Been a while since I said much specifically on that subject. It'll be awhile before I can contribute to the Tales of The Shadowmen anthology series since the story ideas I've been having lately haven't been on that subject, Anime has taken over my imagination. And of course I always have trouble getting my stories actually written down anyway, having an explicit deadline helped motivate me when I was writing TOTS stories.
I also feel bad that I still haven't finished The Companions of Silence, I bought the book early this year and started it, I like it as much as I do most Paul Feval stuff, but my mind has been fixating on other things. This February The White Wolf is being released, it has had English versions before but they're rare and hard to find. I hope they follow that up with The She Wolf.
I spent a good deal of time last year recommending Princess Principal to fellow Shadowmen fans. It's set in an alternate Steam Punk version of Victorian England, but a lot of it's themes feel more appropriate for post-Revolutionary France. But regardless plenty of the French novels we like used Britain as a setting, from The Mysteries of London to the last three Rocambole novels to John Devil.
I bring it up again now because it's Dub has finally dropped. Now I haven't watched said Dub yet, I know from the trailer they actually went with British Accents which is a decision I'm actually rather skeptical of. Noir's Dub worked great without any accents, I love Anime dub VAs but accents aren't their strong suite. Still I will give a shot eventually.
The show is legally streaming on both HIDIVE and Amazon Prime, I think only HIDIVE has the Dub but I'm unsure, it may be you need to buy the DVDs for the full Dub. Either way neither can be streamed for free, they are not making it easy for me to show this show to outsiders.
Something else about Princess Principal is I feel the episodes should be watched in Chronological order.
2, 3, 5, 4, 9, 1, 7, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12
A lot happens in Anime that reminds me of my Francophilic tendencies. This coming Fall Season will have yet another Anime version of Jeanne d'Arc in a show that's also about Alchemy. We also had more Lupin III Anime this year, I won't be watching Part V till it's Dub airs however, which based on the time-frame for Part IV I suspect will be next year. All the main Lupin III shows are on Crunchyroll Subbed right now, but suddenly The Woman Called Fujiko Mine isn't streaming anywhere.
Thanks to Hulu dropping most of what it had, Rose of Versailles and Revolutionary Girl Utena can't be legally streamed anywhere now either. That's really frustrating.
Lastly I want to talk about an observation I made about Pokemon Heroes: Latios & Latias, the Fifth Pokemon movie. This observation can only be fully understood by others who have read Knightshade (Brian Stableford's translation of Paul Feval's Le Chevalier Ténèbre), including it's introduction and afterward material.
I feel that Annie and Oakley can be thematically compared to the Ténèbre Brothers. They are called sisters in material I've read though I don't recall that being explicitly stated in the Dub. Oakley is definitely Avarice. Calling Annie "Lust" may be a bit more of a stretch since it's a kid's movie and all, but she is very vain and likes pretty shiny things, and is officially described as the prettier one. This parallel is most likely a coincidence, but I enjoy making parallels between the works of this semi forgotten author and modern Nerd media.
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Monday, October 1, 2018
Anime Weekly Update, Summer Ends and Halloween Season Begins
Besides the currently airing shows I’ve been mainly watching old Pokemon Stuff still. Sometimes joining one of the TwitchPresents streams which were covering Master Quest this last week and are now starting the Advance Generation, sometimes watching old Pokemon Chronicles and Diamond and Pearl episodes on my favorite non legit site. And also revisiting various movies.
Happy Sugar Life had a fairly unsatisfying ending, they didn’t quite go all the way either way with the different routes they could have gone. I gave the show an 8 on MAL for now, I may change my mind later.
Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight has also ended. This show started out great but got pretty dull, really losing me with the pointless time loop twist, and in time I mostly felt like I was forcing myself to finish it, and maybe I wouldn't have if the Summer had more shows I really got into. It gave us a happier ending then Ikuhara usually does so that’s a plus, but not enough to make up for how dull it got.
And of course in the last episode they decided to get really on the nose with the meta commentary they were never actually making.
Attack On Titan season 3 episode 6 was pretty good, lots of interesting reveals of the show’s lore that I’d been waiting for. I know a lot of people are gonna see revealing the Royal/Noble bloodlines to have some secret magical powers as endorsing a Feudal worldview regardless of if it’s depicting them as depraved and corrupt. But maybe it makes more sense to look at it as the families with special powers are the ones who naturally would have taken power in the distant past in a fantasy setting, like the Targaryen’s ability to control Dragons on Game of Thrones.
Episode 34 of Hugtto!PreCure was pretty amusing. I was late in seeing episode 33 or I probably would have commented on it in last week’s update, with that episode I think the show might have gotten its groove back.
Episode 10 of Food/Stay Night was fun as usual.
Episode 21 of Steins;Gate 0 was awesome, this is what we’ve been waiting for.
Looks like my Anime of the year is still likely to be Katana Maidens.
For the coming Fall Season, the FUNimation Simuldubs I’m likely to try are That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, Goblin Slayer, Ulysses: Jeanne D’Arc and The Alchemist Knight, and maybe a few others when I learn more about them. Sentai/HiDive is doing Release The Spyce, I’ll wait till the Dub starts this time and then if I don’t like the voices I can just catch up on the Sub. SAO season 3 I may try to follow Subbed since I know it’s Dub will take awhile, there are other shows I may try like that Vampire Yuri one.
And of course I’ll be continuing AoT 3 and what’s left of Steins;Gate 0.
For October I was earlier in the year planning to do some project related to Horror Anime, but due to certain events in my life I’m not in the mood for anything too dark right now. So my Halloween Anime recommendations remain the same as they were last year in my Top 5 post and the follow up. I did make a new Higurashi post on another blog.
http://mithrandironmythology.blogspot.com/2018/10/this-is-post-about-higurashiwhen-they.html
Update: Okay apparently I was mistaken about which show Sentai is simuldubbing. I guess I'll have to sub Release The Spyce.
Happy Sugar Life had a fairly unsatisfying ending, they didn’t quite go all the way either way with the different routes they could have gone. I gave the show an 8 on MAL for now, I may change my mind later.
Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight has also ended. This show started out great but got pretty dull, really losing me with the pointless time loop twist, and in time I mostly felt like I was forcing myself to finish it, and maybe I wouldn't have if the Summer had more shows I really got into. It gave us a happier ending then Ikuhara usually does so that’s a plus, but not enough to make up for how dull it got.
And of course in the last episode they decided to get really on the nose with the meta commentary they were never actually making.
Attack On Titan season 3 episode 6 was pretty good, lots of interesting reveals of the show’s lore that I’d been waiting for. I know a lot of people are gonna see revealing the Royal/Noble bloodlines to have some secret magical powers as endorsing a Feudal worldview regardless of if it’s depicting them as depraved and corrupt. But maybe it makes more sense to look at it as the families with special powers are the ones who naturally would have taken power in the distant past in a fantasy setting, like the Targaryen’s ability to control Dragons on Game of Thrones.
Episode 34 of Hugtto!PreCure was pretty amusing. I was late in seeing episode 33 or I probably would have commented on it in last week’s update, with that episode I think the show might have gotten its groove back.
Episode 10 of Food/Stay Night was fun as usual.
Episode 21 of Steins;Gate 0 was awesome, this is what we’ve been waiting for.
Looks like my Anime of the year is still likely to be Katana Maidens.
For the coming Fall Season, the FUNimation Simuldubs I’m likely to try are That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, Goblin Slayer, Ulysses: Jeanne D’Arc and The Alchemist Knight, and maybe a few others when I learn more about them. Sentai/HiDive is doing Release The Spyce, I’ll wait till the Dub starts this time and then if I don’t like the voices I can just catch up on the Sub. SAO season 3 I may try to follow Subbed since I know it’s Dub will take awhile, there are other shows I may try like that Vampire Yuri one.
And of course I’ll be continuing AoT 3 and what’s left of Steins;Gate 0.
For October I was earlier in the year planning to do some project related to Horror Anime, but due to certain events in my life I’m not in the mood for anything too dark right now. So my Halloween Anime recommendations remain the same as they were last year in my Top 5 post and the follow up. I did make a new Higurashi post on another blog.
http://mithrandironmythology.blogspot.com/2018/10/this-is-post-about-higurashiwhen-they.html
Update: Okay apparently I was mistaken about which show Sentai is simuldubbing. I guess I'll have to sub Release The Spyce.
Saturday, September 29, 2018
Pokemon of The Great Houses of Westeros
Back in the early years of Game of Thrones dominating pop culture I made a thread on a Message Board, I think it was VGF, that I can't find anymore, where I equated the various Sigils of the Houses of Westeros with various Pokemon.
I tried to remake it from scratch and I'm pretty sure I've remembered what I chose for everyone but Martell which is kind of the hardest to chose one for anyway, heck maybe I just left them out originally, they probably hadn't appeared properly on the show yet when I made it.
This was made back during the Black and White era, but since I never got into those games I had pretty much limited myself to the first 4 generations. The responses I remember getting most objected to Charizard for Targaryen with people saying it should be Hydreigon. Once I learned about the Blackfyre rebellion I figured Hydreigon would be good for the Blackfyres. But now I would instead chose Mega Charizard X for the Blackfyre Sigil.
The reason I think some preferred Hydreigon for the Targaryens is because it's three headed. But in universe the Dragons associated with the Targaryens are not literally multi-headed creatures, the three heads of the Sigil represent there being three Dragons involved in the founding of the Targaryen Dynasty, one ridden by Aegon The First and the other two by his sisters who Ayra Stark talked about in season 2.
The most important thing about the Targaryen Dragons is that they breath fire (they are the Fire of the Song of Fire and Ice), meaning really no actual Dragon type Pokemon fits the bill. The Dragon type in Pokemon is based on Eastern notions of what a Dragon is, which is why it combines with the Water type more often then fire. But to the Western perception Charizard has always been the only true Dragon in the Pokemon universe. (The Biblical Leviathan I can't find a Pokemon to equate with since it's uniquely both Fire Breathing and a Sea serpent, if a hacker gave Fire type attacks to Gyarados you'd then have how I picture Leviathan).
I gave myself a rule against using Legendaries, which was most limiting for the Greyjoys since their Sigil is literally of the god they worship, The Drowned god, who is often compared to Cthulhu, which based on what I've said about Pokemon before can lead one to equating it with Kyogre. However one thing that people forget is Cthulhu would not be a Water Type, the Water is imprisoning him. But that distinction isn't part of how the Drowned god is described, so yeah the Ironborn are basically the Team Aqua of Westeros. At any rate I decided on Octillery for the Greyjoys.
I had initially chosen Stantler for Baratheon, but have now decided Swashbuck can work equally as well.
Choosing Persian for Lannister was one of the easiest. While today there are more Lion like Pokemon to chose from, Persian is still best because Pay Day is a good allegory for $h!ting gold.
Targaryen = Charizard
Stark = Mightyena
Lannister = Persian
Baratheon = Stantler or Swashbuck
Tyrel = Sunflora
Arryn = Pidgeot
Tully = Magikarp
Martell = Castform (Sunny Form) or Solrock
Greyjoy = Octillery
Blackfyre = Mega Charizard X
I tried to remake it from scratch and I'm pretty sure I've remembered what I chose for everyone but Martell which is kind of the hardest to chose one for anyway, heck maybe I just left them out originally, they probably hadn't appeared properly on the show yet when I made it.
This was made back during the Black and White era, but since I never got into those games I had pretty much limited myself to the first 4 generations. The responses I remember getting most objected to Charizard for Targaryen with people saying it should be Hydreigon. Once I learned about the Blackfyre rebellion I figured Hydreigon would be good for the Blackfyres. But now I would instead chose Mega Charizard X for the Blackfyre Sigil.
The reason I think some preferred Hydreigon for the Targaryens is because it's three headed. But in universe the Dragons associated with the Targaryens are not literally multi-headed creatures, the three heads of the Sigil represent there being three Dragons involved in the founding of the Targaryen Dynasty, one ridden by Aegon The First and the other two by his sisters who Ayra Stark talked about in season 2.
The most important thing about the Targaryen Dragons is that they breath fire (they are the Fire of the Song of Fire and Ice), meaning really no actual Dragon type Pokemon fits the bill. The Dragon type in Pokemon is based on Eastern notions of what a Dragon is, which is why it combines with the Water type more often then fire. But to the Western perception Charizard has always been the only true Dragon in the Pokemon universe. (The Biblical Leviathan I can't find a Pokemon to equate with since it's uniquely both Fire Breathing and a Sea serpent, if a hacker gave Fire type attacks to Gyarados you'd then have how I picture Leviathan).
I gave myself a rule against using Legendaries, which was most limiting for the Greyjoys since their Sigil is literally of the god they worship, The Drowned god, who is often compared to Cthulhu, which based on what I've said about Pokemon before can lead one to equating it with Kyogre. However one thing that people forget is Cthulhu would not be a Water Type, the Water is imprisoning him. But that distinction isn't part of how the Drowned god is described, so yeah the Ironborn are basically the Team Aqua of Westeros. At any rate I decided on Octillery for the Greyjoys.
I had initially chosen Stantler for Baratheon, but have now decided Swashbuck can work equally as well.
Choosing Persian for Lannister was one of the easiest. While today there are more Lion like Pokemon to chose from, Persian is still best because Pay Day is a good allegory for $h!ting gold.
Targaryen = Charizard
Stark = Mightyena
Lannister = Persian
Baratheon = Stantler or Swashbuck
Tyrel = Sunflora
Arryn = Pidgeot
Tully = Magikarp
Martell = Castform (Sunny Form) or Solrock
Greyjoy = Octillery
Blackfyre = Mega Charizard X
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
I want to defend Pokemon localization.
I've read a lot of stuff on the Dogasu's Backpack website. It's a great site if you want to see all the differences between the American and Japanese versions of the early season of the Anime documented. However I can't always agree with their opinions on the matter.
People like Dogasu are often people who were already Otaku before Pokemon came to the West, which they say as much when talking about the Polygon episode. So my perspective is different, I'm a part of a generation who grew up on the 4Kids Dub of Pokemon, for whom Pokemon, Sailor Moon and DBZ were our first exposure to Japanimation. Pokemon was I think the first one I knew wasn't an American Cartoon because I was a Nintendo fan first and so knew all about the N coming from Japan.
For most westerners this month is the 20th Anniversary of Pokemon not back when GO launched, though I personally was a year late, my 20th Anniversary with the franchise will be a year from now. Literally the first episodes of the series I saw the day they first aired on Kids WB were Clarify Tales and Battle for The Badge on September 25th 1999. So I certainly can't relate to already being aware of Pocket Monsters before Sting fought Hollywood Hogan at Starcade.
The first thing I want to point out is Nintendo made the decision to change various names for localization just as they do for all their other franchises. In North America the Anime started a few weeks before the games were released, but I'm certain the Games localization was much longer in the making. So like when people mock the Ninja Gym Leader's name being changed from one Japanese name to a different one, know that Nintendo not 4Kids should be given the Credit/Blame for that. Other Nintendo franchises don't have such a vocal crowd of Japanese purists because they never made such a mark in the Anime community.
Now de Nipponizing a game who's map directly mimics Kanto can seem more inherently wrong then one named after an Italian Plumber, or a Tolkeneisque Fantasy. But lots of creatures in the Mario games had Japanese names originally. And at the end of the day Pokemon Kanto isn't real world Kanto anymore then Westeros is England, Tokyo for example is split into two separate cities one of which is walled off. And the Anime never cared about following the Games map to begin with, having our heroes encounter lots of non Japanese places. So really when Purists talk like the show is literally set in Japan I can't help but roll my eyes. Thing is I'm sometimes unsure how serious Dogasu is being in the outrage they express, a good example is the Hollywood rant when discussing Mewoth's origin story episode, they can't possibly really be that offended by adding the word California?
Also one thing many people overlook is most of the Censorship decisions were made by the network/distributor, Warner Bros, not 4Kids. They decide which episodes to skips because they had to much gun-play or fake boobs.
A lot of Dogasu's complaints are things about Anime dubs in general, that Cartoon Cipher and Explanation Point have been doing YouTube videos on. Mother's Basement also has a video defending 4Kids.
I am also unusual in that I love Pun based Humor, every single Pun associated with the 4Kids Dub of Pokemon I love.
Every time Kami is translated something other then "god" people talk about it like it's more censorship. When it comes to the discussion of "God" in the First Movie I agree. However I also know many actual linguists think it's problematic when Kami is nearly universally translated as "god". Yes the word is used of the Judeo-Christian God as well as Beings analogous to the Olympians. But it's also used of spirits more analogous to the Nymphs. The Pokemon Anime at some points used Kami even of the first Gen's Legendary Birds, but in my opinion no Legendaries are truly godlike, even in the Polytheistic sense, till the third Generation.
Much of the crux of hating on the Pokemon Dub revolves around the first two movies. I don't quite care about Pokemon 2000 enough talk about it. But I have a lot to say about the first movie, since it is the only one I have seen in Japanese.
First of all, Dogasu's page on Mewtwo Strikes back actually confuses me on if they're under the common misconception that the Ambertwo sequence was originally part of the movie in Japan. It's consistency added to the film in Japan for all TV broadcasts and Home Video releases, but as Bulbapedia makes clear it was not in the original theatrical release. And that I'm pretty sure is why it wasn't in the American release, 4Kids clearly wasn't afraid to Dub it since they did for the Mewtwo Returns DVD. But the fact that this sequence would consistently be in any bootleged Fansub has caused people like the late Jewario when he joined Suede and Linkara's review to think it was part of the original release.
A similar issue exists with Hypno's Naptime, the Dogasu page on that is unaware that originally in Japan it flashed back to the Beach Episode, but rebroadcasts changed it, 4Kids was given the original, they didn't change anything.
Dogasu is under the impression that in the Dub Mewtwo remembers Ambertwo. I think this is because of the "was it all just a dream" line. But I always saw that as being Mewtwo having vague memories of the life of the Mew he was cloned from.
Now I agree that the more nuanced dialog script of the original Japanese is better, and I would not oppose a Redub someday following it more closely.
But the thing is, the impression I got of Mewtwo's character when I first watched the film in 1999 was not that different from how people like Dogasu describe Japanese Mewtwo. Yet these massive critics of the 4Kids Dub act like they turned Mewtwo into a mustache twirling Super Villain. Watching a Dub with the intent of over-analyzing every difference kind of hurts the ability to just experience what a Normie sees watching it. And in the rest of the franchise this is by no means the only time Dub haters describe a Dub character as one note simply for not being identical to what they wanted. Marina in Legend of Thunder is described as having "no redeeming qualities" in the Dub which I find odd since she has no qualities I dislike.
Now let's talk about the anti-violence message. I find the notion that there is some inherent hypocrisy here really aggravating, ya know Linkara's "NOT LIKE THIS" meme. The fighting in that scene IS different from normal Pokemon battles, the same way a sanctioned refereed Boxing Match is different form two people trying to kill each other in a back alley. The Japanese was not trying to give that specific moral at this time, but I still do not consider it out of place, it certainly doesn't take away form the all life matters message.
Now Dogasu says this distinction I just discussed is implied in something Nurse Joy says but is then thrown out by some lines Brock and Misty say. No, what Brock and Misty say don't overrule what Joy said, they are meant to be understood in the context of what Joy explained. Honestly at this point it's like how Atheists grasp at straws to say The Bible contradicts itself.
Now I agree the execution of this in the Dub is cheesy and ham handed. But that's kinda how a lot of dialogue in this franchise is in any language.
However my biggest area of disagreement with Dogasu is on the score. When I did watch Mewtwo Strikes Back in Japanese, I found the score rather bland and underwhelming. And I'm not the only person who feels that way, here are some comments from a YouTube upload of The Birth of Mewtwo from the Dub score.
Mewtwo's theme from the Dub Score is to me an iconic Theme on par with Danny Elfman's Batman theme or John Williams Superman theme. In later movies (from the 4th through the B&W era the scores mostly weren't changed for the Dubs) the Music does get better. But Dogasu talks about the Japanese scores of these movies like they're on par with the Music in a Ghibli film or Star Wars, but they really aren't. What I enjoyed most musically in Pokemon Heroes is stuff Yuki Kajiura does better in the Soundtrack for Noir.
Now the Music in the Dub of the First movie can be split into two categories. The praise in those YouTube comments is for the Score. While those who'd laugh at the idea of defending the Dub's music are probably mainly thinking of the Pop Soundtrack. The Pop Soundtrack only intrudes on the film when Brother my Brother plays, mostly they're used in the Pikachu's Vacation short and the end credits.
The Britney Spears song never made it into the film at all. Soda Pop is the only song of her's I've ever listed to that isn't a Music Video, solely because of it's association with Pokemon. It wasn't recorded for the movie like most clearly were since it was on her album released earlier in the year, and doesn't seem to fit at all. But I in my overreaching nerdiness like to point out that in the Games you can buy a Soda Pop from the Vending Machine on the roof of the Celadon Department store, it costs 200 Yen. Basically I do kinda like the song and so feel compelled to justify it's association with Pokemon.
People like Dogasu are often people who were already Otaku before Pokemon came to the West, which they say as much when talking about the Polygon episode. So my perspective is different, I'm a part of a generation who grew up on the 4Kids Dub of Pokemon, for whom Pokemon, Sailor Moon and DBZ were our first exposure to Japanimation. Pokemon was I think the first one I knew wasn't an American Cartoon because I was a Nintendo fan first and so knew all about the N coming from Japan.
For most westerners this month is the 20th Anniversary of Pokemon not back when GO launched, though I personally was a year late, my 20th Anniversary with the franchise will be a year from now. Literally the first episodes of the series I saw the day they first aired on Kids WB were Clarify Tales and Battle for The Badge on September 25th 1999. So I certainly can't relate to already being aware of Pocket Monsters before Sting fought Hollywood Hogan at Starcade.
The first thing I want to point out is Nintendo made the decision to change various names for localization just as they do for all their other franchises. In North America the Anime started a few weeks before the games were released, but I'm certain the Games localization was much longer in the making. So like when people mock the Ninja Gym Leader's name being changed from one Japanese name to a different one, know that Nintendo not 4Kids should be given the Credit/Blame for that. Other Nintendo franchises don't have such a vocal crowd of Japanese purists because they never made such a mark in the Anime community.
Now de Nipponizing a game who's map directly mimics Kanto can seem more inherently wrong then one named after an Italian Plumber, or a Tolkeneisque Fantasy. But lots of creatures in the Mario games had Japanese names originally. And at the end of the day Pokemon Kanto isn't real world Kanto anymore then Westeros is England, Tokyo for example is split into two separate cities one of which is walled off. And the Anime never cared about following the Games map to begin with, having our heroes encounter lots of non Japanese places. So really when Purists talk like the show is literally set in Japan I can't help but roll my eyes. Thing is I'm sometimes unsure how serious Dogasu is being in the outrage they express, a good example is the Hollywood rant when discussing Mewoth's origin story episode, they can't possibly really be that offended by adding the word California?
Also one thing many people overlook is most of the Censorship decisions were made by the network/distributor, Warner Bros, not 4Kids. They decide which episodes to skips because they had to much gun-play or fake boobs.
A lot of Dogasu's complaints are things about Anime dubs in general, that Cartoon Cipher and Explanation Point have been doing YouTube videos on. Mother's Basement also has a video defending 4Kids.
I am also unusual in that I love Pun based Humor, every single Pun associated with the 4Kids Dub of Pokemon I love.
Every time Kami is translated something other then "god" people talk about it like it's more censorship. When it comes to the discussion of "God" in the First Movie I agree. However I also know many actual linguists think it's problematic when Kami is nearly universally translated as "god". Yes the word is used of the Judeo-Christian God as well as Beings analogous to the Olympians. But it's also used of spirits more analogous to the Nymphs. The Pokemon Anime at some points used Kami even of the first Gen's Legendary Birds, but in my opinion no Legendaries are truly godlike, even in the Polytheistic sense, till the third Generation.
Much of the crux of hating on the Pokemon Dub revolves around the first two movies. I don't quite care about Pokemon 2000 enough talk about it. But I have a lot to say about the first movie, since it is the only one I have seen in Japanese.
First of all, Dogasu's page on Mewtwo Strikes back actually confuses me on if they're under the common misconception that the Ambertwo sequence was originally part of the movie in Japan. It's consistency added to the film in Japan for all TV broadcasts and Home Video releases, but as Bulbapedia makes clear it was not in the original theatrical release. And that I'm pretty sure is why it wasn't in the American release, 4Kids clearly wasn't afraid to Dub it since they did for the Mewtwo Returns DVD. But the fact that this sequence would consistently be in any bootleged Fansub has caused people like the late Jewario when he joined Suede and Linkara's review to think it was part of the original release.
A similar issue exists with Hypno's Naptime, the Dogasu page on that is unaware that originally in Japan it flashed back to the Beach Episode, but rebroadcasts changed it, 4Kids was given the original, they didn't change anything.
Dogasu is under the impression that in the Dub Mewtwo remembers Ambertwo. I think this is because of the "was it all just a dream" line. But I always saw that as being Mewtwo having vague memories of the life of the Mew he was cloned from.
Now I agree that the more nuanced dialog script of the original Japanese is better, and I would not oppose a Redub someday following it more closely.
But the thing is, the impression I got of Mewtwo's character when I first watched the film in 1999 was not that different from how people like Dogasu describe Japanese Mewtwo. Yet these massive critics of the 4Kids Dub act like they turned Mewtwo into a mustache twirling Super Villain. Watching a Dub with the intent of over-analyzing every difference kind of hurts the ability to just experience what a Normie sees watching it. And in the rest of the franchise this is by no means the only time Dub haters describe a Dub character as one note simply for not being identical to what they wanted. Marina in Legend of Thunder is described as having "no redeeming qualities" in the Dub which I find odd since she has no qualities I dislike.
Now let's talk about the anti-violence message. I find the notion that there is some inherent hypocrisy here really aggravating, ya know Linkara's "NOT LIKE THIS" meme. The fighting in that scene IS different from normal Pokemon battles, the same way a sanctioned refereed Boxing Match is different form two people trying to kill each other in a back alley. The Japanese was not trying to give that specific moral at this time, but I still do not consider it out of place, it certainly doesn't take away form the all life matters message.
Now Dogasu says this distinction I just discussed is implied in something Nurse Joy says but is then thrown out by some lines Brock and Misty say. No, what Brock and Misty say don't overrule what Joy said, they are meant to be understood in the context of what Joy explained. Honestly at this point it's like how Atheists grasp at straws to say The Bible contradicts itself.
Now I agree the execution of this in the Dub is cheesy and ham handed. But that's kinda how a lot of dialogue in this franchise is in any language.
However my biggest area of disagreement with Dogasu is on the score. When I did watch Mewtwo Strikes Back in Japanese, I found the score rather bland and underwhelming. And I'm not the only person who feels that way, here are some comments from a YouTube upload of The Birth of Mewtwo from the Dub score.
Now the Music in the Dub of the First movie can be split into two categories. The praise in those YouTube comments is for the Score. While those who'd laugh at the idea of defending the Dub's music are probably mainly thinking of the Pop Soundtrack. The Pop Soundtrack only intrudes on the film when Brother my Brother plays, mostly they're used in the Pikachu's Vacation short and the end credits.
The Britney Spears song never made it into the film at all. Soda Pop is the only song of her's I've ever listed to that isn't a Music Video, solely because of it's association with Pokemon. It wasn't recorded for the movie like most clearly were since it was on her album released earlier in the year, and doesn't seem to fit at all. But I in my overreaching nerdiness like to point out that in the Games you can buy a Soda Pop from the Vending Machine on the roof of the Celadon Department store, it costs 200 Yen. Basically I do kinda like the song and so feel compelled to justify it's association with Pokemon.
Monday, September 24, 2018
Autumn approaches, Anime Weekly Update
Overlord III with episode 8 is definitely losing me. This darker direction is not what I need right now.
Happy Sugar Life episode 11 was a good episode.
Revue Starlight episode 11 was rather dull.
Attack on Titan season 3 episode 5 was awesome, it reminded me of Battlestar Galactica, the 2000s version.
Steins;Gate 0 episode 20 was pretty good, I’m hyped for the coming episodes.
I’ve dropped Ragnarok and also decided to put Overlord III on hold for the time being.
Lately the Anime I’ve been watching in my spare time have all been Pokemon stuff. Though I still have no desire to really get into Sun and Moon. At any rate I’ll be watching even more Pokemon in the time to come. I think it’s proven to be pretty good for my mindset. Also some Pokemon related content on YouTube, stuff from Suede and Linkara, some Abridged material, and so on.
I'm not sure to what extent I'll be continuing this Anime Weekly Updates project. Next week the two Subs I've followed for the Summer will end so I'll likely try to give some final thoughts on them.
Happy Sugar Life episode 11 was a good episode.
Revue Starlight episode 11 was rather dull.
Attack on Titan season 3 episode 5 was awesome, it reminded me of Battlestar Galactica, the 2000s version.
Steins;Gate 0 episode 20 was pretty good, I’m hyped for the coming episodes.
I’ve dropped Ragnarok and also decided to put Overlord III on hold for the time being.
Lately the Anime I’ve been watching in my spare time have all been Pokemon stuff. Though I still have no desire to really get into Sun and Moon. At any rate I’ll be watching even more Pokemon in the time to come. I think it’s proven to be pretty good for my mindset. Also some Pokemon related content on YouTube, stuff from Suede and Linkara, some Abridged material, and so on.
I'm not sure to what extent I'll be continuing this Anime Weekly Updates project. Next week the two Subs I've followed for the Summer will end so I'll likely try to give some final thoughts on them.
Friday, September 21, 2018
My Top 5 Favorite Pokemon Movies
After I give this list I'm going to talk a bit more about my thoughts on the Pokémon films in general.
This list is of specifically the theatrically released films (in Japan each annual film was theatrically released). I should mention that there are three that exist now I haven't seen as of writing this. The most recent movie from the Summer of 2018 which isn't available in the West yet. But also the first two Black and White generation films, which are actually often counted as different versions of the same film.
There is only one theatrical Pokémon movie I consider bad, and I sometimes think even that I might be kinder to if I saw it again more recently. So don't think a film failing to make this list is some horrible indictment.
I will avoid spoilers and that's part of why these won't exactly be the most informative mini-reviews.
5. Destiny Deoxys.
This movie I to some extent wouldn't describe much differently then most films that didn't make the list. You can say it makes the list by being a near perfect execution of the standard Pokémon film formula. It has a fun interesting setting, lots of material some critics would call "filler" or "padding" but that I love since it's just having fun with the Pokémon which is the real point of these cartoons to begin with. A story that is solid but by no means ground breaking. And an exciting climax.
4. Pokémon: I Choose You.
I only just recently saw this movie, and I'm as shocked as anyone else to see such a recent film make the list. It broke with the usual pattern of these films, but not at the expense of giving me what I came for. There are some flaws but those mostly just hold it back from breaking the top 2.
It's an alternate continuity of the Anime that re-imagines Ash's early journey. Many people who are nostalgic for the original Indigo League Anime are not gonna like making Ash competent from the start, but after the pilot of Pokémon Origins I like finally seeing an Anime version of Red who doesn't start his adventure seemingly brain dead.
Also I like Verity. I would kind of preferred this role being given to someone with Leaf's character design and a Squirtle, or heck just Dawn if they insisted on a Piplup and Sinnoh references. But as one of the few first generation Pokémon fans who hasn't forgotten that Misty was a horribly unlikable character I love seeing her retconned out.
I see that some people are saying "these new companions are serving the same function as Brock and Misty anyway so what was the point?" I find that stupid, Verity has nothing in common with Misty besides being female and seemingly a preference for water types. But she is not a Tsundere and has a dynamic with Ash that is much more comparable to May and Dawn, however her backstory is distinct from any of them. Sorrel is like Brock in being the more knowledgeable veteran, but that's it.
Apparently the 2018 film is a sequel still in this new continuity. So I'll see when the time comes if it shakes up this list.
3. Pokémon Ranger and The Temple of The Sea.
I love this movie, it gives a spotlight to May who I really like, something Dawn never got in her generation's films.
I like how it's clearly influenced by Pirates of the Caribbean, coming out in Japan the same year as the second POTC film and in America the same year as the third. Jack Walker is basically a more unambiguously heroic version of Jack Sparrow, and the villain is basically Barbossa. And it's premise is like that of a POTC film, which is in turn basically an Indiana Jones premise but on the high seas. But to me it's more re-watchable then an actual POTC film because I like Pokémon more then I do Johnny Depp.
2. Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias.
I have a lot of personal nostalgia for this one, I never got to see it in theaters but I recall renting it frequently from Family Video back in the day.
The Master Quest theme is my second favorite Pokémon theme song topped only by the original. I can't help but wonder how much that's because of it being in this film where it was used wonderfully to a Water Pokémon race through the canals of Poke Venice.
Speaking of which, I love this setting, it's beautifully designed and brilliantly utilized.
I also love Annie and Oakley. Pokémon films I think are generally at their best when they have no villain, or are just fun villains like these (a slightly more competent version of Jesse and James). Pure evil villains don't suit this franchise well, (not the Anime version anyway), and the complex character studies are better done by the show where they can draw it out more, not that the show usually does that well either.
In a way this film as the fifth of them sets the standard formula of most that follow it. But still makes one move that Pokémon movies rarely make.
1. Pokémon The 3rd Movie: Spell of The Unown.
This movie being number one was an easy decision and probably not a surprise to anyone. It's not just great compared to other Pokémon movies, it truly is my second favorite Anime Film period topped only by Nausicaa of The Valley of The Wind, and no that's not the only Miyazaki film I've seen. In fact it's better then any Western Animated film I've seen as well. I'm convinced this helped inspire Frozen which I consider my favorite western animated film.
The Pokémon battle during the theme song is the best of them I think, introducing the character of Lisa who in-spite of having such a small role managed to become one of my personal favorite characters in the entire Pokémon franchise.
This is also one of my go to examples for how you can have a great Fantasy/Adventure story with no villain.
I really don't wanna say much more cause I don't wanna spoil it. Maybe I'll write something more in-depth about it in the future. The gist is if you want to show a Pokémon movie to someone who's not already into Pokémon as a concept, choose this one.
On Pokémon Movies in general.
As I said above, most Pokémon movies are good, they satisfy the main thing I look for in them and rarely do anything to piss me off. The only theatrically released one I've ever called bad is Jirachi The Wish Maker, and even that I might have been too hard on, I've still only seen it once.
I qualified "theatrically released" above a few times. There are three Pokémon TV Specials long enough to maybe count as a movie. Legend of Thunder is I feel on par with the average Pokémon film, and if you want to enjoy a Pokémon project with no Ash I'd recommend it. The worst animated Pokémon project I've ever seen is by far Mastermind of The Mirage Pokémon, it was so uninspired and dumb I simply don't know what they were thinking.
However Mewtwo Returns is a personal favorite of mine. Would it break my top 5 if I didn't specify theatrical? Probably not, well it would have before I saw I Choose You. The reviews of it on YouTube are all pretty negative, (there is much more variety in opinions on the theatrical films with even the 3rd having detractors in Digi & May). I don't care about those criticisms however. It delivered what I wanted, Giovanni finally being front and center, and in addition gave me another of my absolute favorite characters in Domino aka The Black Tulip, another perfect example of what Pokémon villains should be like. I also think it used Jessie, James and Mewoth better then any theatrical films (though I do love their Greek Chorus style contributions to the 3rd film). As a stand alone film it's not gonna hold up as well as Mewtwo Strikes Back, but for me personally it's much more fun and re-watchable.
That my preferences tend towards the first two generations shows a bit of a Nostalgia bias. And yet the only movies I actually saw in Theaters were the first two and they didn't make the list. They are both good films, and perhaps by traditional critical standards hold up better then any but the 3rd. But I found the first movie a little underwhelming and felt 2000 was trying too hard to be epic. However they do have major Nostalgia value for me, and Mewtwo Returns shouldn't be watched without the context of the first film.
For the series I kind of have just as much Nostalgia for Diamond and Pearl as I do the Advanced Generation, so how come none of their movies made the list? Well I did thoroughly enjoy the entire Trilogy, while the last one was forgettable but inoffensive. It largely comes down to Dawn, my personal favorite of all the PokeGirls, never getting the spotlight the way May did.
I've looked at the opinions on the films given by people who haven't followed the Anime since before Misty left but gone through all the movies. And they seem to observe that the Advance Generation films demonstrate May's character better, they seem to get her character from them and as one who's seen enough of the series their perception is pretty accurate, while they don't feel like they know Dawn's character at all. And yet at the same time the Diamond and Pearl movies actually treated Ash and Dawn as equals in a way no other generation's films have. And this is a factor is why Dawn has kind of always been the only one I ever really shipped with Ash. Though Verity has maybe changed that a bit. I think most people who call Dawn the most boring of the PokeGirls are judging her off only the movies.
The Kalos generation only got three movies, all of them I saw basically just as recently as I Choose You. I found them all pretty average for Pokémon films. I suspect that Serena fans feel just as shortchanged as Dawn's fans. The most interesting observation I have about them is how in the last of them the 5th Gen Mythical Pokémon added was Megearna which happens to be the most logical choice since her Lore with the blatant Nikola Tesla analogue allowed Clemont's gimmick to fit into a movie's themes for once. (It's kinda funny though that in the Games the Volcano is the one associated with Poke France while the Metropolis homage is the one associated with Poke Hawaii.) I also think that one was among the better ones at utilizing Team Rocket. A number of people seem to hate the Hoopa movie the most, yes it's kind of the most ridiculously overblown of them, but it was Fan Service that I enjoyed.
So in summary, most Pokémon movies are good, but some are better enough to be worth noting.
This list is of specifically the theatrically released films (in Japan each annual film was theatrically released). I should mention that there are three that exist now I haven't seen as of writing this. The most recent movie from the Summer of 2018 which isn't available in the West yet. But also the first two Black and White generation films, which are actually often counted as different versions of the same film.
There is only one theatrical Pokémon movie I consider bad, and I sometimes think even that I might be kinder to if I saw it again more recently. So don't think a film failing to make this list is some horrible indictment.
I will avoid spoilers and that's part of why these won't exactly be the most informative mini-reviews.
5. Destiny Deoxys.
This movie I to some extent wouldn't describe much differently then most films that didn't make the list. You can say it makes the list by being a near perfect execution of the standard Pokémon film formula. It has a fun interesting setting, lots of material some critics would call "filler" or "padding" but that I love since it's just having fun with the Pokémon which is the real point of these cartoons to begin with. A story that is solid but by no means ground breaking. And an exciting climax.
4. Pokémon: I Choose You.
I only just recently saw this movie, and I'm as shocked as anyone else to see such a recent film make the list. It broke with the usual pattern of these films, but not at the expense of giving me what I came for. There are some flaws but those mostly just hold it back from breaking the top 2.
It's an alternate continuity of the Anime that re-imagines Ash's early journey. Many people who are nostalgic for the original Indigo League Anime are not gonna like making Ash competent from the start, but after the pilot of Pokémon Origins I like finally seeing an Anime version of Red who doesn't start his adventure seemingly brain dead.
Also I like Verity. I would kind of preferred this role being given to someone with Leaf's character design and a Squirtle, or heck just Dawn if they insisted on a Piplup and Sinnoh references. But as one of the few first generation Pokémon fans who hasn't forgotten that Misty was a horribly unlikable character I love seeing her retconned out.
I see that some people are saying "these new companions are serving the same function as Brock and Misty anyway so what was the point?" I find that stupid, Verity has nothing in common with Misty besides being female and seemingly a preference for water types. But she is not a Tsundere and has a dynamic with Ash that is much more comparable to May and Dawn, however her backstory is distinct from any of them. Sorrel is like Brock in being the more knowledgeable veteran, but that's it.
Apparently the 2018 film is a sequel still in this new continuity. So I'll see when the time comes if it shakes up this list.
3. Pokémon Ranger and The Temple of The Sea.
I love this movie, it gives a spotlight to May who I really like, something Dawn never got in her generation's films.
I like how it's clearly influenced by Pirates of the Caribbean, coming out in Japan the same year as the second POTC film and in America the same year as the third. Jack Walker is basically a more unambiguously heroic version of Jack Sparrow, and the villain is basically Barbossa. And it's premise is like that of a POTC film, which is in turn basically an Indiana Jones premise but on the high seas. But to me it's more re-watchable then an actual POTC film because I like Pokémon more then I do Johnny Depp.
2. Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias.
I have a lot of personal nostalgia for this one, I never got to see it in theaters but I recall renting it frequently from Family Video back in the day.
The Master Quest theme is my second favorite Pokémon theme song topped only by the original. I can't help but wonder how much that's because of it being in this film where it was used wonderfully to a Water Pokémon race through the canals of Poke Venice.
Speaking of which, I love this setting, it's beautifully designed and brilliantly utilized.
I also love Annie and Oakley. Pokémon films I think are generally at their best when they have no villain, or are just fun villains like these (a slightly more competent version of Jesse and James). Pure evil villains don't suit this franchise well, (not the Anime version anyway), and the complex character studies are better done by the show where they can draw it out more, not that the show usually does that well either.
In a way this film as the fifth of them sets the standard formula of most that follow it. But still makes one move that Pokémon movies rarely make.
1. Pokémon The 3rd Movie: Spell of The Unown.
This movie being number one was an easy decision and probably not a surprise to anyone. It's not just great compared to other Pokémon movies, it truly is my second favorite Anime Film period topped only by Nausicaa of The Valley of The Wind, and no that's not the only Miyazaki film I've seen. In fact it's better then any Western Animated film I've seen as well. I'm convinced this helped inspire Frozen which I consider my favorite western animated film.
The Pokémon battle during the theme song is the best of them I think, introducing the character of Lisa who in-spite of having such a small role managed to become one of my personal favorite characters in the entire Pokémon franchise.
This is also one of my go to examples for how you can have a great Fantasy/Adventure story with no villain.
I really don't wanna say much more cause I don't wanna spoil it. Maybe I'll write something more in-depth about it in the future. The gist is if you want to show a Pokémon movie to someone who's not already into Pokémon as a concept, choose this one.
On Pokémon Movies in general.
As I said above, most Pokémon movies are good, they satisfy the main thing I look for in them and rarely do anything to piss me off. The only theatrically released one I've ever called bad is Jirachi The Wish Maker, and even that I might have been too hard on, I've still only seen it once.
I qualified "theatrically released" above a few times. There are three Pokémon TV Specials long enough to maybe count as a movie. Legend of Thunder is I feel on par with the average Pokémon film, and if you want to enjoy a Pokémon project with no Ash I'd recommend it. The worst animated Pokémon project I've ever seen is by far Mastermind of The Mirage Pokémon, it was so uninspired and dumb I simply don't know what they were thinking.
However Mewtwo Returns is a personal favorite of mine. Would it break my top 5 if I didn't specify theatrical? Probably not, well it would have before I saw I Choose You. The reviews of it on YouTube are all pretty negative, (there is much more variety in opinions on the theatrical films with even the 3rd having detractors in Digi & May). I don't care about those criticisms however. It delivered what I wanted, Giovanni finally being front and center, and in addition gave me another of my absolute favorite characters in Domino aka The Black Tulip, another perfect example of what Pokémon villains should be like. I also think it used Jessie, James and Mewoth better then any theatrical films (though I do love their Greek Chorus style contributions to the 3rd film). As a stand alone film it's not gonna hold up as well as Mewtwo Strikes Back, but for me personally it's much more fun and re-watchable.
That my preferences tend towards the first two generations shows a bit of a Nostalgia bias. And yet the only movies I actually saw in Theaters were the first two and they didn't make the list. They are both good films, and perhaps by traditional critical standards hold up better then any but the 3rd. But I found the first movie a little underwhelming and felt 2000 was trying too hard to be epic. However they do have major Nostalgia value for me, and Mewtwo Returns shouldn't be watched without the context of the first film.
For the series I kind of have just as much Nostalgia for Diamond and Pearl as I do the Advanced Generation, so how come none of their movies made the list? Well I did thoroughly enjoy the entire Trilogy, while the last one was forgettable but inoffensive. It largely comes down to Dawn, my personal favorite of all the PokeGirls, never getting the spotlight the way May did.
I've looked at the opinions on the films given by people who haven't followed the Anime since before Misty left but gone through all the movies. And they seem to observe that the Advance Generation films demonstrate May's character better, they seem to get her character from them and as one who's seen enough of the series their perception is pretty accurate, while they don't feel like they know Dawn's character at all. And yet at the same time the Diamond and Pearl movies actually treated Ash and Dawn as equals in a way no other generation's films have. And this is a factor is why Dawn has kind of always been the only one I ever really shipped with Ash. Though Verity has maybe changed that a bit. I think most people who call Dawn the most boring of the PokeGirls are judging her off only the movies.
The Kalos generation only got three movies, all of them I saw basically just as recently as I Choose You. I found them all pretty average for Pokémon films. I suspect that Serena fans feel just as shortchanged as Dawn's fans. The most interesting observation I have about them is how in the last of them the 5th Gen Mythical Pokémon added was Megearna which happens to be the most logical choice since her Lore with the blatant Nikola Tesla analogue allowed Clemont's gimmick to fit into a movie's themes for once. (It's kinda funny though that in the Games the Volcano is the one associated with Poke France while the Metropolis homage is the one associated with Poke Hawaii.) I also think that one was among the better ones at utilizing Team Rocket. A number of people seem to hate the Hoopa movie the most, yes it's kind of the most ridiculously overblown of them, but it was Fan Service that I enjoyed.
So in summary, most Pokémon movies are good, but some are better enough to be worth noting.
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom is Dope
It's what I've been wanting from a Jurassic Park sequel since The Lost World.
People are gonna hate on it, but I don't care, it's different from prior movies and a lot of fun.
A few things bugged me. Mainly that common sequel trope where the couple who got together at the end of the first film we find out broke up somewhere in between so now the romantic plot is them getting back together rather then the more difficult for writers task of continuing the relationship. Ghostbusters II was the first time I saw it so it still doesn't bother me there, but I started seeing it as a pattern with National Treasure: Book of Secrets.
What I want from Jurassic Park films is like what I want from Pokemon films, they don't need to be perfectly flawless pieces of art like the very first JP film and Spell of The Unnown though it is great when they are. What I want is to have fun with the titular monsters. Now with Jurassic Park what I expect is much grittier while Pokemon is a Cartoon, but still there is a lot of ridiculousness I'm fine with.
Now that said, this movie did have more emotional resonance then I was expecting, even as someone who already loved the first Jurassic World film.
We could have had Colin do Star Wars Episode IX, instead we got Abrams again, someone who's good at starting things but not at finishing them.
If you like the previous film you'll probably like this one even more. If you're a snob about your Dinosaur blockbuster films then you'll probably nitpick this to death but I don't care.
People are gonna hate on it, but I don't care, it's different from prior movies and a lot of fun.
A few things bugged me. Mainly that common sequel trope where the couple who got together at the end of the first film we find out broke up somewhere in between so now the romantic plot is them getting back together rather then the more difficult for writers task of continuing the relationship. Ghostbusters II was the first time I saw it so it still doesn't bother me there, but I started seeing it as a pattern with National Treasure: Book of Secrets.
What I want from Jurassic Park films is like what I want from Pokemon films, they don't need to be perfectly flawless pieces of art like the very first JP film and Spell of The Unnown though it is great when they are. What I want is to have fun with the titular monsters. Now with Jurassic Park what I expect is much grittier while Pokemon is a Cartoon, but still there is a lot of ridiculousness I'm fine with.
Now that said, this movie did have more emotional resonance then I was expecting, even as someone who already loved the first Jurassic World film.
We could have had Colin do Star Wars Episode IX, instead we got Abrams again, someone who's good at starting things but not at finishing them.
If you like the previous film you'll probably like this one even more. If you're a snob about your Dinosaur blockbuster films then you'll probably nitpick this to death but I don't care.
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