Where I rewatch Yugioh GX, Episode 56
Jul. 4th, 2010 01:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cypsiman2So we open with Manjoume with a video camera, talking trash about the Osiris Red dorm. Then he opens a door, and we see Shou telling Kenzan to get the fuck out already, you're supposed to be in Ra Yellow for fuck's sake, and Kenzan's insipid dialogue makes me want to punch him. Judai tries reassure them that there's enough bland, insipid Judai meat for everyone, but Shou and Kenzan are both whiny little shits who want to be Judai's only little-brother figure. Seriously, who the fuck thinks like that? Even if Judai really did have all this charisma, which he doesn't, it's still fucking insane. And then they notice Manjoume. Shou asks WTF, and he says that the Manjoume room has been completed, complete with a well lit spa! Christ, I don't think even the Obelisk Blue rooms have those. Manjoume says he COULD show them his kickass new room, and of course Judai is excited. Then again, Manjoume could have announced that he was moving into a cardboard box, and Judai would be excited to see it. So Manjoume's about to go show them, when suddenly, Asuka! And she's got a bag! Kenzan wonders who she is, and Asuka says she's left Obelisk Blue! Would it be okay if she stayed in Osiris Red? Needless to say, the boys are shocked, as are we all.
SHOU VS. THE BUG GIRL! INSECT PRINCESS there's no way this girl could bug me more than shou...could she?
Okay, for some reason Napoleon and Chronos are discussing things by candlelight. I've no idea why. Blah blah blah, Chronos has chosen Shou as their next target for the Star Discovery program, and if Shou can defeat an Obelisk Blue, they will raise his rank to Yellow, and then Blue, and since Shou is the Kaiser's younger brother, he should be an attention getter! Which is why Shou got all kinds of focus and dueling screentime in the previous season! No, wait, he barely did anything that season. Oh, and this will also reduce Judai's followers, some old fashioned bullshit about Judai being the Heart of Osiris Red, and I swear to god, the designated villainy of this just bores me to tears. Anyway, Manjoume shows off his kickass new room, everyone is suitably impressed, and Asuka wonders if its really okay if she uses this room. Manjoume has no problem whatsoever with this arrangement, Judai points out to Manjoume that he will be stuck with them again, but Manjoume does not care, giving his room to Asuka is worth it. Shou asks why Asuka's left the Obelisk Blue Dorm, and so she opens up her bag to reveal a poofy red dress; Chronos wanted her to wear it, and sing while she duels.
Wow, Chronos? You need to be fired yesterday!
Yeah, Asuka does not have time for this 'Academy Idol' bullshit, and Manjoume blushes as he imagines Asuka as an Idol. Oh you stupid, stupid, STUPID boy! Everyone's all WTF at Manjoume, and Judai asks why Asuka's carrying the dress around if she hates it so much, because he is a moron who can't connect the dots. Say, wasn't he supposed to be some sort of Ultimate Alchemist? Oh, right, that was last season, and it will never, ever, EVER be mentioned again! Manjoume spares Asuka the embarrassment of having to explain things to Judai, saying she's keeping it as evidence for her lawsuit against Chronos. Duh. Anyway, Asuka goes on about how since Samejima took off Chronos and Napoleon just do as they please and she couldn't take it anymore.
HOLY FUCKING SHIT, IT'S MISAWA! Misawa runs in to tell Judai that they've got trouble...and Judai says "Huh? Misawa? It's been a while, kinda." Kenzan has no idea who Misawa is, despite supposedly having been in Ra Yellow, and Shou's all 'oh, you were here after all'. Yes, ladies and gentleman, welcome to the beginning of the most painful running gag in the entire series, in which everyone spontaneously decides that they have no respect for Misawa at all. That is just fucking inspired, isn't it? Anyway, he's just told Shou that he'll be dueling an Obelisk Blue opponent, and Shou is suitably shocked. Her name is Ran Kochou, who will be nowhere near as awesome as Ran Mouri of Detective Conan. Anyway, Misawa says if Shou can win he'll be promoted to Ra Yellow, and according to Asuka Ran is one of the top-tier of Obelisk Blue, nicknamed "Insect Princess". Manjoume thinks Shou is doomed, Judai thinks Shou will win, and I think we all know who will be proven right in the end. Shou is convinced he'll lose, and he runs away, crying like a little baby.
You know, I much preferred this episode when the focus was on Asuka. That's kind of sad, isn't it?
Now we're in Judai and Shou's room, and Kenzan is asking Shou why he ran off, having apparently not listened to a thing Shou said as he ran away. Blah blah blah, Shou is a whiner, bad physical comedy, and Kenzan's lines continue to be stupid, trite, and forced. Seriously, he just goes on and on, and it is painful. So now it's nighttime, and Shou is looking out at the ocean, thinking about Kenzan's stupid insipid lines. Shou takes out his Power Bond and thinks about how much everyone else has "grown" (they haven't, but let's pretend that they did), and now he has a weird imagine spot of everyone else taking off on a boat for the world league, leaving him behind, AND HO SHIT, ASUKA'S IN A SUIT WITH PANTS AND EVERYTHING! AND LOOK AT HOW SNAZZY MISWA IS! Why couldn't they be dressed like that all the time? Still, you'd really have expected Shou to have put Asuka into a skimpy bikini, so as much as it shocks me, I'm beginning to feel an inkling of respect for Shou now. Oh, and Judai and Manjoume are there to, but I don't give a fuck about them. And then Shou falls into a hole for some reason, and terrible animation abounds. Shou swears he won't let that happen (except for the part where Asuka gets a decent pair of pants), and he runs off again.
So now its daytime, and random nobodies are running through the hall, and Shou gives Manjoume an envelope to give to Judai. Manjoume asks if that's how Shou asks for favors, Shou does it more politely, and Manjoume takes the envelope. Manjoume then opens up the envelope, because apparently we need him to be a hypocrite or something, and there's a single card inside. No motherfucking points for guessing that it's Power Bond. Now we're at the sparsely populated crowd, yelling shit about how Shou doesn't stand a chance, but Chronos is apparently of the mind that there's no such thing as bad publicity. Manjoume takes his seat, Judai says he's late, Manjoume says he was taking care of something, close up of the envelope, and where the fuck is Misawa? And good god, what the hell is with Ran Kochou's uniform? That can't possibly fall within the regulations, that just can not! Seriously, she's a teenager, she should not be dressed like that! Anyway, she talks trash about Shou, she never would have figured him for Ryou's little brother, and oh look, she even has a locket with Ryou's picture in it. Needless to say, the presence of a woman who is forward and open with her sexuality is off-putting for Shou, Judai, and Kenzan, and even Asuka is a little ashamed about what a Ryou fangirl Ran is. Ran further explains that if she wins the duel, Chronos will recommend her for the World League, which is where Ryou is, so she'll be going all out against Shou.
Blah blah blah, they arm their Duel Disks, and the duel starts. Ran takes the first turn and summons Thorn Fairy in defense position, with 2000 defense points, and it prevents the opponent from attacking Insect monsters while it is on the field. And that's it for Ran, so Shou takes his turn, and he plays Shield Crush, destroying Thorn Fairy. Then he summons Steamroid and attacks directly, dealing 1800 points of damage. The Peanut Gallery cheers Shou on, and now the whole crowd is on Shou's side, and already Shou's getting a swollen head. There goes that nascent respect I was developing for Shou. What a shame. And Judai face palms, so you KNOW this is bad! Ran is suitably pissed by Shou's cocky attitude and takes her turn. First, she summons Pinch Hopper, then Shou talks shit and fails miserably. Then she plays Multiplication of Ants, sacrificing Pinch Hopper to special summon two Army Ant tokens. Shou, seriously, shut the hell up and let the lady finish her turn. For example, she reminds him that when Pinch Hopper is sent to the grave, it lets her special summon an Insect monster from her hand, so she special summons the level 6 Insect Princess, which only has 1900 attack points, which is very low for a level 6 monster. Don't you just love the sexism?
EYECATCH!
Okay, Insect Princess increases its attack power by 500 every time it destroys an Insect monster by battle, that's not...entirely horrible. Shou fails to sense the obvious and thinks the fact that he has no insects in his deck makes him safe, and so Ran activates her Field Spell card, Entomophilous Flower Garden. This lets her give her level 4 or lower insects over to Shou's side of the field. Huh, that's actually kind of clever; this way, it doesn't matter what monsters Shou summons, Ran gets to use her own weak insects as fodder. Nice. And then she equips Insect Princess with Insect Pheromone; She attacks one Army Ant token for 1400 points of damage, Insect Princess gains 500 attack points, and with Insect Pheremone's effect, she gets to attack one more insect monster on the opponent's side of the field, so the next Army Ant token is destroyed for 1900 points of damage, and now Insect Princess has an attack power of 2900. And that's it for Ran. Well Shou, have you learned to not be such a cocky little shit yet? Shut the hell up Kenzan, your lines are stupid and so are you. And of course Judai is convinced that Shou's still going to win, he's still got his trump card, Manjoume looks all significantly at Judai, gee, I wonder what that's all about, it's so subtle!
Shou thinks about how Ryou always had respect for his opponent no matter what, he needs to do the same, and Ran says if he's going to surrender now's the time. Blah blah blah, Judai taught him never to give up, and why exactly is Shou's face so red? It looks like he's got some sort of rash, like an allergic reaction. Shou takes his turn, he puts Steamroid in defense position, and then he summons Submarineroid in attack position; Submarineroid can attack directly, and afterward it switches over to defense position. So he attacks for 800 points of damage, and goddamnit why is she is such a screamer? Oh, right, she's a woman. I forgot, though I don't know how. Judai wonders when Shou's going to draw Power Bond, and Manjoume finally explains that Power Bond isn't in Shou's deck. Judai and Kenzan immediately leap to conclusions, because they are worthless morons, and Manjoume explains the whole thing. And then Shou sets a card to end his turn.
Ran declares that she'll follow Ryou anywhere, and takes her turn. She summons Magic Longicorn, which has 600 attack points. She uses Flower Garden to move it over to Shou's side of the field, and declares that all she needs to do is attack it, and she'll win. So of course she'll fail. She attacks, and Shou activates his trap card Forbidden Entry! No Entry! This switches his opponent's monsters to defense position and forces his opponent to discard one card, and Insect Princess only has 1200 defense points. Which means that Shou can destroy it with Steamroid, attack directly with Submarineroid and Magic Longicorn, and win. But of course, that would make sense, so that's not what the writers are going to do. So yeah, Ran has to end her turn, blah blah blah, Ran calls Shou Judai's flunky, Shou says what of it, she says he should just do as a flunky does and get out of her way. And now it's time for Shou's big stirring speech. And even though he declares that he'll be walking alongside Judai instead of following behind him, this will do nothing to stop the inane, painful, and annoying 'big bro/little bro' bickering between Shou and Kenzan. And then Shou activates Vehicroid Connection Zone, and Magic Longicorn apparently is supposed to negate spell cards from being activated. But Vehicroid Connection Zone is special, and can't be negated. Ah, this is why Shou can't just win in the straight forward way, the writers needed to pointlessly cram in one more card to advertise. How naked, how blatant.
So Shou fuses Drillroid, Submarineroid, and Steamroid into Super Vehicroid - Jumbo Drill, and WOW, that color scheme does it no favors at all. Oh, and it has 3000 attack and can penetrate defense. So Shou attacks, he wins, big fucking whoop. And Ran screams one more time just for good measure as the incredibly phallic monster attacks her. Charming. Oh, and there's Misawa standing off in the corner. Gee, I thought they were going to go all the way with the whole 'let's ignore Misawa' gag. Oh well, there's always next episode. Blah blah blah, one more bit of degradation for Ran, and scene end. Now everyone's in "Asuka's" room, Shou says he'll be going into Ra Yellow now, Manjoume says he's playing right into Chronos's plans, Misawa is there to but gets no lines, and Judai says to go ahead, and then tosses him back Power Bond. Shou goes on about how Ryou always taught him to respect his opponents, he doesn't want to be dependent on this one card, but Judai says to go ahead and keep it as a keepsake. Oh, Misawa does get a line after all! He tells Shou that it looks like they're going to be rivals from now on, and Shou's all 'oh, you were here Misawa!', and immediately my contempt for Shou and the writers reaches new heights. And everyone laughs at how funny it is that everyone has spontaneously decided that they no longer respect Misawa for no fucking reason. God I hate the writers. Oh, and even though Shou is in Ra Yellow now, he's still staying at Osiris Red to be near Judai. So, all the bullshit about growing stronger on your own instead of following behind Judai, that was all just bullshit then? That's what I've come to expect of this POAS show. Oh, and then Judai tries to take Manjoume's shrimp, because he wants to make sure that he's still the biggest prick on campus. End this miserable fucking excuse for an episode.
NEXT TIME! So apparently Kaiser Ryou's been winning one match after another in the Pro League, and now he's dueling Edo Phoenix! EPISODE TITLE, THE KAISER VS. EDO! A BATTLE IN THE PRO LEAGUE Oh, and apparently Kaiser Ryou is still wearing his school uniform. Isn't he a bit young to be clinging to the glory days like that? And our Card of the Week is Steamroid, which is a POS.
Well, this episode brings home not one, but two obnoxious running gags that would have me pulling my hair out, and the first five minutes focused on Asuka were far superior to the rest of the episode. So yeah, this episode fails, big time.
SHOU VS. THE BUG GIRL! INSECT PRINCESS there's no way this girl could bug me more than shou...could she?
Okay, for some reason Napoleon and Chronos are discussing things by candlelight. I've no idea why. Blah blah blah, Chronos has chosen Shou as their next target for the Star Discovery program, and if Shou can defeat an Obelisk Blue, they will raise his rank to Yellow, and then Blue, and since Shou is the Kaiser's younger brother, he should be an attention getter! Which is why Shou got all kinds of focus and dueling screentime in the previous season! No, wait, he barely did anything that season. Oh, and this will also reduce Judai's followers, some old fashioned bullshit about Judai being the Heart of Osiris Red, and I swear to god, the designated villainy of this just bores me to tears. Anyway, Manjoume shows off his kickass new room, everyone is suitably impressed, and Asuka wonders if its really okay if she uses this room. Manjoume has no problem whatsoever with this arrangement, Judai points out to Manjoume that he will be stuck with them again, but Manjoume does not care, giving his room to Asuka is worth it. Shou asks why Asuka's left the Obelisk Blue Dorm, and so she opens up her bag to reveal a poofy red dress; Chronos wanted her to wear it, and sing while she duels.
Wow, Chronos? You need to be fired yesterday!
Yeah, Asuka does not have time for this 'Academy Idol' bullshit, and Manjoume blushes as he imagines Asuka as an Idol. Oh you stupid, stupid, STUPID boy! Everyone's all WTF at Manjoume, and Judai asks why Asuka's carrying the dress around if she hates it so much, because he is a moron who can't connect the dots. Say, wasn't he supposed to be some sort of Ultimate Alchemist? Oh, right, that was last season, and it will never, ever, EVER be mentioned again! Manjoume spares Asuka the embarrassment of having to explain things to Judai, saying she's keeping it as evidence for her lawsuit against Chronos. Duh. Anyway, Asuka goes on about how since Samejima took off Chronos and Napoleon just do as they please and she couldn't take it anymore.
HOLY FUCKING SHIT, IT'S MISAWA! Misawa runs in to tell Judai that they've got trouble...and Judai says "Huh? Misawa? It's been a while, kinda." Kenzan has no idea who Misawa is, despite supposedly having been in Ra Yellow, and Shou's all 'oh, you were here after all'. Yes, ladies and gentleman, welcome to the beginning of the most painful running gag in the entire series, in which everyone spontaneously decides that they have no respect for Misawa at all. That is just fucking inspired, isn't it? Anyway, he's just told Shou that he'll be dueling an Obelisk Blue opponent, and Shou is suitably shocked. Her name is Ran Kochou, who will be nowhere near as awesome as Ran Mouri of Detective Conan. Anyway, Misawa says if Shou can win he'll be promoted to Ra Yellow, and according to Asuka Ran is one of the top-tier of Obelisk Blue, nicknamed "Insect Princess". Manjoume thinks Shou is doomed, Judai thinks Shou will win, and I think we all know who will be proven right in the end. Shou is convinced he'll lose, and he runs away, crying like a little baby.
You know, I much preferred this episode when the focus was on Asuka. That's kind of sad, isn't it?
Now we're in Judai and Shou's room, and Kenzan is asking Shou why he ran off, having apparently not listened to a thing Shou said as he ran away. Blah blah blah, Shou is a whiner, bad physical comedy, and Kenzan's lines continue to be stupid, trite, and forced. Seriously, he just goes on and on, and it is painful. So now it's nighttime, and Shou is looking out at the ocean, thinking about Kenzan's stupid insipid lines. Shou takes out his Power Bond and thinks about how much everyone else has "grown" (they haven't, but let's pretend that they did), and now he has a weird imagine spot of everyone else taking off on a boat for the world league, leaving him behind, AND HO SHIT, ASUKA'S IN A SUIT WITH PANTS AND EVERYTHING! AND LOOK AT HOW SNAZZY MISWA IS! Why couldn't they be dressed like that all the time? Still, you'd really have expected Shou to have put Asuka into a skimpy bikini, so as much as it shocks me, I'm beginning to feel an inkling of respect for Shou now. Oh, and Judai and Manjoume are there to, but I don't give a fuck about them. And then Shou falls into a hole for some reason, and terrible animation abounds. Shou swears he won't let that happen (except for the part where Asuka gets a decent pair of pants), and he runs off again.
So now its daytime, and random nobodies are running through the hall, and Shou gives Manjoume an envelope to give to Judai. Manjoume asks if that's how Shou asks for favors, Shou does it more politely, and Manjoume takes the envelope. Manjoume then opens up the envelope, because apparently we need him to be a hypocrite or something, and there's a single card inside. No motherfucking points for guessing that it's Power Bond. Now we're at the sparsely populated crowd, yelling shit about how Shou doesn't stand a chance, but Chronos is apparently of the mind that there's no such thing as bad publicity. Manjoume takes his seat, Judai says he's late, Manjoume says he was taking care of something, close up of the envelope, and where the fuck is Misawa? And good god, what the hell is with Ran Kochou's uniform? That can't possibly fall within the regulations, that just can not! Seriously, she's a teenager, she should not be dressed like that! Anyway, she talks trash about Shou, she never would have figured him for Ryou's little brother, and oh look, she even has a locket with Ryou's picture in it. Needless to say, the presence of a woman who is forward and open with her sexuality is off-putting for Shou, Judai, and Kenzan, and even Asuka is a little ashamed about what a Ryou fangirl Ran is. Ran further explains that if she wins the duel, Chronos will recommend her for the World League, which is where Ryou is, so she'll be going all out against Shou.
Blah blah blah, they arm their Duel Disks, and the duel starts. Ran takes the first turn and summons Thorn Fairy in defense position, with 2000 defense points, and it prevents the opponent from attacking Insect monsters while it is on the field. And that's it for Ran, so Shou takes his turn, and he plays Shield Crush, destroying Thorn Fairy. Then he summons Steamroid and attacks directly, dealing 1800 points of damage. The Peanut Gallery cheers Shou on, and now the whole crowd is on Shou's side, and already Shou's getting a swollen head. There goes that nascent respect I was developing for Shou. What a shame. And Judai face palms, so you KNOW this is bad! Ran is suitably pissed by Shou's cocky attitude and takes her turn. First, she summons Pinch Hopper, then Shou talks shit and fails miserably. Then she plays Multiplication of Ants, sacrificing Pinch Hopper to special summon two Army Ant tokens. Shou, seriously, shut the hell up and let the lady finish her turn. For example, she reminds him that when Pinch Hopper is sent to the grave, it lets her special summon an Insect monster from her hand, so she special summons the level 6 Insect Princess, which only has 1900 attack points, which is very low for a level 6 monster. Don't you just love the sexism?
EYECATCH!
Okay, Insect Princess increases its attack power by 500 every time it destroys an Insect monster by battle, that's not...entirely horrible. Shou fails to sense the obvious and thinks the fact that he has no insects in his deck makes him safe, and so Ran activates her Field Spell card, Entomophilous Flower Garden. This lets her give her level 4 or lower insects over to Shou's side of the field. Huh, that's actually kind of clever; this way, it doesn't matter what monsters Shou summons, Ran gets to use her own weak insects as fodder. Nice. And then she equips Insect Princess with Insect Pheromone; She attacks one Army Ant token for 1400 points of damage, Insect Princess gains 500 attack points, and with Insect Pheremone's effect, she gets to attack one more insect monster on the opponent's side of the field, so the next Army Ant token is destroyed for 1900 points of damage, and now Insect Princess has an attack power of 2900. And that's it for Ran. Well Shou, have you learned to not be such a cocky little shit yet? Shut the hell up Kenzan, your lines are stupid and so are you. And of course Judai is convinced that Shou's still going to win, he's still got his trump card, Manjoume looks all significantly at Judai, gee, I wonder what that's all about, it's so subtle!
Shou thinks about how Ryou always had respect for his opponent no matter what, he needs to do the same, and Ran says if he's going to surrender now's the time. Blah blah blah, Judai taught him never to give up, and why exactly is Shou's face so red? It looks like he's got some sort of rash, like an allergic reaction. Shou takes his turn, he puts Steamroid in defense position, and then he summons Submarineroid in attack position; Submarineroid can attack directly, and afterward it switches over to defense position. So he attacks for 800 points of damage, and goddamnit why is she is such a screamer? Oh, right, she's a woman. I forgot, though I don't know how. Judai wonders when Shou's going to draw Power Bond, and Manjoume finally explains that Power Bond isn't in Shou's deck. Judai and Kenzan immediately leap to conclusions, because they are worthless morons, and Manjoume explains the whole thing. And then Shou sets a card to end his turn.
Ran declares that she'll follow Ryou anywhere, and takes her turn. She summons Magic Longicorn, which has 600 attack points. She uses Flower Garden to move it over to Shou's side of the field, and declares that all she needs to do is attack it, and she'll win. So of course she'll fail. She attacks, and Shou activates his trap card Forbidden Entry! No Entry! This switches his opponent's monsters to defense position and forces his opponent to discard one card, and Insect Princess only has 1200 defense points. Which means that Shou can destroy it with Steamroid, attack directly with Submarineroid and Magic Longicorn, and win. But of course, that would make sense, so that's not what the writers are going to do. So yeah, Ran has to end her turn, blah blah blah, Ran calls Shou Judai's flunky, Shou says what of it, she says he should just do as a flunky does and get out of her way. And now it's time for Shou's big stirring speech. And even though he declares that he'll be walking alongside Judai instead of following behind him, this will do nothing to stop the inane, painful, and annoying 'big bro/little bro' bickering between Shou and Kenzan. And then Shou activates Vehicroid Connection Zone, and Magic Longicorn apparently is supposed to negate spell cards from being activated. But Vehicroid Connection Zone is special, and can't be negated. Ah, this is why Shou can't just win in the straight forward way, the writers needed to pointlessly cram in one more card to advertise. How naked, how blatant.
So Shou fuses Drillroid, Submarineroid, and Steamroid into Super Vehicroid - Jumbo Drill, and WOW, that color scheme does it no favors at all. Oh, and it has 3000 attack and can penetrate defense. So Shou attacks, he wins, big fucking whoop. And Ran screams one more time just for good measure as the incredibly phallic monster attacks her. Charming. Oh, and there's Misawa standing off in the corner. Gee, I thought they were going to go all the way with the whole 'let's ignore Misawa' gag. Oh well, there's always next episode. Blah blah blah, one more bit of degradation for Ran, and scene end. Now everyone's in "Asuka's" room, Shou says he'll be going into Ra Yellow now, Manjoume says he's playing right into Chronos's plans, Misawa is there to but gets no lines, and Judai says to go ahead, and then tosses him back Power Bond. Shou goes on about how Ryou always taught him to respect his opponents, he doesn't want to be dependent on this one card, but Judai says to go ahead and keep it as a keepsake. Oh, Misawa does get a line after all! He tells Shou that it looks like they're going to be rivals from now on, and Shou's all 'oh, you were here Misawa!', and immediately my contempt for Shou and the writers reaches new heights. And everyone laughs at how funny it is that everyone has spontaneously decided that they no longer respect Misawa for no fucking reason. God I hate the writers. Oh, and even though Shou is in Ra Yellow now, he's still staying at Osiris Red to be near Judai. So, all the bullshit about growing stronger on your own instead of following behind Judai, that was all just bullshit then? That's what I've come to expect of this POAS show. Oh, and then Judai tries to take Manjoume's shrimp, because he wants to make sure that he's still the biggest prick on campus. End this miserable fucking excuse for an episode.
NEXT TIME! So apparently Kaiser Ryou's been winning one match after another in the Pro League, and now he's dueling Edo Phoenix! EPISODE TITLE, THE KAISER VS. EDO! A BATTLE IN THE PRO LEAGUE Oh, and apparently Kaiser Ryou is still wearing his school uniform. Isn't he a bit young to be clinging to the glory days like that? And our Card of the Week is Steamroid, which is a POS.
Well, this episode brings home not one, but two obnoxious running gags that would have me pulling my hair out, and the first five minutes focused on Asuka were far superior to the rest of the episode. So yeah, this episode fails, big time.
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no subject
Date: 2010-07-05 04:39 am (UTC)Hoo boy, if think this is unwanted, wait till season 4 *cringes at the memories*
But isn't 2D characterization appropriate when the characters are drawn in 2d?
You know, I think I've got a title for that fanfic series; HOLY SHIT, IT'S SETO KAIBA! Every chapter, Seto Kaiba's arrival will be announced by all the characters present shouting out, HOLY SHIT, IT'S SETO KAIBA! How does that sound?
The only fangirl I've been able to put up with within an anime was Vivian Wong, and that's because Yuugi Mutou is worth fangirling over.
But...but...Shou is all short and shrimpy! Surely that makes him a wittle, itty bitty boy, doesn't it?
Yeah, she just really comes across like a total drop-out who's been held back for years.
Give up on a hopeless crush? NEVER!
Oh, the manga! They know how to treat their characters right!
Oh, that's easy; if they weren't out of character, the scene wouldn't work, and the "plot" overrides all.
Asuka is off in the void where all characters wait until the writers have an actual use for them. It's a rather crowded space.
In all honesty, it's because the writers already have a costume change in mind for him, and they obviously didn't want to put together a third outfit for him to wear.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-05 04:54 am (UTC)Oh...oh no. I read on some Wiki that Asuka develops feelings for Juudai in season four? Apparently due to being replaced by a pod person?
I'm not sure you could post it under that title? I don't think the filters on ff.net allow for the title of a story to have any 'coarse language', regardless of the story's rating. But it's up to you, and I look forward to it!
That he is. (her awesome dresses helped in my books, too ;P) My personal fanon is that Mai becomes her next object of affection. *for some reason imagines her as Tomoyo from Cardcaptor Sakura* *maybes needs to take a snack break*
Well when he takes the first opportunity no one's looking to fondle his extremely handsome best friend, I do think that it's wisest to move on to a new crush who might actually reciprocate! And not respond with bald lies about 'being in love with dueling'.
*hugs manga*
I hate that sort of writing with a burning passion. Characters make the plot, not the other way round.
There are some writers who do think about what the characters are doing all the time and then have to make decisions about what's important to be shown and not in any given episode/chapter. Then there are these writers.
Hmm. But doesn't Fubuki have at least three outfits?
no subject
Date: 2010-07-05 05:01 am (UTC)Everyone gets replaced by a pod person in season 4. Everyone.
Well, I was thinking of just putting it up here on Live Journal, but I could probably do it on FF.net too.
Yep, that sounds like goooood fanon!
That is true.
*Hugs along with you*
Characters are not born of necessity, no matter what certain "author's" might say.
Yeah, I've got to tell you, trying to juggle a huge cast like I am in my rewrite stories, not easy. I will be very happy once I'm done with it, that's for sure.
Well, yeah, but Fubuki's...different. And he doesn't get as much screen time anyway.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-05 06:19 am (UTC)Ooh, I'm looking forward to it! I might not be able to write crack, but I enjoy reading it!
One day I really need to get around to doing some fanworks for Vivian/Mai...
I don't often joke this much about this sort of thing, but, well, few scenes as they had together (or...separately), Fubuki and Ryou really wracked up some subtext. Plus the idea of them as a couple is rather entertaining.
*continues hugging*
Ahaha, Paolini. Somehow he did the nearly impossible, and came up with books so blandly boring that they're difficult to even mock effectively.
^^; I've been enjoying reading it, though! I just haven't been reading much fic recently due to massive sleep deprivation...hopefully I'll get back to it this week now that I'm back in my old room. Sleeping here is...slightly easier.
But really, I've been enjoying it a great deal. I have these moments of mistaking your plot points for canon, actually, in that they're often so much better. Juudai and Asuka's first duel, I keep thinking of it before I think of canon, it was so great!
...Different? ;P And his under-use in this series really is criminal negligence. Bad writing is so much worse when there are characters like Fubuki and Asuka around to show us that they could have gotten it right, if only they'd looked around more clearly.
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Date: 2010-07-05 06:40 am (UTC)It'll take me a little bit to put one together...maybe tomorrow or the day after.
I would definitely read them!
The good kind of subtext, the kind this show will not exploit.
I don't know, think you can mock them pretty well for their wish-fulfillment aspects.
I'm glad that you've been enjoying, and I hope your sleep cycle gets better!
Ooh, I'm really glad about that! I really liked putting that duel together!
Bad writing is always more painful when you're constantly be reminded of how much better it could be.
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Date: 2010-07-05 06:51 am (UTC)You write Juudai/Asuka very well. They're...such a sweet couple, and it's all very believable!
Oh, yay!
Almost a shame, since the few scenes between them were really very entertaining, in a good way. Anyone who can make Kaiser Ryou facepalm is talented.
Maybe I'm just not good at maintaining momentum while critiquing books?
Thank you!
Definitely. It...mocking it is entertaining, but I really do wish that it wasn't necessary. I never like to see writers fail, especially ones who've shown that they can do better.
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Date: 2010-07-05 06:58 am (UTC)Aw, that's very nice to hear! I worked pretty hard to set it up properly, bit by bit, piece by piece, so I appreciate hearing that.
Any highlights that you particularly enjoyed, if I might fish for compliments?
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Date: 2010-07-05 07:29 am (UTC)Hehe, sure... Let's see... Firstly, Asuka and Juudai again: it was a very good initial set-up to start their friendship and future romance off with, Juudai showing so clearly that he values Asuka as a duelist and as a person, not for her looks. And Fubuki's part in it was well-played; he would come up with a scheme like that. He seems the sort to do lots of things which end up bothering Asuka, but out of genuine concern for her. He just doesn't always know how to show his love ;P
Junko and Momoe were awesome (I'm getting back into using that pesky new tablet, so I'll probably start on the lineart for their fanart soon!)- you actually managed to keep some of their minimal original characterization and really build on it.
Hayako... I love that she had her own path to follow, but that you didn't shove her to the side in expectation of that- she still had her own important arcs and contributed to the story before that.
Kaiser Ryoko...I really love that you explored how her *coughrepressednaturecough* caused her to often be disconnected from others, failing to give the impression she wanted to. She never wanted her opponents to be so crushed by her defeats, but her communication of her desire for them to rise up to her level was...not very good ;) The resentment some had against her, and how her resentment of that contributed to her fall later on, was very believable.
Misawa was just awesome, you know that ;) And Manjoume's romantic troubles were there but in a more believable, toned-down manner, I like that.
Enough compliments for now? ;P
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Date: 2010-07-05 07:40 am (UTC)Yeah, if Fubuki and Asuka have anything in common, it is their stubbornness.
Thank you very much, I'm always worried that my characterization for them isn't as strong as it could be.
Yes, I really liked putting together her whole thing with Misa Watsuki and having her grow to the point where she really can overcome everything between them.
Yep, when you put yourself on a pedestal like that, when you never ever lose or fail, it can't help but adversely affect you.
Misawa and Manjoume definitely really shined for me in this story, and I especially liked doing the Duels with the Mirage of Deceit and The Temptress.
Yeah, I'm good. My ego is satisfied. <3