u/matt0055

I once took an internship at Project SEARCH (like a decade ago if you wanna feel old as balls) where they help people with autism adjust to the work environment while helping them search for the right job for them.

During my year there, I’ve found that I could get way too worked up for my own good and act very “unprofessionally” over certain things I thought unfair, especially when they’d be dumped on me all of a sudden.

As I think about them, I recall Korra during Books 1 and 2 where fans would criticize her for being an “immature brat” whether or not they thought these moments of her’s were justified. She was a “bad Avatar” for slipping up big time

I always would stan for her character because I related to her and understand how she could get riled up emotionally. What turned people away from her drew me to her more and more.

Like her, I’d react poorly to assertive authority that I’d find unfair. Like her, I’d try to do things my own way contrary to my mentor’s instructions and get reprimanded for it, Like her, I’d lash out and say things that I’d later regret. And like her, I’ve grown from it all…

I guess what I’m saying is that as much as I get the blow-back against “whiny teenagers” in fiction for getting in the way of people’s enjoyment of fiction, I wish that said people could see the value of these characters and how real they can be.

At some point in our lives, we were rash teenagers who wanted to be on equal footing as adults and though we put up with crap to rightfully be angry, we still had a lot to learn. We had a load of room for improvement and more to learn.

Much as I’m not proud of my screw-ups, I see myself in Korra and can’t help but be inspired whenever she pulled through, bettering herself as she went.

Namely in how it was a concrete way to summon the Silver Crystal with how it was fragmented and came with a Youma of the Day that its removal unsealed.

There was also drama with how the Senshi would get a few, the Dark Kingdom and Tuxedo Mask leading to all three parties to converge in a status quo shake up.

Jadeite’s scheming last one cour, the average episode amount of most seasonal Anime. In fact, Season 1 can be broken up into four acts very well based on the active Dark Kingdom general.

As in Agent Abruella should’ve had Alienizers from previous episodes flanking him in the Dekabase raid. Maybe they survived and laid low or maybe Abruella revived them as you do in Super Sentai.

...that's not how it's done.

A character starting out as "The Worst"TM like a Mean Girl or any kind of antagonist on a grounded human level is expected to be first humanized in their behavior before they come around to seeing that maaaaaaybe there's value in treating others better.

We rarely really get failed redemption arcs where the character in question now knows better or at least has grown to learn consideration on some level. Right before sliding back into old habits that die hard before being reanimated as zombie that is.

Even if they backslide, it's often a phase they gotta go through to realize that switching sides means unpacking a looooooot of baggage. They're still on the mend or at least going to be.

But... life isn't like that is it. Many people, especially those born into privillage or any kind of high status, might acknowledge they've internalized the wrong lessons but soon double or triple down on the behavior they still believe in.

Of course, people around them can help and can make an effort to give them guidance but... what's that saying about leading a horse to water? Well, the phrase often means that you can try to give somebody the help they need but them applying that help is entire their final call.

And... too many don't make that final call even when is seemed like they were.

Now OBVIOUSLY… this doesn’t mean that Chloe’s arc as it is cannot be critiqued. However, too many criticize the concept of this choice in character journey from the ground up.

Some cite how promo material during Season 2 was pushing on how Chloe was on the mend but… you expect them to be upfront about the twists and turns of her storyline?

Miracle Queen, whatever you might feel about it, would lose all punch if it was obvious from Season 2 that Chloe was doubling down. We’re suppose to be urging Chloe to not give into her worst vices and be the hero Ladybug saw in her.

And feel frustrated when she doesn’t so much drop the ball as much as slam it into the ground. Hard. Like seeing a friend you know can be better get worse.

But… maybe that’s a stumbling block there. It’s frustrating to see characters actively reject self improvement when a big part of storytelling has been seeing characters overcome internal flaws of their’s impeding their true potential.

And many take this less as a feature so much as a flaw with Chloe from the ground up. Again, not above criticism but I feel that the concept of getting worse after showing signs of improvement is a story worth telling. One rooted in real life more than we think.

Of course, there’s also the discomfort of identifying with Chloe and understanding that a young girl like her being found to be a hopeless case to leave a poor taste in one’s mouth.

Well… good. This should feel like the show is telling you that “This could be you or could’ve been you at some point in your life.” Don’t reject that feeling. Reflect on it. Maybe grow from it.

What’s the point of fiction if only certain types of stories with no deviantions are allowed?

Also I would sympathize with those pointing out how Chloe is written as a female character and the possible double standards of which… if that empathy was applied to other characters like, say, one Marinette Dupain Cheng. But no, Mari’s just a stalker, just as bad as Gabriel and all that reductive brain rot.

I know it was a very close adaptation but wow!

Basically Purple Tigress can harness her Elation into that of a Kamahameha.

Look, Thomas Astruc is a weeaboo and the French were Anime fans before Americans were. Do NOT tell me the thought hasn't crossed his mind.

Um... you can fall in love with a mentor. That they take time to teach you and show off knowledge can be an attractive thing.

Why would the two be mutually exclusive? Putting aside whether you love or hate Adam as he turned out to be in and of himself, I never really got this as a sticking point.

Especially when it came to Niwano turning into ShinkenRed and Sayo becoming Gokai Yellow. Frankly, I wish we got a plot where an Action Commander captures one of their morphers and tries to transform themselves. Or something prior to Gozuger's movie where multiple civilians resonate with the Rangers keys and are able to fend off a massive Gormin raid.

Heck, it's a shame Basco couldn't morph. His monster form could've been a result of creating his own Ranger Key gone wrong.

Like what about those who are allowed to watch Family Guy or South Park so long as they watch their mouth? Says more about the parents than the show really?

I’ll tell you what it is: some entitled fan who feels a promise by the narrative was broken. A promise that usually was never made to begin with.

And so they vent about it, as they are free to do, but feel the need to try and “legitimize” it as some social ill.

I’m tried of pretending it’s not or being "civil" about it.

By who’s standard?

See, as much as some Internet denizens beat the “objectively” drum at deafening volumes, the phrase “One’s trash is another’s treasure” is far more appropriate of an adage.

And in the case of female characters, this borderline meme of how they’re rarely “well written” in a way male characters aren’t judged by starts to get suspect.

Stop me if you've heard this one before:

A show with quite the dedicated following is largely female led or, at the very least, has a considerable female prescene in the cast and the narrative. However, a very vocal portion of fans be they boy, girl or variations thereupon will often find themselves gravitating towards a male character be it a lead hero or villain.

These characters might've earned their flowers with how well their arcs were written or how their personality shakes out generally. Even so, there's a lot of fans who seem to overlook any of the girls in favor of the boys despite the girls often having quite a bit of depth to them. Essays, fanfic and fanart galore.

One can't help but sense an... imbalance of sorts.

But perhaps this little routine gives you deja vu:

2. A show's fandom will often make headcanons and theories out of a male minor character/character of the day but often leave female characters be they major or minor high and dry. Often the claim will be that the female cast isn't well-written or well-developed in spite of how willing fans will dig into a guy's possible subtext or maybe make crud up whole cloth.

That's not even getting into double standards as to how boys getting up to questionable shenanegins will get a slap on the wrist or at least get more than a few devil's advocates in terms of understanding why they're like this. Not so much with female characters be they, say, vying for love in a very hormonal way for their age and clearly getting in her own journey to romance.

Not trying to say that just anybody is trying to intentionally be like this on a conscious level. Blindspots like these are called that for a reason but I feel that just acting like they don't exist is part of the problem.

Maybe the female character’s arc isn’t relatable to you.

Maybe her personality just isn’t your cuppa joe.

Maybe her presentation in the narrative does reveal a skill issue on the part of the writer but the cons are vastly overstated.

Or it's a skill issue on your part.

Many like to heap the onus upon the writer solely but contrary to another popular adage: not everybody is a critic.

If I had to speculate from my own observations (feel free to call me out on an overgeneralizations), it would be that the harsh turn against any given indie project would be akin to a mother scolding a child with, "I expected this from your sibling but you?!"

See also the "We were rooting for you" gif often tossed around.

Indie Animation be it from a small studio or crowdfunded is seen as bypassing the hoops and hurdles of getting your foot in the door of the highly corporatized entertainment industry. With the likes of Disney or Nick or any given streaming service, creator driven projects are subject to the whims of the company who holds the IP.

And those whims are often to said IP's detriment. It'll more often than not be willfully neglected at best or treated as just something to fill a time slot or shove onto a streaming platform as "content." Enough may be allowed to flourish but their either uncerimoniously cut short at best or being dragged out as a franchise at worst.

To keep from going on about the whole Legend of Korra vs. Spongebob thing (I was there people, there was an LoK fandom believe it or not), indie animation has often been seen as small scale but also within the creator's general control since they control how long it goes or how it's written.

Many cartoons like Gravity Falls, Owl House and Amphibia have talked about trying to get their vision across while contending with a lot of Standards and Practices. Their story which had a "kids and adults alike" target audience would have the top brass insist on something more just for the former category.

While they find work arounds, often to stick their tongue out at the FCC, this can be a hard reminder of who has the final say despite it being what you want. Indie animation is seen as an answer to "What if Alex Hirsch didn't have to comprimise elements of Gravity Falls for the FCC?" or "What if Dana Terrence could just blaze her own trail with The Owl House with little to no notes?"

Especially when it comes to animation with queer characters. Animation made to be "fit for kids" have it tough enough even today but adult animation has to "play it for laughs" since comedies have been the defacto standard for that type of cartoon.

However... a show being creator driven or creative team driven comes as a double edged sword for the fandoms they form. Not all stories that play out across multiple episodes of varying lengths are going in the direction YOU might want to.

Creators might tire of a certain direction or formula and mix things up with things that come to mind almost on the spot. Even with a solid plan, the status quo will get a shake up that can and will alienate those who fell in love from episode one.

Indie Pilots spark the imagination something fierce. There's theories as to what any little detail could mean going forward and speculation on what a character's arc could be. These go wild because Fandom is all about the hypothetical, the unknown, the what could've/should've/would've been. Whole phenomenon would be dead in the water otherwise.

Thing is that not all theories will be proven right if any at all. The creators aren't mind readers and even if it isn't a legality like in corporate, they don't read fanfics if only because they don't want their vision to be totally compromised. Any good creator knows not to just give fans what they want. However... trampling over all these fanfics and theories makes it feel like any given fan had their "child" dragged into the streets to be shot.

A harsh phrasing but that's how a lot of fans act when continuing episode bump up against initial impression of this character or that storyline. It was their creation but new lore, new backstory or what have you is liable to override them. It's been an occupational hazard of being a member of fandom for ages yet it's become the center of a lot of discourse now more than ever. Say thank you to social media for creating such a combative environment everybody.

It's this... feeling of ownership that has existed in fandoms of other shows owned by corporations but amplied by the smaller scale of it, how creators seem more... approachable. And THIS is how the YouTube "critic" scene comes in to capitalize.

So... yeah

I say... why not? Indie is the only way to get any sort of character who isn't what the actual industry considers their top demographic front and center. Especially when Disney-Pixar nixed what they felt was a "girl power" movie. Disney. As in Disney Princesses.

Like the Wild Zords being from time long past yet being able to fuse in a mechanical manner, the Galactabeasts able to transform into robots able to make a bigger robot or even Jungle Fury's Zords being the manifestation of a Martial Artist's very spirit. Apparently there's a mechanical robot in us all deep down.

I ain't complaining but it does amuse me in that "this makes no sense yet somehow works" kind of way.