Fate/ Watch Order again

My past absolute advocacy of watching Fate/Zero first has been diminished, but not for the reasons most people say you shouldn't watch it first.  It doesn't "Spoil" nearly as much as people make it sound like, and what it does Spoil is what everyone already knows anyway, the cat is out of the bag.

No as I already talked about once I've come to be concerned by what happens when an AniTube Video Essayist decides to "analyze" Fate/Zero on it's own with no regard for the fact that it's a Prequel.

But I'm not even making this post mainly for the Fate/Zero question.  

If you have been convinced or are trying to convince people to watch the Studio Deen TV Anime before any UFOTable stuff because it's the closest thing we have to a Fate/Route Anime, my advice is to at least watch Episode 0 and 1 of UFOtable's Unlimited Blade Works first.  Episode 0 takes place entirely before the point of divergence between the routes, and in episode 1 the divergence happens right at the end.  

At least get the more properly structured and fleshed out adaptation of how the VN begins.  Then you can start Deen/Stay Night with episode 3 which rewinds slightly to show you how the end of UBW episode 1 plays out differently in the Fate Route.  

BTW even following these days from Rin's POV first is faithful to the VN, something I didn't expect to be the case originally, much of that being missing is a big part of what's wrong with the first two episodes of Deen/Stay Night.

Unlike a lot of people the reason I consider UFOtable's Anime the better adaptation of Fate/ is entirely how the Story and Plot is presented.  It's visual presentation and animation and music are all great, but maybe kind of over done.  From what I've seen of what early Type Moon Visual novels look like I kind of feel like the Deen Anime are actually more faithful to their vibes (same with the Tsukihime Anime that allegedly doesn't exist).

I even went ahead and recently watched Deen's movie version of Unlimited Blade Works, and if it were still the only Animated version of that story we had I'd definitely critique how it needed to be fleshed out more.  But since I do have the full story I can appreciate it's different visual style for being what it is.

However the Witch of The Holy Night VN and the Tsukihime remake seem to imply Nasu himself wants his worlds to look like the UFO Table Animes now, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Criticizing something for Missing The Point kind of Misses the Point

I started thinking about this more when I saw the title of a Cowboy Bebop video I didn’t watch, essentially saying the Netflix remake "missed the point".  But I have seen similar sentiments all the time about remakes and reboots and sequels and adaptations or even things not actually officially attached to the same brand but just being dismissed as a “shameless rip off”.

Even when such an accusation is accurate, I really don’t think it’s the deep meaningful criticism these people want it to be. Because to me part of the point of having a new take on older stories and characters is to have a different point, maybe a mutually exclusive or contrary one if that’s what the artist wants to do.  Heck the “Point” of Knights of The Old Republic II is that The Force is bad actually yet I don’t see a lot of Star Wars fans being morally outraged by that. 

I’ve already said most of my piece on Netflix Bebop in two posts I made last March.  The gist here is that the Netflix version has Points, some of them I like and the ones I don’t I can easily ignore.  If they are the same or not as the original Anime’s point means nothing to me, the Anime is still there for you to watch if you just want the exact same point, on the same Streaming App even.

Again the same criticism exists for everything that is perceived as a trend follower rather than a trend setter.  But I often like certain of the trend followers more precisely because they have a “point” that appeals to me more than the original.  In this context some people often don’t mean an ideological point but a misunderstanding of why the original “worked”.  But the same response applies, maybe for someone like me Maodka didn’t “work” as well as Yuki Yuna Is A Hero or Daybreak Illusion or Blue Reflection Ray.  

Of course I have a different opinion on what the difference between Madoka and its alleged Copycats are.  To me of the four “Dark magical Girl Shows” named above Madoka is the least optimistic and hopeful, and no that’s not because of Rebellion, even off just the original 12 episode series something still never sat right with me about its alleged Happy Ending.  The Madoka Clones I hype up are not ones being even darker and edgier than Madoka, they are the opposite from my perspective at least.

I also watched a YouTube video recently where someone (among many other things) complained about how often modern Hades and Persephone retellings vilify Demeter, because to her Demeter is the actual protagonist of the original myth.  The fact is the entire appeal of reclaiming this myth in the modern world is the desire to reframe Persephone's apparent “Abduction” as actually a liberation, and so reframing Demeter as an overbearing controlling parent is the natural outcome of that.  And I don’t even think there is zero basis for that reading in the original myth, it’s just not the most natural conclusion when Demeter is framed as the protagonist, the fact is no one bothered to ask Persephone how she felt about marrying Hades and that’s the oversight of the original myth these modern retelling want to fix, because other myths definitely present them as happily married.

Isekai Smartphone is still the best Polly Anime

Season 1 specifically of In Another World With my Smartphone which aired in the summer of  2017.

Recently we’ve had shows that more quickly got the attention of people looking for Poly rep in Anime because they made that the title of the show, Girlfriend, Girlfriend and 100 Girlfriends.  And I enjoyed both those shows, the former more than the latter (which itself deviates from popular opinion) but I think the latter will get better once the gap between new Girlfriend introductions is longer in future seasons.  

The first problem however is that the way those shows Parody their own set up gets in the way of being at all helpful in actually normalizing it.  In Isekai Smartphone the way it happens feels much more organic.  And there is comedy in Smartphone, but not true Parody in my view.

The main problem with the state of Poly representation in Anime is that all three of these examples are Polygynous, with only 100 Girlfriends even kind of making Yuri between some of the Girlfriends explicit, but as far as what’s animated so far it kind of feels like it’s just a Joke each time it happens.  I want that problem resolved, I want a proper Anime adaptation of the first Boogiepop and Others LN and I want the gender flipped counterparts to all three of these shows, and Poly Yuri and Poly Yaoi and truly Pansexual Group Marriages.  But while we’re stuck in the context of comparing Polygynous arrangements in Anime, Isekai Smartphone is better for one simple reason.

The idea for the Poly arrangement comes from the Girls, they are the ones given agency in this situation.  We’re not fully shown it till the end of the season but it happened in episode 6, I could tell that’s what had just happened even though it was offscreen at the time, it was very obvious even to viewers who didn’t know this was part of the show going in.   I like how there are still times when they are kind of competing with each other, but because I know what they’ve agreed to it always feels like friendly competition and not like the "fragility of female friendships” meme.

The way to make a Polygynous relationship not seem inherently Patriarchal is to frame it as the girls choosing to share the boy they mutually love.

The counter argument would perhaps be that that makes it even more of a male fantasy, the male protagonist doesn’t even have to do the "work" of asking for it.  Girlfriend, Girlfriend and 100 Girlfriends are defined by their male protagonists who are incredibly honest and upfront about their feelings.  However the convenience that makes that work is the issue of whether or not the Girls might also then want multiple lovers never comes up.  

As someone who was assigned male at birth and developed the Non-Monogamous part of my ideology before I started seriously questioning my own gender identity, I indeed always intended to be honest about my views. But we don’t live in an ideal world, the current status quo is still patriarchal and one aspect of that is women being conditioned to feel devalued by a boyfriend even suggesting the possibility of not being exclusive.

I’m not saying Smartphone is perfect.  There is that moment in the season 1 finale where Yumina says having multiple wives would prove his masculinity which is an unfortunate implication I wish wasn’t there. 

But the same idea is unstated in the other shows, especially to the people for whom 100 Girlfriends is the only of these shows they like, all the talk in YouTube videos about Rentarou being some ideal male protagonists no one else in Anime can compete with, reinforces the very patriarchal notion that it’s the man who’s supposed to prove he deserves even one lover much less multiple while the girls are the prizes he has to earn.  Such ideas reinforce Patriarchy as well as Capitalist Meritocracy.  

These Anime Protagonists not exactly fitting a standard understanding of Masculinity helps.  But it’s still there.

I’ve been comparing these three because they’re less than a decade old; recent enough that I followed all three when they were new.  Cat Planet Cuties is a show I wish I knew about sooner.

Cú Chulainn, Scáthach and Medb were contemporary with The New Testament

According to The Lebor Gabála Érenn anyway, there are other proposed Chronologies for the various Semi-Legendary Kings of Ireland, but I think for this time period at least the LGE is the one I like the most.

Eochu Feidlech the father of Medb is said in the LGE to be contemporary with the Dictatorship of Julius Caesar.

Eterscél Mór is said to have reigned 5 or 6 years, been a contemporary of Augustus Caesar, and even more specifically the Birth of Christ.  Now based on when the LGE was compiled the dividing point of BC/AD on the Gregorian Calendar is likely what's meant here rather than an accurate Nativity Date.  And within Ireland he's contemporary with Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulster, Cú Roí of Munster and Ailill mac Máta of the Connachta (two of them were among the husbands of Medb).  He's succeeded by Nuadu Necht who reigned about a year and was contemporary with Augustus Caesar and those same three other Irish Kings. He's followed by Conaire Mór who is again contemporary with those same figures, at least at the start, he reigned 30 years so if the Birth of Christ happened two kings earlier then the Passion likely happened before his reign ended.

After his reign was an interregnum of 5 years and then reigned Lugaid Riab nDerg.  He is also referred to in the LGE as being a contemporary of Claudius Caesar.  And he was the foster son of everyone's favorite Irish Lancer Cú Chulainn. What’s interesting however is that the Stone of Destiny at Tara didn’t roar for him like it did all his predecessors, which made Cu angry and so he struck it with his sword, and after this it never roared again except for one 2nd century King in some accounts.  This being the first new High King Coronation following the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus makes this development fascinating.  The Gospels say the Veil of the Temple in Jerusalem was torn when Jesus was on The Cross, and I’m one of many Christians who likes to connect that to the Talmud’s account of The Temple ceasing many of it’s supernatural functions 40 years before it’s destruction in AD 70 around AD 30.  So here we have another religious site ceasing to function right after the time of Christ.

Scáthach being immortal and associated with some type of Underworld seems to be an invention of Fate/ Lore.  In the Irish sources she and her sister Aife/Aoife were normal humans in Scotland, probably the Isle of Skye.  Even though they were on Albion they were still far from Roman influence.  It was early in the Reign of Claudius that Rome started conquering Britannia and they started way down south with the Cantiaci (Kent).  They didn’t even begin expanding north of the Humber till AD 71 and never conquered Scotland.  But since it’s popular to set Quasi Historical Fantasy stories in the context of the Roman conquest of Britain I wish this connection would be taken advantage of more, have some Briton warriors seeking to resist Rome travel north to be trained by Scáthach.

It seems like Fate/’s version of Medb merges her with The Morrigan, but I love it.  A female character whose power specifically comes from her promiscuity, that’s more rare than you think.  Your typical Femme Fatale/Vamp gains power from her ability to make men want to have Sex with her but often actually doing it is what causes her downfall.  Medb’s Noble Phantasm is the Seed she’s absorbed from her many lovers and I think that’s pretty cool.  She's a Rider because she rides Dick.

The 3 Episode Rule…. again

I feel conflicted about doing another 3 episode rule post, I often repeat myself on this subject and yet still feel I haven’t fully made my point. I even talked about it as recently as my Miyu from Prisma Illya post.

To start with, let me clarify that it’s not an absolute.  You don’t have enough time to watch at least three episodes of every Anime that exists because you don’t even have enough time to watch at least one.  I don’t even watch one episode of something unless I expect it to potentially interest me in some way.

And I’m hesitant to tell people absolutely to watch at least 3 episodes once you decide to try something.  For one thing if what makes the first unwatchable to you is its visuals, if you think it’s badly animated and/or the art style you find unpleasant to look at, well those things are likely to only get worse, lots of Anime front load their Animation Budget to the first episode in order to get people’s attention.

However I already did a post on how a lot of shows front load their Fanservice into the first episode the same way they do their Sakuga.  And frankly with some shows it’s the same for their Edgy Shock Value quota.  90% of Goblin Slayer discourse is still just about what happens in its first episode. I didn’t finish that show and don’t think of myself as one of its fans, but I saw enough to say its overall tone is not like that at all.  A show I am somewhat of a fan of is Skeleton Knight in Another World which likewise had a gratuitous rape scene at the start the likes of which won’t happen again in future episodes.

And also if you just don’t understand what’s going on, some shows have specifically in the third episode some key exposition that maybe should have been provided up front, like Engage Kiss from 2022.

Even shows that are highly episodic with a Monster of the Week or Case of the Week structure will still have only 1 of the first 3 episodes actually follow the structure of most episodes because they also need to provide an origin story for our protagonist, or how the team got together.  That will often be the third episode for more chronological shows like Detective Conan aka Case Closed or Pokémon, but others like Princess Principal will have the first be a flash forward so it can start with an episode like what most will be like, however with that show you need the context of the chronological first two episodes to appreciate the dynamic seen in those one offs.

Part of the reason for this structure is frankly economic.  The Anime Industry doesn’t make most of its money off the Anime itself, and back before the streaming era part of that was the Home Video releases being more important than the actual TV broadcast.  And back in the 90s the standard operating procedure for VHS releases in both Japan and the US was 3 episodes per tape. So a lot of Anime was written so that its entire first tape could serve as an extended pilot.  And as one of many who still fondly remembers renting Pokémon VHS tapes I recall distinctly how well Pokémon's first three episodes worked together that way.  Once they got in the habit of writing shows that way it was hard to break out of.

One bad take on the three episode rule I saw in a YouTube video once was that it’s called the 3 episode rule because most Anime have 12 episodes and that a longer show should obviously take even more, 6 episodes for a 2 cour show and so on.  That logic would lead to thinking you need to see 20 episodes of Kanto Era Pokémon before you know if it’ll appeal to you or not, that’s obviously absurd.

The Three Episode rule exists because of what it takes 3 episodes to do, especially when you only have 20ish minutes per episode, not being a fourth of the total.  A lot of my favorite potential case studies in how the 3rd episode specifically completes the set up are shows longer than a single cour. From Revolutionary Girl Utena where episode three is the first Nanami episode, to Code Geass where the third episode more fully explains who Leleouch is.  

Critics of the 3 episode rule often frame it as just an attempt to defend bad shows by slandering the pilots of good ones.  But I don’t find the first episodes “bad” for most of the shows I mentioned above, just incomplete in communicating what to expect.  It’s more like I want greater appreciation for what specifically the 3rd episode does, or how the first three work together to set the stage.  And I don't need to find a first episode bad to be unsure the show will be one I want to complete, I find few works of Art truly Bad but even with Anime am only interested in watching certain kinds that personally appeal to me.

If I do dislike the 1st and/or 2nd episode of a show I have no hesitation recommending people skip them entirely. For the 90s Sailor Moon Anime I absolutely advise just starting with the 3rd episode (which was the second in the DiC Dub where it was titled Talk Radio).  For A Certain Scientific Railgun I advise skipping episode 2 but 1 and 3 are both great introductory episodes.  

I’ve also personally experienced a sort of inversion of the presumed general purpose of the 3 episode rule.  Times when I really liked the first episode of a show but once episodes 2 and 3 made clear what the show is more generally like my interest is actually killed off.  Examples of that include Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk and Dance in The Vampire Bund, I still recommend both of their first episodes as stand alone shorts but the shows overall couldn’t appeal to me.

Dubs have always been good

One thing that annoys me as a Fan of Anime Dubs is when an apparent ally in that cause says something to imply it’s only modern Dubs they’re really defending.  When they talk about Dub haters being stuck in the past and not respecting how they have “gotten better”.

First of all given the growing overlap between vocal Dub Haters and the Gamer Gate Style Neoreactionaries of the Anime Community I think these people might be underestimating how many of those hating on current Anime Dubs like old ones, they’re Nostalgic for when Localizers made Anime less Politically Correct like the infamous Ghost Stories Dub.  Not to mention plenty of these people are Vic supporters.

Even in the 90s and early 00s there were plenty of Dubs that didn’t Censor all gender non conforming stuff and try to pretend the show wasn’t set in Japan.  Plenty of Classic Dubs for Tenchi Muyo and Neon Genesis Evangelion and Serial Experiments Lain are still what those characters sound like in the heads of a generation of Western Anime fans.

Maybe some of you will dismiss that as Nostalgia Blindness, people will like what they saw as a kid no matter what.  Well the three specific examples I just listed I didn’t watch till within the last decade when I was already well past 25, and I will actively defend them against any haters as vigorously as those with Nostalgia for them.  Meanwhile with Sailor Moon I have fond Childhood memories of the old DiC localization but have no illusions about how wrong some of those voices sounded.  Once the Viz Dub became available all of its Voice Actors were able to override the old ones in my mind.  Meanwhile with Detective Conan and Fate/ we have different voice casts who I like enough that they can coexist. 

And even with the “Hack Dubs” I can consider a Dub good if I like the Voice Acting, maybe not great and certainly not perfect but good enough.  I can tolerate the cringiest of localization changes if I like listening to the voices.  I principally feel this way about the 4Kids Pokémon Dub, those performances still hold up so I still love that Dub, Jelly Donuts and all.

There are old Dubs with voices I don’t like, the worst of them usually aren’t in Kids Show Hack Dubs but edgy OVAs released directly to the bargain bin.  And voices I don’t like still exist, though it’s usually actors I do like being cast incorrectly.

But looking at issues other than voice acting.   I have my own reasons for preferring a lot of older Dubs to newer ones.  It kind of feels like Dubs including Honorifics have become less common in recent years.  And I can’t imagine a Dub made with 90s Nerds in mind refusing to use the word Paladin.

There is a duality to my personal localization philosophy.  When it comes to Honorifics and the use of Otaku Lingo I want the Dubs to just use the same words they’re using in the Japanese.  But as far as writing the full script goes I’m fine with Creative Liberties and feel like modern Dubs don’t take enough actually, they play it too safe.  I also like when they incorporate Meme references like "Sus" and wish there was even more of that.

Update May 20th: Not long after I made this the Toonami Rewind announcement happened and people hating the VizDub out of their Nostalgia for the DiC Dub came out of the woodwork.  Which proves some of the points I made above considering they accuse the Viz cast of not being good Voice Actors which is absurd.

Miyu Edelfelt the Supreme Kuudere

I made two prior posts on this blog discussing the Kuudere archetype of Anime and why it’s what I've in recent years chosen to username myself after.  

But in both I completely neglected to mention the character of Miyu Edelfelt from Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya.  That is a massive oversight given how I have another post on this blog proclaiming Prisma Illya to be The Most Anime.

And I can certainly argue she should have qualified for the more specific premise of Kuudere are Stoics.  She is a very emotionally driven character in-spite of her cool and calm Stoic demeanor and very intelligent, both book smart and wise, seemingly very mature for her age.  And episode 9 of 3wei clarifies the Nasuverse's Magic system to be compatible with Stoic Metaphysics. However, since I made that post wanting to share it with people in Normie Stoicism Groups on Facebook it’s probably for the best that I didn't devote much of it to the least Normie Accessible Anime of all time.

She slipped my mind at the time because I hadn’t recently rewatched Prisma Illya and often my over analyzing of Prisma Illya focuses on how Illya works as an archetypical Pink Magical Girl rather than how Miyu works as a Blue.

The Blue is more flexible in terms of her personality type then the Pink (and they aren’t even always literally color coded as Blue), what’s important is that they contrast with the Pink, so a Kuudere certainly can play that role but usually not.

In the original Japanese she is voiced by Nazuka Kaori and in the English Dub she is voiced by Caitlyn French, both are excellent, however the English Dub only covered the first season, the Dance at the Sports Festival OVA, 2wei, 2wei Herz! and some of the shorts made with those seasons, so unfortunately the Onsen OVA, 3wei, the movies and Prisma Phantasm remain undubbed.  Caitlyn French also voiced Yakumo Tsukamoto in School Rumble, which isn’t the only other Dub I’ve watched she’s been in but the only time I instantly recognized her as Miyu, that character may also count as a Kuudere but its been awhile since I watched it and my thinking of her as sounding like Miyu may have influenced my perception.  French is also Shiro in No Game No Life who probably does count as a Kuudere but isn’t the kind I’m mainly thinking of when I reference the concept.

I keep feeling compelled to reiterate how the main reason for the 3 episode rule is that it can take 3 episodes for a show to fully set up what it even is, and expressing what I mean by that with merely the word “premise” before because that’s the word Trixie used was a mistake, it’s more than just the premise.  Miyu is the reason the three episode rule applies to Prisma Illya, she’s the Deuteragonist, so her not even showing up till the end of episode 2 is narratively necessary but still a reason what the show is actually like isn’t fully apparent from only two episodes.  The third episode is entirely about introducing Miyu and establishing her character and how she contrasts with Illya.

I have said before that I’d like to see someone make Fanart that recreates the Iconic “Don’t worry I’ve got you.”  “But who’s Got You” moment from Superman The Movie with Prisma Illya and Miyu.  The reason why that reference should work for fans of this show is because of episode 4.  

Update: Triekkie Post Script.

Comparing a Trio of main characters to the Kirk/Spock/McCoy dynamic is one of the most generic comparisons nerds make.  But I couldn't stop thinking about how well it works here.

Illya refuses to accept a no win scenario, this is once we reach 3wei the core of her character.  This is what every Magical Girl Protagonist has in common with Kirk.

Miyu from what I said above is obviously the Spock, while Kuro's complete lack of hesitation to say she's sacrifice an entire world she doesn't know to save her friend is very McCoy.

Amazons and Anatolia

Speculation about if there were real warrior women in the ancient world who inspired the Amazons of Greek mythology (even if the Greeks massively exaggerated how literally Matriarchal they were) usually focuses on the Scythians and Sarmatians.  But I have some issues with that.

The idea of connecting the Amazons to the Scythians and Sarmatians began in antiquity with Herodotus, but to him it was that the Sarmatians came from Amazons and Scythians mating together, so they were connected but still distinct.  Later classical sources would start swapping the order and having the Amazons begin north of the Black Sea and travel south like the Scythians themselves did.  I similarly think Diodorus Siculus’s Libyan Amazons narrative is based on late speculations, but once his Myrina narrative reaches Anatolia it could reflect actual ancient traditions.

The myths and stories about the Amazons that are definitely older than Herodotus even if they weren’t written down till later geographically associate the Amazons with western Anatolia aka Asia Minor.  

In the Iliad Bellerphon’s encounter with them places them either in or near Lycia, where they are also associated with the Solymi named for Mount Solymus near the border of Lycia and Pamphylia.

Other stories say the Amazons founded the city of Ephesus and other cities of Greek Asia Minor like Myrina, Smyrna, Cyrne, Magnesia, Pygela, as well as on Islands like Lesbos and Lemnos.  Queen Hypsipyle who Jason encountered on Lemnos I think was originally part of the Amazon tradition but was separated from it later.  On Lesbos Mytilene was named after the sister of Myrina.

The Gargareans is the name of a Male Tribe the Amazons are said to have gotten their husbands for breeding from.  Strabo based on the post Herodotus Scythian fixation tried to place them near the Caucasus, but there is a mountain called Gargara on the North-Western Aegean Coast of Asia Minor just a little south of the site presumed to be Troy.

Speaking of Troy the Amazons are presented as a Trojan ally.  All of the other Trajan allies like the Mysians and Dardanians came from very near Troy, lake Ascania in western Bithynia seems to have been the eastern extent of Troy’s sphere of influence.  Later traditions do add a Memnon of Ethiopia but there is no hint of him in Homer.

The overlap between locations definitely associated with the Amazons already before Herodotus and places that were associated with the Scythians are just Themyscira on the Thermodon River and Sinope in Pontus, but that’s a region the Scythians held hegemony over only for a brief time in the 7th century BC.  The core of what was meant by Scythia to the ancients was north of the Caucasus. And likewise for the Amazons Themyscira seems to be a place some of them migrated to later.

The evidence that Scythians and more so Sarmatians had occasional female warriors is legit, but it was still uncommon enough that they were never included in actual Scythian artistic depictions of warfare.

The association of the Amazons with Horses is another reason the Scythian connection is attractive to people.  That’s what the Hippo and -ippe in many Amazon names mean.  But there were Domesticated Horses in Asia Minor by 1600 BC and it in fact seems to be from there they came to Greece.

So IF there was a real tribe that inspired the Amazons however loosely it could be one of the Arzawa peoples known from Hittite Inscriptions.  Apasa/Abasa is what the Hitties called Ephesus while Lazba is what they called Lesbos, and there was also near them the Seha River Land and Mira.

Ethno-Linguistically I think the Amazons were in fact Hellenes with different Gender norms, since they are the alleged founders of so many Greek cities, in fact even Themyscira was a Greek City in Antiquity.  

Usually people seek to explain all the notable Amazons having Greek names by the Greek myth tellers translating the meanings of their names.  But when Greek myths depict the Levant or Mesopotamia they are fully willing to transliterate foreign names.  Artistic depictions of the Amazons also show them in Greek style military garb.  And again they founded cities that archaeologically seem to have always been Greek.

As far as the etymology of the word Amazon itself goes, I still don’t believe in the “Breastless” or “One Breast” folk etymology.  A more likely Greek etymology would be *n̥-mn̥gʷ-yō-nós 'manless, without husbands'. 

So this post is a reversal of prior sentiments I’ve expressed on this Blog.  When I’d said one of the things DC Comics Wonder Woman lore gets wrong about Greek Mythology how is presents the Amazons as essentially being Greeks.  But I now think that was correct actually, other things DC still gets wrong (or changes intentionally, however you want to look at it), but on this issue they are more correct then the Xena Warrior Princess Amazons.