u/Sonlau

I usually make these long critical posts, so I'd like to add something light for a change, my personal top 3 scenes so far, taking the whole package into account: ambiance, animation, action, music, voice acting, the whole thing.

#3 Kagami lecturing Tomoe (S6 Yaksi Gozen)

Kagami's VA delivery was outstanding, "Humiliation!" with the synchronized crackling of lightning sent a chill through my bones, the animation was absolutely stellar as well.

#2 Ladybug vs. Argos (S5 Emotion)

Best action sequence so far imo, as to be expected from the two Miraculer top dogs squaring off face to face. Even though LB was the one most aggrieved, she quickly becomes overpowered by Felix' conviction, you could feel the power in his punches and kicks when he pulls out the dust from the concrete. His affinity with the Peacock was so broken, not even the Lucky Charm could provide an out. Amazing stuff. I loved LB sticking the landing on the final beat of his corny song as well, immediately setting the scene.

#1 The Umbrella scene (S1 The Origins Pt 2)

This should be a surprise to no one, the music, the atmosphere, the thunderclap symbolizing the French translation for love at first sight "coup de foudre". This is the start of their mysterious journey which they are still not privy of to this day.

I confess, I didn't think too long about it, so these are the 3 that came naturally to me. Please let me know yours, I might've missed some for consideration!

Romance is an important aspect of MLB’s story. With its promise of being more prominent in S7, I wonder in which direction it will go, because the audience tends to have diverging expectations. To illustrate the point I’m trying to make with this post, I want to focus on the main love story of the show: Adrienette. 

When it comes to a love story, people tend to care about either the “journey” or the “destination”, sometimes a bit of both, but usually there’s a bias. To explain this, I want to start off by using the final scene of the movie as an example: Adrienette is about to kiss, and the screen goes hard black. 

• Viewers invested in the journey will think this is great. We’ve seen their struggles, they’ve reached their goal, the story is finished, and the “happily ever after” is left to the imagination. 
• Destination viewers will be upset to not have seen the actual kiss. Throughout the whole movie they’ve been anticipating this moment, and they’ve been denied their satisfying payoff, their “dopamine shot”.

 

You can tell, by the use of pronouns, I’m personally 100% all about the journey. It’s one of my gripes with S6; full circle Adrienette and the lovesquare dead and buried, has shifted the focus to Destination romance, and there’s one very specific case I want to highlight from “The Chained Titans”. 

Warning: Hot Take alert 

Renardette and Trionyx... everyone went nuts about this. At first, I thought this was going to be a scenario where our heroes would be caught with their pants down by an enemy during this little “excursion”, which would be interesting. To my disappointment, they quickly changed back to the status quo, and I realized they just wanted to create a cutesy moment -> Destination romance. Ironically enough, their kiss also got interrupted here, and to my point (!), many complained about it. For me, this fell completely flat, couldn’t care in the slightest, especially in a Nino centered episode and considering the preluding events, which brings me to my next example. 

While everyone else was foaming at the mouth about Marinette being Akumatized in “Heartfixer” (and it being too short), to me, the highlight of the episode was Adrien’s perfect boyfriend image finally being challenged; he has to overcome a plot against him while struggling with his own emotions, and reaffirm his love for Marinette -> Journey Romance. This is the stuff I expect from an Adrienette story. 

There are many more examples, but these are the most prominent ones imo. Do you agree with my take about MLB romance? Which type of romance are you eager to see more of? 

Thank you for reading. 

The decision to have Guardians lose their memory when they retire might come back to bite them, because I honestly can't see any way of Marinette ever laying down the mantle because of it. Even though the rules are pretty vague, she'd forget like half of the stuff she lived through during her stint as Ladybug, and she would be instantly found out as well.

If you think about it even more, it makes Fu's decision to appoint her, unilaterally, exceptionally cruel, because it means she basically has to keep carrying the burden, or lose a bunch of memories that aren't even directly related to her superhero-stuff, at such a young age to boot.

I started to think about this possibility because, even though she's still an exceptional Miraculer, let's face it, she's not doing so hot as Guardian at the moment; she's an emotional wreck and constantly breaking her own rules.

And before the Marinette stans bring out the pitchforks: the point is not to debate whether this "dip" is her fault or not, if you want my full "analysis" on that, you can find it here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/miraculousladybug/comments/1t2664o/marinette_dupaincheng_talk_of_the_town/

So after that, you can downvote me into oblivion, but the fact remains.

How do you think they could write a memory loss scenario/storyline? Is there a detail I'm missing?

EDIT: Many early commenters refer to it, but Fu did not recognize Marianne, so you lose more than just Miraculous-related memories.

Episode transcript:

>Master Fu: It's incredible! I've only just met you and yet my heart is beating as if I've known you forever.

EDIT 2: Shoutout to user "Odd_Potential_7203", who theorizes that Fu specifically appointed Ladybug to be Guardian, not Marinette. So that's technically an out they could pursue! Sorry if it has been theorized before, but I'm reading this for the first time.

Even though I'm OK with the recoloring, I feel like the gymnast's bodysuit was a better fit for her acrobatic fighting style, it was part of her identity. Her new suit seems to share the same fabric as CN's now, making them less unique in their pairing.

Additional minor gripes: I preferred the smaller pigtails and the absence of a zipper.

Whenever I’m being asked if S6 is an improvement on the show, I always answer the same thing: “Quality yes, content no.” This tends to confuse people. I’m also often told that my criticism is out of place, because I’m not the target audience, soft argument but true enough. So how did this show exactly appeal to me? 

I’ve been brooding this post for a while, wondering if there’s any point in elaborating on this to explain my feelings on the current state of affairs, but others my age could perhaps relate, so I thought “why not?” I’ve already made a post before on how I tumbled into MLB, in fact it was the very first post I made on this sub. Most important takeaway is that I started off with the movie, but if you want to read the whole thing: 

https://www.reddit.com/r/miraculousladybug/comments/1ryt5hn/this_show_made_me_lose_my_mind_and_i_blame_jeremy/ 

Before I started the show, I already knew, more or less, what it was about. The first thing that left an impression on me was the prominent yin yang symbolism for the titular characters, I loved the concept, and expected it to be a recurring theme: 

• Miraculous of Creation and Destruction. 
• Their opposing avatars: the Ladybug of Luck and the Black Cat of Misfortune. 
• And, of course, the “love square”.

 

They even went so far as using inverted colors for their respective palette, which is insanely clever. The premise was clear: the story is about two teenagers being, unknowingly, bound by a common destiny and how they deal with the challenges it presents. Keeping symbolism in mind, I imagined the story playing out (broad strokes) in 3 major chapters, spending equal time in development. 

The first chapter would narrate the origins and the initial “love square” being set up for failure, the two would chase each other like a dog chasing its own tail (yin yang), being blind to what’s right in front of them. In the end, this would cause quite a bit of distress between them, both as civilians and alter egos; they remain out of each other’s reach. 

Second chapter – Marinette letting go of her obsession makes room for reciprocating Cat Noir’s advances but, unbeknownst to her, Adrien starts to realize there’s more to life than Ladybug and starts to pursue Marinette. Whether this is a coincidence or a higher power paving their way is open to interpretation (yin yang). 

They get more challenges to deal with: Marinette’s Guardianship and Adrien’s Sentibeing Theory. 

Marichat comes to fruition; their newfound connection makes them feel uneasy, like there’s something out of place. And sure enough, with the identity “key” missing, a balance is disrupted (yin yang), and catastrophe ensues. 

The third chapter would start with our heroes starting at their lowest point, but, amid all adversity, would eventually reach the story’s natural conclusion:  

• Marinette realizes her potential. 
• Adrien confronts his father and claims his freedom. 
• The “reveal” opens their eyes to everything they’ve lived through.

 

I could go much deeper into detail, but I want to limit post length (seems to be failing miserably at that) and head canon space. But I think you can see my point when I say I was disappointed with how things played out in the actual show, more specifically: pacing, conclusion, and the handling of Gabriel as the third main actor and antagonist. 

In addition to improving quality on many fronts, S6’ story essentially tells 3 things: 

• Adrienette. 
• Expanding the universe and exploring minor characters. 
• Marinette’s “lie”.

 

Adrienette was always a goal in my view, and even though very cutesy, not exactly an interesting story to tell. Also keeping the setting contained was part of the charm for me, so not a big fan of the expansion, but I understand the necessity. I am curious to see how Marinette’s “lie” will play out, but it does feel like artificial drama that piggybacked on the previous arc’s plot. 

No matter how much the show improves in quality, in my eyes, it can never redeem wasting the original premise, unless they somehow come up with an equally compelling story, which I consider to be a high bar. 

Hence why: 
S1-5, better story, poor execution 
S6, better quality, less compelling 

When asked for my favorite season, I have to go for 6, reluctantly, because I feel like the show had much more to offer. The movie was peak, but too short, causing some other problems. 

Thank you for reading! 

As beings that have been around since the dawn of time, I've always imagined the Kwamis alignment to be True Neutral or Chaotic Neutral at best, abiding by the laws of the universe in favor of forging their own morality. Most of them found themselves at the side of "Good", except two, one more prominent than the other: Nooroo.

This is the very first image I've ever seen from Nooroo (looking cool), I was like:

>Hell yes, this is going to be the villain's genie, his "guide" throughout his journey, I wonder what they are going to be like.

I was disappointed to see Nooroo being treated as a "hostage", seemingly trying to escape their master, both in the movie and the series. I think they missed an opportunity in depicting a Kwami trying to understand/relate to their master's "evil" motives, and stay loyal to the goal nevertheless, even if it means standing opposed to fellow Kwamis. Thoughts?

Thanks for reading.

EDIT: Made a woopsie in the title, too bad it can't be edited, don't know if a Mod can help out with removing the " 's "?

A recent post of mine got taken down where I essentially made the argument why any criticism of the show shouldn't be dismissed out of hand and why the fandom shouldn't settle for mediocrity, if they want lingering problems (like the abysmal release schedule) to improve.

Needless to say, I received a lot of pushback. I'm going to try to explain why I'm like this, if you'll indulge me.

I'm usually a very critical voice on this sub and I've been told many times that judging the show by my own interpretation of it's maximum potential (skewed by the movie, PV and manga) is an unrealistic bar to set, that the current S6 is peak MLB (or some even claim peak fiction altogether) and the release practice just "is what it is". This usually comes paired with this nifty little phrase:

>You realize this is just a kids' show, right? Relax.

X-Men, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Bluey, Dragonball, One Piece, Avatar TLA... These are examples of children's media that have cemented themselves to stand the test of time, and it's not me, but Mira Corp themselves that have expressed their ambition to join this illustrious list ("We want to become as big as Marvel"). Said examples have something in common: even though they started off as a "kids' show", they've managed to attract a wide demographic and audience volume MLB could only dream of at this point, even with the S6 "masterpiece".

And this may surprise you, but I legit feel like MLB should belong in this list, that it should move beyond just being a guilty pleasure for adults, but it still falls painfully short in that regard. So yeah, that's the personal reason why I keep pushing the boundaries, why I will keep expecting more improvements, even for a "kids' show".

Fun fact: One Piece and Dragonball are produced by TOEI Animation, the same guys who made the PV for MLB, and they are legends of the industry. When I saw this for the first time, my eyes almost popped out of their sockets, I wish they would've remained more closely involved with the IP.

Thanks for reading.

EDIT: Peculiar observation: Usually support for a post translates in upvotes while pushback manifests in the comments. It seems to be the other way around in this case; I'm getting a surprisingly amount of support from the comments, whilst sitting at a 60% upvote rate, and I don't even think this take should be that controversial tbh. Very interesting statistic I wanted to share.

So there's plenty of content creators glazing the crap out of S6, and even though that slightly annoys me too, it's their prerogative. However, there are some that take it an extra step further and just dismiss any kind of criticism out of hand, from their echo chamber, making outlandish claims that Miraculous S6 is objectively some sort of writing masterpiece in all of television history. And this is coming from the same people that would absolutely dumpster on S5.

>Why do you care what they think? Why is this important?

Why dear reader, I'm glad you asked!

I've said it plenty of times before and I'll say it again now; I think S6 is an improvement across the board, but I feel like it is important to remain critical about the bad, even if it's your personal opinion. Because if we don't, why would the showrunners ever aspire to do better? For example, MLB is transitioning into a full drama series where consistency and sequencing is more important than ever, would you remain cool with the current releasing practice? Which does affect the writing for the worse, btw.

And I can promise you, if the finale doesn't land the way these YouTubers and their supporters envision, they will all bring out the knives again, when it's too late, to then glaze all over the next season again, which would be more of the same, because they enabled it.

Personally I have, and always will, judge the IP by, what I believe is, it's maximum potential, which S6 does not live up to at the moment. I will never settle for anything less than the best from this show, and I hope you won't either.

If this is a hot take, I'm all ears, thanks for reading!

Sorry if this has already been reported before, but I see no mention of it anywhere and I thought this would be a pretty big deal?

MLB has this little nasty habit of creating very interesting characters, only to confine them to the background afterwards, or shelf them off completely. In this mini-series, I would like to pay homage to “what could’ve been”, for each of these characters.  

So, welcome to the “Hall of Fame of Wasted Potential”-entry #3: Luka Couffaine.  

Luka was introduced to become the alternative love interest for Marinette, and honestly, I didn’t expect much more from him at that time, but boy was I wrong. He’s one of those frustratingly loveable characters that barely gets upset and just wants to make everyone happy, making every interaction with any other character equally interesting; he’d turn Chloé around in a second, flat. No wonder they shipped him off to Brazil, because Perrine Psiquat would be out of a job. 

There’s one more thing that sets him uniquely apart from all the other characters: he knows Adricat, and that’s the main reason why I wanted to write this post. He’s positioned in the story to forge an interesting relationship with Adrien, and to be honest, Adrien’s story could use some extra substance as well. A quick recap: 

• As mentioned before: He knows Adricat, in addition to Maribug. 
• He knows Marinette never got over Adrien, even while they were dating. He understood this at a very profound level, despite his age. 
• He never showed, or even felt, any shred of contempt towards Adrien. Not only that, but he also actually tried to wingman his own ex to him! While he’s still in love with her!! Dude!!!

 

What’s that? You’re dying to know what happens next? Oh no, this is MLB, interesting characters go straight to development limbo, and dear Luka is no exception. But jokes aside, I actually do get it (I think); Adrienette tension is being built, and keeping Luka around would be counterproductive in achieving this. Considering his character and the knowledge he possesses, he would do anything in his power to make their life easier. 

But was there no other way to keep him in the story and keep the tension intact? I vaguely remember a writer claiming that there were plans to make Lukadrien work at one point, and to be honest... I think the narrative could support this. I’m not saying it needs to come to complete fruition, I would actually prefer it doesn’t, but having Luka catch some extra feels for Adrien could’ve created an interesting dynamic between the three. 

>But you said it yourself; he’s still in love with Marinette! 

If there were any characters, they could be bold with, and really push the envelope, I reckon Luka could be one of them. He could love them both in his own way. I’ll leave it there before the theorizing really spins out of control. 

But anyways, I think Luka is way too unique and interesting to bench him for who knows how long, plenty of possibilities are left on the table there! What is your opinion? 

Thank you for reading!  

This concludes entry #3, if you enjoyed this content and you would like to see similar work for another character, feel free to let me know!    

Previous entries:  

#1: Su-Han, the Celestial Guardian 
https://www.reddit.com/r/miraculousladybug/comments/1snxdfq/hall_of_fame_of_wasted_potential_1_suhan_the/

#2: Plagg, Kwami of Destruction 
https://www.reddit.com/r/miraculousladybug/comments/1srki5y/hall_of_fame_of_wasted_potential_2_plagg_kwami_of/

Planned future entries:   

#4: Félix Fathom 

#5: Adrien Agreste 

 

>Ahhh, pretty good advice... for a cat! *rings bell* S1 Antibug

Even though I'm very happy for the Adrienette fans, sometimes makes you wonder if it was worth (some of) the sacrifices. Marinette having these little "unhinged" moments being one of them, I absolutely adored those, that expression on her face. Who would've guessed that the well-grounded Marinette we know today was capable of... whatever you want to call this. You know, for kids! Am I right?

Forgive my second Marinette post in a short span of time, I'm being a bit nostalgic here.

I've been watching some of the older episodes again during the hiatus, and even though I was kind of indifferent about it at first, I have to say I'm starting to feel a little nostalgic about the old designs. Comparing the two here, the new design looks surprisingly "flat", particularly the eyes and lips pop out a bit more in the old one, the new eyes look a bit too glossy.

To be absolutely clear: I'm talking about design, not animation (in which S6 is superior without a doubt).

But to be fair to S6, I think it's more consistent, the old is one of Marinette's better shots, so maybe it's a bit of an unfair comparison.

This is a rewrite of a recent post that I deleted, I apologize if you already came across this similar content.

MLB is transitioning to a more mature drama series, where sequencing and consistency become more important than ever for storytelling. The best example I can think of, are the "end credits" scenes, where they build up tension for the next episode, but then fall completely flat because it (temporarily) stops being relevant at that time.

At this point, I'm not even sure if this production practice is deliberate, I'd like to know why if it is, but it kills hype for no reason and attracts fewer audiences. Fewer audiences = less growth = less production power, resulting in more projects never seeing the light of day. You can take that to the bank. It becomes a never ending vicious circle (already going on for 10+ years).

And it impacts the actual content as well, with the amount of side arcs and characters they pile up. Take Zoé's Fury, for example, if they are only going to spend one episode each season developing it, it won't get very far, it's horrible pacing.

And even though S6 addresses many problems previous seasons have had before, some prevalent ones still remain, and I would even dare say new ones are added. When comparing the sum, I can agree that S6 might be the best season so far, but it's still a far cry of what I expect from the show's potential. Hence, it drives me up a wall when I sometimes read that "S6 has redeemed the show", I mean, is this really the best we can expect?

I know I'm out of line saying this, but I sometimes wish the fandom could look past these "dopamine" moments and remain critical about these fundamental issues, because they really don't do the show any good. I, personally, will keep the bar high, because I feel like the IP deserves it (in a positive way).

Thanks for reading and enduring this little rant.

EDIT: This post is looking at a 25% down vote ratio at the time of writing, I am genuinely curious about the reasoning. Just a response to the negative nature? Or do people actually like the slow pace and release method? I'm really trying to figure this out, don't be shy to respond, you won't hurt my feelings ;)

I've noticed the manga gaining some momentum on this sub, so I'm not going to pass up this opportunity to do my part in promoting it! Shameless, I know, but I love it and I want it to continue, sue me.

So here are some subtle changes they make in the manga, for Marichat & Dark Cupid fans out there, you read it right to left, btw:

1. After the Evillustrator fight. Adrien, you sly dog, you.
2. Cat Noir actually trying to strangle Ladybug after being hit by Dark Cupid. A bit more edgy.
3. Illustrator page. Ladybug unleashing her inner Cat Noir, nice little parallel with #1.

If you love manga, or want to give it a try, don't sleep on it, please support the official release! You won't regret it!

I'm not sure if I break any rules here, Mods have mercy!

Never have I seen such diverging opinions about a fictional character, ranging from outright abandoning the show because of how insufferable she is, to considering her to be the epitome of humankind. Usually, in these situations, the truth can be found in the middle. It does make for an extremely compelling protagonist; you either love her or love to hate her, sometimes even both depending on the situation. 

However, a polarizing character like Marinette can often spark some spicy or even, dare I say, toxic discussions. So today, I’d like to try and see if some middle ground can be found about our pigtailed heroin... Or perhaps I’ll manage to piss off both sides at the same time, who knows. Embark with me on this adventure! 

Conception & Premise 

Marinette was designed to become a teenaged, relatable, role model heroin. If young girls, her age and lower, would aspire to become just like her, the idea would be considered a success. Coming straight from Thomas Astruc himself. 

Underdog? Not quite. 

Marinette starts off as this shy, low-esteemed, clumsy girl that doesn’t easily make friends, but only very briefly. When Alya befriends her, as if she found a lost puppy, the last cog is inserted into the Marinette-machine, and she pops off! She becomes assertive/sassy, finds her confidence to function in the world (barring a certain golden haired, green-eyed individual) and she becomes popular! Heck, even amongst the boys: Nino, Nathaniel, Luka, Adrien... girl’s got game! 

Ladybug 

As Ladybug, all her newfound characteristics are amplified even further. Hesitant to pick up the mantle at first, she quickly develops to become the most competent Holder in recorded history, evidenced by the number of jewels she can simultaneously wield. Why? How? We don’t know (yet?) Pure coincidental talent. 

Guardian 

Pressure mounts again when she’s prematurely appointed Guardian, but once more, after confiding in Alya, she quickly grows into the role. More importantly, she decides to carry this responsibility herself alone, instead of sharing it with her longtime partner of equal experience, Cat Noir. 

Mary Sue? No. 

Despite everything said about her so far, is she perfect? No, far from it, and that is good. Marinette is surprisingly self-aware, for a 14 yo, about her position as a civilian, Ladybug and the Guardian, mixing her self-confidence and strong sense of justice/morality into pure arrogance/vengeance or even abusing her influence for personal gain, on occasion.

Does she get away with it most of the time? Perhaps. She does carry the avatar of Luck after all? But when she doesn’t, it can cut deep, and the show does not shy away from conveying this message when it must, also very good! I’m specifically thinking about how she, despite the power she wields, got served some humble pie by Félix, twice!  

Stalkernette 

If I wasn’t already, this might be a part where I get into hot water, I think this whole business is a bit overblown (I’ve seen way worse in other media). This quirk is obviously intended for comedic purposes, but there is some nuance to this, two cases off the top of my head where it does become problematic: 

1. She’s supposed to be a role model, so I expect the writing to depict that this kind of behavior cannot be condoned in real life. 
2. If it moves past the pure comedic value, e.g. Adrien falling in love with her because of the museum incident, it sends a very wrong message. I did not like this at all.

 

Consequences (or lack thereof?) 

The highs go high; she can be on top of the world, everything going her way, untouchable, unbeatable, and that’s where she usually finds herself for most of the show. But occasionally, she hits those lows, and they can go very low.  

And this is the moment where the audience should remember that we’re dealing with a 14 yo here; she’s not allowed to drink, drive, vote or do plenty of other stuff without a consenting adult, however, she’s supposed to deserve the full weight of every bad decision she makes? That’s a bit harsh in my book. Like movie Gabe correctly stated: under that mask and all that bravado, she’s just a scared little girl. 

Sometimes she lucks out, sometimes she gets punished harshly, but over the general line I think she gets challenged enough for compelling storytelling. 

Liars are losers 

And this ties seamlessly with her current predicament; she got caught in the web of irony, dropping her down into, arguably, her lowest point yet. She made another bad decision, believing it was the right thing to do at that time, and now she's committed to it, but for how long?

So, there you have it! If you’ve finished the post: well done! It was a bit long (sorry), thank you for reading! And if it made you more sympathetic towards the people you usually argue with on this topic, I consider this post a success. If it didn’t, I’m happy to discuss it further if you like. 

 

This scene made me laugh my ass off, 10/10, I'm appreciating Alya more and more with each passing episode. Honestly, she's like Marinette's Jiminy Cricket at this point.

But to address the elephant in the room: 5 minute rule? Hello?? Earth to Nino??? I can imagine him missing it, but the OG's and "Miss Aspiring Journalist"?

I know there's been plenty of "How have they not figured it out yet?"-moments before, but have we reached the point that we're just throwing pre-established rules out of the window? And yes, I know, the answer is "A long time ago! Plenty of rules have been broken!", but this isn't exactly a minor one and is it really too much to ask for some improvement on that front? For S6? Especially with everyone glazing the crap out of it?

Urgh, the moment I saw the trailer, I knew this was going to be an issue. But besides that, I enjoyed the theme of the episode.

Finished the episode 5 minutes ago, so thanks for reading my little rant fresh off the press.

Happy hiatus, everyone!

EDIT: Many bring up the argument that the "adult" age barrier, that always has been referenced up until now, has been breached at the current age of 14-15. If that's the case, why did every single other Miraculer require training? What was the point? Are you telling me that not a single one out of this group managed to break through naturally, besides Marinette and Adrien?