Monster High vs Bratzillaz: the Halloween Trend

Yes, Bratz has come out with a line called Bratzillaz. After the line was first announced on facebook, I took a peek. And I admit, at the back of my mind I couldn’t help thinking…”Wow, these dolls look an awful lot like Monster High.”

Bratzillaz

I’m a Bratz fan, heart and soul, but I’m honest with myself when I see the doll line heading in a certain direction. Bratz have always had really outrageous lines, they even had a “ghoulish” line back in 2005 called Midnight Dance. Even though I would say it was more of a Gothic line, it was still very “Halloween-ish”. Bratzillaz have a similar taste in my mouth, except the colors are brighter and the clothes are girlier. This is a result of there being a female designer for Bratz rather than the male designer Carter Bryant.

I hate to bring him in this. But the truth of the matter is he was the genius behind the Bratz fashion. Why? Because he was a dude. I hate to be sexist, number 1 because I am a female, but women make dolls that are too “fashionable” to the point they can’t start trends. It’s too predictable. Women make clothes they would like, and the clothes they like are “girly”. Bryant was a male designer who more than likely thought about what appealed to him: four sexy babes who wear fashions that even men would think were cool. Bratz didn’t have all of this imagination “wear” before 2006. Then Barbie Fairytopia happened, and here comes the Pixiez. Bratz weren’t the dolls for all the magical fairies and princesses. Bratz used to be the line that had the rockstars, the tokyo clubs scenes, the beachwear, the spy outfits, the gothic style…nothing that hinted of being “imaginative”. This is what made them different.

Bratz Midnight Dance-Bratz as Goths

Back to Bratzillaz, I do think the line is very detailed and pretty. It still has a bit of the Bratz edge. To me, it is a better version of Monster High. However, it still feels like a copy-cat. “Zillaz” reminds me of a monster like Godzilla, and they even have a MUSIC VIDEO just like Monster High! Bratz have been known to make fun of the Barbie line (Tweevils). If this is a joke to make fun of Monster High MGA, it’s not very funny. It looks like an imitation. I didn’t even know Monster High was that popular even worthy of imitating.

Because I’ve been hiding in a doll cocoon, I thought Monster High was the most unoriginal idea ever. You can’t go very far with monsters, especially not in High School. Eventually, they will graduate…And to add the line is centered on high school. How many lines can they possibly think of pertaining to high school? Although Bratz oddly seem to remain teens, their life isn’t centered around high school, so they can go beyond high school, no sweat. But Monster High is turning out to be the latest “freakish” trend.

Of course, I know that Bratzillaz aren’t meant to represent monsters. They’re really witches. But who would guess that? Take one look at their pets, and you start thinking “that’s weird, and monstrous”. And aren’t witches a part of the ghoul society?

I’m not saying the line is ugly, but I do hope that Bratz doesn’t cave into the craze. I hope they remain the original Bratz. I don’t want the Bratz to be confused with another line. What’s worse, I don’t want people crying they copied and I don’t want Mattel placing another lawsuit on MGA. We just got Bratz back. I don’t want to see them fade again. To add, it’s making them seem like they’re running out of ideas, and that Mattel’s idea is winning. It’s making them look like pathetic wimps.

Side note: Did anyone else notice that Monster High is like a complete re-vamp of Diva Starz only they’re ghouls? They say “ghoul-o-rama”. Didn’t Diva Starz say “Cool-o-rama”? Monster High also say “Ghoulicious”…didn’t Diva Starz say “Divalicious”? They even have big feet and heads like them, only Diva Star were meant to be mechanical dolls of the “future” (Turn of the 21st Century=Y2K). Oddly familiar…

So which line is your favorite?

Monster High

OR

Bratzillaz

Which artwork do you like best?

Monster High

OR

Bratzillaz

And lastly which is your favorite music video?

OR

Vote and comment to let me know what YOU think about the Halloween fright dolls!

My personal favorite music video is the Bratz. They’re super sassy and sexy! But I have to admit, Monster High’s song is catchy and it was the first! Monster High’s song reminds me of the songs on Disney Channel nowadays though: no talent. It’s also very cheesy. “When I’m with my peeps?” Really? And “My boos”? Very cheesy. And then they have a generic black rapper in the video like they did in Rebecca Black’s video, “Friday”.  Monster High seems more “little girlish”, which most dolls SHOULD be. But Bratz looks older, and is more appealing to a wider audience. It’s what makes them different from all the other dolls.

Bratz were the first dolls to promote being different, and even though Bratzillaz seems like a major copy, the whole idea for Monster High’s existence was to be an edgy line that competed with the Bratz. So both are even steven.

Monster High is very limited to ghouls and high school. I can’t see the lines expanding. After they do a prom line, beachwear, pajama wear, school dance line, after school club line, and shopping line…what’s next? After they’ve done all the popular monsters, then what? They’re going to keep re-making the same old lines over and over. And all the characters wear the same colors in every line! Why does Draculaura wear pink in every line that comes out? No variety. It’s not like monsters can go to Tokyo or be Pixiez without looking like monsters…too much of a similarity. Monster High is also too sweet for my tastes. Bratz have a naughtiness about them that attracts me. They’re daredevils. Whereas Monster High is just a ghoul line designed to make Monsters look nicer. Not my thing.

Remember this 2003 Bratz Music Video? Really, we can say Monster High got it from the Bratz, huh?

 

Guess what is on Teen Nick? Hint: the ’90s…

 

The ’90s are back on Teen Nick! Everyone’s favorite ’90s shows that sparked the Nickelodeon Renaissance! Too bad this comes on late at night, 10:00 pm to Midnight. For some people, that’s bed time. Hopefully, it reaches prime time hours. It’s just sad how much Nick and Cartoon Network have gone downhill today. The shows they show nowadays REALLY SUCK. Even Disney’s Renaissance is dying. It really kinda died after Hannah Montana, but it was the true end after the release of Wizards of Waverly Place. Everything else is pretty…repetitive.

Tokko Review 7/10

Okay people I’m back with my Anime Reviews. This time, I’m planning on reviewing Tokko.

Alright, this is Tokko.

*The FOLLOWING ANIME IS SEINEN AND IS MEANT FOR AN ADULT MALE AUDIENCE, though others can enjoy it as well*

*PLEASE READ OTHER ANIME REVIEWS IN OLDER ENTRIES OR ABOVE IN ANIMEJOURNAL*

Okay, so I was watching this anime trying to figure out what to cover for this one. I thought I would just go with the flow this time instead of just giving each part fully.

*Spoiler Alert*

Alright, so first I just want to say that the story is cliche. I’m going to be honest. It’s typical for a Seinen. It’s even typical for a Shonen. The only difference is in Shonens, the main characters aren’t always losers, and usually get the girl in the end. Also,in shonens they are able to save the world. And in shonens, the “kiss” is always saved for the main girl. Tokko’s story revolves around a young man named Shindo Ranmaru who decides to join Tokki, the local Metropolitan police. His first day is rough due to his hot-headed boss, Kaoru Kunikida. His is a typical man who is a “boss”. He gives his “lower parts” a hard time and thinks he’s big and bad, and so acts all fearless and instills fear in the lower ranks. Ranmaru is pretty typical too, a seemingly loser-guy who hasn’t had a girl in awhile and joins the force to avenge his parents, who were killed when he was younger by some phantoms. He doesn’t really do much but take care of his cute sister (who has a bodacious body). Warning: A great majority of the women in this anime have a bodacious body. And for all of you men who love to see naked women wet, you’ll love Tokko. This seemed as if the women were designed to be specifically attractive but awesome at what they did (sexy, right?). A complete feast for men who love sexy women.

So, continuing with the story, Ranmaru has been having dreams about a half naked girl (figures right?) who wields a sword and kills all of the phantoms in his dreams, as he seems to dream of his past a lot. Eventually, he meets the girl and her partners: Sakura Rokujo, Kureha Suzuka, Takeru Inukai, and Ryoko Ibuki who are part of a Second Division called Tokko in the police department. Tokko is a mysterious part of the police force, only there to kill these specific “phantoms” that destroyed hundreds of people during the Machida incident, the same incident that Ranmaru’s parents were killed, and to find several gold pieces so that they can construct and seal “the Box of Surge” which was allowing the demons to keep coming back to kill off the human race, or rather, make them a stronger species.

Think Resident Evil, and you’ve got the picture. A bunch of zombie-like phantoms who seem to serve no other purpose but to show up annoyingly and badger the main character into revealing his “true form”. The main character is kind of “the one” who is supposed to wield all of this power but doesn’t realize it yet. Tokko’s main group consists of Symbiotes, people with gold pieces inside of them, and have phantom-like behavior. All 12 people who survived the Machida incident were symbiotes, and if awakened, could become these blade-wielding, powerful, super humans, who if angered enough, could become phantoms themselves.

Ranmaru throughout all of this was connected to a girl named Sakura Rokujo. Sakura seemed to share his gold piece, which I felt was a pathetic way to create a romance. It seemed rushed. He met her and then they had one scene together and then were in love. After awhile, we didn’t even hear of the other girl who might have liked Ranmaru (Yukino). Sakura is also a powerful symbiote. She has a basic terrible past like most of the other characters. In fact, most of all of the symbiotes characters are set up the same way: they all are powerful humans who are out to avenge their parents, and their siblings. How uncreative. Sakura was out to avenge her brother, so was Suzuka, Inukai was out to avenge his sister, and at one point Ranmaru was out to avenge his sister. There might be some symbolic meaning behind it, but it’s as if these people’s siblings were their lives. Even more than their parents. And it wasn’t like if it was a girl, she had a sister, or boy, he had a brother. It was paired off the exact same way.

So, with this anime, the story was pretty predictable, so were the characters. The villain was average and did random things, like send all these phantoms out just to make Ranmaru mad enough to turn powerful (when he could’ve just kidnapped his sister to do so). I’d say the only unpredictable thing was Ibuki wasn’t a symbiote. The other shocking thing was just how awesome the head of police was. Other than that, nothing was original. It was typical, expected. Didn’t take much thinking, didn’t take much time.

I did happen to find the action entertaining. Lots of blood and guts to appease your horror desire. Not completely out there, but your typical gore. The characters were also comedic, so that was pretty entertaining. The story did elevate to a climax and tried to throw in curve balls and twists, so I applaud them for their efforts, though most of the time, I figured out who was who every time.

I also enjoyed the opening theme song, “Nothing” by DB. It’s pretty awesome. Possibly the best part of Tokko.

For anyone who likes a quick fix of sexy girls, and loves just to see gore, maybe new to the horror genre, or new to Seinen anime, I recommend this. It’s a first timer, a bit mediocre, but it’s still entertaining.

I give it a 7/10, which means it’s good, but could be better. Tohru Fujisawa is the writer of the manga, and ironically, his first work was shonen. I can tell. Once you write for a younger audience, it’s hard to jump to an older one. Another thing that might also make someone feel like everything was a waste of time is the ending. All the hype and emotional upbuilding, and the ending just really wasn’t satisfying. Oh well, onto the next horror anime.

~Over and Out

Mushishi Anime Review 10/10

*Please Read Other Anime Reviews in the Older entries Section or Under Animejournal at the top *

**THE FOLLOWING ANIME IS Seinen AND IS MEANT FOR AN ADULT MALE AUDIENCE, though anyone can enjoy it*

In the following review about the anime Mushishi, I will be discussing the story/plot(s), the characters, design and tidbits about the writer.

Story/Plot(s): Every plot in the whole anime has two things in common: nature and Ginko. Ginko is a Mushishi. Mushishis collect Mushi. Mushis are supernatural beings that are considered even purer than nature itself. Some people can see them, some people can’t. They are beings that only act to survive, but they don’t really have feelings or care about other beings that are not them. Most Mushi aren’t to be trusted. This is called a “psychological horror”, but I consider it a “nature horror”, because it focuses on how Mushi take the form of normal things in nature and give each natural thing an abnormal ability. And not just like regular supernatural abilities, like super powers. Really, most of the Mushi in the show rarely take the form of humans. Majority of the time it takes the form of something in nature, like water, and the humans use it or sit too close to it, and it latches on to the human, causing the human to act strange. Some of them look like bugs or large swamps, or fish, or sometimes just plain shadows, or light. Whatever form it takes, for instance, like a mountain, the mountain will have a strange addition to it. Like maybe it will constantly change color or something. In each plot, Ginko is a wanderer who helps each place when they encounter the Mushi. As a Mushishi, a Mushi Master, he is very knowledgeable about Mushi and how to get rid of them. Sometimes he has higher knowledge than other Mushishis. The main thing about him is he never wants to kill the Mushi, he only wants to send them away from the person they have latched on because he realizes the Mushi do this in order to survive, just like any other being. It is in a Mushi’s nature to do what it can in order to survive, whether it is latching on to a human ear or human eyes or anything in nature. Each plot is different from one another. It’s normally a different circumstance everytime. And we do get some insight into Ginko’s past throughout the anime. So, I was quite satisfied. You definitely need to be mature in order to appreciate the content. It is not particularly action oriented, hence the “psychological” part means you have to use your mind.

Characters: There are no recurring characters except Ginko. But there is a doctor who appeared in at least two episodes. Other than that, most of the characters are new everytime. However, the use of the “type” of character is very similar. For instance, children are heavily involved. It seems more children are victims of Mushi, especially because, I suppose they are more naive and appreciate nature more and are curious enough to mess with the Mushi. In almost every episode, children are usually involved. Also, the partnership of male and female or siblings, whether it be brother and sister, marriage, twins, but it seems to have an Adam and Eve like feeling from the beginning. Most of the people in the story live in the mountains or in valleys or by large bodies of water, anywhere in large clumps of nature, where Mushi normally reside. They live in small villages too, so many of them lack education and dress very traditional. No cell phones or anything like that. Ginko doesn’t dress very traditional. He stands out completely. He has silver white hair, and one greenish eye. He is very dry, often humorous. He doesn’t have much expression in his eyes. He travels from land to land making a living off collecting Mushi, gathering info about them, and selling them. Throughout the story we also meet other Mushi experts and even Mushishi. Some people know about them, some don’t. But most Mushishi travel for fear of Mushi causing trouble if the Mushishi stays too long.

Design and writer: I get a XxXHolic feel from the design. Realistic features, like normal Japanese hair color and eye color, except Ginko. Height is normal. Greenery is brought out well, but colors are quite bland on the people as they dress very practical, with darker colors, which is more practical. None of them wear exceedingly extravagant and unrealistic fashions and hair dos. The difference with this is it’s just not as lanky as XxXHolic. The writer seems fairly new to the manga world. Her name is Yuki Urushibara. She seems to use nature in her works a lot like with “Filament” and “Waters”.

Well, that is my review on this anime. I felt each portion was pretty original. When it came to the plot, not many people handle a plot dealing this heavily with nature. Most people handle the city in Japan at least once. The creatures were creatively designed and used effectively for the plot. The story didn’t seem to “cash in” on a fanbase. It kept it’s “composure”. It did give a few laughs here and there. Ginko is a pretty dry character, giving a humorous effect. I give this anime a 10/10

Racebending.com from the Last Airbender Moviev

Racebending.com.

This is a way to bring attention to the racial discrimination in the movie The Last Airbender. All of the heroes were white, when clearly in the Last Airbender the culture is based on Inuit and Asian culture, particularly Chinese. And though the face structures are similar, it is obvious that they don’t look much like the characters.

Of course in most live actions they don’t. But I guess since Paramount hasn’t been doing well in the recession, they want to get it to sell. And a white face sells. It’s a bit interesting, I don’t know the real circumstance. I will be doing my own research.

I don’t think it can be compared to Dragonball Evolution. I mean, not only was Goku Asian, but he just didn’t look anything like Goku. Bulma was totally off, and so was Master Roshi, who lacked the gray hair. And Piccolo…sigh…I don’t know.

But with Avatar, the faces look a bit similar. And they probably played the role. But it would be better if they cast a group of people who were actually from the culture, rather than slapping a Caucasian and making them pretend to be Asian.

Maybe some of them were part Asian…I heard Aang was, but they just don’t look the part. They have to add more diversity in order to attract more people.

I was just upset Tauft wasn’t in it. The casting is shocking, and it’s ashame the only one who is South Asian was Zuko, but it is an American cartoon after all…

But I hope the movie was close to the show in story too. I’m not one to go around claiming racism, but gosh, why not place an Inuit or Asian in the movie. This is the 21st Century, right?

Generation Next: Do you remember the late 90s, Y2K?

Anyone who grew up in Generation Next probably remembers the following between 1995-2003:

Pop culture……We are generation “Scorpio” which also defines our generation. All we care about is sex, violence, and power. Our generation is marked by everything dark and mysterious…we hate superficiality and anything “cheerful”…anything mystical, psychic, and occult. We transformed ideas of tranformation, lost the adult “rites of passage” other generations before us had, and are the only generation who can’t find jobs in the recession, still living with parents well into our twenties, and take a while to get married, if at all. But we still find ways to rebel against society, use the internet as our way of gaining social power, and stick to ourselves in our secretive and mistrustful minds. We are also quite an emotional generation….dangerously emotional.

Television

Anyone who is anybody can’t forget the grand children Networks of Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel. Rugrats and ALL That defined Nick, until the Rugrats grew up and Kenan and Kel left All That and so did Nick Cannon, and Cartoon Cartoon Fridays, Toonami, Ed Edd and Eddy, and Powerpuff Girls defined Cartoon Network. But MTV was infested with a bunch of teeny boppers who began filling the channel with their pop videos. At least we still had Michael Jackson… VH1 was filled with oldies. And BET actually had funny comedians on Comic View and showed black movies and shows. Let’s not forget Nick Jr. owned Blues Clues, Face, and Little Bill, while Playhouse Disney had Little Mermaid and Madeline…they even used to show Timon and Pumba, Arabian Nights, and other “Disney-like shows”. Back then, cable was just becoming the “It” thing. I still remember My Brother and Me and Clarissa Explains It All, Sabrina the Teenage witch. Fox and ABC were big back then, UPN too…Sister, Sister, Smart Guy, which also came on Disney Channel along with Boy Meets World, Growing Pains, and Brotherly Love…with those Lawrence Brothers that everyone loved. Disney even had shows like the Famous Jett Jackson, So Weird, and The Jersey. Courage the Cowardly Dog was like So Weird…except weirder…Scooby-Doo was still big. We liked a lot of mysteries like Shelby Woo and the occult like So Weird and Goosbumps….we also loved Power Rangers and Anime as kids. Barney was even in our slot time, though I always preferred Kid Songs….and Zoom, the new version. Aurthur was our show too! And even Sesame Street, especially Elmo’s World. And we weren’t too far from old classic cartoons from Tex Avery, Toonheads like Bugs Bunny, and even some Animaniacs….best time for television. In later years, we supported shows like Lizzie Maguire, the first tween show to make over a million viewers, and That’s So Raven which was the first longest running show on Disney Channel. We loved Lindsey Lohan…until she got cracked up.

What a creative show! Back when Klasky was running things: Rugrats!

The Simpsons, South Park, 90210, Living Single, Baywatch, X-Files, Law and Order, and other nighttime television. Not to mention, watching the Bulls game was far more entertaining than it is now.

Technology

Computer was just becoming a part of the home, and laptops was spreading jobs across the nation. And everyone used to chat on AOL…it used to talk back and say “You’ve got Mail” which used to be so cool. Of course, I was always on yahoo…..Then MP3s came out, though you could only play one song at the time. CDs were still pretty big. Downloading became big like two years after 2000. But people still bought CDs, and everyone had a CD player with big headphones….The DVD player was it, but then everyone found out Playstation 2 could play DVDs and it was done. Playstation 2 was like the biggest thing, though Dreamcast and Gamecube also marked the generation. Of course, realistic graphics were the biggest thing back then. LOL Remember Street Fighter, Tekken, Final Fantasy? And NBA Live was regular too.

Playstation, remember? LOL

Literature

It varied, actually towards the end, kids stopped reading and started again. Babysitters’ Club, Sweet Valley, and American Girl marked the generation. For boys it was between How to Eat Fried Worms, There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom, Help! I’m trapped in Obedient School Again, Anamorphs, and Goooooosssbumpsss!!!! Who doesn’t remember Goosbumps? That was like the biggest thing. Then Harry Potter came out like in 1999 or before, and that took over. A Series of Unfortunate Events was big too. And Pirates of the Caribbean marked the later generation.

GOOOOSSSEEEBUMMMPSS!

Music

It sucked balls. Pop idols like Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls took over the industry. Who can forget the Hansen brothers? Pure lamety. Then here came Britney, the first teen solo act, and she influenced the whole world to come out with pop imitations. Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore who dyed her hair for the “occasion”, and all of these pop groups like Dream and Play, and just too many pop artists to count. And then the boy Britney Spears came out, Aaron Carter. Even black people changed genres like After Dark and Blaque…TLC was the biggest group…until, well you know. It was back when Jesse McCartney was part of the group Dreamstreet. Hoku and Myra marked Disney and Nick movies for their contributions, and Baha Men music swept the world by storm. Then in 2001, it seemed Dark Child took over everything, and so did 50 cent…later Avril Lavigne stole Britney’s shine in the early Y2K years. Then all these poprock artists came out of the closet, of course singers like Michelle Branch, Lindsay Pagano, Vanessa…can’t remember the rest of her name, and even Pink came out of the closet with her “real self”. Evanescence also dominated the industry. Metallic and Coldplay were even at their peek. All the most hard-core music marked our generation….along with the most giddy… If only Panic! At the Disco had been around….

Britney Spears when she was a little innocent...only a little...

The wildest group around! Spice Girls!

Original famous style! Avril Lavigne!

50 Cent back in 2003...

Fashion

I remember overalls….which no one wears anymore. Jordans were popular too…Capri pants were the “it” thing…and for some reason…ponchos….baggy pants, bandannas and scarves, and surfer boy hair cuts. Jean jackets and Timbaland boots were in too. That’s what Spongbob used to remind me of back in 2002, his debut…a surfer, valley dude, which those bleached-blond idiots were the “it” thing. Now, Spongebob is just a geeky idiot…Ponytails, and scrunchies were popular. Lip gloss had just become a big thing. Belly tops were “oh-so revealing” but not compared to now…especially if you consider Gaga’s “no pants rule”. Skorts were popular, and no one wear those either. Numbered tees, like with “57” or “23” and words all over the pants. And because of 9/11, everyone was wearing red, white, and blue. Feathery and hot looking jackets marked later generations. Like this:

jacket

And these checkered and worded jeans:

checkered pants?

Backstreet Boys look...LOL

Words and Sayings

The words and sayings that came back were “Cool” and “Awesome”, but we also added “Totally hot” and “bogus” and “wack” and “corny” and “lame” and who can forget “psyche”. “Wicked Cool” and other sayings that are too funny to repeat. “For shizzle my nizzle” was popular too, and you could add of “izzles” if you liked. And” then “it’s off the heezy for sheezy. “Da Bomb” was it too. And “Bad” or “Sharp” was in too. “Totally Rad” was in too. LOL This is funny.

This is really a walk down memory lane…

I feel sorry for this generation. Sorry later generation, you missed out on the best age to be a kid. Your Television Network producers have gotten so stupid they can’t even read their own network titles. Instead they show everything but music on MTV and live actions on Cartoon Network. Not to mention, the face of Disney is no longer Mickey, but Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus….

No one uses their voices in music anymore, it’s now been replaced by cheap equipments that electronically “disguises” real voices.

Glad I grew up in Generation Next.

Movies

Movies ranged between Sixth Sense, Scissors hands, well really anything with Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp. Matrix marked the 21st Century. We also had “Ritchie Rich”, remember the little blond boy from Home Alone? And let’s not forget the Disney movies. The best movies in the 90s were the Disney movies, hands down, like Lion King, Huntchback of Notre Dame, and Beauty and the Beast. Of course, there were some pretty good thrillers here and there, and other children’s movies like Little Rascals which had Mary-Kate and Ashley, America’s Twins. Also, Dennis the Menace. Remember Free Willy? LOL That movie still makes me laugh. Childrens’ movies had reach their peak in the 90s. The first child actor won an acting award, Haley Joel Osment, and you used to see him everywhere before his sister went all “Hannah Montana”…though he still acts as Sora on Kingdom Hearts, which is all I care about.