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kob131 · 4 years

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4DPZGlNP8I

I was watching MangaKamen’s video deconstructing Cvit’s Persona 5: Style Over Substance video and I...I just couldn’t watch it. Basically, Kamen’s own videos on RWBY and Cvit’s Persona 5 video are way too similar (in that both make logical fallacies just to avoid their assumptions.) So, despite covering this briefly, I’ll do it in full here.

And if MangaKamen himself sees this: You can’t keep responding to people, criticizing them for stuff that you do yourself. I literally couldn’t listen to your video on Cvit because of the hypocrisy. Stick to your own standards: people respect you more for it.

P.S. Don’t create a circlejerk in the reblogs and replies. I do not have the patience for it today.

Before I begin, I should point out a small bit of hypocrisy. In his “Cvit Doesn’t Understand Video”, he complains about an influx of videos all about going into unnecessary details about how X things suck, calling it the ‘Joseph Anderson effect.’ I bring this up because one of the videos he brings up is The Cosmonaut Variety Hour’s video on Kingdom Hearts (which is, being generous, 22 minutes.) MangaKamen’s video is, again generously, 38 minutes. And I do mean generaously because I automatically rounded up Cosmonaut’s and rounded down Kamen’s videos. I don’t think he should be complaining about that.

While you could argue he was also complaining about the title as well: A. Kamen’s first RWBY video was literally titled “Whats Wrong With RWBY?!” with a title saying “Here’s why RWBY Sucks” in big bold letters. B. His video makes fun of people who are there to disagree with his title and nothing else and C. I watched Cosmonaut’s video on Kingdom Hearts: He’s actually more positive towards Kingdom hearts 3 than Kamen is to RWBY.

This is a small microcosism of he issue with his hypocrisy: it ends up affecting the quality of other videos too.

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His first section is on ‘contrivances’ or ‘things that happen in a story that don’t make sense’. Before he even gives a true example, we run into yet another problem with Kamen. In his explanation, Kamen mocks the scene were Jaune gets hit on by the mothers of the kids he’s helping with an image of Miles Luna saying ‘Remember, NOT a self-insert!’.

Issue? The episode wasn’t written by Miles Luna, it was written by Eddy Rivas. How do I know?

The episode says so. This is especially egregious because he chews Cvit out for just typing in “Persona 5 sucks” into google and saying a certain source popped up...and yet typing in “Miles Luna Jaune Arc Self Insert” would actually bring up something that outright shows Miles is self conscious about Jaune to the point of avoiding his scenes (https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBY/comments/7x3w4s/crwby_ama_w_miles_luna_kerry_shawcross_and_paula/du5dnc6/?context=3). So while Cvit may have been looking for evidence instead of thinking critically: he at least took the effort of doing a search result whereas Kamen probably made an on the spot decision with no sources whatsoever. Combine this with the fact this is not the first time he’s taken potshots at Miles and you have an effectively WORSE version of what he says Cvit did.

“But this is just a joke!” Yeah, and Sham-Amon was a joke about M. Night Shamalyan by Doug Walker. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t an insult and was correct (Shamalyan was actually a reason why the Airbender movie even RESEMBLED the cartoon.) That doesn’t make this okay, especially since I know a similar ‘joke’ towards someone he’s a fan of would get you a video made on you.

Now onto one of his examples: He says it makes no sense for Robyn to be allowed to run for Atlas’ council because ‘she is stealing supplies from the government.’ Issue is: judging by the footage he’s using, he’s talking about Volume 7 Episode 5 “Sparks” where Robyn created a blockade and stopped a supply truck Qrow, Clover, Penny and Ruby were on. She never actually makes a move to steal the supplies in the episode though. While you could argue it wwas implied because she had people behind them hiding behind camoflague-

In his Cvit video, he criticized the guy for saying that we don’t know how long Futaba’s friend was abused by her parents when Cvit makes the argument that the friend was abused for over a decade, never entertaining other possibilities. You know, what he does. (P.S. Sparks is the same episode with the Jaune-Mothers ‘joke’.)

He uses this faulty and hypocritical point to jump off into how it would be a bad look for her to steal from the government even if it was for a good cause and that most government prevent people from running because of this. See, not only is this still based on a point even Kamen would argue is not enough- The context in the scene (that Mantle hates Atlas government and Robyn’s platform is based off that discontent...Huh) would show that even if she was stealing, it would HELP her image. As for the ‘governments prevent people convicted of theft for running for office’- She hasn’t stolen anything yet STILL. Also, in his Cvit video, he complains about a point where Cvit’s source edited out preceding text to make the phrasing of a certain textbox look extremely awkward. So again, hypocrisy.

Then we have...another shitty joke. A really bad one too. It’s the scene with Weiss and Winter talking the training room with the audio taken out and speech bubbles that say ‘Why are we just staring at each other?’ ‘I dunno...just to look cool?’. Not only is this blatantly not what is happening (you can tell their heads are bobbing from talking), I literally cannot take this ‘joke’ any other way than a malicious potshot at the show. It doesn’t function any other way. I’m trying to be calm and concise but this stuff really harms any benefit of doubt I can give.

His next point is-Oh god damnit, the fucking Penny frame up AGAIN. You know what is more frustrating than a shitty point? A shitty point repeated ad nauseum. Before Kamen even made this video, I had already argued every single perspective of this. There’s literally nothing new he can give?

Security? We never see how Tyrian got in and considering his immense agility and stealth: he could snuck in or hid in the warehouse.

Fanaus night vision? Not all Fanaus have night vision and most of the crowd was seen trying to rush out of the warehouse (during a scene Kamen shows no less). He also says the show alludes to Atlas being a racially biased system...even though Jacques Schnee says he pays all his workers equally (AKA he treats all his workers like shit.)

Scrolls? Again, most of the people are shown trying to run away and no one who remains is said to have brought their scrolls.

Break in the argument for a smug laugh even though all he’s done is repeat other people’s failed arguments. (Issue with either being bitch basic with your arguments or copying others? I’ll have fought the issue long before you make it.)

Ends with saying “When the lights come back on, there’s no blood on Penny’s blades!” (Cognitive bias against Atlas. Like say, calling a character a self insert over a scene that wasn’t written by the person.)

He goes onto say that this is just the latest example of contrived writing but because his points are all faulty, it doesn’t come across as contrived: it comes across as normal but Kamen is too focused on making everything look as bad as possible.

“But what about Robyn’s Semblance?!”

I dunno, why do people say that the Covington Catholic kids are still racist when we have proof otherwise? Cognitive bias is a thing. Robyn wouldn’t try testing this (even assuming she COULD since it would be logical Penny just ran off after this in fear) because it al ready confirms her own biases.

His whole temper tantrum here is all based on around pure logic...something he himself has argued against in media. This thing goes on and on and it just test my paitence and gives me more and more reason to assume Kamen isn’t just missing info, he’s indulging in willful ignorance.

Then we have him bitching about Yang and Blake telling Robyn what is going on and how it’s contrived that they would think that Robyn was on their side since she hasn’t done anything good. Issue? This is all based on KAMEN’S perspective. A perspective that, at best, is heavily biased against Robyn.

Thing is, Robyn’s thefts (which began AFTER he said they did) were to help repair the break in Mantle’s wall protecting them from the Grimm, something Team RWBY agrees with. Of course they’d assume Robyn is a good guy since she’s acting in the interests of the people, something they do as well. Robyn’s only bad when you completely ignore how James brushes over the current struggles of the people is elected to protect and serve in order for his bigger picture, a method they don’t agree with. Something the show is showing isn’t a good idea as people see him as uncaring and unfeeling to their struggles.

“But Ironwood has been helping them!”

Cool. That has nothing to do with him alienating his own allies through his paranoia, causing Yang and Blake try and make peace with Robyn themselves. There’s also the fact that the team should be opposing this. After all, it’s the same thing Ozpin did to them and they chewed him out over it. And unlike with the lying to Ironwood, there would be no hints that this hypocrisy would be intended by the showrunners. So Kamen is literally advocating for bad writing here.

This was added in post edit by the way so the man literally shoved in a point that does nothing but push the theory he is biased without ever considering what is necessary in the show. Even though he demands it from others. It’s really inconsistent. Dare I say...the standards are contrived?

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Next is the ‘design work’ part. He’s says this is gonna be positive for a moment and it does lack his usual malice. Doesn’t mean it’s good.

He criticizes the designs of the main cast besides Ruby. He says that Blake’s design now emphasizes the color white despite supposedly being black before. Issue is that her alternate Vol.2 and Vol.4 designs also emphasized the color white and her original design has equal part black and white. Weiss’s is supposedly that her dark blue dominates her design and is too busy to be elegant. Issue is that it’s only on the jacket and it’s mostly the same color as her previous design (even having more white.) As for being elegant: I could definitely argue it goes for a military-esque elegance. And Yang is...too brown? Uh...her original outfit was dominated by being brown.

He praises Ruby’s for still having it’s red coloring but...it’s too red. Her original design was actually closer to being goth than Blake’s and was mostly black with bright red frills and her signature cloak. And her hair has drastically changed, like he complained about with Blake. He really shouldn’t be giving Ruby a pass here.

I have nothing to say about his point ‘they’re all too busy.’ I feel like any side I take will be too heavily influenced by my own feelings at this point.

He complains about the logic behind the long fabrics being easy to grab onto and says that because they justified the new outfits with ‘it’s cold’ they should listen here. Issue- Not only are these two different trains of logic but by his own arguments, he should be arguing for all of them to wear white and wear bulky armor since that’s logical as well, following his logic. He doesn’t set what the limit should be.

Honestly this whole part is just kind of fluff. A lot of nothing was said and kind of feels like it was put in just to make the argument ‘Well I said something nice about RWBY!’

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Next up is ‘consistency’. ... Oh god.

“Aura was rewritten!’ He never cites what happened here but I know this dance so well I could get paid for it. Aura has always been a thing you needed to activate, back in Volume 1 where Jaune was cut by a branch and Pyrrha said ‘why don’t you use your aura?’. The supposed inconsistency comes from WOR: Aura saying it was passive even though certain definitions and uses of passive work under these examples. He also says that people cant use their Semblances when they run out of Aura but they still do, citing that old example of Yang’s Aura flickering in her character short. Flickering, not breaking. Meaning she still has Aura.

He also adds in that point about the WOR Atlas saying that the cold of Solitas killed the Grimm. While they are depicted as freezing here, it should be noted that the Grimm have been known to evolve and adapt. Meaning they could have easily evolved to withstand the cold. Again, editing out context which he says is bad.

“Hey, Miles. Kerry. You ever gonna acknowledge what you showed in the World of Remnant again these days?”

Dunno, are you ever gonna acknowledge what you say in your own videos? Glass houses Kamen.

I also find it funny that he calls out the ‘it’s just a cartoon!’ thing out of nowhere on a tangent even as he previously blocked me over this. Apparently contrivance is okay if it can be used as a shield. And if he has a problem with this, look over your videos not even just the RWBY ones You have said harsher- deal with it.

He goes onto criticize the argument of not all Fanaus have night vision because of specific moments...with Blake and Sun, only two Fanaus. In fact, the first example has him say that Blake and Sun used their night vision to escape a White Fang meeting. ... White Fang. Fanaus. He’s trying to argue that this is a case of Blake and Sun having night vision to contrast when she apparently ‘doesn’t’ but never notices that his own argument kind of confirms what the show said.

Then we have his other example of Blake against Illa were she couldn’t see Illa. A chameleon Fanaus. With camoflague. Where lighting up the room would alter how the colors look to see her more easily. ....

This whole point was about how the show doesn’t give strict rules to the Fanaus night vision, even though other shows with more fundamental powers (as in, the thing their premise is based on) bend these rules (like MHA with so many Quirks not being related to their physiology or Jojo bending every single Stand rule) for their plot. This isn’t directly bad as he says it is and he never emphasizes why anyone should care other than the strawman of ‘STRICT RULES!’ even as his own favorites don’t follow that.

He also says there’s no repercussions for the Penny cover up since he says it was to cause a riot to attract the Grimm but the Grimm disappear and people are being arrested for their rioting in the next episode. ... The Grimm don’t invade until Episode 9. He’s talking about Episode 7. The arrest was for breaking curfew that Ironwood imposed afterwards to due the discontent from Jacques winning. Then we have the fact that Penny’s frame up leads to Robyn actually stealing supplies, which leads to Yang and Blake telling her about Amity, which leads to Ironwood’s paranoia taking over. So you know...kind of some of the biggest repercussions in the show.

I also remember he said it was to frame Penny in his contriavances section...which makes no sense if it was meant to cause a riot directly afterward. In trying to callout inconsistencies that don’t exist, he became inconsistent himself.

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Next part is “Don’t Show, Never Show”. .... How professional.

He begins by bitching at other people for misrepresenting his arguments about the Fanaus and how their oppression isn’t well shown. ... After he’s personally attacked the creators over a subject one of them is innocent and self conscious of and will mock that person for mocking his critics. Classy.

“Jacques is Orange Man bad stand-in-”

A. He never mentions anything about securing Atlas’ borders and in fact wants to OPEN them.

B. He’s never talked about making Atlas great or appealing to any sort of false patriotism.

C. He opposes the military whereas Trump supports them.

D. He has no slogans for his campaign, especially none like Trump’s/

E. He isn’t colluding with foreign powers aside from a generic bad guy orgnazation with no connections to the countries Trump is accused of.

F. Jacques being a slimy business man was made before Trump came into the presidency.

And G. Robyn Hill only connections to Hilarily Clinton is a gender and half a name (a name that is actually rather common in real life). In fact, considering her position is all about distrust in the government and appealing to the common man- She’s a closer stand in for TRUMP than Hilarlily.

Again, argument’s been made a thousand times, beaten it a thousand times.

His overall point is that Jacques is said to be a terrible parent but not shown, using the line from “This Life is Mine” ( Amazing how you conquered me, Chained me in servility) before going on to say that he ‘let her go to a different school’ (he was forced to), ‘Do whatever she wants so long as it doesn’t affect his business and reputation’ (contradicted by cutting her off, trying to limit her actions because of her ignoring his calls even though that does not affect his business or reputation), ‘spending his money at Beacon until she ignores his calls’ (finical abuse 101) and ‘she embarrassed him at a party by assaulting one of the guests.’

... The woman was outright mocking the people she knew, the ‘assault’ was an accidental summon, Jacques was trying to prevent her from just getting away from him, Jacques pressured her into singing for him despite her discomfort and never once tries to talk to his daughter like a person or calm her down, instead trying to silence her. All of THIS without getting his physical intimidation of grabbing her and slapping her, which is what Kamen strawmans the response being. Also ignoring what he did AFTER the slap, effectively trapping her in her room and spreading the idea she was unstable to save his image.

No amount of money matters here, ignoring once again that he tried withholding it once she acted outside what he wanted. That is the ‘chains of servility’ and I know you wouldn’t argue this outside RWBY. You’d be calling this ignorant beyond acception, Kamen.

“The worst examples of Jacques’ abuse happen outside the-”

Jacques’ worst abuse was being trapped in her own room for calling out the callousness of people smack talking a tragedy she went through. This is effectively mocking a war in front of a veteran then locking them in the basement while telling everyone they’re coocoo. That is in the show, stop trying to blame other materials THAT DO NOT EXIST just to appeal to a common compliant (about supplemental materials in RWBY).

“Well Winter abuses Weiss!”

So let me get this straight. A small smack on the back of the head before asking about her personal life to show she cares about Weiss (another example of cutting context) is at all comparable to abuse of parental power, controlling Weiss like a puppet and locking her up? What was your definition of contrivance and consistency again?

“Can I go off on a tangent?”

No. You have not earned that right. You have far exceeded any patience I should have given you. The fact I am STILL HERE is too much and I should just throw the rest of the video in that garbage dumb your delusion of the writing is. But I will STILL give you chance.

P.S. You use HBomberguy as an example? Even though one of the videos you chewed out in your Persona video (’Steven Universe is Garbage and Here’s Why’) is BASED OFF his work? So what? His hours long shit talking is okay? And no, this is not

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His next segment is titled ... “Okay What Is This Shit I’m Actually Cratching My Head I’m So Dumbfounded And Confused AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

... You misspelled “Scratching”.

He says the Grimm Attack after Robyn’s failed election was handled off screen. That never existed and the Grimm attacked THREE EPISODE LATER and is handled on screen.

He says that Jacques being arrested makes no sense because Watts can control technology and should have used it disable the security cameras in the Schnee Manor. As he outright says, Willow hid those cameras and Watts HACKS technology and cannot hack what he DOES NOT KNOW EXISTS. It’s outright said BY THE SHOW and SHOWN that he cannot just magically control technology.

He also questions how Willow got those cameras in there, ignoring that Jacques DOES NOT HAVE OMNISCENCE. Why she did when she SAID it was to make sure he didn’t abuse her kids. When doesn’t fucking matter. It’s all pendantic bullcrap. You can apply this to any situation in media and I know Kamen would bitch about the show’s pacing if they did this because it would be boring as fuck.

He says that there was no foreshadowing that Willow set these cameras up which I would like to give...if not for the rest of his video which illustrates to me he would have made this point with or without foreshadowing.

“How come Robyn isn’t being arrested because she stole supplies?!”

A. Because you keep inferring she stole supplies BEFORE the election, I’ll have to assume it’s the same here and say SHE DIDN’T.

B. If you aren’t and have changed to saying AFTER the election: The show SHOWS YOU that they’ve been trying to arrest her. She’s been EVADING them.

C. If it’s at Jacques’ house: Remember what you said about image? Wanna guess how damaged Ol Jimmy’s image will be if he arrests his biggest critic while under suspicion of rigging the election against her AND being questioned for supposed abuse of power?

D. Gee, not like the heating system in an artic climate shut down, Jacques just got exposed for helping a KNOWN CRIMINAL TOO, The Grimm actually invade, they have to save all the people, things collapse between RWBY and Ironwood and a fuckton of other things of higher priority than one woman stealing supplies to fix something IRONWOOD HIMSELF SHOULD BE FIXING.

“Hur dur, Salem generic’

Says the Jojo and Yugioh fan. Say, how did your precious VRAINS turn out again hm?

“HEY, WHY NO RUBY TELL IRONWOOD AND TAKE RESPONBILITY?!”

Maybe because there’s a bunch of soulless abominations currently running amok in a city full of innocents so she should take responsibility as an official Huntress and do her damn job while the comparatively combat inept Oscar handle the non combat situation. Or did you want contrivance to work in your favor even though you’ve been proven to be a biased liar who will betray everything he stands in order to make a shit point about a flawed show he couldn’t criticize with a fucking guide on it?

“Why not have Ruby stand behind and say ‘I’ll catch up with you later’?-”

Because you’ll cut context and make her look irresponsible. Your suggestions mean NOTHING when you have proven that you have no honesty on the subject and will flip flop to suit yourself.

Also I love how you mock Mediaocrity4 for ‘treating his opposition as idiots’ as your fucking video STARTED and is littered with you doing JUST THAT. Fuck, I bet you’ll do JUST THAT with this post.

“Oh look at this character who has been shown as overly emotional, rash and prone to not thinking when mad act in line with her character how dumb!”

Gee, like say...., A shut in otaku making constant video game and anime references in, let’s say, a JRPG filled with these references?

Huh, guess you agree more with Cvit than you say.

“Dur, fistcuffs mean Jojo!”

Oh wait, Fist of the North Star did it first. And it’s a stable in most fighting anime. But hey, who cares in Kamen shanks Jojo in the back if it means lashing out against RWBY amirite?

“It’s like the context of the fights-”

Where the Ace Ops against RWBY are highly emotional, having felt betrayed by people they though as comrades and acting individually instead as duos or even as a team while all being people with shown emotional issues failing to defeat a far calmer and more developed team that have been working with them and are aware of their flaws?

Or that Clover tried to blindly follow Ironwood’s orders just as Qrow did in the past with Ozpin as the two characters heavily mirror each other, Qrow tried to fight Tyrian at first even as Clover attacked him and never actually helped Tyrian (in facting ATTACKING HIM at one point) after Clover tried arresting him in front of Robyn, someone known to do rash things when it comes to Ironwood?

I’m so glad you decided to FOR ONCE IN THIS ENTIRE, NEARLY FOURTY MINUTE VIDEO actually pay attention to the show and not the memes of the people who agree with you.

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“Conclusion”

‘Like I said in the Steven Universe Movie, I don’t let the fanabse dictate my opinion on something-’

Which is why there wasn’t a single original viewpoint, perspective, criticism, wording or even ‘jokes’, all shit ripped straight from the mouths of others. It’s all shit I’ve seen before by other people. If I absorbed even more of this bullshit, I’d probably be able to see exact wordings in here too, I am THAT certain you didn’t think about this for yourself.

If you did, you would have noticed that you were repeating the exact same mistakes you constantly criticize in others. You would have seen that you were making assumptions based on your preconceived notion of ‘RWBY bad’ and not what the show itself was doing. You would have seen the vidnictive smugness you decried MatPat over. You would have seen the immense hypocrisy you called out before. You would have stuck to what you called your principles.

You have the failures of your biggest targets in this very video. The bias and brain rot of Quinton Reviews, the hack job of MatPat, the manipulativeness of Verlsify, the sheer level of bullshit of Cvit. You burned every single standard you set for others here, you did every wrong thing you screamed about, you failed in the same ways as those you profited from criticizing. Again, because I said all this THE LAST TIME and yet you got WORSE.

You mock and belittle the creators even as you give them every reason to treat you like shit because even the worst they’ve done looks justified compared to what you pulled. ‘Oh they said that people being mean is so bad!’ says the man preying on his weakness. ‘Oh he’s shit talking his critics!’ says the open liar. ‘Oh the writing was done by platypuses!’ says the man who wants to be taken seriously. ‘Oh it’s just a joke!’ Says the man who bitched out MatPat over jokes.

And I guarantee you’ll cry foul at me if you ever find this, decrying me as just a salty RWBY fanboy. And this time, I’m not accepting any excuses. You HAD your chances.

4chan trolls are more respectable than you. They have principles and stick to them. Fanboys are more respectable than you. They don’t claim to be anything else. And yes, your targets are more respectable than you. Their channels aren’t based on hypocrisy THIS deeply rooted.

I regret ever watching you because you were clearly speaking out of your ass.

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Post-Edit:

So i edited a couple of my less explained points to get my issue across. Just saying this here so that no one accuses me of editing the source for malicious purposes.

As for why I didn’t rewrite the last two sections to remove my anger: that stays to prove a point. I had tried to stay neutral or at least calm throughout the video. But my frustrations just kept on building as you became increasingly smug and condescending, even though you called out such shit against others. I can’t even respect your arguments as arguments because considering the erratic nature of this video as well as how out of place some of them are (”Orange Man Bad”): it sounds like you just took every single compliant ever said about Volume 7 and threw it in.

You end all your videos saying ‘Examine Your Fandom’. Did you ever do that yourself?

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sailor-cresselia · 5 years

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Zi-O Episode 33: featuring the Power of Music

So, RiderTime Fansubs picked up Zi-O starting with the Agito arc. They’ve already got their release of ep 33 out, so I’m using their version this time around.

Now then! Onward!

Tekken 7 returns! And it’s being played by the latest Hibiki’s pupil! … Or, his FORMER pupil. Looks like he dropped out of Oni training. So, Heure ‘offers’ him the chance to A; help lure Hibiki out into the open, and B; become an Oni.

Of course, said method of becoming an Oni is a bit… unconventional.

Oh WOW, I really like Another Hibiki’s look. He gets to go all in on the traditional Oni theme!

((WHOOPS ALMOST FORGOT TO PUT THE READ MORE IN MY BAD))

Sightings of harness-less Geiz: Two? Two. He apparently takes it off to sleep, and to work out… in the middle of the shop. (Oh, sweetie…) Also, clearly under the harness, jacket, and poorly-fitting pants, Geiz is ripped.

See, this is why you don’t work out in the middle of the path. A distracted Woz will walk right into you! And incidentally make your lack of harness a REVEAL.

Also Geiz’s first reaction to being nearly stepped on is to assume there’s an Another Rider. I mean, there IS, but that’s not it.

WAIT NO DRAT he’s still wearing the stupid harness. Drat. It just blended in better than it usually does. ...My point about his choice of location still stands.

Woz. Woz? You okay there? Why do you not want to let Sougo remember it’s his birthday? Why are you so dead set on that, that you stop his uncle from saying it?

The boys have one brain cell, and it looks like it’s not Woz’s turn to have it today.

For SOME reason, Junichiro decided that he’s going to bring out Sougo’s elementary school yearbook. Since he has this one, I’d assume it’s from the 2009-2010 school year, so Sougo would have been 9. That would make it… 3rd grade, since he turned 9 that April. And looks like he had a classmate that even Sougo thinks was odd, but they still cheered each other on. But really, Sougo thought that Tsutomu was odder than him. That. That says something.

(As Junichiro goes to reheat breakfast, him and Woz share A Moment of ‘We’re Totally Not Conspiring Or Anything.’)

Also, Tsutomu said that ‘his master was Hibiki, a great Oni’. That’s actually really cute.

The thing is… Asumu was, like, 14 when he met Hibiki in 2005, and Hibiki was a bit reluctant to take HIM on. So… Tsutomu was WAY too young to be studying for that type of thing.

And the Zi-O trend of ‘finding the next Rider by Coincidence’ continues. Sougo and Geiz come to the same conclusion immediately – “Hey, maybe we can find Kamen Rider Hibiki and his Watch!”

Sougo knowing about Hibiki actually works, too, according to past events in Zi-O. Decade used Hibiki against him back during the first episode of the Ghost arc, so Sougo has, technically speaking, seen said rider before. And, as has been previously established by arcs such as Wizard, Tsukuyomi may have the tablet and the fact-finding, but Geiz knows what Riders ‘used to’ exist. Which is now clearly ‘which Riders came before them,’ as opposed to ‘which ones happened once upon a timeline.’

Woz. Woz, the camera’s over here. You’re going the wrong direction. … Oh, wait, no, he’s going upstairs… and immediately dashing all hopes of us seeing a set for even a hallway, as he warps straight into his Storytime Vault. And we’re not getting Hibiki Hibiki, of course. No, we’re getting Kyosuke Kiriya, who… I GUESS has taken over as Hibiki. Or is carrying his watch?

I haven’t watched Hibiki, I don’t really know how the mentor system there works, aside from the fact that it’s a thing.

No I totally didn’t start singing the theme song with my parents around. What are you talking about? That’d be silly.

… I totally sang along by instinct.

… I know they think I’m odd for this already. I don’t even know HOW to explain that I’m liveblogging a show. At least they’re used to my being a fan of kids shows at this point.

(Over Quartzer is TOO DAMN CATCHY)

Geiz: “So there’s no doubt that the next Rider we’re looking for is Hibiki?” And he’s immediately proven right by Another Hibiki taking a flying leap at them.

… Hang on, there was a sound effect right before Sougo and Geiz turned around. Did they hear that? Or something like it? Some sort of acquired ‘time has gone wrong’ sense?

Seriously, the choices for the Another Riders are usually really good. Ever since Another OOO, they’ve been incredible. ...Well, except for Another Quiz, but that’s my preferring to not have brain motifs in character designs.

(Yes, I’m calling out Brain himself with that comment, too. That’s the worst part of his new bike.)

Aw, Woz made Sougo a fruit tart! It’s not nearly large enough for the candles and decorations, but it’s a nice thought!

And he wants to make celebrating his Demon Kings birthday AS EXTRA AS POSSIBLE, to the point that it looks like he’s starting to Blue Screen at not being Extra enough.

His usual IWAEs will not suffice.

(Also I like how the cuckoo clock sound effect trails off despondently as the cake cover rolls on it’s axis.)

CIVILIAN FIGHTS!!! Sougo and Woz are actually doing pretty decently, too. Still not great, but again. Civilian fight against a monster, so it’s in no way a fight on equal grounds.

Geiz is right, that we’d need Zi-O II to beat Another Hibiki without the watch. However, as Sougo points out, Another Hibiki came after them, not the other way around, so they can’t defeat him quite yet. Geiz lands on the same page right after.

I’m so glad these boys are working together. They’re so much better off as a team. And even more so with team transformations!

Ooo, Another Hibiki had only been using hand-to-hand techniques while they were civilians, but once the armor goes on, the drumsticks come out, and Fire Powers are fair game.

“Alright, old power for old techniques!”

“What?! No! You’ve got to use magic against an oni!”

:GASP: SOUGO PULLED OUT THE KUUGA WATCH!

WE’RE GETTING TO SEE THE KUUGA ARMOR!

FINALLY!

ARMOR TIME! KUUGA~!

I like the touch of how Kuuga Armor doesn’t have a ‘catch phrase’ when it finishes going on – the newer riders do, like with Wizard’s “Please”. But Riders didn’t have belt and weapon sound effects until Ryuki, so Kuuga and Agito wouldn’t have anything to work with for their Ride Armors.

Yoooo Another Hibiki has more fire powers than just from his drumsticks! He can breath fire, too!

And here comes one of the Oni, keeping the peace from other Oni. With the kanji for thunder and a SWORD GUITAR.

… OH FOR FUCKS SAKE. IT’S AN ELECTRIC GUITAR.

After some blows are exchanged, Oni-who’s-name-I-don’t-know gets a fire blast tossed at him from yet another direction, knocking both him and Another Hibiki down, and after yelling at whoever just attacked them, he goes off in pursuit of the fleeing Another Hibiki.

Sougo and Geiz have absolutely no idea what’s going on at this point. This is even more confusing for them than how the Quiz Arc started off, isn’t it?

Haha, Tsukuyomi finally makes it down to the (now former) battle field, and all three of them assume that the Oni was Hibiki. Heure, clearly knowing that he wasn’t Hibiki, is about to sulk off...

But then here comes Kyosuke, being all “Nope, that’s Todoroki. I’m Hibiki.” (How dare he cop the salute!)

Ahaha, Sougo’s grin is about to split his face. That is the face of someone who knows that that coincidence and fate have shone upon him once again, and will continue to do so.

(I was talking with @miyukomatsuda recently, and we’ve agreed that if he were a DnD character, Sougo’s player would consistently get great rolls on Insight and Charisma… except where said checks relate to the character himself.)

Cut back to Woz, who is… keeping the main door to the dining room shut, holding the dish cover and cover cloth. Although, it’s nice to see that there IS, in fact, a second door to the area – I can see that the one Sougo usually comes through is shuttered.

...Actually, why does that dining room even have two entries, anyway? There’s only the small wall dividing the storefront from the stairs to the bedrooms, and literally nothing else separating the two, so why is the side door even necessary?

Correction, Woz is hiding in the dining room, attempting to hide the tart, while the Rider Debrief is going on at that small table in the shop.

Ah. Right. Even if we aren’t showing the ‘give a blank watch to the Rider when they’re active’ task anymore, that doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t doing it. (I still need to watch Rider Time Ryuki.) But Kyosuke wasn’t Hibiki in 2005 – he was Hibiki’s pupil. The Zi-O team hasn’t had mentorships and titles being passed down before. It’s not usually a thing with Kamen Rider.

(Usually. I still haven’t seen Kiva or Den-O, either, and I think there was something similar in those? And also there’s how Ghost and Specter have several people using variants of the name, with Daigo having gone by “Zero Specter”, and Ayumu apparently taking up Takeru’s mantle as Ghost in the future. Please note that I’m still flat out ignoring the majority of the Ghost Novel, because of all the uncomfortable implications of several things in there. The STAGE SHOWS, however, are fair game so far.)

Okay, that digression aside.

Kyosuke isn’t wrong in asking them to prove themselves worthy of the Hibiki watch, even if he’s being a dick about it. That is a thing for Oni – they train to get where they are, and have to earn the powers and name.

Of course, his “we provide a blessing to the earth” line draws the attention of a very frazzled Woz, who is trying to figure out the best way to bless his overlords 19th birthday. He’s so desperate to make this the most extra birthday ever, that now he’s trying to call himself the “oni of blessings”. Kysouke is confused by this. Sougo and Geiz think it’s hilarious – Geiz is only making a token effort to hide his laughter, and Sougo isn’t even trying. (Is this what the harness is for? Hiding his emotions?) Tsukuyomi is so done with everything right now. She’s just gonna head out and look for Todoroki. Maybe she’ll find some sane people there. She’d like that, that’d be nice.

By the time they reach the Taiko drums, Woz has snapped, even knocking the other two boys out of the way to get to the center drum, because ‘this is perfect!’

Woz has lost visitation rights for the trinity’s brain cell this week.

Sougo’s worried about him. Geiz is just resigned. “He’ll stay out of our hair this way.”

!! Oh!! Kyosuke and Tsutomu trained together? Or… Hm, Hibiki took place in 2005, with the epilogue in 2006… so Kyosuke could have taken over as Hibiki by 2009/2010, and trained Tsutomu. But again, Tsutomu was, at most, 10.

… Trying to work out this particular timeline is confusing.

Meanwhile, with the one rational person on this team, Tsukuyomi only has to follow the sound of the Electric Guitar.

Oh! Todoroki knows full well that that’s Tsutomu under the Another Hibiki transformation! … I suppose, since Oni are technically alternate appearances… somehow… since they’re both using the Oni abilities, he could see right through it.

Also. Turns out? Kyosuke’s not Hibiki. Todoroki actually seems a bit insulted that he called himself that. (VALID)

So, Sougo might be made of iron defense-wise, but less so weight-lifting wise. Also of note: Geiz has taken off both his harness AND his jacket, leaving him bench pressing… a good amount of weight.

Heeeey, Sougo, did someone convince you to wear pants that fit? Who was it? Where can I find them to give them my gratitude? Your overshirt is still super baggy, but your regular shirt fits pretty normally.

And can whoever got you the fitting outfit go talk to Geiz about his pants?

Ohhh, Kyosuke, telling Sougo to ditch his dream has never once worked.

Wait, okay, it did work. ONCE. Literally one time. And it was technically him telling him that, but as a taunt/dare, so I don’t think it really counts.

Hmm.. But Kyosuke’s saying to stop going after an unobtainable dream, and that you’ll only be met with despair when you can’t achieve it.

He studied under Hibiki.

Todoroki, during their shows run, turned down his masters name – Zanki – instead preferring to use a name of his own choosing as an Oni.

Oni discard their human names upon becoming Oni.

Kyosuke introduced himself with his human name.

Sounds like somebody else flunked out, too.

Tsukuyomi tells the boys to head after Another Hibiki… and is going to have to drag Woz with her. He’s still drumming.

After Heure redirects Todoroki’s attack right back to him, Sougo and Geiz show up. Heure thinks that Hibiki ought to be with them. Pity Hibiki’s not here today, regardless.

GEIZ. Either tell us if using Revive is still dangerous, or stop using Revive. I have to wonder about Sougo’s choice of Ex-Aid, though. Hammers versus drumming, maybe?

Heure’s all but pouting that Hibiki’s not here as he takes his leave. Oh, kid, if you weren’t a bad guy, I’d be able to like you so much better. (get away from swartz)

I thought for a moment that was the original HIT! effect, but nope. It’s still Sougo’s version. To be fair to Sougo, though, I don’t think I’m quite as worried about what it might mean if he gets things right, anymore.

But only not quite as worried. I’m still a little worried.

Cut to Woz, still furiously drumming. Tsukuyomi has to throw a rock at him to get his attention… and he still won’t leave. “He’s got Geiz with him, right? They’re good at working together, they’ll be fine.”

I like that both Woz and Geiz have finally come around to this whole ‘working as a team’ thing. (insert growth.gif here)

Woz: “Anyway! I have to make this celebration perfect!”

Tsukuyomi: “You are literally the only person who likes your speeches. You have no idea how to celebrate people.”

This kills the Woz.

… Woz no. It’s definitely not that you’re not ‘rejoicing’ enough. It’s literally the opposite of that.

A nice Ex-aid armor / Revive Fury team fight… and to finish it, they swap into Zi-O II and Revive Typhoon. Well, Revive Gale, right now, since I’m using the Rider Time subs.

I love that the Zi-O II fight music is the instrumental version of King of Time, because it makes for such a dramatic backing track.

The drama is only intensified by Another Hibiki’s drumsticks growing spikes, lengthening to ABSURD lengths, and catching COMPLETELY on fire.

Ohhh that’s a NICE group finish!

Sougo, even 9 years later, can still recognize one of the only people who he was close to as a kid. (This lonely little dweeb keeps breaking my heart.) He wants to listen to Tsutomu, to see how he can help, to see what led to him becoming Another Hibiki.

Heure is having none of that, still wants actual Hibiki to show up, and re-monsterizes Tsutomu.

… You know, he might have gone after Sougo for a reason. He still recognizes him too, after all. The only problem with that is, Another Hibiki is more monstrous than most Another Riders are. He’s more on the ‘Another Build’ level of losing sight of himself. Worse, possibly, because at least Another Build still had language. But neither of them ever turn back on their own, and even the other… ‘feral’ Another Riders could still do that, like Another Ryuga.

So, Another Hibiki goes after Geiz, Sougo’s down on the ground.

And Kyosuke comes up to stop them from attacking Tsutomu.

He pulls out a tuning fork, and transforms.

Into a white Oni.

One who’s decidedly not Hibiki, and Sougo can tell. See again, Tsukasa used Hibiki against him back during Ghost.

Here comes Todoroki, confirming for us.

Kysouke wasn’t able to become Hibiki, or an Oni of his own. He doesn’t even have a proper Oni name. He’s just an Oni.

Hibiki is a name to be earned.

And Kyosuke didn’t earn it.

Makes it all the harsher that he tried to get the boys to prove themselves to him, when he couldn’t prove himself.

Oh, what’s this? Heure thought that he was Hibiki, too? Interesting.

Even more interesting… Another Hibiki just attacked Oni!Kyosuke, with one of his more powerful attacks.

Preview time:

“I couldn’t be like my master Hibiki.” – That’s Kyosuke.

There’s a shot of Kyosuke and someone who is presumably a 10-year-old Tsutomu.

… Woz, I’m pretty sure even Kougami would think that cake is a bit… much. And he’s KOUGAMI.

Just who… who is Sougo talking to in that last line?

“You were Hibiki.”

Who? WHO was Hibiki?

So, I jumped back to the very beginning, after seeing that shot of Kyosuke and babby!Tsutomu. Heure says that he was “Hibiki’s pupil.”

But Tsutomu doesn’t use the name ‘Hibiki’ when he says that he’s ‘not his pupil anymore.’

Kyosuke. Did you tell Tsutomu you were Hibiki? That’s a dirty lie, bucko.

#kamen rider zi o #sailorcressy says

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drink-n-watch · 5 years

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Genre : Action, fighting, supernatural

Episodes: 12

Studio: Platinum Vision

Something has awakened. Something that’s been slumbering for a long time is beginning to stir and the shockwaves are being felt all over heaven and earth. Demons are getting restless and the attacks on innocent villages have become routine. Thankfully, the Sanzo party is here to protect the good people from the fiends that would do them harm. Never mind that they happen to be just as fiendish themselves. As long as you can pay for the services, you can trust them. Probably. After all, you have to be able to trust a venerable Sanzo monk now don’t you? He’s the one smoking and getting into a fist fight with his demon buddy while screaming obscenities. Yeah, this should work out just fine!

The journey for this little title to make it on my to watch list went something like this: this looks like an otome adaptation, it’s probably really stupid, I’m gonna watch it. a week later – yeah there’s plenty of stupid out there, maybe I don’t need this one, I’m going to flush it. Wait the summary says Yokai, I like Yokai, I’m going to keep it. OK, I guess I should really watch this at some point…

yeah…this is a smart way to start this post…

If you didn’t pick it up from my little skit there, I did not know what I was getting into but I sure thought I did. The production value for this show is decent. animation can get a bit visibly cheap with reused scenes and stills with offscreen battles but for the most part, everything is well done. Voice acting is quite good, colours stick to a signature palette, design and art is pretty.

Unfortunately, I think this pretty design and art is in fact doing Saiyuki Reload Blast a disservice. I took one look at those chiseled young men and their intricate costumes (all different and this is important) and I immediately thought, this is clearly an otome. At best it’s a poor man’s Touken Ranbu which remains one of the best cute boy shows I’ve ever seen and also only. The lack of a clear female lead was pushing me towards option number two but I was expecting some basic slice of life nonsense with historical flourishes thrown in for flavour. Some manservice and if they wanted to push it maybe a drop of hoyay suggestion.

look at all that…mancandy?

I judged it entirely on it’s cover I have to admit. I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one at that. That’s the problem you see. Those that are generally uninterested in those types of shows probably dismissed it offhand. I don’t blame them, the aesthetic is pretty glaring, and it’s not entirely wrong, the show is classified as Josei. But aside for a few scenes in the OP, there’s no fanservice at all (unless you count the lady monk with the super tight outfit) and none of the expected staples of the genre. Someone specifically looking for the show insinuated by those visuals, would be disappointed or at least, confused.

The narrative and execution of Saiyuri Reload Blast is closest to a rather traditional fighting shonen. If you had switched one of the main characters’ design to a sexy lady without changing anything else at all, you could have marketed it as such easily. The season is roughly separated into three arcs. The opening establishing arc plays out as a series of monster of the week episodes, with our main party going from one village to the next and saving them from demon attacks. It’s fine, a little dry but I’ve seen worse.

I said it was ok….

The second arc is a flashback to 500 years prior where the story starts to really from and the foundations are laid for the greater lore. It quickly became apparent the this show was basing itself on a Journey to the West, which is pretty awesome. It’s a very loose retelling but there were enough similarities for me to recognize it pretty easily, that made my appreciation for the series rise quite a bit.

This flashback arc was rich in references to classic Chinese folklore and filled with a tense atmosphere unmatched by the other episodes. I also found the flashback characters considerably more interesting. Despite how bloody and ultimately sad this arc was, it was by far my favorite part of the anime and I would have loved a season that explored just that story. The last arc brings us back to the present where past and future collide in an all out multiple episode battle.

After watching the show I found out that Saiyuri is an expansive franchise. Reload blast is only the latest in several anime incarnations, a whole series of OVAs, multiple rounds of manga, at least one movie and a stage play. This may in fact explain some of my gripes. You see, Saiyuri really plays up a lot of shonen tropes. The never ending battles, mid-fight monologues (this is so prevalent in fact that I think in the middle of battle is the only way we get an exposition), the best friend fisty cuffs, the super dramatic realization screams and the cathartic last minute saves.

Nantaku really needed more development mind you

They’re all there and all well done, except this is a 12 episode series. When you’re characters are going through this massive emotional struggle over what is a pretty silly situation in fact at episode 60, it works because you’ve grown to really know the characters and you accept their eccentricities. Also the stakes have been slowly rising so you got accustomed to it at your own pace before everything spilled over into ridiculous. Now you’re just kind of in for the ride. When the same thing happens at episode 4 you’re like, yo relax dude and this is kinda silly.

The low episode count and the need to fit in a fully realized three arc narrative with a centuries spanning background really condensed everything. To Saiyuri’s credit, the narrative was still pretty easy to follow and although the characters were pretty shallow, they weren’t completely 2 dimensional either. But the dramatic pacing is what really suffers here and ultimately will stop most people from engaging with what is at it’s core a decent, even interesting story.

mullets again…

If you happen to be interested in the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, I say give this anime a shot. It has some good moments and the parallels with Journey to the West are really fun to notice. If you like the character designs and are in the mood for a fighting anime that won’t make you commit to a high episode count, this could also be for you. Otherwise, it’s uneven and clumsy. There was enough there for me to be intrigued about the other anime seasons and-or manga but not enough for me to actively seek it out.

Also, in the very last episode we find out the jeep they have been driving in al along has a mind of its own and is in fact Hakuryuu which is Hakkai’s pet dragon. We find this out in the last 5 minutes of the last episode. Like wha??? OK, I’m done now. Oh no wait one last thing. There’s no Yokai. I mean the demons are technically yokai but they call them demons and they look like demons… this show has some failings is what I’m saying.

Favorite character: Field Marshal Tenpou (If there’s a season dedicated to the heaven’s arc – I will watch it!)

What this anime reminded me: This is the only way a monocle makes sense:

The problem with some people is that when they aren’t drunk they’re sober

Suggested drink: Berry Burbon Blast

Every time Sanzo is sleepy(ing)– take a sip

Every time Gojyo gets called a water sprite – take a sip of water

Every time Sanzo tells someone to shut up – take a sip

Every time we hear a stomach growl – get a snack

Every time Hakkai spouts random facts – humour him

Every time Gojyo’s chain scythe thingy appears out of nowhere – take a sip

Every time Nantaku gets hurt – take a sip

Every time Goku throws a fit – roll your eyes

Every time anyone smokes – take a breath

Every time there’s mid battle monologue – laugh, it’s all you can do at this point

Saiyuki Reload Blast – Journey to the Middle Genre : Action, fighting, supernatural Episodes: 12 Studio: Platinum Vision Something has awakened. Something that's been slumbering for a long time is beginning to stir and the shockwaves are being felt all over heaven and earth.

#action #anime #blonde bishie #fighting #Saiyuki #supernatural

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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The Mysterious Benedict Society: Bringing the Middle Grade Mystery Series to TV

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This article contains spoilers for the first two episodes of The Mysterious Benedict Society plus teasers for future episodes. There are no book spoilers beyond the plots featured in the first two episodes.

The Mysterious Benedict Society is not only Disney+’s latest television series, it’s one of the streamer’s noteworthy original TV projects outside the massive Marvel and Star Wars franchises… But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a source material. The series is based on the bestselling middle grade book series by Trenton Lee Stewart. Stewart first published The Mysterious Benedict Society in 2007, which means the original readers are now adults and even parents themselves. (I myself discovered the series while working in summer camp and after school a year or two after publication.) The series was in development hell for over a decade before Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi joined the project in 2017. Den of Geek talked to showrunners Hay and Manfredi, who previously worked on AEon Flux and the Ride Along movie series together, to discuss the behind the scenes of translating this middle grade mystery adventure to the silver streaming screen.

“We were aware of the book when we were brought them, and read the first one and just fell in love,” Manfredi tells Den of Geek. The most important example of this love comes through in novel series author Stewart signing on as consulting producer on the series. Several other middle grade books from the mid 2000’s, most notably the Percy Jackson movies, were reduced to in-name-only movie adaptations that butchered the essence of the stories, due to authors having no input on the adaptation.

“We talked to him very early in the adaptation process, got to know him,” Hay says. ”Then as the show went along, he read all the scripts, he saw the cuts…whenever he had an idea, it obviously rang a lot of bells for us… and, it was just very important to us that he be pleased and like it.”

The series follows Mr. Benedict (Tony Hale), a scientist living in an alternate universe who is very concerned that the world’s increased anxiety, called The Emergency, is not, in fact, the organic result of social politics, but rather is being orchestrated by someone outside the government. There are subliminal messages about The Emergency broadcast across the media and adults have accepted these messages as truth. Kids are naturally more curious and at times confrontational about accepting authority and fate. Although Mr. Benedict has two extremely capable assistants in Rhonda Kazembe (MaameYaa Boafo) and Number 2 (Kristen Schaal); he needs children to infiltrate the educational institute from which the messages about The Emergency originate. After a series of rigorous tests, he assembles a team of four extremely smart orphans to infiltrate and to find the person responsible. Renard “Reynie” Muldoon (Mystic Inscho) is a master puzzle solver, George “Sticky” Washington (Seth Carr) is a trivia champion, Kate Weatherall (Emmy DeOlivera) is a budding engineer and meteorologist, and Constance Contraire (Marta Kessler) is a social rebel who needs a cause to properly apply her truth-seeking instincts. The mission is going to test not only their skills but also their stamina to resist the subliminal messaging. The title of the series comes from the team name the children give themselves.

Although the adventure elements are clearly targeted towards today’s preteens, the political undertones of the story are definitely going to be the element that appeals to adults who haven’t read the novel series. “The book feels prescient,” Hay says. “I double-checked the copyright page when I was reading it because it just seemed that the themes were so resonant and relevant to today.” This theme adds depth and immediacy to the children’s mission. Adults will immediately recognize current politics in this alternate universe where the language of The Emergency is the language of misinformation.

Kids are also affected by the political situation around them and this renders the plot of The Mysterious Benedict Society relatable. “We have kids thinking of the way they’ve experienced the recent past as a relentless tide of anxiety, and how do we get to the bottom of that and how do we find ways to contend with it?” Hay says. “I think the message of the show in a way, is through getting to the truth and through finding the truth and then also through addressing others with care and with empathy and with kindness, and those things coalesced to be the bedrock of what we think the show is about.” Although some may feel uneasy about a dystopian alternate universe as escapist entertainment especially for children, there is hope and a solution embedded into the mission. The audience naturally roots for Mr. Benedict and his team triumph over evil.

Bringing the alternate universe of Stonetown and its environs to life from Stewart’s imagination presented several challenges for Hay and Manfredi. Shooting eight, hour-long episodes during the pandemic added considerable complexity to the project. “We had such an incredible team in Vancouver led by Grace Gilroy, our line producer, and the dedication of the cast and crew, which was extraordinary to keep each other safe and healthy and follow the protocols to the T all of which happened,” Hay says. “Every day when you’re shooting in that condition is seen as a gift, and you are just really reliant on everybody, every single member of the cast and crew to be vigilant and they were, and that’s something that is extremely inspiring.”

Another obstacle was reconciling viewers’ imaginations and the illustrations in the novels with the screen. “I imagined [the novel as] a bit more Gothic or Victorian, and partially just because it worked with the themes for us and partially because we thought a lot of other things have explored that visual landscape,” Hay says. “[We] settled on this idea that this could be told in a sixties, European modernist kind of vibe, where things are very organized and formal.”

That mention of other things exploring “a Victorian landscape” is an illusion to Netflix’s series adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Most adult viewers new to the series will likely make that comparison, since both series revolve around orphans fighting eccentric adult villains in a dystopian alternate universe. However, the first two episodes of The Mysterious Benedict Society make it clear that the main characters are fighting evil on the societal level versus an inheritance fraud conspiracy one.

A Series Of Unfortunate Events Season 3 Review: The Best One Yet

By Gabriel Bergmoser

Culture

A Series Of Unfortunate Events Review (Spoiler-Free)

By Gabriel Bergmoser

Ironically, Tony Hale directly links the two series. He played Jerome Squalor in A Series of Unfortunate Events, and ended up being the top choice to lead The Mysterious Benedict Society. “We were such fans of Tony, and every role he’s done becomes an iconic thing,” Manfredi says. “He’s just so funny, and he had such a soulfulness to him and intelligence and compassion to him that he just kind of ticked all the boxes.” Hay added, “In the book, the character is reasonably a bit older. It’s more of a practical grandfatherly character than a fatherly character.” Mr. Benedict in the series is still eccentric, epilectic and tireless in his quest to right the wrongs in his world. At the end of Episode 2, the audience realizes Hale is pulling double duty in the series. He plays the sketchy institute headmaster and series villain L.P. Curtain. “We always saw it as a dual role, and that’s why somebody who is as versatile as Tony was, was so appealing to us,” Manfredi says. Novel readers know Mr. Benedict and Mr. Curtain are twin brothers. Hale makes a strong impression as Mr. Benedict in his introduction, and the challenge for the kids to figure out Mr. Curtain begins.

Along with the set design and Catherine Adair’s (recently known for costuming The Man In The High Castle and Fate: The Winx Saga) vintage kitschy costumes, casting is also a key part of distinguishing The Mysterious Benedict Society from other series. Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance in the books were characters not only defined by their intelligence but also for their innate sense of the truth in an uncertain world. “When we were casting with the kids, it was important to us to find old souls.” Manfredi said.

One of the most appealing factors to me as a reader over a decade ago was how Stewart’s vision of Stonetown had diverse representation built into the story. On the other hand, the adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events used raceblind casting to offset the white main characters Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) originally described. Episode 1 of The Mysterious Benedict Society brings this to the screen by introducing Reynie as a Latine boy learning Tamil from his teacher Miss Perumal (Gia Sandhu). “We were very, throughout the process really, really focused on diversity and inclusion in the cast, Hay says. “We were really hoping to find a diverse Reynie and Sticky … We wanted Sticky to be an African-American actor.” Although racism in the world of Stonetown works slightly differently than in ours, neither character is isolated from others who look like them.

One of the kids had an unintentional shift in their heritage. “In the book, Constance Contraire is not Russian, but when we saw Marta’s audition, she illuminated parts of the character for us, and we all of a sudden just couldn’t see her any other way,” Manfredi says. Fans should be reassured despite this accent shift Constance in the first two episodes is still the obstinate, headstrong, and full of haterade little girl readers know and love.

This vision was also carried out in the casting of the adult characters in the series. “Rhonda Kazembe is such a huge part of the book and of the show, even a bigger part of the show than the book,” Hay says. “To find MaameYaa was such a gift, but yeah, that was really on top of our mind, and then throughout the rest of the show, again, from the perspective of wanting the show to look like the world and seeing it as an opportunity to really create a world that does reflect the world around us.” In order to fulfill this objective, a shift in the storytelling was required. In the novel, once the kids arrive at the mysterious island institute, all of the action revolves around the children. “It was important to us to keep the adults involved, to create a kind of parallel storyline to have that back and forth with the kids and the adults and learn from each other along the way, and solve the mystery together.” Manfredi says.

What can viewers expect from the remaining six episodes? Stopping Mr. Curtain’s evil propaganda campaign is the conclusion the series is leading to. “We hope that over the course of the season, there’s going to be a lot of twists and turns and hopefully it’ll be a lot of fun,” Manfredi says. “[Hopefully] these themes of empathy and the importance of truth and being able to look at a problem in many different ways…[will] resonate, and hopefully they have fun with it.”

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There are three books total in the series, plus a prequel about Mr. Benedict, but the fate of the series is out of the hands of Hay and Manfredi. For those who want to see the series continue, word of mouth online and offline will be key to get middle schoolers to watch and for adults to sign onto a nostalgia trip. The first two episodes of The Mysterious Benedict Society will be available on Disney + on June 25th followed by one new episode every Friday.

The post The Mysterious Benedict Society: Bringing the Middle Grade Mystery Series to TV appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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persephone-damnedqueen · 7 years

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Beginning Thoughts of the Fall Anime Season 2017 . . .

Welp, fall is here, and as usual, it is time for me to do my annual first impressions of the season’s anime titles. My gods if you thought the amount of shows I checked out last season was a lot, this season’s amount is insane. This season, so far, I have checked out 22 shows thus far and plan for at least 7 more to pick up. Insane, right? So how do they stack up so far? Let’s see. Also, please keep in mind, that these are solely based off of the first one or two episodes, and are purely my opinion, so if my opinion is different than yours, then I’d love to here it. Also, I will try to remain as spoiler free as possible.

Netojuu no Susume: Studio Signal.MD

Dropped. Alright, so I feel like I have to mention this. I’m a serious gamer. More specifically, I love me some MMOs. How much you ask? Well, so much so that I actually met my husband on World of Warcraft. Insane right? I mean my god you do not want to see our /played time on that game. So, needless to say, I am a bit critical on gaming anime because of this, because I know what it’s like. This anime was just. . . . cringey. I found myself sighing every chance I got and by the 20 minute mark, completely turning it off. Everything about the first episode was just . . . bad. There’s really just no redeeming qualities. . . well, one line said by the Guild Master which was something along the lines of “you have no idea what her irl gender is.” I laughed. It’s accurate. 85% of female toons you see on wow are actually guys. Anyways, moving on.

Evil or Live: Haoliners Animation

Dropped. Mmmm I had such high hopes. After reading the summary, I will admit, I was hyped for this show. On Paper, this show sounds wonderful. I thought it was going to be some horror psychological thriller that at the end of it left you questioning the very meaning of the world around you or something. Instead, what happened? I . . .don’t even know. The series starts off with massive amounts of Live Action, which, while being completely unexpected, I didn’t mind so much; the series became an instant drop for me when the MC and Co were clearly showing a break from reality and needed actual mental help, was beaten instead. It wasn’t “horror” or “edgy” it was just poor writing. Needless to say, I have dropped it.

Just Because!: Studio Pine Jam

Dropped. For no other reason that fuck it’s boring. I fell asleep watching it not once, but twice. It was that boring. This series proves that even the prettiest of shows can bore you to death.

Omiai Aite wa Oshiego Tsuyoki na, Mondaiji: Studio Seven

Porn. With Plot. Alright, so this is an actual hentai series. Not like Soft-Core either like Hajimete no Gal was last season. This is an actual hentai series, and if you could believe it, it’s actually more plot focused and semi-interesting than 95% of hentai out there.. . . Well, as interesting as a hentai series about a female teacher and a student banging and “engaged” can be. Don’t get me wrong here, it’s totally trash, but hey, each episode is only four minutes, so I’m going to keep watching this trash just a bit longer to see where it goes.

Sengoku Night Blood: Typhoon Graphics

Mmmm Still waiting for the day with they make a good anime based off of an Otome Game. Alright, so here’s the story. Girl gets sent back into another world and gains a harem. A vampire harem. That’s it. I’ve saved you the trouble of checking this series out. You’re welcome.

Urahara: Studios Emt^2 and Shirogumi

Dropped. Instant Drop. Jesus Christ that animation is fucking trash. You have two studios working on this series, and the animation still looks that garbagey?!?! How?!?!?! I can’t even with this. . . Ugh, nope, moving on.

Osake wa Fuufu ni Natte kara: Creators in Pack

Yet another series that will probably be dropped halfway through. Honestly, there’s just nothing that really happens in this series, and I know it’s really hard for anything to happen in a four minute long series, but literally nothing happens. Wife comes home. Husband makes her drink. Wife gets tipsy. Thank you husband. I mean the main reason why I’m going to be sticking it out just a bit longer is to keep getting cocktail recipes haha.

Imouto Sae Ireba Ii: Sliver Link Studios

Will probably be dropped. Is it just me or is this series like Silver Link’s answer to A-1′s EroManga Sensei? Honestly, this show is meh at best so far. The art is nothing too great, and the story screams EroManga, and since I wasn’t a fan, I really don’t see myself watching more than three episodes.

Boku no Kanojo ga Majimesugiru Sho-Bitch na Ken: Studio Diomedea

I started watching it with hopes of it doing two things. One, fill the hole in my heart that was left when Hajimete no Gal ended; and two, explain what the hell a Sho-Bitch is. In all honestly though, this show is probably going to be dropped. While the art is generic, the characters are bland and too common; I also the comedy too forced at time and repeatable. Yes, we understand main waifu really just wants to figure out what Haruka likes, and obviously misinterprets everything, but does that really have to be the joke every single time?

Inuyashiki: Studio MAPPA

Ah, the latest from Studio MAPPA. I have one question: MAPPA, what the fuck? Let me clarify. The opening few minutes of the first episode made me feel. Fuck, I almost started crying. It was depressing and yet the story was just relatable and beautiful all at the same time. I was feeling feels I didn’t want to feel. It really kept true to the Drama tag, which I love. I’m a sucker for some hardcore drama filled series. Then. . . .it got weird. Some weird like mecha space alien thing weird. So, again, MAPPA, what the fuck? Don’t get me wrong here. I will be continuing to watch this solely because despite the series taking that weird turn, in no way did that make the actual tone any less enjoyable. Plus, the art style is so unique to the show, I’m curious as to where it can go from here.

Mahoutsukai no Yome: Wit Studio

Alright, I’m a fan. This has to be a contender for Anime of the Season, and we aren’t even three episodes into it yet. It’s wonderful, and not only one of my favorites from this season so far, but my favorite thing Wit Studio has ever done, (and yes, that just brought me a ton of hate from SnK fans haha). I can see and agree with the hype this series has had. Honestly, check it out. It’s good and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

Blend S: A-1 Pictures

I found my Moe-Blob for the season, and I’m so happy. I actually really like this series so far. It was adorable, and literally just what I want in my seasonal moe-blob. It’s nothing too driven plot wise, and definitely won’t be anime of the season or anything like that; it’s literally just Cute Girls waitressing in this cute cafe. Regardless, I’m definitely going to continue to watch it for a bit longer at least.

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou: Studio White Fox

Keep your eye on this one this season. It’s probably going to be the Dark Horse of this season. In all honestly, I became instantly hooked watching the first episode. The tone at the start was so eerie and grim that I found myself getting literal goosebumps. Maybe it’s the high I’m on after the Made in Abyss ending, or just wanting to find something to fill the void that series has left me with, but I’m getting serious MiA vibes. I’m hoping this series is even half as good as MiA was. Also, I’m a major fan already of how unique the art is for this show.

Ousama Game The Animation: Studio Seven

I’m biased. Period. I will be watching this show no matter how terrible it could ever get solely because my favorite Seiyuu is the lead. Mamoru is a God, and I will watch it religiously every week. That being said, I can tell you that this show is edgy as fuck, and with it being one of two survival game anime out right now this season, this one is definitely the weaker, edgier of the two. It is a pretty cool concept though, and I’m already a fan of the survival game concept, that I don’t mind watching this one until the end. I would also like to warn that this one is definitely gory so if you don’t like that than this isn’t for you.

Konohana Kitan: Studio Lerche

CUTE LITTLE FOX GIRLS. I REPEAT, CUTE LITTLE FOX GIRLS. Having read the summary for the series prior,and seeing both the Seinen and Shoujo Ai tag on it and that it would be done by Lerche, it became an instant check out at least, and I’m glad I did. This series is the calming pallet cleanser. It’s the show where you can turn off your mind and just watch the cuteness. Plus, did I mention cute little fox girls? What more do you need?

Black Clover: Studio Pierrot

Alright, I’m split in two for this. Part of me wants me to look at this show for what it is: a stereotypical shounen series, with decent animation, predictable plot and bad voice acting, if you saw the first episode you’d know what I’m talking about. This show screams Naruto, Fairy Tail and Bleach rip off; and hell, since I hate Naruto, never got into Bleach, and am still VERY pissed at Fairy Tail, combining the three into one really just makes me both cringe and glare at the screen. Evil Glare. A glare that if I could, would totally shoot lasers out and everything. I mean hell, it’s even done by the same studio as Naruto. Regardless, the tons and tons of shounen I’ve seen makes me just feel like this is repeating it all. That’s one part of me. The other part of me enjoys this show, solely for the fact that my husband LOVES the Black Clover manga, so watching it with him makes me at least want to give it a chance. I do however doubt it will be as big as people hype it up to be, and if it does get big it will be nowhere near as good quality wise as a lot of other shounens, and will take a lot for me to become a fan.

Juuni Taisen: Graphinica

Without a doubt, my favorite from this season. I’m hooked. This series has it all: unique character designs, well executed art, and a killer story line, (pun intended). Mmmmm this story is wonderful. It hooks you from the start, which is to be expected since the original source is written by the same original writer for the Monogatari Series. There’s plot twists and betrayals and just epicness. It also has one of the best openings and closings of the season. Side Note: THE PSYCHOTIC LITTLE USAGI BOY IS BEST BOY AND I WILL FIGHT ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE, AND IF HE DOESN’T WIN I WILL RIOT.

Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Washio Sumi no Shou: Studio Gokumi

When I first saw that Yuki Yuno was getting another season, I was fucking thrilled. Yuki Yuno was a magical girl series that I fell in love with not only because of the Madoka Magica vibes it had, but because of the beautiful art and animation and vibrant colors it used. It’s visually stunning. So, how is the prequel turning out? Still just as stunning. In all honestly, I’m going to love this series provided it stays true to the themes and tones of the first season, and if the opening episodes are anything to say about the rest of the series, then I know it will. Plus, who isn’t up for Magical Girls this season?

Osomatsu-san 2nd Season: Studio Pierrot

I actually genuinely missed this show. My gods this show is a gift. This has to be one of the underapprieciated comedy gems to come out in the recent years, and it fills me with joy knowing that it still shines just like the first season did. I enjoy watching the episodic skits of everyone’s favorite sextuplets. Seriously, why have you not started this show?

Shokugeki no Soma: J.C.Staff

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I’VE WAITED TO SEE MY SON KUGA ANIMATED?!!??! TOO LONG. This is hands down the best season of Food Wars yet, and we are barely a couple episodes into it. I love the pacing of this season, and having being a manga reader, I can confirm for you that it’s completely accurate with the manga thus far. J.C Staff is clearly showing that they still care about Food Wars and aren’t rushing with the season. Also, thank the gods for the 24 episode season. THAT’S MORE EPISODES OF MY PRECIOUS KUGA.

3-Gatsu no Lion 2nd Season: Studio Shaft

I cried. I fucking cried. Hard. My god I missed this series. Everything about the first episode was fantastic. The music and animation were spot on, but of course nothing out of the ordinary for the phenomenal Studio Shaft, but what did I love most you ask? Character Development. MY FUCKING GOD. Compare Rei to the start of Season one, and you’d never think it’s the same person. I can’t stress that enough. If this first episode is a sign on how amazing the rest of this season is going to be then I’m beyond fucking happy. This is the series I’ve been waiting for since the start of the year.

Gintama. Porori-hen: Bandai Namco Pictures

Has there ever been like a bad season of Gintama? Like Ever? All this season has proved to me is: one, life is boring and dull without Gintama. Two, Gintama is the king of comedy series. Three, Gintama is without a doubt one of the greatest series of all time. This season is hilarious and easily makes me burst out laughing from start to finish. Thank you Gintama, I’ve truly missed you.

Ballroom e Youkoso: Production I.G.

How is the second half of the season you ask? *Insert Pouting Face Here* Fuck you, Chi-chan. Worst Girl 2017. THERE I SAID IT. YEAH, I SAID IT. WHAT YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT? #BRINGBACKBESTGIRL2017 Like, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad Tartara has a partner now, but like seriously why her? -.- Why couldn’t Mako just be his partner forever and they could live happily ever after?

So, yeah, those are my thoughts so far on the Fall Anime 2017 season. Let me know yours, and if there is anything I’m not watching, and should be, then please tell me! I love recommendations, and I already know of a few that I need to pick up. . . .

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ariadcalfine · 4 years

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About EndHawks and DabiHawks - and other BNHA ramblings

Heeeeeyy

The lockdown/quarantine due to coronavirus had given me time to rewatch HQ seasons 1 to 3, as well as to fully catch up on BNHA. I stopped watching the anime at season 2... episode 15 I think? When Deku started his internship at Gran Torino’s place? At that time, that was the latest episode available. And after watching that episode, I went on to read the manga... the latest released chapter at that time might have been Bakugou’s kidnapping. Anyways, now I had finished watching season 4, and read the latest released manga chapter of 271.

In the early days of BNHA, my favourite character was (and I think still is) Todoroki Shouto. Because he’s an ikemen, surely (laughs) but also because I’ve always found the Todoroki family drama somewhat more interesting than the fighting against LOV. I’m glad that the plot is getting more intricate - that LOV isn’t a one-dimensional antagonist and the story goes deeper on things fundamentally wrong in BNHA’s setting (be it morally grey HPSC, ranking heroes and treating them like celebrities, discrimination on villain-like quirks or quirklessness, and so on) - but the Todoroki family drama still holds a bright candle in my heart. So of course I fully jumped into the ship that was ‘Dabi is Todoroki Touya’ theory.

Even when I wasn’t watching canon BNHA, I still stayed in the fringes of the fandom. I saw it shifted from ‘TodoDeku is life!’ to ‘BakuDeku for the win!’ and kinda got on board with BKDK even. Still finds TDDK sweet and fluffy and such a balm to the kokoro, but the dynamism of BKDK endears me too. The fandom also had a way of portraying Kacchan as less of a jerk and more a Tsundere Pomeranian. As the manga went along, glad that Kacchan is shown to have a depth of emotions but was misguided and could not really express himself well.

MOVING ON to Hawks. I like his character design, and seriously Kadeart’s Hawks as well as other fanartists’ drawings of Hawks just made me love the guy more. Casting Yuuichi Nakamura was just... pure gold. Perfect fit for ‘secretly intelligent lazy boy’ too-cool-for-school persona. Just... Kuroo Tetsurou all over again.

When I was watching the end of S4, of course I noticed Hawks was a huge Endeavor fan, and in my mind I thought, ‘uh-oh, the fandom is sure gonna ship that...’ with some queasiness. Sure enough, the fandom does. I notice in particular the Japanese fandom is more on board. There are only 4 DabiHawks doujinshi titles in Toranoana today but 36 EndHawks titles. #荼毘ホー (DabiHawks) tag in Pixiv also only yielded 2 pages of search results, compared to 7 pages of #炎ホー (EndHawks) tag. The Japanese fandom has a history of being more accepting of a ship with big age difference - case in point, ReigenMob / MobReigen from MP100 (Western fandom is more comfortable with SeriRei).

Daddy kink doesn’t really appeal all that much to me. And I admit the size difference is hot, but InaShou fulfills the kink better in my opinion. However, age difference is not really the source of my queasiness.

It’s Endeavor’s history of domestic abuse.

I love a good Endeavor-redemption fic. The two that I’m following now are:

1) The Return Of Superman by kummibear

2) Where your love has always been enough (for me) by classicequinox

I suppose I’ll feel more at ease with EndHawks only after Endeavor fully makes amends for his wrongdoings and goes public with them. Whether he has to serve time or can just pay damages doesn’t really matter to me. Only after he has closure with Rei, Natsuo, Shouto and Touya (if he’s Dabi), can he move on to a relationship with Hawks. It’s only fair for Hawks as well.

Sure, Dabi is a villain that canonically has kidnapped a teenager and killed people by burning them. He is not a good person. But 1) I don’t think he’s mentally all that sane, 2) his crimes are public knowledge and if he’s caught, he will have to serve time (either in Tartarus or maximum security rehab facility). Why I need Endeavor to go public with his abuse is because right now the populace doesn’t really know about the abuse and Endeavor continues to be lauded as Number 1 Hero. That doesn’t sit right with me.

I also don’t really like fics where Dabi is being rough or abusive to Hawks. I prefer HawksDabi to DabiHawks, actually. I don’t like fics where Hawks is uke-fied because the HPSC abused him too much. Both Touya and Hawks are victims of abuse, true... but they deserve to be portrayed as complex human beings who are strong enough.

I’m guilty of viewing ‘bad guy’ character in a sympathetic light because I want an antagonist character to turn good (case in point, Harry Potter’s Draco Malfoy; HPDM is my OTP). Besides, if Endeavor deserves a redemption arc, why not Dabi?

(Erm, Shigaraki and AFO are another matter tho. It’s like... nobody quite expects Voldemort to be redeemed.)

All of the above being said, I don’t think I will invest time in reading a good, healthy slow-burn EndHawks. It’s just not my OTP. Of course, I will not crash EndHawks’ fanfics or fanarts just to say EndHawks is ‘bad’ or ‘disgusting’.

Shipping has always been: to each, his own. Let’s just stay out of each other’s way and have polite communication if we do cross path.

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allisonswrittenwords · 7 years

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Oh yes, we’re delving into Marvel territory!

My introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe happened in 2015, when I watched The Avengers the night before I went to see Avengers: Age of Ultron. I fell in love immediately with a team of superheroes trying to stop the nefarious, scheming, mischievous brother of one of those heroes. The next day, I fell in love with those superheroes and their plight to stop James Spader’s evil robot form (relax, I know it was only his voice!).

Not only did I fall in love with the whole idea of this cinematic universe (I’ve seen every movie that connects the Avengers, with the exception of Hulk’s movie – I will do that, since my boyfriend has it in his collection!), I fell so hard for Thor. Like, in love.

And an Avenger touched my shoulder and back before calling me “love.” Verily!

Anyway, I love The Avengers, and I’ve collected some (yes, only some) Thor stuff (but I also love Captain America and the underappreciated Hawkeye – I’m going to be him for Halloween!). I wanted an Avengers mug, and bought one in Disney Land last December…

It didn’t matter that I’d never watched Avengers Assemble, I just really liked the mug. That’s despite the fact that Hawkeye and Black Widow aren’t on it. I could take or leave Black Widow (not really, she’s cool), but seriously, no Hawkeye?

It’s ok, Hawkeye. You’re appreciated in my world.

I also have a Thor stocking and ornament at my boyfriend’s mom’s house in California, the envy of every eight-year-old that dares to not be an Iron Man, Captain America, or Hulk fan. I’m sure its because he is too pretty and appeals more to females, but I digress. I love the Norse God of Thunder…and the arrow-slinging archer no one else seems to like.

Anyway…

Season one of Avengers Assemble laid out the ground work for the team in the time after the events of the first feature film (I should note that while the timeline stays true to the feature film and the cinematic universe, Falcon is a part of this team, so we know better). In season two, the team has encountered Thanos, and now are on the hunt for the Infinity Stones Red Skull has scattered about the universe, all in an attempt to keep them from falling into the wrong hands of another adversary…Thanos.

One of those stones (and the consequences of it) are the basis of this episode, “The Age of Tony Stark.”

Article…ASSEMBLE!

Oh, come on! Don’t leave!

At Stark Tower, in the holding area…

Red Skull is imprisoned and suffering from “Cosmic Brain Fry” (Iron Man/Tony Stark’s words). And despite being in this state, Red Skull takes to drawing on his cell walls.

The drawing, however, is more complicated than just scribble.

We (ok, Hawkeye) see scribbles, but Tony sees the names of the Infinity Stones, and one of them (the Time Stone) is giving off a signal.

To the Avenjet!

The team is headed to the site of where the Time Stone will appear, while discussing the past and why (or why not) reliving it sounds like a great idea.

Hawkeye abhors the idea of having to relive elementary school (something tells me the master archer was a little punk and troublemaker), while Thor believes history is filled with glory, and Captain America (who is what, like 70 years old?) draws strength from the past. Tony Stark takes a different (read: opposing) view of the past – it’s full of mistakes we’re always trying to improve upon – he believes in looking forward, but doesn’t diminsh Cap’s love for the past.

Wow, he’s actually agreeing with Cap!

The Avengers arrive at their location, just in time for the arrival of the Time Stone…which materializes right above Tony’s hand.

Mission accomplished before the opening credits, right? And that sounds like all is well and good, but…

Big but…

The stone decides to harbor itself in Tony’s arc reactor, directly affecting how his suit functions, while also causing a rather interesting problem…

Dammit cartoon, why freakin’ Hawkeye?! My boyfriend already tells me nobody likes him, why make this more obvious?! Hawkeye asks “what’s next, prom?”

Really, did a young Clint Barton not have a prom date?

Opening title card, then back to the action!

Meanwhile, back at the Claim Site for the Time Stone…

Hawkeye got carried away by a Pterodactyl, which happened because the Time Stone lodged itself into Tony’s reactor arc, and it disables his armor while simultaneously unleashing the threat of flying dinos. Stark freefalls towards the sea (Jarvis is unable to power the suit up), but thankfully, Thor is there to help.

And Black Widow is able to fend off Pteradactyls.

Oh, and Hawkeye is fine. Thanks for not asking. In fact, he’s so ok, he reminds Cap about why he hates the past.

Yes, because these are normal circumstances to be in on any given day.

And no lie, none of this is the worst thing that has happened!

Iron Man (or Tony, rather), on the other hand, is not having such a good day.

Thor is able to rescue Stark successfully AND toss him aside to fight dinosaurs, the team is able to fend off the dinos (Thor and Hulk especially enjoy this).

Remember how I said this isn’t the worst thing that could possibly happen in the wake of the Time Stone lodging in the arc reactor? Well, the Stone causes another time shift that eliminates the flying threats. Still not the worst….but this is.

I’m getting to it, people!

The team notices something seems a little off about Tony…

The ever-observant smartass Hawkeye points out that something is off about Tony’s voice (thinking the Iron Man suit speaker is broken), so Tony clears his throat and tries again. Still not normal.

Whaaaaa?!

Back at Avengers Tower…

Jarvis informs Tony that the armor is fully functional, but believes someone else is in the suit, unable to pick up the the unique body signature that the suit was made for. Which means that this is an imposter, or…

No, that’s Tony Stark alright. But…yeah, he’s younger, impatient, and he wants his mask and suit off like yesterday. So Hulk does the honors despite what may happen to the mask.

Worst. Day. Ever.

Turns out the Time Stone caused a time rift that not only brought on flying dinos, it also de-aged Tony. Right now, he’s a cranky 17-year-old in a tin can that he is desperate to take off.

Oh, it only gets better. Or worse. That depends on your definition of this situation.

I’d say worse if you’re a citizen or tourist of New York City, which is now overrun by not only dinosaurs of the winged persuasion, but also the walking, short-armed variety. As I said, Thor and Hulk are all about throat-punching and destroying dinosaurs, but this is just one of the problems of messing with the Time Stone, even inadvertently. And of course, the Avengers, minus Iron Man and Captain America, have to go save the day.

Hulk gets major points for screaming in a T-Rex’s face and scaring it off. That’s just awesome!

When Tony’s mask was removed (forcibly), it was revealed that he had de-aged to a seventeen-year-old. However, by the time he removes his suit, he is now fourteen years old.

Young Tony is not ok with this, especially since he can’t get his suit to work to his specifications. Oh, and zits. But he’s also still a genius.

But the Time Stone is causing other problems – specifically, prehistoric problems. And Tony wants to contribute to the fight, but…he can’t.

His suit says “nope,” and shocks him.

Fourteen-year-old Tony, taking cues from seventeen-year-old and adult Tony, doesn’t want Cap’s help, but Tony’s got another thing coming to him…

His arc reactor ignites the Time Stone, sending yet another time slip through the city.

This latest time slip de-ages him further, leaving him as an eleven-year-old. And while the fourteen-year-old was your typical brat “I don’t want your help” type, eleven-year-old Tony has a different stance…

“I need your help, Cap!”

At this point, I’m beginning to feel bad for him. I don’t dislike Iron Man/Tony Stark by any means, but obviously I’ve chosen my favorites. Stark comes off as cocky, but this experience is obviously bringing him down a peg.

He’s unable to help the team he assembled from the finest superheroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But loyal-to-the-core Captain America is willing to stay behind with Tony (even though he says he doesn’t need a babysitter) as the rest of the team heads off to save New York from every time slip the Time Stone brings. That not only means dinosaurs, but also “deadly robots from the future.”

Yep, just another day!

Oh, and Black Widow and Hawkeye fist bump before fighting off these robots. That’s awesome!

Unfortunately, Cap and Tony have a different problem.

Remember how Red Skull was locked in holding, scribbling about Infinity Stones?

A cell breach happens when the tower’s systems go offline.

Cap goes off to check on Red Skull…

And he gets knocked out for his troubles.

Meanwhile, Red Skull is on the hunt for Tony and the Time Stone, mumbling “Stark! Time Stone!”. Tony, watching Red Skull on screens, comments that Red Skull is a “freak,” and sounding like a typical child, asks Jarvis to shut off the elevator, “or something.” Since the systems are offline, this is not possible.

“Remind me to invent you better next time.”

Meanwhile, on the street, the Avengers are trying to conquer their robot problem. Back in the tower, a rambling Red Skull is thwrated by skillfully placed marbles. Hey, when all else fails, right?

Tony has Red Skull give him chase before retreating into the training room, using a hologram to lure Red Skull in. Tony can’t understand why Red Skull wants the stone so bad, and activates Captain America’s Training Sequence.

Red Skull escapes, and arrives at a door with “Do Not Enter!” written on a carefully placed note. He opens the door and is further chased by Thor’s pet, Bildgie.

Tony’s enjoying this fun moment, and takes the time to go into his quarters to look inside a shoebox of childhood memories.

He realizes why he hates his past…until he finds his first armor design.

He designed this at eight years old. What did you do at that age?

It never worked…without an arc reactor!

Meanwhile, Red Skull continues to run from Thor’s pet.

Cap comes to and checks on Tony, who is working on the armor design, knowing that it will now work.

If only he could stop the intense pain from the Time Stone.

Meanwhile, on the streets, this next time shift brings on lost Hydra Squadron (“Shoulda stayed lost,” according to Hulk).

Thor refuses to be dino food, despite the Pterodactyl chomping on his leg.

Red Skull, in hot pursuit of little Tony, finds him. If you’ve never seen Tony sweat over anything, you’re going to see it right here, right now.

And when Red Skull finds him, Tony screams at Red Skull to get away from him.

Red Skull tells him to “stop being such a baby.”

Yeah, what a freak! Do you see that Stark is having a bad day?

Red Skull grabs little Tony, as another blast from the Time Stone sends Red Skull and Tony flying. This shift rejuvenates Red Skull, returning him to top form. Tony informs him that the Avengers will be there to kick his red can, to which Red Skull informs Tony that they are preoccupied with the chaos Tony created. And it is at that moment that Cap finds Tony, and gives Red Skull a piece of his mind.

Actually, it’s more like the broad side of his shield.

He says picking on kids is a new low for Red Skull. This gives Tony ample time to suit up in jet skates, as Cap tries to distract Red Skull.

Outnumbered, outgunned, and in that awesome Avengers formation from the movies…

(You know, this one!)

Hawkeye is excited to be able to say what he has always wanted to say…

Only for Thor to do the honors.

Poor Hawkeye!

Cap and Red Skull continue to battle as Tony completes his armor. And just as it looks like Red Skull may have gotten the upper hand on both of them, Tony’s armor is complete!

He’s now…Iron Kid!

Cap loves this, but Red Skull thinks of it as “pathetic.” But that’s ok, because Tony is able to blast Red Skull out of the Tower…and into the waiting claws of a Pterodactyl.

Awesome!

Cap makes sure Tony is ok, but of course, he’s AWESOME! Unfortunately, that moment is short-lived, as Tony almost buckles over from another inevitable time slip.

He feels like he can’t control it, but Cap tells him to focus. He informs him that he has the power to stop the time slips.

It’s alot for Tony, who is terrified that he will de-age into nothing. And it’s at that moment that he’s truly looking up to Cap for comfort, confessing that he’s scared.

This may be an eight-year-old version of Tony Stark, but his fear certainly reflects that innocent age. All that adult intelligence, accomplishment, and ability, but his instinct is pure fear. And he shows that he’s quite human, and says that he is not as big and strong as Cap. Cap informs Tony that he was brave long before he was Captain America, and that Tony Stark was a hero long before he was Iron Man.

Cap comforts Tony, and this powerful moment is enough to dislodge the Time Stone and reverse everything.

Not pictured: The moment Stark ages back to normal and is hugging Captain America.

I hope someone reading this doesn’t decide to write slash because of that sentence.

Meanwhile, on the street…

Hawkeye is testing his “unexperimented” arrow…at the same time a time slip eliminates all the chaos.

Hawkeye is convinced that it was the best shot ever though.

The team realizes it was Tony, who has contained the Time Stone.

Poor Hawkeye!

Hawkeye tries to get everyone to believe the unexperimented arrow was his best shot ever, to which Thor reassures him.

“Right?!”

Tony and the team discuss the containment of the stone, Falcon admires Tony’s first armor drawings, and Thor runs off after the escaped Bildgie.

It’s nice to see everything back to “normal,” but there is still something left unsaid between Tony and Cap.

Engaged in his training, Cap is visited by an adult Tony Stark, who informs Cap that he thought having a photographic memory meant he would never forget anything, but he did forget how tough being a kid can be.

And what being a hero is.

Tony shows Cap a picture of him as an eight-year-old on Halloween, dressed as Captain America…with a shield he designed himself.

Cap offers to let Tony practice with the real thing, to which Tony offers to make some modern improvements. But he’s only kidding…sorta.

He resumes the training session, and that’s the end of the episode.

Wow, I really liked this episode. I’ve loved the entire series up until this point (which says alot, since I’m not huge on cartoons), and the Infinity Stone arc really makes it interesting. Plus, there’s the dynamic of the Tony Stark/Iron Man-Steve Rogers/Captain America relationship. We pretty much know by now how Stark feels about Captain America, and the expectations Stark’s father had about wanting Tony to be “just like Captain America” when he was clearly a different type of person. I like that for a brief moment, that strain was put aside when it mattered most.

Sure, if you’re an adult watching it, this seems a little awkward, but it took all of this for Tony to realize that a hero is more than the suit he wears and the accomplishments he has made – it is about heart and knowing that you have that little something within you. In the end, it wasn’t about saving the day, it was about knowing one’s inner strength.

At the risk of getting too deep in all of this, I’m going to end it here. I’m actually a few episode ahead of this one, but I really wanted to share it with you. And if you think the Avengers got some time off from having to save the world and not let the Infinity Stones fall into the wrong hands during the next episode…you’re watching the wrong show.

Let’s just say the Stones are prepared to wreak more havoc in the next episode.

Until next time…

I always say I take great screenshots, but this is definitely one of my top ten best. I think Hawkeye needs a hug.

The repercussions of the Time Stone in Tony Stark's reactor arc are huge! Oh yes, we're delving into Marvel territory!

#Avengers Assemble (TV Series 2013-)#Infinity Stones #Iron Man #The Avengers #Time Infinity Stone

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rivierafireflypodcast · 7 years

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17: Outsourcing, best laid plans don't go to plan, Instagram, April holiday ideas

TITLE: Outsourcing, Instagram tips from Riviera Nannies, Holiday ideas and Book club.

SERIES: Productivity

EPISODE: 17

THIS EPISODE

In this episode Antonia tells a story about how even the best laid plans go wrong! She also chats with Hanna Schar about using Instagram and sets you a challenge.

She shares some ideas and tips from the Cote d'Azur Living Facebook group on things to do in the April vacation here on the French Riviera and ends with some holiday reading .. for fun and for business!

This podcast was sponsored by KidooLand the Little English School who have just opened inscriptions for the Summer holidays for 4-16 year olds and September for 0-16 year olds.

A pdf on all the books mentioned in the last 10 podcasts will be available for download www.rivierafirefly.com/bookclub.

To find out more about KidooLand www.kidooland.com

Riviera Firefly is your online guide to living on and visiting the French Riviera and the Côte d'Azur. We cover topics such as Education for children and adults, Places to visit, Health and lifestyle, hobbies and leisure and have lots of fun here in the Alpes Maritimes. We also talk to inspiring local entrepreneurs and small businesses about how they started their careers in France, dealing with administration and what brought them here in the first place. Topical issues such as Brexit and what this means to expats will also be covered in 2017. Our online directory and magazine can be found on www.rivierafirefly.com

KEY POINTS

1) Plans do not go to plan.

2) People won’t necessarily share their dirty washing on Facebook but everyone has challenges and you just have to pick yourself up and dust off ..move on.

3) don’t be afraid to ask for help. .. but make sure you ask help from the people that will bring you support and raise you up ..avoid the naysayers when things get tough.

4) outsourcing is key.

5) Get out and enjoy the Cote d'Azur in April

6) Book club .. books for fun and books for business

Business group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fireflycocoon/

Riviera Living group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cotedazurliving/

BOOKS TO READ

The Other Hand / Little Bee by Chris Cleave..

http://chriscleave.com/the-other-hand-little-bee/

LINKS Lou Messougo holiday rental apartment South of France http://www.loumessugo.com/en/

Festival de Jardins Cote d'Azur: https://festivaldesjardins.departement06.fr/

Roots bar Valbonne Village www.facebook.com/RootsValbonne

Harry Enfield Kev becomes a teenager https://youtu.be/dLuEY6jN6gY

Heliair Monaco http://heliairmonaco.com

Golden Tulip Hotel Valbonne Sophia Antipolis http://www.goldentulipsophiaantipolis.com/fr

#productivity #instagram #SMMW17 #rivieranannies #kidooland #rivieratouring #harryenfield #heliairmonaco

#loumessougo #holidayrental #southoffrance #rootsvalbonne #valbonne #8020salesmarketing #goldentulipvalbonne #summercamp #anglais #stagesvacances #vacancesdete #cotedazur #cotedazurnow #france #frenchriviera #cotedazurliving #rivieranannies

@rivieranannies @heliairmonaco @loumessougo @kidooant

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to fireflies to your latest Riviera Firefly podcast! Coming up we have a quick and to the point pod from Hanna Schar Riviera Nannies on Instagram and some tips and a challenge for the April holidays ..so listen in

First I’m going to tell you a short story…

Once upon a time there was a mum called Antonia she had 2 gorgeous teenagers a handsome husband . When she wasn’t busy being a mum and runner of households she had her own company to run looking after 150 other children every week .

One month , it was March .. despite all of the Kidooteam’s excellent planning (because they really didn’t like firefighting) they decided they had to make a strategic change . This was a fairly big unplanned change and would mean they all had to redo lots of planning .. such a pity as they had already been planning for A but that this new opportunity was going to make them happier in the longrun even if it meant replanning.

So they had to put other projects onto the back burner for a while and work on the new strategy.

Luckily Antonia had a fantastic team , 10 supportive , positive and happy team members all pulled together with ideas on how to make things even better than before and as one of the team said “Things happen for a reason” .. so they got to work .. even Brexit couldn’t keep them down for long …

Along the way there were more challenges …..a podcast interview that had to be cancelled , thunderstorms that did lots of damage to fences and gates in Antonia’s home and so lots of time was spent doing jobs that were urgent but not anticipated.

Of course with Murphy’s Law this meant that the teenagers also chose this month to do their very best Harry Enfield Kevin impressions (do you tube the Ken becomes a teenager for a reminder) .

What challenges you makes you stronger Antonia kept muttering to herself.

The long intense days replanning and with 2 Kevin’s at home Antonia was getting too tired to come home and have to work on geometry or Spanish vocab..and then the clocks changed oh la la…

An idea had been bubbling in the back of her head for a while .. her own business coach had told her outsource more .. outsource the things you don’t like doing. You are the CEO of your company in charge of strategy not the doer of everything.

Gradually she gave more and more responsibilities to her team . They liked this as they were able to show how brilliant they could do these more important jobs. They felt trusted and valued. Antonia was happy too because she had more time to go out and do networking with other CEOs and find out how they did things.

There was still the problem of running the household tasks .. if Antonia was honest this wasn’t where her interests lied - she was fed up doing laundry and could use this time to do strategic work for Kidooland or spending important quality time with her family ..and finally start painting, playing golf, walking the dogs, learning an instrument .. anything that was going to fill her boots as she was starting to realise the work life balance is actually made up of 3 boxes work – home and her

Suddenly from nowhere appeared the Fairy Godmother “Google” ..I can help she said and sure enough she did …together they created a job advert to find someone to do the laundry and all those tasks that Antonia didn’t want to do anymore… not only would this make Antonia really happy but it had a knock on effect which in turn would make Mr B happier, the teenagers who really were just exhausted from their day where they leave the house at 7 and often don’t get back until 6 wouldn’t have so many weekend chores.

She felt so much happier when she pressed publish on the advert and wondered why she hadn’t done it before.

Looking back at her 12 week goals from January she realised she was just about to cross off another objective she had set herself.

It felt so good to be able to free up more of her time to do more things she was good at and enjoyed.

Tune in next time to find out how the interviewing process and find out if they are going to live happily ever after!! Well I hope you enjoyed that short story.

Here are the key takeaways ..

1) Plans do not go to plan.

2) People won’t necessarily share their dirty washing on Facebook but everyone has challenges and you just have to pick yourself up and dust off ..move on.

3) don’t be afraid to ask for help. .. but make sure you ask help from the people that will bring you support and raise you up ..avoid the naysayers when things get tough.

4) outsourcing is key.

Thanks to my mastermind chat today I am going to Upwork to outsource some digital work and free up more of my time.

If you have 4 minutes left then I’m going to hand over to Hanna from Riviera Nannies who uses Instagram a lot.. Social Media Marketing World is the worlds largest SM convention .. and a clear message from this years was video is king right now specifically live in Facebook .. but that as Facebook has become saturated .. Instagram is now going to be in the spotlight moving forward..so over to Hanna

IDEAS FOR THE APRIL HOLIDAYS

I asked for some ideas for the holidays in the Cote d’Azur Living Facebook group and here were the top 3 ..

Phoebe Thomas from Lou Messugo the gorgeous apartment rental in Roquefort les pins said

Check out the 1st ever month long garden festival on the Côte d'Azur looks great with pop up gardens, show gardens, gardens open to the public and more.

Scape Design are presenting a garden in Nice and won the Professionals Prize for their entry.

Hannah French suggested Live musical evenings at Roots international bar in Valbonne Village on Wednesdays and Saturdays

I love Roots great atmosphere and it has a great range of beers ..if you’re the designated Driver then I can recommend their spicy ginger ale – delicious!

And finally Farahana Dee suggested you could try out Riviera Touring for some guided Vespa and Motorbike tours in the area. Sounds like a Unique and fun way to discover the Riviera

Heliar Monaco are running a promotion in April go and do a taster session for just 35€!

Feel free to join in the discussions and the top liked answers will get a shout out in these pods.

Check out this Riviera Firefly episode!

#business expat relocation france cotedazur travel school education shopping books

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