#the main cast of fairy tail have more confirmed kills than the main characters of naruto

[hedgehogcryptid]

Probably no one cares but I need to rant about Fairy Tail now that I finally finished it. Because I feel like it gets a lot more hate than it deserves considering that almost everything it set out to do it did right. Starting from characterization and relationship dynamics. Those were fucking great. They're so fucking fleshed out, I love them.

And I've seen people complaining about Natsu and Lucy's relationship being dragged out but I feel they're missing on the fact that, first and foremost, they're partners, and no amount of romance or lack thereof can change that. Not long after meeting him Lucy jumps out of a window with no hesitation and no back up plan because she heard Natsu's voice and that meant she would be safe. That is not just a high level of trust, that is insane. And that's the entirety of their relationship. Making them romantic wouldn't change anything. It would just mean slapping a different label on it, because their relationship simply cannot be more deep and meaningful than it already is. (And this might be my aroace ass speaking, but I cannot imagine Natsu being stereotypically romantic. Even if they decided that they were, in fact, dating, I feel nothing would change in the ways they act around each other)

Also about Erza and Jellal, really. They're clearly meant to be together, they love each other. But they can't share any amount of time on the same room without it becoming awkward or dramatic because the amount of shared trauma between them is fucking astronomical. They need twenty years of therapy before they can do any significantly romantic thing and that's great. It's awesome! Just because you're in love with someone doesn't mean that being together will be easy! But that doesn't make their relationship any less meaningful or tender.

And the platonic relationships! The family ones! Makarov will risk himself and use the fairy law and Mavis tries to stop him. Tells him she has a plan that will lead to victory. Only for Makarov to say "I know this. But I need it now because the children are suffering and I won't wait a second longer" before obliterating an entire army.

Gildarts might be a womanizer but he's good with kids and he's so fucking delighted at having a child. He's so proud, and so embarrassing. I love him.

The raijinshuu are friends, and it shows, and I kinda love that the one to have a raging crush on Laxus is not Ever, the only woman among them. And the Strauss siblings have such a good relationship too. And thankfully don't fall into any of the worst sibling cliches. Levi and Gajeel spend the whole time they know eachother developing a relationship on the background, and by the time you pay atention they're sleeping together. That's hilarious. It's fantastic.

And speaking of Laxus, he goes from being a crazy fuck to incredibly cool and dependable without it feeling like he got a complete personality transplant. Partly because it soon becomes clear that most dragon slayers are, at any given time, one wrong turn away from completely losing the plot regardless of their best intentions. But also because his core values remain the same. Guild pride is the thing that drives him. When we first see him he's obsessed with making Fairy Tail strong so that it can stand proud on the face of anything. After taking a forceful journey of self discovery he learns that the guild is the sum of every individual person on it, instead of an abstract ideal of power, but the fact remains that the guild is the important thing to him. That's why he gets Natsu to defeat Hades instead of doing it himself. Because at that point he's not a part of the guild, so if he's the one to win it'd mean that Fairy Tail didn't, and that simply cannot stand.

All in all, it does such a good job of depicting good and complicated relationships with care and nuance, and makes a place for the ones that are bad. Lucy's dad has to work to get accepted back into her life, and that's amaizing. Where else have you seen a parent that doesn't get instant forgiveness after saying sorry? It's certainly not as often as I would like.

But I mostly feel like talking about the "darker" things, because it sometimes gets labeled as childish because no one dies (which is a big fucking lie. And I did not sign up for that. At all. I was fucking counting on it, and it was a LIE. And sure, Silver was technically already dead, but still) and like. I get it. Most main characters who "die" get miraculously saved. But that doesn't mean trauma in-world is any lighter.

On the seven year timeskip most people don't care about the characters that stayed behind, because they're secondary, and weaker, and not very cool. But we're told the reason the guild fell behing wasn't because it lost it's stronger members, but because they spent years upon years neglecting jobs for the sake of searching for the missing ones. And that's very fucking big.

But, again. The darker shit. They're not happy go lucky. They're not naive. They declare war no less than three times and every single one they make it clear that it is not about justice, it's about vengeance. About retribution. About "you don't fucking fuck with us". (And, lets remember, declaring war was fucking illegal).

They repeatedly say that they don't do good things because they're the good guys. They do the shit they wanted to do and it might just be that it could be considered good (and if not, they can convince people in high places to overlook it, pretty please. Because they have the friends to manage that).

Natsu has a whole argument with an outright assassin, and it never comes up that "murder is bad". It's framed more as a professional disagreement, rather than a moral argument. Natsu's main problem is that, while taking killing jobs, they call themselves a guild, the thing he asociates with family. The thing he considers sacred above all else. And since killing jobs are dirty (not unethical) they should, therefore, never touch a guild.

Before the final batle he outright says that killing kinda sucks but he will do it if he has to. And then kills around 900 people in a single second. Lucy is ready to kill. She's alone with Brandish in the bath and she's ready to shiv her in the neck. She might feel cornered, like this is the only option she has left. But in that moment she's ready and willing to see it through.

Invel is facing Gray and tells him "yes! Sucumb to the darkness so you may understand and join our purpose". Only for Gray to go "you dumb ass bitch. Do you think I care about going dark? Do you seriously believe I'm playing hero? All I care about is taking you down and if I have to be evil for that then that's how we roll".

All of that. I love that. They don't give a single fuck. Family comes first not because that's good, but because that's the way they are. They don't much care about what place their guild occupies relative to the rest of the world, or where any one member falls on a scale from good to bad. When all is said and done, all that mathers to them is the line between them and us, and they don't care to sugarcoat it.

And so many shows do that wrong. You get good guys who commit untold atrocities that go unaknowledged because they're the good guys! They can do no wrong! And I feel Fairy Tail should get more credit than it does on those grounds alone, but it does help that the character dynamics are good.

And I could write an entire (incoherent) essay on how Zeref is truly the most sympathetic villain I've ever seen. Everything about how he ended up makes perfect sense with his fucked up situation beyond a simple "I suffered so now I'm a self righteous asshole". You can see all the ways his mind had to twist itself into pretzels for him to maintain any semblance of functionality. If you're an hyperempathetic young man who suddenly and involuntarily kills anything he cares about then you really need to convince your brain that you don't care about anything, actually. Problem with that is that you're now convinced that it's true, because it doesn't work unless it's true. But the thing is that you also want to die, and you can't do it while actively wanting to die, so you need to die while thinking you don't want to. What's the best way to do that? You need someone else's help. And the best way to get someone to kill you is probably if they really really hate you. And the best way to do that is to become a supervillain, probably. Which also comes in handy for the whole "convince myself I'm truly an asshole" thing. And you end up becoming a calamity and fucking over the lives of anyone who could have loved you. But at least you can finally die.

And Mavis! The sweet looking, undeniably good person who turned out to be a ruthless strategist, quite detached from the world around her, who has a hard time weighing the value of individual human lives when there's a bigger picture to look at. But she's not an unfeeling stereotype either. She does love people, she wants them to have good things. But that doesn't change the fact that she doesn't relate to people the way others do, even if she could've lived her life without ever realizing (and I love that they tell us the wars the mages participated in were merchant wars. Just a random little tidbit, but yes. Wars do tend to be about money)

And this was a very long post and I said a whole bunch of nothing because I can't keep a train of thought to save my life. I just wordvomited a bunch of things that I liked. Long story short: characteryzation in Fairy Tail is top tier and I won't be taking criticism about it. You can try to critisize me though, I do enjoy arguing when I have enough braincells to put words together in the right order

#long post #if you have any thoughts on the matter #good or bad #please let me know #it might feel less like I'm screaming myself hoarse into the abyss #fairy tail #natsu dragneel #lucy heartifilla #makarov dreyar #laxus dreyar #zeref dragneel #mavis vermillion #I don't know what else to tag honestly #I barely remember what I wrote #the main cast of fairy tail have more confirmed kills than the main characters of naruto #who are actual mercenaries #shady fairy tail is canon

[rubisaurus98]

.......will u stab me if i say lugina

No, I am not going to stab you, but I did write a lot of raw opinions and not all of them are pleasant. Just a forewarning.

Why I like them: I dunno, I guess his sword’s got a nifty ability and he’s memeable with him being the most asshole character, yet being the victim of unfortunate funny inconveniences like the boulders and shit. I also like how we develop him, if that counts.

Why I don’t: I swear, I could write at minimum a 2-page paper as to why Lugina Beil’s raw canon character genuinely frustrates the hell out of me. A lot of it being more directed at how he’s written and the implications of the world he’s written into and how it reacts to him rather than about him, the fictional character, if that makes sense. A lot of missed potential if I were to compare him to other characters of other series who started out similar to him, but developed more noticeably for the better over the course of their own plots. Like, the development of a story-prominent heroic-aligned selfish asshole character into someone who isn’t afraid to show he cares about his comrades and will lay down his life for them, yet still retains a certain “edge” to him is such a tried-and-true method to me when it comes to development satisfaction in my experience, that to see it not happen to a certain effect/extent is whiplash. The best comparisons that I can think of at them moment are like, Gajeel Redfox and Laxus Dreyar from Fairy Tail and Jean Kirstein from AoT. I’m serious, like, read up on them, then compare them to Lugina. Gajeel’s even a father-to-be in Fairy Tail rn, and he’s both ecstatic and very protective of his partner. I know I keep comparing Lugina to other characters of other series with their own developments, but still, like, I could also name a bunch of conjectures as to why Lugina doesn’t seem to go down a similar path. In short, now that it seems his tale is finished without so much as a follow-up, I dislike how the writers wrote Lugina more than Lugina the character himself.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Lugina and BF1 Summoner vs Gazarva at the end of BF1.

Favorite season/movie: I liked him best during Arcs 2 and 3. More Arc 3.

Favorite line: “ [Liomerg] wasn't just talking about physical strength, he meant mental strength as well... Basically the only thing holding [Karl] back is himself. For all that he tries to handle things himself without depending on others, he doesn't have the resolve to see it through on his own. You call that kindness? That's just weakness!”--Estria, area after Shusui is killed by Mora. An “asshole’s got a point” moment.

Favorite outfit: BF2 Armor and that picnic art where he’s hogging all the spaghetti and Seria’s kicking him in the head for it. You know the one.

OTP: Really, it’s only with OCs, or in My Verse, where I flesh things out considerably between him and Yurika. If Alim bothered to fill in more about his actual relationship with Yurika, I could’ve actually put them here. I also ship him with Unlearning Toxic Masculinity, Some Fucking Therapy, and Having Better Character Development Based Of Other Examples I Know From Heroic-Aligned Characters Who Started Out Similar To Him, but we can’t have nice things in this fandom. Maybe him and Bertz if Bertz weren’t closeted or whatever his deal with Lugina is.

Brotp: Deadass, I don’t know. Maybe Karl post-BF1?

Head Canon: I still think he whittles wood as a hobby and one of his best projects is a full-scale replica of Sky Harbinger. And that he wholeheartedly and openly enjoys sea shanties. Oh, and that he definitely still invited BF1 Summoner and Tilith to his wedding. Hell, he explicitly said they had to come because no fucking way those two are gonna miss out on this. Plus, Tilith wouldn’t let him hear the end of it if he didn’t.

Unpopular opinion: I’ve said some piece of this in the one I did for Sasha, but wait! There’s more! And this is more of a general statement, but I really do think that there’s a lot left out/missing/glossed over in terms of BF2′s writing that would make things a lot more well-rounded. Plus, I think I’ve also already said some things that belong here under “Why I Don’t”. Also, only reason why Alim had Lugina be the only main cast member to start a family other than to show that he’s “developed for the better over 20 years” is because they made Karl and Paris still horny for BF1 Summoner and Seria...Seria, idk about. Probably applying the “No Guy Wants an Amazon” trope with her.

A wish: That Alim didn’t bull-rush Brave Frontier 2 and actually took efficient time to develop the story more so it’d have a longer shelf life? Then we’d at least be able to hopefully see more of the cast as a whole, and hopefully actually develop instead of what was probably squishing everything down and throwing in everything no matter how developed it was? Because BF2 seems more like an Afterword that’s trying to be a proper sequel. I’d wish for more between the games development, too and that Alim isn’t done working with Lugina and the rest of them.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Some implication/confirmation/allusion that Lugina cradle-robbed Yurika; any indication that there’s something off about their relationship beyond what’s traditionally considered healthy/normal married couple behavior plus what we’ve been given.

5 words to best describe them: Wish he was written better.

My nickname for them: Rat Man/Bastard. Potato Bastard.

[natsubeatsrock]

7 Things from 2017 that I Didn’t Enjoy as a Fairy Tail Fan

You all know the drill. This was a really crazy year for Fairy Tail. Here are some of the things that I didn't enjoy as a Fairy Tail fan.

#1. Erza vs. Irene/ Natsu Out of Commission

Look they happened at the same time. They got the same slot. These concurrent events started near the end of last year but really kicked up this January. The thing many people made a stink about was Erza punching Deus Sema with mostly broken bones. And while chapter 519 is on my worst chapters list (coming soon), very little about either was even remotely passable. The fight and resolution to it were terrible. Natsu’s coma had a bad resolution. And don't even get me started on Lucy needing to warm up Natsu with her naked body.

#2. Gray's Trump Card

I want you to consider that I have a theory on this blog that said Gray would be willing to throw his life away to get away from Juvia. I did that as a joke, but if I follow it up, I'm going to add this other contender for the least favorite chapter to it. Even, and especially if, Gray’s answer to Juvia was that he'd take her seriously, it doesn't help that he knew she was still alive and willing to (re)forget the lesson not to throw your life away. And if that wasn't his answer, consider that Mashima might have never planned on giving her a clear answer.

#3. Dragon Cry Fanservice

I genuinely did enjoy Dragon Cry. It was the most fun I've had in a movie theater with an anime movie, and consider that it's only competition was Your Name (which is also really good). However, the only really big complaint I have (that isn't spoilers) is that there was a ton of unnecessary fanservice. I'm not even really sure why I would have expected different from Fairy Tail, but it was way more than I expected and definitely wasn't a good impression for the dozens of parents dragged into the theater with me. I said that I hope the next season looks as good as this movie. Hopefully, that doesn't mean more of this stuff.

#4. Final Battle(s?)

Fairy Tail ended with two concurrent battles with Acnologia: the Dragon Slayers fought his soul and everyone else fought his body. This didn't happen well. This should have been one of the most hyped up battles in the series: one final battle against the (other) biggest villain of the series where both main characters have their own battle to fight. What we got was a series of bad plans and cheap wins, in an arc full of bad plans and cheap wins. Keep in mind that these were the last two fights of the series. You'd think Mashima would have had better in mind.

#5. Makarov’s Return

I remember when Makarov cast Fairy Law last year. I didn't have much else to say about the chapter, but I had fun ripping Fairy Law. However, the entire time, for weeks on end, people told us that this was going to be the big major Fairy Tail death that stuck and we ought to treat it as such. I was lucky to have waited to make a formal comment on whether or not he would come back because he came back and it was hilarious. I know there's an explanation behind it, but it's still crazy that Makarov is still alive. Best of all, his return prompted a wave of “don’t criticise Mashima” posts that came weeks after one of my last posts on hating haters, which directly handled those issues.

#6. Nalu Drama

Last year, one of my complaints was the wealth of Nalu fan service. This year, the wealth of things causing stirs in the Nalu fandom, positive or negative. Natsu waking up with no mention of Lucy killed the opportunity for capitalizing on Nalu angst. Natsu and Lucy barely spent any time together, in canon, this year. The One Magic ended up being used on Zervis, despite the implications pointing towards Nalu. Nalu didn't get outright confirmation as canon, splitting the fandom into those w. And fans at New York Comic-Con coerced Mashima into drawing a hypothetical Nalu child and saying the ship is a hypothetical situation. This is all here because last year's admission that Nalu wasn't his original plan was lost on these people.

#7. Comic-Con Interviews

Speaking of NYCC, I was excited to hear Mashima was coming over because it would mean a host of interviews giving new insight into Fairy Tail. This was basically the only thing I could look forward to considering I couldn’t go and ended up being sick during the whole “Nalu/Gruvia kid” drama. However, I wish that hypothetical children were the worst thing to come out of Comic-Con interactions from Fairy Tail. Mashima’s description of Natsu’s originality boiled down to his appearance. Mashima admitted that he didn’t remember how to draw Rave characters. And of course, there are Mashima’s admissions of not prioritizing continuity and not planning events in advance.

And that's it. Here's hoping the next year will bring more fun. Check out the list I did of the good things from this year.

#fairy tail #hopefully this isn't my last big post of the year

[pyropsychiccollector]

Given everything we've seen between Natsu & Erza (e.g. questionable proximity in cover art, abundant and persisting moments, development, and affection between the two (Erza more overtly and,barring Jellal, only to Natsu), why do you think Mashima still continued to include all this while having set up the monolithic Jerza and Nalu fandoms? It's not like there's any pressure,need, or reason to cater to the Natza ship. If anything, those moments only caused controversy for the Nalu & Jerza fans.

Not to sound offensive, but wouldn’t it be strange if there wasn’t any credence to Natza at all? She, Natsu, and Gray form a pretty iconic trio throughout the series, but there’s this uncanny bond between Natsu and Erza. One that seems to follow a natural flow.

Erza gets introduced as the big, bad S-Class mage of Fairy Tail, and we see just how much “catchup” Natsu has to do before he can be the strongest in the Guild. Compared to the stern, mature knight, he’s like a little kid that can’t contain the fact he’s a kickass mage, too… just not a very responsible (or intelligent) one.

Yet little by little, Natsu melts away the armor around Erza’s heart. Evidently, they were close enough that he and Gray were the first ones Erza thought to take with her to bring down Eisenwald, and she even accepted his challenge to a match, acknowledging his potential; but then he tried to set her free when the Council tried to make her a scapegoat. He recklessly went in to save her without thinking of the repercussions, but Erza was more than thankful his heart was in the right place.

Phantom Lord - she outright said only he could surpass her, and save Lucy from the clutches of their Guild’s rival.

Tower of Heaven - all of Team Natsu learns about Erza’s past, but Natsu gets the most worked up because Erza going in to give herself up to Jellal is very unlike Erza. The one that he knows, anyway. The one that he wants to surpass, one day. He’s so confident in her being able to take down Jellal until Simon points out her doubts would lead to her downfall, and that was enough to get Natsu to come runnin’ again. Then Natsu actually defeated Jellal, and Erza got a physical glimpse of the strength she knew slumbered within Natsu. When he broke down on the beach, begging her to never throw her life away again, Erza promised she wouldn’t.

Fantasia Parade - Natsu and Erza trusted each other to take down Laxus and dismantle his Thunder Palace. Erza promised she wouldn’t throw away the life he worked so hard to save.

Oracion Seis - Erza gets poisoned, and Natsu’s the most eager to go recover Wendy so that they can save Erza. Then, when they learn Jellal gets revived, he’s more than willing to go kill the guy because he was responsible for so much of Erza’s pain and sadness. He never wanted to see Erza like that again.

Admittedly, after this arc, the focus “largely” goes to the Nalu/Jerza pairings, but no matter how hard you try, you can’t just up and erase that progression for what a number of fans perceive to be a very healthy ship. Hell, we’re not asking you guys to ship it with us - even “platonic” Natza is very nice to see, though for us Natza shippers, we definitely feel they can go a lot further than mere “friends” or “siblings”.

You speak of Nalu/Jerza’s frustration at getting gypped because of all the fanservice they have in their favor, but you know what? Not everyone shipped Nalu/Jerza. Not everyone wanted to see Nalu/Jerza become canon. As big of a fanbase as they might have, they by no means “deserve” canon confirmation from Mashima, even with all the “hints”. And I’m not arguing that Natza “deserves” it either; however, I am saying that Natza legitimately had as much of a “chance” as their Nalu/Jerza rivals did. It’s all in the natural story progression, how Natsu and Erza came out in the writing. Whether you hate it, love it, wish Mashima had “stuck” to Nalu/Jerza so the majority could be happy, Natsu and Erza do have something that makes it quite easy to write/draw the two of them together. We Natza shippers could probably cite tons and tons of reasons why the chemistry exists, but if you’re so focused on keeping the majority happy, you would probably dismiss it as an eccentric version of a siblings relationship.

Restricting Natsu to just Lucy, and restricting Erza to just Jellal kind of limits their character growth/potential. That’s just the way I look at it. Characters have bonds that exist outside of their “OTP”, and sometimes those bonds are worth showing off. For those of you who ship Nalu/Jerza, sorry, but we’re not your average bunch of crackshippers. What you guys perceive as a hindrance to your OTPs, something that causes “controversy”, we see as something that’s pretty natural in terms of the relationships between main cast characters. We didn’t just pick two characters at random and claim they’d make a good couple; we see a dragon that’s fiercely loyal to his knight, who in turn respects his power and admires the overflowing love that he has for his friends.

It’s not “catering” when two characters bring out the best in each other and grow from experiences shared together. That’s just how we look at it. I don’t know if Mashima felt the same way, but something made him draw the two side-by-side again and again and again….

[fountainpenguin]

I like "The Fairly OddParents" and "Danny Phantom" for their potential for angst. In the former, you have Timmy's miserable life, Vicky's potentially traumatic childhood and Timmy's despair at the fact that Cosmo and Wanda must leave him eventually. In the latter, you have Danny risking his life, being horribly injured and fearing what his parents might do to him if they knew what he really was. Just out of interest, where's the potential for angst in "Bunsen is a Beast"?

Oh my gosh, you’ve got my heart racing. Where do I even start?

I guess we start with our title character. We all know how Butch loves the fantastic racism trope (which is one thing I love about his work so much- his use of these things as serious worldbuilding details, and not merely as “one and done” plot points), and it’s a huge part of Fairy and Anti-Fairy culture. 

Fantastic racism is a thing in BIaB too. Here you’ve got this little Beast boy who speaks and reads only limited English. Although he doesn’t have huge talons, he does have horns, a spiny tail, and a lot of scary-looking teeth. As soon as he steps out of his car and starts towards the school, he is hounded by news crews:

He manages to shake them off and head inside, but as she’s introducing him to the class, the teacher says, “I hope this whole co-mingling thing works out, because if not, man and beast will be in a struggle for dominance until one side drives the other into extinction.”

Aw, snap! So you have this show about this twelve-year-old kid with the weight of two species resting on his shoulders. And he knows. That’s what I love here- he knows. Instantly when Miss Flap reminds him of this, Bunsen deflates from his happy mood (Bonus: As you continue through the series, it becomes more obvious that his natural personality is to be reserved rather than social, and that he’s way outside his comfort zone here in trying to make a good first impression and win over new friends).

There’s just so much here that’s interesting! Bunsen is clearly very aware that if he proves Beasts can successfully integrate into human society, it means a better life for his people. But if he screws up badly enough, he might have to watch his family and friends be slaughtered, on top of fearing for his own life. And if he screws up the other way, he might see humans killed as his people revolt and take over.

Now, obviously, with the fate of these races resting on him, so many politics can be dragged into this. It’s my headcanon that after petitioning for years, Beasts were finally given the okay to allow a single Beast to attend a school in a very small human town, as a test. Now, who are they going to pick? Bunsen is very fluffy and cute, so he’s a good candidate to promote the idea that Beasts aren’t dangerous and should be granted rights. Although his English is still stilted and he can read only a very small amount of it at this point, he knows enough to be verbally fluent.

So the question is, how long ago did they decide to send HIM? Has he been groomed for this position his entire life? Just think of all that pressure, those years of studying, that fear of failure drilled into his entire being since he was a kid… And that’s not even bringing up the question of whether this fight to get Beasts a human education has been going on for decades, and if he was specifically bred for his cuteness and gentle disposition. And, what if he didn’t want to be “the chosen one” in the first place? Delicious inner turmoil.

Really, it’s a show about a minority constantly struggling with thoughts of, “Should I leave all my culture behind and embrace a new one?” and “But my culture is a huge part of my identity and I don’t want to lose it.” And he shouldn’t have to lose it. So, he’s working to find a balance that makes him feel good about himself, while dealing with his fears that humans are going to look down on or even hate him for it.

If anyone was wondering, I personally feel that if Bunsen were human, his ethnicity would be one of mixed Asian origins. If I’m remembering correctly, it’s a stereotype that Chinese people are good at ping-pong, and he has a relative (possibly his mom’s brother b/c octopus tentacles) who is a ping-pong master. 

That, and it looks like he has a large extended family staying in Muckledunk with him, suggesting closer ties than I, your average white American girl, see in my own family, even though everyone on my dad’s side of the family lives in this area, and almost everyone on my mom’s side does too. Thus, the fact that he’s eating spaghetti with forks in the theme song is just kind of amusing to me. I wonder what kind of eating utensils exist in Beast society.

So, those are a few culture-related angst topics about Bunsen. Others are certainly the fact that he’s moved to a new place and has regular jitters about that, and that one of his classmates is constantly attempting to gather evidence that he’s a danger to society and should be cast out of the school and the town. Said classmate also has a rich and influential father, and it’s been made clear that some people will be unfair to Bunsen purely not to get on her father’s bad side.

And I forgot to mention all the hints that Bunsen is a pacifist (or at least that he dislikes confrontation), so his default reaction to having mean words thrown at him is to withdraw into himself and believe them.

Whether it’s because of his inborn personality or because of all the pressure resting on him, he never fights back physically, and rarely argues verbally. The closest he gets is the occasional sassy comment. Although he’s more relaxed when alone with Mikey, Bunsen seems to have somewhat low self-esteem.

Perhaps because he’s an introvert, Bunsen is very perceptive. I might argue that he picks up on subtleties better than Mikey does- so if your words or body language suggest that you don’t like him, he will know. Mikey was willing to ignore Jerry’s emotional instability in “Mikey Is a Beast” because he saw Jerry as his hero, but Bunsen picked up on it and was very nervous at the thought of hanging around him. Throughout that episode, Bunsen continues making nervous faces even when the main focus of the scene isn’t on him- such as when Jerry shouted for Mikey to stop crying over Bunsen’s head:

I greatly appreciate whoever includes these things in the storyboards! These characters are just constantly in character even in the background.

Ooh, then there’s the piece of his character that solidifies Bunsen as a lawful neutral- his utter devotion to following rules, even when he doesn’t like them (For example, wanting to touch things in the museum, but restraining himself when he sees ‘Do not touch’ signs). He’s extremely committed to a set of values known as the Beast Code. This code outlines good etiquette such as “Beasts are always polite”, but sometimes it pins Bunsen into corners.

For example, in “Handsome Beast”, Amanda asked Bunsen out to the girls’ choice dance. Even though he dislikes her, it’s apparently “against the Beast Code to decline an invitation”, so Bunsen was thoroughly convinced that he has to not only go to the dance, but “follow the rigid steps of the Beast wooing procedure” too. He feels more stressed out by the thought of disobeying the Code than by the action of taking someone he doesn’t like on a date.

Beasts appear to have super unstable genetics, because when they have allergic reactions, they take on characteristics of the thing that upset their body systems. Here, Bunsen evidently had a reaction to the body spray Mikey was using in the hopes of attracting girls. He’s also confirmed to be allergic to bee stings and Swiss fondue.

Let’s see, what else… Bunsen obviously has a very close and understanding relationship with his parents, considering that even after everything their whole family sacrificed to move to Muckledunk - stability, friendships, money, possibly years of special educational programs depending on how long ago he was selected as the Beasts’ representative - they were completely willing to move back to the underground Beast World after Bunsen confessed to them that he was terrified of thunder, and couldn’t handle the sound of it anymore.

(These nerds even have matching pictures of each other)

There’s a lot of angst potential there, because up and leaving Muckledunk like that could not have been an easy thing for his entire extended family to agree to do. Or an easy decision for Bunsen to even make and consider talking to them about. He’s Beast World’s champion. Their saving grace. As much as he hates thunder, I’m sure he felt absolutely awful to know he was disappointing his entire race. This is the only time thus far, I think, that he truly puts himself before thoughts of duty and honor. These showing and not telling details really drive home how terrified of thunder the poor guy is.

So, Bunsen! I could name a couple of shows about a kid with an animal (or Beast) friend, but of these friends, Bunsen is my favorite. Cartoons like this generally involve one character who doesn’t caremuch about consequences dragging the other into zany schemes. But this is a show about a kid who is honestly curious about the world, and has strong morals that keep him out of trouble. I’m huge on following rules myself, so having a show with characters who are aware that their actions have consequences (Bunsen moreso than Mikey) and who don’t intentionally bend the law means a lot to me.

From a writer’s perspective, Bunsen is a very well-balanced character: he’s very reactive, so he acts as a nice foil to active Mikey. However, he can be plenty active too, such as when he’s introducing Mikey to his home or talking about his culture and biology. And it’s not out of character for him to be this way. It’s all dependent on his comfort level in a particular situation; by default Bunsen is reserved, but he starts opening up and being more active as he gets to know you. He’s very, very balanced and well-written, I think.

Oh. Also, his best friend has a morbid sense of humor, and even cracks jokes about taxidermy when Bunsen sees his uncle on display at a museum.

And BOY HOWDY, we haven’t even gotten to Mikey yet!

I. Love. Mikey. In fact, he’s probably the character I relate to more than anyone in any show I’ve ever watched. I’ve heard that some people don’t like BIaB because Mikey is just “a boring, regular kid”, but I don’t know what show they’re watching, because I could go on and on about how cool this boy is. In fact, calling it now, the Mikey section of this post will likely be unfairly longer than Bunsen’s.

Where to start, where to start… Well, you wanted angst, so let’s start with this. Remember how in “Abra-Catastrophe”, we found out that until he was eight, Timmy’s parents used to obsess over and record every second of his day on video cameras? Mikey’s childhood resembles that a little bit… except it never stopped.

Mikey has helicopter parents in both senses of the word. They obviously love him, but thus far in the show, they have only interacted with him through this drone. I wouldn’t be surprised if never seeing them in person is a running gag in the series, the same way not revealing the names of Timmy’s parents is a gag in FOP. The implication here is that they’re out of town a lot- meaning that he’s been left at home to raise himself-

-surrounded by security cameras and microphones, of course. Major props to whoever designed Mikey’s yard and drew this storyboard, because I love how none of the characters ever call any attention to the cameras or anything. They’re just. There. Watching. Details like this make me happy.

Y’know, when you’ve got a SMALL TOWN CHILD whose parents install SECURITY SYSTEMS, you can’t help but wonder if said child has any problems disabling the security systems on any building in said small town. Problems physically, or morally. I wonder…

I’m really curious to know when his parents got this drone. Mikey hasn’t revealed anything about a babysitter. Did his parents start leaving him at home alone once they got it and could watch out for him? Or did they leave him home alone to fend for himself even before that? 

Mikey’s parents are very nice people - probably better than Timmy’s parents - but they’re not there in the way he needs emotionally. They try to compensate for this by stalking him with the drone whenever they can spare the time. The ability of the drone to find him is interesting too… Perhaps they track him using the location of his phone. Surely they wouldn’t actually GPS chip their child.

Children need safety (physical and emotional) for healthy development. Given the security cameras and the presumed reputation of his parents, we can assume he has the former. But violating his privacy “without probable cause” the way they do can be psychologically damaging and lead to trust issues. Especially because he’s asked his parents to stop, and they haven’t.

Previously, I’ve mentioned my theory that Mikey has an older sister, which would explain why he had the dress, sandals, ribbon, and make-up on hand (and might answer our question about who watched over Mikey pre-drone):

I think she might have disappointed their parents in some way (such as having a baby while an unmarried teen, or stealing money and the family car), and so she took off for the hills. I like this idea because it helps “justify” why Mikey’s parents are so obsessed with monitoring him. They don’t stalk him constantly, but when he gets older, I feel like he’ll have at least one parent on his case at almost all times while the other is installing security systems. One Munroe kid going sour is bad enough for their reputation. Small town. People talk!

Additionally, his voice actor (Ben Giroux) revealed that he used to “terrorize his sister” with the Mikey voice when they were kids. Imagine Mikey doing the same thing to his sister once upon a time, pfft.

This sister theory is just a headcanon, but it’ll be interesting to see what hints about his home life and family are dropped in future episodes. And did I mention that Mikey occasionally visits his uncle in prison, possibly because this is the only family member he has who can’t run away? I love him.

That was Mikey in the past. Now, what about Mikey in the present?

Let me say it again: I. Love. This. Kid.

I’m majoring in psychology, and when I started watching this show, I quickly ended up leaning back in my seat with a knuckle in my mouth, grinning at the ceiling. Mikey is a textbook case for narcissistic personality disorder, with the bonus joke thrown in of, I have no idea if Butch and the writers meant to do this or not (at least, they may not have realized they’ve been checking off all the diagnostic criteria as we go along). Either way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a narcissistic cartoon character pulled off so subtly and so well- and without the cliché stereotype of being obsessed with his looks to boot!

People with this personality disorder are typically characterized as being “arrogant” (Check), “self-centered” (Check), “manipulative” (Check), “concentrating on grandiose fantasies [such as their own success or brilliance]” (Check), and as having “a need for admiration” (Check), “a lack of empathy for other people” (Check), and they “may be convinced that they deserve special treatment” (CHECK- Did you see “Beast of Friends” and “Astro-Nots”?). Such narcissists might “have difficulty tolerating criticism or defeat and may be left feeling humiliated or empty” when their pride is injured. That sure sounds like Mikey to me!

(Technically, since he’s young, we can’t officially diagnose him until he’s acted this way for a year, but if he continues in this pattern then he should fit the bill!)

What a personality disorder means is, this is his personality. You could maybe tone him down by reinforcing certain behaviors, but there’s nothing you can do to “fix” him permanently. There’s no medicine that will change him. It’s just the way he is, and it’s not really his fault. Mikey just loves being the center of attention. And I’m sure it doesn’t help his ego that he’s lived a life with cameras focused on him, and he’s possibly the second child and baby of his family.

He just constantly refocuses the spotlight on himself, like in this scene here where he expresses no sympathy for Darcy being alone all day (or even acknowledges her statement whatsoever), and changes the subject to him:

“Outside, when you were very close to my face, you said something about… helping me?”

Translation: “I’m only here for my benefit. Are we actually doing this, or are you just wasting my time?”

His narcissism is especially prominent throughout “Beast of Friends”. Not only does he interrupt Bunsen once he hears Bunsen has a friend who’s a wish-granting fairy, but when he meets Timmy Turner, all Mikey wants to do is make wishes. Timmy even asks him nicely to stop, and Mikey agrees by making comments like, “I totally hear you. Just let me make one more wish”. 

Spoiler: He doesn’t stop at one more. And when Timmy is tripping over himself, struggling to cover up hints of magic and fairies from his dad, he begs Mikey to back him up. Mikey cheerfully says, “Timmy’s totally right”, and immediately turns his attention back to Wanda and - you guessed it - makes more wishes. He’s completely blind to the fact that he’s causing Timmy distress. He hardly seems to register Timmy’s presence, because he’s so focused on the fact that Timmy has fairy godparents. Mikey even assumes they’ll grant his wishes, and never asks Timmy for permission first. This also happens to be the only episode thus far where Mikey realizes he got a little carried away, and apologizes for it. It took the threat of Bunsen’s death to get him to this point.

He also just honestly forgets to think about others a lot of the time. I think the best example I could pull up is that scene where Bunsen congratulates Amanda on winning “hide and go freak”, to which Mikey responds-

He forgot Amanda. As soon as he saw Bunsen’s game room, all bets were off. He just naturally assumed that if he wasn’t playing, the game was over. It didn’t even cross his mind to tell Amanda he wanted to play ping-pong instead. And he’s like this throughout the show. All. The. Time.

Of course, apart from his narcissism, Mikey has another fair reason to be distractible: there are heavy hints that he has ADHD, not the least of which is that he seems to be canonically dyslexic:

(“Go”)

(“Doomed”)

(Here he’s struggling to spell “cat”)

Dyslexia isn’t an actual diagnosis in the DSM-5, but he would have a specific learning disorder for writing - aka spelling, grammar, punctuation, and clarity (refer to the script he wrote above) - but he has no impairment in the reading department (fluency, comprehension), which is why he can read perfectly fine.

ADHD and dyslexia typically go hand in hand. On top of that - and this is SUPER fascinating to me - he’s actually animated as having an inability to sit still. He’s constantly out of his seat, or in his seat and changing position.

I actually had a different example in mind but it was too long and wouldn’t loop

When I first heard of this show, I naturally assumed Bunsen was going to be the wild one, and Mikey would be your average, plain kid along for the ride. It just seemed the cliché default. But then comes this huge plot twist in my mind: Bunsen is playful, but a bit reserved, and Mikey is the extremely peppy and hyperactive child. So, I think that’s really cool and lots of fun. Mikey is the first time I’ve ever watched a show and selected a lead to be my favorite character, so obviously something’s going right here!

ADHD also has some angst potential along with it. Aside from the obvious examples of struggling in class, he’s confirmed to be the head of the school welcoming committee. So, when it comes to designing posters, that can’t be the easiest job to do!

Oh, did you think that was all? NOPE! It’s been hinted numerous times that Mikey has an interest in psychology (and I wouldn’t be surprised if he spent hours poring over childcare books when he was younger as he tried to figure out if the way his parents were raising him was right or wrong). 

And, whether he started doing this intentionally or not, he’s turned into a massive guilt-tripper. He cries, people give him what he wants, he stops.

To be fair, Mikey doesn’t seem to realize that what he’s doing is wrong in any way. He’s sensitive in general- that part certainly isn’t faked, nor is he trying to be mean. Simply, this guilt-tripping behavior has been reinforced. 

Repeatedly.

As of “Astro-Nots”, he has yet to come up against anyone in the show who says no to big sad eyes (and he seems to have, perhaps unconsciously, taught this guilt-tripping behavior to Bunsen by this point). Since Mikey hasn’t tried to guilt-trip Amanda onscreen, it’s possible he’s tried in the past, but wasn’t reinforced and so unhappily gave up. He’s just savage to her with his words.

Now, I have that GIF above of Mikey guilt-tripping even Bunsen, his best friend, to do something he really didn’t want to do. I wouldn’t call their relationship abusive at all, especially with Mikey not seeming to realize what he’s doing is wrong. They’re good, close friends and get along awesomely. A time or two of guilt-tripping shouldn’t be reason to end their friendship. Really, what Bunsen did when agreeing to be Jerry’s mascot was a favor. Although being a mascot wasn’t something Bunsen wanted to do, he did want to make Mikey happy, and he did willingly agree to this- as a favor to a friend.

But for angst purposes, he didn’t want to do it. Like I said, I don’t consider their friendship abusive or anything like that, but it might be a tad strained at times. Think of it like, your college roommate might have really irritating quirks, but they’re probably not abusive. Only if Mikey’s manipulating got out of hand to the point where Bunsen was in distress and wanted this to stop - and Mikey refused - would this become a big problem. But, everyone has character flaws and their own struggles in relationships, and for now, this is just one of Mikey’s.

Don’t get me wrong. Mikey’s a really nice person, and he’s proved it multiple times (One of my favorite lines of his is, “Help me help you”). This is the thing: he always wants to get his way. If his way happens to be, “I want to make you happy”, then you’re in luck! But if you’re opposed to his views… he’s not going to make life easy on you. Mikey’s the sort of person who only says sorry out of sympathy- not when you insist he’s made a mistake. Not easily, anyway. He’s a narcissist who reads about psychology- he hates admitting that he’s wrong.

Heh heh. He’ll totally be there if you directlytell him what you need. But he can be a little blind to the feelings of others. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

On top of ALL of this, Mikey has to put up with his rival being attracted to him:

She invades his personal space constantly and forces physical contact like this on him, and it obviously makes him super uncomfortable. I can relate. In my ninth grade math class, I had to sit next to a couple of jerks who - not an exaggeration, because they told me this - had grade point averages of 1.9 (out of 4.0). I didn’t show any interest in them, except once when one of them was bugging me about what my name was, I finally reinforced him by revealing it. This did not go well for me. And for whatever reason, the girl who sat in front of me thought I had a crush on this annoying kid. No clue why, because he was awful. So, she told him to come up behind me and rub my back.

Okay. So, no. I was out of my seat so fast, grabbing my thick, heavy school binder and whirling around, ready to smack him upside the head, but the bell rang just then so he got off scot-free. Keep in mind that I’m not even five feet tall as a college student, so I was even smaller back then. But BOY, did that kid have the face of someone who thought he was going to die.

Gosh, why is Mikey so relatable…

Then there’s more angst to be found within Amanda, Beverly- and of COURSE, Commander Cone… I could talk about them for a while still, but this post has gotten pretty long, so I’ll settle for just discussing our leading boys.

Mostly, the angst in BIaB is that sort of subtle emotional angst that’s obvious if you’re an adult paying attention to the show, but that’s easy to miss if you’re younger. It’s similar to “Fairly OddParents” in that respect (which is a show I personally favor to “Danny Phantom”, even though there are several things I could name about DP that appeal to me too).

Huh. Come to think of it, I wonder if that’s why DP has always been so popular- the younger generation caught onto its angst potential because it was more physical and obvious than the emotional angst present in cartoons like FOP. Plus he’s like a superhero and kids like superheroes. I tend to favor subtleties myself… I suppose because it feels more like I’m in on the joke than like I’m being force-fed.

Anyhow, “Bunsen Is a Beast” is not a cartoon that requires angst to move it along. And yet it’s sprinkled in there anyway; it never feels forced to me. Along with its super-expressive characters, that’s one thing that attracts me to the show- Holding my breath in anticipation to see if I can catch the subtleties. 

For example, all throughout “Body and the Beast”, Mikey refuses to say “school picture day” because he’s convinced something bad will happen to him if he does. That’s a hint that he may be superstitious, and adds a fascinating layer to his character since he’s our man of psychology and science. 

Isn’t that neat? Depending on how deep this runs, he might even struggle with thought-action fusion: the belief that thinking something is the same (aka, as “sinful”) as actually doing it- and there is so much angst tied up with that. 

And OH MAN, we didn’t even get to the part about Mikey “mysteriously” going bald two years prior the show’s beginning. Pardon me, but what is a ten-year-old narcissist who isn’t getting the emotional affection he desires from his parents going to do to himself for attention? Thaaaaaaaat’s right.

(Or if you want bonus angst potential… ever heard of trichotillomania?)

The clip where Mikey refuses to mention picture day and goes straight into talking about how he went bald two years ago was only a few seconds long, but it reveals so much! See? There’s so much fun here for someone like me! But like… It’s left up to me to choose if I want to see these characters as the sum of their parts, or if I want to enjoy this show while merely scraping the surface: Bunsen being cheerful and Mikey being his happy friend.

I like having this depth. I like having subtleties. With DP, “Star”, and “Gravity Falls”, every episode tasted very, “Meh, that went the way I expected it to” in my mouth. I guess you could say that that the subtle details I like in BIaB are very “inside joke” in nature. With those other three, everyone who watches the show is going to catch angsty things. It doesn’t take the coolness out of them, but it takes that excitement of discovery away from me a bit, I suppose? 

Could be. I don’t like being spoon-fed emotions. That’s why you don’t normally find me shipping characters (and when I do, I often tend towards background couples). I’m just not a very emotional person. I don’t tear up at anything less sad than Radio’s death in “Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue”, so you can guess how often that happens, because hoooooly wow, that death scene.

See, there are very few things that bug me about “Star vs. The Forces of Evil”, but the fact that I’m expected to feel bad for Star when Marco starts dating the girl of his dreams is one of them. The ending of “Just Friends” bothered me, with the way that Star lashed out and destroyed the stadium billboard like she was five. Ick. I guess the show put a little too much faith in the idea that people watch shows for ships. Yes, lots of people do- but I’m not one of them. I don’t ship two people just because they’re there, so I have a very hard time sympathizing with Star’s refusal to let Marco be happy with Jackie. 

In my mind, she’s an exchange student. They live together. They’re foster siblings. So when you don’t pity her, Star just looks like a selfish brat throughout the end of Season 2. Good glory, I so do not want Starco to be the endgame couple… I know it’s extremely unlikely to happen, but I’d love for her to end up with Oskar. Just. The potential of freaking Oskar being Mewni’s king. I need this so badly. Plus, they just feel so natural. 

Awesome show. But I don’t really go for the idea of, “She had to leave him, and it was so sad because she was in love!!!” What is this, a nuzlocke? I’m much happier fawning over Ludo and his story, like the way he once said, “Are you proud of me?” and then when he was complimented, he hesitated and asked, “Can you say proud?” That tells you everything.

I did really enjoy the twist in “Danny Phantom” that Danny doesn’t need to keep his identity secret from his enemies, but from his family- not to protect his family, but because his family are ghost hunters, and they’re liable to hurt him. But, like… I would have enjoyed some filler episodes, actually. Episodes where Danny didn’t even fight ghosts. Episodes that gave him more character traits. Because who is Danny without his ghost powers? He’s a shy kid who enjoys learning about outer space and wants to get with the cool crowd, but has only two close friends. Mostly, he only does poorly in school because he never has the chance to sleep or study, or when he does have free time, he’s distracted by video games.

I wanted to see that Danny a little more, and not just when Danny gave up his ghost powers in “Phantom Planet”. I wanted THAT Danny to have angst. The problem with Season 3 was, in Season 1, Danny was learning to control his powers for the first time. In Season 3, he’d mastered them. He didn’t struggle anymore. He lacked good weaknesses. His weakness became exhausting himself to the point where he slipped back into human form. Aka, the removal of powers: kryptonite. His angst was about fighting ghosts. It was very plot-based. And that worked really well until suddenly it didn’t. Fans of the show have rounded his character out some more, but canon!Danny was left flailing for weaknesses in Season 3, or so I think.

I didn’t mean to go off about shows that you didn’t even ask about in your question. Sorry! This is the first time I’ve tried putting into words my thoughts about why those shows are neat to watch, yet I don’t consider myself part of their respective fandoms. 

What I enjoy about BIaB is, the fantastic racism element is definitely there, but it’s not the main focus of every single episode (Geez, that would get annoying fast). It’s a show about, well… fitting in. Making new friends. Struggling with a bully who hurts people emotionally instead of physically. Culture shock. It’s about two kids caring for one another, accepting who they are and who the other is, making mistakes, and learning to be better people in the process. Y’know. With plenty of angst sprinkled on top. The type of angst that fleshes characters out and builds up solid worlds. The kind of angst that I enjoy a lot.

So, DP, GF, and “Star” are generally well-done and awesome, but for whatever reason, I just appreciate them in a different way than I do FOP and BIaB. Anyone who’s been around my blog for awhile knows which of the shows I watch I actually produce fanwork for.

I think it’s interesting that people enjoy different things, don’t you?

#Bunsen Is a Beast #asks #Anon #Beasty such a beaut #Fluffy blue transfer student #Official human buddy TM #Distant helicopter parents #Savage spittle queen #screenshots #GIFs #'ChalkZone' is another very nice 'subtle-angst' show you may enjoy #Going Ghost! #Dimensional scissor show #99% true as far as we remember

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C. Film 2 Key Sequences – NOTES

Screening notes: Beauty & The Beast 

Beauty & the Beast is based on a traditional fairy tale, the Beast is based on the same character from that fairy tale.

Actual understanding the audience have that the beast used to be a human allows them to sympathise with him, and develop a human-like relationship with him.

About the beast :

He was cursed by a witch because he showed no love to anyone but himself, he was also a prince – so it is his duty to care for others – presents him as an antagonist.

The spell can only be broken if or when the beast truly learns to love someone other than himself and is loved by another – until then he will remain in the form of the beast.

When Belle first meets the beast he is angry, possibly due feeling the despair of being trapped In the beast's body for a long time

He initially reacts to belles love with fear, which causes him to appear increasingly antagonistic.

The audience begins to sympathize with the beast because we understand he struggles to show love to others, yet it is apparent that the objects around his house respect him, which causes the audience to question his true character. 

The beast appears to have a very bitter outlook on his life and is quick to become frustrated when things did not work out the way he wanted them to.

The beasts reaction to things not going his way allows the audience to understand that this behavior may have been learned during his childhood, as a young prince, therefore his privileged life allowed him to become selfish and inconsiderate during his youth, which has continued as he's grown older.  

The Beast is in his current situation due to his temperamental nature and inability to show care to others, which therefore causes him to feel a deep sense of insecurity and shame because his past actions cost him, what he loved about himself most.

Throughout the entire film, it is evident that the Beast's biggest conflict is his current hideous appearance as a beast, and the retention of his human being, trapped inside. 

The audience is able to understand through the use of mise-en-scene that the beast has remained in his current form for a while because his house appears old and tattered, which implies he has been this way for a while, without visitors – allows the audience to sympathise with his character because we understand that he is actually a human, who has not interacted with another human in a long time.

Belles honest and protagonistic character is also portrayed to the audience within the scene where she enters the beasts house in order to save her father because she doesn’t appear frightened of the beast, which encourages the audience not to fear his character either.

Due to the state of the beasts house, the audience understand that he has lived there for a long time, which also suggests that he has become accustomed to his current state, and he does not believe that he can change, possibly due to the fact that many people could not even recognize him as once being human. 

It is also evident to the audience that The Beast hates his current appearance and is ashamed of the monstrous aspect of himself 

One of the main things that frustrates the beast and causes him to react in a beast like way,  is when people react to his appearance or his inhuman instincts because he his human underneath his apparent beast-like appearance. 

It is hinted to the audience that the beast behaves this way,  due to a self-fulfilling cycle that he has created, as the Beast reacts In a vicious behavior because he was seen as a vicious beast.

“So, you've come to stare at the Beast, have you?

                    ―The Beast, as he confronts Maurice

(Spell check bellow)

This may be why the beast showed some remorse after reacting angrily once he met belle for the first time, because she did not react in a way everyone else did, she did not only see him as a monster, she saw him as a person.  

The initial antagonistic impression of the beast is not developed as the narrative progresses, as he also demonstrates protagonistic traits. For example, although he is stubborn and lacks manners, it is evident he can care for others though he finds it difficult to contain his negative thoughts about himself, inorder to allow him to express empathy. 

The audience are first exposed to the beasts kind nature, as he appears to feel genuinely regretful towards Belle after he sent her father away without letting her say goodbye to him. This may be due to the fact that the beast is able to empathize with Belle and the heartache she feels, due to his past experiences as a outcast. 

The beast also "invites" belle to dinner, though it was closer to a command than an actual request. – though still showing he is beginning to transition into a kinder individual, and more human like.   

Although the beast is human in form, he exhibits primalistic animal behaviours, which prevents the audience from developing a fully, human to human relationship with him. For example the beast begins to growl and roar when he gets angry – which further reflects how long he has been an animal for. The beast also demonstrates animal like behaviours when eating as he forgets his table manners – again reflecting how hong he has been an animal for.  

Growling and forgetting his table manners liken the beast to an untamed animal, though not in a violent way

After belle is attacked by the pack of wolves, the beast cares for her- demonstrating his depth of character, that he is not just a beast, he is also a gentle being too, which allows rhe audience to connect with him. 

The beast is keen to impress belle, which is shown through how he begins to behave around her, he remembers his table manners, and begins to feed the birds- now choosing not to behave like an animal also demonstrates the beasts human like nature, which allows the audience to sympathise with him.  

The beast shows belle the library -he  wants to do something kind and considerate for belle, which is something he hasn’t done before, showing his character is evolving and he is more human like than the audience anticipated at this stage. 

Belle teaches the Beast how to dance -  which makes him overjoyed, human attachment to another character provokes the audience to feel the same too.

As the beast begins to care for Belle, not only after she is attacked by the wolves, but throughout the film, this also reveals a fiercely loyal side to him, this is further demonstrated towards the latter part of the film, as the beast was willing to give his life in order to protect Belle, and again as he lets her leave to go to her father, sacrificing his own happiness for belles, because he knows that if she leaves he will remain a beast forever. 

Noticeable change in character appears when the Beast saves Belle from the pack of wolves – not only emotional changes, as the beast is now more caring, his dress style also changes, as he becomes more disciplined and smart, - demonstrating he cares for his appearance and is keen to impress belle because he likes her. this change in character is most evident as the beast is seen in his ballroom outfit,  (a gold vest with a white dress shirt, white kerchief, black trousers lined with gold, and a navy blue ballroom tail coat also lined with gold) further symbolising his human like nature, as he is wearing human like clothes now – also in great contrast to the costume the audience first see the beast in, as he was intitally topless.

“I know he looks vicious, but he's really kind and gentle. He's my friend.”

―Belle telling the villagers not to fear the Beast

When the gang of villagers, led by gaston, come to attack the beast, the beast does not attack them in a beastly way, and when Gaston finds the Beast, the Beast does not fight back, because he beelives that he has lost belle, his love. As the beast continues not to fight, due to the fact that he is still in a state of depression, Gaston prepares to kill him, when Belle returns, and begins to shout at Gaston telling him to stop hurting the beast. The beast then gets up and begins to fight back against gason. – this demonstrates that the beast is extremely human like, because he no longer just values his own life, and instead he feels as through his life would not be worth living without his love, belle. Furthermore, because Belle shouts at gaston to stop hurting the beast this finally confirms to the beast and the audience that belle truly does care about him. 

During the fight on the balcony Belle turns the beasts face towards her, and The Beast smiles at her,- confirming to the audience that they have made an emotional bond with eachother.

Before the beast transforms back into his human form, Belle begs him not to leave her as she breaks down into tears. She also admits her love for him a few seconds before the last petal falls from the enchanted rose- which shows that the beast has not only shown love to another, but he has gained love from another.  

As the beast transforms back into a human Belle begins to cry because she beelives that she has just lost her love. As the transformation takes place a cluster of shimmering light beams fall onto the Beast. – aesthetically presented in an angelic way, confirming that his character has fully transformed and he is no longer an antagonist. 

The Beast's body rises and begins to float in the air, which is followed by his body being covered by his cape. He transforms, fully, back into a human. He then gets up, looks at himself, and then looks at Belle, who initially looks very confused as to who he is. Belle then recognises him by his blue eyes. – he has returned with his love, and he is no longer confined by his beast like appearance, although he is still the same person belle fell in love with.

After the transformation, The Prince and Belle share their first kiss which breaks another spell that was cast over the beast and his castle. the castle is restored and returns to its shining state. – demonstrating how apearences have affected the interpretation of individuals morals throughout the film, and teach the audience not to behave in this way too.

The Prince's servants, Lumiére, Cogsworth, Chip, and Mrs. Potts, are also transformed back into humans. The film ends with Belle and the Prince dancing in the ballroom, surrounded by his servants and her father watching them happily.- further confirms the complete character revelation of the beast.