Media I'm Consuming

 ‭Ascendance of a Bookworm - I’m currently collecting the manga now that Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card has finally come to an end. I figured it would be a faster read that way, since I don’t have a whole lot of time to myself, but it looks like it’ll be more volumes than the light novel series. I was interested in the angle of restarting the printing industry from scratch, but the issue of mana and political intrigue made it take off in a whole other direction. I just finished watching Trash-Tier Waifu’s videos on part 3, and this has still just been the setup. Apparently parts 4 and 5 are massive. The anime had better continue. Clear Card is already getting a reboot so it can have a proper ending as well.

‭RWBY vol 9 - I had my doubts about this season, but the ending was kinda nice. Neo took the peaceful route in the end, accepting that her conjured version of Roman wasn’t real and that she had to reinvent herself even if she has no longer has any ties to Remnant. Not only that, but the Tree told them that the Brothers aren’t gods and they had actually been kicked out of the Ever After. So despite all the terrible things Salem has done, she had been right about the Brothers and summoning them may not be the worst idea if they can confront them with this new information? I don’t understand how Alyx died and that gifting Jaune her dagger would undo the aging he’d accidentally done to himself upon his arrival. At first I thought Miles had actually quit and they had aged Jaune up to recast him, but I’m glad I was wrong. As per usual, Robbie Daymond’s character seems friendly at first but ultimately can’t be trusted. This is why I like Dorian the best out of his characters. It’s funny that both he (Akechi) and Max Mittelman (Ryuji) both voice versions of the Cheshire Cat, Max voicing him in Alice’s Wonderland Bakery (my daughter watches it).

‭Critical Role - I’m not really interested in what’s going on in Campaign 3 right now. Since I don’t have time, I’ve been reading the recaps, and I’m not impressed. I know Marisha’s doing Creator Clash 2, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s why the party had to be split so she wouldn’t have to actively play. She still shows up for opening announcements. Matt misses her, but Marisha mentioned that in a way that made it sound like Matt was being selfish, and I get it. I can't help but wonder if all this extra stuff is going to pull the group apart during this campaign, as they are a far cry from doing it for fun at this point.

‭Power Rangers Once & Always - I’m not wild about the idea that Robo Rita was Billy’s fault and Trini died protecting him (and it cost them Alpha 8 as well). He never really struck me as that much of an ego maniac or particularly inclined towards hubris, and since I’ve seen both Full Metal Alchemist anime, trying to bring Zordon back isn’t anything new. In fact, he should’ve gotten Andros in on it too, and sooner. I don’t know how I feel about Trini being a single mom, but Richie’s dead too, and I don’t know who else it would have been. ‭I still have to get caught up on Dino Fury (among other things), and I’m cautiously optimistic for Cosmic Fury.

Jason David Frank is Dead and I'm Pissed

 ‭First let me say that Billy Kametz, voice of Ferdinand von Aegir, was only a couple days older than me and died of stage 4 colon cancer. It was a tragedy. We lost Chadwick Boseman and even more recently Kevin Conroy to cancer too. Thuy Trang died back in 2001 in a car accident because she wasn't wearing a seat belt. Irresponsible, yes, but still tragic. Earlier this week, we lost Jason David Frank to suicide, and I'm angry. He was not the first celebrity to do so, and he won't be the last. Like everyone else, I couldn't believe it at first, but then it was confirmed from multiple sources within twenty-four hours. But I didn't burst out bawling like when I was 14. I was livid. “What are you doing, you stupid asshole?!" was the first thought that came to mind. “Was nothing in your life good enough for you anymore? Was there nothing here worth sticking around for?"

‭The truth is, like many others, he was fighting a mental battle that no one else could fight for him. He'd already lost his mom and brother, and he just wasn't feeling the next Power Rangers anniversary that many of his co-stars are participating in, some for the first time since splitting from the show back in the 90s due to various reasons (pay, discrimination, etc.). Fame can be hollow, but he was perhaps the most famous of all the Rangers, and he seemed to like what he did. He wasn’t a perfect man, and he didn’t get along with everyone. I certainly thought he was overrated at one time or another. He leaves behind a wife and child in real life (though as of editing this I’ve learned there was a divorce pending and he hanged himself in a hotel after an argument), and Kat and J.J. in the Ranger-verse. They already had to deal with the fact that Trini can’t be in the anniversary and cast someone to play her daughter. Now they have this to deal with as well. Which is not more important than a man’s life, but killing yourself right before Thanksgiving and after passing on a big work event is kind of a dick move.
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What all of my anger really stems from is this: I used Power Rangers as an escape from these issues, and having them flung back in my face feels like a betrayal. When I was 8 years old, my mom attempted suicide and then spent some time in rehab. The Power Rangers were my role models. Their strength of character made me want to do better, to be better, than my mom. I couldn’t trust the adults in my life to be okay, but I shouldn’t really count on these people who are just actors to be okay either. JDF left behind his wife and child to be with his mom and brother, just like my mom was going to leave me and my little brother and our dad to be with her father, and that shit hurts.
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So...yeah. My Kingdom Hearts OC Sayuri is me if my mom had succeeded. Also, here's your Thanksgiving reminder to cut ties with your toxic family members if at all possible. As I mentioned in my previous post, I don't want my daughter to have to deal with or even know about all the crap my mom and her siblings have put me and each other through. They can go to their graves hating each other, and one of them already has. I'm done with them and I'm done with my hometown.
 

‭Farewell, “Tommy." I hope things are better for you on the other side.

Let's Talk About Encanto

 Like Steven Universe, this movie convinces me that my family needs therapy. My grandfather also died tragically early, but instead of my grandmother forcing everyone to be perfect, it was my mom’s older sisters. There are more of them, and instead of magical powers contributing to the community, it’s about being successful and not a burden to the family. But that shouldn’t be the grandkids’ problem. Or great-grandkids'. I'm certainly not going to expose my daughter to it, though I would like to watch this movie with her someday.

Pepa seems like a bridezilla, and her distaste for her brother has rubbed off on her son Camilo (who reminds me of Wybie from Coraline for some reason). Felix loves his wife as much as Sigurd from Fire Emblem does. Like most people, I identify with Mirabel and also like Luisa a lot. I also like Dolores, and Isabela reminds me a little of Rapunzel. And of course the songs are good (and reminiscent of Moana) because Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote them. “I’m pretty sure I’m worthless if I can’t be of service.” Girl, same. I did pick up on the references to Wreck-It Ralph and Maui in “Surface Pressure,” unless those were just coincidences and not reused animations. They could’ve used Herc’s character model from Kingdom Hearts (or made a new CG model themselves), but they went with an original design that has nothing to do with that IP.
 

I know the Miracle was trying to prove a point by not giving Mirabel a gift (or at least that's the going theory) as well as Luisa's gift fading as she's overworked, but that's kind of messed up. Isabela was beauty, Luisa was brawn, and Mirabel was set up to be brains. It's kind of like what the third fairy's gift would've been if she hadn't had to change Maleficent's curse. Of course, Mirabel is perfect the way she is. They all are. Luisa needs a vacation and a hug. And a pet unicorn. There's no one I really dislike, but I do like Julieta and Augustin as a couple and would like to see more of them together if they do a series like Tangled. With him being accident-prone and her being a healer, I'd be interested in seeing their meet-cute in a flashback.

One Last Time

I probably won’t make another top 10 list for Random Encounters, but Bendy and the Wolf was awesome.

When Catherine O'Hara wasn't in Oogie's Revenge, she was replaced by Kath Soucie. When she wasn't in the 2021 Halloween concert, she was replaced by Billie Eilish and Weird Al. That was a choice. It looked like they were all having fun. I especially like that Greg was wearing a fez. Seeing Ken Page on stage singing Oogie's Song reminded me of when he played the Walrus in Adventures in Wonderland. Greg even got to be Santa.

The cantina taco is hands-down the best taco I've ever had. I got the black bean version, and it was amazing! Once the Doritos Loco Taco came out, I wasn't going to eat any other hard shell taco ever again (I prefer soft tacos anyway), but this was the exception. 

Ignatz and Manuela got into Fire Emblem Heroes on the holiday banner! Yay! Seriously, though, Santa Athos when?

 I'm having a baby in May, so I'm probably not going to be doing a whole lot from now on.

Variation

I didn’t know that the Organization members in 358/2 Days came with 22 weapon variants and two joke weapons, one of which “reveals their true nature.” Vexen’s snowman shield and Saix’s rabbit claymore are cute, but the descriptions are negative (Vexen being cold-hearted and Saix being ambitious). I think it means the two of them have a soft side, as we saw in KH3. Xigbar’s trumpet is still a mystery. It says he likes to toot his own horn, but is the Master of Masters’s herald or something? Marluxia’s looks like the flowers he’s holding in the Union X art, which represents his sister. Strelitzia’s name doesn’t appear on any of his weapons, but that had to have been in the works pretty early on. It’s fun to think everyone has a weapons locker somewhere that they pull from, and Zexion has a bookshelf. The wiki guide made writing any fight scenes I write for him a lot easier. The weapons that Dilan and Aeleus have in Birth By Sleep don’t resemble any of the ones in Days, though. Braig’s weapons match the basic ones (that don’t use a gear). The fan art I’ve seen of Even’s shield doesn’t match any of Vexen’s arsenal either but does fit the aesthetic of Dilan and Aeleus’s. I found some good fan art recently, including a few fan comics. One of them is Aeleus asking if Ienzo is okay, and he says he’s fine because there are more important things to worry about as they greet Riku and Mickey. Another one is Even returning and Ienzo asking him for an explanation for his whereabouts. Even remembers when little Ienzo asked about Master Ansem’s disappearance. Ienzo says they were all supposed to stick together and makes him promise not to leave again. In another, Even tells Ansem that he’d hoped Ienzo would take after him, but instead he’s like Even. He thinks he’s cursed and projected all his problems onto the kid. Someone also drew a picture of Zexion working on his laptop with a sandwich hanging out of his mouth as a nod to his joke weapons.

The other night, I had a dream that Matt was wearing a unicorn hoodie and was telling his union of Keyblade wielders that he’d take them out for lunch if they beat Travis’s union. Travis, of course, was wearing a Trinket hoodie.

The Moxxie/Millie video is live. I have to comb through my content and make some playlists, the first being Christmas obviously.

I got it wrong. I forget who J. Michael Tatum has voiced in regards to Laura Bailey. I’m getting old.

Better Late Than Never

I shouted “MY BULMA!” when Ayame hugged Mine. The Kyoru hug looked like it was animated by James Baxter himself. I’m a little disappointed that the real story of the banquet was told entirely by Tohru instead of God and the animals all talking. If that had been the case, it would’ve been a missed opportunity not to have Liam O’Brien voice the cat (though I thought the animals should be voiced by the cursed characters and that God was Akira because they looked similar) since Matt Mercer is voicing God. His part was post-credits and the next episode where he tells Yuki he’s the last. I made a video with the orchestra version of “Don’t Think Twice," but Disney still copyright claimed it with ads. This is what I had been trying to avoid, but we’ll see if I ever get accused of advertising to kids. If I figure out another Helluva Boss or Hazbin Hotel video, I’ll use the Beer and Board Games clip at the end of that. I’m glad that a limited series was announced for the Kyoko/Katsuya backstory. It’s either an OVA covering three chapters, or it’s been called an anime series itself, so maybe they’ll flesh it out more? People are already saying that the age difference and power imbalance isn’t going to go over well with today’s audience. J. Michael Tatum is voicing Katsuya, so that'll be kinda weird. And I don’t normally watch reaction videos, but I liked FloraRed's reaction to the end scene: “Hajime!" I also liked HMK's reaction to Luxu taking Brain's body: “Luxu you son of a bitch!" 

Sailor Moon Eternal was my first time watching the new dub. The voice work was kinda stilted in spots, and the two movies suffered from pacing issues that a limited series could’ve rectified. I couldn’t help but groan and roll my eyes at times, as this story is more ridiculous than I remember. Otherwise, I like the voice cast and the animation was better than season 3. Robbie Daymond playing D&D reminds me of Will Friedle, by the way.

Ben & Jerry's tiramisu ice cream is probably my new favorite. Cannoli wasn't bad, but not exciting, maybe because the cannolis I'd get at the carnival had cherries, and I'm missing that. I'm glad chocolate Dunkaroos came back, and the lemon Pop-Tarts are pretty damn good.

Yet Another Top 10 Random Encounters

They've done another poll, so that means it's high time I did another one of these too. Honorable mention goes to Emergency Meeting: An Among Us Song, specifically for the bonus challenge video. I did think the ending was a bit corny. Another Honorable mention goes to Phasmophobia the Musical, featuring NateWantsToBattle, for the spooky atmosphere.
 

10. Minesweeper the Musical - I thought this was catchy and it made me nostalgic for playing it as a kid (and not really knowing how to play it, so this actually helped)
 

9. Amiibo the Musical - Another catchy tune illustrating AJ's amiibo obsession. An alternate ending truncates the song with murder and a terrified Miss Bird running screaming from the house.
 

8. Friday Night Funkin' the Musical - An interesting entry. I chose this one more for the colorful costumes, acting, and set.
 

7. Ice Scream Man‭ [‬An Ice Scream‭ ‬Song‭] - I think the first was better than the second, an introduction to the game’s lore as kids tell a story around a campfire. It’s a bop.
 

6. A Proper End: A Stanley Parable Song - It was fun to watch AJ flailing around and trying to push buttons. He's replaced by their cat in the end.
 

5. Luigi's Mansion the Musical - The roles of Luigi and the professor were acted well, and the humor in it was great. “It’s not right.”
 

4. God of War the Musical - AJ and Nate as Kratos from the original and new installments of God of War. It’s hilarious.
 

3. Cooking Mama the Musical - Very catchy and funny. “Mama quits."
 

2. Goose on Holiday:‭ ‬An Untitled Goose Game Song - I love everything about this video. It's catchy, funny, well-acted, and the costume Gwen made is amazing.
 

1. Spooky‭’‬s Jump Scare Musical - This song was well-written and well-executed, and it did a good job of endearing Spooky to the audience (or at least me). “I did it to SCARE YOU!"