#trese analysis

[jmmangkukulam]

One of my favorite pages in the Trese Lite: Postcard Book 1 is the page where Alex is seen riding a paper boat with Crispin and Basilio in the land of the duwende (tiny earth-elemental creatures). It wasn’t shown much in the actual comics nor the Netflix show how they were like growing up together so this little peek was so nice!

The postcard is from Alex to her father and says the following:

Dear Papa,

All is well in the land of duwende. I feel you sent me here with the Kambal to learn something. We have not encountered any threats ever since we’ve arrived. I’m beginning to worry that I’ve begun to relax my defenses.

~Alex

I feel like Anton sent the kids there together to be able to bond with each other. More specifically, he wanted Alex to learn to trust and accept the Kambal since Alex was strongly against their adoption into the Trese family (she even wanted them killed). Being trained to be a Babaylan-Mandirigma from such a young age, I guess Anton also wanted Alex to have some fun memories to look back to from her childhood. The plan seems to be working with how Alex is able to feel relaxed with the boys in their trip. In the picture, the Kambal also look much more older than when they were taken in by Anton (in the comics). So, it really shows how slowly it took for Alex to finally accept them.

[darksideofthemamon]

The progression of Alex and Maliksi's relationship in the comics (feat. Me probably overanalyzing)

(In general or shippy, up to you)

Vol 1: Villain of the week.

He's the supernatural culprit in Case 2 and she catches him. That's basically it, though it's an important detail that he's the prince of a tribe the Treses are allied with.

Vol 3: Owing a favor

She uses her last wish from winning the race to get him to help her fight Talagbusao. That's it. We don't see them converse or anything, it's all very straightforward.

This goes differently in the Netflix show where he's more involved. There are no favors or wishes and he goes to her to personally deliver a message from his dad. He also outright expresses his support for her even though he technically shouldn't ("I won't tell if you won't.")

Vol. 5: A romantically interested nuisance

Maliksi's very involved in this arc, in fact it starts with him becoming a vigilante, which interferes with Alex's work. She's very understandably pissed at him and sees him as nothing but an annoyance that gets in her way.

This interaction^ in particular makes it seem like she doesn't even take him seriously. I sense so much hostility from those panels, and from both sides even!

He flirts with her throughout this arc but she turns him down, of course. He saves her life near the end, and while she's still aloof to him, she invites him back to base for information.

Vol. 6: Official allies

It seems she changed her mind about his superhero attempts because at the start of this volume, she outright calls him for help, unlike in the previous one where she told him to stay out of it. I'm guessing this is cus she saw how useful he was to have around in battle.

He's basically become part of the team at this point, enough for them to have an SOS codeword, and for him to tag along for the next case (which we see at the end) without being asked or him offering.

As for their personal relationship, and this is the part where I start over analyzing, but Alex's expressions seem much friendlier than the previous volume where she was hostile because he was a nuisance who she already had a past history reprimanding.

1) they're sitting next to eachother fdjldjjddj, 2) she listens to him instead of ignoring him (especially in that first panel where her brother gives a speech and she's looking at Maliksi tho idk why, unless like the Kambal he's looking at Seepul who's sitting across from him??), and 3) she doesn't look pissed at him, instead having an expression that I can only describe as "open"

In the end, he flirts with her again and she still turns him down, but again, doesn't look annoyed anymore (not like in vol 5) (also notice how in vol 5 he didn't get to ride with her, but now he does just like how she told him to stay out of the way but now calls him for help)

(Compare her expression here^ with the one from Vol 5)

In general, I really like how Volume 6 shakes up the status quo! This whole time it's been the trio of Trese + The Kambal tackling cases on their own and occasionally calling in a favor from an ally but in this volume, they assemble a team and then all share a meal together in the end. It's really fun and epic to see!

[scarabjewels]

Why is No One Talking About The Hellboy Animated Movies?

This is probably a very specific cult following, a niche niche if you will. But let me tell you, if the 2D underrated classics such as Atlantis, El Dorado,Treasure Planet and Anastasia have a strong cult following, why not this?

Every one of these essays, I always have some short origin story of me discovering it and OF COURSE THIS IS ALSO HAS ONE.

I came across one of the movies in a DVD of a mix of different cartoons, such as Static Shock and maybe 70s/80s Fantastic Four episodes.

It was The Sword of Storm movie, where my love of dark mythological action animated movies continued. I was already a mythology enthusiast as a kid. My past times were reading encyclopedias and watching my mom's extensive collection of documentary DVDs. As for dark animated action movies, DC and Marvel had a lot, and it slipped into pirated DVDs back in the day.

Anyway, it was AMAZING. Hello, JAPANESE AKUMAS, THE ATMOSPHERE, THE LORE.

Fast forward to some years later, I found out that there was another movie and one that was unfortunately cancelled. Loved it too much that I went ahead and tried to read the comics, specifically the ones produced by Dark Horse, as it was related directly to the animated movies.

I craved those kinds of genres in animated media at the time, but I couldn't find ones that I really stuck to, the DC animated movies were good, the old Marvel ones were great and then Trese came, and it was just perfect. Then Castlevania and Blood of Zeus followed after, I have yet to watch it.

So again, why are these so underground niche.

I don't really have qualms or analysis about these movies, I just want to write just how much I appreciate it.

The Dark Action Comics Feel

I am not a comic reader at all by the way, I barely read them. I like manga a little more, and I like my action in moving pictures more than in panels. That said, I appreciate the art of it.

Western dark comics hit a lot different. The simplistic animated styles work well with suspense.

Though Guillermo directed the animated and live action of Hellboy, I would argue that he got the feel of it best in Hellboy Animated. I have yet to see the live action movies, but I recall seeing a glimpse and was very dissappointed. I liked the costumes but I didn't like the brightness and the subplots. It felt like Fantastic Four (2005) with Chris Evans and Jessica Alba (no hate to the movie, I actually really like that one). It wasn't dark enough, but these materials getting adapted into live action are difficult already. That's why a lot of superhero animated movies surpass the action in live a lot of the time.

Hellboy Animated was the best way it could've been adapted. Do note that Hellboy was not an original idea of Guillermo. It existed way before, and it was even darker.

It was dark enough, not too cringey. It was serious but not taking itself too seriously. it was the right blend of dark action, witty, and visually appealing.

The Dialogues and The Characters

Okay, this is one that really sold me on the movies. Somehow, the lines were humorous and short. SHORT.

I also loved that Hellboy was a character who didn't give two shits and just done with the world, yet does his job anyway and is kind. He is like a broody cool but drunk 40 year old man who just exists. WHICH IS BY THE WAY A PROTAGONIST TROPE USED IN A LOT OF LIVE ACTION MOVIES. I don't know if it's the same in the live Hellboy movies, I am really hoping that his lines are just "Crap" and have simple fun expressions.

Also, I find that Abe is a lot more ...attractive in the animated ones? I have seen the costume of him in the live and I think it also inspired a project of Guillermo after, "The Shape of Water". It's not bad at all, just...creature like than humanoid creature. If anything, maybe the creature in The Shape of Water was closer to Abe's hotness. Guillermo has so much of these characters that ...he just might be a furry (HAHAH). Anyway, Abe is like a hot fit nerd action hero, which I think a lot of us wish would even go to that level.

Okay now, Liz. First of all, why is Liz Hellboy's gal? HE HAS HIS OWN IN THE ANIMATED. Her name is Kate, and she has known him a lot longer than Liz. She is also a hot nerd ( opposites attract a type of deal). Liz is similar to Hellboy, but younger and getting used to her powers. Hellboy sees her like a younger sister, too, and is affectionate to her like one. Liz is more of the action hero that Scarlett Johansenn could play her. Her lines would be sarcastic, and her voice was very Megara, just under your breath sassy. Also...her chemistry with Abe...you can not tell me it's not PLANTED.

The other characters are also perfectly voiced and don't drag on too long in a scene even when they are the focus. Again, their "budgetting" with visuals and dialogue in a scene were straight to the point. They say a little bit while saying, just perfect in Show, Don't Tell. Other than the main trio, I found a few more characters memorable: Kate and The Professor.

I already mentioned Kate, she is this quirky girl who is hot, rocks a blonde bob undercut and dangling earrings, and almost always appears 5-10% in the movies but always memorable. Her relationship with Hellboy was told through her dialogues, without even telling us too much. It's not "We've known each other for so long" it's "He could be a big grump and he's even older than he looks", that's how you do dialogue people. Ehem, I'm looking at you. "Truth or dare." She does appear little but is clearly significant either to the plot in the story (in the Sword of Storms) or by the characters (in Blood and Iron). I just think she's cool too. She is so excited with going on about the scientific details related to missions, and the characters adore her.

Professor Trevor, aka Hellboy's adoptive father and one of the founders of BPRD (Buruea of Paranormal Research and Defense), is definitely one of the more important characters in the Hellboy Universe. He was the one who raised Hellboy, as well as doing operations at the same time. They showed me his importance with just dialogue and the smallest cutscenes ever. The mastery of that technique was evident in underrated comic movies.

And HELLBOY, the titular character was the best one ever. He is probably Sleeping Beauty because he has the fewest lines in those movies. That man is stoic, unbothered, laid back and incredibly CHILL AF. I see these characters aa side characters a lot, so seeing a character like this as the main character is so fun to watch, like he does not need development yet it's his world and we're all living in it. That man is zen to the max, yet is sad to be destined to lead the world. Reminds me of older Kratos (God of War), just 100 times more chill and more swag, out of the two, he is that gentle giant you can hang with in a bar and maybe even get high with, Older Kratos is way too intimidating but you'd feel very safe around him more.

The Mystique Tone weaved with the World Building

The dialogues already brought out the world building, how the organisation of paranormal defence is a serious thing. See, taking something so fantastical so seriously can counter its intention, when done correctly and properly, you can hone a cult following, which is why DCU, Marvel and the X-men evolved from comics for the children into basically modern art and literature for its niche. That's also why I am wondering why Hellboy is not as beloved. The comics before Dark Horse are pretty hard-core. The world building is pretty good in movies alone. It's like a contemporary take on supernatural noir. It's mysterious, dramatic, and (this is specific to me, I dunno why) smooth.

Trese (the filipino horror/thriller comic that had its show adapted during the pandemic in netflix) reminded me of Hellboy, and even Trese too, small cult following when I think it does deserve do much more.

Now, the world is building specific to the movies.

I'm referring to the inadequate tone with the existence of the BPRD, the people who work there, and that they are literally like a private organisation with connections to the government. Think S.H.E.I.L.D from Marvel. Only the organization is not dramatically futuristic and really in your face about it. It's super chill and like an underground organisation, too. They are literally normal anywhere and everywhere. Also, they feel so much more mysterious because, again, they don't say what they are doing in detail like blockbuster movies. They do it straightforward, and you figure it out quickly. An example is in Sword of Storms, Hellboy disappeared into another dimension, the BPRD is looking for him. What's so funny and awesome about it is that dimensions aren't new to the BPRD and that Hellboy's disappearance is also not uncommon. They literally casually said that he was not on the planet. The reactions are just "great, looks like we'll wait this out again." That's a subtle node to the world building of this universe, the inadequacy.

The Sympathetic Aspect and Humanity of the Story and Characters

I watched a video essay about the movies and he pointed out two stories of how much it has humanity and sadness in it. I think this is what somehow makes it separate from grandiose epic tales of the hero vs the monster.

In the Sword of Storms, the first scene is a mission in a Mayan Temple where they had to fight with a giant bat worshipped as a God in that particular setting. Long story short, the bat rose an army of the undead, and Liz, Abe, and Hellboy had to fight them all. Liz, having pyrokinesis, unleashes her powers like hellfire, burning the bat and the undead army. The score of Liz's powers feels exactly like hellfire, which is to cleanse the soiled. The sad part is that the bat may have been monstrous, but it was shown glimmer of complete sadness when it looked at its army and accepted its gruesome fate to burn with them. It reminded me of Shen's last scene in Kung Fu Panda 2, where he fought Po with everything he got, in the midst of the fight, a pillar was doomed to hit him, Shen sees this and he just closes his eyes, accepting his defeat.

The other one is a fleshed out subplot in Blood and Iron. It was about a priest the professor had met years ago in a mission. He was once a young and proud priest but faced an existential crisis, losing faith in God as he witnessed the acts of a vampire, later became a servant of that same vampire. Professor Broom and him met again, a little after the former priest killed a man as he was ordered to. The professor gave him words of wisdom and gave him a crucifix, a symbol of his faith restoring. However, it was not to be a happy ending, as he was transformed into a werewolf to become a hindrance of the BPRD succeeding in their mission. When he was eventually killed, we got a small shot of the crucifix in his transformed hand. It was incredibly a sad and dark ending, which was sort of beautiful and came full circle for him.

The point of these kinds of comics is to not glamorize the formula of epics but to emphasise the protection of humanity. Trese also did the same (Man, I should make an essay about this). Professor Broom is pretty much the character that really showed my point. He acts within reason, and even at a younger age, he was very wise beyond years. He didn't come in a monster killing hero, but at best consultant. In Blood and Iron, Erzebet, the serial vampire, was beyond saving and needed to be killed to save countless lives she plans to take. When he met the priest again, he witnessed that the priest murdered and his words alluded that he did it many times before. Yet he urges to forgive himself and that it was never too late for him as he hands him the crucifix. The professor literally adopted a demon boy and raised it as a son, to whom we know as Hellboy. He doesn't believe that everyone is inherently bad, as he chose to believe the good can be taught and redeemed again. He is probably the most beautiful person in this universe, damn to stay true and grounded with those kind of values in that kind of work, reminds me of a quote from the Emperor from Mulan : " No matter how much the wind blows, a mountain cannot bow to it".

Most of the members of The BPRD are not fully human, similar to mutants of X-Men. Hellboy is literally a demon, raised as a human, Liz is pyrokinetic, and Abe is a humanoid amphibian. Yet they are incredibly human. They would casually have a conversation about pastries they tried when they were out on a mission.

Conclusion:

While I was researching about Mignola and Del Toro, I had just found out that a new movie live action Hellboy is coming out, with an indie film feel!

Honestly, I don't think it's going to go on par with the block buster films, but what I have seen from the trailers so far, it just might do Mignola's Hellboy justice. Though, I do have a comment on the movie's filter and lighting, I want it to be close to Egger's "The Witch" if that makes sense. Just a tad but darker, like a small nod to the aesthetic theme of the comic, the noir feel. But the effects are amazing 👏 . The indie-ness of it is perfection.

Now it's obvious that I love this, and for some reason, I think my love for the animated films manifested this information of a new live action instalment.

[secretswansong]

How much do humans know about the supernatural in Trese? And how do the supernatural creatures fit into the human society of Metro Manila?

The worldbuilding was the first thing I had in mind, going into the show. I had hoped the show would explore humans' interactions and relationships with supernatural creatures, and how that would make Alex's role easier or harder, but I must have expected too much.

Spoilers and overuse of the word "supernatural" ahead.

Content warnings: spoilers, gore, cannibalism, murder, human sacrifice, humans being terrible to each other, military and police brutality (they're their own warnings)

The show universe is functionally an AU in which supernatural creatures are well integrated into but still feared in human society. Basically, just take regular Metro Manila and replace some people in it with supernatural characters. I found it inconsistent and incomplete, although it is functional and works for the story; I was confused by some elements and enjoyed others. Also, "Manila" in the show refers to Metro Manila, or the National Capital Region, which includes the City of Manila, 15 more cities, and 1 municipality.

The supernatural creatures in Manila have differences in appearance/design and speech, as well as regional/cultural origins. In general, older and inhuman-looking characters tend to speak more formally and in a deeper Tagalog (in the Tagalog dub), and retain precolonial attire and appearances. Meanwhile, younger and human-looking characters tend to have more modern speech and fashion. These trends aren't uniform across all the tribes/clans, but can reflect how colonialism and Western culture have modified our modern versions of folklore and mythology, as well as our culture.

Creatures such as the kapre, higante, and tikbalang (in tikbalang form), and characters like Señor Armanaz and Datu Talagbusao have kept precolonial attire. Meanwhile creatures like the aswang and manananggal have more modern appearances.

Apart from being a war god from precolonial times, Datu Talagbusao exists removed from human society, so he retains his appearance and speech. I really liked his design.

In contrast, the Kambal wear modern suits and are very conyo in the Tagalog dub. I liked them even more than their father.

The same goes for Hannah and Ammie, whom I liked very much. Also, their names are a play on their respective tribes, Habagat and Amihan, or the southwest and northeast monsoons.

The head of the tikbalang clan is Señor Armanaz, a title and a surname of Spanish origin. Maliksi's name is a Tagalog word that means "agile," so maybe the tikbalang have retained their original first names. Historically, the Spanish have forced/required* Filipinos to pick surnames, thus the prevalence of Spanish surnames (and "Hispanized" Filipino surnames, e.g. "Macaraeg" from "Makaraig"). (Edit: See my notes at the end of the post)

By "regional/cultural origins" I mean where the supernatural creatures came from. For example, Datu Talagbusao is a Bukidnon war god and Ibu is the Manobo goddess of death, Bukidnon being a province and the Manobo a group of indigenous people in Mindanao. Meanwhile, aswang is a more general term for creatures that feed on humans, which can include the tiktik, manananggal, ibwa, and xa mul.

They also have various bases of operation throughout Metro Manila, and some are counterparts to real locations (and a lot more in the komiks). The hierarchy among them (mentioned by the Nuno Sa Manhole) has manifested in socioeconomic inequality differences. Different supernatural creatures occupy not only different geographical areas, but possibly human industries and institutions.

The Nuno lives in and moves through the sewers, which could be a nice reference to people and animals being displaced by pollution, urbanization, land-grabbing, etc. (In the komiks, the Nuno moves to the sewers because of littering and pollution.)

Meanwhile, Amang Paso and Boyet live in a plant box in Nova Aurora's dressing room. The nuno and lamang lupa seem to occupy and protect different territories.

Ibwa's clan operate in a wet market for aswang, selling human meat. Xa Mul's clan have an apartment building where they imprison and consume abducted people.

The Bagyon tribe's tower is the Meralco Tower in Ortigas, Pasig City. In the komiks, they own Maharlika Electric Corp., i.e. Meralco, so they might be a counterpart to the Lopezes.

The Armanaz clan reside in the Ayala Tower One in Makati City. In the komiks, they are the patrons of and are fronted by a wealthy human family, maybe a counterpart to the Zobel-Ayalas.

Ibu, the goddess of death, doesn't operate in the physical world, but she does "use" the MRT, i.e. form a magical train based on it, to more efficiently retrieve the souls of the dead. We all know that train would never break down.

The absence of human laws (and, likely, formal social institutions or structures) involving non-human or supernatural elements points to secrecy maintained by and benefiting the supernatural. This supports how they occupy different geographic and economic spaces. It's definitely the creators' intention, and part of why and how the Treseverse works, but this is the part of the worldbuilding that confuses me.

Santamaria couldn't be arrested for dealings with aswang, so arson and human trafficking will be enough. At least this kind of agreement, between humans and at least the aswang, is not *legal*. Are any agreements between humans and supernaturals (apart from the treaty by Anton) *illegal*? Or are they only bad as long as they involve humans getting harmed? This is probably the case, as I honestly don't remember what Alex said about this.

Meanwhile, Raul was arrested for being "drunk and disorderly," so he'd be detained for a few to several days; he was probably transferred to another facility while the cops had to clean out the precinct. From what we get with Santamaria's arrest, Raul probably couldn't be charged with using a buhay-na-bato to raise zombies. I really don't like the notion that they'd make up a different charge, given the Philippines's history of anti-poor laws, trumped-up charges, and police brutality against the poor, marginalized groups, activists, critics, etc.

Between Ibwa's wet market and Xa Mul's "apartment," only the latter got their humans via abducting them via their deal with Santamaria. Manila would not remain intact if the aswang just kidnapped humans, but I don't remember any character citing that as another reason why the "apartment" isn't *legal* (while the wet market is; Alex and Hank don't even blink at what they see during their visits with Ibwa).

We have human characters who are involved with supernatural creatures and/or have access to magic. This suggests that (some) humans know who else they've been with, on an individual or community level.

The cops, or at least Guerrero, have been working with the Treses on cases with inhuman elements. They've definitely seen and heard things. In Episode 4, Guerrero immediately realizes that the zombies are coming for revenge; it's either convenient for pacing and/or he's very self-aware. I've got issues with that episode's themes.

Through flashbacks, we learn that a military unit (the Skeleton Crew) did a ritual that forced their captives to kill each other. (Yup, the military committing HRVs and abuses against civilians, but with extra steps.) This summoned Datu Talagbusao, and he met Ramona, the only survivor. Years later, she and her group kill those soldiers and summon the war god.

The Livewell Village residents sacrifice outsiders to the Bagyon tribe in exchange for fortune and prosperity. I wish we got a scene of Alex talking with a family or some residents. More in the komiks.

Nova Aurora, a popular actress and Hank's idol, is the familiar or alaga of Amang Paso. The term "familiar" feels like it's from foreign/Western folklore, but we do have the underlying principle of creatures blessing humans with fortune.

Raul uses a buhay-na-bato to get revenge for his brother, whom the cops had killed. In the komiks, he's also a salamangkero (the equivalent of a magician or sorcerer; the term is of Spanish origin).

During the bombings in Episode 5, Amang Paso apparently died, likely while protecting Hank. This means that some human weapons can hurt and kill supernatural creatures.

In the flashbacks, we get some information about the Seven Seers, including Alex's mother Miranda, so there are probably groups of or individual humans outside Metro Manila who also study and/or encounter supernatural creatures.

The most prominent human-supernatural interaction in this show is the cops working with the Treses on supernatural cases. The Treses are functionally cops for the supernatural. At the same time, they are unrealistically more competent than forensic investigation in the Philippines irl. However, the human element is limited to characters immediately involved in the cases, which doesn't clarify how much the humans know about the supernatural.

In Episode 1, they identify the White Lady, a ghost, along with when and how she died. We get no interactions with or reactions from the bystanders, and towards the end, the narrators survivors give consistent testimonies: none of them doubted that their captors were aswang, thus no need for Alex to gain their confidence. This could have been replaced by a scene in which a few witnesses were interviewed together by Alex. Also, Guerrero's info-dump warning to Alex about Santamaria's power falls flat because he's jailed by the end of Episode 1, somehow unable to use his influence and resources to stay out of prison. His character doesn't effectively represent and comment on corrupt politicians.

In Episode 2, Maliksi chafing at his defeat while in tikbalang form escapes the spectators' attention (but this is fine, drag racing at midnight will probably alter one's senses). Also, who takes care of the car Bagyon Kulimlim wrecked? And who fixes the wreckage in Alex's house?

In Episode 3, Nova Aurora tells Amang Paso that only she, and no one else in the studio, can see/hear the tiyanak. In the end she is killed by several tiyanak. Is no one going to wonder what happened to her, or how she and the other people were killed?

In Episode 4, we get Guerrero's morning routine and commute, over which we hear a news report about missing corpses. This could have been replaced by ordinary people reacting to the news and making defenses against the supernatural. Bonus ligtas points if they are from Raul's neighborhood!

Instead, all we get are the people complaining about their dead relatives' missing remains, and that never gets followed up. In lieu of zombies, what do the cops explain to those people? (The komiks explanation being drug-related violence gave me psychic damage.)

A nitpick: The news report in Episode 5 just plays Santamaria's speech and feels like convenient exposition for Alex to know what he's up to. It's not the same as irl field journalists presenting statements from detainees. The show only had to add who took the footage (maybe BuCor/BJMP personnel) to be more realistic.

Apart from the people complaining in Episode 4, we just don't get scenes of ordinary people talking about the missing MRT passengers, the displaced residents of Brgy. Pedro Lungsod, Santamaria wreaking chaos in Bilibid, the multiple bombings in Episode 5, etc.

Wouldn't people react to the news? Wouldn't they gossip and/or theorize about their neighbors or public figures like Nova Aurora? Why is no one carrying protective objects? Why is no one fortifying their homes with supernatural defenses? Where are the social media posts and chain texts/emails warning each other to stay home at night? How in the world is the carinderia in Episode 5 (deliberately) empty at lunch time?

I wonder about the people with the unenviable job of cleaning up all the carnage, and it's not Team Trese. God bless the MRT service crew. There's no way humans would clean that up and find it normal and not speculate about it.

Team Trese and maybe the creators never worry about ordinary people witnessing and talking about supernatural activity. Moreover, they don't even have any friendships or regular interactions with ordinary humans outside their work.

The show universe is mostly Metro Manila, so we get very little about human-supernatural relations outside the region. This also breaks the immersion for me, because in my experience (at least), folklore about supernatural creatures (especially aswang and mangkukulam) are almost always from rural communities, where belief in the supernatural tends to be stronger; meanwhile, urban legends and ghost stories involving ghosts, spirits, demons, and less specific phenomena are more specific to cities and urban areas.

In general, due to the rushed pacing and insufficient runtime, there is little to no development of human perceptions and attitudes towards the supernatural, beyond the main plot. As a result, the show is less consistent on how much humans are aware of them.

More importantly, the exploration of human-supernatural relations, how these affect Alex's roles, and how these affect human society do not seem to be priorities of the show or its creators. So, I doubt these would be prioritized more even if the show got more runtime.

I still hope the show gets more seasons and episodes, and develop these human-supernatural relations. Even if these don't support or hinder how Alex does her job, such interactions would make the universe more immersive and reflect sociocultural ties and interactions among Filipinos.

EDIT (September 15, 2021):

I'd like to clarify about the history of Filipinos being required to use surnames: I've just learned it's a popular misconception or oversimplification that Filipinos were forced to adopt only Spanish surnames. Many Filipino surnames (e.g. Macaraeg, Sumabat, Galang) are still present today. Many Filipinos could retain their surnames (indigenous or not) if they already had one, prior to the decree (which was issued in 1849).

[fandomlockedfan]

After observing the Trese fandom in their natural habitat (twitter, yt, fb, tumblr etc) I've noticed a few things. These are:

- Trese comic fans are pretty chill that netflix modified the story. salutations to ya'll 😎👍

- a lot of dub fights.

-but an overall agreement that the japanese dub was pretty dope.

- Every filipino who saw the choc-nut size and ratio felt betrayed somehow.

- a serious analysis and theory posts surrounding Trese and the filipino folklore.

- A lot of monsterfuckers.

- filipino fans genuinely happy to have an animation series that they can relate to and find representation.

- A LOT of Basilio and Crispin simps. Not surprised because hot damn look at those fine as---

- people complaining about how it only has 6 episodes so it feels like the story was fast paced. Netflix please fix this.

-THE FAN ARTS 😤👌❤️

- everyone, both boys and girls finding all the women characters hot. That Lady Emissary can take my soul and eat it if she wants to 🥵

- Basically the fandom became monsterfucker/twin simps/gay crushing fans. and honestly I'm all here for it

[omnistpilgrim]

I've resolved to study and re-read more spiritual texts this year (starting 2022), and share quotes I like. (note that this isn't meant to be a list of recommendations, just a record. not all of these have been spiritually edifying to me.) List of what I've read so far:

Anglicanism/ Episcopalianism

The Book of Common Prayer

Buddhism

The Dhammapada- translation by Eknath Easwaran

Peace is Every Step- Thich Nhat Hanh

Radical Acceptance- Tara Brach

Catholicism

The Faith Explained- Leo J Trese

Theology For Beginners- Frank Sheed

True Devotion to Mary- Louis de Montfort

The Modern Saints- Gracie Morbitzer

The Secret of the Rosary- Louis de Montfort

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

This is My Body, This is My Blood- Bob & Penny Lord

Good News About Sex & Marriage- Christopher West

The Story of A Soul- St Therese of Lisieux

Christianity (general)

The New Testament

The Screwtape Letters- CS Lewis

The Heart of Christianity- Marcus J Borg

God Can't- Thomas J Oord

Mere Christianity- CS Lewis

The Wisdom Jesus- Cynthia Bourgeault

The Universal Christ- Richard Rohr

The Case For Christ- Lee Strobel

The Great Divorce- CS Lewis

Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul- John Philip Newell

Searching for Sunday- Rachel Held Evans

Unlearning God- Phillip Gulley

Saving Jesus From the Church- Robin R Meyers

Christianity (biblical analysis)

Inspired- Rachel Held Evans

What is the Bible? - Rob Bell

The Uncensored Bible- Kaltner, Kilpatrick, & McKenzie

The Gay Gospels- Keith Sharpe

The Bible Doesn't Say That- Joel M Hoffman

The Sins of Scripture- John Shelby Spong

Paul and Jesus- James D Tabor

Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World- John Shelby Spong

Forged- Bart D Ehrman

Jesus, Interrupted- Bart D Ehrman

Zealot- Reza Aslan

Jezebel- Lesley Hazleton

101 Myths of the Bible- Gary Greenberg

Divine Feminine

The Way of the Rose- Clark Strand & Perdita Finn

Missing Mary- Charlene Spretnak

Circle of Mysteries- Christine Lore Weber

The Goddess in the Gospels- Margaret Starbird

Now is the Hour of Her Return- Clark Strand

Waking Up to the Dark- Clark Strand

Wild Mercy- Mirabai Starr

The Woman With the Alabaster Jar- Margaret Starbird

Druidry/ Celtic Paganism

The Book of Hedge Druidry- Joanna van der Hoeven

The Druidry Handbook- John Michael Greer

The Druid Path- John Michael Greer

The Book of Celtic Myths- Jennifer Emmick

Ecospirituality

Sacred Nature- Karen Armstrong

Filianism/ Déanism

The Gospel of Our Mother God

Hellenistic Paganism

The Iliad- Homer

The Odyssey- Homer

Mythology- Edith Hamilton

Hinduism

The Bhagavad Gita- translation by Barbara Stoler Miller

The Upanishads- translation by Eknath Easwaran

The Complete Illustrated Guide to Hinduism- Rasamandala Das

Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction- Kim Knott

Islam

The Qur'an- translation by Abdullah Yusufali

Judaism

The Tanakh

When Bad Things Happen to Good People- Harold S Kushner

Mormonism

The Book of Mormon

Paganism (general) / Wicca

The Spiral Dance- Starhawk

Paganism- Joyce & River Higgenbotham

Drawing Down the Moon- Margot Adler

The Path of a Christian Witch- Adelina St Clair

Tarot Fundamentals- Sasha Graham

Astrology- Carole Taylor

Tarot Magic- Donald Tyson

Wicca: A Guide For the Solitary Practitioner- Scott Cunningham

Cunningham's Book of Shadows- Scott Cunningham

The Witch's Book of Power- Devin Hunter

The Deep Heart of Witchcraft- David Salisbury

Quakerism

Faith and Practice- Baltimore Yearly Meeting

A Testament of Devotion- Thomas R Kelly

Living the Quaker Way- Philip Gulley

A Quaker Book of Wisdom- Robert Lawrence Smith

Letters to a Fellow Seeker- Steve Chase

Sikhism

Poems from the Sikh Sacred Tradition- Guru Nanak

Taoism

The Tao Te Ching- translation by Stephen Mitchell

The Tao of Pooh- Benjamin Hoff

Other/ Interfaith/ General Theism

A World of Prayer- edited by Rosalind Bradley

The Interfaith Prayer Book- compiled by Ted Brownstein

God of Love- Mirabai Starr

A New Earth- Eckhart Tolle

How to Believe in God- Clark Strand

Holy Envy- Barbara Brown Taylor

The Power of Now- Eckhart Tolle

Atheism

Atheism and the Case Against Christ- Matthew S McCormick

Letter to a Christian Nation- Sam Harris

Why I Became an Atheist- John W Loftus

God is Not Great- Christopher Hitchens

[jmmangkukulam]

During the breakfast scene, I first thought that Crispin got wounded just because a lightning bolt hit his spot.

But watching the clip again, I noticed that my sweet boy, Crispin, actually jumped to shield Alex from a strike that could’ve badly wounded her!

And look at him raising a protective arm in case Bagyon Lektro tries to strike his ate Alex again 😭🥺

Trese (2021). S1E2

[secretswansong]

One thing about the show which is affected by the pacing (i.e. having only 6 episodes) is Alex's competence as a detective and as a character. Major spoilers ahead.

Within each case, or Episodes 1-4, Alex does good detective work: gathering information from the crime scenes and through interactions with humans and supernatural creatures. I haven't read a lot of mystery or detective fiction apart from Smaller and Smaller Circles by F. H. Batacan (A MUST-READ!) so all I can tell is that Alex is competent enough for the plot to work. The komiks would probably have more on this; I haven't read those and I'm mainly going off on the show/anime.

Several of her interactions with humans and supernatural creatures felt rather convenient to me, likely because of how the quick pacing relies on quick delivery of important information to drive the plot. More nuanced interactions would take up more runtime. That's why we get a lot of info-dumping such as the following.

In Episode 1, Cpt. Guerrero warns Alex about Mayor Santamaria's power, even though he's imprisoned by the end of the episode. The survivors of the aswang readily give consistent testimonies, not concerned that they wouldn't be believed, not doubting that their captors were aswang, and thus no need for Alex and the cops to gain their trust.

In Episode 3, Jobert locates Petra Gallaga's video of what she did with Nova Aurora's baby, which would have still posed a risk towards Nova's reputation and career, even if it makes sense for her character. I cannot think of any practical reason behind it apart from providing an explanation of the tiyanak at the expense of Nova's characterization. (I don't condone her actions, and her character could have been written better.)

And, you know, the info-dumping from the Nuno and, especially, Datu Talagbusao, throughout Episodes 5 and 6.

(Bonus: all the flashbacks that focus on Alex and Anton, whose relationship was clearly the most important to the narrative and for Alex's training. So, in comparison, we get very little from Alex's mother, brothers, and grandfather.)

Still, Alex's human and supernatural connections suit her bigger role as the babaylan-mandirigma of Manila, and the resources with it. Even an ordinary detective would have made allies and connections.

However, Team Trese get no opportunities to further analyze the string of cases and the warnings from supernatural characters. Imagine if, in Smaller and Smaller Circles, the protagonists identify each victim but never figure out the key towards identifying the killer.

Alex is understandably busy with the individual cases, to the point that she is "sick of being two steps behind," but the enemy are well ahead and the team is more or less blindsided by the events in Episodes 5 & 6. (Other hints were more of foreshadowing aimed at the audience.)

We don't get scenes of Team Trese putting their heads together in the library, doing research, making timelines, comparing notes...

They could have reflected on recent cases: Is the timing normal or too quick and opportune for them? Could these cases have anything in common?

They could have speculated on underworld gossip and warnings and threats Alex got from other supernatural characters: Did anything they said sound too unusual or cryptic, even for them? Could any of them be involved with the cases? What storm, what prophecy, what big players are they talking about? Is someone trying to ruin the treaty?

The Emissary of Ibu calls Alex the future ruler of the underworld in Episode 1. But Alex dismisses that, doesn't further question the Emissary calling her that or Ibu's very respectful messages; and the show doesn't repeat this nice clue so that she notices. If the show did this and had her still dismiss these clues, that could have established her belief in her father (and his version of the prophecy) as a character weakness (i.e. the revelation in Episode 6 becomes a little more painful).

The flashbacks with Datu Talagbusao deliver backstory and set up how he is defeated in Episode 6 — for the audience. There's no solid indication that Alex and Team Trese recall these specific memories and wonder if Datu Talagbusao could be involved.

Hell, imagine if Crispin and Basilio came up with that — Bossing, our father (derogatory) is really into all this carnage, is it just us or maybe he's trying to make a comeback?

The one real effort in this direction (for me) was Hank's own investigation in Episode 4, when he spoke with the Nuno and Amang Paso. That was also a good way to show Hank's competence, being a longtime ally of the Treses, as well as how Alex could not and did not do everything by herself. And then Hank is nerfed and his findings don't really pay off because the remaining Team Trese barely catch up with the enemy for the final showdown.

Most if not all of the information from Nuno and Datu Talagbusao is new and doesn't confirm/disprove any suspicions or working hypotheses from Team Trese, because they haven't gotten opportunities to come up with them.

In Episode 5, the supernatural council meets and votes to dissolve the treaty, without Alex. All we get is Maliksi being the bearer of bad news. This event is the pinnacle of how the supernatural creatures (as a whole) have been undermining the authority of the babaylan-mandirigma. But this is the biggest missed opportunity for Alex to showcase her competence.

Imagine if Alex was invited to and/or crashed that meeting. She could present evidence from recent cases + cite statements and threats from other characters. She could argue that there's something bigger going on, trying to get rid of the treaty. She could have her allies back her up (and speak with them after the meeting). There would have been wonderful interactions with those who respect her and those who don't.

Would she have to succeed at preserving the treaty? No, but her failure would not have been entirely due to incompetence. This scene would have been a great parallel to Alex's memory/flashback of when Anton convinced the council to retain the treaty: Alex hasn't earned as much respect and influence as Anton had.

For me, this scene also implied that Alex has only been the lakan for a few years, maybe less than a decade. Apart from this, she asks Hank (in Episode 4) if being the lakan was this hard for her father; the flashback of when she returned from her Trials and assumed her current role (and looks) checks out; and we've seen great scenes of how supernatural creatures treat Alex with varying levels of respect (e.g. Señor Armanaz vs. Bagyon Lektro).

It was fun to rewatch and write about the show with pacing in mind. I really hope Netflix gives Trese more seasons and more episodes per season, because there's so much potential all-around (not just for Alex's character).

[secretswansong]

I would not say that Trese effectively comments on or explores socio-political issues in the Philippines. Rather, the show uses these as plot devices (and with only 6 episodes, there would not be enough runtime to expound on these issues). The premise itself makes Alex functionally a cop for supernatural entities, apart from her work with the police. This is clearly a decision of / intended by the creators and writers; also, the komiks creator stated that he didn't want to “make a statement” (mentioned in this BBC article), which is political in itself.

[mysticdragon3md3]

12:44 AM 6/15/2021

I found a new comic book YouTuber that I might like. He had a lot of interesting videos comparing the manga industry to the American (superhero) comic book industry. And with him being an anime/manga fan, I didn't have to put up with constant excuses or insults towards manga/anime.

But then, once, then twice or more, he started making little comments against diversity in comics, downplaying the importance of representation, he dismissed comics tackling social issues, and he pretty much called ridiculous, comic book creators talking about problems they face in their industry.

Now, I love escapism, maybe more than most people, being a socially anxious, maladaptive daydreamer, hikikomori who didn't leave the house for 10 years even before the coronavirus quarantines, but even I know it's important for art to tackle those social issues. There are too many academic media studies and lectures, easy to see online, that specifically note how fiction writing is often pivotal to progressing culture. I say that even as someone who spends all my time watching/reading iyashikei, "slice of life", and any other escapism that will give me a reprieve from thinking about the horrible things in the real life world. Just because I can't handle it, doesn't mean that others can't. And if we're just talking about sales, I don't think americomi SHOULD follow manga's example to largely avoid social issues, on the hypothesis that manga's higher sales are caused by avoiding real world issues, in order to cater to escapism audiences, however large they may be. But regardless, who's to say americomi can't be both? Americomi can and should be both socially conscious AND escapism. And frankly, I've read several series of manga that have tried to stretch beyond personal emotional issues and try to touch on broader social issues, and just flaccidly betray the author's inexperience with how those broader emotions work in real life society. It's sad. If it's a perspective representative of a people, of a culture, then it's sad how uninformed they are. But also encouraging that they're willing to try. And yet someone suggests that americomi throw away their unique strength in that area? That can't be a good call.

As for his comments and implications about diversity and representation in americomi? *sigh* This is why I always end up sticking to very few geeky YouTube channels. You never know when someone who sounds perfectly enthusiastic, informed about the medium, insightful in their analysis, is going to start dropping hints and implications about some uncomfortable things. Maybe it's misogyny, maybe it's casual homophobic "humor", maybe it's some other kind of bigotry trying so hard to fly under the radar, but still carries that stink through the air. First it happens once, and you think you were just reading into things too much. So you watch another one of their videos or 2. But then they say more things implying the same line of uncomfortable thought. And sooner or later, it's snowballed into, "I think I better go back to ProfessorThorgi and NerdSync; at least they will outright not apologize for social justice".

And to prove the effectiveness of representation to sell a series: This very week, I abandoned all my other obsessive fandoms, and shifted my focus to this new Trese series, which I hadn't heard of before, because it featured a protagonist with the same gender and ethnicity as me. I didn't even think my ethnicity was important to me! For my entire escapism-fiction-addicted life, I didn't think I needed a protagonist or setting that matched my ethnicity! And I had for years, already been accustomed to sympathizing with protagonists of the opposite gender than me. This was also AFTER I had begun to think maybe I had grown out of loving the "demon hunting" subgenre, that Trese was in. "Maybe I was too anxious now, to enjoy anything but iyashikei and 'slice of life' genres," I thought. Well, Trese proved that none of that mattered, because nothing will get you more excited than a protagonist like you, even if it's just on a subconscious level. Representation hooked me. It sells.

And as for comic book creators talking about their industry? Let them! Life is hard for manga creators! Eichiro Oda is going blind with all the work he has to keep up with! So many assistants go uncredited, because they just need to get the work out there! Rumiko Takahashi recently posted her usual work schedule to Twitter and we all had a good laugh about how insane that is, but we can't keep hearing about manga-ka having to take hiatus for health reasons, because we just *accept* these insane conditions and expectations, working each one of them into the ground, every single week! I'm fairly convinced that because the manga industry is so overflowing with contenders and manga-ka can be treated as disposable, that individual manga-ka have no choice but to just bear their abusive work schedules and not complain! Comic book creators not talking about their industry is not a good sign! It's a sign that anything they say could get them fired and they're desperate to hang onto their jobs, so they have to put up with health-destroying work conditions! I believe the reason why such abuse isn't rampant with americomi, is because americomi creators aren't afraid to speak out against the problems in their industry! The founders of Image Comics pretty much said to Marvel, "you can't treat us this way, we're not disposable, the fans know our names and not just the characters" and they proved themselves true. They made the American comic book industry much healthier for the people who work in it, compared to the manga industry. Maybe in Japan, everything a manga creator says serves the purpose of marketing and has to stay squeaky clean as to not scare off new readers or tarnish the publisher's brand. But American comic book creators speaking up is making the real world more tolerable for real people and the industry less guilty for us to consume. You ask what "marketing" purpose or value comes from comic book creators speaking out to fix problems in their industry? Well, there it is. Some of us, want less of the things we enjoy to be the products of other people's suffering. Even if it's just a small corner of the world like comic books, at least we can feel good about buying that. At least let me have *this*! ;o;

Personally, I think that if American comic books want to match the sales of manga, even with manga doing very little to advertise themselves... Audiences just want characters to latch onto. I don't spend all my time on social media or making fan-art to support a title, but because I love characters. And maybe it's a little more difficult to even know who a character is, let alone, love them, when writers keep changing, and even one-shots with crazy OOC AUs get folded into the mainline canon. I dunno. That's just a guess.

But laying the blame on social justice and ignoring good for real life people, that'll always make me suspicious.