancient Greek word that literally means sorcerer, get's its roots from the 16th century. Later, during the Renaissance, it became dubbed "black magic." The backdrop for the ending of the film and it's 17th-century Greek influence, we will explore later. But culturally, I think it's worth looking at this film through an American lens, of which, most of the population is Christian, making the comparisons I make relevant. Hereditary is an American film, written by an American writer. So I don't think he is trying to say anything specific about religion, other than to use it as a horror construct. This writer is obviously aware of his audience and is using that within his film.

We like horror films about evil, possession and ghosts almost as much as we like superhero movies. That classic good versus evil fight. We love it when the lines are drawn in the sand and the tension is clear. We don't get that kind of clarity in life. In fact, life is made up of many unknowns and gray areas. Those two, a cause of our fear and anxiety.

Hereditary doesn't put this idea front and center. Which is why I love it. The supernatural takes a back seat up until the second act. It dives headfirst into the gray areas to establish our characters and keeps us in the deepend with our worst fears.

ABOUT HEREDITARY - NON-SPOILER REVIEW

Hereditary is brilliantly written and performed. If I were awarding Oscars, I would give one to the writer and one to the lead actress. The writing and specifically her performance is award worthy. It is visually stunning and draws from some of the best ancient storytelling techniques of the ages. Its greek tragedy influence is what makes the whole story so strong. The best moments are the long takes, the timing of the edit, the absence of music and truly breathless performances.

But I would argue that the best thing about Hereditary is what it doesn’t explicitly say. Like a Greek Tragedy, it’s about the things that take place in-between the lines that make it so terrifying. It’s a spiritual horror film that speaks to our fears of inheriting the tragedies and traits of our ancestors. It’s about secrets between parents and children. Grief and it’s emotional manifestations. How tragedy can transform a person. It’s about the unspeakable terror that leads to more questions than answers. If you are looking for a nice bow-tie ending, you won’t get it. You are more likely to walk away going, “huh?” I loved the ending, but I think it will turn a lot of people off. It’s not what you are used to these days.

The best thing about the movie, in my opinion, is about women, spirituality, possession, and emotion. Which leads us to the essay below. I won’t be diving into Greek Tragedy or deconstruction of its uses in horror films. That’s for another day. I think it’s been widely documented in reviews thus far. I’d like to take a look at Gender, Christianity, Religion and how this film plays with those larger social constructs.

GENDER ROLES IN HORROR FILMS

Gender roles in horror films are one of my favorite things to pick apart culturally. If you want to dive in more, this is an excellent place to start. Women in horror films have a long history of being gas-lighted by the male characters they interact within the plot. They are scorned with male “logic,” that the things they are experiencing aren’t real. Usually, they are tortured, shallow characters that look pretty and scream on cue. Often viewed as “crazy,” and spend most of the plot running from danger. This isn't always the case, there are a few standouts. But for the most part, I think the above is true. Women are either victims or "witches," in the majority of horror films. I also think it's interesting how we treat women who are having spiritual experiences. In our stories, we are uncomfortable with female emotion. Therefore, if someone is having an extremely emotional experience, we are likely to view them as scary.

We are at our roots a Puritan nation. One whose fear of “the devil,” allowed us to pillage “savage Indians,” in the name of that fear. Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries persecuted thousands of witches. Whole villages of Swiss women were wiped out in the hysteria.

In America, we have the Salem witch trials.

I recently got to visit Salem Massachusetts. I read this fantastic book before I went called, “A Delusion Of Satan, The full story of the Salem witch trials.” Which outlines in more context the conditions and beliefs that lead to the "witch hysteria.” Today, those Puritans have received their Karma. Salem is a joke. It’s become a tourist Halloween town. Complete with haunted houses, tarot readers, and hippie spiritualists. The “devil,” they so fought to destroy has won. I laughed thinking about the righteous judges jumping through time to see children running around in witch costumes pretending to put spells on each other in their beloved village.

The story of Salem became a cautionary tale of the dangers of religious belief. But the book attempts to take it one step further in outlining the gender roles of women, power dynamics between men and women and femininity, creativity and inspiration. Unlike the modern telling of the story like “The Crucible,” the book deliciously researches connections from historical records. The trials were meticulously documented. Which may be why the story has been passed down to new generations and became taught in schools. But the book makes some connections for me that my 5th-grade classroom reading of The Crucible didn’t.

Life was hard as a puritan and men made all the rules. Imagination was stifled among children. Art was functional. Creativity was not encouraged, survival was. Sexuality was almost exclusively prohibited as a sin of the flesh with the exception of procreation. Pleasure was not allowed. Expression among women was silenced. These are all feminine values. Women who express extreme emotion are “crazy,” while men who express themselves in extreme ways are “passionate.” Soon “crazy,” became “a witch.” Any outburst of extreme emotion and a woman could be accused of being possessed by the devil. Witch hunting thus became inherently female and while anyone a could be accused of being a witch, most of the persecution was of women.

As a little girl, I played a lot in an imaginative space. I experimented with all kinds of storytelling and play acting. As a teenager, I was emotional and dramatic. I guarantee if I had been observed by a Puritan priest, they would have convinced the town that I was possessed. I think most artists would have been accused of witchcraft in that era.

These tropes still exist today. We still silence women. We write stories where they are silenced by others. In a large majority of our horror films, women are either the victims or for lack of a better term, "witches." As time moved on, we stopped persecuting witches and started locking women up in asylums for misbehaving. Thus replacing "witch," with "crazy."

I’m sure at some point, we have all thought our mothers to be “crazy,” through this lens too. Extreme imaginative outbursts or expressions of emotion are squashed in our society. We can barely handle a crying baby on an airplane let alone a woman who cries in public.

And here marks the line of spoilers people. If you wish to continue, do so at your own risk. I am about to talk about the details of the story.

GENDER, DEMONS AND WITCHES IN HEREDITARY

Hereditary begins with our main character, Annie, in the midst of working on her art. She creates model dioramas. It is implied as the story chugs along that these dioramas are her emotional outlet. This is how she processes grief, anger, and fear. The tension between imagination, memory, and reality play nicely here. Why in the world would someone make a miniaturized model of the death of her mother?

I enjoyed the duality of the models with life. The idea that I could take memories and tragedies out of my head and examine them as real-life objects. To see if I could make sense of them, process them differently. This process apears painstaking in the film. The details are fussed over, out main character possessed with the idea of recreation. A rebirth of her pain. Nicely done.

Next, we meet Charlie. Charlie is different. She makes you uncomfortable but we trust her slightly more because we assume it’s a mental disorder. The play on gender here is masterfully done. Our young actress is phenomenal but I question the casting choice. We love to put our humanly different in horror films and this borders exploitation for me. It's akin to pointing at her and calling her "freak." I get that we are establishing a long line of mental health issues for our characters, so I'll leave this one be. But do better next time.

Next, the shocking tragedy that propels our characters into some of the best moments of the film. Personally, I did not see that one coming. The car accident begins our true emotional terror.

Annie experiences real grief for the first time in the loss of her daughter. She was relieved when her own mother died, having been released from the burden of that relationship only to be thrust forward into the guilt of playing a part in her own daughter's death. Grief is not handled lightly here. Our main character moves through hysteric fits. She retreats. She creates twisted dioramas of the accident. All the while her husband grows more and more suspicious of her behavior. Her husband literally acts as men have throughout history. Questioning the intensity of her emotions and wondering if he should send her away. If we are sticking with our horror metaphors, Annie is possessed by grief.

My favorite scene to illustrate this concept is at the dinner table. Tensions mount in the household to an emotional breaking point. Our male characters confront our female lead and claim that she isn’t being truthful about her feelings. They invite her to express herself.

She does. This eruption is the best scene in the film. Rarely do we get to experience female emotional flow on the screen. The sight of a woman in full emotional and visual expression makes our male characters physically retreat from the scene. The very thing they invited her to express is the very thing they can not handle and rather than applaud her completion of this expression, they squash it. The men refuse to join her and instead they persecute her almost as if saying, "burn the witch.’ The refreshing length of the shot and the stellar performance by the actress is noteworthy. They do not shy away from the complexities of extreme emotions.

I think all of us are afraid that if we let go on some level, what comes forth would be bad. Tapping into our emotional flow is scary. So scary that as a society we can’t handle people doing it in front of us. We tell each other, “don’t cry,” when comforting one another. We tell our men, “crying isn’t manly.” And when we see our lead actress express herself on screen, we too as an audience are scared. We question her sanity, if only for a moment. Can we pause for a moment to admire the cinematography choice here? It's like an 18th century painting.

I mean, look at that still shot above. Gorgeous terrifying women in full power feeling herself fully. Just hand Tonni Collect the Oscar, please. This scene is fucking amazing. I applauded Annie's capacity to let go and laughed when the men wouldn't join her. Granted, it has taken me a long time to be ok with my own extremities of emotions but now that I am, I was praising this goddess on screen. I honestly can't think of another on screen performance that accomplishes this as well as Hereditary does.

Emotoins escalate as the film begins introducing the supernatural to the plot. Annie, meets with a new friend in her grief group, this friend conducts a saence to bring back the spirit of her grandchild. It seems to work and despite her reservations, she tries it. This triggers the climax of our film and leads to its ultimate resolution after discovering that her mother had a secret spiritual life. Spirituality “literally," kept in a box and hidden away until the very end of the film. I think spirituality is what our writer wants you to infer as the "hereditary trait." It’s the thing that our lead character doesn’t want to inherit from her mother. Her secret life. Her mental illness. Her spirituality. One might even say, she demonizes her mother. 😉

CHARLIE

The gender play with Charlie is also worth noting. At the conclusion of the film, we learn that Charlie is a male demon reincarnated into a female body. His name is Paimon. His rencarnation into Charlie was a mistake, as we learn at the conclusion of the film. The whole film is a plot to correct this mistake. Charlie referenced as she presents more like a tomboy with an androgynous name. While women are often “Witches,” in our scary stories so to men are painted as “Demons.”

I always wondered why this trope existed in our storytelling. Sometimes I think it's about dominance and submission, Witches serve Demons. Men subservient to women. Demons are usually powerful creatures in our stories. Females are usually the victims of demon possession, either used for literal possession or for impregnation. But it wasn’t always that way.

In the pre-Christian era, demons were both male and female. Much like the ancient polytheistic religions that had many gods and goddesses, so too was the gender spectrum of demons. It’s Christianity that spun the gender roles and made them sexless. Technically, Christian demons are fallen angels, as referenced in the Bible. They are sexless beings whose purpose is to test human beings on their faith in God and lead them to sin.

"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” —2 Corinthians 11:13–15

I always wondered, why then do we paint demons as masculine throughout history? See that winged creature demon up there - - - what sex do you infer when observing it? For context, the above painting is Dante and Virgil in Hell - William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1850. It’s a scene from Dante’s inferno, in which there are several biblical references used to describe the journey into hell. This painting is terrifying in person btw. It’s the size of a billboard and you can see the demons eyes staring at you from all angles. Notice the color palet and the lighting on the main figures in the foregroud. Remind you of any shot from before?

Back to Hereditary …

Why does Paimon need a male body? Why is he unhappy in a female body? Paimon is supposed to be a Prince not a Princess. If you don’t know who Paimon is … you aren’t alone. I had to look it up too. He’s one of the kings of hell with Goetic orgins, also referenced in Persian and Iranian stories. The “King," denotes man right?

Paimon is referenced in a demonology spell book called Lesser Key Of Solomon. Therein lists 72 demons of which, one is Paimon. Each demon has a symbol, which was a clue in the film. Annie wears one around her neck. Guess she should have googled the symbol before wearing it.

So essencially our demon "man-king," is pissed because he was born a woman and his followers work to correct the issue. Wow. Talk about some gender issues right? The wiki page for Paimon also gives us a hint at a sequel btw… go read it if you like.

SO have you made it this far?

If you have, cheers to you. Welcome to my geekery. I spent a lot of money on my education in art history, English and film critique. Literally wrote a paper a day for 4 years. I’m still paying off the bill. Blogs are more refreshing though, I don’t have to worry about being perfect or getting graded. I can just share my passion for picking apart social and cultural references in storytelling.

That said, if Hereditary made me spawn a long essay like this, imagine what it might do for you. I will warn you, my husband is still having nightmares from the visuals. Which I didn’t even get a chance to geek out about here. That said, I do think that our tales of horror are the most interesting things to look at in society. Our relationship to fear or lack thereof is still taboo. Last year marked the first time a horror film was nominated for an Oscar, and I think to Get Out was nominated more for its cultural relevance and discussion of race in our time. I’d love to see more from this writer. I was seriously impressed. It’s well researched and smart with an excellent understanding of pace and emotional landscapes.

So just like our movie, here ends my essay. I’m not going to neatly tie this up.

What did you think of the film?

#Hereditary #movie review #film review #film essay #gender roles in horror films #Salem witch trials #Charlie Hereditary #Demons #Christianity

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davidsivesind-blog · 5 years

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Hand to hand fighting genius Jet Li stars as Huo Yuanjia, a genuine ace who tested warriors from around the globe to duels, and turned into a national saint in China. Stream Li has featured in numerous motion pictures since Fearless, and some of them are incredible, however this movie is by all accounts his last, genuinely extraordinary hand to hand fighting epic, instructing significant exercises about the fine art and letting the star totally trimmed free in astonishing battle groupings, coordinated by the incomparable Ronny Yu (The Bride with White Hair). Intrepid probably won't be Jet Li's absolute best film... in any case, it's nearby.

Headshot

Envision the plot of The Bourne Identity, yet with the battle scenes from The Raid. That is the misjudged activity spine chiller Headshot, which stars Iko Uwais as an amnesiac who needs to ensure himself, and his therapist, from a multitude of combative techniques professional killers who need him dead. Headshot ostensibly works shockingly better on gushing, on the grounds that the activity is so dazzling, thus savage, you may need to delay the film just to regain some composure.

Dark Panther

The greatest Marvel motion picture ever, and with great purpose. Chadwick Boseman stars in Black Panther, a film that consolidates Afrofuturism with the hero type, giving crowds something they'd never observed, on a scale that is difficult to envision. Michael B. Jordan co-stars as one of the incomparable MCU scalawags, and Letitia Wright takes every one of her scenes as an innovative virtuoso who puts Tony Stark to disgrace. This is the mix of exemplary valor, intense true to life style and significant topics that superhuman fans longed for. What's more, they got everything.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The eight section in the Star Wars adventure of sets of three is a standout amongst the most dubious, yet additionally a standout amongst the most excitedly paced, extreme and capricious. The Resistance is on the kept running from the fascistic First Order, driving Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) to separate and attempt each trap available to them - and gain proficiency with a lot of new ones - to make all the difference. The Last Jedi pursues the fundamental structure of The Empire Strikes Back, with saints isolated, appalling inversions and startling disclosures, just to change itself in the last demonstration into something new, a film that looks to the future as opposed to living completely previously.

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) get sucked onto an outsider planet, where Thor fights the Hulk and Loki's devotions are tested (for the umpteenth time), in Taika Waititi's eccentric and inventive Marvel Cinematic Universe experience, with champion exhibitions by Cate Blanchett and Tessa Thompson adjusting the amazing cast. A lot is on the line, the activity is fantastic, and each narrating choice feels like it came shouting out of misjudged 1980s space show peculiarities like The Ice Pirates or Krull. (For the record, that is a compliment.)

The Castle of Cagliostro

Before he turned into the all around acclaimed chief of movies like My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki coordinated The Castle of Cagliostro, a tearing experience anecdote about a magnetic criminal named Lupin III who unearths a wild connivance including fake cash and grabbing. Miyazaki's trademark liveliness is as of now going all out, and the motion picture still feels wondrous and ageless.

The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker is broadly viewed as one of the best war motion pictures made in the post-9/11 time. Executive Kathryn Bigelow investigates the serious weight looked by individuals from a dangerous law evacuation group during the Iraq War, with a cast that incorporates Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Christian Camargo, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Guy Pearce. The film commanded the 2010 Academy Awards, and in light of current circumstances. It's amazingly well-made and a genuinely instinctive encounter.

Best Movie Here

https://moviestailler.blogspot.com/2019/07/actoin-movies.html

https://moviestailler.blogspot.com/

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recentanimenews · 6 years

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Is Pitohui Sword Art Online's Best Villain Yet?

Ah, villains – how we love to hate them! When you get down to it, many stories we love are battles between good and evil. However, while we walk the narrative path alongside our heroes, forming bonds as we watch them overcome their struggles, a certain extra spice is often needed to convince us of their foils.This, arguably, makes the villains some of the most intriguing characters in fiction.

Being a long-running series, the heroes of Sword Art Online have faced off with many an antagonist, compiling a rogue gallery full of obsessed game developers, sadist serial killers, and most terrifying of all, sleazy businessmen. But what if the franchise’s true greatest foe isn’t one who has crossed swords with Kirito? I am, of course, referring to Pitohui from Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online!

What first drew me to Pitohui was how we met her: as a friend, mentor, and LLENN’s introduction to Gun Gale Online. Her rough, intimidating appearance certainly left an impression, but was inconspicuously fitting for the game’s post-apocalyptic setting. What fascinates me about Pitohui now, though, is how even though she’s become an obstacle LLENN must overcome, her personality hasn’t changed one bit. There was no shocking betrayal like Bleach’s Sosuke Aizen, yet every display of sadistic glee feels more than natural for the character who once motivated a newbie to make their competitive Squad Jam debut.

A charismatic presence helped propel Loki into becoming one of Marvel’s most-loved baddies, and a similar energy is helping cement Pitohui as Sword Art Online’s most memorable yet. Akihiko Kayaba kept his distance while masquerading as a stoic commander, everything about Sugou Noboyuki was just detestable, and Death Gun didn’t even show their faces until the end-game. While Pitohui’s real identity may remain a mystery in the anime, we’ve seen her face embrace the ecstasy of toying with an enemy, delight in gunning down entire squads, and even despair at death’s door. Like the trickster brother of Thor, Pitohui isn’t just the final boss awaiting at the end; she’s her own multifaceted person living in this world.

It’s not just Pitohui herself who convinces us of her character, either. Unlike Sword Art Online villains thus far, Pitohui has someone at her side who’s more than an accomplice or lackey: M. A peculiar person himself, when he pleaded for LLENN to defeat Pitohui, it wasn’t out of fear for his life, but hers. The love M holds for Pito can tell us one of two things: either the savage gunslinger has an unseen side worthy of adoration, M is crazy, or… why not both?

Pitohui’s most defining relationship, however, is with LLENN. She first met our pink protagonist due to rumours of a budding player killer; a playstyle that would have labelled LLENN a monster in Sword Art Online, but is merely a way to blow off steam with a friend in Gun Gale Online.

Their relationship is unlike so many others, as neither LLENN or Pitohui have yet to show any genuine malice towards each other. Their showdown began as a friendly promise acknowledging their skills, and LLENN joined the Squad Jam not to stop Pitohui in typical hero fashion, but to save a friend from herself. This is a wonderfully refreshing change of pace from Sword Art Online, where Kirito’s foes have been more personally distant with grandiose plans like Kayaba.

Even Pitohui’s fascinating motivation sets her apart from the villains in Sword Art Online and beyond. Her goal isn’t to bring suffering to others, but to embrace the death she feels she was denied (while bringing M into it for reasons we have yet to learn). Avoiding being dragged into the Sword Art Online Incident should have been celebrated as a fortunate near miss, yet why does Pitohui feel robbed by still being alive? There’s so much more to this character that we just don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out.

Her unique situation with M aside, some may consider the general lack of mortal consequences for her actions to be a weakness for Pitohui as a villain, yet I, surprisingly, find it a strength. The impact of her actions may not be as permanent as Kayaba or Death Gun’s, but that means I can feel no regrets when delighting in the chaotic spectacle of her wiping out whole teams by herself, without mercy. As well as being a visually striking sequence, it was at that moment that I felt the mix of fear and excitement that made me realize just how convincing and fun a villain Pitohui is.

My conscience may come knocking if the act fried their headsets, but with the worst happening to most of them simply being losing a game, is there any harm in taking the same twisted enjoyment I would when racking up kills streaks in a game myself? Besides, unhealthy obsession with the Sword Art Online Incident aside, are we really any different when holding a controller? I know the UN Human Rights Council may want to speak with me about my behavior in The Sims...

Who is your favorite Sword Art Online villain, and why? Let us know in the comments!

Josh A. Stevens is a freelance PR with anime industry experience, and a writer at Anime UK News. You can follow him on Twitter @Joshawott.

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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darkot · 8 years

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Today was a good day.

Well... yesterday was a good day. It is currently 9am, the morning after the day I was referring to.

I went up about 100 SR in Overwatch last night. Got on a 4 game win streak, and was really close to a 5th, but we lost our next match after that. But, it didn’t feel as bad as many of the final games of the night have lately. Which is odd, because we DEFINITELY could have tied it.

In that last match, we had a Widowmaker that did not switch until the very end--at which point, it was too late. It was pretty frustrating at the time, because they weren’t doing a whole lot, and they were taking up a DPS role slot. So, most of the damage dealing was left up to me. Not to mention that the enemy team had an absolutely INSANE Widow. I am not even exaggerating that, they might have been the best Widow that I have ever played against. And this guy on our team faced their Widow in a previous match where he was getting destroyed by them, and he STILL didn’t switch! I mean, I get it. He had something to prove. He didn’t want to concede defeat to that enemy Widow by playing something else. But for the love of god, man. Do you want to lose SR??

Despite that disadvantage, we actually did really well. We were playing on Volskaya. Both teams captured both points in their first offence round. We ALMOST managed to capture both points on our second offence round, but just fell a little short of that (we had 2 ticks on the cap, and were really close to a third. But they respawned too fast, and we ran out of time). Then, on that defence round, we almost held them at first point. We stopped about three of their pushes, but they got through on the fourth. So, we were fighting for a tie, but.. I don’t know what happened, really. We just couldn’t hold them off. Our comp just didn’t have the damage to wipe them, which we desperately needed. But, despite that being a disappointing end to the night, it still didn’t feel awful. I was absolutely DESTROYING during that session, and that made me happy.

I got what I believe was my first competitive sextuple kill as Pharah. Here is that, for anyone interested:

https://gfycat.com/splendidclearcutbubblefish

(tried to embed the gif in a post, but Tumblr’s stupid)

You have no idea how good it felt to hear the announcer yell “SEXTUPLE KILL!” Technically, that was eight eliminations. And you better believe that got play of the match, with one of them being an environmental!

Pretty much all of my games yesterday were like that. There was this one Ilios match where I just kept knocking the Reinhardt on the other team into the pit over. And over. And over. He seriously must have been getting sick of me. I did it about four times. Got a quintuple on that match as well. Reinhardt knocked in the pit + Ana & Pharah killed with a single rocket + Soldier 76 and Lucio killed in an ult. Not as impressive as the one above, but it was nice.

I REALLY would have liked for that last match to have been a tie a least. A win preferably, but I would have settled for a tie with our handicap. It doesn’t feel good losing SR because of somebody else. But, all in all, I’m okay with it. 5 wins would have been nice, or 4 wins and 1 tie, but I can say that I was preforming amazingly. Even in that Volskaya match, I was giving them hell while essentially being a solo DPS. I can live with 4 wins and a loss, knowing that I was playing great.

I’m participating in a tournament with the rest of my team this Monday as well! This time, I intend on bringing home the gold! We’ve improved a lot since our last tourney. I think that we still aren’t ready for another “Team Silky”, with three top 500 players. But, barring that, I’m actually really confident that we can win this outright.

So.. yeah, that’s that about Overwatch. But, that wasn’t the only good thing to come from today. FIVE new episodes of Steven Universe were released, and holy fuck were they amazing!

I’m not going to go into too much detail about them, but they were really plot heavy episodes, which I LOVE! Everything was so intriguing. I was on the metaphorical edge of my seat the whole time! Yellow Diamond’s song was incredible, and the art direction was amazing! I loved the tone of the music. It felt reminiscent of old Disney villains, but with a more realistic touch. And something about seeing the scale of Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond moving around while Steven and Greg were hiding was really powerful. Their height felt appropriately intimidating. They are colossal in comparison to the little bundle of preciousness that is Steven. I could easily see that being a video game level, haha. Trying to hide behind pillars whenever Yellow Diamond is looking in your direction. That’d make a great stealth level!

On top of that, episode one of BOTH Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapter and Dragon Ball Super english dubbed came out! The kid inside of me was so excited to see my childhood heroes in action again! While the DBZ Kai episode was meh, the Dragon Ball Super one was surprisingly awesome!

DBZ Kai’s episode felt very filler-y, even though it sets up a plot point later. It revolves around Gohan going to highschool, trying to limit his powers to blend in with the humans and failing and... well, that’s about it. It wasn’t bad. I laughed at quite a few moments in that episode. I also REALLY liked Videl. I had almost totally forgotten how amazing she was around her introduction. Aside from finding her incredibly cool though, overall it just wasn’t fantastic. It’s just nothing in comparison to the core Majiin Buu arc. I really want it to get on to that whole story ASAP. I’ve been waiting for it since DBZ Kai proper ended with the Cell Saga. I was so disappointed by that! I just hope this doesn’t dwell on the “Great Saiyaman” shit too long. I have never been a fan of that, or Hercule. Some hardcore fans would lynch me for saying that, but I just can not stand the Great Saiyaman’s goofiness or Hercule's arrogance. However, in the Dragon Ball Super episode, I must admit that he’s been redeemed a little in my eyes...

Now, THAT was a good episode. It’s pretty filler-y in its own right. Goku is working as a farmer at ChiChi’s demand that he get a paying job, Goten (ugh) and Trunks are trying to get “toilet water” from a hotspring to give to Videl as a wedding gift now that her and Gohan are married.. Didn’t mind it. I had heard that DBS is very “slice of life” oriented, so I’m a little worried about how I will feel about it in the long run. It was good, but in a similar fashion to the DBZ Kai episode, I really want to get to some core plot and action. However, there WERE two very impressive highlights from this episode.

First, as I had alluded to earlier, Hercule has a moment that actually makes me like him a bit more. I still can’t stand how outrageously pompous he can be, but they follow up on the events of the Buu saga a bit. Hercule (ugh) wins a noble peace prize (uggggh) for saving the planet from an apocalyptic disaster (ugggggggggggh), and is awarded 100,000,000 Zeni (uggggggggggggggggggh), BUT, in the end, he gives the money to Goku (awwwwww). Honestly, it was a pretty touching moment. He admitted that Goku deserved it more because he was the one who actually stopped Buu. Perhaps there is another good moment like this in the Buu Saga that I just don’t remember (I guess we’ll see later into the ongoing Kai episodes!), but this felt like the first humanizing moment that Hercule has had since he was introduced in the Cell Saga. It was nice seeing that, behind that massive ego, he can be humble.

The second highlight outdoes that one, though. And that’s our first taste (pun intended) of Beerus. The tone that they set for him is amazing. At his whim, a planet’s (presumably) greatest chefs gather to cook a feast for him, to appease his appetite for delicious food. He admits that it is pretty delicious, but is displeased with a greasy feeling that one of the dishes leaves in his mouth. And just like that, BOOM, he destroys half of the planet! And that’s what he considers merciful! It was such a strong introduction to a character that is silly but at the same time scary powerful. It was honestly pretty chilling.

I know he’s not a villain in the traditional DBZ villain sense, but it feels like there are more long term goals for him to eventually be Goku’s next big enemy. That is really what I look forward to the most in the Dragon Ball franchise. Every saga ups the ante in incredible ways. Aside from the original Dragon Ball, which was AMAZING in its own right, we start off with a brat of a tyrannical overlord who is feared throughout the entire galaxy, a biomechanical android obsessed with perfection to feed his narcissism, who is created with the cells (ha) of that previous villain PLUS every major protagonist thus far, and then a primordial being who is the embodiment of evil and rage itself! DBZ may be more oriented around action than a complex story, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t have some of the most hype, iconic villains around. And for good reason! Every one sets the bar higher and outdoes the other. They continually create a greater and greater challenge for the main characters to overcome. And now, we have a GOD of nonchalant destruction who is entirely neutral in terms of personal morality. If they do have larger, long term plans for him to be a main villain in the series like I’m thinking, then I’m glad that they’re not jumping into that immediately. I don’t think that the bar can go much higher than a god, but that’s fine. Because if they are setting him up to be a major antagonist at some point, then they made that bar faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar out of Goku’s reach. I believe that even at the point that DBS is at in Japan, Goku isn’t even remotely as strong a Beerus. He can’t hope to defeat him right now. So, they have to continue to appease him. If there is a point where he becomes a serious threat to earth and Goku has to stop him, then that will be much later on. Unless they have no intentions of making him a villain and he is just a main character now, then they are really playing a long con with him. So long in fact, that another main villain appears and is beaten. Who even knows how many more will come before it’s Beerus’ turn? Regardless, I find it brilliant how (in my speculation) a core villain is being kept around for multiple arcs in the story, as a looming threat and ultimate milestone for the protagonists to slowly reach.

On another note, my laptop is totally fucked. While typing all of this, it has been an absolute pain trying to keep it up. Currently, I have a big box on my bed from a heater that my mom got for Christmas, propping up the screen of my laptop. The hinge that keeps the screen anchored to the base is broken. So, now, it doesn’t stay open on its own. Either it falls back all the way, or it will fall closed if I pull it too far forward. On top of this, the screen is horribly cracked, like those Iphones you see that still work despite the glass being broken (the screen was protruding out from the shell of the laptop, so I tried to push it back in. Turns out there was a magnet out of place behind it that was supposed to go in this indent in the shell, but.. well, wasn’t when I tried to push the screen back in. So, the screen pressed against the magnet and now I have five or so long cracks across my screen). It has a LOT of trouble turning on too. Like, I’m scared to turn it off, because every time I turn it back on, it takes about 30 minutes to boot up the OS. It’s also missing 3 keys, the touchpad no longer pushes in (I don’t know what happened to it, but it’s raised now o.O), and it is INSANELY slow.

These are honestly probably the last couple weeks of this laptop’s life. But, that’s understandable. I’ve had it for a little over five years now. It’s had a really good run. What I’m dreading more than its eventual failure however, is getting its replacement.. I’ve had my eyes on Wacom’s “Mobile Studio” since it was revealed late last year, as a replacement for this laptop once it goes, as another portable computer. But, I’ll have to drop about 3 grand to get it. It’s an investment, I know. But I just.. really don’t want to spend that kind of money right now. I’d certainly be drawing more often if I had it. I’d probably be more productive overall, because it would be faster. I could take it around with me. Work from anywhere, unlike with my laptop in its current state of falling apart. I don’t know.. I’ve wanted a mobile tablet for years now. The spiritual ancestor to the Mobile Studio, the “Wacom Companion” was what I had my eyes on since this laptop started showing problem. This has been something a looooooooong time in the making. But, at no point since I wanted the first Wacom Companion in 2013, to now when I want the Mobile Studio in 2017, have I been willing to bite the bullet and pay that $3000 pricetag. It seems my hand is going to be forced soon, however...

Wow.. I’ve been typing for almost two hours. It’s 20 minutes to 11am. I should get some sleep. At this point, it might be a better idea to just stay up through the day and go to bed early tonight. Either way though, I’m ending this here.

#personal #long as fuck

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