But I do know that I'm gonna be a good person who cares about people, and I blame you for that.
I am way too easily amused.
Yesterday was basically a giant flashback to the 90s. The latest plot twist on Young Justice sent me careening back to anime fandom and the American explosion of Dragonball Z (I'll talk about that in a minute), then I watched Clueless and Boy Meets World, and then I found out that Level Up was apparently a THING for me (...we'll be talking about that, too).
This is the most meta-y thing I've written in a really long time. I'm not sure what brought it all on, except that yesterday's YJ episode honestly did give me flashbacks to internet anime fandom of the late 90s. And since those flashbacks are never very good omens, I felt compelled to word vomit my thoughts.
You've been warned...
So the latest plot twist in a season that's been throwing out plot twists every other episode and still hasn't satisfactorily started tying them together involves time travel. But not just any time travel. We've got a mysterious child from a dystopian future who's gone back to the past to try and prevent his future from being created. And this mysterious child knows all of our current characters even though none of them know him yet. And he's ecstatic to see most of them because they are clearly DEAD in his future. Except the actions he takes to prevent his future from happening don't have the desired effect, and in fact seem to be a part of something larger that he doesn't know about.
It's Trunks Briefs all over again, and given the clusterfuck his time travel story made of his show (during his season, anyway; after it ended, he was never heard from again), I am not terribly enthused by this latest YJ twist.
Trunks himself was quite awesome (never before or since have I seen a character so universally loved by nearly all segments of fandom). But good lordy, his existence created three or four separate, new timelines to keep track of to make all the plot points work, and this wasn't a show that prided itself on plot to begin with. There, as here, we had a mysterious youth (his intro ep actually called him "the mysterious youth", in case you were worried this was a subtle series) who shows up with powers only possible for a few specific other characters so that we know he's related to them, who knows everyone even though they don't know him, who's trying to stop a very specific event in order to change his future, but who both fails to change his future and sets in motion a new series of events that render him unable to predict what will happen.
And then there was filler. A lot of filler as the new story unfolded.
I realize Greg and Co. don't have a primary comic story that only releases an issue a month that they have to match the cartoon to, so filler episodes shouldn't be a problem. Except hasn't a lot of this season felt like filler in some respects? New characters who are introduced in a haphazard way, making it hard to care about them; villain after villain getting introduced with not even a hint of endgame or cohesion; plot threads from last season getting picked up and dropped; drastic changes to characters we loved with no context or backstory; etc. So much stuff has been happening and yet it keeps feeling like nothing much at all is happening.
Given everything they seem to be trying to do, I really think this storyline would have benefited from being introduced much earlier in the season. With Trunks' arrival (which messed with nearly a decade of existing character/story development because of his unexpected parentage and launched a Draco in Leather Pants-level fanfic explosion to explain his parentage), he came right at the start of the new story. Bart's easily as awesome a character and would definitely have benefited from being used to set everything up this season, not trying to be introduced after several different set-ups have already happened, many of which are so closely tied to new characters that it's hard to care about them. His arrival integrates characters from last season (the Wests/Flashes) into the new alien invasion/kidnapping people storylines. And using a new West to introduce the next generation of the Team (he's the exact right age to be a freshman member, so we know he's going to join) would probably have made a difference in terms of welcoming Team 2.0.
(I know this season has divided people into either loving the new characters or being bored by them. Gar and Jaime benefited from being fleshed out through stories with existing characters, while the girls and Tim are still suffering from a glaring lack. You know how much it hurts me not to like a bunch of strong female characters right off the bat.
Seriously, thank god I didn't watch season 1 live. I'd never have been able to handle the emotional let-down this season has been if I had that level of investment.)
NO PANTS happening earlier on would have been great, too, lol. As would the Roy/Jade stuff. Is it wrong to just want more of the Crock-Nguyen sisters and their relationship exploits? Because the high points of season 2 so far for me have been NO PANTS and Lian laughing while Mommy and Daddy punch bad guys.
And M'gann's casual mind raping of everyone who crosses her. But that's OMGWTF creepy-interesting and not awesome-interesting.
This is my rambling way of saying that of all possible plot points, this latest one, which SHOULD have appealed to me on many levels, just makes me even less interested in the overarching season storyline. Which is not a good thing, since plot is what I need to grab me.
Greg, you're on countdown, which kills me to say. Right now, my animated happy place is totally Legend of Korra. I shouldn't have to refer you to Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for lessons on introducing all new characters into an existing universe and balancing a tightly-executed plot with those awesome new characters. Seriously, they're creators who feed the animals -- engage the fans in a way that makes Joe Mallozzi look like the paragon of internet diplomacy. But they know how to write a damn good show.
Korra, please don't let me down.
So...this is probably going to be a thing.
I should be way more ashamed about watching this than I am. Like, I should be doing a shame spiral over this. Yesterday, I discovered the most amazinlgy stupid, goofy, hilarious show. And I mean, it is bad. Except that it's awesome.
Teen gamers break the internet and have to vanquish monsters in the real world that escape from their game.
It has exactly the level of humor and sophistication you'd expect from a Cartoon Network live-action show about teen gamers breaking the internet (that can never be said enough!), and the f/x make me nostalgic for early Power Rangers (see? It is 1995 again!). But the plot is insane, the cast has freaking adorable chemistry, and it's totally madcap and frenzied. The power of friendship was literally built into the game, which means they've used it to save the day. Their clan has a catchphrase they shout whenever they launch into battle, in the game and in the real world! They hacked the game to send their weapons into the real world via a coding wormhole! It's the dumbest ever!
Teen gamers break the internet and have to vanquish monsters from their game who escape into the real world, all while still balancing their normal high school lives.
What's not to love?!?!
Oh, and if there was any remaining doubt that the internet has finally broken me, I'm shipping Wyatt/Angie like whoa after maybe six or seven episodes. They're just so cute and goofy! And they're canon BFFs!
I am probably going to be talking more about Level Up as I keep watching, so adjust your flist settings to block me now.
Aaaaaaaaand I just realized that this post has pretty much been sponsored by the Cartoon Network. It really is the late 90s all over again!
I did buy cute shoes, though. So that's something.
Yesterday was basically a giant flashback to the 90s. The latest plot twist on Young Justice sent me careening back to anime fandom and the American explosion of Dragonball Z (I'll talk about that in a minute), then I watched Clueless and Boy Meets World, and then I found out that Level Up was apparently a THING for me (...we'll be talking about that, too).
This is the most meta-y thing I've written in a really long time. I'm not sure what brought it all on, except that yesterday's YJ episode honestly did give me flashbacks to internet anime fandom of the late 90s. And since those flashbacks are never very good omens, I felt compelled to word vomit my thoughts.
You've been warned...
So the latest plot twist in a season that's been throwing out plot twists every other episode and still hasn't satisfactorily started tying them together involves time travel. But not just any time travel. We've got a mysterious child from a dystopian future who's gone back to the past to try and prevent his future from being created. And this mysterious child knows all of our current characters even though none of them know him yet. And he's ecstatic to see most of them because they are clearly DEAD in his future. Except the actions he takes to prevent his future from happening don't have the desired effect, and in fact seem to be a part of something larger that he doesn't know about.
It's Trunks Briefs all over again, and given the clusterfuck his time travel story made of his show (during his season, anyway; after it ended, he was never heard from again), I am not terribly enthused by this latest YJ twist.
Trunks himself was quite awesome (never before or since have I seen a character so universally loved by nearly all segments of fandom). But good lordy, his existence created three or four separate, new timelines to keep track of to make all the plot points work, and this wasn't a show that prided itself on plot to begin with. There, as here, we had a mysterious youth (his intro ep actually called him "the mysterious youth", in case you were worried this was a subtle series) who shows up with powers only possible for a few specific other characters so that we know he's related to them, who knows everyone even though they don't know him, who's trying to stop a very specific event in order to change his future, but who both fails to change his future and sets in motion a new series of events that render him unable to predict what will happen.
And then there was filler. A lot of filler as the new story unfolded.
I realize Greg and Co. don't have a primary comic story that only releases an issue a month that they have to match the cartoon to, so filler episodes shouldn't be a problem. Except hasn't a lot of this season felt like filler in some respects? New characters who are introduced in a haphazard way, making it hard to care about them; villain after villain getting introduced with not even a hint of endgame or cohesion; plot threads from last season getting picked up and dropped; drastic changes to characters we loved with no context or backstory; etc. So much stuff has been happening and yet it keeps feeling like nothing much at all is happening.
Given everything they seem to be trying to do, I really think this storyline would have benefited from being introduced much earlier in the season. With Trunks' arrival (which messed with nearly a decade of existing character/story development because of his unexpected parentage and launched a Draco in Leather Pants-level fanfic explosion to explain his parentage), he came right at the start of the new story. Bart's easily as awesome a character and would definitely have benefited from being used to set everything up this season, not trying to be introduced after several different set-ups have already happened, many of which are so closely tied to new characters that it's hard to care about them. His arrival integrates characters from last season (the Wests/Flashes) into the new alien invasion/kidnapping people storylines. And using a new West to introduce the next generation of the Team (he's the exact right age to be a freshman member, so we know he's going to join) would probably have made a difference in terms of welcoming Team 2.0.
(I know this season has divided people into either loving the new characters or being bored by them. Gar and Jaime benefited from being fleshed out through stories with existing characters, while the girls and Tim are still suffering from a glaring lack. You know how much it hurts me not to like a bunch of strong female characters right off the bat.
Seriously, thank god I didn't watch season 1 live. I'd never have been able to handle the emotional let-down this season has been if I had that level of investment.)
NO PANTS happening earlier on would have been great, too, lol. As would the Roy/Jade stuff. Is it wrong to just want more of the Crock-Nguyen sisters and their relationship exploits? Because the high points of season 2 so far for me have been NO PANTS and Lian laughing while Mommy and Daddy punch bad guys.
And M'gann's casual mind raping of everyone who crosses her. But that's OMGWTF creepy-interesting and not awesome-interesting.
This is my rambling way of saying that of all possible plot points, this latest one, which SHOULD have appealed to me on many levels, just makes me even less interested in the overarching season storyline. Which is not a good thing, since plot is what I need to grab me.
Greg, you're on countdown, which kills me to say. Right now, my animated happy place is totally Legend of Korra. I shouldn't have to refer you to Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for lessons on introducing all new characters into an existing universe and balancing a tightly-executed plot with those awesome new characters. Seriously, they're creators who feed the animals -- engage the fans in a way that makes Joe Mallozzi look like the paragon of internet diplomacy. But they know how to write a damn good show.
Korra, please don't let me down.
So...this is probably going to be a thing.
I should be way more ashamed about watching this than I am. Like, I should be doing a shame spiral over this. Yesterday, I discovered the most amazinlgy stupid, goofy, hilarious show. And I mean, it is bad. Except that it's awesome.
Teen gamers break the internet and have to vanquish monsters in the real world that escape from their game.
It has exactly the level of humor and sophistication you'd expect from a Cartoon Network live-action show about teen gamers breaking the internet (that can never be said enough!), and the f/x make me nostalgic for early Power Rangers (see? It is 1995 again!). But the plot is insane, the cast has freaking adorable chemistry, and it's totally madcap and frenzied. The power of friendship was literally built into the game, which means they've used it to save the day. Their clan has a catchphrase they shout whenever they launch into battle, in the game and in the real world! They hacked the game to send their weapons into the real world via a coding wormhole! It's the dumbest ever!
Teen gamers break the internet and have to vanquish monsters from their game who escape into the real world, all while still balancing their normal high school lives.
What's not to love?!?!
Oh, and if there was any remaining doubt that the internet has finally broken me, I'm shipping Wyatt/Angie like whoa after maybe six or seven episodes. They're just so cute and goofy! And they're canon BFFs!
I am probably going to be talking more about Level Up as I keep watching, so adjust your flist settings to block me now.
Aaaaaaaaand I just realized that this post has pretty much been sponsored by the Cartoon Network. It really is the late 90s all over again!
I did buy cute shoes, though. So that's something.