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An update and question
Posted 9 years agoHello Everyone! How are you beautiful people? :)
I'm really sorry I've been pretty quiet. I am still writing my next chapter. It was proving a bit tough though, and exams in late May and early June slowed progress further. But worry not I will hope to have the next chapter up soon and continue this creative stream.
In the meantime, I'd like to ask you all something. You see I want to make another discussion journal, but I am unsure what to talk about. So I will turn to you all for advice. What do you think I should discuss?
Here are some possible things:
-the fantasy genre
-the sci-fi genre
-the 90s and nostalgia
-something else (suggestions?)
Thank you for reading this short journal, and have a nice night :)
I'm really sorry I've been pretty quiet. I am still writing my next chapter. It was proving a bit tough though, and exams in late May and early June slowed progress further. But worry not I will hope to have the next chapter up soon and continue this creative stream.
In the meantime, I'd like to ask you all something. You see I want to make another discussion journal, but I am unsure what to talk about. So I will turn to you all for advice. What do you think I should discuss?
Here are some possible things:
-the fantasy genre
-the sci-fi genre
-the 90s and nostalgia
-something else (suggestions?)
Thank you for reading this short journal, and have a nice night :)
Made a Twitter, but got a bit of a problem.
Posted 9 years agoHello all. I've recently made a Twitter account here:
https://twitter.com/AltalloWriter
But I have a bit of a problem; I don't really know what to do with it! I have commented on a few things and tried to find new people, but aside from that not much else. Feel free to poke me there if you like.
https://twitter.com/AltalloWriter
But I have a bit of a problem; I don't really know what to do with it! I have commented on a few things and tried to find new people, but aside from that not much else. Feel free to poke me there if you like.
A discussion (some possible sensitive subject ahead)
Posted 9 years agoHello everyone.
Lately I have been feeling rather down a few days ago because of a headaches here and there. I won't go into details or point accusing fingers at people, because that's just immature and only causes more grief and I'll try to keep this journal neutral and calm. But it has gotten me thinking about how people treat each other, especially on FA.
I've encountered a lot of people here, some great, some bad....or are they? We seem to love to slap the labels of good and bad a lot when in truth we're all equally good and bad, it seems our opinions are easily swayed. I bring this up because for a while now I've been moping a lot on Skype about falling out with people, rushing headlong into a spiral of despair and paying too much on what other people thought instead of getting on with my own projects and progress. In the process I grew more aggressive and, quite honestly, scary.
That all said some of the people who started this were quite spiteful, mostly the types who hide behind a pile of mass of art and overly perfect characters to try and make themselves look big, kind of like buying a Lamborghini. I've been called 'too innocent' at one point for not staring at pictures of giant wangs and not making comments about banging characters, which is odd since those sorts of comments are usually very unwelcome.
I'm not asking for sympathy or anything like that. But I will bring up the fact that we are all human. I made some utterly stupid and incomprehensible mistakes that make me look back and say: 'What the hell were you thinking?'. Though there were a few times were I felt a bit of biting back was necessary; I'm not some carpet to be walked over after all and I won't be made a punchline by someone far away in another part of the world.
Honestly this has been a bit of a vent to lift things off my chest. I don't normally do this sort of thing and its not the height of my frustration, more the calm aftermath. And once again I'm not jabbing my thumb at anyone in particular, this journal is meant more as a thoughtful muse about how we treat other people.
I'm sorry if I was irritating to people, I was really not myself for a while and kept trying to get into the favours of people I once fell out, usually judging by their characters and art, which is a really shallow thing to do. A gallery of fancy pictures can't hide a rude personality.
Thank you for reading though. I hope to have a more positive journal soon.
Lately I have been feeling rather down a few days ago because of a headaches here and there. I won't go into details or point accusing fingers at people, because that's just immature and only causes more grief and I'll try to keep this journal neutral and calm. But it has gotten me thinking about how people treat each other, especially on FA.
I've encountered a lot of people here, some great, some bad....or are they? We seem to love to slap the labels of good and bad a lot when in truth we're all equally good and bad, it seems our opinions are easily swayed. I bring this up because for a while now I've been moping a lot on Skype about falling out with people, rushing headlong into a spiral of despair and paying too much on what other people thought instead of getting on with my own projects and progress. In the process I grew more aggressive and, quite honestly, scary.
That all said some of the people who started this were quite spiteful, mostly the types who hide behind a pile of mass of art and overly perfect characters to try and make themselves look big, kind of like buying a Lamborghini. I've been called 'too innocent' at one point for not staring at pictures of giant wangs and not making comments about banging characters, which is odd since those sorts of comments are usually very unwelcome.
I'm not asking for sympathy or anything like that. But I will bring up the fact that we are all human. I made some utterly stupid and incomprehensible mistakes that make me look back and say: 'What the hell were you thinking?'. Though there were a few times were I felt a bit of biting back was necessary; I'm not some carpet to be walked over after all and I won't be made a punchline by someone far away in another part of the world.
Honestly this has been a bit of a vent to lift things off my chest. I don't normally do this sort of thing and its not the height of my frustration, more the calm aftermath. And once again I'm not jabbing my thumb at anyone in particular, this journal is meant more as a thoughtful muse about how we treat other people.
I'm sorry if I was irritating to people, I was really not myself for a while and kept trying to get into the favours of people I once fell out, usually judging by their characters and art, which is a really shallow thing to do. A gallery of fancy pictures can't hide a rude personality.
Thank you for reading though. I hope to have a more positive journal soon.
Lets talk about The 1980s in media and nostalgia
Posted 10 years agoIts time I start making some journals again! So lets discuss a decade that many people seem to adore and feel like was one of the greatest decade of them. Are they right? Um....
Well there's no real right answer here. It all really has to do with nostalgia, which is a powerful thing but also one that makes us, if anything, ignorant. I'm a 90s kid and used to view it as this wonderful time free from the fears of post 9/11, full of great classic shows and films that may never be rivalled. Now however, looking back, its not really the case. The same will apply to the 80s and pretty much any decade or even century. That doesn't mean to say there wasn't anything good from any of those decades, there's plenty.
In this look-back it'll be focused on the media of the 80s, that is the movies, the music and the television, though sadly not the fashion because I'm no expert on that or any of the politics because that would take way too long.
Also note I won't be looking at video games, because a lot of other people have already done that and would do a much better job of it.
Also please be aware I may not be too detailed with this journal, I'm mostly focusing on things I'm familiar with. If you know something about the 80s that's not here, please feel free to add and discuss in the comments below.
One thing I have noticed from many of these decades, not all, but many, is that they seem to reach a pinnacle and then start to slow down and become unmemorable. This is what
Valeyard noticed when he looked at the year 1986 in music. A lot of the ground-breaking things and all time classics like Duran-Duran's Rio, Take on Me by Aha, Thriller by Michael Jackson and so on were released in the first half of the 80s from 1980 to 1985 (with 1982 being considered one of the greatest years for music), while the years 1986 and 87 were kind of dull. Not horrendously bad, just a lot of boring songs, interspersed with the occasional gem here and there and also the occasional overtly loud, blaring synth songs like You Spin Me Right Round or Never Going to Give You Up (yes that one) which became synonymous with the 90s.
1988 and 89 saw a few interesting songs here and there, like Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O'Conner, but at this point it was really getting kind of tired, after the electrifying new wave in the early 80s. So while there are a lot of great 80s songs, many seem rather bunched up in the middle half, while the next half was mostly a desert. And listening to the abundance of synth at the time was
Lets go on with the movies and again it is kind of a similar situation with the music. The early 80s saw a huge influx of all manner of movies, there was;
-The continuation of the original Star Wars trilogy, with Empire Strikes back in 1980 and being the best of the Star Wars movies and Return of the Jedi in 1983 which may be the weakest of the originals, but its still a lot of fun.
-The Indiana Jones Trilogy kicks off in 1981 with Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom in 1984 and Last Crusade in 1989
-Back to the Future in 1985, always a fun movie to watch and extremely quotable
-Blade Runner in 1982, sadly a misunderstood movie on release, it looks brilliant and inspired many sci-fi movies later on
-Aliens in 1986, which probably inspired a tonne of video games
-ET in 1982 (which I honestly despise but everyone seems to adore)
-The Shining in 1981
-Gremlins in 1984
-Batman in 1989
And loads of others.
The 80s was also a great time for family movies, with beloved classics which still get a lot of fans to this day such as the Goonies, Flight of the Navigator, Explorers, Karate Kid and Return to Oz. Most of these movies come from the middle part of the decade, which for some reason harboured a lot of these live action family movies (we'll get to the animation soon, don't worry)
It was also a rich time for Fantasy movies, bolstered by the success of Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons and the resurgence in popularity for Lord of the Rings. There are many that do have strong followings and are regarded as classics such as the Neverending Story, Labyrinth, the Dark Crystal (my personal favourite of the 80s fantasy films) and Legend, but tragically there's also a lot that didn't make much of an impact and were forgotten, like Ladyhawke and Dragonslayer. Sadly most these films kind of just kept fantasy films to a niche audience and it wouldn't be until the Lird of the Rings films that we would get fantasy films accepted by mainstream audiences. Most of these fantasy movies were again made and released in the early half of the 80s, the latter half being pretty devoid of fantasy films, or at least any that made impact.
In animated movies the 80s was kind of a turbulent period. Disney was crippled for the most part and apart from the Fox and the Hound which was more a carried on production from the 70s, barely made anything in the first five years of the 80s, while Don Bluth left the company and started making some spectacular movies in the 80s such as Secret of NIMH and The Land Before Time.
Disney finally made a new film in 1985, the Black Cauldron, and boy was it a mess. It bombed at the box office, almost closed down Disney's animation department and even to this day is looked as the dark horse of Disney movies. Later Disney would pick itself up from the dust and would make more films, reaching a pinnacle in 1988 and 1989 with Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the Little Mermaid.
Elsewhere Studio Ghibli formed and created some amazing anime movies and there was an influx in 'adult' (or more likely they feel like they were written by a horny angsty teen with inconsistent writing and a lot of focus on women's, *ahem*) animation such as Heavy Metal and Ice and Fire (both of which didn't make much of an impact then, but gained a following later on.)
There were also a bunch of 'commercial' movies such as a My Little Pony movie, a Transformers movie, a G.I Joe movie and a Rainbow Brite movie (for those who don't know, Rainbow Brite is a long extinct cartoon about colours and stuff), Aside from the Transformers movie which brutally massacres many of the beloved characters to make new toys, none of these made much of an impact and were pretty much relegated to that VHS you would pop on to keep your kids quiet.
So in a whole, the movies of the 80s were a range of films in almost every genre. There was plenty of cheese, kitsch and corniness on offer too, but its the sort that people love, so no harm there.
Onto television now.
Cartoon wise there was quite a lot happening; there was a lot of anime imports such as Gundam and Ulysses 31, some anime inspired shows such as Transformers, BraveStarr and Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, Disney's television series like Duck Tales, which at the time were outshining its animated movies. And of course there was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which arguably is even more popular today than ever before...plus its got Triceratops aliens! There were also a fair few shows that unfairly portray the 80s as a backwards time of nothing but shallow commercialisation, like My Little Pony, He-Man and the Wuzzles, which is far from the truth. These shows still have fans, but most are pretty unwatchable today, with some exceptions, and 1986 was not a pleasant year for many of them since a majority of them ended, along with a tonne of short lived cartoons.
Cartoons aside, there was a huge resurgence in comedy soaps and dramas, which....eh? Yes I know I'm being harsh, but honestly I couldn't really get into many of them. There was a boom in game shows in the UK which would carry on into the 90s, especially with Knightmare which drew inspiration from many video games released at the time such as Final Fantasy and Legend of Zelda.
Sci-fi shows kind of suffered a bit. Sure Star Trek the Next Generation was a huge success and it looks amazing, but there were several steps backwards. There were bad cheesy short lived series and some series that never got off the ground because of producers. The biggest blow was Doctor Who, which had been suffering through the 80s because of producers tampering with it and people sniffing down at it for not having flashy special effects. At the end of the 80s, although it was beginning to get on its feet again, Doctor Who was killed and never saw the 90s, a shame really.
In conclusion; the 80s was a time of change and advancement, but could be stale at times, but then again what decade isn't?
Does it deserve to be looked back on fondly? I'd say, yes. There were a lot of great things in the 80s and advancements in film techniques. There were also lots of strange surreal fashion choices and some great music.
Though with every bit of nostalgia, a grain of salt must be taken also. No decade is without flaws or problems. There was still a lot of strife in the 80s and the fear of the Cold War still hung over most of the 80s and you had Reagan being...himself. Its strange though looking back on decades were all you know are childhood memories and discover what was going outside your small world.
So what do you people think of the 80s? Good? Bad? Boring? Extreme? Feel free to comment and I will see you again soon I hope.
Well there's no real right answer here. It all really has to do with nostalgia, which is a powerful thing but also one that makes us, if anything, ignorant. I'm a 90s kid and used to view it as this wonderful time free from the fears of post 9/11, full of great classic shows and films that may never be rivalled. Now however, looking back, its not really the case. The same will apply to the 80s and pretty much any decade or even century. That doesn't mean to say there wasn't anything good from any of those decades, there's plenty.
In this look-back it'll be focused on the media of the 80s, that is the movies, the music and the television, though sadly not the fashion because I'm no expert on that or any of the politics because that would take way too long.
Also note I won't be looking at video games, because a lot of other people have already done that and would do a much better job of it.
Also please be aware I may not be too detailed with this journal, I'm mostly focusing on things I'm familiar with. If you know something about the 80s that's not here, please feel free to add and discuss in the comments below.
One thing I have noticed from many of these decades, not all, but many, is that they seem to reach a pinnacle and then start to slow down and become unmemorable. This is what
Valeyard noticed when he looked at the year 1986 in music. A lot of the ground-breaking things and all time classics like Duran-Duran's Rio, Take on Me by Aha, Thriller by Michael Jackson and so on were released in the first half of the 80s from 1980 to 1985 (with 1982 being considered one of the greatest years for music), while the years 1986 and 87 were kind of dull. Not horrendously bad, just a lot of boring songs, interspersed with the occasional gem here and there and also the occasional overtly loud, blaring synth songs like You Spin Me Right Round or Never Going to Give You Up (yes that one) which became synonymous with the 90s.1988 and 89 saw a few interesting songs here and there, like Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O'Conner, but at this point it was really getting kind of tired, after the electrifying new wave in the early 80s. So while there are a lot of great 80s songs, many seem rather bunched up in the middle half, while the next half was mostly a desert. And listening to the abundance of synth at the time was
Lets go on with the movies and again it is kind of a similar situation with the music. The early 80s saw a huge influx of all manner of movies, there was;
-The continuation of the original Star Wars trilogy, with Empire Strikes back in 1980 and being the best of the Star Wars movies and Return of the Jedi in 1983 which may be the weakest of the originals, but its still a lot of fun.
-The Indiana Jones Trilogy kicks off in 1981 with Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom in 1984 and Last Crusade in 1989
-Back to the Future in 1985, always a fun movie to watch and extremely quotable
-Blade Runner in 1982, sadly a misunderstood movie on release, it looks brilliant and inspired many sci-fi movies later on
-Aliens in 1986, which probably inspired a tonne of video games
-ET in 1982 (which I honestly despise but everyone seems to adore)
-The Shining in 1981
-Gremlins in 1984
-Batman in 1989
And loads of others.
The 80s was also a great time for family movies, with beloved classics which still get a lot of fans to this day such as the Goonies, Flight of the Navigator, Explorers, Karate Kid and Return to Oz. Most of these movies come from the middle part of the decade, which for some reason harboured a lot of these live action family movies (we'll get to the animation soon, don't worry)
It was also a rich time for Fantasy movies, bolstered by the success of Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons and the resurgence in popularity for Lord of the Rings. There are many that do have strong followings and are regarded as classics such as the Neverending Story, Labyrinth, the Dark Crystal (my personal favourite of the 80s fantasy films) and Legend, but tragically there's also a lot that didn't make much of an impact and were forgotten, like Ladyhawke and Dragonslayer. Sadly most these films kind of just kept fantasy films to a niche audience and it wouldn't be until the Lird of the Rings films that we would get fantasy films accepted by mainstream audiences. Most of these fantasy movies were again made and released in the early half of the 80s, the latter half being pretty devoid of fantasy films, or at least any that made impact.
In animated movies the 80s was kind of a turbulent period. Disney was crippled for the most part and apart from the Fox and the Hound which was more a carried on production from the 70s, barely made anything in the first five years of the 80s, while Don Bluth left the company and started making some spectacular movies in the 80s such as Secret of NIMH and The Land Before Time.
Disney finally made a new film in 1985, the Black Cauldron, and boy was it a mess. It bombed at the box office, almost closed down Disney's animation department and even to this day is looked as the dark horse of Disney movies. Later Disney would pick itself up from the dust and would make more films, reaching a pinnacle in 1988 and 1989 with Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the Little Mermaid.
Elsewhere Studio Ghibli formed and created some amazing anime movies and there was an influx in 'adult' (or more likely they feel like they were written by a horny angsty teen with inconsistent writing and a lot of focus on women's, *ahem*) animation such as Heavy Metal and Ice and Fire (both of which didn't make much of an impact then, but gained a following later on.)
There were also a bunch of 'commercial' movies such as a My Little Pony movie, a Transformers movie, a G.I Joe movie and a Rainbow Brite movie (for those who don't know, Rainbow Brite is a long extinct cartoon about colours and stuff), Aside from the Transformers movie which brutally massacres many of the beloved characters to make new toys, none of these made much of an impact and were pretty much relegated to that VHS you would pop on to keep your kids quiet.
So in a whole, the movies of the 80s were a range of films in almost every genre. There was plenty of cheese, kitsch and corniness on offer too, but its the sort that people love, so no harm there.
Onto television now.
Cartoon wise there was quite a lot happening; there was a lot of anime imports such as Gundam and Ulysses 31, some anime inspired shows such as Transformers, BraveStarr and Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, Disney's television series like Duck Tales, which at the time were outshining its animated movies. And of course there was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which arguably is even more popular today than ever before...plus its got Triceratops aliens! There were also a fair few shows that unfairly portray the 80s as a backwards time of nothing but shallow commercialisation, like My Little Pony, He-Man and the Wuzzles, which is far from the truth. These shows still have fans, but most are pretty unwatchable today, with some exceptions, and 1986 was not a pleasant year for many of them since a majority of them ended, along with a tonne of short lived cartoons.
Cartoons aside, there was a huge resurgence in comedy soaps and dramas, which....eh? Yes I know I'm being harsh, but honestly I couldn't really get into many of them. There was a boom in game shows in the UK which would carry on into the 90s, especially with Knightmare which drew inspiration from many video games released at the time such as Final Fantasy and Legend of Zelda.
Sci-fi shows kind of suffered a bit. Sure Star Trek the Next Generation was a huge success and it looks amazing, but there were several steps backwards. There were bad cheesy short lived series and some series that never got off the ground because of producers. The biggest blow was Doctor Who, which had been suffering through the 80s because of producers tampering with it and people sniffing down at it for not having flashy special effects. At the end of the 80s, although it was beginning to get on its feet again, Doctor Who was killed and never saw the 90s, a shame really.
In conclusion; the 80s was a time of change and advancement, but could be stale at times, but then again what decade isn't?
Does it deserve to be looked back on fondly? I'd say, yes. There were a lot of great things in the 80s and advancements in film techniques. There were also lots of strange surreal fashion choices and some great music.
Though with every bit of nostalgia, a grain of salt must be taken also. No decade is without flaws or problems. There was still a lot of strife in the 80s and the fear of the Cold War still hung over most of the 80s and you had Reagan being...himself. Its strange though looking back on decades were all you know are childhood memories and discover what was going outside your small world.
So what do you people think of the 80s? Good? Bad? Boring? Extreme? Feel free to comment and I will see you again soon I hope.
report on opening up
Posted 10 years agoHello again
For a while now, my goal was to break my state of quietness and just get out there and see more people. So far its been moderately successful. But I can't help feeling like there's more I could do.
I have also tried to patch things again with the people who I hurt (I'm not afraid to admit I have hurt people, but I am sorry for it.) and who have hurt me. And so far this has been a success with two people, and no more. But aside from that its been kind of a failure; with the others just ignoring or sneering.
And I know most people would say ignore them and they're just jerks, I still feel saddened that I can't repair my mistakes.
I know I should just move on, but I am finding that rather difficult. I know people reading this may roll their eyes and say to give up, but I just really wanted to express my emotions here.
On the other hand, I am happy to welcome my new watchers; I've made it past the 500 mark which is incredible!
For a while now, my goal was to break my state of quietness and just get out there and see more people. So far its been moderately successful. But I can't help feeling like there's more I could do.
I have also tried to patch things again with the people who I hurt (I'm not afraid to admit I have hurt people, but I am sorry for it.) and who have hurt me. And so far this has been a success with two people, and no more. But aside from that its been kind of a failure; with the others just ignoring or sneering.
And I know most people would say ignore them and they're just jerks, I still feel saddened that I can't repair my mistakes.
I know I should just move on, but I am finding that rather difficult. I know people reading this may roll their eyes and say to give up, but I just really wanted to express my emotions here.
On the other hand, I am happy to welcome my new watchers; I've made it past the 500 mark which is incredible!
Move that journal away
Posted 10 years agoHello all
Just moving that previous journal away; was too miserable and bitter and part of that issue has been resolved.
But now I'm kind of stumped I want to make a new journal discussing something but I don't know what about. Any suggestions from the audience? Step right up, don't be shy! Roll up roll up its a journal with a view! :D
going to try and open up to more people again
Posted 10 years agoHello again
I'm sorry for the slight downer journal of a few days ago. I was holding on too much to the past. I have rewatched some people I felt distanced towards and while I do feel friendly with some, others....eh.
I just need to move on; move away from most of these people and find some new, greener pastures.
So I wish to say; I am sorry for being a real pain, a whiner, a wistful woeful stupid weird socially awkward twit and rewatching and unwatching again. It was my fault, I wasn't myself when I was doing it and was just moping.
I really would love to thank
Koviell and everyone else on Skype and FA who has helped me through this tough time and for sticking with me, even when I was really mopey and quite honestly very very pathetic I also wish to say sorry to all the people I've ever wronged and angered. I wish I could say just how sorry I am
Edit: Sorry I also forgot to say that I am also going to try and open up more to different people. Sadly I feel like most people hate me on sight for some reason :x
Why was My Little Pony hated so much?
Posted 10 years agoWARNING: This journal contains comments that may or may not offend and anger. So just be warned
Remember the My Little Pony tidalwave that happened a few years ago? We seem to be still living in the nuclear winter of it; there's still My Little Pony fanart here and there, but for the most part it seems to have faded away. Now for some reason this series was greatly lauded and also greatly hated. Does it deserve either....um, no.
Sorry fans of this show but its really really not that great. In fact its just kind of your generic kids show, especially ones based on toy lines, or at least it has aspects of a load of other kids shows; you have the one dimensional characters (the sporty one, the shy one, the Barbie, etc.), heavy moral messages (literally smacking you over the head), Princesses (taking a leaf from Disney. Give Disney credit they did introduce a Queen as a protagonist) and the Power of Friendship (UUUUUUGGH).
Honestly compared to other cartoons that came out around the same time like Adventure Time, Legend of Korra and Regular Show, it felt a bit boring. This is especially true with Adventure Time, particularly in the antagonists. In Adventure Time they are given a lot of depth and development, most of it indirectly and by that I mean they don't talk directly like:
"I used to be a good guy now I'm evil because blah blah blah."
Instead the series SHOWS us instead; look at the song the Ice King and Marceline sing; it is wonderful!
My Little Pony's villains are pretty dull in comparison with lots of generic traits; there's the Changelings who are clearly evil because:
a) they're lead by a Queen and queens are always evil of course
b) They're not bright and colourful, they're green and black and therefore evil!
These are very very basic troupes that have been around for a long time; look at Snow White for example; she wears blue, red, white and yellow, very bright colours, whereas the Queen wears mostly black or purple, dark colours. Also there's other stereotypes; Trixie is the pompous show off bully , there's your evil cloud pony, ala the Nothing from the Neverending Story (minus the intelligence) and anything that's not pony shaped or different being treated with fear and hatred.
The only interesting one seems to be Discord and he's unceremoniously kicked out. Its like if Star Trek got rid of the Klingons or Doctor Who blew up the Daleks; taking an iconic villain and just throwing them away.
But at the same time does it really deserve to be hated? I find that most people more often hate the fandom rather than the series itself. And yes, the fandom can get really irritating; pumping out pony characters like a sweatshop. Also the fact that it kind of appeared didn't help; most older established fandoms evolved over time, for example Classic Whovians, Trekkies and anime fans have had years to evolve; most fans grew up with the media they are fans of, and yes many do have their rotten sides (like weeaboos, which are anime/Japanophile hybrid abominations), many do have maturity.
The internet however has changed the evolution of fandoms. Now fandoms can grow very quickly and sometimes even painfully. A perfect example are fans of New Doctor Who, a loud part of which are fangirls (not that Doctor Who isn't for both genders; it is, but these tend to be the fan ficcy writers) which have caused a lot of headaches for the rest of Doctor Who fans. They're more like the Twilight fans than Doctor Who fans, not helped by the fact that for a while the New Series was more about the Doctor snogging hot girls rather than what the core of Doctor Who is about; Travel and adventure (but this is a whole other can of worms). Another more recent example could be the explosion of the Five Nights at Freddy's fandom, which itself is also causing more headaches, but seems to have died out much faster.
The My Little Pony fandom seemed to have had a similar growth. It burst suddenly onto the scene. Now some of these fans are of course children and also older MLP who like the show and hey that's fine. I'd never fault someone for liking the series. Then you have the bronies, or snobby fanboys who, oh boy. There are some who say its not for kids....which is a dumb notion. Its clearly for kids. And no the characters are not deep; giving them mental breakdowns doesn't not instantly make a character interesting or complex. Also so what if it has pop culture references? You know what else has pop culture references? A tonne of other cartoons; some great like Aladdin and Animaniacs, some horrendous like Shark Tale.
But this isn't going to be a whole journal about bashing bronies. And in the end pure 100% bronies are pretty rare; most My Little Pony fans just like the series and hey that's fine.
But even ignoring the snobby over-reading fans, why is the MLP fandom despised in the furry fandom?
I have a theory; furries are scared of the fandom. Not all furries, but a fair few I believe are scared. Why? Well probably because they see themselves in some aspects of the MLP fandom. The furry fandom is gigantic and we have all sorts of people, good, bad and those who turn from good to bad or from bad to good.
That and some bits have similarities to the MLP fandom; we have a sleuth clone characters, like gallons of factory made characters, from seas of fat bears into leather (how very boring) to oceans of foxes with the exact same personalities (with islands of those who are different, kudos to them), kind of like how all the MLP characters look the same (just different colours). Also we have our fair share of irritating extremist fans; you don't need to go far to see drama wars raging both online or offline, and we have our share of nasty stuff which judging from Devientart and other sites seem to plague every fandom like Dutch Elm Disease.
So really should the MLP fandom, or any fandom for that matter, be hated? No. Not the whole of it. Every fandom has their rotten sides, its just how the world works.
I also don't think it should be hated because its based on something for girls; lots of media aimed at girls have achieved a lot of acclaim; look at Sailor Moon for example, that introduced thousands of people old and young to anime. But I admit I honestly cannot get into My Little Pony. Its just too sugary and saccharine for my tastes. That and the whole pretty perfect princess who uses magic to solve everything and bland villains...yeah. No.
So those are my thoughts; feel free to comment and share your opinions; but please keep it civil. Thank you!
Remember the My Little Pony tidalwave that happened a few years ago? We seem to be still living in the nuclear winter of it; there's still My Little Pony fanart here and there, but for the most part it seems to have faded away. Now for some reason this series was greatly lauded and also greatly hated. Does it deserve either....um, no.
Sorry fans of this show but its really really not that great. In fact its just kind of your generic kids show, especially ones based on toy lines, or at least it has aspects of a load of other kids shows; you have the one dimensional characters (the sporty one, the shy one, the Barbie, etc.), heavy moral messages (literally smacking you over the head), Princesses (taking a leaf from Disney. Give Disney credit they did introduce a Queen as a protagonist) and the Power of Friendship (UUUUUUGGH).
Honestly compared to other cartoons that came out around the same time like Adventure Time, Legend of Korra and Regular Show, it felt a bit boring. This is especially true with Adventure Time, particularly in the antagonists. In Adventure Time they are given a lot of depth and development, most of it indirectly and by that I mean they don't talk directly like:
"I used to be a good guy now I'm evil because blah blah blah."
Instead the series SHOWS us instead; look at the song the Ice King and Marceline sing; it is wonderful!
My Little Pony's villains are pretty dull in comparison with lots of generic traits; there's the Changelings who are clearly evil because:
a) they're lead by a Queen and queens are always evil of course
b) They're not bright and colourful, they're green and black and therefore evil!
These are very very basic troupes that have been around for a long time; look at Snow White for example; she wears blue, red, white and yellow, very bright colours, whereas the Queen wears mostly black or purple, dark colours. Also there's other stereotypes; Trixie is the pompous show off bully , there's your evil cloud pony, ala the Nothing from the Neverending Story (minus the intelligence) and anything that's not pony shaped or different being treated with fear and hatred.
The only interesting one seems to be Discord and he's unceremoniously kicked out. Its like if Star Trek got rid of the Klingons or Doctor Who blew up the Daleks; taking an iconic villain and just throwing them away.
But at the same time does it really deserve to be hated? I find that most people more often hate the fandom rather than the series itself. And yes, the fandom can get really irritating; pumping out pony characters like a sweatshop. Also the fact that it kind of appeared didn't help; most older established fandoms evolved over time, for example Classic Whovians, Trekkies and anime fans have had years to evolve; most fans grew up with the media they are fans of, and yes many do have their rotten sides (like weeaboos, which are anime/Japanophile hybrid abominations), many do have maturity.
The internet however has changed the evolution of fandoms. Now fandoms can grow very quickly and sometimes even painfully. A perfect example are fans of New Doctor Who, a loud part of which are fangirls (not that Doctor Who isn't for both genders; it is, but these tend to be the fan ficcy writers) which have caused a lot of headaches for the rest of Doctor Who fans. They're more like the Twilight fans than Doctor Who fans, not helped by the fact that for a while the New Series was more about the Doctor snogging hot girls rather than what the core of Doctor Who is about; Travel and adventure (but this is a whole other can of worms). Another more recent example could be the explosion of the Five Nights at Freddy's fandom, which itself is also causing more headaches, but seems to have died out much faster.
The My Little Pony fandom seemed to have had a similar growth. It burst suddenly onto the scene. Now some of these fans are of course children and also older MLP who like the show and hey that's fine. I'd never fault someone for liking the series. Then you have the bronies, or snobby fanboys who, oh boy. There are some who say its not for kids....which is a dumb notion. Its clearly for kids. And no the characters are not deep; giving them mental breakdowns doesn't not instantly make a character interesting or complex. Also so what if it has pop culture references? You know what else has pop culture references? A tonne of other cartoons; some great like Aladdin and Animaniacs, some horrendous like Shark Tale.
But this isn't going to be a whole journal about bashing bronies. And in the end pure 100% bronies are pretty rare; most My Little Pony fans just like the series and hey that's fine.
But even ignoring the snobby over-reading fans, why is the MLP fandom despised in the furry fandom?
I have a theory; furries are scared of the fandom. Not all furries, but a fair few I believe are scared. Why? Well probably because they see themselves in some aspects of the MLP fandom. The furry fandom is gigantic and we have all sorts of people, good, bad and those who turn from good to bad or from bad to good.
That and some bits have similarities to the MLP fandom; we have a sleuth clone characters, like gallons of factory made characters, from seas of fat bears into leather (how very boring) to oceans of foxes with the exact same personalities (with islands of those who are different, kudos to them), kind of like how all the MLP characters look the same (just different colours). Also we have our fair share of irritating extremist fans; you don't need to go far to see drama wars raging both online or offline, and we have our share of nasty stuff which judging from Devientart and other sites seem to plague every fandom like Dutch Elm Disease.
So really should the MLP fandom, or any fandom for that matter, be hated? No. Not the whole of it. Every fandom has their rotten sides, its just how the world works.
I also don't think it should be hated because its based on something for girls; lots of media aimed at girls have achieved a lot of acclaim; look at Sailor Moon for example, that introduced thousands of people old and young to anime. But I admit I honestly cannot get into My Little Pony. Its just too sugary and saccharine for my tastes. That and the whole pretty perfect princess who uses magic to solve everything and bland villains...yeah. No.
So those are my thoughts; feel free to comment and share your opinions; but please keep it civil. Thank you!
Updated profile, journal headers and footers
Posted 10 years agoHello all
Just want to point out the return of the friends lists on my profile and journal :D
its great to have these back, though I have made changes here and there; added new faces and didn't include old ones; since I moved away from those people. (mostly due to drama or them just becoming cold)
I have left open spaces for expansion I hope you don't mind this
(and no, the position of where someone's icon doesn't matter; I just did it for spacing)
Just want to point out the return of the friends lists on my profile and journal :D
its great to have these back, though I have made changes here and there; added new faces and didn't include old ones; since I moved away from those people. (mostly due to drama or them just becoming cold)
I have left open spaces for expansion I hope you don't mind this
(and no, the position of where someone's icon doesn't matter; I just did it for spacing)
renovating the profile
Posted 10 years agoHello all
if you're wondering what has happened to the profile and why its empty, well I'm renovating it
I'm planning on putting the friend lists back into the journals and profile, but I don't know what else to put in it
if you're wondering what has happened to the profile and why its empty, well I'm renovating it
I'm planning on putting the friend lists back into the journals and profile, but I don't know what else to put in it
Ask me something Journal
Posted 10 years agoTales of the Eternals, Chapter 15 Pastel Coloured Memories
Looming over Kiya, the giant beetle like person takes hold of her left restraint and snaps it open with ease. Kiya and Altallo are shocked into silence. The beetle meets Kiya’s eyes and his mandibles, or at least what is left of them, twitch in what she thought could be the resemblance of a smile. Her face brightens in relief and she smiles back at him.
“Altallo, I think he’s going to help us!”
Shern’aath had slid down the tunnel at the back of the shrine, landing sure footedly onto a thick pile of dust. He bends down and shifts the dust from the floor, revealing tiles with patterns dotted across them. Curiosity piqued, he continues through a twisting tunnel which gradually widens out, the blue light growing ever closer. Eventually the tunnel becomes so wide and large that a blue whale could easily fit inside. Shern’aath stops in awe. The cathedral like structure was at least five or six stories high. Huge statues in the shape of insect people supported the cavernous roof, through which several holes had been bored out through decay and the march of time and pale sunlight, tinged blue by the sand, was filtering through. Murals line the walls near the floor, showing processions of people and animals, all insectoid with chitin skin and antenna. Above these murals are cloistered archways with simple, yet elegant columns. In the alcoves between the arches are smaller statues. Shern’aath makes his way through the structure, swerving around or climbing over bits of debris that have fallen from the ceiling or walls, including the massive face of one of the giant statues, who’s body still stood motionless. The whole place felt so still and silent but on the ground, Shern’aath knew someone had been there. Footprints are scuffed on the ground.
The end of this chamber leads to a huge pair of wood and metal doors which would have looked right at home in a castle. One of the doors was slightly ajar. Shern’aath presses himself against the closed door, ready to pounce. He pushes open the door and levels his spear, but the room beyond is completely deserted.
Dust laces everything; the walls, the furniture and the walls. A huge wooden table lies in the middle, with ornate chairs placed all around it. The opulent colours and carvings are now lost beneath a sea of cobwebs, which reach up to a metal chandelier in the ceiling. Seated on one of the throne like chairs at the head of the table is a shrivelled exoskeletal husk. Shern’aath gives the body a wide berth, his eyes combing the table. Filthy plates and eating utensils litter it, with some fallen onto the floor. Picking a plate up, the raptor rubs it with his hand. The glint of gold shone back, like a sudden burst of sunlight between clouds. Bits of bone poked out of the dust. Faded tapestries hung decaying and ripped. The only thing that looked spotless was an odd thing in the wall, which he could only call a mirror. It was flat like a mirror, but opaque, showing no reflection. Shern’aath reaches out to touch it, but decides not to. His foot hits something hard on the ground. Looking down, he sees a pair of metal manacles abandoned on the ground. Just as he was about to pick them up, something cold presses into the small of his back.
“Well well lads, look what we have here. Right, you, turn around and no tricks.”
Shern’aath slowly turns to find himself on the wrong end of a gun. Xaeistan leers at the raptor, while the rest of the crew slump exhausted into the chairs, some dusting off the debris, others simply not caring.
“I wonder how much this one is worth. With the other two we could make quite a profit. What do you say lads?”
The other crew mumble, but with a stare from Xaeistan they all chime “YES SIR!” like a choir of school children. While the captain is distracted, Shern’aath slowly edges away, trying to find an escape route. By chance, one of his hands brushes against the mirror and phases straight through it, as though it were smoke. Thinking he had found an opening, he gratefully sank backwards.
Xaeistan turns back and his mouth drops open. He looks around desperately.
“Where did he go?!” He barks at his men, who all look nonplussed.
Shern’aath had found himself in an area behind the mirror and watches the captain and his crew. Through the narrow opening, they looked like characters in a television screen. It was an utterly bizarre experience for the raptor. While he could see them, he could not hear or smell them. A crewman starts hitting the mirror with the butt of his gun, but is pushed back by Xaeistan. While the captain scolds the man, another aims his gun at the mirror. A bolt of brilliant orange shoots from the barrel and hits the mirror, ricocheting off it and blasting a hole in the ceiling, causing a huge slab to land dangerously close to two crewmen, who jump out of the way just in time. Xaeistan slowly looks round at the man who had fired, his face a blank expressionless mask. The man guiltily smiles up at the captain as he towers over him. The captain cuffs the him over the head.
Shern’aath scratches his head in confusion and then becomes aware someone is watching him. Turning he finds himself face to face with someone familiar. He gasps.
“Tentrac!”
“I think I’ve almost got it.” Kiya mumbles.
Having been freed by their silent rescuer, she is now helping him ease open Altallo’s cuffs. A noise behind the doors makes them freeze, the clang of shoes on metal and the murmuring of voices.
“They must be looking for you,” Altallo says to the beetle men, “Quickly hide.”
The beetle retreats into the shadows, while Kiya rushes back to her chair and lightly replaces her cuffs. She exchanges a nod with Altallo and they rest into their chairs, lolling their heads to mimic sleep.
Just in time, the doors slide open and Vicnar and Rolce enter, looking furtively around.
“It could be anywhere!” Rolce squeaks, shining a torch into the shady patches of the room. Vicnar meanwhile studies Altallo and Kiya’s faces. Rolce’s torchlight sweeps around to a far corner and almost shines the light onto the beetle man, hiding against the wall, buy Vicnar interrupts him.
“Bah, he’s not here Rolce. Come on lets get out of here. We’ll tell the captain and when he comes back we’ll have a full search force. Oh ho, that bug won’t know what’s got him!”
“B-b-b-but won’t he be angry?”
“He’ll be fine! The captain will understand I’m sure.” he says, in a high pitched voice, guiding Rolce to the door. Rolce looks unconvinced, but shrugs and follows his friend. As soon as they are gone, the beetle comes out of hiding.
Not long after, the beetle leads Altallo and Kiya along a darkened corridor. Like the rest of the ship it had fallen into disrepair, with wires hanging from the ceiling and pipes snaking across the floor.
“Haven’t these idiots ever heard of ‘cleaning’ before?” Kiya asks in disgust as she steps in a puddle of slimy oil.
“Something tells me they’ve pretty much given up on keeping up with appearances,” Altallo replies, dodging past a small jungle of wires hanging carelessly from a broken panel. “And that bridge. What was it doing in the middle of the ship? Bridges are usually at the top and front of the ship to give them a clear view of where they are going and to see any approaching threat, not slam bang right in the doldrums with all those screens.”
He spots something down the hallway, a double door marked ‘bridge’ in red neon above it. In front of them is a small plastic sign reading ‘DANGER; Do not enter while in flight.’
Forcing a metal bar between the doors, they gently eases them open.
“Must be now power here,” Altallo comments “Wonder why-oh.”
The room had been stripped completely bare, every electric component had been ripped out. The massive porthole at the front of the ship had shattered inwards. Shards of plastic lie scattered across the floor like blood from a wound and deep scars and grooves are torn through the metal. Through the wreckage is the white sands of the desert, a bright shining beacon light like a beacon after the gloom of the interior.
“Well this explains a lot.”
“What could have done that?” Kiya asks, looking at one of scars.
“Meteorites perhaps or maybe they had a crash landing.” Altallo suggests shrugging. “At least now we have a clear path to freedom. We can’t exactly just waltz right out of the front door can we?” He adds, seeing Kiya’s scowl. “Besides it doesn’t look too far down.”
And with that, he jumps off the edge and lands head first into the sand below. Kiya doesn’t look any more confident, but the beetle man lifts her up and ignoring her protests jumps, opening up his wingcases on his back and glides gently to the ground. Altallo meanwhile struggles free of the sand, shaking grains out of his hair and clothes.
“Now where do we go?” Kiya asks him as he straightens up.
“We follow him of course.”
The beetle had already jumped up onto a dune and was beckoning to them to follow.
“Where are we?” Shern’aath asks.
“You are where you were, in the caverns.” Tentrac replies in a calm voice, as though this was something casual discussed with a friend. “It is where we lived for centuries. But now we’re in danger once more. Come with me. They can’t follow us.” he adds, noticing Shern’aath looking back at the mirror where Xaeistan was now throwing bits of rock debris towards them in a bored manner.
Tentrac leads Shern’aath down a dark, dusty corridor. Unlike the richly decorated structures outside, it was bare. Two pinpricks of light come into view, each at the end of a Y-junction. To the left, Shern’aath could just make out what looks like a gate made of wrought iron twisted into swirls, covered in thick climbing plants. To the right, a mass of pale colours. Shern’aath looks nervously at it, but Tentrac glides smoothly through it, floating in a the swirling sea of pastel. He turns back briefly and beckons for Shern’aath to follow. Bracing himself and shutting his eyes tightly, Shern’aath hops into
Jame's Top 6 WORST commercial based anime
Posted 10 years agoHello ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the WORST list of commercial based anime
for the best list see here (http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6704624/)
And as a reminder, this is not a list of the actual games/products, but of anime based on them.
Lets start off things with some that have not appeared on either list, sort of a honourable mention:
-Future Card Buddyfight: yes this one. I really am surprised by this anime, not because its good and not because its bad, its neither. Its just an well worn formula being dragged into the 2010's. Its not a timeless story or idea, its just....well old fashioned. Let me just define something here; a timeless story is something that can be seen by just about any generation. The 1939 Wizard of Oz is a perfect example, it will be enjoyed by people in the future. Something old fashioned will look dated and possibly silly. These sort of promotional anime and cartoons were big in the boom years of the 80s and 90s, but not in the recession years of the 2010's.
I have friends who like this anime and I see why; the design of many of the creatures is interesting. But its a very worn out storyline and the characters are stock (we'll see more of this later)
-Dinosaur King: This is Digimon/Pokémon but with dinosaurs. Even down to the main characters; there's a young trio with one who wants to be the very best (*cough* Ash *cough* oh and he wears goggles like Tai in Digimon), a supportive girl (Misty) and a tough older boy (Brok). There's also two bumbling villains akin to Jessie and James. The dinosaurs are also kind of lame looking in bright lurid colours. Also I have the same ethical issues with this show as I do in Pokémon. Making living things fight each other is just cruel. I know I'm digging too deep, but its true!
-Beast Wars. I haven't seen this, but it looks interesting enough. Maybe I might squeeze it in on the best list later
Ok now onto the list:
No.6 YuGiOh
Ah YuGiOh. This was a big deal in the 90s and early 2000's. But why? Well....I don't know. I really have no idea why YuGiOh was such a big thing. Oh and before I go on, this is squarely about the original series, not GX or whatever other hell spawn this has produced.
Lets go back to what I said before; there are two kinds of these anime, the Adventure and the Tutorial. YuGiOh is kind of a weird mix of the two; with fantasy elements and yet they go on and on about how to play a sordid and silly card game. As for the design and animation, ITS ALL AWFUL. This is without a doubt one of the top three ugliest shows on this list (the others will come later). Very very stiff movements and do I really need to mention the hair? Everyone has bashed the hair; its stupid and itchy looking.
And they took Ancient Egypt, one of the coolest, recognisable and enduring ancient civilizations on Earth and turned it stupid. I think its no surprise that Ancient Egyptians DIDN'T control monsters through card games, nor did they have stupid looking hair and didn't have silly millennium items.
So why does this have the no.6 spot and not something higher? Well it is kind of funny. Not that the jokes in the anime are funny, oh no no no! But it is just funny to see how dumb this series gets and how the characters treat a card game like an act of war. Also it did create a brilliant Abridged series that is still funny to this day and for that I am grateful for that.
No. 5 Cardfight Vanguard]
The blood brother of Future Card Buddyfight, this anime is basically a YuGiOh carbon copy. Lets go through our checklist:
1. Weedy main character, check
2. Said character has two bullies who instantly become friends at the end of episode 1, check
3. a big card contest, check
4. Fabulous season 1 villain, check
5. creepy kid villain in season 2, check
6. tragedy and children's card games, DOUBLE check.
Yes, not too big on the originality really. The only real big differences I can think of are better looking and smoother animation and the fact that this anime has a mental condition that allows you to win card games easily. Which is really odd when you think about it; what's next? A disease that makes you win Monopoly?
this is one of the barest of any of the Tutorial types; lots of card lingo thrown everywhere. Its even kind of horrific; all these people live for is card games....every day....for the rest of their miserable lives.
No.4 Beyblade
...spinning tops. That's what this is, spinning tops, those basic toys that have existed for thousands of years, from Ancient Egypt to the present day. All they did in this was add blades to them and dragons coming out of them and...whatever. The character design is hideous, and it comes in on number two in the top three ugliest anime in this list, its as if it was drawn by an alien who only had a vague idea of what a human looked like. Its also dead boring and annoying....worth a watch? No.
no. 3 Bakugan Battle Brawlers
This one could have been higher on the list, since it does have a dose of fantasy elements and some decent animation. But it has some of the dumbest ideas and pacing. For example, the game in this series starts as a secret game that only kids (and shadowy villains) know about. But then only a few episodes in, it becomes a national sport. And the anime never explains how this happened, you're supposed to just believe it. Also the devices used in the game is pretty much like the ones in Pokémon.
overall its a bland little creation with no effort.
No.2 Medabots
This anime involves people forcing robots to kill each other this time. First we had weird fictional creatures based on real animals (or objects) in Pokémon, then dragons, then dinosaurs and now robots. There are no redeeming factors in this one, with bad character designs, washed out lifeless colours and some really bad fight scenes. The animation and art in this make a Care Bears cartoon look like high art. There's also grating voices and some irritating music; so it destroys your ears too!
Basically avoid this. Its not worth it.
No.1 Weiß Survive
This may come as a surprise to some who never heard of this but trust me this is horrific. Now whatever can be said about the others, you could make the argument that at least they're innocent....mostly. This anime, Weiß Survive or Weiss Survive for simplification is just inexcusable.
What is it though? Its meant to be a parody of the commercial/card game anime genre. And it fails miserably. I'm all for parodies and satire, but the problem here is that instead of making fun of the genre, it instead uses generic anime humour, including screaming a lot, the main character being a leach and a pervert, booby humour and panties, of course. This makes it both creepy (as the main characters are pretty young) and dull. It isn't parodying clichés, but becoming a cliché itself. It is pathetic.
Overall
with the exception of Weiß Survive, most of these anime are pretty harmless. Some on the best list are well worth a watch and can be really rewarding. As for the worst ones, well most tend to be more bland or inept than horrific.
And so that's that for this journal. I thank you for reading and hope you've have fun! (or at least mild entertainment.)
for the best list see here (http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6704624/)
And as a reminder, this is not a list of the actual games/products, but of anime based on them.
Lets start off things with some that have not appeared on either list, sort of a honourable mention:
-Future Card Buddyfight: yes this one. I really am surprised by this anime, not because its good and not because its bad, its neither. Its just an well worn formula being dragged into the 2010's. Its not a timeless story or idea, its just....well old fashioned. Let me just define something here; a timeless story is something that can be seen by just about any generation. The 1939 Wizard of Oz is a perfect example, it will be enjoyed by people in the future. Something old fashioned will look dated and possibly silly. These sort of promotional anime and cartoons were big in the boom years of the 80s and 90s, but not in the recession years of the 2010's.
I have friends who like this anime and I see why; the design of many of the creatures is interesting. But its a very worn out storyline and the characters are stock (we'll see more of this later)
-Dinosaur King: This is Digimon/Pokémon but with dinosaurs. Even down to the main characters; there's a young trio with one who wants to be the very best (*cough* Ash *cough* oh and he wears goggles like Tai in Digimon), a supportive girl (Misty) and a tough older boy (Brok). There's also two bumbling villains akin to Jessie and James. The dinosaurs are also kind of lame looking in bright lurid colours. Also I have the same ethical issues with this show as I do in Pokémon. Making living things fight each other is just cruel. I know I'm digging too deep, but its true!
-Beast Wars. I haven't seen this, but it looks interesting enough. Maybe I might squeeze it in on the best list later
Ok now onto the list:
No.6 YuGiOh
Ah YuGiOh. This was a big deal in the 90s and early 2000's. But why? Well....I don't know. I really have no idea why YuGiOh was such a big thing. Oh and before I go on, this is squarely about the original series, not GX or whatever other hell spawn this has produced.
Lets go back to what I said before; there are two kinds of these anime, the Adventure and the Tutorial. YuGiOh is kind of a weird mix of the two; with fantasy elements and yet they go on and on about how to play a sordid and silly card game. As for the design and animation, ITS ALL AWFUL. This is without a doubt one of the top three ugliest shows on this list (the others will come later). Very very stiff movements and do I really need to mention the hair? Everyone has bashed the hair; its stupid and itchy looking.
And they took Ancient Egypt, one of the coolest, recognisable and enduring ancient civilizations on Earth and turned it stupid. I think its no surprise that Ancient Egyptians DIDN'T control monsters through card games, nor did they have stupid looking hair and didn't have silly millennium items.
So why does this have the no.6 spot and not something higher? Well it is kind of funny. Not that the jokes in the anime are funny, oh no no no! But it is just funny to see how dumb this series gets and how the characters treat a card game like an act of war. Also it did create a brilliant Abridged series that is still funny to this day and for that I am grateful for that.
No. 5 Cardfight Vanguard]
The blood brother of Future Card Buddyfight, this anime is basically a YuGiOh carbon copy. Lets go through our checklist:
1. Weedy main character, check
2. Said character has two bullies who instantly become friends at the end of episode 1, check
3. a big card contest, check
4. Fabulous season 1 villain, check
5. creepy kid villain in season 2, check
6. tragedy and children's card games, DOUBLE check.
Yes, not too big on the originality really. The only real big differences I can think of are better looking and smoother animation and the fact that this anime has a mental condition that allows you to win card games easily. Which is really odd when you think about it; what's next? A disease that makes you win Monopoly?
this is one of the barest of any of the Tutorial types; lots of card lingo thrown everywhere. Its even kind of horrific; all these people live for is card games....every day....for the rest of their miserable lives.
No.4 Beyblade
...spinning tops. That's what this is, spinning tops, those basic toys that have existed for thousands of years, from Ancient Egypt to the present day. All they did in this was add blades to them and dragons coming out of them and...whatever. The character design is hideous, and it comes in on number two in the top three ugliest anime in this list, its as if it was drawn by an alien who only had a vague idea of what a human looked like. Its also dead boring and annoying....worth a watch? No.
no. 3 Bakugan Battle Brawlers
This one could have been higher on the list, since it does have a dose of fantasy elements and some decent animation. But it has some of the dumbest ideas and pacing. For example, the game in this series starts as a secret game that only kids (and shadowy villains) know about. But then only a few episodes in, it becomes a national sport. And the anime never explains how this happened, you're supposed to just believe it. Also the devices used in the game is pretty much like the ones in Pokémon.
overall its a bland little creation with no effort.
No.2 Medabots
This anime involves people forcing robots to kill each other this time. First we had weird fictional creatures based on real animals (or objects) in Pokémon, then dragons, then dinosaurs and now robots. There are no redeeming factors in this one, with bad character designs, washed out lifeless colours and some really bad fight scenes. The animation and art in this make a Care Bears cartoon look like high art. There's also grating voices and some irritating music; so it destroys your ears too!
Basically avoid this. Its not worth it.
No.1 Weiß Survive
This may come as a surprise to some who never heard of this but trust me this is horrific. Now whatever can be said about the others, you could make the argument that at least they're innocent....mostly. This anime, Weiß Survive or Weiss Survive for simplification is just inexcusable.
What is it though? Its meant to be a parody of the commercial/card game anime genre. And it fails miserably. I'm all for parodies and satire, but the problem here is that instead of making fun of the genre, it instead uses generic anime humour, including screaming a lot, the main character being a leach and a pervert, booby humour and panties, of course. This makes it both creepy (as the main characters are pretty young) and dull. It isn't parodying clichés, but becoming a cliché itself. It is pathetic.
Overall
with the exception of Weiß Survive, most of these anime are pretty harmless. Some on the best list are well worth a watch and can be really rewarding. As for the worst ones, well most tend to be more bland or inept than horrific.
And so that's that for this journal. I thank you for reading and hope you've have fun! (or at least mild entertainment.)
James' Top 5 commercial/toyline based anime.
Posted 10 years agoHello all and welcome to a new journal! I really am starting to pick up again!
You know, when I was just thinking; there is a fair few anime that promotes stuff; toys, games, cards and so on. They were such a big thing in the late 90s and early 2000's and are making somewhat of a comeback now. Most of these tend be pretty shoddy and shallow, but there are a few good ones that have effort, or at least some bits of effort.
And so that's what we're counting down in this journal.
Just to clarify though; this is a list of ANIME based on games and products, not the actual games and products. Just making that clear. Lets go!
Number 5; Dragon Drive
Its....ok.
....yes, that's it. Its ok. There's nothing bad about it, but nothing too great either. I know that means it should be higher, but honestly there's not really much you can say about Dragon Drive. I was really struggling to get 5 of these types of anime, so decided to have Dragon Drive at no.5. Again its ok. The main character can be an irritating whiner/slacker, but it does have dragons in it....so yay?
Number 4; Pokémon
Ah Pokémon. This is arguably the one that started it all and its where this list really launches off. A huge hit when it was released 1997, this anime has gone on....and on...and on.....and on. And this really is its biggest flaw; it has gone on for so long that it becomes repetitive. Ash Katchum (or Satoshi if you want) keeps going back to square one with every single season. Its like he has a reset button or something. They should probably have used a different protagonist for every season. Also the anime itself is just too loud. There's lots of blaring music and shouting (in fact its were I got inspiration for all the shouting in a parody story I've written ). And the Pokémon became weirder and stupid; such as the Ice cream Pokémon! Its Ice Cream, it can't fight, it just melts and tastes good.
And it did give us the endless "Original characters" that plague art sites....uuuugh.
I admit I personally never liked Pokémon; games and anime. The idea of catching living beings and then forcing them to fight always sickened me (even when I was 5 or so). I also always found Ash and co. to be kind of annoying.
On the positive side though, it had Team Rocket, who are utterly hilarious, easily the best aspect of the anime. I always looked forward to them showing up
and it did give us some hilarious controversy; from seizures and inflatable boobies to blackface and guns.
Overall....its ok. Just ran on for too long
Number 3; Monster Rancher
In these sort of commercial anime, I find there are two kinds; the adventure into fantasy world and the tutorial kind. Pokémon and Monster Rancher fall into the adventure category, which yields the better shows.
Monster Rancher presents a fun and diverse world of strange creatures and fantasy elements. There's a clearly set goal; to stop evil spreading across the land, so it doesn't meander like Pokémon.
Its not perfect and it has flaws, but then again nothing can be 100% perfect. The designs can be interesting, but the character animation and movement is very stiff and there's some unsubtle marketing tricks; from PlayStations to roller-skates. to . And the English rap songs.....ARGH! My ears are still recovering from being shredded from it BE PREPARED TO SKIP THESE IF YOU EVER TRY TO WATCH IT....don't let your ears be raped D:
And CD's are like rings of power in this universe....its kind of like Lord of the Rings only with CD's
But if you can over come these and the occasional annoying character, you get a pretty entertaining show.
About the top 2
Ok, the top two. This is going to be tough. I've been thinking of this list for a while and this pair have juggled position around a lot
So for the sakes of it; lets just say they're all at the same level.
No.2 Digimon
Ah Digimon. While I didn't care for Pokémon back in the day, I utterly adored Digimon. The designs were fun and the adventure seemed big. There was a lot of character development and also some quieter moments, especially in an episode where one of the characters finds himself in a ghostly version of his home and meets his sister.
Unfortunately this anime suffers one GIANT problem; the English version. The English dub really changed things around and messed up with the story, leaving it hobbling along; with less menacing villains. That's really the only problem and sadly it is a big one.
The seasons also vary in quality; the first three are good and there's a fourth which is kind of average. But average is better than awful!
Number 1; Legendz
Now I haven't watched this yet, but judging from word of mouth and reviews, this looks like a real impressive anime. It does delve into dark and mature moments and themes, good on you Legendz!
Additionally there are wonderfully designed creatures and some truly heartfelt moments and character development; not just of the human characters, but the creatures too!
This is probably the apex of the monster/toyline/commercial anime; it doesn't deal with a generic "I got to catch them all and fight." but instead explores beyond that and I applaud it.
In conclusion; You will find good material in seas of junk. Most of these anime, bad or good are harmless enough. All of the anime in this list are the Adventure type of the game/monster anime genre and as said before, these usually yield the best results (usually, we'll get to the brain-dead example later on...wait and see! )
Some like Digimon and Legendz are truly great works.
Join us next time for the Worst list! Have fun and a pleasant day!
Doctor Who 50th anniversary; a review
Posted 10 years agoHello all and welcome to a new journal :D
I'm late on this topic, but whatever; Doctor Who celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013. What a legacy the series had, starting 1963 with ground-breaking eerie electronic score:
The original series ran on until 1989 when it was cancelled due to some jerk becoming head of TV in the BBC and ruining the show because he hated sci-fi. What a twat
But then the series was revived in 2005 and became a huge success, quickly restabilising itself.
Sadly I feel like the series, under the wings of a guy called Steven Moffatt has grown a bit soft recently. Too many happy saccharine endings and not enough memorable scenes. Even when its trying to be dark its sometimes too reluctant to kill characters off. Its like its afraid of being itself. Old Doctor Who was never afraid to give characters gruesome and memorable sticky ends and to terrify kids. But now....now it just feels soft and squishy and a bit too pompous at times.
Also the moping. There's a lot of "boohoo" moments in New Who, when the Doctor goes all sad at the Time War (fought between the Time Lord and the Daleks; which are mutants inside a protective case with an ideology that would put Hitler to shame). Its ok to have characters be sad in a show, in fact its important to have them feel some emotion otherwise they'd be emotionless robots.
But here its just too much :
"Oh boohoo the time lord children are dead, oh boohoo! Feel sorry for me!"
There's a difference between raw emotion and just balling at the audience. Maybe this is just the ramblings of a cankerous old fart like myself, but maybe I am missing something.
But aside anyways, lets move on and look at the 50th anniversary episode.
It features only two of the established Doctors, with one being added (John Hurt as the War Doctor). This is one of the problems of the special. The 50th anniversary having only two of the past Doctors doesn't feel like its celebrating its roots. Where's the other living Doctors? Well they show up in pre-existing scenes taken straight from older episodes, which is a real shame; a lot of the actors who played the later Doctors were interested in coming back for the anniversary. Also Doctors 10 (David Tennant) and 11 (Matt Smith) are odd when they meet each other; they get along. Most other multi-Doctor stories have the Doctors squabbling and trying to be in charge.
Oh and Doctor 10 also ends up marrying Elizabeth the First....mmm. Yeah Doctor no.10 is usually painted as all romantic. Its odd though because every other Doctor is shown as pretty asexual. Points for being different maybe?
So in a way it doesn't feel too much like an anniversary of the entire series. It just feels like an overlong episode of the new series. There's a few links to the past here and there like the Zygons appear randomly, they're weird aliens who's home has been destroyed and they want to make Earth their home. But they're kind of unceremoniously side-lined and forgotten about. The Zygons have only ever appeared once in the entire series; and their first appearance was solely about them and so they had more screen time, focus and development; they're not evil for the sake of evil, they need a new home to survive. Here, the costumes and effects are great looking, but there's nothing much for them to do except be the bogeyman of the day.
Now for the good parts, there's some interesting concepts like 3D paintings and the fact that we get to see the Time War. Its weird though, since the Time Lords are loosing against the Daleks, even though the Time Lords are pretty darn powerful; they can destroy whole races with a thought, but here they're getting their butts kicked by tin cans!
Oh and then there's a cameo by Doctor No.4 actor Tom Baker. And every DrWho fan squeed
Overall:
I honestly felt a wee bit disappointed. And no its not because there's not references to every single thing in the past series, that would be dull. Its more that some bits just trailed off into nowhere like the zygons.
If you want a better anniversary I recommend An Adventure in Space and Time (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Adv.....Space_and_Time) which is about the creation of DrWho and feels like a proper anniversary; one that looks back and says "look how far we have come."
Also unlike the wailing of the new series, this actually does tap a lot of raw emotion; giddy happiness at the goofiness of the beginning and sadness as the actor who played the First Doctor weakens and eventually resigns.
Also recommended are The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors. Both very fun and you get to see the Doctors argue and face a whole host of villains.
been silent for a while
Posted 11 years agoSorry for the blank silence here folks University is being a huge burden at the moment and I feel really worn out
with two assignments, a rather erratic geology course (that keeps me on edge) and a lot of snow and bad weather (hence I have to miss out my tutorial.) Its been one rough patch O_o
2014 retrospective
Posted 11 years ago2014 has been a real mixed bag; full of good things and bad things.
There have been a lot of emotional high points for me; got quite a lot of new writing done and got a lot of watchers in short bursts year long I'm still surprised how many I have, since most people seem not to read writing on FA.
Bad stuff has been a mixture of rough times in FA and some truly tragic events in reality.
The Scottish city of Glasgow has suffered two brutal catastrophes, one involving a crashed helicopter, the other a rubbish (or trash) lorry crashing into a shopping centre on the 24th of December. Both where horrific and very sad. The fact these two happened in the same year in the same city is also very strange and sad. It really mired this Christmas.
On a lesser note, some other things making me feel down were on FA. I fell out with people, befriended some again and fell out again when they did something else or mutate into something else and try to recontact some I haven't spoken to in a while with no success. Its been a bit of a sad time in some regards. Sure there's a whole site full of people, sure its best to move on, but even then it can be sad and painful to move on and sometimes being ignored can be just as damaging than a snide comment.
2014 has had its share of annoying meme-ish/viral stuff, like Five Nights At Freddy's. Yes its scary the first time, but the vast amounts of fan art (drawing your character as an animatronic exactly like the FNAF characters isn't scary. You have to put in effort) and fanfiction even more sinister than the actual game has hurt its reputation for me. That and people keep going on about it a lot....a lot a lot. Though now it seems to be dying off.
Also quite a few songs about butts too for some reason, like 'All about that Bass' which is...odd. And Anaconda which is painful
Movies have been a lot better than last time, with Guardians of the Galaxy being a big standout.
So what do I think of 2014. It could have been better. I'm rather scared of the new year and what it will bring, having had all the nasty stuff of this year.
But I hope everyone who reads this, whoever they are, has a happy new year.
TMI Tuesday
Posted 11 years agoWhy not? Haven't done it in a while and I need to get rid of the previous journal
I need a relax
Posted 11 years agoHi all
Sorry for the lack of writing again. I've had 2 horrendous university assignments consuming my time, so now I feel bedraggled and woebegone.
So I have to ask, can any of you show me something funny; a video or piece of artwork
I hope to get more writing done during the Christmas holidays though
Sorry for the lack of writing again. I've had 2 horrendous university assignments consuming my time, so now I feel bedraggled and woebegone.
So I have to ask, can any of you show me something funny; a video or piece of artwork
I hope to get more writing done during the Christmas holidays though
Sluggish mind :O and discussion on artwork
Posted 11 years agoI can't get writing I feel all slow and grotty with coughing and an aching head.
Its pretty irritating since I need to get back to writing, since I've had a huge downtime thanks to university and illness and I need to get this writing request I have done and dusted while still making it engaging (and no, I don't do requests that often, so no I won't write some stupid fanfic involving wolves and/or diapers or whatever, creepy).
Also about the artwork I have in my gallery. Honestly a part of me really wants to delete the artwork; its not done by me, can be found in galleries elsewhere and draws the most favourites, and NOT my writing which is my main output. And the favourites I usually get are "Ghost favourites" from random people who saunter in and never say anything. It kind of makes me depressed
what should I do?
WEASYL
Posted 11 years agoOk everyone, since FA is going to pieces (AGAIN) I will be on Weasyl until this damage has been sorted out with:
https://www.weasyl.com/~altallo
My thoughts on the new Jurassic Park movie (Jurassic World)
Posted 11 years agowell a lot of peeps on FA are excited for Jurassic World. For those of you who haven't seen the trailer, its over here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFinNxS5KN4
Now what do I think of it? I honestly think it looks kind of silly.
First off these people have built another park and haven't learnt their lesson; breeding back a tonne of dinosaurs always leads to people dying and the screaming and the eating! If you're going to have dinosaurs, just have herbivores or stuff that won't be able to chew you into a pulp. Sure it might be dull for some, but play it safe! Also I think seeing any dinosaur would be exciting; I personally would prefer to see a triceratops over a Trex any day
Second of all it does look a bit too fake, too much CGI. This has been said before a lot of times, but the mixture of CGI, animatronics and puppets of the first movie fooled the eye and was generally more spectacular looking. Also the CGI dinosaurs were always kept in the dark or shadowy places, which helped even more, a bit like keeping the xenomorph in shadow in the first Alien movie
Unfortunately, this new movie has the CGI everywhere and it looks plastic; the dinosaurs don't look like they are really there.
Third the new dinosaur hybrid monster thing. I'm going to be blunt here, this new thing sounds so silly! Why would anyone breed something that's huge, can climb walls and wants to kill everything it sees? That's pretty bad planning. Also the sound effects in the trailer remind me strongly of Godzilla and Pacific Rim. Looks like Jurassic Park is trying to get into the Kaiju crowd
So overall...I really don't want to see this movie Jurassic Park for me died out 20 or so years ago. The first movie is great (Though I find it a bit dull times, having been forced to watch it over and over with my little brother so that its now burned into my skull), the second movie was dull and the third is brainless dinosaur fodder. But I may be proven wrong....maybe .
Skype is a pain and FA is slow D:
Posted 11 years agoI've been having some trouble with my Skype. Its an older version (6.18, because I don't like the new version) and it works fine for most of the time, but occasionally just crashes for no reason.
This started 2 days ago and was pretty common at first, but has became rarer. The most recent was half an hour ago and yet all day it was working brilliantly.
Should I be concerned, or will this just pass on?
Also, why is FA slowing down? it was snappy a few hours ago and now its ground to a snail pace.
Message to my watches and friends
Posted 11 years agoI just want to say; Thank you
Thank you all for being with me all this time whether you're an old watcher or a new, just thank you.
Its been a long journey, full of all sorts of emotions; happiness, fun, joy, sadness, anguish, rejuvenation, craziness and so on. Its been full of all sorts of moments, from drama queen watchers, laughing and joking, new ideas and reflections. I've enjoyed most of my time here, from replying and reading comments to browsing galleries. There has been a fair bit of pain too and I have lost people who I thought was friendly with or just fell out with over time (one of whom I do want to contact again), there have been site issues too; though Weasyl proves a great second site and also some annoyances with trends and fads (sometimes too much of one thing is bad and then tastes sour).
But these negatives are like tiny drops in a huge ocean of enjoyment I've had just making friends and writing
I know this may appear to be a pointless journal to some ("Gosh does he never stop typing?" ) but I just really wanted to say:
Thank you :D
FA has its issues, but the friends I have outdo the site
another question journal
Posted 11 years agoBit bored, so just ask me anything
mystery submission
Posted 11 years agoI keep getting a message about a new submission and whenever I got to look at it, it says its been deleted and the date it was posted is "unknown"
is anyone else getting this? D:
is anyone else getting this? D:
