After finally watching Amphibia I have so many thoughts, not on how each girl embodies the characteristic of their respective gem (mind, heart, strength), but how each has another characteristic as their secondary strength, and the third as their greatest weakness.
As related to the image above, it's pretty well established that:
> Heart = Anne
> Mind = Marcy
> Strength = Sasha
But their characters aren't so one-dimensional that they simply fit those archetypes. After all, each character has been amazingly well fleshed out and have complex issues of morality and beliefs that they cannot be shoehorned. I know this will get long so I'll put it under the cut.
For example, Anne is known as the Heart by virtue of being able to empathise with almost anyone; her connections with others are shown to be her greatest strength throughout the show. However, it is easy to see that her greatest weakness is Mind. Not just from an intellectual point of view as the show already delved into in contrast to Marcy, but also her ability for manipulation and long-plan conception of consequences or even planning. Any of her 'calculating' attempts at manipulating her way out of situations only succeed in instances where she understands the other person, like with the Plantar family, but fall wayside with strangers because she has yet to understand their heart.
However, Anne's been shown to be incredibly athletic and stubborn to a fault, indicating that Strength is her secondary characteristic in relation to the Calamity Box.
By understanding this, we can see that Sasha's frankly overpowering physical strength and perseverance is supported by her calculating Mind. Without her raw social intellect, Sasha would never be able to subjugate others like she so successfully does within the show. Unfortunately, her inability to empathise and understand the emotional consequences of her actions have also been explored, indicating her failings at Heart.
Lastly, Marcy is incredibly intellectually intelligent and quick to understand and learn from her mistakes, making her the easiest to place as her characteristic, which is Mind. She is also shown to be kind and excited to make friends, as well as capable of understanding others and their motivations, even if she is prone to being a bit short-sighted when it comes to getting caught up in her interests, which makes Heart her secondary. While it can be argued she was physically weak back on Earth, her captaincy and expertise with rogue-like abilities show she is strong in a physical since coming to Amphibia. So why would her weakest aspect be Strength?
Well, Marcy's instance of running away from home and her problems to a fantasy world shows her inability to stand strong against personal conflicts which she has no control over. She is capable of admitting her mistakes, yes, but she struggles to confront her problems in the first place, instead choosing to run from her parents and even continuing to try to drag the girls further into other worlds to avoid her looming future.
It's just amazing how much thought has been put into balancing these girls' characteristics; not just against each other, but also within themselves. I hope in the future these weaknesses will be explored and overcome in various ways!
the elusive samurai has no right to be as absurdist and funny as it is. Truly a story about a bunch of adults trying to find a kid they don’t know the appearance of and having said kid play tricks on them under the guise of childhood games to level up video game style.
A guy who may be god and is aware of PC culture gatekeeps, gaslights and girlbosses said kid along with a bunch of other children he collected and sets them loose on unsuspecting adults to murder them with the final destination being that somehow they’re gonna overthrown Japan.
I know this is super late but is there anything cuter than everyone in the party immediately trying to heal/buff Fjord up after he got all his health sucked away by the Freaky Demon Mosquito??? Everyone respects Fjord as the only party member with enough charisma to cover their bullshit, but they are so aware of his fleshy body and tennis wrists that they can’t help but try and frantically protect him whenever possible. Big mood is Caleb sadly attempting Mage Armour to give Fjord more AC and saying softly, “sorry big guy” :(((
Sora’s side: a long-winded mystery that is slightly unsettling with the memory-loss and all, but is a story shrouded in nostalgia that sweetly pushes the whole Friendship Is Magic trope. The conflict reveals new depths to the characters (especially Sora), but Sora’s optimism prevails and we result in a hopeful ending.
Riku’s side: RIKU MUST GRAPPLE WITH HIS DARKNESS ONCE MORE ALL WITHOUT ANY SUPPORT FROM FRIENDS, WHILE CONSTANTLY BEING REMINDED OF HIS PAST MISTAKES AND HOW PATHETIC HE IS FOR BEING SCARED OF BECOMING EVIL AGAIN DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE IS A CHILD AND SHOULD NOT HAVE TO SUFFER ANY MORE.
Me, suitably horrified: I thought this was a kids game.
jason: thalia plz help there's this girl i rly like
thalia: k
*piper walks into room*
jason: omfg thalia there she is thalia--
thalia:
thalia:
thalia: ayyy
jason:
jason: thalia
jason: thalia no
thalia: thalia yES
Such beauty
Such grace
Such dorks
Is no one going to talk about how good these boys are at dancing? I get that they do dance practice for their routines but these are some sick as breakdance moves that really have no place on the ice.
I know we all love our cute cinnamon roll Deku with his mumbling and pure heart, but the last episode really emphasised how truly terrifying this boy is. Deku's determination has been commended multiple times by many different people, seen as a way for other characters to feel motivated and inspired to be better heroes and people. However, ultimately, this determination serves as the main reason why he's so terrifying. In the last episode we really got a clear image of how far Deku will go in order to achieve a goal he has set (the training camp arc, and sequential fight for Kouda really fleshes this point out to a ridiculous degree). Saving Todoroki was the only thing on his mind, he didn't even think about the future consequences, but only whether or not each injury would hinder him from continuing to pursue his goal. Frankly the lengths he went to, absolutely destroying his hands so much that he required extensive surgery, should be something that should terrify most people, especially villains. Here's a kid fresh into the academy who can take breaking his bones multiple times over with only a grimace, while also coming up within genius plans on the fly under pressure and pain that surpasses what most people will ever experience in their lives. Villains often rely on their ability to terrify people with their capacity to inflict bodily harm and death without flinching. The threat of huge amounts of pain is bound to make most heroes pause and lose momentum for a moment out of personal fear. However, how are you meant to scare a fucking kid who doesn't flinch at breaking his body apart for a mere school contest?? The thought of going against anyone like that is terrifying, and it's reflected in the faces of the other students and spectators. Especially Shinsou. The look of horror on his face isn't just of seeing such horrible injuries. No. It's of seeing self-inflicted injuries out of pure determination without flinching on the opponent he just faced. He's only just realising the lengths Deku would go to succeed in his goals, and the pure strength he wields. Shinsou didn't know how powerful Deku really was, but he's just realising that, out of spite for being manipulated, Deku could've sacrificed a finger in order to shatter any part of Shinsou. If Deku was determined to do it, it definitely would've happened and Shinsou would've been powerless. That's fucking horrifying. Deku wields a power that can destroy buildings and his body with ease. And he's willing to do that in order to fulfill his goals. Not only is the sight of his broken body horrifying to most, but the knowledge that if this boy had a reason to turn his back on society, on being a hero, they would all be fucked. Here's someone willing to sacrifice everything for a goal decided mere minutes before the match, imagine what he could do with years of planning and control of this destructive quirk?? Deku is truly overlooked for people like Bakugo and Shinsou as villains in the manga/anime, and that definitely needs to stop because if Deku became the face of villainy, no one could stand against his tactical mind, pure power, and single-minded focus.
will u be the pool to my spidey, the torch to my spidey, the gwen to my spidey, tHE SPIDEY TO MY SPIDEY
double the spidey
double the trouble
If Big Hero 6 Was An Anime
*Brennan revealing one of the main characters, a cop, is crooked* oh?
*Suddenly revealing that a whole hierarchy of crooked cops have managed to infiltrate the justice system* OH!