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I just finished reading the Web Novel version of Re:Monster and the changes for the Anime make a lot of sense when you read it

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Re:Monster: Who is Gobrou?

 

This is one of those anime where keeping the first season of the anime to 12 episodes made a lot of sense. More so given how much content they had to work with. The Web Novel I read was 406 chapters long but from how it sounds either the story may not have been finished by the original author or the rest of it has not been translated. The anime stops at the death of the old Goblin Gobujii but the Web Novel continues beyond that obviously. Due to a few name changes as he evolves, the main character is referred to by viewers/readers as just “Rou” which is a part of his name each time he evolves.

 

Before I give an overview of what a Season 2 will likely cover, I’m gonna back up a bit and explain what was changed from Season 1. Most of what’s omitted are detailed explainations of certain things though in a few cases, whole events and scenes are omitted or changed.

 

  • A lot of Rou’s backstory from his past life is covered at the beginning. He was a human with supernatural abilities and one of them was Absorbtion. When he is reincarnated as a Goblin, Absorbtion is the only ability from his past life that he retains. How it works is there is a chance he will gain the abilities of whatever he eats living or non-living. The chances of that happening greatly increases if he eats certain body parts which the anime omits explaining in detail.
  • Rou imposes his own belief system on the world he reincarnates into. He’s also blunt about the blatant hypocrisy and double standards he arbitrarily displays at times you think he wouldn’t. For example. He has no problem cannibalizing everyone and everything but takes issue with the older Goblins and Hobgoblins wanting to rape human women. Killing Humans because he’s now a monster is totally fine though. So is having orgies as long as it’s consentual…maybe. Violently torturing others openly is also 100% cool (as long as it’s not a child since even Japan won’t allow that). It’s always in contradictory moments like those that you realize the author is expressing their own beliefs through the characters. Take note of that free tip.
  • Going with the above. This is understandably omitted from the anime but after Rou annihilates the Human Noblewoman’s forces in the forest, he uses an amphrodesiac on her and the other prisoners–female and male. He also does this to the elves he captured in a previous skirmish. He drugs them to break them and help brainwash them into being loyal to him. It’s understandable this detail would be omitted from the anime even in Japan. On that note, there’s a lot of sexually explicit moments, innuendos and references that were omitted from the anime–at least in “Season 1”. A LOT. Again, the author is clearly playing out their fantasies through the characters. Again, take note of the free tip.
  • The grubs Rou and the other Goblins are fed by Gobujii at the beginning are actually native to the cave. It’s not outright said but in the Manga Rou implies he suspects Gobujii fathered the previous generation of Goblins himself. On a related note. It’s not outright said or even implied but personally, I suspect the Hobgoblin Rou tortures to death for trying to rape the human women was his actual father.
  • In the anime, there’s a brief scene where Rou wakes up to discover a group of Goblins dispaired, took poison and died in their sleep. This doesn’t happen in the source material. There’s a brief moment in the Anime where Rou accidently discovers a group of human women, some of them visibly pregnant. It’s then implied Rou had an offscreen hand in their deaths.  In the source material, Rou talks to those women who were likely the mothers of his generation of Goblins. He quickly figures out they’ve lost the will to live and offers them poison to end their suffering. Gobujii discovers them dead the next morning. It’s understandable they would change this for the anime as even in Japan it probably wouldn’t have been well received if animated.
  • When Rou eats the Night Viper early on, he gains some of its abilities including the ability to produce poison within his body at will. He also gains poison immunity and this is why he stops Gobme and Gobkichi from eating the head. When Rou is ambushed in his sleep, he stabs one of the Goblins with a weapon coated in poison. He realizes too late he made the venom a little too strong and the Goblin dies instantly. This isn’t explained in the anime outright but it’s implied he killed that Goblin. In the source material he states he killed the Goblin.
  • I consider this a huge omission but Rou, Kichi and Gobme come across a mine occupied by Orcs in the source material. They wipe out the Orcs and later move into the mine after the previous generation of Hobgoblins return, taking the five human women and Gobujii with them. It’s actually over an hour’s hike from the cave where they were born.
  • In the anime, Rou and his 3-person party first come across a single Tri-Horned Horse. In the source material, they come across a pair and one of them is visibly pregnant. The group kills both of them all the same though.
  • The capture of the five human women by the Hobgoblin raiders is covered from the perspective of Readhead and one of her human companions who is killed. It’s revealed in the translation notes I read her companion had unrequited love towards her but she would later fall in love with Rou.
  • His fight with the Red Bear happens overnight but the anime isn’t clear about that. Rou also loses his left forearm in the middle of the fight. The anime omits this part–but adds Rou’s broken sword getting impaled in the beast’s mouth–but the beast eats his left forearm right after slicing it off. He muses had this not happened, he probably would have been able to reattach his arm after the fight with his healing abilities.
  • When Rou and the other expeditions return, they are surprised to see their base has been greatly expanded. In the source material, Rou left instructions for the base to be expanded while they’re away.

As of September 2025, Season 2 has been announced though no release date has been announced so far. My guess is it will release sometime next year. I’m also going to assume it will be 12 episodes long. Season 2 will for sure cover some extensive Dungeon Exploring that goes on where Season 1 left off. Rou actually opens a human orphanage which he also doubles as a mercenary training facility. I haven’t read this far yet but apparently, Rou does eventually get non-humans pregnant as well. Most likely Season 2 will end with breadcrumbs to a followup season with everything Season 2 will likely cover.

Most people don’t like the anime largely due to the cliche Protagonist Harem which I can understand–that’s been done to death over the last 20 years now–as well as the “Day 1, Day 2, etc.” that flashes on the screen to mark the passing of time. I’m not bothered by that second one personally but to each their own. For those who may have been wondering, yes the births of Rou’s first three children are included. See the below picture.

 

Re:Monster Reveals 2nd PV Trailer, Adds Nene Hieda to Cast

 

I actually first drafted this post in October 2024. It’s now July 2026. Better let than never, yes?

Given Season 2 was announced last September, it will likely not drop until the Spring or Summer of 2027 the earliest. The first season was largely hated for the reasons I explained above but I do think the second season could redeem the series for those who didn’t like the first season. The tone will for sure be very different from Season 1. Here’s hoping folks give it a chance regardless.

 

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Avatar Studios drops surprise preview trailer for Avatar: Seven Havens at ComicCon; Will release on October 9 on Paramount+

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Avatar: Seven Havens' trailer brings a Korra cameo and an Avatar twin

 

At the end of their presentation about the upcoming animated ATLA Movie, Avatar Studios dropped this surpise preview trailer:

 

 

As previously established, the new series is set in a world that has been shattered by a devastating cataclysm. Avatar Korra dies at that time and whatever happened pissed off both humans AND spirits. Now there are just seven human settlements left in the world–hence the name Seven Havens.

Given the clearly MUCH darker tone this series has from both ATLA and TLOK, it makes sense for Avatar Studios to not only split off from Nickelodeon but release the new series straight to a streaming platform. TLOK’s last two seasons being released on Nickelodeon’s website is likely why they decided to ultimately go this route with Seven Havens from the start. At the time TLOK dropped, Nickelodeon was phasing out its Nicktoons division–all except Spongebob Squarepants of course–and suddenly, TLOK no longer fit with what they wanted to do. It also didn’t help fans of ATLA HATED Korra because she was a young woman (teenager when the series began). She was “too different” from Aang. Too…”relatable” to put it bluntly. Given where Seasons 3 and 4 went, they would not have worked with a younger Avatar.

Desite this, there was a MAJOR bit of lore introduced in Season 2 of TLOK that is clearly being carried into Seven Havens: The beginning of the Avatar Cycle…and the introduction of Rava and Vaatu. If the final moments of that trailer are ANY indication, Vaatu is likely the main antagonist of Seven Havens.

Avatar: Seven Havens' Twin Earth Avatar Series Will Initially Be 26 Episodes Long

 

That brings me to Pavi’s twin sister Nisha. The teaser trailer didn’t reveal this but while Pavi is Rava’s vessel, apparently Nisha is Vaatu’s. Apparently, the two were separated at birth or while very young given Pavi’s reaction to seeing Nisha when they’re 12. One of the voiceovers in the trailer indicates a long time passed between the end of TLOK and the beginning of Seven Havens with the mention of “Ancestors”. My guess is Korra was in the Spirit World for at least a century or two–time passes differently there–and during a climatic battle with Vaatu, the physical world was shattered. Not knowing what happened, humanity fears the Avatar. Understanding what happened, Spirits are angry with the Avatar.

For those who might not know, Korra has personal beef with Vaatu due to the events of TLOK Season 2. It would not be hard to believe like the previous Water Avatar (Kuruk), Korra spent most of her life hunting evil spirits. At some point, she tried to head off Vaatu’s return in the Spirit World…and lost. As a consequence, she gets killed and the physical world is shattered. Given the Avatar’s role is to maintain balance not just in the Physical World but among Spirits, it’s not hard to imagine the balance between Light and Darkness was skewed a little too heavily in favor of Light at some point. Vaatu makes his return, Korra dies and the Physical World is shattered as a consequence.

Pavi and Nisha’s duality as literal twin Avatars is clearly about restoring balance between Light and Darkness instead of between The Four Elements. For those who might not know, the aesthetics and name choices are clearly South Asian inspired–most likely India. I’ve seen it phrased as the series being made up of two 13-episode seasons for a total of 26 episodes BUT I think if they do well, we might get another season or two later. Similar to how Seasons 3 and 4 of TLOK were done, the additional season or two would be about telling a complete story within itself. Most likely with the twins being older.

There have now been novels written for Avatars Kyoshi, Yangchen and Roku though Kuruk is likely next. I know a lot of folks HATE the comics and novels to the point they don’t accept them as canon because they don’t want to have to buy and read them but the novels and comics are the best mediums for the Avatar Universe to be expanded into. For one, it’s FAR cheaper. Second, it’s FAR faster. Third, it allowed MUCH deeper storytelling. This is also why the fact we haven’t yet seen full novelizations of ATLA and TLOK has felt weird to me. They could roll out each season in book form with expanded scenes and additional moments that weren’t in the original series.

Looking ahead beyond Seven Havens. The next Avatar after Pavi (and Nisha) will be a Firebender. Since The Four Nations no longer exist structurally, it will be interesting to see how that will be handled. My guess is the next Avatar will be Male given the current and previous two were Female. The Avatar after that will of course be an Airbender which will bring things full circle. We’ll see.

 

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It’s time for this blog’s name and focus to both evolve

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The rising popularity of South Korean webcomics and non-Japanese live action programming in the west are the two main factors I’m doing this name and focus change. I’ll still cover Japanese Anime, Manga and Culture but those will no longer be the main focus of this blog. After 13 years, it makes the most sense for me to make the change now. I’m not changing the URL–it’s still auraboltsanime.wordpress.com–mostly for the sake of my current subscribers. I will go through my other blogs and update the hyperlink names accordingly though.

On a more political note, I have been following coverage of the recent anti-African immigrant protests in Japan that ironically started over a misunderstanding in early September 2025. For those who might not know or need to be reminded, Japan is both a monocultural country and has some of the strictest immigration policies in the world. The country welcomes hundreds of millions of tourists a year but like most of East Asia, isn’t as welcoming to foreign nationals looking to move there–even foreign nationals from other Asian countries despite their servere population decline and labor shortages. Let’s be real, the only way Japan’s population decline issues are going to change is if they adopt a strict Pronatalist policy that incentivizes people to marry and women to have 3-5 children. I don’t see Japan–or any other country with the same kind of problem–going THAT far anytime soon though but I digress.

Japanese culture’s explosive popularity through video games, anime and manga in the west over the last 30 years has been something of a double-edged sword for the real Japan. You might not know this but until recently, being called an Otaku in Japan was considered an insult. The original definition of the word is it’s basically a person with an unhealthy obession with Japanese or East Asian pop culture to the point their social life suffers. The English equivalent is Weeb or Weeaboo which is a non-Japanese person who is obsessed with Japanese media and/or culture. I started seeing the word being used online around the time Naruto blew up in the early to mid-2000s on that note. I won’t digress further but at the time, most younh people learned to keep their love of anime a secret from their social circles to avoid being bullied.

Getting back to the anti-immigrant sentiment in Japan that’s ramped up this year. A growing number of Japanese people now feel they’re paying the price culturally for the world’s obession with their entertainment media. One of the biggest complaints I’ve seen from Japanese businesses in particular is dealing with tourists who don’t even try to learn a little Japanese. This is also what has been prompting a growing number of Japanese businesses–especially restaurants–to bar foreigners who don’t know how to speak, understand or read basic Japanese. I don’t see the problem with that. If you’re going to a country where people don’t speak the same language as you, the least you can do is learn to read, speak and understand a little of the local language yourself.

While it’s true over 80% of Japanese adults are conversationally proficient in English, the national language of Japan IS Japanese. Being able to proficiently read, speak and understand Japanese is required to apply for Japanese citizenship. Why would or should they allow someone to become a citizen of their country if the person is not willing to learn and become proficient in their language? Japan doesn’t have an open door policy and nor should they. I know that’s going to sound xenophobic to some but there are people who think they can move to a new country, not try to learn the language, history or culture and then claim they didn’t feel like they fit in. Language mastery is not expected right away but putting in the effort goes a long way.

I’ll put it like this. English is probably the most complicated language in the world right now. How so? Well, there are two primary branches: British English and American English. Nevermind the fact each branch has different regional dialects and words borrowed from other languages. English is actually an amalgamation of Old English with French, Latin, Greek, German, Dutch and even Norse. Japanese has four written forms–Hiiragana, Kanji, Kanakata and Romanji–but English has dozens of spoken forms. That’s excluding slang, idioms (figures of speech) and borrowed words.

Many whose written language isn’t derrived from the alphabet–Japanese, Hindu, Russian, Chinese, etc.–struggle learning English because the meaning of certain English words can change depending on how it’s used (read, board) or spelled (to/too/two). This is to say nothing of words with “dead” letters (Knife, the e is silent) and words that sound the same but are spelled differently depending on the meaning (Night and Knight). You know, the early grammar stuff you probably struggled to grasp in 1st grade. Those of us who speak American English really don’t appreicate or understand how complex our version of English in particular really is to people trying to learn it. I’ll revisit this in a separate post but hopefully those specific examples provide context.

As for the whole perceived anti-immigrant sentiment in Japan. To repeat what I said earlier, Japan–internally, the country refers to itself as Nihon (literally Japanese for Japan) just like Germany refers to itself internally as Deutschland (literally German for Germany)–is a monocultural society. They are not racist but if you plan to visit or move to Japan, it’s not unreasonable for them to expect you to at least try to learn to speak, read and understand their language. They do not have a problem with foreigners in general wanting to move there as long as they are willing to learn the language and culture.

Like other countries, Japan has been dealing with the problem of people looking to move there but don’t want to learn the language or culture. A growing number of Japanese grade school teachers have been holding tutoring courses after school for foreign-born students and their families. The willingness to teach is there but given most Japanese educators rarely learn more than English and Chinese as their secondary language, there is still a barrier when trying to work with students who know another language. I’ve talked to people on both sides of this issue and learning a new language is VERY time-consuming. More so if the student’s family are not at least conversationally proficient in Japanese themselves.

That brings me back to something I eluded to earlier about immigrants not wanting to at least become conversationally proficient in the new country’s primary language. I’ve been hearing this from people I know who live in Western Europe for over 10 years in particular: People from Africa and the Middle East in particular seek assylum in Europe and expect the people of the new country to adapt to their language and culture. That’s not how it works. You are going to THEIR country. They are not going to yours. If you don’t want to at least learn the language, history and culture, why should you be allowed to stay there indefinitely? It is a fact immigrants who struggle to adapt in new countries largely do so because they don’t take the time to learn about the new country. It’s like trying to build a bookcase from scratch without knowing a thing about processing wood into lumber.

Japan’s longtime reputation as a relatively safe, stable and culturally rich country is why people are attracted to it. It is a sense of pride to most Japanese but in recent years, many have started to look at the specific types of entertainment media made in Japan that foreigners are into. I made a blog post about this three years ago but a big topic going on in Japan right now centers on sexually explicit content in mainstream anime and manga being marketed to children. This wasn’t as big of an issue in the past as anime and manga with such content was clearly labeled 18+ or Adults Only. Things changed in the mid-90s when Japanese Anime and Manga really started to blow up overseas. The line between what was mainstream acceptible and what shouldn’t be began to blur by the late 2000s. Around that time is also when we started seeing depictions of young-looking female characters in sexually suggestive situations. I’m not talking about scantily clad young female characters but what’s basically softcorn porn and boarderline pedophilia marketed in the mainstream as “creative freedom”.

A question decision-makers in the industry stopped asking for some reason is “Should we be doing this?” Meanwhile, a growing number of concerned parents in Japan are asking “Why are we letting our children be exposed to this?” Meanwhile, many content creators who profit from making this kind of content are are largely signaling they will oppose what they view as efforts to “censor” their work–and recent news broke online that they will be getting help from the Japanese government in that regard. Nevermind the fact many of them admitted in past interviews the reason they draw sexually suggestive characters and write the sexualized situations is so they could play out their fantasies in fiction. Ok. I’m a writer, too. I get it. The problem is these days, people want to openly share their sex fantasies with the world and demand everyone “accept it”. Stuff of THAT nature, you control who can see it. You don’t make it mainstream and then want to be defensive when normal, rational people are bothered by it.

With this unexpectedly lengthy and unplanned rant no one asked for now over, next I’ll explain one of the principal reasons I’m now formally expanding the demographic coverage of this blog.

 

The Lariat | Rakuten Viki

7 Naver Webtoons for Studying Korean – The Lunar Treehouse

 

 

It’s not really a secret these days but Japanese entertainment media has been stagnating for a while. I know most like to talk about the oversaturation of Isekai in the mainstream over the last 10 years but the issues predate that. This is where said rant you just finished reading comes in. People are tired of the same old and are looking elsewhere. It doesn’t mean people hate Japanese Anime and Manga now but they want different stuff. Other Asian countries are offering fresh new alternatives and unlike in the past, it’s far easier for content from other countries to be legally accessed internationally. I don’t just mean anime and manga but live action offerings, too.

On that note. After 8 years, I let my Viki subscription expire this past September. I felt it was time to move on. The annual subscription is $50 and the same is true for Asian Crush. For what you get, they’re worth the price. Both platforms are able to keep their subscriptions so low because they crowdsource translations for subtitles instead of paying for it themselves. It might not seem like much but they save millions annually simply by doing that. This allows them to focus on keeping fan favorites as well as buy the rights for more programming. I ended my Viki subscription largely because I hadn’t watched anything on it in over two years and also because I wanted to change my subscription renewal date.

Unlike Crunchyroll, 100% of what I watch on Viki and Asian Crush is subbed all the time. It’s actually more cost effective to sub programming than to dub it despite international audiences not being able to understand the language. I usually watch Anime dubbed with subtitles personally. The explosion in popularity of Webcomics has seen growing cases of Webcomics getting anime adaptations. Tower of God, True Beauty, Let’s Play and Solo Leveling–four MEGA popular webcomics that all premiered on Webtoon and recently got anime adaptations–are four such examples. None of the authors of those webcomics I just named are Japanese which further highlights a paradigm shift. Not just for the industry but creative work as a whole.

Korean and Chinese webcomics in particular offer fresh alternatives to the same old stuff people have been getting from Japan for decades. Webtoon has proven to be quite the outlet for people not just in Asia but around the world. Anything on that platform is worth checking out at least. I largely read stuff from Webtoon on my iPad before bedtime but I recently put the app on my phone since my iPad is literally 10 years old. I usually check in once or twice a month since I have dozens of stuff on there that I follow at a time and I want to give time for several updates before I resume reading.

 

Crunchyroll Makes Entire Anime Series Free to Watch to Celebrate Movie Release - ComicBook.com

 

All that said and in closing. I just renewed my Crunchyroll subscription for another year this month. I’ve had it going uninterrupted since 2012. As long as the subscription stays under $100 for the annual sub, I’ll keep it going for as long as I can.

The blog’s new name may now be AMC but I will still talk about Japanese Anime and Manga here, no worries. I plan to talk in depth about other Asian stuff though.

 

 

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I am also now on Patreon. Your continued support is and always will be appreciated.

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The Fan Reactions to Avatar: Seven Havens being announced reeks of hypocrisy all things considered

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Avatar Studios Officially Announces 'Avatar: Seven Havens' Sequel TV Series

 

I specifically refer to the concern many online are suddenly expressing for Korra. Until two weeks ago, she was the most hated Avatar ever. Now with the premise having been revealed it’s been “WTF did Korra do?!” and “Are they making Korra the villain?!”. This from a lot of the same folks who were all prettymuch “Not MY Avatar!” for the last 10 years regarding Korra.

 

For those who decided to skip The Legend of Korra (TLOK)–especially after the second season–here’s the big things to know going into Seven Havens:

 

  • Korra was the Avatar who succeeded Aang in the Avatar Cycle. While Aang was born an Airbender (ATLA), Korra was born a Waterbender. The new Avatar is an Earthbender because Earth follows Water in the Avatar Cycle. The following Avatar will be a Firebender like Roku who was the Avatar before Aang.
  • The next Avatar is revealed when the current one dies. No two Avatars can exist at the same time BUT a person can become the Avatar after they’re born. Avatar Kyoshi was a child when her predecessor Avatar Kuruk died. Aang happened to be born the same day Roku died. Korra was a child when Aang died. The new Avatar was a young child when Korra dies.
  • During Season 2 we’re introduced  Avatar Wan. Wan was the very first Avatar ever. Wan learned the bending disciplines from Lion Turtles, who had the power to bend the energy in living creatures. Wan traveled and gradually learned how to harness all four elements.
  • Shortly after learning all four elements, Wan meets Rava who is the Spirit of Light. Due to a misunderstanding and being deceived, Wan helps Vatu the Spirit of Darkness escape from his struggle with Rava. Because of this, evil sweeps across the world. To atone for his mistake, Wan merges with Rava and the Avatar Cycle begins. Through Rava, all Avatars after Wan gain access to the knowledge, wisdom and experiences of all Avatars.
  • When Vatu-possessed Unalaq tore Rava from Korra, the Avatar Cycle was broken. Prior to this, it was established the only way the Avatar Cycle could end was if the Avatar died while in the Avatar State. It actually was broken when Aang was killed by Azula in Ba Sing Se but it was later restored prior to the start of Season 3 of ATLA by Katara who used Spirit Water to bring Aang’s soul back to his body (she explains it in Episode 1 of Season 3).
  • When Rava was revived, Korra states she still can no longer commune with the past Avatars. That seemed to confirm her immediate successor would only be able to commune with her.
  • Season 3 of TLOK sees the balance between the four elements restored when many non-Benders around the world are suddenly able to Airbend. After Roku died, The Air Nomads were wiped out at the start of the Hundred Year War. Aang survived and had three kids with Katara, one of which was born an Air Nomad (Tenzin). Bumi, who was born a non-Bender–very rare when both parents are Benders–became an Airbender in Season 3.
  • At the end of Season 3, Korra decides not to close the rifts between the Physical World and the Spirit World. This allows Spirits to freely cross between both worlds. The Avatar acts as a bridge between both worlds in addition to being charged with maintaining peace between the four nations. She decides to leave the rifts open believing there would be a longterm benefit for both sides.
  • In the series finale of TLOK, Korra negates the danger but the price is steep: Republic City becomes a new convergance point between the Spirit World and the Physical World.

 

Those are all the big things to know. We don’t know when or how but sometime before the start of TLOK, Sokka and Suki both die. Aang dies shortly after Korra is born as well though that’s how the succession works obviously. Katara, Zuko and Toph are all still alive during the events of TLOK. There’s HEAVY fan speculation Toph’s daughters Lin and Suyin were fathered by Sokka. When we see Sokka in flashbacks, there’s no mention of Suki who was his girlfriend in ATLA. It’s very possible they broke up sometime after ATLA’s finale. Maybe the series creators might want to address that if they do a Live action TLOK but I won’t digress further.

TLOK had quite the act to follow in ATLA, also known as The Legend of Aang. ATLA set the bar so high, honestly I felt its immediate successor would’ve been looked down on no matter what they did. ATLA built the world but TLOK did a MUCH better job at storytelling for me. Yes it was far more linear than ATLA in terms of pacing but I do think it’s more than worthy of getting the Live Action treatment like ATLA is.

Now let’s get to Korra’s successor. The following is all we really know for sure so far:

 

New Avatar series announced on the official Facebook page : r/legendofkorra

 

If you know anything about Avatar history, you know this kind of thing actually did happen before. Go back and watch the episode The Avatar and the Firelord from Season 3 of ATLA. The Hundred Year War began after Avatar Roku died battling a volcano. Roku later told Aang the war happening was entirely his fault. If he been decisive and stopped Sozin when he had the chance–as in killed him–it never would have happened. Everything that happened was because he did not stop Sozin when he had the chance. This is highlighted by the fact Sozin seemingly comes to his aid and then turns on him at the last minute, leaving him to die.

Sozin knew the Avatar was the biggest threat to his world conquest ambitions and he not only saw Roku’s final moments but razed the Air Temples because he knew the next Avatar would be an Air Nomad. The only reason Aang survived was because he ran away. The live action version on Netflix reveals The Fire Nation was on the move that night and attacked shortly after Aang left, neither he or the other Air Nomads knowing what was about to happen. With Aang missing and the other Air Nomads dead, the Fire Nation was convinced the Avatar Cycle was broken. Prior to Aang’s return, the Southern Water Tribe was devastated during the war and Katara becomes the last remaining Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. If the 100-year war wasn’t a Catastrauphic Event, I don’t know what is.

As for Seven Havens. My guess is something happens and Korra dies trying to stop it. It’s also confirmed her successor is already twelve years old when she finds out she’s the new Avatar. She’s also being hunted by both human and spirit enemies which tells me whatever happened involving Korra pissed off both humans and spirits enough for them to want to take out her successor. From how it sounds, there are no more elemental nations by the time Seven Havens has begun. One interesting fan theory supposes the Avatar’s twin sister may be possessed or manipulated by Vatu. Apparently, the White Lotus was training the Avatar’s twin sister as the Avatar before finding out it wasn’t her.

This actually did happen before and it also involved the last Avatar born an Earthbender. Kyoshi was in the care of an Airbender who was one of four bending masters training an Earthbender they believed was the Avatar after Kuruk died. The Airbending Master was the first to realize the kid they were training as the next Avatar could not harness the other elements no matter what kind of training they put him through. When he tested Kyoshi, who was working in the Avatar Residence as a servant he realized she was the real Avatar. Go read the book about her early adventures as I don’t want to spoil what happens next.

All that said and in closing. I think it’s fair to say there will likely be another series or two after Seven Havens. After Earth is Fire in the Avatar Cycle. Since we know the Four Nations no longer exist as of Seven Havens, that’ll be some interesting storytelling and I’m looking forward. After Fire is Air and I think that would be a good stopping point for the series. At the very least, leave it open-ended and encourage people to write Fan Fiction =)

 

 

 

If you have enjoyed this post or other posts I have made on this blog, please consider making a monetary donation via PayPal. Whatever amount you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I am also now on Patreon. Your continued support is and always will be appreciated.

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Anime Boston’s price for a Weekend Pass breaking $100 means I’l have to pass on going this year

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Anime Boston 2025 - Eventeny

 

 

Even if I had income, I would definitely hesitate to pay the current asking price of $110 for the weekend.

I mean I get it, there’s operating costs and the convention is run by a non-profit organization–The New England Anime Society or NEAS for short–but the one thing Anime Boston had over bigger conventions like PAX East was the entrance fee was affordable. I remember when it was $50 for the weekend. Now they have two Weekend Passes. Their new Ultra Pass, which costs $250–yes, really–includes some additional perks that are definitely not worth the asking price for just 2 and a half days.

With everything going on in the U.S. politically and economically lately, I would not be surprised at all if this is the last year of the convention. Most people don’t know this but large conventions like Anime Boston typically operate at a loss. They must be in serious financial trouble to roll out the $250 weekend pass. Like I said earlier though, the included perks are not worth the price tag. They don’t go anywhere near enough to justify that even if you have the money for it. I know a lot of people I used to hang out with at AB 10 years ago who stopped going in recent years. Not just because of other priorities but the asking price in addition to hotel rates–most hotel rooms are booked for that weekend up to two months in advance–priced them out of going.

I don’t know. It’s time for NEAS to go back to the drawing board if they seriously expect there to be a next year. Jacking up the prices like this will encourage people to just wait for PAX East or go somewhere else instead. I plan to look into doing anime and video game-related panels at my college this semester. I’m hoping to do two presentations this semester as trial run and they will be free. More info on this to come if I’m able to make the necessary arrangements with my college: Bunker Hill Community College.

Updates to come hopefully sooner than later!

 

 

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I know I haven’t written in a while but I’ve been watching anime on Crunchyroll all year…and listening to Anime-related podcasts

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Watch Crunchyroll Presents: The Anime Effect - S01 | Prime Video

 

The last few years have made Anime fans feel spoiled to say the least. There’s something for everyone out there these days and that’s always good.

 

For those who might not know, Crunchyroll launched an official podcast called The Anime Effect in January. They actually release two podcast episodes a week though only one a week is made available fore viewing via the Crunchyroll platform. You can catch them for free on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts though.

Speaking of Podcasts. I recently dropped Anime Addicts Anonymous. Not just Unsubscribed but went out of my way to delete all the episodes I had saved locally. I did that in reaction to some comments by the hosts from an episode they did in July in which they were making light of Simone Biles’ mental health struggles during the Tokyo Olympic games three years ago. I stopped listening as soon as I heard that, unsubscribed and deleted every episode I had saved locally to that point. I don’t condone shit like that and more so given it was unncessary to go THERE. More so from people who don’t want to understand what it feels like to be in your own head while the eyes of the whole world are on you but I won’t digress further. I do personally know what it feels like to have that kind of pressure though.

I did recently pick up a new anime-related podcast and it’s quickly become a favorite of mine: Anime Minority Report. Hosted by Guerby LaGuerre and Jaimie Aird, as the cover of the podcast makes clear it’s hosted by two young black men who are unapologetic anime fans. It’s a fairly new podcast that they started early last year but it’s consistently updated on a weekly basis. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were inspired by Anime Junkies: Three Weebs and a Podcast and Anime Sundays Podcasts which both also have all-Black podcast hosts.

I typically download audio podcast episodes to my computer and then sync them to my iPod Touch so I can listen to them while on the go. Each episode goes for an hour or two on average which is pretty nice if you’re listening with headphones or a Bluetooth speaker and want to do something while listening. They talk about not just anime obviously but also talk about the industry and anime fans in general. You feel like you learned something with each episode at the very least.

 

Rakuten Viki - Free TV Drama & Movies - App on Amazon Appstore

Anime Streaming News | HIDIVE

 

I recently renewed my Viki subscription and although it’s just $50 a year for me, this was the first time I renewed without having watched anything over the course of the previous 12 months on it (!). I actually almost cancelled but I decided to renew one more time since there are some shows I definitely want to finish. After that, I’m thinking it’s time for me to move on from Viki. It doesn’t look like there were a lot of new shows and movies added over the last year and from what I’ve been hearing, a lot of people are pissed Viki is looking to charge people extra just to watch certain movies in an effort to boost their revenue.

On the one hand, I do appreciate the fact they haven’t raised the subscription rate I’ve been paying for almost 10 years. There’s also the fact their reliance on viewers to do the subtitles has turned out to be a very good cost-cutting measure as they do not need to hire a lot of staff to handle that.

On other hand, getting greedy will drive people away. Most people understand securing the streaming rights to various Live Asian dramas for people to legally watch is not cheap or easy. That’s one thing. Having subscription tiers like Netflix and Hulu with price increases every year is a fast way to turn people back to piracy.

I’ve heard it said by many folks in recent years –mostly those who mostly pirate the anime they watch–Crunchyroll is monopolizing the legal anime streaming industry. Most people might not know or remember this but almost 20 years ago, Crunchyroll started as a pirate website. Like YouTube after Google bought it, Crunchyroll quickly shed its status as a haven for pirated Anime in 2009 when they announced they would only host anime they had the legal rights to. The first Anime they legally acquired? Naruto Shippuden. It followed the Netflix playbook of getting an app on as many platforms as possible. The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 became the first video game consoles to get a Crunchyroll app, vastly expanding its reach worldwide. No longer were folks confined to watching content via web browsers.

Global distribution of anime exploded largely through Crunchyroll’s efforts. That’s undeniable. Funimation went a long way to making mostly Shonen Anime mainstream in North America but Crunchyroll made it global. This is what gradually led to Sony buying Funimation and later Crunchyroll too. In recognition of their growing pop culture significance and mainstream appeal, Sony merged Funimation’s decades-long library with Crunchyroll in 2021. Crunchyroll would remain as a streaming platform but Funimation would handle licensing and physical media distribution.

VERV, which was also owned by Funimation merged with Crunchyroll as well. HIDIVE, which partnered with Crunchyroll went their own way after the merger. It wasn’t until last year that they acquired their first big budget anime: Oshi No Ko. I only just found out earlier this year they had it after hearing about it last year. I actually assumed there wasn’t an English dub which certainly wasn’t true. While I didn’t find the anime anything special–mostly because I already knew a lot about Japan’s Idol Industrial Complex and it really is that dark–I think it’s a good anchor for that platform. I do think HIDIVE could emerge as a serious competator to Crunchyroll if they expand their catalog and more importantly, modernize their platform. Those two factors are why I ultimately did not subscribe when I tried it over the summer.

I do plan to renew my Crunchyroll subscription early next month though. I’ve actually been continuously subbed since 2011. Unlike Peacock and Netflix, the annual subscription price has never exceeded its current price of $80. It also helps I get what I pay for with no forced ads. That’s why I’m resubbing.

Not gonna lie, I do miss the live action dramas Crunchyroll also used to have until about seven years ago. What happened was they let the licenses for all those shows expire. A real shame as they had the live action versions of GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka. Now, Netflix is making a name for themselves producing the Live Action versions of Death Note (two different versions, both were trash), Cowboy Beebop (cancelled after 4 episodes), One Piece and apprently coming soon, Demon Slayer. Yes, really. Live Action adaptations no one asked for of course but I won’t digress further.

One more thing before I forget. I’ve been quietly putting together plans to launch an audio Podcast. I plan to mostly talk about anime and video games but if I get the job offer I’m expecting by the end of this month, I might not have the time to put into consistenly recording episodes on weekly basis. More so given I recently returned to college after what turned into a 13-year hiatus. I plan to make each episode 60 to 90 minutes long on average and anyone who’s seen my YouTube channel knows I can easily fill an hour by myself no problem. Should be fun.

More info on that to come. In the meantime, I’ll see about making some new blog posts more often. I know I have some catching up I need to do.

 

 

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Breaking News: Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama passed away at the age of 68

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Why did Akira Toriyama stop drawing the Dragon Ball manga? Explained

Bird Studio, which was the studio Toriyama worked with for many years broke the news online for the international community with this written statement:

Image

In case the image breaks, Toiyama actually passed away on March 1 from complications caused by a blood condition. The statement also reveals Toriyama’s family already held a private funeral for him and that was why there was a delay in sharing the news with the world. The statement notes Toriyama was involved with several projects when he died but they all can and likely will be completed without him.

Toriyama created the iconic Dragonball franchise 35 years ago. He also created the Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest franchise in collaboration with Enix which is now Square Enix. Although Toriyama stopped drawing Manga full time over 10 years ago, he continued to do work in the industry. His contributions are sure to be remembered until the end of time.

 

 

 

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My Crunchyroll Premium is now renewed for another year and here are my hot takes on a few series

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Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 1 Ep. 6: A New Hero Introduced

 

Friern: Beyond Journey’s End is a bona fide contender for Anime of the year and with good reason. The light novel turned anime actuallt does something rarely seen in the Fantasy genre: It shows the life of an Elf measured by decades and centuries. The season began, Frieren was a member of the Himmel’s Party. When the story begins, the party has just defeated the Demon King and are getting a hero’s welcome. The group then goes their separate ways and then the story really begins. About 50 years later, the hero Himmel dies of old age. Heiter, the other human party member dies of old age several years after that.

Frieren reluctantly agrees to take on and train Fern, an orphaned girl Heiter had been taking care of as her apprentice. They are soon joined by Stark, a young Warrior who’d been training under the aging Dwarf Warrior Eisen. Having already lived for over 1,000 years, Frieren has long come to terms with how short a human’s lifespan is compared to hers. Her own master, a human Mage named Flamme died centuries earlier. Nearly 30 years after the death of Himmel the Hero, Fern and Stark join her on her travels.

This anime is largely slice of life with a bit of drama, comedy and action. It’s not a bad choice for introducing someone to anime overall. I’m watching the English Dub on Crunchyroll though the Subbed version is further along in terms of episode count.

 

The Rising of the Shield Hero season 3 premieres this fall - Niche Gamer

 

Another fan favorite series has just completed its Third Season. As much as most fans seemed to HATE the second season–I loved it personally–things come to a head in the third season. Having recently returned from the other dimension, Naofumi remembers the ominous warning of the Filolial Queen he and his party met in Season 1 regarding himself and the other three heroes: “If you are not able to find a way to work together, I will kill you all myself”. The Filolial Queen stressed the importance of The Four Cardinal Heroes working together to deal with The Waves and the other Mythical Beasts yet to come. So far, Naofumi has been the only one of the four who’s really been taking his role as a Cardinal Hero seriously.

Unfortunately for Naofumi, generations earlier The Shield Hero was characterized as evil in the Queendom of Meldromarc while the other three Cardinal Heroes were elevated as the only “real” heroes. This created an unexpected opportunity for Naofumi who persevered despite the king and one of the princesses repeatedly getting in his way. Eventually, the Queen stepped in and put a stop to her oldest daughter Myne and husband’s schemes. It also helped Melty, the second princess traveled as a member of Naofumi’s party for a while and could vouch for him. Unlike most monarchies you’re familiar with in Fantasy, with Meldromarc the Queen has all the power. The King has some power but nowhere near as much as the Queen. Due to Myne’s schemes she was stripped of her title and status among other things. All this happened in Season 1 on that note.

Getting to Season 2. While Naofumi’s group was in another dimension, the other three Heroes were publicly exposed as weak against the overwhelming might of the Tortise. The Sword Hero’s party was wiped out while the Spear Hero’s Party abandoned him. The Bow Hero gave into despair. Naofumi finds Motoyasu purely by chance while following a lead on Ren. He secures Motoyasu’s alliegiance and Ren joins his party. While chasing a lead on Itsuki, Naofumi and Ren learn Myne is manipulating the Bow Hero just as she did with the Sword Hero.

As of Episode 10 we finally learn what exactly happened between Refia and Itsuki. For those who might not know or remember, Refia was originally a part of Itsuki’s party. Starting in Season 2, she’s a part of Naofumi’s party. All we know is Itsuki kicked her out of his party but we don’t know why until now. In Episode 10 of Season 3 it’s revealed his other party members accused her of breaking an heirloom. Itsuki tells her he doesn’t care if she really did it or not but is using the conflict from that as a excuse to kick her out of his party. Not long after that, Refia ends up joining Naofumi’s party to become stronger. Refia confronts Itsuki in the underground arena with Ren and Naofumi on standby. She easily defeats Isuki despite the weapon disadvantage.

In the season finale, it’s revealed Raphtalia is descended from royalty in an isolated kingdom where there is a power struggle over succession. After their village is attacked by assassins seeking her life, Naofumi decides to personally pay the kingdom a visit. Although Ralphtalia has no interest in the throne of a kingdom she knows nothing about, as Naofumi points out they can’t afford to be dealing with assassins on top of everything else. What really got his attention was the fact when the assassins attacked, the Heroes’ attacks were largely ineffective against them. That’s likely a second reason Naofumi wants to deal with this problem now. If the closing moments of the season finale is to be believed, they’ll be dealing with Myne again soon too.

Before I move on, I’ll let folks in on a bit of a spoiler from the light novel I assume will be covered in Season 4. Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu all died in the real world. Naofumi was transported while still alive. Because of this, Naofumi is the only one of the four who is able to return to the real world. We know from Ren’s backstory he was a hardcore gamer and likely died via an Isekai trope. When he became the Sword Hero, he legit thought nothing was real and didn’t take anything seriously. It was a similar circumstance for Itsuki. He was told from a young age that he was special. Until he wasn’t. More so afrer he became the Bow Hero.

 

SPY x FAMILY Anime Season 2 Recruits Ado, Vaundy for Theme Songs - Crunchyroll News

 

Everyone’s favorite dysfunctional (fake) family is back!

Spy x Family took the world by storm when it premeired a few years ago. Loid Forger, a spy and a master of disguise adopts Anya and marries Yor as part of his cover to infiltrate an elite school. What Yor and Loid don’t know is due to some failed experiments done on her, Anya has telepathic abilities and can read minds. It’s thanks to this that Anya quickly learns that Yor is actually an elite assassin. What makes the dysfunctional family dynamic real interesting is Yor’s younger brother Yuri works for the government and his primary mission is finding spies. In addition to this, the Forger family later ends up adopting a dog Anya names Bond that can see the future.

Now it its second season, the current story arc focuses on Yor in particular. Yor is taken a bit out of her element when her latest mission has her playing bodyguard for a woman and her baby on a cruise ship. The dangerous high-stakes mission is made complicated by the fact Loid and Anya are also on the ship by coincidence. Anya finds herself trying to help Yor out with her job without Loid finding out the real reason Yor is on the ship. It goes without saying hilarity ensues.

I’m pretty sure we’ll get a live action adaptation of Spy x Family sooner than later. Not even Hollywood can screw it up. It’s just a question of weather it will be a movie or a tv series.

 

Dr. STONE (Season 3)》#1 (ENG sub | JP dub)【Ani-One Asia ULTRA】 - YouTube

 

Part 2 of Season 3 seems to be wrapping up at this point. Senku outlasted Ibara in a battle of wits. After reviving everyone petrified by Ibara, Senku also revives some of the islanders who’d been petrified including those they’d been fighting against not that long ago. In Episode 20, one person who was petrified centuries earlier helps Senku figure out where exactly the petrification device they took from Ibara came from: The Moon.

The group journeyed to what Senku dubbed Treasure Island to find Platinum. With it, Senku is now able to make an infinite amount of Revival Fluid and can bring back everyone around the world who was petrified. We do get confirmation after Ginro is fatally gored anyone who’s injured that gets petrified is completely healed when they’re revived. The islanders smashed up the Perseus and though most of the major repairs have been completed, there’s still some loose ends that will need to be taken care of before they return to Japan. The fate of Moz and Hyuga being a big one. During the islandwide melee, Senku was forced to revive Hyuga to fight Moz head on. They fought to a draw on the island before both were petrified. Moments before they were petrified, Hyuga expressed a willingness to train him properly. We will have to wait and see if they’re revived sooner or later.

It’s now been confirmed there will be one more season. It was announced at the end of the season finale and will be called Science Future. It will likely come in 2025 or 2026 on that note. It’s interesting to note a Dr. Stone stage play is currently in production in Japan.

 

New Anime | Seasonal Anime Lineup on Crunchyroll - Crunchyroll News

 

Lots of popular Anime are getting a new season for Spring 2024 from My Hero Acadamia to Demon Slayer to Konosuba among others. Looks like we’re getting spoiled again in 2024!

 

 

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As fans around the world prepare to say goodbye to in Attack on Titan in Anime form, the final volume of the Manga released in June 2021

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Attack On Titan Download Mp4 ▷ Waploaded

Amazon.com: Attack on Titan 34: 9781646512362: Isayama, Hajime: Books

 

It’s hard to believe almost 10 years after Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan took the world by storm we are at the end.

The final episode of this iconic series is set to air later this week though as I noted, the final manga was released in June 2021. Several years before that–a few years before Season 2 was in production–Isayama famously shared with the world what the final panel would be:

 

Attack on Titan' Creator Reveals Final Panel of Manga

 

Translated the person–who is later revealed to be Eren Yaeger–says “Now, you are free”.

This is a MAJOR SPOILER to anyone who hasn’t read the Manga but after Eren uses the horde of titans from Paradis Island to bring mankind to the verge of extinction, Mikasa decapitates Eren. Not before he confesses his love to her that is. Yes, really. Since Eren was the current Founding Titan, when he died all Eldians became normal humans. Those who could become Titans at will lost their powers as well.

Mind you, this is after it’s revealed Ymir, the original Founding Titan was in love with King Fritz centuries ago. He not only mistreated her but it’s implied all three of the daughters she had with him were conceived from rape. In the end, Ymir is brutally murdered in a fit of rage after King Fritz is overthrown. The name of Ymir’s daughters? Rose, Maria and Sina. If those names sound familiar, they’re also the names of the walls of the City of Shiganshina on Paradis Island.

After Ymir was killed, her daughters are in turn used for breeding. After a few centuries, hundreds of thousands if not millions of people–referred to as Eldians–exist across the world. All with the ability to transform into titans. They are largely feared and hated by the world for this reason. They’re largely treated the same way Jews were in 1930s Germany before the Holocaust (I assume Isayama didn’t want to go THAT far with the parallels).

 

All that said. This OP stands as a pop culture icon not just in Japan but globally:

Linked Horizon earned a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for this song alone. No question. As soon as you hear that “Sie sind das Essen und wir sind die Jaeger!” (German for “You are the food and we are the hunters!”) at the beginning, you know you’re in for something special. While unintended, I’ve heard this song and the first Season of AoT got some people to enlist in the military. Not just in Japan but around the world.

 

While Guren no Yamiya helps lay out the grim and largely futile human resistance against the Titans on Paradis Island, SiM’s The Rumbling helps set the stage for the apocalyptic destruction unleashed by Eren Yaeger.

I’m gonna back up a bit and recap some stuff for those who may not have watched Seasons 2 and 3 in particular. In Season 2, The Survey Corps learns with certainty they are not the last of humanity on the planet. In fact, there are millions if not billions of people beyond their  shores. It turns out the ruling power in Shiganshina tightly controlled the spread of knowledge and information among the population. Anyone who got too close to the truth disappeared. This was to slow the development of technology as much as possible but more importantly, keep the people ignorant of the existance of people beyond their shores. The roving Titans on the island were an additional measure for population control. It wasn’t until about 100 years before the start of the series that the military created the ODM Gear, making it possible for Eldians to fight and kill Titans for the first time.

One of the biggest plot points of Season 1 was what secrets Eren’s father hid in the basement of their home. All we know in a flashback is Eren’s Dad takes him somewhere and injects him with something. He leaves Eren with the key to their basement and urges him to go there. Then he’s never seen or heard from again. It’s later revealed Grisha Yaeger is originally from the mainland. Born in an Eldian slum, as a child Grisha and his little sister sister wandered into a part of time they’re not allowed into. Grisha makes it back hom but his sister is never seen alive again. Apparently she was mauled to death by guard dogs. Most Eldians viewed their treatment at the hands of others as justified because of their ability to spontaneously turn into a Titan. Some like Grisha felt otherwise.

When he got older, Grisha got involved in an underground anti-Marley movement. He married an aristocrat and they had his first son, Zeke. Grisha made the mistake of telling Zeke about the movement he and his wife were involved in to Zeke who in turn alerted the authorities. They were taken away to be exiled…as Titans on Paradis Island. As an aside. In a bizarre irony, Grisha’s first wife Dina eats his second wife Carla. Eldians do not age while in Titan form on that note. Grisha himself is saved by an insider who reveals he is a mole and has chosen him to succeed him as the Attack Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin). Yes, that’s also the name of the series.

When Grisha goes to Shiganshina, he claims to have amnesia and the military is astonished to have encountered someone from beyond the city. Grisha is equally amazed to learn the military is fighting Titans. It’s shortly after his arrival that Grisha meets Carla. They marry, have Eren and later adopt Mikasa. During the Titan attack back in Season 1 Episode 1, Grisha pays the king a visit and urges him to use The Rumbling to wipe out their enemies on the mainland. When the king refuses, Grisha turns into a Titan and devours him, gaining the power of the Founding Titan. Since he is not of royal descent himself, he is not able to use the Founding Titan’s power. After later finding Eren, Grisha injects him with Titan spinal fluid. Eren immediately transforms and eats Grisha, gaining the Attack Titan and Founding Titan’s powers. We didn’t know it at the time but Eren’s second-ever on-screen transformation  was actually that of the Founding Titan.

A few years before the series started, a team of Warriors led by Reiner (Armor Titan), Annie (Female Titan) and Bertoldt (Colossal Titan) infiltrated Paradis Island and Shiganshina with the express purpose of finding and stealing the Founding Titan’s power. By this point, The Marley Empire already controlled seven of the remaining Nine Titans. All except the Founding Titan held by the king of Paradis Island and the Attack Titan which was possessed by Grisha. The families that controlled the other Titans selected an Eldian to inherit the power every 13 years. Any Eldian could become a Titan but there were only two ways to pass on the power of The Nine: An injection of the host’s spinal fluid or someone in Titan form eating the host. For example, Armin inherited the Colossal Titan’s power when he ate Bertoldt after being turned into a Titan. Eren gained the War Hammer Titan’s power when he ate the host while in Titan form.

Annie was revealed to be the Female Titan in Season 1. Reiner and Bertoldt are revealed to be the Armored and Colossal Titans respectively in Season 3. Due to the Colossal Titan’s size and the MASSIVE explosion the transformation sets off, this is why we’ve only seen the transformation a few times compared to others. A cool fun fact about the Armored Titan is it’s modeled after UFC Hall of Famer and WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar.

 

Historia is Pregnant | Attack on Titan Season 4 HD - YouTube

All that said. It’s revealed at the end of Season 2 Krista Lenz, a minor character to that point is really the last surviving member of the royal family and has a legit claim to the throne. Conceived from an affair, her father arranged for her to live as a commoner provided she keep her true identity a secret. When the Survey Corps learns her true identity–Historia Reiss–they also realize the government was pulling out all the stops to keep the fact their country had no leader a secret for a while. After deposing the Usurpers, Historia is installed as Queen. Her first order is to direct the Survey Corps to recover the secrets in the Yaeger Family’s home. That sets the stage for the Survey Corps’ showdown with the Beast Titan (later revealed to be Zeke), Bertoldt and Reiner.

Commander Erwin sacrifices himself and most of the Survey Corps to create an opening for Levi–last name later revealed to be Ackerman–to take down the Beast Titan and cut out the human inside. Later, after the Survey Corps learns of Grisha’s past preparations are made to travel across the sea. Now that the people of Paradis Island are aware they are not the only people left in the world, they prepare to take the fight to the Marley Empire for their role in recent Titan incidents they’ve been dealing with. Historia decides to get pregnant primarily to protect herself from being used in a power struggle. The identity of the father of her child is never revealed but the prevailing fan theory is it’s likely Eren’s child.

It’s after learning about Marley and his father’s past that Eren’s personality noticably changes. It’s as if a switch in his mind was flipped. In reality, long-supressed memories from not just his past but his father’s and Ymir’s past awakened. When the Survey Corps infiltrates Marley to gather intelligence ahead of a planned aerial bombing, Eren poses as a wounded veteran with amnesia. By chance, he’s given the opportunity to see Reiner who’s been dealing with PTSD ever since he returned from Paradis Island. When the survey corps launches its suprise attack on multiple fronts, Eren takes on the War Hammer Titan and ultimately succeeds in taking its power while the others keep the Beast, Cart, Jaw and Armor Titans–all alligned with Marley–busy.

Marley launches a retaliatory offensive on Paradis Island hoping to take out Eren but he’s five steps ahead of not just Marley but the Survey Corps. During the flight back from Marley, Eren has a chat with his half-brother Zeke Yaeger. Everyone was worried Zeke would persuade Eren to join forces with him but what no one anticipated was Eren overpowering Zeke in a battle of wills, allowing him to fully use the Founding Titan’s power . Eren then sets off The Rumbling and departs to wipe out everyone not on Paradis Island.

 

Attack On Titan's Founding Titan: How Does It Work And Why Is It A Doomsday Weapon?

 

In the two years since the final volume of the Manga dropped, Isayama took fan reception to the ending pretty hard to say the least. He actually held a press conference in early 2022 in which he apologized to the world for “disappointing the fans”. As a writer and aspiring author myself, the provoked me to anger. More so these days, “passionate fans” who think they know a fictional world as well as and in a growing number of better than the creator(s) get real toxic online with their language and rhetoric towards the creator and their product.

One thing ANY content creator online and otherwise will tell you is when someone tells you “this sucks” (or something similar), it’s hard NOT to take it personal. It’s hard not be feel some kind of way after a project you dedicated hundreds of hours, many sleepless nights and missing time with loved ones just to create a product for countless people you’ll never see or meet in person because you like what you do THAT much…only to see the vocal minority say they didn’t like it. All that time and hard work invested only for the loudest voices you hear being people who call it “garbage”, “lacking” or something similar.

This brings me back to Isayama’s “apology” over AoT’s ending. To me, that set a very dangeros precident for inexperienced, new and aspiring content creators in particular out there. Now, many new content creators are going to think twice about what they include in the finished product. I’m sure most will just have at least two versions of the finished product: The public/commercial version and their version. It’s disappointing to know because of toxic fanbases, content creators will now be feeling pressured to make content that caters to only what the vocal minority wants to see.  I’ve noticed this on a few websites 20 years ago and now that this kind of “practice” has gone mainstream, certain legal and copyright questions will now need to be asked but that’s a topic for another time and a different blog.

All that said. In an interview earlier this year, Isayama revealed he was “influenced” by the Anime and now understands a lot of the criticism over the Manga’s anticlimatic ending. He said he plans to revise ending in a way that portrays Eren in a more positive light. Given the ending to the Anime has not yet aired as of this writing, that raises the very obvious question of weather or not the anime’s ending will be changed from the Manga’s. Fan speculation is anime fans will see a different ending from the manga so we’ll see. Isayama likely greenlit a different ending by now and assuming he did, it would explain why we had to wait so long for the ending and why it’s going to be 90 minutes long.

We’ll find out for sure when the series finale of Attack on Titan drops sometime this week!

 

 

 

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Goblin Slayer is BACK!

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Goblin Slayer Episode 1 Review: Brutal Reality and Always, Always Be Prepared - Crow's World of Anime

 

Five years after Season 1 ended, Season 2 has just begun.

Adapted from the Light Novel of the same name, Goblin Slayer did something never before done in the Fantasy genre: It gives you a raw, visceral and brutally realistic portayal of a fantasy world. In the very first episode you see what actually WOULD happen if a party of rookie adventurers walked into a den of monsters.

 

See for yourself:

 

The Female Mage from that first episode is relevant to Season 2 as her younger brother–also a rookie Mage–seeks revenge against Goblins over what happened to his sister. He damn-near gets himself killed in the second episode of Season 2 on that note. As of this writing, he doesn’t know the Priestess was the sole survivor of his sister’s party (see the above episode). After being rescued by Goblin Slayer, the Priestess decides to join him on his seemingly obsessive and endless extermination crusade against all Goblins. They’re joined over time by an Elf, Dwarf and Dragonkin during the first season.

At first glance, the Goblin Slayer comes off as a genocidal sociopath obsessed with killing Goblins in the opening episode. After all, in the above episode you see he does not hesitate to slaughter goblin kids despite the Priestess trying to talk him out of doing it. The more you learn about him in the first season, the more you realize he’s not only sane but there are reasons behind why he’s chosen to only accept quests that involve killing Goblins. The biggest one being his older sister was dragged away, tortured and killed by Goblins. Same as the Mage’s sister. As you saw above, the only thing he was able to do for the Female Mage was put her out of her misery.

Before I forget. When Season 1 Episode 1 first dropped, it came with no warning at the top. THAT bothered people who usually don’t mind seeing blood and gore in their anime which I found very odd personally. No wait it wasn’t that. Many thought seeing Goblins gang rape a human girl and Goblin Slayer killing baby Goblins was”too much” yet they don’t bat an eye whenever there’s a news headline involving Rape, Infanticide or both. As an aside. The reason Season 1 Episode 1 is the way it is…that’s specifically to make you hate Goblins and see that universe’s Goblins have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The only good Goblin in this wotld is a dead one prettymuch. These aren’t your wisecracking money-hungry Goblins from World of Warcraft.

From what I’ve heard and seen online, many people were so traumatized by Season 1 Episode 1 they didn’t bother watching Season 1 Episode 2. I do remember some people made a lot of noise online at the time saying every episode remotely like that should at least have a warning label. I don’t see a reason or need for that given it’s already rated TV-MA and it’s obviously not going to end up on Toonami.  Honestly, The Rumbling in Attack on Titan is easily MUCH worse in comparison. After all, in Goblin Slayer we are talking about literal monsters. In AoT we’re talking about a sociopathic human who decides to use an army of titans to exterminate most of mankind just because he can. I’ll get to that in a separate post though.

All that said. Goblin Slayer Season 2 is sure to be real interesting. I know I was on hiatus for quite a while–over a year–but I am working to write again. More so now that the blog I invested so much time into–this one–is on hiatus until Spring 2024 minimum.

 

 

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