Nature's Legacy

Nature's Legacy

To be melanated is to be brown

Brown like the most fertile of soil

Brown like the tallest of mountains

Melanin is a tresure

A treasure bestowed upon the chosen

A bronze legacy worth more than any gold

Mother Nature, she made us in her beauty

Beauty that could never be replicated

Beauty that leaves the entire world in awe

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Jojolands Chapter 2 Review- The Japanese Man on Hawaii Island

This chapter has a slower pace than the previous one but still brings up some interesting tidbits that will surely be developed on. Chapter two begins with Jodio conducting a drug trade with a college girl, but he's suspicious about her true nature. Those suspicions turn out to be true when she reveals herself as an undercover cop. Jodio and Paco are busted and even more surprising is the return of two cops from the first chapter. I'm surprised Jodio didn't kill them despite how bloodlusted he was. A small piece of dialogue even implies he intentionally didn't kill them. I also find it weird they made a complete recovery in seemingly only a few days after they got brutalized so badly.

It's like everyone in Jojo has weird regeneration superpowers that never get commented on. The mustached cop is back to being the creepy bastard he is by telling Jodio how much he's looking forward to molesting him. Araki must be extra wild in this part cause this is two consecutive chapters of sexual assault right off the bat. Jodip doesn't let the cops phase him and he simply uses November Rain to wash away the drugs on hand.

We get a small scene where Jodio thinks back to the time he took a psychological evaluation at school and was diagnosed as a psychopath. This makes me extra confident he'll end up being a villain near the end of the series. Jodio is the most cold-blooded Joestar and has no remorse for what he does. His actions are even viler from a Japanese perspective which has a huge stigma against drugs. Either Jodio will realize he's a bastard and have a change of heart or go completely off the deep end. I'm excited to see either scenario play out cause it was be disappointing to have him remain the thug that he is.

Remember that crazy hotdog-loving wetsuit-wearing drug addict from before? He has a name and it's Usagi Aloha'oe. Usagi certainly stands out the most from the other characters due to his quirky yet laid-back personality and weird fashion sense( it's Jojo so that's not saying much but still). The gang travels to where the Japanese tourist lives and that's when Usagi pops out his stand: Matte Kudasai. I at first thought this was a rare Japanese song reference but it's actually from King Crimson. A King Crimson reference in an alternate universe version of Golden Wind? I'm calling it now, if Jodio doesn't turn evil then Usagi will turn out to be a traitor. I'm only half serious but it would be interesting for there to be a traitor in part when that was originally supposed to be Fugo's role. Matte Kudasai has the interesting ability of cloning an object if another person wishes for it. I love how everyone has stands perfectly suited to pulling off a heist. Even Jodio's stand can be used to wash away evidence and makes me think he'll serve as a crime scene cleaner.

At the tail end of this chapter comes quite possibly the biggest plot twist introduced in the sbr universe continuity. The Japanese tourist is none other than Rohan Kisbe! I can not exaggerate how unexpected this was. This may be an alternate universe Rohan but he looks exactly like his original universe self; something unprecedented among the other counterparts. This being the original Rohan would be even more insane yet fun. Rohan being in the new universe could explain why newer Thus spoke Rohan chapters are set in modern times despite that conflicting with part 4's setting. If that's the case, this is some Oda-level foreshadowing from Araki. I seriously hope Rohan met up with Josuke and Yasuho during the time skip. This could set them up to be heroic antagonists who face off against Jodio's gang. The drama just keeps getting better.

Jojolands Chapter 1 Review- The Mechanism

If someone had told me a few months ago that part 9 would be GTA with stands, I'm not sure if I would laugh or just dance with joy. Probably both. Jojolands  is already off to a strong start with probably the best first chapter out of any part. Readers quickly get introduced to Jodio and their sibling Dragona getting accosted by police that then delves into sexual assault. Jodio doesn't tolerate this at all and he breaks out his stand to wreck some havoc. November Rain is the name of the stand and it appears that he can manipulate water to create crushing raindrops. That's a cool ability but seems way too cut and dry for a protagonist stand. It's probably just an application of its true ability. 

Jodio is without a doubt the most amoral Joestar thus far. He has no issue with severely beating cops(potentially killing them), stealing cars, and selling drugs to teens. All of this establishes him as a weird alternate universe counterpart to Giorno. Jodio's ruthlessness will take some getting used to so I'm hoping he eventually gets character development that makes him more noble. He's a cool guy but very punchable at the same time. Kinda like how Johnny was at the beginning of part 7. He also seems to be very hedonistic since he wants to get rich simply for the sake of it. He's a true gangster at heart. I also want to talk about Dragona who's easily the biggest highlight of the chapter. Despite their feminine appearance, Jodio calls them his brother. Jodio monologues how Dragona has always been into women's fashion and even got injections to expand their breaststroke. This implies Dragona could possibly be trans or nonbinary. The original Japanese version doesn't even use gendered pronouns to address them but all three translations( you know a manga is hyper when three different people translate it) uses male pronouns. I feel that using gender neutral pronouns for now is the wisest decision. I'm curious to see where Dragona's gender identity will lead but then again, Araki is infamous for never elaborating on important plot points. Here's to hoping he doesn't screw them over.

Near the middle to end of the chapter we are introduced to the primary objective: stealing a 24 carat blue diamond from a Japanese tourist. To assist in this mission they are joined by Paco, a kleptomaniac with some seriously sticky fingers and an unnamed character in a wetsuit who buys drugs from Jodio. Yeah, this part has a lot going on for it. It fills me with excitement just imagining how this heist will play out. The narration implies things will go horribly wrong and piques my interest even more. It's important to not that all the stands seen thus far are non-humanoid and only Jodio was one suited for combat. This makes me believe there'll be an even lesser focus on battles than in Jojolion and will focus more on tactical espionage. It's a fun change of pace but I'm seriously missing  the powerhouse stand battles we used to get. Overall, Jojolands is destined to be a captivating new installment of JoJo.

Shaman King 2021 lets down its fans

The pacing of Shaman king 2021 is quite honestly an extreme detriment to the narrative. The complete edition of the manga boasts a hefty 300 chapters yet the current adaptation is slated for a mere 52 episodes. It's insulting how the producers shot away any hopes of this being a promising adaptation right off the bat.

The early episodes had a nasty habit of adapting far too many chapters in one episode; sometimes even going up to 8 chapters. That's practically an entire volume of content with little in the way for proper character development. Battles are often resolved in the same episode they are introduced while every other battle anime lets episodes end on cliffhangers to increase tension. The later episodes thankfully slow things down a little, but the characters still treat each other with a level of familiarity that would only feel natural to manga readers.

A good example of rushed pacing hindering the narrative is when Lyserg joins the X-Laws. The original manga gave Lyserg time to ruminate about his friendship with Yoh and would it meant turning his back on the others. The 2021 version makes Lyserg seem incredibly shallow for leaving the team the first opportunity he got with barely any emotional tension to be seen.

Osorezan Revoir seems to be the only arc to avert this problem. The anime afforded four episodes to adapt a two-volume arc. This resulted in a beloved story arc having the breathing room to completely tell its tale with full emotional impact. Shaman King at its core is a contemplative series. It is a narrative-driven by clashing ideologies and characters contemplating their place in life. Even the small slice-of-life moments of the manga enhance this theme. Rushing through these events as if it's a marathon is a complete disservice to what Shaman King is about.

Shaman King should have never been restricted to 52 episodes at all. That's nowhere near enough time to properly adapt the full story. The cheap animation isn't helping matters either. It's clear that zero soul(pun intended) was put into adapting iconic scenes; often resorting to still images or using the absolute bare minimum of movement required for any given scene. Shaman king may not be a flashy series like Kimetsu no Yaiba which needs glorious animation to mask its uniform mediocrity, but that still doesn't take away from the fact that battle series need solid animation to have a good impact. The character interactions are already hindered due to the rushed pace; the least we fans deserve is some decent action.

I still enjoy the 2021 anime for what it's worth, but it is painfully apparent that it has failed to bring the manga justice. My only hope is that Shaman King one day receives a console game from a passionate developer like cyberconnect2.

We are Water Protectors picture book

Review

I stumbled upon this book in the best way possible. I was strolling through the park basking in the nature when I saw that my library was doing a story walk. It was my first exposure to a story walk and its such a brilliant idea. Each page of this book was displayed around the park walking trail.

This picture book is less of a story and more of a call to action. It informs readers we are all born from water and we must protect it from the black snake known as oil. It's important to note that this was written in response to the Dakoto access pipeline protests. The native American population of Dakoto rebelled against the construction of this pipeline due to the damage it would cause to the water supply and cultural sites.

Author Carole Lindstrom urges readers to cherish water while educating us on its cultural significance to the Ojibwe people. Water is characterized as a nurturing force that gives us all life. It is our duty to keep water safe and protect the defenseless inhabitants of this world. Michaela Goade does a phenomenal job captivating the eyes with her breathtaking drawings.

This is an important lesson for everyone to learn because environmentalism isn't taken seriously enough. There's so much harm being done to the planet every day and we need to take a stand. We are water protectors feels like a folktale that should be passed down for generations upon generations. Do your part and save this planet.