#where we're not defining 'bad' by how entertaining something is because THAT is subjective

[worstloki]

Ragnarok Loki is Loki actually making moves toward growing up bye

Just because you don’t like a thing doesn’t mean it’s Objectively Bad Actually. I Statements are your friend.

Anon darling, I would like you to tell me one move Loki made towards “growing up” that wasn’t ‘Loki let’s go of the issue he had with X’ because what I’m seeing when the movie skips over development to frame the conclusion of ‘Loki’s fine with being jotun and having been lied to and being treated unequal to Thor and punished unfairly’ as something implicit I’m not seeing anything but Loki's narrative being sidelined to the point where breakdowns were tantrums and holding a grudge (which he in my opinion had every right to do if he wanted to) is an overreaction.

That Loki’s ‘moving on’ features resigning himself to continued bad treatment but now no longer complaining about it... shouldn’t be where the character ends up or what he amounts to neither generally or as a continuation of his arc from the previous movies in my opinion, not when he had legitimate grievances that still haven’t been so much as acknowledged.

Just because you like a thing doesn't mean it's Objectively Good Actually either. It is very clear you haven't taken the time to look into posts/interviews detailing why, objectively, the film is a retcon, (along with a majority of posts which thoroughly make clear when things *are* a matter of opinion) but I see that you are happy to criticize whilst not using any 'I statements' yourself.

If you see character changes as consistent continuity that's fine! I've got to remind you that being critical is okay though, and that everyone is free to how they see things.

Additionally, I think you need to hear that a post detailing negative points of a movie is not equivalent to saying there aren't positive factors.

#''Just because you don’t like a thing doesn’t mean it’s Objectively Bad Actually'' ANON I ENJOY RAGNAROK BUT NO #THE MOVIE ACTUALLY DOES HAVE VERY CONVOLUTED MESSAGES AND A LOT OF IT IS DUE TO FRAMING #EVEN IF I COMPLETELY IGNORE THE ABSOLUTE DEMOLITION OF THE MAIN CHARACTER'S ARC AND CHARACTERIZATION AND ABUSE APOLOGISM #ignore the yelling #even if I ignore all that objective actions in the film everyone is free to interpret diegetic factors and build their own opinions #but as someone who enjoys both the critical thinking off and the analysis side of discussions #i do find the summation of a character who has (supposedly) gotten over his many issues as 'growing up' not good anyway #because there WAS legitimate trauma behind his bad actions and while it's not in any way an excuse for anything it made him compelling #ragnarok essentially decided that 'nah loki's over all that haha also treating him bad is funny bc he kinda deserves it' #after Thor 1 Avengers 1 and Thor 2 established Loki's villainous behaviour as unlike him to do #the movie was fun and loving it is fine! i don't mind the changes to loki even though marvel is generally insulting and sidelines abuse! #i think the main issue is that a lot of people insist that the characters are the same when even their previous actions are retconned #if you find the characters consistent well good for you! enjoy your film! but there IS objective proof that the movie is bad #where we're not defining 'bad' by how entertaining something is because THAT is subjective #it's not like Ragnarok is the only 'bad' marvel movie and criticism of the films is usually backed up with canon/proof #on the note of which you may realize that someone else saying a movie is bad doesn't mean you have to agree #you're allowed to look away or read about why they think that or skip the post because it doesn't matter and fandom is supposed to be fun #if you don't like seeing anything negative about marvel then ignore the posts #most of the meta i see is neutral it just doesn't praise the movie for stuff it didn't do :/ #feel free to send another anon in to argue or discuss anything i've said because i'm not trying to say it's bad to like the film #like... it's completely fine to prefer the Ragnarok characterisation?? the entire tone of the movie is more comedic so consider that too #marvel messes up loads of characters and their arcs idk why everyone likes to argue when people say loki was changed too #i think it might ACTUALLY be a case of ''i liked the thing so it's objectively good so don't say anything bad about it'' for a lot of fans #a lot of people know the character is different and still love/prefer the ragnarok loki #seriously everyything is fine no one is saying dont like the thing #no one is insulting you personally for deciding people who were abused/traumatised need to 'grow up' #it's about how Ragnarok acted as a standalone rather than something that was inherited as continued part of an established universe #and how that kinda maybe obliterated a lot of old stuff to recreate the characters #truly fitting for a movie named Ragnarok #i think I get why they called it that despite the limited links to mythology now

[skyhopedango]

State of the Season pt 3

Following pts 1 and 2...

Bishounen Tanteidan

I've been struggling with how to go about writing about this, because every single sentence I thought of ended with "...and this is why Ouran Host Club is superior and everyone should watch that instead."

I mean, it's not like the show is trying to avoid comparisons? Or maybe they thought Ouran Host Club was so long ago nobody would notice or care? But I mean come on, starting with the whole premise of "pretty boy club where the 'pretty boy' part is of central importance, and where the members are all eccentrics, especially the leader, takes in a girl disguised as a boy as their new member, that girl likes to snark at the eccentricies of the other members, and also she is voiced by Sakamoto Maaya" - even aside of that, there's also the whole "incredibly opulent school" setting, the "incredibly opulent" visuals in general, and...

Well.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It's really obvious. And frankly, Bishounen Tanteidan is not doing itself any favors by setting itself as being directly comparable to Ouran Host Club, because Ouran Host Club is superior to it in every way. Sure, I'm biased - Ouran Host Club is one of my favorite anime shows ever, it's cute, funny - like really funny not "smirking sometimes" funny - it's extremely relatable to me and my fandom experiences, the voice acting is impeccable (Miyano Mamoru when he still gave a shit!), the direction and the visuals are handled by a sure hand, thoughtfully and with a purpose, and the characters are not simply charming and fun - they're just extremely well-written (most of them, anyway) with depth enough to sail a submarine through. (Also: Ouran Host Club is one of those rare anime adaptations which are so much better than their manga source material that it's almost unfair.)

In comparison Bishounen Tanteidan is basically one of those cheap chocolate Easter bunnies. It looks nice and tasty, but once you take off the shiny wrapper and take a bite you'll find that it's 1. completely empty inside and 2. the "chocolate" is just a cheap compound mix.

Really, I could talk about how the visuals are just opulent without any particular purpose, to the point where you just end up tuning them out because when everything is shiny nothing is really shiny; or how it's full of characters talking and talking and talking and talking and saying stuff that sounds complicated and smart but once you stop to think about it it's all banalities at best and pretentious bullshit at worst; about how the "cases" are just random shit happening until someone stops the story to give a lengthy exposition to explain the whys and wherefores, and it's usually incredibly dumb in a not-fun way... really, there's so much I could talk about, but to me the main issue is the characters.

Like, in Ouran Host Club after two episodes you already have a good idea of who these characters are, what are their main character traits, what are their relationships with one another, etc., and it only gets more detailed later on. In Bishounen Tanteidan we're on episode 7 and... who are these people, other than loose collections of randomly assembled tropes? There's Girl With Super Vision who is sometimes reluctant sometimes not; there's Boy With Legs who has legs; there's Boy With Pretty Voice who might be a lolicon and who mostly functions as Mr Exposition; there's Boy With Red Hair who is kind of gruff and likes cooking I guess; and there's Silent Boy who I'm told is artistic but that doesn't really figure into anything really. It's been 7 episodes and the only one with a clearly defined personality is Manabu and even that personality is "annoying and not in a charming way."

Anyway, I'm watching because I do enjoy the character designs, Boy With Pretty Voice does have a very pretty voice and he looks gorgeous, and overall it's a harmless way to spend 20 minutes a week. But honestly, the most enjoyment it brought to me was inspiring me to rewatch Ouran Host Club. Seriously people, watch Ouran, it's great.

.

Shadows House

This one, though! After Godzilla SP, this is another very pleasant surprise. I went into this not knowing what to expect, and got a really fun mystery with cute and likeable characters, some nice designs... just overall it's a very entertaining little show with a pretty interesting story so far. (It's taking me some self-restraint not to just get the manga and read ahead.) This is one that I look forward to each week, and I'll definitely read the manga once it's over.

.

Megalobox 2: NOMAD

Aaand there's this. This show is just great. Nothing more or less. Like the first season it's a well-rounded, well-produced, really well-done show that basically does everything well and despite being built on obvious tropes, despite the story being predictable, it's so smooth, so well-done, so raw and passionate, it has so much heart - that it never once feels tired or boring. It's a perfect example of how you don't need to reinvent the wheel to make a show good, that tropes themselves are not bad only when you use them wrong (same case with Ouran Host Club vs Bishounen Tanteidan above, btw). It shows how to take something that might be tired and infuse it with a new life.

I mean... sure, these things are incredibly subjective. But personally, Nomad generated a ton more emotions in me with its recent episodes than To Your Eternity which keeps being hyped as the emotional heavy hitter of the season. The episode of Nomad where the past happenings are revealed was really hard for me to get through, because everything in it was either way too relatable or way too real.

So yeah, so far Nomad is one of the best shows of the past years, much like Megalobox was, and I'm fairly confident that it's going to be able to stick the landing.

.

..

...oh yeah, and there's also Fairy Ranmaru. :D But I'm blabbering about that one separately I guess?

#pretty boy detective club #ouran host club #shadows house #megalo box #bishounen tanteidan #spring anime 2021