majestic

You know, you're making me want to rewatch Sailor Moon. Right from the start Usagi is a kind-hearted girl that tries to help even a random cat on the street while already being too late but has absolutely no idea how to behave with any sort of social grace, let alone being capable of navigating the much stricter social norms of Japan. She even complains about Naru when she calls her out it ("You're my friend, you're supposed to understand!"). Of course she gives Ryo that picture. It doesn't even dawn on her that it might embarrass Ami. For her that's just a cute picture of her friend and there's not the slightest hint of malice in her giving it to Ryo. I was looking for pictures of episode 27 (because that's where the hamburger munching picture shows up, and it even is one of the best episodes in the entire run) and stumbled upon blog entries and people misreading things to a point where... oh boy. More on this later. Much more!

That was apparently a happy accident. That only took me so long because of a combination of lockdowns, workload and accessibility. Wedging Steven Universe in between was much easier, I spent all my time on the computer anyway. Although I did watch Battle Tendency a lot quicker than the fewer episodes of Phantom Blood where I paused for a while between the first, second and third episodes. Actually watched the first one before we started talking about Sailor Moon... before you mentioned it. Not sure why, it was a Netflix suggestion coming off of watching Devil Man Crybaby. It's also really weird in a way, I don't have much to say about it. It was a wild ride, and utterly insane, but... well, that's it? How DO you describe that?

That explains it. It's okay though, I have it on blu ray. My attempts to troll others into thinking it is a cute kid's film kind of failed so far, but I'll keep trying. Someone will bite, eventually!

I'm finally done with Battle Tendency. That certainly was a ride and a half, and that ending... Netflix also has Stardust Crusaders, but it'll be a while before I begin with that. I really need to wrap other things up that I've started, ideally before Sailor Moon Eternal hits. It's already impossible to wrap stuff up before Castlevania comes out anyway...

Managed to squeeze an episode of JoJo's in (my nephew always spends the weekends here, so there you go, can't watch JoJo's while he's around). So instead we ended up watching Whisper of the Heart (1995), which @Bartimaeus mentioned just recently. Netflix apparently got the rights to Studio Ghibli films at some point (except for Grave of the Fireflies, which isn't available), and I figured with a script by Miyazaki and a director that isn't Takahata we'd be fairly safe from the soul crushing trauma that Takahata is so fond of. Turns out I was only half right. I've seen some of Kondō's prior work (as animation director and character designer). He worked for Nippon Animation for a while, like Takahata and Miyazaki. Almost everything that was part of the 70ies and 80ies World Masterpiece Theater series aired here while I was a kid with enough time to spend watching TV all day long. Just recently I have made my peace with how modern animation looks, or at least I thought I did. I said that Madoka looks fantastic, and it does, really. It makes good use of modern technology in a way that enhances the storytelling and while the character looks take some time to get used to (for me, anyway), they were part of that. Looking at both Perfect Blue and Whisper of the Heart, well, how can I possibly sit here and not comment on how much better traditional 2D animation looks? Anyway, I'm not sure I need to say much about the film's plot. It is very honest and plays the coming of age and young romance archetypes as straight as they come, the story is simple (not to be confused with bad here, for the love of god) and very focused in scope... and it is told almost perfectly. Typical for much of Miyazaki's work is a certain, let's say, type of ending that isn't up there with the quality of the rest, although this is probably one of the better ones. It's heartwarming and fun, looks gorgeous and while the runtime initially seems a little long, it never feels like it. So what's with only being half right?

Just to nitpick a bit... the proportions on the drawings are much better than the ones of the "beautiful giraffes" in Sailor Moon Crystal.

I do plan on watching it eventually, I've heard only great things about it. Except that movie, obviously. Grey DeLisle is in a lot too - she's like voicing half the female cast in Clone Wars, for instance (ok, slight exaggeration here, but she does have 4 or so prominent roles). She's also in a lot of the animated DC films that are almost all way better than the live action DC movies, like Gotham by Gaslight. Or of course the Handmaiden, Nalia and Viconia. However, I often don't recognize her. Unlike Jennifer Hale, although she does have a few roles that are "huh, that was her?" like one of the two voices of Xel'lotath in Eternal Darkness. Then there are cases like Kristoffer Tabori or Kath Soucie, whom I do not think aren't talented, don't get me wrong, but they do have really distinct voices that are easy to pick out. In Jennifer Hale's case it's probably her accent and when it comes to Claudia Black, oh boy. Try as she might, she just cannot not sound like Claudia Black. I mean, not unless she's wearing a voice distorting battle suit. edit: I just realized that joke comes off as mildly homophobic when you don't know what's usually inside that armor: Imagine how much worse this gets when Pedosus starts appearing in Netflix suggestions.

I sure look forward to seeing it in its full glory. It really does look better than before, but even if it was the prettiest anime ever, it would still be linked far too closely to the source material, and some of the scenes in that video looked like they were taken directly from SuperS. Which... is an association they should better have made use of in the earlier seasons. I think they go to Mamoru's appartment without calling him to come pick them up. They don't go home like in SuperS, that would be the sensible thing to do. In the manga Usagi lies to her mother and tells her she's having a sleepover at Makoto's place. Of course. Heh. Ulyaoth is easily the best Ancient, so that makes sense. If I remember correctly, Nintendo has a patent on the "sanity" effects used in Eternal Darkness. Still, quite nothing like Eternal Darkness out there. It's a flawed gem. Players who value gameplay over atmosphere and storytelling will certainly find this totally unappealing. It's also pretty creepy and had me feeling super uneasy while playing it in a way other survival horror games never did.

Apparently, in Japan, Sailor Moon Eternal was released on blu ray some time ago. Long enough ago to make AMVs out of it, at any rate (but apparently not long enough ago to create fansubs, by the looks of it, or I just don't know where to look - not that it really matters). Here's a random collection of things to look forward to in the two films! Remember Dak'kon when you see this. Endure. In enduring, grow strong. Great new transformation scenes Well, at least the body proportions are no longer giraffian. Got to look at the bright side here, right? Body switching insanity You two better get changed really quickly, huh? Look Mamo-chan, I know how this looks, but you weren't shy about stalking me when I was a little older? Pretty please? She didn't change. How did the two make it from the street to Mamoru's appartment without changing? Seriously. Awww, look at the two. It's soooo cute... not. The Trio Infernale! Hey guys, we're back, but this time around we'll all die and it will be over much quicker, we promise! PEGASUSU, PEGASUSU! Hi, I'm Pegasus, the alicorn of love and dreams! Cynics call me Pedosus, but I don't know why. Looks like Pegasus isn't only interested in little girls this time around, look out Mamoru someone's about to mount you in your sleep. Payback for the first season, I guess. TWINKLE YELL! Flying on the wings of love, when taken literally... Smooch! But I promise, this gets worse. Scroll down a bit. So, what's better, Pegasus the Alicorn or his aged up Helios version? HOW AND WHY IS HELIOS SO AGED UP. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? LOVU LOVU ROD POWER Seriously, just when you thought these things couldn't get any more phallic. I'm sorry Mamo-chan, I don't think you can compete with Pegasus'... gifts.

So, when are you watching La Blue Girl then? (Warning, explicit and sufficiently Japanese stuff ahead) That's the so-called Black Guardian, and while Eternal Darkness sits near the top of my best games ever lists, the gameplay isn't... really its strong suit. The mechanics standard for early 2000s survival horror games, but that doesn't mean they're good. It's telling that the game has an auto-aim feature that you can't even turn off, because otherwise you wouldn't hit anything anyway. It's also both a church and a hospital, the chapter is playing during the first World War - the church serves as a field hospital. The thing has three separate designs depending on which Eldritch Horror you chose to follow in the beginning.

Yeah, Pitch Black certainly wasn't made for kids. I had a similar experience with accidentially zapping into A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. Didn't really want to go to sleep after that. I really do like Jennifer Hale's voice, don't misunderstand me there. Her older characters just seep into my perception of newer ones and it is increasingly becoming a little distracting for me (entirely my problem). Learned something just now, by the way. She voiced Alexandra Roivas in Eternal Darkness (which I knew already), but I did not know until now that there's a cutscene where Richard Doyle is talking to himself: Not bad.

I do plan on watching his other work as well. I'm not certain when I will get to that and I really need to wrap up other projects first, before I start another venture into obsession and lose all control over my free time. I'm dangerously close already, and... it's really hard to not just follow down the next rabbit hole. It takes an annoying amount of effort right now, and it does feel uncomfortable. Not as much as having half a dozen things left unfinished though. Baby steps here, baby steps. A friend of mine and I like to play the "spot voice actors in Bioware games" game, because they really recast a lot of them. Since you mentioned Jennifer Hale already, that is one voice that is becoming somewhat problematic for me. She's... becoming immersion breaking. It sure feels like she's in everything. Looking at her IMDB page that isn't just a feeling. She is in everything (including Eternal Darkness, which is incidentially a game that made me feel a similar unease playing as you did while watching Perfect Blue). Keith David has the opposite problem for me, it becomes really weird when he's in a film, like in Pitch Black. Claudia Black is also in this film, who... is also a staple of Bioware game voice actors. Pitch Black is also a much better film than you might think if all you know are the much more ubiquitous action trash sequels, and it's interesting to see Vin Diesel playing something else than the power/revenge fantasy he becomes in the sequels (and is in his other films). Sarevok, by the way, was in an episode of How I Met Your Mother as security guard with the soul of a poet: Such a disconnect from the usual association that comes with his voice.

Perfect Blue (1997) A film about the question of which blue is actually the perfect one. For me that's easily ultramarine, but that should surprise nobody at all since it is made from Lapis Lazuli, who incidentially was the best supporting character in Steven Universe, at least until her story arc had a barn dropped on her, no, I mean, until her story arc was dropped liked barn. Apparently there are people who think azure is the best, but we wouldn't entertain such madness now, would we? The film features three seiyus I recognized: Sailor Jupes, Seiya and Hikari/Tomoyo. Tomoyo I already talked about, it was hard getting her out of this performance even if Mima came first. The vagaries of establishing an association with a single character. So it was Tomoyo first, then Mima, for me. I think the other direction would have been less of an issue, an issue that is predominately mine anyway. Can't be yours, can it? Obviously not, unless we're the same. Which we aren't, even though for a while I thought we would be. Similar, perhaps, but to the point of being a simulacrum? No. Yes? Does it matter? I was sure once, now I no longer am. I also really should sleep more and watch less at 0200. Back to character associations for a while. I often do that, for fun. Every time I see Mark Hamill in something I tell others that I saw Colonel Blair in a TV show, or movie. They're usually wondering why someone like me, who has seen Star Wars for several hundred times (to the point of knowing the entire dialogue of the original trilogy by heart, in what seems like a far distant, happier time - you know, before Peter Pan turned out to be a dream, and reality came crashing down hard on me), would associate Mark Hamill with Wing Commander first. Because I feel like it. For the same reason why I keep calling Neil Patrick Harris Carl Jenkins instead of Doogie Howser. Because psychic space fascists easily beat kid doctors. They're also about equally as realistic. But what's real anyway? Regardless... so, not sure. I did not recognize Hikari as Tomoyo when watching Neon Genesis Evangelion recently, recreating Tomoyo with the more lighthearted parts of Perfect Blue was apparently a choice, or I failed to pay enough attention. I don't think it was the latter, beause I felt really, really bad for Hikari. Poor girl. I'm sure that's Shinji's fault too, he could have disabled that EVAngel in a different manner. There you go. Finally something to blame on Usagi, other than being obsessed with Mamosuka. Take that you whiner. Whiness? Do we need to properly gender whiner in English, like actor and actress? Would that be whineman and whinewoman otherwise? I'm not at all sure now. Is that a holdover from the time I spent my days hearing and reading nothing but a language that does have grammatical genders? Nope, probably not. That's just so this post becomes longer, because words are good. Wordcount. Yes. Hah! Where was I going with this? Oh! Mima was clearly intended to be voiced with a bit of a naive, almost child-like enthusiasm for certain things. Not bad, not bad. Good choice. Bad carreer choice for someone like that though. Lastly, if you have not seen Perfect Blue and wondered about the color at all, and, let me tell you something straight: You should! Even if it ends up being a film you probably only want to watch once. It's really blue, in the end. Yes. Warning, actual spoiler content now. While I personally do not think that anything that happens in Perfect Blue is a surprise per se and knowing spoilers will not be detrimental to its enjoyment, that is only my personal opinion. Don't blame me if you click here and find yourself in a situation where you believe otherwise and can't go back. This is great, and I am indeed looking forward to never seeing this ever again, much like Grave of the Fireflies. Not because it isn't good, but exactly the opposite. It is far too effective in what it sets out to do to subject myself to seeing it again. Fantastic work, really.

I can't even install software on our virtual desktop environment that I have to use when working remotely (actually, we can't even launch software that isn't whitelisted, let alone run an installer), and on the local desktop at work only if I go begging for the local administrator user password that is generated on the fly and usually expires even before the installer is done running. This is super fun when installing software that requires multiple reboots. Took me half a day to get Visual Studio set up, because that requires multiple reboots and logins with your Microsoft account which only work from the regular user, because the local administrator has no access to the internet without prior proxy configuration (and even then it is limited to a high security policy, try logging in with disabled JS). If I would install any VM environment on my computer - assuming the team that hands out local administrator passwords on request approves the reason, at any rate - then I wouldn't really be able to get through network security without a "four eyes" approval, and while that would then work... in theory, assuming I would get the necessary firewall unlocks approved in the first place (which it would not, anyway, for policy reasons), that would still be an awful lot of work just to have a job running that auto-updates the information log instead of running blind. So, running blind it is from here on out. Or I'll take the time to use the progress bar framework. Either way works for me. That sounds like I'm working at an intelligence service, but no, we just have the most paranoid security team ever.

Mental note: Do not write lengthy jobs and force an update on the infolog window. This will slow down processing and cause the infolog box gain focus. Or in other words, I just screwed myself over until the job's done running, because I can't do anything when a window gains focus every .250 seconds. Time to get some coffee, I guess.

I really hope @Bartimaeus decides to read this post first and follows my advice and does not look up what this discussion is about. So please don't.

You know that could be read in a very, very wrong way.

I know. It's fine, as long as you know what you're getting into, anyway. I wash my hands of it!

I'm watching Perfect Blue right now... as if the movie wasn't uncomfortable enough to watch on its own, Mima is voiced by the same voice actress that voiced Tomoyo in Card Captor Sakura, with pretty much the same style of speaking. Of course, Perfect Blue came before she voiced Tomoyo, but still... the subject matter combined with images of Tomoyo flashing by, well... Hello, I'm Tomoyo and talk just like Mima when she's on the internet for the first time!

He's probably been waiting for a reply like this, only to then dig up something that happened to a conspiracy nutjob group, or a racist group, or any mix in between that were infiltrated by someone and deleted, only to gloat or try to be "fair and balanced" by exposing the hyprocrisicy of the leftards when they're finding one funny and not the other. Because lets face it, that would be really funny if it had happened to the KKK, QAnon, Trump supporters or people like Bruno and Stjepan, and I would like the post immediately. Wait a moment, that last one's an in-joke. Sorry! On topic: edit: Language and content warning!

Woops... that was me getting something wrong about the second Madoka film. edit: To explain that... it's not the scenes that are different, it's the dialogue that was rewritten to be clearer. Not sure if it's new subs or an actual change in the original too. Eh.

This is me having a brain fart. Oh boy.