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#Star Plus Original Animated Specials

disneytva · 2 years

Video

youtube

"I wanna thank Disney for beliving in us"

From creator Justin Roiland (Solar Opposites) “The Paloni Show! Halloween Special!” introduces Leroy, Reggie, and Cheruce Paloni, who have been given the opportunity of a lifetime to be the hosts of an unforgettable Halloween Special full of “spooky” shorts from a group of up-and-coming animators.

The Paloni Show!, Halloween Special Premieres October 17 only on Hulu and Disney+ Worldwide with a later date for Star+.

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heckyeahponyscans · 7 months

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Lauren Faust originally imagined all her G1 childhood faves in a My Little Pony reboot. So why was Applejack the only one who made it in? We don't know for sure, but here is my theory.

IMO Hasbro went into the MLP reboot wanting each main character to be a different color of the rainbow, similar to TMNT or Power Rangers. (Which is a big improvement over Core 7 G3 when THREE out of seven characters were pink.)

So let's look at the initial G1 crew:

Sparkler - blue Twilight - pink Surprise - white Firefly - pink Applejack - orange Posey - yellow

Already we can see some pink is doubled up. But just wait.

Pinkie Pie was THE face of G3 My Little Pony and Rainbow Dash was nearly as popular. Hasbro made big versions of these ponies, they made small versions of them, they made plush baby versions, and they were immortalized on birthday cards, balloons, ornaments, and other merch. I was so disappointed when I heard Pinkie Pie would be in G4 because I was tired of seeing her, ha ha.

But Hasbro was not tired of selling merchandise of their most popular ponies, so I'm sure one of their first notes was "We absolutely need Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash in the new lineup."

Their personality changes wouldn't matter to Hasbro. What mattered was their marketability as toys / designs.

So Firefly, Twilight, and Sparkler were now out of the lineup, due to also being pink and blue.

Now we have:

Rainbow Dash - blue Pinkie Pie - pink Surprise - white ??? Applejack - orange Posey - yellow

But, uh oh! Pinkie Pie and Surprise both have balloon symbols. So Surprise also must die leave.

IMO the names being trademarked / easily defendable was important to Hasbro, and they already had hundreds of G3 names / designs at their disposal. And also they needed a purple pony for this lineup.

So Twilight Twinkle (later renamed Twilight Sparkle) joined the crew and became a unicorn.

Rainbow Dash - blue Pinkie Pie - pink ??? Twilight Twinkle / Sparkle - purple Applejack - orange Posey - yellow

G1 Glory's colors (white with purple hair) then replaced blue Sparkler. But wait!! Both Glory and Twilight Sparkle-Twinkle have stars on their rumps! So Rarity retained Sparkler's symbol of diamonds.

I don't know why they didn't use one of the G1 names, except perhaps that "Rarity the Unicorn" was already a Hasbro trademark, having been a G3 character.

Rainbow Dash - blue Pinkie Pie - pink Rarity - white Twilight Sparkle - purple Applejack - orange Posey - yellow

So why was Posey changed to Fluttershy? In my opinion she was switched up quite late because the original plot of Dragonshy had her as an earth pony, which is why she was struggling to get up the mountain. (That's why they had to add the bit about Fluttershy's wings locking up from fear.)

In addition to wanting a variety of colors, I think Hasbro wanted two of each main pony species. Originally Pinkie Pie was slated to be a pegasus, but then she was switched to an earth pony. So Yellow Pony was shunted into a pegasus slot instead.

Basically, I think Posey got replaced with Fluttershy because it was thought that butterfly symbols were more befitting for a pegasus. Plus girls love animals and if they needed plots revolving around growing plants, they already had Applejack on deck.

So in the end Applejack was the only G1 pony who remained in G4, not because Hasbro had any special hold on her, but because she had a pretty unique name and she wasn't a repeated color.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk

#Hasbro #my little pony #MLP FIM #G4 #G1 #obviously I don't have any proof of this #but this is my theory

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vinelark · 1 year

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do you have any good reverse robins fic to rec?

oh hell yeah!

Reverse Robins: Joker Junior series by miyaji_08 i rec’d the second fic in this series over here for the timkon of it all, but the series—two parts, both complete—is also one of my absolute favorite reverse robins stories. it goes the joker junior!tim route, so heads up for A Lot of tim-centric trauma, but gives tim (and everyone else) so much healing, too. it also gets creative with the robin of it all, as in, the call sign for batman’s partner is different from the jump because dick wasn’t around to originate “robin” for it, which i always think is a fun extra detail. the batfam characters are great and the young justice crew is also great, so read for top-tier hurt and comfort and great characters and satisfying plot and tim and damian competing to see who is the most Tired big brother of the bunch.

blood of the covenant by envysparkler robins are angsty in any order, but man does this hit the angst sweet spot, which in turn makes the soft parts feel even softer. i genuinely can’t decide what my favorite dynamic is in this AU, between damian & tim (damian wracked with guilt, tim hurting and still wanting an older brother even if he’d never admit it) and tim & jason (no spoilers but chapter 4 especially lights my brain up like a supernova) and tim & dick (i think about the part where dick grayson [tiny, cheerful] uses tim [undead, annoyed] as a jungle gym like once a week).

Wing Beats in Reverse by firefright a longfic where jason gets kidnapped by the mysterious red hood, who turns out to be jason’s not-so-dead predecessor. the jason pov here is great, and i was so compelled by how this AU explored his place in the bat family, and how it managed the emotional fallout from the kidnapping. tim is also so interesting in this—it does something i love in a reverse robins concept, which is make tim’s motivations (and lazarus pit effects) less about anger/hurt/revenge and more about ice cold logic, about being the villain so the bats don’t have to/whether they want him to or not. plus some league of assassins trauma as a cherry on top. also, kon gets to show up for a bit. (as a fair warning—and spoilers ahead—the fic has a somewhat hopeful ending for tim, but doesn’t reach full reconciliation in the scope of the plot.)

i woke up so worried that the angels let go by circees a short but potent batkids age reversal au that’s also a grisha au, starring duke as the coveted sun summoner that damian is trying to deliver to safety without mentally adopting a new brother (damian fails on the second part). even with my limited memory of grisha lore i could tell a lot of thought was put into this au, and i have a feeling it would be even better if you are able to catch all the details. i also love that even in a fantasy world where some of the bat family have magical abilities, duke is still extra special—a great analogy to being a metahuman among the bats.

The 90s Are Back! by RedWritingHood saving the two silly ones for last to lighten the mood! in this one, red hood!tim gets de-aged to sixteen and meets all his new siblings. it’s like .01% angst and 99.99% shenanigans, and pretty much all the dialogue is super quotable but Dick holds out his hands like he's calming a bunch of wild animals. "Okay, I know everyone's real upsetti spaghetti right now, but I think we all just need to calm down." might take the cake.

Clowns Don’t Kill People by mademoisellePlume very short, very silly reverse robins brother shenanigans, in which tiny dick grayson isn’t scared of recovering joker junior!tim because dick, having been raised in the circus, doesn’t associate clowns with evil yet. the fic is fun (and a great palate cleanser if you need a break from the angst above), and the author’s note at the end made me fully laugh out loud.

#reverse robins #fic rec #batfam #when tim as the undead robin is done well it's so 🤌🤌🤌#once again i reserve the right to add more later because i def forgot some

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brokehorrorfan · 5 days

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Pee-wee's Playhouse: The Complete Series will be released on Blu-ray on August 27 via Shout Studios. The eight-disc set collects all five seasons of the show, which aired on CBS between 1986 and 1990.

Created by and starring Paul Reubens, the cult children's comedy series also features Laurence Fishburne, Lynne Marie Stewart, Phil Hartman, S. Epatha Merkerson, and John Paragon.

All 45 episodes plus the Christmas special have been remastered in high definition from the original film elements. Special features are listed below.

Special features:

Christmas Special audio commentary by actors Paul Reubens, John Paragon, and Lynne Marie Stewart and producer Prudence Fenton

Christmas Special audio commentary by actors Alison Mork, Wayne White, Ric Heitzman, Kevin Carlson, George McGrath, and John Paragon

Building the Playhouse

The Look of the Playhouse

Writing for the Playhouse

Music of the Playhouse

Opening the Playhouse

The Cast of the Playhouse

The Puppets of the Playhouse

Animating the Playhouse

Fans and Memorabilia of the Playhouse

A Very Merry Christmas Special

Pee-Wee Herman and his friends have wacky, imaginative fun in his unique playhouse.

Pre-order Pee-wee's Playhouse: The Complete Series.

#pee wee's playhouse #pee wee herman #pee wee #paul reubens #pee wee's big adventure #shout studios #dvd #gift #80s tv #80s tv shows #80s television #80s nostalgia #laurence fishburne #phil hartman #s. epatha merkerson

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magpieandpossum · 2 months

Note

*knock knock KNOCK* HELLO!!!

Hi sorry to suddenly appear and break down your door with excitement but I am a botanist and a DS9 fan and I like Stardew valley quite a lot (plus it's my sister's special interest) and I cannot tell you how excited I am for your game. Please let me help you alpha test it or something. Please let me talk about theoretical xenobotany. Let me babble on about the Keiko polycule

HELLO THERE!! I'm overjoyed that people like this game concept/design so far, I didn't expect so much love and excitement for my little coding/design project, I love y'all so much!! <3

Plus, I'd literally love anyone to talk my ear off about xenobiology, Star Trek, or anything in-between! I'm still in the very early stages of everything, somewhere in stage 1 of the roadmap below, but I'd be lying if I said I haven't been fiddling around with the plant mechanics quite a bit! The most difficult part of everything is 100% always the NPCs, less so the questlines than giving them schedules and little routines. I'll keep updating everyone who's interested with any progress I have! @enbyhoneyfluff @timetot @feral-pigeon-art @thelastgenderbender And thank you all here for tagging the original as "Starfleet Valley", I am shamelessly stealing that as a nickname for it until I can settle on a title <3

[Image description: Timeline graphic titled "Starfleet Valley Roadmap" with four boxes in chronological order, descriping stages of game development. First box reads: "World Tilemap, Player-character animation and design, object collisions, area transitions". Second box reads: "Day/Night cycle, weekday schedule, ability to grow plants, stationary Keiko and main botany questline". Third Box reads: "5 Main NPCs (Odo, Sisko, Dax, Bashir, Kira), NPC animation, NPC schedules, NPC side quests, NPC rapport". Line marked "first beta-testing". Final box reads "Player character customization, planet exploration" with a sidenote that reads "These are long-term things I want to add to the game, but aren't necessary to play a complex story!". *End image description*]

#star trek #ds9 #deep space nine #star trek fanart #deep space 9 #star trek deep space nine #star trek ds9 #star trek art #game dev #game design #game development #game #video games

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general-kalani · 5 months

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New commission post, this time gifs! Prices can be negotiated but I'm thinking temporarily $5/two gifs.

Icon commission post here

Can be in AUD or USD but if you want to negotiate with any of the options below, lmk! Paypal here (yes only paypal atm for payment options, sorry!)

This is an ever growing list and if you ask for a specific movie/show/game/etc I'll do my best to get my hands on it.

Options under cut for what can be chosen:

ANCIENT ANIMALS

Dinosaur (2000)

The Land Before Time (1988 movie)

Walking with Monsters

Walking with Dinosaurs

Walking with Beasts

Walking with Cavemen

Walking with Dinosaurs special - Ballad of Big Al

Chased by Dinosaurs (episodes 1 & 2)

Sea Monsters (episodes 1, 2 & 3)

Prehistoric Planet

Planet Dinosaur

Dinosaur Planet

Primeval

Prehistoric Park

MOVIES

The Hunt for Red October

The Mist

Alien Planet

Dog Soldiers

Dragonlance Dragons of Autumn Twilight

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

Wing Commander (1999 movie)

SHOWS

Babylon 5

Battletech Cartoon

Bitten

D&D Cartoon

Stargate SG-1

Transformers: Beast Machines

Transformers: Beast Wars

Transformers G1

Transformers the Movie

Transformers Prime

Voltron Vehicle Force

Vox Machina (season 1 only atm)

ANIME - LEIJIVERSE

Cosmo Warrior Zero

Galaxy Express

Gun Frontier

Harlock Saga - The Ring of the Nibelung

Interstellar 5555

Queen Emeraldas

Queen Millennia (might not be high quality)

Space Pirate Captain Harlock

Space Pirate Captain Herlock: Outside Legend - The Endless Odyssey

SSX Endless Orbit

Arcadia of my Youth

Space Pirate Captain Harlock (2013 movie)

Space Pirate Captain Harlock: Riddle of the Arcadia

ANIME - IRRESPONSIBLE CAPTAIN TYLOR

Irresponsible Captain Tylor TV series

Irresponsible Captain Tylor OVA series

ANIME - LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES (original series only)

Legend of the Galactic Heroes series

Legend of the Galactic Heroes - Golden Wings

Legend of the Galactic Heroes - My Conquest is the Sea of Stars

Legend of the Galactic Heroes - Overture to a New War

Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden

ANIME - MACROSS

Macross 7

Macross Delta

Macross Frontier

Macross Plus

Macross Zero

Robotech

SDF Macross

ANIME - REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA

Revolutionary Girl Utena tv series

Revolutionary Girl Utena movie

ANIME - SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO/STAR BLAZERS (original series and reboot)

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Reboot)

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 - Odyssey of the Celestial Ark

Space Battleship Yamato 2202 (Reboot)

Space Battleship Yamato 2205 (Reboot)

Space Battleship Yamato I (OS)

Space Battleship Yamato II (OS)

Space Battleship Yamato III (OS)

Arrivederci Yamato

Be Forever Yamato

Final Yamato

Space Battleship Yamato (2013 movie)

Uchuu Senkan Yamato (1977 recap movie)

Yamato - The New Voyage

Yamato: Resurrection

GAMES - FAR CRY (only games I own, sorry!)

Far Cry 3 (Can be modded for Jason in Vaas' place)

Far Cry 4

Far Cry 5 (Can be heavily modded)

Far Cry: New Dawn

Far Cry 6

GAMES - STAR WARS

KOTOR (I and II)

SWTOR

Star Wars: The Force Unleased (I and II)

Star Wars: Rebellion

Star Wars: Republic Commando

Star Wars: Starfighter

Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (Classic)

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Star Wars: Jedi Knight series (Dark Forces I and II, Mysteries of the Sith, Jedi Academy, Jedi Outcast)

GAMES - BORDERLANDS

Borderlands (GOTY and GOTY Enhanced)

Borderlands the Pre-Sequel

Borderlands 2

Borderlands 3

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

GAMES - MISCELLANEOUS

Aliens: Colonial Marines

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3

Dead Island (Definitive Edition, can be modded to get rid of lens flares and more)

Dead Island Riptide (Definitive Edition)

Generation Zero

Left 4 Dead 2

Iron Harvest

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion (Can be specific matches, races, etc)

State of Decay (I and II)

Strange Brigade

#{ out of the empire } ~ ooc #the general speaks #commissions open #commissions #long post #the hunt for red october #dead island #borderlands #babylon 5 #primeval #stargate #far cry #i'm not gonna tag anymore but hey what's the chances this gets ignored again yk whkajdhja

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thehappyspaceman · 1 year

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Ranking All the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Specials

So, I’m in the process of finishing the script for a review of all the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer specials. However, I don’t know if I will realistically be able to complete my video before Christmas, so here is my ranking of every Rudolph special, from best to worst.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964): Despite all the memes (“Deviation from the norm will be punished unless it is exploitable!”), the original Rankin/Bass Rudolph special holds up much better than most of the internet gives it credit for. It has memorable characters and songs, it is well-paced and does not try to cram too many subplots into its runtime, its stop-motion animation was quite good for the time (and has a unique charm nowadays), and it actually fixes most of the issues with the original song and story. It’s a classic. 9.5/10

Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976): The follow-up to the Rankin/Bass special is not as good as the first one, and the lesson of “If people laugh at you, it’s because you bring them joy and that’s a good thing!” is kind of reprehensible, but it’s still pretty alright. It certainly has some nice songs and creative ideas, and Red Skelton is charming as Father Time, although I can see why it didn’t become a holiday staple like the first one. For one thing, it’s less well-paced, and doubling it as a New Year’s special and as a celebration of America’s Bicentennial felt stranger. Still pretty good. 7/10

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1948): This Max Fleischer short aired a year before the song’s release and thus is more closely based on the original Rudolph story. The animation is kind of janky (as a lot of Max Fleischer’s shorts are in hindsight, even though he was an animation pioneer) and the story is a bit standard, but it’s still a decent short film and a noble enough screen debut for the character. 6/10

Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July (1979): Rankin/Bass pulled out all of the stops for this big epic crossover film between Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, their own Avengers: Endgame that also doubled as a sendoff for Rudolph and Frosty, who would never star in a Rankin/Bass project after this. However, despite some creative ideas, the plot felt all over the place, with far too many subplots and too much lore to keep track of, plus we did not need a explanation for Rudolph’s nose powers. We could have accepted it as simply being “magic,” and making him a chosen one poses more questions than it answers. Still, at least it was imaginative, which is more than I can say for the post-Rankin/Bass specials. 5.5/10

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998): GoodTimes Entertainment’s attempt at rebooting the franchise has diminishing returns, and reeks of the usual GoodTimes stench. The plot beats and characters felt very derivative of the original Rankin/Bass special, as a lot of GoodTimes movies feel derivative of other films, but this one felt even more obvious since even the songs themselves felt derivative of songs from the first Rankin/Bass one. And the $10 million budget clearly didn’t go to the writing or animation, so I have to wonder where it went. Presumably to the voice cast, and while it does bring in some well-known voice actors (including John Goodman, Whoopi Goldberg, Debbie Reynolds, and Monty Python’s Eric Idle), they cannot save this special from mediocrity. 4/10

Rudolph’s Lessons for Life (1996): There’s a reason this special has been forgotten and isn’t even mentioned on Wikipedia. I only found out about it thanks to TV Tropes. Rudolph’s Lessons for Life feels like a remake of Max Fleischer’s Rudolph short, but a lot worse. At least the Fleischer short was good for the time. This special’s framerate feels like a PowerPoint presentation at points. The only copies that exist of this special are 240p VHS rips, so don’t bother watching unless you are a serious Rudolph completionist. 2/10

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys (2001): GoodTimes Entertainment’s second attempt at a Rudolph movie, this one continues from the original Rankin/Bass special and ignores the two sequels. This movie easily has the worst animation of all of them, summoning memories of Foodfight! to mind, and even if you look past the animation, it’s seriously uninspired. The plot lifts beats from the original Rankin/Bass special, and the villain is ripped from Toy Story 2. Perhaps the only decent plot element is a subplot about an island where toys can get plastic surgery? But even then, it’s wasted because they do nothing with it. And the celebrity voice cast--including Richard Dreyfuss, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Rick Moranis--do nothing to help. This is bad. Awful. Burn it. Purge it with fire. 1/10

And that’s my ranking! What do you guys think? Leave your own rankings in the comments below, feel free to discuss if you have any questions, and look out for my review sometime next month!

#rudolph the red nosed reindeer #christmas #christmas specials #ranking #rankin/bass #animation #cartoon #rudolph #jamie lee curtis #rick moranis #richard dreyfuss #john goodman #debbie reynolds #whoopi goldberg #eric idle

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zukadiary · 8 months

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Anastasia (Umeda Arts, 2023)

I’m flattered that the overwhelming response to my poll was to bring back reviews :D Since I posted that, Takarazuka has unfortunately been involved in a terrible tragedy (additional information here). I may review the Takarazuka performances I was able to see at a later date, but at the moment I’m going to take some space from doing so.

In the meantime, a very bright spot in a long-awaited trip otherwise filled with multiple bouts of shocking news was the Broadway musical Anastasia, featuring Asami Hikaru (my ご贔屓, kamioshi, bias to end all biases, for those who joined during COVID and somehow missed this) amidst a rather star-studded cast. Getting to see Anastasia was quite special, not only because it’s been 4 1/2 years since I was last able to travel to Japan and see Komu, but also because I HAD tickets to the original Spring 2020 run before, well, you know (not to mention the ruined plans to see fave #2 as the same role in the tkz version). On top of that, it was good.

The Broadway version of Anastasia follows two con men in post-revolution Russia, Dmitri and Vlad, who, amidst rumors that Anastasia Romanov has somehow survived the execution of the rest of the royal family, accidentally find the real one while auditioning actresses to pretend to be her for reward money.

Given that my bias to end all biases taidan’d 17 years ago, I’ve seen my fair share of Japanese theater outside of Takarazuka in my quest to spend as much time in her presence as humanly possible. Usually, I find the non-OG cast members (especially men!!) unimpressive to the point of superfluousness. Imagine my shock when I found myself raising my opera glasses when Komu wasn’t even on stage.

Ranking!!

Anya: Aoi Wakana / Kinoshita Haruka

Anya is a poor street sweeper with amnesia who has a feeling SOMEONE is waiting for her in Paris (turns out it’s her grandmother, the dowager empress). I was supposed to see each actress twice, but due to the flu making its rounds through the cast, I ended up seeing Wakana three times and Haruka only once… which is unfortunate, because Haruka is an absolute powerhouse, and Wakana is a TV actress. The cast lineup for my first of four viewings was absolutely flawless, and I wish it had been the finale instead (especially because I was in shock from Sora taidan dropping like 3 hours prior to curtain). Haruka has a Broadway-quality voice, and her acting not only made sense, but also lacked that peculiar anime-like delivery that most of the Japanese actors I’ve seen have in spades (IYKYK). Although perhaps she returned from flu recovery too quickly and didn’t have her whole voice, Wakana’s singing wasn’t really up to the challenge of the role; all of Anya’s big solo’s were rendered anticlimactic by very flat long notes. I also found her acting to be over the top and desperate, whereas Haruka’s was quite nuanced.

Dmitri: Kaiho Naoto / Aiba Hiroki / Utsumi Akiyoshi

Dmitri is the romantic lead, something of a street urchin who starts off by hatching a moneymaking scheme to produce a fake Anastasia, and ultimately gives it all up after falling in love with Anya. I got to see Kaiho and Aiba, and to be honest, the only reason I’m not mad I had to see Aiba once is because that day Kaiho Naoto was Gleb. I know I am very late to this party, but this was the first time I got to see Kaiho Naoto live, and hooooooooooo boy. That man’s voice gave me chills, he acts like a normal person and not a cartoon, and his facial expressions are SO dynamic. His fans in the FIRST ROW had their opera glasses up, and now I take back making fun of them in my head. Incredible casting choice for Dmitri; he did an amazing job going through the full range of emotions and showing character growth, plus he looked so good in that scruffy little outfit. Tbh, marry me (Aiba on the other hand was an anime boy made flesh and blood and I can’t say I cared for it).

Vlad: Osumi Kenya / Ishikawa Zen

Vlad is Dmitri’s old man friend, a former aristocrat and adulterous lover to Lily. This one is slightly less cut and dry because both actors had their merits, but alas, I’m a big Ishikawa Zen fan. Osumi Kenya is a dancer and Zen is not, and that was quite apparent in any scene with choreography. Other than that, I quite preferred Zen’s knockout voice, nuanced acting, and overflowing kindness. He’s irl bffs with Komu, so I found his Vlad’s chemistry with Lily to be more compelling; but he also integrated himself seamlessly into each cast, despite that I imagine it’s tricky to get the best possible rapport going when the roles are changing all the time. Osumi definitely gave his Vlad quite a bit of enjoyable energy and unique flair, but ultimately, I thought his Vlad was a bit over the top (he’d be a huge hit in a kids’ show), and he seemed to be acting next to rather than with the rest of the cast.

Gleb: Kaiho Naoto / Douchin Yoshikuni / Tashiro Mario

Gleb, a Bolshevik general trying to fill the shoes of his father who relished executing the Romanov family, is the villain of the show. I was SUPPOSED to see all three Glebs, and I’m quite sad I didn’t, but the flu took Tashiro Mario. I ended up seeing Douchin three times and Kaiho once. This is REALLY HARD, and it’s likely impossible to separate out my feelings toward Kaiho’s Gleb in isolation, because Dmitri, without Kaiho in the role, was not compelling, so the overall impact of the show was less on the not-Douchin day. Kaiho showed up again with the voice that gives you chills, and while his performance throughout most of the show was a bit more low-key, his final scene, in which he attempts to get Anya to admit she’s playing around and return to Russia lest he be forced to shoot her on the spot if she is in fact the real Anastasia, was ABSOLUTELY FUCKING UNHINGED (spit flying everywhere, no wonder everyone got sick). Douchin, however, also has quite a powerful voice, and I think overall he did a better job of coming off as creepy and weird. He was awkward in kind of an is-this-guy-ok way, his barely concealed feelings for Anya were both clearer and more unsettling, and he felt believably indoctrinated into an ideology vs. just this is the villain because we said he’s the villain. His slick, jet-black hair and choice to wear light blue colored contacts also really enhanced the evil image. I really regret not getting to see Tashiro Mario, but I think my ever so slight preference here is Douchin just because his presence balanced the rest of the cast.

Lily: Asami Hikaru / Marcia / Horiuchi Keiko

Lily is the dowager empress's lady-in-waiting, a former countess who, in her younger days, cheated on her boring husband with Vlad and is currently tending to the dowager empress in refugee-laden Paris. LBR, I didn’t fly across the world to see the other two (although 3 or so days into my trip there was a SCARE where Komu was announced out with an injury, and I thought I might have to… but she recovered in time for my first show!). Ohhhh it was so nice, I missed her more than my COVID-era complacence led me to believe. Lily was a very fun and pleasant Komu role for me. Homegirl is 51 now (don’t talk to me) and fresh taidansha like Tamaki Ryou are getting the heroines she played a decade and a half ago, but Lily isn’t exactly someone’s mom either. She’s funny, and sassy, and wears sick costumes, and has DANCE NUMBERS! Which she did without looking injured at all! With the exception of like 20 seconds in the prologue, Lily does not appear at all until Act 2, but Act 2 is very juicy. I think I liked the look-Vlad’s-back tango even better than her piano-top nightclub solo, but both were utterly delightful. She also has great chemistry with her Yukigumi top senpai Asami Rei, comfortable yet reverent (just like in real life!). I juuuUUUUuuUUUUuuuSsstttt wish they would lower the key for her… just a little… as a treat.........

Dowager Empress Maria: Asami Rei (more like Asami SLAY)

Y’all… seeing Asami Rei live has BEEN on my bucket list, and the experience did not disappoint. Her voice may be going, but it’s completely age appropriate, and she could have done literally anything up on that stage without it ruining the impact of her presence. I legit inadvertently gasped "mother" into my mask when she made her appearance in a black and silver bejeweled gown to attend the ballet… serving boatloads of charisma uniqueness nerve and talent at 73, to say the least.

The ensemble was also a force and the songs were expertly directed, giving the whole show a stunning sound that has been rare in my experience with Japanese musicals (part vocal talent, part book made for Broadway). The play-within-a-play scene at the ballet was genuinely impressive (it's been a while since I've seen a man jump that high). All in all, a treat to watch!

#reviews #anastasia 2023 #tadaima 23

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 8 months

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Looooong post incoming...

THE INCREDIBLES and INCREDIBLES 2 have been on my mind, lately.

Writer-director Brad Bird’s 2004 superhero movie, done up at Pixar in the days they weren’t owned by The Walt Disney Company, was like a formative film for me. Like STAR WARS was for many kids growing up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, THE INCREDIBLES was probably that for 12-year-old me, among a couple other movies. (That same year, I was also blown away by SPIDER-MAN 2 and… Umm… I, ROBOT?)

And I’m one of the few weirdos that really, really dug the contested sequel. Well, contested by people online. It did get good critical reception and got an Oscar nom, made a truck ton at the box office, but it’s one of those weird “big” movies that came out, made tons and tons of money, but I hear few talk about it to this day. I feel some other recent Pixar sequels fit that bill as well, like FINDING DORY and TOY STORY 4. These absolutely massive movies that people raced to see, because they love the originals and the characters in them so much, but then seemingly… Forgot about? I think it has a lot to do with just how much stuff comes out now, that it kinda all gets lost in the shuffle. They don’t stick the way TOY STORY 3 did back in 2010, before we got so inundated with lots and lots of stuff oozing out of every pore: TV, streaming, other movies, podcasts, more streaming, etc. etc. Plus, there's that special sauce with the originals that tends to make them hit different than the sequels, no matter how good the sequels may be...

But no matter, I loved INCREDIBLES 2 and still do, even if I think it falls a little bit short of the original. That was a hard act to follow, after all. I did go over some of the few things about the sequel that I thought could’ve been expanded a bit, a few months back… And I’m thinking about them again.

I think the main point of contention with INCREDIBLES 2 was the Screenslaver, and the whole twist being that he was a fictional character, a face that was created by a disgruntled telecommunications company exec who wanted to keep superheroes illegal.

I get it, in a way. Screenslaver looks cool, and that one action sequence with him in the strobe light cage with Elastigirl? I fuckin’ LOVE it. Such a dynamic, well-done action sequence. I guess it made people wish that both Bob and Helen, and the kids and Frozone and maybe those weirdo superheroes like Screech and Reflux, took this guy on. A slender, creepy mask-wearing mind control villain… It's what you expect in a superhero movie, the heroes fighting a rather weird bad guy!

And yet, in a way, I feel like Screenslaver being a mere face. A distraction. Makes INCREDIBLES 2 every bit as subversive as the original. Especially since INCREDIBLES 2 came out in 2018, which was literally a superhero/comic book movie-heavy year. Maybe the heaviest? You had AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, DEADPOOL 2, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES, VENOM, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (!), am I missing anything? That year was S-T-A-C-K-E-D.

By contrast, in 2004, THE INCREDIBLES debuted opposite of SPIDER-MAN 2 and HELLBOY… And also BLADE: TRINITY, THE PUNISHER, and CATWOMAN… Much different times. Especially when it was greenlit by Pixar in the year 2000… What was happening in superhero movies that year? X-MEN had come out, and that was after a fairly successful BLADE movie… And years after BATMAN & ROBIN was lambasted and put the Batman movie format to rest for a good while. (Now it’s inescapable. Every few years, a new actor portrays Batman in live-action.)

THE INCREDIBLES stood out in 2004, I feel, not just because of the freedom animation allowed for the superhero concept (which put it above many of the live-action spectacles being made at the time), but also because it rung closer to a ‘60s spy movie than a typical beat-em-up extravaganza. It’s clearly set in a midcentury modern world, a stylized retro futuristic early ‘60s that is informed by the presence of superpowered beings. Or “Supers”, as this franchise has always called them. While there isn’t a wealth of material explaining how world events played out, it’s all implied and hinted at in both films.

By the mid-1960s, American animation had kinda been pigeonholed as an outlet for cheap, reliable kids’ entertainment on Saturday mornings. The closest thing to an American “spy” movie in the animated medium back then was, of all things, a FLINTSTONES movie: 1966’s THE MAN CALLED FLINTSTONE. THE INCREDIBLES almost feels like a lost animated movie made for a slightly older audience circa 1965, but dusted off decades later and done in CGI. That’s a Brad Bird staple. Born in 1957, he loves midcentury modern retrofutures, and just that setting in general. THE IRON GIANT is set in the late 1950s, he had a cancelled take on Will Eisner’s THE SPIRIT that was set around the time it was introduced, his long-gestating RAY GUNN has been described as a 1930s sci-fi noir retrofuture, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE is of course a ‘60s spy show and a series of feature films (Brad’s feels the most ‘60s out of the movies), TOMORROWLAND… Need I say more? Even RATATOUILLE, which doesn’t involve super heroics or gadgets or futuristic technology… It’s literally a movie about cooking! Even that movie has a retro vibe to it. It’s set in the then-present, but it’s timeless in its look and feel.

Anyways, THE INCREDIBLES plays as much James Bond as it does, say, Batman. You have the whole Nomanisan Island lair, close-quarters fights with armed men, Michael Giacchino’s score, it’s a just-right mix. The first INCREDIBLES has a rather conventional bad guy in Syndrome. An evil guy in an eye-catching suit, with all these various man-made powers, as opposed to other Supers’ natural-born powers. INCREDIBLES 2’s villain is merely an average woman, roughly in her 30s? 40s? She has no powers, she’s just a master manipulator, almost a filmmaker in that regard. I mean she’s an artist and a designer, that’s made perfectly clear the minute you see her, so it makes sense that she could pull off this elaborate show. Mysterio in SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME - which was released a year after INCREDIBLES 2 - needed drones and such to do that. That the Screenslaver is merely a brainwashed pizza delivery guy is part of her brilliance.

So, that’s what makes INCREDIBLES 2 stick out from the other superhero movies circa 2018. A year where the majority of the villains were clear-cut, like a big purple alien guy who wipes out half the universe… and here’s INCREDIBLES 2 with a very crafty woman who essentially puts on a big show. And that in the second half, it’s her and her use of mind control technology that are the big obstacle for the Supers. Not a creature or a conventional superhero bad guy. I think it works, honestly. Like, what’s a different kind of challenge? What if all the good guys got brainwashed, leaving a few… Namely the KIDS, to fend for themselves? That’s a very cool idea, honestly. But again, I get why detractors wanted the shadowy mind control guy instead. Part of me would love to see that version of INCREDIBLES 2, too, if it ever existed. According to interviews w/ the filmmakers, Screenslaver was a late addition to the plot. INCREDIBLES 2 was supposed to come out in summer 2019, but Disney had pushed it up a year, which apparently affected a lot of the decision-making. For some, it shows.

Maybe if INCREDIBLES 2 came out in 2008 instead of 2018, and had the same exact villain twist… In a world where other Disney Animation and Pixar movies with twist villains didn’t yet exist (i.e. Hans, Callaghan, Bellwether, Ernesto), it’d be received differently? I do not know. But that’s why it all works for me. I can tune out the succession of “twist villain” movies, and take INCREDIBLES 2 on its own merits.

In my previous piece on INCREDIBLES 2, I did kind of find fault with its rather rushed third act and how the film doesn’t really bite into the meatier political aspect it kind of teases. The whole idea of a society being dependent on superheroes, rather than getting up and helping pitch in to make the world a better place. (Not dissimilar to TOMORROWLAND’s message.) It’s really all just there to serve Evelyn’s character, which I’m totally fine with… It works in that context. But on the other hand, I feel like this could’ve gone further and explored the whole idea of superheroes being - to quote Jenny Nicholson in her review of JOKER - a “band-aid solution” to crime. And it being a PG-rated mass-market Disney release is no reason to keep me from speculating about this version of INCREDIBLES 2.

I get that Brad Bird probably just wanted to keep it simple and streamlined, and that the “who needs Supers anyways” idea is just a device for Evelyn, not there to make a larger statement. I do believe all art is political, even these movies, but how far the creators want to go with the politics is another story. Ultimately, Evelyn’s methods of getting her way are wrong, but she has points… What if a better society could be created that didn’t depend on superpowered beings having to clobber criminals or threats to save the day?

Clearly the world of THE INCREDIBLES needs superheroes, though, because you have things like mole men with massive drill-mobiles cutting through cities like they’re nothing. But I feel that in a world where we are hyperaware of the system’s flaws and how it’s mostly a failure by design and pretty much creates crime (I’m getting political here, heads up), INCREDIBLES 2 could’ve possibly said something about that. Instead of having superheroes, a stand in for the police when the police themselves or the military can’t handle the threat, what’s causing all the crime in New Urbem and Municiberg in the first place? What systemic inequalities are happening? How progressive is this world because of the presence of superheroes/cool tech? Why are there are robberies? What’s the poverty rate? Etc. etc.

And you may be thinking, this is just an animated family movie, it doesn’t have to be that deep… But I disagree. Plenty of family films, and good stories in general, don’t shy away from this kind of stuff. Art is not made in a vacuum. A lot of actual real-life kids LIVE these sorts of things, too.

But even PG-13 Marvel movies, probably because they’re released by Disney - and Disney tries to play moderate when it comes to political stuff (though they are still too far left for dinguses who yell “WOKE” at everything), don’t really go that far either.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR chips at whether there should be government regulation of superheroes or not, until it settles for being a story about two friends turning against each other over a family death… and then a few MCU movies later, none of that matters - the superheroes are ultimately needed to stop the big purple guy in space… THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER asks why, in a post-Blip world, a universe where half of all the living beings just ceased to be… Why are there still such inequalities on Earth, after Thanos’ snap and subsequent revival of everyone who was unalived? It’s all the catalyst for the Flagsmashers, and leader Karli herself. She was so nuanced as an antagonist, and you also had this ersatz Captain America guy who straight up murdered a person in cold blood. I was loving where it was all going, until a few episodes in, they just made Karli a straight-up murderer. All that nuance is flattened, and the final episode is just another big fight scene. Outside of Sam Wilson’s speech at the end, what really changed on MCU’s Earth? What did this Disney+ series have to say, really? Other than bringing up those very real problems we face in the U.S. and around the world?

I think INCREDIBLES 2 is just more interested in being about its characters first, which, again. Is fine. I don’t think less of the movie because of that. The first INCREDIBLES was about the family dynamic first and foremost, too, and not the spectacle. I don’t require Brad Bird to share all of his political views with me. I appreciate that the movie even posits the question to begin with, it’s ultimately why I’ve been thinking about it! Maybe Bird sees that world as simpler because it’s one where superheroes have been around since at least the turn of the 20th century, and things are different because of that.

This is probably why some people get a very Ayn Randian reading out of THE INCREDIBLES, when I think Bird’s conceit was merely “the villain is someone who uses technology to be a pretend-superhero”. It’s all there to inform Syndrome’s character, not necessarily to declare to the audience that people without powers CAN’T be superheroes. Syndrome kills several Supers so he can enact his plan and make everyone into Supers, because he’s big mad at Mr. Incredible, and that’s why he fails. He could’ve just grown up to make super technology to make other people super, not kill a bunch of them. Heck, if he had turned out better, he could’ve singlehandedly ended the outlawing of Supers… And not natural-born Supers… Imagine THAT movie…

The original movie, I feel, just doesn’t necessarily make a case for whether people born without superpowers can be Super. This dichotomy is just there to make the villain what he is, and hint at what he could’ve been instead of a villain. Sure, the Parr family and Frozone saving the day at the end upholds this apparent status quo, but I don’t think Bird was thinking about it like that. He had denied the Ayn Rand comparisons as far back as the release of the first movie.

The likelier reading of this film, and some of Bird’s other films such as RATATOUILLE and TOMORROWLAND, is informed by Bird’s career trajectory. He was mentored by Milt Kahl, of all people! One of the greatest animators, one of Walt’s Nine Old Men… He was mentored by him as a teenager! But most of Bird’s career, as noted by Mark Mayerson, was a long series of denied opportunities. His aforementioned SPIRIT movie didn’t take off in the ‘80s because who during that period - a time when SECRET OF NIMH came and went, and when features like TWICE UPON A TIME couldn’t get an audience - wanted to sink money into an animated action movie of that caliber? RAY GUNN didn’t go through in the 1990s at Turner Animation, and Warner Bros. dumped THE IRON GIANT in the late summer of 1999 with an ineffective marketing campaign that caused it to flop at the box office.

Because IRON GIANT did so badly, Bird took his toys and left Warner Bros. He headed to Pixar with his superhero movie concept, and he got in despite those who didn’t quite want him around. John Lasseter was not fond of an outsider coming in with this very different pitch for a movie. Up until that point, Pixar was literally what I like to call “Team TOY STORY”. John Lasseter, TOY STORY’s director, also directed A BUG’S LIFE and TOY STORY 2. Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton, where instrumental in TOY STORY 1 & 2, directed MONSTERS, INC. and FINDING NEMO respectively. Lee Unkrich, an editor on TOY STORY, co-directed on TOY STORY 2, MONSTERS, INC. and FINDING NEMO. Lasseter fired Jorgen Klubien off of his CARS, which was in the works at the time, and took it over. Tight-knit building. Bird was an outsider, and Lasseter wasn’t thrilled about that. But luckily, Steve Jobs staved him off and also kept Michael Eisner’s doubts about THE INCREDIBLES at bay. Bird got to make his rather outre superhero movie at Pixar in spite of Lasseter, Eisner, etc…. And it was a big hit and an Oscar winner. Lasseter was singing a different tune after that.

Future directors didn’t have Jobs’ protection, though, which meant that Lasseter could fire them more easily… And he did… Brenda Chapman, Bob Peterson, etc.

So then after THE INCREDIBLES, Brad Bird really wanted to get a live-action adaptation of the novel 1906 off the ground, but that didn’t go anywhere. He took over RATATOUILLE at Pixar, made a big hit out of that, and then tried to pursue other endeavors. His MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movie (GHOST PROTOCOL in 2011) did very well, but then after that, he made TOMORROWLAND and it bombed… And then took on an INCREDIBLES sequel. He is just now starting to get his cooler ideas off the ground, as his RAY GUNN is finally in production at Lasseter’s Skydance Animation. Funny how that works, right? The guy is over 60 years old and is just getting started.

If anything, his movies are more about that. He’s a guy with really cool, game-changing ideas for animated movies in an industry that isn’t interested in that… So… The INCREDIBLES movies being about superheroes who want to help people but not being allowed to by the system, RATATOUILLE being about an animal that doesn’t belong in a kitchen wanting to cook for people, GHOST PROTOCOL being about spies still trying to do the right thing and save the world after their unit has been shut down by the system, TOMORROWLAND being about people not subverting the system by pitching in to make the world a better place and also being barred from the utopia - by, again, the system - where they can make that happen… Yeah, it’s very clear that Bird’s movies are just him venting about his own hangups via fantastical concepts, not trying to espouse some sort of Ayn Randian ideology. How the hell do you get “if you’re naturally talented, you should hoard those gifts from the rest of society” out of THAT?

I think that’s what it is, and that’s what informs the world of THE INCREDIBLES. It’s simply an Earth where superheroes exist, and the system makes them illegal instead of finding other ways to correct accidents that have happened whenever they are around. Just outright ban them from doing what they do, instead. I mean, governments in real life ban all kinds of people for various reasons, strip away their rights, dehumanize them, criminalize them, etc… Sometimes mere circumstances, such as poverty, are viewed as personal failure and inherently criminal. There’s a level of relatability with superheroes for some people because of that. The late Kevin Conroy, for example, used his role as Batman in the 1992 animated series an outlet for his struggles as a gay man. X-Men stories, and the early 2000s X-MEN movies, are either interpreted as that or ARE largely about that.

But even then, Bird’s world still posits some interesting questions that it doesn’t fully answer. It’s busier focusing on the characters. This is more an observation, as I’m not trying to dock the original or the second movie any points… I just wonder why, in the sequel, the world the movies are set in was so quick to legalize Supers after everything that has happened. All it took was saving a boat and that was it? Not the defeat of Syndrome’s final Omnidroid? Not the other good deeds before that? I feel like that portion in the final third of the movie was strangely very rushed.

The thing is, before I wrap this up (phew), we only have two canonical movies in this series, and a handful of comedic/gag-based shorts. The world of the INCREDIBLES is wide and ripe for exploring, I’d argue, but Brad Bird’s not getting any younger and he should pursue the projects he really wants to make. Again, RAY GUNN, his Western, his horror movie, his musical, etc. Pixar honored him by not having someone else throw together a second INCREDIBLES sometime in the late 2000s/early 2010s. Like, Disney could’ve forced Pixar to make one without him anyways, but no. They waited. And if there’s a third one to be made, or a prequel set during the “Golden Age”, they’ll likely wait for him to be available and willing to do it. Or if he gives it his blessing and leaves it to another director… Like Pixar did with TOY STORY 4 and INSIDE OUT 2, and almost did with FINDING DORY. I wonder if he was gonna do the same with INCREDIBLES 2, had TOMORROWLAND done great and he went straight for a sequel to that.

I’d like to see more of that universe, but it needn’t be forced out of the filmmakers at Pixar. Maybe the little we know of it is what kind of stokes our imaginations when it comes to this series? Look at something like STAR WARS now… There’s a ton of movies and shows and expanded universe stuff, which arguably dilutes the magic of its universe... THE INCREDIBLES isn’t that big wide despite the original movie almost being 20 years old. THE INCREDIBLES doesn’t need to be that huge, but I would like to see a little bit more of that world. Maybe another movie - be it INCREDIBLES 3 or a prequel called SUPERS or something - or a Disney+ series, but not the behemoth something like STAR WARS or the MCU have become.

I feel it’s worth playing around in a little bit more. I’m also biased, because I love the movies, particularly the first one.

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acquired-stardust · 6 months

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Gaming Spotlight #11: Digimon Rumble Arena (2001)

Hello this is Larsa here with another spotlight feature on a game you may have missed from the Playstation era. Stand up to the fight!

Before we get to our featured title let's review some history shall we? Super Smash Bros 64 came out in the year 1999 developed by HAL Laboratory, INC. This revolutionary game was inspired by the dream match concept of SNK Corporation's own popular "King of Fighters" series where a bunch of a existing characters are thrown together to duke it out. Many in the industry took notice as the success of the new Nintendo crossover fighting game which created many fans of a whole new genre, platform fighting games.

"Digimon Rumble Arena" or "Digimon Tamers: Battle Evolution" as it is known as in Japan would become one of the first early platform fighting games following in the giant shadow of "Super Smash Bros 64" to stand out as a game worth playing. Right away a fighting game based on one of the most popular anime series of the late 90s and early 00s just seems like a perfect pairing. By the time this game was released Digimon had firmly became a massively popular series already having a theatrical movie release worldwide and currently airing its very popular third season titled "Digimon Tamers". Right away the opening would blow the minds of any young Digimon fans at the time because it was essentially a Digimon dream match title starring the Digimon and tamers of the first three seasons slugging it out for digital supremacy.

Is Guilmon really stronger than Agumon? How about Gatomon versus Renamon? Or how about a mega level battle of Beelzemon versus Omnimon? These were and still are important questions worth asking for any Digimon fan. And these sorts of playground questions are why this game was created.

The gameplay features two opposing Digimon battling it out on one of the several different stages in a 2D plane. These stages are typically filled with unique stage hazards and ring out zones with randomly spawning items in the form cards which have a myriad of effects on the battle. These cards mirror the "Digi-Modify" or "Card Slash!" mechanics from the Digimon Tamers series . The roster is filled with Digimon supported by their appropriate tamers from the show with the same familiar voices for each character featuring over 20 playable Digimon. Unlike "Super Smash Bros" this game features a more traditional health bar system and draining your opponent's life bar to zero means victory. Each Digimon has two special moves and a myriad of normal attack strings you would expect in a fighting game. Right away in a way one would expect from this beloved franchise, Rookie level Digimon are capable of transforming into a stronger even more capable form in the middle of battle through Digivolution. Digivolving improves your stats and gives you a completely new different move-set than before meaning you as a player are often switching dynamically between different gameplay experiences. There are few things that feel better than securing a comeback victory with your favorite mascot Digimon because of a well timed Digivolution. Oh and wiping the floor with your opponent using Wargreymon's mighty signature technique, Terra Force.

The main modes of the game are arcade mode and versus modes. In the Arcade Mode you take your selected Digimon through an arcade style ladder of bouts plus a few mini-games along the way with the goal of unlocking more characters. That is until you reach the new big bad of the game at the top of the ladder. Reapermon (Also known originally as Gokumon or ゴクモン) is a very difficult opponent to overcome and even now he still manages to give me trouble. I and along with anybody else who has ever played this game know of the horrors of his most powerful technique "Burning Cyclone". He is a cheap old school style boss who will test your skill at the game as one would expect from an older fighting game eating your quarters though in this case you thankfully probably own the game and you have as long as necessary to defeat him. Thankfully if you are struggling you can use some in-game cheat codes to fast unlock some Mega level Digimon along with other goodies to help even the odds. As far as versus modes go you can battle a friend locally or even play the mini-games against them. I spent many sessions having tons of fun fighting friends in this game. For an early platform fighting game the controls and mechanics are quite responsive which makes for amusing competitive bouts.

The graphics and soundtrack of the game of the game are very impressive for the platform. The Japanese version of the game features many arrangements of songs from the anime series. However the game does have one big problem: the framerate slowdown is a persistent problem throughout the experience with this game. Unfortunately they are the game's immediate faults but the game has so much excellent fanservice content and a surprisingly responsive solid fighting game underneath that it is easy to forgive the shortcoming. This game is still pretty awesome and loaded with nostalgia for me having grown up with Digimon. This title gets my recommendation for any fans of Digimon to experience especially the Japanese version of the soundtrack if you are ever in need of a quick nostalgia-fueled adrenaline rush.

A gem hidden among the stones, Digimon Rumble Arena is unquestionably stardust.

– Larsa

#retro gaming #gaming #video games #psone #ps1 #psx #acquired stardust #playstation #larsa #digimon #digimon rumble arena #gaming spotlights #nostalgia #Digimon Tamers Battle Evolution #platform fighter #fighting games #game spotlights

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disneytva · 5 months

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Disney Streaming Services Announces Solar Opposites Valentine's Day Special Slated For February 5

It’s love like you’ve never, nor ever wanted, to witness – or feel. 💚🩷

Disney has just dropped a trailer for the very first Valentines Day special for their hit animated comedy, Solar Opposites. The ‘An Earth Shatteringly Romantic Solar Valentine’s Day Opposites Special’ premieres February 5 on Hulu, Disney+ and Star+.

It’s love like you’ve never, nor ever wanted, to witness – or feel - as Korvo, Yumyulack, Terry, and Jesse get romantic AF… yes, they went there. And they save Love by doing something with Love we really can't describe.

youtube

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cantspelldragoonwithoutgoon · 11 months

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Character theme

What instrumental track would play in the background of your character's story during their most meaningful moments?

tagged by @booty-uprooter

Unfortunately i am a soundtrack person and you made me listen to... All The Things. which is to say THANK YOU SO MUCH ಇ(˵ಥ_ಥ˵)ಇ

Ahem. *cracks knuckles*

Eclaire Hautvent

Stars At Our Backs (from Monster Hunter World)

Maybe a bit too epic (read: over indulgent) for this scholar turned blackmage but she is a bit of a drama queen. While her (back)story has a lot of darker themes she's also very much about overcoming barriers (many of them internal) and (re-)assuming control over her life, hence a theme in a major key with an overall positive vibe of adventure, accomplishment and building new homes. plus the underlying sailing mood really fits for someone choosing to live in Limsa Lominsa of their own free volition ;3 (Listen, i know Eclaire is my awful dramatic little meow meow emotional punching bag but i don't want her to be miserable all the time.)

AND ANOTHER THING this theme comes with a free romance cozy version :D

Haru Xuee

ZipangU (from Sengoku Basara, by Hiroyuki Sawano)

Haru is just... Very Anime, hence a song from the most ridiculous samurai themed anime i know. He's very young and originally from Yanxia and is still struggling to find his place in his new surroundings. i think that comes across pretty well in this theme. (especially remembering a scene where it plays in the series, where a character is very much struggling with finding his own place as well, and has some realisations) Haru joins the Scions/WoL party after arriving in Eorzea with Yugiri as a way to thank them for their providing a new home for him and the other refugees. He thinks since he's not good at much else he might as well put his sword in their service... And he's very, very good with that... Which of course, is just an excuse for me to add an extra Extremely Anime battle theme for special occasions with the shinsenbunny >:3

(ps: the very apparent feather that looks like a hair band is from the sword animation LMAO)

A little Bonus:

the very bad no good extremely awful AU that will never actually (hopefully) happen in which Eclaire fully turns into a voidsent and ends up as a boss to fight

Unlaced (by Emilie Autumn)

Her battle theme might be something like this. Unhinged, erratic at times, all that pent up rage and grief finally exploding, it's all been too much and she's going to make you feel just how bad she's hurting. After all, Warrior of Light, her greatest loss is on you. Have fun with that chase marker.

Passing this on to @pumpkinmagekupo, @starrealmdream, @aethericfist, @wtf-amiru, @picturesofashe, @yloiseconeillants (especially curious about louhi if i may be so bold :3), @whatsthisascianbullshit, @mirrim-moondreamer, @blucifer08, @dreadwyrmz, @sasslett, @healersadjust

in case everyone has already done this ages ago or anyone just doesn't want to, feel free to ignore of course! :x

#i am... sorry i took 2 months i guess #welcome to the overthinking times #tag you're it #eclaire yes like the dessert #haru hase

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swreactions · 6 months

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Welcome to Star Wars Reactions!

This week, hosts Aaron Harris and David Modders sit down for our much delayed Halloween special as they discuss the origins of the Nightsisters. From their first appearance in “The Courtship of Princess Leia”, to their most recent appearance in Ahsoka, these Witches of Dathomir have played a pivotal role in the Star Wars universe.

Join the conversation as they explore some of the main players in the Nighsisters journey through The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, comics and more! Find out what episodes of the animated series and what comics you want to check out to learn more.

Plus Aaron shares not one, not two, but three Nightsister themed Star Wars Dad Jokes of the Week!

Star Wars Reactions: Elegant discussions for a more civilized age!

Click here to leave us a voicemail via SpeakPipe!

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ryanyflags · 1 year

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Mega post of new bambi flags :) These are all made to be in the same style as my other bambi flags.

(Also, if anyone coins any alternative names for these terms, then these flags can be used for those too.)

The designs follow a similar pattern as my other bambi flags. The top 4 stripes are for deer (and other animals), with the bottom 3 stripes for the respective orientations. (The white stripe also includes trans/nb people.)

The colors are based off of the original flags, but aren’t exactly the same. Since a lot of flags here have more than 3 colors/stripes, I focused on trying to simplify them down to their main colors (and combining some colors). There’s also rearranging of color orders, and changing the colors to be warmer / more pastel (to fit with the style I have for these flags). Plus, though this doesn’t contribute much to any meaning and is just aesthetics, each flag has slightly different brown stripes to fit with the bottom colors better.

More specifically, the bambi achillean, sapphic, ace-spec, aro-spec, and aroace-spec center stripes have been changed to use the white colors from their original flags, instead of the bambi white color. Since those flags didn’t just use plain white, and I think they contribute to the overall look / recognizability of those flags.

There’s also the bambi achillean, sapphic, and sapphillean flags. They have a symbol version and a plain stripe version. For the first 2 specifically, the plain stripe versions are slightly different, they include a color from the symbols (achillean with a green stripe and sapphic with a magenta stripe), to help make them more unique/recognizable. The symbol versions are just variations of the main blue and pink colors (3 stripes since I want them to match, the extra shades don’t have any special meanings). (sapphillean symbol made by @isobug here.)

The star symbols on a-spec and pomo are just made by me. I would love to add more symbols for other flags, especially since with the round outlines they look like stickers (love them so much!), but there weren’t any svgs I could find of them.

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Wow super long post haha. (But I guess that’s just what I do)

I wanted to explain my thought process behind the flags though, since when I work with other’s flags sometimes, the lack of meaning can be a bit confusing. I like explaining it so if anyone else wants to make something based on my flags, they know what to do.

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beevean · 10 months

Note

https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/castlevania-season-2-ties-to-adi-shankar-s-bootleg-universe/

Two things:

1: Shankar seemed to confirm that the show was made with little to no restraints on what they could do with it. Few mandates if you will

2: "Hector appears in some games"

I wish Konami was as draconian with NFCV as Sonic fans believe SEGA to be :( drown them in mandates :( have Ellis sigh "can you hear the fatigue in my voice?" because Konami dared to tell him that Trevor wouldn't swear up a storm :(

“I ended up putting out this ten-plus minute short film that reimagined the Power Rangers as a hard-R franchise where the original rangers were now in their 40s and dealing with severe PTSD,” Shankar explains. “After that, Netflix reached out to me via Twitter, called me in for a meeting, and I guess what came of that was this offer to make whatever I wanted and how I wanted to do it with minimal to no interference and creative control and what-not, and that spawned Castlevania as an anime.”

I don't need to say anything. Everything about this paragraph speaks for itself. Bask in it.

"The characters are slightly different; the timeline is slightly altered." and the sun is slightly warm, I suppose

"Hector and Isaac are together a lot in the games." I FUCKING WISH THEY STARRED IN MULTIPLE GAMES. Then they'd be popular enough to survive what you did to them! D:

"Now, what I like about Hector was I liked the idea of using someone who is not part of the Belmont family but he’s also a human who has some magic abilities." This is a terrible way to explain Hector's appeal. "he has some magic abilities?" Dude point to me to one non-Belmont protagonist that has no magical powers. You guys have included Sypha, who fits the description to a T! Funnily enough, the one completely non-magical protagonist I can think of is Grant! Hector is special in that his powers are explicitly dark and partially derived from Dracula, but it's not like y'all did much with this concept. water-blessing zombie can eat my entire ass

#anti netflixvania

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astoundingbeyondbelief · 1 year

Text

Kaiju Week in Review (December 4-10, 2022)

youtube

GigaBash's Godzilla DLC is now available, and they defied expectations (well, my expectations) by offering a lineup of Heisei Godzilla, Kiryu, Showa Gigan, and Destoroyah. I can't offer any insights into how they play, since I haven't had time to delve into this game, but they certainly look great.

An extremely special collection of Godziban episodes are out on Blu-ray and DVD. The main attractions are two all-new specials ("The Greatest Monsters on Earth" and "Mothra vs. Bagan"), starring the imposing lineup above, plus the entire Destroy All Monsters cast. Extended versions of the season 1 episodes "Son of Minilla", and "The Godzilla Who Came on Christmas Eve!" are also present, and the Blu-ray adds on the Godzilla Fest 2020 special episodes "The Xilien Who Turned Red" and "Lullaby of the Skies" and a behind-the-scenes featurette. Both formats come with a sizable booklet too. They're pricey, as is typically for Japanese home video, so as eager as I am to watch Bagan get pulverized by a couple of moths, I'll probably wait for someone to rip the Blu-ray.

Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors - All Hail the King! #3 is mostly Ghidorah doing Ghidorah things (although this might be the first time he's burned down Westminster, good for him). King Caesar can't wake up soon enough. This issue also plays a bit with All Hail the King's status as an unplanned sequel. In #2, Cedric questioned why King Caesar didn't intervene when Godzilla was on the brink of destroying the world in the original comic. The Shobijin have many abilities, but breaking the fourth wall isn't one of them, so they gave a vague answer about destiny, and it's just adding to the friction between him and Karen, a member of the family who can communicate with the shisa. Interested to see where they're going with this.

Tickets for the U.S. limited release (January 11/12) of Shin Ultraman are now live. Since Fathom primarily books at Regal, Cinemark, and AMC theaters, Fandango should allow you to see most anywhere it's playing near you. I will be dragging as many people as I can to the subtitled showing.

Mill Creek has issued the 1992 animated series Ultraman Kids: 3,000 Light Years in Search of Mother on DVD. I know nothing about it, and those designs are powerfully unsettling... but it's never even been subtitled before, so good on them?

Normally I wouldn't bother mentioning the millionth Godzilla crossover with a mobile game, but The Ants: Underground Kingdom is an unusual pick—it's a strategy game where you run an ant colony. These are clearly special ants, since the teaser shows them giving Godzilla a boost after King Ghidorah knocks him down. (I'd rather see him take on the ants from THEM! though.) The collaboration runs from December 16 to January 14.

#gigabash #godzilla #video games #godzilla monsters and protectors all hail the king #shin ultraman #ultraman #ultraman kids #mill creek #home video #the ant underground kingdom #king ghidorah #comics #art #idw #kaiju week in review #Youtube

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