So out of curiousity I searched up the lyrics to the 2012 TMNT and ROTTMNT and compared what each song said about each of the turtles and how they connect to each other
Ralph is pretty simple, talks about his agressiveness and personality. How he’s always ready for a fight (Rise) and how he has the most attitude on the team (2012).
Both songs literally just talk about how Donnie’s a big machine nerd. (2012: Donnie is a fellow, has a way with machines. Rise: Donnie rocks machines) To be fair at a first glance Donnie’s obsession with technology is what majorly sets him apart from the other turtles, it’s what every non-fan knows about him. That and ‘oh he’s the purple one, why is a boy wearing purple it’s such a girly color blah blah blah’ can it.
Leo was a bit hard to translate into one character, since each Leo acts majorly different considering 2012 Leo was the leader and forced into all this serious stuff and part of a quadruplet and had all of these expectations while Rise Leo is younger than Ralph (the previous leader) so he wasn’t. But basically both have the tendency to do whatever it takes/go to the extreme for their own purpose regardless of the consequences, whether it’s out of entertainment and silly antics or it’s to save their brothers. (2012: Does anything it takes to get his ninjas through. Rise: Leo’s making a scene.) To put it simply: sheer determination/ambition.
Then there’s Mikey. His defining feature? He’s the feral one. The Jack-of-all-Trades. He just does shit. That’s it, he’s just absolutely crazy, I don’t what to tell you. See, I would say childish, but they are all in fact, teenagers (as the first T in TMNT says) and babied/seen as childish by the other turtles, so he has an excuse. (2012: Michelangelo, he’s one of a kind, and you know just where to find him when it’s party time. Rise: Mikey’s got mad skills).
In conclusion: fuck man I didn’t know I just wanted to do this out of curiosity. Both iterations of the characters are pretty faithful to the baseline of them in general? And those who say otherwise are just being dramatic and salty and most likely hating on one of the versions? Yeah, that works.
Re-listening to the songs in Dance with Devils and wow as cringy and 2nd hand embarrassment I get from it, the songs slap. There's just something about really cringy, spine shriveling, wall slapping, salt eating shows having so much charm. I love it when all the characters are being their most unapologetic cringy self and singing their feelings in a simple, yet complex way to show their motivations, personality, and just how much of a side/main character they are.
All in all I just like songs with plot
Kakusei no Air - No lyrics in this one darn, oh well. Anyways I love how dramatic it feels. This song really just gives me the urge to be a pretty boy. Ayo the only one she actually danced with was Rem. And now she's opening the door to a new world.
Kaze no Yokan - "I'm a normal high school girl" I'm sorry, but you're not. I love that this song shows that she's not completely naïve, but she does still keep that hope of having a fairytale love cause honestly, sometimes having a fairytale like romance sounds cool. So yeah among some other stuff, MC wants to have a relationship with someone with genuine love between the two.
Labyrinth of Depravity - Omg I love the start of the song. THIS GIVES ME SUCH GENDER ENVY! I LOVE THE WAY IT SHOWS THEIR PERSONALITIES!!!!!!!!! OMGGGG I LOVE THE PART WHERE THEY GO "We are Shiko Academy's Student Council of the third library" cause that part just sounds cool af, and the way they're posing on the stairs makes me wanna pose like a pretty boy who'll never get the girl. And I love the glass apple and the way it broke. Since the dudes called themselves the forbidden flower garden it reminds me of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, so Rem taking a bite of the glass apple could be a way of showing that his character arc will lead him to learning more about himself, even if he finds it uncomfortable, to the point that he regards his feelings as "forbidden knowledge" and do his best to lock it up- I have no idea where I'm going with this. Anyways glass apple is cool and I like the sound effect when it shattered.
My Name is Rem Arlond - This one is so funny to me. He's just standing around and ordering his enemies around with such grace and poise, showing that he's the one usually in power and will him announcing his name is his way of saying "remember this name because I'm above you" or smth like that. Also his fire flower was cool.
Yuuwaku❤amor - I love the imagery in this one. The chains are meant to be his webs because anyone chained up his essentially caught up in his web of lust(?). He's selling his love as a paradise, but they're dancing in a cage. His love would only hold MC, and any other women, back and they wouldn't notice because they're dancing in that cage enjoying their life together. Too much to notice the problem with his love.
Kimi Dake no Shugo Kishi - And I love this song. I will never root for this guy as a LI, but his song is just so full of love and devotion. The most pure(ish) and genuine out of all the others. Also it sounds nice in general... WTF HIS VA IS WATARU HATANO?? NO WONDER I LIKE HIS VOICE THE MOST! ITS FULL OF FOND MEMORIES!!! I can't believe it took me a moment to recognize it! The line "Putting my all into atoning for the mark of sin that flows through my body" + the imagery from the previous scene of the cross's shadow over his eye is so good to me. THIS SONG IS SO GOOD I SWEAR I DON'T SUPPORT THIS DUDE, BUT I LOVE HIS SONG SO MUCH!
VANQUISH - I love this dude. He's so silly. His song really being only about him, and what MC can give to him. Also him kicking the screen was funny. The whole song? rap? feels like a daydream where he's talking out loud. Anyways I love this dude, he's funny.
Pitiful Lullaby - The imagery in this one is cool. Him calling her a pitiful bunny girl really fits his very hunter like vibe. Cause he's literally creeping on her, but darn I love the chorus. So what I'm getting is that he likes the way he feels around her, and wants to keep that feeling and the best way to do that is lock it down in an "eternal sleep" where they can always dream of it together and it'll never change cause they're asleep and change can't happen when you're asleep and never do something to change your situation (cause you're asleep).
I Am a Faithful Dog - The dogs are so funny. But the religious imagery is so interesting to me, cause he seems to be Cerberus the loyal dog of Hades, so what does that mean. Oh fudge I love the part leading up to the chorus. He also seems like a big liar. Cause like he shows himself as a cute lil Pomeranian (I think), but his shadow is him being Cerberus, so maybe he's tryna lure MC into trusting him with his very cute and fluffy look and saying he's her trusted servant. It's always the small dogs... The end is especially weird cause he kept talking about how he is willing to serve and be devoted to her, but then he's like "Trust in Cerberus and devote yourself to me". Really changed up who the will be doing the devoting huh.
Someday Towards The Place We Saw In A Dream - Ngl I kind of find this song boring, just cause it's not my type, but the lyrics are intersting. They both say that they're in each other's eyes so they def like each other, and even admit that what they feel towards each other is love. The imaginary land they're in seems to be a paradise to them because there's nothing there to remind them of their destiny.
KETTO ~Unyielding Conflict~ - I love the duet between the two dudes who feel the strongest towards MC. The fight scene is especially nice. Like they're fighting each other, but all they can think about is MC, cause they're not just fighting each other, but they're fighting to show that what they feel is no joke and will not allow anyone to get in their way. Also love the part where they sing together.
EMO LIAR - Love it when the home boys know you're deeply in love with the girl you "don't care about and are only after because of her musty old book", and don't buy into your denial, and are like "hey we're competing for her love too, but just admit you love her loser". Love that they just sit on a throne that looks like a torture device which is very fitting considering that they're devils and the chain fence that was put up in the beginning is being blown up into pieces as Rem is forced to face his feelings towards MC. No seriously I love that they're literally calling out Rem's lies, and Rem acting dumb. Ohohhohohohoh I love it when they take turns calling him out while sitting on their weird throne.
Bride of Darkness - Love it when your suitors appear to save you and just start listing the things they love about you, while there's a knife to your throat and they're outnumbered. I also noted that when they start listing stuff about her it's to show just how innocent and untainted she is, compared to them, the devis (plus an exorcist and a dog). I also love the part where snake dude is like "don't disregard how I feel towards you, just cause it seems out of character and you're not ready to have your image of me change", cause like it really isn't like him at all. In his character song it was only about him and what MC could bring to him if he "won", and in most stories the receiver of the confession is like super bewildered and say "it's not like you at all", cause in their mind that one person is and acts a certain way, so when they aren't following the "rules" that were set in their mind it's a very jarring experience and they instinctively try to separate themselves from this moment by disregarding the confessor, but Snake saying not to say that is him saying he wants to be taken seriously. I also haven't seen the anime in a very long time and will not watch it so I have no memory of their romantic development, which I'm pretty sure is close to zero so I'm just thinking of this scenario as a separate thing. And webs saying he'll never let MC go and always cherish her is a nice nod to the fact that he's a flipping spider dude and calls her his "butterfly", so if she were to entangle herself with him she'll never be able to break free. Which is also why he says he won't care if it breaks her. As for Crow I don't really know what to say for his part? Like I'm guessing he spends most of his time sleeping, cause of his character song, and is very detached from other people as well as his emotions, so when the idea that someone who wormed their way into his heart could be taken away forever he feels sorrow, but just doesn't know it yet cause he hasn't experienced it enough to be able to identify it, and also cause he hasn't yet seen the impact she had on him, so to him he hasn't changed at all, but did change. Or smth like that. I also love that they're all holding out their hands towards her, another way of telling her to pick who she wants to be with forever, but like, she's being held hostage so she can't take their hand physically. Only with her mind will she be able to do that.
Crazy About You - Ah MC's singing with the two dudes who have the strongest feelings towards her. Red with him saying time and time again how he's willing to die for her, and Rem being Rem. And omg I'm getting sad for Red even though I never rooted for him at all and will never root for him, he's happy that she's happy and wants to protect her happiness just like Carton from Tale of Two Cities! Him calling her love with Rem "her pair of wings" cause their love will allow them to reach heights they never thought they could before and love itself is a very freeing emotion for the both of them I'd assume. And now they're singing their duet song again, and are literally doin da wedding vows. Omg I just realized that they're both blue. NOw MC has to choose if she wants to continue being human or a devil. To be with the person she loves or stay with her family, and I love that the spotlight is literally on her. YES CHOOSE YOUR OWN DESTINY GURLLLL! AND THE SUN RISING TO SHOW A NEW DAY/BEGINNING AND MAYHAPS AN DECISION??? YEAHHH SHE CHOSE HER HUMANITY! HE GAVE HER A SMALL CROWN AND DISAPPEARS CAUSE SHE MADE HER CHOICE AND THEY KISS ONE LAST TIME (and maybe the only time I don't remember).
Mademo★iselle - HOLY FLIP I FORGOT ABOUT THIS SONG! I love the circus theme. No idea what the lyrics are. Ayo MC is an Alice in Wonderland + Rabbit mix kind of outfit. Cause she was thrown into a strange world, and is still fairly innocent.
So Oscar can now use Ozma’s magic at will from here on. But, now I’m wondering what physical change will happen with Oscar’s body now because of it.
You see the “False God” or Ozma’s first reincarnation (whichever you prefer to refer him as) eventually earns a splash of green in his eyes when he was using his magic.
Then we have our Headmaster of Beacon, Professor Ozpin having white hair, but dark colored eyebrows. And it’s not a sign of age per say when looking back on the novel After The Fall, there are implications that imply Ozpin is a lot younger than we assumed, it’s speculated he may be in his mid thirties at least. He also is shown that he knows how to use magic when he fought against Cinder.
So far it’s ether hair or eye color that gets altered so that begs the question about which of Oscar’s will eventually get changed over the course of the show now that he’s able to use magic like his predecessors if my theory is proven correct…..
Think about it. Everyday, from dawn to dusk, it's nothing but training, training, training, and not just physical. He has to know everything about Norta and its neighboring kingdoms BY HEART. He also has to know how to keep Reds in line, how to keep the Silvers from uprising(from what we saw before the Queenstrial), the status of the soldiers on the front, the past, current, and future heads of houses high and low, and literally TOO much more. It probably doesn't help that the only people he has are his father, who is an alcoholic and overlooks his second son and lower classed people, his stepmother, who hates him, his brother, who is faking his affection over half of the time, whether Cal knows it or not, his uncle, who I imagine is a good father figure to him even though Tibe would try to keep Cal away from Julian because of the family resemblance, and any red servants or healers or nurse maids that looked after him as he grew because like hell Elara would want anything to do with him.
He's also the general of the army, one that commands and fights with his people, more the latter than former. My brother served in the army and I can only imagine what that must've been like for him to have to literally go through Hell TWICE. The first being as he served out of the country and the second being when he got back home.
Imagine Cal having to deal with his own PTSD from the front or on the battle field in general and not even having a chance to rest or even take a chance to breathe because he's still got training to do in order to become the future king and HE CANNOT FAIL OR SLIP UP AT ALL.
Want one more thing that damned Cal?
Evangeline Samos.
Imagine a teenage Cal seeing all these cute girls, Red and Silver, and talking to one of them, awkwardness, embarrassment, and all, and even getting a date from her. Just one date, an hour and a half at most before he is escorted back to the palace, where he is either told about or is reminded of his intended.
Even worse, imagine him being between 6 and 9 or 10 years old and he is learning something from his father when a servant or whatever reports to Tibe that Volo Samos has agreed to the king's terms and the staged victory of the next Queenstrial. (Come on. You know damn well that they HAD to have staged Evangeline's entrance in the Queenstrial.) Cal gets confused and asks all cute and naively, "What's Queenstrial?" Tibe explains it and forces a smile as he tells Cal he will be marrying someone that he and Lord Samos agreed upon. Cal gets confused and asks if that's how and why he married Elara, as she won the Queenstrial, asking if he married her out of her winning rather than because it was his choice and he loved her. Tibe affirms that he does(NOT) love Elara(not because Cal is a child right now), and affirms that Cal will love his betrothed just as much, if not more. Julian later explains that there isn't much of a choice in Queenstrial, and there's no choice at all for Cal because of Tibe's previous marriage and the swearing of his sons to Queenstrial to make up for it.
Imagine Cal, a 6-10 year old learning he has no choice in who he gets to love and/or marry. Imagine him seeing it as unfair because he doesn't know who Evangeline is and probably doesn't want to know because she's of House Samos, whose patriarch at the moment is Volo Samos, who is a really scary guy. It's also not fair because Maven gets a choice while he doesn't.
I could go on, but you get my point.
It's not all bad for him since he can escape through reading, training, and building in the garage, but that does not change the path laid out for him or the choices made for him.
Maven and Mare give him shit for not being able to make choices.
Well, no DUH, he's had almost every choice taken away from and made for him since day one and never had a say in it
This has been my somewhat analysis of Cal. I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for coming to my TED talk.
