schooldoorholder

I recently saw the trailer for Avatar: the Way of Water, and... wow. I'm really excited. I even rewatched the first Avatar movie. I hadn't seen it in a while, so I was even wowed by that movie all over again. And I was watching it with a friend who had never seen it before, and she even loved it.

So lately I've been putting a lot of thought into what this movie would be like and what would make it a good sequel. I remember watching Schaffrillas Productions' review of Shrek 2 on YouTube and he describes what exactly the perfect sequel is: 1. expand the universe of the first film in meaningful ways, 2. continue the story in a new compelling way, 3. introduce new compelling themes or expand on the themes of the original, and 4. leave an undeniable impact on the franchise.

Now, judging from the trailer, it does seem to do at least some of these things. The producers expand the world of Avatar by featuring aquatic environments and humans seem to return from Earth. These are things that have crossed the minds of people who have speculated what the sequels would be like.

I've also done some thinking, and I've assembled my thoughts into three categories: the wildlife of Pandora, Na'vi society, and what happens back on Earth.

Now you might be thinking: "But Christian, they showed more wildlife in the teaser. There isn't much more to speculate." They did indeed show more wildlife in the teaser. That eel/flying fish thing that Jake rides, the whale thing he holds hands with, the colonies of organisms that form what looks like a reef; that's all really cool.

But there's more to an ecosystem than just variety. Every organism fills a certain niche, and every niche is filled by a certain organism. We see the niches held on Earth by coral, sharks, and whales in the teaser. But what I'm saying is that I look forward to seeing how they expand on the oceanic environments and inhabitants thereof, and how the Na'vi interact with them.

Speaking of which...

I look forward to seeing how the Na'vi operate after the events of the first movie. I (and everybody else) noticed that there were a lot of similarities between the Omaticaya and several tribes in North America during pre-Columbian times. So what about clans elsewhere on Pandora? If the Na'vi operate by human standards, then surely there are cultures and belief systems very unlike what the clans featured in the first movie show. There could be Na'vi clans less connected with Eywa than the Omaticaya or even disconnected entirely. Maybe they even pick up some human technology and blend it with their own. Or, much like in Europe and eastern Asia, perhaps there are Na'vi governments that have constructed mighty civilizations or even empires.

Also, the first movie and the teaser for the next one show that there were a few humans that were allowed to stay on Pandora after the RDA was evicted. So, seeing that Na'vi show the same mental and emotional characteristics as humans, I'm willing to bet that many Na'vi both in the Omaticaya and out are quite bitter about what the humans did on Pandora. I don't imagine they would take kindly to any humans at all being allowed to dwell on their planet. Some of the less extreme Na'vi could point to humans like Grace and Trudy who laid down their lives for the Na'vi; but if Na'vi think the same way that humans do, then it's not likely that they'll change their minds that easily.

In addition, the first movie seems to cover a relatively small region on Pandora. It's very likely that humans have set up bases on other spots on the planet (or moon, rather). So how did human interaction with the clans there go? I doubt all of them were hostile to the humans, so maybe some formed alliances with them?

And that brings me to my last point:

It's hinted in both the first movie and the teaser that the humans will return. But what about the world that they come from? We know that by AD 2154, Earth has been ravaged by manmade environmental disaster, there have been minor efforts to restore what was lost (as seen in a deleted scene where a news broadcast covers the de-extinction of tigers via cloning), and that there was a war in Venezuela; but not much else. What's become of the United States, or other countries? Is there any backlash over what's going on on Pandora? Why is unobtainium so valuable?

And moreover, what happens on Earth after the exiled humans arrive back home? I mean, surely they'll be back for more, but what becomes of the RDA? Does it itself return, or does it go bankrupt and bought out by a larger company? And are there companies that are less reckless in harvesting resources? And surely the RDA isn't the only company investing in Pandora-based projects. And what does the public have to say about all this?

I just brought up a lot of questions, and odds are, they're not all going to be addressed in this one upcoming movie. (maybe that's why there'll be a third, fourth, and fifth one)

So I look forward to seeing Avatar: the Way of Water. Not just because of the awesome special effects and creative imagery, but also because of opportunities they have to expand on the universe in a sensible and meaningful way.

Surely the parent company of whoever made this is known for doing that in sequels that they make, right?

(notices that this movie is being made under Disney)

Oh no...

Recently I've been getting into anime. I may take a look at the fantasy and action genres soon, but I'm currently more into slice-of-life. I really like two particular shows made by A-1 Pictures that have me frequently tuning in to see when their next seasons or OVAs will be up and ready to watch. They are "Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Nerds" and "Kaguya-sama: Love is War." Here's a brief summary for those of you who aren't familiar:

Wotakoi focuses on six main characters: four office workers, a brother of one of them, and his friend from college. All are either nerds or looking into nerdy things, and all are either in a romantic relationship with one of the others or on the verge of developing one. Basically, it's "Friends" meets "The Big Bang Theory".

Kaguya-sama focuses on the president and vice president of a high school student council. They're interested in each other romantically, but they see confession as weakness. So they try to get each other to make advances, all the while trying to account for interferences of their blissfully unaware student council members.

Both of these two shows are pure genius. I mean, yeah, they have their flaws; but they're well worth watching. I love the characters, I love the concepts, I love the stories; and lately, I've been putting a lot of thought into a peculiar idea: What if A-1 made a crossover?

I know it's extremely unlikely, since it's an overall wacky idea and seeing that A-1 might need permission from Aka Akasaka and Fujita. But I do seriously think that something like this would work. ...if done correctly. What do I mean by this? Well, it needs the aspects that would make it work as both an OVA and a crossover. Allow me to explain.

I've found that there are two things that an OVA work: the rest of the show has to be able to make sense without it, but it also has to make an undeniable impact on the show. I'm going to use the OVAs for both subjects of this journal as examples.

The OVA for Kaguya-sama doesn't work. Season three will make perfect sense if you haven't seen the OVA, since odds are the events in the OVA will be totally irrelevant in Season three; but it doesn't leave an undeniable impact on the show. Things happen in it that don't really build onto our perception of the characters or the concept. Okay, they find a pervy magazine and then have a fried rice cook-off. So what? Not to mention the first third of it crosses into very NSFW territory. Honestly, it's only because it could have all been going on in Shirogane's head that I didn't just quit the show right there.

The second OVA for Wotakoi kind of works, but not as an OVA. It does make a huge impact on the show, since Naoya and Kou form a strong bond and are now contemplating dating each other. However, Season two isn't going to make a whole lot of sense if you haven't seen this OVA, since part of the focus will most likely be on these two deciding on where to take their relationship. In my opinion, it would have worked perfectly as an episode of Season two, not as an OVA.

The first OVA for Wotakoi, however, works perfectly. It revolves around Koyanagi and Kabakura's backstories and how they got to know and love each other. The rest of the show makes sense without it, since we already figured that Koyanagi and Kabakura got together at some point. But it also leaves an undeniable impact on the show; since we see the softer sides of those two characters who are portrayed as tough and athletic, we get to know a little more about them, and by the end we see their relationship in a more heartwarming light.

So that's the kind of thing that an episode shared by Wotakoi and Kaguya-sama should aim for if it wants to be a great OVA. Now what should it do so that it can be a good crossover; a twenty-minute animation that the two shows can both truthfully call their own?

There's really only one thing that a crossover needs in order to work: It needs to make sense in every single way. The setting, the interactions between various characters, the plot, everything. It needs to feel like the creators of the show had it in mind all along for the events of the two shows to be canon with each other. I'll use the crossover between the Simpsons and Family Guy as a reference.

There's a joke teased at the beginning of the episode about a crossover between All in the Family and Modern Family. If that had somehow been made in real life, it wouldn't have worked at all! They take place in two different time periods, they have different formats, and any interaction between the characters would have been extremely awkward.

Alright. Now for why the rest of the episode works.

There were expectations of a crossover ever since the late '90s, since both shows cracked quite a lot of jokes about how much creative material Family Guy ripped from the Simpsons and since characters from both have made appearances in both shows. So it made sense for them to have a crossover. And they made up a credible scenario for which the Griffins would go to Springfield and be stranded there and be taken in by the Simpsons. And Homer and Peter's newfound friendship is put into jeopardy after finding out Pawtucket is a ripoff of Duff. Not only does it make sense, but it's completely called for, since it makes for clever commentary on something everybody was expecting them to touch on.

That's what we're aiming for here. There has to be something that would bring the characters of Kaguya-sama and Wotakoi together in a natural way, they have to interact with each other in a way that make sense, and there has to be a dilemma that makes the difference between strengthening and dissolution of their new companionships.

I seriously think this would be a lot of fun to watch. It would be interesting to see Narumi and Chika bond over things they like right up until Chika does something mischievous! It would be heartwarming to see Ishigami and Kou sharing their stories and some encouraging words. And I would LOVE to see the terrifying looks that both Kaguya and Kabakura would give if Koyanagi were to encourage Shirogane to cosplay by commenting on his physique and looks!

So what specifically do I think can be done in a crossover between A-1's two most beloved slice-of-life anime shows? Stay tuned to find out!

Thank you for reading and God bless!