Detritus of the Mind

I wanted to put the old Toonami "Watch This Space" screen here, but Google has both failed me and insulted me with a bunch of Adult Swim crap. To say I do not like Adult Swim is an understatement. Anyway... You may have noticed that I haven't done squat here. I had plans, but here's what happened to them: - There are better nostalgia comic reviewers out there, the books I had planned either have gaps I can't fill or low interest rates, and frankly, lately the whole field of nostalgia comic reviewers attract people from a campaign that think having a character come out as gay is "character assassination". So between respect for people doing it better over more interesting titles and not wanting to have my comments filled with Comics Dudes, those aren't getting done. - The Legion essay and some of the points therein was permanently dropped, thanks to DC Comics devoting itself to wasting all of its best ideas, doubling down on its worst ones, and ...

It's the most wonderful time of the year: Precure Leak Season! I have to admit, through not much fault of its own, I've kind of drifted away from Kira Kira Precure a la Mode ; the site I used decided to make like every other fansub site and align with some shady advertisers that every form of protection I have on my devices rebelled against me ever visiting.  I found some of what I could watch boring (I missed the fights & flashy attacks that weren't just glitter water), and thanks to my situation, I wound up missing really interesting developments with the characters (especially the villains). Because of this, I'm not too optimistic I'll be able to even watch Hugtto Precure  when it comes out, unless I find a safer place to do so.  Which kind of stinks cuz I really dig these designs. The theme this year apparently, according to a translation of the preview page on the official site, is "follow your dreams, you can do anything". So it seems prett...

I have a deep guilty fondness for Captain Planet . It's cheesy, super-simplified with how it handles major issues (especially the social ones), and it wears its intentions not so much on its sleeve as on its chest in day-glo neon. But there's something about it I always enjoyed. I don't know if it's the "international team" setup (which I've had a fondness for from reading years & years of X-books) or the sheer sincerity of it all in trying to teach complicated things at all. Or maybe I like a lot of the VAs they used to replace most of the celebrities once they got bored. But it's something I like, and its reputation as a cultural laughing stock even among those of us who agree with its messages kind of makes that embarrassing to admit. When I was trying to do MSTings (back when they were formatted like USENet conversations) back in college, I'd go through different fandoms that weren't being used as regular subjects by other writers, an...

I'm on Twitter a lot, so I have a couple of recent tweet storms to share that I archived on Storify. First, thoughts on my idea for a hidden object game that will never exist.  Mostly because that genre is becoming weirdly allergic to humor, showing that there is still little difference between those into AAA games & those into casuals.  Thanks, Blogger, for making these non-embeddable. Real cool. Next, this morning's epic tweet storm detailing my theory/evidence about a Jonny Quest multiverse.  This is what my brain is like, folks.   Again, wanted to embed a slideshow, but Blogger won't play along. Feel free to check out my Twitter if you want complaining about TV, comics, public transit, & who knows.  It's basically a bite-sized version of what I've done here, albeit usually with more swearing.

Okay, so I've been putting this one off for a bunch of reasons (90% of them personal), but there's a big one - Maho Girls Precure was boring. It was DULL. And it's not because it followed in the wake of a really strong season - the fights were lackluster, the villains were rather bland, the stakes never felt dramatic in any way, and the universe didn't feel very fun (it really felt like someone had recently read the Harry Potter books & wanted to make them more cutesy). It just didn't have the humor or character pieces that even Precure's weaker seasons have managed, and it actively made me wonder if I still liked Precure at all because it was just so... blah. Somehow, blah is worse than bad, since with bad, you can at least see things that could have been executed well; with blah, there isn't even that squandered potential or that urge to rage-watch & see how much worse things get. I liked the designs a lot (especially the deliberate ridiculousness...

Ever encounter a series that you've enjoyed every entry of, even the ones that seem to be a bit too different from the previous entries, until one comes along that just takes all of that goodwill and curb stomps it? Cuz that is exactly what I'm going through with Danganronpa right now. (Take warning now - to articulate what bothers me, I'm going to be spoiling a LOT, from the new anime to the games. So leave if you're afraid of being spoiled. This goes for the DR3 anime, at least through the 5th episodes of each arc; if I missed anything from there out, I stopped watching & can catch up via reviews/the wiki entry.) I loved the games. Even though the trials' rhythm game elements were infuriatingly tough for me (not a genre I'm good at) and Absolute Despair Girls  was a third-person shooter, their stories & characters sucked me into this weird, twisted universe. Even the worst of them likability-wise were at least entertaining, and thanks to after-g...

For those who don't know, Aikatsu!  is ending its original series in about a week.  And as much as I'm embarrassed to admit it, I'm a little sad. You need to understand - idol shows, especially the all-ages ones like Aikatsu! , have kind of filled the niche once reserved for magical girl shows.  And this particular show was so relentlessly positive and feel-good that I frequently watched it as a pick-me-up.  Hell, the whole reason I got into it was because I was going through a depressive period and needed something positive.  Plus, being an all-ages show, Aikatsu!  had no random gross fanservice to distract from the show (looking at you, random closeup of Eli's butt while she adjusts her bikini leg from Love Live ...).  It was a fun, fluffy show. But I agree with the consensus that, until the current story arc, this last season felt like oddly lifeless wheel-spinning.  It introduced too many new idols & new brands entirely too q...

For a number of reasons, I've been thinking lately of old Sailor Moon fan senshi series.  I created some (they're down, so don't bother looking), and they're still one of my favorite things about the online Sailor Moon fan world.  So I decided to list off a few that are gone or dormant that left an impression on me.  If any of these are still standing or you can fill in any blanks, please let me know.  These are strictly ones that no longer exist; good stuff like the  stories at Sailor Astera ,  Tower of Time , and even the inactive  Sailormoon Millennia Trilogy   are still available to read. The one I cannot remember the name of no matter how hard I try:  This is what I mean about filling in info blanks. There was a fan series built around the premise of a now-grown Chibi-Chibi, who had become a separate person, traveling to other worlds and gathering a new team of senshi to fight with her against a great threat.  One was an elf-like ...

So once again, real life has been kicking me repeatedly in the butt.  But I still want to keep this going.  I plan to finish the Bierbaum Legionnaires this year (friggin' finally! ), but after that, I have a list of possible subjects to address.  The only thing I wanted to review that I've put on the back-burner is X-Men 2099 , and that is entirely because the Great 2099 Creator Walk-Off still can't be verified/refuted/what-have-you.  If it's true, it's important to address; if not, I don't want to keep repeating it as fact.  When it's a comic rumor and Brian Cronin can't help you verify or deny it, you're in trouble. So here's a list of potential projects to review: - Several comic series are on the proverbial docket.  I have a couple that are either notoriously bad or have hidden potential buried in layers of badness - namely, Marvel's Mutant X  for the former and DC's Son of Vulcan  mini for the latter.  I wanted to do a review tha...

So, in case you wanted some supplemental links and side opinions to go with the Pilot Program, I've created this endnotes page.  It's a little sparse - for some reason, even the internet doesn't care about 80s failed toy-derived cartoons even as its wallows in nostalgia for them - but what I can share is pretty entertaining. For anyone interested in watching the Pilot Program subjects,  I've compiled a YouTube playlist in order of the write-ups.   The only multi-part subject is Poochie , but the rest are the full shows.  Enjoy and then let me know your impressions of the subjects, if you feel like it. In what may be a case of "something in the water", this past month has seen two of my favorite video game related places cover the last two subjects on their respective platforms. First, we have  the Retronauts podcast and a career review of Rare , starting with their ZX Spectrum days as Ultimate Play the Game. As someone who knows little about British...

The Pilot Program is a look at various merchandise-centric cartoons that were released as specials in the 80s & 90s; while they were clearly set up to go to series, they never did.  Every entry will look at a new show, who made it, what it was selling, and whether it would’ve made a good series. BUBSY (1993) SUMMARY: Bubsy is a great hero – just ask him, and he’ll tell you at length.   After inviting his twin niece & nephew over for their birthday gift of tormenting his designated sidekick Arnold the Armadillo, he sees a news story interviewing a scientist who invented a virtual reality helmet that can wish anything its wearer wants into existence.   He wants to test it because the call goes out for someone brave/crazy to try it, but a woman named Allie Cassandra wants the helmet to wish herself up some more swag.   She sends her minions Buzz & Sid to steal the helmet and kidnap the twins as a snack for themselves.   After much wackines...

The Pilot Program is a look at various merchandise-centric cartoons that were released as specials in the 80s & 90s; while they were clearly set up to go to series, they never did.  Every entry will look at a new show, who made it, what it was selling, and whether it would’ve made a good series. BATTLETOADS (1992) SUMMARY: Morgan, Dave, & George are the biggest losers at Oxnard, CA’s Waldo P. Oxnard Junior High; they’re deemed a bad influence on each other, and at the principal’s insistence, they try & fail to find new social circles.  After failing miserably, they retreat to the Stop-N-Scarf to play games; suddenly, the screen glows and out come Princess Angelica & her friend, Professor T-Bird.  Their entire galaxy has been conquered by the vicious Dark Queen, who wants to steal the Galactical Amulet Angelica wears to gain more power.  After asking the boys for help, he sprays them with “the genetic essence of the ancient Battletoads”...