Unicorn of War (Thomas Vaccaro)

ATLA Commentary, Book 1 Chapter 9

I support Katara's wrongs.

Charmix Deserved Better

Musa getting hers by trusting Riven gave me Self-Defenestratix.

Charmix Deserved Better (Winx Club)

Intro:

When it comes to Winx Club transformations, the one everyone always forgets is Charmix. So much so, that eventually, the base Magic Winx form got renamed to Charmix. But why?

Well, partially it’s because it’s in season 2, which is by far the most underrated and overlooked season of the show. That’s definitely not helped by the fact Nickelodeon skipped over this one, and the terrible one-hour special butchering its story completely gutted Charmix, and all the character development associated with it.

But in truth, even rewatching the original, Charmix feels more like an afterthought. It’s a cute idea that winds up falling flat because of its late introduction, its poor execution, and its lack of presence in the narrative, and in the end, gets written off as yet another cheap attempt at merchandising.

Which… I mean, yeah, Charmix absolutely is that. But I think Charmix could’ve been so much more. It could’ve been the perfect representation for all the character development present in season 2. Bloom’s anger issues and identity crisis, Stella’s insecurities and tendency to put her foot in her mouth, Flora’s shyness and fear of rejection, Musa’s strained relationship with her father over her late mother, Tecna’s refusal to be vulnerable, and Aisha’s fear of isolation.

So today, we’re gonna talk about what Charmix is, where it fell short, and how maybe it could’ve been handled better.

What Is Charmix?:

Unlike a lot of other transformations, which are either entirely new designs or variations of existing ones, Charmix is more of a booster form, represented by accessories: a brooch, and a purse. Given it’s the second form of the series, it’s essentially an introduction to the idea of powers beyond the base Magic Winx form. And by keeping it something lowkey, it helps to give Magic Winx more time to shine, while also bridging us towards Enchantix next season.

The Charmix Designs:

At the very least, the Charmix designs are cute. I lowkey kinda like them being minor accessories. Bloom’s got this windy lil heart-shaped jewel around her brooch, and a heart-shaped pink fur purse, both of which are adorable, and match the heart motif she’s got going on.

Stella’s is… said to be a mirror-shaped jewel? I’m not getting a mirror vibe looking at it, not gonna lie, but it is pretty. Her purse is a simple orange bag with blue trims, matching her color palette, with a crescent moon on the bag. The one time she’s ever displayed the moon proudly. In the original, all her spells are mirror-themed, by which I mean they have moon names, because visually they’re just energy blasts.

Flora’s brooch is the top half of a heart, the arms looking like vines. She’s also got this cute shoulder bag that immediately stands out from the others, and the purse itself looks like a closed rose. Musa and Tecna’s are arguably the most suited to their powers. Musa’s brooch is a treble-clef-shaped jewel on the shoulder strap of her top, and her bag is a CD player. Personally, I’d love if she threw magical CDs like ninja stars.

Tecna’s got a triangle-shaped jewel around her brooch, because triangles are the most scientific shape. Her bag is… I’m assuming a transmitter? I would’ve liked if the bags had unique powers based on their designs. Not sure what this thing would do, but at least it looks sufficiently nerdy.

Actually, Tecna does connect to the specialists’ starship in episode 24, so maybe that’s what her Charmix is for. It lets her hook into different machines or computers in order to pilot them.

Aisha’s jewel… yeah, it just looks like a weirder version of Stella’s. I’m guessing it’s supposed to be reminiscent of a fountain, given her association with water? The bag is a pink water gourd, which honestly reminds me of Piff’s little bonnet. I get them being water-themed, but it feels kinda odd since Aisha mostly uses plasma and Morphix.

Earning the Charmix:

The way Charmix is earned differs depending on the dub. In the original, a fairy earns her Charmix when she overcomes a fear, while in the 4Kids dub, it’s about a fairy getting in touch with her true self. One is about facing something you dread, while the other is more introspective. Really, they feel like two sides of the same coin. Becoming a stronger, more courageous person by facing your fears. Of course, the levels of satisfaction change depending on the Winx.

Bloom is the first to achieve her Charmix after coordinating everyone’s escape from a falling cable car in the Wildlands. Oddly, it feels like the requirements of Charmix swapped between dubs? In the original, where Charmix is about overcoming a fear, Bloom more focuses on her regrets of losing faith in theWinx as a team, and her faith in Sky as a partner. Meanwhile in the 4Kids dub, where Charmix is about introspection, Bloom is talking more about the fear of the situation, and Sky praises her for her bravery. Either way, it’s fine, but not the most riveting way to earn a Charmix.

Stella and Musa are the next two to get their Charmix in the very next episode. Stella, who’d been having conflict with Aisha given how Stella’s love of luxury has made her resent the Wildlands, gets upset when Aisha suggests sending a postcard to Stella’s parents, not knowing they’re divorced. Aisha, feeling like she doesn’t know the Winx at all, goes off alone in the wilderness.

Stella goes to find her, apologizing and inviting Aisha into the fashion show she’d been planning with the other Winx. In the 4Kids dub, Stella more emphasizes the walls she puts up to guard her insecurities. This earns her a Charmix. Still feels a bit underwhelming, but it’s a nice book end to the conflict that’s been brewing between these two the whole season given their polarizing personalities, and it’s much more satisfying than Bloom’s Charmix.

Musa, meanwhile, unfortunately is connected to her crush on Riven. Riven notices Darcy in the woods preparing traps for the Winx, and Musa leaves Riven alone to keep tabs on her. In the original, it’s about Musa trusting Riven with this, since he was under Darcy’s hypnosis in the first season. Which… feels kinda weird, and a bit victim-blame-y. Yeah, Riven is trash, but he was still under a dark spell while working for the Trix last season.

In the 4Kids dub, the trust angle is gone, instead about Musa straight up telling Riven she likes him. It’s still not great cuz… it’s Riven, but it’s a lot cuter, and much less aggravating. And this confession grants her a Charmix.

The Charmix kinda comes in clutch in these episodes. Since the Wildlands are a magic-free zone, the Winx are powerless here, only able to use short bursts of magic once they’ve earned their Charmix. Bloom for some reason only ever uses her Charmix twice, leaving Stella and Musa to become key players in stopping the Trix.

Aisha gets separated from the others and lost in a dark cave. In the original, she’s terribly afraid of the dark, which is connected to her fear of being left alone. She overcomes this fear in order to help her friends. It’s more or less the same in the 4Kids dub, save for the omission of the fear of the dark. She gets her Charmix, flies out of the cave, and meets up with Bloom and the pixies.

Tecna, who’s been annoyed at Timmy for a while because he won’t confess his feelings, gets worried when Timmy is nearly injured in his plan to stop the Trix. In the original, it’s… kinda confusing? She says she judged him for superficial things, by which I assume she means his cowardice when the Trix stole the Redfountain Codex? 4Kids makes it a bit clearer, with Tecna admitting she herself had been scared to confess her feelings, and instead blamed Timmy for not doing so. Her vulnerability snags her the best relationship in the show, and a Charmix.

Flora is left as the last Winx without a Charmix, which she’s really insecure about. Especially when her power over nature is needed to heal the dying Flower of Life in Pixie Village. She manages to pull it off thanks to the encouragement of her season-long crush Helia, and earns her Charmix by confessing her feelings to him. Admittedly, 4Kids botched this one, but it’s arguably the most satisfying of the Charmixes aside from Aisha.

The Problem with Charmix:

So overall, I’m not against the way the Charmix form was earned, but it felt very… rushed. Packed into just a few episodes at the tail end of this eason, so while these do technically work as the book ends to most of the girls’ arcs this season, they don’t feel as well executed as they should.

The real problem here is more how it comes out of left field. You see, before this moment, the word Charmix hadn’t even been uttered throughout season 2. Faragonda never mentions it as something fairies in their second year should work towards. There’s been absolutely no setup. And not only does it feel random, but it also feels too little, too late, since the first Charmix is earned in episode 20 of a 26-episode season.

And even then, Charmix doesn’t feel all that impressive once it’s earned, as the Winx tend to only use it on Darkar’s shadow monsters. When they do use it against him, it’s only marginally effective, only vanquishing him when they all use their Charmix together through convergence. We don’t even get a showdown between the Winx’s Charmix and the Trix’s Gloomix.

The whole season, the Trix have been using their Gloomix powerups from Darkar to kick the Winx’s asses, arguably even more so than they did in season 1. So naturally, you’d expect the Charmix to be able to level the playing field. But we don’t even get one fight between the two forms, which feels like such a wasted opportunity. The Winx not getting to face off with the Trix as they storm Darkar’s castle, and instead being left to fight more worthless henchmen, is bullshit.

And even stranger, Charmix isn’t in season 3 at all. Some say it’s because the Winx basically used up all of their Charmix taking out Darkar, which… what? No other form works like this? Where if you overexert it, it just… goes away forever? And since no dub of the show ever says this outright, no, I’m not taking this as canon. It just feels so weird to not have the Winx be using their Charmix this season, especially since it could help up Valtor’s threat level if he keeps brushing it off. Not to mention, it’d be nice to give more screentime to the Charmix forms that didn’t get a lot to work with last season.

Rewriting the Charmix:

So let’s work a little rewrite magic. We won’t be rewriting all of season 2, because I love myself, and also season 2 is still that underrated gurl whose name y’all need to put more respect on. However, a bit of tweaking could help Charmix shine far more than it did in the original. The designs are fine, we’ll leave them be, along with how they’re earned. Instead, we’ll be doing two things.

Firstly, we’ll have Faragonda introduce the concept of Charmix early on. Perhaps she can mention it in the first episode of season 2, mentioning the Charmix as a goal of second-year fairies, and describing what it does, and how it’s earned. But letting us know it exists, and that the Winx will be striving towards it.

Then in episode 6, where the group is trying to save Brandon from Princess Amentia in Downland, Stella’s confession of love earns her a Charmix. She’s weakened, both by the Underrealm and by the lack of sunlight while underground, but the Charmix could give her enough magic to escape from the guards and fly down to Brandon. She’s not sure if she has enough magic to get them out of here, but she’s gonna at least try and put up a fight. Maybe she could even briefly fight Amentia? We’ve seen she’s combat ready, after all.

But thankfully, Amore still saves the day with her soulmate blossom, directing Amentia’s focus to Sponsus, and allowing us all to leave in peace. Stella is the first of the group to earn her Charmix. “But wait,” I hear you ask, “you said you wouldn’t change how the Winx earn their Charmix!” Well you see, I have a plan for that, and you’ll just need to be patient with me for the time being.

Stella could get to show off her Charmix a bit more in the next couple episodes, against the Dark Tower and the Kerbog monster at Redfountain. Then in episode 10, when Sky is nearly killed by Icy, Bloom confesses her love for Sky, earning her Charmix and healing Sky with the Flame of Life. Immediately, her Charmix is tied to her healing magic, opening up this new facet of the Dragon Flame.

Maybe she could even use her Charmix to undo the homesickness spell on the pixies in episode 11. And these two being the first Winx to get their Charmix could add some complications to their convergence exercises in episode 12.

In episode 13, when Aisha and Musa are confronted by gang members - don’t ask - Musa is pulled away, and Aisha left in darkness, triggering her fears. As a result, she unleashes a powerful attack, shooting plasma in all directions, pushing the gang members back and saving Musa. Perhaps right before she releases the attack, her determination to save Musa earns her a Charmix, and the huge attack is her first Charmix spell.

In episode 15, which is all about Musa and her family, she’s been forbidden by her father from singing at the Redfountain concert. However, she still goes on, performing the very song her father wrote for her late mother. When she finishes her performance, she gets her Charmix, using it in concert (lol) with everyone singing with her to fuel her powers even further, taking Stormy down.

Charmix would absolutely come in clutch in the Cloudtower episodes. The four who have their Charmix could brag about it, while Flora and Tecna feel left behind, and even a bit resentful. Later on, Musa and Aisha could use their Charmix powers together, helping them stand against the Trix. But while Bloom’s Charmix could help her against the Trix, it can’t make up for the fact she’s alone.

Or… she loses it. If the Charmix is about facing your fears and getting in touch with yourself, perhaps regressing and losing your way means the Charmix no longer finds you worthy. You lose it, and all its powers. These episodes are all about the Winx turning against each other, losing their ability to cooperate, culminating in a failed convergence spell as the Trix steal the Codex. What else would make it an even more dire loss than losing the Charmix?

Then, in the Wildland episodes, the Winx regain their Charmix forms as they get back on the right track, while Tecna and Flora finally get their Charmix forms, granting us incredible catharsis. Personally, I’d enjoy Dark Bloom getting a kind of Anti-Charmix, or a Gloomix of her own, while the Winx use their Charmix in a final clash with the Trix. This loss against the Winx is what prompts Darkar to cast the Trix out to… wherever the hell he sends them.

And of course, have the Winx using Charmix occasionally during season 3. They use it against Valtor, and it doesn’t work. Aisha gets to use it against the krakken, or using it to amplify the power of Ligea’s scepter, before she gets Enchantix. Stella uses it against the dragon to protect her dad, Flora uses it to speak to the trees about Faragonda, so on, so forth.

Conclusion & Outro:

The Charmix isn’t a bad idea, but in execution, it leaves a lot to be desired. If it got a little more love, perhaps it’d be what’s needed to take season 2 from underrated to celebrated.

RWBY Volume 1 Commentary, Chapter 8

F in the chat for Old Lady Nevermore.

RWBY Volume 1 Commentary, Chapters 6 & 7

I want to harm Jaune.

RWBY Volume 1 Commentary, Chapters 4 & 5

Everyone is a lesbian.

RWBY Volume 1 Commentary, Chapters 2 & 3

I think Blake was a little disappointed that Weiss survived the explosion.

Winx 7 Commentary, Episode 4

Roxy stans, we ride at dawn.

Winx 7 Commentary, Episode 3

I'd like to return Butterflix, please.

Winx 7 Commentary Episode 2

WHY DO WE KEEP LOSING TO BIRDS

Winx 7 Commentary, Episode 1

We lost to a BIRD???

Wicked Had Ruined My Life And I Love It

I am holding so much space rn.

Sky Stole The Secret of the Lost Kingdom

The one time I'm rooting for Bloom.

Tearing Apart RWBY Volume 8 Audio

The audio version of my video on RWBY Volumes 8 and 9, specifically the V8 section. Because my hatred for this volume is UNLIMITED.

Revisiting the Remains of RWBY

Red still like roses.

The Witch and the Wolf | RWBY Fan Animation progress

So I've recently been re-entering a RWBY spiral, and indulging my low-poly Blender fixation. What has resulted is a loooooot of attempts at animation. If this is cool to y'all and you wanna see more, let me know, but I figured I might as well show off what's occupying my brain instead of actually making videos lmfao

(I've also been working on a fight animation of Weiss & Yang v. Adam, which I haven't touched in weeks, but I've got a good chunk of it done)

Kingdom Hearts 1 Retrospective Script - Traverse Town

Another World:

We then fade into a strange town beneath a night sky, where Donald, Goofy, and Pluto arrive, complete with new fits. Might I say Goofy rocks the green? They’re still very JRPG coded, but less… out there than their castle garbs. These feel more akin to street fashion, perfect to go along with Sora’s fit.

As they look to the sky, Goofy points to a star blinking out - likely Destiny Islands. A beautiful visual with a tragic message, and a reminder of the stakes of this mission. Goofy thinks of going one way, and of course, Donald calls him a goofball, a wingnut, and knucklehead mcspazatron, to which Goofy responds, “What do I know?” Of course, Pluto fucks off and goes the way Goofy wanted, discovering an unconscious Sora lying in the alley. Cue tiny me screaming into the void in anger and fury.

Naturally, Pluto wakes Sora from his slumber with a swift, if stern, kick in the ribs. The doggo runs off, sure to cause chaos and raise hell elsewhere. Sora, meanwhile, is left in awe of the fact he’s done it - he’s reached a new world. Unfortunately, it’s under much more dire, somber, lonelier circumstances than anticipated.

Speaking to some of the locals, we learn that they’re all people who’ve lost their worlds, presumably to the same darkness that destroyed Destiny Islands. Traverse Town acts as a haven. It’s a safe harbor that appears to those who’ve lost their homes, offering them refuge as opposed to annihilation. No one seems to be in charge of this world. Instead, the world seems to do this of its own volition, which I personally adore. It adds to this feeling of grandeur and mystery that permeates this game.

We’ve got a few shops here. One of which being run by Donald’s nephew Huey, Dewie, and Louie. No, I’m not sure why they’re here in Traverse Town of all places, nor how they managed to secure a storefront, but ya know what? I approve of them duckbossing at such a young age.

From here, we get to explore the town, and figure shit out ourselves. Kingdom Hearts 1, much like a lot of older games, doesn’t really tell you what to do. It kinda just expects you to figure it out for yourself, albeit with some slight hints and vague gestures.

The Design of Traverse Town:

I am obsessed with Traverse Town’s design, and I’m 95% certain it laid the groundwork for our generation’s later obsession with liminal spaces. The town features a weird, wacky, almost medieval feel. At least, the First District does. See, there are three main districts, with smaller areas strewn throughout, all sorta forming a big loop.

The First District is the safest, free of enemies for most of the game, featuring a warm color palette that stands out against the perpetual night sky. It provides this cozy, safe feeling, albeit with the faint reminder that the shadows are always near. I especially love little interactive details, like the cafe candles that you can’t extinguish ‘til you learn the Blizzard spell, rewarding you with a treasure chest.

The Second District is a bit larger. It’s a wide open downtown area with a cooler palette - perfect for encountering enemies as you traverse… the town. There’s a gizmo shop in the cathedral at the end of the way, through which you can access the rooftops. More platforming that is… admittedly not as tedious as other sections.

The Third District is the smallest, and… I’m not sure what it is exactly? I’d assume some kinda plaza or shopping center with all the neon lights, and the Lady and the Tramp mural - which also, iconic, love that reference - but there’s not much else here to suggest how people would inhabit this space. Not that it matters, being liminal and all, but it’s always perplexed me. Also, note the little keyhole by the big door. Remember it. Learn it. And also the exposed wiring, and the big but slightly less big red door with the fire symbol.

Connected to the Second District is a hotel, a couple color-themed rooms, and an alleyway, which also loops back around into the Second District. They’re small details, but they help to make Traverse Town feel more lived in, and more complex than it really is. It’s a bit more than just, Point A to Point B, especially as the game progresses, and you gain access to even more areas hidden within the nooks and crannies of this world.

Another little thing: scattered throughout Traverse Town are postcards, which you can feed into this horrifying abomination of a mailbox in the First District for rewards. Again, tiny things that don’t matter much in the grand scheme, but I think are just neat.

Though I would love it if maybe we got to see characters sending interplanetary mail, and read said mail. Is it illegal? Probably, depending on the laws of each Disney world, as well as interplanetary law. Is it canon? Probably not, cuz of the whole, “No meddling” bullshit. But c’mon, tell me it wouldn’t be juicy getting to read all the hot gossip as Belle shit talks her castle staff to the other princesses.

And can we talk about the Traverse Town theme? It is the epitome of coziness. This slow, jazzy tune helps lull you into comfort, and personally reminds me of all those lo-fi cafe videos on YouTube you go to for ambient music.

Final Fantasy Cameos:

We’ve got a few more Final Fantasy cameos here, too. Firstly, the little Moogle wandering the First District. These guys run most of the item and synthesis shops across the series, and I love them so much. They’re just so cute! Although, I’m pretty sure the synthesis shop, which we won’t be able to access ‘til later, is actually a nuclear weapons forge. The Moogles are plotting something, man, and imma be real, I’m rooting for them.

Heading inside the accessory shop, we meet Cid - a crotchety, middle-aged man who is fed up with everyone’s nonsense, but still has a heart of gold. At least, I assume. Again, I don’t know the Final Fantasy girlies like that, but I like Cid. Wish he got some spoken dialogue here in the first game, though.

Cid tells us a bit about the town, offering us shelter if we can’t find our friends. For what little we get here, I enjoy Cid being annoyed by Sora calling him gramps, but still wanting to make sure he’s safe and sound. Makes it clear Cid is a sort of benevolent patriarch here in town.

I haven’t mentioned it up until now, but the manga does a bit more work in characterizing everyone, Cid included. I’ve only read a few chapters, but I recall seeing a fan-animated adaptation when I was younger, showing Cid blasting away Heartless with a goddamn canon. Absolutely unhinged, and I’m here for it. I just wish a lot of the wackiness and personality I’ve seen from the manga was present in the games.

So now, we’re just left to wander the town. And the second we set foot in the Second District, we witness a man die. Woo! We don’t see what he’s running from, but his body disappears as his heart leaves his body, either transforming into or being consumed by a strange dark creature. I’m personally not sure which it is still, but I must say, it’s a pretty grim sighting, especially considering what Sora just survived. The boi has enough trauma, thank you.

Sidenote: this nameless extra reappears several times, either the same or slightly recolored. I am quite certain he is either an imposter, or a zombie. That is all.

What follows is a horde of Shadows surrounding Sora. And instead of the Traverse Town battle theme, we’re instead given the “Night of Fate” tune again. A real jam, but again, thanks for the trauma. For all we know, this means this town is on the same path to destruction as our homeworld. Fun!

From here, the Shadows inhabit every area of the town, even the First District, just to make sure you feel overwhelmed, scared, and helpless. And at each turn, whenever you enter an area, you’ll see Donald and Goofy searching for you somewhere else, just to make sure we raise your blood pressure as much as possible.

You’re free to explore as much as you want. Eventually you’ll probably return to the accessory shop to talk to Cid, since it’s one of the only safe havens at the moment. Exiting the shop, you’re greeted not with Shadows, but another Final Fantasy cameo: Leon!

Okay, so since this was my introduction to these characters, I grew up never knowing that this guy’s name is actually Squall Leonheart. In this context, it used to be his name, but he goes by Leon now, correcting anyone who still calls him Squall. Not sure why, but I assume it’s something along the lines of, “That name carries the blood of those I failed to protect.”

Leon warns us cryptically about the creatures, and how they’ll continue targeting us so long as we wield the Keyblade. So he knows about both our mystical weapon, and the monsters ruining our lives, immediately making us go, “I’m sorry, whomst the fuck are you, and howst the fuck do you know such things? Also wherest the fuck do you shop for your clothing cuz you are immaculately dressed?”

When Sora refuses to hand over the Keyblade, naturally, a boss fight ensues. You don’t have to win this one, since ultimately, Leon is an ally, so consider this more… a test of your skills. Even if you win, Sora will collapse from exhaustion, establishing that he - and by extension, you - still isn’t experienced enough to handle this sort of thing.

After the dramatic faint - which thankfully can’t cause Sora brain damage, since you can’t damage what isn’t there - Leon’s bestie Yuffie shows up to tease him a bit. These two are from different Final Fantasies, but don’t seem - from my cursory knowledge - to share the stories and backgrounds of their canon versions. Instead, they’re sort of… alternate versions rooted in the original worlds of Kingdom Hearts. But for what it’s worth, I love them here, especially Yuffie. I just love how much of a high-energy go-getter she is.

Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy are still searching. I guess somehow they never ran into Cid or Leon. Instead, they’re jumpscared by Aerith, and I must say, I love how much the women are jumpscaring people in this game. I’m not exactly sure why KH1 opted for this trio of Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith, but they do make for an iconic group, and I enjoy their dynamic, especially by KH2.

Meanwhile, Riku:

Meanwhile, the darkness sent Riku not to Traverse Town, but somewhere else entirely. A strange sort of ruin surrounded by floating ice and waterfalls. He calls out for his friends, but his voice is gone, replaced with dramatic slow downs and whooshes of wind.

To my memory, this is a Final Mix addition, hence the lack of vocals. However, it actually helps to emphasize this as a dramatic moment. It communicates how helpless Riku likely feels, with no one to hear his pleas. Well, no one except the mysterious figure watching him from above. I’m sure that’s not one of the overarching villains with sinister intentions.

The Keyblade:

Cutting back to Sora, he wakes up to find himself in a strange room; in this case, what’s called the Green Room in the Traverse Town hotel. He’s greeted by Kairi, only to realize he’s just hallucinating, and this is actually “the great ninja Yuffie.” First of all, rude. Second of all, VERY RUDE.

Leon’s here too, and he and Yuffie give Sora the rundown. The reason Leon attacked Sora was to get the Keyblade away from him, as while he was wielding it, it drew the Heartless - the monsters - towards Sora like a magnet. During this, we see in the Red Room - no, not the Twin Peaks Red Room - that Aerith is explaining the situation to Donald and Goofy.

These creatures, the Heartless, are drawn to the darkness in people’s hearts. They were studied by a man named Ansem, who chronicled his findings in detailed reports, which have been scattered to many different worlds due to the crisis. The Keyblade holds the power to stop them, and according to Leon and Yuffie, it chose Sora as its wielder, adding to its mystique. Personally, I love it when powers and artifacts are sentient, and have a say in who gets to use them.

Talking to Yuffie real quick, we also learn that the Keyblade is able to open any lock. Cuz ya know, universal key and all that. Helps with treasure chests, and also certain safes and door locks lying about. Oh, and another little thing. Hit the clock above Leon a few times, and another treasure chest will appear! I miss stuff like this.

Before we can head out, the Heartless make their move. Leon throws it out the window, then leaps into the alley below, like a boss, and Sora follows. Donald, meanwhile, is slammed into the wall, before he and Goofy get the chance to meet Sora. And yes, this makes me cackle like a hyena every time.

The Guard Armor:

Leon tells us that the lesser Heartless usually follow a stronger one. A boss, you might say. Find the boss, and the small fry should be taken care of, and so Leon heads off presumably to find it, telling Sora to do the same. I assume splitting up is okay given the fact we have the proper tools to fend off the Heartless.

Real quick, let’s talk Heartless designs again. These freaky bois are called Soldiers, and you’ll notice they’re a bit more complicated than the Shadows. Generally, Heartless fall into two categories: Purebloods, and Emblem. Purebloods are crafted naturally from the darkness, whereas Emblem Heartless are… artificial. You might ask whomst the fuck made these things then, and I assure you, you will have your answers soon.

The easiest way to identify the difference is the insignia. The Heartless crest is only present on Emblem Heartless, who tend to be more colorful and intricately designed, while Pureblood Heartless are usually more simple shadow-type creatures. Another fun note: when an Emblem Heartless is slain, the captive heart is released, unlike Purebloods. It’s a surprise tool that’ll hurt us later!

Soldier Heartless are goofy lil bois. They appear kinda like bipedal Shadows, except covering themselves in a suit of armor with sharp claws, and a face-shaped helmet. The colors of Emblem Heartless are altered in Final Mix versions for some reason, which also makes them the default in HD remasters, since those use Final Mix as a base. And generally speaking… the Final Mix recolors suck.

Originally, Soldiers’ base armor was blue, with purple kneepads, blood-red claws, and a silver helmet. In Final Mix, they decided to drown the design in mustard-toned sepia, yellowing the claws, and making the silver look like… well, it doesn’t even look like bronze, nor gold. It just looks like dirty silver with a coat of piss and grime overtop. It’s hideous. I really wish there was a toggle to change the colors. There are mods for that, thankfully, but it’d be nice to just have it in the official version of the game to begin with.

Arriving in the Third District, we see Donald and Goofy up in this lil corner box. No, I’m not sure why it’s there, nor how they got up there, but the doofus duo finds themselves surrounded by Heartless. And before they can be badasses, they presumably launch themselves into the air, falling onto Sora. I assume Donald tried a Zeta Flare, and it blew up in his beak.

But must say, these three’s first meeting being Donald and Goofy falling from the sky and nearly crushing Sora’s spine? Definitely makes a memorable first impression! These guys are one of my favorite trios of all time, and this helps to set the tone for the wacky, goofy antics they’ll be getting up to.

From this point, Donald and Goofy will be your party members. And… they’re not totally useless? If you tinker with their AI in the menu, you’ll probably get them to behave more competently, but you’re gonna be trusted to handle the heavy lifting, with Donald and Goofy acting more as cheerleaders. Donald’s the magic user, and Goofy has specialized shield attacks.

After fending off a wave of Soldiers, the boss Heartless shows up: the Guard Armor. Gotta say, love all the armor pieces falling from the sky, then clicking into place to form the whole. Cartoony and fun, but still kinda threatening, and weirdly fitting with the sorta medieval feel of Traverse Town, as well as the aesthetics of the Soldiers.

Unfortunately, we have another case of Final Mix recoloring. The original Guard Armor is purple and silver, which I must say is quite majestic. Still a bit silly, but it looks very pretty. The Final Mix version, however, is red, blue, and yellow - ya know, the primary colors of plastic blocks children play with in kindergarten. Turns the Guard Armor from a relatively intimidating foe into a giant evil toy.

Once the Guard Armor’s taken care of, Sora, Donald, and Goofy make their proper introductions to each other. Donald and Goofy are trying to find King Mickey, while Sora wants to find Riku and Kairi, and so the three decide to work together to search the worlds for them. Donald’s not so sure they’ll find Riku and Kairi, but he couldn’t give less of a damn. He just knows they need Sora’s Keyblade to get their job done.

And really? I’m here for Donald being such a dick. They’re not all gonna be besties right off the bat, and while their motivations do align for the time being, it makes sense that Donald’s still not very happy about it. Especially cuz Donald is generally known as a dick. Goofy therefore is the one trying to make everybody get along and keep spirits high, which makes me love him even more.

Sora’s not too happy about the arrangement either, but Donald tells him not to be such a Debbie downer. They joke about their ship running on happy faces, which… yeah, to me translates as Donald specifically not wanting Sora to be a moody bitch the whole journey. Which… fair. I’ve seen what happens when characters become that for an entire story. Plus, it results in this golden moment where Sora forces the most cursed smile.

God, I love these three idiots.

The Disney Villain Council:

Unfortunately, while our heroes have all met up, the villains are busy plotting and scheming. We cut to a dark chamber, where the Evil League of Evil watches a projection of the trio, having just watched us defeat the Guard Armor. They’re well aware of who Sora is, and that he wields the Keyblade. And they know about the king too. Very good call, establishing a group of antagonists early on, and that they’re in charge of this fucked up game, all to make them a more intimidating threat.

Now, they may be cast in shadow, but you know who they are. Either you’ve seen their movies, or you know their iconic silhouettes through cultural osmosis. That said, the silhouettes do help with the intimidation factor. Not that they’d need it, since these are some of the most beloved Disney Villains in history, but it certainly helps. For me, this is a dream come true. This is up there with that time the Disney Villains took over the House of Mouse.

Obviously, Maleficent is our leader. She’s the Mistress of All Evil, after all, and with her being the oldest of the villains present - with Sleeping Beauty being from the ‘50s - it does suggest she’s the strongest of the bunch. She certainly carries the strongest, most intimidating presence.

So for most of this game, she functions as our main antagonist, and I adore her demeanor here. She’s ever unbothered, always calm and composed, in charge of every situation. Sure, she may be clearly evil from a mile away, but she still doesn’t go out of her way to be cruel unnecessarily. She’s careful with her choice of words. She says what she needs to keep people on her side; an expert in manipulation.

For the rest of our Disney Villain Council, we’ve got Ursula from The Little Mermaid, Hades from Hercules, Jafar from Aladdin, Captain Hook from Peter Pan, and Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Gives you an idea of some of the Disney worlds that await ahead. Will say, interesting that the sack of bugs and the foppish pirate captain got on this council somehow.

Our Mission:

Back in Traverse Town, before the trio sets off on their journey, Leon and the gang give us a bit of munny for the road ahead. That’s “money” spelled the way it sounds, of course. We then finally get to learn magic, with Donald teaching Sora the Fire spell. At last, the blue bars on the HUD make sense. Each spell takes a point from the blue bar, which can be replenished either with items, or physically attacking enemies.

Fire also works as a long-range spell, shooting a fireball that races towards its target. Magic tends to get ignored by filthy button mashers like myself, but they do come in clutch, especially if you’re on a higher difficulty. And we also get abilities! In this case, Dodge Roll, which makes movement so much faster, and so much more satisfying. I’d never be able to roll in real life without breaking every bone in my body, but you’d best believe I’m gonna roll everywhere in my games.

You can change abilities in the menu, along with set items, and customize shortcuts. Must say, love the shortcuts - allows you to more quickly use favorite spells by holding a trigger button - but the items menu is so frustrating in KH1. I hate clicking a slot, going into the Item Stock, and then putting in an item, because the presentation is confusing and convoluted. Well, at least the UI sound effects burned their way into my brain .

We also get access to Jiminy’s journal. Jiminy doesn’t make much noise through our journey, but he serves a useful gameplay mechanic, chronicling the story synopsis as we venture through the worlds, along with the characters and enemies we encounter.

We’re also introduced to Trinity Marks - colorful Mickley emblems scattered throughout the worlds. They can only be activated when Sora, Donald, and Goofy are together, and each color performs a certain action. First accessible are the Blue Trinity Marks, which signify the Trinity Jump. Like the name suggests, the three jump, which can either summon a treasure chest, a rain of munny or HP orbs, or teleport you to an otherwise-inaccessible area.

It’s basic, but I love the Trinity Marks for the added level of exploration and interactivity they provide. I don’t enjoy needing this specific trio to use them though, as it usually prevents me from including the world-specific party members in my lineup in case I run into a Trinity Mark.

And one last thing: Leon is very worried about some doggos. You know the 101 Dalmatians? Well, the parents - Pongo and Perdita - are here in Traverse Town, and they’re very sad, because their 99 puppies have been scattered across the worlds, some of them stuffed in… treasure chests? Who the hell is locking puppies in boxes?!

Anyhow, the more puppies you find and return, the more gifts Pongo and Perdita provide for you. It’s a neat way to integrate some Disney stuff into gameplay mechanics. Will say though, I kinda wish that once you gathered all of them, it unlocked a secret boss fight with Cruella de Vil. Imagine her car tearing through the Second District as she tries to run over Sora, like she’s the Hot Rod from KH2.

And as minor as it is, I love that Leon is so deeply concerned for the sad, lost puppies, and how he refuses to admit it as the girls tease him over it. It’s a cute touch that makes me love Leon even more. I love a cool, badass dude who’s a total marshmallow on the inside.

Now without further ado, it’s time to set out.

Kingdom Hearts 1 Retrospective - Prologue Script

What follows is a portion of my script for my Kingdom Hearts 1 Retrospective. Yes, I will be doing this for all the worlds, and then cobbling them together for a giant video, lmfao. Enjoy!

Opening Cinematic

Sora’s Question:

We begin, as all great stories do, with trippy, abstract visuals as the main character contemplates the nature of reality betwixt ominous dark clouds. Who hasn’t been there?

Let me tell you, this is pure, unfiltered, “I’m 14 and this is deep” energy, and I live for it. Much of Kingdom Hearts’ story, especially in the first couple games, centers around the painful metamorphosis of growing up. Of leaving your childhood behind as you become an adult, while also struggling not to lose all the lighthearted innocence in a dark, frightening, and unpredictable world.

Given the age of most people when they first played Kingdom Hearts, this is the perfect approach to endear the audience, since they’re likely to share this struggle as they themselves try to navigate the world as they find their footing. And a lot of that is this process of discovery, where at so many points you think to yourself, “Is this real life? Is this chaotic, painful mess really what it’s all about?”

Casually, if you don’t give the line much thought, you can write it off as trying to appear deep without losing much, but the sincerity of the question and its underlying apprehension do tonally match the rest of the game’s story and themes. And I dig that.

The Opening Cinematic:

What then follows is what many Kingdom Hearts fans like to call, “AMV Material,” because these games’ opening cinematics are ripe for angsty edits. Set to the PLANITb Remix of “Simple and Clean” by Utada Hikaru, the intro shows us the three main characters: Sora, Riku, and Kairi, all trying to enjoy a day at the beach, all the while realizing the answer to Sora’s question is, “Um, I’m not sure? Because reality is melting right in front of me, and it’s terrifyingly immaculate.”

Again, the imagery on display is wild, and immediately eye-catching. Like in a music video, the visuals can seem to be solely for the purpose of capturing the viewer’s imagination, drawing them in with absurd, dreamlike spectacles. But when you take a closer look, there’s hidden depth… well, not quite hidden - more obscured.

There’s a visceral story going on here that clicks into place as you play the game, but you can still gather what’s going on intuitively without that context. Think of it like… dream interpretation. Your brain takes subconscious thoughts, beliefs, and anxieties, and manifests them into stories and images in your dreams.

We begin with Sora floating through the dark depths of the sea, only to awaken back on the shores of his island. He sees his friend Riku standing out in the water. Before he can run to his friend, the water recedes, forming a tidal wave coming to engulf them both. Sora rushes out to Riku, but Riku is totally unbothered. He just reaches out his hand. Even when the wave hits, and they’re both submerged, Riku remains calm and collected, and the tide pulls Sora away as he struggles to reach him.

In this case, the visuals foreshadow the disaster about to befall Destiny Islands, the boys’ homeworld. Riku remains unfazed by the disaster, deciding to embrace the darkness, which explains why he seems perfectly unaffected by what should be killing him. The whole game, Riku descends a dark path from which Sora is unable to pull him back.

Sora is then pulled back to the beach. Sunset has fallen over the island, and Kairi calls out from shore, awaiting Sora. Kairi seems cheerful, just happy to see Sora, and the feeling appears mutual. However, the mood shifts as they look to the sky to see, among a meteor shower, another Sora falling from the sky. The Sora down on the back falls back in shock, falling into the sky as Kairi vanishes in a ripple of water.

Okay so… falling into the sky? Iconic. Obsessed with this visual 100%. Also a bit funny given the meaning of the trios names: in Japanese, “Riku” means “land,” “Kairi” means “sea,” and “Sora” means “sky.” Weird the “land” guy got devoured by the sea, but can’t win ‘em all I suppose.

Kairi vanishing here does track with events later on. Given the moment of laughter here, it’s likely to show the moment of peace that gets interrupted by the anomaly they’re about to witness. Another version of Sora - made funnier by events of later games - here could just mean another facet of Sora’s character or personality. In this case, the version of Sora changed by what he just experienced with Riku.

Sora then falls through the sky, into the sun, and back into the depths of the sea, literally transcending the celestial borders of his world to enter the great unknown. It’s ethereal, life changing, but equally frightening. We then effortlessly shift into the tutorial stage, as Sora’s first step releases a burst of light. Doves fly out in all directions, leaving behind the mural of the first Disney princess as the ground upon which Sora walks: Snow White.

This transition from the ending visual into gameplay absolutely eats. Fantastic way to grab your audience’s attention, and foreshadow events and themes to come, without necessarily giving it all away. And given the tutorial stage is later revealed to be a dream of Sora’s, we can assume the intro sequence was as well, so perhaps the use of dream interpretations wasn’t too far off.

And real quick, I wanna say I adore “Simple and Clean.” The lyrics match that struggle of growing up and realizing things aren’t as straightforward as they seemed when you were young, told through the story of a young romance awkwardly stumbling through adolescent milestones. What should be simple - the idea of falling in love with someone and that being enough - turns out to be quite difficult when faced with all the complex issues that come with growing up in a complex world. It. EATS.

Apparently, Nomura knew right off the bat he wanted Utada to do the main theme for Kingdom Hearts. His staff were like, “Um, no, she’s never gonna do it, please be real,” but he went for it anyway, and Utada immediately went “… Sure, why not?” If that’s not the epitome of Kingdom Hearts’ entire existence, I don’t know what is.

Oh, and the PLANTIb remix is definitely one of my favorite versions of the song. The fast pace gets you hyped to play the game, and works well paired with the cinematic, especially when certain actions match the beats of the song.

Station of Awakening

Princess Mural Tutorials:

The tutorial takes place in what’s known as the Station of Awakening. This mysterious, otherworldly realm is an endless dark void filled with a faint fog, the only walkways being large cylindrical platforms made of stained glass. The tops of these platforms bear illustrations of different characters. In short, this realm represents people’s hearts. They are the manifestation of the interiors of their hearts - hearts in this case essentially being a person’s soul or essence.

And for the record, I mean this in the sense of a metaphor, cuz the later games get obsessed with trying to literalize everything, and even differentiate between souls and hearts, and it gets frustrating very quickly as they seem not to realize the metaphorical realm the earlier games were operating in.

There are five platforms in this tutorial stage, four of which representing Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, and Belle. No, I’m not sure why Cindy is a brunette here, nor why Belle is a ginger, but their looks do slay, as does Aurora’s purple dress. I’m guessing the changes were made to suit the aesthetics here? Truth be told, Cinderella kinda kills it with this brunette look.

Given Kingdom Hearts as a series is basically one-third Disney (the other chunks being Square Enix and Nomura’s psyche), it makes sense to have different aspects of the Disney brand play prominently into the story, including the Disney Princesses. It ties the Disney stuff into the story early on, and in a way that matches the lucid, mystical tone this opener radiates.

As we’ll see later on in the story, this dream works not only as a tutorial, but also a premonition of what’s to come for Sora. These four princesses’ current states can be surmised from their presence here, especially in concert with the fifth platform not reflecting one particular princess, but rather the silhouettes of three princesses. This one confused me for years, especially since the silhouettes don’t match the remaining prominent princesses.

But they’re not supposed to. They represent the idea of a princess so as to hide the identities of the remaining ones, as these three are still free from the encroaching darkness that’s already consumed the four we’ve seen. It’s, again, something that clicks by the end of the game, but on your first playthrough, you still get the important information that these characters - and likely other well-known, recognizable Disney characters - will later be present. Something I think both kids and Disney fans will appreciate, without compromising the serious tone of the game.

Across each platform, you learn the basics of movement, combat, and interaction, all through the Command Menu. Now, I won’t be going too into detail about the combat since I’m a story and writing girlie, but I do wanna say… I love the Command Menu. It might seem a bit clunky for a real-time action game, but you get accustomed to it quite quickly, and it allows access to a wide array of actions that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

Things like jumping, guarding, and rolling - things you’ll need at all times, both in exploration and combat - are done through different face buttons. For reference, we’ll use the classic PlayStation controller. Circle is jumping, Square is for guarding when still, and when in motion, Square lets you roll, once you get the necessary abilities of course. The Command Menu, meanwhile, relies on the X button, thus keeping things like choosing spells or different items from clogging up the other buttons.

I do appreciate the change made in the HD remasters, where reaction commands - which pop in for brief situations such as opening chests or talking to characters - are moved to the Triangle button. Previously, they’d pop up in the last slot of the Command Menu, forcing you to scroll down to it and hit X before it vanished. Not exactly great for something that can vanish in the blink of an eye. By moving to the flashy green Triangle button, it becomes far easier to access in the heat of the moment, and far fairer.

At the start of this stage, you’re asked to choose between three weapons: a Sword, a Shield, and a Staff. You must choose one weapon to wield, and another to give up, which will translate into how your stats are balanced for the rest of the game. Don’t know the exact details, but I do know it will also impact at what level you learn certain skills. It asks what you prioritize, and tailors your progression to your answers.

And I can’t help but enjoy the way this ties into the uncertainty that comes with growing up. Being unsure of your own choices as you move forward, wondering if you made the right call, and figuring it all out as you go. Personally, I go for the Sword, and then give up the Staff, cuz I can’t imagine waiting past Level 9 to get the Scan ability.

You also encounter Shadows, the most basic enemy in the game. You’re not quite sure what they are aside from creatures of darkness. Their design is simple but deeply memorable, with glowing yellow eyes that are both adorable and ominous. Their little hunch, their zigzaggy antennae, and their sharp claws again walk that fine line between cute and threatening, making them perfect base villains for a game meant to be accessible for kids. Silly and not too scary, but just scary enough to be clear as a threat.

And mechanically, they help you get the basic feel of combat. Since they sink into the ground like their namesake, swimming through the floor around you, you have to wait until they rise back up to strike them before they strike you.

But none of this would work without the illustrious Yoko Shimomura. Seriously, this woman makes magic. The main theme here is “Dive into the Heart,” an eerie melody carried by an ethereal choir, and a deep, bassy boom that I think is a piano? I’m not a music girlie, so please don’t bully me, but I absolutely love how haunting this sounds. It really helps sell the idea that this is a foreboding, liminal place we shouldn’t be treading.

As it picks up, it becomes “Destati,” which evolves that eerie feeling into a deep, blaring terror, perfect for the boss fight at the end of this stage. Now, to make it even better, this song is apparently cursed - I assume by a county fair witch. Whenever the chorus was loaded - like, in the software - bad shit would go down, like all the power in the Square building going off.

Ya know, fun curse stuff, instead of killing anyone, or stealing your firstborn among a swarm of locusts. Though let’s be real, if any human would be capable of opening the door to such primal terrors, it would be Yoko Shimomura.

The soundtrack was reorchestrated for the HD remasters. Originally, the score featured synthesized, MIDI instruments, but the remastered score features real ones, and I must say, the glow up is astounding. Both versions have their merits. Personally, I find the MIDI instruments hold a certain charm, especially for eerie tracks like “Dive into the Heart” that feel more foreboding with the uncannily synthetic choir so choppily hopping between notes.

Casual Existential Dread:

Between these platforms, you’re taken back to Destiny Islands, where you’re greeted by your Final Fantasy besties asking you invasive questions about the meaning of life. This very existential opener has undoubtedly shaped my turbulent perceptions of reality.

Now, I’m not a Final Fantasy girlie. I now know who these characters are… in the same I know what games they come from, but I don’t know them intimately, and I had no clue who they were growing up. I just knew they were cool and edgy, and I vibed with that. And perhaps that’s why Final Fantasy characters are basically just cameos in these games?

Final Fantasy characters tend to be confined to either selective Disney worlds, or the original worlds, rather than having worlds corresponding to their games. As a Tales fan, I assume it’s cuz entire worlds based on JRPGs would be way too complex, and clash tonally with the Disney worlds.

I tend to feel the Final Fantasy characters are underwritten, and from what I’ve heard from Final Fantasy fans, their personalities tend to differ drastically from their original games. Now, if these games had Tales character cameos, and they gave this treatment to my favs like Luke, or Milla, or Velvet, there would absolutely be hell to pay. The Final Fantasy girlies have their moments in the first couple games, but I do wish they had more prominence, especially as the series goes on.

In this case, we have Selphie from Final Fantasy 8, and Tidus and Wakka from Final Fantasy 10, who in the universe of Kingdom Hearts all live on Destiny Islands with the main trio. They’re basically just background characters meant to make the island feel more fleshed out, and also as optional fights to help you get more accustomed to the combat mechanics.

For right now, they’re here to prompt your existential dread. Selphie asks what’s most important to you, Tidus asks what you’re afraid of, and Wakka asks what you want out of life. And each of them will bully you for your answer, just to dig at your insecurities - or in the case of tiny me, establish them.

Depending on your answers, you’ll be told your journey begins at either dawn, midday, or the dead of night, which changes the rate at which you level up. For dawn, you’ll level up quickly from Levels 1 to 50, then slower afterwards. It’s the inverse for dead of night, and midday keeps you at an even pace throughout. It’s ultimately up to what you prefer, and to my knowledge, could also be useful for runs on harder difficulties.

Personally, I always answer that friendship is most important to me, that I fear being indecisive, and that I want to broaden my horizons. Yes, to be cheesy, they’re all what’s most true for me, but they also result in a midday journey that I tend to prefer. I like the steady pace that doesn’t make my life harder than it needs to be at any point.

The Darkside:

Once you hit the Save Point on the Aurora Platform, you’re then prompted by the light to ascend the stained-glass platforms to another pillar in the distance. Naturally, you follow, and tiny me was terrified to turn around and see the platforms disappear behind me. Like, what do you mean there’s no turning back?! I see where a lot of my anxieties started, I guess.

Once you reach the Belle platform, your shadow decides it’s tired of following you, crawls its way out of the ground, and grows into the shape of a freaky monster known as the Darkside. It’s a larger, stronger, more grotesque version of the Shadows. It’s still got the weird, zigzaggy little footsies, but it’s far more muscular, with a larger chest and arms to suggest overwhelming strength, but also an uncanny factor given how unbalanced it is. Very topheavy there, Darkside.

The heart-shaped cut through the chest adds to the uncanniness, while also being… literally Heartless. I dig it. And the face being obscured by shadowy hair tentacles mimicking Sora’s spiky hair, with only the same eerie, glowing yellow eyes as the Shadows peering through? Oh, it’s such a good design. I think this fight gave me my fear of giant boss fights.

Now, you don’t have to win this fight, which is nice for a tutorial stage. It doesn’t punish you if you’re not quite acquainted enough with the combat. But once you understand the Darkside’s behavior, the fight becomes surprisingly easy, which again, works perfectly for the game’s first boss.

You’ll also discover Tech Points. If you parry an enemy’s attack, or hit a weak spot through clever tactics, you’ll be awarded special points that go towards your experience, speeding up your leveling process. It’s a great reward for learning to fight more intelligently and exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses, and I’m so sad it’s only present in this game. Also, this is the only game where you gain experience from boss fights. No clue why, but I’m also pissed it was cut from the later games.

Whether you win or lose, ultimately, your weapons deserts you, and you’re consumed by the darkness as the Darkside falls on you. As you’re consumed, a disembodied voice - a voice which has been guiding you for the rest of the tutorial - tells you to have no fear, for you hold the mightiest weapon of all, and you are the one who will open the door.

Now, we don’t know who this voice is. I assume there’s still heated debates over it to this very day. Truthfully, I don’t think it matters - it’s more of an inner voice reassuring you in the face of absolute, all-consuming dread. If this is a premonition of what’s to come for Sora, then the voice is the inner wisdom and strength guiding him forward.

And that’s the tutorial stage! And might I say… the vibes are immaculate. You’re being introduced to this dark, surreal tone to get an idea of what you’re in store for, and it definitely helps to hook the player. If the game just started with the kids on Destiny Islands, I doubt it’d capture the same interest. It hooks new players and helps them learn the fundamentals, but it also has enough mystery to make them wonder what the rest of the game will be like, while still clicking perfectly into place once you have all the information.

Destiny Islands

The Destiny Trio:

Awakening from the dream, Sora finally finds himself on the shores of the real Destiny Islands. Boi took a nap on the sands, and dozed off long enough to have prophetic dreams of a dark future - haven’t we all been there? I mean, just look at this place. Who wouldn’t dream of snoozing along these sands? Listening to the rolling tides, the faint chirps of the seagulls overhead, letting your eyes wander along the waves towards the deep-blue horizon.

Before Sora can nod off again, Kairi jumpscares him, chewing him out and teasing him for his laziness. He tries to tell her about his dream, but she’s not taking any of it seriously, and I must say, Kairi’s got more personality than I remember. Sora’s just generally kinda aloof, and Kairi is the one teasing him and spurring him on. Likewise, I remember Sora as more naive and kind, but KH1 Sora kinda is a bum, like Kairi says.

He’s got this lazy side where he’d rather just veg out, not focusing on anything too serious, yet it’s also so easy to get him flustered. Both Riku and Kairi make it a point to get Sora’s goat. It helps to characterize Sora and make him far more than “generic good boi protagonist.”

Real quick, Sora also drops that Kairi wasn’t born on the islands, like him and Riku. Kairi came from somewhere else, but she doesn’t remember. While she is a tad curious about where she came from, she still considers Destiny Islands her home, as this is where the people she loves are, as well as the memories she’s shared with them.

Spoiling the moment, Riku wanders over, teasing both Sora and Kairi about how they’re both goofing off while he’s left to do all the work on their raft project - naturally, tossing the giant log he’s carrying onto Sora to get him to stop lazing about. Immediately, he’s far more amicable than he seemed in the opening cinematic, but still clearly a bit more in conflict with the others.

Kairi then challenges the boys to a race, and with her goofy but also unnerving giggle, the camera pans from their race to the sky, showing us not only the game’s title, but also the world’s official name and logo, further grounding us into the environment.

I utterly adore these three’s friendship. Right away, you’re endeared to each of them, and get enough of their personality to understand the dynamics of their friendship. Kairi is the playful one who can be a bit wiley, Riku’s the more practical, focused on who wants to get the work done, and Sora’s the aloof, braindead one whose husk of a brain you’re piloting. It also helps learning that Riku is a year older than the other two, explaining why he can feel not only the edgiest, but also like the one who has to get the others in line.

Characters are what most people will remember when they leave a story, and Kingdom Hearts does a really solid job at endearing you to these main three right off the bat. That said, most of the focus kinda goes to Sora and Riku, while Kairi is a third wheel. She’s gonna spend the majority of this game offscreen in a more supportive role, and it’s only gonna get worse as the games go on. But for right now, she’s shining a lot more than I remember, and I’m gonna appreciate it while it lasts.

But real quick, let’s talk design. Now, given these three are Nomura’s original characters, they still have to tow the line between Disney and Final Fantasy. Which is to say iconic, colorful, and memorable, but without leaning too far into either cartoony or overly-edgy anime aesthetics. We only have prototype designs for Sora, but originally, he was far, far edgier, sporting a chainsaw weapon, a crown, and even a lion’s tail. He kinda reminds me of a lot of the anthropomorphic or human-adjacent protagonists of platformers from the 2000s, like Jak and Daxter or Sly Cooper.

The crown got to stay for certain illustrations, and as one of the game’s most iconic symbols, but Disney likely told Nomura to tone down the edgy bullshit. Instead, Sora is a normal human boy, who’s still sporting aggressively anime clothing. A red one-piece shirt and poofy shorts, with an obnoxious silver zipper, a matching crown necklace, a black cropped jacket with white sleeves, white fingerless gloves, and goofy yellow clown shoes. Oh, and spiky brown hair.

It’s a very… silly look, but it’s definitely memorable, and feels appropriate for the tone of the game. Trying to be serious, but still maintaining the silliness of childhood, especially since the poofy, kinda goofy silhouette is meant to resemble that of Mickey Mouse. He’s even got the Mickey colors! I really appreciate that each of the trio also has their own signature color. For Sora, that’s red, offset by his crystal-blue eyes.

Riku, meanwhile, sports a sleeveless yellow top, with black straps and gloves, and then… dark blue pants, with more saturated-blue wading pants. For the longest time, I had no clue why he dressed this way, especially if he was trying to look more mature. But I guess that tracks with the attempts of edgy teenagers trying and failing to dress like adults.

Supposedly, these are actually fisherman’s pants, meant to be waterproof for their eponymous wearers. I suppose that does track given they’re all islander kids. Still, as silly as the look is, it definitely feels the edgiest of the three, working well for Riku’s character, and I think that’s due not only to the silver hair, but also the contrast of the colors.

The blacks in Sora’s outfit are less saturated, and more grayish, while Riku’s look sports jet black. The yellow and blue in his look also clash a bit with how saturated they are, but not so much that they make the outfit become too busy. It’s still colorful and easy to remember, especially thanks to the silhouette the pants create, without looking childish.

And at last, we have Kairi. Hers is simple: a white tank top with purple and black trims, a silver bead necklace, cute purple shorts with a lacy skirt overtop, and white-and-purple shoes. Unlike future looks, Kairi sports purple rather than pink, and I must admit, I kinda prefer her in purple.

It just suits her so well, and is a nice reprieve given Kairi is basically just regarded as “the girl” for most of the series - she at least doesn’t have to be stuck in “the girl color” here. And I say that as someone who adores pink (put it on a boy, you cowards). Not to mention, if Sora’s color is red, and Riku’s is blue, then why not have Kairi balance them out in the middle with purple?

Kairi’s look is cute and feminine, but still practical. It allows her to still play with the boys, and potentially kick ass, while remaining adorable, and I dig that. I wouldn’t say it gives tomboy, but more… sporty, especially with the short red hair.

Also, I’m only just realizing it now… but all of the trio have the same crystal-blue eyes. The only one who seems to differ a bit is Riku, ironically having slightly lighter eyes. Not sure if that was intentional, but I kinda love this? It helps connect them all, and honestly makes me think of the clear-blue seas and skies of the world they all grew up on together.

Gathering Supplies:

These three, when Sora isn't busy foretelling our doom through gyromancy, are building themselves a raft. They long to see what lies beyond their island. Not just the rest of their world, but entirely different worlds. I guess they're gonna pull an Aisha and use the ocean gates for interplanetary travel. I just hope they don't wind up accidentally building Gwen's face.

Destiny Islands will be your testing grounds for the prologue, and it’s an excellent location for it. It’s completely safe (for now), letting you feel relaxed and go at your own pace. The inclusion of original worlds that are exclusive to the Kingdom Hearts games helps the series forge and maintain its own identity, independent of the properties it borrows from, and Destiny Islands is among the favorites. Like, who wouldn’t wanna live here?

Once you get to play again, Kairi sends you on a fetch quest to get supplies for the raft: a cloth, a rope, and two logs. They’re spread out across this area, forcing you to get acquainted with the space and get familiar with the movement mechanics, while also establishing that you’ll sometimes be doing more than just fighting enemies.

The cameo characters are here if you wanna chat with them, or even fight them. They’re kept optional, so these are if you need some more time learning how to fight, or if you just like beating the shit out of people. We don’t judge. You can also fight Riku if you’d like, and he’s definitely a more competent combatant than the others. We’ll talk about he and Sora’s rivalry later, but I love that from here, Sora keeps count of his and Riku’s victories. If you have the time and patience, these numbers can get real comical.

The music here is tranquil and tropical, as to be expected. The melody will get stuck in your head, and I adore these laid-back strings paired with the playful percussion and synths. Perfect for a day of fun in the sun. And same goes for “Bustin’ up on the Beach,” which is energized enough to work as the combat version, while still remaining playful.

What’s Out There?

Once the day’s done, the trio chills alongside this wayward-ass palm tree, basking in the sunset. Real talk, sunsets are always gorgeous, and I never get sick of them. The way the sky and sea turn this warm red-pink color, golden flecks shining on the water. You know in Japanese, they have a word for the way light passes through tree branches - komorebi. I wish we had an English equivalent, and lowkey, I wish we had another word for the way sunlight’s reflected off the sea.

For a game from 2002, the visuals hold up so well, be they remastered or otherwise. A lot of that is owed to the excellent art direction and texture work. Fun thing I learned from picking up 3D art as a hobby, is that older games faked all their lighting in their textures, since older consoles would’ve exploded if they had to handle realtime lighting. That ironically forces you to artfully, thoughtfully paint shadows and light effects onto textures.

The character models have probably aged the least gracefully. They’re not bad by any means, but most of them have high and low poly versions that switch out depending on what the game needs. Most of the time, the low poly versions are used in gameplay and cutscenes, featuring textures for eyes and mouths rather than a fully modeled face, along with certain details being textured rather than modeled. It’s to keep the processing power of the console down.

If there’s a dramatic moment in a cutscene that requires a closer, more detailed look of the character, that’s when they’ll switch in the high poly version with the fully modeled face. It’s a thing you can’t unsee once you notice, but personally, I think I’m more in awe of the craftsmanship than anything else. Especially cuz I am a sucker for low-to-mid poly aesthetics.

Also, love the little conveyances of personality through the way the characters hang out in the space. Riku leans against the tree’s base, arms crossed and broody, contemplating about the meaning of life. Kairi just sits, calmly kicking her legs. And Sora leans back, lazily lying along the tree and staring blankly ahead, either at the tree’s leaves, the sky, or… whatever the hell he’s foretelling next.

They’re all chatting amongst themselves about their plans. Their goal is to use the raft to see other worlds, which tracks with the general sentiment of kids around their age (Sora and Kairi being 14, and Riku being 15). The imagination of a child to wonder what mysteries could lie just out of sight, in tandem with the teenage desire for the freedom of adulthood.

Out of the three, Riku is the most fascinated with the idea of leaving the islands behind. He’s the one taking this seriously, which is probably why he’s having to tell the others to quit goofing off when it comes to the raft. With the way his story goes, it tracks with his strong desire to grow up fast and become an adult, even if that means embracing its darker side.

Riku casually drops that it’s Kairi who gave him this idea of seeing other worlds. And while it is sweet, it does carry an undercurrent of, “Oh no, you’re gonna become obsessed with this and lose your mind, aren’t you?” You can even kinda hear that Kairi’s not sure what to make of Riku’s fixation when she talks to him.

This does make sense, that Sora and Riku would be the ones interested in seeing other worlds, with Riku being the most obsessed with feeling suffocated by the islands as he’s trying desperately to grow up, all the while Kairi is kinda just going along with the boys. She’s not against the idea, but she’s fond of this home she’s found. It’s a little ironic touch that I’m absolutely enamored with.

And honestly, as much as I love Sora, the more I describe this, the more I wish Kairi got to be the protagonist, forced to leave the home she’d come to know as she’s thrown into the unfamiliar, ultimately culminating in her return to her homeworld, now a bastardized, hollow version of itself.

As they head for their boats to head home, Riku tosses Sora a Paopu fruit: a star-shaped fruit which only grows on the trees of Destiny Islands. According to local legend, if two people share one, their destinies become intertwined, with a heavy implication that they’ll be considered soulmates. Can I just say how much I love little tidbits of lore like this when they flesh out the world, while also connecting to the characters’ stories?

Riku says he knows Sora wanted one and wanted to try it, presumably with Kairi, laughing at him while Sora is all, “Shut up, Riku, you’re embarrassing me!” Peak teenage behavior. Admittedly, while it’s very cute here, it falls flat for me later on in the series with how neglected Kairi’s character becomes, and by extension, both the friendship and suggested romance between her and Sora. For right now though, it’s cute, it’s perfect, and it’s everything.

And with that, the first day is done, and we’re one step closer to joining the characters on their interstellar voyage.

Disney Castle Shenanigans:

We then transition to Disney Castle: an original location inhabited by the most iconic of Disney characters. Given characters like Mickey, Donald, and Goofy originate from various shorts rather than one specific film, it makes sense to ground them in their own world that suggests prominence. They don’t rule over the other Disney worlds, since all the worlds just kinda do their own thing, but the aesthetic very much gives Disney Magic Kingdom energy.

And by seeing this now, the game is also telling you that there’s more to its universe than just the mundanity of Destiny Islands. That there are, in fact, other worlds out there.

We’re first introduced to Donald Duck, dressed in wacky blue sorcerer garb. Again, love the color association, especially since it matches Donald’s usual blue wardrobe. These characters get lots of original looks, and I absolutely love that they feel aggressively JRPG coded. Donald’s little wizard hat with the squiggly, pointed top? Iconic.

He walks down a long hall, up to a giant door… and a smaller door opens within. Grade-A humor right there. He walks down the even longer, echoey throne room, ready to address King Mickey, only to find an empty throne. From behind it emerges his dog Pluto, a letter in hand. And after Donald finishes reading it, he rushes out screaming for dear life.

Out in the gardens, he finds Goofy - here, a knight - snoozing about, not dissimilar to Sora snoozing along the beach. Can I just say I love Goofy’s pointed metal shoes, the big gauntlet on one hand, and the beak-shaped helmet acting more like a hat? Like his name suggests, Goofy never fails to appear goofy.

Donald tries to get Goofy’s attention, using a Thunder spell to wake him up, establishing Donald as a magic user in yet another bit of comedy gold, which also is on point for their personalities, with Donald being a neurotic, fiery bean, and Goofy being a laid-back airhead who remains ever unbothered, even when his weirdly-shaped face is caved in.

Donald says that there’s a crisis afoot, and he and Goofy need to take care of it in secret. No one can know, not even the queen, and when Goofy asks about her and Daisy, Donald thinks he’s asking if they can no. But he’s not. He’s addressing them both. PEAK. FUCKING. HUMOR.

Also, love that Minnie is a cute lil queen, and Daisy gets to be a noblewoman. And their fits? To die for! Daisy looks great in this indigo dress. It goes well with Donald’s blues while still being her own shade of blue. And Minnie? This red-and-pink dress? That golden crown with the Mickey emblem jewel? To die for.

They don’t tell you exactly what’s going on, but it’s very clear that King Mickey is missing. As the most iconic Disney character, you immediately go, “Wait, where is he? Where’s the king?” We’ll get into the reasons why he’s not present later, but I absolutely love the intrigue that builds, and how it makes you wonder how it ties into whatever journey awaits Sora.

The Second Day:

Returning to Destiny Islands for the second day, you now have access to the back side of the island, which is far more treacherous. The island’s front is mostly the beach, with a walkway out to the islet, and the giant wooden ship and treehouse. The back, meanwhile, features a rickety, breakable walkway high above the water, and a small, hidden cove beneath a zipline, filled with tall coconut trees. You can’t get hurt here, but it’s making sure you understand how to move about the environment.

We don’t get to see the main island the kids live on, save for cutscenes in later games, mostly because it doesn’t matter to the story. Our focus is kept here, on the island where the kids have autonomy, so that they can be independent for the sake of gameplay, story, and theming.

Kairi’s fetch quest is a bit more complicated than yesterday. Firstly, you have to go find her, and you actually have to race against Riku to even start. We’ll talk about the race later, but as for items, Kairi needs a seagull egg, fresh drinking water, two coconuts, three fish, and three mushrooms. Not sure all of this will keep us alive for several weeks at sea, nor where on the raft we’d store it, but A for effort. Sora and Moana would make for great friends… well, that, or Moana would have a nervous breakdown seeing how ill prepared these kids are.

The items are easy enough to find, though I will say… I wish we got to fight a seagull while getting the egg. It’d probably be a nightmare, especially when climbing the tree is already a nuisance, but it would be fun to say, “Yes, in one of the games I grew up on, I got to fight off a homicidal seagull with a wooden sword. I barely escaped with my life.”

During this, Kairi makes a cute little charm made from thalassa shells. She says that supposedly, sailors would wear them to ensure a safe voyage. With this charm, the trio will never struggle in finding their ways back to each other - no, this totally doesn’t read an attack on my feelings whatsoever. Again, love all the little lore drops like this. And Kairi being all craftsy? More of this please. I’d love her later on learning to make magical charms. Perhaps a nod to a… certain mentor she got robbed of learning under?

Riku the Rival:

Now, to no one’s surprise, Riku is staring ominously at the horizon. He wants to name the raft Highwind, giving you a chance to suggest your own name… and there are no restrictions. I appreciate them enabling my inner gay chaos gremlin.

Kairi runs over, and naturally, she acts as a referee for a race between the boys. Whoever wins gets to name the raft, and to boot, Sora says that if he wins, he’s captain. And Riku then suggests, like the troll he is, that whoever wins also gets to share a Paopu fruit with Kairi. Sora’s like, “Wuh,” and Kairi’s like, “No time for confusion, fool, you must run like the wind!”

Now in terms of gameplay… gurl, fuck this race. As much as I appreciate the attempt to include platforming to spice up the gameplay, it has not aged well. Sora’s jumps feel floaty, especially if you’re used to a much tighter platformer of that era, and he doesn’t jump that high or far with his ordinary jump. It’s especially hard to try and aim for specific trees while you’re hopping across.

And that zipline? Fuck. That. Zipline. I can never use it correctly, because there’s no interaction like this in the rest of the game. I always forget whether I just have to jump and automatically be carried, hit a button, or hit and hold a button, so nine times out of ten when I replay KH1, I fall immediately. Fun.

Oh, and this walkway? A falling hazard. Genuinely, I am shocked none of these children have brain damage. Then again, maybe that’s why they think minimal supplies on a raft in the middle of the sea won’t kill them all.

Interestingly, while Riku is friendly with Kairi, he doesn’t go out of his way to interact with her, and he doesn’t seem all that romantically interested in her. In fact, he seems more focused on teasing Sora about it, and riling him up with the idea of posing as a rival for her affection, than actually pursuing Kairi himself. Look, gays are seen as an other that could never exist in “normal” media, so let the gays have their delulu crumbs where they can get them. Sincerely, a gay who grew up on Kingdom Hearts.

Their rivalry feels about right for kids their age, especially with the way their personalities clash, but I also love that undercurrent of Riku almost vying for Sora’s attention as he’s… not even paying more attention to Kairi, but kinda just empty-headedly vibing. Kairi and Riku are the ones who have to snap this boi back to reality every five minutes.

The Man and the Door:

While searching for one of the mushrooms, Sora enters the Secret Place - a hidden cave beneath the giant tree. This place has scared me since I was a kid. It’s not dangerous, it has no hidden enemies or threats, but it always felt like somewhere I didn’t belong. A place where if you linger too long, bad things might happen.

But also, a place kids definitely would love exploring - at least, the more adventurous kids who think they’re invincible. And that’s exactly what this is to the trio. In particular, Sora and Kairi would always scribble drawings on the walls, and in the present, Sora decides to update one of him and Kairi. He adjusts it to himself now sharing a Paopu fruit with Kairi. Adorable.

Alas, the cuteness cannot last. A strange hooded man, his face obscured, emerges from the darkness, chilling in a corner as he also foretells doom. But this time it’s in the voice of Billy Zane, so you know he means business. Again, this traumatized me as a child. Made me terrified of weird hooded figures looming in the shadows.

It sounds like nonsense on a first listen, but again, makes perfect sense later. He’s essentially saying that Destiny Islands is doomed, and that Sora is far too simple-minded to understand the complex universe currently in crisis. Rude. But Sora, clocking this guy’s from another world, asserts he’s gonna see what lies beyond. Again, he and Moana are kindred spirits.

But his mention of a door does check out, given there’s a giant, glowing goddamn door in this cave. Yes, it was there the whole time. Been there for years, actually. No one’s been able to get it open, and no one really knows how long it’s been there, how it got there, or where it leads. Really helps to add even more intrigue as to not only what the door is, but what it means for the nature of the world itself.

Just the Two of Us!

That sunset, Sora and Kairi chill at the end of the dock. Kairi says Riku has changed, but downplays it when Sora asks. They don’t specify, but it’s kinda plain to see with what we’ve seen of the characters thus far. That Riku is gearing up to leave all this tranquility behind, while Kairi becomes apprehensive of what lies beyond.

I’m just now processing the fact that Kairi making the charm to keep the three of them tied together kinda shows not only her love for these bozos, but also her fear of them being taken from her. That sense that inevitable change is just over the horizon, and the knee-jerk reaction to find ways to keep the people you love near; to keep them from changing, and thus, from leaving.

All the while, Sora’s oblivious. Sounds about right. I say this lovingly, y’all, Sora is my favorite dumb boi, especially since his dumbness at this stage is more endearing and cute airheadedness, rather than the mind-melting stupidity it’s going to metastasize later in the series.

To lighten the mood, and likely distract from her own anxiety, Kairi jokes about taking the raft with Sora, and the two of them leaving on it without anybody else. Sora’s taken aback, and Kairi’s like, “lol jk,” to which Sora says Kairi’s the one that’s changed. I’m assuming that Kairi was probably a lot shier and more timid when she first arrived on Destiny Islands, but became far more jovial and witty as it became her new home.

God, I miss this jokey, unserious side of her so bad, concealing the deep feelings and fears eating away at her. She’s got so much depth this early on that the games really just refuse to work with, and it’s so deeply frustrating.

Also, love Kairi’s theme here. There’s a few versions of it throughout the game, and I ADORE character leitmotifs. I blame this and RWBY for that, really. Kairi’s theme is soft and warm, much like the feeling of watching a sunset at the beach. There’s a hint of sadness in that piano and those woodwinds (at least, I think they’re woodwinds?), but the poignancy feels… accepting. Like it’s Kairi reflecting on her fond memories, and even though she knows it can’t last forever, she’s still choosing to cherish these moments with her friends.

And I love the faint vocals running along the piano. For me, I appreciate a good production that feels spacious, where all the elements occupy different spaces. It keeps them from overpowering each other. The piano feels like what’s grounding me in the music, while the vocals carry me off along the tides, yet the woodwinds are the breeze brushing past me.

Will say, I’m bitter Sora’s theme had to wait til KH2, but maybe you could argue it’s cuz he hasn’t “found himself” yet. I dunno, but the more I talk, the more I wish I lived in a timeline where Kairi was the one running around hitting people in the head with a giant car key.

Really, this is the last moment of true peace for these characters. The moment before everything changes forever. And for that, it’s best to savor the joy while it lasts, and to remember it fondly in the darker hours ahead.

The King’s Message:

Back at Disney Castle, we get to fully read the king’s letter. There’s no narration here, which always pissed me off when I couldn’t read through fast enough, but we’ll get to why there’s no voiceover in a bit.

The letter mentions stars vanishing from the sky, and how calamity looms ahead. The king has headed off in secret to deal with this himself, leaving Donald and Goofy the “key” to their survival - no, literally, a key. And it’s some kind of person, apparently.

The lack of voice admittedly helps to build intrigue and drama around the king. We all know it’s Mickey, and well know what Mickey looks and sounds like, but that doesn’t change the significance the game gives his character. It helps him to hold an incredibly important presence, and I appreciate how sincerely the game handles this, without ever joking about, “Lol isn’t it so funny Mickey Mouse is a badass king? Let’s take a moment to laugh at ourselves so everyone knows how irony-poisoned we are.”

In truth, this absence is due to Disney limiting how much Mickey could feature in the game, just in case Square ruined him and, by extension, their brand. And while Disney restrictions will wind up destroying the creative process later on, in this case, I’d argue it did wonders in helping establish Mickey’s presence, even when he isn’t present. You’re just wondering where he is, what he’s up to, and how he’ll be portrayed.

So Donald and Goofy, naturally, set out to follow the king’s wishes. But they won’t be alone. They’ll also be accompanied by Jiminy Cricket - the cricket who served as Pinocchio’s conscience. He serves as a gameplay mechanic to chronicle the game’s events, but in terms of story, he mentions how he lost his world - likely one of the vanishing stars the King’s letter mentioned.

This bit is building out the crisis that’s going on just out of sight. You’re sitting there, terrified of how this disaster is going to affect Sora, Riku, and Kairi, especially cuz we’re not quite sure what it even looks like. But we know it must be bad if it’s enough to destroy an entire world.

Thanks to Chip and Dale manning the hangar, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy set off in the Gummi Ship - their version of a starship. It’s this cute, colorful ship that looks like it’s made of colorful blocks, but truthfully, the name always made me think it was made of the same stuff as gummy bears. So like… odds are I’d die in space because I couldn’t help but eat the ship.

Again, this whole section shows there’s more that’s out there. Many worlds, many characters, and many dangers.

The Night of Fate:

Speaking of which, it’s time for trauma!

Sora is chilling in his bedroom, thinking over what Kairi said, as the camera focuses on little dolls on a wooden toy ship. Real talk? I appreciate how much love goes into all the different environments in the game, even the ones we don’t get to explore ourselves. All the toys, the knick knacks, the scattered clothes? It feels like an actual boy’s bedroom… minus the other horrors that would get this game rated M, but I digress. Will say though, I am disguised Sora is wearing his shoes on the bed. Fucking sinful behavior.

Sora can’t seem to sleep, which is lowkey perfect, given the end is nigh. He hears a storm brewing in the distance, and worried the raft will be destroyed, he heads out.  No concern for his safety, doesn’t tell anyone where he’s going. Just… goes. Very main character behavior, I must say.

We then hear a line that shall live on in infamy: Sora’s mother calling from downstairs, saying that dinner is ready. People love joking about this line, and it’s because it’s a running gag in Kingdom Hearts, and a lot of media with young protagonists, how criminally neglectful and uninvolved parents are of their kids. Like, either Sora’s mom gives no shits her son is about to leave the planet, or she’s having a hundred heart attacks waiting up for him.

And really, the parents don’t matter, at least at this point in the story. A lot of these stories will try to remove the parents in order to give the younger protagonists agency, be that by killing the parents or sending the kids to a boarding school. But in the case of Kingdom Hearts, it’s just the kids goin’ off on their own as their parents are consumed offscreen by the ever-encroaching darkness. At least that sounds like a proper description of adulthood.

Arriving at the island, Sora finds Riku and Kairi’s boats, suggesting they’ve already made it here. But there’s no sign of them. Instead, Sora is greeted by Shadows: the monsters from his nightmare. The wooden sword can’t hurt them, making you feel utterly helpless, and forcing you to frantically run around and figure out what the hell is going on.

The music here? Also excellent. Yoko is just so GOOD at communicating the mood and creating an atmosphere, and let me tell you - “Night of Fate” still lives rent-free in my head. It’s frantic and frightening, while retaining the eeriness that accompanies the mystery of these invading creatures.

Suddenly, Sora’s premonition is coming true. It wasn’t just a dream. And that’s about to be proven again as he finds Riku staring at the giant orb of cosmic horror in the sky. He babbles on about how the door has opened, and it’s their chance to see the outside world. When Sora mentions Kairi, Riku asserts that Kairi will join them, and he’s scary when he says it.

Riku admits he’s unafraid of losing everything here. His home, his parents, his friends, but he doesn’t care. This is what he’s been waiting for, and he’s not going to let this opportunity go. Even if it’s through the darkness, he sees this as his chance to really fulfill his dream… and he wants Sora to join him.

Just like in the dream, Riku reaches out his hand, except instead of a tidal wave, darkness erupts from the ground to consume Riku. Sora desperately tries to reach his friend, but the darkness consumes them both before he can grab his hand. Everything goes black. And then, in a flash of light, the darkness vanishes, along with Riku. And in Sora’s hand is a weapon; a silver blade, with prongs and a golden handle in the shape of a key: the Keyblade.

Yeah, so all that talk of keys before? Yeah, that was all setup for this moment, and it EATS. It’s now that Sora’s able to fight the Shadows, and it really sells just how powerful this weapon is, along with the fact that it’s now mystically appeared in Sora’s hands.

Of course, the fear for Riku is still there, but he kinda chose his path right here. And now, Sora has to find Kairi. There’s a door to the Secret Place now, matching the door from Sora’s dream, and through it waits Kairi, standing before the other door in the cave. She turns to face Sora, but something is… off. She seems weak, and so does her voice.

The door suddenly opens, and a powerful wind is released. Before Sora can figure out what’s happening, Kairi is flung into his arms, only to vanish into thin air before he can grab her. Sora is then flung back outside. Except now, the beach has been ripped from the earth, flying - along with other whole chunks of the island - up into yon dark orb of cosmic horror.

This is doing such a good job at selling the sheer terror that’s happening here. It’s going so fast, feeling like a dream, but it’s all too real. Your home is being torn from her, completely destroyed before your eyes, by the unimaginable darkness that’s been haunting your nightmares. And of course, with that also comes the big bad boss of your nightmare: the Darkside.

He’s a bit tougher this time, but now, you must win. This is when the game demands you prove your worth; that you’re ready to leave your world and step out into the larger universe, and that you can handle yourself. Once you win, the Darkside is pulled up into the storm, and so are you.

This entire prologue is a chef’s kiss. It doesn’t last that long, but it still takes its time not only to get you used to the mechanics, and make sure you know what you’re doing, but also to endear you to the characters. You’re experiencing the mundanity of Sora’s life, while steadily being given bits of intrigue, right before that normalcy is ripped from you.

Most of this prologue is focused on the dynamics of the main trio, given their friendship is the story’s emotional core. And damn, they do such a good job at establishing these characters and getting you to care about them in such little time. Even with my gripes at how they’ll be written in later games, I must admit I love how much depth there is to each of them.

And really, the fact the prologue takes its time to establish tone, characters, themes, and gameplay mechanics makes it feel so cozy. Like you’re settling in before you head off on your big adventure. Perfect for both a child playing one of their first video games, and for an adult wanting a bit of whimsy to escape the horrors of their real life.

If we were to kick it off immediately with a Disney world, I doubt Kingdom Hearts’ opening would be nearly as gripping. You need that eerie, unique segment in the Station of Awakening, followed by the laid-back vibes of Destiny Islands, all leading to the tragic Night of Fate. It’s absolutely a memorable way to start a game.

The Evil Is Defeated | Winx 3 Commentary, Episodes 25 & 26

FINALLY.

Revisiting the Corpse of RWBY script

Intro:

The chicken-tooth company is dead. Long live the chicken-tooth company.

So Rooster Teeth, the company which produced RWBY, came undone back in May. And honestly… I can’t say I was shocked. I think a lot of folks who’d grown weary of both the company and the show had seen the writing on the wall for a while up until that point.

Endless controversies regarding high-ranking company members being predators, routine whistleblowers on company culture being rife with bigotry, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and just generally crunching anyone who wasn’t considered a marketable face, and generally failing to assess what it is people actually want. Like, y’all had so many shows that… imma be real, nobody wanted.

It was clear beforehand that RWBY really was the company’s big money maker, and it’s even clearer now. Which means that not only with more viewers swearing off the show and losing interest, but a lengthy hiatus caused by the company’s inability to manage their projects, likely meant the company was going a long time after Volume 8’s finale without that sweet, sweet RWBY money to keep them on life support.

And really, as their parent company Warner Media struggled plenty on their own, it’s also not surprising they struggled to find a buyer for Rooster Teeth. Aside from RWBY and Red vs Blue, what do they have that’s really worth the purchase? It’s a sad thing for sure, given how many people did find themselves fond of the company, its persona, and its star personalities for over two decades.

Truthfully, my chief concern lies with all the animators and low-level artists who’d been treated like dirt by the company for years - some of those years in which I played a part in downplaying their mistreatment. That I apologize profusely for.

And since the company’s dissolution, I hope those artists have since been able to find better footing, be they properly employed artists who’d been laid off beforehand, or contract animators who’d been brought in to replace them for cheaper. Not that that’s an easy task, given the industry - and many industries right now - are basically anti-worker hellscapes. It is morbidly funny though given the company also produced a RWBY Game in which one of the villains is… a union leader? Wow, not even hiding it anymore. Not that they were by making the civil rights activists villains either, but ya know.

So with Rooster Teeth’s demise, it does beg the question of what will happen to RWBY as an IP. It’s since been purchased by Viz, an anime and manga licensing company… which is an interesting choice. To my knowledge, Viz mostly specializes in publishing and dubbing, rather than producing. Perhaps they’ll license RWBY out to someone else at some point? Truth be told, I think RWBY as a brand could use some time off considering the sour taste it’s left for many.

Is it deeply depressing that someone’s beloved, heartfelt creation can be sold for parts among wealthy corporations led by apathetic executives? Yes. But in such a terribly structured world, I am still incredibly bitter Dillon Goo didn’t get it, but that’s just me.

Now, it might seem odd I’m only talking about this now. Where was this when the news of Rooster Teeth’s collapse was fresh? And the answer is… I wanted a break from all things RT and RWBY. My history with both has been quite turbulent over the years, and while I know most folks were receptive to my being more critical, but still loving, of the show, I have to admit, it was nice leaving it behind to focus on other things. Other stories and properties, with far less hostile, reactionary followings.

Even now, I’m admittedly quite nervous to open this door again, knowing what the reactions of some will be. But in honesty… that also provides some freedom, knowing that the people who’ll endlessly rant about my work, and mischaracterize people like me simply for critiquing a thing they like, will do so regardless of how many disclaimers I include.

Every time I critique something, I make a point to tell you that I am not telling you how to feel. That I feel no ill will towards you for our disagreements. And most of you understand and respect this, and for that, I am grateful. But it’s time to stop kowtowing to the small group of people who throw this aside as an excuse to harass and demonize.

All of this has translated into me never really publicly sharing my feelings on RWBY Volume 8 as a whole, or… anything from Volume 9. And gods help me, cuz I regularly forget the Justice League movies exist. Even as I haven’t spoken about it, RWBY has remained with me - a disease which chronically flares up now and then, reminding me of how cool it once seemed, and how cool it could’ve been in better hands.

Alas, my condition is beyond recovery, and one of the few treatments - aside from casual 3D modeling as a hobby, yelling about it with close friends in private, and perusing various fan works that understand the show far better than the late chicken company - is yelling about it for money online. So in a world where everything must be monetized, might as well monetize my malady.

So today, we shall be finding closure. We shall look back upon the last two volumes of RWBY, as well as those… actually you know what? Fuck those god-awful crossover movies. I love myself too much to sit through those again.

But for Volumes 8 and 9, we’re going to discuss their many, many flaws, but also the glimmers of promise within. Because as usual, RWBY is a master at the art of, “Cool idea, but what the FUCK is this execution?” And in that, maybe we’ll find that even if RWBY never finishes its tale, there can still be peace in that.

Volume 8:

Volume 8… is my most hated volume of RWBY. Now, I don’t think it’s the worst on a technical level. That award would have to go to Volume “Let’s sit around and wait for the villains to kill us all” 5 (though you must admit, 8 inherited a lot of 5’s problems). But no. For me, Volume 8 is the culmination of all the show’s worst problems - a betrayal of everything the show could be if it just tried, transforming what should be an action-packed, emotionally heavy war into a boring, baffling slog.

Having everyone except for Team RWBY be treated as protagonists, failing to create a cohesive tone as we yo-yo between melodrama and deeply unfunny slapstick, misunderstanding how character goals and motivations work, and still being concerned with mystery and endless setup rather than focusing on payoff. The only reason I keep revisiting Volume 8 is because of a morbid fascination of how it fumbles at every turn. Of how it flirts with the idea of greatness, only to go right back to RWBY’s usual storytelling woes.

So, where Volume 7 left off on Ironwood abandoning Mantle, Penny becoming the Winter Maiden, and Salem arriving with an army of Grimm to lay siege to Atlas, Volume 8 centers on that siege. Team RWBY is trying to find a way to save both Atlas and Mantle, finding themselves against not only Salem’s forces, but also Ironwood’s army. And for all of that… this volume really doesn’t feel all that much more intense or dire than any other volume.

You’d think a volume where the Big Bad finally rocks up and lays siege to our kingdom would have an action-packed opener. Really set the stakes while getting people hooked immediately. But uh… no. Salem just kinda sits there menacingly in her whale doing nothing, and even when she does attack a few episodes in, it’s just shots of Grimm armies fighting faceless soldiers and robots. There’s no emotional investment whatsoever, and naturally, we always cut away before we have to animate any actual fighting.

And I must admit, on top of all the issues of Team RWBY causing their own problems in regards to Ironwood, their concern for Mantle kinda falls flat considering that Atlas is clearly the main target. When Salem invades, we don’t see Mantle being swarmed or overwhelmed with Grimm. Probably because Mantle doesn’t have anything Salem actually wants. The vault holding the Staff of Creation is in Atlas, not Mantle, and Salem isn’t actively holding Mantle hostage to play up the divide between Team RWBY and Ironwood, so… who cares?

And that writing around General Ironwood… woof. For an in-depth analysis on where the writers failed, I recommend Twiin Iink’s video on the subject, but to recap, the writers essentially amplified Ironwood’s negative traits to transform him from a morally gray antagonist into a clearly evil caricature. Dude behaves like a cartoon villain to remind us that Team RWBY can do no wrong, and all the while, I’m wondering what the writers think moral grayness even means.

It’s undoubtedly one of the elements most folks hate from the Atlas Arc, myself included, but I briefly just wanna say… fuck his Semblance. Apparently, the writers learned nothing from all the complaints of hiding their exposition in supplemental material, and decided to only mention Ironwood’s Semblance outside the show in interviews. According to them, his Semblance is called Mettle, which causes him to hyperfixate to solve a problem… his Semblance is neurodivergence, I guess?

Not only is this incredibly dull, but also just… so sleazy. But also unshocking, given the show’s history of mishandling mature topics. All that aside, if you were to only watch the show, you wouldn’t even know this Semblance exists in the first place, so why even bring it up? What kept y’all from mentioning it in-show, or finding a visual or auditory cue for it?

In theory, it makes sense to have Ironwood become an antagonist. He’s the heartless Tin Woodsman, who instead of realizing he was capable of compassion all along, is a military dictator who decides to uphold order by subjugating the people. Using brute force and raw strength to keep people in line, and viewing those he’s sworn to defend as threats to peace, and as weaknesses against Salem.

And the show did an admittedly decent job at making him interesting, and even sympathetic, while still communicating the potential threat he posed. They could’ve done more though if the earlier volumes realized he and his army, from a kingdom built upon not only rigid class division, but also anti-faunus racism and exploitation, were probably bigger threats than the group asking for equal rights, but what can you do?

But Ironwood’s fumbling really shows the writers’ inability to handle these darker, more nuanced topics. They brag about handling moral grayness, all the while doing everything they can to convert them into purely black-and-white conflicts where Team RWBY can never be wrong, and if they are, then we ought to console them rather than critique them.

Now, before we talk about Team RWBY, we should talk about one of the symptoms of the show refusing to write them as protagonists - the real protagonist of Volume 8, Penny. Well, one of its real protagonists. More on the other one later.

I’ve talked before about my issues with Penny in Volume 8 before in my video, “Penny Deserved Better.” But to recap… why did y’all bring her back only to kill her again immediately? I mean, I know why. To draw back in people who left the show in droves, and then use that cheap ploy to even more cheaply exploit their love for Penny to make them cry. Well guess what? I didn’t cry at her death. I felt nothing, because it was so clear she was nothing more than a tool to you. Ironic, given her story was meant to be about her being more than a tool, huh?

In a story that should be about Penny finding agency, being able to make choices for herself, no one bothered to ask her how she felt about becoming human. No. We decided she needed to be, because despite what Ruby told us many years ago, her being different is the root cause of her problems. And even then, she must die. But not at the hands of someone who actually knew her, or loved her, but at the hands of Jaune, who has endless room in his refrigerator for red-haired women. Women whose legacies begin and end at his angst.

And like the women who live on as a source for his angst, Team RWBY got shafted for his dramatic moment. But that’s nothing new for Team RWBY. Even beyond Jaune, the girlies with the colors - who were the stars of the Color Trailers - once again find themselves on the backburner while everyone else gets the spotlight.

Oscar is the one to take on Salem, Ren and Nora are the ones with romantic development, Penny is the one with the most important arc, the Ace Ops get lots of angst about following orders. Even Cinder finds herself with a story of redemption - not of absolving herself of evil, but of rising to become an actually competent one.

After the split, and their mission into the compound, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake find themselves sitting around Weiss’ empty manor, drinking tea as they debate whether to partake in the plot as a war rages outside. And ultimately, they don’t have to, cuz Oscar blows up the hell whale for them! At least Yang was in the same room as Salem, I guess?

You know, the creators have gone on record to say they wish they called the show Remnants and not RWBY. Guess what, guys? We can tell! What story do the girls even have in Volume 8? Ruby’s just general angst over her bad decisions and nothing else, while Weiss, Blake, and Yang have no real arcs of their own. No character growth, no moments of glory. Just… existing while other characters get all the shine.

Sidenote: who the hell decided hiding in Weiss’ giant mansion was a good idea? You’re Atlas Most Wanted, yet somehow, no one thought to look for you in Weiss’ house that is visible from the goddamn academy? Ironwood never thought to have some of his robots monitoring it in case they dropped by?

Also something that pissed me off… why is this the first time Team RWBY has ever fought Cinder? Cinder has been one of our main antagonists since Volume 1, and murdered Pyrrha, and yet Team RWBY never got the chance to fight her until 8 years into the show? How?! Why is the option always for Cinder to fight someone other than them? Be it Jaune, or Raven, or Penny and Winter, it adds to this disconnect between Team RWBY and the plot.

And even then, there’s no real catharsis in this fight, cuz most of it is Cinder ignoring Ruby to instead fight Penny and Weiss. And when she does finally pay attention to Ruby, it’s to send her falling into the void… which, why is Ruby - our lead character - the second to fall into the pit along with Blake?! Why is Weiss the last one standing alongside Penny and Jaune?!

In fiction, the first and last to do something are considered the most important. Specifically things that happen later or last are given more dramatic weight. They hold more gravitas. So by having Ruby falling in the middle, you’re essentially admitting she doesn’t matter. It’s actually hilarious how spot-on this is to how the show has always regarded her role.

And even worse, why did Team RWBY not encounter Salem? She is our true main antagonist, our Big Bad, and yet our leading ladies didn’t even bother having a run-in with her?! Yang gets the closest by calling her out, but the scene focuses on Oscar and Hazel doing battle with her instead. Utterly insane, especially since Salem dropped the Summer bombshell on Ruby last volume, and we got no follow-up here.

Shifting to Salem, wow, her writing is so inconsistent, and her presence is deeply underwhelming. She’s just generic dark lord number 7, ominously smirking around every corner, insulting Cinder, and shooting ugly-looking laser beams to pretend she’s scary. Like, no, her stretching to reform and grab people isn’t scary - she looks like one of those wavy blow-up balloon men outside of a car dealership.

Salem’s whole deal is supposed to be manipulation. Her ability to exploit people’s darkest impulses to divide them, or turn them to her side. Working with her is supposed to be like a deal with the Devil, promising you what you want in exchange for your help, or your soul. So explain to me why instead of negotiating with people based on their motivations, she instead decides to just… terrorize everyone into doing what she wants?

Like, she tortures Oscar into giving up information about the Relics, and even has Hazel do it for her, but… why? On a real note, torture doesn’t work. Ever. It just makes people tell you what they think you wanna hear to make the immediate pain stop. It’s about as effective as a polygraph test.

And moreover, Oscar already has plenty of reasons to turn on Oz. Becoming Oz’s host has caused him incredible amounts of distress, not to mention the threat of losing himself as their souls merge. Offer Oscar a way out of that, and you have a shot of him revealing Oz’s secrets of his own volition. And also that way, we don’t have to sit through the darkest member of the main cast being brutalized unnecessarily, because the writers think physically torturing characters equals this being a more mature show.

And also… why does no one know what her goal is? Everyone’s on different pages. Hazel thinks she’s gonna make a new world order, and so does Mercury. Cinder never says, cuz I think she doesn’t give a shit truth be told, and Tyrian and Oz say she’s ending the world. But… Salem herself never says. She even says, “In pursuit of a new world,” which has me thinking that Hazel might’ve been right actually?!

But why? Why are we, the audience, still being kept in the dark about the goal of our Big Bad?! If there were ever a time to learn, now would be it. And moreover, why do none of her minions seem to know? Did no one think to double check with her before joining under her? If she’s ending the world, why would you want that? Tyrian, sure, if he’s just a slavish disciple of his goddess, as boring as that is, but the rest of you? Idiots.

Will say, I at least dig her evil lair. Monstro reference aside, her lair being a living creature - a giant whale Grimm - makes her an intimidating mobile fortress, especially with all the gross sinew and bone composing its chambers. The rib-cage air hangar? Genuinely genius. Reminds me of the Atlantis levels of OG Tomb Raider.

Back to things I hate, I love that you can tell that fights aren’t a core pillar of RWBY anymore by the fact our Big Bad has no weapon, and her fighting style is just generic energy blasts. Magic is incredibly uncreative and bland in RWBY. No spells, incantations, or unique aesthetics for magic users, but just… rave lights and basic elemental blasts.

Truth be told, even the fact the Relics aren’t weapons is an insult. One of them is a sword for crying out loud. You couldn’t find a way to have them make for top-tier, innovative combat, and instead just have them be magical paperweights?

Cinder, as I alluded to before, weirdly comes off as the real protagonist of Volume 8. We start with her echoing back to her past, then get her full backstory a few episodes in. She gets her moment to be called out for her many, many flaws by Watts, and in the end, she learns from them to win the day, defeating Team RWBY, securing the Relics, and killing Watts and presumably Neo because petty. Good for her. Except no, fuck her. These are a woman’s wrongs I do not support.

Cinder’s been a very lacking antagonist, wanting power for apparently no reason other than wanting power for years, and losing at every turn since Volume 3. Though she killed Pyrrha, she was somehow severely wounded by Ruby’s silver eyes, even though silver eyes are only meant to hurt Grimm, and she lost human appendages, but who fucking cares at this point?

She then lost her fight with Raven in Volume 5, and lost the Winter Maiden power to Penny in Volume 7. She became an angsty laughingstock real quick. And truthfully, I’m not sure why we only just got her backstory in Volume 8? Sure, she’s from Atlas - at least, she moved there when she was adopted - but why were we made to wait until this moment to learn about her story?

Again, things which happen later in the story hold more dramatic weight. Which means that Cinder’s generic backstory is meant to be more important than that of our Big Bad Salem. Routinely, Volume 8 is described as Cinder’s volume, and I’m sitting here like, “She had her chance at her volume. Let this be Salem’s volume, you fools.”

And on the note of the backstory, it’s just Cinderella, except she kills her stepfamily. How original. Sure, it explains her never wanting to feel helpless again, but it’s not particularly compelling. Perhaps this would feel less frustrating if we weren’t made to wait years for it. I’d honestly have dropped this back in Volume 4 during Cinder’s recovery, when she weirdly came off as sympathetic due to how weak she was.

And connected to Cinder, Emerald. Emerald just really shows the lack of attention given to character motivations. From jump, Emerald has been loyal to Cinder, which is the only reason she went along with Salem in Volumes 4 and 5. So in Volume 8, when Emerald betrays Salem to join the heroes, it’s so bewildering that Cinder doesn’t factor into this twist at all.

Again, her motivation is to aid Cinder, who is in league with Salem. For her to go back on this, you can to make Emerald realize that Cinder doesn’t love her, and thus have her realize her loyalties are wasted with her. But they don’t do that. I think this moment Mercury has in telling Emerald off in Cinder’s backstory episode was meant to communicate Emerald realizing this, but it just doesn’t hit. You don’t intuitively see the cogs turning for Emerald here; you just see her being a bit sad that Cinder’s being mean to her, which is nothing new.

When Emerald decides to help Oscar and the others, she never once mentions Cinder, nor does anyone mention her to Emerald. Emerald has just completely switched allegiances and forgotten about her actual motivation, because to the writers, motives don’t matter - aesthetics matter. The aesthetic of Emerald redeeming herself was more valuable than actually having her see the light.

Also, love that no one realizes Emerald is the reason why Pyrrha accidentally killed Penny in the first place. And that Emerald feels no guilt about it as Penny is once again fighting for her life. How very satisfying to people who’d wanted to see follow ups to that drama all those years ago, back when the show actually held promise.

And finally, the music… does not slay. Revisiting RWBY’s music as a whole, I’ve found that while I do appreciate Jeff’s attempt at expanding on the story through his songs, it’s kinda clear he wasn’t given much material to work with, especially from Volume 5 onward. It compounds upon the issues of his songs having increasingly muddy production, with instruments fighting for dominance and drowning out the vocals, the lack of variety as everything sounds like the same obligatory guitar solo, and crowded lyrics trying to cram too many syllables into every line.

Jeff is clearly a talented musician who works hard, but it’s also clear he was run ragged over the years churning out soundtrack after soundtrack after soundtrack. Even the Volume 8 score is quite disappointing. Ordinarily, I appreciate the way character leitmotifs are woven together, but I can’t remember a bit of Volume 8’s score to save my life. Well, save Cinder stealing Roman’s leitmotif in the sorry excuse that is “The Truth.”

It was so clear Jeff was exhausted, especially as the fandom badgered him for the release of the Volume 8 soundtrack. And I feel for him. I hope he’s enjoying his post-RWBY life and getting a breather, and I really hope this hasn’t tarnished his love for music, as is so often the case when your passion becomes your profession. That bridge in “The Sky is Falling”? Yeah, I know it’s a Lamar rap, but it really gives Jeff just confessing his exhaustion.

There’s plenty more about this volume I can’t stand, but I’m gonna cut myself off here, cuz we’ll be here for 75 years before I’m done. But suffice to say, Volume 8 is so rife with problems, and genuinely aggravates me to no end.

Volume 9 (content warning - discussions of suicide & suicidal ideation because RT doesn't know how to not fumble serious topics):

Volume 9 is… odd. Strangely, it represents both the best and worst of RWBY. It feels unnecessary, removing itself from its own plot for an entire season to needlessly expand lore no one asked for, and at points reads as brain-numbingly juvenile, uncreative, and downright dangerous in its fumblings of serious topics.

And yet, it’s also the first and only time Ruby has felt like not only the protagonist, but an actual character. It took excising the entire cast of screenhogs, and eliminating the world-saving plot that many cite as their reason for abandoning the show, for the girls to feel like protagonists again. It strangely echoes a lot of the mundane, lighthearted antics of the first couple volumes.

Its release also warrants interest. Before Volume 9, RWBY volumes had a pretty consistent schedule: start in the fall, end in spring, then start up again the following fall. But after Volume 8 wrapped up in spring of 2021, Volume 3 didn’t premiere until the late winter of 2023, two whole years later.

By that point, alongside general waning interest in the show, disdain towards Volume 8, and all the controversies surrounding Rooster Teeth, Volume 9 was entering a climate where the world had moved on from RWBY. Well really, the world had moved on for a long while, but even a lot of the diehards who kept the show afloat found themselves leaving RWBY behind.

The way it release didn’t much help either. Where previous volumes were part of the Rooster Teeth FIRST program, hosted exclusively on the company’s website, Volume 9 was held hostage on Crunchyroll for a year before moving to the Rooster Teeth site - just months before the company’s closure.

Not to mention that the delay was also due in part to the mishandling of projects, slave-driving animators on two Justice League crossover movies that literally no one asked for. The spell had been broken, and in the aftermath, it’s no wonder Rooster Teeth went belly up.

The tale of Volume 9’s creation is arguably more interesting than the volume itself. Lord knows it’s more interesting than the first half of the volume, where Team RWBY wanders around hideous environments that burn out my retinas, providing comedy that wouldn’t seem out of place on Disney Junior. Seriously, what happened to the comedy from Volume 2? Why did it become so much slower… and dumber?

But there are things here that hold interest. Namely, the villains. I dig the Curious Cat as a character, in no small part thanks to Robbie Daymond giving it his all. It’s giving Deadpool asking Celine Dion to dial back her 11 to a 5. But even writing-wise, the Cat has an actual motivation. An insatiable curiosity driving them to commit heinous acts just for answers. This is the kind of motivations-based villain writing that Salem, and the rest of the antagonists, are sorely lacking.

And truthfully, I had lost interest in Neo in Volume 8. She’d lost all the fun, playful charm she possessed in earlier volumes, and I found her desire for revenge against Ruby incredibly cliche and uncompelling. It was so clear she’d only be brought back to revive fan interest. Remove her, and nothing about Volumes 7 and 8 would change.

And so, finishing her story here outside of the plot with Salem makes a lot of sense, especially in a realm so strange, it pairs perfectly with her reality-warping Semblance. She gets to be a threat all her own without any other villains getting in her way, and she’s so cruel, it actually makes her interesting again.

But on the note of the Ruby torture… ascension. I don’t mind the concept all that much, since to me it reads as a form of rebirth or reincarnation. But many have read this as an allegory for self-harm and suicide, especially paired with Ruby’s self loathing. Admittedly, I have dealt with these feelings in the past, and Ruby’s struggle most definitely echoed how I felt in those dark depths.

The idea of dying and coming back stronger could’ve worked if it weren’t paired with Ruby’s very real feelings of self-loathing. The episode she sees all her dead friends - along with Clover and Leo for… some fucking reason (how would Neo know about them???) - feels gratuitous. It’s giving edgy torture porn that we’re using to make our show more shocking and mature, like we did with all the Oscar torture last volume.

And her choosing herself? Admittedly, “Guide My Way” slaps and is one of my favorite songs, and I love Ruby actually fighting with her scythe the way she used to against the Cat, even if it only lasted 10 seconds. But that all aside, this rings hollow. Ruby didn’t have to actually face her mistakes or grow as a person; she just said, “I love myself,” and that’s all it took.

It feels like the writers saw all the recent media with a similar “choose yourself” messaging, and lazily copied it, which does track considering RWBY is a hodgepodge of that. See something in another piece of media you like, mimic it without understanding why it worked originally, and make a half-assed version of it with no soul of its own.

And while Ruby finally got something to work with, I am very bitter it took a goddamn decade for her to get anything. Not to mention that Weiss, Blake, and Yang get… nothing. Their smoke cloud scene also pisses me off, as the writers pretend they’ve written fabulous journeys of growth and change. Once more, it is the illusion of a story we were promised, but never got.

Blake and Yang finally get to confirm their relationship, which also, why did that take a decade? In the words of my friend Maxwell Media Inc., y’all are equating time with work. Just cuz it took this long does not make it worth the wait. And no, I don’t care if this was planned or not, cuz even if it was planned, it’s still bad, and it’s still queerbait.

It wasn’t a “Will they won’t they.” It was a, “Are they or are they not queer?” At so many points, the writers could’ve confirmed the girls were queer, but they didn’t. They could’ve had them date earlier, but they didn’t. Because we don’t wanna scare off the homophobic reactionary viewers who also give us money. Not until the very last minute when we need a hail mary as our company lies dying on the floor.

Oh yeah, and Jaune’s here… I don’t care. It’s just more angst about his failures and the red-headed women he’s killed. Even in a volume that’s just about Team RWBY, we simply cannot exclude Jaune. And I can’t find his angst over wanting to protect the Paper Pleasers compelling, because once again, he is getting more of an arc than Weiss, Blake, or Yang, because it is so clear the writers favor anyone who is not Team RWBY.

The Ever After is an interesting location, and while some environments hurt my eyes, others are quite pleasing, like the Paper Village, the Ponderstorm, or the Lily Marketplace. But it all just reads as a lazy Alice in Wonderland clone. We’re not really having fun in reinventing these tales, the way it felt RWBY did in its first couple volumes with its characters.

Though I will say, if you want Volume 9 to matter, have them send Salem to the tree to get ascended, and maybe the Blacksmith will help her ascend into something less homicidal. Just saying.

At the very least, the music is a genuine plus. Casey and her band, OK Goodnight, took over the reins from Jeff, and they knocked it outta the park. Their music has this ethereal quality in its production, and I adore the unusual structures that are more than just, “Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus.” And more wildly, I’m glad RWBY ended before they could be drained dry by Rooster Teeth like Jeff was.

And really, I’m okay with RWBY ending here. If we’re being real, the relics and maidens plot was a sore spot for a lot of people, distracting us from the characters whose antics we loved beholding in the first three volumes. Volume 9 at least tried to return to those roots, and symbolically, I love that it ends subtly saying that all the Ozpin and Salem shit doesn’t fucking matter - the girlies matter. Well, really just Ruby, but I’ll take what I can get at this point.

Conclusion & Outro:

Much like Ruby herself, the show RWBY is ascending. What will she be when she exits the tree? No clue, but as Blake says, maybe that’s not for us to decide. Maybe it’s time to let RWBY go, and move onto the rest of the media landscape.

Honestly, since those days where I’ve expanded my media diet, I don’t get hiatus brain anymore. If something ends, I just move onto the next thing, and it’s a delightful feeling. RWBY will always hold a special spot in my heart, for better or worse, inspiring both love and rage. Both admiration and disappointment. It is more complicated than “I love this show” or “I hate this show,” because it is both, but also neither.

I’m not sure how I’ll approach RWBY going forward, but I know I wanna be more than just this, or just Winx, or just anything else. I wanna share so much about all the media that fascinates me. And I think in that, this has felt quite cathartic. The official end of an era.

Down the Trix's Road | Winx 3 Commentary, Episodes 23 & 24

They tried I guess.

Arcane Is Depressingly Perfect

I'll never be a saint.

Arcane Is Depressingly Perfect (script)

Intro:

Arcane is what I like to call… depressingly perfect. “Snap gurl, I think you dropped something - my jaw.” The characters are complex, nuanced, and endearing, the animation is gorgeous, I’m obsessed with all of the texturing and blending of 2D and 3D, the music slays, and all of it together… depresses me.

You know when you have a piece of media that just fires on all cylinders, and you’re in awe of the majesty playing out before you? I don’t know about y’all, but for me, the effect is two-fold: on the one hand, I’m enamored with the craftsmanship on display; and on the other hand, I go, “... How the fuck do the rest of us measure up to this?”

I enjoyed Arcane when it came out, and have loved the second season, but I’ve been hesitant to discuss it on the channel. On the one hand, cuz it’s a lot more difficult breaking down why something works well versus when something fails, and on the other, because everyone’s kinda saying the same things?

There are approximately five million videos already on why Arcane’s writing, characters, animation, and so on are all perfect, so naturally my brain goes, “What the hell do we have to add exactly?”

But ya know what? I really dug season 2, and rewatching the first season, it’s aged like wine. And moreover, I deeply appreciate not only Arcane’s innovative animation, but also its success as an adaptation. Namely that I don’t have to suffer through League of Legends to understand what’s happening. Cuz from my friends who are familiar, they love it, but they would never recommend it to any living thing.

So today, we’re gonna talk about everything I love about Arcane, and why it works so well for me. Primarily, that’ll be for the character writing, the themes, and the animation, cuz as a 3D-animation hobbyist, I am absolutely enthralled with the look of this show.

The Animation:

Given 3D animation has, especially in the west, been restricted to either photorealism or Pixar knockoffs, it’s so nice seeing properties like Arcane experimenting with their styles. Arcane has this painterly look that incorporates a lot of 2D effects and textures, and even fakes a lot of its environments and lighting to trick you into thinking there’s more going on.

This video by Robyn explains all the techniques Arcane implements, specifically for its first season, and given she’s an animator she can explain the lot of it far better than I. However, I do wanna acknowledge one aspect I utterly adore: the texturing.

A lot of the shadows on characters’ faces, specifically around their noses, are textures that have been painted onto the models, and same for the lights on armor and jewelry. They don’t actually respond to any light sources in the scene. The reason for this being that in 3D, realtime lighting and shadows can actually look quite unflattering.

In a lot of older 3D games, there were no real light sources, because their consoles would explode if they tried. And so these games would fake their detail, and their shading, through their textures. Arcane does still have actual lights, but uses them for dramatic effect and emphasis.

I’m also obsessed with the use of color association. How blue is associated initially with HexTech, and eventually Jinx and the revolution she inspires. Purple is associated with Shimmer, and green with the Firelights as well as Reveck’s horrifying abominations of science. Naturally, you can go pretty wild with what the colors represent, ala this Reddit post. The blue as potential really fucked me up, not gonna lie, especially rewatching the first three episodes.

I also adored when Vander became Warwick, how his primal rage was always associated with red. Arcane excels at using the colors to change or enhance the mood of a scene, but I love the way the animation changes when we’re in Warwick’s perspective. How the frame count drops to make the movement more erratic and jarring, because we’re in the view of a beast, and all the colors turn to this stark contrast of red and black.

Then there’s the images of Vander’s past with Vi, Powder, Claggor, and Mylo, all done in watercolor to provide this bright, warm, wholesome feeling, contrasted against how harsh the rest of the show feels. It really makes you yearn for the better days, and hope that Vander will be restored to his old self. And then they rip that away by having those watercolor memories literally burn away before your eyes. Ugh, it’s so masterful and rude.

And his mindscape?! Generally speaking, I love how webby and abstract everything to do with the out-of-control HexTech in season 2 is, and I adore seeing that expanded into the mind of Vander. These sinewy labyrinths that are then contrasted against images of Warwick, with bright-orange lava flows, or a sinewy bridge leading into the beast’s mouth? God, this show has no right having such good art direction and visual storytelling. It kinda reminds me of the Old Ones’ world in “The Terror Beyond” episode from Justice League, and I mean that as the highest of compliments.

The Black Rose? Admittedly, I do wish it was integrated a bit more concretely into the story, especially because the identity of… weird shadow bitch feels like it relies a lot on knowledge of the games. That said, I do still enjoy what it means for Mel and Ambessa’s stories, and especially for the visuals.

The black rose petals with that warped red space they create? The black roses overtaking Elora’s body? Oh it’s such good body horror. I generally really enjoy when things considered beautiful and light are twisted and warped into sights of utter terror, and that especially goes for flowers.

Something we all definitely adore is the visuals used to represent Jinx’s mental state. How when her trauma and grief take center stage, we’re put into her headspace to feel how she feels. The erratic camera cuts, the colors growing starker, the 2D overlays looking like mental graffiti in the image of the friends whose lives her mistake took? Chef’s kiss.

I can’t really speak as to the representation of mental health since I’m no expert, but personally, I appreciate the deep empathy shown for Jinx’s character. That goes for everyone, truthfully, but I’m always feeling for Jinx and made to understand where she’s coming from, even at her lowest points. You may at times fear her, but you never stop feeling for her, nor rooting for her, and these effects play a huge role in that.

And let’s be real: she and Ekko steal the show in both scenes, iconically both in episode 7? Wow. There isn’t really much action in their bridge fight, but there’s so much to what’s going on. The ticking as Ekko waves the pocket watch, the slow motion as the two prepare to duke it out, and the throwbacks to their past selves and how much they’ve changed. My friend pointed out the contrast between the animals they’re associated with too, namely Ekko’s firefly versus Jinx’s raven. We’ll delve into that in the themes section, but suffice to say I am so obsessed with this imagery.

But their DANCE in season 2? The frame rate drops, but this time to make you savor how cute they are, and enjoy them just getting the chance to cut loose and not have a care in the world? My soul really needed that with what season 2 was doing up until that point.

Last thing I’ll touch on too: the dolls under Victor’s control. Firstly, Hex Victor is… so freaky? Like, his human face has been parted by a scary robot face, but it’s a subtle detail you don’t initially focus on, and I love it so much with how it reinforces him losing his humanity.

But those DOLLS. The people he helped becoming these faceless, soulless creatures that move so erratically. Like the world’s freakiest dance of doom. They really give Dusk energy from Kingdom Hearts 2, and I adore them. They thrive in that uncanny valley where they almost appear human, but not quite.

So much of Arcane’s story lies in its visuals, and it doesn’t waste a moment nor a frame to get you to feel for these characters.

The Characters:

Like I mentioned with Jinx, Arcane forces you to deeply empathize with the whole cast. To see them all as fully fleshed-out, developed people with their own motivations and goals, rather than caricatures or chess pieces for the plot to move forward. Even when pitted against each other, you still feel for the characters, and while an ensemble, Arcane is careful with its pacing not to overwhelm you.

I really feel for Violet. As a protagonist, she rules, as the story focuses on her trying to protect her family, then after the timeskip, trying to find and get through to her sister, who’s now become Jinx. Vi’s life has been shaped and defined by loss. The loss of her parents, the loss of Vander, Mylo, and Claggor, and the loss of Powder. And, for part of season 2, the loss of Cait.

Through it all, Vi’s fear of loss comes from the deep love she has for the people in her life, and their memory. Seeing her routinely try to get through to Jinx, it really breaks my heart seeing those efforts fail initially, and seeing Vi driven to try and kill her.

But then, in the timeskip where Vi decides to enter her Black Hair Era (which she slays, btw), having her and Jinx’s roles reversed as Jinx reaches out to her to try and save Vander? It’s really interesting to see how Vi, hitting her rock bottom and losing what little she had left, now comes to forgive and care for Jinx again as Jinx finds her own meaning in life through Isha.

Vi, to me, feels like an embodiment of true strength. Of doing all you can for people you love, even when that means calling them out when they lose sight of themselves. Seeing how hurt Vi is watching Cait go down a dark path? Oh it destroys me. Like, all Vi wants is a happy life with her loved ones, and the universe is like, “Ha! But suffering makes for good storytelling!”

Now onto our real star: Jinx. Having rewatched the first three episodes, I really feel for this girl. She just wanted to be useful and prove herself to her big sis, and that ambition resulted in calamitous destruction. And that really seems to be how Jinx comes to see herself - a harbinger of destruction that ruins everything she touches.

She’s haunted by guilt, by shame, by insecurity, and especially by fears of abandonment. She doesn’t really care much for big social issues or movements, like Silco’s war for sovereignty, or the revolution she inspires. No, Jinx just wants to matter to the people she loves, and to never feel alone or betrayed ever again.

And so, while Silco tormented her family and her father, in the moment she’s left alone by Violet, Silco becomes the only source of affection and connection Jinx can rely on, and so comes to depend on him. And it’s not all manipulation. That seems to be genuine on Silco’s part too, as he comes to view her as his daughter. Hell, she kinda is her uncle turned adoptive father.

Seeing Jinx struggle in her loyalties between Silco and Vi in the first season, especially with Vi threatening the life Jinx has grown accustomed to and seemingly replacing her with Cait, it’s kinda no wonder her mental state is so fragmented. She’s torn not only between loyalties, but identities.

After Silco’s death, it hurts to see Jinx so self-destructive and empty in that first act of season 2. So it helps to see her with Isha, becoming a big sister herself and coming to find a new purpose in life. It’s that drive to protect and care for Isha that feeds into her as a figure of hope for the people of the undercity, even if she doesn’t really care much about that kinda stuff.

But of course, it’s back to despair town when Isha sacrifices herself. Seeing Jinx with all her hair down, her face just so warped in sorrow and pain, hearing her say there’s no good part of her, and how she’s gonna break the cycle. OW. But that also makes it all the stronger when she comes back to fight against Ambessa’s forces and Warwick.

Her fate is kinda left ambiguous, and truth be told, I’m okay not knowing what befell her. I just hope that Jinx is happy, wherever she is, and that she’s living up to all her chaotic potential.

Silco? IMMACULATE VILLAINY. I adore him lurking in the shadows, plotting and scheming, but I also love that he’s not a cartoonish villain. He’s not causing misery just for the sake of it. No, he wants better for the people of Zaun; he’s just willing to do whatever it takes to get that, even if it means hurting and killing people he loves.

His whole rebirth through water, and how his character can kinda be seen as metaphorically drowning for the whole time he’s onscreen? Excellent. He’s calm, poised, and collected, yet desperate to achieve his goals. And lowkey? He deserves a Dad of the Year Award. Man was willing to throw away his peaceful deal and go to war just to keep his daughter safe.

Arcane really shows how you can have villainous characters who do heinous, vile shit while keeping them as understandable, fleshed-out characters. Silco is terrifying, yet like Jinx, the show has empathy for him just like it has for the other characters. And you bet your ass I got emotional whenever we got to see his past self, and his alternate, happy self.

Also, Dad of the Year Award for Vander please. A gentle giant who believes in the power of community, who is haunted by his past? Yes please. And while I’m Team Violet when it comes to calling out Vander’s complacency with topside, you can still understand why Vander would work out a deal with them in the hopes of not losing anyone else. But hey, like Silco, he’s willing to throw it away to protect his kids. What an icon.

It really hurts seeing him become Warwick. You get glimpses of his love for his daughters, only to have it ripped away when he fully becomes the beast. The irony of him being the Hound of the Underground also hurts deep, and yes, I will be seeing the writers in court for emotional damages.

Ekko is my baby boi and I would die for him. I absolutely love him becoming the leader of the Firelights, keeping hope alive for the underground in the face of Silco’s more violent, cruel faction. And also, his whole time motif, with the pocket watch, the hourglass, and finally being able to go back four seconds? Obsessed. Gives him a unique, useful ability without it being overpowered. We have him to thank for saving Jinx.

Now, Caitlyn… oh, Miss Cait. I do love her, especially her naivete in how the world outside her cushy manor actually works. Her relationship with Vi is so fucking cute, and I love how she’s both sassy and easily flustered. And really, she seems far more genuine than her parents. Like, I was so gagged with how fast her mom turned heel on Jayce in those first few episodes, and meanwhile baby Cait is like, “Yeah, she’s two faced, lol.”

Cait seems quite ignorant to the darkness and ugly truths of the world, mostly cuz of her privileges. She’s never had to worry about starving or losing people the way Vi always has, which explains her naive optimism in working with Vi to change Piltover, and also how thoroughly she’s rocked when she loses her mother at the end of season 1, and how that grief radically changes her in season 2.

In season 2, we see how Cait’s pain is exploited by Ambessa. How her grief and hatred of Jinx in turn makes her skeptical of the people of Zaun as they push back further, attacking topside during a memorial, and how all that pain makes her slide into… ya know, bad things I can’t quite describe if I wanna stay monetized.

Grief and sorrow are easily exploitable by those looking to accrue power, and we’ll talk about that more when we get to Ambessa, but it really hurts seeing Cait essentially become a puppet on strings who turns on Vi. I’m glad she eventually comes to her senses, but I’m also glad the story let Cait go to that dark, awful place.

Mel? Absolute icon, diva, give her all the awards. She’s so good at the game of politics and working around other people’s motivations, mostly cuz she’s had to in order to survive the treachery that is a relationship with her mother.

She carries herself with so much confidence and self-assurance, I can’t help but stan her. So you bet your ass when she discovered her magic, and finally stood her ground against her mother, I cheered. Her whole life, she was just a tool, a weapon, for Ambessa to exploit to accrue power for herself. Yes, she was loved, but not in the way she needed, and so seeing Mel break free to chart her own course? GOOD FOR HER.

Sidenote, Mel’s design slays. I’m so obsessed with her fashion, her hair, and all her gold jewelry. And when she becomes a mage and gets all the gold lines along her hands, arms, and face? Her hair glowing golden white when she uses her magic? Oh, she’s stunning. It’s a crime we didn’t get to see more of her as a mage.

And speaking of Ambessa, WHAT A GOOD ANTAGONIST. The way she exploits people’s grief and fears in order to gain power? The way she talks about sacrifice, and throws everyone under the bus until she has no one left she can count on herself? Chef’s fucking kiss.

Jayce is precious science boi, and while most of the time I wanna slap him, it’s for his own good. He truly believes in wanting to make the world a better place through HexTech, and while that does lead to… bad things, and he definitely has some classism he needs to thoroughly unpack, it’s hard not to love him. His enthusiasm and earnesty is just so fucking endearing. And also he’s hot, so that helps. Pretty privilege is real, y’all.

I especially love how in season 2, when he returns from the Arcane, you at first are terrified of him. He looks disheveled, he’s murdering people and squashing them like bugs, and you’re like, “You leave Victor alone you dick!” But then you see the horrifying future he endured, and you go, “Oh… Oh no I get it, you go gurl, crush that Jesus-figure nerd stat.” OH, this show is so good at messing with your perception.

And Victor. Oh poor gay, gay Victor. Like Jayce, he’s kinda obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge and science at all costs, even that of his humanity. And it eventually reaches the point Victor basically loses touch with humanity itself, wanting to scrub what makes people people in the hopes it means a better world. Basically, he becomes Artorius Collbrande from Tales of Berseria, but more… demure.

I definitely wasn’t expecting him to become one of our final big bads, but I definitely wasn’t expecting him to also be the one to stop… himself? We love it when people change for the better and then mess with the fabric of time to stop their past selves from making a horrible mistake.

Oh, and I don’t have much to say about Heimerdinger, BUT I LOVE HIM. HE IS SO FUCKING CUTE. Truthfully, he was right to be fucking terrified of magic and HexTech, and his singing voice is immaculate, and I want to hug and squeeze the shit out of him. I feel like if you hugged him, he’d squeak like a rubber duck, and I would die for him. So yes, I am very sad they had him die twice, AND ONCE FOR A JOKE. It was a hilarious joke that had me wheezing, BUT I AM STILL VERY UPSET.

The cast is just so lovable and well written in this show, and it’s easy to see how people can have different favorites depending on who they relate to the most. Me personally? My favorites change all the time for anything, but right now, I’d say my most beloved characters are probably Jinx, Ekko, and Mel. They are my trinity.

Theming:

Loss and grief permeate Arcane’s story. Every character has lost people they love, and the conflicts often stem from how characters respond to that loss. Some decide to try and avenge those losses, while others run from them. Some pick up a weapon and try to change the world, and others have a different idea for change, leading to an inevitable clash. Grief can make you a stronger, better person, but it can also completely undo you if you don’t know how to handle it.

There was a moment my friend pointed out in the Ekko and Jinx fight - how Ekko is associated with a firefly, and Jinx with a raven. He mentioned the significance of fireflies, and a quick Google search - and suppressor memories of Sailor Moon S - confirmed fireflies are often associated with love, as well as lost souls. Specifically, the souls of soldiers lost in war. Interesting, given how many characters in Arcane have died in violent wars and conflicts.

So, Ekko can be argued to be a more positive representation of dealing with grief, whereas Jinx - via the raven - is grief’s destruction capabilities. How Jinx comes undone through the guilt of the deaths resulting from her actions, and her lashing out at the idea of losing Vi again, and later Silco and Isha.

Another thing this friend mentioned: how the characters are all driven, for better or worse, by love. Ambessa, who does love Mel on some level, destroys her family and tries to destroy Piltover for the sake of her small circle. How Silco’s violence is driven by the love he once had for his brother, and his love for Jinx and the people of Zaun. Even creepy Doctor Reveck, driven to create inhuman experiments and ruin lives to escape death, and bring back his daughter.

It’s that love, and also that fear of loss and death, that results in the further destruction and loss we see in the show. Jayce and Victor wanting to better people’s lives through scientific pursuit leading to a quiet, eerie future devoid of life, where humanity itself has been tossed away because of its capacity for destruction. But that also means throwing away its capacity for love.

Oh yeah, and also all the themes in the show to do with class and power. How the show doesn’t shy away from the abusive power Piltover holds over Zaun, and the violence its enforcers dole out onto the people of the underground, innocent or otherwise. How it tackles the question of whether violence is justified in fighting back against oppression, without dehumanizing anyone involved. I just appreciate how nuanced and thoughtful Arcane is in basically every regard.

Conclusion & Outro:

So… yeah. Arcane slaps. In every category, it’s an 11 outta 10, and the hype’s very much justified. While I’m sad it’s come to an end, I’m also happy it’s not dragging the story out unnecessarily, and knows when it needs to come to an end. If we see more stories from these creators, also set in this world, I’m definitely gonna be interested, and I hope they can live up to Arcane’s quality.

Winx 6 Rewrite, Episode 30 Audio - "End of An Era"

With Acheron defeated and the Winx's memories restored, the seven fairies begin charting their own ways forward.

Winx 6 Rewrite, Episode 29 Audio - "Fairies' Fantasia"

With the power of Mythix, Bloom aids Selina in taking down the Rivers of the Underworld, while the Winx defend Magix City from Theia, the historic Solarian queen who destroyed Selenia.

Why Is Moana 2's Marketing So BAD???? script

Intro:

As someone who was surprised by how much they loved the first Moana back in 2016, the utterly deafening silence for Moana 2 is… kinda depressing. Like, is anybody hyped for this? Do people even know it’s coming out… maybe before this video even goes public?

Disney hasn’t exactly had a very positive public perception the last few years, so having a seemingly unnecessary sequel to a relatively beloved film - especially one that’s already getting a live-action adaptation despite its young age - doesn’t exactly inspire excitement. Especially when it’s the plot to an animated series that’s been, from all appearances, haphazardly transformed into a feature-length movie.

Granted, I enjoyed the Tangled animated series, flaws and all, but my issue with Moana 2 is less with it being made into a movie, and more… the marketing. Cuz from all we’ve seen, I am deeply underwhelmed. The songs aren’t gripping me, I don’t feel this need for Moana to go on another adventure, and the story? Gurl, I can barely even tell what the story’s supposed to be.

It really feels like Disney is phoning in the marketing for this one. Which is odd. You’d think they’d be putting in the work to get more people hyped to fork over their wallets, since the assumption is that a movie would make a bigger, quicker return than a series.

Then again, Disney’s no stranger to arrogance. Perhaps they think their brand name, and Moana’s, is strong enough to carry them to success without trying. Which is, uh… a bold choice given their recent track record.

I don’t think Moana 2 will be terrible, but truth be told, I’m mostly apathetic towards its existence. I don’t have a strong desire to go see it; not even a morbid curiosity. No, my interest lies with Disney’s problem with being as vague as possible about the movie’s story and characters in all their marketing material, and so today, I wanna explore that.

Marketing is its own form of storytelling. You gotta find the right hook, the right pitch to boil down your story and make it something people wanna know more about, and it’s a real skill - one admittedly I am trash at. I’m a writer, what do you want from me?

But like anybody knows when a dish is good or bad, you know what good and bad marketing look like. If you’re not giving us anything captivating in the bite-sized pieces you choose to show us, what could that say about the work as a whole?

What The Hell Is The Story?:

So… what’s the plot of Moana 2? The first was pretty simple: Moana lives on a tropical island, and when that island is threatened by an ancient curse, she chooses to sail out to break said curse by restoring the heart of a mother goddess, all with the help of celebrity cameo Dwayne the Rock Johnson, and a chicken I feel resonates with me a disturbing amount. (me on election night)

A very simple, straightforward story that deviates enough from the usual chosen-one story to keep your interest. The vibe is great, love the music, and for the most part, I’m a Moana stan. She’s taking fate into her own hands, and doing what she can for her family and people. You bet your ass I cry whenever I rewatch the “I Am Moana” scene.

Now at first glance, there doesn’t really seem like a need for a sequel. Moana’s saved the islands, she’s happy, her people are happy. Life is good. But there are always new stories to tell, especially as characters get older and face new challenges, usually to reflect the audience getting older. Say what you want about Frozen 2, but it did make an effort to grow with its audience in the subjects it tried tackling… to debatable success.

The issue here with all of Moana 2… is that there’s no clear hook for what kind of new story Moana is in for. We get the vague goal of uniting the people of the ocean, which… okay? It could be directly after the first movie, with Moana’s people having just rediscovered their voyager culture, but the way characters speak and behave - and the addition of a younger sister for Moana - makes it clear there’s been a jump in time.

So, in all that time, they’ve just… never found another island with people? Perhaps that’ll be addressed in the film, but the vagueness here in the trailer leaves this conflict feeling very flimsy. It doesn’t make you go, “Oh shit, we gotta get in gear and fix this!”

Especially because the trailers don’t even give you a strong idea of the antagonists. Like, one line from some random guy mentions an island hidden in a storm that can break “the curse” if you reach it. To which I ask… what curse? Is there another curse in addition to the one Te Fiti was under? Is this curse why they’ve been having issues finding other inhabited islands? Would be great to know!

Not only do they not specify what this curse is in the first place, they don’t even mention who cast it. I had to go digging in Wiki pages that it was the work of the storm god Nalo. I kinda got that vibe from the big purple tornado with the face trying to be scary, but you kinda need to do more than vaguely gesturing at a bad thing if you wanna establish your central antagonist.

This is such a wasted opportunity, especially given people have been giving Disney grievances for years about the lack of antagonists in their films, or their twist villains. The closest we’ve gotten to a classic Disney Villain is Magnifico in Wish, and uh… the less said about that loser the better.

If they properly hyped up Nalo, or the secondary antagonist Matangi - and trust me, we will get to her cuz she is being robbed before our eyes - that’s basically a marketing hack to get butts in seats. Imagine, people rushing to the theaters to see a proper return to Disney Villainy. But nah, we can’t even be bothered to give people that hook in our trailers. Gotta keep it vague.

The trailers just give you the general vibe of some epic seafaring adventure without actually telling you why we’re going on one. It’s very head-empty coded. There’s no emotional investment in Moana’s new journey, no clear villains that will challenge her and force her to grow as a character, and no clear goal or stakes in place. Like, if she fails at this… so what? Her people’s life seems perfect right now, so what exactly is the problem here?

It really does feel like the pitch for a direct-to-video Disney sequel, usually one that was a pilot for a TV series that got scrapped and haphazardly sewn into an excuse for a movie. And quite frankly, Moana deserves better.

Oh No I Don’t Like The Music:

Yeah, so… I’m not a big fan of “Beyond.” It’s fine enough, but it’s nowhere near the level of any of the first movie’s soundtrack, especially “How Far I’ll Go.” I recommend Astor Rhymemaster’s video breaking down “Beyond” lyric-wise, but I pretty much agree with their analysis on why it’s aggressively mid.

Now, I know the internet is… very, very tired of Lin-Manuel Miranda, but he does at least have a distinct style. I’m no musical expert, but uh… you can kinda tell from what we’ve got that a different team is at the helm this time, and I don’t think it’s for the better.

Well, that’s not very fair. Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i both worked on the original movie’s soundtrack with Miranda, and both have returned for the sequel. But the vibe I’m getting, especially from this promotional video specifically about the music, is that Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear - the new additions - are if not exclusively, then primarily in charge of the vocal tracks this time around.

I’m also gonna plug Sin Squad’s video about the Frozen 2 Soundtrack. Don’t worry, she doesn’t come for the vocal tracks, but rather the score, and in turn talks about the unfortunate issue where most films wind up with forgettable, generic scores that are serviceable, but don’t really try to establish a unique identity.

But what she also discusses is the… pop-ification of Disney music. Where the songs in Disney films once were Broadway-inspired, heavily rooted in their specific characters’ perspectives and experiences, there have been recent efforts to switch to a more pop-oriented sound that can theoretically be divorced from the movies where it features. Ya know, cuz Disney thinks that’ll make for an easier radio hit. Cuz obviously scrubbing art of all its unique identities and eccentricities for the common denominator will make it more appealing to the masses.

The soundtrack dropped a few days ahead of the movie, and uh… well, the pop-ification isn’t as strong as I anticipated. The instrumentation is still very similar to the first movie, but the songs just do not leave the same impact. They’re largely forgettable, and the ones the movie clearly wants to be the big hits… they do not hit.

The tracks featuring Samoan singing, like “Tolou Tagaloa,” were done by Olivia Foa’i, and her work is gorgeous. It’s - as far as my white self is aware - authentic to Moana’s polynesian setting and culture, and musically unique, helping it to stand out in the media landscape. Also, I think it just sounds pretty.

But… them vocal tracks. “Beyond” we’ve already said is very mid, very basic. “We’re Back” doesn’t fare much better, “What Could Be Better Than This?” is… genuinely awful. I hate listening to this one so much. I can’t bring myself to even care for the “Moana gets a crew” angle, mostly because if I don’t even sense a personal journey for your main character, why would I then care about the side characters?

“Can I Get A Chee Hoo?” Jail. Straight to jail. This is the poor man’s “You’re Welcome.” The melody is far weaker, far less memorable, and the lyrics are just… no. I know Maui is a too-cool-for-school dork, but like, this makes me wanna shove him into a locker along with Magnifico.

As far as I can tell, Nalo gets no musical number. So… great. You got a villain and gave them no song. Well, at least Matangi got one, but uh… I don’t like it either. By far and away, this is the poppiest number of the soundtrack, and in that regard it at least has an easier time getting stuck in my head. But it just doesn’t viscerally feel sinister and impressive like older Disney villain numbers, like “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” or “Mother Knows Best.”

In a musical, you communicate your story… well, through music. How well the songs succeed at this can only be judged by watching the movie itself, but they at least have to stand on their own, but these just don’t. Outside Foa’i’s numbers, they by and large fall flat. It adds to this underwhelming feeling where Moana 2 is dead on arrival, with absolutely no energy.

And uh… speaking of Matangi… 

Matangi Better Slay:

Okay… her I am most upset about. We know nothing about this woman, and I only know about her name - again - from Wiki diving, because the trailers refuse to share it. In fact, they refuse to share any information about this character, aside from silhouetted glimpses, bats, and only one line they routinely edit poorly. Seriously, this is the only line they’ll share from her, to the point I’m wondering if she even has that many lines to begin with.

Truth be told, with the sum total of nothing we’ve seen of Nalo, I wish Matangi got to be our main villain, cuz at least then it’d be more of an actual character. Te Ka worked well enough as a force-of-nature-kinda twist villain, but I can’t take a lazy retread of that if that’s the route they’re going for Nalo.

I’m getting the sinking feeling, especially from her song, that Matangi’s basically just gonna be a repeat of Tamatoa. A memetic icon, but ultimately, a minor roadblock antagonist we only have for one scene, and then it’s back to the actual plot. Really not helping the feeling of this just being the first movie, but less, and worse.

From my scouring, Matangi is some kinda underworld goddess who, according to her song, is stuck in a clam. Like, this giant thing we keep seeing in the trailer? Pretty sure that’s her clam lair. She gives the vibe of a trickster goddess, which cool, but if she’s no more than a roadblock villain, I’m gonna throw hands. Cuz what do you mean an underworld goddess doesn’t get to be our main antagonist who has an actually interesting dynamic with Moana?!

By far and away, Matangi is the only reason I’ve even kept tabs on this project, cuz I was hoping she’d be a true return to Disney Villains. That she’d echo her malefic foremothers, like Maleficent, Ursula, or even Gothel. But I’m getting that sinking feeling the movie’s just not gonna care about her enough to give her the time to ascend to that status, because the promtoional material barely even gives her the time of day.

Like, is she in league with Nalo? What’s her goal? Where does she fit into all of this? Cuz the trailers don’t even say who the hell she is, they barely show her off, and the first time they said her name, it was Moana’s actress offhandedly saying her name as if we already knew who the hell Matangi was, and then being cut off before she can elaborate on why she’s so dangerous.

It’s like, Auli’i Cravalho was trying to tell the story of Matangi - give us the pitch to make us care - and the editor was held at gunpoint by Disney to cut her off before she could get into detail because we must keep it vibes only. It is so FRUSTRATING.

I really hope I’m wrong, and that she turns out to have a bigger role in the film, because it would be such a travesty of storytelling not to do more with this idea for a villain… because yeah, she really is just an idea, rather than a character as far as the trailers are concerned.

Conclusion & Outro:

If you want a crash course on how to sabotage a project that should by all means be a deafening success, study Moana 2’s marketing campaign. Because wow, I’ve never been so underwhelmed by an upcoming sequel to something I held so dear before.

Maybe I’m being overdramatic. Maybe Moana 2 will blow me away and turn out to be a smashing success; maybe it’ll even be good. But it won’t be because of the marketing, because it really feels as if Disney is going out of its way to bury this thing with just how unenaging and redundant all of these trailers have been.

Winx 6 Rewrite, Episode 28 Audio - "The Tree of Stories"

The Winx head to the Tree of Stories at the heart of the Legendarium World in order to attain the power of fantasy: Mythix.

Winx 6 Rewrite, Episode 27 Audio - "Flowers for Selenia"

While Selina battles against the undertows of Oblivion, the Winx uncover the mythical Kingdom of Selenia within the Legendarium World.

Winx 6 Rewrite, Episode 26 Audio - "From Oblivion"

Trapped in Oblivion, the Winx must overcome their own desires and demons to reach the Legendarium World.

Winx 6 Rewrite, Episode 25 Audio - "The Scarlet Paladin"

The Winx are missing, and Acheron and his sorcerers are on the loose. Will Selina realize her folly before it's too late?