Dezel died armatized with Rose, putting all of his energy into clearing away the dragons and becoming the wind. Symonne is probably gone - purified but probably dead. Alicia's friends found the hellion's body and buried it. Sorey had a dream about Velvet Crowe, and he comes to the realization that Artorius might have been the bad guy. As it applies to Dezel, Rose says that they shouldn't feel guilt over having to make sacrifices because that's what started all this in the first place. Sure the point is to honor Dezel's dying wish and not let his sacrifice be in vain, but at least he CHOSE to sacrifice himself as opposed to Artorius the child murderer. I'm getting the feeling this is how the game would've been if Berseria had come out first. I haven't looked up much about it, so I don't know if the Shepherd Michael was around for that game or if he'd ever met Velvet or Edna's brother. They touched on the fact that an infant died in a fire set by Heldalf and that Michael used that child's corpse to curse Heldalf for what he'd done. No mention of it being Mikleo though or that infant Sorey was also there. Muse was Mikleo's mother, right? And Muse is Michael's younger sister, apparently. I don't remember all the important details from the game anyway.
There have been mixed reviews for both the Power Rangers movie and the live action Beauty and the Beast movie. I didn't watch any of the Beauty and the Beast reviews because I went to see it on my birthday last weekend. I liked it fine, but it had some problems. Pretty much everyone was great in their roles. It was never going to be as good as the original, so my expectations weren't set that high. As for Power Rangers, I watched Angry Joe, Doug, and Lewis/Brad's reviews. Joe admitted it wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be and gave it a 4 out of 10. Doug said it was fine for a general audience but pointed out the bad writing. Lewis and Brad just flat-out enjoyed it. The worst part was the overbearing Krispy Kreme product placement; it was less a Power Rangers movie than it was a Krispy Kreme commercial (it was also mostly teen angst, but Doug said that's at least delivering on the promise of teenagers with attitude). Rita even ate the donuts at one point, which is something I would expect from Divatox, not her. Having that instead of Ernie's juice bar was just wrong - even Megaforce got that right. And there's a sequel beg with Tommy being introduced at the end. May he join the ranks of the characters found in the sequel begs of Last Airbender and Jem. It's done well enough that it probably will get a sequel, though. Ugh. Good for those actors, I guess.
I've wanted to do a review comparing the first two Cheetah Girls movies, but I don't think I have much to say about either of them at this point, and I have no intention of watching either of them again. I liked the second one better; the first one was like Josie and the Pussycats but worse. Both the original and the sequel have the part where they almost break up and sing a song about it, so it's not like either of them is brilliant cinema. I just think the second one had better songs and a slightly better plot. Wait, was there a third one minus Raven, or am I just thinking of their music videos?
Still getting adjusted to the new place. I finished the Kanji x Naoto video before the move, so that'll be posted when Persona 5 comes out.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Monday, March 20, 2017
Kinda Weird
In Zestiria, the hellion from the beginning and Symonne have been acting weird. The hellion decided he wanted to help for no reason and died doing it. Symonne hung out with Dezel for a while then decided to become a dragon when her master finally answered her call.
I've been watching the dubs of DBZ Final Chapters (aka the Buu saga) and Super. Vegeta is the best. He makes the best faces and it's great that he's proud of Trunks. Kid Trunks is pretty cool too since he makes the same deadpan expressions as his dad (and I enjoy Laura's boy voice). It's just too bad that the movie arcs are so padded out. I haven't been watching the subs, but I am appalled at Goku.
I'm getting ready to move soon, so that's my excuse for not having many projects in the works. I do want to do a Kanji x Naoto video at some point, and I'm still going to wait until KH3 comes out so I have more new material for that video, which will give it more meaning. I also wrote this little story about Ienzo and Raven, even though it's kind of implausible and just a bit stupid. I don't have a title for it.
Ienzo took Raven out to get sea salt ice cream. Along their walk, they passed several people who regarded Ienzo coldly, some moving farther away from them. Raven gave him a worried look. "What's going on?"
Ienzo sighed. "This always happens when we leave the castle now. People don't trust us anymore, not even me. I guess I can't really blame them."
"That's understandable, if not a bit harsh," Raven said pityingly.
"We've been working in conjunction with the Restoration Committee that was formed before we were able to come back, but it's not enough coming from us since we caused the problem to begin with. It's not just about the world being tainted with darkness and people losing their hearts. These people lost ten or more years of their lives because of what we did."
"At least you have the option of a second chance."
"Raven..." Ienzo felt a little bad for complaining since Raven had told him that she was responsible for the total annihilation of her homeworld when she was a child, all because she wanted to know who her father was. She was the only one who survived.
Ienzo paid for the two ice creams, but the woman at the stand barely said a word to him. They sat down on a nearby bench to eat them. "Wow, that's really salty," Raven commented. "But the sweet aftertaste is worth it."
Ienzo nodded, still pondering. "I remember the first time I had one of these. Everyone was much happier then, especially the master. I don't think we can ever go back to the way things were. If we could get along with everyone again, that would be great, but it's just not going to happen. I'm not going to run away, though. This is still my home, and I'm going to live in it."
"Spoken like a true prince."
Ienzo blushed. "I'm not...I mean, Ansem's considered a philosopher-king, but I've never considered myself to be...I am adopted, after all. Wait, are you saying you want to be my princess or are you just teasing me?"
Raven laughed. "Why can't it be both?"
They finished their ice cream and decided to go back to the castle. Almost immediately, they were confronted by a group of boys about the same age as Sora. One of them threw a rock at Ienzo, which grazed his cheek. Raven put up a shield in front of him with her magic as two more of them threw rocks. "Hey! Knock it off!" she yelled.
"A witch!" one of them exclaimed. They picked up the rocks that had bounced off Raven's shield and threw them at her. Raven made the shield bigger to cover both of them. Realizing she could do this indefinitely, the gang retreated.
Raven lowered her defenses. "Are you okay?" she asked Ienzo.
"It's just a scratch," Ienzo said. "That's the first time they've done that."
"They probably don't feel as threatened by you since you're closer to them in age," Raven reasoned.
"They called you a witch."
"Yeah, I'm used to it."
"That doesn't make it right."
"They can't understand, and what they do understand makes them angry. Sort of like with you. You have to forgive yourself even if they won't."
While the two of them were talking, the gang came back with larger, sharper rocks and threw them at them. Ienzo reacted first, jumping in front of Raven to act as her shield. Her shriek of terror alerted nearby adults, and the gang scattered. Raven used her magic to heal Ienzo right away, but even then she was worried. "Why did you do that? What were you thinking?" she exclaimed.
"You make everything better, Raven," Ienzo replied. "I didn't want them to hurt you."
"I'm fine. You, however, are going to be sore in the morning." She grabbed him by the hand and continued to walk toward the castle.
It's been a long time since someone held my hand, too, Ienzo thought, smiling.
The next time they went to get ice cream, the woman didn't glare at him. "On the house," she said, handing him the ice cream.
Ienzo was bewildered. "But I didn't hand in any WINNER sticks."
"I saw what happened the other day. Most of us folks think that you people in the castle don't care about anyone but yourselves. That doesn't excuse those boys' behavior, of course. But you protected your lady friend at the cost of your own safety. It's not everyday you see something like that. I think that's worth a couple of ice creams, don't you?"
Ienzo thanked her and returned to Raven's side.
I've been watching the dubs of DBZ Final Chapters (aka the Buu saga) and Super. Vegeta is the best. He makes the best faces and it's great that he's proud of Trunks. Kid Trunks is pretty cool too since he makes the same deadpan expressions as his dad (and I enjoy Laura's boy voice). It's just too bad that the movie arcs are so padded out. I haven't been watching the subs, but I am appalled at Goku.
I'm getting ready to move soon, so that's my excuse for not having many projects in the works. I do want to do a Kanji x Naoto video at some point, and I'm still going to wait until KH3 comes out so I have more new material for that video, which will give it more meaning. I also wrote this little story about Ienzo and Raven, even though it's kind of implausible and just a bit stupid. I don't have a title for it.
Ienzo took Raven out to get sea salt ice cream. Along their walk, they passed several people who regarded Ienzo coldly, some moving farther away from them. Raven gave him a worried look. "What's going on?"
Ienzo sighed. "This always happens when we leave the castle now. People don't trust us anymore, not even me. I guess I can't really blame them."
"That's understandable, if not a bit harsh," Raven said pityingly.
"We've been working in conjunction with the Restoration Committee that was formed before we were able to come back, but it's not enough coming from us since we caused the problem to begin with. It's not just about the world being tainted with darkness and people losing their hearts. These people lost ten or more years of their lives because of what we did."
"At least you have the option of a second chance."
"Raven..." Ienzo felt a little bad for complaining since Raven had told him that she was responsible for the total annihilation of her homeworld when she was a child, all because she wanted to know who her father was. She was the only one who survived.
Ienzo paid for the two ice creams, but the woman at the stand barely said a word to him. They sat down on a nearby bench to eat them. "Wow, that's really salty," Raven commented. "But the sweet aftertaste is worth it."
Ienzo nodded, still pondering. "I remember the first time I had one of these. Everyone was much happier then, especially the master. I don't think we can ever go back to the way things were. If we could get along with everyone again, that would be great, but it's just not going to happen. I'm not going to run away, though. This is still my home, and I'm going to live in it."
"Spoken like a true prince."
Ienzo blushed. "I'm not...I mean, Ansem's considered a philosopher-king, but I've never considered myself to be...I am adopted, after all. Wait, are you saying you want to be my princess or are you just teasing me?"
Raven laughed. "Why can't it be both?"
They finished their ice cream and decided to go back to the castle. Almost immediately, they were confronted by a group of boys about the same age as Sora. One of them threw a rock at Ienzo, which grazed his cheek. Raven put up a shield in front of him with her magic as two more of them threw rocks. "Hey! Knock it off!" she yelled.
"A witch!" one of them exclaimed. They picked up the rocks that had bounced off Raven's shield and threw them at her. Raven made the shield bigger to cover both of them. Realizing she could do this indefinitely, the gang retreated.
Raven lowered her defenses. "Are you okay?" she asked Ienzo.
"It's just a scratch," Ienzo said. "That's the first time they've done that."
"They probably don't feel as threatened by you since you're closer to them in age," Raven reasoned.
"They called you a witch."
"Yeah, I'm used to it."
"That doesn't make it right."
"They can't understand, and what they do understand makes them angry. Sort of like with you. You have to forgive yourself even if they won't."
While the two of them were talking, the gang came back with larger, sharper rocks and threw them at them. Ienzo reacted first, jumping in front of Raven to act as her shield. Her shriek of terror alerted nearby adults, and the gang scattered. Raven used her magic to heal Ienzo right away, but even then she was worried. "Why did you do that? What were you thinking?" she exclaimed.
"You make everything better, Raven," Ienzo replied. "I didn't want them to hurt you."
"I'm fine. You, however, are going to be sore in the morning." She grabbed him by the hand and continued to walk toward the castle.
It's been a long time since someone held my hand, too, Ienzo thought, smiling.
The next time they went to get ice cream, the woman didn't glare at him. "On the house," she said, handing him the ice cream.
Ienzo was bewildered. "But I didn't hand in any WINNER sticks."
"I saw what happened the other day. Most of us folks think that you people in the castle don't care about anyone but yourselves. That doesn't excuse those boys' behavior, of course. But you protected your lady friend at the cost of your own safety. It's not everyday you see something like that. I think that's worth a couple of ice creams, don't you?"
Ienzo thanked her and returned to Raven's side.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
New and Improved?
Thrilling Intent changed the lyrics to their theme song and added more characters to the opening animation. The Harpy's Nest arc didn't last as long as I thought it was going to, but that may be in perspective since Big War was so long. Dungeon Truck is just the team of Gregor, Ashe, Markus, and Inien being thrust into a dungeon because Thog needs to prove they're the best. They're like a bunch of big kids playing in a ball pit - overleveled and having the time of their lives.
In Zestiria the X, Lailah produces a second Celestial Record containing the story of Berseria, which Sorey reads without cutting to an episode starring the Berseria cast. Next episode they will continue to move north to confront the Lord of Calamity. They tried having the two squires armatize, but it didn't work (not even with Dezel having used Rose as a vessel). Only a few episodes left. How far will they get?
Applimonsters is getting good. I liked the episodes where the four Appli Drivers got their partners to ultimate through fusion with other super Appmon. Hackmon is the name of a Digimon connected to the Royal Knights and appears in both Cyber Sleuth and Tri, but this show's Hackmon (the hacking application Appmon, partnered with Rei) is much cuter. He becomes Raidramon, which again, is also the name of a Digimon we already know. You'd think there'd be better oversight on that.
I know it's well past Valentine's Day, but I've been trying to work on a fan fic about Kanji and Naoto. I can't rely on the usual cliches since that's not how either of them act, but I have a couple good ideas. I think it would be funny if Kanji's mom knew the whole time that Naoto was a girl and didn't say anything.
It's weird how both Doug and Lindsay both released a video about the decline of Disney villains on the same day that were almost the same length.
In Zestiria the X, Lailah produces a second Celestial Record containing the story of Berseria, which Sorey reads without cutting to an episode starring the Berseria cast. Next episode they will continue to move north to confront the Lord of Calamity. They tried having the two squires armatize, but it didn't work (not even with Dezel having used Rose as a vessel). Only a few episodes left. How far will they get?
Applimonsters is getting good. I liked the episodes where the four Appli Drivers got their partners to ultimate through fusion with other super Appmon. Hackmon is the name of a Digimon connected to the Royal Knights and appears in both Cyber Sleuth and Tri, but this show's Hackmon (the hacking application Appmon, partnered with Rei) is much cuter. He becomes Raidramon, which again, is also the name of a Digimon we already know. You'd think there'd be better oversight on that.
I know it's well past Valentine's Day, but I've been trying to work on a fan fic about Kanji and Naoto. I can't rely on the usual cliches since that's not how either of them act, but I have a couple good ideas. I think it would be funny if Kanji's mom knew the whole time that Naoto was a girl and didn't say anything.
It's weird how both Doug and Lindsay both released a video about the decline of Disney villains on the same day that were almost the same length.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Off-Script
We finally get the connection between Berseria (Bersaria? whatever) and Zestiria in the anime. To stop the Malevolence, everyone's emotions were taken away, but Velvet Crowe's hatred for Artorius remained, and that's why everything's still fucked. That seems wrong. I've seen the Fairly Oddparents episode where Timmy gets rid of his emotions. You shouldn't do it, no matter how painful or inconvenient it is to have them. But no time to dwell on that or the dead dragon spewing Malevolence in the church because it's back to Ladylake! Maltran is being held in the stocks in the town square (the subtitles said crucified, but...), but not even that can make her turn against Alisha, so it's probably never going to happen in the anime. In episode five of the dub, it sounded like they replaced Sorey's voice actor or said actor caught a cold or something. He sounded completely off, and still does when speaking low and deadly serious. That's when he sounds the most off.
St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and I remembered Gabriel Iglesias' story about the racist gift basket. So I've started compiling a list of what would go into a racist gift basket for St. Patrick's Day: green or clover-themed apparel, Irish cream coffee, Guinness, a box of Lucky Charms, daffodils (or maybe that's just me), mint chocolate (Shamrock Shakes come in chocolate now too), a corned beef sandwich, lots of potato chips, and a cabbage. And it's okay for me to say it because I'm part Irish.
I saw the next part of Digimon Tri. What the hell did Yggdrasil do to Gennai and Himekawa? At least with the reboot they said Digimon who died in the human world can be reborn, not that Gatomon and Wizardmon would remember each other. I still think this is fan fic-y bullshit, though. The poster for the next batch features Kari and Mei, and Ophanimon instead of Magnadramon.
St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and I remembered Gabriel Iglesias' story about the racist gift basket. So I've started compiling a list of what would go into a racist gift basket for St. Patrick's Day: green or clover-themed apparel, Irish cream coffee, Guinness, a box of Lucky Charms, daffodils (or maybe that's just me), mint chocolate (Shamrock Shakes come in chocolate now too), a corned beef sandwich, lots of potato chips, and a cabbage. And it's okay for me to say it because I'm part Irish.
I saw the next part of Digimon Tri. What the hell did Yggdrasil do to Gennai and Himekawa? At least with the reboot they said Digimon who died in the human world can be reborn, not that Gatomon and Wizardmon would remember each other. I still think this is fan fic-y bullshit, though. The poster for the next batch features Kari and Mei, and Ophanimon instead of Magnadramon.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Top 10 Best and Worst Teen Titans Go! Episodes
These lists demonstrate both my tolerance of and my annoyance with spoof/spin-off series Teen Titans Go! Spoiler warning: Many of the entries on the "best" list will be Raven-centric episodes. This should come as no surprise since my favorite episodes of Teen Titans are mostly Raven episodes as well. As for worst, there may be some worse ones, but these are the ones I chose at a glance by visceral reaction.
Best:
Honorable Mention: Colors of Raven - I liked the callback to the original episode plus the addition of the purple-cloaked Raven as her libido.
10. Driver's Ed - Because they make fun of Robin for crashing the Batmobile. This episode did the most to remind me of those Teen Titans short cartoons that ran a few years ago.
9. Campfire Stories - The best parts were the bear showing up to maul Robin and Raven's story with her turning into the monster at the end. The monster is her and it's adorable, even if she has to kill everyone for annoying her (in the story; in reality she scares everyone back into the Tower because she kept complaining that she wanted to go home).
8. Dog Hand - The first appearance of Trigon. For such a terrifying villain, you'd think this would belittle the very real struggle they had against him, but I find it hilarious because Kevin Michael Richardson plays that role so well either as a serious threat or an out-of-touch dad. It's written well for the most part.
7. The True Meaning of Christmas - The Titans go to the North Pole to try to get off the Naughty list. Hijinks ensue. This is probably one of the better holiday episodes before their feud with Santa got even worse.
6. Legendary Sandwich - The first episode had me convinced that this show wasn't going to be all bad, despite later episodes. I liked the nod to My Little Pony since Tara strong voices Twilight in that. This episode also establishes the trend of Raven getting annoyed with the rest of the Titans and that she alone is the voice of reason on a normal day.
5. Friendship - Control Freak puts the Titans in an episode of Pretty Pretty Pegasus, of which both he and Raven are fans. At one point the two of them try to one-up each other with their knowledge of the show (Raven wins, obviously). I like how it delves deeper into being a My Little Pony parody other than in name only.
4. Nean - This is the other Trigon episode that was done really well. He's always trying to push her over the edge to be evil, but this time he takes the opposite approach and forces her to be genuinely nice rather than mean for the good of everyone else (who in this show are usually being idiots). He immediately regrets this decision and gets his just desserts.
3. Operation Dude Rescue - I love it when Ashley Johnson has to be evil, especially since this time they're modeling Terra's behavior after her comic counterpart (who was always evil) rather than the one this show is based off of. The boys don't appreciate or even acknowledge the rescue, so the girls just leave them for dead.
2. 40%, 40%, 20% - This episode has the best 80s nostalgic feel. "The Night Begins to Shine" was likely made up for the show, but it sounds like it came straight out of the 80s. And it gives Cyborg power! The 80s music video visuals made it even better. It's cool that they made Cyborg an 80s/early 90s fan.
1. Sidekick - Robin is put in charge of the Batcave while Batman is out, and the rest of the Titans tag along. This is just as good as the Teen Titans episode where Robin is out and the rest of them dress up in his spare costumes. I especially like Raven befriending the bats and Starfire dressed as Batgirl. Also the revelation that makes Robin no longer afraid of Batman.
Worst:
Honorable Mention: Dreams - It just seemed like a pointless episode, and I don't know how to feel about Robin's dream consisting solely of scenes from the original cartoon dubbed over.
10. Finally a Lesson - I found this one to be criminally boring, and that's coming from an adult. The Aesop episodes were good because they were hilariously subversive, but the housing market and how to adult aren't topics that I tune in for.
9. Pyramid Scheme - This was dumb, as the characters tried to eat money. The "ancient Egypt is the source of all evil" part I can accept, but that was the only interesting part.
8. Two Bumble Bees and a Wasp - When I saw the title, I got excited because I thought the characte Bumble Bee would be in it, but I was wrong (and Wasp is Marvel, right?). I don't like bees and I wouldn't want them as currency.
7. Dignity of Teeth - This was a really gross one. First of all it's stupid to pull out all your teeth to get money from the tooth fairy (though I could've sworn another cartoon did this before as well). The fact that the tooth fairy eats the teeth (and the disgusting sound effect it makes) really put me off this one.
6. Head Fruit - Previous entries on this list had Beast Boy doing stupid things, but the crux of this episode is that Beast Boy is stupid and needs to use his head. Nothing gets accomplished, nothing is learned.
5. Let's Get Serious! - The Titans try to be like Young Justice, which is a show that fans like better and want to get another season of (rather than this garbage). The Titans try to go back to their roots and have complex emotions and backstories, but instead it feels like they're almost mocking their source material.
4. The Fourth Wall - The first of several episodes where the show throws a hissy fit about fans complaining about its quality. Control Freak tells them to fix these problems or he'll be forced to reboot them. They try to address the complaints, but their efforts fail as they just keep missing the point. Even they had to admit the old show was better, though. Beast Boy trying to charge through the fourth wall and failing was a little funny, but it was too little, too late at this point.
3. TTG v PPG - This episode had to be a slap in the face to Tara Strong, but at least as Raven she got to say she didn't care about it. While the new Powerpuff Girls show is probably better by comparison, it's also not better than the original show, something both groups have in common.
2. The Cape - They made an abridged episode using footage from the first episode of the original cartoon. It's as bad as you'd think one would be, except the well-known abridged shows on YouTube are actually good. Teen Titans Go! is already a parody of the original; it didn't need to do this. No production company should (unless it's a recap and not completely re-scripted to be funny).
1. Gorilla - This is the episode that made me want to stop watching. I've only continued because I've convinced myself that it would never be this bad again. Everyone is acting completely stupid and out-of-character. There's no excuse for it like there would be in a theme episode. It's just Beast Boy being a jackass and the girls practically going feral for him. It's bad enough that Robin isn't respected as a leader in the other episodes either, but Beast Boy taking over as an alpha male gorilla was too stupid.
Best:
Honorable Mention: Colors of Raven - I liked the callback to the original episode plus the addition of the purple-cloaked Raven as her libido.
10. Driver's Ed - Because they make fun of Robin for crashing the Batmobile. This episode did the most to remind me of those Teen Titans short cartoons that ran a few years ago.
9. Campfire Stories - The best parts were the bear showing up to maul Robin and Raven's story with her turning into the monster at the end. The monster is her and it's adorable, even if she has to kill everyone for annoying her (in the story; in reality she scares everyone back into the Tower because she kept complaining that she wanted to go home).
8. Dog Hand - The first appearance of Trigon. For such a terrifying villain, you'd think this would belittle the very real struggle they had against him, but I find it hilarious because Kevin Michael Richardson plays that role so well either as a serious threat or an out-of-touch dad. It's written well for the most part.
7. The True Meaning of Christmas - The Titans go to the North Pole to try to get off the Naughty list. Hijinks ensue. This is probably one of the better holiday episodes before their feud with Santa got even worse.
6. Legendary Sandwich - The first episode had me convinced that this show wasn't going to be all bad, despite later episodes. I liked the nod to My Little Pony since Tara strong voices Twilight in that. This episode also establishes the trend of Raven getting annoyed with the rest of the Titans and that she alone is the voice of reason on a normal day.
5. Friendship - Control Freak puts the Titans in an episode of Pretty Pretty Pegasus, of which both he and Raven are fans. At one point the two of them try to one-up each other with their knowledge of the show (Raven wins, obviously). I like how it delves deeper into being a My Little Pony parody other than in name only.
4. Nean - This is the other Trigon episode that was done really well. He's always trying to push her over the edge to be evil, but this time he takes the opposite approach and forces her to be genuinely nice rather than mean for the good of everyone else (who in this show are usually being idiots). He immediately regrets this decision and gets his just desserts.
3. Operation Dude Rescue - I love it when Ashley Johnson has to be evil, especially since this time they're modeling Terra's behavior after her comic counterpart (who was always evil) rather than the one this show is based off of. The boys don't appreciate or even acknowledge the rescue, so the girls just leave them for dead.
2. 40%, 40%, 20% - This episode has the best 80s nostalgic feel. "The Night Begins to Shine" was likely made up for the show, but it sounds like it came straight out of the 80s. And it gives Cyborg power! The 80s music video visuals made it even better. It's cool that they made Cyborg an 80s/early 90s fan.
1. Sidekick - Robin is put in charge of the Batcave while Batman is out, and the rest of the Titans tag along. This is just as good as the Teen Titans episode where Robin is out and the rest of them dress up in his spare costumes. I especially like Raven befriending the bats and Starfire dressed as Batgirl. Also the revelation that makes Robin no longer afraid of Batman.
Worst:
Honorable Mention: Dreams - It just seemed like a pointless episode, and I don't know how to feel about Robin's dream consisting solely of scenes from the original cartoon dubbed over.
10. Finally a Lesson - I found this one to be criminally boring, and that's coming from an adult. The Aesop episodes were good because they were hilariously subversive, but the housing market and how to adult aren't topics that I tune in for.
9. Pyramid Scheme - This was dumb, as the characters tried to eat money. The "ancient Egypt is the source of all evil" part I can accept, but that was the only interesting part.
8. Two Bumble Bees and a Wasp - When I saw the title, I got excited because I thought the characte Bumble Bee would be in it, but I was wrong (and Wasp is Marvel, right?). I don't like bees and I wouldn't want them as currency.
7. Dignity of Teeth - This was a really gross one. First of all it's stupid to pull out all your teeth to get money from the tooth fairy (though I could've sworn another cartoon did this before as well). The fact that the tooth fairy eats the teeth (and the disgusting sound effect it makes) really put me off this one.
6. Head Fruit - Previous entries on this list had Beast Boy doing stupid things, but the crux of this episode is that Beast Boy is stupid and needs to use his head. Nothing gets accomplished, nothing is learned.
5. Let's Get Serious! - The Titans try to be like Young Justice, which is a show that fans like better and want to get another season of (rather than this garbage). The Titans try to go back to their roots and have complex emotions and backstories, but instead it feels like they're almost mocking their source material.
4. The Fourth Wall - The first of several episodes where the show throws a hissy fit about fans complaining about its quality. Control Freak tells them to fix these problems or he'll be forced to reboot them. They try to address the complaints, but their efforts fail as they just keep missing the point. Even they had to admit the old show was better, though. Beast Boy trying to charge through the fourth wall and failing was a little funny, but it was too little, too late at this point.
3. TTG v PPG - This episode had to be a slap in the face to Tara Strong, but at least as Raven she got to say she didn't care about it. While the new Powerpuff Girls show is probably better by comparison, it's also not better than the original show, something both groups have in common.
2. The Cape - They made an abridged episode using footage from the first episode of the original cartoon. It's as bad as you'd think one would be, except the well-known abridged shows on YouTube are actually good. Teen Titans Go! is already a parody of the original; it didn't need to do this. No production company should (unless it's a recap and not completely re-scripted to be funny).
1. Gorilla - This is the episode that made me want to stop watching. I've only continued because I've convinced myself that it would never be this bad again. Everyone is acting completely stupid and out-of-character. There's no excuse for it like there would be in a theme episode. It's just Beast Boy being a jackass and the girls practically going feral for him. It's bad enough that Robin isn't respected as a leader in the other episodes either, but Beast Boy taking over as an alpha male gorilla was too stupid.
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Refresh
I didn't get much out of watching the Kingdom Hearts 2.8 cutscenes, but I'm glad I saw them. The Master of Masters is not at all what I thought he'd be like. He's insane and quite possibly the big bad of the entire series if fan theories are to be believed. He doesn't sound that old, either - he's voiced by the same guy as Noctis (which would explain people's confusion of seeing his name in the credits, not for FFXV but Back Cover). Just as Hayden Pannittiere covered as Xion before, Alyson Stoner covers as Kairi this time around (which is weird/cool if you think about Xion reacting to Axel having a Keyblade). I was the most surprised to hear Lara Jill Miller as Chirithy - she said yes to this but no to Tri?! Travis and Matt were serviceable as always, even if their characters here were one-note and/or bland. Luxu was pretty cool, though (that's pronounced Loo-shoo). Richard Epcar was back as Terra-Xehanort, so I liked that too. I'm a little disappointed that Skuld didn't show up and Ephemer(a) only had the one scene. Also, while 0.2 connects to KH1, it didn't do much to satisfy my curiosity about what happened during that span of time. The people who would know (Terra and Mickey) didn't say anything about Xehanort's or Ansem's activities.
Dark Side of Dimensions was worse than I thought, even with the knowledge of what was coming hanging over my head the whole time. That part was terrible, especially since I don't think Ryou's dad was a douchebag antique dealer either. Ted Lewis didn't voice young Ryou or Yami Bakura, which was disappointing. Hearing Dan Green say "Serah" was okay, and the bowling scene was cool. It was written well, and I liked the snarky lines thrown in (such as twice mentioning Ryou's accent when his fan girls were following him around and Joey's "Meant to do it!" when he jumped off the bridge and stumbled when he landed). I liked learning more about Tristan, and it was too bad Duke didn't get more screen time or fan girls of his own. Had the movie been all about the duels, that'd be fine; that's what people pay to see. However, I really do believe Kaiba has better things to do than dwell on this. Unfortunately, the world-ending shenanigans behind the scenes make my heart heavy and take what little joy I could gain from it in the first place. The Prana utopia crap was heavy-handed, as was Shadi's role as a savior (not that he isn't a good guy, but it's more difficult to believe after some of the crap he pulled, especially in the manga). And of course the fact that the Millennium Items were made by the unwilling sacrifice of 99 lives (with one surviving) was never brought up (I'm not even sure anyone else even knew, and they didn't even use Zorc's name). When and if LittleKuriboh abridges this, Diva might as well be calling everyone infidels since he keeps saying "your kind" when referring to the main characters.
Promise of the Rose (or rather the Sailor Moon R movie since they don't call it that anymore) was redubbed and released in theaters for a limited time. I only know this because Calluna did a vlog on it. Viz is moving in on total domination of the series, which is both good and not so good at the same time. She explains it better than I could.
Scanlan's departure from Vox Machina was very depressing, but it was Sam's call, just as it was Taliesin's call to continue as Percy or roll a new character. Both Percy and Scanlan have died twice, resurrected once quickly and once slowly. Percy recently said that since being brought back, he feels his life belongs to everyone else, that his life is not his own. I've almost died in real life, but that's not the reason I believe that my life isn't my own; it is, however, the reason that I know I'm living on borrowed time. Maybe that's what Scanlan felt, other than his anger that was both understandable and false. Sam's still playing, but as a new character designed to piss everyone off. If this persists, they may have to shoot a new opening.
Digimon Applimonsters came out with an episode that acknowledged the Pokemon Go! trend, only with treasure instead of monsters. The villains were using this to herd people onto trains and ferry them to their deaths, but Musimon was able to stop the train in time. In the process, they let the virus-spewing Appmon get away. Yuuji was just a normal character; we get his backstory with him meeting Haru, and there was nothing ominous like before when shots focused on him mysteriously. All he knows is that Haru hangs out with Ai at her family's bookstore and is friends with celebrities Eri and Astra.
Dark Side of Dimensions was worse than I thought, even with the knowledge of what was coming hanging over my head the whole time. That part was terrible, especially since I don't think Ryou's dad was a douchebag antique dealer either. Ted Lewis didn't voice young Ryou or Yami Bakura, which was disappointing. Hearing Dan Green say "Serah" was okay, and the bowling scene was cool. It was written well, and I liked the snarky lines thrown in (such as twice mentioning Ryou's accent when his fan girls were following him around and Joey's "Meant to do it!" when he jumped off the bridge and stumbled when he landed). I liked learning more about Tristan, and it was too bad Duke didn't get more screen time or fan girls of his own. Had the movie been all about the duels, that'd be fine; that's what people pay to see. However, I really do believe Kaiba has better things to do than dwell on this. Unfortunately, the world-ending shenanigans behind the scenes make my heart heavy and take what little joy I could gain from it in the first place. The Prana utopia crap was heavy-handed, as was Shadi's role as a savior (not that he isn't a good guy, but it's more difficult to believe after some of the crap he pulled, especially in the manga). And of course the fact that the Millennium Items were made by the unwilling sacrifice of 99 lives (with one surviving) was never brought up (I'm not even sure anyone else even knew, and they didn't even use Zorc's name). When and if LittleKuriboh abridges this, Diva might as well be calling everyone infidels since he keeps saying "your kind" when referring to the main characters.
Promise of the Rose (or rather the Sailor Moon R movie since they don't call it that anymore) was redubbed and released in theaters for a limited time. I only know this because Calluna did a vlog on it. Viz is moving in on total domination of the series, which is both good and not so good at the same time. She explains it better than I could.
Scanlan's departure from Vox Machina was very depressing, but it was Sam's call, just as it was Taliesin's call to continue as Percy or roll a new character. Both Percy and Scanlan have died twice, resurrected once quickly and once slowly. Percy recently said that since being brought back, he feels his life belongs to everyone else, that his life is not his own. I've almost died in real life, but that's not the reason I believe that my life isn't my own; it is, however, the reason that I know I'm living on borrowed time. Maybe that's what Scanlan felt, other than his anger that was both understandable and false. Sam's still playing, but as a new character designed to piss everyone off. If this persists, they may have to shoot a new opening.
Digimon Applimonsters came out with an episode that acknowledged the Pokemon Go! trend, only with treasure instead of monsters. The villains were using this to herd people onto trains and ferry them to their deaths, but Musimon was able to stop the train in time. In the process, they let the virus-spewing Appmon get away. Yuuji was just a normal character; we get his backstory with him meeting Haru, and there was nothing ominous like before when shots focused on him mysteriously. All he knows is that Haru hangs out with Ai at her family's bookstore and is friends with celebrities Eri and Astra.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Top 10 Codename: Kids Next Door Episodes
This almost became a Top 20 Countdown, but I narrowed it down to 10 plus 4 honorable mentions. For this list, the plot had to be particularly epic or memorable, or there had to be some funny dialogue that I remember to this day.
Honorable Mentions [that made the cut and were vying for the number ten spot]:
C.R.I.M.E. (Crayon Renderings Implicate Mostly Everyone) Season 6 episode 8A
Minority Report parody. Richard Steven Horvitz voices a kid who wants the cafeteria's pizza bagels all to himself, so he frames everyone for crimes they didn't commit to eliminate the competition.
L.I.C.E. (Lice Interrupt Cheese Eating) Season 1 episode 7A
Numbuh 3 doesn't want replacement toys - she wants revenge! Numbuh 5 pulls off some sweet Indiana Jones moves too.
I-S.C.R.E.A.M. (Important - Steal Creamy Refrigerated Edibles Avoid Meltdown) Season 1 episode 2A
Shenanigans involving driving an ice cream truck culminating in being washed away in a flood of melted ice cream. "Party! Ice cream party!"
S.U.P.P.O.R.T. (Special Underwire Protection Proportedly Outfits Rotten Teenagers) Season 2 episode 3A
The first appearance of Numbuh 5's older sister Cree, voiced by the actress of the same name.
10. S.P.R.O.U.T. (Sickening Produce Removal Operation Ultra Tricky) Season 3 episode 13A
One of those fantastic voyage parodies. Numbuh 5 probably has the best line, "Eenie, meenie, miney, I ain't going!" when someone has to get out of the pod while still inside Numbuh 4. In the beginning it's a brussels sprout he absent-mindedly eats, and at the end it's liver. I'd like to think they have to do the whole thing over again offscreen.
9. O.F.F.I.C.E. (On Fourteenth Floor Is Corporate Evil) Season 1 episode 6A
Numbuh 4's dad takes him to work with him since it's Take Your Daughter to Work Day and he doesn't have a daughter. There he meets his dad's coworkers' Rainbow Monkey-obessed daughters, including Numbuh 3. "They're freaks!" Numbuh 4 is bored until he has to save Numbuh 3 and the rest of the corporate daughters from being sent to Pluto by their parents' boss, Mr. Boss. That doesn't mean he likes them, though (except Numbuh 3, obviously). She's so happy to see him at the end. "Numbuh 4! I thought you were flying to Pluto!"
8. P.I.A.N.O. (Pesky Instruments Advances New Operative) Season 1 episode 11A
"What have we learned today?" The rest of the team's responses to Numbuh 1's question were hilarious and fitting from their delivery and character viewpoint. 2: *ashamed* "Do not deviate from plan." 5: *bored* "Teamwork is essential." 3: *neutral* "Operational procedures are important." 4: *injured* "Pianos...are heavy." 1: *exasperated* "Whatever." First appearance of the hamster operatives, who are sent to destroy violins at the end before the credits roll.
7. N.A.U.G.H.T.Y. (Ninnies Almost Undo Greatest Holiday This Year) Season 5 episode 5
The Delightful Children seek control over the Naughty and Nice lists, but Numbuh 3 proves that anyone can become corrupted by the power. The Christmas-themed super heroes were a nice touch. Another episode that features the relationship between Numbuhs 3 and 4, as Numbuh 3 is only brought back to normal by Numbuh 4 offering to share his fries with her (which he had earlier refused to do).
6. M.A.U.R.I.C.E. (Mature Agent Undergoes Reprogramming Into Childhood's Enemy) Season 4 episode 11
In this episode we learn that not everyone gets decommissioned for real. Maurice (voiced by Khary Payton) tries to keep this a secret, but Numbuh 5 won't leave him alone. Cree gets in the way as usual, but this time it didn't end all according to her plan. I do find it a little creepy that Cree and Abby both like the same guy again (the other time being in season 2 when Numbuh 2 got turned into a teenager), but it's fun hearing Cree Summer argue with herself every time they go at it.
5. P.I.N.K.E.Y.E. (Private Investigator's New Kase Extra Yucky Epidemic) Season 3 episode 7A
Probably one of the best Numbuh 2 episodes. Numbuh 86 is also a highlight, as she only goes into his "office" to get paper towels for the girls bathroom. As the title suggests, it's pretty gross, but it's still funny. I especially like the joke at the end where Numbuh 3 asks what other ingredients were used, and Numbuh 86 sneezes.
4. Q.U.I.E.T. (Quiet Unlikely In Entire Treehouse) Season 1 episode 12A
Literally everything goes wrong when they try to get workaholic Numbuh 1 to get some sleep before a big awards ceremony. Nothing that happened actually woke him up until Numbuh 5 declared that the last thing that happened came too close to doing so. Numbuh 1 woke up and shouted at her, but then during his speech mentions that he works so hard so his team can sleep at night. I'm with Numbuh 5 at the end of it. "Ah, shut up!"
3. S.L.U.M.B.E.R. (Stupid Little Undercover Mission Becomes Exciting Romp) Season 3 episode 6B
Numbuh 4 dresses in drag and sneaks into an all-girls mission with Numbuh 86, only to find out it's a sleepover (that Numbuh 5 was too cool for/she doesn't like Numbuh 86). Teen and preteen spies turn it into an actual mission. Only Numbuh 3 will be friends with Numbuh 86 for real (they can bond over Rainbow Monkeys). Numbuh 86 threatens disguised Numbuh 4 with death if he tells anyone else she likes Rainbow Monkeys; she probably would've killed him if she knew it was him. That costume shouldn't have fooled anyone, so that's another reason not to have Numbuh 5 there.
2. E.N.D. (Everyone Nearly Decommissioned) Season 2 episode 13
It was hard choosing between this and Operation Z.E.R.O., but that was a movie so I shouldn't count it. This is one of many episodes in which the villain's plan is to have the team ejected from the organization and have their memories wiped (by aging them up, hacking their files, turning them into animals, etc.). I like that even without their memories, the rest of the team still trusts Numbuh 1 and agree to work with him. Numbuh 5 keeps calling him crazy but just goes with it. "Whatever you say, crazy!"/"You're crazy, this whole plan is crazy, but what the heck?"
1. P.O.O.L. (Prevent Opposite Operative's Larceny) Season 4 episode 4
This is the mirror world/universe episode, which provides character insights and development. Numbuh 4 gets over his fear of water and learns to swim to save everyone from his evil doppelganger. He says this means Negative Numbuh 4 is a coward, making everyone else in the DNK turn against him. I especially like the part where Eizzil is still waiting back in the real world when Negative Numbuh 4 shows up and kicks him back through the portal. Also the part where Negative Numbuh 86 wants to pretend to be a pretty princess instead of what they were doing under Negative Numbuh 4's rule.
Honorable Mentions [that made the cut and were vying for the number ten spot]:
C.R.I.M.E. (Crayon Renderings Implicate Mostly Everyone) Season 6 episode 8A
Minority Report parody. Richard Steven Horvitz voices a kid who wants the cafeteria's pizza bagels all to himself, so he frames everyone for crimes they didn't commit to eliminate the competition.
L.I.C.E. (Lice Interrupt Cheese Eating) Season 1 episode 7A
Numbuh 3 doesn't want replacement toys - she wants revenge! Numbuh 5 pulls off some sweet Indiana Jones moves too.
I-S.C.R.E.A.M. (Important - Steal Creamy Refrigerated Edibles Avoid Meltdown) Season 1 episode 2A
Shenanigans involving driving an ice cream truck culminating in being washed away in a flood of melted ice cream. "Party! Ice cream party!"
S.U.P.P.O.R.T. (Special Underwire Protection Proportedly Outfits Rotten Teenagers) Season 2 episode 3A
The first appearance of Numbuh 5's older sister Cree, voiced by the actress of the same name.
10. S.P.R.O.U.T. (Sickening Produce Removal Operation Ultra Tricky) Season 3 episode 13A
One of those fantastic voyage parodies. Numbuh 5 probably has the best line, "Eenie, meenie, miney, I ain't going!" when someone has to get out of the pod while still inside Numbuh 4. In the beginning it's a brussels sprout he absent-mindedly eats, and at the end it's liver. I'd like to think they have to do the whole thing over again offscreen.
9. O.F.F.I.C.E. (On Fourteenth Floor Is Corporate Evil) Season 1 episode 6A
Numbuh 4's dad takes him to work with him since it's Take Your Daughter to Work Day and he doesn't have a daughter. There he meets his dad's coworkers' Rainbow Monkey-obessed daughters, including Numbuh 3. "They're freaks!" Numbuh 4 is bored until he has to save Numbuh 3 and the rest of the corporate daughters from being sent to Pluto by their parents' boss, Mr. Boss. That doesn't mean he likes them, though (except Numbuh 3, obviously). She's so happy to see him at the end. "Numbuh 4! I thought you were flying to Pluto!"
8. P.I.A.N.O. (Pesky Instruments Advances New Operative) Season 1 episode 11A
"What have we learned today?" The rest of the team's responses to Numbuh 1's question were hilarious and fitting from their delivery and character viewpoint. 2: *ashamed* "Do not deviate from plan." 5: *bored* "Teamwork is essential." 3: *neutral* "Operational procedures are important." 4: *injured* "Pianos...are heavy." 1: *exasperated* "Whatever." First appearance of the hamster operatives, who are sent to destroy violins at the end before the credits roll.
7. N.A.U.G.H.T.Y. (Ninnies Almost Undo Greatest Holiday This Year) Season 5 episode 5
The Delightful Children seek control over the Naughty and Nice lists, but Numbuh 3 proves that anyone can become corrupted by the power. The Christmas-themed super heroes were a nice touch. Another episode that features the relationship between Numbuhs 3 and 4, as Numbuh 3 is only brought back to normal by Numbuh 4 offering to share his fries with her (which he had earlier refused to do).
6. M.A.U.R.I.C.E. (Mature Agent Undergoes Reprogramming Into Childhood's Enemy) Season 4 episode 11
In this episode we learn that not everyone gets decommissioned for real. Maurice (voiced by Khary Payton) tries to keep this a secret, but Numbuh 5 won't leave him alone. Cree gets in the way as usual, but this time it didn't end all according to her plan. I do find it a little creepy that Cree and Abby both like the same guy again (the other time being in season 2 when Numbuh 2 got turned into a teenager), but it's fun hearing Cree Summer argue with herself every time they go at it.
5. P.I.N.K.E.Y.E. (Private Investigator's New Kase Extra Yucky Epidemic) Season 3 episode 7A
Probably one of the best Numbuh 2 episodes. Numbuh 86 is also a highlight, as she only goes into his "office" to get paper towels for the girls bathroom. As the title suggests, it's pretty gross, but it's still funny. I especially like the joke at the end where Numbuh 3 asks what other ingredients were used, and Numbuh 86 sneezes.
4. Q.U.I.E.T. (Quiet Unlikely In Entire Treehouse) Season 1 episode 12A
Literally everything goes wrong when they try to get workaholic Numbuh 1 to get some sleep before a big awards ceremony. Nothing that happened actually woke him up until Numbuh 5 declared that the last thing that happened came too close to doing so. Numbuh 1 woke up and shouted at her, but then during his speech mentions that he works so hard so his team can sleep at night. I'm with Numbuh 5 at the end of it. "Ah, shut up!"
3. S.L.U.M.B.E.R. (Stupid Little Undercover Mission Becomes Exciting Romp) Season 3 episode 6B
Numbuh 4 dresses in drag and sneaks into an all-girls mission with Numbuh 86, only to find out it's a sleepover (that Numbuh 5 was too cool for/she doesn't like Numbuh 86). Teen and preteen spies turn it into an actual mission. Only Numbuh 3 will be friends with Numbuh 86 for real (they can bond over Rainbow Monkeys). Numbuh 86 threatens disguised Numbuh 4 with death if he tells anyone else she likes Rainbow Monkeys; she probably would've killed him if she knew it was him. That costume shouldn't have fooled anyone, so that's another reason not to have Numbuh 5 there.
2. E.N.D. (Everyone Nearly Decommissioned) Season 2 episode 13
It was hard choosing between this and Operation Z.E.R.O., but that was a movie so I shouldn't count it. This is one of many episodes in which the villain's plan is to have the team ejected from the organization and have their memories wiped (by aging them up, hacking their files, turning them into animals, etc.). I like that even without their memories, the rest of the team still trusts Numbuh 1 and agree to work with him. Numbuh 5 keeps calling him crazy but just goes with it. "Whatever you say, crazy!"/"You're crazy, this whole plan is crazy, but what the heck?"
1. P.O.O.L. (Prevent Opposite Operative's Larceny) Season 4 episode 4
This is the mirror world/universe episode, which provides character insights and development. Numbuh 4 gets over his fear of water and learns to swim to save everyone from his evil doppelganger. He says this means Negative Numbuh 4 is a coward, making everyone else in the DNK turn against him. I especially like the part where Eizzil is still waiting back in the real world when Negative Numbuh 4 shows up and kicks him back through the portal. Also the part where Negative Numbuh 86 wants to pretend to be a pretty princess instead of what they were doing under Negative Numbuh 4's rule.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)