Recap: Seeking Shelter from the Storm

Dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Will Royston

1935-2017

Hello everyone. First, I will let you know that my intended material will definitely be done in February; and I’m just doing this recap to help with certain events of the past few days. Second, with Pokémon Sun and Moon having sold more than their entire 10 million initial shipment; I am still contemplating doing some of the Sun and Moon series in the near future (I’m just waiting for the dub to start airing officially on Disney XD; not counting the preview of the first couple episodes they did alongside the Volcanion movie). Third, I am also mulling over several options for my 300th post; and all of this will be determined by how long it takes me to do some assignments I have for school.

That said, I’ve had this episode of the XY series on the table for some time; and with everything going on right now, it’s as good a time as any to take a look at it. Let’s open up “Seeking Shelter from the Storm.”

We open on a massive rainstorm as Ash, Bonnie, Clemont and Serena are on their way to Cyllage City. They happen upon a large mansion as the door opens by itself. Clemont then chides Bonnie for just walking inside, then assumes the house is automated. That’s interesting, it took me days to set up my PSN account on my new PS4.

We then get the XY arrangement of the Pokémon theme, which is pretty good in my opinion. I kind of like how some of TCPI’s new themes have been trying to capture some of the sound of the older English openings; similar to how newer versions of Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had some arrangement of their theme songs. Have a listen for yourself, and I personally can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with for the dubbed theme for the Sun and Moon series. 

After that, we get the usual XY title card. While the Japanese version had a different one for this episode, it does the job fine. If I have knowledge of both versions, I will point out differences when I see them, but I usually just try to take the dub on its own merit and watch the subs for a frame of reference if I get a chance. 

Anyway, the group decides to stay inside the mansion until the rain stops; and when Clemont tries to find a light, they come on by themselves! He once again suggests the place is automated; though many people in their ‘verse have yet to master the concept of a deadbolt.

Serena, however, claims the place is haunted! Yeah, given recent events; both personal and otherwise, you can see why I decided to push my other material back to February; least of all my next recap of Code Geass R2. Heavy-handed sequel series and lousy movies can wait for now, this will help me take a breather as well as process my grief.

The door slams shut behind them all, and Clemont again says the mansion has an automatic door! Yeah, this comes up a couple times with Clemont. Despite being a young man who fiddles with all sorts of gadgets and has all manner of eccentricities, he apparently doesn’t believe in the paranormal. This happened with Cilan as well in the previous anime; and I may consider looking at episodes that display that in the near future.

Serena then claims the mansion eats people alive! … Yeah, wasn’t a big fan of Monster House. Never really saw it when it was out, was more into stuff like Superman Returns and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

Clemont even outright says “you should never trust anything that can’t be explained by science.” Noble thought, but Ghost Pokémon have been a part of this ‘verse for more than 20 years; and I may consider looking at a later XY episode involving that scenario around Halloween depending on what happens then. 

As everyone tries to find another way out, Team Rocket then happens on the mansion after they too are caught in the rain.

Not deterred by the door being looked, Jessie says using this mansion as a hideout will “keep out the riffraff.” I don’t know, I think this is the kind of setup where he and Magenta usually do the time warp.

Then, all of a sudden, Jessie decides to climb in the window as James and Meowth follow her.

As the lights come on and the window slams shut behind them, James says that he has “a bad feeling about this place.” I don’t sense anything.

After seeing a portrait of an old woman on the wall, Serena wonders if she’s the cause of all that’s happening even if she’s gone! Yeah, relating to what I said earlier, even if an English dub can’t always get the letter of what the original said across (it very rarely happens), I do at least like when they can get across the spirit, so to speak. 

James tries to break the window to escape, but there’s some sort of force field around the windows!

Even after evidence that suggests otherwise, Clemont still dismisses the phenomena they’re experiencing as nothing out of the ordinary. Hey, long as there’s a steady paycheck in it, I’ll believe anything you need me to. 

As Team Rocket tries to escape, they run into an Espurr who has the same pendant as the woman in the painting. Even though I don’t find Espurr as scary as many others, for reasons I’m about to get into; I might as well indulge any fans that hold that mindset that might be reading this. (Note: I kind of get more dark stuff out of Klefki personally.)

After hearing more screams, everyone decides to go investigate like a bunch of Scoobies at Ash’s request. Been waiting to use this track again for a while, this is a good time. 

Espurr emerges, but as Bonnie tries to follow it; they disappear as they turn a corner!

As James worries about the spook haunting them behind a bed, Jessie snaps at him: “Will you keep your crazy to yourself?!” I want to shout that to everyone I can find in a position of power after this totally bonkers inauguration (part of the reason I delayed my R2 recap, another being to rework some parts I felt were too soon given the circumstances). 

Then, Clemont finally deduces that a ghost or psychic Pokémon is actually the culprit! Of course, if you eliminate the impossible; what remains, however improbable must be the truth. 

After that, Espurr sees Bonnie approach from a distance with a strange look on its face. 

As Bonnie and Espurr play ball together, this episode showcases more of Espurr’s more cute qualities after the perception among fans saw the species as more creepy. I believe that depending on how other adaptations handle certain species, they can definitely change your perception about them. Also, I never considered Espurr as creepy as others thought; and this episode furthered that.

In that sense, this episode is one of several I have viewed that helped further my appreciation for the idea that even if something seems frightening and dark on the surface, it can often be beautiful; and doesn’t have to be feared.

Furthermore, it’s a key element that makes me respect how the XY series made me feel a multitude of emotions as a viewer; and why I’m glad I got to experience it. With the remaining episodes on my DVR, even as I look forward to the Sun and Moon series officially coming stateside; I can honestly say it’s a series that learned the right lessons from Origins (and not just in terms of the animation either). 

As Espurr leads Bonnie into a playroom, I will also give this and other episodes credit for being the polar opposite of Yo-Kai Watch. It slowly draws you into the world it’s built rather than trying to hammer you into submission and treats its creatures like actual characters and not just overpriced baubles either.

Anyway, Ash, Serena and Clemont continue their search for Bonnie in the mansion. Looks like Professor E. Gad was in the middle of some crazy experiment again. 

They find Team Rocket trying to look intimidating in bedsheets, but it doesn’t work.  

I also rather like the rocking Ponyta toy; it’s a nice touch in this room.

Espurr then reveals that the woman in the painting has the same pendant!

Clemont and the others come running in, and Clemont says he was so worried about Bonnie! One of the things I enjoyed most about XY was how the dynamic between Bonnie and Clemont was what I wanted the one between May and Max to be when I was younger. While some of their disagreements remain, it’s much clearer how much these two care for each other.

Espurr is then scanned with the Pokédex, which says that its psychic energy can send things flying across the room! Yeah, much cooler than just revealing disgusting secrets.

Team Rocket enters the parlor, and Meowth translates that Espurr wants to give the pendant back to the woman in the painting. Knowing what’s about to happen, you will know why I chose this episode to recap and help process my grief. 

It’s then revealed that the woman was the owner of the house, and she took care of Espurr years before!

As time went by, the owner of the house became a surrogate guardian to Espurr before she passed on. I’m also going to come clean about what happened with my grandfather: as he entered the final stages of his COPD, it was clear to me that I had to keep going to take care of him even when it was hard. I even said words to the effect of it only being right I help put him to bed after all the times he put me to bed when I was younger. I had no idea how right I was: only a few days after I last saw him, he passed on at age 81 in his sleep. While dealing with my pain will be an ongoing process, I am at least grateful I got to see him through Christmas, the new year and my birthday. 

My grandfather believed that death was not the end. Rather, it was a new beginning; and I believe that will be a way for me to help come to terms with it all even after this insanity in the days since his wake. 

It’s also revealed that the pendant was given to the old woman by her husband, and she gave it to Espurr for safekeeping before her passing. As a result, Espurr spent years pining for the woman that was so caring and the mansion that was her home. 

Espurr is even able to send Team Rocket blasting off all on its own, much to their delight! 

As the rain stops, the owner of the house; Elesa decides to take in Espurr and turn the house into a memorial  and safe house for anyone needing a place to stay. I can identify with that kind of goodwill, even with everything that’s been going on lately. 

So, we close on Espurr leaving with Elesa to go pay respects to grandma Lacey; and Elesa decides to give Espurr her pendant to remember her by. An ideal end to this episode as one of my favorite XY episodes (still working on compiling my listt, and I will include ones I enjoyed from XYZ as well; blight of the Mega Evolution specials notwithstanding). 

“Seeking Shelter from the Storm” is an ideal way for me to come to terms with my grandfather’s passing; as well as a great episode on its own merit. With a good use of one of my favorite Kalos Pokémon (working on compiling my list for that as well in the near future) and great atmosphere and animation; it will be an episode that I shall continue to enjoy even as XY makes way for the Sun and Moon Series. 

Now, due to all my grief and dealing with external problems; I will be significantly altering what I had planned as well as changing up the order for February. I still plan to recap some of the Sun and Moon series in the near future, I’m just waiting for the dub to officially start airing on Disney XD before I do. I also apologize for how this took longer to write than I thought; I certainly hope I can get my next pieces out sooner, especially given the material I have on the table (least of all, the tentative 300th post). That will be all for now. See you, space cowboy. 

General Update-1/18/17.

Hello again. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I will once again be changing up what I had planned. I will be bumping my other material for this month until February, and I am still contemplating how I will handle them now as well as my 300th post. I will get into more detail in a new piece I have on the table, but I shall say for now that I'm in no state of mind to talk about Code Geass R2 right now; much less the movies I had planned. Rest assured, they will be done soon after I work through what's going on right now; least of all my look at the second Yo-Kai Watch movie (since Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls have only sold 120,000 copies in the US as opposed to Pokémon Sun and Moon selling 9.8 million of their initial 10 million shipment; there will be plenty to talk about. I've logged a combined 170 hours in the latter games, but I'm reworking what I had in mind based on what just happened).

I will most likely start work on my backup recap this evening after my writing class; and I will proceed with my other material in February as I continue to work through what just happened and contemplate what I want to do for my 300th post. That will be all for now. Bang.

Yo-Kai Watch The Movie: King Enma and the Five Stories Recap Coming Soon.

"Still, I don't plan on doing any more Yo-Kai Watch this month. I have some episodes on the table for some other time; a handful in my "maybe" pile, a fair number I'm definitely not doing and the second movie will be done once Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls break 100,000 copies sold domestically."

Well, seems that it's finally happened. As of December 3, 2016; almost three months after the games launched, Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls have sold 110,000 copies in the US. This means that I now officially have the catalyst I need to do the second movie, "King Enma and the Five Stories" this year. I am currently occupied with some of my other projects, but I will be doing the movie in February at the earliest. I definitely have some choice words on the matter; and no one, least of all nameless trolls; the fans or people on Tumblr like someone I'm only referring to as Rupert Murdoch will change my mind about the matter. You want to try to get a rise out of someone, do it on Screenrant, not here.

Even though Hino has expressed interest in getting content for the US at the same time or before Japan, that kind of talk from anyone else has been highly conspicuous by its absence. I want to make clear that I have immense respect for him and Level-5 as a whole even if I'm not a fan of Yo-Kai Watch. The Snack World looks interesting, I am intrigued by his desire to expand on mecha from what he did with LBX: Little Battlers Experience, and I am very excited for Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom as my PS4 gets ever closer to shipping (the game will again be codeveloped by Studio Ghibli, hopefully they'll be able to pull off a similar experience of the first game being a movie from them in playable form). However, while he expects that the series will "bloom like a flower" in the coming months here, this doesn't work in favor for proving that. Since he said that statement, the sales have stagnated for the games at the "half-year" guess, so I honestly don't know what will happen in June. Ratings of the anime have also hemorrhaged since the peak of 500,000 viewers; and despite numerous markdowns on the toys, there still aren't many takers in my area.

All this and more will be addressed when I do my recap of the second movie; but not right now. I need to determine how long it will take to do what else I have planned as well as how much schoolwork I will have. That will be all for now. See you, space cowboy.

Blog Update/Plans-January 2017 and Beyond.

Hello again. Well, since my writing teacher couldn't make it to class because of this cold snap where she was living; the first meeting of the term has been called off until next week. So, while I sit here working on my stuff for News Reporting and watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier for the umpteenth time on FXX, I think I'll share some stuff I have planned for the rest of this month.

A lot of this is subject to change depending on how busy I'll be with schoolwork; so keep that in mind. Also, I had to deal with some troll earlier today who made some comment on my most recent Yo-Kai Watch recap. It didn't make a whole lot of sense; given how he apparently likes the series and claimed I sucked for liking Attack on Titan. This was odd for several reasons: 1. I'm not sure what exactly I would suck in that situation. Eggs? Lollipops? Jamie Kennedy's unmentionables? 2. Of the many pop-culture references I made in that recap (including ones the show itself made that I actually understood for once); that was actually something I didn't reference. 3. Yes, I like Attack on Titan; and I've also said that I don't plan on recapping it for reasons detailed here.

I just had to get that off my chest; since that's once again an example of opinion myopia that the fandom has had a recurring case of. They have a fundamental inability/unwillingness to accept that a fair number of people do enjoy post-apocalyptic dark fantasy anime and aren't guaranteed to enjoy one that tells oddball jokes; sells overpriced toys and makes dated references to Adam-12 that the target audience of 7-year-old-children won't get (I just turned 25 yesterday and I barely understand it; and that's coming from a guy who references The Big Lebowski a lot, though I at least link to clips of it in the off-chance someone reading my blog hasn't seen the movie). Still, I don't plan on doing any more Yo-Kai Watch this month. I have some episodes on the table for some other time; a handful in my "maybe" pile, a fair number I'm definitely not doing and the second movie will be done once Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls break 100,000 copies sold domestically. While I imagine they might be able to salvage things somewhat with the European launch in spring, I honestly don't know what lies ahead for the series. Even though I admit that 500,000 copies sold for the recently-released "Sukiyaki" version of the third game is respectable; Sun and Moon sold four times that amount since it launched in Japan. So, I don't see myself getting to more Yo-Kai Watch just yet.

Apart from that, I also plan to do another episode of Code Geass R2 next week because of certain events taking place then. I certainly hope that the planned remaster of the series fixes a lot of the elements that were shaky for me, since I feel that season had the template for a good follow-up to the first half before executive meddling ended up being highly detrimental to the story and characterization at the expense of the action. As for the R1: it had its own flaws, but overall, there's only a couple things you could remove from that part and I wouldn't miss them (such as The Stolen Mask and a certain infamous scene involving a table; which was wonderfully spoofed by Code MENT).

There are also a couple movies that I might do: I still might be interested in doing "Yu-Gi-Oh The Movie: Pyramid of Light" to help tie into Dark Side of Dimensions later this month, since I didn't really enjoy it when I was younger and even partially credit with helping end my Yu-Gi-Oh obsession when I was 12. At the very least, Dark Side of Dimensions looks like an improvement. I also hope to start the Pokémon movie marathon back up with the Jirachi movie onward; since that's my least favorite of the main films and I want to get it out of the way. Fortunately, while the films have had their ups and downs over the years; the AG films do get better from there, and overall, they are at least easier for me to sit through than most live-action video game movies (such as the infamous Super Mario Bros. movie).

Last, but definitely not least; I am also contemplating what I want to for my 300th post. Given how my 100th and 200th ones weren't what I expected to do; I'm going to keep my options more open this time. I won't say what I have in mind just yet, but I will say it will be something I've never done before on this blog and won't be related to anything else I've done either. You'll just have to see what I will do, because even I haven't decided what I'll do yet.

In any case, you are still free to agree or disagree with what I write;  just don't be a dick about it like some unnamed parties that I've had to block. My blog has been opinionated since I started it, and sometimes reading or writing something that goes against the grain of what others expect can help you grow as a person even if you don't always realize it when you do. That will be all for now. Bang.

Recap: Pokémon Paparazzi

“Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, cannot truly be adults themselves. When I was 10, I used to read fairy tales in secret. Now that I am 50, I read them openly. Part of being an adult is the need to put away childish things such as the desire to be grown up.”- CS Lewis

Hello everyone. By the time you all read this, I will have turned 25 years old. A lot has happened over the course of the past year; and it’s also hard to believe it’s been 5 years since I first posted my first recap of “Love, Petalburg Style” here. As a present to both myself and you all for my birthday, I thought I would help ease back into this year with something from Kanto! Let’s open up “Pokémon Paparazzi” and get this started! 

There’s really not a whole lot I can say about the Pokémon theme that I haven’t said before; so I’m definitely going to link to it once again. Since the teaser for the “I Choose You” movie appears to have some arrangement of the “Aim to Be a Pokémon Master” theme in Japanese, hopefully something similar could be done when the film is dubbed at some point.

We open on the group having rice balls on their way to Cinnabar Island, and Misty is feeding Togepi some! Really enjoying the new Pokémon Refresh feature in Sun and Moon by the way (I’ve logged over 150 hours combined as of this writing). If I come across a Togepi there; I will definitely do some similar doting with the Poké Beans.

Anyway, as someone spots Ash’s Pikachu through the viewfinder of their camera; I’m honestly every bit as surprised as you are that 4Kids didn’t rename the rice balls to “donuts” or other such foodstuffs. Given how Brock was shown making them, I guess they couldn’t. Thankfully, when The Pokémon Company got the license; they put an end to that practice. 

In one of Ash’s more morbid flights of fancy, he mistakes the camera lens for a sniper’s scope and imagines all his friends getting killed! 

Snake? SNAKE!?

This leads to him preemptively trying to save his friends, but he ends up wrecking their snack time and even punching Pikachu! Jeez, dude! I haven’t seen a scuffle this bad since the PS4 launch! By the way, finally getting a PS4 with some of my birthday money as well as some games (the unit I’m getting is the Uncharted 4 bundle, and a bunch of big titles got unveiled for this year at PSX not too long ago. Should be cool.).

SHORYUKEN!

Needless to say, no-one else is pleased about this ruckus; least of all Pikachu.

The title card comes up; and it’s pretty clear that this episode is to help tie into the release of the N64 title Pokémon Snap. Much like my associate Dogasu pointed out in his look at this episode; it’s fairly easy to imagine how the process of making this episode went. I even have a similar idea about how the back and forth went on the story:

“Mr. Tajiri, some of the people I’m working with at OLM have some ideas about how to work this new game that’s coming out soon into the anime.” “Sounds good, Mr. Yuyama, eager to see what you all can come up with. What’s it about?” “Well, there’s a character that’s the lead of this spinoff that we could probably work in. What do you think?” “I like the cut of your jib, I can’t wait to see what you can do.”

Naturally, everyone else is wondering what Ash was doing; and Ash has Squirtle reveal the character referred to in the mock conversation above! This is Snap, also known as Todd. Yeah, depending on which version of the dub you find, there are some ADR differences because of this apparent legal snafu with Kellogg’s over the name. Some versions I’ve seen have his name as Snap (which is what he’s called in the accompanying game); others call him Todd. The version on my Netflix profile I’m using to write this recap is the latter; so that’s what I shall call him for the sake of argument.

As for this whole bit with Todd in the Blastoise mask: apparently it’s some sort of wordplay that doesn’t really work well in English, so 4Kids basically took the easy way out and rewrote the scene.

Todd takes everyone back to his place, and after showing them a photo he took of Aerodactyl in “Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon” (I may think about that one in the near future), he decides to make up for spooking everyone by making them some pancakes. Works for me. 

He also asks to take Pikachu’s picture; but Pikachu seems reluctant about the idea. 

Also, this scene here is one of many reasons why I like this episode so much; as well as me being among many that want a potential sequel to Pokémon Snap. With the Poké Finder feature in Sun and Moon as well as the recent Wii U Virtual Console release of the game; I would very much appreciate a new game on the Switch with the new monsters introduced in Alola.

Todd clicks the shutter, but this spooks Pikachu and he shocks him! 

Todd is undeterred, but he prefers a more naturalistic approach to photography; disliking the appearance of posing Pokémon. I like that idea, since I took photojournalism a while ago; and sometimes that’s the best approach.

However, Pikachu is still reluctant about the idea; and it turns out that Todd was hired to do this by a suspicious old couple with an ulterior motive! 

As they have a plate of meat; Meowth tells them that Todd is the best at capturing Pokémon from his correspondence in the Pokémon Times, though not in the sense he understands.

After grandma takes the last bite of steak, it turns out that it’s another crazy scheme from Team Rocket! Yeah, this might be a bit tricky; fellas. Especially since Meowth doesn’t understand the difference between Todd wanting to take a shot OF Pikachu, not a shot AT him at he posits.

Anyway, Todd then begins trying to get a picture of Pikachu; but even with an SLR in 1999; he can’t prevent Ash from photobombing him! See, this was happening before that Hiker interfered with Kiawe’s trial in Sun and Moon!

Not even hanging upside down will stop Ash from trolling Todd! You were close! Yeah, just downloaded Snap on my Wii U while typing this; trying to relearn how to play it. Still, HAL Labs did a good job with it; there was no way my N64 copy could do quasi-HD graphics at 60 frames per second. 

Meanwhile, Team Rocket has one of their old standby traps ready; a pitfall for their enemies!

As they try to disguise themselves before Todd comes back, they even get mixed up! Whoops!

After a quick change, Todd meets with the “old couple” and decides to wait for Pikachu and the others to come by. 

Todd also overhears Ash say how he doesn’t consider their feelings right as they fall in the trap!

Team Rocket is quick to gloat about their presumed success; however, their joy is short-lived when Todd gets the photograph he wanted after all!

Meowth then discovers that Todd’s credentials were for “capturing Pokémon on film,” causing Jessie and James to knock him away! Nice try, fellas. 

Then, due to a crack James made where Ash is sitting; he falls through the floor of the hole and into a waterway!

Todd follows them down the hole as they scramble to find some way to get out of the current! 

Just before Ash goes over the waterfall, Todd gives him the strap of his camera to hold onto in the nick of time! 

Guy did a Peter Pan right off of this dam, right here!

Team Rocket, realizing they’ve been had; decide to go with a Plan B of using a rubberized net to snatch Pikachu! This can only end well, can’t it?

As if that weren’t enough, they actually start throwing bombs at Ash and Todd! Jeez, they’re already precariously at the edge of a waterfall, what more do you want? 

Ash then decides to use the camera to distract Team Rocket! As for how he managed to get it while still holding onto the tripod: I’d suggest not to worry too much about that, you’ll enjoy yourself more.

The last bomb explodes in James’ hand; but Jessie kicks him for messing up the shot and her makeup. Such as the fate of the ineffectual sympathetic villain. These guys are more or less on the same level as Plankton or Wile E. Coyote in that regard. 

Ash then has Bulbasaur free Pikachu and attack Team Rocket! 

They end up getting chased and Vine Whipped all the way down the waterfall! Yet, even with all the furor certain fans have towards the Alola redesigns; they still provide some good levity. Good contrast to darker villains like Team Skull (definitely interested to see where their inclusion is headed; since other villain factions have had varying degrees of involvement in the anime).

As Brock and Misty catch up to Ash, Pikachu and Todd; they discover they’ve become friends for a simple reason: they both like Pokémon! That’s a good way to start a friendship, it’s worked pretty well for me and still does.

So, we close on a variation of the everybody laughs ending; where Todd takes a photo of his new friends after he slips on a leftover rice ball. A good way as any to end my first recap since last Christmas. 

“Pokémon Paparazzi” is among my favorite episodes of the Kanto series, and I’m very glad I chose this as one of the choices I had in mind. With some colorful animation and a pretty fun way of integrating one of my favorite N64 games into the series, it’s one I never pass up an opportunity to revisit. The other material I had in mind can be done later this year, including my looks at the Jirachi movie and some of the Sun and Moon anime; but first I want to determine how busy I’ll be over the course of this term. For now, I’m going to enjoy celebrating my 25th birthday as I play my Virtual Console copy of Pokémon Snap (as well as Mario Kart 64 once it finishes downloading) and have my cake with my family. Next time; however, due to circumstances beyond my control; I will definitely do more Code Geass R2. Just thought I would do something I’d enjoy first before I get back to the junk. That’s all for now. See you, space cowboy.

General Update-1/9/2017.

So, my first day back at school went relatively well. I was pretty tired and it was still pretty icy out; but I think I will enjoy my winter term nonetheless.

That said, I thought I would let you know that in this update; since as I said before; my schoolwork will most likely be taking up a fair amount of my time. Also, due to circumstances beyond my control, I will definitely be getting you my next recap sooner than I expected. I will have reached a decision on the matter later today, at which point I will start writing one of my choices. My plan is still largely the same: with the material I have planned and more, you will see it most likely on a Tuesday, Thursday or weekend; since Monday, Wednesday and Friday are when I have class.

One more note before I go: I did watch the premieres of Dragon Ball Super and the final chapters of Dragon Ball Z Kai on Toonami the other night; as well as start One Piece back up again. I'm still on Thriller Bark, and the other two series are pretty fun. I will probably get you another post or two on those as more episodes air, as well as give some thought to taking a look at them in the near future. Super is on at 11:30P, with the final chapters of Kai after that at midnight on Saturday evenings. That will be all for now, I should start work on my next recap by the time you read this; since my 25th birthday is tomorrow. See you, space cowboy.

2017: Year of the Rooster With New Possibilities.

Hello everyone. Well, my grandad is now in a new place; and apart from maybe helping move a few more of his possessions, I will probably only be seeing him about once a week nowadays.

Apart from that, it is a new year; and I am definitely going to get you something after my 25th birthday on the 10th in terms of recaps. I am watching several possible anime for that, you will just have to wait and see what I might do.

Before the month is out, there a few things I might potentially address: since the Yu-Gi-Oh Dark Side of the Dimensions movie is coming out on the 27th, I am contemplating doing the 2004 movie; since even when I was 12, I wasn't a particularly big fan of it (I can even credit it with partially causing me to drift away from Yu-Gi-Oh and write my own version of it. It was more or less glorified fan fiction in hindsight; and it's kind of silly looking back on it). I also want to hopefully start my Pokémon movie marathon back up sometime this month to help make up for the ground I lost when my hard drive was being replaced last year. I was on the Jirachi movie, and it will be a doozy as that's a film that I'm not a particularly big fan of (to this day, I think it's one of the weaker entries in the series; but it's at least better than The Legend of Thunder in hindsight). As for Code Geass R2: I will probably do another episode of that after certain events take place, which shall remain undisclosed for now.

Everything else at this point is to be determined; but I will try to keep my options relatively open with me going back to school on Monday. I'm taking News Reporting then, Wednesdays and Fridays, with me also taking writing on Wednesday evenings. So, the most likely dates for posting something for me would be Tuesdays, Thursdays or weekends; depending on how busy I'll be with classwork and how long it takes me to write some of my planned material. I definitely want to do more of the stuff I wanted to last year, but couldn't. I decided I will deal with everything over the course of the next few years as it comes, and I can definitely say this medium is full of escapist fiction to help with that. So, that's all for now. See you space cowboy.

Top 13 Favorite Anime Villains

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year. Even though last year was definitely a wild ride, I submit one of the things that will help me most with this year is to enjoy myself with forthcoming prospects such as my 25th birthday; other events such as the inauguration be damned (planning on going to a movie that day instead, my top choices are Moana or xXx: Return of Xander Cage).

As I intended for some time, I shall be leading this celebration of new opportunities with my revised list of Top 13 Favorite Anime Villains for 2017! So, let's count 'em down and see who's bad!

A couple ground rules, like with the last list: 1. Regardless of whether or not a villain is adapting a character from a manga or other medium, they will be eligible. 2. That said, no two villains from the same series will be on the list; though if a series has more than one version, they will be considered as separate entries. So let's get started.


13. Revy (Black Lagoon)

To lead off this list, I thought I would definitely include a villain protagonist of sorts; and they will show up on this list again. In an age where Western TV shows such as Breaking Bad and The Wire often garner considerable critical and viewer acclaim for depicting stories and characters with greater moral ambiguity than in the past, I found Black Lagoon to be an ideal fit for the new Toonami. Revy is a good example of that, since the character type of the villain protagonist itself can often challenge the usual perceptions one might have of what someone has to do to survive. Even as a foul-mouthed, hard-drinking, chain-smoking, gun-toting smuggler, Revy managed to get me into all the intense action that running jobs in the South Pacific would entail. While I don't think the software worker she and the rest of the Lagoon Company end up kidnapping and taking along for the ride is a bad character, Revy is definitely the real star of Black Lagoon for me. Even when engaging in a sea of gunplay and profanity that would make the likes of Quentin Tarantino and David Mamet blush, it's not hard to see why she's in this lifestyle after learning her tragic backstory. I won't spoil it, but I definitely recommend Black Lagoon in both the anime and manga forms to see why. It's also a series that definitely earns its audience here, since it's not for kids in the slightest (even in Japan, it's classified as a "seinen," or "adult male" series, with the manga collections by Viz even lampshading this fact in the liner notes).

12. Dartz (Yu-Gi-Oh)

As a series that's had no shortage of memorable villains in its numerous incarnations (with The Dark Side of the Dimensions movie and a planned sixth anime series being sure to have more); it was tough deciding who to include in this spot. After some thought, however, I decided I would give the spot to the villain of Dartz. While many of the prior Yu-Gi-Oh villains had some degree of sympathetic qualities to endear them to the audience, Dartz had none. He and his followers are more than willing to use the Seal of Orichalcos cards to imprison the souls of those who stand in their way, making him quite the force to be dealt with. Even with Little Kuriboh turning him into a meme, how he's been depicted in YGOTAS actually isn't that far off from how I remember him (still in the process of catching up, though). Of all the villains of the original Yu-Gi-Oh, this was the one I had the least sympathy for.

11. Myotismon (Digimon Adventure)

If you've been reading my Digimon recaps prior to this list, you should probably know by now that while the earlier stories were by no means bad; they really picked up after the initial dozen or so episodes after it was revealed that Devimon was just a pawn. When Myotismon took his place, the conflict intensified for the rest of Adventure. Not only was he willing to take the battle outside the Digital World, he had absolutely no objections to harming people or Digimon alike for the sake of his conquest. He was truly compounded as a sadistic bastard near the end of the series, where he openly killed Wizardmon in front of Kari when he wanted to join the Digidestined. As the first of many incarnations of the character, he definitely made his mark on me as a young man for years to come.

10. Scanty and Kneesocks (Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt)

As the we enter the top 10 of my list, it was only right I included these delightfully devilish ladies here. When they were introduced halfway through Panty and Stocking, these two brought an ideal antithesis to the title characters. Even though the episodes before that weren't bad in the slightest, Scanty and Kneesocks have to be two of my favorite characters of the lawful evil characterization. Following the example of their father, they want do something as simple as impose their will on everyone in Daten City just because they feel that a society of rules will mean that the people will abide by them. To say that Panty and Stocking don't share their brand of governing is an understatement. The result is the two end up generating some of the best material from Gainax's raunchy and hilarious anime skewering of other animations and pop culture (still looking into getting the complete series in the near future, Amazon has been slashing prices left and right lately).

9. Shou Tucker (Full Metal Alchemist)

Whether it's the manga, the 2003 version or Brotherhood (I can only wonder how the live-action remake will handle him); Shou Tucker is every bit as nasty in my eyes as the homonculi that end up being much more frequent on these kind of lists (which I understand given how they're personifications of the seven deadly sins). However, I'm going with Tucker on the grounds that while the homonculi have supernatural powers and malicious personalities; Tucker was willing to transmute his own daughter with their family dog simply to advance the cause of science. To say that the Elrics were outraged at this action would be a huge understatement. Even though Scar came close to taking this spot for his actions, I ultimately decided to give the spot to Tucker because of how cold he was toward his own child and pet in favor of such an atrocity. Yeah, buddy, Martin Skrheli called; he thinks you're out of your mind.

8. Mercenary Tao (Dragon Ball)

As I pointed out in the handful of Dragon Ball recaps I've done, in the early episodes of the series; the villains of Pilaf, Mai and Shu are mostly comedic in nature. When the Red Ribbon army enters the space; they take a more serious slant in their quest to find the Dragon Balls. Each operative also had an increasing amount of malice and power at their disposal, but Goku always found a way to rise to the occasion. That changed when the army hired Mercenary Tao, who personified the notion that the faction was done playing games with their enemies. They didn't care who they harmed in their goals for conquest, and Tao was able to exploit Goku's idealism and naiveté by killing the father of a native child he befriended. He is also notable for lacking any of the comedic traits many prior operatives had. At best, he was annoyed at General Blue trying to use his special move on him; to no avail. At worst, he had no problem with murdering anyone that crossed him; be it someone tailoring his outfit or a young man playing in the street. While many villains after him had all manner of grotesque designs and supernatural powers; I can honestly say that as a human adversary, he was easily my choice for one of my earliest shonen series to occupy this spot on my list.

7. Medusa Gorgon (Soul Eater)

As a series that had all manner of gothic supernatural elements; it was only natural that they would have a villain that could fit that world. Caring very little for those around her, least of all her child Crona (a large part of that character's gender confusion stems from the fact that Medusa apparently doesn't even consider Crona human at all!); she would willingly bring disaster to the world if it meant she could get a laugh or two out of it. Even though the anime did take some liberties with the manga as it went on (talk persists of a remake in the vein of FMA Brotherhood, not counting the slice-of-life spinoff Soul Eater NOT!), Medusa remained a vile character through and through (even though I'm still working on the series, I will admit the memetic "baby bloomers" scene is very cathartic when she's given the body of a child and undergarments to match, much to the glee of Mr. Albarn and Death).

6. Yubaba (Spirited Away)

As the first of many films I saw from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, Yubaba is among the many reasons it's probably my favorite one as well as one of my all-time favorite movies. While her twin sister Zeniba is more benevolent; she has little concern about turning those that stumble upon the spirit world into pigs for slaughter, least of all Chihiro and her parents. She also has another trait that makes certain villains stand out at me: thoroughly misgauging what a hero is willing to do to protect the ones they love. Case in point: when she grudgingly agrees to hire Chihiro to work at the bathhouse, her hope is by taking her name to control her; she will be demoralized and Yubaba will be able to turn her into a pig with her parents. Instead, Sen gains the work ethic and grace of a young woman that helps her leave her more selfish traits of her as a little girl behind her. This surprises her immensely by the time the film ends. As a result, she even changes a bit herself! Even though her spot on the list places her just outside the top 5 spots, I can easily be confident in my inclusion of her on the list.

5. Light Yagami (Death Note)

Image Credit: Anime News Network

As another villain protagonist on my list, I knew that I had to include Light in my top 5. No matter the medium he's portrayed in (including the upcoming Netflix adaptation),  he is definitely someone that challenged my perceptions about morality as well as what might happen if someone had the power of life and death in their hands. His journey was quite the experience as it went, and I'm keeping a relatively open mind about how the Netflix series will handle both him and the material (based on the fact that Marvel's shows on the site and Stranger Things have been huge hits and the fact that it might work on that release pattern if Warner Bros. is now going whole hog on Lego, the Wizarding World and the DC Extended Universe as their primary tentpole franchises). At the very least, I can't imagine the whole thing being as big a mess as the live-action Ghost in the Shell remake looks. As long as they get someone who was as good as Brad Swaile or Mamoru Miyano, I'm game. It's quite the role to play, and an ideal character to lead off my top 5.

4. "Saw-Tooth" Arlong (One Piece)

Even fairly early on in One Piece, the series quickly built a unique array of villains. While the art style of the series allowed for comical villains like Captain Buggy the Clown to establish themselves, the series definitely found its footing when Arlong entered the space. Not only did he murder Nami's adoptive mother Bellemere in front of her, he spent years physically and emotionally abusing Nami before she became the navigator of the Straw Hats. Worse than that, he and his crew not only kept her hometown in poverty in exchange for their lives; he never intended to honor his agreement with Nami about letting her buy their freedom! He's a powerful fighter and a truly heartless individual, making it very satisfying when the Arlong arc's climax has Luffy destroy the cartography room to bring and end to his rule over her village and provide closure for the years he spent abusing Nami. As one of many villains belonging to the race of "fishmen" in the series, Arlong was easily the point where my fandom of One Piece was cemented. That definitely makes him worthy of the 4th spot on this list.

3. Spiral King Lordgenome (Gurren Lagann)

I know what a lot of you might be thinking. "One of the villains of your favorite anime just barely makes the top 3? What's going on, Steven?" As I said in the last list, it gets harder for me to rank everyone as it goes on. I will also be including some honorable mentions at the end for that reason, but the fact that a villain that stands out at me as much as Lordgenome is able to rank that high with me definitely says something about how many villains this medium has that can earn that honor. While his generals are indeed memorable, and I may not share many fans' disdain for the Anti-Spirals after the time skip; Lordgenome is so dedicated to preserving what remains of humanity that he will go to any lengths to prevent Team Gurren from rising up. Not even Simon ramming his Core Drill into his chest will stop him from his goals, though his disembodied head is at least willing to help everyone after the Time Skip stop the Anti-Sprials. Still, as one of many characters in a series that personifies masculinity at its core; his attitude is fitting a tyrant that wants to control humanity so much that he won't even let them on the surface (his appearance coincides with tossing aside his daughter Nia by his own admission, like an old doll that nobody wanted). Most of all, Jamieson Price's dub performance helps sell the role even more, having been blessed with one of the deepest voices in the entire cast. When a villain with all this going for him only makes the top 3, you know he definitely has left his mark on me as a viewer.

2. Ragyo Kiryuin (Kill la Kill)

Trigger's highly acclaimed and successful series proved to be an ideal spiritual successor to Gurren Lagann, applying many similar elements to the magical girl genre after they proved successful for the mecha genre. Ragyo Kiryuin is a great example of that. In addition to not being above conquest and genocide to accomplish her goals, she is a horrible boss to her workers at REVOCS industries and an abusive mother to all her children. Not only did she imprison Satsuki when she found out her real motives, any real love she had for (spoiler alert!) Ryuko can be displayed by the scene where she quite literally tears her heart out in a display worthy of the likes of Kano and Mola Ram. Before THAT, she even abandoned her as an infant and made her think she was dead for most of her life; and created Nui as a means of finishing what she started. Even SHE was little more than a living weapon to her; and there are numerous atrocities she commits with each succeeding appearance she makes. It's not often when a supervillain takes everything she made in her company and uses it to try to kill everyone. Yep, pettier than Abercrombie and Fitch. All joking aside, however; it was a very tough call between her and my top choice; but here we go.

1. Tetsuo Shima (Akira)

In the many years I've been wanting to do this list, it underwent many revisions as I kept viewing more anime; to the point where by the time I wanted to do this list a year ago, the documents I had went missing (and this was before I eventually had to have my hard drive replaced). That said, I'm glad I took the chance to finally revise the list; because I think my top choice is someone that definitely deserves it. Katsuhiro Otomo's classic vision of the future is still the gold standard in my eyes for the big-budget anime epic almost 30 years since it was first released, and Tetsuo is definitely the ideal villain for that story. As part of a motorcycle gang known as the "Capsules," he often butted heads with his friend Shotaro Kaneda; not helped by his background as an orphaned outcast. When he crosses paths with a young man named Takashi one night on patrol, he begins to exhibit strange and otherworldly powers. As a result of a combination of factors ranging from teenage angst to being a student in a dilapidated vocational school, he decides to wield such powers; as Dr. Ian Malcolm put it, "like a kid who found his father's gun." Not even the military is able to stop his destructive use of Neo-Tokyo as his playground, even when he gets his arm shot off from an orbital strike beacon. Most of all, he turns against the one man who became his friend as a child when he starts his path to oblivion; which has a different end for him depending on the anime or the manga version of the story. Still, Tetsuo's influence has been felt not only among many other anime villains like him, but also played a part in influencing western media characters such as the Joker in the Batman Beyond movie and Andrew Detmer in the film "Chronicle." Every time I watch the film, he is among many reasons why it's my favorite anime film and one of my all-time favorite movies.

Before I help out with my grandfather as he gets ready to move into a new hospice home, here are some honorable mentions in no particular order: Beelzemon (Digimon Tamers), Beerus (Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods), Emperor Charles vi Britannia (Code Geass R1), Yami Marik (Yu-Gi-Oh), and the Witch of the Waste (Howl's Moving Castle). These are just a handful of villains who may be considered for a potential follow-up list later on down the line.

As I try to fend off a potential head cold and watch Akira again as a marathon of movies about the future/apocalypse to help ring in the new year (along with Blade Runner and Terminator 2, among others); I will probably get you my first recap of the new year after my 25th birthday next week. It probably will be something relatively easy, since I'm going back to school a week from Monday. Still, some of my plans for this year include starting up the Pokémon movie marathon again and looking at some of the Sun and Moon series when it comes stateside officially (not counting the preview with the Volcanion movie I talked about a bit ago). Among other anime, I will definitely finish what I started with Code Geass R2 and Yo-Kai Watch; as well as recap some more Transformers anime to help get ready for The Last Knight in June (in addition to $260 million worth of explosive action and effects-driven "Bayhem", here's hoping I can finally find a Western Star Optimus Prime in Voyager scale). I am also aware that I'm getting close to my 300th post, probably going to see what I can do for that (I'm cultivating several options in my mind as I type this, even I don't know what I want to do yet). I leave you with these words on what lies ahead: you cannot stop the future, for it has already begun.