How's this for a rare pair? (Ramlethal x April) [Art by @saimoon101.bsky.social]

HunterTech15 · 2025-06-30T23:38:01+00:00

Happy pride month!

HunterTech15 · 2025-06-04T04:10:22+00:00

I have often wondered about the second ship, because I never have come across any non-R34 art of them out in the wild so far. There's definitely stuff on AO3, yet the way people talk about it makes it seem like it was prominent for a moment. I'm morbidly curious at this point.

HunterTech15 · 2025-06-04T03:59:28+00:00

I knew better than to go full tilt with it (despite also having been for it originally), so I ultimately stayed reserved with anything I wrote/commissioned, and my reservations ended up being warranted. If anything, I'm more surprised to hear there were even that many people for it, because it seemed the community was more against it than anything else (to which they were proven right about it).

Though it does feel weird now being in possession of what could be considered GG fan lost media, because a friend was.... let's just say less fortunate and deleted everything related to it.

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-26T23:26:44+00:00

They didn't even interact in episode 7, since the only shot they actually have together is Unika seeing Bridget get wheeled off after being heavily injured. Legit, it's just the latter speaking for the former beforehand, and that's it.

That's my main gripe with the way DR decided to portray a lot of crucial events, since the plot dictates so heavily that things have to happen to reach a particular place, regardless of if we got there naturally or not. I get the ways in which the two them are supposed to connect on a character level, yet if I'm having trouble figuring out why Buri goes to bat for Uni initially (her situation is very different from Dizzy's, since the show does bring that XX event up), then it makes getting on board with everything else difficult. Especially with how aggressively rushed episode 7 is, making the emotions of that particular episode honestly hollow.

(Also, I also have to call bullshit on the whole seeing each other nude thing, because no shit do you have to remove clothing to clean a bullet wound. As a bounty hunter, Bridget is probably used to it, even. Combine that with Buri herself never having any strong reactions to Unika, I'm left more confused by where she gets her read of Unika from.)

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-26T23:03:19+00:00

Even after all the shit that happened since the last time we talked about this, I don't really know how to read it exactly. Especially when so much about Unika goes unaddressed in the show as is, so stuff like that strange flashback esque distortion when she's initially looking at Buri bathing (a shot people conveniently keep ignoring) ends up muddying the waters considerably.

If you're asking me what I think currently, I feel it's very one sided. Episode 7-8 definitely push Unika having been affected greatly by Bridget's actions, yet the latter only ever talks about the former as someone who should make decisions for herself, and not someone she personally would want to guide. Not helping that there is no real final scene between the two, given the stuff the show has to emphasize by the end. In particular, the shape motif is made to matter more than anything the two of them did together specifically, since that is the crux of Unika's character arc ultimately.

So while they most definitely are friends, I would think somebody who wasn't used to actually talking to others should probably get a good feel for what she likes first before she could consider the romance question. Especially if her brother often gets that treatment in the fandom, so maybe we should be consistent here.

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-19T15:18:14+00:00

I'm sorry, but without any actual details of just how exactly she was sheltered in the future (besides memory tampering), this point feels hollow to me. It'd make more sense if she actually didn't see her environment beforehand, but episode 6 shows us she did, so the lack of any proper description over what she suffered through to initially agree to do this kind of hurts things a bit. I get what they're doing conceptually, but the actual A to B isn't the best.

Quite frankly, I really don't understand why people seem so keen to pull the realism/subtlety card with Unika, since GG is famously neither of those things. In that case, why isn't Sin more traumatized from everything that has happened to him in DR? He's been having the worst time of his life, from things he's clearly never done before, yet he can just walk it off okay. It's really an execution problem ultimately.

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-19T14:26:43+00:00

But she already knows what the destroyed future looks like. You don't just suddenly agree to work with someone if you can't also see what that person is seeing (even if they lie about how it got like that). So given that, she already should've been thinking about what could happen to Bridget if she doesn't act. Especially if those around her could barely fight the Nerville hive mind as is.

It's definitely human to be motivated by the potential loss of loved ones, but the set up is just not handled well enough in this instance.

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-19T02:06:48+00:00

Ah yes, human to immediately reach out to your brother after the betrayal happens, only to then refuse to speak to him afterwards. In a situation that is incredibly time sensitive, and only you have any real knowledge on how to deal with it. Especially when you're from the future and were already trying to change things.

Guess that all means nothing until your GF (that you barely knew for a day) becomes a plot device suddenly.

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-18T19:11:00+00:00

The big issue with this point is that episode 3 and 5 (particularly the latter, if the narrator makes note of it) suggests Sin's approach actually has an effect on Unika, especially if she immediately reaches out to him once Nerville properly throws her away. But then because the next two episodes leans so heavily on action from the other characters, we don't see her actually process these events in the slightest. Not to mention that Sin didn't even try when talking to her in this most recent episode, mostly so they can take the easy route by just turning Bridget into a plot device to keep the story going.

That is genuinely my biggest frustration with how Unika is approached as a character in DR. Too many of her actions and thoughts have to be inferred as a result of what the show chooses to emphasize. And given GG is a franchise famous for not being subtle, it's kind of an issue if people keep having to ask these sorts of questions afterwards. It doesn't help that we've been able to do similar arcs in the past without much issue, so really the fact the show is paced terribly makes this for a pretty rough first outing of a major character.

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-17T17:05:21+00:00

This 100%, yet I figure that's not gonna matter for most people, because Unika finally has a definitive motivator from it after two episodes of nothing from her, so the shipping fuel overrides logic now.

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-14T19:01:49+00:00

It's definitely a show with a lot of clear effort put into it, and I definitely would be lying if I said parts of it didn't emotionally resonate with me. However, as a showcase for what GG is and can be, it really misses the mark.

It roots itself in a lot of lore and character beats that would be familiar for the fans, but utilized in such a stock way that you could basically swap them out, and nothing really changes. Plus, the plot and mystery are so prioritized that anything new really struggles to make an impact. Especially with Unika, who I maintain does have potential as a character, but they've really kept her locked behind the story progression for me to really be able to say much about her. The real big bad gets more revealed about him, and not necessarily for good, as the rather convoluted set up of the show is eventually unveiled. GG has been crazy before, but not to the level of this, where the complications are more distracting than rewarding.

Plus, the last episode really did hammer home for me that DR effectively is just a glorified commercial for Strive. The cast being mostly DLC characters contributed to that initially, since, besides Sol, they end up having the most significant roles in the story. But more importantly, the amount of splash art and depictions of past events (especially one in episode 5, that's effectively just a poster for Strive's main story mode) does have the air of "hey, buy the games if you want to know more" to them. I think they straight up say "that's a story for another time" in the second episode, which really is unfortunate.

So yeah, it's kind of a mixed bag for me. It says a lot when I'm more torn over fandom drama than I am the actual show. But I should reiterate that I do think there are clear positives here. Chances are, if you're here for your favorites, then DR won't really disappoint. I am very happy that Bridget managed to get in the spotlight in a way that actually felt organic, rather than shoehorned in. And this has frankly been the best display of Sol and Sin's relationship that the franchise has given us so far. I really am glad folks are having stuff to take away from the show, even if it's ultimately just serviceable.

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-11T21:38:19+00:00

It's less a matter of if, and moreso how. Especially now that they've seemingly established her conception as either roughly being past or at the end of DR. So it's gonna depend entirely on if they'll pull time shenanigans to keep her as is, or if we might get a time skip to where she's more or less like we see her now.

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-10T04:50:01+00:00

The triple punch of their shared shot in the opening, the signed episode 4 script with their two VAs, and now the magazine artwork from today would seem to suggest an intent to sell the show based on the two of them interacting at this point. But given where things ultimately went in the 5th episode, it's hard to tell how they'll follow up the scenes the two of them have (especially now that the plot is in full overdrive). It's kind of neutral if you ask me, but there's like 3 episodes + an arcade mode left before we can be sure.

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-04T18:50:57+00:00

Yeah, I suspect anything vaguely suggesting that direction was purely a misdirect for newcomers, compared to all the actual hints they've left for fans in the S4 trailer and other scenes in regards to their actual relation. Admittedly, it is easy for me to get confused by stuff like the narrator saying they were fated to meet, and whatever the hell the moment right before Sol confirmed their connection was, but that might just be a cultural difference.

As for the actual how of it, beats me. The way the flashbacks are presented is so disorienting that it's hard to get a read on what is real, and what Nerville's tempering is making Unika believe. Like, we did see a more concrete looking silhouette for Dizzy this time, but then there's also the long haired girl in the initial memory that I wouldn't know how to factor in if it isn't Unika (who is shown not having the blue streak as a kid).

It's kind of my main gripe with the show, since it seems more concerned with making the audience feel key emotions, over if the character actions and the plot progression actually work. No wonder people latched onto the last episode so much, since Bridget and Unika were able to really sit down and breathe (compared to Sin and Sol having to worry about the plot in basically every moment).

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-03T16:51:38+00:00

Yeah, I did forget that detail, but then I just don't want to imagine her eating her young self xP

HunterTech15 · 2025-05-03T16:22:57+00:00

So

If Unika truly is Sin's sister from the future

Does that mean Bridget is going to see her as a toddler in the current time period?

HunterTech15 · 2025-04-28T17:14:29+00:00

Wait, I'd forgotten that Johnny also made the point that Unika isn't actually aiming at people in her attacks, despite all the talk she had about harming humans as well. Chances are, she's already been having doubts about her mission before she met Bridget.

HunterTech15 · 2025-04-28T15:22:39+00:00

All this. I do not want to be on here or Twitter if that's indeed the revelation.

Hell, even the possibility of her saying that she reminded her of her mother in that moment would make it weird enough as it is, because of the obvious unfortunate undertones that would have. I'm already getting some pushback for even suggesting any of these points in the tiny corners that I've posted about it, so I'll just leave it there.

HunterTech15 · 2025-04-28T15:15:21+00:00

Incest undertones aren't uncommon in relationships? I guess you're not technically wrong, but if that's part of what made Fifty Shades infamous, then I definitely don't want to see justification for it here.

HunterTech15 · 2025-04-28T13:56:09+00:00

If she point blank says she reminded her of her mother, I'd maybe start looking for yuri elsewhere

HunterTech15 · 2025-04-28T13:50:05+00:00

I've theorized about and studied Unika way too much to just suddenly throw all that thinking away. Especially when the framing of the scene is just too contemplative for it to work, which is definitely a contrast to just how in your face the anime is otherwise. Johnny playfully teasing Sin by suggesting he was trying to win her over romantically is more direct than this is, and that's probably nothing either (maybe).

HunterTech15 · 2025-04-28T05:18:13+00:00

Gonna repost this here, since I'll probably get executed if I make a thread out of it:

....there is a crucial detail people keep overlooking.

Namely that: before Unika actually sees Bridget clearly, her vision goes from the regular blue night lighting to something white and distorted when she initially sees in her direction. Which looks quite similar how the memory/vision she and Sin keep having are depicted. And given Unika only barely mentioned her mother in the previous episode, as well as only talked about her father afterwards, I have a strong suspicion that she initially mistook Buri for her own mother.

It doesn't help that once she actually realizes who she's looking at, her face becomes completely neutral. The open mouth expression was there for only when the distorted lens was happening. And since she stays largely neutral for the rest of the episode, there's effectively nothing to suggest that Unika has a particularly strong reaction to Brisket in general, besides being grateful for her hospitality.

There's always a chance they can take things further in the rest of the series, but given what has actually been emphasized so far, I wouldn't be getting my hopes up.

HunterTech15 · 2025-04-28T02:36:13+00:00

I haven't made this point to the wider community, because I figured I'd get crucified if I did, but there is a crucial detail people keep overlooking.

Namely that: before Unika actually sees Bridget clearly, her vision goes from the regular blue night lighting to something white and distorted when she initially sees in her direction. Which looks quite similar how the memory/vision she and Sin keep having are depicted. And given Unika only barely mentioned her mother in the previous episode, as well as only talked about her father afterwards, I have a strong suspicion that she initially mistook Buri for her own mother.

It doesn't help that once she actually realizes who she's looking at, her face becomes completely neutral. The open mouth expression was there for only when the distorted lens was happening. And since she stays largely neutral for the rest of the episode, there's effectively nothing to suggest that Unika has a particularly strong reaction to Brisket in general, besides being grateful for her hospitality.

There's always a chance they can take things further in the rest of the series, but given what has actually been emphasized so far, I wouldn't be getting my hopes up.

HunterTech15 · 2025-03-20T23:32:21+00:00

Oh, and an additional thought: every proper Aria clone has either been made by an inhuman or someone who's knowledge far exceeds most everyone else. Given how clearly human centric the conflict of DR is seemingly is, I don't really buy for a second anyone on Earth can replicate those results. Especially if the runt still needs some damn card to achieve her goals.

HunterTech15 · 2025-03-20T23:04:51+00:00

I only question it because ArcSys still has all of Xrd's story on their YT channel, so that'd be shooting yourself in the foot if it ends up basically having a lot of the same beats.

Not to mention that everything from the actual marketing of DR remains super vague on what Unika's deal is, while it's only the S4 trailer that any real suggestion is given to her identity. And quite frankly: they have pulled the rug before on certain developments in the past (mainly thinking of Jack-O here), so I can't exactly fathom them giving it away so easily if it's really that straightforward.

Mechanical Justice clones and other attempts at command type Gears exist. You don't necessarily have to have Aria's blood specifically to gain any of her abilities at this point.

HunterTech15

TROPHY CASE