seen from Japan
seen from United Kingdom
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Latvia
seen from United States
seen from Japan
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from China
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seen from Libya
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When marinette sees cat noir 😤😂
(if you know the song yknow)
Also new video up now 🖤🩷
I'm not surprised that ZAG is underpaying voice actors.
I never liked Jeremy Zag and I hate that he has a control over miraculous ladybug. A lot of show's problems can be traced back to Zag.
If it feels like the show is designed to sell toys and merch rather than to tell a story, that's because it is. Zag has focused on one thing and one thing only from one. His own profit.
The special episodes are supposed to function as backdoor pilots for potential spin offs. They have a higher budget but they don't affect the show at all. They are barely canon.
Zag is also putting a lot of money into producing his movies that's not even canon. Thomas Astruc isn't even involved in writing. That movie is not going to add anything to the show. All its going to do is give Zag more money.
The show doesn't repeat villains because the writers are lazy but rather because they don't have the budget to have new villains. If anything the writers are forced to work with the same villains.
All the leaks, episodes airing out of order, the bad animation quality, all of this is Zag's fault. He owns the show. He is responsible for anything and everything that's wrong with the show and he above anyone else should be held responsible for it.
My point in saying all of this is Zag has been greedy for years. Because of it, the show and the people working on this show have been suffering. The voice actors deserved better. Animators at SMAG deserved better.
So maybe just maybe instead of nitpicking the show, complaining about continuety mistakes or bad animation, insted of hating the writers and DQ and other animation studios can we focus on the root of all the problems with show?
I know realistically the fandom will not be able to change much if at all. But at the very least we should blame the person who is actually in charge of the show and responsible for it instead of everyone but him.
“Hey Arnold!” and “Miraculous!” parallels
Ever have an idea for a post that you take forever to get around to because 2020 is
actively
trying
to kill you?!
Welp, that’s me. I mean, uh, this is that post.
Long post is long and I don’t like cuts cuz I’ve lost a few posts in the past using them. Please filter the tag “long post” I use it for walls of text like these.
So there’s this show from my childhood called Hey Arnold!
Having been on air before I had cable (I and my unsupervised brothers and sisters spent our childhood watching Jerry Springer and Maury because there was literally nothing else on our cheap little TV. How hilarious is that?) I didn’t really have much of an experience with Hey Arnold! aside from brief little glances at it when i visited a friends home or the rare occasion where they showed cartoons at school. By the time I got satellite, the show was no longer on the air save for some late night reruns and the Christmas special which aired in December along with other Nickelodeon Christmas episodes (THE best Christmas episode EVER btw).
Really I couldn’t remember much about it until hearing about the Jungle Movie finally getting a release date (a total flop but at least its no cliff hanger) and decided to re-watch the entire series in preparation for said movie.
By which point I had discovered another show—Miraculous.
At first glance the two shows have absolutely nothing in common. Miraculous being a French-born mahou shoujo-esque CGI superhero TV series about a couple of middle schoolers who regularly battle a walking peppermint-frappucino-looking psychopath. Hey Arnold! being a more realistic children’s sitcom about a young football-headed boy who deals out humanitarian aid in the form of advice and simple good deeds to his neighbors, classmates and friends.
In terms of setting, logic, and animation the two series are as different as night and day.
So imagine my pleasant surprise to discover a whole post’s worth of parallels shared between the two shows???
And here they are in no particular order:
1)Arnold’s Parents/Adrien’s mom
Prior to the start of Miraculous, Emilie Agreste disappeared under mysterious circumstances leaving her family behind. Later on it was revealed that she was in fact sleeping (dead?) in a glass coffin beneath the Agreste mansion--unbeknownst to Adrien, or anyone else in Paris save for Gabriel and Nathalie.
In a similar fashion, Arnold’s parents, Miles and Stella, also disappeared prior to the start of Hey Arnold! and like Emilie were always referred to as “missing” rather than “dead.”
The Jungle Movie later revealed Miles and Stella weren’t dead, but like Emilie appears to be doing in her coffin, they were sleeping. Having caught a bout of sleeping sickness (apparently they do not need to be hooked up to IVs or other medical devices while in a comatose state cuz fuck logic) they simply needed their orphaned son to come and cure them with the help of the magical golden heart Helga provided him with.
Perhaps Mari holds the key to waking Emilie? That would be nice to see.
Not the miraculous of course--but some other key.
Although personally I’m hoping for a hardcore, devastating ending like Emilie dying, Gabriel going to prison where he belongs, and Adrien leaving the country for a bit until the second Hawk Moth shows up because I just like devastating cliffhangers and angst and being in utter turmoil over fictional people. But that’s just me.
2) Their best friends are dating
Smol parallel here: Arnold’s best friend Gerald and Helga’s Best friend Phoebe wind up together in The Jungle Movie after being imprisoned together by Lasombra. Similar to how Nino and Alya ended up together after being imprisoned by Ladybug (for their protection, of course).
3) The Bag of Money Episode/ The Ladybug episode
OOh boy both of these episodes make me rage.
Some context about the Bag of Money episode: Arnold and his friends Gerald and Sid find a random bag of money containing almost $4000. Sid is ecstatic and wants to split the money evenly between the three boys, but Arnold worries it could just be lost and convinces them to let him, Arnold, take the money to the police station. On the way he accidentally switches the bag with another one that is identical and contains a bunch of useless junk, and when he tries to explain what happened to his friends they don’t believe him because their bag of money was accidentally taken by an “old lady with pink hair and a peg leg.”
Arnold’s a good boy and he’s telling the truth--but the truth sounds crazy, even to my ears. Sid accuses Arnold of stealing the money and spreads lies to their classmates, whom Arnold has spent the ENTIRE SERIES helping in some form or fashion. Despite everything he’s done for them though, the vast majority of the class come to believe Arnold is a thief. Even Gerald, Arnold’s closest friend, nearly believes Sid over Arnold but eventually comes to Arnold’s defense. The other kids (save for Helga who doesn’t really make an appearance this episode) gang up on Arnold, but thankfully the old lady with pink hair and a peg leg shows up with an officer and together they explain the bag of money is now at the lost and found where it will remain and if gone unclaimed will be returned to Arnold, Gerald and Sid.
Pretty much everything is resolved and things return to normal between the kids.
But I hate this episode. I hate this episode so, so much. Arnold has spent the entire series helping these people out in some form or fashion. Literally thats the entire show. And after everything he’s done for them they’re so. Quick. To. Turn. On. Him.
Sound familiar???
4) Hidden Personality vs. Surface Personality
I do not refer to the cruddy “true selves” thing half the Miraculous fandom believes in. Depending on one’s individual circumstances, environment and how comfortable they are, said person’s behavior can fluctuate or even do a complete 180. This can be kinda frustrating when dealing on one’s own--”Who am I anyway? Is that me or is this me???”
It’s all you, fam.
Arnold and Helga are themselves too, no matter what metaphorical/actual mask they put on. There’s the side that everyone sees and then there’s the side almost no one sees. The hidden personality isn’t hidden due to a lack of trust, necessarily, but rather it is the result of retreating to their respective “shells”--ones which both Arnold and Helga were kinda punched, kicked, and shoved into.
Helga’s surface personality: Class bully, puts up a tough front, constantly torments Arnold because she can’t stand him and his niceness
Helga’s hidden personality: Poetic, abused and isolated, is in love with Arnold to the point of being obsessed with him and bullies him via surface personality in order to hide that fact
Of course Adrien is no bully--his reasons for not being the “cunning, funny, ultra-charming Chat Noir” 24/7 DOES have a lot to do with his toxic household, his dad, and the overwhelming expectations which are constantly smothering him as Adrien.
Adrien is a bug under a magnifying glass (or so he feels)
Chat Noir is a chance for a freedom.
Adrien’s surface personality was molded by his dad.
Helga’s is the result of her entire family. Her father is brash and loud, her mother is a confirmed alcoholic, her sister is a gifted prodigy, well-rounded and spends most of the series at university or elsewhere. Although her sister, Olga, has been shown to genuinely care for Helga, Olga is kinda the reason their parents neglect Helga. With their first daughter being the genius and prodigy she is, Helga’s parents poured all of their pride and affection and parental devotion onto her. Meanwhile Helga had to walk to pre-school alone. At four years old. In the rain. Not for the last time.
Which leads me to the next parallel.
5) Umbrella in the Rain
squeals in delight over this parallel<3<3<3
If you’ve never seen Hey Arnold! do yourselves a favor and watch this short little clip over how Helga and Arnold first met. If you have seen it, watch it anyway because it is the most adorable clip in the entire show.
Dr. Bliss: “So nobody’s ever noticed you?”
Helga: “...There was someone.”
The soft way Helga confesses that--you can actually hear how grateful she is to have such a tender memory from such a painful time.
In a similar manner, Adrien offered his umbrella to Marinette. Of course Adrien did it because Mari had to walk home in the rain and Arnold did it as a simple gesture of kindness (seeing as they were already at the school)--one of the many kind acts he displays throughout the series.
But just like Adrien needed unconditional love coming from somewhere, so did Helga. They were both denied this one common necessity which everyone else around them had. It’s not a lot to ask for, and they should’ve already had it coming from their families--but they didn’t.
And then, one rainy day, there it was--the unconditional love they needed.
6) Clinginess
What happens when you take someone, specifically a love-starved abused child from an unstable home environment--deprived of the one thing most crucial to their mental well-being--and miraculously provide them with that very necessity?
Clinginess.
I can’t really think of the correct word to describe this. “Clinginess” is pretty close to what I’m trying to describe, if not on point, so let’s go with that.
What I mean is Helga and Adrien both need Arnold and Ladybug respectively. That’s not a bad thing--it’s okay to need somebody else. What’s bad is hinging your entire being on this one connection. For if either kiddo were to be left behind they wouldn’t handle it very well.
It can’t really be helped with either Helga or Adrien. They didn’t really have the option to learn certain things and went deprived of unconditional love for such a long time. They’re kids--nine and fourteen/fifteen respectively. They’re not perfect and they’re traumatized for life. Being denied love from your family--the very people designed to love you--would do that to a person. Naturally they would cling to the first people to show up and provide them with the love they needed.
The Hey Arnold! wiki says this about Helga and Arnold’s relationship
Due to her unstable family upbringing where both her mother and father constantly neglect [Helga] and shower all of their attention onto Olga, leaving her deprived of the love and attention she needed growing up. On her way to preschool, Arnold helped her by keeping the rain off her with an umbrella and even complimented her on her hairbow. He even later gave her crackers during their snack time. Arnold's kindness and being the first person to notice her quickly caused Helga to transfer all of her love and attention to Arnold.
Of course Adrien’s tunnel vision isn’t quite as bad as Helga’s.
He treats his friends better.
He does love his father--
Even though his father is THE.
WORST.
PARENT.
EVER!!!
--because he’s Adrien and he’s just too precious a cinnamon roll and that’s still his dad even if the man does belong behind bars.
7) Unhealthy Obsession
I--
I...
Ugh. I am not going to delve too far into this. You’re just going to have to take my word for it. Helga’s creepy stalker behavior is a thousand times worse than Marinette’s. That pic up there of Helga hiding out in Arnold’s room watching him is pretty decent evidence to back up my argument, but it’s hardly the only example or even the worst incident.
Honestly I’m amazed at what Nicktoons were able to get away with in the late nineties/early 2000s.
But yes, Helga’s obsession with Arnold is rather unhealthy in the most extreme moments leading her to display behavior which is more often than not disturbing and concerning.
The Hey Arnold! wiki has this to say about Helga’s obsession with Arnold
Helga is possessive of her love for Arnold and thinks non-stop about him to the point of obsession. This is evidenced throughout the series by the many shrines and poems she makes of Arnold and of her frequent dramatic soliloquies about her love for Arnold.
Again--Mari isn’t as bad as all that. She’s a sweet girl with many healthy relationships in her life. She has ambition, creativity, and drive. But yeah she can be rather possessive of Adrien too, and that needs to stop. Like right now. Adrien doesn’t need another girl being possessive of him and thinking he’s perfect--he needs someone who acknowledges him as a flawed person and loves him despite that.
As for Helga and Arnold--show creator Craig Bartlett confirmed they are “made for each other” and wind up married with three kids, so I’m guessing Helga grew out of some of these bad habits? Or at least I hope so...
8) Helper/Humanitarian tendencies
As mentioned before, the plot of Hey Arnold! is more or less about Arnold helping people. As stated by Gerald in The Jungle Movie, “He’s a humanitarian! Like his parents!” Of course not every episode is about Arnold helping people. There are episodes devoted to supporting characters and they’re just as enjoyable and satisfying.
But as he is the titular character he spends a lot of time in the spotlight.
Remember that “best christmas special EVER” episode I mentioned before?
The reason it’s the best special, in my less than humble opinion, is due to a few things.
The special is not about Santa Claws. In fact, I don’t think he’s even mentioned, let alone shown and treated like an actual living character.
The focus on the entire episode is again on Arnold helping someone, but he doesn’t succeed. Not really.
The one who succeeded in helping someone was Helga, who accomplished the goal Arnold had set out to do.
The episode deals with some rather dark subject matter and is actually quite heartwarming as the “perfect present” Arnold was trying to provide someone with wasn’t something you can buy in the store
It’s also one of the episodes where Helga’s love for Arnold leaves her to do good and as her love for him is a secret, she expects nothing in return. She’s just happy to help him.
Kinda similar to Mari who is, as Adrien puts it in Mayura, “Our every day Ladybug.” Her kindness and devotion to helping others is what drives her as Ladybug and Marinette. It’s what brought Ivan and Mylene together. Is the reason Nathaniel and Mark now have a comic book together. And at the end of the day, that’s the reason for her strange behavior around Adrien--she wants to help him. Even if it’s just as a “good friend.”
9) There are two main characters
Although Hey Arnold! is technically a show about Arnold, one could argue it is just as much Helga’s story.
Similarly, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is named thusly in order to convey the fact that Adrien is just as much a main character as Marinette is.
Although I must say Hey Arnold! did a much better job of giving it’s co-character their dues. GIVE. ME. MORE. CHAT NOIR. FOCUSED. EPISODES. DAMMIT.
But, yes, in terms of screen time, Helga gets about as much as Arnold does. Her story and struggles were given just as much importance as Arnold’s and many people have even come to believe that the show is really about Helga. I’d say its about both of them.
10) Constantly bumping into each other
Granted this happens between Arnold and Helga more often than it does to the love square dorks.
But yes the two people meant to be together keep knocking into each other in their respective universes.
I forget who, but I remember reading that someone a while back theorized that this was the universe’s way of trying to push Arnold and Helga together. Kinda like the “Now kiss!” meme
Perhaps it’s the same for Adrien and Marinette?
;)
HOPE for ZAK STORM?!
Today Jeremy Zag posted on his Instagram account, that Zak Storms is popular on Netflix (at least in those countries where it's available)
Last time one of his posts was about Zak Storm was in June 2019, and that's a long time ago.
So for those fans waiting for Zak Storm season 2, this posts proves that they haven't forgotten about the series!
It's true that Zag heorez, Zag Toons, etc. are busy with Miraculous and other future series, but we shouldn't lose our HOPE!!
Zak Storm will continue!! I am sure of it!
@jey-chan @marinette-adrien
Fox lady 🦊❤
So, why hasn’t the fandom transformed this into a meme yet?
Also, I’m all about big sister Tikki keeping Marinette from dying of starvation every time she daydreams about Adrien.
I! Love! Chloe! I can’t wait for her character development !!!!! I love drawing her with freckles,,,,she looks so,,,cute?!?!?
When Marinette and Adrien start dating I have a feeling their classmates are going to give the same Ron and Kim are dating “About fucking time” reaction.
