Feast Your Eyes 👀

Anime

Kyou Kara Maoh

Kyou Kara Maou is an isekai from around 2003. Typical Japanese Teen Boy TM Shibuya Yuuri is sucked through a portal to a world full of bishonen who are human like demons and told he's to be their king. Season one so far is a fun enough time, given that it's far enough in the past that it isn't irony poisoned, but recent enough that the idea of an isekai is known. The main character is a fountain of second hand embarassment on occasion, but spends most of his screentime being earnestly sincere and good hearted. He's so good hearted that his four retainers are all a little bit in love with him. This is good because one of them is his fiancee due to a cultural misunderstanding when Yuuri slapped Wolfram Von Befeild, the pretty blonde tsundere, for insulting his mom. Yuuri and Wolfram's interactions are a romantic comedy recurring bit. Once the plot starts rolling the rest of the show is an extended session of culture shock, social justice and anti-WMD propaganda delivered by a 14 year old with a badass alter ego trapped in his subconsious.

It's a shonen, so they want me to focus more on the silly moments and jokes, but my adult brain wants to know more about the day to day of running a kingdom, how the court heirarchy works and how things like letters are delivered among the petty nobility too poor to have a bat-winged post-skeleton. Also what's the deal with Gwendal Von Voltaire? Why is he like that? The seccond hand embrassament is fucking lethal with that guy.

Yu Yu Hakushou

Yusuke Urameshi is a fourteen year old yankii kid in the late eighties. He saves a kid from getting hit by a car and dies in the process, much to the surprise of those in charge of the Spirit World and is offered a second chance at life. It comes with a catch, they want him to work for them post recovery! It starts off as something of a supernatural/preternatural adventure/detective show and quickly turns into a fighting anime, with the Arrival of Genkai's tournament. While I prefer the day to say supernatural stuff and not so much of the fighting, The Dark Tournament is one of the best examples of a tournament arc i've seen done, pretty much ever.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

Her name is Usagi Tsukino, maybe Serena or Bunny depending on who's asking, She's a cancer so her birthstone is a pearl. She's 14, a klutz and a bit of a chubby crybaby. One day a magical talking cat appeared and told her she was born to be the beautiful warrior Sailor Moon and fight bad guys! She's scared and hopes she won't mess this up! But things will be fine, right? OG Sailor Moon was a real gem of a show. It has been memed on to hell and back, and used as a template for magical girl shows ever since its popularity went super nova. She's the most recognizable magical girl ever. Despite the tendency for popular things to become cliche and annoying to be innundated with, Sailor Moon manages to stay charming. The older animation style helps it stand out against newer comers. Crystal falls more in line with the newer animation styles, with the eyes bigger and the chins pointier than ever. I'm not a huge fan. Maybe i'm just an old fogey, though.

BIG O

Big O stars Roger Smith a negotiator who, along with every other person in the city, lost his memory one day years ago. He also has a night job, of sorts. He pilots the Mega Deus, Big O which comes in handy when this girl whose release he is negotiating for, Dorothy, turns out to be an android. Questions and adventures abound in Paradigm City. Big O is essentially Batman with giant robot fights. If you like robot battles that don't discard the plot in favor of showy face offs, you'll like this one. And in between fights, it bears reminding that Batman was a detective first; Roger Smith carries something of that same attitude. The art style is very of the time but also a bit sharper, with some design elements that hearken back to the days of Tezuka. I watched the dub fairly young so I have some nostalgia for it, and the ending song in particular. I really enjoyed it and rewatching as an adult made me appreciate it even more.

Serial Experiments Lain

There's hardly anyone on neocities who hasn't seen or heard of serial experiments Lain, let's not kid ourselves. Lain is a mind bending Seinen Anime that professes it takes place Pesent Day, Present Time. It is very good at holding an atmosphere that intriques you and invites you in to see what it has behind the curtain. Transhumanist themes, great soundtrack, interesting plot make this a recurring favorite with all us terminally online folks.

Pet Shop of Horrors

I will never stop being pissed that TokyoPop screwed over everyone who published in the States through them, because PSoH could have gotten super popular. Starring Count D a man, running a petshop on LA's Chinatown in the late 80s/early 90s, and LAPD detective Leon Orcot, PSoH is a dark fantasy horror combo with enviornmental and conservationist themes. It's extra interesting watching japanese authors do the East Asian Mysticism thing instead of westerners doing it. Some parts of it are very similar, but some are different enough to be noticed. The authrour has made PSoH, PSoH:Tokyo, a Prequel and is currently working on another series, I haven't been able to gt my hands on.

Cartoons

Steven Universe

I came in to Steven Universe just after Giant Woman was released. I was down for a cute show with a nice art style and lots of magic. I was not expecting what Steven Universe turned into. I enjoyed the alternation between slice of life episodes and the heavy plot. The lives of townspeople and making breakfast were just as important as fighting monsters. Emotions, both light and heavy, were a central part of the show, even in season one. I just wanted a sunshine little kid protagonist and magic. I ended up getting space aliens, generational trauma, music, musing on the nature of interpersonal and internal relationships and a lot more. I know a lot of people came in expecting all their wildest dreams come true and Perfect Queer Representation TM, but I came for a kid and magic and I got what I ordered. S+ show.

Star Vs the forces of evil

Spoilers incoming! Star Vs is a bit of an odd duck for me. I really enjoyed the first two seasons but the ending poisoned the well for me. Star Vs was sort of a reaction to Steven Universe. Disney said "cartoon network has a magical tween protag? we can do that" and made something that had a fairly shallow plot. It would have been a bit boring but mostly inoffensive if it stayed at the level of slice of life episodes, but it started to go bigger. Like Steven Universe got into bigger adventures, returning to homeworld and dealing with the issue of the Off Colors, Star Vs decided to deal with Mewni and the royal magic wand. When Steven Universe decided to tackle the Diamond Authority's place in the Homeworld Hierarchy, Star Vs had to keep up with the Universes, so to speak. Where the problems in SU were caused by a system of hierarchy put in place socially, Star Vs pointed to the royal family's status and social expectations being a symptom of power they received from the Royal Magic Wand and Magic itself....which they decide to destroy. In case you couldn't tell, I hated this choice. It soured my opinion of the show terribly. Plus Disney seemed to try to go out of its way to disprove the Trans Girl Marco Diaz theory that draw my attention to the show in the first place.
In conclusion watch Season1 and 2. Three and up is a different series almost.

Courage the Cowardly Dog

Starring Courage the Cowardly Dog! Abandoned as a pup, Courage was found by Muriel who lives in the middle of Nowhere with her husband, Eustace Bagg, but Creepy stuff happens in Nowhere and it's up to Courage to save his new home! Every episode is a miniature horror movie for children. Some episodes are touching or more adventurous than others, but Courage defanged horrors by having someone other than just the viewer scared of them. The main character screams, wails, and faints right alongside you. The manner in which he does so is often so exaggerated you laugh instead. It's a tension ratchet followed by nigh instant release; it's perfect for the baby horror fan to teethe on. While some enemies are forgettable,like Cajun Fox or sludge guy, there are many more that were notable (King Ramses and his "RETURN THE SLAB"), bewilderingly bizarre (You're not perfect said the CG trombone person), saddening and heartwarming in equal measure (Bunny & Kitty, or the Magic Tree) or just plain alarming (Bushwick violinist). Courage gives you kindness, jealousy, greed, anguish, hope, relief, loneliness, companionship and more, all due to one scared little lap dog and the things he does for love.

Batman Beyond

Someone said, let's revamp Batman The Animated Series, but make it For Teens. This was a move that the animators heard and decided to work around to make the coolest show ever. It all reads very 80s while being well into the future of B:tAS. There are new villains, new moral quandries and cool, new story lines for some returning characters. Batman the Animated Series had Harley Quinn who was so good she was adopted into the comic canon. Terry McGuinniss was so good he got his own comic line. If you ignore the implication that Bruce dated Barbara at some point (seriously B, that's your son's ex, wtf) then Batman Beyond is a perfect show. No Notes, all Gold Stars. Special shout outs to Inque's force feeding attack. You found new ways to make adult me uncomfortable on top of the wonder and envy that kid me felt.

Danny Phantom

The intro says it all! Young Danny Fenton was just 14 when he parents built a portal to the world of ghosts. Danny turned it on while he was inside of it and Died and was revived in a single instant, making him half human-half ghost: a halfa! Now Danny fights the malevolent spirits that come through seeking to cause chaos and take over the world. Danny Phantom was a good show with a lot of untapped potential that Nickeloden didn't delvee into. With the star being a dead teenager and his two friends, people latched on to it and never stopped creating fanworks that make the show even more of a treat. Going strong for twenty years, the fans have made plenty of fan works that suppliment the original work and make it all more wonderful to consume. Just watch out if you don't like angst and gore. Phans adore Angst and Gore (and batman all of a sudden?).

Movies🍿

Ghost Rider

It is a "good" Nic Cage film. It's got the classic overacting and is a comic book movie from before those were passe. It's taking itself seriously but doesn't really have the chops so it comes off kinda of cute, in a way. It may just be that I have a lot of nostalgia for this movie being the coolest thing i managed to watch for a while, trapped in a stringently religous house for a year. The initial transformation into the Ghost Rider is probably the best part of the movie for me.

Mad Max, Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road is probably on everyone's movie list for being good. Action scenes that were wonderfully choreographed, a compelling story and a bombastic look decorating a sincere heart all made for an excellent time.

Addams Family and Addams Family Values

The best Gomez, no one can replace Raul Julia and no one dares try to out compete his ghost for the role. The comedy feels really non-malicious. The Addams Family live action movies really invite you to laugh at Addams Family antics, but often on the side of the Addams. It's less mockery and more friendly ribbing. Even the villains have jokes at their expense but rarely in a way that feels out-and-out mean.

Barbie

Barbie 2023 is a fun movie that wants to say something but also doesn't want to be too much of a bummer while it does so. Unfortunately, being a bit of a bummer would have made the point stick a little better, but I'm a serious person who always wanted my stuff to be as educational as entertaining and was a huge nerd. Margot Robbie plays Barbie, which some people hate for reasons that escape me, as bright and bubbly and smart but a classic fish out of water. Will Ferrel plays s manchild head of Mattel and it feels like a sheep skin for the wolf that is a corporation but a corp is never going to let itself be portrayed as actively malicious, greedy or cruel no matter how those fit.

My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021)

I watched at behest of a friend. I dislike the CGI 3D look, but I can't say it does anything for or against the movie. Everything felt a little to contrived and convinient and even at the high stakes action part of the movie it hardly felt like it was as serious as it was taking itself. It is a movie for kids, but that's not an excuse, not any more. Overall, it was fine, but I wouldn't watch it again.

Ginger Snaps

Ginger Snaps is the gold standard for werewolf films. Great gore, and symbology as Lycanthropy begins to take over Ginger's life, replacing her with a monster. Food as puberty as social capital and attention while also being a source and by product of itself gives it an additional layer making rewatches worth it.

Moon of the Wolf 1972, is an old, classic werewolf film. I won't say it's scary, but it is a sad story if you're in the mood to be receptive to that type of thing. If you're not already in a sad mood, it's more a mystery. For me it's a comfort film. I love seeing it and hearing that other people remember it.

Live Action shows

I don't watch a lot of live action television shows. They typically have plots and themes i don't enjoy. My hipster ass demands everything be ancient and with at least one deceased actor, so this section is more of a formality than anything.

The Addams Famly

Very different from the movies, it's Typical Suburban Family with a layer of goth painted on top. Charles Addams hated it, because he wanted the Addams to be a loving family of Evil People, not good but strange. It does set up some of the more popular characterization peices for the family.