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seoafin · 1 year

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gege fridging yuki and now tsumiki. shoko, utahime, mei mei, momo, miwa disappering from the plot and now i dont think nobara is coming back after reading the newest chapter which would mean that her death was handled horribly 💀💀💀

i genuinely dont understand whats going on in jjk anymore tbh either like i stopped reading after 208 and your blog was how i found out about the tsumiki thing 😭😭 i wish gege wouldve atleast utilized her in the past chapters if the plan was to kill her because the impact just. isnt there. and like what was the point of yorozu??????? to show us that sukuna is strong?????????🤔 i will actually be surprised if gege turns all of this around but honestlyyyyyyy 😬 (1/2)

its a shame that gege doesnt know how to include female characters into the plot anymore because theyre all just interesting and have wayy too much potential.

like the idea of a character who only cares about money and could go as far to exploit their own sibling like mei mei or someone like shoko who is one of the few/only people in the world who can use rct to heal people (the fact that she was in the same class with the 2 strongest sorcerers in the world and she was never shown to be afraid of them or take their shit) or someone like yuki who was the first special grade in their generation and also an spv??? (if this had been revealed during HI arc the drama would increase tenfold...) OR TSUMIKI omg this one frustrates me so muchhh like she had SO SO SO MUCH BUILD UP AND FOR WHAT??? this girl had to get into the role of a parent for her younger brother because toji sold him and left them and her mother abandoned them and left. SHE IS ELDEST DAUGHTER CODED (so much so that her perspective and feelings during a traumatic situation are never explored because shes fine if shes hardworking and doesnt complain *cough*minari*cough*) imagine going through all of this at such a young age and having to adapt constantly and pick up the pieces alone because the have to keep living. like if megumi was too young to be going through all of that SO WAS SHE????? she deserved wayyyyyy better i could go on for hours about this but. yeah 😭😭😭 basically theyre all characters who've got their own agendas and it wouldve been so much better if already existing characters had been explored rather than 1098274 new characters being introduced. i miss plant trio. nobara balanced out fushiguro's emo angstyness by bullying him. oh well atleast we have maki 😍😍😍 (2/2)

no i agree with you 100% jjk had so much potential to have active and important female characters with agency in the beginning of the manga where akutami was still tying characters into world building. i think that made people (like me) hopeful for a deconstruction of gender norms and dynamics in the jujutsu world that would propel the female characters forward instead of letting them stay one dimensional but it looks as if that's what ended up happening anyway. once again i don't think akutami is intentionally sidelining them if that means anything i just think his planning and organization is off (not enough time given to develop characters other than megumi and yuuji) and that he bit off more than he could choose (having a large cast of characters). which is such a shame bc he could be doing so much more with them!!! like the narrative giving shoko the spotlight for like 2 seconds isn't even a step in the right direction it's the bare minimum!!! it's something we should've gotten during the shibuya arc!!!

also yes. i will die mad about yuki tsukumo and tsumiki. they could've been saved idc idc killing off one of the strongest female characters in your series is just plain WRONG. and tsumiki deserved to live my god.......NOT ANGEL. TSUMIKI. AGHHHHHHHH.

#stop saying akutami writes amazing female characters he doesn't he wrote ONE.#and that's because she was most relevant to the plot #im still mad over that fight i got onto with that girl on tiktok about akutami writing the best female characters #'just because they're underutilized doesn't mean they're badly written' YES IT DOES. can u stop sucking akutami's toes maybe #jjk.talk

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kitchfit · 4 months

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Year in Review: TV Shows

¡Feliz Dia de los Reyes! And Happy New Year! And also happy belated Hanukkah, Christmas, Yule, Bodhi, Kwanzaa and Diso, probably some other holidays. BOXING DAY. You all get a gift! And it's the same thing you ask for every year that I know you love so so much: Unwarranted opinions about tv shows from a stranger on the internet! I am truly generous.

Shadow and Bone s1-2

Confession: I grew up with these books. It’s one of the only book series I snatched up as soon as they were released, and to this day I will read anything Leigh Bardugo slaps my face with, so I was ecstatic to discover they were making a Netflix adaptation. And damn one thing I cannot critique is the casting for this series. Jessie Mei Li pulls off the classic orphan chosen one YA protagonist so well without being cliche, which is also something Bardugo was able to do in the books. And Freddy Carter and Kit Young have just become Kaz and Jesper in my head, replacing whatever image I had of those characters originally. Also evil Prince Caspian is hot!

Season one is genuinely a fantastic adaptation. They seamlessly combine the storylines of Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows. The gaps in pacing from the first book have had their slack picked up by these lovable criminals playing out a similar storyline to their first book, with Alina taking the place of the Grisha scientist as their object of kidnapping. Everything plays out so fluidly that I was enamored with my first and second watch through.

Season two on the other hand is messy as all hell. They try to adapt multiple books into one storyline like season one, but none of them blend in well together. The bastardized Crooked Kingdom plot (which was my favorite in the series) is completely disconnected from Alina’s story to the point it felt confusing and exhausting each time they went back to it, while the Siege and Storm and the Rise and Ruin plotlines are so rushed I could barely follow what was supposed to be happening. Plus they added their own ending, which is fine conceptually, I get them wanting to do their own thing, but I wish they either just adapted the books, or committed to making something original, instead of this clustered amalgamation.

The Owl House s3

Everyone knows this is a show that deserves MINIMUM six seasons and a movie. The world is incredibly fun and versatile, and the characters are fascinating and enjoyable to watch. But Disney is homophobic and lame and Oh My Shit is that Steamboat Willy making out with Oswald the Rabbit?? Holy Shit. I can’t believe that’s canon now! Thank you Bob Igor.

That being said the writers and animators did a fantastic job on tight storytelling in these last two seasons. A lot of shows that aren’t given enough space to tell their story will cut out “filler” content to shove all the dramatic moments they want in your face (looking at you Voltron), but Owl House strikes a nice balance between slice of life character episodes and the more plot focused episodes in the short time they have. There’s so many background details and one off lines that create an intricate backstory that adds both to the lore and the motivations of our deadly Puritan villain. It also delivers on a fantastic ending that works both as a definitive end to the series or the jumpstart to a sequel if it ever gets graced with a renewal.

Merlin s1-5

Back in the day this show was grouped in among the other popular BBC shows at the time + Supernatural, and thus it gets a similar reputation nowadays as a queer-baity overrated show that goes on for too long. I don’t think that’s wholly undeserved, but Merlin is leagues better than either Supernatural or Sherlock and is much more consistent in delivering quality episodes than even New Who, though that last one is higher quality overall imo.

The cast all give a fantastic performance as their characters go through some genuinely well written character arcs, especially Anthony Head as Uther who blends goofy freak with hateable bigot so well that his antagonism commands the flow of the entire first three seasons. Like what’s his fucking problem? After he gets out of the picture however the pacing does tank as the plot forces out about three near identical Morgana takes over Camelot conflicts.

This show is also campy as all hell, and blends together lighthearted comedic episodes alongside extremely well written dramatic plots pretty well, though it occasionally stoops to some tonally dissonant melodrama. Uther falls in love with a farting witch like two episodes before Morgause nearly kills Arthur. I do think the will-they-won’t-they between Merlin and Arthur was written intentionally, and while their friendship is enjoyable to watch develop, the answer is obviously Won’t, because gay people don’t exist in Camelot times. Also Guinevere’s characterization fucking tanks in the last season for no reason at all, but it does have a good ending overall.

Dragon Ball Z Kai s1-4

Every year I make my dad watch a shonen anime all the way through. In 2020 it was Jojo’s, 2021 it was Hunter X Hunter, last year it was Naruto (Ocean Cut), and this year it was Dragon Ball Z Kai. So far there’s been no losers, he’s loved all of them (though he got burnt out on Part 5 of Jojo’s). It took a bit for him to get into Dragon Ball; the Saiyan saga did not hold his interest until the Vegeta fight, but he was thoroughly engaged through the Frieza saga and ESPECIALLY the Cell saga. He told me Cell is the most evil villain in all of the anime I forced this 49 year old to watch. I myself had never watched all of Dragon Ball Z in order before this year, and I’m happy to say most of it holds up, at least in Kai.

Season one is overall hard to rewatch from the beginning, since after Goku’s death we get several episodes of mindless training and running on Snake Way that we already know won’t pay off, but damn the cinematography and choreography in that first Vegeta fight is genuinely stunning and I can probably rewatch that anytime. Season two on Namek pulls off writing without Goku much better. There’s a strong sense of tension as all of these different conflicts barely miss each other: Frieza’s army killing off the already small population of Namekians as Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin are searching for the Dragon Balls. Writing Vegeta as a secondary protagonist in this arc despite still being a violent jackass is genius and this whole section is thoroughly engaging. Pacing grinds to a crawl when the Ginyu Force show up, and I’m sad to say this continues into the Frieza fight. It’s a good fight, but after the Supper Saying shows up they could have ended things pretty quickly, but the fight draws on and on until even Goku gets bored.

The Cell saga is easily peak Dragon Ball. This is the season Saturday morning cartoons would replay over and over again, so it's the one I’m most familiar with, and damn it I see why they did that. It’s a fun, messy time travel story that focuses on the development of our two biggest protagonists. Goku and Krillin? Nah fuck them I mean Gohan and Vegeta. We get conclusions to their character arcs that are so bombastically enjoyable that Toriyama NEARLY approaches good writing.

Season 4 on the other hand can’t decide whether it wants to be a continuation or its own thing and it shows in the pacing. The Buu saga is way too fucking long for no reason, the stakes rise to an absurd extreme and towards the end none of the characters seem to take any real notice. Goku lets his own son die to save a dog and an old man and then laughs it off as a brain fart. I like Majin Vegeta and regular Buu but everything afterwards overstays its welcome.

Castlevania s1-2

It’s kind of insane to me how good this show is. It takes the plot of an NES game with minimal dialogue and cool set pieces and transforms it into an epic ensemble story where every character has a fascinating arc to explore, not to mention animated BEAUTIFULLY. The show does NOT hold back on gore, but at the same time pulls it off with elegance so the blood and guts don’t feel gratuitous. Castlevania 3 was also my favorite as a kid despite never having finished it so it was personally very satisfying to see this one adapted.

The relationship between Trevor, Alucard, and Sypha is also adorable and one of my mainstays when I think of fictional Polyamorous couples. Their dynamics are further developed in the latter seasons, but the Dracula fight is so stellar that I was satisfied with ending it there for now, I still need to watch the Rondo of Blood anime.

My Adventures With Superman s1

This show was so cute! And also very vindicating after Snyder’s Superman changed every depiction of the character into a deconstruction on whether helping people is good or evil. Or maybe those were the only ones I saw after that. I was introduced to Superman through the Justice League cartoon and that will always be my primary understanding of the guy, so it’s nice to see Clark written in a similar light.

However, it’s Lois Lane that really takes center stage in this show. I mean it’s her adventures after all. She is NOTHING like any previous Lois Lane and is an essential brand new character, and she plays off of Clark’s personality SUPER well and their romance is adorable to see develop. I saw a lot of comparisons of her character to Luz and honestly I see the resemblance, not only in design but in dialogue. Which is fine I like Luz, but it forces me to compare it to the Owl House.

While this show also has very little time to tell its story, unlike TOH it’s paced like shit. Every episode that they put out is fantastic, but all of them feel like the conclusion to a grand story arc, rather than 10 episodes in succession of each other. They introduced multiverse shit in episode SEVEN. And while I love the new design of Mr. Mxldsjdnsk (especially considering I had just finished Dragon Ball Z), they did not earn that shit. This is obviously a production problem I can’t blame on the writers, but this is a show clearly designed as a slice of life with action thrown in, it needs cute fillery episodes, dammit. STOP RUSHING EVERYTHING.

King of the Hill s1

I don’t know if it's a controversial take to say King of the Hill is easily the best adult-oriented American cartoon, right? I think everyone should be on the same page on this. Like the Simpsons is way too long to be objectively good anymore. Maybe Futurama outclasses it but like. Family Guy? American Dad? BIG MOutH? None of those even have jokes. King of the Hill manages to not only be hilarious as all hell, but also tell a meaningful story.

As someone who has grown up in the relative south (Not Texas) I see it as both a satire, celebration, and deconstruction of the culture of rural America. Most episodes focus on Hank trying to give Bobby a meaningful childhood and teach him valuable lessons, but in the process realizing that the culture he grew up in kind of fucked him up a bit, and instead of digging his heels in and refusing to change, he alters his behavior and views for the sake of his son. Bobby himself is a lovable goofball who shows off the fun of growing up as some country hick. Watch this clip of Bobby playing spin the bottle right fucking now.

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake s1

ANOTHER PIECE OF MEDIA CAPITALIZING ON THE MULTIVERSE TREND LETS GO. I spoke before about the inherent metafiction in Multiverse narratives. I think Fionna and Cake understands that aspect well, which makes sense as in Adventure Time the Multiverse had already been an established fact. This sequel is more of an elaboration on previous world-building from the original, rather than following the trends of Marvel or whoever. It also makes me care about two characters I couldn’t give a shit about in the original, that being the title protagonists. They were cute in Adventure Time, but in my first watch through I really couldn’t be bothered with the watered down, gender-swapped variants of our main dudes, and in this show they basically discard all those episodes anyways! Cool!

Their arcs follow the existential nightmare of being people from a “noncanon, illegitimate” universe, and their quest to bring magic back to their world. It’s a compelling narrative and their differences and similarities with Finn and Jake are genuinely fun to compare and contrast while also being fun characters in their own right. I like the realization Fionna has midway through the series that the violent adventures she craved are actually kind of horrifying, and the simple quiet life she used to have was nice. I’m excited to see what the writers have in store for the both of them in the future.

But the real meat of this season comes in the deconstruction of the fan favorite character, Simon Ice King. Fionna and Cake was his fanfiction, after all, though that gets somewhat retconned. He was already a tragic figure in the original, and the final season gave him a bittersweet ending: his sanity returned but now eternally separated from his wife by her Eldritch transformation. This show gives his character the space and time to process exactly what the hell he’s supposed to do with his life now as well as understand the problems he and Betty had when they were in a relationship. I’m glad to see Simon finally get something far more resembling a happy ending than he ever got in the original.

Adventure Time s1-7

This is a show that I would describe as “high patience, high reward.” It’s not something I truly got into until college, as I was put off by what I saw as Lolz Random humor I was trying to distance myself from as a Cool Mature Teenager™. I still had a hard time getting through the first couple seasons in my first watch-through, but it was an easy show to put on in the background while doing research for papers. Eventually I was hooked and sped through all of it at blinding speeds.

Fionna and Cake inspired me to revisit the show, and I’m happy to say I have a higher tolerance for the aspects of the show I found obnoxious the first time around. The wacky mathy-math lingo of the characters generally fades into the background and builds a distinct vocabulary of this goofy sci-fi fantasy world. It was also fun to see how aspects of the earlier episodes inspired later developments of the world, like the Zombie Businessmen establishing a possible dystopian setting for our goofball protagonists.

Unlike my first viewing, the pace breaker actually started around season five. Their are some fantastic episodes in this period of the show, but overall the world stops developing as fast and each episode acts more as an exploration of the characters. It’s nice to spend more time with all of these weirdos, but it’s made it tough to binge. That’s actually a positive now that I think about it.

I like Finn a lot. I like that he’s flawed and he fails all the time, it makes it more enjoyable to see him mature as a person. If any episode encapsulates his personality the most, I think it’s the Hall of Egress, where Finn is trapped in a dungeon that resets every time he opens his eyes. It’s probably my favorite episode in the entire show, and plays to all of AT’s strengths: a great mix of comedy and introspection without ever being melodramatic

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

I was initially disappointed with this show when I realized it wasn’t a direct adaptation of the original comic. It plays this fact as a twist, playing out the first volume in its entirety until the very end, where SPOILERS Scott Fucking Dies. The “Takes Off” part was literal: that dude is Gone. The second episode even plays this for laughs as Envy Adams has a spontaneous concert over his funeral and no one besides Ramona seems to care that their friend exploded. It felt like a cruel joke making fun of fans of the original.

I’m glad I pushed through, though, as all of this was a ploy to put Ramona in the center stage, changing the goalpost of Beat Up the Seven Evil Exes to Investigate the Seven Evil Exes for possible murder/kidnapping motives Columbo-style. In most of the adaptations, Ramona is always playing off of Scott’s dumbass behavior, and it takes a while to truly dig into her personality. Putting her center-stage gives the audience an immediate view into her character and she may be the most likable she’s ever been.

This show works as a sequel to the original through some time-travel shenanigans, and brings back series creator Brian Lee O’Malley, as well as the cast from the movie. This whole deal, if the rumor is true, apparently came out of Michael Cera responding to a group email meme with the og cast a decade late with “That’s funny,” and got everyone talking again. With that in mind it changes my view on the show as a whole, it's not a cruel joke, it’s a love letter to everything that came before it.

I do still have a couple complaints, mostly that a few characters are heavily flanderized, namely Wallace and Scott himself, but like. That’s fine. How many times have we seen these characters explored? Like what 5 times now? I’m fine with them taking a comedic back seat to explore the dynamics of the rest of the cast. It’s also really satisfying to see all the exes get meaningful character arcs, which they never really got in the other versions of SP including the original. It makes me want to see what else they might have in store, but there are no plans for a continuation. Probably because that cast listing was expensive as hell. Do you know how much Chris Evans voice acting costs??? $7.50/hour AT LEAST.

Bee and Puppycat s2

Damn this show is so comfy. Everything from the characters, the music, the voice acting, the animation style, the COLORS! Even when the show hits the dramatic button it never stops being such a delight. It’s also longer than I remember, and gives a lot of time for every plotline to unfold. There’s intrigue and mystery surrounding every inch of this Mario Galaxy-ass setting, and it never fully reveals its hand, but that never takes away from the simple, slice-of-life story about two roommates taking part time jobs to make ends meet.

There’s a heavy theme of responsibility and young adulthood with all of the characters, which is also super relatable to me rn. The most responsible character in this show is the six-year old landlord with WAY too much on his shoulders. I like the dynamics with the Wizard family, I feel they present very realistic sibling relationships overall.

I tried checking out season 1 on youtube. I’ve heard people call it a continuation, but season 2 really is just a reimagining of this short youtube series. It’s only an hour long but for some reason it failed to grasp me. It’s somewhat tonally different, and the romantic tension between Bee and Deckard is weird to me after watching season 2. I’m glad they abandoned that as a plotline.

And those are all the shows I watched this year. LAST YEAR. I did not finish this when I wanted to, so to speed things up I’m gonna skip over the final movie list. Long story short Coraline rules, Home Alone 2 is violent and funny, Love Actually Hugh Grant is hot, and Christmas Vacation SUCKS. Fuck National Lampoon all my homies Hate national lampoon. Next time I will be doing the final games list. Wahoo!

#my post #reviews #long post #adventure time #shadow and bone #fionna and cake #merlin bbs #toh #the owl house #dragon ball #king of the hill #bee and puppycat #scott pilgrim #scott pilgram takes off #castlevania #i think that's all of them #SUPERMAN #my adventures with superman

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silvertsundere · 1 month

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Silver Talks AniManga (24/03/24)

like I said last week lotsa stuff ending this one so lots of yappin this time around, also a new series but summertime render's author which was p nice

also tons of s2 announcements right away which is wild to see

green - new series/new to me blue - finale/completed

Anime

Chained Soldier Ep12 (Finale)

well that certainly was something huh like I said in ep 1 I've known about the manga for years and years and have wanted to read it but just never got around to it, I would've been a lot better off if I did tho the anime did just the bare minimum. the animation wasn't ever anywhere near impressive and the art always looked weird like there was some weird filter over it for some reason. the voice cast slapped tho and the music wasn't half bad either but there's no reason to watch the anime when the manga exists, not just cause the art is way better but especially because they didn't announce or even tease a s2 so it's a safe bet that only with the bare bones animation this was just a quick way to promote the manga and not an attempt to make an adaptation. it's a shame but oh well, I've seen much worse and the great seiyuu line up made it pretty enjoyable despite the lack of any good action will certainly be reading the manga in the future so they succeeded in their goal, tho I was already gonna do it before the anime even existed so did they really 🤔

EDIT: the day after I wrote this they released a little teaser announcing s2 will be coming eventually™ so fuck me I guess

Sasaki and Peeps Ep12 (Finale)

the finale just ends like any regular episode would end??? HUH I guess that means s2 confirmed? but it's still very very weird but anyway, I liked it, it was a fresh take on isekai and it reminded me a lot of maoyuu with all it's economical and political talk (this is a good thing). otherwise it wasn't that impressive, animation and art were alright, tho a lot better than some stuff I saw this season (like chained or rings) and the music despite not that memorable was pretty enjoyable. one of the best parts was the sugita yuuki duo for the main characters for sure. I first watched this on a whim cause of a clip I saw of the voice yuuki uses in this and that one hilarious post about the credits of the first episode but it was worth it

EDIT: today (sunday) the s2 got announced which wasn't that surprising considering the first thing I said here but still

Undead Unluck Ep24 (Finale)

a great adaptation through and through, it certainly got the love it deserves. the shaft staff coming in and sprinkling that recognizable style through the show was very unexpected, but it fit UU surprisingly well and it also served to give it a different vibe from the manga. the only weird choice was cutting out the mob characters from a billion scenes. also some scenes just didn't hit as hard as in the manga like the fist bump from this episode, that I've been looking forward to since ep 1 but it was still pretty good looking forward to future seasons (LOVE spring arc so please) so I just hope they keep the same studio/staff and don't pull a OPM and ruin future seasons

Frieren Ep28 (Finale)

you think this is the one I'd talk about the most but funnily enough it won't be. don't really got much to say about it because just one word is enough to describe it: perfect easily AOTY for last year and also one of the best of all time and that's not even exaggeration or recency bias it really is THAT good it's crazy that this is just the director's second time directing, with the first being bocchi. really bright future ahead of him and someone to keep an eye on in the future I only hope that we get a proper S2 and not a movie like studios seem so keen on doing recently

Tales of Wedding Rings Ep12 (Finale)

honestly not much to say about this, cause all I said about chained soldier is directly appliable for this as well so just read that again and pretend I'm talking about this lol TL;DR: you're better off reading the manga really shocked it got a s2 announced right away like the other but I guess that's what you can do when you keep production values this low

Blue Exorcist: Izumo Arc Ep12 (Finale)

it's a shame how the adaptation is, s1 was really good, s2 dipped a bit but was still good but this one was p weak. it just coasted along and didn't take any risks. not a crumb of sakuga in all 12 of these episodes, but at least it looked a lot better than some of those shows I talked about above at a baseline also they already announced another season is coming, without waiting 6 years this time, with more news coming out for it tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. tho considering it'll prob be the same level of quality as this one, there's really no reason to get your hopes up. I'm looking forward to catching up with the manga in the near future tho, last time I read I was in vol 18 so got a decent bit to go through

Dungeon Meshi Ep12

yknow considering the amount of times I've seen that one panel of barefoot marcille starting the ressurection spell and how people talk about it, I thought the scene would be a lot darker and intense but it wasn't. good episode tho, lots of cute moments not just of farcille but also with the siblings. the cliffhanger was really good too, would've been a great end cour one tho the show isn't even taking a break but anyway, looking forward to hearing hayamin be a part of the main cast 🙏

Manga

Ghost Fixers Ch1

this is a new series by the summertime render, which I haven't either read nor watched but have heard many things about, so I was thought I should give it a shot and hey that was p good, went in completely blind without knowing anything about it and I enjoyed it quite a bit. the art is not as good as the colour page but it wasn't bad by any means and there was a lot of shots with cool composition and neat panel ideas it also did a good job of setting up the universe and teasing how things work without explaining too much yet. the characters and their banter were pretty fun too. I'll be looking forward to this 👍 tho I do gotta go back to summertime some day for sure

Blue Box Ch142

GREAT chapter, but it was also great cause of the whole build up of the match in the last few chaps. I already knew this was gonna be the outcome since chinatsu lost and haryu is a third year and the third year losing to their protegee and "passing on the torch" is the trope still miura did a great job keeping it tense and making you want to root for both players, she's a great author

#silver talks animanga

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masterhandss · 3 years

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Who do you think katarina will end up with?

Anonymous asked: Who do you ship katarina the most with ?

I got these two questions consecutively, I'm assuming they are coming from the same person so I'll combine them to a single reply, if that's okay.

People who have been following me since the first season can probably tell that I really like Geordo x Katarina (GeoKata) the most out of all ships. At first it was mostly just because I have an unintentional biases towards characters with blonde hair, which is why favorites were GeoKata and MariaKata, but then when I slowly got into the series more, my biases permanently shifted to the G-boy.

I'm not really a fan of laying out why I like certain ships through test to be honest. I usually get super frustrated when zine mods ask contributors to explain why they like a character or ship for contributor spotlight graphics because I can never really say everything I feel correctly hgdsjsdgfj, which is a good thing someone had already asked me a similar question before so I'll just copy paste my response here if that's okay :DD

TLDR; I ship Katarina with Geordo (Maria, Sora and Cezar behind him), and I think Katarina will end up with Geordo :))

You didn't really ask why but I'll give it anyways :)) -> major light novel spoilers, by the way <-

I'm not really the most deep person, if a ship has the bare minimum of something that I like (a trope or a hair color combination) then I stan it hard. That's why I used to be so equally adoring to both Maria and Geordo, because hurrdurr blonde hair hurrdurr. But the more I read the books and got into the community, I eventually liked him more than Maria. I didn't understand how or why at first, since Geordo and Maria are undergoing a very similar character arc: both characters wants to become better people in order to become worthy of Katarina (Geordo emotionally, and Maria physically? magically? in terms of her position/social status? I can't think of a right word but you get it). Again, Maria and Geordo's struggles are similarly written but one of them is more compelling to me. I feel like Maria's problems are easier to solve (her inability to rely on people, her attention seeking and her desire to be more magically powerful) imo, since she's already a well-liked figure in the Ministry and she's already a high-level magic user. Geordo's though; the series doesn't put too much attention on it, but despite the fact that Katarina gave his life color, he still somewhat sees the world in a desaturated light even post-childhood according to the novels and his lack of empathy still prevents him from completely absorbing all the colors. He's still learning how to see and he is happy that Katarina is always there to help him learn how.

I just love the irony that Katarina sees Geordo as a Perfect Prince and feels that she is inferior and unworthy of him, but then Geordo also seems himself as flawed, inferior and unworthy of Katarina and sees her as someone perfect. Geordo constantly wants to be better for Katarina (and for the people around him), and in time, maybe he could become a motivation for Katarina to be better too (on Katarina's side though, because on Geordo's she doesn't have to because she's already perfect the way she is). Geordo, while being self-centered and aggressive in his pursuits, isn't always selfish and thinks about what Katarina wants too. He'd fight tooth and nail for her and will do whatever he can so that Katarina will love him in the same way, but that doesn't mean he wont respect her decision if she falls in love with someone else, he just wont lose without a fight that's all (and fight, he'll give that's for sure).

Geordo is crazy in love with her; wants to protect her happiness, keep her safe whenever he can, and is even willing to both fight to become king and throw away the life he currently knows if it means he can live a life where he and Katarina can be together wherever she is most content and happy. He wouldn't lock her up in the castle like a caged bird like what Keith and some fans of the series thinks, whenever he does have thoughts like that like in Volume 6, its his internal response to the lack time they can have together alone, rather than being indicative of how he wants to treat her (like in his desire in Book of Desires, he conjured up a literal honeymoon because a honeymoon is the only time where he can spend it with her alone without someone butting in! It's weird and exaggerated, but his desire is simply to just be able to spend a day with her and be able to pursue her romantically without the threat of people like Keith and Mary).

Katarina sees him for himself, and she extends her hand of friendship to him despite all her fears of her bad ends involving him. She knows he's a "sadistic prince" but doesn't always tie him to that title. Out of everyone, Katarina has just as bad, if not worse, initial impression of Geordo compared to almost everyone around him (Others sees him as a Perfect Prince while she sees him as a Sadistic Prince and Future Murderer), and yet she accepts him and wants to learn more about him. She supports him and wants him to find happiness in love with Maria, even if it means she'll get exiled to another country or to a far off farm! (i'll edit this with citations later)

I can't help but want that for him, someone who there for you through thick and thin, who supports him despite everything she knows about her future involving him. Katarina is everything he would ever want in a partner: someone who isn't disturbed by his past, can see through his fake smiles, constantly cares for him, sees him beyond his princely façade, is one of his first friends who has helped him create friendships with other as well that prevented him to wallow in isolation and hate of the version of himself that society created for him, is genuinely interested in him as a person, is endlessly fun to be around and unpredictable, and is overall beautiful inside and out.

Again, a lot of Maria and Geordo's struggles are very similar to each other, but I'm more interested in Geordo's side. I find it more compelling. Geordo's scenes always almost provides something new, we get to see him angry, flustered & embarrassed, scheming/conniving, possessive, grateful, sad & frustrated and so much more. Maria has that too (we get to see her sad and thankful), but this might be my own perspective of reading the novels, but Maria's scenes kinda feel the same to me. It almost always starts with Katarina helping her and her realizing time and time again how much she loves her and become more motivated to be a better version of herself. I mean its unfair to say that they are all the same but that might just be me. (Maria: wow I'm so grateful for everything Katarina has given me, I want to be with her forever (rinse and repeat for the next 5 books))

Yes I know it's beautiful to see Maria falling deeper and deeper in love with Maria, but I'd rather see moments of someone who is trying to advance on those feelings rather than someone who is still trying to understand what they feel. Declarations and descriptions of love are beautiful in literary works and it always gets my heart fluttering, but I can read fanfics if I want to see that be written in 8 or more ways. Give me some action, some internal conflict!

It also doesn't help that it makes me really really happy for Geordo that he's made a dent in Katarina's baka shield? Katarina's heart skipped and fluttered for a second when Geordo was patting her head, and it makes me want to root for him even more! (Yes, go break the bubble! You can do it!!)

It's not even the same doki-doki as when she gets charmed at how pretty Maria is, to me its different in a way that my small vocabulary can't explain.

And besides, it really is just a battle between the protagonist that almost ruined her life (Maria) and the love interest that almost ruined her life (Geordo). Keith is part of that equation too, but he was never a threat after they became close (narratively, its seriously just Maria vs Geordo vs Keith, ignoring the changes to that narrative by FL2). It's always about Geordo (and Maria), everything she's doing in the Fortune Lover 1 Arc is because of Geordo (and arguably, Maria & Keith too) and the consequences of where he decides her future to would lead to.

It has to be Geordo, in my opinion, to show her that things aren't the same as the game (and he already kinda has, just a dent though) (If not Geordo, it should be Maria). He, who she feared and yet cared for so much

(I know Fortune Lover 2 basically removes that importance of Geordo and Maria specifically to Katarina's narrative by making her an active problem in all routes, finally becoming loyal to the title "All Routes Lead to Doom", but its not like the story is digging into Katarina's brain that she's sword training for the purpose of fighting back against all the boys, its still just Geordo, so idk I still count that in my shipper brain)

It also also helps that Geordo is basically the poor bullied animal in the hamefura community's eyes, regardless of how far he is into the battle (like in the reddit discord lmao). Yeah he has the best chances which is why many people both in and out of the series find it so fun to drag him under because of his unfair advantage, which is fair, but just like how you feel when you see a small wounded animal, you can't help but want to help someone who has the whole world against him (there's literally a canon manga page with that joke lmao), which is how I eventually felt over time. He's so misunderstood and bullied by people despite the authors dedication to flesh him out more beyond being a possessive prince fiancé of Katarina because of the anime's adaption, so I'd rather give my biases to someone who needs (and deserves it) rather than other contenders who are already overflowing with love and support. Also who doesn't love a perfect guy who breaks when his beloved is harm/who opens up to the person he cares about most?

I know people will read this and find it unfair that Katarina is giving so much to Geordo, but he isn't really giving anything to her. One thing I'll agree that Maria has over Geordo is that Maria makes Katarina want to try and work hard. Seeing Maria improve her magic wants Katarina to do the same, and whether or not it's from motivation or fear of getting left out depends on the reader. So far we don't really have anything like that for Katarina with Geordo because most things involving Geordo intimidates her, compared to Maria who is surrounded by mysteries and adventure (though arguably it's Katarina and not her lmao, but Kat doesn't know that).

Katarina is already the most well-adjusted character in the story even as a child so the only thing to really explore from her is mostly just her relationships and skewed sense of reality. That's why I hope that Geordo will not only help her realize that she can be loved by her peers romantically despite her self-perceived position/role, but also be one of the persons to make her completely realize that she isn't living inside a game. I mean like I said a few paragraphs ago, he's already kinda doing it by constantly confessing his feelings to her, reminding her that he is a person with his own feelings and not a character programmed to fall for a heroine.

So yeah, I ship Katarina with Geordo for those reasons and believe they should end up together for those reasons.

If you ask me who I think would she end up with objectively, I'd still say Geordo. The author's focus jumps between Geordo and Maria so that really depends on who you're asking. It also doesn't help that Geordo is always in the marketing with Katarina in the books and games, which pretty much cements his Male Lead status to Katarina's Female Lead status lmao

Thank you for the ask lmao, I'll be updating this with more thoughts and possibly citations later :))

#mh ask #hamefura #my next life as a villainess all routes lead to doom #my next life as a villainess #geokata #geordo stuart #katarina claes #i want to add more but i'll do it later :))#I just copy pasted this so i'm srry for the typos ;;w;;#bakarina #destruction flag otome

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popcultureoverdosed · 2 years

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Shaman King 2021 lets down its fans

The pacing of Shaman king 2021 is quite honestly an extreme detriment to the narrative. The complete edition of the manga boasts a hefty 300 chapters yet the current adaptation is slated for a mere 52 episodes. It's insulting how the producers shot away any hopes of this being a promising adaptation right off the bat.

The early episodes had a nasty habit of adapting far too many chapters in one episode; sometimes even going up to 8 chapters. That's practically an entire volume of content with little in the way for proper character development. Battles are often resolved in the same episode they are introduced while every other battle anime lets episodes end on cliffhangers to increase tension. The later episodes thankfully slow things down a little, but the characters still treat each other with a level of familiarity that would only feel natural to manga readers.

A good example of rushed pacing hindering the narrative is when Lyserg joins the X-Laws. The original manga gave Lyserg time to ruminate about his friendship with Yoh and would it meant turning his back on the others. The 2021 version makes Lyserg seem incredibly shallow for leaving the team the first opportunity he got with barely any emotional tension to be seen.

Osorezan Revoir seems to be the only arc to avert this problem. The anime afforded four episodes to adapt a two-volume arc. This resulted in a beloved story arc having the breathing room to completely tell its tale with full emotional impact. Shaman King at its core is a contemplative series. It is a narrative-driven by clashing ideologies and characters contemplating their place in life. Even the small slice-of-life moments of the manga enhance this theme. Rushing through these events as if it's a marathon is a complete disservice to what Shaman King is about.

Shaman King should have never been restricted to 52 episodes at all. That's nowhere near enough time to properly adapt the full story. The cheap animation isn't helping matters either. It's clear that zero soul(pun intended) was put into adapting iconic scenes; often resorting to still images or using the absolute bare minimum of movement required for any given scene. Shaman king may not be a flashy series like Kimetsu no Yaiba which needs glorious animation to mask its uniform mediocrity, but that still doesn't take away from the fact that battle series need solid animation to have a good impact. The character interactions are already hindered due to the rushed pace; the least we fans deserve is some decent action.

I still enjoy the 2021 anime for what it's worth, but it is painfully apparent that it has failed to bring the manga justice. My only hope is that Shaman King one day receives a console game from a passionate developer like cyberconnect2.

#shaman king #anime #rant #adaptation

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janiedean · 4 years

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Honestly, I would like to hear you rant about Brienne's s5 storyline and her killing Stannis. It felt weird to me that in the book there's this whole thing with Lady Stoneheart wanting revenge and using Brienne as a tool to to try and get it tho she probably won't get it, and then in the show it's Brienne still seeking revenge for Renly and actually getting it. Like there's a "revenge isn't actually a good thing" theme that got lost along the way.

... lmao.

well okay this is not for renly fans so just so you know, you’re warned.

now.

I don’t have.... like, anything specific against renly nor I think he’s a Bad Person which is why in modern aus I just let him be his best version, but.. canon renly Is An Asshole when it concerns his brother, his niece and brienne and that’s A Thing because like sorry but skipping succession ‘because no one likes you but they like me’ is not a good reason to do anything, ‘my niece is so ugly ew grayscale’ is just bottom level of being... let’s just say vapid, and it’s canon that the reason he keeps brienne around is not that he cares about her, it’s because he knows she’s good at what she does and doesn’t want nothing in return and actually would die for him, which........

considering that brienne would have died for renly because he was nice to her once and danced with her which is like bare minimum for decent human being, sorry if I side-eye this narrative that renly believed in her etc because sorry guys renly in asoiaf canon didn’t give a single fuck about that;

specifically, when it comes to brienne renly is that one crush you get at some point that you’re in love with the idea of, not with the person they actually are, and as someone wise said on some post once, brienne thought she would die for him and didn’t and didn’t know she could die for jaime but she immediately knew when she had the choice, so I think that just seals it, but ahead with that...

affc is also about brienne getting over renly because she was in love with the idea of renly, not with renly himself, never mind that renly wasn’t in love with her anyway and could have never been. like, all of her affc povs are about that. she thinks about him less and less, she superimposes jaime on him like ffs when she’s naked in the bath she has to MAKE HERSELF THINK ABOUT RENLY, at some point she dreams of renly’s death except it’s jaime in his place, then jaime puts renly’s cloak on her shoulders and at the end of it when she has that dream which is sort of very similar to jaime’s in asos where he sees people he thinks he disappointed and she sees renly and cat.... well. it’s because she thinks she disappointed them, or that she failed them, but she’s plain not in love with him (or his idea of) anymore;

now, she also swore to cat she’d kill stannis in revenge for him... and she’s never so much as thought about it. ffs there is ONE single instance of brienne thinking about stannis in affc. THIS ONE:He shrugged. "Sometimes. At tourneys, from afar. Once at Baelor's Sept. The gold cloaks shoved us aside so he could pass. Another time I was playing near the Mud Gate when he come back from a hunt. He was so drunk he almost rode me down. A big fat sot, he was, but a better king than these sons of his."They are not his sons. Stannis told it true, that day he met with Renly. Joffrey and Tommen were never Robert's sons. This boy, though . . . "Listen to me," Brienne began. Then she heard Dog barking, loud and frantic. "Someone is coming."IT’S WHEN SHE RECOGNIZES THAT GENDRY IS ROBERT’S SON AND THAT STANNIS WAS RIGHT WHEN HE SAID TOMMEN AND MYRCELLA WEREN’T HIS. that’s it. that’s all brienne has to think about stannis in affc. she doesn’t think about killing him once.guess why? because meanwhile she’s found better things to think about and she doesn’t feel the need to avenge renly as much as she feels the need to fulfill her vow to catelyn and jaime and she’s fucking over renly and she has realizes at least subconsciously that guess what she didn’t want to die for him;

the entire point was that she is over her crush on a guy who might have been decent to her though it was the bare minimum anyone should have shown her but who didn’t give two shits about her personally and that she thought she could and would die for, and sorry if being willing to die for someone because he danced with you isn’t healthy as much as people don’t want to accept the fact that brienne has Issues with the capital I;

therefore, the moment the show dragged her north FOR RENLY and OMG I HAVE TO KILL STANNIS FOR RENLY before getting her stuck watching a tower for a season for that crap joke of a winterfell storyline and don’t get me started on how they made brienne’s sl secondary to sansa for three seasons when surely her point in her narrative is not that ita) ignored that brienne had a character arc that included getting over renlyb) elevated renly to sainthood (forget saint tyrion) because it implied that yes he was that nice dancing with her so yes he deserves her avenging his death when sorry but what the fucking fuck he just paid her the bare minimum it didn’t mean she should have joined his army for it or that she should avenge him for having being a decent person oncec) made it look like renly actually gave a shit about her for real when lmao nod) trashed lady stoneheart when as you said they lost the REVENGE IS A BAD IDEA theme and all that she brought with bc stoneheart is fundamental for both jaime and brienne as characters but hey let’s just stick brienne serving other people without a personal storyline and let’s not let jaime have his arc because what the fuck amritee) missed all of the themes in her affc arc because where was meribald? where was the anti-war message? where was the fact that brienne is a vulnerable person with doubts? we saw none of that shit except oMG SHE KILLED STANNIS BADASSSSS. yeah, no. character assassination my old friend here we are;

now, specifically re stannis: what angers me on a molecular level in that choice, not counting the fact that never in my life I ever want to see character #1 I relate to in a series (and period) kill character #2 I relate to in that same series without any goddamned reason to do that but that’s personal is that....... since brienne doesn’t give a fuck about avenging renly anymore in the book it’s very likely that if she and stannis meet again they might actually like talk about things and now I’mma give you the other hot take of the year....

... which is that I would like it if people saw that actually if brienne were to get along with one baratheon brother, she and stannis would have a lot more chances to hit off than she and renly ever could have because sorry but:a) they’re both introverts with huge issues communicating with others who also have been treated like shit for their entire lives based on people judging them before they opened their mouthb) as much as brienne isn’t THAT hard on it she has a sense of justice that he’d definitely appreciatec) if we assume that a guy with a daughter with grayscale whom renly also referred to as ‘that ugly daughter of his’ who is considered disfigured by everyone who still treats her like his only heir and doesn’t gaf about her looks would give two shits about brienne’s looks and not about her skills instead then we assume wrong nvm that stannis has a hand who used to be an illiterate commoner and melisandre used to be a slave like.... come on he’d definitely treat her with respect and not just because he needs herd) reverse, if she saw how he is with his daughter thaaat might remind her of her father not having forced her to marry eventually and agreeing to let her join renly/learn swordfighting instead I mean... come one) never mind that as stated before both of them are way more similar when it comes to take your vows seriously than notlike........... okay but with these premises if they meet when they need all the men they can spare to fight the white walkers I’d presume they will actually talk about renly’s death and get an understanding, not that she’ll take out a sword and impale him there especially if it’s post lady stoneheart which is the point in her sl where she 100% understands you can’t follow all of your vows and you will have to choose at some point (btw she chose jaime already over stoneheart and we all know it bye)...

which means that having her kill him in the show after a thing they made happen from 0 to 180 just to make him look irredeemable, for renly when brienne doesn’t gaf in the books anymore and reinforcing this - excuse me - bullshit narrative of saint renly who was the ideal king and never did anything wrong except trying to pass over stannis who was ahead of him in the line and further creating drama in that damned war because his brother didn’t happen to be immediately likable (nvm that I have issues with the fact that renly doesn’t even seem to remember having been at storm’s end during the siege which means that stannis made sure he actually had to eat while everyone else was starting to consider cannibalism but hey who cares that my brother almost died and never let me starve with the entirety of the castle I’ll now go and stab him in the back because NAAAH WHY SHOULD I SUPPORT HIM? sorry but what the fucking fuck) while stannis was an asshole who eventually got what he deserved because he wasn’t fun amrite will never not irk me to a molecular level because that wasn’t brienne’s storyline anymore and it hasn’t been since asos, the renly vs stannis situation is way more complicated than renly was nice and stannis was an asshole, stannis is nowhere near the piece of cardboard dnd think he is and the fact that both characters didn’t move on from their renly-related trauma but that it went down in the cheapest most ooc way ever should have woken people up about how dnd couldn’t be trusted for shit with these books if the WF adaptation of the adwd storyline hadn’t showed that already.

tldr: it was ooc and an insult to both characters and also can we stop with the saint renly narrative, thanks.

#ch: brienne of tarth #ch: stannis baratheon #anti-renly baratheon #janie writes meta #1 #2 #3 #4 #anti renly baratheon #HOPEFULLY I TAGGED CORRECTLY #dnd hate tag #got negativity #Anonymous #ask post

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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Fairy Tail Review — Far From The #1 Guild

July 31, 2020 9:00 AM EST

A mediocre JRPG, Fairy Tail does only the bare minimum with what it offers. It’s a game for dedicated fans, but fans deserve a better game.

Fairy Tail is a long-running manga and anime series. It was one of the bigger shonen series at the height of its popularity, running concurrently to the “Big Three” (Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece). It has since concluded a few years ago, but it made enough of a splash for Gust to develop an RPG based on it, so here we are.

I’ll preface this review by saying that my knowledge of the source material is very limited. I’ve only seen a few episodes of the Fairy Tail anime and have read none of the manga. This kind of game project is usually catered more to fans, so I am not the target demographic; this I freely admit. Much of the specifics of story arcs and character dynamics are lost on me here, relying entirely on the game and a little extra research to fill me in past the first half-dozen anime episodes.

Still, I am a fan of Gust’s Atelier series, having played through most of the English releases in the franchise. Between that and the trailers looking promising, I raised my hand for this review. Given that it’s possible to get enjoyment out of the Sword Art Online games without prior knowledge, for example, I’d been hoping for a similar feeling here.

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Alas, that was not the sentiment I got out of the Fairy Tail game. This is a game for fans of the series, which is great! Unfortunately, it really didn’t do much to convince me to want to become a fan, either. What few glimpses of interesting concepts, characters, and stories the game has are largely undone by painfully mediocre gameplay and presentation. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done by other JRPGs before, and usually much better.

“There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done by other JRPGs before, and usually much better.”

Fairy Tail opens at the end of the Tenrou Island arc, starting immediately with a tutorial boss fight against Hades. The events here play out quickly, offering both rapid-fire introductions to characters and gameplay mechanics. This arc ends with the titular Fairy Tail guild sealing themselves and Tenrou Island in a protective bubble, narrowly avoiding death from the dragon Acnologia.

When the bubble goes down, the reason for this rushed opening becomes apparent: while not much time passed inside the shield, seven years passed for the rest of the world. Fairy Tail had been the top-rated wizard guild prior to this moment, but now they’ve largely been forgotten and left destitute. Now, both the characters and the player have an excuse to build everything back up from the very bottom. Clever!

The rushed tutorial now takes its time to establish a few things and get you into the rhythm of the game. Fairy Tail also includes an encyclopedia to refer to, with short page-long descriptions of the story thus far. It’ll be filled with background on characters, terminology, and systems to check back on as the game unfolds. A welcome inclusion, though it naturally cannot fill in all the details and nuance of the full manga/anime series thus far.

As a wizard guild, Fairy Tail is tasked with numerous requests by the populace. These become the quests that you’ll spend the bulk of your time doing. Some are just repeatable and generic “go to X region and kill/find Y” quests; others are more designed, require specific members to be present, and feature dialogue and cutscenes involving them.

Gameplay will fall into the rhythm of taking a task from the guild’s request board, seeing a brief scene talking about it, then going off to find an item or have a battle. See a brief wrap-up scene, return, cash in, and repeat. Doing so will increase your money and renown, which serves both as a currency to improve both your characters and guild facilities. Renown will also see your guild rank increase over time, with higher ranks granting access to new areas and more requests.

Concurrently to this runs the main story. Having to restart from the bottom, the Fairy Tail guild decides that the best way to reclaim their notoriety is to win the upcoming Grand Magic Games. As such, the story quests will see you training and preparing for this, before taking part (and beyond). Almost all of these main story scenarios involve battles, so this leads me to the combat system.

Fairy Tail is a turn-based JRPG. You’ll have a decently sized ensemble of characters that you can bring into your team, each with unique abilities. The initial five from the tutorial consist of Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza and Wendy; after the tutorial, you’ll only be able to field up to three, expanding back up to five as it progresses. More characters like Juvia and Gajeel will join as story beats continue.

Since every character is a wizard, there are a few light twists on an otherwise standard JRPG formula. Both your health point and mana point bars become crucial, as running out of either sees your character knocked out. Basic Attacks are incredibly weak and still cost a single MP to use, so you’re encouraged to predominantly use your magic.

The most interesting aspect of the battle system is the enemy grid. Each enemy will be placed on a 3×3 grid. Your characters aren’t on the field, but their abilities each have specific ranges and areas that they can affect. Oft-times, your list of magic won’t do that much more damage than your basic one tile ability, but instead, have added effects and can hit additional tiles. A few abilities can reposition enemies on the grid to make subsequent AoE strikes hit harder, and enemies can also occasionally move themselves around. It ultimately becomes a case of judging whether to use MP to clear the field or just conserve it and focus fire. It’s not Radiant Historia levels of battlefield manipulation, but it’s something!

“You’ll have a decently sized ensemble of characters that you can bring into your team, each with unique abilities.”

You’ll also have a party gauge that allows you to trigger a Magic Chain when full. This lets you have your party members attack one after the other for less MP before ending on a massive finisher. These chains can get pretty ridiculous, and I knocked out whole boss phases in a single one on many occasions. Most of your upgrades serve to increase the power of these chains, and increasing character bonds by using them in requests together further increases their duration.

There are other considerations to the battles, such as characters being able to trigger Awakening after taking enough damage. This grants brief stat bonuses and potentially new forms and moves. You can also expend Awakening to avoid an incoming attack, or follow up an ally’s attack with another. There are definitely many options in the battles, and they’re probably the most well-developed part of Fairy Tail.

Here’s the problem, then: Fairy Tail is way too easy. Playing on normal difficulty, I was very quickly reaching points where I was breezing through even bosses without challenge. You have the tools and power to dispatch enemies so effortlessly that Fairy Tail just becomes trivial to play. This problem only gets worse if you decide to actually engage with more of the side content, as doing the extra requests or exploring zones fully will see you overleveled in no time.

Since this is where the bulk of unique character interactions and dialogue happens, fans will want to engage with it, thus turning the game into a cakewalk. Worse still, the main story will frequently set points where you have to reach a certain level or guild rank to advance. The option to power through it is removed, thus throwing the gameplay balance out the window. Any attempt to dig into the battle system or really utilise party strengths just becomes pointless when you can breeze through everything.

“You have the tools and power to dispatch enemies so effortlessly that Fairy Tail just becomes trivial to play.”

The ease of battles also has run off effects into other systems. In addition to your guild requests, you can upgrade Fairy Tail’s guild facilities through finding materials in the world. These give all sorts of bonuses, but it all amounts to making you stronger, so it’s easier once again. Mixing and matching your party members to increase their bonds for added dialogue? Also increases their power. Side quests and exploration will award equippable Lacrima gems, and you can even craft powerful character-specific ones. These are all the most generic stat increases you can imagine, and it makes the game easier still. Everything loops back into making my time with the game an exercise in patience as I steamroll all obstacles, rather than enjoying the systems.

Still, I’ve played through worse gameplay systems for the sake of a good story. So once again, I was disappointed to not really find that here. That isn’t even the fault of it being a Fairy Tail adaptation, either; there was honestly quite a lot to like, but the sheer breakneck pace of the game means everything happened super fast and then was gone a moment later.

Everything is rushed through, and usually not for any reason beyond budget. There will be multiple scenes in which interesting events are described in a couple of text boxes and a still image, only to thrust you back into mundane requests. Numerous characters and even major antagonists will be talking, but only have a portrait rather than a character model. So effectively, you’re left watching your party have dialogues with people off-screen.

Those limitations didn’t stop them from having a fully animated cutscene of the female Fairy Tail members at a swim party, though. Gust has its priorities, it would seem!

In fairness, those priorities carried over to the stylised character models and attack animations; those are very on-brand for the original designs. The rest of the presentation isn’t really better though, with most environments being incredibly bland. Fairy Tail‘s world consists of stock biomes, generic enemy creatures, and only a few series-specific inclusions. All the omissions and lack of polish seriously added up. No effort was put into the game’s performance, either. Despite the fairly bland visuals, the frame rate is absurdly low and dips into comical territories during flashier attacks and bigger zones.

“These good moments were very quickly hamstrung by more rushed scenes, easy battles, and cheap presentation.”

I did want to like Fairy Tail, and there were points where character and charm shone through. But these good moments were very quickly hamstrung by more rushed scenes, easy battles, and cheap presentation. The end result is a lot of fine ideas executed in cheap, mediocre ways that hamper their enjoyment. It’s a perfectly serviceable but completely uninspired JRPG. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done so much better. I can’t help but feel that Gust made all the basics of an Atelier game, only to entirely remove the intricate crafting systems and presentation that typically carry the series. Slap a Fairy Tail skin on it, and here we are.

Fairy Tail was a game made for existing fans of the series, through and through. It offers very little to actually entice me to become a fan or learn more about the source material. I can absolutely respect that the game isn’t for me; even so, I couldn’t help but feel that dedicated fans of the series deserve a much better attempt than this. It checks all the boxes and reminds players of the highlights and character moments of the greater series, but only puts in the barest effort doing so.

That might be enough for you, but I think fans should have better. As for those who aren’t fans, it’s probably better to skip Fairy Tail. Even hardcore JRPG fans will find it not worth playing instead of something much better. This is just too mediocre to recommend for all but the most dedicated fan. Still, I hope you find what you’re looking for here if you do take the plunge.

July 31, 2020 9:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/07/fairy-tail-review-far-from-the-1-guild/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fairy-tail-review-far-from-the-1-guild

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