#the concepts fantastic but did i execute it well
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a guy can be cringefail and a little meow meow at the same time, as a treat
#not sure how to feel about this actually#like. quality wise#the concepts fantastic but did i execute it well#hrm#smosh#art#digital art#shayne topp#fanart#the chosen
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What I Quickly Thought about What If...? Season Two
For those who don’t know, I’m one of the few people who actually enjoyed What If…? Season One for what it was. Did it take advantage of telling interesting tales with the MCU, giving us intense glimpses of these universes that showed us what COULD HAVE been? Not all the time. Was it still good dumb fun? To me it was. And that’s pretty much what What If…?, as a concept, was, even in the comics. Yeah, you got interesting stuff like “What if Spider-Man never became a crime fighter?” or “What if Daredevil was raised by The Kingpin?” but it also had stuff like “What if the Original Marvel Bullpen Became the Fantastic Four?” or “What if Sargent Fury Fought World War Two in Outer Space?” The comics were less about high-concepts and more about writers doing whatever the hell they wanted with the Marvel Universe and being able to have fun with it because, well, none of it was canon. The same applied to the MCU’s What If…?, as it was a chance for the writers to do a murder mystery with the Avengers or make T’Challa fix the universe as Star-Lord. They can kill characters, make dumb(er) jokes, and play around with the heroes and villains in the MCU like they were action figures. And I’m into that. Don’t get me wrong, I would love more episodes like “What if…Doctor Strange lost his heart instead of his hands?” or “What if…Ultron won?” as they DO have a lot of great moments and show off what these characters are capable of than what the movies/shows proved. But at the same time, I didn’t mind watching the big buff lady that is Captain Carter kill Nazis or watch Spider-Man and a band of heroes try to survive a zombie apocalypse. It’s a show where everyone is meant to just sit back, turn their brain off, and have some fun while occasionally getting something interesting. Again, just like the comics.
So when Season Two got announced, I was genuinely excited. I like Season One and I wanted more of it. Then when the trailer came out with an episode list, I thought, “Okay, this could be the show embracing comic book wackiness.” Now, not a lot of people were into that…In fact, the majority said that a lot of these concepts weren’t even interesting and were, instead, kind of lame. I don’t get it, maybe because I’m in the exact mindset the MCU wants me to have with this series, but I was still looking forward to Season Two. The question is, was it worth it? Well, let’s quickly go over each episode to find out.
Spoilers Ahead
What If…Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?: Ooooooooh, what a great start. Watching Nebula act as a cop/detective, but with her cold, deadpan badassery still intact was a ton of fun in this dark, gritty setting made for this new version of her. I loved watching this new version of Nebula make her way through a darkened Xandar, with her never straying from this oath and acting as it should be intended, all while teaming up with Howard the Duck of all characters. Like, I kind of enjoy seeing Howard turn out to be this sleazy casino owner who treats Nebula as a true friend despite them working on opposite ends of the law. The concept itself is funny and execution is endearing with Seth Green giving much needed charm to the character. It’s part of the fun of What If…?: Showing characters who couldn’t interact in the movies or didn’t have much screen time and allowing them another chance to shine…Unfortunately, that’s not always a good thing. Because while I love seeing a character like Howard make a surprisingly good comeback, watching Yon-Rog, one of the more boring MCU villains, show up and lack any intrigue or fun is just…no. And then there’s Nova Prime who decided to betray the entire Corp by taking down the force field…Something that was HER idea to do and, given the pull she had, could have done at any point. Why string Nebula along when Nova Prime could have just made the ruling herself that the force field needed to be taken down? A friend of mine tried explaining how it could make sense, but I don’t know. It doesn’t change this weird got while watching. But while flawed, it was pretty cool to see this new setting in the MCU, carried by Nebula as the Super Nova (Love that name, by the way. It’s perfect). The plot has a big ol’ hole, not every character return works, but it gave me a half-hour of fun so I’m not complaining (Get used to that thought process, by the way).
What If…Peter Quill Attacked Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?: And this one’s a little rough around the edges. It’s fun to see this alternate version of the Avengers form to fight a Peter Quill who has Ego’s powers, but it feels like the entire episode is on fast-forward, almost like this is what would happen if the first Avengers movie needed to be made thirty-minutes long. It’s sort of the downside of What If having a half-hour runtime, where it has to both tell a story and introduce us to this new universe in under thirty minutes. It’s the same with the comics that had less than thirty pages to do the exact same thing, only to feel longer because comic writers in the seventies and eighties don’t know how to shut the hell up. The end result is a story that’s fine ENOUGH, but it would have benefited with more time to slow down and let us appreciate this new team of old heroes. I mean, we have the original Captain Mar-Vel, T’Challa’s father, and even Goliath, which would have been AWESOME to see them play a big role. But instead, the episode focuses on Hank Pym, Bucky, and THOR, somehow, making these other heroes valued members but also a bit of an afterthought. Also, despite this being a different version of the Avengers, they somehow make MORE quips than the original team, with few of it feeling like it’s in character. It has the same problem as Age of Ultron where everyone is cracking jokes at every second as much as they can, and it HIGHLY depends on your willingness to stomach that kind of thing if you’re willing to watch this episode. That and if you’re willing to forgive a character doing this STUPID AND RISKY thing that worked out for the better but doesn’t change how stupid and risky it is. Overall, this whole episode is a very interesting idea mixed with some very FLAWED execution that spoils the fun to be had.
What If…Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?: Now this? All kinds of fun to be had with this one. The return of Justin Hammer of all villains isn’t something I thought I needed, but I heavily enjoyed watching what’s basically the anti-Tony Stark show up and be his most despicably charming self. It was a blast to watch this scrawny little twink TRY and act intimidating as he dances all over the place. It makes him feel more and more like a cartoon villain, which is appropriate for yuletide fun. You don’t NEED a menacing presence for Christmas, you need a GOOF. And Hammer’s the goofiest with his lame catchphrases and very STUPID dancing, I couldn’t get enough of it. But the real star is Happy, who gets juiced up for an adaptation I NEVER would have expected from the MCU. The Freak is one of the sides to Happy that not many fans would know about unless they’ve immersed themselves with Iron Man lore (Or read a shit load of comics for the past two years like me), but it really is cool to see that side of him brought to life. The way Happy looks and moves like more of a manic Hulk on crack does great at setting him apart from the Jolly Green Monster we know and love, but also makes The Freak feel more unique from how he was in the comics. It was a blast of a holiday special with the only downside is that Darcy’s OCCASIONALLY annoying. Not much other than that, though, as this is the best Christmas present I could ask from Marvel.
What If…Iron Man Crashed Into the Grandmaster?: Fun fact, this was originally meant to be in Season One but was cut due to time constraints. Yeah, remember how weird it was that the Watcher plucked a version of Gamora we didn’t know? Well, now we finally know…through a story that’s primarily about Tony Stark that makes me wonder why the hell The Watcher didn’t take him.
But facts and jokes aside, I loved the shit out of this episode. There are probably going to be some cynics out there saying that the cars and the race is an excuse to sell toys or LEGO sets or some shit, but I don’t care because everything about it was AWESOME!. Not to mention that it lit up a special place in my heart and brain to watch Tony Stark be a hero again, not hesitating to save lives, putting everything on the line, and helping bring Gamora into the light, all while still being his snarky, Starky self. And huge props to Mick Wingert voicing him, who doesn’t sound like Robert Downy Jr at ALL, but still nails the energy and mannerisms. I can picture RDJ saying all of these lines and it helps make this feel like one last Iron Man story for the fans. Seeing the Grandmaster again was ALSO a plus, as he was his same goofy-self. As for the real hook of this episode, Gamora, she’s…fine. I don’t love that it’s Tony that helped her redemption arc since I always preferred how turning against Thanos was something Gamora decided for herself instead of this thing that someone brought out. It’s not a BAD idea, but it’s something that might have worked better with NEBULA, a character that could actually USE convincing, instead of Gamora, a character who would likely go to Stark to help kill Thanos. Still, I don’t HATE it, nor do I hate the episode. It was an adrenaline thrill-ride that gave us a return of Tony where he DOESN’T die in the end. I couldn’t have asked for more if I heard this episode’s title, and I’m glad it’s what we’ve got.
What If…Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?: I…KIND OF understand the reception towards Captain Carter. I don’t get why Marvel keeps pushing her more than their actual Captain America replacement, Sam Wilson. I mean, Captain Carter showed up in three projects (two seasons of television and a movie), where Sam made his official appearance as Captain America once…and hasn’t even cameoed in any other movie or show. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like the big buff lady and it’s awesome seeing her fight the giant robot. It’s cool, I love it. I also heavily enjoyed this episode, getting into the drama, action, and seeing Peggy make a surprisingly believable friendship with Black Widow. Heck, I’d go so far as to say that this is a better Black Widow story than her actual movie gave us. So I like it, I like seeing Captain Carter and some of her adventures. I especially like that this story isn’t a direct rehash of Winter Soldier like how the first episode is a rehash of First Avenger. The writers actually set out to make something more unique and it makes me like Captain Carter a little more. I just wish we could get that same love and appreciation towards Sam Wilson, whose movie got pushed back to 2025 and will count as the only time this character has been relevant since his mini-series. If this is our new leader of the Avengers and the man who will fight to save the multiverse, we’re probably going to need more than one appearance from the guy. I don’t think people would complain about more Captain Carter if Sam Wilson’s Captain America wasn’t so blatantly shoved too far to the side.
What If…Kahhori Reshaped the World?: One of the few rare times the MCU made an ORIGINAL superhero. There is no previous comic, movie, or show that Kahhori is based on. She’s a completely original character made up for this franchise, much like Miles Morales in the Ultimate universe or X-23 in X-Men Evolution (Check that show out, by the way. It’s pretty damn good). And just like those two, I REALLY hope Kahhori manages to become such a hit with audiences that she spawns more content, because Kahhori and her world is something I would love to revisit. Her personality is fun, her motivation is inspiring, and her powers are unique enough to make her stand out more to the other heroes in the MCU. As for her story, it’s your bare-bones origin story. The whole episode is about explaining her powers, the world she lives in, and the people she loves and fights for. It does all this while proving her heroics through fighting a supervillain set out to do some damage. Only, instead of some generic supervillain that matches her powers it’s this Spanish Conquistador who…honestly still looks like a supervillain, which is kind of funny. And it works for Kahhori, proving that while she’s currently the most powerful person in the world, she’s willing to fight against oppression and the monarchy, advocating for peace instead of a continuous war for who gains the most control. Like I said, that’s inspiring and it’s why I want to see more of this character and how far she can go when fighting bigger, more evil threats than the Queen of Spain. Whether it’s a spin-off TV show/movie, a comic mini-series, or even introducing Kahhori into the 616 comics (somehow), I wouldn’t mind seeing this new, wonderful hero more in the future.
What If…Hela Found the Ten Rings?: I…did not expect to like this one as much as I did. I wasn’t the BIGGEST fan of Hela, because aside from seeing her actress having a blast to go full ham, there wasn’t much to her. Yeah, she was this conqueror alongside Odin, which is an interesting backstory for HIM, but for Hela, it’s not enough. Instead of telling me WHO she is, Thor: Ragnarok kept telling me WHAT she was. Then here comes an episode of What If…? that not only gives me that answer, but a lot more. Sure, the first half is a bit wonky, but when we get to the second, we finally get an idea of who Hela is. Simply put, Hela doesn’t know who she is beyond a conqueror, and that’s because Odin never trained nor raised her to be anything more. This episode forces Hela to face that and discover answers she never knew she was seeking, having a surprisingly decent redemption, becoming a goddess of life instead of death. I…love that. I love that WAY MORE than I could have expected to love it. It makes me appreciate Hela a lot more and maybe see that there’s a tragedy to her in Thor: Ragnarok. Hela could have changed for the better if she met someone that could bring her good side out, but because she was banished into isolation by Odin, it caused Hela to be both spiteful and vengeful, making her refuse any alternative beyond being a conqueror or a goddess of death, with her final acts of life being someone who destroyed her home because destruction was all she knew. This episode has a better, more unique story to tell than Hela and Wenwu fighting over the Ten Rings to see who can cause more destruction. Speaking of, if there’s one thing to complain about the episode, it’s how underutilized Wenwu is to the story. He’s actually one of MY favorite MCU villains and it feels weird that he’s just…kind of there? Most of the meat to the story goes to Hela, and I do appreciate it, but Wenwu could have done more than wanting to bone Hela or assisting her in fighting Odin. But aside from that, I’d still say that this is a fantastic episode that surpassed my expectations.
What If…The Avengers Assembled in 1602?: Of all the episodes, this is the one I was looking forward to the most. I’m a sucker for seeing characters in a different setting. They’re very much the same in terms of personality but their differences vary from positions in life or the skills they’re capable of. It’s no different here, as so much of this feels like a period piece fanfic where the writers seemed to have so much fun making the Avengers be in 1602. And I don’t give a shit if people hate her, I LOVE that Captain Carter refuses to leave this world until she saves it from complete collapse. It would have been the same if it was Steve Rogers, I get that, but how do you expect me to hate a hero who’s willing to fight with her last breath to save the world? Those are my favorite kind of superheroes! You want me to give up what I love most about superheroes just because you don’t like that the big buff lady fights King Thor and his vibranium thunder sword? F**k you.
Also, this comes with the added benefit of watching big buff Steve and big buff Peggy constantly being on the VERGE of wanting to rip their clothes off and f**k each other whenever they’re on screen together. And, honestly, I can't blame them. They’re both gorgeous. LET THEM F**K!
Overall, I had fun, even if there are problems. Sure, the reveal that Steve is indirectly the cause of this universe’s collapse is way too predictable, no thanks in large part to the trailers SPOILING IT! And it’s pretty weird that Scott can still shrink and grow. Like…How can he do that in this setting? Also, this universe has a merry band of misfits that’s similar to Robin Hood, and there’s not even a SINGLE Hawkeye in it? Not even Kate Bishop? COME ON NOW! Come on now…
But, yeah, this episode is the perfect epitome of what makes What If…? enjoyable to me. It can offer you a fun concept of having the Avengers be in 1602 and just ask you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Not everyone’s going to be into that, but I am and I could take ten more seasons of this if I could.
What If…Strange Supreme Intervened?: You want me to hate the big buff lady and new MCU character Kahhori fighting Strange Supreme and a whole gaggle of universe killers just because *checks notes* Captain Carter is a Mary Sue? F**k you. I don’t care if you feel like Captain Carter is forced upon you, she punched a demonic Doctor Strange in the face with the power of INFINITY. That is awesome no matter WHO the character is and if you can’t appreciate it, then I guess this show really isn’t for you. As for the finale, the whole thing is awesome as this big fireworks show to close out the season, added with Strange Supreme going back to the dark side for the sake of reviving his universe. I’ll admit that Strange Supreme had a bit of a forced redemption last season, so it is great for this finale to prove that he is, in fact, still twisted inside while allowing him to earn a more true redemption in making up for his actions. It makes his tragedy STILL feel like a tragedy, giving everyone but him a happy ending. And, again, he got punched in the face with the power of infinity. F**k all you haters, this show’s great.
Season Two is a definite improvement to Season One. Sure, the pacing is wonky, the jokes are trying too hard, and animation can look gorgeous at times but ugly at others. But the writing’s stronger, the concepts are bigger, the fun’s funner, and I got to see a woman punch a demon in the face with the power of infinity–I keep bringing that up because it is so damn awesome. And it’s the same with this show! It just fuels that part of my brain that wants to see cool, comic book shit happening. It’s not for everyone, I know that. It’s neither good nor bad, it’s just…subjectively fun. It’ll either light up your world or leave you wanting more substance than dumb fun. I enjoyed the hell out of this season, but others won’t for their own reasons (some of them being that they just hate Captain Carter). They can feel that way all they want. Still won’t change how I enjoyed the hell out of this season and look forward to more.
#marvel cinematic universe#mcu#mcu reviews#captain carter#nova nebula#marvel what if#what if season 2#kahhori#mcu the freak#happy hogan#mcu hela#hela#justin hammer#strange supreme#tony stark#iron man
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iwould like to hear your rant about lmk wukong's character assassination. In detail. if possible. please
(takes long drag of cigarette) it really did all start with the show itself coming out. see, after ROTTMNT came out, i don't think we could really expect flying bark to be "faithful" to its IPs and while whether that was a good thing for the TMNT franchise is absolutely something that can be discussed by people that aren't me, it's a whole lot more sensitive when you're handling a show based on a cultural treasure -
LEGO's line of toys dedicated to a sort of journey of the west spinoff is, in my opinion, an objectively good idea. other than boosting sales it feels kind of inevitable considering just how much LNY stuff they'd put out already, you know? to put it simply i don't have any problems with the lego monkie kid IP in concept, just with the way FB decided to run with its execution -- which ended up landing it squarely in "hot mess" territory.
basically - and i promise that this is relevant to wukong specifically, bear with me - i think that the first red flags were the fixation on their rendition of the six-eared macaque: a character that they've changed from being a single-use "evil twin" character that served the original Journey to the West's allegory for enlightenment (ie. that he was a manifestation of SWK's worst impulses) and then immediately fucking died when the situation called for it. he didn't show up for more than one storyline. they retcon a looooot of SWK's actual backstory as detailed by the book itself in order to make room for sadboy LEMH content so the writers could get their shipfix for him and SWK (which is annoying on more than one point, if you remember what I said about the evil twin thing. if you catch my drift. average flying bark moment)
but to put it simply i genuinely think they just made him... way too much of a lazy fucking self absorbed asshole? the beginning of the show has this which feels like a one-off gag but they double down on it later which makes they didn't write sun wukong -- this is after he's supposed to have ascended to victorious-in-strife buddha, mind you, and it ends up feeling less like sun wukong at any point in the storyline and more like... well, goku. from dragon ball super. which is its own, mostly unrelated can of worms in and of itself.
the thing is this is a character that's been used historically as an allegory, as representative of the people, objectively a cultural icon no matter where in china-influenced asia you find yourself (fantastic analysis of the problem with the way LMK pays homage to that allegory here), and also used in reference to, like, diaspora kids. this is a character that baaasically any chinese person with any kind of connection to the culture is going to see themselves in - especially in his reckless identity and subsequent ascension, you know?
and the main problem here is essentially that when you do this with a character that exsits as part of a media franchise... it's fine? it's whatever. people can just skip that. but when you are doing this as an attempt to adapt a piece of historically and culturally important literature - one that is made for children, one that is infinitely more accessible to diaspora children of that culture than any other adaptation that would be directed towards their age demographic, it feels like a punch in the gut. it's a level of disrespect that just really really hurts, all because the people in charge of it feel like they have to flanderize their characters for their fandom or they'll, like, die.
this isn't exactly organized nor is it every thought i have on the matter but basically tldr they forgot they were writing sun wukong and not their oc
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Cupid's Last Wish Final Thoughts
Watch It Or Drop It The Challenge
A fireworks show of a drama which suffered from a few awkward pauses and which, even though it ended with the dampest of squibs, was a joy to watch.
Strengths
I think part of the reason I held off on watching Cupid's Last Wish for so long was because I was a little leery on the whole "BL but with body swap" premise. Don't get me wrong, I actually love the concept of a good body swap plot, who doesn't, I just haven't seen it done well very often. Luckily, however, Cupid's Last Wish more than impresses on this part and what could have been a very messy plot indeed was instead an incredibly well executed exploration of the self, the body, and the complex relationship between them. Through it's central premise Cupid's Last Wish delved into themes of gender identity, gender dysphoria and, as @wen-kexing-apologist, @lurkingshan, and @so-much-yet-to-learn delve into in this post, maps out a truly trans experience and, for that, it shines.
Another strength of the show, linked directly to the body swap, was how well it handled the misunderstanding and miscommunication between the main pairing. Normally, when confronted with a romantic miscommunication situation in a drama, it makes me want to tear my hair out with how unnecessary it is and how easily it could be fixed but not here. I could literally see Korn sending the wrong message and Win completely misleading things and I could understand why. At no point (apart from perhaps the last 2 episodes which I'll get to in a bit) was I questioning why Win thought Korn was in love with Lin or how Korn was unable to see what his actions were communicating to Win.
A final two strengths (before I move on to the weaknesses) are the cast and the soundtrack. I won't go too into depth (after all I expected Earth and Mix to put on an excellent performance) but the dynamics between the central trio were fantastic and Jan and Mix sharing two dual roles was an impressive (and impressively convincing) sight to see. Likewise the soundtrack was pretty basic but effective, the use of Tillybird's "Just Being Friendly" was a highlight and I've had Mix and Earth's "Closer" on repeat for my own trip.
Weaknesses
For all that Cupid's Last Wish does right, I won't lie, it also does quite a bit wrong with the main issue being that as well thought out and as beautifully executed as the body swap plot line, everything else feels a little... half hearted, half baked, half done. The inheritance plotline felt silly within a second of it being introduced (I still don't get why Win was so angry or why he held the grudge for so long when everything we'd been shown up to the "big reveal" indicated he should have felt the opposite); the Aunt and Uncle were barely there and, brief attempted murder on the part of the Aunt aside, barely villains at all (and were actually quite reasonable once they got to have civil chat); and the whole plot twist with the mum being the homophobic mastermind behind Win and Korn's estrangement was so poorly done and so rushed I'm still angry about it (she did absolutely nothing to be forgiven and I can't believe her revelation was swept under the rug in seconds).
I wish I could say these were minor things but they were, technically, half the drama and really soured things when it was time to focus back on them. What really put the nail in the coffin though, is the fact that these weaker elements became the entire focus of the show in the final two episodes which meant it ended with a decidedly wet plop rather than with a bang.
Conclusion
There is much to love about this drama and perhaps even more to explore with regards to its central theme but unfortunately some of its weaker elements were just a little too loud to completely ignore. I would still rewatch it (in fact I plan to) and I would still recommend it to anyone thinking of giving it a go (and even foist on people who weren't thinking about it at all) but I would also say that I wouldn't judge anyone who decided to speed run the final 2 episodes.
Watch or Drop: WATCH (but with a minor warning)
Final Score: 7.5/10 (closer to an 8 than a 7)
Would I rewatch it: Yes, heck I even want to write meta about it if I can find the time.
Watch It Or Drop It Masterpost
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Here Comes Garfield: The Fantastic Funnies (A Comission For Emma Fici)
Hello all you happy people! And welcome one and all to Here Comes Garfield, my look at all things garfield. For the rest of the year this feature will mostly be a look at the 11 garfield specials, minus babes and bullets which I covered previously, as well as his appearence in Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue for last 420.
So for those just joining us: I'm a lifelong comic strip nerd, ever since my dear Aunt Paula gave me her spare copy of the Indespensible Calvin and Hobbes in the 3rd grade. From there I slowly glommed on to other strips over the years: From FoxTrot, to Doonesbury, to Get Fuzzy to Zits to Cul De Sac, to recent faviorites like Pheobe and Her Unicorn, Crabgrass, the Steenz version of Heart and the City, and Breaking Cat News, which i'm wrapping a huge retrospective of soon, and whose place this retrospective is taking on my friend Emma's Patreon slot.
I love talking about this fine art, fitting your best work in just 4 panels, all the wonderful characters many simply don't know exist, all the weird shit that happens.. it's good stuff. So naturally I also gained a love for specials based on them. And while I loved the Peanuts ones and will climb THAT massive mountain someday, as a tween.. my faviorites were Garfield's and it's how I fell in love with the fat cat, the cool cat the nobody's cool cat.
While younger me did like garfield as a strip, especially that one arc where Garfield gets caught in a window blind and it conttinues to suck in an escalating number of people
Truly the "Snoopy's Awkward Nephew" of Garifield comics. Pure art. But while I liked it, it was watching the specials on the DVD garfield as himself that sucked me into the character. The DVD"s were released around the time of the first movie and releases of Garfiled and Friends to cash in and they certainly got my money. 12 specials, all ranging from excellent to watchable, and all wil lbe covered this year.
However before I can tell you that story, I have to tell you this story: See while Here Comes Garfield was Garfield's first SPECIAL.. it wasn't his first apperance in animation. Two years before that Garfield lept onto screens and into the inky depths of animation with a short but scene stealing apperance in the 1980 special the Fantastic Funnies, an apperance I honestly didn't even know existed till recently, but is such a weird and important piece of garfield history I had to cover it and Emma was on board to comission it.
So what exactly IS the fantastic funnies you may ask. Well i'll tell you.. you may ask. The Fantastic Funnies was a sequel to the earlier special The Fabulous Funnies, a celebration of comic strips interviewing various creators and including a live action on animated bit with Rob Reiner. I haven't seen it but if there's enough intrest I might cover it. The special was a hit for NBC, with CBS regretting having passed over the idea when animation maestro and peantus producer Lee Mendelson suggested it. After they remembered he'd pitched it and they'd been stupid at all of course, as is the executive way. They called dibs on the next time.
The next time was 12 years and an animated series that didn't do so good later, and CBS was front and center for the Fantastic Funnies, taking the concept but spiffing it up: this time the interviews were, with two exceptions, each accompanied by an animated short, there was an animated bit to start it off, and we also got a few musical numbers and live performances from the broadway cast of annie.. well two of the broadway cast of annie bu tthat's still more of the broadway cast of annie than has been on this blog so touche Fabulous Funnies, touche. It's the most 70's thing to come out of 1980 and i'll be covering the whole thing under the cut.
Fantastic Funnies is hosted by Loni Anderson, who at the time was on CBS' hit WKRP in Cincinatti.. and what i've seen of it is excellent. She hasn't really done anything else i've seen, but she seems nice enough.
This makes it awkward as hosting wise she feels shoved into the special. The script she's given feels awkward, with her only genuine enthuasim coming from Barney Google. I honestly wish I could be as jazzed about Barney Google and his go go gooogly eyes as Loni Anderson apparently was in 1980. I AM that jazzed about Snoopy's awkard teenage nephew
But it's not the same alas.
I can't even blame her as anderson was already frustrated with her pay for the series she did do and would demand more from the network leading to a brief exit from WKRP. I can't be too hard on her for not giving a fuck about an extra gig they saddled her with she didn't ask for with a script written by a block of wood on several pounds of qualudes. She did her best under the circumstances.
The circumstances also include getting animated as a cartoon, lucky, and getting to introduce a panel of various comic strip all stars of the time.
Okay so going row by row, with the strips self titled unless otherwise stated.
Front Row: Charlie Brown and Lucy (Peanuts), Nipper (Wee Pals), Dennis the Menace (US Comic), Nancy and Sluggo and Little Orphan Annie.
Second Row: Blondie and Dagwood, Dick Tracey, Barney Google (Snuffy Smith), Alley Oop and Prince Valiant
Third Row: Pogo, Tumbleweeds, miss Peach, B.C., Beetle Bailey
Back row: Michael Doonesbury (Doonesbury), Broom Hilda, Drabble, Cathy and Hagar the Horrible
And in their own section because dogs apparently don't get bleacher seats at Walden, where I assume this is taking place as the only college out of these strips, we also get the dogs and one very special cat in their own section.
So Snoopy, Daisy (Blondie), Fred Basset and Garfield who are all about to throw down when Lonnie announces they have to get back to the human world for the show. But before that a song they all prepared, and it was at this point in the special I had to ask myself the tough question:
I still don't know. But yes the song is like living in a living nightmare and I don't care for it. It's thankfully short and Broomhilda takes them all to the real world. But that's a story for another day
Sadly not that day.
For now the special settles int' it's formula: Lonnie introduces a cartoonist, they talk about how their strip came to be, we get an animated segment about it. The only exceptions to the last part are Wee Pals, which instead has it's creator voice over one of his strips directly and Prince Valliant, who gets jack shit.
It was at this point I also realized a bit of an issue. While I mentioned my love of comic strips.. most of the ones I adore come from the late 70's onward, with Doonesbury and Peanuts being the big exceptions. I don't have anything against strips from before that time, I've read what I could of Pogo and want to read more and Krazy Kat is still well loved for a reason. I've also recently gained an appreceation of popeye thanks to Randy Millholand's take on the franchise.
The thing is I started devouring every comic strip I coudl in the 2000's. It was a great time for that as every strip got at least ONE collection, so even if you didn't read the newspapers, you could get a sample of a wide range of strips in book form. Boondocks even got a hilarious title out of it for it's first book.
So I got to sample a wide range of strips, many of which I still read today: Get Fuzzy, Zits Pooch Cafe, For Better or For Worse, Baldo, La Cucaracha, Cul De Sac, Lio, Luann, Rudy Park, Adam@Home. Many strips I first found in collection and binged later. Sadly this went down in the 2010's but thankfully the kids comics boom has meant many newer strips have gotten collections. It's why I have collections for heart of the city and crabgrass on my shelf.
But as you may of noticed... most of those either started in the 2000's or in the 90's. Most of the kings features based strips simply didn't get collections and thus I didnt' notice them.. and by the time I could i'd mostly heard of them by reputation as dinosaurs that would go on till the heat death of the universe via various legacy artists who wouldn't really change a thing.
And I do GET why: a lot of these legacy strips.. are ran by family members who want to honor the legacy and may simply not feel comfortable altering the strip too much. I'm not asking that dagwood suddenly become a t-rex... i'd love that, but I get i'm not everyone's target audience. Not every strip can be Pooch Cafe and go entirley off the rails AND still be every bit the strip it always was AND be good
It's hard. So I do have some sympathy. It's not limitless: while I get not doing so say in the 2000's when handing your strip off to another cartoonist, let alone your DAD'S strip wasn't a thing unless they were going to stay the course, in the 2020's and late 2010's we've had a bunch of great reboots and soft reboots of legacy strips: Randy Millholand of Something Positive fame did such a fantastic job on popeye sundays he got a weekly slot with olive and popeye, giving other creators the chance to do their own olive oyl strip basically alongside his. Mark Tatulli got tired of doing heart of the city (Lio both continues and slaps hard) and rather than phone it in or end it, handed it over to the talented Steenz, whose work on the strip is both something entirley diffrent but something entirely fresh and fun with some tight continuity. Olivia James made people care about Nancy for the first time in decades and has a nice dry wit. And while Henry Barjas keeps the soapy stylings of gil thorpe and hasn't changed as much as his contemporaries he still isn't afraid to shake things up having Gil go through a divorce, get two new assitant coaches, a third assitant coach who was once his arch nemisis and making the teen cast far more diverse including trans and non binary characters, being one of the few creators to do so in comic stripery.
While I don't want you going after these old men, and please for the love of god DO NOT GO AFTER THESE MEN. I do not want that. I may gripe, but these seem like decent guys just ones who won't evolve and have no reason to. I'm just outlining why maybe i'd rather read strips that keep growing with age or have fresh new voices rather than "Dagwood still hasn't left the 1950's and when theyt ry to it's embarassing for everyone involved. "
I.. didn't mean for this to turn into a screed on legacy comics that never really changed but it makes it all the more special tha ta lot of these creation stories for these comics still fascinated me.
The big standout was Wee Pals, a strip I hadn't heard of as it ended in 2002. Wee Pals was created by Morrie Turner, a cartoonist and protege of Charles Schultz who bemoaned the lack of black characters in the newspapers. Charles told him why not make one, and Wee Pals came about, with Turner diversifying the cast to drum up intrest creating one of the more diverse casts in earlier comic strips as a result. Nowadays it's a tad quaint, but I can't fault the man for trying to make comic strips less white and i'm glad I know this pioneer exist. I'm also mildly annoyed his strip wasn't animated, as it was one of the funneist present, with our heroes talking about one's pet chameleon.
There were other intresting stories too: Cathy Guthwise based Cathy on her own life, just changing Cathy's job from cartoonist to "whatervers funnier". Broom Hilda, a strip about a wtich, was something his creator tried pitching as an add character first. IT's small stuff but it always fascinates me how a strip comes about.
The only outright hilarous one is Johnny Hart, who kept trying to sell a caveman character, his friends asked him to put up or shut up so in his words "He drank 4 beers and the caveman slowly came into focus." He just.. outright got hammered to fuck because that was a normal thing in 1980 and created a classic comic strip out of it that later became obessed with jesus. Amazing.
The interviews are neat and while I may not like these strips I respect their creators.. and the creator of Hagar for putting on a viking helmet. Good stuff.
As for the animated segmets.. their eh. Like I said most of these strips are pretty gag a day and it seems like the shorts just flat out animated a strip. Which can work as it does for the raeson we're all here, garfield will come soon I promise, but for the most part it just dosen't land for me
In two cases they just flat out take bits from pre existing specails: For Doonesbury they take a bit of Joanie at the daycare.
For those less drenched in the deep and complex lore of doonesbury as the werido who has a ton of print books and bought digitals of strips he already had and books he already bought years ago just to have a copy on kindle: Joanie Caucuss was once a house wife, who got tired of it and her husband clinton and hitched the first ride she could away from his sexist ass. That ride happened to be with strip lead Mike and his best friend and revolutinary Mark on a motorcycle trip to find america. They took her back with them, she joined them at their commune, and soon got a job in daycare while trying to become a law student, which is the status quo the special used. Soon after she'd become a law student, head to berkley, find the love of her life and a long LONG list of other stuff up to present day where she works as a campaign manager on occasion during her alleged retirement.
It's not a bad bhit, but I get the sense they wanted to pick the least political thing they could.. yet weirdly DIDN'T go with the musical number or the dinner the group have. Or you know just accept doonesbury is political and include frank discussions of the 60's in this special.
For Peanuts, they just include an animated bit of snoopy singing suppertime from your a good man charlie brown. It's new animation far as I can tell, as the bit wasn't in any of the specials and they woudlnt' adapt the musical till the mid 80s. It's fine I just question why they didn't recycle anything from the specials.
Finally Cathy is from it's special, but fits, with her "wanting to have it all". A very cathy joke and frankly had I not found out she has three specails, i would not have been able to tell.
As for the other material either recycled from the fabulous funnies or made for this special, i'm going in no paticular order.
Beetle Bailey: Beetle runs away from sarge to try and get out of doing the obstacle course
Hagar the horrible has a trite bit about his wife telling him to take out the garbage VIKINGS DON'T DO THAT. YOU SO SILLY HAGAR.
Dennis the Menace keeps drawing out bed time because kids do that, even immortal children who aren't all that menacing.
By now your starting to get what a mountain it was to climb this special: short interview, unfunny skit, short interview unfunny skit, rinse repeat, toss away my sanity. I TRY to be positive on this blog, try not to be a dickhead.. but this special is so damn boring half the time. The interviews are kinda neat but the animated bits are just.. so lame.
So as a break let's talk what else the special did to fill time. Loni Anderson sang the radio themes to Popeye and Little Orphan Annie. IN the former's case.. that's all you gets. No adventure, no high seas just her singing the popeye theme. We dont' even get a musical number from the popeye movie because it hadn't happene dyet. I want to hear bluto say i'm mean over and ove rand over again. I"m that desperate.
Annie DOES get the cast of the broadway show, a huge hit then and forever, to do two numbers, both iconic and both well performed: The first is I dont' Need Anything But YOu, the cute duet between Annie and Warbucks, and then of course Tommorow best sung by bill the cat.
But the kid they use here does pretty good herself. They have it sung at the only playground in budget for some reason, but they did their best.
We also get a truly batshit bumber about peopl eneeding their funnies, from reading them as they go down the fire pole to IN A MOVING CAR. Yes even serial murderers need their funnies as they mow down pedestrians. It's nature's way. I do relate to tha tboost you get from reading them every day, I do so and I have to use three diffrent sites: one for andrews mcmeel, one for king features, and one for the webbcomic kevin and kell. So I get it. Three's also a closing number I ran away form.
The final non torture bit is Johnny Fever from WKRP. Due to a news strike he's tasked iwth reading the comics and drmatically reads flash gordon. Howard Hessman is hilarous as always, the bit is fucking great, and it woke me up after several strip adaptions put me to sleep. good stuff.
Back to my cycle of torment, and we have a Blondie cartoon and one of the few animated bits in the specail that was intresting. And unintetionally hilarous as Blondie gets dagwood THIS haircrime done to him.
What makes it funny is that not only is this haircut too much even for the 70's, but Blondie LOVES it, as do the kids.. despite all three of them having never updated their styles. Granted Blondie's hair game is timeless, so I get her point but it's just a .. weird plot to pick for blondie.
Naturallyt his being blondie instead of forcusing on the problem of "his wife wants him to try a hair cut that makes him not feel himself" it's in part him worried tha this friends and co workers will laugh. I mean they will, it's as if Luke Skywalkers hair started to eat into his brain, but that shoudln't be your takeaway and him washing it out while Blondie's alseep solves nothing and isn't funny. "Haha he can't be honest with his wife and she's going to later cite this incident to thier marriage counclier". Granted I would ENTIRELY read Dagwood's hair causing a divorce between them, but i'm not sure that's an arc Blondie readers want. I do wnat reprints of golden age blondie as it apparently involved Dagwood having to get disinherited to marry blondie, getting drunk, and other soap opera stuff more intresting than Dagwood trying to single white female mark hamill. Huh now THAT'S a Disney + series i'd watch. get on it disney
The other really fun one is Marmaduke. This one's just kidna fucked up. Marmaduke want sto go sleep in the same bed with the kids, which can somehow fit all three and is adorable so I don't get why not, but the dad tries to make him go outside because that was the thing with dogs. It hasn't aged terribly with charlie brown because snoopy clearly likes having his own pad and the inside is larger than most mansions, let alone the brown house
And when the whole thing burned down in one of the more sobering strips in the series run
Charlie Brown dutifully helped him plan his new house
Honestly I could talk about Snoopy's house burning down all day but it's not what you came for. You came to hear me tell you how it relates to Marmaduke. My point is Marmaduke just has a regular ass Dog House, and just wants to sleep in bed. I get this was normal at the time, it used to be the norm that dogs woudln't sleep in bed.. but my Dog YOshi curls up on my mom' sbed every night and maddie, my other dog , only dosen't when she's not on her own bed restfully asleep as she is as I type this. what i'm saying is maybe just maybe forcing dogs to live outside at night was cruel jackassery and maybe letting the big old dog curl up at the foot of the bed or, if he prefers tucked in while old man bastard can sleep outside and think about his life choices. Also i'm shocked this wasn't the plot of either marmaduke movie. It's so perfect. One man's journey to be a better dog owner .. or Marmaduke repeadely hitting him in the nuts with a tennis ball machine and other various objects. I"m not picky. Also i'm not touching either of those films unless someone pays me the 15 dollars it'd take to comissoin it. I'll review plenty of garbage on my own time, but I have limits. Pete Davidson is very much a hard and fast one. Owen Wilson is fine though. We love owen in this house.. but even he can' save cgi marmaduke and we all know that.
Pogo also takes a bit from the then upcoming film I go Pogo.. a guy I don't know tries to take two passing critters for a ride using the old shell game.. only to have put something under every one. i'ts a nice joke and it works well, and the gorgeous claymation. Given it's both election based and based on a comic i'd like to know better, me reviewing that .. would still be 15 if anyone wants it but far less of my own personal hell. But i'm more likely to do that one on my own. Fun fact: pogo's election storyline's inspired bloom counties, which I will be covering this year or at the very least the 1984 one.
BC has some bit with a turtle. It sure does exist
Broom Hilda asks who the fairest in the land is and her mirror calls her second. She responds by breaking it. This bit.. was actually funny. I'm not sure Broom Hilda would be for me as it's main gag seems to be "Gee isn't a woman chasing men against their will funny" which
Same other way around or with non binary folks. But I did like this and her horning in on mike's close up
She looks like she's about to hit on him but adorably so and he looks just.. so done with it as he always is. I mean.. I can't have turned out worse than Mike's actual first marriage. his second is pretty ballin though.
Mama has her Son say that life is a song.. onlyf or her to sing about him neglecting him. Get it because guilt tripping is funny! This is apparently most of what Mama is.
Finally before our main event we have tumbleweeds with sexual harassment as some lady refuses to let tumbleweeds go. And that's not me being lazy that's his actual name. Though to it's creator's credit he retired rather than let it become "a zombie strip", so good on him.
Okay now for what you all came to see
Also garfield
Garfield's first aniamted special was MOSTLY worth the pilgramage here. While ti's only a few strips repeated, it's fascinating for just how diffrent it is from Here comes Garfield a few years later.
For starters the Fantastic Funnies used an early design for our faviorite cat, not the iconic entirely weird by this point earliest garfield but one more in between, not quite upright yet, but not nearly as realistic as day 1 garfield.
To the classic peanuts team of Mendelson and Mendez's credit they did a wondreful job, likely why they were chosen to produce the specials till the companies backing peanuts asked them to stop helping out rival specails, and this version of garfield heavily resembles what he was like in the strip this frame is based on
It's also telling how fast Jim Davis was evolving the special that by the time it aired Garfield had already changed his look up a bit, if still not fully to his more classic 80s look.
It's not a HUGE change, just a little thinner, with the bigger change being in how he sit's/stands
It's just a testament to how slowly but surely the character evolved in apperance over his first decade or so and part of what makes this intreresting: while the specials help chart this evolution, and helped cause it as Jim needed to draw Garfield with SKinnier legs for the opening dance number of here comes garfield, it's nice to have this bit of his evolution frozen in amber.
The voices behind the characters are intresting: to my shock Thom Huge ALWASY voiced john and basically only stopped doing it when he retired. Thom did voices for commericals and was an old frat brother of Jim Davis who Davis asked for help with this special. While the producers would recast huge for Here Comes Garfield, he sent them a tape and became THE voice of john in the same way Lorenzo Music became THE voice of garfield.
WHile that's weird enough... what makes this special stand out besides the earlier designs... is Garfield's Voice. It's not Lorenzo Music, who would DEFINE the character in my eyes and is THE garfield, no question, though Frank Welker and Bill Murray are admirable.. but Radio DJ and voice guy Scott Beach.
Beach is take is intresting as both Murray and Welker clearly take from Music, while Beach largely does his own thing. Instead of the dry, sarcastic bored tone Lorenzo perfected, Beach has that but it sounds more like Jean Shepard'ss narration in a christmas story. Shepard isn't bad but his voice for Garfield is less relaxed, mor ebooming and confident. It dosen't COMPLETELY fit and makes the short feel a tad weird.. but it's also hard to judge the voice as, like I said EVERY voice after took cues from Music. he left the perfect blueprint. The fact Chris Pratt isn't that dry, sarcastic , laid back voice the character has been defined by hasn't helped his case voicing the character at the time of this review. Beach does a good job, but he just didn't quite fit and it's hard to compare a 2 minute performance with dozens of hours worth of material from Music. Beach did a decent job, but he just wasn't the right guy for the part, simple as that. his voice just didn't fit Garfield's give no fuck nature that well.
Finally we have the specific strips adapted. nd the garfield wiki was a huge help here. Seriously fan wikis can have a bad rap but many are done by dedicated people who save me a LOT of work and do a lot of through research> Kudos guys, thanks for your help. So the wiki has each strip adapted. Excluding the "I have feet? " one we have
Not bad choices: they get all the garfiled bases: he dosen't like catching mice, likes food and Jon weight shames him a lot. Simple, quick and well done.
Overall the garfield shorts for this special are excellent. It's a short bit but it gets the character down and it's easy to see why, despite being the new kid on the block at only two years old at the time, garfield's the one who go ta specail out of the deal.
Now does he make the specail worth watching?
I mean if you like comic strip history like me, you'll get something out of it. There's a bit on the inductees into the hall of fame, but even then it's a long slog of interviews that are fairly short and shorts that are both short and tedious. The good bit here or there cannot save this.
Other than Garfield .. there really isn't much to write home about for the casual viewer or if your a fan of Peanuts and Doonesbury like I am, as both bits can be found elswhere. It's easier to either fast forward to the bit with a comic you like or find the garfield bits in their own little video, of which there are plenty. I'm glad I reviewed the special.. but it just hasn't aged well and probably wasn't that fun to begin with. Even as much as I ranted about how much I didn't know the strips.. i'ts still presented so dryly even if it had strips I liked more in it, it'd still be a bit of a slog. There's just not enough genuinely good stuff or loveable nonsense to keep this afloat. Skip the special but DO check out the early garfield stuff. It's brilliant.
Next Time: The first proper special as Garfield must save Odie from the pound.. after he grooves to Lou Rawls a bit. As is nature's way. Thanks for reading.
#garfield#peanuts#doonesbury#comic strips#comics#wkrp in cincinnati#doonebury#charles schulz#charlie brown#lucy van pelt#snoopy#hagar the horrible#blondie#wee pals#marmaduke#broom hilda#cathy
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One of these years, the spring anime season will not be unfathomably stacked. But 2024 is not that year.
MUST-WATCH
Hibike Euphonium Season 3: And so... our last piece begins.
Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night: An explosion of creativity and joy. The original anime we needed after last season's flops.
Kaiju No. 8: The single most kickass premiere of the season. Production IG does it again, lads.
Tonari no Youkai-san: So here's a show that wasn't on my radar until the first episode walloped me with how good it was. We may have a new ugly-cry masterpiece on our hands here.
RUNNERS UP
Girls Band Cry: The fact this hasn't been officially licensed yet is my roman empire. It's the Love Live Sunshine writer and director on a genuinely fantastic-looking CGI anime, give them respect, god dammit!
Go Go Loser Ranger: Super impressed by the concept and execution alike. Call this one a dark horse for most likely to snatch Anime of the Season when everyone least expects it.
Train to the End of the World: Somehow, this is the most coherent LSD trip I've taken. Not that I've... actually... taken one. Ahem.
Whisper Me a Love Song: Oh thank Christ the adaptation is nowhere near as bad as I was afraid it would be
Wind Breaker: A show that dares to ask the question: what is Tokyo Revengers was... good?
WORTH A LOOK
Bartender: Glass of God: Kinda boring, but also explores some interesting ideas with its focus on bars and bartending. I'll stick with it a little longer at least.
Konosuba Season 3: Somehow these losers keep being just funny enough to keep me watching.
Spice and Wolf: This is probably not gonna live up to the original, but still nice to be reminded of how good this story is.
Yuru Camp Season 3: Oh god what did they do to the character designs
ON THIN ICE
Blue Archive: Not gonna lie, solely watching this for the waifus. We'll see how long that keeps me.
A Condition Called Love: So I maaaaaay have been a bit too harsh on A Sign of Affection last season.
The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio: Well... at least the Whisper Me adaptation is pretty decent, right?
LOOK AT THIS POINT I'M COMMITTED AND I WANT TO SEE HOW DEEP THE ABYSS GOES
Mushoku Tensei Season 2 Part 2: Looooooooooooooooooooooool
#anime#tabw#the anime binge watcher#hibike euphonium#hibike! euphonium#jellyfish can't swim in the night#yoru no kurage wa oyogenai#tonari no youkai san#kaiju no. 8#girls band cry#go go loser ranger#sentai daishikkaku#train to the end of the world#shuumatsu train doko e iku?#whisper me a love song#sasayaku you ni koi wo utau#wind breaker#bartender: kami no glass#bartender: glass of god#konosuba#spice and wolf#yuru camp#laid back camp#ookami to koushinryou#blue archive#the many sides of voice actor radio#seiyuu radio no uraomote#a condition called love#hananoi kun to koi no yamai#mushoku tensei
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Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Rise of the Guardians
So I vaguely remember watching this movie at a Walmart once while I was waiting on my car to get fixed. Fuck all if I remember anything about it though other than that people ship the ice twink with Elsa or whatever. So I kind of went into this one for my first active watching of it with bare expectations. How did I end up finding it then?
The Guardians are a group of mythical beings composed of North (Santa Claus), the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and their newest recruit, Jack Frost. Together, they protect the children of the world from the villainous Pitch Black (the Boogeyman) from spreading fear across the entire world. A pretty solid setup with some good payoff, but... there are problems.
I think my biggest issue with Rise of the Guardians is... well, its ambitious. A bit too ambitious for its own good at times. It has so much it wants to establish with these characters and how their roles and powers work that it sometimes bogs itself down with all of the details and... overcomplicates things a bit too much? Like on its own, we all are familiar with the concept of Santa or the Easter Bunny, and I do appreciate how creative this movie is with executing them and the work that they do. But sometimes, it just... gets in its own way? If that makes any sense?
So a simple premise that bogs itself down in the details. Ok, what else is there about this movie to redeem it? Lots, surprisingly! The Guardians are all really fun characters in their own right, and I loved the dynamic developed between them. Jack Frost is our focal point out of all of them, and I really liked him! He's an angsty little ice twink who can't been seen by almost anyone because no one believes him, so he has plenty of baggage for compelling drama. My one issue with him though is that I don't think Chris Pine's voice works for his character design? Like I look at that character and I do not think the voice of a man cresting his mid 40s. Its just a touch weird in terms of casting.
The other Guardians are also really fun and unique takes on characters we all already know. North is a delightfully different take on Santa, still just as jolly as we know him to be, with a slick action-hero element of him to the side. The Tooth Fairy has a very sweet, fast-paced energy to her, while the Easter Bunny brings a great edge of sass to compete with Jack throughout the film. The Sandman, while not saying a word, is probably my favorite of the bunch though. He's just so charming and sweet and while he isn't in much of the movie, he makes such a strong impact every second he's on screen.
Of course, we also have our villain, Pitch Black. He's sinister and manipulative, if not a bit... predictable? Like we've all seen this kind of villain before, he isn't doing anything new, but he works well as a foil for this team, especially for Jack and I think he's an ok antagonist overall.
Visually, this movie is beautiful, so unlike almost anything Dreamworks has ever made before, with gorgeous effects and fantastically animated action sequences. The character designs are so... un-Dreamworks, but they work so nicely in the world they inhabit. That world itself is beautifully built, especially in its more fantastical setpieces like the Tooth Palace or the North Pole. The score was also lovely to listen to, capturing the sheer creativity of this movie so nicely.
At the end of the day, I think that's the perfect word to describe Rise of the Guardians. It's very creative, with a lot of love and thought clearly poured into it. It really is a shame that it didn't go anywhere further into a series or more sequels because I would have loved to see more of this team and watch them just... be together. They're that fun to watch in action. Same for the movie itself. It's good!
Overall Rating: 8/10
Verdict: All hail the Ice Twink
Previous Review (Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted)
Next Review (The Croods)
#jen watches#dreamworks watch#rise of the guardians#dreamworks#jen tortures herself with every dreamworks animated movie ever
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hi! just wondering if u have any mp100 fic recs particularly nonromantic ones? i read “A Breach of Trust” already and that one went straight to the Fics of All Time for me!!
hello! here's some stuff from my bookmarks that is non-romantic, or where if there is any romance, it's not the main focus:
Issho by @toastytoaster22: a canon divergence AU where teru meets shigeo and ritsu when he's 8 years old, and things go from there. this is THE go-to fic if you liked A Breach of Trust imo - not for the genre and tone, those are different (though admittedly it's been years since I reread Abot so my memory of it is a bit fuzzy - will need to reread it soon!), but the key aspects are the same: it's a very well-written, long fic, with a gripping plot, excellent characterisation and introspection (the pov is absolutely fantastic), and heart-warming familial bonds that will make you cry. this fic will break your heart and then lovingly put it back together.
Butterfly Effect by Frecklefrog: similar concept to the above, also a fantastic execution. reigen and mob meet teru while out on a job, when the kids are around 11, and the plot evolves from there. again this has great characterisation and the relationships are very well-written, especially teru and reigen's.
Hiding His Horns (an orphaned work): this one is listed in ao3 as terumob but in my opinion this fic is plot-heavy more than anything else, and gives equal weight to reigen and mob's and mob and ritsu's relationship (in addition to teru and mob's), so i wouldn't say it's about romance. but it IS written in teru's pov, and his feelings for mob are not exactly subtle, so if that's not your cup of tea, i'd skip this one. but if that doesn't bother you, then i really recommend it. it's a witches and demons AU where teru, a promising young witch/exorcist, really really wants reigen, an incredibly famous exorcist, to take him on as an apprentice. he's less than pleased when he discovers reigen in fact already has a student, and that student is a demon of all things.
The Joy of Cooking (for a Family You Didn't Know You Had) by pepperfield: a 5 + 1 collection about reigen treating the people in his life to meals. this one is just great if you're looking for something about reigen and the gaggle of kids he ended up pretty much adopting. very very heartwarming, and the crazy conversations the kids have always make me laugh. each of their voices is spot-on. this fic does have some serirei, especially one of the later chapters, but it's not the overall focus of the fic at all.
The Destiny of Those Around You by @fightmemogami: this one is a series containing two fics, both equally great. both are missing moments from s1, after the seventh division arc. one is about shigeo visiting kamuro, the student council president (as he mentions to ritsu in the last ep of s1), and the other is about a conversation that may have happened between mob and onigawara (based on that comment he gave ritsu about how "your brother was worried about you"). both these fics are very good, i especially enjoy the way shigeo is written.
Color in a Monochrome World by Sifl: i have to be honest, i haven't reread this collection yet since i first did back in 2016, but it's in my bookmarks and i remember really enjoying it. it's a collection of gen fics, about different characters and different relationships, and while they can be read as stand-alones, they are subtly interconnected. the details are a bit fuzzy in my memory but it's very well-written, so i do recommend it. i will be rereading it soon myself.
Port in a Storm by W3LTERW8: this is a short character study set right after the separation arc. contains some good angst, as well as a great conversation between reigen and mob in the aftermath of what was a turning point for both of them.
Signed Up For It by @turning-the-kaleidoscope: heart-warming fic that takes place both before and after canon, focused on reigen's pov of the sort of world shigeo, as a born esper, lives in, and how different that world is from reigen's own. and how despite all that, reigen still wants to stay. has some great dialogue that really stuck with me, and the hurt/comfort is fantastic.
tomorrow isn't always another day by suitablyskippy (tumblr won't let me @ them, but they're also on here with the same username, I believe): hilarious fic, made me laugh out loud multiple times with how clever and quick-witted the writing is. reigen is caught in a time loop, is apparently the only person to be aware of it, and can't seem to find the cause, no matter how many times he asks mob to check if he's got a curse on him. excellent writing that casually drops some of the best-written, funniest lines like it's nothing.
Pull Up The Weeds to Grow Back Stronger by @spiritusrex: we are now entering what I'm calling the Mogami section of this post. this one is a great fic about minori in mogamiland, and how she slowly but surely manages to rebel against the role she is being made to play. great depiction of the start of a redemption arc.
I know who I am when I'm alone by RedWritingHood: mogami arc fic where reigen is also stuck in mogamiland as another random inhabitant of this world. really really great fic about how your thoughts and feelings don't determine the sort of person you are, your actions do. you can still do good by someone no matter how many intrusive thoughts try to get you to be a horrible person.
Come Morning Light by NotHereForIt: this one deals with the fallout of the mogami arc. reigen finds himself in a dream that isn't his, where mob is being haunted by the six months that never happened. some darker themes, as expected from anything dealing with the mogami arc, but great hurt/comfort.
since you asked for non-romantic stuff particularly, I will put the following two recs on their own. they're both terumob, and the romance is pretty central in both (especially in the second one), so they may not be your cup of tea, but they both have some of the best redemption arcs i've ever read, both in this fandom and outside of it. if you don't mind the romance, i wholeheartedly recommend them, i've read both multiple times:
Tunnel Vision (orphaned): a canon divergence AU (set before the two of them meet) where mob's school is undergoing some renovations and he and his friends are temporarily relocated to teru's school. teru senses there's another esper at his school and does NOT take it well. he makes a lot of mistakes. roughly follows the events of season 1. written in teru's pov so his feelings for mob are always prominent as they slowly shift from animosity to something else, but i don't know if i would even call this a love story. it's about teru's redemption first and foremost. excellent writing and characterisation, and i have to give a special shoutout to tsubomi, i really loved the way she was written in this fic.
Sword of Damocles (also orphaned): cannot describe in words the impact this fic has had on me. it's a no powers AU set when the kids are 16. teru is, to put it bluntly, a complete asshole, and so are his friends. when he brags to them that he'd be able to charm anyone and get them to kiss him (without being the one to make the first move), they dare him to prove it, and point to a random guy walking by (shigeo) as his target. now teru just needs to charm him and get his kiss so he can go back to his life, but it may not be as easy as it seems. obviously this fic has a lot of romance in it since teru is trying to charm mob into going out with him since the start, but the slow burn is one of the best i've ever read. teru starts off as highly unlikable, and he's not very charitable (in his head) towards mob at all, but slowly, very slowly, he starts to change. it's incredibly well-written, and as the title implies, you spend the whole time reading it with a sense of anticipation and dread, wondering when things are gonna come crashing down and how bad the fallout will be. a really, really great fic, i wish i could reread it as if it was the first time.
that's all i've got for you! i hope at least some of these can pique your interest, and that you enjoy them. would love to hear your thoughts on the ones you do read, if you like! i'm always open to talk about great fics.
#mob psycho 100#mp100#fic recs#asks#creatispark#i tried to link every author's tumblr i could find but didn't have much luck#if anyone knows any of these people are on tumblr please feel free to link them
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the city we became: four out of five make a brand new start of its
the city we became is a 2020 novel by n. k. jemisin. it's a love letter to new york city and a snapshot of the culture at the time it was written (which still feels very much like the present). six people have "become" new york city--living incarnations of the boroughs and the city itself--and they have to deal with the birth pangs of the process...plus an unexpected challenge from far outside the city's normal sphere. overall, it's a fantastic novel. once i got into it, i read it in one night.
the cast is really interesting and represents jemisin's vision of who new york really is. there's even a lenape character to represent the city's continuity with the precolonial life of the place. she's an artist working in the bronx who was in the american indian movement in the seventies. you love to see it. lots of queer representation, which i know makes a difference for me and i think for my readers here too. the antagonists in the novel also speak to the essential challenges of our society in this historical moment in a way that's kind of vindicating.
there are like two places where it falls flat for me, two, and the rest of the book is vibrant and powerful. i'm going to hit one of them below the cut. apart from that, this novel is a knockout. great contemporary fantasy concept, great execution, vivid characters you can really root for and plot dynamics that will have you lost in the pages.
overall, solid four out of five. i liked it better than the broken earth trilogy. spoilers for probably the biggest surprise in the book below
the one thing that really hit me wrong about this book is the lovecraft fic aspect. the novel makes explicit reference to lovecraft through the characters (who spend a lot of time ribbing him and shooting straight about the racism in his work), which is fine--i guess she decided the book owed a debt to the old hatebag, so she wanted to acknowledge it--but, near the end, it takes an element from his stories and just introduces it whole cloth into the novel. it didn't work for me; it felt like a flat, uninspired choice rather than the sharp originality jemisin's well known for. why trot that out? was it supposed to be like a Big Reveal for lovecraft fans to get off on? like, "ohhhh nooooo, not the mi-go!!! :O " (it's not the mi-go.) i don't get why she felt the need to make one of the biggest plot points a xerox of a lovecraft element, and like i said it did not work for me. it took what was a totally novel and exploratory story element and collapsed it into a copy of someone else's work. why? there was no need for it. i guess she just thought it was cool?
if i ever meet her, that's my first question.
the book is good. don't let this make you skip the book.
#the city we became#n.k. jemisin#book review#book reviews#reviews#review#fantasy#science fiction#queer lit#scifi#lovecraft#h.p. lovecraft#fucking mi-go
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✨️ Top 9 First Watched Shows/Movies of 2023 ✨️
Tagged by @lugarn 💕! Tagging @thatswhatsushesaid @crithir @nebulathunderwave @takonxmz @whoisthatmovinginthedark @antique-forvalaka and anyone else who wants to talk about their 9 favorite shows/movies they first saw in 2023.
In no particular order:
#1. Word of Honor: I was finally pushed to watch this show after seeing screenshots and fantastic fan art pop up on my twitter for weeks and I was not disappointed. Is the plot a bit of a clusterfuck? Yes. Are the characters fantastic? Yes. Does it push the hell out of the censorship boundaries? YEAH. Did it inspire me to read Qi Ye and Tian Ya Ke which have both become some of my favorite books? YES.
#2. Kinnporsche: Part of my reintroduction to BL and my introduction to Thai BL in general. Mad respect for Mile for seeking out Apo to play the love interest; that's dedication lol. I still haven't rewatched the show, despite how fantastic it is, because I don't think I'll be able to recapture the absolute DELIGHT I felt seeing it for the first time but I'll revisit it soon.
#3. Kingdom: Y'all know how much I love good Korean horror and Kingdom DELIVERED. It's fast-paced, it's fun, it's dramatic. The twists aren't necessarily groundbreaking but the execution of them is solid. The emotional stakes are very much there; I was glued to my screen from start to finish. (Netflix please give me season 3, please I'm begging).
Rest under the cut!
#4. The Rise of Phoenixes: I won't scream about this show because I could go on forever. I didn't think I was one for long political dramas until I watched this and it rewired my brain. Ni Ni and Chen Kun are phenomenal and the behind the scenes footage really showcases how much hardwork they put in to embody Feng Zhiwei and Ning Yi. (Also THE CHEMISTRY). Every crew member also put in 110%, the attention to historical detail and the level of craftsmanship that went into this show blows my mind. THEY USED MINIATURES!!! I feel like you hardly see that anymore! Just check out my quick review for more plot stuff and also the BTS videos on Youtube! Not all of them are subtitled but still well-worth checking out.
#5. Skinamarink: So glad I managed to catch this at a local theater. Unsettling, fairly unique in its execution, and it stuck with me for days after. If you're not into a slow build or found footage style horror, you won't enjoy this but it's definitely one of my favorite movies of 2023.
#6. OldBoy: The local theater came in clutch again by showing the remastered version of Oldboy, which I hadn't seen yet and didn't know anything about despite it being one of my boyfriend's favorite films lol, and I LOVE THIS MOVIE. It features one of my all-time favorite villains to date and it left me totally gutted at the end. If you haven't seen it yet, GO IN BLIND. It's well worth it, trust me.
#7. Playboyy - the series isn't finished yet but I feel confident sticking it on this list because, so far, it's blown my expectations out of the water. I've spoken about how much I enjoy the nuanced take on sex work, sexuality, and relationships but I don't think I've raved enough about how visually appealing the show it to watch! I'm a sucker for surrealistic imagery and atmosphere and Playboyy really does hit the sweet spot between real and dreamlike.
#8. Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse - THIS MOVIE. The animation was fantastic, the story, the characters. NOT TO MENTION THE SOUNDTRACK! This was a great film to watch in theaters. You can really tell how much love and attention went into every detail.
#9. Double Mints - Shoutout to the person on tumblr who made a screenshot compilation of this movie! It compelled me to seek it out. I wouldn't say it's a good film but I love a toxic, codependent relationship and this movie does that well. The concept is cool and I do love a character covered in blood, weeping which this movie also delivers in abundance. I rewatched it a few days ago for a gifset and I will no doubt watch it again soon lol
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Hey, I don't know how much of Frontiers you have played yet (so feel free to hold off on answering until you play a bit more, if you want) but how are you liking it? 👀 How do you feel the devs did on the game?
I am asking because I DO want to hear you gush about Frontiers (or give your criticisms), but also for slightly selfish reasons because the team who made Frontiers is also making the open world Star Wars game and I am a bit hyped lmao. I am hoping that if the team did a great job on Frontiers, they might also do a great job with my hearthome as well c:
But for real, please gush if you want, I love hearing about your hearthome stuff and seeing people get excited over things like that brings me so much joy.
@starrun (sideblog woes, gotta send on anon)
(Ayyyy, fellow hearthome-haver! :D)
So here's the thing about Frontiers, and thank you for giving me an excuse to make this post.
I'm going to preface this by saying I am not very far into the story yet, so this may well just be a case of me not being far enough in to have a good grasp on it. I haven't even gotten to getting my ikran yet, and I know that's considered relatively early in the story.
With that being said: If one of your primary desires with Frontiers of Pandora is to experience Pandora, you will have a fantastic time with this game. If that's not something you're really interested in, and you're only focused on other aspects of gameplay... it might not be worth the price tag for you.
I am in love with this game, let me be very clear about that. I've been playing it obsessively in every spare minute I have. But my primary desire with it is to experience Eywa'eveng, story and other gameplay aspects be damned. In that, Frontiers does a spectacular job - the world is impossibly detailed and interactive and beautiful, the animals and plants are fun and interesting and I haven't even gotten out of the jungle where they really put together a bunch of new stuff yet, the feeling of the world is flawless. Weather cycles are a thing, day-night cycles are a thing, and both of them are extremely well-done in terms of duration and beauty. The gathering and crafting systems focusing on immersiveness and quality over quantity is great; the cooking system is genuinely fun to experiment with (though that probably won't last terribly long lol). The Na'vi actually speak well-pronounced Na'vi! Although the subtitles could use some corrections and there's a couple of weird instances where character names are misspelled according to Na'vi phonetics (looking at you, Eetu - that should be Itu). The character concepts are very strong and interesting, and I'm in love with a couple of them. The music is incredible. Running around in the world feels fantastic - you really feel how strong and agile you are as a Na'vi, and they really understood how important verticality is to Eywa'eveng; you can climb basically anything you want and you're rewarded for exploring by finding neat things and resources. I can't wait to be able to fly.
However, it's clear that they focused so hard on that aspect of the game that, in my opinion at least, some other aspects of it suffered. There's some weird little things, like the fact that NPCs in the world who have something for you but don't have a whole cutscene don't turn to face you when they talk to you, and the ones that do have a cutscene tend to glitch and teleport when the cutscene ends sometimes (mostly this seems to happen with cutscenes that aren't directly plot-relevant, though, so it's not like it's gotten in the way of anything, it's just jarring). The character and story concepts are very strong, fun, and interesting, but the execution is... kind of meh so far, to be honest. A good portion of the dialogue feels a little unpolished.
There's also a few game decisions I just plain don't like, even though it's clear that's just a case of "they were going for something different from my preference" rather than "this is poorly done". For instance, there's no dialogue options when you talk to NPCs; the player character just says what they're going to say, and for me, even if a dialogue option doesn't actually change anything, it's still nice to have it and makes it feel more interactive and engaging. As it is, I feel a little disconnected from the character I'm playing as. Similarly, while there's a lot of ambient dialogue from NPCs as you walk around (which is fun and nice), I kind of miss the ability a lot of RPGs have to walk up to the major/named NPCs and interact with them to prompt a dialogue line when they don't actually have a full conversation for you.
But, again, a lot of the weak points are things that might well get ironed out as I get further into the story, and might just be a symptom of that weird little portion a lot of games have toward the start where they're trying to get you fully set and going on the story and thus things have to be a little weird to make that happen. A lot of the characters' mehness is not that they feel flat, but that they feel unexplored, and like... there's plenty of time for them to be explored in, it just hasn't happened yet. So I'm reticent to say any of this is a very fair critique just yet, but it's what I've got for you.
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🤲what do YOU get out of writing?
Ah good question. I feel like that's a complicated one that's not so straightforward to answer.
TL;DR - idk I like it :] and I like people
I've been writing fiction since I was nine years old. My teacher had us do some creative writing in class, and I fell head over fucking heels for the concept! It's crazy to see how much I've grown since then 😂 but I kid you not, I've known I wanted to write for a living since I was nine years old. I did it once and was like yeah . . . I like this. Funnily enough, I started out writing fanfiction, although at the time I hadn't heard of that word or that concept. My sibling and I had a game we called "Kid Wars" - essentially, we RPed being Star Wars OCs. My character was a female clone of Jango Fett (how did I come up with that as a small child and then The Bad Batch happened????????? will never get over that) who secretly joined the Jedi Order and fell in love with Obi-Wan 😂😂😂 ah, children. This origin story is never not funny to me. Anyway, over the years since then, it's slowly evolved into something nearly indistinguishable from Star Wars (I've mostly just kept something that vaguely looks like the Force and some OC names and arcs, but the worldbuilding is entirely original, and I had so much fun with it!)
But I digress.
It's ironic to me because even though my writing days largely started with terrible self-insert fanfiction I since then only wrote original works and even railed almost as vehemently against fanfiction as Anne Rice herself! 😂 But I spent some time on Tumblr and I caved and read Burden of my Days by @hekateinhell and have never been the same since. And now I have 36 fics and counting!
What originally drew me to writing as a kid is just the whole idea of making shit up. I've been making up silly lil stories in my head to keep my insomniac ass busy at night since I was in kindergarten, and when I realised I could write them down? When I realised I could get paid money for that shit??? Hell yeah! I can make a career out of doing something I genuinely love doing, and I'm so grateful that it's even an option for me because I have no clue what I would have told people I wanted to be when I grew up otherwise. As I've gotten older, I've understood more about what exactly I enjoy about writing (which allows me to take inspiration from the books and shows I like without copy-pasting every minute detail that I don't actually need) - it's people. I like people, I like knowing what makes them tick, I like watching them fuck up and I like watching them interact with others. It's part of what draws me to psychology and sociology, too. I just genuinely enjoy stories. I could eat a well-done character arc for breakfast, honestly. And that's what gets me about the writing. My books don't need big grand plots, the conflicts largely are not centered around big bads with large armies, it's all about people and the relationships they have with others within the narrative. (Don't get me wrong, though, I have fantastical elements - vampires and ghosts, especially, are quite abundant in my stories).
Plus, there's something about the actual process of writing that just gets me in a good mood. Sometimes the executive dysfunction or general life fatigue makes it hard for me to get myself to pick up the pencil, but when I feel motivated, DAMN, the juices be flowing! Sometimes I get in the zone and I just know what happens next and the words just come to me and it feels good, honestly good. I can agonize over it for hours sometimes, but crafting artful sentences to paint a picture with words is such a powerful feeling. I just can't imagine how my life would have turned out had I not discovered how fun it is to write.
And with fanfiction? To me, it's all about connection. To look deeper at the text, to identify what you like about events or characters or pairings and make it your own, to really know the book you love so much. But not only that, then also you get to connect with other fans! You get to get excited together, be proud together, maybe even make friends through it! You get to talk to people!!! And I think the value of that can never be understated enough.
Anyway. I've rambled plently now 😂 thanks for the ask!
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second tag meme and also from @ravenkinnie: book recs!
no time to spare / ursula le guin / i've been slowly trying to make my way through her essay collections and this is one i really love so far. i also read words are my matter but that one had some of her more questionable political stances so i enjoyed this one bc it was focused on more generic and personal topics
good intentions / kasim ali / i would honestly highly recommend this to south asians specifically bc i don't think i've seen any other book that holds south asian millennials accountable for their tendency to damn their parents to inflexibility from the outset and then fail to hold themselves accountable for never challenging traditional mindsets. this book specifically deals with anti-blackness within the south asian community and i think it does a fantastic job of it (please wait until the end bc it does end as it deserves to end but for a moment you will get worried towards the middle that it won't go that way lol. trust me)
the king of attolia / megan whalen turner / obv i would rec the queen's thief series in general but this is by and large my favorite of the whole series (well. bar the sixth book which closely ties with it) and much as i am sure everyone loved this series the most when it was from eugenides's perspective i cannot help but think that i never love eugenides more than when i read about him through the perspective of those who love him dearly
each little bird that sings / deborah wiles / this was a pretty formative book in my childhood esp wrt the concept of how children process death. it's actually part of a quartet of companion novels, each of which i love dearly and one of which is actually the inspiration for my current username, but i think this one is executed the best and it also happens to be the most well known installment, definitely for good reason
supreme inequality / adam cohen / i feel like if you're not necessarily into studying the law but want to gain a better, in-depth understanding of why we are where we are right now with american law this is a good book to read. it corrects a lot of misconceptions around the idea that the supreme court was ever consistently progressive (ie severe brevity and breakdown of the social welfare oriented burger era) and discusses the evolution of judicial interpretation of major topics over the course of the last several decades
the f team / rawah arja / this came as a rec in a melina marchetta newsletter and i'm so glad it did! it's a really fun and messy look into life as a lebanese-australian boy and what i think it does well is not shy away from culturally ingrained flaws, rather seek to dissect and understand them and highlight how crucial an emotionally mature and communication-dependent upbringing is for young muslim/arab boys. there are a few jokes here and there that caught the side eye from me bc they felt severely lacking in self-awareness but other than that i really enjoyed it
the piper's son / melina marchetta / my favorite marchetta novel forever and always, and the second installment in the inner west trilogy of companion novels, following saving francesca. what i really adore about this one is the interplay of grief between so many people and this guilt you have to overcome over the impact of the death of a loved one on your life. bc sometimes it utterly tears you apart and other times it brings you together and the emotions of that are so horribly complicated. i also simply adore the continued exploration of the main friend group and how as harsh as the girls are on tom they are so protective and dedicated, too, bc that's how they all are with each other. it's a book that constantly makes me ache
beloved / toni morrison / interestingly i find this book to be highly relevant considering the recent abortion fiasco in the american legal scene and its relation to abusive domestic situations but it's also one of the books i loved reading the most in undergrad particularly bc of its brutal exploration into how oppressed peoples are driven to self-inflicted violence as a last resort. can you blame a woman for killing her child when the only other option was damning that child to a life of slavery? it's a situation that has to be analyzed with so much empathy and compassion and that's exactly what morrison affords it
the secret garden / frances hodgson burnett / one of two other books i loved reading the most in undergrad (with the third one being north and south). i read this for a british literature class that i took at a time i was severely starting to doubt my degree again after having already gone through a really rough depressive period following jonghyun's death so it really opportunely entered my life. i remember reading the magic monologue towards the end and just crying and crying bc it felt so liberating and while the rest of my undergrad journey was not necessarily a total high i do think this helped comfort me a lot
tagging: @briarhips, @lateafternoonsunlight, @senorscotty, @dankovskaya & @infatuate !
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Honeslty Travis and Laura are probably in the same category as Taliesin, all their characters are so solid that there isn't much to compare against. But if Sam settling into FCG after 30+ episodes puts them above Scanlan than Vax's Raven Queen character shift should put him above Orym. Also Beau is by far Marisha's strongest character, not that Keyleth was bad, Beau was just that good.
(As of 8:14 AM EDT today, April 15th: not answering new questions for this meme that come in but answering the ones already in my inbox)
So first off this meme isn't about arguing with me, it's about my opinions, and you are invited to make your own post if you still disagree but once I've said agree/disagree that's kind of it unless I invite more discussion. That said - disagree:
The question was not "who is the strongest overall" or "who has the best plot" or even "who do I like the most"; it was "who is the most solid and fully actualized" which I am interpreting as "who has the most considered and thought-out character concept from the beginning"; as the original question notes, Taliesin always has a very strong idea of who his characters are. Like, again: I do not like Molly. At all. I also think he is a well-crafted character whose personality fucking sucks on purpose.
My issue with FCG was that he actually had a well considered concept that was imo more detailed than Scanlan's and with a clearer path forward; my problem is just that it took 30 episodes to get to it. The concept was fine; the execution was too slow for me to get on board for half the current story.
Meanwhile, Vax is really just A Guy and beyond broad strokes for his backstory doesn't have any direction to the point that his directionlessness is itself the path Liam began to explore when the Conclave attacked! I think Vax's late game plot is fantastic, and I think it's very possible I will like Vax's story more than Orym's, but Vax as a character from the start was not as thought out as Orym was and what FCG was doing is completely irrelevant to this.
Also: Keyleth is, when we're talking about actualized, by far Marisha's strongest character. I think in the end I probably like Beau slightly more than Keyleth? I certainly would rather hang out with her though that probably says more about me than either of them. But of Marisha's characters, Keyleth is unique in that I can actually tell you what she was doing before the campaign; what she initially wished to achieve; and what she ultimately did achieve. I know the people in her backstory and how she feels about them. I don't have that to the same extent for the others. The reason Keyleth has the most plot focus of Marisha's characters is, frankly, that she has a well-conceived plot going in. Beau is a lot looser in concept, and finds herself along the way and it works because the Cobalt Soul is a sufficient hook, but in many ways Beau's story post-Campaign is the more interesting one. (Which, I'd argue, the cast even agrees with given their discussion of Liam and Marisha's C1 and C2 characters showing up in C3 and Marisha stating that Keyleth's story feels far more closed than Beau's.)
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why i hate seawings design
i hate this thing so much heres my rant lol
why does it have bio scales? "for communication via language" creatures dont evolve specific parts FOR languages, bio parts are not evolved in open waters for the point of communication; that is usually limited to DEEP-SEA CREATURES due to the lack of light making visual communication difficult. it would make more sense for seawings to communicate via NOISE rather than BIO SCALES. why do they have barbels? barbells are essentially fish whiskers; they work as sensory organs to allow fish to see in murky/dark conditions (hence why you see them on many species of river/swamp fish that reside in water that is often murky/cloudy/dirty, or on hagfish, which live in deep depths of the ocean); seawings do not need barbels as they are OPEN-SEA DWELLING ANIMALS. they (seem too) reside in only the most upper levels of the ocean, not near the depths or within rivers/murky water. they have no reason for barbells. their fins are useless too; they don't need back fins or tail fins really, fins are for steering, balance and stability; seawings do not have the proper fin anatomy to do any of those things, even if they DID, they wouldn't need it seeing as they have a tail with similar purpose to a crocodile's (thrust in water via tail)
the entire design makes no sense from a biological standpoint, let alone a fantastical one either. It is poorly made. heres some examples with (my opinion) reasons why THEY work and seawings don't.
example 1:
Namielle.
namielle's design is HEAVILY fiction and would not work in OUR WORLD (she has biology in the monster hunter world that explains a lot of her features but ehhh whatever) but do you know why it works? because it is unique and has features that make sense for her and her enviroment; her design is good because it's UNIQUE and it looks otherworldly, which is the purpose of her design
namielle is like that in how a lot of it's features are mashed together from animal parts, but that IS the point of it's design and it executes it well; it's meant to look otherwordly and unsettling, alien yet beautiful. it was put together with design elements that are meant to build on it's concept of an creepy, otherworldly sea dragon who lives in an alien environment; that IS the point of it's design. it is meant to look familiar yet off. seawings had not been made with the idea of making them look alien/otherworldly, it was made with the idea in mind of "sea creature" and that is it
seawings don't work in this regard because it's just "mash all the sea things to together, hope it sticks" so it feels unbalanced and a giant mess because none of it's features are set in stone or make sense for it to have. It's features are not placed mashed on PURPOSE to create a fluent design with a message to tell. Namielle's design IS a mash of many sea creatures, but she has fantastical biology to explain why as well as get the message of: Unsettling, Eerie, familiar yet beautiful.
example 2:
Shadowmane.
Why do Shadowmanes work?
Simple: It's a design with a clear point. It's a VERY basic concept with a in my opinion, GREAT execution. "Lionfish but a Lion" is the basic concept for the design. And That's It. It's simplicity yet complex design is why I think it works over the Seawing's because it's design has a clear concept, while Seawings have a mess of marine-life stuck together to make a generic 'sea-dragon' design.
"But Seawings are based on traditional sea dragons"
No. They really aren't. If it was, it's design would reflect that and be a lot more visually interesting. /hj
"Seawings are based on Leviathan"
No They clearly are not. I WISH THEY HAD BEEN, it would make for a far more interesting fantasy sea-dragon design, but they aren't. The features are inspired by real-world animals.
#seawing#wings of fire#wingsoffire#wof#monster hunter#ark#mhworld#mh world#namielle#seawing wof#wof seawing#rant#i hate seawings design sooo much i dislike a lotta wof designs#they are just so generic?#and boring?#they feel like a mismash of animals and it doesn't work#RAINWINGS ARE MY LEAST FAVOURITE DESIGN. GODDDD I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABT THEM. I DISLIKE THEM SO MUCH.#btw it is fine if you like the seawing's design#this is just MY OPINION.#you can feel free to disagree or love the seawing's design#i am not one to shittalk your opinion this is just MINE on the seawing
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Final Thoughts on Thor: Love and Thunder
To be honest, this movie leaves me feeling a lot of the same way I felt about Multiverse of Madness.
The technical competency, the passion, the effort, it's all here in full display. The production values are incredible. The acting, directing, cinematography, effects, it's all here and it's all fantastic. The execution is a straight 10/10. They did an amazing job of bringing their concept to screen.
But the actual concept they're bringing to screen? Yeah. Uh. I have notes. And most of them are just "Why isn't this Jane's movie?" scrawled over and over in red pen.
This is a movie about Thor coming to terms with the losses he's suffered. And it's a movie about Jane coming to terms with her impending death from cancer. And one of those things is a lot more severe than the other, and deserves more focus than to be relegated to a B-plot.
Especially when, as noted in his Villain Breakdown, the central antagonist feels more equipped to reflect on Jane's story than he is on Thor's.
In fact, we already had a movie featuring Thor coming to terms with his losses. It's called Thor: Ragnarok. His arc in Love and Thunder is just him doing Ragnarok again, but with Jane replacing Loki. And yet it takes up so much screentime that could be better served fleshing out Jane's story and giving her actual opportunities to interact with Gorr.
I'm not saying they needed to cut Thor entirely. Thor provides an important function to the film, serving as the counterpoint to Rapu's cruelty and callousness. This movie couldn't have worked without Thor present in some capacity. But they needed to switch up their priorities, putting Jane in the central spotlight and letting Thor take the backseat.
They did not do that. The result is a film that feels like a pale imitation of what it could have been. Even if it is very well made.
#marvel#marvel cinematic universe#thor: love and thunder#thor odinson#jane foster#lady thor#mighty thor
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