An Exhaustive Critique of Crunchyroll 's Infamous "High Guardian Spice" (Ep 1 - 3)

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[@ShortHax]

“It’s time to go” “Was I, a good anime?” “No” You weren’t even an anime

[@eridanampora3024]

Out of all the things the staff of hgs could have done with their lives, they decided to be the first people to make this shit

[@graceli1903]

The entertainment value of HGS is so low, that you can only barely call it a show.

[@ryantheanimator1156]

@@graceli1903 I get more entertainment from KZbin shredding this trash into pieces, it's what introduced me to Spilling the Milk.

[@thebohemian814]

King of the hill now that's a good anime!

[@Kamisuitendo]

You

[@dingdong3240]

I love how they’re named after herbs and not spices

[@MyHabbits]

High Guardian Herb. Produced by Snoop Dog.

[@dankwiemz]

@@MyHabbits I'd watch it.

[@tam5528]

Weed and Crack

[@ginaginagina.]

Unfortunately Blues Clues beat them to it 25 years earlier 😔

[@kaimancer]

@@tam5528 those are my favorite flavors

[@CEOmagi]

"high guardian spice" -Has nothing related to guarding anything -Has no guardian training -Noone is high -There's no spice in plot Result: it's boring af

[@LoneSilverW0lf]

And the characters are named after herbs not spices.

[@aleksaaleksic4353]

Imagine "sober idiot herbs"

[@marisstaff7019]

The writers were high

[@Marzo7866]

@@marisstaff7019 tru

[@raizenjintolentino-qc5jw]

​@@aleksaaleksic4353better name ngl

[@fake-inafakerson8087]

I think what your noticing isn't "bad excuses for characters being trans." Is "being trans as excuse for bad character". A decent character doesn't need any reason to be anything, exploring and finding out about them is reason enough. But if it's a bad character just meant to say "we have a trans person hey look" you notice.

[@legojay14]

Incidentally that's why alot of stuff that tries to be diverse comes off as even more bigoted than what their supposedly fighting against. The all woman Ghostbusters movie is always my go to example. Every ghostbuster has scientific jobs. Or should I say all the white women do. What's the black woman's job before being a ghostbuster? A janitor. Everyone new Ghostbusters job helps the science of it except her. If memory serves she was just the loud black woman stereotype

[@boozecruiser]

@@legojay14 That's what the black character in ghostbusters is though, he's not a scientist either

[@axain7784]

​@LTNetjak Remember kids, actually working through your issues is impossible! Switch your gender! Now! This isn't a choice anymore!

[@genderenigma8276]

I think it's the same idea as Strong Female Characters. You can have a strong Female character, which is usually done poorly, or a strong character... who happens to be female.

[@CruelestChris]

@@boozecruiser Well his deal is he's the straight guy who just wants to earn a honest living, which contrasts him with the Most Gullible Man, the walking encyclopedia and the physical manifestation of the phrase "think with the big head."

[@notsae66]

Just spitballing random magical bullshit was infinitely more interesting than absolutely everything in this series combined.

[@IapitusMcHeimer]

He needs to make a fantasy series of some sort lol, he has some great ideas

[@esbeng.s.a9761]

He alwaid has, I don't rember what its name is. It was in the video about Invincebel

[@Angomann]

im stealing half of them for D&D

[@trevhart2124]

Honestly, I wouldn't even call what he did "Minimal effort" All those ideas were top notch.

[@alexcash6358]

“Have you heard, of transition magic?” That shit made me spit out my water

[@eldritchsheep6801]

I feel like the reason why Avatar animals work so well is because they've never been painted as weird or amazing but treated like just normal everyday animals which I feel helps even though they aren't that creative

[@harrisonhurst6480]

Yea like when the Earth king has just a regulat Bear and every one is like... "What kind of bear?"

[@bombomos]

That's called good writing and world building

[@emberhermin52]

The scene where they could not comprehend a plain old bear was the greatest

[@andrewpalmer1873]

I feel like they're more like visual gags is all

[@eldritchsheep6801]

@@andrewpalmer1873 I kind of agree, I think at first that was the idea but the fact they doubled down on it was just fantastic world building overall

[@mothman502]

I feel like the "I am transgender" scene would be better if the dialogue wen more along the lines of, "Yes, yes I was, but that just didn't suit me." making it feel alot less forced

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

I red it as " yes yes don't sue me"

[@butterknifepatten4455]

part of it is that i've never heard an actual trans person called themselves transgender, full word, unless they're explaining something in a purposefully thorough way-y'know, like for the sake of an audience. in casual conversation everyone just kinda says "trans" or sometimes if they're worried someone might not be familiar with the concept, something along the lines of what you said. it just seems very off to have a trans character exposit about himself like he's a magical wordbuilding concept that needs explanation

[@legendswarble2845]

I think I'd say the line more as "People thought I was for a while, but then I realized that wasn't who I really was."

[@mothman502]

@@airplanes_aren.t_real Im still going to sue you

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

@@mothman502 fair

[@ghostranger5890]

Honestly, it would have been unique if they made "Disorientation Day" a part of their training on the basis that a Guardian must be prepared to face sudden and abrupt changes. Imagine entering a school only for them to tell you to figure everything out based on only a few context clues. That may have actually been interesting.

[@Stinkoman87]

First they tell them that instead of orientation day, it is disorientation day. Then everyone gets teleported to a random part of the school.

[@ghostranger5890]

@@Stinkoman87 Already 1,000x better!

[@blu-rae864]

So basically the shark attack ritual for the military (same concept of disorientation)

[@clared5812]

This is a fantastic idea

[@sophiagonzales8974]

Just make it a trial that students die from and if you fail you're expelled immediately or something

[@aiwash2766]

Ngl, I’ve really enjoyed the clips of this show in KZbin, not because it’s good but more because they’re so unintentionally funny

[@nnnnmhughuuhhjiijj9457]

"you want rabies?"

[@terraventusaqua123]

Apologize for that posture. You look like an invertebrate!

[@Ramsey276one]

The Disneywars experience! XD

[@an8strengthkobold360]

@@Ramsey276one No, you need to watch RoSW from start to finish, it's a beautiful, burning train reck.

[@sacredblader4424]

When the show tries to be serious: Funny When the show tries to be funny: Literally something that is the complete opposite

[@leglessjoemiami6399]

Imagine a show were the characters are written pretty 2D, with simple plots and whatnot, but there's this one really well written character who is trying to understand why the world is so bland, why things get resolved without issue, who picks up on weird out of place character moments and relationships that bloom from nothing. A real person living in a fake world.

[@pantsuchan968]

Thanks, you have given me something to occupy myself with at work tonight. A twist on the MC that knows he's an MC. I like it.

[@Krobluv1172]

You just described the truman show

[@romannasuti25]

@@Krobluv1172 DDLC could be a great modern basis, basically “Matrix, but cute”

[@juanmadrid9556]

There is something about this it's about a guy who is in a boy's love world and talks about how weird it is and how he knows that he's in a boy's love world it's those yaoi mangas if you don't know what boys love is it's really funny it's a manga and a Korean drama I really recommend a watch but you know it's very gay I mean if you didn't figure out it was gay I mean it's a boy's love world

[@pumkin610]

Spoilers for steven universe: This reminds me of an episode of steven universe, steven has a room where he can wish for anything, but the things he makes arent real. He wants to go back home so the room simulates his home town (beach city) all the people in the town are simple and seem to lack something. Then one of the characters from the fake town encounters a paradox and it cant move on because its like a calculator diving by zero and lighting on fire. Its terrifying seeing the thin immersion of the world be shattered like that, especially the way they do it.

[@otterlogic6518]

I’m still wondering what the hell a “Guardian” is anyway, the entire story is based around this concept of how being a Guardian is this special thing and that it’s a privilege to be a Guardian, but why the hell is it so important? Is it a type of honorary group of warriors that defends the kingdom? Is it a great right of passage to become amazing adventurer? Is it organization formed to fight an ancient Eldridge horror and its corruption? What the fuck is it???

[@johnvalle0130]

Is classified information you shouldn't know is canon

[@thegenevaconvention5623]

it's the scp foundation but ✨M A G I C A L✨

[@kaydee66781]

Whatever it is, if being a “Guardian” means being an uncaring, violent dick to everyone around you, then fuck being a Guardian.

[@Warmaka]

They guard the secret of the Thirteen spices used by King Coernell.

[@maurobrunno6032]

@@Warmaka i thought it was the secret recipe of Colonel Sanders

[@graemewest9887]

I think the “Danger is like a flock of birds” line would fit better if Sage said afterwards, “Seems like YOU bothered the flock of birds FIRST, and got them to chase after you!” Idk. Since birds aren’t really known to go crazy unless provoked, like vultures or pretty much any type of bird. They flap their wings like a buzzard of chaos.

[@zhumin3557]

God that is so amazing. It also fits them perfectly. Please go write the series, oh wait, don't. You deserve a better series to write than this crap 😌

[@bluedragon8762]

have you met geese? or seagulls?

[@pandorasangel2747]

@@bluedragon8762 I have never seen a seagull act crazy unprovoked and I live right near the beach. They act like beggar than anything. Geese though, yeah they're a*holes. You can just be sitting on the ground & they swim over, get out of the lake, walk over, and beat you up

[@bluedragon8762]

@@pandorasangel2747 if your holding food they'll swatch that and a bit of your finger in my experience lol

[@starlette7820]

Have you ever met magpies dude? Australia is known to have problems with magpies swooping down and attacking random cyclists, and I've had crows swoop into the back of my head while i was eating something while walking (to try and get me to drop my food id assume). Birds can and do attack people unprovoked lmfao

[@LeeBasil]

as a trans person, hearing a cartoon character in a fantasy setting say "I'm transgender" in this weird expositional tone makes my skeleton shrivel up inside my body and die. representation is great but please for the love of god do good writing while you're at it

[@terrifyingtyrannosaurusturtle]

Glad to know I'm not the only one that physically recoiled into their shirt

[@reddiz2182]

Found this one video that re did that seen. Really made it better. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmPIfJ1qf9pjd6M

[@k8rgrl]

Yeah ikr literally just... "You were a girl?" "Oh yeah, I'm trans" "Oh cool." If you want to take it a step further, then add a line like "When'd you end up transitioning?" *Insert time here*

[@toasteethetoaster5978]

You can fix the shriveled up skeleton with some milk 🥛

[@nvfury13]

It’s a magical setting, who knows how many people are magically switched to the other sex? Cursed magic belts, purposeful transformations, a race that changes back and forth at will/with a trigger, etc. Being trans isn’t special in a magical world…it’s a friggin cliche trope.

[@franklinturtleton6525]

"support your favorite shows legally" Is there a way for me to support my favorite shows and be a criminal? Would that make me a vigilante?

[@flamestoyershadowkill6400]

Buy Blu-ray’s and merchandise

[@goroakechi6126]

Do what you want cause a pirate is free! You are a pirate! A pirate who donates to creators, but a pirate nonetheless!

[@Uniquenameosaurus]

I have the answer for you right here: www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-new-animator-dormitory-project-2021#/

[@flamestoyershadowkill6400]

Extremely easy for mecha anime You buy model kits.

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

Buy merch while sailing the seven seas. I incline to support that. As a creator, I think even shilling for the work after sailing the seven seas is good enough. Because if the alternative is this case of embezzlement, you are better off not supporting creators. CR will delay payments and embezzle your money for vanity projects anyway.

[@ReddwarfIV]

as someone who has an engineering diploma i just want to point out how incredibly stupid the design of the funicular railway is (The one that goes up the hill) It has two orcs turning a crank, like it's a Wild West pump-cart or something. They are going to be putting a _lot_ of effort into getting that carriage up the hill, and assuming it's geared to provide the neccesary torque, that'll be an _incredibly slow_ ascent. Why though? There's a way simpler way to do it that's used in real life. You have two tracks going up the hill parallel to each other. Each has a carriage, connected by a chain or cable that runs up to a pulley wheel at the top of the hill. That allows the weight of each carriage to cancel out the other, making it far easier to move. Further, each carriage has a water tank. When you want to send the carriage at the top of the hill downwards, you fill the tank with water and let gravity do the work. Because it now weighs more than the other carriage, it'll drag that one _up_ the hill. If you absolutely _must_ have orcs turning a crank, have them power the water pump at the hilltop station. It's a much better use of their strength, and it would make far more sense.

[@3u-n3ma_r1-c0]

thank you, engineering diploma.

[@ReddwarfIV]

@@3u-n3ma_r1-c0 cheers

[@kingcolyx3671]

We need more engineers suggesting cool stuff like this

[@Shuizid]

Very insightful! Although given the context - they should've just used magic. But good to know they've chosen the worst possible approach to it both in and outside of the universe.

[@pallingtontheshrike6374]

if you can't do the pumping/up the hill has no water, not to fear! it's still way better to just add a motor to this symmetrical system than a one-sided one. Though really, if you can't even load rocks into the upper cart and then automatically dump it, something is horribly horribly wrong.

[@masterdynamo6457]

Easy arcs based on guardian vows: Thyme: vows to be self-reliant, initially misinterprets this into a lack of faith in others, grows to recognise that one can rely on oneself AND trust in others. Rosemary: Loyalty becomes unconditional trust in those she considers friends, leads to naiveté, eventually learns that her loyalty should have to be earned, not freely given. Amaryllis: Wanting to leave a legacy becomes being reckless in a bid to be remembered, whether or not it's for a good thing. Eventually learns temperance. Sage: Believes that someone standing in the background and isn't noticed is by definition unremarkable, feels she will never measure up to what she expects of herself, learns that the great often stand behind the good. Overarching theme: balance. They take their vows too far, learn that the world cannot be so readily simplified into black and white, adapt.

[@NickAndriadze]

Just goes to show how much potential this damned show had, too bad it had to be flushed down the sewers.

[@bubblymilkshake9055]

This “anime” is so sexist despite being write only by woman. Sexist toward men AND toward women. HOW?!

[@alexkozliayev9902]

Maybe gender is very vague character descriptor, huh

[@crazybirdybird4312]

@@alexkozliayev9902 Modern gender is a formality that fails as a descriptive word. Traditional gender was a vague descriptor.

[@tarrare337]

if it’s sexist against both is it really still sexism or is it now just hating people

[@Shuizid]

Somehow these "activists" seem very detached from the actual activism... I mean, the longer I think about it, the more sense it makes. It's the common activism issue of trying to fix a problem without engaging with it. It's like trying to fix poverty in the third world by building schools. It sounds perfectly reasonable until you realize there are no schools because there are no jobs that need education and hence no need to invest into schools. The people are not lacking education to work in the industry - they lack fking industry to begin with and no level of education will help if you have to work at a farm or starve to death (or sometimes both). Similarly with white-cis-woman trying to help POC or trans-people without actually engaging and interacting with them and talking with them about their thoughts, feelings, issues and desires. No, just assume you know everything about them from a distance.

[@Gunni4091]

And transgendered folks. Like how could they have fucked up this badly?

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

This show took the Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared lessons to heart and agreed to never be creative again.

[@nicestpancake]

I don't know what to say other than holy shit you murdered them

[@h3rpad3rpacifilis]

These guys are pretty creative and talented, but I think I know where it all went south. You see, they're so adamant at shoving diversity and inclusivity as a foundation for their group, and that is a pretty good indicator that the last thing they really want to do is be mean or critical to other people within the team. Hence, it turns into a no-judgement free-for-all in terms of production, which is bad for the quality of the final product, because everyone just clips it and ships it regardless of wether its good or not.

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

@@h3rpad3rpacifilis I really don't think so, because there doesn't seem to be anything really unique or original here. Everything is so cliche. It's basically Tolkien, but less detailed, with generic "children's environmental message" attached. If they were actually creative and talented, there'd be more here. Even as a high schooler playing D&D, I put more creativity into the worlds I put together for one-offs than there is in this show.

[@h3rpad3rpacifilis]

@@cheezemonkeyeater Sorry, I should have specified I was talking about the art, in terms of animation and character design. But I think that's just because I'm studying animation, and I'm comparing them to aspiring animators not ones already within the industry. In which case, they would fall just above low-end.

[@regayudafitra6236]

Ah that series,what an amazing masterpiece

[@Himiko_Void]

I feel like the issue with New Magic vs. Old Magic could've really been easily fixed if you treated it as a measurement of cost, like for example New Magic requires you to use your own body's "mana" or whatever to be able to use it so quickly and efficiently, vs. Old Magic which may take time to cast but takes advantage of surrounding and you can even make it a spiritual thing too, if you included Gods or Spiritualism in your story. Have it be that Old Magic requires you to respect, idk, the spirits of nature and requires you to give back if you end up having to take resources from nature or have to give back to people who breed wildlife to ensure that resources and materials don't run out, whereas New Magic bypasses this law of repayment by being physically taxing and require rigorous physical training to be able to stand using your body as the source of resource. Even using a rune, for example, can be seen as needing repayment to the spirits or Gods by either prayer magic or something. I don't know, it just feels like an easy situation to come up with drawbacks to both for.

[@thementalorder1233]

That can be a cool way to make a pretty interesting magic system, that also connects to the worldbuilding and the characters of the series.

[@zoainaiip]

This could also explain The Rot and how because Old Magic is slowly dying, the spirits or gods are weakening and the Darkness is taking over.

[@MF-R]

"Oh no; am I racist and just didn't know it!?" That's honestly the best question any creator can ask themselves. It atleast causes you to step back and assess what you're doing.

[@edcaous]

Lol, I have moments like that myself.

[@oo-ld8xu]

@@lthom7577 Not really, it is actually a good idea from time to time to step back and look at how you think and asses normal situations when another race is involved, and if they are problematic or not

[@CruelestChris]

Well, more you should question where all your assumptions come from, not just that one.

[@ketaminepoptarts]

​@@CruelestChrisif you try to do everything at once, you'll just go nowhere

[@CruelestChris]

@@ketaminepoptarts Nonsense reply.

[@edcaous]

Crunchyroll: Pirating wrong, give us your money instead. Everyone: To support Japanese studios and to change the subpar experience your site offers for the better, right? Crunchyroll: Everyone: Right?

[@AL-lh2ht]

Crunchyroll invests and funds anime, even vary significant one and notable ones. Don’t pretend making a bad cartoon is all they are doing the money.

[@harlannguyen4048]

@@AL-lh2ht Doesn't change the fact that they said that the subscription money was going to be used to support Japanese studios, but then use said money to fund their own studio. People were pretty justified in canceling their subscriptions over this.

[@weaboo8141]

@@AL-lh2ht Invests a penny and the rest goes to this crap fest.

[@walter3934]

@@AL-lh2ht Them making their own anime is fine, but them using the money to build a studio that could make shows for them which profits are mostly going to go towards them and not the anime industry they said they were going to support feels wrong. I get that no one wants to work for free, but the money could go somewhere else. Instead of making shows with a different medium that tries to cater to the western market, you could pour the profits towards events or conventions, invest it on studios to animate a manga series people voted for, or just send it to the anime studios and keep some funds to run and grow the company. If you want to make your own shows, use the salary you got from the company and start a studio whose funds does not affect your company that you said, aims to give back the anime industry.

[@fallingskymedia4421]

@@AL-lh2ht Crunchyroll is making the shows no matter what. If the people don't like the shows, it's expected that they wouldn't spend money on it.

[@LeSpeederus]

Revealing that a character is trans should technically be pretty damn easy if you just focus on the magic of your story. Using potions and spells to transition is basically just shapeshifting, which i find somewhat under utilized but is still pretty common and more importantly engaging and useful. If you place your characters in a situation where they need to shapeshift and the trans character can help them on account of having years of experience, it'd be a natural way to bring it up, for example. Or some event negates magic in the area, forcing the character to transition back temporarily. Or they explore a past mystery that just doesn't make any damn sense until the revelation that two seemingly different people are actually one, explaining the disappearance of one and the sudden appearence of the other. You can give a consequence to shapeshifting and thereby hint that a character is under a constant spell by the side effects they experience. You can make an entire culture around modifying your body magically in which transitioning is treated no different than equipping yourself with wings, turning into a physically stronger form or simply changing your height. The building blocks are all right there. You just gotta USE them.

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

Imagine a bad guy with some "anti-magic aura" and the trans character can detect them via feeling themself slowly detransition.

[@Uniquenameosaurus]

Oh shit, I was thinking of having a situation where the potion runs out but an anti-magic thing would be perfect for what i'm thinking. You could have a bad guy be winning a fight but when they use an anti-magic spell and reveal that the trans character is trans, it flips a rage switch for them turning the fight completely. You could even turn it into a point of depth where he's very open about everything he loves about the concept manliness beforehand, especially stuff about feeling strong. He could be into body building (I love the idea of a really body built mage actually) or boxing and loves the feeling of competition and proving his dominance against other. So when he gets hit with the anti-magic and he enters rage mode for revealing him, he's like: "I don't feel very manly right now, so I'm going to beat the ever loving shit out of you until I do."

[@sarafontanini7051]

"the anti magic makes the trasn character change abck to their birth gender" ah yes. Pure nightmare fuel there.

[@budgetbrick5124]

Here the thing HGS dosen't even do the bare minimum in that regard either

[@horserage]

@@thelemonaut My nigga, what the fuck?

[@TheFrostedfirefly]

On subject of Oyankopon being black too, I think the reason it works extra well in AoT is simply down to literally the entire premise that the show is built on. Everyone living inside the walls have literally never seen anyone that wasn't white before. It doesn't feel out of nowhere that the cast would be curious about him and want to ask questions. It's been their goals to learn about outside the walls and being able to work closely with someone that looks so different to them, the entire moment is honestly handled far better than I expected. It feels believable.

[@ohthatswild1755]

I got so much writing whiplash in this video when he talked about and showed that scene lol. How AOT is written is god-tier and it was so odd seeing it in a video about HGS of all things

[@_void8315]

32:02 can we talk about how Rosemary was about to say something wildly racist in this scene 💀

[@Depressed_Spider]

Acknowledging is good enough.

[@firelordoregano5632]

just like how she was wildly racist to the cat girl :P

[@WingCap0]

“Her mother even broke the sword in the same place.” It’s almost as if making a crystal bauble as the sword’s pommel like that is bad weapon design.

[@an8strengthkobold360]

Isn't the idea that you could bonk someone with the Pommel anyway?

[@dizzydoom4230]

@@an8strengthkobold360 Or that you can remove it and throw it at your opponent to end them rightly.

[@WingCap0]

@@an8strengthkobold360 Yeah, that’s why you don’t make it out of something like a gemstone, which can get easily broken.

[@alliew31]

I feel like it would have been better if it was just glued back together or magically mending wasn’t as sturdy so it was the cliche of it was always broken rather than everything can just be fixed

[@the_inquisitive_inquisitor]

@@dizzydoom4230 the pommel keeps the handle attached to the blade.... *Unscrews pommel, swings sword, blade goes flying...*

[@Total_DuDe]

The second episode could have been amazing if written correctly. Let's say they broke the sword. What's do ya do when something is broken? Ya fix it. Who fixes stuff? A blacksmith. The gang goes to the blacksmith teacher and ask him to try and repair it. He says that he can repair it. However, the weapon is enchanted. If he were to repair it now, the enchantment would be much weaker. (Like stretching out metal.) If it were to be fixed with a special spell, the enchantment can return back to its original power. In order to use that special spell, they must first know what enchantment was on the sword. If it's her mom's sword, than who knows about the enchantment? Probably either her mom, or friends of her mom. As they are thinking of this, the blacksmith pulls out an old class photo. He points out her mother, she is sharing shoulders with another girl and a guy, who's face is burned out. "Those three always made the most trouble, I forgot their names, but I wish you luck." This sends the gang on a wild goose chase to find out who this strangely familiar looking girl is. I would like to say that they find themselves in a deep level of a forbidden library, when they are caught by Professor Caraway. Gang & Professor: "What are you doing here?" Gang: "We asked first." Professor: "Looking for some troublesome children who have been skipping out on CLASS! Now ANSWER!" They explain that Rosemary had broken her sword and the only lead they had was this strange girl on an old photo. Professor begins bursting out laughing. Gang: "What's so funny? We're not in THAT much trouble... are we?" Professor: "No no no. It's just. The mysterious lady you're looking for this whole time, was me!" The gang looks at each other in confusion as they keep looking between the old picture and the Professor. Gang: "There's no way." Professor: "You'll be surprised what you can do with magic, if only you'd study more. Now let me see that sword of yours." The professor fixes Rosemary's sword with a quick spell, and takes the old picture from them. Professor: "We love those with a curious eye, but it's our job to guide that vision in the right direction. This is your first offense, so I am letting you off with a warning. Now go be curious in the right place, your CLASS." The gang scurries out of the forbidden library, and back to the school. However the Professor goes deeper into the library. Amid the ruined and tattered books, one sticks out like a sore thumb. A purple hardback with a golden crest on it, seemingly in mint condition. We see from the Professor's point of view, him picking out the book, taking it over to a reading pedestal. Before cracking it open, he reaches back into his coat pocket, looking at the photo he had gained from the girls from before. He then gently caresses his thumb over the burn mark that blots out the man once in the picture. "Don't you worry, we're getting closer." End of episode.

[@slowyourroll1146]

Okay, when will you start drafting your own story?? This was awesome

[@Total_DuDe]

@@slowyourroll1146 NGL, I was writing a little project on the side and was laying out the story plan. I just saw this video and I might change the themes and world building a bit. I have never written anything before, I just thought it would be fun.

[@gabrieltetreault317]

Isnt that just the season finale of gravity falls?

[@Total_DuDe]

@@gabrieltetreault317 I guess so? Didn’t intend for it to be. Glad you took the time to read and critique it though. If you blur your eyes enough, most every story is the same. Take a look at, “The hero’s journey.” Basically, most stories follow the same outline of content. How “original” content is, depends on how much they add their own twist or theme to it.

[@stormix5755]

@@Total_DuDe This is a pretty good outline for a story. Love ti see where you could take this

[@bonelessmice6828]

imagine walking down the street and you get hit by a bubble and teleported away and you just go “fuck! not again! joe’s orange company can’t keep getting away with this!!”

[@Glampyra]

"He isn't trans, he's black" That killed me

[@dreye3215]

They could've introduced his transness seemlessly by having that scene be exactly the same, but not having her be all like "You were a girl?". Just let us pick up on that from seeing his old photos, and how he changed over the years. It's easy to convey that a character is trans by just showing us bits and pieces of their history.

[@nuny4592]

YES, EXACTLY!! They could've just been like "Who's that?" "Oh that was me." "Oh, cool- hey, what're you guys doing in this photo right here?" Without any of the strained explanation on what transgender was (it's even more depressing when you remember the age demographic was adults and they tried shoving this in there).

[@deen7530]

EXACTLY! The dialogue in that scene is so useless! Isn't this anime for older audiences anyway? Why do they feel the need to explain it like it's a very special episode of Sesame Street?

[@soulgalaxywolf1024]

Also, the scene could show Lavender's character by how she helped or acted with the prospect of her friend being transgendered. Of course, the transgender topic was brought up because it's an impactful aspect of someone's life and the friends that helped would mean the world to them too! The teacher would definitely bring it up when remembering Lavender.

[@r_eh290]

Yup, bad writing. As someone who has written trans and non-binary characters in fiction before, I always work to seamlessly introduce their identities in the same way one introduces any other character trait. The story should be about the experience, not the identity itself (though that obviously informs the experience). I've gone whole stories without a character saying "I'm trans" or "I'm gay" or "I'm enby" ... Audiences are smart enough to follow along if you use good technique. If more self-proclaimed "woke" writers wrote this way I think their work would be better perceived. Take it from someone who has had conservatives read his work and, though they don't really agree with the subject, they understand it and enjoy the story.

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

I had a more sort of personal idea about it, sort of touching up on the importance of Rosemary's mom in terms of friendship. Rose finds the picture by mistake, teach has it in a book and not in the open. Teach gets upset at first because it appears Rose is snooping around but eventually calms down and explains, in a few words, that the girl was who he used to be but 'it wasn't who I wanted to be.' What comes out if the exchange however is that Rose's mom was the one who stuck by even when many others were against what they wanted to do. This shows Rose's mom as a hero not in the warrior sense but just being a good person and sets up that other people miss her and why she was important. But yeah, we know what we got.

[@zoewhyumadbro3090]

"What little witch does have however... is that its being animated by trigger". To be fair, anything animated by trigger looks really good

[@carcinocatnip7044]

i

[@lazydroidproductions1087]

It also has fun characters, and well the magic system is basic, it isn’t stupid and cheesed out like the high guardian spice system. It keeps itself simple and soft

[@zhumin3557]

@@lazydroidproductions1087 To me, Little Witch Academia works because it serves it's purpose. It's supposed to be a cute, enjoyable little anime with flashy visuals and simple likable characters, and not some deep complex Greek folktale shit, which it does perfectly. High Guardian Spice tries too hard to be complex, but it just doesn't work.

[@DAEDRICDUKE1]

Congratulations on getting the point?

[@ducksick9973]

​@@zhumin3557 sometimes less is more

[@deerlyqueery]

"Woah, do you have a sister?" "Nah, that's just someone I used to know. I'm much happier without them, though." A vague answer that gives you questions. Later you could perhaps have a scene where he's drinking the potion and gets asked about what it does, a good time to explain some magic and expand on the worldbuilding.

[@nahnah1237]

little late, but i think it also could be interesting for Rose to be confused who that ,,sister" really is, looking thru some other pictures and then seeing like, progression of that ,,sister" to becoming more masculine

[@autumn_sunday]

VERY late. But I just have to tell you that this is such a great way for Professor Caraway to vaguely say how he's trans. This is nice, and it isn't all-in-your-face.

[@snifflysara3065]

That slime boy clip was unironically one of the funniest things to me. They seriously tried to have a whole show be taken, well, seriously with line reads like THAT getting through?

[@Brodie_Loman]

Interestingly with the "im transgender" line. It would have worked seamlessly to just say "you were a girl?" "well we thought I was back then" and then talk about transition magic. The exact same information is presented but the way it is stated feels more natural. Plus as a bonus it fits better with the idea that a trans person was always the gender they identify as but didn't realize it fully as a kid. So to him he was never a girl, but people thought he was before he transitioned.

[@chocokittybo]

That's exactly what I was thinking, the way it's presented is almost exactly not how trans people talk even when explaining things to people who have never heard of trans people (or bad faith actors doing a convincing act of knowing nothing about the topic)

[@Loyde06]

Or we can use it as an opportunity to make a story with it. Like having the transgender teacher being terrible at hiding it but having the kids accepting every flimsy excuses without questions because they are gullible. -'Is that ... your sister ?' -'N... I mean Yes ! That's my sister. I always had a sister. I mean ... I always talks about my sister. How about we stop talking about me... MY SISTER ?' -'Ok'

[@FeepingCreature]

Have! A magical thing! That randomly switches people's bodies around! And that's how one of the characters realizes they feel better with a body of a different sex! This is a fantasy series, you could do such excellent representation with it. But then it would be something you do rather than something you *are*, and then it wouldn't be as representative to our world.

[@OneManCast]

So, two thoughts: A)It sounds like the reason the actual show's portrayal is more contrived because the trans topic was too verbose and over-explained B)Also, a thought. Not going to lie, the tran man's story might actually be a more interesting show than what we got.

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

@@OneManCast *trans man

[@tjones7341]

A good example of a Trans character not being forced is Sallie Mae from Helluva Boss. It’s not stated, but the audience knows she’s trans because the crew gave Male and female imps different style horns and Sallie Mae has male horns despite presenting as and being referred to as female. It’s a neat and subtle way to use visual cues to identify a character as trans without blurting it out. Plus Sallie Mae in her little bit of screen time is established a a interesting and engaging character outside of her gender classification and because of that her popularity skyrocketed pretty much overnight. It’s perhaps one of the best presentation of a trans character I’ve seen in a cartoon.

[@JimPickensCultist]

It doesn't count if they don't find the bodyyyyyyyyy

[@StarPichu12]

I actually didn't catch on originally that Sallie Mae was trans, I just thought she was hecking hilarious and a good sisterly counter to Millie, so when i found out she was trans it was a case of "Oh shit, that is fucking awesome they did that super well" Also Sallie Mae rocking those hips like damn girl

[@brandonlyon730]

Another other good example of transgender representation done right is the anime “Heaven’s design team” has an angel character named Venus who’s transgender, and it's never brought up or announced in our face she’s transgender. She’s her own character who happens to be transgender and isn’t the only thing that defines her. Kind of ironic though she is a angel in heaven and Sallie is a demon imp from hell.

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

What about Tiger from MHA?

[@hexcss9153]

Are y’all forgetting Doris from Shrek?

[@a_moth5584]

I love how at 7:15 he uses more creativity in a few minutes than the creators used in the entire show.

[@caitlinsnowfrost8244]

Another example of a "character" death that wasn't even a *character* but still shook me- Harry Potter's wand breaking in Deathly Hallows. While it is true that he repairs it in the end, we don't know that such a thing is possible until it actually happens. The scene where he's first with this wand is also so iconic that it really does feel like we're watching him find out he's lost a friend.

[@Agent_Cobalt]

I would also like to mention that the trans character is voiced by the creator of the show and is probably seen as a self insert

[@radiokunio3738]

Actually that explains why the conflict felt werid, it's someone's real life transition conflicts put in world were you turn in world where you can turn into a mermaid. Kaiba (2008) does something similar, though it actually takes in account the fact that in a world where you change your entire body, people really wouldn't care whether or not people change gender. It's mostly just Kaiba's personal struggle to adapt to his female body and the dysphoria from it, while the people around him just see it as normal because at this point it's not that new. ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/nGKqgWVofdyjkNE )

[@an8strengthkobold360]

A self insert isn't inherently a bad thing, I'd point to Rohan from jojo's or for a really, really niche example Willow from the unexpectables.

[@Agent_Cobalt]

@@an8strengthkobold360 Most of the time it’s bad. I’d expect a creator to put some of themselves into the characters they create, but it shouldn’t be so obvious

[@an8strengthkobold360]

@@Agent_Cobalt both the examples are really, really obvious, the difference is they're still well written characters.

[@Wildmoonchildani94]

Self inserts (in my experience anyway) are usually a mixed bag ; I’ve seen some self inserts that were given fun personalities and compelling back stories ( Bobby singer from super natural comes to mind) and I can see how putting pieces of ones self into characters can make them more connectable ( if done right). But yeah I’m not gonna lie a majority of self inserts are just hard to put up with ( twilight and this show are great examples of of cringy self inserts).also apparently the main character of this show rosemary is also a self insert of the creator before he came out and transitioned; so the whole scene of the teacher explaining to rosemary what it is to be transgender is pretty much the creator explaining to his past self what transgender means…

[@Takumi_Did_Nothing_Wrong]

It sucks that this is Crunchyroll's first original "anime," because I think it would've been perfect if their first show centered around their mascot Hime. Of course, there's a chance they would mess even that up, but from a business perspective, I think it would've been a much safer decision in theory, considering how popular she is. There would still be people complaining, but I think the reception would be more positive overall.

[@Claire-bz8mq]

Imagine if they did like little comedy shorts with her during ads where she advertised new shows coming to crunchyroll or something. That would be so cute

[@arttrixmix7178]

there is actually more crunchyroll originals than this one though

[@OneManCast]

OMG Hime's so cute. I based a fictional character off of Hime. She makes me squee so hard.

[@Stinkoman87]

@@Claire-bz8mq Exactly! Like Tom from Toonami.

[@AL-lh2ht]

@@arttrixmix7178 yea it’s wierd people are focusing only on this show and not everything else they make. It’s the LGBT thing isn’t it.

[@Buphido]

Here's an idea on how to introduce a trans character. In a potion class, have the teacher talk about examples of potions that are being used in day to day life, like for example a sex change potion that has to be taken regularly to keep the transformation active. Then, when introducing a trans character, show multiple of that exact potion sitting in the background.

[@cletusmcyeetus5975]

That requires proper thought process and trusting the audience to make the connection themselves. Which are two things this show did neither of.

[@hellspawnstudios]

Oooooh, that's good.

[@yamyams8147]

I feel like the flock of birds thing could've been used for a joke about how disconnected it is. Like idk have Sage question Rosemary "how many times have you been attacked by a flock of birds for this to become a saying"

[@herowither12354]

Heres how to show that a character is trans without saying it. Have the pink haired girl flipping through the photo album, noticing pictures that just so happen to show a mini timeline of the character's transition. Pink goes 'huh.', closes the album, sets it aside, and the convo continues in a less.. 'Garnet Ends Racism' way.

[@AgentChaos747]

This is how they did it in Lumberjanes and it worked fantastically.

[@jvckiwai7715]

Literally or she couldv'e asked if that is his sister and he could've just said "That's me" or something. And not a wholeass life story and then acting as if nothing happened.

[@thegrimharvest]

@@jvckiwai7715 I think the problem with the scene is that its written as a plot contrivance to get nissing mother exposition but suddenly there's this ham fisted segue into a textbook definition of transgender. It's awkward positioning, and badly written. It's not a dialogue between real persons. This grown adult is being asked a VERY intimate and deeply emotional and personal question, and it's handled like it's a textbook definition. The conversation ought to have been something like: "Is that your sister?" "No, (akward laugh) that's me. It's...complicated." (because something that personally intimate should be) "Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" (Emphasising childlike genuine curiosity with the confusion resulting from contradiction: this man says he was a woman, how is that possible?) "Well...(a pause to reflect on the myriad of reasons behind this, and how best to simplify and explain this to a literal child) "I wasn't happy with how I felt on the inside, and how I looked (oversimplifying for the sake of clearly communicating a complex idea to the child) so I used new magic to change it." (Child enthusiasm and excitement and wonder interrupting ) "Wow! New Magic can do that!?" (Soft laugh, because the child is excited but doesn't really understand the deeper meaning of what you told them, but at least ypu were able to answer thier question) "Yeah...all I have to do is drink a potion every month to maintain the spell." Now you've accomplished the goal of showcasing your not self insert trans character but as a real person having a real dialogue instead of ham fisted a textbook definition into the convo. This keeps almost all the same dialogue, but it gets the point across without it being wooden and forced. It even lays groundwork for audience investment in your magic system through ypur main characters excitement: If new magic can help a girl becone a boy, or vice versa, then what ELSE can new magic do?

[@stm7810]

@@thegrimharvest Exactly, this is how it should be done, it shows to the audience he is trans, to prevent people pretending it isn't the case, it expands the magic system, shows that there's rules for how this works, shows the culture of the world and makes them act like humans.

[@emberhermin52]

What bothers me the most is why does he have to keep drinking the potion. They couldn't manage a permanent physical sex change with magic? It has to correlate 1 to 1 with transitioning in the real world? Like he could have just said "I changed myself with magic" they didn't need to have the deets of magical hrt in there too

[@NoxAtlas]

"You were... a girl?" Yes. You'd be surprised what magic can do." "Wow, that's amazing!" "I know, right?" Simple and kind of wholesome.

[@BryonYoungblood]

It sure is :)

[@hatarlera]

As a trans person, yes This would've been a lot better

[@Ben-li9zb]

Thank you, it would've been so much better

[@Mika-jc3kn]

@@hatarlera as another trans person, i completely agree

[@slevinchannel7589]

The Big Rich People are silly and small and dumb.

[@edisonthedave]

The vow thing is such a loss too, imagine if they did something like with Nen, like you had to have some sort of vow, it had to have some sort of limitation, and if you ever broke it your magic would be next to useless. The whole way your magic works is by following your vow, so if you vow is to always seek the truth you have to use your magic to do that, and your magic will be based around that vow in some way like you can read people's emotions, or you can tell what sort of things have taken place in a certain area by taking an item from that area and you can see into the past. If you're someone who vows to protect people you can only fight in self-defense, so you can never be the instigator and your enemies can use that against you. Or it could be like shield hero, you can only fight with a shield. Something creative at the very least. I think the one thing that I've seen from other reviews of the show, including your own is just the lack of creativity, from story beats to visuals.

[@Heriarka]

You could tie the vow to "new magic" and make it so that yes, it is a technically, completely limitless magic, but it is only powered by your ability to upkeep the vow and is at its strongest when you are defending your principles. Now you have an use for old magic (slower but always reliable) and you have an easy to follow guide for writing your damn characters.

[@pixeledroses4162]

@@Heriarka now I'm just tempted to write a world that functions like this

[@emberhermin52]

The blacksmiths class could have crafted cool magical items like mythical blacksmiths were said to be able to do The rangers could have focused on fairy/elf inspired tricks The warriors could have focused on combat applications of magic or offensive spells The straight "mage" class could have a shamanic or witchcraft theme and be about healing, rituals and potions

[@nidohime6233]

44:30 Not only that, but the context of a story also matters for diversity. In Attack of Titan it made sense that Sasha asked why Onyankopon have dark skin because until to this point no one saw another person who wheren't white. Even Mikasa being half asian plays part of her backstory at the start of the manga because some kidnapers killed her parents while trying to kidnap her mother to sell her as a slave because she was the last asian of the entire country.

[@ihatefridays2715]

Yeah, I like how AoT is set a Germanic setting and only introduces races when the story asks for it/comes up for a realistic reason for why someone's race is brought up. Anime is fantastic with world-building and staying consistent with its rules. In AoT, we learn that asians like Mikasa are rare and therefore prized in the trafficking business, and it stays that way throughout.

[@KawaiiStars]

best part is the answer he gives to sasha is honest and genuine and non hurt, "GOD just made me like this and that's what makes humanity special" it was handled quickly but well and as a black person myself i loved that

[@AlteredNova04]

@@KawaiiStars I absolutely loved how he used the question about his skin color to smoothly transition into talking about theology, he blew all their minds with his wisdom lol

[@witchplease9695]

It was ignorant and showed Sasha as a racist character. There’s no reason for Black skin to be questioned unless you’re a racist that thinks white is “normal” and “default”.

[@KawaiiStars]

@@witchplease9695 it was ignorant but not racist, anyone would Because white *was* normal, at least for her area, and they weren't able to leave, the possibility of pigmented skin was alien, she wasn't looking down on him, she was curious

[@TheGreatBackUpVIDEOS]

The sword repair magic could've been interesting if it had a downside like "It will be fixed but never quite as strong" so it gets easier and easier to break and you never know when you get your last heal out of it.

[@the_inquisitive_inquisitor]

Or go the Subtle Knife route: the blade can be fixed, but you lose some metal so it gets thinner/shorter each time.

[@whiteraven562]

that would also help explain why Rosemary broke the sword in the exact same place her mother did

[@UsonoHoushi]

or that one beautiful art in Japan were the crack is still very visible. Even highlighted. like a scar that will never disapear.

[@Artrysa]

They could have also made an entire episode out of it. I don't know if the sword is magic, but I kinda assume it is. But even if it's not, let's just say it is now. To repair it they would have had to go to a specialist in repair magic. And maybe it would have been too expensive, or the person didn't have what they needed, so they go on a little adventure to get the required materials to repair the sword. Done, easy episode.

[@UsonoHoushi]

@@Artrysa Yeah it is kind of weird how they shoved was looks like three unrelated episodes into one.

[@Josephine_de_Beauharnais1763]

16:27 As a person who has dealt with small as feck pockets, I literally screamed reading this. WHY CAN'T WE HAVE DEEP POCKETS?? Also fake pockets are stupid as heck.

[@theeyesofme9994]

Fuck fake pockets. If you ever feel useless remember fake pockets

[@phoebusapollo8365]

@@theeyesofme9994 nah, the “skip intro” button on any platform with Attack on Titan

[@privatizitat815]

Capitalism

[@rokamayono8590]

Agreed. I will never fathom fake pockets

[@inkylynx2777]

@@phoebusapollo8365 From someone who hasn't seen AoT, why do you say this?

[@369destroyer]

You know, on the trans topic, there was a similar scene in a comedy webtoons comic called Mage and Demon Queen. SPOILER WARNING. I recommend it as it is a cute romantic comedy, that leans more on the comedy side of that. A group of "heroes" go to meet the princess and one of them asks about the Prince, as they all remembered being told about a prince then he suddenly seemed to vanish. They even poi t him out on a portrait. The Princess, clearly embarrassed and a bit agitated admits "Actually...that was me." Then everyone else comedically just says "Oooooh" awkwardly. She doesn't say "I'm Trans." And it shows sensitivity on the subject. Then they don't mention it again for a while. The princess has a very fleshed out personality. So what purpose does she have to being Trans? Well I spoiled enough.

[@colorblockpoprocks6973]

if the purpose is anything but "i just feel better this way" then people will say it's the wrong reason lol

[@VagabondTE]

I think I can explain the small twinges you felt on the extra lovey dovey stuff. It's because, again, we don't do this with straight couples. Usually when a strait character is being lovey-dovey it's in contrast to how they normally act. Like Hawkeye being lovey-dovey with his wife and kids in contrast to him being a warrior. Tony Stark's jokes are literally just emphasizing it. There are straight couples that do act lovey-dovey as a character trait. However, it's always so over-the-top that its annoying for other characters. Like Millie and Moxxie from Helluva boss. Or the entire plot of Princess Bride. Like you said, putting extra attention on lovey-dovey stuff is always emphasizing something. If there's no other reason for it, then you're literally only highlighting that it's in contrast to real life.

[@alliew31]

I do think you need a little lovey-dovey to say “Yes, they are a couple. They are not just roommates”, but a single kiss on the cheek or hug from behind nuzzling into their neck would suffice. This should be done with straight character too because not every m/f relationship is romantic. Exhibit A: My best friends BF who I had gym with and regularly tackled or playfully teased while no one in the class knew his GF and they all assumed we were dating and were very confused when we were videotaping a promposal for them.

[@VagabondTE]

@@alliew31 If you want more lovey-dovey gay couples that doesn't feel out of place then the solution is simple. Give them more character and more situations for the lovey dovey to contrast against. Here's a good example.. It's from Steven Universe though I don't think SU does gay relationship particularly well.. When Ruby and Sapphire got into a fight, and when they were first separated. Both times them being lovey-dovey was perfectly natural because they were reuniting / making up. Plus, after the fight Steven was visually uncomfortable also making it funny awkward as well. What the Captain is saying is that you need additional story elements if you're going to be calling attention to a couple being affectionate. Heck, even in your story there's a contrast. The fact that people made the wrong assumption ended up being funny later. If the story was just your friends being affectionate and then getting engaged it wouldn't be a good story.

[@Uniquenameosaurus]

This guy gets it!

[@SplotchyInk]

Addams Family Literally the poster child of doing this right. The love and passion is used to contrast the dark eerie environment they live in, on top of the normal world outside.

[@PoptartParasol]

@@SplotchyInk I love their entire relationship it's just- UGH

[@kingkeld8564]

“Yo snapdragon, you ever hear of transition magic?” “Professor, shouldn’t you be helping the drowning kid?”

[@lokazoum4816]

40:20 About the "Lovey-dovey" bit, I think there's a scene in Steven Universe that works really well. When Garnet unfuses because of the fight she had with Pearl, there's the scene where Ruby and Sapphire start to flirt before fusing again. They then cut to Steven blushing and looking away, super embarrased, before Garnet appears again. It's a scene that shows the diversity by potraying the gay couple doing couple things, while also having a joke in it to feel engaging, besides being a geniuenly cute moment. Also it helps that the relationship is already established, but just wanted to throw my opinion out there about this.

[@elskaalfhollr4743]

I’ll fix the trans scene: Who is this, your sister? You two look really similar Oh, that’s actually me You are a girl? No, no, that was…a long time ago (makes a pause) I’m much happier now

[@red_menace1829]

Lmao YIIIIKESSSSSS

[@user-yo7ue2mv2q]

Then i regret my decision now and i wanna change back the time

[@elskaalfhollr4743]

@@user-yo7ue2mv2q what?

[@joshuaslawson9125]

@@elskaalfhollr4743 a statistically significant amount of transgenders commit game end even after transitioning. They also especially if transitioned before puberty, will often regret the decision thinking it to have been a mistake. In fact if you don't give in "Transgender" children often just become gay after you don't give in and they realize they weren't trans at all.

[@alick7825]

guys, this is fiction. trans characters are allowed to be portrayed as happier as a result of their transitioning. it's honestly...not a great look...to assume younger people will eventually regret transitioning and invalidate their viewpoint, regardless of whether or not you think they should be allowed to get surgery or take hormones relating to their gender identity at a young age.

[@queen_alexandra996]

I feel like an interesting way they could have included the reveal about the teacher being trans was to tie it into the old/new magic divide. As it stands RN it's yet another contradiction as he states that he takes a potion, which would count as old magic, once a month despite claiming its new magic that allowed him to transition. I'd propose to keep the old once a month potion as the old magic solution to his issue but that he was able to utilise new magic to make the change permanent. This would help establish new magic as significantly more powerful but also less controllable as his new transformation is not able to be reversed, even if he wanted to. This would also help to explain why people would want to still use the old magic as while it is weaker its much easier to control

[@Uniquenameosaurus]

OMG I NEVER CAUGHT THAT ONE. IT JUST GETS MORE AND MORE CONFUSING

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

Or have it be the other way. That new magic is easier to control but isn't as potent as the more rigid yet more variable older magic can be. The potion is able to make him physically a guy, but by itself it's like removing the ability to make aromatase instead of taking testosterone, it needs new magic to limit it to just the desirable effect, and that requires a constant portion of his magic to maintain. It'd make more sense given that old magic was what could be found in nature, stuff that can be as weak as herbal medicine and as strong as a tornado, but that for all its seeming chaos operates on fairly consistent principles. New magic is what occurs when you take a more renaissance scientific approach, learning how some of the more fundamental building blocks work and arranging them to make a more desirable outcome, but it's harder to eque out stronger effects without losing control. So new magic can do whatever you want, but it's a general tool, which might not be as suitable to a specialised need as old magic is.

[@hanakoisbestgirl4752]

Another way to handle it that sort of exists in the real world as well. Have him be set in his ways and want to "old reliable". He's used the potion for years and that's what he's used to so he wants to keep using it. Or even slightly change his character to make him abit hesitant to new magic.

[@queen_alexandra996]

@@hanakoisbestgirl4752 yeah, although from what we see of his character he's more accepting of newer ways of doing things. And since IRL transitioning always carries the risk of not being able to go back (speaking as a trans person), I think it makes sense that he'd be more willing to go for the permanent change rather than the "old reliable" since the risk of having to go back to being how you were if you missed a dose sounds like it'd be terrifying

[@yoshithesurgeon5853]

Good thought

[@SmithOfGear92]

I love when Rosemary announces her and Sage's arrival in the city they literally arrived at the day before and spent the night in. Epic writing.

[@solsavior5032]

Not gonna lie, was not prepared for the revelation that this WASN'T a kids show

[@LoneSilverW0lf]

Many could argue that it’s not even a show. Just more ego stroking, pandering, and propaganda.

[@ronan-outoftime]

it's a kids show that says shit and damn and has blood in it

[@KittyThaliaX23]

Funny idea: the old teacher teleports small distances (10-20 feet) but it turns out she just moves that fast and it’s not teleportation magic at all (which should be rare/illegal bc of how crazy easy access tp would be to a society) and, back in her prime, when she worked with a young teen Rose’s mom, she was able to move so crazy fast ppl thought she could teleport all over the world. Maybe Rose’s mom found her an inspiration and Rose gives us all this background info bc that MAKES SENSE. If our MC is the child of one of the best magical warriors ever, she would’ve had trainers, mentors, people she was inspired by. If the elderly teacher had an affinity for Rose and wanted to shield her shenanigans from the other principals (?) that would make sense and be interesting.

[@KittyThaliaX23]

Hell, maybe the middle principal thought Rose’s mom sucked Snape style bc Rose’s mom was a womanizer and a chad, so she dislikes Rose immediately. But the youngest is open to the idea of “each person is different, even from their parents” and she finds Rose endearing. The middle principal votes to kick her out and at first the youngest wants to just agree for her own ease, but she can’t bring herself to because she sees Rose as her own person. Rose doesn’t deserve to pay for her mother’s mistakes. Maybe that’s the whole arc. Rose works to show the school, who view her mom as a renegade and bad student, that she can be a real hero. The ending being a few teachers believe in her but the majority still view her as “Her mother’s daughter” and a “fuck-up waiting to happen” and THEN you reveal that her mom is actually a villain. Maybe only the principals and a few other characters (caraway for ex) know about it and they want to comfort Rose. Except for the middle principal who wants Rose gone before she learns her true potential, and maybe another character that the middle character pays to ruin Rose’s rep (maybe idk the black cat girl)

[@heirofaniu]

Another huge missed opportunity pertaining to the old/new magic divide comes straight from the School of Story Writing 101: setup and pay off. >Old Magic always has a cost, it is slow and difficult and requires tremendous discipline and study in order to achieve limited effects >New Magic is fast, easy, and can be used by basically anyone to do anything at no cost to the caster >Magic is disappearing from the world and this massive creeper vine is fucking shit up Those three sentences lay the foundational groundwork for a very intriguing conflict with nuanced morals and very high stakes. The obvious pay off to this setup is that all magic takes power to work, the point of Old Magic requiring a toll from the caster was that the pull on the naturally occurring magic of the world was insignificant and thus sustainable, New Magic throws that balance out the window by just ripping the required power from Terra Firma itself, which in turn is allowing the Creeper Vines to spread out of control and leach up the now very weakened magical veins left within the world. Obviously you need to stop New Magic and restore the balance but there are three rather prickly problems with that: 1) Knowledge is not easily destroyed, everyone knows about New Magic and once that genie is out of the bottle you can't put it back in, and even if you did someone in the future will rediscover the secret and the cycle starts over 2) The Creeper Vines have already spread to a massive degree, even if we did stop the use of New Magic no one really knows how to restore what is lost. Assuming it isn't too late already, and no one is in full agreement as to whether we've crossed that threshold or not quite yet. 3) New Magic is the basis of all modern society and technology, stopping it's use will cause massive societal and economic strife for at least decades to come. Boom, simple. High stakes conflict with no easy solution and the chance for a mature, character driven story. Down the drain because of incompetent writers mentally stuck in middle school.

[@Wiimeiser]

I don't usually upvote or downvote comments. But I agree with this.

[@Jaydee-wd7wr]

Climate Change but Magic! How do you stop something that society is built in, they’re so much potential for analogues ect.

[@heirofaniu]

@@Jaydee-wd7wr Personally I'm not a fan of allegory and I was just trying to write a conflict that would make sense within a fictional world, and I would heavily encourage anyone who wants to use that idea for their own stories to NOT try to draw purposeful parallels to hot button issues from the real world since that sort of heavy handed symbolism tends to alienate watchers/readers. Although I can see how a watcher/reader would be able to draw those parallels.

[@cardemis7637]

@@Jaydee-wd7wr I was just thinking that. Would be a fascinating way to explore the moral complexities of such a topic. People could also relate to it, so the problem doesn't even feel outlandish despite its fantasy setting.

[@LordTyph]

I would have just kept it as a simple 'Old Magic takes time and practice but will always get you to where you need to go' and 'New magic is fast to learn and powerful but it can come at the cost of stability, safety, and learning fundamentals.'

[@appelofdoom8211]

You know what if disorientation day was like a test given by the headmasters where they tell you to get to class but use illusion magic and portals in order to split up the students so that they learn to work together with strangers and how to find their way around a new environment. Maybe there’s secretly a whole bunch of trials and tests that the students get dropped into that show them exactly what each class is about. Like for battle tactics they would drop the students in a series of rooms with different teams, environments and summoned creatures that all get progressively more chaotic in order to teach why having a strong grasp of tactics and thinking on your feet is important. It could also show why guardians get put in different classes or what the strengths and weaknesses of our main characters are in diagetic ways. There is so much shit you could do with a magic school and they do basically nothing.

[@appelofdoom8211]

Or like for the vows they could say that making your vow and defining the ideals you seek to live up to strengthens your magic and influences your magic in subtle ways or better yet it gives you a special abillity that you instinctively know how to use that changes along with it’s user. so like Thyme makes a vow that she’ll be self-reliant so she gets to make a clone that can distract or attack enemies but lacks any kind of physical presence so and enemy can just cut straight through it. Then as she goes through the predictable believe in your friends arc and realizes that working as a team doesn’t make you weak it gets tougher and gains the abillity to actually take hits so that it can act as a living shield. It also allows you to justify any mid-fight power ups.

[@barrybend7189]

I have several problems with those three headmistresses like the fact they invoke the trope of the three fates but don't follow up. The whole thing with them should have been around nothing being for certain. Also the personality of the old Crone was too jarring.

[@terreliv]

character: "Oh, hang on, lemme help you with that--" *gets up* wifey: "thanks babe" 😙 character: ☺️ "staph not in front of the others~" that could've worked for a casual 🌈

[@deldarel]

My thought at 19:30 was 'that baking contest was the best memory she had of her mom. She can picture her mom flawlessly, but needs help visualising the cake landing in her face'

[@annasilvestre2984]

They shouldn’t have revealed that the teacher is trans right away, they should have had him help the gender questioning character with any dysphoria/physical representation issues and the reason for his knowledge in this subject would be revealed as being because he is trans himself. That’s a good way to have a transgender character fit into the plot without being awkward or magnified to an extreme. (Sorry for lack of character names, I’m not paying enough attention).

[@bombomos]

How does a transgender character even fit in a magical setting anyways? With Potions and spells changing ones body would be as common as getting your nails down. I don't think the scene should be in the show at all. If anything they should literally just do the characters passing by a shop that has someone walk in a female and leave a male. Done easy. Transgender wouldn't even be a word in this setting. It would just Steve or Becky.

[@blrdnames]

@@bombomos There is one openly trans character in the game Guild Wars 2, who was previously met as a man and then later as a woman. Her name is Sya and she says that the incident you two met in was what prompted her to finally start living as herself. In GW2, there is a profession called Mesmer which uses illusion magic, and this character says that her transition is made easier by her being a Mesmer. It's a very small character and a slightly expositional conversation but I still think it was quite well done, especially in that it incorporates magic available in the setting.

[@juancarlosreyes5138]

Make it reveal the main character go on a mission and they notice some lady following them and they get into situation but keep getting lucky only for them to run into a large problem and get corned and bam mystery lady shows up and does some showy spells, they start talking and they go back to school, some important teacher greets them and hands Caro way a potion and he drinks and turns back and the girls are professor! Yeah, your mission was dangerous so I went to look after you but I went as my old self bc I wanted you to feel like you weren’t being guided and just looked after you since part of being a guardian is being on your own and having to look after each other and not rely teachers or mentors to protect you and if you saw me, you guys would feel safe and know someone would swoop in and save you and that would impact your learning to be a guardian. Then move on like nothing ever happened no mention of the transgender explicitly, but have caroway show a picture of sword girls mom and him as young girls and say we had lots of adventures. It wasn’t a deal breaking to me but the show just had so many flaws and poor quality that it wasn’t doomed.

[@justalostlocal]

@@bombomos My guess is there're still rarely those who transform their body permanently so there're still distinction made between body modifiers like adding wing or whatever and trans people. Assuming gender and sex is also interlinked in that universe, permanently altering sex characteristics could bring on dysmorphia for cis people.

[@Appletank8]

@@bombomos You could always have something about how changing a body without fucking something up is hard. Its magic, you make the rules.

[@Chordata-flyer]

"You used to be a girl?" "Well, physically, yes. It never felt right, though. I'm more comfortable this way, with this body." "That's cool! How does that work?" "Well, I used new magic to change my body. I have to take a potion every month, but it's worth it to feel right." Already a better exchange. He could also make a joke about how nasty it tastes or talk about how it's a pain in the ass to make sometimes.

[@mortalLP]

While I can't say that I'm super well-informed pertaining to transgender matters (and I think this show's inclusion of magic as an option is... mishandled and underdeveloped, at the least), this certainly sounds much more like a natural way of speaking.

[@avidagamegerl1081]

If he jokes about how hard it is to make the potion, it could turn into a plot point where the villain finds out he has to take a hard-to-make potion and screws with him by taking advantage of this in some way or another. It’d cause great discomfort and confusion.

[@bombomos]

Or the exchange could not be in the show. And instead just show a shop that specializes in body changing through potions/spells.

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

It shouldn't end like that. It needs to serves as a function to the plot. Instead it should go: "However, the potion I used to transform my gender can be used to transform to other animals too. I just use it for the former" "Oh cool! Can you teach me how to make that?" And later on during a conflict, this transformation magic could be used. Either to change identify via changing gender to sneak past someone. Or to transform into a beast temporarily to fight an enemy. This creates a cause-effect relationship from a transgender character to something vital to plot progression. Without that conversation about the transgender potion, the main characters would never have the tools to get through the challenges ahead, making it a important part of the plot. Extra points because the viewers wouldn't know at the time, but in hindsight, they see that everything ties together and not slapped together.

[@avidagamegerl1081]

@@neurofiedyamato8763 Wait. Episode 1 happens because a trixie steals Rosemary’s necklace. We could have a point where one of the characters have to use transformation magic to turn into an agile creature like the trixie for a stealth mission. The story can then use that for worldbuilding and for character building (e.g. the character transformed into a trixie overhears Olive talking to herself about not liking the more violent aspects of her job)

[@rosamy2017]

The best part about Kvothe and his lute is that after the first string broke, he taught himself to play with the remaining ones. He did that every time another string broke until he only had one string left. So years later when he was performing with very high stakes and a string broke, he was able to keep playing and the audience was even more impressed. God I love that book

[@irohanijiue3417]

Ok, I have two trans characters. I show that one of them is trans(Female to Male) by having the character get reminded to take off the binder once it have been 8 hours by another character. That Trans character already is the type to be reckless. He likes to fight, he isn't the most mentally stable so it makes sense for him to not take off their binder when they are fighting or sleeping which isn't safe. The character that reminds the trans one is a son of a nurse and is able to heal people so it makes sense for him to know a lot about health and safety even at a young age. So it makes sense for the healer to remind the reckless one to take off the binder after 8 hours for safety reasons, which annoyance the reckless one because they don't want to hear a lesson about binder safety from the healer. It shows that Their personalities, their relationship with one another(the healer caring for the Reckless one), the fact that the reckless one(who had an twin brother who is cis) isn't identical twins, and more about the reckless one(by the fact that he is trans) so it (Hopefully) didn't feel awkward or focused.

[@rawvegankid]

My first thought about how that trans professor was him saying, "I was the one who figured out how to change genders with magic! That right there is the power of spite". It characterizes him as inventive, spiteful, a showoff, etc. while still stating pretty explicitly the fact that he's trans.

[@ruffethereal1904]

They could make this into a New Magic problem. "People were in so an uproar, now that Transformation Potions could literally be produced in a factory and bought by anyone. No more having to hire the services of a highly trained and certified mage or having to go through the years of study, training, and apprenticeship yourself. "If we can keep changing ourselves on a whim, who will we really be? they said. "But I ask, what is so wrong, about being able to just change and become who you really want to be, just like that?"

[@friedegg3732]

her*

[@stm7810]

@@friedegg3732 he is a man that uses he/him/his pronouns, he identifies as such, is recognised as such, and if you're so transphobically inclined, he has a penis, testicles, testosterone, testosterone receptors in high concentrations, a flat chest and xy chromosomes.

[@friedegg3732]

@@stm7810 how do you know the second part is true

[@stm7810]

@@friedegg3732 rule 34, duh. are you like 7 years old?

[@maestrofeli4259]

how can you make a 50 minute critique of a cartoon when you can't even make a decent salad?

[@Uniquenameosaurus]

Man you've been around a while

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

Because there is no such thing as a decent salad.

[@boxedfoxstudios6479]

@@Uniquenameosaurus that wasn't that long ago, was it?

[@edwardbenson4795]

@@SergioLeonardoCornejo i gave a college presentation on how to make good salads cause I'm vegan. I've sense stopped eating them cause they suck.

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

@@edwardbenson4795 salads are a side dish.

[@saccharine1759]

42:30 one of my favourite ways this is done is in the webcomic “boyfriends”, where emo is a trans guy, and it’s slowly hinted at through scenes, like early on when he’s wearing a binder, or the slight scars from top surgery a bit later on during the beach episode. it’s subtle, and you don’t really pick up on it unless you know what those things mean, or if you don’t look too closely. the audience has everything in front of them to work it out, and it’s not until about halfway through season 1 where you get actual confirmation that he’s trans when they go to pride dressed as colours from each of their flags. if it were just explicitly stated, during the first chapter, then i feel as though it would be forced, but the subtleness is worked into his character and i really enjoyed him as a character overall

[@flameonoodle1172]

Yo I saw that in a Webtoon ad and thought it was garbage Zoomer bait. Is it worth reading? Because if so I might check it out.

[@mixedbag2]

This comment is perfect in summing up how awful High Guardian Spice is. Boyfriends does trans rep better than it. BOYFRIENDS. The web comic featuring the most annoying MC in the world, and most of the other characters aren’t that better. Cept Goth. He’s cool.

[@peccantis]

@@flameonoodle1172 If you enjoy cute gay boys being cute and gay, then maybe. Pure vibes, minimal plot.

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

@@mixedbag2 agreed, I got into it because of the art style but left after the controversies

[@the_don1542]

@@flameonoodle1172 it's a cute slice of life romance comic. If your not into cute sports it may not be for ypu

[@lunethemooncat6355]

Blacksmithing could've had a cool relationship with both enchantment magic and restoration magic. Like, imagine Rosemary's sword is enchanted and because of that, using restoration magic isn't an option? (Like maybe restoration magic can't restore enchanted objects.) You give Blacksmithing more of a reason to exist that way, and you can have Caraway still talk to Rosemary (Maybe he's overseeing the repairs on the sword) about her mom, maybe even give the story on how the sword was enchanted, and you get the opportunity to have Parsley help Rosemary again by fixing the sword. (Girl needs more to do)

[@psybovine]

"You were a.. Girl?" "Yep." "Oh, okay!" *It literally would have been that simple*

[@dudemcguy8949]

Organic writing? Pfft! No, we need to make a *dIveRsE* cast! Because apparently being something that isn’t white, straight, or male can substitute for characterization!

[@pdd5793]

change yep to was and is perfect

[@graceli1903]

@@dudemcguy8949 Sadly, there are people in the west who believe that making characters fem/LGBT+ excuses them of bad writing. Diversity is a crutch, and it's a weak crutch at that. Ghostbusters 2016 failed, the star wars thing failed, this failed, what's next?

[@fajarkurniawan9434]

@@graceli1903 Eternals

[@thementalorder1233]

Yeah, that's why I hate forced inclusion. If you want to make LGBT characters, make them natural. That's true inclusion.

[@thijmstickman8349]

The Vow thing could have actually been something cool, imagine: first episode and part of second episode sets up the characters, at the end of the second (or beginning of the third to make it more memorable) they make a vow, which if they break they'll get punished. Over the year the plot throws more and more shit at them, causing them to reevaluate their vows. For example: one of them vows to be self reliant, but over the year they learn the value of teamwork/friendship (I know its corny, but its better than this shit) and at the end they all decide to break the vow and take the punishment, but with their newfound friendship, insight and power they are able to cruise through the punishment

[@Uniquenameosaurus]

Thats really good actually. Thats not corny at all.

[@thijmstickman8349]

@@Uniquenameosaurus thanks!

[@haku8135]

"Yeah, it really could've been" -Brandon Sanderson Explanation, Stormlight Archive, a VERY good book series written by Brandon Sanderson, features a magic system that builds off of swearing unique oaths across 10 different sections of this order of magic knights. Each oath is unique to the specific order of knights radiant, so the warrior centric ones swear oaths around protecting the defenseless, where the healers swear oaths focused around remembering and connecting to people, never forgetting who it is they're helping. He does a LOT with these oaths and every single oath sworn in the series is significant to each character that does it. Some of these oaths have literally reduced me to tears, he sets them up so well.

[@daeamiralis]

another good example of "character death" of an object is going merry, even if they do give it character at the end

[@hurricaneofcats]

Greetings fellow One Piece reader! I agree, Oda had me weeping over a drawing of a pirate ship. Not to mention how impactful of a symbol Luffy's straw hat has been (even though it doesn't 'die')

[@franticdoodles8516]

My whole thing with gay relationships in media is that they should be treated the same as heterosexual relationships.

[@teodorapetkovic]

"Monopoly of bubble advertisements for literal bubble pop-up ads" sounds like a goddamn horror story dude

[@evaxephonfan9649]

This is our dystopian future.

[@anduro7448]

Also imagine how these would change combat , just have a pop up that teleports you to the middle of a volcano 250km away , also who is to say that they actually have to be blown by humans so they are blown using some sort of bubble gun or some sort of bubble gun grenade where the projectile hits something and starts blowing bubbles , bubble gun traps. The volcano teleports are hard to aquire , you either have to make one yourself or aquire it on a black market because they are illegal. Maybe someone has a plan to replace the wizards teleport to my shop bubble solutions with something that teleports you in the middle of a volcano , or a dungeon , or some other place you really do not want to be and the person has to be stopped , maybe the person does actually succeed so now you need to get to the wizard bubble blowing place and tell the wizards that what they are blowing leads people into a trap and by the way , person made sure to put a lot of traps on the staircase , some bubble traps , some other types. And then the main characters realise the wizards arent actually blowing any bubbles , its a machine that does it for them , and the machine is incredibly hard to disable so the best they can do is alert others to stay indoors while they try to figure out how to nullify the bubble spell until someone gets the idea to just cover the device up , this works as either a permanent or a temporary solution (maybe the bubbles are also acidic). Problem is it whould make melee combat near impossible as you can just blow bubbles on someone to teleport them to some show 10km away , dont see why wizards whouldnt give out these bubble soltuions either for free / for a price because it means more people to their shop

[@teodorapetkovic]

@@anduro7448 okay that's even worse

[@Kingpin6100]

They could have used the trans character to talk about how powerful transformation magic is, and how some users choose to permanently change themselves to live in a more ideal body, but that would also have required magic to actually functionally exist in this world, sooo

[@the_inquisitive_inquisitor]

Hmm... Using magic to obtain a "more ideal body" Not like eugenics are a thing, right?

[@peachesandcream8753]

This could have also been used to establish the world's beauty standards too, while hilariously saving yourself on animation costs by having a lot of people look the same.

[@silverdirtdraws9828]

@@the_inquisitive_inquisitor eugenics don't change your body after you've been born. Eugenics. Genetics. Genes. Prebirth!

[@the_inquisitive_inquisitor]

@@silverdirtdraws9828 They would if you could magically alter your body after you were born..?

[@silverdirtdraws9828]

@@the_inquisitive_inquisitor no, that would be gene manipulation by the way of magic. Not eugenics

[@DreadnoughtFiend]

During the Transgender talk, I realized how much effort I put into my worlds gender change potions, how and why it exists and why it's used simply because it is very interesting of a topic to play with in a magic setting. So many layers you can play with it, so many ways it can be used for good and for ill that no one really seems to want to touch. It's kinda sad really.

[@sarahm8695]

I think HGS aimed to be a combo of She-Ra (reboot), RWBY, and the Owl House, but failed miserably. The show itself has potential, but is falling flat in major aspects.

[@RinoaL]

If I ever watch this show, it might appeal to me more than I'd rather admit. Your modifications would make it into a show I'd enjoy openly.

[@slevinchannel7589]

Know Starship Goldfish? On KZbin? THAT is QUALITY.

[@DespairDoctor]

I've seen it, it's okay-ish, but it inspired me to write a story to improve it

[@slevinchannel7589]

@@DespairDoctor You mean a fanfiction? Mate, that's really not worth it. You should write an original story. And for a good start, check out youuber Reedsy, so you know what to do.

[@DespairDoctor]

@@slevinchannel7589 see that's the thing, it's not a fanfiction, it's my own thing that's inspired by the show.

[@theflickchick9850]

@Slevin Channel, fanfic is 100% worth it. I wouldn't have started writing so many of my original novels without fanfic and a lot of famous authors like Neil Gaiman wrote fanfic. Stephen King published a Sherlock Holmes story and it's great.

[@certifiednobody]

I would disagree that Western Animation is (significantly) cheaper, or at least, the ones that actually try aren't. Typically the budget goes towards fluid and consistent movement rather than detailed art. But from what I've seen of High Guardian Spice, it doesn't do that, and combines the simplified design of Western Animation with the reduced animation of anime.

[@arlaghdoth4434]

The worst of both worlds.

[@AL-lh2ht]

Yea this is another weird statement they make. Western Animation is fundamentally way more expensive to make then the average anime. Like by a lot. This is why western animation tends to be fairly fluid while anime tends to be much more static. Remember this a broad statement but these are differences between the industries.

[@SocraticMayhem]

@@AL-lh2ht It's not that western animation is more expensive to make, its just that they animators tend to be paid better than eastern animators. The static scenes are made due to lack of budget and to avoid crunch. Animators don't want to spend hours not getting paid an already meager amount of money. Just look at Studio MAPPA. They have amazing talent but they released Attack on Titan season 3 in such low quality in order to avoid as much crunch as they could, and they still suffered a lot of crunch. They also got paid very little for the project, but went through with it because they were interested in concluding the series.

[@citrusblast4372]

Imo it has slightly above average western artstyle with mediocre animation. The problem is the lighting and colors are very flat, every characters hair always pops and ruins the composition

[@bencegergohocz5988]

Well, it depends. Obviously Arcane has better animation than 99.9% of anime but that show took 6 years to make and likely insane amaunts of money. We can also find anime studios like studio dean or whatever that lose to random angry seven deadly sins fans on youtube BUT we are taking abaut the average. If we take the overall into consideration, anime wins easily. As for the money, if it's not matching the results, it's going either into the wrong pockets or it's lost to inefficient management.

[@michaelscalia7080]

The problem I had with the Transgender Magic scene was the weirdness compared to how other Transformation magics work: Why does this need to function differently if there's nothing explicitly stated that normal Transformation Magic has a time limit? And why would it need to be fortified alchemically? There's a lot of cool world building opportunities with the implications here, you're definitely right about that, but it's never extrapolated upon further, leaving everyone with more questions than answers. That's the problem with a lot of this series; it's just missing too much content to feel like anything more than a half-baked concept with little-to-no planning.

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

This show was so terrible that even the anime piracy websites didn't want it

[@SonicHaXD]

The 2 opinions I hear about this show are "SJW CRINGE LMAO" and "LGBT rep = BEST SHOW EVER". And I'm glad this review is just you...actually talking about the show XD

[@GG-kl8gw]

Aren't those the only two opinions we're allowed to have nowadays? It's all so tiresome.

[@edcaous]

Idk where you're getting that from, a lot of people have reviewed the series like this.

[@asutorad]

@@edcaous I always stroll into comment sections of HGS clips and see these exact 2 opinions clashing against eachother like 2 rats in a kitchen sink

[@thatitalianlameguy2235]

I mean it is cringe sjws. Sjws are a dumb extreme of people trying to be comprehensive. Fuck latinx it is not a real word and it's terrible. That doesn't mean the view and objective they come from is bad. Just... Actually help minorities instead of getting angry over a a Chinese word sounding like an English slur, you aren't the king of the world. They judge everything under their usa moral compass and point of view. A terrible one.

[@edcaous]

@@asutorad I don't agree. Almost all of the comment sections I've been in have either been 1. Shitting on the countless problems that High Guardian Spice jas or 2. writing out entire essays explaining why one thing is bad. Edit: Alright, so I read a few 5-star reviews of this show, (which all said that it was perfect and brave because LGBT) and I have to admit I was wrong there.

[@nickmojo3697]

Just started the video, the cobblestone idea blew my mind and I’m putting it in a dnd game ASAP

[@Uniquenameosaurus]

All my stuff is public domain so you're more than just welcome to; I legally can't stop you!

[@flamestoyershadowkill6400]

@@Uniquenameosaurus try using gpl as a back up

[@youmeltube]

Yar harr harr

[@nickmojo3697]

@@Uniquenameosaurus that feels like it could be a decent catchphrase for the whole situation “I can’t legally stop you.”

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

@@nickmojo3697 that phrasing implies that they can stop you illegally, making it an effective threat.

[@stripeback2024]

Caraway could have had a perspective like "Sometimes what you're given to work with doesn't work for you, so you have to find ways to work around that." I'm sure someone else can probably think of an even better outlook.

[@EvelynGrace456]

8:40 Imagine how annoying this would be in real life. I would love to see this somewhere and also to see how people avoid being touched by the bubbles. What will peoples reactions be when they get teleported? Is there a limit to how far away you can get sent? So many questions.

[@yumpuff8932]

Ikrrr! What if they hire kids to blow the bubbles and they make it into a game? What if the locals avoid them like it’s normal and new people be confused? Wouldn’t that be funny?

[@brandonlyon730]

I would just punch the merchant in the face once the bubble materializes me to their stand or shop.

[@floppaflopofficial2085]

Should be a stand ability tbh lol

[@gamesux420]

The elf/alt punk girl couple just SCREAMS "this is the token diverse couple that youre supposed to like despite them barely beeing characters" to me. How is there even such a punk-ish aesthetic in a like high fantasy world? IT MAKES SO SENSE WHY DOES SHE EXIST? 31:17 the episode wouldve had a great hook if it happened some time into the series, if the sword was forever destroyed and if the girl had to learn to let go of the sword and also her mother and instead start making her own identity beginning with the quest to create a new sword, one of her own (maybe with like a shard of her mothers sword or something to still have that connection but without making her entire character about a different person)

[@BassKittehz]

without trying to sound mean.. their "team trailer" with the "women majority" gave me the vibes of those "overly active twitter activists" who were given the task to each make a "unique character" with 0 storytelling experience, and just made it the way they'd like others to see them. It's not the "token diverse couple" where shows that usually wouldn't do diversity add one cause fans wanna see it, but more of a "I'll make this character my self portrait, so people see this alter ego the way I'd want to be seen by others." A "I want a strong trans person that everybody loves and looks up to!" - "Awesome! And how about a cute gay couple that's wholesome and supportive?" - "Great idea!"

[@ruffethereal1904]

Her Mother shattering it herself while in disguise would have been great symbolism. She wants to stop her daughter from getting hurt and endangered by becoming a Guardian and potentially falling like her once she realizes all the many systemic flaws of the system and the culture surrounding it. Then, the group as a whole work together to forge her a new sword, gather the materials, and teach her their weapons because she now has a great reason to learn something new because damn is a good, quality Guardian sword expensive!

[@alliew31]

Reminds me of the plot point in Inuyasha

[@a.w.4708]

1. Yes, it is sad how this "representation" is just girly girl and punk girl permanently glued together and all they say about is how they are couple. I would like to see one of them doing something as herself. But I am not target audience for representations so... 2. Yes. They had perfect plot seed and wasted it for mr Caraway scene. I have an impression the way of writing the story was "what lesson we wanna show?" - >"what is the most obvious way to do this?" which sounds ok, but in reality comes off gritty.

[@newguy90]

They wasted a fuck ton of potential with that couple. They could have gone more outrageous and had their magic be opposites, yet able to mix and match to create new spells due to their relationship. Maybe steampunk magic with nature magic. Their magic could become stronger or backfire based on their relationship and if they are fighting or not.

[@intexdanation2212]

The mentions of using new magic and potions to change gender gave me the idea that it would have been better as a classroom scene. Like have him as a guest in the potion class where he explains that he's transgender through the exploration and creation of gender transformation potions. It would have probably still been expository, but it would feel slightly more integrated and world building than just the outright exposition with the sword fixing scene.

[@nuny4592]

Omg, that *does* make more sense, honestly. Because it *is* a more logical way to give the exposition that would feel less forced.

[@GamingWolfGod]

That's a lot better. It's still an exposition dump done purely for a message but it's at least presented as a teaching moment for the characters even if it comes off as preachy or condescending to the adult audience it's targeting.

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

Maybe during his class he talks about how potions are created through research and effort to help others with whatever they need and then he explains something along the lines of "I myself had a problem I fixed with potions, when I was younger my body didn't feel right so after a lot of attempts and effort I managed to make this *shows potion* if I drink one of these every month I can maintain this form" that way we learn more about the magic system and the characters without feeling too forced

[@nuny4592]

@@airplanes_aren.t_real Yeah, that makes a lotta sense, because the potion of new magic is being used as a learning experience in a classroom setting (where exposition is always likely to happen). And it also shows how comfortable Caraway is with his identity that he's willing to use it to help teach children, presenting some of his character.

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

Clever. I'm not a fan of infodumps, but when they are truly unavoidable, especially in fantasy works with some worldbuilding, fiction writing rule #0 has to take priority: "SHOW, DON'T TELL".

[@Kro1401]

When your rant about magic cobblestones is already 10 times more entertaining than the show itself, someone fxxked up somewhere…

[@tinyq555]

40:20 Craig of the creek has a perfect example with the witches in the doll house episode, after the big scare and the main trio are freaking out, it cuts to the witches kissing before realizing what's going on, it makes for a funny scene without stealing from the engagement

[@lrgogo1517]

"Western animation... doesn't focus that much on the animation itself" is a very weird statement to me. There's this time-forged language of time/cost efficiency that standard-level anime build their animation out of whenever it isn't undergoing a designated Sakuga Moment. I remember when I watched a Cartoon Network show and had this jarring realization that the characters were hitting multiple poses with _actual easing_ while merely having a chat. (In exchange, western toons aren't as varied with shot compositions, though.)

[@Geck0GC]

I think what it comes from is what early tv animation it came from, a lot of western animation started with sitcoms, like the Jetsons or the Flintstones. Animation was limited so they had to make the mundane interesting. But anime of the same period had shows like Astro Boy or speed racer, more action packed, so they let the mundane be mundane but pumped the effort into the action causing a shift in what each side prioritised. Or it could also be from films, yes Tom and Jerry or looney tunes had amazing animation that had action, Disney's first film was pretty much void of any action, which could've made the industry focus more on human interaction opposed to action. In other words, I guess they mean western animation doesn't focus on big action but rather having fluid motion with the mundane. I don't really disagree with anything you said but I just wanted to add this as well lol

[@slevinchannel7589]

The Big Rich People are silly and small and dumb.

[@dc_dachi]

Yeah, I agree with you. The main difference between Western Animation and Eastern Animation tends to be where they place emphasis. It isn't a matter of western cartoons not focusing on the animation, but rather, where they tend to spend money and time. Apart from the big name studios like Bones, Ufotable, or Trigger, Anime tends to be more static until they get to big sakuga moments. There is much more detail put into character designs, keys, shot composition, and background art, but the tradeoff is of course difficulty creating fluid, dynamic animation. When they DO get to show off, they go all out with bombastic visual effects, choreography, and camera movement, but this quality is unsustainable for the entirety of an episode's runtime. Western cartoons on the other hand emphasize fluidity. Characters constantly move and deform to create interesting visuals. Animation tends to contain more energy and consistency moment-to-moment. The tradeoff here is detail. Cartoon characters have much simpler designs, color palettes are less subtle, and the camera angles need to be animation friendly.

[@junkyyard2273]

@@dc_dachi I do think that they are good in their own ways, the problem is how the stories appeal. I'd be happy to see Western animation but with actually pretty good story(not just for kids but really a story that is well executed)

[@rebeccan7276]

@@junkyyard2273 you'd be happy to see, as in looking for examples? or just being rhetorical? Because I could throw out some recommendations for some fantastic stories with western animation if you're interested

[@rocklettf2die664]

That cdi Zelda comparison is an insult. Those cutscenes are iconic

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

Lamp oil, ropes, bombs

[@misterdewott8766]

@@kittykittybangbang9367 you want it?

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

@@misterdewott8766 it's yours my friend as long as you have enough rupees

[@misterdewott8766]

@@kittykittybangbang9367 Sorry Link. I can't give CREDIT

[@whiteninji352]

Gee it sure is boring around here.

[@The_Foxymew]

It's kinda funny, having seen a few videos about this show and what people critique, but the one that always gets me is that everyone's either saying "Why would you portal to something so mundane as another room in the same house" or "Why would you even HAVE stairs, when you can just portal into any given room" and I find that strange.

[@followeroftheprince]

It's the situation where to us, teleporting/portals is a grand sounding ability and it sounds weird to just squander it on things like, skipping stairs. But in a world where teleportation exists enough to squander it so easily, then why isn't it squandered more?

[@The_Foxymew]

@@followeroftheprince To me, it's not much of a criticism, because I don't think the show properly states the costs to using magic. But I just found it really funny that people complained about polar opposite opinions on the same thing. Some people would complain that they used teleporting too often, another that they weren't using it enough. And it was every time I watched a video, one of the two complaints showed up.

[@min0uet]

In the Magyk book series I read a lot as a kid, the mosaic floor of the magical wizard tower was sentient, and could recognize individual people and would greet you by name or title through moving the mosaic pattern to create a message on the floor. That's the first thing I thought of when you started coming up with ideas for the streets' cobblestones.

[@mnspstudioful]

I literally fell out of my chair laughing at 2:12: "...I support them as part of the Pirates of the West Movement. Basically, we pirate all of our anime and support the industry purely through charities instead as a form of boycott towards anticompetitive, exclusive licenses..." I never realized I was a part of a movement...

[@biosavat9475]

You're not alone

[@Aconspiracyofravens1]

gotta say, those creative ideas of yours are actually creative, and that's actually impressive because often coming up with new ideas just seems like finding new ways of being derivative

[@AL-lh2ht]

All art is derivative. All films follow roughly the same beats. Everything is built untop of other media.

[@sansaraee]

@@AL-lh2ht And it's not a bad thing either! (Not implying you meant that, just adding on!)

[@AL-lh2ht]

@@sansaraee yes. It’s a great thing! I means creators stand on the shoulder of giants as the saying goes.

[@Boredman567]

I really like your idea of blacksmiths creating enchanted gear. It would absolutely make the blacksmithing feel less boring and like a more important role, and it would give opportunities for non-mages to have interesting magical techniques that are focused on different combat styles. That way it would integrate the magical worldbuilding into the other classes. it would really alleviate the problem where the setting feels like it's solely focused on magic-users, to the detriment of the other classes.

[@sheppin_]

38:50 I definitely agree. I feel like this scene would've been much more natural if the blonde girl ran up, kissed her wife on the cheek, and went "Hi, hun!" It would've felt more natural in my opinion.

[@kenslycarpel3140]

I have one question though: did the show ever actually say what a Guardian was? It's what the characters are all striving for, but if we don't know exactly what they're striving for entails, why should we even care? If being a Guardian probably means protecting Lyngarth, why don't we see any around? The streets only ever show civilians, it's not like anime such as MHA or Black Clover where you see heroes and magic knights around their respective settings. And could bring a Guardian be a worldwide thing since magic exists throughout their planet and therefore magical threats. I feel like the show was so quick to give its representation and poorly written plot that it forgot to inform us of the most important part of this show.

[@harlannguyen4048]

The show never explained it. Prepare for Word of God to clear things up (assuming any of the writers want to talk about this show).

[@alliew31]

Hopefully, it isn’t RWBY with a background lecture to explain or separate series

[@tylercoon1791]

It is a person who does things sometimes, maybe

[@DimentioMOD]

@@harlannguyen4048 did the webcomic author explain it?

[@MyEvilTaco]

Short answer no, long one just nooooooooo

[@Maioly]

12:25 how a spellcaster can still do a physical fight while using magic: Show them enhancing thenselves with simple spells, even just having glowing on parts of their body. add sparks and effects to their attacks to show that maybe they are using touch spells, like electrified hits or superheated ones. just have them use magic for increased mobility overall. just some examples on how to have a simple, straight up melee fight like that while STILL showing off some magic.

[@aredjayc2858]

Also Rudy's fights in Mushoku Tensei where he uses elemental magics to alter the terrain to his advantage, e.g. making the previously solid ground mud

[@StarryxNight5]

Or just use the iconic Earth Bump to trip an overly flashy opponent. Can't do shit with your spinny sword techniques if you just ate dirt. I mean, obviously the protagonist can't be shown to eat dirt in a seemingly even fight but, it could still throw them off balance

[@VimyGlide]

unironically just make a psi melee build in system shock 2 and you'll get some good ideas for magic enhancements that are useful for melee fights

[@aghadlarhen9397]

Magi: The Kingdom of Magic did this in the magic duel between Aladdin and Titus. Where, in order to conserve magic, Aladdin used sound magic to make his staff vibrate rapidly, which allowed him to penetrate Titus' shield with melee attacks. They even made it a point that his teacher taught him basic martial arts so that as mages, they'll always have something to fall back on.

[@harlannguyen4048]

Funny enough, Overlord has something like this already.

[@-Miasimon]

Just gonna say this: How do you properly write a same sex couple? You write a straight couple, then just genderswap one of them. How do you properly write a trans character? You write a character. Then maybe drop a childhood photo or two in the background showing them as a kid as the opposite gender. If you have to explain "this character is gay" then you're pushing an agenda and pandering to an audience that hates that shit. Normal gay couples just want to be treated like anyone else. They don't start a conversation with "Hi, I'm gay and here is my husband who is also gay." just like a straight person never outright says "I'm straight", unless they're being hit on by a stranger. Implications and nonverbal dialogue go a *long* way in storytelling. Hell, I remember reading a book ages ago and never pieced it together that there was a gay couple until another character confirmed it. I just knew there was a couple and didn't think anything of it. The fact that a character is gay or trans should always be *secondary.* If the first thing you think of when you see a character is their sexuality or identity, then that's not a character. That's a political statement and pandering to a crowd that doesn't want to be pandered to. Imagine how awkward movies or shows would be if they showed all couples like these people show same sex couples. Can guarantee that the writers have never been in a relationship, and the closest they got was just writing some fanfics in High School.

[@nsoterroface1736]

Hit and miss by a landslide. Yes your ideas are good. For example My next life as a Villainess has an albion character but its never said she is albino. Just due to her visual looks the trait is shown. I love that. However we may not forget what the main target audience was for HGS, kids. Putting a same sex couple in and explain the relationship to show the kids that two people of the same sex can have a loving and fulfilling realtionship to normalize it is not an agenda. Kids need to small explaintin to understand that. Same goes for the trans professor. Yes they could have done show dont tell but then many kids would have had the same idea like Rosemary in the scene. That the person in the picture is not the same but rather his sister. Explaining a kid what being trans mean and giving a simple in universe explanation normalize trans people for the youger audience. Show dont tell works best when the main focus demographic could be expected to have prior knowledge of the topic.

[@epRivera]

@@nsoterroface1736 I don't think the series is made for kids lol. The series probably was for a while, but then the makers just decided not to and rushed to add in not kid-friendly things

[@akrope8398]

Brief note that the flying luggage is basically a rip off of the luggage from Discworld, which had feet instead of wings. Lel

[@grannywetherwax1677]

Omg yes thats what I was thinking the whole time! The luggage is probably one of the best discworld characters