Monthly Archives: October 2016
Night of the Monster Men
So around the time when DC revealed that one of the first Batman cross over stories would feature Batman fighting against Kaiju which is something that off the bat I found gripping. I am a huge fan of monster movies and Batman and I was glad to see how good of a series this has been.
A slight bit of back story first, a few issues prior in the Batman series Robert Castro was in Commissioner Gordon’s office spouting off ramblings of pretty much madness and says that the ‘Monster Men are coming’ and then kills himself. Flash-forward to current day and here we have the start.
Batman #7: The issue starts out in a four panel page that goes from the exterior of the Tolliver Memorial Morgue and goes further in and shows four bodies lying on slabs whilst a radio announcer warning people about the storm that is…
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Jyger and N. Harmonik’s Blind Reaction To Pokémon Generations Episodes 7 & 8
It’s that time again! First up, the official release…
And now, here’s our blind reaction. ^_^
Pokémon – “Mimikyu’s Song” Lyrics Translation [Literal]
Earlier, the Pokémon Company posted a new song featuring Mimikyu (from Sun/Moon).
Like with the Koiking song, I translated the lyrics (literally) below. It is meant to be a rap, so I eventually really want to work on a version that works rhythmically too, and that keeps a few puns. But as that will take a bit longer, I give the literal translation for those curious and want it faster.
The original Japanese lyrics can be found in the video description. (Or below). I added Romaji lyrics below my translation too if interested!
I assume there will be an official English translation that comes out… but that remains to be seen.
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Poisonous M&Ms: The Irrational Monstrosity of Bigotry
Myths and legends about monsters have excited the human imagination for hundreds of years. Although vampires, werewolves and ghosts do not exist in reality, there are irrational belief constructs that are equally monstrous. Not just in content, but also in consequence. These are often based on exploiting common human tendencies with an additional layer of motivated reasoning reinforced by pseudoscience. This article will examine one such monster known as the the “poisonous M&Ms analogy”. It is often deployed as a way to prop up indefensible stereotypes by taking advantage of human ignorance about base rates, risk assessment and criminology. In the end, it tries to divert attention from the inherent bigotry in making flawed generalizations.
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What Have I Been Up To? Fanfics, Fanart, & More
So, if you’ve followed my blog for any lengthy amount of time, you’re probably wondering why there hasn’t been a lot of full articles as of late, and instead, I’ve mostly been posting vlogs of myself and N. Harmonik. Well, there’s a few reasons for that, but namely, I thought I’d address what I’ve been up to online in lieu of blogging. Because I haven’t just been sitting on my ass… … … …Well, okay, I guess technically I have, but I HAVE been doing stuff while on it.
My mother decided to make a cover for it. She made Mew’s eyes all sparkly, too. lol
First off, one thing I did recently was write a Pokémon fanfic for my niece. You’ll recall, she recently celebrated her 10th birthday, and I decided that, as a belated birthday gift, I would write a fanfic with characters loosely based off of her, me, N. Harmonik, and a few other people we know as the main characters. I even posted it on Fanfiction.net, so if you wanna check it out, I’ll leave a link just below this paragraph, so just click on it and it’ll send you on your way. Just know this: It’s a Pokémon Go-inspired fanfic (albeit very loosely) written for a 10-year-old, so while I wouldn’t call it my worst work (I’m very thankful that none of you have ever seen my worst work, lol), I wouldn’t necessarily call it my best work. In fact, I’m contemplating going back and doing a revision of it later on. For now, though, do me a solid, read the fic, and lemme know what you think of it.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12178992/1/The-Mew-Mechanation-A-Pok%C3%A9mon-Go-Story
I’ve also been playing around with JTmovie’s Superhero Creator 2.0 and making various DC Comics characters on it, which I’ve posted to Deviant Art as Devious Fun Adoptables. You can see them all by clicking on Superman…
…and you can also let me know if you would like me to try to make anyone specific.
http://jtmovie.deviantart.com/art/Superhero-Creator-2-0-MALE-Dress-up-Game-530676189
http://jtmovie.deviantart.com/art/Superhero-Creator-2-0-FEMALE-Dress-up-Game-530676227
And lastly, I’ve been working on writing a few different projects at once. And I know, I tend to get very bothered by leaving certain stories to work on something else. But now, I’ve just decided “screw it, I’ll write stuff in batches”. So I’ll write a lot of Guardians of Gaia, and then I’ll write a bunch of Primal Strife, and then I’ll do some other project, and then it’ll eventually come back around to GoG and continue on in a circle.
Anyway, that’s all I’ve really been up to online, but don’t worry, I AM planning to try to get back to blogging. In particular, I got my hands on Volume 2 of The Darkseid War, so expect the long-awaited review of The Darkseid War to come soon. Until then, check out the other stuff I’ve been up to and lemme know what you think of it. Ja né!
Why The Pokémon Anime And I Are STILL Divorced (WARNING – ANGRY RANT AND SPOILERS AHEAD WITH NO PROOFREADING)
So, I was gonna say something about a lot of what I’m going to talk about here a while ago. However, because my proofreader, N. Harmonik, doesn’t like spoilers and refuses to watch subtitled episodes of shows that have an official English dub, I opted not to. But now, because of something else that’s come up that’s related to it, which I will also address, I’ve decided to just go ahead and get my thoughts out for everyone to hear, and just not have it be proofread. I suppose I could’ve found someone else to tag in for this one article, but I opted not to on the grounds that it might be kinda funny to just let this go through as is. So, enjoy reading my rant without a grammar and spelling filter, and feel free to point out all the ways I messed up later. ^_^
Anyway, you’ll recall that three years ago, almost to the DAY, I announced that I came to the realization that I hated the Pokémon anime and I was officially divorcing it. Now, here’s the thing: While I don’t actively watch it anymore, I AM aware of some of the stuff that happens on the show, and I DID watch a few of the new episodes, particularly the Kalos League Conference. In fact, I will go so far as to admit that I decided, if Ash had beaten Alain and won the Kalos League, regardless of what happened afterward, I would go back and rewatch everything I missed from when I stopped watching the show. I was very entertained by the Kalos League. And, as an aside, I really like the Japanese theme, XY&Z. I thought it was great… … …and then they fucked up. Which, let’s be honest, isn’t that just the story of this show for the past several years?
So, obviously, the big way they fucked up was that Ash lost in the finals. Now, my thinking of why Ash should’ve won was because, as far as I can tell, there are no more Gyms in Sun & Moon, so this was pretty much his last chance to win a League Conference. Also, this would be a great year to do it. It’s the 20th Anniversary of the original games, and the 19th Anniversary of the anime, meaning we could see a big change going into the 20th Anniversary of the show to shake things up. In addition, looking at what happened in hindsight, from a narrative perspective, it would make far more sense for Ash to win and then find himself facing off against Team Flare. But, to be frank, that’s not the reason a lot of people wanted to see him win. They wanted to see him win because they were tired of 19 years of Ash LOSING. And what happened? He lost again.
Now, with all of that said, when everyone else was reacting in sheer rage and anger, I have to admit to feeling a degree of desire to troll these people. Why? Because they were saying stuff like “The anime is officially dead” and “Gary was right all along, Ash really IS a loser”, and so on. And I began to laugh my fat ass off, because these people are only JUST NOW reaching the same conclusions I did three years ago. The anime has been dead for a LONG time now, people. It only continues to exist as a means to advertise the games, and even then, it does a piss-poor job of it a lot of the time. And frankly, people are pissed about this loss, but I gotta level with you all: This is NOT the worst thing the anime has ever done. It FEELS like it because of the timing and just how long this has gone on, but it’s not. Alain beating Ash? I don’t agree with it, but they were close enough matched that I could see it happening, and I do actually care a smidgen about Alain as a character. Now, compare to Tobias, who had no real story or personality to speak of and existed specifically for the sole purpose of making sure Ash lost. In fact, not only did Tobias beat Ash, he then went on to defeat his last opponent in the finals with even less difficulty, meaning Ash surely would’ve won the Sinnoh League Conference had Tobias never shown up. So no, comparatively, Ash losing to Alain in a REALLY close, hard-fought match that pushed both to give their best is not even close to being as bad as what happened with Tobias. Also, as a side note, when it comes to the whole Gary thing, if Ash really IS a loser, Ash actually surpassed Gary YEARS ago, so what does that make him?
So, I guess what I’m saying is that the Kalos League Conference didn’t piss me off so much as it left me disappointed, because it was good and it could’ve been great. And I will admit that everything that happened with Team Flare afterward was pretty dire and gripping, even if you knew going in that Team Flare was going to lose. That said, it comes off as kind of dumb that Lysandre can take on both of the Kalos League finalists 2-on-1. It’s like, why didn’t HE enter the tournament in that case? But no, I wasn’t pissed off by that… … …No, I was pissed off by what happened today in the anime.
Before I get into that, though, I wanna explain my idea of what they could’ve done for Sun & Moon. My idea was, to shake up the status quo a bit, to have Pikachu get sick before Ash is about to go to Alola. It’s not life threatening or anything like that, and he will recover, but Ash will need to postpone his trip if he wants to stay with his buddy while he recovers. However, Pikachu insists that Ash go and that he’ll catch up to him as soon as he can, and until then, Greninja is volunteering to go with Ash to Alola. So Ash goes, and then, after a few Trials, he manages to obtain a Z-Ring with the Electrium Z inserted. Then Pikachu recovers, rejoins the team, and has his brand new Z-Move to boot.
Now, spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen today’s episode, that is most definitely not going to happen. Why? Because Greninja, who I consider to be the best Water-type Pokémon that Ash has ever had on his team, who possesses one of the best win-loss records of any Pokémon Ash has ever had, who has a special transformation technique exclusive to itself that makes the bond between it and Ash into a whole new kind of power, and who will likely go down in history as one of the all-time best main character Pokémon of the entire anime, was RELEASED. And what’s astounding to me is that this is a move where the writers should’ve known going in that this was going to piss people off, because they’ve done it before and it’s almost ALWAYS resulted in a negative reaction from the fans, but they did it anyway because they’re FOOLS.
So, let’s get some arguments for this decision out of the way, because I know some people are gonna debate this. First off, Ash is not getting Greninja back, and if he is, it’ll only be a short-term thing. Name a single time he’s ever released (not put in training, not sent to Professor Oak’s, but RELEASED) a Pokémon that he then got back full-time. The answer is ZERO. Speaking of, I probably SHOULD be pissed that Goodra went back to the wetlands, but I knew going into the Kalos League Conference that Goodra was only back short-term, so it doesn’t really bother me as much. It’s still dumb, but whatever. Secondly, I know the reason he left was to protect Kalos. It’s still stupid. How come? Because its best technique in combat was its ability to become Ash-Greninja, and it CANNOT DO THAT ALONE. And third, with Ash going to Alola with just Pikachu, simply leaving Greninja at Professor Oak’s would make zero sense, so they had to come up with a reason why Greninja physically could not come. I reply to such argument as follows: Not only is it still a stupid reason because of stuff I just said, but it’s also inserted for the SPECIFIC INTENTION OF MAKING ASH WEAKER, when all we’ve wanted for 19 years was for Ash to finally WIN!
And now I gotta address where we’re going with the anime: Sun & Moon. A DRASTIC change to the anime style. Not a BAD one, I wanna make that clear, but a pretty drastic one. No more Gyms as far as I can tell, meaning no League to challenge, meaning this will make for a very different season. Ash going to SCHOOL, of all things. And, one positive I can give, Ash getting a Z-Ring. Honestly, I like that, since it was odd to me that Ash missed out on gaining a Mega Ring, especially he had a few different Pokémon who could Mega Evolve, one of which had JUST RETURNED TO HIS TEAM PREVIOUSLY.
Now, there are people bashing on the premise and the art style and just how different the Sun & Moon arc looks. I wanna make something clear: None of those things bothers me all that much. A new art style? Hey, it helps give this season its own identity and furthers to distinguish it from the past few seasons. Same thing with the new premise. Hell, I don’t even mind the school setting all that much. Sure, it seems like an odd thing to go with for the long-term when we’ve already seen the main characters going to schools as part of short-term story arcs, but it could world. Think of the potential world-building this could do by focusing on that. None of that bothers me. What bothers me, and what ultimately breaks this deal with me, is that the main protagonist is STILL ASH FUCKING KETCHUM! And what’s worse, not only is he now going back to school after 19 years of losing, but now, with the new art style, he actually looks YOUNGER. So now, all these factors I just praised as being a help to this series now instead hinder it, all because of Ash’s presence as the main character. For fuck’s sake, writers, you didn’t even have to outright get rid of him, either! You could’ve instead have him brought on as a teacher (or teacher’s aide), and have him bestow some wisdom on young Trainers getting started with their new lives. You could’ve had him reflect on his life and his decisions throughout the anime while teaching these kids. You could’ve even justified his continued losses by having him explain that, even after losing the League Conferences over and over, it still helped to hone him as a person and a Trainer, and have him even realize that he’s now exactly the type of person these kids can relate to. Give us some Goddamn character development! You realize that Ash is still basically the exact same little twit he’s been for YEARS now?!
It’s at this point I have to address the simple truth of the matter: This show only exists because it has the Pokémon name attached to it. If this was any other property, I guarantee this show would not last 19 years. It’s just not possible. And to everyone just now getting pissed off, I say this to you all: You are several years late to the party, but you are welcome nonetheless, because something has got to be done about this show. At this point, there is only one way to salvage Ash as a character, and that is to reboot him back to square one. Everything we’ve seen of him up until this point? Never happened. He’s a brand new character and doesn’t have any of the baggage of his previous journeys. This way, you can build him back up to where he can eventually achieve what he originally set out to do: To be the best like no one ever was. But unless enough people actually start voicing this opinions and explaining how and why the show needs to improve, nothing is ever going to change. Ash will continue to be the main protagonist, and will continue to be a Goddamn loser.
And you wanna know what the saddest part of all of this is? When Ash lost the Kalos League, I asked myself “Why do I still care? Why am I STILL ranting about this fucking show? Why am I not just 100% apathetic towards it?” Well, the answer is simple: Because I want to watch a GOOD Pokémon show. I see what this show has done in the past, is doing in the present, and could do in the future, and I see how much potential it has. This show could be so much better and still work as an ad for the games with even the SLIGHTEST bit of effort. But that’s not what we get. For years, it is consistently not what we get. When this show started, it had something the games at the time were lacking: Real story. Characters we care a lot about. Back then, the games didn’t really have the best stories. Now, however, we’ve clearly hit the switch. The games now have better story and writing, whereas the anime, for all intents and purposes, is still in the same position it’s been in for years. And no matter what you have to say about that position, my opinion remains that it could be better, and it honestly feels somedays like the writers of this show have gone out of their way to ensure it doesn’t.
Anyway, that’s my thoughts on the product as of now. What do you all think of this, though? Lemme know in the comments below, and hey, remember that the main anime is not the only Pokémon related story out there. You don’t HAVE to watch it. In fact, I think if everyone stopped watching it, watched the specials like Origins and Generations, played the games more, read the manga more, etc., it might even help move things along. Ja né!
6 Questions I Have Going Into Pokémon Sun & Moon’s Release
So, I know it’s been a while since the last real article I’ve written. Naturally, first time I actually sit down and do so, it’s Pokémon related. Thanks to a gift card I got last year for Christmas, I have ensured that I will be able to get Pokémon Sun. So thankfully, not getting left outta this one, which means I can allow myself to get as hyped as everybody else. Also, it means I can start racking up the questions about the game and what to expect from it. So, with that said, let’s take a look at a few things I can’t wait to learn about Pokémon Sun & Moon, starting with…
#1 – Are the Alola Form Pokémon only from Generation I?
I figured I’d start with this one, because it feels like I already know the answer. And in case you’re wondering, right now in my head, I’m thinking the answer is yes, all the Alola Form Pokémon are Generation I Pokémon. Here’s what makes me think that: It’s the 20th Anniversary of the original games. Said original games have been re-released on Virtual Console, and the Pokémon from those games can even be transferred all the way up to Sun & Moon. I feel like this was done to give them something new. And frankly, I can’t help but notice at least five Kanto Pokémon are now getting the Dark-type, and I’ve always kinda wondered why it didn’t happen back in Gold & Silver. That said, there are plenty of other Pokémon from other regions that could’ve potentially gotten regional variants, and I hope that the concept isn’t tossed out when it comes to future games. This is actually a really neat idea, one I’m surprised hasn’t come up until now (not including the Orange Islands from the anime), and one that can be revisited later on. I also can’t help but notice that all of the Pokémon announced to have Alola Forms do not have Mega Evolutions, nor do I think they’re going to. Which leads me into the next question…
#2 – Are there going to be new Mega Evolutions?
The Mega Evolutions were a bit conspicuous by their absence from the trailers for a while. Then, just recently, we’re told about how the new Z-Ring allows us to Mega Evolve Pokémon again. However, there were no new ones shown, only the ones revealed in Generation VI. This has led to the theory that there will not be any new Mega Evolutions in Sun & Moon. I’m personally inclined to believe it, though I’m a bit disappointed in that if it’s true. I felt like there were still at least another handful of classic Pokémon, and maybe even some newer ones, who would’ve benefited from being able to Mega Evolve, and even some who honestly felt like they SHOULD have gotten them but didn’t. So I’m hopeful that I’m either wrong or that Mega Evolution is expanded upon in later games. But speaking of carry-overs from Generation VI, that brings me to…
#3 – Will there be a post-game episode?
While Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire’s main game kinda left me feeling a little disappointed, I LOVE the idea of a post-game episode. As for what they could do for one in Sun & Moon, I say use Zygarde. We’ve already confirmed that one thing you can do in the game is collect Zygarde Cells, and that the different forms shown off in the anime will be in the game. Also, there was no third version of X & Y, the rumoured Pokémon Z. So I say just go all out and have a special post-game episode for Zygarde. The Z Episode, if you will. Maybe even have it follow up on plot points from X & Y? And hey, we know Ash-Greninja is in the game via the demo, so involve it too. Oh, and just as a real quick side-question, are we getting any other Pokémon with Battle Bond, or is it just gonna be Greninja? ‘Cuz I thought what they were gonna do is have all the fully evolved Kalos Starters be able to do it, and have them appear in Pokémon Z. But then, Pokémon Z never happened. But, like I said, if they do a Z Episode, they could follow up more on the Kalos Pokémon by doing just that.
#4 – What are the Ultra Beasts really?
Okay, strap yourselves in, folks, because I’m about to go all Game Theory on y’all for the next few ones. So, we’ve come to learn about new creatures called Ultra Beasts, who seemingly are neither Pokémon nor humans, meaning they’re some kind of third race. And yet, not only do the Ultra Beasts have at least some characteristics to them that we could potentially see them as being Pokémon, they also have some characteristic in common with humans. A body builder, a beauty, a little girl. Then I remembered a book in the Canalave Library which spoke of a time when humans and Pokémon ate at the same table, with some translations apparently suggesting humans and Pokémon had interspecies marriages at one point. And yes, as an internet personality, I am DEEPLY horrified by the fact that this makes a lot of the Rule 34 fics about Pokémon and their Trainers debatable canon. XP Regardless, though, this could hint at a potential link between the two species. So, if that’s the case, what’s to stop someone from taking the DNA of humans and Pokémon, putting them in a test tube, and seeing what comes out? Is it possible that the Ultra Beasts are the offspring of humans and Pokémon? COULD. IT. BE??? Well, all things considered, I can think of one other thing that suggests that…
#5 – What are the Aether Foundation’s true motives?
Let’s unpack this one, shall we? How many times have we encountered scientists that went down the wrong road in these games, not necessarily for evil but for misguided reasons? And isn’t there a Synthetic Pokémon in the new games that was created with the intent to be as strong as the Mythical Pokémon, and evolves to gain an Ability akin to Arceus, accepted by many to be the Pokémon World’s GOD? And isn’t it odd how the only person confirmed at this time to have a Type: Null is Gladion, the Team Skull enforcer, who is in a directly antagonistic relationship with the Aether Foundation? And isn’t it interesting how he and the President of the Aether Foundation, Lusamine, have the same coloured hair and eyes? And isn’t it a nice little turn of events where the Aether Foundation is allegedly conducting research on the Ultra Beasts, who look like they may or may not have been created in a lab? All of this is painting a very dark picture of the Aether Foundation. Not saying Lusamine or any of the current members are evil, just that the organization they all work for might have a dark past they don’t want everyone to know about, and may very well be even trying to make up for. And frankly, I hope I’m right, because that would be a SWEET twist, and we haven’t had a REALLY good plot twist in the games for a little while now.
#6 – How many Trial Captains and Kahunas will there be?
So GameXplain, the reason I don’t do Evaluating Time anymore because…well, really, what’s the point when they do a MUCH better job in my opinion, recently asked a simple question: How many Trial Captains and Kahunas would there be? And frankly, I’m kinda hoping it’s their answer of 14 Trial Captains and 4 Kahunas. Why? Because then each one can specialize in each type of Pokémon and none get left out. You all remember how many times I complained about there being no Dark-type Gym in any of the past games, after all. The only thing that complicates that is that I have no idea how you divide 14 captains among 4 islands, but whatever.
Anyway, let’s hope we don’t have to wait long for these answers. For now, lemme know what you are dying to know about the games in the comments below, and we’ll see what happens next month when the game comes out. Ja né!
Jyger and N. Harmonik’s Blind Reaction To Pokémon Generations Episodes 5 & 6
Same deal as always! Here’re the original videos…
And now, here’s our blind reactions to them!
…Seriously, I CANNOT be the only person who noticed that sign. lol
Jyger and N. Harmonik’s Blind Reaction To Pokémon Generations Episodes 3 & 4
Sorry this is a little late, but it totally dropped my mind to post this the past couple of days. 😛 Anyway, same deal as always. If you haven’t seen the original videos, here they are:
And now, here’s our blind reactions. ^_^
Jyger's Rant 