I think the anchor criticism is actually not that great. Her anchor was the visualization of her family, and when that's destroyed she uses her literal friends and family as an anchor. It's not that they were the real anchor all along, she just expands the view of her humanity past just her literal family.
Yes, like it actually was kind of made clear from the beginning that she only had to get the picture because her family wasn't around which is why I actually was a bit confused they didn't get that friends/family anchor thing earlier even in the show. After all her family was what she was most missing, and the picture gave her the only look on it she ever had, but in the finale they were all together, so she had her need fulfilled in an actually greater way then just a picture and she could ground on that. And friends as being the family you choose is pretty common as well anyway
Aconite, I totally agree with the “friends being the family you choose,” it’s a good way of putting it. I was getting more of a “connections with others” was her anchor being with her family and her friends, but I like that idea way better. I just love that even being friends with Mutes and them being as close as family will still work in this scenario and speaks to how she views her family and those she surrounds herself with. Great point all around.
Elaborating on this, not only is it what the anchor represents to her but its also something that has been her focus the whole time up until the final moment. Her focus was her family and finding/ saving them. Its only natural that the thing that keeps her grounded is her drive to do that. In the end once she has all of them its not her drive to find them but that she has found them and the friends she made along the way. She wants to cherish them and her anchor becomes wanting to be with them and "make more memories".
Best part of that joke is that he refuses not because he doesn't care about Kipo, but because he doesn't want to deal with Dave never shutting up about him joining, lol
Fact is, it was good but improve-worthy. The Plot Holes, were annoying. And the music's quality varies way too much. Especially the Hip Hop Music was really multiple levels below the other song's quality. I do not know if that's a problem with Hip Hop overall or just the songs selected or something, but still. I cannot call it a Masterpice with so much varying Quality in all fields and such simple Plot Structure. I do hope for a Season 3 - but one that is better than Season 2. Cause it needs to be. Kipo is the 'kind' of thing we need, but not exactly the quality we need.
With the anchor, I never got the impression that her friends were the anchor the whole time, more like they became her new anchor. I think the picture of her parents really WAS her anchor, but after it was lost she found a new anchor in her friends.
also i feel like they established Kipos connection to music, its her way of bonding with people and considering it was strong enough to get through to her mother the choice seems pretty obvious
Fact is, it was good but improve-worthy. The Plot Holes, were annoying. And the music's quality varies way too much. Especially the Hip Hop Music was really multiple levels below the other song's quality. I do not know if that's a problem with Hip Hop overall or just the songs selected or something, but still. I cannot call it a Masterpice with so much varying Quality in all fields and such simple Plot Structure. I do hope for a Season 3 - but one that is better than Season 2. Cause it needs to be. Kipo is the 'kind' of thing we need, but not exactly the quality we need.
My favorite thing about this season was probably the dynamic that Kipo and Hugo had as siblings. It came completely out of left field for me, but I loved it. I kept expecting him to be all like “oh you took my only source of love away from me and now I’m angry at you blah blah blah”, but instead his anger is focused on Kipo’s parents and how the world in general has mistreated him, which I like. The playing board games and the piano together is just too wholesome I can’t. What I didn’t like so much was when Kipo said stuff like “I know Hugo is still in there” while talking to her dad, because I’m pretty sure that’s not how mental illness or just changing as a person in general works. It’s not like Scarlemane is some sort of brainwashed form of Hugo that’s taken over his body, he is Hugo. It’s just that almost dying repeatedly in a cruel, uncaring world, and becoming convinced that any love you’ll ever be able to attain and keep has to be taken by force can kind of change you. Then again what was probably meant by this was that the loving, sweet personality formerly possessed by Hugo was still there under all hi bitterness for the world. Which is probably true. I guess I just didn’t much like the way she phrased it.
Yes i assumed that, that was Kipo’s point, that the person he was is still in there its just suppressed by the persona he has been forced to take on to survive and protect himself.
Fact is, it was good but improve-worthy. The Plot Holes, were annoying. And the music's quality varies way too much. Especially the Hip Hop Music was really multiple levels below the other song's quality. I do not know if that's a problem with Hip Hop overall or just the songs selected or something, but still. I cannot call it a Masterpice with so much varying Quality in all fields and such simple Plot Structure. I do hope for a Season 3 - but one that is better than Season 2. Cause it needs to be. Kipo is the 'kind' of thing we need, but not exactly the quality we need.
Me, looking at a spidermonkey with 8 arms. Me, looking at Kipo's jaguar form with a completely normal body proportion and no extra limbs. Me, realizing that every single mega mute is MUCH BIGGER, like 5x to 8x the size of Kipo's jaguar, all of them from the bunnies to the dogs having extra eyes and limbs. Kross: "There's no way to see her evolution coming! It just came entirely out of nowhere. Not a hint through the whole series." .... ahuh. Sure there wasn't buddy.
This was my initial thought too. I wondered why she was a regular cat. I think that was the point behind just how NORMAL she is when Mega: Foreshadowing.
Randal Jeffrey probably just because she hasn’t had much practice Like it’s been a few days Do in for a few weeks, months, years Then you got a mega mute
I think one of my favorite parts about the season (along with everything else they do with his character) was how Scarlamain wasn’t auto redeemed. I think we do a really good job fleshing out his motivations, but I was honestly a little afraid they were gonna pull a White Diamond and have him immediately change sides. But we not only don’t redeem him, we get something better! When he creates the gold statue for Kipo, we get see a part of him that is maybe trying to change, trying to give back to others, something he hasn’t done in a long time. But we also see how his past still and who he has become affects how he goes about doing this. All of this culminates in reaffirming his anger and doubling down on being the antagonist, before having a subtle realization that he may have been wrong as he’s hauled off to the Timber Cats. Man! Scarlamain really was so good this season.
I was afraid they were going to pull a Diamondemption too. I like him as a villain as he has good motivations and an interesting personality. These are qualities that I miss in villains these days as once they pull a sympathy card, it just sets them up for redemption at some point. Why can’t we have villains who intriguing personalities and stay evil?
That last scene of him is very important His anger and brutality stemmed from the fact that he thought because he was a not human, Lio didn’t care enough about him to come back and save him or see if he was alright, it was a betrayal in his eyes, it’s this key action that made him go nuts and set him on his path The last scene is him realizing that Kipo could have run but instead risked her life to save all the mutes, himself included and that i think is the changing moment that will come into play later.
I kinda didn't even realise it until someone pointed out that all 3 of the main characters are POC. That's not too common in western animation. I mean, I'm not sure if Kipo herself counts as a person of colour because her skin is purple, but her dad is black and her mom is Asian so she's definitely not white. I myself am white and in my country less than 1% of the population is made of people of colour so as a kid everything that I learned about different races and how to act around them came from TV. I'm happy that in shows like Kipo race it's never talked about. Everyone is treated like a normal person so I'm glad that kids from my country will grow up with such a positive influence.
@Unknown gacha yeah it's good to talk about race, but I'm just saying that showing characters not being judged because of their race is a good influence on younger viewers. If they don't see it, then they won't do it unless they learn from some other source. Of course I see skin colour. The same way I see different hair and eye colours. People look different, that's just how we are. But I don't think that the amount of melanin we have should be a reason for hate.
@@monikakavaliunaite8017 I completely understand your reasoning. I just feel that as (lack of a better term😅) "bold" and innovative as the show is, they should be able to cover and address issues that pertain to mistreatment of minorities, racism (relevant things, not the half human/mute conflict they have going on💀) ect. I mean they made two of their characters gay, without hesitation (which is pretty controversial in media itself). If they can do that, then they can tackle the real world issues of race too. Yes it is important to show POC as people and nothing more, but not bringing awareness to the issues that POC face just doesn't feel right.
Jive Peach but they didn’t bring awareness to lgbt struggles they just showed them as normal people which is how everyone should be treated plus I don’t see how race struggles or lgbt struggles could be integrated into the plot with care. But if you see a way by all means share :)
My only "complaints" that aren't mentioned in this video are Kipo's transformations. Like, her first transformation into the mega jaguar was amazing! The wind picked up, the ground shook, and Wolf and Benson were thrown back by it. Also, when she turned back she passed out, really showed the toll it had on her body. But we never saw another transformation or anything close to it until the end. And even the last transformation wasn't shown until she turned back. But when she turned back she was fine, just stood and joked around. I wish she would have staggered or fallen because it would have shown the internal battle she had to go through to not let her Jaguar take over and the toll on her body about getting the new form. I also wish her new form had light pink hair on its neck instead of the brown to be more like Kipo, but at the same time I love the different/new color
FRRR i love Dave too, although there are times where I want to hit him in the face lmao. I noticed dave was hugged twice in season 2 which I love so much
@@kasakro9829 Yes, it's been quite wholesome, plus, he's genuinely funny. I just love that one character that is the result of some mysterious eldritch forces and lived through the unthinkable, but is still a goofball.
He was annoying, but he was also funny. I liked him a lot more in season three because we got his backstory which was as goofy as he is. I loved him after that.
Maybe they could have made Wolf say something like "Yes, you did make a mistake, and that's okay, now you have to do everything you can to fix it" or something like that; and a few changes in the visual would have improved the anchor thing a lot (like including Benson or wolf in the frame with the photo), also an episode or two about Troy and the twins' time with the Lumbercats would have been nice for their characters. Ps: i'm not familiar with animation and shows but is possible to add an apisode in the middle of a series? like if the showrunners makes a new episode can they add it to an already released season?
I think he’s missing the point of the anchor... The anchor is not the picture itself (and its not the mom), its what it represents to Kipo...the representation of a complete family... It’s the fact that it was a vision of the full family she always wanted which is hinted at in the dream episode last season This is why she’s able to recover after losing the anchor because her friends and her mom and dad etc. are all her “family” now...
All I want is background on benson and Dave. Or something about them that we don’t know. Like how they met and where did they come from? How did benson get such a love of music? And how did they become friends
I disagree with a few points The picture as a temporary anchor made sense imo because she desperately wanted to meet her mother because she thought she was dead and never knew her. The picture made sense as a temporary anchor because none of them rlly knew what a anchor was at that point. Her friends being the anchor was what I thought would happen in the end because we saw those bonds grow and develop during the show. The mega jaguar also made sense because at first I was disappointed because she didn’t seem like a mega in the first form.
...:because she just seemed like a large jaguar, there were no mega characteristics that are shown for the other mega mutes. For example the dogs have 6 legs or her mom, plus she was nowhere near the size of the other mega mutes so it made sense that the other form was her final transformation. It also goes to show that Kipo isn’t at her best when she is angry but when she is trying to protect everyone she cares about.
I love this show so much and think this season is even better than the first, but honestly I do have a few problems with it. Like, how in hell can Kipo not be stressed in any way about what is going on? I get that she's super happy and optimistic but she is literally responsible for saving hundreds of people and has just been told that she could be a mega jaguar forever. That's some pretty heavy stuff. Edit: honestly after a rewatch I noticed stuff I hadnt picked up on before or just had forgotten about and I think they handled Kipo's stress in the best way they possibly could have now.
them: you cant fall in love with the lyrics of children's show. the lyrics: I needed a hero If I only knew the hero was me The hero was you, was you... me: Hell I can...
The main problem I had with Lio not going back for Hugo was that they treated him like an adopted child. Lio's choice essentially was "my biological child is more important than my adopted child" which is pretty messed up
Yea I think it makes scarlamane's (idk how to spell that) villainy much more compelling because from his perspective that's what happened. I think the implication was they thought he was dead and going back would put them at risk for nothing. Super tramatic for that young of a kid though. I can't imagine going though all that and then at the end finnaly thinking you're safe before having all that sense of a safe place to return to stripped away.
Kipo turning into a mega jaguar at the end made sense to me, because we always knew she could, and I don't think anyone believed her previous jaguar state was really a mega. She transformed right there not only because of fRiEnDsHiP but also because, in a way, i think she always could, but she had to sacrifice the larger possibility of never returning to humanity.
I haven't seen the video yet, but I personally thought season 2 was a big step in the right direction and significantly better than the first season. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece yet, but it really stands out from other shows in some areas (in a good way) and if season 3 improves as much as this season did, I think it very well could reach masterpiece levels in the future. Edit: I have now seen the video and I agree with most things you say. You made me realise some things I'd missed or overlooked completely, which is a reason I enjoy your content so much. The only thing I want to add is that "Down With Humans" is an amazing song.
I loved this season. Tbh while Dr. Emelia is a villian I can honestly say I would probably side with her. Many of the escaped humans were slaves for Hugo for who knows how long. Most mute species have also terrorized humanity ever since they gained sapience. I also found it interesting that she was seemingly the only character concerned with the unethical human experimentation Kipo's parents did. We also need to factor in the apocalypse was fairly recent. Humanity only lost its seemingly complete dominance of the planet only 2 centuries ago. To them, life prior to mute apocalypse must seem like a golden age of security and prosperity.
That's an interesting point, I probably wouldn't just because they do have sentience, and finding a way to coexist seems the most ethical to me. As for the human experimentation I am not sure how I feel, but Emila did not seem concerned with that to me, like she mistreated Hugo first and was more concerned with the danger of Kipo and using her than anything. I personally just find the ideal dominance of humanity over other intelligent, sentient beings something I could not side with.
I might be wrong correct me if so but wasn’t the experiment they did to create Kipo technically what they were supposed to do? Isolate the cause of mutation which they did creating Kipo in the process. Also Emilia really isn’t concerned with what Lio and Song did regarding Kipo. She wants Kipo and Song and possibly lio under her control or dead so she really doesn’t seem to care. I respect your opinion but I don’t agree with it
@@mattm2451 Understandable. What I truly like about this show is that it asks many thought provoking questions such as "Should we risk our survival over our subjective morality?" and "Is coexistence possible between radically different sapient species?". As for Dr. Emelia while she did mistreat Hugo and plotted to use Kipo as a tool to use and discard, she was clearly disgusted that Kipo's parents would dare experiment on a human much less their own child. She was willing to risk enslavement just to free humans she never even met before. She also was only planning to kill Kipo for being a "defilement" of human life and not her human friends. I hope she ends up being a complex character like Hugo and not a generic supremacist.
@@kurqnkov2299 I respect your opinions as well even if I don't entirely agree. The experimentation on Kipo was a complete secret. They were suppose to isolate the mutagen that created the mutes with Hugo. They managed to isolate the mutagen with Hugo but hid their findings from Dr. Emelia because they didn't want to wipe out all mutes. Kipo was a secret project made to find a route towards coexistence with mutes. Kipo's parents thought giving humans animal abilities would give humanity a chance to coexist with mutes on the surface.
@@GreatUniter I would appreciate a complex character of course, but the rhetoric she uses, to me is clearly wrong, humans above all else, coexistence won't be easy, but pack mentality only breads hatred. I'm glad the show is addressing these themes and I hope they do them well, I just personally could never side with her.
I feel like Kipo had an anchory feeling about the picture is because either... A. She wanted to find an anchor (implicitly an object, not a person/people) so badly that she assumed the picture *had* to be it Or... B. She misunderstood her feelings towards the picture (overjoyed happiness as opposed to anchary)
My only major issue is that they resolved major issues that could have been the topics of entire seasons in single episodes. She's terrified of her own power? One good use makes it all go away! They lost the anchor? Sing the big monster into submission! It feels like they're rushing through the show, which wouldn't surprise me based on their release schedule. I would have loved to see an entire season of Kipo having to handle being a giant monster 24/7. It would be a great bonding moment for her with her mother, and would have been a great test of both her patience and her friend's nerves. The first season was awesome for its world building, and the second did a lot for the characters and their motivations. Here's to hoping Season 3 improves the pacing in an impactful way.
I do agree with you that they are rushing a few bits. They definitely could’ve spent one or two more episodes developing Kipo’s fear of her powers, like maybe she never goes Mega after she hurts Benson until the finale, where she has to both face her fear and potentially sacrifice her humanity. I do think it would’ve been cool to see her stuck as mega for maybe a whole episode, but there is no way the titular character of a tv show is going to stay what would have to be a side character for a whole season. Plus she kind of had to go back at the end of the season because if she didn’t the viewers would assume the whole next season would be about getting her back, which I previously stated would most likely never happen, meaning that they would solve the problem within the first couple of episodes of season 3 leaving some fans disappointed.
She's been terrified of her powers since season one though. And we constantly see her having to deal with this (especially when her jaguar powers keep developing). I don't see how it all just went away.
One thing I think is cute is that even though Kipo is a reminder and kind of the reason for SO MUCH of Hugo’s pain he never holds it against her. It would’ve been so easy for him to pull a Severus Snape but instead he formed this really sad friendship with Kipo because he knows she had no control over what happened at the time
Unpopular oppinion (apparently): Leo and Song ARE HUGO'S PARENTS!!! Leo didnt left just a friend behind. Not only were Leo and Song the only parental figures he knew, they literaly 'created' him. Turning him sentient implies parental responsability! So yeah, Leo dont returning to look for Hugo, (even if him doesnt realizes it and didnt meant harm), is him prioritizing his new bio child over his adopted one.
I agree. It was really heartbreaking to see that Hugo's breaking point was when Leo refused to let him hold his baby sister. It's even sadder when you consider Hugo didn't become prejudiced towards humans due to his treatment under Dr. Emelia, he became prejudiced towards humans because his adoptive human father favored his half human child over him and left him for dead. What makes matters worse is that Hugo unknowingly enslaved his own mother.
I don't think that's just an unpopular opinion, but what the show was going for. Leo & Song are the only parental figures that he knows (and even at the point the only people he knows who care about him), he's basically their adopted child & they are responsible for making him consciously aware and in need of that greater love and education. He obviously loved them and thinks the world of them, (and is even willing to undergo countless more experiments and literally bled dry at the promise he and his parents can escape soon when the baby is born), but when Leo leaves him behind, let alone doesn't even try to help him, and see's Leo's distrust of him with what is like a sibling to Hugo, like imagine if you were an adopted child and you get every single piece of evidence your parent does not love you as much as their biological child. That in real life fucks people up, of course it fucked Hugo up realizing the only people he cared for, his parents, and that he'd do anything for, wouldn't return the same love to him and didn't feel the same love for him as he did for them.
to be fare like leo trided to exsplane he was on the run he could not risk as far as he knew only remaning famaly and himself just for the slites chants his adoupted child is alive. on top of that was likly greving over song as he usumed she dieded so the only things that probably could be on his mind were the things right in front of his face like thret of death and the only known alive member of of his famaly. when you start thinking about it resonably he did nothing wrong.
I mean I think that was the whole point the show was making? Hugo even said he was their child and that was his blanket (now given to their other child). I think the show was trying to paint a picture of why that was so wrong. If things had been reversed and Kipo had been left behind and Lio and Hugo were escaping, Lio would have gone back for Kipo, because she was his bio kid. Messed up. But consistent with the show's themes exploring the impact and moral nuances of racism and elitism: i.e. justifying acts of abuse and oppression because "it's a different species" or "they're not one of us."
Don’t get me wrong, I love the art style and the concept of the show, I just wish it gave me more, ya know? I want a show that has a good black and gay rep to do well.
@Taurus Capricorn It was "presented" but they never actually followed through. Yeah I mean sure they spent a good amount of time focusing on how Kipo would have to deal with people discriminating against her, but when they finally discovered the second burrow...it didn't seem like anyone was discriminating against her at all. The point of the creation of the burrows was that people were afraid of mutes and that they wanted to live safely from them. So all of a sudden this half human -mute girl comes into their home and you're supposed to tell me that almost NO ONE reacted in a negative way??? Yeah no. The plot didn't go over my head, it just wasn't executed properly.
@Taurus Capricorn ok...stepping aside from Kipo real quick, people need to understand that...there is nothing to read in between the lines about...because systemic racism (that has been swept under the rug for the past 3 decades) is currently being presented...at face value...for everyone to see. You're right, violence doesn't solve anything. However, for some magical reason, the U.S. govt. doesn't decide to do anything to persecute officers UNTIL people start looting and starting violent protests. The movement has been going on for almost a decade now and they're just now considering that officers need to be arrested for murder? Why did it take all of this? I freakin love Kipo, I really do. From the animation, to the music, to the storyboarding. I think it's going to do amazing things. And with what Im about to say, Im not trying to make this all about race. But with a show this innovative, I feel like it should address the real discrimination that black/POC face. If you as the creator of Kipo (i mean in terms of the real creator) decide to make all 3 of your main characters POC, then you at least, AT LEAST, owe it to the audience to address the those issues, instead of just having the characters the way they are for "diversity" reasons. Personally, I think that can really push the show over the top.
@Grande Leonardo nothing would be "forced", it would just be the show bringing awareness to the issue of racism in a more direct way, instead of having it hidden behind the human/mute conflict.
For example, in he last episode of season 1 (at the beginning), Hoag was addressing Leo about the secret burrow and how looking for Kipo was a bad idea. Now, Im 100% aware that they probably just wrote his character to be mean and disrespectful, and that's understandable. But being African American myself, watching that interaction between those two characters rubbed me the wrong way (personally). A lot of people can watch that scene and go, "well, he was just being mean, he can be mean and not be racist", and they would be right😂 But from my background and what I've experienced, the message in that scene came across a different way
Looking back, the new jaguar form makes a little more sense than I made it out to considering all the other mega mutes have 6 legs and are way bigger. I still don't like the moment of evolution, though, because what brings on the new form is simply determination/friendship/etc. Watch the BGE video I mentioned for a full explanation of why I find this underwhelming.
For me it felt like the "normal" jaguar form was kipo still retaining some subconcious self control, then the transformation into "mega mute" jaguar was her relinwuishing the last of her control, giving herself over fully to the jaguar inside
I do agree on the animation getting better bit, but I am going to add that I was kind of disappointed by Kipo's jaguar form. It felt stiff and not that satisfying to watch, which is sad because felines are usually one of the most fun things to see animated. And I did notice the music getting way better, at least in my opinion. Now, on Kipo's powers... The entire pacing is fucked up. She kinda learns to control them in just one episode but then the anchor stuff (which ends up being mostly meaningless) takes like 5 or 6 eps, and it felt a little forced, because you just KNEW it was going to be the power of friendship anyways. The episode where she hurts Benson feels forced and it's overall a pretty meh conflict. I will, however, defend Kipo's Jaguar evolution. Through the entire show we've seen mega-mutes be 1: Enormous and 2: Weird. When Kipo first turned into the jaguar form I was actually surprised at how... "small" (in comparison to other megas) and non-weird it was (save for the pink color). So when her normal and small jaguar suddenly turned weird and grew, I was like "oooh there it is!" because it made sense in context. And it's possible to argue "well why didn't she turn that way from the beggining?" but then the entire show has constantly been explaining there's been stages to her powers (Fur on arm > full paw arm > body transformation > jaguar mute > mega jaguar). So yeah, that's my take on it. On most everything else, I agree. Particularly on Hugo/Scarlemagne, god damn, I ended up really hoping he'd turn around. But I think one thing you didn't mention that IS worth mentioning is the pacing. The entire first half of the season felt... rushed. Extremely rushed. If things were done well, you could have ended the season with the mushroom mute episode and Kipo learning about her past and finding the anchor, with the cliffhanger being her turning into the jaguar and running after her mother. But I feel they just NEEDED to have Scarlemagne's story here, otherwise people may have not found him as compelling as he is, and... I don't think that was a worthy tradeoff. For half the season I just thought "this should've been explored more," and then we could've had a season 3 way more focused on scarlemagne and the relationships of mutes and humans, with even more time to set up the scientists as an antagonistic force and kipo exploring her powers better. Other than that, yeah, the show's pretty good. Hope we get a season 3.
I agree. It felt weird how the Fun Gus was a two parter in the middle of the season that has ten episodes. It felt like that should’ve been the end of the season or they could’ve focused more on honing in Kipo’s powers as it was too easy. Like Kross said it only took one episode for Kipo to get over dilemma over hurting those closest to her before the writers babied her again. Not letting her grow and maybe mature as she has great power. Like Uncle Ben said, “With great power, come great responsibility.”
Honestly, I do generally agree with you on most to all points but like the point of Kipo's second mute evolution doesn't feel out of nowhere for me looking at literally every mega mute in the serious which is bigger than first form jaguar and also all of them all extra limbs, eyes, etc. whereas first form jaguar is just a big purple jaguar and (while I'm sure there's some influence of hindsight in play here) during my first viewing of this season it did feel a little like "That's all? that's all that makes a 'mega jaguar'?". Cause like the first form mega is very basic in terms of what we've seen and was even smaller than the mega monkey, while still being bigger than a normal jaguar. I guess the show could have added some line like "that's it?" or whatever, but like, also I don't blame the show writers for not thinking about that. Honestly, I think you are just a touch too critical and seem to want people to hit every stride perfectly when honestly, I think the best goal for writing of any kind is something being a good, watchable/readable media, and I don't think shows/books have to strive to be the deepest thing in the world or try to challenge the readers to think deeper, especially for shows that are rated and made for kids (which isn't an excuse for bad writing, or assuming that said audience is unable to get the bigger picture because they are younger but I digress). Like yeah, I think the second season is an improvement to the first season, but I also think that the first season does its job really well, set up the rules of the world, the world itself, and allows people to understand how things work, and later seasons can go more in-depth in every field after that with a well-developed world that gets good pacing in how it's built up. Even the first season of Avatar the Last Airbender was arguably the weakest season in that it didn't flesh out all the characters one hundred percent of the world (like more rules on specific bending types, the cultures of the other kingdoms, etc.). I guess since this is getting kinda rambly, I think it comes to the fact that I do have a less harsh standard/set of expectations for media's of I just want to be entertained and told a convincing story and don't think that everything needs to be most groundbreaking thing ever, it just has to be a well made, cohesive story that holds up for at least the first viewing, even if it's not something that you never come back to again, whereas it almost feels like you want every single show to be the next Avatar or whatever.
I'm so glad someone said it about the last jaguar transformation. When I first watched the scene I was kinda confused too like "why is she suddenly bigger and stronger??" But after thinking a little about it I understood that THIS IS WHAT A MEGA JAGUAR LOOKS LIKE!! And I think they could have explained it somehow but at same time it was kinda obvious that her first jaguar look was too basic lol
On my first viewing I just assumed she was smaller and generally less “mega” because she was still growing. In my mind her mom had six arms and was much bigger because she was simply older and therefore her mutant form was more developed, and since Kipo was just 13 her mutant form was simply less developed. So it honestly did feel somewhat “Deus Ex machina” when she suddenly went through a Pokémon style evolution, though I didn’t really mind too much, it was still a pretty satisfying ending. This is just how I viewed it though and I believe your interpretation is valid in how none of the Megas are just bigger, I just wish there was at least some alluding to it, like maybe instead of having a simple jaguar head as the label in the scene where Song is talking about the four mutagens, it was instead a full body diagram or just some simple image of an actual mega-jaguar. Just thought I’d throw my two sense in.
28:57 My slight critique with Lio is that the MINUTE Hugo shows signs of being hurt or mentally unstable, he deems him a lost cause & NEVER attempts any further at reconciliation. He doesn't attempt 2 go back 4 Hugo after ensuring Kipo's safety or contact him in any way after their meeting on the surface & that was the major issue 4 me - he simply stopped TRYING. Of course I'm glad he regrets this later on & seeing him save Hugo from the molten gold warmed my soul 2 no end ^_^ Plus, have we 4gotten how Kipo's parents literally EXPERIMENTED on their daughter without knowing the outcome?! I get that Song & Lio wanted a better future 4 both races but putting a child & her MOTHER at risk?! 4 all they knew, there could've been TERRIBLE side effects instead of the 'Cool Power' outcome we got. Kipo had no say in being half mute, nor was she ever informed of what she was & she doesn't show anger at ANY of this! I know Kipo's a positive person but I'D certainly b pissed at not having a choice in being a part of something where I had no say in the matter.
One thing that sticks out to me in this review is that I definitely was not surprised when Kipo went full mute. The first time I saw her running after her mom, I thought "wow she is way smaller and has a normal number of limbs." I thought it was a logical progression that when faced by the most danger she finally went full mega, as danger is what fueled the jaguar transformation to begin with.
Okay okay about the anchor thing. I always felt like it was partially Benson holding it telling Kipo he trusted her. The arc you compared to aangs arc, i felt, was not entirely accurate. When I watched it I felt more emphasis placed on Benson trusting Kipo, and Kipo realizing Benson, her friend, trusted her and seeing the picture. I also believe that the picture was a placebo effect to Kipo, she believed she needed it until she realized her friends also reminded her who she was.
That seems more accurate, it wasn't the picture it was Benson holding the picture telling Kipo he had faith in her. I also doubt that her crush on him has entirely faded yet so that helps, I mean if someone I had feelings for believed in me then I would have much more reason to believe in myself
I feel like the anchor was something that Kipo considers to connect to her human side. She chose the picture because she wanted to know more about her family, so she chose something that she thought would complete her. In the finale, she realizes she doesn't need something material to remind her of her family if they are right their in front of her
Sorry for the incoherence. I think it makes sense for Wolf, Benson, and Dave to try and make Kipo feel better by telling her all the good things that she did, because friends do that, but I wish they would’ve also dipped into the “you made a mistake and that’s okay as long as you do everything in your power to make things right again” territory. I also really enjoyed this season, even more than season 1, but I think the fact that they limited themselves to 10 episodes really damaged/damages the story. Like you mentioned with the relationship between Benson and Troy, keeping themselves limited to only 10 episodes that last about 25 minutes each really hurts their ability to develop every aspect of the show - from limiting the time we get to have the characters interact with each other and develop their personalities and relationships with the other characters. Also, the only thing that annoys me consistently with the show is that the dropped the whole “if you touch Dave’s cocoon, then he’ll come out underdeveloped/deformed” thing. I feel like they could’ve played into that more or they should of just not set it up at all. Also, I’m so happy we got more development for Hugo, it makes everything so much better.
I agree with most of your points, except the point of the Mega Jaguar. They never explicitly state it, but there's actually a lot of visual clues and unsaid things about it. One thing I think Season 2 did well is retroactively make some things in Season 1 more impactful (and in a way it was all planned out for people to pick-up on), such as why the Mega Monkey responded to Kipo singing in Season 1 so well (we now know the Mega Monkey is Kipo's mom, and her daughter singing the song she taught her has a special emotional reach to her specifically which is why it helps snap her out of it, it even works as some subtle foreshadowing), or the reason Kipo's dad is so desperate to get her out of the Burrow in Season 1 and let's her go through the river isn't just he's concerned for her safety, but afraid she'll turn into a Mega Jaguar and destroy the burrow like the last one they lived in with the mother). The Mega Jaguar we see for most of Season 2 is significantly smaller and less "mutated looking" than we see just about every other Mega Animal (the Monkey, the Rabbit, etc), they all have multiple limbs, are much bigger, so it's a bit weird Kipo's is so much smaller than them and just kinda' looks like a Jaguar. Seeing the scene watching blindly, I literally thought to myself, "Ohhh, that makes sense," as I was questioning why Kipo's was so smaller and normal looking to the other Mega Animals. Visual Story Telling. Moreso, as this is one of the last main event before the end of season, I just got the feeling they were going to expand on the "deeper mutation" of Megas next season, and this was more a tease of what's to come, both as they want to figure out a way to get Kipo's mom to return back, and we see the visual story telling again of Kipo trapped in her mind with the Jaguar threatening to not let her turn back before her friends reach through. So to you it seemed like it came out of nowhere & is underexplained, but to me it was actually a pretty good example of subtle "show not tell" story telling and setting up something to deeper explore in the next season (now that it's established there's a deeper Mega Mutation that's harder to get back from, and a conflict with Kipo's mother stuck within this form).
Concerning the Anchor: I think it was more implied that the picture was supposed to remind her of her family, rather than JUST her mother. She's been on a constant quest to return to her father/save her father and she didn't have much to remember her mother by. Thus her family was her reminder of her humanity and that's what the picture represented. With the picture destroyed, they had nothing BUT themselves to use as anchors. So I think it more was a passing of the torch sort of deal rather than 'Oh it was her friends all along' thing.
Nobody gonna talk about Kipo being a child of eugenics? And how it's its own wormhole of ethical debate? Like..she just acts so chill about it.... i love the series, but each time i think about that i'm like .....this is very questionable. I feel like this should be adressed, making her parents more gray on that area
Hmmmm I have some gripes here. The picture was *a* anchor to Kipo, it's never said there can only be one. The reason she felt connected to it was because of her arc during the episode. She for the first time figured out who she actually is, how she came to be and what her purpose was. In her mind this *was* what connected her to who she is. Not *just* her human side but being both human *and* mute. That entire episode acted as a way to connect Kipo to her parents more. Making her understand herself more. It's also noteable that Wolf was the one who gave Kipo the picture and Benson was the one save keeping it for her. Also, each time Benson used the anchor, we *heard* him call out to her. It was their *voices* that reached Kipo when she went full mega mute, the song they shared as a memory. Also I do not argee at all with the show trying to say Kipo is this perfect person. Kipo was doubting everything at that moment, legitimately scared and upset because she felt she could never fulfill this huge quest she had. But her friends? They know Kipo and know all her accomplishments. Reminding her that she is a very capable person who does make good decisions. She isn't shown to be perfect. Literally the very next scene confronts them with another consequence of one of Kipo's bad judgement calls and the conclusion of the season where the burrow people join professor Emelia is yet another instance. And most damning against this point? Kipo is proven wrong about Hugo. Kipo ademmantly believed she could save him if she managed to reach out to him. Her issue with Lio wasn't that he didn't go back for Hugo, it's that he gave up on Hugo so fast. She believed ademmantly she could save him by making him realize there was a other way But she was wrong. Hugo couldn't be saved simply by talking to him. The trauma he had ran way too deep to be healed like this. There wasn't a *easy* redemption. She couldn't solve this problem by believing in the good in him. Her judgement mistake almost got them killed. Also as for Kipos transformation? I felt it very much logical that this wasn't her final stage simply by looking at all the mega mutes. Visually they all share having multiple limbs so it wasn't that out of the blue at all for me. There is also the fact that Kipo was unsure as to why the Anchor didn't work that first time. Was it because she was distracted or was it because it was unreliable? What if she ended up hurting people again and it didn't work. Kipo this season had been plagued by a lot of self doubt and the mini arc with Benson was less about her realizing she could use the Jaguar powers to do good but rather her finding the self confidence to know for certain she can do it. Confidence Benson had in her and has in himself. It's even underlined by again talking about the fact that Benson is a openly gay kid, he wanted Troy's dad to think highly of him but was comfortable to say "Hey sorry, those two totally lied about me because I asked them to make me sound good because I like your son." He has enough confidence in himself and his identity that he had no issues coming out to the man who's son he likes.
I completely agree with all of your points. Respect people disagreeing, but I share these sentiments as well.
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Im actually glad they didn’t have Kipo work on Scar after just a day or two of being kind. Not to be cynical, but Scarlamane had already been there and done that. Like Wolf e’d been “betrayed” by those who were closest to em, but unlike Wolf, Scarlamane’s caretakers actually did love em and care about em but still held em second priority, and I can seriously see how jacked up it must have seemed. Like, imagine being adopted, but during an earthquake your parents prioritized their biological child (who’s a still a baby). It’s too easy to become insecure about family because you start to question if all that love was ditched over biology. For Hugo it must have felt like being valued enough to be protected was impossible especially considering the limited opportunities to develop a worldview. So to have em turn around and be good because of a few acts of kindness would have watered down the real effects of abandonment and made it out to be as simple as “If you give them a cookie and smile they have no reason to not be your friend”
She-Ra: Season 1: Pretty good and exciting Season 2: Improvments and epic Season 3: A huge turning point Season 4: Dark Season 5: Villains redemption arc, full on epic and amazing fights, good ending. Kipo: Season 1: Pretty good and amazing Season 2: Improvements and interesting ... Noticing a pattern here anyone? For the better but still... I CAN'T WAIT!
I really do love Kipo, but I did notice moments of lazy writing or at least characters not being as smart as they should be. Also I miss the killer music just being sprinkled into every beat of the show since it was my favorite part of Season 1
I agree about benson I've thought a lot about the idea of forced gay characters the idea that they are put in their as a marketing tool and how media only focuses on their sexuality and I thought those are valid points but I feel like we are getting to the point where it is being treated as normal and is not being the only defining character trait and people still complain about " forced" representation. At this point I wish they would just admit gay characters make them uncomfortable.
"forced representation" is just a coping tool, ofc they wont admit it like even if they're a marketing tool or they're written poorly then just complain about those things?? once marginalized groups become normalized these issues will also go down so idk why they're crying so hard.
There are two kinds of people who use the “forced representation” schtick The most common if not almost all is basically just people who are simply upset the they were shown at all...it's a dog whistle so they can act like “oh we’re not bigots” while being offended and upset that any kind of “gayness" is even being acknowledged at all. The othertye of people are more legitimate because shows will sometimes just put in token characters to appear more sensitive and woke, and that kind of laziness and participation level of caring is insulting on multiple levels The fact that benson being gay has no real affect on the show is why its the best representation because it plays to how gay people are just regular people like everyone else, and them being gay doesn’t somehow need to be noticeable, affect things and or make them stand out more or etc.
In my opinion, "forced representation" means one of 2 things: 1. An existing character in a show who has been written in one way is suddenly revealed to be part of a minority with no story effect. 2. A character being part of a minority is their defining trait and conflict in the story. Benson, at least how I interpreted him, does not do either of these. Until the episode we are told he's gay, there is no evidence either way. Even Kipo's interest is written as a mistaken assumption. Also, once he tells Kipo, being gay is just a part of his character, not the defining trait. His attraction to the burrow guy does get attention, but is written just like it would be if one of them was female. This is representation done well, because it normalizes a minority without bringing attention to it.
@@mckenzie.latham91 As a gay man I rate Benson's overall "gayness" 10/10, it feels real The relationship between Benson and Troy though is definitely tokenism, when was the last time you had a crush on someone just because they liked pancakes?
While "Representation" isn't necessarily bad, lately it just became a symptom of bad stories because they choose to pander to people. I had no problem with Tweek and Craig despite being gay and in fact I find them cute, I had no problem with Benson and the other guy being gay, my problem is the idea of "representation" being forced. Benson pining on another guy is basically just a girl pining on guy, or a guy pining to a girl, or a girl pining on a girl -- it's basically just a crush, and the only difference is one gender flipped, because the point of it is the situation of the characters, not their sexuality. Those who couldn't relate to people if it wasn't their gender or sexuality, or religion or any other labels seems to me that they are incapable of empathizing with an individual -- a personal shortcoming than the problem of the stories. Representation isn't needed, it's just wanted, so lets just treat it as something that people wants than what is necessary. What I am criticizing isn't the fact that Benson is gay, rather the attitude of "representation" as a trend.
I feel like it isn’t her friends or the picture is the anchor I think more than one thing can be a reminder of humanity and I think it would be normal for it to change I think mabey her dad should have sang the song and her mum like been there or be part of it
I actually felt that the visuals hinted that Kipo was gonna transform again. Every time they showed a mega these things were massive and had multiple limbs. But when Kipo turned into a mega she was just a normal jaguar with a purple/color swap. Then when they showed her next to her mom, she didn't even reach up to her mom's knee. I was like, either she's a runt cause she's half human or she hasn't gone full mega-mute
Mega Mutes (bunnies, dogs, monkey) all were super huge and had extra limbs. I thought the mega monkey to be more of a spider monkey (get it?) but it turns out it was just the natural progression. As for Kipo's poor judgment argument, I actually feel it was done well. She did make a mistake that time, but it was okay as there were other times when her instincts were spot on: helping the timber cats get their leader back, rocking out with the snakes, serenading the mega monkey, even checking the wolves' telescope early to find out about their connection to Scarlemagne. She was clearly being comforted for the one mistake that mattered; losing her father again. What were her friends supposed to say? "Do better next time"? "Don't let it happen again"? I do agree her accepting her jaguar transfomation hiccup was on the weaker side, especially when all we got out of Benson's backstory this season was meeting some space-obsessed bat mutes a year ago just to set up the conflict of the day. And yeah, Jamack does sound like Zuko in the end. I can't wait for the third season.
I was like dude, all the people stranded at the edges of the stadium while the gold got higher would have died long ago just from being so close to it.. Like why they standing there like it's not even uncomfortable?!
i think the whole "kipo becoming a more powerful jaguar to push down the tree" was kind of just a way of showing she reached the point of no return, that she wouldn't be able to transform back into human form. but her connection to her friends was just *that* strong, so she was able to transform back anyway
Her anchor isn't Just her friends. It's her human bonds. Like to her FATHER in the picture. Then once that isn't available she realized that what she Needed was the people she cared about. Also the Mega-jaguar made sense because we see how Every mega-mut has multiple limbs and peculiar traits. It was Set Up that *All* mega-muts have those traits. It's Supported by seeing that Mondu is an infant mega-mut. It is Paid Off when it is revealed that the first few times we see mega-jaguar is only a partial transformation.
Man, have you never heard of soft world building? One of the most capturing things about this film is its ghibli aesthetic, it uses the world as a means to explore the characters and the wonder in the world that is so often lost in the daily ritual of life. It shows how the wonder of childhood doesn't have to leave us. It depicts the precious gems in life at there extremes to make us see once again the magic that they hold, and is that not a sorely needed message? That no matter how bad things might see, heck, the world might even have ended, but still things twinkle. Still there is a part of humanity that will never give up on trying to make the world just that little bit nicer. A focus on the magic in the little things doesn't detract from this film, its what makes it human. Why would you want to mute that?
I honestly had a hard time feeling bad for Hugo. He had a great character arch and interesting backstory but I just felt like it wasn’t delivered in a way that made me feel like his actions were justified. As he was completely fine and nice person until he found Lio on the surface again, and only snapped to the small realization that Lio didn’t come back to look for him and he was jealous of kipo. Idk...something about it just made me feel like he was a whiny baby more than a serious character who I should sympathize with.
Something to note though about Hugo's sudden change, he was still a child at that point probably somewhere near Kipo's age (They never said his age just that he was a child who was all alone). He was hurt and angry and now no one could tell him no, which doesn't seem like it would lead to someone growing up to be a decent person.
Eh, I am always torn with his character. On one hand he is a great villain, but on the other I kind of sympathize with him. Maybe because I like animals more than people, but I see where you’re coming from. The show established from the begin how its a “mute eat mute world” and how one views in how to survive on the surface. Some try to stay optimistic while others are more pessimistic about their situation. Take Wolf for example, she has trust issues as she tried to trust wolves who treated her like family, but only to turn back on her and try to eat her. Scarlamagne and Wolf were betrayed by those they trusted and had survive on their own. If you don’t like him that’s fine, I respect your opinion about him.
bengi 890 it’s not even that I don’t like him, it’s just that he had all the cool ingredients to be an amazing villain who you also felt sorry for, and I still think he’s an amazing villain and character. But never seemed effected by his past ya know??? Like he should’ve been, but he always seemed optimistic and stuff (except for that one scene where he played piano but he wasn’t even upset about Lio or song in that scene) and then as soon as he got to the surface and he saw Lio he just had this dramatic switch that wasn’t really explained. And I just wish they maybe made him more bitter in the first place, or drawn out him getting angry at Lio
Darius Kinghammer yes see it makes sense why he changed, I understand it because it just makes sense when you think about it, it’s just like “well obviously he was affected by his terrible childhood.” But he never was upset about that, he was happy and optimistic most of the time, but then as soon as he found Lio again he just kinda changed, and it was this small thing that made him go off and completely change then what we had seen of him so far. It just felt like it could’ve been done better
The thing I personally think you are missing is that meeting up with Lio and learning that he didn’t go back for him isn’t a “small thing” in Hugo’s eyes, Lio was basically his father who he had absolute faith in. So when he learns that Lio didn’t even try to look for him after the carnage, and sees his old blanket wrapped around Kipo, it’s like suddenly learning your parents never truly cared about you. Another point, it wasn’t really a complete 360 turn around. We see earlier in the episode that Hugo wants to use his pheromones to escape, but is told off by Lio, his moral compass. When he believes that Lio doesn’t truly care for him, he also connects that to Lio’s lessons in morality. Possibly thinking that Lio just said those things to hold him back. This isn’t to say that your point is completely invalid, having only one episode trying to create sympathy for a previously completely amoral villain doesn’t always work out and it makes sense not everyone would sympathize with him. I just thought I would share what I think makes him a strong villain.
To be honest I really want to see how Benson and Dave life mostly Benson life was before all this happened and I want to know how old are they like Benson must be the same age at least as kipo. But what about wolf she says that she's been there since she was 5 how old is she now cuz she must be like a little younger than them like at least give us like a birthday(i Know It season 1 they have the birthday thing giving gifts and stuff but that doesn't explain how old is Wolf only that kipo was turning 13). And what about wolf and Benson's parents did they went underground, did they leave them to die or something did they get lost,did they die? I know not all these questions to be answered but we just need to know more stuff about the characters backstory *cough* *cough* Benson's.And I really do want to see how Benson and Troy's relationship cuz it feels like they did give us teasers.
I never thought watching the show that Kipo's friends were the anchor instead of the picture, rather that they were both the anchor at the same time. Human relationships are the anchor itself, and the picture was basically just a replacement for her parents as they couldn't be there in person. So I don't think hunting down the picture was nessisarly a waste of time, as it shows she could return to human form even without her friends/family around so long as someone can be there with at least the image of them. Dave's comment on it is still stupid though lol
I mean those mega bunnies and her mom has more body parts like extra arms or ears whatever. Doesn't feel exactly out of nowhere that kipo grows more too
Benson and Trent are adorable. Its also nice to have romance on the side rather than being front and center. I don't hate romance, i just think it's hard to focus on it and make it both realistic and compelling.
i personally felt the whole Kipo fighting against her feral side was very underwhelming, i get it, its a kids show, but its also rated 12, and we literally saw Dave getting half of his skin torn. I would have loved for it to be a more prominent part of the story, like that scene in season 2 ep 3 when she was about to scratch that one guy but is stopped by wolf, and then when she is next to wolf and she asks her "Kipo what was that back there?" while Kipo is breathing heavily and with a savage expression in her eyes, with the response "I-I don't know, but it wasn't me" i loved that scene, and that episode had the best of 'savage' Kipo moments, along with that one scene in the season 1 finale, and I would have liked to see more of that. But, i also feel like it would have been much more impact if she actually did scratch the guy, and sent him falling down, then she lands on top of him and is ready to 'finish him off' before wolf intervenes and the ape manages to escape, then when she snaps out of it, she looks at her hands and shakes a little bit afraid of what she has become
Happy belated birthday. Another great video. I agree with your statement in how Kipo gets babied somewhat and not letting the characters have flawless. I also agree with what you said about the anchor stuff and the conflict being solved by making new anchor. I find that if a writer can’t solve a problem in a reasonable way or brushes off what they set up it knocks some points for me. If you make the conflict, you must find a reasonable way to solve it. I know a lot shows like to use always getting stronger and unlocking a new power, but a the end of the season when Kipo unlocks double mega jaguar form, it made her come off like a Pokémon with it being so last minute when they spent majority of the season trying to get her into the first form. As for the remark saying that it didn’t feel special with how she made her Jaguar arm back in season one, I’d give it a pass as baby’s won’t be able to remember stuff at that age and they are very prone to emotional outbursts as they can’t talk yet. To me when baby Kipo used the Jaguar arm it came off as unintentional reaction with the added Mute DNA reacting to the sense of fear and anger as babies would hit people if they don’t like them. That is my reasoning. Another could be in how the flashbacks with the arm was placed with how in Chèvre sisters episode it came right at the beginning of episode at random with it only being a tie with how Lio knows the Chèvre sisters. Second time on the other hand, it was recorded in a book that left in Lio’s original burrow. When Scarlamagne was introduced back in season one with the way the other Mutes said his name it gave me Fire Lord Ozai vibes with how the Zuko, Iroh or the Gaang would say his title would send fear to the audience and that’s what I felt with Scarlamagne. The way the showed him in the first season when the Newton Wolves were dropped of at his castle in middle of his dance party gave off the very intimidating vibes. I just loved him from first introduction and when they told us how he has connection to Lio I was a little more intrigued. I always assumed back in season one he was apart of some experiment with how he got those scars and he was tired of humans oppressing them, so it was no surprise with experimentation part of his backstory, but what I didn’t expect was how they turned him from an Ozai type of character to a Zuko type Sympathy for a Mandrill. In just one episode they turn him from this very intimidating dictator in early parts of season two with him burning down Ratland and how he threatens his subjects as they feel like they are dealing with a literal minefield with his man. I like how the writers teeter back and forth with making him fearsome and sympathetic with the coronation episode. The way he presents the Mov Frogs as unexpected gift to Kipo in return to how she gave him unexpected gift, but he takes his little to far in comparison to Kipo’s gift. You can tell he wants to protect her with how he was angry with the frogs and that gave him another interesting facet to his character and what really motives him. As for if he should be redeemed or not, I don’t know really how I would feel about it. Scarlamagne is a good villain from the way he carries himself, his very personality and his motivations make him an entertaining one to watch for me. Whereas with Dr. Emilia, I understand her motivations, but she comes off not entertaining to watch if I’m honest. I don’t if that’s because Scarlamagne out shined her, but she is fairly boring. I like villains who are more than just bad as some of favourite villains are most enjoyable to watch like Azul, Joker or Slade from Teen Titans 2003. They all have some quality that makes intriguing to watch as they go against the protagonist. I hope in season three they’ll give Dr. Emilia more time to shine. Sorry if this was very long to read. I really enjoyed the second season and this video.
The main beef I have is that I didn't like how they handled the anchor. Everybody over the age of seven (including the Wolf Pack themselves) would've been able to recognize that Kipo is defined primarily by her relationships to others, so her decision to seek out her parents' burrow felt totally out of left field, like the writers just wanted her to go on a quest and learn vital information but couldn't figure out how to steer her that way naturally. Me, I would've had her decide to venture to her parents' old burrow to learn about her origins specifically, because she felt she needed this information to control her powers. My secondary minor beef is that---while it's certainly neat that her parents are totally chill about their baby being a half-animal---using your kid as a guinea pig for genetic experimentation is kind of messed up, and it's not typically something sane people would do on a whim. I feel Kipo should've had at least a little bit of ambivalence about being her parents' experimental guinea pig, and that her parents should've had more ambivalence about it as well. I feel like the parents' motivation in that regard should've been stronger/clearer and better-fleshed-out.
I agree. Especially about the guinea pig thing. I don’t know about you, but if I were to discover that my parents used me as an experiment, I would be majorly freaked out. Like, that would have probably caused a rift between me and my parents, because if I can be the guinea pig for an experiment, that implies that the only reason I was born was to be said guinea pig, that I was expendable and that they didn’t care about me. That could really mess up a kid- especially one that idolised their parents as much as Kipo did.
@@hoodieninja4983 , not to mention, the feelings that would result from realizing that your parents' experiments basically laid the groundwork for a lot of the problems you're currently dealing with! Oh, and I also remembered I was annoyed when Kipo insisted on hanging out at the old burrow to read her parents' journal, which led to everybody getting re-captured by Fun Gus. TAKE THE BOOK WITH YOU, DUH!
I think everyone was pretty justified in being upset at Lio Hugo is framed as being Kipo’s older brother and sibling and idk about you but I think it would’ve left a really sour taste in my mouth if they told Hugo “well of course he left you for Kipo you’re not REALLY his child” lol
Scarlemagne's backstory, plus his character development in this season, was amazing. I really liked him. He is easily in the top of my favorite villains in recent animation.
The way I saw the whole anchor situation was more Kipo had actually used the picture as an anchor but since that was destroyed, circumstance demanded that she had to find a new one and fast. I think that the picture was actually served as a purpose, especially since she was getting the hang of her powers, but since she was more experienced she could then get a less tangible anchor, which is her relationship with her friends and family
the anchor isn't the anchor. The feeling is. The anchor is supposed to make you feel human or feel like yourself. Maybe it's a headcannon but I don't think you literally NEED a specific object that you're DESTINED to have as an anchor. It's just a clutch... that you can learn to not need.
I guess one flaw I saw was that I saw every twist and turn coming. I knew her friends were her anchor as soon as she said she needed to look for one, because the answer is always friendship. I knew that the scientist lady (cant remember her name) was evil based on the fact of what was written in the journal before they met her in person. I knew that kipo has a larger form because she didn't look like a normal mega mute. I knew the monkey was her mom right before kipo saw the photo detail with her fur on her arm. Don't get me wrong, I loved this season, and completely agree with you. What I don't like is how quickly everything is resolved. It feels like the ending of steven universe, just so quick that they could have used a full season to get through their finale but they somehow didn't know they only had a few episodes left so they rushed it? They should have left Kipo stuck as a jaguar at the end, to show it's NOT easy to leave your form as a mega mute. She needs more then just looking at her friends. She's stuck that way until season three. That would be an amazing cliff hanger. Then season 3 can be spent on getting kipo & her mom back to normal, then stopping the people from changing mutes back into normal animals. I love the show, and the watercolor background art, I just wish they had more episodes per season so they could explore their ideas more and give them time to develop. They also did such a good job with Hugo, i couldn't wait for him to get redeemed. I also was hoping to see the frog join the team, become apart of the group he once hunted down.
Did you ACTUALLY just compare two of the show’s villains to Zuko and Spinel, two of the best redeemed villains out there Kipo and the age of wonderbeasts is freakin AMAZING if you can make parallels like that
I do not think that kipo’s connection to the anchor was solely focussed on her mother (she recognizes her mother as the mega monkey because of her picture) but the idea of the a real “family” The fact that it was a vision of the full family she always wanted which is hinted at in the dream episode last season which is why she’s able to recover after losing the anchor because it wasn’t;t the picture it was what it represented, and her friends and her mom and dad etc. are all her “family” now...
I'm surprised you didn't talk in-depth about the plot twist with Kipo's mom being the Mega Monkey. I know some people predicted this before season 2's release but I'm still losing my mind over it only because Kipo actually sang a "song" for her in season 1.
Yeah I'm also really excited for when we get to Benson and Dave's backstory, because we know that Dave is 200 years old and they've been together for years, but also, how is Benson the way he is? Like, he doesn't look like someone who's spent years struggling in a post-apocalyptic world, he looks like just an ordinary kid. A lot of thought is put into character design, so I'm wondering what Benson's clean, well put together look means about him. Was he raised by mutes? But he doesn't really have any behaviours influenced by mutes like Wolf does. Did Dave raise him? How did that work when Dave inevitably metamorphasized into a baby and is essentially defenseless for hours at a time? I'm so curious about how Benson seems to know so much about living on the surface, and yet seems so out of place at the same time, and I'm sure we'll learn more. Also, one of the biggest revelations for me is that Wolf was FIVE when she killed her whole pack. But here's the thing, when we see her kill the Deathstalker, she isn't wearing her wolfskin yet. I'm pretty sure, from the size, colour and markings on the ears, that the wolfskin is from her adoptive mother, so does this mean she initially escaped without killing every wolf? Was she hunted done by her later? Because the flashback with the Deathstalkers couldn't have been before she joined the pack, because otherwise she wouldn't have had her fighting skills. So my current working hypothesis is that Wolf killed her adoptive siblings and escaped, then was hunted down by her adoptive mother and had to kill her, giving her her wolf cape
this season was a step up from s1. they focused a lot more on plot/worldbuilding which was nice and i rly liked hugo's backstory. sadly hugo stole all that development from basically every character except kipo. u kno it's sad when mulholland goes thru more development than all of kipo's friends combined. i was hoping they would show lio in a more morally ambiguous light but they hand-waved that pretty quickly. i like that they want lio to be likable but idk i was getting FMA vibes. lio not looking for hugo is somewhat justifiable even though he originally said he wanted to escape with him - in fact the more i think about it, why SHOULD lio prioritize kipo over hugo? is it because she has his DNA? is it because of convenience? is it because she's a cute baby? honestly if nothing else i think this shows lio's subtle anti-mute bias even tho kipo's half-mute. i mean come on, hugo's a person too. this show tends to not hold good guys accountable, which is disappointing. my complaints about ur anchor complaints: "kipo's anchor is supposed to be something that reminds her of her humanity" wrong. it's been apparent that kipo reverts back to human when she feels *safe.* it's very appropriate that a photo with her mom in it would make her feel that way, especially when we literally saw in "mulholland" that being with her parents is like, the safest place for her. it's true she never met song but i bet lio talked about her a lot and became a part of her safe space. and correct me if i'm wrong but i don't believe the show ever stated that there can only be one anchor. maybe it was implied? but it's not hard for me to buy. so yeah, the photo was an anchor and so was friendship. yay.
I dont feel like any other review channel i watched gave it the call out it deserved for its bs and the praise it deserved for its good points. There was just soo much to unpack for season 3 and no one does it as thoroughly as you. Pleaseee get on it asap The animation in season two was a major quality drop, there was one scene where wolf was front and centre and everyone was talking and she was standing there looking derp as hell. Certain things like dave and leo's relationship was great, but other things just became the a big joke and werent as rounded as the shouldve been, like how yumyun just became a meme and how the kpop narwalls and the dancing chic were just major stereotypes. How they had the whole vaccine/fix for the cure (the cure that was created in a few days mind you), the cure that leo and song created the origional version for (kipo AND hugo's genetic enhancements that make them mutes) years ago but for some reason 5 years later no progress has been made on fixing the cured animals?? How wolf had the potential arc with her wolf sister but it was a bust. And wolf and hugo's relationship and how great they played off each other, how great hugo was in general. Just so much happened and i NEED you on the case cause im sick of hearing everyone say *i mean yeah it was fast BUT IT WAS SO GREAT AND MODERN!!!*
23:03 YES I'm so happy someone else sees it too. My first thought when the ground collapsed under Kipo and Jamack in the scene where Kipo vents to him in the sewers was "Yes! Bonding!" because that reminded me so much of the underground crystal cave scene with Zuko and Katara from ATLA. Amazing review as always!
See my main problem with this season is that a bunch of the science stuff seems problematic but it’s never addressed Isn’t there heavy philosophical and moral problems behind genetically altering your child to be half mute? And they do it ‘out of love?’ If i found out my parents did that to me I would be pissed given that backstory I would expect her parents to be villains not loving good guys
ngl in regards to benson's relationship with troy I felt it was insanely underdeveloped, and I personally hated it now then, ignoring season 3 for a moment (because boy are my opinions on that season spicy especially in regards to this subject) and what that did to this whole thing, as well as the fact that this is a gay relationship in a cartoon (something i'm frankly neutral on), I think this relationship came out of nowhere, to be honest, and was pretty terrible the reveal of Benson being gay isn't the problem, I actually think that was handled very very well, but I think both Benson and Troy have 0 chemistry and nothing built up to this relationship, Troy just showed up near the end of season 1 and the two crushed on each other from there with 0 development otherwise. Troy's lack of development has led to him (at least in my eyes) looking like just a stock attractive dude that Benson likes with 0 personality or reason to be liked, and the excessive focus being put on their underdeveloped relationship (when the show is talking about/focusing on Benson separately from Dave) has kind of stagnated Benson's development to me since all the show seems to do with him when he isn't with Dave is make him have some awkward interaction with Troy that goes nowhere or talk about how he misses/loves Troy for...no given reason. it severely hampered the experience of the show to me since it essentially killed the self-expression of one of the more prominent side characters, and if the couple had even one or two episodes that at least *involved* them growing closer in some way (be it through a b-plot or a main story) then I think I would've liked this whole development a lot more than I did in the end.
I've gotta say, when she first went mute, I was like, can't you come up with some form of more creative mute than a giant purple jaguar? The final stage was really cool, but Kipo looked more like a lynx than a jaguar.
8:06 "I had to make I choice, And I choose you." In that moment, in that single moment Lio realised something....he...Had...chosen someone over someone else...sure she is her daughter but the bond he had with Hugo was as strong as such.
Kipo and the Mega Jaguar reminded me a lot of Aang and the Avatar state, like with Dr. Amelia trying to force the Mega Jaguar out of Kipo, like that one guy did in Avatar.
Let's talk about the "Human resistance" their reasoning is understandable but let's talk about how effective they are by that I mean how good are they at combat the presumed leader of the resistance Dr Emilia gets beaten by wolf and beaten by mandu and also when the bats showed up they kicked the resistance's ass also a question that I found was why don't they use guns maybe they haven't found guns also in the burrow you think their would be an armory or some sort of protectection from a mute attack and yes they might have been destroyed but you think they would have guns also they look cool with their masks and all also most of them get distracted by pancakes I mean come on guys! In conclusion the resistance is all about style and not about being good at fighting and they will hopefully put up good resistance against future threats like Kipo and rest of the cast and that's it sorry it was so long
I agree about what you mean with Emilia and her resistance group. I find her somewhat boring and not as interesting compared Scarlamagne. Being beaten by Wolf I can understand as she is seasoned combatant in how she had to survive on the surface. Mandu however is just weirdly dumb to me. In the earlier episodes of season two they implied that Emilia and her crew have been doing this for a long while with their get ups and knowing what mode of transportation to use. Emilia and her resistance are mostly scientists, not military, so it kind of makes sense as to why they aren’t combative focused group. Hopefully season three will improve her and her resistance group. We had to give Scarlamagne as a villain for her to be one, so it better be worth it.
About being beaten by mandu, I honestly think that Emilia saw that she couldn't talk and assumed she wasn't smart. Which is wrong, it is shown that mandu has human level intelligence, even if she can't talk or is overpowered by her animal desires sometimes.
People get so weirdly annoyed when they see LGBTQ character's whose plot isn't being LGBTQ. And the thing is Benson being gay imo does serve an important purpose to the plot even if it isn't driving it. It immediately shut down any romantic relationship forming between Kipo and Benson. Even if I often hate it whenever there's a main male and female character I always think "I wonder when they'll get together", it's usually pointless and distracting but it's so ingrained in to media that it's expected. I was groaning and rolling my eyes all the way up to the reveal and was so relieved when they shut it down.
I agree with a lot of what's brought up in this video, especially Benson's need of more background information. The fact that he's gay is cool, but I couldn't help but think "How would he know who he's attracted to if almost no humans live on the surface?" I hope that season three goes into more detail with Benson's backstory. Maybe he had a human friend who he grew very close with, but they were separated for some reason (the friend most likely dies).
While I do agree with everything else you said, I don't call most of what Scarlamagne did forgivable. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of Scarlamagne getting a redemption arc but slavery, murder, threatening human sympathizing Mutes' lives to set an example, conquer other Mutes by force and trying to turn everyone into gold as forgivable, and I imagine most Mutes and humans won't forgive him for what he did to them, even with Kipo trying to convince them.
I'm the only one who was waiting for Kipo to become a huge tiger with 6 paws at first but were more surprised by her becoming a big normal tiger than she full transforme in the end?
Yes, I'm working on a season 3 analysis. Yes, it's gonna be a big video. Calm your tits guys
When can we expect it? I'm not trying to rush you or anything because I know such in depth work like this take time
@@samdude1526 idk a couple weeks maybe
(edit: nvmd. This is a bigger project than I expected)
no
@@Krossxc oof and this was probably edited like a week or less ago. I see your thoughts on it will be interesting already
Pro tip: you can watch series on flixzone. Me and my gf have been using them for watching a lot of movies these days.
I think the anchor criticism is actually not that great. Her anchor was the visualization of her family, and when that's destroyed she uses her literal friends and family as an anchor. It's not that they were the real anchor all along, she just expands the view of her humanity past just her literal family.
Yes, its not what the anchor is but what it represents to her.
yeah, i didn't get the point of that section on the anchor, since it's what it represents to her, not what it is.
Yes, like it actually was kind of made clear from the beginning that she only had to get the picture because her family wasn't around which is why I actually was a bit confused they didn't get that friends/family anchor thing earlier even in the show. After all her family was what she was most missing, and the picture gave her the only look on it she ever had, but in the finale they were all together, so she had her need fulfilled in an actually greater way then just a picture and she could ground on that. And friends as being the family you choose is pretty common as well anyway
Aconite, I totally agree with the “friends being the family you choose,” it’s a good way of putting it. I was getting more of a “connections with others” was her anchor being with her family and her friends, but I like that idea way better. I just love that even being friends with Mutes and them being as close as family will still work in this scenario and speaks to how she views her family and those she surrounds herself with. Great point all around.
Elaborating on this, not only is it what the anchor represents to her but its also something that has been her focus the whole time up until the final moment. Her focus was her family and finding/ saving them. Its only natural that the thing that keeps her grounded is her drive to do that. In the end once she has all of them its not her drive to find them but that she has found them and the friends she made along the way. She wants to cherish them and her anchor becomes wanting to be with them and "make more memories".
Jamack refusing to join the group made me laugh way too hard
oh same here, That was hands down the funniest joke of the season for me.
Patrick Condron Agreed!
Best part of that joke is that he refuses not because he doesn't care about Kipo, but because he doesn't want to deal with Dave never shutting up about him joining, lol
Jamack:👁➖👁”uhhh”👁👄👁 “no”
Fact is, it was good but improve-worthy.
The Plot Holes, were annoying.
And the music's quality varies way too much.
Especially the Hip Hop Music was really multiple levels below the other song's quality.
I do not know if that's a problem with Hip Hop overall or just the songs selected or something, but still.
I cannot call it a Masterpice with so much varying Quality in all fields and such simple Plot Structure.
I do hope for a Season 3 - but one that is better than Season 2. Cause it needs to be.
Kipo is the 'kind' of thing we need, but not exactly the quality we need.
With the anchor, I never got the impression that her friends were the anchor the whole time, more like they became her new anchor. I think the picture of her parents really WAS her anchor, but after it was lost she found a new anchor in her friends.
Yeah this was what I thought, like they became her new family and I LOVE that sort of plot
Yeah, I think that's what the writers were going for
That’s exactly what I thought
also i feel like they established Kipos connection to music, its her way of bonding with people and considering it was strong enough to get through to her mother the choice seems pretty obvious
Fact is, it was good but improve-worthy.
The Plot Holes, were annoying.
And the music's quality varies way too much.
Especially the Hip Hop Music was really multiple levels below the other song's quality.
I do not know if that's a problem with Hip Hop overall or just the songs selected or something, but still.
I cannot call it a Masterpice with so much varying Quality in all fields and such simple Plot Structure.
I do hope for a Season 3 - but one that is better than Season 2. Cause it needs to be.
Kipo is the 'kind' of thing we need, but not exactly the quality we need.
My favorite thing about this season was probably the dynamic that Kipo and Hugo had as siblings. It came completely out of left field for me, but I loved it. I kept expecting him to be all like “oh you took my only source of love away from me and now I’m angry at you blah blah blah”, but instead his anger is focused on Kipo’s parents and how the world in general has mistreated him, which I like. The playing board games and the piano together is just too wholesome I can’t. What I didn’t like so much was when Kipo said stuff like “I know Hugo is still in there” while talking to her dad, because I’m pretty sure that’s not how mental illness or just changing as a person in general works. It’s not like Scarlemane is some sort of brainwashed form of Hugo that’s taken over his body, he is Hugo. It’s just that almost dying repeatedly in a cruel, uncaring world, and becoming convinced that any love you’ll ever be able to attain and keep has to be taken by force can kind of change you. Then again what was probably meant by this was that the loving, sweet personality formerly possessed by Hugo was still there under all hi bitterness for the world. Which is probably true. I guess I just didn’t much like the way she phrased it.
Yes i assumed that, that was Kipo’s point, that the person he was is still in there its just suppressed by the persona he has been forced to take on to survive and protect himself.
Fact is, it was good but improve-worthy.
The Plot Holes, were annoying.
And the music's quality varies way too much.
Especially the Hip Hop Music was really multiple levels below the other song's quality.
I do not know if that's a problem with Hip Hop overall or just the songs selected or something, but still.
I cannot call it a Masterpice with so much varying Quality in all fields and such simple Plot Structure.
I do hope for a Season 3 - but one that is better than Season 2. Cause it needs to be.
Kipo is the 'kind' of thing we need, but not exactly the quality we need.
Oh my goodness, their relationship was basically my favorite
Me, looking at a spidermonkey with 8 arms.
Me, looking at Kipo's jaguar form with a completely normal body proportion and no extra limbs.
Me, realizing that every single mega mute is MUCH BIGGER, like 5x to 8x the size of Kipo's jaguar, all of them from the bunnies to the dogs having extra eyes and limbs.
Kross: "There's no way to see her evolution coming! It just came entirely out of nowhere. Not a hint through the whole series."
.... ahuh. Sure there wasn't buddy.
tbh i thought it was because kipo is just a preteen
but u rite, kipo should have a gigantamax form
oh goody im not the only person who thought kipo's mega jaguar form was initially underwhelming and seemed too small
This was my initial thought too. I wondered why she was a regular cat. I think that was the point behind just how NORMAL she is when Mega: Foreshadowing.
lmao
Randal Jeffrey probably just because she hasn’t had much practice
Like it’s been a few days
Do in for a few weeks, months, years
Then you got a mega mute
I think one of my favorite parts about the season (along with everything else they do with his character) was how Scarlamain wasn’t auto redeemed. I think we do a really good job fleshing out his motivations, but I was honestly a little afraid they were gonna pull a White Diamond and have him immediately change sides. But we not only don’t redeem him, we get something better! When he creates the gold statue for Kipo, we get see a part of him that is maybe trying to change, trying to give back to others, something he hasn’t done in a long time. But we also see how his past still and who he has become affects how he goes about doing this. All of this culminates in reaffirming his anger and doubling down on being the antagonist, before having a subtle realization that he may have been wrong as he’s hauled off to the Timber Cats. Man! Scarlamain really was so good this season.
it'll set up a good redemption arc for him in season 3
I was afraid they were going to pull a Diamondemption too. I like him as a villain as he has good motivations and an interesting personality. These are qualities that I miss in villains these days as once they pull a sympathy card, it just sets them up for redemption at some point. Why can’t we have villains who intriguing personalities and stay evil?
I'm so glad they didn't pull a diamond redemption with scarlamagne. I'm glad they didn't force us to like him
That last scene of him is very important
His anger and brutality stemmed from the fact that he thought because he was a not human, Lio didn’t care enough about him to come back and save him or see if he was alright, it was a betrayal in his eyes,
it’s this key action that made him go nuts and set him on his path
The last scene is him realizing that Kipo could have run but instead risked her life to save all the mutes, himself included
and that i think is the changing moment that will come into play later.
I kinda didn't even realise it until someone pointed out that all 3 of the main characters are POC. That's not too common in western animation. I mean, I'm not sure if Kipo herself counts as a person of colour because her skin is purple, but her dad is black and her mom is Asian so she's definitely not white.
I myself am white and in my country less than 1% of the population is made of people of colour so as a kid everything that I learned about different races and how to act around them came from TV. I'm happy that in shows like Kipo race it's never talked about. Everyone is treated like a normal person so I'm glad that kids from my country will grow up with such a positive influence.
@Unknown gacha yeah it's good to talk about race, but I'm just saying that showing characters not being judged because of their race is a good influence on younger viewers.
If they don't see it, then they won't do it unless they learn from some other source.
Of course I see skin colour. The same way I see different hair and eye colours. People look different, that's just how we are. But I don't think that the amount of melanin we have should be a reason for hate.
@@monikakavaliunaite8017 I completely understand your reasoning. I just feel that as (lack of a better term😅) "bold" and innovative as the show is, they should be able to cover and address issues that pertain to mistreatment of minorities, racism (relevant things, not the half human/mute conflict they have going on💀) ect. I mean they made two of their characters gay, without hesitation (which is pretty controversial in media itself). If they can do that, then they can tackle the real world issues of race too. Yes it is important to show POC as people and nothing more, but not bringing awareness to the issues that POC face just doesn't feel right.
Unknown gacha you completely missed the point
Jive Peach but they didn’t bring awareness to lgbt struggles they just showed them as normal people which is how everyone should be treated plus I don’t see how race struggles or lgbt struggles could be integrated into the plot with care. But if you see a way by all means share :)
Dr Amelia is kinda rushed because her motives feels rushed and generic to me
My only "complaints" that aren't mentioned in this video are Kipo's transformations. Like, her first transformation into the mega jaguar was amazing! The wind picked up, the ground shook, and Wolf and Benson were thrown back by it. Also, when she turned back she passed out, really showed the toll it had on her body.
But we never saw another transformation or anything close to it until the end. And even the last transformation wasn't shown until she turned back. But when she turned back she was fine, just stood and joked around. I wish she would have staggered or fallen because it would have shown the internal battle she had to go through to not let her Jaguar take over and the toll on her body about getting the new form.
I also wish her new form had light pink hair on its neck instead of the brown to be more like Kipo, but at the same time I love the different/new color
Bruh, Dave is my favorite character and here I am finding out he's the most hated of the cast, lmao.
FRRR i love Dave too, although there are times where I want to hit him in the face lmao. I noticed dave was hugged twice in season 2 which I love so much
@@kasakro9829 Yes, it's been quite wholesome, plus, he's genuinely funny. I just love that one character that is the result of some mysterious eldritch forces and lived through the unthinkable, but is still a goofball.
I hated him the whole time, even his design ticks me off somehow lol
@@coppersskies1785 he did annoy me a lot, just be him butting in to certain things and screwing up
He was annoying, but he was also funny. I liked him a lot more in season three because we got his backstory which was as goofy as he is. I loved him after that.
Maybe they could have made Wolf say something like "Yes, you did make a mistake, and that's okay, now you have to do everything you can to fix it" or something like that; and a few changes in the visual would have improved the anchor thing a lot (like including Benson or wolf in the frame with the photo), also an episode or two about Troy and the twins' time with the Lumbercats would have been nice for their characters.
Ps: i'm not familiar with animation and shows but is possible to add an apisode in the middle of a series? like if the showrunners makes a new episode can they add it to an already released season?
True 👍
I think he’s missing the point of the anchor...
The anchor is not the picture itself (and its not the mom), its what it represents to Kipo...the representation of a complete family...
It’s the fact that it was a vision of the full family she always wanted which is hinted at in the dream episode last season
This is why she’s able to recover after losing the anchor because her friends and her mom and dad etc. are all her “family” now...
When I watched the reveal I thought the photo was the anchor at one point but Kipo realized that the people around her can also be an anchor
In anime, they have OVAs, which are basically what you are asking about
All I want is background on benson and Dave. Or something about them that we don’t know. Like how they met and where did they come from? How did benson get such a love of music? And how did they become friends
*[I can't be the only one who's excited for Kipo season 3]*
I'm hyped
Peridot I’m also hyped!
I hope they use Hugo more
implying if there will be a third season, please netflix...just please.
of course peridot watches kipo
As a full grown 26 year old man I’m not afraid to say I shrieked like a little girl when I saw this in my subscriptions feed,
Respect
Worth it
Ending fragile masculinity, one comment at a time.
I disagree with a few points
The picture as a temporary anchor made sense imo because she desperately wanted to meet her mother because she thought she was dead and never knew her. The picture made sense as a temporary anchor because none of them rlly knew what a anchor was at that point. Her friends being the anchor was what I thought would happen in the end because we saw those bonds grow and develop during the show.
The mega jaguar also made sense because at first I was disappointed because she didn’t seem like a mega in the first form.
...:because she just seemed like a large jaguar, there were no mega characteristics that are shown for the other mega mutes. For example the dogs have 6 legs or her mom, plus she was nowhere near the size of the other mega mutes so it made sense that the other form was her final transformation. It also goes to show that Kipo isn’t at her best when she is angry but when she is trying to protect everyone she cares about.
I agree, it's easy for us to say her friends are the anchor but at times you have to think of how the characters would act in their world view
I love this show so much and think this season is even better than the first, but honestly I do have a few problems with it. Like, how in hell can Kipo not be stressed in any way about what is going on? I get that she's super happy and optimistic but she is literally responsible for saving hundreds of people and has just been told that she could be a mega jaguar forever. That's some pretty heavy stuff.
Edit: honestly after a rewatch I noticed stuff I hadnt picked up on before or just had forgotten about and I think they handled Kipo's stress in the best way they possibly could have now.
Hopefully they’ll explore that like they did in SU (Steven Universe) a bit later when events from previous seasons start to stress her out.
@@lailaleak1766 hopefully they handle it better than Steven universe
MajesticBoi YT I thought that Steven universe future handled PTSD fine.
@@squigglypop8748 I disagree, Steven just went apeshit whenever he felt like it. It wasn't fun
@@majesticmo5048
I don't think PTSD is supposed to fun
them: you cant fall in love with the lyrics of children's show.
the lyrics: I needed a hero If I only knew the hero was me
The hero was you, was you...
me: Hell I can...
The main problem I had with Lio not going back for Hugo was that they treated him like an adopted child. Lio's choice essentially was "my biological child is more important than my adopted child" which is pretty messed up
Yea I think it makes scarlamane's (idk how to spell that) villainy much more compelling because from his perspective that's what happened. I think the implication was they thought he was dead and going back would put them at risk for nothing.
Super tramatic for that young of a kid though. I can't imagine going though all that and then at the end finnaly thinking you're safe before having all that sense of a safe place to return to stripped away.
Kipo turning into a mega jaguar at the end made sense to me, because we always knew she could, and I don't think anyone believed her previous jaguar state was really a mega. She transformed right there not only because of fRiEnDsHiP but also because, in a way, i think she always could, but she had to sacrifice the larger possibility of never returning to humanity.
Same
I haven't seen the video yet, but I personally thought season 2 was a big step in the right direction and significantly better than the first season. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece yet, but it really stands out from other shows in some areas (in a good way) and if season 3 improves as much as this season did, I think it very well could reach masterpiece levels in the future.
Edit: I have now seen the video and I agree with most things you say. You made me realise some things I'd missed or overlooked completely, which is a reason I enjoy your content so much. The only thing I want to add is that "Down With Humans" is an amazing song.
I loved this season.
Tbh while Dr. Emelia is a villian I can honestly say I would probably side with her. Many of the escaped humans were slaves for Hugo for who knows how long. Most mute species have also terrorized humanity ever since they gained sapience. I also found it interesting that she was seemingly the only character concerned with the unethical human experimentation Kipo's parents did.
We also need to factor in the apocalypse was fairly recent. Humanity only lost its seemingly complete dominance of the planet only 2 centuries ago. To them, life prior to mute apocalypse must seem like a golden age of security and prosperity.
That's an interesting point, I probably wouldn't just because they do have sentience, and finding a way to coexist seems the most ethical to me. As for the human experimentation I am not sure how I feel, but Emila did not seem concerned with that to me, like she mistreated Hugo first and was more concerned with the danger of Kipo and using her than anything. I personally just find the ideal dominance of humanity over other intelligent, sentient beings something I could not side with.
I might be wrong correct me if so but wasn’t the experiment they did to create Kipo technically what they were supposed to do? Isolate the cause of mutation which they did creating Kipo in the process. Also Emilia really isn’t concerned with what Lio and Song did regarding Kipo. She wants Kipo and Song and possibly lio under her control or dead so she really doesn’t seem to care. I respect your opinion but I don’t agree with it
@@mattm2451
Understandable. What I truly like about this show is that it asks many thought provoking questions such as "Should we risk our survival over our subjective morality?" and "Is coexistence possible between radically different sapient species?".
As for Dr. Emelia while she did mistreat Hugo and plotted to use Kipo as a tool to use and discard, she was clearly disgusted that Kipo's parents would dare experiment on a human much less their own child. She was willing to risk enslavement just to free humans she never even met before. She also was only planning to kill Kipo for being a "defilement" of human life and not her human friends. I hope she ends up being a complex character like Hugo and not a generic supremacist.
@@kurqnkov2299
I respect your opinions as well even if I don't entirely agree. The experimentation on Kipo was a complete secret. They were suppose to isolate the mutagen that created the mutes with Hugo. They managed to isolate the mutagen with Hugo but hid their findings from Dr. Emelia because they didn't want to wipe out all mutes.
Kipo was a secret project made to find a route towards coexistence with mutes. Kipo's parents thought giving humans animal abilities would give humanity a chance to coexist with mutes on the surface.
@@GreatUniter I would appreciate a complex character of course, but the rhetoric she uses, to me is clearly wrong, humans above all else, coexistence won't be easy, but pack mentality only breads hatred. I'm glad the show is addressing these themes and I hope they do them well, I just personally could never side with her.
I feel like Kipo had an anchory feeling about the picture is because either...
A. She wanted to find an anchor (implicitly an object, not a person/people) so badly that she assumed the picture *had* to be it
Or...
B. She misunderstood her feelings towards the picture (overjoyed happiness as opposed to anchary)
My only major issue is that they resolved major issues that could have been the topics of entire seasons in single episodes. She's terrified of her own power? One good use makes it all go away! They lost the anchor? Sing the big monster into submission! It feels like they're rushing through the show, which wouldn't surprise me based on their release schedule.
I would have loved to see an entire season of Kipo having to handle being a giant monster 24/7. It would be a great bonding moment for her with her mother, and would have been a great test of both her patience and her friend's nerves.
The first season was awesome for its world building, and the second did a lot for the characters and their motivations. Here's to hoping Season 3 improves the pacing in an impactful way.
I do agree with you that they are rushing a few bits. They definitely could’ve spent one or two more episodes developing Kipo’s fear of her powers, like maybe she never goes Mega after she hurts Benson until the finale, where she has to both face her fear and potentially sacrifice her humanity. I do think it would’ve been cool to see her stuck as mega for maybe a whole episode, but there is no way the titular character of a tv show is going to stay what would have to be a side character for a whole season. Plus she kind of had to go back at the end of the season because if she didn’t the viewers would assume the whole next season would be about getting her back, which I previously stated would most likely never happen, meaning that they would solve the problem within the first couple of episodes of season 3 leaving some fans disappointed.
I agree with both of you guys, but it takes a lot of time to do these animations, I mean I’ve never seen a whole season come out so fast it’s insane.
Yeah dream works seems to have this limit of like only 10 episodes so is rushed
She's been terrified of her powers since season one though. And we constantly see her having to deal with this (especially when her jaguar powers keep developing). I don't see how it all just went away.
One thing I think is cute is that even though Kipo is a reminder and kind of the reason for SO MUCH of Hugo’s pain he never holds it against her. It would’ve been so easy for him to pull a Severus Snape but instead he formed this really sad friendship with Kipo because he knows she had no control over what happened at the time
Unpopular oppinion (apparently): Leo and Song ARE HUGO'S PARENTS!!! Leo didnt left just a friend behind. Not only were Leo and Song the only parental figures he knew, they literaly 'created' him. Turning him sentient implies parental responsability! So yeah, Leo dont returning to look for Hugo, (even if him doesnt realizes it and didnt meant harm), is him prioritizing his new bio child over his adopted one.
I agree. It was really heartbreaking to see that Hugo's breaking point was when Leo refused to let him hold his baby sister. It's even sadder when you consider Hugo didn't become prejudiced towards humans due to his treatment under Dr. Emelia, he became prejudiced towards humans because his adoptive human father favored his half human child over him and left him for dead. What makes matters worse is that Hugo unknowingly enslaved his own mother.
I don't think that's just an unpopular opinion, but what the show was going for. Leo & Song are the only parental figures that he knows (and even at the point the only people he knows who care about him), he's basically their adopted child & they are responsible for making him consciously aware and in need of that greater love and education. He obviously loved them and thinks the world of them, (and is even willing to undergo countless more experiments and literally bled dry at the promise he and his parents can escape soon when the baby is born), but when Leo leaves him behind, let alone doesn't even try to help him, and see's Leo's distrust of him with what is like a sibling to Hugo, like imagine if you were an adopted child and you get every single piece of evidence your parent does not love you as much as their biological child. That in real life fucks people up, of course it fucked Hugo up realizing the only people he cared for, his parents, and that he'd do anything for, wouldn't return the same love to him and didn't feel the same love for him as he did for them.
to be fare like leo trided to exsplane he was on the run he could not risk as far as he knew only remaning famaly and himself just for the slites chants his adoupted child is alive. on top of that was likly greving over song as he usumed she dieded so the only things that probably could be on his mind were the things right in front of his face like thret of death and the only known alive member of of his famaly. when you start thinking about it resonably he did nothing wrong.
I mean I think that was the whole point the show was making? Hugo even said he was their child and that was his blanket (now given to their other child). I think the show was trying to paint a picture of why that was so wrong. If things had been reversed and Kipo had been left behind and Lio and Hugo were escaping, Lio would have gone back for Kipo, because she was his bio kid. Messed up. But consistent with the show's themes exploring the impact and moral nuances of racism and elitism: i.e. justifying acts of abuse and oppression because "it's a different species" or "they're not one of us."
Don’t get me wrong, I love the art style and the concept of the show, I just wish it gave me more, ya know? I want a show that has a good black and gay rep to do well.
@Taurus Capricorn I mean it hasn't really tackled racism (as of yet), but I understand ur point lol
@Taurus Capricorn It was "presented" but they never actually followed through. Yeah I mean sure they spent a good amount of time focusing on how Kipo would have to deal with people discriminating against her, but when they finally discovered the second burrow...it didn't seem like anyone was discriminating against her at all. The point of the creation of the burrows was that people were afraid of mutes and that they wanted to live safely from them. So all of a sudden this half human -mute girl comes into their home and you're supposed to tell me that almost NO ONE reacted in a negative way??? Yeah no. The plot didn't go over my head, it just wasn't executed properly.
@Taurus Capricorn ok...stepping aside from Kipo real quick, people need to understand that...there is nothing to read in between the lines about...because systemic racism (that has been swept under the rug for the past 3 decades) is currently being presented...at face value...for everyone to see. You're right, violence doesn't solve anything. However, for some magical reason, the U.S. govt. doesn't decide to do anything to persecute officers UNTIL people start looting and starting violent protests. The movement has been going on for almost a decade now and they're just now considering that officers need to be arrested for murder? Why did it take all of this?
I freakin love Kipo, I really do. From the animation, to the music, to the storyboarding. I think it's going to do amazing things. And with what Im about to say, Im not trying to make this all about race. But with a show this innovative, I feel like it should address the real discrimination that black/POC face. If you as the creator of Kipo (i mean in terms of the real creator) decide to make all 3 of your main characters POC, then you at least, AT LEAST, owe it to the audience to address the those issues, instead of just having the characters the way they are for "diversity" reasons. Personally, I think that can really push the show over the top.
@Grande Leonardo nothing would be "forced", it would just be the show bringing awareness to the issue of racism in a more direct way, instead of having it hidden behind the human/mute conflict.
For example, in he last episode of season 1 (at the beginning), Hoag was addressing Leo about the secret burrow and how looking for Kipo was a bad idea. Now, Im 100% aware that they probably just wrote his character to be mean and disrespectful, and that's understandable. But being African American myself, watching that interaction between those two characters rubbed me the wrong way (personally). A lot of people can watch that scene and go, "well, he was just being mean, he can be mean and not be racist", and they would be right😂 But from my background and what I've experienced, the message in that scene came across a different way
Looking back, the new jaguar form makes a little more sense than I made it out to considering all the other mega mutes have 6 legs and are way bigger. I still don't like the moment of evolution, though, because what brings on the new form is simply determination/friendship/etc. Watch the BGE video I mentioned for a full explanation of why I find this underwhelming.
Do you have any thoughts on Netflix's The Dragon Prince?
I love how kipo has memorable villains that's a thing a lot of shows fail at having boring villains which makes the story boring
Why does nobody point out kipo is pink
For me it felt like the "normal" jaguar form was kipo still retaining some subconcious self control, then the transformation into "mega mute" jaguar was her relinwuishing the last of her control, giving herself over fully to the jaguar inside
It would have been better if she was stuck that way for half a season
I do agree on the animation getting better bit, but I am going to add that I was kind of disappointed by Kipo's jaguar form. It felt stiff and not that satisfying to watch, which is sad because felines are usually one of the most fun things to see animated. And I did notice the music getting way better, at least in my opinion.
Now, on Kipo's powers... The entire pacing is fucked up. She kinda learns to control them in just one episode but then the anchor stuff (which ends up being mostly meaningless) takes like 5 or 6 eps, and it felt a little forced, because you just KNEW it was going to be the power of friendship anyways. The episode where she hurts Benson feels forced and it's overall a pretty meh conflict.
I will, however, defend Kipo's Jaguar evolution. Through the entire show we've seen mega-mutes be 1: Enormous and 2: Weird. When Kipo first turned into the jaguar form I was actually surprised at how... "small" (in comparison to other megas) and non-weird it was (save for the pink color). So when her normal and small jaguar suddenly turned weird and grew, I was like "oooh there it is!" because it made sense in context. And it's possible to argue "well why didn't she turn that way from the beggining?" but then the entire show has constantly been explaining there's been stages to her powers (Fur on arm > full paw arm > body transformation > jaguar mute > mega jaguar). So yeah, that's my take on it.
On most everything else, I agree. Particularly on Hugo/Scarlemagne, god damn, I ended up really hoping he'd turn around.
But I think one thing you didn't mention that IS worth mentioning is the pacing. The entire first half of the season felt... rushed. Extremely rushed. If things were done well, you could have ended the season with the mushroom mute episode and Kipo learning about her past and finding the anchor, with the cliffhanger being her turning into the jaguar and running after her mother. But I feel they just NEEDED to have Scarlemagne's story here, otherwise people may have not found him as compelling as he is, and... I don't think that was a worthy tradeoff. For half the season I just thought "this should've been explored more," and then we could've had a season 3 way more focused on scarlemagne and the relationships of mutes and humans, with even more time to set up the scientists as an antagonistic force and kipo exploring her powers better.
Other than that, yeah, the show's pretty good.
Hope we get a season 3.
I agree. It felt weird how the Fun Gus was a two parter in the middle of the season that has ten episodes. It felt like that should’ve been the end of the season or they could’ve focused more on honing in Kipo’s powers as it was too easy. Like Kross said it only took one episode for Kipo to get over dilemma over hurting those closest to her before the writers babied her again. Not letting her grow and maybe mature as she has great power. Like Uncle Ben said, “With great power, come great responsibility.”
Ah hell nah i not reading all that shit
Honestly, I do generally agree with you on most to all points but like the point of Kipo's second mute evolution doesn't feel out of nowhere for me looking at literally every mega mute in the serious which is bigger than first form jaguar and also all of them all extra limbs, eyes, etc. whereas first form jaguar is just a big purple jaguar and (while I'm sure there's some influence of hindsight in play here) during my first viewing of this season it did feel a little like "That's all? that's all that makes a 'mega jaguar'?". Cause like the first form mega is very basic in terms of what we've seen and was even smaller than the mega monkey, while still being bigger than a normal jaguar. I guess the show could have added some line like "that's it?" or whatever, but like, also I don't blame the show writers for not thinking about that.
Honestly, I think you are just a touch too critical and seem to want people to hit every stride perfectly when honestly, I think the best goal for writing of any kind is something being a good, watchable/readable media, and I don't think shows/books have to strive to be the deepest thing in the world or try to challenge the readers to think deeper, especially for shows that are rated and made for kids (which isn't an excuse for bad writing, or assuming that said audience is unable to get the bigger picture because they are younger but I digress). Like yeah, I think the second season is an improvement to the first season, but I also think that the first season does its job really well, set up the rules of the world, the world itself, and allows people to understand how things work, and later seasons can go more in-depth in every field after that with a well-developed world that gets good pacing in how it's built up. Even the first season of Avatar the Last Airbender was arguably the weakest season in that it didn't flesh out all the characters one hundred percent of the world (like more rules on specific bending types, the cultures of the other kingdoms, etc.).
I guess since this is getting kinda rambly, I think it comes to the fact that I do have a less harsh standard/set of expectations for media's of I just want to be entertained and told a convincing story and don't think that everything needs to be most groundbreaking thing ever, it just has to be a well made, cohesive story that holds up for at least the first viewing, even if it's not something that you never come back to again, whereas it almost feels like you want every single show to be the next Avatar or whatever.
I'm so glad someone said it about the last jaguar transformation. When I first watched the scene I was kinda confused too like "why is she suddenly bigger and stronger??" But after thinking a little about it I understood that THIS IS WHAT A MEGA JAGUAR LOOKS LIKE!! And I think they could have explained it somehow but at same time it was kinda obvious that her first jaguar look was too basic lol
On my first viewing I just assumed she was smaller and generally less “mega” because she was still growing. In my mind her mom had six arms and was much bigger because she was simply older and therefore her mutant form was more developed, and since Kipo was just 13 her mutant form was simply less developed. So it honestly did feel somewhat “Deus Ex machina” when she suddenly went through a Pokémon style evolution, though I didn’t really mind too much, it was still a pretty satisfying ending. This is just how I viewed it though and I believe your interpretation is valid in how none of the Megas are just bigger, I just wish there was at least some alluding to it, like maybe instead of having a simple jaguar head as the label in the scene where Song is talking about the four mutagens, it was instead a full body diagram or just some simple image of an actual mega-jaguar. Just thought I’d throw my two sense in.
28:57 My slight critique with Lio is that the MINUTE Hugo shows signs of being hurt or mentally unstable, he deems him a lost cause & NEVER attempts any further at reconciliation. He doesn't attempt 2 go back 4 Hugo after ensuring Kipo's safety or contact him in any way after their meeting on the surface & that was the major issue 4 me - he simply stopped TRYING.
Of course I'm glad he regrets this later on & seeing him save Hugo from the molten gold warmed my soul 2 no end ^_^
Plus, have we 4gotten how Kipo's parents literally EXPERIMENTED on their daughter without knowing the outcome?! I get that Song & Lio wanted a better future 4 both races but putting a child & her MOTHER at risk?! 4 all they knew, there could've been TERRIBLE side effects instead of the 'Cool Power' outcome we got.
Kipo had no say in being half mute, nor was she ever informed of what she was & she doesn't show anger at ANY of this! I know Kipo's a positive person but I'D certainly b pissed at not having a choice in being a part of something where I had no say in the matter.
Im sad stalky died 😢 stalky needs a redemption
One thing that sticks out to me in this review is that I definitely was not surprised when Kipo went full mute. The first time I saw her running after her mom, I thought "wow she is way smaller and has a normal number of limbs." I thought it was a logical progression that when faced by the most danger she finally went full mega, as danger is what fueled the jaguar transformation to begin with.
Okay okay about the anchor thing. I always felt like it was partially Benson holding it telling Kipo he trusted her. The arc you compared to aangs arc, i felt, was not entirely accurate. When I watched it I felt more emphasis placed on Benson trusting Kipo, and Kipo realizing Benson, her friend, trusted her and seeing the picture. I also believe that the picture was a placebo effect to Kipo, she believed she needed it until she realized her friends also reminded her who she was.
That seems more accurate, it wasn't the picture it was Benson holding the picture telling Kipo he had faith in her. I also doubt that her crush on him has entirely faded yet so that helps, I mean if someone I had feelings for believed in me then I would have much more reason to believe in myself
Feelings aren't always logical and who ever said she can't have two.
Talks about Hugo and how he got left on the surface *drift away starts playing*
I feel like the anchor was something that Kipo considers to connect to her human side. She chose the picture because she wanted to know more about her family, so she chose something that she thought would complete her. In the finale, she realizes she doesn't need something material to remind her of her family if they are right their in front of her
Sorry for the incoherence.
I think it makes sense for Wolf, Benson, and Dave to try and make Kipo feel better by telling her all the good things that she did, because friends do that, but I wish they would’ve also dipped into the “you made a mistake and that’s okay as long as you do everything in your power to make things right again” territory.
I also really enjoyed this season, even more than season 1, but I think the fact that they limited themselves to 10 episodes really damaged/damages the story. Like you mentioned with the relationship between Benson and Troy, keeping themselves limited to only 10 episodes that last about 25 minutes each really hurts their ability to develop every aspect of the show - from limiting the time we get to have the characters interact with each other and develop their personalities and relationships with the other characters.
Also, the only thing that annoys me consistently with the show is that the dropped the whole “if you touch Dave’s cocoon, then he’ll come out underdeveloped/deformed” thing. I feel like they could’ve played into that more or they should of just not set it up at all.
Also, I’m so happy we got more development for Hugo, it makes everything so much better.
Kross I fucking live for your uploads, I feel very similarly because Kipo clearly has so much potential and actual care behind the project!
I love your analysis videos, looking forward to this one!
I agree with most of your points, except the point of the Mega Jaguar. They never explicitly state it, but there's actually a lot of visual clues and unsaid things about it. One thing I think Season 2 did well is retroactively make some things in Season 1 more impactful (and in a way it was all planned out for people to pick-up on), such as why the Mega Monkey responded to Kipo singing in Season 1 so well (we now know the Mega Monkey is Kipo's mom, and her daughter singing the song she taught her has a special emotional reach to her specifically which is why it helps snap her out of it, it even works as some subtle foreshadowing), or the reason Kipo's dad is so desperate to get her out of the Burrow in Season 1 and let's her go through the river isn't just he's concerned for her safety, but afraid she'll turn into a Mega Jaguar and destroy the burrow like the last one they lived in with the mother). The Mega Jaguar we see for most of Season 2 is significantly smaller and less "mutated looking" than we see just about every other Mega Animal (the Monkey, the Rabbit, etc), they all have multiple limbs, are much bigger, so it's a bit weird Kipo's is so much smaller than them and just kinda' looks like a Jaguar. Seeing the scene watching blindly, I literally thought to myself, "Ohhh, that makes sense," as I was questioning why Kipo's was so smaller and normal looking to the other Mega Animals. Visual Story Telling.
Moreso, as this is one of the last main event before the end of season, I just got the feeling they were going to expand on the "deeper mutation" of Megas next season, and this was more a tease of what's to come, both as they want to figure out a way to get Kipo's mom to return back, and we see the visual story telling again of Kipo trapped in her mind with the Jaguar threatening to not let her turn back before her friends reach through.
So to you it seemed like it came out of nowhere & is underexplained, but to me it was actually a pretty good example of subtle "show not tell" story telling and setting up something to deeper explore in the next season (now that it's established there's a deeper Mega Mutation that's harder to get back from, and a conflict with Kipo's mother stuck within this form).
Concerning the Anchor:
I think it was more implied that the picture was supposed to remind her of her family, rather than JUST her mother. She's been on a constant quest to return to her father/save her father and she didn't have much to remember her mother by. Thus her family was her reminder of her humanity and that's what the picture represented.
With the picture destroyed, they had nothing BUT themselves to use as anchors. So I think it more was a passing of the torch sort of deal rather than 'Oh it was her friends all along' thing.
I saw the Jaguars Evolution coming to me it was obvious that her standard form was not the final form.
Nobody gonna talk about Kipo being a child of eugenics? And how it's its own wormhole of ethical debate? Like..she just acts so chill about it.... i love the series, but each time i think about that i'm like .....this is very questionable. I feel like this should be adressed, making her parents more gray on that area
Her parents just gave her superpowers
The dynamic between Kipo and Hugo was really heartwarming. I cried my heart out after watching episode 8, with all his backstory. I love him.
Hmmmm I have some gripes here.
The picture was *a* anchor to Kipo, it's never said there can only be one.
The reason she felt connected to it was because of her arc during the episode. She for the first time figured out who she actually is, how she came to be and what her purpose was. In her mind this *was* what connected her to who she is. Not *just* her human side but being both human *and* mute.
That entire episode acted as a way to connect Kipo to her parents more. Making her understand herself more.
It's also noteable that Wolf was the one who gave Kipo the picture and Benson was the one save keeping it for her.
Also, each time Benson used the anchor, we *heard* him call out to her.
It was their *voices* that reached Kipo when she went full mega mute, the song they shared as a memory.
Also I do not argee at all with the show trying to say Kipo is this perfect person. Kipo was doubting everything at that moment, legitimately scared and upset because she felt she could never fulfill this huge quest she had.
But her friends? They know Kipo and know all her accomplishments. Reminding her that she is a very capable person who does make good decisions. She isn't shown to be perfect. Literally the very next scene confronts them with another consequence of one of Kipo's bad judgement calls and the conclusion of the season where the burrow people join professor Emelia is yet another instance.
And most damning against this point? Kipo is proven wrong about Hugo.
Kipo ademmantly believed she could save him if she managed to reach out to him. Her issue with Lio wasn't that he didn't go back for Hugo, it's that he gave up on Hugo so fast. She believed ademmantly she could save him by making him realize there was a other way
But she was wrong. Hugo couldn't be saved simply by talking to him. The trauma he had ran way too deep to be healed like this.
There wasn't a *easy* redemption. She couldn't solve this problem by believing in the good in him. Her judgement mistake almost got them killed.
Also as for Kipos transformation? I felt it very much logical that this wasn't her final stage simply by looking at all the mega mutes. Visually they all share having multiple limbs so it wasn't that out of the blue at all for me.
There is also the fact that Kipo was unsure as to why the Anchor didn't work that first time.
Was it because she was distracted or was it because it was unreliable? What if she ended up hurting people again and it didn't work. Kipo this season had been plagued by a lot of self doubt and the mini arc with Benson was less about her realizing she could use the Jaguar powers to do good but rather her finding the self confidence to know for certain she can do it. Confidence Benson had in her and has in himself. It's even underlined by again talking about the fact that Benson is a openly gay kid, he wanted Troy's dad to think highly of him but was comfortable to say "Hey sorry, those two totally lied about me because I asked them to make me sound good because I like your son." He has enough confidence in himself and his identity that he had no issues coming out to the man who's son he likes.
I completely agree with all of your points. Respect people disagreeing, but I share these sentiments as well.
Im actually glad they didn’t have Kipo work on Scar after just a day or two of being kind. Not to be cynical, but Scarlamane had already been there and done that. Like Wolf e’d been “betrayed” by those who were closest to em, but unlike Wolf, Scarlamane’s caretakers actually did love em and care about em but still held em second priority, and I can seriously see how jacked up it must have seemed. Like, imagine being adopted, but during an earthquake your parents prioritized their biological child (who’s a still a baby). It’s too easy to become insecure about family because you start to question if all that love was ditched over biology. For Hugo it must have felt like being valued enough to be protected was impossible especially considering the limited opportunities to develop a worldview.
So to have em turn around and be good because of a few acts of kindness would have watered down the real effects of abandonment and made it out to be as simple as “If you give them a cookie and smile they have no reason to not be your friend”
She-Ra:
Season 1: Pretty good and exciting
Season 2: Improvments and epic
Season 3: A huge turning point
Season 4: Dark
Season 5: Villains redemption arc, full on epic and amazing fights, good ending.
Kipo:
Season 1: Pretty good and amazing
Season 2: Improvements and interesting
...
Noticing a pattern here anyone?
For the better but still...
I CAN'T WAIT!
I really do love Kipo, but I did notice moments of lazy writing or at least characters not being as smart as they should be. Also I miss the killer music just being sprinkled into every beat of the show since it was my favorite part of Season 1
Finally someone says it
Um the music was great...
I agree about benson I've thought a lot about the idea of forced gay characters the idea that they are put in their as a marketing tool and how media only focuses on their sexuality and I thought those are valid points but I feel like we are getting to the point where it is being treated as normal and is not being the only defining character trait and people still complain about " forced" representation. At this point I wish they would just admit gay characters make them uncomfortable.
"forced representation" is just a coping tool, ofc they wont admit it
like even if they're a marketing tool or they're written poorly then just complain about those things?? once marginalized groups become normalized these issues will also go down so idk why they're crying so hard.
There are two kinds of people who use the “forced representation” schtick
The most common if not almost all is basically just people who are simply upset the they were shown at all...it's a dog whistle so they can act like “oh we’re not bigots” while being offended and upset that any kind of “gayness" is even being acknowledged at all.
The othertye of people are more legitimate because shows will sometimes just put in token characters to appear more sensitive and woke, and that kind of laziness and participation level of caring is insulting on multiple levels
The fact that benson being gay has no real affect on the show is why its the best representation because it plays to how gay people are just regular people like everyone else, and them being gay doesn’t somehow need to be noticeable, affect things and or make them stand out more or etc.
In my opinion, "forced representation" means one of 2 things:
1. An existing character in a show who has been written in one way is suddenly revealed to be part of a minority with no story effect.
2. A character being part of a minority is their defining trait and conflict in the story.
Benson, at least how I interpreted him, does not do either of these. Until the episode we are told he's gay, there is no evidence either way. Even Kipo's interest is written as a mistaken assumption. Also, once he tells Kipo, being gay is just a part of his character, not the defining trait. His attraction to the burrow guy does get attention, but is written just like it would be if one of them was female. This is representation done well, because it normalizes a minority without bringing attention to it.
@@mckenzie.latham91
As a gay man I rate Benson's overall "gayness" 10/10, it feels real
The relationship between Benson and Troy though is definitely tokenism, when was the last time you had a crush on someone just because they liked pancakes?
While "Representation" isn't necessarily bad, lately it just became a symptom of bad stories because they choose to pander to people. I had no problem with Tweek and Craig despite being gay and in fact I find them cute, I had no problem with Benson and the other guy being gay, my problem is the idea of "representation" being forced.
Benson pining on another guy is basically just a girl pining on guy, or a guy pining to a girl, or a girl pining on a girl -- it's basically just a crush, and the only difference is one gender flipped, because the point of it is the situation of the characters, not their sexuality. Those who couldn't relate to people if it wasn't their gender or sexuality, or religion or any other labels seems to me that they are incapable of empathizing with an individual -- a personal shortcoming than the problem of the stories.
Representation isn't needed, it's just wanted, so lets just treat it as something that people wants than what is necessary. What I am criticizing isn't the fact that Benson is gay, rather the attitude of "representation" as a trend.
Have never watched this, but Scarlemaigne's back story is amazing!
I feel like it isn’t her friends or the picture is the anchor I think more than one thing can be a reminder of humanity and I think it would be normal for it to change I think mabey her dad should have sang the song and her mum like been there or be part of it
I actually felt that the visuals hinted that Kipo was gonna transform again. Every time they showed a mega these things were massive and had multiple limbs. But when Kipo turned into a mega she was just a normal jaguar with a purple/color swap. Then when they showed her next to her mom, she didn't even reach up to her mom's knee. I was like, either she's a runt cause she's half human or she hasn't gone full mega-mute
Mega Mutes (bunnies, dogs, monkey) all were super huge and had extra limbs. I thought the mega monkey to be more of a spider monkey (get it?) but it turns out it was just the natural progression.
As for Kipo's poor judgment argument, I actually feel it was done well. She did make a mistake that time, but it was okay as there were other times when her instincts were spot on: helping the timber cats get their leader back, rocking out with the snakes, serenading the mega monkey, even checking the wolves' telescope early to find out about their connection to Scarlemagne. She was clearly being comforted for the one mistake that mattered; losing her father again. What were her friends supposed to say? "Do better next time"? "Don't let it happen again"?
I do agree her accepting her jaguar transfomation hiccup was on the weaker side, especially when all we got out of Benson's backstory this season was meeting some space-obsessed bat mutes a year ago just to set up the conflict of the day. And yeah, Jamack does sound like Zuko in the end.
I can't wait for the third season.
The gold thing bothered me so much I'm so glad you mentioned it lmao
I was like dude, all the people stranded at the edges of the stadium while the gold got higher would have died long ago just from being so close to it.. Like why they standing there like it's not even uncomfortable?!
i think the whole "kipo becoming a more powerful jaguar to push down the tree" was kind of just a way of showing she reached the point of no return, that she wouldn't be able to transform back into human form. but her connection to her friends was just *that* strong, so she was able to transform back anyway
If I do not get a final agni kai between Jamak and sans undertale i will be so upset
Her anchor isn't Just her friends. It's her human bonds. Like to her FATHER in the picture. Then once that isn't available she realized that what she Needed was the people she cared about.
Also the Mega-jaguar made sense because we see how Every mega-mut has multiple limbs and peculiar traits. It was Set Up that *All* mega-muts have those traits. It's Supported by seeing that Mondu is an infant mega-mut. It is Paid Off when it is revealed that the first few times we see mega-jaguar is only a partial transformation.
Love that you played Spinel’s song during Hugo’s analysis...just...I had to point it out
Man, have you never heard of soft world building? One of the most capturing things about this film is its ghibli aesthetic, it uses the world as a means to explore the characters and the wonder in the world that is so often lost in the daily ritual of life. It shows how the wonder of childhood doesn't have to leave us. It depicts the precious gems in life at there extremes to make us see once again the magic that they hold, and is that not a sorely needed message? That no matter how bad things might see, heck, the world might even have ended, but still things twinkle. Still there is a part of humanity that will never give up on trying to make the world just that little bit nicer. A focus on the magic in the little things doesn't detract from this film, its what makes it human. Why would you want to mute that?
I honestly had a hard time feeling bad for Hugo. He had a great character arch and interesting backstory but I just felt like it wasn’t delivered in a way that made me feel like his actions were justified. As he was completely fine and nice person until he found Lio on the surface again, and only snapped to the small realization that Lio didn’t come back to look for him and he was jealous of kipo. Idk...something about it just made me feel like he was a whiny baby more than a serious character who I should sympathize with.
Something to note though about Hugo's sudden change, he was still a child at that point probably somewhere near Kipo's age (They never said his age just that he was a child who was all alone). He was hurt and angry and now no one could tell him no, which doesn't seem like it would lead to someone growing up to be a decent person.
Eh, I am always torn with his character. On one hand he is a great villain, but on the other I kind of sympathize with him. Maybe because I like animals more than people, but I see where you’re coming from. The show established from the begin how its a “mute eat mute world” and how one views in how to survive on the surface. Some try to stay optimistic while others are more pessimistic about their situation. Take Wolf for example, she has trust issues as she tried to trust wolves who treated her like family, but only to turn back on her and try to eat her. Scarlamagne and Wolf were betrayed by those they trusted and had survive on their own.
If you don’t like him that’s fine, I respect your opinion about him.
bengi 890 it’s not even that I don’t like him, it’s just that he had all the cool ingredients to be an amazing villain who you also felt sorry for, and I still think he’s an amazing villain and character. But never seemed effected by his past ya know??? Like he should’ve been, but he always seemed optimistic and stuff (except for that one scene where he played piano but he wasn’t even upset about Lio or song in that scene) and then as soon as he got to the surface and he saw Lio he just had this dramatic switch that wasn’t really explained. And I just wish they maybe made him more bitter in the first place, or drawn out him getting angry at Lio
Darius Kinghammer yes see it makes sense why he changed, I understand it because it just makes sense when you think about it, it’s just like “well obviously he was affected by his terrible childhood.” But he never was upset about that, he was happy and optimistic most of the time, but then as soon as he found Lio again he just kinda changed, and it was this small thing that made him go off and completely change then what we had seen of him so far. It just felt like it could’ve been done better
The thing I personally think you are missing is that meeting up with Lio and learning that he didn’t go back for him isn’t a “small thing” in Hugo’s eyes, Lio was basically his father who he had absolute faith in. So when he learns that Lio didn’t even try to look for him after the carnage, and sees his old blanket wrapped around Kipo, it’s like suddenly learning your parents never truly cared about you.
Another point, it wasn’t really a complete 360 turn around. We see earlier in the episode that Hugo wants to use his pheromones to escape, but is told off by Lio, his moral compass. When he believes that Lio doesn’t truly care for him, he also connects that to Lio’s lessons in morality. Possibly thinking that Lio just said those things to hold him back.
This isn’t to say that your point is completely invalid, having only one episode trying to create sympathy for a previously completely amoral villain doesn’t always work out and it makes sense not everyone would sympathize with him. I just thought I would share what I think makes him a strong villain.
To be honest I really want to see how Benson and Dave life mostly Benson life was before all this happened and I want to know how old are they like Benson must be the same age at least as kipo. But what about wolf she says that she's been there since she was 5 how old is she now cuz she must be like a little younger than them like at least give us like a birthday(i Know It season 1 they have the birthday thing giving gifts and stuff but that doesn't explain how old is Wolf only that kipo was turning 13). And what about wolf and Benson's parents did they went underground, did they leave them to die or something did they get lost,did they die? I know not all these questions to be answered but we just need to know more stuff about the characters backstory *cough* *cough* Benson's.And I really do want to see how Benson and Troy's relationship cuz it feels like they did give us teasers.
I never thought watching the show that Kipo's friends were the anchor instead of the picture, rather that they were both the anchor at the same time. Human relationships are the anchor itself, and the picture was basically just a replacement for her parents as they couldn't be there in person. So I don't think hunting down the picture was nessisarly a waste of time, as it shows she could return to human form even without her friends/family around so long as someone can be there with at least the image of them.
Dave's comment on it is still stupid though lol
I mean those mega bunnies and her mom has more body parts like extra arms or ears whatever. Doesn't feel exactly out of nowhere that kipo grows more too
Benson and Trent are adorable. Its also nice to have romance on the side rather than being front and center. I don't hate romance, i just think it's hard to focus on it and make it both realistic and compelling.
i personally felt the whole Kipo fighting against her feral side was very underwhelming, i get it, its a kids show, but its also rated 12, and we literally saw Dave getting half of his skin torn.
I would have loved for it to be a more prominent part of the story, like that scene in season 2 ep 3 when she was about to scratch that one guy but is stopped by wolf, and then when she is next to wolf and she asks her "Kipo what was that back there?" while Kipo is breathing heavily and with a savage expression in her eyes, with the response "I-I don't know, but it wasn't me" i loved that scene, and that episode had the best of 'savage' Kipo moments, along with that one scene in the season 1 finale, and I would have liked to see more of that.
But, i also feel like it would have been much more impact if she actually did scratch the guy, and sent him falling down, then she lands on top of him and is ready to 'finish him off' before wolf intervenes and the ape manages to escape, then when she snaps out of it, she looks at her hands and shakes a little bit afraid of what she has become
Happy belated birthday.
Another great video.
I agree with your statement in how Kipo gets babied somewhat and not letting the characters have flawless. I also agree with what you said about the anchor stuff and the conflict being solved by making new anchor. I find that if a writer can’t solve a problem in a reasonable way or brushes off what they set up it knocks some points for me. If you make the conflict, you must find a reasonable way to solve it. I know a lot shows like to use always getting stronger and unlocking a new power, but a the end of the season when Kipo unlocks double mega jaguar form, it made her come off like a Pokémon with it being so last minute when they spent majority of the season trying to get her into the first form.
As for the remark saying that it didn’t feel special with how she made her Jaguar arm back in season one, I’d give it a pass as baby’s won’t be able to remember stuff at that age and they are very prone to emotional outbursts as they can’t talk yet. To me when baby Kipo used the Jaguar arm it came off as unintentional reaction with the added Mute DNA reacting to the sense of fear and anger as babies would hit people if they don’t like them. That is my reasoning. Another could be in how the flashbacks with the arm was placed with how in Chèvre sisters episode it came right at the beginning of episode at random with it only being a tie with how Lio knows the Chèvre sisters. Second time on the other hand, it was recorded in a book that left in Lio’s original burrow.
When Scarlamagne was introduced back in season one with the way the other Mutes said his name it gave me Fire Lord Ozai vibes with how the Zuko, Iroh or the Gaang would say his title would send fear to the audience and that’s what I felt with Scarlamagne. The way the showed him in the first season when the Newton Wolves were dropped of at his castle in middle of his dance party gave off the very intimidating vibes. I just loved him from first introduction and when they told us how he has connection to Lio I was a little more intrigued. I always assumed back in season one he was apart of some experiment with how he got those scars and he was tired of humans oppressing them, so it was no surprise with experimentation part of his backstory, but what I didn’t expect was how they turned him from an Ozai type of character to a Zuko type Sympathy for a Mandrill. In just one episode they turn him from this very intimidating dictator in early parts of season two with him burning down Ratland and how he threatens his subjects as they feel like they are dealing with a literal minefield with his man.
I like how the writers teeter back and forth with making him fearsome and sympathetic with the coronation episode. The way he presents the Mov Frogs as unexpected gift to Kipo in return to how she gave him unexpected gift, but he takes his little to far in comparison to Kipo’s gift. You can tell he wants to protect her with how he was angry with the frogs and that gave him another interesting facet to his character and what really motives him.
As for if he should be redeemed or not, I don’t know really how I would feel about it. Scarlamagne is a good villain from the way he carries himself, his very personality and his motivations make him an entertaining one to watch for me. Whereas with Dr. Emilia, I understand her motivations, but she comes off not entertaining to watch if I’m honest. I don’t if that’s because Scarlamagne out shined her, but she is fairly boring. I like villains who are more than just bad as some of favourite villains are most enjoyable to watch like Azul, Joker or Slade from Teen Titans 2003. They all have some quality that makes intriguing to watch as they go against the protagonist. I hope in season three they’ll give Dr. Emilia more time to shine.
Sorry if this was very long to read. I really enjoyed the second season and this video.
The main beef I have is that I didn't like how they handled the anchor. Everybody over the age of seven (including the Wolf Pack themselves) would've been able to recognize that Kipo is defined primarily by her relationships to others, so her decision to seek out her parents' burrow felt totally out of left field, like the writers just wanted her to go on a quest and learn vital information but couldn't figure out how to steer her that way naturally. Me, I would've had her decide to venture to her parents' old burrow to learn about her origins specifically, because she felt she needed this information to control her powers.
My secondary minor beef is that---while it's certainly neat that her parents are totally chill about their baby being a half-animal---using your kid as a guinea pig for genetic experimentation is kind of messed up, and it's not typically something sane people would do on a whim. I feel Kipo should've had at least a little bit of ambivalence about being her parents' experimental guinea pig, and that her parents should've had more ambivalence about it as well. I feel like the parents' motivation in that regard should've been stronger/clearer and better-fleshed-out.
I agree. Especially about the guinea pig thing. I don’t know about you, but if I were to discover that my parents used me as an experiment, I would be majorly freaked out. Like, that would have probably caused a rift between me and my parents, because if I can be the guinea pig for an experiment, that implies that the only reason I was born was to be said guinea pig, that I was expendable and that they didn’t care about me. That could really mess up a kid- especially one that idolised their parents as much as Kipo did.
@@hoodieninja4983 , not to mention, the feelings that would result from realizing that your parents' experiments basically laid the groundwork for a lot of the problems you're currently dealing with!
Oh, and I also remembered I was annoyed when Kipo insisted on hanging out at the old burrow to read her parents' journal, which led to everybody getting re-captured by Fun Gus. TAKE THE BOOK WITH YOU, DUH!
Yeah, I remember thinking that Fun Gus was Kipo's failed experiment of a brother only because of the Guinea Pig thing.
To be fair, her freinds trying to comfort her atleast made sense in universe.
I think everyone was pretty justified in being upset at Lio Hugo is framed as being Kipo’s older brother and sibling and idk about you but I think it would’ve left a really sour taste in my mouth if they told Hugo “well of course he left you for Kipo you’re not REALLY his child” lol
Scarlemagne's backstory, plus his character development in this season, was amazing. I really liked him. He is easily in the top of my favorite villains in recent animation.
The way I saw the whole anchor situation was more Kipo had actually used the picture as an anchor but since that was destroyed, circumstance demanded that she had to find a new one and fast. I think that the picture was actually served as a purpose, especially since she was getting the hang of her powers, but since she was more experienced she could then get a less tangible anchor, which is her relationship with her friends and family
the anchor isn't the anchor. The feeling is. The anchor is supposed to make you feel human or feel like yourself. Maybe it's a headcannon but I don't think you literally NEED a specific object that you're DESTINED to have as an anchor. It's just a clutch... that you can learn to not need.
I guess one flaw I saw was that I saw every twist and turn coming. I knew her friends were her anchor as soon as she said she needed to look for one, because the answer is always friendship. I knew that the scientist lady (cant remember her name) was evil based on the fact of what was written in the journal before they met her in person. I knew that kipo has a larger form because she didn't look like a normal mega mute. I knew the monkey was her mom right before kipo saw the photo detail with her fur on her arm. Don't get me wrong, I loved this season, and completely agree with you.
What I don't like is how quickly everything is resolved. It feels like the ending of steven universe, just so quick that they could have used a full season to get through their finale but they somehow didn't know they only had a few episodes left so they rushed it? They should have left Kipo stuck as a jaguar at the end, to show it's NOT easy to leave your form as a mega mute. She needs more then just looking at her friends. She's stuck that way until season three. That would be an amazing cliff hanger. Then season 3 can be spent on getting kipo & her mom back to normal, then stopping the people from changing mutes back into normal animals.
I love the show, and the watercolor background art, I just wish they had more episodes per season so they could explore their ideas more and give them time to develop.
They also did such a good job with Hugo, i couldn't wait for him to get redeemed. I also was hoping to see the frog join the team, become apart of the group he once hunted down.
Did you ACTUALLY just compare two of the show’s villains to Zuko and Spinel, two of the best redeemed villains out there
Kipo and the age of wonderbeasts is freakin AMAZING if you can make parallels like that
Yes!!! I’ve been waiting for your review ever since I watched your last kipo video
"Jamac is basically Zuko" is not the analysis i came here for but i am all for it😁👍👍
I do not think that kipo’s connection to the anchor was solely focussed on her mother (she recognizes her mother as the mega monkey because of her picture) but the idea of the a real “family”
The fact that it was a vision of the full family she always wanted which is hinted at in the dream episode last season
which is why she’s able to recover after losing the anchor because it wasn’t;t the picture it was what it represented, and her friends and her mom and dad etc. are all her “family” now...
I'm surprised you didn't talk in-depth about the plot twist with Kipo's mom being the Mega Monkey. I know some people predicted this before season 2's release but I'm still losing my mind over it only because Kipo actually sang a "song" for her in season 1.
Yeah, I feel like it was super obvious...
Yeah I'm also really excited for when we get to Benson and Dave's backstory, because we know that Dave is 200 years old and they've been together for years, but also, how is Benson the way he is? Like, he doesn't look like someone who's spent years struggling in a post-apocalyptic world, he looks like just an ordinary kid. A lot of thought is put into character design, so I'm wondering what Benson's clean, well put together look means about him. Was he raised by mutes? But he doesn't really have any behaviours influenced by mutes like Wolf does. Did Dave raise him? How did that work when Dave inevitably metamorphasized into a baby and is essentially defenseless for hours at a time? I'm so curious about how Benson seems to know so much about living on the surface, and yet seems so out of place at the same time, and I'm sure we'll learn more.
Also, one of the biggest revelations for me is that Wolf was FIVE when she killed her whole pack. But here's the thing, when we see her kill the Deathstalker, she isn't wearing her wolfskin yet. I'm pretty sure, from the size, colour and markings on the ears, that the wolfskin is from her adoptive mother, so does this mean she initially escaped without killing every wolf? Was she hunted done by her later? Because the flashback with the Deathstalkers couldn't have been before she joined the pack, because otherwise she wouldn't have had her fighting skills. So my current working hypothesis is that Wolf killed her adoptive siblings and escaped, then was hunted down by her adoptive mother and had to kill her, giving her her wolf cape
this season was a step up from s1. they focused a lot more on plot/worldbuilding which was nice and i rly liked hugo's backstory. sadly hugo stole all that development from basically every character except kipo. u kno it's sad when mulholland goes thru more development than all of kipo's friends combined. i was hoping they would show lio in a more morally ambiguous light but they hand-waved that pretty quickly. i like that they want lio to be likable but idk i was getting FMA vibes. lio not looking for hugo is somewhat justifiable even though he originally said he wanted to escape with him - in fact the more i think about it, why SHOULD lio prioritize kipo over hugo? is it because she has his DNA? is it because of convenience? is it because she's a cute baby? honestly if nothing else i think this shows lio's subtle anti-mute bias even tho kipo's half-mute. i mean come on, hugo's a person too. this show tends to not hold good guys accountable, which is disappointing.
my complaints about ur anchor complaints:
"kipo's anchor is supposed to be something that reminds her of her humanity"
wrong. it's been apparent that kipo reverts back to human when she feels *safe.* it's very appropriate that a photo with her mom in it would make her feel that way, especially when we literally saw in "mulholland" that being with her parents is like, the safest place for her. it's true she never met song but i bet lio talked about her a lot and became a part of her safe space. and correct me if i'm wrong but i don't believe the show ever stated that there can only be one anchor. maybe it was implied? but it's not hard for me to buy. so yeah, the photo was an anchor and so was friendship. yay.
the "True kinda love " at 21:33 :D from Steven universe ! :D :D
I definitely like that bit where u were talking abt Scarlemagne's backstory with Spinel's OST in the background. Nice touch
I dont feel like any other review channel i watched gave it the call out it deserved for its bs and the praise it deserved for its good points. There was just soo much to unpack for season 3 and no one does it as thoroughly as you. Pleaseee get on it asap
The animation in season two was a major quality drop, there was one scene where wolf was front and centre and everyone was talking and she was standing there looking derp as hell. Certain things like dave and leo's relationship was great, but other things just became the a big joke and werent as rounded as the shouldve been, like how yumyun just became a meme and how the kpop narwalls and the dancing chic were just major stereotypes. How they had the whole vaccine/fix for the cure (the cure that was created in a few days mind you), the cure that leo and song created the origional version for (kipo AND hugo's genetic enhancements that make them mutes) years ago but for some reason 5 years later no progress has been made on fixing the cured animals?? How wolf had the potential arc with her wolf sister but it was a bust. And wolf and hugo's relationship and how great they played off each other, how great hugo was in general. Just so much happened and i NEED you on the case cause im sick of hearing everyone say *i mean yeah it was fast BUT IT WAS SO GREAT AND MODERN!!!*
23:03 YES I'm so happy someone else sees it too. My first thought when the ground collapsed under Kipo and Jamack in the scene where Kipo vents to him in the sewers was "Yes! Bonding!" because that reminded me so much of the underground crystal cave scene with Zuko and Katara from ATLA. Amazing review as always!
LOVE that ur playing drift away overtop Hugo’s section
See my main problem with this season is that a bunch of the science stuff seems problematic but it’s never addressed
Isn’t there heavy philosophical and moral problems behind genetically altering your child to be half mute? And they do it ‘out of love?’ If i found out my parents did that to me I would be pissed given that backstory I would expect her parents to be villains not loving good guys
ngl in regards to benson's relationship with troy
I felt it was insanely underdeveloped, and I personally hated it
now then, ignoring season 3 for a moment (because boy are my opinions on that season spicy especially in regards to this subject) and what that did to this whole thing, as well as the fact that this is a gay relationship in a cartoon (something i'm frankly neutral on), I think this relationship came out of nowhere, to be honest, and was pretty terrible
the reveal of Benson being gay isn't the problem, I actually think that was handled very very well, but I think both Benson and Troy have 0 chemistry and nothing built up to this relationship, Troy just showed up near the end of season 1 and the two crushed on each other from there with 0 development otherwise.
Troy's lack of development has led to him (at least in my eyes) looking like just a stock attractive dude that Benson likes with 0 personality or reason to be liked, and the excessive focus being put on their underdeveloped relationship (when the show is talking about/focusing on Benson separately from Dave) has kind of stagnated Benson's development to me since all the show seems to do with him when he isn't with Dave is make him have some awkward interaction with Troy that goes nowhere or talk about how he misses/loves Troy for...no given reason. it severely hampered the experience of the show to me since it essentially killed the self-expression of one of the more prominent side characters, and if the couple had even one or two episodes that at least *involved* them growing closer in some way (be it through a b-plot or a main story) then I think I would've liked this whole development a lot more than I did in the end.
I've gotta say, when she first went mute, I was like, can't you come up with some form of more creative mute than a giant purple jaguar? The final stage was really cool, but Kipo looked more like a lynx than a jaguar.
Love the use of Drift Away from SU movie when talking about Hugo’s abandonment. It fits the theme
8:06
"I had to make I choice, And I choose you."
In that moment, in that single moment Lio realised something....he...Had...chosen someone over someone else...sure she is her daughter but the bond he had with Hugo was as strong as such.
Kipo and the Mega Jaguar reminded me a lot of Aang and the Avatar state, like with Dr. Amelia trying to force the Mega Jaguar out of Kipo, like that one guy did in Avatar.
23:01 Ohhhhh, it makes sense why I love him so much
I love how drift away was played when talking about hugo
Let's talk about the "Human resistance" their reasoning is understandable but let's talk about how effective they are by that I mean how good are they at combat the presumed leader of the resistance Dr Emilia gets beaten by wolf and beaten by mandu and also when the bats showed up they kicked the resistance's ass also a question that I found was why don't they use guns maybe they haven't found guns also in the burrow you think their would be an armory or some sort of protectection from a mute attack and yes they might have been destroyed but you think they would have guns also they look cool with their masks and all also most of them get distracted by pancakes I mean come on guys! In conclusion the resistance is all about style and not about being good at fighting and they will hopefully put up good resistance against future threats like Kipo and rest of the cast and that's it sorry it was so long
I agree about what you mean with Emilia and her resistance group. I find her somewhat boring and not as interesting compared Scarlamagne. Being beaten by Wolf I can understand as she is seasoned combatant in how she had to survive on the surface. Mandu however is just weirdly dumb to me. In the earlier episodes of season two they implied that Emilia and her crew have been doing this for a long while with their get ups and knowing what mode of transportation to use. Emilia and her resistance are mostly scientists, not military, so it kind of makes sense as to why they aren’t combative focused group.
Hopefully season three will improve her and her resistance group. We had to give Scarlamagne as a villain for her to be one, so it better be worth it.
@@bengi8907 I agree with you but wouldn't you train to be good at combat I'd you were on the surface for over a decade?
karl curran Yeah, I agree.
About being beaten by mandu, I honestly think that Emilia saw that she couldn't talk and assumed she wasn't smart. Which is wrong, it is shown that mandu has human level intelligence, even if she can't talk or is overpowered by her animal desires sometimes.
i freaking howled from crying on the last episode when they where singing the song i fell apart and my mom came to check on me XD
People get so weirdly annoyed when they see LGBTQ character's whose plot isn't being LGBTQ. And the thing is Benson being gay imo does serve an important purpose to the plot even if it isn't driving it. It immediately shut down any romantic relationship forming between Kipo and Benson. Even if I often hate it whenever there's a main male and female character I always think "I wonder when they'll get together", it's usually pointless and distracting but it's so ingrained in to media that it's expected.
I was groaning and rolling my eyes all the way up to the reveal and was so relieved when they shut it down.
I agree with a lot of what's brought up in this video, especially Benson's need of more background information. The fact that he's gay is cool, but I couldn't help but think "How would he know who he's attracted to if almost no humans live on the surface?" I hope that season three goes into more detail with Benson's backstory. Maybe he had a human friend who he grew very close with, but they were separated for some reason (the friend most likely dies).
While I do agree with everything else you said, I don't call most of what Scarlamagne did forgivable.
Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of Scarlamagne getting a redemption arc but slavery, murder, threatening human sympathizing Mutes' lives to set an example, conquer other Mutes by force and trying to turn everyone into gold as forgivable, and I imagine most Mutes and humans won't forgive him for what he did to them, even with Kipo trying to convince them.
I'm the only one who was waiting for Kipo to become a huge tiger with 6 paws at first but were more surprised by her becoming a big normal tiger than she full transforme in the end?
*do you think they fixed Dave?*
🤷♂️
PROsthetic Pineapple I don’t see the problem with characters they’re good I love the show but don’t understand why Dave gets hate
Dave is tolerable compared to Swift Wind and Pony head.
@@nicoletrespicio8704 I don't have a problem with swift wind for some reason. But pony head is annoying and takes up too much screentime
@@majesticmo5048 Ponyhead got less annoying through the seasons
I never minded him
Playing drift away for Hugo was very fitting. Great fit !
23:01 I actually shouted Zuko in unison with you, I hope Jamack's character development continues in the future seasons