It's really funny looking back at Voltaire being commissioned to play the "Brains" song from Billy and Mandy and watching the domino effect leading him to voice act in the new "Vampair" show and reunite with the creator of Billy and Mandy himself thanks to the passion project of a really talented fan of his work.
Something the latest chapters of Ichi the Witch made me realize was just how uninvested I was in the villains up until now.
Something about the way the antagonists had been written so far made them feel like they all fit the mindset of "Perfectly effective as an obstacle to overcome... And nothing else."
What I mean is that, I want to see these guys being stopped and defeated by our heroes... But that's about it, I don't have any desire to see them any more than I need.
The world hater, his lion butler assistant, that tapir simp, the lonely octopus... I was always rooting for someone to just punch these guys and move on.
But with Fujimine and this new Hakari guy, I get this urge of "I want to see more of them, I want to see them interact with other characters, I kinda want to see the heroes fail to stop them so we can enjoy them a little more..." and so on.
It makes me realize that, to me at least, the villains hadn't felt really all that fun so far. In Avatar terms, it's like being stuck with General Zhao all this time only to finally get an Azula-like villain, someone who you want to see being evil and doing evil things and gets entertained by how evil she is.
So, yeah, it took a while but I'm glad to finally have fun villains that appeal to me in the series.
I love how the story is actually taking the time to address the mental stress that he must be going through from not just being put in a World he knows nothing about, but also with having to question what's real and what's not anymore.
This wasn't even something I was considering they would do cause I'm so used to stories just moving on from trauma and stuff like this, but I'm so glad they did cause it makes things so much more interesting.
It makes me wonder if one day he'll face some sort of decision were he'll have to put his trust in someone, even though his faith in others is already so thin, but will still do it because he's a good kid... only to be betrayed in the end and completely break him inside.
It would be tragic but would also be such a juicy drama! 🧉🤤
A bit of an unpopular opinion but... I was never a really big fan of Ed in FMA but I'm really, really liking Yuru as a main character. He's so engaging and entertaining to watch and learn about.
It's funny how so much of this series is just characters taking with each other with some very occasional action... But the talks they do have are so interesting and all the characters are so charming and likable that it never really bothers me that much. It just feels like I'm following some really fun people to follow.
Also, I'm feeling really dumb for never realizing all the daemons come in pairs. Totally missed that...
This was my first real experience with anything Ghost in The Shell related, and honestly, the thing that came to my mind after watching the first episode from this new 2026 series was...
"Man, I really miss Megaman Legends..."
I don't know what it is, but something about the esthetics and the technology they use really reminded me of the villains from that game and made me nostalgic. 🥺
My God, it's like Kimblee and Bradley did the fusion dance
I feel so sorry for this village, man... I don't know if they're evil or good or what but there were definitely some innocent people in there who did not deserved all that.
It was nice seeing fake Asa again. I feel like there's an interesting dynamic to be explored here between her and the two leads as they wonder how much of the affection was real and how much was part of the act while also having the real Asa interact with the person who took her place in her for so many years.
Also, Yuru's buddy is here too now. Don't really care much about him but at least he's bringing the horse lady as well and she seems cool so that's neat. Overall this episode was a nice way to shake the status quo and setup some interesting things to look forward to.
A seemingly scary and creepy capturable creature that uses a piece of fabric to hide itself in an attempt to look more friendly and possibly increase its chances of safely getting along well with others...
Yeah, I love this thing already. Fujimina must pay... 😤
The fact that this movie could be just as good if not better as something like "The WIld Robot" or "Puss in Boots - The Last Wish" is filling me with some very high expectations.
After the TADC finale and processing how much of it was Jax-focused and how little of the rest of the cast I ended up getting, it gave me a newfound appreciation for Infinity Train for using their jerk character sparingly.
When I saw the promo art and the thumbnail and that one second of Jax looking at us, was I the only one who thought the finale was going to be about Jax losing his mind with the power of conjuring and turning the circus into an even bigger nightmare than what Caine was doing?
I was thinking it would be some sort of "Pokemon Movie 3" thing where he's so unstable that he keeps giving shape to his fears and memories and the circus crew would need to navigate through it all while also needing to learn to master this power in order to stop him.
It would be basically what actually happened in the finale but instead of being all in his head it would merge with the circus and require everyone to be involved.
Like some sort of giant clash trying to explore if you can just make anything real in this digital world, how do you know or decide what matters and what doesn't.
Okay, so... I've been seeing a lot of discussions about how people feel about the ending of Digital Circus and their conflicting thoughts regarding Jax's ending. If he deserved better, if he deserved less, what it all means, how it changes everything, how it changes nothing, so on and so forth.
I have a slightly different opinion on Jax's situation and thought I would share it in case it might offer a different enough point of view to think about. I could be right, I could be wrong, I could be super super wrong... But this is what it came to me.
This will probably sound silly but... I feel like the members of the circus are like an allegory in the same way the cast of Inside Out was.
Just like Inside Out had characters who each represented a personification of a human emotion... I feel like Digital Circus' cast works as a representation of requirements in order to be happy.
Pomni is like the personification of a person's ability to bond with others and adapt to situations, Ragatha is the ability to care and put others' needs before yours and be there for them when they need someone, Gangle is the ability to allow yourself to be vulnerable and let others help you when you show your true self, Zooble is the ability to stand your ground and look at things objectively, and Kinger is the ability to collect and share wisdom and to know when to be patient.
Each member represents an important lesson when it comes to learning what it means to be a good person, a mature person, or just a happy person.
And in that sense, I think Jax represents a person's inability in their pursuit of happiness and peace.
The inability to be honest, the inability to address or admit your own flaws, the inability to stop yourself from going too far, the inability to change, the inability to be brave.
I think he's meant to represent that part of us that stops us from being the best versions of ourselves, stopping us from reaching out, asking for help, being vulnerable, taking risks, and so on. He's not meant to be a person making mistakes, he's meant to be that voice in our head that tells us to make mistakes because we are afraid of getting hurt.
And much like Jax, sometimes this voice is comforting, sometimes this voice brings a new side of ourselves we didn't know we had, and it might even be a side that could lead to good things. Sometimes this voice could make us feel strong, and sometimes this voice could make us smile... But it is still a voice molded by fear and insecurity and the refusal to change.
This sorta explains why the series' creator has so many comments and posts going on about how much she loves Jax and yet how much loves seeing him in pain. It's easy to love our own fear because it makes us feel safe, but it also deprives us of what the world has to offer, the good and the bad.
Sometimes, we just love our own fear, even when it damages us more than it helps.
From a meta point of view, this could be seen as the creator's way of finally saying goodbye to the fears and insecurities that were holding her back without trying to show hatred towards it. Almost as if saying "I know you were bad for me... But you were still a part of me." Accepting your shortcomings but no longer being controlled by them, and getting ready to move on and become the real you you always wanted to be.
At the same time... When looked at as a person, Jax's journey also works as a cautionary tale. A person who clearly needs help and is offered help, but whose refusal to leave his comfort zone and refusal to admit he doesn't know what's best for himself ended up leading to his own doom.
He built a persona of wanting to seem strong, unique, independent, smart... and he ended up completely shapeless just like all the other shapeless beings, with no thoughts and dependent on the aid of others.
And his story works to teach that sometimes, even when you offer any possible help you can, you still can't help someone that doesn't want help. Different people gave him space, gave him advice, gave him friendship, gave him warnings, gave him tolerance, or gave him control, basically gave him anything he could possibly need to make sure he knew he could be helped... And he still refused.
Much like Caine learned he couldn't control if people would enjoy his adventures, much like Ragatha couldn't control whether people liked hanging out with her, much like Kinger can't control his sanity when under the light, much like Gangle couldn't control whether her mask would break or not, much like Zooble can't control her lack of satisfaction with her own body, much like all the members couldn't control the fact they were never leaving this place... It was important to show you can't control if someone wants to be saved.
Jax was the only one who refused to let go of the illusion of control. You can't control other people, you can't control the world, you can always only control your own self and how you choose to interact with the world and its people. But this isn't what he wanted.
He was literally living in a place where you can pick and choose what to believe is real and what isn't, what matters and what doesn't, and he still chose to attach to things that were only causing harm when he had no need to.
He tried to control what Gangle liked or didn't like, tried to control how close to him members of the circus should be, tried to control what the meaning of the circus was supposed to be, and tried to control how happy he was even though he clearly was not.
So, in the end, to me, it depends on how you want to look at it.
Do you want to look at Jax as a tragedy about someone who lost their way and missed out on enjoying what the world had to offer with the people around them due to the complications of their past and inability to deal with them in the present...
Or do you want to look at Jax as the personification of our negative thoughts and emotions that hold us back, alluring to a sense of safety and comfort, but in reality preventing us from seeing the true path for maturing and moving forward?
Or maybe it's neither, or maybe it's both, or maybe it's like 75% for one and 25% for the other?
It's the author's work, but it's your watching experience, you choose how this story affects you and how you see it.
