Samurai Equine

Hello there, my crowd! Welcome to my Weekly Musings: Orange Edition. 

[I ❤ JAPAN] -- [I ❤ THE COLOR RED] -- [I ❤ CELESTIA]

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Hey there, my crowd! Has it really been a few weeks since I posted one of these? 

 I hope you can all forgive the lack of status updates lately. On the one hand, I've been helping to coordinate MCM, creating and doing things to really make it happen. Not to mention, I've been busy preparing for the holiday. I've hardly had a chance to sit down and write one of these. I am almost glad nothing super important happened during all this time; cause I'd forget to talk about it.

 Zeztz 13: No Longer Weighed Down.  This episode was filled with so much unpredictability. I NEVER would have thought Fujimi would sever ties with Baku this soon. I thought for sure Baku would learn that his sister found out his secret, but no. And most of all, I was surprised to see this new Gravity Capsem holding Nox at bay. Just as Zero told us, the Capsems are based on Baku's mental state, so I am glad to see he found his confidence once more.

 Zeztz 14: Shedding Light Power.   We're doing this?! Okay, I guess we're doing this! This is the episode where we get some more insight into Baku's past, but was Nox/Odaka really his teacher?! And while the two of them are trying to hash things out, we get the premiere of Inazuma Plasma; or as the Capsem says, Inazuma Rider! It's an electric Capsem that allows Baku to travel at light speed! But he gets pretty bad kick back from it later? Is that the pay off of exerting that much power all at once? This episode really has a lot to keep you invested.

 Zeztz 15: Dream Super Dreams.  Now this is the Baku I want to see! He finds a way to defeat the enemy, but he does it in his own way. He's not here to hurt people, he's here to protect people. And he does it while showing off a new super form he gets from the Boost Capsem, the one Zero was holding on to! But can it be paired with any of Baku's previous Capsems, or is it just for Inazuma Plasma? Also, Christmas was mentioned! This totally counts as a Christmas episode! But that ending though... Minami reveals that she knows Baku's secret, and Nox is working for an anti-organization?!

 [ 1 / 3 ] MOVIE TIME!  Time for my December holiday tradition! First of all, I saw Barbie In A Christmas Carol! And I must say, I didn't know what to expect, so I was VERY surprised by how great this is!  I don't know Kelly well enough to know if she was in-character or not, but this was a great adaptation that knows how to play to its changes without being strangle-held to the original story. It's great! It understood the themes of the Dickens tale while making it work for these Barbie characters. Would easily recommend.

 [ 2 / 3 ] 2ND MOVIE!  I also saw A Sesame Street Christmas Carol, and I gotta say... I didn't like it. Part of it might be because I am not the intended audience. Another reason; I am pretty sure half of the episode was a clip show. Another reason; the CGI characters were a little too out of place even for me. But the main reason... Despite the Christmas Carol framing device, the episode does nothing with it. All that effort wasted. Oscar was still a grouch at the end. The three spirits wasted their time. Now I know he usually stays a grouch, but I've seen rare moments where Oscar actually turned nice for a change. Would it have been so bad to make it happen just this once?

 [ 3 / 3 ] 3RD MOVIE!  Last of all, I saw The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol. I've been rating these movies and shows based on whether I LIKED them, LOVED them, or DISLIKE/HATE them. But this is the very first one where it's just Meh. I feel absolutely nothing. I am glad that the makers of this decided to switch to traditional animation. Feels like we've gone back in time, but with a bigger budget. I can ever get use to the new voices on display. However, everything good about this is ruined by an ending that opens up far more questions. In fact, based on that ending, the ENTIRE conflict of the movie could have been prevented if Papa Smurf just did a better job of talking to Grumpy. It didn't even have charm, it just felt... dumb. They may have put effort into the production, but it is SUPER obvious that this whole thing was a pure after-thought. The live action movie is what they wanted to promote first.

That's it for now, my crowd.  Take care, and jingle jangle.

I know this is out of season, but I like this. James' dedication to analyzing the material and the cinematic faithfulness is very similar to me and my December tradition of watching the various adaptations of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The only difference is I haven't read the book yet, but maybe some day I shall. This is "Which Frankenstein Film is Most Faithful to the Book?" by Cinemassacre.