Animation and Comics

[Mazder]

and the Gems themselves were boring, safe "girl power!" stereotypes.

Sounds much like the Powerpuff Girls reboot...

[The Dragon's Triangle]

Yeah, while on paper I am anti-SJW myself, I've stopped paying attention to those ito that ballpark almost competely. SJW, anti-SJW... It's just two groups of online people talking shit about each other at this point. Just look at how Sargon and most the Skeptic crowd turned out to be over the years.

Haven't seen Sabrina, but the whole premise sounds real fun and I'm almost certain I'll dig into it at some point. But as you said, it's another example of pointles online bitching. It's true there's alot of poorly written female characters in media nowadays, but every time someone even tries to make one, immediately YT fills of people going "Huurrr durrr more SJW crap durrr getwoke!gobroke!" and I'm tired of that just as much as I am of being called sexist for not liking Rey or the current version of Carol Danvers.

Which is why I asked about She-Ra, since here there's still people who don't have their head up their asses one way or another when talking of this kind of stuff.

Well the thing I like about Sabrina is that she sort of starts off as a bit of a mary sue, in that it seems like she's always right and can do no wrong. But then that leads to overconfidence and then she starts fucking up HARD. I actually think it's a good deconstruction of the modern problem with characters like Rey and stuff who never get their shit slapped in a little bit. And as someone who hits like, god, I don't even know how many letters on the LGBT spectrum, good representation matters to me, and Sabrina actually has one of the realest trans characters I've seen in a show to date, because it's not all "look at how fabulous I am and everyone likes me!" It's the far more realistic "holy fuck I hate myself and I feel like a burden and an abomination." I think representation is important, I just think you need to do it when and where it makes sense and do it well. Sabrina is a great platform for it because paganism and witchcraft have always been associated with feminism and stuff, so like, it makes sense. And like I said, despite all that girl power rhetoric and stuff, Sabrina is not depicted as someone who does no wrong. She fucks up pretty bad, and is a stronger character for it. If you want a show that is a mix of creepy, dramatic, intense, and heartwarming, I recommend Sabrina wholeheartedly, and fuck the internet trolls.

Like I said, I plan to start watching She-Ra over the next few days, so I'll give an after action report here when I'm done. If I feel like it has any worthwhile qualities or things to be aware of, I'll gladly share them.

-Rip

[The Dragon's Triangle]

and the Gems themselves were boring, safe "girl power!" stereotypes.

Sounds much like the Powerpuff Girls reboot...

I really don't think it looks that bad. Powerpuff Girls was violently terrible for a whole host of reasons. The worst thing I've heard about She-Ra is that it's SU lite, which, honestly, I don't feel is the worst thing a thing could be, because as much as I love SU, it can be pretty fucking heavy.

-Rip

[Alienmorph]

-Sabrina stuff-

As someone who watched a bit of the original show as a teen that seems part for the course really. Most of the times it was Sabrina acting smartass and know-it-all because "I'm a big girl! I can handle myself!" and then she fucked up in spectacular ways and had to deal with the consequences. If the new show is that, but with an horror edge, it sounds like it could be a fun ride.

I really don't think it looks that bad. Powerpuff Girls was violently terrible for a whole host of reasons. The worst thing I've heard about She-Ra is that it's SU lite, which, honestly, I don't feel is the worst thing a thing could be, because as much as I love SU, it can be pretty fucking heavy.
-Rip

The animation looks quite nice honestly, it's one of the reasons I'm even remotely interested into finding out more about the show. The mix of SU, Adventure Time and Avatar works surprisingly well the for Masters of the Universe and Princess of Power setting. And in recent years there's been alot of shows with styles quite different from the original that turned out really well. Not everything is TT:Go levels of bad just because it looks different.

[Dragaros]

"Dragon Ball Super manga launches “Galactic Patrol Prisoner Arc” next month."







The next Dragon Ball Super Big Bad in the manga is this goat man looking dude.

[Dragaros]

[Dragaros]

[Dragaros]

Mobile Suit Gundam 40th Anniversary Project Details Announced

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmTJT0zvOcY

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqkjVWWtvcM&index=2&list=PLEDHybtbHEbDhw-WYtCFrx6h_VFkssKJm

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfXDdgd6bu4

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eZPv6ttQ38

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rPAazBAovg

[Dragaros]

[Dragaros]

Regrets, I've had a few.
But then again,
Too few to mention.
I did what I had to do.
And saw it through,
Without exemption!
I planned,
Each charted course!
Each careful step,
Along the byway!
And more,
Much more than this...
I did it my way!
Yes, there were times!
I'm sure you knew.
When I bit off, more than I could chew!
But through it all,
When there was doubt,
I ate it up,
And spit it out!
The record shows,
I took the blows!
And did it...
My way!

[Mazder]

I really don't think it looks that bad. Powerpuff Girls was violently terrible for a whole host of reasons. The worst thing I've heard about She-Ra is that it's SU lite, which, honestly, I don't feel is the worst thing a thing could be, because as much as I love SU, it can be pretty fucking heavy.

-Rip

Well as long as it doesn't do a PPGReboot and take the characters out of their theme/main situation and shove them into a terrible attempt at slice of life and misunderstand the characters and the world entirely it should do okay.

I've not even started SU and I don't think I will this century as I am still not even watching MHA and that's something I want to watch, yet I keep just not finding the time to sit down and watch it.

As someone who watched a bit of the original show as a teen that seems part for the course really. Most of the times it was Sabrina acting smartass and know-it-all because "I'm a big girl! I can handle myself!" and then she fucked up in spectacular ways and had to deal with the consequences. If the new show is that, but with an horror edge, it sounds like it could be a fun ride.

Yeah but does it have Salem in it?
No Salem it's not Sabrina.
Salem was the best part!

The animation looks quite nice honestly, it's one of the reasons I'm even remotely interested into finding out more about the show. The mix of SU, Adventure Time and Avatar works surprisingly well the for Masters of the Universe and Princess of Power setting. And in recent years there's been alot of shows with styles quite different from the original that turned out really well. Not everything is TT:Go levels of bad just because it looks different.

While true I am getting more and more annoyed that the "style of animation" similar to SU, TT:Go, this new She-Ra, etc, is getting more and more popular. Different is one thing but as more and more shows come out similar to it it becomes less "different" and more "the norm". And I don't like that prospect.
I have gone on record saying I do not like it and I'm going to continue to do so. I don't like this animation style. It looks too much like "animation intended for little kids" rather than "animation detailed for all but marketed to little kids".

[Riptide]

Alright. So She-Ra. I was only going to watch a few episodes last night before bed, I ended up blitzing the entire first season and didn't get to bed until well after dawn. My impressions as follows:

I see the show being compared a lot to SU, and in terms of color palette, definitely. However, I actually think the show has a LOT more in common with season 1 of The Last Airbender. In fact, I feel like She-Ra is a marriage of the best stuff about SU and Last Airbender, and it shows in everything from the animation to the plot.

First, let me get some the stuff I don't like or the things people might have problems with out of the way. Tone. She-Ra suffers the same problem both early SU and Airbender had in that the beginning starts off really silly, almost absurdly so. It feels very, well, Nickelodeon in how goofy and silly it can be. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I think in a world where everyone is trying to be grimdark, it can actually be refreshing. But there are definitely bits that had me rolling my eyes a little, and I could see how someone might pick it up for the first few episodes and be turned off by it. I feel like this is far less of an issue here however, because while it took Avatar and SU 26 episodes for things to start getting good, She-Ra's first season is half that. It feels far better paced as a result. Representation. Yes, She-Ra has it. It's got gays, queers, and a metric fuckton of both. If you hate LGBT representation in media, first of all don't talk to me, you're part of the problem and the reason SJWs exist, and second, yeah, while overpushing an agenda can lead to problematic writing like in Last Jedi, it is actually done VERY well in She-Ra. A couple of Princesses are gay. It's never treated like a thing or called out or overrides the story, they just are. It's like that all over. Everyone feels like a character first with whatever identity they have a part of their makeup, but not a defining trait. Like with SU, this is how representation is supposed to be done. They don't feel the need to virtue signal, and they clearly aren't doing it to queerbait like Voltron did. It's there, it's done well, end of story.

Those are the things I can see people being most put off by. However, I don't really think they're big problems. The silly stuff lasts up to a point, but like Avatar and Steven, there hits a point where everything takes a huge tone shift, and unlike those other shows you're not waiting 26/52 episodes to get there. As for the representation stuff, like I said, it's handled well, and if that still offends you, then I can't help you. Hell, one of the best parts of the show is Adora and Catra's complicated relationship.

Stuff I like. The animation is actually pretty good. Again, the color pallet is Steven Universe, but I feel like there is a tremendous amount of inspiration from Last Airbender and 80s anime. It shows more in some characters than others, but it's all there, and when the show is in proper motion, it's well done. Whoever does the boards for this show knows what they're doing, framing and color are all excellent, and it has a very nice blend of high fantasy pastels and grungy 90s edge, where applicable. Faces are particularly well done, and overall, the show just looks good. The characters and their interpersonal relationships, particularly on the part of the villains are probably my favorite part. I feel like this is going to be one of those shows like Avatar where the characters will really grow into their own. Catra has a heartwrenching backstory and her motivations feel quite real for anyone who has been a victim of abuse. Adora's quest for identity and taking a moral stand is your typical, Rey-esque classical hero protagonist, except, you know, actually handled well. Entrapta is adorable and precious and a mix of like, Doc Ock, Sombra and Peridot, and it's as great as it sounds. What I like most is how all the characters, despite being silly, are all implied to have a deeper layer. Like Scorpia. She comes off as this goofy team mom bad guy lady with scorpion pinchers and a tail, and her opening dialogue is literally her explaining she's a hugger. Come to find out later that there is a real reason for why she seems to seek out contact with others being that people are generally put off by her more monstrous qualities, despite being a sweetheart herself. Even Hordak, who has little screentime, is played with a sort of charisma that is both intimidating, genre-savvy and competent, but with a sort of likable-ness to him because while he may be a planet destroying, world enslaving vampiric monster, he's also level headed, fair, and orderly.

Easily the standout aspect of the show however is Adora and Catra and their relationship dynamic. I'm not going to spoil it here, but it is easily the heart of the show, and I think it was a great idea for the writers to take their characters in this direction. It gives a sense of emotional weight to both of them, Catra in the sense that you can see how a life of loneliness and always being treated as garbage has left her hardened and desperate for approval, and how Adora, who naturally wants to protect people, was ultimately unable to protect the person that clearly mattered most to her.

Short Version/Tl;DR: I like it. If you go into it expecting something like the 2000s Thundercats show, you'll probably be disappointed. If you go in expecting something more along the lines of A:TLA with very well handled modern sensibilities ala Adventure Time and SU, that has fun characters with a subtle deeper layer, good art direction and knows when to be goofy and fun and when to be dramatic and even a little heartbreaking, I recommend it. If you don't like a bit of quirky humor, are easily put off by shows that need a bit of time to build up to getting really good, or have frothing anti-SJW sensibilities, you'll be better off spending your time elsewhere.

[Alienmorph]

Well, that's pretty much what I hoped to ear. Glad to read the opinion of someone who doesn't just talk in internet hyperboles. Thanks for the analysis.

Gonna add it the list of shows I want to eventually watch. Shit, that's a pretty big list at this point xD

[Riptide]

Well, that's pretty much what I hoped to ear. Glad to read the opinion of someone who doesn't just talk in internet hyperboles. Thanks for the analysis.

Gonna add it the list of shows I want to eventually watch. Shit, that's a pretty big list at this point xD

Yeah, people spend so much time in echo chambers that it's hard to find any kind of objectivity. Everyone likes different stuff and has different tastes, so you know, not everything is for everyone. She-Ra probably isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. But I've been hearing a LOT of AAARGHGHG SJW IDENTITY POLITICS ALL BAD EVERYTHING AWFUL SET FIRE TO THE WORLD and that really isn't She-Ra or Sabrina at all. Agendas can fuck up the best of franchises, see Star Wars for that, and no one gets more pissed at that than me. But there's nothing bad about how She-Ra handles it and the show as it is right now is at worst middling and at best an intriguing and fun bedrock for what could become a really good show. Again, citing Avatar there.

After you've seen it, I'd love to know your take on it!

[Alienmorph]

Sure! I'll try not to take months to get to it xP

I still have to get to see Dreamworks' Voltron too... but at this point I'm waiting for the last season of that be done since it's coming soon.

And the general butthurt is exactly why I asked around for the opinion of someone with a less one-sided view of things. Admidettly I'm a bit jaded myself... especially after what the last few years of bullshit controversies have done to comic-books, and to most of my favorite characters (especially to the female ones) so earing other folks' opinion helps to not get pissed off for stupid reasons.

[TTTX]

Well it nice to hear that She-Ra doesn't suck and didn't become a victim of extreme gender politics.

I had my doubts, but it's nice to be surprised and wrong in my predictions.

[Riptide]

Sure! I'll try not to take months to get to it xP

I still have to get to see Dreamworks' Voltron too... but at this point I'm waiting for the last season of that be done since it's coming soon.

And the general butthurt is exactly why I asked around for the opinion of someone with a less one-sided view of things. Admidettly I'm a bit jaded myself... especially after what the last few years of bullshit controversies have done to comic-books, and to most of my favorite characters (especially to the female ones) so earing other folks' opinion helps to not get pissed off for stupid reasons.

I would say Voltron is sadly an example of everything done wrong. It starts off with a lot of promise but as things go on, corporate meddling has the story hard jerking this way and that every season. And that show actually does queerbait hard and it is BAD. Like, Voltron had a lot going for it, but with the end of last season, it just feels kind of... ugh.

Yeah, no. Let me be clear, I think agendas are bad. But there is a difference between "we're going to make this character an icon of feminist ideals and girl power" and "I'm going to write this hero who has these motivations and these beliefs and is cool and kicks ass. Who also happens to be a girl. Or gay, or trans, or what ever the fuck." SJWs have agendas. Anti-SJWs also have agendas.

The only thing I care about is good story telling, and good story telling has always been about showing people new ways of looking at or experiencing the world. The raw heroism of fantasy, the edgy transhumanism of cyberpunk, from the girlish wonder of magic girl anime to the five minutes of screaming to power up a punch in DBZ. If a story provides a window into a world through a lens you haven't seen before, or a familiar one you've come to enjoy, and it provides a view that can be appreciated, it's good. Agendas, of all kinds, distort that lens, muddy it. Like dirt on a canvas. It's not just LGBT stuff, you see the exact same thing with corporate agendas. In movies, it's rehashing and rebooting everything to turn a quick profit on nostalgia. In videogames, it's all about lootboxes and online gambling.

Art needs to stand on its own merits, regardless of the platform it's presented on. Great art is ubiquitous, it can comment on the times, while being able to communicate to the ageless soul. It's why fairytales are still used and retold in all kinds of mediums today. Getting mixed up in the politics is beside the point, and honestly rather stupid, regardless of the side people end up on. Watch something or don't. Like something or don't. But do so on it's own merits. Not because OH NO I HEARD THIS ONE SHOW HAS A TRANS THINGY IN IT TIME TO BREAK OUT THE PITCHFORKS. Seriously, a lot of people on youtube who make videos I respect have put up videos of, and I quote "She-Ra is woke garbage," and it's so fucking obvious they didn't even watch it.

This hypersensitive jump to conclusions bullshit has gotten so old.

[Mazder]

Representation. Yes, She-Ra has it. It's got gays, queers, and a metric fuckton of both. If you hate LGBT representation in media, first of all don't talk to me, you're part of the problem and the reason SJWs exist, and second, yeah, while overpushing an agenda can lead to problematic writing like in Last Jedi, it is actually done VERY well in She-Ra. A couple of Princesses are gay. It's never treated like a thing or called out or overrides the story, they just are. It's like that all over. Everyone feels like a character first with whatever identity they have a part of their makeup, but not a defining trait. Like with SU, this is how representation is supposed to be done. They don't feel the need to virtue signal, and they clearly aren't doing it to queerbait like Voltron did. It's there, it's done well, end of story.

As far as representation goes I am with you on this.
I love representation but I loathe bad representation.
And not even just they failed to represent or ended up not being good but when they do the thing.

The thing being they make a character just for "X reason" and it be literally all that character, if they even have characterization, is all about. There is a stark difference between having a gay character that is good and a gay character in a good show. A good show can have a very shittily done gay character in.
It's similar to some tropes in anime for example. If you know a character is a Tsundere then chances are you already know that character's arc, or could guess it as it's made painfully obvious to the point of there is no character any more only the "Tsundere". The same can be easily done with gays, minorities and trans characters.

As long as She-Ra isn't doing that I'm fine with it.


Also gay for gayness sake is fine but, again, if that's all the character has they're going to be a bad character, which would harm the representation.


Y'know I recently got directed onto the web-comic Two Kinds. Probably old hat for some now, and yes it's got some furry-ness to it, but I basically binged it over the last few days and this comic has a trans character in it that has a very interesting way of making it work in a fantasy setting and not doing the thing despite it being a big part of their backstory.


Now as for the silliness part.
Ooohhh boy that's a hard one for me to gauge.
Silliness for me is kind of weird as there is some silliness that just doesn't make sense to me. Like weird animation for the sake of it or stuff that comes out of left field that also makes no sense for the character feels off to me these days.
YET I still like Invader Zim that does it a bunch.
If one character is stoopids I can get by it, maybe even two, but if the whole cast has stoopids moments then it gets rather annoying for me.
Especially if the comic relief is relief only from the show progressing normally and isn't doing anything that needs us to take he edge off.

[Alienmorph]

I would say Voltron is sadly an example of everything done wrong. It starts off with a lot of promise but as things go on, corporate meddling has the story hard jerking this way and that every season. And that show actually does queerbait hard and it is BAD. Like, Voltron had a lot going for it, but with the end of last season, it just feels kind of... ugh.

Sorry to ear about the queerbaiting thing. I think it's one of the most annoying things about LGBT characters in media. That and the "bury your gay" trope. Which is hilarious when it still happens even in "woke" shows like Star Trek Discovery. But that's an whole other rant.

The only thing I care about is good story telling, and good story telling has always been about showing people new ways of looking at or experiencing the world. The raw heroism of fantasy, the edgy transhumanism of cyberpunk, from the girlish wonder of magic girl anime to the five minutes of screaming to power up a punch in DBZ.

I ear you so loud and clear. Righ now, one of my favorite anime is about a time traveling lesbian magical girl, I'm almost half-way through a comic book saga where fairy tales characters live among us, and Snow White has an interspecies relationship with the Big Bad Wolf (he can turn into a human... it's less weird than it sounds), and reading a science fiction series of novels about humanity exploring deep space with the help of genetically uplifted dolphins and apes. I don't give a flying fuck about pushing agendas, you can get me interested in whatever story you want, as long as it's well done and the characters feel believable and interesting.

On the other side of the spectrum is instead stuff that is ONLY social commentary, or anti-social commentary and pretends to be good because of it. I applaud the Comics Gate people for putting their necks out and starting to make their own comics, but I'm not really interested into a miniseries where GI Joe knock-offs fight a King Kong knockoff, just because it's free of SJW-isms. And I dislike with a fiery passion what the mainstream authors did to characters I used to love like Barbara Gordon or X23 because "we can't have female characters go through bad shit! That's OFFENSIVE!" Just tell a good story and if you do have to inject politics into it, do it in a subtle and nuanced way that makes the story something more, and not something less.

[TTTX]

I'm almost half-way through a comic book saga where fairy tales characters live among us, and Snow White has an interspecies relationship with the Big Bad Wolf (he can turn into a human... it's less weird than it sounds)

Pretty sure I know what you are talking about, but only because I played the Telltale prequel game to the comics on which it's based, sadly the sequel was cancelled because of the obvious reason of Telltale going bankrupt.

From what I have heard the comics are pretty good

[Alienmorph]

Pretty sure I know what you are talking about, but only because I played the Telltale prequel game to the comics on which it's based, sadly the sequel was cancelled because of the obvious reason of Telltale going bankrupt.

From what I have heard the comics are pretty good

Yes indeed. I'm reading through Fables,and the TT game is a prequel to the comics. The author is very clearly right-leaning and there's some cheap shots thrown at comunism and liberals here and there, but the main story and characters are very solid and entertaining. Won't spoil anything else about them, because there's some decent twists and turns going on.

[Dragaros]

[Dragaros]

So phase 2 of Bane's master plan to break the bat --Phase 1 being the ruination of his wedding to Catwoman-- is to fake insanity at Arkham while manipulating things from the shadows, trying to get Bruce so angry and emotionally unbalanced that he acts irrationally and alienates all his friends and allies, this issue ending with him punching Gordon in the face.

This storyline is tedious and stupid.

[Dragaros]

Return of the Joker 2: Killing Joke Redux

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VCbFnFJkg8

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQa_M7hhEyo

[Dragaros]

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

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8LWG3HOm7Q

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTvb10oYwm4

[Dragaros]

[Dragaros]

[Dragaros]

"Lupin the 3rd gets a 26th TV anime special that will air in Winter 2019."

[Dragaros]

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN3eATy1tHo

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL2UZcfRpPU

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STWf6QUqYPs

[Dragaros]

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

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29BbexJ-6Cs

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u8YhRhrhUg

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13nSISwxrY4

Still a hard pass

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXOG3pZfGOc

"Several years have passed since the events of Ultraman, with the legendary "Giant of Light" (光の巨人 Hikari no Kyojin) now a memory, as it is believed he returned home after fighting the many giant aliens that invaded the Earth. Shin Hayata's son Shinjiro seems to possess a strange ability, and it is this ability, along with his father's revelation that he was Ultraman, that leads Shinjiro to battle the new aliens invading the Earth as the new Ultraman."



An April 1st release date? That's an odd choice. Association with April Fool's Day pranks and hoaxes and all that.

[Dragaros]

"Netflix’s Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya TV CG anime remake new key visual. It’ll stream on Netflix in Summer 2019."

[Alienmorph]

Evangelion aside, am I the only one who finds hilarious that Netflix is the one promoting and "normalizing" anime in the West, while Crunchyroll, the platform allegedly born to do that, is basically self-destructing by censoring games and dubs and creating crap like Guardian Spice?

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5thabTXsJI

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x6mGyozhlc