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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.
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
Did Urbance Fail to Deliver on its promises?
What is one to do in a world where sex is outlawed and the genders are separated from each other? That is the driving question of Urbance, a Kickstarter animated pilot that unfortunately never took off.
There's a fatal STD called E1 that originally only transferred through hetero sex before it mutated to also affect homo sex. Don't look at me sideways if that description sounds a little silly. That's literally how the narration puts it.
A premise like this leads to tons of questions. Does E1 only activate when ejaculation happens or is it the act of sex itself? What's stopping the characters from wearing condoms? Its also not explained why the division between sexes still exists when E1 takes effect in both hetero and homo sex.
The characters rebel against this ban by going to secret nightclubs where their state-mandated trackers are disabled and take a drug known as Ndorphin which can artificially simulate sex. Some people still hunger for real sex even at the cost of their lives. It doesn't take long for the Mediators to crackdown on the party and then all hell breaks loose.
Urbance's greatest feature is its visuals. The scenery is absolutely stunning with its vivid neon details and graffiti aesthetics that harken back to Jet Set Radio and Motorcity. In fact, Hideki Naganuma is a fan of the Urbance Facebook page. The pilot also does a good job of making its hip-hop influences readily known. Steambot, the animation producer of Urbance, even got anime studio Yapiko to help its production. The cast is dominated by black people; most of whom are wearing hip-hop-styled clothing. It's an interesting example of black people being center stage in scifi animation when they hardly get represented in that genre at all. The only downside is that all of the voice actors were white even though casting POC actors should be the absolute bare minimum for diverse media.
With a successful Kickstarter and a highly acclaimed pilot, Urbance seemed destined for greatness. So what happened? Nothing. That's what happened. The creators let this IP remain dormant despite the promise of not only a full episode but also a complete series to go along with it. The only official products to be produced were an artbook that went out of print years ago and a mediocre card game on steam that plays like an old Newgrounds web browser. Who even asked for a card game? The gameplay seen in the official footage was uninspired and doesn't seem to continue the conflict in the pilot.
This problem is unfortunately common with Kickstarter campaigns. Kickstarter doesn't enforce its content creators to make good on their promises so nothing is stopping these people from running off with donations. It is honestly scrummy that creators would just build up people's hype for Urbance and refuse to deliver on it. Not helping matters is how the official steambot and urbance website got shut down with no explanation. This kind of behavior is so unprofessional and should not be tolerated.
Before we end off, let's address the criticism this show, I mean, pilot faced and the current status of Urbance. A small but vocal minority of people have alleged that Urbance is racist and LGBT phobic with very little evidence to back up their claims. I see no way how on earth this show could be perceived as racist unless you think urban street life is "problematic", which in itself is a racist mentality to have. The LGBT phobic claim arose from how the premise completely ignores how gay individuals and nonbinary people are affected by the gender divide. While it is true that this is a narrative that SHOULD discuss how LGBT members are harmed by the sex ban, it's kinda hard to address those themes with a seven-minute pilot. People acted as if it was a finished product.
Another misconception is that Urbance is an example of a persecution flip where straight people are the oppressed ones and homosexuality is the norm. Some have also called the story an allegory to the HIV/aids panic which spread mass fear concerning gay people. I think people are looking at things the wrong way and trying to make it seem like straight people are co-opting the struggles LGBT members face and making it about them. Heterosexuality isn't taboo in urbance nor do straight people face any discrimination. Sex itself is what's banned and this ban also applies to gay people. I also don't know where this being gay is the norm claim came from because separating the sexes wouldn't just magically turn people gay. Did people even watch the first minute of the pilot?
With all that said, Urbance is a story that would benefit greatly from exploring LGBT themes. What was the attitude concerning gay people before/directly after E1 mutated and how do people who don't fall into the gender binary cope with the ban? I'm especially interested in how intersex people are treated in the Urbance world. It's interesting to note that Kenz refers to himself as an ace, a slang term for asexuals. I'm not sure if the producers were aware of this because Kenz quickly shows attraction to a girl in the club.
As of January 2022, Urbance shows all signs of being a canceled project. The years of radio silence are a grim reminder of the fate of far too many crowdfunded projects. Whatever sliver of hope Urbance has comes from one of its creators, Joel Dos Reis Viegas. His most recent Instagram posts depict comic-style images of urbance. When asked by a fan about the status of the show, he replied that there were legal issues and a comic will be made to start things fresh.
Two takeaways from this: The producers should've discussed the legal issues YEARS ago instead of giving fans false hope. We have to deal with radio silence for years on end but apparently, the legal issues didn't stop them from making a thrashy card game. Second of all, I can't stay hopeful that Urbance can revive as a comic at this point. It's clear that the production team isn't good at commitment and following through with promises. The comic is still clearly in the planning stages, making the future of Urbance as for away as it ever was.
LOOKING BACK ON BEYBLADE BURST
Beyblade was never a show I've had much affinity for. I briefly caught a glimpse of the first gen on jetix and would play the metal fusion saga in the background while I relaxed during my middle school summer break. I never thought much about beyblade because ,well, it's a show about spinning tops. A guy like me was too busy watching shows about kids saving the world with the power of mystical monsters and friendship to give beyblade anymore than an afterthought. Who could blame me?
It wasn't until the Burst saga came out that I gave the franchise a genuine chance. It was a brand new season without the 100+ episodes of the other sagas to keep track of. It was the fresh start this seasoned anime watcher needed. Burst instantly caught my attention by being more grounded to reality than the other seasons. Yeah, the guy who loves cheesy over the top campy anime wants realism in his kids show. My problem with the metal saga is that it tool itself way too seriously with how ludicrous the stakes got. Those kids were destroying boulders and crap with those tops! The laughably bad voice acting certainly didn't help matters.
Burst takes in a much more muted approach with it mainly being about kids having fun and the bonds they make. There's still tournaments, but the fate of the world isn't at stake and Ginka's screechy voice isn't grating on my ears. This slice of life approach makes it easier to get invested in the story while making the characters more relatable. The characterization is a bit too flat in some aspects but at least Beyblade treats its characters better than futurecard buddy fight ever did.
I'm currently on the Rise season and I'm still enjoying the burst saga as my comfort show. I will admit the switch to LA-based voice acting starting with Turbo was very disheartening as someone who loves Canadian anime dubs. We seriously get to see those nowadays. I ended up enjoying the seasons so much that I went out to buy five Beyblades of my own, something that would've been unthinkable a few years ago.
What spurred this post on was my late realization that Beyblade burst DB is the final season of the saga. I haven't gotten to watching it yet, but nothing about its promotional material gives off the aura of a final season. This leaves me to believe that burst has been canceled. It's a crying shame if that's the case because corporate apathy is a death sentence for any merchandise-driven product. It's unknown how long it'll be before another beyblade series comes out if at all.
Until then, I'm gonna enjoy the remaining episodes and have fun watching those adorable bladers.
3! 2! 1!
LET IT RIP!!!
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.
