Hi, I like action figures and other media. I talk about them sometimes, but I am also lazy. Please don't get on my ass about being as lazy as I am. I'm working on it.
m/w Link and Zelda, PFP Art by @proxycrit
Hey! Time to feel divided as I take a look at an action figure of one of my favorite manga characters (Reze) who is, unfortunately, pretty overpriced for what you get with her. Well, maybe you'll disagree, but you won't know unless you watch!
New Video! Today, it's Luffy time again with his Marineford look, starting up a whole new subline with some intense new articulation! But... will it be good. FIND OUT NOW!
Today, I take a look at the successor to one of my favorite figures of the past few years, the SHF Kamen Rider Faiz, and see if it lives up to the hype!
NEW VIDEO! I made enough Stockholm Syndrome jokes last time, so let's put the pretense aside to take a look at this figure that other creators have been raving about. Will I agree, or will my opinion be different for as divorced from the source material as it is?
It's time for the Kanohii Mineka Corporately Mandated Pride Month Special (or KMCMPMS, for short), where this time, I cover a model kit that, as far as I'm aware, has no english language videos on the finished product. Plus, Guilty Gear is pretty cool, so check it out, yeah?
Hey, you hear about this Liokaiser guy? Or, uh, seven guys? Whatever, he's a really cool toy, so take a look at me opening him up and demolishing his value.
New Video! Today, I look at this guy who becomes a big avocado or something, I dunno. He's from the G2 comics, I've heard those are really bad. Watch the video, I think? Maybe.
In today's new video, I continue to be held hostage by well designed figures into talking about a manga that I have complicated but negative feelings about. It's a whole thing. Watch it and have it count as a visible view but not one that is put into my analytics for some reason. WATCH IT!
i.e. It's probably not super helpful for me to talk about a TV show in this manner when only one episode is out but my brain is forcing me to anyways.
Also, I'm going to potentially spoil it, so I'm going to put a cut. If you care, go watch it, its literally on YouTube for zero dollars.
So, internet boy RubberRoss, in collaboration with internet animation company Glitch Productions released their new series pilot, Gameoverse. It is, of course, one of many indie animation pilots that have cropped up in the past few years, things I have not been afraid to watch and discuss (I'll repost my thoughts on that other pilot eventually), but I do worry, sometimes, if it isn't the greatest idea. In a pilot, you only see a fraction of what a show is going to be. It's meant to sell certain core aspects to its viewer (usually some TV executive, but for these internet shows, to a general audience) while giving a series room to develop. And besides, TV shows naturally grow with time anyways as their creators become more comfortable with what they're making. As such, a pilot is only a piece of the puzzle. In the past, I have tried to tackle pilot discussions as that, discussions of its function as a pilot, if I talk about them at all.
However, here, my brain is making grander implications, ones I shouldn't be making, but I am. So, we're going to talk about Gameoverse, okay? Starting small, then going big. Sorry if this doesn't make sense, this piece is a series of compulsions coming to me late at night.
In terms of positives, it does generally look good. Its general aesthetic is nice and bright, but isn't afraid to create interesting lighting. Its style can look goofy or cool at the turn of a hat, and is generally well thought out. It also takes advantage of some really strong animation. It does have sakuga, it does have some sauce. On a moment to moment basis, while its low frame rate can be distracting, framing is generally clear, and is sometimes pretty fun and dynamic. There is probably some room for improvement, but it overall looks pretty good. And, as far as a filmic thing goes, that is important.
I guess the only aesthetic qualm is the immense sexual dimorphism the character designs fall into. Ironic for me to say as a big big One Piece fan (though, to be fair, the lack of variety in that series's femme character designs is legitimately the worst part of that series, if only for its persistence throughout the entire series, but also for the ways it actively undercuts some of that story's ideas and themes, but this isn't about One Piece), but it is annoying. I've seen worse, and I'm fine with a show being a little horny, but I dunno, it feels a little thoughtless. Others have discussed this better, so I won't harp too much on it. Kit's wild west costume that the show showed briefly did kind of piss me off to an inordinate level, though. Why does she need her midriff showing?
Speaking of, Kit is probably my favorite. She has the most narrative meat on her bones. As much as I think the "animated character with ptsd or something has a panic attack" might be becoming overplayed, I do think it still works here, and plays into her characterization interestingly. She obviously gets desperate, often leading to attempts to break the rules of the universe, and I think it makes her interesting. Her vocal performance by Erica Lindbeck is also strong enough to hold up this characterization, probably the best vocal performance in the show. Plus, I do love anyone who has a cool henshin sequence (even if it is a bit gratuitous).
The villains are fun enough as well. The main duo we see feel like they could create some interesting interpersonal conflicts that lead to funny scenarios, especially in the ways they may aid each world's hero, giving that side of things a villainous twist (though I will have more to say on that later). The main bad guy is pretty cool, could be a pretty strong overall villain, though again, more to say on him later.
Gobbles is... fine. A children's character being forced into an adult thing feels kind of generic in a "oh I'm so dark" way, but it does feel handled seriously enough. I like that he has a simple arc in this episode, even if he doesn't feel as compelling as Kit. His voice is kind of annoying, though. Nasal-y and without enough range for my tastes, I don't think it fully works. I will wait to see more, though.
If any character is the most nothing, its Kaboodle. He's off in this comedic B-Plot with the world's villain, just kind of riffing over there. He might have good potential, especially as his relationship with Kit is explored, but that isn't in this pilot. Unfortunately, though, I don't really want to see it since his vocal performance is the worst in this whole show, and probably in any Glitch Productions show I've seen. For Gobbles, voiced by Arin Hanson, he at least has a vocal performance, even if it is annoying. For Kaboodle, voiced by YouTuber Jschlatt, he doesn't even get a performance. It's just kind of him speaking like he would in a YouTube video. It really took me out of the show, and I hope it can improve with time.
Though I guess his little b-plot leads me to the main reason I'm talking here, the main thematic implications of all of this. Ultimately, the universe this world is set in is a nihilistic one. Each world has some predetermined path for its heroes, one that, when completed, ultimately leads that world to be discarded, destroyed, as it is no longer needed. This is, of course, meant to be taken somewhat metatextually. Stories, in this case those of Video Games, force characters into a predetermined structure that, ultimately, leads them to be discarded at the end. There's no more story after the end of the book, game, whatever. As such, our protagonists need to break that structure, subvert expectations, for the sake of the universe.
However, there's more to it than these planned implications, aren't there? These aren't just things placed in a vacuum, the series main characters are working within the external mechanisms of another story. And, for the two main worlds we see in this episode, made to intentionally parallel each other, things get messy. In short, both of these worlds feature a main village that are said to be terrorized by some generic evil threat. Our heroes set out on quests to stop these forces to save their homes, and the people they care about. Of course, this only leads to ruin, beating these big bads leads each world to their destruction, as they have no more story to tell.
This creates the implication that these worlds would be better off if they were stagnant. Stuck in a system that is harming innocent people because the alternative is much worse. Do you see how... weird that feels, though?
It creates this weird, slightly conservative impulse in the series, that any progress these characters make is, ultimately, too far that leads our characters to need to fight for the textual bad guys. They can't help the good guys see why this might be a problem, the universe won't let them, so they have to be the "villains," and help this admittedly goofy villain terrorize these admittedly goofy characters. Plus, the villains bring their own icky implications, being external bad actors who influence things in the world to progress to a breaking point, seemingly for them to eat up the remaining pieces for their own gain. This feels a bit tone deaf in our current political climate, where neoliberal stagnation has ultimately allowed bad actors to come into power and make things worse for everyone. It's weird, and as it is now, I kind of resent it.
Now, is this inherently bad? Not yet. The series, as it goes on, could play with this in an interesting way. The universe is actively against all parties, making it the most true villain, and with Kit's anger at it, it could be interesting to see if she turns against her current faction to make a grander change. Plus, the main villain's implications, that he wants to fix at least some of these worlds, intrigues me. Of course, their faction is entirely built on lying to people for their own gain, but this series is hyperfocused on flipping traditional dynamics, heroes being villains and such.
It's ultimately hard to say because, again, this is a pilot. This could all be clever set-up for a big twist where the Farcade organization is actually corrupt and helping to keep up a bad system, or it could just be a bunch of implications that weren't thought about all that much for the sake of a subversive, edgy little series, that I'm just insane enough to look too deeply into. Who's to say. However, it is very much something that worries me, and, judging it as a pilot, makes me weary of watching more.
Ultimately, I feel this is the weakest of the post-TADC Glitch Pilots. Digital Circus kind of showed that they could be a serious production company, even when working with internet personalities, and I think gave them some decent goodwill. But their next pilots didn't just hold onto that wave. Gaslight District is a tad fast, but has a good vibe, and I think KoG has a lot of potential, any internet controversies aside. This, though, feels closer to their earlier output, something that'll be carried by the goodwill of it being an independent animated project with an annoying focus on tech and gaming that makes it feel pigeonholed. But, they have grown past this, they have actual respect and credit, I think at least. So, I think they can do better. I hope this series, if it is picked up, manages to get better. I like when I can like things. And if you liked this pilot, good on you, I'm glad you're happy. I wish I liked it more. But, yeah. I hope it gets good, eventually.
NEW VIDEO! Today, I look at a controversial figure that not a lot of people seem to have actually picked up. Unfortunately, I am a freak obsessed with the new Superman movie, so I guess I have to be the one to see if this figure is as bad as people say.
WAKE UP! Today I'm looking at the start of the new S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider Zeztz line, and seeing if it justifies the price increase!!!
I'M ON IT OR WHATEVER!!!!
It's no lie that today's unboxing video is of the TRUE CAPTAIN OF THE STRAW HAT PIRATES, THE BRAVEST WARRIOR OF THE SEVEN SEAS, THE GREAT CAPTAIN USOPP!!!
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