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headfullofdolls · 11 months

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At this point, I'm reeally hoping the narrator in Sparks and Spells is Kiyomi Haunterly. Saw someone else point out the narrator mentioning their "nonexistent eyes", but in the last episode, I also realized the narrator makes ghost puns. Since they say they're planning to enroll in Monster High next semester, that at least confirms the narrator is in-world watching the musical, and the puns imply they're a ghost. There's no telling if it's something that'll translate into the actual show, buuut I wanted to go back through the episodes and look for key bits of characterization in some of the quotes.

Observations are long, so putting that under the read more. You've been warned 😅

Episode 1:

"Maybe this magical music spark is just the thing this talent show needs! I'm entertained! ...Don't tell Draculaura I said that by the way." – narrator cares about Draculaura's opinion; Drac is also the first character the narrator focuses on and mentions by name, which would make sense for Kiyomi

Episode 2:

"First up is Cleooo~ Because she demanded it..." [audible nonexistent eyes rolling] "Ooh, haha, sorry boo~" – narrator unimpressed and even disdainful of Cleo demanding to go first, reacts smugly about her getting interrupted; first use of calling people "boo"

"This isn't exactly a witchcraft-friendly environment... Especially not with Dracula in the audience." – seems to be in favor of witchcraft, sympathetic to Draculaura's plight

"Thankfully our ghoul Iris is on it!" – seems to have a soft spot for Iris, in contrast to Cleo

"That magical music spark might be an agent of chaos, but it sure knows how to put on a showw~! 10/10" – all about a good show despite the chaos, aka narrator is a theater kid

Episode 3:

[Heath accidentally lights his picture of earth on fire] "Ooh, symbolism! Dark! Listen, if this takes a magical musical turn? I will not be upset about it." – narrator is a theater kid +1

"Poor Iris. She's poured her eternal soul into the show and has no idea what in the Hades is going on." – very sympathetic to Iris; the specific mention of Iris having an eternal soul and using "what in the Hades" makes me think of River Styxx, which would also line-up better personality-wise...

"Iris, watch out! ...Oh. She can't hear me." – narrator is watching the musical in-world, but not in-person; maybe scrying, or looking through a portal like Kiyomi's powers?

Episode 4:

"Our stinky little spark is just getting started!" – fun fact: the narrator's VA calls herself a "stinky voice actor" on her instagram bio, so if she had input on that line that'd be super cute lol

"Our boos are relieved, and now they can focus on getting the show back up and running. Personally, I prefer the drama. ...And it looks like the drama loves me too! I see you~" – Boo counter +1, narrator is a theater kid count +1000

Episode 5:

"You know what this moment needs? A heartfelt song!" – narrator loves the tropes, more for the theater kid pile

[clapping enthusiastically after Draculaura's song specifically] "What a performance!!" – sus

Episode 6:

"Calling all boos! Calling all boos!" – Boo counter +1

"Iris clearly wants to join the fun, but right now she's putting the sigh in 'cyclops'. Thankfully, this night is full of surp-eye-ses!" [squeals in delight and self-satisfaction] "That was a good one." – focus on Iris again, and even by MH standards, this is some unabashed pun tomfoolery

Episode 7:

"It's happening! It's happening!!" – narrator is very excited by Iris finally getting a chance at the spotlight

"I'm not crying, there's just something in my nonexistent eyes." – aforementioned "nonexistent eyes"; seems especially moved by Iris's song, maybe finds it relatable?

Episode 8:

"This is my favorite part of the night! The grand finale! Draculaura, where are you going?? We need your vocal range!" – narrator is a theater kid +∞

"I know it seems like capturing the spark will fix your mistake, but, boo, sometimes, you just gotta go with it." – Boo counter +1

"One thing is for certain: I'm enrolling at Monster High next semester! See you scaaare! Booo~!" – two uses of boo this ep, and iirc, this use of ''see you scare'' is new, maybe a nod towards ghosts haunting?

So from this we can gather the narrator is an enthusiastic, bubbly ghost who loves a good show (but not people trying to hog the spotlight), is here for the chaos, and really likes Draculaura and Iris.

Despite her being a literal kid-of-the-theater, I don't get Operetta vibes from this narrator. And though she's bubbly like Sirena Von Boo, there isn't any sea-related wordplay that hints to being a mermaid. River Styxx is also pretty upbeat and cheery though, loves to entertain, and is connected to Greek mythology through her uncle Charon. But that mention of nonexistent eyes, the way some of the narrator's dialogue hints at a special interest in Draculaura, and the possibility they were watching the show through a portal, are all reminiscent of Kiyomi.

The narrator doesn't seem shy and soft-spoken like Kiyomi in g1, but g3's already established its characters aren't meant to be the same as those in g1. And in Kiyomi's case that'd probably be a good thing. The wiki mentions she's self-consciously lawful, cares a lot about honor, and can't stand when people complain, which, as the only explicitly Japanese character (and one of the only two explicitly east Asian characters) in g1, is...a little too much of a stereotype, for my taste. So change is good.

Kinda feel like the narrator could be a mix of Kiyomi Haunterly and River Styxx, both in personality and background. Maybe shy around other people, but more playful and spirited when she's by herself, hence she feels more comfortable watching from a distance and relates to Iris's insecurities. G1 Kiyomi was also brave and curious though, so it'd be interesting if g3 leaned into that a bit more, especially from an angle of her being passionate about performance—maybe stemming from Japanese theater. But then also having River's relation to Charon and connections to Greek myth.

I always thought their characters had very similar color palettes and aesthetics for being introduced in the same line, more so than the rest of the characters, though the line had a lot of pastels and flowy, sheer fabrics overall. And as much as I love River Styxx's design, we didn't see much of her character at all, because she wasn't a main player in Haunted and there were so many other characters that needed more focus as part of the story, like Kiyomi. Personally, I'd like to see g3 introduce new characters as well as bring back old ones, but that's a lot of characters. So combining the most interesting ideas from certain characters that were one-note or didn't get much chance to shine in g1 seems like a smart way to go. Better than leaving some really cool concepts behind entirely, I think.

As a final note, earlier I briefly mentioned the narrator's voice actor, who I found through IMDB. Her name is Merk Nguyen, an openly queer, Vietnamese American who seems very sweet! Not exactly sure what that'd say for the narrator's cultural background, since Kiyomi was specifically a noppera-bō from Japanese folklore, and g3 has been pretty good about their casting in regards to cultures so far. But if the narrator is meant to be Kiyomi and they go for another character with mixed backgrounds, I'd be very happy to see it!

#monster high #monster high thoughts #sparks & spells #this isn't even touching on how good the songs were #the surprisingly deep character exploration #and even the smooth animation despite the limited style #was not expecting this much out of sparks and spells tbh #hyperfixating? me? nahhhh #i am very normal about this #clearly #why would i watch all the episodes three times and spend hours writing this otherwise #so normal #gosh i hope i did the read more correctly #but also gosh i wonder if anyone will read this #tbf i felt compelled to do this for myself but still #it feels like the longest thing i've written on here KSDJFLSDKF #tfw i only recently realized im autistic sdlfkajsdf #this is fine

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