So I follow the Twitter Tokusatsu GIFs (literally “special filming” or “special effects”) which captures a lot of fun Japanese sci/fantasy movies and television (your Godzillas, Ultraman, Super Sentai, etc.) [And also recently, some non-Japanese entries, like Robocop, Stargirl, and Shaq’s Steel movie]. I do this partially because really cool choreographed fight scenes…
…but also because it gives me odd bits of inspiration (“Huh, I wonder if Jillian has the power to Summon Music Video Set like in this GIF?”)…
…or something like this which really has some big Summer and Alycia vibes.
Basically, this post is just meant to show off a bit of cool stuff I follow in the truest vein of “General Inspiration.”
Looks like August is PBTA Move Month, and so a lot of folks are putting together custom moves. Here’s one for Masks to cover a dance (perhaps a school dance, perhaps something else).
As a very dark Masks-ish setting, we’ve been finally watching “The Umbrella Academy” on Netflix. I’d not leapt on it when it first came out (they’re on Season 2 now), because I’d not been wowed by graphic novels (I appreciated them, but didn’t enjoy them). The series, on the other hand, is dark and disturbing and surreal and quite enjoyable, in a “What happens when the X-Men grow up and realize that Professor X was a manipulative psychopath who abused them, and now they are all damaged goods trying to figure out what to do with the wrecks of their lives (and, oh, btw, the apocalypse is coming in week)” kind of way.
Also, nice cinematography, great sound track, and the whole family seems to be enjoying it (a minor miracle in and of itself). So while I am sure we are the last on our block to have seen it, it has my recommendation.
A very good show. About the only negative thing I can say is that they generally only have enough plot for about half the episodes of a season, causing them to have to stretch things in places, but the character bits that they fill those with are very enjoyable.
Hell, they even do one of my least favorite tropes in episode 6 of the first season (to the point that it is referenced in that episode’s name) and it’s my favorite episode of that season.
Far from perfect, but even the ugly bits are a bit charming.
We’ve made it through episode 4, but they’ve been crammed with enough material that it’s felt a lot longer. Our only concern at this point is the extent to which they are able to move from “these are really dysfunctional people” in a way that provides some growth but doesn’t break things. I’m seeing enough signs so far to be mildly optimistic.
As a general thing, if anyone is into giant robot games, MASS Builder is on Steam and is basically BYOG (Build Your Own Gundam) with hack-n-slash gameplay. It’s definitely a work in progress but it runs stable for me.
The whole unit, down to individual joints, is customizable, and you farm new parts by going on missions. The actual combat abilities of the unit is based on a separate tech tree system, so you can make the thing look however you like without changing how it performs.
