Smurfs: The Lost Village Trailer

The plot is Smurfette discovering a clue that leads to another Smurf village and goes on a expedition with the other Smurfs (in part to find other females). What I find odd is Papa Smurf totally opposing the idea and thus appears to be absent for the majority of the film. I honestly have not seen a single Smurfs movie, so I really don't know what to think of this.

Sony needs a major hit really badly as they've been in a financial rut for a long time now. Even their gaming division is starting to falter. If only they stopped being so arrogant and cater to their customers, for once. 

Adventure Time Reboot Ending 'Alternate' Long Version

Here's a longer version of the 'alternate' ending to the Adventure Time episode "Reboot"

And if you want to download it, click this link.

Dragon Ball Super Future Trunks Arc Review

So the Future Trunks Arc has reached its conclusion. Looking back, this is also the longest out of all the arcs in Dragon Ball Super or DBS, lasting 20 episodes, or almost a long season of around 20-25 episodes. Still, it's much shorter compared to the episodes from the Frieza Arc in Dragon Ball Z. There were also a few weeks of breaks because Fuji TV, the Japanese broadcaster for Dragon Ball Super, were providing live events like this year's Olympics. So it feels like we've been watching the arc in like forever.

I can blame it on the fact that most anime nowadays end their seasons, if not the series altogether, within the range of 10-26 episodes. Others like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure tend to run longer around the 40-50 episode mark or so. And then of course, shows like Naruto, One Piece, Pokemon, and Detective Conan that tend to be like literally forever, airing in the hundreds, if not thousands, over several years, if not decades.

Dragon Ball Super, technically speaking, is among the latter, despite being the first series to air almost 20 years after the end of Dragon Ball Z. With the announcement of a 'Dragon Ball Room' by Shueisha, the publisher for the Dragon Ball mangas, including Toyotaro's Dragon Ball Super, we can expect the Dragon Ball franchise to continue for many years to come, even after Dragon Ball Super reached its conclusion. I am a bit concerned how they will do it though, especially in the anime format, given that Masako Nozawa, the Japanese voice of Goku, Gohan, & Goten, is now 80 years of age. Don't get me wrong, Nozawa-san is still very strong for a voice actress, but it is a wonder if she can continue this role for the next 20 years or even more. But I won't be putting too much thought into that for the time being.

I'll talk first on the one thing the series is getting quite the bad rap since last year, and that is its animation. Regardless of what everyone says, the bad animation in Dragon Ball Super is there, and is quite noticeable. Not to say the earlier Dragon Ball shows have any bad animation, as they actually do. Just not as frequent and not as noticeable that it would make headlines even in the dial-up era of the Internet. Toei has at least acknowledged this and did something about it, making it less frequent and less noticeable. You can still still see them, if you have quite a good eye.

Toei has also placed focus on specific scenes of the Future Trunks arc where the animation itself is mind-blowing, a practice known as Sakuga. One Punch Man and the films from Studio Ghibli are examples of Sakuga-style animation, with virtually no signs of bad animation at all. In the case of Dragon Ball Super, we can see the Sakuga on key battle sequences, such as the first fight between Trunks and Goku Black, and more recently with Vegito's fight against Merged Zamasu, and later, with Trunks and his Spirit Blade.

Question remains on whether Toei will continue to do this or improve as the series progresses. Personally, I don't think Dragon Ball Super will ever reach a point where an episode onwards are all done in Sakuga. Toei is the largest animation studio in Japan. However, they have a lot of projects working at the same time as DBS - One Piece, Sailor Moon Crystal, Digimon, Tiger Mask W, and others. The studio should be aware at this point that Dragon Ball Super is being watched worldwide now, and not just in Japan. Given Dragon Ball's reputation, Toei has to deliver the product well and not just rely on fanbase loyalty for the franchise to maintain its popularity.

Which leads us to the writing part of Dragon Ball Super. Just to remind everyone, Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, only provides a draft outline on various key plot points in Dragon Ball Super. So if the outline says it is Trunks who will defeat Zamasu and NOT Vegito, then it is Trunks who will defeat Zamasu, NOT Vegito. You will see that in the Toei anime, and you will also see that in the Toyotaro manga. But the details and the lead-up to Trunks defeating Zamasu, that will be filled i by Toei in the anime, and Toyotaro in the manga. It is at this point that the two versions diverge.

Having said that, fans are split over the presentation of the plot of the Future Trunks arc. On the one hand, they love that Future Trunks returns and are amazed at the feats he has done in this arc, and by extension, Vegeta. Goku Black and Zamasu being incredibly powerful villains, and of course the return of Vegito. Mai and Bulma are also given a more active role in this arc, as well as the number of throwbacks to the original Dragon Ball series. 

On the other hand, the Future Trunks arc had several retcons and plotholes that changes, if not totally disregards, the establishment of the Dragon Ball mythology up to this point. One I made an 8 minute recording of because it was what I really didn't like in this arc at the time. I haven't made a video about that particular subject until now. So for the next 8 minutes, you will hear a pre-recording of me from November 1st voicing my thoughts on that one particular subject:

(click the link here for a transcript on my rants regarding the Future Trunks Timeline Chart)

So what you just heard was an older recording of me ranting over the way Toei handled the chronology of events regarding the Future Trunks arc, which was done around November 1st. Looking back, it did remind me of the Official 30th Anniversary website of Dragon Ball Super that provided an updated, yet truncated version of the history of the Dragon Ball series that led to a bunch of complaints, just as I have issues with the way the timeline is explained in the Future Trunks arc. I would not be surprised if somewhere down the road, Shueisha and Toei would update on these things in hopes of making it more easier to understand, if not worse.

The other is something that I have been always critical of with regards to Dragon Ball, and that is its overuse of the Power-Up Trope - To defeat the villain, the hero must grow stronger than the villain; To challenge the hero, the next villain must be even stronger; Rinse and Repeat. It's reaching a point where the trope cannot be used anymore because the power scaling simply can't go any further without some kind of nerfing or downpowering involved.

Imagine this. Say Goku has reached a point that he is so powerful he can destroy all of creation with a thought. How do you make a villain that will top that and challenge Goku WITHOUT nerfing? How do you make Goku even stronger than that to defeat the said villain? How do you make the next villain even MORE powerful?

If anyone who watches this video, or read my transcript version on my Toon Inferno blog (which is what you are reading now), is able to come up with a very convincing solution to my earlier example, go to Japan, go to Toei and Shueisha and Toriyama, and show them your proposal. I'm serious! If you can pull it off, you're one hell of a genius writer and you should be hired in the Dragon Ball Room!

Going back to DBS, as of Episode 66 of the Toei anime, everything regarding Battle Power or Power Level scaling has been disregarded. I've explained it on my episode review on my Toon Inferno blog, but the short version is Vegito, as a Super Saiyan Blue, could've, should've, would've, surpassed Beerus in power, meaning Vegito's attacks is supposed to break all of Universe 7. However, not only was Universe 7 completely fine and not in danger of being destroyed by Vegito's power, but in spite of all this, Vegito did not defeat Zamasu, Trunks did.

Only time will tell if the disregard of Battle Power scaling will continue past this arc. Personally, I'd prefer the Power-Up Trope is retired in Dragon Ball for good, and force Goku and Vegeta to learn that you can't always win by pure raw power alone. Even better if everyone gets to fight on a level playing field, much like the original Dragon Ball series back then.

There is also another part of the Future Trunks arc that totally irritates me. In both the Toei anime and the Toyotaro manga, it is stated that in spite of being a married couple for so many years and having two kids, Goku has NEVER kissed Chichi on the lips. It's just hard for me to fathom how is that even possible. Even more mind boggling is that it also implies that Chichi never initiated it either! So if they never ever kissed, and they are married, how in the world they convinced each other to have two kids?!

In closing (for real this time), the Future Trunks arc has its share of problems. But looking at it on a grander scale and comparing it to the other arcs throughout Dragon Ball Super, the Future Trunks arc is the best of the bunch. I don't see any way to say otherwise. And I do commend Toei for their improvement of the series with this arc, presentation-wise, of course. Not a great one, but an improvement nonetheless. I do hope that Toei continues to make improvements so that Dragon Ball Super can be as critically good as its competition.

Yes it has its fanbase and they will always say Dragon Ball is the best anime ever, no matter how many problems the franchise has. What I mean is for Dragon Ball reaching the same praise as the Hayao Miyazaki films like Spirited Away and attracts the Anime Community and the General Public, and not just Dragon Ball fans. DBS is nowhere close to that, but if Toei, Shueisha, and Toriyama really worked hard and invested on it, it can reach that point. We'll just have to wait and see if they actually do.

Ranting DBS's Future Trunks Timeline Chart

The following is a transcript of a recording I made on November 1st after seeing Toei's Official Timeline of the events of the Future Trunks arc in Dragon Ball Super. This article serves as a reference to my next blog post, which is another transcript providing a review of the entire Future Trunks arc. 

If there is one thing I'm not fond of with regards to Toei as a company, it's when they deal with science fiction. You could say Power Rangers is Sci-Fi, or even Captain Harlock as Sci-Fi. But neither one has the sophistication or charm like Star Trek, or Doctor Who, or the Gundam franchise. I am fine when a non sci-fi shows uses elements of sci-fi at the basic minimum, or as a gag. But when trying to apply it seriously on a series like Dragon Ball Super, it hurts my brain so much, it's frustrating. And this is Shonen anime! It's not supposed to be this complicated!

I'm willing to admit I am wrong if anyone can prove to me that an average 9 year old knows how to read the equations of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. But if that's too much, then why Toei's explanation of time travel in DBS, so-frustratingly-difficult?

So after carefully observing Toei's explanation of the events of the Future Trunks arc, and the interpretations of some people, I came up with my own conclusion on how this is supposed to work.

Now, before I go further, I want to make a few things clear. Although I am a fan of the Dragon Ball franchise, I'm not an expert on the subject. There are others who are far more knowledgeable and know the teeny little details of Dragon Ball than I ever will be. But I'm now at a certain age where I no longer watch a show like Dragon Ball just to see who's fighting who, like back in the days of Dragon Ball Z. I want to understand the plot. It's hard for me to appreciate any work of which I have a hard time understanding what's going on. As non-sensical as Alice in Wonderland is, for example, I totally get it.

So when it comes to me interpreting Toei's chronology of events of the Future Trunks arc in Dragon Ball Super, this is just my own take on it, just for sake that it makes sense to me. Whether you agree or disagree with what I think, that is irrelevant. You can go with what others are saying about it, it's not an issue for me. I'm not here to challenge others' interpretations of the timeline. This is neither the right way or the wrong way to approach it. Just my own take on the whole thing and nothing more.

Finally my observation of the timeline of events of the Future Trunks arc is SPECIFICALLY from the Anime version of Dragon Ball Super by Toei. At no point will I reference the Toyotaro manga, as the manga is its own thing and it will have a different explanation of the timeline of events of the Future Trunks arc. Again, this is for the Toei Anime and ONLY for the Toei Anime.

Before we get to Toei's chart of what happened, a recap of how time travel works and how it affects the world of Dragon Ball. To keep it simple, I will use the scene from The Flash TV series in which Barry Allen explains the events of Flashpoint.

When Barry goes back in time to save his mother from being murdered by Zoom, instead of altering history like he initially thought, he created an alternate timeline where his mother lived, and that caused a ripple effect, giving an entirely different history. But as things go bad and Barry is forced to let his mother die again, and going back in time to do exactly just that, instead of going back to the Prime Timeline before everything happened, Barry created another alternate timeline.

So by going back in time and change something in the past, rather than alter history, you simply create an alternate timeline or reality. Even J.J. Abram's Star Trek movies used this plot device to differentiate itself from the previous Star Trek works by Gene Roddenberry, and later by Rick Berman. This also applies in Dragon Ball Z when the Future Trunks goes back in time to prevent Goku from dying from the heart virus back then, as well as to defeat the Androids. Two timelines where created as a result - the Prime Timeline, where the main story of Dragon Ball takes place, and the Future Trunk's timeline, of which he is the last Z Fighter. Other timelines were made along the way, but we will focus on these two as they play a crucial role in Dragon Ball Super.

In the Future Trunks arc, Future Trunks went back to the Prime Timeline to warn Goku and company about Black. Unintentionally, this led to a series of events that resulted in Black's creation in the Prime Timeline. Fast Forward to when Zamasu kills Gowasu, Whis turns back time by 3 minutes, allowing Beerus to kill Zamasu.

Let's scratch that for a moment and say Beerus never intervened. After Zamasu kills Gowasu, he steals the Time Ring and uses it to go forwards in time by one year, in order for the Super Dragon Balls to be reactivated, since Beerus used it last time to restore the Earth of Universe 6 in the Champa arc. Zamasu at that point wishes to switch bodies with Goku, creating Goku Black.

After killing Chichi and Goten, Black then uses the Time Ring to travel to Future Trunks's timeline, meets that version of Zamasu, and instigate their Zero Mortals Plan. Now Black could've just done it in the other timelines and succeeded with little to virtually no resistance. But other than plot convenience, Future Trunks's timeline is chosen to punish Trunks for being the catalyst of this whole thing because of his time travelling.

Now let's go back to Beerus killing the Zamasu of the Prime Timeline. This, according to Beerus, should've prevented Black from being created. However, Black still exists in Future Trunks's timeline despite this, and Black explains that the Time Ring protected him from the Time Paradox caused by Beerus killing his past self in the Prime Timeline.

From my point of view, that was clear cut. Everything took place within the two timelines and the Time Ring does, for the lack of a better word, an 'asspull', to explain why Black is unaffected by the paradox. Metaphorically speaking, it's like a game of Yu Gi Oh where your opponent has all the Egyptian God Cards AND the full Exodia set in play that should've been an automatic win, but you had a card that prevents all of that from happening. Magic does exist in the world of Dragon Ball, though like others such as Psychic Powers, etc., it is less common and not much explored in favor of martial arts and Ki manipulation.

However, according to Toei's chart, ANOTHER timeline was created that brought the events that made Goku Black exist. This was contradictory to what was highly suggested in the Anime itself in which Black came from the Prime Timeline. Going with what the Toei chart is suggesting, one way to interpret it, whether that's what Toei meant or not, the moment which Zamasu was going to kill Gowasu is what created a Time Split - one where Zamasu failed and is killed by Beerus, thus the Prime Timeline we know now; and the one where he succeeds and becomes Goku Black.

This raises a lot of questions and confusions with regards to the technicality of all this happening. It's highly doubtful Beerus and Whis have no idea they'd create an alternate timeline by stopping Zamasu. And both are certain there will be no Time Split and the later episodes suggest it as much. Think about it. If by using Whis's power to rewind time by 3 minutes to change something actually created another timeline, then we should have another Time Split in Resurrection F in which Frieza killed everyone on Earth except those who were with Beerus. But as far as I know, nothing in Dragon Ball Super, be it Anime or Manga, or from anything Toei or Shueisha, the publisher for the Dragon Ball manga, ever mentioned a Time Split in Resurrection F.

But according to Toei's chart, a 3rd timeline was created, which is the part where Zamasu succeeds in killing Gowasu and becomes Goku Black.

This is why I'm saying Toei totally sucks at this when it comes to writing science-fiction. It just baffles me that Toei makes this so complicated for an Anime series aimed at young boys, but can also be seen by the general audience, because it airs 9 am on Sundays in Japan. If Dragon Ball were to air in the same timeslot as other late-night Anime like Drifters, for example, then Toei can throw in the complicated stuff, since the majority watching it would be the adult Anime Otaku.

It was easier for me to understand if everything is still set within the two timelines and what I explained earlier. And then they had to come up with this chart. But that's what they say it happened, so whether we like or not, gotta go with it. And the way I interpret it is, a time split happened. Others would explain it differently. Again, I'm not saying I'm right or wrong. This is just the way I see it. It's fine by me if you agree with what I say on this, or you prefer someone else's explanation. Important thing is that Black still existed despite all what happened up until he fused with Zamasu to become, well....."Zamasu".

So in closing, I blame Toei for the complications surrounding the history of events of the Future Trunks arc, by making this chart. Overall, Toei and their writing staff have been struggling to provide a very good narrative of Dragon Ball Super. It's been that way since the very first arc. They have improved a bit on the current arc with their added manpower and resources, and it shows. Plus the numerous breaks the show had due to events like the Olympics and other live events from Fuji TV and overseas, did give Toei time to polish up a bit. It's just that when it comes to them explaining the timeline of the Future Trunks arc, they screwed it up. They should have just left it alone and let the narrative of the Anime speak for itself.

Ajin Season 2 Episode 6 Thoughts

The action and suspense finally begins with the 6th episode of Ajin's 2nd season. And it leaves me at the edge of my seat so much I want to get to the next episode already. This is something I want on Ajin's 2nd season and it finally delivers.

First up, we peer into Izumi Shimomura's backstory after she was fatally injured by Myers's Ajin last episode. Turns out "Izumu Shimomura" was an alias she used after teaming up with Tosaki and that her real name is...WAS Yoko Tainaka. Yoko had a pretty harsh life, living with a drunken stepfather who constantly abuses her submissive mother (very cliche, I know). When she overhears both parents attempting to sell her to prostitution for profit, she leaves her home. Ironically, she makes a living AS a prostitute until she dies from her illness (probably from one of her 'clients'). This results in her fateful meeting with Yuu Tosaki.

Yuu later reveals to Yoko via police recording that the Stepfather was actually reporting Yoko as an Ajin for the cash reward and that her mother vehemently opposes the idea, resulting in a double-homicide. It is then that Yoko Tainaka drops her name and assumes the identity of Izumi Shimomura, and is dedicated to be Tosaki's bodyguard. As cliched as Izumi's backstory is, it does help us learn more of her character, allowing her to be more approachable to the viewer. And this episode has done its job.

Back to the present day, Izumi is back from the dead and the rest of Kei Nagai's team to mobilize and rescue Tosaki. A battle of policies engages - Nagai, being the sociopath that he is, intends on going forward with the original plan to stop Satou and letting Tosaki deal with his fate. Frankly speaking, I agree with Kei, considering how much Satou is closing in on his ambition to rule Japan, he needs to be stopped by any means. Izumi argues that Tosaki is a vital member of the group and must be rescued in order to ultimately stop Satou's plan.

I would think at this point Kei would double down. But surprisingly, he decides to rescue Yuu. Though Kei explains the reason that the rescue mission is to be used to test their training, I would think that he still remembers that Ogura told him regarding how his view on humanity and his social interactions affect how he controls his Ajin. So this is one way to keep that control in-check.

Metal Gear's solid Snake would be proud of Nagai's Team's infiltration tactics (except Nakano, who is totally bad at it). However, Myers and Almeida escape with Tosaki in tow as they veer off towards the American Embassy. It's now a race against time as Kei and co. must get to Tosaki before the two Americans reach the ebassy, AND still have time to stop Satou. As this is going on, Myers continues to be bullied by Almeida and being made a scapegoat of the agents' failures. It makes me suspect that Myers might ultimately turn on Almeida and defect to Nagai's group. Those still act as though they're Japanese instead of actual Americans, and it still irks me.

Only 7 episodes to go before this season ends, and the series will go on hiatus afterwards, as it has entirely caught up with the manga. Izumi's revealing backstory, Kei's surprising resolve, and the amazing rescue mission, as I said earlier, makes me eager to see what happens next.

Dragon Ball Super Makes The Top 5

With Crayon Shin-chan and Doraemon not airing last weekend, this pushes Dragon Ball Super and One Piece into the Top 5, a feat not often seen by the Strong 9 Block.

The full link is here:
http://www.videor.co.jp/data/ratedata/top10.htm

And for those who cannot read Japanese, here's the translated list:

1. Sazae-san (12.0%)
2. Chibi Maruko-chan (9.6%)
3. One Piece (6.8)
4. Dragon Ball Super (6.6)
5. Detective Conan (5.9)
6. Curious George (3.3)
7. Yokai Watch (3.1)
8. Pokemon X Y & Z (3.0)
9. Time Bokan 24 (2.9)
10. Anpanman & Shawn The Sheep (Tied at 2.8)

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - Diamond is Unbreakable Ep. 33 Thoughts

The day that is July 15th continues in the latest episode of Diamond is Unbreakable, and begins with the conclusion of the battle between Josuke and Miyamoto, which ends in a shocking way. Josuke ultimately gives in to his fear of losing Koichi and becomes a victim of Miyamoto's Stand, "Enigma". It is now up to new ally Yuya Fungami and his Stand, "Highway Star" to rescue Josuke and Koichi and defeat Miyamoto. For much of the first half of this episode, Yuya does precisely that, even going as far as making the sacrifice to free Josuke and Koichi.

It's uncommon for an anime where the protagonist would lose a fight and putting hopes on another character to be victorious against a villain. More recently, we see this in Dragon Ball Super with Vegito losing to the Merged Zamasu before the latter is beaten by Trunks.

There is another thing regarding JoJo's Bizarre Adventure that I have since taken for granted and not give much thought of until now - Battles aren't exactly power vs power like we see in other Shonen anime. Instead, the fights are more strategic and making use of the strengths and weaknesses of Stands and their users. Yuya demonstrates this using his keen sense of smell, and tricking Miyamoto to scare him so he can free Josuke and Koichi.

That just leaves Rohan Kishibe and his conflict with the Stand known as "Cheap Trick", which like "Superfly" from last episode, can act independently even with the death of its Stand User. Right now, all we know of Cheap Trick is latching to a victim's back, making the victim the new Stand User (in this case Rohan), and pesters him repeatedly to do something until he does so, or expose his back to someone, which ends in his death. Cheap Trick continues to annoy Rohan to have him destroy evidence of photos that reveal Yoshikage Kira's new identity as Kosuke Kawajiri. Meanwhile, Jotaro has also found a lead towards Yoshikage's new identity and makes his move to meet him, while Hayato Kawajiri, suspecting his father is anything but, continues his pursuit to exploit him.

So after 3 parts, this arc is still not over yet and the suspense remains great. How will Rohan deal with Cheap Trick? Will Jotaro and Yoshikage have their rematch? Will Hayato know the truth? What will Josuke and team do now?

As of this writing, I have honestly no idea how many episodes Diamond is Unbreakable has left, but we are getting closer to its conclusion. I would think it would continue at least up until the promotion for the upcoming live-action movie from Warner Bros. Japan. However, I won't be surprised if the series concludes before or in the middle of the Winter season. Regardless, the series continues to amaze me with its visuals and plo. Looking forward to its next episode.