Anime: Emotions on a Rollercoaster

[Bartimaeus]

@majestic

Spoiler

Not sure if I've even heard of The Core, much less seen it, .

At the rate you've been going over like the past week, the show is going to be over pretty soon! Also, you're now like half a season ahead of me...

 

Edited April 2, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

42 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

@majestic

  Reveal hidden contents

Not sure if I've even heard of The Core, much less seen it, .

At the rate you've been going over like the past week, the show is going to be over pretty soon! Also, you're now like half a season ahead of me...

 

Yeah, I'll probably do a larger post about it tomorrow (maybe, it's Easter after all, edit. Obviously this came out longer than intended, as usual, so there it is already!).
 

Spoiler

 

I really like how the show answers the questions that come up.

Now I know Steven is 14 and not growing like a normal human, that Peridot's foot really was some gem power armor, why Garnet is to offensive to other gems and that they have an annoying caste system in place, and why Pearl is so lost without someone to attach to. It's part of her reason for being, and even if she made great progress by the looks of it of overcoming what she was meant to be, it's okay that there are leftover issues. These really don't ever fully go away, do they?

Which means I have now officially forgiven her for tricking Garnet, and she's back at being the best main character gem that isn't Steven.

And Lapis obviously is the best recurring character. But that's... mostly because I'm incredibly drawn to (emotionally) broken people. Even in real life. Leave me in a crowd, and assuming I get over my anxiety and talk to someone you can bet it's a person with some form of deeper seated problem. Even met my wife that way.

I'm also a lot like Steven insofar as I then immediately set out to fix everything. You mentioned earlier that sort of broken home Pearl's trickery caused is too real for you. Steven's messiah/saviour complex is that for me. I wonder if that will lead Steven to places that he shouldn't go. Because dealing with the disappointment that inevitably comes from someone who can't or doesn't want to be saved (or even stumbles along the way) isn't easy. Man, I sure hope that doesn't end up being Lapis.

Funny, after the first couple of episodes I wouldn't have thought we'd be talking about something like this in the middle of the show's run. On the other hand, after the first couple of episodes of Sailor Moon that I saw I didn't expect to end up writing pseudo-essays on the merits of the themes in Sailor Stars.

edit: Oh boy, five minutes after typing this Steven tries his damndest to get Peridot and Lapis on speaking terms. The episode isn't over yet, but that can go oh so horribly wrong. Steven, please, leave her alone for a bit, you're not helping. At all.

edit 2: Yeah. There she broke the tape recorder. Sigh.

edit 3: Please tell the gem who was forcefully fused for months that she doesn't need to be alone. That's going to work.

edit 4: Aaaaaaaaaaand he's blaming Lapis... gee.

edit 5: Phew, look at that working out all right. At least, semi-all right. Can't always count on a flying eye appearing though.

 

Edited April 3, 2021 by majestic

[Bartimaeus]

SU:

Spoiler

Yeah, the show does try to answer the questions it raises. Steven's thing is basically Sailor Moon's thing: he wants to 'save' people - or at least make them get along with each other! And he pursues this to the point of sacrificing his own needs - however, if there's one thing that frustrates him, it's when they steadfastly refuse to even try to listen or communicate, as Lapis is doing. Obviously, Lapis was perfectly justified in doing that given how recently she, uh, well, became herself again after an incredibly traumatic 6 months or however long it was, but...

I actually almost hated Lapis - almost, but not quite. I went back and forth...I eventually came around to her and what she brings to the table as the type of character she is. Then again, Peridot is the best thing since sliced bread, and Lapis, well... Interestingly, the person I watched the show through with the first time immediately loved Lapis, while I immediately loved Peridot, so we were on opposite ends of the aisle, so to speak.

>You mentioned earlier that sort of broken home Pearl's trickery caused is too real for you

No no, it's not like that was literally my entire childhood or anything...

>Funny, after the first couple of episodes I wouldn't have thought we'd be talking about something like this in the middle of the show's run.

Yeah, it's crazy how much the show evolves...but also still tries to stay kind of the same, a little errantly at times.

>And Lapis obviously is the best recurring character. But that's... mostly because I'm incredibly drawn to (emotionally) broken people. Even in real life. Leave me in a crowd, and assuming I get over my anxiety and talk to someone you can bet it's a person with some form of deeper seated problem. Even met my wife that way.

I can be, but it's definitely not automatic, not at all. Obviously, I love Pearl, and she's like the definition of broken. Others like Hotaru and Lapis...not so much. It probably helped that Pearl didn't initially appear to be broken at first, and instead was just trying to be the smothering mother type (albeit thankfully somewhat incompetently), which, well, I won't lie, I like as well!

Peridot and Steven hugging each other in absolute terror while saying they love each other is a top ten anime moment of all time don't @ me

 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Episode 2 of Sailor Stars

 

I guess the reason this wasn't originally dubbed is because Haruka and Michiru are undeniably lesbians that you can't just cousin over. Lmao

Something about this show, you'd think that everytime something went wrong they'd realize an enemy was up to something, but Mamoru can't figure out his glowing eye is because of the mean mirror lady coming back and doesn't tell anyone about it.

"Minako doesn't even have a boyfriend. And neither do I." Man Makoto sure knows how to tell them.

Looks like mirror themes for this filler arc.

So the outer Sailors have joined with the rest of the gang, and now Sailor Moon has a new transformation.

To tie everything together, Queen Nehelia wants to take Mamo-chan from Usagi. Just like Queen Beryl. And Black Lady. And Fish Eye. Man that dude sure draws in people looking for unhealthy relationships.

I kind of miss the original intro song. I don't hate the new one, but I just associate the original with Sailor Moon more. I'd even take Pegasus coming back it, hell I'd even be fine with

 

 

I'm glad Pegasus got sent to the glue factory.

Edited April 3, 2021 by ArtistFormerlyKnownasKP

[majestic]

I've read (about it, not in it, because reading that thing is a chore) that in the manga version of that arc, there's a somewhat overt implication that...

Spoiler

Pegasus will marry Chibi-Usa! Yay romance!

 

Edited April 3, 2021 by majestic

[Bartimaeus]

We need to start a #FreeChibiUsa campaign targeted at Naoko Takeuchi.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

4 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

We need to start a #FreeChibiUsa campaign targeted at Naoko Takeuchi.

Just in time to boost interest for the Crystal movies.

[majestic]

11 minutes ago, ArtistFormerlyKnownasKP said:

Just in time to boost interest for the Crystal movies.

I'm so looking forward to these two... gems. I'm sure they're going to be gems. Like, totally. With the way Crystal looked, imagine what they did with a proper movie budget.

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

17 minutes ago, majestic said:

I'm so looking forward to these two... gems. I'm sure they're going to be gems. Like, totally. With the way Crystal looked, imagine what they did with a proper movie budget.

 

At least it'll be less runtime than Super S.

[majestic]

SU, very short update.
 

Spoiler

 

Huh, look at Steven doing a Princess Serenity with Rose's sword and hitting Bismuth trying to defend himself after refusing a soldier's approach fighting.
*cough* Less wings though, and a bit of left and right flipping for cultural background and all that, but eh...

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2021 by majestic

[Bartimaeus]

Man, what're you doing, just watching SU all day? Good lord, every time I think I'm getting close to caught up, you're another half season ahead, . I'm just gonna have to start skipping some of the less important ones...

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

3 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Man, what're you doing, just watching SU all day? Good lord, every time I think I'm getting close to caught up, you're another half season ahead, . I'm just gonna have to start skipping some of the less important ones...

He's training to watch the Snyder cut back to back with the original.

[majestic]

Speaking of movies that aren't anime, here's a random tangent, have you guys seen Iron Sky?

[Bartimaeus]

The poster for this movie, which I've not heard of until just now, looks like this:

Judging solely by this poster, this looks like a...not very good comedy-action-war movie that was generated by an AI. No, I have not seen it, .

[majestic]

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

The poster for this movie, which I've not heard of until just now, looks like this:

Judging solely by this poster, this looks like a...not very good comedy-action-war movie that was generated by an AI. No, I have not seen it, .

If you look at the trailer, it looks like any bog standard alien invasion film:

It had terrible reviews (40% on the tomatometer).

And I have no idea where these reviews or scores are coming from. I watched this solely because of it's wacky premise based on one of the more inane conspiracy theories out there. It was the most fun I had watching a movie in a long time and Udo Kier is great, as usual. Some of the reviews claimed the jokes in the film were already dated when it came out. The joke's on them now, I guess, turns out that a couple of years later, the movie isn't even satire any more.

The poster is silly, the trailer looks like action trash, but in reality it's a 2012 political satire that got way too real in 2016. The action is mostly at the end, which is dunno, 15 or so minutes, out of it's 90 minutes runtime (and even then it's funny). At the end of the day it's a Finnish movie, and that means a certain brand of humor that you may or may not end up liking. It might also require a passing liking of nutty conspiracy theories and an appreciation for whacky Nazi naming schemes, because I was almost falling off the chair when the invasion from the moon began and the Siegfried-class Zeppelin UFO carries showed up.

Oh, and it has a killer soundtrack made by Laibach:

Hey, you made me write this post instead of watching more Steven Universe. Whelp. Sneaksy hobbitses, yes.

Edited April 3, 2021 by majestic

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

27 minutes ago, majestic said:

but in reality it's a 2012 political satire that got way too real in 2016

That's true of too many things today.

[Bartimaeus]

So killer, they apparently don't allow Americans...or Canadians, to hear it. Typical. Had to take a quick trip over the pond to hear the song, .

Literally everything about this from the trailer looks like it was made for the complete opposite of me. The humor style, the subject matter, the way the film looks...it's all the makings of a truly anti-Bartimaeus film, . And now that you mention it, I guess I don't really usually enjoy satire. I have a site that keeps track of what movies I watch and what I thought of them, and I'm going down the list of the few hundred movies I've watched over the last ~5 years, and it appears I watched...exactly two satires, and both directly on the advice of Lindsay Ellis (Blazing Saddles and The Producers; RIP her online career, by the way - cancelled for criticizing Disney, hell of a way to go).

Also, while you were screwing around writing about that, I finished season 3, so take that! ...But you'll be ahead of me soon enough again, I suppose.

 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[InsaneCommander]

6 hours ago, majestic said:

I've read (about it, not in it, because reading that thing is a chore) that in the manga version of that arc, there's a somewhat overt implication that...

  Hide contents

Pegasus will marry Chibi-Usa! Yay romance!

 

Spoilers for Sailor Stars:
 

Spoiler

Just in case, KaineParker and Bartimaeus: don't look here.

Spoiler

 

For a moment I considered that Chibi Chibi could be their daughter, but then I realized that if such a horrible thing happened, you would be complaining about the end of the show.

Also, KaineParker was listing the people who wanted Mamoru. Imagine when he finds out that Galaxia had him for a whole season...

 

 

Edited April 3, 2021 by InsaneCommander

[majestic]

16 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

So killer, they apparently don't allow Americans...or Canadians, to hear it. Typical. Had to take a quick trip over the pond to hear the song, .

Literally everything about this from the trailer looks like it was made for the complete opposite of me. The humor style, the subject matter, the way the film looks...it's all the makings of a truly anti-Bartimaeus film, . And now that you mention it, I guess I don't really usually enjoy satire. I have a site that keeps track of what movies I watch and what I thought of them, and I'm going down the list of the few hundred movies I've watched over the last ~5 years, and it appears I watched...exactly two satires, and both directly on the advice of Lindsay Ellis (Blazing Saddles and The Producers; RIP her online career, by the way - cancelled for criticizing Disney, hell of a way to go).

Also, while you were screwing around writing about that, I finished season 3, so take that! ...But you'll be ahead of me soon enough again, I suppose.

 

You're supposed to watch Sailor Stars, not that much Steven Universe. You were half a season behind me a few hours ago, now we're both done with season three!

Thought will follow soon, but one thing right now:

Spoiler

There was a lull in the middle that felt worse than in other seasons, when Steven runs around and seemingly randomly tries to save townspeople from something or another, or causing food wars. I'll blame Cartoon Network.  

If you don't like satire then it's definitely the wrong movie for you, but the trailer isn't really representative of what is in the film other than a good deal of pew pew at the end. 

I tried looking up what happened with Lindsay Ellis, but all I found out was that I really don't like Twitter.

[Bartimaeus]

She compared the structure of the latest Disney movie, whose name escapes me at the moment, to Avatar: The Last Airbender's (the show, not the movie - by the way, great show if you haven't seen it...Legend of Korra, unfortunately not so much) in a sort of off-the-cuff tweet, and apparently Twitter immediately mobbed her for being racist and anti-Asian, especially when she initially refused to apologize...and then only begrudgingly did so before shutting the whole thing down because people were trying to dox her. Nothing good ever seems to come of being heavily active on social media.

Yeah, I know, but you're making it so I have no time to watch it - all of my free-time is going directly towards keeping up with you!

SU:

Spoiler

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant when I mentioned it trying to errantly to stay the same. Most of those middle episodes probably would've been fine in season 1...but as the show gets more and more serious, they feel more and more out of place. They also almost seem like they're aimed at a different age-group, because I swear Steven inexplicably explains what's happening and expresses feelings - both his own and others'! - out loud that really don't need to be explicitly said a lot more in the "silly" episodes than he does in the more complicated "serious" episodes, particularly the silly episodes not starring other gems or Connie. Like I said before, those episodes are...okay, there's nothing...terribly wrong with them, but you start to get into that mode of always waiting for the next shoe to drop...which does eventually happen, but it really just makes you wish they'd stuck more closely with what is now the main cast, because even their sillier episodes are significantly more compelling, fun, and varied than the other randos'. Kiki and Buck are nice enough characters - I do not give one single **** about her weird pizza dreams or his weird shirt business, I am sorry, . I do admittedly have a soft spot for Sadie, but that's pretty much it for the non-gems/Connie/Greg.

If there's one episode I could tell you - or force you - to skip in season 4, it would be episode #7, Onion Gang. Literally just about nothing happens in that episode and it's not very good (outside of like one little interesting point it makes towards the very end), so, um, prepare yourself.

 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

8 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

SU:

  Hide contents

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant when I mentioned it trying to errantly to stay the same. Most of those middle episodes probably would've been fine in season 1...but as the show gets more and more serious, they feel more and more out of place. They also almost seem like they're aimed at a different age-group, because I swear Steven inexplicably explains what's happening and expresses feelings - both his own and others'! - out loud that really don't need to be explicitly said a lot more in the "silly" episodes than he does in the more complicated "serious" episodes, particularly the silly episodes not starring other gems or Connie. Like I said before, those episodes are...okay, there's nothing...terribly wrong with them, but you start to get into that mode of always waiting for the next shoe to drop...which does eventually happen, but it really just makes you wish they'd stuck more closely with what is now the main cast, because even their sillier episodes are significantly more compelling, fun, and varied than the other randos'. Kiki and Buck are nice enough characters - I do not give one single **** about her weird pizza dreams or his weird shirt business, I am sorry, . I do admittedly have a soft spot for Sadie, but that's pretty much it for the non-gems/Connie/Greg.

If there's one episode I could tell you - or force you - to skip in season 4, it would be episode #7, Onion Gang. Literally just about nothing happens in that episode and it's not very good (outside of like one little interesting point it makes towards the very end), so, um, prepare yourself.

 

 

Spoiler

 

I really don't want to make that comparison because it feels unfair somehow, but these episodes even in season 2, let alone season 3, that focus on the other townspeople, they have a lot in common with the Sailor Moon SuperS episodes that only feature Chibi-Usa and Usagi and some random person that I never cared about. While SuperS has many more problems than that, of course, some of which relate to the tone whiplash that is also somewhat present in Steven Universe, but at least they're not within the same episode, like in SuperS where we'd go from funny shenanigans to ridiculous out of character shenanigans to Rei being dream-raped in the span of 20 minutes, the core issue is really similar. I like Steven well enough, but not for an entire episode of just him and someone from Onion's family.

Speaking of minutes, season three is the first time I felt where the short-form animation setup actively hurt episodes because the resolution felt way too rushed and it felt like it was supposed to be two episodes, or a longer side arc (e.g. Pearl tricking Garnet into fusing with her) but ended up being only one.

Like Mr. Greg where Steven fixed what looks like at least 15 years of resentment from Pearl towards Greg in 10 minutes (on the bright side, that episodes all but confirmed my theory ), only for Greg to more or less disappear except when going fishing with Lapis and Steven or doing some flashback story exposition (and even that was "how I got this job"). Which also probably relates to the showrunners not being allowed to do what they want.

 

 

17 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

SU:

  Hide contents

Yeah, the show does try to answer the questions it raises. Steven's thing is basically Sailor Moon's thing: he wants to 'save' people - or at least make them get along with each other! And he pursues this to the point of sacrificing his own needs - however, if there's one thing that frustrates him, it's when they steadfastly refuse to even try to listen or communicate, as Lapis is doing. Obviously, Lapis was perfectly justified in doing that given how recently she, uh, well, became herself again after an incredibly traumatic 6 months or however long it was, but...

I actually almost hated Lapis - almost, but not quite. I went back and forth...I eventually came around to her and what she brings to the table as the type of character she is. Then again, Peridot is the best thing since sliced bread, and Lapis, well... Interestingly, the person I watched the show through with the first time immediately loved Lapis, while I immediately loved Peridot, so we were on opposite ends of the aisle, so to speak.

>You mentioned earlier that sort of broken home Pearl's trickery caused is too real for you

No no, it's not like that was literally my entire childhood or anything...

>Funny, after the first couple of episodes I wouldn't have thought we'd be talking about something like this in the middle of the show's run.

Yeah, it's crazy how much the show evolves...but also still tries to stay kind of the same, a little errantly at times.

>And Lapis obviously is the best recurring character. But that's... mostly because I'm incredibly drawn to (emotionally) broken people. Even in real life. Leave me in a crowd, and assuming I get over my anxiety and talk to someone you can bet it's a person with some form of deeper seated problem. Even met my wife that way.

I can be, but it's definitely not automatic, not at all. Obviously, I love Pearl, and she's like the definition of broken. Others like Hotaru and Lapis...not so much. It probably helped that Pearl didn't initially appear to be broken at first, and instead was just trying to be the smothering mother type (albeit thankfully somewhat incompetently), which, well, I won't lie, I like as well!

Peridot and Steven hugging each other in absolute terror while saying they love each other is a top ten anime moment of all time don't @ me

 

 

Spoiler

 

Well, like I said, Lapis is my type of character. Next to Pearl, anyway. Oh, and I wasn't thinking that your entire childhood was like that.

If you'd induldge some reminiscence on my part. Given your comments in the obituary thread, I'll double spoiler that, just in case (alcohol related):
 

Spoiler

 

There was a time when my parent's, uhm, vocational choices caused copious amounts of alcohol consumption (politics, networking, very often equals heavy drinking). I don't think of that too often, but there were times when my father came home late from work, being drunk and obnoxious when my mother and I were watching something on TV together, like, say... X-Files or Stargate SG-1 (in other words, roughly the same timeframe of me seeing Sailor Moon the first time).

He'd come home, make himself some scrambled eggs instead of whatever mom whipped up for him (and while I mentioned that in the food thread already, my mother is essentially a gourmand level amateur cook, and I don't say that lightly in the way everyone thinks their mother or grandmother was the best cook ever) when he was supposed to be home - because also never called to say he'll be late - and we'd sit there in uncomfortable silence until he finally decided to go and sleep it off.

It got better after, uhm, yeah, he was hospitalized for severe potassium deficiency.

 

Sigh. So yeah.

Speaking of broken people, that's just my thing, apparently. It, without fail, happens every time I form a deeper emotional connection with... well, actually, girls (women now that I'm older). I don't think it's a coincidence that the only exception to that rule is a friend of mine who's male. That might just also be because I rarely form connections like that with men, for whatever reason.

Here's some info if you want:

Spoiler

 

There was one who I had a relationship with who came from an emotionally abusive, insanely toxic household that I had the pleasure of living with for a while, my Makoto-ish friend that I mentioned earlier in this thread who was the very textbook definition of "daddy issues" - living with her estranged, emotionally distant stoner father really made her latch onto virtually everyone who paid attention to her, a forum friend from long ago who had an abusive father she ran away from (and lived on the street for a while) and then there's my wife who

Spoiler

was sexually abused as a child along with her twin sister and comes from a family of insane people - I mean, clinically insane. Diagnosed schizophrenics, war veterans with PTSD (brother), etc.

Some track record, huh?

 

Wow, where was I going with this. Oh, yes, Amethyst and Steven's moment where they bonded over being different/wrong. Oh my dears... *hugs them*

 

 

 

[Bartimaeus]

SU:

Spoiler

11 minute episodes: Fun fact - there were multiple times throughout the show's run where episodes did not air weekly, but instead multiple all aired at the same time as if they were like one big episode. Obviously, this mostly happened at important story points. So clearly, they were also aware of the weakness of the 11 minute episode format, even if they still didn't always get it quite right. The showrunners struggled with working with Cartoon Network while also trying to find a good balance - I forgive the show for its flaws because I love the characters so much, but I'm certainly not blind to them.

Mr. Greg is particular is a weird episode (also, it's a musical...how many 11 minute musicals have you seen before?), because it happens right after the Cluster arc, after what feels like virtually an entire season's worth of episodes of mostly ignoring characters not named Steven, Peridot, or Lapis. There should've been some littler character episodes with our main Crystal Gems like we got back in S1 before suddenly launching into that...but instead it happens immediately and then we get more irrelevant stuff like Kiki, Lars, and Sour Cream instead. Something about the pacing and tone is just off, and I realized that back when I rewatched the show the first time, because S1 and S2 were actually my favorite seasons for just simple fun and properly-placed emotional stuff even though they arguably had the least amount of cool story stuff happening in them - their pacing and tone just feels...better. They have smaller and simpler joys compared to the grander story stuff later on, and the more random episodes don't feel quite so out of place.

>Oh, and I wasn't thinking that your entire childhood was like that.

That was the joke, because my entire childhood WAS like that, . I also had a drunkard of a father (although he never got better, obviously), with three very emotionally needy and father-starved sisters...sigh. Well, one of those sisters is dead now, one of the others is bipolar-schizophrenic, and the last one is emotionally stunted and disabled in other ways, so you can see how all that turned out. Doesn't sound like our upbringing was totally dissimilar! Thank goodness I at least had a broken angel of a mom, or I'd probably be completely misanthropic...or maybe even dead myself, who knows? Funny that you mention potassium deficiency - did you also experience the great time that is someone collapsing, having a seizure, and looking like they were going to up and die on you, then?

Not going to lie, I get sad a lot while watching this show. I might as well mention it now - I started watching this show in between and after my sister, dad, grandpa, uncle (who was close to our family, not just any rando uncle), AND CAT all died within the span of about 2 years, so it was probably especially important to me for that reason. In particular, Pearl's grief, obsession, lies, and general aimlessness and helplessness...I don't know, she somehow was just like the perfect stand-in for a lot of complicated feelings I was having during that time. She's always going to be at the very top of my list of favorite characters of all time for that. When watching the show, I sometimes even got...envious of Steven, that he managed to have three differently amazing "moms"...plus even a good dad. Even though they all have their own assortment of problems, he has an amazing family and support structure. How sad is that?

 

Edited April 4, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

9 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

SU:

  Hide contents

>Oh, and I wasn't thinking that your entire childhood was like that.

That was the joke, because my entire childhood WAS like that, . I also had a drunkard of a father (although he never got better, obviously), with three very emotionally needy and father-starved sisters...sigh. Well, one of those sisters is dead now, one of the others is bipolar-schizophrenic, and the last one is emotionally stunted and disabled in other ways, so you can see how all that turned out. Doesn't sound like our upbringing was totally dissimilar! Thank goodness I at least had a broken angel of a mom, or I'd probably be completely misanthropic...or maybe even dead myself, who knows? Funny that you mention potassium deficiency - did you also experience the great time that is someone collapsing, having a seizure, and looking like they were going to up and die on you, then?

Not going to lie, I get sad a lot while watching this show. I might as well mention it now - I started watching this show in between and after my sister, dad, grandpa, uncle (who was close to our family, not just any rando uncle), AND CAT all died within the span of about 2 years, so it was probably especially important to me for that reason. In particular, Pearl's grief, obsession, lies, and general aimlessness and helplessness...I don't know, she somehow was just like the perfect stand-in for a lot of complicated feelings I was having during that time. She's always going to be at the very top of my list of favorite characters of all time for that. When watching the show, I sometimes even got...envious of Steven, that he managed to have three differently amazing "moms"...plus even a good dad. Even though they all have their own assortment of problems, he has an amazing family and support structure. How sad is that?

 

 

Spoiler

 

Good showcase that I shouldn't post at 0300, look at me and the "joke" that went way over my head, like that airplane over there. *points*

Ah. No, can't say I experienced it like that, luckily. He just at one time said he doesn't feel good at all and lied down in bed, started to shake a bit and had cramps, and really low blood pressure which was weird given that he's usually under medication for hypertension. I still remember how my mother came out of the kitchen and asked what's up and I just said "oh, nothing, he's got a cold and is dying of it, as usual!" because that's what he always does. He's the poster boy for the man-flu. 

Except it was a bit more serious. I went home then - wait, for that to make sense, I need to explain something first, I actually live next door, my partens are my neighbors - but my mother came over and said they've called the ambulance.

He was hospitalized for a week and a half, or two maybe. It's been a while, anyway, that episode shocked him into refusing social drinking entirely, and he quit cold turkey then and there. Just like that, never looked back, and also stopped smoking from one day to the next. If nothing else, that was an impressive display of willpower. Also need to point out that he wasn't ever abusive, not even when so drunk that he could barely walk, I mean, except for refusing to eat the normal food and not calling to say he'll be home late, which hurt my mother, of course. Just incredibly uncomfortable to be around (to a lesser extent that's true for most drunk people though, as long as you're sober yourself).

I don't have any sisters (wait, no, I do have a half-sister that we all pretend doesn't exist, but that's someting else entirely), just a brother who was a severe ADHD case as a kid. It's not even in the same ballpark as your family issues though, still... he's two years younger than me, and was a sickly kid. Almost died from measles because he couldn't be innoculated, was really constantly sick from something or other (he has asthma), and when he wasn't it was impossible to deal with him. I'm not proud of that, but I despised him when I was a kid. He took all the attention away and I was not really capable of properly articulating any emotions, let alone emotional needs, myself.

Now that I'm older I of course realise that it wasn't his fault, but that didn't stop me from blaming him for a long time.

Poor Pearl. I too was sad (you edited that part, right? Or did I imagine there being something else before?) for her a good deal, because I can empathize with her when it comes to her feelings for Rose. It's all too familiar, I've had similar experiences in the past. But what really got to me in the past few episodes was Amethyst's arc about being broken and different that concluded with her fusing with Steven (who on his end has to deal with the pressure of being Rose's son/successor and not at all like anyone else). 

Seems like your experiences with Steven Universe mirror mine when it comes to Sailor Moon, except for different reasons. For me it wasn't an intense time of loss like for you, but a time where I finally began my long journey towards living less in my head, and more in real life. Not even sure how to express that. I used to be so emotionally detached from reality (except for an ever present very cold rage at the world at large and anxiety in and fear of social situations) that even my parents thought I was distant and emotionless.

I remember family funerals where I didn't feel bad because someone had died, but a feeling of sadness that was a mere echo that came in from the outside by way of seeing sad people. I guess that was part coping mechanism, to deal with the bullying and having people who I thought were my friends abandon me due to peer pressure - because you're not supposed to be friends with the weird kid when you want to hang out with the cool kids, and part intrinsic. I'm just not like other people, and... hell, who am I telling that, that's uncomfortable and hurts.

That's also part of the reason I didn't want to rewatch it for a long while, the other part was what I mentioned back in October, that I feared it would destroy my fond memories of it, but no, turns out it's really good. Except for SuperS, but I can live with that. Strange how a silly anime like that was incredibly helpful. Or maybe that's not strange at all, I've read a lot of comments online about Sailor Moon in the past few months where people expressed sentiments of being shown that it's okay to be the way you are, and that friendship is real.

And I love the characters. Even the ones I don't appear to be obesssing over like, like Minako and Rei. Sailor Moon made me feel something, something beyond a cold anger at everything. And I love the show for it. Always will. That's why it is, and always will be, the best.

Spoiler

Although... SU is shaping up to be the next best cartoon, to be honest, and I can definitely see the influences that Rebecca Sugar mentioned in her interviews. Steven Universe is really like something that someone would make whose great influences while growing up were Sailor Moon, Utena and other animes. Hmm.

 

 

Edited April 4, 2021 by majestic

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Sailor Stars episode 3

Mamoru loses his mind and gets pulled into a mirror, while the outer Sailors get new attacks. Usagi and Minako look like they're going to be perpetually late to class, and eye mirrors are widespread. I don't have much else to say, other than mirror clones of dark Queen Serenity is boring but not awful.

[Bartimaeus]

@majestic

Spoiler

Good for your father - really. My father was given the choice of drinking or his family, and he chose drinking - so long, family! Worked out better for us than it did for him, especially since he was very abusive anyways.

I don't know what I did or didn't edit, I made a lot of edits to that post, and I get self-conscious about what I write a lot, . Not really for your sake, but more for...I guess because I realize that this is a public forum, and these threads eventually get locked, and I'm not always sure what I like being memorialized on here.

Totally makes sense why Sailor Moon is that show for you - difficult times in our lives being helped by something like SM or SU will always make those things much more special to us than other stuff we just watch for leisure. Also, yeah, I really like Amethyst's character arc and dealing with her pent-up frustrations and inadequacies - she's so different from the silly, irreverent shell she was at the start of season 1.

I appreciate that all five characters have different niches - even Minako and Usagi, while having pretty similar personalities on the surface, have some marked differences. Ami was the hardest one for me to love because she reminds me a lot of some of the traits I most don't like about myself, but in a sense, a positive example of those traits is a good thing in of itself, and there's other things  worth loving about her. I'm glad you ended up falling in love with the show all over again - it can be difficult to judge if what you watched or saw or listened to in your youth was actually good and worth re-visiting, or if it was actually terrible trash and you just didn't know any better at the time, .

P.S. I know what you mean about being detached for reality. I've dealt with a similar thing most my entire life, although maybe not quite as extreme as you did, and not with such anger and hatred towards everyone and the world...more like with the attitude of "the world kind of stinks, I'd rather be elsewhere for a while...so I'm going to be". I think I can thank my mom for that, given she does the same kind of thing (big book reader and a bit of game player herself!) and encouraged the same in her kids, .

 

Edited April 5, 2021 by Bartimaeus