SaburoDaimando

THis is something that's been going on in my head recently with the My Little Pony movie. And this is gonna be harsh, but I feel like I have to say this. This movie wouldn't have done well regardless of reception. Even if this movie got a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, it still wouldn't do well in Box Office. Sadly, I can bring up one prime example and it's a recent one: "Teen Titans Go to the Movies." Despite its positive reception at 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie only made back $11.5 Million at the Box Office(On a $10 million budget). Even more so, it aired only in one theater room where I went to. And the sad thing is that I actually enjoyed that movie as well(Not as much as Pony, but I still enjoyed it). Meanwhile, a film that doesn't have the reception as Teen Titans Go to the Movies(Hotel Transylvania 3) made a total of $284.2 million on a $80 million budget. Even more so, it ranked higher over the weekend compared to Teen Titans Go to the Movies. And even as someone who only sees Teen Titans Go as a guilty pleasure, I find this sad that this movie is overlooked compared to a sequel to a movie franchise that I felt was mediocre(Granted, I've seen the first one, and I got more of a meh attitude out of it). What does this all mean? Right now, it does feel like there's a stigma against Non-CGI Movies. My Little Pony the Movie, Teen Titans Go to the Movies, Kubo and the Two Strings, and even the Acclaimed Flop "Winnie the Pooh(2011)." The only rarity to come out was Isle of Dogs, which did decent in theaters(I even saw it just to throw my support for the film). Meanwhile, we have horrible films like the Emoji Movie doing well in theaters(8% on Rotten Tomatoes) last year, makign around $200 Million on an $60 million budget estimate, including marketing costs. I refused to see that film, and I'm just startled on how well it did. I don't get it. And don't get me started on the Boss Baby. Hell, don't bother bringing me up on the RT score, when the movie did really well at the box office. But this rant isn't something I want to just cover by letter. I'm thinking about doing a rant about this on Youtube in the future. Something that needs to be addressed: Why are CGI films still doing well(Especially some of the bad films), while non-cgi animated films are still struggling to make back their budget? It's something I can't see to fathom, despite enjoying some of the good ones like last year's hit "Coco," or the Incredibles 2.

And yet, Activision was surprised that a updated remake of the Crash Bandicoot Trilogy sold really well across the board. Even the Switch version did well in sales.

In terms of Mobile and (Especially) F2P games, it depends on how the Microtransaction is carried out, and how much one is willing to pay. But in $60 retail titles, there is no excuse to use any form of Microtransactions, or even Loot Boxes, in these kinds of games. Especially not for Pay 2 Win mechanics. One game use to have Microtransactions: Middle-Earth: Shadows of War. They were Loot Box-based and they gave the player Orcs if they spent the money to open these Loot Boxes. And these Orcs would help the player beat the game. I found it to be a BS system, and I never found anything Optional about this(Besides the fact that not going down this path means a long grind). But as I stated, the game no longer has Microtransactions. In fact, I heard it's no longer as grindy as it once was, which meant the Microtransactions were only made to fill up Warner Bros' coffers. Furthermore, there's also the new Call of Duty coming out. Microtransactions and Loot Boxes, as bad as they are for the game, aren't the only problems with Call of Duty 2018. There are other problems like trying to copy Fortnite's Battle Royale, and eliminating Single player. And I think you all know about Star Wars: Battlefront 2, which locked progress behind Loot Boxes.

[. https://www.deviantart.com/daimando/art/Starlight-vs-Tirek-2018-Remake-755855287 Back in 2016, I did a drawing that was basically a "What If" scenario: Starlight Glimmer vs Tirek. Here, I have done a complete remake of the battle between Twilight's Student and the Evil Centaur. All new poses, darker backgrounds that make the characters stand out more. I actually enjoy this drawing more than the 2016 variation.

So we're keeping it short and sweet. With help from my brother, I was able to get into Room 6A to attend two panels. The first one was the LEGO Ninjago panel. The reason why I did this is to meet one of the actors: Kelly Metzger, who is Spitfire on My Little Pony. But as I saw the cartoon, I was amazed on how far it came in terms of design and color palette. If I can find this on a streaming service, I'm gonna dedicate myself to it. And the other one was the other Cartoon Voices panel. As always, the VAs went nuts ripping Rapunzel apart. It's these kinds of panels that make me come back to Comic-Con again. As long as Mark Evanier hosts them, I'll be back for more. Anyway, that concludes it for this year's San Diego Comic-Con. And as of now, I have no more conventions to go to for the rest of the year. Unless something new pops up. And no, I didn't buy anything today.

Some bad news. Early ago, I failed to arrive at a Comic-Con panel mainly because of how long it took to get inside the Convention center. So I had to spend some time exploring while I waited for my next panel: The Quick Draw panel. Surprisingly, after I got in, more and more people came in to watch both that and the Cartoon Voices panel. But I did go downstairs to the UCC Booth and got a Mickey Mouse Steamboat Willie figure set for myself, a Rick and Morty Pin set for my brother, along with 2 Dragon Ball Z figures for him. Anyway, for Quick Draw, Mark Evanier had his guests draw whatever they are assigned to, and they always come up with some wacky, kooky and funny drawings that give me a good chuckle. Especially from Sergio Aragones. He knows how to get a crowd riled up. And then there were the Cartoon Voices. Every year, Mark Evanier brings in voice actors to showcase what they are capable of, and they do a cold read of a classic play. Mainly Rapunzel. And boy do they butcher Rapunzel like it was made to be sushi. XP After that panel, I waited in line for a long time for the Batman: The Animated Series panel. And in the end, the wait paid off. They talked about Batman: The Animated Series coming to Blu-Ray on October 16th. For anyone who doesn't know, Batman the Animated Series is regarded as one of the Best Superhero TV series, featuring the voices of Kevin Conroy as Batman, Loren Lester as Robin/Nightwing, and especially Mark Hamill as the Joker. If you have never seen this movie before, I highly advised that you get it. After a long break, I make it to a Star Wars cosplay panel that focus on a variety of female cosplayers. There were some really nice ones, and it comes regardless of one's gender. They also went into topic about harassment. I learned that one of the panelists lost her home in a fire. So I gave her some of my artwork. She thanked me by giving me a hug. Finally, there was Bronies in the Miltary. For those who went to Pacific Ponycon in 2016 and 2017, the heads of those conventions have had a long history with serving in the military. They talked about their experience on watching My Little Pony, but not without technical hiccups on the Powerpoint Presentation. Tomorrow marks my final day at Comic-Con. It's doubtful that I'll be buying anything tomorrow.

On day two, for the first time since 2001, I was accompanied by my own father to Comic-Con. And yes, he was with me for every panel that I went to. First off, I was able to acquire an Autograph panel. But I also have a better prize: I got a VIP pass for the Hasbro Booth. I'll explain after I talk about the MLP Panel. Anyway, we secured our seats at the MLP Panel. They talked about the new Equestria Girls special coming up, the Best Gift Ever special coming in November, and the rest of Season 8, which will feature what's left for the School of Friendship(Which includes the return of Tirek. I am squealing for his return) And I never imagine them getting a big-time guest star on My Little Pony. But they got Rachel Bloom of all people. In fact, she came to Comic-COn, and I got to meet her.(Check the images below) Afterwards, I got to reunite with Tara, Andrea and Cathy. I gave Andrea a special drawing of Chancellor NEighsay asking Pinkie "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" But after I got done with that, I was able to use the VIP pass to get into the Hasbro booth and I acquired the 2018 My Little Pony exclusive. YES! Now I don't have to rely on the Hasbro Website to get it. We then went upstairs to check out the new DC Superhero Girls series. And it looks like a more interesting series compared to the previous one. And yes, Lauren Faust is heading this project. Dear Warner Bros: Please get Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill onto the series. Then we went to the LEGO DC Supervillains panel. There was Fred Tatasciore, Tara Strong and yes...Kevin Conroy. It's really interesting that they got both Kevin and Mark for this series in their respective roles: Batman and the Joker. I'm thinking of getting the game in October. And on a side note, I did get to ask a question in that panel. And as a result, I Got a free LEGO DC Set. Lucky me After we went down to the Hyatt to pick up a prize, we went back to Room 6A for a Mickey Mouse panel. Bret Iwan(The Voice of Mickey) was there. They talked about the past 90 years of Mickey Mouse, plus they showcased his appearance in Kingdom Hearts. Afterwards, we had one last break before going to see the Death of Superman. It was a really fun film, and it showcased a more upbeat Man of Steel(Like the way I remember it), and of course, a Doomsday that worked so well. There will be a sequel next year. That's it's for Day 2 of Comic-Con. It was a long day, but it was worth it.

So here's day 1 of Comic-Con. It started out having to wait in the hot sun to even get into the Convention Center(Yesterday, I just waited in line in the Sales Pavilion). First thing I did was that I went to the Cyanide and Happiness Booth to meet with Austin St John: The original Mighty Morphin Power Ranger(Red, plus Zeo Ranger Gold). Surprisingly, there was no line for him. So while I waited, I did have a friendly chat with him, and he apparently is intrigued by the Nintendo Switch. I gave him a drawing I did of his character Jason Lee Scott as an Alicornified Red Ranger(I'll show you all this image later on) Next up, I picked up an image from Jay Fosgitt of my characters Wanda and Abigail. He did a great job of the drawing. Then came the Star Wars: The Clone Wars panel. I got it prior to the previous panel ending, and while the cast and crew looked back at the last 10 years of Star Wars the Clone Wars, they announced that there will be new Clone Wars content on Disney. SURPRISE! Then I was able to catch the Rise of the TMNT panel. IT's a new Turtles series on Nickelodeon, with a new voice cast. Eric Bauza returns as the voice of Master Splinter while Rob Paulsen will join in as a Voice Director(He will also voice a member of the foot clan with fellow VA Maurice LaMarche. NARF!). I was able to catch up with Rob and give him my new drawing. Then I caught up with Greg Cipes, who I had a Skype chat with on Memorial Day. I gave him some new artwork of my own(Will show off later on), and he actually liked a paining I did of the Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach. Afterwards, I went down and checked out the Rocket League playoffs. Note to self: Never eat a ton of popcorn, even if you got it for free. I got pictures of myself with the Batmobiles, plus pics of the Jurassic Park Jeep Wrangler and the Delorean from Back to the Future. When I got back, I noticed that the Hasbro Booth was open season. But here's the interesting part. They were sold out of the MLP Toy for the day, while the Power of the Primes Optimus Primal toy was still widely available. I was able to pick one up, plus a Bumblebee gift for a close friend. Finally, I checked out two panels. The first one involved writing and tips. It was more about simplicity, making sure the lines you write match the character, and failure will be in the future. Nicole Dubuc was there, and I gave her one of the new drawings I did. I ended the day with the adventures in voice acting panel. Once again, I didn't get the shot to try out. Anyway, that's it for day one. Tomorrow, I'm taking my dad down to see the My Little Pony panel.

It's not much of a preview night, but it will do in a pinch. First off, I went and got Jay Fosgitt to do a comission for me. It will be done sometime tomorrow. So before I go over to Petco Park to play Rocket League, I'm gonna go pick up my comission.Second off, I went ahead and checked out the Hasbro booth. They showcased a small amount of upcoming MLP toys, including the SDCC Exclusive, the Starswirl Twilight figure, the Starlight/Trixie statue, and the upcoming Best Gift Ever figure set(Gonna aim for the one with Shining Armor/Cadence/Flurry Heart).And apparently, as Hasbro owns the rights to the POwer Rangers, they also showcased the White Ranger costume from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2(Also from Gosei Sentai Dairanger). They're doing a signing with Jason David Frank tomorrow, but time will not permit me to do so. Besides, I've already met him in person. There's another ranger who will be at Comic-Con tomorrow. And his name...is Austin St. John.Finally, I managed to play Smash Bros Ultimate. It felt alot like Smash Bros 4, and I was able to play as Ganondorf and Ridley. Sadly, I kept getting my butt handed to me. The game is as wild as ever.Tomorrow, we begin our trek with more Ranger, Star Wars, a meeting with a familiar face, and more.

In at least an hour, I will be heading up to the San Diego Convention Center for the 49th Annual San Diego Comic-Con. As such, I will be posting a journal of my events there. I will also post these events on my Deviantart Page. Note: My plans for tonight include Jay Fosgitt, finding a gift for a relative, and playing Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

With the famous SAn Diego Comic-Con less than 14 days away, I completed this drawing of Lyra as Captain America and Bon Bon as Wonder Woman(So what if I'm crossing the line between Marvel and DC. This drawing is to showcase that Friendship exists regardless of your interest in Superheroes) https://www.deviantart.com/daimando/art/Lyra-and-Bon-bon-Comic-Con-Best-Friends-Forever-753143101

I usually don't pay attention to big Triple A games like Battlefield V or Call of Duty: Black Ops 4(Which, BTW, won't have any Single Player content). I'm more focused on other titles. Some of em are almost as huge(Doom 2016 and I'm thinking of getting Wolfenstein 2 on Switch, plus Skyrim), some are slightly smaller(Super Mario Odyssey, and I plan on buying Crash: N-Sane Trilogy), and some are really small(Many indie titles, many Retro-inspired games like Mega Man 9 and 10, and Sonic Mania). There is a variety of games outside of the usual annual title that EA, Activision and Ubisoft pumps out year after year. My recommendation is to focus on those smaller games.

https://www.deviantart.com/daimando/art/Twilight-s-Chocolate-Milk-Lesson-752695658 This is why the School of Friendship was closed down by Chancellor Neighsay in the first place. P.S. I'm going to hell for this. Am I?

Recently, I've heard that Equestria Daily's Youtube page was permanently banned for reasons unknown, and they didn't even get a single strike. So this leads me to believe that I may consider jumping ship from Youtube to an alternative site. What do you all recommend at the moment? My sights may be set for d.tube or Peertube.