Whenever you make criticism of a poor writing decision there's bound to be someone defending it by saying "Well, but that's realistic". Well, I don't give a fuck if it's realistic, fictional characters and fictional worlds don't have agency, everything that happens in a story happens because the writers made the decision that it would happen, so something being realistic is irrelevant because the writing decision was bad.

A good example of this is in the Injustass Gods Among Us comic, in which Nightwing falls over and breaks his neck on a rock. Is this a realistic death for someone who is a human being without powers? Yes, lots of people die in similar way. Does this change the fact that the writer decided to give one of the most beloved DC heroes a very anti-climatic death? No

Another aspect of it is that very often when this sort of argument is used is the fact that said realism is unintentional, some times the writers make a decision and it just happens to be realistic. A good example of this is shown in Cobra Kai and Ben 10, both having the respective main character getting their character arcs undone so they can learn the same lesson over and over again. This could be argued as being realistic, since people irl will take multiple times to actually learn and internalize a lesson, and actually changing our behavior is more complex than learning a lesson. In Ben's case even more so since he is a kid, which make the same mistakes more than once. But then we have to ask ourselves the following, did the writers make it like that to showcase how IRL we have to learn the same lesson multiple times or did they do so because they ran out of creativity and decided to do the same shit over and over again? To me it's very clear that it's the latter, so it doesn't matter if it is realistic

The whole point is that the Grinch learns the true meaning of Christmas from the Whos. He expects them to be vapid and shallow and moan and groan and wince about how they don't have their presents, but he's proven wrong because the Whos don't care about their presents, they care about each other, and that's the true Christmas spirit.

But the film changes this so that they are vapid and shallow, and they do moan and groan about losing their presents, and they have to be taught the true meaning of Christmas by Cindy Lou's father. So, the Grinch was right basically. The Whos are the worst, and instead of it being an uplifting example of the enduring human (or in this case, who-man) spirit, it's a cheap moment where the film tries to have its cake and eat it too regarding the message.

This would be like if at the end of "It's A Wonderful Life", instead of everyone showing up and pooling their resources to help George out of his rut because they're good people who were inspired by his kindness and support for the community, if Mary had to run through the streets of Bedford Falls and convince everyone to donate because "It's what George would've done." It would just cheapen a powerful story.

Basically every single time that dudes conceived something its irrelevant. If u ask someone on the street who's wolverines biological kid. There gonna say Laura( the clone) and that is amusing. Because the rest might as well not be worth shit.

Did you know the fucker has an actual kid with Jean Grey. Of course you didn't Shine basically just cried blew up some shit and hanged out with May one time.

Then if being irlevent isn't bad enough. Sabertooth is gonna fucking show up genuinely cut you to pieces and spell out pieces of you're body in the Snow. This isn't to say Logan Doesn't work as a paternal figure. They made a whole TV show off this in Evolution. And he's got a sweet relationship with Jubilee most of the time. And offers good advice to some of the younger X-Men. But basically anything that is directly convinced by him might as well be worth shit in the eyes of the writers and casual fans.

Both the author & characters do a piss poor job at displaying magic as anything but a murder tool. I've seen Frieren use zolteraak onscreen more than any of the casual or useless spells or even anything creative for her supposed love of magic.

Like deadass this manga feels as if the author wanted to write a shonen but was forced to slice of life. I'll even go farther and say Frieren IS a shonen just with good pacing and good female characters. But I digress. Back to the main point:

For a “slice of life” non combat applications of magic are seemingly forgotten almost the instant they are introduced like fleeting mcguffins that only exist for a single episode. And I have to say that it gets weirder to think about with time as our mc supposedly loves magic and it emphasizes she collects and studies non combat spells as a hobby.

You would think a character like that is creative in their use of problem solving with magic…wrong apparently. Frieren and her crew get stumped by mere crossings on a windy day despite handling much worse in combat every other day. Like i shit you not the same fucking episode they fight an flock of dragons, stark literally miles in the air but apparently a bit of wind and distance is too much for this crew.

Serie is supposed to be a foil to frieren; magic for casual vs magic for power. But the author is proving Serie right as in this series magic is seaminlgy fucking useless outside of killing demons or people. Methode dropped the “I love magic” bomb saying her people don't use magic creatively unlike herself, but while she's saying that she's fighting a demon and using energy blasts…you know the most basic non creative magic ever? Like this series says one thing but does the complete fucking opposite its so bizzare. I feel like Freiren repeated there are so many non combat ways to use magic but it's just not shown.

A 1000+ elf who collects spells as much as she eats should be having houses and rooms moving like in Harry potter.

Also Im starting to think Frieren fans are just as bad as one piece fans with marketing their show as well:

“Shonentards dont understand frieren!” When there is literally a fight every other episode and there was a literal tournament arc.

“Yall want this to be dbz so bad” yeah so does the author apparently as the most used spell is basically a Ki blast.

“Its a character drama, not a fight anime” yet there are more fights and emphases on the power system than any of our mcs world views getting challenged for even a second. The narrative and tone just suggest that they are right and any conflict between the crew at all is just used for comedy.

I love Frieren but this show and fans give mixed ass signals.

Real talk.

I hate loser Mcs/Characters and I just mean MCs and other characters who are literally such losers that it makes me wonder why they're even on screen and I'm trying not rip my ears and eyes out.

But the problem isn't just that they're losers or unlikable losers or whatever ,it's just the fact that they're not interesting or likable or just anything in sort of way and you can have a loser MC Or a MC that's a Bum or a Jackass or what but you gotta make them interesting in some shape or form or at the bare minimum, just make them a good character.

Like Bear from Obsession is a massive loser who can't talk to women and is a terrible person all around but that's the fucking point..he's the villain and while he does have his fair share of good traits[not a lot but..they're there]he is objectively a awful human being and that also helps by the actors performance by making him so hateable and slimey and a sniveling coward that he's a good character,he's a loser MC[you can be the protagonist and the villain]done right.

The Deep from The Boys is also another example of a loser character done right cause him being such a bum who can't take accountability to the point where he literally screams NO at the thought of changing as a person is actually funny in a pathetic sort of way + him being this much of a loser contrasts heavily with A-Train's arc on growing and becoming a better person.

But Kazuya and Saira or Sarah or whatever the fuck her name is from Lesbian Space Princess are genuinely loser MCs done wrong cause they are just both so goddamn annoying and not even in a "love to hate them" way but they're both just so..so goddamn annoying and not even in any sort of fun or endearing way.

First up, Kazuya..he is genuinely such a loser,such a bum,such a goddamn DORK that he literally was jacking off to the idea of his girlfriend(or Ex,can't remember clearly but still, the point stands]getting fucked by someone else and he does this not only once but twice where he literally got a BONER at His Ex being cracked by someone else.

And it's also the fact that he literally not only pays someone to be his girlfriend but also is paying what is basically over thousands of dollars to do so and tells others and I'm not someone who should force romance and if you don't romantically like someone,you shouldn't force yourself to be with them..But it actually gets fucking annoying when there are women who actually want him for free and whatnot but instead, he keeps on bending over backwards for a girl he barely got a kiss out of and even when they kissed,she still doesn't want to be with him and it has been years(GTA 6 has been accounted and a release date,presidential elections and more]since this manga was going on and there's still little to progress.

And gonna be so deadass when I say..that this is the authors fault cause this man has admitted(wife and kids,BTW]to being in love with Chizuru and going out on a date with her and even made the MC look like him.

And I wanted to ask..does this man have no editors or assistants or anyone who is willing to tell him "hey,this is goddamn stupid?",like what kinda Dark blackmail does he have on his editors and such to get them to let all the BS he's doing slide?

And Kazuya could either have grown as a person and stopped being such a pathetic loser or he could be used as a cautionary tale for people who refuse to grow up and gain any self respect for themselves.

Or anything is better then what he's doing.

Now..Lesbian Space Princess.

The title alone is already extremely ridiculous and dumb ans makes me feel like this is Satire and it's crazy how this form of media was so bad that it had fandoms uniting and forming a alliance and there are people who are like "oh this movie isn't that bad,y'all are larping" or "this is just a game" and..No,this movie is pretty fucking Awful.

Saira is such a loser who cries and is trying to rescue her ex-girlfriend she was dating for 2 weeks and actually gets a new baddie in Willow(who is one of the very few tolerable characters in this movie,purely cause she wasn't annoying the hell out of me]and they actually form a relationship and do the old Devils tango and etc and you would think that this would lead to her gaining self love and finding a partner who actually loves,respects and cares for her and whatnot and in any good media,this would but nope..she full on DUMPS WILLOW and leaves her on a planet to rescue and get back with her ex..who didn't even want her and whatnot and it just has me asking what even is the FUCKING POINT.

Genuinely, who is this movie even for?

Like this movie feels like something The Boys of Family Guy would Paraody and people will say "oh its Satire" or whatever but isn't Satire supposed to be fucking funny?

Only times this movie made me even chuckle is with the straight white Maliens..which is actually funny to think about it.

The characters people seemed to love[..ok,Love is a stretch,Tolerate/didn't hate]the most were the villains you weren't supposed to like and that's something beautifully funny about that.

Lesbian Space Princess deadass feels homophobic.

So yeah,if you're gonna make a character who's a loser,pls do it right.

"Diana" from lights-out has two major glaring weaknesses that are so, so very obvious that once you think of what the two weaknesses are, the movie becomes a lot less scary.

(1) she cannot harm you in the light.

(2) she depends on the mother's psychiatric illness.

With two obvious weaknesses like that, they could have literally defeated Diana without anyone of the main characters dying.

It's really frustrating (and sad) that Sophie had to exit the movie to get rid of Diana, when the solution was a lot less drastic.

Literally all Sophie had to do to make the demon stop attacking her children, was to take care of her mental health.

That's it. Instead of only deciding to try to get better in the middle of a blackout when the demon is in full power, all she had to do was to take her medication on a brightly lit day. The demon cannot come out in daylight.

It's so simple.

We clearly see this when she attempts to take the pills and the demon throws away the pill bottle.

This literally means that, if Sophie gets up in the morning, opens all the windows and takes her medication...the problem is immediately solved.

I don't want to come across as hating on the Energon Universe or something. I do like the EU overall, and despite some missteps, I'm glad we're finally getting a proper Hasbro shared universe.

But at the same time... I still really miss IDW.

IDW's comics just had a really big depth of setting and scope that I feel is just missing from the Energon Universe. You can tell the writers behind IDW had a lot of passion for the universe and wanted to explore so many different aspects of Transformers lore.

It also managed to balance out having huge casts and still managed to make sure most of the main characters had a presence.

But most of all, especially when you compare it to Skybound, they managed to get character deaths right. They usually happened to nobodies people didn't really care about, or they did it after giving the characters time to shine so the death felt impactful. They didn't just kill off the popular guys for shock value.

And when deaths were reversed, they didn't happen often. Off the top of my head, I think the only major death reversal was Nightbeat.

Now to be fair, I do think if there's anything the Energon Universe is doing better than IDW, it's the human cast. IDW Spike is pretty widely hated across the board, and Hunter was totally wasted. Verity and Marrissa are probably the only major IDW humans who managed to have a satisfying story from start to finish.

I just feel like under IDW, Transformers felt more complex and interesting. Skybound's simple "back to basics" take isn't bad, but it's still lacking in a lot of respects, particularly with handling its cast.

Again, I'm not trying to turn this into an Energon Universe bashing party. I do like it overall. I guess when it comes down to it, I think IDW did a better Transformers story, whereas Skybound is doing a better Hasbro Shared Universe story.

After Ichigo Kurosaki uses the Final Getsuga Tensho (Mugetsu), Aizen is overwhelmingly beaten in sheer physical and spiritual power. However, because Aizen had fused with the Hogyoku, he remains immortal. His body regenerates, and he fully expects to evolve further and finally destroy Ichigo.

Instead, a strange spell suddenly activates inside his body**:-** (99th Style Seal), placed by Urahara. Urahara reveals that he planted this seal inside another Kido spell earlier in the fight. It only activated because the Hōgyoku began rejecting Aizen as its master, weakened by Ichigo's strength and Aizen's own subconscious doubts.

As the seal begins consuming and binding him, Aizen completely loses his cool

After this,Urahara confronts Aizen's and says this

"I despise you, Urahara Kisuke! With your intellect, why don't you take action?! Why do you submit yourself to THAT THING?!"

To add on to add I'll explain why he says this

Aizen spent his entire life in absolute isolation because no one possessed his level of strength or intellect—except Kisuke Urahara. Aizen respected Urahara's genius above all others.

However, Aizen's life goal was to overthrow the Soul King (the "thing" he refers to), whom he viewed as a mindless, hollow lynchpin maintaining a stagnant, broken world. To Aizen, anyone with supreme intelligence should naturally want to rewrite the universe and take control.

When Aizen realized Urahara—the only person who matched his intellect—knew the truth about the Soul King but chose to preserve the status quo, Aizen saw it as unforgivable cowardice and betrayal of intellect

The conversation continues on and Aizen's says this

"Without the Soul King, Soul Society would split apart. That's just how the world is."

"A victor must not talk about how the world IS, but how the world SHOULD BE!!"

THis interpets that

1)Aizen’s Mindset (The Ruler): True intellect means imposing your vision on the world to correct its flaws, no matter the cost.

2)Urahara’s Mindset (The Guardian): True intellect means understanding the boundaries of existence and protecting stability, even if the system is imperfect.

Both know the truth both The Soul King yet their paths varied differently,One choose to oppose Soul Society and the world,And the Other one Choose to side/ally with it and confront the other

FURTHER MORE TO ADD,WE'LL AIZEN REASON FOR WHAT HE IS

A. Loneliness at the Peak

Ichigo reveals that when their swords crossed, he felt nothing but loneliness from Aizen's Soul. From the day he was born, Aizen was vastly stronger and smarter than everyone around him. Because of this gap, he could never relate to anyone as a peer.

B. The Desire to Be Normal

The Hogyoku does not just grant power; it manifests the deepest desires of the user’s heart.

Deep down, behind all his god-complex rhetoric, Aizen wished to simply be a normal Soul Reaper—or at least find an equal who could stand beside him. When Ichigo surpassed him, Aizen’s subconscious desire was finally fulfilled: he was no longer uniquely isolated at the top. The Hogyoku recognized this suppressed desire and stripped away his god-like powers, allowing Urahara's seal to take hold

So yea,I REALLY REALLY LOVED THIS SCENE,I just wanted to make a post about it,i know many people tend to call Aizen'"Hype and Aura" Villain but I think he's way more than that

Ark, the dinosaur/prehistoric creature and monster survival game recently released a version with dragons and the designs are straight up ‘we have toothless at home’ levels of towing the legal fine line between inspiration vs copying.

Obviously this has been talked about in the game fan base but as a casual fan of the game who only learned about this recently I think it’s pretty fair to bring some external judgement onto this situation because what are we actually doing? This looks like mobile game ad on TikTok levels of plagiarism. They wanted cross IP partnership models without having cross IP partnership budget. Ark has a particular design philosophy for the bulk of its creatures and love or hate them they have some good designs and usually try give their own spins on stuff or avoid tropes (they have sabretooths long tails, were one of the first big consumer media to present a 4 leg walking spinosaurus even if that’s now outdated) so to see a rip this egregious is just a bad look and I hope to not see that kind of thing again.

Seriously, no matter how well written you think certain Naruto characters are, it’s pretty undeniable that people like them a lot.

Naruto himself is one of the most beloved anime characters of all time and one of the only characters to be on “Japan’s most influential people!” List.

Sasuke is almost everyone’s favourite secondary MC even if i myself have mixed feelings about him.

And I think the best example of this is Hinata. If you look online people will swear to you that she’s the worst female character ever but she’s incredibly beloved worldwide, constantly placing in Naruto popularity polls and even made it onto one of Japan’s most loved female characters lists.

Like even if you put all the snobbish writing critiques aside Kishimoto does a damn good job in making you love his cast.

Spawn is the ultimate masterclass in style over substance. He became a global icon purely on a heavy-metal look while being completely hollow inside. His seven-foot frame and ridiculous 40-foot cape completely contradict his whiny, pathetic behavior.

Al Simmons fails completely as a protagonist. He acts like a toxic, codependent stalker rather than a tragic romantic hero. He even disgustingly shape-shifts into her new husband just to sneak into her bed.

His entire hype is a 1990s marketing illusion. The artists hide him in pitch-black shadows to mask his total lack of character growth. If a regular guy acted like this, he would be universally clowned and hit with a restraining order.

This is a script for a video I'm working on!

Introduction

In my opinion, Death Battle is one of the best shows on YouTube, a series about analyzing lore and science to determine which characters would win in a fight. Death Battle has been put through the wringer, starting from a side dish on ScrewAttack, and rising from the ashes of RoosterTeeth to become independent, all due to the support of a massive community that loves what they do. 

After many controversies, they are going to tackle one of the biggest matchup debates out there with one of their most anticipated video yet. Goku vs. Saitama. 

The video is set to come out this Sunday and will be animated by the ever-so-talented MORØ, who has his own crossover series in the works. 

Both characters hold a very infamous spot when it comes to Death Battle. Goku’s only other matchup on the show is Superman, a more controversial matchup. Dragon Ball in general has a very polarizing place in Death Battle due to how many Dragon Ball characters have often lost their matchups, angering much of the fanbase. The Death Battle team themselves are huge fans of Dragon Ball. 

Saitama is also a weird case, because despite being One Punch Man, his only episode is a defeat, and most likely he’ll be joining the 0 - 2 club with Lex Luthor and Darth Vader. Hulk recently left due to winning his first battle in years. 

If you want to know why exactly, stick around to the end! 

Bear with me, please; I am not a superfan of either character. I’ve seen both shows, and I am aware of their feats and abilities, so I’m just going off my own research. I apologize in advance for any details I get wrong. 

Saitama as a “gag character”

Saitama, known by his hero name, Caped Baldy, and by other characters as One Punch Man, is a very polarizing character in the powerscaling community. 

The anime/manga itself is often considered well-written and decently done; Saitama, by all means, is a good character. But he’s one of the main reasons why powerscaling is considered a terrible way to consume media. 

People often wank him up, both jokingly and unironically, as one of the most powerful characters in fiction. There are hundreds of comics showing Goku and Superman teaming up only to constantly lose badly against him.

The main reason is that he is ONE PUNCH MAN, meaning he can win the majority of fights with one punch. He did a daily military training regimen that would cripple most humans, but it extended his limits to the point where it seems like he has no limits. 

It’s because of this that most people often call Saitama a “gag character” and use that as the reason why he’d win most matchups. The author of the series, ONE, mentioned that he always wanted to be a “gag manga artist.” The illustrator, Yusuke, was asked if Saitama is a gag character or a parody character, and he answered “yes.” 

When it comes down to it, yes, technically, he is a gag character, but… I don’t think it’s that simple. 

One Punch Man was designed as a satire of shonen power scaling; that doesn’t mean that he is instantly going to KO everything. The idea is the consequences behind it. Think of it this way: he went through an off-screen training arc that would eventually lead to him becoming one of the strongest heroes alive, but he never actually had a hero’s journey no massive adventure or overarching goal; he got what he wanted: to be a superhero. But by doing so, he feels aimless and depressed, no longer feeling the thrill of the fight because no fight actually is a challenge for him.

At the same time, the series doesn’t always take itself seriously; he pulls off wacky and absurd feats for the lols and has ridiculous anti-feats. Which is why most people agree that One Punch Man is both a gag series and a serious one. 

That’s why when it comes to Saitama being a “gag character,” it doesn’t mean he can win every fight. When it comes to looking at his feats in comparison to Goku, you can see why I personally don’t think he’d win. 

If you made it this far into the video, comment your favorite episode of Death Battle!

The Impossible Fight

I’m going to say it. It. Yeah, laugh it up... 

Saitama is not winning. THERE! I know the 3 people who will see this video are planning my lynching the very moment they hear those words, but please bear with me! 

I don’t believe that Saitama can beat Goku. To explain why, I’m going to go over three different reasons. 

1. Power Gap
2. The Punch
3. Versatility 

Power Gap

Saitama’s strongest feat is his Serious Punch Squared Clash when he fought Cosmic Garou, which generated an explosion that erased entire systems. Which is pretty impressive. Now, one of Goku’s feats is when he fought Beerus; their fight caused entire universes to shake, not systems. 

Note that I say “one of” and not “strongest,” because that isn’t even Goku’s best feat, and yet he already caps over Saitama. 

The power gap between them is far too wide; Saitama can fight beings who threaten the universe, but Goku fights beings who threaten the whole of the multiverse or Macrosom. 

Now, I can already hear the counterargument.

"But Toaster, Saitama grows stronger during his fight with Garou! His strength has no limit! If Goku doesn't kill him immediately, Saitama will eventually surpass him!" First of all, that is SIR Toaster to you. Second of all… yes? And no.

During his fight with Cosmic Garou, Saitama's strength increases at an absurd rate. The more intense the fight becomes, the faster he grows, eventually leaving Garou behind despite Garou's ability to copy his power. But just because Saitama can grow stronger doesn't mean he can grow infinitely within any given fight. There’s no reason to assume he could grow that quickly in strength to match Goku’s level of power.

As I said before, the gap is insanely wide; Saitama’s fights are multi-galaxy, but Goku is multiversal. Sure, I could imagine that Saitama could surpass Goku in a certain level of power… if the fight lasted three hours, which it obviously won’t. 

If we're going to account for Saitama's ability to grow, we also have to account for Goku's combat experience, his ability to adapt, his transformations, and the possibility that he could end the fight before Saitama's growth becomes decisive.

The Punch

This brings us to the next section: whether Saitama can even hit Goku. The answer is most likely no. Ignoring that Goku is definitely faster (Saitama can’t fly; he just jumps), he could just activate Ultra Instinct. 

Ultra Instinct allows Goku's body to react to threats without requiring him to consciously think through every movement. Rather than deciding how to dodge an attack and then moving, he can respond instinctively. Even if Goku gets tired, Ultra Instinct will manifest into a giant him and keep fighting. 

In other words, he doesn't have to play the same game as someone who relies primarily on conventional attacks. A major advantage against an opponent whose most iconic method is punching things really, really hard.

Now, obviously, Saitama isn't limited to walking up to someone and throwing a straight punch. He's shown incredible mobility, creative applications of his strength, and the ability to adapt to unusual situations.

And Ultra Instinct isn't an invincible shield, either. It doesn't mean Goku can dodge every attack forever, regardless of his opponent's speed, his own condition, or the circumstances of the fight.

But it does give Goku another way to control the engagement.

He can move through the air, attack from a distance, and combine his physical abilities with ki-based techniques. Saitama can do some surprising things himself, but Goku has a much broader established toolkit for fighting opponents at range. Which matters because the fight wouldn’t just be a contest where both characters stand still and trade punches until one of them falls over. Goku can change the distance or the pace, and force Saitama to respond to different kinds of attacks.

Could Saitama eventually adapt? Possibly.

Could he land a punch? Probably.

I'm not arguing that Goku can spend the entire fight dodging without any possibility of getting hit. I'm arguing that Goku has more options for avoiding attacks and controlling how the fight unfolds.

Versatility

And this brings us to the final point: versatility.

Saitama's fighting style is largely built around his physical abilities. He's so strong that he rarely needs complicated techniques. He can jump enormous distances, withstand devastating attacks, and throw punches with absurd amounts of force. When that's all you need to win, why bother learning anything else?

But Goku is different. He's not just powerful. He's also a martial artist who has spent his entire life fighting, training, and learning from other combatants. He can fight at close range, attack from a distance with ki blasts, fly, teleport using Instant Transmission, and use transformations that dramatically alter his combat capabilities.

Goku also has experience fighting opponents who possess unusual abilities and fighting styles.

Saitama is capable of improvising, and raw physical superiority can overcome a lot of technical advantages. But Goku has more tools available to him, to the point where Saitama would always be playing catch-up. 

If hand-to-hand doesn’t go his way, then Goku can just back up and use ranged attacks. If his opponent tries to overwhelm him with speed, he has techniques that help him react and reposition. If he needs to increase his power, he kaioken get it done. 

And if he needs to adapt to an opponent's behavior, he's spent decades of in-universe time learning how to do exactly that.

Saitama can certainly adapt during a fight, but Goku's experience and broader range of techniques give him more established options from the beginning.

So in conclusion... Goku wins. If you all want to kill me, at least do it after I get my first paycheck.

Season 2 of Haunted Hotel was just released, and it introduced a new character named Shayna, who was apparently there the whole time, pretending to be a ghost, but wait, she's... not a ghost? Whaaa? A plot reveal that changes nothing except Shayna is now hired as an employee, and her job is to stand around and do nothing.

During her introductory episode it seems like she might be important because her mere presence wards of a powerful evil god, a feature of Shayna that was never explained. Perhaps this will be elaborated on in future seasons, thanks to the trademark Rick and Morty writing team method of dragging out character development as long as humanly possible in between humorous episodes that aren't that funny.

The character development in Haunted Hotel isn't bad, when they actually bother to do it. I enjoyed seeing Nathan get a ghost girlfriend. These character moments are just too far apart.

Shayna is a drifter who does nothing in particular and has absent parents, which she frequently vaguely alludes to but only in a way that sounds irreverent and "cool" and not in a way that would explore her character in any meaningful sense. She feels fake, like she was manufactured to be "edgy," often talking about her arrest record and knives. Shayna adds nothing to the family dynamic. When the family argues she just stands there and says things like "yeah you're probably in trouble" or "wow I wish I had a Mom who cared." Nothing substantially changes due to her presence, she's just kind of there the whole time. The most plot relevant thing she does is become romantically involved with Stabby Paul, a background joke character, and that plot is dropped also.

Remember how in Steven Universe, every episode absolutely had to be from Steven's perspective so Steven was just tagging along all the time even in plotlines that should have nothing to do with him? Shayna is kind of like that, except it kind of makes sense in Steven's case because he's the protagonist, Shayna is not. Also unlike Steven, Shayna has no character arc at all.

It honestly reminds of that Pinky and the Brain and Larry episode. This episode was made as a joke to mock the idea of adding a third character to make the series more marketable. Larry is just kind of there and adds nothing to the conversation dynamic. I also think the Poochie comparison works due to the fake edginess or as the 90s would call it "an attitude." This is only season two of this series and it's way too early for this to be happening.

I think the character could contribute meaningfully to the story if they gave her something to do other than be irreverent. Like she complains about never having a caring mother, so she could develop a relationship with Katherine, the mom character. Maybe the writers are planning on doing this in season 5 after dragging the audience through 3 more seasons of Stabby Paul jokes first, who knows.

One night my roommate while at late night anime watch kept hyping up To Be Hero X anime, telling me I’d be immediately hooked after episode 1. So I decided to give it a try.

Honestly, I wasn’t even fully hooked by Lin Ling’s story—the whole thing felt like a massive pop idol critique/satire, which is fine. We saw some of it in The boys, and it wasn't bad but then they switched to eSOUL arc, which felt not as good in comparison to Nice and lin ling story line. I felt completely let down, and then we get to Lucky Cyan and it wasn't any better. In both lin ling's story and eSoul story we get a glimpse of trust system, how heros are managed/ manufactured, seeing different shade of the same color. I was ready to give up entirely.

All the while, my roommate is in my ear telling me to "just watch a couple more episodes, that's when it gets interesting." Only for me to find out the plot doesn't actually pull its pieces back together until episode 18. I’m sorry, but if an anime takes two-thirds of its entire runtime to actually become interesting, that means there are massive fundamental issues with the execution.

The frustrating part is that the cultural commentary is actually brilliant. Every character introduced brings their own critique to modern culture waves. Nice's story is about maintaining a massive hero IP after his suicide. E-Soul's arc is a critique of corporations literally owning a hero's identity and transferring the IP to a newcomer. Lucky Cyan is about manufacturing a hero from scratch through counter-culture and music media. All these points are right there in the anime. But still the arc feel weak and a generic hero shonen. It's not until lucky cyan's arc is over that we get some good stuff with the Queen. (and after that with Loli, it's back to shonen)

Keeping the reverse-chronological structure is totally fine, but the pieces needed to connect in a way that actually flows instead of feeling like lazy, disconnected trivia.

For example, If episode 1 showing Nice's suicide head on, he simply could have been 'missing' or out of commission with Miss J and lin Ling knowing the truth (which audience doesn't know). Miss J would force Lin Ling into this fake life just to keep the corporate machine running. The tension would build naturally because we see E-Soul built up in the background as this top 10 ranking hero whose face is on every billboard. It would establishes why getting in top 10 ranking for Nice is so important. The real truth about Nice shouldn't drop until he's cornered, first when Wrath demands to know where Nice is, revealing he's actually dead, and finally the ultimate gut punch when God Eye pushes him to the absolute brink, revealing it was actually a suicide.

When the timeline shifts back to the E-Soul arc, we already know who eSoul is. Yang's first trust point would have been the focal point of his first half of arc, and his eventual take over of the mantle the second. half. However, it didn't land as well as it could have. . At the same time, this arc could lay the groundwork for the rest of the world. In the background of E-Soul's street war, the media would be reporting two massive parallel events: the initial Glimmer Lab leak and the chaos surrounding Lucky Cyan's cult orphanage shutting down.

That way, when we transition to Lucky Cyan, her breakout rock career is already a part of the universe. Instead of a lazy poster introduction 'do you like her music' (it felt so lame), we watch her music career explode organically as a direct cultural counter-weight to E-Soul’s corporate clout. Her arc is where we see the Fear substance actively invading the public, with everyday people getting infected by it. We see her once again giving her life to another greedy corporate, just to help Luo, which was a good plot point. Maybe another one of her reason to join greedy corporate is to work with Queen, a female hero. (This story was given to Loli however, but they didn't do much with it...since ultimately it is cyan who fights with queen in later episodes)

By the time the timeline hits Queen’s arc, we fully understand the culture waves, and her battle with a berserk Bowa serves as the ultimate proof of how terrifyingly volatile the Fear substance is to actual top-tier heroes. And since she is 2nd strongest hero, anime could now explore more about the importance of ranking, necessity of the facade and what happens when one slips from the limelight. The panic from this fight naturally forces the corporate managers to pivot to the Glimmer Lab. The anime's current link is just that Queen was Loli's childhood idol, but the stronger, more cohesive thread is the Fear epidemic itself. Since we knew from eSoul's arc about the fear leak, we jump into Loli's story line through the her father's research on fear. Through her father's daily stress, we naturally meet Loli, anchoring her to the main plot before Ghostblade follows organically as the background stalker.

The only other piece jutting out is Little Johnny's backstory with Vortex and the rampaging beast, which felt completely unflushed. They should have just introduced him up front for what he is the Rank 5 hero, more powerful than anyone else on the team, having a childlike demoanor with his pet. When the corporation builds an elite squad with Johnny, Loli and Ghostblade to launch the raid on the wreckage, they could have revealed Johnny's story during the road trip to the site.

As they travel in the vehicle, we would get introduced to his past, his father's death, and his clash with Vortex and the pivotal plane crash (which connects so many hero's backstory. The dramatic irony would hit perfectly because Johnny would be sharing this right next to Ghostblade—completely unaware that Ghostblade is the corporate assassin who executed his father.

By the time the transport doors open at the wreckage, the audience actually understands the layers of the corporate structure, the threat of the Fear substance, and how every character's cultural wave ties into the systemic rot. The transition into the Raid Incident lands flawlessly, and everything flows perfectly from there.

The elements of To Be Hero X are excellent, but the execution handles them terribly. It shouldn't take 18 episodes of homework for a brilliant concept to finally make sense.

I can't stand those silver spooned leeches that do nothing but take the name of a beloved hero and benefit from well built history they did not earn, they take up page space, they're unworthy, tokenized, shallow creations who without proper writing acquire abilities, wisdom or maturity too quickly and have shallow motivations.

I detest the narrative favouritism, forced succession and relevance they receive to basically execute or kill off the original into retirement or a mentor relationship,

I despise the unnecessary comparisons and disrespect to the original character that ends up cheapening their achievements because this new sack of shit did the same in much shorter time but ' better ',

I'd rather you stab my eyes with needles that force me to read or watch a scene where my hero is cucked with his own power only for him to say some stupid line like " Good job new kid "

I hate, hate, HATE those Glorified Mantle Thieves

Clark from the Backrooms movie is unironically one of my favorite characters, and I’d argue he’s one of the best fictional characters ever written. His whole life is turned upside down because he refuses to change, which is probably why he likes architecture so much: it’s uniform. He likes things the way he likes them, and when met with adversity, either leaves or fights it. He finds something of an out in the Backrooms, a dimension of what he hopes he can make into uniformity, and he takes finding this place he could have only dreamed of as a sign he doesn’t need to change. He slips deeper into his self-destructive habits, refusing to stop even as people he cares about die from his actions.
The Backrooms, just like his whisky, is an addiction.
Yet despite this, despite his verbal abuse to his wife and despite causing the death of two innocent young people, there’s still something very moral deep within him. He understands the Backrooms can fix things, but doesn’t understand how, so he keeps Kat’s head in the fridge in hopes she can somehow come back.
The dinner scene might be the best example of his character change, though. He holds power in the situation, and attempts to intimidate Mary into saying what he wants to hear, to confirm that he’s not doing anything wrong. Yet when she refuses, and even insults him, he seems to quite directly feel shame for his actions, even asking how he can change for the better for, presumably, one of the first times in his life. He even releases Mary, despite having (from his perspective) reasons not to.
Then, Captain Clark appears. He’s everything Clark was, a violent, angry fool who looks like a violent, angry fool. He shares the same key characteristic of Clark: a refusal to change. It’s only after Clark realizes his error, and even seems to want to change, that Captain Clark appears, and is driven to anger to the point of violently killing Clark. I myself don’t believe Clark meant it when he said “we don’t have to change”, I think he was simply afraid, and had already accepted that he needed to fix himself.
I love Clark, and for a terrible reason, I find him relatable. He’s angry and unwilling to change, which for a long time, I was like, too. But despite his violent demise, he still realized he had to change, and that small thing gave me a great sense of both hope and urgency.

Many people say the ending ruined the whole movie, that Brian didn't deserve this kind of tragedy, but they're wrong. Brian's explosive ending is actually a catharsis for the audience. The Umbrella Corporation is an extremely cruel, utterly inhuman evil megacorporation, and most of its employees are just as cold-hearted, greedy, and cowardly. When Brian finally reaches the lab after enduring countless hardships, none of the scientists inside care about him. To them, he is just a tool for delivering the antidote, a talking delivery robot—nothing more. In their eyes, they are elite biological scientists from prestigious science universities, the cream of the crop, while he is just an unnoticed courier, a nobody, not worth wasting the antidote on. In particular, the scientists' real goal was probably to use the antidote as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the company, so that the company would send someone to rescue them—and maybe even get them promoted and given a raise. So when I saw the protagonist slaughter them all, I felt an immense, deep satisfaction.

And think about it: such a dangerous and important task was handed to a lowly delivery worker. This is precisely a metaphor for the layer-by-layer outsourcing of work under the modern capitalist system. The protagonist is an ordinary person who follows the rules and never questions the system of his job or his life, yet he is completely destroyed by a zombie disaster brought about by a runaway corporation and elites who never cared about him. This is exactly the social commentary the director wanted to express.

Lets start off... Yuno gasai is not really that interesting then you think. I been rewatching Future diary lately and when i looked deeper, She isn't even that entertaining. All i see is the blueprint for a bland yandere. What makes a good character is lore, motivations, and complexity. She isn't complex. She is simple.

Look... This girl has gone through the most horrific hell i have ever seen from childhood. Locking your own child in a cage under the guise of to make "the perfect daughter"? These sickfucks of parent absolutely deserved punishment regardless of financial problems but her mind snapped and she is no better then them when you think about it. She done to much to be even considered morally gray. She is fucking Tragically beyond redemption.

The survival games was a complex part. She killed many holders for the tactics, the survival, and ofc so they didn't die. But it was also because so she can have a world where its just her and him. And her combat? listen this is exactly what the show wants to hook you with. They think combat will lure us in and make us consider her a badass. Other then the god reveal, we have no insight on how she knows how to fire a gun flawlessly and handle a katana. The sex scenes? Yeah i condemn those for the most part because its like... it was unnecessary and disgusting. Her personality? She's entirely focused on yuki. Thats IT. Their is nothing else. Their is literally nothing else. she has no hobbies, no other interests. Just yuki. Thats the definition of one note. And look at the other yanderes in anime history. They had hobbies, they had complex motivations.

Her Suicide... I call this just perfect. Not because i'm glad she's dead but she finally breaks out of that loop to perform ONE selfless decision. She may have not been remorseful but because she would have stayed dead then its like she meant this. She made me lwk feel a lot more better.

The OVA redial ending... Well. They pretty much ruined the whole "at what cost?" of the entire original ending. Yes the original ending was depressing i know. But then she just comes back while glossing over that selfless ending so we can all sing "kumbaya" around a "fixed" world and pretend everything is okay? Like what was this the point of all of this then? Just so we can be relieved that one of the most controversial couples in anime can have a happy moment?

And look... You consider her the queen because of the aesthic. Not the character. When you look past the aesthic. she is unbelievably boring. I'm tired of everyone always saying "PRAISE YUNO! REVERE HER!" And we ignore the bad things shes done. Trauma doesn't excuse action. We need to consider that. She is not a hero. We have to stop looking so simple and look deeper into what makes a character a character.

Parental abuse is also a serious deal like a lot but when its overstuffed and used as a catalyst for her break which has been seen in a lot of anime, then its treating a serious thing as a catalyst factory. Thats not good.

And i didn't enjoy her like at all i'm sorry bro. Her constant yuki yelling is annoying, Her crashout moments are more straight face inducing and she just isn't really making me like her. At all.

Have you ever seen a person murdered alive?

A strange question, I know, so allow me to rephrase it: Have you ever seen a fictional character so completely and utterly desecrated, like a Shinto temple with corpses strewn everywhere, while still alive? The original character, their original personality, goals, hopes, identity, the very core of their fictional being obliterated to the point that they are not the same character and have more in common with graveyard ghouls and kudlaks than the original character, much less the facsimile of a living breathing woman???

I have witnessed such an extraordinary act... I have witnessed a fictional character, my comfort character, what was most likely the very first example I had ever saw of a fictional empowered female character be murdered alive. I watched, with my own two eyes, as Katara was murdered alive in the Avatar Aang movie and that's not even the worse part, no, the worst part was the sheer and utter shamelessness as her lifeless body was paraded around the street, for the whole world to see what had been done to her. It was disgusting, horrifying, nightmarish, I'd even say it was phantasmagoric. I did not think it was possible to do to her character what had been done in this movie, but not only was I proven wrong, but now I wonder if this is just the final nail in the slow murdering of her character that has been happening for over 10 years.

Katara of the Southern Water tribe was spirited, driven, her passion only matched by her compassion she showed to other people. She was a survivor of attempted genocide of her people that was carried out by the Fire Nation, making her basically the Last Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. She watched her own mother be murdered in front of her, a trauma doubled by the fact that as the new oldest girl in her tribe it was now her responsibility to play second mother to a community of mostly children. Katara is the eldest daughter that was forced to grow up fast, forced to sacrifice her childhood as everyone but her gets to move on from her mother's murder, but no matter how much she sacrificed she never let go of the hope that one day things would get better until they did. Katara was the girl that fought with sexist old men to be treated with the same respect they gave to boys, she was the girl who never backed down from fighting oppressors no matter what form they took, she was the girl who willingly took a stand against generational trauma induced revenge because as much as she couldn't forgive the Fire Nation for what they did she never wished ill on its innocent people either. That's who Katara is.

So, the writers killed her. She was too "angry", too "aggressive", too "selfish" to be the perfect Trad Wife that they always wanted her to be. This is reflected in everything Avatar media after Book 3. Legend of Korra, Katara is a powerless widow that shies away from the battlefield unlike Toph and Zuko and her only function is to be the perfect Grandma and heal people. Avatar comic books, Katara's whole character is adjusting to her new role as a Trad Wife. Natla, Katara's emotions were borderline erased and while her plotlines are similar enough to the original, the writers made sure that Aang disapproves and disparages of every independent action she takes: she's selfish for wanting Pakku to teach her and should stick to healing so she doesn't get hurt, she's an idiot for trying to help refugees and everything bad happening is her fault, etc.

This movie might have been the final nail in the real Katara's coffin, but that doesn't change the sheer sadism with which she was murdered. Every. Single. Aspect. Of. Katara's. Identity. Has. Been. Erased but that she is Aang's Trad Wife. She's a "member of Republic City's council" solely for supporting her husband. She has no hobbies, no side jobs, we don't even see her passing laws like the one where she apparently banned bloodbending. She doesn't even accompany her husband on his trips to Air Temples around the world, she must be a stay-at-home Trad Wife who only exists to encourage her man while her man can't be bothered to support her once. Katara gets one big display of her power, parting the sea like Moses, before she is immediately put into her place with repeated back-to-back defeats served to her by all of the movie's main villains. But at least she can heal her man.

All of this could have been forgiven. Ignored even. I was willing to pull the wool back over my eyes for the sake of nostalgia. But the writers murdered Katara alive. Twice! Katara, a survivor of attempted genocide was told to her face twice that she didn't understand what it's like to survive a massacre, to watch her people slaughtered in front of her, to be the living memory of a forgotten culture when she was the only person who could understand! The real Katara would have clapped back, look at Aang like he had stabbed her in the heart and told off Tagah about how she watched her own mother die protecting her from genocide. BUT THIS IS NOT KATARA!!! I don't know who this witch wearing her skin is, I don't know where this haint came from, it might be Katara's body, but that thing is not Katara. This man says to it that it doesn't know what it's like to survive genocide, and the imposter gives a speech about her husband instead of herself, disgusting!

Katara is drowned, but the body is dry. Katara is buried, but the body is above ground. Katara burned to a crisp, but not a hair is singed. Katara suffocated with lungs full of fake pneuma. Katara was murdered alive.

(I wrote this rant months ago when I first watched the movie so it's kind of unhinged, but I still stand by what I said)

First time posting here. I think this is a pretty unpopular opinion, judging off of how even the main and folk CSM reddits respectively find this ending to be dogshit. I’ve already posted there before, but now I wanna see what non CSM related subs are like in terms of reception. So I may post this in quite a few different ones!

HUGE SPOILER WARNING

I loved it.  Made a big post about it here (which tbh its a bit clunky and outdated, only really addressing people’s complaints about the story and why I don’t find them to be a deal breaker. I am a god awful writer tho either way lol)
https://www.reddit.com/r/ChainsawMan/s/fFc2eiosLu

But to try to summarise my thoughts without wasting too much time:

Structurally creative & unpredictable, with the latter being SUPER important as to how I enjoy a story. The Deus Ex Machina was well done to me, ala David Lynch’s Wild At Heart, WITHOUT feeling like it sacrificed the story’s signature atmosphere and break-neck pacing OR its recurring themes.

I found the reset to be consistent (rather than nonsensical, underdeveloped or out of nowhere) with the series’s established rules AND was even foreshadowed. Denji & Asa escaping this current, shitty world was set up as early as the  Aquarium arc. Then doubly reinforced in Aging Arc, with Denji’s line to Asa.

Hell, the Fake Chainsaw Man says on TV that he will make a “devilless world” where “Adam and Eve” can live. Guess what the REAL Chainsaw Man did to the dynamic Man and Woman duo of the manga.. moments after they shared their SIN of patricide to one another. Pretty blatant foreshadowing there. 

Finally, as a little cherry on top, I’d say it's a sincere, personal and genuine ending from Fujimoto. Pochita literally ends the Chainsaw Man manga by erasing Chainsaw Man, giving the story a bit of self awareness and metaness.

The themes & such throughout the entire part covers many of his recurring topics, from abusive parents, to dreams, to hero and idol worship. Hell, it even ties together his interviews, from the Mongolian Street Child, to Spirited Away, to the Big Lebowski, to the American Sniper (and funnily enough I hate these last two films LMAO). He’s got consistent things he wants to talk about, and I respect that.
I believe this is more sincere and auteur driven than how most shonen stories end, where they its based purely on the characters/plot. 

Extra tidbit: Art downgraded in terms of detail & realism but the final arc has some of the best usages of speed lines and camera work in the ENTIRE manga. Pochita Vs Yoru was great. 

Besides my linked post + everything I’ve written here, I would like to also bring forward these other positive links about the story that I found to be great. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChainsawMan/s/nA9DMj7Gnh (Summary/Analysis of all of Part 2 after reread)

-https://www.reddit.com/r/ChainsawMan/s/hsAXDyTRCp (Part 2 Ending thoughts)

-https://www.reddit.com/r/ChainsawMan/s/G5gXNJG1Di (Its time to grow up - the meaning behind Chapter 231)

-https://www.reddit.com/r/ChainsawMan/s/7g9MY0j0jp (Pochita is Denji’s Father psychoanalysis)

-https://www.reddit.com/r/ChainsawManTheories/s/1nnGgBsT9W (long analysis - chainsaw man has a rigorous structure)

-What 'Chainsaw Man' and 'Evangelion' Share in Their Endings https://gizmodo.com/chainsaw-man-chapter-232-ending-evangelion-2000737905

-https://note.com/uzume369/n/n6c7aee488e6b (really good Japanese review about the story, translated it using Google and AI ofc but the meaning should still be retained)

-https://x.com/bpm120run/status/2040710050365559238?s=46 (another Japanese perspective on twitter)

Comments with nice interpretations:

-https://www.reddit.com/r/ChainsawMan/s/I4JesZLi5m (Chapter 219 analysis)

-https://www.reddit.com/r/Chainsawfolk/s/oo11Oyezz4 (Yoru final moments analysis)

-https://www.reddit.com/r/Chainsawfolk/s/fkQiIzVpuv (Theory on Death Devil’s true intentions)

Definitely more out there but these are the ones that stuck with me.

TLDR: Way overblown hate. Worst manga ending of all time is insane. Way worse than Part 1 doesn’t make sense to me. In fact, I can understand hating ALL of Chainsaw Man for being incredibly derivative or for an overall critique on Fujimoto’s writing, rather than hating squarely on the ending.