Відео

Same kind of people who be like, "it's just a cartoon!" Like ok psycho, enjoy your lack of emotional investment in media I guess 😂

Hey thanks for watching and commenting! I definitely made the mistake of overcommitting multiple times on this channel, and this series is one of several that paid the price 😅 I'd honestly like to continue _everything_ that I started, but for a number of reasons (some of which are entirely beyond my control) that just can't happen 😟 I haven't continued watching anything that's been dropped so maybe one day 🙏

I've never actually played any of the Dragon Age games. I'll try to keep this in mind if I ever get around to it, haha 😄

The story definitely wasn't afraid to take a more complex look at unjust systems and how they integrate with society, rather than there just being a bad person doing bad things... because they're bad 😆

Gee thanks! 😁

I had not heard about the name being an in-character spelling error, haha. I do remember noticing the messaging handles though. Still such a ridiculous name overall 😆

Alastor seems like the most similar to the original, Charlie probably had the best overall performance, and Angel feels the most unnatural. But that's just based on this first episode so could certainly change over the course of the season ^.^

Your point about treating representation as being something just as normal as more conventionally accepted/majority identities or ways of living or whatever is kind of why I reacted the way I did: "It's gay! Neat. 🙂" I understand why some people make a big deal about these things, but for me personally I generally prefer to acknowledge it as a positive thing without going out of my way to heavily focus on it because to me that's how you help normalize it. But to each their own in that regard I guess 🤷 I've seen a number of folks saying they think Nimona shouldn't have come back for one reason or another, and I think that in a way what justifies the ending for me so to speak is that it's not universally accepted/rejected. Almost inevitably, when you write a story with complex characters that wants to address some messy topics, there's never really going to be a way to do so without inviting at least _some_ criticism. I think in this story's case it's fine that Nimona comes back if for no other reason than _because_ of how much she struggled up to that point (the "ugly" that you talk about). As for specifically this idea of death losing its impact and not having any stakes, I certainly understand the frustration with recognizing patterns of tropes and similar happening over and over again in media but I don't think it's fair to fault a story for something just because it's been done before. The how and why of a particular story's execution should be considered before lumping it in with more cookie cutter contemporaries. And to an extent these things depend on the consumer, right? Part of the reason I like anime (and anime-inspired works) is because I find it tends to be less predictable than the kind of recycled garbage you see come out of big Hollywood studios that people constantly complain about yet continue paying to see. Hopefully that all at least mostly made sense and I wasn't being too vague such that no points came across, haha. In any event, I think it's nice to see people passionate about media (as long as they don't take it too far of course) ^.^

@@RiverReacts *that's how you help normalize it. But to each their own in that regard I guess* I dunno. We've seen pretty consistently that media that focuses heavily on those topics, _instead of_ normalizing it the way you and I agree it should be done, will fail. Even people _in the target group_ tend not to like it, at least not for long. There was a comic series solely about gay superheroes, but that's _all_ they were, that was _the_ point, and sales started slow (for obvious reasons) but even then died off pretty quickly. Even gay people don't _want_ representation and pandering like that. Same goes for other forms of pandering media. The only reason _movies_ get away with it is that they're all one-shot deals. The pandering happens, and then stops. If it didn't _do_ that, if it was movie after movie after movie of pandering, I figure the popularity would drop _fast._ *I think in this story's case it's fine that Nimona comes back if for no other reason than because of how much she struggled up to that point (the "ugly" that you talk about).* Well, do keep in mind that I offered alternatives to her 'dying' in the first place. Believe me, I'm _very_ happy Nimona's still around, and I genuinely think she should have survived, just not the _way_ they did it. *I don't think it's fair to fault a story for something just because it's been done before.* I'm not, exactly. Pretty much _every_ story has been done before, with slight cosmetic changes. My problem is what the trope is doing to us, in terms of our expectations as an audience, and thus the impact a story is capable of having. There was a time when the death of a main character would get to me, because I built up a bond with that character. Now? ... It just doesn't _mean_ anything, certainly not at the time. It _might_ mean something when the story ends and the person doesn't come back, but by that point the moment is gone and I'm just feeling 'oh', and move on, when I _could have_ had a far more impactful reaction to the death. *Part of the reason I like anime (and anime-inspired works) is because I find it tends to be less predictable than the kind of recycled garbage you see come out of big Hollywood studios that people constantly complain about yet continue paying to see.* I agree 100% with this. I _love_ anime. I just wish I could have responded to the deaths of characters in Devilman-Crybaby _as they happened_ the first time I watched it. But I couldn't because of the Hollywood stuff, and even the occasional anime (looking at you, DBZ). I watched characters I _cared_ about die on screen and felt... nothing. I wasn't until the very end, when I realized they weren't coming back, that it hit me they were really gone. But... this is often two or more episodes after the fact, there was no lingering emotion to process, no impact. So the _only_ death that had _any_ impact on me was Akira's, and even _that_ was muted until the credits rolled and I realized it was the end of the series. This trope, being _so_ consistent and constant, robs me of story impact. I watch my nephew treat death casually, as if it's no big deal, and I find that very, very disturbing. I have to wonder... is this 'heroes never die' media leading us to grow up to not take someone dying as serious? I think it is, and I think it's even affecting me. I don't... can't... treat death as much of anything anymore, unless the person is _really_ close to me. My _aunt_ died recently, and my reaction was 'oh', because I rarely ever saw her (maybe a dozen times in my life). It just... didn't _mean_ anything. And I worry that media like this is training us not to care. *Hopefully that all at least mostly made sense and I wasn't being too vague such that no points came across, haha.* I think you did fine. :) *In any event, I think it's nice to see people passionate about media (as long as they don't take it too far of course) ^.^* WHAT!? TAKE IT TOO FAR!? HOW _DARE_ YOU, SIR! RAGE! RAGE! ... ahem... :P Have a nice day!

I don't usually like death fakeouts, but this one is super special to me. This movie is a trans allegory. The book it was based on was written by a trans man, and he's said it was at least partly to understand his gender. the movie didn't show a beginning to Nimona, and they didn't die in the end. Trans people have *always* been around, it's been recorded through history. And no matter what people do to make us into monsters, to otherize and villainize us, and even to kill us (RIP Nex Benedict), we will always exist. Those of us who are in unsafe spaces can take a lot of courage from the symbolism of Nimona.

@@turospinstarr9859 I _do_ understand that. If I were to rewrite the ending, I'd do one of a couple things. Like I said in my original, I'd have her avoid it in a _smart_ way instead of just "she's just awesome" sort of way that cheapens the whole thing. Another is that she dies, and during the memorial, Balthasar is giving a speech. During it, he echoes words from the beginning of the movie. "We have finally found peace. But if we want a happily ever after, we can never let our guard down... because the monsters are always in here," as he puts a hand over his heart, "We can't right the wrongs of the past, all we can do is struggle to be sure that it never happens again, that others like Nimona feel safe in our walls, among us, welcomed." As this last line is going on, two or three people in the crowd... shift. Nimona wasn't the only one. There aren't _many,_ but they exist. Welcomed into the society, and no longer having to hide what they are, accepted. First, I think this lends emotional impact to the sacrifice Nimona makes in combating hate. Second, it gets out a message that trans people are there, always have been (just as you were mentioning). Third, it shows again where the real problem is, not just behind walls that we can break down, but inside us, all of us, the potential to learn hate for others who are different than we are. But... all that's just personal preference, of course.

@@turospinstarr9859 The fact that folks like you can find hope and optimism in the way this story played out is part of why I find myself favoring the ending more so than not ^.^

My likeness has been compared to several figures over the years, from soccer players to musicians, but this is definitely a new one! 😆 Glad you liked the video 🙂

Hey thanks a lot! I feel like there are several different things a reaction video can do to try to stand out from the rest, and while I think I generally hit on more of that variety of things than most do, it's my in-the-moment analysis and commentary that I would probably consider my greatest strength so to speak. So it's nice to see people comment on how they notice and appreciate it 😄

Yeah it's funny how despite their color schemes/character designs the way they're introduced definitely leads most folks to take Bal's side from the get-go. Probably has to do with a lot of people seeing some of their own experiences being inappropriately judged or victimized in Bal's character premise, or maybe not liking unearned legacies like how Ambrosius is presented? Whatever the case, feels like good writing to me 😁 Haha, and I'm glad you liked that. While it's definitely nice to see representation in media I personally like to make note of it without making a _huge_ deal about it. Cause after all, those sorts of things *_should_* be considered normal, right 😉

Considering that the creator of the source material is trans himself, I'd say you're right to think that certain things were intentional 😉

Thank you! There's really a lot to love in this movie, both on the surface and for those paying a bit more attention ^.^ Ah yes, the very existence of pronouns seems to be the big gripe for anti-trans folks at present, just like how "bathroom safety" was the main argument years ago. It's always something incredibly shallow and transparent with those people, isn't it? 😅

I definitely checked her IMDb after watching this but I didn't really recognize anything. I watched Kick-Ass, sure, but that was over a decade ago so any impression it left on me was long gone by this point, haha

Thanks for subscribing! Hope you enjoy the future content! And even not being a fan of the One Piece anime I'm also super glad we got, what so far seems to be, a pretty dang good adaptation 😁

Haha my editing definitely ended up changing a lot over these first several months. I think at first there was some very clear clunkiness as someone with no editing experience, but I quickly got better at some things and then slowly started picking up other little tricks and things as I went along. I felt like even if I wasn't doing anything extraordinary I was starting to get pretty decent at it... but then for a variety of reasons I talked about across a number of Community posts I eventually decided to go with the current style that I call "lazy editing" 😞 It's a bit of a shame... but hey, maybe one day I'll be able to hire an actual editor for my videos 😆 🙏

Very fair! I think either before I did my reaction or after the reaction but before I recorded the thoughts section I actually Google'd Nimona's pronouns because there are obvious queer themes throughout the movie and so wanted to check. It does seem that ND Stevenson confirmed Nimona's use of she/her pronouns, but hey, when in doubt they/them is usually the safer route right 🙂

Huh, interesting observation!

That's definitely fair. I think if certain circumstances were slightly different I may actually agree with you, but as things stand I personally feel that it was fine

Thanks for watching/commenting! I've also largely been noticing and appreciating the costume designs, with a notable exception that I talk about in the next episode 😅 While I don't remember if I highlighted the hair colors in particular in either of the first two episodes, you're definitely right to mention how they don't look out of place. Shanks, Nami, and even Zoro's hair all feel appropriate and non-distracting from their overall appearance. I might check out that video later. I don't always go out of my way to watch stuff like that but since we've got confirmation that the series has been renewed by Netflix it might be nice to see a bit of the behind-the-scenes passion that carries the show! I'll hold off for now in case they address characters from later in the season though 😉

I do actually recall Bambi's capture device exploding after she threw it. I don't remember if it stayed in the UA-cam version but I'm pretty sure I literally reacted saying, "why did it explode?!" 🤣 While this novel information is somewhat interesting, it definitely doesn't seem to fully settle my confusion 🤔 Not only are you still having to make some leaps in logic to make it make sense, but there's also the fact that it wasn't just Quilge who tried to steal Ichigo's bankai but that guy from the very start of TYBW I referred to as Orange as well. When Yhwach stole Head Captain Yamamoto's bankai he said that he was the only one who could handle that strong of a power, so maybe it's as simple as Ichigo being too *main character* powerful for the likes of Quilge or Orange? Speaking of Orange, did we also just kind of drop the whole Arrancar/Quincy hybrid thing they showed us way back when TYBW started? And now that we know more about how these different soul presences or whatever can or cannot coexist through Kisuke Urahara's explanations, what's the rundown on how all of that even worked anyhow? 🤨 I feel like these different sort of thoughts I have while watching are completely reasonable, but some people just want to get their knickers in a twist over anything they see that remotely resembles criticism 🙄 Hopefully in time I'll be able to develop an audience where those types of folks have been weeded out, haha. Anyways, as we continue I expect ANSWERS or flashy enough action to make me forget that I have questions 😠🤭

@@RiverReacts It does require some logic leaps, especially when getting to the bankai-stealing device aspects; theory-crafting often feels like, "I grab nugget of dialogue this + piece of exposition that + as small a hop of thought as I can manage". His MC-ness would explain why they couldn't steal his bankai in particular, although I still have some favoritism for the bankai-stealing-device don't like hollowified bankai for the simple reason that the bankais were automatically lost as soon as they were hollowified. Who knows for sure, though, maybe more information will be unveiled that I've forgotten. To speak only with information available up to now ... who knows where the Arrancar/Quincy hybrids went? Maybe Ywhach wanted to experiment with them, see if they could steal Ichigo's bankai, and decided they weren't satisfactory and got rid of them all offscreen like he did Orange onscreen? Maybe Tite Kubo wants to focus on captain vs. Sternritter fights, as a way of showing one group's heavyweights vs. another's? (It would be a shift from the Arrancar arc, which was more escalatory in starting with Grimmjow's Fraccion, then ex-Espada, then Espada.) Maybe he's saving them for another plot beat to come? Hopefully more answers will come for some of these questions. I like asking questions myself, it can feel very rewarding when they're answered. (The flashy action is also very rewarding xD)

Thanks 🙂

Hey nothing wrong with the occasional irrelevant positivity! Thanks a lot ^.^

🤨?

Aww thanks, appreciate it 😁 Glad you enjoyed!

Thanks! ^.^

I definitely noticed the phoenix form, but since I had already started getting concerned prior to her even changing into it I was probably a little too emotional to try logically thinking through what her fate might be haha. I also honestly try not to think too hard about *certain* plot things during movies because if I predict everything that's going to happen then that often makes it significantly less enjoyable 😅

Oh yeah he was in one of Sam's one-shots, wasn't he? I'm actually a pretty big CR fan. Started with C2 ^.^

I... don't agree with this. You're right, real life often doesn't have happy endings, but that's a big part of why media _should._ People, especially those who have experienced hardships, deserve to be seen and acknowledged in media and shown that things aren't always going to be bad. People who are "weird" or "different" (the monsters and villains of the story) *deserve* a chance at happiness, or at the very least, to have hope for the future. Don't get me wrong, I like me some sad media. A lot of my favorite shows are the ones that make me cry. But in this case I do not see how the narrative would have been benefitted from an ending where Nimona was dead.

@@RiverReactsyeah on one hand there is the allegory of irreparable damage, but on the other hand I like more that they went for the allegory that acceptance is able to triumph in the end