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Welcome back to the last episode of Animation A-Team for this semester! On this week's episode, we discuss the many live-action adaptations of anime that have had many difficulties. Why do these films keep missing the mark, and how should they improve for the future? Join us on this week's episode of Animation A-Team to hear our thoughts on the matter.
Welcome back to another episode of Animation A-Team. On this week's episode we are discussing the ever controversial breakup between Funimation and Crunchyroll. What caused this dynamic duo to part ways and why? Join us on this week's episode of Animation A-Team to hear our thoughts on the matter.
In the latest episode, we break down everything about Voltron: Legendary Defender. From the show’s origins to the development of the characters in its latest season, the show has a lot of promise around it. This even includes support from Netflix. However, how does the show compare to its previous seasons? Let’s discuss the impact of this show and some more on this entry of Animation A-Team.
In this week's episode of How It's Played, we are discussing cross-platform gaming. Sony finally caved to allowing cross-platform gaming in Fortnite. What does this mean for the gaming community? What all does cross-platform entail? All of this and more on this week's episode of How It's Played.
Spider-man might be the world’s most-loved superhero who spans multiple generations. His deeds and actions have inspired others to take up the spider-brand, and while there as many Spider-men as I have had broken bones, these four specific, badass women stand among the upper echelon of Spider-vigilantes: Spider-Gwen, Spider-Girl, Silk, and Spider-Woman.
by Dylan Bateson Spider-man might be the world’s most-loved superhero who spans multiple generations. His deeds and actions have inspired others to take up the spider-brand, and while there as many Spider-men as I have had broken bones, these four specific, badass women stand among the upper echelon of Spider-vigilantes: Spider-Gwen, Spider-Girl, Silk, and Spider-Woman. Spider-Gwen Starting with the most obviously named of these powerhouse women, Spider-Gwen's real name is Gwen Stacy and has the same song and dance of how she got her powers as the original Spider-man: gets bitten by a radioactive spider, gets all the powers, a better looking costume in my opinion, and does the whole vigilante side job while balancing a normal life. However, she exists in a universe where the moon is daytime and the sun is night. That is an exaggeration of course, but just know that universe is really messed up. For instance she is responsible for the death of Peter Parker. Through events too long to explain here this causes her to be seen as a menace to society and allows for every form of hell to break loose. However, this doesn’t stop her from being Spider-Gwen. Instead, she has a stronger conviction to help people and even gets help from her policeman father in her fight. Now while she doesn’t join any of the top name groups of the Marvel Universe, because in this universe left is up and right is sideways, she does inspire hope in the people of New York. She’s always out there fighting the good fight and protecting the people which is the literal idea of being a Spider-man. Spider-Girl Spider-Girl’s real name is May Parker and is the child of Peter Parker and Mary Jane. This child is the literal definition of Mary Jane and Peter Parker having a child: she has all the charisma, beauty, talent, athleticism, and intelligence of Mary Jane. Combine that with Peter’s hate for injustice and half-spider DNA and wham! The Spider-man legacy lives on. She has all the powers of her old man, not to the skill and power that Peter has, but she more than makes it up by being a millennial and using technology to give her an edge in a fight. Another thing that she has inherited from her father is known as “Parker Luck,” which is the power to win the lottery every time she buys a ticket. That’s actually not true, what it actually is a little jab that putting on the mask turns your social life to poop. However, at the age of 15 she has already done so much. She is an official member of the Avengers, has stopped countless crimes both small time and world ending, and has parental support for being a vigilante. Which is totally not fair because when I wanted to be a vigilante my parents put their foot down right quick. Overall though she proves that just because she’s a Parker by blood, it's her actions that make her a Spider-Girl. Silk Cindy Moon, aka Silk, is a Korean-American who was at the same place and time of Peter Parker, got bitten by the same spider as Peter, and got all the powers and more of Spider-man. I can dig. Besides the usual powers of Spider-man she’s got a few more tricks up her sleeve. Silk is faster than Peter, has a longer range on her spider-sense thus sensing danger and having more time to react, and she has a photographic memory on steroids. She also has the ability to shoot organic web, which is different from Spider-man since he uses artificial web. Organic web is stronger and puts the artificial web to shame, the only difference is that this web shoots from her fingers. That must make nail clipping a pain. Her reason for taking up the mantle and pursuing crime fighting is a bit more selfish than the other web crawlers, but still noble. She’s looking for her family who have been missing for 10 years. While this was initially her one and only goal, she recognized that she could use her powers for more than finding her family and stood up for the little guy. Spider-Woman Alright, so I know all the other Spider-Females are on point, but won’t lie they have nothing on Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman. This is the literal god-form of not only all female Spider-superheroes, but of all Spider-based superheroes to come! In my opinion. Her origins start when she was still in the womb. Her mother was exposed to radiation that contained the DNA of all the spiders known to man which affected Jessica’s DNA. This change in her DNA makes her superhuman in every way shape and form. All of her powers are turned up to 11 with top-tier strength, speed, agility, and so much more. One power she possesses is the ability to generate and shoot the excess amount of bio-energy that she emits into what she calls “venom blasts.” Venom blasts' power varies from a knockout blast to the equivalent of a frickin' lightning bolt. Another out-of-nowhere power is her ability to release different pheromones at will. She could make the whole world love of hate her just by a smell. She’s too OP! I’m calling it now! However, following the whole mantra of being a Spider-based superhero she has protected the innocent, defeated the entire villains roster of Marvel at least two times over, and loses all ability to have a personal life. But, that didn’t stop her from getting pregnant and instead of taking time off like any sane mother, she continued to do her superhero work. If you can’t tell she is a top tier Spider-superhero, there's your hint. Images: Marvel, Marvel Wikia, Univers des Comics
This week on Remixed we are discussing the ever incredible Kendrick Lamar and his soundtrack for Marvel’s new Black Panther. Join us in the lively discussion over this stellar album release.
We’re back with a new episode of Animation A-Team! This week we are taking a look into the Oscars. Why doesn’t the academy recognize animation as a whole? Why is Boss Baby being nominated? Which animated films were snubbed? All this and more by your Animation A-Team.
When I originally took this feature I was thinking it was going to be a joke. You know something you put on your resume and proudly say, “Yes I wrote this! Why you makes ask? Because why not! Aren’t you curious about how Pornhub functions?”
by Dylan Bateson When I originally took this feature I thought it was going to be a joke. You know, something you put on your resume and proudly say, “Yes I wrote this! Why you may ask? Because why not! Aren’t you curious about how Pornhub functions?” That’s not the truth at all actually. I was just thinking it would be interesting to make an article about this and see what information I could dig up on Pornhub’s traffic data. So, I activated my incognito mode on Google Chrome, making sure my internet history isn’t forever scarred by this event, typed in “Pornhub analytics” and got everything I wanted and more from Pornhub itself. I was shocked that Pornhub was so organized and how well the information was gathered together. This made it so much easier to find out which events make Pornhub’s traffic go down the toilet. So the main enemies to Pornhub’s average traffic are Super Bowls, Game of Thrones, fake missile threats, political scandals, international music festivals, and, I’m not making this up, Valentine’s Day. That’s right, Day of Love - or if you’re like me it’s Singles Awareness Day - has a sharper decline in site traffic than any other time of the year. This of course comes from a report by Pornhub taken back in February of 2017, and the level of detail is astonishing. The lowest low for the day was well into the evening at 9 p.m. with their traffic being 17 percent below average at a time when female views were drastically lower than the site's male demographic. However, no one should be surprised that Pornhub’s traffic falls heavily when it comes to Super Bowls or Game of Thrones episodes. The data collected below is from 2017’s Super Bowl 51 and 2018’s Super Bowl 52. The graph shows that the decline in traffic happens after 3 p.m. in the afternoon and continually goes down with 51’s low being 27 percent below average at 7 p.m. and 52’s low being 28 percent at 9 p.m. It makes sense that the reason for the low traffic is because it's one of the biggest sports events of the year with all the best commercials and movie trailers dropping throughout the game. However, after the game is done, the traffic shoots back up to 9 percent above the average for both Super Bowls. Now something that’s not as predictable is when political turmoil or ballistic missile threats happen. During former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony on June 8th, 2017, Pornhub’s traffic in the Washington D.C. area was below the average from 6 a.m. until about 1 p.m., with the lowest low happening at 10 a.m. when it was at 10.1 percent. However, after the interview it seemed to be business as usual for the site. But when it comes to ballistic missile threats like the scare that happened in Hawaii last month, most of the world Pornhub almost went dead silent with a sharp drop in traffic with the lowest being 77 percent at 8:23 a.m. The funny thing is though at 9:01 a.m. traffic for the site spiked to about 48 percent above average, which makes me think that was due to all of Hawaii visiting the site. So my overall question after looking up all of this information is why Pornhub has all of this information readily available. The easy answer to that is for publicity, but come on: it's porn. Of course it’s going to be popular just because of how humans are wired. What I think though is that the reason for Pornhub making this information available is for some weird social science reason. Maybe they are trying to see what affects their traffic in terms of events and trends to see if there can be any kind of correlation could be found. However, that is just my idea of why I think Pornhub does it; for all I know this could just be them bragging by saying, “Look at our traffic! Isn’t it glorious?!” But what do I know? Sources: Pornhub Insights, Adweek Images: Pornhub Insights, Venture Beat
With all the different ideologies in the Star Wars universe, two have always stood out and have become the center for basically any and all things that happen in that universe: the Sith and the Jedi. Jedi represent all that is good and Sith represent all that is evil. However, in between those two ideologies is a grey area that takes the best of both worlds and creates the ideology of the Grey Jedi.
by Dylan Bateson and Gunner Masters With all the different ideologies in the Star Wars universe, two have always stood out and have become the center for basically any and all things that happen in that universe: the Sith and the Jedi. Jedi represent all that is good and Sith represent all that is evil. However, in between those two ideologies is a grey area that takes the best of both worlds and creates the ideology of the Grey Jedi. The Grey Jedi are a group of people who are gifted in the Force, who walk the line between the light and the dark without being corrupted by the dark side. Another ideology that falls within the Grey Jedi ideology are Jedi who do not follow the will of the Jedi Council and do not restrict themselves by following the Jedi Code. This of course doesn’t sit well with the normal Jedi and that is why the Grey Jedi are a splinter group of the original Jedi Order, having established their own ideology. The core of the Grey Jedi ideology is balance, not only with the Force but also in every aspect of life within the galaxy. The Grey Jedi recognize that the Force was made up of a Light and a Dark side. Furthermore, they recognized that one could not exist without the other. This is prominent within the Grey Jedi Code. Flowing through all, there is balance There is no peace without a passion to create There is no passion without peace to guide Knowledge stagnates without the strength to act Power blinds without the serenity to see There is freedom in life There is purpose in death The Force is all things and I am the Force One character in the Star Wars universe that embodies this code is the character known as The Bendu. The Bendu is a recurring character in the third season of the show Star Wars Rebels. He declares himself a center of the Force and the in between for the light and dark sides. He never really gets involved when it comes to the Rebellion or the Empire; he just watches from a distance and lets things play out. However, there is a moment where Kanan provokes The Bendu during the Battle of Atollon and releases a Force Storm. However, he attacks both Rebel and Imperial alike, not caring about those who get caught in the middle thus keeping the ideology of Balance by not taking a side. "Jedi and Sith wield the Ashla and Bogan. The light and the dark. I'm the one in the middle. The Bendu." There are many other characters that appear in the Star Wars universe that embody the Grey Jedi ideology. Some prominent characters that follow the Grey Jedi ideology are Revan and Kereia. The philosophies and ideas of Grey Jedi came to the forefront of Star Wars lore in the Knights of the Old Republic games released in 2003 and 2004. These games explored both the light and the dark sides of the Force from their basic forms of charity or cruelty to the upper echelons of serenity or malice respectively. Players were given the chance to choose their path as the box art for the first game suggests on its back cover and decide the fate of the galaxy by becoming a paragon of the light or the heart of darkness. The choices were myriad and while many were binary, others were steeped in moral choice. For instance, upon finding the Star Map on Kashyyyk in the first game, a projection of a Rakata would ask a series of moral questions tied to different scenarios with several possible answers. One asked what to do if there was advanced warning of an imminent attack coming on a city full of civilians: do you send your soldiers to evacuate the city, alert your enemy to your knowledge of their movements and weaken your frontlines, or do you use the opportunity to strike your enemies with a sudden and deadly attack of your own, outmaneuver them and secure ultimate victory? On the surface, this choice seems obviously light or dark. The player’s alignment should simply dictate their choice without a second thought. However, consider the lasting effects of this kind of choice. Saving the civilians would spare many innocent lives but would result in a protracted campaign that would devastate many more cities and cost more lives over a longer period. Assaulting your enemies after they attack the city would mean that their lines are extended and cutting them off from any support would mean their certain defeat and a quick end to the war, saving a dozen more cities and many more soldiers and civilians alike. So the game poses a complex moral question. Which is better? Which is right? As before many would just assume this is the obvious choice because, “I am a Jedi.” Or “I am a Dark Lord of the Sith.” However, Revan, and by extension his former master Kreia’s story asks players for far deeper understanding of their choices, to ask themselves why is one side better or stronger than the other, and why should any being simply adhere to a doctrine? “I see them for what they are: two pieces of a whole,” Kreia said during one of her many conversations with the Jedi Exile in KOTOR II. Revan, who later became the infamous Darth Revan, was a Jedi Knight who left the Order to fight in the Mandalorian Wars even though the Jedi Council forbade it, citing caution and patience. Revan’s defiance led many other Jedi to follow him to war, saving the Republic from the Mandalorian invasion. Canderous Ordo, a Mandalorian NPC and companion in both games described Revan as the greatest opponent his people had ever faced. “Revan’s skill in battle, his feints, counterattacks, the tenacity of his defenses were too much. And in the end, we lost,” he said during the first game as he described what it was like during the war. The end Canderous described came when Revan unleashed a terrible superweapon called the Mass Shadow Generator during the Battle of Malachor V at the edge of the Unknown Regions of the Galaxy. The Republic and Mandalorian fleets fought bitterly while Revan dueled Mandalore, the Mandalorian’s leader, until the weapon caused a gravity well that ripped them to pieces and destroyed the planet they orbited. The Mandalorians were utterly defeated while Revan and the remains of his fleet headed into unknown space. “Your people will die a slow death. One that will last millennia…,” Kreia said to Canderous as he flaunts his attempts to rebuild the Mandalorian people several years after the war. Here is a similar moral choice like the one posed by the Rakatan projection above. Should Revan fight another battle on even terms that the Mandalorian fleet might survive to fight again, or does he sacrifice part of his fleet and a single planet on the edge of space to destroy the entire Mandalorian war effort with one command? This is also eerily akin to the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan near the end of WWII. Which choice will end the war faster? Which saves more lives in the long run? Kreia and her former student, Revan, both understood existentialism, the philosophy that stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one’s actions. They called the limitations of the Jedi and Sith ideologies into question and formed a grey morality within Star Wars lore. During the Mandalorian Wars, world after world fell victim to enslavement and destruction at the hands of the Mandalorians. Despite this and public outcry for the Jedi to defend them, the Jedi urged caution and patience. Many in the games express their disdain for this decision and feel it was a betrayal. Atton Rand, a companion in KOTOR II who fought for the Republic under Revan’s command in the war shared this sentiment in game saying, “I’ll tell you – all those Jedi at Malachor? They deserved it. Every last one of them. Because Jedi lie. And they manipulate. And every act of charity or kindness they do, you can drag it out into the light and see it for what it is. The galaxy doesn’t need Jedi arrogance or Jedi hypocrisy anymore.” “At least the Sith are honest about what they’re killing for. The Jedi are pacifists… except in times of war. They’re teachers… except when it comes time to tell their students the truth. And when they save you, its only so you can suffer more,” he said. The Star Wars universe has focused predominantly on the conflict between light and dark with both sides constantly at odds with each other with no room for compromise. The Jedi and the Sith never consider the full scope of the Force and its relation to the people it touches. Rather they sought to impose an ideology onto a universal being. The Grey Jedi philosophy, born out of Existentialism and exemplified through the actions and ideals of Revan and Kreia, opens up large untapped potential within Star Wars and the Jedi and Sith. “Revan was power. Looking at him was like staring into the Heart of the Force,” Kreia said to the Jedi Exile in KOTOR II as she described the command of the Force he wielded. “Even then you could see the names of the Jedi he would slay etched on his soul.” Sources: Wookieepedia Images: Wookieepedia, Youtube, Wikia, ModDB, Crimson Keep
With the release of Justice League, its poor critical reception, poor box office performance, and the rage from DC fans everywhere I have some opinions on the film myself, but I’m not going to talk about that. Instead I’m going to give my opinions on what can help DC/Warner Brothers get their groove back.
by Dylan Bateson With the release of Justice League, its poor critical reception, poor box office performance, and the rage from DC fans everywhere I have some opinions on the film myself, but I’m not going to talk about that. Instead I’m going to give my opinions on what can help DC/Warner Brothers get their groove back. In my mind DC began to move toward emulating Marvel after Batman vs Superman’s negative critical reception. There were many things not to like about that movie, but one major element of the film that critics attacked was it darker tone and lack of laughs. In response DC freaked out and had reshoots, which are not uncommon in the movie business, for their next feature film Suicide Squad. And that movie is, for the lack of a better word, a garbage fire. To be fair I understand DC is late to the game when it comes to having a whole superhero cinematic universe. They are playing catch up and Marvel has a formula that works but its getting old. That doesn’t excuse the crap movies they’ve put out, excluding Wonder Woman because that movie was great and Gal Gadot is a beacon of happiness. In my personal opinion, what Warner Bros and DC should do is slow down and take their time. They have the rights to some of the most influential and iconic characters ever conceived by man. And when put in the right hands, like Alex Garland and Denis Villeneuve, great movies can be made, looking at you Patty Jenkins. Thank you for doing Wonder Woman justice. DC also benefits from the fact that Marvel just announced another 20 movies after the fourth Avengers film and that’s plenty of time to establish superhero cinematic universe. https://twitter.com/_BrooklynBatman/status/937038264371990528 There’s nothing wrong with the fact that DC characters have darker tones than their Marvel counterparts. In fact a darker superhero movie would be a wonderful shake up in the superhero cinematic experience. With that being said not every DC character is in the whole dark world is brooding, orphaned Bruce Wayne. There are the lighter and happier characters like Superman, Flash, and many others. What they should do is establish a core of characters, like the Justice League except when it doesn’t suck, and then expand with side characters. Also DC needs to take their time with their characters instead of introducing three characters to the cinematic universe with little to no information known prior to the movie. Which is what they did with Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg in Justice League. Let people care for the characters, learn to love them and then care when the character succeeds or fails. This is what happened with Wonder Woman since it was the first female-led superhero movie, which even Marvel has not done yet, and it was a major success. Trying new things work, take note Marvel. https://twitter.com/EYahelor/status/936951348930797570 Another fun thing that Warner Bros and DC can try is to not copy Marvel’s movies and themes. Suicide Squad was DC’s attempt at making a Guardians of the Galaxy for their cinematic universe and Justice League tried to have an Avengers vibe. Try something new and different with these characters and you’ll have fans swarm the theaters to witness that movie. However, since I don’t have the money or influence to affect the production of these movies, I’ll just have to endure until DC makes another good movie. But I do have the Internet and an opinion, which is just as good right? Images: Rotten Tomatoes, Twitter, SlashFilm
We all know there are games that make gamers question why they played this game and how exactly it got created. The games in question have a concept that is completely out there and gameplay helps solidify it. These games below are triple-A titles of strangeness because there are a ton of weird independent games out there, and it would take me at least a year to gather that precise Top 5. Now with out a further delay, let's look at five of these weird games that just make your heads turn to the side and say, “huh.”
by Dylan Bateson We all know there are games that make gamers question why they played this game and how exactly it got created. The games in question have a concept that is completely out there and gameplay helps solidify it. These games below are triple-A titles of strangeness because there are a ton of weird independent games out there, and it would take me at least a year to gather that precise Top 5. Now with out a further delay, let's look at five of these weird games that just make your heads turn to the side and say, “huh.” Catherine This game was released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2011 and was meet with critical and audience acclaim. This game is a puzzle platformer and dating simulator, with some horror elements. Catherine takes a unique stance on talking about relationship problems with the conflicted Vincent, as he is afraid of being fully committed to his long time girlfriend Katherine, while a completely different Catherine tempts him with her seductive powers. As Vincent gets more involved with Catherine it is revealed that she is a succubus and intends to make Vincent her next victim. In this game if you have no idea what is going on then you’re probably enjoying the gameplay to the max. Catherine thrives in the fact that in one moment you’re sleeping next to a sexy woman. Then in the next you’re in a demon dimension where you’ve turned into a goat person solving puzzles to save your life. This game teaches people about remaining loyal to your significant other, as well as teaching people not to trust devilishly attractive women because they’ll try to take your soul, apparently. Isn’t that just marriage? I am Bread In this 2015 game you play, as a piece of bread that’s whole goal in life is to become toast. And if you’ve enjoyed this game YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF! You’re helping an innocent piece of bread with clear need of therapy to kill itself. What did that piece of bread ever do to you, huh? The only one who gets a free pass is Troy Baker because, besides my eternal man-crush on him, made a video that shows the piece of bread embrace the joys in life and realized the poor life choices made before being turned into toast. This game was also the tipping point for many let’s plays with hilarious commentary and worthwhile entertainment. With its unique style and objective many people flocked to play it and see how they could enjoy being bread. I am Bread is also what made the simulator genre take off in the gaming community. Katamari Damacy If you need to an explanation on why this game is one of the weird ones out there in the world, go play it and you’ll understand. For those who don’t have that kind of time I’ll give you the rundown. In this game you literally run over things with a ball made up of other things in the environment you’ve collected until it grows to the size of the planet. And when I say literally everything, I mean everything. You start off rolling together small toys in a child’s bedroom and then slowly roll entire cities and the people in them in order to appease the king of this universe. Oh, did I mention that the king is the dad of the main character? So, combined with the weird gameplay you also have daddy issues. The weird only get weirder. LSD: Dream Emulator The title of this game may be deceiving, but this PlayStation gem lets the player enjoy going through a dream, pardon my French, tripping balls. Now it’s not your dream: these are the apparent dreams of Hiroko Nishikawa, who worked at the studio. The game has a cult following and is a challenge for speed runners everywhere. LSD: Dream Emulator has an... interesting gameplay experience, especially since that the further down the rabbit hole you go, the scarier it gets. The first level is happy with bright primary colors and happy little 8-bit creatures that love you. However, the longer you play the game they become less loving and scarier demons from your nightmares emerge. Seaman This game… it’s an experience. Is it a bad experience? Is it a good experience? That’s up to you. For me looking up this game I can only question the sanity of the people who made it and wonder if I should sue them for damaging my innocent brain. The game focuses on the player raising the egg of a fish, which then grows legs and sets out into the surface world. But this isn’t any ordinary fish; the fish has the face of the game’s producer Yoot Saito. The game is also graced by the voice of Leonard Nemoy as a narrator, which only slightly helps the experience. The controls are also incredibly difficult, as just pressing random buttons will get the game going besides a methodical button pressing system. Now these aren’t the definitive top five games that are too weird for humanity, but just a few that deserve such an honor. There are plenty of them out there, some honorable mentions are, Mister Mosquito, Shaq-fu, and Ai Cho Aniki. Now as long as the gaming industry exists many more weird games will and the only thing that we the people can do is play them, question reality, and then go seek some form of mental help. Sources: Wikipedia, YouTube, IMDb Images: YouTube, LSD: Dream Emulator Wiki
We’re back witches! This week on The Coven, we take a look at the mess that is Harvey Weinstein and the controversy surrounding the recent information come out about him. We address the aftermath of the many women who have come out against Weinstein as well as the overarching issue of sexual assault in Hollywood. Was this a known secret? Will we see any substantial change in the industry from this information? All this and more on The Coven podcast.
Welcome to Pop Tabs: keeping tabs on all things pop culture. In this premiere episode, Matt, Mayzie, and Dylan discuss the recent feminist win from Saudi Arabia, some crazy smart jacket that Levis is working on, and what Trump had to say about NFL teams taking a knee. Tune in next week for another episode of Pop Tabs to keep up to date on our entertainment, tech, and culture discussion.
The return of J.J. Abrams into the Star Wars universe has been met with mixed reception from the Star Wars movie community. Now there can be arguments on why this is a good and bad move on Disney’s part so lets take a look at them.
