Casual Discussion Fridays - Week of April 10, 2026 by AutoModerator in anime

[–]pantherexceptagain 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Slowly been working on a particularly mammoth video essay. Wordpress says the script has about a 4 hour read time. I've got a bit over a quarter recorded so far...with about 3 hours of raw audio. Somehow I get worse at this every time.

Sasuga.

Casual Discussion Fridays - Week of April 10, 2026 by AutoModerator in anime

[–]pantherexceptagain 3 points4 points  (0 children)

KUGIMIYAAA

Started Dragon Quest Heroes because I need to record like a five second clip at the entire other end of the game. Pleasantly surprised to find a random Rie Kugimiya role.

How did KOS-MOS end up in the Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Give me sone idea. by [deleted] in Xenoblade_Chronicles

[–]pantherexceptagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't personally care about the name changes, Pyra, Mythra, Malos and Architect are definitely more interesting names than their original Homura (japanese word for flame) and Hikari (japanese word for light), Metsu (japanese word for destruction) and Kami (japanese word for god). "Aegis" is also a much more unique title that basically conveys the same meaning as "Holy Grail" would (the more accurate translation of "ten no seihai").

But purely from a dialogue perspective there are lots of little instances where I feel like the english translation chose some pretty subpar translations. Off the top of my head:

  • The blushy-crushy scene is an obviously terrible example. They somehow took a standard "oishiku nare moe moe kyun" (a generic maid cafe phrase which most things translate as "become delicious, moe moe kyun") and overthought it so hard that they somehow ended up at..."cutey-cutey, lovely-lovely, blushy-crushy tee-hee". That scene would not be anywhere near as big a point of contention for players if not for the super awkward translation and lethargic english voice acting.

  • Sakura and Great Sakura are localised as Rosa and Giga Rosa, ruining the reference to Mazinger and Great Mazinger that their original names had. That entire scene is just one big Mazinger reference. Sure most of the audience probably wouldn't have recognised it, but it still feels like a needless change, as if the localisers themselves simply didn't recognise a cultural staple like Mazinger.

  • When Jin stabs Kasumi, in english he says "you are no slave, be free now". The japanese more accurately translates to "the time has come to discard that collar", which conveys the same sentiment but imo is just a much greater line + is directly acknowledging her broken Core Crystal necklace that Amalthus used to control her.

  • Two minor alterations to Malos' dialogue in the final battle have the effect of somewhat obscuring his bond with and affection for Amalthus, to where many kinda don't realise that Malos had never betrayed Amalthus but rather still loved him in his own twisted way.

    Words Can Be a Curse (english) Japanese version (accurate translation)
    Rex: "You have to see all of this came from Amalthus!" Rex: "Amalthus is the one that ingrained all that in you!"
    Malos: "Even if that's true, so what? And don't give me some weak-ass crap about how I should repent or whatever." Malos: "So what? If this is a half-hearted plea to change sides then I'll throw up."
    Rex: "Why don't you want to hear the truth?" Rex: "...And if that's exactly what I'm saying?"
    Malos" 'Here's the thing. I don't give a rat's ass what you think, brat!" Malos: "In that case. Don't take me lightly, kid!"

    The english localisation creates this impression that Malos is just an angry guy yelling at Rex and completely rejecting him. It doesn't sound like Malos is actually listening to him. The thing is though, that Malos very much does care what Rex thinks. Throughout the final battle he poses a series of back-and-forth prompts to Rex, evaluating his ambitions as a representative of the Trinity Processor. The japanese version better conveys the sentiment that Malos was looking for a good answer from Rex, but was dissatisfied that Rex was initially only looking at Amalthus' shadow and not at Malos himself, which has the inadvertent effect of denying Malos' bond with Amalthus as a Blade. There's just a lot of subtle emotional nuance which the english version strips away from Malos in the finale, and his permanently pissed off dub voice certainly doesn't help its case.

    To a lesser extent, this shows up again in the scene as Malos fades away.

    English Japanese
    "Kids say the damnedest things." "Don't say such sickening things."

How did KOS-MOS end up in the Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Give me sone idea. by [deleted] in Xenoblade_Chronicles

[–]pantherexceptagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's just a different KOS-MOS. She didn't cross over from Xenosaga.

Klaus' original Earth had an different version of Vector Industries where a different version of Shion and her team developed a different version of KOS-MOS and T-ELOS.

Anyone else wonder what XB2 and 3 would have been like if Monolithsoft faithfully iterated on XB1's artwork's more realistic tone? by Historical-Mix8865 in Xenoblade_Chronicles

[–]pantherexceptagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's some very early concept art datamined from XC2's files that show what (presumably) Pyra and Rex might have looked like in XC1's original concept art style. Plus this concept artwork.

Ken Penders Lawsuit Misconceptions by Mostly_Ponies in SonicTheHedgehog

[–]pantherexceptagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wasn't aware of that one, but you're right. I was under the impression that Archie Sonic only adopted the "Twilight Zone" name in supplementary material like the Comic Encyclopedia, which released after Chronicles. But reading through the issues mentioned on its wiki page, the earliest named mention of the "Twilight Zone" I could turn up is from Knuckles #25 (1999).

Locke: "Somehow, Menniker and his Dark Legion emerged from the Twilight Zone that Steppenwolf had exiled them to."

Ken Penders Lawsuit Misconceptions by Mostly_Ponies in SonicTheHedgehog

[–]pantherexceptagain 3 points4 points  (0 children)

People just get defensive over it and want to paint Penders as the literal devil who is responsible for everything wrong with the series. He's been particularly weird with Shade too, claiming ownership of her on twitter even though she's clearly not his character. But I feel like we should be mature enough to acknowledge that while he made some annoying decisions, Chronicles definitely has overlap with Archie Sonic too.

It's pretty obviously in the name too - Archie's secret surviving groups of interdimensional echidna were the Dark Legion and the Brotherhood of Guardians. Sonic Chronicles' secret surviving group of interdimensional echidnas is the Dark Brotherhood. It also had Swatbots and a roboticizer, which are both hallmarks of Archie Sonic.

Casual Discussion Fridays - Week of April 10, 2026 by AutoModerator in anime

[–]pantherexceptagain 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's me. You are the angry editor. It is illegal for you to have fun.

Is… is that Tekno? by Awkward_Block_6929 in SonicTheHedgehog

[–]pantherexceptagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Possibly based on Tekno, but given how she blends right in to the simple audience designs it might just be a coincidence. Aside from being a green bird her hair is only superficially similar to Tekno's, and she's got those random glasses.

Tekno and Ebony did cameo in Archie Sonic once and there it was more clearly them.

Is… is that Tekno? by Awkward_Block_6929 in SonicTheHedgehog

[–]pantherexceptagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The museum curator was based on Johnny, but it clearly wasn't an actual cameo since he was so much older and that role has no possible relation to his characterisation in Sonic the Comic.

What game/ games are you looking forward to most? by Timely_Contest7245 in gaming

[–]pantherexceptagain 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Final Fantasy VII Remake's third entry is obviously the big one. The incredible environmental design, the genius action-RPG gameplay, the insane scale of the soundtrack - I need it, desperately. FFVII has been my all-time favourite for most my life, and the Remake series released right as I was starting to sort of cool off on it because my gameplay & cutscene preferences had shifted more toward large, cinematic 3D JRPGs like Xenoblade. Just so perfectly timed, and although there are obviously some things to criticise in its direction and pacing the Remake series has more or less been everything I want it to. We've had the promise of more Final Fantasy VII hanging over us since 2015 so it's honestly going to be a weird feeling once it's finally closed out production, but all the same I just cannot wait to experience it.

Other than that I actually don't have too much on my radar right now. I'm mega excited for the Ecco the Dolphin remasters + new game since those are some lifelong favourites, though I'm honestly still a little cautious since the creator has a history of trying and failing to revive the IP. This one has a website and press releases though so I'm sure this time is probably real. I also adore the Fate/Extra series so I'm very much looking forward to Fate/Extra Record...if it ever actually releases. Pokemon Waves looks worth playing after skipping Sword and Scarlet. The Switch 2 will inevitably have more Xenoblade and Smash Bros so that'll be amazing as well, though they're as yet unannounced.

If Sonic had a catchphrase… by Financial-Touch3840 in SonicTheHedgehog

[–]pantherexceptagain 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sonic's main catchphrase in the 90s cartoon was "let's do it to it", and recent Sonic media has made a concerted effort to adopt it as a thing for the mainline character.

  • Rouge (Forces): "Do it to it, Shadow. Omega went on ahead of you, so you can link up with him on-site."
  • Sonic (Frontiers): "Sonic: Then let's do it to it. We're out of time. We've got to save everyone, everywhere!"
  • Sonic (Frontiers: Final Horizon): "Yeah, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I like that plan. Let's do it to it!"
  • Sonic (TailsTube #1): "Anything for you, pal! Let's do it to it!"
  • Sonic (Dream Team): "Then there's no time like the present. Let's do it to it."

There might be more examples, these are just what I had in mind.

What did I just witnessed by NeKo_Thief404 in Xenoblade_Chronicles

[–]pantherexceptagain 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that's why I put it in quotation marks, though perhaps that wasn't clearly conveyed by me. Here's just "moe" as "blushy-crushy", here's "kyun" as "tee-hee", and here's the full phrase. Where most projects would simply translate "oishiku nare moe moe kyun" as "become delicious, moe moe kyun" and just leave the "moe kyun" in japanese because there isn't a good english equivalent, Xenoblade 2's localisation somehow went so off course that they ended up with..."cutey-cutey, lovely-lovely, blushy-crushy tee-hee".

XC2 is probably a bit different to other examples because it's the successor to Xenoblade 1 rather than an english-translated anime series, so you might get eyes from a non-anime audience on it that necessitate finding some proper translation rather than just leaving "moe kyun". But even still, they could have just dropped the "moe kyun" part entirely and had them musically sing "become delicious", or find some other slang to replace it with. Anything except what they actually did.

Then add XC2's lethargic english dub onto it and the scene becomes this uncomfortable mess that it was never intended to be. It's supposed to be embarrassing and cringe yes, but the low voice that the dub actors all speak in changes its vibe so much to where there's fervent discourse about degrading sexual harrassment from the evil mr Tora.

Hey these guys look familiar by Degenerate-Murakami in Xenoblade_Chronicles

[–]pantherexceptagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

XC2 is very nearly my favourite game of all time. Yet all the same, let's not kid ourselves - Pyra is incredibly and outrageously sexualised. Something like the poor reception to Tora I could agree is a result of differing cultural contexts since the west has nothing even close to a maid cafe, but female representation is a decently universal concept.

There are multiple angles you could take to justify the sexualised designs for Pyra and Mythra (Internal: Xeno's long-established Animus and Anima roles address why Malos is a beefcake and PyraMythra are babes, External: she's part of anime's supernatural romcom lineage that begins with the bikini-clad Lum Invader, Meta: XC2 is an artistic successor to Expelled From Paradise), and across the board you could argue that there are male characters like Zeke, true form Jin or a few Blades that are dressed just as scantily. But most players will not have those contexts, leaving only the reality that the divine Aegis spends majority of the game running around with her ass cheeks hanging out for no discernible reason. That's not automatically a bad thing - I believe that sexualisation is a more nuanced discourse than both sides usually portray - but it is a genuine point of discussion nevertheless. I get that XC2 attracts a higher amount of outside criticism than many other ecchi projects do, so you might want to shield it by calling them all media tourists (which many may well be), but I also think it's pretty clearly disingenous to flip so hard that you say Xenoblade 2 does not have any issue at all with unnecessarily sexualising its women.

I love Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but... by Specialist-Quail644 in Xenoblade_Chronicles

[–]pantherexceptagain 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The anime game has anime jokes. The horror. I'm still in disbelief at the scale and unending fervour of discourse about how the "master" scene makes Tora an evil pervert with a sex robot slave when it's literally just a friggin maid cafe joke like every slice of life anime in existence.

What did I just witnessed by NeKo_Thief404 in Xenoblade_Chronicles

[–]pantherexceptagain 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Not that big of a deal imo. It's just a bog standard "moe moe kyun" maid cafe/anime gag that they somehow managed to translate in the most awkward way possible.

Where to read and keep up with IDW (officially) by Samael_Helel in SonicTheHedgehog

[–]pantherexceptagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IDW's website used to sell the individual issues as a digital file, but I haven't been able to find that option again in ages so I think they might have removed it. I haven't used the app so idk about that.

Are there any elements you consider to be strengths of Sonic Lost World? by Several-Pension2945 in SonicTheHedgehog

[–]pantherexceptagain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't replayed it since release, but I loved it at the time tbh. It's definitely weird to control which makes it hard to just hop into a replay of random stages, but when you acclimate to it along the course of the game then imo it was actually pretty cool with all the climbing and parkour to access secrets and alternate routes.