WARNING: Always carry shoe bags if you plan to wear suede shoes on a wet day. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy.
The Wonders of Nature can Beckon the Youngest of Minds
You know, even as 19 year old me has become technologically obsessed par the course of this, I’ve always had a fascination to the outdoors to where I would call nature a friend and a character in its own right. Which is why when I see or play media that takes place in a luscious, quiet outdoor world, best ex. Breath of the Wild, I feel a bit at ease and immersed in the simple yet varied beauty that lies before me. So when I see Hilda, based on the comic with the same style and look to it, I can’t help but feel relieved and joyous of this honest “feel good” series.
With a cuddly deerfox as the cherry on top like... yes
Now, the animation... it's BOSS. It’s only honestly the first cartoon I’ve seen where the drab colors make it pop the most. The fact that it captures both the muted fall color palette and the etchy character lining from the books are one thing, with the character designs looking softer than the books which is a great touch, but having Mercury Filmworks animate this season brings a tear to my good eye. I will keep saying this, Mercury is the best company to go to when you want a cartoon to feel animated, and this is no exception. It has the perfect blend of snap and jump to it, and the first episode was enough to keep me watching. You gotta see it to believe it.
I especially love the grand scale it gives from time to time, really giving you the ‘wide’ in ‘wide world’
Speaking of first episodes, let it be said that the tone or mood of the first can set things for the rest of a season and I love the tone Hilda has for itself. Serene, peaceful, sometimes somber, with a looming sense of mystery hiding underneath. The first seven minutes of the season captures the whole season in a way that if you removed the dialogue, it would be a perfect example of visual storytelling, something I’ve grown to love in the 5+ years of being a cartoon reviewer.
Just saying, “a picture’s worth a thousand words” isn’t some deplorable artistic idiom
But really, what can I say about this series that I haven’t already said about True and the Rainbow Kingdom? (coincidentally both Netflix shows) I mean I could go on about how surreal it can be or how it has those tender moments or how it’s “Gravity Falls meets Over the Garden Wall” like I’m a simple ass normie, but pbbt. Of all the hyperactive or zany stuff I’ve seen this year, it’s just nice to have that one series like this where you can relax with what you’re watching. It’s simple folklore filled adventures with a girl, her friend, and her deerfox companion, what else is needed? Not to mention, like Gary and his Demons, it felt complete. I could applaud for a season two, but I don’t feel it’s necessary; as an adaptation, it did its job superbly and I’m fine with it either continuing or stopping after one.
Tho as long as Mercury’s still on board, I would be down for a season 2
Like True, I just…felt at peace, happy watching this, and this happiness resonated with me and it’s something I feel everyone should know and hold dear. This show is ‘peaceful’ in every sense of the word. This lifted my spirits in a way that feels refreshing and for the fall season, I say Hilda provided the necessary starting point and is a great, timeless seasonal series worth remembering and watching.
WARNING: Excelsior, my playas and players. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy. [Spoiler-Free]
Spider-Man: Soarin’ Miles High into Web-slinging Greatness
It’s a good movie. Stylish, footloose, well-animated, a little tear jerking, fun as heck. You’ve seen the scores. Any one who utterly hates this is either Armond White (whom is a cool contrarian with a solid review of this flic, don’t hate on him) or a snooty ass bitch. It’s a see to believe movie, and I won’t say my review will be any different.
And this has been Spidey’s year, hasn’t it?
I’ll get the negatives out the way. For one is with the Kingpin’s motive. While the hulk ass looking mob boss was certainly an entertaining villain, his conviction for fucking up space time didn’t make much sense and for someone who has seen why the Kingpin does what he does for some time, this was a bizarrely out of place change to his character. Another thing was that, and few may agree, the movie can be hard on the eyes sometimes, especially the climax with the colors and somewhat blurry animation. Honestly, this movie felt blurry by design in some scenes, and I wasn’t watching the 3D take. I won’t take points away for giving me a great finale, cuz it did, but I was admittedly zoned out when it was over. And in hindsight, while we have so many Spider-men, while the quipping was on point and I love them all, half the team only got small doses of excellence and it’s mostly in the 3rd act; guessing the sequel will make up for it but can’t help but say the film was a little overstuffed. Now, if I may fangasm for a bit.... *inhale*
Animation’s so fucking tight! Love the colors, it was a goddamn rainbow! While no J. Jonah Jameson, we got Stan Lee keepin’ it real as always! Ms. Frizzle as Aunt May! Doc Ock was great and Prowler was everything I DREAMED of! The cinematography makes this the most dynamic animation I’ll ever see since Redline. The text boxes and onomatopoeia words honestly made this movie work so well. Got the most diverse looking New York City, it’s too smooth. Spiderman 2099′s cameo was the maraschino cherry on top. This was like fucking Kung Fu Panda and The Lego Movie combined! We finally got an Afro-Latino Spider-Man, a Spider-Woman, a Batman Nick Cage Spider-Man, an Anime Spider-Girl with a Spider-Mech, and Peter Porker.
Spider Pig, my NINJAS! HALLELUJAH, HOLY SHIT!
*breathes* But. If. There’s one thing that excels this as not only a great Spidey film, but a great hero film is how it handles the concept of Spider-Man, the hero. Better than Homecoming. BOOM, send tweet! While I say it’s overstuffed, this does take its time to give Miles the steps to become not only a Spider-Man, but a hero on his own accords. Spider-Man was never about a chosen hero or an already successful suit using their powers for good, it was about an average teen that suddenly receives amazing power and acts to use them responsibly because he felt it was the right thing to do. Miles didn’t have to become Spider-Man, even with his newfound powers, but he wanted to be and this desire is prominent throughout the film. His school life at the beginning presented this theme subtly well too. With Gwen and 🅱️eter by his side, Miles got to rise from being a regular teen to a hero both New York, and the audience in a meta sense, have come to root for and admire, especially after a long wait.
Miles Morales got and earned the respect he deserves
So yeah, the movie was quite the spectacular. Such a great stand alone film that made way for possibly plenty more to come. Honestly became one of my favorite animated films not only of this year, but of all time (tho it can never beat Lego Movie or Redline) and I mean this earnestly. Surprised that this came from the same people behind the Amazing Spider-Man films and the Emoji Movie, I say Sony redeemed themselves with this and potentially more in the future.
As for this.....
WARNING: Lime juice can be a great replacement for salt, if you’re considering dieting. Mild spoilers ahead. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy.
A Friendship From the Future
Netflix has been giving quite a lot of outside media that’s been pretty good, guess they’re making up for their crimes last year. Next Gen is a movie developed by the creator of Chinese rage comics, no joke, and directed by the art directors of a couple good movies and a few nobody cares about. But really, in this world of robots, does this movie make the future look bright, or does it feel outdated compared to the likes of Iron Giant, Short Circuit, Big Hero Six, and the sort this is basically inspired by? Well, like the rage comic this was based on, I was pretty entertained.
seriously, they kept a dead american meme afloat under our noses for this long, and got a movie for it
First, this movie honestly puts the pedal to the figurative medal. In the first 10 minutes, we get everything we need to know this movie: the setting, the main character Mai, her motive towards her robot hate, her neglectful mom, David Cross, the villain, the robot friend. It felt refreshing, colgate like, but... *sigh* in comes my critical mind. This movie ain’t bad, but man it feels *grits teeth* predictable. The futuristic setting looked uninspiring. The man-bun dude was such a “villain”, that his big reveal at the end was visually shocking but kinda laughable. It was clear that Mai’s mother was gonna start loving her daughter more near the end. The bullies were gonna fear her thanks to her giant robot but then she sees that becoming a bully is no better than being bullied (angerleads to suffering). And the robot was definitely gonna s͟͡a̶̡͘͡͠c͝͡r̨̨̀͢͜i͏f͟͢͜͡i̡͏́͞͝c̷̵̶͜͠e̴͞ ̴͟i̛͡҉̷̢t̷̕͞͠s̨͟͠ȩ̴l̶҉̢f̡̛͟ ̴̛f̶̸͡o̧͜͝҉r̨͏̵͟ ̡̡̀͞͝i҉̷͢ţ͟͡͏s̡͜ ̸̸͢͜͡ņ̴̕͞e҉̛̀͟w̡͜͝ ̨̡̛b̨́e̢̛̛͞s̵͟t̨́͢ ̴͢͢͞͡f̨͟͏͠r҉̢̨i͏͠҉̸e̸͘n̡̡͡d͠ ̴̀b̵̴͘u̸̕͞t̨̀͢͡ ͢҉͏̷t͟͞h̷͟͟è͘͟͜͡n͞͏ ̧̡̀͡g̛͘͘͜҉e̶̸t́͘͡͞ ͘͡r̵̨͠è̸͟҉̕ş̸́̕u͏r̛̀̕͟r̵̵̢̡ę́͟ç̶t̶́͝e͡d̴̡̧͡ ̴̡̡́b̧́͟y͏ ͡҉̷̛t̷̵҉́h̶̀͢͠e҉̶͜͠ ̨͟͠p̵̡͘̕͜o̴̡͞w̸e̡̨̕r̨̨̨͘ ̨͝ò͏̵f̨̀́͞ ̡̛̀́͘l͢͟͠ǫ̸̸̨v̕͞e̶̸̸͜͜.
Not saying I didn’t enjoy myself, in fact it has some great things going for it, but it was hard not to figure out what would happen exactly how it could happen.
Though the first explosive action scene being a highspeed chase to return a girl’s backpack was certainly surprising
But really, this movie is cool. The animation is the right amount of cartoonish, beautiful, and blunt, with a few actually creepy scenes. The energy it has kept me invested, especially when one of your scenes has the main characters fighting a damn toothbrush. I would try to make comparisons to other kid and their robot movies, but I say this is somewhat unique in its main character and her robot friend (plus Big Hero 6 is whatever). Mei, with Charlene Yi providing a great voice, is a character that genuinely goes through a struggle in this movie. She doesn’t come off as an intolerable or brooding jerk, more of a character that’s rightfully letting out her frustrations and is trying to cope with her uncontained anger, like EQG’s Sunset Shimmer pre-redemption. I’ll say her arc is predictable, but seeing her get bullied to then use what she loathes the most as a vessel for payback, delinquent fun, and an eventual soul savior was honestly a delight to see. As for the robot, while I will say he would’ve worked a bit better if he didn’t talk as much, is surprisingly great in the fact that he kicks ass and looks good doing it; his design is simple yet effective (yet how was able to be activated by accident). He’s the rock to Mai’s eagle like aspirations, and the VA did make his moments have weight. Their dynamic is what few might call ‘standard’, but I say it’s still effective with what was given. Hell, the climax genuinely consists of the two having emotions and kicking robot ass up to a climatic 1v1 in space that was just *MWAH* quality anime kino. With the animation looking better than I expected, especially a couple scenes that were really beautiful, I thoroughly enjoyed them together and I wouldn’t mind watching this again.
These two are certainly the highlight of this film
Hate doing this, but I gotta give Next Gen (-300) points for being pretty predictable in its narrative, (-200) points for I could not care less about the villain, and (-300) points for the useless talking dog (sorry, not a fan of him). But I wanna give it (+1000) points for being a movie based on a webcomic dosed in meme culture, (+800) points for having some superb animation especially with its action scenes, a bonus (+300) points for the great action, and a solid (+777) points for the dynamic between Mai and her robot, they are what makes this film great out of everything. I say it’s a film worth watching if you’re in the mood for an easy kick ass adventure with a rebel girl and her killer machine friend. Sure it has elements from movies with similar premises, but this still stands out well and I appreciate that.
WARNING: [Reposted due to false flagging] This cartoon is for +18 and up, so keep that in mind as you read about me *chuckles*…. singing its praises. Also if you’re a minor, DO NOT watch this. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy.
An Educational Cartoon That Doesn’t Pull Out in Quality
This is a first for the Good Stuff archive, possibly not the last (don’t quote on that), but I did want to talk about this show because I love watching/reviewing cartoons and just because this has some pretty naughty things in it, doesn’t mean I’m above giving it the attention it’s earned from me. Not only has this cartoon offered some potent content, it feels like the lovechild of Leisure Suit Larry and Barney the Dinosaur, and I can’t tell if it’s horrifyingly genius or charmingly devious. Either way, I say it works.
And yeah, I have a favorite character (it’s Tuffalo)
First, the animation. This is coming the glory of France so, like most I’ve seen, there’s a sharpness and bounciness to the character’s movement; the movement is quick and snappy compared to American cartoons, but this adds a bouncy sense to them as well, like a rubber ball. It especially works when the snappiness adds to the no holds barred… fuckery that goes on in this series. Balak and the team certainly put the detail where it counted, and the energy where it’s necessary, all the while making it look as simple as possible.
And if you’re not a fan of this, Last Man is not far from being great, too. Created by the same guy.
Speaking of simple, this is indeed educational, if I may one of the better sexual educational cartoons I’ve seen (step your game up, Ted Talk). Whenever they do get to something relative to the body, mainly the sexual organs, it’s well explained with the dialogue and the visuals, all the while not feeling forced since the episode length averages to about 4 ½ minutes. And not only does it offer sex ed lessons that you might’ve never learned about as a child, but it teaches about love vs lust, consent, video games and addiction, having differences, passing the torch, STD symptoms, and so forth. And with it having a very good cast of characters, it’s enjoyable to watch and learn. Peepoodo doesn’t just feel like mindless, sex crazy antics, it does offer a nice thought here and there that can really stick with you, like cu– Come what may, these episodes offer a nice pass time when you have a few minutes to yourself and just wants to see some light-hearted fun…… unless it gets NUTS!
And we ain’t talking Cashews!
I’ll say this, Sausage Party is a weak fool compared to this. After one episode, you see the love and care that goes into making this as unapologetically horny as possible. There are even a couple episodes that I say are not for those with the more weaker stomachs, especially if you’re not a scat or whiz fan. I mean we’re talking fingering, masturbation, full cocking, ̷҉̴c̸͝͏̛u͢͜m̨̛͠͠m̀͢į͡͏n̨͢͞͝ģ̴͟,̸̀͞͠ ̛͡poo and pee, peepoo and do, all with imagery that shakes your eyeballs to the point where you can’t or don’t feel like look away. Though admittedly, it never feels like it’s trying to gross you out or tests your tolerance for the hell of it, like most adult cartoons I’ve seen, but acknowledges that it can be a shocking, pretty uncomfortable even, yet natural part of human life, presenting it in a zany yet articulate way that a +18 cartoon can accomplish. And I find that admirable and makes me feel like I’m being respected as an adult, if that makes sense.
The Ren & Stimpy Sequel could only dream of having a point compared to this
So overall, I have to give The Super Fuck Friends (+800) points for the great, colorful animation, (+400) points for its characters, (+500) points for its educational aspect, (+777) points for having the episodes be short yet well to the point, and (+690) points for genuinely doing its +18 rating justice. This show can be a treat to watch as an adult, and I am hoping for a season two to come around.
4 Out of 5, a joyous romp from the head to the down under
WARNING: Don’t consider the coconut. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy
The wait is finally ogre
Shrek. It was a movie. It was a franchise. It was a musical.... that sucked. And of course, It was AND is a meme legend. And now, over 17 years later, it is a product that brought over 200 people together to retell it like they’re life depended on it. Coming from the 4th year ShrekFest, we got the amazing and genuine passion project that is Shrek Retold.
Contender for Anime of the Year
Honestly, I’ve grown a fondness for retelling projects. Whether it be live action or animated, like Youtube Poops, it’s videos like these that keep ya on your toes in how the look will change next. Some may say that’s a little whiplashy, but I believe the surprise is what makes these video projects fun and Shrek Retold is no different. This honestly has everything: 2D and 3D animation, live-action, pixel art, puppetry, schlock, Sonichu, guns, fish, anime, claymation, music video, video games, a review of the movie, some people you may recognize, most you may not. It’s such a grab bag that nothing feels out of place in this. There were a couple moments that I’m especially glad was put in. Even if you’re unfamiliar with this movie, you’ll get a kick out of every performance whether it’s intentionally or ironically good.
I mean.... Hallelujah, man
In addition, with all that goes on in it, you still have a grasp of what’s going on. While it can all be bizarre, psychedelic even, almost every scene communicates what happens in the movie. I say almost because one guy just reviewed the movie for two minutes.
honestly the truly unique twist to this retelling
But given all this, it begs the question. Why this movie? Why this meme? How did such a meme expand into a honestly grand scale project such as this? Well, with a question comes a truth: Shrek is timeless writing. However long we joke at this movie until the sun implodes, we can’t and shouldn’t deny that Shrek’s lasting impact came from being a solid movie in the first place. Thanks to Dreamworks, and by extension Disney, we got ourselves a story with a soundtrack and characters that never feel out of place in this world no matter how dated it all may seem. I’m just saying, Shrek is more than just an internet punchline, it’s a respectable name in animation, an unironically good film, one I say the creators and the 200+ participants of this deep down had in mind when they came together to see this come to fruition. It has, dare I say,
So with that said, this is honestly the best thing to come out of Youtube this year. Even if you haven’t seen Shrek, first how dare you, second it’s a must watch on the grounds that it’s the most enjoyably chaotic art you will ever see. It is unique in every way and is a celebration of a good movie, but a tribute to content creators of all kind. This has creativity all over it and it’s a “see to believe“ type of experience that I didn’t regret.
5 out of 5. Youtube Cinematic masterpiece. No contest.
Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Monkey of the Makaveli, coming at ya live, once again, through the power... of the internet. And this rant is quite menial, especially since the topic at hand is over half a year old now, but I’ve been sitting on it recently and I wanted to get it off my chest.
Back in 2017, I talked about SU’s handling of villains and how the show was plotting up to make them sympathetic, thus neutering the sense of dimension that can come with developing a villain, especially when you initially make them out to be very fascistic in their approach. Over a year later, Lily Orchard released a video essentially touting the same with the addition of saying the show unintentionally bears a theme of nazi apologia thanks to Sugar’s ambition for character redemption, thus making the show objectively bad. I didn’t agree to this but I didn’t have as good of a case then so I left it alone. Cut to winter where I saw a response from her talking about Robobuddies’ video on SU, considering it good but “malnutritious” compared to hers. Again, I didn’t agree with this sentiment but I didn’t have as good of a case then so I left that alone as well. Cut to April this year where, after learning quite a bit about objectivity vs subjectivity, I went back to that response and rereading this one quote, something clicked:
“No criticism of anything should leave out the themes and whether they actually panned out the way the creator was hoping they would. If all you care about is story structure and animation, Robo goes in an impressive amount of detail about those two specific things. But that kind of hyperfixation on these two things while ignoring the themes is malnutritious criticism.“ [December, 2018]
So with all consideration, the analysis of themes seem important to Orchard when it comes to objective criticism, especially when her video was out to prove the why in “Why Steven Universe IS Garbage.” And this isn’t a one time thing, I remember her covering before that the themes are what can make or break a show, episode, what have you. I would agree, but I hate to say this, given that I tend to be quite a writer/critic myself, yet it should be a given:
Themes should not and are not the end all, BE all to objective criticism, because it is an inherently subjective concept.
Now with that said, I’m not saying she doesn’t bring up good points, but for all the talk of whether the themes actually panned out the way the creator was hoping they would, this talk of fascist apologia in SU is not so much discussing Sugar’s intention but second guessing it based on personal hindsight and bias. In all fairness, I’m not above this since, again, I too felt this way beforehand and after watching SU the whole way through, my perspective has certainly changed.
So permit me, if you will, to go on one final SU rant, not only deconstructing that headline statement above, but objectively analyze Orchard’s idea of SU being apologetic to fascism in addition to reflect off of my previous stance for the villains. Prepare yourselves, this is quite a read...
The Themes, Mason
Keep in mind, I’m not saying discussing themes in media is a bad thing because it can enhance how you feel about it. As such discussing only the story structure, characters, the direction of the media isn’t bad either because you’re focusing on how the project came together and what is measurable in terms of good and bad content. But understand that while connectable, they are still separate types of criticisms. And while many writers can disagree with me on this, I feel like this has to be said: themes shouldn't be the point of the show. This goes for creators and critics equally.
I’ve discussed this earlier with someone, but themes are so subjective, you can put the content on a shelf that cannot be considered good/bad; circumventing any criticisms that could prove you wrong, and essentially deadlocking discussion since any opponent can’t really disprove your theme if proven enough and they either have to go along with you or argue to the death that it can be something else while you can sit comfortably in your generally subjective bubble, thinking you achieved objectivity.
You can give counters, but this is what people like Lily resort to define what’s good or bad writing in their eyes, and it can be frustrating trying to deconstruct because you can’t kill an idea. Not to say Rebecca Sugar or other creators can’t/couldn’t fall for this too because trying to contextualize themes over the actions of the characters and the flow of the plot, to force everything around the themes, can often lead to conflicting and sometimes frustrating thoughts as to what the show is trying to say. You will definitely see this with shows containing the most polarized fanbases, i.e. Voltron, GoT, Star vs. Evil, where it’s arguable that the creators trying to put the themes over the writing crippled people’s interest when they actually pay attention to the writing.
That’s not to say themes aren’t important or shouldn’t be important to you, but they should be the shadow that comes with the walking product, not the partner giving you the directions shoulder to shoulder as it goes along. Avatar The Last Airbender certainly doesn’t get the praise that it gets based on the themes alone, but of how well-written the characters were, how they’ve grown, what were their thought processes, and so forth; people love understanding the logic behind writing. Lily understands this. But on the flip side, I’m willing to bet she’ll use the themes as a defense to me saying Captain Marvel is objectively bad in terms of its writing quality. Whether it be their sacred cow or something they want destroyed, themes can be the go-to when trying to convince people that their judgement is concrete, when in reality it’s interpretive.
Furthermore, saying “No criticism should leave out the themes” is the “you have to have a very high IQ” of criticism standards. Truthfully when it comes to objective criteria, the story structure makes the themes, not the other way around. As such what you experience from a movie/show can be different to how the movie actually turned out. Best example would be a look into Armound White, a staple critic infamous for his contrarian takes. Every movie considered great is bad, vice versa, with some even transcending his scale. For a perspective, this man thought Into the Spiderverse was bad and a majority of video games, aside from Detective Pikachu were great, so take that what you will. But if you read some of his reviews, it’s less about what the movie did and more of what it supposedly stands for; His Spiderverse review mostly talks about how, thematically, it’s indoctrinating people into the MCU’s commercial process:
Whoever says Into the Spider-Verse is about “fun” doesn’t understand movies or anything about how 21st-century media operates — particularly the exhausting Marvel franchise. Millennials, and others, delude themselves by accepting market promotion as part of a larger cultural narrative. [...] Marvel and Sony gamble on Miles to meet the identity-politics fashion that now dominates contemporary culture. (Consider that Spider-Man’s example overwhelms Miles’s school assignment, Dickens’s Great Expectations.) But this is not just freewheeling, imaginative, and progressive capitalism, as in Spielberg’s Ready Player One; it’s the worst social, artistic, ethnic, and political engineering.“ [Armound White, December 14, 2018, this is what most of his reviews sound like, FYI]
Now say what you will about White, his way of reviewing is remotely consistent and can somewhat be a nice measurement to what’s considerably good and bad. You can see his review of Man of Steel and take away that it probably isn’t the “Godfather of Superhero Films” or a movie like Suicide Squad where it’s terrible enough that he couldn’t defend it, all the while mostly discussing the themes in lieu of any concrete happenings from the movie. The same can’t be said for most others when they surely want something beaten to the ground or elevated as great. The standards you might have for one thing can be bent to things you like and don’t like if you so choose; warping the context around your idea. As such, you’ll generally find most wanting to enjoy their own perspective while telling others they’re incorrect for having theirs. But how might this collate with Lily’s case for SU bearing the theme of nazi apologia or redeeming the space nazis, making the show pretty bad? Well...
Sympathy and Redemption vs The Deconstruct of Viewpoints
I won’t deny that Lily’s point about the show bringing in the Diamonds as an overarching threat is touchy given what they’ve done and who they are vs how their character was slowly revealed. It was bold thinking that the Sugar gang were gonna offer these characters redemption or show them in a sympathetic light. But I’ll say right now, and I’m talking to 2017 me as well, this is admittedly surface level.
To preface this, I’ll say that Lily’s point amounts to a lot of pattern recognition. This is something people who criticize with themes use and I’m not above that, as I will be doing that soon. Another thing is that in trying to argue Lily’s point, this is in no way trying to defend Steven Universe’s writing; it’s generally just setting some things straight.
With this said, one pattern that she brings up is that the portrayals of the Diamonds is essentially the show trying to make you feel sorry for them. In addition, with Steven being Pink Diamond, it’s trying to justify that without this factor in mind, the diamonds should’ve been killed because they’re far from redemption or sympathy in any light.
Now, I won’t say the part of Steven being Pink is wrong because this opened a disconnect of Steven having to be the mouthpiece for someone that should’ve been alive to give her perspective to characters that deserve it, i.e. the Diamonds and the gems. In fact, Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz is honestly the main problem with this show as a whole and I could into extreme length as to why but I digress. But,,,, on talk of woobifying the fascists, there is a contradiction afoot. With this contradiction comes a question: are the Diamonds ever shown to be in the right?
Weird question but this is where I’ve noticed a contextual pattern that Homeworld’s ideology is always called out on its bullshit, understanding the fact that they’re truly nothing without their sense of superiority. This is with Peridot calling out Yellow Diamond after commemorating how much she respected her before. Blue Diamond getting a fucking farm and a hand dropped on her after stubbornly touting her grief over everyone. And in the end where all three diamonds, including the literal White Supremacist, fall before the fact that everything they thought was right turned out to be crap. Steven does lend a hand to these characters, but it is never shown that he or the show actively justifies their behavior, regardless of their power/status. If anything, the show constantly makes Steven look better than the Diamonds by comparison, while looking like he’s trying to reach common ground with them.
Heck, I’ll go to where Lily talks of Uncle Andy and his episode in that part. There’s no denying that Andy’s retorts were highly xenophobic, but even when Steven and the others try to be chummy with him through dinner, the last third of the episode mostly involves celebrating each others’ presence without him, not once trying to bring him in on the conversation, not even Greg who’s actual family with him. This results in Andy storming off and later on admit that he’s rightfully at fault for not being susceptible to change, and this admittance comes before Steven offers him the opportunity to connect with the family more. Not saying this couldn’t have been tuned better, but we can’t deny that the show doesn’t tolerate attitudes like Andy’s and thus shows them that they’re wrong before Steven offers them the chance to better their worldview, unless you’re Kevin but he’s an outlier all things considered.
And in turn, this also brings in the pattern that the villains don’t submit so easily. The gems had to fight off the Diamonds before Steven got through to them, and even then it took some time before they actually sided with Steven over White Diamond. White Diamond had to be subdued more than once just for Steven to get through to her. While these moments vary in logic and pacing, again thanks to the PD = RQ twist, the point nonetheless rings home that the show isn’t much sympathetic to the Diamonds as much as it’s intolerable towards their stance and reacts accordingly. The only time the Diamonds are ever in the right are when they acknowledge they’re wrong, playing to the theme that no one’s above a change in viewpoint. Say what you will about what happened, it’s at least reasonable to say the writers provided a serviceable story that benefited from not killing anybody (sort of) while giving the heroes a struggle to overcome.
As with redemption, and I’ve mentioned this before, Sugar hasn’t actually redeemed them and the show more or less understands this. Change of viewpoint is one thing, but if they haven’t sacrificed anything beyond their ego or high ground, can’t really count that as them going through a redemption arc because they haven’t really given up anything sincerely valuable of theirs. Given that the show isn’t over yet, it would be premature to say that they’re in the clear and can’t be given time to repent heavily for their past. Just saying, for somebody that sought objectivity in my criticisms of SU for a while now, I’m actually willing to give Sugar a chance to finish her story before vilifying her intentions unlike some. And if I’m proven wrong, I will be happy to admit that.
Now taking everything into account, it’s reasonable to say that the show wanted to give the Diamond more dimension, make ‘em less like Disney villains. And it’s also fair to say that the show stumbles in conveying this rationally given the prefacing condition I’ve mentioned before. But is this prevalent theme of trying to make the space nazis sympathetic applicable to saying SU is objectively bad? Well, if you ignore most of the context, this is a probability, otherwise this is very discrepant to what actually happens in the story give or take its few hiccups. We can say Sugar’s development of the Diamonds comes from a fascination of trying to redeem them, hence trying to sympathize with space nazis, but given what we know and what we don’t know yet, I can’t help but say that this is trying to make it deeper than knowingly. Or if so, the writers are doing it at quite a distance, so to speak.
“”The Argument””
Unfortunately, herein lies a problem I’ve noticed with how criticism is made and handled. Lily and others like her can be pretty inconsistent with their arguments that they resort to inventing quotes and problems to make their arguments look irrefutable and their opponents look crazier by comparison. Not saying Sugar hasn’t flubbed up a few times in the past with SU, but Lily is giving her a lot of credit for something she generally invented herself, only to then say Sugar is remarkably unaware of everything she’s doing like she’s Mr. Magoo. Doesn’t help that the woman offers no citations or references to Sugar providing insight on her intentions or goals in the show, no actual commentary on the matter even when such could exist, to actually make her stance objective. She just says that this theme for SU exists, ergo the show is bad for it... Do you now see what I mean when I say that themes aren’t the end all, be all to objective criticism? Especially for a show like Steven Universe where it can either be analyzed incrementally or as a whole when completed? It’s this dishonesty that stifles genuine criticism because whether or not you're in the right of something, this meshing of objective and subjective takes leads to misinformation and the lack of fair discussion because you can stubbornly keep to your stance. And for the fact that her video’s ratings are disabled and the comment section bears nothing but complete agreements with her, I doubt this troubles her.
Again, won’t deny that the Diamonds aren't fascistic in their character, nor am I saying that the story couldn't have been done better with them, but it should be said that this nebulous vitriol towards Sugar, regardless of her executive position, has lead to a far-fetched presumption that I doubt barely anybody is truly behind other than those who just agree with her. Yet this is what she considers the crux of her stance, an idea that hasn't been denied or accepted by anybody important other than herself. Or better yet a stance she finds irrefutable when in reality, it's a subjective opinion that nobody can or has to really deny unless they actually think about it hard enough. I won’t take away this theme, but if Lily’s seriously believing that this makes Steven Universe garbage... well, she is wrong. And you know what? That’s okay.
The Conclusion
With all this, like I said before, this was less about disproving Lily’s point and more about understanding my old perspective. Cuz when I think about it, critiquing media like SU among others helped me understand what I truly like, differentiate between what’s entertaining and what’s good, generally without having to be interpretive or try to make every argument I have “just my opinion.“ I’ve become more... aware of how see things and I’d say that’s better than trying to stick with a single viewpoint. Doesn’t mean I’m critical towards everything I watch, just feels like I’ve grown thoughtful in how I consume media.
Steven Universe is not a show I find to be a favorite anymore, but through many thoughts and realizations, it’s a show I’ll gladly stay tuned to because it is entertaining and makes me think about it in a nuanced way. Again, this response was in no way an active defense towards this show, but overall, I’ll say the show deserves a better look through than this, so to speak.
WARNING: Your ankles and wrists are the key between you exercising your limbs, work out carefully. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy.
The Downward Spiraling Days of a Demon Hunter
You know I hate that whenever I see Gary in anything, I immediately think of Spongebob’s pet. But this Gary is a hero of legend. A chosen one destined to slay the demonic souls of which seek to take over the world. A balding middle aged man that’s been doing it for many years and just wants to retire. Yeah, that sounds like a Gary, reminding me of a Bojack and especially a Rick. But is this like the other two, or does this monster filled dramedy have something else to say?
Besides being pro-tentacle
Well, for starters, how it looks and plays out works wonders for this show. Even with its pretty good well paced action and emotive characters, everything’s jagged, rough looking, simple, mostly dreary, essentially giving us Gary’s outlook on life. Contrast this to Rick and Morty and Bojack, where it tries to be bright and colorful before crushing you with the harshness of reality, the mood for Gary’s world is provided from the get go and settles you in immediately with its characters and humor.
While having a better edge than other shows I’ve seen
Speaking of humor, I’m gonna say it, this does the improv better than R&M. Like, it doesn’t feel like Gary or the others is hurriedly trying to put a specific joke together like Rick does most of the time. The dialogue feels natural; awkward yet casual, again complimentary to Gary and the office lifestyle he’s essentially stuck in. It helps that the characters of this world are enjoyable while essentially being a thorn in Gary’s side.
Bloody Mary honestly being my favorite in the show
And Gary, having the voice of Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Duckman fused, makes him a very pathetic, entertaining, and empathetic character to watch. He’s a character that was thrown into a life he didn’t know he didn’t want, and his nihilistic nature feels justified in the fact that, unlike Rick who can do whatever he wants with his life (but apparently isn’t smart enough to fix his life), Gary doesn’t have an alternate failsafe to his story and has to continuously face hardships that he has no choice in confronting. While he is the chosen one, he’s the tragic hero in every definition.
And really as a magical girl anime, it works
And really, the best thing about this series is that, with 16 episodes, it feels complete. All the characters got their moments, even the smaller roles (again, Bloody Mary was great), Gary’s character and story arc was completed in the most depressing yet funny way, and with each episode being 11 minutes or so, binge watching this again felt satisfactory. A couple episodes I felt ended too abrupt, but that’s a insignificant negative really. In the back of my mind, I wanna shout “SEASON 2!” but really, I’m fine either way. This series knew what it wanted to do, did it, then went off to drink and celebrated its accomplishment. Really, I respect this series and I genuinely consider this sleeper hit a great adult cartoon. So you know what?
WARNING: Putting an onion in your sock before bed is pretty beneficial to your sinuses. Also, the title doesn’t have enough words. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy.
Swing, Strike, and Stand True as a Princess
I’ll set this straight ⁽ᶦⁿᵇ⁴ ᵃⁿⁿᵒʸᶦⁿᵍ ᵀᵘᵐᵇˡʳ ʲᵒᵏᵉ⁾ while it ain’t late, never watched the original She-Ra or He-Man. I’m familiar with it but I never saw it and really, I don’t plan to, so consider this as fresh of a review as possible. Beforehand my interests in this admittedly went on a roller coaster from worried to (-_-) but now that it’s finally out, it’s safe to say that I’m impressed with it overall.
Especially Lorraine Toussaint’s voice that’s as strong as ever
Truthfully... there are some setbacks. First hand, I don’t like Bow. I don’t hate him, tho I’m not gonna explain myself, that’s just me. Character designs aside, the look of it all can range from good to noticeably bland or static; the coloring was good, and the animation can be expressive, but there wasn’t any location or background that stood out to me.
But really, and I figured this would happen, this series suffers from 1st Season Syndrome (see Voltron: LD and The Clone Wars series) where the setting up for later on gets in the way of just... having adventures. Doesn’t help that said princesses of power aren’t as present as they could’ve been. At the very least do what Sly 3 did and continuously increase the group so they can expand the character dynamic to eventual moments you might’ve never expected to come about while still giving focus to our treacherous trio instead of sandbagging them to one episode or a couple moments for each afterward.
That’s the power of an ensemble
And it also doesn’t help that this honestly simple prologue of a season has to add (some good) narrative complications to make it more grandiose in the inevitable long run, when it can be generally superfluous because you should figure out what’ll go down in the last episode from the get go. I mean, you’d think that with only 13 episodes, shows like this would make the most of their universe and the time, especially on their first crunch. I’ve grown tired of serialized stories so I enjoyed the episodes that amounted to a simple fetch quest, but the looming thought of “Hey, there’s an overarching plot to be had. Lore and stuff.” is present in almost every episode and it gets tiring. Hell, this makes Hordak kind of an afterthought because he’s basically the series big looming evil guy that contemplates in the shadows with machinations, subterfuge and then a big reveal where he’s like, “HA HA, Remember me?” and somebody’ll go like “NOOO!” Just saying, hopefully in the later seasons they’ll twist the story a bit without going off rails, with more episodic adventures, but needless to say I was given little reason to care about the bigger picture.
Then again, the characters were great and honestly what makes this series work. If anything, the one thing that stood out best in my eyes, one that many may agree, was Adora and Nyantra respectively. Or really...
The Johnathan and Dio of this series
Yeah, I figured a JOJO mention could fit well into this pretty weeb enough series, but the clash and story of Adora and Catrara I can say uniquely resembles what Phantom Blood was for its main rivals; two close people, born under the same house, part ways with different outlooks and yet are bound by a string of fate to clash until one stands victorious. One possessing a more valiant will to do good, the other with a domineering ambition to just come out on top after feeling stripped of an ideal life. One obviously way more interesting than the other. Like JOJO, their dichotomy is subtle, they are both a strength and a weakness to each other and themselves, and She Ra takes it a step above that by putting both characters under the same initial condition, making the tragedy of their battle pretty poignant and outstanding in my eyes. Wish the same could be said for most else in this season, but oh well.
Just kidding, guys, Glimmer too was an outstanding highlight of this season (like I knew best character would be)
So, as this series provided quite a bit of a divide, with the oldie fans crying for times of yore while tumblrites were on this like debt to a liberal arts major. As for me... this was an enjoyable series regardless of nostalgia goggles or the shipping bombardment. It is campy, colorful, kinda dumb, imaginative, much like an 80s cartoon was back then. It played out like a modern take on a cartoon based on a product from a time where the Rubix Cube got a show of its own. I can’t tout this as the best reboot I’ve seen in my life, not yet, but at the very least I say it did its job, fair and true. All in all, I wanted a series about fighting princesses and I got what I was hoping for.
3.5 out of 5, an uneven yet inviting & colorful romp of a time
