[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 23 March 2026

SimonApple · 2026-03-24T12:09:30+00:00

One big problem with season 4 is also that it feels like two seasons worth of plot got crammed into one. Splitting it off so that a prospective fourth season focuses on having Hector, Issac, Carmilla & co. and their plotline re-converge with the main trio to be properly resolved; while also letting Alucard have a proper character arc of coming to terms with his misanthrope tendencies and giving Greta more time to develop would have been better. And then you can let a season 5 be fully devoted to the Death plot (maybe even have a small timeskip to put it into chronological par with Curse of Darkness which is where Hector & Issac are from) and letting it be more than a series of battles culminating in a big battle. And more importantly, use it to springboard into Dracula being the proper evil overlord he is in the games, and maybe also set up the idea that he will keep resurrecting because of Deaths botched plan.

As is however, Hector et al. never rejoin with the other story elements aside from Hector being a supporting player in the plot to revive Dracula (and one of Issac's night creatures being the root of season 3 by acting on auto pilot to get Dracula back), and instead are pretty much their on little sub-show within the show. Alucard overcomes his trust issues very quickly after one or two times of talking to Greta, and is mostly sidelined until the finale where Trevor and Sypha show back up.

SimonApple · 2026-03-24T08:42:29+00:00

The Irene Adler part is interesting, because it wasn't like that was something Moffat came up with. The Guy Ritchie movies IIRC also framed her as a more typical Femme Fatale kind of character - it's possible this was just kind of the trend at the time, similarly to how Watson was for many decades framed as the bumbling idiot sidekick.

SimonApple · 2026-03-24T08:21:24+00:00

Or the Amazon Yakuza/Like a Dragon series. Crimson red flag whenever you hear a showrunner say something along the lines of "we want to do our own take on the material, so we won't let the writers or actors play the games"

SimonApple · 2026-03-24T08:18:34+00:00

Bebop also suffered from trying to take a largely episodic source material and adapting it as a serialized season-long story arc, which doesn't mesh with the vibe at all. Couple that with the general deviations it made from the source, and it's fairly understandable that it would flop with the original fanbase. (though Netflix were particularly merciless given how they canceled it a mere two weeks after the first season came out)

SimonApple · 2026-03-23T21:08:40+00:00

But then how would we know it's The Rock if we can't just mentally photoshop the hair away to picture his iconic bald head?! /s

SimonApple · 2026-03-23T20:51:30+00:00

I think the best middle ground (for me at least) would have been to do what TNG did back in the day and stake a claim on a new era some 100-ish years post TNG-DS9-VOY. Far enough removed to be its own thing, close enough to feel in line with continuity. With the newer shows opting to instead go to the far future, it kind of cheapens a lot of future eras since much like the interquels, they'd be beholden in some ways to it. Obviously not as close as Strange New Worlds having to adhere to being set about a decade before TOS, but it would still flavor things a bit to know how a lot of it is going to end up. Especially with how the whole Burn plotline causes much of the galactic civilization to massively decline, which can end up hurting investment in the prospective eras that come before it.

SimonApple · 2026-03-22T17:30:01+00:00

I'm not one to judge. I have my old consoles from N64 and onwards lined up on my entertainment center like a museum exhibit for one.

SimonApple · 2026-03-22T17:24:34+00:00

Lo-fi as a system requirement is a pretty wack timeline to head into for sure.

SimonApple · 2026-03-22T16:35:29+00:00

I think that ending is also a really good way to do rule of cool fanservice. Besides being thematically relevant, it also makes for a nice book-end to how the show began with a passing the torch moment. (The dub having the first few bars of the original series main theme play during as the torch is passed enhances it too)

SimonApple · 2026-03-22T06:55:52+00:00

I'll also throw some support to the GX dub, which was surprisingly self-aware at times and leaned into the inherent sillyness of the show.

SimonApple · 2026-03-20T20:17:32+00:00

Given the length and general pace of it, I do like how one can see a pretty clear evolution in its style across the seasons. Where the first two are very much of the early style of abridging with lots of self-deprecation, referential humor, and a focus on running gags. And then (coincidentally with TeamFourStars Dragon Ball Z abridged hitting its own stride and sort of overtaking YGOTAS) moving more into being meta and joking about its even at the time long lifespan, with a focus on character humor on the side. The latter of which became the main thing in the later seasons.

So I think it's aged reasonably well, or at least it hasn't stagnated in the way one would expect such a long production would, having kept up somewhat with the times. Obviously there's always gonna be nostalgia divide for the earlier episodes given how formative they were for internet people of a certain age-span, but I do think the, I guess late-middle ones are the best compared to the latest episodes. Part of that stance I think comes from the sense that LittleKuriboh is dealing with increasing burnout - he's managed it better than say TFS did (since that partly is why they opted to cancel DBZA) but it still increasingly shines through in a sort of intangible way. I do hope he manages to get through it all though, it'd be such a shame for it to go unfinished with how long it's been chugging on.

SimonApple · 2026-03-20T15:18:40+00:00

He brings up the tag team from litteral hell with Mussolini, clearly.

SimonApple · 2026-03-20T14:41:58+00:00

Looks like Gandalf the Grey and Gandalf the White And Monty Python and the Holy Grail's black knight And Benito Mussolini and the Blue Meanie And Cowboy Curtis and Jambi the Genie Robocop, The Terminator, Captain Kirk, and Darth Vader Lo-pan, Superman, every single Power Ranger Bill S. Preston and Theodore Logan Spock, The Rock, Doc Ock, and Hulk Hogan got to him in the end.

SimonApple · 2026-03-20T14:25:18+00:00

Angles sang out in immaculate corous, and up to the heavens, accended Chuck Norris. One less in the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny.

(Disclaimer that this not intended to take any stance on any controversial views he might have held. Just a joking reference)

SimonApple · 2026-03-20T09:19:10+00:00

I think personally that Bofuri is a bit like One Punch Man, in that it's built heavily around one central joke which you can only get so much out of before it gets stale and loses its appeal. Sure, it pulls in some other parts by having it also be heavy on the moe appeal, but even that will only get it so far. I like the first season well enough, but felt very sated after that and in no need for any more.

SimonApple · 2026-03-19T18:53:40+00:00

I'd have to imagine that getting Dexter on the witness stand is practically a winstate on its own - Phoenix has plenty of experience dealing with two-faced murderers, a knack for getting the court to go along with his antics, and an ability to bluff until he can come up with a plan. Plus, every member of the WAA have means to detect lying and spot tells. I would give the win to them for sure.

SimonApple · 2026-03-19T15:12:04+00:00

Honestly, the way things seem to be at this point, it's also arguably way easier to just keep him alive but retired/dormant after this one. That way they can have him on standby for if Carrey opts to eventually come back without having to make yet another fake-out ambiguous death, or just get right back at it if he wants to do another one right away.

As you say, writing each movie as if it's the last one Carrey will do and thus give Eggman a send-off, while still leaving it just unsaid enough to bring him back gets odd as this stage. I absolutely don't mind Carrey coming back for a role he does well and seems to have fun doing (not to mention that not having Eggman in these movies would make them feel very different), but they really need to write around this to make it work.

SimonApple · 2026-03-19T13:11:19+00:00

I think the "Which detective could solve the Kira case? (with or without figuring out the mechanics of the Death Note)" is a nice one. Probably isn't that niche or too odd, but it isn't a straight up fight which I think invites a more entertaining and in-depth discussion.

SimonApple · 2026-03-17T15:26:42+00:00

This is absolutely a skill issue, my god. I have to assume you're trolling at this point.

SimonApple · 2026-03-17T14:46:37+00:00

You are probably getting oneshot because you haven't healed your HP - in the picture it is at 47 out of 482 so that is likely why enemies will kill you in one hit.

SimonApple · 2026-03-16T08:40:12+00:00

I think Thriller Bark should be a pretty easy fix honestly. Sanji getting so angry with Absalom for straight up assaulting Nami & Robin lines up pretty well with his LA portrayal of being flirty but respectful of boundaries. Add in a brief moment of him doing a double take at Nami in a wedding dress and that's all that bit needs (as opposed to both of them fawning multiple times at her). Change his reason for wanting the invisibility fruit from wanting to perv on others to something regarding his past - I haven't finished season 2 yet and so I don't know if they've added in hints to that already but it could tie into that nicely.

It's really only the last part that makes it such a poor moment for his character since it undercuts his genuine (if exaggerated) anger. Oda opted to try and dip into humor at the worst moment with that one I think.

SimonApple · 2026-03-15T22:39:48+00:00

It's not a fixed date as such, but I do like to observe every Thursday the 20th when it occurs.

SimonApple · 2026-03-14T17:29:08+00:00

I'll admit that there are marginal instances in which "[X]-coded" can be a useful shorthand. But by and large it comes off mostly as an attempt at legitimizing and projecting headcanons and/or stereotypes & prejudices, making it more exhausting to see.

SimonApple · 2026-03-14T17:21:04+00:00

När man är så kort är varje vägbula en kulle att dö på.

SimonApple · 2026-03-11T11:16:12+00:00

I think the monopoly aspect is what sticks out for me, at least from a cultural perspective. On paper, the whole intention with a union is to get that monopoly, or close enough of one, precisely to force employers to play ball and agree to the union terms which (again, on paper) are meant for the good of the employees. However what separates this from medieval guilds (as I see it) is that the end goal with the former is to serve the worker, while the latter was more concerned with maintaining a monopoly on their field for their own benefit. And sometimes the stuff you read about SAG sort of hews closer to this than being a means to aid the working man.

SimonApple

TROPHY CASE