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journeytalkzsp · 1 year

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie: From the POV of a fangirl (Spoilers. Duh.)

So my friends asked for this and I adore that they actually care so I made it!

I needed at least a day to relax and collect my thoughts. I don’t normally do movie reviews as South Park is the only thing I talk about on here but Mario has taken over my life this year and it’s somewhat thanks to this movie! Again beware of spoilers! I have a lot to say, some good, some bad. But just know I warned you.

Just to give a little background, I’ve played Mario games since I was a kid, with my main two being Mario Kart Wii and New Super Mario Bros. on the DS. I’ve always enjoyed the games and I became an even bigger fan after playing Mario Odyssey (which to this day is my favorite Mario game… actually my favorite game of all time right behind Bully). I’ll admit I was worried the first time I heard about a movie, especially considering it was being made by Illumination. But after seeing the trailer I was HOOKED LIKE A FISH and reeled into the fanbase! I knew the promos and trailers would spoil a lot of the movie but there was nothing stopping me at that point.

And unlike most movies, I really enjoyed the months of hype leading up to it! I had so much fun over-analyzing the promos and discovering new fan artists… and read some incredible fanfics imma be honest. And of course catching up on all the games I missed out on as a kid! All this to say that as much as I enjoyed the movie, the outside effect of it was even better.

Now for the movie itself! Let me start off saying that it was clearly made with love. This wasn’t something made to market more games or advertise Nintendo. This was a thank you gift to the fans, new and old. They also went HARD with the promo! Being able to actually call Super Mario Bros. Plumbing? Genius.

The animation was beautiful. The attention to detail—like Bowser’s scales, the decor on Peach's crown and the highlights in the characters' eyes. So pretty. I also really loved how expressive every character was! It was so easy to tell what emotions they were feeling without the dialogue needed to express it. When y’all rewatch it, please pay attention to the beginning of the movie when Luigi finally gets his plate of food. His reaction is so freaking adorable and I wanna draw it. The action scenes were so fluid and Mario and Luigi’s bond was shown through touch alone. I loved that!

Don’t even get me started on the soundtrack. They really put their all into it and I recognized so many subtle melodies and themes that took me right back to playing the games! The end credits music legit made my friend cry, hehe yeah I’m calling you out. Even the few pop culture songs that were added were very well timed and not overused! Also the Plummer Rap from “Super Mario Brothers Super Show” was a brilliant start, even if I already listened to it a thousand times after it was released in the promo. That song even got me to check out the show itself. Only episode one though. Watching ghosts lick Bowser’s feet wasn’t it for me. Speaking of Bowser, his ballad to Peach was absolutely amazing. Wonderful performance from Jack Black and he even wrote it too! Please watch the end credits if you haven't, there’s MORE!

But I’d say my favorite part of the movie was the characterization. I know Miyamoto oversaw the whole thing but I’m still impressed with how accurate the characters’ personalities were. Luigi was perfectly anxious, Mario was protective and charismatic, Peach was agreeable and assertive and Bowser was tough yet insecure. The dynamics were also great! I loved how genuine Luigi and Mario’s bond was. I also enjoyed Mario and Peach's subtle flirting that never gets addressed in the end (which is exactly like the games, I seriously love it!). I’m also super glad that it showed a bit of Bowser and Kamek interaction. Although I would’ve loved them to explore their “father and son” bond. GIMME FOUND FAMILY DAMN IT. Oh yeah and Toad wasn’t annoying! He was definitely the comedic relief but they didn’t overdo it! Him and his huge kart was my favorite thing. He’s just a silly little guy.

They definitely made it their mission to absolutely fill the movie with references and it was much appreciated! My personal favorites being the game cube ringtone, blue shell, cheep cheeps and the environments as a whole. I enjoyed the appearances of side characters like Kamek, Spike and Pauline. But I was honestly hoping for a few more like Daisy, Rosalina, Toadette and JUNIOR AND KOOPALINGS, DANG IT! You’re telling me they put so much emphasis on Bowser's sentimental side but didn’t include him being a father??? (Yes I know the koopalings aren’t technically his kids but Junior is and I was really disappointed at the lack of his presence).

But that brings me to the few problems I did have with this movie. And they all stem from the runtime length. It was WAY too short. And not in the way of “omg I loved it so much I need more!” No. It actually needed to be longer. I even heard it was supposed to be but things were cut? The pacing was too fast and there wasn’t enough time for individual character arcs. Don’t get me wrong there were conflicts, but they were resolved almost as soon as they began.

I’m also disappointed in the lack of Luigi content once they left Brooklyn. He really was just put in a cage for most of it, which is what everyone was worried about. It was cool to see him confront his fears to save his brother in the end but it would’ve felt more emotional and deserved if we got to see his internal struggles during his capture. I really loved that hot air balloon scene where he recalls a childhood memory of him and Mario. That! That’s what I wanted more of! I know there wasn’t much he could do in a cage but I was really hoping he’d be involved in attempting to convince Bowser to not go through with his plans. Or maybe even a scene where he tries to encourage the others that were captured to work as a team to escape or something. Idk man, I’m sure they could’ve come up with something good if they were just GIVEN A LONGER RUN TIME. They could’ve done a lot with an extra 20 minutes. I promise for the animators sake I would’ve waited months longer for this movie. Or they could’ve cut the dog and eel scenes honestly.

And as much as I appreciated them showing Bowser’s sentimental side (seriously it was one of the things I was hoping for the most). I really wish they could’ve done something with it other than just comedy. Don’t get me wrong, Bowser was so cute trying to woo Peach. He made me smile till my face hurt. But it’s clear he’s really lonely and rejected, and they could’ve done something a little deeper with that. When he told Mario that he ruined his chance to “finally be happy” the whole theater went “awww”. In the end he could’ve learned love from his subjects or his FAMILY. Sorry I’m still pretty peeved about that. Even something as simple as him befriending Luigi would’ve been a really nice touch but I guess I ask for too much. But nope they just shrunk him, put him in a jar and left him like that. Even main antagonists deserve good endings at times. I was kinda hoping they’d pull a “Lego Batman Movie” and force him to see that he’s hurting his kingdom in the process of his pursuit and he’d need to help in order to get everyone back home. Kinda corny I know but Lego Batman managed to do it with Joker in a way that wasn’t OOC. I was just missing the complexity. Still, I can’t complain about Bowser getting the shit beaten out of him and the classic tail spin move. I’ll admit I’ve always found Bowser’s defeats hilarious in the games. Please look up the ending of Bowsers Fury if you haven’t played it. I laughed for hours. I’m sorry Bowser but your pain is my gain at times. Also the large group of people who sat behind us had the exact same opinions, which felt validating. THEY ALSO WANTED JUNIOR DAMN IT!

The merging between the two worlds at the end was pretty unexpected. I honestly think they added that in there so that Mario and Luigi could see their family again. But the concept of them being thrown into a magical world and not knowing how to get back home brings so much mystery and excitement. Kind of like how it felt watching The Owl House and Amphibia. But I appreciate that it’s implied they now live in the mushroom kingdom and can probably visit their family from time to time. Now that I think of it… going back to Luigi… why on earth would he want to stay?? He was sent straight to hell the moment he got there and was put in a cage for the rest of the movie and almost died a gruesome death. If Luigi had more screen time where he befriended someone, ANYONE, it would’ve given him an incentive to actually stay, other than just sticking with Mario.

Overall I’d say the movie did what it was set out to do. Which was to give fans a fun, nostalgic adventure. I’m not too sure if one would enjoy it if they’ve never played a single Mario game. It went hard on the animation and soundtrack, the voice actors did a good job (especially Jack Black and Charlie Day. Hell, even Chris Pratt did a good job). It wasn’t perfect. It was definitely too rushed for my taste and I would’ve appreciated it if they had slowed things down a bit. Luigi is currently my favorite character, so naturally I’m disappointed we couldn’t get more of him. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it more on the rewatch.

I suppose I should format this like my South Park reviews for the sake of consistency.

So that means it’s time for the ratings!

Things I liked:

• Bowser. Every moment he was on screen made me happy. I love him so much.

• The characters' personalities were spot on!

• The facial expressions and character designs. Very pretty movie to look at fr!

Things I disliked:

• Too fast paced. Needed room to breathe.

• Kept asking “where’s Luigi?”

• A general lack of my favorite trope “found family” when they easily could’ve used it with Bowser

Should I do ship of the day too? Eh, may as well. Congratulations Bowuigi! That damn trailer spawned a bunch of y’all even though the ship is a decade old. Hope y’all didn’t go into the movie expecting too much. It’s alright, we’ll get ‘em next time boys.

Final rating:

8/10

A good movie that was loyal to the games but the wait for it was better. I’m gonna go play Mario Galaxy now.

…peaches, peaches, peaches peaches peaches 🎶

#mario movie #supermariobrothers #super mario

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journeytalkzsp · 1 year

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SOUTH PARK FROM THE POV OF A FANGIRL

S26 EP4

Let me start off my saying this is by far the best episode of the season! The humor never relied on shock value and it focused almost entirely on the kids! Even the small Mr. Garrison B plot made me giggle. So much classic cartoon humor was used like the side eye looks and awkward bathroom confrontations.

Clyde and Stan being crappy boyfriends in their own way is absolutely hilarious, albeit a little sucky for the girls. Bebe and Wendy deserve way better. It’s so weird to think how Stan would’ve done anything for Wendy’s affection at the beginning of the show, and now he just does the bare minimum. It’s like reverse character development. Also seeing Stan, Cartman, Clyde and Butters in their own little secret group was really interesting, as they aren’t the combo of characters we normally get. And I’ll always appreciate more Clyde content because honestly he deserves way more screen time.

I think the facial expressions in this episode were the best part. Stan’s awkward smile and side eye looks with Cartman absolutely sent me. Not to mention the memes that came from the fandom afterwards. Even the little things stood out to me like Craig’s awed reaction to the “shadow-bane” bird. As Well as Rick sensing that Garrison was on to him. The comedic timing throughout this episode was just the best!

Though, can we talk about the convo Wendy and Stan had at the ice cream parlor? What happened when Wendy was 6??? It sounded like she was implying that she was a victim of some form of grooming. If that’s true then they really just dropped a bomb on us and barely addressed it. I mean I know the show is a comedy and all but they’ve tackled serious topics a lot of times. Perhaps they’ll bring it up again. Maybe once Stan actually reads her messages and knows what she’s talking about.

The ending of the episode was a bit rushed but there’s only so much they can do with the little episode length they have so I won’t be too harsh. It just really made Wendy out to be not as smart as she actually is. Though the AI making Cartman call Stan a “Jew” was honestly perfect. Overall I think I’m just surprised how Trey wrote such a clever episode after a pretty crappy one. Can we have an episode where both Matt and Trey work on it? It seems like they’re just switching between each other every time this season. We need them to put both their noggins together so they can make a magnum opus soon, an I right? Or are my expectations just way too high?

Time for the ratings!

Things I liked:

• “Clyde wrote that?” Even Wendy knows he’s an idiot.

• Clyde being absolutely done with Bebe

• Cartman and Stan are always victims of awkward bathroom confrontations

Things I disliked:

• I don’t think Stan actually learned a lesson

• Garrison will never be a good teacher will he?

• I’m afraid Bebe is actually gonna kill Clyde

Ship of the day:

Stendy. Duh. (Although I found it funny how easy it is to impress Creek shippers by just putting the characters next to each other).

Overall rating:

8.5/10

Till next time.

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journeytalkzsp · 1 year

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SOUTH PARK FROM THE POV OF A FANGIRL

S26 EP4

So this was the first episode in a while where I not only waited till the next day to watch it, but I also worked on other stuff while I did watch it. You know what that means? Yeah there’s not really much to say about this episode.

I’ll admit I had low expectations when I heard it was a Randy episode. And although it wasn’t really about Tegrity, it was still overplayed Randy shenanigans. But you know, this episode didn’t really annoy me. It was just a bit boring. When I heard the joke would be Japanese toilets, I was hoping they’d make it similar to that one Mator scene in Cars 2. But they made it more political which is fine I guess cause it’s South Park.

I liked the Jimmy content as well as the implication that Stan is slowly becoming his dad (which is something I shouldn’t like considering how much I hate Randy but love Stan. But I think it’s important to show how these damn awful parents are affecting their children).

Also I know Butters isn’t completely innocent and can be manipulated to do bad things really easily, but why’s he been so damn rude this season?? Like seriously, take a few steps back Butters. Eric Cartman has been more quiet than you.

Overall not much to say about this episode. BUT main thing I got out of it was Douglas. You may be asking, who’s Douglas? Well he’s the random kid who was hanging out with Cartman and Scott. The fandom found out this was far from his first appearance and in a lot of his prominent appearances, he’s interacted with Eric Cartman; From getting a signed book from him in “Dances with Smurfs” to unintentionally taking part in Cartman’s song during “Put It Down”. Even though he’s been a background character forever, only now are a bunch of people starting to draw him and come up with head canons regarding his personality and interests. Though I did a little further digging and found a good bit of older fan art with him being in a group with Brimmy, Bradley and Kevin.

(None of these examples are my own. Credit to featured artists).

Currently a lot of people are making him out to be a huge fan of Cartman. And thus, Dougman was created. Not saying I ship it… Just pointing out that exists now.

And naturally it shall be ship of the day.

Now for the ratings:

Things I liked:

* Sharen being honest with Randy about all the bs he does

* Butters being unhinged

* Jimmy. Just Jimmy.

Things I disliked:

* Very uneventful

* I’d like to at least see Randy in his normal clothes so he looks less like an asshole

* Randy. Just Randy.

Overall rating: 4/10

Didn’t make me angry. Just made me sleepy.

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journeytalkzsp · 1 year

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SOUTH PARK FROM THE POV OF A FANGIRL

S26 EP2

I’ve started avoiding looking too deep into the advertising before the episode airs. That’s what I did for episode one and though it succeeded in hyping me up, it gave me expectations that weren’t satisfied. So for episode 2 I went into it with no expectations and I think it worked! Either that or this was actually a good episode. It’s probably the latter but I want to give myself at least a little credit. Only thing I fell for was Kyle’s hair being shown when it wasn't.

I think my favorite part about this episode was the irony of Kyle’s relationship with his friends. Episode 1 was about Kyle being the center of attention and Episode 2 was about Kyle wanting more attention because his friends were hanging out without him. This episode was one huge call out on Kyle and his social insecurities. Deep down he’s a whiny, control freak and that’s the truth.

South Park has always done a good job at making political/pop culture jokes while using their own lore to do so. And this episode is no exception. Using Canadians to reference the royal family was very clever, and although I don’t know much about them, I found the Harry and Megan jokes pretty funny. Even though the butt of the joke was still very “in your face” the subtle jokes within the dialogue worked like it used to! So I genuinely laughed at the interactions between the prince and his girlfriend. “Wait, you’re ethnic?” I absolutely cackled at that.

Also Cartman was completely chill this episode which was a nice change of pace, even though I enjoy chaotic Cartman episodes. Butters was the “villain” in this episode and it’s honestly refreshing to be reminded that Butters isn’t completely sweet and innocent. And even though I love Butters, MAD RESPECT TO BEBE FOR BEATING THE CRAP OUTTA HIM. Sometimes I wish I’d record my reactions to sp episodes because I did a double take when Jimmy said Butters was getting beaten up by Bebe. Wendy taught her well.

Anywho not a ton to say compared to last week's episode but that was only because I was angry last week. Please stop sending me that damn Tolkien and Kyle TikTok. Thank you.

Time for the ratings!

Things I liked:

• Gaslight, Gatekeep, Kyle ✨

• Everyone “ug”ing Kyle and leaving the table is my new favorite thing

• THE ENDING!!! THEY’RE PLAYING OUTSIDE LIKE KIDS AGAIN LETS GO!

Things I disliked:

• They tricked us again. We never saw Kyle’s hair.

• I wanted Cartman to have a reaction to someone moving into his house

• Slightly forgettable but It didn’t make me angry so that’s good ig

Ship of the day:

…idk man. This episode didn’t really have anything. So let’s just make it Megan and Harry. 👏

Overall rating:

7/10

Nothing game changing, just a good time.

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journeytalkzsp · 1 year

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South Park from the POV of a fangirl

Season 26 episode 1

Cupid Ye

Woop woop! South Park is back with another season! Can’t wait to see what they do with it. Oh…. I’ll admit episode one was not a great start. Now before I continue I’ll admit I had a lot of biased expectations going into this episode. Keep that in mind during this review!

The main thing that confused me about this episode was the contrast between the summary we got compared to the actual plot.

It said Cartman was jealous of Kyle and Tolkiens new friendship but it was actually Stan who was jealous. Don’t get me wrong, it makes more sense considering Stan is Kyle’s best friend. It was just disappointing because it made a lot of the fanbase expect an episode revolving around Cartman’s emotions. If the summary was intentional then that leads me to believe that Cartman was just projecting his own jealousy. He was the one who took action to separate them after all. Though I also don’t mind the idea that Cartman really just did it for Stan (As it wouldn’t be the first time).

Disregarding the confusion around the main plot, the main joke itself felt very lackluster and irrelevant to today. When I said I want the old South Park humor back, I didn’t mean the specific jokes themselves. Although Kanye is still openly antisemetic as of recent, I feel that it was kinda lame to use that as the basis of their joke. And the whole “Jews running Hollywood” part is an old joke as well, as far as I know. The Tiktok videos and movie references were relevant but that was about it. South Park humor has never really been my humor, as I mostly watch the show for the characters (Is it obvious?). But there have been times where episodes have made me laugh to tears. Especially when their humor is a little more subtle. But when the characters have to restate the jokes multiple times to make the audience get it… well that’s just in poor taste. And they’ve been doing that a lot in recent seasons.

The episode also felt pretty rushed too but maybe that’s just my weird sense of time. The phrase “time flies when you’re having fun” need not apply.

But look, it wasn’t the worst thing we’ve gotten. The kids got the most screen time which is exactly what we’ve all been wanting. Randy was used for something other than tegrity and he didn’t get much screen time which was a nice change! Although not relevant to the plot, Kenny had screen time and a few lines which was also nice (but I’d like more please). Stan missing Kyle was very sweet and it was nice to get a little focus on their friendship again. And let me just address the elephant in the room before I quickly change topics: Yes there were many heavily implied Style jokes. Congrats Style shippers, I’m genuinely happy for y’all since y’all haven’t had much content as of recent. I’m gonna need to make Style ship of the day aren’t I?

ANYWAY!

CUPID ME- I mean CUPID YE! Yeah I hated him. Hated. Past tense. At first, I didn’t like the fact that they used him as a way to reference Kanye and Christianity, when he was supposed to reference Cartman's internalized romantic feelings/opinions. He’s a CUPID after all. It was especially strange considering this was a valentine's day episode (poor Creek shippers y’all thought you were gonna get some background Tweek and Craig but Tweek was nowhere to be seen). But near the end, when Cartman forced Cupid Ye to take his medication, I realized Cupid Ye was a reference to Cartman’s past antisemitism and racism and the whole episode was Cartman internalizing his old motives. If that’s the case then Cartman being on medication is cannon and he’s actively trying to change which is a win! The only win of this episode tbh. Cartman still needs to see several therapists and Cupid Me is back, so this episode didn’t really change things. Though I’m surprised that everyone can actually see Cupid Me now and he’s his own entity. I just thought Cartman had schizophrenia. And Cartman is suddenly Christian now? Did the future special really change things that much? Honestly found it funny how he was getting into Judaism—in turn pissing off Kyle—but then they would’ve never been able to make this episode so whatever.

Overall it was a pretty rushed and forgettable episode and was nothing like what some of us had hyped it up to be. But I’m still interested to see if they can make a magnum opus somewhere this season. Because I love South Park and it pains me to talk negatively about it.

With all that out of the way let's get to the ratings:

Things I liked:

• Stan: “Dude Cartman are you okay? You need to talk to someone or something?” Yes Stan. Yes.

• I think Cartman has officially snuck into everyone’s room at this point

• Cartman on meds is a necessity

Things I disliked:

• Kyle and Tolkien’s TikToks kill me inside. I never wanna see them again.

• False advertising should be illegal. Wait, it is? Well, I’ve been personally victimized and I'm suing South Park.

• This episode just made me wanna go back and rewatch the episode they had playing before it. BLACK FRIDAY TRILOGY OP!!!

Ship of the day:

…Congratulations Style

(Stanman gets an honorable mention because I say so)

Overall rating: 4/10

See ya next time.

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journeytalkzsp · 1 year

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I’m crying laughing. These are terrible and amazing at the same time.

Totally Legit South Park Ship Summaries

Aka: Dalek's terrible standup comedy ft. some South Park ships

Creek - Why isn’t there more nature content for these two? I mean their alternative ship name could’ve been Twig

Style - I mean Matt and Trey were pretty stylish at the Oscars

Bunny - Little bunny fro fro hoppin’ through the forest, scoopin’ up the field mice and boppin ‘em on the- OH FUCK

Candy - Totally sweet ship

Clybe - Clyde just changed a letter and called it a ship

Heiman - Yo man what’s up?

Stendy - Should’ve been named Light Switch for how on and off they are

Bratters - I misread it as bratwurst once. Don’t ask how

Cartters - I’ll admit, I misread it as cataracts

Alternatively, Buttman - I know these two are the ass end of jo- oh. Oh no.

Crenny - Bad boys but with a funny name

Cryde - Clyde just changed a letter and called it a ship

Cryle - It’s a ship you’re not allowed to cry on

Dip - As in the dance or as in the chip?

Cromas - Gives me croc vibes. Don’t ask why

Gregstophe - Sounds vaguely Russian

K2 - Where’s K1? Can’t have the sequel without the prequel!

Kenman - Dun na dun na dun na dun na BATMAN-! Uhh I mean KENMAN!

Kyman - Just take out the y and you almost get Mr. Mackey’s catchphrase

Pan - Their kid better be named Peter

Rowelie - You ship a man and a towel and named it after that one kid from Diary of a Wimpy Kid?

Staig - Should’ve been Stag or Stegosaurus

Stary - Stary Potter and the Book of Mormon

Stenny - More like stingy

Kenrietta - So we’re supported to kin Henrietta?

Stutters - I thought that was Tweek

Twomas - The sequel to Cromas

Styde - Clyde just replaced the first two letters of his name and called it a ship

Thyde - Clyde saw thighs and though it would be a good idea for a ship name

Tim-Jim - The only wholesome ship name, I can’t make fun of it

Twenny - So we either kin Tweek or call Kenny a twink

Twyle - Twilight Sparkle?

Tyde - Clyde saw Tide Pods and called it a ship

Bendy - As in the inky machinky game thingy?

Loled - I think it speaks for itself

Reidi - Ready for what? For these bad jokes to end? Yea-

Testaturner - Why is this the ship that uses last names only? Thought that was reserved for Cart- oh

Stendyle - More like crocodile amiright-

Alternatively, Stylendy - It’s just Wendy, but stylish!

Stylenny - It’s just Kenny, but with style!

Styleman - Just a stylish man

Creekmas - We wish you a merry Creekmas and a happy new Tomtwig!

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journeytalkzsp · 2 years

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South Park from the POV of a fangirl

The Streaming Wars Special (Paramount+)

Hey! It’s been a while! At this point I’m still writing these for my own sanity and no one else.

Before my review of this episode special, I’d like to give a special thanks to Paramount plus for randomly offering me a second free trial. I’m gonna cancel my trial now that I’m done watching this…. Okay, maybe I’ll watch Sonic 2 before doing that. Anywho onto my thoughts of this special:

It’s was actually pretty good! Not too iconic on its own but It had a bunch of memorable moments that I know I’ll look back on. Starting with Karen Marsh. Don’t we just love Karen? Karen’s really something special. (I really hope this new name for Randy sticks because I’m officially not the only person who hates him). And after what he called Stan this episode, that opinion isn’t changing. Anyway enough about Randy let’s talk about who’s actually important..

This episode is even more evidence that Cartman heavily relies on approval from his friends. It’s pretty relevant that the dismissal from his friends was his last straw with the hotdog house. The only reason he was okay with the idea of living there in the first place was to keep his mom around at all times. But he’s already over it and now he’s losing his friends (guess he knows how Kenny feels now). But it’s all good now because he has BOOBS and he’s gonna marry a rich man who’s into that! …. I honestly don’t think he planned this out well. Convincing his mom to do it was kinda solid but getting the procedure himself? He’s desperate at this point. (Time and time again he proves he has the ability to easily make thousands if not millions himself. But this is what he chooses?) Regardless of what happens I’m happy Liane is finally putting her foot down with him. I’m really curious to see where things go on his side in the second part. Yes. There’s definitely gonna either be a part 2 or it’s going to continue in the next season.

Anywho regarding the rest of the boys: Stan and Tolkien making little boats while WAP was playing… the best thing I’ve witnessed this week. I’m starting to really like them as a duo and I love how they’d “betray” either of their parents for money. Attaboys! I also love when they got the whole group together. It’s always nice to see the kids in South Park be kids. Though I am quite concerned about Butters and his popsicles… also Kyle continues to confuse me as a character every time I think I understand. He’s known for hating Cartman and being the only kid who sees through his BS. And at the same time he shows (throughout the show) that he actually cares. In this episode specifically: he was the first one who offered to help Cartman raise the money without looking further into it, he was the only one who apologized for avoiding him, and later he reminded them about their plan to help Cartman after they forgot. Ignoring shipping and just looking at what’s canon, I genuinely think their friendship is pretty complex and Kyle can’t choose when he wants to be a Good Samaritan/people pleaser or a hot headed pessimist. But if I keep talking about this I’ll write another essay, so let’s just put Kyle in the “Morally confused” box and move on.

The situation with the adults is pretty interesting considering I never really care about the adults’ storylines. I honestly really hope Mr. Black isn’t actually dead. For Tolkien’s sake and the fact that he’s one of the few good parents in the series. He also makes Tegrity Farm plots more bearable, as he gives Randy Karen some competition. Manbearpig being somewhat domesticated is pretty weird. Is domesticated even the right word? Idk. It’s funny and interesting tho. I also appreciate the clear reference to our online Streaming services. They really said “Let’s take streaming literal!” And I think it worked very well. The race between the army of Cussler Industries’ boats and the Tegrity boat was hilarious and so genuinely creative. Big round of applause for that! 👏

Time for ratings:

Things I liked:

• Stan and Tolkien bonding to the point where they can smile even while Randy’s being Randy.

• Watch SP with subtitles just for Kenny. Just do it.

• “Hey fellas are we making more boats for the- WOAH HO HO~”

-Butters

Things I disliked:

• Please don’t kill off Mr. Black or I’ll feel even worse for beating the crap out of him in TFBW.

• The city people are ruining South Park

• Idk I’m pretty happy with this episode so I don’t have a 3rd thing

Ship of the day:

Kyman. Because they had pretty wholesome interactions throughout.

Overall rating: 8/10

Have a nice day.

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journeytalkzsp · 2 years

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South Park From The POV Of A Fangirl

Season 25 episode 4

Okay so this is probably gonna be the shortest review, as this episode wasn’t all that interesting honestly. It didn’t really aggravate me like some of the others but it also didn’t really entertain me. It felt pretty short and the jokes kinda… lost me? Like I get there was only so far they could go with the Russian and Putin jokes atm, but they were pretty dull. I kinda liked the life lesson Mr. Mackey learned and you can never really go wrong with Butters. But honestly, the most interesting part for me was the very beginning where all the kids were doing the practice drill. But maybe I’m just clinging onto any episode that actually features all the kids. I’m craving a Cartman and Kyle centric episode, or Craig and those guys, or maybe even a Creek episode. I know I get annoyed whenever fans ask for one (cause creek shippers are spoilt enough) but you really can’t go wrong with a Tweek and Craig episode let’s be honest.

Okay now onto the ratings:

Things I liked:

• Butters just wants to make others happy poor baby

• Mr. Mackey’s mom supremacy

• I forgot that Mr. Mackey is a NERD (I love his room)

Things I disliked:

• I was in the middle of eating a Pop-Tart when the poop scene happened

• I did not want to see an animated horse pen*s today

• Waiting for South Park to become South Park again

Ship of the day:

(Kyman and Stutters

… because they spoke to each other. Yeah I know. That’s nothing. But what do you expect when we’re getting NO CONTENT?!)

Overall rating: 3/10

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journeytalkzsp · 2 years

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South Park From The POV Of A Fangirl

Season 25 Episode 3

Okay guys we’ve finally reached a milestone…

I actually adored this episode! Everything in it was pretty much what I wanted and it really did feel like something out of the older episodes. It wasn’t perfect of course and still can’t surpass the golden era of South Park, but compared to the previous episodes it was pretty dang good. It still wasn’t exactly an episode focused on the kids, like I wanted, but it was Cartman centered which is close enough. I liked that there was more than just one central joke, unlike the last few episodes. And many of these jokes were things only fans would notice; like the casual reference of Cartman’s obsession with Kyle and Tuong Lu Kim’s accent replacing “city” with “shitty”.

Character wise I think it actually did a nice job of featuring or referencing a lot of the characters, even if it was just for a second or two. We won’t talk about the fact that they specifically showed off the toilet in Clydes house. (If you know you know). Of course any Cartman centric episode gets an A+ from me. And LIANE CONTENT??? Thank you for that! In the older seasons I had my skepticism about her, as I believed she was a bit neglectful towards Eric and ignored a lot of his clear issues in order to make things easier for herself. For example, there were multiple cases where she’d downplay the the way her job and lifestyle negatively effected him. She also tended to put her reputation with the other parents over him. And she always tried to project either an ideal partner or a friend onto him, because she wanted to fill a void her son couldn’t give her on his own. But ya know what? This episode showed me that she’s really developed as a character, going as far as to change her lifestyle and get herself a job so that she could put a roof over her and Eric’s head. She also stood up to him and called him out on his behavior. Where as before she’d either not say anything or just smack him upside the head and move on. I was overall really impressed with the character development in this.

Also Cartman doing all this just because he knew he’d miss his mommy is everything. “I’m your job” BISH THAT QUOTE IS EVERYTHING. It’s yet another example of his extreme attachment to people and what’s probably a case of separation anxiety. Now you could argue that he just wanted her to stay home so she could do things for him, which is partly true. But thinking back on recent episodes, he’s had multiple desperate attempts to keep certain characters close to him. Even if he refused to admit it, using ulterior motives to hide the fact that he has attachment issues. And a bit more evidence of him only really wanting his mom in this episode is at the end—when they’re literally living in a hotdog stand with hardly any of their things—he tried to look on the bright side because he still had his mom. Thus the quote “And most importantly, we’re here together” even though he changes his mind after he finds that the sink has been replaced with ketchup and mustard.

Anyway enough enough of me analyzing the characters. Although I may make a series of me deep diving into each of the main characters. Would you like to see something like that? Let me know. 🤔 But for now let’s just get straight to the Ratings!

Things I liked:

• Cartman now canonically has both daddy AND mommy issues

•The look of pure annoyance from Tweek Tweak

• This episode is more proof that Cartman being homeless in the future makes no sense.

Things I disliked:

• I really hope they’re not gonna actually live in that hotdog for long

• I felt the pain when those realtor characters broke their back

• Cartman’s “realtor face” is probably gonna scar me for life

Ship of the day:

Kyman! Due to the quote “and my personal favorite, Kyle’s house”

(Carters at least gets a participation award tho)

Overall Rating:

7.5/10 (I enjoyed this episode compared to the others, but it wasn’t extremely memorable either. Over all just a fun time that I’ll probably watch once).

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journeytalkzsp · 2 years

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South Park From The POV Of A Fangirl

Episode 2 Season 25

Let’s just start with yes. Trey Parker is getting older. Both him and Matt Stone are now in their 40’s and it can be difficult for voice actors to keep up specific characters for such a long time. So naturally, Stan’s gonna sound strange, and so will all the other characters. Auto tune can only do so much. I’m actually surprised they’ve been able to keep up with the tones of the characters for so long.

Anyways…

After the slight disappointment from the first episode, many decided that this next episode would be the ultimate test to see which direction South Park is going this season. I’ve seen many mixed reactions and personally… I was conflicted at first. But not anymore because this definitely feels like a South Park episode. A season 20+ episode. Yeah… that’s not exactly a compliment. I’ve said before that I’ve found the recent seasons very repetitive with its storylines and jokes. This episode is no different. Even though the “best” episodes each have a main theme/joke, they still managed to mix in some side jokes that don’t relate to the main theme. They either did this naturally through interactions with random background characters or they added a side storyline to give the episode some variety. But for these last two episodes, they’ve stuck with one joke, making them feel repetitive and pretty boring. Don’t get me wrong, I laughed a good bit, but it was more of a shock response to the situations that took place. And I know South Park is known for using shock value, but to me it’s all they gave us.

Actually no that’s a lie. They did also give the fandom the biggest plot twist in years. Token’s name is actually Tolkien. Yep. They managed to gaslight an ENTIRE FANDOM for 20+ YEARS. Only South Park.

Only South Park….

Oh wait no that still doesn’t add up because if Stan was the only one who thought his name was Token, then why did the girls spell his name as Token in S11 Ep14, The List?? HMMMM?? Something’s not adding up.

Also I think at this point I’ve said enough about why I hate Randy and Tegrity Farms. I’ve ranted about it so much at this point that I’m just tired. I’m so tired of this man.

On a lighter note I really enjoyed the way they’ve opened up exploration into Stan and Token’s relationship. Cause y’all know I’m all about exploring the dynamics in this show. As always I enjoyed every moment the kids were on screen. It’s unfortunate that they weren’t on screen for long though. I really miss the main four centered episodes. Even Cartman seems to have been pushed to the side in replacement of these aggravating adults. Sorry I was trying to be positive and then I just got angry again. I’m hard on this show because I love it.

Lastly I wanted to talk about Stan in this episode. As someone who’s been studying Stan as a character, and I think that his reaction to the situation was actually in character. We know that Stan has been a little ball of internal anxiety that he doesn’t openly show in the way Tweek or Butters would. He’s always been known for holding things in, even when he fears something really bad will come out of a situation. He’s also known to be very sensitive and will try is best to make things right no matter what. He has a high moral but doesn’t always know the best ways to carry things out, which is why he typically consults Kyle. But in this episode, because he felt so singled out and couldn’t really go to Kyle for help, he reacted in the way he would if he allowed himself to openly express his anxiety and fears. Which is why he put all of his focus into The Lord of the Rings and made such a scene of himself. And in the end he chose to own up apologized to Token, which is very much a Stan thing to do. If anything I don’t think it’s OOC. I see it as character development.

And now for the ratings! ✨

Things I liked:

•Cartman genuinely not knowing how to spell, nor is he willing to learn

•Token Tolkien is a badass and I love him

•Stan diverting all his attention into fixating on a book is hilarious and relatable honestly

• The fourth wall break was actually really good

(Notice all the things I enjoyed about this episode had to do with the kids and not that black mustached excuse of a father)

Things I disliked:

• I hate Randy with a burning Passion it’s not funny anymore it was never funny

•I don’t know if Token’s name plot twist was just a one time joke or if they’re gonna continue calling him Tolkien… I’m confused. Should we edit the Wiki?

•Again, we need more episodes focused on the boys and not the parents or school staff.

Ship of the day:

Stoken …is that even a thing? Oh well it won ship of the day.

Overall rating: 5/10

(It was better than the last episode at least)

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journeytalkzsp · 2 years

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South Park From The POV Of A Fangirl

Season 25 Episode 1

Okay so first off let me just give this episode a little bit of credit for having the least amount of Randy screen time in YEARS. I’ve always preached that South Park was at it’s peak when they made episodes revolving around the kids and how they respond to the actions of adults. Especially episodes that would make the characters over exaggerate what was suppose to be a causal situation. These episodes were always random and were never a part of some long story arc, as the events would be forgotten about in the following episodes. Recently, South Park has taken on long story arcs about the same situations (ex. Tegrity farms, Perseident Garrison, Gerald’s Trolling and the Pandemic). These types of episodes worked for the iconic trilogy’s such as Imaginationland and Black Friday. But to me, the recent episodes and story arcs felt repetitive and forced. And honestly these have been the worst seasons in my opinion. Fortunately, based of the first episode of this new season, it seems like they’re going back to making episodes with the same vibes as the glory days of South Park. It was really nice to get a break from the drawn out story arcs, and be given a simple episode about a random thing such as pajamas.

Unfortunately, the episode was surprisingly uneventful and the jokes were pretty bland. They just repeated the same two jokes throughout the episode and it was kinda disappointing. Don’t get me wrong I loved how cute it was with the kid’s and their passion for pajama day. But SP must have done something to me because now, if an episode isn’t crazy or all over the place, I get bored by it. This episode was very simple and to the point, which I usually wouldn’t mind. But this is South Park. We expect crazy outcomes and this one just wasn’t it.

But hey, I’m not gonna be a hypocrite. I did ask for this kind of episode. And honestly I probably needed it after the mental torment I went through while watching the recent seasons/specials. Perhaps we all needed a simple and somewhat lighthearted episode such as this.

This episode may have been a bit disappointing on it’s own but I still believe it brings optimism for a better season this year. As long as they stick to the random episodes and stay away from worn out storylines.

And now for the ratings! ✨

Things I liked:

• The “I’m so done” face Liane gave to Eric after trying to help him

• For some reason Kyle was the only one who looked legit pissed off by Mr. Garrison in the beginning and that was a hilarious little detail I noticed (why he so angry?)

• Craig craved violence and Clyde was student of the month at one point (don’t think I missed that)

Things I disliked:

•The repetitive jokes

•It needed more interactions between the mc’s

•Umm Cartman? Dealing with a sucky thing and not doing something about it? The heck? I’m surprised he didn’t up and hire a hit man to kill PCP or something. Our boy is just tired at this point. 😔

Kyman Rating: 1 out of 10

They didn’t even interact. Also why am I still including the Kyman rating when I’m such a big multi shipper now? (Should I change it to “Ship of the day”)

In that case I’d pick Creek for this episode. Look at them. They’re in love.

Overall rating: 5 out of 10

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