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tom-is-online · 5 months

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Project Sekai x Pokemon AU (base ideas)

i have brainrot heres my scraps i gots whilst i revise for my mock exams, ILL BE BACK POSTING ART SOON I PROMISE when i get more for this cuz i will cuz its living in my head ill post it and when i have enough ill make a big post with em VBS sketches for designs I have in mind for them

Sketch concepts - im also gonna be real loose with the typing of the teams its more of a theme than a set in stone type

VBS

I want VBS to be double battle experts with their partner, they have matching pokemon and everything and build their teams on each other. Trying to surpass the RAD WEEKEND Who are the best trainers in the area

NIIGO

The main basis for NIIGO is i want them to not be fighting but instead be the other areas of pokemon: Kanade = gen5's music gimmick + pokedex Mafuyu = Pokemon centre nurse (she broke the nurse joy cycle) Ena = pokemon snap and pokemon art academy. do you see the vision. Mizuki = THEYRE THE PROP MAKER FOR SHOWS. they do costumes and make props and will find weird items for you if asked

id also like to add the idea of them making a pokemon anime or mv still honestly not sure what they do as a group but that's the best i have rn :)

OTHER GROUPS I HAVE NOT DOODLED YET!!!

Leo/Need - wants to become the new elite four! they might also find some legendaries along the way

More More Jump - pokemon contests!!!

Wonderland X showtime - POKESTAR STUDIOS. if youre not aware what that is, they make films. they have robots and actors and its awesome. Rui makes the robots btw

i wanna make a ver of this with the finished ones kinda like a pokedex entry i wanna fuck around a bit with them and make ones for the other characters I want the Mikus to all have a cosplay pikachu based on this i made last year - might make my own miku designs based on voltage tho :)

+ this i made last year

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK AND IF YOU HAVE ANY OPINIONS FOR ANYTHING LMK LMAO THIS HAS FULLY TAKEN OVER MY HEAD HELP

also. if anyone has ideas for tsukasa tenma. send em my way. i cannot think of anything for that man

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kingscrown666 · 6 days

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The weirdest ship I've ever heard of is Pocahontas x Pikachu

#poll #ships #ship poll #weirdness #pocahontas #pikachu

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prof-peach · 1 year

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Does 'magic' exist in the Dotakuverse? Like, human beings performing actual spells, there was an episode of the anime where Ash got transformed into a Pikachu.

What does Peach think about it, does she believe in it? I can imagine she's sceptical, at least until some inexperienced magician accidentally turns her into the world's buffest Roserade.

She doesnt believe...well. She says she doesnt, but is still terrified of the concept of it. So if youre scared of it surely you have some capacity to believe in it?

Of Peach, Rei, Plum, and Grey, Peach is the only one to have seen ghosts, and to have experienced unusual events, or "magic" if you want to call it that, and the staff all believe its because she's the one who believes it the most deep down, and believes it with fear. She doesnt hunt for these weird things, nor chase them down and try to prove them right or wrong, she activley avoids it all, its creepy to her, she's got jobs to do and has no time for it.

If asked she will wholly suggest its all smoke and mirrors, cant be true, and magic isnt functional...but then cleanse tags? is that not magic? Grey believes, he's convinced, because you cant explain some items without it. And surely all magic is just science thats unexplained yet? Peach is in a deep state of denial lol. She'd be a Bewear, an extra spicy one. Earth shatteringly powerful mon, theyre already tanks, add peach to that mix? Unstoppable. Take on anything.

((As a creator I dont involve it much because it muddies stories for me, I like a more logical approach most of the time, but I do think it has a place in the worldbuilding for the sake of fun, fear, or whimsy, and while I dont believe humans can perform actual magic at all in the Dotakuverse, I do believe pokemon skills/abilities and ancient energies can appear like magic, and be classed as that. Besides who doesnt love a halloween story where you wake up in the wrong body, or as a pokemon?? it is a fun line to explore, even if its not canon.))

#prof.peach #headcanon #pokemon #magic #real or not?#you be the judge

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chipsncookies · 1 year

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Team Explorers analysis

I have watched ep1&2 and boy do i have a lot of thoughts!!

- they used manipulative means to get liko but still maintain professionalism(?), amethio faking the permission slip and letter from her grandma, and being polite before liko decided to run away, and even when confronting friede ame and friede are very civil with each other(?). Ame also knocked before going into liko's room lol

-amethio is higher rank than zir and conia, based on how they report to him, his clothes look different, they call him -sama and his battle prowess surpass them (compare liko vs zir and friede vs amethio)

- i said amethio is high rank but i feel he isn't the big boss, since the details about the pendant is unknown to him. There must be a reason why it's so important, but he didn't know why, he only follow orders. He knew to some extent her grandma gave the pendant but not its qualities, Which is kinda weird if you're about to break laws for this thing? That said he's also quick thinking, he just found out about the gleam of light and how it saves liko in danger, and he adjusted his objective immediately (get pendant > get pendant & liko). It also look like he was reporting to someone in ep 3 preview.

Based on this, his strength + his freedom to make decisions i speculate he's admin level at least 🤔

-The explorers as an organisation is also shrouded in mystery. Their name is neutral sounding, but friede said they're notorious, and his teammates are shocked/displeased when they found out explorers are involved. Amethio didn't know who friede was, so they've never met before. He was also surprised friede fought with pikachu and thought friede was toying with him (he will be humbled later), which means explorers don't know about friede's team composition also. I wonder what else explorers have done to gain infamous reputation amd how friede came to know about them

That's all i have for now, im really looking forward to next ep. They've caught sprigatito and want to exchange for pendant & liko it seems. I really like how they're written, how ame especially takes his mission very seriously even going into a storm to chase liko. However he still maintain professionalism and be civil with his opponents and liko. I really like that about him. Even in ep3 preview he seem to treat sprigatito nicely despite it being their hostage

-It seems grunts get skarmory and that one other pkmn zir used that i cant remember as standard issued pokemons. I wonder what conia has, is it the same as him (Offtopic but i love how zir shows concern for his pkmn when it was attacked by sprigatito, it's cute)

EDIT: FORGOT TO ADD amethio is also never mean to his zir and conia, he didn't reprimand them even if they failed to catch liko, and they're also loyal to him, even going as far as flying into a storm under his order. Very interesting dynamic i hope to see more of them

I hope we get to see more of zir and conia's personality next time, im really loving this team. I also hope we get to learn more about their organisation. See you in ep3!

#pokemon #pokemon horizons #pokemon horizons spoilers #amethio #zir #conia #team explorers #chipsays #my analysis #how do i tag this

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stgosupremacy · 9 months

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MY SATOGOU GOODBYE RANT.

so yeah i said i would do one so here i am. honestly dont know how long this will be so let's get stuck in lmao <33

I'm starting after the 'im glad i met you part', bc i kind of already did a post on that anyway lol (and just wanted to add, in the dub they changed it to 'I'm sure glad i met you,' and Ash says it so soft omg i literally died on the spot watching it ;-;

(headsup ignore the fact some of the images are off a youtube channel i couldn't find the scenes💀)

so i hope this is all in order, but this bit is so so SO sweet when Goh tells him 'thanks for reaching out for me' like no surprise i was literally crying at that point like sgdxkjnfsgf it's so sweet to me that without Ash none of his journey would have really happened, but tbf you could say the same for all of his companion tbh. either way, i am very glad goh met satoshi too omg <3 🥺

theennnnnn this part is Ash just offering some sweet words of advice and comfort, talking ab their dreams ect, like, nothing too bittersweet to see here, but i guess you can say the way he said 'WE' and meant both of them is sweet lmao

OK so on the palm of our hands thing i have a few things to say

first of all i love how Ash knew that he knew what to continue with bc they are just so in sync with each other ofc <3 and OFC they had to put that scene in for the last episode, like when it was in the Mewto episode for the first time, i was honestly screaming of how cute it was LIKE THE FACT ASH MADE THE LITTLE ADD ON OF 'OUR HANDS' IN THE FIRST TIME THEY DID IT JUST MAKES IT EVEN MORE CUTER EJHSKF

but anyways as much as i love this scene because of how 'the future is in the palm of our hands', can be interpreted in some otherways, 👀 I also couldnt help but thing about something else.

after/before the Project mew stuff actually started/finished (pretty sure it was after,) we see a scene of Goh, Gary and Horace using the 'palm of our hands' phrase together, and yeah its rlly cute lmao, but i was kind of hoping it was something unique for Ash and Goh, not trying to be a fusspot, but i think the scene now feels slightly less special to me now Goh used it with some other people?

I mean sure, ash and goh were still the first people who did it, and it IS their kind of thing lmao, like they created it. Even tho it was just an initial thought, it is still really sweet that goh used it with others don't get me wrong <3

when i was watching this i was like no way this is it lol like are you not gonna confess

jokes but thankfully they made a bittttt more to it (and good bc if they left it there I would be sitting there like what)

so they start to walk away from each other and you see Goh is still quite sad while Ash is still holding up, my heart was dying </3

STOP IT WHEN GOH STOPPED AND HE WAS ABOUT TO CRY AAAAAAAAAA 🥺🥺🥺

BUT OFC

OFC ASH HAS TO CALL OUT TO HIM AND THE WAY GOH'S EYES HAVE THE LITTLE SPARKLE WHEN HE HEARS HIS VOICE 💖 The fact Ash actually thought while he was walking away 'oh shit need to check up on the bf' lol and climbed up the little hill to wave him off again is the cutest thing; CANNOT CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE this made their whole goodbye for me tbh 💕💕💕

SUPPORTIVE BROS FOR REAL <3

ofc they want each other to achieve their dreams aww

ok but THIS

the bit where they nod at each other is so comforting to me like it's weird, but it gave me a little more satisfaction i'll say, lmao. also gives you a hint that they are wrapping up the goodbyes fully so it gave me some very brief preparation time 😢

and with that, Goh runs off into the distance.

</3 (my boy has grown up sm) 🥺

OK i do love that when he runs off, he's more confident, and when it switches back to Ash, it has him watching over Goh until he can't see him anymore, which is rlly cute <333 ahhh they're so pure man

Ash runs off to his new journey too, and he begins to talk about Pallet Town to Pikachu...

Thats it

yeah

SOOOOO BASICALLY THIS IS MORE OF THE RANT SECTION:

uhmmm so first things first. Did i like the goodbye for them? Well, yeah, it was quite cute, especially the end part where Ash gives him that last bit of encouragement and called out his name, because SHEESH if they left that part out and gave them that first goodbye without Ash calling out to him, and they just left each other....yeah, i wouldn't be happy.

see, i just kind of thought they deserved a bit better. It was v cute and all, but like they've been through so much together 😭 😭 😭 😭 like I'm saying this as a shipper but still 😂 tbf if they hugged I probably would have cried but let's be honest I could cry at anything at this point

but hey what we got was pretty cute, I just would have tweaked some things because honesty this duo are literally the closest I've ever seen in the anime, and I would have hoped for a little bit more, BUT IT'S FINE IT HAPPENED *mentally counts*

9 MONTHS AGO (??? where has the time gone)

but thank you for coming to my TED talk <33

#pokemon anime #anipoke #ash ketchum #pokemon goh #firstfriendshipping #satogou #ash x goh #goh pokemon #i miss them #pokemon journeys #fatedencountershipping #pokemon #episode 136 #ash and goh goodbye

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iantimony · 5 months

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a day late because yesterday i was tooooo busy! some spoilers in here for dungeon meshi and saltburn!

listening: mostly background stuff. i still haven't played more nier: automata but the boyf got me listening to the soundtrack and it whips.

reading: more tgcf at night to soothe my frenzied brain to sleep. i finished dungeon meshi yesterday!! i did cry!!! it was so, so good, i loved it. i really liked that there was no set antagonist, per se, at least not until the very end with the fight against the winged lion, it was all just a bunch of characters with different but justifiable goals that had their aims all butting up against each other. very cool. i love kabru what a little shit

a collection of some good screenshots:

watching: many things this week. my partner is visiting for the week and we like to have videos on while we're cooking n eating so we watched...essentially the entirety of weird history food channel, started with the trader joes one and spiraled from there.

youtube

we also watched the currently-released episodes of dungeon meshi. very charming. i cannot wait to see how they animate certain scenes.

on sunday night we did a friend dinner, so me and my boyfriend, roommate and hers, and one other friend; after dinner we movie night-ed it and watched saltburn and blazing saddles:

saltburn was insane! apparently there is shock and alarm at the sex scenes, which i am not very online about it so i have no idea what people are actually saying but imo it was not that crazy. there is a solo, uh, let's call it Moment towards the end of the film that is pretty out there, but besides that the sex scenes are the least of anyone's worries in this movie. it took me WAY too long to realize that the main character was the antagonist, i'm normally pretty savvy to those kinds of twists so that took me off guard. my roommate had seen it once (or even twice?? i think?? i have no wish to watch that movie again, good for her though) and i didn't start clocking it until immediately before felix tricked oliver into going home. as they were in the car i was like "there's no fucking way that he lied about his family to felix. right. right??" oops. some good cool symbolism in there, i had a bit of an xkcd "of course everyone knows this myth" moment when my roommate was like "huh i wonder if there's a symbolic reason for the bull-man statue in the maze at the end, or felix's angel wing costume" and i was like surprise pikachu. the minotaur, the labyrinth, icarus, hello? wdym you don't know the story of the minotaur??? much to think about with this movie. i searched it on tumblr and feel like a lot of people missed the point in favor of blorbo romance but like, fair, it is the blorbo romance website. 8.5/10.

blazing saddles was our palette cleanser after that doozy of a film. my friend said at the end "anyone who thinks this movie is racist needs better media literacy" and i'm inclined to agree. yes the n word is in there - but the people saying it are so unambiguously depicted as insanely stupid and wrong, and the leading man is a charismatic handsome black man, and tbh the smartest person in the movie? arguably more homophobic (the end scenes) than racist but even then the way 'f*ggot' is deployed hit me like modern tumblr humor.

youtube

idk. even though it's a comedy it is Very clear to me that a message from this movie is "Racism Bad". i thought it was fun, didn't find the blonde lady's musical number very good or funny, got a few chuckles out of it overall. classic mel brooks. 7/10.

playing: wizord101.

making: started experimenting with english paper piecing! i forgot to take a picture yesterday so ill try to remember and add that later today. or maybe for next week's post. also started a pair of fingerless gloves for my mom

eating: my boy made us all a budae-jjigae type object on sunday and it was so so so yummy - photo from before simmering for like 30 minutes, with pork belly, spam, tofu, and a bunch of mushrooms, grunions, and kimchi:

before my roommate came back from a conference we did this cabbage and thin-sliced hotpot beef thing that was. so fucking good. we had it two separate nights in a row. just layering meat and napa cabbage and then cutting into ~2in strips, laying them in a pot, filling the center with mushrooms; make a broth of soy sauce/dashi/misc soup stock powder from leftover ramen, pour it over, simmer til cooked baby. delicious. this image is a little steamy bc i tried to take it right after opening the pot, lol

misc: wough. struggling to get back into the routine a little. i need to make more spreadsheets for my agonies (apartment hunting and determining what internships/programs to apply to for this summer). and i need to start using my planner again because i keep forgetting to do shit.

#tuesdayposting #Youtube

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monkeybell · 1 month

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Episode 1: Seeing Ash after watching Horizons. My heart wasn’t ready for this y’all. Even the narrator is gonna make me cry hhhh 🥺. Looking back, I do love seeing Pikachu’s past but at the same time, was it really that… necessary? It didn’t add that much but maybe that’s just me. It’s still cute seeing him as a Pichu regardless. Now the journey starts today is an absolute banger. This song doesn’t get enough credit and I’m tired of not seeing any love for it. Kangaskhan feeding Pichu the Oran berry. Cuteness overload. The whole Delia scene of her patting Pikachu hits different when you realize that’s what Kangaskhan did to help Pichu sleep. I think a lot of people forget that Ash and Serena didn’t attend the same camp. Goh and Chloe went first and the next time, Ash went and encountered Serena. It’s weird that younger Goh has the same voice as older Goh. Doesn’t match his age and it’s throwing me off. At least Chloe sounds a bit younger. I hope this rewatch will help me understand Goh but at the moment, I’m still not that big on him, sorry. I love Chloe’s sass. Wish we got to see her sass alongside Serena’s. Also I’m sorry but I’m just gonna stay it. Goh and Chloe = Childhood friends. Ash and Serena =/= childhood friends. We only knew one confirmed encounter Ash and Serena had which we see multiple instances of Goh and Chloe interacting when they were younger. So realistically, a childhood encounter best fits Ash and Serena. Plus I feel Ash probably would’ve remembered a childhood friend right away but Serena was more of a stranger(not trying to start a war, it’s just a personal irk of mine when people say Ash and Serena had a past like Goh and Chloe when that’s pretty clearly not the case ^^;). Kinda wish that since Journeys was Ash and Pikachu’s last series, that they would give us a Pikachu and Kangaskhan reunion. One of the ones most needed alongside Ambipom. Like imagine during the last episode of MPM, they encounter the Kangaskhan and their journey in a way ended where it began. That would be an emotional fanfic(someone make it happen! 😭). I love seeing the same scene from I choose you. I think this episode really gave a lot of hints that it was the last for Ash and Pikachu. Pikachu backstory, callback to the beginning and even showing a scene similar to their very last.

Episode 2: Pikachu trying to wake Ash by slapping and electrocuting him is a mood. Something I think pet owners can relate to. One of my dogs barks at me while the other will rub his scent all over you and the bed, attack you with kisses and sometimes scratch the hell out of your head. Delia getting excited over seeing the shops. Imagine a shopping spree between her and the Pokegirls(especially the ones who love to shop). YAMPER. Boy I sure do hope it doesn’t get pushed aside and forgotten about for episodes at a time. Chloe just walking past Ash dead on the stairs. That’s a mood too. Oh and yes, we stan Chloe here. Yes she had wasted potential but I still enjoyed her. And yes again that includes Eevee and the eeveelution focused episodes. Who would win a sass off, Misty, Iris, Serena or Chloe? How can they predict a super rare Pokemon showing up?? Like what? XD. Psyduck showing up and just staring at Goh makes me smile every time. I’ve really grown to love Psyduck. Think it’s time I got a plushie of him. If I remember correctly, doesn’t Lugia end up being revealed as Mew? Do you think Lugia is a Satogou shipper? Random question but Pokémon do seem to ship people. Rainbow scene with Ash and Goh!! I may not be that big on Goh but I can’t deny how great of a ship Ash x Goh is. They got some crazy hints. I think Goh blushes at Ash just as much as Serena did. Aw Horsea! I don’t bring up Horsea enough. I’m actually a fan of the Pokemon. Have been since watching Misty’s Horsea as a kid. Ash being annoyed with his mom XD. If Goh did pick a Kanto starter, who do you think he would choose? I could see him being a Squirtle person tbh

#pokemon #pokemon journeys #monkeywatchesjn #rewatch

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purplekoop · 6 months

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Koop Talks About (#1)... Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves A 9th-Level Pleasant Surprise!

So the first of the movies I watched with my dearest partner during our thanksgiving meetup trip was the D&D movie, which... I'll be blunt, I didn't really expect much from. As much joy as I've had with DnD over the past few years, I don't really give much credit to DnD itself as a "brand". My memories come from the primarily homebrewed campaigns and thoroughly original PCs, saturated with house rules and whatever the hell I convinced my partner would fit in a DnD game. I even started a campaign of my own with an original setting, though it sadly didn't last long due to personal motivation. But all these memories I associate more with each game as separate entities from the nebulous basic concept of DnD, so an original story relying entirely on established official DnD monsters, locations, and characters didn't have much innate appeal to me.

Fortunately, Honor Among Thieves doesn't rely on pure DnD iconography and fanservice to be a solid film. It instead is a solid film on its own right, a fun and satisfying fantasy film that uses the props of established DnD material to tell a good story just as any Dungeon Master would. I have next to no complaints with it as just a movie, and the context of it serving as a big screen adaptation of a plausible DnD adventure smooth any gaps in its score for me. (Not that I'm scoring these things, don't expect THAT much from me.)

So let's start the in-depth topics where any DnD game does: the cast of characters.

What'd be of concern in a true DnD game but is more excusable in the context of a mainstream motion picture is the fact the movie has a clear main character: the questionably named Edgin, played by one of the Hollywood Chrises of all time, Pine. Pathetic as an alleged Bard (doesn't cast a SINGLE bard spell, he just sings a couple times, coward), Edgin is the cornerstone of the story, serving as the focal driving force of the plot and the (eventually assembled) party. We meet him and his longtime adventuring cohort, the barbarian Holga (played by Michelle Rodriguez), at the very start of the film, and follow their story throughout, from dramatic backstory retelling to the end. It's Edgin's story, which feels a bit skewed in focus for a DnD context, but I understand and agree with giving the story a definitive focal character for the sake of being a simple and cohesive film. It helps that his story is effective, with his character being charming yet flawed in a way that I thankfully think adds up to being likeable. Fortunate also that the overwhelming majority of this movie's "MCU dialogue" is confined to him, which I was personally unbothered by here. It contrasts a bit with most of the cast speaking in believable enough fantasy speak, but it fits for his sort of "scheming quick-witted bastard" persona, plus I guess also makes him a grounding point for an unfamiliar broader audience to attach to. The more modern speaking patterns are generally contained to the main cast of the four "player characters", so again, it's fair enough they don't keep the act quite as well as the "NPCs". I can see it be a bit grating to some, but personally I thought it was fine.

Oh yeah, I glossed over Holga. As great as she is, there's not much to say on her. Barbarians are usually pretty simple but great, lady barbarians are even better. She's not too "whimsical" of a barbarian, she doesn't say "I would like to rage" verbatim, much less do anything that looks like an active "rage state", but frankly it doesn't bother me too much. She's not too complicated, but she has some great moments, and has a subtle but solid performance.

Third of the four is Simon the sorcerer, played by Justice Smith of Detective Pikachu fame and also probably other things. He's the character with the second most "MCU dialogue", but his weird semi-accent he plays the character with hides it a little better. He's also the only one of the party's three casting classes to actively cast spells, but like. It'd be annoying to conveniently explain to a general audience what makes this magic different from this magic and this magic, so I get minimizing who actually gets to do casting. You could argue even that DnD has the problem of relying on casting as a mechanic a bit too much, but hey that's a different opinion ramble. Anyways Simon. He's fun too. He has the second most prominent story arc of the party, which while simple is still satisfying to see to its fruition. It's also fun to see an adaptation of wild magic specifically, which I do wish was extrapolated on further but again, I get keeping it simple.

Last up is Doric, the tiefling druid played by Sophia Lillis. Unfortunately she's also the least up, at least in screentime. She joins the story a significant portion after the rest of the main party, and while around for most of the ride she still feels a bit disconnected from the plot. After being shakily convinced to aid in the quest, she does get a really fun action scene to show off her wild shape abilities. While very much bending the technical rules backwards for most of her scenes with the ability (in some cases even impacting the official game, I believe the rules on what you can turn into were altered for the next major edition specifically to allow for turning into an owlbear like in the movie), I'm willing to ignore that for how fun they get with the gimmick. Again, slightly weird how her druid magic is limited to just wild shape, but again, it's fine, we're keeping it simple and approachable, I get it. I also get the choice to not give her the more conventional bright chromatic skin tone most players associate with tieflings. With the horror stories for how full-body painted live action characters have been on the actors (Drax being a notably egregious-sounding example), I don't blame them for keeping the demonic details restrained. The tail is cute at least, got that much. Her performance is also a bit low-impact, but she has her moments in the group dynamic, even if somewhat sparse.

The side characters meanwhile I have no complaints for. The hyper-competent temporary paladin party member Xenk (played by the eye-pleasing Regé-Jean Page) was a delight, both in the incidental comedy he brought and also the genuine sincerity he grounds the plot with.

The antagonists meanwhile are minor spoilers (though fairly obvious and short-term) so skip this next paragraph if you want to dodge those:

The glorious scheming bastard Forge Fitzwilliam (played by Hugh Grant, the glorious voice of the Pirate Captain from Pirates: Band of Misfits/In an Adventure with Scientists and nothing else possibly as important) is an absolute delight of a scheming love-to-hate villain, whose lack in actual threat besides financial power is made up for by the less entertaining but thoroughly menacing Red Wizard, Sofina (played by Daisy Head). They balance each other out nicely, and I feel like the movie's lineup of antagonists is both enjoyable and functional as a result.

Moving away from the characters themselves to how they're presented, the effects in this movies are faaaaaanTASTIC. The highest praises I heard sang for this movie in advance were towards its use of animatronics, suits, and other practical effects to depict some of the forgotten realms' more fantastical yet mundane inhabitants. About every other scene features a dragonborn, tabaxi, or aarakocra, which is brought to life with real, physical, classic effects. It adds such an element of richness to the world and makes the film feel so much more sincere. The more typical modern big-budget CGI effects are of course here in spades as well, but their presence feels earned and reserved for just the effects that like... yeah no, you're not doing that with modern physical technology. Helps that these effects also look good, which, yeah, they do. There's an effect or two for a gag that feels a little "modern" or otherwise out of place, but these are pretty sparse and still entertaining enough to pass as a suspension-bending bit that any DM with a sense of humor would allow.

I think that brings me to the last big thing that I think I need to give credit to this movie for: it works great as a movie, but it also feels right as a DnD movie. It's a well-told fantasy story that sets up and pays off a solid story with a solid cast in a beautifully depicted world. But just as much, it feels like DnD. The superficial references, like the specific array of iconic monsters the movie draws from and the names of locations and such, even the mechanics of certain spells and items, those are all great, and my partner especially adored some of the more niche references. But like I said earlier, DnD to me is just as much an energy, a feeling, as it is a set of rules and pre-built assets. It's the subtleties of how the party makes their plans and talks about their backstories, the way the world and adventure is framed, even the staging of the final fight scene, all bends conventional action film etiquette in favor of feeling authentic to the experience of playing DnD in a way that works shockingly well, all without shirking the film's duties as a film released in theaters for a mainstream audience. There's not really any moments where I think I'd need to explain something to my mom or anyone equally clueless on DnD's mechanics, they could just watch it as a solid fantasy adventure flick. It's two exceptionally well done layers of enjoyment, which I think is even more exceptional on its own.

So yeah, even to someone who literally knows nothing about DnD, I can recommend this one pretty comfortably. It's a fun action movie that doesn't fall into every pitfall of modern action movies, keeping a sincerely enjoyable solid story to the end. It's not groundbreaking, but it's still great. To someone who does know DnD... well uh, honestly my glowing review wavers a bit depending on how picky you are. If you're willing to excuse the mechanical inaccuracies and oversights for the sake of making the film a more accessible watch to broader audiences, then this film is even better than it is to those audiences. If you're not though, then... well honestly I think that's just as much a "you" problem as it is an issue with the movie. Yes I know nothing short of a level 20 druid can wildshape that much without a rest, just shut up and watch the lady turn into animals a bunch in this cool action scene, it's fine.

On a similar note to adaptations, the next two are also adaptations of game franchises: one that still thoroughly confuses my tiny brain, and one that I think I can confidently say I know a little more about.

#koop talks about things #dnd #d&d #dungeons and dragons #dnd movie #d&d movie #dungeons and dragons: honor among thieves #honor among thieves

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