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JG111580

Member Since 31 Oct 2009
Offline Last Active May 21 2017 10:59 PM

Posts I've Made

In Topic: samurai jack

21 May 2017 - 01:25 PM

The ending made sense... but it left me a little underwhelmed. After a bit of thought, I have decided that this could be seen as a more of an open ended conclusion, only resolving the Aku story line. The story can go where you want it to go from here. If you wanted the melancholy ending, leaving it where it is makes sense. I prefer a happy ending, so there are a few ways the story could go to be more fulfilling. Just wanted to throw these options out there for catharsis and letting go of this great series.

 

Jack didn't get his happily ever after and has lapsed back into his old wandering ways. I prefer to think of the lady bug as a way to show Jack that Ashi protected the nature that she loved in the end, but also as a reminder of the hope that Ashi revitalized within him.

 

Here are a few ways that the story could conclude. 

 

Option A

Jack now has 50 years worth of knowledge about mystical places and artifacts on earth that have existed even before his time. Jack may begin a new quest to find a way to wish Ashi back (Dragon Balls anyone? lol). After all, she may not physically exist, but Jack's memories and experiences in the future were real, otherwise he would not have returned. This is the simplest option.

 

Option B

With his vow fulfilled and Ashi gone, Jack has no reason to stay in the past. He might abdicate the throne leaving his sword behind and go on the same quest, only in this scenario to wish to return the future that he knew and loved cleansed of Aku with everyone he knew restored, including Ashi. He would understand that they would have no knowledge of him, so he would begin a new journey meeting everyone once more with new origins and new stories. This one would be a little more complicated necessitating a season 6 and culminating with Jack having to find his sword (hidden away for centuries) and defeating a new (though less threatening villain). This would endear him to his friends once more and allow him and Ashi to return to his home to live out the rest of his days in peace.  

 

Option C (my favorite)

Jack goes on an epic quest in the past to bring Ashi back. Along his journey he meets many new and interesting characters. Among them, a masked woman trained to be a ninja that was sent to break the emperor's bloodline. Of course Jack defeats her and earns her respect. Understanding that her failure means death and she has nothing more to live for, she follows Jack on his quest to find his way back to Ashi, eventually growing to care for him. Overcoming a final obstacle, Jack and the ninja finally find what they are looking for and Jack asks for Ashi to be restored. Jack is informed that the future that he knew no longer exists, therefore she cannot be returned. Stricken, Jack collapses to his knees. Attempting to comfort him, the ninja removes her mask only to reveal Ashi's face. Jack doesn't understand how this is possible. The person protecting or overseeing the wish granting object states that while her future self may not exist, her soul would have been reincarnated from previous lifetimes. This Ashi would be one of those previous lifetimes. Jack would make the only reasonable wish, to share his memories of the future with her. Thus, Ashi would be restored and they would return to the palace to finish the wedding that was previously thwarted by the space time continuum.

 

This one even included a reference to their conversation involving becoming memories. I like it! One hour special anyone?

In Topic: Voltron Legendary Defender

29 January 2017 - 05:21 AM

If every reboot were done with this much care, a lot more would be successful... (cough...Ghostbusters...cough). With the trend toward the original mythology this season, my hopes for this series are sky high! The involvement of some of the ATLAB team give yme some confidence that I won't be disappointed. I think the key is character development, character development, and more character development. With only 13 episodes, the need to stick with the current lineup and continue to delve deeper into everyone, visiting new worlds and having more adventures in the process. I also like the conservative use of Voltron. That way it's more exciting when it happens. My only remaining issue with the series is the lack of some variant on the original music. If Keith takes over and they even play three notes, I would probably get tears in my eyes. I'm pretty sure there are VHS tapes of me from 84 or 85 running around humming that tune. Anyone think that they might make Lotor 1/2 Altean and 1/2 Galran based on his original character design? That could make things interesting yet still with Keith and Allura.

In Topic: The Devil is a Part Timer! (Hataraku Maō-sama!)

24 January 2017 - 06:35 AM

I read that a second season has been confirmed by the creator. Has anyone seen any news about this one? I have read the light novels, and season 2 could be amazing. I like the contrast of the everyday life versus the mystical fantasy elements of the show.

In Topic: Full Metal Panic!

24 January 2017 - 06:31 AM

I love the original anime. If you can find the translations for the original light novels, they are definitely worth a read. The true ending of the story was massively satisfying.

In Topic: Voltron Legendary Defender

24 January 2017 - 06:22 AM

I was a huge fan of the original show, so some of the changes that were made in the first season threw me off a little (starting with the modern castle, having it leave Arus within a few episodes, marginalizing Keith, comic relief Coran). But, with the release of the second season, I went back and marathoned the entire thing. With the low episode count, viewing all in succession was much better. I wish that the seasons were 20 episodes like Avatar: The Last Airbender. I am fully invested now. Keith was my favorite character as a kid, and seeing him develop into his destined role is probably more fulfilling than just having him be awesome from the start. With Shiro's disappearance, it will make things very different for the team dynamic. I hope they follow the original series for what comes next. Approaching it in a more nuanced and mature manner could make for some awesome character development. Keith having to deal with the loss of Shiro and trying to fill his shoes with difficulty. As stated from the first season, as leader, he must become the paladin of the black lion.  In this regard, he will probably have an easier time, as I think Shiro's essence has become one with the black lion. My guess is that he will help smooth the transition for Keith and provide some ethereal guidance along the way. Lance will have difficulty both accepting Keith as the leader and moving up to the red lion. As it is the most difficult to pilot and the most temperamental, it could make for some strong character development for him next season. Allura taking over the blue lion would be awesome. I like this iteration of her even better than the original. Having her aboard a lion during battles could make for some more interesting developments. Her magic abilities might provide Voltron with a much needed power-up. New abilities might emerge and bring him closer to the original (able to take out multiple robeasts simultaneously, taking on an entire fleet of battle cruisers solo... etc.). He might even be able to open his own space gates. Allura might also have to come to terms with the fact that, as a paladin, Keith is in charge. I think they touched on that in the original series, but it could be dramatically expanded on here. I hope Hunk gets some good character development next season as well. Pidge is awesome. I love the changes that they made to the character, and there is a lot more that they can do and explore with it. Finally... Prince Lotor. If they apply the more weighty, creepy template to the character, things could get really interesting. He was obsessed with Allura. Going down that road could be amazing. With the subtle hints at Keith and Allura (both are alien and they shared multiple one-on-one and emotionally impactful interactions) the insertion of Lotor could amp things up. Maybe Keith turning to Allura for advice as someone comfortable as a leader with Shiro is out of the picture... Allura reaching out to Keith because of what she discovered, Alteans can be bad and Galrans can be good, to further eliminate her prejudice. In the original series, I believe there were multiple occasions where Keith and Lotor threw down over Allura, though I don't want Allura to be marginalized as a result. Haggar could create the situation, seeing Allura as nearly as great a threat as Voltron himself. The shame is that it might take two seasons to cover everything that I just mentioned.