Just finished watching the season premiere and re-watching Rachel's "On My Own" from the Pilot.

Sunshine opens her eyes when she sings! Rachel still does NOT. "On My Own" wasn't pitch-corrected or auto-tuned. It sounds SO MUCH BETTER than the way they did the music all last season, and Rachel actually had her eyes open in "On My Own"! What happened? 

RACHEL OPEN YOUR EYES OH MY GOSH I CAN'T STAND IT.

Other than that, great first episode! Ahahaha, Becky was hilarious. "Am I dreaming?" Pfffft. Poor Finn. Poor Bieste. Poor Kurt. Poor Mike Matt Mike other black guy! No, I know his name's Matt, but seriously, giving the two back-up guys names that similar? That's probably why they cut him! Sam is nice and different. Very glad they kept Mike, of the two. Hahaha, "Asian camp". XD Tina gets so many hilarious random things. Like that vampire thing last season.
Rachel. Really. Way to kick out the girl that KEEPS HER EYES OPEN. Who lets her act like that?! Even in TV, where you can see close-ups, open eyes are still more expressive than closed eyes! It makes no sense! Arrgh!

In summary:
RACHEL OPEN YOUR EYES
It sounds better when they don't pitch-correct.
"On My Own" made me remember how fabulous Rachel can be. 
Cool episode.

Tags: glee

Toy Story had a budget of $30 million, Toy Story 2 had a budget of $90 and Toy Story 3 had a budget of $190 million. Lee Unkrich and the crew of TS3 made very sure every audience member knew the differences in budget. TS3 was the most action-packed animated movie I've ever seen. Every time someone could have an escape, chase, or fight, they had it in stunning 3D. I know it costs more, but I think it's worth it.
Not only was it crammed with action, it almost made me come closer to crying than I did during Up or WALL-E. Which both reinforces how heartless I am during movies, and shows how emotional the end of Toy Story 3 was. I might actually have cried if I hadn't know sort of what was going to happen because of something I saw online. I made a point not to watch ANYTHING besides trailers this year, but this one thing was too much for me to resist. It didn't really spoil anything, because if you just had the time to think about it, you'd know the movie wasn't done, but while watching, they don't give you any time to yourself to think. No, you're too busy sobbing into your 3D glasses because it's so freaking emotional, and in a way no other Pixar film is--in fact, in a way very few other films are. 

It's not Pixar's most original film, but it's one of the most entertaining. I'm not happy with the characters they omitted, one in particular. I know why they did it, but I still wish it could have been different. (and I also demand that they make a short about that character leaving, since it is confirmed they will be making Toy Story shorts) I also wish that anyone who has seen the movie can let me know so I can have an actual discussion instead of vaguely describing things in order to avoid spoiling. 

Tags: toy story

 Really, it's mostly just Mai. But it's the first fic I've ever seen where Mai has an age difference and it actually makes sense and not just the author being squicky about her being so much older than Jou.

Scribbler's "A Song I Think I Heard Before" 
The many faces of Mai. Her story, pre-canon to post-canon, plus the bits canon itself didn't let us see. Duellist Kingdom wasn't the first time she and Jounouchi met - not that either of them knew it at the time. Jounouchi/Mai. FINISHED!

(I adore everything Scribbler writes, from YugiAnzu to VaronMai, so I recommend anything she writes. But especially this one.)

 I have no angry or exasperated icons. Sad-zaku will have to do. I was pleasantly surprised to find Yu-Gi-Oh! R at the library tonight, so I grabbed all they had, volumes 1-3. They translated Pegasus's name as Maximillion J. Pegasus, which weird because all the rest of the manga sticks with Crawford, and R uses everyone else's original names. Also annoying, but understandable, and I don't care too much. But I'm in the middle of volume 2, and I just can't believe this one. Anzu Gardner. It doesn't say freaking "Gardner" in the Japanese, it obviously says "Mazaki", so they translated it on purpose that way even though EVERYONE EXCEPT PEGASUS HAS THEIR JAPANESE NAMES AND THEY ONLY HALF-CHANGED HER NAME FOR A SINGLE PANEL. I will scan it later to show everyone. ENGLISH LAST NAME. FOR A SINGLE PANEL. It's the most infuriating mistranslation I've ever seen. Because it was obviously done INTENTIONALLY. This ranks up their with the time they put MAI'S name instead of Anzu's on the back cover of volume 16--the DEATH DUEL. THEY SAID MAI WAS POSSESSED INSTEAD OF ANZU. I know it's not a best-seller like One Piece and Bleach and Naruto and FMA, but someone has to be a complete idiot to screw this up.

And I got back on the internet after I'd turned my computer off and should have gone to bed an hour ago. That's how much I needed to share. ANZU GARDNER!! I think I need to tell PTDC about this later... maybe I'll compile a list of Viz idiocy... hmm...

Tags: yugioh

No Disney icon. Wicked will have to do. ^^;
Fun day of watching Disney movies on youtube. Still not ready to try more 5Ds because of last night. Bought a book about animated features yesterday, and was reading it. Then I saw LK's new video, "Out There". All together, it made me want to watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which I'd only seen once before when I was... I guess about 6 or 7. Geez, its dark for a Disney movie! I didn't really remember much of it. Frollo's song about lust! Geez! XD My book listed is as "Demi Moore's best movie". Pretty good. I loved the music--ah, listening to LK's video and LK, you can't hit that note ><. Ow. Wanted to kill the gargoyles. I seem to remember them being all over the advertisements, but they were annoying and stupid.

Speaking of annoying characters, I  then watched The Little Mermaid, because for about 10 years, I greatly disliked it. I only ever saw it once or twice, and all I remember is the fish being annoying and Ariel not really doing anything. (I believe I said at one point "I hate the fish enough to hate the whole movie".) Everyone I know on facebook is also very shocked by this. Well, I no longer dislike it.--the movie or Flounder. Scuttle's much worse than Flounder. 

The result of all this was my new love for Alan Menken scores. I gotta see Little Shop of Horrors now.

In between watching movies on youtube, I turned in my application to the local video store and talked to the manager. I'm going in tomorrow to take some kind of standardized English and Math test, so there's still a chance I can get a job despite being away the entire month of July! :D Whoo! 

Tags: disney, movies
Current Music: Bells of Notre Dame - Alan Menkel

I'm loading the Jack/Carly Dark Signer duel right now (points to icon, finally found some good Jack/Carly icons!) because I really hate Crow now, and that is making me regret spending so much time watching this series.

( SUDDEN HATE FOR 5DS RANTCollapse )

It's only been a day since the last post, so nothing interesting really. Went to town today. Hung out with mcrwayperfect09, who may or may not ever see LJ ever again. XD Bought a cool book about animated feature movies. The first animated feature was The Adventures of Achmed in 1926, and it was directed by a woman! And I will hold onto that thought instead of remembering the pointless 3 episodes of 5Ds whose existence I will henceforth deny.

EDIT!!!: I got a Pixiv account (with the intention of looking for Jack/Carly until realized I could look for JouMai) and found JouMai stuff! 8D Not that much, but still! JouMai stuff! 8D I love Google Chrome's automatic translator so much! <3 Here's a few, I'll get to uploading the rest later. ^^;;

Tags: 5ds

 While I wait for the last part of this episode to load  Meant to type this yesterday, but decided to look for 5ds icons instead. ^^;; Anyway, random facts about 5Ds that non-5Ds fans will find amusing: Most of which will be related to Crash Town, the boring ridiculous filler arc between the not-as-boring-only-one-episode-long-filler and the plot.


( Spoilers. Most of them involving guns and card games.Collapse )

In other news...

I'm home from school! Yay!

Going to an open casting call for a Dreamworks movie tomorrow. They're looking for 18+ year olds to play high school students! My job opportunities are very slim this year because I can't work in July at all. But I'm going to try. Got a few places around here I'll apply at, and if nothing works out, my film teacher needs some help. I can get in touch with the Women In Film woman again and see if they need anything. I'd do that for free, for the experience. 

Fullmetal Alchemist manga ends in two months! D: Not sure if that means June or July. I knew it was wrapping up, but only two-three chapters notice is very sudden!

Should go to bed now. I want to get to the casting call early.

Tags: 5ds

 But for now, going to keep watching 5Ds instead of doing my FMA/Descartes paper. Holy Faithshipping, Batman! Episode 75!
Even Lua said Yusei and Aki were on a date. Lua. Who is one of two 5Ds!Jous. The other of course being Crow, who in the same episode, wolf-whistled at Aki in her riding outfit. WTF show, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE ROMANCE. And Crow/Aki is getting to be so cute because neither Yusei or Aki smiles enough so they're just really depressing together. And if they smile, it's creepy and out of character. Aki needs someone happy to balance the angst. Her obsession with Yusei is getting to be a bit much. "Honestly, when it comes to Yusei, you're so..." says JACK! ...or was it Crow? One of them. It was when Aki was being all "OMG GUYS YUSEI GOT KIDNAPPED WE NEED TO FIND HIM RIGHT NOW WHY AREN'T YOU AS WORRIED AS I AM??!"  I hope my episode recaps are amusing to everyone. The show has so many episodes, but it when it pays off, it's so good. Ahahaha, I laughed so hard at Aki and Yusei roller-skating and the twins watching. "Do you think we're a third wheel?" "It's not a date." "Looks like a date to me." "...well, I can't really say it doesn't look like it."  (No, she needs to get with 5Ds!Jou! She's 5Ds!Mai! She can't get with 5Ds!Atem... oh wait... that wouldn't be so bad...)

Also, an amusing thread from PTDC comparing 5Ds characters with Pride and Prejudice ones. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a ridiculous hairstyle, must be in want of a total babe."

Since every single guy--and one of the girls--had some kind of shipping support with Aki this episode. Except the twins. Because that would be creepy. (Why was there no twin!roller-skating? THE TWINS WOULD BE ADORABLE ROLLER SKATING!)

Also I finished finals and just have one last paper to finish and I'm DONE!! But more importantly, Yusei/Aki. Shoot, the Crashtown arc is coming soon... I don't care about Kiriyu... Gah, okay, back to work, then episode 76! Which is Jack/Carly! Show, I love you so much. This was not supposed to happen. You were supposed to suck. Gah.

Tags: 5ds, school

 Three days after the end of Tekko. I was a wreck Sunday night from lack of sleep. ^^;; Not doing that again. Con report will come soon, but here's the short version:

Thursday: Stand in line for 2 hours. Leave Tekko. Go to my own panel. Leave Tekko.
Friday: Go to a panel. Leave Tekko. Meet Vic. Leave Tekko.
Saturday: Go to my own panel. Look around Alley/Dealer's Room. Leave Tekko. Go to rave. Leave Tekko.
Sunday: Go to my own panel. Leave Tekko.

WAY too much coming and going this year. It couldn't be helped, with the play opening tomorrow night, and my high school's show... and I AM glad I went to that instead of Masquerade. It was amazing. 

The main reason I wanted to post was to recount something that happened in my room today. XD I was talking to a girl from down the hall who likes anime--especially FMA--but did not go to Tekko. I invited her in to show her the Ed print I bought, and from across the room, she saw my JouMai fanarts hanging on the wall, and was able to identify them because "Mai's a hooker. Sort of. Is she really a hooker?"  "...she's a card dealer."  "Yeah, she's a hooker." XD Oh gosh. I never thought anyone, even anime people would recognize JouMai on my wall. Then again, she knows I went to Tekko as Jou. I actually openly admitted to people, yes, I cosplay as Joey Wheeler from Yugioh. And they go: "Cool! We don't judge." I love the people I hang out with. ^^ (or "cool! You have JouMai art on your wall!"!)

Now I am tired from last night's paper. Full con report and pictures coming soon. I found one of all three of us! (which may be the only one that was taken... ^^;;; )

Tags: tekko, yugioh

I think I spent around an hour and a half reading these. And I know none of the people who normally read my journal watch 5Ds or has any intentions of watching 5Ds anytime soon ever, but the EFFORT the writers put into researching all of this stuff... if they spent half that much effort or money animating in the original series. Syntheticpoetic, who I found on playthedamncard, of course, wrote these entries about alchemy, peruvian mythology, and genetics in 5Ds. Suddenly, I feel really intelligent for continuing to watch it. 
From what I had the patience to read can understand, EVERYTHING with Aki and Divine is all based in alchemy and the "Lady of the Roses" and the "Green Dragon". I don't even know how to refer to the fact that it's based in alchemy... is that still a kind of mythology? From the roses, the "black" rose, the psychic powers, "Arcadia" movement, Aki being a banner for other psychic peoples, costumes, Black Rose Dragon not having arms, Divine being a charming-yet-evil-awful-villain, right down to Divine's freaking tie. His tie. That he wears around his neck.  
I know that there were references to Peru because it was the freaking Nazca lines, but I don't know anything about Peru myths. It just explained the names behind the Earthbound gods, the significance of the animals, Rex and Rudger, but really little things like the rainbow-death-light, and my personal favorite, Crow's character design being based on the human form of some god named Aiapaec. 
Finally, the genetics one I only skimmed, but apparently not only the names of the members of Team Unicorn, but the fact that their mascot is a unicorn has symbolism.
5Ds isn't even in the same category as the original series anymore. The whole feel of the series is completely different, much as I make fun of Jack, Crow, Rua, and a few others for being original series ripoffs. They kind of are. But at the same time, not at all. It does not feel anything like a spinoff. Though, for that matter, neither did GX. Now I wish I'd talked more to that Crow at the convention. I see what everyone meant by "if you can get past card games on motorcycles, it's really  good". Yeah. It kinda is.
Freaking writers. Take your effort and go reanimate my original series.  

(Also I finally put up a Scoopshipping icon. Also, it's two characters looking out at the sunset! IT'S JUST LIKE POLAR AHAHAHA that makes me fangirl)