Topic: The TV Show Thread

@nessisonett I don't know how to feel about the Flag-Smashers honestly

Like I get their whole thing is wanting to liberate children in low class countries I guess? But it feels like they're kind of an afterthought. It feels like they're intentionally in the background because Zemo's probably going to end up screwing with everyone by the end as a last minute antagonist once Falcon inevitably assumes the shield and mantle

I think Walker as of right now is kind of in the Super Patriot phase of his tenure, but by the end they might be setting up him officially becoming the USAgent since he isn't really an evil guy. He's just on shaky morals and is more brutal and upfront. The serues might end with him becoming a more honorable hero

@TheFrenchiestFry The entire morals of the show are skewy. The ‘baddies’ are wanting to free kids from genuine internment camps while the ‘goodies’ are freeing terrorists to take them down.

Shows I've finished recently (going to drop the "Content Guide" bit as I should be able to adequately express such things in the write ups themselves).

the Mandalorian season 2 (Disney+) - After the events of last season the Mandalorian is tasked with returning the infant to it's people, but in order to get a lead he's going to have to track down his own, scattered across the galaxy after last season's big finale.

The show continues to be excellent, now with the inclusion of a few familiar faces from elsewhere in the franchise, and the same movie quality budget that brought the first season to life. Can't wait for the spin-off teased at the end of the season.

Triage X (HiDive via VRV) - Anime series (from the creator of High School of the Dead) that chronicles the exploits of "Black Label", a covert vigilante outfit consisting of employees of Mochizuki Hospital (and students of an affiliated high school, 'cause anime), that operates under the idea that organized crime is a "cancer" on society & they must surgically remove "cysts & tumors" (i.e. the crime bosses who are nearly untouchable by law enforcement due to government connections) as part of society's treatment regimen.

It's definitely OTT in terms of "mature content" (the female character design would fit right into Senran Kagura, with plenty of nudity to go along with it, and depictions of Yakuza groping female hostages. Also, while toned down in explicitness from the manga, of which I've read a few volumes, the violence levels are still quite high), but it's still a relatively competent action series that narratively rises above your typical "fanservice" show. While it follows the events of the manga pretty closely, some of the nuance is lost (each case they get involved with has some sort of deep personal connection to one of the members of "Black Label", but this is glossed over in the anime) & it ends without a definitive conclusion (with it's chances at a season 2 pretty much shot seeing as how it's several years old at this point). Still, depending on your tolerance for fanservice it's a solid watch.

The Last Kingdom... very good historical drama detailing the conflict between Saxon and Vikings.

@colonelkilgore I liked the first two series and watched them on BBC when they aired but just haven’t gone back to it after it jumped to Netflix. Definitely one of the better shows about that time period!

@nessisonett season 3 was probably the best yet imho.

@JohnnyShoulder Thanks. I was a little worried I might be the only one to have seen it.

@RogerRoger yeah the quality of production is incredible. Makes the DC CW shows look like, well, low budget CW shows.

@nessisonett

This.

I am absolutely living for this Powerpuff Girls live-action sequel series. It’s just insane. The set photos look suitably bonkers.

@nessisonett live-action Powerpuff Girls? I've not heard of this. I should ask my kids.

@zupertramp It looks mad.

Oh god

It's Powerpuff Girls Z all over agan

@TheFrenchiestFry It’s perfect. In this show they’re adults struggling from the pressures of being child stars. It’s gonna be rubbish but to be honest, the Winx Club one wasn’t too awful and was a great nostalgia hit so I’m optimistic.

I'm watching Call My Agent! (in French it's "Dix pour cent'') on Netflix, a French comedy-drama that actully premiered 5 years ago. It's very funny

Falcon and The Winter Soldier seems to have finally redeemed itself in the last 20 minutes. Sort of.

Senran Kagura (Funimation) - Anime adaptation of the (in)famous gaming franchise of the same name, following the misadventures of a group of female ninja students.

Season one, "Ninja Flash", is an apt adaptation of the main series games. It has a surprising level of quality that you wouldn't expect of a franchise of this nature, with the animation quality hitting highs I'm not quite used to seeing in fanservice focused fare, and it does a good job of following the narrative of the first game pretty closely (only with some of the personal character dynamics glossed over due to the short 12 episode run time). Of course being Senran Kagura it is consistently lewd & full of innuendo, so it's definitely an acquired taste, but it does seem to have some level of restraint as it stops just short of full on nudity (even during bathing scenes there's always a conveniently placed gathering of steam or some such), and it even brings the girls' male teacher in on the innuendo (though admittedly only two instances from memory).

Season two, "Shinovi Versus", takes a pretty big dip in quality however. Animation quality takes quite a noticeable hit, and any sense of restraint or "witty" innuendo is completely thrown out in favor of almost constant wall to wall nudity (nudity in and of itself probably isn't a con if you're watching a Senran Kagura anime in the first place, but the problem is that it's so constant that it's depiction is just as cheaply animated as every other aspect of the show. I mean, fanservice shows generally know where to spend their animation points in this regard, but here? I swear there was a moment where a nipple wasn't lined up right, partially floating in mid-air). Narratively it seems to jump ahead several games as well, with the girls (and presumably the audience) already acquainted with the girls of Gessen academy, the new group of Hebijo students, & a group of Shrine Maiden (as well as the existence of Yoma, demonic enteties at odds with the ninja). It does try to take an emotional turn with the story by the end, but the constant silliness of the first half along with the bloated cast keeps it from really being effective.

@nessisonett meh. Overall I see what they were going for but it was all a little messy and idk, flimsy if that makes sense. Also I can't seem to get myself to care about Sharon, like, at all.

But I didn't hate it.

@zupertramp Yeah, the rest of that final episode was hot garbage but they at least attempted in the last 25-30 minutes to correct the dreadful moral leaps in logic they’d made the previous 5 episodes.

Star Wars: the Clone Wars season 1 (Disney+) - with the Mandalorian & WandaVision behind me & the Falcon & Winter soldier not yet fully available I was looking for something on Disney+ to stream & gave this a shot after hearing some good things.

I always used to overlook this show back when it was airing on Cartoon Network due to the blocky character design & the fact that it usually displaced an anime in whatever action block was airing, but after giving it an honest to goodness shot I quite liked it.

The character design wasn't nearly as off putting as I had feared, and while it does feature some trappings of typical kids' action fare (though I can't blame the writers for having the big villains always escape at the last minute every time, due to the fact that their fates have been pre-determined in the preceding live action films), I was surprised at how much it felt like a genuine Star Wars adventure, just animated (while never bloody, it certainly never shied away from acknowledging & featuring death, for example).

My only real gripe is that the pacing was really odd in spots. For example in one episode they deal with a spy that endangers them to enemy attack, & while they catch the spy by episode's end, it's clearly setting up for a part two as it ends with them bracing for an all out attack with their own weapons reserves depleted thanks to the spy's actions, however upon the start of the next episode this plot is completely dropped and they're suddenly dealing with a virus on Naboo (ironically, while that storyline is seemingly tied up in a bow by episode's end, that's the one they decide to backtrack on & give a part two). There were a couple more moments like this, but nothing quite as jarring as that instance.

Still, it was a solid watch & I'll definitely watch further seasons whenever I find myself in this scenario again.

@RR529 I think the second part of that abrupt cliffhanger episode you are referring to was incorporated into the Clone Wars movie. I could be wrong on that and I'm sure @RogerRoger will correct me.

So either that episode should be at the beginning of the series/before the movie or the movie should be watched after that episode. The latter doesn't make sense because if I remember correctly the movie introduces Ahsoka but she has been in the episodes leading up to it 🤔

But yeah I thought it was weird and I bent my brain trying to work out the continuity and just gave up in the end because I couldn't remember the exact order of certain events lol. I'm sure there's a way that it makes sense but I just figured that they gimped the episode order so they could make a movie out of it to kick the show off

@RR529 Falcon & The Winter Soldier is fully available. The finale premiered yesterday