Miyazaki’s recent masterpiece How Do You Live? Is a brilliant example of soft world building, the fantasy world present in the film don’t have everything explained for how and why that world functions but it is an immersive world to engage in through the mundane things our characters do throughout the metaphorical journey that makes me want to come back rewatching this movie in theaters around 6-7 times!
I never saw the original. And I tried watching the first episode as adult to felt it was filled with too much fluff. Now I've finally gotten around to this version, I find it far more palatable to it's origin. Also feel like I fit the intended audience. I do hope they complete the entire series.
I wrote this show off as mediocre and misguided at first, but now that some time has passed, nah dude, this show was basically a catastrophe. Their greatest crime is how little it actually *feels* like Arda, a failure that spans lore changes, casting, dialogue, atmosphere, everything. The off-brand Hobbits and their uncanny culture are probably the most stark example of this. Everything is less likable, everything feels off, and the immersion is not only gone but replaced with something I just do not want to engage with.
Wait, I thought sky bison were spiritual beings, or at least connected to them. For the same reason I thought badger moles are. Let's go over the possibilities: They're non-human animals who have (historically) either been given the gift of their respective element by the spirits, stolen it just like the first avatar, or just learned it through biological factors (Blindness enhanced feeling, being a big white thing lead to flight to avoid predators). The latter I believe to be most likely, since it plays into the animals' respective shortcomings, lending merit to their abilities. Thus, I believe they share a connection with the spirit realm in the exact same way that spirits do with the non-spirit world. After all, they're seperate but connected by nature. This is really racking my brain ffs. Now I'm thinking about the dude in Korra who learned to fly by finding some ancient wisdom and through giving it a solid go, and whether of not that influences the likelihood of the connection between magically gifted animals and the spirits. And that makes me think of all of the other magic systems like blood bending, metal bending, healing, lightning, sand bending, etc.
I liked Adar as a concept (I liked the idea of exploring what happened to those elves who fled in fear right into Melkor's arms) though I don't recall if the show did his character any justice. I enjoyed the hobbit storyline far more than the other storylines. I was really hoping the Stranger would be an entirely new maia for us to get to know but then he's explicitly referred to as an istar ruining that.
I have a feeling that the writers introduced the concept of rava and vatu because they bit off more than the could chew at the beginning of the series. As mentioned in the video, these are all very interesting but also very complicated topics. I also noticed just how crucial the point of vatu being kept prisoner actually is and how there was all of this exposition for showing how useful he actually was. First of all is the idea of one side being chaos and the other side being order. Pure order essentially leaves no possibility of challenging the status quo. Pure light leaves the world without colour the same way pure darkness would. And I mean it in literal terms. pure light is basically like staring straight into halogen lights. Leaves us just just as blind as pure darkness would. People by nature are varied, changeable and to some extent unpredictable. That's chaos. Pure order is a dictatorship where everyone is entirely defined by the role they have to play in some machine. It's as if writers just gave up half way through the season....
The true ending of LOTR is Frodo departing from the Havens and Sam returning home to carry on the story. I understand that the Scouring of the Shire has important thematic elements, and I love the scene, but I can also understand why it was cut.
I'm currently working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cambodia. My village has several legends about a huge rock spire called "Fishhook Mountain." My favorite legend about the place was that long ago, one of the Hindu gods left behind a golden boat on the top of the rock. At certain times of day, you could see the glitter from the gold, tempting passersby to attempt to scale the sheer sides of the spire. However, for hundreds of years, no one ever managed to reach the top and claim the golden boat. Only the most daring hero could ever manage to accomplish that feat, or so everyone thought. Then, the French arrived and colonized Cambodia. Years later, a greedy colonial governor allegedly heard of the legend and sent soldiers in a helicopter to land on the spire and carry away the golden boat. It was then brought back to France, where it remains hidden to this very day, waiting to be returned to its homeland. Yet, according to some of my friends, when the French left, flecks of gold were scraped off by the rock, and when the sun hits it at just the right angle, you can see them glow. There are tons of other fun legends and stories in this area, but that one is my personal favorite for how it combines the mythic past with the traumas of colonization.
In order to claim the German scientists, the US clearly covered lots of war crimes so they could entice them to our team instead of the Soviets. It was basically a competition. If they cover up war crimes on one side of the world , why wouldn't they do it on the other side. But lets get real, wars are crimes to begin with. Declaring war on another nation so you can get their land or products or enforce your ideology is a war crime from the start. Only self-defense of one's own country isn't a war crime.
To be honest, the more I've learned about Sauron, the more I believe he would 100% demand the elven rings back. If not bc they were his idea, then because he thinks the Elves are going to scuff them or use them wrong somehow.
The overall impression I had was that they just put too much into it all at the same time. There were too many concurrent plot lines and characters and personalities crammed into every single episode, and I think these different stories lost some depth as a result. I wanted more from Galadriel and Harbrand and Numenor, but we needed time to watch what the Harfoots are doing, and then just as I've fully switched gears and I'm invested in the Harfoots we're suddenly burrowing under mountains with the orcs. There's a lot that's great about ROP, but too much, much much too fast.
Three godly satellites with sentience as they house the remnants of mankind discuss the whole summary of the human race... and then still get straight to the point. Truly comedy divine. And the existential dread of the 2nd satellite finally grasps the bitter truth. 6:27 - This point, after researching on what the post-modern age philosophies are... no matter how hyperbole or exaggerated they are... the little grain of truth is out there... Then there's the Lovecraft theme that humanity is less worth an atom to the grand schemes of the cosmos.
I think the death and resurrection of Daniel Jackson from Stargate was done well. He accepted acsension because he felt he could do more. He gained knowledge and power but was no longer allowed to act and when he came back he then grows to realise that although he has lost the knowledge he doesn’t need it to make a difference.
Why is this the best criticism I have seen so far? Because you, Sir, respect the work people put into the show. You refrain from hysterical outbursts against actors or people and concentrate on the the real problems of the show. Thank you for that.
To know what happens when you push a heroic character too far is... the best juice served. Some confuse it with the Anti-Hero type, but is there a difference between writing a Fallen Hero and an Anti-Hero? Or is it overlapping with one another, and it all depends how the Creator/Author writes them? And this is why I find it very intriguing to write the darker parts of my own work... and illustrate darker themes no one is willing to tread. The fun part, but also the "burnout" part, is questioning how it will affect everything around them, including the other characters. Coupled this with the "amoral" aspect, and now... the Fallen Hero is WAY harder than I initially thought... or I'm overthinking it.
I wish you read firepunch for this video. It has a lot to do with restriction and the inability to die, but it is heavy do if your interested tred carefully.
Suyin and Lin are half sisters and she said Lins father was Kanto, that means Suyins father is not known, she shears many similarities with Sokka, such as factial features and skin colour.
I'm gonna have to hard disagree with the Berserk take. Griffith didn't sacrifice the Band of the Hawk/Falcons during the Eclipse because he wanted power; to frame it that way is doing a huge disservice to Griffith as a character. Griffith is more of the character who has noble ambitions that is beaten down over many years and made one fatal mistake that saw years of progress ripped away from him because he needed to feel in control; something he rarely felt before meeting Guts. He sacrificed because he was manipulated by the God Hand into doing so; the God Hand purposefully manipulating his memories into thinking that if he denied them, if he chose not to sacrifice, all the people who died for his dream would have died for nothing and for Griffith at that time, that was worse than death. To frame Griffith choosing to sacrifice as 'he just wanted power' is a gross misrepresentation of his character, and to completely dismiss the friendship and closeness he had with many members of the Band of the Hawk/Falcon, many connections of which he had to lessen so their seemingly inevitable deaths wouldn't harm him. If he truly 'just wanted power', I doubt most of the Band of the Hawk/Falcon would follow him. Hell, even post his return as the Falcon of Light you could make the argument he still cares deeply for his old company. The Moonlight Boy persona being so deeply connected to Guts and Casca would support that line of thinking, I think.
What if bending is like the mitochondrians in the prequel trilogy? Here me out,so sort of a once external organizim (like the actual mitochondrias in the cells) On theory once independent organisms that learned to live in a permanent symbiotic state with the cells . And just some are born with a body that rejects the "mitochondrias" and by the spirituality some can get the body to accept them, becoming benders later in life The turtles would spread the inital organisms
Welcome over here. I'm from Germany, from Frankfurt and as far as recommendations go, Frankfurt is a pretty metropolitan place. If you are interested in unique stuff here, try Apfelwein (kinda Cider) in a Apfelwein... pub, maybe? Place. But seriously, that's not worth living (and paying rent) here, try the Rhine valley for something that's not Bavaria. I don't want to throw shade on Bavaria, but that's what people think of when thinking of Germany anyway. If you're here to broaden your horizon, might as well avoid the clichés. The coasts might be another place, with rich Hanse trading history and stuff. Bottom line: Frankfurt is great to visit as a German, but not my first recommendation for the "authentic German experience". Plus, chances are your plane lands here anyway.
Finally a well structured review that doesn't resort to bashing everything and everyone involved. The first season alone has material for 2-3 season, if structured coretly. Make the first season about Galadriel and her struggle with the loss of her family, then the second season about her journey to Numenor, and thw third - maybe Halbarad is already revealed to be Sauron by then - about the race to safe the Southlands from turning into Mordor. Sure, have the Harfoots in there every now and again, but give them meaning, let them meet up with Gandalf or a blue wizard - it would be cool to have an original wizard, rather than one we already knoe so well that we can only be disappointed- and then let them meet up in the 3rd season. Once they fail and Sauron has taken up residence in Mordor, there's alweas the possibility of a time jump to the building of the last alliance, with flashbacks to the fall of Numenor (possibly included in season2), the beginning of the war, the Harfoot's struggle with where to go and eventually them setteling in the Shire, etc. It has so much potential, but greed definitely put a stop to things being creatively free
Palpatine returning is a symptom of not enough planning and a lack of conviction in the characters. No one was going to take Kylo seriously as the BBEG when he'd been bested by Rey in the first movie, and Luke in the second, and TLJ had killed of Snoke who was the only real other alternative. They could have brought back Plagius, who is a least a named character, a compleley new character, or brought back Palpatine. None of them were really great options, but given the "Somehow Palpatine returned" is already showing that they weren't really interested in doing any more establishment of a character than they needed to
The reveal of the death of Lu Ten impacts multiple characters & the story as a whole moving forward. Without his death, most of the series would be radically different because the Villains (the Fire Nation) would be different.
I didn't really like it, but I only got about 2 and a half episodes in before I quit. Maybe I'd feel different if I'd finished it. Or maybe I would just dislike it even more. You know what, I think I'll just go rewatch the original, thanks...
