#arc 5

[nikoboobiko]

Get better soon Otto!

[l-ii-zz]

not a big ask but can I just have a drawing of zim I love that little bug eyed fella

I draw him ALL the time, isn't that enough? 😭

BUT, I can share some sketches I made of Zim with the outfit he’s using in the last arc of my AU

[gabbyp09]

[fruitycatdemon]

REZERO ART DUMP TEEHEE, also I got an Emilia Funko pop this weekend. That was pretty cool. AND I went out with my girlfriend. That was even cooler. 🧡🧡🧡

[melancholicmaze]

Sirius Romanée-Conti

[circusbutch]

Car Yuri arc 5: Europe

[spmcomic]

[ballonleaparadise]

Thoughts on the Mega Voltage Arc

Hi all! Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I had to do a 25k dissertation for my MA and it took over my life for a few months lol. I've finished uni now, I'm not completely sure what I'll do next. I've been having some work experience so I'll see how that goes. Hope everyone is doing okay.

I'm still really enjoying Horizons and thought I would give my thoughts on the latest arc.

Charcadet is so cute and I think it really suits Liko's team. There's been theories that her team is based on folklore with a trickster, a witch, a knight and a mythical creature which is cool. I'm guessing it'll evolve into armarouge to parallel with Amethio's ceruledge- unless they introduce a new evolution like they did with Ash's Lycanroc.

Talking of captures, I've been enjoying Dot and Gimmighoul's dynamic a lot. I think her team overall has had great development. Ngl I was expecting Roy to catch Gimmighoul, but it was a nice surprise as Dot needed some more focus.

Roy's mega Lucario is pretty cool. I haven't got much else to say as it hasn't had much development yet. Hopefully the mini kalos arc will address this. It looks like Roy met it as an evolved mon, so I wonder what it's backstory will be like.

Uruto is definitely growing on me. He's the annoying little brother that Roy never had, which I love. He is also not as abrasive as he comes across. He cares deeply for people and pokemon, even if he doesn't openly admit it. Now that Roy has matured and Friede is gone, he fills in the gap for the goofy/ditzy character that we could have missed. In addition, Sabeleye is the perfect partner for him. I want to find out more about his father, so hopefully we'll get some answers at some point.

Mega Dragonite is cute. Personally, I was hoping for some more unique team members, but I can see why the anime has to promote it. The only thing is, we now have a Charizard, a Dragonite and a Lucario in the main cast again- ughhh. As much as I love these pokemon, I would have preferred some new or underutillised mons. Still, as long as they have distinct personalities, I'll allow it.

I liked the more laid back pacing of this arc after the last one. We needed room to breathe between the Laqua climax and the Blueberry Academy saga.

A quick diversion but Arc six (or seven?) looks so exciting. Playing the sv dlc is one of the many things I need to catch up on now I have more free time haha. I've heard a lot about the Blueberry elite four though. I can't help wondering if Drayton and Friede are related somehow, especially when Friede is on the new poster. They look so similar that I'll be suprised if it's a coincidence. Now we've seen Drayton in anime form, I'm even more convinced. The only thing that makes me doubt this is that Friede is supposedly from Kanto, while Drayton is from Unova. Unless Friede has relatives abroad idk, I could talk about this all day 😅

Speaking of Friede, I'm guessing he'll appear at some point in the next arc. It would be interesting if he's hiding at the Blueberry academy, since it's a secure place and he already knows Briar. If he is related to Drayton, that would give him even more reason to be there. We'll see though.

Friede's (and Charizard's) absense was felt greatly in the Mega Voltage arc, but not in a bad way. I feel like it has given the other rvts time and space to develop on their own. Everyone processed the grief and trauma in different ways. Murdock, Mollie and Orla returned to former jobs, Liko went back to school, Dot returned to streaming, Ludlow vanished, and Roy set on another journey. Each character attempted to either distract themselves or supress their feelings in some way.

Even Roy, who pretty much carried on as normal, was still clearly affected. He has matured rapidly and is significantly more responsible than he used to be. You can tell just by the way he mentors Uruto that the incident at Rakua left a heavy burden on him. He feels the need to protect others, after witnessing what happened to Friede.

By contrast, Liko regressed drastically during the timeskip. At the beginning of the arc, she is depressed and demotivated. As someone who has depression, this hit home for me. The way she tells people that she is fine while struggling inside is such mature writing. It has been rewarding to see her reunite with the others and help to reform the rising volt tacklers. I feel like there's still some feelings that she hasn't expressed fully, but this is likely because she's focused on taking down the Explorers. Maybe she'll open up later on.

Orla stood out so much in this arc. She reacted to the Laqua incident in a similar way to Liko, pushing her emotions down and trying to hide her feelings. It was hard to see the ways in which losing her childhood friend impacted her. Whether or not she has romantic feelings for Friede, they clearly care deeply about each other. I was so relieved when Friede's voice message played at the end of episode 100 (assuming it's real 😬). I also liked the exchange between Orla and Diana later in the arc-I've lost count of the ep numbers but the one where Diana visits. The way Diana reassured her to have faith in Friede was nice. She's a grandma not just to Liko, but the other kids and the younger adults.

Poor Amethio- no home, no family, no fitting clothes, just a fire and some berries lol. All jokes aside, I'm glad the writers addressed his trauma as well. He lost his grandad, having already lost his mother wheb he was younger. On top of this, he iscolated during the time skip in attempt to escape difficult emotions. It's heartwarming when he reunites with Liko and Zirc and Conia, who care about him an awful lot. Amethio's redemption arc has been one of my favourite things about horizons. To see him go from being a puppet for the Explorers to someone with his own goals has been so endearing.

The only thing I was hoping to have more from was Amethio's reunion with Hamber and his father. It felt rushed if I'm honest, especially with all the resentment that Amethio felt towards his dad. It think the show should explore their relationship a bit more.

Spinel is so cunning, I hope the rvts come up with an elaborate plan to dethrone him. Also, Agate seems even more of a threat now. Hamber even questions her motives, calling her 'professor'- I knew she was an academic. She is clearly an independent thinker. Is she in it for Spinel, or does she have ulterior motives?

Overall, I have enjoyed this arc a lot. I'm not sure if the whole of the next arc will be at Blueberry or just part of it, but I'm interested to see what happens.