Leaving Read.Cash
Good day to you, valued audience of 9. I've decided to leave; thus won't be posting new articles. At the bare minimum, I'll throw some comments at people whenever I think of logging in.
My particular interests don't excite the vast majority of users here, and nothing is motivating me to keep on going. The kind of communities I'm looking for are specific, as for too small at this place and not as active/talkative I want them to be.
Starting (interesting) discussions with users in general has proven hard for me to achieve. I can count my experiences on one hand.
It's been a lonely stay and I don't see the point of putting in effort if that effort is better rewarded at my many other online accounts. Read.Cash doesn't fulfill any of my desires.
I don't care for the always-fluctuating amount of money I earn for spitting out articles, I simply wish to connect with like-minded mad people on a consistent basis.
I'm already active on sites that have a greater focus on the things I like, so adieu, thanks for having me.
【ＷＡＴＣＨ★(•ᴗ•)★ＴＨＩＳ】: My Love Story!!
***Series in one sentence:***
*A story so sweet, it attracts ants.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*A clumsily large, unattractive teenager with a heart of gold finally finds the love of his life, but his inexperience with girls creates many silly situations.*
*Luckily, they both get help from the deadpan 3rd wheel; his popular best friend and neighbour since childhood.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
Very interesting anime. Some of the humor and pacing reminds me of Western cartoons.
The series has the added charm of offering double dialogue with help of text on screen, which animes often do, but here it's part of the script. The quotes that appear next to the characters' faces can be funny, but they also give the character more personality. Sometimes they go by too fast, but the show wants to be fast paced, so I won't complain about it.
The romance was very innocent. There are no inappropriate scenes, which was refreshing.. Especially since I was watching another anime at the same time that took every opportunity to shove D-cup breasts or lady crotch against the screen.
My Love Story respects its characters and never forgets who they are. A good example of this is the deadpan friend, who was clear at the beginning to not want a girlfriend, and they ended up honouring that after this worrisome turn of events where they introduced this bland, semi-psychotic girl who has a crush on him.
They went on a date together, but there was a plausible conclusion to this two-parter story. The guy does not want her as his girlfriend, he was just being nice, and she accepts that.
But really, that's all they could've done with this randomly inserted character. She wasn't anything different from all other girls who chased this boy, except that she never spoke ill of his tall friend behind his back.
There was no charm to her, and her grey hair just distracting in a world where the rest of its people have realistic hair colours. Why is this teenage girl greying?
I adored the friend. His voice sounds bored, his face looks empty, and he has the tendency to speak his mind; it created hilarious dialogue. He rides on the pretty-anime-boy cliché and turns it around. His loyalty and love for the main character is also endearing.
As for the main character, he was an impossibly sweet boy, though could be a tad annoying/loud at times. At these moments I had to remind myself that he's still something like 14 or 15 years old, so in a way, his behaviour made sense. I was silly and loud at that age.
I liked the first two episodes of the series, where he was still clueless about the crush his now-girlfriend had on him. I was surprised by how quickly the anime had them date, as I thought the show was going to be about these two cluelessly chasing each other.
When looking at how slow their relationship progressed, maybe that would've been a better route. It takes forever for them to kiss, hug, hold hands, the basics of the basics, it's like we're watching two 8-year-olds interact.
Something else about their relationship seemed off to me, and I think it's the fact the boy doesn't talk much to her. His mind won't shut up about her, but he doesn't actually utter the flattering words he thinks about.
In any normal relationship that would just look like a lack of communication, and I'm surprised the girl never commented on his "visible" disinterest for her stories and compliments. The only time he shows loud excitement is for when she feeds him, and that's not much of a relationship, is it.
It's clear the girl means everything to him, but the only ones who can hear his adorable thoughts are him and the viewer.
Anyway, a minor complaint. The way the boy repeats his compliments, intentions, etc. can be tiresome sometimes, but it portrays what kind of person he is. A loving and grateful one. Good anime, nice characters.
【ＷＡＴＣＨ★(•ᴗ•)★ＴＨＩＳ】: Yuri!!! on Ice
***Series in one sentence:***
*All men in figure skating are openly gay or openly closeted.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*A young figure skater is visited by his childhood idol not long after failing the previous championship and having retreated to his home town.*
*As he managed to impress the celebrity with a video recording gone viral -showing a perfect recreation of one of his old performances- he's offered his services as his coach.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
The clip of the main character jumping into the arms of his coach for an "almost kiss" was often shared at Facebook back when that episode came out, but that never peaked my interest to check it out. The animation during the skating performance just looked so off to me.
But when I finally watched it, I understood how it caught people off-guard and the series is this loved. Figure skating isn't the most exciting subject you can pick for your animated series, but they tried hard to make it appear interesting.
During every performance, and they will show you every one of them in some length, they have the characters monologuing about why they joined the competition and what it is they want.
I don't care for all contestants and their strife, but it's nice to see they're not just empty background filling. Some characters and their passions are really lame, but well, it's anime. I enjoyed the two Yuris the most.
I think the first thing people will mention about this series is the strange romance between Yuri and his coach. Or perhaps the kind of people that like this series will say it's not strange at all, I don't know.
It's easy to notice that the coach has an obvious crush on Yuri, but Yuri dismisses and rejects all obvious advances. Yet, at the same time, he does things like jumping in his arms like a schoolgirl, wanting to "sexually impress" him on the ice, and buying them both a damn set of engagement rings as "just a thank you/we are one/wHatEVeR-gift lulz".
Fans have been shouting at these fictional characters to just make out already, and I tend to agree. All this fooling around, pretending to be ambiguous, is tiresome.
Though, I will say I don't understand what their bond is supposed to be, exactly. When you think about it, they're not a good fit at all. I think it would've been better if Yuri was portrayed as unmistakably heterosexual, since these men really don't have any chemistry outside of the skating ring.
His coach, his own idol for Pete's sake, seems to bother him most of the time. Only when they go out to train or perform do they seem to enjoy each other's company. I don't find that a good basis for a relationship, but maybe they'll switch things up in the 2nd season?
Also, this show has an unholy awesome intro. The choice of music and the imagery is unusual for an anime opening. I tend to skip those, but not this one.
【ＷＡＴＣＨ★(•ᴗ•)★ＴＨＩＳ】: Mob Psycho 100
***Series in one sentence:***
*One Punch Man, but with less comedy and self-awareness.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*A boy is gifted with immense psychic powers, but prefers not to use them and instead live an average life. As these powers tend to take over his body when he becomes too emotional, the unpopular high school student suppresses his feelings and swallows the mean comments thrown at him at a daily basis.*
*While seemingly absent-minded, he has his heart at the right place and always wishes the best for everyone, including the scam artist that took him under his wing and abuses his powers for monetary gain.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
The general plot reminded me of One Punch Man, which makes sense, as it's made by the same gentleman. The similarities urged me to compare the two, and while Mob Psycho is awesome, I found One Punch Man better for a very long time.. until its second season came out, and it became undeniable that Mob Psycho's animated story in its entirety makes for a better watch.
I would've liked it if the series was slightly more casual about the dangers it presented, though. It had funny moments, but I've seen enough animes with the same type of jokes and imagery; it's not an overdramatic/comedic masterpiece like One Punch Man. I can't pinpoint what differentiates these shows from each other exactly; maybe that Mob Psycho's story wants to take its characters more seriously? There's a noticeable conflict within the psychic community about what they should do or feel towards normal humans, for example.
It wasn't my intention to compare the two shows as a review, though. Mob Psycho doesn't deserve it, but when you watch it, it's hard to ignore that its main character is almost a copy of Saitama. Just without the urge to become anything other than normal, and being surprisingly fragile, still. He's described to be unusually powerful, but it's like the series sometimes tells him to "slow down, bitch", so there's still a conflict to carry over to season 2.
The main excuse the series gives for Mob's reluctance to fight is that he wants to protect people from himself.. even when the people he wants to protect are in lethal danger caused by someone else. A weird way of doing things, but alright.
Anyway, this one deserves a watch. It doesn't matter if you've seen One Punch Man or not, I think it'll please both groups just fine. It's the product of a mad genius that the manga and anime industry is lucky to have.
【ＷＡＴＣＨ★(•ᴗ•)★ＴＨＩＳ】: Kuromukuro
***Series in one sentence:***
*Inuyasha with less romance.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*A soldier from the ancient past reawakens in current time, when Earth is being attacked by the same alien robots that were also present in his time.*
*He battles the machines together with the average schoolgirl that released him, who happens to look like the princess he'd sworn to protect 450 years ago.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
I remember watching the entire first season of Kuromukuro the same day it was released to our Netflix. It left me so unfulfilled. These short anime snippets are hard to deal with at times, especially when they have potential.
I'm used to animes rushing their plots and character relationships, so I guess I expected the two main characters to have made out after 5 episodes.
By regular anime standards, they don't share the screen all that often. In fact, the guy had more touching scenes with her 9 year old sister. Like, what?
But well, a slow relationship build-up is admirable and more realistic, and it's not really what made me itch. Rather, the fact I got to see so little of the guy's experiences with modern life.
I was more interested in seeing how this old-timey teenager acted in today's world than the "epic" fights against the giant robots, but his days off were always these short scenes, while every other scene played off in the laboratory or the aliens' meeting room. I tried to care for what they said and did there, but.. there are no jokes being made in those scenes and I am but a simple soul that hungers for simple fun.
Anyway, the show has characters and writing that make you keep watching, and there are still some really, really funny jokes in this.
【ＷＡＴＣＨ★(•ᴗ•)★ＴＨＩＳ】: Little Witch Academia
***Movie in one sentence:***
*ADHD Harry Potter with girls.*
***Movie in more sentences:***
*A young girl decides to attend a witchcraft school after witnessing a magic show performed by a (in)famous witch. While she can't keep up, she is determined to become just like her childhood idol.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
As to clarify, this review concerns the movie, not the series that wasn't out yet. I'll post my opinion on the latter in the future.
Honestly, I made the description sound more whole than this movie actually was. It's more of an animated short and the events go by very quickly.
Nevertheless, the characters are established and you immediately know what kind of person they are and what their relationship with each other is. Many movies and shows still struggle with things like that, so that deserves points.
The plot itself is basic, but none of that matters when you're being hypnotized by the animation. I couldn't stop watching, I've never seen this kind of smoothness in an anime before. It was like old Disney, with a hint of old Looney Tunes. Didn't expect this quality when I first saw the main character's cartoony face in the Netflix thumbnail.
And to think, this movie came out in 2013; a period where people stopped caring about 2D animation, even years before that. The studio took a risk.
Then again, it's a short, so I guess they knew not to add too many minutes to an art form long abandoned.
Every still image you see of this movie isn't doing it justice. Take a look for yourself and see these characters move.
✐ɪᴛ's ғᴀɴᴀʀᴛ: Princess Elise the Bird
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴DETAILS┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
☆ ***Media:***
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 video game)
☆ ***Character(s) portrayed:***
Princess Elise
☆ ***Software used:***
*Photoshop 7*
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
I don't like the image of a semi-realistic human woman flirting with a cartoon animal, so I turned her into a cartoon animal. Which she should've been from day one.
She's a red-bellied woodpecker here.
Drawing from 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_(2006_video_game)
✐ɪᴛ's ғᴀɴᴀʀᴛ: Redesigned Stevonnie is gonna stab yer tummy
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴DETAILS┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
☆ ***Media:***
Steven Universe
☆ ***Character(s) portrayed:***
Stevonnie
☆ ***Software used:***
*Photoshop 7*
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
Drawing from 2019. My Stevonnie redesign in that one outfit from that one episode.
No point in explaining it further; those who know the show will know and those who don't won't become any wiser. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Universe
✐ɪᴛ's ғᴀɴᴀʀᴛ: The most pointless Stevonnie redesign
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴DETAILS┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
☆ ***Media:***
Steven Universe
☆ ***Character(s) portrayed:***
Stevonnie
☆ ***Software used:***
*Photoshop 7*
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
Drawing from 2019. It's a minor change; but a fuller, more ambiguous Stevonnie makes more sense to me than the curvy woman the character started off as. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Universe
✐ɪᴛ's ғᴀɴᴀʀᴛ: Jafar's beginnings
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴DETAILS┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
☆ ***Media:***
Aladdin
☆ ***Character(s) portrayed:***
Nasira, Jafar
☆ ***Software used:***
*Photoshop 7*
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
Drawing from 2019. A young Jafar with his twin sister, who was introduced in a Playstation game you've probably never played.
The suit he wears was their father's and originally given to Nasira, but she let him have it after he was promoted by the sultan.
To clarify, that's not canon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin_(1992_Disney_film)
✐ɪᴛ's ғᴀɴᴀʀᴛ: The Big Octoman
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴DETAILS┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
☆ ***Media:***
The Little Mermaid 2
☆ ***Character(s) portrayed:***
Melody, Orson, Sam, Prince Eric, Ariel
☆ ***Software used:***
*Photoshop 7*
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
Drawing from 2019. A collection of events from a better Little Mermaid sequel, because the original is pretty lame.
The characters Orson and Sam are mine; Orson is the purple fella and supposed to be Ursula's son, and Sam his pet and the younger sister of her twin eels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid_II:_Return_to_the_Sea
【ＤＯＮ 'Ｔｘ(•∩•)ｘ ＷＡＴＣＨ】: Boku no Pico
***Series in one sentence:***
*Enjoy jail time, all who watched this.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*Follow the degenerate adventures of an unsupervised child with an unhealthy fascination for adult activities. I want to die.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
This should not be allowed to exist. I beg of you not to look this one up for yourselves, this is an instant ticket to Hell. I've cursed my soul so I can give you this warning, masked as a review.
A bit of context first: Boku no Pico was a meme back in the day. Its name and some of the more unsuspicious screenshots were often shared online, and a "funny prank" used to be to suggest this anime to newcomers who'd ask for a list of recommendations.
It's dubbed the most deprived anime in existence; a title that would make anyone curious. Especially someone who reviews anime as a hobby.
Before going off to watch this thing, I was optimistic. After all, people on the internet like to overreact and manga/anime is capable of producing the weirdest storylines and characters.
Perhaps I was hoping the main character not to really be 10 years old. Perhaps I was hoping it not to be actual porn. Something that would make me say "Well, it's drenched in sin, but at least this particular thing didn't happen".
But of course, Boku no Pico had to "exceed" my hopes and expectations.
So. There are three episodes. Three episodes I couldn't and wouldn't sit through in full if you paid me. At the beginning of each one, a piece of text appears on screen, that boldly explains that the creators don't support child porn and that the series is meant to be artistic.
And you know what. That's the same out-of-jail-free-card nonsense Deviantart fangirls have used against me for years..!
*"These aren't even real kids, ananas, they're cartoon characters!"* they'd tell me, *"I just like seeing them together like this, it's cute! Are you HOMOPHOBIC, ananas? Don't like? DON'T WATCH!"*
**How dare you.** What's the artistic value in a grown man jumping a little boy in a car, what's the artistic value in three children circle-jerking it! Don't like, don't watch? How about you don't draw it in the first place!
How can a person with warped morality sit there and tell me *I'm* the villain!
The character Pico is the biggest, enraging piece of worthless dung I've ever had the misfortune of being exposed to, with his stupid lame smirk at the end of every forking episode, as if he's a cute and quirky character closing off a Looney Tunes episode. I hope you fall off that bridge and explode, you disgusting tiny twat.
Where are his parents? Why is he in a relationship with this pedofile man in the first episode, but afterwards he hangs out and corrupts some other kid?
And then there's that last episode.. otherworldly how stupid it was. Just an introduction to a character that looks, talks, acts, and dresses like a girl, but is just a boy, big surprise, fetish fuel, it's Japan, fork it, business as usual!
Pico should be slapped across the face, get a buzz cut, and sent off to boot camp for the rest of his life.
The "super kawaii" intro songs to these episodes are an even bigger joke. Truly the cherry on top of it all.
Animation takes a long time and it baffles me that none of these animators thought to stop after a week and say to their colleagues *"My dudes, what're we doing with our time, how about we go home?"*.
It takes a tremendously foul person to animate three full episodes starring a child with obvious mental issues of a genre law establishments obviously want to erase from the "entertainment" industry, but aren't yet sure how to pass judgement on.
Damn me and damn this. Don't watch, never watch, you'll come out a worse person.
【ＤＯＮ 'Ｔｘ(•∩•)ｘ ＷＡＴＣＨ】: Ebichu
***Series in one sentence:***
*An even more childish Hamtaro.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*Frown profusely, as a hamster is being thrown across the room by an owner who truly deserves her awful boyfriend, cringe at the unnecessary one-frame sex scenes, yawn at the boring storylines, shake your head at the animal abuse. Ebichu!*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
Years ago, I saw a funny scene from this anime pop up on my Facebook timeline. It gave me high hopes for what ended up being a total mess.
This one really disappointed me.
The storylines in each episode are extremely boring for adults to sit through, while the jokes and most of the scenes are unsuitable for children. It's like this anime was made for nobody.
The only entertaining thing it offered was the strange crush this one guy had on the hamster, and I suppose the perverted caller who sometimes dials the owner for no reason, but you don't see and hear nearly enough of these characters.
The hamster is annoying as all Hell. She always utters the same jokes and shouts the same swear words. Her best performance was definitely getting slapped against the wall by her owner.
Speaking of the woman, she has nothing redeemable about her at all. An outright horrid person you couldn't cheer for if you tried. And could you believe it, her boyfriend is even worse.
Enjoy and feel inspired, as you watch the loving relationship of a guy who cheats all the time and a woman who acts likes she's tough, but has no self-respect and keeps spreading her legs for the swine anyway.
In the minds of the creators this was probably a funny running gag, but it annoyed me. No one wants to see a mismatched pairing if there's no resolve at the end. I expected them to break up in the first episode, but they stay together for the entire series. Why?
Normally, abusive relationships in fiction are portrayed so that you, the viewer, can eagerly await the break-up for the good of the character you care about, but I just wanted these two to break up so I didn't have to sit there and watch two extremely stupid people going at it all the time.
Ebichu is a failure of a comedy, and if the main characters are trash, why should the viewer care about anything that happens?
If you've ever seen the same phone call scene I have, I can promise you it's pretty much the only funny joke the entire series has to offer. But even that scene becomes ruined after sitting through all the episodes; as the hamster shouts profanities concerning the female crotch all of the time.
Good job being a repetitive bore, Ebichu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkoKke-KSb4
【ＤＯＮ 'Ｔｘ(•∩•)ｘ ＷＡＴＣＨ】: The Sea Prince and The Fire Child
***Movie in one sentence:***
*Underwater Peter Pan gets dominated by a fairy.*
***Movie in more sentences:***
*The realm of water and realm of fire have long been divided after their leaders were turned against each other thanks to a jealous wind lord, but the water prince and fire princess find each other one day and it's love at first sight.*
***Movie in one selective, crusty image:***
The animation is good, it has a cute art style, but that's where my compliments end.
Not the most exciting movie out there and the plot suffered under the rushed romance dictated by the overly eager fairy girl. Disney would've loved to have her in their princess franchise.
The prince was fond of her, sure, but looked pressured into the relationship. I didn't think these two were a good match. Since the ending was a clear metaphor for death, I hope the guy thought it was worth it.
Also, why is the sea prince red and furry and the fire princess blue and smooth? That's incredibly backwards.
【ＤＯＮ 'Ｔｘ(•∩•)ｘ ＷＡＴＣＨ】: Future Diary
***Series in one sentence:***
*A whiny kid has a bad case of Stockholm syndrome.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*A group of spare-time journal writers (LIKE YOU!) are chosen by God to participate in a killing match. The last one standing will become God of the new world, after the current one dies.*
*The contestants receive hints on their cellphone based on the type of journal they used to write, but one of them is seemingly unbeatable and very fond of another contestant, who keeps benefiting from her protection.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
It's been forever since I watched this one, so I hope the things I'm going to say will make sense, because I never want to watch this again.
Where to start. I guess the plot is awesome and the execution was decent, but the first thing that bothered me was the main character, Yuki. He's a whiny little boy that's hard to like, let alone love, which is why the obsessive affection from his stalker, Yuno, didn't make sense to me. Their backstory doesn't quite explain why she likes him the way she does, either.
I liked seeing the girl fight, I had high hopes for her, but her protective nature towards Yuki isn't an endearing trait in this particular anime. At some point we reach this uncomfortable chapter where she does some really psychopathic things to her crush, which is why his countless years of mourning over her struck me as odd. Yuki spends a good time being her prisoner, sitting paralyzed and tied up to a chair, so why does he love her at the end of it?
It angers me, because the series wants this; it thinks it's created a good love story, but it's sick and nonsensical.
Don't ask me to cheer for two insanity cases, Future Diary.
【ＤＯＮ 'Ｔｘ(•∩•)ｘ ＷＡＴＣＨ】: Danganronpa: The Animation
***Series in one sentence:***
*Japan forgets how normal human beings look like.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*A boy gets an invitation to an exclusive school, but is then locked inside with a handful of other students. A mysterious demon shaped like a teddy bear shows up to tell them they need to kill another student unnoticed if they want to leave, but also attend a court trial afterwards and point out the murderer. They have to guess correctly, or else consequences.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
It sounds like Saw with a hint of Ace Attorney, but disappoints. It's already hard to take the story seriously with all the ridiculous character designs. It took me a while to figure out the large man in the skirt, who was a girl, and then there's the girl who's a boy, because Japan.
I'm still not sure what the big reveal was exactly, I was too bored to care anymore. Things had turned less serious and thrilling by the time it neared the end.
It had the formula to do something exciting and great, but blew it by inserting all this otherworldly nonsense. Maybe it makes for a fun video game, I haven't played it, but this didn't impress me.
✐ɪᴛ's ғᴀɴᴀʀᴛ: Dogyasha
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴DETAILS┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
☆ ***Media:***
Inuyasha
☆ ***Character(s) portrayed:***
Inuyasha
☆ ***Software used:***
*Photoshop 7*
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
Requested by @Hanzell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuyasha https://read.cash/@Hanzell
After uploading my Inuyasha redesign, she wished to see a full-body image.
I need to clarify, though; this version lives in modern times, so is not wearing the usual attire. He identifies more as a dog than a human, so clothes aren't something he wants to wear, anyway, but has to, on request of Kagome and her spray bottle.
In short, I turned the boy and the series into a joke.
✐ɪᴛ's ғᴀɴᴀʀᴛ: Ursula's early days with one of her early babes
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴DETAILS┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
☆ ***Media:***
The Little Mermaid
☆ ***Character(s) portrayed:***
Oktavus, Ursula
☆ ***Software used:***
*Photoshop 7*
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
From 2019. A younger Ursula and a character I made up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid_(1989_film)
✐ɪᴛ's ғᴀɴᴀʀᴛ: The Powerpurr Cubs
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴DETAILS┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
☆ ***Media:***
The Powerpuff Girls
☆ ***Character(s) portrayed:***
Bubbles, Blossom, Buttercup
☆ ***Software used:***
*Photoshop 7*
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
From 2019, a recent redesign of old fanart; The Powerpuff Girls as felines, because that's something I found necessary to come up with when I was a teenager. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Powerpuff_Girls
✐ɪᴛ's ғᴀɴᴀʀᴛ: WhAT cUOLd PosSiblY Go wroNG?
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴DETAILS┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
☆ ***Media:***
Bubsy the Bobcat
☆ ***Character(s) portrayed:***
Terri, Terry, Oblivia, Bubsy, Virgil, Arnold, the Woolies
☆ ***Software used:***
*Photoshop 7*
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
Bubsy is a failed video game franchise, but if the main character looked a bit more original/appealing and had a normal voice actor, I'm sure the furry fandom would've kept him alive. Lewl.
The other characters in this are from the insta-cancelled 1993 TV show. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubsy
✐ɪᴛ's ғᴀɴᴀʀᴛ: How Inuyasha should've looked
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴DETAILS┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
☆ ***Media:***
Inuyasha
☆ ***Character(s) portrayed:***
Inuyasha
☆ ***Software used:***
*Photoshop 7*
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
Inuyasha's father and half-brother are dog demons that have long ears and curly white fur when transformed. So then, why does Inuyasha have "cat ears"?
Having a human mother shouldn't affect his breed.
Drawing from 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuyasha
【ＷＡＴＣＨ★(•ᴗ•)★ＴＨＩＳ】: AJIN: Demi-Human
***Series in one sentence:***
*Follow the life of a kid you're not sure you should be rooting for.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*In a world where ghost-spawning, immortal humans exist, called "ajins", and are globally hunted and subjected to cruel government experiments, a boy named Kei gets hit by a truck one day and discovers he is one.*
*His survival gets immediate media attention and he is forced to leave his old life behind. Meanwhile, a group of ajin vigilantes plan retaliation for the mistreatment their kind has suffered.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
Upon sitting down for this anime, I was immediately disappointed by the animation quality. It's this cell-shaded 3D animation that moves, like, 5 frames per second. A kickstarted solo animator at Youtube could've done this.
But as you can see, this is a *"WATCH :) THIS"* article, meaning I gave it a good rating. In fact, this is one of my all-time favourite shows.
The story, the atmosphere, and the concept of the ajins alone are awesome.
Nevertheless, something I tripped over in my first viewing was the portrayal of the relationships between the characters. The characters themselves started off fine, as characters tend to when you're first introduced to them, but after I finished watching season 1, I decided to sit down and think about what exactly made me feel this way.
There were no charming friendships, connections, or interactions in AJIN. It all felt a bit bare, fake, or outright hostile. Everything in this fictional world felt dreary and loveless. There was always this palpable distance between the characters, even when they teamed up together. Not even the two friends who're described to be friends really felt like friends. Maybe that's because their friendship had already ended, but if you push them back together for this story, why do their interactions still feel so rehearsed?
I was also surprised that none of the people who chased down Kei showed a second of concern for the fact he's just a child, also unfamiliar with his abilities, nor can I recall anyone ask themselves the question why humanity is judgemental of these beings at all.
And as for the main character himself.. that guy is the most difficult to understand, even though the series explains word for word what his deal is. But just saying something is so is not enough.
Kei's actions and reactions were all over the place in season 1 and only sometimes matched the given claim that he is a selfish dick. He's described to follow one life rule: that only the things that directly affect him matter, but I found it to be inconsistent.
He starts off pretty calm and boring, like you're dealing with this mousy intellectual who has nothing going on in his life and is happy with the bare minimum, but when he gets chased around with his friend, he suddenly has nothing but angry thoughts. Then, when he gets captured, it's all tears and lamenting like a fragile soul.
One second he saves strangers without giving it a thought, and the next he's arguing with himself that they're not worth it.
On paper he makes for an interesting character, but not one anyone would feel sorry for, like the series tries to do at certain points. I simply don't like him enough to care whether or not he gets captured again. For the sake of the story I do, but not for the character that is Kei.
After escaping the dreaded operation chamber, he grew way too overconfident too quickly for my taste, making it hard to sympathize. Even the villain commented on it, but like I said before, "saying something is so is not enough".
Is Kei supposed to be an innocent thinker, able to smile and shed tears for himself and others, or this uncaring stone-faced sociopath the series mainly wants him to be? Is he playing the people around him with fake concern? That can't be it, he truly seems to care about those he announces to care about, but at the same time, he was quick to abandon his best friend when they were still children. So, what is the extend of his ability to care? Some people might answer "he cares about others if it benefits him", but I'm not yet convinced of that.
Kei feels like an antihero attempt, which is cool, but he needed more time to transition between these different mental states he went through, so his core personality stays consistent and clear to the audience. Especially since we're not given the details of his personality and backstory before getting thrown into the ajin adventure with him.
But well, by looking at the way the events are ordered in the series, I'd say it was the intention to tell the story this way.
..I guess the conclusion of this lengthy paragraph is that it could've been done better?
I also hoped Kei's childhood friend was going to be a secondary main character, but he was pushed out of the story rather quickly and only returned in season 2. He was his most loyal ally and it was a shame he got so little screen time.
Kei's reason for ditching him made no sense when taking into account he saw no issue in staying with this old lady further on in the story. She's also a regular human, is she not? How was she in less danger than his friend? And the place he stayed at was a secluded village (where everyone knows each other, as well), like the village Kei's friend offered him to stay in, yet for some reason he didn't want to go to. He just gave him a*"that won't work"*, and that's all the reasoning we got.
The series is clever and not difficult to understand by any means, but Kei cares so little about others, he doesn't wonder much about anything, and so his inner monologues don't help the audience understand at times. It's strangely fitting for his character, though.
But well, the series keeps you hooked. Most viewers probably won't relate to what I've just said, because not everyone has the need to dissect an otherwise great anime like a maniac.
Some matters feel rushed, but you can make the argument you're simply not given the time to be bored. The show keeps on going and you want to know what happens next.
A definite watch. The main theme you hear throughout the series is one of the most awesome musical compositions I've heard.
Here's a cool edit someone made of it, it'll help you get pumped up for this show. More than my poisonous negativity will, anyway:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antihero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRtraG0y2Xw
【ＷＡＴＣＨ★(•ᴗ•)★ＴＨＩＳ】: Tokyo Ghoul
***Series in one sentence:***
*Someone with a lame haircut and a boring personality is the main character of an anime.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*A boy gets jumped by a humanoid demon, called a ghoul, and barely survives it thanks to a planned attack targeted at said ghoul. Both are taken to a hospital, where she's used as his organ donor for an experiment.*
*He wakes up a half-ghoul and all the problems that come with it.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
Intriguing. Not only did it show how humans experience these creatures, but also the struggles the ghouls have to go through in order not be a nuisance. You'd expect monsters to just be monsters, but they have real concerns.
A less exciting part of the series was the friendship between the main character and this one ghoul girl he supposedly hangs out with all the time. The show implies they've spent alot of time together, but their relationship didn't look that tight to me. He treats her nicely, but I didn't see the same level of respect returned to him, yet the scenes and dialogue concerning these two pretend they're good friends.. or something. It's hard to explain.
Anyway, not sure what else to say. I never got around to the second season; I watched this show long before it came out, so I'd have to watch it again just to refresh my memory some more. But season 1 did feel like an introduction to something greater, so maybe I should go through the effort of watching the rest someday. The ending was pretty awesome.
【ＷＡＴＣＨ★(•ᴗ•)★ＴＨＩＳ】: The Seven Deadly Sins
***Series in one sentence:***
*A group of super-powerful fighters are only super-powerful when it's necessary for the plot.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*A young princess goes out to find seven legendary fighters to save her imprisoned family from the "holy knights" that started taking matters into their own hands.*
*But these legends are said to be criminals and nobody has seen them in years.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
I enjoyed myself, but if the main hero hadn't shown off his cool moves so early in the game, I would've stopped after the first episode.
Upon watching, you're immediately introduced to the worst clichés the anime branch has to offer; like the soft-voiced, angelic girl character who cares about everyone and cries about everything while sad piano music plays in the background, the "funny" sexual harassment, an aggressive blood-hungry captain/knight who acts like that just so we can hate him, and a loud comic relief who isn't funny. Though, the latter we see enough in Western cartoons as well.
Three of these four clichés continue on throughout the rest of the first season, so I hope you like that kind of thing. Can't judge the quality of the later seasons, they did not yet exist when I started watching this show and haven't seen them yet.
In general, the cast was enjoyable. I despised the princess and the pig character, but near the end of the season they had grown on me. Though, that can also be because the creators eventually realized that the other characters were way more interesting to give screen time to; and the princess and pig were usually teamed up and dumped into the background. They proved themselves useful at one point, but it's still a shame they were this unnecessarily irritating most of the time.
The pig's dialogue is screaming, always screaming, and I don't care for cutesy anime girls that cry all the time, so the princess turned me off as well.
I also don't understand why the script writers dumped the giant, Diane, with this princess in so many episodes. She's actually a good character and skilled fighter, but she sat at home often.
When you're first introduced to the cast, you think you're about to get something you've seen in millions of other Japanese fiction, but the majority of them were given an interesting backstory for that extra flavour. Of course, some backstories were still overused, but it succeeded at making me care for them.
The only thing I'd like to mention is that the friendship between two of the fighters, that was described to be a tight and loyal one, actually proved to be disappointingly fragile. It was weird and I didn't like it.
The last episode was rushed, but the cliffhanger at the end promised a second season before there ever was one, so it can be excused.
Despite my harshness and complaints, I think this is an adventure you should check out for yourself. You'll learn soon enough whether or not it's for you.
----------------------------
**UPDATED ON: AUGUST 18, 2020**
I finally watched the other three seasons, so let me give my quick opinion.
The second "season", that consisted out of FOUR whole episodes WOW, was absolutely heinous to sit through. What a waste of time. It calls itself "Signs of Holy War", and it's so pointless, you could and should skip it and go right to season 3, "Revival of the Commandments".
This is where the story begins, and just like season 1, it keeps your attention. Still, throughout the last two seasons it felt like the position of crybaby was now given to Diane -as if the abundance of crotch shots wasn't enough to ridicule her otherwise cool character- and there were so many subplots, there was no time to properly focus on them, they were overdramatic, and sometimes interrupted the more interesting storylines.
The one with Arthur is really boring, and after Meliodas leaves in season 4, you hardly see the guy anymore.
But well, I can't say this didn't hype me up for season 5.
----------------------------
【ＷＡＴＣＨ★(•ᴗ•)★ＴＨＩＳ】: Attack on Titan
***Series in one sentence:***
*A boy with no talent or strength is lucky to have a hidden power to save his ass.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*In a world where giant, mysterious humanoids roam the earth and eat people, a young boy is determined to join the army and fight against these creatures.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
Regretfully, I've only watched season 1. I know, slow, but the later seasons aren't available to me. Crunchyroll has a pretty strict availability license when it concerns highly sought-after shows.
Anyway, I was never sure what to think of Attack on Titan. Images and references used to pop up on the internet all the time and were hard to miss, but I was never motivated to check it out, since it looked painfully silly to me. But after watching it, the setting made it work.
Still, I'm more amazed that the series' biggest climax, the main character's power, was never spoiled to me. I was surprised to be.. surprised. I expected a generic war cartoon without much else going on.
Even so, the enemy at the end was rather lame. I don't know if I had mentally fallen asleep at some point, but I'm pretty sure this particular character wasn't of any importance before the climax, nor did the main character have any kind of relationship with them; which is why I didn't understand his hesitation to kick their ass.
Speaking of which, a big flaw the main character has is that he always needs to get motivated in order to get up and do something. For a boy who claims to be motivated, and should be, that doesn't make sense.
Other than that, awesomely creepy and interesting series, not much else to complain about. Watch the English version if you can, it's well done.
【ＷＡＴＣＨ★(•ᴗ•)★ＴＨＩＳ】: Inu X Boku SS
***Series in one sentence:***
*I get a private stalker to drive me to school.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*A sassy demon girl from a prestige family moves to a special apartment for highly valued demons and gets assigned a slavish bodyguard she never asked for.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
Soap opera in anime form. But while it feels like cheap fanfiction, it worked for me.
It has a story only an emotional teenage girl with raging hormones could appreciate, yet I loved it enough to buy it on DVD after shamelessly watching it on an illegal phone app. Don't call the police on me, this is long ago, I'm a (mostly) reformed criminal.
It only has a few episodes, and I have yet to figure out my feelings on that. I would've liked more, but I don't think the manga series is something fellow fans would like to see animated in full, as it has no happy ending. (*UPDATE: wait, now it kinda does? That's what you get when you review something you've watched years ago.*)
The show keeps things cheery and cute, even with the introduction of a man-hating lesbian pedophile, an SM sex addict, and the clear insinuation that the bodyguard was once a soulless male prostitute.. But honestly, this is all standard anime stuff.
The bodyguard character, Sōshi, annoyed me a little in the beginning. His watery eyes and continuous rambling about how he's a dog and not worthy of anything was unnecessary, but I guess it always stopped before it made me uncomfortable. At the end of the series, I understood his behaviour to some degree.
I would've liked for the girl, Ririchiyo, to have been more distant and mean, but the series puts great focus on the relationship with her bodyguard and her inner struggles to socialize, and that's enough. It's these two characters you're the most eager to see on screen.
The English dub was good as well, I liked the voice actors and preferred the English confession scene over the Japanese one. Fight me.
Now, I can't say these type of animes are on the same level as Attack on Titan or Elfen Lied, but it did something rare I wished more shows did; which is getting to the point. It never lost its focus or pushed it aside by distracting viewers with an abundance of filler episodes, except for one time. The romance between Ririchiyo and Sōshi was all that mattered.
Yes. **The actually really inappropriate romance between a 15 year old girl and a 22 year old man.** I don't care that Japan has a lower age of consent, in some places that's 8, and I dearly hope people won't casually cheer on a love story from one of those communities, fictional or otherwise. Inu X Boku truly didn't need this age gap in order for the story to work, so why on Earth..?
Something else that could've been left out was the demon aspect, it was hardly of any importance to the story. Every one of these characters could've been a normal human being, just replace the few episodes that included a demon attack with something else. But maybe the fault of this was the studio's decision to only cover the first chapter of the comic.
So, well, as you can conclude, not a flawless show, but I didn't start off my review claiming it was. This is like a big sugary cake with some unnecessary ingredients sprinkled on, but if you like sugar, eating this thing will leave you with a big satisfied smile.
And hey, if weird stuff like Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey can find an audience, then this objectively better series can too.
【ＷＡＴＣＨ★(•ᴗ•)★ＴＨＩＳ】: Kill la Kill
***Series in one sentence:***
*Soft porn.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*A girl wants to find her father's murderer and knows that the answers lie at the high school building towering over the poor city of Tokyo Bay. With half a pair of giant scissors and a lewd living costume that enhances her strength, she fights whoever blocks her path to the truth.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
Is it the weird story that appeals to me or everything else? Definitely everything else.
The animation, the dialogue, the main character's friend, it's all gold. The first half-naked appearance of the main character made me feel uncomfortable (in most animes things can only go downhill from there on), but you get used to the perversion. The anime's excuse for it was good enough for me, I suppose.
The action scenes were fast and entertaining, and the overall movements of the characters fun to see. It looked like a mix of anime and Western animation.
Still, Kill la Kill is not for everyone. I very much doubt it that the comedy makes up for the kinky clothing, especially if that kind of thing distracts you. By all means, skip this if that's the case.
【ＷＡＴＣＨ★(•ᴗ•)★ＴＨＩＳ】: Blue Exorcist
***Series in one sentence:***
*A super-funny, hot guy is somehow the loser.*
***Series in more sentences:***
*A teenage boy who's skipped more days of school than he attended discovers he's the son of Satan. After his adoptive father is killed by the king of Hell, he decides to follow the same career path he and his superior twin brother took; to become an exorcist and kill Satan once and for all.*
***Series in one selective, crusty image:***
It's fine to root for Satan's baby if he's a funny guy. Pretty sure that's in the Bible.
Cool action scenes and nice characters, no one was "just a bully" put there to barricade the hero's efforts. It's so easy to do in fiction.
But at the same time, I was disappointed by the near-romance that didn't go anywhere, Satan's careless demeanour towards the children he had with a woman he -so far I understood- loved, and the unsatisfying ending in general. After the climax, there was nothing that tied the whole thing together.
They did release a series after this one that's more or less a second season that plays off in between certain episodes of the original, but it's a whole new story and doesn't really fix or address the above points.
But well, this anime has one of the most emotional moments of any show I've watched so far. The scene with the cat demon never fails to make me cry, and if a show can make me care for a character that's had little to no screen time, that's a good show.
If you like demons, fighting, and charming characters, this one's for you.
✐ɪᴛ's ғᴀɴᴀʀᴛ: Our marriage is not a mystery, yet it feels unreal to me
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴DETAILS┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
☆ ***Media:***
Detective Conan/Case Closed
☆ ***Character(s) portrayed:***
Shinichi/Jimmy*,* Ran/Rachel
☆ ***Software used:***
*Photoshop 7*
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
Requested by @heartbeat1515.
Two characters I know nothing about from a show I know nothing about. Having that said.. I have nothing to say.
Ran's hair is the most confusing phenomenon I've encountered in my life, but I tried to make it look less awkward than it originally is. Lewl. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_Closed https://read.cash/@heartbeat1515
✐ɪᴛ's ғᴀɴᴀʀᴛ: A non-existent Beauty and the Beast sequel
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴DETAILS┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
☆ ***Media:***
Beauty and the Beast
☆ ***Character(s) portrayed:***
*Jolie, Amedee, Belle, Prince Adam*
☆ ***Software used:***
*Photoshop 7*
┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴┬┴
Little portraits from last year. They're tied to a Beauty and the Beast sequel I made.
The original was never given a proper follow-up, only prequel movies that cluttered the already concluded story with its insertion of random characters and more unpleasantries between Belle and the Beast.
I get it that human Beast isn't cool, we all prefer monsters over watching a happy married couple being happy and married, but we could've had both. Why didn't Disney introduce us to the next generation, more specifically, a new beast?
..And so we arrive at my characters:
In the top left image sits **Jolie**, the daughter of Belle and Adam. She was born with the curse her father suffered. Her mental development was slow, and she grew up uncertain because of this fact and of course over the way she looks.
Right next to her is the designated love interest, **Amedee**. He's a Gaston lookalike (Gaston was the villain, if you don't remember) and also shares some personality traits, but is not related to him and innocent of the crimes pinned on him throughout the story. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast_(1991_film)
@ananas
