majestic

Sure it's easy to blame the writers, and that's exactly what I did while watching SuperS. I posted about that in the older version of this thread, maybe even all the way back in the old TV one, trying to find some pattern. One writer that consistently wrote bad episodes while the others were good, perhaps, but nope. There's only one episode, the one with the Samurai girl, that can be blamed on that. It's from a writer with only one episode to her name (Mutsuri Nakano) . It was either so bad that they decided to immediately throw her out or she left after writing that one episode, I don't know (or it was Ms. Takeuchi in disguise) - but that might also explain some things, if she was supposed to write more than one episode and the team suddenly shrunk down, then there'd be more for the others to do. Much more. The other four writers - two new ones and two old ones - have a frustratingly even spread of less bad and terrible episodes in SuperS. The few good ones? Yeah, also spread out somwhat evenly. That is the really frustrating part, because the two old writers from the earlier seasons, Megumi Sugihara and Yoji Enokido wrote some of the top Sailor Moon episodes before SuperS (like the Ami and Minako focus episodes of Sailor Moon S). There is one thing that can perhaps be attributed to one particular writer. Genki Yoshimura wrote ALL the creepiest Fish-Eye stuff (fairy, ballet and fashion), but that's about it, on the other hand she also wrote the dentist episode. It would be unfair to blame her for the body switch episode, because that's a manga adaptation, and I don't know if you followed my posts, but that could have been much worse. The two new writers, including Ms. Yoshimura stayed on for Sailor Stars and made some of the best episodes in the season. So, no, what went wrong with SuperS isn't the fault of the writers. It looks more like they did the best they could or were allowed to do.

Not sure if lazy is the real problem here. Looks like the production of SuperS was a mess and it made half the team leave Toei afterwards. They probably just ran out of time and had to rush something out, why else combine their power ups into one episode. SuperS is just an endless series of baffling creative decisions. Ami's power up episode was written by the same writer, and even though it was derivative and retread old ground in terms of character development, it was nicely wrapped up, and certainly one of the better episodes in the season (possibly top 5 material, but that probably says less about the episode's quality and more about SuperS' lack thereof).

It also shows how nicely they used the new opening theme throughout the episodes. The music that plays when Usagi's there is a hopeful slow version of it, while the violin one is used to soul crushing effect. I started out not really liking the Sailor Star song (it's called Sailor Star, not matter how many people think it's called Makenai), but by the end I was looking foward to the opening credit sequence just to hear it. Time to state again how much better used the music is in Sailor Moon than in Crystal. Crystal's OST is certainly more "epic" and... really more like a cinematic score, but it's so badly used it ends up being distracting and weird. Fits the show though, I guess.

Yep, but don't worry, Sailor Stars has thirteen of those. 6 in the filler arc right of the bat, and 7 at the end, out of only 34 episodes. Anyway, Stars spoiler, I found a YT vid with Viz dub Rei. I guess don't look if you're not on board with @Bartimaeus' spoiler policy.

I guess it's no surprise that episode 32 is complete filler without even the barest manga connection, and yes, it definitely feels like it's very self-aware of just how stupid this entire season and the Pegasus plot is. I also got the feeling from Mamoru's reaction in the final Trio episodes when Fish-Eye asks him why he's bothering with Usagi. Yeah Mamoru, why do you bother with SuperS Usagi? Going over the power up episodes, the only one that felt complete and properly done - disregarding the repetitive nature of the plot points used - was Ami's. She meets a reflection of her past self in her father's lake painting, and gains power through acceptance. Plus, while it was less fun than usual, it was a nicely made serious episode, and Ami doing nerd stuff is appropriate enough (plus she'd be the only one able to afford copious amounts of time on the internet in '94, not to mention that notebook, rich bastards ). Rei's power up is so hidden in clues that it's almost a blink and you'll miss it thing when she's first being a hyprocrite, talking about how being a shrine maiden is about helping others with their dreams (all the while being a miko herself, with no indication that her dream is about helping others with their dreams), and if that's not Nakoto's dream then she should not at all bother being a miko. She gets her power up by giving Nakoto her dreams back, or rather, by making her believe in her dreams again. Like a proper miko. Minako and Makoto on the other hand... are missing a scene. It should not be Artemis that simply gives them their transformation pens back. The setup was already there, they were stuck in the plant and Minako could just apologize to Makoto in the face of their, well, death, and stuff. That would be simple and effective, Minako learns to apologize and maybe take the problems of others more seriously. Giving Mako-chan her power up there would still feel a bit rushed, but it's not entirely unworkable, maybe Minako could teach her something about accepting certain things (like she accepted Alan not loving her, i.e. Makoto being more at peace with herself, even though that was also resolved in S... but hey, maybe episode 20 wasn't as easily shrugged off as it was implied). As it stands, the execution is... not only not on point, but plain bad. Made worse by how easily this could have been a really great episode for both of them, the two don't interact with each other that often. What a wasted opportunity.

You're lucky that you're over the hump. The creepiest stuff is done, the Trio is gone and... you have like two somewhat funny if sometimes out of character episodes left (one would be funnier without the Pegasus implication) until the super serious mode kicks into overdrive. Which should tradiationally be the part you enjoy the least. Spoiler: That's definitely not going to change for SuperS. Unless you're just so glad it's over that you start liking the storyline.

SU:

Interesting, this is the part where I thought of the artwork in Day of the Tentacle. I have no idea if that is deliberate or not, or if I'm just imagining things. It's not any one character, but a combination of things. Probably a coincidence. Unlike all the other references.

Reminds me of a joke I might have already posted, but anyway. A mathematician, a physicist and an engineer are told that at the end of a hallway there is a large sack of money for them to collect, but they're only ever allowed to cross half the distance left towards the sack, then they have to stop, and begin again. The mathematician rightly realizes that he'll never get to the sack and doesn't try, the physicist conducts an experiment, finds out that he will never reach his goal and also quits. Meanwhile the engineer just walks up to the sack, takes it, comes back and says: "Sometimes, close enough is good enough!"

Your favorite three quarters Klingon also shows up, Alexander. Although... I don't think you mean him either.

Just had a good chuckle at my favorite dialogue (sort of) from Reboot. "Next you'll be telling me that you've seen the user." -- Bob "There is no user. That's just mass psychosis engineered by the Guardians." -- CGI Special Agent Fax Modem And with that I'll be off for the night, I guess. Should get some stuff done tomorrow today. Eh, and there's that ridiculous meeting. Ho-humm. edit: Oh, how could I forget? The end... "The web is out there." - CGI Special Agent Fax Modem

edit: Managed two 10 minute epsiodes in a day, plus one episode of Sailor Moon in the background while working. Sigh. Well, it's bound to get better, eventually...

I half expected a Dio meme in your spoiler tower there. I'll let you know shortly.

Steven Universe S01E30:

By the way, given KP's reaction to Pegasus and how uncomfortable it appears to be watching Sailor Moon SuperS with his fiancee, how high do you rate the chance that he'll just drop watching after episodes 30 and 31? In some ways they're the absolute low points of Pegasus' interaction with Chibi-Usa. 31 most of all.

Uhm, of course good sir! *quietly drops bruce-slash-sharpie.txt into the recycle bin* PallaPalla is serious business but she's nowhere close to pulling off a Telulu and ripping out the pure heart crystals of what looks like all of Tokyo.

Speaking of funnier things, I have some problems making that fanfiction you requested work. How bothered would you be if Bruce acts a little out of character?

I'm just really broken when it comes to social interactions. It's not the easiest topic to talk about (not even online in anonymity), but it does feel cathartic, every now and then.

Can't speak for IC, but that's not at all how that works for me. Or worked, to be honest, I haven't had a crush on a character in a long time. Pointless to try and put it into words, but generally, it was a very elevated feeling of attachment while watching something, not a butterflies in the stomach or an any actual feelings of nervousness when the show's up again. It's probably like a crush when you filter out any physical attraction or having the ability to interact. I'm not sure I can describe that any better. Doesn't really matter, in the end, I guess. 18 year old me would have strongly disagreed, but I'm a bit older now. Guess I learned that real people outside of your family aren't all just out to hurt you. Just most of them.

At that age I watched Peep! mostly. No need to record things, but we were always more liberal with sexuality on TV than the US. Was an interesting show with celebrities showing up to talk about relationships and sex. Hilarious host too, constantly fumbling words, ended up being the butt of a lot of jokes on spoofs.

Different things for different people, huh? The power fantasy part of Rommie was what I just took for granted. It makes sense in context, what with her being the avatar of a ship of the line, but her friendship with the crew, her sense of loneliness after they're left with only a handful of people manning the station and the fear she displays after seeing what happened to her fellow ships is what I really enjoyed about the character. But... don't bother looking at the other seasons. It's not worth it.

One of the characters on the crew calls her a walking heart attack (literal, actual dialogue here) because she's, well, attractive. Or at least, Beka (the pilot) thinks so. The engineer who built her body sure does so too, and that's the basis for all sorts of hijinks (one of the funnier ones is Rommie asking if he was wearing gloves when he made her body - it's less creepy and weird and much more lighthearted in context, although the implication remains there). The entire interaction was meant to highlight that she's not used to having an actual body and interacting with people, the ship itself - and the AI - is fairly new, or at least that's the assumption until Harper (the engineer) finds a backup of her personality hidden away, where a different captain was on a secret mission that did not end well and her entire personality was scrapped and rebuilt afterwards. This is about the time the actual "main" plot really begins - the one that really goes nowhere somehow. Like... everything. Man, f*cking Tribute. And no, while I would agree with Beka that Andromeda is pretty, that's not what makes Rommie so great. It's also why I mentioned fictional character, because I crushed hard on Rommie, not her. She plays a different character in Stargate SG-1, and there she's just the character she plays. I get what you mean. It's the same for me with cetain other genres. Not sci-fi or fantasy, but anything that's supposed to be funny, like sit- and romcoms. I'd never watch a sitcom without being prodded. It's also true for most western animation, had you not recommended Steven Universe I'd never have bothered after the first look at it... and BoJack Horseman I just watched because a friend badgered me into watching it.