As you may or may not be aware the final season of the Horse Show begun airing a couple of weeks ago. Now, I'm way behind on it, but I have seen the season premiere; appropriately titled The Beginning of the End and so, I thought I'd write something about it.
This was an interesting premiere. While The Cutie Map remains my favorite MLP season premiere, this one was definitely enjoyable and it gives me hope that the show's last season will be a good one. It really deserves it.
Discord was in top-form these episodes, being far portrayed in them than he has been in quite a while. Because I do feel that Discord's character has gotten a bit stale in later seasons. With the exception of Discordant Harmony, most episodes featuring him have tended to follow the same formula: Discord throws a fit because he's not at the center of attention, learns not to be such a spoiled brat and apologizes (except that one time when Starlight apologized to him, for some reason). Lather, rinse repeat. My point is, it's gotten quite old and predictable and predictable is not a word that should be associated with the Lord of Chaos.
So, its with great pleasure that I can say that I loved Discord here. This is exactly the kind of reformed Discord I want to see, someone who is snarky and self-absorbed, but nonetheless has his heart in the right place and genuinely has his friends' best interest at heart. Bravo to the writers and, as usual, a bravo to Mr. DeLancie for a great performance.
That said, my favorite part of these episodes were definitely the scenes spent with the villains. I just love villain team-ups like this and I really do hope that we get to see more of Grogar's Guild of Calamitous Intent as the season unfolds and that this isn't kept on the back-burner until the series finale. Basically, I want there to be at least a scene every other episodes showing the bad guys just hanging out, plotting their evil schemes. Or, even an entire episode centered entirely around the villains, with the heroes only being mentioned or, at the most, having a cameo.
Finally, I loved Twilight's hair-flip when she deflected Sombra's magic. Great little moment that.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Tits & Dragons
Disclaimer: I'd like to apologize for the somewhat rambling nature of this post. I just really needed to vent and get this off my chest. Thank you for your understanding.
There is a show, dear reader. A very popular show that airs on an esteemed TV network. Since it premiered way back in 2011, this show has garnered multiple awards as well as popular and critical acclaim. Like The Simpsons, its not just a show, its veritable god-damn phenomenon. Being the astute person that you are, you have no doubt already guessed which show I'm referring to. That's right; I'm talking about Game of Thrones.
Dear reader, I have a confession to make: I do not like Game of Thrones, and since the show is ending soon (no, I have no interest in watching the final season, thank you very much) I decided to make a brief post as to why I don't like it.
Before that though, I'm going to give credit where credit is due and acknowledge the aspects of Game of Thrones that I actually do admire. For one thing, the soundtrack is very good, with the opening theme in particular being appropriately grandiose and, of course, the show's take on the Rains of Castamere deserves a mention as well. I still find myself humming both on occasion.
Second, this is a very well-cast show and the majority of the actors fit their roles like a hand in a glove, whether its seasoned veterans like Charles Dance or young talent like Jack Gleason. That's it for positive opinions regarding this show, as far as I'm concerned.
So, what's my problem with this show exactly? Why do I dislike it? Well, it mostly has to do with its relationship vis-a-vis the original A Song of Ice and Fire; a series of books which I happen to be quite fond of, at one point, it was actually my favorite book-series. Now, before anyone start writing angry comments, accusing me of being a purist or something similar, I want to make one thing clear: I do not expect an adaptation to be one-hundred percent faithful to the source material, that would be ridiculous. I understand that what may work in a book may not necessarily work on-screen; scenes are going to be altered, characters will get cut out. I get that, I'm not one of those fans who complained that Peter Jackson left out Tom Bombadill when he filmed the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Case in point, I Claudius excises the entire subplot concerning the life of Herod Agrippa, which took up a huge part of the second novel and that is one of my favorite TV-shows ever.
No, the problem with Game of Thrones is that the changes come off as completely arbitrary and without much thought put behind them. I can't think of a single change made to the story that was for the better and the further the show strayed from the novels, the worse it became with characters being turned into caricatures, nonsensical plot-developments and terrible dialogue, until eventually, I couldn't stand it anymore.
Game of Thrones is not the worst show that I've seen, far from it, but it is a strong candidate for being the most disappointing as well as my least favorite out of the HBO drama shows that I have seen. If you like it, that's fine. To be perfectly honest, part of me wish that I could like it, but there's too much dragging it down for me and very little about it that I find appealing. I'll stick to the books, thank you very much.
Oh, and in case you are wondering about the title: It comes from a quote by the great Ian McShane who in interview coinciding with his appearance on GoT referred to the show as "its only tits and dragons".
There is a show, dear reader. A very popular show that airs on an esteemed TV network. Since it premiered way back in 2011, this show has garnered multiple awards as well as popular and critical acclaim. Like The Simpsons, its not just a show, its veritable god-damn phenomenon. Being the astute person that you are, you have no doubt already guessed which show I'm referring to. That's right; I'm talking about Game of Thrones.
Dear reader, I have a confession to make: I do not like Game of Thrones, and since the show is ending soon (no, I have no interest in watching the final season, thank you very much) I decided to make a brief post as to why I don't like it.
Before that though, I'm going to give credit where credit is due and acknowledge the aspects of Game of Thrones that I actually do admire. For one thing, the soundtrack is very good, with the opening theme in particular being appropriately grandiose and, of course, the show's take on the Rains of Castamere deserves a mention as well. I still find myself humming both on occasion.
Second, this is a very well-cast show and the majority of the actors fit their roles like a hand in a glove, whether its seasoned veterans like Charles Dance or young talent like Jack Gleason. That's it for positive opinions regarding this show, as far as I'm concerned.
So, what's my problem with this show exactly? Why do I dislike it? Well, it mostly has to do with its relationship vis-a-vis the original A Song of Ice and Fire; a series of books which I happen to be quite fond of, at one point, it was actually my favorite book-series. Now, before anyone start writing angry comments, accusing me of being a purist or something similar, I want to make one thing clear: I do not expect an adaptation to be one-hundred percent faithful to the source material, that would be ridiculous. I understand that what may work in a book may not necessarily work on-screen; scenes are going to be altered, characters will get cut out. I get that, I'm not one of those fans who complained that Peter Jackson left out Tom Bombadill when he filmed the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Case in point, I Claudius excises the entire subplot concerning the life of Herod Agrippa, which took up a huge part of the second novel and that is one of my favorite TV-shows ever.
No, the problem with Game of Thrones is that the changes come off as completely arbitrary and without much thought put behind them. I can't think of a single change made to the story that was for the better and the further the show strayed from the novels, the worse it became with characters being turned into caricatures, nonsensical plot-developments and terrible dialogue, until eventually, I couldn't stand it anymore.
Game of Thrones is not the worst show that I've seen, far from it, but it is a strong candidate for being the most disappointing as well as my least favorite out of the HBO drama shows that I have seen. If you like it, that's fine. To be perfectly honest, part of me wish that I could like it, but there's too much dragging it down for me and very little about it that I find appealing. I'll stick to the books, thank you very much.
Oh, and in case you are wondering about the title: It comes from a quote by the great Ian McShane who in interview coinciding with his appearance on GoT referred to the show as "its only tits and dragons".
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
The Rose of Versailles: The Manga
The Late 1970s anime The Rose of Versailles is one of my favorite animated shows of all time; I've watched it all the way through twice and will surely watch it again.
However, despite my deeply held affection for the show, I had yet to read the Ryoko Ikeda manga that it was based on. Of course I realize that this is a gross oversight on my part. After all, if you are a fan of an adaptation than sooner or later, you should ideally want to acquaint yourself with its source material (incidentally, that is why I can't understand those fans of Game of Thrones who refuse to read A Song of Ice and Fire, but I digress).
Now, since I can't read Japanese and the manga has yet to be officially translated into English, I thought at first that I would have to rely on fan-translations. Fortunately, it turns out that there is in official release outside of Japan in a language I can read, courtesy of the French manga publisher Kana. I immediately ordered the first volume and having read it, can now share my thoughts on it with you.
The First volume from Kana is a massive tome, clocking in at over 900 pages. It begins with a look at the early life of a young Marie Antoinette, shortly before she is betrothed to the future Louis XVI and sent to France and it ends on a cliffhanger with Louis having received an anonymous letter saying that the Royal couple's younger son is the result of an affair between the Queen and the Swedish nobleman Hans Axel von Fersen.
Coming in to the manga via the anime, I mostly found myself on familiar ground while reading the source-material. The Volume covers several story-lines that were adapted for the anime, such as The Necklace Affair and The Black Knight Arc and they play out in pretty much the same way on page as they did on screen. The Characters, whether they are based on real-life figures or are purely fictional, such as Oscar and Andre are recognizable. Well, Oscar is perhaps a bit more prone to snark than her animated counterpart.
That said, there are ways in which the manga differs significantly from the anime. For one thing, the manga is a lot more comedic. Now, don't get me wrong, this is still first and foremost a dramatic work, with the focus being on the schemes of the nobility and the hardship of the people, as well as the Revolution which is lurking silently at the background. However, at times, Ikeda sometimes has her characters sport over-the-top cartoonish expressions as a reaction something that they've heard or read and these moments are clearly played for comedic effect. At first, I found this stylistic choice to be a bit distracting, since its absent from the anime, but eventually I got used to it. And to be fair, its not as if The Rose of Versailles is the first manga I've read that does this.
The Second difference lies with a certain character; namely, the Duke of Orleans. In the anime, this guy is basically the main villain for a good part of the story, always plotting to overthrow his cousin Louis and seize power. Here though, while definitely an antagonistic character, his role is dramatically reduced and he only appears in a minor supporting role.
So, which version of The Rose of Versailles do I like more? Well, I will admit that I have a bit of a preference for the anime, thanks in no small part to Osamu Dezaki's directing once he came on board. However, this does not in any way diminish the source material. I found this volume to be a thoroughly entertaining read and definitely deserves its status as one of the foremost shoujo manga. If look forward to reading the rest of it in due time and think that anyone with an interest in Japanese comics should check it out.
However, despite my deeply held affection for the show, I had yet to read the Ryoko Ikeda manga that it was based on. Of course I realize that this is a gross oversight on my part. After all, if you are a fan of an adaptation than sooner or later, you should ideally want to acquaint yourself with its source material (incidentally, that is why I can't understand those fans of Game of Thrones who refuse to read A Song of Ice and Fire, but I digress).
Now, since I can't read Japanese and the manga has yet to be officially translated into English, I thought at first that I would have to rely on fan-translations. Fortunately, it turns out that there is in official release outside of Japan in a language I can read, courtesy of the French manga publisher Kana. I immediately ordered the first volume and having read it, can now share my thoughts on it with you.
The First volume from Kana is a massive tome, clocking in at over 900 pages. It begins with a look at the early life of a young Marie Antoinette, shortly before she is betrothed to the future Louis XVI and sent to France and it ends on a cliffhanger with Louis having received an anonymous letter saying that the Royal couple's younger son is the result of an affair between the Queen and the Swedish nobleman Hans Axel von Fersen.
Coming in to the manga via the anime, I mostly found myself on familiar ground while reading the source-material. The Volume covers several story-lines that were adapted for the anime, such as The Necklace Affair and The Black Knight Arc and they play out in pretty much the same way on page as they did on screen. The Characters, whether they are based on real-life figures or are purely fictional, such as Oscar and Andre are recognizable. Well, Oscar is perhaps a bit more prone to snark than her animated counterpart.
That said, there are ways in which the manga differs significantly from the anime. For one thing, the manga is a lot more comedic. Now, don't get me wrong, this is still first and foremost a dramatic work, with the focus being on the schemes of the nobility and the hardship of the people, as well as the Revolution which is lurking silently at the background. However, at times, Ikeda sometimes has her characters sport over-the-top cartoonish expressions as a reaction something that they've heard or read and these moments are clearly played for comedic effect. At first, I found this stylistic choice to be a bit distracting, since its absent from the anime, but eventually I got used to it. And to be fair, its not as if The Rose of Versailles is the first manga I've read that does this.
The Second difference lies with a certain character; namely, the Duke of Orleans. In the anime, this guy is basically the main villain for a good part of the story, always plotting to overthrow his cousin Louis and seize power. Here though, while definitely an antagonistic character, his role is dramatically reduced and he only appears in a minor supporting role.
So, which version of The Rose of Versailles do I like more? Well, I will admit that I have a bit of a preference for the anime, thanks in no small part to Osamu Dezaki's directing once he came on board. However, this does not in any way diminish the source material. I found this volume to be a thoroughly entertaining read and definitely deserves its status as one of the foremost shoujo manga. If look forward to reading the rest of it in due time and think that anyone with an interest in Japanese comics should check it out.
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